Sorry for the short chapter. The next chapter will be a very long one, the final battle is around the corner!
Chapter 24: Inside of a decaying mind
Soma open his eyes and the first thing he saw was a normal ceiling. His head hurt a lot, he gets up and find himself in Murasaki's room. Everything was exactly as the room was left. Next to him was Alisa, she didn't wake up yet. Soma sigh and couldn't help it but smile. It worked, the plan worked. Soma stand up and find his God Arc on the floor, Alisa's as well. He saw the door and open it, the hallways of the floor were empty. He turns to Alisa and try to wake her up.
"Alisa, it worked. Are you alright?" He asks. Alisa opens her eyes slowly and get up.
"It worked...? I can't believe it" She said and stand up. "My arm... She broke my arm" Alisa look at her arm, it wasn't broken. They were in Murasaki's mind, they make a resonance and end up there.
"We need to find her quickly and end this" Soma take his God Arc and walk out the door. Alisa follow him and exit the room, as Alisa get out, the door close behind them and disappear. "What the...?" Then voices start to be heard down the hallway. Soma saw at the end of the hallway and Murasaki was running toward them... It wasn't her, it was a memory. Soma saw Murasaki when she was 10 years old, behind her was Soma, she was grabbing his hand and dragging him around the place. "I remember that" He said and watch Murasaki and his younger version, walking to the elevator. "She grabs me and drag me to Sakaki's Office. She makes a little surprise party for my birthday... Only she and Sakaki were there. It was an awful party... But i liked it" Soma sigh.
"Soma, are you alright?" Alisa asks. Soma shrug.
"What do we do now?"
"We need to find her. Maybe if we follow that memory, then..." Alisa turns around and saw the hallway starting to decay. It was rotting away. "What's happening?" She asks. Soma look how the walls fall, then heard a laugh behind him. He turns to see Murasaki, her arms were full of deep cuts, blood was coming out from her wounds. Her eyes were completely black and she had a smirk on her face.
"You think... that you can enter here... And i wouldn't move a finger?" She said between breaths. Looks like she couldn't breath properly. She wasn't Murasaki, Soma and Alisa knew it.
"Where's she?" Alisa asks. "Where's Murasaki?" Alisa point at her with her gun.
"Sakaki?" The Aragami asks, she looks up and down, like she was looking for something. "I don't know. But let me tell you... When i find her... And i will... SHE'LL SEE WHAT IS LOOK LIKE TO BE INSIDE THE MONSTER'S STOMACH. SHE MANAGED TO ESCAPE FROM ME PRETTY WELL... IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE I ERASE HER AND WHAT'S LEFT IS MY NEW BODY" The Aragami punch the wall and it disintegrated. "WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU TWO DIE HERE? I wonder..."
"We won't die here, that's a promise" Said Soma. The Aragami smile at him.
"Is that so? Well..." She step forward and the floor start to fall. Soma and Alisa run away from her. All their surroundings were falling apart. "THIS IS MY WORLD NOW! YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN?! FOOLISH HUMANS BEING!" She scream and transform into her Aragami form and chase after them. Soma uses his God Arc to destroy the elevator doors, in the other side was the City of Mercy. They stop for a moment and look around, this was impossible, but then again, they were in someone's mind. Soma grab Alisa's hand and they run to the church, they hide inside.
"This isn't what i was expecting" Said Alisa. "What happened to Lenka was different than this... Why is happening this?"
"I don't know for sure... But, maybe is because the Prototype was self aware" Said Soma. "Alisa... I will keep that thing busy. You go and find Murasaki"
"What?! Are you crazy? I will stay and-"
"If you don't find her, this will be for nothing... The Aragami said that she was hiding. I know a place where she could be hiding" He said and the Aragami gets through the front wall of the church. Turn to them and shot an electric ball at them, Alisa uses her shield to protect Soma. Then, Soma whisper to her. Alisa nodded and run away from the church, and go back to the door they enter before. The Aragami was about to chase after her, but Soma jump at it and cut his front leg. "If you want her, it has to be over my dead body"
"DEAD BODY... THAT CAN BE FIXED, SCHICKSAL!" The Aragami regenerates his leg. "I WILL USE YOU TO BRING THAT BITCH OUT"
Alisa was running through the hallways, she was running as fast she could. She had Soma's word repeating inside her head: "Sakaki's Office, Murasaki was hiding there. Inside there was another room beside's Shio's room. Murasaki used to hide there a lot" He said. Alisa went down the stairs, the elevator basically don't exist here. Alisa saw Sakaki's Office in the end of the hallway. She runs to the door, open it and jump in... Unfortunately, that wasn't the Office. It was another hallway. Alisa couldn't believe it.
"This isn't happening" She said.
"Of course it's happening" Alisa turn around and Murasaki appears behind her. She grabs her throat and lift her, Alisa try to break free from her. It wasn't Murasaki, the Prototype was using Murasaki's form for some reason. "You think that i didn't knew about Sakaki's hiding?! This is the first place i erase... If you happen to find her, she won't remember it, and when i find her... i'll erase everything else" She said and her eyes turn red. "I'LL ERASE EVERYTHING!" She yells. Alisa raise her God Arc and stab her right in the chest, the Aragami sigh and punch her in the face. "THAT HURTS!" The Aragami keeps punching her. Alisa couldn't move, she couldn't take out her God Arc from the Aragami's chest, she was getting weak. The Aragami let go of her and walk away from her. Alisa turn to see her, the Aragami was looking at the end of the hallway. Murasaki was there, with a sword in her hands. The Aragami takes Alisa's God Arc and throw it away.
"Let her go... This is between you and me" Said Murasaki
"You are going to fight me? Here? Of all places... This isn't your mind anymore"
"You only erase part of it, as long i'm still here. This isn't your mind, Fucker" Murasaki run at the Aragami. She raises her sword and aim at the head, the Aragami grabs the blade and break it. "You Bitch!" Murasaki then punches her in the face repeatedly. The Aragami grabs her fist and multiple arms comes out from the Aragami's body and immobilize her. "Let me go!"
"You think you could win?!" The Aragami smile at her and her whole head transform into a God Arc mouth while grabbing her head, part of the Aragami's finger goes inside Murasaki's head. She start screaming in pain."YOU ARE-" Alisa takes her God Arc and cut the Aragami's head, and the body disappears.
"Murasaki! Are you alright?" Alisa asks, Murasaki grab her head in pain. "What did she do to you?"
"I don't really know. My head hurts a lot..." Murasaki shakes her head and look at Alisa to the eyes. "How? Are you real or just a memory?"
"I'm real. Soma is here too. Come, we need to kill the Aragami"
"Is not that simple" She said. "It doesn't matter how much i try, she keeps regenerating. She's messing with my mind when i let my guard down. That bitch change the whole place... I don't even know where i'm standing now. And i think she erase some of my memories too. You are lucky that i can remember you"
"Don't worry, we'll get out of here"
"Still... You didn't tell me how you enter here? Are you a witch or what?"
Soma was cornered, he was getting tired. He was surprised about that, he thought that not having a physical body wasn't a problem, he was wrong. He was in someone's mind, he shouldn't be tired at all, it doesn't make any sense. The Aragami grabs Soma and throw him through the glass, Soma landed on the ground outside the church. He stands up and wait for the monster to come out of the church, but it didn't. Soma won't let his guard down, no matter what. The Aragami come out and look at him, then to the door they came in. The Aragami transforms again into Murasaki and start to laugh, Soma was confused. The Aragami turn to him and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of him and punch him in the stomach. Soma let go of his God Arc and the Aragami take it. Soma fall on his knees, grabbing his stomach. The Aragami punches him again in the face. Then she looks at her hand and nodded.
"I can kill you using this form, i don't need to be bigger than you. You are used to fight large Aragamis... How about one with human form?" She smile and place her hand in Soma's chest. "Let me ask you a question, Soma. Would you give your life for Murasaki?" She asks. Soma's eyes widen, he never thought about it before, but more importantly, why is she asking that? She was planning something. He only could wait until Alisa finds Murasaki, he has to keep her distracted until then.
"Yes, i'll do it" He answers.
"Really? You humans are... weak. You could easily leave her to die here. There's another female humans out there, and you waste your time with her. She's done" She grab the God Arc and rip it apart with her hands. Soma couldn't move, it was like he was stuck to the ground. "Your whole species is done. You should have left Nova eat the world" The Aragami smile and snap her fingers. A door appears behind her, she open it and inside was Alisa with Murasaki in a hallway. "I find the little mouse" Alisa shoot at her and the bullet hit her head, she then grabs Murasaki's hand and run away from the door, but the floor in front of them start to disappear. There was nowhere to run. The Aragami enters the hallway, grab both of them and throw them out, next to Soma. "You want to know something funny?" She said out of nowhere. No one answers her, but she talks anyway. "Aragamis can't dream, they can't imagine, they can't think on anything that's not the prey they have in front of them. Not having a brain is their weakness. Now that i'm slowly taking over Murasaki's head, i'm starting to feel things that i never feel before, i even had i dream of my own... It was just like this one. It was like you call it, a Deja vu. You three were here in front of me, waiting for me to finish you off. It was perfect"
"So? No one cares about that" Said Soma. "What's your point?"
"My point is that i'm better than the others. Not only i will become the apex predator... I will be finally free from my chains. In the end, humans create their own destruction. Weapons, the atom bomb... Me"
"W-What?" Alisa asks. "Does that mean... You are an artificial Aragami?"
"And what if i am? That doesn't matter anymore! I used to have a body, but they took it away from me. They turn me into a weird weapon!" The Aragami turn to Murasaki. "This could've ended quickly, Murasaki. But you start to play hide and seek with me, i will make you suffer before consuming you"
"You can try it" Murasaki jump on her and stab her left eye with a knife, then kick her. Murasaki jump backwards. The Aragami didn't care at all that she had a knife in her eye. "I won't give up so easily. I'm tired of running. You are going down, right here, right now. Fight me like a human!" Murasaki raise her fists, waiting for the Aragami to do the same.
"You really want to fight me like that?" The Aragami asks. "There's no reason for me to actually do something like that" She turned again into an Aragami and roar at Murasaki. "Why fighting like a human when i can just destroy you right now!"