Chapter 19: Rage

“Balam.” My entire body shivers. “Let me out.”

“I can’t do that.” His voice answers. “I know how you’re feeling right now.”

“Then let me out.”

“You’ll charge into your own demise. Hijack is created exactly for this sort of situation.”

“Does that mean you knew it would happen?”

“… No. I couldn’t have predicted it.”

His words are true, seeing his surprised look just now. I know that. But why should I care?

“Let me out.” I repeat.

“No.” The same answer.

“I SAID LET ME OUT!”

There’s no answer anymore. Only a sickening silence remains. Damn it. Why do I have to watch this? Why can’t I get out there and sick my blade through that bastard’s chest? Am I supposed to just leisurely sit here in this place, forced to watch my loved ones die without being able to do anything?

“ANSWER ME, BALAM!”

My only response is the cold, lifeless nature and the small portal that keeps on showing the aftermath without a care in the world.

“My, my. You’ve got a lot more impatient these days… Tristan.” Balam, in my voice, says.

“Tristan? … Ah, I get it. Long time no see… Merlin.” The angel answers with a light smirk. “However, impatient? I’ve been waiting for this chance for thousands of years. If I could get more patient, I’d lose my sanity already.”

Shut up. You have no right to speak of sanity.

“But you haven’t achieved your goal yet. Bedivere is still out there. Why bother with her?”

Bedivere? Who’s that? Why should I care about them?

“I’ll get him one day. For now, this will have to do… Except, I’ll be taking that body’s life as well.”

“Shut up.” I throw my fist at the portal, only to be phased through completely.

“I can’t let you do that. The boy is still my partner, after all.”

“Shut up.” I can feel the warm stream of crimson flowing out of my palms. But no matter how much I grip my hands; I can’t get out of this damn prison.

“Looks like both of us still can’t let go of our past, after all. Are you still sorry for what happened to us?”

“Losing Arthur was my first, and biggest, mistake. I’ll never let it happen again. Even if the one I’m protecting despises me for it.”

“Shut up,” my eyeballs burn, as if my veins are ready to pop at any time, “why can’t you all just…”

“SHUT UP!” The last shout tears through my lungs. I can feel the salty, metallic scent of blood in my mouth. But that is only trivial compared to what I have managed to pull off. Seeing through my own eyes again, moving with my own limbs again… I’m overjoyed. So happy, in fact, I could kill someone. And that someone… is flying right above me right now.

A red light engulfs my body. I can feel myself brimming with power, much more so than what I had experienced with Armed before. A knight’s armor clads my body once again, but gone was its white shine. What covers me now is a full body armor dark as night, with glowing red lines like the bloody veins coursing within me. Excalibur, as if reading my mind, has also changed to my liking, as its black blade now glows a dreadful crimson light. Pointing the sword towards the now confused angel, I grit my teeth and declare:

“Taking my life? Speak for yourself, angel. You’re the one dying here today!”

“Such intimidation. And what a getup, too.” The angel, upon seeing my new appearance, only lets out an amusing smile, as if everything up until this point has just been a game for him, no more, no less.

“Do you think this is funny to you?” With a scream of rage, the sword in my hand bursts out a stream of black and red energy, concentrating into a pillar of mass destruction. Seeing the swirling mass of power on my blade, the angel seems to be taken aback just for a slight second, before ultimately composing himself and lets out a slight smirk:

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“Is that Solar Excalibur? Is it like this because it’s still night? Or is it just changing color to match your new look?”

“It’s for sending you to hell!” I shout and swing my sword forward, releasing the blast in its entirety. The pillar of energy descends from the sky, blasting through the other angels in the army, leaving nothing but ashes behind. As it approaches my intended target, however, like his encounter with Pelle, Gabriel just raises his hand forward without a care in the world.

The resulting sound waves from the explosion, let alone the blast itself, is enough to send everyone flying, even myself had my boots not been digging into the ground from conjuring the shot. However, as the dust settles, he’s still standing tall without a speck of dust on his body, with that damn grin on his face that’s pissing me off enough to no end.

“What happened to all that smart deduction from before? You said it yourself, ‘Petey’. The stronger the attack, the less effect it has on me.”

“Don’t you dare call me with that name!” With a raging scream, Excalibur burns once again, with even a bigger energy blast than before. If this attack hits, it can even destroy a city. I refuse to believe it can’t damage him!

Another swing, but another time my strike is completely nulled. I can’t believe it. No. I don’t want to believe it. I know there’s a way to kill him! I’m going to kill him! I have to kill him! Because if I don’t…!

“How can I continue to live?!”

I have no idea how I’ve been having enough energy to keep on firing these shots. Was it because of Galatine? To be honest, I don’t even care anymore. All I know is that I have power now. Power to destroy my enemies. Power to avenge the ones I love.

However, the more hits I pull off, the less interested my foe is in me. Gabriel is still standing tall, taunting me with that nonchalant look. Meanwhile, with each shot, my muscles grow sore and my vision goes blurry. And it only gets worse. Even in this perpetual anger, I know my time is still limited, and at this point is when I’m burning my brightest.

A sudden bang explodes from afar, and along with it comes a multitude of battle cries coming from all ends. Iron balls can be seen falling from the sky, as at the far end of a river, a giant ship raises its black sail towards us. An angel then flies to Gabriel with a panicked look on his face, struggling to put together the words needed:

“Lord Gabriel! The rebels… They’ve brought reinforcements from the sea! We’re being surrounded!”

“Tch. So, there were more?” With an annoyed look on his face, Gabriel grunts. “We’re leaving this place! Men, move out!”

Where are you going, Gabriel? We still have a score to settle. I’m not letting you escape that easily. Don’t you dare turn your back against me, angel. Come back here. Look at me.

“Fight me!”

A bolt of lightning then strikes from atop of me, interrupting my thoughts.

As I turn around, Pelle, in her normal form, with her tome in hand, raises her hand in fatigue in what looks to be the last of her energy.

“Are you betraying me too, Pelle?” I let out a roar filled with anger.

“Stop and use your head for a second, boy!” She answers with a shout of her own. “Look at you, and look at him! As much as I hate to admit it, he’s out of our league right now! Retreat while you can, and prepare to fight another day!”

“And we’re supposed to run away with our tails behind our legs because of that?”

“I’ve been through your struggles! I know how powerless we are in front of him!” Pelle pours out her heart as well. “We’ll have our chance another day! But if you don’t get out of here now, there is no other day for you!”

“He killed Bea!”

“So what?! Do you have any idea how many of my comrades I’ve lost? You think I like doing this? You’re fighting a war, boy! Stop with the childish thoughts and learn to move forward! No one’s waiting for you!”

“She’s more than just a comrade!”

“And her death won’t have any meaning if you don’t get your sorry ass out of here!” As if tired of arguing with me, Pelle raises her hand forward, and from her tome, small, long strips of lightning form, reminiscent of a sturdy rope. The lightning then entangles my body, restricting all of my movements, taking special care of my arms and legs in an attempt to bind me completely.

“Let me go! Pelle! LET ME GO!”

I struggle continuously, but the lightning ropes are just too strong of a bind. Pelle then grabs hold of one end on my back, and throws a scornful look at the angel, now only a small dot far away from the battlefield.

“Gabriel! Come back and fight me like a man! GABRIEL!”

My throat feels like being ripped out, but the angel shows no signs of answering back. And that’s the last image that I see before a blue circle appears beneath our feet and transports Pelle and I away.

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