Hi! Before you start reading this chapter, I just wanna apologize for not releasing any new chapters as of te. I got sick and injured as well as a pile of responsibilities were ahead of me. I had to take a break from this series because of that, but now I should be able to release chapters here and there without any long deys :)
Since there was a long gap before this chapter and the previous chapter, I suggest re-reading the previous chapter, but if you want to go straight in, then I won't stop you. Thanks and again, sorry for the inconvenience!
...
Silence fills their surrounding as the two looked at each other
The Water Pilr on the other hand, watched on the side lines, having upmost faith on the Wind Pilr
Soon after, the Wind Pilr raised her dagger and pointed it at the Demicat
"...?"
"I'm Aeris, the Wind Pilr of the Sol Empire"
"Sol Empire...why does that sound familiar...?"
"You, what's your name?"
"..."
Aeris gave the Demicat a few seconds to answer...
...but as, the Demicat didn't reply back
"...No intentions to even introduce yourself, huh?"
The Demicat stood firm, keeping an eye contact at Aeris
"I see..."
Getting onto her stance, Aeris focused on the target
"!"
And swiftly charges towards the Demicat
*thwap!*
With ease, the Demicat catches it with one hand
"Hmph!"
*Whoosh* *thwap* *Whoosh* *thwap* *Whoosh* *thwap* *Whoosh* *thwap* *Whoosh* *thwap* *Whoosh* *thwap*
Aeris with all her might, tries to nd a hit on the Demicat...
...but all of her attacks never nded a scratch
All of a sudden, the Demicat seemed to blunder with her st action
"! An opening!"
As she thrust her dagger towards the weak spot
*thunk!*
"?!"
It was also successfully blocked by the Demicat
"You actually fell for my bluff?"
"Bluff?!"
The Demicat was about to nd a punch on Aeris, but Aeris casted a skill on time
"Shadow Step!"
Out of the opponent's range, Aeris was able to dodge the Demicat's attack
"..."
"..."
The two looked at each other with some things on their mind
"You're actually faster than you were before. I'm impressed"
"Oh really? Faster than your eyes could keep up?"
The Demicat tilted her head in confusion
"Huh? No, you're faster now that's for sure but...you're still moving at a snail's pace in my eyes"
"?!"
Based on the attacks that the Demicat deflected, it was no doubt that she wasn't joking about it. Aeris knew deep down that she wasn't mocking her when she said that...
...but her pride got the best of her
"You're joking...right?"
"...?"
"..."
With no warnings, Aeris casted another skill
"Way of the Wind: Afterimage!"
Multiple clones of Aeris started to show up, imitating the actions of the real Aeris. Aeris smirks at the Demicat
"Sure you can keep your eyes on one enemy, but can you keep up with thirty?"
"..."
Without any hesitation, all of them charged at the Demicat with different tempo
"*Sigh*..."
Calm as ever, the Demicat pyfully dances with the multiple Aeris' on the field, dodging all of their attacks
*Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh*
Seemingly catching up that they can't still nd a hit on the Demicat, all of them stopped
"Oh? Giving up already?"
All of them attacked the Demicat at once, covering every possible location she can escape to
"HAAAAAAAA!"
But the Demicat for once, drops her smile
"That's also a bad idea"
"?!"
The Demicat raises her right leg, then gently kicks the ground
*Thud*...*Crack!*
Soon after, the surrounding area shatters
*Boom!*
"ACHKKK!"
The force was powerful enough to blow away Aeris and her skill. Casa on the other hand, got blown away by the impact, but was able to tch on a tree
The simple action that the Demicat caused, made a devastating result to their surroundings, dusting up the pce right after...
...few seconds pass by, the Demicat can be seen standing in the middle of the shattered ground, waiting for her enemy to respond
"*Grr*...I know she wasn't just some Demicat from the start...but just how strong this Demicat is?!"
After the dust completely faded, the Demicat sat down from where she was standing, seemingly having no care at all
"Look, you already know what the outcome will be, right? So why don't you just give up?"
"Give up...?"
She then got reminded of her past
"You're a prodigy, Aeris"
"..."
"You're a failure in my eyes"
"Giving up is never an option!"
With seriousness in her eyes, Aeris gone back into her battle stance
"Alright...seems like I have no choice"
"...?"
It was then that the Demicat stood up
"You wanted to know my name, right?"
"..."
"...Its Mashiro"
"?!"
"That's the name of the Demicat that will defeat you right now"
Mashiro lunged at Aeris, barely leaving her any time to react
*Bam!*
Fortunately for Aeris
*Thud!*
She was able to defend with her arms linked at each other. The force from Mashiro's punch was enough to send her back to a quite far distance from Mashiro
"...How..."
Aeris in shock, her body stood froze
"What? Don't tell me that was enough for you to get scared at me"
"?! Why you-"
"Less chatting and more focus on your opponent"
"?!"
Mashiro then kicked Aeris on her rib
"Achk!"
Aeris then got flew away, throwing herself at a tree that stopped her motion
"Ugh..."
As she slowly opened her eyes, she can see Mashiro slowly walking up to her
"I was matching your speed just now you know, you should be able to react to it but...seems like you can't"
"?! my speed- Ack!"
Her broken rib forbids her to speak, she aches further from the pain
She was once again reminded of that line
"You're a failure in my eyes...you're the reason they died!"
It was because of that, that she stood up once more, fighting with her life on the line
"I REFUSE TO GIVE UP!!!"
Mashiro stopped walking right after as she say that
"I guess I'll have to show it to you"
"...?"
Mashiro stood firm, as she chant her skill
"Godspeed"
With a blink of an eye, Mashiro disappeared from Aeris' eyes
"?!"
She looked everywhere to where Mashiro could be...until she deduced the only direction where she would be attacking
"I GOT YOU!"
But right after as she thrusts her dagger, she knew she made a mistake
"Close...but you were 3 seconds ahead"
"?!"
She swung her dagger right after Mashiro showed up in front of her, but she quickly disappeared
"?! Again -Ack!"
It was then that Aeris started to lose her vision
"No...this can't be..."
Aeris looked over to where the Water Pilr would be
"...Casa..."
...
...Thus, the Wind Pilr finally got knocked out
"*Sigh*...speed doesn't mean you always have to be faster than your opponent, you also need to know how to utilize it..."
"To think that Aeris got defeated that easily..."
Casa said, while seating down in a comfortable position
"Not even worried by the slightest bit, huh?"
"I already knew you don't have the intention of killing us, you would've done so earlier"
Mashiro smiles back at Casa
"You really fit the role then"
"I can't believe I'm hearing that from an enemy right now"
Mashiro chuckles from the statement
"We might be enemies as of now, but who knows if that will stay that way. I'm merely just following orders after all"
"Following orders..."
Casa gets reminded of someone higher than her
"Hikari..."
"I could've killed that girl right now, but she's fortunate that I decided to take self control tely!"
"Self control?"
"Mmm!"
Mashiro said with a warmth smile
"That's so different than the one you gave earlier"
"...? What do you mean?"
"Nothing...moreover, shouldn't you be dealing with me now?"
Casa said, seemingly wants Mashiro to end her suffering right now
"You're really brave, you know that?"
"I might be right now, but I know for a fact that this isn't over"
"...?"
"I know what you guys did. I was just too te to realize it"
"..."
Understanding what Casa meant, Mashiro didn't beat around the bush any further
"I see..."
Having some respect to Casa, Mashiro lifted the tension between them
"My name's Mashiro, a devoted and faithful companion of our Leader, Rui Hanzawa!"
The Water Pilr hesitates for a second, but then gives out her name
"Casa...Sol Empire's Water Pilr"
Mashiro nods as she happily wags her tail and ears
"Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet-"
Suddenly, Casa started to lose consciousness
"-you..."
...
Finally, the Water Pilr fully lost her consciousness
"...As I thought...that name is so familiar to me..."
Mashiro says to herself, with one more thought into her mind
"I know that you'll win, there's no doubt on that, but still, please be careful, Rui sama!"
She then slowly walks off away from the Pilrs of Wind and Water, as she occupy herself in her own thoughts...
...
