Act 4 - Chapter 2

Chapter 37: Ajal; Shauran 45th, 344SR; 19:11

Ajal dived through the night sky, all of Andurill was crumbling hundreds of feet below. 'What the-! What the hell happened!' Multiple explosions ignited across the city, starting at the center in Anka and spreading out. The explosive roars echoed through the sky. The biggest one at the center had already long since exploded, its smoke cloud reaching its peak

'What's happening to the city?!' From the center of the city, giant cracks rippled through the concrete base of Andurill, then began collapsing inward. Large chunks of debris split and dragged more of the city with it, all falling to the depths. Smoke spread around its crash site. 'Where... Where do I land... How do I land...' Ajal thought as he only continued to speed up. 'I can't stop... My spirit is still recovering...'

Around the rubble crashing down the smoke would spread, however, one spot remained a pitch-black shadow, like a void, an abyss. Ajal's eyes went wide as he looked at the familiar black mass which seemed to engulf pieces of the rubble falling into it. Most of the remaining towers of Cabac fell into the depths of the black fog. 'Is that... An abyss!?' Ajal panicked. His heartbeat quickened.

"No, no, no- Shit!" Ajal stopped as he realized he couldn't even slow his descent. "Why is there an abyss here!"

The closer he got to the ground, he heard the rumbling crash of the city's debris, behind the noise was panic and screams. He fell towards the void, shutting his eyes and bracing for the pain he was about to feel. The world around him went dark. His body collided with a building and crashed into the ground, taking the brunt of the impact with his left side. The pellets of rubble and dust fell with him.

***

The raindrops soaked Ajal's hair, and his bangs stuck to his forehead and obscured his vision. The black bottle of wine leaned out of his right hand, his fingers weakly gripping it. The liquid in the bottle sloshed back and forth. The raindrops battered against the rocks up the hill, in the distance he could hear the the waterfall. Ajal longed for it. He stumbled on his left leg slightly, stopping himself before he fell off the narrow path. 

"Ha..." Ajal huffed, his injuries from the recent battle in Radion wore him down. 

The air was warm and damp, far off in the distance, the sun peaked through the clouds, shining golden rays of sunlight over the forests of Junipus. The raindrops beat against his head, offering a soothing balance to the chaos in his mind. 'Almost there...' He reached the top and looked upon the waterfall at the peak of the mountain. The water flowed into the reservoir, which followed pathways under the ground leading back up to the top of the waterfall, before flowing down the stream once more. The water crashed down and was quickly picked up by the current, starting the cycle over again. The spring never stopped moving, the stream flowed endlessly.

In the center of the spring was an island, and upon that was a single oak tree. It was thin, with very few leaves budding on its branches. Its vivid green leaves were soaked in the rain. Ajal focused his spirit, but it didn't flow. He jumped across the pond without it, the grass rustling as he landed. 'What am I doing here...' He walked towards the tree with fingers covered in dry blood, shivering as he wrapped them around the cork jutting out of the tip. It opened with a pop.

"I don't have a glass," Ajal cracked a slight smile. "One more thing for you to be upset at me for."

Tilting the bottle above a patch of dirt in front of the small tree, the red liquid splashed against the ground. Ajal stopped as the brown dirt became a deep maroon, a small puddle of wine pooled into the soil, frothing bubbles smoothed out as they were pierced with raindrops. Ajal raised the bottle to his nose, the sweet and fruity smell caused him to move the bottle away from his face, it was an overpowering scent. His wounds ached, not nearly as much as his heart. 'What a gross luxury... Well... First times for everything...' Ajal brought the tip of the bottle back to his lip. He took several gulps and felt his gag reflex, coughing immediately and choking on the alcohol. 

"How did you always drink this stuff..." Ajal mused, "Always telling me it was good, it's disgusting... You always told me strange things, and I would think the complete opposite of what you said... Just like you said I could change and do good... You didn't see me the same way anyone else on Imperion did... Forgive me, Natalia..." Ajal became wearier with each sip, the pain remaining instead of subsiding.

Ajal raised the black-tinted bottle and chugged the fruity, yet bitter drink. Tilting his head back and letting the rain drop down the front of his face, the drops ran down over his forehead. He continued to gulp the repulsive liquid down. The scent of the wine was still strong, almost stronger than when it was next to his nose.

"Ugh..." Ajal covered his mouth as he felt the wine rise up his throat. He gulped the rest down and took a deep breath. "You- You wouldn't believe what the new order is being called by the archbishops... The Imperials, haha!" Ajal chuckled. "You really predicted that one... I give you that point..." Ajal was about to raise the glass again before noticing the light hitting his head. He looked up to see a patch in the clouds the rain didn't fall through. "Heh..."

He stopped and grimaced at his own reflection in the bottle of wine. 'I'm a mess...' The white shirt underneath his black sweater was stained with circular stains of blood.

"Who am I kidding... you would've hated it..."

Ajal swung the bottle upside down and continued to chug. He pulled it away as he breathed in and out, the sticky wine ran down the side of his mouth. 

"What did you see in me, why did you help me... If you hadn't, you'd still be alive... How could you have patience for a monster like me... You always refused to kill or watch someone be killed... I thought you were unrealistic, can a world without endless death really exist?" Ajal continued to ramble to himself.

Ajal's shoulder slumped down as tears collected under his eyes. Despite the bottle being a foot away from his face, the scent of wine was still very overpowering. 

"The abyss... Of all the people it could choose... It had to be you... Why you... You were good, you only ever did the best you could... You only ever tried to help people so why... Why did you have to die like that... It should've been me... I'm the person who deserves to suffer for this... I swear, for as long as I live... I'll make sure another abyss doesn't spread ever-"

"Who are you talking to?" someone suddenly asked.

Ajal turned his head around quickly and saw a young woman wearing a clean white sweater and black leggings. The woman had bandages around her left and right wrists, as well as around her neck. 'Ava... Shit...' Her purple eyes matched her hair, a worried curiosity in her eyes as she looked down at Ajal who had a tear rolling down his cheek. She dropped the flowers in her hand, it rattled as they landed on the grass. 

"You... You're... Why are you here!" Ava asked with a hateful glare.

"Visiting," Ajal replied stupidly.

A long purple tail flowed from her back as her expression turned ferocious. Ajal set the bottle of wine right next to himself and turned towards her. He rubbed his eyes with his wet sleeve while he raised his right palm towards her.

"I know you hate me... But please, fight me somewhere else, not here," Ajal asked.

"The doctor is dead because of you!" she roared.

Ajal looked down. The girl jumped as she pushed off the ground with her tail, spinning through the air toward him. Her left leg flew towards his left side. His arm flinched, but he had no will to block. Ava slammed her foot into his shoulder and spun, launching Ajal across the field of grass and tumbling through wet flowers. 

"Agh!" Ajal grunted as he tumbled into the grass, staining his clothes with a wet dew.

The wine bottle went flying, crashing on the ground a short distance away. Ava ran forward as Ajal quickly stood back up, she lunged forward with her knee raised, but Ajal saw it coming. His reflexes kicked in, and he jumped back and caused her to miss. Ava tried to lunge forward once more but her foot slid against the wet dirt and she fell to her knee.

"Ah!" Ava quickly raised her tail to guard, but Ajal didn't attack.

'Wrath...' Ajal thought as he looked down at her. Ava looked confused for a moment before she planted her feet. The woman's tail wrapped around Ajal's leg, she turned her hip and with all her strength, flung Ajal towards the waterfall. 'Huh- Ah!' 

Ajal didn't focus his spirit to mitigate the impact, instead, he took the hit again. He felt like he deserved it. The divine being crashed through the wall of vertically flowing water, into a hidden cave behind the fall. He hit the wall and fell to the ground. 'Ow...' Ajal pushed himself up, his head woozy from hitting the rock, a bit of sense had been knocked back into him. 

'You may be a monster if that's what you want to believe. But have you ever stopped to just... Take it all in... The perfect shades of blue under the gentle sun... The green forests with trees towering over... The innocence of it all trying its best to see another tomorrow... Imperion may be ugly, and wounded, but there's something about that sight... It can heal wounds I'd never dream of being able to heal...' 

Ajal recalled Natalia's words as he stood up. Ava jumped through the wall of water, her hair soaking as she landed. She squatted down and jumped forward again, aiming both her feet at Ajal. Ajal raised his arms and blocked the strike, her boot pressed into his wrists and launched back once more into the wall. The cave rumbled around them. 

"The abyss... The abyss!" Ava seethed, and tears fell from her eyes. 

Ava grabbed Ajal's collar and pulled him forward with both hands. He was face to face with the young ethereal, her head low as tears fell from her eyes. Ajal just looked at her.

"I'm sorry..." Ajal repeated, "I tried to-"

Ava slammed her clenched fist into Ajal's shoulder as she sobbed. 

Ava's eyes were piercingly wide, glazed with tears. Her damp hair was a vibrant shade of purple. Water fell from her hair as she bared her teeth at Ajal. Her gritted teeth jittered as she tried to form words, but she was too angry to say anything.

"The doctor only ever helped people! She didn't deserve to die! Not at the hand of someone she tried to help!" Ava slammed her fist into Ajal's shoulder.

"She tried to save that monster..." Ajal said with grit teeth, he was losing his composure. "She didn't know how many would die if the abyssal being continued to be let loose!" 

"It was your fault! You and those damn archbishops!" Ava cried.

Ajal clenched his teeth. His eyes quivered as he struggled to hold back his tears.

***

"I-" Ajal shouted and opened his eyes quickly.

Ajal's entire body ached, he could feel parts of his bones and muscles shifting as he healed from the fall. A liquid on the ground had the strong scent of wine, he glanced to the left to see broken wooden kegs labeled 'Ketova Winery'. Chunks of rubble painted blue were scattered around him. He could smell nothing but wine as he stared off at the darkness in front of him. Despite it being pitch black, Ajal could still see the label on the wooden barrel. 'What the... I was...' Ajal remembered what he saw. He looked up and around. 

"Agh-" Ajal tried to push himself onto his front, however he couldn't. "Huh?"

Ajal couldn't feel his left arm, he looked down to see his arm bent backward. 'Ah! Shit...' Ajal focused his spirit as he took a deep breath. He reached for his arm with his other hand, grasping the wrist and holding it as he readied himself. 'Three... Two...' Ajal breathed in and out. With one twist a shock of pain rippled through his body.

"Aah!" Ajal screamed from the shock of pain. 

He curled up as his arm started to repair properly, he huffed in and out, his chest rising and falling as he clenched his teeth and tried to bear the pain. As his breathing calmed, Ajal remembered the events that led up to this. 'I stopped that attack from the angels... But the city still fell... I must have fallen from over ten thousand feet...' Ajal rolled over, and pushed himself up on all fours. He huffed in and out as he looked down at the bright red wine. It didn't shimmer at all, 'No... No...' He stood up and looked around at the chunks of rubble surrounding him, all of them lit by the light of his spirit rather than natural light.

"No no no!" Ajal's heartbeat quickened. "There really is an abyss! How long has this been spreading!" 

Ajal flicked the wine off his hand as he took a step, but suddenly he stumbled on his feet and fell against a wall. 'Huh...' His vision blurred as aches of pain coursed through his whole body, it was most severe around his back. 'Ah...' He took a moment to just breathe. All around him was darkness, but he looked back down at the wine and observed as it spread across green stone covered in roots.

'Shit... An abyss forms from the remains of a fallen Celestial...' Ajal looked down at the green stone, then looked up to see a piece of a blue building that had crashed. 'This is... Underneath Andurill? How big is this abyss... How long has it been spreading?' Ajal started through the darkness, and as he adjusted to the pain he ran. The circle of light from his spirit followed. 'My spirit is replenished? How long was I out...' Ajal stumbled slightly on a root, he stopped and looked down, squinting at the green stone. He knelt down and placed his hand on the ground, then looked towards the debris from above. Chunks of rubble were scattered around this green stone surface, however, none of it resembled the stone covered in roots.

"What is this place?" Ajal asked himself.

As he continued into the darkness, the further he got, the more he started to hear things around him. Clashes of steel. Horrific cries. A rapid set of footsteps approached from in front of him. Several hybrids from Baltin ran out of the darkness, they ran in the opposite direction he was going. To Ajal's surprise, there was a hybrid from Argol as well, wearing a white and red torn coat.

"Run! Just fucking run!" The hybrids shouted in fear but then saw Ajal. "That's- the off-worlder! Shit!"

They stopped and took a stance to fight, however, they continued to turn and look behind them.

"Hey! What-" Ajal asked, but then noticed these hybrids were enemies, enemies running from the same thing.

"Get out of our way!" The soldier from Baltin screamed with a panicked expression.

A slim black tentacle stretched out of the darkness and wrapped around the one from Argol, it coiled around his leg and pulled him up into the air. 'What is that?!'

"No! Aaah! I'm not becoming one of those things! One of th-argh!" the rebel screamed.

"Ah, shit!", "Go, just run!" The other soldiers from Baltin panicked, they didn't even care about Ajal as they ran by.

The tentacles suspended the swordsman in mid-air before more came out of the darkness and pierced into his skin. The helpless rebel screamed in terror as it slithered underneath his clothes and invaded his body in any way it could. As the tentacles reached his ear the screaming turned from panic to agony. Ajal dashed forward as he conjured two scythes and jumped up, severing the tendrils with a single swing. The tentacles violently whipped around before receding back into the darkness. The soldier from Argol flopped lifelessly onto the ground. 

"Ggrhr-" the rebel stuttered uncontrollably.

Ajal knelt down to pull the tentacles out of his body, however, it dragged the flesh and skin with it, as if it had become part of the rebel. 'Huh?' Ajal tugged the needle once more, he tugged hard and the needle ripped out, taking skin and flesh with it. 'What the... Fuck!' Ajal cringed as he saw the ends of the blood-drenched tendrils. A three-pronged needle with hundreds of tiny spines sticking out of it to hook into its target. Even more terrifying, the rebel didn't even react to it being ripped out.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Ajal asked.

The rebel from Argol had short brown hair, his eyes had rolled to the back of his head. He shook in Ajal's arms, and foam bubbled out of his mouth. The rebel tried to speak as he faded in and out of consciousness. Ajal opened his third eye, 'Dark Abyss!' The black and white wave covered the rebel, and his eyes rolled back to the front. He suddenly reached forward, grasping Ajal's collar with a surprisingly strong grip.

"Secrets? My secrets? Stop it! I won't- give them to you! Stop it, stop it, stop it!" the soldier twitched in agony as he grasped his head and shook violently.

Ajal stood up and stepped back. The rebel continued to writhe, before stopping with his eyes wide open. 'He's dead... The abyssal being... What did it do to him? This creature is nothing like the abyssal beings from Imperion... They weren't nearly as aggressive as that one just was...' Ajal looked to the direction the tentacles receded to, then continued forward in that direction. The further Ajal ran, he started to hear the sounds grow louder. He passed multiple hybrid corpses on the ground, his foot splashed in a pool of blood as he hurried. 'It's that way!'

"Get the fuck off of me!" Someone familiar shouted. "Dammit, wake up!"

As Ajal approached he saw Blaize Eluk. 'That guy... He's one of the resistance commanders...' Blaize swung two flaming swords at other hybrids from Argol. The rebels who attacked their own leader each had saliva hanging from the mouth, and their bodies were ensnared by tentacles invading their eye sockets. A soldier bellowed a guttural roar, and more of the possessed rebels ran from the shadows as tentacles flew for Blaize.

"Dammit!" Blaize jumped back and put both swords to the fur on his shoulder, imbuing them with flame.

"Aar!", "Aan!", "Err!" the monsters yelled.

The resistance commander was about to swing the sword imbued with red flame. However, he hesitated as he looked at the monstrous, feral, face of a soldier who once looked up to him. The possessed rebel's right arm was completely wrapped in tendrils, their arms crushed while holding a sword. He swung the sword at Blaize with enough force to knock him back but continued to charge while swinging wildly. Blaize parried the random strikes before he jumped back to dodge another possessed rebel.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Guys! Snap out of it-"

"Carm!!", "Man-der!" The monsters managed to form words.

Blaize and Ajal both grimaced in disgust, the faces of the soldiers weren't screaming in rage. They were crying in terror, unable to form words, all they could do was groan and scream.

"Dark Abyss!" Ajal shouted.

The black and white wave passed over the soldiers, they stopped for a moment and all fell to the ground immediately. 

"Hey, guys!" Blaize barked and whipped his head toward Ajal. "Hey, what happened!"

As the black and white wave receded, Ajal and Blaize both watched the lifeless soldiers get back up. They started to grumble.

"Dark Assault," Ajal chanted.

Six scythes formed around Ajal and span forward, they flew forward and cut the tendrils connected to the soldiers. Blaize watched the bodies fall onto the ground lifelessly, he turned to Ajal with wide eyes, a stain of blood across the right side of his face. The tentacles shriveled and dried up, and a quiet squeal could be heard from the creature, as if the parasites themselves began dying.

"You- you! How dare you!" Blaize snapped.

Ajal looked down at the bodies on the ground, he cringed in disgust as he looked down at them. Blaize grasped his blades and took a stance.

"I thought you said you don't kill! I could have saved them, I was-"

"Just stop," Ajal cut him off.

"What?!" 

"They were already dead... Their minds were consumed by an abyssal being..."

"Abyssal being?"

"Were inside of an abyss... A black void born from a fallen Celestial... There were two outbreaks on my homeworld, each time, an abyssal being would wreak havoc on the world itself. It seeks out people and turns them into abyssal beings, spreading the abyss and consuming everything in its path... Your comrades died the moment they were infected, I'm sorry."

Blaize's shoulders slumped. He looked down at the corpses. His swords shook in his trembling hands.

"Those tentacles... They're connected to this... Abyssal thing?" Blaize quavered.

"Yeah," Ajal answered.

"Good." 

Blaize walked past Ajal.

"Huh?" Ajal turned to him with a confused expression.

"I'm gonna kill it," Blaize declared.

"You can't," Ajal said nonchalantly.

Blaize stopped and turned. "Huh?! What the fuck do you mean I can't?!"

"The abyssal being born from the Celestial can only be killed by an ethereal, not even me... The most we can do is hold it back," Ajal pointed at Blaize.

"What the- What's an ethereal?!" Blaize huffed and sheathed both his swords, he walked back towards Ajal while shaking his head.

A tentacle reached forward out of the darkness behind Blaize the moment he sheathed his swords. 'Spirit Ignition!' Ajal dashed past Blaize quickly and sliced the tentacle down the middle.

"I don't have time to explain, get out of here, you aren't safe. And in all honesty, I'd rather not have to fight you if you get possessed too..." said Ajal.

Ajal focused his spirit on his heart, it started to ignite but he held it. 'Spirit Manipulation!' His spirit flowed through his veins, he started to sprint faster than before in the direction the tentacle came from. He heard footsteps behind him 'Ugh...' Blaize was following close behind.

"Don't fucking give me orders! If none of us can kill it, why are you going!" Blaize cursed.

"I may not be able to kill it, but I can stop it from getting anyone else... Until everyone's out of the abyss, or until the abyss is gone, I will fight," Ajal replied.

"Won't you get possessed too!"

"Divine beings regenerate... It can't control me if it can't destroy my mind completely... On my homeworld... The abyss was used against other races... Every second the abyss exists it'll seek out more and more to infect until all of the Celestials fall... And if that happens... This place is what this entire world would look like."

"The... The world?" Blaize stuttered as he looked around. "You're bluffing... Why didn't you try to stop it before..."

"I didn't know... I assumed a Celestial hadn't fallen... After all... You can usually see an abyss from far away... But if it was underground..."

"Underground...? You mean-" Blaize paused. "It... Spreads until... It covers the whole planet... Right?"

"That's... What I said, yeah..." Ajal replied.

"Oh... How big did it ever get on your planet?"

"Like... The size of a small town..." Ajal answered. 

"Oh... Oh shit..." said Blaize. "It's... I don't- know for sure... But we battled House Rael a week ago... Several miles to the west, we saw a black fog there as well..."

Ajal stopped. "What did you just say?"

"We, saw a black fog coming from underground outside the borders of Lemen... If we're still around Andurill... It's bigger than a country..."

"What..." Ajal skipped a breath.

"The distance to Saltrock Swamps... From Andurill is very far..." said Blaize.

Ajal's heart sank. He turned and charged faster into the abyss.

"Hey! Hold up!" Blaize called before he followed as well.

"If the abyss is that big the abyssal being has been alive for a long time... Extremely long..." said Ajal.

Blaize turned, dragging his feet across the ground, and slashed an incoming tentacle. 'The tentacle came from the opposite direction this time?' Ajal's attention was drawn to the sudden sound of something stomping. Blaize turned as he heard it as well. A frightened whinny echoed from the darkness ahead, and the light of a large spirit approached. Until a white-coated leg trotted through the darkness, the head of a horse sprinted into view. 'Gotoh!'

"Holy shit! It possessed that thing!" Blaize shouted.

The horse's neck had a tentacle coiled around it, invading the side of its mouth, but it seemed to be struggling to take control. 'That tentacle... it's coming from a different direction... How massive is this creature...!' Ajal shivered as he focused his spirit, he conjured another scythe, 'Dark Passage!' He imbued the scythe with the black aura while jumping to the side to dodge the horse, Blaize quickly dashed out of the way as well.

"You think it got the hybrid commanders? Or even Vala? I kind of hope it got her..." Blaize asked.

Ajal threw the scythe imbued with a black and white flame towards the tentacle above the horse, severing the tendril. A shadow was left behind on the piece that retracted back. The horse disappeared immediately and the tentacle around its neck fell, shriveled up, and died. 'That was weird... It stopped the spirit from returning to its owner... Must've been why it was so afraid...'

"If the queen of the hybrids is possessed, that'd be bad... Really bad..." Ajal warned.

"Really? I'm kind of half and half, I'd rather her gone," said Blaize.

"If you're still trying to kill them you should get the hell out of here because I have to beat the crap out of you too!" 

Blaize reared his head back, he looked dumbfounded for a moment. Ajal raised his hand up before he could reply.

"Get out of here," Ajal ordered one last time.

'Dark Passage!' He teleported to the tentacle and grasped it, suddenly being pulled along at a high speed. There was nothing but darkness around him. He started to notice the rooves made of green stone and run-down buildings barely even holding together, they were nothing like Andurill's architecture. He was pulled upwards and suddenly entered a large area lit up vividly by the number of people all within one location. Ajal's added spirit extended it further. 

"Huh..." Ajal let go of the tentacle and focused on what was in front of him.

A large grey cylindrical structure took up most of the battlefield, it lay on the ground on top of several buildings. It looked like hadn't been touched for years, long enough for foliage and roots to spread over it. 'A Celestial...' The field was filled with crumbled ruins and piles of green rubble mixed in with the stone surface of Andurill. The Celestial had fallen on a large building that almost appeared. The field of uneven rubble was walked over by massive and tiny skeletons, all ensnared by similar tentacles. 'Those are the things from the bridge... But... They're being controlled...' Aside from the various piles of rubble, the entire area resembled a town, the structures still standing seemed to be built onto a hill. He jumped over the buildings.

"Spirit Ignition!" A familiar voice roared.

"That's..." Ajal stopped and looked down at the roof.

George was in the street below, his shirt drenched in sweat and his fists bloodied. His curly hair was a mess and he was exhausted. Several possessed skeletons charged for him. 'Spirit...' Ajal jumped from the roof towards the approaching skeletons. 'Ignition!' He slammed his foot into the ground, knocking George off his feet.

"A- Ajal!" George shouted in surprise.

"Hey... Are you-" Ajal looked down to see George covered in wounds.

"No... Not really... What the hell is going on? Why is the sky pitch black?!"

"No time to explain, are all of the hybrids from Cabac here..."

"Most of them... I tried to help but I got separated from Adam and Reinhardt... What are those spikey things causing the hybrids to go mad?"

"Avoid those tendrils at all costs George!" Ajal ordered. "If it pierces you you'll die in seconds!"

"Oh..." George said, his tone frightened. "I'm trying to lead the fodder away from the civilians, they don't stop coming... It's been four hours since they showed up and started attacking... At least it got the hybrids to stop fighting... By the way, you got any food?"

"Shit... Listen, George... I need to go help the hybrids, I think I can stop this and get everyone-"

"Then don't waste time with me! Go!" said George.

Ajal felt anxiety lingering on his spine. "Don't die on me! Stay safe!" Ajal turned and ran further through the mysterious city serving as the new battleground.

'I'll save them... I'll save everyone!' Ajal ran through the cobblestone streets. He passed rusty chains and old faded signs. Barrels riddled with holes. Eroded sets of green stone stairs. 

"Shura's Array! Fourth form!"

On top of the Celestial, two fought on the fallen pillar. 'That's Vala! She's not possessed!' Something floated up connected to hundreds of tentacles that spread around, it held two large blades in its hands. 'Is that it?! It looks like it...' The knight flew toward Vala and the two clashed blades, the strike echoed over the hundreds of buildings. Vala was launched back as the knight stopped in mid-air. Tentacles extended from its back and reached for the tumbling queen. Ajal conjured a double-sided scythe, 'Dark Passage.'

"Prism Slash!" Vala shouted.

Ajal lifted the scythe up and flexed his arm, he breathed in while aiming for the skeleton's body, however, the two continued to move. 'Spirit Sense...' Ajal's third eye flashed and opened wide as it watched the spirit of the knight. 'Spirit Ignition!' He flicked the scythe, it flipped through the air at a high speed, whirling so fast it could be heard. Vala made a single circular swing and slashed multiple tendrils at once, darted forward, and slashed twice more before lunging forward and clashing with the abyssal being once more.

Avery darted across the rubble clad in green electricity, trying to reach the queen, but was thwarted at each turn. She dodged the stomps and slams of giant skeletons on two feet with tails. 

The abyssal being was about to lunge forward. The scythe pierced straight into its skull, 'Dark Passage!' Ajal teleported to his scythe, grasping it and kicking the creature. The knight was knocked back, it looked at Ajal carefully before reengaging.

"You!" Vala gasped.

"Rah!" Ajal charged forward and started spinning the double-sided scythe.

Ajal clashed with the eight-foot monstrosity, he tried to use his right arm to fight, as his left was still in pain 'This thing isn't like the other skeletons!' It was a strangely tall skeletal knight, holding two greatswords with its bony hands like nothing, the skeleton wore armor as well as silver aesthetics. The insignia of an apple in front of the roots of a tree. 'Those swords... seem similar to Alexander Rael's... But it has two...' The skeleton wore a crown upon its head as well, its entire body ensnared with tentacles, almost resembling a body. It swung its greatsword down at Ajal, he pivoted to the left as he redirected the strike. The knight missed, but it came to a complete stop, the arm twisted and angled the blade horizontally. 'What!' Ajal spun the scythe and blocked in time, with the handle. However, the knight continued to push the blade, and Ajal's feet dragged across the surface of the fallen tower. Ajal's spirit shivered as he noticed the knight's other arm.

'The other blade-'

Vala clashed with the blade coming to slash Ajal from behind, their backs slammed into each other. 

"Thanks-" Ajal turned his head as his third eye opened and glowed. "Dark Blast!"

The purple beam released from his third eye and blasted the armor of the skeletal lord. It quickly raised the greatsword and blocked the beam. A blue figure had climbed up onto the Celestial and charged forward. 

"Shura's Array! Fourth Form!" Shina growled with ferocity in her spirit. "Prism Slash!" 

Shina disappeared, all Ajal saw was the blue light flashing four times in a single second before she flew forward and cleaved right through the creature's waist. She flew forward at a breakneck speed, landing and dragging her feet against the ground, sliding on her knee and spinning to a stand as she sheathed her blade and exhaled. 

"I'm back!" Shina glanced up at Vala while breathing heavily. "Thanks for helping three eyes."

"You're hilarious," Ajal sighed as he walked forward. "You all need to get out of here... The more people those tendrils reach the worse this becomes..."

"I didn't want your help..." Vala glared at Ajal. "And maybe if you had just joined me from the start, my city wouldn't be destroyed!"

"Are the civilians safe?" Ajal questioned.

Vala glared at him. "The civilians are held up down there," Vala pointed in the direction Ajal came from. "We can get out, but we've met resistance as you can see... To think something this vile was lurking beneath us..."

In front of several buildings, multiple hybrids stood guard. A crowd of hybrid civilians were packed into the buildings of the street. A large man with an axe and a small black-haired boy with a curved greatsword lead the guards against possessed soldiers.

"Rolo and Oberon are defending the civilians held up in those shelters..." said Shina. "I don't know where Raum is, but-"

A harrowing screech echoed through the abyss, 'What the...?' Ajal covered his ears as he looked around, the taller buildings at the edge of the darkness looked the same. His head felt strange all of a sudden, 'What the...' The hybrids all began to writhe and suffer. 'That was... Way too loud- ' Vala and Shina both dropped to their knees and grasped their ears, they simultaneously started to groan in pain. 

"Hey- Hey are you okay!" Ajal was at a loss for words, 'What... What just did that...'

Ajal sensed something approaching quickly, he turned to see the skeletal lord charging back in. Ajal opened his third eye and fired a dark blast directly at the creature. It lifted the greatswords with a shocking speed, cut the beam, and continued to soar forward. 'How is it still alive after being cut in-' Ajal looked down to see that the knight's legs weren't even attached anymore. The knight slammed its blades into the ground as Ajal jumped into the air.

'This thing- It moves like a puppet!' 

The knight followed straight after him, swinging down at Ajal with both greatswords. Ajal was launched down the ramp, slamming against his back and flipping himself back to his feet. 'Agh!' Ajal hit the ground and bounced to his feet only to see the skeletal knight still soaring straight at him. 'Dark Assault!' Six scythes appeared around Ajal, he grabbed two. He clashed with the knight, redirected the strike, and swung the other scythe, only to be blocked by the other blade. 

'Spirit Ignition!' 

Ajal kicked off the ground as he let go of the scythes, he spun in mid-air with the momentum and grasped two more scythes. Then cleaved both of the scythes through the knight's head, embedding one in the chest and the other in its shoulder. Its head was nothing but the front of a jaw now.

As Ajal landed, he quickly leaned back as the knight swung. 'This thing-' Ajal backflipped, the knight kept swinging, slashing his back. 'Rgh!' Ajal landed and lunged forward, kicking the knight's chest piece with his foot as he grabbed the last two scythes. 'Double Ignition!' Ajal ignited his spirit and propelled the scythes down, the knight blocked it effortlessly. 'Damnit!' Ajal kicked off its chest, but it barely budged. 'What the hell... This thing is like a mindless brute!'

The knight let go of one greatsword and grasped the other with two hands, dashing forward quickly and swinging down at Ajal. 'This thing... Is it the abyssal being? What was the huge noise I just heard...' Ajal used both scythes to block, pulling them and locking the blades together. Ajal let go of the scythes and grasped the skeletons' wrists. 'Spirit Ignition!' Ajal jumped and kicked the knight in the chest once more. 

A shriek echoed through the air and Ajal felt his head immediately become hazy. 'Ah!' Visions filled his mind, and his head throbbed violently as he immediately longed for the feeling to go away. 'That screech again! Did it come from that Knight-' Ajal looked up at the night to see the knight ready to swing down once more. 'Shi-'

A white light flashed and Ajal saw Angela Rover intercept the knight's attack with her claymore, she stood over Ajal as she stepped forward and forced the one-armed knight away. Ajal stood on one knee as his head rang, he heard mad laughter approach. Zeus jumped at the knight from above. 

"Zeus! Go for the head!" Angela charged forward.

"Die!" Zeus shouted.

The knight's head twisted around to Zeus, and his arms immediately swung the greatswords wildly. Zeus parried one strike, however, the knight continued to swing. Angela darted forward and embedded her claymore into the knight's back, but it still tried to slash Zeus. It dragged its body through the blade and continued to soar at the ethereal.

"Ah..." Ajal groaned as he limped to his feet, his vision still blurry 'That kid... He's an ethereal! He can do it!'

Zeus's white cape wrapped around his other arm and formed a shield. He held it up and blocked the flurry of strikes from the knight. Angela charged forward as well. The skeletal lord's right arm dislocated and twisted around, blocking Zeus's strike from one side, the other blade clashing with Angela. Tendrils lashed out in all directions, they lashed across the ground and forced the noble back. However, the tentacles pointed at Zeus. 'He can't die!' Ajal dashed across the pillar passed Angela and severed the tendrils before they could reach Zeus. 

"Hey! I had that you-"

"Save it for later!" Ajal jumped at the skeleton knight.

He swung down at the huge skeleton and severed the left arm with a slash. However, at that moment, another shriek echoed throughout the cave. Ajal quickly covered his ears, and flashes of memories flooded his mind. Scenes of a pillar rising out of a planet and rocks reforming, scenes of forests burning. 'Every time I hear that scream my head is filled with visions!' Ajal clenched his fist hard enough to draw blood, he felt the pain and started to come back to his body. He tried to open his eyes, the green greatsword was approaching.

"Grelt's Steel!" Shina blocked the attack before it could reach Ajal.

"Dark..." Ajal's forehead glowed as he opened his third eye. "Blast!" Shina dodged out of the way as he fired.

The abyssal being was engulfed once more in the purple inferno. It attempted to block the beam once more, ricocheting the blast off the face of its blade as it moved to the left and out of the beam.

"Gotoh!" Vala roared, and two horizontal lines appeared under her eyes as well as a dot on her forehead.

Vala conjured the white lance. She lunged forward, but the skeletal knight turned once again and blocked her. The queen pushed forward, trying to push the knight back into the beam. 

"Shura's Array! First Form!" Vala declared, "Thunderclap Smash!" She slammed the lance into the skeletal knight again and knocked him into the blast. 

Shina ran behind Vala and took a stance, "Shura's Array, Second Form! Heaven's Charge!" Shina lunged forward and slashed down at the knight's defense as well. 

The abyssal being's back slowly disintegrated as the heat burned it to dust, the tendrils writhing at the touch of the beam. The knight continued to push forward, 'It can still-' Two people ran up the fallen Celestial parallel to the purple beam. One was a familiar swordsman with a blonde mohawk, the other was their fellow commander Iris.

"Roku's Array, Second Form! Hell's Gambit!" Blaize jumped and roared.

Ajal looked up to see Blaize spin through the air. Vala and Shina jumped back as Blaize cleaved its arms off with a single swing. 

"Roku's Array, Fifth Form! Beasts Bane!" Iris shouted as she ran forward with glowing red horns and stabbed her blade into the abyssal being.

Iris's blade pierced the creature's breastplate, she raised her foot and focused her spirit. With a spirit ignition, she kicked the being off her blade and into Ajal's blast. Its body disintegrated as it writhed in the beam. Ajal closed his third eye.

"Nice! You did that on the fly..." Angela praised.

"Don't fucking talk to me..." Iris seethed.

"What the hell was that thing!" Zeus shivered.

The queen helped Shina to her feet and looked at Ajal, she nodded. Ajal nodded back hazily, he sat on his lap and covered his ears. However, Iris and Blaize glared at the queen with hateful eyes.

"Okay... That... That wasn't so bad..." Ajal huffed. 

"There's still more!" Angela pointed to the possessed soldier still attacking civilians and hybrid guards.

'What? They are still being controlled? Do the tendrils have to be severed?' Ajal was about to dash off the top of the Celestial, however, he felt a sudden fatigue which caused him to drop to his knees. Blaize and Iris jumped down, as the toll of a bell launched an entire wave of them away. Even Banhu defended the hybrids, as well as many soldiers from Argol. Shina and Vala both dropped down and charged as well.

"Hey..." Angela approached Ajal and offered her hand, "You actually did it... You stopped the Lightbringer..."

"Yeah... All in- a day's work" Ajal sounded exhausted.

"Hah, you're insane..."

'What the... I haven't felt this tired since the first few days when I got here...' Ajal forced himself to his feet as he walked forward. He stepped off the pillar and dropped to the level below, landing on a street of green stone. As he walked forward, the hybrids all turned to him. Someone shoved their way through the crowd, before falling forward and stumbling to their feet. They had red hair with a receding hairline and a full beard of the same hue. 'Reinhardt?' Reinhardt ran forward in a panic, he grasped Ajal's black shirt.

"Hey... You alright?" Ajal asked.

His head was covered in sweat and bruises, his knuckles bloodied from fighting. 'Wait...' Ajal looked up and didn't see anyone follow. A sinking feeling grew in his chest.

"Ajal... George is safe, but I can't find Adam... And these things are everywhere! What do we do!" Reinhardt spoke quickly.

"Calm down..." Ajal put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey! Ajal... Or whatever it was..." Blaize called. 

"Huh?" Ajal turned to him while his thoughts were pulled back to figure out where Adam could be.

"Didn't you say... An ethereal has to kill it? And you couldn't?" Blaize asked.

Ajal paused. His head shot straight up, the darkness in the sky was still there. Vala and Shina both turned to Ajal. Angela looked between them in confusion.

"An ethereal? What is that?"

"Yeah... Only... An ethereal should be able to destroy an abyssal being's core..." Ajal turned to Zeus. "We've got one right here. But you didn't kill it, I did..."

Zeus stared at Ajal and turned to see if there was anyone behind him. "Huh? What're you pointing at? There's no one there..." said Zeus.

"I shouldn't have been able to kill that thing... And the abyss is still here... Which means..."

The sound of buildings crashing in the distance caused all of them to turn. The ground rumbled, and chunks of debris seemed to rise slightly before they crashed back into the ground. 'What the fuck was that...'

"Is that... The one?" Vala looked at Ajal.

"The real abyssal being... Whatever we just fought was just something being controlled as well..." Ajal answered. "It was probably someone extremely strong who got infected, all the more reason no one here can let those tendrils get you!"

"You're kidding... Right?" Shina asked.

"Be on guard! It's coming! From that direction!" Ajal pointed to the northeast, and the sound of the building crashing came from beyond there. "It's a creature born from the remains of a fallen Celestial... It spreads this darkness out in all directions trying to consume as much as it possibly can until the entire world is consumed."

"Divine beings... Abyssal beings... What the hell is next..." Blaize scoffed.

"Hey... You," Ajal pointed at Zeus. "We need you to land the killing blow..."

"Of course you do," Zeus replied nonchalantly. "By the way, what's an ethereal?"

"Is this kid stupid or something?" Iris whispered to Blaize.

Ajal looked down at him with a bewildered expression, then shook his head. 'Focus...'

"I don't have time to explain, just focus everything on a single attack and we can destroy it..."

"We?" Vala laughed as she looked at Iris. "Had it not been for these dogs, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place!"

"You still wanna go bitch?" Iris gritted her teeth as she gripped her blade. "It seems you're forgetting that the angels almost turned you into ash when they tried to burn the entire city down!"

"And Geral Murdok was too much of a coward to join you on the front lines, I'd throw you back in jail in an instant..."

Blaize and Shina looked between the two, they seemed to have a better understanding of the current stakes. Ajal turned back to the Celestial, then jumped to the wall of the building and kicked off with a spirit ignition. He soared back to the top and looked at the buildings, where the rumbles came from.

"Huh..." Ajal squinted as he noticed dust coming from that direction slowly. Ajal continued to look at the buildings before he realized it. 'It jumped...' Ajal looked up, "Oh- Oh shit..."

In the sky, a giant collection of tentacles floated, its tendrils wriggling through the air as if looking for something. 'How is it flying...' It was an endless mass of tentacles. At a certain point up its body, rather than tentacles, were hundreds of arms that writhed and reached for whatever it could. 

"I'm still a little sore from the fight up there... This is something I have to do though," Ajal told himself as he opened his third eye. "Everyone!" Ajal roared with a commanding voice. "It's coming! Protect the civilians! One tentacle is all it takes to kill someone!"

The purple light began to grow from his forehead, it pulsated as purple energy started to ripple from his body like electricity. Ajal's hair whipped back and forth rapidly.

"Dark..." The light became blinding, everyone turned to it. "Blast!" Ajal roared as he fired the blast with the intent to kill.

The purple beam shot through the sky and struck the beast, burning through its body. Ajal moved the beam, burning the surface of the abyssal being. A black charred line through its body. He released a final explosive pulse of energy, a purple explosion engulfed the monster. Ajal huffed as the beam dissipated. A bone-chilling cry of pain echoed across the abyss, and the creature's body writhed as blood dropped from it, flowing from its body and splashing against the ground like a waterfall. Its scream went from that of a hollow one to that of a woman crying out, the sound echoed throughout the abyss. 

"It's calling all of its hosts! Protect Zeus! The ethereal has to end it!" Ajal commanded.

Green electricity crackled to Ajal's right. Avery and Rolo landed on the fallen Celestial. The two of them didn't seem too injured. Ajal nodded as he saw them, Avery put her hand to her head and saluted him while Rolo just shook his head. They were both still wearing the torn cultural silks and shirts.

"Maybe it's a good thing we didn't beat you in Logos... In truth, I'm glad you're helping... Although whatever you did to Banhu still freaks me out," Rolo told Ajal.

"Not like you could've beaten me in Logos..." Ajal said nonchalantly.

"I can dart around this battlefield quickly, let me keep an eye on the civilians..." Avery opted.

"I'm assuming that rumble just now was that thing... Something that heavy could be a problem... Descendants of Ophi, focus on assisting the injured!" Rolo ordered with a commanding voice.

Vala jumped to the top of the celestial, she was worn out. Unlike Ajal, she couldn't heal. The damage from the previous battle and the current one clearly wore her down. She took a deep breath and stood tall. 

"Warriors, take up your blades!" Vala ordered.

"If you fight each other after this I seriously hate all of you," Ajal groaned.

"Fufu..." Vala laughed under her breath, "You remind me a lot of my brother..."

"Yeah... He even looks like Arken to be honest," Blaize walked forward and cracked his neck.

"Arken didn't have three eyes stupid, idiot, nerd," Iris sighed as her horns glowed red.

"Well, would you look at us, hybrids fighting together, I like it," Shina chuckled.

Behind him, the leaders of the alliance and the resistance stood together. Even if they didn't want to, they recognized the approaching threat. The sound of a young girl's moan echoed through the abyss. 'What the... Is it... Crying? More importantly, what the hell is that abomination...' 

The entire mass of tendrils and arms suddenly got pulled, Ajal turned to see Oberon by the ground with both his palms raised at the creature.

"I can bring it into range for you!" Oberon shouted from the top of a building.

Ajal focused his spirit as the abyssal being's tendrils extended outward. Spears of tendrils rained across the ground, 'Dark Assault!' Ajal launched six scythes through the air, slashing the hundreds of tendrils approaching. 

"Shura's Array, First Form!" Avery stepped forward as a bolt of green electricity formed in her hands from thin air. "Thunderclap..." She raised it above her shoulder, "Smash!" 

The javelin flew through the sky at a high speed, the moment it made contact with the abyssal being it exploded into a bright ball of green light. Ajal and Blaize readied their blades.

"Ah!" the abyssal being shrieked, it had the voice of a young girl.

"Tempa..." Vala called, conjuring the thin katana in hand as three slashes appeared on each of her cheeks and forehead.

The abyssal being's arms and tentacles suddenly extended out for the hybrids. 'Imperial Battle Arts...' Ajal kicked off the ground and spun. Blaize and Vala both followed. 

"Shura's Array... Fourth Form!" Vala declared.

"Roku's Array! Fourth Form!" Blaize declared.

"Buzzsaw!", "Prism Slash!", "Wild Frenzy!" the three of them yelled.

Each of them swung their blades and slashed hundreds of tendrils from reaching any further. Ajal opened his third eye as he started to descend. 'Dark Blast!' Ajal fired the beam, but it was blocked by a blue barrier. 

"Huh..." Ajal uttered in shock.

"What? What is that blue stuff?!" Rolo asked.

"I see it too. What is that?" Angela stressed.

Ajal shook his head left and right, 'This just can't get better, can it?' "The abyssal being can control its spirit?! This is bad..."

"Spirit?" Avery listened in. "You mean..."

"Yeah... The Spirit Arts I use, that thing you call Arken's Chambers... They are an inherent power every life form possesses... Only until you become conscious of it can you use it," Ajal explained. "How in the hell does it know Spirit Arts... Who could've taught it...'

"Hey..." Rolo shook Ajal's shoulder while looking up at something.

"What?"

"What the hell is it doing?!" Rolo pointed up.

Ajal looked up and watched the massive creature currently turning over in the sky of darkness.

"What... What the hell is it doing..." Ajal trembled.

Two bright blue pillars connected to a flower at the top of the creature came into view, they glowed against the darkness it emerged from. Ajal tilted his head as he realized that they were not pillars, but rather arms. The shriveled and wrinkly skin glowed brighter as it got closer. Ajal and all of the hybrids just looked at it in awe, the grotesque monster in front of them was beyond comprehension.

The body resembled a woman, it seemed to be a sculpture of sorts, made out of glowing wood. Its torso was connected to the center of a flower. The head was shrouded in white hair, and the young woman's wooden face was smooth and pristine. The inside of its mouth and eye sockets were pitch black, and its hands around the middle of its body started to move about as its eyes opened and began to observe the various people in the area.

"Father... Father where are you?" the massive body spoke. 

"What... The fuck... Why is it saying that!?" Blaize demanded an answer from Ajal.

"The abyssal beings are born from the potential that failed to be realized... Whatever that thing is... It was killed long before it ever had the chance to be born a normal person..."

"Where's father? Father, I'm sorry! It's me, Terra! Terra Gerrenwalt! It's me! Father, why did you run? Father!" The girl's voice cracked, it resembled that of a very young child despite its appearance. "Father! Mother!" the monster cried and begged for its parents.

The hundreds of hands extended, smashing everything on the battlefield as Terra screamed. Her scream filled Ajal's head with more visions. The hybrids held their ears, the abyssal being's scream had strange effects.

"Dark Blast!" Ajal's third eye opened and fired the beam at the incoming hands.

The hands were vaporized before they could reach any hybrids and the beam traveled straight for the being known as Terra Gerrenwalt. Before the blast could hit, the blue translucent barrier reflected the blast in multiple directions.

"Dammit!" Ajal stopped firing the beam. "I can't keep using Dark Blast or I'll hit someone else!"

"Huh? Where's brother? Brother?" Terra asked with puzzled innocence. "You! You killed my brother!"

"I've never seen an abyss grow for so long... But I think this is about the most I want to see..." Ajal conjured two scythes and ran forward. 

'Double Ignition!' He focused his spirit and jumped up off the fallen Celestial. Then used another ignition to jump toward the creature. It was at least two hundred and fifty meters in the air. 'Dark Passage!' A black aura spread from Ajal's hands to both scythes, he spun in mid-air and whipped both of them spinning to either side of the abyssal being.

"Huh?" Terra looked confused as the scythes flew past her.

'Dark Passage!' Ajal focused on the scythe to the right, then teleported to it. Terra looked around the ground as Ajal disappeared, unaware of him descending from above. 'Triple...' Ajal descended towards her, raising his leg and focusing his spirit on the back of his heel. 'Ignition!' He kicked Terra's head down, knocking her entire body to the ground.

"Guh-" Terra winced from the powerful impact.

Ajal continued to soar downwards, spinning and slamming his fist into the creature's back.

"Ah!" Terra's cry echoed far.

Several hands extended for Ajal and grasped his arms and legs to try and stop his assault. He looked up at the other scythe which reached the peak of its height. 'D-' A hand slammed into his throat with a surreal amount of power. 'Ack! Dark... Passage!' Ajal disappeared once more, reappearing at the other scythe and grasping it as he descended once more. This time the side of the abyssal being was in his path. 

The entire creature turned its body quickly towards him, the speed it moved surprised Ajal. Multiple arms extended out and reached for him, he drew a second scythe as he straightened out his body and descended at a high speed. Slicing multiple limbs but being struck by a third. Ajal winced as he shortened the length of the scythes, shoved himself off the side of the arm, and started to run down the length of it. The more he pushed forward with each step, the less his feet touched the surface at all and the faster he descended down toward the monster. Hundreds of arms approached, and Ajal got ready to slice them to pieces.

"Shura's Array! Fifth Form!" Vala shouted at the back of Zetsu.

The black hawk flew straight upwards, and Vala held the disconnected jagged black blade in hand. She flipped off the back of Zetsu and took a stance in the middle of the air.

"Phoenix Lash!" she shouted as she swung, making a large horizontal slash that cut many of the arms reaching for Ajal.

Ajal grinned, taking a stance with both scythes behind him.

"Shura's Array! Fourth Form! Prism Slash!"

Vala blinked in an instant to the front of the beast and slashed it, then blinked again and slashed once more. Terra grunted in pain, its arms reaching for Vala in an instant. Before the queen would blink once again, Aja's scythes extended to a large size, he spun and slashed both the arms embedded into the flower. Terra screamed in agony as her arms were separated, the hundreds of hands stopped moving and fell limp. Ajal ran up the body of the abyssal being as he dragged his scythes through its tough skin. A blue flash appeared next to him, and Vala appeared with her katana in hand.

"Regal! Shura's Array, First Form!" Vala conjured the bolt-shaped greatsword.

Vala jabbed the greatsword into Terra and ran up the length of her body, drawing a line through her. Ajal did the same, however, he opened his third eye as he ran and started to charge.

"Aah!" Terra cried out in anguish.

"Raah!" Ajal and Vala roared as they dragged their blades across it.

Vala and Ajal reached its neck, and as they pulled their blades up they left gashes in its chin. The humanoid form connected to the creature did not bleed like the mass of tentacles it was connected to.

"Ack-" Terra winced as they pulled their blades out before reaching the neck.

Vala jumped off the beast's left shoulder, above Terra's head. Ajal reached the right and focused his spirit, 'Spirit Ignition!' He jumped upwards as well.

"Thunderclap Smash!" Vala slammed the greatsword into Terra's face, crushing its nose.

"Dark Blast!" Ajal fired the purple beam at its waist, launching it straight down into the ground.

"Roku's Array! Third Form!" Banhu yelled with a mighty pitch at ground level as he spun the spine around him. "Pinpoint Devastation!"

The bell tolled an inch away from Terra's body which already soared down to the ground at a lightning-fast speed. The sound wave launched the massive creature in a different direction entirely. Straight toward Iris and Shina.

"Roku's Array! First Form!" Iris raised her sword for a downward slash.

"Shura's Array! Sixth Form!" Shina lowered her blade for an upward slash.

The mass of flesh flew towards the two skilled swordswomen. 

"World Splitter!", "Grelt's Steel!" The two of them swung their swords and tore through the mass of tentacles passing over them as if cutting through nothing at all.

A harrowing cry echoed throughout the abyss as the being crashed and rolled into the buildings. 'Where is the core?' Ajal analyzed its wounds but found nothing.

"Father... Why did you run? I promise I'll be good... I won't make mother sad-" Terra stopped speaking, her eyes opened wide.

"Huh-" Ajal felt its spirit spike violently.

"Mother... Mother!" Terra screamed, and the tentacles thrashed around wildly. 

Shina and Iris were the closest to the creature. They slashed the approaching tentacles, but there were too many. Ajal ran forward and threw two more scythes, his left arm ached. 'Bear... The pain!' More of the possessed soldiers from elsewhere in the city approached. 'Dark Assault!' Ajal fired off six more black scythes, slicing down the rabid soldiers. Ajal picked up one of the blades and raised it, but he stopped.

The possessed soldier had short black hair, and his right eye had been invaded by the tentacles. Ajal's heart sank into his chest. 'Adam...' His black suit was ripped apart, blood leaking from multiple wounds where tendrils invaded his body. The possessed soldier ran forward and grabbed Ajal, he didn't react, still shocked at the sight.

"Adam! Grh!" Ajal held his face back as Adam tried to bite him. "Stop-" 

Three needles pierced Ajal. One through the abdomen, one through his right thigh, and another in his right forearm. Each wound pulsed with pain as he felt every tiny needle moving beneath his skin. 'Huh... Where did it... Where did it come from...'

"Die!" Terra screamed.

The hooked tendrils ripped out of Ajal, dragging skin and tissue with them. Adam's body fell to the ground lifeless before the tendrils lifted him back up like a puppet.

"Ahagh!" Ajal fell on his back. "Ah!" he writhed in pain.

'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!' Ajal tried to stand but the pain from the wound in his leg was unbearable.

"Hey! Why'd you stop!" Rolo tapped Ajal on the back and made him lighter.

Rolo picked Ajal up and quickly dashed away. 

"Ahh!" Ajal groaned.

"Shit, that looks bad!" Rolo commented.

Terra reached for Ajal, only to be hit in the face with a bolt of green lightning. It exploded on contact. 

"Ah!" Terra screamed as smoke engulfed her head.

"Fuck... That hurts! Ah! Adam... God fucking dammit!" Ajal roared curses with tears coming out of his eyes.

Banhu struck the tendrils away as Shina and Iris continued to evade and slash tentacles. There were far fewer tentacles than before. 'It's... Why is it holding back now...' Ajal tried to use his spirit sense, breathing in and out, his eyes shot open as he realized its scheme. 

"The ground!" Ajal screamed.

Banhu was about to strike once more, he aimed directly for Terra's head as he ran forward. However, hundreds of spikes shot out of the ground. He had no time to dodge, Banhu was helpless as he was impaled by the wave of tendrils

"Ahh!" Banhu cried out in pain.

"No!" Ajal panicked.

"Banhu!" Iris stopped cutting the tendrils and charged forward.

"No, wait!" Shina tried to caution.

"The ground!" Ajal shouted desperately. "Get away from the ground!"

Tendrils sprouted to ensnare whatever it could catch. Rolo tripped on rubble, tumbling as he drew his greatsword and then severing the tendril in the ground. However, they continued to rise out of the ground. Ajal rolled against the ground, and his wounds slowly healed. 'Get up! Get up before it's too late!' Ajal rose, but his entire body suddenly shuddered, and he fell to his knee.

Iris slashed multiple tendrils, however too many approached. Shina dashed forward, her arm glowing a bright blue. She grabbed Iris's arm and threw her away from the tendrils as they approached. The sickening sound of blades puncturing flesh silenced all else.

"No!" Vala cried.

The tentacles hoisted her up. Ajal was silent as he watched Shina hang in the air, lifeless. The tentacles receded back into the ground and revealed Banhu who had shared a similar fate. The two powerful hybrids writhed as their bodies were invaded by tendrils. Vala's eyes quivered. Iris looked at Shina and Banhu, her expression bewildered and terrified. The two of them dropped to the ground, tendrils wrapped around their arms tightly binding their weapons with a vice grip.