ハ-モニクス (Harmonics) - Discontinued

CHAPTER TWELVE

Haru could already feel his sanity leaving him. It had only been over a week but being in a city of this size that almost seemed abandoned was causing quite a strain on his brain. Apart from that, their lie of him being an angel hadn't come into question but he had had minor hiccups with the other knights; pretending to be an angel around actual angels was quite easy for the most part when no one really had time to stop and suspect him of anything. Kirin and Lord Order had both been on his case about succeeding as Celes' master, both to which he refused but as time went by more of the gods started bombarding him.

A few days ago, a huge sect of the guardian knights left the holy city to join forces elsewhere and being the key artifact, Celes was remained locked inside Izanawa tower along with he and Chitoge. Order would make occasional check-ups on them but most of his time would be spent trying to coax Haru into letting lordship of Celes go.

Apart from all that, the food here was just so... bland. It was always just some kind of fruit. No meat, fish, rice balls with bean paste or anything. Everything they ate here was picked from trees, washed and then styled into ornamental pieces.

He sighed as he looked down at his platter of peeled apple slices and papaya not feeling too hungry. He had been picking at it for the past several minutes but up to know did not take a single bite. 

"Are you not well, Mr. Otonashi?" Chitoge was seated across from him at the lengthy table still wearing her night robes. Celes was kept in the upper part of the tower, locked in a safe room whenever Order wasn't present in the castle leaving him with no choice but to spend an absurd amount of time with Chitoge.

He positioned himself upright and dropped his fork. "I think I'm starting to miss my old home."

Chitoge looked at him worried. "The holy city isn't much of a sight right now, I agree. But I'm pretty sure Lord Order wouldn't allow either of us to leave whether we wanted to or not."

Haru grimaced. "But why would he want to keep Celes here? We were perfectly fine where we were."

The girl sipped from her goblet before answering him. "Lady Celes would be a much easier target in your world since her divine protection doesn't work there and Lord Order deems it necessary that he has first-hand knowledge of her well being."

"I still can't say that makes me feel any better."

Chitoge was about to speak but a huge boom from outside interrupted her before her mouth could open.

"What was that?"

Haru stood up and moved to look out the window. There didn't seem to be much happening at first but he quickly made out the small party of knights dashing through the courtyard and into their tower with Order following close behind them. In the distance at the walls he thought he saw something that looked awfully a lot like smoke.

Chitoge was by his side shortly and her expression changed immediately. Haru was still a bit lost but she grabbed his arm and started sprinting towards the stair well leading up to the top of the tower.

"What's happening?"

"Paladins."

There are several more explosions in the distance followed by a chaotic roar sending shivers down his spine. The noise slowly but steadily grows closer and the two hasten their steps to reach Celes.

Haru was moving a lot faster than Chitoge was but he came to an abrupt stop when a massive shock wave sent him flying into the opposite wall. He heard Chitoge scream his name but his attention was fully absorbed by the giant hand receding into the hole in the wall. He saw Chitoge running towards him but as if by instinct, he dived, tackling her to the ground just in time to miss another hand. He did his best to shield her with his body from the falling debris only to come face to face with a giant, lifeless eye. The monster stared at him for a full second before it screeched a loud call and sent another fist flying into the wall. This time, Chitoge raised her arms, creating a pink circle in front of herself that blocked most of the impact but still sent her crashing into the wall, knocking her unconscious almost immediately.

Haru was still feeling the impact from the last hit but he had to get whatever that thing was away from the girl. His first thought was to jump outside but a fall from this height would definitely kill him so he resorted to the next best thing. He ran to the edge of the gaping hole and stuck his head out, regretting that action instantly. There it was. A giant humanoid being covered in what looked to be mud and animal fur. Its dried gray hair covered a good deal of its face and it had maybe hundreds of crooked teeth that harbored what looked to be rotten flesh between them. He felt like vomiting just at the sent the thing expelled.

"Hey, ugly!" He screamed at the thing which did get its attention away from the unconscious Chitoge but he hadn't actually thought this through. The giant raised one of its arms and sent it sailing towards him. The boy cocked his head to the left and dived just in the nick of time to save himself from becoming a pancake. A second swing was coming and he quickly realized he wouldn't have time to dodge this attack.

There is a loud clash and he looked up to see Order with both hands up, pushing back the full strength of the giant. "Get them out of here!"

The mans words soar through Haru's mind and he swiftly goes over to retrieve Chitoge from the ground before continuing their ascent. Through loud explosions, he finally managed to reach Celes' holding chamber and basically beat down the door to get inside.

As soon as he enters, he's greeted by the sight of three men sprawled on the floor and Celes breathing hard. He rests Chitoge on the bed and immediately goes to check on the goddess.

"Are you okay?" He took a look at her hands and almost collapsed from the heat she was giving off but he bore through it. "Come on, let's go."

Celes said nothing and helped him get Chitoge on his back before heading to the lower floor to where Order had informed them an emergency hatch was. Celes was looking more fatigued as they went but there was no possible way he'd be able to carry both of them if she collapsed right now. They make their way down the stairs with no problem and find the heavy metal door that lead to their escape.

Still carrying the unconscious priestess, Haru summoned whatever strength he had left to get the door open, revealing nothing but a dark moving void. The thing was a portal that resembled a starry night sky but there was no time to stop and admire such a thing.

"Go on, I'm right behind you." He pulled Chitoge upwards to get a good grip on her before moving to one side so Celes could go through. She hesitates for a moment but goes in. Haru quickly moves off but is obstructed by yet another explosion that broke through the wall behind him, dispersing flames in every direction. Just before he could get inside the portal, he feels a huge burst of pain overwhelm his body before he fell through.

Kinda wrote this in a rush but I really wanted to update as often as I can without straying away from the story. I'll be starting Chapter Thirteen but I'm not sure I'll get to publish it today or even tomorrow for that matter. However, I really want to get into this so please let me know what you guys think!