"The problem is, you panic too much. When something frightening happens, your heart races, the same goes when something you like happens. Why do you do that? Do you even want revenge?"
Mikino spat, "Of course I do!"
Lucy turned his head and looked at the rumble in the primordial space. "Really? I want you to think deeply about what you want, because before you pick a weapon and fight, you better know what you are fighting for."
Lucy took a step forward, "You can go to the gambling den…but remember, there is no need to panic or think about unnecessary issues."
Mikino replayed Lucy's words in her mind as the bald woman's fist connected with her blind face, as she says, "I'm ready to stop when you're ready to speak… this can take all night if it has to."
Mikino groaned, her mind reeling. 'Why is this happening? I'm losing to an onna-musha who uses her fist. No! This shouldn't be happening! As a shinsei, I must be able to overcome this situation!'
Mikino's mind was clouded with thoughts, and she recalled Lucy's question from a few days ago:
"In a war, one has a sword, and one doesn't, who will come out alive at the end?"
Everyone had said the one with the sword, but Lucy had shaken his head, "No, it's the one with the greatest survival skills. What you start with doesn't matter, but what you gain does. If one is born rich, be richer. If you're born poor, become rich."
Pushing away the thought was a fierce punch that connected with Mikino's nose, and her senses went numb.
'This isn't why I took out my eyes! I won't die...but I can't feel a thing. Am I really dead!'
Another fist connected with her face, confirming she was still alive but too weak to react. Blood dripped from her face to the ground. Hearing the crowd cheer at her agony, Mikino felt her heart sink, her panic replaced by a gloomy feeling.
The bold woman dressed in white, her almond eyes blazing with anger, asked, "Is she dead?"
The spiky-haired woman shook her head. "Hit her again, this time with your Rei, if she still refuses... use your element."
The bold woman punched Mikino with a fist covered in brown light.
Mikino's mind flashed back to Lucy's words again. "You shouldn't smile like that."
"Why is that?"
"That's the same face you make when you're ending someone's life. In life, one should know who to smile at, that way you'll know who to trust and who not to."
Mikino had shrugged him off then, but now she saw some truth in his words.
"Haha! Hahaha..."
Mikino's laughter echoed, and the girls on the stage looked at her as if she had lost her mind. The audience fell silent in shock.
The bald-headed woman clicked her tongue in disdain, taking this as a sign of mockery, as lightning cracking from her fist.
"Let's see if you can still laugh after this!"
Before the bald-headed girl could strike Mikino, Shoji arrived, colliding his fist with hers and sending her crashing towards the audience like a ragdoll.
Everyone's jaw dropped as they gazed at the three unexpected figures standing on the fighting stage, clad in black armor coats with red ends.
Sora didn't mind their stares as she used the silver metal bat Lucy had given her to knock out Mikino, who was still laughing hysterically, earning a sidelong glance from Tsukino.
"Is this why Lucy-kun sent her here, to confront her insecurities?"
No one responded, their gazes fixed on the pink-haired girl, Sumire, who was clapping her hands at their grand appearance, smiling.
"If it isn't the two who caused trouble last night… it's a shame your leader isn't here."
Shoji turned to look at Sora, trying to carry Mikino. "She is my leader."
Sumire raised an eyebrow, attempting to read Shoji, but all she saw was unwavering loyalty, which made her sigh.
"I'm interested in your group. Why don't we work together until we figure out your goal?"
Sora handed Mikino to Shoji, snickering. "What happens after that?"
The spiky-haired Saruko replied with a cold voice, "Then we'll take you out."
Tsukino scoffed at her. "Why don't we just do that here?"
Saruko didn't hesitate to attack, sending her wind towards the black-haired girl, attempting to block her access to her primordial space. However, just as the winds were about to reach Tsukino, they vanished and reappeared in front of Saruko, striking her by surprise.
Saruko groaned in frustration, realizing she wouldn't be able to use Rei for the next 10 hours.
Sumire's smile deepened. "There's no need to be hostile towards each other… our goals might align."
Before Tsukino could respond, Sora stepped forward, coldly gazing at the group. "Fine, we'll work with you. I'll send someone to where we met tonight, tomorrow night."
Tsukino expressed her displeasure. "But they'll only be gathering information about us. We can't trust these people."
Sora shrugged. "We'll also gain something from them. We just need to be the first to backstab them when the time is right."
Tsukino nodded, and the group disappeared from the fighting stage, leaving Sumire gazing at thin air, frowning.
"Is she really the leader… or she is just pretending to be boss, like me? Did she say those last words just to scare us on purpose?"
The woman sighed, shaking her head. "We just have to be careful around them… let's see what tomorrow brings."
A few minutes later, Mikino's eyes opened to gaze at the full pink moon above her.
"I'm dead… so is everyone from Yurei dead too?"
"Not yet."
A cold voice echoed from the top of the pit she was in, and her gaze was directed towards Lucy, muttering, "You're the one who restored my eyesight?"
Lucy's gaze remained fixed on her. "It was Tsukino, thank her later."
Before Mikino could ask why Tsukino did it, Lucy cut her off. "You'll be in charge of dealing with that Zaha group. Sora and Tsukino will relieve you whenever you need a rest."
Mikino's face flared up with anger, "Stop treating me like a pathetic loser! I can do this on my own! I don't need someone to relieve me, and I don't need anyone's assistance!"
Lucy shrugged off her outburst, knowing she was sentimental about useless things, and decided to strike where it hurt;
"You took out your own eyes because you didn't want to see the vermin that turned on your parents, which is stupid. If your family hadn't sent you to the camp, you would have taken your own life because you didn't want to breathe the same air as them."
Mikino spat, "Shut up! You know nothing about it! I'll take out these useless things right now!"
Lucy turned, walking away from the pit.
"If you can get out of there, then you can take out your own eyes… I only need you alive. You can forget about the gambling den."
Mikino tried to move her limbs, but she couldn't, as if a boulder was crushing her. Her eyes looked in the direction of her hands, and her blue pupils danced around.
"Silver chains…"
Her emotions swirled, and she yelled, "Lucien! Untie me this instant! I don't need Yurei! I can do my revenge on my own!"
She spent the whole night yelling to herself.