You know I was pretty nonchalant about having to deal with Alsha again, but when I started feeling the entire Mansion shake from her wrath, having everything brought down on all of us by that annoying dragon became a genuine possibility.

Even Lucia got serious as she watched a small crack in the hallways walls expand outwards.

She likely didn't enjoy seeing what was essentially also her home get demolished either.

“So what are we going to do about this freakish brute.” It wasn’t a very nice thing to call a lady sure, but I couldn't think what else would fit the damn girl.

“I’ll handle it. You’d just get the snot beaten out of you, or worse if you're unlucky. The nostrils happen to be a great exit point for a liquified brain.”

Let’s give Lucia a round of applause folks, she sure does know how to make a guy feel useful.

“Hide behind Lucia. Got it.” Smirking at the girl who apparently had the combat capabilities to fight someone with who seemed to possess at least Rank C+ raw strength.

“You don’t want to be anywhere near us; otherwise you might just end up in an unfortunate crossfire accident, and from the looks of the girl she’s not just all strength, she’s likely quite agile as well.” The light in her eye’s glowing strong as a determined shine began to expand within them, though there also seemed to be an ominous streak hiding beneath the surface.

“How are we going to get her out of the house?” If the maintenance crew has to fix the trashed home I'd likely burn through the money my parents left to keep the mansion in good shape.

Giving me a dazzling smile she abruptly hastened into a sprint, leaving me eating her dust. I just barely caught sight of her leap over the railings that led to the entryway hallway where my parents use to greet visitors.

Though I was unable to see Lucia anymore, I soon heard the start of her confrontation with Alsha.

“WURM YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THIS ONE DURING HER SUPPRESSED STATE.” With a mighty roar that would put a lion to shame, I felt the mansion shake once this time with enough force to cause one of the stairways to cave in.

Well shit. That's going to be expensive as fuck to fix.

Also wasn't it Lucia who took her to a room last night?

Oh... Oh no....

After jumping down the stairs that hadn’t been wrecked I watched in awe as Lucia skillfully dodged Alsha’s onslaughts, whose current unbridled appearance was even wilder than the day before.

If her hair had been somewhat neat before, now it was an unkempt mess of rusty brown that somehow still couldn't take from her primal appeal. Her eyes smoldering like a fireplace that had been fed a little bit to much wood. She towered over Lucia, her athletically toned body striking out with sharp precision, yet continually meeting with failure as Lucia led her to the door.

It was like watching a professional matador control the enraged bull’s every movement, heck with those horns on Alsha’s head I was starting to think she was more bull than dragon.

Lucia was just about to exit the door when Alsha suddenly stopped and sniffed hard, her senses seemingly detecting something worth ignoring Lucia.

What could have been significant enough to pull her out of her rage?

Alsha turned towards the staircase.

Oh, that's right the man who got her in this mess in the first place.

I wasn't even able to yell out ‘Fuck’ before her demeanor took a change for the worse as the red in her eyes turned into a swirling mess of chaos with streaks of black mixed in.

She had been fast before, but now? She covered the short distance between us in an instant, her speed sending shockwaves through the ground and leaving burning footprints in the treated pine floorboards.

I didn’t even feel her hand grab my shirt when the world reeled the with the shock that was having my back slammed into the wall.

“Lucas!” Someone yelled as my sight greyed and filled with stars.

“RELEASE MEEEEEE!!!!!!” A furnace blasted towards my face, forcing me to regain my senses and see that it was Alsha who’s mouth was discharging flames with her erratic breath.

That's the first time I’d heard her not refer to herself as 'This One', but my bleeding ears would have preferred not to have been so close.

The swirling madness that were her eyes gazed into the bloodshot orbs of sky that were my own. A turbulent storm pushing itself on the clear sky.

She didn’t do anything more than tighten her grip, while she closed in trying to force me to somehow comply with her impossible wish through her gaze alone. I had no idea how to send these girls back, and from what Winstone had told me about the Pact they likely had nothing to return to anyway.

The feeling of powerlessness filled me as I struggled to release myself from her hellish grip, only for the futility of my effort to hit me.

I was weak.

Pathetically weak in fact.

A massive weight dropped on my heart tearing into the muscled organ with hooks that opened wounds for fountains of blood to flow.

Fuck how was I ever going to protect Eva when I couldn't even defend myself. The depressing thought making me let go of the iron hold that had me shoved into the wall. My will too resist to weak to even overcome the rampaging girl that should have been my ally.

In my falling state of mind Alsha’s head was suddenly struck by a wooden beam with enough force to hear a light crack. Whether it was the beam or Alsha’s head, I couldn't say, but the residual force sent her flying out the window onto the front lawn of my home.

“Lucas! Are you ok!” A worried Lucia threw aside the weapon that had sent my assailant flying. Her voice a little bit too loud for my injured eardrums

“Never better.” I coughed what I hoped was just a little bit of blood, and not a lump of my lung.

“This beast can’t be reasoned with, I’m putting it down.” Lucia’s voice made me shiver as it took on a chill that made my blood run cold. Her gaze lacking any human emotions as she leaped through the window where she’d sent Alsha flying.

NO! I wanted to yell, but a coughing fit took me, hushing my response.

The pact specifically said I had to care for them no matter how annoying and crazy they might be. Sure I might want to put a leash on the crazy dragon girl, but I couldn’t let Lucia kill her without suffering from one of those severe punishments. Who knows what the power of the pact might do to me if I let Alsha die.

Forcing my aching body towards the window, I caught sight of a fight that was reaching speeds I’d only seen B-rank hero’s fight at online.

An enraged beast was the only thing anyone that saw Alsha could compare her to. She smashed craters into the asphalt, exploding into a roaring fury every time her attack missed Lucia who I could see was now moving somewhat sluggishly, the fight against someone with higher stamina proving to be challenge. She was only just barely avoiding the attacks due to her superior skill.

Crimson flames laced with shadows now covered every part of Alsha's body, empowering her power and agility, as she dashed and sent her fist towards Lucia’s gut, the wind being displaced due to its sheer velocity.

Redirecting the punch that likely carried enough force to crush stone to dust, Lucia seized onto Alsha’s horn’s sending what should have been a deadly kick straight into the dragon's jaw, but her knee simply bounced of painfully as though she had just hit solid rock.

Shrugging it off like it was nothing, Alsha grabbed Lucia who was now at her mercy and punched Lucia so hard I watched teeth fly out of her mouth.

“THIS ONE WILL SHOW YOU NO MERCY!” The chaos beast yelled at the crumpled girl whose arms Alsha proceeded to break with two swift jabs from her right hand. Making sure there would be no escape.

“NO!!!!” I yelled, my voice ignored due to my insignificant presence.

How was I suppose to stop something of this magnitude! Lucia was now broken and limp as she was propped up into the air by Alsha.

I was jumping out the window moving as fast as my injured self could cursing how useless I’d been this entire confrontation when a sinister chuckle perverted the atmosphere, sending chills and sweat running down my back.

The disgusting cracking bones were soon filling the air as its source quickly became evident.

Lucia who’d just been limp in Alsha’s arms was bending in an unholy manner while her broken arms set themselves back within seconds, her insane giggling causing even the raging Alsha pause.

“Oh, Lucy was left out to play! What fun!” The unnaturally high pitched voice that came out of Lucia’s lips stopped me in place. Its tone layered with insanity that scratched my brain like a nails on a chalkboard.

“DIE!” Alsha unwilling to allow whatever the hell Lucia was doing to come to fruition. Infusing flames into her fist Alsha pulled back and sent it speeding towards the strange being that had just been Lucia seconds ago.

“That's no fun, only I’m allowed to kill people!” Her words cheerful to the point that one could not believe she was talking about murder.

Resisting the urge to heave I witnessed the gruesome action of Lucia having an arm pop out of her back holding a knife and proceeding to slice the arm that was being held off in one swift motion.

What the fuck was going on!!

Dazed at the sudden dismemberment Alsha watched as Lucia dashed backward her speed significantly faster than before, almost reaching Alsha’s own.

A sickly gurgle later the severed arm was instantly grown back, without even the smallest of scars.

“That hurt! But now it's your turn!” Giggling away with a madness that now made Alsha appear composed, Lucia dashed forward, this time being the one on the attack. Her blade poised and ready drink in dragon blood.

From that moment on forwards, I could only call it a one-sided massacre.

If Lucia had been skillful before, this deranged version of herself moved with confidence that couldn't be shaken. Her every attack perfect without the slightest wasted movement as she carved deep wounds into Alsha who in her continuing rage didn't realize she was losing massive amounts of blood.

Within minutes blood covered every part of Alsha, who was barely able to remain standing. She wavered from left to right, the loss of blood making her slowly lose her sense of balance.

“M...ons...terrr.” Her once booming voice now little more than a murmur.

Standing before her with a grisly smile Lucia was licking the blade relishing every moment, the blood apparently sending euphoric waves of pleasure throughout her body as she hugged herself.

“So tasty Miss. Lucy wishes she could keep you, but you made her mad!” The deranged girl pouted grumpily yet to me it was anything but cute.

Frozen in fear I watch the curtains of the fight close as with the quickest flick of her wrist Lucia sent her blade straight at Alsha heart, its accuracy perfectly pointed at its target.

“LUCIA NO!!” I managed to yell after forcing down the fear that had been eating into me.

Sensing death even in her bloody state Alsha moved with speed she hadn’t during the entire fight yet she was unable to entirely dodge it as it sunk deep into her shoulder and exiting out the other side.

Alsha's body flew like a kite without its string, landing within 5 feet from me, the tumbles further cause the blade in her shoulder to spurt the minute amounts of blood that she still had left.

God I hated this girl, but even she didn’t deserve the sorry state her body had been left at.

“Now who are you, Mister?” Death glanced at me at that moment. Its scythe hanging so close to my neck, I could feel the cold blade chill my entire body.

I was speechless as I finally got a look into the eyes of what was possessing Lucia's body.

Where Lucia’s eyes were the same bright blue sky as mine, this… thing had lifeless ash grey irises that reeked of blood and madness.

Unable to respond due to my throat tightening up I watched as she approached me, seemingly having lost all interest in Alsha considering she was likely dead.

“Hmmm, you smell nice.” She sat down in front of the frozen sculpture my body seemed to be imitating.

Seeing the small amounts of blood on my shirt, she brought her pinky finger forward and scooped some up, bringing the droplet to her mouth to savor it.

“OOOOoo you taste just like me too.”

She then moved forward onto me and straddled my hips while she began to inhale my scent like a small animal that had just found something of interest.

“Edward…. You remind me of my Edward. Ed….ward.” Like a sick nightmare, the abrupt ending caused me to collapse on my back as the thing that had been Lucia passed out on me.

I laid there for five minutes unwilling to move.

From the mansion, I heard light footsteps, that eventually reached me.

Standing there faces all in shock at the carnage that had just been wrought, were my other summons Alice, Reol, and Xue. As to why they hadn't shown up earlier I can only assume they didn't want to interfere with the fight.

They looked over at the bleeding Alsha who I really hope wasn't dead. Alice being the level headed girl went over Alsha to check her condition. Whispering some strange words until a soft green light manifested over Alsha.

Hopefully, that was some sort of healing spell.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t piss this girly off, she has more than just a few screws loose if you catch my drift.” Reol in her bluntness making obvious the biggest problem we now had.

I hadn't expected Lucia to give me trouble after getting to know her, but whatever the fuck this other personality of hers was, it wasn’t something I wanted to meet again.

Hungry, tired, and angry at my pitiful self, I princess carried Lucia despite my aching back into the mansion.

I needed some food and then a chat with Xue about this cultivation thing floating in my head.