"Whoa!"
Through the deafening music, the man's voice called out in surprise. My blade, mere inches from his face, stopped by a slimy tentacle. Its ooze steamed off my blade. I pulled away, and another tentacle snaked across the ground to bat me away. I leaped back to avoid the creature's attack.
Droplets of ooze gathered at the tip of the tentacle, the light passing through being swallowed whole, leaving it perfectly black. It dripped onto the metal grating below us, burning a hole in the grid-like pattern. I have never seen a void spawn with acid ooze like this, and honestly, it might pose a problem.
I gripped my blade tightly as I walked around it slowly. It paid me no attention as its otherworldly eyes stared past me.
I looked at the girls behind me out of the corner of my eye. Lilas stood in a defensive stance, with Sara on her knees behind her. She held the launcher in her hands, the barrel pointing everywhere but at the void spawn. Her lips trembled, and her face a ghostly pale.
Crap…I forgot she is just a child. Even if she were brave enough to face a group of thugs, a void spawn is a completely different class of its own. It's like envisioning something that shouldn't exist, something that exudes pure bloodlust towards humans. Even now, I still feel my heart pound when I face these things. One wrong move and you'll be reduced to that thing's dinner.
Wait.
I looked back.
Where's Rinne?
"Gah! Why you!" I turned to face the blonde man who orchestrated this entire battle. He was locked in a clash with a blonde girl. "So you're the brat that Ritair warned me about." He wielded a curved dagger with an ancient, ritualistic appearance.
"And you must be Ciel," Rinne said as she backed off. She danced around him, her hair fluttering behind her. She threw out a kick; Ciel braced himself, but Rinne pulled back her leg and thrust her dagger forward. He narrowly dodged the attack and created some space between them.
"Tch, I hate women like you." Ciel stared at Rinne with rage in his eyes. "Thinking doesn't suit a pretty face like yours."
"…"
Ciel and Rinne circled each other, looking for an opening to strike.
I had my doubts. But now was the time to trust in Rinne's judgment while I dealt with this void spawn.
It moved forward, its long tongue sweeping the ground and aiming toward Sara. I moved behind it, revving my gears.
"Not so fast, Golden Steam." While blocking an attack by Rinne, Ciel called out. He leaped back and whistled a tone louder than the music playing from the radio.
The void spawn turned around and lashed one of its tentacles at me. It grazed my side, melting through my armor and clothes. A sharp burning feeling ran down my spine. The creature pulled back its tentacle, a crimson red liquid on the very tip.
The creature brought it to its mouth, its long and disgusting tongue licking it like it was melting ice cream. Its eyes narrowed as a grin lined its mouth. Jagged teeth shot out, and it let out a low growl.
One slow step broke into a full-on sprint. The creature shook the ground as it rushed toward me, its tentacle-like appendages crashing into the walls and melting lines in its wake. The two arm-like tentacles straightened out, shooting at me like jagged spikes.
One.
Two.
I dodged both, raising my blade, getting ready to slice them off its body, but as I brought my weapon above my head, small blisters bulged out of the tentacles. At the same time, a small canister from Sara's weapon bounced at my feet.
What horrible timing.
I closed my eye, bracing myself for serious damage. The void spawn let out a screeching cry as the canister shimmered brightly. I felt something pull me away the moment it happened. I reopened my eyes to see that where I had just been was now a tangled mess of black spikes.
"What a pain," Lilas said as she helped me onto my feet. She held her small weapon in her hand, looking annoyed. "I wish I had my main weapon."
"Well…you wouldn't have been able to use it down here," I said, pulling out my pistol. I aimed at the main tentacles and fired two bullets. The bullets tore a massive hole in the middle of both, causing the severed ends to fall limp onto the ground—quickly dissolving.
"I've been meaning to ask, but what are those bullets?" Lilas asked.
"An artifact, but now is not the time."
The ends of where I blew off the creature's limbs were already starting to regenerate. It looked at me with nothing but pure bloodlust. Two more sets of blisters grew from below its arms, growing into more tentacles—six in total.
It ran toward me like a rabid creature. Lilas ran at it, slicing off one of its limbs. It paid her no attention as two of its remaining tentacles shot toward me. I braced myself for one with my blade; it hit with a solid thud. The second tentacle came from the side; I stepped back, the ooze stinging my nose, and swung my sword upwards.
The creature jumped high, using two tentacles to latch onto the wall. Globs of ooze dripped from its body, stinging the ground. A small canister flew at it and bounced off its head. Lilas and I covered our eyes as a blinding flash was accompanied by the creature's screaming.
The ground shook as I reopened my eye to find the void spawn on the ground. Lilas and I rushed at it, slicing off its remaining limbs before going for the head. Just as I was about to bring my weapon down, a noise came from its mouth.
"Ax…ien…?"
Once again, my eye locked onto the locket around its neck. My arms froze in place.
"GOLDEN!"
Lilas grabbed me and pulled me back. A black haze appeared where we once stood. The ground bubbled into a black glob of ooze before dropping in between the grates.
"Thanks…" I readjusted my weapon as the gears began to slow down. I reached into my pocket to grab another steam core.
"Axi…en…Ax…ien…Axien."
As the creature spoke, it stood up, its body morphing into a more humanoid appearance. An appearance I knew all too well. Its black skin tightened to fit the curves of a woman with long hair and caramel-colored skin. Its eyes, still burning with anger, locked onto me as it reached out its hand. The locket on its neck shimmered faintly in the light.
A gun that mimicked my own appeared in its hand; it aimed at the steam radio. It fired a single shot before it dissolved into a black mist of ooze, shattering the radio into pieces. With the music finally stopped, I only now noticed my equipment clattering.
"Axien…Monster…Mother…Killer…" It spoke, reaching out its hands once again. "I will avenge Mother…" A spiral dagger appeared in both hands.
Look there, the actions of your failure.
The distorted voice returned.
The star who fell from grace. The one who gave up everything to save her friend. You led her down this path to her own demise. So I wonder…
I felt a hand grip my heart.
Can you kill her again?