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Third-person Point of View
As Shiki gazed down at the empty streets below her, a quiet hum filled the air. She only looked away to move to another roof or to check a strange brick-shaped device in her bag. However, she couldn't help but feel disappointed, "still not strong enough." she said aloud as her vision caught sight of hundreds if not thousands of strange stringlike lines, glowing in various shades of red and a few in entirely new hues. The young hunter sighed and sucked her teeth, frustrated with the sudden additions to her ability. "Still not hearing anything, Shiki?" Azaka asked while peering over her shoulder and into the bag Shiki held. "Or did you spot something?"
"It's nothing to worry about," she responded. "We should hurry, you never know what could happen."
Azaka gave a meek weary smile as Shiki deflected her comment.
"Are you trying to change the subject? What's wrong?" she contested, seeking a way to help her friend. "You know, I'm not a weak brat anymore. I can help!"
Thoughts along the lines of 'it's worse than I thought' and 'she doesn't hide things often' flowed freely in her mind as Shiki stayed on the defensive, trying to get Azaka to move.
"We should hurry up," She warned for a second time. She turned to Azaka for a moment before snapping back to the streets.
"There's too much black grain here, it's messing with me."
Shiki didn't have to turn to know she wasn't convinced.
"Mhhmm."
Sighing Shiki slashed at what seemed like air to Azaka and pointed below. " Fine… if you care so much about this I'll show you."
Sighing, Shiki replied, "Stay silent and watch." She left no room for negotiation, "If we leave without getting rid of these creatures, we risk getting attacked." The world rippled at the area Shiki slashed before the same happened at the spot she pointed at. Before she could continue, their eyes suddenly registered something in an area that seemed empty.
Shiki began spotting muddy creatures sprouting out of what seemed like a gigantic hornet's nest and promptly camouflaging in the surrounding area. "They're growing in numbers," she said, backing up. The only indication that the creatures were still present was the slight movement in the debris and liquids around them as they moved.
The younger woman behind her panted softly before glancing over the edge.
"You're kidding me. It's just one bad thing after another!" Her voice rasped as she spoke, fear and survival institution forcing her to remain as silent as possible.
"I'm not in the mood for a fight with one of those things. I'd be nice if you refrain from attracting their attention."
Shiki's response was instant, lackluster, and lower-pitched than usual. "Besides," She paused, watching the streets once more. "The situation could be worse."
The young Kokutou groaned and turned away from Shiki to get a clearer view of the streets below. "Don't jinx it, Shiki," she said. Shiki ignored Kokutou's statement and instead aimed her switchblade at specific spots as she spoke. "If you stare hard enough, you'll see blurry outlines of them. They don't have perfect camouflage or invisibility."
Shiki aimed at another set of empty spots. "Though I'd recommend thinking of another solution for the grown ones. They have pretty good illusions," she said as the soft clicking sound of Shiki's switchblade was just barely audible under her speech. it snapped open, responding to its owner's worries and giving the two girls an idea.
"Azaka/Shiki," they said simultaneously. Shiki turned around to look at the girl behind her, her eyes still glowing. "You first, Azaka."
"No, my idea probably wouldn't work for long against these things. I know your eyes would strain after that much so it's a dead end anyway... What did you want to ask me?"
Shiki wasted no time as she questioned, "Do you still have those sirens the wizards gave you?"
Azaka's eyes widened, "Of course!" she nearly shouted. "Why didn't I think of that?!" Berating herself as she knelt and looked over the edge of the roof, scanning the lanes below. In this post-apocalyptic world, As the world descended into chaos, those who lacked the ability to use magecraft through traditional means turned to mystic code creation. They delved into the study of ancient runes, languages, and myths to discover the most effective methods for crafting a range of weapons and tools. These ranged from blankets that maintained optimal sleeping temperatures, to glasses that used their surroundings to synthesize clean drinking water. Some even go as far as creating black barrel alternatives for protection.
She felt some sweat drops on her forehead as she searched through the various hidden compartments in her outfit. She briefly paused and asked Shiki if she had any on her person only to be met with a negative response. "No, the ones I have could cause too much damage for an area this crowded with buildings." It made sense to Azaka, They still needed a way to navigate the streets safely.
"Shame, I guess we better hope I brought enough." Azaka sighed and searched through a small bag with one hand while reaching for her skirt pockets with the other. "Found them!" she exclaimed, pulling out several small gold coins around the size of the American quarter dollar. Each one had glowing runes on their rims, with a small glowing dot in the center that confirmed their function. Engraved directly below the dot, a singular pair of words curved to fit the device while keeping its more aesthetically pleasing aspects; 'Golden Siren.'
Shiki pointed her blade toward a utility pole that was about a mile away and asked, "Can you see those poles? If you toss the siren down there, we should be able to dash past them without grabbing their attention." Azaka agreed with her plan, nodding as she responded, "I see! Throwing it there shouldn't trigger our system that much-"
Shiki cut her off with a fair warning, "-but if you can throw it further, it would be better. As long as one of them runs towards it, the rest will follow."
As Azaka held one of the coins with the intention of use, a light blinked slowly from its center, speeding up as it began pulling the energy needed to activate its effects from the surrounding area.
Azaka questioned Shiki, "You think that this thing will be enough? This probably won't last long." She then tossed the coin down with a light explosion, forcing it through the air at 'reasonably' high speeds.
"I don't think so, but it doesn't matter. It's one more reason why we should pick up our pace."
"We have a few minutes until they come back."
The enhanced coin shredded through the metal and wooden poles, causing an even larger distraction as whatever was still standing fell to the ground, lifting massive amounts of dust into the thin atmosphere.
The coin then hit the ground, immediately releasing a flash of violet-tinted light and an obnoxiously loud beeping noise, setting a group of fly-like bipedal enemies into a frenzy. a nasty wax-textured substance flinging off their wings as they dashed toward the noise. It continued to flash every few seconds, accompanied by the harmonious hums and vocal sounds of what one could only call a mythological siren. One of the few creatures known for its musical ability and talent in attracting audiences, both human and inhuman.
The sound was occasionally interrupted by the clanking of metal and the chatter of the old world's street market crowds, easily tricking the creatures below into revealing their hiding spots. Almost immediately, the imitation beasts and bugs froze, allowing Azaka Kokutou and Shiki Ryougi to spot their bodies as their camouflage stopped adapting to the ever-changing environment.
Azaka tried to hold back a shriek of terror as giant bugs chattered among themselves and attacked the area around the coin. Shiki remarked, "That's a lot more than I expected," before leaping toward another building. "We aren't here to fight. Let's go before we're noticed." The younger girl nodded, grateful that she carried those small mystic codes. Only god knew what she'd do if she had to fight a group that large.
"▬▬▬▬▬▬"
A low buzz sounded across the street, almost unnoticeable for anyone not used to their environment. Despite the bugs being fairly tame with their buzzes compared to the siren coins, it certainly affected the two magi hidden from them. Kokutou instinctively reached for her pocket as she leaped over and followed Shiki.
"Don't," Shiki advised. "Just focus on getting away from the group, they're just cocky."
Azaka groaned.
"Can't you block the sound? No earbuds? Maybe one of the mystic codes for Winterhoard? Most of those are gloves and earpieces, right?"
The younger girl shook her head. "I left those at our dorm - didn't really think this through, I guess."
"What a headache," Azaka muttered, holding her head in discomfort.
Shiki paused, considering Azaka's response for a moment. "I suppose these might help," she said, jumping to another rooftop and dropping two black earbuds beside Azaka. "And don't forget to let me know if anything else happens, okay?"
"Ugh," Azaka groaned, following Shiki while still rubbing her head. "I'll be fine once we're out of its range." Azaka knew that Shiki would do whatever it took to snap her out of any delusions, and she wasn't looking forward to it.
"Maybe you should have thrown it further away," she complained.
"Maybe? I really should have tossed it out a bit further out~" she complained while rubbing her head...
First-person POV
I picked up the earbuds that Shiki had dropped and blew on them before sliding them into my ears. "Hahhhh~" As I did, I let out a moan of satisfaction, feeling the white noise and distracting calls of the sirens I had tossed slowly fade away. "What a double-edged blade, You're lucky that you don't have to deal with that stuff, shiki~"
But as I glanced over at Shiki's hearing aids, I couldn't help but feel a bit envious. After all, using mystic codes was almost like cheating. They were insanely useful and twice as strong as they would normally be.
Even though the planet was still technically alive- even if hanging on by a hair, my gloves, shoes, and stockings gave me a level of durability and ability that made even a ten-story fall feel like nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Plus, they even allowed me to use my more volatile abilities with ease.
And, despite the lack of oxygen in this part of the city, we were still able to breathe as usual.. It was all thanks to our masks but-
RUMBLE
"Eh?/Hmm?"
The ground shook as winds picked up dust, revealing more of the melted wax-skinned freakshows roaming the streets. Shiki and I turned around just in time to witness the buildings we had recently crossed collapsing into a pile of rubble.
"Isn't that lovely? We just jumped over those," I griped. "How are we supposed to get back now?" Shiki suggested flatly, "I don't know. Though the remaining hoard?"
"You're not serious, are you?" I questioned.
"Obviously not?" She said, narrowing her eyes in my direction. " though, It's one of the only solutions I could think of."
"You know what."
"?"
"I'm not going to let that bother me…" I sighed. "Should we keep going it's not like there's someone out-
Suddenly, a black and blue blur zoomed past us, directly through a portion of the monsters and into another set of buildings, causing them all to collapse.
Cra-kaTHoomb...
I took a sharp inhale and sighed, mentally thanking my previous self for buying this mask, "-Here."
Even Shiki was startled by the sudden appearance of a human-shaped entity. The two of us were taken out of our stupor when Shiki's bag began beeping.
"Just what the hell is going on down there?"
—-
Authors note
Yes, I am still here. I've just been busy with college things. Chapter quality should rise since I've gotten most of my thoughts out of my head and onto paper during whatever time I had free
I'll fix any errors I've missed in a bit. Auto-correct might have botched a few things. If you spot anything I've missed please be sure you point it out. The next chapter should come out soon. Thanks for reading.