"P-Please spare me. I was just following orders" the guard looked up in fear at his upcoming death. The female in front of him was not stopping and the guard knew he could not outrun her.
The vision of purple in front of him obstructed everything behind the female. Her aura was too huge to ignore.
He had made a grave mistake of underestimating his opponent as a child, a teen who could not harm. And he had not been the only one to make that mistake.
The whole squadron had made that mistake and had paid for it with their lives.
"Let me think. You are not a cute girl, nor of any use to me so I don't think I will spare you. But maybe if you sing pretty, I might just let you go" the horrifying words were delivered in a seemingly innocent tone.
The lady, teen really, with long purple hair and a serious face stepped toward the guard. Her impassive face had a small teasing smile that looked odd on her mature face.
However, it had been her tone that had thrown the guard off guard. It had been too airy and cheerful for that mature and serious face.
"P-Please, let me go. I-It was not my fault. P-please show mercy" the guard begged. Death was a certainty at this point but it could be painful or painless.
The guard wanted a quick release from this world.
And he did get his quick death. Just not at the hands of the teen he had been facing.
"I don't know how anyone could look at you and think that you are sane. Did Emma not scold you about playing with your prey, Xion" the long-haired girl pouted at her companion.
"Boo, you took my prey again Rhea. I'm going to complain about you to the other witches" Xion pouted out those words. Her companion just rolled her eyes at the childish display.
She was used to Xion acting like a big baby. And after almost six years with the other, the female knew this was just Xion's coping mechanism.
"If you wanted the prey then you should have taken it before I did. I certainly gave you enough time to do that. Now let's head back to the others. We need to start heading back to the academy" Rhea did not fall for that whiney complaint.
How had she ever thought Xion to be cool enough to join the witches, or more popularly known as - 'Xion's harem?' it felt like she woke up one day and realized how much she liked the hyper-magician.
Rhea knew that she was not the only one to like Xion like that, the other witches did too but they had a deeper bond connecting each other as well. They were a well-knitted group after all.
They all just happened to be in love with the same person.
"Hey, are you paying attention? Maybe I should kill you to check" Xion also had another flaw- having no personal boundary.
Xion's body closed in on Rhea and her face approached the other girl…
…and Rhea pushed the other away before their lips could meet.
"Not now. We are late already because of you and your detour. We will also need to have an explanation ready for what happened here. You did make sure to keep yourself off track right?" Rhea asked the other female.
Xion's innocent look did not make her feel reassured.
"You did keep yourself off-grid right? We will not be called in for this right?" Rhea asked further when there was no verbal confirmation of her words.
Xion looked almost guilty as she watched Rhea freak out. The guilt seemed genuine as well, if not for the mischievous glint in the other female's eyes.
Rhea was not sure which look she trusted more - the guilt or the mischief.
And then the mischief won over the other and Xion's face broke into a giggle. That just indicated that the situation was not critical.
Yet.
"I did make sure to keep myself off. Tell it to her system, tell her. Besides, you're behaving as I broke into a restricted area. This is just a warehouse that caught fire and killed everyone. Now, repeat after me - the warehouse caught fire and it killed everyone. We were not here"
Rhea sighed as Xion's hand moved over her face, pulling her lips to form those words. Xion was in one of her playful moods and there was only one way to get out of it - to distract her with something else.
[The data has been modified. Changing files and recordings…
Casting rearrangement magic and changing database…
Changes successful. Erasing traces of user Xion and user Rhea from the area…
New disaster warning issued: Warehouse 2, district West-5 has caught fire. Nearby people are asked to evacuate at once]
"And there. See, I did do it correctly. I knew taking that class was a good deal. It did come in handy in the end" Xion chirped happily at her companion.
Rhea could not help but agree in her head. She, like the others, had thought that the system study course was a waste of time since they had no talent.
But Xion had stuck around. Surprisingly, she had learned some skills despite not having any talent.
Mostly how to cheat the system for a small duration of time but it had been a big boost in her skill. Her affinity with the neural system had increased even more after that point.
It had been enough to make the other witches consider taking up the course.
But they had no time after they entered the second year. There had been too much to do and the skill never really came up much. Besides, it was not needed in their line of work.
Not like other combined skills were needed to make their world safer.
"Man, I want to break into a restricted zone. I wonder what they hold there. No one knows, not even Emma and she's a part of the elite Magic cops" Xion complained but the longing in her voice had been clear.
Rhea remembered that Xion had tried to break into the zone once but had gotten caught. Even using all the skills she had learned in system study had not helped her case out.
The security and been ridiculously hard to crack and Xion had been banned from entering any restricted area with powerful spells.
Rhea was not sure what happened at that time and Xion never really sat the witches down and explained either. They all just knew that Xion held markings from that encounter.
Markings that were taboo to ask about when one decided to spend a night with her.
"Speaking of the restricted area, I heard a rumor that someone accidentally transported there during the Magic stimulation introductory class. Emma had to personally go after them so she might be able to sate your curiosity about that place now" Rhea offered.
Xion had a look in her eyes that did not bode well for anyone. She was spiraling down a dark path that no one wanted to see her go down. She had too much magic and skill to be made an enemy of.
"Oh, are they cute? Another one for the witches? Man, I cannot wait to meet her. Did Emma bed her already" Rhea just sighed at her friend's enthusiasm,
Mission to distract Xion - successful.
"It's not a girl but a boy" and the enthusiasm faded away just as quickly. Thankfully, it did not bring the dark look back on her friend's face his time.
She just looked bored and disappointed with the outcome.
"A boy? How boring. I don't want to know anymore" Rhea felt a small laugh bubble out of her at the put-out tone in Xion's voice. Xion already had a lot of girls who were interested in her but she never seemed satisfied.
And surprisingly, none of her relationships had turned sore. Even when the other party had decided to leave Xion to live their own happy ever after, there had been no hard feelings.
Xion was special and they all knew it. That was why this new development with her family worried them all.
Xion had not spoken over that topic but they all knew it did bother him.
"It might interest you to know who it was. Emma says that the kid was named Misha Raycraft, a Type Null. Think it's a coincidence" and the interest in those eyes was back.
Xion's face looked uninterested but her eyes told a different story altogether.
"Really? I don't care though. But maybe I should get in contact with the old man and get some information about what they are planning" Xion's tone might seem uninterested but Rhea had known her for a lot longer.
And she could tell that Xion was interested in the situation now. Her friend was like a dog with a bone and Rhea did feel bad for the kid now.
Xion would eat him alive and leave nothing behind.
"Which old man are you talking about here?" Rhea asked her friend. A grin finally made a return on her friend's face.
"Why, both of them of course. They are playing a dangerous game and it's time I made my entry in it as well" Yup, Rhea pities the poor souls alright.