---Chapter 05: Blind Bird – 2---
What can be found beyond this void?
I'll find out if I ever stop falling…
---
"And these must be the reports- Thank you for your hard work, Inspector Howard Link."
Link replied to Inspector Malcolm C. Leverrier's words with a bow of his head, and then fell silent. For a while he just stood there with his eyes glued to the floor, until Leverrier's voice rang out again, so suddenly and dangerously near that he had to back off a few steps,
"Is something troubling you, Inspector Howard Link?"
"No." He shook his head. "Not at all, sir."
"Is that so," said Leverrier with a frown, "These bruises and scratches on your face have something to do with Allen Walker, don't they?"
"Of course not, Sir. I assure you, if Walker had done something like that, I would have finished reporting to you by now." Link felt the need to leave Leverrier's office at once. "If you'd excuse me- it's about time I go to Supervisor Lee's office for mission briefing…"
"True, you should get going. I made sure that Agent Madarao and Agent Tevak are coming, too."
Again Link didn't reply. He saluted and walked to the door. Just when he put his hand on the knob, he heard Leverrier calling out again, "Inspector Howard Link, you do remember what we fight for, don't you?"
"Of course, sir." Link didn't turn back, "We live and fight for Central."
"That is right. And if we are to make a sacrifice.…"
"… we shall do so, without hesitation."
"True enough. Now get going."
It seemed ages and ages ago that Allen had slapped him, that Allen had told him "Are you still even human?" As he shut the door closed behind his back, Link had a clear feeling that he had forcefully and violently separated himself from Allen Walker's path. In this wide world ruled by the wheels of fate, they were now no more than two little human beings wandering in opposite directions, towards different dimensions. Facing different destinies. Sweeping his thumb lightly across his swollen cheek, he heaved a sigh then started heading for Komui's office.
"It looks like it hurts."
Link looked up to find in front of him Exorcist Lavi and Exorcist Kanda Yuu. The Japanese was leaning nonchalantly against the wall with his arms crossed, while the redhead was sitting flatly on the floor, his long legs bent into an awkward angle. Apparently they had been there for a while. Link chose to ignore and walked past them, but Lavi never gave up. "Had enough of selflessness yet?"
Link glared. "I'm afraid I don't see your point, Exorcist Lavi."
"I wouldn't complain if you are just so proud and so eager about throwing away your own life." He shrugged. "But now that you're telling people to throw away their lives, I must say that I'm concerned."
"I never told anyone to throw away their life-"
"Just not yet. Not to mention you did tell someone to throw away other people's lives, it's just the same."
---
"Shouka… Kinki Sangenshiki… Let's go, Mugen."
"Kanda!"
Allen cried out in surprise, watching Kanda's figure all but disappear into a rapid blur of movement. The Japanese Exorcist flung himself forward; the pale white light that formed Nigentou fluttered like wings behind him. It was hard not to notice that the Twin Illusion Blades' color had degraded from dazzling azure blue to this pitiful misty shade of white. Allen didn't know how long Kanda could keep up with this, and the Japanese would not answer even if he asked, but he was sure it wouldn't be too long.
Leaning into the wall he was hiding behind, he tried to catch his breath and asked, "Lenalee, how's Lavi?"
"I can't stop the bleeding. That wound is so deep; he won't be able to move at this rate…"
Lenalee's face was unbelievably pale as she spoke emptily, blood trickling down from her temple and leaving crimson tracks all over her face. She put her right hand on Lavi's heaving chest; her left arm just hung uselessly to the side, her wrist twisted into a painful position. But then again, thanks to her agile method of fighting with Dark Boots, Lenalee was the one who bore the fewest injuries of them all. Allen himself had a deep cut across his stomach – in fact, he thought his stomach would have been sliced open if it hadn't been for his iron belt buckle – several gashes on his face and legs, a dislocation of the shoulder, and severe bruises on his right arm, which had withstood such vigorous impacts that it shook visibly every time he forced it to lift the cross-marked sword. Lavi's situation was even worse; even though he was still clinging tightly onto his size-shifting hammer, he was barely conscious. The red hair was tainted with a fiercer crimson color as the wound on his skull continued to leak; his body was covered in glass shards, one of which had almost found its way to destroy the single green eye he had left. A frighteningly long shard of glass lay by his side, never moved from where it had been thrown after Allen removed it from Lavi's leg.
"Lavi." Allen crawled to his comrade's side, muttering yet again those meaningless words. "Are you all right?"
"Hey, Allen…" The redhead's smile was a painful sight; his eye was hazy; his voice slurred. "Ya look like ya're doin' pretty well, huh…." He shifted a bit, and Lenalee hastily adjusted the position of his head so that it still rested securely on her lap, "Ah won't pretend this weren't a punch right on tha face…. Gettin' ambushed on our way to the mission an' all…"
"I know." Allen's mouth formed a smile. "The Order should know better where they are sending us.…"
"It looks like every single Akuma in London is expecting us. It's fortunate that we came as a relatively powerful team." Lenalee threw a quick peek at the battle field. Kanda, Marie, and Chaoji had taken down some Level 3s and were currently fighting a Level 4, and General Tiedoll's puppet had just sent another Level 4 flying across the scene. "I wish Miranda was with us, with her here we could have continued fighting…."
"You mustn't rely too much on Exorcist Miranda Lotto's Innocence, Exorcist Lenalee Lee." A voice rang out from nearby, causing Lenalee to look up in alarm and Timcanpy, who was perching on her shoulder, to take to the air, fluttering his wings nervously. The Third Exorcists, Tevak and Madarao, were walking towards them, dragging behind them the lifeless body of Inspector Howard Link. Their crimson cloaks rustled softly as they came nearer, and they bent over to rest Link gently against the wall. Once done, they took a few steps back. Madarao kept his facial expression devoid of all sentiments, but Tevak looked slightly thoughtful.
"He used to be the strongest of us all…."
"Nah, I think he's just reached a new level of absurdity," spat Allen, glancing at the man besides him. The Inspector's eyes cracked open, but apparently his vision hadn't focused yet. The bruises on the nape of his neck must have been the cause of his temporary loss of consciousness, but his other wounds were far more worrying. Both his sleeves had been burned up, revealing the burns and the gory gashes that ran up his forearms. Crimson blood marked another wound on his right thigh; even though deep, the injury looked like it had started to clot.
"How come you guys are here too? You look like you can still fight instead of retreating."
"For the moment, we'll just let the Exorcists do their job. Unlike a certain someone." Madarao sent a disapproving look towards Link's direction. "We find it unreasonable to keep on fighting while we are in no condition to. Sorcery barely has effects on high-level Akuma, and my Consuming Machine as well as Tevak's has reached its limits."
Reasonable enough, thought Allen. At the beginning the Third Exorcists have been quite effective. After dealing a certain amount of damages on an Akuma, they could proceed to consume it without difficulty. However, after a while, what was left of their human bodies refused to take in more of those devils. If they didn't stop, at least for a while, there would be no telling what would happen next.
"We're pretty much screwed." Allen couldn't help himself from peeking at the battlefield every five seconds to make sure the others didn't need his help yet. "Guess I'll have to worsen my position again-"
"You can't, Walker." Link had now regained his voice. "These members of Crow have detected the same barrier that kept you from creating the Gate last time. However, we couldn't find and remove the source, and therefore it's impossible to operate the Ark."
Even though Link spoke with such composure, Lenalee couldn't help but notice that he was contradicting himself. He referred to Tevak and Madarao as "members of Crow" as if he wasn't one himself, and then occasionally said "we" to include himself in. This discovery would have bothered her, but right now, Lenalee had other preoccupations. She fixed her look on the Inspector and asked,
"What do we do then? None of us is in a condition to fight… Lavi lost so much blood… We need to rest, at least…"
"What do we do…." Link repeated Lenalee's words unconsciously, his head rocking back and forth slightly as he lost himself in thought. "What to do…" He had his pale green eyes fixed on Allen as the boy stood up to ward off a Level 3 who dared to venture near the injured people.
If there were sacrifices to be made…
"There is a spell," said Link finally. "But it's going to draw attention…"
"Well?" yelled Allen from some meters away, "What is it like?"
"I… I can't tell you. Just trust me."
"Trust you? How do you expect me to just trust you?"
Link let his words flow out without emotion. "There's nothing you have to worry about, Walker, this is not a situation in which Exorcists have to be sacrificed, and there are no other humans here-"
If among us all there was one to be sacrificed…
"Whatever you guys are planning over there, hurry up!" yelled Chaoji desperately, covering his ears, trying to protect himself from the Akuma Kyou. "We don't have forever!"
"Right." Link mechanically pulled himself up and turned to Lenalee, "Lenalee Lee, I beg your pardon…"
He attached a piece of paper with a big rune character in the middle to Lenalee's sleeve. He shoved another one inside Lavi's pocket, then sent two others flying towards Allen and Kanda. The seals immediately attached themselves to the Exorcists' backs, growing roots like some kind of parasite. All preparation done, the Inspector turned to Lenalee:
"I would like you to draw the Akuma's attention, if you would be so kind-"
"Of course." The girl carefully slid Lavi's head off her lap and stood up, activating Dark Boots, "But Link… Just what are you-?"
Unfortunately there was no time for explanation – as soon as Lenalee revealed herself, Akuma came for her. She took off, and, with a speed that rivaled sound waves, flew away, drawing a small cloud of Akuma after her. Link then sunk to his knees and began chanting the incantation. Tevak eyed him from a distance, squinting a little when wind began to blow and throw handfuls of dust all around. When the wind became a hurricane and a white light started to leak out from Link's body, she took some steps closer and asked,
"… That spell, are you sure? Even you – the best spell caster among us – are not able to withstand it…"
"I have to do this, Tevak."
The girl nodded curtly. "May your soul rest in peace, Howard."
With that, the blonde girl flung herself away and charged at a Level 3 who had his Dark Matter aimed at Link. Madarao accompanied her, not even looking back at the comrade he had left behind. Soon Link's world became empty; the only sound he could hear was his own incantation and his own heartbeats.
What a pity, Walker… I did hope I could make things right again, someday…
Unfortunately… If among us all there was one to be sacrificed…
It would be me.