“Wait!” A little girl with thick, white patches of wool around her shins and forearms cried out. She climbed over a tree root almost as tall as she was, her chestnut brown hair sticking to her glistening skin. She stopped partway over, panting and yelled between breaths, “We really shouldn't... be out here... what if we... get caught... in the fighting?”

The energetic boy she followed bounced from one boulder to the next and stopped on the largest one, his hands planted firmly on his hips. His brown linen tunic rippled as he puffed his chest out and exclaimed, “This is why I told you not to bother coming. Turn around and go home if you're so scared.” He then grabbed one of the two curling horns that extruded out from above his ears and continued, “I'll kill just as many of those demons as the wolf. I'll prove that we don't need someone else to protect us just because we're sheep.” The boy crossed his arms and jumped down onto the ground only to wince upon landing on the edge of an upturned stone. He let out a short squeak and hopped around on one barefoot while simultaneously massaging the other, his cheeks flushed.

He slowly transitioned from his painful hopping to favoured jog. “Meargánta!” The girl yelled after him, repeatedly trying to kick herself the rest of the way over her mossy obstacle. With three great heaves and many uncomfortable grunts, she propelled herself over the top with more momentum than she bargained for. Her arms and legs flailed randomly as she fell head first on to the soil and somersaulted onto her back. She laid still for a split second then shot upright. “Wait!” She called out again and stood up, slipping as she started to sprint forward.

The horned child, Meargánta, halted, clenched his fist, and whipped around shouting, “Shut up already! I said-”

Suddenly, a massive object dropped from the sky in a blur, only to then be concealed by the dense cloud of dust that rose around the impact zone. The resultant force propelled Meargánta in the direction he came from where he collided with the girl. They tumbled across the ground, locked in each other's arms, eyes shut tight. Hesitantly, they both cracked open one eye and inspected the unknown object. Something let out a low growl, and two red lights stared back at them.

Both of them blinked hard and the girl mumbled nervously, “Meargánta?”

“Yes, Tío?” He replied with a voice crack.

“I think maybe we should start running.”

“I'd agree with you, but...”, he immediately broke into a cold sweat and stammered, “I can't feel my legs.”

At that moment, a giant beast about the size of a standard, human-sized household charged out of the dust cloud with a thundering roar. It had a head like a lion, teeth like a shark, the wings of an eagle, and scales on its limbs like a dinosaur. Tío shrieked and buried her face into Meargánta's chest while he squeezed her tight and put his body between her and the creature then closed his eyes. The vibrations in the ground grew more ferocious with every step but as quick as they started, they disappeared. Time stood still and Meargánta's life flashed before his eyes as he thought of the possibility that the monster had pounced and that they were about to be crushed. Seconds felt like hours until something fell on them. Meargánta felt nothing but an uneven warmth as only dots across his body felt any hotter than the rest. It only added to his confusion when the next vibration he felt seemed to source itself from behind the original landing point. Growls became whimpers as a new voice tiredly exclaimed, “Bravado is fine, but...” Mearganta's eyes shot open. He and Tío both risked a glance to see that the monster had jumped back several metres with a deep gash in its chest and its lower jaw dangling by shreds of muscle. A woman with silver hair, a tail to match, a blade as black as midnight resting on one shoulder, and a half-cloak over the other stood just in front of them. She took a step toward the beast who backed up three in response and she finished, “It means nothing if you freeze before you even start.”

“You're... the wolf.” Meargánta stated under his breath, unsure if he was still afraid, relieved or a combination thereof.

Luna gave him a sideways glance then returned her attention to the strange creature. “The way I see it, there are two big takeaways from this.” She mumbled. “One is never take your eyes off of your opponent. The second is don't pick a fight you can't partake in. Fenrir.” The empty space beside her distorted and a black wolf just as large as the not-lion appeared. “Slaughter.” Luna instructed. Fenrir howled in reply and dashed towards the beast, tackling it to the ground in a blur of motion. The monster couldn't react as it was knocked onto its back and Fenrir sank his fangs into its throat.

The two sheep demi-humans watched in shock and awe, neither one saying a thing. They didn't even notice as Luna stepped beside them and elbowed Meargánta on the top of his head. “Ow!” He grunted and started rubbing the bruise with both hands. He looked up at Luna with tears in his eyes and cried, “What was that for?”

With a blank stare, Luna answered, “Don't get yourself killed without a reason, dumb ass.”

“Huh? I wasn't going to get killed! I just happened to prioritize saving my sister this time.” He crossed his arms, looked away, and blushed. “It would have been fine even if you hadn't shown up.” When Luna said nothing, only kept staring, the boy shook his fist at her. “What's your problem? Are you looking down on us just because we're not predator types? I've got news for you buddy! I'll be a bigger hero than any wolf, bear, panther, or whatever has been or will be.”

“There's no such thing as a hero.” Luna stated dryly. “Even if there was, they wouldn't piss themselves before taking their first swing.”

Meargánta flinched and gradually lowered his gaze to inspect his lower body. For both him and Tío, their tunics were wet from the waist down and slightly warm. They then turned beet red and snapped fingers at each other. “She did it!” Meargánta hollered. “She was screaming like a little girl. It had to be her.”

“Me?” Tío shouted back. “If that's true then how did some of it get on my hip and outer thigh?”

“How should I know? I'm not the one who did it-”

“Go home.” Luna interrupted and started to meet up with Fenrir. “You have people waiting for you. Don't keep them wondering.”

“Couldn't I just say the same thing to you?” The boy scowled.

Luna suddenly stopped moving as her blade rattled slightly. A wave of unease washed over the two sheep and they watched the wolf anxiously. “You can't.” She whispered and rotated her neck to look at them. It was then that Meargánta noticed a dark bag under Luna's eye. “Not anymore. Not ever again.” She began walking once more while muttering, “That is my sin and my curse.”

“O-Oi!” Meargánta reached toward her

Tío grabbed his wrist and shook her head. “We should just do as she says for now.”

He stared at her for several seconds before looking at the ground and grumbling, “Yeah. Let's go.”

As they both ran back into the forest, Luna gave them one last glance over her shoulder, watching silently. “That boy seems familiar somehow.” Fenrir commented.

“Is that so?” Luna replied, only half listening. “I guess every great 'hero' starts as an optimistic weakling.”

“It seems that everyone at some point or another dreams about being one. A hero I mean, not an optimistic weakling.”

“And they quickly realize that the best you can be is a monster with heroic intentions.” Luna observed then sighed. “Enough of that.” She adopted a poker face and gazed up into the sky, which now donned splotches of pink mixed with its blue. “Looks like Idel's predictions were off. Lilims are definitely the majority of their force but there doesn't seem to be a shortage of those hybrid-beasts either. It didn't feel like much to me with the couple swipes I took but what do you think? Are they a threat?”

Fenrir hummed before answering. “Alone, no. Even if they all attacked at once I could probably take them. They felt incomplete if I were to put it in a word. It would be like crushing an army of ants. What concerns me is the involvement of the flies accompanying them.”

“Would some backup alleviate those concerns? Ossory, Morigan, Airitech.” The space around Luna distorted again and three grey wolves appeared around her, all immediately fighting over who got to rub against her. She patted them each in turn while explaining, “You three keep the Lilims off of Fenrir. All of you return to me once the big fuckers are dead.”

“What will you do in the meantime?”

“Do you even need to ask?” Luna replied coldly and eyed the dense cluster of approaching Lilims. “I'm going to clear a way to their commander.”

“Do you intend to fight him with the risk of being attacked from behind?”

“What are you on about?” She mused. “They won't be able to hit me in the back if I kill them all first.”

* * *

“Panther,” A deep, hoarse voice called out to Eve from behind. She turned around to see an elderly man with snow-white hair and a beard that dropped to his waist approaching her, spots of black in both.

“Cladhaire,” She responded. “What brings you all the way up here? Normally I'm the only one that willingly enters the university.”

He stopped beside her and scowled, “The reasons may be different but I agree with the Exalted. Why are you sending only one inexperienced girl out on the front lines? Such a reckless strategy is not only lazy but doomed to fail. Have the past thousand years rotted both your instincts and your brain?”

Eve looked away from him and rested her hands on the balcony's guard rail. “I'm just picking the most efficient method. What resource do we have to spare but her?”

“All of our hunters could at least provide some degree of backup. You yourself have experience fighting demons and humans alike, do you not?”

“Yes but it would be counter-productive for the strategist to get killed, don't you think? I can't propose more tactics from my grave after all.”

“If this is the best you can come up with, I don't think that would be much of a concern. A child could derive something more well thought out than you.” Eve gave him a sideways glance but remained silent. After several seconds, he spat, “Out with it.”

She shrugged her shoulders and mused, “I thought that you were just an old zebra but the way you speak would imply that you consider yourself a battle zebra. Shall I fetch you some armour and a spear? Perhaps a map and you can show me what you would do in a situation such as this? Has working as the village elder for the last thirty years mislead you to believe that every responsibility here belongs to you and that you are actually capable of handling them? Do you even know how to string a bow?”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“No, I just first wanted to make it explicitly clear that you're an ass-hole, not a genius. Now then, I'll ask again, do you have a better idea?”

“Hmph,” Cladhaire grunted. “You-”

Eve held up a hand. “Save me the 'treat your elders with respect' cliche. I know I look to be only twenty but you're still an infant compared to me. Becoming host to the guardian spirit meant sacrificing my ability to age.”

He squinted at her and growled, “Putting our hunters on the front line would improve our chances of success greatly, I would think.”

“Where would you put them to best make use of their strengths?”

“...on the front line?”

Eve sighed and put her hand on her forehead. “That's not what I meant.” She then lifted one finger. “Just to name a few, Wolves are better in packs and have excellent teamwork unless they're a lone-survivor in which case they often don't play well with others. Bears have high strength and speed but lack precision, so they could handle any ground forces just fine but airborne hostiles would make mincemeat out of them. Hawks could fly but struggle against multiple opponents and rely mostly on striking weak points so fighting not just one, but an army of demons that will be protecting themselves would be difficult. Are you kind of getting the idea or do I need to break it down further? Even if you could manage our skeleton crew ideally with those traits in mind, how would you counter the Lilims magic?”

“Magic?”

“You really came up here questioning my strategy when you don't even know anything about fighting? Lilims are like a downgrade of Lilly which means they're capable of illusion magic. What would you do if they started making our troops fight each other?”

“How is that one little girl going to defend herself against it? How can you be so confident that she can win at all? This is one child against an entire army.”

Eve leaned over the guard rail and crossed her legs behind her. “Three reasons Luna won't lose. One, because of her trait as a wolf that has lost its pack. From our grim history, this forest is the resting place of many thousands of demi-humans, all of which Cain thought of as family. As such, Luna inherited those feelings along with the Ríastrad and her standing as a guardian. Having lost her pack, she carries their wishes and their strengths on her shoulders as long as she's so close to the location of their demise. In other words, despite having only a single body, she herself is an entire army.”

“Even if that's true strength alone isn't enough-”

“Two.” Eve interrupted him. “Like I said before, Luna is a half-succubus. The reasons I already gave aside, can you think of why else that would be important? I'll give you a hint. How many succubi have ever existed in this world? The answer is one. Lilly, or Lilith if you're old fashioned, is the only pureblood to ever exist and Luna is the only one to truly possess her DNA.”

“What of it?”

“Why was there only one succubus? Where did she come from? That would be because she was an experiment, a weapon. Shortly after the 'gods' sent humans here, they feared retaliation from a higher power and their brethren alike. So, he whom the majority of the humans follow began researching and creating new methods of protecting himself or taking what he wanted. He began creating artificial soldiers using different components for a basis. His personal familiars, the four-winged angels, were created using his own blood as a catalyst, for example. Lilims are mostly the same save that they were created using the blood of lesser demons and then came vampires after using human blood. All of these projects were considered incomplete for they lacked the power that 'god' originally desired but they could be controlled to some extent. Lilith was the first experiment, and the only one considered to be an outright failure not because she lacked strength but because she was too powerful to be ordered around. She was created using the blood of the Dragon clan's archangel, Vilicus and she was by all accounts, a god-killer. What Luna will fight today are nothing more than cheap, watered-down knock-offs of her mother at best.”

“How could you possibly know what happens in the land of the gods?”

“The land stolen by the gods to be more precise. To answer your question though, Cain told me about it which I presume he learned from the Ríastrad.”

“That sounds like nothing more than hearsay to me.”

“I prefer to call it trusting a friend. In any sense, believe what you want but your opinion on the matter doesn't change the facts.”

“Ridiculous. What, dare I ask, is the third reason? Hopefully, something much less far fetched.”

Eve grinned. “She's Cain's daughter.”

Cladhaire squinted at her and grumbled, “Your final point for proving the legitimacy of this strategy... is that she's the Cursed Sentinel's daughter?”

“Correct.” She responded and triumphantly planted her hands on her hips.

The elder scratched at his beard and stared at Eve's feet. “Rumour has it that Cain was half-human, half-demon before he contracted with Fenrir. Was his demonic background so insignificant compared to his wife's that it was neglected from the annals of history?”

Eve shook her head. “Not at all. In fact, it was just the opposite. He only allowed those closest to him to know what blood flowed through his veins and it's his request that we never tell anyone else.”

“You'll still keep such a secret in the face of invasion?”

“Quite so. It's not like your knowing would change the strategy in any way. I have no obligations to betray a friend's trust at this point in time.”

“Interesting. Then,” Cladhaire put his heels together and forced his back straight. “Eve Réitigh, I request that you forfeit your position as the Panther Guardian immediately.” Eve glared at him over her shoulder and he continued. “If you will not go willingly, I will convince the village to vote you out and choose your successor for you. Your first point may be valid, but your second was nothing more than a fairy tale and your third, blind faith. Cain Cathasaigh was a failure who allowed our race to be driven to near extinction. It would be foolish of us to believe that his daughter wouldn't make the same mistake.”

Eve's muscles visibly rippled and her entire body tensed up. She gripped the guard rail so tightly, it cracked beneath her palms. “You want to run that one by me again, dumb ass?”

“Resorting to insults when called out only makes you- gah!” Cladhaire jumped in shock as something grabbed his ankle. His gaze snapped down to see a shadowy tendril holding his leg in place with more seemingly beginning to squirm under his skin. “What is this?” He cried, his voice shaky.

“Where the fuck do you think you get off calling him a failure when the only responsibility you've ever had was leading village-wide votes?” Eve spat with a venomous tone. Her movements appeared unnatural as she glided to and halted just in front of Cladhaire, their noses almost touching. He broke into a cold sweat as her right iris fused with her pupil, becoming a dark abyss while in her left, when fused together, turned silver and her sclera became black. Several strands of her hair turned snow white and she appeared to stare through him instead of at him. “You'd best tell me I misheard you.”

Cladhaire put on a brave face but tried to watch the wall instead of Eve. While shivering, he stated, “I stand by what I said.”

“A failure...” She echoed as a vein bulged in her temple. “A failure...” Cladhaire let out a silent gasp and his mouth stretched open like he was screaming. The shadows beneath his skin began to squeeze his bones relentlessly. “A failure, a failure, a failure, a failure, a failure- Shut the fuck up you rotten son of a bitch!” She screamed and he was thrown into the crystal wall, creating a spiderweb crack in it. “What the hell do you know?” She continued and he was repeatedly bounced between either side of the hallway, the bloodstains on both growing bigger with each impact. “You talk like any of you useless pricks could have been able to do even so much as a fraction of what he did!” At that moment she became blind to all but the still image of a man in ivory armour, surrounded by mounds of dead demonic beasts.

“Eve...” A faint but panicked voice called out to her.

“Your pathetic asses had to be saved by him because you people became slaves you clumps of god damned garbage! You only have this freedom, you only exist because of him and this is how you repay him? A failure?” The same man but a different still image flashed before her eyes. He sat across from her at a crudely made, wooden table. A teenage girl with the ears of a rabbit set down a clay cup of water each in front of them and grinned innocently.

“Eve...” The voice became louder and increasingly urgent.

“While you ungrateful rats cleaned piss off the floor with the clothes on your back, he waded through a sea of blood and guts to bust open your cages!” The armoured man than knelt over top of a mangled body, the rabbit ears atop its head barely distinguishable. A crimson flame climbed his gauntlets, scorching them black.

“Eve, wake up!” The voice shouted desperately.

“Greedy son of a bitch!” The world around her became nothing more than a field of smouldering ash and she sat on her knees in its middle. A rough rope bound her wrists together and she had not even so much as a loincloth to cover herself with. An ebony hand was extended out towards her, offering to help her back onto her feet.

“Eve!”

“He... you... he...” She stammered and covered both of her ears as the image showed a man in full black armour standing in front of a shattered throne. In one hand was a curved sword dripping with blood and in the other was a severed head, donning a jewel-encrusted crown. Eve gritted her teeth together and cried, “I'll kill you!”

Suddenly everything went quiet. Her rage was quelled, her limbs numb and she felt like she was floating down a warm river. She blinked and stared into space, dumbfounded. In front of her, Cladhaire laid face first on the floor amidst a series of cracks and indents, his body sinking into itself. “You came back...” Someone panted quietly and Eve tilted her head down. Nao stood on her toes with one hand on Eve's stomach, the other holding an empty syringe.

“I...” Eve mumbled under her breath and cautiously reached for a clay bottle hanging from her belt.

“Are you-”

“I'm fine.” Eve snapped and turned her back to Nao, ripping the bottle off of its hook. She slammed it into her face, letting an avalanche of large, white pills fall into her mouth. She tossed the bottle to the ground where it shattered, scattering the leftover pills all around her feet and she chewed viciously. When nothing but dust was left, she allowed the powder to dissolve under her tongue and fell onto her hands and knees. She flopped onto her side and curled into herself, watching as Nao knelt down beside Cladhaire who was encompassed by a golden light. “I'm fine...” Eve whispered to herself and squeezed her knees into her chest. “I'm fine... I am fine... aren't I, Cain?”

* * *

“...it wasn't perfect. The serum seemed to give her back some degree of control but it still left her in a state similar to a panic attack. The pills should be kicking in any second now so she'll probably wake up shortly.” Eve heard someone explain though their voice sounded like it was coming from underwater.

“That's fine. The main purpose of the serum was to calm her down enough so that she could take the pills. Seriously though,” another, deeper voice snarled impatiently. “We don't need any more problems. The rifts just opened so we've already got our hands full preparing. What was Cain thinking letting her become a guardian in her condition?”

“I can hear you...” Eve grumbled and rolled onto her back, gazing into the pink sky.

From out of view, she heard Idel start choking. “I didn't mean that in any belittling way, just-”

“I'm a hazard. I get it.” She responded and rubbed her forehead. “Cain and I had originally planned for me to sort myself out before I came to the forest but then the attack happened. With him, Aileen and Stella gone, I didn't have time to worry about being ready or not. Forget it. What's our status?” She snapped and used the guard rail to pull herself onto her feet. She sneaked a peek at her reflection, noticing that it looked like someone had been shuffling her hair while she slept. “That's annoying.” She whispered aloud and scowled at Idel until he answered her.

“Well, the rifts only just opened so not many of their forces have finished crossing yet. Luna intercepted a beast or two at the forest's edge but hasn't made contact otherwise.” He filled her in.

Eve leaned to the side slightly, peering around him at the unconscious zebra star-fished on the floor. “How's he doing?”

Nao jumped as though startled but smiled brightly. “He was hurt pretty badly but since I was right there, I managed to heal him just fine. He'll be good as new once he wakes up.” She then lifted her hands defensively in front of her, her smile growing wider. “Ah, but don't feel too bad. His injuries really weren't that severe. They would have taken time to heal, naturally, but they weren't life-threatening at all.”

Eve avoided looking directly at her and slowly shuffled past, mumbling, “You don't need to lie for my sake.”

“The last time you had an episode like that, it was after Cain died.” Idel thought aloud. “Was it the stress of the invasion that triggered it this time?”

Without looking and after a short pause, Eve replied, “Don't know.” She then stood over top of Cladhaire who appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

“Do you want us to erase today's events from his memories? Our methods aren't as clean or efficient as Luna's but-” Nao tried to ask.

“No need.” Eve declared. “I don't intend to hide my flaws. If they consider me a threat and kick me out, so be it. Now that Luna is here, it isn't critical that I stay, though it would be nice if I could.” She then wound her foot up behind her, prompting a quick warning from the mage and fairy. She belted Cladhaire in the ribs with her foot. He awoke with a snort and a grunt then rapidly crawled away when he saw who had kicked him. He held his arms up in front of him in order to guard any incoming attacks but Eve started walking towards the balcony again. “Stand up.” She ordered. “See for yourself if this strategy is flawed. You'll see just how competent she is, how competent they were, with your own eyes.” She then snapped a finger at Idel. “You're up. Ground 'em.”

* * *

“They're uglier than I thought they would be.” Luna observed as a dense cluster of Lilims flew down towards her. They traversed the sky with four large, leathery white wings and clawed at the air with dramatically long red fingers. They howled with a high pitched shriek that made Luna wish she had brought earplugs with her. Their skin was deathly pale and cracked all over, their tails thin but spiny, and lastly, they were stripped of their eyes. “Lucky bastards don't have to see themselves in the mirror ever.”

Then, Luna saw light blue lines spread throughout the clouds in a digital pattern. “Took him long enough.” She spat impatiently and the ground began to shake. The Lilims let out an eerie wail and flapped their wings vigorously. The majority of them plummeted to the Earth while those that stayed airborne slowly lost altitude. The sky itself rippled and many raining beams pierced the hearts of any creature that resisted the magic's pull. Luna dashed between the pinned Lilims, severing their necks one by one while humming a soft tune.

It didn't take long for Luna to start feeling the crushing force weaken bit by bit so she gauged how many more she could take out in its duration versus how many would survive. “Barely made a dent, huh?” She whispered and pointed her sword straight up then held it out horizontally beside her. The forest was immediately encompassed by a transparent, aqua green dome. She dropped her sword and the glowing lines in the clouds shattered like glass. The grounded Lilims howled furiously once more and quickly picked themselves up. They hurriedly surrounded Luna and attacked her from all angles, screaming in rage.

Luna's sword was coated in lime green flames and she smirked. Without a word, she swung her blade in a circle all around her and a ring of fire extended out, growing in size as it got further from her. The initial wave of attackers was immediately disintegrated. Luna then let out her own wings and flew straight into the heart of the crowd. With a swipe of her claws, blood sprayed and a handful more monsters crashed. All of them lifted one hand each into the air where crimson javelins were created and they heaved them in unison. The runes circled Luna's right eye and she vanished from sight as the army hit themselves with their own attacks in the crossfire. Luna reappeared directly underneath them and jabbed her sword up, a small ball of fire balancing on the tip. It was released with a deafening boom and a little less than half of the remaining forces were obliterated.

Luna clicked her tongue in frustration and relaxed her stance for a moment. “I thought they were too mindless to get out of the way but apparently not.” She then took a step forward and a wave of nausea rushed over her, forcing her onto one knee. The world around her began to tilt and spin slightly and she dropped her weapon. Mana fatigue? Already? With difficulty, she looked up at the swarm of creatures who silently watched her in return. Noticing that she was temporarily stunned, one of them let out a desperate war cry and they all rushed to dive-bomb her. Luna first scowled, then grinned. “Good, it was getting to be rather dull anyway.” She grabbed her half-cloak and swiftly tore it off, throwing it between her and her attackers. It spread out, blocking her from their view and she dove to the right side after picking up her sword. The first three that made it to her all jabbed their claws through the cloak, hitting the dirt behind it and she cleaved them in half with one swing. She then jumped back with multiple pounces, her limp arm dangling beside her but fully armoured. Many purple runes appeared on the surface of the plate, going all the way up to her pauldron. “Now then,” She muttered with a mischievous grin, “Let's see why the old man wanted to keep this a secret from me.” Flames scattered from the gaps and joints as the fingers on the gauntlet twitched oddly before squeezing into a fist. She then used it to crack her knuckles in her good hand and the sunlight over the field dimmed. She peered over her shoulder to see a black disk moving in front of the sun and before she knew it, she felt revitalized. The Lilims let out another shriek and charged for her again, but their actions had slowed down considerably. Luna dashed forward as well but slid to a stop when she accidentally passed them. They began scanning the area as though they hadn't noticed where she went. Luna crossed her arms and thought to herself, So that's how it is. If I recall correctly, Idel assumed that I'd be able to rob others of their mana but it looks like that's only one of the possibilities. Still, though, she counted the remaining hostiles again, even if I steal power from all of them, swatting this many flies will take a while. Let's try this... Luna snapped her fingers and spat, “Rot.” The sun glowed brighter from behind the black disc and the Lilims all held their arms up in front of them. A layer of steam began to rise from their skin and they all collapsed. Some clutched their throats, some grabbed their heads, others reached towards the heavens. One by one they fell silent, their bodies shrivelled and their skin itself became leathery.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

“Well, that sure was nuts.” A comically deep voice exclaimed. Slowly descending from the sky was a man dressed in a full suit of brassy armour, though his stature was considerably smaller than any of the previous angels. Six white wings spread out from his back but remained stationary as he got closer to Luna. From his wrists to his elbows, his ankles to his knees and across his chest were golden chains with no apparent purpose. “Balbh warned me that they were considerably weaker than you, but I still didn't expect you to blow them away without even taking so much as a hit. You really are too dangerous to leave to your own devices, aren't you?”

Luna rested the spine of her sword on her shoulder and looked away, distracted. “Is that a threat?” She growled then thought to herself, He's not affected by the eclipse, huh? Is he immune to it or...

“I meant it more as a compliment to your power than anything else.” He replied and shrugged his shoulders. “Before we inevitably start fighting, may I ask you a question?”

“A question?” She sighed. “If it's boring, I'll cut you down on the spot.”

“Boring, yeah? I guess you really aren't the person I thought you were.”

“We've met before?” I do smell something familiar about him but that armour is blocking most of it.

“Oi, oi, oi, I'm asking the first question. If you've got one, wait your turn.”

“Then get on with it. I'm losing my patience.”

“No need to be in such a rush. It's not like there's another wave coming or anything. We can take our time.” The flames around Luna's blade burned brighter and the stranger held his hands up in surrender. “Fine, fine, point taken. Assuming you survive today's fight, what do you plan on doing afterward?”

“Haven't thought about it.”

“Any guesses?”

“Maybe go hunting I suppose.”

“Hunting what?”

“Some things are better left unspoken.”

“That right?” He asked, his tone dramatically lower than before. He held his hand out beside him and stated, “Then I really can't let you leave here alive. Uictor.” A flash of lightning struck him and when it faded, an azure great-sword was in his grasp. He gripped it tightly and dashed towards Luna, dragging its tip through the dirt. She yawned in response and side-stepped his upward, diagonal slash and hit him in the ribs with a roundhouse, lifting his feet off the ground for a split moment. He quickly balanced himself and swung at her neck. She ducked below it and swiped at his stomach. He jumped back, leaving only a scratch on his breastplate as Luna's attack grazed him in a shower of sparks. He had barely planted one foot back on the grass before Luna lunged forward. He held the flat of his sword toward her but gasped when he saw only the hilt of her weapon remained. Something hit him from behind, cutting right through his armour and into his flesh, knocking him back towards Luna who forced her gauntlet into his chest. Without even the time to blink, he was engulfed in a lime green blaze.

Luna relaxed her stance, her blade reappearing at her side stained with blood and she mumbled, “I was hoping he'd put up a bit more of a fight. How disappointing.” She then turned on her heel and marched back to Síochain. Then, the stranger emerged from the smoke readying a powerful swing. Luna didn't react to it at all and he dove for her, aiming to take her head right off of her shoulders. The moment he made contact with her skin, however, she sighed, “Reverse.” The stranger felt a sharp pain and immediately pulled back, putting a chunk of distance between them.

He kept his eyes fixated on her and rubbed the side of his neck gingerly. He held it out in front of his face to inspect the blood that dripped from his fingertips. I hit her but I'm the one who got cut? What the hell? He clenched his fist and growled, “Dirty tricks are for cheaters.”

“You sound like you've never fought before. Regardless, are we done here? I'm starting to get sleepy. Go practice or something then challenge me. A human infant might be more to your level. Go on.” Luna teased him and waved him off.

He closed his eyes and began to say, “Like I said, I- wha-”

Luna closed the distance between them and grabbed the visor of his headgear with her armoured hand. She drove her knee into his stomach, released him, and hit him with another roundhouse which grazed his shoulder, popping off his pauldron and carried on to hit him upside the head, knocking off his helmet. He slid on his side several metres through the dirt and Luna scolded him, “Always pay attention to your opponent dumb ass. You think you're in an anime or something, talking so much mid-fight... Ryan?”

The stranger slowly picked himself up and turned around, revealing a familiar face as well as a red symbol of an open, upside-down triangle below a hollow circle on his shoulder. “I should have known you'd be ruthless.” He chuckled uncomfortably.

“You've got no one to blame but yourself for giving me the opening.” She sighed and wandered over to a nearby boulder. She sat down on top of it and placed her sword on her lap.

“Oi, oi, didn't you just tell me to pay attention but now you're taking a rest?”

She flicked one of her ears and declared, “You never shut up so I can hear you coming from a mile away. Besides, I'm waiting for somebody.”

“Waiting for who-”

Suddenly, something crashed behind him, causing the ground to shake. He thought about inspecting it but froze the moment blood starting dripping down his chest and giant, black paw was placed beside him. Luna rose her head a touch and she exclaimed, “Ah, there you are Fenrir.” Three grey wolves then surrounded Ryan, snarling. “The others made it back just fine as well, I see. Well, as much as I'd like to see him shit his pants, I'm still impatient. Return.” All of them immediately vanished and Luna's hair quickly turned from silver to black. She glared at Ryan threateningly and lazily barked, “So?”

“So?” He echoed.

“I'm pretty sure the Saibhreas' gimmick is to give you the ability to stop time right? Or are you actually this pathetic? I'll wait if you need time to prepare.”

“Are you an idiot?”

“How many times do I need to repeat myself? I'm bored. Make this entertaining.”

Ryan gritted his teeth. “Is this just a game to you?”

“It wasn't until you showed up.”

“You can't be serious. Lives are at stake here.”

Luna rested her chin on the palm of her hand. “Attacking Síochain aside, if I had known you'd give me so much of a headache, I wouldn't have spared you last time.”

“I thought you did that because you loved me.”

“You're mistaking me with someone else.”

“Should you really be fooling around like this when you should be protecting the people in there?”

“If you were a threat, maybe. Can we change the subject? I feel a 'power of friendship' speech coming up soon and I'm really not in the mood.”

“Fine. Don't you feel even the least bit guilty about all those children you murdered at the lab?”

“I murdered murderers, fuck off.”

“Kids, Luna.”

“Murderers who were brainwashed to kill me at any point. Their age doesn't excuse their intentions.”

“What if you showed them that you weren't the monster they were lead to believe?”

“What if they stabbed me in the back before I could?”

“You're being ridiculous.”

“You're blind. Are you done yet? My headache has turned into a migraine.”

Ryan clenched his fists. “So what are you planning to do about it? Kill off the human race?”

“That would be a good start.”

“Why?”

“Why spare the bastards who drove my race to near extinction and enslaved the rest? Why spare the bastards who pinned me down and stripped me down just to turn me into a freak show? Why spare the bastards who were mind-controlled to kill me? Why spare the bastards who killed innocents and tried to frame me for it?”

“You really are beyond saving.”

“Right, because I'm the one that needs to be saved.”

Ryan fell quiet and pressed his fingers into his shoulder. “Rest assured, I won't let you suffer any longer.” The symbol began to glow and the entire field was enveloped by a strange light that drained everything of its colour. The clouds in the sky and the leaves that danced in the breeze all slowed to a stop in place, not even falling to the ground or raising higher. Ryan then marched towards Luna, both hands tightly gripping Uictor's handle. “I'll make sure it's painless.” He held the sword out to his side and with a war cry, attempting to slash Luna's neck once more. “I'll correct your sins, starting now.” The edge struck her but Ryan winced as the vibrations run up his arms. The blade was halted entirely, neither cutting through its target nor bouncing off. He broke into a cold sweat when lone finger curled around the opposite edge of Uictor, effortlessly holding it in place.

“So that's what it was.” Luna grumbled aloud and tossed the azure weapon to the side. Ryan went with it, dropping its tip to the ground, unable to lift it back up again. “Exposing your skin to the eclipse seems to have been all it took to have it actually take effect.” She then stood up and after a quick stretch, casually approached Ryan.

He backed away from her. “How are you able to move?”

She pushed the hair away from her left eye, fully exposing the Ríastrad. “I never said stopping time would immobilize me, dummy.” At that moment, the lime green flames that danced around Luna's sword turned crimson and Ryan released Uictor to jump into the air. Luna grabbed him by the ankle and threw him back down into the ground then stepped on his chest. She then snapped her fingers and Ryan was blinded.

He let out a short, panicked yelp and flailed his arms in an attempt to crawl away, not stopping until he realized that it was only fabric that blocked his sight. He hesitantly grabbed the foreign object and held it out in front of him. “These are,” He paused while inspecting the pink hoodie and white skirt, “the clothes I bought for you.”

“Correct.” Luna replied and a hole was burned through them. She jabbed her finger through, sticking the tip of her claw into Ryan's forehead. He dropped what remained of the clothing and looked up at her. Her face was expressionless but one eye left streaks of saltwater, the other streaks of blood down her cheeks. As though fighting her own voice, she choked, “Disappear.” Without any further sound, Ryan was swallowed in a scarlet blaze.

Luna stood over top of it, not moving for several seconds as a red symbol – an open, upside-down triangle below a red circle- was etched into her shoulder. Finally, she stepped away from it and wiped off her face using the back of her arm, watching as colour returned to the world. Something flew out of the flames and Luna caught it out of the breeze instinctively. “A photograph...” She mumbled and looked it over. A corner had been burned away, but she could still make out a pier and a festival in the background. Two young boys stood in front of their parents, all smiling happily. Luna blinked at it slowly and shut her eyes it smouldered under her finger. As it became nothing more than embers, Luna whispered, “Shut up.” She took several steps towards the forest and halted again. “Farewell.” She murmured. “I won't ask for something...” She positioned the tip of her sword in her scabbard and slowly slid it in, the sun giving it a blinding reflection. “As worthless as your forgiveness.” She fully sheathed her blade with a click, and the light was snuffed out.