The adventures of Mitsusawa and Manish

[Villamvihar]

There were times when Manish admired a human's resolve, there were times when he thought that they were just stupid, and there were times when he thought that people were outright insane. Right now, Claire seemed to be dangerously close to the third category, but she definitely belonged to a second one as she engaged the creature not even she had any idea about, not to mention that she told him not to kill it. Just what was she thinking, that an unknown abomination like that would consider their kindness? No, that thing had to be destroyed no matter the cost, because Manish knew that it would turn into something beyond comprehension. He had a feeling that it would happen regardless of what they did and how they pleaded with Mitsusawa, so he just mentally disapproved of her actions, then he started drawing with his alchemist's knife, carving intricate symbols into the ground.

As line followed line, weaving strange symbols that made up even stranger patterns which would eventually coalescene into an alchemical circle, Manish realised that this would be one of his most complicated jobs yet. Therefore, he steeled his mind and locked out his surroundings, trusting Claire to keep the monster busy as she seemed to be intent on rescuing her comrade, fighting against the strange creature desperately. The sounds of swords clashing did not effect him at all and he was so focused on his own actions that one could have probably killed him now with even a simple spell. But oh, if the circle he was drawing would be completed, then the creature would be shattered into a thousand pieces under just a few mere seconds, his existence destroyed by weapons even his father would never think of.

Therefore, the fight was already won. Manish just needed to prove that to his enemy.

 

[The Fox and The Spider]

Indeed Claire’s reasoning seemed insane, but she could tell that a part of her friend remained whole, albeit but a fragment. Human’s were indeed a curious lot, constantly fighting against impossible odds for a single ideal. But it was this insanity that permitted them to evolve, to push beyond their current level of understanding, and she’d have it no other way. In the eyes of this abomination, such actions were the desperate last minute resort of one leaning toward madness. Frivolity birthed via a childish delusion that is idealism.

With blades locked the two struggled to overpower each other, grunts reverberated against the wooden walls as the alchemist was hard at work. With eyes narrowing the beast of shadows leapt backwards, broadening the distance between them, finding the struggle to be a waste of its precious time. “You have no hope of beating me conventionally.†The monstrosity arrogantly boasted his egoism rancid to Claire’s unearthly perceptions. Though no matter how hard she tried to refute his logic, the result always proved unfavorable.


“You belittle us, I see you look at us as fools! Those eyes of yours sicken me!†She bellowed, though at first the creature barely took note of her words. Sighing heavily as if her ignorance proved frustrating, “You think too highly of your station in this world.†Such wintry words sown together by a tapestry of callousness beyond compare proved a bit nerve wrecking for the bicolored eyed woman. “What do you mean?†Her words hoping to buy more time for her superior to awaken, as oppose to humor the entity.


“When you see an insect scurry across the floor, do you stop to study it? Do you pause from your affairs to consider its feelings or ideals? No! Surely not, you simply step on it and move about your day…That is an accurate analogy for how I see you pitiful beings!†It was at this time that the unfortunate truth dawned on Clare, that she could only stall the inevitable for awhile longer. And if Mitsusawa should fail to awaken, she’d have to end her friend’s life here and now. Less this being wander and destroy countless lives.


“Let us have a game of endurance shall we?†The entity replied, a vile grin now plastering itself on his onyx face. But before Claire could ask for clarification, the beast acted. From its own shadows blacken pointed tendrils erupted, dancing every which direction before launching themselves in groups of two at Clare. Relentlessly he attacked, as the viper could only deflect the blows, unable to advance a single step due to the onslaught. They were thirty in all, making it painfully obvious that he was merely toying with her.


“You bastard!†She screamed, her eyes drifting toward Manish for a brief second, realizing what he was up to. Though she was no Alchemist, she understood the more complex the formula, the greater and more precise the power. And though it was not finish, she could sense that his dawning attack would destroy her comrade.


This also failed to escape the entity’s grasp, and so with Claire engaged, he’d send four tentacles Manish’s way. “Good bye you meddling alchemist!†The beast growled a sign that he did not forget the thorn in his side from earlier. With Manish so absorbed into his work, (As usual) Claire knew he couldn’t hope to avoid the fast approaching doom. It was at this point that her body acted on instinct, and something unforeseeable occurred… She threw herself in the tentacles path.


All four swarthy appendages pierced her flesh, one on each shoulder, and one on each thigh. Blood began to drench her attire before dripping earthward to decorate the floor. A cry of pain erupted from her shaking lips, even the monstrosity remained stunned by what he witnessed. “Why would one sacrifice themselves too willingly for a being below them?†He audibly mused over…


“Ma….Manish….Run!â€


Those screams of an injured friend pierced the silence of the void, within a sea of tortured souls and darkness her eye lids opened. “Cl-Claire?†Mitsusawa whispered her hands shaking as the smell of blood tickled her senses; the rush of adrenaline from the entity filled her with life. A pulsing energy could be felt stirring within the monster, one even Manish couldn’t fail to ignore. It was a familiar energy that was connected to the bandages…that of Mitsusawa’s own life force.

 

[Villamvihar]

Manish paid no attention to the fight going on, diverting all of his energies into this one alchemical circle. He could not afford to make even one mistake with this, because he had no chance nor time to make sure that everything was okay, so he just ignored as Claire defended him valiantly, only noticing her efforts when she was pierced and she landed quite close to the edge of the alchemical circle he was preparing. At that sight, Manish raised his head, then he noted that it was now only him standing against the beast, with the complicated circle he was weaving not being nearly complete. He needed at least several more minutes to finish the formula, but now that he was alone, he had no choice. With a thought, a swarm of swarmers came into being instantly, swarming the strange figure as they appeared, the mind of Manish creaking under the strain he put it through.

He let the insticts of the swarmers rule over them as they would not exist for more than a split second, concentrating on a more complicated spell until the spiders dissolved into tiny, purplish particles. Naturally, the monster could not let him get away with it, but by the time he fought off the spiders, Manish was already ready and two, life-size dolls appeared beside him, materialising first as purple forms, then as gender-ambigious statues that punched the monster square in the face without even as much as listening to the sounds which came out of its mouth while Manish consciously ignored the words. This abomination, he would destroy even at the cost of his own life, because it was clearly something that was not meant to be.

Or at least he thought he would destroy it, but then he felt the strange wave come over him as if Mitsusawa was in there, as if she was still fighting, which made his resolve waver for a bit before it lit up like a flame again. No, he decided, he was not going to fall to the deceptions of whatever this beast was. Concentrating on the dolls, he took over them and made them attack with their full strength, their blows raining upon the beast as if they were cannon rounds. He could not let up with the siege. He could not let this thing prevail.

 

[The Fox and The Spider]

The once dreary floor boards were now adorn with pools of blood as Claire was helplessly suspended by the shadowed tendrils. Bicolored eyes narrowed as she struggled to stay conscious, locking with those of her companion Manish, who seemed to absorb by his work that it took him moments to note her injuries. To most such wounds would prove fatal, but Claire had unparallel regenerative abilities, in time such injuries would fade as quickly as they had formed."Manish…Mitsusawa is still alive." Weakly she whispered, her words barely audible due to the weakness overcoming her body.




The viper had no way of knowing if her words were getting through to him. The once unrelenting foe had abruptly halted, as a battle had begun to stir within. The nefarious entity soon found himself fighting a two front battle as both Mitsusawa clawed for freedom in the abyss, and his puppets launched their assault. The inner struggle created a window, wide enough so that his mannequins could make their approach and land their attack with no interruption. Their blows connected, causing the beast to grunt in pain as he stumbled back, letting Clare free from its grip.





Helplessly she fell to the floor, blood now staining the outer rim of his complex alchemical circle. The now freed tendrils whipped violently about, their razor sharp edges slicing the mannequins in half with ease. Knowing it's peril the entity then turned his attention toward the circle being formed, sending countless tendrils around the circle itself, shattering the floor boards as shards of wood flew every which direction. But just before two of the tentacles could pierce Manish they suddenly stopped, with but inches to spare.




Letting out an otherworldly shrill the creature grasped its head firmly as those deadly appendages of his dissipated from their plane of existence. Ripples coursed throughout its solid form as crimson lightning danced up and down the entirety of its frame. A slender hand suddenly erupted from its gut as the busty and defined figure of Mitsusawa crawled out from the entity's body, as if being born anew. Her body was drenched in an unknown liquid as she crawled away from her prison, struggling to rise to her feet. Claire could only offer the strange spectacle a weaken stare as her breathing became shallow.




Mitsusawa was free, yet the monster still remained. "Now fade…fade to the nothingness from which you were conceived!" Barked Mitsusawa as she drew her blades, the hoarse whisper of their friction serving as a comfort to her friends no doubt, "I will not be defeated so easily! If I am to die so be it, I am taking you all with me to the smoldering depths of hell!" His threat proved sound as the tendrils appeared once more, less numerable then before. What followed next could only be summed up as a vicious volley of swipes.




The tenacity of his strikes easily being thwarted by Mitsusawa's defensive capabilities with her blade, letting out a soft growl with each successful block and parry. "I have consumed most your powers…you will not be able to defeat me!" She purred, the monster knew her words to be true. "So be it!" His voice like thunder as the tendrils now set their sight once more toward Manish. Like Claire her superior threw herself in harms well, with blade in the shape of the X she protected her vital areas. The tentacles only grazing her appendages before smashing into the ground; Mitsusawa knew all too well that only Manish circle could speed up the entity's death.

 

[Villamvihar]

Death brushed by Manish as the tentacles stopped just short of his head and the scientist instinctively jumped back, almost ruining the carefully constructed alchemical circle, which was already chipped in some places because of the fighting. For a second, he believed that he would die and he was quite surprised at the fact that he was still very much alive, then as he looked at the beast, his eyes widened in surprise. Although he had not heard Claire nor he paid attention to her, the abomination seemed to split open in a colourful display of lightning combined with unrecognisable energies, then it just broke open.

Much to the surprise of Manish, Mitsusawa climbed out of the strange creature, covered in some bizarre liquid that he could not recognise. For several precious seconds, he stared at the strange sight, his mind not quite accepting what just occured, then he willed himself to move, for he had an alchemical circle to finish, he had an abomination to kill. Glancing over to the complicated creation, he quickly took into his hand his alchemists' knife, then he rushed to the points were the circle was damaged, quickly redrawing the symbols inside it. When he was done with that, he determined where he had left the circle incomplete, then he jumped there through the deviously intricate engravings in the ground, avoiding all of them.

The fight went on in the background as Manish concentrated on his alchemy again, his mind almost breaking from the strain he put it through. He had to recall formula after formula, engraving after engraving, then connection after connection as he joined everything together into one great pattern. Sweat started pouring down on his forehead as he strained his muscles so he could finish everything as fast as possible, and if one were to take a peek into his mind, they would have went insane trying to comprehend the chaos inside.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternety, but was only a few minutes in real life, he was complete and he closed the alchemical circle immediately. There was no time to think everything over, not to mention that the scientist felt as if his brain was about to explode from the quick thinking he had to do and from all the things he had to recall, some of which were from his very early days in studying. The result, however, was worth every single drop of sweat that flowed down his forehead.

Suddenly, the ground started burning along the lines of the alchemical circle, the engraved lines slowly filling up with nothing other than reinforced, almost-impossible-to-break metal that could only be shattered by a strong destructive spell or a similarly reinforced weapon. What is more, there were no carvings inside the strange material, which meant that the symbol supported its own structure, an almost-paradoxical insanity of a creation that was only used when an alchemist was desperate. But the madness did not end there as six blades were formed out of the ground, sealing six circuits of the alchemical circle, leading into the centre of it in a line. They seemed to reflect light in an otherworldy way, and if one were to even slightly touch the blades, their hand would get severed by their razor-thin edges.

Most devastating, though, was the shape of the alchemical circle. It was a six-stage alchemical symbol that activated its pieces when the swords were removed. Each sword was designed to last only for a certain amount of time, until a part of the circle was fully charged, then it would dissolve into nothingness in the hand of the user. This made sure that while one could hold their ground using the swords, they would not get turned against them completely. The line of swords leading to the centre served to lure the opponent there, providing a line of retreat for the one who was to use the symbol. And in the centre, death awaited the beast, a masterfully done reversal and altering of a series of complex alchemical symbols that Mitsusawa knew all too well.

Exhausted by his own work, Manish slumped to the ground and let tiredness take over his body. His mind literally felt as if it was swimming and his body felt like heavy lead. It would be perhaps an hour before he could muster the will to move, but it was worth it, for the abomination in front of him would be destroyed by the very thing that made it.