“Do I sense a spark of fear?” Gieldan countered.
“Ridiculous. It doesn't surprise me that you aspects still try to reach our ranks, but I will be merciful enough to end that dream for you,” Akui jumped up high again. Lightning fast he swung his right arm and Gieldan mustered all of his strength not to be blown away on impact. Steel hitting on steel echoed through the canals, even as far as to reach the escaped prisoners. Frightening them as their feet rushed through the cold puddles of water alongside the stone walls.
“Hmpf,” puffed Akui and lunged out at Gieldan, who yet again barely managed to escape the inevitable. He had hoped for more time to analyze the patterns of his enemy, but Akui seemed determined to end the fight in a single strike.
With a pained expression his blade missed Gieldan by a hair's width. He pushed himself off his enemy and returned to Emily's side.
“That weapon of yours might be not as dull as I thought,” he tried to engage Akui in a conversation.
“Ho? So you do like it. It's a fine piece that master Malice readily gave up. Just for me. A little too noisy for my taste, but there is nothing more wonderful in this world than to cut someone's head off with a single blow.”
“Noisy? What does he mean?” Emily asked curiously as if there was enough time for Gieldan to explain it to her.
“Haha, marvelous, Emily. I’m glad you get what I’m trying here.” Gieldan laughed as he pointed at the weapon. “His steel, it's not like a normal weapon. It feels as if the souls of countless Personas or even humans live within. I'm not entirely sure though, so my guess is as good as yours.”
“Blurahaha so you can hear them as well? Interesting, and yet so meaningless. It belongs to me.”
“Heh, I would've never guessed someone who's named Malice could be so charitable. Creating such a terrifying weapon just for you,” said Gieldan snippily in an attempt to gain time.
“You believe my master created this weapon of despair? You know nothing, and still you venture in here?! How fitting that the grand picture is not visible to a mere aspect,” he wheezed heavily. “Simply unforgivable! In all my time of freedom, I've never seen such foolishness. I cannot allow that. I will be your judge and executor.”
With an unexpected current of wind, the warden escaped their view, and the terror in Gieldan’s eyes grew.
Unwillingly he had to accept the agility of his opponent, as he noticed almost too late that Akui appeared behind him, bursting the ground open. He stopped his swift attack at the last moment before it threatened to kill not only him but Emily as well. Akui used that moment of pause to kick Gieldan into his torso and brought him to his knees.
Without hesitation Emily went and picked up one of the burst stones, throwing it at the giant. Unsurprisingly the stone was repelled by his bare armor, yet she succeeded in gaining his attention.
He stormed after her, smelling his chance of victory. The atmosphere of a bloody fight had enveloped the area, and the cold air adorned Emily’s breath that stopped in this deciding moment.
Akui swung his glaive until something stopped him midway.
“What the…” he screamed appalled.
Only now had he realized that Gieldan had reacted swiftly as well and went underneath his right hand, even beneath the glaive, and rammed one dagger into the giant's foot. Without pause, he pulled it out of the wound which had blood spilling out of it uncontrollably. Evading his next counter strike with precise steps he focused and landed two more strikes on the armor and the left arm of the creature.
Immediately the attack showed signs of success, as their opponent took a few steps backward and sank to the floor.
Gieldan swiftly positioned himself next to Emily as if he had never left.
“You will not lay a finger on her as long as I'm alive,” he proclaimed with a stern voice and determination.
“You won't get lucky a second time,” barked the warden back at the unwavering aspect.
He huffed again and sluggishly stood himself up. He didn't care for his wounds and dragged his weapon on the ground with him, creating a horrifying sound.
Like fingernails on a chalkboard which were menacingly creeping towards them. The silent screams that were coming from the glaive were becoming so loud, even Emily started to hear them.
Ready for another attack, the giant went on. Sparks were sent flying as he dragged the glaive on the ground before he yanked it upwards with all his might, right towards Gieldan’s face.
Meanwhile, the aspect decided to no longer block the strikes of his opponent and evaded as closely as he could. With a successful dodge, he sprinted towards Akui while reversing the daggers in his hands. As the big glaive took its time for another swing, Gieldan had already cut Akui’s body twice. Unfortunately, his continued attacks seemed to be quite pointless as the colossus only got faster. Having to worry about Emily’s position made matters worse.
Again, and again they both clashed with enormous impact, miraculously saving Emily time and time again. Like a concert, the two weapons were banging into each other, creating a symphony of strikes.
The young woman felt useless, as every impact blew her farther and farther away, with golden sparks flying everywhere. She felt like a tiny insect in a storm that was moments away from eradicating her. Annoyed by her shiftlessness, she decided to take cover in one of the remaining canal corridors.
“Not so fast, my delicate, little human,” the monstrosity turned himself around instantly, but her aspect was already there to stop him.
“This is where it's at, big guy.” With that sentence Gieldan sliced him again, finally managing to tear a wide rift into Akui’s crumbling armor.
“Humans always believe they have so much control. Thinking the world revolves around them. Yet they cannot even control their inner self, let alone do they know who they really are,” moaned the wounded warden as he fell back. A red aura formed around Akui as if an unknown energy was taking him over. Upon a closer look, Gieldan noticed that the red currents were coming out of the glaive that Akui still gripped on tightly, even though blood was streaming over his body.
For a moment he blinked and the beast was gone in an instant. Impacting right before him, knocking one of his daggers out of his hands.
“Dammit!” Gieldan yelled as he tried to plan his next move. The beast didn't allow for such quick thinking and rotated around its own axis. With added momentum he sunk his fist into Gieldan’s rib cage, tossing him into the stonewall.
Ready to end the fight, Akui strolled towards him. “Be ready to return to your reality without existence. We have no need for aspects or humans in this world,” he stopped for a second
“Hm?!”
Out of nowhere, Emily ran towards him from behind his back with an iron lance in her hand. With a loud shout she sprinted at Akui, and for a moment even the warden was unsure, whether he should react or laugh. Without any effort, he deflected the attack and flung her back. Seizing the opportunity, Gieldan mustered his last strength and managed to catch Emily before she crash-landed into the walls.
“Didn't I tell you to be careful?” he said after finishing his sprint, slightly out of breath. But she simply continued to stare at him with her determined look, as if nothing could change her mind. Willing for his last strike to end the battle, the colossus marched onward. Right as he was closing in on them, they pair ran into opposite directions. The warden didn't take long to decide. He put his weight on his right leg and went for Emily.
“She is my master and will illuminate the way upon which I shall walk. I will accept her despair, venturing into the deepest abyss, until I will lose myself and be reborn. I am the Guilt that never evaporates. The Guilt that will burn down the horizon,” mumbled a voice behind Akui as he approached Emily’s back.
With a slight sense of shock and irritation the giant turned himself around, but it was already too late.
In Akui’s last attempt at a counter, Gieldan evaded three attacks and went along to precisely cut open the nerve cord
s on his extremities. Like an arrow he shot himself at Akui with insane speed, crumbling the ground behind him. Everything around them had been quickly covered in blood, splashing forth like a tidal wave. First, the legs, then the arms and finally the last pieces of his breastplate were burst open by the red liquid coming from his wounds.
A loud collision could be heard as Akui, victim of his pain, collapsed onto the ground, finally loosening the grip on his instrument of murder.
His weight cracked open the floor underneath him. Emily and her aspect both stood before their fallen enemy. His blood crept towards their feet, as even his mouth seemed to be overflowing.
“U-useless. Y-you wo-won't c-change anything… e-ever,” he gasped for air as he tried to speak. “A l-lowly woman t-that c-can't even de-defend herself will be-” Before he could even finish his sentence, Emily had already rammed her foot into his face, leaving behind a large print of her boot in the blood. Even Gieldan seemed shocked by her actions.
“I won't let anyone trash talk me who does such unspeakable things to humans and Personas alike. I don't have any pity for you, and I don't care how I win. As long as disgusting creatures like yourself are dying because of it, I will continue to let my aspect hunt you down.” She didn't let up.
“Even if they were to cut off my arms and legs, I would haunt all of you from beyond the grave and bite you to death.” Enraged, she turned away from Akui and went back to the cell blocks where she had found the lance.
“Come, Gieldan, we aren't done by a long shot,” she said as he was still a little bit amazed until his face transformed into a shameless, joyful grin. He prepared himself to follow his human partner, leaving the dying Akui in the catacombs of the cell blocks to his lonely fate.
Chapter 14 – Reunion
Cautiously another pair of individuals made their way through the lifeless floors of the old crypt. Strolling around in their black robes that they had borrowed from some of the cultists, the two started to talk each other after aimlessly wandering around.
“It will always fascinate me how you're able to control your height like that,” Leandro said in admiration to his aspect, who still couldn't fully mask the noise of his armor underneath the robes.
“Though I will never manage to be as tiny as you are,” laughed the aspect in response with his deep, rough voice.
Leandro smiled with Destare, even though he didn't really feel like it, as he noticed the irritation rising inside of himself.
“Why the hell did that masked freak want us to go in here? We were following his damn orders, traveling on that road to Pride’s city and now, all of a sudden, this is more important.” Annoyed by their situation, he gestured to their surroundings who answered with silence and a generally uncomfortable smell that engulfed the rotten, old building.
“Well, one thing seems to be clear. He doesn't want to kill us, at least not with his hands. Rather, I think, he likes to observe,” Destare answered. “Though, that he is following us is indeed troublesome. We are at his mercy at the moment. I can only repeat myself - I'm sorry, Leandro.”
“Don't sweat it, big guy. If you say you are no match for him, then I already told you that I put my trust in you. I would be slightly less bothered by all this, if I knew what he wanted us to do exactly,” he brushed away the spider webs clogging up parts of the way, amongst long forgotten vases and ornaments. They entered a small hall that connected itself to other rooms inside the crypt, looking just as dusty as the rest of them.
Leandro came to a halt as he pondered why he was wasting his time here, brooding over whether it was all worth it.
“NO, NO, NO, NO… STOP! I SAID STOP RESISTING… URAAAAAGH!”
“KYAAAARRGHH!”
“BLOUAARGH!”
“OURLGHH!”
They heard loud and painful grunts from many different men that awkwardly ripped through the claustrophobic monotony of the atmosphere like a rusty knife. A wooden door burst into pieces next to them, followed by a large dust cloud and many cultists flying sideways into the hall, screaming at the top of their lungs.
“W-what’s going on?” Leandro’s pupils dilated. “Who's there?!” he asked, as Destare precautiously stood by his side.
Man after man came flying through the destroyed entrance. Before long, iron chains revealed themselves chasing the cultists who didn't become unconscious after the impact. It looked like a giant snake, catching its prey, strangling and trapping them, as it flung them around with its tail before devouring them whole.
As all of them were withering in pain or not moving at all, the beast finally emerged from within, showing its face.
A white-haired man with green eyes and a black-greenish coat entered the room, looking to see if anyone was left.
He had malicious looking eyes that were fixating on Leandro and his aspect after he scanned the room. A dreadful feeling overcame the young man who subconsciously took a step backward.
“I told him that they should fear me, Kikiki. Hm?“ Delirias noticed the duo.
“Another human with an aspect? And here I thought they were some sort of rarity, Fufuf. Looks like I have a lot to learn,” he chuckled.
“H-how did he know?” Leandro was flabbergasted.
“It's quite obvious when you think about it,” the figure answered as if he knew what Leandro thought.
“These cultists don't give two shits about each other, but this big tin can over there,” he pointed at Destare. “He looks like he's about to rip me to shreds just for looking at you.” A strange, wide smile appeared on the man's face as he explained his deduction.
“You should really not be here. This is not the place for a boy and his tin soldier to be carelessly walking around in.”
“Do you want to test me, joker?” Destare stepped forward as he calmly responded with his deep voice causing his plated armor to rattle.
“Fufuf, maybe another time. Right now I'm searching for something rather important, but when I find it, I will let you guys know with a big bang of my own, alrighty?”
“What is he even talking about?” Leandro raised his eyebrow.
“My guess is that he lost his human partner.”
“So, he's another one? Just like her? We should move on Destare, huh?!” As the pair conversed with each other, the strange person had already vanished into thin air.
“So, we're leaving?” Destare asked delicately.
“Not yet. If there are indeed more humans here, then I want to know what's going on.” Leandro looked at the scattered bodies around them. “He called them cultists, maybe that is what we were supposed to see? Let’s continue.”
“As you wish, Leandro,” the big aspect moved along with his partner as they were venturing deeper and deeper into the crypt.
Delirias went ahead and forged his own way through the dark halls, as he smashed crowd after crowd, interrogating where Gwyn was being held. He felt they were about to reunite as the crypt rumbled with the aspect decimating anyone who stood in his way. Every cultist that tried to escape or report him shared the same fate, with Delirias seemingly enjoying his task of defeating them. Rushing through the old pathways, he finally found his companion who was about to have his clothes removed, for what was presumably yet another ritual.
“Just how I left him,” Delirias smiled as he engaged into eye contact with the three men in robes that were carrying Gwyn away. As they were standing before each other and slowly realized that it truly was the aspect of Gwyn, panic arose on their faces.
“HOW DID HE ESCAPE?!” one of them screamed, while one of them hastily flipped a dagger out of his pockets and went to Gwyn’s side.
“WE HAVE TO KILL HIM AT ALL COST! QUICKLY!” he yelled in a hurry.
“Not so fast!” Delirias winked, as he let loose chains from his arms, rushing toward the three and capturing them immediately. He let them hang upside down before flinging them away into an old bookshelf, knocking them unconscious.
Gwyn looked perplexed, as his body expressionlessly
bobbed back and forth. His gaze was empty and devoid of life before his attention got caught by a loud noise that followed when Deliria’s jumped on a nearby wooden box. The aspect moved his arms theatrically around as if he were to perform a magic trick.
“Am I really not more than that?” Gwyn mumbled to himself.
“Oh no! Is this the end of Gwyn Viridas?! A little bit of cruelty in his life and all the excitement has been sucked out of him?” The aspect tauntingly formed chains around his whole body as he pressed himself against them, continuing to tease Gwyn.
“Am I being punished for something? Why am I here?” The lifeless shell spoke again, and Delirias looked quite annoyed already.
“The rabbit hole doesn’t share its food for thought every day. And here I was thinking you might’ve been someone special after all.”
As if those words meant something to the young man, his head started to move, paying some attention to Delirias’ proclamations. The aspect jumped down and got closer and closer. Almost close enough for their noses to touch. He put his hand on the back of Gwyn’s head while his green eyes were glowing with arousal before he whispered to him.
“Did you really think, deep inside your childish, innocent heart, that all of this was just a game? As long as it’s not real, it doesn't concern you? You are prepared for the thrill of your life, but only until cruelty starts to erupt?”
Gwyn tried to have an answer for these questions, but his dry lips wouldn't move. Delirias loosened his grip as he turned his back on him.
“In the end, it doesn't really matter what morally correct ideals a human holds dear to himself and who he once was. The only thing that matters is right now. 'Good' and 'Bad' – what do these words even mean? They do nothing more than describe one single moment that could be already erased by the next. Isn't that what you always feared?” The speed at which he spoke continued to increase. Full of enthusiasm, as if there was no greater joy in the world than to put on a show for his partner.
“Your whole life you've begged for a second chance, just because you were too weak and afraid to use the first properly. Now that it presents itself in a nicely wrapped gift you start to run away,” he paused for effect.
My Insanity Page 18
