Chase

I've made a lot of distance from that guy now. But I think he'll catch up as I'm figuring out where to go. I can't seem to find that locker room. The other hazmat guys tried to stop me but they're so surprisingly weak.

Then the walls start to tremble. It becomes stronger and stronger until a monster made out of slushy rotten flesh barges out of the wall at my right, almost crushing me. The stench is as bad as that room full of carcasses. However, it doesn't bother me. It's quite fascinating that all of that torture increased my threshold.

As I run away, behind me, it removes itself from the wall and reveals its face. It's the Phantom. How do I know? His mask is on it, serving as its face. It screams as its limbs sprout from its sludgy body. Like a centipede, it crawls to catch me. It's so huge that it touches the ceiling. My only way of retreat is forward.

As luck would have it, I finally found the room. I forgot that this place was this big. There are thousands of lockers in here. It will take a while until I find it. I punch the nearby light switches. The lights go out. I figure out that it will help me hide as well as use Shadowclutch. That's if it's not like me that can see in the darkness.

It chaotically barges through the door, destroying it with its huge body. It is glowing white in my vision. Other cold things are black. It snoops around, searching for me but I'm not even hiding.

Okay, let's do this. . .

*Sigh*

"Shadowclutch."

Six shadows emerge from my back. With them, I slice open the nearby locker doors in one instance.

"Oh, there you are!" the Phantom laughs. His voice sounds like he's gobbling tons of food. "AND SHADOWCLUTCH IS PROHIBITED!!!"

He charges to where he thinks I am. I gotta say, his guess is right. Rolling to the side, I widen my eyes to see well. My jacket isn't in one of the lockers I busted open. I run to the next set of lockers and the Phantom follows the sound of my footsteps. Again, I destroy the locker doors but my luck is nonexistent for the moment. It's not there.

"Why won't you listen to me?!"

It's already meters away from me. I cannot dodge. Instead, I plant my feet on the ground and then use my Shadowclutch to attack. It wasn't enough to stop it. Of course, my shadows pierced it but to no effect. The last thing I could do is punch its mask. It is hard, so my knuckle gets crushed as it ricochets to its flesh. However, I succeeded in stopping the Phantom's momentum. My hand is stuck in its body. I can't pull it out unless. . .

*Crack*

I crush the bones of my arm then cut it off with my shadow. Then I carry on searching for the candy. To be fast, this time, I slice more lockers. Still, it's not there. The Phantom has caught up. Tentacles made out of rotten flesh trash around in the darkness, hoping that I will get hit. Too bad for it because I'm a little farther now. Using Shadowclutch to travel is much more silent than on foot.

"Come here!" it screams. "I will tear you apart! You dared to challenge me?! I am the Phantom! You have no chance! Give up!"

He's agitated and I don't know why. If someone has to be agitated, it should be me. But I'm too numb now. I already suffered the worst. This is nothing. My search for the candy goes on and on. A lot of times I slice open the lockers, find out it's not in one of them, and move on to the next.

That is until there are no more lockers left. I have no choice but to check everything again. It's gonna be a dangerous deed since I'll have to pass through him—means I have to beat him for a little bit to buy time. I suddenly recall what Zaori told me. "Angelus beats Daemon."

So I transform into my Angelus Frame. I'm still covered in bloody wounds and missing my right arm. I'm blind in the darkness but I remember and hear where the Phantom is. Leaning forward, I flap my small wings to give myself a boost. *Whoosh!* then *Baam!* Light breaks out from the part of its body that I hit. Fleshy parts of it turn to bits. It screams in pain.

"You will pay for that!"

Back to my Daemon form again, I continue searching for my jacket. I see it! With my shadows, I grab and then wear it to at least cover my ugly battered body. I check my pocket and the candy is there. I'm afraid that it might fall as I run. I keep it in my mouth.

The chase now continues in the lit hall. This is nothing but a battle of speed now. The Phantom is right behind me with its tentacles coming to grab me. I cannot use Shadowclutch in this bright hall. The Angelus Frame might work well.

In time, I transform and then punch the incoming tentacle but my left arm gets stuck. I have no choice but to cut it too. That's enough to buy me a second to prepare my small wings. With their help, I dash through the hall with ease. The Phantom cannot catch up. All it could do is curse at me.

I head to the elevator but refuse to ride it because it's too slow. The hazmat guys in the elevator are terrified but I have no time to bother with them. I jump, piercing through the roof. The door above is not that high. I jump there and then bust the door wide open with my head. I'm on the stage now where the DJs are still on their tasks.

Now, where is Lucy? *Sniff* I smell here along with the stench the Phantom is giving off from below. It's near. I have no time to waste. I follow my nose and grab the DJ with the strongest scent. After removing the mask with my teeth, I confirm that it's her. She's so thin.