The update came as quickly as I could make it come. So, enjoy the new chapter.
"So, how does that compare with what you in the Black Order know?" Allen asked Komui. He and Blake had just rehashed the explanation about the Akuma that they had given to Lenalee and Lucia. As of now, Kanda and Lavi knew as much about the levels of Akuma as Lenalee and Lucia did. They also knew how an Akuma was created.
"There's nothing wrong with your information," Komui answered.
"Any questions?" Allen asked.
"Why don't the mourners refuse?" Lavi asked.
"They don't know anything about what the Earl truly does until it's too late. And besides, you underestimate human emotion. When someone dies, we always want him or her back. This feeling manifests itself most strongly for a few days after death. That's what the Earl takes advantage of. He brings dead people back to life and orders them to kill the one who asked for them so that they can wear their skin, hide within any human population, and then kill more people, which allows the Earl to bring even more people back to life and repeat the cycle over. It's our job as Exorcists to end that cycle of sorrow," Blake explained.
"What's even sadder about it all is that the Akuma's soul—its true human soul—doesn't want to kill people. It's trapped in the body that the Earl gave it and forced to consign more people to its fate. It cries out in sorrow, begging for salvation that won't come unless we destroy its body." Allen looked down and shook his head. "It's all so tragic. Their souls are surrounded darkness, and their eyes shed tears in vain…"
"What's so sad about that? They're killing more humans. By killing those monsters, we save the human race as a whole," Kanda remarked, carelessly tossing a hand.
Allen's head shot up, and all except for Blake were shocked to see that he was crying. "The Akuma don't want this! They are not blessed with revival; they are cursed into slavery! And yet they can't break free of the Earl's control, no matter how much we try to help them! How could you not feel pity?!"
Kanda raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Wow. I can't believe that the ruthless thief is such a sentimental weakling. You're actually crying for the Akuma? You said yourself that their job is to kill humans, so I'm surprised that you think that the Akuma are actually worthy of pity. You saw how they killed all those people in the ballroom. They did it with no remorse that I could see. So how the hell do you feel pity for such soulless monsters?"
The next thing anyone knew, Allen had invoked Crown Clown and shoved Kanda out of his seat and up against the wall, strangling him with his right hand. Kanda, despite his amazingly fast reflexes, couldn't react in time; he only had Mugen partially drawn by the time Allen's fingers were around his neck. Lavi shot out of his seat and invoked his Innocence, Iron Hammer, but before he could grow it, Blake had his wings on both sides of Lavi's neck.
"If you make any move against him, I'll say a single word and send you to your doom. I can assure you, it will be very painful, and I don't care about the consequences," Blake threatened.
Lavi looked to Bookman for help, but the old man's eyes were on Allen and Kanda, as was everyone else's. Allen was still crying a little, but his face showed real anger.
As he choked Kanda, Allen spoke with a voice that showed the extreme difficulty with which he held himself back from breaking Kanda's neck. "The Akuma have souls. They regret everything that they do under the Earl. Even if their mind is evil, their soul is not. I fight against the Earl for two reasons, represented by my hands. My right hand is for protecting the humans. My left hand is for saving the Akuma. I fight for both of them, and I would die for either of them. Mock this purpose like that again, and I will kill you without remorse." He shoved Kanda harder into the wall before letting him slide down, leaving the swordsman gasping for breath. "Remember that."
Allen them deactivated his Innocence and stormed out of the room. Kanda glared after him and prepared to draw Mugen, but Lenalee's sharp voice stopped him. "That's enough! Kanda, don't!" She glared at Blake, who was still holding Lavi hostage. "And let him go already, Blake."
Blake grudgingly obliged, releasing his invocation. Lavi did the same, but not without a hostile glare at Blake. "Hmph. I have to admit, you had it coming, Kanda," he commented, sitting back in his chair.
"He tried to kill me," Kanda spat.
"Oh, he wasn't even trying. He was releasing his anger. If he really was trying, you and everyone else in this room would be half-dead at the very least," Blake said, with a careless shrug.
"And I guess you'd be the only one still standing?" Kanda muttered grudgingly.
"Actually, no. I'd probably be on the floor with you all, bleeding my life out. When it comes down to it, Allen has more of a chance of killing me than I do of killing him. He's stronger than I am," Blake answered.
"None of your powers can stop him?" Lucia asked.
"No. He's too resolute to die that easily. I don't have the same resolve that he does," Blake answered.
"Why did he get so angry? I know that Yu pissed him off, but I agree with him. Akuma don't seem to have souls or morals of any kind. You heard Horatio last night; aren't all Akuma like him? Why does Allen insist that they are worth saving? It sounds like just a side perk if you ask me," Lavi asked, seemingly forgetting his hostility against Blake.
"Akuma do have souls. Even though they act like machines, they have their own personalities once they reach Level 2, and they are actually living creatures. The Level system is just a sign of evolution, which is a sign of life. Unfortunately, Allen's been cursed to see what their twisted souls look like," Blake said.
"He can see the souls of Akuma?!" Komui asked incredulously.
Blake nodded. "You know the scar that runs down the left side of his face? It's the sign of a curse that was left after an Akuma wounded it. Every time we even go near an Akuma, Allen's forced to see their souls. Because of that, he thinks that as the only one who can see the souls of these cursed creatures, it's his responsibility to save their souls from suffering."
"That's…so noble of him…" Lenalee sighed.
Blake sighed as well. "Well, it's actually kind of sad. Allen can also hear the souls cry and lament. As a result, he always tries to get stronger so that he can release more Akuma. To him, the souls of Akuma do not cry for their own fate. Instead, they cry for the person who tried to bring them back. The Earl plays on their grief. In doing that, he takes advantage of the fact that the mourner cannot move on from the death, and that's what makes the soul grieve and cry. Allen wants to put the grieving to an end by setting the soul free through Exorcism."
"And what do you think, Blake?" Lucia asked.
"I actually agree with him. I might not fight for the sake of the Akuma, but I think that it's right to kill them. Not because they kill humans, but because they're suffering under the Earl's control. The difference between Allen and I is that Allen laments for the souls he's been forced to save by killing them, whereas I only do it because death is what I think they deserve for whatever reason," Blake said.
"You're not as sentimental as the beansprout," Kanda muttered.
"That beansprout just kicked your ass. He's stronger than any of us. He willingly shoulders a burden that would drive anyone else insane." Blake smirked. "He chooses to tear himself between fighting for the humans and fighting for the Akuma. He fights for both sides, and he's still able to go through life with a smile on his face. No one among any of us can boast the same."
"That's because we don't know what Akuma's souls look like!" Lavi protested.
"Precisely. And I can assure you, you don't want to see it." Blake got up. "But enough about that. Is anyone hungry?"
"Holy…"
"How did you…?"
"This is…"
"Oh my God, I love you guys!"
"…"
Blake was proudly displaying the fifty-course meal that he and Allen had prepared. It had taken them a good amount of work and restraint, but they had done it. However, Allen himself was not present, as Blake had thought.
"Where's Allen?" Lenalee wondered. They all saw that a plate of food had already been prepared for one person, but it was pitifully small compared to what Blake knew Allen could eat.
"I'll look around the house. In the meantime, you guys dig in." With that, Blake left the house. Lucia started to take Blake's advice, stacking food up into a plate, when Blake suddenly gave a piercing cry from the hallway.
"Blake, what's wrong?!" Lucia demanded when Blake rushed back in. He ignored her and opened the back door, whistling for Auron. The horse quickly arrived and let Blake mount him. "Blake!" Once again, Lucia was ignored as Auron raced away.
"Something's wrong. I'll try to follow him." With that, Lenalee activated her Dark Boots and moved outside, before leaping off to find Blake.
When Blake left the dining room, he had glanced outside from the large window in the hallway out of habit. From there, he noticed a large collection of dots and flashes of purple light surrounding a cloud of dust. He quickly realized what was happening: Akuma had invaded the area, and Allen had sensed them coming with his left eye.
However, he was in no condition to fight. Allen had barely eaten anything throughout the entire day; he had spent time making the fifty-course meal and preparing the horses. As a result, Allen had very small energy reserves for his Innocence to draw on.
Damn it, Allen, you'd better be alive when I get there! Blake thought, spurring Auron on.
The horse easily raced several miles in less than five minutes. Blake quickly came within a hundred feet of the Akuma horde, and at this distance, he saw at least fifty Level 1 Akuma and ten Level 2s. Although Allen could normally handle that number with only slight difficulty, Blake knew that, considering the huge cloud of dust that had been thrown up by the swarm of bullets that the Level 1s fired, Allen was in trouble.
"Innocence, activate! Ventus!" The battle roar caught the attention of the Level 2s, but it was too late for the Level 1s. They were all ripped apart by an onslaught of killing winds. Blake was swinging his gusting arm at speeds that should have been impossible for most human beings, but in this form, Fantasy's Requiem felt like it weighed only a few ounces. This made it easy for Blake to command the blades of wind that he was now using to slaughter the Level 1s.
Before long, all the Level 1s had been purified, but Blake didn't care. He only had eyes for the one staggering around in the middle, the signs of Akuma poison already beginning to take its toll. "Allen! Allen!" He gasped as Allen crumpled to the ground.
"So the other one shows up!" Blake glared at the first Level 2, a strange-looking gray-colored humanoid with a metal ball for a head, a jester's outfit, and a mace.
"Finally! We were told that he was the stronger one, but he stopped fighting after taking out the hundred and fiftieth Level 1!" This Level 2 was similar to the first, only it had a head shaped like a two-pronged blade and no weapon.
"I have to admit, that is impressive, though!" Now that Blake looked at them, he realized that except for the one with the ball for a head, all of the Level 2s looked identical.
"So are you the grunt producer?" Blake asked the one with a ball head.
"How dare you! I am Clonsyus, the Earl's most powerful Level 2 Akuma! My power generates infinite clones to protect me, each one as powerful as a Level 1, yet with the ferocity and appearance of a Level 2! You can't beat me! Even your friend couldn't defeat me!" the Level 2 bragged.
"So you overwhelm with sheer numbers, eh? Not a bad strategy, but there's a problem with it," Blake drawled.
"Then show me what it is, Blake Phantasia!" As Clonsyus spoke, all nine of his clones rushed forward to attack Blake, their hands growing long, vicious claws like Allen's.
He quickly fell silent in shock as Blake unleashed a swarm of killing winds that slaughtered the clones just as easily as they did the Level 1s. "Use long-range moves that affect a large area, and your clones, who can only attack from close range, are useless," Blake explained, as the blades of wind slashed towards Clonsyus.
Blake was not surprised at all when the Akuma spun his mace, and then a collection of clones instantaneously appeared to shield their creator. Even the blades of wind had trouble cutting through that dense barrier, and when they did, Clonsyus had moved enough so that he could dodge them.
"As you can see, it takes know time at all to make even that huge number of clones! Give up! You may stand against ten, but how will you fare against ten thousand!" At that instant, that number of clones instantly appeared in the sky, blocking out even the sky and turning the entire area dark.
However, there was still a breeze going, and even though he couldn't see ten feet in front of him, Blake laughed. "What's so funny?!" Every clone screamed this question, making it echo all too oddly.
"What I wouldn't give to have Miss Remier by my side…she could annihilate you all so easily in this darkness…" The winds gusting around his arm picked up. "At the same time, though, if you think that I'll be overwhelmed by this number, you're dead wrong."
"You cannot defeat all of us!" Again, the exclamation echoed oddly.
"Actually, you made a crucial mistake. Before, there were too few of you to beat me. Now, there are too many. For all intents and purposes, you just gave me a bigger target." Blake slashed his arm behind him, and smiled in satisfaction as any clone in the path of the wind blade disintegrated. "However, it definitely will take too long if I stayed in this form. I don't have much time. Therefore, I guess I'll have to go all out…"
"What?" This time, it was only Clonsyus's voice.
"I couldn't use this last night; there were too many people. But now…there is only a swarm of insects at the mercy of the wind. The wind will turn against you all. Prepare to die." Blake swung his arm forward, not knowing who or what he was pointing to, nor did he care. He only knew that it was pointing directly forward.
"Innocence, Level 2, unlock!"
There was a brilliant flash of light as Fantasy's Requiem registered the command and increased its power. The wind faded back into the arm, but Clonsyus and every one of his clones saw the mocking grin on Blake's face as the light faded away.
Suddenly, the Akuma began to grow afraid. Something was wrong, and his next orders betrayed his nervousness. "Kill him! Kill him!"
"Ventus!"
As the clones charged towards Blake, an enormous twister erupted around the area, blowing every Akuma back. There was no other sound except for that of howling winds for a few minutes. Then, the roar of a lion burst out of nowhere, but it soon faded smoothly into the screech of an eagle.
Clonsyus looked around in confusion, but his terror quickly returned when he felt every single one of his clones perish almost simultaneously. The light quickly returned, and Clonsyus saw another monster right in front of him, glaring at him with sharp, yellow eyes.
It was a strange sort of beast. Its front to its middle was covered in golden feathers, and it had the spindly legs and razor-sharp talons of an eagle as its forelimbs. Its head was covered in paler gold feathers. It was the head of an eagle with a hooked beak and two protrusions on either side, similar to ears, only they were feathered.
If its front was like an eagle, however, its back was that of a lion's. The powerful hind legs were as muscular and furry as a male lion's. The fur was the colored the most darkly on the entire body, but it was still golden. Its tail was long and whiplike, with the tail tuft of a lion lashing wildly.
It was as tall as a man at the shoulders, and twice again as long. It had enormous wings, feathered with the same color as the main body's feathers. The wingspan was at least two and half times as long as a man was tall. Clonsyus knew instantly what the creature was. It was Blake Phantasia, in the form of the legendary griffin. The Akuma had no idea how the king of all mortal beasts had spawned from the Exorcist, but he knew one thing for sure: that he would not survive this day.
"Please…spare me…" They both knew that Blake would not.
"You showed great courage in coming here." Blake did not move his beak, but Clonsyus still heard his words. "I don't blame the Earl for not revealing this form to you. No one but Allen knows that I can do this. But if the Earl is watching, then he should be trembling in fear."
Blake glared at the Akuma, and then at the rotting ghoul-like surrounded by dark flames that was the Akuma's soul. Yes…he hadn't told the others, but when his Innocence was at Level 2, and he was transformed into any of the fantastical creatures that his Innocence granted, Blake could see the souls of Akuma just as Allen could. He supposed it was because of the sheer power that the legends provided.
But now, it was just a reminder of what Allen had done. What he had sacrificed. Blake glanced down at his comatose friend for an instant before looking back at the Akuma. This time, the look was of great sympathy. "Pitiful Akuma…let your soul be saved."
Clonsyus made one last attempt to kill Blake, this time rushing forward himself with his mace ready. "I am a Level 2 Akuma! I will not fall until I am dead!"
Blake gathered air under his legs and used it to propel himself forward. His beak tore into the Akuma's body and slashed it open, while his talons gripped it with an unbreakable hold. "Let this be a lesson to you Akuma. You may be the ultimate human destroyers, but I wield the powers of the five greatest monsters. The griffin is only the beginning. In this state, no single Level 2 can match me, even if he summons duplicates."
Blake ripped Clonsyus in half before tearing the halves to shreds with miniature twisters that appeared in his talons. Despite the screams that the Akuma was releasing as it died, though, Blake saw the soul smile and look to the heavens.
"I am finally free…thank you…master griffin…"
"It would take a Level 3 to stop me as a griffin," Blake boldly declared before running on air back to the ground. As soon as he touched down, his body was enveloped by winds that quickly retreated into his arm, which regressed back into its sealed form. As the winds retreated, they took the form of the griffin with them, reverting Blake back into his human body as he checked on Allen.
To his relief, Allen's pulse was still strong, and his Innocence had already purged the Akuma poison from his body. At this point, Allen was only sleeping.
"You idiot…you always take the burden upon yourself…"
"Blake!" Blake looked up to see Lenalee leaping up to him with her Dark Boots. "I saw that dark area! What happened here? What's wrong with Allen?"
"I'll explain later. Right now, we should probably get him to a better resting spot. He's just exhausted, so don't worry." Blake and Lenalee each slung one of Allen's arms over their shoulders, and Blake whistled for Auron.
The dapple-gray horse soon reappeared along with Whiteface, and Lenalee helped Blake tie Allen to Whiteface's saddle. Blake remounted Auron, and together, they brought Allen back to the hideout, much to the relief and shock of the others.
So, what do you guys think? That's right, Blake has enormous power when he activates Level 2. He has to have it, though; Crown Clown is more powerful than Fantasy's Requiem. Of course, even Crown Clown has a limit to its first level. I'm sure you all know what I plan to use for its second level.
Please leave a comment below. Kudos to those who can guess Blake's other forms.
