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Soul's Requiem: B1 - 18. Reunited
🕑 Added 2021-12-19 12:36:00 +0000 UTC1: Clover Emberfield
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“Listen up, Rassi Fodder. You’re new to the Void, so I’ll be nice. It doesn’t matter if you owned anything here or not before you were sucked into this wasteland. Everything here is the Ice Empress’. If you resist, you will be restrained. If you talk back, you will be beaten. Her Majesty is kind, though…understanding. So, all those who choose to remain behind will be left with 10% of what we collect. Nod if you understand.” - Captain Forest, Expedition Leader, The Lost Diaries, Vol. VII
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Thunder rolled across Hollow Veil as Clover dashed through the downpour, a tinted purple gleam reflecting from the violet heavens. Pathing between the unsuspecting citizens, she passed through the heavy rain like a bullet.
Faster. I’m too slow.
The distance between Melissa and her came into focus as the mentally-connected Soul Gear automatically adapted to her desires, drawing the swiftest route given Clover’s own knowledge of her abilities. Her jaw tightened when the image appeared; the blonde was much further than she thought.
Faster…
“Eh—how was that—did it work?” Lily asked, a little distracted while fiddling with her device. “A few Class-2 spirit users nearby have been dispatched to support you, but I doubt they’ll get there in time.”
A bright teal and lilac glow radiated around the umbrella as she recalled it, welcoming the rain; maximizing her speed would save her at least a minute.
“Yes, it worked,” Clover briskly replied, and it seemed it didn’t matter how much noise was around since it was transmitted through her mental desire to relay information, filtering her thoughts to be sent through her earrings. “I’ll be there in four minutes.”
Jumping as high as she could, she used her energy to stay in the air and follow it with two more leaps, making it on top of a five-story building; it was the first time she’d tried using it as a platform rather than simply hovering.
Her bound silver hair was already soaked, trailing behind due to her swift momentum; the earrings adapted to Lily’s data and what she could see around her. It flattened to project a three-dimensional grid of where she needed to land, zooming in and moving Lily’s video to the bottom left of the mental 3D image.
She spotted the underbelly of an open heating unit on the facility and slipped the damp folder into the hole while passing; Melissa came first.
Bounding over the roof’s edge, her right boot landed on the side of the following structure’s wall to carry her twenty more feet to a telephone pole. Kicking off, she smoothly landed on the pavement to continue down the avenue.
The world of falling tears slowed as her mind focused, liquid colliding against her body like she was running through a pool; she had the strength to push through, but the resistance annoyed her.
I could go so much faster…
Her clothes repelling the water kept Clover light, but that wasn’t the case for her hair and skin. Despite the hail of droplets assaulting the city, her serpent-like irises weren’t impeded by the rain.
Using a nearby wall to keep her momentum, she felt the heavy impact against her legs, yet managed to keep herself stable; there was a sharp decline in the state of the buildings as she made it to the next road—a straightaway leading east to west.
Similar to Hollow Veil’s northwest, there seemed to be a lot of factories and businesses in this area; contrary to the newly built section, this was disorderly and practically abandoned.
Clover’s attention darted to the image beside Lily as Yumi called; connecting to the woman, she kept the two separate. If she was to bring the various parties together, it wouldn’t be through a phone call. Becoming more accustomed to how the mental device worked, she projected her thoughts to be translated to the designer.
A Class-2 transevil showed up, and Melissa may be in danger.
Yumi’s happy smile sobered. “Unfortunate. Sorry to bother you; I’ll get all the data I can while I still have your weapon.”
You have roughly three minutes with it.
“Got it!”
The transmission ended as the woman centered on her task with what time she had.
Lily’s confused brown eyes squinted to get a better look at her through the downpour collapsing around her. “Mmh—a drone’s been redirected to scan that area; I’m sending you the data on the targets.”
The 3D image tilted to show red pings of where the hovering devices had picked up various transevil locations around the facility from the last signals of Melissa’s transmitter; there were over thirty, but all of them showed as Class-1 by the energy signatures.
If the information was correct, she’d make it before the Class-2; the beast was speeding up, though. Her still heart quickened as Lily went over what to expect, but the drone couldn’t stay in the area for long in the storm; she was trying to get a satellite, but none seemed to be available.
Clover smiled; the girl’s voice was becoming aggravated. “Lily, relax. Update me if there’s anything else; I’m almost at the site.”
“Rosa—the drone went offline!” she growled, likely pushing it too far in the storm and increasing Great Void gusts. “I might get a satellite soon, but—it’s crazy you can still connect to the network in that area.”
In all honesty, Tamara’s gift proved far more helpful than she first thought, and Clover could see why Ronan would be jealous. “We can talk about it later—I’m about to enter combat.”
“Okay—good luck, Clover! Umm, I’ll only call if there’s something important, but expect the Class-2 soon; it slowed a bit, and without the drone, I can’t track it.”
Lily ended the transmission, leaving Clover to scan the abandoned drilling zone; now that she could focus on the task at hand, she shaved off twenty more seconds, making it to her destination.
Tongue sliding out to sample the sudden gale that carried the scent of transevil, a hum touched Clover’s throat—this taste was divine—she could distinctly differentiate between the rain and intoxicating energy, and the Viper Blade emerged from a pulse of light in response, her fingers closing around the grip.
Her full lips curved as she leaped over a rusted, four-meter-tall chain-link fence, noticing the damage done to several sections; shadows frothed up from around the entrance to take the form of four Class-0 spider-like transevil, with a single, large eye as its body, and two Class-1 wolves.
Whipping her chain weapon around, it shot forward, biting into the dirt to rip up the earth and cleave three of the lesser opponents in two before she touched down.
The remaining didn’t make it a meter in her direction; Clover used her energy to pivot and spin in the air, sending her extended blade at the remaining three—sweet nectar tickled the back of her tongue—they were ripped apart in an instant.
Weapon returned to its previous state; she proceeded, taking a deep breath, and her vision narrowed, goosebumps tickling her arms. Her heels seemed unimpeded because of the SF and VF her outfit consisted of, and her focus wandered between the devastated zone.
Melissa, a child, and… what are the chances I smell my own energy here? Shion, what is your real goal?
She paused upon reaching the lifeless transevil; twelve more were dead leading up to the facility entrance. Melissa’s lingering Spirit Force was in the area—it seemed she’d battled quite the force, but it was to rescue a group.
Melissa… Why are you acting alone? Right arm rising, she sniffed her wrist. Clearly, it’s the same smell as my SF… My Soul-Spirit is with Melissa… Why?
A passing thought of Yumi’s explanation on storage came to mind, and, desiring to draw in anything close by, she continued along Melissa’s path; a vortex of lavender and teal colors turned the bodies of the dead transevil into mist to be absorbed as she passed. Unknown items swirled within a seemingly fathomless pit inside her breast to join the umbrella; the taste was sublime compared to the appetizer of cutting the fiends.
“Mmgm…”
So, once they’re dead, the protective force resisting my pull is gone. If I become strong enough, can I do it to lower-tier transevil, even if they’re alive?
Putting the thought in the back of her mind and keeping her senses sharp, Clover’s glowing ocean eyes drifted between the carnage inside the factory’s ravaged storage area.
Blade lashing out, she destroyed the lingering four-legged shadow spiders, passing between the half-eaten corpses of men and women; Melissa only got here in time to save one person by the scent trail.
Judging by the carts and backpacks, these were scavengers going into dangerous zones to look for items to sell; they flipped the coin and met misfortune.
Why am I hesitating now… Clover’s left hand lifted to stare at her trembling arm. Is it because of the Soul-Spirit? Why is it with Melissa? No, I first need to make sure she’s safe—she isn’t far…
Whipping the rain from her brow, she absorbed half of the transevil in her passing, darting through a hole in the back wall to follow the line of monster corpses; she could only draw in a small part of the harvest at her speed, but nonetheless, every bit counted, creating a swirl of mist behind her.
Clover’s gaze darted to the right as she entered another building; five Class-1 wolves were leaping through a broken window to pursue the blonde and the child she protected. Flicking her wrist, the Viper Blade cut a path open for her to barrel through the falling bricks and steel pipes.
It didn’t take long for her to catch up to the beasts, edge sliding through two on her passing, outpacing the creatures. Snarls came from the other three as she jumped into the air, entering the second floor of a half-decayed structure after whipping her weapon to eviscerate the remainder.
“C-Clover?” Melissa gasped as she landed beside the woman’s golden barrier, sword slicing a wolf’s head in two, who was in a mid lunge to assault the blonde.
Her serpent eyes coasted between the piles of Class-0 and Class-1 transevil the woman had used as a barrier against the doors and stairs; Clover settled on the ghost-like lilac-colored girl floating inside the shell.
“Slow… As usual,” the child sniffed.
Melissa’s barrier dropped, darting forward, arms open to embrace her. “Clover! I-I can’t believe you made it here so fast! I—”
Repositioning her sword to allow the woman’s arms to close around her back, she could feel her hot skin, pounding heart, and ragged breathing as her chest pressed against hers. “A Class-2 is coming; I need to get you back to town.”
It was clear that Melissa had no clue the ghost was following her as her focus glanced right over the hovering figure to center on a collapsed ten-year-old girl passed out on the wooden floorboards. “I could only save her—any longer, and I’d be out of Soul Force…”
Her Soul-Spirit sighed, eyes closing before shaking her head. “Fools.”
Ice flooded Clover’s veins as a sinister presence erupted to her right. “Melissa!” she shouted, twisting her wrist to send the extended blade at the wall to her right; ripping steel and splintered wood exploded inward.
Clover’s lips parted in disbelief as her weapon struck a white-furred wolf the size of a truck, only cutting a small gash before being deflected by its strong protective shield.
Melissa dove atop the small girl, a golden barrier enclosing them, but in the slow-moving flying rubble, Clover saw its target in shock—its jaws closed around the dull-faced ghost. Time returned to normal as its powerful arm ripped up the floor to smack her to the side; whip-like blade still returning, she held up the weapon to feel the heavy blow.
Jumping back lessened the hit, but she was sent flying through the open wall to tumble across the muddy ground, water and earth spraying around her.
Finding purchase, she flipped back up, coming to a stop to wipe the grime from her face; blue light lit her features, surrounded by hints of amethyst as the falling water becoming ice—she launched forward, yet she was too late. The Class-2 Transvil lifted its neck and swallowed her dull-eyed Soul-Spirit.
Her nose twisted, skating forward to sword tip striking the wolves elongated, bottom violet-colored gem-like eye; a small crack appeared in the socket, but her momentum was gone, and her attack faded. Really?!
It pushed her sword away with its head, inky drool falling from its mouth to mix with the rain before it opened its nasty mouth in an attempt to bite her in half. Using her energy to create a platform in the air, she kicked off, twisting to kick its twitching nose and sending it tumbling to the side.
Rosa! The difference between Class-1 and 2 is insane; they aren’t even in the same realm!
Two eyes on either side of its head and limbs, colossal gemmed claws, a spiked back, and hosting a giant horn, it was far more intimidating than the other wolves she’d seen—excluding the Class-3—and judging by its glowing organs, the monster could see through them.
Touching dirt, she dashed back as it went on the offensive, lunging to cut her in half. Dancing around its bulky yet fast swipes, she studied the evolving situation.
Her Soul-Spirit was gone, more transevil were swarming, and Melissa struggled to push the fallen wood and stone off herself; the little girl was beneath her, forcing the woman to keep the weight atop her in check to not crush the child.
At least she’s okay… Now, I need to cut open this thing to get my Soul-Spirit back…
“Ugh…”
Clover dodged a shimmering beam of purple energy that shot out of the curved horn on its head. It wasn’t difficult to slide around its telegraphed attacks, but each blitz she made only left a tiny gash, so she turned her attention to the horn, eyes, shoulders, and hind leg gems; there had to be a weakness.
She could sense a cloak of hardened force around him that she assumed was Super Armor, forcing her to recall what Yumi had explained about the phenomenon. Armor and Super Armor were why she and Melissa weren’t mangled corpses right now—the human girl wasn’t so durable.
Positioning herself a bit away from the charging wolf, Clover slid under its front paw as it pursued, not giving her breathing room; she swapped directions, using her energy to find purchase, dodging its lashing tail as it gave chase.
A small opening appeared, giving her a chance to kick it back and spin to throw out her whip-blade, clearing away a good chunk of the stone and wood Melissa toiled with, freeing them.
However, the distance gave the transevil time to spit out a large glob of black goo that formed into two Class-1 wolves, who jumped away to circle her, and the pools its drool left generated Class-0 four-legged spider-eyes.
“So, you’re why there are so many transevil showing up in the area,” Clover growled, moving with the Class-2 as it tried to position her in a way to attack Melissa and the girl.
Taking a deep breath, she rolled around her neck and licked her lips, smiling while sampling a hint of the dirt mixed with the Desire Force—she was glad her Soul-Spirit gave it a name when they first met—it was far more appealing than Spirit Force.
Melissa seemed to trust her, focusing on healing the girl who sustained injuries from the collapsing building, despite the blonde’s protection.
The beast snarled, throwing out more Class-1 wolves to sneak around and attack Melissa.
Clover laughed, trying to encourage the blonde and child. “Heh, do you really think these weak things can do anything but feed my appetite?”
More wolves spawned out of various shadows in the area to join the pack, making fifteen Class-1 and eleven Class-0; the transevil roared, making Clover’s heart pump as it shot forward. The others were much slower to enter a pincer formation, with their leader running down the center.
Let’s dance…
An ominous aura surrounded her, thrusting the force forward to generate a sizable ghostly serpent that dove forward to meet the wolf, freezing the ground and falling rain to create a flurry of snow.
Leaping back, Gelid Adder met the beast; a large chunk of its protective shell was stripped away as its body frosted over, locking it into a prison of ice.
A haze of azure and lavender hues continued to surround her as she channeled the instinctual skills in her arsenal—whip-sword generating a vortex on the pack to her right—water and mud twisted with the cycling air, tiny blades of force ripping the monsters to shreds to feed the pulse in her veins.
Her segmented blade spun around Clover while the arctic squall whipped her bound hair. Hovering in the air, she kicked off to land among the last group of hounds, sword awhirl as it passed through the wolves and spiders, not leaving a single one standing in seconds of the assault.
The Class-2 was breaking out of the prison, but her sword was already back in form; she blurred, gliding in a swift thrust.
It broke through the ice, a beam of violet light shooting out of the transevil’s horn to intercept her, but Clover’s aura cut through the ray to meet its spike, shattering it with the rest of the beast’s Super Armor while soaring over the creature’s head.
Flipping around in the air as it howled, she stopped her progress and launched back, biting into its side to draw a spray of inky blood. It tried to jump away, and Clover was happy to oblige, spinning to sink her heel into its side.
It gagged, tumbling twelve meters to the left to smash through a fence; its Armor and Super Armor had been significantly weakened from Gelid Adder’s properties, and without its horn, she wasn’t so worried about a surprise attack on Melissa.
“He-he-he,” Clover laughed, spinning her blade around in the falling snow as the pair watched her advance on the stumbling transevil. “Should I cut you up piece by piece to savor the flavor? You weren’t so tough, after all.”
The beast hacked from the blow to its side, and to Clover’s amusement, a spray of black liquid erupted from its mouth to reveal a somewhat unsettled ghost child. “Perfect… Hmm? Really…”
She groaned as the wolf sank into the shadows. Clover threw out her whip-blade to cut through the dark ground, but to her disappointment, only mud was kicked up. Is it still nearby… No, I can’t smell it; I need to figure out how to counter that escape route.
She puffed out a long stream of air, copying Melissa’s curse. “Void-niblits.”
As if on cue, Lily called, but she let it go on for a moment, stopping beside her indignant Soul-Spirit as the ghost gave her a dull, dirty look. “What? I got you out,” Clover grunted, turning to scan the ruined field. “What a mess.”
“You have no idea—once a fool, always a fool—no awareness,” the child sniffed, rising into the air before brushing off her tattered cloak as if it were a delicate ballroom dress. “Humph. At least you didn’t leave me again… Although, you are as slow as ever.”
“I believe that’s rather uncalled for,” Clover returned, glaring at her Soul-Spirit. “What do we do from here?”
The girl released a reluctant, aggravated sigh and looked away. “I suppose it can’t be helped…”
She held out a hand, and her expression told Clover to do the same.
Trusting the information she’d received thus far, Clover accepted the offer, and the child touched her fingers; immediately, a lilac pillar of energy surrounded them, shooting into the heavens as an incredible, all-encompassing force embraced her.
Clover gasped, left hand rising to see the Viper Blade illuminate with her outfit, a white, gold, and silver coat coming into existence. Most of the cuts in her clothing knitted together, ice rushed through her vein, and her Soul-Spirit was gone.
“C-Clover—that’s…” Melissa trailed off, wide-eyed, carrying the child in her arms.
Lily came into focus on her right as she passively answered the girl’s call, broadcasting it so Melissa could hear her operator squealing in delight. “Hysteria! The satellite just confirmed it! You’re in Hysteria!”
Clover smirked, looking down at her overflowing azure aura that sharpened her focus and senses; it was as if she could slow the motion of everything around her. “Cool—although, I don’t feel rather hysterical—more like I could cut that Class-2 in half with a flick of my wrist.”
Melissa shook her head, eyes sparkling. “No, no—it’s what we call it when a Class-3 spirit ruler can temporarily branch into Class-4; it proves you’re at least a base Class-3!”
A soft voice entered her mind—her own voice. “You promised…”
Right… That… I’d never abandon you again… But what does that mean?
She didn’t get an answer, and after a minute of the overflowing force, it diminished; still, she was growing, and it only reinforced her desire to consume Desire Force—she was a predator, and they, the prey.
Now, it was time to take Melissa and the child to Hollow Veil before returning to the hunt.
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Comments
Falxie
Oh I like where this is going:3
