. They contrasted sharply with the dirt paths leading up to them and the scenery of untouched nature around them at the peak of the mountain. No signs existed to indicate the nature of the facilities. There was no vacation home here. Cigarette butts and empty wine bottles littered the ground. Kirigami Family yakuza milled about around the roaring bonfire in the middle of the encampment. Giant wooden barrels of alcohol, a dozen feet tall each, were stacked on top of each other to reach as high as the buildings. Tall steel beams braced the barrels on either side to keep them from rolling away. A winding black spire jutted into the air a short distance away in the trees, standing significantly taller than the buildings.

  One dirt path at the back of the site parted the trees, marking the way to a large cave entrance. A massive blue-skinned oni squatted in front of it, blocking access. A colossal axe of dark red steel rested at its side, the head wedged in the earth as the giant chugged a barrel of alcohol. Stone statues just as massive as the oni framed it on either side of the cave mouth, bearing signs of wear in their faded features and chipped limbs. Their heads had completely snapped off, leaving bare stumps for necks. One half of a cow head remained at one statue's feet. The other was mere rubble.

  "Hey!" said one of the men, pointing over his bottle. "There she is!"

  Akira sauntered right up to their little party, hands behind her head with a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

  "Get her!"

  She licked her lips, already tasting the kill.

  The first to approach got his head removed entirely. Black-green inky venom trailing her motions, Akira trampled over the body and dove straight into the melee, weaving under big haymakers and sidestepping wild punches. One spinning thunderous kick after another busted kneecaps, crushed skulls, and sent mages flying to an even harder stop on the building walls.

  Some of the men hesitated to approach the whirlwind of venom and knives. Those same men crumpled to a barrage of white-green beams bolting down from high on up. Kneeling at the edge of the rooftop, Erina motioned with one hand to multiply and manage her resources while the other brought down the rain of lasers to reduce Akira's workload.

  The yells of the men, sounds of lasers firing, thunderous booms, and flashing lights drew the blue oni's attention. It shook its barrel to make sure there wasn't a drop left in it and then got up, tugging its gigantic axe out of the ground. The giant began making its slow, lumbering way towards the battle.

  "Found you!" The rooftop access door flew open, several goons pouring out of it.

  Erina glanced over her shoulder. She returned her attention to thinning the crowd below.

  "You think you're funny, turnin' your back on us?!"

  She flicked her hand. One orb fired backwards and hit the field of floating Menger sponges around the door.

  The ensuing chain explosion scattered the men, several in pieces. Erina's hair fluttered in the wind and then settled. She looked over. One of the men had landed right beside her in a tangled heap, teetering on the edge of the roof. She got up and used her foot to nudge him the rest of the way over.

  The body hit the ground behind Akira as she spun away from a wild scimitar swing. "You can do better than that!" she jeered. "Come on, come on, just one teensy hit! You can do it!" Laughing, she whirled back into the fight.

  So strong… thought Erina. She was so glad Akira was on her side.

  She checked her shoulder again. A few men were climbing onto the roof. Erina left her array of orbs by the edge and got up to face them head-on.

  A dragon's curve punched the first back off the rooftop. Erina kept several orbs by her side, perpetually threatening a snipe at any second as she ducked away from the next two men. She brought her hands together and then quickly drew them apart, forming a green line that solidified into her katana as she grabbed it. Erina drew her blade from its scabbard and quickly cut down one man before turning her attention to the next, she and her opponent looking for a good angle in on the other.

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  Another goon ran across the rooftop on the far side. He rummaged through one of the bodies on the roof, pulled out a carved whistle, and blew it with a high-pitched note before Erina's leftover orbs shot him down.

  The skies darkened. Erina slashed at her opponent, forcing him to give her room to roll aside as the nue slammed down where she'd been standing. It lunged at her repeatedly, its paw swipes backing her up repeatedly.

  Sword in one hand, Erina motioned with the other and struck the nue with a barrage of lasers. It didn't stop it from attacking anyway, pushing her to the very edge of the roof.

  Erina jumped, holding her skirt on the way down. A spell circle formed a few feet off the ground for her to land on, safely absorbing her momentum just before the floor. The nue landed heavily moments later in hot pursuit.

  "Akira!" said Erina as she ran. "Switch!"

  "With pleasure!" Akira's boot came down on one more man's head before she turned back, hand raised to tag out as they passed each other. Her smug grin turned manic as she set her eyes on her new opponent. "Time for some payback, and if you know anything about my family's interest rates, you're gonna love this!"

  The earth tremored. The blue oni was still on its way, approaching as fast as it could. In other words, not very.

  Erina tossed an orb aside and slashed her arm, the orb growing into a dragon's curve following her movement and denying the space in front of her. By the time it faded, Erina had already set up a swarm of orbs ready to fire and was on her way to cleaning up the last of the men.

  One goon charged forward, rolling under the lasers and coming up with a narrowly dodged uppercut. Erina's sword formed in her grip, and she drew the blade while attacking in a single motion. Another down.

  "Wha—?" Erina struggled as her feet suddenly left the ground. Someone had snuck up on her from behind and had her by the arms. "Let go of me!"

  He swung her around, presenting a free target to the rest of his buddies—

  A knife whistled through the air and lodged itself in his throat. Erina reached up as he gurgled and didn't think about what she was doing as she yanked the knife across his neck before breaking free. Her hair was going to reek later.

  "Thank you!" she shouted to Akira as she turned her attention to the leftover thugs.

  "Not… a… problem!" Akira's heel slammed into the nue's face and sent it skidding back with a pained noise. "How about that, you slippery little piece of trash? Not so funny when I've got my eyes on you, is it?!"

  Without its invisibility and that snake for a fifth limb constantly sneaking in bites, the nue was little better than a punching bag that could sometimes make a mild attempt to fight back. Akira shut it down every time, bones snapping and crunching as she stopped every slash and bite cold with her boot.

  The ground shook as Erina raised two fingers and shot down the last man in sight. Not a second too soon. The blue oni was upon her.

  Erina dived aside to escape the first earth-shaking chop. She had to scramble to her feet and jump to clear the giant swing that followed, the oni bringing its axe all the way around in a huge spin that blasted massive chunks out of the building behind it. Still airborne, she took aim and fired several shots that only bounced off without penetrating.

  "Akira!" she called out as she landed. "I can't pierce it!"

  "No railgun?!" Akira shouted back, gold eyes on the nue she was kicking into the nearest wall. "Keep it busy, I'll be there when I get there!"

  Erina didn't think she'd get time to accelerate the railgun. She danced around the oni as it lumbered about, its feet stamping and pounding the earth as it took giant swing after giant swing with its axe. There was no skill behind its clumsy attacks—just a big brute swinging a big stick. Erina tried not to think about what would happen if she ever messed up. Instead, she focused on ensuring she didn't mess up her dodges in the first place.

  The axe carved trenches through the earth as the blue oni swung it about wildly. Erina leapt high over another sweep and then pushed off a spell circle, changing trajectory mid-air to dodge the hand that lunged to snatch her out of the air. The oni stumbled past her as she rolled to her feet, running behind the monster as she fired another barrage of ineffectual lasers. It turned to her, the huge axe scraping across the ground.

  And then it turned away, sniffing the air. The blue oni lumbered off in some other direction. Erina didn't ask questions and took aim, four spell circles forming in front of her. She created an orb, multiplied and compressed it, and then reiterated the shining bolt into the railgun at her fingertips with a high-pitched whine.

  The oni stomped over to the barrels. One of Erina's deflected beams had crossed the clearing and struck the barrel, springing a leak that poured unbelievably expensive alcohol out onto the grass. The oni slapped aside the metal beams, uprooting them from the earth so it could grab the leaking barrel and raise it over its open mouth—

  The railgun blast exploded through its chest and sent the giant crashing down into its beloved wine. Giant barrels tumbled away, rolling aimlessly around the encampment as the oni clambered to its feet with a new hole in its chest, dark red staining its front and back, and a deafening bellow ringing from its jaws.

  Erina frowned. Her shot really missed anything vital? She should've gone for the head after all.

  She definitely should've gone for the head, because the blue oni was coming in hot!