Chapter 8:
Edwald was furious. He was beyond furious.
Lyner's and Lazarus' questioning, their less than positive commentaries of his 'experiments' was what sent him over the edge. Was what finally caused the so-called good doctor to reveal his true insanity.
They just were not sure what to do next.
As Lyner tried to figure that out, there was suddenly a loud explosion behind them and they instinctively ducked down as small pieces of splintered wood showered around them. But the noise was a hopeful one and they immediately turned toward the sound in expectation.
"Lyner!"
"Lazarus!"
"Are you two, ok?!"
Lyner breathed a sigh of relief, and he felt Lazarus do the same thing. And not a moment later, they were surrounded by Ayatane and their companions.
"We're in one piece, more or less," Lyner answered.
He still allowed Ayatane to pull him away from Lazarus and to inspect his injured arm. He did not ask him whether it was the blood droplets on the floor was what they used to track them down. He knew. Ayatane's concerned look and the way he immediately began fussing over him was all the answer he needed.
Their destructive entrance was also likely Ayatane's doing.
"Edwald, however, has been better," Lazarus added, motioning toward the doctor himself. "He's losing his mind over there."
"No! No, no, no!" Edwald continued to writher and writhe, his body twisting in inhuman angles. "No, I am doing this for the greater good! This is for the sake of humanity!"
The shadows that haunted the corners and edges of the room suddenly began to gather around Edwald. As did those Crimson Entities that he had summoned. They swirled around him and hid him from view. Yet, did nothing to smother his deranged screams and shrieks of denials.
Lyner shared a quick look with Lazarus and they nodded.
That was it. What happened next had to be Edwald's true appearance.
When the shadows dissipated, they revealed a grotesque sight.
Dark and distorted. Nothing more than a revolting, ghastly form of twisted and gnarled limbs. The numerous wings that sprouted from his back were far from angelic, instead demonic, made from bone and cartilage. The eyes, in the dozens, were fiendish and red. And the mouth was circular with numerous rows of razor-sharp teeth.
There was nothing righteous or holy about the good doctor.
"He transformed?!" Raze spluttered, a completely normal reaction.
"He's finally reflecting the monster he truly is," Lazarus replied.
York readjusted his grip on his weapons. "A monster is a monster. Let's beat the shit out of this guy!"
Ayatane's face smoothed out into an impassive expression, even as his hand tightened on Lyner's shoulder. "Lyner, stay back. We'll take care of this."
Lyner swallowed back a frustrated sigh as Ayatane pulled his hand from his shoulder and promptly sprung forward with the rest of their battling companions. While Lyner could use his lightning abilities, he had to admit that the vast majority of his skills rested with his sword.
He needed to change that. If what happened to him in this hospital taught him anything, it was to never put all his resources into one thing.
"A-are you injured?" Vivi asked. "Let me see."
Lyner crouched down to allow Vivi to heal his injured arm. As the young boy began to effortlessly heal his wound, he hid a wince as the skin stitched back together. It was always an uncomfortable feeling. He pushed that discomfort aside and offered Vivi his thanks when he felt the magic fade away.
Luckily, his injury was not that serious. Vivi's powerful healing magic was precious. While he hoped that Ayatane and the others did not need any healing, it was reassuring to know that Vivi was more than capable of offering his assistance, nevertheless.
"Watch it!"
Lyner instinctively moved to protect Vivi, wrapping his arms around him in effort to shield him with his own body. But he felt a pair of arms wrap around him also where he, along with Vivi, were momentarily picked up, only to be thrown to the side in an attempt to avoid an incoming attack.
While Lyner tightened his arms around Vivi to shield him further, the ones around him loosened. And he immediately knew that his protector had been injured. He snapped his head up and looked over his shoulder to see that it was Lazarus who had protected the both of them.
And there was a large gash on his right shoulder, which was bleeding profusely.
"He's still after Lyner and Lazarus!" Troy was heard shouting from the battlefield. "Keep him away from them at all costs!"
With Vivi safe and unharmed, Lyner released the young boy and immediately turned his attention to the blond gunner, who was thankfully conscious and pushing himself to his knees. Lyner immediately helped Lazarus to move, to not put any pressure on his injured shoulder, and to sit back on his heels so that he could recover his breath.
"Lazarus! Are you ok?" he asked, though he knew he was not. He wanted to see if he had any other injuries.
Lazarus winced as he touched his shoulder. "Y-yeah."
Lyner glanced over at the monstrous form of Edwald and knew that while Ayatane and others would eventually win, Edwald had a one-track mind. His obsession was on blond haired victims. And with one of them momentarily injured, Lyner was the only one mobile enough to keep him busy.
"Vivi, can you heal him?" Lyner requested. "I'll keep Edwald distracted."
Before either of them could say a word to him, Lyner sprung to his feet and darted across the room. Where he felt Edwald's numerous eyes following him.
It was just as he had expected. Edwald all but ignored the others to take swipes at him with his flailing, gnarled limbs. He lost a few, with Ayatane and Troy taking them out. But the ones that got through, Lyner had to dodge. Quickly at that.
Lyner deftly dropped down to his knees and instinctively covered his head to avoid a flailing limb as it crashed violently in the wall behind him.
Yeesh, that was close!
He obviously wanted him dead now. At least he moved on from his obsession.
Lyner swiftly positioned himself back onto the balls of his feet and was about to spring up when a sliver glint from the corner of his eye caught his attention. With such a chaotic battlefield, he normally would have ignored it. But something about it was familiar. So, he turned and looked.
And his eyes widened. There, amongst the rubble of the destroy brick and mortar was…
His sword…And Lazarus' guns!
Lyner practically dove toward his sword and swept it up into his arms. It was still within his pouch. Still in one piece. He knelt to the floor and quickly strapped his sword to its rightful place around his waist. He then scooped up Lazarus' guns. He knew that his fellow blond would be more than happy to have his babies back.
"Lazarus!" Lyner called out as he sprung to his feet. "Catch!"
Now healed, Lazarus whirled around to face him the moment he called his name, his brow furrowed ever so slightly in confusion. However, that swiftly changed into elation when he saw what Lyner had thrown in his direction.
"Yes!" He caught his guns effortlessly, one in each hand. Ready to battle. "About time!"
He darted toward the battlefield and planted himself in the middle of it. After just a couple of seconds to gather his energy, he unleashed a devastating (and rightly deserved attack, if Lyner was to be honest) upon Edwald. The barrage of bullets and the wind blades cut through him in numerous places, and left him stunned. Utterly bewildered.
"I've been dying to do that since I woke up strapped to that damn bed," Lazarus revealed.
A feeling Lyner understood all too well!
"Lyner!" Lazarus suddenly called out to him. "I think it would be a bit of poetic justice if you and I be the ones to finish him off!"
Lyner swiftly released his sword from its sheath. "I couldn't agree more!"
With the bastard stunned, one more attack should be enough. Time to end it!
Lyner gripped his sword tightly as his lightning abilities ran along the silver blade. He had been helpless for far too long. It felt so…revitalising to have his blade back. To be able to fight once more.
This attack was to unleash all of his frustrations and anger!
Behind him, he felt Lazarus begin to unfurl his own energies, mingling them with his own. They were in sync. They had been through a lot together in such a short amount of time.
The wind mixed with the lightning effortlessly. The atmosphere crackled with energy as Lyner used his sword to direct all that power – their anger, their hatred for Edwald and their pity, their sympathy for his victims – toward Edwald. Toward the monster that he had become.
To destroy him and his obsession.
Lyner looked at him with steely conviction. "We're not the angelic soldiers you've been looking for-"
"-but we'll gladly send you to hell where you belong!" Lazarus finished, signifying the finalisation of their combined attack.
The shriek that Edwald released was ungodly. A mixture of beastly howls and shrieks. Of pain, anger, and devastation. And that scream coincided with the rumbling of the structure around them.
It…was falling apart.
Lyner was right about Edwald being the sole reason for its existence. But would the hospital just let them escape? Return them to the World of Souls? Or did Edwald have one last dirty trick up his sleeve?
As Edwald's body began to disintegrate, a bright light suddenly appeared behind where he once stood. It was a set of doors. Leading to freedom? Back to where they came from?
Their way out?
Better than staying put!
"Everyone, go! Let's get out of here!"
Lyner wanted to wait, to see everyone else through the doors before him, but he felt someone take him by the shoulder and practically drag him through without his consent. The bright light was blinding and it took a moment for his eyes to readjust. And for that frantic moment, he had no idea where he was and if the others had made it through the doors with him.
When he eyes mercifully readjusted, he found himself in an open meadow. Nothing particular noteworthy. Just a meadow. However, it was a familiar one. He remembered it to be the one he and his companions had been in before…before he woke up strapped to that hospital bed.
They were back?
Lyner snapped his head and immediately began searching for everyone. "Is everyone safe? Is everyone accounted for?"
"Yes, we're all here," Ayatane answered him.
That brought Lyner a huge wave of relief. That meant-
"It's over," Lazarus murmured, stealing the words right out of Lyner's mouth.
For the trapped victims, too, he hoped.
Lyner idly gazed around and noted that there was absolutely no sign of that hospital. No sign that it existed. And no sign in the meadow that there was ever a struggle. Nothing at all. And, frustratingly, he still had no recollection of how he, how they ended up in such a predicament in the first place.
The only evidence they had that it even happened were their memories.
And the fact that Lyner and Lazarus were still dressed in their patient clothing.
Lazarus walked over to Lyner and idly slung an arm around his shoulders. "Shame the hospital couldn't have spat out our clothes, too," he said, again responding as if he had read Lyner's thoughts. "At least we didn't end up out here butt naked."
Lyner gave a small laugh as he slipped an arm around his fellow blond, letting it rest against his back. "Always got to find a positive, right?"
His clothes could be replaced. He was just glad that everyone got out in one piece. And without any attachments.
"Ugh, this day sucked," York muttered as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Let's hurry back to basecamp. It's almost dark. The girls are probably wondering where we are."
How long had it been? A few hours at the very least.
Lazarus kept an arm around Lyner's shoulders as they turned in the direction toward basecamp. "You know, we make a pretty good team."
That brought another chuckle from Lyner. Despite everything, he was already beginning to relax and recover. "You know, we do. With and without the weapons."
"Let's just hope we don't have to go through something like that again."
"Don't say that too loud or you might just jinx us."
After all, they could not be too careful in this crazy world. They could be pulled into another subworld tomorrow!