Around a few days after your night out with Ellena, you noticed that the monsters had...become scarce.
The occasional bug or weird-looking thing was clinging to someone, but the gigantic ones you avoided were gone. There was one that hung around an old nightclub you could see from your home, and it sat on top of its roof, screeching and cackling at what you thought were the intoxicated people who lingered outside there. But one night, you noticed it was...just gone.
Around this time, another discomforting piece of information came up.
"God, that's horrible."
Your mother frowned, having stopped to watch the screen behind your seat on the couch.
"Yeah," you agreed, watching as the reporter motioned at the area where the yellow tape surrounded the street entrance. "Five victims in one night."
Your mother sighed quietly and moved around the couch to sit behind you, forgetting her previous task in favor of seeing the news.
"All girls?" She asked.
"Four. One boy," you mumbled.
And they were all around your age as well.
She looked even more concerned to hear the details given of the gruesome murders. A group of students from a high school decided to go and try to have a spook at an old graveyard around the area. The locals there reported them causing a stir and got chased out by the grave-watcher, leading them to walk around the streets searching for other entertainment. That's when other testimony reported hearing ghastly screaming outside and, well...
"This city can be so fucked sometimes," she said, shaking her head and standing back up. "Forgive my language, Pollito."
As always, still using that nickname.
"I want you and Ellena to stay together no matter what as soon as you leave campus," she said, going to the fridge. "I'll talk with her mother later on the phone. I don't want you about at night, understood?"
You remained quiet, knowing she wasn't entirely done with her ramble. "No more late-night ramen. I'll ask Tou-chan if he can make some if you crave it. The two of you are too young to be out, even more so now."
Never mind that you took plenty of martial arts classes to defend yourself. She probably thought you'd get hurt regardless. She wasn't wrong, though; only so many physical attacks could be made against someone with a weapon.
You crossed your arms, replying with a quiet, "Yes."
Something wasn't sitting right with you.
====
"Did you hear about—"
"The murders? Yeah?" You answered before she could finish asking.
She pouted a bit, puffing her cheeks as you formed a line at the student store. Lunch didn't appeal to your hunger, but chips and cookies did.
"At least let me finish what I want to say before answering," she mumbled beside you.
You scratched the back of your neck and pulled out your small wallet. You alternated between this one and another because the one on your person was slimmer. Also, the design was bland, so no one bullied you for your tastes.
"Sorry," you apologized, moving up a spot, "It's just that you're the fourth person to ask me that."
"Who were the other three?" She asked.
You sighed, folding your fingers as you went, "My dad, my neighbor, and Susana from Class 2-C."
Ellena hummed in reply, leaning against the railing of the queue.
"Then I assume you know that one of the victims was Dario."
That made you give her a double take.
"Dario? As in Dario A.? From primary?"
"From primary."
It took you a moment to process that, recalling the scruffy boy who used to cause all sorts of trouble in your early youth. He had enrolled in a different high school, so you wouldn't know what he was up to these days, but this was a bit of a shock. You played and talked with him a few times, but that was as far as your relationship with him went. You didn't know him too well.
"Shit," was all you could say because—what could you say to that?
"There's a rumor going around that he was killed by the rival gang his brother's gang had beef with," she said with a frown, "But it's not confirmed. All I know is his family's not doing well right now."
"Come on, next in line."
You and Ellena moved up and eyed the cookie choice in the basket before you.
"Which one—"
"Chocolate."
She grabbed two chocolate cookies, and you reached for your selection of cookies, then after asking for regular kettle chips, paid and exited the queue.
You'll save a cookie for later and have this one now.
"My mom doesn't want me out anymore," she said as you sat outside the cafeteria on a cement bench block. "She's worried about if there's a murder on the loose."
You opened the packaging of your cookie, "There probably is. A gang or not, someone killed those kids."
Ellena grunted as she tore open her own, "I don't understand how anyone can do that. People are maniacs."
You took a bite out of your confectionery, chewing as you conjured up a response.
"Some people just carry malice in their hearts. I don't know. You never wanted to hurt anyone before, Elle?"
She looked disgruntled at the ask. "I mean—yeah, but I never actually considered killing anyone. That's...just brutal. There are laws and ethics in place; even if they don't work one hundred percent of the time, it shouldn't be the responsibility or within the right to take someone's life away like that."
A small silence settled between the two of you after her answer. You finished your cookie soon after and began to lightly squeeze the bag of chips in your hand. You should get some water before you opened it...
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
She stirred in her seat, "What do you think about murder?"
You tugged the seams of the bag open, "It's bad, yeah, I agree. I'd never do it."
"Honest?"
There was some hesitation on your part.
"For the most part," you replied, looking out to the students crowding around outside. Some played soccer, some sat and chatted, and others worked on assignments.
"I have no intention of killing anyone without reason. The only thing I can think of doing it is out of self-defense, but does that even count as murder then?"
She resigned, "I don't know...guess not."
Noting the damper on her mood, you said, "Don't worry your pretty little head about it. They're just hypotheticals anyway." You handed her your bag of chips and stood up, crumbling your trash in your hand.
"We should focus on more realistic stuff," you said, holding out your empty hand, "Like getting water so we won't die of dehydration."
She saw the trash in your other hand and deposited hers in your palm, which you then crumbled like the rest. You went to buy some water bottles, passed by a trash can on the way and deposited the wrappers inside.
You headed for a vending machine and took your wallet out to feed it bills.
"Can't...pass this test... can't..."
You paused, looking up to find some strange amalgamation of insects writhing up on the vending machine.
It didn't have any eyes, but it did have a pretty human-like mouth, which you grimaced at. These things could be pretty gross-looking sometimes.
"There had to be one on the damn machine," you sighed, inserting a bill.
You pressed the button twice, hoping it would register the command and give you two bottles as you eyed the creature again. It began to wail as if crying, and you felt slightly bad for it.
Well, you should put it out of its misery.
The clatter of the bottles alerted you to their emergence at the bottom slot, but you were attentive to finding a way to get rid of the monster without looking stupid. You nonchalantly eyed the area, ensuring no one was watching, before hopping up and swiping your arm at it. It quickly began to disappear, but then the unexpected happened.
The damn thing bit you.
You pulled back your hand quickly, mostly from shock, before the bug thing vanished altogether as if it had never been there.
What the hell? That had never happened before.
Cradling your hand, you looked it over to see the damage that little monster had left behind, a bite with a purple bruise. That was even stranger—the thing didn't feel like he did much to you. The bite was more like that from a small dog, a sort of nip. So why was it looking out to be much worse?
"Are you getting anything from the machine?"
Startled, you dropped your hand, hoping the sleeve of your uniform blazer covered it enough as you reached for the bottles.
"Yeah—sorry. Thought I saw a bug on me," you played it off, grabbing what you came while pocketing the change dispensed in return.
You moved away, glancing down at your hand, only to see the bruise no longer there. Nearly doing a double take, you stopped to inspect your hand again, swearing that you had seen a clear splotch there only seconds ago.
Just what the hell was going on?
====
There wasn't much you could do after that biting incident during lunch, so you thought it was just part of whatever creepy magic let you see those monsters. It was probably some delayed effect from the monster, and it just decided to linger for some moments after you got rid of it. Besides, it's not like it did anything to you.
"Oye, Pollo."
You almost scowled at him for the name. Sometimes, you wished your mother hadn't called you that out publicly.
"Hm?"
The man wiped himself off with a short towel, giving you a lingering look. "You alright there? Thinking a bit too hard, don't you think? The Don isn't going to like you spacing out during training."
You glanced over to where the head trainer was, guiding another guy through a sequence of punches.
"He's busy," you said, grabbing your towel from your neck. "He won't tell me anything when teaching the new one."
He also looked over at them, crossing his arms as the two of you watched from a distance. "He's not bad but could use more improvement."
You adjusted yourself on the seat of the pull-bar machine, "He was a boxer before, so it makes sense. I wasn't used to it before either."
"Can't believe how much you've grown," he said as you threw the towel on your lap and began a new set of reps. "Especially the last few months. You're bulking up way too fast."
You gritted your teeth at the weight strain on your arms, muttering with a bit of bated breath, "It's....called puberty..."
He laughed, "Yeah, kind of forget that happens. Been a while since I was a teenager. Starting to get why my parents were always complaining about bills. Adult life sucks."
"Luis! Get over here and spot me a bit, yeah?!"
"Alright! Going!" The man looked at you. "Talk to you later. I'll give you a ride if you're still around when we close up. It's not safe for kids to be out late right now."
He left after that, and you couldn't help but be reminded again of the murders that transpired that other night. There haven't been any leads in the investigation, but they were having some people going in for questioning. No other murders have been linked to that specific case either, so many unanswered questions still existed about why those teens were killed.
But knowing the shit state the world was in, you didn't expect much of a justifiable reason.
The thought left a sour taste in your mouth, so you pushed any more related topics far back into your mind.
You conditioned a bit more before having your turn with the head coach. And it was about midway that Luis got a call to pick up his daughter from her after-school program, as she was running a high fever.
"Sorry, I have to run," he said as he finished collecting his things, "but my offer stands for next time. Be careful out there, Pollo."
A grunt left your throat, "Stop calling me that before I whoop your ass next time we spar!"
"Leave him," your coach sighed, fixing padding on his shin. "You know how he is. He's just being a clown. Now, let's run through that again."
And so you went back to training, getting a few pointers here and there when you didn't quite execute what you wanted. The good thing about this sport was that it didn't lay on the need for elegance in every move, so you didn't need to worry so much about how it looked rather than focusing on how practical it'd be. You liked taking karate and taekwondo, but it wasn't what you wanted over the years.
Toward the end of your session, you heard a few men talking up a storm and laughing. You and the coach pulled your attention away to see what was happening.
"Ellena?" There was a bit of surprise in your voice.
Your coach tucked a pad under his arm, gruffing, "Is that the girl you always talk about?"
"You make it sound like I always talk about her," you muttered, pulling off a glove, "but—yeah. What is she doing here?"
Her face said that she wasn't exactly happy with the way the men were trying to interrogate her, but she became relieved when she spotted you.
"There you are!" She quickly walked over, leaving the males lamenting their poor attempts to ask her out. "I almost thought I had the wrong place!"
"What are you doing here?" You frowned.
Ellena had a simple handbag on her shoulder, which she quickly slipped off to search for something.
"Good question!" She pulled something out with a grin, "I brought you some lunch!"
She showed a wrapped red bean bun in her hands, and you and the coach looked at it apathetically.
"It's nearly six o'clock."
The girl chuckled embarrassingly, drawing her hand back, "Yeah...!"
The coach gave you a bit of a look, and you didn't need to hear words to know he wanted you to understand why she stopped your training session.
"What's the real reason you're here, Ellena?"
Your childhood friend sighed and quietly looked away for a few seconds before answering.
"I...had a fight with my parents...and I just didn't want to be in the house after. I could've gone somewhere else...but I just really wanted to be comforted by you."
A couple of whistles carried to your ears from the other side of the room, and you glared in response. These fools were undoubtedly having a field day with this.
You looked from Ellena to your coach, who shrugged and crossed his arms.
"We can pick you up when you come back next time," was all he said.
Well then, it was a no-brainer what to do next.
Nodding, you searched the room for a specific person. You couldn't leave her with these pigs in the room, but you had to change. "Anna! Can you keep her company for a bit?"
The woman's head popped up from behind the door, which she had squeezed herself through, probably trying to fish out some equipment.
"Yeah! Not a problem! Come over here a bit, babe! It reeks of testosterone here!" She waved her over.
"Just stay with her for a bit. I'm just going to get changed, and we can go," you told her.
She gave a tiny smile, "Alright. Sorry for being a bother..."
You frowned, "Don't say that. I'll be back."
As she approached the red-haired woman, you went the opposite way, towards the changing rooms and showers.
You didn't have much time to rinse, but you did a quick one to get most of the sweat and smell off and briefly rinse your hair before changing into clean clothes. You'd take a proper shower when you got home. After that, you returned to the weight and training floor, seeing that Anna was chatting with Ellena.
"Tell your dad that he should call me to get a drink more often, eh?" your coach said as you grabbed your gym bag.
You smiled, "Yeah, I'll tell him. I'll see you on Friday, Don Tonio."
He raised a hand in goodbye, barking at the newbie to get off his ass. You chuckled and shook your head, walking over to where the two young women were.
"Thanks for keeping her away from the others," you bowed your head to Anna, to which she waved a hand in dismissal.
"Not a problem," she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "Ladies need to take care of each other. No man is getting away with harassing her as long as I'm here."
Ellena bowed her head as well, "Thank you. I was intimidated, but you made the wait much better."
Anna grinned widely, "Anytime! Man, you're so cute! Now I wish I had a younger sister just like you. But I ended up stuck with all my brothers," she sighed but then digressed. "Anyway, you two should get going. Make sure to stay safe out there. No talking to strangers and all that."
"Alright, thanks again, Anna."
"See ya around, [Name]!"
You led the way towards the exit, glaring warily at the men who cackled and gave you winks.
"Sorry about them," you said, feeling awful that Ellena had to be harassed like that. "They don't know how to be decent sometimes."
"It's alright," she said, laughing sheepishly, "it happens more than you think, so I try not to let it get to me."
You frowned at her words, but she looked uncomfortable discussing it further, so you quickly changed the subject.
"Now, about why you came here again..."
Ellena's face fell.
"Right..." she mumbled.
You began to walk down the street, noting that the sky was bright orange. Dusk would be soon.
"I got into an argument with my dad at first," she said, looking down at the ground, "about what I want to major in college. He wasn't on board with me doing ceramics or art, so he started shouting a bit!" She laughed, and you couldn't help but feel a pang in your chest.
"And then mom overheard and started agreeing with him, and then one thing led to another—dad said he was fed up with me and was going to enroll me in a boarding school back in Japan."
The news shocked you, causing you to stop walking.
"Boarding school? In Japan?"
She didn't meet your gaze, instead mumbling, "And then I ran out..."
You weren't sure how long it was that you stayed frozen on the sidewalk, but it felt like an eternity. All you could think about was a familiar dread that crept up on you, stirring up unwanted memories.
It was just like before.
You were being left behind again.
"You want to...run away?"
====
Of all the things you could have said, you said one of the stupidest. Luckily, your mind quickly realized the absurdity you had asked and promptly apologized. You were supposed to be the voice of reason between you, so you probably threw Ellena in for a loop when you sounded so serious.
Of course, you couldn't run away. That solved nothing. It was just running away from your problems; it was in the name.
But even then, technically, you did run away, even if it was for the evening.
"Here."
She glanced at you from the other end of the bench and took the bottle you extended her. It was yours, but she never had a problem drinking from the same container as you, so long as you kept it clean.
"Thanks..."
She popped the cap open and took a sip, the two of you quietly watching the sunset from the mountain's peak. A bus ran nearby and dropped you off near a trail here. Your family frequented this spot in your youth, but only a few knew about it.
You didn't want to stay out too late, especially here, but she seemed like she needed to get away from the city if only to get a breather. Whatever fallout of keeping her out late would be dealt with by future you, but right now, Ellena needed you.
"I hope you don't mind me writing more letters than texts in a few months," she said, smiling softly. "I know I'm going to end up at a private academy, and they don't like phones too much there."
Ellena seemed resigned to her fate now that she could reflect on it for a while. She was always so staunchly opposed to extremes that her parents would want to place on her, but now she looked defeated.
You looked down at your hands clasped between your knees, rubbing the skin where it looked red and sore from today's exercise.
"I won't mind."
You knew you were being selfish by being absorbed in your feelings, wanting to convince her to stay. She was already in a rough patch with her parents, and your meddling would only cause more trouble. You were lucky enough that they let you hang around her because they thought you were turning out to be some bad influence when you began to dye your hair or when you got into a fight with that one garbage-mouthed kid in junior high. The switch-up was surprising, given that they had known you since you were a child and that Ellena was your only real friend.
Things were changing now, and you had to accept some of that fact.
"At least maybe we can see each other on breaks, and there's...the fact that you could visit me if you want in Tokyo..." she mumbled, smiling anxiously. "But I know you probably won't be comfortable with the latter since you don't go to Japan anymore..."
Her voice began to waver, and you could see the tears brimming at the corner of her eyes.
"Why can't...they just be happy with me...?!"
She began to cry into her closed palms, shrinking herself so she could press her chest closer to her knees. You quietly scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her, and she began crying into your chest. All you could do was soothe her and rub her arm in comfort. You didn't understand her pain because your parents were nothing but supportive of your choices. It was just a stroke of luck that you were granted an understanding couple to raise you. Ellena, like many others, didn't have that support system you did.
As you comforted her quietly, your hand began to sting. You eyed it, recalling the memory of that creature biting it. Was this also some delayed effect? Why now?
You tried to ignore it as best you could, biting your cheek to keep yourself occupied with another pain. It felt like your hand was on fire.
It really hurt, but...
"Sorry, Elle...!" You quickly disconnected from her, grabbing hold of your searing hand.
Her eyes quickly dried up with concern for you, "What? What's going on? Are you—?"
She cut herself off, eyes fixed towards the right of your blind spot. You hissed in pain but gave a glance to see what it was she was suddenly so focused on.
You don't think you've done a double take so fast.
"You can see it?" You hurriedly asked, horrified when she, equally terrified, gave a slaw-jawed nod.
Something told you to grab her and run.
So that's what you did.
"Let's go!"
You shot out of your seat and pulled her along, trying to sprint. Ellena desperately tried to match your speed. The giant amalgamation of...god knows what the fuck that was garbled and gave chase after you.
The terrain was difficult to maneuver around, mostly dirt and slopes you had to slide down. Ellena gave a yelp when the edge of a rock grazed up her thigh, tearing through her tights, but braved on to get farther away from the monster.
"What is that thing?!" She shouted, panting from both fear and exertion.
You glanced back to see if the thing was gaining on you, only to spot its hulking purple arm peeking out from the top of the trees. It wasn't that big before...!
"Not right now, Ellena!" You let go of her arm and jumped off a small cliff, opening your arms to catch her as she jumped down. It was a good call on your part to do so rather than keep running because as soon as she hugged you, a giant purple hand swiped where she was only seconds before.
Swearing, you pressed yourself underneath the small overhanging cliff. Ellena pressed her face into your shoulder, and you closed your eyes when debris came rushing at you.
You swore again, Ellena unwrapping herself to stand but clinging onto you as you did when the overhang quaked. Shit, could it even sustain its weight? You had to do something to draw it away from Ellena. There wasn't a single recollection of you ever getting rid of something so big before. But that didn't matter because you were the only one who could see these things before, so this was originally your problem. You couldn't let Ellena get hurt.
"Stay here!" You ordered, seeing the fear grow in her eyes as you pulled away, "I'll draw it away!"
She tried to reach and pull you back, but you avoided her, "Are you crazy?! That thing will kill you!"
"Better me than you!"
"[Name]!"
You made a break for it, heading for a thick grove of trees to the left and then jumping over some boulders into a dirt clearing. Even from a distance, you could see that there wasn't any more solid ground but a cliff, and you swore at yourself for setting yourself up in a corner.
"I'm surprised, for someone who has clear control of their cursed energy, you sure let it ooze out when you're worried."
At first, you thought the monster was talking, but the voice didn't sound distorted or slurred or anything out of some monster. This one was clear as a bell, a human.
And lo' behold, a man stepped out, dressed in a dark suit. As if the monster wasn't bizarre enough, apparently, villains had to have a weird taste for the nine-to-five worker these days.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," you muttered, scooting away some. You didn't want to be near that man or his pet monster.
He huffed indignantly, running a hand through his dark hair, "Please, don't act stupid. You clearly know what I'm talking about. You began to spike your cursed energy to make sure I knew you were slinking around the city. And just when I traveled kilometers from my city to let loose and prey on some ordinary folk here."
You scowled, acutely aware of how you could calm down considerably now. Maybe it was that adrenaline finally reaching your brain.
"Like I said, I don't know what the hell you're talking about. But regardless, I can assume you're behind the murders that happened a few days ago," it was easy to piece together the information after that. Also, nine times out of ten, this was how the villains began their monologue in the manga and comics.
The man smirked, "How did you know?" You refused to roll your eyes at his obliviousness, "Well, whatever. You fell perfectly for my trap. I knew that if I sent enough curses out, one would eventually find and mark you down. You're a sneaky one; I'll give you that. You can hide your residual cursed energy well, but it doesn't matter if you can once my shikigami marks you. I'll know exactly where you are at any given time."
The monster slobbered all over the floor, lifting one of its stubby legs in response to the man patting its wrinkly side.
You grimaced but weren't too repulsed by it. No monster could deter you as badly as what you had experienced years ago.
"Rika didn't die... She's still here..."
It was nothing as bad as what Rika had become.
"What do you win by tracking me down, then?" You asked, glaring. "As I told you before, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what this 'cursed energy' crap you're saying I'm leaving behind is, and I wasn't planning on raining on your parade or anything. Just leave me and my friend alone, and I promise you won't see me again."
The man scoffed, leering at you, and took a step closer. "Stop with that act! I know you're not some imbecilic newbie to this! No doubt those Jujutsu Sorcerer scum sent you here to deal with me! I know a sorcerer when I see one!"
On the one hand, you were entirely lost as to what he was trying to get at. On the other hand, you were a bit flattered that this murderous man clearly had some paranoia that you could harm him by what he was making out. If you had a bigger ego, that may have fueled it.
"Jiu-Jitsu?" You mumbled, baffled. "What does that have to do with that cursed energy thing you were talking about?!"
The man looked infuriated by the way his face contorted. His pale skin was turning out to become a dark pink even under the warm hues of the sunset. "Stop it! Stop acting fucking stupid!"
"I'm not!" You couldn't help but bark back in annoyance.
This guy was really getting on your nerves; it almost seemed like a joke to think he was the one behind the murders of four high school kids. "I don't have a fucking clue what you're talking about! I don't mess with curses, I don't do sorcery, and last time I checked, I do kickboxing now, not Jiu Jitsu!"
That pushed him past his threshold of anger because next, he was pulling at his hair and screeching out the command, "I'VE HAD IT! KILL HIM! EAT HIM!"
Shit, now you've done it.
You clambered to escape from the creature as he was sicked on you, trying to head back into the forestry of the mountainside. Your rotten luck would have it that this monster could stretch its body. It really wasn't your imagination or a bad view of it as you had thought before.
The monster blocked your path with its stretched hand, using its other to try and grab you. Years of recreational martial arts training paid off because you flipped over it to avoid it grabbing you. However, you couldn't marvel too much at your feat as you had to dart again to avoid its grasp.
Aside from pissing him off, what warranted this guy's wrath? He thought you were clearly someone out to target him, so who were these people on his tail? Maybe if you prayed, they'd conveniently show up and take care of this for you. You still had to get back to Ellena and ensure she was safe. It was already basically dusk, and her parents, despite the asses they were, probably blew up her phone with calls. If you survived this somehow, you would have your head served on a platter for that.
You slid underneath the arm of the monster, finding that your game of cat and mouse had worked to your advantage. An opening was created while it was still retracting its other arm, giving you a chance to escape again.
Putting everything you could into your legs, you sprinted there.
Although, you didn't quite make it.
You were suddenly rocked back by a force that connected with your face. The strength behind the punch sent you staggering back a couple of steps, but while that probably would have been a knockout, you were miraculously still on your feet.
The numbness of your face made it hard to feel the sensation of blood dripping down your nose and lips.
The man grinned widely at the damage he had done and stepped back just as the monster finally got to grab you with its giant, stubby hands.
You gasped as its tight grip slowly crushed in on the sides of your body, the monster moaning like a man starved as it brought you close to its mouth. You were still slightly disoriented from having the wool pulled over your eyes and struggled to wiggle out.
"HEY! STUPID UGLY THING!"
It was definitely a shock to hear Ellena's voice belt out, but even more shocking to see the monster holding you in a death grip be hit by a flaming tree branch.
It landed in a crevice underneath one of its many eyes, and the creature let go of you to try and rub it off its face. You scrambled not to break your legs on your way down, grabbing hold of the monster's wrinkly skin to slow your fall.
"What the hell are you doing?!" The man screamed at the abomination, shaking and seething with anger. "You had him!"
You gritted your teeth as you landed on all fours, glaring at Ellena, who stood at the edge of the trees.
"I told you to stay over there!" You growled, Ellena balling her hands with a grimace, "Get out of here, Ellena!"
The monster finally got the fiery branch off its face and threw it back toward Ellena. Crap—
She barely avoided being hit by it, but now she was being targeted by the monster.
"Move!"
Thankfully, she listened that time, throwing herself out of the way and rolling onto her side, out of the course of the giant hand. Instead, the monster grabbed the trees behind her, pulling them out by the root. You were able to run over and haul her back to her feet and shake her.
"What are you doing?!" You couldn't help but be angered by her presence. "I can't protect you and deal with the monster and the guy simultaneously!"
She retaliated this time, shoving you, "I'm not going to let you die, dumbass! We're escaping together, or we both die!"
"This isn't—!" You cut yourself off, watching as the fiery branch got caught on parts of the surrounding trees and set them ablaze.
Not only that, but the monster was rushing at you.
You were going to die.
"You promised me you'd protect her...and now she's like this, Yuta."
Ellena's heavy breath hitched as she grabbed onto your arm. You could see the fear in her eyes.
No.
You weren't going to let anyone die like this. Especially not Ellena.
You could feel something coursing through you, and you might have thought it was the blood rushing through your body, but it was a sensation akin to reaching for a rope, your hand drawing near it until you firmly grasped it.
There.
You didn't quite understand this feeling other than knowing it didn't alarm you, and it felt natural to do so.
You pulled Ellena to the side as something leaped up at the monster. It was a dark and wispy mass, reassembling the shape of an animal.
"Is that a tiger? A lion?" She gulped out.
You watched as the smaller yet seemingly stronger monster began to bite and tear away at its flesh.
"That's Conquest."
She gave you a funny look, and somehow, watching the two creatures duke it out gave you some clarity.
The monster peeled Conquest off with a mauled hand, trying to regenerate its body for it to be caught in black flames. When the monster didn't let go, it began to release wild shocks of dark lighting, injuring it further.
Conquest was finally released and landed on its feet, but it didn't stop electrocuting the giant monster as it burned and writhed.
"Why is it killing the other one?" Ellena asked, eyes wide. "Aren't they the same?"
You shook your head, trying to wipe some blood off the bottom half of your face.
"They're different," you muttered, glaring at the giant as it cried and shrieked in pain.
"Mine's stronger."
Ellena whipped her head back to look at you.
"Yours...?!"
The monster's cries reached a crescendo before flopping to the floor and falling, no longer moving. The putrid smell of burnt flesh irritated your nose, and you suddenly remembered the small fire that was going on behind you.
You turned around and focused on the smoke, watching as the ends turned black and a stream shot down on the ground, manifesting another wispy creature. She was smaller than Conquest, and you could instantly recognize the shape of a fox with some added features.
"Put out the fire, Famine."
The hybrid let out a snicker, her tails brushing up against her antlers before it turned and drew its attention to the fire. She aimed one of her twin tails at the trees and released a jet of water, putting out the fire.
"No...! This can't be true...!" The man shouted, heavy breath hitching as you leered at him.
His dark eyes glared at his fallen monster before zeroing in on you.
"You were playing me from the start! You made me think you didn't know what I was saying...so you could set your shikigami on me!"
So that's what these things were called. You eyed Conquest as he looked pleased with his work, bright blue eyes glowing underneath the darkness of the night and shroud of black smoke on his body.
"No, you had the right idea," you explained, motioning for Ellena to stay put with a hand before stalking over to the man.
He tensed, teeth and hands clenched tightly as you approached. "I had no idea what any of this was. In a way, you made me learn fast. So, I have to thank you for that."
The man began to tremble with seething fury.
"You...fucking...sorcerer scum!" He lashed out.
You could have dodged that easily; he was sloppy. But you wanted to let him get one in just so you made sure you didn't feel wrong about what you would do next.
He punched you squarely in your face again, but you had fortified it a bit, so it didn't have the same impact. It stung like a swat to your face and did nothing more than agitate the blood in your already fractured nose.
He pulled back, surprised you prepared yourself beforehand and the little reaction you gave.
A twisted grin broke out on your face in response to his fear.
You started with a right hook, then a left. The man stumbled back, and you decided to add a spin kick in there. That got him falling back, and you briskly went to kick his head again.
"[Name]!"
You held back some, decreasing the intensity of your kicks before delivering on the last kick that sent his body flying back a few meters away.
Although you still had some pent-up anger, you knew it had to be let go. Beating this sicko to death wouldn't do a thing to bring back those lives he took, and you weren't a murderer like him. You wouldn't let the blood of a mere lowlife like him sully your hands.
Besides, you wouldn't forget the conversation you had with Ellena prior.
You exhaled slowly, seeing that Conquest was patiently looking at you, standing guard next to the body of the giant shikigami that had attacked you. It was still alive, if barely. You knew what he was looking at you for.
"Go ahead, Conquest. Eat up," you gave the clear for the shikigami, and it happily turned to the bigger shikigami to feast.
You saw Ellena cringe from a distance as Conquest began to tear apart the curse. Sniffling, you telepathically communicated for him to make haste. He received your message, opening his giant maw. Then, like a vacuum, he sucked in the last of the shrinking carcass.
Having finished her job, Famine strutted her way over to you, huffing when she passed by a wary Ellena.
"Good job," you praised as she joined your side. Conquest soon bounded over after his meal, and you could sense the increase of power that came off his residual cursed energy. Right, you finally had names for all these things. "You too, Conquest. You did well."
The shikigami gave a small purr, letting Famine climb onto him and perch herself on his back.
You felt tired, having finally been left with the aftermath of the crazy night.
You didn't think all this would happen today...
"Elle, you're still there, right? I haven't scared you off?" You asked because you couldn't make her out in the dark. You knew she was there, but as to what expression she had on right now, you were really left out in the dark for that one.
"Yeah, I'm still here," she answered.
She didn't sound as terrified as you thought she would be, which relieved some worry from you.
"Can I come...closer now?" She asked.
You didn't even get to reply because a new voice cut in.
A wave of strange familiarity then stroked you, and you were surprised as to who stepped out from the shadows.
"Can you hold off on that a bit, miss? I want to talk to him a bit first."
You never would have guessed he had something to do with all this.
With a small inhale, you shifted your weight, finding yourself silent as he came to stand before you a few feet away.
"You did great without me having to step in. Although you could use more training and refining on your cursed technique."
You sniffed, eyeing him carefully.
"Thanks, I guess...guy from the ramen shop," you replied, mumbling back in Japanese as he had used it for his question.
He gave a grin, the ridges under his blindfolded shifting.
"Gojo Satoru. Nice to finally meet you, Okkotsu [Name]."