Worlds In Limbo

Rhian's eyes locked on the panel words. Her breathing hitched as she silently glanced at the woman looking at her.

'S-So... I w-wasn't wrong...?' She forced a half grin - her ego triumphing in her guess, but her body trembled with fear. Rhian looked into the woman's eyes, blinking as her vision started to clutter.

"My... hand... hurts..." The laying woman connected a sentence, speaking monotonously as her pupils dilated, looking directly into Rhian's eye.

Rhian took a deep breath, forcing another smile. "A-Alright, then. I-I'll just... patch it up for you," Rhian said nervously, struggling to hold her smile as she quickly tore off the woman's sleeves.

"Can Y-you lift your arm?" The woman lifted the severed arm with ease, feigning pain as she winced. Rhian closed her eyes, slowly wrapping the cloth around the woman's arm before looking toward Kouki, Gideon, and the boy.

'Help... me!' She mouthed, tightening the cloth as much as she could before she mouthed again with a troubled expression. 'Take him away.'

Both the Gaia-borns nodded in unison - with one unsheathing his polearm while the other took the boy with him onto the stage behind them to take refuge.

[TEACHER! NO!]

A young, piercing yell escaped the crying boy's mouth, catching the gaze of the woman whose neck snapped to look back - seeing Kouki brandishing his enchanted glaive.

"GO TO HELL!" The hateful cry claimed back the woman's gaze, watching Rhian reeling back a vibrating fist filled with violent rings. But it was an Abberant. A mere human can't do much.

Her fist was traveling in the air. She spread her Runes throughout her body, ready to counter the Abberant's retaliation after she struck it. But the void that clasped onto her face contradicted her prediction.

[You have been gifted 75% injury negation!]

Her back crashed into the floor of the assembly hall, sending hundreds of cracks and thundering tremors throughout the land.

It was like the landing - How her heart stopped, how the air was forced out of her body, but this time, this time she felt pain. Pain that was equal to the pain 'Rhian Smyra' inflicted.

'A-A-Ah- M-My-' She squirmed beneath the black hand, clawing at it, begging to be released. But it remained. Her ears rang with repeated tapping, echoing with the blinking lights she saw.

"L-HAA- HUA-" She struggles to enunciate a word, enchanting her purplish hand with Runes, weakly punching the hand that compressed her body, turning her body's defenses against itself - fracturing each bone her body offered, pulverizing it into shards and dust slowly, but surely.

[You... a human? How brave, yet... dumb. You... are of this world.]

The panel of words expanded in front of her, dilating her dimming pupils. 'I-I- T-This is how... I die?' Her arms fell as her Runes dimmed.

[You... and the boy... does not belong... not worth to hunt.]

TSCHK!

A blur passed Rhian's fading vision.

TCHK!

Something red and black plunged into the pitch-black arm as fresh blood cascaded onto Rhian's face. Her gaze looked up, recognizing the dazzling sight of Kouki's unit.

[You... dare?]

The Abberant lifted its arm, standing upright.

'How terrible you look...' Kouki remarked. It had a horrible hunch over its gangling body, skeletal claws that extended to an adult's height, and not to mention - that expressionless and featureless face.

[My.. arm hurts, you know?]

A panel appears before Kouki as the Abberant shakes its arm, removing the blood that dirtied its void-like body.

"HRM!" Kouki made the first move, enchanting green Runes across the wooden floor until they etched themselves onto the Abberant's feet.

With the Runes around his legs gleaming, he dashed toward the Abberant while it tried to run toward Kouki - it tripped.

TCSHK!

Kouki cut through the Abberant's thin shoulder, severing the arm completely while the Abberant struggled to stand up, feeling a sense of exhaustion before it looked toward the retracting Runes on its leg.

"HRAG!" Kouki took the opportunity, thrusting the glaive into the back of the Abberant as it let out a strained grunt.

[You... are worth the hunt!]

The Abberant showered itself with crimson Runes, starting from its legs up to its head - It became Rhian Smyra.

"What a... revitalizing feeling!" The Abberant moved its body, stretching with delight as it spoke with a giddy yet stern tone. "This woman... isn't just human..." It started to jump in place, stretching its neck before grinning widely.

"She's an Abberant, too!" Kouki's eyes widened as he braced himself, holding up the hilt of his glaive to barely block an enchanted punch. The Abberant grinned again, enchanting the hilt with hundreds of vibrating circuits, forcing Kouki to let go of the rupturing weapon.

"Heh! What wonderful magic!" The Runes rushed back to its body before it took the glaive for himself. "Tell me, Mister Kurayami. Will you be able to strike me down?" It opened its arms, carving an enthusiastic grin on itself, welcoming Kouki.

'Now... what do I know about Smyra?' Sweat leaked from his skin, sliding down his body. 'Ah... You know what? I'll just let my body work. Hopefully, I can walk after this...' He sighed deeply, looking at the Abberant. His hand slithered toward the back of his neck, peeling off his helmet.

"Now then, have fun fighting 'me.'" Kouki glared at the smirking Abberant before closing his eyes, which confused the Abberant.

"Is that it?" It was disappointed, grumbling slightly. It'd lost interest in Kouki and looked back at Rhian, who it seemed to dislike. "The Beast and the boy are left..." It sighed, dragging the glaive along the ground.

[Kouki Kurayami has activated Relentless Machine!]

Kra- ACK!

The Abberant was embedded deep inside the stage with visible marks that looked like feet plastered on its face. 'W-What...?' Disoriented, it tried to focus its vision on the glowing, fluctuating, colorful figure.

It released a heavy breath, looking at the figure going into a full sprint while glowing like a kaleidoscope. Cornered like a rat, like a hiding child, but it didn't want to give up - this was exhilarating enough to die for.

With a crazed smile, it bounced off the ground, planting its feet deeply on the ground before enchanting the ground in front of it with purple circuits before it broke apart and rose toward the ceiling.

"CWOE WAT MWE! HIEGT WE!" It exclaimed with passion, ignoring its dangling jaw as it rushed at a midair Kouki. It punched the air, spreading the purple circuits through the air to reach Kouki.

Klank!

Kouki took off his gauntlets, throwing them at the Abberant's head. "RAAAAAAAAAAAH!" It quickly bounced back, turning its body in midair as the Abberant and Kouki landed on the ground.

They both immediately got up, rushing directly toward each other with enchanted bodies - clashing.

They ignored the pain. Kouki was nowhere to be found, but his strength was unwavering, lowering his fist as he successfully dodged the Abberant's punch before getting flung toward the wall.

A wicked cackle echoed as Kouki crashed into the wall. Retracting the circuit-like Runes from the air, the Abberant rushed toward Kouki again, enchanting its legs with Runes as it jumped with a sickening grin. 'I WON'T BACK DOWN!'

Kouki grabbed a piece of debris after struggling to stand back up, his face filled with wrinkles. "HRN!" He grunted, throwing the piece of debris at the Abberant that just punched through it, cackling louder as it landed in front of Kouki.

It opened its arm again, inviting Kouki, who stood outside the hall, bathed in the twilight.

"ARE EYOU ONE?!" It asked with anticipation, leering at Kouki before its gaze was dragged beneath itself - there were vibrating crimson rings.

It looked back, grinning wider as it saw the real and panting Rhian.

"Confidence... is... one fucking drug."

Rhian stood up weakly, glaring at the Abberant with a black dagger puncturing her chest.