Whispers of Nowhere

Chapter Twenty: Part One

It was all Forneus could do to keep up with Mizake's frantic pace. The Akuma lashed out at him first with one claw, then the other, ripping through the tail of his coat as though it were paper. In spite of his exhaustion, Forneus stayed light on his toes, ducking and weaving as he released little bursts of lightning into Mizake's face, all to no avail. In taking on his true form, the weakness Mizake had once exhibited as the Akuma trio was no more. It would take a great deal more ether to deal him a physical blow—and a great deal more, Forneus felt, than he currently had.

At this rate, I won't be able to get myself back to the Spectrum, much less ensure Gwen and Phenex return with me.

When one of Mizake's tails caught him behind the knees, taking his feet out from under him, he knew there was no other choice. If they wanted to live to fight another day, they had to retreat. His force field went up just as Mizake's claw came down, the Akuma letting out an enraged snarl as he was denied his kill yet again.

Scrambling to his feet, Forneus held the spear out in front of him, conscious of Mizake's wary gaze tracking the weapon while he stole a glance at his surroundings. "Phenex," he called out, unsure of just where he was, "I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can—we need to get out of here, now!" The last word was punctuated with a forward jab of his spear, catching the Akuma just above the knee.

Forneus thought his head would split with the sheer force of Mizake's roar, the sound a high, keening wail—only instead of being the voice of a single entity, it was the voice of three, rising in terrible harmony. Whoever had reduced Mizake to the Akuma trio had changed something in the creature's original make-up. Not only did he look nothing like Forneus remembered from centuries ago, his movements were clumsy and indecisive.

It was almost as if, in spite of returning to his original form, his consciousness was still divided between Kizah, Misa, and Cife—all three of which were vying for control of his singular form.

When Mizake lashed out again, Forneus dodged, wrenching the spear free in the process. He swung it around and caught the Akuma beneath the arm, driving all three points into his flesh until they were completely buried. Mizake reared, pulling Forneus along with him as he staggered from side to side, letting out a series of pained yelps. Realizing the spear wouldn't come free this time, Forneus abandoned it, putting as much distance between Mizake and himself while channelling ether into both hands.

As Mizake continued to thrash, roaring in pained fury, Forneus looked around. Only a small scattering of Reeves' forces remained, most too frightened of the large Akuma stumbling about to engage him in combat. He could hear the sounds of battle far to his left, hidden from view on the opposite stretch of courtyard between the cathedral and the apartments. Or at least he thought that's where it was coming from. It was only when he caught a flash of bright orange illuminating the apartment's walls that he was certain.

With any luck, he and Phenex would be able to regroup. He wouldn't leave him behind if he could help it, but between Mizake bearing down on him, the handful of demons and monsters scattered about, awaiting their turn, and the fact that he didn't know whether Gwen had made it safely to the gate or not, he couldn't afford to wait around for much longer.

If only he knew what had become of Asclepius and his operatives. The unit had split into four groups for the mission; surely if Reeves' forces had caught wind of their plan, they hadn't managed to intercept all of them...

Had they?

Forneus's ponderings were interrupted when Mizake spun around, all four of his tails whipping through the air toward him. Forneus managed to avoid two of them, ducking beneath one and jumping over the other—only to have the remaining two slam into him full force, catching him in the ribs and sending him crashing into the obelisk.