Eclipse: CH 13

Chapter 13

Wind blows, birds scatter in the sky. Something is at unrest. Gai looked off skyward sensing a strange vibe in the air.

"What's wrong?" Haruto's voice came from a short distance away.

"Something doesn't feel right." True, that much he can say. And it's coming from northward. From the direction Ryuga went off to.

It's been a week since the message from the Northern Church reached them, and it's been three weeks since Ryuga disappeared out of the blue. Things have changed since then.

The vampire attacks have stopped altogether and they never came across nor heard of the pureblood again. All of it occurred within a narrow time period - too close to be brushed off as mere coincidence. Ryuga, what really happen to you? The letter was rather vague, simply stating that they had found him collapsed outside the church, and was in a very weakened state.

Did you go off to chase him?

Or perhaps..--

"Kurenai?" A hand on his shoulder broke him out of his thought, turning to side seeing Haruto looking at him with a slight frown.

"..It's nothing. I'm just worried about Ryuga." The frown soon softens into a tired smile. Right, he's not the only one feeling this way.

"I know. But I'm sure he's fine where he is." Haruto is right. The Northern Church, while facing significantly less aggressive attacks, is one of the churches with the strongest defence. He can trust the northern folks to take care of Ryuga.

"Aah."

 

*

 

This is tough, more so than he expected. Even so he is thankful of his years of experience going against the high levels; he is at least somewhat prepared for this. And it's a relief Mayuri's powers are both keeping the pureblood at bay and protecting herself from the other's influence.

The pureblood's attacks are fast, hard, and unpredictable. It's like what Ryuga told him. To fight against him, he had to rely on his instincts rather than his knowledge and strategies; as if he's fighting a wild beast, a true predator. He needs to keep on calling out for the one sealed inside but it's obviously not easy doing that while fending the man off at the same time.

He needs to stall him just enough until Ryuga made it here. Though he had tried to talk the man out of it seeing how affected he is, and Ryuga had steadfastly refused to heed. That part of him reminds Raiga of someone he knows very well.

("No, this is something that I must do.")

Their blades clash in bright sparks, momentarily lighting up the space. He's feeling quite conflicted, having to face his friend in this manner. What happened to you? For things to turn out this way..-

Something had been off since their last meeting two years ago. There was really no reason to meet, but a strange case occurring close to the central region had been a convenient excuse. It was pure stroke of luck that the other man happens to be tasked with investigating said case.

 

"--Raiga.., have you ever doubted your own reflection?"

"Eh?" The question caught him with its abrupt and vague nature. "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever looked into the mirror, and saw someone else in it? The same appearance but it wasn't yourself."

He doesn't know how to reply. Never - was the obvious answer, and he could only wonder how it would feel. But he did notice the strange expression the other man wore and the hard grip he had around his blade, like he's trying his utmost to ground himself.

Then he saw the mirrors covered in drapes, the shadows that enveloped the corners of the other's mansion.

"He'd always been secretive of his own feelings, but lately he feels even more distant." So Fusa had told him. For the one closest to him since childhood to say that, then it must’ve been noticeably bad.

He is still haunted by that incident. It’s been some years since the fall of the Mikage family, but time is often relative in this kind of case. That much is obvious to him. What more with the High Council being absolute bastards about it.

And that had been the last time he saw or heard anything from the man. It was a week after that a report reached him - his friend, along with his team, had gone missing. They had gone out some nights before and never came back since. To where they go, nobody knows. Only that it's written in the report that the few days prior to that, the man had behaved rather oddly. There were mentions of him being found in a half-conscious state, surrounded by half decayed vampire remains.

He didn't know what to make of the news. He had a hunch, thanks to all the cases that he had chased after, but he didn't want to jump into conclusions. He didn't want to accept that possibility. It can't be.

(Anything but that.)

And then the man was gone.

 

How could this happen to you?

Facing a demon wearing his friend's face; it could only feel like a horrible nightmare. Still, he could see faint shades of the other within this demon - the way he moves, his stance.

(But certainly not in the way the demon's uncanny pale-yellow eyes glow with unbidden madness, the same one that had threatened to drown Ryuga in its abyss.)

Though strangely he remains somewhat unaffected by the demon's influence. Is it because of his level of control over his own powers? Or is it simply because the other chooses not to?

Then again, this one is not an opponent one could afford to be distracted.

It was well within his expectation that this'll be a much tougher fight compared to the high levels; it sure is, and even more. The man's attack pattern is absolutely chaotic making it hard to gauge. Combined with his speed; it's a wonder anyone could survive this guy.

A flash and suddenly the man are already closing in, striking down. I won't make it-

 

The downward strike was intercepted by another blade. And almost as instantaneous, the man's demeanour changed.

 

"You're finally here, priest."

"Your opponent is me, vampire."