"Let me introduce this creature to you—he is the destroyer of life, one who seeks to consume the souls of the greedy—the Witch!" The voice boomed out across the sweet-smelling world; the seven of us on the ground saw the giant figure of the witch—fortunately, half her body was wedged in a ravine, for otherwise she might well have trampled us like ants.
"…Alice, I hope you've got a brilliant idea, as usual," Robin suddenly dumped the responsibility of coming up with a plan on me; I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I hadn't got any information whatsoever about this witch.
Like a bolt of lightning, the voices of two men and a woman boomed out. "ENJOY YOUR MEAL!" In that very instant, flames shot from the witch's fingers, instantly engulfing the ground and sending our gathered group scattering in all directions.
We couldn't run for long because our full stomachs were holding us back, and this was immediately confirmed by the sound of a scream; when I turned round, there were Juliet and Romeo, being held tightly by those massive hands. Romeo was powerless to resist, whilst Juliet—what could she possibly do?
I glanced to my left and spotted Robin and Snow, who were already being held by the hideous witch's right hand; they were wriggling, trying to free themselves, but no matter how hard they tried—it was all in vain; they couldn't break free at all. They screamed as their bodies were nearly crushed by those giant fingers; Romeo growled and, at that very moment, a reddish glow appeared, enveloping his face, and when the light faded, the Masqrude mask emerged.
With all his might, he pushed against the fingers until finally the grip loosened, allowing them to escape. Romeo embraced Juliet's body before hurling them both away—the mask turned green, causing Romeo to feel not the slightest bit of pain as their bodies crashed to the ground. "Are you all right, July?" the man asked, even though it was he who'd sacrificed himself so that Juliet wouldn't be hurt; the blushing girl nodded and offered a grateful smile.
I, standing behind Ciel and Felix, threw two cards forward and as they stepped on them—WHOOSH—they soared high into the sky, just high enough to grab Robin and Snow, who were still holding on. "HYAAAAH!" The sword swung, about to sever the witch's hand, but contrary to plan, she had already let go, which took Ciel and Felix by surprise—they hadn't anticipated this scenario, and their blades couldn't be halted in time.
Both iron blades sliced deep into Robin and Snow's bodies; their pupils contracted in shock. Ciel and Felix immediately pulled back their swords, but it was already too late, and their bodies plunged to the ground. "Come on, there's still time!" Snow prayed, and from her fingertips emerged a pale blue light that formed threads, and from those threads took shape five dolls standing on the ground.
All their hands raised upwards, softening the ground beneath them more than it should have been. Blood began to gush forth; Ciel and Felix immediately rushed over—their faces showing panic and worry at the sight of such severe injuries. "Are you... all right?" he asked, but the wounds on their chests, extending down to their stomachs, looked extremely serious.
Without a moment's respite, the witch's two giant hands slammed into the ground, sending us flying into the air—she was far more cunning than I'd imagined. Before I could even process the situation, my blue eyes widened as I saw a giant hand right in front of me; it slapped me across the face and sent my body flying far from the arena.
Juliet, who had seen this, immediately screamed my name, "ALICE!!" She screamed, but my body had already disappeared from her view. Robin, lying there limp, tried to move his body to help, but that deep cut caused him such agony that even the slightest movement was excruciating.
As I floated in the air, the force of the slap had left me unconscious. When I came round, I found myself standing in a lifeless, monochrome world; rain was falling from above, and I knew exactly where I was.
"Do you still want to live?"
The question echoed; I turned round and found a girl whose face was the exact spitting image of my own. The only difference was that her appearance had a dull colour scheme. "Why did you suddenly drag me here?" I demanded an answer, but the figure—who was a demon—tilted her head and smiled.
The blood-red eyes of the figure named Echila stared at me with a gaze as sharp as a knife. "I didn't drag you here; it was your very soul crying out for help," she said, walking closer until the distance between us was now very short. "Listen, you little bastard—if you let me take control of your body, you'll definitely keep breathing; but if you carry on refusing, we'll both die."
"We don't have much time; wasting even a little of it will mean you'll never see Red again"
My body broke out in a cold sweat when I heard that; I couldn't deny a single word she said—my stomach was too full to move freely, and the body outside would surely be shattered in a matter of moments. For a demon like her, feeling full would probably have no effect, and her strength might well be enough to fight that witch.
My hand twitched and my heart was pounding; I couldn't choose between striking a deal with the demon and surviving, or sticking to my pride only to have my body torn to pieces. "I want a deal that works in my favour," I said bluntly; upon hearing this, Echila couldn't help but laugh, as it was impossible for anyone to agree to such a pact.
"I'll listen," said Echila, our black and blonde hair fluttering in the wind—my fists were clenched tightly and sweat was beginning to dampen my body. "What do you want, my lady?" The question made my heart pound even harder, as the choice I was about to make would determine the course of my life.
"You may only take control of my body when my chances of surviving are zero per cent—otherwise, leave it to me," I stretched out my hand, and Echila looked amused when she heard my request. "Also, don't hurt my friends in the slightest; and finally, when I ask you to give me back control of my body, you must comply."
"Hey, hey, my lady, I'm not getting any benefit out of this at all," he said, though it didn't sound as though he minded. "All right, then—as long as I'm in control of you, I can let myself go completely, how about that?" The offer didn't sound bad, but he was a demon—there was bound to be something he was plotting.
However, I didn't have much time left. With a slight hesitation, I nodded in agreement, and it was at that moment that our hands shook—a pact I might well come to regret in the future, but it was our only hope.
Back on the battlefield, everything seemed hopeless—Romeo was tending to Juliet's severely injured body, whilst Robin's energy was completely depleted as none of her arrows could harm the witch. Snow had been struck by the giant's hand, causing her head to bleed profusely and sending Robin into even greater panic over her teammate's condition.
"Are you still strong enough to stand, Felix?" asked Ciel, panting heavily; cold sweat drenched his face and he could no longer grip his sword as tightly as before.
The beastkin knelt and plunged his sword into the ground. "Barely," he also barely managed to say, describing his condition at that moment. The witch laughed at the pitiful state of Team Pyxis—so condescending was she that she couldn't even be bothered to finish them off, too busy laughing.
Just when all hope seemed lost, a voice called out—and to their surprise—that person called out my name. "Alice..." At that very moment, they all felt a shiver run through their bodies as they sensed the presence of someone so unnerving, it was as though they were being choked to death.
"What a pity, Alice is resting right now." A figure appeared—a girl with jet-black hair and bright, piercing red eyes—they stared at her in horror, finding it uncanny to see a girl floating in the air. "But don't worry, you're getting a much better upgrade."
Robin, watching from below, couldn't believe what he was seeing—it was like me, yet it wasn't me. "Who are you?" That was the question on everyone's lips now; all eyes were fixed on me, including the witch, who was bewildered by my appearance, which was so different from before.
I still remember clearly the first time I saw this demon; she'd made a deal with my mother to keep her young so she could enjoy my father's wealth for longer—yet that was the greatest mistake she'd ever made; I'd always hated my mother for that—but, ironically, now I've ended up doing exactly the same thing.
"Echila, the Demon of Madness—it's a pleasure to meet you all."