Before Mine could turn to face the one who made the noise, he was thrown a few meters away from the Consort and Agarath. He collided against a marble statue, shattering it with the impact. Amidst the chaos, Addai reached for the Consort and helped him stand with one hand, and a condensed mist trapped Agarath in his spot. Agarath was passive, but somehow even more excited.
"Are you okay?" Addai panted as he asked.
"What have you done?!" The Consort shouted, worried and looking at Mine's direction. With his spear, he aimed at the entity's direction, ignoring Agarath's mad laughter.
"What's going on then?!" Addai looked confused in the same direction the Consort was aiming his spear.
"You shouldn't have attacked him!!" The Consort grabbed Addai by the collar, releasing it right after the pebble sound coming from Mine's direction echoed.
Mine screeched with a loud, strident voice, resembling a banshee. His colors changed from gentle and calmer tones to a vivid red with black details. The patterns all over his body were glowing in dark, ominous matter. He had no weapon, but the claws that once looked like gentle hands were enough for the job.
A stench of dirt mixed with blood lifted when Mine raised a hand. All the scattered puppets around their area floated in the air, each dripping mana and miasma residuals. That ominous energy converged into Mine, transforming the dark "cloak" on his back into a pair of wings made of silk. They were thin, but sturdy and sharp.
"What is that?!" Addai gasped, feeling the hairs of his body stand in the end.
"That is Mine," The Consort said, clenching his jaw and tensing his knees. "Now, he sees us both as enemies. Take Agarath to Zophiel and save your life," he glanced at Addai, whose expression was hard to read. "Don't overthink! Just go!!"
Addai's eyes were shot open, reflecting the entity bestowed in front of him a few meters away, viciously looking back at him. He couldn't guess if that unrecognizable face could be that once-shiny smile he always felt warm looking at. He couldn't guess those sharp claws were once gentle and warm hands taking his. A tightening sensation on his chest made his lungs work harder, trying to follow the hasty heart rate. His limbs felt colder, but he was sure he wasn't dying anymore.
That couldn't be happening.
"Mine…? Is that… Mine?" Addai muttered, his eyes glued on the entity.
"Not anymore," Agarath chuckled darkly. The mist around him tightened his throat and he coughed but squeezed some more foolishness. "That is a beautiful Papillon Chronos, the Berserk! He let his instincts take over and he does not recognize anyone anymore!! He's lost!! Hahhahahahaha!! And he'll slaughter everyone he finds in his way!!"
"Shut up!" Addai shouted and the mist around Agarath started choking him. Still, it was fruitless as his madness had taken over a long time ago. "He… he didn't forget me… right?" He muttered, his voice trembling.
"… I'm sorry," the Consort said, pain filling his speech. "Just… run away. This way you won't see the bad things, okay? I'll make it painlessly," he stood before Addai, shielding the boy from Mine.
Addai clenched his jaw and turned his back to the Consort.
As he walked away from the chaos, he heard Mine's screeches and the Consort's spear metallic sounds piercing against the rocks and tearing the air. On the other side, he heard Mine's distorted voice growling at the Consort as unknown harmonic sounds echoed from the spells the Chronos being cast, hitting the Consort and whatever it could touch.
Agarath was being dragged by the mist. The door leading to the demon's room at the mansion was in the corridor, meaning the illusions were lifted with Agarath's defeat. However, Addai couldn't be calm after this statement because Mine's desperate growling and shouts echoed in Addai's soul. They ripped the skin on both the boy's arms and even his organs. Lungs, heart, and stomach, all these three organs were torn apart when a loud thud followed by Mine's genuine scream of fear echoed.
Mine wasn't a fighter. He was a teacher. He was a common, scared person fighting for his life.
The Consort glanced at the exit to the mansion and saw the door closed, meaning Addai had finally left. He stood above Mine, pressing him against the floor with his spear and a numbing spell he cast hurriedly. Mine tried fighting the prison, but all he could do was screech and sink his claws into the Consort's legs.
"I'm sorry, Mine…" The Consort said, raising the spear and aiming it at Mine's heart.
The spear glowed golden, and several patterns formed in the Consort's skin. They were elaborate and quite like Mine's. The Consort started singing a soft and tender song in a foreign language. His voice was angelic as well as the tunes and rhythm, causing Mine to slow his attacks and look at him as if enchanted for an instant.
"God, forgive this soul from stranding away-"
The Consort was silenced by a dark mist covering his mouth and dragging him away from Mine. It happened so fast that the Consort barely had time to grab his spear and attack whatever was attacking him, so the weapon fell on the floor uselessly.
Mine, once enchanted, turned vicious again and backed up like a stray animal running away from a threat. He growled at whoever appeared beside the Consort, who tried to set his mouth free from the forced silencing. It was a tall man, casually approaching him with no sense of awareness. Mine's vision was blurred by an unknown sensation, numbing his senses that only worked for fighting. His hands were trembling like the rest of his body. Maybe, his brain hadn't forgotten he didn't know how to fight and only wanted to be alive.
The man crouched before him and Mine snapped when a hand was raised in his direction. He jumped towards the man and pinned him against the floor. The hardened cloak on his back twitched and an electric current crossed his body, sending adrenaline all over his veins.
"Do you remember me, Mine?" The man asked, his voice laced with a myriad of emotions.
That man's scent was confusingly familiar, and his voice reached somewhere deep in Mine's brain. However, the Papillon Chronos was ready to continue the course of survival attempts. Mine sank his claws in the man's arms, growling as he did so, but the man didn't react.
Seeing his prey wasn't responsive, Mine stopped growling. He looked at the person beneath him, whose eyes were glossy and reddish, and approached the man's face. It was still blurry, so he leaned back and huffed, confused.
"You don't remember me…" the man chuckled mockingly, his voice wobbling as his chest faltered. "How can you forget me again?"
The man cupped Mine's cheeks forcefully, causing the boy to squirm, trying to set himself free. The more the hands remained on his cheeks, the more his once-fighting attempts gradually ceased until he stared at the man beneath him. The warm hands on his cheeks were strangely comforting and the sound that came from his throat resembled a purr. However, the man beneath him wasn't enjoying it the same way Mine was.
"Look at me, Mine," the man said and Mine's ears twitched.
That voice said with such intensity and determination, reached a spot in his fogged brain, clearing his vision. Still, he didn't recognize the man beneath him.
The Consort looked at the man and Mine, worried sick but stuck in that mist. His brain was flying miles per hour as well as his heart when his vision adjusted to the lack of brightness, recognizing the reckless man beneath Mine: Addai.
"Remember me, Mine," Addai pleaded, looking at the emotionless expression on Mine's face. "Don't forget me again, please. We made a promise, don't you remember? We'd meet again, and I'd welcome you. But you didn't remember me back when… and now you don't remember me again… please, remember," he begged, his hands failing to keep cupping Mine's cheeks as they trembled.
Addai… The Consort sorrowfully thought, looking at the boys.
Mine looked at him and tilted his head to the side, supporting Addai's hand as he cupped his cheeks. That miserable human was intriguing. His words and actions were strangely familiar, but somehow, it felt foreign, as if the nostalgia wasn't his.
Intrigued by the man, Mine's colors shifted to lavender, reflecting his emotions. The cloak behind him softened, resembling fabric more than the eerie, wing-like form from before, and the patterns on his body diminished in both number and brightness.
Looking at Addai's face, he reached a hand and wiped the tears rolling down the man's cheeks, not knowing why he was doing that. That miserable man instigated something beyond mere curiosity and strange familiarity.
"May I get to know you again?" Slipped from Mine's lips, his voice distorted.
"Yes, you can," Addai nodded. "I don't care how many times it takes."
Mine leaned in and gently pressed his forehead against Addai's. As they made contact, a soothing wind seemed to envelop them. The diamond pattern on Mine's forehead began to emit a soft, ethereal glow, and Addai felt a subtle yet profound shift in his consciousness as their minds intertwined.
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