Point-of-View: X

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"Do I have to stay up for this too? I could really go for some sleep right now, you know, I’m pretty sleepy," I sighed in exasperation.

"Come on, it’s the new year’s night! It’ll be nice to do something normal like this every so often, so let’s just celebrate the new year like normal, carefree, everyday people for once," Grinned Miraliz, as she handed me a confetti popper.

So, yeah, it’s the 31st of December, and we’re just about half an hour away from the start of the new year, 2027. Miraliz wanted to stay up and celebrate it, and she insisted on me being a part of it too.

Which is nice and all, but I’m so tired right now. Well, I suppose I can stay awake until 12 PM, wait up a few minutes longer until she’s satisfied and then go to sleep. It’s the least I can do...

"I’ve never actually used one of these before, I’m guessing I pull on this string at the bottom of the cone, right?" I surmised, as I glanced at it.

"Mhm, I’ve set my alarm for midnight, that’ll be our cue to fire out the confetti," She nodded in response.

"Wait, how’d you even get these? It’s been over a month now since Neo disappeared," I frowned, as she averted her gaze sheepishly.

"Well, uh...I may or may not have snuck out to town last night after you went to sleep. But all the shops were closed, so I had to wait a few hours till they opened up, and then bought a bunch of fireworks and stuff. And now that the cat’s out of the bag...I’m gonna go get all of those so that we can fire them all at once!" She exclaimed eagerly as she hurried back to her RV.

Hm, come to think of it...she did seem oddly sleepy throughout the day today, and a bit nervous as well, probably because she was hiding the fireworks.

Well, it looks like nothing went wrong, so I won’t say anything. It’s easy to forget that, not very long ago, she was just a normal kid living with her mother, before Eden showed up and destroyed her life.

And for the past month and a bit, she’s been training really hard with Bastet, having all but let go of a normal, teenage life. I’ve been training too, but I’m a lot more used to fighting and enduring pain than she is, and I never had a childhood to begin with in the first place.

Also, Bastet hasn’t been pulling his punches too much lately, so yeah, it’s been rough. With all that in mind, this is the least she deserves after everything she’s been through...alright then, I’ll make sure to support her and ensure that tonight is an absolute blast for her.

"Hey, I’m back!" She called out, jogging back with her arms full of the stuff she’d bought.

Woah, those are a lot of fireworks...seems a little excessive, if you ask me, but I’m not gonna damper the mood, not when she’s this cheerful and upbeat.

"Alright, let’s set them up right away. It’s only about half an hour more till midnight, so we should get everything ready," I suggested with a smile.

"Yeah, okay, that sounds good!" She nodded with an excited look on her face.

We then began setting it all up, connecting the fuses of the various fireworks together so that we could fire them all in one go. Once we were close to finishing up, I spotted Bastet, staring at us curiously.

"What are all these? The scent is rather unpleasant," He frowned, approaching us once we were done setting it all up.

"They’re fireworks. We light them and they shoot up into the sky and then explode in a colorful,vibrant pattern," Explained Miraliz, as she checked the time impatiently.

Hm, just fireworks alone might be a bit boring as a way to celebrate the new year...

"Ah, yes, I believe I have seen such a thing from a distance before. So, this is the scent they emmit, is it?" He mused, as he scrunched up his nose.

"Yeah, it isn’t a very nice smell, but it’s all about the explosion with fireworks," She grinned in response.

"Hey, I’ll be right back," I remarked, as I stood up and headed towards the RVs.

"There’s just seven minutes left, so don’t take too long!" Miraliz called out after me, before I responded with a thumbs up.

As I got to the RVs, I took out a needle and used it to unlock Inoka’s door...he’s sure to have some booze and snacks in here. I added these needles to my arsenal, after putting in a request for needles coated in light energy-infused liquid.

So they gave me a cannister filled with a sticky liquid that’s been infused with light energy, and several boxes of throwing needles. I also got some new daggers since some of the ones I use have gotten too chipped and worn down to be of proper use.

And now, all my hidden weapons are coated in this light energy-infused liquid. I was informed that the Witch, Serafine, infused as much light energy into this liquid as possible.

As for recruiting more Witches to help out, that’s apparently been a dead end. Which makes sense, searching the entire world is much, much more difficult without the use of Neo’s portals.

Anyway, back to me breaking into Inoka’s RV...I smirked as I got the door unlocked, before stepping in and looking around. I opened his mini-fridge and peeked in, a triumphant grin spreading out on my lips.

Bingo! A bottle of gin, which is still about quarter of the way full. Ooh, some sour candy as well. Miraliz is still only sixteen, her birthday having been just five days ago, but I guess a little bit of booze won’t hurt.

Hm, but drinking it straight might be tough for her. Does this guy have any juice or soda or something? Ah, here we go, a half full bottle of cola. Good enough.

I then found a couple of glasses, dividing the remaining gin in the bottle evenly between the glasses, and then pouring the cola into one of of them. I’ll just drink mine as is.

I then glanced at the time...oh, crap, just two minutes to go! I better hurry! I quickly jogged back to where Miraliz was, being careful not to spill any of the drinks.

"There you are, I was starting to think you were gonna miss it," She greeted me with a sigh of relief, as she glanced back after hearing my footsteps, before noticing the glasses, "What do you have there?"

"This is a one time thing before you reach legal drinking age, so savor it. Your first taste of alcohol," I grinned, as I handed her the glass.

"Woah, really!? Thanks!" She accepted it gratefully, a look of intrigue on her face as she gave it a curious sniff.

On her birthday, she was so focused on training that she didn’t even realize it was her birthday till late at night. But she didn’t make a big deal out of it and just brushed it off, though I could tell that she would’ve liked to have had a celebration. So, hopefully, this will make up for it.

"Alright, it’s almost time," I said, as I checked the time.

"Less than a minute to go, we should get ready to light up the fireworks," She replied with a nod.

"Mhm, leave it to me," I responded, as she took out a lighter.

She must have gotten that when she went into town. I then took it from her and picked up the fuse for the fireworks, getting ready to light it. And as the countdown reached ten seconds, I quickly sparked the flame, the fuse catching on fire and burning rapidly..

"Five...four...three...," Miraliz counted down in anticipation, as the spark began to reach the fireworks..

"Two...," I counted down with her, before exclaiming right as the fuses burnt through, "ONE!"

Right on cue, a deafening sound burst out as the fireworks blasted up into the sky, before exploding a few seconds later and illuminating the area in various, bright colors.

They’re just cheap fireworks, so they’re pretty small and nowhere near as vibrant as proper ones, but...I have to admit, this is pretty nice. Miraliz seems to be enjoying herself as well.

"W-woah...that’s kinda nasty," She frowned, as she took a gulp of her drink, before glancing at Bastet, "Oh, you look pretty amazed. If you think this is nice, you should see some real fireworks!"

No...that’s not amazement or awe on his face. It’s more a look of alarm...and following his gaze, he isn’t actually looking at the fireworks. No, he’s looking past them, at something in that direction...

"Hey, what’s wrong?" I inquired, giving him a nudge to snap him out of it.

"This is bad...it is finally happening. A bridge has been opened...Hell has begun their invasion of our world! And...and the bridge that they have opened...it is in this nation. Only a few dozen kilometers away from here...," He informed us grimly.

No way...already? The Demons are here already!? Oh, no...we’re in trouble...

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