What's Up, Danger? The Onihime vs Lady Phoenix

Yuuko stood motionless, her eyes filled with disbelief. The sight of the mark on Ayumu’s hand pierced her heart, leaving her feeling foolish. She was sure the cursed mark wasn’t there the day before. It was an unmistakable symbol, impossible to hide even with the most potent illusions. However, a faint possibility lingered that Natsu was right, and somehow the boy had deceived her. With Yumiko’s bloodied body before him, he whimpered, his vulnerability apparent. A surge of fury coursed through her, replacing her momentary confusion. She clenched her fists, horrified by the atrocities committed by the order. Natsu’s guess was he wasn’t involved, yet she had to uncover the truth.

A reddish glimmer caught her eye, and to her astonishment, Mitsu materialised, poised to strike Ayumu’s neck. The obsidian blade halted just short of touching his skin. Though Mitsu’s eyes showed no mercy, her trembling hand betrayed her inner struggle. She seemed to fight against an invisible force, wrestling with herself to drive the blade forward. But the sword remained still, refusing to obey.

‘Mitsu…’ Yuuko called out, her gaze fixed on her boss and the boy. Ayumu’s terrified eyes met Mitsuko’s before being engulfed by flames that engulfed the sword. Mitsu’s clenched fist gave off her whitish aura, ready to unleash all her suppressed anger in a blow that the boy had no chance of surviving. Yuu acted on instinct, moving her body to intervene. It was too late. In the nick of time, Masami reached out, pulling her comrade out of harm’s way. Amidst her doubts, Yuuko felt a strange sense of relief as the vice principal’s fist stopped just shy of striking her unconscious apprentice.

‘I’m sorry,’ Mitsu’s face etched with sorrow. ‘I didn’t arrive on time…’ She looked up, her gaze fixated on the mark on the boy’s hand. ‘But I assure you, Shirohime, I won’t let you escape unscathed.’ Sakai and Ayumu watched in terror as Mitsu’s imposing figure radiated with flickering flames before vanishing.

Hiiragi struggled to identify Mitsuko, her mind muddled by the blast unleashed by the council president. The deafening sound was replaced by a relentless ringing in her ears. Blood dripped from her arm and leg, wounds inflicted by the explosion. The aura’s protection had saved her limbs from being lost, but she still bore serious injuries. The bleeding caused her blurred vision. Everything felt like it could vanish at any second. Her wounds burned, a fiery reminder of Yumiko’s blood crystals. Despite her will to rise, the effort seemed insurmountable.

The vice principal was still quiet as a magical seal appeared in the air between her and the two students, sparkling with red light. She acted as if Masami’s presence was irrelevant. The circle conjured several crimson lightning bolts, zigzagging through the sky and crashing into the ground. The bodies of the blonde girl and the young boy were paralysed with fear. Mitsu exuded a more terrifying and menacing aura than Azuki or Yumiko. They needed to move, but they were frozen in the scene, anticipating an ending that would soon catch up to them. The spell stopped when Yuuko stood between Mitsu and the students, extending her arms, her body trembling as she observed her superior. She had known Mitsuko for years, but she struggled to recall a similar moment.

‘Mitsu!’ she raised her voice, as terrified as the rest of them. The vice principal was shocked to see her subordinate standing there, protecting the two boys. Mitsuko regained her stoic expression, analysing Yuuko with a stony gaze, seemingly unwilling to give her the chance to explain. The reddish rays intensified, reflecting off her glasses as the principal raised her hand. Yuuko closed her eyes, fearing the worst.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Mitsuko’s impersonal voice resonated in her head. ‘Step aside, Yuuko.’ Mitsu’s hand trembled as she restrained her desire to unleash her devastating spell upon them. ‘Yuuko, step aside. I won’t repeat it a third time!’ she raised her voice with deep anger.

‘Please, Mitsu, listen to me. This has to be a mistake!’ Yuuko also raised her voice, trying to appease her former teacher. Mitsu’s eyes returned to focus on the mark.

‘I warned you!’ The circle emitted a deep flash. Yuuko opened her eyes, meeting the executioner-like gaze of the vice principal, completely terrified. She hastened to trace a rune in the air, and two screams intertwined in the air. Masami and Ayumu saw a flash before closing their eyes. A loud explosion caused a mushroom cloud of smoke, dust, and asphalt.

The scorching wind struck the vice principal, who covered Yumiko’s body with her own. Her face twisted upon seeing Yuuko’s ruby eyes illuminated in the smoke. Her body was surrounded by her aura of arts before receiving a direct attack from the phoenix lady. Their eyes met twice, the effort apparent. Yuuko dragged Mitsu a couple of meters across the asphalt, skimming the ground with her wings. Mitsu grasped Yuuko’s wrist tightly, and with one swift movement, the situation was reversed. The teacher struck the ground, tumbling several times before steadying herself. More blood splattered, evaporating amidst the flames of the Phoenix, which once again tried to protect its witch. Mitsu touched the blood that trickled from the corner of her mouth, and two magical seals appeared before her. Still on her knees, Yuuko hurriedly threw herself towards her students, who were still stunned and completely terrified by the scene.

The circles emitted an intense light. Mitsu swiftly moved her hand towards Ayumu, causing drops of blood to pass through the air between the seals. The drops transformed into reddish needles that shot towards the students with great speed. Yuu once again stood in their way, causing the needles to embed themselves in her back. Mitsuko stopped before detonating them, firmly planting her feet on the ground.

‘Miss Seri…’ Ayumu tried to call her, overwhelmed. Flames were intensifying on his back, causing Yuuko to grimace in pain as the Phoenix burned her wounds. Mitsu, furious, raised her voice, addressing her and cutting off the boy’s voice.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing, Yuuko!?’ she attempted to put on a cheering smile for the students, who kept their eyes on her, then faced her boss. She threw her broken glasses to the ground, her ochre eyes reflecting the spreading fire that devoured the wasteland, leaving only ashes and scorched earth in its wake.

‘I’ve already told you this is a mistake!’ Yuuko took a defensive stance, knowing that her former master wouldn’t listen to reason. The scorching fire emanating from her eventually evaporated Mitsu’s blood crystals.

‘I won’t hold back just because you’re in the way, Serizawa Yuuko!’ Mitsu’s eyes flashed a fleeting reddish glow as anger took hold of her. ‘Move!’

‘For once in your life, you could…!’ Yuuko watched as Mitsu disappeared from her field of vision, only to reappear in front of her in an instant. Her boss’s charge was relentless, crashing with immense force. Yuu’s expression turned to surprise as she witnessed the unfolding scene, while Mitsu remained fixated on her target. The wind generated by the vice principal’s momentum made the phoenix’s flames move around Mitsuko’s upraised fist. The imminent impact approached rapidly. While the powerful gust, a result of the momentum, unsettled Serizawa, leading her to lose balance and tumble. Her gaze was filled with a certain horror as it landed on her students.

‘Die!’ The vice principal let out a thunderous cry of anger. Masami reacted almost instantly; her body involuntarily moved, and she moved the boy out of the trajectory. She tightly closed her eyes, her legs trembling, knowing she could not withstand the impact from the vice principal. A green glow appeared behind Mitsuko just before the blood of the vice-director splattered violently. Something had pierced through her shoulder, halting her. Yuuko seized the opportunity to rustle. She propelled herself off the ground and tackled her former teacher from behind, causing both of them to fall to the ground. Masami opened her eyes, surprised to be in one piece, and let herself fall to the floor, still trembling, her gaze fixed on Mitsuko.

‘Is she insane!? She’s worse than…!’ She observed Yumiko lying down and Hiiragi standing a short distance away. The vice principal got up forcefully, pushing aside her subordinate, and gave her a furious look before heading towards her.

‘Why the hell are you getting in the way!?’

‘Do you want to do me a favour and listen to me!?’ Yuuko responded with equal force as she stood up.

‘I’ve had enough of your nonsense! You’re defending the people who killed our teacher, who killed Noriko and her daughters, and who killed Sayuki.’ The Vice Principal’s blood dripped down her arm as she clenched her right fist tightly. With her right hand, she touched the wound. ‘You’re another enemy to me now, Yuuko.’ Those words echoed strongly in Serizawa’s mind. Sawari’s eyes flashed with a reddish glimmer. ‘Chikage!’