Benine sprang up abruptly and said:
— Th-thank… miss… miss!
(A girl watched over me! And she's talking to me!)
The young woman fixed him with a raised eyebrow, half-amused, half-incredulous.
— Do you usually thank strangers before even knowing where you are? she asked in a soft voice, tinged with irony.
Benine quickly looked away, his cheeks slightly flushed.
(She's gorgeous!) he thought, his heart racing.
He quickly recovered, forcing a shy smile:
— That's because I have nothing to fear from you… You're far too beautiful to want to harm me.
A silence fell.
The wind lifted a strand of the young woman's violet hair.
Her eyes, an almost unreal shade of blue, seemed to sparkle for a moment — somewhere between amusement and curiosity.
She tilted her head, a faint smile playing at her lips.
— Are you sure? she murmured. After all… I have this.
Her finger slowly pointed to her chest.
At that moment, a strange light burst from beneath her skin — round, vibrant, almost alive.
Benine felt his whole body stiffen.
An invisible wave rippled through the air, distorting the floor beneath them like the surface of a disturbed lake.
— (It's the Bubble!) thought Benine, horrified.
His eyes widened.
— No! That's… delicate! You don't know what you're doing! Stop!
But the glow was already intensifying, pulsing in sync with the young woman's heartbeat.
Suddenly, a low rumble echoed at the entrance of the room.
Benine jumped as the Bubble's light flickered briefly.
Hesitant footsteps were heard, then a figure stumbled into the pale light.
It was Axel.
He collapsed heavily to the ground, his body covered in blood and dust.
His breathing was short and ragged, each gasp a painful effort.
— While… I was doing the dirty work…
and you… were flirting peacefully…
His voice, weak but laced with irony, echoed in the silence.
He lifted his eyes toward Benine and the young woman, a bitter grimace twisting his face.
---
A few hours later
— Nine!!!
Axel jolted upright, breathless and sweating.
— It… it was only a dream…
A sarcastic voice immediately replied:
— Finally! Took you long enough! We've been waiting for you.
It was Umbrela.
Nonchalantly sitting in a large armchair, she twirled the head of the demon Axel had slain earlier between her fingers.
Her gaze was calm, almost bored.
A little further away, Benine knelt on the ground, pale, hands trembling.
— What happened while I was gone?!
Axel shouted, still disoriented.
Benine looked up, panicked:
— This girl is unconscious! She literally has the fate of the world in her… melons!
A heavy silence fell.
Umbrela slowly turned her head toward him, her expression unimpressed.
Axel froze, a nervous tic at the corner of his mouth.
— (Melons?) he thought, bewildered.
— Did I miss a chapter or something?
Umbrela let out a faint sigh, rose from the armchair with calculated elegance, and squared her shoulders.
Her gaze swept slowly from Axel to Benine, as if sizing up two soldiers before battle.
In a calm voice, almost gentle but strangely commanding, she declared:
— From now on… you are under my orders.
A tense silence followed.
Axel furrowed his brows.
Benine blinked several times, his mouth slightly open.
— Pardon? Axel asked, half-incredulous, half-irritated.
— Didn't you hear? Umbrela replied, slightly puffing out her chest with a satisfied smile.
— I lead. You obey. Simple, isn't it?
— The End —