76. Her
A sinister mist covered the ground of the dark highway as Azuka Ingram
stepped forward, brandishing her blade. Ravi stood protectively at her side, while
Rose and Bruce struggled with Zeigfried's smoky tendrils. Over a dozen trails
of smoke trailed down from the Apostle, whose upper body extended out from a
maroon cloud in the sky. As his prey struggled to keep up with the versatility
of his ability, the Apostle peered down upon them with cold eyes.
"Wait, Azuka," Ravi said, as she noticed her ally's shaky
advance. "You’re exhausted."
Azuka turned to Ravi with wide eyes. "But–"
"Kamo and I still have psynergy left," she said proudly.
"And if both of us can't take him together, then no one can!"
"Damn straight!" Kamo called out, as he rolled across the ground
and fired a psynergy arrow up at Zeigfried's mist.
"Watch for an opening." Ravi's wings glowed once more as she
lifted herself into the sky. "I'm going to take him head-on."
"Goddammit..." Bruce croaked, desperately trying to free his
neck from Zeigfried's tendril. "Where did...Zhang Guo go?"
"He left," Rose said. "Bruce, maybe we should go too. You're
in no condition to fight!"
"Not yet..." Bruce's eyes flickered from Azuka to Zeigfried.
"Not until I see someone wipe that smug grin off his face!"
"A third eye..." Zeigfried murmured, as he watched Ravi soar
toward him. "No form of blasphemy can trump God's might."
Ravi charged up her aura and prepared to collide with Zeigfried's head,
only to see him shoot forward so fast it was as if he’d teleported in mid-air. He
dissipated his tendrils so fast she didn't even notice, and the next thing she
knew, his upper body had phased out from the cloud of fog. Then, both of his hands
were on her forehead.
A thunderclap erupted through the city as Zeigfried pushed against Ravi's
skull and sent her careening back to the ground. As she crashed into the pavement,
her wings dissipated, and smoke rose from her forehead, where Zeigfried had sealed
her third eye shut.
Zeigfried looked down at her body with pity. "Worshiping false idols
will only bring despair."
The Apostle turned his head just in time to catch Kamo releasing a barrage
of psynergy arrows. The archer leapt up after the wave of psynergy to search
for an opening, but couldn’t resist glancing down nervously at Ravi’s motionless
body.
Zeigfried took advantage of Kamo's hesitance and quickly phased his body
out from the line of fire. Before the captain could even begin to change course,
Zeigfried had already moved behind him. In a flash, the Apostle grabbed one of the
Knight's legs and yanked him backwards.
Kamo tried to straighten his body out as he fell, desperately trying
not to end up like Ravi. A second later, Zeigfried was on the ground
beneath him. As Kamo closed in, the Apostle dealt a sizzling kick to the small of
the Knight's unprotected back and sent him back up into the sky.
"Atone!" the priest commanded, then opened his palm and sent
an orb of murky psynergy straight toward Kamo.
Struggling against intense pain, Kamo had difficulty restructuring his
defenses. By the time he turned around to face his opponent, Zeigfried's attack
struck him.
An explosion rocked the atmosphere as the condensed psynergy was released,
ruining Kamo's tired body. Bloodstained and torn to pieces, he fell from the sky
and hit the ground hard next to the equally devastated Ravi. Despite being free
from Zeigfried's grasp, Bruce and Rose could do nothing but gape in awe at the holy
man's unbelievable strength.
"Two captains in one minute," Zeigfried scoffed. "Pathetic."
*
"Winslow!"
The 11th member of the Dark Zodiacs pushed the switchblade deep
into his neck, and Vance leapt forward. As he tackled his foe in an attempt to
save him, fresh blood splattered onto his clothes.
"In an act of sheer madness, Winslow has just tried to off himself!"
Trunculo shouted. "Technically, this could be considered a forfeit!"
"Shut up!" Vance shouted with blazing eyes. "Get the medics
over here right now! He's gonna die!"
"Fine, fine, if you insist!" Trunculo said nervously.
"Medics, get out here and rush this man to emergency care!"
The crowd began to boo as four medics rushed out into the arena carrying
a stretcher and some medical equipment. Winslow's body was tossed onto the plastic
board and secured firmly as they began taking the necessary steps to stop the
rivers of blood flowing from his jagged neck.
Vance shook his head as he watched them carry the Dark Zodiac away. I
know how bad it hurts, Winslow...that’s why I can’t let you die.
In the stands, Frank shook his head in admiration. "Vance did the right
thing. I knew he would."
"But listen to the crowd..." Edward nearly had to shout over the
booing chorus. "These people aren't human!"
Dr. Phileas chuckled. "Humans act quite different when they know
they're safe."
"We'll make sure to give Winslow the speediest, most efficient care,
so don't worry," Trunculo said nervously to Vance. "You won the
fourth quarter-final round! Congratulations!"
*************
Averyl watched from his waiting room as Vance moved to leave the platform,
then faltered. His nephew had won, yet the crowd was shouting and booting him from
every angle.
"Shut up!" Vance shouted, quieting most of the spectators. "What
the hell is wrong with you people?! If you’ve got a problem with me, then come
down here and say it to my face!"
Averyl stepped back from the window and chuckled. "Oh Vance. You’re
really outdoing yourself today."
His ears twitched as he heard small footsteps coming from behind him.
"Oh, hello there." Averyl smiled. "You're quite punctual,
you know. I'm impressed. Now, are you ready to have some fun?"
As Averyl conversed with his new guest, Vance
*************
returned to his waiting room. Eden greeted Vance with a warm hug as
soon as he walked inside, catching him off guard.
"Hey!" Vance shouted. "I'm really gross right now, you
sure you want to do that?"
Eden only pulled herself closer to him. "Vance...you were awesome
out there. And not just because you're strong. You've grown so much, in so many
ways. You feel so confident in yourself now...in the real you. And I'm proud."
Vance nervously peeled himself away from her. "A simple 'good job'
would suffice, you know."
"I mean it." Eden beamed, unable to contain her happiness any
longer. "You saved his life."
Vance smirked. "There's no way I was gonna let him die. Not after
all the shit he’s put me through."
The two teenagers chuckled until the dark shadow of the semi-finals slipped
back into Eden's mind. "Vance, I–"
Vance watched as Trunculo's cohorts repaired the arena. "I know.
It's you versus Averyl next. Remember what I told you?"
"Yeah," Eden said, nodding. "Forfeit. But...what if he
tells me not to?"
Vance let out a sigh. "I know that sometimes, it seems like Averyl
has absolutely no self-control. But at other times, he seems so...wise, I guess.
He must know that if he killed you, I’d never forgive him. He’s crazy, but he
isn’t stupid."
"Alright. I believe you, Vance."
"But then again..." Vance took a deep look into Eden's eyes.
"If something seems weird to you, just run out of there as fast as possible."
Eden took a deep breath and moved over to the door. "Vance, I dislike
fighting...but I'm not afraid to fight if I really have to."
"Good, that makes two of us," Vance said, eyes frozen on her.
"But Eden. Please, please just...whatever happens, you need to come back here
alive."
"I will."
"As the night grows darker..." Trunculo's voice began
ominously, "we find ourselves down to four remaining contestants: Vance Darcouver
and Eden Gardener, two rookies who have proven themselves worthy, and Saffron Morrigan
and Averyl, two assassins who have proven themselves deadly! The outcome
is anyone's guess, and you're only going to find out by sticking around! Now,
let's continue on to the first semi-finals match!"
Eden stepped up to the platform. Across stood Averyl, staring at her
with his big black eyes.
"Averyl vs. Eden," Trunculo continued. "A graceful warrior
versus a menacing killer! This will be quite the show! And now, without
further ado...let's dance, you two!"
Eden mustered up her courage and stared straight back at Averyl. A serene
smile remained on his face, and he made no sudden moves.
"Eden..." Vance whispered, frozen next to the Regeneration
Tank. He knew he needed to get inside, but he couldn't peel his eyes away from them.
Something didn't seem right.
"I want to show you something," Averyl said suddenly.
"Step back."
Eden did as she was told and watched as Averyl's body glowed with a
light pink aura. Soon, his body started to change. His hair grew longer and curled
out on the ends, while his face became much softer, his nose thinner, and his
chin rounder. His eyes started to twist and distort, and his eyelashes curled
outwards. Big black eyeballs were replaced with thin, normal-looking ones, save
for their clear white irises.
The rest of Averyl's body followed suit. His robe grew smaller and the
sleeves shrunk upward into two thin straps that hung over softened shoulders. The
rest of his robe transformed into a black dress which cut off around Averyl's
new round effeminate thighs. His waist curved inwards, while his chest jutted outwards,
filling the area where the top of the gown came to a close.
And so, Averyl continued to stand in front of Eden, as a woman instead
of a man. If Edward Darcouver had been in poorer health, he surely would have had
a heart attack – for the person standing in the center of the arena was someone
he knew very well. She stood tall, with long, daunting legs, a full figure, and
skin just a single pigment darker than that of a porcelain doll. Those pert red
lips of hers were as unforgettable as her sharp, mesmerizing eyes.
Vance stood slack-jawed as he stared at the woman who had once been Averyl.
A wry, reckless smile covered her face.
"It's her," he croaked, realizing how insane he sounded.
"It’s mom."
Next: Souls Without Bodies
