A bispecled teenager stepped out of a black muscle car with a bright grin on her face, her youthful features and long auburn hair were perfectly illuminated in the bright moonlight but her expression quickly changed when she spotted the first body lying completely motionless in a puddle on the floor.

"That bastard Tony said something about magic and him being in danger but he didn't say anything about it being this bad."

As a magic researcher she only needed to hear that 'someone was using magic', before she was halfway out the door and starting the engine of her car.

It was then that she noticed the rain.

The sky was clear without a cloud in sight and for a moment she thought that the sprinkler system might have been left on a high pressure or maybe it'd been damaged but even though everything around her was slowly being drenched the raindrops they somehow seemed to curve~ around her in a very odd way.

She was perplexed by this phenomenon and reached out to touch it but a sudden realisation made her pull her hand back with force.

"Holly crap this can't be real."

Maple practically tore off her sleeve in her attempt to see what was underneath.

An array of bracelets and bangles addoned with intricately carved gems and crystals covered her arm but one specific accessory with a large green gemstone shone with a lustrous intensity.

"No friggin way. There's no way that..."

She pulled her sleeve down in a hurry and hurriedly reopened her car, she pushed several odd devices away before grabbing a particular one, she promptly pressed a series of buttons and a the screen flashed a miscellany of numbers and symbols.

Maple's eyes grew wider with each passing moment with her grin following suit.

"This whole place is fully saturated with magic, how the hell can that even be possible?"

She swung her head around to look at the mansion behind her then up to the sky where the moon shone brightly, a very slight rainbow could be seen through the unnatural drizzle but not a single cloud could was present.

Maple burst out laughing, but not just any laugh it was a hearty yet extremely maniacal laugh that would creep out even battle hardened soldiers.

"This place is absolutely saturated with magic. Who the fuck did that dumbass piss off to get himself into a situation like this one."

Maple's laughter switched to an antagonising one as she ridiculed her Ex. She nearly fell over with joy at both her luck and and his misfortune, but that came to a sudden halt as she found herself coughing and gasping for breath on the pavement.

A packet of pills was taken from her coat pocket and two were consumed before the rest were returned.

"I don't have time for this."

She said as she grabbed another set of devices from the car, pocketed them, then took a sample of the rain water from a nearby puddle before slowly approaching the front door.

=========≠=============≠========

Tony was at his wits end, the intruder had done in almost all of his guards and every now and then she would stop and stare at the location he was in as if she could see him through the wall, after some deep thought he concluded that she was doing exactly that and his trepidation increased tenfold.

"I have to get out of here but the room with the secret exit is past that, monster".

He'd seen when Maple arrived but then she was suddenly on the floor suffering, he knew that she was far~ older that how she looked but to be defeated before even reaching the enemy was a new low, even for a her.

His guards were mostly dispatched, Maple couldn't be relied on and a monster was standing between him and his freedom, his choices were limited and his prospects looked extremely grim.

=========≠=============≠========

Manthings were always troublesome, their ability to accomplish great things was always overshadowed by their incomprehensible stupidity.

The manthing called Tony Stewart had sent one of its kin to steal from and harm Alice, as a leader it should be the pinnacle of strength among it's peers but now that it's being hunted it's snivelling and cowering in a corner while its subordinates are being put down.

《TONY STEWART, STOP HIDING AND FIGHT ME! LET'S PUT AN END TO THIS.》

The manthing named Tony had just barely cracked the door to its hiding place when Ila called him out but the door quickly shut and it returned to cowering inside.

《This is foolish.》

Ila said as she kicked away another guard who came at her with a taser, they'd given up on shooting her and instead tried to stun her and maybe capture her that way.

This obviously proved to be more difficult as the guard soundlessly sank into the wall with a meaty thud.

The last three guards carried tasers in their hands and prepared to attack but one considered reconsidered his opinions and chose to flee in the face of overwhelming danger, the others didn't even think twice before adopting his choice but as they ran one of them fell limply to the floor on a heap.

Ila's mouth opened wide as she stopped to consume her fourth meal.

Only Tony was left.

=========≠=============≠========

The mansion's front door eased open and a teenager woman steeped over a body as she peeked inside.

"Hello, Is anyone alive in here? If you're not please don't answer."

A meek whisper leaked out of Maple as she entered the mansion, the place was wrecked and thoroughly soaked, bodies were strewn about haphazardly. And the unsettling rain was continuing even indoors.

"If there are any mages or supernatural people inside could you please turn yourself in so I can study you."

"If you're a vampire though please leave without sucking my blood, I'm anemic and don't really have enough for the both of us."

Maple said this in a soft childlike tone as she scanned the room from behind the door, she didn't think it would work but it was at least worth a shot.

No one answered and she fully entered the room, the devastation of the mansion that she once called home was immense and many priceless pieces of art were either destroyed or damaged in some way, her mood quickly went from shock to pure rage as the prices of some of them flashed through her head, she then became sullen when she remembered that she once tried to sell most of them without Tony's consent then she bacame angry again.

This turbulent rollercoaster of emotions continued on as each piece came into her view until she finally gave up and walked away depressed.

"How could anyone do this to such expensive..."

"HELP!! Please, no! Don't do this, what do you want from me? If it's money I can giv..."

Tony's voice resounded throughout the mansion louder than she had ever heard it, even in anger.

Maple started sprinting as fast as she could from the first moment she heard him, as she ran a great dane bolted pass her but she paid no mind of it and continued to run, by the time she got there only a scene of carnage remained, the door to his secret office had been broken into splinters and several guards were crumpled into messes as they bleed onto the floor.

Tony's body slumped loosely to the floor still in his attacker's grasp, he seemed to be in the middle of a sort of seizure as his eyes had rolled back and foam leaked out of his mouth, the bracelet on his wrist smouldered and burned his skin with blisters and boils already present as it glowed with an eerie crimson hue before snapping, the woman grabbed his throat and a strange ethereal substance was forcefully dragged out of his body in a silent scream.

Tony was dead.

His lifeless carcass slumped onto the hardwood floor in a heap as his arty rainbow fop that he always spent far too much money on smushed limply into a puddle as it seemed to loose its luster, his life for all it was worth had ended. His killer, a young woman in her twenties whose clothes dripping with blood opened her slightly deformed maw and shoved the translucent ethereal mass down her throat, it squiggled and squirmed in a horrifying way before entering her stomach, she then breathed deeply in a satisfying way before her eyes turned to the child that stood next to her.

《You are?》

"M-Maple, Maple Greenwood"

《And what do you want Maple Greenwood?》

"I-I, I..."

《...》

Ila stared unblinkingly at Maple who'd become incredibly flustered, her head was tikted just enough that she could see the girl over her shoulder but otherwise she did not move.

She'd found it strange that a manthing could properly think let alone move and talk within her rainstorm but found it even stranger that she didn't notice her presence until just now.

"Tony asked me to help him but..."

《That will be unnecessary.》

With her business complete Ila dropped the lifeless body and walked past Maple before leaping over the banister and heading for the door.

As if she suddenly regained her faculties Maple rushed down the stairs and blocked Ila's path with her arms outstretched. The great dane from earlier could be seen cowering and whimpering in a corner.

"WAIT!"

Ila's eyes narrowed and her bloodlust leaked out, maple felt as if every hair on her body was standing uptight but she couldn't afford to back down now, she'd finally found a magical being that she could study and she was determined to not let them go.

《Move!》

"No, I won't mov... you're not a vampire, are you?"

《I am not.》

"Then I'm not moving."

《If it's revenge you desire, give up now.》

Maple shook her head in obstinance, but clear signs of relief were present.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

The female manthing was standing in my way, for one so small l was a bit impressed but dealing with a child right now was undesirable, so I directed my killing intent toward it but it only flinched a little, it's clearly scared of me and it shows but yet it's defiant attitude persists.

"Pleasse don't resist and come with me to my lab. I promise that I'll feed you every day and the experiments won't very much."

The female manthing called Maple said as such before aiming a powerful kick aimed at my head, it was easily dodged but it was still unexpected, she followed up with a another kick from a reversed position while closing the distance, it's small size didn't lend much force to it's attacks and they were easily dealt with, the third was aimed at my legs and was easily hopped over but in no time at all she was beside me and tried to slam her knee into my midsection, I twisted to the right and pushed her knee to the side with my left hand, while my right hand reached for her neck but she she retreated and quickly regained her balance while I andjusted mine.

'This one might be more interesting than I thought but it's still a child.'

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

'That was friggin close, another inch and I might have a bunch of holes in my neck.'

Maple breathed deeply then dashed back into reach of Ila's claws sending a punch her way, Illa dodged while pushing that arm aside, she then clawed the space that maple had occupied not even a moment ago, a diagonal backhand followed that but Maple parried it with her left hand and countered with a reverse leg sweep which was followed by a rising roundhouse kick, two front kicks and a spinning hook kick.

Ila deflected all of Maple's attacks without too much trouble, but fighting a child was getting tiresome. It was unlikely that she could pose much of a threat with such a small body and so I moved in for the kill.

It was best to get these things over with quickly.

Another series of kicks and a few punches came flying but Ila warded them off with minimal effort, she prepared to block a jumping axe kick when she noticed a change in Maple's eye, there was a small flash of light on her forearm as her foot came down with significant force but the impact was far, far greater than expected, Illa's guard broke and that foot made contact with her chest.

Ila stumbled backward in surprise and looked at her arm and chest, clear scorch marks could be seen on her skin and clothes, she then looked at Maple who seemed to be only just cspable of holding back her desire to jump and yell "I did it!".

Something was very off but Ila didn't quite place it Maple was clearly using some kind of magic but she couldn't feel any magic from any invocation emitting from her at all, she reclaimed her stance as Maple closed in again, another series of kicks came without pause and were easily handled but then another flash of light was spotted just as a roundhouse kick landed, Ila blocked it but the impact was nothing she couldn't handle since she was prepared for it this time. In that moment she grabbed Maple's leg and pulled her forward causing her to lose her balance but two more tiny flashes occurred and Maple's loose foot swung around to make contact once again breaking Illa's guard but this time sending her flying. As Maple's foot touched the floor a sizzling sound could be heard as steam rose up from the ground.

Being slightly dazed from a child's kick to the head made Ila irritated and she regretted underestimating her opponent. This was quickly corrected.

《You are not a simple child are you. Come, show me your strength young one.》

Ila dashed straight toward Maple wearing a terrifying smile, within moments a clawed hand narrowly missed her jugular as she dodged to the left, Maple followed up by throwing a left hook but hit nothing but air. Ila twisted mid-sprint and tried to slash Maple's neck before sliding away, barely managing to dodge by ducking Maple followed her delivering two low kicks and a high front kick but Illa grabbed her left leg before she could pull it away.

Another deadly clawed thrust almost reached Maple's chest but at the last moment two flashes of ligh preceded the forceful withdrawal of her leg and Ila being dragged along with it but she let go before she completely lost her balance and returned with a backhand that caught Maple's sleeve, from that small gap bits of broken crystal and metal fell out onto the floor.

Another flash occurred and the previously retrieved leg returned in a reverse hook kick that landed squarely into Illa's jaw, her face twisted slightly but little more, the flesh around the impact was scorched black and sizzling with energy but Illa only looked at her with an unflinching stare. Maple suddenly felt a change in Ila before terror overwhelmed her, she hastily tried to pull away from the thing before her but Ila stepped on her coat that trailed on the floor and caused her to stumble and fall.

Ila pounced on Maple as a flurry of claws tore into Maple's arms as she tried desperately to ward off Illa's attacks, then she saw Illa's hand come down with her heart was the target but a loud crack and bright golden light filled the room, a shockwave of energy then blasted both Maple and Illa away from that spot and sent them sailing into opposite walls destroying any unbroken items that had remained previous intact.

The rain finally stopped and only silence remained.

Both combatants remained motionless for a while but the first to stand was Ila, she stumbled a bit and couldn't quite keep her balance, her right arm had twisted the wrong way around after she bounced off the ceiling but she pulled it back into place and began to make her way over to where her opponent was.

Maple regained consciousness shortly after Ila stood up, through her pair of now broken glasses she hazily saw Ila's arm snap back into place as a massive headache assaulted her, her head screamed in pain and her clothes were in tatters but Ila was approaching her with full intent to continue the fight.

"I give up!"

She said in a pained voice, but Illa did not stop.

Feeling panic she once again yelled.

"I GIVE UP, please don't hurt me, I can't fight anymore, owwww..."

Grabbing the side of her head to stop the blood that was leaking out Maple got onto all-fours and assumed a pleading position as she begged, as she did the remnants of countless bracelets, bangles and gemstones fell onto the floor from her sleeves, they were all either chaired, melted or simply crumbling into dust.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

The young manthing was pleading for it's life, the thought to just kill it and be done with it all crossed my mind but killing it now would be wasteful, it had served as entertainment after the pitiful showing that the others had given.

I relaxed my posture and focussed my energy into healing. As I walked past the one called called Maple Greenwood it scooted out of my way with its head dragging on the floor, I'd half expected it to try a sneak attack but it simply stayed hunched with it's head bowed.

Walking out the door into the cool night air abated some of the distraction my earlier meals had provided, the apperisions especially the last two struggled within her.

It was a distraction which could not be allowed while the moon still had its sway.

I'd just pushed the broken gate and was enjoying the beautiful night sky when I heard a call.

"Your name! Can you please tell me your name?"

I turned to look at the source of the voice before responding.

《Ila!》

The manthing Maple formed a smile as it humorously waved at me before it collapsed onto the floor and stopped moving.

《Manthings are so very strange, everything must have a name, things cannot just be as they are..... it is flawed, even in this new world names give knowledge of..... but much has been lost, so I shouldn't be as timid as a manthing in the woods.》

《I am Ila.》

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

As she walked through the gate she let her body completely digest the bear she had devoured days before, slowly letting the essence drift deeper and deeper into her core, helping her touch a spark of divine.

And then Ila's eyes grew heavy.

The realization that her ward had started to awaken put more haste in her steps, Ila knew she wouldn't make it to the dwelling but it was too late.

----------------

In the rain in the dead of night Ali found herself covered in blood and dressed in damaged clothing, nowhere near her home.

As she looked around she spotted a large great dane wagging it's tail at her as it approached her.

"What the hell, is going on?"

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆