Return Of The Faint Smile

by demon6666

The organisation has found a way to revive Teresa, their strongest warrior to once again rebuild their army of claymores. However Teresa has no intentions on returning to the organisation, instead she is devoted to finding Clare.

37. The angel of destruction

The very blood ran cold of every ghost that listened to the painstaking words that came out of Clare's mouth. Each one of those words felt like a stake to the heart, with each consecutive word pushing it deeper and deeper into the wound. As Clare expected, it was crushing for all her comrades to understand that their precious 'ghosts' status was no longer, and instead, they were now directly targeted by their formidable enemy. The one advantage that had given them hope these past seven years was snatched from them, and by the look on each of their faces, it was obvious that morale was slipping fast.

Clare could tell that it was her captain, Miria, who took the news particularity badly, and it was understandable. She was the leader of the rebellion, and all her carefully laid plans had heavily relied on that stealth advantage. Instead of the usual confidence on her face, there was one of doubt, and a closer look into her eyes even showed evidence of what was unmistakably fear. This was particularly difficult for Clare to see because out of all of them, it was Miria who kept group motivation up to a maximum.

"Clare, what are you saying?" asked Teresa whose face was twisted with confusion.

"They only used you as a means to find us..."Clare answered in a sorrowful tone.

It was at that moment when Clare noticed that dreaded look of doubt on Teresa's face, and even a trace of fear evident in those mystifying silver eyes of hers. The wavy haired warrior stood in silence with her face lowered towards the ground, looking too distraught to even notice that all attention has been pointed towards her. It was painful for Clare to see Teresa in such a broken state yet again, the very individual who in her mind, was the very definition of confidence, elegance and power. As Clare stared into those silver eyes, a striking thought crossed her mind. She didn't become a hybrid solely to take revenge on Priscilla. In fact, she became a hybrid to subconsciously try and change herself into her idol, into Teresa. She admired Teresa so greatly, and missed her so desperately, that she was willing to do anything to bring her back, even if that meant changing the very person who she was in order to turn herself into a mirror image of Teresa.

"Clare..." Teresa said in a gloomy tone, breaking the shorthaired warrior's trail of thought: "You said that these things are after me...So I want you and everyone else to make a break for it and leave me behind."

Unable to believe what she had heard, Clare frantically responded: "No way! I'll never leave you behind! Don't you ever think like that!"

"Clare..."

Frustrated by Teresa's newfound attitude, Clare hastily marched up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, pronging the two to look directly into each other's eyes from the small distance separating them.

"I don't care who we're up against, or what the odds are. I will always be there when you need me."

Teresa was astounded to find herself in a position where she was at a total loss for words. She didn't fully understand it, but there was something about what Clare had said that sent a massive wave of relief through her troubled mind, as if a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Could it be that she was afraid?

Afraid to be beaten once again?

Afraid to die?

She immediately tried to dismiss the very idea of 'Teresa of the Faint Smile' being afraid, but as hard as she tried, her mind kept drifting back towards it. It was an inescapable thought, one that could explain the very nature of her strange behavior lately. She always thought that having friends and being in need of help was an attribute of a weakling, something for the low ranking warriors to rely on, but this was the very thing that gave her strength in the last couple of days.

"But Cla..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Teresa was surprised to feel the tips of Clare's fingers gently stroke the surface of her right cheek, involuntarily flooding her face with a bright flush of red.

"I can see it in your eyes Teresa, you are terrified," Clare replied tenderly with a warm smile planted on her lips: "But you don't have to fight alone anymore, we won't let anything happen to you...I won't let anything happen to you."

Struck by this unexpected affection, Teresa once again found herself in a position where she was completely speechless and unable to provide a response of any kind. This was the second time in the past couple of days that this had happened to her, and only now did she realize just how much she had been lying to herself. She was afraid, and as difficult as it was for her to admit, reassurance was exactly what she needed at this moment in time. Her foolish pride begged her to put on a brave face and hide all her insecurities just as she had been doing for most of her life, but she just didn't have the strength to do so anymore.

Ending her endless parade of thoughts, Teresa couldn't help but beam a genuine smile of gratitude as she looked into Clare's gleaming eyes.

"Thank you Clare..."

Noticing that Clare and Teresa's moment was over, Miria wasted no time in calling for the attention of the entire group that was gathered on the cathedral's chilly rooftop. She knew that it was absolutely crucial to keep group morale as high as possible, but this was a difficult thing for her to maintain because of the current situation. It was always a severe disadvantage to be taken by surprise by the enemy, but there was no doubt in her mind that her group was ready for anything that the organization throws at them. On top of the seven years of training they each had, Miria also took relief of the fact that she had Riful and even Priscilla on her side, something which she doubt the organization would know about.

The captain put on a serious face as she turned her attention to the blind warrior among them:

"Galatea, you've seen Alicia and Beth in combat before. How do they compare in strength compared to the awakened beings that are with us currently?"

"In terms of power, I believe they are superior to Dauf, but probably on the same level as Riful. However," Miria was taken aback when the blind warrior paused for a moment with a smirk on her face, before she continued in an overly confident voice: "However, they are nowhere near as powerful as the one horned beast."

Miria could tell that Galatea's words were a boost of confidence to most of her group, but she wasn't naïve enough to believe that the upcoming battle would be as simple as it seemed. What really bothered her was the unknown enemy, the 'yoki feeders'. She knew the organization well enough to know that they wouldn't call an attack unless they were one hundred percent confident that the battle would end in their favor. Using this logic, then it would be appropriate to presume that the organization would send more of these creatures than would probably be needed in order to achieve this guaranteed victory. Assuming that these creatures were comparable in power to the abyssal feeders, then by Miria's calculations, it would be likely that Teresa would be facing tens of thousands of these things if not more, a number which would without a doubt overwhelm the former number one.

The spiky haired warrior took a moment to glance upon the strongest member of their group, the awakened being Priscilla. She didn't look too impressive on the outside, but her monstrous strength and speed was undeniable. Miria knew that Priscilla would play an important role in the upcoming battle, certainly tipping the result of the battle in their favor, but she wasn't prepared to naively declare victory just yet. It could be possible that she grossly underestimated the sheer number of these 'yoki feeders', and there could in fact be enough of them to not only destroy Teresa, but possibly Priscilla as well. She figured that this scenario was quite unlikely, but it's still a possibility and it would be unwise to rule it out.

"You do not need to worry, I will destroy all that is in our way," A calm looking Priscilla announced as the awakened being stood on the far eastern edge of the cathedral's roof, looking out to the distance.

"It's a good thing that you're confident Priscilla, but never make the mistake of underestimating the enemy." Miria replied.

It was at that moment when Clare noticed two small figures towards the Western side of the city madly dashing their way over the various rooftops to get to the centre of the city. After squinting her eyes to have a better look at them, Clare was thrilled when she identified one of them as Raki, but that thrill quickly died down when she noticed that there was something strange about the way they moved. It was as if they were running away from something, or someone, and as the distance between them was getting smaller, the look of fear on their faced became more and more evident.

As the two of them leaped over the last few remaining buildings to get to the cathedral, all became silent among the ghosts as they braced themselves for whatever grave news they brought with them. Arriving breathless in front of everyone, a look of terror could clearly be seen in the eyes of them both, making it clear to everyone that the news was far worse than they had thought.

"Clare we have a serious problem!" Raki stormed, barely able to maintain a proper composure due to the way he was desperately gasping for breath.

"What did you see Raki?"

"A whole army, of these things…I don't know what they are." He responded, still trying to catch his breath.

"Alicia and Beth are also drawing near…" Galatea announced with her eyelids closed and face tightly tensed up, making it obvious that she was in a trance of careful concentration: "There…there is some other strange yoki…it's coming from all directions."

"Must be from the feeders." Miria added.

"Feeders? You mean abyssal feeders?" Audrey asked out of intense curiosity.

"Not exactly. Clare was recently approached by Rubel who informed her that these are a special type of feeder that hunt after a certain yoki signature. Apparently these ones are after Teresa's yoki signature."

"But you'd know all about them wouldn't you?" Teresa sneered in a hostile tone as she began to march towards Audrey in a threatening manner.

"Teresa…I don't know what you're talking about."

"I can't believe I didn't see it before," Teresa continued as she stopped in front of Audrey and pushed her face to within an inch of the nervous warrior's: "You're nothing but a filthy rat whispering things to the enemy behind our backs."

It was obvious that Audrey was too frightened to respond to the greater power that stood so menacingly in front of her, but she stubbornly stood her ground nevertheless.

"T…Teresa." Audrey stuttered before being cut off by the wavy haired warrior:

"You and Rubel had this all planned out didn't you?"

"I had nothing to do with..." Audrey tried to say but was interrupted once again:

"Remember what I said to you when you freed me? I said that 'I hope you understand the consequences'."

"What are you saying?"

"You're about to find out what those consequences are."

Noticing that Teresa had intentions on hurting Audrey, Raki immediately came to her defense by pushing himself in between the two warriors, causing Teresa to take a step backwards in response. As Raki stood defensively in front of Audrey, he couldn't help but notice the tremendous look of surprise on the face of every member in the rebellion, with the most prevalent being Teresa's and Clare's. He had hoped that Teresa wouldn't have gone that far, but he just couldn't stand by and allow her to hurt Audrey.

"Raki…what are you doing?" Clare asked with a dumbfounded look on her face, but that face soon turned into one of mistrust as she set her sight upon the long haired warrior that stood timidly behind him.

"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't stand by and let Teresa murder Audrey." He said in the bravest voice he could muster, still defiantly standing in between the two warriors.

"Why do you defend her Raki? What is she to you?" Teresa asked suspiciously with one of her eyebrows raised.

"She's…she's…."

"Don't tell me…" Teresa said before pausing a moment to release a short sigh: "Please don't tell me you feel something for her."

"Ummm, err…" Raki responded in his usual nervousness when asked such a question, taking the time to glance at Clare and noticing a look of intense revelation on her face. Her facial expression was a strange one indeed, and he couldn't quite pin point what she felt exactly at that moment. Knowing Clare, it was impossible to read her thoughts from the outside, but it looked as if she was caught in deep surprise, discomfort and even what he thought could be jealousy.

"Such a young, naïve boy you are," Teresa responded, breaking the brief moment of silence from a moment ago: "You don't actually believe that a hybrid like us can love somebody else in that way do you?"

"Teresa," Clare said from out of the blue as she began to walk closer towards the two people whom she cared for the most: "You don't mean that…don't be so quick to throw away our humanity."

"Raki…you have to believe me…I didn't betray you." He could hear the softness of Audrey's voice whisper in his ear.

Turning around to face her, and with a smile on his lips, Raki answered: "I believe you Audrey."

"But that isn't all we have to worry about Raki," Clare said abruptly, knowing that there wasn't any time to waste: "The feeders are after Teresa, but the organization has also sent Alicia and Beth to take care of us."

"At least it appears the organization doesn't know about Riful, Dauf and Priscilla, otherwise they wouldn't bother sending those two." Audrey said, gaining enough courage to finally come out from behind Raki.

"Yes, lets hope they don't know" The captain responded.

"We must leave the city and fight the feeders on open ground!" Tabitha said worriedly.

"There is no point…" Galatea answered in a crystal clear voice: "They coming from all directions. There is no escape."

"Dam the organization!" Helen yelled in a furious tone, slamming a fist into her palm: "They always find a way to screw us over! First with Pieta and now this!"

The captain put on a serious facade as she turned her attention to the group that was assembled before her. She scanned each and every face until her eyes fell upon an anxious looking Clarice and the confused Miata. It was clear that the situation was becoming far too dangerous to involve a young child and a lesser-powered former warrior, and she wasn't willing to put both their lives in danger in the upcoming battle.

"Clarice, go with Miata and tell father Vincent and everyone to take shelter in the cathedral's cellars. Stay in there with them, hopefully you'll all be safe."

Giving a gesture that she understood the command, Clarice frantically led the confused looking Miata back down the staircase to warn the others as Miria told her.

As the two disappeared from sight, Miria then took the time to focus her attention on to the blind warrior among them.

"Galatea…You don't have to fight if you think you're unfit for the task."

"I may be blind, but I can still put up a hell of a fight." She replied boldly.

Understanding Galatea's wish to fight among them, the captain then returned her attention back to the remaining group that was assembled before her. She looked into the eyes of each and every ghost, and even took the time to glance at the awakened beings within the party, Priscilla, Riful and Dauf. She knew that if they were to survive this upcoming battle, then it would be essential that they all put aside their differences and work together.

"Why don't we let Teresa lead the feeders away from us!" Riful whined childishly: "It would be a worthy sacrifice for the sake of us all!"

"We are not going to let Teresa die." Clare snapped, looking extremely displeased that Riful even dared to mention such an idea in front of her.

After hearing this, Riful's childlike nature immediately ended as she transformed her usual playful looking face into one of annoyance and disappointment. She gave Teresa an unfriendly stare as she crossed her arms in defiance, sending a clear message that she was extremely unsatisfied with what she had just heard.

"They are getting closer." Galatea suddenly alerted.

"I can see them…" Priscilla shortly followed, pronging the rest to look in the same eastern direction as her, desperately scanning the space for any signs of these creatures.

The distance to the end of the city was enormous, and even from this vantage point; it would be difficult to distinguish a human from the creature Priscilla claimed to see. However, It didn't take long for the entire party to make out a tiny blue spec from on top the giant wall that encased the great city. This blue spec was without a doubt one of the creatures that Clare spoke of, as it proved to move in a very similar manner to the abyssal feeders. It didn't just simply take the stairs that lead from the top of the wall to the streets below, instead, it seemed to crawl it's way down the steep wall in a matter similar to a spider.

Before long, a blue tidal wave composed of what seemed like thousands of these creatures came into view, rapidly creeping their way towards the centre of the city. The ghosts were horror struck when this wave of creatures could be seen in all directions, no matter which way they looked. They kept hoping that they would see an end to this colossal army, but there was no such end in sight. The sheer number of these things was utterly unbelievable, easily reaching tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands. Neither one of them have ever seen an army of this magnitude before, threatening to destroy whatever was left of the morale they tried so hard to maintain.

"Alicia and Beth are drawing near!" Galatea yelled, breaking the group silence caused by the arrival of the yoki feeders.

"Galatea, do you have any idea which direction you expect them to come from?" Miria questioned.

"The yoki from all these feeders makes it impossible for me to pin point their exact position. Sorry, I can't tell you." she replied.

"What the hell? How are we supposed to fight those two and all these things at the same time?" Helen shouted out of desperation.

"What do we do Miria?" Tabitha said with a horrid look on her face.

At that moment, the entire group's attention was turned away from the incoming horde of beasts and on to a less than confident looking Miria. She stood in the middle of the party in silence, with her head lowered towards the ground, seemingly lost in her own maze of thoughts. It was difficult for the ghosts to see their once fearless leader broken before them, no longer radiating that overpowering confidence that they had relied upon for the past seven years.

Standing in the middle of the party with the gentle hands of the nightly breeze playing with her long spiky hair, a glimpse of hope could be seen as the captain raised her lowered head with a clear look of determination on her face.

"We have survived against all odds before…And we will do it again" She said in her usual overpowering voice, taking a short pause to look into the eyes of each and every one of her party: "And just like Pieta…I'm afraid this battle will not be without sacrifices."

"So what do you insist we do Miria?" Galatea asked.

Gripping her chin with her right hand, Miria spared a moment to glance upon the endless amass of yoki feeders that had already managed to make their way through one third of the city, bringing them close enough for her to obtain a proper visual. They looked very similar to the abyssal feeders they faced a few days ago, but had a much darker blue tint to them. They, however, moved in a very different manner. Instead of walking on their two feet like the abyssal feeders, these creatures moved in a manner very similar to a spider, using all four of their slightly extended limbs to climb over buildings and walls as was seen before.

After a few precious seconds of observing the creatures, and analyzing the way they moved, she began to notice that they seemed to crawl over the shorter buildings, but tended to go around the taller buildings of the city. It immediately dawned on her that exploiting this would be the key to their victory.

"We will need to form two groups, group one and group two. Since we don't know exactly when Alicia and Beth will attack, both groups will be doing the same thing and fending off the yoki feeders from the top of this cathedral. As soon as Alicia and Beth arrive, group two will immediately dispatch from this rooftop and combat them as far away from group one as possible. When Alicia and Beth have been dealt with by group two, then they will return back here, to the centre of the city and help group one destroy the feeders."

"Sounds logical, but where will group two do battle with Alicia and Beth and avoid the yoki feeders at the same time?" Deneve noted.

"Since we're standing on top of the Cathedral which is located in the middle of this city, we should have ample time to spot Alicia and Beth from whichever direction they come from. Now if you look carefully, you will notice that these creatures tend to avoid climbing over the taller buildings within this city,"

The captain then began to point to a nearby building located on the western side of the cathedral as she continued: "The rooftop of that building should be free from those creatures, and is close enough for group two to make a leap from here. Once there, group two can hop over the empty rooftops scattered throughout the city, using them as their battlefield to engage Alicia and Beth."

"What happens if we miss the rooftops and accidently fall to the streets?" Helen naively asked.

"If that happens, you'll obviously die you idiot." Deneve sneered.

"Do you want to try me!" Helen snapped back angrily, almost forgetting the graveness of the situation they were in.

"It's safe to assume that these creatures will not attack unintended targets unless those targets get in their way. So if a member of group two were to fall into the horde below, then yes, they would probably be slaughtered." Miria answered, taking a moment to nervously glance at the advancing yoki feeders that were edging ever closer.

"Miria, are you sure that group one will be able to hold out against the feeders on their own?" Galatea asked with a look of doubt evident on her face.

"Group one will have to consist of members who can destroy a large amount of the feeders in a short time, or risk being overwhelmed by their extraordinary numbers."

"Then in that case, I should be in group one as the quicksword would suit that role perfectly." Clare noted.

"Yes, however I fear that you won't be able to maintain that technique for very long Clare," Miria responded with an unconvinced expression: " The quicksword is lightning fast because you expend a lot of energy by awakening your dominant arm, but that comes at the price of using a lot of yoki. The windcutter is a far more efficient technique which doesn't use any yoki, but that might not be quick enough to hold them back."

"Then I'll alternate them efficiently." The shorthaired warrior responded.

"Nevertheless, you are a prime candidate for group one, so that is where you will be going."

With time running out, Miria gave one last glance at her party as she thought swiftly about the appropriate grouping. She wasn't completely sure whether she could trust the awakened beings in the group, but she knew there was no choice in the matter. The battle with Alicia and Beth will be a difficult one for sure, and she will definitely need the help of at least one of them if the battle is to end in their favor. As much as she didn't like the idea of putting Priscilla and Clare in the same group, it was absolutely vital that the strongest member of the party be placed within group one to fend off the yoki feeders. For the sake of her, and Teresa's life, Clare would have to put aside her hatred for Priscilla and learn to work with her if they are to survive the battle.

With Priscilla placed within group one, and group two still in need for at least one awakened being, it was now time to decide where to place the remaining two. Riful would be perfectly suited for the battle with Alicia and Beth, as she was made up of fleshy strips in her awakened form, which should make navigation over the empty rooftops a breeze for her. Dauf would also have to be placed within group two due to his ineffectiveness in fighting numerous smaller opponents, and also because his massive weight would most likely cause the cathedrals rooftop to collapse, a scenario which would end in utter disaster. Of course, being in group two, he could just as likely collapse the other buildings he sets foot on, but there weren't any other options in this moment in time.

Miria once again turned her attention outwards to the view of Rabona and was alarmed to see the feeders closing in fast, already managing to overtake about two thirds of the massive city. There wasn't much time left until they arrived at the cathedral, and the pressure was on for her to make the correct decisions quickly to ensure their survival.

Madly flickering her gaze between the three members of group one, Teresa, Priscilla and Clare, the captain was having trouble deciding whether it was worth adding more members or not. Not that she didn't care for Teresa's life, but the battle with Alicia and Beth was her number one priority, as those two were a threat to the entire party whereas the feeders were only targeting Teresa. If she were to add too many members into group one, then that would obviously mean that the strength of group two would be reduced, thus reducing the chances of defeating Alicia and Beth. If group two falls, then Alicia and Beth would immediately go after group one, who would already be neck deep in the yoki feeders. If that were to happen, then the entire rebellion would be wiped out.

"Priscilla, you will aid Teresa and Clare fending off the feeders. Everyone else is in group two." Miria announced after her moment of deep thought.

"Miria! You can't do this! Just the three of us?" Clare retorted furiously out of outrage.

"Clare, Miria is right," Teresa said in a surprisingly calm tone, even adding a weak smile as she added: "Your friends need all the help they can get against Alicia and Beth...I don't want you to feel as if you're obliged to help me. I couldn't possibly ask something like that from you."

Clare's face turned into a ghostly white the moment she heard this unexpected response from Teresa, standing in the middle of the group with her head lowered in silence. It was clear by the expression on her face that there were a million thoughts running through her mind, looking as if she was torn between Teresa and her friends. Upon hearing the dreaded sound of the feeders drawing nearer, Clare snapped out of her puzzled web of thoughts and returned eye contact upon the group. She frenziedly alternated her gaze between Teresa and everyone else, looking as if she was desperately trying to choose between the two. It wasn't long until she stopped this mad flickering and finally fixed her eyes upon her choice.

"I said that I'd always be there when you need me, and I keep my promises." Clare said to Teresa, sending a warm smile her way.

"Clare…It's not right for just you three to fight all these feeders, I'm going to help you." Raki said courageously.

"No, it's too dangerous Raki. Stay in group two. Miria is right, Alicia and Beth do take priority."

Before the young man even had the time to answer, the groups' attention was immediately shifted to the sound of flesh being violently torn apart with a shower of blood being sprayed in it's wake. Turning to the source of the sound, they could see Priscilla standing in her usual spot on the eastern edge of the rooftop holding the corpse of a yoki feeder by the throat, or whatever was left of it. The bottom half of the creature's body was completely decapitated, with a trail of guts hanging from its abdomen as the lifeless corpse was being suspended above the ground by the thin brown haired girl. Even with half it's body removed, the creature was almost as tall as Priscilla, with the bottom half of it's body hanging mere inches above the surface of the rooftop. It was unfortunate for the feeder that it happened to arrive before the rest of the pack, and thus, suffered a horrendous death as a consequence.

After curiously inspecting the feeder, Priscilla discarded the carcass off the edge of the building's rooftop and proceeded to shake the remainder of it's exotic blue blood off her right arm.

"They are not very strong." She said in her usual soft, emotionless voice.

"Everyone form a circle of defense!" Miria ordered as the colossal horde of yoki feeders began to swarm the few remaining streets that separated them from the cathedral.

Each member of the Rebellion did as their captain commanded, by forming the special defensive maneuver with Claymores raised and ready for battle. There was only half a minute at best before all hell would break loose, and each passing second felt longer than the last. For the ghosts, it felt as if they were back in Pieta, back in the battle that haunted their dreams for the past seven years. The tension was gaining as the distance between the feeders and them was getting smaller, but they continued to stand their ground defiantly.

As soon as the feeders approached the building to the west that Miria spoke of, the ghost held their breath as they awaited what would happen next. That building was the only one for quite some distance with the only realistic chance to remain above the sea of feeders, and if it were to be swallowed up like the others, they were as good as done for. A moment of panic ensued when the first batch of feeders actually began to crawl up the sides of the building, but that panic was short lived when it became apparent they weren't going to go all the way. It seemed that it just wasn't worth for them to climb all the way to the top, and for that, they were thankful.

"They sure have great timing…" Galatea said out of the blue.

"Spit it out Galatea! There's no time for riddles!" The captain snapped as she nervously eyed the incoming army.

"Alicia and Beth are in the city."

Through all this chaos around them, the ghosts used the last few seconds they had before the feeders arrived to scan their surroundings for the newcomers, and it wasn't long before something had caught their eyes. Towards the northern end of the city, two humanoid figures with long blonde hair and wearing specialized black armor raced their way towards the centre of the city, darting over the feeders below them almost as if they didn't exist. Even though the twins used the feeders' heads as stepping-stones as a means to get to the cathedral, it wasn't too surprising to see the creatures ignore them completely. The organization must have trained the creatures to take no notice of Alicia and Beth as a means to minimize conflict between the two, which would make it easier for them to complete their mission.

Realizing this could be the very last time they saw each other again, the members of group two turned to face Clare before their departure from the rooftop.

"Clare, we'll be right back as soon as we take care of Alicia and Beth!" Helen said in the bravest voice she could muster, trying her best to hide the grim look on her face.

"Yeah and don't you dare die on us." Deneve said shortly after.

"Clare…Priscilla…Teresa, please, stay safe. We won't be long." Raki finished.

"There's no time! Move out now!" Miria roared through the deafening noise of thousands of yoki feeders that began to climb up the sides of the Cathedral.

Taking one last glimpse at the comrades they were about to leave behind, the members of group two took to the air and landed on the safety of the nearby building towards the west of the Cathedral.

Clare could only watch as her friends leapfrogged over the few remaining feeder-free rooftops as they headed towards the northern end of the city to intercept the advancing Alicia and Beth. Deep in her mind, she knew that Miria had made the right decision, but she still wished that there were more to help her and Teresa fend of these creatures. She knew that if the entire rebellion were focused on defending Teresa from the feeders, then it would be next to impossible to combat Alicia and Beth at the same time. Miria's philosophy of 'the lives of many outweigh the lives of few." was the correct one indeed.

The remaining three members of the Rebellion, Teresa, Clare and the awakened being Priscilla, stood next to one another from the top of the Cathedral's rooftop as they anticipated the arrival of the incoming horde. The rooftop was built in such a way, that the highest point, or the summit, was actually the flattest part of the entire surface. It was quite similar to a hill, where the crest was rather flat, but the sides getting increasingly steeper as one would go down towards the bottom. This unique architecture made the top of the cathedral the ideal place strategically to fend of a large amount of weaker enemies, as the steep sides would serve as a bottleneck by reducing the enemy's mobility.

"There sure is a lot of them," Teresa said as she turned to face a worried looking Clare, letting out another one of her weak smiles as she continued: "But don't worry, it's nothing I can't handle."

Clare had heard that one from Teresa before and wasn't convinced by her bluff. She could see the look of uncertainty on the wavy haired warriors face, a similar one she had when she fought Priscilla only a couple of days ago. As the first batch of feeders made their way to the rooftop, Clare took her eyes off Teresa and set them upon the awakened being that stood silently on her left side. Priscilla didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that in a matter of seconds, they were about to be engulfed by hundreds of thousands of enemies. She just stood there casually with her face raised up to the sky, looking more interested in the formation of the clouds than the battle ahead.

That relaxed, almost careless look on her face made it clear that she didn't take the upcoming fight seriously, or even was aware of it at all. She seemed to be lost in her own little world, and Clare couldn't even guess, nor did she want to know, what Priscilla was thinking at that moment in time.

It infuriated Clare to see Priscilla so calm and composed while Teresa and herself were left in fear and trepidation...

It infuriated her that Priscilla didn't seem to realize the severity of the situation, or just simply didn't care...

But most of all, it infuriated her how her entire life was centered around Priscilla's actions.

And this time was no different.

The desperation within Clare had finally reached a breaking point. She realized that her hatred for Priscilla was completely irrelevant during such a desperate situation, and whether she liked it or not, the fact of the matter was that Priscilla was the key to their survival. With only a few seconds before the feeders approached them, Clare felt a glimmer of hope when the awakened being finally seemed to snap out of her trance and make eye contact with her. That emotionless look on her face vanished in an instant as soon as their eyes met, and quickly replaced with one of what seemed to be one of great concern.

"Priscilla…"Clare sobbed quietly as she raised her claymore in preparation for the incoming horde: "Please…please protect Teresa…"

The look in Priscilla's eyes told her that the awakened being had gotten the message, but time had already ran out. Immediately returning her sight back upon the horde, Clare awakened the dormant yoki cells within her right arm and unleashed the might of the quicksword upon the yoki feeders. The dazing whirlwind tore through the great wall of flesh and bone with ease, spilling an array of blood and guts far and wide. Priscilla was right when she said that these creatures weren't very powerful, but what they don't have in strength and agility, they easily make up for in numbers. On an individual level, they were very similar to the abyssal feeders, same size, height, even weight, but their overall combat statistics was quite inferior.

While still maintaining her quicksword technique, Clare took a moment to glance at the status of her party, and was pleased with what she saw. Despite the fact that she was in her human form, Priscilla had no trouble holding off the countless numbers of enemies with a volley of tentacles that spawned from her body. Those razor sharp weapons of hers shredded through an impressive amount of enemies, making the quicksword seem like Childs play in comparison. Teresa also seemed to hold her own as well, effortlessly slicing and dicing whichever unfortunate feeder got in the way of her powerful strikes. The unmatched fluidity and grace of Teresa's swordplay, combined with her incredible agility, made it clear that no feeder would get past her any time soon.

The battle had just begun, and already Clare was struggling to maintain control her awakened arm. Never before had she used the quicksword for such an extended period of time, and it was taking a toll on her both physically and mentally. She could feel the awakened cells in her right arm desperately trying to spread their way to her torso, but she used every ounce of energy within her to hold them back. As the seconds went by, it was getting increasingly more and more difficult to control the direction of the swift strikes of the powerful technique.

Realizing that maintaining the quicksword was no longer sustainable, Clare hastily returned her dominant arm back to normal and unleashed a windcutter in it's place. While it was a great relief to no longer expend so much energy, the difference between the two techniques was immediately noticeable. Instead of slicing up the yoki feeders instantly, the visibly slower attacks of the windcutter struggled to keep up with the enormous demand of enemies. It was fortunate for Clare that the windcutter only just managed to destroy the first row of feeders before the ones behind them took their place, making this technique maintainable for now. If the windcutter was only a fraction of a second slower, then the second row of feeders would have managed to make it slightly further than the one in front of them, which would obviously mean that the horde would eventually get close enough to attack her.

However, as time passed by, Clare noticed that each feeder seemed to different vastly, with some more powerful than others. Up to now, each row of the creatures consisted of a decent mix of different power levels, but there was a chance that at any moment, there could be a row consisting entirely of the more powerful ones. If this were to happen, Clare would be forced to abandon her windcutter and rely on the lightning fast strikes of the quicksword to mow them down.

Taking the time to look over her shoulder to check the standing of the party for a second time, Clare was comforted to see the two doing far better than herself. The wavy haired warrior was doing so well in fact, that she even had the time to glance at Clare for a moment while effortlessly slicing up feeder after feeder before her. Priscilla was in a similar situation as well, still standing casually in her original spot mowing down the same impressive amount of them with unprecedented ease.

Realizing that it was vital to put her full concentration into her technique, Clare returned her attention to the wall of flesh in front of her and was alarmed to see the distance between her and the feeders noticeably smaller. It became clear that the brief moment she took to glance at her comrades was enough to reduce the effectiveness of her windcutter by a noticeable margin. Taking in a large breath of the foul air around her, Clare once again burrowed the power of the yoma cells within her right arm, forcing them to awaken as she let loose another quicksword upon her foes. It didn't take long for the whirlwind of death to push the barrage of feeders back to their original position, but that came at the cost of a lot of the remainder of Clare's stamina.

With the feeders now an acceptable distance away, Clare relieved the power of the yoma cells and replaced it with the lesser-powered technique. Yet again, the difference in power was immediately noticeable as the slower attacks of the windcutter struggled to keep the massive horde at bay. As the fight persisted, Clare began to notice that her attacks were becoming increasingly sluggish, forcing her to rely more and more on the far stronger, yet less efficient quicksword.

It came faster than expected, but the dreaded thought that was always on the back of Clare's mind had finally become a reality. It had reached the point where it was getting physically too exhausting to keep the horde at bay, even struggling to maintain the resourceful attacks of the windcutter. As her muscles ached under the enormous weight of her Claymore, it became painfully obvious that Miria's concerns about her stamina were right. Never before was she required to accelerate her blade at these speeds for such an extended period of time, and the effects on her body as a result were far worst than she anticipated.

Realizing that she just couldn't go on any longer, Clare hysterically turned her attention behind herself to warm Teresa and Priscilla of her much needed departure. She didn't want to abandon Teresa, but there was no choice in the matter. Her usefulness had reached its end, and the only thing she could do at this point was pray that Teresa and Priscilla could hold out on their own.

"Teresa I can't keep this up. I'm sorry but I'll swear I'll be right back!" She desperately yelled through the deafening sound of thousands of yoki feeders roaring in unison.

"Go! Get out of here!" the wavy haired warrior replied back, with the sound of her voice barely making it into Clare's ears.

Taking one last breath of the foul air around her, Clare used the last of her remaining stamina to take to their air, leaving behind the colossal horde feeders and falling towards the safety of the empty rooftop near the cathedral. As her boots touched the surface, Clare's feet immediately gave in as she collapsed to her knees from sheer exhaustion. Her entire body shook hysterically with cold sweat running down the contours of her face as she struggled to catch her breath.

After taking some much needed time to recover, Clare managed to get to her feet as she took a moment to scan her surroundings. She was utterly horrified to see the entirety of Rabona completely flooded in a sea of feeders, with only the tips of a few buildings visible in the distance. She would have thought that after spending that entire time killing thousands of these creatures, an ending to their colossal army would be near, but there was no such end in sight. They stretched as far as a hybrid eye could see, with more and more pouring in over the city gates like a streaming torrent of water that gushed out from a busted dam.

Setting her sight upon the feeder infested rooftop of the cathedral, Clare tried her best to spot traces of her comrades among them, but was left disappointed. Teresa and Priscilla were completely buried under the enormous pile of creatures, making it completely impossible to know from the outside whether they were coping or not. With each passing second crucial, she turned her attention towards the northern end of the city where she could see the members of group two doing battle with Alicia and Beth, and began to madly bolt towards them.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop with the chilly winds blowing against her body, Clare could see the streets below her completely swamped by feeders, madly crawling over each other like brainless animals that raced towards the promise of a meal. Every glance down there was a reminder of how desperate the situation was, and how every passing feeder could potentially be the one that would sink their claws into Teresa.

As she soared towards the north, Clare's thoughts were brought to an abrupt end when she felt something wrap tightly around her right ankle, stopping her to a standstill and causing her to be suspended in the air. Dangling upside-down above the feeder flooded streets below, Clare began to frantically scan the area around her, desperately trying to figure out what was going on, and it wasn't long until she found out either. As soon as she set her eyes upon the unmistakable mesh of fleshy strips before her, there was no doubt in her mind that this was the abyssal one, Riful's doing.

"Riful! What the hell are you doing!" Clare yelled furiously from the top of her lungs, unable to comprehend Riful's sudden strange behavior.

"Please forgive me Clare," The abyssal one responded as she moved her massive body closer towards the helpless shorthaired warrior: "This is the only way it can be done."

"What are you talking about?"

"You will feel much better after this."

"After wha…"

Before she had time to finish, Clare found herself screaming from intense pain as one of Riful's razor sharp strips penetrated through her right shoulder, causing a pool of blood to gush out from the open wound.

"I know it hurts but please bear with me." Riful said with a genuine look of concern on her face.

"R…Riful, let go of me now!" Clare roared with anger.

"You escaped from me once before Clare, but that's not going to happen again. Do you remember how you made me tell you everything I knew about Alicia, Beth, Isley and Priscilla? In exchange, you told me that you would consider joining me, but you fled along with the others. This pains me more than you can imagine Clare, but you give me no choice." Riful added as she impaled Clare with yet another razor sharp fleshy strip, causing another yell of pain from the shorthaired warrior.

"Why are you doing this?" Clare groaned hopelessly as a stream of blood run down the side of her face.

"I'm doing this to help you!" Riful screeched out of excitement for a moment before returning her tone to normal: "If you don't awaken soon, you'll be riddles with holes and die from blood loss."

"Riful…you truly are insane…"

"Hey be careful Clare, saying things like that can affect our friendship."

"Friendship?" Clare questioned irritatedly, completely disgusted with what she had just heard.

"I wanted to help you for a while, but because of that annoying Teresa I never had the chance to do so until now."

"Teresa…I should have listened to her…" Clare mumbled depressively as she continued to lay suspended in the air by Riful, with a dozen wounds in her chest.

"I know that you don't understand now, but you will thank me when you awaken." The abyssal one said as she let out a smile.

Just when Clare was about to give up on all hope, she was astounded to see the shadow of a blade appear from out of the blue, slicing off the strip that held her airborne and causing her body to began falling towards the streets below. With mere meters separating her from a guaranteed death in the pool of feeders, she felt a pair of arms swap themselves around her body, breaking her fall and tossing her towards the safety of an empty rooftop.

"Are you alright Clare?" She heard the sound of a female voice echo into her ears, but due to the trauma she had suffered earlier, it was far too distorted to make out the owner.

Laying face down against the surface of a cold-tiled roof, Clare somehow managed to get to her knees as she turned to face her rescuer.

"Are you alright?" Audrey repeated, with a deep look of concern on her face.

"I'll live…" Was Clare's reply as she frantically scanned around herself for any signs of Riful, eventually spotting the large awakened being in combat with an unknown entity a small distance away.

"Who's that fighting Riful? Is it Miria?"

"No Clare, Miria and the others are busy with Alicia and Beth. It's Raki." Audrey replied worriedly.

"No way! Tell him to back off!" Clare yelled in horror.

"I need to go help him as well, stay here."

As the former number three was about to take to the sky and join the battle ahead, she was immediately stopped by the arrival of Dauf who had just landed his massive body on the opposite end of the rooftop, almost destroying the building entirely. The two were left wide-eyed as the hulking awakened being began to move towards them like a gorilla, using one of his free hands to hold on to the crest of the rooftop so he wouldn't slip and fall to the streets below.

"Don't you even think about attacking Riful!" he groaned furiously.

It was at that moment when Clare noticed Audrey giving her a quick glance with those frightened eyes. The glance was only for a brief moment, but it was long enough for Clare to make out what the warrior was thinking. There was a battle of thoughts going on within Audrey's mind, with flashes of evil thoughts definitely among them. Clare knew that the former number three was seriously considering abandoning her to her death, and after all, what was she to Audrey? Why would Audrey even bother to save her? She was just a threat to her relationship to Raki. It would be so easy for Audrey to just let Dauf kill her, and who would ever find out? That way, she could have Raki all to herself.

It seemed like an eternity when the longhaired warrior finally seemed to make up her mind as she quickly bent over and threw Clare over the safety of her shoulders as she spoke:

"Your friends saved me from Riful once before, and even though I said that our debt has been settled, it's clear now that I still owe you.

"And why is that?" Clare answered in a confused tone.

"Because you saved Raki, the man who made me feel human again."

As she finished her sentence, Audrey immediately leapt out of the way of one of Dauf's giant metallic rods that raced towards them, destroying a large section of the already damaged building. As the two flew through the air, Clare had a quick glimpse at Raki's battle with Riful and was overwhelmingly relieved to see him alive, hysterically dodging attack after attack the abyssal one threw at him.

Landing on the safety of a nearby-undamaged building, Audrey hastily removed Clare from her shoulder and placing her on the tiled rooftop as she raised her claymore in a defensive position. She gave Raki a worried glance, then immediately set her sight back upon the male awakened being as soon as she noticed half a dozen more of his large iron rods heading towards them. Borrowing the power of her yoma cells, Audrey's eyes turned to a bright gold as she used her gentle sword technique to deflect all but one of the massive objects, with the last one smashing into her with an enormous impact, ramming her body against the side of a large brick chimney behind her. Lying helplessly only a few meters away, Clare was dismayed to see Audrey struggling to recover from the massive blow as yet another dozen raced their way towards them, threatening to finish to fight.

Clare held her breath as the rods bulleted towards them, but was taken aback when those accursed fleshy strips of Riful's created a protective wall in front of them, stopping the objects in their tracks. Looking to her side, she could see Riful giving Dauf a furious stare as the abyssal one spoke:

"Dauf what do you think you're doing?"

"I was just…" the massive monster stuttered.

"Don't kill them you stupid man."

"I wasn't going to…"

Giving a massive sigh, Riful began to scan her surroundings: "Now where is that annoying boy?"

Unable to locate him, the abyssal one then edged closer towards a shaken Audrey and Clare with a pleased smile on her lips as she added: "Now, where were we?"

As she edged her fleshy strips towards Clare once more, they were instantly sliced off by the quick workings of a blade that seemed to come from nowhere. Before Clare's eyes, there stood Raki, as solid as a statue as she stood defensively in front of her, eyeing Riful with furiosity.

"Don't you dare hurt them!" She could hear him yell at the awakened being.

"Clare you really do have annoying friends…" Riful sighed once more as she implied a face palm.

"We could use your help against Alicia and Beth! Why are you betraying us like this!"

"Betraying? I'm not betraying anyone," she replied while retracting her damaged limbs: "I'm merely trying to do her a favor."

"Well it's a favor she doesn't want!"

"Look boy, I don't want to kill you, so please, step out of my way."

"No way!" he yelled back defiantly.

"Fine then, you wish to die?"

"Of course not, I wish to save my friends!"

"Very well then, you can only blame yourself for what's about to happen next."

The awakened being began to lift her massive wire-mesh body upwards towards the sky as she pointed a countless number of those razor sharp strips towards Raki. Clare could only watch in sheer disbelief as those spears began to race towards him, threatening to destroy him in an instant. During the last possible moment, she closed her eyes, unable to watch the terrible massacre that was about to take place before her. Expecting to hear the sound of his voice screeching in pain, Clare was beyond bewildered to hear an entirely different sound altogether.

Opening her eyes, she was relieved to be greeted with a shaken, yet unhurt Raki standing before her, and a gob smacked looking Riful. Upon closer inspection, Clare had noticed that the awakened being's strips had been sliced clean off by some unknown entity, knowing for sure that it wasn't Raki or Audrey.

"What is she doing here?" Riful yelled in a fearful tone as she turned to defend herself from yet another attack from the newcomer.

It soon became apparent that the strange entity was none other than the organization's current number one, Alicia. The humanoid-sized awakened being was dwarfed by Riful's massive figure, but her incredible agility easily made up for that shortcoming. Her body resembled a humanoid somewhat, except she had half a dozen large blade appendages on her arms, and many other smaller ones all over her body, especially her head and neck. Her agility was incredible, effortlessly dodging the deadly spears Riful threw at her, and slicing the ones she couldn't apart. Even though Alicia was an awakened being, she still wore the black uniform that was present on her human form, something that must have been especially designed by the organization.

Clare knew that this was probably the last of her extraordinarily good luck, so she hoped dearly that this would be the last time she relied on it. Struggling to get to her knees, Clare was comforted by the sight of Raki hurrying towards her direction, but was left confused and hurt when it became clear he was heading towards Audrey instead. It was crushing seeing her boy attending to this new woman before herself, making her feel unwanted and no longer important. As he placed his hands on Audrey, those thoughts immediately morphed into a deep sense of jealousy as Clare focused her fuming eyes upon the warrior who stole her boy from her.

After taking some time to attend to Audrey, Raki gently lowered her towards the ground as she made his way towards Clare:

"Clare, are you alright?"

"I'm alright…" she replied weakly.

"I don't get it, is Riful on our side or not?"

Turning her head to the side, Clare began to watch the two awakened beings duke it out as she replied to him: "Riful is technically on our side…in her own strange way."

"So what? Should we help her?"

Before she could give an answer, the two of them were left horror-struck to see Alicia speeding towards them with blades at the ready, but were once again saved by those razor sharp strips of the abyssal one. The massive wall of strips formed a protective barrier only mere meters in front of them, forcing the organization's number one warrior to abandon her charge and return her assault upon Riful yet again.

"Clare! What are you doing here!" Clare could hear Cynthia yell as the warrior landed on her side.

It was at that moment when Clare noticed the rest of group two finally arrive at the scene, assisting the abyssal one as they combated Alicia. She didn't know what took them so long, but she was sure glad they made it at all. The more warriors they had against Alicia, the faster she would be defeated, which ultimately meant that they could help Teresa and Priscilla sooner.

"Never mind that Cynthia, heal my wounds now!"

"Alright, stand still Clare!" she replied as she placed both her hands on Clare's terrible wounds, channeling her yoki into Clare's body to accelerate the healing process.

"Take Care of Audrey as well Cynthia!" Raki roared as he eyed the battle ahead: "I'm going to help them."

As Raki joined the battle ahead, Clare could do nothing but watch on. She hated the fact that her body was far too damaged to be of any use, but there was nothing she could do except layback and slowly be regenerated by her comrade. After watching on for a few seconds, it immediately dawned on her that the Organization' s number two was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, she turned to Cynthia as she asked:

"Where's Beth?"

"Beth has been defeated and as a result, Alicia is out of control."

"What do you mean?" Clare asked looking bewildered as she just witnessed the phantom Miria skillfully dodge Alicia's blades, landing a damaging blow to her abdomen.

"It's as Galatea and Audrey said before. Beth controls Alicia's awakening."

"So she's in a frenzy now..."

The two could only watch on in amazement as Galatea and Miria managed to stun the awakened being long enough to allow Raki to ram his powerful fist into the side of her face, dealing crushing damage as her body was thrown into the air, colliding with the side of an already ruined building. It seemed as though the battle was won the moment Alicia fell into the pit of feeders below, but the rebels had the shock of their lives when the awakened being busted her way out of the horde completely unharmed.

Riful was the first among them to react as she launched a volley of spears in an attempt to slice Alicia apart, however those powerful blades easily dispatched every single one of her organic weapons. As Alicia raced towards Riful, the abyssal one did her best as a last ditch effort to form a defensive shield in front of herself, but it was obvious to all that it just wouldn't be enough to stop the ferocious mass of blades that threatened to destroy her. At the last possible moment before the impact, Dauf came to Riful's defense as he rammed his massive body against the far smaller Alicia, crushing her against the side of a steep rooftop nearby.

As the debris cloud from the mammoth collision began to settle, the Rebels weren't entirely convinced that the fight was over. They could all see Dauf alive and well as he stood on the near-collapsed building, frenziedly searching for signs of Alicia, but she was no where to be seen.

"Good going Dauf, that was a close one." Riful said in a cheerful manner.

"I think she's dead Riful." He replied, looking as self-satisfied as ever.

Sensing that something was very wrong, Riful's face turned into one of fright as she yelled:

"Dauf! Get out of the way now!"

Before the large awakened being even had time to react, his right arm was vaporized in an instant with a shower of purple blood as Alicia emerged from underneath the crumbled building. She raced towards a terrified looking Uma, but was soon intercepted by the sudden appearance of the phantom warrior, who used the blunt side of her claymore to protect herself from the deadly body of blades. From then on, it became a contest of agility as the phantom and the monster became locked in a dance of death, with each of them moving at such incredible speeds, they looked more like opposing lightning bolts trying to strike down the other.

Feeling confident enough to enter the battle, Clare instantly got to her feet as she bolted towards the battle before her, ignoring the disapproving yells of Cynthia behind her. She knew that her body hadn't fully recovered yet, but knowing that time was against her, it became necessary to perform such risks. There was no way she could sit in the sidelines and feel sorry for herself while Teresa and the rest of her comrades fought for her lives. A few wounds weren't going to stop her from doing all she can to save Teresa.

Leaping off the edge of the rooftop, Clare soared towards the unsuspecting Alicia, unleashing the might of the dazzling whirlwind of the quicksword upon her. Her furious attack appeared to have done some damage, cleanly slicing off a rather large blade on the awakened being's neck. Landing on the safety of a nearby rooftop and realizing that she had gained Alicia's attention, Clare braced herself as she watched the mass of blades speed towards her. Ready to defend herself with the same technique as soon as Alicia arrived, Clare was taken by surprise when those dreaded fleshy strips appeared from nowhere yet again, managing to maim the awakened being long enough to allow the rest of the ghosts to inflict some serious wounds upon her.

The most prevalent of those wounds were inflicted by none other than Phantom Miria and the blind Galatea, both of whom managed to stab their massive Claymores into Alicia's abdomen. With a gush of purple blood spewing from such a vulnerable place, it became clear that the fight was nearing its end.

Not wasting any time, Clare bent her knees towards the ground, using them as a spring to launch herself to the wounded awakened being. With one last quicksword, the finishing blow was inflicted as Alicia's body was reduced to an explosion of blood and guts.

"Everyone alright?" A relieved looking Miria asked as she landed on top of a rooftop.

"Miria! We need to help Teresa now!" Clare cried out of desperation.

"Everyone who still has strength left in them return to the cathedral now!" The captain ordered.

"Hey what about your awakening Clare? Don't tell me that you've forgotten about it already?" Riful announced from out of the blue.

"Riful! There's no time for this! We must save Teresa now!" Clare roared back.

"Now why would I let you do that? As soon as you save them, they will probably take my kindness towards you the wrong way and kill me for it. Besides, I don't like Teresa, nor Priscilla for that matter."

Giving Riful a vindictive stare, Clare replied: "If you stand in my way…I'll…."

"There really is no reasoning with you is ther…" Riful said, before her words were cut short when she noticed tears flowing from Clare's distraught looking eyes.

"Is this really that important to you?" she added, sparing a moment to glance at a wounded Dauf before returning her sight upon Clare once again.

"Please help." The teary warrior begged.

Releasing a sigh of defeat, Riful began to move her massive body towards Clare as she said: "Well I can't have you like this now can I?"

"I won't forget this..."

Without a moments hesitation, Clare was the first among the group to rocket back towards the centre of the city, followed closely by the rest. Dauf was injured to some extent, but was strong enough to move with them, however Audrey proved to be too weak as was helped by an eager Raki. Moving as fast as her body could take her,Clare ignored all the aches and pains in her chest that were inflicted earlier. In her mind, nothing mattered except saving Teresa, even if that meant pushing her body pasts its physical limit. Gliding through the air with the wind racing past her face, Clare was relieved to finally see an end to the massive horde of feeders, with the last of them only just crawling over the city's walls.

As she approached the feeder riddled Cathedral, Clare noticed something that almost tore her heart in two. The area around the enormous structure was now completely swallowed up by a mass of the creatures, with layers upon layers of them towering over every other building in the general area. Even the building she had used to escape the Cathedral's rooftop was now completely submerged by the sea of enemies. It was almost incomprehensible to understand the sheer numbers of feeders that were stacked upon each other, probably reaching in the hundreds of thousands within a hundred meter radius around the cathedral.

Touching down on the nearest visible building to the cathedral, Clare desperately tried to think of a way to get to Teresa, but tried as she did, there was just no possible way. The distance between the Cathedral and where they all stood was far too great for any of them to make a jump for it.

"Well, we tried." Riful smirked in a cynical manner, sending a clear message to the others that she had given up by transforming back into her humanoid form.

As Clare stared hopelessly at her unreachable goal, a sudden surge of a strange, yet familiar yoki jolted the life back into her. It was a yoki so mind numbingly powerful, its very presence seemed to pressurize the very air around her, sending cold chills all over her body. There was only one other time she felt such a yoki before, and that was the fight against Priscilla a couple days ago. But as the seconds went by, it became more and more evident that the source of this yoki wasn't from her. Making sure that it wasn't all in her head, Clare turned to her comrades to see if they felt it as well, and by the looks on their astonished faces, it became apparent to her that this yoki was very real indeed.

From the highest point of the cathedral, a sudden brilliant flash of golden light could be seen as a thousand yoki feeders were vaporized in an instant by a sudden burst of yoki travelling at a supersonic speed. The shockwave tore most of the remaining tiles from the cathedral's rooftop, sending a torrent of debris into the sky. Watching on in amazement, Clare's heart began to beat at an unnaturally fast pace with a cold sweat forming on the brow of her face as the strange yoki signature she sensed suddenly seem to stabilize, compressing together from the top of the Cathedral.

As the last of the debris fell to the ground, the ghosts could see a strange feminine figure standing next to Priscilla, with a spectacular array of golden lights surrounding it and a pair of large, majestic looking angelic wings on its back. The wings had a span of almost twice the size of the figure and were as white as the purest of snows, lightly glazed by the reflections of the brilliant golden lights. Its body was mostly covered in a shade of light gray, with platinum silver streaks running all over the surface of that fascinatingly glossy skin that shimmered elegantly with any light that touched it. There was a single, massive looking blade attached on the outer side of either arm, growing slightly outwards, then harshly bending in parallel to its arms. Those blades were of a dazzling metallic gold and exceptionally thin, extending a body's length from the reach of the hands. From the top of its head, there was a mass of blonde, wavy-like ribbon streaks that looked strikingly similar to hair, dancing excitingly in the strong breeze of the Cathedral's rooftop.

Clare's overwhelmed mind tried its best to comprehend what was before her, and as the second went by, her blood ran colder as the horrifying reality of the situation began to set in. Staring into the terrifying golden eyes of the figure, it immediately dawned on her that the awakened being she was looking at was none other that her Teresa. It was beyond crushing for her to see Teresa turn into a monstrous creature, to see her gentle angelic face twist into something emotionless and dead, to see that beautiful wavy hair wither away and turn into a graceless muddle, and to see those mystifying silver eyes transform into a lifeless bleak of gold.

As the mass of feeders began to crawl their way back up the Cathedral following the titanic shockwave of yoki, the ghosts couldn't believe their eyes when the awakened Teresa began to flutter her massive wings, bringing herself airborne and leaving a confused Priscilla behind. At the sight of this, the yoki feeders that madly dashed their way up the Cathedral immediately changed their course, fumbling over each other as they madly followed their target. A rush of panic raced through each ghost when they noticed the deceptively elegant and graceful creature that was Teresa steadily soaring towards them, with an army of the feeders closely following by from the ground below. The deep, low pitch thumps created from those massive wings as they moved a mass of air below them, were so powerful, the very ground shook from the sheer power, sending chills through the ghosts as the sound waves penetrated through their bodies.

The power of those wings almost blew them of their feet as Teresa landed gently on the other end of the flat building they stood on, only a few meters away from them all. Her face retained much of the gentleness from before, but was scarred with a cold, emotionless look to it, with the very warmness and color drained from her visage. She stood well over a meter taller than before, with those brilliant silvery streaks running over the still human-looking contours of her body. Those frightening golden eyes flickered wildly between each of those in front of her, until a smile could be seen on those icy lips of hers as she fixed her gaze upon a petrified Clare.

"There you are my Clare," Teresa said in an expressionless, eerie tone that sounded more like a ghostly echo: "I was worried about you."

Clare remained speechless as Teresa began to casually walk towards her, seemingly unaware of the thousands of feeders that began to crawl up the sides of the building. Staring into those exotic, desolate eyes of hers, Clare's feet began to tremble from fear as she struggled to back away from the advancing monster.

"Don't be frightened Clare," Teresa added as the distance between her and Clare was rapidly closing in: "Come towards me."

Clare knew that this creature that stood before her wasn't the Teresa she knew. The real Teresa would never endanger her life or the life of her friends by leading the colossal army straight towards them in such a reckless manner. Clare wasn't entirely sure if this fallen Teresa was even aware of the horde of feeders that raced towards them, or knew, but didn't care. Either way, this was further proof that Teresa's awakening had driven her completely mad, forgetting even the smallest of values that she had cherished while she was still human.

It was at that moment when the still human looking Priscilla landed behind Teresa, retracting those devilish wings of hers as her feet touched down on rooftop. She madly flickered her gaze between a nervous Clare and the now awakened Teresa, looking completely unsure of what to do. It was apparent by the look in Priscilla's brown eyes, that the presence of a being with a yoki that could rival her own, was making her feel quite easy, even to the point of being panic-stricken.

As the army of feeders made their way to the top of the building, the inert Teresa suddenly turned her attention to her sides, looking as if she finally acknowledged the danger around her. Her arms made a disturbing bone crunching sound as those elongated golden blades of hers extended further outwards, making it apparent that she was readying herself for a bloodbath. Swinging her right arm outwards, the already elongated blade attached to its side, rapidly extended outwards, slicing through a dozen feeders like a hot knife through butter. The cut from the extremely thin, yet razor-sharp blade was so fine, that it took a moment for the feeders to even realize that they had been completely sliced in half, taking a few steps closer before a burst of blood exploded from their wounds. As the feeders collapsed on the side of the rooftop, the ghosts couldn't believe their eyes when they noticed that the slash had cleanly removed a portion of the building, sending the corpses of the dead feeders sliding downwards as the portion crumbled to the streets below.

It was evident that even though Teresa had awakened, her unparalleled skills with a blade were not forgotten. As the feeders swarmed from all four sides of the building, the former number one silenced her many enemies with graceful swings of her menacing blades. Even though the strikes were so blazingly quick and lethal, they were also extremely accurate, deliberately avoiding her allies and only targeting the enemies surrounding them. With the very air around her being sliced apart, Clare began to notice that there was one among them whom Teresa didn't seem to take into consideration. The thin, brown haired Priscilla had an edgy look on her face as she frenziedly avoided the lightning quick swipes of those metallic blades, managing to keep herself in one piece throughout the chaotic cyclone of death.

With their numbers dwindling rapidly, it didn't take long until the last of the feeders could be seen only halfway towards the end of the city, then one third of the way, and finally, just a few blocks away. In the span of a few minutes, Teresa had managed to reduce the once enormous sea of feeders that covered the entire city, to a mere puddle centered around the cathedral.

As the last of the feeders were killed off, their lifeless bodies joined the corpses of their brethren surrounding the building in the hundred of thousands. Their bodies piled up all the way to the top of the building with their numbers getting smaller as the distance increased, making the mass slaughter look much like a series of steps created from flesh. The stench from all these slaughter corpses, bits of flesh, guts and blood was beyond atrocious, something none of them could even imagine was possible.

With the battle now over, the only sound that remained were the gentle howls of the nightly winds that raced past them, a godsend moment of peace that had long been drowned out by the cries of a the feeders in their millions. Teresa stood as still as a statue, with the breeze gently playing with her newfound ribbon like blonde hair as she stared at the carnage before her. Her entire body showed no evidence of the battle that had ensued a moment earlier, void of even the smallest marks of blood or guts. It was only those elongated golden blades of hers that bore the scars of battle, drenched in a drape of dark blue blood. Lowering her blood-soaked blades, a wicked grin of satisfaction could see seen on her lips as she returned her gaze to Clare.

"I did this all for you Clare. Do you like what you see?" Teresa said in that chilling new voice of hers as she paused for a moment before shortly adding: "Don't you just love the sight of a million corpses rotting before your eyes?"

Taking a few nervous steps backwards as Teresa once again began to walk closer towards her with that sickening smile on her lips, Clare madly flickered her gaze between her comrades as an instinctive plea for help, but knew that the others were just as, if not more petrified than herself. Out of sheer desperation, she then fixed her eyes upon the one person whom she knew could protect her from this monstrosity, but was left in the cold as Priscilla lowered her face in doubt.

"I never imagined it would feel this good. All those years of holding back my true nature…such a waste."

Clare's heart skipped a beat when she reached the edge of the building, almost falling over as she rashly placed a foot over the edge without even looking. She could do nothing but stare hopelessly as the much taller Teresa stopped in front of her in silence, lowering her distorted face downwards with that smile still firmly planted on her lips. Clare watched on in horror as those massive blades began to retract into the sides of Teresa's arms, making that disturbing bone crunching noise as they slid under her skin.

With those razor sharp weapons safely tucked under her skin, Teresa began to move her right arm towards the trembling warrior's face as she brushed the tips of her fingers against her cheek, unknowingly sinking her inhumane claws deep into Clare's gentle skin. Blinded by insanity, Teresa didn't even seem to take notice of the blood that ran down the side of Clare's face as she continued to stare at her little girl without the faintest evidence of remorse in those monstrous eyes.

"Stop it! Can't you see your hurting her!" Raki yelled furiously only a few meters away, finally building the courage to do so.

Turning her attention to the young man, Teresa's smile quickly left her as she replied:

"Such an ignorant fool you are. Keep silent if you wish to keep your life."

"You're the fool."

Upon hearing this, Teresa's calm expression quickly turned into one of great annoyance as she began to march towards him in a threatening manner, with those menacing blades of hers beginning to slide outwards from under her skin. Clare's heart jumped at the sight of those golden blades, knowing she must say something to draw Teresa's attention away from her boy. With his life on the line, the initial fear that locked her lips together had vanished for a brief moment, allowing her voice to escape from the prison it had been encased in.

"Teresa…don't you dare hurt him…"

Stopping in her tracks the moment Clare's voice had reached her ears, the awakened being stood in silence while continuing to stare at Raki with eyes of interest.

"I'm not going to kill him Clare," Teresa replied to the relief of the shorthaired warrior, but that relief was short lived when the awakened being continued: "I'm merely going to teach him a lesson."

With her threat a complete failure, Clare tried her best to move her trembling feet, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't find the strength within herself to overwhelm the incomprehensible fear that anchored her feet to the floor. She hated herself for not being able to stand up to Teresa, hated herself for being so weak, and especially hated herself for not being able to Protect those she cared for the most. Once again, she was forced to watch on as the situation unfolded before her, unable to alter the outcome, no matter how much she wanted to.

The moment before Teresa came in contact with Raki, an overwhelming sense of relief ran through Clare's shaky body when she witnessed Priscilla coming to his defense by stubbornly stepping in the way of the former number one. The timid looking girl was dwarfed by the much taller being before her, but managed to retain a relatively composed face nevertheless. Those brown eyes showed the faintest signs of fear in them as she kept her head lowered towards the ground, making it obvious that she felt intimidated by Teresa's presence.

"Do you think you can stop me?"

Raising her lowered face, Priscilla anxiously looked into Teresa's eyes as she spoke in her quiet, unsteady voice: "I can try."

"Well would you look at that, the number two thinks she can defeat me." Teresa said in a mocking tone, taking the time to look at all the speechless faces around her before returning her gaze back onto Priscilla. "I was wrong about you. You are weak. You will always be weak and will never surpass me."

Though visibly shaken by Teresa's harsh words, Priscilla continued to stand steadily on her two feet, sending a clear message that she wasn't going to back down any time soon. She took a moment to glance over at Clare, then fixed her eyes upon the young man who stood nervously behind her. Before Clare could even react, she felt an unnatural movement of wind as the two of them suddenly appeared next to her, with Raki looking slightly nauseated from the incredible acceleration.

"You better hope that you can move faster than that." Teresa noted scornfully with a pleased smirk on her lips.

Clare noticed that Priscilla was standing next to her with her left leg deciphered, realizing that Teresa managed to slice it off during that burst of inhumane speed. Nevertheless, Priscilla didn't look surprised in the slightest, almost as if she was expecting something like that to happen. As her missing limb instantly regenerated, Priscilla turned to face Clare with a look of uncertainty in her eyes as she spoke cautiously:

"The awakening has changed Teresa's way of thinking, she is very dangerous in this state."

With the blood still freshly dripping off her face, Clare looked into the eyes of Priscilla as she shakily spoke: "Thank…you…for saving Raki."

Giving Clare a weak smile, Priscilla responded: "I'll try to keep her busy for as long as I can."

"Just how powerful do you think she is?" Clare asked nervously.

"She is definitely a formidable opponent, the strongest I have even seen in fact. Clare…I'm not sure if I can defeat her."

"Clare why are you talking to her?" Teresa demanded furiously as she began to march towards them with those golden blades expanding further outwards. "I don't want you talking to her, and you will do as I say."

"Please try not to hurt her…" Clare whispered in Priscilla's ear as she nervously eyed the approaching monster.

"You should be more worried about Teresa hurting you." Priscilla replied as the very bones and flesh within her body began to twist and bend, transforming her human body into her monstrous awakened form.

In a flash, the golden blade on Teresa's right arm rapidly extended towards an unsuspecting Priscilla, cleanly piercing through her chest and pinning her against the side of the large brick chimney. Teresa's strike was so amazingly quick, it almost bordered on instantaneous, barely giving the air in between the two to react to the sudden acceleration of metal that raced through it.

"Please tell me you've got more than that…Priscilla." Teresa said in her usual cynical tone.

Without responding to her, the one horned beast pointed both her fingers to the front as those razor sharp limbs of hers expanded in a spiral fashion around the blade, bulleting towards their target. Given no choice but to retreat backwards, the awakened Teresa removed her blade from Priscilla's chest as she avoided the dozen or so appendages that raced towards her.

Just as Teresa was about to recover from her dodging spree, an incognito Priscilla instantly appeared behind her, attempting to impale her with a strike to the back, but the former number one proved much to quick for such an attack to land, instantly appearing a few meters to her side as she avoided the strike. Teresa countered with a flurry of swipes from her blades, but the only thing she managed to slice was the air before her as Priscilla cleverly avoided her attacks. As the battle intensified, it had reached a point where the two awakened beings were moving far to quickly for the ghosts to properly make out their movements. The only thing they could see was an occasion grey and purple blur racing towards each other, sending powerful shockwaves of air when the two collided. Occasionally, they would witness entire buildings being sliced in two as those menacing blades missed their target, ripping through brick and the thickest of metals, sending shards and debris flying everywhere.

As Clare and the others watched on in dismay, they could all see the blind warrior, Galatea, walk in front of them, stopping to a halt before the very edge of the rooftop. She stood there in dead silence for a short moment with the wind playing with her long hair before she turned to the shorthaired warrior behind her.

"Clare, you can still save her." She said in an uncharacteristically soft tone, clearly still stricken by the graveness of the situation.

"What are you talking about?" Clare replied in astonishment.

"The Teresa that we know is still in there, and she needs your help."

With a glimmer of hope appearing in her eyes, Clare shakily replied:

"How?"

"You told me a long time ago that you managed to return a warrior back from awakening."

"You mean Jean?" Clare replied looking completely dumbfounded and unsure of where Galatea was heading with this: "I managed to reverse her awakening, but only because her mind was still human."

"There still remains a fraction of Teresa's human consciousness within that being."

"Are you sure?" Clare responded wide-eyed.

"I cannot see the creature before me, but I can sense every bit of yoki that runs through its mind and body. Whatever remains of Teresa's consciousness is fighting a loosing battle, so the quicker we act the better the chances."

"Chances of what?"

Turning to face the stunned warrior, Galatea release the faintest of smiles as she answered:

"Reversing her awakening."

"There's just no way! She's completely awakened!"

"Because you contain Teresa's yoki within yourself, you and her share a bond that is comparable to that of Alicia and Beth. If you try hard enough, it could be possible to bring her back."

Before Clare even had the time to respond, a sudden shockwave raced towards them as the purple blur instantly sharpened to reveal a wounded Priscilla taking to the air, violently colliding with the side of an enormous brick house only about one hundred meters from where they stood. The bone crushing impact instantly caused the building to break into a thousand pieces, throwing up a large cloud of rubble and bits of brick in its wake.

As she watched the last of the debris fall to the ground, Clare surprised herself greatly when feelings of concern began to take root within her mind for Priscilla's wellbeing, with those feelings soon morphing into a great sense of guilt for subjecting Priscilla with such an intense punishment. The one horned beast had plagued her nightmares for as long as she could remember, but this time, it was the nightmare that protected her from the dream, from Teresa. It was a twist of black irony that Clare just couldn't comprehend with her fragile mind, and one that just wouldn't leave her either, no matter how much she wanted it to.

Her heavy heart sunk deeper at the sight of Priscilla coming out of the rubble with her left arm and leg completely torn off, and the bottom part of her jaw missing entirely. Bits of flesh hung loosely from those wounds, with a river of blue blood running down the contours of her purple skin and joining the puddle around her feet.

Standing only a few meters away, with a confident smirk on her lips was a completely unscathed Teresa. Clare's stomach almost turned from sheer repulsion as she witnessed the awakened being run her extended tongue along the surface of her blades, licking up the cluster of blue blood that ran along the sides of the metal.

"Priscilla!" Raki roared out of sheer concern from next to Clare, causing a dangerous amount of attention.

"Raki! Stay quiet!" Miria ordered hastily, madly turning her fuming silvery eyes towards his own fearful ones.

"She's risking her life to fight for us! And most of you can barely look at her without being repulsed!" He yelled as tears began to flow down the side of his face: "Especially you Clare! You always put her down whenever she just wanted to be accepted! Now she's fighting for her life because of you!"

Because of me…

Because of me…

Because of me…

Because of me…Teresa was killed…

Because of me…Priscilla awakened…

Because of me…Irene and many others were killed…

We're in this situation…Because of me….

With a tear running down the side of her face from this sheer revelation, Clare proceeded to close her eyes as she concentrated deeply on the powerful yoki channels that ran through Teresa's body. The entire world around her fell silent, and all feeling was lost as she dwelled deeper and deeper into the twisted maze of Teresa's subconscious. A complex mass of memories and thoughts raced past her as she continued her search for that tiny piece of subconscious that kept the real Teresa alive. For a moment, their bodies had melded together, as if an invisible umbilical cord connected the mind and spirit of both warriors into one. She could feel that the awakened Teresa's subconscious had detected her presence, and tried its best to destroy the alien, but the link between them was far to great to be broken at this point.

Finally locating the tiny orb of light within the twisted mess of thorns, Clare gently wrapped the tips of her fingers over the surface, pulling the tiny object towards her chest and pushing it within her own body. As she channeled every ounce of yoki that remained within herself, the thick forest of thorns that surrounded her instantly began to break apart, causing a wave of destruction radiating outwards. As the last of the thorns vanished from existence, a brief moment of darkness overwhelmed the infinite space around her, but was soon ended when a brilliant array of colorful lights began to spawn from sheer nothingness, dancing excitingly around her body. The warming touch of the lights instantly flooded her mind with thoughts of Teresa, her wavy hair, those silver eyes, and that faint smile she used to wear. She wanted to stay forever in the paradise of Teresa's subconscious, but knew deep in her heart that the deed was done and it was time for her to leave.

Ending the connection between Teresa and herself, Clare could once again feel the gentle touch of the nightly winds, and the frostiness of the night as her consciousness returned back into the shell of her body. Gradually opening her eyes, Clare was overly thrilled to see Teresa back in her human form, laying flat against the top of a nearby rooftop in the nude, with an astonished looking Priscilla standing before her.

Unable to contain her excitement, Clare immediately leapt off the edge of the building, landing on a nearby rooftop as she frantically made her way towards Teresa. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, it only took a few seconds before the shorthaired warrior finally arrived at her destination. With her boots touching down next to Teresa, Clare instantly collapsed to her knees as she wrapped her hands around the wavy haired warrior, embracing her with all the might she could muster. Tears ran down the contours of her face as Clare felt a pair of arms enfold around her, and an angelic smile making it her way.

"Clare…why are you crying?"

"I thought I lost you again…" the sobbing warrior replied, barely able to bring forth the words from the sheer excitement that raced through her body.

"What..Happened?"

"I'll tell you later…right now, I just want to be stay like this for a while…"

Clare continued her emotional driven embrace of Teresa even though she heard the distinct sound of her comrades' boots touching down against the surface of the rooftop behind her. She knew that it was time for them to leave the city, but the deep thrill of holding Teresa in her arms once more was far to great for her to let go of.

"Clare…I'm sorry, but we need to get going as soon as possible. The organization will definitely send a search party very soon." The captain said from behind her.

There was a brief moment of silence between the ghosts, with the only sound heard being the gentle howls of the wind that raced past each one of them. Then, suddenly, from underneath the overprotective arms of Clare, the gentle voice of Teresa could be heard:

"I think I might know a place where we can go."

I hope everyone liked this chapter, even though it was quite long. Someone a while back in the reviews said that 'long is good', so i won't argue with that.

please leave a review to tell me what you guys think. I really enjoy reading your reviews :)

Thanks for reading!