Chapter 103: We as one

Beatrice stared at Arne, her companion still roared in pain as he thrashed around while he held the bloody stump of where his arms used to be.

"Bastard, bastard, bastard, you bastard!" She screeched out as she stared at the one responsible. He stood there leisurely, kicked Arne's severed arm, and it flew through the air like some discarded toy.

He completely ignored her as she rushed over to Arne, the larger demon seemed to calm down ever so slightly as Beatrice seemed to place a soothing hand on his Arne.

"Do not worry, Arne, I will not let this go unforgiven!" She declared through gritted teeth, a large circular glyph appeared on the end of his stump effectively stopping the blood. Adrian would have found the seemingly sadistic demoness's sudden caring attitude surprising were it not for the more peculiar person currently here. Mikoto walked toward the downed Professor Fergus, kneeled down to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. A warm green light engulfed the Professor's form, his deep and wide bloody gash on his chest healed in an instance, closing and disappearing as if it were nothing. Next, his mangled arm twisted and reformed.

"Gah! W-what are ya doing here, ya masked brat?" The professor managed to get out through labored breaths. He felt great but for some reason woozy.

"I'm here to save you." The professor could imagine the cocky grin beneath the mask. "Though sorry, healing others isn't my forty, I used your own stamina and transferred it into life energy to heal your own body. It's the most I can do for such severe wounds. Now then." He stood back up and walked towards William but stopped suddenly, raising a hand he swatted away a bolt of seemingly dark lightning, turning to the perpetrator.

Beatrice fumed at him, that sadistic smirk she wore was nowhere to be seen, only pure fury.

"You think you can get away with hurting Arne like this!?" She exclaimed, all save for Mikoto and Adrian, who could not help but flinch as her mana flared to increasing heights. It was like a malevolent miasma that engulfed the forest with its sheer power. "I don't care if you're the special threat, I'll kill you!"

"Huh?" Mikoto blurted out in confusion, scratching the face of his mask. "Well if uhm...Arne was it? Well if he weren't so weak then this wouldn't have happened. I think it's Arne's fault, yeah, I am innocent." Adrian looked at this.....enigma, confused.

He was not expecting that response; he was expecting mockery or disgust for a demon who was showing something like care for another. He wasn't expecting him to play along. Beatrice only seemed to grow angrier with those words said; she grit her teeth so hard he thought her teeth might break. Arne himself seemed strangely docile, standing silently behind her.

"You! Youuuuu!" She tensed her body and mana, Mikoto shook his head at the display.

"You shouldn't fight me, you know, otherwise the only thing bleeding more than dear ol' Arne will be your ego, and you too, I guess." To further cement his words, he casually strode to William, Ruby, and Juliana.

"Hey William, been a while." Mikoto gave a wave, his friend could not help but give a wry smile. Mikoto, not giving a damn despite there being Chaosmaw's right there. So like Mikoto.

Ruby rubbed her mangled right arm and gave him a dry gaze, "Would you mind healing me already?"

"Only if I get a pretty please."

"I think I'd rather suffer."

"Okay, jeez," Mikoto huffed as he kneeled towards her, he placed a hand on her head. A green glow enveloped her form, to her, it was so warm and comforting. It was like being wrapped in a blanket on a cold day. Her arm twisted and snapped back into place, the damaged tissue and skin healing as well. Mikoto patted her head, "There, there, little guy, so want a lollipop now?" She pouted as she glanced away.

"I am no 'little guy'," she declared.

Juliana watched on with admiration in her eyes. She hadn't ever seen such potent magic, such confidence, just who was this boy.

"Sorry, but I don't know how to heal exhausted mana just yet." He spoke as he stood up, directing a gaze at her.

"N-no, it's fine." She nervously blurted out, he nodded as he turned to the demons, approaching them.

"Do you need assistance, or do you want to handle it alone?" Adrian asked casually, as if talking to an old friend. Mikoto was an interesting individual, that much he could gather from just his actions here. Advanced healing magic and not to mention slapping away a Chaosmaw's spells as if it were a mere nuisance. And his personality too, he wondered what that mask hid.

("Maybe beauty to match Lucinda?") Adrian internally mused as Mikoto spoke.

"No need, I plan on ending this quick. Either they flee or die, makes no difference to me. The weak will never be a problem." He stated, Adrian hummed at his words, dissecting them.

("I see, such confidence. And he doesn't care if they escape? Because they won't be problems for him specifically in the future.") Adrian smiled as he backed away and towards William and the others, Professor Fergus seemed unconscious despite no injuries now, but for now, he paid that no mind. Mikoto placed a hand on his hip, Beatrice had not attacked for some reason despite her clear anger.

"Say, green-head, you mentioned something about a special threat, what was with that?" Almost innocently the question left his mouth, Beatrice glared at him but kept quiet.

("Aegraxes warned us, the spawn of Octavia was a threat as was the headmaster, but we could survive them both. Me and Arne could even gravely injure them should we have perished, but this one, dark hair and wearing a mask with a grin. Special threat: Mikoto Yukio, damn!") She only sensed a pathetic amount of mana from him, but she was no fool. Illusion magic was no doubt in use, creating barriers to compress and keep his true mana hidden, her not being able to force herself through those barriers told her all she needed to know. And if Aegraxes himself was weary than this boy was a monster, plain and simple. Her mind raced but a grunt from Arne momentarily took her attention.

"Arne?" She questioned, looking at her brethren's face. To most others, they would only see his crooked and demonic face, but she could look past that and see what others would not, she saw a smile, a smile to comfort her. "I see, you have not given up." She heaved a sigh. ("That is right, I am not alone.")

"What, you're not gonna answer me?" She ignored the special threat's words as she smiled back at Arne.

"Very well, then lend me your strength, Arne." Mikoto quirked up a brow as he noted a shift in their mana.

Across from him, a spectacle of unholy transformation unfolded. Beatrice stood bathed in an ominous crimson light. Her emerald hair, usually vibrant and flowing, writhed and contorted as if possessed by an unseen force. Her crimson horns seemed to writhe in agony, their tips glowing a dark purple.

William watched as Arne, the hulking monstrosity they had fought moments before, seemed to be dissolving. His dark and jagged flesh, once impervious to their attacks, rippled and flowed like molten tar, engulfing Beatrice's form in a grotesque cocoon. A sickening crunch of bone and cartilage echoed through the clearing as Arne was seemingly deconstructed, his essence feeding the metamorphosis.

The transformation coalesced, revealing a dark parody of Beatrice. Jagged black armor, reminiscent of Arne's hide, encased her body, its surface pulsing with a deep crimson light. The armor left her head exposed, revealing what was beneath. Her eyes had been replaced by pools of inky blackness, their centers burning with an unholy violet glow for her pupils. The air crackled with a palpable energy, a dark miasma that would send shivers down the spines of even the most seasoned fighters.

William looked on horrified. "That..." he rasped, his voice thick with concern. "She's… she's way out of our league."

Juliana, propped against a shattered oak. "She's… she's different. Her mana… it's a fusion of both of theirs." She winced; their combined mana was so dark and palpable, she was struggling to keep herself conscious.

Adrian looked on as impassive as always. "This is beyond me, I admit," he declared. "Her power… it's unlike anything I've ever encountered. I've never seen a demon like this." He shot a glance towards Mikoto. "Even for you, this might be…"

But Adrian's words were cut short by a thunderous laugh that erupted from the transformed Beatrice. The sound echoed through the clearing, devoid of any humor, laced only with a chilling sadism. Her violet eyes locked onto Mikoto, their gaze burning with an unholy hunger.

"We as one," she rasped, her voice a guttural growl that sent shivers down spines. "Me and Arne, we shall destroy you even should it cost us both our lives!"

"You're welcome to try." Mikoto stated, glyphs formed under Adrian and the rest. "Sorry about this, but you all would get in the way."

"Mikoto, wait!" William shouted out. "We should all retreat; I'm not even sure if you can fight that and win!"

"Nah, I'll win." Were the last words they heard as a blue light engulfed them, their forms vanished one by one as Mikoto turned to Beatrice, who chuckled.

"Don't want your friends to see your mangled corpse, huh?" She bellowed with a laugh.

"Don't get cocky, punk, your little fusion won't change anything." Mikoto raised a hand towards her. "The result will always be the same, doesn't matter what trick you try. I will never lose."