This time I’ll always be with you, no matter what happens, no matter how bad it might hurt me.

  Saving Raseyla means breaking her out of the swarm’s control. Yet there isn’t a power in this city able to best a being meant to destroy cities and people. But if what that girl says is true, then even swarms have weaknesses.

  Francis can’t come, an Arvenian swordsman has kept him at bay, so it’s up to him. He could take the stairs and the proper way down, but these labyrinthine halls will take him too long to navigate.

  The boy pulls his arms back, and clenches them to a fist.

  Bleeding.

  Bleeding.

  And bleeding from his eyes into every vein in his body, an alien kind of energy, shimmering the same blue as his pupils. Producing from his body the mechanical song of a straining air turbine.

  “――!!”

  He’d never gone this far, never funneled so much energy into his small body, and it gave him all the confidence he needed. Staring down a glass-paned window which overlooked the city from a tall height, he took a single step, and it bursted him forward!

  Shattering Glass.

  Freefalling into the air!

  Turning and driving his fingers up against the wall―pulverizing the stonework as he drags to slow himself down. Before the throne-room’s glass-pane windows, he grips at the window frames and smashes himself in―soaring high and clinging onto the ceiling.

  “Found you.”

  There it is in all its ugly glory. A mass of patchwork, overgrown skin with stretch marks marring every inch of its body―attempting to create a human chimera; a bearded head with oversized canines, a human goat with rotting ribs for horns, and a naked spine jutting out of its tail, hanging a woman’s head at its end―melted together into the unholy fusion of a quadrupedal beast.

  For all its abhorrence, he only cares for saving her.

  Alabaster arms explode from the chimera’s numerous stretch marks, releasing a cacophony of arms in equal counts to each person in these halls. He cannot drag this fight around for long―

  No, he doesn’t have a choice. Pulling his punches will get him killed.

  From the ceiling came a terrible shockwave, at the next blink, his crash thunderclaps against the human chimera―sending plumes of crushed stone and floor up into the air.

  Amidst plumes of stone turned to dust, the whirring sound of wind bursts all around the aggressor! When dust settles―

  “Haa...” He breathes, standing strong with his eyes set against the gruesome beast.

  While the human chimera shakes, as it slowly breaks out of the wall it was sent to.

  ‘Grit your teeth―’ Winds howled around his feet, “―I will bring glory to my name!”

  A name his Aldian mother gave, one based on her faith: Cain, Father of Murder.

  △▼△

  Trias cuts down an illusory girl, the one he made a promise to all those years ago…

  “You’re four hundred years too late.”

  Returning to reality, he finds that his blade is stuck upon the swarm’s white arms, with a heave, he cleaves it with his blade―watching it fade to dust.

  “Resisting isn’t impossible, it seems.” Said Xerceid.

  He was right behind Trias, and it seems he was ruminating over the white hand that grasped into his head. Tapping it with his skull even.

  “Another one of your heresies?” Said Trias.

  “Not at all, I simply left the burden to ‘another’ version of Xerceid Astrophel.” He tapped his cane against it, and the arm fragments into glass, “I’ll keep a close eye on it.”

  As much as Trias would love to just lop his head off clean before this untrustworthy mage does anything with that piece of the Swarm ― he’s rather short on good allies to have. One day he’ll act on it, but for now―

  “What’s the plan, knight?” Said Xerceid.

  Right. A plan.

  Since Xerceid can deal with it that way, the effects of the Swarm can be attributed to the mind, or perhaps the soul and he’s just giving it to an alternate self. It can spread through hysteria―and in a way is akin to that effect.

  Hysteria at its core causes people to be swept by what other people do―which means that if one person gets afflicted by the Incineration Swarm and makes contact with someone from the riots outside . . .

  “Pull back your Raid Commander and call your most trusted shadows.” Trias said, “We’ll contain the hysteric spread before it spreads to the people outside.”

  △▼△

  The infiltration plan consisted of three separate approaches, Cain would approach from the top―Francis will charge directly from the front―

  ―Lorana will find an opening, her role in the plan as simple as it can be.

  Mental degradation in non-sapient beasts, such as vampires, goblins, or even phoenixes can lead to rapid metamorphosis and result in the loss of their rationality. The swarm―as expected―has stopped being ‘Sapient’ despite its human host.

  Finding this human host, Raseyla, is her job.

  “. . . Keep her steady now.”

  Lorana said between the crowds of frightened knights and spectators.

  She tried to get a look―

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  ―Yet their fighting began once more.

  Corrosive flames burst from the human chimera’s skin, releasing a bellowing sound as all three heads eyed Cain.

  『?????????』

  It began a swift charge. Its hulking body of nearly 8 meters at the highest crashes forward! One blink, and it covered half the distance it needs to reach Cain―

  ―He held his breath, then all at once, the mechanical hum surrounding Cain’s muscles had stopped. All the wasted energy leaking out the metaphysical engine that is his body stopped leaking.

  Most of that energy concentrated to his foot, and in explosive force―

  ―He collides against sound, sliding himself under the chimera’s hulking mass!

  Cain stopped his bullet-dash by grasping at the chimera’s left hind-leg. Its deathly charge altogether stopped by the sheer speed and force of his counter charge! And in successive motion, he twists his body―

  『?????―――A???a???a???a???a???a???h???h???h???!???!???』

  ―And twists the human chimera’s knee to degrees it should not be.

  Forcing the beast to howl its pain, in a sound that he could only comprehend as something in crunched up agony. But without intention of just taking blows, the serpent rears over to him. Forcing Cain to unlatch and jump off―

  But it’s too late. The human-serpent opened its maw and crushed his left waist area.

  “Ghhh!!―”

  Before it got worse, he raised his elbow, and with all his incredible might―smashes it against the human serpent’s head, forcing its maw to pull open! Though it came with a terrible cost . . .

  “Haaahh… shit.” Said Cain.

  His left arm is assailed by this painful static feel. Feeling around with his other arm, he found that the place it seared the most was his elbow itself―perhaps he broke a bone, or damaged a vein.

  Either way, he can’t use that arm anymore. Grapple maneuvers are off the table.

  But he can punch.

  He can slap.

  And he can hurt with that left arm, even if it hurts him back. Break his body in two or thousands, and in doing so scream his answer to that beast! Pulling his arms back, raging into his body the violent energies that became his strength, “Come on!!” tearing at his throat as the mechanical hum resumes.

  His kinetic wrath burned blue into his arms, then his neck, and the rest of his body. The next step thunders and he launched towards the human chimera―

  “Cain!” Lorana’s voice pierces through the rush of wind in his ears, “At the stomach, Raseyla’s at the stomach!”

  『▂▂▃▃▃▃▅▅▅▅▅━━━━』

  The swarm made a terrible cry . . . a literal swarm of a hundred voices consisting of every spectator of every road of life, screaming increasingly incoherent words. It poured strength into its hind-legs and charged ahead―

  ―Meeting the bullet of blue that is Cain, and colliding with him.

  The very force of their charge cancels out as a shockwave flies, tearing at the stone works around them. The chimera recoiled and was forced to stand on its hind-legs, while Cain’s arms bruised blue―he willed his next steps forward and rushed for its stomach grasping at the skin.

  The swarming screams remained incoherent yet their voices convalesce into a single mantra that slowly sounds like Raseyla’s voice―

  I???? ????w?????a???n????t??? ????t????o???? ?????l???i????v????e????.???? I??????? ?????w??????a???????n????t????? ????t????o???? ???????l??????i????v?????e???????.????? I???? ????w?????a???n????t??? ????t????o???? ?????l???i????v????e????.???? I??????? ?????w??????a???????n????t????? ????t????o???? ???????l??????i????v?????e???????.????? I???? ????w?????a???n????t??? ????t????o???? ?????l???i????v????e????.???? I??????? ?????w??????a???????n????t????? ????t????o???? ???????l??????i????v?????e???????.????? I???? ????w?????a???n????t??? ????t????o???? ?????l???i????v????e????.???? I??????? ?????w??????a???????n????t????? ????t????o???? ???????l??????i????v?????e???????.????? I???? ????w?????a???n????t??? ????t????o???? ?????l???i????v????e????.???? I??????? ?????w??????a???????n????t????? ????t????o???? ???????l??????i????v?????e???????.????? I???? ????w?????a???n????t??? ????t????o???? ?????l???i????v????e????.???? I??????? ?????w??????a???????n????t????? ????t????o???? ???????l??????i????v?????e???????.?????

  When had wanting to live looked so ugly?

  “Ras . . . eyla!!”

  His gums bled as he forced the voices out of his head, bleeding his fingers into the stomach to try and force Raseyla out of its belly―

  ―But the pain slowed him down.

  『??????????』

  In a triumphant cry, silvery arms burst out of the human chimera's stretch marks and clawed at the wounds made by the Serpent-head.

  “Cain!” Lorana shouts.

  Watching as the hands peel open his wounds and throw him towards a pillar. In his weakness he couldn’t catch himself, and crashes into the stone. But without giving himself a moment to rest he stood up right away—stumbling on his feet, choking and coughing out his spit.

  “Cain you—“ Lorana floated to eye level and pulled him by the collar, “—You’re going to die, you can’t fight like this!”

  “I won’t die!” He takes her slap in stride, “That thing’s pulling its punches. Since when have you heard of a chimera who only charges and bites? It’d be no better than a massive bull!”

  He’s heard the stories of multi headed beasts that take a whole knight squadron to eliminate—he was no mightier than three Blythes in a good day, and he was certainly no stronger than a beast of that might. Cain just cannot afford to rest or back down, not when he’s the only one able to keep it busy.

  Not when he’s the only one unaffected by its soul-corroding abilities!

  “Listen to me—“ Lorana was about to start, but…

  “What’s wrong with wanting to live?!”

  . . . Lorana stopped, so did the swarm, and every soul in that room.

  “That girl hasn’t given up, she fought as far as she could, and when you pushed her one final time—look at what you made her do!”

  She’ll take all those lives and corrode those lives in the process, because it’s the only thing she knows how to do as she is. When the inevitable time that she sobers and remembers what she did, how would she go on?!

  Perhaps this is sophistry, or maybe it’s unrealistic. But if it’s the end of the world, then he won’t let them go free from their crimes!

  “You call her different and throw stones at her. You laugh and make a spectacle with the whole city on watch! You start the final hours, days, or months of our lives condemning a girl to her death—and you call this good! You’ll sleep the next of your shit days thinking you’ve done good by killing her, is that it?!”

  He expected a backlash, someone who wouldn't agree—and there was, the very first Blythes who fought off the swarm’s pull and resisted began to shout at him and object, reminiscent of that day from long ago.

  “Are you done?—“

  Yet Lorana’s voice got through, and she slapped both her palms at either side of his face, demanding all his attention.

  “—Before you start making enemies, take a damn good look at yourself. Make one more move and those bite wounds will tear and bleed you dry. You want to be kind? As weak as you currently are?”

  “What . . . What does that have to do with anything!—“

  “Everything, you bloody fool! Had you been stronger, had you not made the mistake of being bit, then you’d be protecting her… but you’re wounded! You want to die protecting her? Burden her with one more death to her name?!”

  Lorana looked as if she’d cry—yet she grounded his stumbling self to the ground.

  “You think something will change because you started speaking sense? They don’t care! They’ve already decided she must die and that’s the frustrating end of it because they think that’s the smart thing to do! Even in the ‘enlightened’ 21st century or all the way to our decrepit part of the universe, they don’t decide things for themselves! They want someone strong to do it for them…”

  Her thoughts, her rage―it bleeds onto his skin. From what he could understand . . .

  . . . ‘The only thing that’s changed is the way they described that power, it could have been money, faith… even the way this entire world runs!’

  He . . . felt this a long time ago… did she as well?

  “Kindness needs strength.” Her feeble hands pulled back. “Only then will they listen.”