Rebirth

Chapter 33: Embracing the Darkness of Rage

Gus swung his arm at me, hoping to land a hit. My grin widened, and my body dropped into the shadows, surging around the rubble. Gus struggled to find me through my shadow movement, the vein in his forehead bulging from frustration. "Come out and face me, coward! You think this is a game?!"

"A game? No..." I appeared behind him, close enough to whisper in his ear. ".. But, I can turn it into one..." Before he could whip around, my fist connected with the back of his head, making him stumble forward. He looked back, racing out from under the cathedral. I jogged after him, before diving into the shadows and giving chase. I moved quickly, dashing over benches and through trees, and along the nearby buildings. If I wasn't so blinded by anger, I'd think this was pretty cool, but now was no time for immature emotions.

Gus turned them, slamming his palms together. As he did, the ground and stones around him began coming together in a massive boulder, and he forced it at me. I came up from the shadow, catching and sliding back with the large rock, before throwing it sky high. Gus used the opportunity to charge at me, and he managed to land a few heavy fists. I stepped back, but held my grin. As he threw another punch, I grabbed his fist, squeezing tight before my own slammed into his center, then I tossed him into a nearby shop. Leaping over the tables, I bursted through one of the windows, looking up and blocking one of Gus's kicks. Turning, I managed to evade another one of his attacks, which in turn destroyed the wall behind me. I hopped back a few feet, ducking under another fisr and melding with the shadows. Gus growled, raising two fingers sharply, and sending a wave of magic light through the shop. The small store quickly caught fire, and the flames burned intensely with his anger. I slipped behind him, emerging from the shadows and striking him. Two violet flames danced around my hands like wings, with shadows mixed within. "DarkWing of the Tainted Fallen Angel.." I muttered, as the magic attack struck Gus as I passed him. He hit the floor, crying out in pain, but nonetheless got to his feet, racing at me through the flames and smoke.

"Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!"

I craned my head slightly, avoiding his punch. Fast as a shadow, my fingers cut through his side in shadowy flames. "Slash of the Tainted Fallen Angel." He held his side, blood seeping through his fingers, looking at me with nothing but hate filling his eyes. "You.. You can't! If you win, it's the end of us all!" He roared. He threw multiple punches, hoping one would hit. I flipped, kicking him into the ceiling. Jumping up, we came mere inches apart, before I gripped his skull and used my momentum to smash him through the ceiling. As we reached the outside, I released my hold, catching his arm and throwing him into the ground with a heavy thud. He gasped for air, slowly standing and groaning. I landed behind him, my hair flowing gently in the shadowy flame aura emitting around me.

Gus looked at me, breathing heavily and clutching his chest. "You don't give a damn do you.. About the future.. About what needs to be done in order to secure a better life for us all!"
"This isn't about that.." My eyes locked on his. "You hurt a good friend of mine.. That, I can't let pass.. And besides, if you were here to actually save us from damnation, why do you smell evil as hell?"

He went quiet then, gritting his teeth. After taking a deep breath and calming himself slightly, he spoke softly. "The future requires a cold fighter.. Someone who's willing to save it all by any means.."

"Even if that means getting rid of your humanity?.. In that case, you're worse than Amaterasu." I said coldly. Gus roared hatefully at me then, running at me. He couldn't less about the trials at this point, and neither could I. This fight between us now went much deeper than a license for our guilds. He wanted to "save" the future, yet would discard any sense of human traits he has to do so. Thinking about that made me reflect on myself. What if he was right? What if the only way any of us would live to see another day would be for him to win here? Would that make me the bad guy? To know what'll happen, everyone's eventual fate, and bring down the one guy who could potentially save us all?