"Finally... You won't..." I struggled to get out as I finally forced my way through the gates of Thrurstradtur. The evening was coming to an end, and I had made it! That vile bastard would not be getting past me this night! I would fight him like I always have!
"What is wrong with you..." one of the city-guard let out in disgust as he watched my broken form come by. With a growl, I bypassed him. I went passed them all until I made it to Liadanann's shop.
"N-N-Nin!?" the owner, my friend, let out with a screech as she forced her way passed customers to get to me.
"I'm f-fine..." I coughed as I took myself out of her grip. From there, I dragged my way upstairs until I collapsed at the very edges of my room. But I wouldn't stop there, I couldn't. Not now.
I ignored the pain through a clenched jaw and with the help of animalistic growls until I reached my cupboards. There, I tore off my mask and brought out a heavy canteen which I quickly opened up. Like a man dying of thirst, I glugged the contents down and forced the pain down as the magic-heavy liquid filled me. With two separate thuds, my head and the canteen smacked against the floor and I stared up at the ceiling.
"You will not escape me, Jhurack..." I mutter near-incoherently as my gaze erratically shifts around the room. Everywhere I could, I had placed everything I had learned about him. Every little thing I could piece together about him... I had given up on the original intention of it all, but now, now it just served as further reminders.
Every case of him ever hurting someone, I found out about it and posted it on my walls. The day he ruined my life forever, I stuck it up there. Anyone that I could suspect of being him, I put up there. And now, with the way Seigunfrei had acted today, could I consider him...?
No, that wouldn't make any sense at all... I had left him on that plateau all those hours ago. There was no way it could be him. He wouldn't make it back here in time...
"N-Nin...?" Liadanann asked quietly as she peeked into my room the edges of the doorframe.
"What!?" I spat out at her as I scrambled to my feet as the interior of my body burned. The magic was beginning to circulate inside of me. And as it washed across my burnt-out body, it reignited it with power!
"A... Are you going to want something to eat, before tonight...?" she asked fearfully as my hysterics came to an end. But, she made an appreciated offer, I could only take so much of that concentrate safely. And getting something to dilute it with would be... Helpful, to say the least.
"Y-Yes... Thank you, Liadanann." I let out with a pained stutter before I began to cough some of that almost acidic concentrate back up. But, thankfully, I was able to force it back down as I moved up to my feet. Without another word, she disappeared. Though, with all this magic suddenly in my system, I couldn't tell if that thudding was her or the customers.
It all just came together in one big headache...
"Damn it all..." I growled as I forcibly made the magic settle into my system before I went back downstairs. My limbs were all dead, however, and I struggled to make it down them. I nearly even collapsed as I reached the bottom of them. And without wasting a moment, I made my way outback, to the smaller personal kitchen before I fell onto a sturdy chair with a tremor.
No matter how many times I did this... No matter how often I burnt myself dry and then forcibly reinvigorated myself. I couldn't seem to control it. I couldn't get my body to do what it needed to do in these moments...
"Liadanann!" I snapped from the chair as my fist thumped the table. With a clatter, a hastily put together plate then appeared before me and she watched me nervously.
"W-We'll be closing now everyone, I am very sorry..." she weakly exclaimed to the customers who she trusted enough to leave on their own, apparently. And right after that, she sat across the table from me as I began to eat the food she had brought me. It hurt to do so, but I was thankful for it absorbing some of the concentrate, at the least!
"This is good food..." I tell her as I finish the last of it off before I bend over in pain. The concentrate continued to burn my insides. But it would be over soon, it just needed time to seep into my flesh, and later, this hideous carapace of mine.
"I... I'm glad you like it..." Liadanann tearfully says as she watches me hold back the pain.
I ignored her, for the most part, and instead focused on the light outside and the ticking clock. The kitchen became quiet, only the sounds of her whimpering and the ticking of the clock filled it. I fidgeted only because the magic continued to burn me. But it was calming down.
I was thankful for that, it meant at the very least, I could fight tonight.
"Will you be coming... Will you be back tonight?" Liadanann then asked with a sniffle as she wiped her eyes dry with a napkin. And I looked down at my arm in response.
"I don't know..." I mutter as I watch as the injuries vanish and reverse slightly. A sudden bang against the table then sounded Liadanann's departure. The stairs banged for a brief period and a door was slammed. I then got up and went out through the back door of the bakery.
From there, I climbed up the pile of rubbish Liadanann kept around for sentimental reasons and went onto the roof. I then shuffled over to a small device I had built some time ago. A little rain collector attached to a little dripper full of magic concentrate. And I turned it on.
For such a brief moment, a smile appeared on my face as the magical water began to slowly flow out onto the tiles. But as the flow of water came to a stop, so did my smile. If there really ever was one. I don't think I have ever actually smiled since...
Since that night...
And with a sudden shuffle, I looked off into the distance at the hotel she rested at, "I miss you, Lari... I miss you so much... So... So much."
I then went quiet as I shuffled back to my prior facing. Some people on the streets below got curious about me being up here. But they were not worth more than a periphery glance. And I started to wait.
Nighttime was nearly here, and it would begin prowling the streets. It was soon going to be out there, that monster. He was only a few hours away. Thankfully, I have learned one major thing about him during my time fighting him.
He always appeared relatively close to me.
He always came out specifically to torment me, so anywhere I went, he followed. And after taking one final look down at Liadanann's establishment, I got up. My insides still burned with magic, but I felt ready enough to move on to the next part of the process. Moving about.
I would work it into my muscles in time for when he appeared. So, looking off into the distance, I chose a direction at random. And I began to sprint across the rooftops. Leaping small gaps at first as I reasserted myself over every single sinew of my body.
I still stumbled, and I nearly even fell, but with trained reflexes, I would get back up there. Years of fighting that creature, that monster, that vile, evil man had drilled it into me. He made me chase him, he made me fight as he ran. And when fear or reason overcame my rage, he pursued me and hunted me.
But it was becoming harder and harder for him to get his way. Despite all my failures, all five years of them. I had gotten better, I had gotten stronger. The chaos his tactics embodied was becoming more orderly with each night we duelled.
I was going to win once and for all if he continued on insisting on playing around. His arrogance blinded him immensely. If he did nothing to stop me climbing the mountain he guffawed from the top of. Then I'd be casting him down and along the crags below!
He will lose and I will win...
"And I will have saved you, Lari..." I weakly say as I soar through the air. My descent was seemingly slow at first, but as I lost momentum, the drop became steeper. Yet, as she did all that time ago after we fought side-by-side in the Inter-House Talent Display... She was there to catch me and keep me afloat.
But the fact my thoughts of the situation were not literal pained me to no end. It was only my strength that could keep me in the air right now. And for all the lamenting I did, all of the whimperings of a lost love... I realised it was what I needed to use to stay out of the dark.
Though, ironically, I was avoiding well-lit streets in favour of the darker sky above.
But now was not the time to think about that stuff, for my body was returning to form. The concentrate was sufficiently worked into my body. And with it, I soared high into the sky in a wide arc. Unleashing my mass right before my momentum could carry me on no more.
With the Sundial then in my sights, I began to pull and swing my way towards it. Where possible, I conserved my strength by simply sprinting along the many rooftops. If two towers were close, I jumped between their walls and leapt out onto the first roof. Leaping to the next one over if it was higher or on the way to my destination.
On one of them, however, I came to a stop after I had spun the momentum out of me. Briefly looking at the scrapes I had left on the floor of the roof. I moved to the edge of the high-rise tower and looked out at the brass city. Initially, it was to just see if I could spot the hotel Larishazza rested at.
However, I found myself pondering some words from earlier in the day. When I went to my old dorm and met Frihdeicalkbr again. Something I tended to ignore completely meant a lot to him, or, at the very least, it stuck out to him. And that was what everyone out here in this city thought of me...
"I have become very used to the idea of just ignoring them all." I remark solemnly as a claw rested on the wall ahead of me. For so long, all I was, was just some osibindah to these people, a vile monster that should've been shot. Yet the way that girl spoke about me, some stranger who I have never met until today. She had a positive conception of me...
She even wanted to speak after the fact...?
I couldn't grasp why, but, I felt relieved in a way. Maybe the old me was still in this broken mind of mine. He was still there, hoping for the day people stopped seeing him as a monster. I guess it was just a shame he died five years ago, on that awful night I met that monster...
That, disgusting smile of his... A hideous thing it was. Open cheeks defined by their curved scars that gave way to pointed teeth that shined a clean white. The smile of Smiling Jhurack.
It had come to dominate my memories of that night more than the bloody body of the woman I had confessed to...
"WHERE ARE YOU SO I CAN TEAR YOU APART!?" I roared into the darkening sky in a sudden bout of bloodthirsty rage. But it was a rage I quickly found myself putting the lid on as such behaviour was wasteful. It felt cathartic to just burn off magic into the air in such states. But I couldn't afford to be wasteful right now.
I needed all the strength I could muster to fight him tonight!
My behaviour had caused an issue, though, and an airship of the state-guard came flying over. A strong searchlight flashed down on me for longer than it had to. But the airship departed soon after. And with that, my thoughts returned to that interview from earlier.
"If I was in good standing with them, they would have stayed nearby to help?" I questioned as I watched the airship go back on its patrol. Though, this train of thought quickly found itself back in the depot once I caught sight of a figure in the distance. And I stepped up onto the wall of the tower as my claws curled into fists. Was it time?
I couldn't clearly tell from this distance, but the strange illumination around the figure gave some hints. They were most certainly looking in my direction. And jutting from both sides were thin objects. A sheath and a sword...
"And so, my partner shows up for his next lesson!" the monster softly cackled with a tone that almost sounded like he was right next to me. But, no, he was still over there and he remained so. With a crack of my jaw, I then dropped down the face of the building. With a rope of magic behind me, I rappelled down.
With one pent-up crouch, I then leapt forward and soared over entire streets. Yet, thanks to this madman's damning help, I never fell lower than a few floors. For he had conjured strange constructs out of nothing that did not shimmer their strain and struggle. I leapt and ran across them until I was in the final gap.
"JHURACK!" I roared in fury as I leapt off of the final one and towards him. And with a skilled flick and twist of my arm, I blocked his blade. With my forceful speed and encroaching mass, I forced him back. And as I flipped down onto the roof, he retreated to the wall of the tower.
"Oh, Dance Partner! You've gone out today! What did you do?" he asked me as he began to evoke sparks from the metal panels on the building.
I did not answer him and instead tried to force him off the roof.
"Well, someone has been telling me that you went out of the city for quite some time! A request to handle a wyvern happened to be tallied in under your registration! I say, quite impressive if you did it on your own..." he teased cruelly.
But I would not have it, and I swung my foot up for his face with a rocket-propelled kick.
"But, Dance Partner... Dance Partner... You disappoint me. You left your partner alone to bring it in? I bet you left him to do all of it for you, didn't you?" he questioned with a smile before he slashed his sword along the side of my leg.
Noting this, I backed away with the remaining momentum of my kick and met his next swing. Focusing my magic along the hook I made with one of my claws, I deflected his blade and pressed forward. I struck from his sides, from above and below. A flurry of punches disturbed the wind flowing to the Sundial and the night that had settled in.
"No, no, no! Not like that, like this!" he snapped as he sheathed his sword too quickly for me to even register. From there, sharp jabs were thrust against me with the cane his blade settled into. Wet smacks filled the air as tried to beat me down. Then, when an opening appeared, I thrust my right side forward.
Planting my face squarely against his flexible body and forcing him back. Though, in a display of pathetic clownery, he stumbled over the wall. Knowing what he most likely had done, I smashed through the wall and collected the debris. The arm I had then cocked back prior launched forward and latched onto him magically.
With a sudden dash, I smashed us both into the building and lost sight of him in the chaos. A flash then indicated the extent of his powers as my destruction was reversed. From then on out, I kept my ears open as rapid footsteps filled the dark building. All these cubicles and desks, he was running about them as if they were a maze.
I couldn't follow him just standing here, however, and, despite the danger, I ran into the darkness. I followed the cackles and the laughter wherever they were loudest. If I suspected his blade or hand, I struck out into the dark. Though, too often I only struck office equipment and decorations.
By the end of it, I had been led to the other side of the building, even! It was a frustrating thing, but I knew what I had to do. So I built up my magic and took up a stance. I tested his patience as the air next to me began to flicker with the embers of erupting raw magic stuff.
"Oh, Dance Partner, if you don't learn to take the lead, you won't ever win." Jhurack tuts as he comes out of the darkness and into the rims of the light that was able to shine through. Withholding a response, I kept my posture and waited for him to advance. Despite my preparation, however, he suddenly appeared behind me and slashed his blade along my spine.
"GAH!" I let out in response to the suddenness of it, losing control of my spell in the process. And before I had even hit the floor, my spell fired off through it and likely several others. Alarms blared the moment after and he laughed over me as he kicked me over.
"Dance Partner... My dear, dear, Dance Partner. Focus." he started to say to me before he collapsed onto my body. His blade led the descent and when his knee touched my chest, we suddenly began to fall. Floor after floor went on by as we cleanly fell through a floor that had no right being perfectly cut to match our descent. His free hand then suddenly grasped my mask and he forced me down, through the final crash as the tower of rubble exploded about us.
But after the initial daze, I looked back up and saw nothing had happened at all. And he cackled as he stood up, his blade going right up through my shoulder without the slightest bit of resistance. Then, like how the buildings had been repaired, I suddenly found all of my injuries gone. Though, the memory of the pain stayed in my mind.
And I slowly staggered out through the decorative glass door of the tower, shattering it completely as I stumbled into the busy streets. Knowing what was coming, the people who were once strolling about merrily flipped completely and ran in terror. The few guards nearby shepherded them away, but otherwise, I was left on my own. Then, out he came with an insidious smile as he tapped the deserted road.
"Shall we carry on?" he asked as I got up with a groan.
"Enough with the games already, Monster..." I spit out demandingly as I resume a combat-ready posture.
"Children learn best through play." he mockingly informed.
"You'll find me less and less of a child each night you waste." I growl out to him as I begin to move forward. And he looks around at the retreating crowds before he rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"What am I wasting, exactly?" he asked from behind as his sword suddenly cut close to the vital pipelines of my heart. Blood began to pool up in my mouth and dribble out. It then spilt out in force once he kicked me off of his blade. Leaving me on the cold, hard ground as he walked around.
I wasn't going to die, so I had nothing to fear. But I was still angry at what was transpiring. Everytime he pulled something like this. Doubt set into my mind, what he wanted was thoroughly argued in force...
"Do come find me again soon, Dance Partner. I have much to teach you still." he told me in an uncharacteristically serious tone.
"BASTARD! DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME! DON'T YOU WALK AWAY!" I roar animalistically as I try to force my way up. But with this new injury of mine, I struggled. That cruel, tormenting aid he gave me had been stripped away in but a single thrust! Like with most nights I chased this creature...