Life is very complicated on my end: college, job interview, tests and specialization courses. So, sorry by the lateness here. Between all of this I have had a hard time finding my inspiration to write, but I promise that, as with all my other fics I'll finish this!
Chapter 37
The Thunder's Apprentice
The Temple of Lightning was nothing more than a tall tower, around the same size as the Tower of Mana. However, whereas the Tower of Mana had an internal library and displayed a rich architecture, the Temple of Lightning was more like a grayed pole sprouting out of the earth.
Regal, Marta, Emil and Zelos arrived at the local using a buggy that the Renegades lent them. Zelos was more surprised at the condition of the vehicle than the vehicle itself (like Lloyd had been). He had already seen photos of these kind of vehicles from the Kharlan War, but it was his first time being in front of one. He complained about how his bum hurt as they drove it off.
"These vehicles were made not thinking in comfort, but mobility," Emil spoke, going into Aster Mode as he discoursed about the origins of the transport. "Some said it would have been a revolutionary means of transport, had it been designed for civilian use. However, since it's first design was purely for military purposes, they kept the fabrication under close scrutiny, so the blueprints wouldn't leak to the other side."
"Thanks for the explanation I didn't ask for, Professor Encyclopedia Castagnier," Zelos grumbled, feeling sleepy just form hearing it.
"I think it is better than going on foot anyway," Marta said. "It was nice of daddy and Sir Yuan to lent one to us."
"Yeah... while Lloyd and the others get a nice, comfortable EC..."
"It was necessary since they were going for Thoda," Regal said. The president had kept himself silent for most of the travel, concentrating on driving the vehicle.
The group then disembarked and approached the gate to the tower. Emil approached the door and raised his eyebrow, looking at it in confusion:
"Something is… different," he said.
"What do you mean?" Marta asked. Ratatosk then took control and explained.
"The seal… it was already broken. The temple is open."
"What?!"
"Didn't you all say only Summon Spirits could break these seals?" Zelos asked. "Do you think another one was already here?"
"But nobody said they came here before," Marta reminded him.
"It would be possible that either Origin or Maxwell were the ones that did it," Regal suggested.
"They would have to be aware they are Summon Spirits first to then awake the knowledge to undo the seal," Ratatosk said. "Anyway, stay on your guard. Something doesn't seem right here."
"Ratatosk…" Marta tried to talk to him, but the crimson-eyed entity gave the control back to Emil before the brunette could start. Emil looked at her inquisitively, but she only sighed and said it was nothing.
She needed to talk to Ratatosk, not Emil. She still wanted to ask him what he meant the other night when they kissed, but lately it felt like he was avoiding her, always switching to Emil whenever she wanted to talk to him.
As the group entered, Zelos had to jump to the side to avoid being hit by a lightning. He looked ready to wet his pants as he saw more lightning striking at poles and the floor at the stairs of the temple.
"Great…" he mumbled, recovering his pose. "Regal, do you mind going in front of us. If there are any lightning, they will hit you first."
"Huh?" the President of Lezareno let out.
"Oh yeah. Lightning tends to strike at taller objects," Marta spoke up. "Well, we're counting on you then, mister tall President," she said with a cute smile.
"I… really don't know how to answer to that…" Regal said with a drop of sweat running down his forehead.
"That's just how they act. You get used to it," Emil said with a sympathetic smile.
- / - / - / - / - / - / -
They didn't have to walk too far to arrive in a large, three floor room with Volt's altar at the top. Regal felt something pulling him to the altar and remembered what Marta had told him about her own experiences while they were traveling in the buggy.
So this is the pull of a soul seeking to be complete. Regal thought as he and the others climbed the stairs and walked to stand in front of the altar.
Suddenly, the air seemed to get charged with electricity, making Zelos and Marta's hair stick to their ends. Zelos grumbled something about having to brush it again as lightning started to strike the spiked poles around, energy gathering on them before being redirected to above the altar, forming a steadily growing sphere of electricity.
Said sphere then manifested red eyes, some short of "internal sideburns" floating inside itself and a more concentrated core. Regal immediately recognized the apparition as the Summon Spirit Volt.
…
The electrical entity spoke and Zelos and Marta tilted their heads, the brunette asking what he meant.
"Wait, I'll translate," Emil said, as Volt spoke. " 'I am the fragment of the one known as the Hammer of the Godly Thunder. Who are you?' "
"Fragment?" Marta wondered.
"From the stories, Volt is nothing more than a big ball of electricity. So maybe he can divide himself with more ease than the other Summon Spirits," Zelos suggested.
"I am Regal Bryant. I was told I am the reincarnation of you original form," Regal spoke with an authority that made the others remember they were standing before the son of a Duke.
…
" 'I sense the mark on you. Your aura also matches. However, I was instructed to test you and see if you are ready to wield my powers, which are just as terrible as they are great. Are you ready?' " Emil translated.
Regal nodded and almost immediately after that the Fragment Volt widened its eyes and released a powerful bolt of energy at Regal, who barely had time to get his arms up in defense and was thrown back by the force of the blast, falling to the first floor.
"He doesn't waste any time, does he?" Zelos commented as the group looked down to see Regal twist in the air and land on his feet, crouching due to the impact.
Fragment Volt floated down and the two stared at each other. Marta and Emil were a little nervous to see the fight start so suddenly, but knew they couldn't do anything to intervene. Zelos was interested to see how Regal fought.
The fighting started with Fragment Volt widening its eyes again and lightning falling all around it, Regal putting his hands up in defense again as he was hit again and again, electricity flowing through his body.
"This isn't good," Emil said, biting his lips. "Lightning is faster than any being in this world and Volt can cast an endless number of lightning at the same time, so short of blocking it with a weapon or Arte, you can't really do much."
"I think you're underestimating the guy," Zelos said in a carefree tone, making Marta and Emil look at him. He was smiling that carefree smile so common to him. "You don't know Regal. He won't let something like that take him down."
As if to make Zelos' point, they saw Regal getting up. All the electricity around him converged to his right hand, which had its arm being held by his left hand. It was like he was controlling the electrical currents coursing through his body.
Regal then swung his hand and released a crescent blade of energy, striking Volt dead on and pushing the floating sphere of electricity back.
"But… how?" Marta let out. "I thought Summon Spirits were immune to magic of their own elements."
Ratatosk then took control and explained while still looking at the fight:
"It's not really that. Summon Spirits can adapt the vibration of their auras to match the wavelength of the magic spells cast by those that use their elements. Think of it as you suddenly seeing and knowing the trajectory of an arrow the moment someone points a weapon at you. Summon Spirits can easily change their wavelength to adapt to that of the attack used against them.
"Volt however, is different. His special ability is that his aura is constantly changing its wavelengths and that extends to his own attacks, so it's virtually impossible for you to cancel or repel them with magic."
"Well, that certainly would explain that then," Zelos said. "It's like pitting two starving wolves against each other. In the end, both will leave with several scars."
The group quieted then, only observing Regal's battle from that moment on.
- / - / - / - / - / - / -
He couldn't remember what was the last time he felt like that. The feel of energy flowing through his body and the knowledge he could bend it at his will…
Regal had discovered this strange power of his when he visited the underground power storage of the Lezareno building. He had gotten too close to one of the generators being repaired, which resulted in the core being exposed. The blue haired man didn't know what led him to extended his hand to the generator, but he knew that soon enough an electrical current shot to him and hit his body like a lightning striking.
However, he didn't panic, for it hadn't hurt in the least.
When that happened, his first instinct was to find a way to dispel the charge and he could feel it doing exactly that, going down to his legs and dispelling in the floor like he was a human lightning rod. That made him raise his eyebrow as he reached for the generator and again electricity came to his hand.
That time he had been prepared and tried to make the electrical currents circulating his body concentrate on his arm. They did as he wished without frying his muscles or causing any nasty convulsions. It was like the electricity was a part of himself. This wasn't much different from then, but now he could actually feel pain and his muscles coming close to being paralyzed by the strong bolts of electricity.
Regal charged again while Fragment Volt was recovering and struck out a kick… only to have it go right through the electrical entity, like he was trying to kick water. Regal was momentarily surprised and that caused Fragment Volt to unleashed an electrical vortex around him, catching Regal inside it and expelling him. Before the President could use the charges on himself to attack the entity, the energy seemed to escape his body and return to Fragment Volt.
He won't leave me any chance to strike back. Regal realized.
Fragment Volt's eyes widened, as the air around it cackled with electricity and suddenly several energy spheres formed around it and shot to Regal. The blue haired man struck back with his fists and feet, using all of his concentration to dispel the projectiles as he hit them. The last one was aimed at his face, so Regal reared back his fist... and a lightning bolt struck the sphere, making it exploded right when the President's fist was reaching it. The explosion pushed Regal back as he yelled in pain, feeling his arm almost being tore off when it was caught in the explosion.
He got back on his feet, clutching his now useless right arm, and looked at Fragment Volt, knowing he would have to finish that fight sooner, before the reflection of his previous self got further accustomed with his fighting style, which already wasn't a great help against that kind of opponent.
The others mentioned that fighting against the keepers of the other half of their souls wasn't won relying entirely on strength; rather, they had to outwit their opponents. Regal reflected to himself and started to look around for anything he could use.
It was then Fragment Volt struck the floor with a thick column of energy originated from itself. Regal tried to jump back, but soon found himself unable to, or to move from his place at all. He tried to move his foot, but felt like it had been glued on the floor.
A magnetic bind. Regal reflected and saw Fragment Volt hovering above him.
The floor was lit up with a runic circle and soon thousands of lightning fell on Regal, their energies quickly dissipating in the floor before the noble could gather them. Even with his resistance to the electric bolts, Regal started to feel his insides burning. Fragment Volt was overwhelming his defenses.
Fortunately, that attack eventually undid the magnetic bind on Regal's feet, and he jumped forward, rolling and getting out of the circle. He then sprinted to the stairs, jumping to avoid the explosive, electrical spheres Fragment Volt sent his way.
Regal close his knuckle and silently prayed this would work. Thankfully, it seemed his training, combined with the natural enhancement of being a reincarnated Summon Spirit was stronger than the temple's structure, so when his fist connected with one of the several spikes that decorated the stairs it broke and fell.
The President of Lezareno quickly grabbed a hold of it. It wasn't bigger than him, but with a quick charge of electrical energy on it, he threw the spike at Fragment Volt, who only widened its eyes again and sent a blast of electrical energy the way of the projectile.
The two opposing currents created an explosion that demolished the projectile, but that was what Regal had been expecting as he jumped amidst the debris while Fragment Volt was distracted and managed to get close enough to plunge his left hand "into" the electrical entity.
Fragment Volt tried to fry Regal using all of its power, discharging it on the blue haired man, but, in a last ditch effort, Regal also used all his last energy and some that he was absorbing from the attack and converted it all into a powerful blast that he unleashed point blank into the entity's core.
An explosion came and Regal was launched backwards, slamming hard into the wall, grunting as he felt the searing pain of his burns and one or two ribs cracking. The others, seeing Regal wasn't in conditions to fight anymore, ran to him.
Marta kneeled near the President, starting to cure him with her Artes, as Zelos smiled in approbation and said:
"Well, that was what I call, going out with a bang."
"Thanks…" Regal said, with a pained smile and trying to recover his breathe. "Just don't ask me… for a repeated performance… using my Artes… like that drained me completely."
Emil then looked at where Fragment Volt had been and saw only static crackling in the air, with no signal of the spherical entity. However, the air then started to get more charged and a small, glowing, purple sphere appeared, slowly approaching Regal.
The group looked up and Zelos tried to draw his sword, only for Emil to put his hand over his and shake his head, silently saying there was no threat. The red head seemed to relax and Regal got up, regardless of his injuries and approached the other halve of his soul. Electricity was released from that sphere and it formed two eyes and what appeared to be sideburns if there were a face there.
…
" 'I've seen your determination and ability and deem you ready to wield my powers…' " Emil translated Volt's speech. " 'Make sure to use it wisely and to do what is necessary for this world, regardless of the mortal's views over such necessary actions… are you ready, Thunder's Apprentice?' "
Regal reached for the glowing sphere and the energy was absorbed by his arm, as his body was slowly enveloped by a purple aura. There was a flash and the sound of electrical current, which forced the rest of the party to shield their eyes.
Lightning passed around Regal's limbs in a similar fashion as the others. His travels clothes were replaced by a light armor that left his collar and arms uncovered, its color being mostly blue and gray. In Regal's wrists appeared two thick, silver-blue bracelets which had small rectangular openings on top, spaced between each other. The blue haired man could see what looked like living lightning coursing inside the bracelets.
His feet were enveloped by silver greaves with Volt's Thunder Sigil on them and decorations that resembled wings with sharp feathers. His tattoo-like birthmark on his right bicep lit up with a purple glow and the light receded, allowing the others to see their companion again.
"That's… fitting I suppose," Regal murmured, examining his new attire.
"Nice one, heh?" Zelos said, slapping Regal's back. "Bet you'll have chicks digging for you if you go around like this. Of course, it probably won't compare to my Spirit Form, but you might come close."
Marta and Emil sighed, shaking their heads at their perverted friend's antics. Regal rolled his eyes and asked Emil if he knew where Tornitrus might be.
"The memories aren't very specific. I just know he's somewhere in the temple, sorry," Emil said in an apologetic tone.
"Don't you have any hunches? Colette was able to tell after she awakened her powers," Marta asked.
Regal put his hand under his chin and closed his eyes in thought. Sure enough, thoughts came to him and suddenly he knew exactly where Tornitrus' altar was and how to arrive there.
"It seems I do. Follow me," he said, indicating the others to the stairs.
They arrived at Volt's altar again and Regal got up on it, going to the wall and touching it. A section of it suddenly sparkled and slid down, revealing a narrow passage to the center-most section of the tower. The group entered and saw they were on a suspended walkway, which went up in a spiral around some kind of giant device that had an electrical core.
"Talking about thematic decoration…" Zelos commented as they walked up the path and its stairs.
They met some monsters on the way and Emil once more performed the pact ritual. Regal also took the time to test his new power and found he was now faster and stronger. Plus all of his attacks caused the bracelets on his writs to generate energy that enveloped his fists and his greaves charged, enhancing his blows with lightning energy.
The Lezareno President could also summon some minor lightning bolts whenever he attacked and felt he had more energy with which he could utilize in that technique, however, he wouldn't try it out now. It always drained him whenever he performed his most powerful Arte.
They eventually arrived at the top, but when Tornitrus' altar came into view, the group stopped on their tracks, eyes widening at what they saw. Ratatosk took control of Emil and gritted his teeth, scowling:
"I knew it…"
Tornitrus' core was gone.
The flower-shaped plate where it should have been had nothing floating above it, just empty space. Ratatosk ran to it and looked around. Regal and Zelos also started to search for clues. Marta spoke:
"But… how can it be? It should be here. Nobody can open the temple …"
"But the temple had already been opened, remember?" Zelos said with that rare, serious tone on his voice as he looked at Marta. "We saw it at the entrance. Whoever did it, probably took the core too."
"Which is not good," Ventus said, appearing together with Lumen and Solum. "The core's power will drive anyone exposed to it mad if they have little resistance to spiritual energy."
"I'm more worried about where they took it to," Ratatosk said. "I couldn't sense Tornitrus' presence when we entered the temple. Even now I can't feel any traces, which can only mean…"
"He was taken a long time ago," Solum completed for his lord.
"In that case, we would have to look for the other missing Summon Spirits," Regal said. "Since they are the only ones who could undo the seal."
"Any chance it was actually Nebilim?" Zelos asked, tossing away ideas.
"If it was, he would have to blast his way inside and that would definitely leave signs of his presence here," Ratatosk spoke.
"You don't think they have took it to Nebilim and then…" Lumen asked, gulping as he suggested it, but everybody understood the message. The atmosphere became somber at the prospect, but Ratatosk quickly shook his head to it:
"If Tornitrus was destroyed, I would have felt it. From the looks of it, he's probably…"
Whatever Ratatosk was going to say they would never know, for in that moment the entire platform shook, making the group lose their balance and fall as explosions sounded near the base. Lumen quickly ran to the edge of the platform and looked bellow.
"Um… guys… we have company…" Lumen said, his cheetah face bearing a fearful expression. Another explosion sounded. "Mean company."
"It's the demons! Besiegers!" Ventus said as the platform shook again. "They are trying to destroy the foundations!" the demons seemed succeeded on their intent, as the entire structure started to tilt sideways and a wail of metal twisting and breaking sounded. Below the reincarnated Summon Spirits was a seemingly bottomless abyss.
Marta entered in Spirit Form and Ratatosk summoned his newly acquired Lord Wyverns, one of them positioning so the Lord of Monsters fell on its back, riding the aerial monster and the other had Regal grabbing its talons. Marta quickly flew and grabbed Zelos by his hands.
"WATCH OUT!" Lumen alerted them as spheres of concentrated fire and chaos energy flying at them.
They avoided the aerial fire, knowing there was only one escape route, which was by the narrow passage they came from. Luckily there was still a section of the walkway near it that survived and that was where the demons were shooting from.
Ratatosk commanded his monsters and the Wyverns shot blasts of lightning from their mouths at the demons. Some of them got electrocuted and paralyzed, which allowed the group to get close, while avoiding the projectiles and bombarding the platform with the lightning breathes from the dragons.
They then jumped and Marta quickly sent a wind disk, which divided into several, at their attackers, slicing clean through their bodies. As the party landed on the platform, they made a run for it, intent on getting back at their truck as fast as they could.
"How did they get in?" Zelos asked as the group ran and returned to Volt's altar and jumped to the floor below, not wanting to lose any time.
"I didn't reactivate the seal with all of this. I'm sorry," Emil said.
"Apologize later. We still have to…"
It was then they heard the sound of bowstrings pulling back and energy being charged. As they looked up, they saw the walkways and the door to the entrance were packed with Besiegers, Bone Archers and Scion Snipers, all with their weapons aimed at them. The group knew if the demons shot they would be overwhelmed.
It was then something came to Regal; an instinctive knowledge that told him he had the right Arte to counter that situation. All he needed was…
"Everybody, gather together!" he yelled and, as if on cue, the demons shot at them.
Regal knelled and punched the ground, immediately an electrical dome raised around them, serving as a shield as the attacks impact on it and were either repelled or exploded against its surface. The group watched in astonishment. However, the demons didn't seem to get deterred by it as they continued to rain arrows and explosive shots without pause.
The President of Lezareno knew he could keep up the shield for a long time with the help of the energy of the temple, but that would get them nowhere.
"I'm open to suggestions, if somebody has a plan," Regal grumbled while keeping part of his concentration on maintaining the dome up.
Emil thought, looked around and came up with one. The blonde said for Regal to lower the shield when he gave the signal. Regal nodded together with the others, who drew their weapons. Emil waited for a second and when the explosions and projectiles lessened their intensity enough for the group to find an opening, he shouted an "NOW!".
Regal dispelled the dome and the group spread. Emil summoned several bird and dragon monsters, which flew towards the demons and attacked them, throwing their aims off and killing others with teeth, claws and elemental breathes.
Emil and the others were quick to do short work of the demons, Marta specially, being the only one with flight ability in the group she could easily dodge and launch wind blades and disks that easily cut through their targets, a testament to how her powers had evolved. However...
Something is not right. Demons normally aren't this organized. she thought as she dispatched a group of Scion Snipers that tried to shoot chaos-enhanced arrows on her. "There must be a general somewhere."
"You are right..." a familiar, malicious voice said.
Before Marta could wonder or even warn the others, a glowing, yellow orb impacted with her face, soon followed by others. She felt like she was being rammed from all sides.
Emil looked up and saw Marta being attack by orbs and that moment of distraction was enough for another demon to teleport near him. The reincarnated Ratatosk only noticed when he saw seal cards organizing themselves around him in a half-sphere.
"Nexus Impulsion," a feminine voice said and the seal released a blast of concentrated chaos energy that hit Emil like a charging dragon, rocketing him out of the walkway and right into Marta, the two impacting on one another and falling.
"What the... ?" Zelos let out at seeing that and saw something fall near him by the corner of his eyes. Weren't he alert, he wouldn't have seen the wicked-looking, red blade coming up, ready to slice his left arm off.
Zelos put his shield up as he stepped back and that was what prevented him from losing his hand as the sword melted the ice like a hot knife through butter. He only got a cut on his arm, but it was deep enough so he felt his muscles burning as he let out a yell of pain.
Regal saw all of that and quickly prepared to go and help his companions, but a cry of "Flame Lance!" made he look at the direction of the altar to see an ethereal, flame spear coming his way.
"Thor's Protection!" Regal used another defensive Arte, the flame lance hitting it and exploding against the bubble-like shield, but it fortunately hold against it.
"Hmmm. Thought as much," Regal looked up to see someone near the edge of the altar, a silver haired boy who didn't look older than fourteen, however the malicious smile on his face and the pose of superiority were certainly not something somebody that age would show. "Inside this temple your powers are greater than ever. Right Volt? Or should I say, Duke Regal Bryant?"
The others then recovered in time to see Rahishi and Reriki jumping/floating to the sides of their general. Ratatosk took the control and growled Genis' name as the half-elf only smiled at them. Marta got up and now understood what had just happened; Genis set up an ambush for them.
The monsters around the walkways came after the young boy, who didn't drop his smile as he gave a simple command in demonic and Reriki and Rahishi charged at the monsters. The red haired demoness' blade neatly cut three monsters by their waists as the voluptuous, spiritual demon only smiled a cruel smile as the servants of Ratatosk approached her. The seals forming the halo behind her shot forward and attached to the dragons' bodies and she quickly touched each one.
The monsters flew backwards as they received a strong blast of chaos energy that created holes in their chests, killing them before they fell to the ground.
Genis then looked at the group scattered around the temple before looking back at Regal.
"My, my, today must be my lucky day. Not only can I kill a Summon Spirit, but also the main supplier of the rebel groups. How convenient."
"Damn. That brat again!" Zelos spoke, using ice to stop his bleeding and making another shield.
"Reriki, Rahishi…" Genis said. "Sic 'em."
"At once, my General," Rahishi said.
"With pleasure, Master Genis," Reriki said with a malicious smile and a sweet tone.
Marta casted Healing Wind right before the two aides jumped and landed near them. The Whirlwind Rider blocked the flaming blade of the demoness as the spell healed her and Emil's injuries. Ratatosk took control and attacked, only to be blocked by one of Reriki's seal as she backhanded him with her sleeved hand, the blow carrying enough power to knocked him aside.
Genis observed the fight bellow until a cry of "Everfrost Glory!" made him narrow his eyes and look in the direction of Zelos. Icebergs started to form around him, but he merely commanded his fire orb to float at chest level and spin around him, producing a fire ring around the Desian General.
"Fire Halo!" the ring expanded as the icebergs exploded. The meeting of the two extreme temperatures made the ice melt.
Genis then saw Zelos jumping above the fire ring, blade poised to strike at him. He doesn't even speak, as a Spread spell erupted near him, catching Zelos in mid-flight before he could reach the young-looking spellcaster.
"Did you really think I would be caught a second time by the same tactic?"
As Zelos fell, Regal jumped from the nearby walkway and caught the ex-Representative, landing with him. Zelos was about to thank the blue haired noble when they heard a shout of "Indignation!". However, the spell circle wasn't formed beneath them, but beneath Marta and Emil who were still fighting Reriki and Rahishi off.
The two demonesses retreated as one after shoving their respective adversaries inside the circle. The two teenagers could only look as energy gathered above them and prepared to release a massive bolt of lightning. It was in that instant that Regal used all of his enhanced speed and arrived spreading his arms and taking the brunt of the attack. However, he couldn't absorb all of it as Marta and Ratatosk were still hit, feeling like their bodies were burning from the inside out.
Barely the attack ended and Regal sensed Rahishi advancing, her blade poised to strike. He defended it using his metal bracelet, electricity crackling on it as it deflected the weapon, temporarily throwing the demoness off balance. Regal seized the opportunity and attacked her with a flurry of kicks and punches, each one charged and summoning bolts of lightning for good measure.
When the blue haired man was about to hit the demoness with the palm of his hand on her nose, her covered hand rose up and grabbed his wrist. Rahishi looked up at Regal with a smirk.
"Is that the strongest that you can punch? That Presea girl hit harder than this," Rahishi said right before kneeling Regal in the stomach and making her sword vanish before she punched his face with tremendous force, sending the man away.
As Regal was sent flying, Marta and Ratatosk tried to attack Reriki, who constantly floated away while brandishing her seal cards in a blur, sticking the seals to the bodies of the reincarnated Summon Spirits and inflicting strong energy discharges upon them.
Marta's projectiles were all blocked by Reriki's seals and when Ratatosk tried to use Destroyer's Song on the demoness, she quickly thrust her arm forward and a seal appeared from her sleeve as she seemingly punched Ratatosk in the chest.
"Mental Break!" instead of being launched backwards, as he had expected, Ratatosk felt strange, like his insides were in disarray. The spiritual energy on his sword suddenly got unstable and Ratatosk looked at it just as it suddenly entered in a critical state and exploded on him.
"RATATOSK!" Marta called, just to have her vision blocked by Reriki teleporting in front of her.
Marta tried to get distance between her and the demoness, but Reriki had the vertical halo of seal cards behind her tilt forward and grabbed the nearest one, swinging it together with the others like a giant chakra. Marta tried to block the attack, but the multiple hits from the seals repelled her spectral spinner and left her wide open to an attack.
Reriki cut the reincarnated Sylph with her seals several times and ended by rearranging them in a formation similar to Genis' Elementum Cannon. Each seal shot a beam, blowing Marta away.
Zelos watched all of that from a corner in the room, staying out of the other's way. He knew he couldn't do anything without his Summon Spirit powers. However, he couldn't help, but grit his teeth at seeing the others losing like that.
"Damn! What's up with them? Hadn't we won against these demons before?"
"That's only because I retreated," Genis' voice sounded from above.
Zelos looked up and see the Desian General jumping off Volt's altar. In the middle of the air, he grabbed his wind orb, which released a downward wind current that slowed his descent. Genis then landed with a soft stepping as he turned to the red head behind him, his smile condescending.
"Had I decided to continue, I would have come up with a tactic to put you all to rest. However, having Reriki and Rahishi fighting you all served its purpose," Genis said.
"Purpose?" Zelos wondered what the silver haired brat meant with that.
"Collect data," Genis said simply. "I never go into battle without knowing my adversary's capabilities. It would be moronic on my part. Besides, I wanted to know what Ratatosk was capable of and what his unique kind of magic was like," that elicited a grin from Genis, but he soon schooled his expression. "However, I lost sight of my objective amidst my enthusiasm. I admit that."
"So you mean you weren't being serious last time?"
"My, my. You're not as stupid as you look."
Zelos could feel a vein pulsing on his head as he gave an angry smile. He really would like to teach this brat a lesson right now.
"Anyway, since you're not actively contributing to my research, I think it's safe to simply kill you," as Genis said that, his wind and fire orb floated in front of him, glowing as he channeled his powers through them. "Spiral Flare!"
Zelos quickly raised a thick ice barrier between him and Genis. When the hybrid spell hit it, some of the ice was melted, but the barrier managed to hold. Genis simply stared at it... until he felt a concentration of magical energy near him. He turned and saw an iceberg had formed and it soon exploded, launching pointed shards at him.
Instinctively, Genis brought his arms up to defend himself as the sharp pieces of ice dug on his skin, cutting his flesh and part of his uniform. It was then he realized what this was...
"A distraction..." he thought aloud as he looked and saw Zelos had melted his ice barrier and casted Freeze Lancer. "Good thinking, but not enough!" Genis said, his fire orb coming forth. "Flaring Twister!" his orb produced a high-speed spiral of fire that consumed Zelos' icy projectiles and melted them.
The red head ran before the spell reached him, colliding with the wall and spreading flames around its impact point, leaving a scorch mark behind. The battle continued to rage between the two groups as Genis and his aides had the upper hand.
Regal was trying his best techniques, but Rahishi simply took it all without even drawing her sword again. When she blocked a high kick and countered with a spear-thrust of her hand, which Regal avoided, the reincarnated Volt asked:
"Why aren't you using your weapon anymore?"
"I don't believe in use of excessive force," Rahishi replied with a smile, clearly enjoying that battle. It had been sometime since she had to fight hand-to-hand. "It's unbecoming of a Knight to gloat at their weaker opponents."
"I see... so you believe I am weak?" Regal said, his stance relaxing. Rahishi noticed that and wondered why he would do such a thing in the middle of battle. "Well, I can't say I don't respect it, however you shouldn't underestimate your adversary merely because he doesn't use weapons..." there was a quick distortion in the atmosphere around Rahishi. "Master Field!"
A runic circle appeared beneath Rahishi and soon thousands of lightning bolts fell around it, electrocuting the demoness and strong enough for her to feel her muscles contracting as she let out an yell of pain. Regal then ran to her at an inhuman speed, arriving right after the attack ended.
"Wolverine!" Regal inflicted a sequence of strong kicks followed by a leg sweep that took Rahishi off her feet and an ascendant kick that sent her into the air. "Eagle Dive!" while still in the air, Regal applied a hammer kick on Rahishi's midsection that produced an impact wave in the air and sent her rocketing to the floor just for the Thunder's Apprentice to descent in rapid speed and stomp on her, causing impact waves on the floor.
Even so, the demoness quickly recovered and grabbed his foot, hurling him away, just for the reincarnated Summon Spirit to land on his feet. Barely seconds after Rahishi got up she summoned her blade and swung it in the air, sending a scorching fire blade against Regal, which he defended with his metal bracelets.
"I stand corrected. I'm sorry for underestimating you..." Rahishi said as she slowly got up. "But don't worry. I won't commit that mistake again," her blade ignited as she said that.
Meanwhile, Ratatosk had been cured by Marta when she managed to sidestep Reriki, but got blown out by another blast of the demoness' powers for the temporary distraction. Ratatosk launched himself against the demoness again. He couldn't use any of his specialized Artes thanks to Reriki's enchantment, but he still had most of his Artes, which would be strong enough to kill her by his calculations. However, Reriki had shown she was quite a challenging opponent.
The crimson-eyed entity sidestepped a swarm of seals going for his head and used a Converging Fury Arte to deflect the other pieces of paper and rush to Reriki, who floated to the side, however, she didn't count on Ratatosk quickly turning:
"Savage Light!" the Lord of the Monsters used an upward slash that hit the demoness with a charge of light, burning some of her aura, and thrust his sword with all his strength, finding almost no resistance as it sunk into her robe, bellow her ample chest. However, Ratatosk soon noticed something wrong; no blood came out.
"See? That's why I tell you are all wrong," Reriki said with her malicious smile and tone in place as she grabbed Ratatosk's sword in a strong grip. "My body is merely a solid projection. It's as real as I want it to be. Which means..." she started shoving the sword out of her as Ratatosk tried to take it from her grip. "Attacking it won't do you any good if you don't attack the part that contains the real me."
She then gave a strong push and made the hilt of the blade hit Ratatosk's gut taking his air out. Marta was then behind Reriki and slashed at the voluptuous demoness with her ethereal spinners, shredding the back of Reriki's robes and revealing her back. But the brunette widened her eyes at seeing no scar was left by her attack.
"Really, are you all deaf?" Reriki said, quickly turning and thrusting her sleeved arm forward, grabbing Marta's head. "You won't get anything from attacking me like this," she then threw Marta into Ratatosk and quickly evoked an Arte. "Cyclone Seal!"
Identically to Sheena's Arte, the couple was thrown into the air by a tempest of seals that released a burst of spiritual energy onto them in the air. It's then they get trapped inside a concentration of darkness that soon exploded, Marta recognizing it as Dark Sphere.
"Who said you can manhandle my aide?" Genis' voice sounded as the two look up at him, the silver haired half-elf showing a condescending look. "I think you all need a lesson about how to treat my subordinates. Volcanic Tower!"
With a wave of his earth and fire orb, Genis made a rock formation throw Marta and Ratatosk in the air as red light start to shine in grooves around it and the rock formation split in the middle, an eruption of molten lava coming forth, reaching the two.
Reriki teleported to near Genis as he smiled at his handwork... just for it to become a frown as he saw the lava falling to the floor and Ratatosk and Marta unharmed, protected by a bubble-like shield the reincarnated Sylph had created.
The Whirlwind Rider dispelled her shield as she and Ratatosk landed. Regal was suddenly blown back to near them by a Flaring Twister cast by Rahishi, which hit and burned him several times, although his Summon Spirit protection absorbed most of the damage. Zelos reunited with the group, standing in guard, although he knew he wouldn't be much useful.
"Hu... just look at you; a bunch of hypocrites thinking they can 'save the world'..." Genis said.
"You're one to talk," Marta growled at him. "A Desian who isn't a half-demon and can't even recognize his own sister."
"What I am or not, is none of your business! And what do you mean 'can't recognize my own sister'? My sister is dead, killed by the humans during the end of the Kharlan War."
"Is that the story they told you? And here I was, thinking you were a smart-ass brat. Seems I was wrong. You're just a stuck-up brat, who looks like he barely got out of his diapers," Zelos spoke in disdain.
"Try all you want, but your lies will have no effect on our general, or change the outcome of this battle," Rahishi spoke in an austere tone.
Regal just observed as he got up, intrigued. So that was Raine's brother that Lloyd and the others spoke about. Regal had heard about a General Sage from some of his contacts, but never had he imagined this would be him. Plus, he could feel something strange in Genis. Something... familiar.
It was then the group suddenly felt an agitation in the chaos energy around, like a wave that splashed against a rocky cliff. They could tell it wasn't nearby. No. In fact it felt as if it had occurred several kilometers away from their position, which made the hair on their necks stand to its end. Ratatosk knew that whatever had produced that agitation in the chaos energy had to be powerful and the only creatures he could think of with that level of power were demons of Lord ranking.
Genis, Rahishi and Reriki looked to the direction the perturbation had come from, a grin coming to the General's lips as he spoke:
"Seems like he managed to do it…"
However, Ratatosk decided to worry about what had been that agitation later and teleported near Genis, his control over his spiritual energy finally returning as he charged his blade and held it above his head. Genis could only look, not having noticed the approach of the Lord of Monsters before he was already upon him.
"Destroyer's Song!" Ratatosk swung his sword at a surprised Genis, creating a pillar of multicolored flames that consumed the young-looking Desian, who took the brunt of the attack and let out a yell of pain.
"MY GENERAL!" Rahishi called and before she could turn to Ratatosk, Marta quickly flew to her and delivered a double kick in the demoness' face, reuniting her power as she did so.
Now is as good of a time as any to test this. Marta thought.
The Whirlwind Rider's ethereal spinners started to glow and spin at blurring speeds. She sensed Reriki teleporting behind her and ready to blow her away, but she spun in the air, releasing tornadoes in all directions, two catching the demoness' and blowing them up as the sharp wind blades cut at them from inside the wind manifestations.
Marta then seemed to disappear and reappeared behind Reriki, who was still stunned, and slashed the spiritual demon across her back again, this time releasing twin tornadoes that blew her away to near Rahishi. Before the demonesses could recover, Marta disappeared again and unleashed a series of slashes around them, releasing stationary tornadoes each time that only added more nicks and cuts on Genis' aides armor and clothing.
Disappearing again, Marta appearing right above the two and spun in the air, arms and palms extended to the sides and her eyes closed as she focused on uniting the fiery winds attacking her adversaries, forming a single, giant cyclone, which blew the two to its extremities, making the demonesses ran into each other in high speeds, incapable of teleporting or getting away of the enchanted winds.
"Let no evil survive these sacred winds!" Marta intoned as she stopped spinning and crossed her arms above her head. "Gaia's Whisper!" Marta then threw her arms down and suddenly the winds reversed and became a drill formation, throwing Reriki and Rahishi into the floor and crushing them with its pressure.
Marta flew down and her wings dispelled, the brunette returning to her normal form after spending all of her power using her Summon Spirit Mystic Arte. She knelled, feeling exhausted. She then looked up and saw Ratatosk and Regal attacking Genis without pause, the silver haired half-elf's clothes looking burned and some blood running from his split lip and a bruise on his face.
However, when Ratatosk and Regal avoided another volley of Genis' orbs, not giving the master spellcaster any chance to charge a spell, Genis decided he had enough and put his wind orb before himself, grabbing it and creating a propulsion wind. Regal and Ratatosk defended, although, Genis' objective wasn't attacking them, but getting himself away of the two as the orb propelled him backwards.
He landed and quickly chanted a spell:
"Gravity Well!" Regal and Ratatosk didn't have the chance to get away when a distortion in space appeared around them and increased the gravity pull where they were standing, nearly crushing the two, but effectively slowing their movement speed.
"Elementum Cannon!" the young-looking General prepared his most potent attack and Regal and Ratatosk knew they wouldn't be able to dodge in time. However, the reincarnated Volt wasn't going to let Genis kill them.
Regal punched the ground again and an electrical dome rose once more as Genis fire his multi-elemental beam at the reincarnated Summon Spirits. Different from before, Regal had to strain his powers to beyond their limits and even use all the energy from the temple that he could collect. Yet, the Thunder's Apprentice managed to hold against Genis' spell even when the beam reached its critical point and exploded.
Seeing the pause on their battle, Genis went to the side of his aides to defend them as Zelos and Marta casted a First aid spell on the group. However, there was a definite decrease in the healing spells' potency, being both the casters tired and running only on adrenaline. Ratatosk and Regal were also panting, the blue haired man's powers were almost failing and his defenses were already failing. However, that didn't seem to be the case to Genis as he turned and quickly charged another spell:
What does it takes for this guy to stop weaving his damn magic?! Ratatosk mentally berated as Regal raised his electrical dome again when Dark Lance was cast on them, the barrier holding out against the enchanted blades of darkness that bounced off of it and the great, last sword of darkness that came, which shattered upon contact.
"Singer's Cry!" Ratatosk quickly united his spiritual energy on his blade and swung it, releasing a blast of it. However, Genis could see what it truly was; several minor blasts united to give an impression of a single one, acting like some kind of burst shot.
The Desian General decided he wasn't in the mood to discover how much power those scattered blasts had, so he quickly altered his aura's wavelength and called for his defensive Arte:
"Conqueror's Shield!" the concentrated burst impacted with his defenses and released several small explosions that former a bigger one. However, when the smoke dispersed, Genis was completely unharmed. "Aqua Laser!" the water orb came in front of the Desian and produced a large beam of water, which Regal blocked by using his electrical dome once more, relying entirely on the energy contained within the temple to use it.
The Desian General evaluated the situation; if either of them tried to approach, they would be shot down with a barrage of spells and magical projectiles. If one tried to attack, the other would defend, negating the attack completely. Genis might use his Elementum Cannon again, but Ratatosk and the others would probably try to attack him mid-charge, which would prompt Reriki and Rahishi to defend him and would invariably end up throwing his aim off or he might accidently blast them.
They had reached a stalemate.
However, considering what he had felt earlier…
"Well, it was fun..." Genis said, his smile coming back and his aides relaxing, also exhibiting smiles despite the state of Rahishi's dented and scratched armor and Reriki's shredded robes, which barely covered her projected body now and showed much of her slim and creamy skin. "Besides I already won. There's no point in overdoing it."
"Won? What are you talking about?" Marta inquired. "You didn't win. Ratatosk, Regal, Zelos and I are still alive."
"Not all battles revolve around merely killing your adversary," Genis said in a tone of who tried to lecture a child. "Some have other objectives and I don't remember ever saying mine was to kill you here and now. Though, don't worry..." Reriki then waved her arms, leaving glowing lines in the air as she formed a symbol. "Your time will come eventually."
With that, Reriki finished her spell and a portal opened, blocking the reincarnated Summon Spirit's view of Genis and his aides. When the portal closed, the three had disappeared. Ratatosk and the others relaxed as the crimson-eyed entity gave the control back to Emil.
"What do you think he meant by that?" the blonde asked.
It was then Regal and Zelos' eyes widened in realization, both looking at each other and seeing they had reached the same conclusion. Marta and Emil noticed that and the brunette asked them what it was.
"I fear we have been deceived," the Thunder's Apprentice started. "This whole battle was nothing, but a diversion; a means to keep our attention focused here."
"But why would they... ?" Emil started and then remembered. "Lloyd! The others!" he exclaimed. Zelos nodded.
"Plus, that agitation in the chaos energy before, that Genis brat looked really satisfied when we sensed it. Something probably happened to Bud and the others and I have a feeling its not good," the red head said, his tone serious and somber.
"Then we have to get back to the Renegade base immediately to contact them," Marta urged them.
"Indeed," Solum said, reappearing with the other Centurions. "Though it will be impossible to help them, since it's probable they are still in the sea."
"There is also the matter of just what released that amount of energy," Ventus said. "It felt like a demon of Lord ranking, but... quite different at the same time."
The group decided to leave their speculations for later and took a sprint out of the temple. They just hoped they could reach Yuan and Martel in time, though those two might have sensed that already.
I hope they are all ok... Marta prayed.