"S-Sis, w-w-wait!"
"C-captain!? Everyone, something is-?!"
Two girls were utterly drowned out by the feral roars that exploded in the district, deafening everything else. Ironically enough, those screams didn't emerge from the monsters, but the highest ranking adventurers of the city, whose eyes were blinded with fury. Whether by self preservation, by command or any other reason, it was the cause of this entire chaos that acted before the adventurers could leap down and slaughter all of the Xenos in a blink of an eye.
Lobo's maw grabbed onto the neck of Fia. Bell's eyes widened alongside everyone else, fearing that in the next moment, blood would be spilled. Instead however, he could have sworn something flickered in the dull eyes of the wolf, as he 'merely' ran off...with the harpy in his mouth.
"Aaaaahhhh!"
"Dam-RANYE!"
"On it!"
Before Lobo could turn into a blur, strings of spiderweb shoot out, attaching themselves to his fur. Then when the wolf exploded into motion, reaching maximum velocity, Gros, Arles and Let were dragged away with Ranye, their eyes bulging at the sudden force despite bracing themselves. Unable to slow the wolf down whatsoever, they dangled and trailed behind him. Naturally the top adventurers of the city didn't remain idle either when their main target decided to run away for some reason.
"No, you fuckin' don't!"
"Get back here!"
Bete and Tione ran after the escaping Xenos with their expressions distorted with fury. But it was Aiz that caught Bell's attention the most. Their eyes met. The two of them flinched at the same time. He didn't know why Aiz reacted like that, but he didn't expect such…darkness in her eyes, flickering like flames. Then the Wind Princess took a deep breath, before letting out a quiet growl and summoning up her wind, tinted with black color, before she exploded into motion as well. He didn't know what that was about, but he could tell that among those conflicting feelings she must have felt…hate was one of the main ones.
Unfortunately Bell couldn't pay her any more attention, as he had to block an arrow from hitting Wiene with a swift flick of his wrist, Homebringer smacking it out of the air. He grit his teeth as more arrows were set loose, at the same time as other adventurers rushed into the open area. He flipped his blades, blunt sides in front before slowly backing off, coming shoulder to shoulder with Kojiro and Haruhime as they formed a small shield for the Xenos behind them.
"Tch."
Riveria glanced at Finn with an unreadable expression as he bit his thumb.
"They broke formation."
"I was going to order them to chase anyway." Running his hand through his hair, Finn let out a low growl. "Everyone else, I want those monsters' heads on a silver platter!"
Roars of agreement and bloodlust filled the air, as the projectiles increased in number while the melee combatants picked up the pace. Gareth was among them, cracking his neck as he patted his shoulder with his axe with narrowed eyes while descending.
"What about Hestia Familia?"
Finn mirrored her eyebrow with his own, twitching ever so slightly.
"What about them?"
"Very well." She closed her eyes, taking a soft breath before opening them again, surveying the situation alongside her captain. Said situation being…less than orderly to say the least.
Bell tried not to wince when he slammed his blades into someone's neck, knocking him out with one swift strike. He didn't have the time to soften his fall gently, so instead he had to kick him out of the way entirely before having to sway backwards from an axe swing almost gouging his eyes out. At the same time, he had to swing his blades up and down respectively to block the swords attacking him from each side. Barely in time, he caught an arrow aimed for Wiene's head with his teeth before leaping backwards, pushing the small girl with his own back. A spear almost managed to hit her, but thankfully Kojiro smacked it away before slapping the offender with the side of his blade. Bell raised his palm, firing off several Firebolts. Several attackers yelped in panic, backing away from Rei as she dragged Wiene deeper into the Xenos formation. He could hear Haruhime's battle cries as fist met flesh over and over again. He could hear the growls and roars of the Formoire, of the others.
He could hear way too much.
Bell had no idea what was going on at this point, as he swung his blades, moved his limbs, trying to do anything to get the other adventurers off their backs, but it was akin to slapping away waves of water. All the noise around him became a monotonous ringing to his ears. His head ached at all the motions entering his vision, of Xenos, of adventurers, their weapons, their armors, their colors, all intermingling into one giant mess. He could hear Lido shout something, but he couldn't make out the words at all. He did see that he was pointing away at something, so Bell assumed he was screaming about needing to get out of here. Which was easier said than done. If nothing else, the amount of magic thrown at them was kept to a minimum, as the brawl prevented large scale magic. Finn and the other leaders didn't lose themselves to rage that much at the very least. Nevertheless, Bell thought with gritted teeth as he pushed back with his blades locked with three other fighters, they needed something to change the tides.
As if the heavens heard his wish, the change came in an instance…with a certain sound that pierced through all the other noise.
The sound of chains rattling. Bell couldn't help but relax instinctively. It was a sound he heard many times in the past, protecting the front from the back, moving to cover any openings Bell revealed to the dungeon. However, that proved itself to be a fatal mistake.
"Watch out!"
An ugly sounding crunch echoed in the air, followed by a strangled scream. Bell snapped his head to the source, dodging a stab at his head at the same time as he backed away. He saw Haruhime whimper as she held her left hand, bending and blue in a way no hand should be. Lido blinked with wide eyes, having fallen down backwards before shaking his head and shooting up.
"Harucchi!"
"I-I'm fine!" She inhaled slowly, before forcefully setting her fingers back into place with a pained grunt. Flexing her hand slowly, she forced her hand to remain as a fist before slowly looking up. Bell followed her gaze and felt his breath stop.
The rattling of chains. The whirring noise of a fast spinning motion cutting through the air. And…the blank look of his captain, only her eyebrow twitching ever so slightly as she stared at Haruhime's fist. Then she closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.
"Y'all really had to go and pull this shit off, hm?"
"Solaris... ?" Bell muttered, unable to comprehend what was going on. Why did she attack Haruhime? Wait, no, she attacked Lido, Haruhime protected him, but this still didn't make any sense. She…she wasn't actually trying to…? His mind went through loops, trying to make sense of the situation, but unable to reach the only conclusion. It took Kojiro kicking him in his side to snap him out of it and tightening his grip on Homebringer, but Bell was unable to keep Solaris out of his view as he helplessly swung his swords once more.
"Crozzo. Are you with us or them?" Finn asked, staring at her with suspicion as he overlooked the chaos.
"Isn't it obvious, Deimne?" Solaris said without bothering to look at him. Her hands tightened around the chain she was swinging as a circle of death. Baring her teeth, she cracked her neck. "My Familia is being tricked. Misguided. So it's up to me to put them on the proper path…and kill what is leading them astray."
For a short moment, Finn simply stared at her. Then, he made a short motion with his head. That was all that Solaris needed as she flicked her wrists and held the weight and scythe at their handle before leaping down, the chain links rattling against the wall behind her.
"Sol-"
"Awaken, Inferno."
It wasn't just Bell that flinched from the flames that emerged from her body. Many other adventurers hurried to get away from the burning captain, slowly walking forward like a specter of death setting sight on its prey. Bell knew he should've stepped forward, to talk, to stop her…but his feet refused to move towards his friend.
Haruhime had no such issue. With a shout, she threw her leg upwards, aiming for Solaris' chin. By a hair, the latter leaned backwards, avoiding the strike entirely. The captain in response raised her fist, having wrapped some of the chain around it. Haruhime immediately exhaled, relaxing her body as the fist came at her. But then, a sudden flash of fire was spat out of the knuckles, causing Haruhime to flinch and taking the fist straight into her face. Knocking her backwards, the griffon caught her with his body, as she held her bleeding nose in pain.
"If I do this, you can't go soft or hard enough for defense. That's why you need to steel your nerves more, Haruhime."
Solaris' eyes widened before she snapped her arm up. The long katana slammed against her chains and her arm, smacking her against the head as she skid sideways. She grinned slightly, staring at Kojiro who exhaled with slightly narrowed eyes. He couldn't maintain eyecontact for long however, for two more people jumped at him from behind. He barely parried them, only to hiss when an arrow cut his arm. Using that chance, Solaris picked up speed with the movement of her weapon.
"Too many people for your eyes. And…" She slammed her weapons on the ground, filled with Inferno. "Magic's a bitch, innit?!"
The small explosion threw Kojiro off his feet, only for him to get tackled by a massive beastman, forcing him to the ground. Bell couldn't worry for much longer for him, as Solaris snapped her head towards him.
"Last but not least…"
Bell tensed up, facing his captain. She stared at him, impassionately before raising her right arm. He was ready to deflect, only for Solaris to flick her wrist at an entirely different direction. His eyes widened as his body moved on his own. He jumped, practically sideways, and barely managed to prevent the armored Ward Shadow from losing his head from the weight. Yet in mid air, Bell had no to properly defend or deflect, so instead he caught the force straight into his crossed arms. He could swear he heard a crack as the pain flared up. Rolling on the ground, Bell stood up as fast as he could, just in time to see Solaris' glare directed at him.
"Wanting to protect others is nice and good... " She spat to her side. "But you mustn't be stupid about it. That's your weakness, Bell." She pointed at him with her left hand, her right hand never letting up on keeping the momentum of the scythe going at him. "Why didn't you just block it? Parry it? Throwing yourself into an attack with no thought behind it isn't smart. You won't protect anyone like that." Solaris narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "You're too light."
To demonstrate her point, she flicked the weight at him, sending him almost stumbling before he forced himself to roll away. Just as he got up again however, he had to break his own balance once more by leaping at the scythe aiming for the Fomoire's back with spit flying out of his mouth. Taking that opening, Solaris forced Bell's eyes to shut from a blaze that came way too close. Over and over, Bell was forced to move in a desperate attempt to save a Xenos' life, only for him to take a hit for them. He felt the pain, the bruises piling up, his bones aching, his lungs begging for air. And the source of that agony was his own captain, who mercilessly increased her pace, the whirlwind of steel and fire intensifying. He should've blamed her. Begged her, rejected her actions.
However, instead, Bell could only think of one thing.
That Solaris Crozzo…was strong. That Solaris Crozzo was seriously going at them, taking advantage of the weaknesses she has observed as their captain. He should've been more shocked, more outraged. But a small part of him…was happy that she was going at him like this. Yet it was only a small part.
"Duck!"
Bell did so and saw a sword swipe over him, forcing Solaris back. Lido hissed, flicking his tongue as he parried her counter attack, almost piercing his throat from the side. Bell kicked up, preventing the weight from crushing Lido's knee before they stood shoulder to shoulder.
"Don't hurt her, please!"
"I only promise to try, friend!"
Solaris twitched, causing her usually smooth dexterity with her chain to stutter. Bell took this chance to tackle her. As she wheezed and slid backwards, he immediately backed away again with Lido. The captain growled, the air heating up around her even more as she stared at Bell and the Xenos at his side, fighting like comrades.
If Solaris came at him with a rock solid intention, he could've responded in kind. Instead however, amidst the flames in her eyes, he could see that she was not setting her entire heart ablaze. As if seeing his realization, she tried to cover up that doubt in her eyes with more rage as she snarled and intensified her swings. They become faster, wilder, increasing in range, almost knocking Bell off his feet. However, her actions did more bad than good for the anti Xenos forces, as her flames turned from its orange color to white.
"Oi, cool it, I can't-"
"Crozzo, sto-"
"FUUUUUUUUCK!"
Bell could barely breathe in the superheated air around them. Many of the reinforcements were unable to step any closer. The arrows and magic were burned up before they reached anyone. As if that wasn't bad enough, Solaris' range of her chaotic whirlwind of destruction grew and grew until they actually started to slash and burn the buildings nearby. Rock collapsed and started to melt, the air distorted from the heat, as well as the dark clouds emerging from her actions. Even as Bell coughed, as his eyes teared up, they were wide open as he realized something, something that everyone else on his side did too.
This was their chance. The fire, the smoke, the frantic swings of Solaris, who was grimacing, not out of exertion but from something else. Bell hoped it was an internal conflict. Whether she intended to or not, the captain of the Hestia Familia created openings for them. Openings that none of them missed. At once, they ran through the gaps that were made, in all cardinal directions. The smaller Xenos were picked up as quickly as they could and everyone made a dash for it. Bell had Wiene in his arms as Kojiro led the way for him, while Haruhime followed Lido.
"Move it, move it, move it!"
"Where do we go?!" Bell shouted, causing Kojiro to let out a strained laugh.
"Anywhere but here, young master!"
Bell gritted his teeth as he held the young girl in his arms closer to his chest. That wasn't exactly what he was hoping to hear. Nevertheless, he accelerated his tempo. After all…
The chase was on, and the entirety of Orario became a nest of activity. During all that commotion, there was one person that was rooted in place, along in the smoking remains of the alley.
"Fuck…what the hell…?" Solaris muttered to herself, as she remained rooted in place staring at her cooling weapon.
/
Aiz and the others were losing themselves in rage. No, not her. She didn't lose herself somehow. She was actually quite aware of her surroundings, the circumstances, the mistakes they were committing themselves to. Committing themselves to become Bell's enemy. It was one realization that allowed her to keep her sanity, her focus.
Something was deeply wrong about this entire situation. Aiz knew it in her heart. Not that she was diving deeper into the abyss. Not that she was chasing after monsters who could talk. Not that Bell risked his entire reputation and future for mere beast. No, the fact that disgusted her to her core was different. The fact that kept her 'near the surface', despite the dark flame being awakened in her wind, was one she didn't want to acknowledge, but had to, for it made no sense for her to keep her head otherwise.
She couldn't feel a hint of resonance with the other Avenger.
Aiz would've loved to pretend that remembering Tiona would've snapped her out of any form of blood rage. That being on the surface, in civilian areas, made her hold back for their sake. But she wasn't that arrogant, didn't believe in herself that much to delude herself like that. No, the fact that this monster's hatred didn't synchronize with her meant that the beast was being controlled by someone else, controlled, tricked, so much that its burning dark flame was being manipulated somehow. Because of that, while Aiz gave it her all to chase after it, she also wanted something other than killing the beast.
Answers.
She, Bete and Tione cut around the corner, only to come to a stop at the plazza. The monsters they were hunting were all there, out of breath. The arachne semed to fuss over the harpy, who weakly smiled as she hugged the almiraj. The gargoyle turned to them first, spreading his arms open as if protecting them.
Aiz hissed, holding her head as the ringing intensified in it. She shook her head, dismissing what she saw as delusions and looked around before clicking her tongue.
The wolf monster of Rivira was gone. Tione noticed as well, snarling as she slammed down on the ground, her feet cracking the stone.
"Where did it go?!"
"We're not with him, damn it!"
"It ran off!"
"So do us a favor and just leave us alone!"
Aiz whimpered quietly, tightening her grip on Desperate. Each word those things uttered was like a screeching nail against a blackboard. What was she thinking before? Wanting answers? And here she was, mere noise from monsters turning her head inside out. It was almost laughable, if it weren't for the pain she felt.
Why were monsters talking? It made no sense. It was like they were actually people, like Bell said. But no, as pure as the boy was, as good as he was…he had to be wrong. There couldn't be any good monsters. It was impossible. Because if it was possible…
"Who'd believe garbage like you?!" Bete snarled, cracking his knuckles as he stepped up next to Tione.
"Guess it turned out this way after all…" The gargoyle muttered, before leaning forward in a sort of combat stance, spreading his wings open. It made itself a bigger target… but it hid the smaller monsters behind him out of view.
If it was possible for monsters to care for each other like this…
"You two, we can't-"
"Shirou said it best," the Gargoyle muttered to the harpy. "Ideals only matter if you are strong enough to live up to them. And right now…the only ideal we can live up to is 'Survival'." He glanced at the arachne who walked up next to him. "You with me?"
The web monster smiled slightly, flexing her own claws.
"Until the end of the line."
If it was possible for monsters to sacrifice themselves for others like this…!
"Arles, get her out of here."
"I can't just leave yo-"
"As long as some of us get out of this, I'll be content!"
If monsters could be just like people…then!
Aiz was hyperventilating at this point, covering her face and only peaking through the gaps of her fingers. She wanted to understand. She didn't want to understand. Monsters were evil. Monsters only killed. Monsters were monsters. So why didn't these monsters act like monsters then?!
"If monsters could think and feel like us…what would you do?"
Aiz told Bell she could kill them without hesitation, because of their potential malice they could inflict, like on Tiona. And yet here she was…unable to forget his words. His worrying expression.
"Nobody has to get hurt."
If it were that simple…! If it were that simple then why…?!
Tione snarled, pulling out her knives. With her target gone, the only ones left to vent her rage on were the monsters in front of her. Thus, she exploded into motion. The gargoyle's eyes widened, its maw opening to warn the arachne, but it would be too late before its skull would be gouged.
And yet, that didn't happen. For a split second, she felt it. The raw energy that came into existence out of nowhere, like a giant appearing above an ants' nest. Her instincts caused her to hold her blade up in self defense, yet it was meaningless for she wasn't the target of that sheer weight, that aura.
Aiz barely didn't see it, through the aching of her own head. A large blur smashed into Tione with such great force, it sent her flying, blood spilling out of her mouth, through several buildings with ease. The thunderous noise of stone and wood crashing down caused Bete to gape for just a moment before snarling with his fists raised.
"What the fuck-"
He didn't expect the large…thing to spin with such great speed that he barely managed to jump backwards with his arms crossed. Even then, Aiz could see the bruise forming from blocking the wild swing of the new beast.
It was some form of black minotaur. She felt a vague sense of deja vu through her ringing head. It held an axe in its hand, something that confused her. Why didn't it use it, instead tackling and punching her friends? She and Bete eyed the newcomer with wariness, as it oozed power. Power equal or even above theirs. And yet…it turned its head ever so slightly to the other monsters with a look that Aiz almost mistook for concern.
"Where's he?" Itrumbled with a deep voice, causing the monsters to flinch, as if they were grieving. The arachne bit its shivering lip. The harpy sniffed, tears dropping down the ground. Lastly, the gargoyle clenched its claws into fists of frustrations.
All human emotions. All impossible emotions.
"He's gone."
The minotaur froze, its massive body becoming perfectly still. Then it exhaled through its nose and nodded slowly.
"...Did he die well?"
"Died with a damn smile."
Turning back at Aiz and Bete, he stomped the ground once, with enough force to equal a small earthquake.
"Go."
The other beasts didn't hesitate. The gargoyle picked up the harpy in his arms, almiraj in tow as the arachne followed closely.
"Tch, I owe you one!"
That brought Aiz back to reality. She clenched her hand around Desperate while Bete growled, dashing forward. At the same time, Tione exploded out of the ruins, despite her bleeding head, with a rampaging scream.
"Get the fuck back here you filthy-"
Shifting its axe, the minotaur roared with such noise it almost deafened them all. Holding his ears by reflex, Bete was unable to react in time when the weapon moved with impossible speeds, flat side slamming right into the wolfman. He shouted in pain, being sent flying just like Tione before him. Tione powered through her bleeding ears, throwing a wild haymkaer. But before her rage filled fist could reach the minotaur, with its superior height, the monsters simply rammed its head downwards, down on Tione's body, smashing her into the ground. She bounced off it, coughing up crimson fluids. Before she could recover, like a football, the beast kicked her away once more.
During all that, Aiz stood there, taking in the situation. She didn't analyze the beast for openings. She wasn't stunned by its roar. Instead…she couldn't help but smile. It was not a good smile. The corners of her mouth moved by themselves, as a singular thought filled her mind.
Thank goodness. A proper monster.
There was no technique in its movements. Its strikes with its body, its attack with the weapons, they were wild, filled with bestial pride. That made sense. The world made sense agai-
"I remember you."
And yet, wonderland invaded reality once more, as it spoke, breaking Aiz' immersion. Her smile vanished, her eyes wide at the audacity of this…this lie to continue. It looked at Aiz, with eyes filled with nostalgia as it nodded once, as if remembering something.
"But you aren't the ones I was wai-"
"Stop talking."
She couldn't accept it. She once read it took a strong person to deny what was right in front of them. That if the truth was undeniable, the truly strong made their own truth. Aiz had never read such false words before in her life. For she created her own truth and she was in no way strong. Never strong enough. After all, if she were strong, she could've accepted that Xenos existed. If she was truly strong in body, heart and soul…
She could've accepted she was worse than monsters they were hunting right now. Yet here she was, unable to do so, as she whispered in a cold tone, her emotions of shame, guilt and worry burning up to the dark flame within her, because of her own weakness.
"Be silent. You're a monster. A beast."
The wind picked up and the abomination took a step back, eyes narrowed at the threat she represented.
"Monsters aren't supposed to talk. Monsters aren't supposed to hold the line. Monsters aren't supposed to care."
She stepped forward, crossing a distance far larger than a single step should've allowed. She swung her sword. She didn't care that her muscles screamed from the speed they weren't used to. She didn't care for the energy leaving her with the excessive force behind it. All she cared for was that she felt her ever growing hatred rise when the monster dared to actually dodge her Tempest cleaving through the evacuated buildings with ease. It didn't dodge completely, a wide gash across its shoulder…but Aiz aimed for the entire arm. She spun around and slammed Desperate against the axe it held, causing it to crack as the Minotaur was forced to slide to the side a bit with its bulging muscles fighting back against her Tempest.
"Monsters are supposed to die."
In response, the beast just glared at her before unleashing a furious war cry. It was as if it wasn't even humoring her mental breakdown. And that suited Aiz just fine, as she ramped up her own wind and began to swing as wildly as the monster before her. With no more words, no more lies uttered, her smile, her disgusting, distorted smile, returned, even as her eyes were filled with darkness.
Despite her misgivings about the whole situation, despite her questions, Aiz was too weak to live up to those strange factors. Instead…she fanned the flames within her and roared as her wind exploded with power. Her head hurt too much to focus if she didn't do this. Her heart ached like a thousand needles stabbing into it if she didn't swing her sword at the beast, the…Xenos, treating it like any other monster to be slain. As her hair fluttered, between blonde and white, one question echoed before fainting away into her hatred, fainting just like the small girl that would cry for help only for none to arrive.
Would her soul finally stop hurting if she always abandoned all reason like this?