Fate of Pandora - Book I

Curse Of The Witch

On the other side of the door, Lukas, Risa, and Yuko found themselves inside a deactivated machinery room with very little light to see properly. Their attention was drawn to the small group of candles gathered in a corner of the room, and curled beside them was the pink-haired girl.

"Arika!" Yuko tried to run for the girl. Her stiff face changed to worry at the sight of her. Suddenly, something blocked her way, pulling the woman back and making her fall.

The strong man with dark hair and leather clothes had a grin that looked even creepier under the flickering flames. He stood between the trio and the girl, blocking their way. On a closer look, Yuko noticed traces of blood on his hand.

"Ah, I feel more relaxed now," he said in satisfaction, and calmly adjusted his overcoat.

Yuko looked at the girl, but she didn't move or react at all to their presence. Yuko's eyes flashed murderously. "What have you done to my Arika?"

Kira laughed, unconcerned. "You see, I have been a little upset with all of you. You, little rats, were able to stop me last week and tainted my Goddess' impression about me, so I lashed my frustration out on the only available things I had here: Damon's plan and this cute girl's face."

"How dare you!" Yuko dashed at him. To his surprise, this kamika was far tougher than the others. What he didn't know was that her anger only made her stronger, a hidden trait of her powers. She attacked Kira viciously in a combination of her spear and martial arts. For a good moment, all Kira could do was block her spear with his twin blades and back away from her range. As they sparred their weapons and tried to subdue the other, Yuko was able to crush Kira's confidence by constantly forcing him to back down.

Lukas and Risa meant to attack as well, but they stood watching instead, astonished by how Arika's tutor was able to kick the man's ass. When she managed to pressure him in their battle of strength, Lukas realized he and Risa should be helping Arika while Yuko had their enemy distracted.

The two ran to the corner where Arika lay. On a closer look, it was evident that Kira had beaten and kicked her until she fell unconscious. Lukas felt sick. He couldn't understand what was going on inside Kira's sadistic mind - only that he had serious problems. But then, didn't all three of those guys who constantly put them into danger have questionable sanity?

Risa used her magical sword to break the chains and free Arika's sore wrists from their weight. Lukas held the wounded girl in his arms and she flinched with the movement. She woke up and saw with relief a familiar and friendly face.

"You came, you came!" she breathed heavily.

"Shh, say nothing," Lukas told her as he stood up and looked at the fight between Yuko and Kira. It was hard to tell their movements precisely in that dark room, but it seemed Kira had recovered his stance and was now able to counter some of Yuko's moves.

When the pink-haired girl realized what was going on, she stammered, "Oh no, Yuko. Please, help her!"

"What are you saying? She's doing great handling that guy alone," Risa pointed out. At that same moment, Yuko cried out when she didn't see Kira's black sword as it sliced very close to her chest.

"Yuko!" Arika managed to cry her name and the woman stood up after listening to the girl's voice, breathing heavily.

"I'm fine, the wound isn't deep," she reassured the shocked girl, but her stance wasn't the same as before. Kira noticed it and now it was his time to retaliate.

"What is going on? Yuko was beating him not long ago." Risa wasn't sure if she should help Lukas carry the girl out of there, or help in the fight.