Chapter 30 : Afternoon

Mica had been silent for some time now. Sitting at the table across from Anton, she had patiently listened to everything he had to say before dropping her gaze to the tabletop and going still.

Kianna and Fiona were both standing off to the side where they could lean against the counter-top and listen in themselves. Their ears pointed themselves straight upwards in surprise when Mica suddenly pushed her chair away from the table and stood up.

Turning away from everyone, Mica stomped out into the center of the room where she stopped, crossed her arms over her chest and let her tail coil around rapidly through the air in irritation.

“So this is all just a trap, right!?” she growled without looking back at anyone “They're just using this as an excuse to get close to me, so they can strike! ...Right!?”

“It's entirely possible that is the case...” sighed Anton as he reached across the table and picked up one of the unused radiant potions Mica and Fiona had left there “We don't know that for certain though...”

“Seriously!?” snapped Mica as she turned back to him “C'mon! It's obvious that's what's going on here! They're just trying to kill me again! It would be the stupidest thing ever to even think about going along with this! ...Right!?”

Staring down at the potion he was absently turning over in his hand, Anton didn't say anything for a long moment as he gathered his thoughts together. His gaze was piercing when he finally looked up and faced Mica.

“I'm going to be honest with you, Mica. I'm not so sure that this is a trap. In fact, I really don't think it is.” he said softly “I think it's actually legitimate.”

“...Why? What makes you think that?” asked Mica.

“Your parents.” said Anton “Your parents know full well the situation that you're in. And while they themselves will not abandon their mission. They're not excited to succeed either. In fact, I'd say they might even be more than happy to see you succeed instead. Even if that means that you kill them in the process...”

“...What!?” exclaimed Mica.

“Understand, Mica. As far as your parents are concerned, there is only one way that this is going to end. And it's through bloodshed.” explained Anton “So this is them preparing you for that. This is how they intend to contribute to your success. It's their way of trying to support you... Whilst still trying to kill you, of course...”

Fiona snorted softly as she held back a chuckle.

“In every way, this is a win, win for them. If you triumph over this test of theirs, you'll be better prepared for the next fight that you're in.” said Anton “And if you fail... Well, mission accomplished...”

Mica stayed quiet for a moment as she let her eyes fall to the floor.

“...And that's just it, isn't it. That right there, that's the trap. The real trap.” she whispered softly as she shook her head “They really don't think I can win this. They think I'm gonna lose... And die...”

Anton said nothing as he merely stared at her.

“They don't believe in me. They never have. They don't think I can do this at all... They don't even think I stand a chance!” growled Mica as her expression hardened in anger “Well they're wrong!”

Gripping the handles of her sheathed daggers, Mica turned to Anton with fire in her eyes.

“They don't take me seriously! Nobody ever takes me seriously!” she exclaimed “But when this is over! When I win... They will!”

Anton nodded slowly.

“Wait, seriously? You're gonna fight!?” questioned Fiona.

“I'm gonna win!” declared Mica as she turned to her “And I'm gonna make my family think twice about coming after me again!”

“...So you're just gonna kill somebody, and you're cool with that?” asked Fiona.

“Sure. Why not? I'm already a slave anyway, so I got nothing to lose.” said Mica with a shrug “Bound to happen eventually anyways, so who cares?”

“...I mean, okay?” mumbled Fiona “Whatever I guess...”

“Is that your decision then, Mica?” questioned Anton as he reached over and picked up the second radiant potion “Is this something you really want to go through with?”

“...Yeah.” said Mica as she nodded in affirmation “Yeah it is...”

“Alright then. I'll let your parents know.” said Anton as he took his phone out of his pocket and replaced it with the two potions “I suggest you get yourself ready, both physically and mentally.”

“Oh, don't worry. I'm ready.” muttered Mica.

“I hope so.” said Anton as he placed the phone to his ear “Because I bet this is easily going to be the biggest challenge you've faced so far...”

Standing together in the backyard, Mica, Kianna and Fiona were waiting patiently for Anton to return. Having gone ahead to make sure that everything was as it should be, and that Mica's opponent was within the range of a fair fight, Anton had been gone for over twenty minutes before his portal winked back into existence and he reappeared through it.

“Okay, everything looks good. At least as far as I can tell.” he said as he stood in front of the portal and crossed his arms “Now are you sure you're ready for this, Mica? Because once you start this fight, that's it, you'll have to finish it.”

“...Yeah, I know.” said Mica as she squared her shoulders “It's okay. I'm ready.”

“...Very well then.” said Anton as he looked to the dark elves “Girls, keep your eyes open. You never know what assassins could be planning. So be ready for anything.”

“Right!” said Kianna and Fiona in unison.

Nodding, Anton turned around to face the portal and took a deep breath.

“Alright then.” he said as he took a step forward “Let's go.”

Stepping out of the portal, the group found themselves in a wide open prairie that seemed to stretch out for miles in every direction. This landscape was quiet and still, with a light breeze shifting the taller strands of grass being the only bit of motion to be seen in the massive sea of green that now surrounded them.

About twenty yards away, Leopold and Ila stood facing the new arrivals. And just off to the side of them, Nokko sat cross-legged up on top of a large, wooden crate. This crate was a tall rectangular shape and was just about the right size for an average humanoid person to stand inside it.

The three shinoccubi were all dressed rather casually, which was a far cry from the appearance they had the last time they had all met in an open field like this. Also unlike their previous encounter, the shinoccubi were unarmed, or at least they were not carrying any weapons that could be readily seen.

Mica couldn't help but to tense up a bit as her family came into view. With Anton ahead of her and a dark elf flanking each of her sides, she did feel a thread of comfort at the protective presence that surrounded her, but this still wasn't enough to stop a knot from forming in the pit of her stomach.

“Hey, it's okay. You don't need to worry.” whispered Kianna “You got this.”

Mica blinked in surprise at the unexpected encouragement.

“Yeah.” breathed Fiona “You just took on a big ass spider and did great. Whatever they got in that little box over there will be a piece of cake for you.”

“...I, um. ...Thanks, guys.” mumbled Mica as she gripped the handles of her daggers “...I appreciate it.”

“Mica, don't worry about your family getting involved. We'll be keeping our eyes on them. And if they try anything then we'll handle it.” said Anton as he nodded to each of the dark elves “You just stay focused on your fight.”

“Right, I will.” said Mica.

“Keep your eyes on your opponent at all times. And mind your distance. You never know what kind of tricks they might try to pull on you.” continued Anton “Watch out for manabinders in particular.”

“Right. Don't worry, I'm not going to get caught with that shit again.” said Mica.

“Good. ...Alright, let's get this going.” said Anton as he started towards the shinoccubi.

Following close behind him, Mica and the dark elves kept their expressions as neutral as possible as they made the short trek across the field and stopped just a few paces in front of the waiting shinoccubi.

Both Leopold and Ila had thin, awkward smiles on their faces as they watched their daughter approach, while Nokko on the other hand, made no effort to appear friendly at all, and instead merely stared at the incoming group.

“Anton, Kianna, Fiona. ...Mica.” said Ila as she greeted each of them in kind.

“Welcome, I'm glad to see you could all join us for this special occasion.” said Leopold “I hope you're all as excited for this as we are.”

“A little, though anxious might be a better descriptor for some of us.” chuckled Anton.

“And that's understandable.” grinned Leopold as he let his eyes fall to Mica “This is a big event after all. Mica's very first official test.”

“...Yeah, test.” mumbled Mica “It's just a test...”

“We're very excited for this, Mica.” said Ila “We can't wait to finally see what you can do!”

“Oh, don't worry.” said Fiona as she locked eyes with Ila “She won't disappoint you.”

“Good to hear.” nodded Leopold “Why don't we go ahead and get this show started then, shall we?”

Turning back to Mica, Anton gave her a nod and indicated that she should take her place out in the field in front of them.

“Don't worry. We'll be right here.” whispered Kianna.

Taking a deep breath, Mica nodded and began to march out into the field.

Leopold likewise nodded up to Nokko as he started to make his way over to the standing crate.

The kiochi slipped her tail down over the side of the crate and planted the broad side of her spade against the ground before lifting her still cross-legged form up into the air. Sitting atop her own tail now, she shifted herself to the side and lowered herself down to gracefully land on her feet before turning to the crate. Whipping her tail upwards and using her spade to slice apart the bindings wrapped around the wooden box, she grabbed onto a mounted handle and pulled opened one full side of the crate for her approaching father.

Keeping her eyes locked on to what they were doing, Mica watched as her father prompted a strange looking being to step out of the crate.

This being had a humanoid shape to its body and by all appearances seemed to be feminine in form. She stood upright on two long, slender, segmented legs that ended in four clawed toes, and her bound arms were folded together across her front. She was no shorter than Mica herself, but was so overtly thin that she seemed to be much more diminutive than the kiochi in size. Her face was kept hidden behind a black cloth bag that was draped over her head and tied in place around her neck. This bag, along with a metal belt that was wrapped tightly around her thin waist, was the only form of covering that she wore, and this nakedness made it easy enough to see that this was no ordinary being, but instead appeared to be a humanoid mixed with some kind of plant, or was possibly an insectoid type of person.

Her entire body was colored in shades of pale green, with some areas highlighted with stripes of bright pinks and purples which gave her a flora-like appearance.

Though she was technically naked, her most intimate parts were covered in chitinous looking plates that gave the impression that she was wearing a sort of natural bikini. These plates spread out from her back and ran forwards across her rib cage before encasing her small bosom. A second set streamed downwards over her navel to give her genitals their own layer of protective covering.

More endowed versions of these plates were also wrapped around her upper arms and thighs as well as attached to different sections of her body such as at her hips, shoulders and along her spine up to the back of her neck. These particular plates were clearly more robust in nature and were obviously a form of natural armor for her.

The plates surrounding these armored sections of her body shrank down into smaller scale-like forms before fully transitioning into the smooth, pale green skin of her torso. These skinned areas included her belly, butt, chest and neck.

Jutting out from the base of her spine and resting just above her bottom, was a long, bulbous, tail-like appendage that was encased in the same type of smoother plating that covered the other softer parts of her body.

The being made no sound nor offered any type of resistance as Leopold took hold of her upper arm and guided her out into the open field.

“...What the Hell is that thing?” asked Fiona as she squinted at the strange being “...Some kind of, mutant beanstalk, or something?”

“That's a weremantis. Or at least I think it is?” said Anton “I've never actually seen one that looked like that before.”

“Huh, weremantis... Okay, yeah I can see the bug parts now.” said Fiona “Never seen one of them before either...”

“How does she look different from other weremantises you've seen?” asked Kianna as she looked up at Anton and cocked one of her ears in a curious manner.

“Wait, that thing's a girl!?” exclaimed Fiona “...Are you guys sure about that?”

“Well, she has some odd coloration. Which could just mean that she's some type of tropical variety that I've never met before.” said Anton as he glanced at Kianna “But what's making me question things is that she seems to be, very different looking?”

“Different looking?” repeated Kianna “How is she different looking?”

“She's just, sort of strange looking.” said Anton as he raised an eyebrow “I've never seen a mantis that looked like her before, so I don't know if she's supposed to look like that or not? And to be honest, I don't even know for sure if she really is a mantis to begin with?”

“What else could she be?” asked Fiona.

“Mm, maybe a walking stick? Or perhaps a katydid?” said Anton with a shrug “Honestly, I have no idea what she is... I will say this though. If she is a mantis, they can be some of the most fearless adversaries you could ever face. So Mica is going to need to be very, very careful during this fight.”

Squaring her shoulders, Mica balled her fists and stood tall as the being was blindly led to a point about five meters in front of her.

Stepping in front of the stopped being, Leopold quickly untied the cloth sack from around her neck but left it where it was for the time being.

“Right in front of you is a kiochi girl. She is your target.” whispered Leopold as he used his bladed spade to slice apart the series of elastic zip-ties that held the beings folded arms together “Kill her, and you will go free. Fail, and you will die.”

The being said nothing as she merely stood where she was. As her arms were freed, she let them fall to hang at her sides.

“Do not disappoint me.” said Leopold as he lifted the bag up off of the beings head and teleported away.

Mica's chest tightened in anticipation as her opponent now stood in full view. Taking advantage of this moment of stillness, she quickly ran her eyes up and down this insect-like creature and tried to give it as thorough an examination as she could.

The beings segmented arms were, far and away, somewhat similar to Mokai's legs, but these particular extremities had a rather strange design to them. The upper arms started out slender and seemingly muscle-less before transitioning into thin but broad forearms that were club-like in appearance and covered in dozens of strange little nodes along their bottom halves. More of these nodes could be seen on other chitinous portions of her body, though there purpose couldn't be discerned.

There were no hands to be seen at the ends of her arms, but instead there looked to be a whole other section to them that was folded back and hidden within a groove set into the forearms themselves.

Reasoning that these arms could be potential blunt force weapons, Mica raised her eyes up to the creatures face and froze as she locked gazes with her.

The beings face was an almost perfect triangle in shape, with her sharply angled chin acting as the main downwards facing point. Two strange looking, oval shaped, dark-colored bulbs that seemed to be covered in a myriad of deep scratches were mounted to the sides of her head and these acted as the triangles other two points. In between these bulbs was a swath of pale, lilac-colored human-like hair that was trimmed short into a sort of messy, pixie cut style.

Smooth, chitinous scale-like plates spread forwards over the creature's cheeks and the sides of her face as they framed the thin slit that was her mouth, her tiny nose and also, her otherworldly looking eyes.

The creature's eyes were human-like in overall design but were absolutely massive at easily three times the size of a normal humans. She had no discernible pupils, and what irises she had were made up of a multitude of “lens” that would reflect tiny points of light in a glitter-like effect and this gave her eyes the appearance of being made out of living crystal. These irises were so large that the whites of her eyes could barely be seen around them, and they left the being with a mesmerizingly beautiful, but distinctly alien-like gaze.

What looked to be a much smaller third eye existed at the center of her forehead, though this eye was unlike the others in that it was lidless and appeared to be more like some kind of strange jewel than anything else.

“God's alive...” mumbled Anton as he shook his head in disgust and turned to the group of shinoccubi “This is a sick display, Leopold.”

“If you are implying that I'm responsible for that mantis' condition, then you're wrong.” said Leopold as he kept his gaze on Mica and the mantis “She was already in that state when I acquired her.”

“Yet you've still left her like this?” stated Anton “Why?”

“She is better able to serve her purpose in this condition.” said Leopold as he gave Anton a sideways glance “Honestly, I would think you would appreciate this, as it is a kindness to Mica after all.”

“She's been mutilated, Leopold.” countered Anton “Half of her is missing. She'll barely be able to defend herself in this state.”

“Nonsense. She's still fully capable of putting up a good fight.” said Leopold “And if she isn't. Well, I suppose it'll be a good thing that her misery will be put to a quick end.”

Anton was still for a moment before he looked away from Leopold and focused back on the two combatants.

Fiona and Kianna both had their ears pointed straight upwards as they stared at Anton. Finding him unmoving now, they glanced at each other before they too turned to Mica and the mantis.

For her part, Mica had yet to make a single move, as she couldn't help but to remain overly tensed while facing her silent, motionless opponent.

Although she was a small, thin-bodied being, the mantis had a very intimidating, predatory aura about herself, and this was made all the worst by her blank, emotionless stare and almost robot like demeanor.

“Uh. ...So? ...Um, hi?” said Mica.

The mantis remained still for a moment longer before the folded back sections of her arms suddenly swung downwards and revealed themselves to be a pair of sharp, hooked-shaped scythe-like blades.

“...Crap!” muttered Mica as the mantis locked her scythes into place and took a stance.

The kiochi had barely enough time to unsheathe her own weapons and block herself before the mantis shot forward, crossed the distance between them and struck at her with both of her blades.

Pushing back against the mantis' assault, Mica jumped backwards herself in an effort to put some distance between them. The mantis however refused to let up and immediately leaped after her. This resulted in a frantic chase in which a hesitant Mica nimbly dodged and countered the mantis' wildly swinging scythes.

“...Damn! This bug isn't fucking around.” mumbled Fiona “She's kinda giving me the creeps too... It's like she's not really a person, but more like an actual animal, or something?”

“Yes. I'm pretty sure she's feral.” said Anton as Mica again blocked the mantis' scythes with her daggers.

“Feral? What does that mean?” asked Kianna as the mantis kicked a surprised Mica in the side and then instantly tried to slice her head off.

“Essentially it means a person who lives a more animalistic life in the wild. There are quite a few races that live a mostly, if not entirely feral existence. For some this is due to their basic natures making it too difficult for them to fully function in normal society.” explained Anton as Mica slashed at the mantis with her tail in effort to drive her away while she groaned and staggered back in pain as she struggled to breathe “Many of the elemental races of Astrals and Voidlings would fall into this category. Creatures like sylphids or narguns and their ilk, are more often than not found living outside of urban settings, as an existence on the fringes of the wild is just more comfortable for them overall.”

“Right. So it's like how dryads mostly live in forests and almost never in cities.” said Kianna as the mantis merely moved her head back and forth to dodge Mica's darting tail.

“Exactly.” said Anton as the winded kiochi found her breath and stood up straight again “For others a simple lack of desire to live in society is the driving force behind the decision to live a feral lifestyle. And there are many examples of werefolk who choose to live in the wild even though their race may be fully capable of living in society.”

“Why the Hell would they want to do that?” asked Fiona as a now furious looking Mica wrapped her tail around the mantis' arm and proceeded to lift her overtly lightweight body into the air.

“Some people just prefer to live a more natural life.” said Anton with a shrug as Mica kicked the hanging mantis in the gut as hard as she could “Others may have been born into it and have never known anything else. ...And of course there are some people out there that are just a slave to their nature. The one's who simply enjoy hunting down, killing and eating their own food too much to live any other way.”

Mica cried out in anger as the seemingly limp mantis suddenly slashed at her head with her free arm.

“...Huh, so those people are basically just crazies who want to live like animals then?” said Fiona as Mica used her tail to slam the mantis against the ground and then fling her away.

“More or less.” said Anton with another shrug as the mantis landed on her feet and immediately leaped back in to attack Mica again.

“Are you people going to talk throughout this entire fight!?” questioned Nokko as she leaned forward to look around her parents and glare at Anton and the dark elves.

“I don't know. Maybe we will.” said Fiona as she turned to the kiochi and planted the back of her wrists against her hips “Why? Is that not okay?”

Narrowing her eyes at the haughty dark elf, Nokko's tail coiled about in obvious irritation as she turned back to the fight and said nothing.

“Yeah, that's what I thought.” said Fiona as she smiled viciously and turned back to the fight herself.

Grinning, Anton shook his head as he focused his attention on the two speedsters that were zipping back and forth in front of him.

For the next few minutes it seemed that the two combatants were easily on equal footing, as they were both able to effortlessly dodge and counter each others attacks. As Anton watched though, it quickly became apparent to him that the mantis was struggling with this fight, as although she was still able to invade Mica's attacks, he was quick to notice that there was a distinctly heavy pause with each of her counterattacks. This did not come off as if she were hesitating to hurt Mica though, but instead it almost seemed as if she was reacting via instinct and attempting to make moves that simply weren't working. This resulted in her movements having a janky, uncoordinated feel to them that Mica was clearly beginning to pick up on.

On top of this, as time went on, the mantis' focus on her opponent was apparently beginning to waiver as her attacks were becoming more and more frenzied by the moment.

Fatigue was clearly setting in.

“This fight is over.” mumbled Anton as he shook his head.

“Huh!? What do you mean!?” questioned Fiona.

“How do you know it's over?” asked Kianna.

Anton was quiet for a moment as he watched Mica go still and lower her guard in an obvious invitation to her opponent. The split second before the attacking mantis' strike could land, the kiochi disappeared from sight only to reappear above and behind the mantis. She then twirled around in midair and landed a spinning kick square into the mantis' back, sending her flying forward to land, tumble and roll across the ground before coming to rest in a crumpled heap on her side.

“...Because that mantis is almost at her limit already.” said Anton in a hushed tone as he watched the mantis slowly get back up to her feet “She won't last much longer.”

Glancing over at the watching shinoccubi, Anton found both Leopold and Ila smiling softly as they too had obviously come to the same conclusion.

“Well that didn't take long...” grumbled Fiona as she folded her arms behind her head and watched in disdain as the mantis began to stagger “What a shitty bug. She's already falling over and she couldn't even get Mica to break a sweat.”

“It's pretty obvious that you're not familiar with mantises at all.” said Anton as Mica countered an attack by the mantis by blocking her scythes with one hand and her bladed spade “If you were, you'd realize that this poor creature is already more dead than alive...”

“What do you mean?” asked Kianna as she quickly looked from the mantis to Anton and back.

“This mantis has been horribly injured, to the point of mutilation... And on top of that, while mantises are naturally thin people...” said Anton as he watched Mica use her free hand to punch the mantis hard in the gut “It looks like this one has been starved nearly to death...”

Crumbling over backwards, the mantis maintained an emotionless expression on her face, yet despite this it was still easy enough to see that she was in great pain.

Blinking, the two dark elves glanced at Anton before turning to watch the mantis get back to her feet. While they had always thought that she had looked thin, now that they gave her a closer examination, it was actually pretty obvious that this mantis was not at all healthy looking. Nearly every rib along her torso stood out clearly, and below them the top crests of her hip bones jutted out sharply. And not only was her face overtly gaunt, but the bones of her spinal column were all poking outwards from under the chitinous plates that adorned them and the thin layer of skin that was stretched over them.

“Shit...” breathed Fiona “She really does look like she's about to die...”

“The poor thing...” said Kianna as she sadly shook her head.

“This is messed up.” said Fiona “Mica needs to end this.”

“She will. In her own time.” said Leopold.

Anton and the dark elves all turned to him as he spoke.

The kiogah had a smug grin on his face as he stood with his arms crossed and his tail waving about above his head.

“You may not understand this. But this is a big moment for Mica.” he said “This is her first victory in battle after all. Her first taste of bloodshed. And her first step to becoming a true shinoccubus. ...This is something she should savored till the very end.”

Keeping their eyes on Mica, Ila and Nokko both began to nod in agreement.

Fiona and Kianna both went to say something but stopped short as Anton raised his hand.

“He's not wrong...” he whispered softly as he turned back to the fight.

Unhappiness clear on their faces, the two dark elves looked at each other before halfheartedly turning back to watch the end of the fight.

Out in the field, Mica stood at ease while facing the mantis. Though her expression was stoic, she was clearly paying attention as she waited for the mantis to make a move.

Swaying on her feet, and taking one labored breath after another, the mantis' face was as blank and expressionless as ever. Despite this, there was still a fog of desperation lingering in the air around her.

The two combatants stared at one another for nearly a full minute before with a thin, quiet sigh, Mica sheathed her twin daggers.

The mantis' breathing slowed as she focused on what the kiochi was doing. When the weapons were safely stowed away, she raised her strange eyes up to meet with Mica's.

Mica's expression never changed as she arced her tail up over her shoulder and pointed her spade directly at the mantis.

Recognizing this challenge for what it was, the mantis went still for a moment before leaning into a stance and readying herself to attack. Another moment of stillness passed before she shot forward and raced straight at the kiochi.

Mica stood where she was as she sent her tail forward to meet the mantis' charge. As the mantis made to attack the incoming spade, Mica's tail feinted to the side and curved around the slashing scythe before again wrapping itself around the mantis' arm. Before the mantis could even react to this she was again lifted into the air and violently slammed into the ground. Mica preceded to then drag the mantis across the ground for a moment before lifting her back into the air and slamming her back into the ground again. She did this twice more before raising the limp mantis back up and leaving her to hang before her.

Gazing at the bloodied mess that the mantis had become, Mica quickly registered that the arm she had her tail wrapped around was clearly broken, as were both of the mantis' legs.

As Mica stared at her, the mantis coughed violently and spit out a mouthful of blood before raising her last good limb and feebly making to slash her scythe at the kiochi. Failing to do so, her entire being became limp as she went still.

Unfazed by this last act, Mica merely tossed the mantis to the side and left her to land in a broken heap.

“Excellent job, Mica!” cried Leopold as he, Ila and Nokko all began to clap “That was a marvelous display!”

“You did amazing, Mica!” exclaimed Ila “I knew you would!”

“Yeah... That was alright...” muttered Nokko.

Standing still, Mica stared down at the ground in front of her as she seemingly ignored the cheers from her family. Slowly, she looked up at Anton and the dark elves. Meeting their gazes, her chest tightened as they all turned away from her eyes. Looking to move past this awkward moment, they too began to clap, albeit in an impossible to hide morosely manner.

“...Stop. ...Just stop.” whispered Mica “...Stop clapping.”

Too far away to hear her, the two watching groups continued in their cheers.

Enraged now, Mica scowled angrily as she turned to fully face them all.

“I said, stop clapping!” she roared as she arched her tail up over her head and flexed out her barbs.

Shocked by the outburst, everyone immediately went silent.

“What the Hell do you think you're clapping for!?” exclaimed Mica as she balled her trembling hands into fists “Do any of you really think that was worth clapping for!? No! It wasn't! That wasn't amazing! It wasn't excellent! That was nothing! Don't clap for that!”

“Mica! What is wrong with you!?” shouted Leopold “Where is this nonsense coming from!?”

“Shut up! It's not nonsense! It's true!” countered Mica “You shouldn't clap for that! That! That! ...That wasn't worth clapping for!”

Seeing the turmoil on his daughter's face, Leopold paused his next outburst and took a deep, frustrated breath.

“Mica, that was worth clapping for.” he started as he tried to suppress his own anger “You won that battle, Mica. You deserve to be congratulated for-.”

“Battle!?” interrupted Mica “That wasn't even a battle at all! That wasn't even a fight, or a challenge or anything! ...That was! ...That was. ...That. ...That, wasn't fair.”

“...Well. I'm sorry you feel that way.” said Leopold as he crossed his arms “But that was a battle, Mica. It was a battle to the death. And whether you like it or not, you did win that battle. You earned your victory. Now stop with this embarrassing display. And accept that victory.”

Mica went to speak again but stopped short as a faint rustling sound in the grass next to her caught her attention. Turning to the source of the noise, she blinked as she found the apparently still alive mantis slowly making her way towards her.

Using her one good arm, the mantis would drive her scythe into the ground and use this leverage to drag herself along as she made a beeline for Mica.

“...Seriously!? You're still going!?” snarled Mica as her face twisted in rage “What the fuck are you doing you stupid bitch! This fight is over already! Give up! You lost!”

“End it, Mica.” said Leopold “Finish her off, so we can be done with this.”

Mica glanced at him before looking back down at the mantis.

“...I already won though. It's over already.” she mumbled.

“Not yet. There's still one more task before you complete your test.” said Leopold “She isn't going to stop until she's dead, or you are. So just end it now.”

“...But, it is over though.” said Mica as she shook her head “...It's over.”

“No, Mica. This is not over.” said Leopold “Your test is not over until your opponent is dead. So kill her now, and end it.”

Her mind racing, Mica's chest tightened even further as she dipped her tail down over the prone mantis and pointed the tip of her spade at the back of the mantis' neck. Reasoning that she was putting the broken, wretched creature out of its misery, she pulled her spade back to strike but froze completely as the mantis lifted her head and looked up at her.

Mica's breath became caught in her throat as she stared down at her fallen opponent.

Although her expression hadn't changed from the same blank, emotionless look she had worn throughout their fight, the mantis now had two thin lines of moisture running down her cheeks.

And following these lines back to their source brought Mica's gaze to the mantis' strange, alien-like eyes, and here, for the first time since they had met, she could see emotion.

She could see fear, pain, anger, and above all else, desperation.

Here was the last flames of a dying fire, the last desperate will to go on, to keep moving forward, to keep fighting.

To keep living.

Without even thinking, Mica slowly lifted her tail away.

“...Mica! End it!” shouted Leopold.

Startled out of her revelry, Mica blinked and turned to him before looking back down at the mantis.

“Do it, Mica.” said Leopold “Complete your test.”

Looking back and forth between her father and the mantis, Mica began to take one heavy breath after another as she continued to hesitate in her indecision.

Seeing the agony on her face, Anton calmly reached into his pocket before crossing his arms over his chest.

Catching this movement in her peripherals, Mica's head immediately swiveled in that direction and she blinked in uncertainty as she locked eyes with him.

Staring back at her, Anton's expression remained stoic and unreadable. After a moment of stillness, he slowly shifted his eyes downwards to his hand and the item he now held there.

Following his gaze, Mica found Anton's closed fist casually resting atop his other arm. She froze and her eyes widened to their fullest as she registered what it was that he was holding.

In Anton's hand, was a small glass bottle that was radiating a faint, pale light.

Staring at the bottle for a moment, Mica slowly dropped her gaze back down to the mantis.

“...She's not going to do it.” mumbled Nokko as she shook her head in annoyance.

“No. She'll do it.” said Leopold “We may have had our doubts in the past. But Mica has already shown us that we were wrong. She is one of us. And just watch, she's about to show us what she can do.”

Placing her hands atop the hilts of her daggers, Mica slowly nodded her head.

“...Yeah, I am.” she whispered softly to herself.

Everyone but Anton jumped in surprise when Mica disappeared from where she had been standing and reappeared a few feet in front of Anton.

Turning to her family, Mica narrowed her eyes into a glare.

“You think I'm one of you, huh?” she said as she shook her head “You really don't know me at all. You have no idea who I am. ...You are right about one thing though. I am going to show you what I can do.”

Anton grinned softly as the kiochi snatched the bottle out of his hand with a loop of her tail.

“I'm gonna show you all what I can do.” said Mica as she grinned back at Anton and disappeared.

Reappearing in front of the downed mantis, Mica held her hand out to the side and caught the bottle as it fell from her tail. Shaking the bottle as rapidly as she could, she was pleasantly surprised when the potion inside it began to shine with a bright golden light. Tearing off the wax seal, she dropped down to rest on her haunches in front of the mantis.

“You. You failed.” she said softly as the mantis looked up at her “You were supposed to test me. You were supposed to challenge me, to force me to go past my limits, and you failed at this... But even though you lost. I know you aren't done yet... And lucky for you, I'm not done yet either...”

Reaching out, Mica grabbed hold of the mantis' hair and lifted her head up higher so that they could both see each other more clearly.

“I am going to kill you.” said Mica as she stared into the mantis' eyes “You are my test. Your death is my goal. And I assure you, I will complete this challenge. ...But first, we're going to fight for real. And we're going to have the battle that we both deserve.”

Plunging the mouth of the bottle in between the mantis' thin lips, Mica tilted it back slowly as she forced her adversary to drink every last drop.

“...Anton. What is Mica giving her?” questioned Leopold as he glanced over at him “What exactly is in that bottle?”

“Hm, in that bottle?” grinned Anton as the mantis' entire body began to glow with a bright, radiant light “Well, in short... A miracle.”