Author's Note:
Well, this arc has certainly taken a step in which I never planned before. Although I do prefer this path rather than the one I thought of before. Slowly, the year is ending, and if you guys follow the main story, the battle arcs took place after a year too!
Chapter 35: Mask And Cross
It was a strange moment, as if everything was frozen in time. It felt like Dino, Johann, the Vindice as well as I were the only ones alive at that point. The background felt gray, like the background of a vintage picture. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Each beat of my heart pounded in my mind for some reason. Maybe it was from seeing Johann suffer through that, I don't know. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. It just felt really wrong. I feel.. concerned? Why, I wonder? I know I don't really like the guy, but I still feel like I don't want to see him in pain like this. He cluches his head, agony stretched across his face. The wind howls in accordance to his pain.
And then he just fell, as if all life was taken from him. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. My heart only went faster as my steps rushed to him.
"Johann!" I cried out his name, my voice full of worry, loud enough and hoping for him to hear. As I got to his side, his head fell to the stonefloor with a thud, eyes wide, still in shock. Panicking for some reason, I grabbed him and held him up by his shoulders. By this time, his eyelids had already closed, him falling into unconsciousness.
Apparently, the Vindice wasted no more of their time. Just as I looked up, a thousand chains appeared from the air itself, seemingly appearing from the flames the Vindice brought with them. "Give us the tome!" This time they sounded worse than before, their tone desperate. They came at me so fast it looked like they were swooping at us, devouring us in their shadowy cloak. I guess I was too distracted by Johann, my movement came a bit too late.
The next thing I felt was the rough, hard grip around my stomach area, before being tugged by a great force. Flying through the air, I held on tight to Johann, who in turn was still grasping hard on that tome of his. Making sure I cushion the fall by landing on my body, I recovered to see Dino running to our side. "Watch out, I don't know what's happening here, but the Boss of the Zanna Famiglia can't die here!" He exclaimed with great confidence, a serious glint in his eyes. He even looked like he wanted to defeat the Vindice. He had this fearless smile on his face.
Looking at Johann, I felt him severely locking down my movements, but I can't just leave him at one spot for the Vindice will surely get him. "Man, I wish Kiera was here.." I randomly say out my thoughts.
"Yeah, the Valkyrie's help would be welcome.." Dino replied to me while facing the Vindice, suprising me because he knows Kiera. I guess I didn't expect any of the big bosses to know.
The two of us now stands back to back, with Johann collasped in the middle. I only felt a faint breath of the wind before another set of chains launched themselves with blinding speed. Unable to dodge because I'm protecting Johann, I did my best to kick them off trajectory. Immediately after that, I shot back at the Vindice who struck me. Once again, the bullet phased through him, the mummified member not even taken aback by the shot. It felt hopeless, like I was out of my league, which I probably were.
To my surprise, Dino went for the offensive as I shifted my eyes to look out for him. Closing in on one of the Vindice with blazing speed, he threw his whip at another while throwing a spinning kick. As expected, the kick was barely felt, but the whip pulled the member off his feet, and Dino threw him into a collision course with his target. "Crush!" The sound gave out as the Vindice struck each other, taking damage as I assumed.
"Give it to us!" They roared out once more, screaming like banshees emerging from the dark shadows. I look at Johann and can't help but feel like giving it to them isn't the right thing to do. It took a while, but the man named Romario made his way towards us and is already taking care of Johann.
"N-no!" I gave my reply, in defiance of what the Vindice wanted. I could feel my voice stuttering from fear and panic. Truth be told, I'm not sure what I should do right now. But, it feels like I've already made my decision. "If Johann didn't want to give it to you, then I certainly won't be the one to give it to you!" I continued, still fending off the mass of chains assaulting us. The shadowy flames was cold, but they nearly burned off my shirt.
"Know your place, Zanna!" They gave me their warning, their flames flickering bigger and higher than before. Another sharpened spike shot out at me, this time way faster than before. I guess I had been lucky all this while, but my luck just went out. Shielding Johann, I only managed to get in front of him before the spike pierced through my left shoulder.
"Zrgh!" The sound of metal cleaving though flesh was only drowned out by the sudden spike of fiery pain melded with cold, hard metal. Immediately as the flames touched my skin, I could feel a small, but greatly accelerating burning sensation. This amalgamy of feelings and pain was too much.
"Argh!" I yelled out as loud as I could, as if hoping the pain would disappear. As I was struck, paralysed by pain, I could even feel my mind blanking out for a few moments before I recovered. It felt unbelievable, as I was in my Awakening. A random thought flashed across my mind, appearing and disappearing just as quick. What would happen if I wasn't? Feeling my own body throbbing uncontrollably, I was struck by a mass of sensation again. "Eyargh!" I cried out once more, dropping to my knees. Sadly, the pain did not go away.
As the pain lingered, I felt a sharp sense of fear, more powerful than anything I've felt before. The cold, hard chain embedded into my flesh dwarfs whatever conflicts I've faced before. I found it harder and harder to steady my hand, nearly dropping Fenris. The only thing keeping me from doing that was the thought that I would die immediately if I exited my Awakening now.
"Zanna!" Immediately, Dino's smile vanished as he caught sight of what happened, rushing to my side. His eyes looked upset as he saw my wound, and he quickly turned back to the Vindice. I did the same, and for the first time in quite a while, I saw them as how they were truly feared, like messengers of death. They say death in the hands of these wardens could probably be the most merciful thing to happen to you, should you land as their target. As I glanced at Johann however, I continued to stand in defiance.
With sudden movement, the chains pulled itself out of my shoulders, the feeling of metal slicing through my wound felt like a barrage of bullets being shot through me. "Argh!" I cried out once more, the flame burning the open would before dessipating. I could see Dino worried, his offensive stance all but disappeared. He stands by my side, struggling to support me. My mind began imagining horrendous things, like the Vindice closing in on us, chains, flames and death slowly bringing the three of us to our graves. I can't help but see images in my mind, a tombstone with my name engraved on it, my Famiglia crying. Or us being thrown into a cell, deprived of air, light and life, even if I didn't want to.
By this time, my vision was wobbling, I was trying hard to stay conscious. My body felt extremely heavy, even with Dino's support, in contrast to the lightness my Awakening brought me just moments ago. It felt difficult to keep my eyes open, and focus on the situation. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. The beat boomed and pulsed within my head. I can't even tell if my heartbeat was beating quickly or slowly anymore...
"Enough!" A command so full of authority, it snapped me back. The path where the Vindice was enroaching towards is destroyed, as a river of shadowy flames sear and eat through whatever was left of the park. I looked up to see the Vindice jumping back through the air, landing safely a few meters away. The mysterious voice brought my cautiousness to a whole new level.
Amidst the sea of flames and shadow that had all but devoured the park, in the core now stands an unknown figure. His approach was unprecedented and uncalled for. Nobody even noticed his presence, it felt like he just appeared out of thin air. Slowly, he made his way towards the Vindicare members. Dino and I stood, confused and paralysed, not knowing what exactly we should do. Romario was silent as well as he tended to Johann. A voice in my head cried for me to run, but I couldn't move my body. There was an overwhelmingly powerful aura, or intent, emenating from the figure. His presence has all but stolen away the control of my body.
The waves flickered, blurring my vision, but over time, I could see who he was. Long, dull-colored robes swayed with his steps, his figure commanding power, authority and respect. His armor, worn over his robes, was embedded with all matter of medals, emblems, badges and symbols. A number of them glittered and shined, but most of them was worn, aged beyond their time. The most commanding and prominent symbol was his giant cross, hung over his back. It looked like it was extremely heavy, made completely out of a metal of some sorts, swinging from side to side, creaking with the momentum. And yet, his movements remained steady, powerful. An interesting, and perhaps ominous sight, was that it was hung upside down, and inverted cross. A long, lifeless mask shields his face, adorned by symbols of an inverted cross as well. But, even without knowing who he is, I felt extremely afraid, like I knew I stood no chance against him whatsoever. Was it instinct?
Yet, a feeling surfaced within me as I saw him, but I couldn't exactly understand what it is. I feel like a thought was pushing its way to reveal itself in my mind, and with it brought familiarity from the figure. Just.. what is it?
"Crack!" A bone-crunching sound ran off as one of the Vindice was thrown to the ground. He did nothing to retaliate, and stayed down, silent in front of the figure. The whole situation made both Dino and I really confused. The ony conclusion I could came up with was that they are aquaintances. Blinking my eyes, it felt more and more difficult to keep my mind clear and my eyes open.
"He is a Knight no longer." He declared to the Vindice, his voice deep and monotonous, throwing his right arm to the side, as if dismissing Johann. Cold, hard silence would fill the place in between his words. Without his voice, it's difficult to even realize he's alive. He looked more like a statue or an ornement, towering over us. "The deal is off." He declared once more, his voice lifeless as it is. Slowly, he turned to face us.
"We are done here." And with those words and a waves of his hand, the same shadows, flames and fog engulfed them, layer after layer swallowing them up. The wind felt like it was being drawn into the shadows. The epicenter just kept devouring and devouring the flames until sight of the park returned. The trees swayed with life just as they did when we entered. It was as if that fiery landscape from before was but a mirage.
Amidst the wirling torrent of shadows and flames, the sight of the Vindice as well as the mysterious figure became smaller and smaller. As the heat and cold that both emitted from the flame disappeared, my body felt relieved, so much that I felt like I could fall asleep right on the spot I was in. Wind from the sea soon blew past me, and I turned to look at the figure once more. Looking into the small window of sight, I got a clear look at him and his mask.
Just before he vanished, I realized why and what I was feeling so strongely about. It's him.
"Argh!" Spikes of pain shot forth from my wound. Stinging from the salty wind tried their best to kept me awake and conscious. Yet, in the chaos of emotions I was feeling, my mind was crying out. Was I angry, afraid? One thought, one line of words kept all other thoughts at bay. That man, I have to tell Kiera! The stinging added more fatigue to my body, and soon, I fell to my knees. My eyes felt extremely heavy now, and vision blurred more as each second passed. It wasn't long before I fell, collapsed on the cold stone floor. I think I heard Dino yelling as I did, but I couldn't make out exactly what he said. In my mind, I thought, at least Johann's safe. Soon, consciousness faded, memory blurred, and my realization wiped along with it.
Well, as you probably realized, things are getting slower. I guess I need more time to pump out my chapters now, and rushing them definitely isn't a good way to write stories. Was it a good chapter? Curious about exactly who that man was? The story continues as new conflicts presents itself to Amato and the Zanna Famiglia!