Queen of Souls
By Soul Hunter
Chapter Nineteen
The lord of the incubus clan halted abruptly upon turning the last corner leading to his people's burial chamber. There was a huge rock blocking the wide entrance, one that he did not recall being there.
But this was not going to stop him. He gestured once, and a force beam blazed from his palm to destroy the obstruction. He didn't wait for the smoke to clear before stepping into the vast anteroom that served as the hated prison cell of his evil horde.
Walking to the center of the immense chamber, his vile nerves twitched in anticipation as his burning eyes traversed the entirety of the enclosed space. He had waited for this day for centuries. He had spent a hundred years planning, scheming, and struggling to endure the scalding pain brought by his incarceration under the merciless chains of despicable earth. He fought for his life and battled for his sanity just to see this day.
No force in this world can stop him now.
Or so he thought
"You're not stopping for anything, are you?" Quistis entered the room after him. The soul reaper turned, only to feel the slap of an unbreakable bullwhip coiling itself around his legs. She tugged hard, tightening the coil and bringing the death-bringer down to the ground.
Though startled, the incubus was able to gather himself for a counterattack of deadly energy bolts, leaving the SeeD no choice but to snap her weapon loose from his feet as her legs straightened to a ninety degree split to avoid the death beams. He continued his barrage, forcing Quistis to roll away and desperately seek shelter from her opponent's hellish onslaught.
"You impudent mortal, you test my patience!"
Tremendous energy spewed out from his eyes, blasting the boulder that Quistis used as a shield into small pieces and hurling her against a pillar of tall stalagmites sticking up from the ground. A loud thud echoed as her body slammed against the solid rock structure. She groaned wildly in pain, feeling every fiber in her being cry out for rest. But there can be no rest as long as the incubus lived. The aches in her body begged her to surrender, but the resolve in her mind refused to take the easy way out, too painfully aware of the stakes at hand.
Steeling her will, the resolute instructor slowly lifted herself up to face the enemy with the white-hot hands. Fighting against despair, her mind struggled to find a way against him. She had no powers and no junctions. She could not risk endangering her life once more for the sake of using her limit breaks. And her partner was nowhere in sight.
"Prepare to die, adversary. I will make it slow and painful in honor of your vain efforts to oppose me."
But a SeeD had never been about powers, partners or junctions. Being one of the foremost, she knew that a SeeD was, above anything else, all about the will to fight. And if there was one thing that she had in abundance, that is the unyielding will to fight in spite of the odds. There was indeed a reason why she was regarded as one of the best.
And there was also a reason why Balamb Garden had a hand-to-hand combat training program.
Expecting a cowering opponent, the incubus was taken aback upon beholding an attacking one. He fired another energy bolt but Quistis was already in the air. And before he realized what was happening, she had already flown over and grabbed him by his armor. Swinging backward, Quistis pushed against his back with her feet, using her downward momentum in pulling with all her might to send him careening against a wall.
She rolled gracefully while picking up her weapon. Not letting up, the SeeD unleashed a barrage of bullwhip attacks that filled the cavern with deafening supersonic cracks, striking the soul reaper incessantly and confusing him in the process. The Save the Queen hummed ominously while making a wide looping swing before discharging another assault that struck the enemy on the shoulder, violently severing his left arm. The incubus let out an agonized howl.
Quistis allowed a moment of respite. A moment that proved foolhardy. Before she knew it, the soul devourer had released a powerful force wave that threw her back against another embankment. Hissing in rage, the incubus used his sorcery to conjure mystical vines that quickly wrapped around the instructor's arms and legs. She was horrified to realize that he had bound her helplessly.
"The charade ends now, presumptuous foe." He roared with brimming hate. "I could tolerate your resistance no longer."
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Another kick landed hard on his jaw together with a solid fist that almost caved his rib cage in. Reeling back in pain, Hunter stared with despairing eyes at the three whom he once called friends. It had been a century and yet he still remembered it like it was yesterday how they ate together, rode together and made their oaths of allegiance to their mission in life together. They were the last generation of a long line of noble knights. And though this fact brought a set of common denominators between them and their predecessors, there was one glaring difference that set them apart from the rest.
They were the best of friends. They treated each other like brothers and sisters.
And he was forced to kill them all. If anything, that should justify the fire of hate that blazed in their eyes. But they should have known what happened. They were enthralled, and therefore gave him no alternative other than to do what he did. Hunter was absolutely sure they understood the contingency that he had to resort to. If anyone of them happened to be in his place, he or she would have done the same thing. Such was the demand of the selfless oath they took. Such was the dedication that was expected of them.
His friends were being controlled by his enemy. They had to be.
But no matter how much he consoled himself with that theory, Hunter still grieved with the thought of snuffing their lives once more. No matter how he knew that the denizen he faced were mere shadows of his long gone friends, they still bore their forms, the forms he had learned to cherish. He knew they were mere doppelgangers, but it still didn't make his task any less daunting nor heartbreaking.
"Taking it easy on us, are you?" Blue Mary snapped as she lunged with a staggering backhand. Hunter spun around, rolling with the impact to lessen the effect of the blow. But it still hurt like hell. Blue Mary had always packed a wallop that easily shamed a horse's kick. He planted his shaking feet on the ground while wiping blood off his mouth.
"Do whatever you want," Hunter spoke out grimly, "but I'm not fighting you."
"Aww, you're breaking my heart!" Kasumi shot back. "Oh wait a minute, you already did. Plus my neck and my bones and my head" She continued while pummeling her former colleague with powerful knee and elbow strikes. One particularly strong blow landed on the dark knight's back, making him choke out more blood.
"That's enough!" Liu Kang intervened. "You've had your share of his blood. Now leave Hunter to me."
Hunter looked up and saw the anger blazing in his former comrade's once compassionate eyes, pushing the sadness he felt to surpass the pain coursing through his battered body. Firming his resolve, the embattled warrior remained on his knees. But it only furthered Liu Kang's anger.
"Understand this, Hunter." He exclaimed while clutching the dark knight by the neck. "If you don't fight me, I will kill you. And that will leave your precious ally defenseless against our master. Certainly you would never risk to have her perish, would you?"
Hunter cussed at himself. Liu Kang was right. He had no choice but to fight and fall prey to the trap that at one time almost pushed him to take his own life in despair and guilt.
The resurrected gladiators smiled in evil delight when he stood up with the Twin Jutte in his hands. Fear gripped the intruder's heart, but it was not the fear for his own life. He was foremost among their ranks, the firstborn among his generation of knights. He taught them everything they knew. But he didn't teach them everything he knew. The battle may not turn out as one-sided but Hunter was confident that he would still prevail.
The die had been cast. He will fight them, kill them again, and help the SeeD in conquering the soul devourer. After that, he will agonize in the guilt of a crime twice committed. After that, he will no longer suffer his life. He could never and would never forgive himself after this.
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She stared with terrified eyes at the baneful form of the devourer of spirits as he slowly strutted closer to her. Quistis started to panic, she had never been in a situation this precarious before. She tried tugging at the conjured vines chaining her against the wall, but it was too tough for her. In the midst of mortal fear, she started to doubt if she did the right thing of pushing her friends away from the battle. Now that there was no one else to save her, she couldn't help questioning her decisions further. If she was truly the chosen one, how did she end up in a predicament like this? The fates dictated that she would prevail at the cost of her own life. Was the fates wrong? Or was she the one who was mistaken?
The incubus opened his mouth, from where the disgustingly dreadful figure of his tongue dripping in steaming saliva began to come out. The instructor closed her eyes as the slimy, snake-like appendage touched the smooth contours of her face and neck, as if tasting her. She gritted her teeth in fright when its twin tips transformed into a pair of razor-sharp blades that started to run down under her chin. She could feel the sheerness of the flicking tongue as it threatened to break her skin open.
A ripping sound suddenly echoed when the knife-edges tore the front of her battlesuit open to expose the bare skin underneath. The incubus moaned with desire. He may not be human, but over the centuries he had developed a taste for carnality that enabled him to enjoy sensual pursuits. In his eyes, he had never seen a human specimen as perfect and desirable as the one before him. Unwittingly, the soul reaper felt a tinge of regret as his moist tongue traversed across the instructor's stomach, running a straight path upward until it reached the sunken area between her breasts. Quistis could only groan in a mix of revulsion and horror while feeling him violate her body.
A sudden trembling movement shook the incubus. His desire-awash face abruptly assumed a look of alarm when the quivering underneath his feet intensified. Recognizing a threat, he hissed in his own dread while turning his attention elsewhere. He couldn't believe what he had perceived. Not here. Not now!
A fist made of earth suddenly erupted from the ground and sent the soul devourer flying toward the towering cavern ceiling. He ricocheted violently against a wall before crashing headfirst into the rocky ground. Stunned, the death-bringer tried to recover from the sudden attack, and was met by the resonance of a dreadfully familiar voice.
"WE KNEW YOU WERE COMING, VILE MURDERER. YOU DIDN'T THINK WE'D LEAVE THE RESTING PLACE OF YOUR PEOPLE UNATTENDED, DID YOU?"
His disbelieving eyes stared in terror at the wolf-like creature that materialized from thin air. Snarling with justified rage, the creature that bore the title Pack Commander of the Warrior Hounds appeared with another mystical presence that boasted a massively built body and a solitary eye residing on his forehead. Recovering from her ordeal, Quistis recognized the aura surrounding the two newcomers and subsequently remembered Hunter's tale about the missing earth Guardians.
"Fenrir and Vulcan" She muttered. "They've been guarding this place all this time?"
The air thundered with earth-shaking power as Fenrir staged his attack, charging headlong toward the soul devourer with the fury of a thousand avenging souls. His strong jaws caught the incubus by his remaining arm before hurling him aloft. As the incubus bounced against the ceiling, Vulcan swung his massive sledgehammer on the ground to create a fissure that subsequently erupted with fiery brimstone, bathing the death-bringer with burning pain born of the earth's anger. The soul devourer staggered back, his eyes and mouth welling with smoldering fluid of hate and evil.
The two Guardian Forces stood by as their enemy struggled to his feet. Wanting to end the centuries old war once and for all, they commenced another wave of attack with intent for finality. They were nevertheless caught by surprise when the incubus channeled all his powers in one massive explosion that repelled them viciously. Ear-splitting surges of energy spewed forth from the soul reaper's eyes, relentlessly bombarding the two Guardians who had no recourse but to step back. It had been a long time since they last faced him in battle, but they still remembered the raw power he wielded that took the entire army of earth warriors to subdue. As the crazed incubus lashed out with all his might, Fenrir and Vulcan realized they had to find another way to combat his threat.
Another explosion hurled them against the embankment where the instructor was bound. The one-eyed Guardian lifted his head from underneath the debris and noticed Quistis gazing intently at him. He stared back at her, and recognized the warrior spoken of in prophecies.
"You are the chosen one" Vulcan bellowed. Quistis nodded as much as her bonds allowed her.
"Yes, I am the chosen one." She replied firmly. "Help me. Junction yourselves to me!"
The Guardian pair stared at each other briefly, deliberating whether to break protocols even in this moment of dire need. But knowing that they had finally faced the chosen one resolved all conflict without much contest. They then disappeared as their spirit selves fused with that of the instructor's.
Quistis finally let out a relieved smile upon feeling the familiar infusion of junction power. Channeling all her Ultima spells to her physical strength, she bellowed a frantic roar as her arms and legs pulled desperately, breaking her bonds in the process.
"METEOR!!!" She hollered, and the mystical heavens obeyed with a storm of cosmic rocks that battered the incubus.
"ULTIMA!!!" A sphere of combined elementals blazed upon him, punishing him with infernal wrath.
"FLARE! HOLY! TORNADO! QUAKE!!!"
The flurry of destructive magic unrelentingly lashed against the stunned incubus. With the last Quake spell that struck, he collapsed on his knees in agony, his one remaining arm raised in an apparent gesture of surrender. But Quistis won't be fooled this time. She was alternating between attack and Scan spells to analyze the damage wreaked by her assault. The instructor couldn't help wincing in frustration. For every attack she made, the soul reaper's mysterious healing power regenerated his injuries. No wonder he was branded as unkillable. She needed a different strategy.
A moment of thought on Quistis' part afforded the incubus a split-second to react. Roaring with pure rage, he unleashed another energy blast that brutally connected on the instructor. She recoiled back, greatly stunned by the assault. Realizing that this battle was far from being won, Quistis had no choice but to press on without any clear tactical plan. She continued exchanging blows with the incubus and, whenever the chance arose, attacked with her potent Blue Magic skills. But even the devastating Shockwave Pulsar failed to prevent the soul devourer from healing his injuries.
The instructor had begun to grow tired. Coupled with her dwindling reserves of attack magic, Quistis recognized the seriousness of her predicament. She wished for Hunter to run to her side but also knew he's got his hands full at the moment. Frustration inadvertently started to get the better of the SeeD as she indiscriminately poured out her remaining assault spells to the enemy. The instructor knew that she was becoming reckless, but her exhaustion prevented her from gathering her wits for an organized method of attack.
She unleashed another Flare spell, unaware that the soul reaper had managed to cast a layer of Reflect magic around him. Quistis wailed in pain when the mighty non-elemental attack bounced back at her.
"AAAAHHH!!!" Her knees folded, giving in to the exhaustion besetting her. Taking advantage of the situation, the soul reaper pummeled her with another energy blast. The SeeD was thrown back by the violent assault, her body dragged along the ground by the force of the blast. Quistis folded up in torment after her head hit a boulder.
The angry expression on his face would have cowed even the mighty Weapons of legends. Limping weakly toward the fallen instructor, the incubus fixed his piercing gaze at her. Quistis saw his looming form, but she was too weak to even conjure a White Wind summon. As he hovered on top of her, she let out a moan of painful helplessness. Sizzling hands slapped a tight grip behind her neck, drawing her near the enemy's ghastly face. She tried to push off but her battered hands refused to obey her command. Her mind grieved with the horrific cognizance that she had failed miserably.
"Your death will be the slowest of all my prey." He snarled, the revolting scent of unadulterated hatred lacing his indignant words. "You will feel the horror and the pain of your soul being torn away from your body. You will feel your shell crumple to an empty husk as I siphon off your life energies. You will die with your eyes wide open. And I will rejoice in the horror that I will paint on your face."
The aroma of death prevailed anew when the incubus drew his mouth near the instructor's. It hadn't even touched her lips yet but Quistis had already begun to feel her life essence being sucked out from her. Her eyes widened in horror and her body froze in fear as she sensed her spirit draining away.
"No!"
The incubus greedily sucked from the SeeD, fully intending to empty her of her life-giving essence. Her eyes started to rapidly blink as darkness began to engulf her vision. Quistis tried to gasp, but her breath seemed to leave as soon as she drew it. Her fingers clawed desperately on the ground in overwhelming horror. She wanted to scream, but her voice had likewise abandoned her.
It was then that the soul reaper's eyes widened, as if in shock. Instead of the replenishment that he expected, he subsequently sensed a brutal sensation that stabbed into his being like a smoldering knife. All of the sudden, the incubus found himself desperately struggling to push himself away from the instructor, unable to bear the burning bitterness that began to infuse into his immortal cells. With a mighty effort, the soul reaper frantically pried himself away from the instructor.
It took a while before the convulsions besieging the SeeD's body came to a halt. Quistis coughed furiously, fighting to regain the breath that she almost lost. She then noticed the incubus as he doubled up on the ground, appearing to be in great pain. Puzzled by this turn of event, she tried to pull herself away just as the enemy groped to gather every iota of strength he could muster.
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He was faster that Hunter remembered. Every punch and every kick whined loudly and left a trail of afterimage as a manifest to its deadly quickness. Each parry and each block sent a staggering jolt in his entire body. Never has he seen Liu Kang fight as ferociously. He was out for blood. He was fighting for keeps.
The dark knight had opted to stay on the defensive in hopes that his former colleagues would somehow regain control of their minds. But the more he avoided the attacks, the more his attacker grew vicious. Barely avoiding a hand-knife lunge, Hunter failed to see an incoming reverse kick. It planted deep into his stomach and drove most of the air from his lungs. Agonized, wheezing sounds emanated from the dark warrior's mouth as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Yeah, that's it!" Liu Kang continued to press. "The more you hesitate, the more your ally draws to her end."
A fit of rage shot up to his head as he remembered Quistis. Though Hunter knew that he was only being goaded to go on the offensive, he was also aware of the truth in Liu Kang's spiteful words. Quistis needed him, and he had to end this quickly. With a quick pivot, Hunter caught a straight punch with his right hand. He then pulled Liu Kang's arm past him before planting a left elbow to his midsection followed by a right backhand to his face. The brown-skinned combatant reeled back from the impact.
Liu Kang dabbed a finger on his bloodied lips, then licked the blood off his finger. "Alright, now you're ready to dance."
The ensuing scene was like one taken from a first rate martial arts movie. Hunter and Liu Kang exchanged blows and parried each other's attacks relentlessly. Each blocked offensive was swiftly followed by another speeding attack as their arms, hands and legs collided resoundingly in their efforts to connect one solid blow that may decide the outcome of the battle. Hunter lashed out with a sweeping punch that was deftly dodged by Liu Kang, who then used his opponent's momentum to push him aside. Back against the enemy, the dark knight instinctively stuck his leg out, catching Liu by surprise when he tried to take advantage of the situation. He doubled up in pain after his solar plexus caught the business end of Hunter's foot. Without even turning around, Hunter followed up with a twisting midair kick that struck Liu Kang on the face, sending him spinning uncontrollably in the air before landing on his back with a loud thud.
The embattled foe looked up to his associates. Blue Mary and Kasumi understood and subsequently launched themselves in the air. Hunter ducked to evade the onrush, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the follow up as the two ladies simultaneously landed crushing kicks on his chest. Hunter was again forced on the defensive, frantically using his arms and legs to block their relentless attacks that didn't give him enough room to regroup. Kasumi got lucky with a clawing slash that caught him by the chest, ripping his black jumpsuit open. The lady warrior smiled as she looked at the nail marks left on Hunter's chest.
"You're slipping, dearie." She echoed spitefully. "Or is that a sad trade-off of old age, hmm?"
Kasumi was right, he thought. He wasn't fighting them to full capacity, either because he got used to battling far inferior adversaries since his awakening or the cryo-sleep process had adversely affected his efficiency. There was a time when he could toy with the entire knight class and fight them all at the same time without even breaking a sweat.
At least his instincts were as sharp as ever. The same instincts that brought his hand to his back in catching Liu Kang's sneak attack. Letting loose a jarring kick of his own, Hunter didn't see Blue Mary charging with a closed fist. The dreaded power punch struck him squarely at the side of his rib cage and sent him rolling over the filthy ground. This time, the dark knight couldn't avoid hollering in pain. He felt at least three ribs collapse due to that blow.
"Payback time, stud." Blue Mary exclaimed, which she followed with another hard right into Hunter's jaw. Dazed by the punishment he received, the overwhelmed dark knight squinted at his former charges as they gathered around him with the intent to land the deathblow.
"ARRGGHHH!!!" The troika simultaneously winced as a bluish-white power surge suddenly engulfed them. They shivered violently as the bright light seemed to distort the very fabric of their beings. A perplexed Hunter just looked on as his lost friends started to disintegrate.
He was confused at first, but the dark knight slowly realized what was happening. The incubus was recalling them. Whatever was happening with the enemy must be grave enough for him to take back the souls he released. He must be getting desperate. What could the instructor have possibly done to him?
"Quistis!" He remembered that the SeeD was fighting the incubus all by herself. Hunter ignored the pain as he struggled to his feet, hoping that he wasn't too late.
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Eerie, gurgling sounds emanated from the incubus as he appeared to suffer from some unknown contagion. Even the warrior souls that he recalled weren't enough to give him back the strength that he lost when he tried to ingest the instructor's spirit. In his agony, his tortured eyes trained unbelievingly toward Quistis, who was none the less puzzled by the surprising turn of events.
"This cannot be!" His burbling voice gushed out torturously. "Why did I not see it?"
She looked at the death-bringer, confused at his sudden transformation. Only a few moments ago, she was fighting for her life against an enemy who wielded power enough to conquer a whole army. Even though she was a SeeD and therefore a rough equivalent of an entire battalion of soldiers, her capabilities still didn't lend much confidence when matched against one who could have fought Ultimecia to a standoff.
Now he was groveling like a defenseless drug addict. Something deadly had assaulted him, and she has got to know what it was. This might just be the break she had been waiting for.
"I could not believe it No one survives my all-consuming power to siphon human spirits. No one" The incubus labored in between gasps for breath. "You there has to be some measure of deceit in your soul. Corruption, lies, deception"
Enlightenment began to flood the instructor's mind. There could be only one explanation for the soul devourer's sudden vulnerability. And that explanation was inside her.
"Look yourself in the mirror. Are you not fearless, mighty and skillful? You wield almost unparalleled intelligence and cunning, refinement and finesse. And your beauty surpasses that of anyone's I have ever seen. There is little doubt that you are the most beautiful woman on the face of this planet You brandish the grace of an empress, the renown of a legend and the power of a goddess
"You are a Queen! Do you not dwell in any of these? Is your soul not CORRUPTED with even a single measure of vainglory?!?"
It was obvious from his efforts that the soul devourer was enticing Quistis to the tempting call of self-exaltation. For only through this could he ever hope to conquer her. It now became clear to the astute SeeD that though her enemy devoured souls, he could only devour souls that are deluded with self-deception and struggling vanity. Souls such as those belonging to Squall, who sought to fill in responsibilities ahead of his age; Seifer, who still strove to be larger than his life would otherwise permit; Rinoa, vehemently clawing to live up to expectations; Zell, with his continued pursuit to emulate his grandfather; Irvine, still struggling to find peace with himself; and Selphie, who refused to make peace with her own sorrows
With their varied but similar vanities and insecurities, they would have easily fallen prey to the incubus whose powers specifically sought the colors and shades of self-deception in man's spirit. They would surely have perished had they been here to do battle with him.
And Quistis had repeatedly endeavored to free herself from vain deceit and false glorification no matter how much they were within her reach. Her stubborn pursuit to cleanse her soul from the call of arrogant and lofty praise was the very thing that saved her life.
The Queen is dead.
"No I do not dwell in any of these. Maybe I did, once. But I'm over with that useless struggle." She echoed both proudly and humbly. "If there is one area that I lord over, one sovereignty where I am queen... that is myself. I am the master of my own identity... the queen of my own soul."
She now knew. She now wielded the weapon that can vanquish the enemy. A soul bereft of pretension, corruption and lies is POISON to the soul devourer.
Long live Quistis Trepe!
And it was now time to end this terrible war. Quistis mustered all her might in hurling the flexible Save the Queen toward the incubus. It wrapped itself tightly around the enemy's neck, eliciting a frightened snarl from him.
"NO!"
She pulled hard to draw his face before her. And before the soul reaper could even react, the resolute instructor pressed her mouth tightly against his.
End of Chapter Nineteen