It happened faster than they could even react. One moment, the two boys were all alone in a park, under the moon's dim light, then in the blink of an eye, without alerting their senses or detectors, a Warlock had suddenly managed to sneak up on them and impaled the Puerum Magi leader through his abdomen with its clawed hand. Blood pooled at Mamoru's feet, the boy's breath shaky and hoarse as shock overwhelmed the pain surging through his body. Having been struck in a vital area, everything just seemed to slow down for the two boys as Takuya's mind rushed to come up with a way to save him.
Two feet in front of him, a Warlock held his friend hostage in its grip and was mere seconds away from killing him. His hand shivered, his body tensed, and when the Warlock lifted its other clawed hand to finish the job, Takuya threw himself at them in act of sheer desperation and grabbed Mamoru by the shoulder.
Summoning his Soul Key into the other hand, he plunged knife-shaped device into his Soul Gem and the chest-mounted jewel brimmed with energy as the transformation barrier formed around him and Mamoru, severing the Warlock's arm that had impaled his friend while the force of the dome-shaped barrier sent the spectral creature flying back. Like a gust of wind that blew the Warlock of its feet, the creature slowed its flight to a halt a few feet away from them and let out a low snarl of annoyance.
Takuya, now donning his Puerum Magi gear, quickly ripped out the Warlock's arm from the unconscious boy's abdomen and sparked his hand with Restoration magic to heal the wound, "Mamoru? Mamoru!" the boy groaned weakly in his arms, but he was thankfully still alive. Then, Takuya looked back at the Warlock, its severed arm regenerating as his Soul Gem's A.I module scanned the creature.
"Scanning enemy Warlock. Recognized: Warlock 122, Simplicio. Threat level: Very high. Suggesting retreat."
Seeing as how the scans perceived the previous Warlock, Zed, as a threat that could be taken on despite his overwhelming power, Takuya was wary about this one. This Warlock looked more like a ghost rather than a tangible, 'living' being like Zed was, it's lean and jagged figure twitched erratically as it wore a mask that could only be described as the broken remains of a wolf's skull merged with its face. Pale, yellow eyes glared at the archer, its hands a sick combination of a wolf and human's limbs, but what disturbed Takuya the most, was that while he could see the Warlock, he could not sense the aura of a Warlock from it.
"Kill... Hunger..." Simplicio's words echoed through its mask, the Warlock's legs crudely and slowly splicing together into a single 'tail' as it floated above the ground and turned its attention to Takuya. The archer took careful a step back, "We... kill... targets!" Simplicio then lunged at them like a rabid animal and swung its clawed fists through the air.
Takuya jumped to the side with Mamoru in his arms as Simplicio's fist left a smoking crater where he previously stood. Carrying the Puerum Magi leader on his shoulder, Takuya got up to his feet and saw the Warlock with its fist deep within the concrete. It pulled out its claw from the ground almost effortlessly and wiped the dirt from its armored limb, "I need to get Mamoru out of here!" was what raced through his mind before the Warlock dove at them again. Firing his grappling hook at a nearby tree, Takuya vaulted over its ebony claws and swung away before it could slash at him again.
The Puerum Magi leapt from tree branch to tree branch, firing his grappling hook at lamp posts and trees to swing around hard turns as Takuya could hear the Warlock pursuing him like a berserk ghost. The Warlock tore its way through anything in its path to get to him, cleaving wood and metal alike in half with its sharp claws while swiftly flying over the treeline.
Firing his grappling wire around another lamp post, Takuya gasped when Simplicio suddenly threw a sharpened piece of metal and severed the lamp post by the base, "Not yet!" Takuya's Restoration magic surged through his hands, traveled through the wire and into the lamp post, immediately reattaching it to its base and allowing Takuya to swing from it as Simplicio's claws grazed past his face. Takuya gulped and clicked his grappling hook to accelerate his reeling wire and distance himself from the Warlock, "There it is!" he shouted when he finally saw the park exit in the distance.
Swinging and jumping towards the exit, Takuya soared out of the park and into the empty streets of Mitakihara. But when he aimed his grappling hook at the building rooftops, Simplicio once more threw another sharpened piece of metal and the projectile impaled his right arm. His grappling hook jammed and the Takuya held onto Mamoru tight as they crashed onto to the ground and tumbled underneath a few parked cars on the side of the road.
Takuya clenched his teeth in pain from the piece of metal jutting from his forearm and suppressed a small cry. Hiding underneath a few simple cars, he grabbed Mamoru with his uninjured arm and pulled him close. Simplicio's agitated growling suddenly erupted nearby and Takuya didn't move a muscle in his body as it sounded like it was right above them. Bits of saliva dropped onto the concrete in the corner of his eye, the Warlock letting out a howl that echoed through the streets and sent a chill down the boy's spine.
"Where are you?!"
Slowly panting, Takuya heard the Warlock's voice becoming more distant over time and from this short encounter alone, he realized that if they couldn't sense the Warlock, then the Warlock couldn't sense them. It relied fully on its eyes like anything else and once the Warlock seemed to have finally left the area for now, Takuya let out a sigh and crawled out from under the car to see that the coast was clear. Looking at the closed stores and shops around them, he pulled Mamoru out as well and sneaked his way into one of the stores through a backdoor he simple broke open with brute force.
The store he had chosen to hide in was a simple grocery store with basic accommodations. That was all Takuya needed, the brunette already tired from the pursuit as he laid Mamoru down behind the counter and fetched some compression wraps and medicine from the shelves.
He sat down beside the unconscious boy, looked hesitantly at the piece of metal stuck in his right arm and grit his teeth as he prepared to remove it.
Nearly half an hour had already passed since Takuya and Mamoru hid inside the small convenience store. With no way to know whether the Warlock was still out there and only their wits and everything they've learned to help them, Takuya did not know if they could escape without confronting the enemy itself. The archer's arm had at least mostly healed up under the wraps sealing the wound and he had restored his grappling hook to perfect condition with his magic, but Mamoru was still unconscious and with no battle plan, it was going to be a straight-up fight between him and Simplicio.
Takuya peeked his head from below the counter and monitored the windows. Pulling his aviator googles over his eyes, he looked over to Mamoru's unconscious body and softly caressed the boy's cheek. There was no other option. If they tried to escape, Simplicio would surely find them, and Takuya wouldn't forgive himself if his stupidity got the both of them killed. "Stay here, okay? I'll be back in a jiffy."
As long as the Warlock doesn't stumble anywhere near here, Mamoru should be safe, he thought, emptying an energy drink he had taken from the store fridge and getting to ihs feet. With that done, Takuya made his way out the backdoor and restored the lock he had previously broke open to keep Mamoru safe. His right arm still ached, but pain was temporary, he always said to himself. So, after taking a deep, long breath, he promptly sprinted his way across the street and back into the park to lure the Warlock away from Mamoru and any civilians in the area. He shouted at the Warlock at the top of his lungs, taunting it with vulgar words that only Hideki would spout.
Standing underneath the warm light of a lamp post, Takuya's coat tails fluttered in the wind and his fingers held onto the energy bowstring of his manifested weapon. The energy bow forming from his left hand's gauntlet flickered like a flame in the dark as Takuya patiently waited for the sound of the berserk Warlock's approach, "Where is it...?" keeping his ears open, he waited for the slightest noise in the dark or the slightest ruffle of a bush that would indicate something. But, there was nothing at first, and that scared him more than anything.
A long shadow was cast from Takuya under the light of the lamp posts that lined up the park's concrete path. He paced through the park, taking ginger steps with his fingers holding tightly onto the bowstring. Then, without a sound that could alert the boy to its presence, the Warlock Simplicio arose from the shadow that Takuya was creating like a man emerging from a pool of water. Hovering silently behind the boy, it raised its hand above the boy's head and its claws, upon being bared, let out an soft but audible 'snikt'.
Takuya drew in a sharp breath, spun around and screamed in pain as the claw tore through his chest's leather armor like paper. He fired the arrow in his grip reflexively and the shot struck the lamp post above him, leaving the panting, sweating boy in the dark as the Warlock suddenly disappeared into the darkness.
He gripped his bleeding chest in pain. How? Where did it come from? Scrambling to his feet, Takuya leaned on another lamp post and took out whatever medical supplies he kept in his armor's pockets to seal the wound quick before drawing another arrow on his bowstring. This time he spun around left and right, aiming his bow in every direction to make sure that nothing sneaked up on his back again. A second too late, and he would've been decapitated from that previous blow. But, at same time, that attack gave him some information that Sanbey always told them to keep an eye out for: if the Warlock had been doing nothing but slash at him, then that means the Warlock had to be in close range at all times to attack.
As long as he can restrain it and get a clear shot of its face, he could win.
A few bushes to his right rustled with movement and was quickly sheared into pieces from a volley of Takuya's arrows. The trees above suddenly moved and Takuya sprayed another barrage at them.
Nothing behind them, to the archer's frustration. The Warlock was suddenly acting smart and displaying a power he could not figure out.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw movement, slow and silent. Before he could react, Simplicio suddenly sprang up from ground under him and left a large, gaping wound that ran up his back with one slash of its claws. Blood sprayed onto the concrete and grass, the Puerum Magi feeling as if his back was on fire, but he fought through the tears and jumped into air. Spinning around with a drawn arrow, he channeled everything he had into this single arrow, the projectile flaring like a bolt of lightning in his grasp, and with all his determination put into this one blow, the arrow launched straight at the Warlock's face.
The arrow harmlessly passed right through its face and cleaved the tree behind the Warlock in half.
As the tree toppled over, Takuya landed on his feet and his eyes widened with shock behind his aviator googles. His legs starting to buckle under him due to the amount of blood that ran from his back, Takuya desperately fired a volley of arrows at the Warlock and Simplicio just stood there almost mockingly as the arrows phased right through everything but its armored claws. Radiating no Obscurum energy and appearing whenever there was darkness, Takuya could not focus nor think on how to defeat a practical living shadow that he couldn't even harm.
Simplicio then pounced on the archer to get rid of him once and for all, but the Puerum Magi quickly fired his hook at a nearby tree and sped away.
Takuya simply ran. With no means to practically harm it, the Puerum Magi sprinted, jumped and grappled his way back to Mamoru's location. But the Warlock was right on his tail as every movement he made was hindered every turn by the arising pain from the injuries on his back.
He swung out of the park and as he felt all his strength leave him, Takuya dove underneath the same few cars that he had hid under earlier and winced when he landed on his wounded back. Takuya did not expect this to work twice, but there was no where else to hide, and the Warlock itself knew that. The moment it came out of the park, the Warlock saw the trail of blood that Takuya had been leaving and started to eye every single potential hiding spot in sight. It bared its claws and started upturning cars and tearing apart all sorts of things that it thought Takuya was hiding in.
"I can smell your fear!" Simplicio roared as it struck a nearby car onto its side and ripped open its doors before turning to another car.
Takuya could hear it getting closer and closer. Manifesting an arrow pointlessly into his hand, the Puerum Magi started to tremble when it was just meters away from discovering him. He could feel himself starting to pass out from blood loss, he was seconds away now from staring face-to-face with a Warlock, then, something caught his eye. From around the corner, Takuya spotted a recovered Mamoru crouching behind cover as he manifested his puppeteer gloves into his hands and fired his strings from his fingertips at a nearby car. His Control magic surged through the marionette strings and into the car, and once he retracted them, the car's engine kick-started and the empty vehicle frantically sped away.
Simplicio saw the car and pursued the speeding vehicle down the street while Takuya could only let out a weak smile as Mamoru ran up to him. Pulling him out from underneath the car, Takuya's already mind was hazy from the amount of blood he had lost, so the next few minutes were nothing but a blur of events. His vision was cloudy, his ears heard nothing but a constant ear-piercing ring, and after an uncertain amount of time, his vision cleared for him to stare at the ceiling of the shop he was hiding in earlier. His body ached, his back wound was sealed with compression wraps and lied down on the floor, a makeshift pillow of sacks placed under his head.
He heard a few soft footsteps and turned his head to see a sight for sore eyes as Mamoru stepped back into the counter with some medicine, wet towels and drinks in his arms. The green-haired boy saw that he was awake and crouched down beside him with a relieved smile, "I was worried that you wouldn't wake up. How are you feeling?" he took the wet towels and started wiping away the remaining dried blood off Takuya's face and the holes in his leather armor. His aviator googles and cap had been taken off as well, placed to the side.
Takuya quietly winced, "Where's t-the Warlock?"
"It's still pursuing us; the car trick did not lure him very far, but I at least managed to divert its attention elsewhere for now," Mamoru looked out the windows for the Warlock before continuing to tend to his friend, "Can you stand? If you're able, the both of us should be able to-"
"You can't," Takuya coughed out a protest, sitting upright with a canned drink in his hand, "You can't harm it. I tried, but, everything I do just goes right through it. It's like a shadow, appearing right under you, and while you can't harm it, it can harm us..."
Hearing the defeat in his voice, Mamoru took the moment to think as he threw away the bloodied napkins and sat beside Takuya. Letting the injured boy lean on his shoulder for comfort, Mamoru said, "That would explain how it managed to appear before us in an instant, but that doesn't explain why we can't sense any sort of Obscurum aura when it's around like the other Warlocks," he bit his thumb in thought as his eyes narrowed, "Living shadow... Living... shadow."
Then, he remembered Zed the Oracle and the possessed security guards that attacked him and Tateyama in the Hierophant Club.
"What is it?" Takuya asked and an idea seemed to spring in his friend's head.
"What if... there's something controlling it?" Mamoru theorized, "Nibey said that the Warlocks are beings of Obscurum energy. If we can't sense any from it, then there must be at least something that's manifesting it, controlling it from afar so we can't detect its source. Tateyama and I encountered something similar a few days ago when Zed attacked, so if we can find this possible 2nd Warlock and eliminate it... we could two birds in one stone."
His theory sounded reasonable. That was just it: a theory. But at the same time, they knew nothing about the Warlock attacking them except for what they could guess about it. It was up to them to figure out how it worked and how could they kill it. With no other way out of here, Takuya turned his injured body to his friend and said, "Then, what do are we going to do? Simplicio would just chase us down."
"Simple, Takuya," Mamoru quickly answered, "I'll act as a diversion while you find-" the brunette suddenly grabbed his shoulders, his grip tightening with worry spread all across Takuya's face. The wounded brunette opened his mouth to protest, but Mamoru was also quick to reassure him as he held a finger over his lips, "Takuya, trust me. You're too injured to deal with Simplicio again. Your healing powers can work on everything but yourself, therefore I can't have you charging into a fight again to be hurt when any wound I'd take could just be healed by you. Please, leave Simplicio to me."
His words were gentle, more than they ever will be around others, and it was enough to make Takuya go along with his plan, but not ease his worries, "Alright," Takuya softly answered, glancing to side and taking his hands off his friend's shoulders, "Just... be careful..."
Mamoru smiled again and his hand flashed as he materialized his ornate ax into his hand. The boy offered the weapon to the archer by the hilt and said, "Now, I'll need you to listen very carefully..."
The cold winds of Mitakihara blew through the quiet night as the Warlock, Lucio, knelt down on the rooftop of a tall, abandoned building. The hood of his cloak was pulled back to reveal his half-black, half-white mask, the Warlock silently keeping still on the roof while the eye slit on the black side of his mask had a wire that crudely connected his eye to a device attached onto his back.
Electric-like sparks of purple energy surged through the wire, and through this eye, Lucio could perceive everything Simplicio saw in his hunt for the two Puerum Magi. Everything Simplicio heard, he hears, whatever he saw, Lucio sees. To control the Warlock that had been bonded to him as his detachable shadow, Lucio quietly and calmly ordered the berserk Warlock through the telepathic link they had. It had been 20 minutes since they had sight of the Puerum Magi again and Simplicio was already becoming antsy, much to Lucio's chagrin.
"Where are they?! Why aren't we killing yet?! I demand blood!"were some of the subtle thoughts that ran through his rabid partner's mind as he upturned cars and shredded apart anything in sight to find the Puerum Magi. It was the 2nd time they had managed to escape Simplicio's sight and this made the Warlock very impatient.
It was only Lucio, aside from their leader, Phantom, that could rein in the blood-thirsty Warlock. If worse comes to worse, he'd had to activate the electric collar to ease him or take control of his body himself, "Calm down, Simplicio. The Puerum Magi couldn't have gotten far with those injuries. Search the areas near their previous location and try to find a proper lead. I have a feeling that both of them are still alive."
"Kill!" Simplicio chanted, annoying his partner as Lucio wished that the berserker would be more efficient and subtle in his work.
Still, the information provided by that white Puella Magi proved useful, as the Puerum Magi were in fact here, as she had advised them. Lucio found it odd that Phantom would trust the words from a Puella Magi after years being on the run, but he assumed that there was no harm in gaining allies rather than making more enemies. The Puerum Magi alone were a threat already, and while Lucio found no pleasure in killing children, it was to be done on Phantom's orders. Lucio was in fact quite disappointed when he found out of himself that their targets really were no more than 14 years-old - he expected more of the dreaded Warlock Hunters that slaughtered their kind - but that mattered little to Simplicio, who suddenly let out a howl.
"I see our quarry!"
Lucio refocused onto the mission at hand and through Simplicio's eyes, he saw the leader of the Puerum Magi all by himself, running back into the park in a rush. The other one must have died from his injuries Simplicio inflicted on him then, but that didn't matter. The leader was their main target all this time, "Pursue him, Simplicio."
"Finally!" Simplicio let out another wolf-like howl that echoed through the streets as he flew into the dense, tree-filed park and chased down the Puerum Magi with reckless abandon. Passing through trees with his intangible body, Simplicio caught up to the Magi instantly, "There you are!" Simplicio swung his weapons at the boy and sharpened claws dug into the protective steel of the Magi's buckler shield in his hand. The boy jumped back from the force of the blow and slid underneath the dim light of a lamp post.
Simplicio snarled at the boy, bloodlust and primal instincts already starting to overtake his senses.
But upon close inspection from Lucio, the Warlock was surprised to see that the boy not only lacked the Puerum Magi's combat-wear, he was also unarmed. Their target only wielded a shield, a pair of white marionette-string gloves, and a third artificial arm that was strapped to his waist. Even more so, the boy looked ready to fight, despite his visibly shaking arms and legs saying otherwise. Lucio - to put it bluntly - did not understand this. Every target they've hunted down always ran when they felt fear, yet, this one decided to stand his ground. Before they eliminate him, Lucio wanted answers, and through their physic link, he took over his partner's body despite his protests.
"Puerum Magi," Lucio Simplicio called him, his calm voice now speaking through Simplicio's crude body, "Would you not prefer to run instead? You know well what will happen if you fight."
The Puerum Magi was visibly caught off-guard by the words coming through his mouth, but did not lower his shield or ease his stance, "Perhaps. But, I'd rather not make it fun for you, Warlock. You'd chase me down quickly, anyway," he gripped his shield with his left and artificial arm tightly and widened his legs into a more defensive stance, "Besides, I'd rather have it like this, just to show you how a Puerum Magi works. We do not hesitate to stand our ground against anything that challenges us."
Lucio could hear Simplicio shouting at him in the back of his mind to attack already. But, he ignored him. Entertained by their target's challenge, Lucio politely asked, "Your name, Puerum Magi. Tell me."
The boy was hesitant, but returned the politeness, "Tezuka Mamoru."
"Lucio Simplico. Before anything happens, I'd like to say that I mean no ill-will. This is purely out of duty. Now then-" releasing his control over his partner's body, Lucio then sat back and watched as Simplicio lunged at the Puerum Magi with both claws bared, "Is this what they call 'bravery' or 'foolishness'?"
"I'll rip out your spine for a trophy!"
Simplicio's sharpened claws left deep marks on Mamoru's shield as Lucio watched the battle through Simplicio's eyes. Sparks flew with every blow from the Warlock's flurry of attacks that scraped bits and pieces off the Puerum Magi's crackling buckler. Knowing that he could not harm the intangible Simplicio in return, the boy expertly ducked and vaulted over his blows, the Warlock's claws only managing to graze the boy's clothing while trees, benches and everything else around them were shredded into pieces during their fight. The boy had little to no strength in comparison to the one that slain Zed the Oracle, but he had skill make up for it.
Upon deflecting a strike from the Warlock with a backhand from his artificial arm, Mamoru shot him a smug smile and Simplicio let out an agitated roar. His eyes flashing red underneath his skull for a mask, Simplicio then dove into the shadows and disappeared to strike from an unseen angle like he did before to the archer. Lucio wondered if the Puerum Magi would figure out a way to counter this, and he did, as Mamoru quickly took his shield and threw it at the lamp posts around the area. The buckler shattered every single source of light, bouncing from one to another like a boomerang as complete darkness slowly encompassed the park.
Lucio had to applaud the boy, for if there were no lights to highlight his targets, then Simplicio could not know where to strike from.
While Mamoru acted as bait as they had planned, Takuya sneaked out from the backdoor to attempt and find whatever it is that was controlling Simplicio as Mamoru had lent him his double-sided ax to him. Putting on his comm piece to keep in touch with whatever was going on at Mamoru's position, he made sure that his friend's weapon was clipped to his belt securely before he fired his grappling hook at the nearest rooftop. It wrapped securely around a small sign and Takuya felt his torso wounds burn as he ascended into the air.
But pain was trivial in a situation like this. Over the comm piece, he could hear the sound of Simplicio's claws digging into Mamoru's shield, accompanied by the Warlock's rabid howling and the whirring of Mamoru's artificial arm as the Puerum Magi leader fought of the Warlock's attacks with no way to harm it back, "Quit moving around!" he heard Simplicio bark, promptly followed by a suppressed scream of pain from Mamoru that made Takuya grimace.
Stumbling in his landing on the rooftop, Takuya pressed on his injuries under his leather armor with one hand to make sure they didn't reopen and scanned his surroundings. He tried to find any sort of Obscurum energy nearby.
None, he thought, before firing his grappling hook again at another vantage point and swinging into the air. Maneuvering through buildings left and right caused his wounds to surge with pain as Takuya suppressed it and focused solely on finding an Obscurum reading. But for every second that passed as the archer swung through the empty streets, the worse Mamoru's fight against Simplicio went on as his pained groans only worsened in volume and frequency.
Dropping onto another roof, Takuya's body glove under his armor was drenched in sweat and blood seeping from his injuries. He heaved for air, wiping the sweat off his face before clenching his hands in frustration, "How am I supposed to find the Warlock in a town this big?!" his distressed yell echoed through the cold air and he pulled out the Warlock/Witch detector from his pocket. Takuya only grew more stressed as the device picked up nothing so far despite the scanner's high range, the low 'beep' it let out aggravating him as simply put away the useless device.
Biting his lip, he was about to drop his knees in defeat, when he heard another pained yell over the comms.
"End of the line, whelp!" he heard a large noise of something shattering as that could only have been Mamoru's shield finally succumbing to the damage inflicted on it.
Mamoru's breathing sounded hoarse, interrupted by pained wincing as Takuya could only imagine the injuries he had sustained up to this point, "I disagree... This is... far from over... I will not... lose to a mindless creature such as you. Come... is this all a pathetic creature like you can do? I'm not done fighting yet... Show me what passes for fury among your bloody, misbegotten kind!"
"You stubborn worm!"
Hearing the determination behind those words, the scream of tenacity that rivaled even Hideki's stubborn attitude, Takuya gave himself a mental slap on the face and got up to his feet. Sanbey told them that only with a clear and serene mind would they win against a Warlock, would they be able to gain the power to slay them, and with renewed resolve, Takuya simply knelt down and concentrated on his Puerum Magi senses. He closed his eyes, shutting out everything that would only distract him, even the comm piece in his ear, and in a few seconds, felt everything suddenly becoming clearer than before. Takuya felt every single change in his surroundings: the sounds of cars in the distance, the slight howl of the wind, and very faintly, a reading of Obscurum energy.
"There!" Takuya's eyes shot open when he felt a Warlock's presence nearly a hundred meters away from where he stood and wasted no time firing his grappling hook as the Puerum Magi swung towards the Warlock's position. Soaring through the air, jumping off the sides of buildings and pushing every single acrobatic skill he had learned from his time as a performer to the forefront, Takuya's injuries cried out in pain as adrenaline surged through the boy's body. Everything moved in slow motion, he swung at speeds he could not reach normally and in less than a minute, he saw his target.
The 2nd Warlock was crouched down on a building with its back facing him. Ripping Mamoru's axe from the clip that attached it to his belt, Takuya then leapt into the air one last time, and with all his might, flung the axe at the Warlock.
The weapon spun towards the Warlock, and as the ax neared it, the Warlock suddenly flipped into the air and caused the weapon to harmlessly fly past its back.
Takuya landed on the roof with his knees bent, drawing his energy bow into hand as the Warlock and him now stood on the same roof, mere meters apart. With one hand touching the clip that had been holding onto Mamoru's ax, the Warlock faced him, wearing a cloak that shrouded everything but its black and white mask. A wire connected its left eye to a small backpack he carried, and in a calm tone, the Warlock addressed him, "So, you found me. I was wondering where you were. I didn't expect that you two would figure it out so quickly, or at all even. Very impressive."
Takuya stealthily channeled Restoration magic into the clip on his belt, not caring how genuine if at all for the Warlock's impressed attitude towards their efforts, "It wasn't easy. But it's over. You're cornered."
The Warlock then chuckled softly, summoning two large crescent moon-shaped blades into its hands as the weapons dwarfed even the Warlock itself. Looking like they could cut a car in half in one swing, the Warlock turned to him and began walking towards the Puerum Magi, "I apologize, for this is going to hurt-" the Warlock's sentence abruptly ended, as the ax that Takuya had thrown previously suddenly flew into its back, the blade chopping through its backpack and digging deep into its spine, "W-What?! How?!"
Channeling his Restoration magic into the ax's damaged clip on his belt that Takuya had deliberately broken, the repairing nature of his magic had caused the ax fly back to Takuya to reattach itself to its clip. Just as Mamoru had advised him, they calculated that doing this with an enemy in front of him would make for an effective boomerang effect that would catch the Warlock completely off-guard. Takuya watched as the Warlock dropped to its knees in pain, electricity surging from the backpack it had been carrying as it held onto the sides of its head in panic.
"No! I-I can't contain it! Simplicio-!" it screamed in pain, "No!" panic-ridden words were the Warlock's last, as the backpack it carried suddenly detonated in black ball of light that blew encompassed the entire rooftop and blew Takuya off the building.
Firing his grappling hook at the first thing in sight, the archer's hook wrapped around a pole on the side of the building and spun in the air to reorient himself, his hook slowing down his descent and allowing him to land safely on his feet with acrobatic expertise. The smell of smoke filled the air as Takuya breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when he looked at his belt and saw that Mamoru's axe had already reattached itself to his belt when he wasn't looking. With the Warlock finally dead, he reached for his comm piece and turned to the direction of the park, only to hear deep, maniacal laughter from the rooftop above.
Turning around, Takuya's eyes widened as he looked up to see the Warlock's simmering figure standing up once more amongst the smoke. This time, he heard a different voice altogether from it, one that sounded entirely like the spectral Simplicio, "I'm free!" the Warlock screamed in delight, laughing as Takuya realized that they had made a grave miscalculation, "I'm finally free from that bastard! Free from the bonds those bastards placed on me! Now then...!" the Warlock looked down on him, still holding the giant blades in its hands, "I'll finish both of you myself!"
"Die already!" Simplicio hissed, seizing Mamoru by the throat and pinning him against the remains of a shredded tree. The Puerum Magi's buckler shield lying on the ground in pieces, the boy used two hands to pry the Warlock's claws from his windpipe. When he saw the Warlock's other hand about to launch at his stomach, Mamoru's third arm quickly caught the claw by its wrist, the tip of the Warlock's fingers centimeters away from impaling him as the artificial arm had physical strength on par with the Warlock.
But, Simplicio's other hand was still around the boy's neck and Mamoru felt its grip around his windpipe suddenly tightening. His third arm was too busy dealing with Simplicio's other claw, his two hands combined couldn't even pry off the other one from his neck, and with all the blood that seeped from his sustained wounds all over his body, Mamoru felt his strength already wavering. His mind began to blur from the lack of oxygen, his eyes started to bulge and the last of his conscious started to seep away.
Then, a stroke of luck shined on Mamoru in the form the Warlock's own strength suddenly waning, "What the Hell is going on?!" the Warlock shrieked, a collar around its neck letting out a high-pitched whine as Simplicio jumped back and pulled at the device. Mamoru dropped to the ground, gasping for air and coughing violently with a hand around his neck. In a flash of dark energy, Simplicio screamed as the Warlock's spectral body broke apart like glass until it physically and violently imploded in on itself, leaving a smoking collar that dropped to the ground.
Was it over? Mamoru thought, pulling himself to his feet and crying from all the injuries he had accumulated: multiple lacerations all over, possibly a broken rib or two, shattered bones here and there, internal bleeding, and lastly, one hell of an aching back. Thankfully, Takuya would only take a few seconds to heal all of this up. Nibey's training gave them a higher tolerance to pain as well, so would he had both of them to thank when they get back home.
Mamoru tapped on his earpiece, picking up the pieces of his shield from the grass, "Takuya, can you hear me? Did you find whatever that was controlling the Warlock?" listening in for an answer, Mamoru heard the same sound of Lucio Simplicio's cackling over the comms, and when Takuya answered him, he could hear the slight tone of distress in his voice, "Takuya!"
"Yeah, I did! But, something's happened! I broke this weird backpack he had and he exploded like a bomb! But he's not dead. Instead, he's now acting like that other Warlock! I think whatever that was controlling the other Warlock is now dead and-" the sound of a car exploding erupted from the comm piece, and in the far distance, Mamoru saw an explosion erupt at the same time, "I'm heading back to you know! I have a plan to stop this thing for good and I'm going to act as the bait this time!"
"No! We're falling back!" Mamoru shouted back, a hand around his bleeding abdomen, "We need to regroup and come up with a plan to-"
"There's no time for that right now! Mamoru, please, just listen to me! I trusted you to stay alive just now, so I want you to do the same for me! I'm going to lure it into the park and until I give the signal, I want you to hide and leave everything else to me! Trust me! Please!"
Hearing the conviction behind those words, Mamoru grimaced as he knew that there was no convincing him otherwise. When Takuya became determined to do something, he's becomes as stubborn as a mule. Mamoru didn't want to do this one bit, but with these injuries, there was no other choice but to stay low and let Takuya handle the situation this time. It was a complete reversal of their situation earlier and that did not escape his notice.
"Get back here, whelp!" the Warlock's voice suddenly echoed through the park, his voice becoming louder and louder as Mamoru hid in the brush and waited for the two.
Mamoru made sure to keep pressure on the most severe injuries he had while his Puerum Magi healing factor took care of the more minor ones. But, he was worried that if Takuya took too long, he would pass out from blood loss before the Lucio Simplicio could be defeated. His thoughts were then interrupted as Takuya suddenly swung into view, baring a few injuries as the boy zipped through the tree branches with acrobatic finesse that only the archer had. Behind him, the Warlock chased him down, wielding these enormous twin blades while it lunged at Takuya and swung his weapons with animal-like aggression. These heavy blades cut down the trees in its path almost effortlessly, but Takuya avoided these clumsy weapons with ease.
While Mamoru watched in awe as Takuya ran through the trees, going faster than he ever did, he noticed that Lucio Simplicio was now physically tangible. Its body collided into trees and plowed through branches that Takuya swiftly avoided, shrieking in anger whenever Takuya pelted it with a volley of arrows that cut deep into its body.
"Hold still, worm!" the Warlock's large weapons swung at the archer and Takuya flipped over their swinging arcs before delivering a swift, almost-mocking kick across the Warlock's face that only pissed it off even more, "You goddamn fly!"
Jumping through the trees left and right without the distinct use of his grappling hook, Mamoru pondered what his friend's plan even was. The anxiety of having to wait for a signal when he didn't even know the full plan or what Takuya intended to do was immense and Mamoru even began to sweat from this overwhelming pressure. Trust him, he thought, for if Takuya had the ability to do the same to him, then he had to return the same thing.
Suddenly, the Warlock managed to land a lucky strike as it threw one of its crescent blades at Takuya, the large weapons striking the tree he was about to land on and causing the archer to loose his footing as Takuya tumbled to the ground. He winced in pain, slowly getting up while the Warlock landed a few meters away from him, eager to land the finishing blow with his other blade.
Takuya spotted Mamoru hiding in the brush, and gave him a stern look to not assist him.
What are you doing?! He's right there! Mamoru's thoughts gave him the urge to just spring out from cover and take the Warlock's attention away from his friend. He wanted to take on the Warlock together, but the only thing that held him back were his injuries and his trust in his best friend.
The Warlock stepped up the kneeling archer, who keeled over in pain from his wounds. Cackling with his other gigantic blade returning to his hands, Lucio Simplicio raised its weapons in the air, the large blades casting a large shadow over the boy who chose to remain still as he de-materialized his energy bow and reached for his grappling hook's manual switch.
"Takuya!"
"Time to die!"
Flicking a switch on his grappling hook, the tables were finally turned on Lucio Simplicio, as out of nowhere, a thread of wires suddenly wrapped around the Warlock's entire figure and trapped him like a fly caught in the web of a spider, "What the-?!" the Warlock tried to break free, but the sheer strength and amount of wires that seized him made it utterly impossible. The razor wire dug into Lucio Simplicio's innards, tightening and tightening as they started to tear into his body and rip him apart.
Mamoru gasped, for upon getting a clearer look of what had happened, what Takuya did was that during the entire chase through the forest, he had been using his grappling hook all this time to leave a trail of wires as he went, taking turns around the trees and lamp posts all over the park with the speed of his evasive acrobatics taking all the attention of Lucio Simplicio so that it wouldn't notice this. He took advantage of Lucio Simplicio's simple-mindedness, blood-lust, and came up with this plan all on the fly, something that Mamoru had to commend him for.
Holding the Warlock perfectly where he wanted, Takuya looked at Mamoru and gave a cheeky smile, "Now, Mamoru! Finish this!"
"With pleasure!"
Mamoru jumped out of the brush with adrenaline rushing through his body and caught his double-sided ax as Takuya tossed him his weapon. Wielding his weapon with both his arms and artificial arm, Recicio energy surged through his fingertips and into his ax as the Warlock screamed at them to let them go, cursing both of their very existences to no end while Mamoru simply smirked, "My, my, how unfortunate that you have to die with as much dignity as a piece of garbage. Now, for all the trouble you gave us... for hurting my friend... for every sin you've committed..." he lunged at the vulnerable Warlock, wielding his ax with all three arms as the weapon glowed with immense golden energy and shouted, "I'll send you back to the depths of Hell myself!"
Lucio Simplicio let out one last howl of animal-like anger as Mamoru's ax cleaved its head from its shoulders, the strength from his artificial arm making the weapon cut through innards and bone like a butcher knife chopping through a thin piece of meat. Then, as its disintegrating head flew into the air, the integrity of the Warlock's body faded and its decapitated body broke apart under the strength of the wires. Lucio Simplicio's remains burst into bits and pieces and showered the two in black ooze, leaving only a black and white mask on the floor.
Mamoru dropped onto one knee, his face and ax coated in thick fluid as Takuya reeled his grappling hook's wire back into gauntlet. The Warlock was finally dead, and all due to the combined efforts of the two Puerum Magi.
Very quickly, Mamoru felt light-headed and lost his footing, only to drop into Takuya's warm arms that began radiating with Restoration magic. This healing magic, no matter how many times he felt it, was always something that had the sensation of pure bliss and comfort as all of his injuries disappeared without a single trace. Once he was all healed up, Mamoru got to his feet and turned to the injured archer, who simply smiled back at him with his usual happy charm like a puppy.
"Come on, let's head home," Mamoru softly said as he proceeded to carry his friend on his back, holding up his legs around his waist while Takuya arms wrapped gently around his neck.
Walking through the park, it was hard to see as Mamoru had destroyed most of the lamp posts in the area during the fight, so they lit the way with their Soul Gems' light. Rays of bronze and emerald lights shining the path in front of them, the long silence that went on, after a period of life-and-death combat, felt like a reward to them. The two said nothing to each other, as they were already grateful for the fact that they were even alive. Nothing needed to be said.
Finally exiting the dreaded park where much blood had been shed, they spotted a car down the road approaching them, its headlights blinding the two from seeing who the driver was. When the car parked on the side of road next to them, they were relieved to hear the voice of Takuya's guardian, Miss Narita, scolding them for staying up so late on a school night and questioning them why Takuya was once again all beat up.
"Would Miss Narita believe us if I said you got these injuries by accident again?" Mamoru asked the brunette on his back with a weak smile.
Takuya just let out a jovial laugh, despite the pain arising in his chest from doing so, "Ah, I think both of us are gonna be in trouble for this."
Warlock Stats Sheet.
Name and Code: Lucio Simplicio, 121/122.
Destructive Power: A
Speed: B
Range: A
Durability: A
Precision: D
Development Potential: D
Abilities:
Being 2 Warlocks forged into one being in the past to save their lives, Lucio can eject his living shadow, Simplicio, and guide him as the latter attacks their targets. The two despise each other but don't really show it, as a device on Lucio's back keeps him in control and will electrify Simplicio if he tries to destroy it. Simplicio can only be perceived by those that can sense Obscurum energy, the life force of a Warlock, and cannot be harmed nor interacted with the exception of his claws. His special ability is to teleport through the usage of shadows as long as there is a light source nearby to highlight his targets.
As for Lucio, using Simplicio forces him to stand complete still as he sees, hears and feels everything Simplicio does. He can still move his body, but he would not be able to perceive anything around his own body aside from a Puerum Magi's presence.
Weapons: Two crescent-moon shaped blades for Lucio and sharpened claws for Simplicio.