"I guess this is the place," Bubbles looked around.

Sofia had guided her to a cave near the mountains at the foot of which the village was situated. From what the girl had heard from her mother, her father was one of Bill Cipher's sons, who had his own agenda despite being a dream demon like most of the other Cipher kids. "Crazy and looking to kill Matsuda Akame for unknown reasons," she had told Bubbles before she left.

Bubbles knew that this could be too much for her, so she had messaged Keita beforehand, telling him to send people to protect Sofia and her siblings while she fought him off.  She wasn't too keen on the idea of killing him, but she had to.

Taking in a deep breath, the Flower Breath Style user stepped into the cave, with a gas lamp lighting her path. She was going to do her best!

The passages smelled dewy and stank of mold. Some branched off for ages, and others had dead ends the moment it was entered. It wasn't long before Bubbles realised she was lost. Dead lost.

"This is the worst," she mumbled to herself drily. "Why oh why is my life like this?"

She remembered reading a story about how a hero had used a ball of yarn to guide him as he travelled into a dangerous labyrinth so that he could get out again after slaying the monster, and wished she had thought to do the same. But she could only venture on, braving the fear deep in her heart.

The darkness seemed to go on the deeper she dove. She had to grip her thumb tight, and her lip began to bleed due to how hard she was biting. However, she kept going, unable to stop due to the promise she had made to Sofia.

She soon reached a huge cavern, and her eyes widened as she looked around. What was this place?

It seemed like a fancy home one would probably find abroad, with vintage items littering the space. One could see how much this person treasured the extravagance he had here. He wasn't a king or anything, though, so she felt a bit annoyed. Was this why Adeline had asked her to help? Because she hated that he seemed to act that way?

It sure seemed that was the case. But why not get rid of him herself? Unless there was something he had that she couldn't combat.

Or maybe she was just lazy.

Thinking about it, the latter made more sense. 

Huh, it was better than nothing, though. She had been sent here to stop him, and she was willing to go through it.

But how would she do that...?

The sound of footsteps suddenly echoed through the cavern, and without thinking Bubbles spun around while unsheathing her sword, aiming it at the source of the sound.

What her sword was pointed at was a male in his 40s, slight grey strands visible in his mainly beige hair. She noticed that he was wearing an outfit native to English people, which matched up with Sofia's accent; a dark green vest, a light grey collared shirt, and long khaki pants with dark brown socks and brown loafers to match the look. Dark chocolate eyes stared at her, surprised at first, but soon it morphed into one of anger.

"You're a Demon Slayer," he spoke, stepping closer to her.

Bubbles took a step back, "What about it?"

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to stop you," she answered, eyes narrowed.

"Why would you? After what the Slayers did to their own parents?" He snarled.

Bubbles blinked. What?

"You don't know do you?" He asked.

"Know what?"

His next words surprised her.

"The Slayers and I are related. I am the father of the Asian kids."

Bubbles' eyes widened. Did that mean that Sofia was related to Keita-san?

"And despite this, most of them slayed their own parents. They're the real monsters here," his face grew dark. "What hypocrites, don't you think? Well, I'm about to change that all. I've been biding my time in the darkness, and my own uncle has given me a chance to destroy them all."

"Your own uncle? Are you talking about..."

"Ben Cipher himself indeed," he grinned wickedly, eyes alight with evilness. "Now, let me end you as an example for them!"

He lunged for her out of nowhere, but she dodged the attacks and swung her sword at him. It cut a little bit into his side, and she pulled it out to see the blood coming out.

She tried not to puke. She couldn't do that and lose the advantage she had. All she had to do was wait for the poison to spread so she could finish the job.

But then the male laughed, and got up, "You thought that your measly poison could stop Roland Enchancia the Second? You make me laugh to death! But you should just die and I'll be thoroughly pleased!"

He rushed at her, and while she did her best to dodge it all, it didn't work. She was beaten up without mercy, causing her to cough out blood on the floor. When she looked up, she saw him already towering over her, a smirk that oozed off arrogance clear.

Roland cackled as his hands glowed red, "Time to die! Blood Demon Art: Royal Execution!"

Grabbing Bubbles, he held her down as a projectile of a guillotine appeared. His hands were now what kept her close to death.

    Her eyes widened, and she struggled ferociously, but Roland was not letting go.

     Was she going to die like this?

     She couldn't! She didn't want to die! Not after what happened in her childhood!

     With newfound vigor, she tried to pull him off her, getting frantic as she noticed the fraying rope. No no no! She wouldn't die!

     "Say goodbye!" He cackled.

     "You should be saying that to yourself," a new voice cut in, and as Roland looked up, she heard a vague "Close your eyes!"

     She quickly complied.

     "Alright, do this quickly Steve! I can't hold him up for long."

     "You got it! Cosmic Breath Style, Second Form: Orion's Shot!"

     The weight of Roland's body fell off, and she felt the pressure on her neck loosen up.

     She exhaled a sigh of relief, and one of them said, "Hey, you can open your eyes now.

     When her light blue eyes opened up, she saw two males looking down at her.

     "Hey, are you alright?" The curly-haired male asked.

     "Y-Yeah I'm fine," she smiled. "T-Thanks."

     "No problem. Keita told us about the situation and we rushed here to help," the brown-haired one answered. "I'm Ryder, by the way, and that's Steven."

     "Nice to meet you! I'm Bubbles Utonium!" She greeted.

     "We know," Steven laughed. "Anyway, let's get back to the village. Keita's waiting."

     "Wait, he is?" Her eyes widened.

     "Don't be so surprised," Ryder grinned. "The moment he got your message he sent Darkness after us, and she yelled at us to make a detour unless we wanted our faces to be green."

     "So scary," Steven chuckled. "Keita will always be a tsundere, though."

     "That we can agree on," Ryder smirked.

     "So true!" Bubbles nodded vigorously.

     "But enough about that! Come along, they're all waiting for you!" Steven said.

     "Alright!" She cheered. Meeting Keita again felt like a great plan!

     As the three left, Ramona-Elizabeth, who was hiding in a passageway behind them, gnashed her teeth upon seeing who was there. Stupid Corps! She was so close to having her as her next meal!

...

      Well then, she would just have to make things worse for them.

     She turned around, and suddenly came face to face with someone she never expected to see.

     She couldn't help the smirk that appeared on her face, "Well, well, well. Looks like the filthy blood traitor has shown up."

     "I could say the same to you. Oh wait, it was your ex-wife. I hear your relationship's that bad, huh?" a pair of red eyes glowed under the waning sun's shadow as the voice laughed.

      "How dare you treat me this way, Ben Cipher," she rose an eyebrow. "Unless you're looking for an ass kicking?"

     The voice chuckled, "Not so much, but I do believe we could form a truce for now. I have something I would want your help with regarding the Corps, specifically Miguel Rivera, who, as I recall, has had a huge hand in foiling the attempted murder of your daughter. You interested?"

     She thought about it, but soon smirked and said, "Of course. What is it?"

     Ben felt his smile grow dark. She had fallen into his trap. Good, good...

     He was looking forward to the bloodbath, indeed.

-
Written by FictionalMagicTamer