Soul Chains

Chapter 16: On the Frontline Against Death

"Where do we go now?" Melantha asks as the twelve of us make our way out of town.

"First, we have to get out of here," Renee says, "I don't like the ominous vibes I'm getting."

"It normally isn't like this," Kaltrina frowns, her eyes glancing around from left to right, high to low.

"I don't like the changes in energy either," Renji frowns, "it's unnerving. I can sense danger coming."

"Sorry," Shitau sighs and fidgets with his bracelets, "it's probably my anxiety..."

"That's a mood," Ayette says to break the following silence.

"Do you take anything seriously?" Dimitri scowls at Ayette.

"Yes, actually, I do," Ayette tilts her head to the side, "maybe if you'd get to know me better then you'd understand I tend to use sarcasm and humor when I shouldn't because I can't hold my tongue, even though I normally don't mean it."

"Whatever. I don't have time for this. Adrienne is in the area," Dimitri scowls, holding a compass in his right hand that gets multiple drops of water on it from the rain that's beginning to pour harder now.

"What on earth do you need a compass for?" Ayette raises a brow.

"It's to help us keep our sense of direction," Dimitri says.

"Okay, yeah, but--" Ayette starts.

"If Kione is with Adrienne, we'd potentially have even worse trouble. Adrienne may be Reaper, but Kione's gift is Psychosis. It's best to have a compass in order to ensure we don't lose our way," Dimitri interjects.

"How fitting," Nathan grumbles and rubs the sides of his arms.

"We could take 'em!" Ciana smiles wickedly and her eyes seem to light up with energy as she fist pumps the air in excitement.

"You really are a little flame, aren't you?" Renee chuckles, "I like it."

Ciana grins back at Renee and continues skipping along the road, dancing in the rain.

"Look," Aislinn says as she points ahead of us towards the edge of the town.

A feminine figure stands at the edge of town near the exit, her head down and her gaze facing the ground as rain soaks her jet black hair and her kimono-styled top and short black skirt.

"Adrienne," I breathe out as Reine summons her katana while multiple other summon their weapons as well, getting into defensive stances.

Adrienne slowly lifts her head up and when she does, her bright red eyes lock on to my hazel ones and she instantly reaches a hand up to her bun, pulling out a sai and throwing it swiftly in my direction, her hair falling down in the process. Reine immediately steps in the way and counters, the sai clashing against her katana and Reine takes off in a run towards Adrienne as I summon my katana.

"Melantha, Nathaniel, Ayette, Shitau, Aislinn, take the back!" Dimitri instructs, swinging his broadsword around, "Gabriel, Renji, and Kaltrina, take middle! Ciana and Renee, go front with me and Reine!"

We fall into our positions and I watch as Ciana, Renee, Dimitri, and Reine attack Adrienne while the rest of us stay in our defensive positions, waiting. I glance over at Renji and Kaltrina to see Renji holding a spear and shield while Kaltrina swings her katana around before holding it out with the blade pointed towards Adrienne and one of her feet back farther than the other, her arms raised in the air. I look back at Ciana and the others to see Ciana leap into the air, one fist raised behind her head as she closes in on Adrienne. Adrienne's eyes quickly flicker over to Ciana and she whirls out of the way, slashing a sai against Reine's katana as she does so, blocking her attack while evading Ciana. Ciana's fist collides with the ground, sending a shockwave of flames throughout the earth and ripping up cobblestone, sending pieces of debris flying.

Reine pulls one of her familiar looking cards out of the air and I watch in surprise as a glowing blue rune appears under Dimitri's feet and he closes his eyes, holding his left hand against the edge of his broadsword before his eyes immediately flicker open and he lunges forwards in an elegant path and pattern, cornering Adrienne with each swing and whirl as she struggles to block them, her teeth gritting together in anger and frustration. Meanwhile, Renee flips her dagger around in her hand and it suddenly glows bright white, a long glowing bright white rope of energy forming from the handle and attaching to it to form a whip. She lunges forwards and releases her whip, aiming for Adrienne's torso. The whip wraps around Adrienne and Renee pulls on it violently before she can even react, sending Adrienne twirling towards her.

Upon reaching Renee, Adrienne narrows her eyes and uses her momentum to jump up and kick off of Renee, sending her flying backwards and making her release her end of the whip. Renji's grip on his spear tightens and he watches the scene with calculating eyes as Adrienne removes the whip from around her and throws it to the ground. Renee scowls up at Adrienne from her position on the ground before her eyes flickering between where the whip is laying and Adrienne herself. Renee manages to stand up and run towards Adrienne as Adrienne comes at her and she slides under her legs, grabbing her whip and turning around sharply to throw the end of it at her again. Meanwhile, Ciana forms a rune of flames in the air and Dimitri jumps on it, his sword lighting up in flames as he leaps from the rune and flies through the air towards Adrienne, his sword pulled back. Adrienne's eyes widen and she goes to move but gasps in surprise when she can't, only to find that Reine summoned a star trap rune underneath her feet and I smile, proud of myself for recognizing that trick from practice.

Dimitri yells out as he sweeps to the side with his blade only for Adrienne to hold up her hands at the second of collision. A bright black and white blast goes off and sends Adrienne, Dimitri, Renee, Ciana, and Reine flying in different directions.

"Renee!" Renji shouts and worry seeps on to his face and he struggles on whether or not to break his position and go to her.

"Tsk," Kaltrina scoffs before she glances around the street and runs off to the left, jumping up and placing her katana sideways in her mouth before she grabs on to a street lamp with her hands and swings around it once before letting go and propelling herself forwards.

Kaltrina pulls her katana out from between her teeth and holds it up in the air above her head as she flies towards Adrienne. A slow and sly smile forms on Adrienne's lips as she watches Kaltrina come closer and closer by the second. Meanwhile, Dimitri grits his teeth as he crawls up from the ground, reaching for his broadsword in the process as he looks between Kaltrina and Adrienne.

"You're not going to be able to kill her!" Dimitri shouts from his position on the ground.

"I don't need to kill her!" Kaltrina shouts back as she swipes right passed Adrienne's head on purpose and Adrienne's eyes widen as Kaltrina whirls around sharply on her heels and grabs her from behind, "I just need to be able to touch her."

All of us watch in awe, aside from Shitau, who watches pridefully, as Adrienne struggles in Kaltrina's hold before she starts struggling less and less and eventually drops to her knees, her eyes nearly emotionless and her expression broken.

"No shit," Dimitri laughs out, "you're Harmony, aren't you?"

"You know it," Kaltrina smirks and Dimitri shakes his head, chuckling, "I'm able to give peace and I'm also able to completely and utterly strip it away until there's nothing left but dread and anguish."

"Well," Renee coughs as she climbs up from the ground and Renji runs up to her, putting his arm around her waist and supporting her, "that was fun. Now what do we do?"

"Now," Dimitri starts, "we interrogate her."