Chapter 34: Two Boys

Two colors.

Violet and Green. Total opposites in a simple color spectrum. In an artist's vision, they express a simple calmness and cool. Like the gentle flowing river on a warm summer day, with the sun shining bright just right to give the liquid its clear yet elegant glow.

This was not that.

Both boys held powerful tools of destruction. One was mindful of his target, powered up with an evil Mana that his entire personality was the opposite of calm. He was cold. He was evil. He was one to deliver fair justice to his enemies.

The other was an animal. A being, holding onto a great deal of confused pain, fueled by the want to care for one close to his heart. His love is what spurs his rage now. It is what calls upon the evil inside for more strength. To breathe, to hug, to kiss, to connect, with that one so close to him.

Kairas Yamishito. For the first time in a long time, his cold and shielded heart gave way to the feeling of love. To the feeling of protection.

"Have you no self control, boy!?" Girston, extending his pointer and middle fingers, threw his hand into the air. Light erupted in the cathedral, ensnaring Kairas in a pure aura. It held him strongly, the purity burning deep into the boy's body.

It sickened him.

It hurt him.

Why was a man deemed evil able to use such pure magic?

"Control your temper!"

Kairas ignored his father's words. With a cry, that very same pure aura was swallowed by green, by evil. Kairas' hair stood on its ends, flowing wildly within the boy's power.

Snapping his gaze at Girston, he threw a punch, the force of which flying through the remaining distance between the two, striking the Angel in the center of his face, and shattering his nose. Blood spewed in response, and as he gripped his nose to let it heal slowly, his control wavered.

The Pure Cage broke, and Kairas was upon him. His teeth dug deep into the Angel's shoulder, veins bulging on Kairas' face the harder he sunk his fangs. Snapping back, he ripped a chunk of flesh from his father's arm, before bringing his elbow down and slamming it into his forehead.

Annoyed, Girston slammed his palm against Kairas' torso, blowing him back. Swiping his fingers in the air, mana began to build within him, and released itself as a ball of light. Kairas landed near the cross, his aura roaring wildly and blowing it off its stand. The image of Jesus was swallowed whole by green, afterwards Kairas standing up and catching the ball of light, crushing it between his palms.

More and more, the Green Gem's mana built within Kairas' body. Angrily, uncontrolled. He cried out again, a pillar of green erupting around him, soaring high through the ceiling. The castle shook from his presence, enough for Girston to take a stern look at this spawn that shared his blood.

"Dare I say… He has enough power right now to erase this solar system if not careful. How thrilling."

Kairas snapped his head forward, mouth open. Magic bolts shot from his throat, Girston dodging one as it crashed into the door, and exploded in a green light. The attacks were focused. At least Kairas was still mindful of the planet itself.

Girston rushed ahead, dodging the next barrage of magic blasts, striking his son with a heavy straight punch. It canceled the magic, but Kairas brought his leg up and caught the Angel's chin.

Dazed, he fell back enough for Kairas to grip his ankle, and begin twirling him around in the air before slamming him on the floor like he would a hammer to a nail. The marble cracked under the pressure, pain shooting through Girston's spine. He coughed up blood, Kairas spinning around, and slamming him next on the stand at the center of the room. Back and forth he went, treating his father like a toy hammer in a whack a mole carnival game.

Girston's cries of pain could be heard in the silence of the cathedral.

The Kult members who had defected stood outside the cathedral doors, eyes wide behind the blanks masks, full of fear. Full of indecision.

Help and die, or leave and survive. They went with the latter, and quickly raced off down the hall, tossing off their masks and praying they would be able to escape.

Steeling himself, Girston pulled his free leg back and kicked Kairas' head. The boy dropped his father, the Angel bringing his foot around and tripping the boy, before throwing himself into the air and sending a bolt of magic at Kairas. It swallowed him, exploding in destructive light.

Girston landed, watching the smoulder crater, carefully strolling over to it and looking down into the dark hole.

Kairas was invisible within, consumed by the darkness. His presence, and his roars however, echoed upwards, the sound of heavy panting and something wildly crawling up the wall filling Girston's ears.

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"How many times has that been," Takabi asked, head tilted.

His violet eyes looked down on Orion. The Wolf's arms and legs were severed, blood pouring out his wounds as he wheezed in pain. Struggling for breath, his words came out in a low pained response.

Takabi rose his foot, and slammed it down on Orion's ribs, breaking them and sending the bone shards into the Wolf's lungs. "Louder! What number are we on!"

"F… Four Hundred…. Forty…. Three…."

"That's all?" He asked, standing back.

He waved his hand, Orion's body putting itself back together, any sense of pain fading into a painful memory. He shot up, throwing his claw at Takabi, missing his head. The boy, however, thrust his hand clean through Orion's chest, fingers exposed through the Wolf's back, covered in pieces of his heart and drenched in blood. 

Orion's eyes were wide, then body slumped, Takabi tossing him into the wall to his right, wiping his hands clean. Orion revived in violet, hole in his chest closed, and coughed harshly.

"Four hundred forty four." Takabi said loudly, then looked down at Orion. "A shame. Time, in a sense, has no lapse in this place right?"

Orion looked up, meeting his eyes slowly, before his yellow orbs gazed and trailed over the violet tattoos on his body. "I wondered why this place left any sort of magic signature. I mean, there were people coming and going, but the aura of Mana I saw was way too large for it to be a collection of weaklings like you, and being honest, I highly doubt a week of abuse in this place would hardly be enough to put my sister under your thumb, awakened or not."

He turned towards Orion, opening his palm. Magic burst from his palm, striking the Wolf against the wall. Slowly, Orion slid down, holding his bleeding side. "This tower controls time in fragments, right? Or is it someone inside that aims their magic?"

"What the fuck are you on about," Orion wheezed.

"Cut the bullshit. You're not in any position to argue with me right now." Takabi grit his fangs. "The Father isn't anywhere to be seen. That fake version of me that tried to stop me from entering the prison chamber before, then the door suddenly disappearing when I was done with the copy? Please. I'm not dumb."

He chuckled, surprisingly, but the lingering pain silenced him. Orion raised his bloody hand in a gesture of help. "End the torture… I'll tell you everything, but you let me go free after… Deal?"

He was silent for a moment. Bangs hid his eyes as he exhaled.

"No deal."

Takabi let a blast of magic erupt. It swallowed Orion's head, disintegrating it completely. His body twitched, then fell over on its side. Again, Takabi revived him, and then quickly picked up a broken brick and threw it. It crushed Orion's skull again, blood and brain splattering all over the wall.

The brick faded, Orion revived without neary a trace of injury, and his eyes held a gaze of disgusted horror. He broke into a run, down the hall to the left.

Takabi rose his arm, flames cackling around his fingers before a violet hand rushed out, and swallowed Orion whole. The Wolf fell to the floor, rolling around, screaming in intense pain as the evil flames burnt at his hair, and his flesh. His arms gave out, melting into bone, before his legs. Louder he screamed, and Takabi simply watched.

Soon, Orion's cries ceased, and left in his place was a pile of black ash. Takabi gave it a couple seconds, before waving his palm and once more, reviving the Wolf whole.

He shook in place, slowly, but visibly, clutching his arms, legs scrunched up to his chest in the fetal position, shallow cries of horror filling Takabi's ears. "Please… No more… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry does nothing. It means nothing in a case like this." He lifted his palm, mana building up within a small ball. "What you took from Frannie and Shine. That's an innocence they will never get back. It was something I wanted to spare them of, and you stole it."

Orion raised his hands to shield himself. "Please! I'll give up information about the Kult! I'll go into hiding and waste away slowly! Anything! Just stop!"

"I'll stop when I'm bored of you!"

A hand gripped his wrist. Slowly, he looked down, catching Shine's worried eyes. His sister watched him, confused, to the cold hearted monster standing before her.

This was not Takabi.

This wasn't really him.

And yet, instead of running, she confronted him. She held his hand, and stopped him from further harming someone she hated with all her fiber. "No more. Takabi, please.. No more."

Slowly, the Violet Gem's markings faded away. His eyes looked a little dazed, and he staggered some, but in the end he took his hand back and relaxed.

Shine looked at Orion as he crawled over to her, bowing his head to the floor. "Thank you… I… I can't ever repay you for this. I… I'll make up what I did to you."

When no one addressed him, he looked up, only for Frannie to kick his chin hard enough that his head snapped back, and throat split open violently. His body fell back, hands on his chest, blood slowly oozing from his neck, and eyes devoid of any light.

Frannie spit on his corpse and looked at the siblings. "What the hell took you so long to get here."

"Sorry," Takabi said quietly. "We spent the week looking for you both.. If I could've come sooner, I would've."

"I know," She replied softly. There was a tearful gleam in her eye when she looked away. In both of them. Takabi knew this experience left an imprint in their minds. They'd remember everything they went through, and it would be difficult to lock it away. "I know… We know you did what you could." She wiped her tears away and took a deep breath. "Where's the others? I figured you wouldn't come alone."

Takabi nodded, crossing his arms. "Nana and Jewel are somewhere, looking for you still I think. Kairas is…" He blinked, stopping his sentence. He snapped his gaze towards the wall, eyes wide with shock. ".... Oh… Oh no."

"What is it," Shine asked. It hit like a truck.

Both girls' eyes went wide. They sensed it. Something powerful. Something dark, further away from them. Two signals, but the Mana itself was clashing so harshly together it was difficult to figure out who it was exactly. "This isn't good. This really isn't good."

They closed their eyes. Their bodies were engulfed in a bright light. Once it faded, Shine was dressed in tight blue jeans and black turtleneck. Matching sneakers were on her feet, with a little wing on the side.

Frannie dressed herself in sweatpants and a grey hoodie. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and converse on her feet.

Both had a fierce look in their eyes. They were normal again, for the most part. Takabi was grateful that, despite all they went through, they had enough strength to put it behind them for even a moment.

"You don't have to come into the frying pan with me," He said. "You went through a lot, you should escape and get some rest."

"And let you fight on your own," Shine asked. "Sorry. That's not happening."

Frannie remained quiet for a bit, her eyes locked on Orion's corpse. She opened her dry lips, speaking in a hushed tone. "I… I lost a lot this week. My innocence and free will. The last thing I'm going to do, when I can finally decide for myself, is to let you go alone." She walked between the siblings, placing her knuckles against Takabi's chest. "You came for me. For us. Late or not, that's something I'm going to be grateful for. I'm going with you because it's only right. I'm following you because you're my teacher, and truthfully," She paused, glancing at Shine. "I feel safer with you than with her."

There was a hint of venom in her tone. Shine, her eyes full of hurt and regret, avoided Frannie's gaze and crossed her arms. The tension grew thick as Takabi ran a hand through his hair. Exhaling loudly, he placed a gentle hand on Frannie's shoulder, surprised that she didn't flinch.

"Fine. Don't fight though, please. Whatever happened between you two needs to wait until this blows over."

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Kairas took heavy breaths. Sweat drenched what remained of his torn short and coated the muscle of his body.

Girston looked no worse for wear. He was calm. He was untouched and injuries healed completely. It was as if he was toying with him from the beginning.

And he was.

"Enough with this. My power completely usurps your own, Kairas. Come to your senses, and give up this pointless struggle."

He took another heavy breath, then flexed his muscles and cried out in a deepening rage. Green surrounded him, erupting from his body in an intense burst of power. Again, he grew stronger, so much so that Girston actually began to worry a bit.

Not too long ago, he sensed Takabi's Mana. Both of their signals were around the same size, however one seemed more in control than the other.

Compared to before, Kairas' power was well beyond what it just was.

Girston took his stance. Refined. Focused. Not an opening anywhere to exploit. His eyes widened, and he evaded a heavy gust of wind. The air cut through a pillar in the cathedral, the marble pillar hitting the floor with a loud crash. "Hello, Nana."

He turned to the female Angel. She rushed up, Jewel leaping over her, building her power up and releasing magic bolts. Girston stopped them midair with a wave of his hand, sending them back with a force greater than Jewels.

The blasts struck both girls, throwing them both into the large doors and crumbling to the ground. Again, they stood and charged at Girston. Dashing side to side, moving at a speed fast enough for their physical images to start phasing, the two began throwing punches and kicks, faster than any normal eye could keep up with.

Girston blocked each and every one with a single hand, ducking under their last attacks and grabbing both their fists. He rose them in the air, throwing Nana into the ceiling, then gripping Jewel by her throat and squeezing tightly. With a single finger, he sent a bolt of light ricocheting around the space, watching it pierce through Nana's leg.

She screamed loudly, before it came around and ran through her stomach. It bounced off the ceiling, ripping through both her arms before she hit the floor in a bloody mess, eyes glazed over with pain.

Kairas watched, taking a step forward, reaching out with a shaky hand. "Je… Jewel… Nana… "

Girston tightened his grip, the girl quickly losing air. "Both of you should learn your place. You as well, Kairas." He looked at his son, raising his finger. Mana built in the tip, and released a focused beam that tore through Kairas' abs. He groaned in pain, but kept his head high. Fangs, larger than usual, sizzled. Kairas released a large wave of cold, something Girston took interest in. With another rageful cry, a pillar of Green mana burst from Kairas' body.

Swallowed in a bright light, everything inside was quickly blown. Takabi slipped into the cathedral at the last second, grabbing Nana and slipping Jewel from Girston's grasp, throwing both at Shine and Frannie. "Go! He's gonna blow!"

And he did.

Kairas' magic burst. Takabi and Girston were swallowed by green, pure mana erupting so intensely the castle quickly ripped apart. The ground shook, in a heavy earthquake. Denver shook, as well as the Bunker. Cars crashed, shop windows shattered, and people were quickly crushed under rubble. From space, a single green drop shone brightly from the land.

Once it settled minutes later, the survivors slowly looked over to the massive cloud of black smoke rising into the air. Quickly pulling out phones to call authorities and relatives, all eyes watched in a frightened amazement at the incoming cloud of rubble rain.