Chapter 35 – I don’t need fixing!

"Yuzu, stop!" I shouted as loud as I could, pounding my fists against the translucent bubble that surrounded me. My voice echoed slightly within the barrier, muffled as if the air itself swallowed my cries. No matter how hard I struck, the bubble refused to budge.

Below, the scene unfolded at an alarming pace. Yuzu, mid-fall, held two gleaming knives that had materialized in her hands. Without hesitation, she flung them forward, the blades slicing through the air toward Catherine.

Catherine reacted instantly. With a firm grip on her staff, she flicked her wrist, summoning a glowing magic circle in front of her. The knives struck the barrier, deflecting harmlessly to the side. But Catherine didn't stop there. In a swift motion, she turned her staff toward Lisa and Elise.

Before I could even process what was happening, the two sisters were lifted into the air by an invisible force. A heartbeat later, they vanished beyond the dense treetops, whisked away to safety.

Everything happened so fast that my mind struggled to keep up. My thoughts were still racing when Yuzu landed with a controlled but heavy impact, about ten meters in front of Catherine. Her knees bent slightly to absorb the fall, but she didn't waver.

All of her focus, all of her energy, was locked onto Catherine.

Yuzu landed gracefully, her cloak billowing as she crouched upon impact. Her dark eyes remained locked onto Catherine, her expression unwavering. The silver moonlight bathed the battlefield, reflecting off the twin knives now embedded in the magic barrier before vanishing into blue wisps.

Catherine exhaled, her grip on her staff tightening. The air crackled between them, the remnants of her hastily cast levitation spell lingering where Elise and Lisa had once stood. She had removed them from danger without hesitation, but now, her focus was entirely on the fox girl standing before her.

I pounded on the bubble again, frustration bubbling inside me. "Yuzu, stop this! I don't need fixing!" My voice echoed faintly inside the magical prison, but Yuzu didn't even glance my way.

Instead, she rolled her shoulders, adjusting her stance. "Mashiro is tricked by the witch," Yuzu stated firmly. "Yuzu will fix everything."

Catherine narrowed her crimson eyes. "You really think you can take me on? You're strong, but you're reckless."

"Yuzu doesn't need to be stronger," Yuzu replied, tilting her head slightly. "Yuzu just needs to be faster." And with that, she vanished.

No, not vanished—moved. In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance, her knives materializing mid-air as she lunged for Catherine's blind spot. I screamed her name, but all I could do was watch as the battle unfolded below.

I summoned my sword and swung it at the shimmering bubble that caged me in midair. My blade met the surface with dull, useless thuds, each strike bouncing off as if I were cutting through air. No matter how much force I put into my swings, the barrier refused to yield.

Below, the battle raged on. Yuzu moved like a shadow, her every motion fluid and precise. In her hands, a katana had materialized—a sleek, dark blade that matched her robes and flowing black hair. She struck at Catherine relentlessly, each attack faster than the last, her blade flashing under the moonlight.

Everything was happening too fast for me to process

"Yuzu will save Mashiro from the witch," she declared, her voice unwavering. "Just like Yuzu saved Lady Sumi from the Sealed Hunter!" With those words, she lunged, her katana aimed straight for Catherine's heart.

Hearing the word 'Sealed Hunter' Catherine flinched for a second, however she immediately twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the thrust as her staff pulsed with energy. The moment Yuzu's blade missed its mark, Catherine retaliated with a flick of her wrist, sending a burst of crimson magic crackling toward her opponent.

Yuzu leaped backward, her movements eerily fluid, the dark katana in her grip pulsing faintly as if responding to her will. "Witch is tricky," she muttered. "But Yuzu is trickier!"

With a sudden burst of speed, she kicked off the ground, vanishing from sight for a split second before reappearing behind Catherine. The fox girl swung her katana in a downward arc, her blade slicing through the air with a high-pitched whistle.

Catherine barely had time to react. She spun, raising her staff just in time to intercept the strike. Sparks of magical energy erupted from the collision, casting flickering light over their faces.

Catherine gritted her teeth as she braced against the force of Yuzu's strike. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the air, rustling the trees around them. Sparks crackled where staff and blade clashed, the lingering energy distorting the space between them.

Yuzu's dark eyes gleamed, her fox ears twitching. "Witch has strong hands," she said, tilting her head slightly, as if analyzing Catherine's strength. "But Yuzu has fast hands!"

Before Catherine could counter, Yuzu twisted her grip and shifted her stance, pressing her weight into the katana. The sudden change in force forced Catherine to slide back a few inches, her boots scraping against the dirt.

Catherine exhaled sharply, her crimson eyes narrowing. "You're not bad," she admitted, her voice low and steady. Then, with a flick of her staff, a series of glowing red runes spiraled outward, forming a barrier between them.

Yuzu grinned. "Witch plays defense? Yuzu breaks defenses!"

With a flick of her wrist, she vanished once more—only this time, instead of appearing behind Catherine, she reappeared above her. With gravity on her side, she swung her katana downward, aiming straight for the center of Catherine's barrier.

The instant Yuzu's katana touched the barrier, it shattered—not as mere glass, but as a dazzling explosion of light. Shards of ice scattered through the air, refracting the moonlight like tiny, frozen stars. The brilliance momentarily obscured my vision, and by the time the glow faded, I saw Yuzu sprawled on the ground, her footing lost to the slick ice that now covered the battlefield.

"I don't just play defense," Catherine stated coolly, her staff leveled at the fallen fox girl. Her crimson eyes gleamed under the moonlight.

Catherine took a step closer, her staff still trained on Yuzu. "Answer me," she demanded, her crimson eyes glowing. "Where did you meet the Sealed Hunter?"

Yuzu blinked up at her, then huffed. "Why does witch care?" she muttered. "Yuzu not tell witch anything. Witch bad. Witch tries to keep cute Mashiro under spell!"

Catherine sighed, rubbing her temple with her free hand. "Your obsession with 'fixing' Mashiro aside, the Sealed Hunter isn't something to be taken lightly." Her gaze sharpened. "If you've crossed paths with her, you're either incredibly lucky or incredibly foolish."

Yuzu's expression darkened, her playful demeanor slipping for a brief moment. "Yuzu not foolish," she muttered. She averted her gaze, her fingers tightening around the hilt of her katana. "Sealed Hunter… very scary. Very strong."

Catherine's grip on her staff tightened. "So you have met her."

The tension in the air grew thicker, pressing down like an invisible force as the confrontation unfolded beneath me. From my floating prison, I let out an exasperated sigh, shoving my sword back into my inventory with a flick of my wrist. My fingers curled into fists as I glared down at them.

"Hey! If you two are done fighting, maybe get me out of here?!" I yelled, my voice muffled slightly by the shimmering bubble that held me captive. My words echoed faintly within the enclosed space, making my frustration feel even more ridiculous.

Yuzu didn't respond immediately. She stood eerily still, her dark eyes locked onto Catherine with an unreadable expression. The playful air around her seemed to wane, replaced by something far more focused, far more calculating.

"Yuzu not done."

The moment those words left her lips, her entire form seemed to unravel.

Like a mirage shattering, her cloak billowed unnaturally, dissolving into a flurry of black feathers. The strands of her long hair melted away, merging into the dark wings of countless crows that burst outward, scattering into the night sky in a chaotic frenzy. Even her katana—once solid and menacing—fractured into shadowy fragments, vanishing into the swarm of birds that took flight around Catherine.

Catherine reacted instantly, gripping her staff tighter. Her crimson eyes flickered with sharp awareness as she took a firm step back, her body lowering slightly into a defensive stance. The ice-covered ground beneath her reflected the moonlight, making the fluttering shadows of the crows appear even more ominous as they circled her like vultures waiting to strike.

She narrowed her eyes, scanning the moving mass. "Tch… Illusion magic?" she muttered under her breath.

From above, I watched in stunned silence, my heart hammering against my ribs. Yuzu was fast. Too fast. One moment, she had been standing there—her usual quirky self—and the next, she had completely disappeared into the night, leaving only the haunting flutter of wings behind.

The crows swirled around Catherine in a violent vortex, their wings beating the air with an almost deafening sound. For a split second, the world seemed to hold its breath. And then, in an explosion of feathers, the crows vanished—only to be replaced by dozens of identical figures.

Each one was Yuzu.

They were scattered around Catherine in a perfect ring, their cloaks billowing, their dark eyes gleaming with mischief and danger. Their movements synchronized, eerily fluid, as if they shared a single mind.

"Take this! Yuzu crows thing attack!"