Ayano's POV:-
I sensed the movement just seconds before a giant claw of rock formed right under me and tried to crush me .
Key word: tried.
I jumped off before it closed me in , simultaneously locking on the aura of the psycho , Kazuma and Ren . I briefly acknowledged Ren summoning enrhiha.
"Now , don't run away ,sweetie ..."
"WHO'S RUNNING AWAY ? YOU LITTLE DIRT...!"
"AYANO! BE CAREFUL ! THAT GUY'S NOT NORMAL!"
I threw Kazuma a quick glance but his eyes were focused on the dirtbag ( ...and that shall be his official name until I find out his real one ).
He was worried and it took a Lot to make Him Worried.
In my surprise I almost missed Ren charging at the dirtbag , enrhiha ablaze .
He seemed distracted...probably my fault ....sh*t!
"REN!...."
The dirtbag grinned as Ren drew nearer . Without a second thought , I shot forward. No matter how much I want Ren to learn to defend himself , if he makes Kazuma worried ,then that guy was bad news .
And I Refuse to let Ren die before me .
Me and Ren reached him around the same time and in a split second... rock spikes shot out of body in all directions and right at us .
...and we were going too fast to dodge .
A precise hit on my shoulder twisted me out of the way causing me to narrowly escape getting hit . Recognising the source of the hit , turned my body to duck and roll , successfully avoiding the other spikes. As I turned I saw Kazuma grab Ren and pull him away .
The spikes continued to grow and after they reached a certain distance , they started to ...
"NEE-SAAANNNN...! "
I immediately went into high alert , my senses sharpening to their highest extent .
The people in the cafe were running away ...and screaming.
There were two heat sources in the air , both with unnatural spike in their auras and one with a increasingly high body temperature which jumped down and was coming towards me.
Ren and Kazuma .
They were okay ... Good .I would have killed that guy if he pushed me out of the way and Didn't save Ren . I could have easily enough destroyed the spike if it needed to .
Ren shot towards me , destroying the spikes and almost tackled me as I got up .
"Are you okay ? Did you get hurt ? How..."
"Ren , I'm fine ..."
Then two more things registered in my mind .
One: the sunlight practically vanished . I looked back to see that the tips of spikes had expanded to form a cocoon around us , trapping all three of us . Even if Kazuma was in the air , he was still trapped . I could sense him .
And two: There was a heat-source with normal body activity below ground level . Now that I actually concentrated on him , I realised Kazuma was right .
The dirtbag wasn't normal.
He wasn't even human.
Then the ground broke open beneath us and we pummelled down into the darkness .
"Woah!..""Eh!.."
We felt the wind secure our fall and after landing, we straightened up as we felt Kazuma appear behind us . The floor felt like cement , but why would there be cement underground .
All of us were back to back . Me and Ren took a fighting stance and Ren summoned enrhiha . The light from it illuminated our surroundings . We were in some weird ...room .
"Guys! Be careful . This guy is a cold-blooded murderer who disappeared a few years ago . For some reason , he's become practically immune of most attacks and impossible to sense . He's not a normal human. "
Kazuma made sure the wind concealed his voice so only we could hear him . There's no way a place like this wouldn't have an echo .
"You can't sense him because he's not human at all ...not anymore, at least ."
"What? How do ..."
"Trust me .we need to get out of here , there's a friend ..."
A small *clank* put us back in high alert .I let out some small balls of flame to further light up the place and to give me a better idea of it's structure .It was a broken-down laboratory but at the same time , it seemed ...clean .
"What is this place ?"
Ren whispered .
"My home ,..."
We turned towards the voice to see the dirtbag wearing an insane grin on his face and watching us with crazed eyes . His voice echoed around the room.
"...your grave ."
He was analysing us and his face grew more and more interested as he caught sight of Kazuma .
"I wonder... I've never tasted the blood of a contractor before ...."
The next second I lurged at him , a wall of fire covering me ...crimson fire.
"AYA...!"
I threw one small glance back .
"PROTECT YOURSELVES!"
Walls shot up from the ground surrounding him. I briefly saw Kazuma grabbing Ren from the ground as spikes began arising from the ground and the ceiling . As long as we were underground , we were in his territory .
But there was one weakness.
I blasted through the wall in front me effortlessly . My flames began to spread into the surrounding ground breaking it to sand , turning the sand into glass . The walls were nothing but a diversion so he could disappear . The enclosed room he formed was empty . Without wasting another second , I shot my hand into the ground right in front of me and closed my fingers around my target and made my flames shoot into the gap before pulling the dirtbag back up into the surface .
"How?...how did you?..."
Normal spirit-users can't sense beasts like him . But people who have the special spiritual magic can . Kazuma needs to use his contract to activate it but I have it in my blood thanks to my mom. (Chap:30)
I gave him a feral grin .
"You can't hide from me."
I had to do this fast , before he regained control.
His hand launched towards my face but I grabbed it and slammed his head against my knee . He was distracted enough to stop attacking Kazuma and Ren. So I took my chance and flipped him over my shoulder and slamming him against the now glass floor , successfully disconnecting his from his connection to the ground . I used my flames to turn that bit into glass as well. I straddled his back and pulled his head into a choke-hold .
"You...c..can't...ki...ll...m...me..."
"I know."
I twisted his neck .
A *crack* echoed through the cave .
The silence lasted a second and in that time I place my fingers over his eyes ...and burned them .
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!..."
His neck began to click back into place and I jumped off him . The glass began to crack as he summoned more earth in his pain . I turned towards Kazuma , who along with Ren was watching with wide eyes .
"Get us off the ground NOW!"
Understanding flashed through his eyes and the next instant , all three of us were in the air .
"Nee-san ! What..."
"He got careless . I used that ."
"Wha..."
"YOU THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME IN THE AIR . YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY MY ELEMENT . THERE IS NO ESCAPE ..."
Ren's eyes widened in realisation .
Instead of the high precision attacks he previously used, the dirtbag was looking around blindly , his attacks were random and avoidable .
But that was only while we were in the air .
"The earth provides the elements needed to maintain his body . But the eyes are too sensitive to be reformed ."
"Why didn't you just burn his head off?"
"She can't ..."
Me and Ren turned towards Kazuma . He was facing me .
"...can you,...Ayano?"
It struck me how weird it felt for him to not be right with me during the fight . He was protecting Ren instead ,... That's ...good.
"His bones are too ...strong . It's takes too much energy .Besides he's not actually a human now ..."
"Then WHAT IS HE?"
Ren practically screamed . The next second a spike came charging right at us . Ren brought enrhiha down against it turning it to glass and shattering it . Kazuma moved us away seconds before another array of spikes completely impaled the place we were in .
"Use low voices . He can still hear us and I can't focus on hiding our noise while I'm dodging his attacks ."
Ren looked down but the dirtbag had vanished from sight ...but I could still sense his aura . He was in the ground moving around frantically trying to find us.
"He's a beast-spirit . A youma of a completely different category . That youma is using that body as a host ..."
"That's not all ..."
Kazuma said as he moved us away from another random spike . The dirtbag appeared from the ground .
"I WILL PAINT THIS ROOM WITH YOUR BLOOOOODDDD!..."
"...he's also trapped . "
I looked down at the dirtbag , the chain was still around his ankle .
"I tried to melt it , but it took too much time . That is not a normal metal."
Ren scowled .
"Nothing about this is normal . How do you know about all this, Ayano-chan?"
I froze and I could tell Kazuma stiffened as well .
Ren called me by my name . My chest started to feel heavy , my breathing began to increase . I knew I would have to push him away sometime , that he would have to become independent , but...
A large hand grabbed my shoulder and gave me a stern yet reassuring squeeze .
"More importantly , how did you sense him?"
He noticed . Of course , he noticed. After all he's the perfect big brother , isn't he ? He can protect Ren and notice stuff .Even if he disappears without a word for four fricking years , he'll always be Ren's Big Brother . He's irreplaceable ...unlike me . That little ...
His grip tightened .
I stopped thinking . I took a deep breath . I let it out .
"It's complicated . It's literally in my genes but...you could sense him too if you activate your contract ."
His eyes narrowed .
"Why would my contract ..."
"I. Said . It . Was . Com-pli-ca-ted . Ka-zu-ma ."
My energy was spiking . I had to control myself or I'll give away our location . Kazuma stiffened lightly at my tone and glare but Ren intervened before I lost it .
"We can't just leave him here . He's dangerous . And how can we leave ? He'll sense us if we do anything to the ground or the walls ."
I took a deep breath and cleared my mind . This was not about me or Ren or Kazuma .
This is a mission ...and the risk is too great for secrets.
"I have a friend ...she can help us ...but we need to get to the surface first ."
A.N:-
I deeply apologise for the delay , but the exams and more exams and when I finally got a break ,...writer's block . I'm very sorry . I hope you enjoyed the chapter and advance warning , my updates will probably be verrryyyy random depending on my unknown future schedule . Especially after next month . I apologise in advance and I SINCERELY THANK ALL MY REVIEWERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT ! I APPRECIATE IT SOOOOO MUCH !
P.s:- I drew a sketch of Ayano as a kid with her family with her mother. The link is on my profile .
P.P.S:- Please review .