SWNOVELS Chapter [Chapter XXII] - Siule's Gambit (Part III)
"For someone who claims to hate violence, you can handle your way in a fight." the amaranth-eyed woman commented.
"Like I told you, I hate people being in pain. That includes myself, so it's only natural that I'd try to master a technique that would allow me to avoid being hurt." Siule retorted.
"Be that as it may, you won't be able to beat me just by dodging!" Ciel exclaimed as she tried to sweep Siule off her feet, but the castleton-eyed female agilely stepped backwards to avoid the sweep kick connecting.
"Not good enough!" The black-haired woman said as she used the momentum she had gained from the sweep kick to shift her weight to the other foot and do a swift roundhouse kick, which Siule was barely able to block with her left arm.
"You are certainly very capable, Ciel. You may be right about me not being able to win just by dodging and blocking your attacks." the tawny-haired lady complimented her opponent.
Ciel remained silent for a moment. She analysed Siule. Something was off. Despite it being the Human girl who had issued the challenge, the red-eyed woman could tell she had no will to fight. That made sense if Siule was truly a pacifist, but then why would she challenge the Ruler of the Giants to a deathmatch if that was the case? Surely she would've tried to exhaust every other possibility before letting it come to that.
"...What you said back then about not getting in my way regarding Nic... Your help in giving us a place to explore our feelings and our intimacy... Was all that just a lie to get me to lower my guard around you?" the bodacious Giantess asked.
Siule let out a heavy sigh before walking a few steps away from her opponent.
"I'll let you in on a little secret of mine. I've never told anyone about this. Not even Nicky. Ciel, are you familiar with the concept of 'aura'?
"Aura —Ciel repeated—? Isn't that some sort of vibe a person gives off?"
"You're partly right. First of all, it's not just people that have an 'aura'. Every living creature does, including animals and plants. Moreover, this 'vibe' you speak off is something that is intangible unless the 'vibe' in question is very powerful. It is something invisible... but not for me." Siule explained.
"What do you mean?"
"I was born with a special gift that allows me to see any living creature's aura. Auras have different colours, which reflect the current state of that living creature in terms of values and feelings. Try to imagine a thin blaze of a certain colour that surrounds your body. The blaze's colour is quite telling about how the owner of that aura feels." the pacifistic female expanded.
"And what does that have to do with my question?" Ciel inquired, failing to see the connection between the two topics.
"When I first met Nicky, his aura was pretty much a dark grey. As you might probably know, white, black and grey are not colours. A white aura represents absolute purity. Babies are born with pristine white auras, but as they grow up they start to blacken. Pure black auras are just as rare to find, and they represent emotional death. People who commit suicide have black auras at the time of ending their own lives. Of course, in addition to this, auras have their own colour which represent different feelings and values. In Nicky's case, when I saw him first I was able to barely make out some very slight hues of yellow. Since you know Nicky, I trust I don't need to tell you what a yellow aura means."
Ciel simply nodded, allowing the Human lass to continue her explanation.
"Those hues of yellow gave me hope. I felt I could help Nicky heal so that his aura would turn a beautiful shade of yellow. For the most part, I was successful, but still I could tell he was still missing something —or rather, someone—. The more he spoke to me about you, the more certain I was that you'd be the one to make his aura shine that beautiful yellow I so longed to see. That's why I decided to help you claim him, but even after you did, his aura never turned that shade of yellow. Then it dawned on me; the reason why that was so. Nicky was still afraid that you might leave him at some point. He was still scarred by what happened twenty years ago. And as I looked at you, your aura reflected the same fear. No matter what you do, you cannot help someone heal if you are unable to do so yourself." Siule further elaborated.
Ciel looked down. That much, at least, she could agree on.
Nicolas had had enough. He gasped when he saw Ciel's eyes. He knew those eyes very well.
Those were the eyes of a broken soul.
As he desperately rushed towards the centre of the arena, Nicolas' mind and heart only cared about pulling Ciel out of that state.
'Those broken eyes... I don't want to see Ciel's eyes like that!' he thought as he continued to sprint towards the battlefield.
"That will be enough, Nicolas." a voice spoke calmly, making him stop dead in his tracks.
His body froze on the spot. He shook violently. He could recognise that voice easily. Without turning back to face the source of the voice, the male spoke in a very cold tone.
"What are you doing here, Setsuna?"
Walking past him and turning to face him, Setsuna Kuroyami confirmed his guess to be right as she stood in front of him, blocking his way to the centre of the Titans' Arena.
"I wish to speak to you." was all Setsuna said in response, her voice still as cold and regal as ever.
"I don't have time for this now. Move aside." Nicolas spoke in a very grave voice, which was rare even for him. His voice was always grave, but this was... different.
"I cannot do that." she refused.
"My girlfriend needs me. The woman I love is suffering and I won't let that continue to be the case." Nicolas declared.
"Just hear me out, please." the black-haired Human female requested.
"I said I don't have time for this now. Whatever you wish to tell me will have to wait until I have brought Ciel back to her senses." the male said before attempting to walk past Setsuna.
Contrary to what he may have expected, the female didn't attempt to stop him. Instead, she just moved aside as he had told her to do.
"Be very careful. The longer the fight drags on, the more dangerous it'll be for your girlfriend. If possible, you should try to get her out of there as soon as possible." Setsuna warned.
"Why are you telling me this?" Nicolas asked.
"Because I hurt you once. And though I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, I want to at least show you that I do regret what I did to you." the woman answered.
"Nonetheless, there's no way Siule will let Ciel leave the arena." the male stated the obvious.
"Leave that to me." was all that Setsuna said before she suddenly started growing.
Before Nicolas was able to process what was happening, Setsuna grabbed him and rushed to the arena.
"I'll take you to your woman. You just focus on getting her out of here. I'll buy you as much time as possible." the female told him.
Nicolas nodded. His mind was so focused on the task at hand that he didn't even seem to be affected by the speed and altitude at which he was travelling in Setsuna's fist.
"So, as I was saying, hmmm? —Siule hummed, noticing the woman making her entrance to the 'ring'—. Setsuna gently placed Nicolas on Ciel's hand.
"You...!" was all Ciel could say before noticing her tiny boyfriend standing on her palm now.
"I know you hate me, and I don't blame you. But right now you need to leave. I'll take care of Siule." Nicolas' ex-girlfriend said.
"She's right, Ciel. We need to get out of here. Now!" the Human male said.
Not wanting to risk her beloved Nic getting hurt because of the fight, she weakly nodded and left the arena.
"Setsuna Kuroyami. Once a traitorous snake, always a traitorous snake. I was wondering when you'd show your true colours." Siule spoke calmly.
"I don't recall ever having pledged my loyalty to you." the woman in black countered.
"You think your increased size enables you to do some big talk huh? Then let me show you where you truly stand." the brown-haired female spoke.
Before Setsuna could react, Siule lunged forward and gently grabbed her chin.
"I have won." the pacifistic woman declared.
"What do you-ACK!? What's this...!? I-I feel... weak...!" Setsuna gasped, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Ah, of course. After all, you got 1 Macrosia gene. That is what allowed you to grow to your current size. My powers are a bit more developed than that. I am able to steal any Macrosia genes from anyone I touch with my hands." the green-eyed girl explained casually.
"You what!?" Setsuna exclaimed in horror as she slowly but surely started to shrink back to her Human size.
"Just what you heard. I can steal Macrosia genes from other bodies and add it to my own. And you're only the beginning. I'm going to steal every last Macrosia gene from every Giant, then I will be the only Giant to exist! No one will be able to oppose me, and more importantly, no one will be able to prevent me from finally claiming Nicky for myself! Behold, Setsuna Kuroyami —Siule declared as she grew even larger—! This is the power of 10,000 Macrosia genes!"