As chair of Hunter Robotics, I have faced several  trying situations before. At a time when most sixteen year old girls were struggling with such problems like who they should bring as a date to the school dance, or worrying about their score on the latest math test, I was fighting in the real world. I wasn’t facing up to a bully who wanted to take my lunch money, or to peer pressure, or the endless high school gossip. True, much of that went on around me I was sure, but I was too preoccupied with the real world to pay any heed to such paltry concerns.

No, as a young girl of sixteen, my concerns were more about the stock value of the company that I was helming and the fact that I was facing off against adults three times my age. People who were wiser, smarter, and far more ruthless than I was. Needless to say, I had to grow up in a hurry. 

The alarming situation had not been lost on me. The fact that Death and I faced what was perhaps the most challenging battle during our time together was lost on neither of us. Either opponent could have thrown us in for a loop on their own. My father was the biggest concern of course, but I had seen enough of Rina Tanaka in action to know that she was going to be a handful.

Both of them worried me, of course, but nowhere near as much as losing control over the Nether Void and the catastrophic outcome that would ensue if such a thing were to occur.

“D,” I began.

“Say no more cherie,” he said, “I fully recognize the quandary we are in. We have to make sure the people in the building are safe.”

“Any ideas?” I asked.

“Not at the moment, but I’m sure something will come to you or me during this battle.”

“D,” I said turning to Death with as serious a look as I could muster. “You know I can’t maintain my void for more than ten minutes. How long can you hold out?”

“All things constant? I can hold out for days.”

“And what about when facing off against our current adversaries?”

“Then, cherie, all bets are off.”

I sighed. “That’s what I thought. What about a reverse Nether Void?”

“That wouldn’t make much sense, cherie,” said Death. “Not unless you want to reveal, to the entire  building, what you and I are about.”

I didn’t get a chance to respond. 

Rina moved rapidly toward me, her dark blade flashing in the sunlight, moving in several places at once. Her speed was terrifying, making her lone katana appear to be hundreds of dancing scimitars, the cold steel flickering in the light of the sun, at once graceful, alluring, and equally deadly. 

The last time I faced Rina, her technique had been impressive. But the nanosuit had altered her already perfect form, making it far more unpredictable. To make matters worse, Rina was now several orders of magnitude faster. The sword was unrelenting in its attack, the blade striking in a thousand different directions. 

Far more impressive however, was the fact that a human being was able to move in the presence of a Nether Void. Remarkably, the nanomachines were eroding the powerful and debilitating field that Death and I had cast over the building, completely nullifying its effects.

Still, it wasn’t as though I couldn’t keep up. My experience with the Class D’s combined with the power that I had gained from making my scythe stronger and my added edge with the Van Dyke magic ensured that I was equally as unpredictable as either of our opponents.

I parried the attack as well as I could under the circumstances. At the very least, my eyes were able to see the individual movements of Rina’s blade; I could see the deadly edge as it approached and I could anticipate the angle of her strikes. She leapt up, catapulting herself above me before diving straight down. 

The significance of the move wasn’t lost on me - it was the same attack I attempted when I faced her for the first time in Jackson Square, when the rain fell down from the heavens and my emotions were in turmoil. I could see the smirk on Rina’s face as she reached the apex of her somersault. She was attempting the exact same move that very nearly cost me my life. 

She was showing me that she could do what I couldn’t.

As she approached me from above, I could see Katsujinken, her blade was arced in an odd manner. I realized that she meant for me to parry the blade. She had something else in mind.

It was time for a surprise of my own.

“Distarnis Telanas Sok Nosfarten,” I said as I cast a giant barrier of light around me. Katsujinken struck the barrier, but moved harmlessly out of the way. The barrier I erected had saved me. 

Rina landed just a few feet in front of me, a look of disgust on her face.

“I’m not the same as I was back then,” I said to Rina. “You would do well not to underestimate me.”

In the same instant, Donovan Hunter moved, his speed blinding as he flexed his wings and took to the air. 

“Things just got a lot more interesting, cherie,” said Death, his red eyes looking out at the sky at Donovan Hunter who was now hovering just outside the building. “Listen to me closely, there’s something I need to teach you.”

“It’s going to have to wait until I can get rid of the crazy sword lady,” I said. “This barrier I’ve erected won’t hold.”

“No Vanessa, unfortunately it can’t.”

“Well then how do we do this?” I said.

“We’ll have to find a way to distract your opponent, and mine. How about this?” 

In response, hundreds of mini-scythes appeared all around us. I don’t think I quite saw that many during our battle with Azazel.

“That is an impressive amount of mini scythes,” I said.

“Yes, it is costly in terms of my power, but we need this diversion to work.” Death pointed toward Rina and Donovan, and the scythes all moved toward the direction of our opponents

“Knowing our adversaries, that probably buys us at best,a few minutes. But it’s plenty enough for me to explain something

Rina was now parrying away like mad, darting in several directions. The mini scythes were relentless and the sheer number of them would have been all but the most seasoned of opponents away. Still, we were not up against unintelligent Class D Vampires. Our opponents were skilled, and highly intelligent. 

Donovan played with the mini scythes for a little while, dodging a few, and letting a few cut into him, intentionally letting the blades poke holes through his body, which regenerated the damage in seconds.

“How many souls have you reaped so far?” Death’s question brought my attention back to the present.

“I’ve got a little over fifty,” I said.

“My, my haven’t we been busy?” said Death.

“D, in case you haven’t noticed, now’s not exactly the time to be cracking the one-liners ,” I said.

“Ever the impatient one, aren’t we Vanessa? Okay, cherie, listen up then. With fifty souls reaped, it’s more than enough to open your secondary form.”

“Come again?”

“The power of Death comes in many levels, cherie, but you unlock those levels, you have to unlock certain gates. Each gate safeguards a particular ability. To open the second gate, you have to listen to me closely.”

I listened with rapt attention as Death shared his secrets with me. Part of me wished I had the time to listen back when things were simpler. I knew that my recklessness was partly to blame. Still, Vanessa Hunter wasn’t exactly known for following the rules. I would do things my way. And if this latest development was what I needed to overcome the current odds that I faced, then I would roll with the punches and push forward.

“Okay, I understand what you’ve told me. So opening the second gate does exactly what for me?”

“That’s simple cherie. In an aerial battle, you’ll need to be able to fly without my assistance. Unlocking the next phase of your powers will allow you to do just that,” said Death.

I breathed in deep. “Okay, here goes.”

I waved the scythe in front of me, following Death’s instructions as best I could. I then took my scythe and made a small incision on my wrist, slashing it across, drawing blood from it. 

Blood flowed from the open wound, but I stopped the flow with my left hand and uttered several words, the key phrases that I learned from Death. The key things that were needed to unlock my second form.

Power coursed through me once more, far more than I had known before. I felt something behind me, a force that threatened to muscle it’s way out of my body, an almost uncomfortable, persistent feeling. I knew what it was of course. I felt the weight of newfound abilities and new form. I felt the wings sprout out from behind me, forcing their way from muscle and bone, taking shape far quicker than I could ever react. Oddly enough, I felt no pain. 

When all was said and done, I flexed my wings, as the air around me was displaced.

“Congratulations, Vanessa,” said Death. “Now you are truly worthy of the name, Death Angel.”

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