What I thought was dark hair was the first thing I saw, each strand longer than my body.
This mass rose to a height of four meters, revealing a partially hidden female face, leaving only a wide mouth full of large, sharp teeth gleaming a blinding yellow, illuminating the dark chamber.
The being didn't stand for long, as its sickly slender body collapsed forward with a thud followed by a painful scream.
I could see its skin embracing its bones, if this thing even had a skeleton. Jekyll didn't have one and could mold his body as he wished; perhaps this SHADE could do the same.
The ribs were visible, as were the bones of its spine protruding from its back, covered by its hair. Its arms, as long as its body, dragged uncontrollably across the floor, its pointed elbows and long, sharp-tipped fingers drawing lines wherever they went. The rest of its body, from the waist down, remained inside the cocoon, trying to escape with a series of disgusting noises.
As if that wasn't disturbing enough, I heard its distorted, feminine voice, full of pain and sadness.
"W-where are y-you? It's been s-so long…"
The being supported itself on its hands and raised its body, looking around for what it was searching for.
"H-how… How can I understand this thing?!"
"Because of me, Hyde. Let's just say this is another benefit of our connection, although only Gestalts with a minimum of sanity can speak."
I murmured in acceptance; it wasn't the strangest thing that had happened to me. However, while I was thinking about what to do, the books became more agitated.
"So, are we going to end this thing or not?"
Good question, Zon.
"Not yet, let me try something. Hey, can you understand me?!"
The thing quickly looked in my direction and tilted its head in what I thought was confusion.
"E-Erik, is that y-you?"
Using its arms, it crawled across the floor, removing its legs from the cocoon, or what it had in its place, a dark, shapeless mass, and climbed onto the seats, crushing everything in its path.
"I swear I'll shoot if that thing gets any closer!"
"Not yet, Zon!"
"Hyde, this isn't safe, we should attack while we can!"
"I know, Blank, but I want to know more."
The SHADE's face stopped a few feet from my body, its head alone was almost my size, and its heavy breath blew through my hair.
"O-oh, Erik! Y-you've waited for me all this time!"
Her mouth twisted into a toothy grin worthy of a horror story, and her massive hand reached out, ready to grab me.
I prepared to get out of the way, but Blank acted faster, creating a barrier in her path. The Shade's smile faded as she tried to force her way in, only for Blank to stop her with each attempt.
"What's happening?! Why can't I embrace you?!"
"Sorry, but I'm not the person you're looking for."
"E-Erik, is this just another one of your j-jokes? If so, then it's not funny."
"I'm not joking. My name is Hyde. I'm sorry, but Erik probably died a long time ago."
"Why are you lying?! You said you'd wait for me forever! After so much time apart, you act like you don't know me! Did I do something to annoy you? If so, I'm sorry! I know I took a long time, but now I'm here!"
The more she talked, the more I regretted starting the conversation. I could only feel sorry for the thing in front of me.
"Listen, centuries have passed since you and this Erik guy last met! The world has changed! Whatever you want, it's too late now!"
"LIES!"
CRASH!
The scream alone was enough to make my ears ring, and the blow to the ground shook the chamber, causing dust to rain down. I prepared to fight, because apparently, there was no other alternative.
"This is my last warning! The disease that plagued humanity has disappeared and the legion has been destroyed! The world you knew no longer exists, but we can help you! If you stop, we can find a way to make you human again!"
"Liar! That's just another one of your excuses! Are you afraid of me? Is someone threatening you? Or… Or have you found another woman?"
"PPPSSHH!"
For a moment I stopped and gave Zon a furious look, who was miserably failing to contain his laughter.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
"N-nothing! Just the wind!"
"Is there anyone else here?"
"No, just you and me!"
"She's here, isn't she?! Bring her to me! Bring me the whore who trampled you off me!"
The SHADE's claw swung swiftly, but I was prepared for it, leaping as high as I could, dodging the blow as the books floated out of the way.
"Zon, you can shoot!"
"Finally!"
A red beam struck the thing directly in the face, making it scream as it fell backward in the center of the opera house. As it struggled, I landed on the trail of destruction left behind and rushed towards it.
"Jekyll, how are you?"
"Just do what needs to be done…"
Damn it! He seemed dead inside.
Putting those thoughts aside, I stepped onto the edge of the row of seats, propelling myself upward before landing with my sword pointed at the SHADE's head.
However, the being took a deep breath, and as soon as its mouth opened, a shrill scream reverberated off the walls. The air was visibly pushed, but instead of Mercury's jet, sound was the weapon used this time.
Blank created a barrier in the way, protecting me from the attack. However, as soon as I landed on the magical structure, I saw how it rapidly cracked.
I jumped away before it fell and the sound wave opened a hole in the ceiling, dropping rubble on top of us. I landed crouching, seeing the books stop beside me and Jekyll appear with Mercury's twin blade in his hands.
"You brute! You're going to discard me like that?!"
The dark mass in place of its legs extended upwards in the form of several tentacles, and with a violent tug, the SHADE found itself hanging upside down from the ceiling like a monstrous spider.
"Your wife is furious with you, brat!"
"Who's there?"
"I just ignored him!"
"Him?! So he's a man?!"
"HAHAHA!"
I ignored the laughter from the book and engulfed Beastbain in flames while Jekyll spun the twin blade, causing the air to move. However, Zon was the first to attack, his shot intercepted by a sound wave, but this distraction allowed Jekyll and me to launch ours.
The air blade dissipated the cloud of smoke in its path, leaving a deep gash on SHADE's face, with my flaming blast striking it next, burning its already wounded body from Zon's attack.
The scream, too human for my comfort, made me shudder. Black liquid stained the floor, and our enemy crawled across the ceiling, shouting insults and frustrations.
The next sonic wave came in an arc from left to right, but a jump back was more than enough to escape. However, I was forced to roll to the side, with Jekyll going in the opposite direction as another wave surged towards us.
We sent another barrage of ranged attacks, the air blade stopped by a deafening scream, the fire missing as the SHADE swayed to the side, but Zon's beam struck it squarely in the back, knocking it to the ground.
Honestly, the ease with which we faced her bothered me, not because I expected some trickery, but because this thing didn't know how to fight like the other AIs. There was no technique, only desperation.
We ran at full speed as soon as she landed. Her next attack made me raise an eyebrow in curiosity, as her long hair stretched towards us like a tide of whips.
I drew the Blade of Mars, making it glow with heat, and used it in conjunction with my flaming sword to cut through anything in my path.
Jekyll, meanwhile, fused his hands with the blade's hilt, spinning it at great speed and cutting through the hair in its path. We easily dodged what we couldn't cut, with Blank blocking what got past our defense.
A swing of claws approached when we got too close, and with a metallic snap, Jekyll blocked the attack, planting his feet firmly on the ground as sparks shot through the air.
"Fools, why do you stand between my beloved and me?!"
"He's too young for a woman of your age!"
"Are you calling me old?!"
"You'll get used to it!"
The second clawed hand came next, but never hit its target, being melted by a red ray.
While the burnt stump regenerated, I finally came face to face with the SHADE, which immediately opened its glowing mouth, forcing me to half-close my eyes.
The sonic attack never came, as I thru Beastbain forward, causing the creature to gag and black liquid to gush from its throat.
The creature struggled, biting the steel which I quickly released to avoid being thrown, and gripping the blade of Mars with both hands, I delivered a swift slash with all my might.
As soon as my war cry ceased, the SHADE stopped moving, remaining still like a statue until the two halves of its head slid to the sides before falling to the ground.
I wasted no time retrieving my other weapon and retreating, rejoining the rest of the group. Then we waited, watching as our enemy shrank in size, her body oozing, hissing, and bubbling.
"Why? Why do you deny me? I… I just wanted to see him again…"
To our surprise, something remained after all that chaos. It looked like a smaller version of what we had faced mixed with Jekyll's new appearance, only more detailed.
It was a female figure as dark as night with bright yellow lines running down her body, long hair touching the ground and hiding the upper part of her face.
Her mouth was normal, well, as normal as someone like her could be, and her other proportions could pass for human.
We watched as she lay on the ground, unconscious and breathing faintly. I approached with careful steps and as soon as I stopped in front of her, I raised my sword, ready to finish it all.
However, my arms began to tremble; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it, not while she looked like a person. If she still looked like a monster, then maybe it would all end now, but I wasn't sure what to do.
Sighing, I turned around and sat in a seat in the audience, resting my feet on the seat in front of me and throwing my head back. I didn't know what the others were thinking, nor did I bother to look in her direction. I was tired of so many problems.
"Let's wait."
END OF CHAPTER