Last floors of floor -1. Minutes before the entrance of Dancing Glory
"If you have finished, turn off the fire. Attracting more Tombstep is not within the plans of our last hours here
"Why? We are alone and the territory will restart tomorrow! We've killed a lot already, I do not think there's any left" The felinke protested but didnt stop obeying, pouring some of the water from her canteen over the campfire.
"My dear Miki..." Grand floated around the felinke, caressing his arms as he noticed how his young lady bristled her hair, fruit of the icy and spectral touch. "You are a lady of high birth ... you must not act like a vulgar adventurer. What would your parent say if he saw that under my care you have assailed yourself?"
"Oh come on, I'm not going wild! It's just not wanting to waste water in vain! We still have to be here-" The felinke snapped her fingers, trying to remember.
"2 hours more, your body still needs a little more treatment"
"And that's why I dont want to waste my water! And if more of those filthy insects appear, they force us to fight and ended up dehydrated for not having water in my canteen?!" Grand had to roll his eyes, not wanting to argue at this time. Miki was extremely prudent, logical for her sick past ... but even prudence has a limit where it begins to blur with obsession. "Come on, say it" Miki challenged the specter, as bold as ever.
"I? Say? Darling ..." Grand floated around her until he stopped behind her, hugging her from behind. "I was hired to save your life ... to rid you of the evils that afflict your heart and body" Slipping one of his hands down the felinke's shaved back, Grand stopped when he reached the flexible and hairy (But still slightly muscled) tail of his partner, sliding his fingers through them to cause a chill. "I know you perfectly inside and out, and you know me. You dont need me to tell you anything"
"You're too disturbing even to be a-" Miki fell silent at the sound of what seemed to be a slap, loud enough to resonate throughout the complex of dependencies. Grand contained a laugh to see how all the fur on the body of the felinke stood up scared, the specter returned to embrace with both arms trying to calm her young and frightened heart.
"What was that ?!"
"That dear, it has been your desire to give me a slap in the face-"
"Idiot!" Miki jumped up, running to the entrance of the abandoned bedroom that had been assaulted and taken as his own. Carefully, the felinke drew his dark blue dagger from its weapon holder, holding it back as Grand had taught him.
"You should look out if you want to see something ... hiding behind the door frame will not make you-"
"And if it's a disgusting bug?" Miki answered instantly, letting her insect panic take over. "Please, Grand ..." Carefully, the felinke took the pendant out of her pocket, tucking it around her neck while throwing little puppy eyes (ironic coming from a felinke) to the specter.
With a snort, Grand accepted the proposal as he began to float to the collar, the spectrum was introduced inside, letting the magic of Merlinus work its magic.
Slowly, Miki's soul began to sink into his heart, leaving Grand to take control of her body. "Well, are you ready?" Grand asked as he unpacked the felinke's ponytail.
"I had a hard time getting that ponytail in the dark..." Miki whispered depressed, watching as all her hard work cascaded down her back.
"I dont understand how you can make ponytail taking into account that the ears of the felinkes are on the top of your heads ... it is super uncomfortable to have the hair pulling our ears to one side constantly" Grand defended his decision, knowing how much Miki disapproved it. Carefully, the specter peeked into the outer corridor of the complex, looking both to the sides and to the hole.
"Do you see something? Is there some filthy bug?"
"You can open your eyes, pussy, there's nothing here" Grand could notice how Miki re-emerged from the bottom of her heart. While the felinke was reassured to see for herself the words of her guardian, Grand used the time to peek through the central hole, looking up and down the possible source of noise. "That hit sounded too much like a human slap ... it couldnt have been a bug"
"How can you distinguish the species?-" Miki tried to ask, interrupted by the ipso facta response of his guardian.
"You will see, my dear. You're young and inexperienced, and that's not bad at all ... considering the time you've been in bed sick; but your body, or rather, the body of the felinkes is incredibly skillful and powerful:
Night vision and improved, better sense of smell and hearing, harder and more efficient muscles and bones, sharp and resistant claws on hands and feet, powerful and completely manageable tails, warm fur and skin care and prepared to expel the heat ...
As we have already put into practice, your body along with my experience becomes a powerful machine-" The felinke couldnt stand any more empty adulation, but knowing that everything was to avoid telling her how he could distinguish the species of the assailant ... As always, Grand was a trickster charlatan who did not hesitate to put his deception skills into practice.
"Should we go check what happens?"
"I dont think it's a good idea. The blow has really sounded up, it would take several hours to get back to the top ... and let me ask the question, dear. Do you really want to get into the hassles of some small-time adventurers?" Miki wanted to protest, but Grand's argument made sense.
Neither of them had any intention of fighting more than necessary, because the visit to the Territory was part of the treatment of the felinke based on the dimensional aura of Amun ... and although Miki was much better, fighting for no reason could only bring problems ...
As the grandfather of her best friend Erin always said, to fight with everything one must be involved with 100% of his heart .... Erin ...
"Again thinking of your friend? Gods Miki, try to contain your melancholy when I'm in control of you!" Grand groaned, wiping away a lonely tear.
"It's not my fault! There's only one thing that I long for more than my home and it's Erin ... 4 years are too long apart ... I cant wait for the day where I can see her again and show her that I'm not the sickly kitten I used to be!"
With a sigh, Grand leaned on the railing, looking up the hole waiting to hear the adventurers again. "Yearning is useless, dear. It's not like that Erin was going to fall from the sky to see you"
"You dont know that! My last night's fortune cookie said that a great reunion would take place in Iiion!" Although Miki was inside her own heart, Grand could see her swelling her chest and holding her head high.
"You know that cookies always bring a generic message to try to look as convincing as possible, right?"
"You're depressing and a party pooper, Grand." Miki growled annoyed, turning around and going back inside his heart.
Grand could only shrug, leaving the young lady to deal with her own anger. "I'm realist-" As if it were thunder, the echo of a scream ran through all the rooms.
"DWARF, TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT THE WEIGHT OF MY FUCKING APPRENTICE?!"
Quickly, Miki re-emerged as soon as she heard the rumble, looking in all directions trying to locate the source. "Grand! There are problems! Grand? Hi, Miki calling Grand!" But Grand remained completely silent, as if he had just seen a ghost. (Rather hear)
Miki tried to keep calling him, with no result. The felinke was about to force the manual return of her body when a second sound filled the rooms, this time as if a window had been broken. Thanks to this second noise, Grand regained consciousness, jumping quickly over the railing. "Grand! What happens? Dont be silent again like that, idiot!"
Miki protested on the verge of tears, fearing both her body and her guardian."I'm so sorry dear, it's been like an echo from the past hit me right in the stomach ..."
"Emmm, I dont get it," Miki tried to say while watching Grand begin to conjure some kind of spell. "What are we doing?"
"Pay attention, dear. This is one of my most multipurpose spells!" Pulling the forces directly from the heart of the felinke, Grand jumped into the void ignoring Miki's panicked screams.
"Dark circus technique vol. 1: Elastic spider web!" As Grand rushed to the void, his claws lit up with all the pantone colors, releasing elastic threads that quickly intertwined forming a huge spiderweb capable of covering the entire hole.
"Awesome! Why do I still learn knife throwing techniques if I could have been learning something as cool as this?!" Miki asked instantly, marveling at the bright threads. (Calling him threads was really generous, they were as thick as boat ropes)
"Everything in time, dear! The dark circus conceals many mysteries to be in a hurry to learn them!" Grand laughed as he took a few small jumps, making sure of the integrity of the web. "Everything ready, Grimm! Dont make me wait too long!" Grand yelled without being able to contain his emotion, slightly disturbing his protégé.
Same place (slightly higher but not for long), Grimm Group.
"Everything ready, Grimm! Dont make me wait too long!"
As if it were a sunbeam, the cry of an old friend pierced Grimm's face, illuminating her with a genuine smile. After several minutes falling without knowing how to save the situation, Grand's voice brought the good news that the group needed. (Above all the semi-conscious giant that fell in front of them)
"Did you hear that, Erin?!" Grimm yelled trying to wake her up, doing everything he could to get closer to her. "Everything's going to come out- OH HOLY DEAR GOD!" Grimm began to scream as he realized the grand failure of Grand's plan, one that his friend could not have planned in advance.
"GRAND! HECTOR, THE DWARF ARE WITH ME, AS WELL AS MY APPRENTICE ERIN, WHO IS A GIANTESS! A HUGE ONE!"
Far below in the hole, Grand opened his eyes wide as he listened to his friend, looking at the cobweb around him. "Oh no oh no oh no-" But before he could remedy anything, the Merlinus pendant began to glow. "MIKI NO-"
The specter of Grand was forced out of the body, Miki regaining full control instantly. The felinke quickly began jumping excitedly, waving her arms from side to side with her face completely red from the excess of blood."ERIN! THAT GUY HAS SAID ERIN! HAVE YOU HEARD THAT, GRAND?! IT IS ERIN! FALLING FROM HEAVEN! I TOLD YOU-"
"MIKI! THE SPIDERWEB WAS THOUGHT ONLY FOR ANOTHER PERSON!" Grand yelled with all his strength, managing to get the giantess out of her unconsciousness.
"M ... Miki?" Erin asked still too tired, trying to understand why she had heard the voice of her best friend Miki if the felinke was supposed to be in her kingdom recovering from the corrupt skin syndrome. Unfortunately, those thoughts vanished as quickly as Erin could re-understand the current situation. "OH AMUN BLESSED, WE CONTINUE FALLING!"
"Now you realize, sleeping beauty?!" Grimm shouted as he began to see the intense bright lights of the elastic web. "Damn ... there's no time. GRAND! THE SEAL OF MERLINUS!" After a few seconds in which Grand could begin to spot Grimm and the rest of his group, his friend's message made sense. Turning toward the felinke, Grand lost the words as he watched her run in circles through the web. "What are you doing-"
"You have to save Erin! We have to save Erin! We have to save Erin! We have to save Erin!-" With a fourth repetition the specter has had enough.
"MIKI!" Grand went through it, freezing completely to stop her. "We can save your friend if you throw my pendant to the handsome black man!" Miki looked up, watching as the group fell closer and closer. Without really knowing if trusting a stranger the Grand's seal was a good idea, Erin's screams of fear were enough to make her see reason. Miki nodded to his guardian, tearing off the pendant and preparing to throw it. "Wait ..." Grand whispered in his ear, preparing for the reception. "Wait a little more…"
Time froze when Grimm's group was only 5 meters away from the web. "ERIN!" Miki yelled at her friend as she threw her pendant.
"Miki!" Erin responded with tears of emotion but above all with fear, even without understanding what the felinke was doing in a place like this.
"Grimm!" Grand shouted as Grimm caught the pendant in mid-air, placing it before it fell against the web. "Hector, dwarf! Grab the giantess!" Grand begged as the group bounced off the web, destroying the vast majority of the threads. There would not be a second bounce.
In the space of 4 seconds, three different actions occurred:
- Ehrwald managed to find a full blue vial in his bag, throwing it into the air while taking Hector's hand. "First principle of alchemy: Magic rope!" The alchemist shouted as the bottle exploded, releasing two streams of liquid.
One stuck to one side of the hole, the other to Ehrwald's free hand. After the rebound, the liquid string solidified enough to slow down the duo's fall, allowing them to sway thanks to Hector's impulse and land in the outer circle of the nearby rooms.
- After the first bounce, Erin and Miki were able to come face to face as they rose into the air. For the giantess, seeing her best friend and patner without the whitish and broken skin was almost like a dream, which would explain the bizarre moment of such a meeting. In addition, the beauty in which Miki had become a marvel to Erin, getting lost in the dark blue fur full of white wicks.
For the felinke, returning to see her best friend after 4 years in bed was a dream come true. Seeing how beautiful and big she had become was enough to cause a change in her heart, one that unfortunately was interrupted by the fear that the situation awoke in the young hearts of both princesses.
Instinctively, Erin reached out one of her arms to grab the felinke and pull against her own chest, trying to protect her from any impact. (fact that left both words speechless, more focused on surviving the coup)
- Grimm and Grand didnt need a word, knowing perfectly what to do to save everyone. With superhuman agility, Grimm put on Merlinus' seal, allowing Grand to enter his body. But unlike how the specter possessed the felinke, this time the possession was more of a "union". Finding themselves both in total control of Grimm's body, the duo began to conjure both parts of the proper spell, saving time for each other.
"Showtime!" Grimm and Grand's voices sounded completely synchronized, waiting for the moment when they would fall back onto the web.As planned, the combined weight of the four was too much for Grand's spell, the web broke just Erin fell again. The giantess managed to turn around, preparing to fall on her back in an attempt to protect the felinke.
While both girls cried and cried out in fear, Grimm/Grand didnt stop smiling for a second, sticking his limbs to his torso to gain inertia and fall before the giantess. "Dont suffer anymore, little ones!" The two shouted as they began to see the ground, ready for action. "Mysterious technique of Grimm's circus: Twinkling Globe!" Grimm/Grand spell as he reached the ground, forming in his hands a small shiny ball.
The impact was devastating, but the ball kept shining, preventing them from falling to the ground. Out of nowhere, the ball began to grow to occupy much of the top floor as if it were a trampoline.
Erin fell on the spell, bouncing like a fluffy mattress. Two rebounds later, the giantess finished braking, lying on the ball. "But what the hell...- MIKI!" Erin reacted quickly, opening her arms to let the felinke breathe. "Are you okay?! Have you hurt yourself?!"
The felinke didnt move an inch, enjoying the heat of the giantess and the almost enchanted glow of her guardian's spell. "Once again ... you always end up protecting me ..." Miki said with a smile from ear to ear, passing her index finger gently down the giantess stomach. "How can I equalize the score at this rate?"
"Match the score?" Erin asked confused, tried to join the ball without much success, the ground too bouncy for such an objective. "You dont have to-"
"Ladies, I'm sorry I cant give you more time to loiter!" Grimm/Grand said as the balloon exploded, releasing them all onto the floor of the final floor of the premises.While Erin fell on her ass (the blow so brutal that the giantess could almost sense it to the point of breaking), Grimm/Grand landed gracefully, placing her attention on the dozen of Tombstep awakened by the lights and noise. "Oh well"
"Erin! Erin, are you okay?!" Miki was screaming, scared and descending from the giantess, watching as Erin writhed on the floor while rubbing her buttocks, forming a beautiful bridge. "Grand! Erin needs-"
"It was a fall of only 2 meters, smaller than her!" Grimm/Grand answered quickly, beginning to walk towards the still blinded Tombstep. "Protect her a few seconds, Miki. We have matters to attend to..." The felinke obeyed quickly, taking out her dark blue dagger and placing herself in front of the giantess to be her shield.
"And now ... where were we going?" The Tombstep began to roar in anger at seeing their dream disturbed, launching themselves to kill the provocateur of such disturbance.
Snapping both hands, Grimm/Grand surrounded himself with magic circles. His right hand, covered with a black aura; his left hand, covered with a white aura. The wind began to swirl around him, keeping the tombstep away as they began to spin the spell. Without realizing it, the same current of wind was affecting her young companions, forcing the felinke to lower her head, squint and even cover her face with both arms. (Even Erin had to stop lamenting her bones because of all the pressure her teacher was generating)
"What kind of spell is that?" Miki asked without waiting for an answer, seeing how the different magic circles were dyed black or white.
"I dont know... but we should get away," Erin advised as she tried to stand up, her backs still too painful to allow her to run ... or rather stand up. Miki realized quickly, trying to raise the giantess hand so that it leaned on her. "Miki, no need-"
"Dont you dare say you can run! Let me be your support this time!" The felinke was completely determined, gathering all her strength to raise Erin's hand. The giantess didnt want to waste her friend's effort, letting the felinke help her crawl away from the merged master.
"They are already far away"
"Then it doesnt make sense to wait any longer, right my other half?"
Grimm/Grand began to consume the magic circles, accumulating strength for the spell. Once the tombstep noticed the wind subside, their instinct made them charge again. "Poor wretches ... you arent to blame for having been brought here by the depths ... but unfortunately, that will not make us pity." Raising an arm in each direction, Grimm/Grand took a breath.
"Mysterious Technique of Grimm's Circus: Living Flame and Mysterious Technique of Grimm's Circus: Lost Way" A double spell, one thrown by Grimm's voice and one by Grand's.
For a few seconds, Erin and Miki believed that the spell had failed because the tombstep were moving forward without caring. Nothing could be further from the truth… As the tombstep jumped over Grimm / Grand, their bodies distorted like plasticine in the hand of a small child.
Deformed, broken and lifeless, the same corpses of these remained floating in the air, bursting into crimson flames seconds later. Neither of the two princesses could look away from their respective tutor, too absorbed by the spectacle in front of them. Grimm/Grand remained motionless, arms outstretched and head raised, eyes closed ignoring the massacre in front of them.
Security. Power. Greatness. Pride ... either of the princess had thousands of words to describe the scene ... but if someone tried to ask them, not a word would come out of their mouths.
Hector and Ehrwald arrived seconds later to the top floor, approaching the girls in silence. The light of the crimson flames bathed everything that minutes before was illuminated by a bright and full of fantasy light.
"This, dear ones ..." Grimm/Grand began to speak without abandoning their position. "It's the power of Dancing Glory... the greatest and most beautiful magical discipline ever created: The mysterious techniques of Grimm's circus"
Turning around conjuring a small gust of wind to clear the ashes from their path, Grimm and Grand parted again. The ghost strived to recreate his legs only to be able to walk perfectly coordinated with Grimm, letting the shadow cast by the flames behind him cover his apprentices.
"As I told your parents, Miki... I'm not only going to cure you and give you the opportunity to live fulfilling your dreams... I'm going to make you the heir of Grand's dark techniques, making you able to subdue the night"
"As I told you, Erin, you will learn and inherit Grimm's dark techniques... Not only to become my successor, but someday this magic of ours will be used by you to subdue fate at your whim-"
A message from Grand for Miki and one from Grimm for Erin, both said at the same time without leaving behind the other.
Hector smiled to see how without having planned anything, Grimm and Grand had come to the conclusion that he needed to transmit their magic. "No matter the distance or the silence, in one way or another ... You always end up meeting halfway, pair of idiots with grandiloquence airs" The magistrate thought to himself while the flames went out, finishing consuming the last of the corpses. Darkness reigned again in the depths of the dependencies.