Nothing But Requiem

Chapter Six: [The Pieces of the World] #3

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It was the last night of the music festival in Vinea. But when Leila entered Neo Casablanca for the event, there was not the usual hustle and bustle; in fact, not a single customer was present. Instead, there were dozens of guards in the club who Leila had never seen before, lying in wait.

"Just about everything for today's event has been cancelled."

Leila turned to the voice and saw Zeb standing there with a bandage wrapped around his face.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

Zeb laughed darkly. "Don Nicolas is entertaining a 'special guest', so he's reserved it all to himself today. Those guards out front are mercenaries he's called from the east of the continent. I have some business to attend to, so..." 

Zeb looked at Leila sheepishly, as if he was trying to find the right words. "Well, you're...beautiful...and strong."

"If you have something to say, just say it!" Leila snapped at his furtive gaze.

"Heehee. Strong Miss Leila... Don Nicolas is waiting for you in the VIP room," Zeb said as he scurried off.

A special guest? He couldn't mean...

Leila's biggest fears were quickly confirmed as Don Nicolas showed the video of Ario and the others to Leila inside the VIP room. Watching Ario fight, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Don Nicolas spoke suddenly. "Miss Leila, please eliminate this girl."

"Huh?! But..."

Don Nicolas didn't fail to notice Leila's troubled response. "What is it? Do you know her, Miss Leila?"

Leila took a long time to answer before letting out a halfhearted response. "No. I don't."

"Right, right. You've been so busy with events for the music festival that it's been hard... I left all this work to David so that makes sense."

Leila stood there in silence.

"Miss Leila. You do work for me, don't you?"

Another long pause preceded her reply. "Yes."

"That's good to hear. Miss Leila... Don't forget about the favela." Don Nicolas looked out at the dance floor. 

Ario had just arrived. 

"They're here..." Don Nicolas stood up and whispered in Leila's ear. "Fight hard for me, okay?"

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Wham!

"Ugh..."

With every kick, another bodyguard fell and moaned in agony. The heavy blows were unimaginable from her small frame, but she was the very figure of the Grim Reaper with a demon in tow. Laid out before they could even draw their weapons, the guards dragged their bodies away for the exit.

"Hey! You need to help out too!" Ario barked at Seere.

"Why? I'm just a bystander who's here to offer emotional support!" Seere said coolly and shrugged. "That dark aura is stronger than ever before. Don Nicolas definitely has the pieces of the world." He looked up and smiled sadistically. "Come on, Ario! You have to fight to get your wish!" he said as he vanished out of sight.

"Huh? Hey, Seere—" 

Ario was mid-shout before she instinctually leapt from the place she was standing. A slash struck the floor at lightning speed, leaving a deep gash in its wake. 

Ario looked up at the second floor where the slash came from and gasped.

"Leila?"

"We said our goodbyes as friends..." Leila said as she put a headphone into her ear. She gripped her enchanted dagger in the other hand. "Why couldn't you have just left quietly?" Muttering as if she were only speaking to herself, Leila held up the dagger into a fighting stance.

Leila's magical armament was powered by mental energy and exerted its power. In addition to her musical ability, Leila also had a talent for handling magical armaments. With a single swing of her dagger, Leila could create a vacuum in space and slash at an opponent from a distance; this was the ability of the magical armament "Kamaitachi."

"Let me at least end this as painlessly as possible..."

Leila kicked off the ground, leaping from the upstairs seat and unleashing a slash at the same time. However, none of Leila's attacks caught Ario. Every strike was accurate, but they were outstripped by Ario's agile movements. The slashes couldn't land anywhere near Ario, not even close enough to cut through her dress.

"What the...?" Leila's eyes widened. With the exception of Don Nicolas, no one had ever been able to dodge her attacks like this. With a hint of impatience on her face, Leila relentlessly launched another slashing attack. However, it didn't even come close. Eventually...

"All right..." With a deep sigh, Ario pulled her gun out of the other space and poised it. The image of Leila singing flashed through Ario's mind as she put her finger on the trigger.