Idolic Rapture#Wattys2023

Chapter XXXVIII: A New Stage

The wickedness he has shown has been nothing but offending. For the longest time it has proven to be difficult for something to make me mad, for I pride myself to be as serene as possible when it comes to adversity. But this was something else, something that revolted inside me like a vortex straight from the depths of space.

Had I had John, this would have been a different outcome. But because there wasn't a way to pacify him safely, this proved to be a challenge I had never faced before.

"Still rebelling are ya? Guess I'm going to have make someone an example to prove how dead serious I am."

Pointing his Dependent at me, I ready myself to dodge his bullet rain. Though I had the intention to grow closer as I swam through it, it was not enough for me to expect what he did succedingly. Moving his gun to the sides, he aims at Takeuchi, shooting right through her. Blood spilled across the board, and the once popular diva was left on the floor cold and lifeless.

"Takeuchi?"

"Takeuchi!" cried Trinity.

The idols called and called, refusing to believe that she had fallen. Bawling and shrieks bellowed, many falling to their knees as tears intensified the more the body cemented itself. Macabre, the elder villain laughed at us as I observed with confusion and sadness. Guilt plagued my conscience, sorrow filled my blood. The roaring of the people who had put their trust in me became hearingless, with the only sound hitting my ear was the high pitch of an explosion. Until suddenly, something changed.

"The girly was gone anyways. Turns out the moon crystals weren't reacting well to her, so unless we plugged her out she was going to continue to suffer. Can't say that it will be the same as the next one. So unless you want to die like a forgettable background character, I suggest–"

Right on the last second, the man stopped his words as I had come face to face with him. Driven by impulse, I was suddenly in the air above him. Right in front of him my body had twisted itself a bit and my leg was just about near his neck. Had it not been because he noticed it in the last second, then perhaps a gruesome outcome would have changed the narrative.

Old and decrepit, the man jumped back to create a safe distance. Angry but confused, he scoffed at me as he prepared himself.

"Arrogant brat," he sneered. "I'll kill you!"

Again and again his shots ricocheted off the stone walls. The girls screamed in fear, ducking down to avoid any possible injuries that could ensue. Though his attacks scraped my body, they did not scrape my newfound resolve. Whatever pain the skin ate was not enough to overbear the adrenaline that coursed through me.

This was reality, but like a dream it felt all so fleeting. Objects that were once there vanished while those that I had started to protect disappeared from sight. All I could see was the person in front me and the occasional sparks that glimmered across my brilliant ideas. Those thoughts that once bothered me were left cleared from my mind.

Like a piece of glass it was all shattered, new possibilities coming into light. To attack, defend or flee. What this meant, what it was, it was all fleeting ideas that meant nothing right now. What mattered was their escape, and the future that could be shone to those that needed it. No matter the cost.

Sliding to his blind spots, his weak spots were there for the taking, and with each hit done on his torso and sides, it weakened the feeble old man from his strong post. All the wind knocked out from his lungs, he coughed and coughed on his knees. Looking down on him all I could see was the reflection on his eye, staring him down as my golden optics glowed. What expressions he had before were erased. Right now, all he had in his body was the urge to kill me.