65.
Crime and Punishment
"From the northwestern sector, we have contestant #4002, Cliff Walden!
He's the 4th division vice-captain of the Guild of Dimensional
Knights, as well as one of the fastest shots in the tournament! Don't be turned
off by his unusual appearance – this guy's got some definite experience under
his belt!
"Next, from the eastern sector, we have contestant #2497, Me....Mephi...umm,
well, we have a woman who needs no introduction! I know I can honestly say that
I'm not the only guy here who'd like to have a peek at her true face! Maybe our
friend Cliff here will get a chance to unmask her!"
Cliff's aura burned as he stepped up to the arena, shotgun in tow. This
is what we’ve been waiting for...it’s just you and me now.
"Aaaaannnnndd....." Trunculo's voice wavered off. "Go!"
As soon as the match began, Mephistoclessia raised her thin arms and let
loose a barrage of psynergy threads. Ablaze with adrenalin and energy, Cliff severed
each and every last one of them with expert finesse.
"Fool..." the woman rasped. "Trust me, you don't want to
do this the hard way."
"You abducted my captain," Cliff replied. "You killed my
allies, and you terrorized the innocent, all in order to plunge the world into
darkness."
Mephistoclessia crossed her arms. "So what?"
"You will go no further," Cliff declared. "And not just
you...today, every last Dark Zodiac will fall!"
The Knight aimed his shotgun at the woman and fired. Mephistoclessia instantly
cocked her head to the left, and the brown orb went sailing over her shoulder. As
Cliff's blast closed in on the audience seats, it collided with an invisible barrier
and dissipated.
Trunculo let out a guffaw. "Did you guys really think we were gonna
roast you like that? Do not fear, the inner arena is surrounded by a huge energy
field, run from the underground by a hundred of the city's most potent psynergy
channelers. There's no way anything's getting through that baby! But more importantly,
look at those two go! It seems as if there's some kind of vendetta between them,
folks. Do I sense an ex-girlfriend?!"
Cliff fired two more shots toward Mephistoclessia, who twisted and swung
her body downward to evade them. For every few shots he fired, Mephistoclessia
assaulted Cliff with a new round of psynergy threads, and neither of them seemed
to be gaining much ground. By now, the two were so familiar with each other's tendencies
that they could both defend themselves with ease.
Cliff sharpened his mind’s eye. I can't rely solely on my sight for
this...I just need to concentrate on that disgusting green aura and find an opening.
Seizing a lull in Mephistoclessia's assault, Cliff dove in closer.
"Not so strong without any corpses to manipulate, are you?!"
As Cliff entered her corner, Mephistoclessia jumped in the opposite direction,
moving her body into point-blank range for only a second. As her body shifted,
Cliff's senses were momentarily thrown off, but he ignored them, desperate to
grapple the Rat's body and immobilize her. He felt Mephistoclessia's coarse brown
hair slid along his shoulder. A psynergy thread hidden within her locks sliced
through the skin and muscle below his neck, drawing bright red blood.
"Cliff!" Eden banged on the windows of the waiting room in
desperation as she watched him scream in pain.
Vance pulled her away from the window, gritting his teeth. "Eden,
settle down!"
"Oh, Vance..." Eden sobbed. "I know this sounds pathetic,
but after all we've been through...I just can't watch him suffer like this."
"I know what you mean," Vance muttered, keeping his eyes firm
on the battle. "Trust me, I'm not enjoying this either."
Outside, Cliff quickly learned that his plan to fight Mephistoclessia in
close-range had not been a foolproof one. Psynergy threads kept appearing from
random angles all around him, even when she had her back turned to him.
She must have an incredible sense for psynergy, he marveled. She always seems to know
exactly where I am!
"You didn't think I only sent psynergy out through my fingers, did
you?" Mephistoclessia teased, as her hair floated unnaturally behind her scalp.
"Please. I thought you were experienced."
Cliff hurriedly fired his shotgun again. Mephistoclessia easily side-stepped
the initial blast, but Cliff kept the beam going, yanking it across the arena's
perimeter to follow her. Mephistoclessia dashed away at a blinding speed, and soon
she was behind Cliff and out of the range of his slow, bulky attack.
Mephistoclessia leaned in close and rasped into his ear. "Pathetic."
Cliff turned around and tried to bring his arms up to shield himself in
time, but it was too late. Two thick psynergy threads wrapped around his left
arm and immobilized it.
"Woah-ho-ho!" Trunculo shouted jovially. "It looks like
the agile Mephistoclessia has lassoed herself a cowboy! How's he gonna get out of
this one?"
No! Cliff panicked. I'm
not thinking straight...I'm so desperate to hit her that I've started cutting corners!
"You sad, sad, little man," Mephistoclessia spoke. "I almost
feel bad for you. Almost."
The crowd watched in horror as Cliff's left arm flew up and dealt a sharp
uppercut to his chin.
"Just give up," Mephistoclessia laughed. "It's annoying
to have to waste even this much power on you."
"Give up?" Cliff snorted blood out of his nose and hooked his
right arm around his left. "I'm just
*************
getting started!" Azuka screamed.
Her battle with Bruce had taken them all the way from the inner streets
of Belmarc to an abandoned, run-down freeway on the outskirts of the city. Craters
trailed behind them, created through a combination of Bruce's fireballs and Azuka's
sword techniques. But aside from some minor scrapes and bruises, neither had
taken the upper hand.
"You act big, but when you get down to it," Bruce said with a
chuckle, "what's the difference between you and me, really?"
"I'll tell you. All your reasons for fighting are entirely selfish.
You kill and steal to further your own goals. You're the complete opposite of what
the Knights represent!"
"Selfish, huh?" Bruce smiled. "That's a good one. Hey,
tell me something, Azuka, because honestly, I just can't figure it out with my inferior
brain. You're of royal lineage, yet for some reason you're a Knight running around
risking your life for the 'sake of the universe.' Even now, when your true home
dimension is in turmoil, you’re out here playing the hero. It looks to me like
the Empress is just searching for an escape route from her duties."
Azuka paled. "H-how do you know all that?"
"Grayson told me all about your connection to Yamato...and the
Church," Bruce explained. "And I’m a dumbass, so I always try to
absorb all the information I can find."
"You know nothing." Azuka growled. "You know nothing
about what I’ve been through!"
"Maybe." Bruce let his flames die down, and his fiery aura
grew still. "Or maybe you're a spoiled brat who's learned how to run and
hide from her problems. You've never experienced true suffering, because you've
never had the balls to face it head-on."
Azuka snorted. "And let me guess – you have?"
Bruce let flames dance across his body. "I'm not just some thug who
decided to go into cahoots with the Dark Zodiacs. I'm under a contract...a life
contract."
Azuka flinched at that last sentence, but kept her guard up.
"You've heard of the Sagacia Laboratory, haven't you? Rose and I
were born there."
"The Sagacia Laboratory?" Azuka twitched, remembering where she
and her students had spent the last months training. "You mean, you're a survivor?"
"We were survivors in more ways than one. We were extracted from some
nameless donors' wombs as embryos, then grown in test tubes by the scientists
until we reached full term. They injected a special kind of psynergy into our
bodies, modifying our genetic makeup and bodily structures as they pleased. We
grew up as mutant babies, two of the few who survived all the experiments, 'gifted'
with the ability to control mother nature. Water & Fire...we were to be two
leaders of the army they wanted to use to take over the world."
Azuka's expression softened a bit as she listened. Orange flames burned
in Bruce's eyes as he continued.
"I lived the first fourteen years of my life in that place. Rose as
well. They told us we were special beings, more than human. And we are."
Bruce smirked darkly. "But I'll never forget all the things they did to us,
Azuka. Being trapped in a room colder than a freezer for hours on end, just to
develop my power. Trapping Rose underwater to try and test her body's reactions...that
was daily life for us.
"We kind of had it easy, now that I think about it. One other kid
was born without any bones in his body, just to collect data. And as soon as
they were done with him, they threw him out. Another kid was born perfectly healthy,
but then they started to remove his sensory organs. First, his nose. Second,
his mouth, third, his ears...just to see if it would increase his psychic capabilities.
Another kid–"
"Stop it!" Azuka suddenly shouted. "Please! What are you
telling me all this for?!"
Bruce cut in with a voice as cold as ice. "Right after Rose and I
turned 14, the original six came: Roufas, Grayson, Van Kaen, Zhang Guo, Cecilia,
and Mephistoclessia. They laid waste to the facilities and freed all of that
twisted empire's prisoners. That's when I met Roufas for the first time. He told
us that he was gathering exceptional people in order to fix the broken world. And
you know, he’s right. Most this world really is filled with nothing but human trash."
Azuka felt a sick feeling deep within her gut as she listened to Bruce’s
impassioned words. She could tell he wasn’t lying.
"That's the difference between you and me," Bruce finished.
"I fight to achieve a common goal with my comrades, and I'm prepared to
give my life for our mission, no matter what. No two ways about it for me. I’m
loyal to Roufas and his mission, and that's it. But you..."
Azuka's psynergy flared up. "What are you insinuating? That I'm corrupt?"
"Maybe." Bruce raised an eyebrow. "That depends on how you
answer my questions. You see, I never had a chance to return to my homeland.
It's all gone. But you're still in contact with Yamato, aren't you? And the
Church as well..." Bruce shook his head. "You know, I already hated you
Knights. You act like you're so high and mighty, clinging to your flawed ideals.
Clinging to the vile Church. But you know what I hate more than Knights?
More than the Guild?"
A bead of sweat dropped off the end of Azuka's steep nose. "What?"
"Traitors," Bruce finished, then materialized a fireball in his
hands and launched it at Azuka.
The captain responded with a furious scream, igniting her aura until it
rose a dozen heads higher than her person. She raised her wooden blade and swung
it out like a baseball bat. Psynergy clashed with psynergy, but Azuka shoved her
body forward, finally nullifying the blazing ball’s momentum and sending it careening
off the highway.
Bruce's speed was shocking considering the man's size, and he was on Azuka
in an instant. Azuka backed up, swiping up colorful psynergy barriers with her
sword, but Bruce charged right through them like a mad animal.
No matter how thick Azuka layered her psynergy, Bruce continued to push
right through. Then, she felt something coming from behind, and swerved just in
time to dodge a massive column of flame that exploded from the ground. Behind
the two, a half-circle of volcanic flame had begun to spread out along the wrecked
highway. As Azuka backed up from the fire, Bruce stepped in and clasped his
fist around her neck.
"I bet you thought I was too stupid to plan ahead," Bruce said
with a chuckle. "This is an old highway that isn't in use anymore. Yesterday
I spent some time burying volcanic rock beneath the asphalt and around the outskirts
of this place. Then I led you here."
"So...what?" Azuka croaked.
At the flick of Bruce's free wrist, the spires of flame roared upward, then
curved in an arc and came down toward Azuka. In the meantime, fiery psynergy surged
up from Bruce's body, turning his body into a hulking wick.
"So..." Bruce tightened his grip. "This is my playground."
In the next moment, flames and psynergy collided in a circular explosion.
Asphalt, grass and rock flew from the ground as cement and dirt was ripped
away. Throughout, Bruce stood with his arm tight around Azuka's neck, grinning
evilly as white-hot flame rushed over their bodies.
As the smoke cleared, Azuka ripped herself from Bruce’s grasp, and he
was shocked to see Azuka standing completely unscathed. In fact, the only thing
different about her was the deep blue glow now emanating from her body.
Bruce stumbled backwards. "H-how?!"
"That pathetic psynergy blast of yours was easy enough to deal with,"
Azuka explained. "The only problem were those flames."
"Why aren't you burned?!" Bruce screamed. "This doesn't
make any fucking sense!"
"Incandescence. Fire has very little force power, as I'm sure
you know. Its destructive capabilities come from its heat – or, in other words,
its temperature. Now..." Azuka moved back into her stance and brandished
her sword. "Did you know that color also has a temperature?"
Overcome by curiosity and confusion, Bruce could do nothing but listen
in silence.
"What you said was true," Azuka declared. "I am a descendant
of the Exalted Light, the ruling family of Yamato. The psynergy of all who possess
the royal blood is connected to light in some way. Light, its color, and its heat
– none of it is beyond my grasp. Had we been inside, or had it been nighttime,
this wouldn't have worked at all. But since we're out in the open like this, I
can absorb and manipulate all the light I need to create a color hot enough to
cancel out your flames. Get it?" Azuka's blade glimmered. "Your powers
are useless against me."
"Bullshit..." Bruce growled. "I'll pound you with my bare
fists, then!"
Empowered by the sudden turnaround, Azuka's eyes burned with a mad glee
as she raised her searing blade and thrust outwards at Bruce. The Dark Zodiac raised
two burning arms to protect himself, but her power slid right through the flames.
With a sickening crack, her sword crashed into the Tiger's solar plexus and sent
him flying
*************
to the other side of the arena. Cliff's body hit the tile with a thud, throbbing
with pain after being knocked backwards by his own manipulated hand.
"You're done for," Mephistoclessia hissed. "Once my
tendrils attach to you, they feed off your own psynergy to control you. Soon, your
entire body will be mine."
Cliff wiped some blood from his mouth with his free hand and climbed to
his feet. "That's fine. I was just waiting for you to put enough psynergy
into this sucker before I pulled out my trump card."
Mephistoclessia was silent as Cliff raised his shotgun. His left
arm spasmed again, but before it could swing up for another punch, he shifted
his body to the side and outstretched his right arm over it. The vice-captain's
torso burned with dusty psynergy as he struggled to hold down his arm and charge
up a shot at the same time.
Use it...he pleaded,
staring at his weapon. All this pain we bear is all yours. Just like we practiced
in Sagacia...
Mephistoclessia pumped out more psynergy and strengthened her threads, desperately
trying to overload Cliff's arm with energy and down the man once more.
"Go ahead, send more!" Cliff shouted. "Gimme all you got!"
He could feel his weapon suck in psynergy, making it heavier and more
powerful at the same time. As soon as he felt that he had absorbed as much as
he could handle, he took a deep breath, aimed the gun at Mephistoclessia, and
pulled the trigger.
A staggering shockwave erupted from the barrel of Cliff’s shotgun. Psynergy
engulfed the area in front of him, digging into the stone tiles and chipping the
surface. The blast fizzled out after it smashed into the arena's barrier, and
soon the smoke began to clear.
"Innnnncredible!" Trunculo cheered. "It looks like our
friend Cliff here has found his second wind, folks – and what a shot that was! I
think the opposite side of the arena has been completely charred! But where did
all that power come from?!"
Vance and Eden watching from the waiting room, eyes wide as they witnessed
their comrade's new ability.
"Th-that had to have done it," Eden said hopefully. "I've
never seen a blast that big before!"
"No." Vance's eyes were still fixated on the dissipating smoke.
"Concentrate, Eden. She's still alive. And now, for the first time, I can
feel her psynergy aura. She's finally getting serious."
While stretching out his freed left arm, Cliff spotted Mephistoclessia
standing off to the side of the arena. Her dress was in tatters, her hair was fried,
and her mask was caked with ash. As Cliff looked closer, he noticed that his attack
had completely vaporized her left arm. Strangely enough, not a drop of blood
spilled from the darkened stump where her arm had once been. In fact, she seemed
completely unfazed by the attack.
"An eye for an eye!" Mephistoclessia screeched and leapt forward.
"That arm is mine!"
Cliff saw psynergy threads flying toward him at a much faster pace than
before. He pulled up his shotgun, but his arm was still tingling, slowed from
the massive blast. The threads shot toward Cliff’s right arm, so he covered it in
as much psynergy as he could muster. Then, the threads suddenly zoomed over to
the edge of his left shoulder, slid in beneath his armpit, and squeezed it tight.
In one fluid motion, Mephistoclessia yanked the thread backwards and cleanly detached
Cliff's left arm.
Cliff's eyes bulged out of their sockets, and an animal, blood-curdling
scream escaped his throat. All he could feel was pain, blinding white pain, as a
geyser of red blood exploded from the new hole in his body.
"I don't exactly know what you did, but it looks like you're out of
psynergy now." Mephistoclessia raised her remaining arm and spread out her
tendrils once more. "Say goodbye, Knight."
Next: Agony
