Roxy's POV
Oh My Devil..
This hauntingly beautiful aura couldn't be mistaken. The air has never been so crisp! And the wind? Gustling subtly with the fragments of this Rank 2 Shifter. This was my battle for sure. One I'd love with my whole heart!
"Roxy..." the wind whispered. And then, chuckled.
"Your dad misses you." It said, the breeze moving into one direction now. A formation. A body forming from wind and soul.
Shifters had souls?
I smirked, scoffed even, "Don't you think I know?"
And this time, the Shifter smirked at me. It's form was...beautiful.
Ah! I've never seen a Shifter so perfect!
"You're not Rank 2 for sure." My sword rested on my shoulder, the metal clink sound with my shoulder bones—a battle cry. The Shifter presented itself. It was a daunting, mage-like, perfect being.
"You transcend the rankings created by these humans. You thrive on energy my father gifted you. What are you?" I asked with a smirk. However, my serious question sounded like a joke to the creature. It laughed. The kind of laughter, the tone, hitting so close to home. He sounded like...my father.
"Oh dear Roxy~
Your father didn't gift me this power. I manifested it from him!" It said. I raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm. Funny—'Cause dad doesn't fulfil wishes like an angel anymore. Now that makes me curious." I replied.
"I'll tell you, Roxy. I'll tell you how I've got this power. But first...will you accept my deal?"
"What deal, darling?"
I loved where this was going. I haven't had this much fun IN EONS!
"Shall you lose, share half of your power with me.
Shall I lose, I do the same. Half of my power. And that said...half of our lives, too."
Oh?
"You must be very confident with your powers, Shifter. You do know what I am, don't you?"
"I do, my love." He chuckled sickly again, and guess what? I was loving it. " I know what I'm bargaining for~"
I scoffed, my blade now off my shoulder. The soil beneath my feet thundered, rubble flying up to my knees. My blade was gustling with my prowess. And this Shifter will be beheaded in one clean shot.
I get to drink his powers. But..
Perhaps...I was the one too confident...
My blade flicked mid air. The air alone uprooting tens of trees in the line of force. Yet, the blade stopped midair.
My eyes widened.
Beyond the gaze I held, behind my heavy, surging with power blade of a kind, the monstrous Shifter finally took a stone-like physical form.
I was...mesmerized.
"You're...you're beautiful." I couldn't help but mutter. Was a shame I had to kill it!
"You're just as beautiful, Roxy..." It flirted back. But the flirting between us was lethal. It wasn't just me holding my blade across it's neck. It's razor sharp, hollow claws wrapped around my neck, too.
I couldn't have noticed if it wasn't for the reflection from a puddle beneath. So it's attacks are invisible, too. Gosh.
"Those could smash rocks. Your fists." I smirked, complimenting it.
"Don't I know your protective skin is harder than dragons, sweetheart?" It's heartwarming smile was a decoy. The pressure around my neck kept building. And suddenly...I felt warm liquid fill up my mouth.
Blood poured out...
"Straining, aren't you?" It asked. Its attack was taking a toll on me. I never expected it.
Out of nowhere, a huge clinking sound shattered my eardrums. At once, the Shifter let go of my neck. The marks of his claws appeared, bruised and purple on my neck. With a snap, I cleared my blood and swallowed the metallic taste, preparing for the next phase of the battle.
However, I wasn't alone.
Red eyes. Anger like I've never seen on his face. Restless and an immense bloodlust to kill this beast.
CYRUS STOOD BEHIND WITH HIS BLADE HALFWAY INSIDE THE SHIFTER'S NECK.
"Cyrus..."
WHAT IS HE DOING!? THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY FIGHT!
I could tell the Shifter grew just as irritated to see another being battling with it. But who was I to blame? My head was spinning and I felt like...I've already lost. I started comparing...
The Devil's Daughter—Harborer of immense dark energy that no man could even think of, couldn't even give this Shifter a knick on its neck.
Then there's...Cyrus. His infamous blade halfway in the Shifter's neck!
"Don't..." Cyrus growled,
"Don't be flirting with a woman who's not yours. Wait your turn, you Beast!"
And then...SWOOSH!
Head cut off clean.
Chest and thighs diced into cubes and pieces to decompose with time.
That was Cyrus.
I laid on the mushy soil, crumbling in my own failure. How could this be possible!? How could an ordinary man like Cyrus defeat this Shifter while I, THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER, couldn't even put a scratch on that thing!?
"IT'S UNFAIR!" I yelled out, frustrated. The magnetic clink of Cyrus's blade settling on his back followed suite, disturbing the silence after my outburst.
"It's not unfair, DEVIL'S Daughter. It's your ego over victory. Try changing that. If I hadn't been here. You would've been cut to pieces instead." Cyrus's voice sounded like I've never heard before. Serious. Manly. Protective.
Tears streamed down my face. Frustration reached a whole new limit. And to this human's back, I put my head down and sniffed the pungent decomposing Shifter's corpse pieces. I knew I had to beg.
"TEACH ME HOW TO BE STRONGER, CYRUS! TAKE MY ALL. TEACH ME TO BE THE STRONGEST!"
The man turned. His aura, like always, bright golden and in my face.
"Oh, Roxy. You are the strongest person I know. You just need a bit of...wisdom."
And that was how I leaned two new things about this man—
He wins all battles with wisdom and strength.
He isn't the strongest.
And...he always knew I was the DEVIL'S Daughter.
"Drink your potion and gain that strength, Roxy. Who knows? Maybe you'll get to meet your dad in a limbo."