Bab 14: A CALAMITY

PRESENT TIME

***

"A familiar?!"

Caspian wondered as he stared at the entity that hovered above Makima.

'I knew it just had to be borrowed power.'

He had been wondering how someone with just one soul core could perform such feats.

Now he had his answer.

It was a ghastly thing, pale and gaunt with no facial features. Its teeth were like piano keys lean and coloured a pale yellow, laying half open at the bottom of its faceless face, with long limbs that ended in bone claws.

It had a sinister presence that seemed to spread from the ominous purple mist sipping out of Makima's blade. The mist was sharp and rapid bathing her entirely in its dark embrace.

On the other side of the frozen lake was the cloaked man.

He stared at her with no particular expression lining his lips, boredom maybe. He held onto his straw hat as the purple mist spun fiercely with the winds. But he remained unfazed by the eruption.

As his hat fluttered in the air Caspian was able to catch a glimpse of his eyes and the scars that ran across them. The scars ran deep with a soft vermilion glow. His brows meanwhile were tied in a knot focused solely on Makima and her deathly familiar.

Caspian first tried to peer into the familiar with his spectral gaze but all he could see was a mass of raging purple Will.

Makima's blade however had three cores somehow reflecting off its stainless blade.

'That had to be the medium.'

Caspian didn't know much about familiars but he was quite certain.

"This might actually be fun."

The gaunt man said as he gently walked across the frozen lake. His leather boot crunched against the ice.

Makima meanwhile had taken her stance, holding the blade with both hands as she planted her feet away from each other.

Her expression was just as calm, waiting till…

The man had yet to pull out his blades when Makima suddenly shot forward, disrupting the calm of the frozen lake as she flew across it.

The next second she was now somehow hovering right above the gaunt man her blade sizzling with scorching Will, with her familiar hanging right beside her.

Boom!

The lake quaked under the force of the dire slash. Steam rose as a deep scar now lined the frozen platform, standing beside it was the gaunt man with both hands clasped unto oddly shaped blades. One was broad with a curved end, while the other was tall with a wide double curving end.

He had a viscous smile that revealed his lengthy canines. There was this dark steam that leaked from his cloak almost like it was burning with a quiet hum. Caspian could see through his Spectral gaze as all four of the man's cores brimmed silently with intensity.

Caspian couldn't help but shudder at the sight… But that was what she deserved for shoving him off the roof.

'Maybe that was why she had dragged me out here in the first place? Wait why did she drag me out here?'

Caspian wondered. It could only be one thing really… to murder him.

Right?

Before she could touch the frozen lake again the man had launched himself into the air brandishing his odd blades.

Makima was far too slow but the thing behind her reacted just in time extending its bone claws to intercept the lethal blow.

The force sent her skidding in Caspian's direction. Fortunately, she caught herself before they could collide.

"What did you want from me?!"

Caspian yelled in her direction. For a moment Makima was perfectly still, but before she could even fully consider his words, the man was right before her once again, with both blades held over his shoulder ready for a lethal strike.

With a groan, Makima raised her blade to catch his.

Boom!

The lake shuddered and then quaked under the weight. Freezing water shot out from between the cracks quickly turning to steam as they made contact with both Wills.

The thing Makima had called Oaru immediately capitalized on the moment, it brandished its dagger's long claws sending it right at the man's torso.

Surprisingly the claws of the pale entity made their way to the man's torso unperturbed. It dug right into his black armour seconds later, practically severing him in half.

Caspian was already staring at the corpse wide-eyed when he suddenly heard a voice come in from behind.

"She's quite impressive. No?"

When Caspian turned he could the man standing right beside him with both his blades still sheeted. When Caspian turned to the severed body he could already see it dissipating into black smoke.

"Maybe I should take things up a notch."

He grinned and the next moment the black lines that lined Devens body receded turning into black smoke.

While the smoke slowly turned to a human, the man had already struck her behind the neck, she fell unconscious screaming;

"Makima run–!!"

'So she knew.'

Caspian scowled unable to look back at her.

The man's copy had both blades on full display as he flew across the frozen platform at breakneck speed. Makima seemed ready to block the blade. This time however his swords were coated in some sinister black steam.

The air wailed at the sight.

"You'll kill her."

Caspian gritted.

"Well, she almost did the same to you."

"And I haven't found out why yet."

Moments before they had collided the black steam wavered before dissipating.

Sparks rose as his bare blade struck hers. Soon they were engaged in an enthralling dance of steel.

The gaunt man was brutal and Viscous in his attacks. Thrusting and swinging his uneven blades like a sinister windmill.

Makima received his ferocity with calm lethality. It was obvious how versed she was in handling a blade, dancing about the man like a whirlwind of steel.

Unfortunately even with the combined effort of her familiar Makima was still unable to breach the man's rather laid-back defenses.

Instead, he had been landing kick after kick, slowly turning her to a bloody pulp.

She soon forced some distance between them. Then while the haughty entity made sure it stayed that way Makima gathered her Will.

Her blade cried out in excitement as it shone a brilliant amethyst hue.

The wind rose waving her raven black hair around like black flags as she raised her blade up high.

"Crazy girl."

The man grinned as he crossed his two blades.

When Makima's blade fell it sawed the frozen lake in half. It missed the clone completely, instead, it barreled towards the original body that stood beside Caspian.

The man barely flinched.

When the strike was mere inches from him, he simply raised his blade and swatted it away.

The lake shuddered and jets of water gushed out from the cracks separating the lake into chunks of frozen land.

Makima had cold sweat streaming down the side of her temple.

"You and I aren't really in the same realm."

The man said appearing right before Makima.

While he reached for her, Caspian's expression suddenly darkened as he peered into the lake.

Moments later three black tendrils shot out of the freezing water. Like it had gone mad it trashed its limbs about causing tremors through the mountain.

"One, two, three… Four cores!"

Caspian exclaimed as the hideous abomination revealed itself from beneath the chilling water.

"A calamity."