Chapter 352: The fight from within [3]
From the very moment that the match started, I kept my gaze leaving my eyes away from the sight that stood before me.
At least that was how it looked on the outside.
In reality, my attention was elsewhere.
....It was toward my mind.
'Where are you...?'
Within the darkness that was my conciseness, I looked around
statue planted within my mind.
'I know you're here somewhere.'
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GOT IT
It had always been there, secretly waiting for an opening to appear in my mind.
But it was an opening that it would never get. I was always cautious. Never once pushing myself to the point of utter mental exhaustion.
And this was even taking into account the fight with Caius.
As precarious as the situation was, I still remained cautious enough to protect my mind.
The effort paid off.
....The statue never looked for me.
But it was now my turn to look for it.
'Maybe I can help Leon this way.'
More than that, I was afraid the longer someone was under the influence of the statue, the more dangerous the situation was for them.
I couldn't waste any more time and pressed my hand over my arm.
'Sadness'
A wave of pain washed over my mind as my body jolted.
Breathing started to become more difficult, and my thoughts blurred.
And finally, the opening that the statue had been so desperately seeking, revealed itself. She didn't waste a single second and jumped at the opportunity as the darkness around me fluctuated as a pair of hands materialized from behind me, tightening around my body and holding me tight.
I felt a hot breath run down the back of my neck as the statue's face appeared right next to my shoulder, its hollow eyes turned to face my direction.
As I similarly turned my head to stare at it, the Angel greeted me with a smile
A smile that sunk me deep into the darkness.
*
The darkness felt cold.
Falling deep into it, it felt as though I was being suffocated.
Almost as if I was being dragged down into the deepest parts of the ocean.
My mind grew faint, and the deeper I fell, the more my ears started to pick up certain sounds. Such sounds only became louder the deeper I fell, and it wasn't long before I started to perfectly understand what was being said.
'Help....!'
'...I don't want to be here anymore.'
'Someone help me!'
They were pleas of help.
The desperation in their voices was palpable, and I shuddered upon hearing the voices.
I felt helpless.
I couldn't move, and I could hardly think properly as I sunk deeper into the darkness.
Thump!
Eventually, my feet came to a stop.
The darkness embraced me as I stood with my body raised upright. I tried to move my body, but the arms that coiled around my body refused to let go of me, leaving me completely and utterly helpless.
Krrr-
A sound akin to a stone grinding against another reached my ears.
At first, I was confused, but the moment I looked down, my heart sank as I saw my feet slowly turn into stone.
Drip...! Drip!
Blood trickled down into the darkness as I felt a sharp pain down my neck.
I was suddenly reminded of the vision I had previously seen at the start and held my emotions in check, forming locks as my mind cooled down.
...Let's get out of here.'
Though the hands that were gripping me were confusing my thoughts and mind, I didn't allow the statue to take hold of me without a plan. From the start, I was confident in getting out of whatever situation that I was in.
There was a reason why I chose to do what I did during the fight between Aoife and Leon.
The statue would be too busy to focus its attention on trying to keep me in check.
Cr Crack!
As expected, faint cracks began to appear on the stone hands that were gripping my body as my body squirmed in place.
I felt a sharp pain invade my mind.
A futile attempt from the statue to trying to seep deeper into my mind, but unlike before, I didn't let her in.
Cra Crack!
The statue exploited one's holes within the mind in order to infiltrate it and consume the
mind of its victim.
But my mind...
It had no holes.
Whatever holes it had, I had already sealed them.
And so...
Bang!
The hands shattered as I staggered forward, falling to the ground and pressing my hand down
to stop myself from falling face flat.
"Huek...!"
While the process had sounded easy, it still did leave me somewhat exhausted as my mind throbbed. Pushing the pain away, I looked back at the statue who looked back at me, its hand slowly starting to regenerate.
I didn't wait for it to completely regenerate before dashing toward the darkness.
'Help me...!'
'Someone!'
Wherever I passed, voices reached my ears. They pleaded and begged for me as they reached out for me, their faces stretching through the darkness in an attempt to reach for me.
I ignored everything and headed deeper into the darkness.
'I need to find her...'
Seeping into the Angel's world, I had a plan in mind. Its strength came directly from the victim it absorbed, and while I didn't know exactly what its plan was for sure, I had a feeling
that it involved the finals.
'.... It probably wants to send a message to the entire world.'
I recalled the chilling sight back in the vision after I used the second leaf, and I hurried my
steps. I needed to stop it now before it was too late.
If the statue managed to defeat Leon and absorb his power, then the situation would turn out
for the worse.
I couldn't allow for that scenario to happen.
Partially from the victims of the Angel's schemes, but also from what would happen to me.
Once the world found out what happened, I could already imagine Grimspire getting locked
down with its people being searched for potential 'possessions'.
If it ever came down to that, then my secret would be found.
After all...
I didn't come from this world.
Everything that I had built up would crumble down, and I'd probably get locked up
somewhere if not downright killed.
This...
I had no choice but to keep silent and resolve the situation.
I...
"....?"
Coming to a stop, I saw a faint light coming from the distance. It was bright and stood as a massive contrast to the darkness that embraced the entire world.
I was a little hesitant at first, thinking that it could very well be a trap, but upon seeing the
light become brighter and feeling a familiar feeling from it, I resolved my mind and moved in
its direction.
That was when I saw Evelyn and was able to make sense of the situation.
"Stop."
I grabbed her hand, stopping whatever she was doing.
Her eyes shook the moment I touched her hand, but I didn't let go and instead looked at Kiera
who was being engulfed by her own flames.
"Y-you..."
"Let her be. It'll do her more harm than good."
"What...?"
Seeing the confused look on Evelyn's face, I explained,
"The Angel is merely using her abilities to fight Leon. If we stop it now, the Angel will try to
take her powers with more force."
Though my mind was deep into the statue, a small part of my consciousness was still
connected to the outside world.
I could go out of this place whenever I wanted.
Though I couldn't see what was happening, I could still hear everything that was happening. I
knew what sort of trouble Leon was in.
"....Are you sure?" Evelyn appeared a little hesitant at first, but as I looked back into her eyes, she pressed her
lips together and pulled her hand away.
"Akhg! Fuck...!"
Kiera continued to scream, cursing from time to time, but we only watched in silence.
"F-fuck!"
Her cries were heart-wrenching, resounding deeply into the darkness, but I remained
unfazed. Looking toward Evelyn who had a hard time keeping her emotions in check, I began
asking her questions.
"How did you get here?"
"....Uh?"
She looked surprised by the fact that I was speaking to her at first but soon managed to
recover.
"I have my own means."
"What was your plan?"
"....To free everyone while the Angel is busy with the fight."
So we had the same idea...
"And you have a way to track everyone down?"
"I do."
Evelyn nodded quietly, opening up her palm to show a small projection where several dots
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appeared.
"This is..."
"You can call it a map. This dot over here is where we are whereas the dots scattered around
are where everyone else is."
"How do you manage to detect them?"
"....It's because of my element."
Evelyn's expression turned complicated as she looked at me. She mumbled something quietly
under her breath, faint enough for me to not understand before she continued with her
explanation,
"The Lightning element is the most effective element in detecting those that have been
possessed. By sending a quick pulse into their mind, I can shock their mind awake and clear it
for long enough to free them from whatever is controlling them."
"But what does that have to do with helping you detect them?"
"....Because we aren't in our physical forms."
Evelyn explained, fiddling with her hands as bolts of lightning crackled around it.
"Right now, we're all connected by a single mind..."
Raising her head, she looked up toward the void.
"...The mind of the Angel."
"Ah."
I started to get a better idea of what she was talking about.
"Does that mean that you can free everyone that is trapped?"
"In essence, yes."
Evelyn nodded truthfully.
"But...?"
"I'd need to get close enough to them first, and I can't be interrupted in the process."
"I see."
I nodded thoughtfully, thinking about her words. Since she had entered the mind of the statue
during a time when it couldn't fully focus on what was happening inside, Evelyn could get several people free without any interference. This was essentially the only time she could do it.
The plan was solid, but it didn't take into account the fact that the statue could use the powers
of those that it possessed.
My mind started to churn as I laid eyes on the map in Evelyn's hand.
As I did, a thought occurred to me.
"Do you have any idea where the Angel is?"
"You...!"
Evelyn's eyes widened upon realizing what I was planning.
"That-"
"We don't have time. I'll take the entire statue's attention while you free the others."
"But...!"
"We don't have time."
Evelyn pressed her lips together before eventually pointing toward a certain dot. I memorized
the exact direction before turning toward it.
Just as I was about to move, Evelyn's hand reached out for my shoulder.
I looked in her direction.
"What?"
".....Can I ask you something?"
Ask me something? I frowned. This was not the time for this. I was just about to tell her this
when her next words left me shook.
"Have we met before?"
"Uh...?"
Evelyn blinked her eyes, her head tilting as she repeated,
"Before you took Julien's body? Did we meet before?"
