"Eto…"
I suddenly dozed off on the stairs, with no one else by my side except this thick layer of darkness.
The newcomer, who was just by my side a moment ago, has vanished into thin air. I try to look around for the guy, but this darkness blocks me from taking in the surroundings.
Still, thanks to all that training, I can feel that no one else is on the stairs right now, which is odd when I think more into it. He couldn't vanish that quickly in this dark environment, and on the barely standing staircase, without triggering her.
Meaning, the reasons he vanished like this… could be by the person earlier, which have also mysteriously disappeared by now.
Without further delay, I ran further onto the stairs, not even bat an eye for the guy. If the guy is truly held captive by the enemy, then there's no reason for me to stay further in this darkness.
"Nope ~"
A soothing yet menacing voice slowly creeped up to me, as I immediately turned back while hiding my blade in my sleeve.
That person has returned right behind me, but I can't still see the identity of that one due to the annoying environment.
"Nice trick girl ~ But still, you've missed your chance."
The opposing giggle with a cheerful manner, but I can clearly hear her mocking tone deep in her laugh, as I launch myself toward the opposing.
Suddenly, the view in front of me shifted as the figure of the opposing straying further away from me… or rather, me being strayed away from them. My kimono felt like being dragged away by something, so I decided to take a peek.
"?!"
Right behind me, hand holding my kimono, is the white demon that killed my parents, the curse that I desperately tried to get rid of, the Snow Demon. I immediately try to shrug the thing off to no avail, as the thing continues to bring me upward with an incredible speed.
Snow Demon quickly arrived at the top floor, to which it gently put me down and faded away, all on its own. I did feel some oddity with its behaviour, but I immediately shrugged my concern and slowly walked to the single door right next to me.
If this thing really brought me to the top floor, which I hope it did, beyond this door will be the sniper that shot us earlier…
Taking a deep breath, I slowly open the door and quietly slip through it. Although barging in like this is ridiculously dumb, I don't really have a choice by now.
If I stalling like this, the one at the stair will surely catch up with me, and I will be forced to fight both the sniper and the other while being 'sandwiched'.
Also, since this is the top floor (meaning the roof), I could still get away if things turn south, albeit risky. Also, the fact he's a sniper means that his close combat capability would be lackluster, which I can easily beat him with my swordsmanship.
Even if that isn't the case… I can still use the disgusting "ability" of mine to kill him as a last ditch effort…
Right after passing to the otherside, the first thing I noticed was that the grand blue sky shrouded the whole scenery, along with countless buildings residing right under the building.
My eyebrow slightly twitches at this breathtaking view, as I momentarily remember the days I visited Tokyo all those years ago, with both my parents…
"Oh my, you actually did it!"
A surprising voice suddenly caught my attention, as I then spotted a figure of someone standing at the edge of the rooftop, hand holding a sniping gun, who's looking at me with a totally off guard look
"Can't believe 'ya really got over that grumpy gal."
The man continued to express his surprise, which I didn't care that much about. Although I now know the one who attacked me, or us, at the stair is a girl based on his words, I let most of them out of my ear as I immediately dashed forward.
"Eek!!"
I swung my blade a whole round, to which he barely avoided it and then moved further from me. Without any hesitation, I keep striking him down with my blade.
But still, to my annoyance, the guy still barely avoided all my blades with an overdramatic frightening expression, like he was just trying to toying with me the whole time.
Damn it… this guy's…
"Found you ~"
"!!"
I widen my eyes in horror in conjunction to the voice, as I skip all the way to the edge of the rooftop. Standing at the door is a figure of an unfamiliar girl, who looks like a patched doll with 2 red braids.
Upon seeing the girl, the guy then moved next to the girl with another yet surprising look, while the girl started to express her tiredness with the guy.
"That's fast, though it may take a while later."
"Welp, I ran all the way up here. Now then…"
With that, both of them switch their attention to me, and I can clearly see their dominant aura now creeping through my whole body…
I dashed toward the guy, hiding the blade under my sleeve, to which he easily avoided unlike the last time. Tch, now he decided to get serious now…?
"Oy!"
An intense pain suddenly landed right at my back, blowing me away at the very edge of the rooftop. Luckily, I manage to stop myself in time just before the fall, but that doesn't change the situation a bit.
"Ara ~ You're weaker than I thought ~"
The girl let out a sadistic smile, which honestly frightened me a bit, while walking closer toward me with a stylish movement. This girl… she didn't even bother to put up any guard before me…
… What am I kidding? What can I do more against them…? I can't even control my own "ability", and they've basically folded me with ease…
"Hm ~ What shall we do to this girl, Twain? She's not in the order."
"Then that doesn't matter. She's all yours."
The guy shrugged his shoulders with no further focus, as the girl giggled a bit with his statement. Then, as remembered something, the man turned to ask the girl.
" … That reminds me, do you see anyone else beside this girl?"
"Hm? Another one…?"
The girl, named Lucy, tilted her head acting all dramatic with the guy, named Twain, questions. After a moment, Lucy claps her hand with a realization expression, clearly acting all over exaggerated.
"Oh right, there is. Too bad that I already locked him in Anne's room for eternity."
"Locked you say…"
"Yeah, he trying to save the girl and got captured in her place ~ What a shame, I prefer the girl more than him ~"
While listening to their story, I slightly clenched my hand frustrated. So the newcomer really got captured by them… all while trying to save me, a filthy killer.
"Hm… can I take a look at him? I already took down the tigerboy earlier."
"That won't be necessary."
Both Lucy and Twain immediately look back behind in response to the third unfamiliar voice, just to see the figure of an unimpressive young teenager with brown hair… one that made me widen my eyes in total surprise.
"What the…?! HOW?!"
"You… escaped…"
Lucy screams with a terrified voice, while Twain just mumbling in disbelief. In response, the teenger just slightlymove his finger up his mouth, now expressing a faint smile, imitating a silent sign.
"A magician never reveals their secret."
The newcomer, now bathed in confidence, started to approach the terrified duo with a casual demeanor…
While all of that unfolds, at a certain alley, a certain white-hair boy slowly regains his consciousness.
"Ugh…"
I slowly open my eyes, and the scene of the grand blue sky falls into my view. I then tried to move my body, but an excruciating pain then knocked me down once again.
But still, with lots of struggle, I finally manage to stand up through the pain and take a look at the surroundings, which is honestly not a lot beside concrete walls and trash bags scattered all over.
Let's see, the last thing I remember just before black out is feeling an intense pain while moving through the alley to avoid the sniper… oh.
… Crap, so the sniper got a hold on me then. Hope I didn't get knocked out that long…
Let out a disappointed sigh, I leer back at the building. And then, something at the rooftop fell into the enhanced eye which fully woke me up.
It's the figure of a small girl wearing a kimono, standing as close to the edge as possible, one that I honestly can't mistake for someone else.
"Kyouka!!"
With a horrified scream, I manifested my tiger claw once again and sprinted full way toward the building, hoping myself not being too late…