8 Arena Six: What We Must Do [II]

"Shit... It was hiding its powers?"

I asked warily, gripping the sword tightly. I glanced at the blade.

The pulses were faint, and the power it showed was less than before.

"No, it was... being limited by its heart."

The Elliot stood up, glaring at the monster.

"You mean, I awakened it by destroying its heart?"

"... As much as I want to say no, yeah."

"Damn it."

It made sense. The heart was necessary for the circulation of blood and oxygen only. But zombies, or Phantoms, required neither. Their main centre of the body would be the brain... I had failed to realize that.

"Can you fight?"

I asked the girl, who looked at her wounds.

"... I'll try."

"Not good enough."

I clicked my tongue as I glared at the approaching abomination.

"Helios... I'll need your help."

I asked the sword, which pulsed blue twice.

Another rush of information almost swept me off my feet, but I somehow maintained my concentration. I barely noticed the monster suddenly rushing forward.

"Jump!"

I jumped to my right, while the girl jumped to her left. A massive claw gauged the ground we were standing on a second ago.

"It's fast!"

I cursed as I stood up. The Elliot somehow stood up too, frowning in pain. A prolonged battle would kill her.

"I need to end this fast if I want to save her."

I muttered, trying to process the information Helios gave me.

The sword kept pulsing, asking me to hurry.

"Agh! Damn it! [Command: Procure Item ID #5233]!"

I hissed, and a vortex appeared in front of me. I pulled out two rifles, and threw one to the Elliot.

She caught it with her free hand, and instantly open-fired.

I jumped to my left to avoid getting hit by stray bullets, and fired from my side.

The Phantom roared as the bullets hit it. Blood gushed out from the wounds on its torso.

But it wasn't enough. It only angered the abomination more.

The monster realized that I was a bigger threat as it turned towards me. I didn't falter. Instead, I kept shooting magazines after magazines, pulling out more and more from the vortex.

I felt dizzy and cold. My ears slowly stopped picking up the sound of gunshots. I was at my limit.

The Phantom understood that, as it rushed towards me disregarding the bullets pelting its skin.

"Ah..."

I stared blankly at the incoming claw. I couldn't even move.

It came down, but just as it was about to hit me, something pushed me to the side.

I fell down, and came out of the trance. At the same time, the claw hit the girl standing in front of me.

She tried to block it using the rifle, but couldn't. The gun was torn apart, along with her stomach.

{You don't want her to die.}

The sword in my hand let out a bell-like sound, but I wasn't in a state to give it any thought.

"No..."

I whispered, seeing blood gushing out from her abdomen and her belly.

{She is important. Believe that she is important.}

It chimed again.

"No..."

Not again.

{You don't want to lose anything. Not again.}

The chime was echoing inside my mind.

I didn't want to lose anything.

Not again.

[Fully charged.]

The final bell pushed me off the cliff.

Hearing that message, I cried out.

"Helios... !"

I didn't know why, but I felt like it was the right thing to do.

The sword suddenly expanded, creating a forcefield that pushed the Phantom away.

[Accepting Arnold Tilgen, Codename Reaper, as a temporary pilot.]

[Expanding domain.]

[Recreating body.]

[Connecting psyche.]

[Connection confirmed.]

I felt myself getting covered by a cold sensation. The armour of the Regalia expanded around me, covering me fully. The majestic red and white armour gave me a sense of protection.

And then, I screamed.

Blood oozed out of my ears, my eyes, and my mouth. My heart felt like it was about to be torn apart. I tried to escape the hellish pain, but the cockpit didn't let go.

"Aaaaaaaghhhhhh!"

I screamed until my voice became hoarse.

I wanted someone to save me. Someone to free me.

The pain was unbearable. I felt my consciousness tearing itself apart.

Then, suddenly, my vision turned white. I felt the heat of the sun on my skin.

A shadow fell on my face.

"Interesting."

I heard a voice, but I couldn't see anything due to the blood in my eyes.

"Help..."

Even so, I called out to it.

"Hm? You can hear me?"

"Help... !"

I called out to the voice desperately.

"Even if I help... Hm... This is troublesome."

"Please..."

I didn't understand his words at this point. I just wanted someone to help me.

Anyone would work.

"If I help you now, your fate will be sealed. Are you fine with that?"

"Yes... So please!"

I only heard the last part. I didn't know what he was asking, but I said yes nonetheless.

"Fine. I'll grant your wish."

My vision turned black again, and the pain disappeared completely.

I opened my eyes slowly, and found myself inside the cockpit of Helios.

The Phantom was a few metres away, eyeing me with fear.

I automatically knew what to do.

"Move," I whispered.

The gigantic Regalia stepped forward.

Seeing that, the monster attacked using his tongue.

"Defend."

Helios held up its shield and blocked the attack.

"Attack."

It pulled out an armament from its back. Using Its free hand, it mounted the colossal machine gun on its arm, and starting shooting.

The Phantom leapt backwards to escape the incoming projectiles. Using a nearby tree as a foothold, it jumped high and tried to attack me from the sky.

"Intercept."

Helios deployed several laser swords instantly from its back, attacking the airborne enemy. It desperately twisted its body trying to escape the blades, but couldn't.

Two swords cut through its arms and legs.

The severed right arm and left leg fell down. The monster, unable to keep its balance, followed its severed limbs to the ground.

"Helios."

I called out to the Regalia. It dashed forward, and positioned itself below the falling Phantom...

"Die."

And unleashed a barrage of bullets.

It couldn't endure the onslaught. The body of the Phantom exploded midair. At the same time, the body of Helios turned into particles and disappeared.

I fell down on my back, with the sword on top of me.

I had won.

I had defeated it.

But even so, I didn't have any time to rest. Standing up, I ran to the fallen Elliot.

She was still bleeding profusely. Her skin was pale, and her body was trembling.

"Don't die on me!"

I pulled her into my arms, trying to stop the bleeding with my free hand.

"Damn it!"

I didn't have anything to stop it with.

{You will cry now.}

A tangled voice echoed inside my mind, and I felt something being etched into my soul. But... My thoughts were once again directed to the dying girl before me.

The girl opened her eyes slowly, and looked at me.

Her crimson eyes were unfocused and hazy. Her lips parted slightly, and she whispered something. I hurriedly brought my ear to her mouth.

"Thank you... Arnold."

{You will cry.}

Tears spilt out my eyes.

So much for putting myself first.

So much for only caring for myself.

"No... Don't..."

I whispered, hugging her body. She was slowly turning cold. Then suddenly, her right hand, the wounded one, became transparent.

Ah. She was dying.

I shook my head, trying to deny the reality.

"Do you want to save her?"

A voice whispered sweetly in my ears. I turned my head, and saw no one.

"Yes..."

Yet, I answered. I was grasping at the straws. I had to save her.

"Then..."

The voice whispered something unreasonable, but I agreed to it. Something of that calibre would be nothing in exchange for her life.

With my free hand, I peeled open her mask. A beautiful face appeared in front of my eyes. But my thoughts weren't focused on her appearance.

I brought my lips closer to hers, and kissed deeply. My tongue intertwined with hers. Her body trembled at the contact, but she didn't try to deny it. She didn't have the means to.

My heart throbbed painfully, and I felt something escaping my body.

At the same time, a golden aura envelopes us both. Her wounds started closing, and her almost transparent hand rematerialised.

I hugged her closely as I kept pushing my tongue inside her mouth.

The aura became stronger, and her skin regained its previous rosy shade. She opened her eyes again, but this time, they were clear.

Seeing that, I parted my lips from hers, and stared into her eyes.

"Arnold... ?"

She muttered, looking at me.

"Welcome back... Elliot."

...

"To think that he'd be able to control that Regalia..."

Grey whispered as he stared at the boy and the girl from the shadows of the trees. He had already defeated the zombies surrounding him.

Seeing his posture, no one would suspect that he was struggling to walk before.

The old man's eyes glowed brightly as they focused on the boy.

His mission was to make sure the boy died here.

The Palace had ordered so. But Grey knew that it hadn't come from the emperor himself.

Even so, he had decided to do it. In a way that would fool everyone, even the emperor. To him, the stability of the empire came at first, over the emperor's personal wishes.

But seeing this spectacle in front of him, he couldn't follow through with that order anymore.

A hope had surfaced.

Something that could potentially save the empire, and humanity.

"Well done, Arnold."

Grey's eyes returned to normal. He smiled and turned away.

His posture immediately became slumped, as if he was tired and battered.

With that posture, he stepped out of the forest, and walked towards the girl and the boy.

...

"Is she okay?"

I heard Grey's voice and turned my head to see him walk out of the forest, tired and covered in grime and blood.

"Yeah... I think."

I answered on her behalf. I turned my eyes back at the girl, only to find her touching her lips.

Seeing that, I remembered what I did. My face turned beet red, but I managed to stay calm and explain the situation.

Grey listened in as I told her what happened while she was down. Finally, she spoke up.

"To think... A technician could pilot a Regalia, and Helios at that..."

She picked up on that? I was slightly surprised, but as she was avoiding the topic, I did the same.

"Y-yeah. It was quite painful at first, though."

"I can see that."

She gently touched the corner of my eyes, and wiped a drop of blood from there.

"Thanks again, Arnold."

She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

Then the pain hit me, and I fell down, unconscious.