The Razor's Edge [[Feitan x Reader]]

7: The Angel of Death

The other spiders were already outside the auction hall when we arrived. They had followed the boss's unusual orders and given the mafia a big show. There were flames all over—burning cars, burning bodies, etc. Bullets ripped through the smoke in our direction.

"Do you feel that?" Feitan asked.

Phinks nodded in response. "Guess we didn't take out all of their nen users in our last mission."

"How irritating," Feitan sighed.

Their auras stood out from the others. We were heading right for them. Though they had no idea what to expect, Feitan and Phinks were surprisingly calm.

I guess that's just part of being a spider.

We stepped through the smoke and faced a group of at least ten mafia members.

"Well, this hardy seems like a fair fight," Phinks called out to them.

"With how many of our men you've killed," one of them called back, "this is more than fair."

Phinks smirked. "I'll take that one, plus another three."

"You're going to fight four of them at once?" I couldn't believe it. These men weren't like the others, they actually stood a chance against us.

Feitan turned to me. "You and I each get three."

"Unless you can't handle it," Phinks snapped.

I knew they were looking for any sign of weakness, any excuse to keep me out of the troupe, to kill me. I wouldn't give it to them.

"Don't worry about me. I can take it."

And so, the fight began. I pulled one my daggers out of its holster and charged at my targets.

One of them, an emitter who hung toward the back, sent three slashes of nen my way, one right after the other. I dodged the first two, but let the third one graze my arm ever so slightly.

One down.

The other two were a little more reckless, not waiting for me to reach them first. I watched as they both focused their auras into their fists.

Enhancers? Easy.

I just had to separate them. If they both hit me at the same time it was likely I wouldn't be able to block all of the damage. I broke another bracelet and sent beads at just one of the men, using my forearms to block a hit from the other.

Just one more.

I dodged another swing, sliding under the man's arm toward the one that I had shot. He had narrowly avoided my beads and was ready for me now. He wound up and pounded his fist into my stomach. Thankfully, I was quick enough and activated my zetsu, and I was incredibly thankful that the force from his punch sent me flying back. I needed the space so that I could meet the final conditions of my attack.

I pressed the blade of my dagger into my palm until I felt a sharp sting, followed by the trickle of blood. I dipped the tip of one of my fingers into it and drew an inverted cross on my chest.

It's in your hands now, Poe.

I closed my eyes and waited as the blood burned into my skin.

Feitan's POV

Even with nen, these men were too easy to beat. I had taken all three of them out in one swift motion. It was hardly any fun at all.

"What the fuck is that?" Phinks yelled as he finished off the last of his targets.

I followed his gaze to see some kind of creature attacking the men that y/n was supposed to be fighting. It was flying through the air on dark, feathered wings like an angel of death. I watched in shock as it sunk its claws into the body of one of the men and tore his ribs apart, sending blood raining down on the others. It took a lot to make me feel unsettled.

Would we be next once it finished with those men? This thing wouldn't be as easy to face as the mafia members. Maybe if we still had y/n helping us, but she wasn't anywhere in sight. Either she'd taken the opportunity to escape during the chaos, or she'd been too afraid to face this thing and ran. I considered her weak either way.

The creature brutally ripped apart the other two men before falling back to the ground, drained of all energy. It passed out, toppling over among the mangled bodies. Had those men actually managed to get a hit on it? It was unlikely, but the creature seemed like it was on the edge of death.

"Let's get it while it's down!"

"Wait," I said to Phinks. "Approach it slowly. We don't know what it is."

"It's a fucking monster. I just watched it tear apart three nen users like it was nothing! We have to kill it!"

"I agree, but you could be next if you aren't careful."

He scoffed. I knew I'd won. "Fine, I'll do it your way."

The creature didn't move as we approached. Its wings were turning to ash and drifting up toward the sky with the smoke from the surrounding fires. Did this mean that it was dead already? No, I could see the subtle rise and fall in its body.

And as I drew closer I couldn't help but notice how almost-human it looked. Like the stereotypes of witches, with shriveled skin and crooked, talon-like fingers. And then I saw them—the bracelets that were stacked up this creature's wrists.

Phinks voiced my thoughts before I had the chance to. "Is this. . . y/n?"

Was this her nen ability?

Maybe she's not at useless as I thought.

"Well, that takes care of that," Phinks laughed.

"We can't leave her like this."

"Why the fuck not? She doesn't want to be a part of the troupe anyway. So what if a couple of mafia members find her and kill her? That's not our problem."

"The boss said that I was responsible for her."

"I thought he said you were responsible for killing her if she ran? So what do you care if they take care of her for you? She's dead either way, right?"

"I wouldn't be the one to kill her."

Phinks understood and reluctantly agreed to bring her with us, complaining about how stubborn I was.

I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. It seemed that her nen ability was starting to wear off—her features were becoming increasingly more like her own. I guessed that that attack had used up a considerable amount of aura and she was slowly recovering now. She'd probably be fine by the time we met up with the others.