VIII

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Arc VIII Chapter 6

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"Captain, are you okay?"

"Okay? Nothing is okay in this fucking snowy shithole.?An?avalanche?nearly killed us.“?Kumanosuke groaned in pain. They survived the?avalanche and the little?psycho loli?at the expense of a few broken bones. His legs refused to move.

"What are you waiting for? Get your asses over!?Help me!" Shizue and Naomichi moved.

Kumanosuke gritted?his teeth?to?suppress the pain. "If I ever get my hands on this?little bitch,?..."

Shizue listened. "So?we are continuing with the mission?"

Kumanosuke answered with an incredulous stare, "Fuck no. I am not senile. We?get the fuck out. I am not going to face this demon ever again. "

Screw the mission. Screw the money. Screw the terror loli.

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Yuki's chances of survival were minimal, not to say non-existent. All hope was lost and doom awaited her.

The exhausted girl embraced the soft snow. Her death would be sweet and painless.

Yuki was never a friend of pain and suffering. Nobody was. Yuki was a pampered noble girl and little princess, a pampered little princess.

Noble?blood coursed?through her veins. Harumi, her caretaker and guardian,?always said?so.

Harumi served her parents even beyond their death and Yuki?had little reason doubt to his words. He spoke the truth, she was of noble birth?and Yuki remembered her heritage,

Years had passed since the fateful day, the night she lost her parents, killed in cold blood.

On the run for the majority of her life, Yuki missed her father, her mother. The pain never subsided.

Yuki missed Haruka. Yuki missed her warmth, her hugs, her love. All disappeared. Only the memories of better times remained.

The?ninja?nearly killed her, forcing?her?to march untold miles in the cold.

Her tender heart hoped her friends?would rot in hell,?haunted by?her angry spirit from the afterlife. Yuki wouldn't forgive them. Never.

Death came quickly. No pain. No agony. Her body?went numb, and darkness?approached her. Trapped in a state of fading consciousness?and reality, her world turned black.

The?darkness crept?closer, which unsettled Yuki. The darkness was strange, alien, different. Ancient malice lurked?inside the shadows. Avarice. Envy. Insatiable hunger.

Yuki stared into the abyss?and the abyss stared?back at her. The dark miasma distressed her.

Yuki stumbled backwards?and the darkness followed her.

Yuki?paled. Her fears weren't a product of her?paranoia, the darkness followed?her.?The thing didn't allow her to escape.

...

...

...

The beast flashed its teeth. Red luminescent eyes pierced her. Their predatory intent was clear.

Nightmarish tendrils?rushed forth. Deformed, inhuman?claws?carved for her. They were everywhere. They were many.?They were fast.

Yuki gulped. Nobody told her about this?aspect of dying.

Yuki reconsidered?her decision. Death didn't appear?desirable anymore.

Yuki ran. The little princess?fled from the army of black tendrils.?She was too young and fluffy to die.

But misfortune?struck the clumsy girl. Yuki tripped over her own feet and fell. Her clumsy feet sealed her fate.

Yuki?closed her eyes and awaited her end, but her brutal death never came.

The murderous claws never reached?her. A purple shield?blocked them much to the dark creature's annoyance.

The beast snarled,?glared. The creature?wasn't happy?with the outcome. The purple shield protected?Yuki. The mysterious?barrier exuded a gentle aura,?warm,?reassuring, comforting. The purple energy cared about her.

The shield dissipated and morphed into a purple sphere, startling Yuki.?A?cute fluffy?light ball?saved her from demise, and her new?fluffy?friend didn't show any fear.

The dark creature hissed, but her companion didn't waver.?The brave light ball stood?its ground?and challenged the darkness. Little love was lost between both sides.

Yuki rooted for her new ally?from behind. Yuki?wasn't a coward, but she also wasn't prepared to fight. Her little friend was better suited for combat.

Kill it! Kill it! Murder the stupid shadow thingy!

The stalemate continued?until?the unknown creature conceded defeat. The beast hissed in rage, but it was useless. The girl was beyond its reach.

Annoyed, the darkness receded and Yuki sighed in relief. First blood crazed ninja,?and?now?arcane eldritch terrors.?Life was tough.

The purple sphere observed her. Her friend waited.

Yuki titled her head, unsure?what to do with her little friend.

Yuki decided to pat?her?fluffy friend. The sphere rejoiced, pleased by its reward.

"Are you satisfied ...?Stop, what are you doing?! Stop!" Yuki panicked and fought the inevitable. Yuki resisted, but resistance was futile.

The sphere dissolved into a fine mist of shimmering particles. The mist enveloped her, entering?her body. The mist absorbed her.?A warm feeling spread through her entire?body, a?sensation of power, of strength.

Yuki stared at her?hands, the faint aura of entrancing purple glimmered in the dark, a?beautiful purple that banished the darkness.

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Yuki awakened from her slumber and morning greeted her, much to her annoyance. Yuki loved her sleep, her fluffy dreams.

They were cut short and Yuki?found herself in a pinch. Her lungs?didn't get any air.?Two arms curled around her chest in a tight hug, suffocating her.

Yuki panicked and gasped for air. She didn't survive?her assassins only to be cuddled to death like a teddy bear.?Her air supplies dwindled?and?her sense of reality faded.

...

Air ...

...

Oxygen ...

...

Life ...

...

Help ...

...

The gods took pity on Yuki and answered her pleas. The hug of death loosened?and Yuki was able to?breath again.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Her condition stabilised and Yuki inspect her surroundings. Her head turned left despite being barely able to move. A?sleeping bag and the insidious hug of death trapped her.

At least, the sleeping bag was cosy and warm here, which Yuki?appreciated.?Cosiness and warmth were her friends.

A dark cave?surrounded her and a?fire flickered in the darkness.?A mysterious man camped?around the fire. He studied?the purple flames?intently. Her fire hid?her secrets.

His hand?touched the?fire, but the man?showed no?reaction. He felt nothing beneath his mask. His hollow voice?betrayed no emotions. "A?peculiar fire.?A peculiar girl."

Yuki blinked. "What are you doing?"

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