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[url=https://youtu.be/dh1qqLbuBww]✦【L】【I】【G】【H】【T】【L】【E】【S】【S】✦ 【D】【A】【W】【N】✦ [/url][/center]

It seeped into her bones, the repulsive darkness that spewed from the demon’s poisonous words, but that blackness met steel instead, fatigue chased away by the biting pain of her Patron’s reminders. Another had appeared, an existence less foul, but disgusting all the same. What was up with magical girls and Darkness these days? Amaryllis could barely suppress a sigh at the sheer amount of inhumanity that surrounded her, from the man-eater to the void-born, but...she wasn’t in a place to question inhumanity herself.

No, this was simply her deciding that she didn’t like what someone else was doing.

[color=778899][b]“Nay, maiden,”[/b][/color] Amaryllis spoke, the tip of her sword drawing a line through the air, [color=778899][b]“Tis taboo, true, but I do not draw my sword for the laws and sensibility of modern society. If this wench be grave robber instead of scavenger, I would turn an eye, but an individual should always be provided proper funeral rites after their demise.”[/b][/color]

This was simply an extension of her own regrets.

[color=778899][b]“I know exactly how much of a difference a body makes at a funeral.”[/b][/color]

It was neither three seconds nor five seconds, and her formless Patron rattled her left lung in irritation, but Amaryllis smiled. It helped, truly, to verbalize her resolve, hm? One breath, and she lunged, diving into the storm, her Patron guiding the silverlit tip as Darkness consumed her vision.

The Noble Swordswoman was alone, surrounded, entrapped in the Vampire Queen’s miasma, certainly this would be a short dance. As much as Noir wanted to prolong the ball, alas, all good things must come to an end. At least, she’d grant the heroine a painless death. Truthfully speaking, her resolve and words sounded sincere, but willpower alone wouldn’t save the day by itself.

[b]”!?”[/b] Nor does arrogance apparently. So confident in her power, the golden-haired dark countess failed to notice the gleaming silver light, shining through all the effluvium choking the air. At least not until it was too late. [b]Ngaaaaah?!!”[/b] A bestial roar - akin to a distorted cry of a dragon - erupted from the miasma-coated Harbinger of Decay. The Divine rapier’s tip had sheathed itself in her chest.

[b][i]”Ara, ara~ Noir, are you alright?”[/i][/b] The Mistress made a proverbial head tilt, half-amused, half-concerned. 

[b]”Haa… nnngggrrrh!!”[/b] The blonde bared her fangs, failing to notice how just an inch to the left, the sword would have pierced her dark heart. Her pride sullied, her facade humiliated, Noir dropped the elegant charade right then, using her arms and wings to [i]hug[/i] the blue-haired insect instead, attempting to drain her dry of everything she had. T’was ultimate a mistake to close their distance and Noir would make sure she’d pay for this grave insult!

The fact that such a blow was not enough to end the fight was proof enough that her opponent was monstrous, but Amaryllis was accustomed to irrationality. Sensing danger before even her Sword clawed against her sides, the fencer pivoted around, dropping low as demon claws grasped only strands of hair. Close, but never close enough to be a problem.

As polished steel slipped out of the wound, iron ivy trailed not far behind, the gap in the vampire’s torso becoming a new anchor point for Amaryllis’s chains. Like a careful gardener, she wrapped them around her offhand wrist.

She had the feeling that whatever might she had was insufficient to slay this monster.

But removal?

That was a different story altogether.

Was it the grace of a knight tossing a bouquet? Or was it the might of a peasant tossing a sack of flour? With superhuman strength granted to her by the steel oath, Amaryllis yanked hard upon the leash and swung the monstress skywards, through the black of the miasma and into the blue of the day.

[b]”Nnngrh!!”[/b] A furious grunt slipped through Noir’s clenched fangs as her claws found nothing but air. Even though their size gap should give the smaller blonde an advantage in clinging to her foe, apparently, the Rose Knight was agile enough to evade her bear hug point blank. 

A hiss, pain throbbing from her chest as her wound refused to heal, regeneration disabled by the divine Metal anchored there. Annoyed and enraged, she used a claw, long nails dripping with miasma, to grab the chain and yank it off her torso. An endeavor denied by the magical fencer as her petite frame was heaved up, launched haphazardly into the air. 

Noir’s winged form shot through the dome of effluvium she made, exposed to the open air and the searing light of the afternoon soon. Gritting her teeth, she managed to stabilize herself using her massive wings, then proceeded to do what’s most urgent, yanking the chain off her chest. Therefore allowing the wound a chance to mend itself. However, the effect of having a piece magical metal impaled in her body was still there, halting her healing factor for the moment. 

[b][i]”Oh my~ you seem to be doing well, keep it up, my Huntress. Fufufu~[/i][/b] 

Well, thank you for the words of encouragement, Mistress. Noir barely fought back the strong urge to roll her eyes. Then again, wait… her Mistress was right, by tossing her away, the knight unwittingly put her out of reach and trapped herself in the miasmic dome, now truly alone. [b]”Heh…”[/b] She smirked, a single fang glinting at the left side of her lips.

A clawed hand reached out towards the effluvial sphere below, palm opened, [b]Perish.”[/b] then closed into tight fist. At the same time, the dome shrunk rapidly, inversely proportional with its density. Soon enough, it shall be her tomb. Nay, a tomb implied a body was held inside. Not a tomb, not an urn, an empty coffin instead.

With a bang and a whimper, the dark dome imploded upon itself, scattering rusted petals in its wake. As for the Knight of Rose, however, nothing remained.

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[@Izurich][@Crusader Lord]