[PARK IN YOKOHAMA, 8 PM]
"You finally showed your true self, Misaki. Or should I say Arcana, ancient spirit of fate?" she remarked.
"Shall we begin now?"
"Shape-shift: Sniper Rifle—Spirit Calibre"
"You haven't learned your lesson, Misaki. I can easily avoid it."
I fired my sniper rifle. Of course, I knew she could evade it easily. That was exactly what I wanted, as it gave me the chance to use my spirit art. After she successfully evaded the bullet…
"Fate Alter: Fate Revision."
I changed her fate—the fate that she would evade the bullet. I made it so that she didn't evade it at all, and it would hit her stomach. My power allows me to rewrite the fate and destiny of anyone, as well as see the future and change it. I had already seen in this fight that, without a doubt, I would win.
"Wha—What happened? I thought I evaded that…"
She gripped her stomach while grinding her teeth. I could tell it really hurt.
"Oh… It's like you used your power, huh? Then it's time for me to use mine."
"Claws of the Thunder God—Dimension Breaker"
Purple light enveloped her claws, and she charged at me faster than the speed of sound. I already knew she would hit me, so I'd changed my fate earlier. I easily avoided the attack. I saw the space where her attacks had landed—it was fractured, a tear in space-time.
She cast her manifestation's skill randomly, filling the whole park with fissures. I think she's gone crazy, maybe realizing that she couldn't hit me.
But suddenly, her claw appeared at my back. I quickly moved my body, using my arms to absorb the damage instead.
"So you can't change the fate if it's already happened, right?"
I hadn't predicted or seen the future where her claw would hit me…
"I think your power is limited only to this dimension, because beyond these fissures lies my own...."
She then fired a series of lightning bolts into the fissures, randomly shooting them outside the other cracks too. I couldn't determine which attack would hit me, so I decided to manually evade the attack.
"Shape-shift: Sniper Rifle—Hunter's Instincts."
My sense of sight and reflexes increased, making it easier to evade her attacks. As I evaded, I began my counterattack.
"Fate Alter: Pocket Timeline."
I cast a spell that created a white, transparent dome within the park.
"Oh? A new trick of yours? That won't do anything," she said, a mocking tone in her voice.
"Don't worry, it's not harmful. I'm just setting up my final act."
"As if I'll let you," she said, stopping her attack.
She raised her manifestation, preparing to cast a spell.
"Claws of the Thunder God: Heavenly Lightning"
A barrage of lightning fell from the sky.
"Pocket Timeline Rule: All lightning won't hit me."
The spell I cast earlier, Pocket Timeline, allows me to manipulate the fate of multiple objects within the dome. Normally, my power is restricted to control multiplayer targets, but this time, through the dome, I could control many.
She charged at me, trying to find an opportunity to land a hit, but that would be impossible.
"Look, Kitsune. While you're attacking me, hundreds of your lightning bolts are falling from above. You should already surrender, don't you think? After all these attacks, not a single one will land on me."
"We're the same, Misaki. You won't be able to land a hit on me either," she replied.
"Eh? But earlier, I just did, right?"
"That won't work on me again."
She suddenly stopped charging but maintained the spell she'd cast earlier. Then she raised her manifestation.
The lightning that had fallen around us gathered and enveloped her body, transforming into an armor.
"Thunder God: Lightning Armament."
She charged at me again, still trying to land a hit, but I noticed that her mobility had greatly decreased.
"Still trying hard, aren't we? Especially with that speed, huh?"
She smiled confidently and replied, "Then why don't you try to hit me, with that manifestation of yours?"
"Shape-shift—Sniper Rifle: Soul breaker."
I fired my shot, and she was surprised when she saw my bullet penetrate her thick purple lightning armor.
"Wha—What just happened?"
"Don't worry, your armor is indeed strong, but this weapon is just stronger."
"This bullet ignores any form of physical restraints or obstacles, even the bodies of humans and spirits. Instead, it goes directly into your soul—hence the skill named Soul Breaker."
"If you continue fighting me, I won't hold back. Receiving more of this will reduce your life force."
"Sigh… Fine…"
She surrendered with a disappointed look on her face. She lifted the spells she had cast, and I did the same.
"But that girl, I won't trust her," she added.
"Fine, fine. If you want, why don't you just watch her closely?"
"How?"
"You can be my shop assistant and enter the school I'm currently attending."
"Is that a joke? Do you want me to kill you?"
"Look Kitsune, I don't want to continue this pointless fighting anymore, and don't act like a kid who just had her tantrum,."
Our conversation was suddenly interrupted when we heard the sound of a police car's siren. I was literally shocked as reality hit me again. The whole park was in chaos.
"This is bad, Kitsune. We should leave."
"Why?"
"Look at the surroundings! What the hell did you do?!"
We ran to my apartment, and I started preparing my shop for opening.
"Look at this, Kitsune. Starting now, you'll help me run my business. While I hunt and collect manifestations, you will sell my products… Understand?"
"Do I really need to do this?"
"You want to keep your eyes to Himeko right?"
"Then at least let me do the hunting..."
"NO! I won't let you. Do you still remember what you just did earlier?"
"Fine…"
"Okay. It's already 10 PM. Push this cart and head to the abandoned building near the park you just destroyed. Start selling these."
"Don't do anything stupid, like using your power or something. You can appear to humans, right?"
"Ah, yes… but you won't go with me?"
"Yes, I have something to do tonight. I'll prepare for you to enter my school."