"Why don't you want to tell her the truth?" Audrey asked.
Huh? Tell her...? Hmm, no... damn it! She can't fight efficiently, yet she always tries to intervene and insert herself into my battles...
She will only be an obstacle in my way and...!
I turned to Audrey to finish what I was about to say... Wow!
Without uttering a word for a moment... I was astonished at how she had changed...
You look different from before; what happened?
"Are you talking about my hair?"
No... no... it's in the eyes!
...
...
Eva didn't take kindly to being dismissed—or let's say, exiled—by Brando for a while...
To alleviate her feelings, she recounted the story to someone at the café...!
"You're quite right in what you're saying, young lady, but... you know it's hard to blame your friend for everything, isn't it?"
"Hey! If you please, waiter, another plate of sweets."
"What! Another one? You've already eaten five plates of sweets! It would be better not to ask for more, girl!"
"Ah! Sorry, sorry, no need for those looks; it was rude of me. You don't need someone to guide you on what's best for you... As I told you about the nature of men, they aren't convinced by the existence of just one woman... Some people have told me that..."
With a mischievous glance toward her, he continued, "Don't be sad, that man remains something else for you... But to engage in sex with a whore in the alleys before the sun has fully risen... he's definitely a disturbed person who would hurt the feelings of a young lady like you..."
Eva stopped devouring the sweets, an internal voice saying, "This is what bothers me all the time...! A whore with a figure like that, what is she doing out on such an early morning?!"
Without warning, Eva suddenly stood up.
"What's wrong with you, young lady? Probably a stomach ache from the large amount you've eaten!"
"No! My instincts are telling me something; at least I need to go and verify it... before I decide to hate him forever."
In a hurry, she said, "Excuse me, I've left the money on the table, alright?"
The strange man placed his hand on her shoulder. "No, no! You don't have to do that; I'll pay for you. It's really nice spending time with you. You should lie down a bit after eating all those sweets! How about my room?"
At the corner of the table, she prepared to leave. "That's very kind of you, sir... but..."
"What's wrong?!"
Without a response from Eva, her eyes widened as beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She felt a wave of nausea after consuming so many sweets. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to keep it closed, her expression tense, indicating she was on the verge of vomiting.
Meanwhile, the strange man stood beside her, his eyes bulging in a frightening manner, his mouth open in a silent scream or a look of panic, reflecting his intense fear for her condition...
__________________________________________________________________
After her defeat yesterday, the girl with the Trident of Shadows emerged as a dominant force in the second fight against me, standing confidently in the empty alley, her body taut with a slight forward lean, reflecting her focus and readiness. Gripping the Trident of Shadows in her right hand...
I see in her eyes an unprecedented determination, her eyebrows lowered, while her tightly drawn mouth displays a silent challenge. Her short black hair flutters with her swift movements, creating an aura of shadows around her, enhancing her intimidation.
A few meters away from me, I saw the perfect opportunity to repair the kusarigama chain, which would take only a few seconds; my hands trembled as I pulled the chain...
In a swift motion, she shot toward me like the wind with a lightning kick, her right foot rising in a magical arc that sliced through the air, striking my jaw with deadly precision. The sound of the kick resembled the faint rumble of thunder...
It sent my body flying backward like leaves in a storm, and I felt myself sway in the air before crashing to the ground violently, dust rising around the spot where I fell.
I gathered my strength from my last fall, rising like a broken shadow moving solely by will. I launched a frantic strike, the kusarigama swaying like a twisting snake in my hand, the blade glimmering with a faint light while the chain emitted a sharp metallic sound. I extended my arm from back to front with all my might, aiming the kama (sickle) at her.
But the girl with the Trident of Shadows, Audrey, flowed with magical grace over my head, evading my attack.
Her trident spun like a whirlwind of shadows, her right hand deftly manipulating the upper end with astonishing speed, while her left hand adjusted its path, making her appear as a shape-shifting shadow. In a fleeting moment, she lunged at the blade of my kusarigama with a precise strike that propelled me violently into a cluster of wooden supports used in building houses.
The stacked supports shattered upon impact, their splinters flying like wooden leaves caught in a mysterious wind, while dust fell like a light curtain, obscuring my vision.
Laid on the ground amidst the debris of wooden supports, my arms stretched out to the sides, with a terrible pain in my head...
Damn it, that was her best chance to finish me off, but she... didn't! Are you playing with me?!
Damn, where did she get this strength? It's completely different from the previous fight!
I slowly regained my senses, my body trembling as I slipped out from among the wooden wreckage, extending my arms to push aside the debris amidst the rising dust...
I stood up on my feet again... but there was no one around, Audrey didn't appear before me... Is she planning something!!!
I searched for her among the narrow alleys and abandoned shops...
I leaned against one of the wooden walls, catching my breath... Suddenly, a surprise emerged from the shadows; Audrey was behind the same cracked wooden wall, appearing like a deceptive ghost.
In a fleeting moment, she lunged from behind the wall with a sudden attack, her trident piercing the wood with incredible force, its blade embedding deep into my body...! The sound echoed like the distant rumble of thunder, and blood flowed like a small river down the wooden wall...
Audrey advanced toward me, gripping the trident by the middle with her right hand, spinning it with astonishing speed like a fan ignited by shadows. Her left hand was raised to balance the movement, while the trident emitted a sharp sound like a fierce wind, its three shadows intertwining and swaying like vengeful spirits.
I could see her eyes shining like small volcanoes, her eyebrows lowered in sharp focus, and her tightly drawn mouth released a mysterious smile reflecting her complete control.
I grasped the spiked iron ball in my hand, where the chain and the sickle's blade extended with incredible speed to wrap around the girl's trident, immobilizing its movement in a solid metallic grip. The blade glimmered with a faint light, and my arms stretched with force to pull the iron ball, its sharp spikes piercing the palms of my hands...!
After successfully immobilizing her trident, I pulled her toward me, delivering a powerful kick with my right foot aimed at her stomach...
Audrey crashed to the ground, her body rolling over the cracked earth in a clumsy motion, her three-part trident lying beside her.