For Hitori, the best time in her life had come. Before, she longed for someone to notice her and talk to her. Various stickers and other trinkets on her bag or guitar should have served as a trigger for meeting and starting a friendship, but this did not happen. Although the presence of a guitar did help her meet her first friends and members of her own rock band. The guitarist was incredibly happy to find friends, and her emotions went slightly beyond the bounds, but the first concert really changed everything. It was there that Goto was able to win her loyal fans and practically members of another family, as this couple liked to say.
The moment when the young Ouroboros family visited the club again and got her number, Hitori considered the beginning of her bright streak in life. She did not quite understand why she was able to interest them, but she was definitely happy about this fact. Daily correspondence and calls helped to get to know each other better. Frequent meetings during summer vacation completely overshadowed the realization that her friends had "forgotten" about her.
At the beginning of the "therapy" Ophis embarrassed Hitori too much, but over time she got used to it and learned to appreciate fashionable things. Such a positive change could not but please the girl's family. Parents with tears of happiness in their eyes saw their daughter off when she, smiling, dressed up, hurried to another walk through interesting places of the city or to visit the couple's lair, as they preferred to call their home.
Seeing all the luxury in which they lived, Goto could understand their constant phrase about the invaluability of money for them. However, she continued to try to stop the flow of gifts in her direction, albeit unsuccessfully. Only the last gift was accepted by her without any resistance. A T-shirt with personal signatures of the best, in the guitarist's opinion, rock band in the world. Now this part of the wardrobe is hung in a frame and will be passed down as a family heirloom.
The Goto family decided to spend the evening in a good restaurant, not denying themselves anything. The reason was the promotion of the head of the house. The parents had also been planning something similar for a long time after Hitori changed for the better. Therefore, they decided to combine business with pleasure.
The dinner went great. Everyone was able to enjoy the cozy atmosphere and pleasant food while chatting. On the way from the station to their house, Hitori began to feel like someone was watching her. Awkward glances at the dark streets of the outskirts of Tokyo could not help her find the source of the unpleasant attention. However, with each step closer to home, the girl's tension grew.
— Children, go to bed, — the woman said as soon as they took off their shoes. — It's late.
— Okay, — Hitori was not going to argue. She took her sister's hand, who was falling asleep on the go, and went to the second floor.
Having put the girl to bed, she was going to lie down herself, but the sound of breaking glass was heard from below. The bad feeling came back to the guitarist with renewed vigor, and she instinctively went down to the first floor. Overcoming the last steps of the stairs, Goto heard her mother's scream and the laughter of an unknown man.
— What?.. — Entering the living room, she froze in place, trying to comprehend what was happening.
Her father was lying on the floor, not showing any signs of life, and a pool of blood was slowly spreading under him. Her mother was leaning over him, pressing her hands to his stomach, unsuccessfully trying to stop the blood and holding back her sobs, although tear streaks ran down the woman's face. In another part of the room, near the broken window, there was a monster. Hitori could not describe it any other way. The creature only partly resembled a human: gray skin, covered in fur in places; two large legs resembled the legs of a grasshopper; disproportionate hands reached the floor, despite the two-meter height of the monster; except for cracks near the mouth, the man's face was barely distinguishable from a human one.
— There you are, — he turned his head to the pink-haired girl. — You are exactly what I was looking for.
— Hitori, run! — the woman screamed, noticing the appearance of her daughter and the creature's interest in her. She tried to rush towards the monster to give the girl time to escape, but a magic circle appeared on his hand, and a spike pierced the woman's stomach. — R-Run...
— Now no one will interfere with us, — the monster said contentedly, — As soon as I noticed you, I could not resist. You smell so delicious that I want to eat your flesh so much. You can't even imagine how much effort I had to put in not to pounce on you from the very beginning.
The girl did not react to the words in any way, not taking her eyes off her parents. Two bodies lay on the floor and were bleeding, but she could not do anything about it. Even her mother's sacrifice was in vain, because fear completely enveloped Hitori. She couldn't move a finger, let alone run anywhere. But in addition to fear, there was a raging rejection in the teenager's heart. The girl didn't want to abandon her family. She wanted to save her mom and dad, her sister, sleeping in ignorance upstairs.
— The right choice, — the monster chuckled, misinterpreting her silence. — Running away is pointless. It's better to accept your fate right away.
— ... no, — Goto's consciousness sped up. She slowly watched as the monster pointed its hand in her direction. As the magic circle lit up again. — NO! No-no-no!
At that moment, for some reason, she remembered their playful conversation with Silence about super powers. The young man told her with a sly smile about the abilities he wanted to have. To create a zone around himself in which no one can attack you. Your own world, where only you can decide what exists.
— What?! — the apostate stared in shock at the prey's hand, on which a glove resembling a dragon's mouth had appeared. — Why can't I use my magic?
Hitori didn't quite understand what had just happened, but she could feel her power. The two gems in the glove, replacing the dragon's eyes, began to glow brighter. An invisible field filled the entire room, preventing anyone from using their powers and absorbing them for the owner of the sacred mechanism.
— It doesn't matter, — the demon decided to finish his meal. — If magic doesn't work, then I'll just finish it with my own hands.
Hitori realized with horror how defenseless she was. The only thing she could do was cross her arms in front of her and wait for a blow from the approaching monster. When no pain followed, and the devil's cry of pain echoed throughout the room, Goto opened her eyes, closed in fear. The monster writhed on the floor in pain, while an unknown man and girl appeared in the room through the broken window.
— Damn it! The renegade managed to attack the family, — the man quickly looked around the room and came across the bodies of two adults. — Rin, check the wounded, — the girl in the priestess outfit ran to carry out the order, — and I will get rid of the problem.
The man again pointed his gun at the renegade and began to shoot illuminated projectiles. It took three shots to finally calm the demon.
— Asahi-san, I can't heal them! — the woman screamed in panic. — My power! I can't use it.
Looking at his partner, Asahi saw the inactive talismans lying next to her and how she continued to summon magical arts. Turning his attention to the only witness, the man understood the reason for what was happening.
— Girl, - he spoke as friendly as possible, — we want to help these two, but your mechanism is hindering us. Can you turn off your power so that Rin can heal them? — Seeing that the teenager was too scared, Asahi let out a heavy sigh. — Then we'll have to knock her out to turn off the mechanism by force.
— Don't even think about it, — an unfamiliar voice behind him scared the man incredibly. He tried to jump aside and attack the stranger, but the iron grip on his neck didn't allow him to move. — If you don't want to die, then don't do stupid things.
— Hitori! — Ophis walked up to the girl, not paying attention to what was happening around her. — Hitori, wake up.
— O-Ophis.
— Yes, it's me, Ophis, — hugging the guitarist, Ouroboros suppressed a piece of Vritra with her power. — We're here. Everything will be fine now.
— Ophis! — the girl burst into tears, burying her face in her friend's chest. — M-Mom and Dad... they... killed them.
— They're alive! — Rin said, who began treating people immediately after the restrictions disappeared. — If I treat them in time, they will stay fine. But... my strength may not be enough.
— I will help, — letting go of the man, Sai approached the priestess and used his own magic. — Hmm... They will be fine by morning.
The first thing he learned from Mephisto after starting practical training was healing magic. Using knowledge from different schools of magic and the ability of his eyes, the dragon recreated his own magic based on others. He simply used parts from different spells to combine them into one of his own. Even with his eyes of all things, it took hundreds of attempts to correctly select the elements, and without them, this task is impossible.
— Now... — a bloodthirsty aura burst out of the young man, restricting the movements of people, — you will tell in detail who you are and why you are here!
— S-silence, they saved me, — being in Ophis's arms, Goto could not feel the pressure, but from the look of the shaking people, she could understand the reason. — Without them, I could have died.
— Nonsense, — Ophis immediately refuted her. — No one can harm you. That pendant I gave you that you constantly wear will protect you from danger and warn me about it. Feeling an unusual fluctuation of power from you, we came... — Ouroboros was slightly ashamed and added in a quieter voice, — although a little late.
The girl did not want to say that she immediately felt the awakening of the Vritra mechanism, but at that moment they were busy. The dragons immersed in passion were not able to immediately stop and check Hitori. Ophis did not attach much importance to this, because her defense did not activate, but after checking the quiet one's surroundings, she sensed the source of the threat to the girl.
— Okay, — Silence removed his pressure, — but this does not cancel my questions. Speak.
— We are a patrol group of the five clans of protectors, — Asahi remembered a recent warning from his superiors about two powerful creatures, and they definitely fit the description. — Having sensed the penetration of a renegade demon into our territory, we have been tracking him for the past two days. Today, having caught the trail, we were able to catch up with him, but the demon has already attacked civilians. My partner was going to treat the wounded, but the girl's mechanism prevented it. Then you appeared.
— I see. So, this is your barrier set up around you?
— Yes, we are limiting possible damage and disclosure of information among ordinary people.
— Hitori, I hear movement on the second floor.
— Futari! — after Ophis's words, the guitarist ran off to check and calm her sister, who should have heard the noise happening below.
The room fell silent. The onmyoji waited tensely for the powerful couple to act, while the dragons were having a silent dialogue. Having come to a certain decision, they turned to the nervous people.
— Even if Hitori was not in danger, we thank you for helping her and her parents, — the young man's words reduced the degree of tension in Asahi and Rin. — We will take care of the future of the Goto family ourselves, — the dragon presented them with a fait accompli. — You should take care of your official affairs. Wiping the memory of eyewitnesses and others.
— Yes.
— About Hitori, — Ophis's serious look brought even more horror to the onmyoji than Sai's murderous aura. — Don't even try to involve her in your games. She is under the protection of Ouroboros. My protection.
— Y-yes.
— You can go, — the girl waved them off. — We'll handle this ourselves.
Following the Dragon God's order-request, the duo immediately left the house.
— We'll have to tell Hitori everything, — Silence spoke, correcting the memory of their favorite's parents. — She'll have to decide her own future.
— I agree, but that will be tomorrow, — hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, the girl got rid of the traces of blood on the floor and the corpse of the apostate. — Today, they all need to rest and gain strength.
When the two girls entered the room, the younger one immediately ran up to her parents, who were lying on the couch, screaming.
— Don't worry, Futari, they're fine, — Silence approached the girl and gently stroked her head, calming her down. — You'll see, they'll be fine tomorrow morning.
— Hitori, spend the night at our spare apartment, — while Sai chatted with his younger sister, Ophis talked to the older one. — Tomorrow, when you're sure your parents are safe, we can talk about everything and answer any questions that may have arisen.
— Okay, but how are we going to get into your house, — the guitarist's head was full of various questions, but the first thing she had was the condition of her parents. — It would be inconvenient to transport everyone by car.
— Ha! We'll just teleport there, — she looked at the girl's surprised expression with a smile. — Do you really still deny the existence of magic after what happened? Okay, I won't bore you. Sai!
— Yes, — the dragon immediately understood his girlfriend's desire. — Futari, now I'm going to show you a trick, but for this you need to close your eyes, okay?
— Yeah.
— Good girl. On the count of three, you can open them, — a magic circle lit up on the living room floor. — One, — the young man calculated the coordinates needed to transfer the two adults straight to the bed in their apartment. — Two, — he carried out the teleportation. They were already in their empty apartment. He turned on the light in the room with the help of magic. — Three. You can open your eyes.
— Wow! Where are we? And how did you do it?
— You're visiting me now. And we got here with the help of magic, but that's a secret. Okay?
— Good, — the girl answered with a smile.
At that moment, Silence was glad that the children were so easily distracted from their problems.