Spilling Blood

Hideaki stood still, clearly lost in his fantasies of weapons hanging on the walls.

'I love how sharp this axe looks! I wanna borrow it from her!! Hehehe!!'

He muttered in his mind. Despite the situation, he was completely unfocused.

Pixie's eyes widened in disbelief as she witnessed Hideaki standing there, completely free from his restraints.

"H-How... How did you manage to escape!?!?" she stammered, her voice filled with shock and confusion.

Hideaki, noticing Pixie's attention on him, chuckled softly "Hehe.. My hands are quite small and nimble, making it easy for me to slip out of those handcuffs. And I... uh.. have escaped from such stuff earlier." he blurted, grinning shyly.

"You escaped such stuff before!?!?" Pixie exclaimed, still unable to comprehend that one of her captives had broken free from her trap so effortlessly.

With a sly smirk playing on his lips, Hideaki leaned in closer "Yep! Hehehe!" he chuckled narrowing his eyes a bit and locking his gaze at Pixie.

'...'escaped such stuff earlier'...? EARLIER!? Why!?' Rika's heart starts pounding.

'W-what is he talking about?' Ken watched him with fear.

Seiji narrowed his eyes, analyzing everything at a glance. 'Small hands, right. But with handcuffs like that? It shouldn't be possible...'

Pixie raised her katana carefully, her hand trembling slightly.

"My prey escaped... unbelievable..." she whispered.

Then suddenly her face became confident.

"Well then... I suppose I'll have to steal your Magic Abiity and gut you out on loose! You've been a very naughty girl, my dear! So better prepare yourself for my move!"

At this moment, Hideaki's pupils suddenly narrowed to thin points, and a moment later a wide, unnatural smile appeared on his face.

"...Alright" he said excitedly.

Pixie grinned and gazed back at him but as she gazed once again, her face paled.

The once innocent face of a cute girl now bore the terrifying visage of insanity.

'What... happened to her..?'

"Hehehehe!!" Hideaki's laughter echoed through the room, "I've always yearned to spill blood with an axe!" He added with maniacal glee.

He swung his hand at the wall, ready to rip off the first of the gleaming axes. His eyes glowed with madness, and his smile widened even further as he reached for the weapon.

But at that same moment—

FLASH.

Something pierced the air.

Hideaki suddenly jerked as if something had struck him in the side. He choked on air and dropped his hand, clutching his hip. A gasp escaped his lips:

"Ghh—?!"

A thin, pale line appeared on his skin. The wound began to bleed, and the mark looked as if a blade of pure light had cut it.

Hideaki blinked in surprise, wincing in pain.

Pixi's face shadowed and she smiled sweetly, raising her hand, which was still shimmering brightly.

"Let's see who will spill blood first!"

A streak of light, the remnant of the blade, disintegrated in midair.

It was a stolen Magic Ability: Light Slice - a fast, soundless blade of light.

Hideaki looked at the blood dripping down his thigh. Pain throbbed in his hip.

And his fingers—

They twitched.

The familiar pull of his blood magic surging inside him, begging to be unleashed.

The temptation was almost unbearable.

And he was only one step away from using it, the temptation nearly overwhelming.

But at the last moment,

He couldn't.

Not here.

Not in front of Pixie.

'F-fuck! If she sees my blood magic, she'll steal it as she did with Ken's, Tch! Fuck!!'

He quickly took the axe.

One second of hesitation.

It was enough.

A dark gray aura shone from her hand, and in the blink of an eye Pixie glowed — and vanished.

Seiji jerked his head and opened his eyes wide.

"She disappeared. She used Ken's Magic Ability... In that state she could even walk out to us and use her stealing Ability when we wouldn't even know. I need to act fast. Find some keys, some defect in the mechanism of these cuffs. There's gotta be one! If Hideaki managed to get free, that means he's not that stupid and we should be able to do the same."

Pixie appeared behind Hideaki with a triumphant smile.

"Ooooh, yes... YES! I've been waiting for this!"

SNAP.

Her katana slid across his hand. The axe clattered, bouncing off the floor.

"AGH—!!"

"Oh my, you lost your concentration, sweetie!" she sang melodiously. "And now— YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

SNIP — side.

SNIP — arm.

SNIP — leg.

Hideaki didn't even see where the blows were coming from. The pain of the blow distracted him, his breathing was ragged, and his eyes twitched in half-madness, half-surprise.

'Damn... I can't concentrate...! These wounds...!'

"Tch— damn it!! Where is she!?" he hissed, staggering back, his eyes darting around.

Pixie circled him like a furious shadow.

Her blows were fast, precise, merciless.

Hideaki's screams, the sound of slicing flesh, the sizzling aura of invisibility — everything blended into chaos.

Ken trembled like a leaf.

Streams of blood poured down Hideaki's body. And it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to refrain from using his Magic Ability.

'She's getting me pissed so much!! I wanna kill her! I wanna gut her out hehehehehe! I WANNA KILLKILLKILLKILL!!!!!'

He was practically screaming maniacally in his head.

His hand was pressing against one of the wounds, blood already welling up on his palm. He gritted his teeth in pain. And Pixie...

Pixie was laughing louder and louder. Increasingly excited, twirling her katana.

"COME ON, MY DEAR!! FIGHT!!! OR JUST GIVE ME YOUR MAGIC ABILITY AND DIE! MUAHAAAAHAHAHAHA!!"

Her laughter reverberated through the room like a blade.

And she kept attacking.

And attacking.

And attacking.

Hideaki hissed, staggering back.

Seiji in the meantime, was looking for keys or anything else that would allow them to get free, but as he scanned the room he couldn't find anyhing.

'Dannit... How does these locks work then?' he pondered and then he heard another piercing painful scream from Hideaki.

He turned his head into the chaos unfold, watching it, analyzing Pixie's moves, but at the same time... he felt a flash of satisfaction.

'Honestly...? This sight is a bit satisfying. Hideaki getting beaten up by someone else, especially after his recent shit, is quite nice. I could watch it all day actually, the only thing that I am missing is popcorn. It's just that...'

His gaze shifted to Ken and Rika.

Ken was trembling so violently the restraints rattled against the table.
Rika's eyes were wide, glossy with terror, breaths sharp and uneven.

'Now is not the time for this.' Seiji gritted his teeth and quickly switched to "threat resolution" mode.

Then, Pixie's hysterical laugh echoed through the room.

"YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SPILL BLOOD WITH AN AXE!?" she taunted Hideaki, eyes gleaming.

"Tch-" Hideaki hissed.

"MUAHAHAHAHA—!!"

Ken choked, "She... she'll slaughter him...!"

'Let this end!! Help! Anyone!'
Rika squeezed her eyes shut.

Seiji forced himself to ignore the carnage and analyzed the locks.

'Brute force won't work... I need a leverage. There's gotta be a weakness somewhere. We only need one opening...'

He analyzed, but then, he heard Rika moans of struggle, making the metal dig deeper into her wrists.

He turned his head to her

"Rika," Seiji snapped quietly. "Stop. You'll only shred your wrists. Let me think."

She froze, panting.

Then he quickly glanced at Hideaki.

"It's good that she's focused on him. At least I have time to test an idea."

Ken swallowed hard hearing him. "Seiji, w-what are you planning?"

Seiji didn't answer immediately. Instead, he subtly adjusted his wrists, testing the metal's rigidity. It was solid, but the mechanism...

'If I can create the right force at the right angle...'

His eyes swept over the scene again, Pixie was fixated on Hideaki.

'Keep focusing on this sadistic idiot.. Keep focusing Pixie...'

Seiji said. He needed time to do it just right.

"Ken," he whispered. "When I say so, push against the cuffs once. Hard. No struggling before that."

Ken nodded stiffly.

Seiji's plan was twofold:

First, making sure that Pixie put all her attention on Hideaki.

Second, the moment her focus wavered - and they would be free - they would strike.

But Pixie heard the faint movement.

Her smile dropped.

"Oh, you little rats think you can escape?" She snapped her fingers.

The cuffs tightened violently.

Ken let out a strangled shout; Rika gasped, tears forming. Even Seiji gritted his teeth as the metal bit into bone.

Then the mist came — dark, oily, creeping across their skin like cold breath.

Pixie smirked.
"Let's see how well you think with this in your system."

A wave of heaviness slammed into them.

Rika whimpered. Ken's breathing faltered.
Even Seiji's vision blurred for a heartbeat.

"Neuro Magic Ability," Pixie purred. "Not lethal. Just makes your brains a little slo—
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Her scream tore through the room.

Her magical aura on her fingers flickered unsteadily, then returned to its previous state.

She turned her gaze to the side, she saw her right hand, severed and lying motionless on the floor. Blood poured in sheets.

She grabbed the stump, and with using another stolen Magic Ability, tried to 'fix' it. But nothing happened.
"F–fuck—why isn't it healing!?"
She said as panic began to overwhelming her.

And then— she saw it...

Hideaki stood there, trembling, barely upright, chest heaving.
His eyes were wild and glassy from pain and blood loss.

He held the axe in both hands. The blade was covered in fresh red blood.

He grinned, but it was shaky, contorted — the smile of someone whose body was shutting down while his mind spiraled upward.

His legs buckled briefly, and he dropped to one knee, catching himself on the floor with a grunt of agony.

But Pixie's blood...
That sight lit something monstrous in him.

'Ehehe... that color... that color... So beautiful... I want more... more...!'

He staggered toward her — each step uneven, dragging, leaving streaks of blood behind him. His breath rattled, wet, shallow.

And then he lunged.

"DIE! DIE! DIEEEE!!!!"

He swung wildly — not skillfully, not fast — but with raw, desperate brutality.

Each strike was followed by a moment where his body almost collapsed from the pain.
He gasped between attacks, sometimes stumbling, sometimes dropping the axe only to snatch it up again while swaying on his feet.

"HEHEHEHEHEHE—!!"

Pixie fell backward, scrambling.

In a panic, she grabbed his ankle — jerking him off balance.

Hideaki crashed hard onto his side, a cry of pain ripping from his throat.
Blood sprayed across his face. He clawed at his eyes, blinded and choking.

Ken and Rika were frozen in horror.

Seiji's expression remained razor-focused.

'He's barely staying upright. But without that arm, she can't overpower him immediately...'

Then from girl's left hand emerged black aura. Pixie's shadows twisted and rose — forming a new dark arm, ending in a katana-like blade.

Hideaki blinked his vision back into clarity, trembling.

"W-what the hell...!?"

Pixie cackled.
"Plan B!"

The clash resumed — but now, it was painfully clear how damaged Hideaki was.

His swings were slower.
His footing unstable.
His breathing ragged, like every inhale stabbed him inside.

Pixie struck him repeatedly — shallow cuts, but enough to weaken him.

A slip.
A stumble.
His knee gave out.

She lunged at him dangerously close.

Some would say she was millimeters before his face.

"I wonder what Magic Ability you have..." Pixie smirked, reaching out.

Hideaki's eyes widened with genuine terror.

His body wouldn't obey him — too slow, too heavy, too broken.

Her hand touched—

And just then, a piercing scream erupted from the nearby tables.

Rika, in agony, felt her own magic being drained away.

"No!!! Rika-chan!!!!" Ken shouted, urgency lacing his voice.

"Fuck—" Seiji cursed.

Pixie's head whipped toward the sound.

"Huh? Why is she screaming instead of her?" she mumbled, turning her attention back to Hideaki.

Hideaki blinked — and in that moment...

His body shifted.
Changed.
Returned to male form.

Pixie froze.

"What...? You're— you're a guy!?"