Persona: the Triple-A Chronicles
A suffocating darkness that no one saw...
A scaled arm hidden under the sea...
An armored justicar whose sword pierces evil...
This and many other things were the ones that marked my life in an outstanding way...
Someone once said "Time is given once, and never again." I realized sometime ago that he was wrong. In the night, time lies hidden… available only to those gifted to hunt, cursed to be hunted… This is the story of three persons, two chosen to have a dire fate, one made to have it…
Chapter IX: The Dark Atronach
The devil wasn't below us, but above us...
Capital Federal
Buenos Aires, Argentina
June 5th, Dark Hour
This wasn't good.
I was running as fast as i could down the stairs of the entire company building. In only forty seconds, i had reached the fourth floor. Ashley was there. She tried to ask me something, but i just released a quick "Stay here!" and continued running.
I didn't know how quick that Nanashi was, but i had seen already that he was powerful. My first though had been to go down and fight him with all four of us (Or actually, eight) but right now my thoughts were to get Nanashi away from the others. He had spotted me only. He was coming because of me, and i definitely wasn't going to risk the others for something that i had caused...
- Hi there.
I stopped on my feet with just the right amount of space. About two inches in front of me, there was a face that i had seen before. But right now it was slightly smiling.
I took two steps away. He was fast. He had moved all the way from that house to the third floor...
Nanashi looked, despite the lack of a better word, familiar. In fact, in person he looked pretty much like me, except for the hairstyle and color. We even had the same color of clothes (brown top, blue bottoms, black shoes). But he had a sword, a real medieval longsword hanged to his belt, and he did have a kind of cold aura around him. His smile, his quietness... it was practically more frightening that way than if he had attacked me right away.
- So you're the Persona user that i saw... I didn't know that there were any this far...
- Well, i'm kind of new to all this. And you are?
- I don't like names. They give them to you even before you're born, without knowing anything about you... Now, Persona names... those are true names.
- If you say so...
I got the impression that he wasn't there to fight, and i quickly and strictly decided not to attack first. I mean, Takaya had said so himself. We weren't trying to find him to fight, but to gather information...
Though, Takaya had also stated that he had attacked first when he encountered him before... but for some reason he wasn't doing it now... maybe he had some grudge with the Kirijo Group? If he did, then we would be in trouble if he found Takaya... With a subtle movement, i raised my hands from around my waist, subtlely turning the radio transmitter on.
- I didn't just see you. I sensed your calmness too...
- huh? what do you mean, my calm?
- Oh, It's an ability that i have. I can see the main feeling that a Persona user irradiates. Your Persona irradiates an intense amount of calmness.
- Well, i am a calm person.
Nanashi lifted a finger and pointed to the door that leaded to the stairs.
- Hers, on the other hand, shows a great amount of anger.
I looked to where he was pointing. Ashley slowly came out of her hideout, and stood by me.
- I told you to stay there.
- Would you?
- Of course i... wouldn't.
Nanashi's smile increased even further.
- Two Persona users in such a short time. This is most fascinating...
- I'm sorry... what do you mean "in such a short time"?
- Oh yes, forgive me. You see, i was hoping to increase the number of Persona users, but i was expecting to get results much later. You must be particularily talented to use this power...
- So, you're the one that is making the people here more aware of the Dark Hour?Why are you doing that?
- Oh, it's a story too long for now, i'm afraid. Let's just say it will make things much...
Nanashi suddenly stopped. He looked first at Ashley, then quickly at me. But he didn't look at our eyes. He looked down, straight to our... Uh, oh.
As i heard the unsheathing of Nanashi's sword, I inmediately raised my shield and placed myself between ourselves and him. Ashley took her knife and her evoker, which i cursed for having "Kirijo group" engraved. That was what Nanashi had seen. It seemed that he did have a grudge against them...
- That's why you awakened this quick... They gave you evokers...
- We would be shadow food if they hadn't. We owe them.
In the blink of an eye, Nanashi changed. His eyes turned wide open, his voice much more loud, and he laughed wildly. As wild as if we had told him the funniest joke ever heard. Ashley and me patiently waited until he finished to laugh, gripping our weapons ever stronger.
- So that's what they told you? that you need those things? You really underestimate your Personas, you two! Do you think that they would need such a feeble device to manifest themselves into this world? Tell me, what did the Kijiro Group ask you in return?
- They didn't ask anything in return. We're using them to save the people that cannot use Personas. People that are in danger because of you!
Against our beliefs, this didn't anger Nanashi. He changed back to his old, calmed self. But he didn't smile anymore.
- I cannot be blamed in that. It is something necessary for our kind to survive.
- Survive? How can that be useful to our survival?
Nanashi took a long time to answer. He looked above, to the ceiling, and sighed.
- My Persona... Has a unique ability. Besides being able to sense others' feelings, it can see where will those feelings lead to. It can, basically, see the future. And it has allowed me to see it too. And after letting me see it, he gave me a very important mission...
- What mission? what's going to happen?
Nanashi looked at us suddenly, as if he had just remembered that we were there.
- You don't need to know. If you didn't awaken your Personas by yourselves, then you're useless to my mission. I can't let you continue to spoil those that have a chance of salvation!
He raised his sword, and waved it, and altough we had been readying ourselves for a fight, we couldn't prepare for what happened.
We were pushed, literally pushed, by an unseen force. It was like if the air that Nanashi had moved with his sword had multiplied by a thousand times, taking away papers, desks, and ourselves. And we both heard, and felt, the crashing sound of something that goes through glass.
I opened my eyes, and inmediately regretted doing so. It was us what had crossed the window walls, and we were falling. Falling from the third floor...
Obviously, I yelled, and Ashley did too. we were going to crush ourselves against the street...
- KIROS!
I heard a bang above me, and suddenly we stopped, in the middle of the air. And just in time. We were only two meters away from the floor.
I looked above. Kiros was looking at us, with his eyes shining with its blood-red light.
- Whew... Nice thinking, Ashley...
Ashley smiled, and safely landed on the ground.
- Thank Kiros for giving me the... Andy! Watch out! -Said Ashley, and pointed up.
I looked up. For a milisecond, i decided between dodging and using the shield. I chose to dodge, and had just the right amount of time to move away. Nanashi came crashing down, and shattered the tiles on the street.
I didn't have the time to even think how did he do it. He quickly stood up and launched a vertical slash. I took the hit, and struggled with my shield against his sword. Our faces were at the same distance than before. But right now his face was far from smiling.
He was strong. He was slowly pushing me to the ground. I tried to reach for my evoker, that was in my belt, but using both hands to press against him, i couldn't do it...
Then a hand holding a spiked battle knife appeared before Nanashi, and lauched a stab at him, but Nanashi detected it and moved away, still getting scratched in his left shoulder. Ashley helped me get up, while i got hold of my evoker...
- Eargirith!
Eargirith appeared between me and Nanashi. He looked at me first, and i had the thought that he was saying "Why didn't you call me earlier?". I smiled to him, and he did too. I felt much more confident now that we had our Personas with us.
And now Nanashi had a line of blood flowing from his left shoulder. I felt more encouraged with that too. He wasn't that strong. We could beat him...
- So those are your Personas... I must admit i am quite dissappointed. Their power is very low.
- Don't worry, you'll see our power soon enough. - Said Ashley. She was smiling too, while Kiros standed in front of her, in some way of protection.
- Well, i know that ladies come first, but allow me to show you my power...
Nanashi placed his left hand on his head, and closed his eyes.
Everything started to shake. An earthquake was covering the area. Ashley and i lost balance and fell to the ground, but not him. Nanashi was standing without moving, as if the earthquake didn't bother him at all, which actually was the case.
He placed his hands on the back of his head, and we heard a crashing noise. Red shards of shining glass covered the area. Not only they weren't blue, but they were lots. Many, many more than the ones that formed any of our Personas... and a voice, a voice filled with rage and anger, a voice that we still remember in our nightmares, echoed through the entire street...
- Thou art I... And I am Thou...
The glass storm twisted and turned, and started to take form above Nanashi. Two strong, heavy arms, covered with scales and with sharp claws sunk on the ground. The voice sounded angrier than before...
- From the sea of your soul... i've come...to bring destruction on your enemies!
From the arms appeared an armored torso as big as Ashley and me together. Behind it, four bat wings stretched reaching to the sky. Below it, two long legs that ended in talons finished to form, and lastly, above it, a dragon head with flaming eyes. From its fang-covered mouth, two small lines of gray smoke rised and mixed with the clouds. I inmediately thought that if Eargirith was a half-dragon, this one definitely was a full one...
- I am Belmoth, The Raging Destroyer!
Ashley and I were both looking at the Persona. We had thought that Nanashi was powerful, specially after what Takaya had showed us. But we hadn't even gotten close to what it truly was. That Persona was just giving the impression that we were still alive just because it hadn't attacked us yet. I shivered for a second, and so did Ashley.
I looked at Eargirith, floating a few feet above me. It looked at Belomth, but he didn't seem scared. I inmediately stopped shivering. For a milisecond, i got back to my old, calm, analyzing self.
"Alright, surely, if it attacks, we won't have much chance to defend. Let's attack first..."
- Zionga!
Eargirith's gem shined, and he lauched a white ball of electricity to Nanashi, but Belmoth inmediately put his left hand between the two of them. The electricity wrapped all around it, but it only flinched a tiny bit. It was then, either inmune or resistant to lightning. For that second, i remembered thinking about seeing if Eargirith could use another element...
- Maragi.
Belmoth's eyes shined, and he opened his mouth. Kiros inmediately placed himself in front of ashley, and his eyes shined as well. Ashley looked at me, knowing that Kiros couldn't protect us both...
I inmediately fell on my knees to the ground, lowered my head, and placed the shield over my shoulders. We had practiced with Amy several times. In that posture, i was able to protect perfectly against an attack from the front. But we had never practived with an attack from all angles...
I heard a great blast, and felt the flames pushing above the shield. for a moment, i though the defense was working. But the flames began to slowly advance from the sides. Even if i was guarding from the front, it was going to roast me from the back...
But i heard a gun firing. And a short scream filled the air, and the flames stopped. I raised the shield, and my head. Belmoth had taken a step back, and his mouth was closed. Nanashi was holding the left side of his torso with his hand, looking angrily towards me. I looked back, and saw Takaya, Amy, Hypnos and Nienna. Takaya had revolvers in his hands, and one of them was smoking from the cannon.
- Too bad. I missed. - Said Takaya with a mild smile on his face.
- End of Chapter IX -