Chapter 48 - Lucian

Argo felt the crushing weight on his soul, and looked away. 

He was certain that once his memories had fully returned and settled, that he would not be as angry as he was, about how in the world, he had ended up in this situation.

But for now, he was kept warm by that ridiculousness, and the ridiculousness of the situation at hand.

Murphy was intelligent, at least, he seemed to be inside of his memories. He would understand the gravity of the situation as well, though, what he chose to do in the wake of it, was not his concern.

His gaze turned.

He made distance between himself and the battle behind, as the first shockwaves marked it's commencement once again.

He headed for the north section, the Third Gates side, the next stage, of this haphazardly put together gamble.

A vein rose on his neck. That damned pulsing had returned in force.

His head pounded with a terrible pain, that manifested in pressure, as if his head was being squeezed tightly. 

In his memories, it had not gone away for the better part of several months. That woman was such a poison, he couldn't understand why he had tolerated her to such an extent? 

He knew there were memories that still had not returned, and that there had to be a reason. But he simply couldn't imagine what had lead him to tolerate this constant headache.

Horrid gaseous corpse breath brushed against his skin. All other thoughts slipped from his mind, pinned to it's back for later.

His nose scrunched slightly. 

He arrived at the next point.

A beast with fur that acted like armor, pointed outwards in a rigid form, let out an empty roar and exploded! 

It's quills shot straight towards that golden light, only to be turned into nothingness, as it was vaporized by the holy barrier that had been erected! 

A golden sword pierced the corpse smog veil, lighting up the whole area with it's divine glow.

A real hero. Argo turned his sight, to the trail behind her.

She was a machine, and an efficient one at that.

He saw the girl from the corner of his sight, inside of the barrier that Lucian had cast, being beset upon by a cacophony of smaller nightmares, beating on it madly! 

He approached from behind, they couldn't, or simply didn't care to, notice him, the pink mist around them dulling all of their senses, it was a simple task to dispatch the smattering of nightmares.

Unfortunately, he could not escape the blood that seemed to be aiming for him with each slash. They were not undead, but mind controlled. Their blood still flowed, it was not still.

He slightly frowned, as he flicked the blood off his sword, the fat on the blade would dull it given time. It had perhaps a few more slashes in it, before becoming useless scrap.

The barrier was flickering, holes tearing in certain places as it fluctuated. 

The world would see to it's destruction if the nightmares didn't. 

He looked down at the girl.

His back felt warm.

The small sun in the air had slowed it's chain reaction, at the very least. But, it was going to go off regardless, it's internal mechanism unknown to him, but he understood that once the weave inside was broken enough, either by outside interference or the world natural forces, it would trigger a natural reaction that would make it go off.

An unstoppable bomb once cast, unless someone of even greater strength had some method he didn't know of.

But he wasn't willing to make that kind of bet.

He needed one side to win, or at least, make it look like one would win.

Whichever it was, was not his concern, but one side needed to get a big advantage soon, if he wanted to make it long enough to be able to gamble for their lives.

Entering Lucian's barrier, he picked up the girl onto his arm.

She stared up at him with her big round eyes, he glanced down at her.

A sharp distaste filled his mouth.

Her hair absolutely needed to be redone, as soon as possible. Whoever had cut it for her was either a novice, or a bastard, by the way they had done the ends, it was likely both.

Why had he picked up a child like this, knowing the kind of man he was, and what his occupation was? Did he hate her? What could she have done?

"Hide away."

He left the barrier without so much as glancing at Lucian. He couldn't remember him well. Was he a pawn he had brought? But he didn't remember a Lucian. Perhaps a spy planted before this insane venture.

Either way, his life was not worth much.

His memory was broken up terribly from over a month prior. Scraps, bits and pieces woven back together at the seams.

He didn't take a great interest in them, not at the moment, but he didn't have a choice, as they would quite literally obscure his vision by appearing in his head like a motion picture.

His eyes kept lingering on the girls hair, which was right next to his face. It filled him with a sort dissatisfaction.

The edges of his lips turned down tightly, as a memory flashed.

So... he was the bastard who cut her hair?

He looked back ahead, in hindsight, her hair was so terrible that it warranted shaving her completely bald, but he had put a great deal of effort into keeping as much as possible, even if she looked awful as a result.

He decided he had done a wonderful job, as his aura snaked up his sword.

It gleamed with an even tempered malice.

Pink mist swirled around the nightmares as they rushed to meet him.

Speaking to the Lonely Flower, had not dulled their bloodlust towards him.

Though he may have liked it to be different, he also wanted a lot of things to be different, but, one had to work with the cards dealt to them, and folding was not an option here.

He deftly dodged a pointed long tentacle, it's exterior was grimy and hard to grab onto, but just below that, was a stone exoskeleton, from the dark, a dozen more appeared!

His aura burned along his sword, when a dagger pierced one of the tentacles leaving it writhing in pain as it was split open in it's attempt to be retrieved! 

Argo took a step in, and the dozen moving parts missed as it aimed at where he had been. His sword finding purchase in the strange droopy rock creatures skull.

Familiar. His gaze flickered. These things, didn't they live by the Red Wood Cape, where Rodrick lived?

He wiped the thought from his mind, as one of the tentacles tried to stab him in the back of the head, but the girl intercepted it with her weak arms, just strong enough for a mundane nightmare on deaths door.

The girl was more useful than he had given her credit for. 

He could start to more or less see, why it was that he had given her that dagger, if she was this useful and quick witted.

But now was not the time for praise, two figures shifted around in his vision, but he did not turn to look or face them. The grip around his sword tightened.

Their were ruined walls all around this section of the Giant Roads, it seemed like emergency shelters of some sort, for how small and flimsy they were, most of the Nightmares couldn't see them.

The pair of Merkwolves closed the gap quickly and efficiently on their unsuspecting prey from between those ruins, from the way they moved, Argo confirmed one thing.

They couldn't see through the Lonely Flower's illusion, despite the fact they were controlled by it. 

Because of that, he had spotted their useless attempt at hiding, long before they could pounce.

Regardless, the right response, was only one.

He ducked as soon as the leading Merkwolf left the ground.

The Merkwolf that had recklessly jumped at him thinking it was still in stealth, went right over, and his sword found it's mark in it's chest cavity, but the sword was broken by it's ribs, the strike had been decent, but the sword was already wearing since some time prior.

He threw it with his right hand, at the other Merkwolf that had used it's siblings failure as an opportunity to get in close, he missed it's head, and hit it in the eye, but it did not phase the Merkwolf.

Aura reinforced him, allowing him to move around with better ease. But the girl was still a massive disadvantage. 

Not being able to use his other hand, was detrimental. But he had to make it work.

That was the only way to have the plan succeed.

It's massive maw that could have eaten him whole, snapped towards him, not making the same mistake of jumping, as it's sibling.

Argo dove under it's massive head, his foot work and actual combat experience far greater than the first time he faced it's kind.

Had he been formally trained as a Knight, let alone one, a dozen Merkwolves would have been quick work, if none of them had reached the Defiled Rank.

His mind snapped back from that regret.

He could feel it's fickle fur on his skin, and the drool on his back... how he wished to have those cumbersome noble clothes, that could keep that disgusting sensation off him.

But no such luck, and it was only going to get worse.

He shut his eyes tightly.

The girl stabbed it's throat with her dagger, though she didn't know where the artery was, stabbing carelessly, with Argo's aura on the dagger itself.

He wasn't certain why he had this level of trust in the girl. But he did. And the man he was a month ago, had given her that trust.

Before anyone else, he trusted himself.

If he had given her this, then, he was certain she'd earned it.

And soon, as the Merkwolves blood sprayed from it's wounds, and Argo's arms ran into the wounds, he found that he had been right to continue on that trust.

She had delivered. And now, it was his turn.

Argo reached into one of the stab wounds, he felt a stringy, but tough thing in there, and grabbed it, causing the thing to convulse, before ripping it out! 

The pain and drive to survive broke the Lonely Flowers already weak grasp over the insignificant Merkwolf.

It convulsed as it fell to the ground, it's paws twitching as it kicked in vain, going nowhere. The vestiges of consciousness had returned, only at the hour of it's death.

The pink mist around it that was already thing, dissipated and was sucked into the ground through the cracks.

Were they not worthy of being controlled closely? Was it a simple order or; a shiver ran down his spine.

The blood of the dead had made him into a crimson red man, and his once silky hair into a sticky sludge, but that cold, was not it.

He could feel it.

It was here....

He grinned.

...The main attraction.

A paw seemed to materialize from the absolute darkness! His arms were already up, reinforced with as much aura as he could muster! 

His insides squeezed and expanded, the breath was knocked from him, as he was sent flying!

Though he braced for the slide, it never came. Instead, in place of the hard floor, there was a softness that enveloped him followed by a gentle warmth.

Constance looked at the Moon Eyes with a stark indifference to her normal expressions.

The Moon Eyes almost didn't notice the shift in the ground under it's ferocious paws, but the instant it had, it launched itself into the air!

The ground below opened, and it's eyes filled with mirth at the realization that they had tried to trap it.

To trap a hunter?

Prey? Was he their prey? No.

They were it's prey.

They were prey.

It was hunter.

It's bright white teeth sparkled like stars as it began to fall, seeking to land on the nightmares backs to avoid the ground. A strong pull pushed into Argo's mind, but it was instantly rebuffed back out.

His resistance to mental attacks was higher, and within the pink mist, that was still lingering, it could not easily break in, though, his vision blurred.

If he never had to experience mind control again, it would still be too soon.

Chains rose from the floor around the vine pit!

Lucian's entire body was limp against a faraway rock, but he had managed to gather enough together. Aided by Constance's own magic, dozens of chains flew into the sky! 

Wrapped up, the Moon Eyes let loose a soul shaking roar! It seemed to activate a deep, far away fear, as though somewhere inside, any who heard it knew that death was close.

It thrashed violently, it's immense physical strength made the Chains snap almost instantly! But the directional force of it's jump had been successfully changed.

It wasn't going to fall outside of the pit anymore, and it couldn't change direction mid air. 

It's eyes shifted rapidly, searching for a way out, though, even in that situation, it still did not panic.

It was hunter. Not prey.

The Merkwolf on it's last legs, with the sword broken in it's chest drew to it's feet, and ran with what was left of it's life force, towards the pit! 

Argo's pupils shrank.

Falling into the pit right as the Moon Eyes was about to, it kicked the Merkwolfs body in mid air, and as though it weighed nothing, it launched itself out from the deep pit! 

In the dark, those twin moons hung like judge, jury and executioner.

Lucian, who was hidden alone a ways away, was the target, since the instant it's paws touched ground, it was off, seeking out his life, as he was alone.

With no magic power left, Lucian could only lay with his back to a boulder, watching the hulking creature descend with supreme precision and strength.

He'd done his part.

The floor under him gave out.

Argo looked at the ceiling, his breathing rough, but his smile smooth.

"...Got you." 

The stone floor under Lucian had completely given out. The little earthen spirit, which was no longer with the girl, but with Lucian, resting away from the battle, couldn't defend itself.

If the paw squashed Lucian, it would squish it too.

Lucian was dragged into the stone like a drop of water might disappear into an ocean, alongside the little earthen spirit... and the Moon Eyes, that could not find purchase in the stone ocean underneath it.

Three seconds.

It was stuck in the ground for three seconds, before breaking the stone.

That was all.

But that was all it took.

Argo watched, as the pink mist around it infected it's body and the struggling died, after only a few seconds.

It had survived for so long, enough to become Corrupted, because it had never had a collision with the Lonely Flower.

If the battle had dragged on, it may have had the chance to make use of it's other abilities, if it had any, but, Argo had left it not opportunity to do so.

It had hidden away, and never encountered the strange powers of the spirits, feasting instead of the weakness of the Lonely Flowers nightmares, which it did not care for.

Motionless, it stood. It's full figure was shown, a lithe creature, that one might see in the depths of Dobridian's jungles.

It's head turned.

Pink sapphires, peered at them, but there was not a thought behind those eyes.

Argo, leaned into Constance, slowly lowered his head.

After a moment, it turned back, towards the source of the shockwaves, that were reaching all the way to their position, albeit a bit weakly.

It ran off.

Behind it, the tides of the Lonely Flower's horde followed, passing over them like water over a stone.

Watching, Constance held her sword close, her holy power still around them like a cocoon, her voice leaked out, "You sacrificed him."

Argo propped himself up, and then leaned a bit forward, his body ached all over, and the smell was absolutely wretched, but at least it was warm, "He will be remembered."

He chose to be cold towards her. 

Whatever the reason was, that his past self was so close to her, over the course of only a month or a bit more, he was confident it was not by his own design.

There was some reason, that he could not send her packing, aside from her Hero status. Though he didn't know how much she knew, he felt it important, to draw a line in the sand.

He wasn't her friend. Or her buddy. Especially when he was confident the reason he was down here, was mostly her fault.

Getting to his feet, he picked up the girl.

Constance saw how naturally he did so, and internally shook her head. He still hadn't returned, but he was still caring towards her without even noticing.

He was acting the same way he had in the months after they had first met. 

Closed off. Cold. Callous. And more than a little cruel in the cadence of his words and voice.

She felt she understood him a bit better. But even so, it did not feel too amazing to have ones relationship reset back to zero.

And she didn't agree with how he had sacrificed Lucian, or the fact that he had hid the fact that that was even an option, when they had originally prepared the plan.

He was hiding way more from her, than he normally did because of the memory loss.

But she quietly held it all in, though it was hard.

When he remembered everything, and got back to normal... she smiled.

He felt a chill up his spine.

Argo looked around.

...Had the Moon Eye's broken free?