Follow right behind her? Great… now I'm worried I'm gonna screw something up. I have to remain calm, otherwise I'll get someone killed.
"O-Okay, I got it!"
Guinevere took another puff of her cigarette and lightly tapped on it, knocking off the ashes.
"Let's teach this ugly fuck a lesson. It's getting late, and I'm trying to return back to my girls before sundown." Blowing out her cigarette, she stuck it between her ears, like a teacher would do with their pencil. Tightly grasping her massive broadsword, which was five feet from the tip to handle, and two feet wide, Guinevere held it with two hands, scowling.
But she said something that caught my attention.
"Girls? You have children?" I asked, clueless as ever.
"Children? Hell no. I'm talking about my girlfriends, they're waiting on me back home and I'm not trying to die to some ugly-disgusting-shit you would see from nightmares. I can't imagine the looks on their faces when the Magus Association explains the details of how I died."
"Oh… so it's multiple girls? Well, you do seem like the type, hahaha!"
She side-eyed me, saying, "What the hell do you mean I seem like the type?"
Yikes. "O-Oh! It's nothing. Nothing at all, ignore me!"
"Good girl." Guinevere grinned, turning around to face the Wraith once more, "You attack on the left, and I'll attack on the right. It's a simple strategy, got it?"
"Of course! You can count on me!"
"Actions speak louder than words. Show me if you have what it takes to be a Wizard!"
"What? I'm not trying to be some wizard, I just wanna live a normal life, especially after seeing stuff like this!"
"Let's go!"
She ignored my statement and initiated the attack. Guinevere was attacking at the right with her Mental Figment, while I just stood back, watching in shock.
Wait… I'm standing still!
"Crap, sorry!"
I almost forgot we were having a coordinated attack.
I moved at the same speed as Guinevere, charging at the Wraith without any sort of plan. Just what the hell was I doing? Should I punch at it, or something?
Like that's gonna work…
"Haaaaahh!" But it was worth a try.
Swinging my fist forward, I used my next technique, shouting, "Breaker Fist!" My arm coated in blue flames had become purple now.
Slamming my fist against the Wraith, I destroyed its body, blowing out a massive chunk. Blood and guts flew everywhere as it wailed in pain.
"Got you!"
Its movements were slower than before, allowing Guinevere to get a clean hit.
She decapitated its arm, destroying it from history entirely.
Its limb vanished as if it had never existed in the first place.
The Wraith stumbled back, releasing a ghoulish scream.
"Gruuuuuuooooaaahhh!!!"
"Ow!"
I covered my ears, and so did Guinevere. Its voice shook the entire Ferris wheel next to us, blowing out its bolts, and having it crumble apart.
It felt like an earthquake was happening across Bellensworth City.
"It's so… loud!"
"Oh no… this is bad, Emmeline, we must stop it, immediately!"
"W-What?" Despite the loud screeching it was doing, I could hear Apotheosis talking in my head through telepathy.
"Wraiths naturally travel in hordes, and this one is calling out to its brethren! If we don't stop it, then this city is good as dead."
"No… you have to be kidding!"
I looked over at Guinevere who seemed to be fine.
"Oh, that's it!"
I closed my eyes, utilizing Ein.
I slowly, but surely, removed the Ether around my ears, muting the Wraith's loud screeching. Now I didn't have to worry about going deaf.
"Tsk. What a pain in the ass." Muttered Guinevere as she stood there, slightly crouched.
I wondered why she wasn't moving forward. Could there be something going on that I couldn't see?
"Apotheosis… what's happening?"
"The Wraith is sending ripples throughout all of space-time, breaching the dimensional fabric of the Material world."
"B-Breaching the dimensional fabric? What does that mean?"
"The dimensional fabric of the material world is known as the Drapery. If it breaches multiple holes through it, then the material plane will be crawling with Wraiths!"
"What the hell? What should I do?!"
"We can't get any closer as we are now. Our bodies will be ripped to shreds, and dislocated like the space around us. It's a miracle that we're even surviving spatial dislocation as we speak, using our Ether."
I gritted my teeth. I was so frustrated… what the hell am I supposed to do then?
"If I can't get any closer, then how am I gonna stop this thing?"
"Emmeline. Do you remember what I told you?"
"Huh?"
"I have taken many forms in the past that are most desirable for my wielder."
"I-I don't get it, what are you trying to say?"
"Child… you have yet to give me a true form. With Battle Replica, I can mimic any and all forms of your desire, but you have yet to conclude the most desirable transformation."
"I… haven't?"
Wait… no, she's right, I haven't!
I have yet to decide on Apotheosis' true form! I was only testing what she could do this entire time, rather than picking the most suitable transformation for me.
I'm such an idiot.
"If I choose my most desirable form, what will happen?"
"If you do that, I'm afraid you will lose access to transforming me again. I will remain in that form permanently."
"No more imagining things out of thin air?" I asked, a bit disappointed.
"I'm afraid not. That is only a temporary usage until my wielder decides my true nature."
"Well darn… that sucks."
I looked down, closing my eyes.
Huffing a sigh, I took a deep breath, deciding what I wanted.
It was simple.
Nothing too fancy, and nothing too over the top.
"Remain in my right arm, Apotheosis."
"…You wish for me to remain with you?"
"Yeah. From here on out, your true name will be Equilibrium!"
"I see… hahaha! I see what you desire, deep in your consciousness! Now I know what you want me to do, Emmeline."
"Yep. It's the only ability I could think of, so I'll use it to my advantage!"
My brawn mode transformation was no more.
I changed.
My right arm remained glowing in a blue flame, as I clenched my fist, and walked forward.
"I won't let anything happen to Bellensworth City."
Guinevere looked at me, widening her eyes, "Hey, kid! Stay back, if you walk any closer, then you'll be- what the?"
She stopped mid-sentence.
My right arm was stretching forward with an open palm.
"Equilibrium. That's what I wanted. I wanted to be the balance of the world, destroying supernatural forces that oppose humanity, and what we believe."
Utilizing Kah, I focused my ether into my eyes. With this, I gained awareness of the abstract domain.
I could see all thoughts, ideas, and reason in physical form, in the shape of crystals.
Reaching Equilibrium forward, I grasped onto one of those tangible concepts.
"So this is what Apotheosis is capable of?"
Crushing the reason for the Wraith's screeching, it suddenly stopped.
Guinevere, who was using Kah in her eyes, could see what I had done and was shocked.
She couldn't believe what she just saw.
Even stuttering in her words; "T-This kid… can interact with the Abstract Domain?!"
"Gurrgleee!" The Wraith stopped its hideous screech as if the reason for it to yell had been destroyed.
I could see everything; My thoughts, and ideas. Humanity's logic, and reason. Religious beliefs, and disbeliefs. Ideas, and mathematical theories… they all exist in this world, in physical form.
"No wizard in history could interact with the abstract domain, let alone tell which crystal represents what! And here she is… deciphering them."
There were floating lines connected to each abstract crystal, giving me information as to what is what.
Walking forward, I found one specific crystal.
It was the idea of existing.
And I wasn't exaggerating either.
This crystal represented the total idea of existing, for the Wraith standing in front of me.
In a fit of rage, I cocked my fist back, shouting, "This is for Matilda!" I smashed my Equilibrium against the crystal, cracking it.
Once it cracked, so did the Wraith's body.
It was wailing in pain as I injured its idea of existing in the abstract realm.
"And this is for Mom!"
Another hit against the crystal, a large chunk of it broke apart.
"Grueeeyaaaaaaa!!"
"And this is for Dad!"
Another direct hit. The crystal was barely hanging on, and the same was true for the Wraiths body.
"Gureeyayayaaaaa!"
"And this is for pissing me off!"
Without hesitating, I smashed my fist against the abstract crystal, shattering it into pieces.
"Guryaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
The Shade spirit slowly started to fade away before my very eyes. Its body crumbled and decayed on the ground, turning into nothing but particles that faded away.
I watched, balling my hand into a fist.
The blue flames around my arm vanished, as Equilibrium had done its job.
But for me… well… I was… so tired.
My body felt, tired for some reason.
"Ughhh… what's going on?"
Everything felt woozy. I was losing my balance, stumbling around the place.
And then… I fell.
"Shit, she used up too much Ether!"
I could hear Guinevere running towards me, trying to keep me awake.
But it was futile.
I was knocked unconscious.