Counterpart

Chapter Sixteen

Magnus dashed through kluna's streets, a young member of their new investigative team trailing just behind. He had a thin frame overlapped by a business suit. "He shouldn't of attacked this soon!" Marx said as he weaved through the crowds of people. "Dammit! We were expecting him to keep pacing himself!" The last attack was only three days ago; the one before almost a month behind. Even occasional assaults would have drove the city into hell, but this...

"Never mind that, just tell me what you know." Magnus fought to be heard over the bustling floods of people around.

"A corrupted mage attacked one of our market squares. He matches the same description as ours."

A pang of worry crept into Magnus. Places as crowded as those were supposed to be something the corrupted avoided. "The soldiers?"

"Caught off guard. They were overwhelmed in the panic." Shit. Of course they'd never expect such an attack, but to overpower so many guards that must have been patrolling the place...Magnus withdrew his spirit as they neared the area, evident by the smoke trailing only a block away. "We don't even know if he's retreated yet! Don't go in until we're sure its safe!"

Magnus let out a grunt. "Secure a safe perimeter. I'm ending this here."

Everyone remained a generous distance away from the ruins of the market square just up ahead. A mix of smoke and dust blotted out most of the details as Magnus rushed past the last line of houses and into the opening. He strained to make out shapes in the rubble as he scanned for any movement. Cobblestone walls and wooden huts alike were all reduced to piles of scrap, lying about as though a tornado swept through the area.

Magnus' worry only grew as his adrenaline seeped away. He combed through the area as the dust eventually settled, revealing nothing but a couple bodies lying around the place. Damn. They were too late.

It certainly wasn't likely they'd get a second chance like this, either. This market was incredibly close to the school, Magnus even arrived here before law enforcement had. There was no catching such a man who could vanish in an instant like this.

"There was nothing we could do." Marx said as he cautiously made his way over. "Let's just...stay put until the others arrive."

Magnus already had his attention on the surrounding area. As a soldier, he was trained to spot almost undetectable hints of aibal. He didn't even know what to look for at first. Maybe an alleyway a little more damaged than others, or even emptier streets where the townspeople ran further away from the danger.

His hopes were dwindling by the second before his gaze locked onto all but nonexistent scrapes lining the edge of a building's roof. Bingo.

"Gather evidence of whatever he left behind." Marx was quick to notice what Magnus had his eyes on.

"No, you can't take one of those on your own. Stay back..."

Magnus drowned out what his new friend was saying as he found the best route up to the roof two stories up. He withdrew his spirit, dashing towards the building's wall.

His speed helped him to leap up to a small ledge, his fingers gripping hard onto the few inches of a threshold the stone provided. If not for the dragon crawling up beside him, he would have only been able to hold on for a second. I miss climbing. His foot found a gap just large enough to propel himself further up the wall before a good bust of flight from his spirit gave him just enough lift to catch the roof's edge.

"Be careful!" Marx yelled from below, prompting Magnus to grin. He was already acting far more cautiously than usual-reaching his limit at the pirate outpost taught him a very important lesson. Even this might be a bit too much. I'll need every ounce of labia I can spare if I want to take down a corrupted mage without backup. The roof itself had a steep angle made up of planks that creaked at every step. I can't imagine he went far-

Magnus raised his arm just in time to block a battle axe from slicing him in two. His labia collided with the aibal-infected weapon as he locked eyes with the mage. Their blood-red tint sent a chill through his spine. His gray skin was riddled with pitch black veins.

Magnus shoved away the axe blade, swinging labia at the mage, who just managed to counteract the blow with his own magic. "He's up here!" Magnus whipped out his longsword. Labia on its own might not be enough for a fight like this.

Instead of pressuring, the thing turned to run, jumping off the roof. The hell!? Magnus chased after it, falling back onto the cobblestone streets with a grunt as his spirit helped dampen the blow. He's never even heard of a corrupted mage retreating. Could this one really be intelligent?

Screams filled the air as the husk bolted down the street, Magnus just on its tail. Even with his spirit's help, he could barely keep up. Backup must be out of the question too, then. I'm on my own for this one.

Aibal twisted around the creature as it ran, straining to take shape of the animal it's spirit once embodied. Magnus drew upon labia, forming embers in his palm before sending it into the thing's back. It spun around, flinging aibal at its pursuer. Magnus evaded the shots with the help of his spirit as he swung his longsword, trading blows with the beast.

His labia reserves were draining far faster than he was hoping for. At every moment he wasn't using it to attack, he would either need to parry or evade hie enemy's constant attacks. The two practically became a blur of light and darkness to the onlookers.

Magnus' breath eventually fell out of pace with his body's demands. He rose his blade up just in time to deflect the axe head, only to be struck in the gut by a powerful concentration of aibal. He stumbled back as his vision blurred. More screams filled his ears.

"Magnus!" He struggled to concentrate on the voice as his vision did its best to focus on a clear blue sky. "Are you hurt?" Marx knelt beside him as he leaned up.

"No." He rubbed his head. "But I'm low on labia. Damn." Counteracting the aibal drained almost all he had left. "The mage, where is he?" Magnus struggled to his feet.

"Ran off. I'm sorry, I had to check on you first-"

"Don't be. Which direction did it run off in?"

Marx motioned him to stay lying down. "You were out cold just a moment ago. Stay down, please."

"I'll be fine." Magnus glanced around before his eyes locked on to a small alleyway the onlookers were fixated upon. He all but stumbled his way over before peering inside, forcing his spirit to draw out.

The narrow corridor was eerily silent. All that remained was a strange, churning black puddle lying at its end. Marx crept in soon after, peeking over Magnus' shoulder. "I don't understand. He just..."

"Vanished. Just in case, I'll search the area again." He already knew there was no need to. "As I understand it, Captain Randall expressed interest in capturing a second corrupted mage within the month."

Marx nodded. "Do you think that's even possible anymore?"

"No. This one is far too dangerous, given it has capabilities and behaves unlike anything we've seen before." Magnus turned to lock eyes with him. "It doesn't matter what opportunity we think we have. We'll have to kill this one the second we have the chance."