A World With/Out Home

Chapter 16: Nightmare (Part 5)

Mr Devro bowed to the fallen knights respectfully, "May you rest in the light free from fog."

"Okay," Kyle hefted the rifle in his arms. "Stay close behind me and-."

"Play?" The single word sent a spike of shock straight into his chest and in a snap Kyle had the rifle pointed back behind Mr Devro.

"Run!" he screamed as the Type S demon suddenly pulled its body from the fog. The creature advanced on them with gusto. Made entirely of black oozing hands it left a dark trail as it leapt forward. The arms and fingers acted as feet propelling it down the wide street and at the forefront a snarling mouth opened.

"Leave- Don't- Play."

Kyle fired the rifle. The blow back was even greater than he expected and sent him skidding several metres severely wounding his shoulder. The high calibre round struck against the demon causing it slow down and sway but clearly wasn't fatal as the hands that were torn off grew back almost instantly. Mr Devro did as he was told and began to run as fast as he could down the street.

"Damn it!" Kyle grit his teeth aimed and fired again while trying to hop backwards. Each shot sent him reeling and barely able to keep balance but even then the demon continued to make ground on them. Desperate he activated one of the grenades from his pocket and lobbed it down the street. As soon as the demons hands made contact the small orb exploded into a mass of heat and force. They were just as strong as the ones he was made to practice with. Against a normal demon it would have been more than enough. A second of silence passed as the clouds of dust settled and the blown away fog neatly folded back blurring the scene. Then shooting out from the veil the demon bounded towards them in a single powerful leap. The heavy gun was the only shield Kyle had and as the demon's body of arms crashed against him the metal frame snapped like a twig. A grunt was all Kyle could let out before the remaining force carried through, sending him crashing down the street and past Mr Devro. A powerful wooden crack resounded as Kyle flew across the next street and slammed against the door of shop.

"Kyle!" Mr Devro ran to him and tried to pull him free only to find his body stuck against the wood. "Hey Kyle! Get up- You need to get up!" The voice however never reached his ears.

*

Lillia stood in the air facing down the monstrosity before her eyes. Its body stretched towards the tips of her barrier, arms overbearing like a plant out to absorb the world and the hideous spread of infinite eyes and teeth that broke out against its oozing skin. This was the second Primarch that she had to fight and it was clearly stronger than the one she fought before. As terrible as the situation seemed, as much as history told her that she would have to sacrifice her life to kill the Primarch, things were different. An overwhelming energy was pouring through her limbs and the Hero's armour supported her every action making the impossible possible. Even with the barrier she had created to seal the demons the Primarch and her stood at a stalemate. Its black body that shifted and oozed exposing gunk filled eyes tried to wrap and claw around her only to be held in place by the powerful aura she was emitting. Without doubt right now Lillia had never felt more powerful.

The fact she was holding her own however was something of a miracle. In the end Lillia wasn't the Eternal Hero, she was a stand in and one that would be eventually replaced. She more than anyone else knew that there was a time limit on the incredible powers she was using and the price to pay for them was going to be much more than a single months sleep. Her only hope was that Kyle had made it out of the barrier. Of course she wanted to live. She wanted to go back home, to see the others again, to go on a proper date, to do all those things that she had only seen and read but never experienced. If she never had those desires she would have died already.

Faced against the Primarch a tear dripped down her cheek concealed by the helmet she wore. At the rate she was going, if the battle below wasn't sorted out, she'd have to take matters to the extreme.

A sigh echoed from her helmet as she exerted herself to keep the Primarch frozen in place. Her magic didn't just contain it but eroded its fringes continuously breaking it apart. The Primarch however grew back just as fast and pressured her all the more causing her to sweat. Her original sigh grew into exasperation and from there into anger,

"Please just die!" Lillia screamed. The Primarch didn't respond. The tips of her fingers were already beginning to tingle as they became numb to the overuse of mana. Just as she grit her teeth to return on the offensive a shocking burst of energy triggered behind her. It wasn't overwhelming or anything grand, but the subtle familiarity caused her heart to flutter in panic.

"Kyle?" she didn't have time to check as the Primarch's arm clenched around her.