16 - In The Devil’s Grasp

“You sure it’s here? This is...a kind of desolate part of the city. It looks abandoned. I see, like, one café across the street, and it’s empty.” Oskar said as the two got out of the car. “I know I wouldn’t bring my date here, especially for a proposal...”

“Come on, it should be one or two streets away.” Dima said. “I had them organize everything, I tell ya. The food, the music...it’s gonna be a perfect night.”

“Let’s just hope she says yes in the end. You dragged me away from something pretty important, you know?” Oskar said.

“Ah, sorry if the timing was bad. I was just...you know, I’m already shitting bricks, if you weren’t here to tell me to focus I might’ve ran off...”

“I thought you were chill with her. You never seemed to get stressed with Anna.” Oskar said.

“I guess the idea of marrying someone is different.” Dima said. “It’s when things get actually serious. You stop being a couple and become a family...”

They continued walking along the street.

“Hey, are you sure we’re going the right way?” Oskar asked.

“I think so?”

“I feel like there’s someone watching us.” Oskar said. “Mind if we take a different route?”

“Watching us? You mean like...” Dima said.

“Yeah, watching us.” Oskar took a deep breath. However, he started to feel that stranger’s soul presence, and as he turned around and detected him, he noticed something about his appearance too.

“It’s a soulful, but...”

“Wait a minute...”

“Why does he have a blindfold on?”

Nightseer opened the fight with a pair of powerful slashes, sending them flying in Oskar’s direction! The latter quickly managed to read the fluctuation of presences and guard himself, but the attacks left a pair of cut wounds on his forearms and body.

“What the hell is this all about?!” Oskar asked, trying to push forward and fight back. Nightseer kept sending slashes his way, as if deliberately choosing to keep Oskar away.

“A soulful with a blindfold...fucking damn it, it’s one of the guys that Ichika fought! He’s from the Eura stronghold, he tried to kidnap her brother!”

“Dima, is this what happened to you? Did they force you to do this?!”

“Oskar, w-what the hell is going on? Is he a soulful?!” Dima asked, confused, as he tried retreating. His fear and surprise felt so genuine that they definitely weren’t a lie. There was no setup, there was never a setup.

“Yes. Looks like we’re being intercepted.” Oskar said. “Get outta here, let me handle this.”

“He doesn’t give off the impression that he’s lying.”

“Fucking hell, his amnesia, his desire to go here...what a way to use them to lure me in. Since they failed to kidnap Ichika’s brother, I’m guessing they thought of me as their next target.”

“Whoever it is, they brought too little manpower to kill me. I’m strong now, aren’t I? From Ichika’s words, this guy specializes in parrying and deflecting things...but how the hell is he gonna deflect electricity?!”

Oskar, amidst the barrage of slashes, summoned his weapon and took aim. He fired a flurry of arrows, all of which leaving a paralyzing electric trail, and while they raced towards their target, he started to close the distance.

Nightseer dodged and parried them with no issue, but Oskar himself was too dangerous to allow to get so close. Oskar struck him with his weapon, and Nightseer quickly stepped to the side, attempting to slash him with his blade. Oskar also stepped back, and twice they clashed with their weapons one more time before standing at a distance again.

“He’s dangerous, but this fight is to my advantage.” Nightseer said, trying to fix his breathing. “And besides...”

“She said she’d get here at any moment.”

Oskar jumped in again, constantly pressuring Nightseer with swings upon swings with his unique weapon. Nightseer parried as much as he could, but he failed to find an opening to strike back. He found himself feeling the electric trail of his weapon, slowing down at times where his movements should’ve been crisp. But just as he was beginning to adjust, Oskar changed the tempo of the fight.

He unsummoned his weapon and went in with his fists, shoving an uppercut deep into Nightseer’s stomach, partially paralyzing him for an instant with the electric shock. He tried to continue the rapid punches, but Nightseer’s combat adjustments made him an extremely difficult target to fight. He fought in a more counter-focused manner, relying on swift parries followed by slick strikes and swings. Oskar applied a little more brute force to it, and by using his magnetic prowess, pulled Nightseer closer to him.

He was about to cut him in two with his weapon, but Nightseer parried the blade at the last second. Oskar didn’t lose his composure, though. He kicked Nightseer away and quickly spun in place, charging up a powerful release of soul prowess which was guaranteed to hit. Had it not been for...

“Soul Interpretation”

“Deflection!”

Nightseer deflected the slash back, the attack carving a rather deep wound on Oskar’s chest. Even though Oskar dealt notable damage to his opponent, that cut might have changed the tide of the battle.

“Damn it, I forgot he can do that...” Oskar thought, quickly trying to heal his wound. “But no matter his shenanigans, up close, I'm far superior.”

“I know exactly what I’ll do.”

Oskar fell back a little, pretending to focus on healing his wounds, and the bait worked. Nightseer charged in, but amidst his attack, Oskar quickly dove down and shot for a takedown.

He tried pushing Nightseer back and wrestling him to the ground, but Nightseer’s technical skills allowed him to stuff the takedown. They moved around a bit, and while Oskar was hellbent on completing his plan, Nightseer landed a strong knee to his body.

“Damn it...how the hell does Sakuto take people down so easily?”

“Had it been him here, or even Ichika, they would’ve dealt with this guy without breaking a sweat...fuck, this isn’t about them! Focus, Oskar!”

Oskar still held onto Nightseer, but now, his efforts were somewhere else. While Nightseer was confused at first, the sound of something heavy tumbling his way was a great indication for the incoming danger.

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He released a gust of soul prowess at the ground, surprising Oskar and momentarily forcing him to let go of him. He quickly jumped up, and the vehicle that Oskar pulled into him from behind was about to strike him. Oskar quickly kicked the vehicle away, but while he was distracted, Nightseer entered the distance once more. Oskar, instead of fighting him up close, stepped back and took aim.

He rained the arrows down on Nightseer, and since the latter couldn’t parry that many of them in rapid succession, he ran away instead - escaping what could only be described as a supercharged hellfire.

“Tch...damn it!”

He faced Nightseer at a distance while the latter took a moment to heal up. Some of the arrows had reached their target and wounded him badly.

“It’s not even about him being strong or anything, it’s about this annoying gimmick of his. Parry this, deflect that, this guy has the perfect defensive kit.”

“I’ll need something way stronger. Something that could even damage and kill that thing

from back then...”

“Oskar, are you alright?” Dima asked from a distance, confused like a helpless kid. “Want me to call the cops?”

“Don’t do that!” Oskar yelled back at him.

“They were right about Dima being a walking disaster, weren’t they?”

“No, it’s not even his fault!” Dima shook his head, as if trying to throw those thoughts out of it. ”He was manipulated! Fucking hell, Oskar, focus!”

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation. ✦ ”

“ ✦ Howling Thunderstorm!!! ✦ ”

“Damn it, fucking damn it...” Nightseer visibly panicked. “He was supposed to be the one being set up, but I’m the one that’s a sacrificial lamb.”

“Why was I sent here alone is the question...but...I should probably focus on surviving first.”

“No matter the power, I can parry everything.”

As Oskar’s presence flared, he unleashed a burst of even stronger arrows - they tore through the ground, all aiming to kill the threat instantly. He dodged back, jumping around from rooftop to rooftop, lamp pole to street sign, trying his hardest to stay alive.

“Even if he can parry, I’d like to see him keep at it while getting overwhelmed!” Oskar exclaimed in his mind, firing off a much larger arrow that completely destroyed a building next to Nightseer. It felt like a reality check to him, almost as if there weren’t enough already.

He launched a much larger arrow at Nightseer, who parried it in the nick of time. The fight was about to transform from a beatdown to a massacre.

“He knows about deflection now, I’m dry out of options...” Nightseer thought, the idea of defeat slowly invading his mind. That was until he saw Dima...

Oskar summoned another electric bident and prepared to chuck it at Nightseer at crazy speeds. He took aim, and Nightseer held his sword out. The moonlight gave life to the withering battlefield.

An alarm rang. In front of Nightseer’s limited vision, the warning buzzed loudly, but not in the form of sound, but an alert-like quake for his soul. The bident was launched at him, and he prepared to make his move. His goal was not to fight back, but to maneuver.

“Deflect!”

The bident was deflected back at Oskar, but the latter had already anticipated such a move. He weaved to the side and charged in, while Nightseer was constantly on the retreat. But one of Nightseer’s biggest issues was the magnetic pull itself. Oskar pulled him closer and struck him with a kick, ending the exchange with a heavy overhand that sent him flying.

“Damn it, I can’t let him use this.”

“He opts for this move every time he feels like he’s not catching up to me. Which means that if I close the distance myself, he won’t feel the need to use it at all!”

“All I need to do is to pick the right angle!”

Nightseer thought, immediately getting back up and charging at Oskar. He attacked Oskar one or twice and moved back, consistently keeping his distance and trying to circle around him. He deflected ranged attacks and swiftly parried up-close strikes.

“The bait has a soul presence, so pinpointing the right angle won’t be an issue.”

“What’s he doing? Why is he so passive?!” Oskar thought, slowly losing his temper. He extended his hand to try to pull Nightseer back in again, but Nightseer quickly dashed in and swung his blade at him. Oskar retaliated with a kick to the body, which dealt good damage, and swung his own weapon - but Nightseer dodged. Not only did he dodge, but his original plan began to come true. He leapt backward and grabbed a hold of the scared and confused Dima.

“Not another step closer!” Nightseer said, quickly grabbing Dima from behind. “One step and I’ll kill him!”

“Fuck you!” Oskar yelled. But at the same time, he stood still. He looked around the two, he looked at the ground for a moment, and he looked at them again. “Who the hell are you? Did you cause his amnesia?”

“That’s what you think it is?” Nightseer quietly asked himself.

“Oskar, help!” Dima pleaded, trying to push his way out of the grip, but failing to do so due to the difference in strength. “This fucking psycho is gonna kill me!”

“Dima, relax!” Oskar said. “Don’t make any sudden movements!”

“I’ll surely find something.”

“What do you want from us?” Oskar asked, unsummoning his weapon, raising his hands and slowly approaching the two.

“I uhh...I need you to follow orders!” Nightseer said. “Damn it, what do I even ask him to do?”

“Okay, what orders?” Oskar asked. While his words were wrestling with that of Nightseer’s, his eyes were locked onto something else.

“I need you to stay here until another soulful arrives.” Nightseer said.

“Alright, alright, you got it.” Oskar said, standing still, slightly lowering his arms. “I’ll stay here, I’ll follow orders, and...”

“There it is!”

Nightseer received another warning. A moment later, he felt something supercharged with soul prowess approaching him from his left. He had to sacrifice his grip on Dima and protect himself against the dangerous projectile.

It was a small, sharpened piece of steel, likely broken off from one of the many destroyed bits of the surrounding buildings. Nightseer quickly kicked Dima away and parried it. He reached for Dima again, but Oskar had already started pulling him his way, and so now the two friends were next to one another, now, neither of them at risk of being taken hostage again.

“Fucking damn it!” Nightseer thought, taking a stance, preparing to protect himself against any projectiles. But from this point onwards, Oskar no longer had any intention to fight.

“Dima, hang on to me.” Oskar said. “We’re getting the hell outta here.”

“W-what? Why?” Dima asked. “Aren’t you stronger than him?”

“Come on, didn’t you hear him talking about backup? Or were you too busy begging for help?” Oskar said. “You know, your soul expression would’ve been really nice here. Would’ve solved a lot of problems.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help...fuck, you’re right.” Dima said. “I’m sorry that I dragged you into all of this, I don’t even know what’s going on.”

“Not your fault. You don’t even know what planet you’re on.” Oskar said. “All we need to do is to just get the hell outta here-”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Everyone froze.

Nightseer sighed in relief, knowing that the operation was a success. Dima froze in confusion, unaware of the calamity he would soon come into direct contact with, unbeknownst to him, it was his second time meeting it. And Oskar froze, completely overwhelmed by its presence.

An almost demonic presence engulfed the entire area. So overwhelming, so pressuring, so nightmarish that it felt like the definition of an unstoppable disaster. That presence oozed from her, devouring her black dress, giving meaning to her pitch black iris.

“Would you look at that, it looks like everything worked out as planned.” Aizawa said. In her hands she wielded two weapons - two swords with pitch black handles and stainless white blades. They were made with a black wire connected to both blades’ handles. With such an appearance, even Nightseer himself, who was supposed to be her loyal soldier, smelled the dangerous scent of true fear. She walked gracefully, as if bathing in the moonlight. And yet, her every gentle step caused an earthquake for the soulfuls’ minds.

“Oskar, who is t-this?” Dima asked, backing away.

“I have zero fucking clue.” Oskar said. He also stepped back, and reinforced all of his soul prowess into protecting himself.

“I am the head of the Eura stronghold.” Aizawa proudly said, her voice gentle, her face emotionless and still retaining a cold smile.

“Fuck...this isn’t just ordinary backup...but why her?” Oskar thought. “What does she have to do with me?”

“Oskar Weber, I do believe you will be of good use.” Aizawa said, approaching him seemingly without taking any precautions.

Oskar had no response...