Part Thirty-Nine

“So, this is where I fall? Slain by a mortal of all things. How pathetic.”

“Oh, just shut up and die already." I twisted the sword pierced through the Phantasm’s chest, causing a faint crackling sound to be heard. Actually breaking it would take a little more pressure, as it seemed that a Spirit’s Core wasn’t so easy to break.

Haaah, haaah, that was harder then I expected it to be. Damn thing was unnaturally tenacious. It hadn’t mattered where I cut it, the Phantasm had just powered through. Even slicing its neck hadn’t done much to slow it down. I’d imagine that nothing short of a severed limb would weaken it.

But in the end, I’d overwhelmed it, stabbing it through its Core. The Spirit’s time was up, and we both knew it. Still though, it wouldn’t go out quietly.

“This isn’t the end mortal. My brothers shall find you, and inflict the most delicious punishments for this. You shall know suffering the likes of which you cannot even fathom. Your death will be-. GAAAAAHHHH!”

“What did I just tell you? Shut up and die!” I twisted the blade even more viciously than before, causing a sharp snapping sound to ring out. The Phantasm screamed in agony, before its body started to dissolve into dust. All that was left behind of it was the glass-forged sword, and a crystal broken in half.

Phantasm Blade

Rank: C

Effect: Enhances the effects of Mental Magic, Slight increase to Strength,

Description: A blade forged for use by a Phantasm. Made from crystallized magic, the shape a Phantasm Blade takes depends on the Phantasm wielding it. As such, they can be anything ranging from simple longswords to spears or battleaxes.

***

Phantasm Core Fragment

Rank: Special

Description: A piece of a Phantasm Core. Phantasms are Spirits born of magic, and thus their Cores can be used as highly effective foci for magic staves and wands. However, due to the fact that it has been broken, further processing is required to use it in such a fashion.

Well, this is better than nothing. The sword's not bad, but I don’t really need it considering I have the Twin Swords. I don’t really know what to do with the Core Fragments, but I might find a use for them eventually. It’s not like I’m gonna throw them out anyway!

I wasn’t the only one to finish their fight. Puppets littered the ground behind me, looking like they’d been butchered. I hadn’t gotten a good look at them before, but each and every single one of them was desiccated, as if all the moisture in their bodies had been sucked out. Combined with their hollowed-out eye sockets, and they were definitely unnerving, like something from a horror movie. If we’d lost, we probably would’ve ended up just like them. A horrifying thought.

Yeah, I think it’s about time we got out of here. We’ve overstayed our welcome. Two encounters with powerful enemies in one night. I just…how unlucky can you get? Or…are we unlucky? This seems a little too coincidental. We just happen to run into Dread Thralls and a Phantasm in the same night? No, something, possibly the shadow, pushed us down this route. Now I know why those Thralls attacked us like that. They wanted us to come this way so we’d fight this Phantasm. Those fucking bastards. They used us! Well, now I know where they stand, at least. So I guess I won’t have to feel any guilt when I slaughter them all.

I was fuming. If my hunch was right, we’d just been used as a pawn in some kind of war between different Spirits. Sure, we’d done some things of our own, but I don’t believe it warranted this kind of response. And yet, there wasn’t much I could actually do about it. The shadow was well beyond my meager abilities to kill, and any Phantasms stronger than this one would probably be too. If I really wanted to kill them, I’d need more power.

Well, it’s a good thing I’ve got a simple method to get more power. I just need to wait a little longer. Haaaah, patience Michael. Don’t let the rage get to your head. Okay, what are the others doing?

Everyone else had been awfully quiet since the battle ended. I’d noticed the twins head over to the truck after I finished the Phantasm off, but I hadn’t heard or seen anything since. Though I’d been caught up in my own thoughts, so that was slightly understandable.

Glancing over, I saw that they were all standing on the other side of the truck, and that Alicia was crouched down over something. And since I couldn’t see Kalia, the worst-case scenario of her having been hit entered my mind. I dashed over, fully expecting to see blood, but there wasn’t anything. In fact, Kalia wasn’t even hurt.

Physically, at least.

“It’s okay Kalia. They’re all dead. Michael and Gwyn finished them off. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Alicia was trying to soothe an agitated Kalia, who was so distressed that she’d puked, though she’d avoided getting any on herself at least. This wasn’t normal fear. It was intense emotional distress, the kind that only those who experienced an extremely traumatic incident would understand. And I most definitely wasn’t one of those. I’d have to leave calming Kalia down to Alicia, since she was probably the most qualified to do so, though even that was a stretch.

I’ve seen people who were clearly traumatized by what they saw when the System appeared, and there were even a few mercenaries who broke down back in the Siege Dungeon, but even the most extreme of them wasn’t like this. I…no, we need to focus.

I glanced over at Gwyn and beckoned for him to come with me a short distance from the truck. He shot me a puzzled look, but followed nonetheless.

“We need to get out of here. Now. There’s probably more of those things around here somewhere, and were in no shape to fight them.”

“I…was afraid of that. Did the Phantasm say anything before you…?” Gwyn let his question trail off, though it was unmistakable what he’d been about to ask. After admitting that it was all supposition, I told him my theory about the Dread Spirits and Phantasms, and their inevitable war.

“This is…very bad. I…haaah, I knew there was something ominous happening up here after everything we’ve seen, but if even half of what you’ve said is true, then this will be far more terrible than we could have imagined.”

“If things go well then they could just wipe each other out, but in the worst-case scenario, this war could spill over into mainland Europe, or even further. And we’re right in the middle of it. Which is why we need to get out of here right now.”

“Unfortunately, the truck seems to be broken beyond our meager means to repair it. Considering the smoke coming off the engine, I doubt it’ll even start, let alone go anywhere.”

“We passed an exit with a gas station a few miles back, didn’t we? I remember seeing some cars there when we passed by. At least one of them should work. I think.”

“I doubt Kalia’s able to travel in her current state, and I refuse to leave her alone. So unless one of us is willing to go find a vehicle alone, then we’ll have to figure something else out.”

“I’ll go. I’m probably the least qualified to calm someone down, and she knows you better than me anyway. Though I would like some backup. I’d ask Alicia to come with me, but I think she’d turn me down as it is.”

“Then take Gwen. She’s likely even less qualified than you are, and this is her own brother saying that. You’ll also have Regis and your familiar as well, so that should be enough backup.”

“Uh, you have a point, but I’d rather just do it myself. I can probably just run down the highway and make it there in less than a half-hour if I pace myself right.”

“And I don’t doubt that, but are you in any real state to fight on your own right now? Correct me if I’m wrong, but you seem unsteady right now.”

I clicked my tongue in frustration. While I’d thrown off the Phantasm’s spell, the aftereffects had left me wobbly and slightly disorientated. I wasn’t in danger right now, but fighting would surely be difficult in this state.

“Fine, I’ll take her with me. Even though it would be faster for me to do it by myself.”

“Excellent. Then you grab Gwen on your way out, and I’ll tell Alicia the plan.”

***

[Alicia’s POV]

Alicia breathed a sigh of relief. Kalia had finally calmed down, or passed out more accurately, after her panic attack had ended. She hadn’t been able to get Kalia to tell her what the cause of it was, but she didn’t need to. It was pretty self-explanatory that the Phantasms had caused it somehow, though the specifics were still unknown.

Could it have been the result of some kind of spell it cast? Maybe she got hit by one of those projectiles it fired and no one noticed. Or maybe the spell it used on Michael had a larger reach than it seemed, and it’s still affecting her. Haaah, I just don’t know.

Still, she’d at least calmed her friend down, and that was what was important right now. They could figure out the cause later. Keeping Kalia comfortable right now was more important.

“Okay, she’s asleep for now. Michael, could I borrow-. Huh? Gwyn, where’s Michael?”

“He and Gwen went back up the highway to find us a new car. I imagine they’ll be back in about an hour or so, supposing nothing happens.”

“Oh, okay. But, um, was that really a good idea? I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the two of them get along. They don’t really fight, but…I don’t know. I just can’t imagine that they’ll be able to work together without any problems.”

“Hm, I see your point, but they’re both adults. They should both be aware just how important this is, so I doubt they’ll cause any unnecessary drama during such a trying time.”

“…I don’t know. I just have this feeling, I guess. Perhaps it’s just unwarranted fear, but we’ve been through a lot lately. Something else could happen while we’re not there to help.”

“Hm, but the same could be said for us, couldn’t it? There’s no right answer in these situations. All we can do is make what seems to be the right choice and hope it works out.”

“Yeah, and that’s exactly what I hate about this.”