Itadaki no Hecate Second

Gears Set in Motion

He had no idea why she could move. His Fuzetsu shouldn't have any flaws, as hasty as it was set up. But an explanation can wait; at the end of the hall, Pheles was already back on her feet and speeding straight at him.

More forcefully than he would have liked, he peeled the petrified Ogata away from the door with his left arm and blasted the ceiling with an azure fireball from his other hand. The heavy debris fell in front of the Beautiful Whim just before she could touch them, and that split second delay was all he needed for them to relocate.

Pheles hammered through the obstruction with a single punch. Within that same moment, Yuji leaped out of the school building through the window with Ogata in his arms and began to fly away. Before he could put any distance between himself and the Crimson Lord, however, he felt himself choke and come to an abrupt halt. Having forgotten that he was still wearing his costume, he quickly realized that Pheles had followed after him and caught him by the hem of his cape.

The Mystes instantly delivered a kick aimed back towards her, forcing her to let go of him upon impact. Before she could come at him again, Yuji summoned Blutsauger into his right hand, its sharp point deterring the Beautiful Whim from coming any closer. He actually could have heavily wounded her with his weapon right then, just as he did with Ernest Flieder, but he was hesitant to do so. This woman just wanted to be with the man she loved, a man who was actually not so bad himself.

They both sensed another presence finally approach from the other side of the building, climbing high into the air until she was right over the obstruction. Hecate's eyes studied Yuji's reluctant yet desperate expression before meeting with the two desiring orbs of the Beautiful Whim, and she immediately understood what was transpiring right before her.

Just before the two Crimson Lord women engaged, Pheles cast her hand towards Yuji, and the hovering Mystes found himself caged in the eye of a pillar of spiraling amber wind.

"In other news, martial law has been passed by the Ministry of Defense on the City of Misaki. Convinced that the international terrorist organization has been operating in the city, a strike force, along with accompanying military forces, has been dispatched and will be arriving in the city at an unspecified time today. All civilians are advised not to leave their homes..."

Chigusa watched the television set with a concerned expression, her hand squeezing that of her husband sitting beside her. "I hope Yu-chan, Heca-chan, and their friends are home before things become serious," she said.

"I agree," Kantaro replied, knowing full well that this may be only the beginning. But why would the Japanese military, of all things, be involved. His mind was already sifting through numerous possibilities.

Suddenly, the man turned towards the direction of his son's school, having sensed the Fuzetsu being cast via the dove feather entrusted to him by Lamies.

"Is something the matter?" Chigusa asked him.

"I just remembered," he said to her with seriousness in his tone he had trouble hiding, "there's something I have to check out for Yuji, before he comes back. It's something that would mean very much to him."

"You're being vague," Chigusa said, starting to worry. The woman was not one to meddle in the affairs of others, nor was she troubled by many things, and she possessed a mind far more open than most, but she couldn't help but shake this ominous feeling.

"It's nothing too serious," Kantaro lied to her and got up from the couch. Facing her before leaving, he suddenly leaned in closer and kissed his darling wife deeply on the lips. "I'll be back, Chigusa. And never forget that I love you with all my heart," he told her with a kind-hearted smile.