“So this is a Sword Wielder’s domain? It really outclasses a magic domain. Good—now it’s fun.”
All at once, a green sphere zipped in like a firefly, hit the ground, and burst, breathing out moss-colored smoke. The smoke crawled like swamp miasma, and it did something savage. The already creepy rabbits swelled with frenzy, claws like sickles and teeth like icicles, and they came snapping at me—a whole tide of them.
Ugh! My chest felt tight like a drumhead. Even inside my Sword Domain I could just barely go all out. My spirit wouldn’t bounce back, and my head bobbed like a boat in fog. No good. Finish it fast.
I shook my head, chasing the haze like shooing crows. I gathered Sword Aura, dropped into a draw-cut, and flung out a crescent of light. Then I raised the Shattered Light Sword again. I drank in the Domain’s Sword Aura and energy, and hurled slash after slash like breaking waves.
Boom. Boom. Boom…
The blasts rolled like thunder under the earth, and the ground shivered like a skittish horse. The rabbit swarm thinned at a speed you could see, petals blown from a tree in a gale. Packed this tight, they couldn’t dodge a sweeping storm, no matter how fast a single one was.
One-on-one, they’re troublesome. Bunched up, they’re nothing. Group attacks hit harder than singles, but the chain that binds them is heavy.
When the last Sword Aura detonated, only a few rabbits lay there, ragged as torn banners, too hurt to fight.
“Haa… haa…”
My body wobbled like a reed in wind. I jammed the Shattered Light Sword into the ground like a cane, or I’d fold. No good… my stomach’s a hollow drum, my skull a beehive.
I’d only eaten fruit today, and I’d walked all day under a sun like a kiln. I meant to rest, but enemies found me first, and my fuel burned to ash. Why couldn’t you show up at noon like crows at harvest? You had to wait till I was spent.
They didn’t plan to stop. Of course not. I still hadn’t seen the hand behind the curtain. The reins stayed in their grip. They hid in shadow; I stood in light. The omen felt bad as winter wind. Keep this up, and I’d drop soon.
“Damn you! How dare you kill so many of Ruyu’s cute bunnies! Ruyu is angry!”
From somewhere, a powerful magic pulse rolled out like distant surf.
“Try again.”
Last chance. If it failed, I’d faceplant. No question. I let my eyes close, as if lowering a paper screen, and gathered the last ember of focus. I drove my Sword Intent to full flame and listened for the enemy, thread by thread.
One second slid by, as slow as dew. Found you. Unlike last time, I could feel their presence and magic ripple, clear as a winter spring.
I raised the Shattered Light Sword high, aimed at that breath of power, and dragged every ounce of energy from the Sword Domain like drawing a net.
“Destruction Invisible Sword!”
A gigantic blade bloomed above me, so huge its shape blurred like a mountain in rain, packed with a power that could erase all things. I didn’t hesitate. I seized the Invisible Sword and hewed down.
“What?!”
BOOM!
“…Pff!”
The land before me split like a cracked shell, a chasm yawning bottomless and running on without end, a midnight stroke across the earth.
“That should’ve done it… right?”
I propped up my shaking frame, unease pricking like thorns. If they dodged again, I… could only surrender and beg. I didn’t even have the legs to run.
“Cough, cough… You really dared to swing! Ruyu almost died!”
Gone was that lazy lilt; the voice carried hot anger and leftover fear, like steam from quenched steel. Still not enough? Despair chilled my gut.
“Pretty sure you struck first.”
I gave a crooked smile and slumped to the ground, hauling in air like a bellows. My state was awful—limbs like wet rope, skull pounding like a drum. I’d pushed too hard.
My Sword Domain unraveled the instant the Invisible Sword fell. I just couldn’t bear it. A Sword Domain drinks power like sand drinks rain. I can’t keep it long on a good day, let alone now.
“Hmph! You’re a challenger of the Nine Cold Labyrinth. Of course Ruyu attacks you!”
“Yeah, but—”
I didn’t finish. A great hammer of raw elements bloomed in the air, and it came down like a falling star.
“Die, you jerk!”
“—Urgh!”
The hammer hit dead on. Pain roared through me like bones turning to gravel. My vision went dark, and I sank into night.
…
“Karma got you, huh? You dared to make Ruyu this bedraggled!”
Not long after Yumigawa Sumeragi blacked out, a bunny-eared beauty in a mascot suit hurried over, storm clouds on her face.
She crouched beside him and poked his soft cheek with pale fingers, like testing mochi.
“Eh?!”
Her scowl melted away in a blink, replaced by a look like sunlight through peach blossoms—utterly healed.
“Whoa! What is this? The feel is amazing! And—so cute! This beautiful blond hair is a work of art! Ruyu can’t hold back! Take him home! Make him Ruyu’s toy!”
She scooped Yumigawa Sumeragi up, wrapped both of them in a shimmer of transfer magic, and whisked them to her home.
…
The next day (in the Enchanted Forest, dawn flips on at midnight), the sun hung high like a bright coin, sweeping away the night’s hush. The birds that scattered yesterday drifted back, and started a new day’s concerto.
In a room soaked in girlish charm, I eased my eyes open, body still hollowed out like a gourd.
“Where is this?”
I scanned the room, and the question rose like mist. This was clearly not the Enchanted Forest. It was indoors—and the vibe felt… kind of tricky to describe. More girly than Serenemoon’s room by a mile.
The floor and wallpaper came in two colors: pink and white, soft as dawn clouds. Three patterns danced everywhere: hearts, moons, and stars, like a child’s sky. Plushies and dolls piled up like a cuddly snowdrift. On a lavish bed lay heaps of cute clothes—kigurumi pajamas and mascot suits stitched like dream sweets. Everything was spotless, air sugared and light, which made me, a boy, flush with awkward heat.
“Oh, you’re finally awake. Don’t move. Ruyu will put you in something cute~”
A lovely, girlish voice flowed into my ears, with a strange hollow ring, like a bell in a roomy hall. Hm. I’d heard that voice last night… huh?!
