Ch.29: Ticking Time Limit! The Spread of Pestilence Commences!
Griffin panted heavily as he clutched his shaking arm while magic flowed around him. Mack eyed the Grovyle cautiously as the infection spread over his arm. The process was as quick as their fallen group, but it stopped right around where Griffin tied off his arm.
Pestilence narrowed her eyes at them, then huffed. "You're more resourceful than I anticipated, Everfall. Not even you would be able to stave off this infection with that indomitable will of yours."
Griffin bared his teeth as his arm started taking on the glowing green appearance with the skeletal pattern. "Magical or not, it's still an infection. No pathway to pass through, no zombification."
Pestilence chuckle behind her hand. "Even if you're slowing it down, it will eventually worm its way through. Not even cutting your arm off will save you from this. With a little time and waiting, you'll be mine."
Mack raised his chain staff and snarled at the disease mage. "This is your big plan? Infecting those people and turning them into zombies?" Mack smirked. "What a joke. You stupid bitch, your effing disease is taking its sweet ol' time with us."
"You really think you aren't already infected?" Pestilence asked. "The closer you get to me, the less oxygen there is compared to my pestilence. You're breathing in more toxins than you are fresh air."
Mack's smirk stretched. "Then why am I still shit-talking you, bitch?"
"There's two poisons."
Mack's eyes widened, then he turned to Griffin as he flexed his infected fingers. "Pardon?"
"Think about it. We're only now just seeing these transformations. It's like she said, we're breathing in more of this stuff now that we're so close. I don't think it's the air we should be concerned with, though." Griffin pointed at Pestilence. "It's the poison in her claws. It's a trigger."
"Trigger?"
Pestilence scoffed. He's catching on quick.
"If I had to wager a guess, the infectious fog here is supposed to carry a dormant form of the zombie plague just to incapacitate people. I don't think she was betting on us getting sick, but instead on us hunting her down, just so we'd be more susceptible to the fog."
Pestilence glared. "Astute observation, Everfall. Even on the cusps of infection, you continue to show off that annoying willpower of yours. You truly do stare fear in the face."
Mack spun his chain staff. "Alright, so we just need her to cough up the antidote. Shouldn't be too hard."
Pestilence snickered behind her hand. "You poor fool." Her lower half transformed into mist as she steadily rose into the air. "Do you really think I'm so foolish as to have an antidote on hand? You don't get it. So long as I persist, this infection shall as well. There's nothing you can do to stop it!"
Griffin growled. "Either you tell us how to undo it, or we'll—"
"You'll what? Torture me? BAH!" Pestilence threw her head back and cackled madly. "You lower lifeforms are too foolish to understand your doom! I fear no death, nor do I fear pain! Aeternus made sure to remove those nasty attributes out of me and the rest of my fellow knights!"
"Knights?" Griffin and Mack questioned.
"And you can't kill me because you would lose the only means to understand my plague!" Pestilence's eyes twinkled with sinister delight. "What's more, it won't be long until Everfall slips up and becomes another one of my pretty infected hounds, along with the remainder of the Grim Ash Clan! Hoohoohoohoo!"
"Even if we do become infected, my friends will—" Griffin started until Pestilence cut in.
"Unless your pathetic friends are an hour away from here, they'll be a tad too late to do anything."
Mack deadpanned. "An hour? That's…ominously specific."
"Hoohoohoo! I'm afraid you don't see the glory of this particular toxin. Let me ask you something, what do you suppose is the most important part of the body that needs to be hindered for a possession?" Her eyes glimmered cruelly. "After all, a Pokémon's volition is the most important thing when making decisions."
Griffin gripped his infected wrist. "The brain…"
"Hoohoohoo! We have a winner!" Pestilence floated around the pair and cackled as the zombies marched toward them. "Once my poison reaches the brain, it'll start coating and inhibiting any willpower left in the subject. Once my poison settles into its new host after an hour, it'll start eating away at the brain until it's a pile of useless mush!"
Mack bared his teeth, glaring with wide, furious eyes. "You little…"
"Hoohoohoo! I've already won! Now that Everfall is infected, it won't be long before the rest of you join in. Even if you found a way stop me, this fog will be the only thing keeping them alive once their brains start melting. You poor, insignificant fools! You can't even comprehend how screwed you are! Hoohoo—"
Mack lunged into the air. "I've had enough of your hooting, lady!" He threw a punch, but passed through her gaseous body.
"Hoohoo! What was that going to accomplish?" Pestilence turned and swiped her claws.
Mack held his staff out and blocked her claws. He locked Eclipse around her arm and torqued his body to kick her across her head. It exploded into a plume of green mist. He saw her other set of claws swinging below him, so he partially summoned his persona's arm and blocked it before freefalling back to the ground.
Pestilence reformed and cackled. "I can't be killed, fool! None of you have the means to put me down!"
"Wrong!" Griffin raised his good hand at her. "Exosus Release!" He fired an unstable blast at her.
Pestilence dispelled into mist and split herself into a ring shape, letting the beam pass through. The inner sides of the ring, however, smoked from brief contact. She reformed and touched her stomach with a hiss. "Grr…I'm most fortunate you're the one I got first."
"Eclipse!" Mack swung his staff and whipped it at Pestilence.
Before it could reach her, a barrier stretched out and deflected the staff back toward Mack, who jumped out of the way. He retracted it and glared at Edwin, who stood by alongside his puppets.
Pestilence huffed. "Enough of the theatrics. I'm not concerned with you two anymore. It's not like you can win." She hissed mischievously. "Oh, I wonder how you'll cope fending off an entire village of innocent bystanders. Will you fend them off until your last breath or go for the killing blow and save yourself the trouble?"
Griffin pulled out Endless Regret and wielded it in his off-hand. "Don't you dare…"
Mack spun his staff. "Oh, what's the harm? I'll just make sure the eleven she made so far don't get away. Besides, if it's just her, Holly will be more than enough."
Pestilence laughed once more, this time mockingly. "Oh, you poor fools." She raised her hand and snapped her claws. "My pets, time to take to the skies."
Griffin and Mack gasped. "Wait, what?!"
They whipped their heads around and watched as the zombies turned toward the village. Their irises glowed with an intense focus as they dropped to their hands and feet. The duo watched as their backs bubbled and shifted like boiling water overflowing the pot. They heard a screeching, straining sound coming from within, like bones grinding against each other. A repugnant aura surrounded the zombies before they reared their heads up and screeched toward the sky.
Their backs burst open, sprouting bat-like wings. Black, boney appendages covered in a green membrane that shined with light piercing through. They tested out their newly formed wings, flapping them a couple times, then kicked off into the air.
Mack growled. "Oh, hell no!" He chased them down.
"Mack!" Griffin tried to follow, but staggered as his arm seethed with pain. "AGH!"
"Timor Persona!" Mack summoned his persona and leaped into the air with it. "Tear them from the sky!"
However, Mack and the persona stopped midjump as chains flew out from behind and caught them. Mack dispelled Timor Persona before it squeezed into him, then braced himself as the chains dragged him back down. He craned his neck and saw one of the puppets, a Gigalith, had fired chains from its mouth.
Pestilence floated past the bounded Sudowoodo and winked. "Oh, so close~."
Mack snarled. "I will literally tear your face off with my teeth!"
Pestilence just cackled, then turned her attention to Edwin. "Make sure they don't follow. By the time I return, I expect Everfall and Crowgaze to be turned. Good luck~!" She sped after her zombies and headed for the village.
Mack flailed within the chains, slamming his feel into the ground. "You know what, screw that! I'll tear your limbs off with my teeth so you can watch first! Then I'll tear your ugly mug off!"
Griffin rushed toward him and slashed through the chains. "We can't let her get near the village!" He carefully picked Mack up with his infected arm, seething from the pain, then ran after the fleeing shadow.
"Fastidium Arena!"
Griffin stopped as a green glow washed over the ground and rose up. He watched the field close in on itself until he and Mack were sealed off in a dome-shaped arena. Griffin slashed the wall, but the damage slid off like water on a Ducklett's back. He wasn't used to using his weapons in his offhand, or at least with the force he was accustomed to.
Mack rammed the barrier with his shoulder, but bounced off. He flopped onto his back, then huffed. "Well, that was pointless." He flipped onto his feet and glared. "Hopefully, Holly and Fernando can hold down the fort."
"In the meantime…" Griffin turned and brandished his sword, glaring at their Simisage opponent after finishing with the barrier. "I see you've been practicing, thief."
Edwin glared. "You have no hope of winning like this."
"Want a bet?" Griffin flipped his sword into a reverse grip. "Killing you will be much easier."
Mack turned around and smirked. "You'll regret pissing me off~."
Edwin formed his shadow knives and tensed up. His puppet army took his side and opened up their hidden armaments. He felt the quivering unease in his chest, but pushed it deep down, focusing instead on the murderous aura of his opponents.
I just need to cut that bandage holding off Everfall's infection. After that, game over. Edwin tightened his knuckles. Still…
"Kill them both!" Edwin ordered.
The puppets' eyes flashed, then they charged at the Grim Ash duo. Griffin and Mack nodded to each other, then charged as well, clashing into the mechanized corpses.
Holly kneeled down beside Hallie and tipped a bowl of water to her lips. "Drink up. You need to stay hydrated."
"Th-Thank you." Hallie sipped lightly as the water spilled into her mouth.
Tilly looked back at her daughter as she attended to Sonny. "Oh, my babies."
Fernando, off to the side mashing up herbs, glanced at the worried Vileplume. "How are you holding up, ma'am?"
Tilly tugged on her mask. "A little uneasy, though that could just be nerves. I'm not sure how much longer I have before my symptoms start showing up."
Holly glared. "Can't say I'm loving my odds, either. Who knows how long I have until it gets through my aura?"
Fernando mixed the mashed herbs into some water glasses and handed them out to the few patients in waiting. "I'd be more worried about the rest of the village. This is the last of my medicine, and I doubt Fuego Village has a fresh supply laying around."
Holly sighed. "I hope the boys found something."
"Can you sense them?"
Holly glanced off to the side and narrowed her eyes. "Faintly. They traveled pretty far from the village." She stood up and walked over to their makeshift medical station, which was mostly bowls, towels, and water. "I still sense that familiar presence of Revulsion Anima. I can't believe that Simisage is here, too."
"Should I ask?" Fernando responded.
Holly shook her head. "No, it's just…" She paused, then tilted her head up as something buzzed at the front of her mind. "Huh…" She squinted and looked toward the direction of Griffin and Mack. "What the…"
Fernando fed an elderly Pokémon the herbs. "I think I recall some information of graverobbing in your village many, many months ago. I find it strange someone possesses the unique magic exclusive to your clan."
"Uh huh," Holly mumbled zeroing in on something. A strong aura, tainted in nature, and approaching the village. Multiple strong auras, but one notably clearer. Stronger. Rapidly approaching.
Fernando narrowed his eyes. "How strange to think they can draw magic from even beyond the grave."
"Yeah, no kidding—hey Fernando, do me a favor."
"Yeah?"
"GET DOWN!"
The back wall of the hut broke open as something crashed through. Fernando grabbed the nearby villagers and pulled them out of the way right before the object, or creature, landed. It dug its claws down, pulling out the floorboards beneath, and spun to a stop to bare its teeth and hungry glare at the stunned villagers.
A second of silence broke into horrified screams as the sickened travelers tried with all their strength to back themselves far away from the toxic green creature. Tilly pulled Hallie and Sonny up and hastily dragged them along. They were, unfortunately, the closest targets. The zombie crouched onto all fours and lunged at the hapless mother and her kids.
A smear of white flew into its vision and bashed it across the face, sending it flying into the front wall. It collapsed onto its hands and feet and shook its dazed head. It glared up and growled at the approaching Lurantis wielding her giant fan.
Holly glared with a cautious air. "What…is that thing?"
Fernando stood up and massaged his shoulder. "Something tainted with evil. Even I can feel it."
The zombie hissed at them, clicking its claws into the floor. Its wings retracted into its back, making the most unnerving sound that scared the travelers. It started its approach yet again, but stopped as Holly and Fernando stood in its way.
"Where do you think you're going?" Fernando asked, flipping his balisong dexterously.
The zombie tensed itself up, then bellowed a loud, "SkreeeeeAAAAAHHHHHH!" Its leg muscles tensed and contracted in a quick burst, launching it at great speed towards the two.
Holly reacted faster and swung her foot into the zombie's chin, knocking it into the air. Fernando pulled something from his sleeve and threw it like a chain. It was a beaded line with a small cross wheel attached to the end like a morning star flail. The line wrapped around the zombie's neck, allowing Fernando to pull it straight back down.
Suddenly, the zombie's neck burst into white hot flames. The toxic skin bubbled in distress, receding and showing bare skin underneath for the briefest of seconds before assimilating back across the host. It didn't look like a shadow overlapping another Pokémon, but like a second skin beneath the skin.
Fernando clicked his teeth in disgust. "That's new."
"What is that?" Holly asked, referring to the Monfero's new weapon.
Fernando grinned. "Well, ever since I got involved in this shadow nonsense, I took up a bit of priest training. I'm not qualified to become a full-fledged priest, but I used my time wisely. The weapons of a priest gather magic from the air and 'purify' it until it becomes something unapproachable. It's basically the purest essence of Arceus in small dosages. For normal Pokémon, the light burns you based off your sins. But for shadows—"
"It's basically like if I dipped my foot into active lava," Holly guessed.
"Pretty much. I have a whole bunch of these for the grave. That's why Hal thought it would be best to lend my aid." He tightened his makeshift leash and increased the light, burning deeper into the zombie. "What the hell is this thing, anyway?"
The toxic layer seemed to shift in agony against the light, and effectively even for a second. Holly and Fernando noticed the black sclera of the creature, along with part of the green skin around the face, receding. They recognized it as a Toxicroak.
"What the…?" Holly mumbled.
The Toxicroak's eye flickered around in terror. "Where…am I…?" His eye shrank when he spotted the two. "You…!"
Fernando glared. "Who are you?!"
"The fog! The fog…don't let them…scrraaaaaaAAAAHHHHHH!" The toxins fought back and reapplied itself, burying his consciousness. Though the light continued to burn and harm, they lost the Toxicroak.
Fernando clutched the beaded line tightly. "What the heck was he trying to say? What the hell's going on?"
Holly glared. "Scra…scra…scra-something?"
"S…Scratch…"
Holly turned and saw Hallie lifting her weak head. The poor Nuzleaf could barely keep her eyes open. Tilly grabbed her daughter and cried, "Hallie, don't move too much!"
Holly glared. "Hallie, you know what he said?"
Hallie nodded weakly. "I think…he said something about…scratching."
"Scratching?" Fernando mumbled.
Holly stared at the floor for a moment, then gasped. "Wait, he's not the only one I was…" She turned back to where she saw the zombie fly in and realized the other presences were gone. Or rather, we're on the other side of the hut.
The side pointing toward the village.
Fearing the worse, Holly raced to the doors and kicked them open. Her eyes shrank as green bodies divebombed into the village, which erupted in a discordant chorus of screams. She saw the perimeter guards rushing into the village, but one got pounced out of side in the blink of an eye, like a predator snatching its next meal.
Fernando raced over to her side, still holding the zombie down, and gawked in disbelief. "Oh, this is not good."
Holly's eyes shook frantically. "What…is all of this?"
"Despair."
Their eyes shot up to a figure floating above the hut. A green-robed, tentacled shadow being with long, gangly green claws. Her red eyes glimmered with a sinister mischief that made Holly's skin crawl. Fernando reached for his knife out of habit while suppressing the growls beneath his throat.
Pestilence raised her hand to the sky and laughed as a vortex of mist collected above her. "When Pestilence roams through the land, all shall feel the weight of despair." She pointed one of her claws down at them. "Can you bear the weight of that pain?"
Holly clutched her fan, but felt locked up. She could sense the overwhelming dread surrounding this creature. She could sense the sorrow and misery of any creature she set her eyes upon, but this thing radiated something far more dreadful. Not an emotion she possessed, but one she permeated with. Sorrow Anima can sense more than just sadness. It sensed something greater.
Hopelessness.
"Hoohoohoohoo!" Pestilence hooted, raising her arms up to the green vortex in the sky. "Embrace the despair of Pestilence!"
"Uh, Holly?" Fernando mumbled, pointing ahead.
Holly took her eyes off Pestilence and gazed at the village. One by one, a zombie similar to what they were holding down emerged from the village. First there was one, then there was three, then came seven, until they started multiplying in the dozens.
An overpopulated village stricken with a terrible disease, and infectious breed of monster that passes their curse with the slightest abrasion. It was a domino effect, with the pieces tipping ever closer to the last domino, which sat precariously over a single button labeled 'apocalypse'.
It was no army they saw, but a flood. A flood of green spilling out from the village and pouring toward their lone shack, ready to swallow it within the toxic sea.
Holly found the strength to pull her fan from its sheath and expand it to its full width. "Fernando?"
"Yeah?" he grumbled, pulling another cross wheel line from his sleeve.
"Have you ever stared death in the face before?"
Fernando narrowed his eyes. "I'll be honest, I have." He clutched his charm. "However, unlike this, I consider Death to be pleasant company."
"Exosus Release!"
Edwin dodged a focus blast of hateful energy and whistled to an Aggron and Snorlax puppet. "Crush him!"
The two puppets charged, expanding their mechanized muscles, and swung at him. Griffin balanced on his infected arm, gritting his teeth against the pain, and kicked their fists into the ground before jumping off into the air. He summoned Endless Regret and came down on the necks. The impact smashed their faces into the ground.
The back of the Aggron opened up and revealed mini turrets. Griffin traded out for Pride of Leones and shielded against a spray of bullets. The Snorlax pulled itself up and unlatched its jaw, unveiling a cannon hidden inside. It fired an explosive round into Griffin, throwing him across the sealed off area.
Griffin dragged his claws into the ground and cried out in pain from the blistering tension on his fingers. He halted his momentum and staggered a moment to massage his aching arm. The infection seeped through the tight bindings, though not by much. The veins were slowly turning toxic green. The bulk of the infection was staved off, but…
If I keep exerting myself, my own blood will carry more of the infected cells through my body. My arm's stinging like crazy, too.
"Exhausted yet, Everfall?" Griffin leaned back and avoided a flurry of thrown shadow knives. He spun and intercepted Edwin's shadow sword, catching it in his hind claws. Edwin hissed. "Even like this, you're still giving it your all. How annoying."
Griffin glared. "Is that a fact?" He forced Edwin's blade back, then dropkicked him away.
Edwin dragged his fingers down and caught himself. "You, in this hopeless situation, and you still fight? What are you even doing with yourself?" He summoned another shadow blade and sprinted toward the Grovyle.
"Exosus Cloak!" Griffin rippled with magic all across his body and met Edwin's blade with a well-timed block and punch. "I don't expect a coward who steals from my family to understand true grit."
Edwin sneered. "You claim I'm a coward? Those who play chicken and fail tend to live longer than fools who listen to their hubris! Fastidium Force!"
Griffin crossed his arms as Edwin unleashed the unstoppable, spiraling barrier. It slammed into Griffin, grinding into his skin, and threw him against the arena wall. He pressed his soles into the wall upon impact and ricocheted off the second the spell ended, ramming his shoulder against Edwin.
"I've dared life to crush me a thousand times over," Griffin snarled. "When I play chicken, I destroy all opposition!"
Edwin clutched his blades. "What. A. Joke."
Over with Mack, he fancied his time with the rampaging puppets. They fired off an assortment of hidden armaments, which he only held up against behind his persona to sponge the damage. Mack huffed. "You know, you really shouldn't trust me with your toys! I tend to break stuff people lend me!" His devilish smirk stretched. "Too bad they're already corpses, but I can settle for this! Phobia Rem: Baro!"
The persona matched its caster's wicked grin and melted into the air, transforming into a dark cloud. Mack stood up and faced the onslaught of projectiles as they came at him.
Mack clicked his tongue. "Crush them."
The projectiles were a hair shy of reaching Mack before instantly turning toward the ground at a sharp, sudden angle. An intense force slammed down on the bullets, cannonballs, and magic projectiles, steadily sinking into the ground. The dark cloud spread toward the puppets until directly above them, where a similar crushing force pounded down on their heads. One Scolipede puppet's neck nearly snapped in half from the sudden force.
Mack through his head back and laughed. "Barophobia, the fear of gravity! Or, in this particular case, being crushed by it! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Edwin held off Griffin's attack and spotted the Sudowoodo's trick. "Fear Anima. Full of its unpredictable tricks." He pushed Griffin off and whistled.
An Excadrill puppet's eyes flashed red. It struggled to raise its arm, but managed to aim at Mack's feet. The tips of its claws opened and fired three missile-like armaments that were instantly taken down with the gravity field.
Mack snickered. "A good effort, if not pathetic—" His eyes widened as the missiles dug and subsequently moved through the ground like a Garchomp in the desert. "Oh great, land torpedoes! My favorite!"
Mack attempted to dodge, but the torpedoes detonated early in a blinding flash. The ground burst open and pelted Mack with red hot fragments of earth, cutting against his aura.
"Hot, hot, hot!" he yelped.
The gravity cloud dispelled. The puppets pulled themselves out of the ground and charged at the flailing Sudowoodo. Mack raised his arms as the Scolipede rammed him. It scooped Mack off the ground with its horns and slammed him up against the barrier.
"Agh!" Mack croaked. "Right in the stomach…" His eyes widened to a Conkeldurr puppet's fist barreling into his face with the force rippling off the barrier.
Armaments opened up under the arm and blasted into Mack, namely with explosive shells. Mack pulled his arm loose and threw a heavy punch into the elbow, snapping it backwards. Mack wrapped his legs around the arm as much as he could and pulled with all his might until the limb ribbed off. The Conkeldurr puppet stumbled back while Mack slammed the severed limb down on the Scolipede and unleashed the rest of its weaponry. The Scolipede flew back from the force.
"Timor Persona!" Mack kicked off the barrier and tackled the megapede with his persona, both locking their arms around it. "Let's see what little tricks you have left to show! Phobia Rem: Pupa!"
The persona cackled as it melted into a silver liquid and assimilated onto the puppet, forming silver tattoos all over its segmented body. It stopped flailing against Mack's attack and stood still, allowing Mack to swing off its neck and onto its back.
"Now destroy your corpse party brethren!" Mack ordered.
The tattoos flashed. The puppet reared its head and slammed it across the Conkeldurr puppet, throwing it across the arena like a ragdoll. The Gigalith puppet fired a hook chain from its mouth, but Mack's new puppet opened its mouth and fired an energy beam that shot the hook off course, right into Mack's awaiting hand.
"You're the one who stopped me from tearing your little zombie friends apart." He wrapped the chain around his arm. "You had this one coming!" He reared the chain back, ripping the Gigalith from the ground towards him. "Timor Persona, skewer this bastard!"
The Scolipede puppet charged and rammed its horns through the airborne rock monster. It flailed its legs, trying to kick Mack, but he grabbed one and effortlessly ripped it out of socket. Wielding it like a baseball bat, Mack wound up his shot and bashed the leg across the Gigalith's head. The air and body cracked from the impact, smashing the head to pieces. The chain hook mechanism went flying as well, along with the spare chains. Mack threw the leg aside and snatched a handful of chains.
"Oh, these'll come in handy!" He glared at the remaining puppets as they converged on him. "Too bad I can't use this spell on the living, but repurposed corpses are fair game. Let's dance!" His steed reared its legs up before charging at the puppets.
Griffin and Edwin continued trading blows with their swords, with Griffin at a noticeable disadvantage having to fight with his offhand only. Any attempt to exert force on his infected hand sent an agonizing wave of pain through his body, and it only got worse as more of the infection spread past his elbow.
Edwin slashed into Griffin without stop, each clash sending sparks off Griffin's blade. Though Endless Regret ate away at his shadow blades, Edwin easily reformed them to continue his assault. He could see Griffin struggling to keep up, so he gave him no time to breathe.
"Fastidium Force!" Edwin activated the barrier and blew Griffin away. Because of how close they were to the arena barrier, both walls sandwiched Griffin between them with the Fastidium Force grinding against Griffin.
"AGH!" Griffin spat once the spell ended.
Edwin threw a dozen shadow knives at Griffin, specifically towards the bandage on his arm. Griffin reacted in time and raised his arm, crying out in pain as the knives struck the infected part, but sparing his lifeline.
"Tch," Edwin hissed, forming another set of knives. "Your persistence is nauseating." He threw more knives in droves, sending a rain of knives down on the Grovyle.
"Exosus Cloak!" Griffin reactivated the magic field and blew the knives away with the pressure. He lunged and slammed his fist into Edwin.
"Damage Transfero," Edwin huffed, sending the attended damage into the ground below his feet. He grabbed Griffin and tried to rip the bandage off, but Griffin slammed his forehead into his. "Ack!" Edwin stumbled back, leaving himself open for a swift uppercut to the chin.
"You don't have the same killer instinct of my people," Griffin taunted. He seized the airborne monkey's ankle and swung him overhead. "You don't know how to wield that stolen power like a true Grim Ash Clansman!" He slammed Edwin into the ground like a sledgehammer.
The ground exploded under Edwin with the help of Damage Transfero. "I don't have killer instinct. I'm just crook who got mixed up into all this crazy!" He slammed his palm down and summoned a collection of shadow pikes from below.
Griffin jumped back, narrowly avoiding them with only a cut to the cheek. "You…!"
Edwin picked himself up and dusted his jacket off. "I'm only doing one that blasted count says because it's my job. If it means killing you, I'll do it without fail." Edwin formed another shadow sword. "I had to go through experimentation to get this far, but it's better than being fodder for his inaner experiments."
Griffin scoffed. "Not a decent soul in that body?"
"My heart's as black as coal, and I'll use that darkness to ignite my flames!" Edwin alit the sword in shadow fire, then sprinted.
Griffin traded Endless Regret out for Infinity Breaker. He spun the polearm around, then thrusted the magical-extending staff at Edwin. Edwin jumped over and ran across the pole, getting in range to swing at Griffin's head. Griffin retracted the pole and dexterously blocked Edwin's strike before pushing the monkey off.
"Fastidium Force!" Edwin clapped his hands and threw Griffin back with the spinning forcefield. "Why are you still bothering to fight when your fate is sealed? Just give up already! Surrender your life or die for it!"
Griffin impaled the ground and caught himself. He glared at Edwin and scoffed. "You sound tilted, thief."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Edwin growled.
"It means you're scared, chicken!" Edwin glowered as Mack cut into their heated banter while he was holding off the puppets. "I can sense your fear! You're scared, aren't you? AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Edwin summoned another flaming shadow sword and yelled, "I fear nothing! It's you two who are being ridiculous! Why are you still standing? You've lost! Get it through your thick skulls!"
Griffin glared. He got angrier when he asked why I haven't fallen yet. I can sense it.
"Nothing can stop Pestilence, nor the shadows for that matter. You don't get it." Edwin tightened his grip. "The Shadow King will make his grand return soon, and he will thrust this world into his intended image. Get it?!" He rushed Griffin again and went in swinging.
Griffin sent Infinity Breaker away and powered up with Exosus Cloak, blocking Edwin's strikes. "Funny."
"Huh?!"
"I remember watching you fight during the Geld Peak Tournament. I never brought it up because it seemed pointless, but you got pretty ticked off during one of your matches. Then again, I wouldn't expect a pessimist such as you to take kindly to an optimist's bravado."
"What are—" Edwin started to say until his eyes widened. "That…!"
"No matter how many times you hit me, I won't fall! I refuse to lose to the likes of you!"
Edwin bared his teeth. "That damn Delibird…!"
Griffin caught Edwin by the neck while he was distracted, and choke slammed him into the ground. "I could sense your anger at the time when you fought her, right until the end. That wasn't just shattered pride I was witnessing. That was pure rage, like something that rattled your soul."
Edwin snarled. "Don't got analyzing me, dumbass! Fastidium Force!"
Griffin jumped back before the barrier was deployed and landed out of its range. "Tell me something. Are you so used to despair that you've chosen to believe the logical extreme is to give up? Is that why you side with the shadows, why you stand by their cause?"
Edwin picked himself up and rubbed his neck. "Let me tell you something. I was perfectly fine working as a grunt doing Aeternus' dirty work. Selling weapons, shaking people down, and getting paid. Then he brings in these homicidal specters and overhauls everything just to accommodate their arrival. I had to work hard just to be spared as another puppet for experimentation, just so I don't crack under the inevitable."
Griffin glared. "You're a survivalist?"
"I'm a pragmatist. I either do what's necessary or accept whatever's coming." Edwin glared. "And yet, you idiots can't seem to understand how screwed you are. You can't beat the Shadow King. Quit living in a fantasy world and accept the fact there's literally nothing you can do."
Griffin shook his head and huffed. "I think you're using literally wrong."
"At least I'm not dense."
Griffin glared. "If that's how you wish to continue this battle of words, then I shall smash your hopes to dust." He snapped his claws and opened up his arsenal. "I'll tear this barrier down and destroy every last bit of the Shadow King's legacy, whether hopeless or not!"
A long shadow casted over both Griffin and Edwin as the giant Cekvar's Might rose from the ground behind Griffin. He hopped onto the guard and grabbed the hilt. Edwin stepped back and cowered under the giant sword's daunting stature.
"I may not have my good arm, but this sword doesn't need proper form. Just a decent swing!" Griffin tensed his grip and lunged forward, tipping the sword over.
Griffin forced all his muscles to bulge as he pulled the titan-sized weapon from the ground and swung it over himself midair, scraping the ceiling of the arena. He roared as he swung the sword forward directly toward Edwin. The Simisage tensed his body and raised his arms as the sword came smashing down on him, rattling the dome with such impact that the ground outside shattered into fissures from the shockwave alone. Cracks formed through the arena behind Edwin.
This…guy! Edwin growled as he pushed back on the sword. Who do you think you are?!
"HAH!"
A blade of wind slammed into the approaching zombies and scattered them through the air. The frontline dissipated from the attack while the forces behind dug their claws in and held up against the small hurricane as they growled and hissed at the lone hut outside the village.
Standing boldly in front of the recently dug moat, Holly raised her fan to the sky and gave a hefty swing, sending another hurricane towards the approaching zombies. Though they tried stubbornly to push through her winds, the frontline once again flew among the current and catapulted over the backline, crashing into the village.
Holly took a second to catch her breath, then fanned another powerful gust into the crowd. "Fernando!"
Fernando, back inside the hut, finished tying down the captured zombie and kicked it outside. "Yeah, I know." He produced another of his beaded cross wheel lines and spun it like a chain. "How long can you keep that up?"
"Do you know how hard it is to create this much wind with a fan this big? I can do it in intervals, but not in quick bursts like this. It's straining my arms." Holly demonstrated with another flap, knocking away another group. Her arms staggered from the action and nearly dropped Last Breath. "I can't just keep holding them off like this."
Fernando clutched his beads. "Killing them might be our course of action."
"We don't know if this can be reversed or not. We're not killing anyone unless there's no other choice."
"I thought you and your friends killed all the time."
Holly glared. "These are innocents. I won't take an innocent life, even if they're trying to kill me."
Fernando huffed and pulled his hat over his eyes. "A noble sentiment, I'll say. I should warn you, I'm much more efficient at killing than immobilizing."
"But…?"
"But that doesn't mean I can't. You hold them off, I'll try and thin their numbers."
Holly nodded. "Okay, but remember: don't let them scratch you."
"I hope my contract can stave off such afflictions." Fernando pulled out his balisong and flipped it into a reverse grip. He crouched down and locked his stare onto the approaching horde. "Hold off on your attack for a moment. Let them get closer."
Holly pulled back on her fan, allowing her arms to rest. The zombies, seeing Holly give up the fight, advanced at full speed, screeching their deafening cries. Fernando narrowed his eyes, then took a deep breath.
"Find the pathway…the path towards the perfect spot. One shot to take them down." His eyes flashed, and he sped forward. "Thousand Knife Rain!"
One zombie lunged and swiped their claws at Fernando, but slashed through an afterimage. Not even a second after, a knife dug through its shoulder, back, and legs. Dozens more behind it followed suit, receiving several stab wounds through their bodies instantly.
Fernando reappeared over the startled army and landed on one's head. He spun his knife and flicked off the green blood. "That shouldn't have killed them, but I severed their tissue. If they're anything like possessions, they should heal it off."
Pestilence, observing safely from the air, chittered behind her hand. "What an amazing creature."
The zombie Fernando stood on grabbed his ankle and attempted to dig their claws in, but recoiled in pain as a burning sensation slashed through their shoulder. Fernand hopped off and watched the zombie roll around in pain from the yellow, fiery wound.
He spun his beaded line, then whipped it around, slashing into several more zombies and inflicting holy magic across their bodies. They roared and crumpled to the ground, clutching their wounds. He caught the cross wheel in his hand and yelled, "Holly, now!"
Holly raised Last Breath and switched it to its half-open mode. "Level 2 Wind Style: Wind of Knives!" She swung and fired off a barrage of energy knives.
Fernando jumped out of the way as the knives cut through the zombie army. They screeched and hollered, dropping down to protect themselves. Fernando grinned. "Guess unlike possession, they lack higher brain functions. It's all just an intimidation tactic through numbers."
"Hoohoohoo." Fernando landed and glared up at the giggling specter. "You foolish fool of foolish foolhardy words. I wouldn't celebrate so soon." She brought her claws to her mouth and whistled. "Break through, my pets."
"Break through? What does that—" Fernando looked back at the zombies and gasped.
The skeletal patterns on their bodies grew out from under their glowing flesh and molded around the body. A black armor coated over them, with only sections of skin illuminating through. The armor made them resemble more like what they once were: the skeleton of their former selves, only shaped like a nightmarish guard for their corrupted beings.
Holly lowered her fan and gasped. "Th-That's…!"
Pestilence lifted her arms and cackled. "Despair, despair! That is all you weaklings shall endure! Crumble and fall into the ultimate despair! Hoohoohoohooooo!"
The zombies screeched, bursting with newfound vigor at their mistress' joy, and charged like stampeding Tauros toward the hut. Holly raised her fan again and threw out another wind blast. It struck true, but the new armor protected them from the buffing particles and kept them more secure to the ground with only a couple getting blown back. They even managed to push back against the wind, albeit at a slow crawl.
"No!" Holly cried, desperately fanning the air and casting a consistent, blustering wind to keep them away. The zombies remained persistent, digging their claws down and advancing.
Fernando had to get out of range before he was blown away and watched helplessly as the zombies approached the hut. "No! Holly!"
Holly felt her arms waning in power the more times she swung with her fan. Her slows became noticeably weaker with each swing until she couldn't muster a stalwart breeze. She staggered back and lowered her fan, panted heavily. "I-I can't…"
Pestilence cackled louder. "Are you seeing the error of your resistance? Better to give in than to fight so desperately in a losing battle! You weak-willed creatures, too soft to deal a killing blow against the innocent! So easily to manipulate~! Your precious feelings! Hoohoohoo!"
Holly's legs and arms trembled, her grip weakening on her fan. "I…I…"
"Hoohoohoo! The girl has finally lost her nerve?" Pestilence's eyes glimmered joyously. "Pathetic creature! My zombies, cross that infernal fissure between you and the resisting party! Welcome your new brethren!"
The zombies screeched, then charged at the hut. They compressed their hindlegs and leaped over the moat. A wide, unescapable wave of green came down on Holly, flashing their gangly claws at the shaking Lurantis.
"I…I…I…"
FLASH!
"Got you~."
The zombies never landed on solid ground. What their appendages thought they landed on felt like nothing more than solid air. Those in the midst of their jumps flailed and tried to grab for opposite ground, but felt their own claws sinking through air as well. An entire wave came down on Holly, only to miss their mark and plummet straight into the provided moat.
"WHAT?!" Pestilence growled.
The remaining zombies charging the hut dug their heels and claws down and stopped themselves near the edge. Some slipped through the fake edge and joined their brethren in the pit.
Holly lifted her head, showing off her eyes as blue wisps flared from them. "Sorry, hon~. Just a little illusion for you~!"
"I…Illusion?!" Pestilence rubbed her eyes and watched as the moat suddenly expanded in size. "W-Wait, what?"
Holly snorted. "Guess you were so focused on gloating that you didn't see me cast an illusion over Mack's stupid moat. Well, not so stupid anymore. Looks like a good chunk of your army is out of commission."
Pestilence curled her claws. "BAH! This won't stop me! Ascend the pit, you fools!"
Holly picked up Last Breath. "I don't think so! Level 3 Wind Style: Downward Current!" She tossed the fan into the air like a disc until it floated above the hut. Winds encircled the fan and gradually increased its speed before shooting a funnel of wind down, targeting specifically into the surrounding moat.
Winds surged through the moat and threw the zombies against the walls, holding them down like glue. Even if they tried to break free, the fast moving winds would throw them around and pinball them off the walls before starting back from the beginning, like dust helplessly trapped within a vacuum.
Pestilence snarled. "You…!"
Holly jumped onto the hut's roof and glared up at Pestilence. "Tell me, can you break through this wind barrier without scattering your particles about?"
Pestilence glowered at the Lurantis. "It appears…I've underestimated you Grim Ash Clansman. The Grovyle's resourcefulness, the Sudowoodo's madness, and your cunning." She eased the tension in her fists, then chuckled. "Hoohoo, but…"
Holly raised her brow. "But?"
"I'm not some one-trick Ponyta, missy." Pestilence reared her arms back. "Do you think Count Aeternus installed me with only an infectious virus and no means to protect myself? I'm more than a plague! I. Am. Pestilence!"
Pestilence thrusted her claws forward as spikes protruded from them and fired a fired a wave of spikes into the wind barrier. Holly kept her guard up and watched as the spikes scattered within the barrier, carried along by the currents.
Holly glared. "What's that supposed to prove?"
Pestilence snickered. "You can manipulate the air. I can manipulate my gas." She snapped her fingers.
Applying pneumatic force with the scattered infected particles in the wind barrier, Pestilence fired the spikes out from all around, focusing down Holly. Holly's eyes flashed. "Dolorem Rewrite!" Blue petals scattered around her as the spikes hit their mark. Their courses were redirected within the mini petal twister and punctured the rooftop.
Pestilence clapped her hands. "That's not enough!"
Holly reappeared midair and scanned the barrier, noticing Pestilence's gas leaking through. "Shit!"
Pestilence laughed. "You could retrieve your fan and dispel it. Oh, but that would let the zombies free, right? Hoohoohoo!"
Holly landed on the roof and covered her mouth as the gas filled the air. Doesn't matter. I just can't let her claws scratch—
Holly stopped an inch after walking backwards. She looked down and saw the needles that were haphazardly scattered had grown new spikes off. The entire roof and hut were littered in infectious spikes.
"Double shit," Holly growled.
"Can't fight effectively if there's nowhere to step, right?"
Holly's eyes widened. "Wait, fight—" She sensed it barely a second in, ducking back as green claws flashed over her face. She came face to face with Pestilence and her shrouded face.
"Hello~!" Pestilence plunged her claws down.
Holly ducked back, but felt the claws tear the side of her pants. She staggered carefully through the needles and checked her leg. A tear in the pants, but no cut on her leg, thankfully. She glared back at the green mage. "How did you get in here?"
Pestilence jabbed a claw over her shoulder, showing the gas seeping through the wind barrier. "I can freely move within my own infection. Nowhere is safe from me."
Holly raised her scythe claws and activated her limiter. The blue tattoos stretched from her eyes to arms and halfway down her body. Her eyes glowed a brighter blue. "I can sense your hesitation. You can't beat me in a physical confrontation."
"Perceptive, but it hardly matters." Pestilence snapped her claws, summoning more infection to her side. "You wouldn't be able to harm me. It's just a matter of time until I get the lucky hit. Or rather…hoohoohoo~."
Holly's glared sharpened. "Or rather what?!"
"Your little friends do instead."
Holly's eyes widened. "Wha—"
"HOLLY!" Fernando's voice pierced through the wind barrier. "Below you!"
Holly jumped and narrowly avoided a hand shooting through the roof. She landed carefully away from the hole and watched a figure emerge through. Holly's heart sank as the vague shape of a Gloom pulled its way onto the roof, snarling at her.
"W-Wait, is that…Sonny?"
"AAAAHHHHH!"
Holly jumped off the roof, avoiding one of the zombie Gloom's claw swipes and landed in front of the main door. She gasped as a few of the patients convulsed and screeched as the infection rapidly spread over their bodies. She saw Tilly and Hallie huddled up far in the corner, with tears running down their faces.
"Tilly, what happened?!" Holly yelled.
The Vileplume blubbered through her tears. "S-Sonny…something stung Sonny!"
"Something? What—" Holly looked up and noticed the needles had pierced through the ceiling. Her eyes shrank once she looked down, spotting a green needle laying on the floor with green blood at the tip. "N-No…"
She heard a noise above, then noticed the wind barrier dropping. Last Breath clattered off the roof and landed on the ground, coated in a viscous green slime. Holly backed into the house and watched as claws peeked up from behind the moat's edge. She made out the vague shape of Fernando far in the back, fending off stray attackers.
Pestilence floated into view and snickered behind her hand. "I know you can kill all my pets, Dawngrove." Her eyes narrowed devilishly. "Sorrow Anima. You're too soft on these whelps. In time, they won't even be the same people anymore. And yet, I still doubt you would have the nerve to land the fatal blow."
Holly spread her arms out in front of the remaining villagers and snarled as more tattoos spread over her body. "You…!"
"It's either kill or join us, Dawngrove." Black tentacle peeked from under the mage's hood and lapped at her poison-filled claws. "Hoohoohoo. Which will break first? My army…or your resolve?"
From the initial clash with the titanic sword, Griffin raced down the blade with One For All in hand and fired a scatter of blade constructs down on Edwin. Edwin formed a barrier and shattered them, but Griffin lunged and slammed his foot against the screen, boosted by his Exosus Cloak. Edwin held up for only a few seconds before sidestepped as the barrier shattered. He caught Griffin's collar and threw him across the arena.
Griffin clutched the rusty sword in his teeth and slammed both claws into the ground. Spurts of blood blistered from his infected arm, but he only growled through the hilt before charging the Simisage again. Edwin formed shields on his wrist and blocked Griffin's sword strikes.
Okay, what the hell?! Edwin growled. He can't fight with his offhand, but he's apparently better using a sword with his teeth?!
Griffin split two more sword constructs and grabbed them. Though his hand stung, he delivered a powerful triple slash into Edwin's guard and threw him off his feet. Edwin's back slammed against and bounced off the barrier, where Griffin came flying in with a dropkick to the neck.
"GYAH!" Edwin choked.
"Perish!" Griffin reeled back his three blades and cut down on Edwin.
"Obice Cancel!" He formed the shimmering barrier. The power in Griffin's strike disappeared, as did the constructs, on contact. With a shout, Edwin thrust the barrier forward and batted Griffin off. "Just how long are you going to keep up with this? All you're doing is speeding up the infection."
Griffin landed and sent One For All away. He massaged his arm as the toxic glow had reached his elbow. He tore off his other sleeve and tied it where his arm and shoulder blade met. Some of the toxic veins had reached partway up his neck, though.
"The more you close it off, it'll keep building up in your veins," Edwin surmised. "All you're doing is causing your veins to explode each time you put pressure to them. You're better off cutting your own damn arm off!"
Griffin scoffed. "I prefer to keep my arm, thank you." Though, he's not wrong. The longer I keep this up, even if I do remove this infection, my arm's going to be seriously messed up. I'm practically tearing my muscle fibers to shreds. It's getting colder, too. Not enough blood circulating through.
Edwin balled his fist and ignited a shadow lance around it. "You lost. Now accept defeat!" He sprinted forward and thrusted the lance.
Griffin caught the lance with his infected arm, stopping it from reaching his chest. Though his hand seethed with pain from the shadow flames and the internal pressure, Griffin's stone cold expression rattled Edwin. He pulled the stunned Simisage in and grabbed him by the face, lifting him off the ground.
"I've been unable to accept defeat for fifteen long years!"
Griffin drove the back of Edwin's head into the ground, shattering the arena floor and revealing the blackened earth underneath. Edwin winced as Griffin dug his claws into his cheeks.
Edwin whistled and yelled, "Get this maniac off me!"
His cry fell on deaf ears—more specifically, severed ears as the head of a puppet went bouncing past the downed monkey with half its face ripped off. He barely managed to lift his head to see Mack ripped the puppet he was controlling in half, tossing the useless halves away.
Mack looked forward and grinned. "You must be confused. The maniac is over here."
Edwin growled and channeled magic through his body. "Fastidium—" He froze as a pair of infected claws flashed in front of his eyes.
"Let me make one thing very clear to you," Griffin whispered in a low voice. "I can and will cut you faster than you can deploy that spell. All it'll take is one nick and you'll be joining your new brethren." The infection spread more over his shoulder, turning in a brighter shade of green. He waggled his claws over Edwin's face. "But go ahead, try and see which one of us is faster."
Edwin bared his teeth. "Are you insane?"
"You said giving up is the only reliable solution in a pinch, and yet you continue to run. You ran after you lost in the tournament, and you'll lose yourself once my claws make contact." Red flickered in Griffin's eyes. "So, give that coin a flip."
"I…I…"
Mack approached them and crossed his arms. "I can still sense fear in him. Seems he is scared of being turned into those creatures."
"Hopefully Holly and the others are alright," Griffin grumbled. He tapped his claw along Edwin's neck. "Well?"
All Edwin could do was evaluate every potential escape option he had at his disposal. Most involved deploying a barrier for space, but he didn't trust his spell casting speed vs. Griffin physical speed. He wasn't sure if Damage Transfero accounted for infections, either. Other options were either too risky to pull off or didn't have the training needed to execute. Even so, Griffin clearly knew more about the Revulsion Anima's strengths and weaknesses. He was in no position to fight back.
All he could do was talk.
"Why are you still bothering to fight them? At least I'm guaranteed to live on their side. You idiots painted targets on your backs!"
Griffin glared. "A world devoid of emotion, suppressed of all base desires, is not living. I felt that influence only once, and I burned the devil's hand to cinders. If you think this is surviving, you never lived a single moment in your life."
"D-Don't go lecturing me about living when you've spent half your life chasing one man down!"
"My journey has nothing to do with yours." Griffin tightened his grip. "You don't want this, do you? Being a part of this madness. You're only here because you fear your boss more. Which is more important, your pride or your life? What does life mean to you?"
"Y-You…!" Sparks of shadow flickered from Edwin's open hand.
Mack reached for Eclipse, but a subtle nod from Griffin told him to stand down. Mack kept his hand on the chain staff and glared at Edwin's ablaze hand.
Edwin bared his teeth at Griffin like he was ready to bite his snout off. The flames curled into claws around his fingers for only a moment, until the tension faded from his body. He relaxed his hand and jaw and dispelled the flames.
"…She's the gas."
Griffin and Mack blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
"This gas, the infected fog around us? It's all Pestilence. Infected cells of her own creation, able to be manipulated on a whim. However, it's the toxin in her claws that causes the transformation. It triggers a reaction that mutates the cells when in the presence of the toxin. I don't know much of the mechanics, but I do know one thing. Neither agent works without the other. I'm not sure how dangerous her poison is on its own, but it's not potent without the infectious gas."
Mack glared. "So, you're saying that if we kill her—"
"—or at the very least block off her ability to spread it," Edwin added, "it should quickly disappear on its own. It requires her conscious thought to stay active. But, if you don't stop it by the time the hour's up, it'll do irreversible damage to the brain. Without the gas, they'll just be corpses."
Griffin huffed. "Mack, how long has it been since Pestilence flew ahead?"
"I'd say about twenty minutes, and about a half hour since she infected our search party."
"So, if we don't stop it soon, a chain reaction of deaths will go off." Griffin let go of Edwin and walked over to Cekvar's Might, sinking it back into his personal arsenal. "We don't have a moment to lose."
Edwin sat up and coughed. His concentration slipped and the arena came crumbling down into dissolving glass. He looked up and watched as Griffin and Mack took off running toward the village. Edwin stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled:
"You have no hope of beating her! These aren't like regular shadows anymore! They're a threat! You'll just be throwing your lives away!"
Whether they heard him or not, they never once looked back.
Edwin lowered his hands, curling them into tight fists. He punched the ground, snarling through clenched teeth. "Why am I surrounded by morons?"
He glanced to the side and stared at the gas. He placed his gas mask back on and stood up. Inhaling that stuff, the mere thought of it made him shudder. Inhaling fumes meant to destroy. To wipe out enemies.
That damn clown's sense of humor…pairing me with his diseased creation.