"You think this cat and mouse chase is ever gonna see its own end?" The old man asked the two girls beside him.
"Until you're safe, elder, we don't mind keeping the assassin at bay."
Tch, ever since I first fought this guy in Simpleton, it was always just him chipping away at me before running off. He's completely right, this cat and mouse chase has been going on for way too long. Sadly, it seems the longer it takes for me to beat this geezer, the more my friends suffer because of it.
"...What did you do to Meil." I asked with Eyes wide open, "Oi, answer me."
"Why, I gave him the ol' chomp and stomp!" Sheila struck a pose.
"Too bad you messed up the most important bit!" Olya immediately struck her on the back of the head, "He gave the Book to that broad!"
"The Book!" I recalled.
"Yeah yeah, the Book." He rolled his Eyes, "Oof, now that it actually sunk in fully, this might actually be super bad. Those guys now have both Books with them, leaving us with zilch. Dammit, guess it's my fault for entrusting it to a bunch of idiot teens."
"Hey, we killed that guy!" Shillianna pointed to the deceased Meil lying on the ground in front of me, "And Shakram helped stall Schocco as well!"
"Yeah, and what's your point?" The geezer tilted his head.
"My point is—If you're gonna blame someone, blame Sheila!" She put her friend on the spot, "Me and Shak did our jobs properly, she was the one who forgot to grab the Book away in time!"
"Wha-!? You brat!" Sheila started attacking Shillianna for that, "I'll chomp your spine in half, you no good cannibal!"
"Who's the cannibal, huh!? I only eat dead meat, you actually bite into people that are still breathing!"
"Shut up!"
As the girls started smacking, chewing, and otherwise roughly playfighting next to the old man, only having the decency to step back a meter or two so that he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire, Olya simply stood there muttering something to himself.
"Well, I guess they did take out Ouroboras. Heh, wasn't sure it was possible for that jackass to die, but I guess he IS human now."
"You done staring at the catfight with those lecherous Eyes of yours?" I hollered to snap him out of it.
Hearing me mention the old man ogling them, the girls quickly fixed their clothes up and stopped fighting almost immediately. Guess their respect for the old man can only get him so far. In any case, they finally looked like they were gonna listen. Meil, you died to these guys? You... I'm not gonna call you a good guy or anything, but you definitely fought against worse. What the hell am I supposed to say to Nelly now? ...No, for now I need to focus on the enemies in front of me.
"Olyahim." I Commanded, "If you run away from this fight even once more, you will seal yourself away forever."
"No use using that Iro Ability on me, kid." He chuckled, "It ain't that simple to end my life."
"Was worth a shot." I smirked, preparing myself for a rather outnumbered battle, "At least you know what my stance is on your cowardice."
Right, no matter how you slice it, it's a 3v1. I'm tired, worn out, Meil is dead, and I left Issei and the Gods to go on my own, but even if none of these were the case I think I still wouldn't stand a chance. Now, if I try and attack the girls, the old man will just use that time to run away again. On the other hand, if I go for the old man first, then the girls are gonna help him out, in which case I definitely wouldn't be able to dodge all the attacks.
"...Pick for me." I shrugged, giving up on engaging the fight first in favor of letting them attack me, "Who's up first?"
Immediately, both girls turned their heads to look at the old man. Their faces bore no ill will towards him, so I imagine they just genuinely thought he was the perfect candidate. Like I said, guess being their bloodline's savior can only get such an unlikeable guy so far.
"Well go on." He took their stares and sent it right back at them, "You were the ones that vowed to protect me."
"Yeah, but we were kind of fighting these guys for a while now, meanwhile you just kinda ran away." Sheila explained, "We just thought you could hold him off a bit while we take some time to rest."
"You thought!?" He fumed, "You don't think, you act! Gah, dammit... Fine!"
"Really!? Alright!" The girls high fived each other.
"I'll fight this brat, but you need to attack with me!" He continued.
"...Dammit."
That's... Hold on, all three of you are gonna bumrush me at once? I mean, it makes sense, but where's your decency!? Ugh, whatever. Then, shall we...? Huh? Shall... we...? Why is the sky upside down? Rather, it's not just the sky, but everything else too. These guys, don't tell me the old man put a curse on me or something!
"Elder?" The girls saw me dangling in the air and asked, "What's going on?"
"Haven't the faintest of clues." He shrugged, "But hey, if this means he'll drop on his neck and die, then I say let him be."
I was still up above them, punching the air and kicking with all my might to try and have whatever this powerful entity is let me go. Though honestly, hearing these guys admit that they have nothing to do with it... I don't know if I should be thankful or scared out of my mind!
"Fret not, child. We are here to help you." A gust of wind gently blew through my hair, the breeze calming me down almost immediately, "We will let you down now, but know that you have us to rely on enhancing your every movement."
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
"Who are you!?" I looked around the moment I got placed back down.
"Friends." The Voices said in a melancholy tone, their wind guiding my gaze to Meil's direction, "His friends. But he considers you a friend, so allow us to befriend you thanks to this mutuality."
Meil's friends with a gust of wind? Heh, yeah right, he probably just hasn't taken his meds. Yeah, it's his imaginary friend, I'm tripping! ...Wait, then how come I can see and feel its effects and voices? Don't tell me—Could it be that Meil was never a schizo, but actually just cursed with this spirit? And if so, does that mean the spirit moves to the nearest person alive after he bit the dust!? That's bad, I don't want you, shoo!
"H-Hey, we said we'd help, but please stop moving so much~?!" The Voices struggled to keep me suspended in the air and thus promptly dropped me hard on the ground, "Geez, here, get up."
"You done with the whole possession act?" Olya hollered, nodding to the other two girls so all three of them could rush me, "What? Did the spirit of your dear dead friend come to help you post mortem!?"
"Whoa-!" I jumped back to dodge the blows, not expecting to have practically moved the entire length of the open field for some reason, "Huh? This was...?"
"Psst, we told you to trust us." The Voices whispered smugly into my ear, "Give them hell, child. With us, you'll be ten times as agile."
"Ohoho! Where have YOU been all my life!?" I laughed to myself once I realized just how much of a power up these Voices actually were, "If the trade-off is getting cursed for life, then I don't want an exorcism!"
----------------------------------------
***
----------------------------------------
"Elder, I think you were right on the money about this guy getting possessed." Shillianna blankly stared at my free moving body jumping around all over the place, "Hey, I remember when I was a kid I asked if ghosts are real, and you said it's just a hoax."
"Yeah, and?" He turned to her.
"Don't "And?" me!" She pointed, "What the hell is this!?"
"Doesn't matter. Look, if we kill him now, then there's no reason to be afraid, right?" He tried calming her nerves, "Just look at Sheila here, see how she's not at all scared of facing him?"
"Wrong, elder. The truth is..." She shivered, only having the strength to look at me and me only, "I'm scared stiff. I can't move a muscle."
"You girls are useless!" The old man shouted in frustration, "Gah, fine. You'd just be getting in the way anyway. Stay there while I get this over with."
It seems the old man is ready to tussle after all this time. No more running away, eh? Gonna be honest, I feel a lot more confident now with this Voice helping out!
"Kid, let me just say this." He inched towards me, "I'm impressed."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yep." He nodded, "Never in my 800 years of life did I see someone so unwilling to throw in the towel before."
"Then you've obviously never fought someone with a life worth living." I smirked, "I got people waiting for me. Once this is over, that is. And after I wipe the floor with you right here and now, I also have a buttload of remedial classes to attend."
"Still hung up on classwork?" His Eyes shone the same Rainbow color as Lune, "Word of advice: Focus on the issue at hand."
With a nod of mutual agreement, we started the fight off without a hitch. Dashing towards him felt like I was merely stepping forward, and despite me still not having been accustomed to this, I managed to somehow dodge all his punches.
"Watch out!" The Voices would roar to announce the oncoming attack.
"Gotcha!" I shot back, ducking away just in time before countering with a wind-imbued knee of my own.
Realizing his close-up attacks wouldn't do much against me anymore, he took three hasty steps back and ran. Typical, but I expected that! In any case, that won't work on me this time!
"Oh no you don't!" I grabbed his dragging beard with a hop and a skip, forcing him to fall on his face, "Didn't I tell you what'd happen? If you ran away even once more, I'll seal you for the rest of time!"
"Pheh!" He coughed up some dirt as he turned around, "I told you, didn't I? That won't work on me."
As if tickling me to alert me of the impending danger, I let go of the geezer's beard and jumped with all my might just as the two girls behind me attacked. Seriously, didn't they say they'd be sitting this one out? Do these guys have any shame to them?
"He's flying again!" Sheila looked up.
"Hold him off!" The old man wobbled up.
"Nope! Voices!" I shouted, dropping down hard on Olya to not let him escape, "Use your brain, dumbass! I didn't come here to fight some half-naked sluts!"
Indeed, the signal directed at the Voices wasn't just for them to drop me back down, but also a call for assistance. Namely, as if rushing towards the girls immediately after they let me go, the Voices blew them far away so that they wouldn't interrupt us anymore.
"Tch, just let me live in peace, dammit!" The old man cursed, "I did my time, paid the price, and now when my free life is literally within arm's reach, a fucking tyke like you runs in and stalls me out!? isn't it about time I get my life back on track!?"
"How the hell should I know?" I asked, stomping on his chest with the might of a thousand Suns, "Frankly, I couldn't care less if you lived to a billion. Actually, if I'm being honest here—The moment you kidnapped Nelly, the moment you killed Meil... I don't think even a billion more years of your sorry life would be enough of a punishment."