The Dream Shifter

Chapter 67

Fumiko's eyes had widened in surprise as she could feel the blade ripping through her stomach. The jerking pain as the blade shook from the energy discharge made her cough and gasp for air. She felt like she was falling uncontrollably through a void that was threatening to imprison her forever. It was a cold and empty, solitary, sensation that enveloped quickly around her.

'What's happening?'

Her eyes started to fade blurring what she could see before her.

'Everything's out of focus… I can't feel my…'

An icy touch surrounded her making her body lock in paralysis. She did not even have the time to think of her own mortality.

'Why can't I feel anything? It's so cold… What's wrong with me? Is the little girl safe?'

The sword redrew from her stomach trailing blood as it exited dropping her body with a hollow echoing thud. Fumiko's eyes were pale and almost empty as her eyelids started to low with her body becoming still.

"…Please…be…safe…"

Ayumi jumped back from the little girl that had just attacked her to put some distance between them. She held her hand up against her shoulder feeling the small trickle of blood through her ripped school uniform.

The initial attack Ayumi had been able to dodge barely when she noticed the change in the demeanor of the child. It had, unfortunately, not been enough for her to completely avoid the attack since it was much faster and wider than she expected.

'Another assassin so soon…I just dealt with two the other day…'

The small child swung the blade horizontally letting some of the blood wipe off of the blade to be painted across the school wall. The child was not even a meter and half tall and the blade she carried was easily more the half her size, yet she carried it as though it was nothing to her.

There was a tiny giggle that came from the girl's mouth as she returned the blade back in front of her ready to be swung again.

"Hiding out in a high school, huh?"

"What do you want? There's too many witness here for us to fight."

Ayumi stood prepared, but uncertain knowing that she was at a disadvantage without her field and powers. It took time to summon them and she did not know if she would have that time.

The girl smiled becoming amused by Ayumi's words.

"Worried about the children are we? That's not the Eudokia I remember."

She caught the narrowed look in Ayumi's eyes when she had said the last few words.

"Oh that's right. You're going to by Ayumi these days aren't you? Having fun playing Japanese school girl for that boy?"

Ayumi stared at the girl continuing to be cautious of her movements. She was safe so long as the conversation continued, but she had to make a move soon before drawing in others.

"Maybe I've changed since last we met."

"Well change or not it doesn't change what I have to do. You're a traitor to your homeland and must be killed!"

The sword echoed through the back of the school as she pointed it straight at Ayumi.

"It's you that's the traitor! Trying to stain the name of your king!"

Light burst from Ayumi as waves echoed through the ground changing everything into snow. The temperature change created a cloud around her that slowly settled with her clothes changed into her transformed state. She held out her blade towards the girl.

The girl smiled at Ayumi still amused by something in spite of her field being released.

"Hmm? Not taking this seriously?"

"You aren't being serious in the form."

"I guess not," said the girl shrugging acting like she did not have a care in the world. The girl swung the sword down from above her head launching an energy beam from the tip of the blade. The snow came up blocking the attack before it could even get close to Ayumi.

Ayumi sliced her sword through the wall of snow causing shards of snow to be shot out forming into ice moments upon being released. The girl swung her blade horizontally with the blade perpendicular to the ground with a trail of energy that left a thick line in the air that widened prior to the shards breaching. All of the ice impacted on the semi-opaque wall of energy causing small waves as they were vaporized.

When Ayumi saw that she was not making any headway with her attack she sprinted forward to close the distance with the girl with her sword held back ready to swing. The girl saw the same and followed in suit bringing her sword to bear on Ayumi.

The metal clashed together echoing through the school grounds as ice and snow kicked up from the blade and energy from the double edge long sword shot out. They struggled with the angles and stress of the swords to deflect or divert secondary attacks away from their bodies. Defenses were meaningless at this range with only agility and technique being of use.

'I've got to end this quickly, but…'

Ayumi summoned up her ice to go after the legs of the girl, but she pushed back on Ayumi knocking her off balance and then in a smooth motion cut off the advancing ice. The girl jumped back a step throwing out another energy beam from the tip of the sword.

Ayumi knelt down placing her hands in the snow to enforce the barrier that she projected up to stop the incoming beam from such a close range. Even with the strength that she provided it carved through the snow burning over her shoulder narrowly missing.

While Ayumi was still down she moved her hands through the snow up into the broken wall causing the snow to grow suddenly forming into spikes that extruded out from the wall towards the girl. It began as a single spike extended, but grew as more of the surface of the snow wall was transformed into attacking spikes.

The girl dodged and cut off the spikes, but it soon grew to exceed her capabilities and forcing her back as she was cut through her dress, but avoided a wound.

The tearing cloth flew through the air as she came to a safe landing drawing the sword through the ground erecting a light field from the energy that the ice impacted on. Ice assaults continued as she could see thin pieces of the ice making it through.

"Well if you're getting serious…"

Ayumi jumped up onto the ice that had created a bridge of cylinders to the girl leaving the ice to keep up the siege. She held her sword ready to strike as she closed in the distant seeing the opening.

"I'm not going to let you change!"

Ayumi came down on the girl as she blocked with her sword just in the moments before. Ayumi's blade sparked against the other blade, but it began to push into the steel as she focused her mind on the sword.

The little girl eye's had widened in surprise to see that she was being over powered by Ayumi. She was unable to stop the advantage that Ayumi had built forced to hold the best that she could against Ayumi. However, all of the strength that she had could not be held against the tidal forces that were being brought to bear on her.

The blade gave way as Ayumi cut completely through and continued through ripping through her dress and spraying blood from the wound. The girl retreated leaping backwards throwing the reformed blade at Ayumi forcing Ayumi to evade as it exploded in light.

Ayumi was blinded by the light as she attempted to protect herself from the explosion that knocked her away to the ground.

"….damn…"

When she collected herself after the light faded and she could see again the damage from the explosion had only been visual leaving nothing damaged, but it had bought all of the time that the little girl needed.

From where the girl had been was a colored mist that pulsed outward falling into the ground expanding to change the grass and cement into a pool of liquid like multi-colored energies that covered a vast area. The changes affected the school eliminating anything that was not ground level carving an arched cross section into the school with the pool expanding.

Ayumi could see her own field disappearing greatly from what it normally was as the snow and pool collided with her losing the mental fight. She was able to keep a little in front of her, but the sign made sweat drip down her face.

Out of the fading mist came an adult woman with blonde hair and medium blue eyes that had a surprisingly calm and gentle expression on her face. She had strains of hair from the side of her head twisted and pulled back to be tied behind her keeping her medium length hair in place.

Covering her entire body was a gray body suit that matched her figure completely. She stood taller than Ayumi and the sword that the little girl had been using looked almost small in her hand now.

"Ready, Eudokia?"

Ayumi pulled herself together narrowing her eyes and controlling her features. She raised her sword up releasing the chakram from the hilt in her off hand.

"You're using your real form now."

"Now use your real power and let's finish this."

"Ayumi!"