Fall of the Spectrum

Chapter Thirty-Two

If not for the image of Astral she held in her mind, Gwen didn't know if she would have lasted as long as she had.

From the moment they arrived, the Spectrum had been nothing but noise and confusion. Within seconds, Forneus and Apollo had been forced to go on the defensive, interchanging between casting protective barriers and releasing bursts of magical energy to collide with incoming attacks. Seeing that Gwen was in good hands, Phenex and Asclepius had taken off, joining the First and Fifth units as they battled a pack of chimera being led by the same hydra they had seen back at Chikurin-ji Temple.

On the walkways above and below yet more battles raged, operatives locked in combat with monsters and outnumbered twenty to one. Even with the various entities lending their support from Mythos, Apophis's forces seemed to be winning.

Gwen had only just gotten her armour in place when Lucas appeared out of nowhere, scarlet energy crackling the length of both arms as he closed the distance between them. She pulled an ethereal blade from her hip, intending to fend him off when a series of bright sparks erupted in front of her, blindingly white as they rained down on Lucas.

Lucas jumped back, lip curling in a snarl as he lashed out with his fists, the scarlet energy emanating from his hands cancelling out Forneus's photon arts. Gwen blinked away the last of the specks dancing in her vision in time to bring her blade to bear on Lucas's exposed side, but only just enough to graze it before he deked out of range.

He looked at the thin gash running along his ribs, the blood welling up and staining the torn edges of his grey shirt before vanishing.

How did he heal so quickly? Gwen wondered, holding the blade so that it ran parallel with her forearm, facing outward.

"Courtesy of Reeves," Lucas said in answer. "Well, courtesy of the power boost given to him by the new moon, at any rate," he amended with a shrug.

Gwen was startled momentarily until she remembered that he could read minds, her grip on the blade's hilt tightening. She considered pointing out that for someone who thought so little of Reeves, he seemed happy enough to take advantage of the power given to him, when Lucas lunged forward, not giving her the chance.

She slashed outward with the blade, managing another shallow cut, this time tearing through the sleeve of his coat, only to have him bring his elbow down and knock the blade from her hand.

"You should be careful what you say," he told her, his voice quiet. "Or in this case, what you think. Yes, Reeves is more powerful than I—but that doesn't make me his puppet. The sooner you get that through your head, the better."

His next blow likely would have sent her sprawling over the edge of the walkway if not for the ethereal armour. More than a dozen colourful tendrils snapped out from her arms, striking at Lucas like energy whips and coiling around his wrists and ankles. Gwen seized her chance, focusing on the tendrils and willing them to extend far enough so that she could feel around for the blade she'd lost. Dropping down to her knees when she spotted it barely an arm's length from her, she slowly edged toward it, keeping her gaze locked on Lucas the whole time.

"Release me, or you will learn what it truly means to suffer," he ground out, fighting against the ether binding him.

"I've already been there," Gwen muttered, willing more of her energy into the armour in the hopes it would drain his power faster. She had already seen what Lucas was capable of, how he could override the armour's defensive capabilities—and that had been before Reeves' little energy boost. The longer he remained standing, the higher the risk of him turning the tables on her. If she was going to put a stop to him, she had to act fast.