In terms of speed and physical power, the two were about evenly matched.
However, Isshiki's knew his reliance on aether sorcery would eventually surmount to too high of a cost, setting a definite time limit before he became overwhelmed. Yet, deep down, a part of him had never intended to win.
***
Without thought, Kouki obeyed his father's order, beginning to flee the city as fast as he could. The farther he got, the more he began to hesitate and slow down with each clash he heard behind him.
Hayato, who had remained silent until now, began to prod at Kouki's true desires.
Is fleeing what you really want?
Kouki stopped running.
"My dad, he already intends to hold off... Kaito. This is what he wanted, and I can't let his... efforts be in vain"
Who says his actions has to be a sacrifice? With the two of you fighting together, there is a chance of victory.
"You know just as well as I do how useless I was back there. I couldn't even move-"
The power I can grant you could be much greater. Great enough to rival what your dad is pulling off right now.
"That power... certainly it comes with a cost too great, right?"
I can hold off the cost for some time. All you need to do is secure victory within that time.
Despite the dire situation, Kouki was willing to put everything on the line.
"I'll do it"
***
Isshiki had been exchanging blows with the corrupted for over a minute now.
The two of them were still fairly evenly matched, but Isshiki's strength began to waver, giving way to miniscule openings that the corrupted acted on to deal critical blows.
With the corrupted poised to setup for a finishing blow, a loud clang of metal rang out.
Kouki had returned, wielding an aether sorcery akin to his father's. His, however, seemed to coat his arms in a solid, yet somehow weightless, metallic substance that drew out the full power of his steel aura.
"Why are you back here?! I told you to get out of here while you still could!"
"I'm not losing any more family here today, and I'd rather die fighting for our future than run away helpless"
Isshiki seemed surprised by the willpower Kouki displayed, causing him to smile even in their current situation.
"Then so be it"
Fighting together, Isshiki and Kouki swiftly turned the tide of battle, launching attacks that covered each other's openings while capitalizing on their opponent's openings in tandem. At least, until Isshiki's momentum truly began to die out. Despite having only used aether sorcery for about a minute more than Kouki, Isshiki's came directly from himself, not having any assistance from Hayato.
It was in this moment that the corrupted acted to end the fight for good, swiftly countering Isshiki's weakened blow while Kouki was still recovering. The force of impact launched Isshiki through multiple stone ruins, incapacitating him in the rubble.
Instinctually, Kouki turned to check on Isshiki's condition, an outcome the corrupted had expected. Acknowledging Kouki as a potential reason for its defeat, the corrupted threw a punch aimed for the center of Kouki's chest, a definite killing blow.
Kouki winced in preparation, knowing nothing he could do at this point would save him.
The sound of flesh and bone being pierced rang out.
He felt no pain. Opening his eyes, he saw the figure of Harumi in front of him.
Her body was outlined by a bright jade energy. Her own aether sorcery, activated using the remainder of her life. She turned back to face Kouki, tears flowing from her eyes.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you..."
An anguished yell filled the cavern as her body fell to the ground.
Kouki pathetically crumpled to his knees, uncontrollably sobbing. His body lost all composure as he was unable to hold himself together anymore.
As his hand unclenched, a small shard tumbled onto the ground. He had been unaware of it, but that shard served as the connection between himself and Hayato.
Sensing the shard's power, the corrupted stepped over Harumi's body towards Kouki's, now unguarded, believing that all its opposition had been dealt with.
However, it was in this moment that Isshiki regained consciousness. He quickly noticed Kouki on the floor, sending his body into full alarm. Despite this, he found himself unable to move, being both amidst heavy rubble and having recently been dealt heavy damage. In his panic, he also noticed Harumi's body in front of Kouki.
The corrupted halted.
An overwhelming wave of magical presence filled the cavern, radiating from Isshiki's body.
"...I don't care anymore"
Isshiki began breathing heavily, as if his vitality itself was the thing flowing out of his body. Faster than the corrupted could react, Isshiki had dashed past it and grabbed the shard from the floor, having also sensed its power.
"Whatever you are that resides in Kaito's body, I will make you regret stepping foot within our village"
Within Hanakawa's archives existed a set of forbidden documents detailing highly dangerous powers and how to wield them. Where these documents originated from remains completely unknown, as nobody's family had history related to its contents, nor were they signed with any name. However, they explained the technique known as aether sorcery, the equivalent of using one's own life force as power. Up until now, Isshiki had been using it to simply generate mana from his life force. Yet, another possibility opened itself up to Isshiki with the shard: performing genuine sorcery, the pinnacle of spellcasting.
Soul Rupture
With his hand open on the corrupted's core, Isshiki unleashed an intense wave of pure magical energy, causing the cave's ceiling beneath the lake to give way. As water rushed forth from above, his consciousness truly faded.
His body, however still had strength within it, and from his mouth, Hayato's voice spoke out.
"What a disastrous situation you all have made"
Tossing the shard upwards, he forced an overwhelming amount of magical energy into it, causing it to glow and gain a new form. The form of a human body.
Up above the surface, the spell circle above the lake started to glitch through reality before settling and manifesting eight more of itself in a circular formtion around the original circle.
The forthcoming calamity was defeated, and the true Calamity Event now begins.
***
Kaito opened his eyes on what seemed to be an endless, black plane of existence.
Comments (0)
See all