I stash away my phone and look at the many bodies before me. Remaining outside of an Eidolons effective range is vital here. Should I save Nathan now? He may just become ensnared again.
As such, I allow bloody tendrils to grow beside him and push. Pushing him further and further, until he lies before me. It had been quite some time since I had used this incantation, but it should allow me to understand his situation.
My teeth sink into him after an incantation, and I close my eyes. A new vision is given to me. Inside it is an unrealistically beautiful scene of nature, with various kinds of flora and fauna coexisting. There seems to be a discussion between Nathan and someone.
This seems like a form of dream manipulation. So this Eidolon traps people in a sleeping state and then modifies their dreams in this unusual way. This doesn't just seem like a dream of Nathan's that is modified to the will of the Eidolon, but rather a vast world that only exists in the collective dreams of the people. And the god of this world would be the Eidolon.
With the situation established, I open my eyes again to reality. Within minutes Mary arrives, and after a brief discussion, we decide on how we will be able to save them this once. I have to be very careful due to a risk of corruption.
Together, we proceed with the plan.
[…]
Elizabeth grabs me by the arm and drags me out of this paradise. The memories I've been able to regain fade once more. My experiences in this realm are as such filled with blanks. This time it hurts much more than before, because this time I actually am aware of what I lost and the importance behind it.
Instead of bright colors and warm environments, I am again thrown into the desaturated and coldness of Iphte-houp. A familiar smell fills my lungs again. This beautifully dreadful smog.
Besides Elizabeth, there is also Mary waiting for me. Whilst neither showed it openly, it was evident that both were somewhat upset with me; Mary more so than Elizabeth.
It was then, at this moment, when my phone vibrated. I looked at it to see some missed calls and some sent messages by Sylphara asking for help since Revenant likely has chalk on him. Well, he isn't here right now, but I have chalk myself. They seem to be in trouble. Well, in the meantime, I will ask Revenant anyway.
I ring his number but end up with voicemail. Since Sylphara, a Link 4, is asking for help from Revenant, I assume that this isn't going to be the easiest encounter to manage. If I were to convince Elizabeth and Mary, though, my chances would be far better. Sylphara is a valuable contact, and having someone be indebted to me instead of the other way around would feel pretty great. So I look up from my.
"Hey, both of you, sorry about this, first of all, but moving past it, would you be willing to help me out for a little battle?"
"No, Nathan. You've been asking me for a lot lately, and I don't see you paying it back in any way, shape or form." Mary responded.
And Elizabeth was also more hesitant than usual.
"I have been running low on macarons recently, and besides Ferrous Sovereign, it has not been paying off. I'm sorry, I can only give you the remaining macarons I have for this."
She then handed me a small assortment of macarons. Afterwards Mary also hands me something: an octahedral die. There is an assortment of different images on each face, each of them cryptic and hard to decipher.
"It's a gift from Calypso, who wanted me to give you this when you're about to be reckless."
"Calypso?"
"He made this Sin Equipment himself. I wouldn't know why, since I doubt someone about to reach Link 6 would rely on dumb luck to make it through a fight."
Actually, given that he likes forms of gambling like horse racing, I don't doubt it as much. Still, deciding a battle on a coin toss can work anytime, but statistically speaking, you will eventually flip tails and perish as a result. Looking at the die, though, I don't think that the sides have a strength level as they aren't numbered, instead each being a different effect. Its function is likely to conjure a helpful effect, and to improve the power of the effect, you take the cost of it being random.
Since Calypso made this himself, he can make more of it, so what would stop him from rolling a whole bunch at a time? Certainly not monetary issues.
In the meantime I had already been drawing the circle with my chalk.
"Mary, I'll see you back at your house then, and Lis, I'm sure we'll meet again some day. Oh, and I would appreciate it if you could actually think of ways for me to pay you back for our mutual exploitation agreement called friendship."
The symbols used for this location are actually quite small, but they look unique enough. It might be something that can be written quickly for either escaping a dire situation or for SOS calls like these. Sure enough, I finish the circle quickly, but before I step inside, I will take some precautions by casting my Tengu Call before heading inside.
Actually proving myself to others is definitely long overdue. I know that I am still someone of low Link and could be swept up by almost any other hunter, but I want to contribute to battles and actually grow. With none of my contacts joining me, I get the situation I should have always strived for. A situation where I am left on my lonesome to fend for myself.
And so, I step through.
The scene is utter chaos. I had to make sure that I wasn't just snapped by Calypso again, but no, what I see before me is real. The entire world is seen through a film that changes color, from yellow, to blue, red, and green. It feels like a disco, given that there is also hardstyle blasting through the hollow streets, which is surprisingly good at drowning out the sounds of bloody warfare. Worse yet, a deep and strong snowstorm prevents me from seeing jack shit. Luckily I can see familiar faces to the side of me. Sylphara and Apollo.
"I was caught up with an Eidolon, but I'm here now; what's the situation?"
"Where the fuck is Revenant?"
"Uhh, he's busy and can't be here. It's only me."
Sylphara's eyes go wide in response.
"Ah shit, we're fucked then. A Link 3 nerd like you can't help a granny across the street, let alone participate in a battle against big hunters."
"Then what about the Link 2 guy with you that I've just noticed is missing an arm?"
"The fuck you think? He got almost turned into a fine meat paste by that high and mighty fucker! The reason he's fighting is because that's his only damn job."
"Yeah, okay, calm down. What is the situation like?"
"Two psychos. Both Link 4. One is a psycho disco bitch, and the other one is some prick who thinks he's on top of the world but hides like a pussy."
A sickening crunch follows that sentence as someone digs their hand into the back of Apollo, and with another equally terrifying sound, his spine is removed from his body, alongside some ribs and vital organs attached to it. The individual drops the gore to the ground and shakes off the blood from what looks like a gauntlet intended to be used as some sort of claw, with blades on the insides of the fingers and very pointy fingertips.
This individual steps into our view whilst bopping her head to the music.
She is a shorter and younger person, probably just above 5ft tall and 20 years old. She has hip-length and messy neon pink hair, which seems to be outlined in neon green due to some form of corruption. The hair also seems to be tied into two triangular buns, and she has an ahoge. She has unnaturally large eyes with neon pink and green blending together in the irises and the pupil not being circular-shaped. She has a spiked black collar and some piercings on her ears. Wearing a loose black shirt with cut-outs and fishnet stockings that reach just above her knees, she also has alternating pink and green for her nails and slightly tanned skin. At times the colors switch from pink to blue and green to yellow. Her entire form is also outlined in weird shapes and doodles, as if she came out of a cartoon. It also seems to be the case that she is the one responsible for making the entire battlefield look like a disco. Lastly, her expression is either a smile with a piercing gaze that only crazy serial killers could have or an over-the-top innocent or cute expression, similarly unsettling.
"Who do you think you're calling a psycho bitch? You don't even have the gall to tell it to my face, or do you? No wonder you don't have a boyfriend. I kind of pity you, honestly."
Sylphara is quick to swing her anchor in a wide arch to catch a retreat, but this girl jumps back onto her hands to dodge under, then pushes herself off with her feet and then her arms to jump into the air and twirl back.
"Also, nice to meet you, fresh meat. I'm Pequ Asea, your super-duper deadly cutie. I hope you won't be too mad at my boyfriend."
I have a bad feeling about her choice of words, so I activate my Thassular Relic and spot someone formless approaching through sound. With my incantation, I do manage to parry a blade unseen.
"Ooh~ you managed to parry it? Come on, Honeybun, at least give him the honor of knowing his killer."
Shortly after Pequ saying that, someone appears in front of me. This man holds a stern expression with piercing brown eyes. His black hair is tied into a topknot with a traditional Chinese hairpin, then flows down as a ponytail until reaching halfway down his back. He wears a traditional silken hanfu in jade colors adorned with lotuses. Wind dances behind him like an afterimage, likely a sign of corruption, though more mild than with the other person. He uses a silver Tai Chi sword.
"Fang Guanyu. I would commend you for your skill should you actually possess some, but it seems that people nowadays can only live off of incantations and Eidolon to survive. A shame, really."
"I might as well introduce myself as well. I'm Nathan Verren, a Link 3 Eidolon Hunter."
Fang and Pequ both widen their smirks as they hear me saying 'Link 3,' which is understandable. I essentially told them that they I am inferior to both of them, and that they can place most of their attention on Sylphara.
Actually, something about Fang feels familiar for some reason, but I can't place it. Not in a kind of having forgotten this familiar, but they remind me of someone very vaguely. Can't put my finger on it.
Pequ takes off her gauntlet and looks at Fang with a sour expression.
"Hey, Honeybun, why did you have to give me this Sin Equipment? It's so heavy and gross, it doesn't fit a girl like me."
Fang sighs deeply before responding.
"Pequ, we talked about this already."
"Are you proposing that I have a bad memory? Fuck you. Of course I know why you wanted me to have this, but I still don't like it."
"I'll find you a better weapon after this battle. Sound good?"
"Alright, but it better look as pretty as me, you hear?"
Fang pinches his nose bridge in pain that cannot be described in words. I decide to cut in.
"You two don't really look like the people I would expect to be together."
It's true. Fang looks like a disciplined and clear-headed martial fighter, whilst Pequ looks like someone you're taught not to date. Besides, whilst Pequ uses 'Honeybun' to address Fang, he only refers to her using her name. Obviously my insinuation would piss off Pequ, but I don't really care.
"Ugh, excuse me!? I mean, duh, obviously we aren't, like, soulmates or anything, but you're just being an ass about it, you know that? The real reason we're together is cuz I'm a lonely gal, and I've had so many men that only people like this guy can actually keep me satisfied in bed."
"I… didn't need to know that."
"Then why did you fucking ask? That's why I hate men like you. You're probably just jealous since you don't even have half as many inches."
"Hey, Fang, what is your reason for this?"
"I have my reasons; don't ask."
A moment of relative silence stretches across. After this short moment, Pequ drifts into the snowstorm again, and Fang goes invisible.
The music picks up and the battlefield around me flashes. It is so loud, in fact, that I cannot even hear my own voice in my head anymore. My Thassular Relic seems to not be able to handle this particularly, which leaves me vulnerable to Fang.
I still have an image of the area in my head from when I still was able to use it, so I use my inline skates and start to climb up a destroyed building that now lies sloped. In the meantime, I leave behind some sleeping mist as a trail in case Fang goes after me. The snowstorms vision blocking works both ways, and something like mist is nigh impossible to see in a snowstorm specifically.
Now, Fang is an issue for sure, but Pequ hasn't really shown her power. She can control the battlefield with this music and these colors, but their exact effects are unclear. Besides, she is at a level of corruption where I can actually use my sealing incantation, so I just have to weaker her substantially and not kill her for one of them to be out of the equation.
"Hey~ I just read your diary, and I think that maybe we could have something going on together."
When I hear Pequ whisper this into my ears I finally notice that she sits piggyback on me, as if she had been there since the start of the battle.
"What the– How did you even manage that? Also, when did you go through my diary?"
"It was a joke, but thanks for telling me that you actually have a diary on you. I might get a good laugh out of it after I kill you."
"Get off me!"
"All I can say is that high-rank Eidolon are sick as fuck."
I attempt to move my arms in a way to somehow injure her, but she just releases her legs and swings around to my front side, where she wraps her legs in a way that clamps my arms shut like a vice. Damn, what kind of thighs are those?
As I attempt to cast an incantation, she bites me in the shoulder, forcing me to scream in pain, breaking up my incantation. She moves her face inches from mine with a smirk and blinks at me. Some form of light shoots out from her closed eye in quick waves and hits me. My mind zones out for a bit as my head bobs to the music like a zombie.
During that time she looks down at my legs still moving as normal due to the effect of the inline skates. During my daze, she takes the time to handstand on my shoulders, before dropping down, her body weight landing onto my shoulders through her things, dislocating both in a swift motion, the pain of which snaps me out of the daze.
Again her legs wrap around me, but this time around my neck, with her hands yanking my legs to forcefully take my balance away. She swings her body away slightly, tilting me forward, places her hands on the wall before using her legs to suplex throw me over her towards the ground, which is by now three stories down.
"And down you go, big guy. Before you die, just one thing. Whilst I was down there I noticed that your dick actually wasn't all too bad. Maybe if we had met another time there could've been something between us."
She disregarded me due to my nature as someone of low Link, but I still can cast some of my incantations incredibly quickly. As I disappear from her sight into the psychedelic depths of the snowstorm, I land onto branches of a tree I conjured. At the end of the day, pain is temporary. By tomorrow it'll be gone, and a few days later I'll have forgotten all about it. Besides, my legs can still move to catch me, so I didn't make the tree in a way to dampen my fall; no, I made it to be a ramp I can use to gain some speed.
I land on the ramp perfectly and translate the potential energy directly into more speed. During my drop, I also use my gauntlet to reattach my shoulders. I eat some macarons and then manage to use my Thassular Relic again. My ramp was angled towards where Sylphara was last, and it seems she is still in the general area, and with her is another person. So why don't I make good use of this momentum?
Racing like a bullet towards Fang, I ready my blade, but moments before, my head and heart throb and I miss my target slightly. I still managed to cut off one of his arms and part of the shoulder by which it is attached, but my sword definitely didn't like it. The edge alignment was off due to this weird sensation, which, at this speed, damaged the blade greatly.
"Heya~ just wanted to tell you that it was pretty bold of you to go to the anchor lady after you somehow survived. Oh, did you know that my bites are venomous? Incantations can be pretty cool. Especially because you're now stuck in a web created by me as well."
Again she had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, this time having disarmed me and using me as a dance partner. Twirling me around to wrap me further into the spiderwebs she conjured.
"So my Honeybun said something about your skills being because of an incantation. I can only think of a Tengu call, really. Is that true?"
She's right. I put my cards out in the open by using an incantation like this. The Tengu call is the only incantation I myself would've known that can induce an improvement with swords specifically. But she also revealed her own cards. Both the webs and poison bite are Jorogumo calls. I can dispel the poison with a certain Macaron, and the webs I can now pay attention to more.
"Now, my little Link 3, sit tight and wait for me, okay?"
She pats me on the head and winks at me again to clear my mind so that I cannot react in time. Sylphara is within my view. She is sweaty and exhausted after swinging her anchor around so much. There are surface cut wounds all over her, but she seems to have something to protect her from being seriously injured. She is very agitated but also similarly confused. After some deliberation, she focuses energy into the anchor and drives it into the ground. A wave of heat emanates from the point of impact and spreads outward, transforming this snowstorm into a rainstorm. Suddenly Fang appears again with a surprised expression. He was just nursing his arm wound, thinking that he would be safe without me to be able to locate him. This is what left him vulnerable.
Sylphara screamed loud enough to invoke some kind of demons within her, turning her eyes bloodshot. Her anchor was pulled to her backside, and now was swung overhead with gritted teeth and straining muscles, descending upon Fang. He attempts to block it, but due to being caught off-guard and only having one hand to block, it fails. The blade shatters, surrounding him with a metallic and reflective confetti. Through those reflections of him, I was able to see him mercilessly crushed by the anchor many times, just before the crimson blood washed over these shards of steel, and whatever remained of him was again entombed in a white, powdery shroud.
Having lost her smirk and, in trade, gained a murderous glare, Pequ suddenly stood behind her with her arms outstretched to her sides, then closed them around her ears, discombobulating her. The comic-like, cel-shading around her turned into a spiky aura, and she shifted side to side with the music. The music, which by now had turned into full-blown metal.
"I hope you like this, you crazy fucking bitch! I hope you rot in the deepest pits of hell! You wanna see me get serious, right? Yeah, well, let's see how you like it when I finally amp this shitty beat up and blow out your brains with this Eidolon. I don't even give a shit about corruption anymore. 60%? 70%? 90%? Motherfucker, who gives a shit?"
She cracks her head and rips at incredible speed directly to her side before screeching her lungs out into the ear of Sylphara. I can't believe my eyes when words come pouring out of Sylphara's other ear. She grabs the words and throws them like daggers at her, which, given Sylphara's less-than-cordial tone, results in her being essentially torn apart by her own words.
In the meantime, I was able to finally snap back and start to work on freeing myself. I am not really able to do much here, so I have to gamble on certain things working. Wait. Gambling? Of course. I still have this die with me. I might as well see what it does.
It will draw attention to me, so let me take the time to think about my opponent. How can she just appear and disappear out of nowhere? I cannot detect her even with my Thassular Relic and it is always so sudden. What does the music and colors do? Some of her actions have been on beat, I've noticed, and it seems to also be somewhat reflective of her emotions, maybe? Or no, maybe adrenaline levels? The music became more intense when she actually started fighting, and it actively changed after Fang died. She also mentioned that she didn't care about corruption, so it might be the result of using an Eidolon at an unsafe level and sustaining corruption due to it. Wait, why did she have to hide in the snowstorm at the beginning of our battle? If she can randomly appear and disappear, why would she need to do that? Sylphara doesn't seem like a bad fighter, so I also find it unlikely that she was hit by an attack as often as she did. Fang should be able to land some attacks due to Sylphara's slower speed and his invisibility, but with how she looks right now, it was as if she was hit by every single attack. Surely when evenly matched between Link 4s, there wouldn't be such a gap in skill. I was now also dazed twice, and it is pretty obvious that the plan revolves around confusion. If you can't see anything and you keep being pushed around all over the place, you would lose your sense of space. Losing my sense of space. Why could that be important? She is trying to distract from something or some weakness. Okay, I'll keep my eyes peeled. Calypso, don't disappoint me, please.
The die rolls across the floor, grabbing the attention of Pequ. How did she notice that? It lands on a face displaying three leaves. Around me, some green sphere stretches out a foot or so. The spiderwebs and snowstorm vanish into thin air, and I feel it restoring my spiritual energy. In addition to that, my body recovers to perfect health again with some excess energy going into my gauntlet. Her disco also cannot reach into this bubble of sorts.
"I gave you… one… chance to sit fucking still, you know? Did you know that if you let me do my own thing, absolutely nothing would have happened to you? But oh no, you stupid faggot have to play some sort of retarded hero or some shit, don't you? I'm done. I'm so fucking done. I won't even kill you. Instead, I will make you regret ever crossing paths with me, stupid cock-sucking cunt."
She drops Sylphara onto the floor, who can only weakly twitch in response to what was done to her. It is down to me and her. I actually had a good match-up against Fang, but against her I loathe to admit that I might be fucked.
It is quiet with the bubble protecting me from her music. Wait, this is weird. It feels as if nothing changed, but also as if something profoundly changed. It feels as if a trick is played on my senses. Wait, I hadn't thought of this. Could it be? My new theory now is that the domain of the Eidolon she is abusing is perception. At first I thought it would be sound or time.
That can explain some of the weird things that happen, but if I can't trust my senses, then how do I decipher the powers of that Eidolon, and by extension her? Think about it a little more. She can have more than one Eidolon or Sin Equipment. She is Link 4, so that would actually be expected of her.
For now I think that if I taunt her, she will let down her guard.
"Hey Pequ, I just wondered: How can you sleep tonight without your satisfaction?"
"You!" she starts with an aggressive tone. "Are you hitting on me, little pumpkin?" she then switches into a calm and seductive tone. "I do appreciate men offering themselves so willingly to their queen."
"What? N–"
Before I can retort, my mouth suddenly fails to open. I am in the bubble, so it cannot be any supernatural effect, right? I guess I don't understand what Calypso gave me. I also did not expect my taunt to backfire so horrendously.
Actually, the snow had started to clear up, confirming that it was Fang responsible for it, but it had picked up again. Does she also have the same incantation?
"Now, if you want to have a shot at dating someone out of your league like me, then how about you start by getting on your knees?"
No, this really doesn't make any sense. She couldn't suddenly shift her attitude like that, right? I remain within the bubble with my Thassular Relic active and my backup machete drawn. Then sitting on my shoulders, I hear a voice from above:
"Hiya~ I bet a turd like you must be surprised, huh? Well, my dear, it is game over for you now. See you~"
My brain slows as her thighs crush my windpipe. As my consciousness slowly fades, I mumble faintly under my breath.
"Ugh, die already, you piece of shit! You know what? Forget about me wanting to torture you; I'll just snap your neck and be done with– ACKH!"
Blood spews out of her mouth as her lung was pierced from a singular tree branch through her back. Her crushing force on my throat relents, and I can finally breathe again. The world around me shifts again. The bubble and snowstorm are nowhere to be seen, and it is just her and me now. She talked about keeping one's cards to oneself. Just because her Eidolon messes with perception doesn't mean it has to be the only thing messing with perception. I assume for her Eidolon to work, I need to hear it for a moment, which means that as soon as the bubble disappears, I would notice it, but if she cast an illusion of the bubble still existing, I would not notice it, since the illusion would start to take effect immediately after the bubble vanishes.
Casting my incantation not at full power happens when you mess up some parts of the incantation, though it can be inconsistent to know exactly what happens when you mess it up, as it can still work normally, work weaker, or work in a different way entirely, but it isn't consistent. But one way to consistently weaken an incantation is to shorten the incantation itself. This allowed me to cast something whilst almost out of air and also in a way she wouldn't notice.
I also noticed two more things. Firstly, the amount of which the perception of a target may be distorted using that Eidolon depends on damage done against the sensory organs themselves. Very minor damage against eyesight and the eardrums is already enough for the full effects of the Eidolon to spring into action. Secondly, time can jump. It isn't an actual jump in time, but rather all sensation is taken away, so it feels like nothing happens, but even the sensation of thinking is removed, so essentially nothing happens from ones perspective. This is how Sylphara was hit so often, and why she was so confused. Between jumps, she would find herself with a few more wounds. I noticed this from how short my Tengu call lasted. Sylphara was confused and maybe already caught on but couldn't tell me in time. Meanwhile, she used some other ability to daze me with those blinks. The daze is different from these jumps, so any suspicions I had would be written off as a poor sense of time from having been dazed.
The trigger for these time jumps I also believe to have figured out. If I were to imagine the battle like a song, then the jumps would occur during breaks. After I finish some sequence of actions, I would blank for a moment before the next set of actions. Since the music prevented me from constantly using Thassular Relic, I didn't notice my position shifting so suddenly. This is also why there had to be a snowstorm. In the absence of it, I imagine the colored battlefield will make up for it, but perception isn't reality, so there would be a lot of invisible walls all of a sudden. That could be mistaken for a different incantation again.
What is my solution to this? I start to dance and stay mobile. The head-bobbing during the daze kept me semi-conscious. When dazed, I usually wouldn't be able to act and as such the time would skip ahead for me, but I was still able to observe, so the time didn't stop. What weird thing happened during the daze? My head was bopping to the music. So now I dance.
Pequ doesn't seem exceptionally thrilled when she noticed what I had done. She knows that I have figured out her ability, and I don't mind the fact that she does one bit.
"Well, shit. I guess I'll never underestimate another Link 3 again. Unfortunately for you, I'll be off."
I pull out my revolver, but before I can move the barrel over to where she is, she has already disappeared, leaving behind a piece of paper that fizzled into dust.
With the Judge Gauntlet, I recover my senses again and stand at the ready for her to ambush me again, but nothing happens. Looking over Sylphara, she only has superficial injuries, so she will live to fight another day. Besides her, nobody else seems to be alive. Sylphara is Link 4 and the rest of her gang was all below her. The only other member at or above her level is their mysterious Link 5 boss. I guess I'll start getting out of here. Going through the gate is going to be faster. And so I pay 10 Gael and head towards Mary's house. In the meantime I call her, just to inform her that I am still alive.
"Hey Mary, I made it somehow."
"Oh, hey. Well, I just hope that you learned your lesson now."
"It was two different people of Link 4 that were causing trouble. By the time I got there it was just me and the person who called me for help, who is also Link 4."
"Wait, then how did you make it?"
"Spit and elbow grease. I don't want to say I am the reason she survived, but I was the reason she survived."
"I really doubt you."
"I am very much aware of that by now. Well, it was only by a hairs breadth that I lived this. A lot of luck also played into it, because if both of them had gone after us one after the other whilst ignoring the other, then they would have won, but they split up, creating an environment with two different duels happening."
"You can tell me all about it when you get here then. I suppose it is for the better that you lived another day. In the meantime, Elizabeth has gone and grabbed every bounty imaginable for that Eidolon you just hunted so she can join you."
"Usually I would ask why you suspect me to hunt after it again, but you're correct; I'll deal with it after a good night's rest."
"Good luck with that."
Afterwards I hang up and take out Lady Valentine.
"Do you think you would have been particularly helpful during that battle?"
"I would have been effective against that Eidolon in particular, but I doubt your body would have survived for long."
"So it's as I thought then."
[…]