Outside of the city was a grand manoir constructed of black wood and stone. Around was a luxurious and verdant garden being tended to by many maids and servants. The manor was surrounded by a fence of black metal that emitted an unsettling glow that seemed to repulse uninvited life forms away.
In front of said fence, a crater formed as a tall figure can be seen walking out of it with another on her shoulder. The attendants collectively looked as the figure stood before the fence, they couldn't tell who it was due to the cloud of dust that had risen thanks to the brutal impact.
"Hello hello, I'm bringing the young... Mistress back. uuuuuughhhhh." Anyma said, cringing at the mention of mistress. The attendants glanced at each other, skeptical but that was quickly dispelled when...
"RELEASE ME AT ONCE, YOU BRUTE!" Rosella yelled, kicking her feet.
"Geez, calm down! I'm not gonna feed you to a pack of dogs!" Anyma said, letting the young woman off her shoulder. "Now, can we get in?"
"We? Bodyguards stay out. I don't need your stench polluting the air!" Rosella remarked as she pushed the gate open and walked in. Anyma couldn't help but sigh at her attitude, she technically didn't bet help to enter but she at least tried to be polite, meanwhile the attendants looked at the scene unfold silently, unsure whether or not to intervene.
"Mind your manners, young lady." A woman dressed in a whitish gold gown stepped out of the manner, she had a large hat on her head, obscuring her face but not her piercing red eyes. An attendant behind pulled a set of luggage while all the others bowed.
"Mother?" Rosella called to the older woman, approaching calmly. "May I ask why you assigned me a bodyguard?"
"I will be away for some time, I cannot just let my dear daughter alone." The woman said simply, she snapped her fingers and the gate opened. "Think of it as a helping hand of sorts."
"Mother, you know I have never doubted your judgement to this day but are you certain of... This one's capabilities?"
Anyma walked to the mother and daughter, adjusting her glasses with one hand with the other one in her pocket. She remained silent while the two were discussing, once again trying to be polite but the daughter got a bit on her nerves. "If you are so doubtful of my skills, then how about you come look tonight? That should be enough to dispell them."
Rosella's amethyst colored eyes darkened, she looked over her shoulder in annoyance. "I don't remember asking for your opinion, bodyguard."
"Don't care." Anyma spat back, crossing her arms.
"It seems like the two of you have a great relationship already." The mother commented with a chuckle. At the same time, a car parked in front of the manor. "I will be off now. I trust that you will defend our home during my absence, little rose."
"Of course I will, I'll even prove you that this," She pointed at Anyma. "Was an unnecessary expense."
"... This?" Anyma repeated quietly, her left arm flashing magenta for a second.
The mother shook her head as she walked past the two. The attendant behind her pushed her luggage until they arrived at the car, where she opened the door for her mistress and stored everything in the trunk.
...
Several hours passed, it was night time. A silver purplish moon took the sun's place in the sky. Inside the manor, Rosella and Anyma sat at a long dinner table, the young mistress had her gaze fixed on her bodyguard as if waiting for something.
Anyma stared back, her head cradled in palm as her finger tapped rythmically on the wooden table. She broke the silence with a yawn, "I know what I said earlier about waiting till tonight but what's the point of sitting here all this time?"
"Is the bodyguard tired of doing her duty? In that case, I can retire you." Rosella replied with a smile. All this time spent sitting at the table was to see how long this bodyguard appointed by her mother would last. If she did anything she considered unlikable, she could fire her. At least that was how she constructed things in her mind.
Anyma sighed while shaking her head. "You don't get it, do you? I have a contract with that raven you call mother. Your words has no weight over that, you can try as hard as you can but I'm not going anywhere till she specifically dismisses me."
"Raven?" Rosella repeated in confusion. "How do you know that?"
"The same she recruited me, we fought. Unpleasant experience overall." Anyma recounted while shivering slightly. "In any case, you're wasting your time. You have classes tomorrow, so go sleep."
"I am no child." Rosella said calmly, though her eyes said a different story.
"And you shouldn't be up till midnight if you aren't doing anything productive." Anyma said back, pulling out her phone out of her pocket. She swiped through notifications until something popped on the screen. "Geez, took your sweet time, dick eater..." She whispered while grinning. "You want to see how capable I am, right? Then let's get to it."
Rosella grinned as well, she heard the whisper despite Anyma's attempt to be quiet and from today's earlier interaction, she had an idea who her bodyguard was referring to. "Show me you can be useful."
Anyma pressed on the icon and the two of them suddenly vanished from their seats...
...
An orange-haired woman stood on a rooftop. She was dressed in a white tight full bodysuit with black stripes on side, around her waist was a belt of silver shells. She had her arms crossed while she gazed at the moon, "Took your sweet time, trash bag."
"I took my time? Well excuse me if your fatass was too busy jumping on some dicks to send the Declaration earlier." Anyma spat, strecthing her arms as her joints audibly cracked. She then directed her eyes to her phone, "Lotsa spectators... Didn't know you were into public humiliation."
"Can you shut it for a second?" Nora uncrossed her arms, revealing her phone. Her fingers slid across the screen. "Let's make things interesting. If you lose, commit seppuku."
Anyma looked at her screen, Nora had sent a bet proposal. "Alright, but if I win... I want you."
"Like that's gonna happen, you better say your goodbye right now." The orange-haired woman grinned menacingly, drawing a war hammer out of thin air as pink sparks lit up around her.
"Oh it will happen!" Anyma exclaimed, gauntlets materializing on her hands as she assumed her fighting stance, magenta left arm down swinging in a pendulum motion with the right fist near her face as she bounced on her feet. The two women glared at each other as a countdown of five seconds appeared between them.
The moment it reached zero, Nora initiated the attack, rushing with an overhead swing prepared as she smashed the floor. Anyma stepped out of the way with a side step and countered with a singular left jab to the orange-haired woman's face. Nora rotated sideways, her hammer slicing the air as Anyma dodged by ducking but she didn't retaliate yet as Nora spun in place, swinging her war hammer in a deadly arc.
Anyma rolled out of the way, sweeping Nora's feet while maintaining her distance. The orange-haired woman hit the floor but bounced back up as her hair shot up. She stomped, shattering the floor even more and she used the debris, charging them with her signature electricity as she slapped them forward with the butt of her weapon.
Anyma jabbed in response but instead of punching, she opened her hand, catching the debris one by one until Nora stopped. Magenta steam concentrated in her left arm as she abandoned her current stance, cocking her arm while rotating her torso. Nora opened her arms wide, welcoming the debris gladly. The pink electricity intensified for a moment before just vanishing out of existence. The belt around her waist lit up faintly as the orange-haired woman rushed in.
Anyma narrowed her eyes, she wasn't worried. She knew how Nora's Blessing worked and she also had a way to counter it but it wasn't the moment for that yet. Reassuming her boxer stance, she also went in. The two were face to face, Nora acted first, jabbing the butt of the hammer but Anyma mover her head out of the way with minimal movement before retaliating with a kick to the shin followed by a right to the stomach.
Nora groaned but gritted her teeth, she swiped her arm but missed Anyma completely as this one came back with a right hook but she was blown away by blow to the head. Nora grinned with satisfaction, "You've improved, I'll give you that but don't think you'll win with just your hands!" She took a shell out of her belt and slotted it in the hammer's shaft.
Anyma's ears rung as she touched the side of her head, that blow managed to make her bleed as well as knocking her glasses off. She sighed and modified her stance. She had both raised around her face with the left slightly forward. Steam released from her left arm as she stomped her right foot. "I'll suppose I'll take you a tad bit more seriously now."
Nora took a step forward, readying her hammer but Anyma was faster. The moment the orange-haired woman closed her eyes, Anyma's muscles bursted with power as she vanished from her spot, her left fist charged with magenta steam. When Nora's eyelids opened, her heart almost jumped out of her enormous chest, she didn't understand how a fist appeared out of nowhere.
She couldn't dodge out of the way, it was already a few millimeters away from her face but dodging attacks wasn't how she fought after all. The fist connected with her face, her nose caved inward as her body flew back like a ragdoll. Pink electricity shot out of her body which surprised the orange-haired woman. "Max charge in one hit!?" Like before the electricity went into her belt but this was the least of her worries at the moment.
Anyma punched Nora off the rooftop they were fighting on, but she had no intention of letting the orange-haired woman recover. Placing her hands on the floor, the black-haired woman assumed a running stance. Then she ran and jumped forward, leaving pure destruction in her wake.
Nora had her eyes fixed on the silver purplish moon when Anyma's figure came into view, she flipped forward, altering her momentum as she thrust her legs down. The orange-haired woman brought the war hammer's shaft forward just as Anyma dropkicked her into another rooftop. Nora's back grinded against the floor before they fell down to the lower floor.
Pink electricity rushed into her belt once more as she jumped to her feet. She looked around, determined not to let Anyma get the jump but with the moon being her only light source in such a dark place, it was easier said than done. She slotted shells after shells in the hammer when Anyma finally exited the darkness with a punch to the guts, leaving the orange-haired woman on her knees for a moment.
Nora swung her hammer at Anyma's legs, trying to cripple her mobility but the black-haired woman hopped over it while kicking the orange-haired woman in the face. Nora shattered the floor with her fist, retracting the war hammer until the head remained. She had put every shell she had into it and her body was overflowing with her signature pink electricity. She had a plan to reverse the situation and she needed a single hit but she also had to be precise.
Anyma landed and glared at Nora, "I'm guessing your preparations are done now? You've surprised me with that blow earlier... I hope you'll have as much energy when I'll rearrange your guts." She declared while licking her lips.
"You won't be doing anything once I'm done with you."
"Whatever you say, PinkyPie. Let's get this over with already."
Nora planted her feet, holding the hammer's head with both hands while Anyma had her same stance, it was time for her to use that something she kept. The orange-haired woman rushed forward, her figure shining with pink electricity, illuminating the night. The black-haired woman also rushed, extending her right arm as the skin turned obsidian black, her scars and veins took a dark red hue.
The hammerhead struck down like lightning, shaving off the top of the building alongside the neighbouring one with tremendous strength. The black hand held it in place, stopping from going down on Anyma's head but the impact made her bones creak as patches of her skin were burnt off. The clash of the two resulted in a blinding flash that dimmed soon after.
Nora panted, her legs were shaky. That single attack took every ounce of strength she had. She opened her eyes, "How's that... You trash bag!?"
"Stronger than I expected."
Nora's heart sank as she fell to her knees, Anyma stood over her, looking at her burnt arm. "It hurt a little but I'll live, oh and thank you. I not only won you for myself but I also got a nice bonus." The black-haired woman smiled as red electricity ran across her arm.
Text appeared above the two, declaring Anyma the winner.
"Oh, and prepare yourself. I'll be there in a little bit~"