Kasey argued with Belasco the next morning about letting her take the day off. But Belasco refused to train her until tomorrow and locked himself in his gaming room. Kasey stormed downstairs and angrily took a bite of an apple. Shobek played on the console until he noticed Kasey's presence.
"What's wrong?" Shobek paused his game and looked over at her.
"Belasco is making me take a day off," Kasey responded before taking another bite.
"Shouldn't you be happy you get a day off?" Shobek got up and walked over to her, a hand gently touching over a bruise that was left on her cheek. "He beat you up pretty badly.."
"I want to train! Besides, most of the scratches are already healed. The bruises are mostly faded too." Kasey responded pulling away from Shobeks touch.
"I didn't know you had fast healing," Shobek stepped back to give her space.
"I didn't either," Kasey said around a bite of the apple.
"I could try to train you...?" Shobek hesitantly offered.
"No." Kasey instantly shot the idea down. "I want training, not death."
Shobek frowned, "I wouldn't ever hurt you."
Kasey finished her apple and threw it away, "then it's not training, is it?"
Shobek sighed and walked back to the couch and sat down. Ananta looked up at him and he gently pets her before becoming up his controller. "You could always play a game with me."
"No thanks. I'm gonna go train." Kasey stated as she slid on her shoes.
"How?" Shobek perked up, glancing back at her.
"I'll just practice projectiles and my demon eye. Anyways, I'm leaving! I'll be in the field if you need me." Kasey shouted as she walked out the door.
Shobek instantly paused his game and ran after her, "by yourself!?"
"Yeah." She said as she started to walk through the backyard towards the forest.
Shobek grabbed her elbow and made her turn to look at him, "that's too dangerous!!"
Kasey pulled away and frowned, "I'll be fine."
Shobek frowned, "let me go with you! I'll just watch. I promise."
Kasey shook her head, "no. I wanna be alone."
"Why?" He asked as Kasey pulled away from him.
"Better concentration. Bye."
Shobek helplessly watched Kasey stroll into the woods, trying to decide whether to piss her off by following or trusting that she'd be okay... "shit..."
After making it to the field, Kasey double-checked to make sure she wasn't being followed. The main reason she didn't want any prying eyes is that she felt silly trying to figure out the hand signs and poses she need to do to make her magic work. She found the fireball spell purely by chance and only shot a small ball the size of a bullet. It's only gotten larger the more she's practiced. As a warm-up, Kasey shot a few fireballs the size of a softball. Slowly she figured out that the longer she holds the ball, the larger it gets. When she first conjures it, it's the size of a softball, but if she holds it long enough she can make it the size of a basketball before she can't stand holding it any longer and has to release it. Wheezing, Kasey watched the fireball fly until it hit a fence that was on the other side of the field.
"It goes pretty far, huh?" Kasey mumbled to herself. After catching her breath she then closed her eyes and started to direct her magic to her left demon eye. After opening it, she winced from the light of the sun and squinted her eyes. Everything was a lot brighter to her left eye than to her right. Closing her right eye, she started to focus on a faraway building that suddenly seemed to be only a few feet away. Slowly, a dull throbbing started to appear in her eye and she released her magic, her vision again showing that the building was miles away. "Belasco wanted me to use my eye to see his movements... So does that mean his superspeed is seeable to other demons...?"
"That's right!" A male voice called out.
Kasey swirled around and instinctively shot a fireball.
Asmodeus barely dodged it in time and watched the thing fly until it hit a bush. "That's pretty powerful, huh beautiful?"
"What the hell do you want?" Kasey asked, her body slowly getting into a battle stance.
"Nothing. I just came to see what you were doing. I thought we should get to know each other a bit more...That's okay, right?" Asmodeus asked, his eyes glowing as he also got into a battle stance.
"I'm in the middle of training. I can't talk right now." Kasey scowled.
"Then allow me....to be your sparring partner!" Asmodeus's voice became a lot sharper as he also seemed to disappear in her view before reappearing right in front of her throwing a head kick.
Kasey managed to throw her arm up just in time to avoid getting her head kicked off but the force still sent her flying. Luckily, she managed to stay on her feet, her left eye glowing as she poured her magic into it to track his movements as he tried to come up and kick her again. Successfully dodging him, Kasey backed up, her left eye pulsing in pain.
"Not bad beautiful...But don't think I'm done just yet!!" He increased his speed and threw a few punches, Kasey getting grazed by the first one before getting his rhythm and dodging the next few. Thinking she finally had her chance, she throw a jab in hopes of at least getting him off balance.
He was quicker than her and instead of dodging, grabbed her arm, turned it elbow down, and slammed his knee up into it. Kasey screamed in pain as her arm broke, her balance instantly faltering once he let her go, she fell back, holding on to her broken right arm. Her demon eye pulsed and throbbed until it became so blurry she couldn't see out of it anymore. she finally closed her left eye, a liquid running down her left cheek. She reached up and wiped it away, thinking it was a tear until she realized...it was red. No, it was blood. Her eyes sprang open as she looked at the blood on her left hand. Her left eye was still too blurry to see anything.
"Awww.... look at the poor baby...Do you need some help beautiful?" Asmodeus asked as he crouched down in front of her, wiping some blood off her cheek and licking it off his fingers.
Kasey instantly moved back, disgust written all over her face. Asmodeus frowned at that and grabbed her ankle. He slowly moved his way over her, his hands pinning her legs down as he pouted, "it's not nice to look at someone with that look you know..." His words grew harsher as he dug his long black nails into her knee. "You might make them VERY angry.."
Kasey held back a scream as she choked on some tears.
"Now, let's try this again... I just want to talk, alright..? But if you're good, I might give you a treat." Asmodeus leaned closer and licked her neck, causing Kasey to shiver in disgust. "Oh, don't be like that... I can be gentle if it's your first time...I can SMELL the virgin on you. It's quite delicious."
Kasey started to squirm again until her eyes widen in realization. She wasn't this weak anymore. She had weapons in her arsenal. She just needed to use them right. Kasey instantly lit herself on fire, her pink fire sparking up along her skin as her eyes glowed with power. Asmodeus instantly reeled back, jumping away from her. Kasey forced herself onto her feet.
"Well done, beautiful!" Asmodeus called, clapping his hands. "Anything else?"
Kasey didn't have much else to throw at him. She might have a few more powers and some more strength, but she was still far too weak to fight anybody. Kasey panted softly and glanced towards the trees, she couldn't make a break for it. She'd never make it. If she could signal for help... Like a flare. A FLARE. If she can manage to make her fireball combust instead of stay in its form until it hits something... That could work! But can she even fire it with one hand? It's worth a shot....
Kasey lifted her good hand and gathered her flames to her hand and shot it at Asmodeus. It clearly wasn't as strong, and it wasn't in the shape of a ball either. More like an arrow. A very....wobbly....unrefined...arrow.....
Asmodeus laughed and stepped to the side to let it fly past. "That's far too slow, beautiful! You'll have to go...." Asmodeus again appeared in front of her, throwing another kick. "MUCH faster!!"
Kasey couldn't block it, it was on the right side! Her arm was useless right now!
Kasey gasped in pain as the force flung her again. She landed hard on the ground and rolled. If it had been a headshot instead of in the side, she would most definitely of been dead. Kasey shakily shot an arrow in the sky and controlled it to break apart. But it didn't make noise. This wasn't going to work. Would they even come...? Would they know she was in trouble...?
Asmodeus's steps grew closer until he paused beside her and stepped on the wound on her leg. Kasey instantly cried out and again shot an arrow into the air. This time making it burst like a firework. It wasn't the best work, but it definitely popped. "I think you missed, beautiful..." Asmodeus whispered. "Are your eyes that bad? Maybe I should just take them so you won't have to worry about your failing sight...Would that be okay?"
Kasey shot two more consecutively as Asmodeus stomped on her leg wound before crouching down. Kasey cried out from the pain, panting as her heart started to sink. Even if they got here, they would probably be too late.
"Kasey! Hey! I brought you some food–" Belasco froze, the lunch box dropping to the ground as his swords appeared and his look changed into his battle uniform. He was instantly beside Asmodeus, swinging to slice off his head.
Asmodeus teetered back just in time and then vanished to appear a few feet away. "Seems like we'll have to continue this conversation another time, beautiful! Say hello to Shobek for me!!"
And then, he was gone.
Belasco instantly took to trying to tend to Kasey's wounds as the girl shook violently. "I should've come sooner, I am so sorry... I... I should've just agreed to train with you..."
Kasey didn't say anything, she sat still for Belasco as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some bandages, his battle uniform fading back into his jeans and T-shirt. He carefully wrapped up her leg and her eye before he started to work on setting her arm back into place. "This is going to hurt, but the bones need to be in their proper place...."
It took thirty minutes to get the bones set. Another two for Kasey to stop screaming, and fifteen for them to arrive back at the house. Shobek became as pale as a ghost and refused to leave her bedside as Belasco phoned the most trustworthy doctor there was.
Kasey lay on her bed, exhaustion slamming into her as she finally started to feel secure in her surroundings again. I was still too weak to protect myself... I'm still a burden... Nothing's changed.....
Nothing is going to change if I stay like this.....
Nothing... will...change...