Chapter 12: Atonement

Chapter 12:
Atonement

 

GADHIO, ETERNA, AND FLUM stood back to back in the middle of the town square, anguish writ large on their faces. The survivors had all escaped. Now only the three of them remained to fight against the Sympathized mob surrounding them.

There were only a handful of fighters left. The three were at the limits of their endurance, but they’d slowly whittled down the enemy’s numbers. Now that the survivors were gone and they could fight side by side, their odds of survival had increased exponentially.

KA-BOOOOOOOM!

The ground shook.

“Do you think…that was Linus?” asked Flum.

“I certainly hope so,” said Gadhio.

Assuming the other Children were just as powerful as Nekt, Linus had a shot at an easy win. Of that much he was certain.

“It seems like a fierce fight,” said Flum.

“I thought that she was just able to connect people together and control them,” said Eterna. “What was that explosion?”

Whatever it was, it was far more powerful than the foe they were occupied with. Unfortunately, they were in no position to go help him at the moment.

“Get ready. Incoming!”

The loose circle of enemies raised their hands for another round of light projectiles. There were so many that they practically filled the sky before they fell.

“Flum, let’s go!”

“Right!”

Eterna put her hand over the Souleater. A layer of ice formed over the blade, thickening by the second, until Flum had to use her prana just to support the weapon with both hands.

Gadhio used his earth magic to encase his own sword in a layer of stone.

“Titan…”

“Jötunn…”

The two fighters hoisted their blades, worthy of their namesake giants, high into the air. They held the pose and waited for the balls of light to close in.

“Grand Shakeeeeeeeer!!!” A low bass and high shriek sounded in unison.

Gwooooooooozzzzaaaad!

The immense amount of prana their strikes released created a tempest in the middle of the square. Flum and Gadhio’s attacks caused the balls of light to detonate in midair.

The storm drew every loose body, broken flagstone, and shard of ice and rock, throwing it all straight back at the enemy.

Gadhio allowed himself a brief sigh of relief. Flum felt like her arms might drop off from the massive burden she’d put on them.

“Guuuuugh…”

“You okay?”

“I…I’m still good to go!”

Even if her muscles were ripped up, she knew that they would heal with time. As long as she put her heart and mind to it, defeat was still a long ways off.

That attack they just performed, however, was about the most powerful thing she could unleash. If she were to ever run into anything that would withstand that, well…

The chaotic scene finally began to clear, and Flum searched frantically to see if their opponents were still standing.

A man burst from the dust cloud, his fist on a flight path to Flum’s skull. It was all so sudden that her only option was to throw her hands in front of her face.

“Ice Shield!” Eterna called out right before the blow struck home, and a barrier of ice formed in front of Flum to take the blow. But the man moved with such speed that his fist smashed clean through the shield. “Aww, now he’s making me feel bad.”

She wasn’t pleased to see her magic defeated so easily, but at least she’d fulfilled her goal of protecting Flum.

Gadhio shot a Prana Sting over Flum’s shoulder at the incoming enemy as he charged through the remains of the shield. The pinpoint attack closed in on the attacker’s heart, but he threw his fist up in time to soak the blow. Though it pulped his arm, he still had another to fall back on. Another opponent broke from the haze and cast a healing spell on his comrade to return his arm to normal.

“Not on my watch!” Before his arm could fully heal, Flum forced her still-recovering body to whip forward, thrusting her Souleater into the man’s heart.

She yanked the sword out and watched him drop to the floor. At almost exactly the same moment, she felt a blast of light hit her shoulder, the flame forming a blossom where it struck. It registered to her as little more than a mild burn. Looking back through the cloud, though, she saw several other attackers with spells lined up.

“Is there just no end to you guys? Seriously!” Flum clenched her teeth and laughed bitterly, when suddenly the sky filled with a blinding light, followed moments later by an ear-shattering thunderclap.

“That was the direction Mute went, wasn’t it?!”

This was nothing like the explosions they’d heard before. No matter how good Linus might have been, there was just no way he could stand up against something like that. Eterna and Gadhio exchanged glances and nodded.

She re-summoned Fenrir, ordering it to pick Flum up and throw her onto its back.

“Hwaugh?!”

The attackers let loose with their volley.

“Ice Shield!!”

Barriers flanked her, absorbing the blasts.

The ice was so smooth that it had a mirror finish, dispersing or even reflecting the spells back at their casters.

With their opponents distracted, Eterna sent Flum on her way. “Linus is in trouble. Go help him!”

“But…but…Eterna, Gadhio!”

Flum reached out to her friends as the wolf dashed off. They grew smaller and smaller by the second.

“Don’t worry about us. All you need to do is kill Mute.”

Killing Mute would stop the people unified by her Sympathy ability… At least, Eterna suspected as much. In any case, it looked unlikely that they could clear out the town square through any normal means.

Flum bit her lip and looked ahead. “Just hang on, guys. I’ll take care of this!”

 

***

 

Linus somehow managed to crawl out from under the rubble, only to be stunned by the sight awaiting him: a vast crater, a hundred meters across, in the very heart of the kingdom’s prized capital city. No sign remained of the houses and buildings that were there moments before. He felt disgusted at the thought of the hundreds of lives lost. The fact that he’d survived such an unimaginably powerful attack could only be described as pure luck. He could barely remember what happened, beyond the fact that he never ran away from anything so desperately before. Somehow, it had saved him. And even then, only barely.

Linus flexed his hand and tried to conjure a gust. “Well, my body seems okay. I have a few broken bones, but I should still be able to move and fight.”

The real problem was how he would actually fight a creature like that if it came down to it. He was drawing a blank there.

“Ooou…ooo…ooooou…”

He heard Mute crying out from somewhere in the distance. The cries were still some distance away, but he decided it was best to run in the opposite direction. Since his short swords proved to be of little use, that left his bow if he wanted to fight her. He would have to forego his normal fighting style and put everything he had into one shot.

Once he was far enough away that he could no longer hear her voice, Linus bounded up to the top of the tallest tower left in reach and nocked three arrows. He scanned the scene below for Mute and drew back on the bowstring, blood vessels straining from the effort.

Fwooo!

His magic enveloped his arrows in wind.

“C’mon…c’mon…!” Linus whispered a prayer under his breath.

A moment later, he saw a familiar shape appear from behind the ruins of a house.

“Now!” He let go of the bowstring, sending the three arrows on their way. They flew as one, toward Mute.

“Oou…” Midway along their path, Mute finally took notice of the attack. She threw her hand forward, conjuring a blade of light as if she intended to take the attack head on.

Linus heard the crackle of electricity from where he stood as his arrows collided with Mute’s magic. He raised his bow again and launched another two arrows in desperation.

“Fah!”

“Oooouuu…” Mute simply stared up at him, unmoving.

He watched the second set of arrows hit her blade with a loud crack, both attacks dissipating. He noticed something strange: he was actually gaining the upper hand.

“I’ve got more where that came from!” He fired a fifth and then a sixth. They shattered the light attacks she threw to intercept and landed squarely between her eyes.

He was turning the battle around.

“You got it!! Go!!” He yelled as loud as he could, willing his arrows to have an effect on her.

Mute grabbed the arrows that shook violently in her forehead. The sheer power imbued in them caused her arm to shake as well. One by one, they shattered in her hand, but it wasn’t a complete loss. He heard a snapping sound and watched as several of the muscles and ligaments on her exposed body tore away. His attacks were finally hurting her.

“Oou…ooo…” Her voice, devoid of any emotion, sounded more confused than anything else.

The snapping continued as more of the muscles in her arm tore away. Finally, the last one gave out, and her hand fell from her body.

“Oooooouuu!!”

He hadn’t made it through her skull, but he had finally done some real damage.

Blood gushed from Mute’s wrist, and she thrashed around, letting out a shrill scream.

“Yeah! Didja see that? See what I can do??” Linus threw his fist in the air, momentarily overcome with joy.

“Oooooooou…oooouuuuuu!!!”

To Linus’s dismay, it would only be a matter of moments before Mute’s wound healed. Her exposed muscles twisted and pumped as her body grew a brighter shade of red. He immediately figured out what was happening.

“You’re…mad, huh?” The words barely made it out of his mouth when he felt the ground shake beneath him as Mute bounded into the air faster than even his arrows could match.

In the blink of an eye she was upon him, her fist coming down like lightning from the heavens. “Oooooooouuu!!”

“Gyah!!” Linus leaped off the tower just in time. Mute’s fist struck the spot where he stood, pulverizing it. Terror gripped him as he fell.

She moved with such speed that she was already waiting at the exact spot where he was supposed to land. Before his feet could even touch the ground, she swung the back of her hand toward his right arm.

“Haaah!”

It all happened so fast that he didn’t even see her move. There was just no way he could dodge that.

Pwomp!

His arm was nearly obliterated by the force of the blow, while his body was hurled straight into the ground. Unable to move to soften the blow, Linus hit the ground at full speed, bouncing several times before he rolled to a stop.

Pain shot through every part of his body; he worried for a moment that he’d been torn limb from limb. His right leg had taken the full force of the fall and was now twisted at an odd angle.

“Aaaauughh…” The world grew hazy, and he started to mumble incoherent syllables.

I have to run… I need to run…run…

Despite Linus’s efforts to urge himself on, his body refused to move.

I’m… I guess…I’m gonna die?

Whether at the hands of Mute or just left as is, his fate was basically sealed. If someone showed up and saved him, Mute would kill them anyway.

I…I really tried to become as strong as I could. Who’d have thought there are creatures this powerful out there?

No matter how high you aimed, there was always someone better. Whether it came down to ability, your own barriers, or a lack of effort or time, it was an immutable truth. He had more than enough reason to give up. Linus found solace in this and stopped fighting for consciousness.

“Linus, I’m on my way…! Full Recover!” Light shot from Maria’s hand and enveloped his own.

Once his bleeding stopped, the magic focused on the time-consuming process of regenerating his arm and leg.

As the pain let up, Linus felt the world slowly come back into focus. “M-Maria…?”

“Good, you’re still conscious.”

“N-no, g-get out of…”

“Huh?”

That’s when he saw it: Mute was walking up from behind Maria. “Ooooooouu!”

Maria turned to face the high-pitched shriek. She threw her hand in the air to let loose a spell, but she was too late. At this rate, both she and Linus were going to be killed.

Just as Linus was about to cast a wind spell, preparing to throw himself in the way to save Maria, he heard a familiar voice echoing in the distance.

“Jötunn Grand Disasteeeeeeeeeer!!” The ice wolf under Flum transformed, wrapping itself around her sword before she slammed it into the ground, sending a flurry of ice shards and a prana-powered air blast at Mute. It wasn’t enough to harm her, but it did force her to pause.

“Ooooooouuu!!” She let out a shrill cry in annoyance and turned to face her newest opponent.

“Well, I gave it a shot. Was that Mute? And I guess that’s you in the mask, Maria? Just what’s going on here??” Flum was still trying to process what was going on as she took in the city in ruins around them.

Looking closer at the bloody tears dripping out of Maria’s mask and the way it bobbed involuntarily, something about it all struck Flum as oddly familiar.

“I’ve no intention of fighting you.” Maria picked up on Flum’s gaze and answered her unspoken question.

“…Fair enough.”

Now was hardly the time anyway. As long as Maria wasn’t interested in fighting her, Flum saw no problem with joining forces against Mute.

“Oooooooouuu!!!” Mute charged straight at Flum, her heavy footfalls leaving a trail of broken road behind her. Flum held the Souleater at the ready and crouched down as her opponent closed in.

“…Huh?” When she looked up, Mute was nowhere to be seen.

“Behind you!”

She dove forward the moment Maria’s words registered.

“Ngaaah!” She still caught a glancing blow to her spine, followed by a powerful burst of wind that threw Flum face-first into the ground.

“Sacred Lance Spiral!” Maria fired a lance of light at Mute. The power of Origin flowing within her spun it like a drill.

“Oouu…” It was the first time that Mute actually made an attempt to evade an attack.

Turning her attention toward Maria, Mute leaned in, eager to strip Maria of her reach advantage.

Flum, now recovered from the previous attack, let loose with her Cavalier Arts. “Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

She was already at the limits of her endurance. She opted to fire off a Prana Shaker, since that could be supplemented with magic. Perhaps, with a little luck, her reversal magic would do some damage.

Mute, seemingly realizing that there was no hope to avoid the attack, took the prana blade head-on; it bit deep into her chest.

“Ooo…oou?” Mute cocked her head to the side as blood cascaded from the wound.

“Did…did it work?” said Flum.

“Her body’s mostly taken over by Origin now.”

“I sense two cores in her body. I guess my reversal magic works even better than usual?”

“It looks like we’ve a chance at victory, Flum. We can do this!”

“All right!” Flum raised her sword high, while Maria prepared to provide covering fire.

“Ooou…ooooouuuu!!!” Mute hesitated momentarily before anger took over, driving her to conjure an immense fireball above her head.

“Looks like my magic’s still having an effect. That can only mean one thing!”

“Don’t get in over your head, Flum!” Maria looked on with worry as Flum faced off against the incoming fireball.

Just as the burning sphere nearly reached them, she brought down her blade. “Bounce back! Reversion!” The crimson sphere contorted where the black blade slammed into it.

BRACK!

The fireball reversed direction and shot back toward Mute, this time with Flum’s energy added to it. Caught off guard at the unbelievable sight of her own attack coming back at her, Mute took the full force of the strike head-on.

BWOOOOOSH!

Through the massive explosion and dark clouds of smoke, Flum observed Mute’s body engulfed in flames.

“Looks like your reversal abilities have really grown.” Though she knew equipment played a part, Maria was still amazed to see how far Flum had come.

The battle, however, was far from over. This wasn’t enough to stop Mute’s rampage.

“Ooou… Oooooooooou!!!” Mute charged out of the flames straight at Flum.

“Wait, how did she come out unharmed?!”

Apparently only a direct reversal-powered attack would be able to harm her.

Flum raised her sword to block Mute’s fist with the broad side of her blade. Even Linus wasn’t able to take one of her strikes head-on, so Flum stood little chance at her strength level.

“Gyaaaaaa!!” She flew backward.

“Oomph…gauh…bweh…” The inertia made her bounce a few times once she hit the ground.

“Gah…hyah…haah…”

She only stopped when she collided with a wall. Her head hit the concrete with such force that it took a moment for her to get her wits about her, and even then, she still struggled to stand.

Mute wasn’t about to let up, conjuring fresh spears of stone and ice.

“Not on my watch! Judgment!” Maria called up spears of her own, shooting Mute’s creations out of the air.

“Oooou!!” The annoyance was evident in Mute’s voice.

“Sacred Chain!”

A white-hot chain of light wrapped around Mute.

“Judgment!” Maria followed up with blades of light that encircled Mute like an iron maiden. Her paths of escape were closed.

“Sacred Lance Spiral!” Now that she was stuck in place, Maria was ready to deliver her finishing blow.

“Ooooooooouuuu!!!” Mute fought her restraints, screaming at the sky as darkness began to spread out from her body. It ate away at Maria’s containment spell until it faded to nothing.

Free from her restraints, Mute bounded straight toward and aimed her fist right at Maria’s face.

“Not gonna happen!” His arm restored, Linus shot an arrow at Maria’s feet. It exploded in a powerful burst of wind as it hit the ground and threw Maria clear.

Mute’s fist cut through the air with amazing speed, the shock wave alone so powerful that it blasted a crater into the ground. Had it made contact with Maria, she likely wouldn’t have survived.

“Nng, L-Linus? Was that you?” Maria got to her feet just in time to see Mute coming in for another attack.

This time the tables were turned; Mute brandished a chain of light, ready to bind Maria.

“I guess it’s my turn…aaaaaaaaaah!!” Flum was finally back on her feet. She let off another reversal-powered Prana Sting, piercing Mute’s barrier and finding its mark in her fist.

Though weakened, Mute followed through with her punch, cuffing Maria plain across the face.

“Aaaaaaugh!” Maria flew through the air until she slammed into a far-off wall.

“Maria!” Flum cried out.

Mute leaped, practically landing on top of Maria. There was nowhere for her to escape to. She punched the ground with such force that it opened up a gaping hole, sending up a whirlwind of rocks and debris.

Flum held her Souleater in front of her to guard her vitals from the shrapnel. Every part of her body left uncovered was so shredded by the barrage that she could no longer stand, collapsing to her knees.

Mute wasted no time in casting her next spell, summoning crystal spindles of each element: fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darkness. They were so sharp that Flum doubted even Cyrill’s impressive armor could withstand the blow.

“Oou…ooo…oooou!”

Mute looked immensely pleased with herself. She waved her hand through the air, and the spindles launched at Flum; all she had time to do was look up to see them inbound. She had no more cards to play.

“Braaaaaaaaaaaaaave!”

It was the voice of her friend. Her magic was unique in that it could only be used by a hero—the hero—and only when their heart was full of courage.

The Brave-enhanced figure dove in front of Flum to protect her from the onslaught.

“Annggguu!”

It took several tries, but Mute’s magic managed to pierce Cyrill’s armor. A translucent blue crystal made from water affinity rammed into her stomach.

Even as blood poured from her wounds, Cyrill was still smiling.

“Looks…like I…made it.”

She’d thrown herself into the fray the moment she saw what was happening. The sad sight of her friends trying to kill each other was too much to bear.

Despite the pain, she couldn’t stop the smile that came naturally to her face. It was the happy smile of one who’d finally achieved that which she should have done long ago.

“C-Cyrill?” Flum stared ahead in shock as her friend continued to cough up blood.

“Oou… Ooooouuu… Oooooooooooouuuu!!”

There was a sense of sadness and confusion in Mute’s wail this time.