Mizuki followed Arai, who seemed dazed, and suddenly stopped. She saw a man holding Arai.
It was a man dressed in a dark brown cloak, his face concealed behind a red skull mask.
'I need to get Arai and run…' Mizuki wasn't foolish; she knew she couldn't win a fight against him, as soon as she saw him.
Instead, she decided to focus on escaping.
But within seconds, she noticed the man seemed unaware of her presence. Forget fighting, he hadn't even noticed she was there.
Despite her lack of experience, Mizuki had enough guts to transform the bracelet on her wrist into a sword and leap toward him immediately.
"Swoosh!!"
Mizuki aimed for his eye without hesitation, and at the last moment, he turned his gaze toward her!
"Aghhh!!!"
But by the time he reacted, the sword had already pierced his eye!
"Ahhh...Aaghhh…"
Mizuki withdrew her sword and jumped back, cautiously observing the mysterious Warlock. She couldn't help but think he was a fool.
He whined and screamed like a child, trembling as he licked the blood dripping from his ruined eye.
His skull mask shattered, revealing his red, deformed eye and a face that looked like melted dough.
The Warlock's body suddenly stopped trembling. He raised his head and stared blankly at Mizuki.
Mizuki felt a chill in her limbs. Ignoring the feeling, she turned her gaze to Arai with concern.
Arai was unconscious, lying motionless on the ground like a lifeless cat.
'If I carry him, can I escape?' Mizuki thought as she gritted her teeth and unsheathed her sword again.
The Warlock raised his hand and shouted, "[Ravenous Skulls]!"
From behind him, three flaming red skulls emerged, blazing with fiery intensity.
"Whoosh!"
Mizuki's twin-edged sword slashed toward one of the skulls. A loud clang echoed, and her fingers felt numb from the impact.
…The skulls were tough and unyielding!
'No, I can't break them!' Mizuki grimaced and leaped backward, realizing the skulls were beyond her strength to destroy.
"Whoosh!"
The skulls shot toward her, attacking relentlessly.
A chase began, Mizuki dodging and running while the flaming skulls pursued her without pause.
The Warlock stood motionless like a statue, his expression pained and blank as if he weren't truly present.
Something surged up from beneath Mizuki's chest.
She spat out a red liquid.
"Swoosh!"
A skull came charging toward her. Mizuki wiped the blood from her mouth and positioned her sword horizontally.
"Boom!"
As her sword collided with the skull, Mizuki used the momentum to leap backward with force.
In that instant, another skull came at her from above. With no time to evade, Mizuki tried to block it with her sword, but part of the skull grazed her head.
Her body flew backward, hitting the ground hard.
'No, no, if I die here, Arai will follow me!' Mizuki thought desperately. Her world spun, and blood began dripping from her head, obscuring her vision.
She blinked and was startled. The space before her was vast and white, boundless in its emptiness.
She blinked again, her vision replaced, shrouded in blood, as the skulls continued to charge at her.
"Swoosh!"
A skull aimed for her. Mizuki raised her sword and glared at it in frustration.
'What was that just now?' she wondered, though there was no time to dwell on it.
"Wait, this...?"
Mizuki looked at her sword in shock.
Her twin-edged blade remained sharp with minor scratches, but now it was enveloped in a white aura.
It was a sharp aura!
'Isn't this…?' Mizuki's heart raced with excitement, but she knew this wasn't the time for celebration.
"But this doesn't change much. I still need to avoid these skulls," she muttered.
Mizuki didn't get reckless. The white aura around her blade was a significant aid, but it couldn't shatter the skulls.
She glanced at the Warlock, then at the skulls, and dashed toward the Warlock.
"Clang!!"
The skulls didn't let her. Mizuki's sword collided with the skulls, producing a deafening metallic clash.
"Crackle, crackle…"
The collision created sparks. Mizuki noticed another skull coming at her, so she ducked and rolled to evade it.
Quickly, she sprinted, closing the distance between herself and the Warlock. The skulls continued their relentless pursuit.
Mizuki was exhausted. Her stamina was nearly depleted, and the pain from her injuries coursed through her body.
'At this rate, I won't be able to carry Arai and escape…' Mizuki decided her only option was to try to kill the Warlock. Fleeing now was pointless, and she couldn't bear to leave Arai behind, uncertain of his fate.
Mizuki reached the Warlock, raising her enhanced blade high and slashing at him!
"Hmm?"
The Warlock stunned the entire time, seemed to regain his senses as Mizuki's blade neared him.
Quickly, he touched his forearm and shouted, "[Blood Blade]!"
A sharp blade formed from his forearm, turning crimson and razor-sharp.
The flaming skulls vanished.
"Clang!"
The two blades clashed violently. Mizuki's enhanced sword proved superior. The blood blade cracked and shattered. Mizuki's sword slashed through.
"Swoosh!"
Her blade sliced through the Warlock's shoulder, embedding itself deep within him.
Blood flowed freely, staining her pristine sword crimson.
Mizuki realized she had lost the strength to pull her blade out due to her exhaustion.
If she moved it slightly downward, she could destroy his heart.
'I can't hold out any longer… I think I'll throw one last punch…'
'Sorry, Arai. I couldn't save or protect you.'
Leaving her sword embedded in his body—it would return to her eventually—Mizuki formed a fist and punched the Warlock's face with all her might.
"Bam!"
The punch left a vivid red mark on his deformed face.
"Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!"
Punch after punch, Mizuki landed five blows on the Warlock.
At last, the small girl reached her limit and collapsed, unconscious.
"Huh?"
"What happened?"
"Argh!"
The Warlock screamed in agony, feeling sharp pains coursing through him. His face hurt, his left eye was destroyed, and worst of all, his heart was breaking! He had lost several veins.
He spat out mouthfuls of blood, his skin paling.
Looking around with hatred, his gaze landed on the unconscious little girl clinging to him.
"Is she…?"
"This damned brat… did she do this? Damn it, I—" The Warlock's rage burned like an erupting volcano. His body trembled as he glared at Mizuki with his remaining red eye, raising his blade high.
"Killing her isn't enough. I'll…" The Warlock suddenly froze, sensing an approaching presence.
"Aghhhh…!"
He grabbed his head, screaming and pulling at his hair.
Glaring at Mizuki with spite, he kicked her stomach, then kicked her again with force.
"Bam!"
Mizuki's body skidded away. The Warlock wasn't done and kicked her once more.
After seconds of brutal kicking, he was panting, sweat dripping from his brow.
"This will do for now, damn it! Damn it! I'll make sure to torture her to death! I'll turn her into a blood slave!"
He picked up both unconscious children, slung them over his shoulder, pulled out a black book from his back, and tore a page from it.
"Boom!"
The Warlock exploded into a bloody mist.
The red mist spread, erasing all traces of his presence, just as Haist, who wasn't far, sensed them.
All three disappeared.