Hare of Misfortune

Pyramid-like barrier collapsing under the pressure of the Hellfire coating her fingernails, Rachel’s vision penetrated the veil hiding spiritual forces, giving her an unfiltered look at the hundreds of threads the Priestess used to transfer any damage done to another party.

”Rachel, can we talk about this?!”

Dozens of occult-like playing cards flew toward Relica’s outstretched hand, the panicking woman falling in slow motion as Yomi’s energy burned through her White Lunar Pool. This was more than [Rapid Mode]’s usual effect—the power of a Baroness of Hell now flooded and twisted her system.

”Talk about what?”

With her intense red pupils and shimmering, obsidian clover eyes opened to all the phenomena typically hidden from mortal view, Rachel saw Relica in a new light. She was certainly prepared to deal with just about anything with her precast spell deck and the weird occult symbol floating above her head, which wasn’t her own power. Although that ’anything’ didn’t include a Baroness from Hell.

Scarlet locked up as Rachel spun into action, moving out of reach in the blink of an eye as her giant hammer swung off her shoulders, Hellfire sparking across its surface.

”Rachel, the hostages!”

The flat, multiple-spiked end of her hammer passed right through Relica’s chest just as the shaky-eyed terrorist became a flickering shadow, teleporting away in fright. The hostages didn’t matter; Yomi’s corrupting force severed every link Relica had made.

”Are all free,” she answered, twisting the hammer to her shoulders again as she turned to stare at the bewildered vamp girl. ”She used a shadow double to escape three floors above us...which happens to be on fire for some particular reason. Your work?”

”Fiona’s...”

”Ah. That reminds me. Here you go...”

Taking the unconscious little woman out of her pocket and handing her to the stunned girl, Rachel’s vision narrowed upon seeing the controlling nature of the black collar around her throat. Its internal magical circuits were totally fried, rendering it useless, but it wasn’t hard to see Relica’s plan.

Corrupted Nia was gleefully informing the half-dead unicorn that she’d freed all the hostages. Now, Relica was defenseless, and the hounds were closing in from all sides as Selvaria jumped into the sea to go after their submarine; its decoy tricks would be less likely to work against the leviathan.

Scarlet looked winded as she took Fiona, cradling her in her hands. ”What do I do?”

”Hmm.” Rachel’s gaze lifted to the ceiling, smelling and hearing the smoke from the fairy’s rampage; it had a magical scent she hadn’t experienced before, thanks to her many Baroness abilities. ”Help Maria evacuate the building before the fire spreads here. I have some personal business to handle.”

The cruel stigma of allowing one’s prey a moment’s rest before shattering that sense of security tugged at Rachel’s chest as she reached up to crush Scarlet’s choker. A desperate victim was the easiest to exploit for secrets, and it seemed she did have some connections to the UK.

She chuckled upon hearing the woman make contact with a rather interesting party through her deck of spells.

[20 Seconds Remaining]

[Hell Step: Activated]

[Hellfire Cloak: Activated]

”Ack—extract!” Relica coughed through the smoke, stumbling to the window while sending a pulse of dark magic to shatter the glass and allow the suffocating clouds an exit. ”You wanted information on the Scarlet Hand? Then get me out—Rachel?! Wait!”

A flash of crimson lightning and black flames brought her to the center of the blazing inferno, a distance away from the Priestess to further instill fear.

Striding forward, she twirled her weightless hammer around her hand as Relica stumbled against the window, throwing out spell after spell that was effortlessly absorbed by Yomi’s cloak.

[14 Seconds Remaining]

”You really have no loyalties, do you?” Rachel mused, dozens of the occult cards burning away as she strolled through the natural fire, blood magic spells, and seals the woman threw at her. ”Have you exhausted all of your options?”

”I know the truth about Scarlet now!” Relica screamed, face blanching as the spiritual binding threads she sent burned away before even touching her skin. ”It’s a lie! It’s all been a lie!”

[9 Seconds Remaining]

”Oh...” The familiar popping sound Daran made when teleporting pricked her ears as magic words, spoken with an English accent, brought Relica’s literal knights in shining armor. ”The British are coming? How ironic.”

Rachel’s grin fell as Scarlet’s voice burned a reality into her mind, and three shimmering knights with a robbed elderly man came between them.

”Wait, Rachel,” Scarlet cried from three floors below, the crackling of flames between them raising the hair on her tail. ”Relica tried to kill you when you were nine!”

The night of the car accident flooded Rachel’s tainted thoughts, a cruel twist of fate that had changed the course of her entire life condensed into a single face. The emotional torture her mother suffered, the division between her dad and uncle, and the anger that had fueled her until now all merged into one answer: the insane, dark-haired terrorist in front of her had damaged her entire family.

To her, time came to almost a standstill as [Accelerated Mind] activated.

[4 Seconds Remaining]

[2 Seconds Remaining]

Standing utterly still, Rachel allowed the information to seep through her with the miasma of Yomi squeezing the air from her lungs; the memory of her bloodied cousin in the seat next to her, the tears and cries of her mother and aunt, the sirens that eventually came.

Pressure welled up and compressed her chest as all enjoyment and amusement in seeing Relica squirm evaporated. She’d suspected as much, but it was another thing entirely to have it said aloud.

Free hand rising to press against her breast, Rachel’s heartless eyes met the fully armored men directly between her and her enemy. Every pounding drum against her ribcage brought reality closer to her chilling heart, prickles cascading down her arms. As it turned out, she wasn’t satisfied with a swift ending.

Nia...

[1 Second Remaining]

Her little rabbit’s malicious giggles echoed through their shared connection, and more Hell Force flooded her veins, bringing with it a pain and backlash Eostre said would come in the form of harsh spiritual fatigue, but she didn’t have time for that.

[Lunar Spike - Hell Moon - Yomi: Activated]