Autumn hurried down the fire escape, needing to jump to reach the ground faster. A locked gate barred her way, and she had to use her spear, momentarily disregarding the fear of being seen.
Emerging from an alley, she looked up, searching for any sign of the boy. She had no way of knowing what was happening above. Walking briskly, she didn’t pay attention to her path. The spear, until then, was conspicuously exposed. Her real worry, however, was not in sight.
The park wasn’t far. The number of people on the streets, as well as the traffic, was minimal. Questions arose in her mind. Autumn had doubts and queries; she didn’t seem to know as much as Damian had thought. What she knew had been left behind.
“Damn it, Dante! Where are you?” she exclaimed aloud while crossing the street. Her gaze returned to the building where she had left the boy. “Could it be that he couldn’t use the armor anymore?”
Yes, the armor. That was the main subject of her internal interrogation. It wasn’t just astonishing to see armor there, in her world, but seeing it on Dante was even more intriguing, leaving her with many questions. She wanted to uncover the reason behind Halvina being there with them, the disappearance of Dante’s brother, and finally, the boy himself. The boy wearing the Divine Armor, the Wings of Justice.
However, it was the hybrid that truly worried her. His strength was now extraordinary. They had barely had a chance to react. “Hold on as long as you can, Dante.” Clutching the spear in her hand, she gripped it in a pleading embrace.
“Ninx, can we do this?” she murmured as if the weapon could understand her. “Even with Dante wearing the armor, he wouldn’t know how to kill that thing. Can I do it? I mean, I don’t have that power… Ninx, I need your help. You have to obey my command somehow! Otherwise, Dante and I, we’re going to…” She bit her lower lip, a grimace of distress on her face. “I need you, Ninx. I don’t know if I have the strength to fight alone. In the end, you’re the only one who can…”
As she reached the other side of the street, Autumn heard a loud snapping sound from above. From a distance, she watched in astonishment as a body, seemingly Damian’s, was thrown towards another building. She squinted.
“He’s alive. Did he manage to…”
A fleeting sense of relief washed over her when she saw the boy’s living figure. Then, the scene repeated itself. She understood his intentions, jumping from building to building, heading towards the park on 2nd Avenue.
“Alright. You just need to keep going.” Her relief was short-lived. The boy paused for a long time, and stillness was not a good sign. “Come on. Where are you?”
Unexpectedly, Damian emerged from a building, grappling with the hybrid. The creature was horrendously grotesque and even more frightening. The boy was fighting it in the sky, but it was the creature's dark wings that kept them aloft. When the hybrid dropped Damian from a dangerous height, she reacted in shock.
“Oh, no!” she said, hastening her pace.
As she ran, the wind pushed her hair back, along with a few persistent tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Her hands trembled, but she clenched her jaw and pressed on.
Damian only regained consciousness a few inches from the ground. His body levitated for a few seconds, preventing the impact and his certain death. When he collapsed, every part of his body throbbed with pain, especially a sharp ache in his hip. He tried to move, but lacked the will or strength to do so.
He could easily have forgotten how to breathe while his body spun in the sky with the hybrid. At that moment, he thought he could only vomit.
“Well, well,” Damian heard Sinmir’s voice. “Seems like the armor is determined to save you. You were supposed to be shattered on the ground. Ah! I didn't like what you did back there. Just made me angrier.”
The hybrid floated a few meters above the ground but soon landed on the grass. The boy glanced around; they were in the park. There was a statue surrounded by a colorful garden, but he couldn’t tell who it was.
“Where did that damned girl go, huh? I want to see her face when I tear you apart.”
Sinmir wasn’t too far from Damian, but the boy could hardly speak. He thought he might drown in his own blood if he opened his mouth. And at that point, he wasn’t sure if Autumn should show up there.
Was there a need for both of them to die?
“Hey, are you listening? Or are you dying already?” Sinmir assumed a dramatic posture. “Seeing you crawl like this really makes me laugh.”
The boy propped himself up on his elbows in the grass. His burnt arm still stung, even looking dead, but there was too much pain in his body to focus on that. He tried to get on his knees, swallowing whatever saliva was in his mouth. He drew as much air as he could.
“I need to know…” Damian said softly. Sinmir tilted his chin, curious. “What did you do to my brother?”
The hybrid smiled, moving closer to Damian’s height. He raised his pointed fingernail, running it over his tongue. His appearance still made Damian’s stomach churn.
“Worried about him? I understand.” He used a soft voice, switching the axe between hands. “I'd be worried about my brother too. Want to know the truth? I just sent him to a place he'll hardly escape from. Right now, they're probably sucking all the life energy out of him.”
“What?” Damian let slip. Sinmir was delighted.
“You don’t know anything, do you? Must have fallen far from the nest,” he concluded, reaching for the boy's shoulder. He pressed down, digging his nails into the flesh. “It's a shame. Brothers are stronger together. Why did yours leave you behind?”
Damian stared at Sinmir, his face a mix of disbelief and sinking into sadness. Suddenly, Autumn appeared behind the hybrid, raising her spear. Sinmir quickly identified her, turning around and thwarting the stealthy attack.
Holding the spear with his arm, the creature rejoiced.
“You finally showed up, huh!” he shouted cunningly.
Autumn narrowed her eyes in fury. The hybrid advanced, using the axe this time. She tried to defend herself, but the weight of the blow took her by surprise. She was pushed back, tumbling and stopping a few meters away.
When she stood up again, her gaze sought Damian.
“You okay?!” she shouted loud enough for the boy to hear. Sinmir still stood between them. The boy on his knees with his head down, didn’t respond. “Dante!”
“Don’t worry about him. You’re quite busy now, aren’t you?” Sinmir began to walk. “Let’s go. I've been wanting to do this, to cut you all up! Your confidence! I hate your confidence!”
Sinmir advanced, reaching Autumn in a blink. She braced for the blow but felt her legs weaken. The hybrid was taller, his physical stature had doubled in size, and his malformed wings gave him more strength. Gradually, Autumn felt herself falling behind. The fight was tilting in the opponent's favor. She was going to lose.
Deliberately, she let her spear split in half, creating some space. With two in her hands, Autumn crossed them against the hybrid. The creature narrowly escaped, dodging his body. Still, she didn’t stop for a second, continuing to direct her attacks more elaborately, like a well-choreographed dance.
“You really are different!” Sinmir admitted, drunk and insane. “But is this all you've got?!”
Then, the hybrid let himself be hit. His rough belly was wounded, blood oozing from the cut. It didn’t take long for his trick to be used against Autumn. The greenish fluid hardened quickly, like glass shards. Autumn proceeded, unaware. The hardened blood aimed at her arms, and when she felt the intense burning on her skin, she dropped one of the spears.
Stunned, she didn’t notice the numerous attacks that followed. The solid, corrosive blood pierced Autumn's free hand, leaving visible holes. Feeling excruciating pain, she was caught off guard. Sinmir hit her squarely with his knee, throwing her onto the grass.
She began to lose blood, barely opening her eyes. Her neck, face, and arms were also targets of the severe blood. The hybrid's feet came into her view, and Autumn forced herself to react. She gripped the half spear tightly, raising her torso and using one leg to get up. The spear missed Sinmir's head, creating a gust of wind; he managed to dodge.
He then grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, using the axe to wound her deeply. Autumn's shoulder was injured, the thick blade penetrating the extremity. Her cabalistic eyes held back tears. Her face, full of cuts, was bathed in sweat. Sinmir twisted her thin arm until she let her spear fall to the ground. Finally, a scream of pain escaped Autumn’s throat.
“I want to know! Your look must mean something, right? You're surprised, aren't you? About losing! Tell me, who are you?” he bellowed at her, shaking her. “Why were you so sure you could defeat me? Why do you think you can save him? You don’t even have armor! COME ON! GIVE ME A REASON TO WANT TO SAVE HIM!”
Sinmir threw her against the ground, causing a long tremor in the earth. Not too far from them, Damian was still with his head down.
His eyes just stared at nothing. Inside, a feeling of defeat overwhelmed him. There was no will or weapons to fight. He couldn't even defend himself. What was he doing there? He wasn’t born for this. He had no reason to tangle with a being from another world. A monster like that shouldn't be in his way. This battle didn't belong to him.
The tremor beneath him didn’t wake him much, but he noticed when Sinmir turned away from Autumn's body, leaving her behind and heading towards him.
Wait… When did you get here? Why are you lying down? What happened?
The boy coughed, feeling a pool of blood in his mouth. His eyes wanted to close. But it was Autumn's sprawled body that filled his mind. There was blood around her, a huge wound on her shoulder. No, wait a minute.
He started to crawl, still on his knees, his body wanting to collapse at any moment.
"Autumn!" His voice didn't come out as he had hoped. "Please…"
"What's this? I told you, didn't I? That you wouldn't be the only one dead tonight? I KEPT MY PROMISE!" Sinmir shouted joyfully, laughing like a madman.
Damian felt a desperate despair in his chest. Sinmir was close; he was going to die. But why Autumn? Why did she have to die? His half-closed eyes started to search for the sword. Where is it? Please appear. Autumn and I... we both will…
"It's no use." Sinmir crouched down, his fingers close to the boy's chin. "You said your end would be different, didn't you? That's not how things work, you know? No living being can choose their own end."
Come on, appear! Just one last time, I swear. Just this time, I need you to appear.
"Now, let's begin." The hybrid hissed. Almost instantly, he violently plunged his claws into Damian's chest. The boy was shocked by the sudden pain, his body falling forward and being held by the enemy. "No need to rush dying. I have all night."
Why? Damian thought, as his breathing began to falter. Why did you attach to my body if you weren't going to help me?
"Why won't you appear..." he murmured lifelessly, his face pale.
"What? I can't hear you," said Sinmir, plunging his claws into Damian's chest again.
Appear. Please, help me…
Damian summoned his final strength. The sword appeared like a shy, hidden friend, cunningly positioning itself in his hand. A glow emanated from within as his finger touched the pommel. Tasting blood unashamedly invading his mouth, he endured the hybrid's brutality just a bit longer.
"Now! It's now!" The creature's nebulous voice echoed.
Why is this sword so heavy? He wondered. The boy closed his eyes, not wanting to see what was happening to his body. Eventually, he too will tire.
For the third time, the hybrid plunged his dirty, pointed nails into Damian's slightly muscular chest. The boy's mouth opened from the impact, and he even felt the air stop in his lungs for a few seconds.
The creature withdrew his claws from his chest only to plunge them in again the next moment. The sword still weighed heavily in Damian's hand. The boy was being taken away from there. There was nothing more to be done.
Damn it, I'm turning into a sieve. There's no way then. He thought amidst the despair.
By a sliver of luck, the boy's entire body slumped. Sinmir paused in his movements, still smiling, pleased with the situation. Damian hated knowing that this would be his last vision.
Blood had already soaked all his clothes, the armor not returning at all to protect him. It was as if it wasn't there, even though it was attached to his arm the whole time. The boy was being ignored, as if only the sword was enough. He was given armor that didn't truly shelter him and a sword too heavy for his hand.
Why? He ended up questioning, feeling his vision blur.
"You are so weak! I defeated you so easily. I could do this a thousand times over! For a thousand eras!" The boy heard him but wanted him to be silent. He could notice his own blood on the hybrid's nails. "Get up again! So I can pierce you just one more time."
Shut up. Just shut up.
His vision swept over the empty park. The sight of Autumn's body lying in the distance made him nervous; he wanted to cry and vomit. He didn't want to see her dead. After all their attempts... She shouldn't die there. Autumn, I... I really want to do something.
He started coughing up blood again, drops falling on the hybrid's horrendous feet, making him stop laughing.
Sinmir knelt down, very close to Damian.
"This blood. Red and so pure. I once had blood like this..." he said with a distant look. However, the boy wasn't listening. Something awakened inside him, seeing his enemy so close. This was the right moment. If he was going to die, he needed to take one more risk. "A long time ago. When I was still a child. When everything still had color."
The sword in Damian's hand came to life, albeit insignificantly. Using the hybrid's distraction, the boy roared, shedding the shame running in his veins. Finally, the sword shone and pierced directly through the hybrid's chest, going right through.
Damian still screamed with all his might, pushing the gleaming blade into the creature. Sinmir seemed surprised but, cunningly, used his claws against Damian once more. He fell from the shock but did not let go of the sword. He kept driving it into the enemy.
"That was unnecessary," the hybrid commented with difficulty, distancing himself from the boy with the weapon still piercing his body. "Was it really necessary? Do you think this will..."
Damian was about to fall when in his gaze, a thin, tiny flame ignited. Behind the hybrid, Autumn appeared with the whole spear in her hands. Ninx penetrated the creature, the euphoria of being hit from behind evident in the hybrid's eyes.
Comments (2)
See all