A Fairy's Tale (Eustass Kid & OC)

Chapter 33: The Fairy and The Killer

The gorgeous art above is courtesy of RustyNixon1 !! Thank you so much for bringing Loklynn to life!

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Loklynn could sense instinctually that the game had somehow changed, that some sort of switch had been flipped. She recognized the air of his aura as it darkened with a two-fold return of that awful bloodlust that had so terrified her before.

There was no time to ponder it any further, though; he fell silent from one second into the next, and then he was upon her with his blades raised above her like two bloodthirsty guillotines. Her entire body screamed at her as she just barely managed to block that first blow, feeling the shock of it all the way to her feet.

He began his own assault then, treating her to a grueling sequence of powerful strikes that made her feel like she was fending off six opponents rather than a single man. There was so much power behind each blow that even though she managed to block them all, she still felt the agony of his every strike; she could feel the bones in her hands and wrists screaming with pain every time his weapons made contact with hers.

She struggled desperately to find an opening somewhere in the chaos, but it was all she could do to simply block him, to just keep her swords in her hands and her feet planted on the ground. All her power was funneled into just surviving, defending herself against the next blow and staying alive from one second into the next.

Distance. She needed Distance.

Loklynn blocked a few more attacks before ducking into a crouch and launching herself into the air with a mighty sweep of her wings. She made it a point to stay close to the mainmast as she rose, darting fluidly in and out of the rigging so that any projectile slices he sent her way would do just as much damage to the ship as they would her; luckily he had the wherewithal not to attempt it, allowing her to establish the breathing room she needed.

Steadying herself with a hand on the crow's nest railing, she took the moment of respite to check Hanma's progress, peering through the massive Aurora Shield to scan the darkened waters beyond. A smile touched her lips when she caught sight of him to the northeast, alive and well and still rowing for his life in the comandeered life boat. Better yet, he'd already managed to leave the Victoria Punk nearly two nautical miles behind him; at this rate, he'd be home free in no time.

The swell of relief that rose in her chest at the thought was only mitigated by the bitter impossibility of her own escape.

To those who craved power, Devil Fruits were seen as a quick and seemingly easy way to obtain it. The cursed items opened the doors to a wide array of abilities as unique as the individuals they empowered, ranging from the seemingly mundane to those with the potential for global-scale destruction. All it took was a single bite for the user to be crowned with an unnatural, sometimes absurd, agency over reality. Devil Fruits were a lottery, though, as feared as they were coveted. That first bite was a massive gamble, one that came with the risk of finding out exactly why the fruits were considered cursed.

Loklynn was utterly crushed to learn that the trade off for her own power wasn't nearly as kind as simply losing her ability to swim; Her fruit, despite it's Paramecial despriction on her poster, was actually a member of the rarest and most sought after class. It was a Mythical Model Zoan, a type of Devil Fruit that houses the essence of creatures that are believed to be nothing more than legends. The Mythical Models were unique in that they retained a sort of will of their own, with the ability to both choose and influence their wielder.