The Laughing Swordsman

Layla gave Willow a curious look. Her tail swayed enthusiastically.

"Hm? What does friend want?"

Willow smiled awkwardly.

"Could we change the location of our... playing."

Layla's ears twitched.

"Eh? But playing is always fun everywhere!"

Suddenly, Willow disappeared, letting Apollo pass by. She then reappeared, while the sound of laughter trailed off.

Willow coughed.

"You see..."

She pointed towards the center of the empire, towards the watchtower.

"Didn't you say there was a... friend over there? It would be more fun, plus it's a change of scenery!"

Layla gasped and raised both hands in the air.

"Ah, you're right!"

Apollo once again charged towards Willow, with his bokken in front of him. Layla turned to look at him.

A cheerful smile appeared on her face.

"Let's go there, friend!"

Suddenly, Layla dashed towards Apollo. Before he could even react, he was grabbed by the shoulders. Apollo stopped in his tracks while his laughter cut off.

He looked at Layla.

"...Huh?"

Layla smiled brightly.

Her furry ears twitched.

"Have fun, friend!"

Layla lifted Apollo up easily, brought him behind her back, then...

"Nyah!"

...flung him towards the watchtower, cracking the ground below her.

A few sharp cracking sounds rang out, evidence that Apollo's bones cracked from the throw. Like a shooting star, his body shot towards the watchtower, becoming a dot in the blink of an eye.

Willow blinked a few times as she stared off into the direction Apollo went.

"What..."

Hex's eyes followed Apollo's sudden takeoff. His mouth was agape from shock, revealing his tiny and sharp teeth. Suddenly, Hex was grabbed at the sides.

It was Layla.

Her tail swayed enthusiastically, letting out soft jingles. It almost sounded soothing, but the brutal tendencies of the person making that sound disrupted such a feeling.

Layla smiled cheekily.

"Up you go!"

She lifted up Hex up and brought him behind her back. Hex's hood almost fell off, prompting him to hold it down with both sleeves. He squirmed violently and kicked his legs.

"Me no want! Me no want!"

Layla giggled.

"Wah, friend sounds so excited!"

Hex whimpered like a kid throwing a tantrum.

"Me no want! Me no-"

Suddenly, Layla flung Hex.

"WAAAAAAAAAAANNNNT"

His eyes widened in fear as he catapulted across the empire. However, with how tightly he held down his hood, it seemed like he was more afraid of the hood coming off than anything else.

Blackie noticed Hex's sudden takeoff and looked at his figure with concern. Blackie warped and twisted, turning from a towering giant to a thin line. He snaked towards Hex, with the goal of merging shadows.

Another crater had formed underneath Layla. Then, her gaze shifted to Willow, who began to laugh nervously after noticing that gaze.

Willow pointed to her wings.

"I can go there myself! That's what these wings are for!"

Layla giggled mischievously.

"But that's not the best way! Look at how much fun other friends are having!"

The corner of Willow's lip twitched. She flapped her wings, taking off from the ground.

"There's no need for that!"

Willow waved towards Layla.

"I can just go like this!"

As for Layla's response, she clasped her hands together and raised her shoulders. It was as though she became a maiden in love that saw her crush.

"Friend is so cute!"

The side of Willow's face twitched.

She had a bad feeling.

Layla crouched down before shooting up like a lightning bolt. Willow's figure disappeared right before, letting Layla pass through.

Upon reappearing, Willow let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, her eyebrow twitched. She felt something wrap around her waist.

"What?"

It was Layla's tail.

With a violent tug, Willow was torn from the air, catapulting to the ground. With a bang, she slammed face down into the floor. If Willow moved her arms and legs, she might be able to make snow angels.

...Well, it would be rock rather than snow, and nothing about it would look angelic, but still.

A sudden sense of vertigo assaulted Willow. Before she could regain her bearings, she was pulled out of the ground.

Willow shook her head as she was being raised.

"Wait, this is unnecessary!"

Layla giggled, bringing Willow up and behind her back.

"Friend doesn't have to pretend!"

She smiled brightly.

"Just enjoy the fun!"

The corner of Willow's lip twitched.

"Shi-"

Suddenly, she was flung towards the center of the empire. A few cracking sounds came from Willow's rib cage. She was already fairly injured, and this further pushed her down the edge.

Willow soared through the air, but was eventually able to gain control over herself by using her wings. After stabilizing, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Willow was not like Apollo, who had such a frightening regeneration ability. As such, her injuries were slowly taking a toll on her.

She would not be able to continue on for much longer.

Layla took a glance at her surroundings. Other than the toppled fragments of ground and houses that stayed far off in the distance, there was nothing left.

She put her hands on her sides and stuck out her elbows confidently, as though proud of the work she had done.

"Hehe, now for me to join friends!"

Layla crouched down into the position a professional runner would take.

She smirked.

Then, a devastating bang rang out.

Layla ended up leaving another massive crater, shifting the tectonic plates once more. She went so fast that her figure zipped past Willow. As Willow felt her hair blast over to the side, she looked on at Layla in shock.

Meanwhile, in the watchtower, Oddryl had his jaw slightly agape.

Before he could truly process the strangeness of the scenario, another disaster occurred.

Apollo was really confused by the strange turn of events, but he still held his bokken in front of him like a spear. The wind caused his hair to whip around wildly, resembling a flickering flame.

In just a few moments, Apollo found himself seconds away from crashing into the yellow dome covering the empire.

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