62. Labyrinthine Malice
"Sarvangasana!"
In the outer suburbs of Enmetropolis, near the northeastern end of the
tournament complex, Captain Ravi Katjagaarda twirled into a headstand and deftly
deflected a punch from a floating Cecilia.
"That again?" the Sheep sighed.
Sure enough, Cecilia had a counterattack prepared, and immediately fired
another kick toward Ravi's lower stomach.
"Setu Bandha Sarvangasana!"
Ravi let loose another bellow and brought the lower half of her body to
the ground. In a bridge pose, she slid barely out of the range of Cecilia's kick
and used her momentum to expel raging olive psynergy.
Cecilia whistled. "You're rather nimble for a gal your age. But
why all the shouting?"
"Chanting is one of the key strategies to raising the flow of one's
chakra," Ravi replied solemnly.
"Ah yes, the seven limbs of Yoga," Cecilia replied with a knowing
smirk. "I’ve read several books on the topic. Let's see if I can remember
this...first, it starts with Yama: ethics and integrity. Then Niyama: self-discipline.
Asana: contortion of the body. Pranayama: the extension of one's life-force. Pratyahara:
withdrawal from the self. Dharana: Focusing the energies on a single point of exit,
and finally Dhyana: Uninterrupted concentration!"
Ravi kept her guard up, but couldn't fully mask her surprise at her
opponent's knowledge.
"I'm Cecilia Schroeder, the 5th of the Dark Zodiacs," Cecilia
continued. "Not just a researcher of the science of psynergy, but a lover
of all wisdom. At least, I know enough to understand that you, Captain Ravi Katjagaarda,
are a highly esteemed Yoga martial arts master, one who has maximized her body's
inner chakra to its fullest extents. Well? Am I wrong?"
"I see you've done your homework," Ravi muttered. "What's
your point?"
"Isn’t it obvious?" Cecilia flexed her aura, displacing the
gravity and knocking Ravi off her feet. "Knowledge is power."
*
"The elevators should be reaching the top now! Exactly 62 people passed
the third preliminary round," Trunculo continued. "Wow! That's even
lower than I expected! Some of you were acting very naughty, weren't you? Well,
time's of the essence, so let's hurry up and get started on the fourth and final
preliminary round!"
"Did you see that?!" Nathan shouted. His face was plastered
to the window of the VIP room. "They just showed Vice-Captain Walden's face!
He's safe!"
"They’ll all make it to the finals." Tao nodded. "I'm
sure of it."
Nathan stared out to the screens. "I wonder what the Church will
do when they hear about this."
"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Tao muttered, "when our
guest arrives."
**************
"In fact, we are in such a hurry," Trunculo's voice went
on, "that I don't even have time to explain what the instructions to the
fourth round are! Oh, dear! Anyway, have fun!" Trunculo finished.
"Remember, no matter what happens, 46 of you will definitely, absolutely, certainly
not pass this round!! So if you feel like taking out your partner, now's
the time to do it! Bye!"
"Oh come on! Seriously?!" Vance stared at the long, winding hallway
that extended from the top of the elevator. "Another maze?! Gimme a break!"
"Maybe it'll just be a quick sprint," Eden said. "We should
get going, Vance!"
The two moved forward, but then slowly came to a stop as a rumbling sound
echoed out from beyond. It gradually grew louder and louder, until the entire
passageway rumbled in unison.
"What's that?" Eden asked.
"Another group fighting?" Vance guessed.
A dark shadow spread along the walls, reaching out from behind the first
curve of the passageway. The loud noise quickly reached its climax as a huge
metal orb rolled around the bend and came speeding down toward Vance and Eden.
As Eden gasped, Vance groaned and clasped his hands together.
"This passageway isn't very large," he said. "We aren't
gonna be able to dodge that thing. We'll just have to bust through it!"
"Okay!" Eden pulled her hands up and molded an orange shield
around the two of them. "I'll be the barrier!"
"Then I'll be the bullet, I guess," Vance muttered.
As the ball closed in on them, Vance balled his hands into fists and pressed
them outwards. When his psynergy-charged knuckles made contact with the metal,
he closed his eyes and tried to sense the elemental makeup of the structure
with his psynergy.
Anything can be destroyed, Vance. Averyl's words echoed in his mind. It doesn't matter what it is. All
you need to do is focus on breaking them down, one by one. You're an
Albavitrean. You can do this. Your psynergy was made to destroy.
Vance burrowed through the mass, trying to keep his aura firm in order
to reduce the damage to his own body. He felt the sharp edges of shattering
metal scrape his arms and legs, drawing blood. But his psynergy cut back at it,
slicing cleanly through everything that kept the matter together. Then, he tumbled
out the other side and crashed onto the cold, hard floor.
Now in two separate pieces, the orb slammed into the walls and tumbled
into Eden’s barrier. The cracks Vance had planted in its structure slowly spread
outward, crumbling it to pieces as she deflected it.
"Vance!" Completely unscathed, Eden rushed forward to help him.
"How did you do that?"
"I don't know," Vance said, as he picked himself up and wiped
the residue from his body. "I guess it's something Averyl taught me. When
I concentrate really hard, it becomes easier for me to break through stuff."
"Your aura felt so powerful, too. I don't think I could have done
that."
"I'm sure you could," Vance sighed, surveying the cuts along
his arms. "I dunno. Looks like I still need to work on my technique, though."
"Here," Eden carefully placed her hands on Vance's arm.
"Let me see."
Vance watched in shock as Eden covered his arm with psynergy. Within moments,
his wounds had disappeared.
"Wha..." Vance gasped. "How did you do that?"
"I don’t know..." Eden said. "I just discovered I could
do it one day when I was training with Captain Azuka. I can heal myself, too..."
Vance nodded. "No wonder everyone’s after you. That’s some power. Hey,
wait a second, is that the secret you didn’t want to tell me?"
Eden’s niceness abruptly faded, and she looked down to Vance with a
frown.
"Fine, fine." Vance rolled his eyes. "I don't know why
you think you have to hide something from me, but whatever."
Eden waited a bit, then opened her mouth. "Let’s go."
The two of them picked their pace up to a heavy jog, and after about a
while the floor abruptly cut off to reveal a long, black pit. Above the
expanse, silver platforms glowing with a faint red psynergy aura floated to and
fro. Lining the walls and the ceiling of the room were silver pipes that
crackled and surged with potent energy.
"Someone's controlling this from somewhere," Eden said.
"It's like an obstacle course."
"They're just trying to wear us down now," Vance heaved.
"These people are insane."
Eden's eyes moved to and fro as she studied the formulaic pattern of
the floating platforms. "You know what this reminds me of?"
"Yeah," Vance wheezed. "A video game."
*
As Qin Long alighted and its claws dug into the ground, a wide cloud of
dust puffed out below the dragon's enormous girth. Cornered on the dragon's back
between Rose and Zhang Guo, Maximilian had no choice but to take in the sights.
The edge of Enmetropolis stood far on the western horizon, and the city's skyline
blocked out most of the scenery. Where they sat, he saw paved roads stretching
out beyond the city limits into deserted hills filled with greyish-green grass
and the occasional tree. They were isolated.
Maximilian's eyes snapped back as he saw Rose leap off the dragon's back
with Kamo once again in her watery clutches.
"I-I demand you unhand him!" Maximilian shouted. "Or you
will regret it!"
"Do you wish to begin the battle?" The creaky voice of Zhang Guo
startled Maximilian, and the captain swirled around to face his other foe.
"Before you die...we will fight."
"Wh-what?!" Maximilian shouted. Still, after all this time,
the monk's eyes were closed, matching the serene expression on his wrinkled
face. "Open your eyes, heathen, and then I shall heed your call!"
Zhang Guo gurgled out a creaking guffaw, coughed, and then continued.
"Look closer."
Maximilian did as he was told and bent closer to stare at the man's face.
As soon as he realized what he was looking for, he let out a horrified moan, backed
up and nearly slipped off Qin Long's back.
"Why...why?!"
Across the edges of Zhang Guo's eyelids were thick black stitches that
penetrated his skin and kept his eyes eternally closed.
"This world is a disgusting, vile place," the old man spoke.
"In order to move closer to enlightenment, one must do everything one can to
avoid the corruption of worldly desires."
Maximilian reached behind and stuck his arm up the tail of his jacket. In
a flash, his hand came back out, grasping a shining gold-and-black mallet.
"You've confirmed only one truth: you’ve lost your mind, old man!"
Zhang Guo hopped off the back of the dragon with grace and landed softly
on the grass below. "If you do not wish to see all of the truth, then so be
it. I will strike you down...just like every other fool on this plain."
"Self-righteous, just like the rest of them!" Maximilian shouted,
brandishing his weapon. "Looks like the Campeador will quell another
evil today!"
"Qin Long..." Zhang Guo murmured. "Enlighten this man."
The dragon roared and took to the skies. Maximilian flailed about on
its back and tried to find a foothold, but as the dragon flew higher, he decided
to jump ship and let his body slide down the beast's tail into a free fall.
"He's dead," Rose chuckled, keeping Kamo at bay with her
aquatic tentacles. "What an idiot."
Maximilian went sailing toward the ground, but all was not lost. Rose
and Zhang Guo watched in confusion as Maximilian swung his mallet out toward the
sky. As soon as the black side of the mallet made contact with the fluffy end
of a cloud, the entire nimbus turned a dark grey color, as if it had suddenly
been turned into stone, and plummeted to the ground.
With ease, the Knight grabbed on to the edge of the makeshift meteor and
climbed on top of it. As it neared the grass, Maximilian aimed the bottom end
of his mallet toward his platform and thrust downwards, cracking the mass into
several pieces.
"Watch out!" Rose shouted.
Pieces of stone crashed into the ground, splintered and sent sharp
projectiles flying toward the two Zodiacs. Meanwhile, Maximilian sprung off the
remains of the stone cloud and performed a triple flip in the air, allowing the
man to make a flashy finish on the ground. He shot a smirk to the two Zodiacs, then
tapped a nearby stone fragment with the gold side of his mallet and reverted it
back into a cloud.
"So," he grinned deviously, "what's next?"
Zhang Guo protected his body with his staff. "A psynergy-operated petrification
device?"
"Soon you will be added to my collection of beautiful stone sculptures,"
Maximilian explained, "in my 'Hall of Retribution.' You'll line up along
the others, obediently serving your sentences as you reflect on your wrongdoings!"
Zhang Guo gurgled once more. "We will do no such thing. Qin
Long!"
The dragon swooped down from the sky with a thunderous roar and approached
its target. Maximilian surprised his opponent yet again by completely ignoring
the beast and dashing across the plains to Rose.
"First things first!" he shouted and raised his mallet.
"To free my comrade!"
"Bad idea!" Rose screamed, covering her body in a deep blue
aura.
Maximilian swung his weapon out toward her arm, but the mallet connected
with water, turning it to stone that fell forward. It was one of the many bursts
of water that shot out from Rose as she spun to the side, forcing Maximilian to
stumble.
"You may be strong..." Rose let her body collapse into a
puddle on the ground. "But I’m more than human."
Rose's water quickly spread along the grass, submerging Maximilian's feet.
At the same time, Qin Long appeared above the three of them, casting a dark shadow
over the vicinity.
Water wrapped around Kamo’s body as well, held in place by Rose’s firm
azure psynergy. "My hero..." he sputtered. "Call me crazy, Max,
but it looks like you just screwed yourself."
"Silence!" Maximilian growled, water splashing as he tried to
escape the developing pond. "This is...nothing!"
Qin Long roared once more, then made a final dive as it swooped in to
swallow its prey.
*
"That makes...thirty...seven..." Vance huffed, as he stood
shoulder to shoulder with Eden above the massive pit. Each floating platform was
barely big enough for the two of them.
"We're almost to the end, Vance!" Eden pointed to the small
expanse that remained between them and the rest of the hallway. "C'mon!"
"We've been jumping for the past twenty minutes!" Vance screamed.
"When I get out of here...I'm gonna personally kick the ass of whoever designed
this place!"
"You can do it!" Eden ignored Vance's frustration and gave
him an encouraging pat on the back.
As the platform moved in line with the next one, Vance took a flying
leap. Eden followed him, but as she caught her footing she stumbled a bit and began
to teeter.
"Eden!" Vance threw his arms out, frantically grabbing her
waist. "Are okay?"
"Yeah," Eden quickly murmured, as her body wobbled on the edge.
"I just slipped!"
Vance pulled her back with ease, inadvertently pushing her body into his.
Realizing how close they had become, he looked uneasily down at her face, and she
looked back up at him, feeling a bit silly. Vance's hands were wrapped tightly around
her waist, and she’d unconsciously wrapped her arms around his back. She could smell
his sweat and feel his heightening heartbeat against her chest as they both tried
to stay balanced. For some reason, she thought of home, and it comforted her.
"I...uh..." Eden stammered.
"Let's make this final jump together," Vance said, dissolving
the awkward moment. "We did it, Eden."
They leapt across the final gap hand-in-hand and touched foot on solid
ground again. Vance stepped away from Eden and let out a quiet sigh of relief,
while she took a small step forward and waited for her pulse to settle down.
The next room they found had many other hallways leading into it, much
like the final chamber of the first preliminary round. It even had its own collection
of fresh corpses. At the far end of the space was a large set of stairs leading
upward.
"That must be the exit!" Vance shouted. "We made
it!"
"Wait," Eden said. "I can sense others. To our left, to
our right...even up those stairs."
Eden kept her eyes open as the auras drifted into her mind: a spiky,
fuchsia aura, followed by a putrid oozing aura, and many others farther away.
"Watch out." Vance stepped out in front of the girl. "It's–"
"More!" a high-pitched voice screamed from one of the other
hallways. "Destroy them, Trask!"
Vance turned just in time to see an enormous blob covered in differently-sized
mouths squelching toward him. Beyond the disgusting, sputtering creature, he
saw a middle-aged woman wearing some very complicated-looking goggles and a lab
coat.
"He'll be our next test subject!" the woman cackled.
"Eat him up! Eat up his psynergy!"
Vance looked back to Eden. "Follow me!"
Hurriedly, they dashed up the stairs, while the being known as Trask slithered
in pursuit.
What they found at the top of the stairs was a small, oval room with a couch,
sink, and a door to a toilet. In the left corner was a Regeneration Tank, and
the opposite wall encased windows that looked out to the to an arena stage.
"Come to steal my spot, have you?" a different voice called from
the ceiling.
Vance looked up just in time to see the hooded dart wielder he’d run into
in the first round. As the killer launched a stream of darts at him, Eden
shoved Vance to the side and rolled, just barely evading death as one of the darts
flew through the edge of her clothes.
"You were right," Vance whispered to Eden. "This is it.
This is the waiting area for the finals. But just arriving here doesn't mean
anything. They aren't going to start the final round until only sixteen people take
over the rooms, just like they planned."
As if to confirm this, Trunculo's voice boomed throughout the halls.
"Five of the eight rooms around the arena have been claimed already –
albeit by multiple people! Right now, our remaining competitors are currently
battling it out within the eight waiting rooms that we've strategically placed
around the arena!"
*************
Trunculo's voice continued as Sabine bounded up the stairs, balancing the
wounded, unconscious body of Amyr on her quivering shoulders. As she moved into
the room and looked out the window, she was rewarded with a perfect view of the
tournament arena, as well as the hundreds of spectators seated around it.
"Don't worry if your partner from the elevator already died!"
Trunculo shouted. "You can always find a new one!"
**************
Trunculo erupted into an obnoxious laugh as Mephistoclessia and Saffron
stomped over the pile of bodies that blocked the stairs to their waiting room.
"Now I see why you insisted on fighting down there."
Mephistoclessia moved inside and reclined on the plush couch in the corner.
"Wouldn't want to have dirtied our own rest space."
"Forsooth." Saffron walked up to a window and peered out at
the crowd. "Hark! An empty stage, void only of its descending star!"
Suddenly all the holographic screens in the arena flashed to a shot of
Vance's fist slamming into the dart woman's hood.
"Oooohh!" Trunculo shouted, as the dart wielder went twirling
down to the ground. The screens flickered and rotated around the room, displaying
Eden as she frantically tried to evade the Trask. "There's a lot of action
going on in the southwest room!"
*************
"Competitor #1271 just got a special delivery from #4001, forcing
her to relinquish her position in the room! Everything's up in the air here, folks!"
In the stands, Edward leaned closer toward the screens and squinted, focusing
in on the tall boy with long black hair that fell to his shoulders. His back
was to the screen, but his silhouette looked oddly familiar.
And...that hair...it looks so much like.... Suddenly, Edward ripped his eyes from the screen
and turned away. No...who am I kidding? There's no way it could be him. You're
a fool, Edward – an old fool who was too busy running from your own problems to
notice the distance between you and your own son. Itt's too late now...your son
is gone, and you may never see him again.
Next: Sixteen Souls
