Tears in her eyes, Erina nearly screamed as she scrambled several paces further before finally staggering to her feet, eyes wide and transfixed on the living nightmare coming her way. He didn't look like that devastating attack took anything out of him at all. That kind of power was enough to uproot entire buildings if he put any effort in. That couldn't possibly be normal even for a youkai. What was that thing? What the hell was that thing?!

  Goukei was coming at her again. She had to do something to fight back. But what could she possibly do when everything bounced off as if she'd flicked a pebble at him?

  Her heart almost stopped for real when she saw him crouch down, preparing to fly at her a second time. Anything but that. Erina slashed her arm and a spell circle flashed into existence beneath Goukei. She needed a tenfold, no, hundredfold spatial distortion iteration!

  One more movement of her arm, and the fabric of reality itself warped around him. Erina let a pained groan slip as her heart tightened further.

  A new shelf of stone erupted in his wake as Goukei leapt forward, only to fall short of his destination. Everything around him looked distorted. He knew he moved far enough to be right on top of Erina, but judging by the floor, he hadn't even covered a hundredth of the distance. "Oh? You've been holdin' out on me!"

  "Zeno's paradox," panted Erina. "Anything in motion must arrive at the halfway… before reaching its destination. You'll have to cross that halfway… a hundred times over to cross it once." She wavered where she stood before regaining her balance, summoning an orb of energy into her hand. This was her one option. "You're not… going anywhere."

  Goukei balanced his staff over both shoulders and spread both arms over it. "Show me what you're made of, Erina-chan!"

  That one orb split into four and recondensed back into one. Erina nearly fell over as she spun, tracing the orb with her as it multiplied into sixteen and condensed again. She forced herself to stay standing, her heart feeling ready to give out at any moment as she made two more motions, compressing it back into one each time. The resulting orb was all but screaming in her hand, its shine drowning out what remained of the stage lights.

  Four spell circles formed before her outstretched arm as she fired off the concentrated laser—and then dragged it back with the fourth seal before it could reach Goukei. The laser went through the accelerating runes again, and again, over and over and faster and faster. The blistering speed of the beam splitting the air made a howling noise as if it really was screaming.

  Goukei's vicious grin grew even wider. Chaos erupted behind him as he kicked off again, the distorted space roaring past him at breakneck speed—

  Erina fired her railgun with a desperate yell, the recoil throwing her to the floor as the beam was finally set free to explode forth.

  Once again, Goukei did just the bare minimum of taking one step aside. Too late, he realized the distortion spell was not one-dimensional.

  The railgun blast obliterated the distant wall, and the one behind that, and the one behind that before Erina could no longer tell how much it destroyed by the sound. Gasping for breath, she weakly raised one arm and dispelled the spatial distortion. It took everything she had just to roll onto her side and begin the slow, laborious process of getting to her feet.

  Erina's knees wobbled, pleading to give out. She ignored them as best she could and surveyed the room, scanning for her opponent. The massive punch had not only destroyed the floor but brought down most everything from the ceiling with the shockwave alone. Only a few stage lights remained intact and operational, shining lonely spotlights onto an empty and destroyed dance floor.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Erina spotted a huge arm under one. The rest of Goukei was still attached to it, laid out on the floor with a growing puddle of dark red under him.

  She panted, never able to draw in enough air. Her head spun. Was that it? Please let it be the end. Please…

  A low gurgling sound emanated from Goukei, and he sat up. The railgun had blown a gaping hole through his chest so perfect, Erina could see the other side. Right before her very eyes, the silhouette of reforming matter finished reconstructing his spine and then extended to reconnect his ribs, followed by filling in the rest of the hole. Within mere seconds, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

  Erina nearly passed out on the spot. All that… and for what?

  "Erina-chan." The towering demon that was Goukei loomed over her. She had to muster every last bit of strength just to stay upright. Slowly, a smile crept across his face.

  The giant hand reached forth and rested lightly on her shoulder.

  "Good dance. Your overstepping—I'll forgive it."

  He walked past her and away, his footsteps receding into the distance. The door swung shut behind him.

  Erina finally gave out and collapsed.

  . He closed his eye and called out, "Didn't know you were into voyeurism. 'S about time ya stopped crawlin' around in the dark, ain't it?"

  He turned around. Akira sat casually atop the street lamp there, one leg swinging idly with the other knee supporting her arm.

  "The fuck's yer game, Akira?" he said. "Heard yer back in town stirrin' the shit 'n next thing I know, ya don't even show up to the party? Got me fired up 'n everything. Yer bustin' my balls over here."

  "Sounds like nothing new." She hopped down from her high perch and craned her neck to meet his eye, unfazed by the demon towering over her. "And here I was looking to show you the shiny new artifact I found."

  "Might as well've fucked off and gone home," he grumbled.

  "Thought about it, yeah." Akira glanced in the direction of the nightclub for a moment. "Changed my mind."

  "Stuck around to watch the runt get her salad tossed?"

  She made a non-committal noise.

  "Well, she's a squishy li'l shit, but that's a diamond in the rough for sure." Goukei tapped his staff on his shoulder with a fanged grin. "So she's the offerin', then? Mind if I keep her?"

  "Fuck off." Akira still had a matching grin despite the bite in her voice. "She's already sworn to me. You want her that bad, you should've found her in the first place."

  Goukei walked right up to her, mere inches apart. "Like ya didn't throw the first kick."

  She didn't back down in the slightest. "Do us both a favor, will you? Keep a tighter leash on your goons. Feels like I'm saying it more and more often. Just 'cause they got turned around on the way to the house doesn't mean I'm gonna stand the shit they get up to."

  "Ah, no promises 'bout that." He waved his hand as if shooing the matter aside. "Never was a good leader 'n all."

  "Then retire."

  "I'll break you in half."

  "I'd love to see you try."

  They glared daggers at each other, but they could only keep it up for so long before breaking off into laughter.

  "A'ight," said Goukei as they quieted down. "Where'd ya really find the girl?"

  "Trade secret," shrugged Akira, a cat's smile on her face. "Why should I sell it to you?"

  "Smug li'l brat. Be that way." Goukei turned his back on her and continued walking away. "Keep in touch, yeah? Don't forget, it's drinks on you next time."

  "Says the oni," she snarked. "Later, Goukei."

  He waved nonchalantly without looking. Deep red sparks jumped at his feet and then blazed into a roaring pillar of spectral hellfire. When the flames receded, he was gone.

  Akira went into the deserted nightclub. She stepped over the rubble and fallen lights, past the upturned tables, and around the crater. "…Hey."

  She knelt down and gently reached out, lifting Erina's head off the cold hard ground into her lap. Erina didn't react.

  "Glad you made it." Akira rested her hand on her head. "One small nudge—that's all I gave you out on the floor, just when you needed it. The rest was all you. Clever, and brave even if you don't know it… You did well today, Erina." A plaintive look filled her golden eyes, no longer seeing the girl with her. "Better than I ever did."

  Her hand passed through her dark hair. Slowly, just a little bit, some of the tension in Erina's brow faded away.