Amelia walked through a hallway with blinding white lights shining off of pristine walls, making it so much more bright than what she was comfortable with.
"I'm still amazed nobody has complained about the lights." She complained as she stared up at them, her right eye twitching.
She could feel the heat the longer it went on as she stared at the light. Maybe I should add something to have an automatic adjustment to the surroundings. She gripped her shirt and fanned her own body with it.
"You're a bit dramatic," Aeon's voice chimed in.
She glanced at him as she continued to fan herself, "Ah. You're he-"
With a grin on his face, he placed his hand on her head. Her movement stopped immediately as her gaze gradually turned into a glare the longer his hand remained static on her head. He did eventually start moving it and ruffling her hair like a child. Her gaze softened in response to the gentle smile on his face, one that remained even as annoyance was expressed all across her face.
"I question your… uh.."
She wanted to speak but not a single word left her lips. Amelia noticed that Aeon struggled to muffle his laughter, his hand still ruffling her hair. Her right eye started twitching again, a faint blush on her face. Despite knowing what might happen to him, he continued his actions. The smile on his face only made her blush more.
"Stop it." She swatted his hand away and brushed her hair to fix it.
His muffled laughter bursted out as he started high-pitched wheezing. She slapped his shoulder; he was still laughing loudly. She glared at him while the blush became more apparent on her face. Under the lights, it accentuated the red on her cheeks which made him laugh so much harder than before.
"Be a little serious will you?" Annoyance was apparent in her tone.
He shrugged and thoroughly ruffled her hair one last time. He pulled his hand back right before she swatted it away from her head, like an embarrassed child being patted. Aeon hummed in delight; a genuine grin had entranced her. Her hands reached for his face as he continued to grin, perhaps that was something that interested her more than she had thought.
His lips never falter though his eyes could not help themselves.
It never failed to amaze him how small her hands were compared to his, although that was normal for him under most circumstances given his height. Maybe it was how she presented herself and their perception of her that made the difference apparent. Even his first impression of her was not that far off from what she was .
Time and time again, he questioned the validity of those thoughts.
His hands' inch closer to hers as they rest comfortably on his cheeks. Even if they were small they no doubt had quite the power on him. Amelia could see the faint shade of pink on his cheeks as it rested there much longer than he anticipated. Even this little affection of hers had gotten him blushing.
"You-"
His 'daydream' was ended abruptly by the force of Amelia's fingers pinching his cheeks. The pain caused him to hold onto her wrists instead, gently pleading for her to let go. The usual stoic expression on her face had begun to shift into something else, he was still chuckling gently even with the pain he was feeling.
A smirk presented on her lips, "I thought I asked you to be more serious, Mr Aeon Alchemilla."
"I would if you just let me go."
She let him go; His hands rubbed his cheeks.
"Dammit, that hurt more than I thought. I'm surprised that you let go so easily." He whined.
Amelia crossed her arms as his eyes darted to anywhere else but in front of him. His hands moved on their own, making her notice the remnants of emotions within him. She did not meet his eyes to confirm his emotions, his body had done so for her.
"You never cease to amaze me how you question my actions as though it's the first time you've seen it."
He went motionless as his eyes lowered themselves to the ground, staring at her feet instead of her face. This unspoken emotion was laid bare under the sun.
"I know. You also know why I feel that way too. But I just can't help it."
Even if his gaze was not facing her own, he could feel the lingering thoughts in his head as her gaze fell on him. He understood the way she was viewing him as of right now, however he continued to stand his ground. Her presence ate his whole; However, there was a reason why he still told her what he felt.
These things remained unstated between them.
"Your idiosyncrasies flatter your characteristics though don't mesh along when considered what you're working for."
Those words made his eyes stare directly at hers, this time without the intention of turning it away.
"Amelia. Could you... Phrase it normally, please?" His confusion was well-founded, to say the least.
She crossed her arms, "I would appreciate it more if you purposely didn't sound so staggered."
'Who told me to fight fire with fire again? Ah yeah, Zarnia. I should remember to not take every word of hers so seriously from time to time.' Aeon lamented internally.
From the corner of her eye, she could see a pair of purple wolf ears peeking out from the corner. From the way it twitched when she noticed it, it was listening in on their conversation. She made out a loud exhalation, rolling her eyes at the sight of it. He noticed it once he realised why she made such a reaction, knowing that it only happened due to someone being nearby.
"I'll be taking my leave then…"
She nodded, "Alright. I'll see around then."
As Amelia turned around to face the owner of the pair of troublemaker's ears, Aeon took a step forward and placed his head on hers. Though it was not directly above her head, instead his lips made contact with her hair. He took the chance in giving her a light kiss without kissing her directly on the lips.
This disorientated her the second she felt it.
She was going to say something to the pair of ears. Her mouth agape as she stood there, stunned. There was heat creeping up from her face to her ears. She cursed mentally when she noticed the ears seemingly twitch in excitement. A hearty laugh came out from the bottom of his heart as he stepped away.
"Well, I'll see you soon too~"
The light-hearted tone had always caught her off guard due to it appearing at the most confusing moment, especially to those unclear about their relationship, which included herself. She stood there for a solid minute while the only remains of Aeon were the gentle kiss on her head, even feeling the warmth after he had disappeared.
"Look at you~ So cute!" The owner of the ears has shown themselves.
A woman with purple wolf ears and equally purple wavy hair. Visibly she was not much shorter than Amelia but she leaned down in a way as if she was way taller. She hopped towards Amelia with a grin on her face, one that resembled an overly excited child. It was justified on her end since she had witnessed such a rare sight.
Amelia cleared her throat before speaking, "Still as childish as ever."
"Are you sure that I~ am the childish one~?"
She momentarily paused and held Amelia's cheeks in her hands, the smile on her lips expressed everything that Amelia needed to know about her emotions right now. Even the way she talked earlier, it was all for one reason and one reason only. Amelia hated every ounce of that reaction, wishing that it would go away.
"Look at you with your puppy cru--"
Getting interrupted was never a nice thing. However, getting interrupted by a painful jab to the gut was rather rude all things considered, intensely painful even. Zarnia's hand let go of them and instead opted to protect herself out of a kind of instinct. Even so, Amelia's fist still made contact with it before she could soften the blow.
The blush faded as Zarnia began holding her abdomen in pain. Her ears flattened on her head while her tail that was wagging was now touching the ground. Amelia shook her head, not having any feelings of sympathy or empathy for the fox woman being in pain.
"That h.. hurts... Amelia…"
She sighed, "You knew that was going to happen."
She had tears in her eyes and covered her face with her hands, the overhangs of her sleeves covering the rest of her chin down. She was still hunched over as the pain stayed, her body started to shiver from the pain and her whining about it.
"You're so cruel…"
Amelia's eyes squinched while she sighed lightly. Comparing the strength of her blows to the ones Zarnia would get, this time was lighter and less painful than usual. Her hands eventually came back down, showing her face once again. It was as clear as day that she did not shed a tear as it was not as painful as she made it seem.
Amelia said with a sarcastic undertone, "That seemed pretty painful hmm?"
"You did intentionally position your punch." Zarnia replied with her arms crossed.
She could tell that Amelia was eyeing to slug her in the gut specifically just above the black belt that made her outfit look like a part of the dress. Her eyes locked onto her hands as soon as she felt like Amelia was going to make a move. It seemed all too normal to her to have such a fast and concentrated reaction speed in such a small amount of time.
"You also feel it coming from a mile away, you should've not done what you did."
"Makes sense' But I will not stop at the chance to tease you."
"Ugh, masochist much?" Amelia said it in a disgusted tone.
That line made them both just stare blankly at each other. Amelia seemed to have realised something that Zarnia had nearly forgotten about. The pain subsided once their thoughts unintentionally aligned. Another blush once again crept up to Zarnia's face from her thoughts, making her entire body react accordingly.
Her ears stood up as her tail started wagging frantically with her hands matching the rhythm of them. Her mouth opened yet no words came out of it, instead, it was rambling that was near incoherent. Amelia could only make out a few of the words from the mumbling, even more if she decided to pay attention to what Zarnia was trying to say.
"N-no it's not… it's... It is... Not what... Uwaahhhhh... What… no no no …"
Eventually, Zarnia could only make out nothing but mumblings.
Amelia placed a hand on her head while her entire body was still panicking, "Don't worry about it okay? I'm not interested and it's not my place to say anything about it anyways."
"BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT??"
Her body movements halted as Amelia turned around, having a small smirk on her face. She raised her right hand and gave Zarnia a lazy wave, with her other hand now tucked in the pockets. Zarnia stood completely still as her brain continued to reflect on what she heard and Amelia's reaction.
People started crossing the hallway; some decided to pass by her and go about their day; some casually greeted her. The expression on their faces heavily implied that they were curious about what could have left the executioner so stunned. Although, none had stopped in asking her to satisfy their curiosity.
Until Diane crossed the hallway carrying a large amount of paperwork.
"Um… Miss Zarnia?" She stood in front of the now slightly recovered Zarnia.
She jolted up as her name was being called out, "Ah yes. What do you need, Diane?"
"Have you been standing here for long? It seems like so to me anyways."
Zarnia awkwardly laughed it off. Diane understood what she meant from it and gave a slight nod in response to it. Though asking further on would remove the question in her mind, it would cause Zarnia to be in even more of a distressed state than she was in currently. Diane smiled back softly even with the weight in her hands.
"There is some work for you to do. Although I do need your help to find that particular document."
She quickly nodded and grabbed the stack of paperwork then placed it on the ground. Diane guided her through finding the document that gave the details of the work she was assigned with. Her eyes did not move away from Zarnia's hand that were hurriedly looking for it, being able to catch up with her speed. Diane's smile did not fade as she stood there watching over her.
"Found it!" Zarnia's eyes lit up when she pulled it out from the pile.
"Ahahahah that's good. Hope you have a nice day." She bowed at Zarnia before she walked away.
Her usual happy-go-lucky demeanour faded away once she had gotten her work. There was still a lack of seriousness from her usually childish footsteps that were often associated with her. In some ways, she never really changed, no matter what had happened. She lowered her head, making sure to thoroughly read through the papers.
"She is an interesting person after all." Diane softly sighed.
She picked up the remaining documents from the ground and carried them to the office.
The door to the office was carved with golden flowers and vines. The flowers themselves seem unique as they had a combination of wisteria, anemone and daffodil. They blended into the walls just like every other office, dorms and storage in the entire place. Some days making Diane wondered why the office walls were painted in bright white.
She pushed open the door with her arm while firmly holding the paperwork in her hands. It was silent enough that she could only hear Amelia's pen over the papers. She placed the stack of papers on Amelia's table. Diane leaned over enough that she could see another large stack of paperwork that was given to her an hour ago while she was out.
Diane bowed to her before speaking, "Are you done with that all?"
Her eyes were drawn to the afternoon sun that shone through the only window in Amelia's office. The warm glow shined itself down on Amelia which gave her a gentle aura. It was a nice contrast to her usual manner in front of others, a change of feel that Diane welcomed rather happily.
"Yep. Just like usual." Amelia remarked while continuing to work on the reports.
Diane pushed out a lock of her wavy white hair out of the way, earning her a slight chuckle from Amelia. The polite smile on her lips changed to a more relaxed one, not keeping up her professional demeanor around Amelia.
"You've arranged the bookshelves?"
The office shared the same shade of white along with the marbled flooring as the outside hallways. It was much smaller than it appeared to be. The office was not heavily decorated and had little furniture. It had two dark long wooden desks that were separated by two bookshelves that aligned on the corner of the wall. There was also a standing clock beside the door.
Both were filled with books of different kinds, with a few that stood out among them.
"I got a bit bored and my hands wanted to do something real quick. So I rearranged it."
The books used to be arranged based on importance and according to category. Amelia rearranged it by something that Diane could not tell exactly. It might look a bit random since the heights were still all over the place but some were placed strategically. She understood her intentions but needed to grasp the logic.
"Should we ask for a cabinet space to place some of your papers here instead?" Diane's tone remained neutral while looking towards the corner of the room.
"Maybe. But most of them are classified so I would rather not."
She shrugged before continuing, "Besides, doesn't this place get invaded at times too? It would cause so much more problems than needed right now."
Diane did not say much else, knowing full well that she was simply speaking facts.
Amelia was still buried in papers, intently concentrated on finishing it all. Diane took a notebook out of her brown wool jacket that reached her waist. She cleared her throat while flipping open it and placing the white pen on top of it. Her writing was clean with the majority of it in point form.
"There were a total of three meetings up to this point. The first one was an extensive report of all decisions and activities made by the Divisions from their respective leaders. The second one was a preparation plan on raiding one of the cult's bases as per your request. The third one was about your current progress on the investigation of the cult's ringleader."
Amelia mocked when hearing the word, "Ringleader is giving him too much credit. He is just like them with the only difference being that he has a lot more power than them."
Diane nodded as she made a mental note in her head, "I will tell them to refrain from calling him ringleader then."
She raised her head for the first time since Diane walked into the room. She placed the paper onto the growing pile on the ground while the other hand waved along with the pen. There was this sense of annoyance from the way she waved.
"I will refrain from telling those bastards what to do. They can't listen to others aside from their inner circle. Particularly anything I say."
Diane reacted by lightly sighing as she was accustomed to the tense atmosphere when they stood in the same space. 'This is exactly why I get a little worried when I want to bring them up,' she thought internally.
Amelia scoffed, "Well then, give me a rundown of the first two. And the last one, just let it be. Unless there is something useful aside from what they think of me."
She flipped through some pages of it to see what she had written down about the last one. Aside from the agreed-upon meeting date and purpose of it, not much else was written. Diane looked over her notes and restructured her thoughts on them, making sure to only keep the important parts of it in if necessary.
'Let's not mention anything about it. I don't think she'd be pleased with what they said.' She thought to herself before talking again.
"From the first meeting. The reports were all handed in by their leaders and/or vice leaders as some leaders were absent from the meeting due to work. They are all general reports about the different status of research, investigations, experiments and documentation. For last month's workload, the only Divisions that finished up were the Field Investigation Division (F.I.D), Physical Documentation Division (P.D.D) and Species Specific Research & Medical Division (S.S.R.M.D). With the rest having to miss a week of workload as new tasks are given to by either other Divisions or The Council as priority tasks."
Amelia nodded and gestured to her to continue with her report.
"There are new documents that the General Investigation & Supervision Division (G.I.S.D) has given that gives an insight into the current task you're assigned to. Although I didn't receive the physical documentation of it since The Council is withholding it."
Amelia placed the last one on the pile clearing her desk of paperwork, with it being high enough that it reached her waist. She shook her head when she heard Diane finishing up the summary of the first meeting. Although she was not surprised, it still gave her a little more trouble than it was worth.
"Did they tell you why they withheld it?" She asked as she rubbed her temples.
Diane's shoulders tensed up as she shook her head, "No. They only told me that they are withholding it."
"When is the next meeting with The Council?"
She flipped back to a page that had all of the meeting schedules written down, with some blank spaces for emergency or urgent meetings that were mentioned at least 30 minutes beforehand. She stared at it for quite a while, making sure that she did not miss anything.
"None for the rest of the week."
Amelia's annoyed expression resurfaced. However, the annoyance disappeared and she decided to shrug about it instead. An amused smile once again appeared on Diane's face. Naturally, such an act would catch Amelia's attention. She quickly noticed and chose to comment on it.
"I'm glad you find amusement in that." She said in an extremely sarcastic tone, one that did not go under Diane's radar.
Diane denied it, "Not exactly so. You could say I just find the conflict that you two have is very interesting to watch unfold."
"Huh. Really?" She placed her chin on her right palm.
She replied to her with a light chuckle that was ambiguous in its tone and feels. Amelia raised a brow at it but chose to let it be, saying anymore would simply cause more irritation for her later. Life with a little spice in it makes it less boring huh? She raised her free hand that gestured to Diane to keep talking.
"From the second meeting, Marine has agreed upon the raids that will be conducted on their bases. They have already laid out a basic plan on how it all will go down. The finalising process will be done with the G.I.S.D's leader Marcus along with whichever team participating in the said raid. It will be submitted on Saturday for confirmation."
"It's coming along well then I assume?"
"Yes. From what they showed me during our meeting, the plan seems to have a high percentage of working out as you thought. There are also backup plans in place in case the plan fails."
She looked up, "Is Sei going to join in?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
She groaned before stating, "Ask them to include him. They could add his underlings if they want to, however, he must present no matter what."
Diane responded in affirmation and wrote down a special note on the same page that summarised the meeting. "I'll be sure to tell them when we meet again."
"Nothing else then?"
"That's about all of what happened right up until now. Though I believe that there isn't any left for the day."
She got up from her seat, "Alright. I'm going out for a bit. I need a stroll after all that work."
Diane nodded, "I'll be leaving any other paperwork on your table."
Amelia walked around the desk while stretching her arm. Diane bowed again with a smile. She gave Diane the same lazy wave she gave Zarnia earlier in the day, even yawning a little in the process of doing so. Diane did not mind much of her actions and behaviour.
"Have a good day, Miss Amelia."
She rose when she heard the door close behind her. Her smile softened up once Amelia fully left the area.
"There is always something more to all of this… Whatever you meant, it must be what will happen."
She walked to her desk and started working on her paperwork, as she and Amelia had to meet the deadline by the end of their working hours. The office had once again become silent, only filled with Diane's hum and the sound of her pen on the papers.
She enjoyed solitarily working on it, seen by the smile on her lips. She continued to hum a tune that only she knew. It kept the calm ambience that the light and humming brought, her shoulders relaxed as she entered a concentrated state. Her hand moved without her thinking much as she was used to doing this.
The hallways were never quiet even if nobody was talking. Their footsteps continued to produce white noise. They did not have time to hold conversations as their work never slowed down. Only the sense of time slowed down. Life continued to be busy, always only noticing the change in colour once their working hours were about to be over.
Here, life felt much more apparent and vibrant than the continuously monotone of where she worked.
Smoke came from out of each stall with the scent of the delicacies being prepared or grilled. The aroma filled the air whether it would be a pungent stench that struck the nose or a faint fragrance of herbs that masked it instead. No matter how odd of a smell hit her nose, everything felt like it belonged here.
Amelia walked among travellers and residents alike, ditching her coat that reached her waist and rolled up her long sleeves. She tied her hair up into a ponytail to combat the heat from the humid atmosphere, which was made even worse by the smoke and crowd.
The market was focused on selling different foods and goods, though it was more known for its food.
"This is crowded eh?" She noted.
She spotted the stall she came here for. There was a line from it, which must be pretty popular with all ages alike, at least from what she thought. She was annoyed with the idea of having to queue but she still decided to line up to buy some food. Her eyes wandered around while she stomped impatiently.
Some could not keep their gaze to themselves as they stared at her, being attracted to the aura.
She did not bother with them whatsoever. Multiple thoughts raced through her head to keep her entertained, wanting to forget about their gazes and the queue. Despite this, it did not take long for her to reach her turn.
"5 chocolate bread. Also two of whatever sweets you recommend."
The vendor had not asked what she wanted when she replied to him. He blinked for a few seconds before picking himself back up and grabbed what she asked. He became nervous after noticing Amelia glaring at him, too afraid to look straight at her eyes.
"There you go. It will be one-"
She placed the exact amount on the counter and walked away.
The vendor was… confused. Confused would be a lighter way of putting it, he was feeling so many emotions at once that he could not comprehend any of them. The girl was not a regular, so as to how she knew the exact price was a question for him to think about another day.
Amelia struggled to leave the market after it became more packed than she expected. She took out one of the chocolate bread and took a small bite out of it. The irritation lingered around her even after getting out, though it eventually faded away.
"Not bad. I thought Andrata's food suggestions were going to be bad." She mumbled while taking another bite out of the bread.
She began walking and started having an enjoyable stroll around the city. It had not urbanised as there were shadows of development here and there. Some buildings were being refurbished while others were completely torn down.There were apartments but they were not high-rises. All the newer buildings were painted in duller colours.
The streets were narrow considering the number of well-known hotspots here. People were always talking to someone or were just walking by themselves. Some of the stores were painted with graffiti which gave a kind of unique identity to the area.
Not all were graphics of whatever the artist likes; some were words that spoke of encouragement while others of cursings.
She walked down a corner to a back alley that connected to another street that was still part of the town. There was not anything interesting to note about it aside from the lack of people in the alleyways. That in itself was a kind of risk, after all being so eerily silent meant that something bad was likely going to happen.
And someone would be smart enough to take advantage of it.
"Hmm?" She wondered and took another bite of the bread.
There were faint remains of something in the alleyway. She nearly reached the end of it when she felt something there. Nothing related to what went on in dark alleyways. She turned around and walked through the alleyway again, figuring out as to where she felt something. Her walk was slower as to get a pinpoint as to whatever was here.
Her instincts told her to be on guard since she was exposed to sneak attacks from anywhere, though she paid no mind. She paid more attention to that miniscule feel, noticing that it was some remnant of magic. She raised an eyebrow at that familiar feeling, continuing to wonder how she had let such a thing slip by her senses.
It was bleak enough for her to miss a faint black haze coming from the dark.
"So they have been here."
Her free hand reached out to the black haze. It seemed to have formed a mind of its own and wrapped itself around her fingers, the shade mirroring the shadows of the alleyway that hid it in the first place. If she had not paid attention to the sudden change in sensation, she would indeed have let such a thing be left here.
"This isn't what I think it is. Well, it's not exactly what I thought it was but close enough."
She was not afraid of it. She observed its movements with a childlike interest, wondering what it was going to do to her. Though it could not do any reasonable harm, it was only a remnant of used magic. Still odd how it was able to move around even when its user and time had been long gone.
She blew on the haze with a breath of frost. Amelia moved her fingers and the ice crumbled into vapour with no remains of the black smoke. She reached her hand out again to see if there was any left.
"Nothing. It must've been here for a while then."
Her fingers curled up as an incredibly familiar sensation hit her. It came as fast as it went. She closed her eyes and visualised that feeling that the black haze gave her when it was around her hand. Even though it came in much later, she could still feel it like it was still within her palm.
"Puppetry. Emotion puppetry to be more exact."
She concluded as she opened her eyes and relaxed her posture. She took another look at the surrounding buildings before walking out of the alleyway. That feeling had only left her once the sunlight reached her skin. The afternoon glow made her skin look soft yet her stern gaze said otherwise as she stared towards the sun.
She mumbled, "I didn't know you all would put such dedication in such things."
Although, staring at the sun reminded her of something. It felt like a dream, the words that someone had uttered so long ago had now become an irony. She could not help herself, letting out a hearty chuckle, even if it tasted bitter in her mouth.
"If you all continue to persist, you will die together. The ideal scenario you have is nothing but a fruitless dream. I can say that I admire your dedication, even if that means going towards the very end of your unfulfilling lives."
She held her head up high as she maintained her gaze. The stoic expression remained on her face, yet something had changed about it. It was so small that it would go under most people's attention. It was a warning that should not be ignored.
There was a dominating presence in her eyes that spoke more than what she would have said herself.
"Shadows will exist wherever the light is, yet there are those so blinded by their own sense of life that made them blind to the authorities they had done to achieve their so called life."
She immediately knew something as she lowered her head, staring directly at the person with an amused facial expression.
"Like all living beings, so pitiful."
A cloaked figure appeared near her, walking through the crowd as if he was invisible. The person;s face was exposed, though there was something off about it. Since it gave off the impression that it was stolen and being worn by another. The person's hands held a small dagger as they thrust it forward with solid momentum.
"Unfortunately for you, I can't die that easily."
A blinding light stunned them temporarily as a sword swiftly approached their neck, giving them barely any time to react. They quickly sidestepped while turning their body away from it, being nearly sliced in the process. It was better than being decapitated right then and there.
"Not very high ranking are you? Your reaction speed is a bit slow." Amelia ridiculed while spinning her sword.
They stood still and stayed quiet.
"Couldn't you think of a better plan than attempting a lousy execution of a Goddess?" She shrugged while sheathing her blade.
The crowd had just noticed them and chose to flee for their lives; Some had taken pictures or videos about it as they ran; Some had taken the chance to inform the authorities of such an incident, hoping that they could do something about it.
Even if there was no obvious bloodshed, everyone's survival instinct had kicked in, urging them to run as far as their legs would take them.
The entire situation did not bother either Amelia or the assailant. Instead, he let out a manic laugh which only vexed the woman. She stared at him, her right eye twitching simply due to him continuing to laugh on as she watched.
"AAHHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I CAME HERE WITH A PLAN LIKE THAT?!"
That man was insane, the way he laughed and spoke told her that much. Even so, Amelia did not feel a single thing. However, once she noticed something about it, it made her have a reaction that could be seen as comical. She wanted to laugh, not at their insanity, instead at the misery that they were hiding.
Her lips curled into a small smirk, "Ah~ So you're that kind of person eh?"
The crowd became more alarmed when they saw a ball of black matter floating above his palm. It resembled the one that Amelia saw earlier in the alleyway. Her sword along with its sheath crumbled into ice as she chose to keep it away. She crossed her arms, the amusement in her eyes wondering what he would be able to show her.
"JUST FOR HURTING HIM. YOU'RE GOING THROUGH A LOT OF PAIN TODAY!" The man shouted with such gusto that she wanted to applaud him.
Even if he was still on such an adrenaline high, there was something inside of him that feared the woman standing in front of her. Even part of him started to doubt his abilities of even majorly damaging the person he was trying to kill.
"If you make such a declaration, then don't fail me now."
Her smirk grew wider as the streets cleared out. The undeniable malice in the air only grew stronger and stronger as she stood there. The feeling of malice was coming from him, yet even he had started to suffocate under such a tense atmosphere. His adrenaline was the only thing keeping his mask up.
The winds left him feeling unsettled, as if they knew it was his last day.
Her smile implying that he had no chance to defeat her. Perhaps he had even accepted such, yet there was no way he was going to admit it in front of the enemy. He could not let himself down right now, absolutely not.
No matter how much his very soul was telling him to run away.
The gaze in her eyes… expressed so much she would not show.
"Entertain me to the best of your ability, you clown of a man."