The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo collapsed on the ground, unable to make sense of his surroundings.

"Gah!... No more!... Please!"

Layla raised her arms high in the air, stretching them.

"Wah! So fun~"

Willow watched the two in shock.

She wore fingerless gloves and held a jet-black sword in her hands. Other than that, she was mostly the same.

Willow wore a tight black dress, matching her short dark hair. Her dark brown eyes were opened wide with surprise.

A snowflake dropped on her almost eerily smooth skin. At the same time, her lips covered with bright red lipstick opened agape.

Apollo shook his head, gradually making sense of the situation around him.

"Gah... Where are we?"

Layla giggled.

"In the forest! But there is something even cooler. Look at this person!"

Apollo slowly looked up towards Willow, who was frozen in place.

There was a confused expression on his face.

"Mommy?"

Layla gasped.

"She is mommy?"

Apollo blinked a few times, shaking off his stupor.

"Ah, yeah!"

Willow's heart leaped up to her throat.

How did Apollo get here?

How was he able to find her so easily?

...Was he going to try to kill her?

Willow snapped to her senses, not taking another second to ponder over her questions.

With a bitter frown, she bolted off.

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Eh? Why is your mother running away?"

Apollo panicked. He immediately broke off into a sprint, chasing after her.

"What! We have to catch mommy!"

Layla giggled before leaping off the ground.

"Then let's hurry!"

Willow flitted across the tree branches, revealing her figure for only brief moments.

Apollo had trouble keeping up. Willow's direction kept changing erratically, so his eyes could barely catch the corners of her dress.

Apollo found himself stopping on multiple occasions to shift his direction, only to find that he was going the wrong way.

Layla had been staying by Apollo's side as he ran.

She raised her arms in the air, swinging them around with frustration.

"What are you doing!? Mommy is going to get away!"

Apollo anxiously scratched the side of his head.

"Ah, I don't know where she is!"

Layla puffed her cheeks up.

"Just follow me, dummy!"

She leaped off the ground, landing on one of the tree branches.

Although panicked, Apollo did as told. He jumped high in the air and followed after Layla.

It was almost as if Layla could see through the trees. She abruptly changed directions without warning, constantly following right behind Willow.

Willow furrowed her brows.

Who was this girl and how could she follow so easily?

Willow stopped erratically shifting her direction. After all, Layla wasn't affected. Continuing to do so would simply slow down her pace, doing more harm than good.

Since Willow no longer bothered with hiding, Apollo was able to see her through the branches.

He called out.

"Mommy wait!"

Willow stumbled, feeling a pain in her heart. Hearing Apollo's voice made her lose focus. There was even a part of her that wanted to stop running. However, she remembered the look of hatred Apollo stared her down with.

And so, Willow kept on running.

Apollo and Layla would close the distance on occasion, but would lose it a moment later. At this rate, it would simply be a test of who had more stamina.

Willow grit her teeth. Her hand firmly grasped her black sword before tracing a horizontal arc behind her.

The strike was silent except for a light humming sound.

A wave rippled out, directly uprooting trees, causing them to snap. A tidal wave of snow and wood fragments rushed towards Apollo and Layla.

Apollo closed his eyes and turned his face away.

"What is happening?"

Layla held her arms in front of her face.

"There's lots of snow coming for us!"

The tidal wave battered down on them, but was relatively harmless.

The pair had not been delayed for long, but they lost direct vision of Willow.

Apollo held the side of his head with his hand.

"Ah! Mommy is gone!"

Layla pointed in a direction and shook her arm.

"She's over there! Look!"

Apollo's eyes followed Layla's finger, but all he could see was snow.

"I don't see!"

Layla puffed her cheeks in frustration.

"Mmm! Mommy is going to get away if you're so slow! I'm fast, so I will carry you!"

Before Apollo could respond, Layla wrapped an arm around his waist.

Then, she took off.

"Onwards!"

The sudden jolt wasn't that bad, however, it ended up reminding Apollo of his trauma.

"Ah! Wait, no please!"

Layla paid no heed to his cries, essentially dragging him through the forest as he screamed. Their pace had noticeably picked up.

After a few moments, Willow was once again in sight.

As for Willow, she realized the pair was catching up. Layla was faster, so Willow decided there was no point in running further.

She spun around, holding her sword out in front of her. It was vibrating slowly, but was rapidly increasing in intensity.

Layla responded in kind, pulling back her free hand, forming a claw. The muscles in her shoulder stretched taut, slowly bringing her arm forward.

Her claw rapidly accelerated forward as she exerted across her arm, then snapped out once it reached her fingers.

By now, Willow's sword became a blur. It was vibrating so fast that the surrounding snow was blown away.

Suddenly, Willow's sword froze in place, almost like it was still the entire time.

Two monstrous waves were thrown at each other, not only blowing away the snow, but shredding the nearby trees to pieces.

A shrill ear-piercing explosion resounded throughout the forest.

An enormous crater formed on the ground. The shockwave was so strong, the trees far off in the distance bent like they were trying to do the limbo.

Willow and Layla were more or less unscathed. However, they were not unaffected by the shockwave. They had been blown back, greatly increasing the distance between them.

During this time, Apollo was in a daze, still begging Layla to stop.

Layla kept her gaze trained on Willow.

As for Willow, she decided to disappear.