Alpha Belt
Elythos
Spirare Foris
“You have three unread messages.”
“Astra, where the hell did you go? I thought we were supposed to hunt together. You fucking ditcher.”“Astra, what’s happening? Please reply.”“Astra, answer my calls.”
Astra rolled her eyes as Raphael’s voice rang throughout the
area, she shoving her phone back into her back pocket as she hunted down a
loose Daimon. “Why won’t he stop chasing,” she muttered, frustration bubbling
up in her as she chased the being deeper into the dark. “I swear to Sceo I’m
going to kill the idiot if he comes,” the girl spat.
She leapt over a fallen log and kept running, following the
footsteps that led her further. A Daimon had wreaked havoc in the town,
escaping quickly as it moved to Spirare. It had caused uproar amongst the
peoples, and Astra quickly took her weapon and chased after it – abandoning the
seat where she waited for her companion.
Usually, the best thing to do was to call back up – in this
case, Collette and Cissa – and the three of them would exterminate the Daimon
to the best of their ability. However, the two weren’t with her and Raphael was
slow, so she went herself.
She found herself regretting that action very much.
“Are you alone, little Worldly?”
Astra clutched her weapon tightly, turning to the source of
the sound. She saw the Daimon there – a perfectly normal-looking person – save
for the black tattoos crawling up his face and arms. The being sent her a
slight smile and simply stood there, Astra knowing well that he hid weapons as
well.
“What’s it to you?” she asked coldly. The Daimon chuckled.
“You poor little thing. You know that you should always have
a partner with you when battling one of our kind.” She bit her lip and the
Daimon raised its brow. “Or are you a new recruit?”
“I’ve been here a long time, Caprice. I just happened to come
alone to give you some fair odds.” Cracking its knuckles, the Daimon grinned
wickedly, eyes pitch black.
“Wrong move, sweetie.”
* * * * *
“Fuck you, Astra,” Raphael Dasos cursed, punching his way
through the branches that got in the way, running as fast as he could. He was
following the marks she left – as he drew nearer, he could trace her
Quintessence lingering around the trees, sticking to them.
Why would she go alone?
Why didn’t she call the others?
Why didn’t she call him –
Raphael punched a log that blocked the way, splitting it into
half. His face was contorted with confusion, anger, frustration – and worry. He
hated that Astra left alone, and hated it more that he had to be late.
Otherwise, she’d be hunting the thing with him.
I’ll kill
her once I get my hands on her, he thought, fuming. Even if it means having Amaya kill me.
Goddamn you, Astra and your fucking hero complex –
He heard a choking noise.
“Astra–”
“This is
why you need backup. To avoid incidents like these.”
The voice was mocking, deep. Male, even.
“S-Stop it
– stop…”
Raphael’s blood chilled. He crept around and looked, finally
seeing the person he was looking for. Astra was being lifted by the Daimon – a
hand around her neck as the other reverted into claws.
Summoning his javelin, Raphael attempted to calm down as the
monster squeezed tighter, making her breath hitch. He could see the paleness in
her form, the way she struggled and gasped for air –
And he threw it, aiming at the being’s head.
Astra felt dizzy. Black flickered around her and she squirmed
weakly, already semi-drained by Caprice, Quintessence leaking out. The being
grinned wickedly and lifted a clawed hand to kill her, and Astra choked.
I’m sorr –
A javelin sailed through the air, piercing Caprice perfectly.
The Daimon shrieked and let go of Astra, the girl falling onto the ground with
a loud thump. Astra felt herself
bleed, unable to focus. Her eyesight flickered.
With the little focus she had, she shut her eyes and drained
out the world.
The only sense that worked perfectly was hearing. As tired as
she was, Astra head the hisses of Caprice, the lunges the being took. On the
other side, she heard gunshots and heavy breaths, the sound of something
striking another. The way the bullets fired sounded familiar, and it tugged
tightly at her memory, begging for her to remember.
Outside the girl’s flickering subconscious, Raphael gritted
his teeth and fired at the Daimon, who jumped from branch to branch. Pausing to
quickly reload his gauntlets, the man aimed and fired. “Don’t be a fucking coward!” he roared.
The Daimon seethed and jumped down, summoning its own
weapons. Golden arrows rose and surrounded Raphael, the male stopped and
quickly scanned the perimeter.
“Game over.”
With a wave of the Daimon’s hand, the arrows shot towards
him.
Raphael closed his eyes.
And the arrows struck him, a cloud of smoke rising. Grinning
wickedly, the Daimon sauntered forward, preparing to drain the intruder of his
Quintessence – and after him, it would be the girl. Once the smoke cleared
away, claws retracted and his fingers returned, fangs protruding from his
teeth.
Cold shock wrapped around Caprice at the sight.
Instead of a body, a nearly dead body maimed with arrows, a
block of wood took its place.
Caprice heard a swish in the air and turned around, desperately
summoning his next trick, but it was no use. Before he knew it, his own body
fell, bronze eyes wide as the javelin came out of his neck, bleeding black.
Astra’s eyes flickered open.
“Astra, what the fuck were you thinking?!” Raphael yelled,
having run to the girl and trying to sit her up. His gauntlets reverted back
into thick bracelets and he pushed her hair out of her face, cursing as the
blood began coating his fingers. “Fuck. Fuck. I’m going to kill you if you make this out alive,” he hissed, and
Astra managed a weak laugh.
“S-Sorry, Da–”
“Shut up, Astra.” Carefully, he removed his own top and
wrapped tightly around the bleeding area, lifting her up soon enough. “Just
hold on for me, alright? Just…just hold on.” Astra managed a nod and Raphael
began hurrying back, the trees and flora of the deserted place making way for
the Forest Parallel.
Eventually, they saw light.
No comments:
Post a Comment