Dark By Default

-K. Webster

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"Oni-chama!"

Jaiden was incarcerated in an iron maiden...With his Paradigm, "Requiem Aranea" negated and nullified, all done by the priest... And it was not only Jaiden"s paradigm that had been negated but the same also with the active spells in range with the priest"s paradigm shift, hereby deeming the curse of putting to death whoever hurts the little girl, powerless and impotent... And now, the little girl is left amidst the party of a.s.sa.s.sins who are after her, confused, vexed and abolished as the moon is continuously radiating its brilliance without interferences, tainting the whole landscape in its monochromatic light.

"Heal." The priest"s scepter touched the forehead of the severely-damaged and proclaimed hero who"s name is "Count Joberwock Rosewald" who is on the verge of blacking out, unconscious earlier...and so it was, that he was then able to stand up, but still with the apparent injuries from his struggles earlier to brush off the unseen shackles.

"GAH GAH GAH!! NICE TIMING DEINSLEIF! I ALMOST DIED THERE! THAT KID WAS RATHER SKILLFUL FOR A NOVICE!"

"Hmm, Of course, I did tell you to not underestimate such humans chosen by a G.o.d. You even made me use my Paradigm Shift... Now I can"t use any major spells for the week. Know that i advance"

"GAH GAH GAH! I ALSO USED MINE YOU KNOW!"

"Sire!", the lackeys, seeing their master well had been freed from their nervous breakdown and began flocking around the hero as if receiving all of the credits...but the hero reacted otherwise.

"YOU PIECES OF SH*TS, I"M VERY DISAPOINTED IN YOU! HOW DARE YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO RUN" the hero responded in an aggressive way, strangling the first one to ever greet him in his quick recovery. He was angry as to how "they", his emergency life elixir can have the guts to not give him their soul when he needed it the most.

"I SHOULD JUST FEED YOU TO EURYALE!" He added aggressively, while slowly one-handedly throwing off one inside the Gorgon"s grotesque mouth, ready to receive the midnight snack.

"Sire, please no! We- we had no choice but to withdraw." Pleaded the man who is about to be served while the other ones did not even try to save him nor stop the hero from doing such a horrid act. They were all too afraid...much more afraid than facing the demeanor of the Gorgon itself.

"Count Rosewald stop that. We had enough troubles for the day. We had the Kurenai now don"t we?" the priest exclaimed calming the hero down.

"HMM... YES. THE LITTLE GIRL."

They then turned their faces to the stunned little girl, still holding on to her weapon Grendel.

"KID. COME WITH US... DONT WORRY, YOUR OLDER BROTHER SEEMS TO BE ALIVE. " the hero said, but Shiro felt the otherwise...

She can"t feel Jaiden"s life.

She can"t sense even the faintest of his presence.

"You... "

"HUH?"

"I already warned you... not to have something to do with me," the kid replied with a voice alike to that of a combination of a normal little girl and a demon"s offspring.

"HMMM... SO YOU FINALLY PLAN ON MANIFESTING YOURSELF, THE SYNTHESIZED ANGEL, KURENAI. ATER ALL THESE YEARS, OUR KINGDOM"S RUN-AWAY ANGEL, WE MEET AGAIN... YOU EVEN CHOSE A KID TO BE YOUR BEARER."

"Well, her parents from the second realm were the ones who gave me the privilege."

"WELL, WHATEVER... GOOD THING I STILL HAVE THE GORGON WITH ME."

"Did you think that that ugly creature would protect you from me? You insolent fool." The girl races her head, only for them to see that she was showing a different aura of crimson, her left eye, now taken the color red and her thin hair slowly turning scarlet and her demeanor was not as fragile as earlier as it showed this new austere and deadpan expression.

The others stood back in fear, except for the priest and the hero himself...

"GAH GAH GAH! I WAS SUPPOSED TO GET YOU BACK TO THE KINGDOM AND DO THE RITES THERE, BUT I THINK I"LL DO IT... RIGHT HERE. I"LL JUST SAVE YOUR AROMATIC HEART FOR THE KING"S MEAL!" the hero spouted with the same unfazed and arrogant stature taking hold of his greatsword.

"Do as you wish...But, not like oni-chama... I"m not holding anything back"

"ONI-CHAMA? IS THAT THE BOY"S NAME? HOW PUTID OF A CHOICE."

"No. It"s what the girl likes to call him... Now then shall we advance to the desired climax?"

"THAT"S THE SPIRIT!!!!!!!!!" the hero then hastily comes to attack, with the Gorgon also following below him and with the priest"s support."

"DEINSLEIF! "

"Right! Bounding spell third tier!" declared the priest in a very serious manner, as such as Jaiden never saw.

A lit magic circle then appeared right under the little girl"s soles with the purpose of sealing her from conducting any movement...

"How cute"

But it broke in its own accord, not being able to handle the girl"s prowess. The priest draws back a little. He can"t use his paradigm Shift and he can"t use a strong tier-ed spell as a consequence, so now he considers himself as extra weight for the hero to bare, but has to do every support that he can.

"HOI! ARE YOU THAT WEAK NOW ?" the hero stopped to mock the priest and an unlikely argument sparked in the middle of the battlefield.

"Are you sure that you should divert your eyes from me?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I can only manifest myself for a few minutes or so... so you should probably get the party started."

"GAH GAH GAH! IS"NT THAT THE GOOD NEWS FOR US THEN."

"Well, yes... I hate to admit it but in my vessel"s state, I am in no shape to kill any of you."

"GAH GAH GAH!"

"But...That doesn"t mean that you"ll survive, unscathed. "

"TSK! THEN HERE GOES! YIEEE HOWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" With the greatest speed of his capabilities, Rosewald slashed his sword which is approximately three times the size of the girl with elevated rashness and recklessness written all over his face.

But, using only her bare hands, the girl took hold of the sword to defend like it was mere stick...

"How disappointing... You can"t even leave a scratch in this girl"s fragile skin."

And seeing that he failed, causing a little embarra.s.sment for the hero"s side, he even tried to convert her soul to a life elixir of his use, moreover...

"Hmmm... Cheap prototype relic skills have no effect on me."

"HAVE NO EFFECT HUH... EURYALE!" the hero then called for the Gorgon"s a.s.sistance and so it was that it manipulated the surrounding woods forming it to a suite of moving wooden status with a thousand arms each which all are relatively ten times the size of the golems which Jaiden single-handedly overwhelmed prior.

"I never saw you use this much of the Gorgon"s ability when you were fighting with oni-chama earlier..." the Kurenai asked...

"ISN"T IS OBVIOUS? I WAS SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST!"

Seeing the visage, the Kurenai, taking control of the little girl"s body responded as to as little as "Hmph. Show off" with the same deadpan expression as if the approaching Gorgon and its en ma.s.se of armies is not even worthy to be deemed a stimulus.

"Shiro-san, mōshiwakearimasenga, sukoshi paradaimu o kariru koto wa dekimasu ka?" (English: Shiro sorry, but can I borrow your paradigm a bit?) ...

The Kurenai, taking full control of the little girl"s body spoke as if she and the girl are still in touch with each other, and as if they have known each other for quite some time now.

"Nante sutekina on"nanoko... arigatō." (English: What a nice girl... Thank you.)

"Oh, Oni Chama? Mochiron! Shinpaishinaide...Watas.h.i.tachi futari no tame ni kare o sukuimasu...Sore wa tashikada " (English: Oh, Oni-chama? Of course! Don"t worry, I"ll save him for the both of us... that"s for sure.)

"Ima, gōsei sa reta tenshi no shutsugen no jikan." (English: Now then, time for the SYNTHESIZED ANGEL"S EMERGENCE."

Then, as though having the girl"s acknowledgment, with the vast opponents approaching... the Kurenai was not willing to hold anything back. She then took hold of Grendel, the little girl"s mythical weapon in its primal dagger form...and wounded her right arm, as such that neon red blood began to drip to the verdant grounds from where she stood...

"Paradigm Shift! b.l.o.o.d.y b.u.t.terfly!"