Songs of Light

Chapter 12

XXX

Hibiki let out a loud roar, and with the blink of an eye, dashed towards Finé. The woman smirked, "Now, show me, the power of rage incarnate."

Hibiki, no, the beast of Gungnir roared in response, and leapt into the air, swinging her claws at the woman. In response, Finé conjured up a barrier.

Asgard.

The beast clashed into the shield, and for a brief moment, the shield held strong against the swipe.

Until it started to crack, much to Finé's surprise, and she jumped back just in time to dodge a fatal strike. The woman stared at the beast incarnate, and she smirked, "Interesting, so this is what happens if someone goes berserk after fusing with a relic. It's like she's become Gungnir itself."

Finé let out a breath as the pitch black figure charged her again, and this time, the woman wasn't about to let the attack hit her. A pair of whips lashed out, and the beast found herself flung to the ground.

However, that didn't seem to deter her, as what used to be Hibiki simply got up, and glared at the woman. A burst of energy came from Hibiki's chest, and before Finé knew it, the beast was before her again.

Finé growled as she backed away, but she was too late, and the beast swung her claws. In a swift swipe, Hibiki sliced Finé straight in half, much to Tsubasa's horror.

The bluenette stared at Finé's split body, and Hibiki's pitch black figure, "T-Tachibana..."

The normally composed guardian was in a mess. She had honestly no idea what to do. Finé's reveal of Shinjiro's presence in the tower as a hostage had thrown her in a loop, and normally she'd have lashed out at the woman without a thought.

But seeing Chris' sacrifice, Hibiki going berserk, Lydian's destruction, and everything else that had happened had caused her to simply freeze. Seeing the person that held the last remaining connection to Kanade attacking Finé with such ferocity didn't help matters.

The bluenette shakily called out, "T-Tachibana... that's... that's enough."

Her words got the beast's attention, and the moment she turned her red eyes on the idol, Tsubasa froze, because never in the time she'd known the girl, never had Hibiki ever shown such rage, such hatred in her eyes. In fact, calling it darkness wasn't that far fetched.

But that wasn't all, the moment Hibiki turned her eyes on Tsubasa, the beast growled. She growled once more, and charged, much to Tsubasa's shock.

The bluenette took a step back, but Hibiki didn't stop, and only from years of experience, did Tsubasa manage to parry Hibiki's swipe with the butt of her sword, pushing the beast away.

Tsubasa stared at her friend, "Tachibana..."

Finé's eyes widened with glee as her body mended itself, and she watched with crazed interest as the beast attacked her friend relentlessly, with Tsubasa doing her best not to hurt the girl as they fought.

(Linebreak)

Shinjiro woke up with gasp, and he opened his eyes to see the dark sky, tinged with purple, the moon very much visible.

"So, you're awake."

The teen snapped his head over, to see Bemular hovering in the air some distance away from him. He quickly noticed Chris' bloodied form by his side, and widened his eyes in shock.

"Calm yourself, the girl is fine."

Shinjiro turned to look at Bemular, and he frowned, "Why should I trust you?"