Chereads / Starlight Dream / Chapter 37 - Chapter 37

Chapter 37 - Chapter 37

"Impossible." Blood spattered from Yuuka's mouth, her breathing pained. Yet, Miko only tensed. Somehow, the briefest weakness she'd sensed had vanished despite the Devil Princess seemingly being on the ropes.

"Finish her!" Takako said.

"Got it!" But Seina tensed, clearly reluctant to deliver the killing blow. After a moments hesitation she gritted her teeth and leaped forward. Before her punch connected, however, it froze in place. Seina squirmed, finding herself unable to move.

With a graceful spin, Yuuka ripped herself free of Takako's ribbon. Blood stained her mouth and fireman's outfit, but the Devil Princess only gave a malevolent smile.

"Nice try!" Yuuka said. "You see. I stole the moment of my death. Thanks to my ability, I'm unkillable! Your little plan was pointless. Nothing can stop me."

"Oh, crap." Miko shivered, terrified out of her mind. What had she been thinking striking a Devil Princess?

"And don't think I've forgotten about you," Yuuka said, giving Miko a baleful glare. "I don't appreciate traitors, intendant. It should fill your heart with rainbows to give your life for my pleasure. Why else do you think we keep you around? I'll make sure your death is a most agonizing one."

"Hey, leave her alone," Seina said, standing protectively before Miko.

"Huh?" Miko blinked, confused why the other girl would do this considering their checkered past.

"So you can steal your ability to die? So what?" Takako said, joining the protective stance before Miko. "Now stop boring us and fight already."

This causal dismissal raised the Devil Princess's hackles. But her annoyance turned into a smirk, knowing something they didn't.

"I changed my mind. I won't transform after all. Too dull. Besides, I like this false hope. It'll make it much more fun when I crush you." Yuuka said.

"Yeah, get them!" Her fairy partner said with a cheer.

The Devil Princess stretched, cracking her neck. Yuuka flicked out a hand and, much to their collective amazement, summoned her two-handed broadsword. "Let the devastation begin!"

Seina was the first to meet the Devil Princess's wrath, Yuuka's oversized blade striking like a snake. While the girl was nimble, Seina couldn't avoid the blazing speed of the attacking broadsword. Steel met flesh, leaving a deep gash across the girl's torso.

"Now, I'll steal your ability to act on your own, foolish girl," Yuuka said with maniac glee. She clapped as Seina almost clipped Takako with a sudden swing.

"Hey! Get a hold of yourself." Takako summoned her ribbon around herself, deflecting a blow that would have crumpled her skull.

"Sorry!" Seina said, her eyes fearful. "I really can't control myself."

"That's right," Yuuka said. "And now you're going to kill all your friends!"

"No!" Tears stung Seina's eyes, unable to resist Yuuka's commands. From the sidelines, the Devil Princess watched like a happy peacock as Takako barely deflected Seina's blow.

How had the situation turned so disastrous, so quickly? Miko kept searching but found no weaknesses as Yuuka stood with her arms crossed.

A pained grunt escaped Takako's lips as a punch slipped past her defenses and struck her full in the chest. The girl's breathing turned pained as the blow crumpled her chest cavity into dust.

"Yep, that's the Seina I remember!" Takako said through bloody teeth, smiling from some private joke.

"I'm sorry!" Seina said, eyes widening in horror.

"Never fear. It isn't your fault." Takako replied, giving the hateful Devil Princess a baleful glare. "But I can change that."

Before Seina could slip away, Takako wrapped her ribbon around the girl's waist. Instead of ripping the compromised ally to shreds as Miko expected, it tightened its grip instead. Seina blinked and tested her fingers, surprised they operated again under her own power.

"Now, go get her," Takako said, her breathing pained as she started to heal. "I'll just rest over here if you don't mind."

"Understood," Seina said, summoning her wand and whipping a bubble toward Yuuka.

"What the?" The Devil Princess barely dodged away, staggering as the bubble burst with the force of several explosions. Miko winced, her ears bleeding from the sheer noise of the blast. Yuuka fared little better, howling in pain as Seina used the distraction to deliver a punishing blow to the gut.

"What?" Yuuka said, eyes widening. "I stole your will! You can't act on your own!"

"I imagined it back, sorry," Takako said, beaming from her resting place.

"You! You!" The Devil Princess seethed, stamping her foot on the ground, furious someone had undermined her game. Her blade danced in the air to take Takako's impudent head, but Seina intercepted it with her odd wand.

"I won't let you harm her," Seina said with a frightening glare, striking with a blow that sent the Devil Princess reeling.

Incredible. While the Devil Princess was an implacable foe, Seina was hurting her. But Miko knew their fortunes might change at any second. All Yuuka needed to do was touch Takako's ribbon, and she'd nullify its power with a thought.

Yuuka lunged forward, but Miko chose this moment to strike. While the Devil Princess slipped away from her kunai knife, it kept Yuuka from stealing Takako's power.

Not that Miko's luck lasted for long. She almost lost an arm as the blade dug into her right biceps. She gasped as her body fell limp, like a marionette with its strings cut.

"Not so tricky now, are you?" Yuuka said, pulling up one of Miko's limp arms and playing with it. "Sorry, but I've stolen your ability to move. Classic, right? Well deserved for a traitor!"

Panic set in as Miko stared up helplessly at her tormentor. The Devil Princess made it clear her demise won't be gentle. But once again, the mad Seina took a protective stance above her. What the heck was with his girl? Why fight to protect an enemy? And it cost her too, Miko watching in horror as Yuuka's two-handed broadsword almost bisected the girl.

Yet, she approached her doom without fear. Yuuka stared in astonishment as Seina grabbed hold of the giant weapon, despite its blade piercing several centimeters of her flesh. Yuuka tried pulling it free, but Seina refused to budge.

"Are you stupid or something?" Yuuka said. "I'll just repeat what I did to that intendant. I was bored with controlling you, anyway."

"Now!"

Yuuka howled in shock as a blade dug itself deep into her chest from behind. She turned to find Paliah grinning at her. The Devil Princess snarled, stretching her talon-like fingers out to grab hold of him,but was forced to jump away as a blade of energy slashed toward her neck. Ume grunted in annoyance, certain she'd have the killing blow.

"Hey, that's cheating trying to gang up on us!" Yuuka's fairy said in protest.

"Fair." Ume said, snorting in derision.

"Next time, call sooner!" Paliah said, readying his weapon. "You scared me half to death!"

"Yeah, I suppose so. But we needed her vulnerable." Seina tossed the enormous sword aside, holding tight the open wound across her middle.

"Two more? Pointless! Pointless! You still can't kill me!" But the Devil Princess's breathing turned labored. Unlike Takako's blow from earlier, Paliah had pierced her heart.

"And I have an ally," Yuuka said.

They watched in horror as Takako's ribbon slipped away from Seina's waist, re-enabling Yuuka's control. Miko cursed, realizing she'd missed that the Devil Princess's earlier slash had sliced a piece off.

Paliah howled in pain as he received a sudden blow from his partner, blood pooling from where it had crumpled his armor. He watched in terror as Seina bared down on him, eager to crush his skull.

"I'm sorry, Colten. I can't control myself!" Seina said.

"Don't worry about me. I got this," Pariah said, dodging a wild blow aimed at his head. Ume joined the scuffle, preventing Seina from hurting her partner more.

"Damn, what does it take to break Yuuka's curse?" Takako said. Even with her power of imagination, she couldn't match the Devil Princess.

Am I stuck this way forever? No, Yuuka's ability must have some counter. Focus Miko. You're the one best suited to this task. You can find its counter!

"Come on, kill each other! What's wrong, little knight? Can't protect your damsel? What a shame!" Yuuka said, clapping in delight as Seina wailed her fist at her fairy partner. And laughed harder as she crumpled Ume with a single blow.

"I'm coming!" Takako said, freezing as Yuuka blocked her way.

"I won't let you use that annoying trick again." The Devil Princess said. "Tell me, can you imagine where you don't end up as a crimson smear on the ground?"

Before Takako could reply, she gasped in shock as she suddenly found a hand piercing her chest. Without a sound she collapsed imobile on the ground, not even breathing.

"Takako!" But Ume dodged away as a sudden kick slashed toward her head. Only her reality-warping powers saved her from a follow-up attack.

The two engaged, Yuuka howling in delight as she chased the girl around, making her incapable of helping her friends.

No! No! No! Tears stung Miko's eyes, realizing how little of a chance they'd actually stood against this monster. Even if Emiyo and Chō rushed to help, they'd be just as useless. Then, like magic, Miko blinked as the latter suddenly appeared.

"..."

"What have you been doing, anyway?" Miko asked, curious why the girl hadn't appeared since the battle started. Instead of replying, Chō showed her notebook with half its pages missing. The girl smiled, wiping sweat from her brow.

"What have you been scheming?"

Chō pointed towards the sky. Miko gasped as thousands of the girl's distinctly designed robots appeared in mass, each slashing or shooting at their enemy at once. As usual, each had a distinctive design and appendage for battle. Chō was always the artist. Unprepared for this sudden onslaught, Miko watched in awe as the Devil Princess got shot from the sky.

"Worked better than I thought," Emiyo said. Like Chō, she appeared exhausted from some effort. To answer Miko's unasked question, Emiyo elaborated. "I desynced Chō's creations from time. Annoying to coordinate, but effective."

"You little!" Yuuka howled in fury, slashing into the robot horde with her two-handed broadsword. But they kept coming, stabbing and shooting the Devil Princess. It forced Yuuka to recall Seina to aid her against so many opponents. While Miko didn't doubt it was only a minor respite, it was a welcome one.

"Now it's up to you, Miko," Emiyo said, her tone serious. "How do we counter her stealing ability?"

As the Devil Princess fought, Miko focused her senses, searching for weaknesses and oddities. Few, to be honest. But something caught her eye, making her wonder. On Yuuka's belt were tiny specs of color, each sparkling in the sunlight. Wait, were those there before?

If she steals something, doesn't that mean it needs to go somewhere? It couldn't be that simple, right?

"The gems on her belt," Miko said with renewed confidence. "Destroy them, and I think it will restore anything she stole."

"Is that right?" Miko jerked as she suddenly found Paliah standing above her. "That makes this simpler."

"You… you have my power," Emiyo said. "I can feel it."

"Yeah, that's the freaky fairy I told you about!" Miko said with some vindictiveness.

Her friend's expression turned hard, thinking the fairy's existence was blasphemous. Emiyo snorted and turned away. "We can worry about that later. First, we stop that monster."

"Works for me. Together, we can accomplish the objective." Paliah said.

While this sickened Emiyo, she nodded in agreement. "Chō, watch over Miko." Then the two disappeared.

Together, the two proved a formidable team. The odd pair worked in tandem to assault their foe, pressing her hard. They flickered around the arena, never appearing in the same spot twice. Their attacks confounded Yuuka, who still suffered from the mechanical onslaught. Yet, the Devil Princess kept her waist out of reach, each swipe missing its target by a hair.

"Got my power figured out, do you?" Yuuka said, her tone containing open mockery. "Too bad. It's too little, too late!"

"No, I don't think it is." A voice said, poofing into existence from empty air. The Devil Princess jerked in surprise. The shock gave both Emiyo and Paliah the opportunity they needed. Yuuka howled in pain, her belt slipping from her waist as an energy blade cut it, while Pariah's sword pierced through her arm. Himari plucked it from the air and zipped away.

"Enough of this." Himari's bracelet jingled, and shards of leather exploded in every direction as the belt burst to pieces. "It is done."

"Thank you!" Seina said, experimentally flexing her hand. She beamed, gladdened to have her autonomy restored to her.

"This is really ticking me off." Yuuka's fairy said. "How many of you are there!?"

"Please stop this pointless fight," Himari said. "Go home in peace. There's no need to fight anymore."

"What?" The Devil Princess said, bewildered. "Me, surrender?"

"Please, this doesn't need to end badly," Himari said, trying to stay reasonable.

"No! You are all dying here! All of you! This entire planet. No universe. No, this sector is going to burn! Burn! Burn! Burn!" Yuuka said, losing her composure.

Fear stabbed at Miko's heart, the Devil Princess wasn't joking.

Before anyone could stop her, Yuuka resummoned her brooch. But it slipped from her hand, her injured arm unable to hold its weight.

"Don't worry, I got it!" Her partner said, snatching it from the air.

Yuuka gasped as Himari thrust a palm into her chest. Kindness gasped, suddenly falling from where she'd been perched.

The Devil Princess flailed, her body losing cohesion and breaking up into particles which dissipated in the air. Genuine fear flickered over Yuuka's face but before she could utter a curse, the Devil Princess vanished into nothing.

"It's done," Himari said, her tone grave.

"Yuuka!" Her partner said, shaking from shock.

"You destroyed her?" Miko said, wide-eyed. While injured, it shouldn't have been that easy! What the heck was this girl's power?

"No, I threw her body into a higher universe," Himari replied. "Sorry it took so long, but that trick Ume suggested took longer than expected to learn. I kept destroying the test object by accident!"

"And it worked just as I hoped," Ume said, smug. "It isn't death, but an eternal prison is a nice second."

"What? You didn't kill her?" Emiyo said, incensed.

Miko had to agree. What kind of stupid plan was that? Yet, despite Yuuka's injuries, the Devil Princess's weaknesses were minuscule, almost nonexistent. Even in her civilian form, she might have been too insurmountable a foe.

"..."

"Yeah." Miko had to agree with Chō. The hypothetical questions didn't matter as long as Yuuka was gone. "So, she's stuck there forever?"

Himari only shrugged. "I found my way back, but I doubt the Devil Princess can. At worst, it's a slight delay at least."

"You… you!" Kindness said, beyond furious. "You won't get away with this! She'll be back and kick all your butts!"

"And I will, I guarantee that!" A voice said, pure terror, making Miko's spine go rigid. Impossible. They all turned to find Yuuka standing there in her magical girl outfit. Impossible! She found a way back already?

But there was something wrong about the Devil Princess, wronger than usual. Her usually prim haircut was free-flowing and disheveled. But it was her expression that showed true wrongness. Her face twitched, incapable of holding still. Any self-discipline and self-control had vanished, unleashing the mad beast within. What the hell had happened to her?

"You thought I couldn't escape. But I did, I did! Searching, searching, I went, and I found. I knew I'd find it, eventually! And I did!" The Devil Princess said. "I found you!"

Miko retreated a step, taken aback by Yuuka's incoherent ramblings. She spoke so quickly, Miko only caught a word or two.

"This isn't good. She must have spent eons in the upper dimensions!" Himari said. "Time flows differently there. It must have damaged her already fragile mind."

"Yuuka, what's wrong?" Kindness said, rushing to her partner's side. But howled as Yuuka slashed dagger-like fingernails toward her. In her madness, she couldn't even recognize her best friend. They all watched in shock as the fairy exploded into dust and nothingness. Impossible, she'd killed her own fairy partner.

"Death! Death to you all!" Yuuka howled. "I stole everything that gave that fairy life! I wonder whose partner it was? I hope they didn't need their power!"