Garden Of The Abyss

"Now, it's just clean-up time for the bastards out there. Though...they're acting strange."

"You're right--why're they just standing there like that?"

"Beats me. It'll make them sitting ducks though--easy targets."

As Sora conjured a flame in his free hand and took a step outside to confront the still husks, he felt something move in his hand. He couldn't decipher what his own two eyes were showing him, the mutilated, torn body of the demon began to contort and convulse, its crimson eyes returning their deathly glow.

"...This bastard is still alive?!"

Disgusted by the slimy sensation of it wriggling in his grip, he tosses Halphas onto the ground, summoning his greatsword back into his hand as Lucas stood by him, prepared to resume combat.

"How vexing...To be reduced to this state before a human. I must...replenish."

The hoarse words came out in a rasp as the legless torso began to contort violently before its body began to hover in the air.

"Agh...Gurgh…"

It was a repulsive sight; saliva foamed from its break as sable blood ran from its crimson jewels, the same tint of lively fluid flowing from its open wounds. A crimson tint took hold of the sky, bringing the two Outlander's gazes to the clouds as their hearts began to sink.

The clouds held the faces of wailing men, humming as they coalesced into a center above where the demon sat in the air, contorting itself as it groaned.

"...What's going on?"

"I don't know, but it feels like my damn heart is trying to run out of my chest…"

As the two became distracted by the crimson sky, the sound of bodies hitting the ground brought their gazes back down as they noticed the inanimate husks begin to fall over. From the fallen husks, stygian energy of a harrowing nature, holding the shape of crying faces, traveled directly into Halphas.

"It's...eating them?"

'That's what it looks like to me."

It wasn't long before a dozen had fallen over, acting as nutrients for the fallen demon as it continued to groan out, its voice echoing many times over as the humming in the skies grew louder.

"...What am I doing?! I'm not going to sit around and let it recover!"

"I'm with you…!"

Taking the lead, Sora rushed towards Halphas as it continued to gather the essence of the husks, rearing his enormous blade of roses back as Lucas assisted with a powerful tunnel of wind. As both the blade and wind launched against Halphas, their attacks were repelled by the tainted energy surrounding the harrowing entity.

"...God dammit! No!"

Sora continued to swing his blade against the sphere of dark energy, putting more and more mana into reinforcement as each hit thundered out--resulting in the same, null effect. Watching the companion he held utmost admiration for in his strength be able to accomplish nothing in this situation, Lucas fell to his knees as his extended hand shook, attempting to find the will to cast another spell, only for his eyes to become veiled in desperate tears.

I don't know what it is, but everything in my body, my soul--it's telling me I can't let it recover! My gut is burning up, eating itself--the fear inside me just won't stop growing! Sora thought.

It was the same for Lucas; once the skies turned themselves into a tainted crimson, when the clouds began to sing hymns of death--their spirit was challenged by an almighty despair.

As he felt his resolve be diminished under the hopeless atmosphere, Lucas realized something, looking down at his hands.

I get it now...It's trying to forcibly take our souls, but our reinforcement is preventing it. We're still feeling some effect though...Then that means…

Turning his gaze back towards the main section of the manor, he felt his stomach sink as the same harrowing energy traveled towards Halphas from behind him.

"No...Anna...Abraham...Ben…"

Attempting to reach out and take hold of the fleeting souls, his fingers simply went through the cluster of energy as tears fled his eyes.

"Lucas! Get your head in the game--I need you right now!"

Sora yelled out desperately with a shaky voice, not stopping his ceaseless barrage as he struck the shield of black mysticism over and over again.

"...Right...Right…!"

Pushing past his bubbling up emotions as tears continued to flow out and obscure his sight, Lucas held his trembling hand forward.

"Boreas: Hasten!"

Instead of assaulting Halphas directly, Lucas used his mystic winds to wrap around Sora, aiding him with their supportive grace as his speed and ferocity picked up even further.

"We can stop him!...We will!"

The words that Sora yelled out seemingly at the cost of his throat's integrity felt more for him rather than the comrade of his knelt behind him.

Soon, all that met the vermilion-haired man's ears was the ominous humming, watching his sword silently flail against the unmoving barrier as his arms felt as if they were set ablaze themselves, pushing himself past his limit.

After a minute of this fruitless endeavor, all of the husks had fallen. Bringing the plethora of souls into itself, the entity unleashed a wave that blew the tired Outlander back, gratefully being caught by the gentle winds of his comrade just before crashing against the tattered wall.

"...Thanks."

"Thank me when we make it out of here--alive."

Hearing that line from Lucas, who held such a weak smile behind his tattered and worn appearance, Sora couldn't help but weakly chuckle.

"I think the bird bastard is done recovering...Time for round two."

Still feeling the residual effects of the blast in the marrow of his bones, he coughed as he stood himself up, using his sword as a cane before slowly resting it on the thick steel of his shoulder pad.

Strings of flesh protruded from Halphas' torn form, stretching out and overlapping as bones formed themselves through newly birthed, ivory particles. It was a sickening sight for them both, watching the demon rebuild itself before its feet once more met the ground.

I can't move, I can't move, Lucas thought.

Watching Halphas, an aura of suffocating terror pulsated from it as its lifeless eyes watched him silently and intently.

"Hyaaah!"

Charging in without hesitation, Sora burst forward with his greatsword held in front of him like a lance.

How can you still move, Sora? Don't you feel it--this chilling, stifling aura? Lucas thought.

To his surprise, however, his crimson-haired companion managed to drive his blade through the chest of the demon, driving it in deep as the sable essence of the creature seeped out from its new wound, coating the silver blade in its tainted fluids.

"I got you this time, bastard. There's no more life for you to steal."

Twisting his blade as it was lodged in the sternum of Halphas, Sora whispered his resolved words with utter resolve holding itself within his eyes. Even as he witnessed the blade be plunged through the creature's body, the ominous, throbbing fear that continued to make Lucas' heartbeat rapidly didn't lessen in the slightest.

Why?...Why am I so afraid? I don't understand, Lucas thought.

"What the…"

Before Sora could free his blade from the bowels of the demon, it fell lifeless, yet its beak parted as if yelling out, but no sound came out. Looking up, Lucas' fears continued to be further cemented as the humming, crying clouds still spiraled in the blood sky.

From the dark depths of the creature, two hands suddenly stretched out from its maw, grabbing hold of each side of its sturdy beak.

"...Ahh…"

The chilling breath came not from the stork-entity but what was within it. Driven by fear and abhorrent disgust, Sora attempted to retrieve his blade--finding himself unable to budge it before allowing it to dissolve before jumping back.

"It's just one thing after another with this damn thing."

Muttering to himself and his comrade, Sora helped Lucas stand himself up, looking down to see the boy's knees shaking like trees on a windy day.

He's not in any condition to fight...Shit...Where the hell is Sirius? Sora thought.

Opting to switch things up, he summoned a halberd into his grip, running his fingers along its length to get a feel for its style once more.

The body of Halphas fell limp, but began to convulse--not on its own but by the merit of what sat inside of it, the enigmatic hands slowly parting the beaks further as the repulsive sound of cracking bones rang out. Emerging from the maw of the demonic entity, a head finally peered out; sable hair in a neat bowl-cut, followed by crimson eyes already opened and locked onto the two awaiting the threat.

It was a person, at least it looked that way to Sora's eyes.

"Can you fight?"

Sora whispered as he didn't move his eyes away from the abhorrent spectacle before him, receiving a small, "Yes," from Lucas, who brushed the dirt and blood from his garments.

Birthing itself from the mouth of the demon, the unknown, pale-skinned entity crawled out from its maw, covered in a black sludge that slid off of its skin as it completely unraveled itself, stepping onto the bloodied floor. The body of Halphas was left as no more than a sack of skin, mangled on the ground behind the naked, human-seeming entity.

"Who the hell are you?"

Keeping his halberd wielded between his two hands, Sora asked with no hint of weakness to be shown in his voice. The crimson-eyed, thin man stared blankly at him for a moment before stretching his shoulders out.

While Sora did recognize the entity to be a human male by his appearance, his nude, clothless body revealed no genitals of any sort inhabiting its groin.

"Thirty-eighth of GOETIA, Earl of Hell, Count of Death and Destruction, Halphas."