“And that”

Yuri sheathed her small dagger.

“Is how you take the dog out.”

“Yuri...that was a horrible.”

Helgi slowly got up, shaking his head to ease the ringing in his ears, caused by the explosion.

“Hey! My joke was great!”

She protested.

“No, I meant the explosion. But yes, now that you mention it, that joke was also horrible”

Smirking, Helgi dusted himself off.

“It was indeed.”

A woman's voice came from inside the slowly settling dust.

“And I. Am not. A dog.”

The dust was blown away, revealing the figure of Hikaru's sister. Who was now suddenly clad in her white fur coat, which was wrapped around her, and seemed to have taken the brunt of the explosion.

“Crap.”

Yuri turned and ran the opposite direction, abandoning Helgi and running for dear life. She didn't have her gauntlets yet. She needed time to write down any runes. She had no choice but to run and figure something out along the way.

(This crazy dog is stronger than Hikaru, there is no way I can take her on...I need to run and find Hikaru..only he can stop her..! or at least buy me enough time to figure something out..!)

“Oh no you don't. I'm not going to look for you again.”

Hikaru's sister turned toward Yuri and prepared to move.

“Oh no you don't either. As Yuri's guardian, I can't permit her to be stalked by strange adults!”

Helgi stood in her way, blocking the road.

“I'm tired of playing. Move. Insect.”

With a back slap of her clawed hand, Helgi's head snapped to the side, pulling his body along with it.

He twisted in mid air, his body turning like a rotor blade, coming to a stop only when his head collided with the ground.

An audible cracking sound was heard.

Not only from his head. His body was turning so quickly due to the blow that the sudden stop due to his head hitting the ground, made his body fall sideways flat into the ground at such a speed that it most likely cracked all his limbs.

“Pathetic. Your only chance was when you first surprised me.”

Yuri turned around after hearing the loud smash.

Her body froze once she saw the twisted body of her friend lying in front of the cruel woman.

“Perfect. Don't move from there. I will be right with you, and when I am, I will make sure your death is swift and painless. Unlike this fool right here”

Scoffing, she walked toward Yuri.

Her face twisted in irritation.

“Dead things should stay dead.”

Looking down, she frowned at the weak grip of Helgi's hand around her ankle.

“Yuri..what are you..standing there for..run already, idiot.”

Helgi breathed slowly, it was apparent his ribs were crushed.

“I won't let anyone..harm Yuri..one way or another..it doesn't matter who..or what I have to do....”

“Admirable. I guess. Or it would be, had you been anything but a weak worm.”

With an almost too quick to be observed slash of her claws. She drew blood. Torrents of blood which now leaked out of the hole in Helgi's body.

Hot blood rushed through Yuri's veins. Her body moved before she could process her next thought.

Rushing toward Helgi's sister, Yuri raised her dagger and jumped at her.

Yuri's mind was empty, nothing but fury controlling her movements. Making them much faster than she had ever been able.

Yet that fury which granted her swiftness, robbed her of any planning. Her movements became simple. Free of the usual tricky plans and traps.

This was nothing other than a primal rush.

“...cute.”

A clawed hand stabbed through Yuri's stomach before she could reach her.

Yuri flinched. But nothing more. Despite now having a gaping hole in her stomach, which most would have died or at least fainted because of.

Her anger didn't let her falter.

Some wannabe villain is just going to suddenly show up, and ruin her day. Not only that, this unannounced villain will even try to kill Yuri's important person, someone who was more like family to her than her own family ever was.

This was unacceptable.

She was irritated.

Why had Helgi stupidly done that. Why did this dog bitch show up. Why did Yuri herself run away, abandoning her best friend.

Was it due to thinking he would also run away?

Blood gushed from her gaping wound.

“OF COURSE HE WOULDN'T, WE'RE FAMILY”

She cursed her own naivety. She knew what kind of person Helgi was. Despite being sly and uncaring. He cared for those close to him. Sometimes too much.

Yuri stabbed the dagger right above where her gaping hole was. The hole was so deep that one could almost see the other side, through her body.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“little girl. If you want your death to be swifter, all you have to do is ask”

Helgi's sister commented at her strange action of stabbing herself.

With one swift motion. Yuri carved a rune into her own body and activated it. Right before stabbing herself once again and carving another rune. She did this several times, with runes surrounding her large wound.

All this in almost one single swift motion. The pain not even registering with her.

The runes glowed a deep red, with a tint of green. Her wound began to close itself. The organs inside regenerating rapidly.

“....Amazing. That dagger truly is what I thought it was. That concentration of mana...I must have it.”

A clawed hand reached out to take the dagger from Yuri's weakened hand.

Yuri's hand shot up swifter than ever before. Her muscles filled with the lingering effect of the healing runes.

A slash from her dagger shot upwards. Slicing into The clawed hand. It wasn't a straight slash. That was simple enough to do. The mana still in her gave her the energy to twist her swing, carving a small rune into the fur covered hand.

“Ugh! Damn girl..!”

Helgi's sister pulled back her hand in pain and swung down toward Yuri's head, planning to lob it off.

When she swung her hand, the rune Yuri carved into her lit up. Shooting small currents of electricity into her arm.

That small rune, even when created with Yuri's dagger, was still relatively weak. It couldn't harm someone. Especially not someone like the non-human sister of Helgi who could send people flying with a single tap.

But it wasn't intended to harm, only to stun.

Taking her chance when her opponent was surprised with the sudden electricity coursing through her muscles. Yuri sprinted toward where Helgi lay and quickly carved a few rudimentary runes around him.

Once activated, Helgi's breathing became visibly more stable.

It wasn't good healing. But it would keep him from dying. His wound seemed worse. Since it extended to his spine. A difficult part to heal compared to the rest of the body.

“You humans are so irritating! Running and crawling around like insects!”

Yuri rolled to the side, just as the ground next to her was struck with steel hard claws.

Her dagger scratched against the ground while she rolled desperately. Barely avoiding each attack.

Her opponents attacks were fast. Faster than she could react. No in fact faster than her eyes could perceive.

But all of them were simple. They were straightforward. They had no feints or tricks. Each attack was a strike simply meant to end your life. Nothing more, nothing less. It was a truly beast-like attack pattern.

But just seeing through their straightforward nature wouldn't have been enough to enable her to dodge any of them. No, the only reason she was able to even barely predict her opponents attacks.

Was because she had encountered them before.

Not against this same enemy. Not even against an opponent. But with an ally.

It was the same attack pattern Hikaru sometimes used.

Despite him using the sword arts of this world. During the few times he truly lost his temper. Yuri's shock at his change in aura, made her burn the movements of his body into her memories. Willingly and unwillingly.

His body would move in a similar way to how his sister did now.

Straightforward. With no care for the arts of the sword. His sword but another claw to scratch with. To accomplish one simple goal. The annihilation of the enemy.

The movements of a beast.

Yuri finally rolled herself one last time and stood up.

The fur clad woman was starting to get impatient.

“Thank whatever gods you serve that your body is small enough to evade my grasp.”

Helgi's sister breathed out with a deep-set annoyance.

“I don't believe in gods. Only in luck. Like how it's lucky I managed to barely dodge all your attacks. And how it's lucky you stayed in one spot the entire time.”

The instant Yuri finished her sentence. The scratches which she had made upon the ground while desperately evading the attacks, lit up. Forming a single crude rune.

It was the same simple rune of electrification.

Despite it not doing any damage before. The fact that its size was so much larger. Meant it contained several times more mana. Which meant it might be enough.

Electricity shot through the ground and into the beast-like woman's body.

She groaned in pain while her muscles spasmed slightly. Small trails of smoke came out of her white lush mantle.

“Even if your mantle can block fire and explosions. I doubt it can block something that can move straight through it.”

Feeling smug about herself. Yuri wouldn't take any chances and prepared herself to write several more electricity runes to finish the job before the mana ran out from the large rune.

The moment she bent down to etch the runes onto the ground, she felt herself unable to breathe.

It wasn't due to shock or pain, or any sort of emotion. It was because of the hard pressure that pushed against her throat.

“That's it...no more running around like a rat.”

Despite electricity still visibly arching through her body, Helgi's sister appeared to be completely unaffected by it.

Her grip around Yuri's throat tightened, and lifted her high enough that her feet didn't reach the ground.

“How...the electric..” Yuri managed to stammer despite her airway being blocked.

“The lightning surprised me. It never caused me pain. Just irritating discomfort. Like this.”

She pulled Yuri closed to her, making her enter the range of the electrical arc's.

“Kuh!!”

Crying out in pain, Yuri's muscles spasmed wildly. Electricity flowing through her body.

She couldn't even manage to lift her arm and fight back with her dagger. All that was left of Yuri was pain.

“I'm just going to hold you here. Over the rune you created yourself. And watch slowly you burn from the inside out.”

Laughing sadistically, Hikaru's sister tightened her grip slightly.

Small wisps of smoke came off Yuri's hair. The electricity was slowly burning her body. It was lucky it somehow didn't reach her heart, otherwise she would be dead by now. But her predicament wasn't particularly good now either.

(Great..being cooked like a marshmallow..what a great way to go..dammit Hikaru..show up already!)

The grip around her throat released, dropping her to the ground like a stone.

Managing to roll away from the area of the electrical rune. Yuri slowly rubbed her neck in pain and looked up.

The reason for why the grip on her throat was released, was because Hikaru's sister needed to grip something else. It was something that she needed to use both hands to stop.

Holding tightly between her fingers, was a jet black blade. The blade itself wasn't black, it was some manner of material that had wrapped itself around the blade.

In fact, the entire sword looked completely black. The blade, the handle, even the hand gripping iy was covered with the familiar black material which shook slightly in excitement.

“Ribbon!” Yuri exclaimed.

The ribbon moved slightly in greeting, the small end part of the ribbon lifted up and pointed toward its wielder, trying to say something.

“And Hikaru..”

Yuri smiled in relief.

Hikaru was facing his sister. His eyes did not leave hers, and in them she saw nothing but great determination.

For some reason she felt that this determination in his eyes was meant for something other than defeating his opponent.

“Sköll. What are you doing here...”

His voice was like razor wires. Each word threatening to cut the opponent.

“Can't a girl go to town and have fun?”

Saying this, she pushed the sword to the side and threw an attack straight toward Hikaru's neck. Her claws aiming for the easy target.

Lightly stepping back, Hikaru sliced off Skölls claws with a single swipe of his sword.

“..My...claws...”

She looked at her hands in shock.

“I don't know what you are doing here. Sister of mine. But I am in a bad mood. I am also in an even worse mood now that you attacked Yuri.”

Tightening his muscles. Yuri could almost swear that the ribbon narrowed its eyes menacingly at their opponent when Hikaru became serious.

Not that the ribbon had eyes.

The ribbon covering the sword darkened in colour. Becoming a deep black that sucked all the light around it, not letting any escape. It was truly the colour of a moonless night. A colour befitting the one wielding it.

“I do not wish to kill you. But that is all it is. A wish.”

“...Since you're showing me your fangs. I guess I will have to show you mine.”

Looking at her sliced off claws with unbelieving eyes. Sköll tightened her muscles as well. The mantle around her moving in a non-existent wind.

Hikaru cast a single glance at Yuri. It was a warm glance. But the determination in his eyes seemed to only increase when he looked at her.

And just before Yuri could say a single word. Both Hikaru and Sköll vanished.