Good morning.
…
I'm in that wonderful state where you disconnect for a moment from everything around you, maybe in my case because of laziness, and just admire what you have in front of you.
Like right now, all my attention is on my stockings; I'm looking closely at all the fabric patterns, wondering if I could knit something like that from scratch, what kind of needle to use, what thread, or what technique.
But I had to come out of the trance at some point. With all the willpower I have, I accomplish the monumental task of not lying down.
As I stroke my legs, I think about how this thing I was so focused on a moment ago now seems so insignificant; but mostly I think about… why the hell did I sleep in stockings? I guess I forgot to take them off, but that sounds like a lot of circulation problems, and... whatever.
I've been sitting on my bed for quite a while now, trying in vain to find motivation for the umpteenth time. As usual, nothing works, so I just say to myself, 'Then, stay unmotivated, but don't stop moving.'
I finally get up; being depressed for so long is tiring.
I want to get better; I'm trying to get better. My life basically came to a standstill when my... childhood friend died when I was a teenager. But as much as my pesky hormones made it difficult, I want to live again, and have fun, and breathe. Be happy.
Old habits die hard, though, which has left me rather lonely. Mm, at least I'm not completely alone. And I've learned not to completely waste my time.
'But enough complaining! Getting things started is the hardest part; you have to be optimistic.'
It's early in the morning, when it's between dark and almost dawn, the best and worst time of the day. The best when I have nothing to do and can go back to sleep without a care in the world, or in rare cases like now, when I'm not sleepy and go for a walk in the almost empty streets. And the worst, when I have to get up to go to the academy or when I have work to do, and I want to go back to sleep so badly that I could die.
After washing up, I look out the window.
Mmm, it's summer, so even though it's cold now, it's going to be quite warm later, so I'm wearing something light. Over my underwear, some black pantyhose and gray shorts. A white tank top and a black sweatshirt with a zipper that I'll open later if it's too warm.
I look at myself in the mirror in my room…
My gaze returns to a young woman of 22 years old, 5'6" tall, with long brown hair down to the hips.
My pretty face is adorned with emerald green eyes that I inherited from my mother. I don't care if I sound vain. I have the same face and eyes as my mom, so I can say nice things about it.
A well-developed body that I worked hard to have! Moderate-sized breasts, leaning toward large, and a heart-shaped butt. Relevant details, obviously.
And most importantly! Proud ears and a big fox tail; the same color as my hair, with a snow-white tip to my tail and slightly black tips to my ears. Cute, adorable, fluffy, and majestic. Mmm... At least I managed to focus my depression on taking care of my body; my inner narcissist approves.
Finally, I put on some running shoes and I leave my room.
"Uwaaaah... Good morning, Seina," I hear as I walk down the stairs on my way to the door.
I turn my head and see my cousin Nicole, a fox-kin woman, half a head taller than me and with shoulder-length messy black hair, ruby red eyes, with an erotic yet fit body despite spending most of the day in a chair or in a conference room at the castle.
Perhaps her most distinguishing feature, at least for me, is her fluffy black tail with a white tip... All of her hair is completely black, so that white patch of fluff stands out even more; I remember dipping into it when I was younger.
"Good morning, I'm on my way out; want me to get you something?"
This seems to wake her up.
"Skewers!!!" she says with a happy wag of her tail, hehe.
"If it's open," I reply as I leave the house.
Living with Nicole has been my medicine.
Although she's quite lazy, she certainly takes seriously, as she says, bringing me out of my shell. But! Sneaking into the shower with me still brings me closer to having a heart attack, for... uh, two very, very big reasons...
I'm currently living with her in her house in the capital city.
It's nice and cozy, with two floors, three bedrooms, a large living room, and separate rooms for bathrooms, a kitchen, and laundry. As well as a beautiful garden full of grass and flowers.
Even if Nicole always complains about having to water and take care of the garden and the plants in the house, she also says that no matter how fancy and amazing it is, a house without plants is a pigsty. And I agree.
It's a bit far from the academy, though close enough to walk. And it's a friendly neighborhood, quiet and pretty big, though it's not a rich or noble area.
I take a long breath of the fresh morning air, catching the faint, crisp scent of damp earth and distant firewood, until I am interrupted by a sound from hell. I turn my head to the neighbor's garden, and there he is.
Galito, a killer chicken who, whenever he sees me, breaks through the wooden fence, which is clearly not made to stop something his size, and comes running, wings flapping, ready to kill me.
However, I have recently learned a way to survive.
I squat first.
"Peep peep peep peep!" If I act like a chick and put out my hands, he slows down and comes closer, even lets me pet him! Is he just shy?
It works, even though it makes me look like a complete idiot, especially standing in the middle of the street.
He calms down, comes quietly closer, and snuggles between my hands. The little feathers are surprisingly soft; plus the red fur crest and beard, whatever it's called, it's pretty big, and it's funny to pull it down gently so he opens his beak and looks like he's talking... Hehe. While I'm having fun with him, being careful not to let my tail touch the ground, I hear a train whistle.
"Huh… I thought I got up early, but there are already people working, eh..." I say out loud without realizing it, thinking about all the people who have to be on said train and since when are they awake.
"I think they work at night, so it doesn't count as getting up early," my neighbor suddenly says.
... Since when is she there!? She's talking to me! What do I do!? Wait, wait, calm down, Seina. She's just your neighbor, you know her, uh, kind of.
She's an elf; she lives alone with her little son, and she gets along well with my cousin Nicole. I know her, so there's no need to get nervous, right?
'Hey, it's been a few seconds, answer quickly.'
"Uh... G-good morning." Damn, I stuttered. I thought I had already acquired the skill of not doing that. Besides, I ignored her comment! Ugh… But it's the first conversation I've had today with someone other than Nicole, so I can't help it. Yeah, sure.
"Haha, good morning, you guys are already getting along well from what I see," she says as she takes Galito in her arms... I thought so, but can I say that when I have completely forgotten about the chicken?
"I've already figured out how to get him not to peck me. So, I guess. Um, well, bye!"
"Have a good time."
I leave before the conversation goes any further.
Phew... that, that wasn't so bad, was it? No, I even stopped stuttering by the end. I review the conversation in my mind as I walk, scanning the street at the same time.
… Doing that helps me calm down. I liked the atmosphere of the neighborhood from the first day I saw it.
Lots of trees, friendly houses with green gardens, and a cobbled street, yet clean and without potholes, where hardly any carriages pass. I understand why Nicole chose a house here and not in some rich neighborhood, even though she has such an excellent position in the castle.
Speaking of carriages, I heard a rumor that they are inventing one that can move without being pulled by an animal, something about a bunch of books left behind by someone from another world that they finally managed to decipher or something… Well, who cares.
I'm walking aimlessly.
I like to do it from time to time, especially in the morning. Seeing the streets mostly empty, closed stalls, little noise, and most of all, few people. It is nice and makes me feel healthy; even though I do some exercise every day, walking like this gives me the impression that I'm using my body and not just preventing it from deteriorating by exercising at home. Maybe it's silly, but-
"Oh! Pspsps~." I found an orange cat on the stone fence of a house! I don't have any food, but I hope he'll let me pet him...
He notices me and... he comes closer! But before I can touch him, he turns around, shows me his balls and calmly goes back to his place.
Hey... that was on purpose, wasn't it? I'm sure he didn't have his tail up as he walked towards me. It had to be an orange cat...
Oh well.
After a while, I arrive at a small park.
I'm not actually tired, but I might as well sit for a while. Meanwhile, I think about my current situation…
I moved to the capital to attend the academy when I was 18. I wasn't particularly interested in joining, but I was tired of being stagnant and wanted more time to think or maybe run away, so here I am. Still, my main motivation was just to keep moving, so I don't love it.
... I can't wait to graduate.
Even though there's almost no racial discrimination in this country, it's still annoying how much attention I get for being the only one in class with a fluffy tail. Damn, I get pissed off just thinking about it. I'm tired of dodging some idiot who tries to touch my tail, or meeting stupid people who think they can stroke my ears as long as they ask first.
Well, I haven't met anyone that mean, or rather, I've managed to avoid them pretty well. But I wish my classmates were more empathetic.
... That's not quite right. There are some really nice people who always try to include me in conversations, so it's not like there aren't any empathetic people. So, what I want is for them to leave me alone? I guess so, but… that sounds a little bad from my end.
At least it's not necessary to graduate.
Should I leave the course early? Mmm, no. I have a feeling Nicole would never allow it. You pay tuition at the beginning of the semester. Few people care if you stop attending, except maybe the odd teacher who takes their job seriously. Surprisingly, uh, there are quite a lot of them now that I think about it.
It's one of the best academies on the continent for a reason.
'Hey, remember, try to see the glass half full,' I tell myself.
At least I really like the uniform, it's comfortable and simple; a pretty dark red sweater over a white shirt and tie, the skirt is a little short but I like that; it lets me show my legs in stockings, although I have to watch out for the wind or I'll be showing my panties to everyone.
Mmm, there are certainly a lot of interesting classes… except for the ones on politics, etiquette, and the like. For some reason, they teach those to common students too, not just nobles.
There are also nice classmates, although I feel bad at this point that I still refuse their invitations to go out together... But I can't help it; I really don't want to follow them to some noisy pub.
Well, I probably won't see them again after I graduate.
'Wait, that was supposed to be an optimistic thought. Why are there mixed complaints too...?'
Anyway, speaking of graduating, I have to do it to achieve my goal, which is very simple.
'I want to have a delightful house in a perfect place!'
Just like now, but not just nice, but perfect. And I want it to be my very own house, one I'm fully responsible for, so I can decorate it however I want. As for the details, I will worry about that in the future.
Until then, I need money to travel. I don't like the capital; my neighborhood is friendly, but even there is too much noise all the time, especially for my sensitive ears. At least I have learned to ignore it, but I don't want to live all my life in one place with that annoyance in the back of my mind.
So, I want to travel the land to see what it has to offer! But the world is not the safest. Monsters, bandits, strange biomes; there are many ways to die easily, away from the safety of the walls. So, I need money for guards... And for that, I need a job. And for that, I need skills. And for that, I need to study... How annoying.
'If only I had amazing magic, I could travel without worrying... Oh well, maybe it's time to go back—.'
I'm interrupted by another train whistle, this time much closer.
Yes, time to go back. Let's trot back home this time, arriving a few minutes later.
"I'm home!" I call as I cross the hallway and head for the couch in the living room, mmm... I should take a bath.
While I'm taking off my sweatshirt and shorts, I hear a happy Nicole coming out of her room.
"Welcome~!"
She looks at me, then looks around… and her ears droop a little while her tail slowly stops wagging.
"..."
"... What?"
"What happened to my skewers?"
"Ah, uh... maybe the booth was not open?"
"Look at your tail," she says, pointing behind me.
I turn my head and see my tail pointing up, completely stiff and a bit bristly... Traitor. I let out a brief sigh as I return to undressing.
"Sorry, I forgot. Should I go back and get some?" I ask.
"Sigh... No, that's fine. Let's buy some on the way to work."
"Or I can cook you some— huh, we'll buy some?"
"Yeah, you come with me."
"Why!?" I can't help but raise my voice a little as I stand in my underwear and throw my clothes through the open door into the laundry room.
"You need to get out more. Also, someone might see you from the window."
"Uh, hardly anyone comes through this neighborhood; it's early and you're the one who gave me this exhibitionist habit." I say as I look at her figure. She's only wearing a shirt that exposes her belly button and black panties. She doesn't seem to be wearing a bra either...
"It's not exhibitionism if no one is looking at me."
"I'm looking."
"You don't count; you're still coming with me," she affirms, putting her hands on her hips.
"Eh... but there are a lot of people in the castle."
"You'll get used to it."
"What do I do if they talk to me?"
"You answer them?"
"And how am I going to do that?"
"Like you're doing now," she says, sounding increasingly exasperated.
"But—"
"You're coming with me!" she interrupts.
"Ugh, fine!"
Finally satisfied with my answer, she goes back to her room… And I can't help but stare at her butt. Her panties do a great job— uh, I mean, they don't do a great job hiding it, plus her wide hips give her a sexy wiggle when she walks.
"Stop looking and hurry up; we're leaving in forty minutes." That makes me look up again and see her with a big grin on her face.
Eh... Damn, she caught me looking.
"Haaa..." I sigh again.
Oh well, it's hard not to stare at a body like hers; her choice of clothes doesn't help... Luckily, I'm over my, uh, horniness towards her after an accident a few years ago, where I was... De-stressing in my room, when I carelessly said her name out loud and she walked in...
...
'AAAAHHH!!! DON'T REMEMBER THAT!!! DON'T REMEMBER THAT!!!'
I repeat to myself as I cover my face with my hands. Luckily, I'm closer to her than any other member of my family, so it wasn't too awkward. We both dismissed the whole thing as teenage hormones.
Although she did tease me about it for a long time.
As I go upstairs to the bathroom, I stop and look down… Mmm, she already knows— Thinks. She already thinks I'm a pervert, so screw it. I also take off my underwear and throw it in the laundry room as I go to the bathroom next to my room, upstairs.
Even though I denied it... Walking around naked feels, um, interesting. Somehow... refreshing.
Let's leave it at that.
If a stranger saw me now, I would gouge out their eyes. But I don't mind if the one looking at me is an acquaintance. Shouldn't it be the other way around...? Or is that normal? But actually, I have my moments the other way around, too.
Well, it doesn't matter.
After a quick shower, drying off with magic, a quick brushing, and a change of clothes, we both go to the castle.
Nicole is now wearing a navy-blue women's suit, with the crest on her chest indicating that she belongs to the court magicians. She usually wears casual clothes when she works; this must be a special occasion.
She looks really dignified and trustworthy! You could mistake her bored look for one of coolness and confidence.
What would all those who admire her think if they knew that her favorite pastime is to lounge around and make fun of me...?
Meanwhile, I decided on a brown sweatshirt over a simple white shirt and black jeans. I would have preferred a skirt; it's more comfortable and easier to fit my tail, but I love how the jeans accentuate my bottom.
I finish the look with a simple hair tie at the end of my hair.
While I'm proud of my body and love being dressed lightly at home, I can't help but feel incredibly self-conscious when I get looks from strangers. Even though I also want to show off a little.
'It's a contradictory feeling I'm still deciphering.'
"Didn't you work in a bakery? You should be used to dealing with people by now," she asks me as we make our way to one of the main roads leading to the castle.
It's not the shortest route, but there's a skewer stand that sells the best skewers in the world, according to Nicole. Yet, it's still early; even if they're open, I doubt they'll have anything ready at this hour.
"Usually, the interactions I have are based on greeting, charging, dismissing them, and not much else. Plus, a lot of salespeople were coming in, so I think my social skills were regressing rather than advancing..."
"You mean vendors? What's wrong with them?"
"Yes," I reply simply.
"Ah?"
"They are my natural enemies. Listen, they just talk about how great their product is, how generous the discount is, how expensive it usually is without their awesome once-in-a-lifetime promotion. Basically, they talk and talk and talk."
"Just tell them you're not interested," she says wearily.
"They won't let me! They won't shut up; I have to talk over them most of the time. It's very stressful and maybe rude."
"Mmm... Well, your face is very expressive; any vendor should know from the beginning that you're not interested. If you interrupt them, they can't get mad at you; they asked for it," she tries to be reasonable, but...
"Last time, I was serving customers at the bakery when a guy came in and tried to sell me perfume."
Her expression tells me that even she thinks it's stupid.
"For the sake of my sanity, I tried to ignore the fact that he was trying to sell that thing to a race known for their powerful sense of smell. When I finally found a break in his rant, I told him that I was just an employee and couldn't take money from the register."
Nicole gave me her 'this girl is just talking nonsense' look again. Although this time she looked a little more understanding.
"He said his super awesome offer was for me, not for the store owner; and then lined up several bottles on my counter and asked me to try them." I explain.
"What kind of idiot distributes perfume in a bakery!" she says with a scandalized look on her face, as if her gluttonous side had overpowered her tutoring side.
"I know! The smell of freshly baked bread is what attracts customers the most! Well, I guess... at least for me. Anyway, I tried to act disinterested by ignoring the bottles and pretending I didn't have any money on me, and you know what he did?" I ask, raising my voice a bit.
It's not like my normal voice is loud to begin with. When I “raise my voice,” it's only at the same loudness as Nicole's normal voice.
"What?" she replies, reverting to her strict but lazy tutor mode.
"He got mad at me! He even said as he grabbed his stuff, 'Unbelievable, people have terrible taste here; I know where to never go again.' The damn guy attacked me like that! Shouldn't you be nice to your potential customers? Why get angry if someone doesn't want your stuff? That's your fault, not the customer's."
"…"
"Haaa..." I sigh and take a breath, trying to calm down before continuing.
"You good?"
"Yeah. But as he was leaving, I thought about his situation. Maybe he hadn't sold any of his obviously cheap perfume in days. Seeing a girl not even glance at his merchandise might have made him a little upset. So, I felt kind of bad for him. But I was also really angry at him for taking it out on me. I also felt attacked and vulnerable, and like I was in danger... All those feelings came together with stress, some panic, and a terrible urge to cry... Complicated feelings got mixed up and made it worse. Needless to say, my day was completely ruined."
"..." Nicole makes a complicated face.
"... In short, I don't like door-to-door salespeople."
"... Seina... I don't know if I should be angry at that idiot, or at you for caring so much about something so insignificant."
"It's not insignificant!"
"On the other hand," she says, ignoring me. "It's been a long time since you've said such long sentences! Maybe I should thank the man."
"..."
"Next time you run into someone like that, just tell them to get screwed and get on with your life; it's not—"
She stops talking.
Suddenly, a light in my peripheral vision catches my attention; it appears in the sky, bursting from behind a cloud. It approaches the ground quickly and is so bright that it illuminates the sky and the land blue-white.
My ears also pick up a hissing sound coming from the thing, like meat cooking in its own fat.
I just stand there and watch it fall without really reacting... At least until it hides behind one of the Academy's tallest towers, visible from all over the city, and half a second later...
BOOOOM!!!
I hear a loud bang that makes me jump and cover my ears, followed by a loud shudder that vibrates all the way up through the soles of my running shoes.
"WHAT THE HELL!!!" I say, finally coming out of my daze, as I was waking up and trying to figure out what to do.
When suddenly, loud bells rang throughout the city.
'Huh, not just a meteorite? Why would that ring a bell... or chimes? What is the difference?'
"That sound..." Nicole mumbles. "Go to the castle, quick!" She yells at me before running off toward the academy.
I stop caring about that when I hear the screams of the surrounding people. 'Mm, I guess that woke up the whole town. I'd better stop daydreaming and listen to Nicole.'
I run towards the castle.
But… I really have no idea where I am. Luckily, my hearing is only surpassed by my smell, so I know where to go; I just have to follow the distinctive smell of the main street and it's a straight path from there.
Horses and everything that comes with them; plus, soot and ash from fireplaces and boilers, mixed with the strong chemical smell of cleaning products... It's not the best trail to follow, but I can't complain right now.
Even if I get lost, I would just have to follow my smell back home, or go over the rooftops straight towards the castle towers that come into view between the streets, rising into the sky.
Less than three minutes later, I am interrupted by an avalanche of people who have flashed onto the streets. And to make matters worse, although most of them were walking fast, many others were running as if their lives depended on it.
Fortunately, this is still a residential area with buildings not too tall or far apart, so I dash to an outside staircase of a small apartment building and climb to the top. From outside the railing, as there are people coming down the same stairs.
I'm confident I could come out unscathed even if I fell a few floors; I'm physically stronger than most humans. And my strong, beautiful legs and butt aren't just for show!
'... Not a great time to think about that, sorry.'
I reach the top smoothly and run, parkouring between the buildings. I have to concentrate... but there's too much screaming and…
Suddenly I feel a big chill. Maybe the entire city felt it too, because for a second there was a terrifying, total silence.
I turn toward where the meteorite, or whatever it was, fell and notice... Uh, I'm too far away to see properly even with my great vision, but it's a black mass that's... climbing buildings!?
I can also see multi-colored lights quickly approaching them... Are they aliens or something, and someone is shooting at them?
'... Again, stop freezing like an idiot, Seina!' I scold myself and keep running. After a few minutes of it, the buildings get bigger as I get closer to the center of the city where the royal castle is.
Mmm... Not as crowded as before. I keep going along the ground. Suddenly, some strangers and I stop and look down one of the smaller side streets where we see a flood of people running and screaming.
I don't have to wonder why for a long time, because behind them are... Huh… They look like xenomo— huh? Xeno what?
Again, strange words appear in my mind. It's been a while- 'HEY! Concentrate and run, you idiot!'
Five four-legged creatures, six to ten feet tall, with elongated heads, no visible eyes, sharp metallic teeth, and huge segmented tails with deadly-looking blades at the tips. Things that resemble something between machines and monsters; they are chasing the crowd.
Even though they don't seem to be in a hurry, they still match the crowd in speed.
"AAAH!" But before I could run, I saw a human woman, holding a girl who looked like her, being pushed to the ground.
One creature lets out a loud roar, abandoning its slow pace and charging at her at full speed.
'Aah! No! I should help— huh?'
Before I could finish the thought, I saw my surroundings move. Or rather, I am moving.
My outstretched hand shoots a fireball at the monster. It hits it right in the face and stops it dead in its tracks.
But it doesn't look particularly hurt.
I turn to the woman. "Lady, get out of here!" I yell, this time with all my might.
She doesn't answer me; just gets up and keeps running. When I turn back to the monsters, all five of them are looking at me… And now they are running towards me! But again, before I can come up with a plan…
I feel a tug in my mind that makes me turn towards the brick wall of one building to the right between me and the monsters.
Whatever it is... uh, it feels like the first time I've awakened my magic. Almost by pure instinct, I stretch my hand towards the wall, or rather towards what's behind it.
Darkness.
It's still early, but the sun came up quite a while ago. It's already quite clear out here, so for whatever reason, I understand that it's more effective to focus on this part.
With a confidence I've drawn from somewhere unknown and an unusual lack of fear or sense of self-preservation, I mentally call out to the darkness from inside the building.
I make a pulling motion to the left with my hand.
CRAAAACK!!!
Almost the entire wall, along with the interior of the first floor of the building, is ripped off and dragged toward the street. It hits the monsters! The stone, brick, and metal debris strike the body and gigantic head of the creature closest to the building, killing it instantly.
Its corpse also shoots out and hits two of its companions.
Once I hear that everyone is far enough away, I back up and begin climbing back up to the rooftops through a stone archway that connects the small side street to the main street, to gain a height advantage.
I don't have to worry about their survival for long because—
CRAAAACK!!!
A second groan from the building I had torn the wall off of signaled its ruin. In less than two seconds, the building crumbled on top of the stunned creatures and into what looked like a shop across the street.
I move as fast as I can away from the enormous cloud of dust. I press my ears back from the loud sound that almost resembles an angry roar.
Eh, I think I didn't hear anyone inside or nearby. But... I hope I'm not to blame for what just happened. Um, I'll try to deny any involvement if anyone asks later. I remember Nicole's wise but questionable advice, 'Sei, everything is legal if the authorities aren't around.'
No, no, that's wrong. It was a joke… I hope.
Anyway, It seems that this group of monsters were strays. Now that I know what their whistles and roars sound like, I can't hear any nearby. Good.
As I return to the ground and run toward the stone and crystal castle adorning much of the sunrise, I remembered what I had just done… Those who can use magic are supposed to awaken it before puberty, just as happened to me. I'd never heard of a second awakening.
And I somehow knew what I was capable of and how to do it. It was as if I'd done it a million times before… Weird.
'Besides, isn't non-magical darkness just the lack of light or something...? Although at the Academy they say that the world is filled with many mysterious energies.' I should ask Nicole later, as a court mage she should at least have an idea.
Anyway, it's fascinating, and a bit scary, to be able to feel the energy in every dark place. In maybe a fifth part of the vast metropolis that is this city?
Well, it's not really annoying. Although I did feel like a metaphorical bucket of cold water hit me, it's just... like... uh. Like being in an empty room when suddenly you blink and there are a million swords at your fingertips, ready to be used.
I even feel like I could...
Huh, that could work? I stop for a moment to test my idea.
I go up to the roof for the third time today, this time a clothing store; then I look toward where the meteorite fell.
Hum, they seem to be dealing with it. I don't know what kind of magic or attack it is, but with glowing projectiles that leave a trail of blue light behind them, they knock the creatures off the buildings.
"Great!" I say out loud. There's no one here, so it's okay.
Even though they look like they came straight from hell, they seem to be far from invincible, as I also proved with my act of bravery... Or rather, my act of thoughtlessness, impulsiveness and stupidity—
"NO! My fully conscious act of, uh, self-discovery, yes, of course."
I quickly search for the nearest creature I can find… and quickly spot a lonely one about, I'd say, a mile away. Just standing there, eating... ah, something I, uh, really hope it found in a butcher shop. I focus on it as best I can and... there it is.
The metaphorical sword around it and... also, inside the thing.
'If I can draw the darkness, can I crush it? Somehow, I know the answer is yes. Gesturing with my hand...'
I clench my fist.
And just then the creature gives a big jerk and falls over like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
Wow, huh... Even though the level of danger I feel from them is quite varied, they are certainly hostile. But still… to have your heart, or whatever it is they have in their barrel torsos, crushed without being able to do anything about it sounds quite unfair.
I almost feel bad. Almost.
"Well... Yeah, I can kill them, I should help, then," I said, changing my course.