Dehydrated, hungry, and still tired Cado says as he wakes up from his slumber. Also noticing the bruising on his leg had gotten much worse, slowly but surely leaving the shack to attempt his final trek out of this forest no matter how impossible it looks. Leaning on one of the nearby corroded trees, he begins to internally wonder how he could be this drained only barely after a day, even with everything taken into account. Suddenly, the ground begins to vibrate, and the same monstrous roar from last night can be heard, except this time much closer than he would like to admit. And not even wanting to have a clue of what this beast could be, once again bolts off in the same direction he has been traveling, the pain in his leg occasionally making him feel like he's walking on needles.
Unfortunately, this same plan doesn't work twice, having to dodge another man-eating plant attempting to bite off his arm. And before long, he runs into a somewhat open patch in the forest, this time being three more of them and appearing to be much larger than the ones he's encountered thus far. Cado stops dead in his tracks to witness them each swallow something whole before they all notice him, drooling at the sight of their next snack. Immediately, the one on the right lunges at him with its mouth wide open ready to consume him. This time instead of dodging, adrenaline pumping, jumps over landing on top of it to slice at the stem with his dagger that only cuts halfway through. It cries out a deafening scream trying to shake him off, with this giving him a nosebleed, and also causing him to lose balance, falling off and landing on his back.
His ears still ringing and not able to hear anything, notices another one of them lunging toward him, rolling out of the way just in time to dodge another chomp. Only to then feel his legs being grabbed by several thorny vines from the largest of the man-eating plants, ready to drag and consume him. Quickly, he uses his dagger to slice some of them off, but then is swung up in the air right above its gaping mouth. Cado readies to throw his dagger in one last act of defiance, when suddenly he is dropped to the ground once again, a large foot crushing the purple head of the plant instantly, with the other two wrapped around the beast trying to attack it.
He looks up to see what appears to be a giant rooster that has a snake tail and large leathery wings, easily fending off the puny plants in comparison. Him crawling away not even being able to stand let alone walk, having used up most if not all of his remaining strength. He then witnesses the beast deal the finishing blow with its fiery breath, burning them both to ash. All he can do is just lay there and accept his fate, the still ringing in his ears only being broken by the same roar he's heard many times now. The giant rooster is angry not having found anything to eat until it spots a human on the ground, thus causing it to make its way over to seemingly the free game. The beast begins to lean in, with Cado discreetly holding the tip of the knife, and when it gets closer, throws the knife with the remainder of his strength piercing right above its beak, causing it to stumble back roaring in pain.
Ursula, exhausted having traversed the forest all night, was about to give up her search to make it back in time before the start of her class. Until she hears a monstrous roar in the distance, spotting a Cockatrice appearing to be in a confrontation of some kind. A few moments after this a red flash passes her, flying directly toward the Cockatrice for some reason, and upon further inspection while also spotting some of its features she exclaims "Is that?".
Now even more enraged, the Cockatrice wants to burn this human alive instead of eating it, launching a massive blast of fire out of its mouth at him. And barely conscious, all Cado can do is watch it fast approach, when suddenly, he sees something he thought he never would again. The Shooting Star or "Shooter" as he has come to know, trying to block the flames from hitting his friend, even the metal handles containing its true power and strength melting off revealing its large feathered wings temporarily stopping it. But unfortunately, this doesn't last forever as it soon engulfs it and Cado in the process.
When the smoke clears, the companions seem to have shared the same fate, the Cockatrice turning to leave and Ursula having just tried to rush in and use a spell just a couple of seconds ago screaming "NO!" in horror. But to both of their surprise, a glow from the same spot emerges from the dust, blinding the pair of them. Out from it stands a new being, completely still, and emanating a magical pressure. A figure with spiky hair resembling Shooting Stars feathers, along with a jawline featuring its arrow-shaped tip, the same metal handles on both of his wrists and finally, cold blank eyes encapturing his stillness.
But he doesn't stay still for long looking up at the Cockatrice, dawning bright red Iris and black pupils, staring at it intensely. Immediately after he draws blades from his forearms of a similar shape and color to his jawline, and launches himself into the air, striking its chest with such force that makes it hurl onto its back. Roars echo throughout the forest, causing Ursula to stumble back a bit, but Cado doesn't move an inch. Instead, it leaps from its chest and aims for its head, reciting some kind of spell that he calls "Shooting Blades", getting a direct hit. For a moment, nothing happens, the blades still impaling the Cockatrice's head (this not being shown from a clear angle), with its entire body glowing red before exploding not leaving a trace of it behind.
The dust settles, and Cado still having his blades firmly planted in the same position rises standing up, but slumps over to his side not long after. Ursula, broken out of her trance, quickly rushes over to the young man, dismounting her broom as she fast approaches. What she finds isn't the same person she saw before, still having the same hairstyle, but the red blades and everything else seemed to have vanished. Cado briefly awakens to find himself in a woman's lap, looking up to see her ask if he's ok, with him smiling and barely being able to reply "If I'm being honest, this has probably been the worst day of my life." This fills her with nothing but sadness, as he falls into unconsciousness once again.
YOU ARE READING
SSS.Little Witch Academia
FanfictionAbandoned at a young age and sent to an orphanage, Cado has spent his entire life in the large town of Glastonbury and has always yearned to be free from this place to one day see the world. But the day after his secondary school graduation found ou...
