069

 

69.  A Detestable Effort

 

High above the stadium seats in the tournament complex, Dr. Phileas scooted over into an empty seat facing the aisle, allowing Grayson to sit down next to Frank and Edward.

 

"Thanks for dropping by!" the doctor called out. "This tournament really has been something so far, hasn't it?"

 

"Indeed. So, what do you think of our culture?" Grayson asked, plaguing Edward and Frank with his serpentine eyes. "I'm sure it's been full of many surprises."

 

We never escaped.

 

The words echoed in Frank’s mind as he stared back at Grayson Lee, the man who had brought his life to ruin.

 

All along...we’ve been right in the palm of his hand.

 

"We've...certainly seen a lot of amazing things." Frank managed to croak out, turning to Edward. "Right, Ed?"

 

Edward shook with a mixture of anger and fear. "I, uh...yeah, some stuff was pretty strange at first, but...it has been an educational experience..."

 

"That's very good to hear," Grayson said. "I hope you stay for the remaining battles as well. The tournament should be running until about midnight. It would really be a shame if you left before the grand finale."

 

"Oh, we'll be here!" Dr. Phileas said happily, as he watched Grayson stand. "Where are you going?"

 

"I'm sorry, but I'm rather busy. I just stopped by to say hello." Grayson glanced back one more time to Edward and Frank. "You're both very lucky that the doctor decided to take you under his wing. I always find him to be the perfect host."

 

Frank and Edward nodded slowly.

 

"Goodbye for now." Grayson stepped back out into the aisle. "Do enjoy the rest of the tournament. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." He winked, then walked off.

 

Phileas re-situated himself into his seat. "Such a charming fellow, isn't he?"

 

Phileas' comment hardly fazed Edward and Frank – the intense despair and doom that now filled their hearts was beyond all words.

 

"And there's the first strike!" Trunculo's voice echoed through the arena. "Rezzo has gone on the offensive!"

 

In the center of the arena, Rezzo's long pike deflected off Saffron's armor like a hummingbird slamming into a brick wall.

 

Saffron frowned. "Fie, I say, fie! Such a poor swing will do naught. Thou art wielding thy weapon with a range absurd, and thy brandish is ill-prepared. Thrust, not swing, shall guide thy halberd to the armor of thy foes!"

 

"What is this?!" Trunculo shouted. "It seems as if Saffron is giving his opponent fighting tips!"

 

Rezzo looked unamused, but obediently adjusted the grip on his pike and thrust forward. This time, the blade of his weapon penetrated the top layer of Saffron's armor, leaving a small, yet visible cut in its wake.

 

"A hit! A very palpable hit!" Saffron cheered and unsheathed a ruby-crested bastard sword from his back. "Bravo, dear Rezzo. Palpable, but weak indeed."

 

Rezzo tried to back up, but Saffron covered the distance between them in no time.

 

"Alas, thou hast failed!" Saffron announced, raising his blade and slicing down through the lizardman's body in a single strike. Two bloody halves fell to the ground, splattering the arena with dark mutant viscera.

 

Trunculo leapt up and cheered. "Woah! Check out that deathblow, folks! He's gonna feel that one in the morning – oh wait, he's dead!"

 

"'Tis a pity." Saffron sheathed his sword and began to trot off. "Yet another buzz-kill."

 

"Well, without further ado," Trunculo continued, "the winner of the sixth round is Saffron Morrigan!"

 

The crowd cheered, finally relieved to see another bloody finish. From the waiting room, Vance watched the Dark Zodiac in awe. Sweat poured

 

*************

 

down the brow of Knight Captain Kamo Metro as he dashed through a canyon in the hills east of Enmetropolis, chasing after the slippery trail of Rose Quirivane.

 

"You can't run forever!"

 

Kamo had struck her with three psynergy arrows already, and none had missed. She’d avoided direct damage from each attack by reverting into water, but further arrows remained a constant threat due to the mark Kamo had placed on her body. And thanks to Maximilian, Kamo had the taser to protect himself in case she decided to retaliate.

 

Rose’s aquatic form had slipped into a crevice in the canyon’s bedrock, causing Kamo to lose sight of her. The Horse's slippery aura continued to permeate the dried-out river, which Kamo scanned warily as he walked along, but he couldn’t spot a single drop of water. Shale cliffs covered his side as the trench continued further toward a forking intersection.

 

"It may feel counter-intuitive," he called out, "but it's easier just to face a problem head-on rather than running from it. Prolonging unpleasantries only make 'em worse, you know."

 

No answer. But Kamo knew she was listening, wherever she was.

 

"You try to act the part," he continued. "But you know what? You don't really seem like a ruthless assassin who's just out for blood, or destroying the world, or whatever. When I see you, I see a scared little child, swimming onward and going with the flow, because otherwise she's afraid she's gonna sink."

 

"Get off your high horse!" Rose's voice bubbled out from the shadows.

 

Kamo smirked. "You don't have to keep going with the current, you know. There are other options. Every time you make a turn in that stream, there's a branch or two sticking out for you to grab. If you could only muster enough strength to pull yourself out..."

 

"Nice metaphor," Rose scoffed. "How long did it take you to think that one up?"

 

"Hmmm..." Kamo sighed, raising his arms upward. "Just enough time to prep this little number."

 

As he finished concentrating a ball of vibrant yellow psynergy into his hands, Kamo fixed his eyes on the horizon, enjoying the dimming sky as dark clouds blotted out the last of the sun.

 

"Time for a little search and destroy." The Knight opened his palms to the sky and sent a bright spire upward toward the clouds. As his blast reached its apex, the psynergy burst into streams of tiny arrows that went crashing down around the valley.

 

Kamo sensed the arrows converging toward a specific section of the cliff, so he moved to follow the signal. Reaching the intersection, Kamo gathered psynergy into his feet and jumped up the wall. Finally, he found a cramped outcropping above the canyon, just before the ground merged with the mountains beyond. Kamo moved carefully along the thin ridge, studying the damage his attacks had done to the rock and searching for any signs of water.

 

At that moment, Rose's aura felt closer than ever. Kamo stopped moving, closed his eyes, and listened to the silence. Slowly, he picked up a soft trickling sound coming from within the steep rock wall. The Knight bent down to the ground and used a psynergy-laced hand to cut away some of the rock.

 

Sure enough, he saw hollow cavities inside the cliff. As he cleared more rock away, Kamo discovered over a dozen identical rivulets of water spilling down into the abyss.

 

"Clever," Kamo said. "How are you going to get out of there, though?"

 

Rose's voice echoed up from the crevice. "Easily."

 

Kamo shoved the taser into the rock, then barely dodged out of the way as four aquatic tentacles shot out from the tiny rivulets. Water gushed out from all sides of the rock, loosening the platform and knocking Kamo off the side.

 

The Knight had no choice but to let himself fall, so he padded his body with psynergy as he rolled down the side. By the time he hit the ground, all the water had disappeared, but Kamo knew she was still near. Rose was playing it safe, keeping a watchful eye on him as she tried to patiently whittle away at his stamina.

 

Kamo folded his arms behind his head and crossed his legs on the ground. "Tell me. If you could do anything right now, what would you do?"

 

He felt a flicker in her aura as Rose reacted to the strange question. "What?"

 

"Come onnn..." Kamo whined. "You can at least tell me that much before you kill me."

 

"Why do you care?" Rose asked, exasperated. "This is just some ploy to try and get me to let my guard down, and it isn't going to work."

 

"It isn't, I swear!" Kamo said. "Honestly, I'm just curious about you. I think you're interesting – so shoot me!"

 

"I will," Rose replied coldly. "But fine, here's your answer: "I've always wanted to be a florist."

 

"A florist, huh?" Kamo scratched at his dreads. "Yeah, I can see it now. ‘Rose’s Garden.’ A bad enough pun that people won’t forget it!"

 

A bit of water slipped out from the rocks, surveying Kamo. He watched it with steady eyes.

 

"So if you wanna become a florist so bad," Kamo continued, "then why don't you just go and do it?"

 

"If people could do everything they wanted, we'd have no problems," Rose shouted. "Enough with the sophism!"

 

"I'm just curious. Tell me, what's holding you back?"

 

Kamo listened carefully to the silence. He could tell that she was curious. Despite her protest, she wanted to hear more.

 

Soon, Rose replied. "I'm not a normal person like everyone else. I wouldn't be able to fit in."

 

"What? Just 'cause you have an amazing ability?"

 

Rose's voice softened. "I was a test tube baby in the Sagacia Laboratory."

 

Kamo listened carefully as Rose told him about her childhood and being rescued by the Dark Zodiacs. "So..." he interrupted, "You continue to live and work with them 'cause you want revenge against what mankind did to you?"

 

"No," Rose answered. "Although I agree with the other Zodiacs that the human race is inherently evil, and that there really cannot be true peace in this world...that's not the reason I'm still with them."

 

"Then what is it?" Kamo raised an eyebrow.

 

"Killing doesn't mean anything to me, really," Rose replied. "I get nothing from it, but it doesn't bother me either. Violence has always been a part of my life. No...now that I think about it, the only reason I’m still with them is Bruce."

 

Rose's floodgates were open, and she kept going. "He’s the only real family I’ve ever had, and I love him. We’ve been together ever since I can remember. He used to sneak outside the complex once in a while and bring back flowers for me. We spent our days watching them grow and talking to each other, trying to forget where and who we were.

 

"At first, it felt like he was my brother, but as time went on, I realized we were soul mates. Our love is pure and unbreakable. Even though we didn't live a normal life in a normal society, we still have our love. Bruce is a part of me."

 

"And you'd never leave his side," Kamo finished. "Even if it meant the end of the world."

 

"I'd die happily in his arms," Rose said. "And I know he'd die happily in mine. When we were saved from the research facility, Roufas promised to help us stay together forever, as long as we came with the Dark Zodiacs and helped them change the world."

 

Kamo sensed a flare in Rose's aura as water trickled out from behind the rock. He quickly slid up from the ground and restored his guard.

 

Rose, now in her physical form again, peeked out from the hole in the rocks and looked down to Kamo. Her eyes looked even more stoic than usual, glowing with an otherworldly calm.

 

"You know, talking about this has made me feel a lot better. I'm not afraid of anything now. The Dark Zodiacs are all I have...I'll never let you destroy us."

 

Kamo let out a frustrated grunt. "Well, that sure didn’t work out the way I hoped it would."

 

*

 

A sharp smack echoed through the hills to the east of the tournament complex as Maximilian's Campeador struck one of Qin Long's hind legs. On contact, the dragon's monstrous leg transformed into a stone pillar.

 

The 3^rd Captain laughed triumphantly. "This battle is over. Now that I've frozen one of your legs, I'll easily be able to immobilize you!"

 

Qin Long roared in protest, beat its wings furiously and tried to escape to the skies. But before it could, Maximilian leapt along the ground and tapped the other legs with his mallet until the dragon was frozen in place.

 

"Well?!" Maximilian called up to the beast. "Ready to concede?"

 

Zhang Guo stood still on the dragon's back, silent.

 

"I see," Maximilian said with a shrug. "Trying to act like the better man by not speaking? Do my actions seem shameful to you? I take pride in my work as a defender – now feast your eyes on my power!"

 

Maximilian thrust his arm forward and let his cape flutter in the wind. Opening his palm, he released a blast of burnt orange psynergy across the field.

 

"You think that's all I have?" Maximilian grinned as adrenalin pumped through his veins. "This is just the beginning!"

 

The Knight continued to thrust his arms forward, layering blast over blast as he proceeded with his merciless assault. His boots skidded backwards across the ground from the sheer force of his attacks, and soon he felt his stamina begin to wither.

 

"Let the weight of your karma carry you down to Hell!" Maximilian screamed, as his might ripped plant and rock apart.

 

Once his rampage came to an end, the captain surveyed the damage. Everything within a one mile radius had been completely wasted, and his own body smoked with strain. Zhang Guo continued to stand in front of him, protected by a sublime, jade shield. Had Maximilian's own unbridled power not obstructed his view, the captain may have spotted Zhang Guo dissipating his beast midst the mayhem, then condensing his psynergy into a powerful shield.

 

Maximilian's mouth dropped, but no exclamation of shock came out from his throat. He was too submerged in his own disbelief.

 

"Are you finished?" Zhang Guo asked. "Your psynergy is much like your incessant rambling: boisterous and weak. I imagine your mind is of similar stuff. Shallow, uncontrolled, far from concentrated..."

 

Maximilian stumbled backwards, fumbling in his pockets for another tool.

 

"This has gone on far enough," Zhang Guo sighed. "But I thank you for this encounter. It has reminded me of just how much I detest fighting."

 

An orb around the monk's necklace glowed, and Qin Long fazed into existence once more, in perfect condition. Maximilian blinked, trying to register what happened.

 

"All your attacks have been meaningless," Zhang Guo explained, as more of the orbs began to glow with power. "I can erase my beasts from reality any time I wish and resummon them with my own psynergy. Everything you have done so far has been in vain...do you understand?"

 

In an instant, ten other beasts sprung out from Zhang Guo's body and surrounded the Knight.

 

"Victory does not exist in this world," Zhang Guo muttered. "There is only eventual death, for all things."

 

"Wait" was the last word out of Maximilian's mouth, before the Boar's spirit beasts powered through his shield and ripped his exhausted body to pieces.

 

"Another proud fool." Zhang Guo recalled all of his creations and then quietly moved over to the gruesome remains of his foe. As he neared the gore, he bent over and picked up Maximilian's Campeador. "But this...this is a fine weapon."

 

With that, the small, decrepit monk turned abruptly around from the body of the 3^rd division captain of Dimensional Knights and went off to go find his companions.

 

*

 

All alone, Nathan paced nervously in the VIP observation room. The Seneschal had left over thirty minutes ago on a 'small errand.' Judging from all the mysterious happenings that Nathan had experienced in the past few days, he didn't believe there was anything small about what Tao had gone to deal with.

 

The door flung open. The Seneschal walked in slowly, as if in a daze, then slumped into his chair.

 

"Seneschal?" Nathan asked softly. "Is...everything alright?"

 

The Seneschal looked at Nathan with weary eyes. "What do you think?"

 

"Well," Nathan said, biting his lip. "If I have to be honest, I think things are not alright at all."

 

"You're smarter than you give yourself credit for, Nathan," Tao said, motioning for the boy to sit next to him. "That's why I brought you along."

 

"Th-thank you," Nathan stammered, unsure of what to say.

 

Tao looked into the boy's eyes, then spoke. "Nathan, have you ever made a mistake so large that you felt you would give anything for just one more chance?"

 

Nathan made a half-smile. "Of course. That always happens to me."

 

"Well, that's how I feel right now," Tao said. "An old friend of mine happens to be here at the tournament. A long time ago, we had a big fight, and we stopped talking. I thought this might be a good chance for us to make up. But he didn't want to."

 

"Aw, that's too bad," Nathan said. "But you did your best, right? I mean, what else is there to do?"

 

"Yes, I did do my best," Tao said. "And if it was only our friendship at stake, I might only be left with a feeling of sadness. The thing is, Nathan...this man has done many terrible things. I feel like if I had only worked harder, tried something different...I could have stopped all those bad things from happening. Now, those bad things are catching up with him, and he might die very soon. I could have saved him, but he wouldn't let me."

 

Nathan's eyes widened. "Seneschal...you don't mean..."

 

Tao took a deep breath, and then looked to the boy. "Can you keep a secret?"

 

Nathan nodded slowly. "I swear I will."

 

"The leader of the Dar–"

 

Tao was interrupted as his mobile device began vibrating in his pocket.

 

"Nathan," Tao said, as he pulled out the device and stared at it. "I want you to be very quiet for this call."

 

Nathan nodded, and Tao initiated the video call.

 

"Father Zeigfried," Tao spoke calmly. "Is something the matter?"

 

Nathan craned his neck, peeking so that he could just barely see the screen without giving himself away. The man known as Zeigfried had curly dark grey hair that came down to his chin. Across his left eye was a thin black eyepatch, embroidered with a cross. His rough face seemed painted with a permanent scowl, and his visible eye was a dark bluish-grey, etched in his face like some kind of ancient, forgotten jewel.

 

"I will arrive soon," Zeigfried said quickly. "Have the Dark Zodiacs been located?"

 

"Yes, sir," Tao replied. "Should you require assistance, I–"

 

"Thank you, but that is entirely unnecessary," Zeigfried replied. "In fact, I would appreciate it if you stayed within the VIP room in the arena, where it is safe. I shall take care of any problems that arise, so do not worry about the Dark Zodiacs or your captains – the Lord’s grace will protect them."

 

"I...understand." Tao consented. "But please contact me if you need any assistance."

 

"I will do what God wishes," Zeigfried declared. "May the Lord be with you, Tao."

 

The call ended, and Tao dropped his device to the ground. The brave leader of the Dimensional Knights’ eyes were wide, and he stared down at the floor with an expression that Nathan had never seen before: one of pure, unbridled fear, as his body cowered in terror.

 

"Seneschal...um..." Nathan's voice was barely audible. "Who was that?"

 

"The most frightening being I've ever known," Tao murmured. "A servant of God."

Next: O.D.ed