Itadaki no Hecate

The Flame Haze

The city was saved from a Denizen by another Denizen, the Supreme Throne no less.

Yuji glanced towards the stairs where Hecate had gone down. He was still on the rooftop, but it seemed as though the Supreme Throne had sensed something below. As he waited, the Mystes thought about the events of the past days: meeting Konoe Fumina, saving Yukari from a fate of disappearing, discovering he was meant to be a replacement of himself, seeing the terrifying side of Hecate and accepting it, a mutual desire to understand each other, defeating Friagne.

He put a hand on his chest. Besides all that, that he was a Torch who still had a future, as long as he possessed the Reiji Maigo, the Treasure that recovered Power of Existence.

But there was one thing he could not fully register. Both Friagne and Lamies had mentioned the word "Flame Haze". It was obviously a person, but what kind? Was it a human, or a Denizen? He had no idea.

As Hecate made her way up the stairs, putting away a small bronze mirror, Yuji recalled something else he had seen that day. A well-endowed, bespectacled blonde-haired woman with blood red lips had fought Friagne before Hecate, although she was obviously so severely beaten.

"No Flame Haze could defeat Friagne," Yuji said to himself. "Could that woman be the one they called a Flame Haze?"

Episode 7: The Flame Haze

Yuji and Hecate walked home together, side by side. They were still quiet, but there was no need for unnecessary words. The Priestess remained in her true form, since there was no real reason to change into her disguise so late at night.

"Hey, Hecate?" Yuji said. "I was wondering, you don't really have a place to stay, do you?"

"There's a large abandoned house not too far from here," Hecate replied. "Konoe Fumina stayed there."

The boy chose his subject word carefully. "So, you used to stay there by yourself?"

Even to someone who knew nothing about humans, it was pretty obvious. The thought of Yuji so consciously thinking about the girl's feelings humored Hecate, yet puzzled her at the same time. For a brief moment, she smiled a little bit.

"Yes," she answered plainly.

"I see." Yuji scratched his cheek. "Well, how about you stay at my place then?"

Hecate gave him a questioning look.

"Well," Yuji went on, averting his eyes, "I don't really want you to be alone all the time."

"I see," the girl said. "It should be easier to keep you safe then."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Yuji said. "We'll have to convince my mom to let you stay, not to mention give her a believable story for why we were out so late. I'll tell you what I've come up with when we get there."

Hecate nodded at that. A place to stay would be nice.

"Hmm, oh! One more thing," Yuji said. He smiled at the Priestess. "We both know I can't really agree that you have to consume the existence of people, even though I said I'd accept that you had the need. But remembering what Lamies said, how about this compromise?"

Hecate looked at him intently and listened. She did not seem to care too much about who the Denizen was, or that they had met, as long as he did not seem to harm Yuji.

"The Corpse Collector consumes dying Torches to gain Power of Existence," Yuji said. "How about you drain existence from me instead of other people? Since the Reiji Maigo refills me, then we can do it every night."