Later in the evening, I sighed behind the filter mask I wore as I waited for Jett to arrive. She stated that if I wanted to talk, to meet her at the abandoned church on the western point of Crown City. The roofs had been too exposed in the evening, so now I'm out here at 4 in the morning to meet with "01."
I knew it was probably a trap but what choice did I have? There was the Quest and I really was short on information.
The only option I had without long-term consequences would be to meet her. I could ignore her but she did not seem like the type to just let me go, especially since she had tailed me. I'd be setting myself up to be jumped when I least expected it—better to walk into an ambush waiting to happen instead.
And the lack of information left me with so many unanswered questions. Why did she try to kill me? Why did she kill Rosettia Fillemund? "Jett" basically hunted me down with malicious intent from the start.
What was driving her to do this? What did she know as a Partner that I did not?
So, here I was, wearing a black face mask I used for sports to further obscure my identity in this somewhat secret meeting. Just in case something incriminating happened. I also wore the bracers I bought at the same time, distinctly remembering the sharp weapon she tried to stab me with.
The gloves were supple and the steel-lined leather was barely noticeable. It probably wouldn't protect me from blunt force trauma but as long as I had something in case the shields went down, I could take a few bruises.
After all, not sure if I can regrow a missing limb. It was probably unlikely and 37 agreed.
I changed into something a bit more nondescript than my hoodies and sweats. Clothes that blended in fairly well with local styles with a black hooded cloak thrown over.
Considering I was at the highest point of the abandoned church, I saw Jett coming and the fact she also chose to wear something more comfortable(?).
Makeup or some
I resisted the urge to clap my hands when she jumped onto the roof and balanced perfectly despite wearing high heels. Instead, I hopped down so we were on the same level.
"Right on time," I remarked. "Rather chilly out tonight, isn't it?"
She seemed to ignore my comment about the weather. "You actually came."
"Did you think I wouldn't? I mean, you were the one who said to meet later…"
Jett gave me a look as if she were unsure if I were an idiot or simply pretending to be one. "I cannot tell if you are naive or just that confident in your abilities to meet someone who tried to kill you in a place without witnesses."
Oh, this girl was rather blunt, wasn't she? Might make things easier, if I could get her to actually speak up.
"Whoa!" I saw the mana being shaped and dodged the attack.
Shadow-based magic. Judging by the odd reddish-tinge of the black blade of energy, it would be something similar to a
"So," I continued as I stepped back from her attempt to grab my collar. "About that—"
I leaned my head back to dodge her high-kick, a part of me registering the shine of the heels.
"—talk."
This Partner obviously was rather deadly if she even had a hidden blade in her shoes. Definitely meant to murder me.
I continued to barely avoid her attacks, only able to do so since she learned a martial art. They tended toward patterns and had extra movements that did not make it ideal for a real fight.
When she seemed to back me against the wall, I simply flipped over her form.
"Stop dodging!"
"Hey, come on!" I was a little hassled as I brought my arms up and guarded against her knife. "I thought we were going to talk!"
"You want to talk?" she asked as she continued her furious attack, "Then let's talk!"
I didn't even bother to suggest we talk calmly when she started speaking while trying to get the upper-hand to stab me.
"You are just a stepping stone like Forty-Two! I will be the strongest. I am the best. Crown City is just the beginning. You are not my opponents and not even that Yubi is a match for me. This world will burn!"
Yubi?
Despite myself, I was startled at the mention of the name and froze.
"Yubi?"
Jett took advantage of my moment of weakness and sent a