Three Spheres

Chapter 96 - Machine

Edisia hums as her copies walk across the room. At one of the entrances, the Chichivache growls; in the other, the Bircon prepares to attack. Emília jumps towards the original Witch, while Amadeo destroys one of the mud Golems. Deodoro runs towards the machine. The Witch dodges the Paladin's blow and buries her face in the dirt floor saying:

_ Edisia won't fight with you! I'll play with him!!

She lets go of Emília, who, wiping the dirt from her face, wonders if any of the bones in her head are still intact.

Edisia approaches Amadeo in an instant. The knee blow she lands is enough to make him fall. She holds him by the cape:

_ Leah said it was fun... Hehehe! It's 'cause Leah's a weakling! Not Edisia...!

She hits him again, but this time Amadeo was ready for impact, and dodges. He tries to cut the Witch's bare leg, but his blade is absolutely ineffective. The laughing Golems advance against him simultaneously. While fighting, he asks:

_ Emília...!! Where's Johan?!?

_ I-In the hallway! _ She answers without hesitation.

It's not a lie. Not a lie... It isn't...

The subject ends when Emília pushes the Bicorn away from Deodoro. The other monster, however, trots towards her, ready to attack. Emília jumps on it, letting the two collide. Then she grabs the body of one of the spiders and guts it over the cattle. The web partially slows them down, but it doesn't last long.

Deodoro stops in front of the mechanism, sweating cold. It is a sphere of black smoke and red rays that rotates on a metallic axis. From it, several cables connect to other gears, pumps filled with blood, and something else. The steam that emanates is toxic and hot. A secretion slowly drips onto a glass container, below the sphere of chaos. He takes a deep breath and tries to destroy the object with a strike made of lightning. There is no effect.

He thinks: "Forgive me, Keisha, but I'll have to use it". He pulls out the damn notebook and reads no more than two pages in a magical language Amadeo has never heard before.

The sphere of corruption stirs as the enchantment continues. Edisia turns to Deodoro, perplexed:

_ W-What...? Humans can't do this!! No! No! No! _ She pushes Amadeo away.

As he falls, he kicks one of the Witch's knees, causing her to fall too. The copies crumble and the slime that forms them envelops Amadeo as excessively tight chains. She says, through gritted teeth:

_ Edisia can't kill you... _ She sinks her fingers into his face, cutting his cheeks _ Even though she wants so much, so much! Now that you are weak because of the locks it would be so easy! SO EASY!!

The word "lock" draws Deodoro's attention. He instantly remembers the strange explanation Keisha had previously given him about the ancient "Soul-Lock" spell. However, he expels the thought as his enchantment is complete: The orb of rays dissolves and the liquid that was boiling evaporates. The Chichevache and the Bicorn howl and grow weaker. Emília takes the opportunity to decapitate the thinnest of them with her axe associated with a gravity spell.

_ NOO! _ Edisia says, releasing Amadeo.

The slime follows the Witch as she marches towards Deodoro. He, in turn, feels his hands tingle, burned, and necrotic, and expels large amounts of blood from his mouth. "How awful... But I'm still alive", he thinks, walking away from the enraged enemy. Emília stands in front of him, covered in bruises and bleeding.

_ There's a secret... I'll tell you... This machine isn't just one! _ Edisia laughs _ There's one more hidden!! Edisia made it! All it need is fuel and ta-dah!! More death for you! _ She lowers her face _ And more life for us... heheheheh! _ She laughs _ Ouch!