So You Might be Soulless

7|| Fjardka

When Diya left Sebastian and his brother- what was his name? Cas? Jerkface?- she could never have realised she would be walking straight into a monster.

As if this day wasn't bad enough.

"OH COME ON!" She stomped her foot and cast her gaze up at the sky. She placed her hands on her hips, royally ticked off, and shot the leviathan a withering glare.

I thought the Imperial Family said they were keeping the beasts out of the Capital, She thought, biting her nails and diving behind a pile of rubble. How did one show up here?!

Diya did a quick analysis of the monster as it smashed a bakery to dust. Scales...white spots... big head...this is- this is a Fjardka!

Fjardkas were powerful monsters- very high up in the hierarchy. Someone must have summoned it here- but who? Only an absolute nutcase would attempt something like that.

Diya cursed under her breath and emerged from her hiding place, raising her hands like she was conducting an orchestra only she could hear. Now was not the time to be thinking of the 'hows' and 'whys'. She would have to commit her second good deed of the day.

Shadows slithered out from underneath the buildings, flocking towards their master. Around Diya, people screamed and chaos ensued.

Diya exhaled sharply and closed her eyes, facing her palms out flat and then pushing them together as if she was praying. "Sha–"

"LOOK OUT!"

A body slammed into her, knocking the air from her lungs. Seconds later, a huge stone crashed onto the spot she had been.

"Thanks," Diya mumbled, but it turned into a slight scowl when she saw it was Sebastian. "What are you doing here?"

He got off her and helped her up. "Same thing as you- stopping the Fjardka!"

Diya glanced at the monster that was slowly devastating the town. "I'll lend you my shadows. Think you can cut it down before more damage is done?"

Sebastian grinned and his sword pulsed with a blue light that matched the colour of his hair. "Of course."

"Hope you don't suffer from motion-sickness." Diya yelled and raised her hand.

"What do you- ACK!"

The darkness was too eager to help. It swept Sebastian up and rushed towards the monster. With her other hand, Diya cast a shadow to wind up the beast's right leg and trap it in place.

Like most beasts, the Fjardka was not the brightest star in the night. Its massive eyebrows furrowed and it looked at the shadow like, why did you do that?

With a ferocious war cry, Sebastian launched itself at the beast and drove its sword into its arm. He hung there for a second, then slowly began the climb up.

The cogs whirred in the monster's brain and Diya knew she would have to distract it quickly. Though her strength was waning, she jerked her head up and a shard of darkness jabbed into the Fjardka's eye. It howled and scowled, swatting it away as though it were a fly.

It's too much- too much! I can't- I can't hold it!

Diya let out a shout, dropping to one knee as the shadows demanded more and more of her energy. She couldn't drop it for fear of abandoning Sebastian. Black spots exploded in her vision and the world turned an unpleasant shade of yellow.

Sebastian used his magic and commanded a strike of white light to jab and prod the Fjardka. Finally, he raised his sword and plunged it into the monster's heart.