I jolted awake to the sound of wood exploding.
Splinters rained down around me as the door burst inward. Before my foggy, half-asleep brain could even grasp what was happening, a massive shadow filled the doorway.
She was huge. Easily eight feet tall, all muscle, clad in dark leather armor. Her wild violet hair was tied back in a rough ponytail that swung behind her as she stepped inside, those eerie pink eyes locking onto me with chilling precision. In her hands, she held a pair of kunai linked by a cruel-looking chain, twirling them almost lazily as she advanced.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up. I rolled off the bed just as—
CRACK!
The mattress exploded into splinters and straw, sending tufts of stuffing into the air like grotesque snow. My bare feet hit the cold stone as I scrambled backward, heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst.
"Wait," I tried to get out, but she was already in motion.
The chain sliced through the air with a deadly metallic hiss. I ducked just in time, feeling the blade snag a few strands of hair before it buried itself in the wall behind me. The second kunai came swinging back. I twisted away, but not fast enough. White-hot pain ripped across my ribs as the blade cut deep.
Warm blood trickled down my side, and the sharp, metallic scent filled my nose.
No time to think. No time to breathe.
She came at me again, chains a blur of silver in the dim torchlight. I dodged and weaved, but one strike wrapped around my forearm. The kunai sank in, hot pain flaring. Instinct took over. I pulled back hard, but she didn't even budge.
Instead, she yanked.
I was ripped off my feet, hurtling straight toward her. Her massive hand closed around my throat, lifting me like I weighed nothing until my toes barely brushed the floor. Up close, her pink eyes glowed with a cold, mocking amusement.
"Pathetic," she growled, her breath hot against my face.
Then she threw me.
Pain exploded through me as I crashed straight through the stone wall. Rubble pelted my body, and I tumbled into the hallway beyond, scraping across the rough floor. Every bone in my body screamed.
Through the settling dust, I saw her step through the hole in the wall like it was nothing, her weapon still spinning lazily. Those pink eyes burned in the gloom as she loomed over me.
"Get up," she sneered, voice thick with contempt. "Or die where you are."
I spat blood, forcing myself up on trembling arms, my ribs a mess of agony. My voice came out hoarse. "Who... the hell... are you?"
Her lips twisted into a vicious smile. The chain tightened with a sharp metallic shink.
"Your next problem."
Then she came at me again.
No time to think.
I turned and ran.
The hallway stretched before me, a gauntlet of flickering torchlight and jagged stone. Doors flashed by on either side, some iron-barred, some rotting wood, all potential traps or temporary shelters. My bare feet slapped against the cold floor as I pushed my burning muscles harder.
Behind me, the whirl of chains and the thunder of footsteps told me she was giving chase.
Think, Astro. Think!
I couldn't fight her. Not empty-handed. Not with her strength. Dodging had barely worked. Talking clearly wasn't an option. That left running, hiding, or outsmarting her, and right now, running was the only thing keeping me alive.
A sharp turn ahead. I took it without slowing, skidding around the corner just as a kunai embedded itself in the wall where my head had been. The chain rattled as she yanked it back.
She's toying with me.
Another hallway. More doors. Somewhere in this labyrinth, there had to be something. A weapon, an escape, a way to turn this around.
Then I saw it. A half-open door, slightly ajar, darkness beyond. A gamble, but better than nothing.
I lunged for it, throwing myself inside and slamming it shut behind me. My back pressed against the wood as I fumbled for a lock.
THUD.
The door shuddered under the impact.
THUD.
Wood splintered.
I wasn't staying here.
The room was small, some kind of storage closet, but against the far wall, a rusted grate led into a ventilation shaft.
Perfect.
Another bone-rattling impact shook the door as I scrambled toward the opening. The grate gave way with a hard yank, and I hauled myself inside just as the door exploded inward.
Pink eyes gleamed in the darkness.
"Clever," she purred. "But not clever enough."
I didn't wait to hear the rest.
I crawled.
The shaft was narrow, the metal biting into my palms and knees as I dragged myself deeper into the darkness. Below me I heard footsteps, meaning I was above a hallway. I also heard the sounds of metal. The same sound of the weapon the demon girl had beneath me.
She was following.
And she wasn't stopping.
A small opening beneath me revealed a room packed with weapons. Swords, axes, spears, all glinting under dim torchlight. My heart jumped. Finally, a shot.
Then I spotted him. A burly demon with jagged horns, rummaging through the racks, muttering to himself.
Now or never.
I didn't give myself a chance to second-guess. I dropped through the opening, landing right on the demon's shoulders with a grunt.
"What the—?!" he bellowed, staggering under my weight.
Before he could throw me off, I locked my legs around his thick neck and leaned forward, using the momentum to flip us both.
CRASH!
His head slammed into the stone floor with a satisfying crunch. He went limp beneath me.
No time to gloat.
I scrambled to my feet, eyes darting across the racks until they landed on a short, curved blade. I grabbed it. Light, balanced, wickedly sharp.
Perfect.
I'd barely straightened up when the door exploded inward, ripped clean off its hinges.
There she was.
The violet-haired demoness filled the doorway, pink eyes glowing with amusement. Her twin kunai spun lazily in her hands, chains snaking across the floor like hungry serpents.
"I knew I'd find you here," she purred, voice thick with dark delight.
I tightened my grip on the blade, dropping into a ready stance.
"Yeah?" I shot back. "Then you know I'm not running this time."
She laughed, a low, dangerous sound that made the hair on my neck stand on end.
"Good," she said. "Prove it."
And then she lunged.
The fight exploded into a blur of steel and fury.
The violet-haired demoness moved like a storm. Every strike precise, every motion brimming with lethal intent. Her twin kunai spun through the air, the chains singing as they sliced deadly arcs around her. But this time, I was ready.
I ducked under her first slash, feeling the blade's wind skim the top of my head. My stolen sword came up just in time to deflect the second kunai, the impact rattling all the way down to my bones. I snapped back with a quick slash at her ribs, but she twisted away effortlessly, those eerie pink eyes dancing with amusement.
Too damn fast.
She pressed in harder, the chains lashing out like striking vipers. I blocked, parried, rolled. Every move a frantic effort to keep breathing. My blade caught another strike, sending sparks skittering across the floor as steel shrieked against steel. Sweat blurred my vision. My muscles burned. But I held on.
For now.
Then everything changed.
She stepped back, lips curling into a smug little smirk. Both kunai rested in her hands now, the chains pooling at her feet. A low hum filled the air. Purple lightning crackled from her horns, snaking down her arms and into the blades. The kunai lit up, electricity dancing wickedly along their edges.
"Let's end this," she purred.
She threw the first kunai.
I barely managed to bring my sword up. The moment steel collided with steel, an explosion of lightning ripped through me. Pain detonated in every nerve. My muscles seized, my fingers convulsed, and the sword slipped from my grasp, clattering to the ground. I staggered back, teeth clenched against a scream.
She didn't give me a second.
With a flick, the kunai snapped back into her hand. In the same breath, she hurled it again. This time, straight for my eye.
I couldn't move. Couldn't dodge.
The kunai shot toward me.
And then stopped. Hovering just inches from my face.
The demoness yanked it back, the weapon vanishing into her sleeve.
The violet-haired demoness suddenly relaxed her stance, the electrified kunai vanishing into the folds of her clothing as if they'd never been drawn. She turned her head slightly, addressing someone behind her without breaking eye contact with me.
"Well? Seen enough?" she asked, her voice dripping with casual arrogance.
A familiar, terrifying presence stepped into the room. Miss Yoclesh leaned against the doorway, her massive kanabō resting against her shoulder. Her slitted amber eyes gleamed with amusement as she looked between us.
"Yeah, thanks Numi for testing him," Yoclesh replied, her voice a low rumble.
The violet-haired demon, Numi, gave a sharp grin. "No problem. It was a pleasure." She stretched her arms, the chains of her weapon clinking softly. "If you need me, I'll be at the military gym. Oh, and send me his training results later. I want to know what to focus on with him."
Yoclesh nodded. "Of course."
With that, Numi turned and strode out of the room, her heavy boots thudding against the stone floor. The moment she disappeared through the doorway, the adrenaline that had been keeping me upright drained away.
My legs gave out.
I slumped against the wall, sliding down until I was sitting on the cold floor. A sharp gasp escaped my lips as my hand instinctively went to the wound on my side. Still bleeding. My breath came in ragged, uneven bursts, my entire body trembling from exertion and the lingering effects of Numi's electric attack.
Yoclesh loomed over me, her shadow swallowing the flickering torchlight. She studied me for a long moment before crouching down to my level.
"You held out longer than I expected," she mused, tilting her head. "But you're still weak."
I didn't have the energy to argue.
She reached into her belt and pulled out a small vial filled with a thick, iridescent red liquid. Without warning, she grabbed my chin and forced the potion to my lips.
"Drink."
I choked it down. Hot, bitter, metallic. Almost instantly, the pain in my side dulled. The bleeding slowed, then stopped altogether as the wound knit itself closed.
Yoclesh stood, looking down at me with that same unreadable expression.
"Rest today," she ordered. "Tomorrow, your real training begins."
Then she turned and walked away, leaving me slumped against the wall, exhausted, aching, but alive.
And for now, that was enough.