The Light of a Broken Destiny:
Heads will roll
"Scouts," Kikimora commended, "Take the human. I owe the Owl Lady."
The scouts wordlessly left the small demon's side and charged at Hiro. Kikimora took to the skies and aimed her arm canon as Eda came down on her.
Hiro stopped his charge and got into a fencing stance. From the sidelines, Darius cocked an eyebrow when he noticed that the human's sword was now a rapier with a guard made out of vines.
Darius didn't get a chance to study the sword further as Hiro took a jab with his sword, vines with sharp tips surging forward. The scouts were fast; one made a spell circle, and a stone wall burst from the ground.
Hiro grinned as he mentally commanded his vines to dart to the sides of the wall, going around it. His grin dropped when he heard a sizzling sound, and a second later, he watched as the vines withered.
Hiro grabbed the vines at the roots and pulled them off his sword, dropping them to the ground as they completely withered away. Looking back at the wall as it fell, he saw one of the scouts with a potion vial.
"...Clever," the swordsman said coldly, thrusting his sword to his side, the blade returning to its original shape.
The scout threw his potion, and Hiro cocked an eyebrow when he saw how lossy the toss was. He held out his hand and used his celestial fire to snipe the potion. He groaned when he felt something hit his stomach.
Hiro stumbled back slightly and looked down. A sharp piece of stone was stuck in his side. He scoffed at this and pulled the piece out without a second thought. After the stone piece was pulled out, a green fire erupted from the wound. The fire died down after a few seconds, and the wound was completely healed, with only the evidence being blood on the man's jacket.
"I gave you your free hit," Hiro said coldly, looking at the scouts as he dropped the stone piece. "Now, it's my turn."
Hiro disappeared in a blur of motion, but the scouts didn't panic. They formed a circle and drew spells as they calmly looked around. Hiro suddenly appeared to the right of the group and jumped into the air. He delivered a flying roundhouse kick, connecting with a scout's head.
The scout grunted as he flew into another scout, and both were sent to the ground. The other scouts ignored their members who were taken down and let their spells fly. Turrets of fire surged over the swordsman as he landed.
Hiro stood calmly as the fire surged around him. He began walking towards the scouts, and they pooled more magic into their spell, increasing the fire. The scouts didn't panic as Hiro continued to approach them.
When Hiro was within range, he swung his sword. One of the scouts screamed as his hand was cut clean off. This seemed to finally knock some sense into the scouts, and they jumped away from Hiro, leaving their injured member behind.
"Hmm," Hiro looked at the hand at his feet, "No blood. That's could only mean one-woah!"
Hiro ducked the punch the injured scout threw and got behind him. He brought his sword against the scout's neck and pulled in. The scout's head came clean off, no blood spilling as it flew away from the body.
"...Created soldiers," Hiro muttered, sheathing his sword. "This just got a lot easier."
He got into a karate fighting stance and looked at the created soldiers as they readied themselves for the coming fight.
(Meanwhile, with Eda)
Eda dodged blasts as she dropped onto Kikimora's machine, snarling at the small demon. "You know, I didn't think you were dumb enough to go bed-buddies with another tyrant," she scoffed.
"What can I say," Kikimora replied rather casually, "I like someone with power."
She then took a swing at the harpy with her machine hand. Eda jumped high into the air, dodging the blow, and dropped. She aimed her talons at the cockpit of Kikimora's machine. The small demon reacted by turning up her jetpack output and flying at high speed at the harpy.
Eda darted to the right when the robot tried to ram into her. Unfortunately, that was what Kikimora wanted as she aimed her canon at Eda and fired. The harpy woman gasped as the blast hit her, sending her hurling to the ground.
Eda groaned as she tried to shrug off the pain she felt when Kikimora landed with a loud boom. The ex-wild witch looked as the demon aimed her arm canon at Eda's head.
Kikimora was grinning as her weapon charged but frowned when the Abomatron began glowing. She rolled her eyes and pressed a button to her right. Her machine hummed for a second, and the glow faded.
"Oh, Darius!" she called over her shoulder, looking at the former Coven head. "You really thought our wise empress wouldn't have taken steps to prevent you from taking over my Abomatron, did you?"
Kikimora felt the weight of her machine shift and looked forward. Eda grinned as she raised her left arm, making a fist.
"Nah," the harpy woman replied cockily, "but it makes for a good distraction spell."
Eda brought her fist down, and Kikimora grinned as she flipped a switch. Eda screamed as a surge of electricity went through her. She fell from the machine, her body going numb as Eda dropped out of her harpy form. She hit the ground with a thud and moaned as she tried to move.
"The Empress knows you all so well," Kikimora taunted arrogantly, aiming her canon at the prone witch, "It's a wonder how you all lasted as long as you did."
The Abomtron's canon began charging up as the tiny demon grinned murderously. Eda tried to move, but her body was hurt to obey her commands.
"And with you all taken care of, you silly rebellious will end," Kikimora said arrogantly, "And best of all, I will be the one to end it!"
Eda chooses to meet her end with dignity as the canon finishes charging. Just as Kikirmora fired, a vine-made fist bursts through the ground and rams into the canon. The weapon is forced to the sky, and its blast harmlessly flies into the horizon.
Kikimora growled as she watched Hiro appear in front of Eda, sword in hand. The small demon looked around and saw her scouts without their heads, abominations matter leaking out their necks. She happened to see the rebels and noticed their shocked expression.
"How did you know?" Kikimora snarled, glaring at the human.
Hiro glared at the demon, swung his sword to turn it back to normal, and sheathed it. He then got into a fighting stance and finally replied.
"Simple," Hiro stated coldly, "I had a habit of cutting Witches' hands off. When I saw no blood, I had a hunch about what was going on."
Kikimora growled as she glared at the human. Hiro also glared at the demon and charged. Kikimora was caught off guard at the human's speed; he reached her within the blink of an eye. Panicking slightly, the tiny demon activated her machine's jetpack and soared into the air as Hiro tried to punch her.
"HA! What can you do now that I'm in the air?" Kikimora taunted smugly.
Hiro glared at the demon for a second, then bent forward, right arms in front of him. He clenched his fist as air started to swirl around him, catching everyone by surprise.
"Phoenix Wings!"
Hiro jumped into the air, a burst of green flames coming off his back. Everyone could only gawk as a pair of wings formed from the fire, and with a quick beat, the human was launched at Kikimora.
Now, in full panic, Kikimora thrust one of her control sticks forward, causing her machine to punch Hiro right as he got close. The human barely gasped as the punch connected and took his head clean off.
(SC)
With a moan, Akari pushed herself back to the waking world. She slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, blinking as she looked around.
"Awake, I see," Willow said coldly, causing Akari to look to the right.
The Japanese girl found the plant witch in front of a fire, some small animals roasting over it. Akari moved to stand up and moaned as a wave of dizziness hit her. She dropped to her knees and held her head as her vision blurred.
"Sorry," Willow said coldly, "I don't use sleep spells a lot. I think it should clear soon."
Akari just remained in her spot, letting her head clear. It took a minute, but the Japanese woman's head cleared, and her vision returned.
She took one final, calming breath and slowly looked up. Akari suddenly gasped when she noticed the fire and looked around frantically. They were out in the open, with very little cover in all directions, which meant the fire could easily be spotted.
"Don't worry," Willow's cold voice said. "I put up an illusion before I started the fire. Now come and eat."
Akari took one last look around before joining Willow at the fire. She looked at the animals and saw that one was slightly larger than the other. She grabbed the smaller one, causing Willow to give the swordswoman a look.
Akari said nothing and just ate, trying to ignore the looks Willow was giving her. After a few tense seconds, Willow picked up her meal and began eating as well.
The human and witch ate in awkward silence, with Willow stealing glances at Akari. The swordswoman noticed the looks she was getting and decided to make small talk.
"So, when did you start studying other kinds of magic besides plants?" the second those words left her mouth, Akari realized her mistake.
Willow eyed the Japanese woman suspiciously. Akari didn't look away; she did, however, give a nervous smile that triggered a memory from the plant witch.
Willow frowned as Akari was replaced with an image of her best friend making the same gesture. She could feel tears forming in the corner of her eyes and willed them and the image away.
"And how would you know about what I study?" Willow asked suspiciously.
Akari rubbed the back of her neck, sighed, and was about to say something. Suddenly, they heard a noise.
Willow made a spell circle, and vines wrapped around the fire, quickly smothering it. Akari spun around, dropping to her stomach and grabbing her sword. Once she was done with the fire, Willow made another spell circle and condensed the illusion field to cover only the two.
The Plant witch got down next to Akari and kept quiet as a group hurried into the area. It was an elderly female witch and two witchlings, maybe her grandchildren? The elderly witch was looking around in a near-hysterical way.
The witch's paranoia wasn't unfounded; two scouts and one captain suddenly appeared, spell circles ready. The elderly witch pushed the witchlings behind her and tried to put on a brave front.
"You are in violation of order 86, subsection A," the captain said coldly. "This is your first and final infraction. As such, you will be shipped to a factory for processing immediately."
Akari frowned as she remembered one of the scouts saying similar things when they cornered Willow. However, before she could wander further, she had a growl and looked at Willow.
The plant witch was shaking with anger. Willow's face was twisted in a deep scowl, and her eyes were filled with murderous intent as she glared at the scout trope. Her teeth were clenched, and she was gripping the scar on her forehead to the point that she was drawing blood.
Akari sensed where things were going and acted quickly. She grabbed Willow and pushed down just as the witch was about to lunge forward.
"If you know what's good for you," Willow threatened, glaring at Akari, "You will let me go."
"No," Akari replied firmly. "We can't risk getting into a fight and let those bystanders get caught in the crossfire. Or worse, let the scout use them against us if they got caught."
Willow growled, but after letting her rage cool for a second, she couldn't deny the swordswoman's logic. Still, it was hard to keep herself in control, especially when she heard a scream. The human and witch looked at the group and saw the scouts advancing on the elderly witch.
"Well, I hope you have a plan?" the Flyer Derby player asked harshly.
"I do," Akari replied, nodding, "Just keep your spell on us."
Willow growled in frustration but did as she was instructed as Akari stood. Crutching low, the Japanese woman made her way behind the scouts. Once behind one of the scouts, she slowly stood up and took her sheathed sword from her back. She raised her sword over her head and brought it down on the scout's head.
The scout grunted as he fell to the ground, and Akari quickly turned her attention to the second scout. She jabbed her sword into the scout in the gut. The scout doubled over, and Akari punched them in the face.
Willow dropped her illusion and wrapped the two down scouts tightly in vines. The captain looked toward the witch and human, and while his face couldn't be seen, it was clear that he was scowling.
"Well, if it's one of the most wanted criminals on the entire Isles," the captain said coldly, then looked at Akari. "Hmm, a human. I didn't think the grand Empress summon another one of your kind."
Akari narrowed her eyes at the captain as she placed her sword back on her back. Something about this captain was familiar to her. She ignored this feeling and used her speed to rush the captain. She tackled him and pushed him away from the bystanders.
The captain glared at the human and brought his fist down on her back. Akari grunted from the blow and fell to the ground, releasing the captain. He hurried away from the human as she jumped to her feet. He made a spell circle and aimed it at Akari.
What the captain didn't know was that Willow was coming up behind him. She created a stone club from the ground, grabbed it, and bashed the captain over the head with it.
Unfortunately, she was too late. The spell was unleashed, and a fireball flew at Akari as the captain fell. Willow gasped as she watched the ball of flame head straight toward Akari.
Akari wasn't afraid of the ball and got into a boxer stance. Her body glowed tan, and she threw a right jab, meeting the fireball as it reached her. The fireball exploded on contact but didn't harm the human.
The plant witch ran up to the human, showing concern for Akari since meeting her.
"Are you okay?" Willow asked in worry.
Akari couldn't help but smile at the witch's concern. She was about to answer when her eyes snapped open. She grabbed Willow and dove to the ground, barely dodging a giant stone slab aimed at their heads.
The human and witch looked behind them and saw that the captain was already back on his feet and making another spell circle. Willow wasn't going to have it, so she made a spell circle of her own. A vine burst through the ground and stuck the captain under the chin.
The captain grunted as he flew backward, helmet flying off. He landed on his back with a thud. Willow and Akari got to their feet, cautiously watching the captain. The captain twitched slightly but otherwise didn't move.
The two sighed when they figured the captain was knocked out. Akari looked towards the witch group and was glad they managed to escape during all the chaos. She then looked at Willow with a grateful smile.
"Thanks," Akari said gratefully.
Willow nodded and said, "Yeah, but we should go. There are usually more than three scouts in a party."
Akari looked at the downed scouts and then at Willow. She nodded, and Willow returned the gesture. The young athlete looked around to get her bearings and hurried past the captain. Akari followed after the witch, but unlike Willow, she looked at the captain as she ran by him.
The Japanese girl came to a dead stop in front of the captain. She couldn't help but gawk at the sight before her, eyes shrinking and face paling.
It didn't take long for Willow to notice Akari wasn't following and doubled back.
"Hey!" she said, "We don't have time to stand around."
Akari wasn't listening; she was too focused on the captain. Willow frowned and looked down at the captain. What she saw caused her eyes to snap open, her jaw to drop, and her hands to shake slightly.
"WHAT IN TITAN'S NAME IS THIS!?" Willow screamed in disbelief.
(G Corner)
What did Akari and Willow find out about the captain? And has Hiro truly lost his head? Find next time!