I barely had time to react. My instincts screamed at me as the cockroaches darted toward me, their wings slicing through the air with an unsettling buzz. Without thinking, I tightened my grip around the small nine-tailed fox and summoned my sword in a flash of silver light.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Catherine move.
“No, you don’t!” she snapped, thrusting her staff forward. A pulse of energy surged from its tip, and in an instant, a shimmering, transparent wall materialized between me and the incoming cockroaches. “Code Nine, now!”
At Catherine’s command, Yuzu’s fox ears perked up. She quickly assessed the situation—three enemies, all converging on my position. Her sharp eyes flicked between the barrier and the cockroaches. If they were going after me, then the wall would act as the perfect choke point.
Without hesitation, she pivoted on her heel, dashing toward my side. Her blade gleamed under the shrine’s eerie light as she raised it high, ready to strike the moment the cockroaches were halted by the barrier.
But something was wrong.
I barely had time to react. The cockroaches were still coming—three of them, their erratic, jerky flight patterns making it impossible to predict their movements. Their glossy wings glinted in the dim shrine light, twitching at unnatural angles as they zigzagged through the air. My stomach churned at the sight of their twitching legs, their unsettlingly large bodies buzzing closer with each passing second. The mere thought of them touching me sent a shiver down my spine. Without thinking, I swung my sword wildly, more out of panic than strategy, desperately trying to swat them away.
"EEK!" I yelped, stumbling backward as my tail bristled in pure horror. My attacks weren’t landing—these things were too fast. They moved in patterns that didn’t make sense, shifting direction midair, darting unpredictably from side to side as if they could read my intentions before I even acted. Every time I thought I had a clear strike, they twisted away, their wings buzzing with an almost mocking intensity. My instincts screamed at me to keep moving, to not let them get too close, so I did the only thing I could—I took another frantic step back.
"Nya!" A soft, pained yelp reached my ears, and I felt an unexpected twitch beneath my heel. A surge of alarm shot through me as I realized, too late, that my foot had landed on something soft and warm. Horrified, I glanced down and found Yuki sprawled on the ground beneath me, her tail trapped under my boot.
Her reaction, however, was baffling. Even in pain, she didn’t thrash or snap at me. Instead, she merely twitched, her ears flicking in mild protest, her half-lidded golden eyes filled more with drowsy irritation than genuine discomfort. She wriggled slightly, not enough to actually free herself, but just enough to let me know she could move if she actually felt like it.
"Sorry!" I yelped, immediately lifting my foot. The moment I did, she flopped onto her back with a lazy sigh, as if nothing had happened.
But that brief distraction—that single second where my focus wavered—was all it took.
A sharp, droning buzz filled my ears, louder than before, accompanied by the unmistakable sensation of something moving right behind me. My fur stood on end. My body tensed, instincts screaming at me that I was already too late.
"Mashiro, behind you!" Catherine’s urgent cry cut through the air, filled with sheer urgency. I barely had time to react before I saw her staff raise, the air around her crackling with icy energy. A volley of shimmering ice arrows shot forth, each one honed with pinpoint precision, their frosted tips aimed directly at the cockroach lunging toward me. Relief surged through me for a split second—Catherine’s magic never missed.
But then, the moment the arrows made contact, they flickered out of existence. Just like the barrier.
"AAAAAH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as something small, solid, and horrifyingly twitchy landed on my shoulder. A cockroach. A cockroach!
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My entire body recoiled in pure, unfiltered disgust. It didn’t bite, it didn’t sting, but that didn’t matter—the sheer wrongness of it, the sensation of those spindly little legs clinging to my fur, sent my mind into full-blown panic mode. It was as if every single one of my instincts had merged into a singular, overwhelming thought: GET. IT. OFF.
Flailing wildly, I thrashed like a drowning cat in a rainstorm, twisting and jerking in sheer desperation to dislodge the vile creature. My tail bristled like it had been struck by lightning, my ears flattened against my skull, and my arms flailed uselessly—except for one. Somehow, even in my moment of utter horror, I refused to let go of the small, fluffy fox I was clutching. Her warmth was my only source of sanity in this waking nightmare.
Then, in a frantic burst of instinct, I activated my butterfly wings.
The moment they spread open, I shot upward like a startled bird, wings flapping erratically as I propelled myself as far away from the ground—and the cockroach—as possible. My mind was a chaotic whirlwind of horror and revulsion. I couldn't think, couldn't process anything beyond the fact that something gross had touched me, and I needed to escape before another one dared to come closer.
As I ascended above the abandoned shrine, I clutched the fox even tighter, burying my face into her soft fur as if her fluffiness alone could purge the lingering trauma from my soul. Why? Why cockroaches? Why did it have to be cockroaches?!
"Mashiro, calm down!" Catherine’s voice rang out from below, firm but exasperated.
I knew she was right. I should calm down. But I couldn’t. Not after what had just happened. My entire body still tingled with lingering horror, and no amount of logical reasoning could shake the sensation of those tiny, wretched legs skittering on my shoulder.
Meanwhile, Yuzu, who had initially looked concerned, now seemed… amused? I could see the way her lips twitched, the barely restrained laughter dancing in her jet black eyes as she watched me flicker around in panicked flight.
Then, finally, she broke.
"Mashiro so cute!" Yuzu giggled, clapping her hands together, her tail swaying in clear amusement.
I gawked at her in sheer betrayal. Cute?! CUTE?! This was not cute! This was a life-or-death situation! A battle against the most terrifying enemy known to mankind!
"THIS ISN’T FUNNY!" I screeched from above, wings still flapping wildly. But judging by the way Yuzu’s giggles only grew louder, she absolutely disagreed.
I continued to fly in erratic circles, my mind a whirlwind of panic as the others watched from below. The horrible sensation of that cockroach’s legs lingering on my shoulder made my fur bristle all over again. Even as I soared higher, as if distance alone could erase the trauma, the shudder running down my spine refused to leave.
Then, just as I thought I could stay up here forever, I felt it. A sudden weakness in my wings. A flicker of exhaustion, like an invisible weight pressing down on me. My movements became sluggish, and an all-too-familiar notification popped up before my eyes.
<
EXP: 17/100
Stamina: 15/100 [15%]
“What?! Why is the wing’s duration so short?!” I shouted in disbelief, feeling my body dip slightly.
My wings weren’t just tiring out—they were running out of stamina. I flapped harder in a desperate attempt to stay aloft, but it was no use. The more I struggled, the weaker my flight became, until I was left slowly descending like a leaf in the wind.
I wasn’t ready to touch the ground. Not yet! The cockroaches were still there. I could see their dark, twitchy forms below, waiting. Watching. Probably plotting something insidious with their disgusting little antennae.
“Mashiro bery hold on! Yuzu will catch!” Yuzu’s voice rang out cheerfully from below.
I barely had time to process her words before another voice cut in.
“Don’t.”
The unexpected command came from Yuki, who hadn’t moved an inch from where she was still bound on the ground. Well—almost hadn’t moved. She was wriggling against her restraints in what I could only describe as the laziest attempt at freedom I had ever seen.
Her half-lidded golden eyes, now glowing faintly, flickered up to me. "Let… her be," she murmured, her tone carrying a strange weight despite the drowsy expression on her face.