Gu Ma laughed softly as she stood in the ruined chamber, the sound echoing unnaturally through the broken stone and twisted roots that had grown over the place.
"So it ends like this," she said with a satisfied smile. "Lan iling. The great holder of Imperial Qi. Reduced to nothing by a simple servant of family."
She turned her gaze toward the angel.
The angel was bound to a tall black pole planted into the ground like a stake. Her hands were nailed above her head, forcing her wings to spread wide. Feathers stained with blood hung limply, twitching now and then as if reacting to pain that never ended.
Her head drooped forward, slightly disfigured golden hair clinging to her face, breath shallow but stubbornly alive.
Gu Ma walked closer, her footsteps splashing softly against the shallow water that had flooded the hall.
"An angel," Gu Ma murmured. "A real one. Who would have thought this world would offer such a gift."
She reached out and brushed her fingers along one of the wings. The feathers shimred faintly with holy light even now.
"With this power," Gu Ma continued, eyes gleaming, "I could rule cities. No. Nations. Maybe even step beyond mortals and touch the divine themselves."
She chuckled.
"Imagine it. . Gu Ma. Standing among gods."
The angel did not respond.
Gu Ma frowned slightly, then shrugged.
"Ah well. You will answer later."
She turned away, already imagining rituals, experints, sacrifices. Her mind raced with possibilities.
Then she felt it.
A presence.
Her smile vanished instantly.
Gu Ma's body stiffened, every instinct screaming danger. Cold sweat ran down her back. She spun around, pulling power into her legs as she leaped backward.
"Who's there?" Gu Ma shouted.
A woman stood behind her.
She had appeared without sound, without distortion, as if reality itself had simply accepted her presence. She wore simple yukata, unadorned, yet everything about her radiated authority. Her black hair fell straight down her back, and her eyes were calm. Too calm.
Gu Ma's breath caught in her throat.
"N No way…" Gu Ma whispered.
She recognized that face instantly.
"Chiyo Asashi," Gu Ma said, her voice trembling despite herself.
The woman did not respond.
Gu Ma stepped back again, heart pounding.
"How did you get here?" Gu Ma demanded. "This place is sealed. Even Lan iling couldn't find it until I let her."
Still no answer.
Chiyo's gaze was fixed on the angel.
Gu Ma noticed it and felt irritation rise, mixing with fear.
"Tch," Gu Ma muttered. "Ignoring ?"
She reached down and ripped a feathered wing from the angel with brutal force. The angel cried out weakly, blood dripping onto the ground.
Gu Ma raised the wing, power surging through it.
"What are you doing here, Lady Chiyo?" Gu Ma asked loudly. "And how did you find this place?"
Chiyo finally moved.
She took one slow step forward.
Her eyes never left the angel.
Gu Ma's irritation exploded.
"So you really think you can ignore ?" Gu Ma snapped. "I don't take kindly to that."
She activated her technique.
The angel wing glowed violently, energy compressing into a destructive force. Gu Ma thrust it forward, unleashing the sa blast she had used to send Lan iling flying.
"Disappear!" Gu Ma shouted.
The blast never reached Chiyo.
The wing crumbled.
It turned to ash midair, disintegrating completely as if erased by an unseen hand. The power vanished without a ripple.
Gu Ma froze.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"What?" she whispered.
Chiyo finally looked at her.
Just one glance.
Gu Ma felt her knees weaken.
Chiyo's eyes were not angry. They were not cold either.
They were indifferent.
Chiyo spoke at last, her voice calm and soft.
"Get lost," she said. "Your job is done here."
Gu Ma clenched her fists.
"What did you say?" she growled.
"Go sowhere," Chiyo continued, tone unchanged. "And kill yourself."
Gu Ma's face twisted with rage.
"You bitch!" Gu Ma scread. "Do you know who I am?"
She lunged forward, power surging into her arms.
"My explosive punches can level buildings!" Gu Ma shouted. "I killed Lan iling with these hands!"
She threw her first punch.
The impact landed squarely on Chiyo's face.
Nothing happened.
No sound. No shockwave. No reaction.
Gu Ma's eyes widened.
She punched again. And again.
"Die! Die! Die!" Gu Ma scread, each punch exploding with destructive force.
The ground cracked beneath them. Water splashed high into the air. The ruined hall shook.
Chiyo did not move.
Her hair did not even sway.
Gu Ma stumbled back, breathing heavily.
"Why…" Gu Ma whispered. "Why isn't this working?"
Chiyo sighed softly.
"You are loud," she said. "And annoying."
She lifted her hand.
The motion was lazy, almost dismissive, like swatting a fly.
Gu Ma barely had ti to register the movent.
"Wait!" Gu Ma scread.
Chiyo's hand passed through the air.
Gu Ma's head exploded.
There was no struggle. No scream after that. Just a wet sound as blood and fragnts scattered across the stone.
Her body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Chiyo looked down at the corpse for a brief mont.
"Insects," she said quietly, "should go away when they are told to go away."
Her voice was condescending, almost bored.
She turned back to the angel.
Chiyo walked slowly toward the pole and stopped in front of her. The angel lifted her head with great effort, eyes trembling as they t Chiyo's gaze.
Chiyo raised her hand and gently brushed the angel's hair aside.
"So this is where you ended up," Chiyo said softly.
The angel's lips trembled.
"Mother…" the angel whispered weakly.
Chiyo's expression softened slightly.
"Yes," she replied. "It's ."
She glanced at the ruined surroundings, then back at the angel.
"Let's find my sister," Chiyo said quietly. "Shall we, my daughter?"
The angel's eyes filled with tears as the chains around her wrists began to crack.
***
The knocking did not stop.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
It echoed through the small apartnt like soone was trying to break the door down.
"Damn it…" the woman groaned as she rolled over on her bed. "Do you have any idea what ti it is?"
She pulled the blanket over her head, hoping the sound would go away.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Her left eye twitched.
"Unbelievable." She sat up, her short dark hair sticking out in every direction. Her right eye opened slowly while the left remained hidden behind a black patch. "Ever since the Incident, not a single peaceful night."
She stood up and grabbed the tight jacket hanging on the chair. As she slipped it on, she muttered to herself.
"I used to be soone important, you know." She scoffed. "Doing dirty work for half the families in the city. Assassinations, disappearances, interrogations. All because of my lovely little ability."
She pulled on her pants and tightened her belt.
she continued. "Everyone wants gone. Authorities, guilds, even the underground. Like I asked to be born like this. Fuck! With this incident I finally got so proper sleep but who hell is trying to break that peace?"
The knocking beca louder.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," she snapped. "Whoever you are, you're making my life even harder than it already is."
She stomped toward the door and unlocked it roughly.
The mont she opened it, her annoyance vanished.
A man collapsed forward, his body hitting the floor just inches from her boots.
"What the…" Her eye widened. "Hey. Hey!"
She crouched down imdiately.
The man was handso, that much was obvious even in this state. Sharp jaw, ssy dark hair, long lashes. But his skin was pale, almost colorless. Blue veins stood out all over his arms, neck, and face, pulsing unnaturally.
"Tch…" she muttered. "I don't need a top grade doctor to know what this is."
She pressed two fingers to his neck.
His pulse was wild. Too fast. Too strong.
"Overdrive," she whispered. "And a bad one."
She straightened slightly and clicked her tongue.
"This usually happens to won right after awakening their power," she said quietly. "And even then, most don't survive it unless they're stabilized fast."
Her gaze moved back to the man.
"But you're a man," she said. "So what kind of monster power did you awaken to end up like this?"
The man groaned faintly.
Her expression hardened.
"He's burning up," she said. "Internal energy backlash. If this keeps going, he'll burn his power and die."
She stood up slowly, her hand clenching into a fist.
"…Is this a trap?"
Her eye scanned the sorroudning. Empty. No hidden caras. No agents waiting to ambush her.
"No police scent," she muttered. "No observers either."
She looked back down at him.
"Damn it," she said softly. "Why did you co here? Or Why did soone drop you here?"
She hesitated for several seconds, then sighed deeply.
"I really hate getting involved," she said. "But leaving you here would be annoying too."
She grabbed him under the arms and dragged him inside with more strength than her slim fra suggested.
Once inside, she shut the door and locked it.
As she adjusted her grip to lift him properly, sothing slipped out of his pocket and fluttered to the floor.
A folded piece of paper.
"Huh?"
She frowned and picked it up.
"A note?" she said. "Now this is suspicious."
She unfolded it slowly.
Her eye moved across the words.
With each line, the color drained from her face.
"…No way," she whispered.
She read it again.
"I know what you want. I can give you what you want. Please drain this man, and I will make your dream co true. Judith Harrington will be yours."
The letter ended there.
Her hand trembled.
"…Judith Harrington," she muttered.
She crumpled the paper slightly, then forced herself to relax.
"…So soone's been watching ," she said quietly. "Watching closely."
She looked down at the unconscious man lying on her floor.
"And they know my ability," she continued. "They know exactly what I do."
She laughed dryly.
"Well, fuck ," she muttered. "Whoever you are, you're either brave or suicidal."
She crouched beside the man again.
She placed a hand near his chest, not touching yet.
"My ability drains powers," she said softly. "It can make most people go from weaker to completely powerless, while those on the sa level as beco weaker than ."
Her eye narrowed.
"And that's why they want erased."
The man groaned again, his body twitching.
"Easy," she said. "You're not dying yet."
She looked back at the note in her hand.
"Judith Harrington…" she whispered. "Do you know how many years I've chased that na?"
She clenched her teeth.
"…If this is a lie, I'll cut you to pieces," she said coldly. "If it's the truth…"
She looked at the man again.
"…Then you're one expensive man."
She exhaled slowly.
"Alright," she said. "I'll play along. Just this once."
She picked him up and carried him toward the bedroom.
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