Curse of Shadow

Luca standing still in front of Yumiko and Bow showed no interest. "I see. It matters not what the two of you are, but it does matter that you're trespassing." He explained and grabbed the hold of his sword tightly. "Friends or foes, those who trespass are required to be eliminated."

Yumiko glanced forward with intense eyes and slowly started to become less worried about her wounds. "Thanks a lot, Bow for coming, but I'll take care of him myself. I have still much to learn. You should find Kou and help him out instead. Trust me. I'll be done with this guy before you even know it."

Bow remained calm and steady on his feet and then crouched. He placed his palm on the cement and closed his eyes. The rays of heat traveled through the ground into the distance and spread out. He observed the entire surroundings of the hill and the town and managed to notice several foes, but Kou nearing the top as well.

"Kou's gotten quite far. I'll go search for him. I wish you good luck Blue." Yumiko twitched on the spot. A red vein popped on her left side of the face after which she then instantly looked at him. "My name's Yumiko!" she yelled.

Bow wasn't bothered and leaped over the nearest house onto the opposite side of the street. "Oh. When I'm done, I'll teach him a lesson or two. Calling me 'Blue' as if I'm some sort of a color." Luca seemed calm as he spotted that Yumiko wore blue clothes and even had blue hair and eyes. "There won't be a moment for you to do so. Defeat is all you'll receive."

Yumiko flipped around and exchanged views with Luca.

Niklas stood over Kira's burnt-up body. She was still alive but helpless in doing much. "N-Niklas... L-Lord Niklas... h-help me..." She stuttered and tried using her elbows to crawl to her feet. But that too was impossible because of her condition.

"I-I know... I didn't do as you wanted, but please... I swear on my life... that I'll kill them... as long as you... h-help me... please." Niklas crouched and leaned his left arm onto his raised knee.

"I suppose this happened to you of that fire pirate? He destroyed my mansion and even used one of my best fighters to do so. Quite misfortunate, might I add.

"Now you wish me to help you after you've already failed once? I truly didn't believe you'd come back begging for mercy because of your horrendous actions. Tell me, do you think I should waste my time on somebody like you after hearing all that?"

Kira placed her palm on the floor. "N-No of course not. B-But if you do, I'll... make sure to take... them down..." Niklas reached for Kira's chin and looked deep into her eyes. "You of all people, begging me? That pirate caused a heavy toll on your body and even mind." He removed his hand and reached it in front of Kira's face.

For a moment she didn't understand what was happening, but afterward, she reached for his hand, and to her surprise, he helped her stand up. "Kira. I will help you; however, this time you will listen to me, understand? Do you think you can do that? If you cannot, then I'll be required to leave you here in despair."

"Y-Yes, I can do that, lord Niklas." Niklas reached out with his arm and released black and purple energy. "My 'Shadow Powers' can change someone's power tenfold, but the only restraint of it is that it can shut down someone's sense. Of course, you'll still be yourself, but you'll change. Do you still accept?"

Kira blinked and looked at Niklas confused. "H-How long is that curse?" she asked. She sweated but hid her anxiety behind her face. "This power doesn't have a limit, but I can alter how long it affects you. I'll provide you with this power for the whole 15 minutes. Once you accept my offer, your abilities will reach new heights and you'll have a slimmer of my own abilities inside that you'll be able to utilize.

"But I'm warning you. Once those 15 minutes pass, you'll feel weak and exhausted. Your body will feel heavy, and there's a big chance you won't be able to keep fighting, but I'm providing you with this power so that you stop those intruders on my island. I won't give you any more than 15 minutes because that will restrain my power back, and I need some of it in case somebody manages to reach me.

"And now that I've told you everything there is to know, I'll ask one last time. Do you accept the offer, and if you do, will you obey my orders? And need I not remind you that you should not deny my commands, or there will be future consequences."

Kira continuously observed the purple energy stretching out from Niklas' right arm and needed to think for a minute, but, finally, Kira nodded. "Y-Yeah, I'll do so."

"Very good decision. Now, turn around, Kira." Kira listened with no debate and turned around. Niklas approached her back and pulled down the back of her shirt for her upper back to reveal the skin. "Final warning. The process might sting." Kira nodded and then felt Niklas' palm touch her skin.

At that moment Kira felt a surge of cold flow from the point of her back and through her veins. The process of it wasn't silent and instead, Kira started to feel the pain that gradually grew worse and worse the further it spread through her body.

Her eyes were shaking wildly and tears started running down her cheeks. Her pupils shrunk and slowly started to fade. It was a tormenting sense of violent feeling that prevented her from breaking free of the spell.

Niklas continued the process and ignored her suffering screams. He observed her blonde hair turning into the darkest hue. Her eyes whitened out and a black spinning symbol appeared on her back that spread down to her hips.

The process caused the terrain to shoot out rapid vibrations that cracked some of its ground. The black energy, enveloped by the purple light expanded around them and finally dispersed once done. Kira dropped to the ground but caught herself with her knee.

She was changed. From her innocent and friendly appearance, she became a villainous foe. Her long hair had become black and her eyes had no pupils. They were merely whitened, having no details.

She slowly picked herself up and felt incredible power flowing through her body. Her cute and softer voice changed and became brittle. "How could you describe this with other words other than intense, Woah!" she exclaimed.

Sometimes her voice felt penetrating to the ears and could be uncomfortable to those around her, especially when she laughed or chuckled.

"I've done what I've said. Now listen, Kira." Niklas sat down onto his chair, leaned his elbow on the side, then followed up by doing the same with his head. "Keep in mind that you will hold that power for 15 minutes only. That should be more than enough to take care of them.

"Next, you will keep your oath to listen to my commands, so I want you to hunt down that pirate who destroyed the walls of my mansion. In case there's somebody with him who tends to block your path, then eliminate them first. Are my orders clear, Kira?"

Kira laughed. "Of course. They're loud and clear. I won't disappoint you, lord Niklas. I will do as you stated." Niklas nodded. "You fail, you lose your life. Now hurry up before my patience runs off."

"Of course." At that moment, Kira turned around and dashed through the air while surrounded by a shadowy aura.

To be continued...