Well, things are...kinda back in order. Not completely, but enough so as to not be catastrophic anymore. I finished up the rest of this chapter more or less today, so I'm hoping to get started on the next chapter tomorrow.
Begin!
Book I, Part IV: Mortal Conflict - Dissension in the Ranks
Chapter VII—Pride Before the Fall
[Ethereal Plane, Upper Court, Tower of the Ethereal Magi]
The Ethereal Magi's tower of residence had a special distinction in the Upper Court in that, while it wasn't the most majestic building in the inner area, it was by far the tallest. It had been such ever since it had been erected, standing nine stories tall and proudly overlooking every building in the Upper Court. The Ethereal Magi also made their dwelling much more grandiose and noticeable than that of their counterparts – the tower itself was made of fine stone colored in shades of brilliant white and gleaming yellow that evoked images of the sun's rays shining upon each of the structures beneath it. Beautiful tapestries of vibrant red and blue adorned the tower from bottom to top, with pairs framing either side of every stone window and the large pair of curved doors at the bottom of the tower, carved and framed in the same shape as the doors to the Ethereal Knights' own sanctum.
None of that mattered to Arragious Nicholai, however – all he was concerned with were the pair of magi that he could see patrolling outside the doors. Each mage was dressed in the clothing that was the 'uniform' of sorts of the Ethereal Magi, consisting of a simple white robe, sandals, and a colored sash around the waist that showed the rank of the mage in question. One of the magi bore a sash of bright red, marking them as a Vindicator, a member of the Order who had devoted their magical studies to the ways of force and combat. The other wore one of dark green, denoting their status as a Templar – one who had passed the basic tests to become a full member of the Order, but was not yet skilled enough in a given path to ascend to a higher rank.
Normally, in times of peace, two of Templar rank would be assigned to guard the tower's entrance; it was considered a trial of patience to hold such a duty and was used to impart that lesson upon new initiates in order to aid them with their studies. Vindicators and Judicators – magi who focused in manipulation, knowledge, and control – were rarely placed on such duty except in times of alert or outright war. Arragious nodded thoughtfully as he watched, carefully keeping his distance in his magically-cloaked form.
'Interesting,' he thought to himself, gazing out towards the tower. 'By placing only one of higher rank to stand guard, Freya acknowledges that something is amiss without creating undue tension that the placement of two of such members would assuredly bring.' The Creator's actions had always been about balance, he knew, even when strong action was preferred and, often, required. It made her a capable leader in times of peace, as she listened to all sides equally and attempted compromise, but hindered her in times of war, when a decisive show of force and action was necessary.
Unfortunately, for Arragious, stealth was almost completely out of the question when it came to handling his second target. There were more people out and around in the tower before him, which would make most of his movement detectable in some form, cloaked by magical means or not. The tower was also far too high for him to climb from the outside, even ignoring the obvious issues he would have defending himself during such an attempt and the attention it would bring. Even from his current location, he was wary that he would be detected before he decided to move. The solution he had decided to go with was both risky and, at the same time, the best option he saw – instead of relying on stealth, to rely on speed. If he could get inside, disable anyone in his way, and make it to the top to take care of his target as quickly as possible, then he could possibly make it out without being caught by someone like Lord Odin or Lord Xeios. Once he got back outside, he knew that he would have no problems escaping, but there were wards in place within the tower to prevent magical entry and escape such as teleportation. Fortunately for him, this also gave him a bit of breathing room with the knowledge that Xeios himself could not simply warp to the location; he would be stuck moving normally once he reached a certain distance.
'Hesitation breeds doubt,' he mused, standing straight again as he prepared to move. 'Freya has yet to truly learn that lesson – one must be unafraid to move, confident that their actions are the best to take.'
Arragious took one last long look at the doors and the pair guarding it before beginning to run towards the tower, dropping his magical enchantment as he did so and bringing his body into full view of the two guards in front of the doors. There was a momentary pause from one of the guards before he seemed to recognize the figure charging him, quickly followed by a yell of surprise as the duo of Erudite began channeling defensive magic. Arragious swiftly cut them off as his hands flew from under his cloak, releasing his pair of mesmeric blades upon the guards with a quick mental command. Surprised by the action, the sole Templar was too late in creating a shield and fell to the dirt, his legs sliced by one of the blades, rendering them incapable of supporting his weight. The remaining Erudite found himself assaulted by the remaining mesmeric blade as well as by Arragious as the former Captain-Commander closed into melee range, and had just enough time to create a barrier to deflect the magical weapon before Arragious was upon him. A fist lashed out quickly, and the standing guard joined his comrade on the ground, stunned by the sheer power of the blow even as Arragious pressed his attack. The guard who Arragious had first downed started to cast another spell, recovering enough from the pain and surprise to attempt to stop Arragious, but was cut off once more by the hilts of Arragious' blades slamming into one side of his head and his forehead. The near-simultaneous impacts laid him out flat from the force even as Arragious dealt with the Vindicator who was left, pummeling him rapidly around the face and upper body until he could defend himself no more, having slipped into unconsciousness.
The entire fight, if it could be called such, was swift, surprising, and brutal – exactly the way Arragious liked to fight, and exactly the way he hoped the rest of his ascent would go. As much as his lust for revenge on the ones who had wronged him burned within him, however, he held no real desire to kill those who had no part – non-lethal combat would work fine unless there was no other alternative. His reputation would aid him as much as any weapon here; even those who had been young during the days of war knew of his former station as Captain-Commander and his nearly-unrivaled skills in combat, and it would weigh his enemies' feet down with fear, giving him the edge he needed.
Returning his blades to their places beneath his cloak, he gently pushed open one of the curved doors leading inside, taking his first steps towards the next part of his journey.
[July 7, 2152 | Trabia Garden, First Floor, Dormitories | 9:13 PM]
The familiar surroundings of my dormitory room shimmer back into view of my eyes as I step off the Crystal Path, glad to be back at last after spending the evening at the mercy of Odine's brand of science. The presence of Dr. Mizrahi seemed to temper him ever so slightly, but it didn't make him any less unnerving – no one who wears an outfit like that in a professional institute can be completely sane by any stretch of the imagination. Combine that with the fact that I couldn't actually keep any weapons on me while I was inside, and I was significantly less than happy during my time in Esthar. Being stalked by Ethereal beings has given me a healthy sense of paranoia ever since I showed up here in Gaia, and though I've heard that things have settled down in the Ethereal Plane, I'm not going to stay relaxed just yet. I am, after all, still a member of SeeD, and danger is less a possibility and more a certainty in this line of work.
It's becoming noticeable now how…comfortable I am with my abilities as a Planeswalker, too. When I first realized I had the ability to Planeswalk, I didn't understand just what it was, and that made me hesitant and almost afraid to use it. Ever since Lady Freya explained to me what I was and what it entailed, however, I've grown more and more comfortable with the idea and the benefits that it brings. Planeswalking just seems to be the most convenient method of travel I've ever come across, and I love it – I've a bad habit of trying to do things as quickly as possible most of the time, and being able to near-instantly be halfway across the world if I wish is the epitome of valuable to me. There are a number of other quirks that I've started to notice that interest me as well, things that I'm not sure come completely from being a Planeswalker but that I'm thankful for anyway. If I concentrate, I can 'feel' people in a magical sense. It's hard for me to explain, even to myself…sort of like a sixth sense that just works, even if you don't know how or why. It seems like everyone's energy has its own unique feel, and once I learn what 'feel' goes with which person, I can focus on that and pick that person out from a distance even if they're out of immediate sight. I can't make it work at astonishing distances yet, but it's good enough right now for me to pick out people that I know who are maybe a couple hundred yards around me in any given direction. The problem I have is that I can't make it work on everyone yet – I have to actually focus and sort of figure out the feel of someone's energy, almost as if I'm memorizing it, before I can really use the sense to find them.
Something else that I've noticed came only recently, during times when I had my Guardian Force unjunctioned. It almost seems as if my body is stronger, magically stronger, even without a GF bolstering my physical strength and endurance. Not to an extent beyond maybe a small change in actual strength, mind you, but…tougher, more resilient, as if just being a Planeswalker makes me a little more effective at shrugging off sickness, fatigue, and those kinds of infirmities. It seems that when I talked to Lady Freya about what being a Planeswalker meant, I didn't think to ask about the fine print. I've been thinking about what else I might be able to do for a little while now, but I don't really have any way to know short of either asking another Planeswalker, like Andréa, or talking with Lady Freya herself again. I would hate to bother Lady Freya for something so trivial as this, though, so my mind is leaning more towards talking with Andréa at some point in the future.
I still feel that even though I already know far more than I did when I first came here, I'm still missing several very important details that I should've found out by now. All I can do, it seems, is hope that talking to someone can fill in the rest of the gaps…and unfortunately, Lady Luck and I have never seemingly been on the best of terms.
Arragious' feet stomped loudly against the floor as he moved across the eighth floor, leaving behind the fallen forms of another trio of magi that had tried to intercept him on his ascent. He hadn't killed any of them, he knew, but one had been rather…persistent, and so he had been forced to inflict more serious injury than necessary. So far, he'd only been attacked by Vindicators and Judicators – all the Templar must have stayed away from the combat, albeit with good reason. One of Templar rank was typically still new to their station, and while possessing formidable power befitting of an Erudite, they were not skilled enough to stand against someone of Arragious' caliber.
'All the better,' he thought as he ascended the stairs leading up to the ninth and final floor. 'It allows the rest to fight at their full capacity without worrying about those unfit to be in such a battle.'
The ninth floor was significantly different from the rest of the tower in terms of architectural layout. The other floors held numerous rooms in a circular fashion set towards both the outer and inner parts of the tower. The ninth floor differed, however, as it was specially-designed with a single large room in the very center, accompanied by many other rooms that ringed it on the outside set towards the outer wall of the structure giving it an appearance at the top that resembled many small squares jutting outward from the main portion of the tower. It was designed for a variety of purposes – solitude for those of the highest rank who held the most important duties, the undisturbed preparation and execution of arcane rituals, and magical training for higher-ranking officials being only a few. The room also held four doors that led inside, one in each cardinal direction, mostly for ease of access and convenience. The stairs that Arragious had taken stopped nearby one such door, being the only staircase that led up to the ninth floor; the lower floors each had several such staircases between floors, as they each saw much more traffic than the ninth floor typically did.
Energy pulsed near him, and he moved towards the door, close enough now to confirm that the power he was feeling belonged to the one he was seeking. His hand reached out and easily opened the smooth, wooden door, pushing it aside and allowing him entry into the massive, circular chamber. A sole figure sat in the room, easily visible among the torches resting on stands around the room and the symbols and runes etched into the walls from floor to ceiling as they knelt directly in the center of a large glyph that was painted onto the center of the room's floor, seemingly in the midst of meditation. For a moment, the figure didn't look up as Arragious entered, but their head rose slowly as Arragious' footfalls began to cross the room to stare at the walking Erudite. The kneeling figure was female, dressed in the same robes that the other members of the Ethereal Magi also wore, with long red hair tied back into a ponytail behind her and bright green eyes that seemed to pierce Arragious as he watched. As she slowly stood, Arragious caught a glimpse of a bright orange-colored sash around her waist, the mark of her status as a Praetor, confirming that she was the person he sought.
"So, it seems you've come," the woman said, her voice strong and even as she watched Arragious. "I knew you would, considering…"
Arragious kept his expression neutral, though he thought he caught something in her voice as she trailed off. Hirota had seemed surprised to see him again after all these years, but this woman seemed…to expect it, almost as if welcoming it.
"Arisa Minami," Arragious stated, the woman nodding as he spoke her name. "You sound as if you were expecting me."
"In a sense, I suppose I was," Arisa replied. "Ever since that day, six hundred years ago…" She laughed suddenly, the sound sharp and surprising in the chamber. "Exile…we really believed that could keep you away, that you would just go along with it quietly. Fools, every last one of us."
Arragious frowned – he had expected surprise, resentment, rage…but not this.
"I suppose you're here to kill me?" she asked, seeming remarkably calm even despite the statement. "I can't say I blame you – I would feel the same, truthfully."
"You sound as if you feel sorry for what you did," Arragious said, the frown deepening the more she talked. None of those who had delivered his sentence sounded particularly remorseful as he was cast out – was she truly feeling regret for what she had done, or was this all part of some kind of trick?
"Should I not?" she said, a bit more forcefully. "Should I not feel ashamed that I had a part in banishing someone who did so much for this plane, who served faithfully for over a millennium, who fought to keep order and peace even when all those under his command were in outrage?"
"You had a choice," the former Captain-Commander said, his voice icy. "You could have spoken out, but you did nothing. You condemned me, just like all the rest."
"I did what I thought was right!" she yelled, turning her gaze back down towards the floor. "But now I know that it wasn't right at all. I can say that I did it for the plane as much as I wish, but that's no comfort to me when I know that I truly did it for my own selfish reasons." Her eyes hardened as she calmed down, seeming to bore into Arragious but at the same time searching for…something.
"If you're going to kill me, then go ahead," she said quietly. "I cannot change the past, but perhaps I can find peace in Soul Society knowing that I atoned for my mistakes."
There was a moment of hesitation from Arragious – the Praetor before him was clearly sorry for what she had done, that much was clear to him. He was remarkably adept at reading people, and he could tell that she was being honest. Still…six hundred years of hatred and resent did not vanish easily, and that warred with the part of Arragious that seemed to want to spare Minami after what she'd said.
Seconds passed, and Arragious strode forward, his cloak billowing out around him as one of his blades entered his hand.
"I wish you had chosen differently," he said quietly, holding the Erudite's shoulder as he removed his mesmeric blade from where it had pierced her heart. "Go now, and rest."
Her legs weakened, threatening to send her to the ground, but Arragious did not let her fall. Gently, he took hold of her and lowered her to the floor, letting her rest on her back as she took her last few breaths of life. The crime was too great, his mind told him, but…he could find it in himself to show respect for her resolve and remorse. The deed was done, and her sins had been laid to rest.
Arragious stood again, his mind coming back to him in a flash as he realized that he needed to leave, immediately – there was no sense in winding up in combat with Xeios by tarrying too long in his place. He spun, moving easily and quickly towards the door he had entered with the intent of going back down to a lower floor and using the numerous staircases and hallways to confuse pursuers, but stopped short as the door was suddenly thrown open from outside.
"Praeto –"
The form of a white-clad woman stood in the doorway, her voice cut off as she realized that Arragious was directly in front of her and that she had been too late to stop him. Arragious began to raise his blade, thinking the woman simply another member of the Magi that needed to be incapacitated…before he stopped, looking more closely. Indeed, she was not quite dressed the same as the members of the Magi – she wore white, but it was a sleeveless white dress that came down to her ankles, white sandals, and a white sword sheath belted at the waist, not the white robes and colored sash of an Ethereal Mage. He took in the long dark hair, the look of the woman's face, and her eyes…and lowered his blade again, realizing that he knew the person he was now looking at.
"Captain Inihara. I must say, I'm surprised to see you still alive after all this time."
The dark-haired woman standing before Arragious simply nodded, keeping her expression level as she watched Arragious. She spared a glance behind him, noticing the fallen form of an Erudite on the floor of the room – Praetor Minami, she realized in a moment of horror. Arragious had assuredly done this; the blood slowly dripping from the tip of his mesmeric blade was proof enough.
"Captain-Comman…Arragious," she began, forcing herself to discard the formal address she'd given him for so long before his exile. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you attacked Praetor Minami?" Even before the words left her mouth, she already knew the answer she was going to receive. She had tried to deny to herself that Arragious was the one behind the death of Master Hirota, but the sight in front of her took all that denial and shattered it like so much glass, leaving nothing but unflinching truth in its wake.
"Your beloved Praetor has merely received…reciprocation. Repayment in kind for the injustice dealt me centuries ago," Arragious responded, a hint of bitter hatred creeping into his voice as he glanced back at the fallen Erudite. "Do not force me to enact the same repayment upon you, Kari," he continued, mirroring her prior first-name use.
The white-clad Malakh hesitated briefly at his words; the difference between their powers was clear and had been so ever since the time of the Gilead Order. Even disregarding the innately-greater stores of spiritual energy that Erudite held over Malakh, Arragious Nicholai had been the leader of the elite order, and he held considerably more power and prowess than even the strongest warriors in the order had. She had once been the Captain of the Order of Grim Angels' Fifth Division, but that was still no reason to believe that she was on Arragious' level of prowess. It was only natural that if she had continued to train and grow over time, he had surely done the same himself, exile or no.
Still, the crime he had committed was far too dire to allow him to escape, even if it were to cost her life in the process.
"I did not force you to kill Praetor Minami – you did that of your own accord," she remarked. "Nor will I force you to raise your blade against me. I will give you the chance to come quietly and face the Creator's judgment –"
"Judgment?" he spat, the hatred becoming clear as his sudden glare sharpened his features. "The same judgment which was enacted by fools who were too short-sighted and naive to bother trying to understand that which they clearly could not comprehend? I think not. I shall simply take my chances with rebellion."
"Don't do this," she pleaded, keeping one hand close to the white hilt of the blade at her side.
"If you will not allow me to leave, then my only recourse is to force you to allow my exit," Arragious replied, a hand brushing aside his cloak as he stood poised for combat. "Defend yourself, or step aside – I have no time for idle games."
(Play: Saber's Edge (Kari's Battle Theme) – Masashi Hamauzu, Final Fantasy XIII)
The invisible blade swung sharply towards Kari's body in the next second, only to be expertly blocked by a hastily-drawn blade of her own as it reached its full extension. To her heightened magical senses, the blade was no different from any other metal blade save for the powerful magical energy that suffused it. She quietly gave thanks to the Creator for that small blessing; defending against his attacks would be difficult enough even with the ability to see his weapons. Instead of retaliating with the blade in her hand, her form blurred and vanished, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind, before reappearing on the other side of the room. Malakh called the technique Shunpo, or 'flash steps' – the precursor and equivalent to the Sonido possessed by Nether Plane beings.
"Running away?" Arragious questioned, watching his opponent intently. "You'll merely prolong the inevitable."
A dim blue glow resembling fog began to swirl around Arragious before sloughing off and reforming away from him, resuming coherence again as a humanoid figure with sharpened talons and chains dangling from its wrists and ankles that stood in front of him soundlessly. Kari paused for a moment, unsure of what to expect from the ethereal creature, but found herself forced to move again as a sudden burst of fire erupted from beside her. Arragious did not have extensive knowledge of the Malakh's movement technique, but he had proven himself fast enough to mitigate the advantage it provided in the past. The quick flame spell served as enough of a distraction to allow the spirit to move, the translucent limbs propelling it deceptively quickly across the floor as it sped towards the former Grim Angel Captain. Hazy talons struck out at flesh, only to be met with the cold steel of Kari's blade, falling neatly severed at the joints in wounds that leaked magical energy instead of blood. Ritualist spirits, though appearing hazy and intangible, were actually made of condensed mana, solid enough to hold a form but also to inflict and receive damage. Over time, the energy would also leak away, eventually preventing the spirit from holding a pseudo-physical form any longer.
'I don't have to beat him…just delay him,' Kari thought to herself, slicing out again at the spirit and forcing it back. A third slice cut into the spirit immediately following the second, neatly bisecting it at the waist and forcibly dispersing the magical energy infused into it, and she turned again towards Arragious…
…only to find him smiling.
A sudden spike of magical energy caused her senses to flare, and she quickly vanished again as a set of massive claws tore through the space she had just been occupying. The sight that met her eyes as she reappeared caused her to gasp in shock as Arragious continued to smile, paying no heed to the new spirit, which had formed from the remnants of the last. The new spirit was comparatively massive and far more bestial, with claws that were easily a half-foot long extending from large, four-fingered hands at the ends of thickly-muscled arms. It stood easily three feet taller than the white-clad woman, its hulking form rendered even more soulless in appearance by brightly-glowing blue eyes that stood out even among its dim blue form, and she could clearly make out the energy of several offensive and defensive enhancement spells that enchanted the new spirit. The last vestiges of magical energy faded from Arragious' hands as she entered a defensive posture, calling up energy for one of the special spells invented and practiced by Malakh.
"Binding Art number thirty: Beak-Piercing Triple Beam!"
Her sword quickly moved in a triangular formation, a trail of golden light following it until the shape had been completed. Motes of light briefly shone on each point of the triangle before lancing out towards the spirit as curved spears of energy, attempting to pin it to one wall of the room. The spirit, with its bare flickers of sentience, could not understand the purpose behind the attack and so charged it instead, only to have Arragious move between it and the approaching spell before striking out with his blade, violently dispelling the binding magic in a burst of power. The translucent summon was undeterred, leaping cleanly over Arragious before closing the distance between itself and Kari with Haste-enhanced speed and lashing out with a powerful clawed hand. The strike met the metal of her blade for an instant before it threw her backwards with incredible force, sending her crashing into and then through first the outer wall behind her, then the outer wall of the tower itself to fly out into the open air of the plane beyond. The ground rushed up altogether too fast for the Captain, and she gasped in pain as she slammed into the earth outside the tower, her back protesting loudly against the impact. The falling form of Arragious' spirit caught her eye as she stood back up, followed closely by Arragious himself in a more controlled float towards the ground below as the spirit's feet touched down before her.
'I don't have a choice…' she mused, watching the spirit and Arragious both as best she could as she gingerly got back to her feet. The fall hadn't hurt her severely, as Ethereal beings like herself were much more resilient than any mortal – a fall that would kill an ordinary human would typically do little more than stun a sufficiently-powerful Malakh and do even less to an Erudite. Arragious himself was more than a match for her as it stood, however, and the spirit that he had summoned with his Ritualist arts was already proving to be a powerful foe as well. If they both decided to attack her at once, she wouldn't stand a chance. She brought her sword in front of her, placing her left hand near the bottom of the hilt just as Arragious touched down, and focused her power.
"Swirl, Kazewana."
Arragious watched bemusedly as white light swirled around the blade, shifting and flowing, as the blade seemed to melt in Kari's hands. Her left hand slowly moved out towards her side, the light moving with it as the energy comprising the blade began to reform, finally leaving behind a sharp foot-long spike in her left hand and a sickle-like weapon in her right hand, both connected by a long white chain that hung between them. Much like Arrancar, the Malakh could release the true power of their weapons – termed Diviners – with the proper command; however, unlike their demonic kin, a Malakh's Diviner possessed more than the single level of power displayed during an Arrancar's Resurrección.
"You've finally decided to fight, it seems," Arragious commented, nodding approvingly. Kari's response was not verbal, but physical; the sickle of her chained weapon suddenly sliced down, releasing a blade of Wind-elemental energy that tore a deep gash in the spirit's ethereal arm, nearly severing it just below the shoulder. The spirit let out a high-pitched wail as it flew towards the Malakh, with Arragious following behind in short order from an angle diagonal to the spirit's own approach. A burst of energy suddenly flew from the spirit's outstretched claws, prompting Kari to raise her weapon in front of her as she gathered energy for another spell.
"Binding Art number seventy-three: Inverse Mountain Crystal!"
Energy suddenly materialized around Kari in a solidified form, flowing upwards into an inverted pyramid of translucent force that deflected the spirit's energy blast upward into the air harmlessly. A second after that, Arragious' mesmeric blade smashed into the newly-formed barrier in a crushing blow that sent cracks spider-webbing upward through the face of the structure.
'Only time for one more…'
"Binding Art number sixty-one: Six Rods Prison of Light!" she shouted, gesturing towards the spirit and causing six rectangular beams of energy to materialize in a circular pattern around Arragious' summon. The beams of light rapidly moved towards the spirit, slamming into its midsection and stopping its motion solidly in place as it roared impotently, followed an instant later by the former Captain-Commander's blade smashing through the protective Binding Art, sending shards of magical energy crashing around the two Ethereal entities like falling pieces of glass. The second blade emerged from his robes as he lunged, seemingly controlled only by Arragious' mind and by no physical force, and the spike of Kazewana reached out to slap it aside as Kari spun, the sickle's bladed edge meeting Arragious' remaining invisible blade as both of them fought to gain the upper hand.
"I had forgotten how effective those arts of yours could be," Arragious admitted, gritting his teeth.
"More useful…than most gave them credit," Kari replied, struggling to hold back Arragious' blade with one hand while trying to keep an eye on his other blade at the same time. Her magical strength was her true asset, despite her skill at both swordsmanship and the use of her weapon's unusual released form, and being in melee combat would not allow her the time needed to use the Malakhs' unique magical arts. Wind swirled around the sickle's edge again, and Arragious leapt back just as another razor-sharp blade of air flew from Kari's weapon, freeing her from Arragious' blade lock. Arragious' feet touched down on solid earth again as the sound of Kari's Shunpo flashed through the air, followed closely by a screech from the spirit as the sickle sliced through its neck and dispersed the energy for good in a briefly-blinding flash and small explosion of force.
A searing pain suddenly tore through her skull, nearly doubling her over as she cried out in agony. Only years of well-honed reflexes and instinct kept her from being killed as Arragious lunged in again, the long spike on one end of her weapon diverting a fatal strike aimed at her neck into a painful strike that tore across her shoulder and part of her chest. Quickly, she flashed away once more, putting some distance between herself and her opponent as she clutched at the wound. She had forgotten over the years that Arragious also possessed a variety of spells designed to attack the mind.
"Unfortunately, most of those same arts are nearly useless at short range," he continued in a tone of smug superiority, his floating second blade drifting easily into his left hand. "And unless that Shikai of yours can do more than cause the wind to blow, it won't be of any use to you against me either."
Blood streamed down the front of her white dress as she cast a curative spell on the wound to at least temporarily stop the bleeding, keeping a firm grip upon the weapons in her hands. Energy blossomed around her as she concentrated on another spell, and the air overhead began to swirl violently before a tornado suddenly spun into existence, unleashing its fury on Arragious as it pelted him with bits of earth and crushing winds. Quickly, the Erudite began conjuring up another spirit, causing another humanoid figure of energy to appear in front of him as well as forming a shell of energy around him as the spirit's protective nature took hold. The tornado sucked Arragious and the spirit in moments later, battering them with fiercely cutting wind, but the shield around Arragious held strong until the tornado dissipated and dropped him back down to the earth unceremoniously, leaving no trace of the summoned spirit as the magical barrier faded.
A thunderous blast suddenly erupted where Arragious was standing as a bolt of lightning descended upon him from above, the Thundaga magic striking with enough force to resemble a bomb detonated at the Erudite's feet. Kari took a moment to regain her breath; up until now, she had been fighting defensively in an attempt to slow Arragious, but it was clear that she wouldn't have that luxury for much longer. Striking offensively was her only hope, and she needed to take the opportunity while it was still present.
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss –"
The dark-haired Malakh's incantation was suddenly cut off as one of Arragious' blades flew in again, once more controlled by force of will alone, and the sickle in her right hand immediately shot up to block the weapon and knock it away. She realized the folly of that move too late, as Arragious reappeared from the haze on her right side and lashed out lightning-fast with his other blade, cutting into her body again and leaving another long wound from her right hip up towards her left shoulder. The blade came down again, barely deflected by a quick parry from the spike in her left hand, and she drove the spike forward in a stabbing thrust that missed Arragious' chest easily before she leapt back, twirling the sickle by the chain rapidly for a moment before releasing it towards Arragious. Not expecting the thrown weapon, Arragious' deflection wasn't as accurate as he would have liked, and the sickle instead tore into his right forearm, leaving a deep wound that immediately started bleeding heavily. A large blast of fire followed up the weapon's attack, slamming into Arragious and pushing him back from the force as well as inflicting painful burns across some of the skin on his face and chest.
"Destructive Art number thirty-three: Blue Fire, Crash Down!"
Kari's voice echoed across the area as she released a cylindrical wave of blue spiritual power, watching as it burst forth towards Arragious as a follow-up to her barrage of attacks. The attack impacted with a powerful roar as she watched the energy begin to eat away at her enemy, but the destructive spell's energy burst apart after a few seconds, followed almost immediately by a small white burst of energy that flew from the area like a rocket towards Kari. Both parts of her blade immediately rose to block it, causing the energy to explode blindingly, leaving spots dancing in her vision as she quickly tried to recover from the disorienting attack. Another searing pain tore across her abdomen, and she stumbled as Arragious moved behind her, his mesmeric blade falling to his side.
"A valiant effort, to be sure, but you should know by now that you can't stop me."
'Please…hurry, Executor,' she thought to herself, falling to one knee and letting go of the spiked part of her weapon to clutch the new wound. Behind her, she heard footsteps moving away from her as Arragious presumably made to leave, thinking his opponent defeated, and she forced herself to ignore the pain – she couldn't let him get away after murdering a Praetor in cold blood, no matter what she had to do. Her leg shakily moved back under her as she stood up and turned around, watching Arragious' retreat carefully as she prepared to release her Diviner's second and final level of power. Spiritual energy gathered around her, pressing down on the area surrounding her body as the power emitting from her spiked.
"…Bankai."
The overwhelming energy around her manifested as a sudden surge of violent winds that swirled around her as the energy shifted the form of the weapon in her hands. The spike that her left hand held began to stretch and warp just as the sickle in her right hand did, both pieces of the chained weapon growing longer, wider, and more symmetric in their design. The thrashing winds vanished as suddenly as they had started, leaving Kari holding a pair of identical weapons. They appeared to be large rings, each with three blades extending from the ring at different angles – one at the 'top' or 'front' of the ring, and two each on either side that pointed back and away, the position of each equidistant from the next around the ring. The physical chain that bound the two weapons had been replaced by a shimmering chain of pure energy, and she grasped the chain tightly just as if it were solid before beginning to spin one end of the weapon over her head like a lasso.
Arragious had paused briefly at the sudden surge of energy from behind him, but he paid it no mind, thinking that he could escape easily before the wounded Captain could catch him. Whether or not she had used her Bankai was irrelevant to him, as she was still no match for him even at that level of power.
A quick shift of the wind behind him caused him to turn, however, and he ducked immediately after as a spinning buzz saw laced with energy flashed over his head at the end of a long energy chain. His eyes caught sight of Kari holding the other end of the weapon as the chain retracted, flying back to her only to be caught easily in her right hand; it seemed the weapon was incapable of hurting her, no matter if she touched the blades or not. He frowned, realizing that while he had known her capable of the feat, he had never seen this form of her Diviner firsthand. Now, it seemed, he was about to get a look that was altogether too close for his liking.
"You are as stubborn as your own Captain was," Arragious commented, watching with a pleased expression as his foe clearly fought to control her emotions at the mention.
"It would seem so," she said, her head lowering slightly. The energy release hadn't healed her wounds, but it had effectively cauterized them, she noticed – it would have to do for now.
A torrent of swirling wind suddenly burst forth from her weapon as she sliced out in Arragious' direction, creating a funnel-shaped eruption that forced Arragious to move even as his eyes widened. Her Diviner was aligned with Wind-elemental energies, he knew, but that was no creation of her Diviner – it was another of her Destructive Arts, something that surprised him a great deal. The Malakhs' magical arts each consisted of two parts – an incantation to channel and direct the power, and the name of the art itself, used to release that energy. Normally, one was required to speak the incantation and then the name aloud in order to get the full effect, but particularly skilled practitioners could bypass the incantation, saying only the name in order to release the spell at a lesser degree of power determined by the skill of the user. What she had done went beyond that – she had bypassed the entire chant, not just a part, and still cast the spell, which should have been impossible by all standards of his awareness.
He looked back in her direction as he finished evading the onrushing gale…and then smiled, noticing her lips moving again as she spoke in whispered tones. She hadn't bypassed the entire chant of her previous spell at all – she had merely made him mistake her body language in order to whisper the spell's name under her breath without him noticing.
'Clever,' he thought to himself, diving in for another attack. If her Bankai's strength was the reach that it possessed, staying in close would simply negate that advantage. Of course, he would have to be careful of the wind blades that it could create, but that, to him, was a minor issue. A large red burst of energy from the former Captain found itself carved neatly in twain by Arragious' mesmeric blade as he drove in, slicing vertically as his foe recovered from the Destructive Art. His strike found itself parried by the chain of energy connecting the two pieces of Kari's weapon as she gripped the ends, and Shunpo carried her away in the next second as Arragious brought his blade back to a guarded position. The spinning blade flew in again, this time from a vertical angle, and he somersaulted backwards as the strange weapon embedded itself into the ground where he was standing. A quick glance up confirmed that Kari was still in the air, and he watched as she yanked the chain attached to the blade back towards her, snapping it back upwards even as she threw the other blade down with incredible force. The whirling weapon sliced through the air on its path towards Arragious, but he simply smiled faintly as he called up his mental abilities once again, seeing opportunity sooner than he had expected.
Kari's mind suddenly exploded with pain once again as a psychic pulse from Arragious drilled into her brain, shattering her concentration and causing her to drop one part of her weapon as she clutched at her head, still falling towards the Erudite. Dimly, she tried to flash step away to give herself time to recover, only to have her momentum arrested violently as a stabbing pain tore through her upper body.
"You should have given up," Arragious said calmly, holding on to the hilt of the mesmeric blade now impaled through the midsection of the Malakh in front of him. The dark-haired woman coughed, blood splattering against the ground as Arragious tore the blade free, before screaming in agony as Arragious propelled her away on the end of an incandescent ball of magical fire. She hit the ground some distance away and lay still, her weapon discarded as Arragious stalked towards her, readying himself for a finishing blow.
(End: Saber's Edge (Kari's Battle Theme) – Masashi Hamauzu, Final Fantasy XIII)
"Now, there will be no more heroics."
A blur at the edge of his vision gave him pause, and he stopped in his tracks as he heard the tell-tale sound of Shunpo being used...then noticed that Kari's body was no longer on the ground in front of him. Rather, she was being held by another figure clad in black clothing along with a white, ankle-length overcoat, a wide diamond shape on the upper part of the back enclosing a symbol with two horizontal lines, one above the other. One arm and hand supported Kari's body, holding her carefully so as not to hurt her further, while in the other hand…
…an apple rested, with a single bite gone from the fruit.
Etchel Beoulve smiled as he looked over the face of the former Gilead Order's Captain-Commander, carefully placing Kari's body down on the ground before stepping in front of her to face the Erudite himself.
"You were saying?"
Etchel's up to his usual tricks - really, no one should be surprised of that fact. He rather enjoys making an entrance, no matter the situation.
The ranks for the Ethereal Magi, and the color of the sashes that each rank wears, go as follows: Black - Apprentice, Green - Templar, Red - Vindicator (equal with Judicator), Blue - Judicator (equal with Vindicator), Purple - Prelate, Orange - Praetor, Gold - Executor (only one).
I had quite a bit of fun writing most of this chapter; the most difficulty came during the part with Arisa and Arragious, as it was hard to figure out which side of Arragious would eventually take over and win the mental debate he was going through after Arisa's confession. I wrote parts several times, only to go back and change them before I finally decided on what you see here, and for the most part I'm satisfied. There are a lot of Bleach influences here, as well, especially with the Order of Grim Angels, which we'll be seeing more of in Book II. As always, please read and review.