Chapter 6: Akko vs. Elizabeth

Professor Badcock's homework is just too much!" complained Barbara.

"Yeah! She actually expects us to finish all of this in one night!? Ridiculous!" scoffed Hannah. "What do you say, Diana? This homework is tough right?"

"I finished it three hours ago," Diana replied nonchalantly.

"Of course you did! No one can match your brains, Diana!" Hannah praised.

Diana shrugged off her friends and sat at her working desk lost in thought.

Elizabeth approached her and asked, "Is something wrong Diana?"

"Nothing, it's just…" Diana glanced at the window to see the New Moon Tower and the Sorcerer's Stone letting off a beautiful green light to match the morning's brightness.

"I'm still a little shaken about what happened yesterday with Akko…"

"Oh...I see…"

"Forget about that dunce!" said Barbara as she was putting on makeup.

"Yeah, she'll definitely be expelled or something! If you ask me, it's about time!" Hannah said as she slouched back in a chair.

"Yes...I guess it was inevitable with her…"

The sound of someone knocking on the door drew the attention of the girls. Hannah was the closest one to the door so she stood up and opened it.

"Oh, Professor Lukić."

Entering the room was the scary-looking Professor Lukić, the Potion Master.

"I'm sorry to bother you before classes have started Miss Cavendish, but the infirmary will need your healing magic again."

Diana stood up from her chair and approached the teacher.

"Really? Who do you need me to heal, professor?"

"Miss Kagari."

The Blue Team's reaction to the name of the troublemaker Akko Kagari was not a subtle one. Barbara messed up her makeup and got a black line across her face, Hannah took too many steps back and fell on her chair, Elizabeth glanced to the side looking uncomfortable, and Diana just stared at Professor Lukić with uncertainty and disgust.

"Why her!?" yelled Barbara.

Professor Lukić replied, "The medicines we've been giving her are not strong enough to heal the wound on her neck; it's a pretty nasty one. Headmistress Holbrooke suggested that your healing powers might do the trick, you have done it for Miss Lucifer when she was injured."

"Yeah, but she's a teammate, of course, Diana would help her, or have you forgotten it was Kagari who hurt Elizabeth in the first place!" Hannah yelled. "And she tried to do it again yesterday! Let her suffer under those little cuts she has and—"

"Enough!"

Hannah covered her mouth to silence herself as Diana ordered her. The blonde witch was having a staring contest with the floor for about a minute before she looked up at the Professor.

"I will do it."

"WHAAAAT!?" both Hannah and Barbara yelled at the same time.

"Thank you, Miss Cavendish, please come this way," Professor Lukić allowed Diana to walk out of the room first as the two were heading straight to the infirmary leaving the other Blue Team members alone.

"I can't believe Diana is offering to help that dunce Akko!" Barbara huffed. "She should be left in the nursery bed to rethink her life!"

"Let it go," said Elizabeth as she collected her books. "This was Diana's decision, so let her do it. Come on, let's get to class."

"But we still haven't finished Professor Badcock's homework!" said Hannah in a worried tone.

"I finished mine about three hours ago," replied Elizabeth.

"YOU AND DIANA ARE TOO SMART FOR US!"


Diana herself did not know why she said yes to the creepy-looking professor; she was literally having her own mental battle with herself as they were walking to the infirmary. There was no reason for her to help Akko which was what Diana thought, to her, Akko deserved what she got. She hurt Elizabeth, endangered a student, and tried to attack Elizabeth again. She felt that the delinquent needed to sit in pain to learn from the consequences of her actions. But even though a part of her was saying those words another part of her just could not help but worry.

It was in her blood as a healer to worry since they are meant to aid those who are harmed. She comes from a powerful witch family that is known for healing magic and helping anyone even the worst of people. But there was also something else that drove Diana to Akko, a feeling that made her heart feel like it was trapped in a freezer. For all the time she knew her, Diana truly did care for Akko like an old childhood friend. Seeing Akko leaking blood across the cafeteria floor and lying unconscious on the ground as the blood continued to spill...she just could not get that image out of her head.

"Here we are," said Professor Lukić as she opened the door to the infirmary and allowed Diana to walk in before her. As the blonde witch walked in, she placed a hand over her mouth to keep her gasp in a low volume.

Akko was asleep on the bed, but she looked even worse than she did yesterday. Her skin was extremely pale, she looked like a corpse.

"Why does she look so...so sickly…?" Diana asked as she slowly approached the bed.

"I believe she lost too much blood, and the wound just isn't sealing up for some reason," answered Professor Lukić, "I tried everything in my ability, I believe your healing magic of the Cavendish family can definitely fix her."

Diana looked at the bandaged neck before she responded.

"I'll see what I can do. Can you please bring a bowl of water and a rag? I believe that will be needed."

"Yes Miss Cavendish, anything."

The professor left the infirmary to get what she was asked for and Diana went up to the unconscious Akko and gently lifted her head. Diana slowly unwrapped the bandages and when she saw the bite mark in its fullest form, she used up all the strength in her body to stop herself from fainting.

Diana took out her wand and lightly touched the torn hand with the tip. She breathed in and out and finally spoke the spell in her inside voice.

"Emantur Ligna!"

A pretty emerald light engulfed Akko's entire neck and in a matter of minutes, the wound was gone as if it was never there to begin with. Then right on time, Professor Lukić came storming in with the bowl of warm water and a clean white rag.

"Thank you, professor, I'll take it from here."

Lukić bowed and then left the room again.

After ringing the water out of the rag, Diana started to gently caress Akko's face. She mostly touched the areas where the wounds were and would even poke them a little to check to see if they still hurt.

"Looks like everything is ok for now. But where on earth did, she get such a gruesome wound— gah!"

Diana nearly fell backward in surprise as she saw Akko's scarlet eyes peering at her. The Japanese girl did not show any emotion as she stared at her fellow classmate who was tending to her wounds. Diana cleared her throat and regained her composure.

"You should be grateful," Diana said as she continued to rub Akko's neck with the rag. "I could've just said no to the professors and let you lie here in agony, but you must thank the Nine Olde Witches that I have a good heart!"

"Thank you, Diana…"

Akko said immediately once the blonde witch was done speaking. Diana was kind of taken aback by Akko's gratitude she did not expect it right away honestly, she wasn't expecting any at all.

"W-well…" Diana cursed under her breath for stumbling over her words, her cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment. "You should be ok for now, but I suggest you stay here for the day."

Diana placed the rag down and turned her back to Akko.

"See you when you get better..."

"Diana, wait!"

The girl stopped in her tracks and looked at Akko who still had that unnerving emotionless stare.

"Keep a close eye on Elizabeth. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere without you or the rest of your team."

The British girl pinched the corners of her nose in annoyance.

"Have you gone mentality insane!? Are you still so butthurt about what happened between you and Elizabeth that you would make her out to be some sort of monster? Enough! I won't hear any more slander about one of my friends!"

"Diana," Akko leaned up and spoke in a dark tone which proved how serious she was, "Do not let Lucifer out of your sight do you understand me? This is for your safety too because I am not sure what she is up to. I promise I'll repay you for healing me someday but taking care of Elizabeth is my priority."

Diana huffed and quickly walked out the door without looking back.

"You truly are a dunce!"

Once Diana was gone Akko was left alone in the room once again with her thoughts. The only thing coursing through her mind was Elizabeth and her ally Mirage. She didn't know what they were planning, but it was pretty obvious they were out to get her. The only idea Akko had in her head was to stop them and expose them to the school to clear her name. Not a very sound plan, but she figured she would make up the difference when the time came.


"Come on, Elizabeth! Come on!"

"Huh?"

The next thing Akko knew, her eyes had opened to reveal that she was standing in the Luna Nova corridor. However, something was different about the area than before.

"What am I doing out here?"

"Elizabeth, come on!"

"Wait up, Samantha!"

Running past Akko were two girls in what seemed to be Luna Nova uniforms, but they seemed to be drastically different than the ones students wear currently. One of the girls was Elizabeth who seemed to lack the same quiet confidence that she usually would wear throughout the day. Running alongside her was a girl that Akko had never seen before, a girl who was way taller than both Akko and Elizabeth and she had shaggy green hair and piercing ruby red eyes.

"Samantha, please wait," Elizabeth was clenching her knees while breathing heavily. "We shouldn't do this! If Miss Cavendish finds us—"

"Stop being such a baby Elizabeth!"

The girl known as Samantha stuck her tongue towards her friend in a silly way.

"If there is anything dangerous, I'll protect us both! Have you forgotten that my sword slices all evil?"

"I-I haven't forgotten—but Woodward warned you—"

"That old lady has a stuck up her butt!" Samantha shouted while pouting. "And she used to be so fun too! I guess becoming a headmistress took all the fun out of her!"

Elizabeth glanced at the floor.

"I-I…"

"Elizabeth…"

Samantha walked up to her nervous friend and hugged her.

"Don't worry…I will protect us."

Elizabeth smiled softly.

"O-okay…I trust you Samantha…"

The two girls then went to the end of the corridor and opened the door. But before Akko could see any more a dark mist flew out from the door and consumed the entire corridor. The deafening noises of screams and bells erupted throughout the area and the sight of giant eyes staring directly at Akko nearly made her heart stop.

"Fantasia…"

Despite not having mouths, that was the word the eyes kept repeating until the vision faded away.


"GAH!"

Akko woke up with streams of sweat pouring down her body, her eyes forming tears, and blood trickling down her nose. The frightened girl wiped the blood from her nostrils and sat up in the dark infirmary taking in the nightmare she just beheld.

"You okay, Akko? Seems like you had a terrible nightmare."

The young witch quickly rose her head to see Elizabeth who was standing over her with a cocky smile.

"Good morning—oh wait, no I should technically say goodnight. I was worried that you were going to sleep through the whole day, but the gods have decided to wake you up now. If you ask me, we should get this done as quickly as possible."

"Get what done?" Akko asked, "What are you going to do?"

"You'll know. Now get up and take your stuff."

Akko looked at the end of her bed to see her uniform folded up neatly and the Shiny Rod sitting right next to it.

"It's nighttime and everyone is in the cafeteria having dinner. This is the perfect opportunity for us. Once you get everything together, come down to the botanical garden. I'll be waiting there~…"

Elizabeth then faded away into the shadows leaving Akko alone once again. The girl did not know why she listened to her but maybe it was because she had a feeling that the vampire girl might do something horrible if she did not obey. To protect the school and her friends Akko got out of bed and quickly put on her clothes. She then took the Shiny Rod and opened the window that was near her bed.

Akko held the Shiny Rod out and chanted, "Arae Aryrha!"

In bright green light the Shiny Rod unraveled and transformed into a long grappling hook. Akko tied the golden rope to herself and clipped the hook to the window so that she could climb down. As she got outside, she shivered as the cold air of the night blew on her weak body; she felt extremely stiff from just lying in bed all day.

"Maybe I should've stretched first," Akko said to herself as she climbed down.


It was dinner time, and all the students and professors were down in the dining hall taking portions of the delicious meal laid before them. There was fried chicken, lobster, crabs, salad, pork, and a whole table of desserts that had towers of cakes that could almost touch the ceiling.

"The only good stuff this school gives out is only during dinnertime," complained Amanda who was cracking the shell of a lobster, "For breakfast, they give us cold and smelly boiled eggs, and for lunch, it's all potato-related. They act like they're broke when they have all of this; give me a break!"

"Just be grateful for what we have," said Lotte as she was cutting a piece of chicken, "I wish Akko was down here with us, she loves strawberry cake."

"With that nasty wound she had yesterday I don't see her waking up today," Sucy replied as she was eating a fried mushroom.

"Let's save her some sweets!" said Jasminka who was stuffing her face with ice cream, "She'll definitely appreciate— ah! Brain freeze!"

"I told you not to eat too fast."

Constanze shook her head as her pink-haired friend was holding onto her head as if it was going to explode.

The Red and Green Team's mealtime was then interrupted as Professor Ursula approached their table.

"Hello, Professor Ursula!" Lotte smiled, "Do you want to sit with us?"

"If that is okay with you girls."

Ursula placed her plate and took a seat in the middle of Lotte and Amanda. Amanda then led over and peeked over at the professor's portions.

"You barely got anything!" Amanda said aloud.

Professor Ursula blushed in embarrassment.

"W-well...I'm actually on a diet so…"

"Bleh! Diets suck!"

"Tell me about it…" said Jasminka as she had a face that looked like she was having Vietnam flashbacks.

"Anyway, I didn't just sit here because I wanted to socialize. I wanted to ask you girls about Akko."

The witches turned to the professor with a concerned look.

"What about her?"

"Have you girls had any idea what has been happening with her lately?"

Sucy was the first to speak, "Well stuff did start to go downhill for her ever since she lost that duel against Elizabeth, then she hurt Elizabeth, then she summoned a dragon and blamed it on Elizabeth, and then she was attacked yesterday and blamed that on Elizabeth as well."

"Everything just seems to be circling that Elizabeth chick, isn't it?" said Amanda whose mouth was full of lobster meat, "She does kinda rub me off the wrong way."

"There is nothing wrong with Miss Lucifer!" Professor Ursula interjected.

"Didn't Akko say Elizabeth was a vampire?" questioned Constanze's Stan-bot. "At first I thought she was lying, but after seeing that bite mark…it was kind of…"

Professor Ursula shook her head.

"No, there is no possible way Miss Lucifer is a vampire. They have been extinct for centuries—faded away as magic declined and the rest were eradicated by exorcists of the Catholic Church. Not to mention that we have seen Elizabeth walking around in the mornings and evenings. If she was truly a vampire she would have turned to dust."

"So, you think Akko is lying?" Sucy asked the blue-haired professor.

Ursula held her head down.

"I don't want to say that…"

"I think she's telling the truth."

Everyone looked up at Amanda with surprise; the fiery girl shrugged off their looks and continued to eat her seafood.

"You believe in Akko's claims against Elizabeth?" Professor Ursula said with an eyebrow raised.

"Well yeah. I mean there is no evidence to back her up or anything but I just kinda have a feeling she's telling the truth."

"You just…have a feeling?" Lotte repeated.

"I mean look how she acted yesterday— she was scared as well as done right enraged! There is no way someone like Akko can fake something like that! Either she's gone insane and is seeing things or she was attacked."

"Well, we can't jump the gun," replied Constanze, "We need evidence to back up Akko; I believe it's time for an investigation!"

"No," said Professor Ursula, and all the girls looked at her with disappointed faces.

"This is a matter for the staff so let us deal with it."

"No promises," Amanda responded nonchalantly as she slouched back in her chair.

On the other side of the dining hall was a table where the Blue Team was sitting. Hannah and Barbara were yapping at each other while Diana was just staring at her tea getting lost in its brown color.

"Diana~! Earth to Diana~!"

Diana finally looked up from her teacup to indulge her teammates.

"You haven't touched your food. Is something the matter?" Barbara asked.

Diana sighed.

"I'm just…worried about Elizabeth. Did she not seem strange to you girls?"

Hannah replied, "Maybe she's under the weather? She did say she wasn't all that hungry…"

"I guess…and her first week hasn't been so good…"

"Because of that stupid Akko!" Hannah stated roughly. "Anyway, what was the deal with her yesterday? She was acting like a rabid animal!"

Barbara nodded.

"Thank you! I thought I was the only one who thought that! She scared me nearly half to death!"

As the two witches continued to gossip about Akko, Diana retreated to her thoughts.

"Akko was acting strangely…especially this morning. Where did that bite come from…?"


The botanical garden looked scary during the nighttime, that's what Akko thought. What creeped her out the most was Jennifer's Memorial Tree which was literally staring down at her. Akko held the Shiny Rod close to her chest and called out to Elizabeth.

"Hello? Elizabeth, are you here?"

"Right here…"

Appearing from the shadow of Jennifer's tree was the vampire herself. Seeing Akko jump from her sudden appearance and take a defensive stance which made the girl chuckle in amusement.

"I'm glad you could make it Akko...now you can finally have our bout with no interruptions!"

Elizabeth made the declaration with a loud intimidating voice. On her face, she wore an insane smile that made Akko turn pale.

"So…before we start, do you have any final questions~?"

Hearing Elizabeth say the word "final" made Akko sweat. It confirmed exactly what she feared…the vampire girl was planning to murder her. A part of her wanted to run out of the garden and yell for help but she knew such an action would be pointless. Elizabeth was far faster and would separate her head from her shoulders before she could even turn around. Instead, Akko decided to test her luck and stand her ground. She clenched the Shiny Rod that was in her hands and tried her best to look brave in front of the undead witch.

"Well…I honestly do have a few questions…"

"Ask away~!"

"…You're a vampire right, we basically confirmed that. But…how are you walking around when the sun is out? Is it some sort of spell that's protecting you?"

Elizabeth laughed as she shook her head.

"No spell can protect a vampire from the deadly rays of the sun."

"T-then how are you…?"

"Well, the answer is much simpler than you think."

The vampire girl reached into her back pocket and pulled out a bottle. Akko squinted her eyes as she read what was on the front: Miss Claymore's Perfect Sunscreen!

"Sun…sunscreen? That's how you're staying safe?"

"Yep!" Elizabeth answered. "Believe it or not this lotion does wonders for the protection of immortal beings like us! I seriously wish an invention existed hundreds of years ago, maybe the vampire race wouldn't have dwindled out like it did!"

Elizabeth put the bottle of sunscreen back in her pocket.

"I know I make fun of humans a lot, but you guys do come up with the best inventions— even without the aid of magic!"

Akko was taken aback by the lackluster truth of Elizabeth's resistance to the sun but shrugged it off as she moved on to the next question.

"How old are you?"

Elizabeth pouted.

"It's very rude to ask a lady her age Akko! But since I did promise you some answers…I am around three hundred years old! Three hundred and twenty to be exact!"

"W-what the— you're THAT old!?"

"My age is young by vampire standards. Any other questions~?"

Akko gulped before saying her last question.

"…Who is Samantha?"

"…What?"

The cheery and happy mood Elizabeth had before vanished into thin air. Darkness radiated from the vampire girl, and she wore a dangerous frown while staring at Akko with murderous intent.

The brunette witch squealed and took a few steps back.

"Where did you hear that name?"

Elizabeth asked in a low and menacing tone. Akko was quick to answer to ensure the wrath of the vampire girl.

"I-I had a dream not too long ago— you were in! It was with you and that Samantha girl walking around in the corridors and going into a room. Who is Samantha? Is she a vampire like you?"

Elizabeth scowled and bore her fangs at Akko. But then she took a deep breath and regained her composure. The vampire girl then folded her arms and looked off into the sky, staring off into the stars with a lonely expression.

"Samantha was a human who lived hundreds of years ago. As you saw in the dream, she was a witch and a former student of Luna Nova."

"If that's the case then that means…"

"Yep! This isn't my first time in Luna Nova either! Many years ago, I was a student here — still a vampire but nobody knew that except for Samantha."

"W-what happened to her…?"

"…she died. Is that much of a shocker? It was like a hundred years ago; humans don't usually live past their eighties nowadays."

"Did…did something happen when the two of you went into that room? What were you guys looking for?"

"…I think that's enough questions, Akko…"

A dark red light emitted from Elizabeth's hand, coming out of it was Gungnir who let out a very intimidating aura.

"H-hey!" Akko shouted as she pointed at Elizabeth. "You said you would answer all my questions!"

"I answered three of them. Four is just pushing it…"

Then Elizabeth transformed into the vampiric state she was in before. Akko began to shake in fright, seeing the undead witch in her complete glory.

"Come on, Akko! Let's have some fun!"

Akko sucked in as much air as possible and focused all her attention on Elizabeth.

"Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor!"

Akko chanted the phrase of the first word and the Shiny Rod transformed into a bow. The golden arrow materialized, and she aimed it at Elizabeth.

"Shiny…"

But before Akko could release the string, Elizabeth appeared in a matter of seconds. Her insane eyes flared as she charged to pierce Akko with the Spear of the gods.

"Ah!"

Akko was quick to jump back, launching herself into the air as she still had her arm on Elizabeth.

"Shiny— ARC!"

Akko fired the arrow, but despite its speed, it missed the extremely fast Elizabeth.

"Dammit!"

"You have to be quicker than that Akko~!"

Elizabeth then appeared on the top of Jennifer's Tree and fired multiple golden beams at Akko. The brunette witch ran away like a squirrel as she avoided getting blown to pieces by the magical attack. Once she gained distance she fired three arrows at the same time at Elizabeth.

"SHINY ARC— FORM THREE (just made that up!)"

The three arrows flew toward Elizabeth like missiles, leaving behind glowing green particles as they went. But the vampire girl was still too quick as she simply disappeared and reappeared below the tree. The branches and the leaves at the top of Jennifer's Tree were not so lucky as they were blown to smithers and began to burn under green fire.

"Crap…"

"Akko~…"

Elizabeth was behind Akko, quickly bashing the side of the witch with the blunt side of her spear. The Japanese girl groaned in pain as she was thrown to the other side of the garden. Despite the attack, she quickly got up and aimed her arrow once again at Elizabeth.

The vampire girl smirked.

"Don't you have any more tricks up your sleeve~?"

Akko snarled and released the string. Once again, the arrow fired at Elizabeth, but the vampire teleported to the further side of the garden.

But then, the arrow changed its direction and followed Elizabeth.

"Hm?"

The vampire girl was caught off guard by the arrow's change in trajectory. Like a fish swimming down a fast stream, she tried to escape but the Arrow of the Shiny Arc was relentless. In the end, Elizabeth got back into the glass wall of the botanical garden and received an explosive blow from the Shiny Arc.

"Yes!" Akko cheered. "No clue how I did that— but YES!"

Coming out of the smoke was injured Elizabeth. Her entire left side was dripping with her black blood and a piece of her cloak was ripped. Akko gasped and held out her hand towards the purple-haired girl in worry, but her fears quickly subsided as the wound on Elizabeth immediately healed on its own.

"Regeneration," Elizabeth commented. "Basic ability of an undead. But that Shiny Arc was definitely a problem…"

Elizabeth ripped off her entire clock and showcased a black sleeveless shirt with long tight black pants. Tied to her waist was a gray and silver old cloth decorated with strange symbols and patterns.

The bat wings on Elizabeth's head flapped repeatedly as the vampire held up Gungnir in the air.

"Time for Round Two…"

Then out of blinding red light, Gungnir transformed from a spear to a long black scythe. Akko squeaked at the sight of the imposing weapon.

"F-fine! Phaidoari Afairynghor!"

The rod unraveled and transformed into a giant golden ax that only a giant could wield, but Akko's small body was able to hold it up so easily.

"SHINY AX!"

Right as those words left Akko's mouth, Elizabeth was right before her ready to swing her scythe. The ax and the scythe clashed creating a loud explosion of dirt and dust scattered across the garden. After the clash, Akko was thrown back a few distances away from her enemy and the Shiny Rod reverted to its normal form as Akko was taking a defensive stance.

"E-Elizabeth!?"

Akko looked around but the vampire girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did you go!? Elizabeth!?"

The brunette witch held on to her weapon tightly as she waited for her opponent to reappear. But Akko did not have to wait for that as a strange black cloud flew around her as fast as a rocket.

The mysterious black fog went to the right corner of the garden away from Akko who was looking at it intently. The top of the fog formed the face of Elizabeth who was smirking at Akko still.

"Nebula. A potent spell that can turn the user's body into fog…" Elizabeth explained. "You're actually giving me a challenge, the scythe form of Gungnir was not going to hold with that clash. I might have to use that spell…"

"S-stop running!"

The Shiny Rod transformed back into an ax as Akko charged at the dark cloud like a bull.

"Y-you're not getting away!"

"I appreciate the energy, but the one who's not getting away is you~…In Sex Natus Est Illusio!"

From Elizabeth's chant, six spears with a blue glow and a crescent moon emblem on them appeared. This did not concern Akko as she readied for another devastating attack. But in cloud form, Elizabeth was quicker than Akko and was easily able to back away from her ax slam move. Once she dodged the attack, she placed one spear on the ground and moved to the other side of the garden. Akko charged at her again, coming in with a swing but Elizabeth was able to duck in time and place another spear on the ground.

"Come on!"

Akko was getting frustrated that Elizabeth kept dodging her moves by the hair, her voice becoming darker and more inhuman. As Elizabeth flew back to the entrance of the botanical garden the spell of the fog wore off, and she reverted to her physical form.

"ELIZABETH!"

Seeing her chance Akko threw herself at the vampire girl for the final time coming in with a strike. But Elizabeth smiled confidently as she placed the last spear onto the ground.

"It's over, I have you now!"

She took out her wand and raised it in the air.

"Hear my voice Nyx, Goddess of the Night, and plunge my enemy to the void of never-ending slumber! Lux Lunae!"

Like a signal, the lights from the spears disappeared and came together like webs on the ground all gathering towards the center. Akko, who was in the center herself, could not even move a finger even though nothing was grabbing onto her body.

"W-what!?" Akko screamed as she tried to force her muscles to move, "W-what is this!? What did you do Elizabeth!?"

"Go to sleep."

All of a sudden darkness enveloped everything around Akko and she was alone in the void unable to move. As she stood in the center looking around she could hear the strange noise of a beast breathing coming from above. She looked above her to see a terrifying humongous creature with a bulb-like body, its skin was a dark shade of blue like the night sky, and it had six eyes that were a vivid cerise.

The beast roared at Akko and slowly descended upon her with its mouth that was bigger than a house wide open. Akko began to tense up as she struggled harder.


"Was that all, Akko~?"

Elizabeth sighed as she plunged the Spear Gungnir into the dirt while leaning on it. She stared over at Akko who was standing as still as a statue. Her head was up towards the ceiling with her mouth hung open, drool coming out.

"This is a powerful illusion spell that my mother showed me only in books," Elizabeth stated, "You will be trapped in a six-long cycle of nightmares. It should cease in about…sixty years give or take. But~…"

Elizabeth inched closer to the frozen Akko.

"If you have something more to show me I would love to—"

"Argh…"

"Hm?"

"ARRRGGHHH!"

A strange dark scarlet light was surrounding Akko's body. Powerful winds circled it and were strong enough to push Elizabeth back. The vampire girl quickly got back on her feet and smiled maddeningly at the light.

"There we go~!" Elizabeth said. "I was wondering when you would awaken~…"

"ELIZAAAABEETTTTHHHH!"

Like a grenade, Akko's body exploded into a mist of red. Elizabeth tried to stand her ground but powerful winds from the explosion pushed her back. Once the winds had calmed Elizabeth opened her eyes and smiled at the monster before.

Nothing about Akko was human anymore; her skin was dark gray like ash, her hair was dark red with curves and points upwards, there were strange black markings under her eyes that were now black with monstrous red irises, and her nails were as long as the claws of a tiger. She growled like a lion while slowly approaching Elizabeth who had her arms open wide.

"This is it!" Elizabeth shouted joyfully as her cheeks reddened. "I'm so happy right now, Akko! You would not believe—"

"ARRRRYYYY!"

Like a cheetah Akko sprang at Elizabeth, this time being ten times faster than before. Even Elizabeth, for a second, seemed surprised as Akko's strong arms began to crush her shoulders.

"AHHHHHH!"

Elizabeth screamed as Akko latched on to her, her legs trapped her waists as Akko's arms locked her upper body.

"T-THAT'S AKKO, HARNESS THAT POWER AND— A-AHAAA!"

But Akko did not listen as she slowly opened her mouth to reveal sharp monstrous teeth. She brought them down and bit into Elizabeth's shoulder releasing a stream of black blood.

"YAAAHHHHH!" Elizabeth screamed out in pain as Akko's teeth were going deeper into her flesh. "T-TRYING TO TAKE MY BLOOD NOW— AKKO!?"

But the brunette ignored her and chomped harder on the already destroyed shoulder.

"A-AKKO! T-THIS IS AMAZING! I-IT ONLY TOOK YOU A SINGLE DAY TO GET THIS FOR— JUST KNOW THIS IS ONLY THE APPETIZER!"

After a while, Akko finally released Elizabeth and let her drop to the floor. The vampire cackled as his body continued to bleed. She immediately got up and jumped all the way to the back of the garden.

Meanwhile, Akko grabbed up the Shiny Rod.

"Noctu...Orfei…"

Elizabeth could hear the spell's chant as she looked over with a smirk. She saw the lights of the Shiny Rod were no longer green like before…but a dark bloody red.

"...Aude…"

"That's it, Akko…don't hold back…"

Elizabeth held out her arms.

"...Fraetor!"

The staff transformed into a bow and Akko pulled back on the string as a golden arrow glowing with a demonic red aura materialized.

"COME ON AKKO! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"

"SHINY ARC!"

Akko released the arrow.

"Ha! Ha…oh shit—"


"Maybe we should go and give Akko some food, she must be starving!" Jasminka said with a muffled voice as she was shoving bread down her throat.

"Don't talk with your mouth full and you're right we should," replied Constanze who got before everyone else.

Amanda looked over at Professor Ursula who was still sitting and pecking at her food, "You wanna come and see Akko?"

Ursula looked up quickly.

"Um...no I'm good…"

"Why not?" Sucy asked with a strange hint of annoyance in her voice, "You've totally been avoiding her these past few days, just go see her."

"Sucy!"

Lotte said nervously as she tried to silence her pale friend.

"What? They totally need to make up."

Professor Ursula giggled awkwardly while scratching her head.

"Maybe some other time. I don't think Akko really wants to—"

"Nonsense!" Lotte said aloud, "Akko would love to see you!"

"B-but—"

*BOOM*

The dining hall erupted with screams as it seemed like the whole earth was caving in. Tables, chairs, and food started flying everywhere thanks to the sudden sound of an explosion and its powerful earthquake partner. After four seconds from its sudden appearance, the noise and earthquake ceased leaving the dining hall in a jumbled mess.

"W-w-what happened!?" Lotte screamed as she was still holding onto the table.

Storming into the dining hall was Professor Finnelan and a whole army of other teachers with their wands out.

"What's going on!?" Professor Julian yelled, "Are we under attack or something!?"

"Look! The explosion came from the botanical garden!"

A student was at the door that led outside, and she pointed at the now-destroyed botanical garden with all the glass scattered across the courtyard.

"What's going on?" Blair asked her teammates.

"Let's go check it out!" said Avery, who was the first to leave the dining hall, but it wasn't long until the other students followed her.

"Should we go too?" Constanze turned to the other members of the Green and Red team.

Amanda stepped forward, "I don't know about you guys but I'm sure as hell not gonna miss the action!"

With that Amanda joined the crowd of students who were leaving the dining hall. Not wanting anything bad to happen to their teammate Jasminka and Constanze followed her.

Lotte and Sucy remained by Professor Ursula who was slowly getting up from the floor.

"S-should we follow them?" Lotte asked Sucy.

Sucy shrugged, "Beats staying in this dirty place," and she walked off.

"H-hold on! Wait for me!" Lotte called out as she chased after Sucy.

"Wait! Do not go outside, stay here!" Professor Finnelan yelled out to them, but they were already gone. The stern teacher facepalmed and said, "Come on let's follow them!"

"C-coming!" Professor Ursula called out to her fellow professor as she was getting off the floor. "What could've happened?"


"AAAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHG!"

As Akko reverted back to her normal form, nearly fell back in surprise as an ear-piercing scream snapped her out of her stupor. She looked at her surroundings and saw that the botanical garden was practically destroyed. The glass walls were all blown off and the night sky with the stars fully visible.

But then Akko looked down at the ground to see the real horror.

It was Elizabeth, who was back to her normal appearance, swimming in a pool of red blood. Akko could tell she was still alive because she was groaning and screaming in pain as she was frantically moving. The young witch came closer to realize the purple-haired witch was holding onto her stomach for that was where all the blood was spilling. No wonder it was because right on that spot was a golden arrow lodged in there.

"W-what…are you doing?"

Akko was confused by the sight of the injured Elizabeth.

"J-just heal yourself! Just—"

"OH MY GOD!"

Akko looked up at the entrance to see a whole crowd of students looking at the horrific scene. Some of the students in front of the crowd Akko could recognize. It was her fellow members of the Red Team and the Green Team. Lotte had her hands covering her mouth in shock, Sucy just stared at Akko with disbelief, Jasminka looked like she going to throw up, Constanze was covering her eyes and shaking, and Amanda was looking more confused than anyone else in the crowd not knowing what to make of the scene.

"Elizabeth?!"

Getting out of the crowd were three students Diana, Barbara, and Hannah. When the three saw Elizabeth's state their faces drained of color, and they ran to her aid.

"Elizabeth!? ELIZABETH!" Hannah screamed as she held up her head.

"BY THE NINE— IS SHE DEAD!?" Barbara cried profoundly as she squeezed Elizabeth's right hand.

Diana checked her pulse.

"Not yet, but we need to hurry and get to the infirmary, or else she'll die in a matter of minutes!"

"Move out of the way!"

Coming behind the three was a hectic Professor Finnelan with her wand out. She cast a spell that caused Elizabeth's now unconscious body to levitate. She left the garden with a group of teachers protecting the purple-haired witch. Akko continued to stand where she was.

"W-what's happening? W-why isn't Elizabeth healing like before…?"

"We must hurry and get her treated!" commanded Professor Finnelan as all the teachers followed her all except for one.

Approaching the scared and confused Akko was Professor Ursula whose face at first seemed unreadable. Akko slowly looked up at her favorite professor, shaking.

"P-Professor Ursula? I-I can ex—"

*SLAP*

Akko did not even finish her sentence as Ursula swiftly slapped her, making the girl feel a fiery sting on her left cheek.

"H-huh…?" Akko held on to the cheek and looked up at the angry Ursula cowering in fear. "W-why…?"

The next thing Professor Ursula did was yank the Shiny Rod out of Akko's hands and once it was no longer in its wielder's hands it reverted back to normal.

"H-hey!" Akko yelled, "What are you-"

"QUIET!"

Akko snapped her mouth shut as Professor Ursula yelled at her and then the blue-haired professor forcefully grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the garden.

"Ow! Professor Ursula, please stop! You're hurting me!"

But the young Professor did not listen as she pushed Akko through the crowd.

Akko could almost see all the faces of the students and they were all looks of fear and disgust. They were hateful glances that made Akko want to curl up in a ball and roll away from there. But even as she got past the crowd, she could still feel their looks on her and she could not stop the tears from falling.

"What have I done…?"


Author's Note:

The next chapter is gonna be a tearjerker...

Please check out my own original web novel, "The Branded Hero Volume 1: Baxter the Failure". The tale of a hero who has been outcasted by the world since releasing The Demon King: /series/The-Branded-Hero-Volume-1-Baxter-the-Failure/info

And please check out my webcomic, "The Curse of Gringerfield" on Webtoon and Tapas!

Webtoon: https/en/canvas/the-curse-of-gringerfield/list?title_no=970667

Tapas: /series/The-Curse-of-Gringerfield/info

Next Chapter: Goodbye Luna Nova…