Pain was now a physical weight I had to carry with every step. I was balancing Suzuki against my shoulder, her weight dragging at my side as we limped through the settling dust of the collapse.
We reached the junction where the two routes had split but we didn't go further. There was an overwhelming pressure of spiritual energy that slammed right into us and made me stop.
"Why are we stopping?" Suzuki asked, her head lolling slightly. "We have to get there... fast."
I turned to her and even through the dust and blood, I could see how pale she was. "You need to get out of here. Go get some backup."
"No." she whispered, clutching my arm. "I want to help."
"Suzuki, please. You've done enough and you're in no shape to fight. Calling for backup is the only way you're actually going to be helpful right now."
She stayed quiet for a long moment, her eyes searching mine before she finally nodded. "Please, don't let Takeo die. He's the only family I have left." she whispered as she pulled away, her footsteps unsteady.
I gave her a dismissive wave, turning my back so she wouldn't see the doubt in my eyes. "You worry too much and that guy wouldn't want to die next to me anyway."
I followed the pressure, until I heard the sound of clashes and it drew me toward a massive hole in the floor where the hospital's structure had given way.
I looked down, and in the center of the debris there was Takeo and Miyu. They were injured – I could see it in their stances but they were still fast. Especially Takeo, he had twin daggers that flashed in his hands.
The two were fighting a man dressed in the black robes of the same church council Gabriel was in and a silver cross was swaying against his chest. He looked untouched and parried all their lethal strikes with the casual indifference of someone swatting away a fly.
I jumped into the pit just as the man whipped his foot around in a devastating arc, forcing Takeo and Miyu to scramble back. They landed near me, breathing hard.
"I thought I told you to stay out of this." Takeo spat, his eyes never leaving the man in robes.
"And I never agreed to that." I replied, my hands curling into fists.
"You finally made it, Detective." The man in the robe said and he was smiling – a wide creepy expression that reached all the way to his predatory eyes.
I scratched my head, feeling a surge of genuine annoyance. "So, you're from the same church as Gabriel? No wonder you're so damn creepy. Does everyone in your circle have a total lack of social common sense?"
The man's smile vanished instantly – mentioning Gabriel seemed to hit a nerve, his energy exploded an intense pressure that caused the ground beneath him to crater.
I didn't even see him move afterwards but the next I saw he was him close to me and his hand was clamped around the back of my neck. He slammed a punch into my stomach that made me puke blood instantly and my vision swamped with black spots. My body would've flown backwards if he hadn't been holding me by the scruff of my neck.
Everything became blurry, I could only see him by his energy and he jumped back when Miyu's energy was close, she had pushed him off me.
My body felt numb and it didn't fall nor move, I was frozen in place. I tried to lift an arm but the signals from my brain seemed to be hitting a wall. – What is going on with my body?
"Are you just gonna stand there, or are you planning on helping?"
Takeo's voice came from somewhere to my left. I tried to move again but it was like I had forgotten how to operate my own limbs. It dawned on me then – when I had reinforced my body earlier, I had set a specific flow and when that man punched me he had infused his fist with spiritual and might've disrupted my flow. So, I need to try and rest it.
I closed my eyes, trying to force my spiritual energy back into a tight compression but as I reached inward, a foreign presence met me in my own consciousness. – The man in robes.
"So you can follow me anywhere?" I muttered internally.
"Not really but the moment we made contact on that street, I gained access to your consciousness. It's the very nature of–"
"I don't care about your creepy technique, just tell me what the hell you want from me." I said.
The man stared at me with an unsettling intensity. "I've always heard that you were quite annoying but you actually exceed my expectations. You lack reverence, Yamada."
"And I guess I'm supposed to be offended by that? Alright, ouch. Your words pierced right through my heart. Now answer the damn question."
A flash of white light blinded me and I snapped back into reality. I was lying on the ground and I went for a steel pipe nearby to haul myself up, my vision slowly clearing. When I looked up, Miyu was sprawled on the ground unconscious. Takeo was pinned against a concrete pillar and the man was about to drive one of his own daggers into his chest.
I clutched the steel pipe with a desperate grip. I knew I couldn't close the distance in time but ifnI had a gun... I would be able to shoot the bastard from here.
The pipe in my hand suddenly reshaped itself, molding to my grip until it formed into a black handgun. I wait to process the impossibility what was going on, I just aimed at the man and pulled the trigger.
I walked forward, firing with every step. The man spun, his movements a blur as he deflected the bullets with the flat of the dagger until he heard the empty click of my chamber and immediately launched himself at me, the dagger going for a lethal slash.
The thought of needing a blade flooded my brain and to my surprise, the handgun in my hand reshaped itself and a katana formed in my grip, the exact same blade Keita used to carry.
I grabbed it with both hands and barely blocked the strike. The man chuckled as our blades locked. "You've finally tapped into your technique but it's still not enough."
The blade of the katana snapped under the pressure and the man spun instantly, delivering a kick to my chest that sent me skidding twenty feet back. I fought to regain my footing and the man was on me again before I could breathe. I raised the broken hilt and the blade reshaped itself again perfectly in mid-air, meeting his next strike.
A series of slashes followed, faster than I could track and I was forced into a desperate defense. The worst part of it all was thst the man only using one hand and I couldn't keep up with the speed. Every time I blocked, the katana would snap under the pressure and only to reform a second later.
My head started feeling like it was being squeezed in a vise and my energy was depleting at a terrifying rate. Whatever this was, it was draining me and my movements were slowing down.
I forced myself closer, closing the distance so he couldn't swing properly and went for a headbutt but as I moved, a geyser of blood erupted from my mouth and stopped my movement.
The man grabbed me by the collar and beat me to it, slamming his forehead into my face and my nose instantly shattered, blood spraying across the floor as I fell to my knees.
"You pushed through your limits the very first day you unlocked your technique?" The man looked at me with something resembling respect. "You truly are a Yamada."
He grabbed the back of my neck again, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "But it's not enough. I need you to do more."
He started punching me, rapid strikes to my ribs and gut and each blow was punctuated by that one word: "More."
I felt my ribs crack and my thoughts blurred into that single word. He finally threw me aside and I tumbled through the dirt, coming to a stop near the center of the room.
"You're not going to do it if I'm the one trying to kill you, are you? Well, let's switch things up." He walked over to where Miyu had been hiding and dragged her by the hair toward me.
I tried to force myself up and scream, to tell him to leave her out of it but only a wet wheeze came out of my lungs. I was struggling to even reach my knees when I heard the sound of flesh being pierced and a blood-curdling scream from Miyu.
"NOOOOO!" The scream tore through my throat, fueled by a rage so strong it burned away the pain. I pushed myself up, my vision turning a dark bruised purple and I raised my head, my eyes locked on the man. "You bastard! I'm going to kill you!"
I don't even remember pushing off the ground but I was just suddenly in front of him and for the first time, my fist connected squarely with his face. He was thrown backwards and he skidding across the debris until he came to a stop.
The man wiped a smear of blood from his lip and smiled. "You really caught me off–" He was interrupted by a violent cough, blood poured from his mouth and nose spraying across his robes. His eyes widened in genuine disbelief as he looked at the blood on his hands.
That's my chance. – I sprinted forward while he was distracted. He raised an arm to block but it didn't matter. My fist punched right through his defense, snapping his forearm and I unleashed a barrage of strikes afterwards, channeling every last drop of my life force into my hands. My body was fueled by the determination to tear him apart while I still had the strength to stand.
The man managed to catch my fist and yanked me foward for a headbutt but I was ready, I met it with my own head, the sound of our skulls colliding echoing throughout the hole.
We both staggered back, dropping to one knee. Neither of us could stand straight and the man started to laugh. When he stopped he wiped the blood from his lips and stood up, his spiritual energy surging violently and intense bloodlust radiated from him.
Suddenly, an oppressive fog began to pool around our feet from behind me and I felt the familiar intense demonic energy from before.