7 Arena Five: What We Must Do [I]

[Responsibilities. A core necessity for human society.]

[Give and take. That is how all relationships end up.]

[But, no one ever stands against it.]

[It's a given to do something in return for help. That's how the human mind works.]

[It is something we should do. It is what we must do.]

...

"Come on."

Grey pulled me up and pushed me forward.

I hesitated for a moment before continuing to walk. The shock of the boy's death was already wearing off.

It made me feel disgusted and grateful at the same time. Perhaps, this was how it should be.

"You think the Phantom he mentioned is still around?"

The girl in front of us turned her head. Grey pondered for a moment and then answered.

"It's possible."

"And we have a dead weight with us..."

"Did I do anything to you?"

I snapped, but the girl remained unfazed. She completely ignored my words as she continued the conversation.

"I'll only be able to protect myself. You are in charge of him, is that okay?"

"Fine with me."

Grey shrugged and checked something on his gun. Satisfied, he gave a nod and continued.

"Unless the phantom is a rank A, I think I manage."

"Don't jinx it."

The girl rolled her eyes as she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"It's here."

She lowered her hips as she analyzed her surroundings.

Grey turned to me and gestured at my gun. I readied it, waiting to pull the trigger.

For some moments, silence reigned around us. Drops of sweat formed on my forehead as I waited for the phantom to show up.

Suddenly, the Elliot in front of her swung her sword to the right. At the same time, something lashed out of the bushes at a frightening speed.

But the girl was a fraction of a second faster. Her sword immediately cut down the coming projectile.

The severed piece of... tongue started writhing on the ground like a snake.

"Hoh... A long-distance one?"

She said as she suddenly turned towards me and threw her sword. Before I could say anything, it rushed past my ears, severing some strands of my bangs... Along with another chunk of a tongue.

"It's quite intelligent, to go for the weakest one."

She summoned the sword back in her hands. The sword pulsed red, as if warning her.

"I won't be outdone by a kid."

Grey snickered as he shot at the bushes behind the girl. Something let out a shriek, and the surrounding area started shaking before going quiet again.

"It's probably a deformed mutation."

The girl muttered as she stayed vigilant.

"Well, no human-type phantom can have such long tongues."

Grey commented as he looked around him. I understood nothing of their exchange except the fact that it might be more hideous than the zombie feast I saw before.

"Tsk. Attacking from a blind spot."

Grey turned around and shot at an incoming tongue. The shots connected with the incoming projectile, and a flower of blood bloomed midair.

"Its main body is probably weak."

The girl conjured a theory, and Grey agreed.

"Most probably. Otherwise, it would have attacked us."

"Maybe it's just scared of us?"

"Hm... Possible."

"Then, shouldn't we find the body instead of going around like this?"

The girl proposed, and Grey nodded.

"No. Stop. This might be a trap."

Surprising even myself, I spoke up. Something was warning me inside my mind.

"What made you think that?"

Grey was the first to speak.

"I... I don't know. I just feel like it's a trap."

"Tsk, we can't move on intuition. Grey, stay here with this guy. I'll find and pin that monster down."

The Elliot was clearly annoyed at me. Even so, I didn't back down.

"No. Stop. I'm telling you, you shouldn't go."

"... I'm not a coward like you, Reaper."

She frowned and turned away.

"This isn't about cowardice! Listen to me!"

I stepped forward and grabbed her shoulder. But the next moment, an intense pain hit my abdomen. My body flew a few metres backwards.

"Guh..."

She had kicked me.

"Don't touch me! You fucking bastard! "

She yelled before turning and disappearing into the forest.

"You okay?"

Grey crocheted beside me and rubbed my back.

I coughed and nodded.

"I'm fine... It hurts but not that much."

"You... To think that you'd be able to take a hit from her and still stay conscious..."

"Why, is she someone that famous?"

"... it's best that you hear from her directly."

"... We need to go after her."

I said, looking in the direction she left.

"Are you sure? She treated you pretty badly."

Grey narrowed his eyes.

"Even so, she saved me twice. I'd have to make sure that she doesn't die, at least not until I reach the base."

"... Alright."

He stood up and extended his hand. I grabbed it. Pulling me up, he handed me my gun which I had dropped.

"Let's go."

...

'She' ran through the forest, fuming in rage.

"How dare he touches me... !"

She gritted her teeth as she grabbed her sword tightly.

"How dare he... !"

She hissed again, narrowing her eyes.

[Charging: 60%]

"Tsk..."

The message from her sword sent her in a worse mood.

"... Show yourself, you stupid monster."

She hissed as she cut apart yet another tongue. The pulsing of her sword notified her that the main body was close, but it didn't show her the direction it was in.

She had no choice but to follow the trail blindly. Soon, she stepped into a small clearing in the middle of the forest.

"There... !"

She saw a gruesome figure sitting in the middle, with two whip like tongue hovering behind it. It seemed like the tongues were coming out of its back.

"Die!"

She threw the sword as hard as she could, concentrating her mind on the blade.

The silver blade soon turned red and jabbed itself into the figure's forehead. The tongues slithered and disappeared.

"Hah... That was easy."

The girl staggered forward.

"Tsk. I used up too much energy."

Her mind was in a fragile state after using up all the concentration she had. It was a bold and risky move, but seeing as the figure didn't move, she felt relieved.

Her gamble had paid off.

Slowly, she approached the hunched figure and pulled her sword out of its forehead. With her sword tip, she tilted the chin upwards.

"W-what..."

Staring back at her with hollowed eyes was the same girl she had seen in the picture some time ago.

She couldn't be the phantom who hunted the boy.

"... It was a trap!"

She turned as she felt something rushing towards her. Thanks to that, she narrowly escaped the claws that were about to severe her head.

"Guh!"

She yelled in pain as the bloody claws slashed her arms open. Her sword fell from her grip, and was kicked away by the assailant.

Her dominant hand was down. Cursing, she ducked another incoming claw and leapt backwards to analyze her enemy.

It was a gigantic figure. With grey skin and a crushed head, it looked far from a human corpse. Countless tongue-like tentacles were slithering behind its back. Its claws were long and bloody. If it was the real world, she would've been infected by now due to how dirty and gory the claws looked.

The phantom opened its mouth and smiled. Rows of sharp teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

"Shit..."

The brave Elliot cursed as she stepped back. The monster leapt forward to attack her. The claws approached her at a fast speed. She avoided them by twisting her body, but the tongues slashed at her abdomen and chest, creating deep wounds. As blood gushed out, she fell on her back.

The phantom approached her at a leisurely pace. Still smiling eerily, it held up its hand, and swung it down.

Closing her eyes, she waited for her death. The damage would be mental, but if it was fatal enough, she would end up in a comatose state, or worse, die due to the shock.

"No... I... don't... want to die..."

A whisper escaped her bloody lips as she shut her eyes tightly. She thought she heard some gunshots, but that didn't matter to her anymore. She was going to be torn apart.

But the blow never came. Instead, a sound of metal clashing against something hard made her open her eyes.

"Guh... I can't hold it..."

In front of her was the boy she despised so much, holding her sword and blocking the phantom's claws.

A few moments earlier...

I dashed out of the forest, only to see the girl getting stabbed and thrashed around by the monster in front of her.

"God damn it!"

I was late. Very so. And even as I ran, I could hear more groans coming out of the forest.

"Grey!"

"Got it!"

Grey turned around and open-fired on the phantoms following us.

I didn't turn around to look at him. Instead, I ducked and grabbed the sword lying in front of me as I ran past it.

The sword pulsed blue instead of red for some reason. The next moment, a small flow of information startled me.

"The way of the sword... Huh?"

I smiled and increased my speed further.

Then with one swift slide, I wedged myself between the girl, and the attacking Phantom. The blade creaked as it took the blow head-on.

But due to the information that flowed inside my mind, I barely managed to hold on.

The phantom increased its pressure. My muscles turned red, my bones started breaking.

"Helios!"

I desperately called out to the sword. It responded with a pulse, and suddenly I felt drained.

In return, a huge shockwave erupted from the blade, pushing back the monster in front of me.

Panting, I glanced at the girl behind me.

"... You okay... ?"

"... I-I'm fine."

Nodding, I turned back. The phantom was standing up again.

But the shockwave had definitely damaged it. Parts of its face were wounded, and its heart was exposed, peeking out from its shredded chest.

It growled, glaring at me.

[Charging 90%]

"Hah..."

I took a deep breath as I stood against the phantom. Seeing that, the girl widened her eyes.

"Are you..."

Insane? Probably. I didn't know why I was doing this, going so far.

I just knew one thing. That leaving her here would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Unlike my grandma, that little girl, and the guy in the forest, I had a chance to save her.

I had a choice.

"Die!"

I dashed forward with the sword. The monster leapt at me in response.

I parried its claws with the sword, and twisted my body to dodge its tongues.

"Helios!"

The sword again drained my mental sanity, and unleashed another shockwave. The monster staggered as the intense blast hit its exposed heart.

It kneeled down on the ground, panting.

"Die!"

I dashed forward and stabbed the sword directly into its heart. The sword, Helios, took a portion of my sanity again to create another shockwave, this time, directly inside the phantom's body.

A flower of blood erupted, painting me red. I pulled out the sword, and the body fell down on the ground.

It wasn't moving anymore.

I had done it.

I had killed it.

Relieved, I turned to the girl.

"How's the damage?"

"... it's possible to recover within a week."

Except damages taken from arena battles and phantoms, all damages would disappear over a course of time it seemed. Of course, judging by how she was trying to escape, fatal wounds were best to be avoided.

"That's good."

I nodded, and sat down.

I felt exhausted. While I had suffered little to no damage, the sword had taken a lot of my mental sanity.

As the relief hit me, my muscles loosened a bit. I yawned... And then noticed the looming shadow approaching me from behind.

I shot a quick glance at the Elliot before turning around. It seemed that she was too shocked to say anything... And after seeing the abomination behind me, I could understand why.

The phantom we had defeated had stood up again.

Its heart, or in the place where it was supposed to be, was a golden orb. It pulsed just like a living heart, but I could feel an enormous amount of power coming from it.

And honestly, even if the situation was dreadful, it all made sense. There was no way an A-rank would be this weak.

"No way... An S-rank... ?!"

The Elliot's frightened words were the least of what I wanted to hear.