The air burned heavy with tension, the kind that made the sky itself feel as though it were holding its breath. Ash and embers danced lazily around the shattered battlefield, painting the dying sunset in blood-red haze.
"I never expected you to be here…
"FEDORA"
Lucy's voice cut sharp through the silence, her tone steady, but her eyes hard with memories. "Your first appearance in this country caused chaos. Thousands of Shinras died fighting you and the army you created alone. Not even the head of the Shinras could defeat you. After all the efforts of this country… even after forming an alliance, you still weren't destroyed. Because of how powerful… and cunning you are."
Her words carried the weight of history, of battles burned into her soul.
Fedora turned his head slightly, his crimson eyes gleaming faintly beneath his shadowed brow. His presence itself felt like a curse, pressing down like invisible chains. He smirked, almost amused.
"You really impressed me in our first meeting. But I don't intend to bully the weak. I'm… different than before, Lucy." His voice was smooth, chilling. "Fedora has no interest in you today. You and your student should leave. Get lost."
He turned, cloak swaying in the wind as though even the fabric obeyed his aura.
Lucy's expression tightened. "Hold on, Fedora. You know the Shinras won't stop coming after you once they sense your Renshi aura. What are you planning this time?"
His crimson gaze flickered back. "You should be thankful. You're leaving here alive today. You'll figure it out… sooner or later."
Behind Lucy, Alfie had been listening intently, fists clenched tight on his blade. His jaw trembled with rage, though his chest quivered with fear. As Lucy began moving, Alfie followed, both of them leaping from fragment to fragment of crumbling earth, heading toward the safer trees of the forest.
But his thoughts boiled over. Don't dare insult Master like that, you monster… How come you guys are stronger this time?
Lucy noticed the anger in Alfie's steps and tightened her grip on his hand as she pulled him along. "Calm down, Alfie. Don't panic. He's in a completely different class from me. That creature you see… could destroy this whole country if he wished. Learn when to fight, and when to run."
Alfie swallowed hard, his heart sinking at the weight of her words.
But then Fedora's gaze sharpened. His eyes locked on Alfie like a predator discovering prey. The darkside spirit steps slowed, his voice a low murmur.
"Huh… That aura… no… it can't be. After all these years… Impossible."
Lucy caught the glance, her blood running cold. Don't tell me he noticed so fast…
She stopped suddenly, her body tense. "Go on ahead, Alfie. I'll catch up with you."
"What? Master, why are you—"
Before Alfie could even finish, Fedora was already in front of him. One blink, one step—and the Darkside Spirit loomed, staring directly at the boy. Alfie's body locked up. His legs trembled, his grip slipped on his sword. Just Fedora's aura was enough to freeze him in place, his heart screaming in terror.
Fedora raised his hand, reaching toward Alfie's face with a grin of dark curiosity. But before his fingers touched skin—
Lucy's hand shot out, seizing Fedora's wrist, Renshi blazing bright around her arm to block the poisonous curse pulsing through his veins. Her eyes burned with fury.
"Of course… it's you," Fedora murmured, crimson eyes narrowing. "You're familiar to one of them. How come you're in this weak planet?"
His voice carried a weight that even Lucy felt down to her bones. His aura flared, crushing the air itself as he pressed forward.
"I won't let you lay your hands on him. Not today. Not ever," Lucy snapped.
She snapped her fingers, and a glowing circle flared beneath Alfie's feet. A teleportation spell, radiant with protective Renshi.
"Master! No—!" Alfie screamed as Lucy kicked him into the circle. In an instant, he vanished, his voice echoing through the cracks of space.
Fedora's smile twisted into anger. "You idiot!" He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. At once, his aura spiked, condensing into a suffocating weight that locked down onto Lucy alone. Her body trembled under the crushing pressure, sweat dripping down her forehead.
"I won't let you off the hook this time," Fedora snarled. His fist glowed with dark crimson Renshi as he lunged forward, aiming for Lucy's stomach.
She switched just in time, flickering a dozen feet away as the blow shattered the air where she had stood alongside the trees in it's part.
"There's nowhere to run, Lucy." Fedora's voice echoed like a nightmare. "You might think the kid is safe… but I have an army who can find him whenever I want. Do you think I'll let him slip away after I've figured this out? You could try using that teleportation spell again, I'll drag him out of your circle with my own hands."
In the next breath, he switched behind her, fist already driving into her abdomen.
BOOM!
The blow sent her flying across the forest, trees splintering into dust as her body slammed through them.
Lucy hit the ground hard, coughing blood, her limbs trembling. Pain gnawed at her body, but she clenched her fists, teeth grinding.
I can't allow fear to take over… I need to focus. I'm Lucy, from the second generation of witches… I can't allow myself to be mocked by a Darkside Spirit, no matter how strong he is.
Her thoughts steadied her breath. She forced herself upright, her aura flaring again.
Fedora was already in front of her when her vision cleared, his shadow looming over her. His palm raised high, ready to smash her skull into the earth.
At the last second, Lucy coated her head in a barrier of Renshi, his strike smashing down with thunderous force. The ground cratered, but she switched away in a flash, barely escaping his relentless pursuit.
Fedora's fists blurred, raining down like meteors. Lucy's Switch Mode flickered desperately, her body moving at the edge of its limit. But then—
CRACK!
One punch connected. Her ribs screamed as she was blasted across the broken earth, her body tumbling into the open space near the volcano's rim.
Fedora stepped calmly after her, eyes cold, his voice steady. "Okay, Lucy… you might want to let me through your teleportation circle. Or die here. Either way, I'll figure out the kid's location within few working days."
Lucy spat blood into the dirt, her glare defiant. "There's no way I'm telling you—"
Her words cut short as Fedora switched to her, his fist crashing against her skull and slamming her down into the ground.
The impact opened a massive pit beneath her, plunging into the earth, stretching into unfathomable darkness.
"I don't need your resistance anymore." Fedora's crimson eyes burned as he stepped back. "Alfie, was it? I'm coming for you, kiddo. Sit tight."
He turned toward the forest, already preparing to move—
But then… the earth beneath him quaked violently. From the gaping pit, a surge of raw, unstable Renshi exploded upward like a storm.
Fedora's eyes narrowed.
Lucy burst forth, her body transformed.
Her skin was dark as midnight, her eyes glowing a savage violet.A Black wing unfurled from one part of her back, pulsing with dark Renshi. Her ears lengthened, her aura twisting violently as her power poured out, reshaping her very being.
She landed on the fragmented earth, each step cracking stone beneath her feet.
Fedora's smirk faltered. His gaze lingered on her, for once… surprised.
"Hmph. That Renshi… how? How did you hide it so well?" His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "I didn't notice… you were one of them… all this time."
The volcano behind them roared. The sky seemed to darken. The battlefield had shifted—
And for the first time, Fedora looked genuinely intrigued.
"Today," he muttered, "is full of surprises."