The dark night revealed only three individuals: a man and two women. The girls talked about relationships and shopping, intertwining their fingers while walking. The man, right behind, hid in the shadows, with a wide smile.
He rubbed his hands, his tongue sliding over his lips. When they entered an alley, commenting to each other that it might be a faster path, he accelerated his steps.
Closer and closer. His trembling hands were already stretching toward their necks.
But a soft sound made him go silent.
And the neck was wrapped by thin iron cords. He fell to the ground, struggling. He tried to scream, but nothing came out of his throat. The women grew more distant, and his vision became darker as the seconds passed.
But, when he felt the grip loosen, a cry for help came out, but, in a sharp cut from the same wires, the head separated from the body.
The women stopped at the end of the alley. They turned back slowly.
And there was nothing.
In a distant apartment, a man pressed the cell phone to his ears, asking someone he called love if she wanted to visit the old apartment they used to live in. The female voice accepted without hesitation, it was an opportunity to see the place where all the love and investment began.
He searched for the key in his pocket, agreeing with the female voice, saying they could even rent the place because it had a beautiful view of the sunset, a place to distract themselves from the world. And she accepted again, arguing it was a great opportunity.
He took the key and inserted it into the hole, turning it slowly. He said goodbye to his beloved, he would tidy up the place for the two of them.
But, when he opened it, the phone fell.
And plunged into a pool of blood.
There were countless bodies of men fallen on the floor. Knives with pieces of skin. Open chests and illicit substances scattered everywhere.
He fell to his knees, covering his mouth, but when he saw it again, he could not hold what his stomach contained.
In a library, the door opened. Slady covered himself with his overcoat, running to the kitchen, turning on a faucet and cleaning a thread covered with reddish coloration.
When finished, he went up the stairs and opened the door. Two sleeping girls, buried in each other's chest and hair.
His muscles relaxed. So, he took the doorknob and closed the door.
The next morning, a journalist described the censored scene with blurs, dozens of bodies scattered around the room. An analyst, when questioned, briefly explained that the context, according to the scene, was a negotiation between traffickers that ended in a fight. With no man surviving.
Shaphira looked at the television with wide eyes. Elisa pressed her legs against her chest, observing the other figure where the furry features were lowered. She said to calm down, the world was like that. Shaphira asked how the other was capable of acting so naturally with the news. Elisa only looked away.
Slady, rubbing sponges on plates, asked Shaphira to be careful with the questions she asked. She apologized and also to Elisa, who accepted, saying she did not feel offended.
Rolling the dish towel on her arm, Slady sat down next to them, commenting that if no harm from these reached them, that was what mattered. Shaphira raised her chest, she would never let anything reach them. Elisa also repeated the idea, after all, she had become strong for that.
Slady looked at Elisa, observing her lower her shoulders. There was something to give her for the good results of a year of training. She raised her gaze, what would it be? Then, he stood up and headed to a room below the stairs. He opened it with a key and entered. In a few seconds, he returned, with a sword.
Elisa opened her eyes wider and stood up. How had he found it? Slady, looking at Shaphira, asked her to leave them alone. She pouted, she wanted to know. He denied it. Getting up with her tail erect, she went to the room with firm steps and locked herself in. According to Slady, he would calm her down later.
Elisa asked once more. He took a deep breath, his eye wandering over the blade before beginning:
On the day that Raizer... in the tavern accident, when he rescued her, he spotted that sword. It might be insanity what he would say, but he heard his voice. He wanted it to be hers, for her to become as incredible as he once was.
With each word, her heart grew heavy. Elisa tried to clean her face, but the tears always came out again. She walked up to him, and hugged him, apologizing for giving in to emotions. There was no reason to apologize, he said, it was good.
And, from that moment on, she did not hide her sobs, she only buried her face in his chest, his shirt being stained by the moisture. She could not say anything other than thank you. He asked that there be no gratitude.
She deserved it.
In a house, Slady moved pages of a book. He touched the company, clearing his throat before exclaiming about a delivery.
Then the door opened. A woman with messy hair received him, using polite words in reference, to ask if he was delivering books.
It was not necessarily a new way to rent books, it was more a way to pass free time. For the woman, it was good to know that.
She opened the door and stepped aside. He entered, sitting on the sofa. His eye wandered through the rooms, delicate furniture positioned in an organized and simplified way. He saw her descend, adjusting the skirt of the dress. She stood in front of him, taking one hand to her cleavage, lowering it slightly, revealing more skin. There was no money, therefore, she wanted to pay in another way. He denied it.
Recently he had taken the risk in this more in-person way of renting books. However, he was far from any visual or pleasurable payment method. So, pointing to her chest, he demanded the money.
She huffed, putting her hand in her cleavage and handing him the notes. Slady kept them, nodding his head and withdrawing.
The sun was setting in the late afternoon. Near the library, Elisa held the sword in her hands. Shaphira, moving slowly around her, roared and advanced.
The blade generated superficial cuts and each attack from the fox made her move away a few meters. She closed her eyes, feeling the blood envelop her hands? With a grunt, she threw the sword away and advanced against Shaphira, the punches making her counter with her tail.
However, with each second that passed, the Renkai Energy made Shaphira's vision blur slightly until a bite came with more aggression.
Elisa shouted her name.
However, she fell silent when she saw the large fox lower herself, her nails scratching the ground. When she raised her head, her pupils were sharp, and the muscles of her body intensified. With a wag of her tail, she advanced, with Elisa trying to counter each attack with punches, but which seemed to become more powerless with the charges.
Until she was thrown to the ground. And Shaphira opened her mouth toward hers.
But, suddenly, a jet of water made her move away. Shaphira growled at the sight of the sky:
Victoria was before her, with a platform making her stay above the creature's head. The look was serious, then, with each step, the level of the platform decreased.
Her mind never allowed itself to rest, knowing she had a monster among humans. But what Shaphira would become was beyond the ordinary.
She extended her hand, a spiral formed in her palm. Then...
She begged her not to force her to kill her.