[The Daniels Estate, Havok, Piasu, Ryomania, 11:50 AM, May 7th, Tuesday 2025]
Erika Daniels ran wildly through the mansion, looking for Carrion Murata, who was waiting for her in hiding.
She had used the Fourth Step in The Ten Steps, Shemat, turning her corporeal form into an ethereal one.
Erika Daniels had mastered it completely, allowing her to only pass through the friction of the world while maintaining her body with Flow at a constant base level, giving her an impressive amount of speed.
Erika Daniels: "Don't you dare touch her! You bastard!"
Erika practically began sliding on the walls as she dove headfirst over the railing of the second floor into the foyer, and ran into the kitchen.
Both Amelia and Carrion were nowhere in sight.
Erika Daniels: "Fuck, how did I let this happen? First Step: Apex!"
Erika's eyes instantly lit ablaze in red, matching her current aura as she began to perceive the traces of Flow left behind by Carrion Murata.
Her vision started blurry immediately, a large amount of Flow was left behind in the kitchen, covering up the whole room like a thick fog through which not even Erika could see.
Her knees buckled and she began coughing up blood, she quickly deactivated Apex.
Erika Daniels: "Hah… ack… What the hell was that? Just how strong is this guy?! CATHY! GET OVER HERE!"
[The Backyard, 11:55 AM]
Cathy heard Erika's shout all the way from inside the mansion, she quickly flipped over inside the air bubble she made in the ground.
Cathy Ariston: "Alright, Cathy, focus…"
She was still suffering severely from exhaustion and injury after her fight with Teen Spirit, she had to learn how to heal herself or she'd just be a burden.
Her eyes shut, she focused on the way her body felt at the moment, the blood rushed in her veins alongside a second liquid stream. It was her Flow.
She focused on the feeling, the aura around her body flared up.
Cathy Ariston: "Third Step: Ruach."
She muttered, purple glowing particles began flying out of her skin as her body used the Flow within her to rapidly heal itself.
Her eyes flew open at the strange tingling sensation.
Cathy Ariston: "Holy shit… I didn't think this would work… Okay, okay! I've gotta get out of here."
She punched upwards, making a large hole into the dirt clump and bursting free.
Cathy then flew towards the mansion, going through the broken kitchen wall and stopping in front of Erika.
Erika breathed heavily, her hands on her knees as she was hunched over. Looking up at Cathy with a scowl on her face.
Erika Daniels: "Done hiding, coward? Help me look for Amelia! Now."
Her gaze dropped lower, to Cathy's skin, noticing Ruach being active on her body.
Erika Daniels: "Nice, you learned to heal… Want a consolation medal?"
Cathy Ariston: "The hell is that supposed to mean? Are you threatening me?!"
Cathy hovered closer, crossing her arms over her chest, trying to make herself look more imposing.
Erika straightened up, stretching and groaning.
Erika Daniels: "Look, there's no time for… arguing, or whatever you're trying to do. That bastard, Carrion, took Amelia. Help me look for her, now. You check the upstairs, I'll check the downstairs."
Cathy rolled her eyes and moved past Erika.
Cathy Ariston: "Fine, but after this, you better make one killer stake, or we'll have a fuckin' problem, got that?"
She dashed out into the foyer and up the stairs, leaving Erika with her thoughts.
Erika quickly got out of the kitchen, following the traces of Flow that Carrion had left behind.
She went down the left-side hallway, running past the destroyed vases and tables from the earlier uses of her ability.
"I'd use it again, but I can't risk Amelia being attacked. I'd have to find this guy and beat him the old fashioned way." She thought to herself as she continued running down the hall.
Suddenly she stopped, despite Apex not being active, due to her high mastery of Flow she could tell where a high amount of it was located.
A thin layer of Flow was felt from the maid's quarters. She stepped up to the door and kicked it down.
Carrion Murata: "Well, congrats… You found me first, that means that the maid can live."
Carrion wasted no time and dashed forwards, katana already drawn.
Erika had enough control over her neurons due to the accelerated amount of Flow within her body, she had reacted in 1/100th of a second, activating Apex and taking a deep breath in before delivering a kick upwards into Carrion's stomach.
Erika Daniels: "Apex: Pop Cracker…"
Carrion flew upwards through the mansion, both through the second, third floors and the roof, landing right on top of it.
Erika wasted no time, feeling a large influx of Flow circulating in her body from landing an Apex Strike, she activated Shemat and jumped straight up onto the roof through the large hole above.
Erika Daniels: "You really thought It'd be that easy?"
Carrion was lying on his back, looking up at the sky, smiling despite bleeding from his lip, the lower half of his shirt was completely torn and his stomach looked bruised from the kick.
Carrion Murata: "What, did you?"
Carrion flipped up with both of his hands as if nothing had happened, once again lashing out with his katana.
Before he could strike Erika's right arm and chop it off, Erika turned it into wood imbued with Flow.
Carrion Murata: "Ah, right, I had almost forgotten, you're the wood girl. Tsk."
He quickly grabbed his gun and aimed right between her eyes but Erika was faster, headbutting the gun, causing the stock to hit him in the head, knocking him back.
Erika Daniels: "Oh screw you, you big bastard!"
[The Second Floor, 12:00 PM]
Cathy Ariston: "Come on… AMELIA! Where the hell are you?!"
Cathy flew around the second floor of the mansion, looking for the head maid.
The upstairs floor, like the rest of the mansion, was pretty wrecked from their previous altercations.
Amelia Orwell: "Mistress Cathy…? I'm over here!"
Amelia was hiding in the guest room where I had once stayed, she peeked her head out of the doorway.
Cathy quickly flew over, but as she tried crossing through the door an invisible barrier stopped her and she got knocked backwards, hovering in the air.
Cathy Ariston: "OW! What the— Amelia? What is this? Are you stuck in there?!"
Amelia Orwell: "Y-yes, I even tried using Tinker Bell but it won't work, this barrier, it's… I can't see it, but I can't cross over, only objects can!"
Cathy Ariston: "What? Why?! That's so stupid…"
Cathy glanced around the hall, flicking her wrist, pulling a few large chunks of debris and destroyed furniture to her.
Cathy Ariston: "Move out of the way, I'm going to try something."
Amelia quickly hurried under the bed in the corner, hugging Tinker Bell close to her chest.
Cathy cracked her knuckles and flicked a small pebble through the doorway, it went through the other side.
She then tried pulling it back to her and it went out of the doorway, stopping in front of her face.
Cathy Ariston: "Well, here goes nothing…"
She punched forwards, sending all of the debris flying towards the doorway. The large rocks and pieces of wood caused a part of the wall to break down under the combined weight of gravity and mass.
Cathy Ariston: "Okay, there's a small gap in the wall now, try crawling through it."
Amelia Orwell: "O-okay!"
Amelia quickly crawled out from under the bed and tried to squeeze through the hole in the wall, it didn't work and the barrier pushed her back.
Amelia Orwell: "Ouch, that sort of burns… No, I don't think this will work. I think that the barrier is covering the entire room so breaking down the walls won't work."
Cathy scoffed and let the other pieces of debris she was holding up with gravity fall down.
Cathy Ariston: "Just my fucking luck—NO! I'm getting you out of here no matter what, there's a lot at stake, including our lives. And I don't mean just the food!"
Cathy focused on the way the Flow in her body was still circulating, despite Ruach automatically turning itself off.
Cathy Ariston: "First Step: Apex."
Cathy's eyes began glowing, a purple mist coming from her eyes.
Amelia gasped, looking up at her glowing form in bewilderment.
Amelia Orwell: "You've learned how to use The Ten Steps? That's incredible! Oh, wait until Master Jack hears of this!"
Cathy Ariston: "Yeah yeah, whatever… It's not that big a deal. What matters is getting out of this mess."
Cathy noticed a thin layer of Flow covering the entire room, Apex allowing her to sense it through the walls.
Despite it being thin, it was so potent that only objects with a low amount of base Flow could enter and exit through it.
Cathy Ariston: "The room is covered in Flow… That Carrion guy must've done this, but fuck… This takes skill. I don't know if I can break through this, but I can try!"
Amelia Orwell: "Please do! I'm very hungry, and I'm too scared to eat anything Tinker Bell might make."
Cathy held up her right hand, concentrating a large amount of gravity and Flow into her fist.
Cathy Ariston: "Gravity: Well!"
She swung her fist upwards into the barrier of Flow. It trembled but didn't break or even budge, almost like gelatin.
[The Mansion Roof, 12:05 PM]
Erika Daniels was trading blow for blow with Carrion Murata, both of their bodies covered in a solidified layer of Flow, both using Titan. Although Erika's body was now fully made of wood imbued with Flow. The red aura still encompassing her.
Carrion Murata: "You know, for being a Key, you're not bad. Are you sure you don't want to join Iris? I could train you."
Erika Daniels: "Fuck off!"
Erika stomped the ground, causing a large wooden spike to burst forth from the roof, making Carrion jump backwards.
Carrion Murata: "I'll give you a choice, do you want me to be serious or not?"
Carrion asked calmly as he stood atop the spike.
Erika's eyes widened in fury, not believing his audacity and boasting.
Erika Daniels: "You're not stronger than me!"
She ran up the spike, her bat already in hand as she prepared to strike him.
Carrion Murata: "Serious it is… Seventh Step: Agnus."
In a split second, a large bright white aura covered Carrion, stopping Erika from even hitting him, like it was a solid wall.
Carrion then grabbed his katana, imbuing it with Titan, causing it to become crystalline in appearance and slashed her with it.
The impact of the slash made Erika fall back onto the roof, causing her to cough up more blood.
Carrion Murata: "Have you not mastered Aura yet? Oh you're foolish. I like that."
Erika quickly stood up, seeing Carrion standing there, sword extended to his left, covered in her blood and red aura, as if it stole it.
Erika Daniels: "I've heard of it, you jackass! Agnus Magnificat, the control over the Aura of oneself or another's. It's the only way to awaken an Ultra. But I bet… I bet you don't have that!"
She cackled maniacally, sheathing The Solar Branch in her backpack.
Erika Daniels: "I'll go all out too then, you dirty aura farmer! We're way past hiding now! Hey, Soul Sister!"
Erika extended out her arms as the house began groaning, soon enough, heads started popping out from the roof, the wooden spike, the windows of the third floor, all around the mansion and below.
They took on various forms from the objects from which they sprung, the Tile Heads of the roof started flying upwards, utilizing the tiles as propellers, like mini helicopters.
[ＥＮＤ ＯＦ ＡＲＣ ２: ＴＨＥ ＤＡＮＩＥＬＳ ＥＳＴＡＴＥ]