“So, does anyone have anything?” Celeste asked, looking at her students with skeptical eyes. Alice shifted in her seat, her body closed up as she and everyone else was still stuck figuring out who the imposter is.
“Nope,” Kairy replied with a shrug.
“Beats me,” Blair added.
Celeste sighed, burying her face in her hand. “I'm afraid of what will happen to my realm and everyone in it if we don't get to the end of this quickly…”
Celeste's concern over the imposter was shared by everyone in the classroom, but they all had no idea who it could be. Kairy felt uneasy, shifting in her seat as she also tried to think of who the culprit could be. Akari leaned back and opened her book, seeming unconcerned with the situation.
"Don't worry," Sharline said, causing Celeste to look up from her hand. "We'll find them in no time. They won't get away with disrupting the status quo of your realm.”
Celeste smiled at Sharline's reassurances, feeling slightly better about the situation. "I hope you're right," she said, putting her hand down.
"We'll definitely find the culprit soon," Alice added, trying to seem confident but feeling quite uncertain herself.
"We have no time to waste," Kairy said, looking around at everyone. "We have to work hard and put in the effort to find the culprit before…”
"Before it's too late," Celeste finished, standing up with her eyes narrowed in determination. "Finding this person is essential if we want to keep my realm safe from dark forces."
"Exactly!" Blair said, putting her fist in the air. "We have to track this traitor down sooner rather than later. And when we do, I'll have the honors of pummeling ‘em!”
“The hard part is actually finding out who it is,” Rachel added. “I mean, no one's gonna just walk up to us and admit they're the one behind all this.”
"You're right, Rachel. We must work quickly or else there'll be consequences," Zalgo said in a stern tone.
The whole group nodded to each other, determined to find the traitor and feeling like it was their responsibility.
★
“Got it, got it. So this is the place?” Brittany asked.
“Yep, this is the Citadel, all right,” Kinsey replied, cracking her knuckles with a fierce gaze as she stared down at the Citadel from the roof of a tall building. “Now let's show those chumps who's boss already.”
"Yeah, come on!" Brittany exclaimed, cracking her knuckles as well with a fierce grin. "Let's go show these little shits who run this town!"
Cassie nodded with a grim smile. “Here we go.”
Danemon and the three girls jumped off the building and landed on the roof of Celeste's academy, which looked quite imposing and formidable from above. They could see guards patrolling the area, carrying weapons and looking watchful.
"Hmm... looks like this place is being well-protected," Brittany said, looking around with a cunning grin. "Well, that just means it'll be more fun blowing by them."
"Heh, yeah, let's not waste any time," Cassie added. “Danemon, you stay right here and be on the lookout for any surprises.”
Danemon gave a nod. “Let me know when things go wrong.”
“I doubt anything will go wrong, but if you say so,” Cassie boasted.
The girls walked towards the entrance of the Citadel, their movements graceful yet confident as a dark, menacing presence filled the area. As they walked, they noticed the guards stopping in front of them, raising their weapons and keeping a defiant and watchful stance.
"What are you three doing here?" one of the guards asked, looking at them with a menacing glare. "This is the Citadel of Celeste. You are NOT allowed here without permission."
The girls stepped forward and paused for a moment, looking at each other with cruel grins. "We don't take orders from you little peons," Brittany sassed, stepping forward.
"Exactly, we're not gonna let you tell us what to do," Kinsey added with a laugh, stepping forward and standing right next to Brittany and Cassie. "We're gonna do whatever we want, and we don't care about your so-called rules."
The two guards exchanged a glance, their demeanor becoming unsure as they looked at the menacing trio in front of them. "Well... You can't just come in and take over the Citadel," the first guard said.
"We'll stop you," said the second guard. “We are highly advanced in Void Magic, gifted with divine power by Celeste herself!”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Hmph,” Brittany huffed, conjuring her
huge scissors and separating them into twin blades, pointing them at the guards. “Well then, we'll see what Ciseaux du Diable has to say about that!”
At the same time, Cassie manifested her chains with a smirk, swinging them around with ferocity.
The guards looked at the trio in fear and uncertainty, their weapons raised to defend against the girls' incoming attacks.
Brittany attacked first, her twin scissors flashing across the air in a vicious flurry. The two guardians barely had time to block the attack, but they managed to raise their shields and block the cut. Brittany then swung again, this time aiming for the legs of one the guards with a vicious swipe.
The guard's eyes couldn't keep up with the speed of the attack and the scissor blade cut clean through his armored leg, sending his body crashing to the ground. The second guard's eyes went huge as Cassie lashed out with a swing of her chains during his moment of distraction, sending a hook into his chest. He was thrown off balance, and Cassie took the opportunity to wrap her chains around his neck and twist, choking him into submission.
With each guard defeated, the girls shared a cruel laugh, looking at each other with pride and satisfaction.
Kinsey was the first to speak up, a wicked grin on her face. “Told ya they wouldn’t be much of a problem.”
“So are all the scamps here small fries like those two sorry excuses for guards?”
Kinsey shrugged, then stroked her chin as her eyes narrowed. “Well now that you mention it, there are twin sisters who supposedly are very good at Void Magic.”
“Eh, those guys Cass and I destroyed claimed to be Void Magic experts, and look at how quickly we handled ‘em. You sure these twins are all that?”
“Blegh, we'll see.”
As they walked off, a pair of brown eyes belonging to a young woman watched them heading into the building. She walked off in their direction, her expression stern and determined.
…
Kinsey entered the classroom, looking at her former teacher and friends with a sneaky grin.
“Kinsey! You're back, finally!” Celeste exclaimed. “You've been gone for a long time, I was wondering what happened to you! There's an impostor issue ongoing currently, and I wanted to talk to you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Kinsey quipped. “But I know someone you CAN talk to.” she added, gesturing for Brittany and Cassie to come in.
Upon entering, Celeste couldn't believe her eyes when seeing the two girls.
My goodness, Celeste thought. I never thought I'd see the day where my first student AND the ruler of the Shadow Zone stand before me.
“Brittany? Long time no see!”
Brittany shook her head with a cocky smile. “Hey, Cel. Bet you didn't expect to see me come back. But don't get it twisted. I came here to kick ass, not to talk.”
Celeste raised her brows, taking a step towards Brittany.
Okay, she's to the point… Celeste thought.
“And…whose ass are you going to be kicking? Is that a threat?”
“Not a threat, but a promise.”
“What? Tell me, why are you here?”
Brittany blew a raspberry and waved her hand at her. “Don't you see? I don't answer to you anymore. We're here for something, and we're not leaving without it.”
“What is this ‘it’ you're referring to?”
“Oh, nothing big. Just one of the Ephemerals supposedly here.”
Celeste's eyes widened as she looked over to Alice, Rachel, Sharline and Blair, then back to Brittany.
“What about them?”
“No need for me to tell you.”
Celeste glared at the two, walking up to them until she was in front of them, looking up at Brittany. “You're not leaving with ANY of them on my watch.”
“Oh yeah?” Brittany challenged, conjuring Ciseaux du Diable with a smirk. “I'd like to see you try.”
Before Celeste could say anything back, Cassie enraptured her body in her chains. Celeste tried to fight her way out of the chains, but they wouldn't budge.
Damn, her chains are incredibly powerful, with such intense Aura… I know who I'm up against, this won't be easy…
“Now that we got the nuisance out of the way…” Brittany said, her eyes scanning the room as her eyes landed on Akari and Akumu. She elbowed Kinsey and pointed at them. “Hey, are those the twins you were talking about?”
“Yep,” Kinsey replied.
Akari was high on alert, summoning her blade. Akumu followed suit with a scythe.
Brittany gave the twins a slow clap. “Fellow Creators, I see? Nice. Finally, some good competition. At least I hope so.”
Brittany and Cassie stood their ground and prepared for the fight. The girls and the sisters circled each other, sizing each other up.
They're just kids, this should be a quick in-and-out mission, Brittany thought.
Brittany and Cassie engaged the twins first with a flurry of scissor and chain attacks. Akari used her blade to parry their attacks and Akumu swung her scythe and caught Cassie by the arm.
With Cassie's arm pierced by the scythe, Akumu dragged her closer with a sadistic grin and pulled it out, holding Cassie in place and slashing at her again.
Brittany used Ciseaux du Diable to cut along the blade of Akari's sword, causing it to chip and crack. Akari attempted to repair her weapon using Interaction and Augmentation. Brittany took advantage of this and swung Ciseaux du Diable at Akumu's scythe, knocking it out of her hand. Cassie kicked Akumu off of her and stood back up.
“Round two!” Brittany yelled as she rushed in again.
The twins were quick and agile as they fought in total unison. Akari attacked with vicious strikes with her blade, forcing both the girls to dodge out of the way. Akumu swung her scythe, aiming for Brittany's throat. Raising her arm and using Fortify on it to increase her defense, Brittany blocked the strike and the scythe pierced her arm.
Damnit, she still got me, Brittany thought.
Brittany and Cassie fought back, using their weapons to defend themselves and attack. Brittany tried to cut at Akari's blade once more, but the blade was more durable than the last time and the attack was blocked.
Stepping back, one of Cassie's eyes turned blue and a powerful aura flooded the room, leaving Brittany, the twins, and Alice and her friends trembling from the sheer power.
“You both think you're all that, huh?! I hope you kids had fun, ‘cause your souls are mine now!”
A staff appeared in Cassie's hand, which she pointed at the twins as the staff glowed with massive energy. The twins found themselves unable to move, even after using Fortify to strengthen their bodies.
Cassie let out a bone-chilling laugh as she fired a shot at them. The ball of energy was deflected by a magic circle that showed up right before making contact with the twins, leaving Cassie stunned. Then the chains around Celeste were unraveled. Celeste looked up towards the ceiling and saw Esther looking down at everyone, making her smile.
Celeste summoned a black hole behind Brittany and Cassie, which pulled them in. Before being sucked into the black hole, Cassie gave a mischievous grin and fired a blast of concentrated darkness at the twins. Esther deflected the darkness, but it went in Kairy's direction. Not having any time to dodge, she gasped before it hit her where her heart is, her soul ejecting from her body into two parts and flying into Alice and Zalgo's hearts, merging with them. Kairy's body disappeared afterwards, and at the same time, Brittany held Kinsey and Cassie's arms and disappeared before being pulled into the black hole, leaving only Celeste, Esther, and the students again.
They're...gone? Danemon thought, noting the absence. With hesitance, he enshrouded himself in Depravity and disappeared into the night.
Alice and Zalgo sat there, their brows furrowed as their eyes wandered around at what unfolded in a matter of seconds. Alice put her hand over her heart, feeling emotions of fear and confusion.
A white and red blade appeared in Zalgo's hands out of the blue, and Alice and the others turned to her, staring at it.
“Oh? Is that-” Celeste began, cutting herself off.
A black and blue blade, identical to the one in Zalgo's possession, appeared in Alice's hands moments later, the shock and confusion in the classroom amplified tenfold.
“Huh?!” Celeste exclaimed, looking back and forth between the two blades with her eyes sparkling with intrigue, her mouth agape in awe.
“What are these?” Alice asked, marveling at the sword.
“Were they…made via Creation?” Celeste asked. Alice and Zalgo shook their heads at once.
“No, they just…appeared, as you've seen…” Zalgo replied.
“That's impossible,” Celeste said, scratching her head. “If they weren't made using Creation, then how…? A-and what happened to Kairy?”
“Again, I don't know,” Zalgo responded, her body closed and tense. “Whatever that girl with the chains did, it made Kairy disappear and now I guess her soul's combined with ours…”
“This is fascinating…! Just what power is at play here?”
“And we lost Kinsey again before we could get some answers!” Rachel chimed in. “Why did she come with those two and let them attack us?”
“One at a time now, Rachel,” Celeste said. “You're right, but so much happened in such a short time. We need time to process all this.”
★
Nyx sat on the edge of the roof of the castle, her eyes closed in thought as the moonlight shone on her. The gentle breeze helped her in her meditation as she focused.
I have everything and everyone I need now. My resolve is complete, and I shall let fate unfold in my favor. May the Darkness push back against the overwhelming forces of Light.
After these words, a gray and purple sword appeared before her. Opening her eyes, she picked it up from her lap and stared at it, nodding. “This one looks…different,” she acknowledged. She stood up and pointed the sword at the moon and narrowed her eyes. “...But it shall suffice. The world is ours.”