Arcadia

Premonition

Yura bended her knees in a ready stance. 

He's gotta be here anytime now. He'll take care of this one, no problem.

Suddenly, the man turned back, smiling. His face began to twist, revealing fangs and sharp claws. He threw off his hat and coat to expose his pale body and flowing blonde hair. Without warning, he lunged at his pursuer. Caught by surprise, Yura dodged at the last possible second.

What's taking that idiot so long?!

With a hollow laugh, the target turned towards Yura.

"Those guys are fools to send a rookie Guardian after me."

The girl felt some sweat dripping down her face as her body shook. 

"D-d-don't dare underestimate me! I... Yura Himeji!" shouted the girl, seemingly unaware of whether anyone understood her last sentence. 

She took out her rod and held it tightly.

"Help me, Lucent Heart!"

The rod lengthened to around her height as it had done before. She held her ground, carefully eyeing her opponent. When she felt that the time is right, she sprinted towards the demon.

"Hiyaaa!"

With both hands, she swung the rod down with all her might. It might be the enemy's agility, or it might be something else. Whatever it is, it caused her to miss her target. Lucent Heart bounced off the ceramic floor and caused Yura to recoil.

The demon swiped at Yura, barely missing her throat. As a natural response, she leapt back, keeping some distance from the enemy. The claw shone due to reflecting the dark city lights, and Yura felt her feet wobbling a bit. 

Something's wrong... Something's definitely wrong. Come on, I can't lose heart now....

The demon let out what sounded like a combination of a screech and a roar. This was enough to send a chill down Yura's spine, who froze in place. Now she realized what was wrong. Last time, she had Emi act as backup in case something went wrong. Now, she's all alone, facing this demon, whose primal instinct seemed to be leaning towards fighting rather than fleeing.

I guess it's now or never!

Yura adjusted her body stance sideways while holding on to Lucent Heart. She waited for the demon to come closer, which he did. Surprisingly, he got on to all fours and charged at Yura. Seeing her chance, she attempted to impale the enemy with her rod.

The plan seemed to be perfect. However, the rookie guardian forgot to take her own condition into account. Without being conscious about it, her grip on the rod loosened a bit due to her own nervousness and caused her to overshoot the attack's range.

Damn..!

From her side, the demon swiped at her, this time, managing to land a clean shot on the left side of her neck. The impact also launched Yura, throwing her to the main street. Instinctively, Yura touched the left side of her neck.

Blood, and not just on her hands. Blood dripped down from her neck into the street, a sight that seemed eerily familiar to her.

Never mind the fact that Lucent Heart rolled out of her grasp, her first concern now is to get help whichever way possible. With no sign of anyone in the street, she scrambled for her cellphone. Before she knew it, she was staring right into the emotionless eye of the demon.

"Now this would keep me full for the day. Lord Cyril told me that his plan would bait one of your newbies out. As expected of him."

Yura shut off her eyes and prepared for the worst. Suddenly, both of them were alerted by the sound of crashing rubble. It came from the dead end where Yura initially cornered her target.