Rafaela curiously watched as Kid spoke into a small black box. Voices from other people came through it too.
It was a walkie-talkie. Kid told the others not to wait for him—he had other things to handle. Haozi immediately jumped to a dirty conclusion.
After the call, Kid noticed the curiosity written all over Rafaela's one remaining eye. But he cut her thoughts short. "We're leaving."
"Uh, okay, I'll lead the way!" Rafaela could sense her sister's location through her youki.
"Walking's too slow. We'll fly," said Kid. "Are you afraid of heights?"
"Fly?"
"Like this." Kid raised his hand, and Rafaela lifted off the ground. She felt like something was holding her up. She flailed a bit, but didn't fall.
Kid said, "Calm down. There's no danger. You'll get used to flying fast. If it's too scary, just close your eyes. I'm taking off now." He was being extra gentlemanly since it was a girl he was flying with.
Kid's Force surrounded Rafaela, like how Superman used his bio-field to carry people while flying. It wasn't fast, but way better than walking.
Flight—something humans had dreamed about forever but couldn't achieve for the longest time. People had souls, but no wings, which made them envy birds even more. From praising to experimenting, Earth's people had finally managed to fly, after a long journey through history.
But on this planet, only a few demons could fly. Among awakened beings, only a rare few had that ability. For Claymores, the only possible way to fly was bouncing off strands of hair charged with youki—but no one had developed that technique yet.
Rafaela opened her eyes and was stunned by the view. The god's-eye perspective gave her a whole new sensation. Far-off mountain ranges, dense forests, twisting rivers, and lakes shining like mirrors. Cities looked like abstract paintings. They were flying higher than the birds.
'It's so beautiful. Humans can really fly?!' she thought in amazement for the first time.
Kid quickly locked onto the Abyssal One's location. A place with such overwhelming youki didn't need any searching. Abyssal Ones never hid their power. Their presence alone made demons and awakened ones flee in terror.
"We're here!" Kid landed with Rafaela in front of a woman.
She wore twin ponytails and had her eyes half-closed, looking like a lazy noblewoman. She draped a simple cloak over a pale layered dress. Barefoot, arms bare too.
The familiar scent made Luciela raise her head. She saw two people land right in front of her. "Rafaela?!" Luciela would never forget her own sister.
But who was the man standing beside her? And why was he holding her sister's Claymore? Luciela frowned, thinking hard.
"Sis… Sister…" Seeing her again filled Rafaela's heart with emotion. "Sister, I came to help you."
"Help me?" Luciela laughed. "Looks like you can't even help yourself. Judging by the look of you, you left the organization? They didn't send anyone to kill you? And now you're hanging around with some tasteless demon? How far you've fallen."
'Demon? Is she talking about me?' Kid wondered.
Luciela assumed their descent from the sky meant Kid was a demon with wings. But she didn't stop to think—why were his clothes still intact? When demons transformed, their outfits didn't survive. That's why female awakened ones were always naked when they changed back.
"Even though it's a sisterly reunion and I probably shouldn't interrupt, I'm not a demon. I'm human," Kid corrected.
"Utter nonsense." With that, Abyssal One of the South ignored Kid and continued speaking to her sister. "Rafaela, if you really came to help me, then let's join forces. Not just the southern lands—the whole continent could belong to us sisters." What she meant was: just awaken already.
To be fair, Luciela's thinking wasn't that unreasonable. When you gain power, you aim for control. Unlike Riful from the west, who dragged around the male awakened one, Dauf, and spent all her time either making babies or forcing Claymore girls to awaken. She called it "creating companions," but in truth, she was just a twisted freak. If Riful thought a newly awakened Claymore was too weak, she and Dauf would torment her to death. No one knew how many years they'd been doing this or how many Claymore corpses lay buried around their hideout.
Up north, Isley had always kept to his own territory. That changed a few years back when he ran into Priscilla. Her unfathomable strength overwhelmed him, and from then on, he was doomed. Recruiting awakened ones, gathering an army, planning attacks on the west and east—he even headed south solo, trying to take on all three sides. But his real goal was to send Priscilla back to her homeland in the south. His invasions of the east and west were just distractions. The awakened ones he rallied were nothing but sacrifices. If he hadn't gone so far, North Abyssal might've been the longest-lived one of all.
"Sister, please go back to normal." Rafaela's plea came from the depths of her heart.
But it was pointless. "My foolish sister, look at me. Do you really think I can go back? I'm now the officially recognized Abyssal One of the South, ruler of the southern lands. Rafaela, just come with me. If you awaken, you'll become the next Abyssal One for sure. Then we can rule the continent together. I'll give you a big chunk of land—take all of the west and north. What do you say?"
'She's got the queen tone nailed,' Kid thought, 'Too bad I wonder what kind of queen she'd really be.'
"Alright, enough talk." Kid stepped forward with the Claymore. "I'm the doctor your sister Rafaela brought to treat you. She's already paid me, so I can't just skip the job. Rafaela, step back. Things might get rough during the treatment."
"…" Seeing her sister pull away, Luciela's face darkened. Her own sister wouldn't listen to her but would follow the words of some damn man? "Whoever you are, you're dying here today."
"The name's Kid. I've only learned emergency care. No medical license. So if I kill you during treatment, don't come blaming me!" He raised the Claymore, tip aimed straight at the Abyssal.
"Die!" Under Luciela's skirt, which had nothing underneath, two tails shot out like raging serpents.
"Nice timing!" Kid shouted, slashing fast. The Claymore sped up in a flash, blocking the tails right in front of him.
"?" She paused. 'He's not even a Claymore. Why is his swordsmanship this good?' She attacked again—her twin tails moving like living whips.
But sure enough, the Claymore was the bane of all awakened beings. Even if her tails morphed into jaws, they couldn't bite through it. She couldn't break through Kid's defense.
"So this is all the mighty Abyssal One of the South's got? What a disappointment. And you wanna rule the continent? You still half asleep or what?" Kid taunted without holding back. "My advice? Go find a corner somewhere and learn to sew. Fighting's not your thing."
Luciela's youki surged. Now she was mad. If that's how he wanted it, she'd fight in her full form. She'd see how long he could keep running his mouth.
"You asked for it!" Boom—
Abyssal One of the South transformed into a two-tailed cat-headed humanoid. Her body still had the shape of a woman, but her head had turned into a leopard's, and two pairs of decorative little wings sprouted from her back. "Tremble! I'm going to tear you to pieces! Roar—"