-Eve-

“Eve, get out of here before you get possessed!”

The demons weapons crash together like the cold ocean breaking on the tide. Hollow was right, I needed to get away...Why do I have to be so useless…

“Nnnng, fine Hollow!”

I curse myself before taking off to the forest. I could hear the crashing of their battle as trees toppled behind me. Those two were no joke.

“Nnng…”

My feet stop as I clenched my fist.

“Dang it! I can’t just run away like some punk!”

I spun around and crossed my arms, contemplating my next action.

“Hollow has her hands full with Exo-3, the kid in the kimono…but what about that short skirt?”

That was my plan. So, I got down and raced my way through the violence. The temperature of the battlefield was decreasing. I could only speculate that Exo-3 was using frost mana. Hollow didn’t seem like she had that sort of style.

“I’m freaking useless here!”

I snuck behind a whiney brat with twin tails now named Exo-4. She kicked her feet about, watching Hollow and her coworker fight. In her hand…that strange echoing device she always used. That purplish cone.

“Mmm…If I can get that…I could probably help Hollow.”

But she’s an Exorcist of the Holy Order. She’s no chump. Ave blessed her with the power to take down Ruiners. What the heck could a no-name girl like me do against someone like her? She might be weak in Hollow’s eyes but…I’m not Hollow. I’m useless…

I hit my head, rebuking my self-depreciation.

“C’mon, Eve. Now’s not the time.”

I searched around and found a branch... That wasn’t going to work. Exo-4 paced around like a child. She skipped around to the point that just watching her made me dizzy. Seems she wasn’t able to enter the fight because of the foliage. Smart on Hollow to cripple her like this. But I couldn’t allow Hollow to be the only one working.

“Huh?! Oh, here’s a good chance!”

She smiled, holding that purple device.

“No, you don’t!”

I leaped in with no weapon and grabbed her back. She swung about as we pulled each other back and forth.

“What the?! Get off me!”

“Nnng.”

With all my might I bit her on the neck. Not in the playful way either as I immediately tasted blood.

“Arrgg! You bitch!”

She cried out before pushing me to the dirt and holding her neck in pain.

“Fuck with me, will you?!”

She pointed her device my way so, I leaped up and ran off. She came after me as we raced into the endless abyss of trees.

“Get back here!”

She cried, echoing that horrid device at a nearby tree. My ears began to bleed, her cries drowned away as she kept burst at my eardrums with every strike.

“Better her focusing on me than Hollow.”

I convinced myself as needles entered my head in pain. I leaped behind a tree, holding it for dear life when vibrations raddled me. Suddenly, the wood exploded, bringing me into the air, slamming into another nearby tree. I could hear my bones pop irregularly as I slumped back down.

“Get over here you! I don’t know why you’re hanging around with that Ruiner, but I’ll cut you open like a pig!”

She searched for me now. I hid in the brush as she walked about the area. This was good, she wasn’t focusing on Hollow anymore. I gave her something to do. Even if she does kill me…at least I provided time for Hollow, right?

But then like all my plans…things started going to shit when I heard the echoes of those humans…no puppets starting to search through the forest. Their movements were slow, sluggish as the weaved about.

“Where are you blondie?!”

Exo-4 was getting closer as she held that horrible device in her hand. She paced near me and I needed to get the drop on her. So, I lunged out only to be pulled back by a young man.

“Eh, get off me!”

I cried.

But he moved like he had no energy. A white aura held over him as he held me now.

“Oh…there you are.”

Now, Exo-4 walked over and put her foot on my back.

“Why are you helping a Ruiner, human?”

“Why are you killing humans, Exorcist?”

The maniac burst into a fit of laughter as she kicked my back relentlessly. The man’s grip made it all the more uncomfortable.

“You’re tainted like the rest of them…”

She chuckled as she leaned down.

“I’ll let you in on a secret before I blow your body up…”

Her lips connected with my ear. At any other time, I would be swooning over this. Man, why did this bitch have to be crazy?

“Your precious bird is falling into Exo-3’s hand.”

She then did something I wasn’t expecting. She screamed into her device, the man who was holding me rumbled like a mini earthquake. Blood pushed out from every orifice of his body before his skin peeled back. After a sharp squeal, his skin rippled popping horridly. He then killed over. No eyes, no teeth, nothing. He didn’t look human anymore.

“You bit the wrong girl.”

She chuckled as she sat on my back and aimed the device at my head. I was powerless. She had all control over what she wanted to do to me…

“As that Ruiner kills these human puppets, Exo-3 stores their remaining mana and their souls away.”

She giggled a tad cutely, I couldn’t lie.

“So, once Exo-3 has enough mana she’ll release a devastating blast in the forest. Nothing will live…”

“Hollow’s stronger than that.”

I jeered.

“It doesn’t matter how strong someone is. Her attack removes all the mana in the surrounding area. And demons as you should know are purely mana.”

Her breast pushed on my back as she rubbed her cheek against the back of my neck.

“It’s sad that you’re tainted. You’re kinda cute. I wouldn’t mind having you as an experiment in my lab. Locking you up away and forcing you to do my bidding.”

Her shout-mic touched the back of my head…

“But you’re tainted, and Exo-1 wouldn’t approve of it. But I can tell you since you’re dead anyway…that bite made my heart jump.”

Her breath closed in. I smiled that ever-charming smile. No matter what they do to me, they’ll never take that away from me.

“Bye, bye!”

Her voice vibrated through my ears. I could…hear my bones shaking as my vision started to bounce. The pain of my insides crashing together was surreal. It felt like my body was being swung in thousands of directions every millisecond. The pain was unbearably unrealistic. I never felt anything so horrid before and as soon my body grew numb as I closed my eyes.

 

 

There I lied in the empty space. That horrid red world engulfed me again. Spirits circled me, calling me names, telling me horrible things. But all I could think about was how I needed to get to Hollow. I had no time for the creatures of the afterlife to shun me. They couldn’t take away my smile anymore. I had a purpose right now…and I didn’t want to lose it yet. Without Hollow… I’ll be lost again…

My eyes popped open. There I lied next to a tree. I could hear the fight being drawn deeper into the forest. Humans lied about, so I took a short knife and began my search.

“Where are you…?”

Exo-4 was my target. I wanted to give her another bite but this time with a good knife to the throat. If I could take her weapon, I could help Hollow. I needed to warn her else she’d massacre everyone without realizing her death is near.

“No, you don’t, Ruiner!”

The voice I was looking for cried out. Her echoes aimed to Hollow as she swayed and dodged then skillfully flew deeper into the woods.

“After that bitch! Kill her my puppets! Eradicate that Ruiner!”

That’s when humans began blasting passed me. They all aimed to Hollow…meaning Exo-3 was planning her mana depletion craft. But wouldn’t something like that…kill her too?

Exo-4 laughed as she skipped around. Gosh, that girl is crazy. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. I had the element of surprise and I was going to take it to the fullest. So, with the knife in hand, I raced to her, jumped off a rock, and landed on her back for the second time.

“What the fuck?!”

“Ha!”

I cried as I lifted the knife above my head, stabbing into her shoulder. Blood kicked out as I wailed repeatedly. The Exorcist toppled to the ground but my strikes were merciless. I never feared killing another human… No, plenty of them had already killed me before any demon. I’ve been burned, scarred, maimed, stabbed, slashed, even tortured before…all by humans. Suddenly, she stopped screaming. I wasn't sure if she was dead but I grabbed onto her device. Now that I look at it, it looks like a small cone, one someone would use to gain attention.

“This is mine now, bitch!”

I took to my feet but then her hand grabbed onto my heel.

“Arrg…Arrg!”

She cried as she pulled me down and took the very knife I had dropped.

“Why are you alive! What are you?!”

Her eyes glared in what I could only say was disgust. She stabbed my chest. The pain immediately surged through me. If I didn’t escape, she’d kill me again and the chances of me saving Hollow would be slim to none.

“How are you alive?!”

She gnashed at me with the knife, cutting at my arms and body. So, I turned the device to her.

“Ah?!”

She gasped before falling off me and running towards the forest.

“Get back here, bitch!”

I cried in the shout-mic. Echoes resonated and hit a tree she was near, blowing her body crudely away. She had to have flown at least 20 feet in the air. Seeing her busty figure flip about caused a sadistic giggle to escape my mouth.

“Serves…you right.”

She must have punctured a vital organ because blood was escaping from my chest all too fast. I had to do this…I had to reveal Exo-3’s trap before it was too late for me. So, I pushed my body forward as I made my way to her.

As I approached, bodies littered the area as more humans approached her. Only then did I see the white mist hovering above the trees. Hollow didn’t seem too focused. Blood smeared her beautiful face as she continued to slaughter humans left and right. I needed to stop her…now.

“Hollow!”

I cried out. My body surged in pain as I grabbed my chest.

“Eve?”

Our eyes met now as I pushed myself to her.

“Stop…killing her puppets, Hollow.”

With the device in hand, I held my chest and pushed over.

“Just follow my lead, Hollow! Unless you want to die.”

I gazed up at the trees. Hollow followed my lead as I took a deep breath and screamed.

“Hey, Exo-3! Fuck you!”

The echoes blew the branches clouding the mist away. There lied Exo-3, the child with her body entrapped by countless spirits. Her right eye was bleeding and her mouth was chanting words I couldn’t understand. The sky was turning a horrid bright blue as spirits were sucking mana from the world around us.

Her strike was coming soon…

I turned to Hollow with the device still near my mouth.

“Hollow, that’s a mana depletion craft! She plans to kill herself and take you with her! Think you can handle her?”

“Tsk…how foolish.”

Hollow scorned.

“Take a rest. I’ll end this now.”

That was the first time…Hollow ever smiled while aiming it towards me. Despite being bloody it warmed my chest a little. So, I collapsed on the ground….

Knowing full well that Hollow was going to end this…