Never Touch Her

"So... are we going to kill her?" I asked, glancing between Ayami and Yuki-Onna.

Ayami raised an eyebrow, staring at the ceiling in thought. "But first, I have a question for you, Yuki-Onna."

"...Go ahead."

"Where exactly is Enkidu hiding?"

Silence filled the room for a moment before Yuki-Onna let out a soft, unsettling giggle. "He's untraceable. He hides so no one can find him... or kill him. That's why we gods are still searching for him."

Ayami's expression hardened. "Alright, we've heard enough. Hikaru-kun, finish her."

I raised the Glock I had been gripping tightly, the adrenaline still coursing through me, making my heartbeat pound in my chest. My finger tightened on the trigger.

But then—

Thud!

"Never touch my lady, you bastard!"

A powerful force slammed into me, throwing me across the room.

"Keugh! Aghhh!" I cried out, pain surging through me as my body crashed into the cold stone wall. My limbs ached, and I struggled to move.

"Hikaru!" Ayami's voice snapped through the haze.

I forced my eyes open, and what I saw made my blood run cold.

Haruto.

The man I had shot in the head.

He was standing there.

The ice coating his body was melting, dripping onto the floor, but he was alive.

I thought he was dead.

But he wasn't.

Not yet.

"Raaaaaah!" Haruto roared, his voice echoing through the temple like a beast unleashed.

In an instant, the entire interior of the main temple began to transform.

The walls groaned as thick layers of ice rapidly spread, swallowing every inch of stone. Frost crept like wildfire, coating the floor and ceiling. Razor-sharp icicles formed and hung dangerously from above, while jagged spikes erupted from the ground, twisting the temple into a frozen fortress.

The air grew heavier, colder—each breath seared in their lungs like knives.

Ayami narrowed her golden eyes, her breath visible in the frigid air. "Tch… he's still got this much power left?"

Haruto's figure loomed amidst the storm of frost, his icy form glinting menacingly in the dim, frozen light.

"Haruto..." Yuki-Onna murmured, her voice barely audible.

I pushed myself up from the cold stone floor, clutching my aching side. Gritting my teeth, I raised my Glock and fired at him.

Bang! Bang!

But Haruto effortlessly dodged the bullets, twisting his body with unnatural speed.

"Did you really think that gun would kill me?!" he roared, ice forming beneath his feet.

In a flash, Haruto glided across the frozen floor, skating on paths of ice conjured by his own magic, moving like a predator ready to strike.

Haruto's eyes locked onto me, his expression twisted with rage. Without warning, he lunged forward, ice shattering beneath his feet as he propelled himself toward me with terrifying speed.

Before I could react, his fist—encased in solid ice—slammed into my gut.

CRACK!

"GAH!" I gasped, the air violently ripped from my lungs as I was lifted off the ground and hurled backward. My body crashed into the stone wall with a sickening thud, the impact sending shards of ice and stone flying. Pain exploded through my ribs, and the Glock slipped from my grasp, skittering across the frozen floor.

Haruto advanced, his footsteps cracking the ice beneath him with every heavy step. "Weak. Just like the rest of them," he sneered, raising his fist to finish me off.

But a sudden blur of golden fur shot across the room.

WHOOSH!

Ayami, now a sleek cheetah, lunged at Haruto with blinding speed. Her claws glinted as she swiped at him, forcing him to leap back to avoid being shredded.

"Tch!" Haruto growled, sliding across the ice to regain his balance.

Ayami didn't give him a chance to recover. Her cheetah form darted around him, a blur of motion too fast for his eyes to follow. She circled him, kicking up frost and snow, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"You picked the wrong fight, Haruto!" Ayami snarled mid-sprint, her voice cutting through the cold.

Haruto slammed his palms onto the ground, sending jagged ice spikes shooting upward in every direction.

But Ayami was faster.

She twisted and leapt over the spikes with feline grace, closing the gap between them in an instant. Her claws slashed toward his face.

Haruto barely managed to block, ice forming a shield over his arm. CRACK! The force of Ayami's strike shattered the ice, sending shards flying.

"Stay still!" Haruto roared, lashing out with a fist aimed at her.

But Ayami was already gone, sliding behind him in a flash. She swiped at his legs, forcing him to stumble.

Meanwhile, I groaned, struggling to push myself up. Blood dripped from my lip, but I grit my teeth. I had to get back in the fight.

Ayami couldn't hold him off alone.

I should kill her first! I thought, my grip tightening on the Glock as I aimed it at Yuki-Onna.

Her eyes widened in shock, the realization of what I was about to do flashing across her face. But a voice in the back of my mind echoed—She's immortal, right? It's fine... she won't die.

Bang!

The gunshot cracked through the frozen air, the bullet tearing forward in slow motion.

But before it could reach her, Haruto's eyes snapped toward me.

"No!" he roared.

With a burst of speed, he shoved Ayami aside and sprinted toward Yuki-Onna.

"My lady!" he bellowed, launching himself in front of her.

THUD!

The bullet struck him square in the chest. His body jerked mid-air before crashing to the ice-covered floor with a dull, heavy sound.

"Haruto!" Yuki-Onna screamed, dropping to her knees and cradling his body.

Blood stained the ice beneath him, spreading like dark veins. His breath was shallow, ragged, frost clinging to his lips.

Yet, even as pain overtook him, his hand weakly reached for her. "I… won't let them… hurt you…" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Yuki-Onna's hands trembled as she held him close, ice creeping from her fingertips, trying desperately to seal the wound. But it was useless.

Her once distant, composed gaze shattered, replaced by raw, vulnerable grief.

"Hikaru, shoot!" Ayami roared, her cheetah form snarling as she lunged toward Haruto.

Without hesitation, I raised the Glock, adrenaline surging through me.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots rang out, each bullet cutting through the icy air straight toward Yuki-Onna.

Clack!

The empty click of the gun echoed—out of bullets.

Yuki-Onna's eyes widened in shock as the bullets closed in.

But before they could strike, Haruto's weakened body moved.

With a final, desperate breath, he dragged himself in front of her again.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Each bullet sank into him.

"Haruto!" Yuki-Onna screamed, her voice breaking.

He collapsed, blood spilling onto the ice, his body shielding her one last time.

His trembling hand reached for her, barely holding on.

"I... won't... let them..." he gasped, his voice fading.

Yuki-Onna clutched him tightly, her hands shaking.

The temple fell into a suffocating silence, broken only by the sound of my gun clicking empty in my grasp.

Ugh... so this is what it feels like to kill someone... I thought, staring at my trembling hands, the Glock still warm in my grip. The weight of it all pressed down on me, heavier than I expected.

But before I could process it further, a blur of motion cut through the frozen air.

To Be Continue.