The sky darkens, veiled under an unnatural cloak of umbral energy. Although it appears at first as though the streets of Washington are witnessing a total solar eclipse, the darkness is all encompassing. No stars emerge to witness the display, and as the tenebral cloud occludes the battlefield, it grows pitch black to the point where I can’t even see my hands in front of my eyes. But then everything goes red as I try and fail to locate Chloe through the shadows. I try to find her through our connection, and that, too, fails. My heart starts to race; tears well up in my eyes and it takes everything I have to keep them dammed up here on the battlefield. Renault doesn’t deserve the honor of my tears, and the woman I love will get them in droves once she has been properly avenged.
My hand trembles, clutching onto Filia more tightly than before. I clench my teeth and I let all inhibitions go. If I’m to die, then I’ll die without any regrets, just as long as I drag Renault down to hell with me! I grip hold of that golden mote of light within me and let it spread newfound vitality through every aching muscle and weary cell in my body. My face tinges red and I begin to emit a golden glow that brightens the air around me.
“Renault!” I scream. “I will kill you, even if it costs me my life!”
Now, with my [Speed] enhanced yet further in my Overlimit state, I’m able to match the other Seraphina and break away from her, chasing after Renault in my single-minded fury. His presence permeates through the darkness, his existence a blight on this world. And though it may no longer be justice for which I fight, I will at least see to it that Chloe receives vengeance.
In this form, my golden glow pierces through the magical darkness, enabling me to see with my eyes even when my [Overlimit] state disables the use of my Skills, including [Valkyrion’s Perception]. Even without it, I can still perceive Renault’s malevolence. I can hear the sound of his breath and the beating of his heart and the tiny screeches of metal pieces rubbing against each other and fasteners not quite oiled just right. He can delay my judgement, but it is as inevitable as the dawn that shall follow this artificial night.
Renault moves his blackened blade to deflect my assault. By combining [Scalability] and [Impulse] together then overcharging the glyph to two-and-a-half times the normal [Ether] draw, I’m able to completely bypass his defenses, surging behind him and then slamming a [Lightning]-wreathed fist directly into his back.
He spasms from the electrical shock, but that pretentious, self-assured smirk never for an instant leaves his face. So I continue attacking him, charging my swordstaff with [Light] energy and stabbing through the darkness, every hit dealing damage, drawing blood, but none of them a decisive, fight-ending blow.
Seraphina rushes in to intercept my strikes, but with my stats and very sense of self heightened in this temporary state, I’m now able to evade every blow, even when she starts taking the fight more seriously. I’m sorry that I’m ditching our little fight, but right now, this is more important.
I attempt to disarm Renault, literally, hacking away at his right gauntlet with the attempt to sever his sword hand and take his cursed blade from him. But before I can deal the final blow, Seraphina rushes in again, deflecting my attack and saving her creator’s life.
“Why?” I ask. “Why do you protect this cold-blooded killer? Why do you insist on protecting a man who has caused so much grief, so much pain, to so many people?”
The other Seraphina doesn’t answer. She attacks with her full force, and though she still has the edge against me, the gap has narrowed significantly. In fact, I’m actually able to score a couple of glancing wounds on her body. Each is swiftly healed by whatever self-repair mechanism or Skill or… Honestly, I don’t know anymore, and I don’t care. All that matters is avenging Chloe, and anyone who gets in my way will fall!
Attack, attack, attack! Then parry, thrust, defend the backswipe and fly over the second head of the twinned greataxe. I charge forward, unleashing [Gravity] right at Seraphina’s body, trying to implode her from within. Gruesome, but I couldn’t care less at this point. It doesn’t work anyway; she can see my spells and react to them in the split second it takes to Manifest them in my mind.
Hack and slash, twist and bend out of the way, but never break. No, that’s not true. I’ve already broken. My girlfriend… my eventual wife, the woman with whom I planned to spend my entire life beside, is just gone thanks to that bastard in black. How can I forgive? How can I exist with half my very being just completely taken… Stolen from me! Let me be damned! Damn me into hell, but I’ll be damned if I let Renault…
I thrust my spear through his stomach, piercing his armor, uncaring that I suffer a wound to the side from Seraphina in the process. What do I care? I’m dead in two minutes anyway! So I continue on, uncaring for my own safety, sacrificing my [Health] which is dropping precipitously from Seraphina’s attacks and the few counters that Renault is able to get in against me.
The only question is who will expire first? Me, or Renault? I swear, Chloe, it won’t be me. Fueled by rage and adrenaline that block out the pain I distantly feel, I attack again. Defense no longer matters; self-preservation is irrelevant. If I’m a clone of Seraphina and the data of ⸢The Anomaly⸥ still exists in our universe, then Hank or someone else can always re-create Seraphina and let her be the one who saves this world and this universe from the annihilation the System forebodes.
Strike, punch, stab, kick. Dodge when I can, but not at the cost of sacrificing my initiative. I try combining [Repulsion] and [Scalability] to create a stronger barrier that I can use to crush Renault into the ground. It fails; the asphalt and dirt gives before his body and armor do. But I can continue beating away at him and making sure that he’s in no position to continue the battle. If I am unable to finish the job in the next ninety seconds, then Alana or Lindsey or someone else can finish the fight.
Seraphina strikes me in the hip. Undeterred, I push her away with a barrier infused with the power of both [Wind] and [Reflect], sending the momentum of her swing right back toward her and away from my objectives. It buys only a second, but that’s still enough time for another stab through Renault’s stomach.
Die, die, die! Sanity is a luxury I can ill afford; if it denies Chloe her vengeance, then I will abandon it, my life, everything! Life without her in it isn’t a life I wish to live! Let me be just a heartless, soulless, unfeeling machine, no thoughts, no feelings, none of the pain I feel now that the woman I love is dead and gone forever!
I strike a blow through Renault’s heart, ending his scourge once and for all. His life force, tainted with black, drains onto the ground at our feet as I stand imperiously above him. A part of me wants to continue on, to desecrate his corpse and ensure that the entire world knows that he got every bit of what he deserved.
But as I look at my bloodstained hands, his, mine, the oily discharge from the few wounds I dealt to the other Seraphina, all I can do is weep over his corpse. The surging power of [Seraphina Overlimit] fades away, leaving me fatigued, my movements sluggish, my body heavy and my everything sullen and lifeless.
“That’s enough, Sera,” a voice I recognize as Hank’s says.
With his words, the unnatural darkness fades away and light returns to the now ruined National Mall. Renault’s body lies motionless, beaten and broken, and though I did not deal nearly enough damage to her on my own, I can tell that Seraphina is whimpering, in great pain. Perhaps, if Chloe were here, she could–
The dam fully breaks as I collapse. I’m so, so sorry, my love. Sorry that I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. I–
“Are you okay?” he asks.
Okay? Okay? How can I be? All I can do is shake my head. “Chloe–” I mumble with forlorn affection, wishing that she’s in a happier, better place wherever she is.
“I’m sorry, Sera,” he says.
“Sorry? Sorry? Why are you telling me that you’re sorry! It’s because of me that Chloe is dead, absorbed by Renault’s darkness and–”
“Renault’s darkness?” Hank shakes his head. “Renault possesses no mastery over the shadows. Nor was the darkness which covered the battlefield his doing.” He pulls out a pale gray sphere. “The [Sphere of Eclipse]. It’s an artifact I created. Of course, it will take weeks more to charge it again, but I’m glad I had it and that I was able to use it to save the both of you.”
“Save?” I wobble to my feet, still drained from the use of my [Overlimit]. “How can you say that you saved us when Chloe is–” I see his expression is not what it ought to be. Isn’t this like… “You saved her life, didn’t you?”
Hank nods. “Within the darkness of the [Sphere of Eclipse], I have full access to all of my abilities, including the abilities of melting into shadows and moving through them at accelerated speeds. Just before Renault’s attack connected, I pulled her away and to safety. One of Agent Bennett’s subordinates was able to heal her, and as soon as she regains consciousness, she should come back here.”
“Chloe?” I call out.
A trepidatious moment passes before I hear a quiet “Sera?” in return. The weight of the world lifts from my shoulders and my tears of rage find themselves washed away in a river of grief and relief and the overwhelming comfort of hearing my love’s voice after thinking— after knowing in my heart of hearts that she was gone to wherever we go after death. I’m shaking from the overwhelming emotions bursting forth that I can’t fully describe in words.
“Please don’t tell me that you’re planning on moping all day,” a certain voice says.
I rush up, then, still woozy with exhaustion from tapping into [Seraphina Overlimit], rush toward Chloe in more of a drunken stumble until my arms wrap around her chest and pull her into a long and deep hug. Her arms wrap around me to the point where it starts to hurt in my weakened state, though she loosens her grip as soon as she feels my discomfort.
“I– I just thought that I lost you, Chloe.” I mumble, taking in the perfect scent of her hair. Even drenched in sweat, there’s no scent I’m more fond of or find more relaxing. Home, hearth, love, and happiness wafted directly into my nostrils and then my brain. “I– I love you, Chloe. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Sera. More than I can express in words or deeds alone.”
“Alright you two lovebirds,” Clara says, emerging from behind a nearby pile of rubble. “I think that’s enough tears while on the battlefield. Just because these two have been taken care of doesn’t mean there’s not stragglers who need to be apprehended and neutralized.”
“That shimmering veil,” I say. “That was you, wasn’t it? Defending Chloe from those attacks just before Hank’s [Sphere of Eclipse] activated.”
“It was. Wouldn’t want you two getting the easy way out for your crimes. To think there really were two Seraphinas,” Clara mutters like a dumbass. I guess she never did trust a single word I said, no matter how truthful they were.
“Well, regardless of your reason, I appreciate your saving Chloe–”
“Look out, Sera!”
Before I can process, Hank dives toward Chloe and I, still embracing, knocking us both to the ground. A spear of silver energy pierces right through where my heart just was, instead hitting Hank in the side.
Renault, his corpse— or so I thought— still bloodied, rises menacingly, his face a diabolic grin as he looks over his battered body. Grabbing his obsidian blade with his off hand— the only one that hasn’t been hacked to ribbons— he turns to me and growls.
“Yes, indeed.” He gives a broad, toothy smile as his eyes narrow at me. “I wouldn’t want the two of you getting off so easily!”
Chapter 374: [370] 4.91 The Second American Civil War IX
11 min read