Arcadia

Nightmare Painter

"Now, I wished that we could have fought in solitude, but this would have to do!"

Jet began the battle by pulling his arm back and going in for a jumping punch at the big lizard in front of him. The lizard sidestepped to avoid the attack. It followed up by snapping its jaws at Jet's arm. 

Inches away from the jaws of the enemy, Jet moved his arm away. When those teeth snapped shut, they let out some bits of fluid. Jet let out a small sigh of relief, realizing that he just avoided a potentially crippling attack. Nevertheless, he kept his confidence up.

"You gotta do better than that!" mocked him.

As if understanding him, the lizard hissed and leapt towards him. It opened up its two front limbs and revealed claws. Standing his ground, Jet used his two feet to push back on the ground and charge his attack. He met the enemy with both of his wind-charged fists.

Jet's eyes widened in bewilderment. His opponent disintegrated almost immediately, with only a small screech. Nothing else. Jet looked at his two hands, wary about some trick. However, the anticipation was for naught, as nothing happened.

"Eh? What a pathetic excuse for a monster. This is nothing compared to that dog last night!"

Hearing sirens grow louder, Jet made his exit, using small pathways between buildings to avoid detection by the authorities.

~~~~~

Continuing her chase, Yura leapt over a barricade in pursuit of the suspicious man. 

"Hold it!" shouted Yura. 

Surprisingly, the man did stop on his tracks and turned around to face Yura. His pursuer also managed an abrupt stop, choosing to keep some distance. Starting off with a sigh, the man shrugged. "What's up with the chasing? Aren't I allowed to run away from all hell breaking loose back there?"

Yura wasted no time in getting her rod out and extending it. She answered in an apprehensive manner, "Don't try to play dumb with me! That incident is your doing, isn't it, demon!"

"Guess there's no need for cover." The man passed an arm through his face. As he did so, his ears grew longer, and his nose grow pointier. His pupils changed into ones resembling a cat's. "What makes you think that out of the possibilities in this city, that I was the one responsible for that?"

"....B-because... Then why did you run away the moment I called you!" shouted Yura in reply. Now, her hands held the rod firmly, preparing to attack.

"That's weak. Your silly reasoning would not have been so bad if you guardians were taught to be more prudent. How many times has one of us been killed in the name of "maintaining peace"?"

The demon started moving towards Yura. While slowly backing off, Yura swung her rod forward in instinct. Lucent Heart  went down with an audible woosh, narrowly missing the target, who tiled his head, looking unimpressed. He dodged the predictable attack with a quick sidestep, landing at a sidewalk.

"Your skills are bad. You better start working on those soon. I guess I won't be so hard on you, considering how new you are to the whole stuff."

The man settled down and sat with his back on a wall and started scribbling things from the blank sheets of paper he had. "Ahh, dealing with petty flies like you bores me. I'd rather sit down and scribble out a new masterpiece!" This time, he returned to assuming a human form.

"Please keep this form a secret, alright?" requested him. 

This guy... I'll make him pay for belittling me...

Unable to hold it in any longer, Yura rushed towards the man. He immediately dropped what he was drawing. Right before Yura's attack hit, the drawing began glowing and out came a big lizard just like what appeared on the mall. Yura's attack found its mark on the summoned creature and instantly destroyed it.