Theodora and Tomoe turned pale with fear upon seeing the sharp-toothed man before them. Adriadne looked between the two. While she was scared as well, her companions' appearances made things much worse.

"Akuma," Tomoe shivered.

"A demon!" Theodora pointed her hand out. "You two, stay behind me!"

Adriadne obeyed. Tomoe took a step back. But, rather than getting fully behind Theodora, she drew her tachi. The onna bugeisha stood proud. She took a deep breath.

"This. This is my honorable death in battle, facing down this demon," she thought.

Theodora took a step forward.

"What is your business here, monster?" she shouted.

The demon grinned wider. Its mouth split open ear-to-ear. Bits of flesh fell off as it spread.

"Why, it's the same business demons have anywhere," it said. "Killing humans."

It pointed at the three girls. The demon's finger's flesh fell off, turning it to pure bone. Then, a claw of magma formed over the monster's finger.

"And you three are dead meat," it declared.

Theodora raised her hand in the air. A barrage of ice spikes formed. They shot at the demon with the speed of machine gun bullets, making cracks as they broke the sound barrier. Hundreds of them blasted out in less than a second.

The monster swung its finger, slicing through the ice spikes. It broke them into tiny pieces. Each swing sent a crack through the air. Theodora grimaced and poured magical energy into her body to enhance her physical abilities.

She turned around, stopping so one of her hands was still facing the demon. The girl summoned a ramp of ice leading from their perch down into the streets of Cea.

Theodora grabbed Tomoe and Adriadne before jumping onto the ramp. They slid down it, wind rushing through their hair. The ice collapsed behind them so the demon couldn't use it.

Yet, when Theodora looked behind her, she saw the monster jumping from rooftop to rooftop. The ice Stratigos gritted her teeth.

"That...that's a demon?" Adriadne shouted.

She was more pale than anyone else. Her body was trembling. Theodora nodded.

"Yes," the Stratigos said. "We need to find your brother, now. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

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"He's...he's probably back at the villa by now," Adriadne replied.

The three landed on the ground with Tomoe and Adriadne still being dragged by Theodora. On the rooftops, the demon kept pursuing them. With a burst of speed, it jumped on the ground in front of the three.

Claws of magma lashed out. Tomoe felt heat on her face as they got closer.

A wall of ice burst from the ground, covering the demon and half of the street. Theodora pulled Tomoe and Adriadne back. The ice stratigos looked around the road with incredible swiftness. No one was around.

"Adriadne, run and find your brother," Theodora ordered, pushing the girl in the opposite direction. "I will hold this demon off."

Without hesitating, Adriadne ran as fast as she could. Tomoe and Theodora and Tomoe stood side by side as the ice wall melted. The two took a few steps back. Raising her hand into the air, Theodora summoned more spikes. She made them surround the wall of ice.

"Tomoe, step back. Don't fight unless you have to," Theodora instructed.

The onna bugeisha understood enough of what she said to get the gist of it. Still, she gazed at the ice magic that had overtaken the street.

"Your power is incredible. I couldn't get close to fight even if I wanted to. What onmyoji can do always amazes me," Tomoe thought.

Still, she kept her hands on her blade. Nervousness flashed through the girl.

"Please, let me fight, Theodora. I need to die here today. This is my perfect chance, and I..." Ganzaya's words flashed through Tomoe's mind as she thought. "No, wait, should I really die? I have nothing to live for. But I could..."

Indecision pulsed through Tomoe. She gazed at the growing heat within the ice and took a deep breath.

"I will leave it to the gods. If I die tonight, then so be it. But if not, I will take it as a sign that they want me to live," she thought.

There was a great cracking and the ice wall burst apart. Fire erupted from where it once was, water pouring from the melting ice and putting it out. The moment the flames subsided, Theodora sent in her ice spikes.

For a moment, Tomoe thought they would kill the demon. It was surrounded by them. There would be no dodging this attack. And there were so many spikes that even if it destroyed a few, one of the others would get it. However...

There was another great burst of flame, and the ice spikes melted before they could touch the demon. Laughter erupted from its crooked maw.

"Foolishness! You cannot stop me with mere ice!" it declared.

The demon extended its hand, just for several arrows to fly into its back. They bounced off the monster's skin, and it ignored their source. Flames burst from the demon's palm as it laughed like a madman.

"Die! Filthy humans! I hate all of you! Hate! Hate! Hate!"

Fire blasted forward. Theodora made a wall of ice. However, it melted long before the heat came at them. Even nearby houses were set on fire from the intensity of the flames. Panic pulsed through Theodora.

Tomoe, meanwhile, felt a sense of peace. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for death.

"Theodora, you were annoying. But my one regret is that you will die alongside me. Still, this is what the gods had in store for me," Tomoe thought.

A shield of darkness appeared in front of Tomoe and Theodora. The heat from the flames stopped dead in its tracks along with the fire itself. Charging in, the demon punched the shield with the force of a cannonball. Its hand bounced off the shield.

"Tomoe, do you know why the Basileus keeps the Kallergis family around despite them all being horrible people?" Theodora asked, a smile approaching her face.

"No," the onna bugeisha said.

"It's because dark magic is the most effective form of magic for killing demons."