The Midnight Leave: What It Means to Be Human

CHAPTER 17

As the strange beast emerged, reducing Swinger’s main building to rubble, out of the twenty-four knights in the Third Squad, only three of them didn’t react in panic.

“What in the actual hell is that?!”

“That’s definitely a Demon, but… Why is it so damn huge?!”

“We can’t fight against that thing! This might actually be worse than Nexus!”

The rest of them spoke similarly, overwhelmed by the massive presence of the chimeric beast. Meanwhile, Third Captain Mestard, along with both his Vice-captain and Third Seat Vigus all realized that the entity they saw was nothing more than a projection created by the Demon’s aura. Although its power had erupted through the main building, its true form remained deep within the dungeon, working its way out. Its encompassing influence certainly felt threatening, but knowing that it was simply an intimidation tactic prevented the three from losing their composure.

“Get yourselves together!” Mestard called out to his squad. “That is not the Monster’s true form! It’s no more than a deception! Prepare yourselves for battle, for its true form shall arrive soon! We shall eliminate the immediate threat, and then hunt down Nexus!”

After hearing their Captain’s words, they reexamined the beast they saw to confirm that he was correct. Even so, as they brandished their weapons while awaiting the Demon’s approach, they could not stop trembling in trepidation. After all, it may have been nothing more than a projection created by its aura, but it still displayed how much power it wielded by creating such a large image and making such an impact in the process.

The only ones who stepped up to the front line without hesitation were the previously mentioned three. Mestard looked to Vigus, and they nodded to each other already fully understanding each other’s role in the coming battle. However, when the Captain looked over to Ketsu, he paused for a moment. Ketsu noticed and questioned his expression.

“What’s the matter, Captain? Why do you seem so surprised?”

“Can you blame me? It seemed as if you were trying your hardest not to come back to this place, so I figured you’d be the most reluctant to battle.”

“Yeah, it’s true: I hate this place with a passion. It always feels like numerous things are crawling across my skin whenever I’m around places like this.”

Of course, he wouldn’t admit that he wanted to avoid Nexus as well. In fact, as long as the Monster that Ketsu had to face wasn’t Nexus, he believed enough in his skills to handle it, in spite of everyone else’s doubts.

“That’s why I want to get this over with. Since it’s just a Demon, we can kill it and get the hell out of here. If Nexus escaped while this thing was rampaging, he should be far away from here already. We can’t do anything about that right now, but at least we can stop this f*****g thing right here.”

This time, both Mestard and Third Seat Vigus were shocked. They both knew that Ketsu was at least capable enough to reach the rank of Slayer, but because he was never given his own squad to lead as other Slayers were, they thought he wasn’t very dependable. Yet, after seeing how quickly he took stock of the situation, they realized that they may have underestimated him, if only slightly. Then, the dark projection suddenly dissipated; the three took it as a sign of the Monster making its next move.

“Here it comes!” The Captain warned, while he focused his attention back on the ruined mansion before them.

Leisurely, oddly enough, the Chimera crawled its way out from the dungeon concealed by the debris, then climbed atop the heap as if it were its hill. Though it wasn’t as large as its projection, it was still comparably larger than any natural creature. As it scanned its surroundings just to find itself surrounded by armored annoyances, its dark aura emanated with enmity.

“HOW BURDENSOME…” It spoke with a voice that seemed to surround them, ensuring they would hear its words. “OUR INTENTION WAS TO CLEAR OUT ANY UNWELCOMED OBSTACLES WITH THAT DISPLAY, BUT IT SEEMS THE MESSAGE WAS NOT CLEAR ENOUGH.”

“Oh s**t!” One of the knights exclaimed, “It can talk?!”

“LEAVE THIS PLACE OR DIE,” the Chimera spoke impatiently, “MAKE YOUR DECISION QUICKLY. WE SHALL REND ANY REMAINING IN OUR WAY WHEN WE APPROACH.”

That was its only warning, as it swiftly descended from the pile of rubble in contrast to its pace when it ascended. Though there were some within the Third Squad that sincerely wanted to flee, they stood their ground. Abandoning one’s fellow squad members was a grave offense, and they would rather risk their lives against a Demon than suffer the wrath of the King. The beast finished its descent, and not a single knight moved away from its path; in fact, they all brandished their various weapons, prepared to fight as soon as it reached the ground.

“SO BE IT.” The Chimera spoke with a disappointed tone, but it also seemed to have expected the result.

Then, its dark aura flared as it charged towards the knights with the intention of tearing straight through them. Vigus was the first to move, carrying only a shield; yet, with only a shield, he halted the Demon’s charge as it attempted to strike with its claws. The others closed in, attempting to attack its flank while confronting Vigus. However, its reptilian tail retaliated as the serpentine head captured one of the knights in its mouth, and swung the flailing person around as if they were a weapon to bat away the others, all the while chewing through the knight, armor and all with its fangs.

Mestard rushed in to save his comrade and subordinate; swinging his longsword, he aimed to cut the serpent by its nape, but the Monster noticed his approach and hurled the captured knight towards him. The Third Captain halted and sheathed his blade to catch the flung knight, who was wounded to the point of coughing up puddles of blood.

“s**t!”

As he exclaimed, the tail reached out to strike them both. However, as its mouth opened to devour them both during its approach, Ketsu intervened by striking its fangs with his curved short sword. After repelling the attack, Ketsu turned back to the Captain to advise him.

“Vigus and I will cover you, so you should get that wounded knight away from the battle!”

Mestard nodded in agreement, lifted the wounded knight in his arms to carry, and started running. Meanwhile, Vigus continued to defend against the Chimera’s swipes, until it suddenly jumped back and crouched low to the ground. At first, it was unclear what its intentions were, but as Vigus sensed the Demon’s power flowing towards its legs, he called out to warn the others.

“Watch out! It’s going to leap…!”

Before he could finish, the ground underneath the Chimera cracked and cratered as it jumped, soaring above Vigus and aiming to descend upon the knights that were behind him just waiting for an opening to attack themselves. They dispersed as the Demon appeared, but two of them were unfortunately caught, as the Demon landed on one and crushed most of the knight’s bones and organs, and the other was caught in the jaws of its tiger head.

“Damn you!” Vigus shouted as he charged towards the beast.

Then, the head on the Chimera’s tail opened its mouth, and its fangs radiated as if heated. Upon closing and reopening its mouth, it suddenly spewed flames as if it were a Dragon all along!

“Futile!”

Yet, Vigus charged through those flames with his shield before him.

“My shield is ninety percent Orichalcum! You will never break my guard!”

The Third Seat of the Third Squad closed the distance, and bashed the tail’s head towards the ground, ceasing its fire breathing. In response, the Chimera turned to face the knight with its tiger head, the other knight still writhing in agony in its mouth. The sight enraged Vigus, but he knew not to approach carelessly; besides that, he knew his role in battle wasn’t that of an attacker, like Ketsu or Mestard. His role was to take the most hits, keep the Monster’s attention on himself for as long as possible and minimize casualties.

“That’s right… Out of everyone here, I’m your greatest threat!”

“LAUGHABLE.” The Demon scoffed before shutting its jaw, tearing through the knight it had captured and ceasing its squirming.

As it chewed through both flesh and metal messily, pieces of the knight fell out of its mouth and onto the ground between the Chimera and the Third Seat. That was the last straw.

“Do it now, Ketsu!” Vigus suddenly called out, actually surprising the Demon.

“Damn it, Vigus!” Ketsu shouted as he charged the Demon. “Why’d you give away my surprise attack like that?! Ah, f**k it!”

Ketsu rushed in from behind the Chimera, and as it was about to turn to face the oncoming attack, Vigus’s shield suddenly struck its tiger head.

“Don’t turn away! I already told you, I’m your greatest threat!”

Next, it attempted to retaliate with its tail, but that head was still dazed by the earlier strike by that same shield. Before it could attempt to breathe fire again, Ketsu closed the distance and with one swift move, severed the reptilian head from the beast’s tail.

“Nope, no more of that!”

However, Ketsu didn’t stop there as he continued his momentum towards the tiger head, aiming to remove that next. The Demon’s aura flared in a rage, as it retreated from the two knights with a few short leaps to gain enough distance away from them. Then, almost immediately, the tail of the Chimera regenerated the head that Ketsu had just decapitated.

“s**t, we can’t kill this thing either?!”

“If we deal enough damage,” Vigus responded to Ketsu’s complaint, “we should be able to exhaust its energy to where it’ll have to choose between healing and fighting.”

“I can do you one better, Third Seat Vigus.”

Suddenly, Captain Mestard approached them both from their right.

“Captain!” Ketsu called out first, “What about that knight?”

“He didn’t make it.”

Ketsu fell silent upon the Captain’s answer, but he also knew that it was no time to mourn, since the enemy wasn’t yet defeated.

“How many have we lost so far?” Mestard asked as he turned to Vigus.

“Including that one, three so far.”

“We won’t lose another. Did you notice how it wasn’t fazed when it lost the head on its tail, but when you aimed for the tiger head, it retreated?”

“Yes, I did. It has three heads, but two of them seem unnecessary for it to survive, though we haven’t seen what that last one can do yet. It’s clear that the tiger part is the ‘main body,’ so if we can damage that…”

“Then we can kill it. We’ll use the tactic you spoke of earlier and wear it down, and once it no longer has the strength to defend itself or flee, we’ll end this and continue our search for Nexus.”

With that decided, the three knights glared at the beast, awaiting its next move. Their spirits were stronger than the Demon anticipated, causing it to feel apprehension towards Humans for the first time since it entered the World of Eva. However, though their glaring eyes seemed to shine through the visors of their helmets, the Demon was more focused on what the Captain had said.

“NEXUS, YOU SAY?”

The knights guarded themselves upon hearing its voice again, as its dark aura slowly enveloped its entire body.

“SO, THAT’S HOW IT IS. HOW IRONIC THAT WE’RE GETTING IN EACH OTHER’S WAY OVER THE SAME PREY. IN THAT CASE, WE’LL CHANGE OUR APPROACH.”

Soon, the Chimera was fully shrouded by the darkness it released. Within that darkness, a change was occurring that those outside of it were not allowed to witness, but they still heard the grotesque sounds of bones cracking, as if the Monster’s body was reconfiguring itself by breaking itself.

“What the hell is it doing in there?!” Ketsu asked in a stressed tone. “Is the damned thing mutating again?!”

“Regardless of whatever form it takes next,” Captain Mestard responded, “our strategy remains the same. For our fallen comrades, we must not falter.”

Meanwhile, the Demon only laughed at their uneasiness.

“DID YOU FOOLS FAIL TO NOTICE? BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE KINGDOM YOU SO CHERISH AND PROTECT, ATROCITIES HAVE BEEN COMMITED TO CREATE MALLEABLE VESSELS SUCH AS THIS ONE. DUE TO THE ARROGANCE OF WHOM YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO FOLLOW…”

The darkness around its body soon diminished, revealing the new form of the Demon for the knights to gaze upon. It had changed from a quadrupedal to a bipedal, and the body that mostly resembled a tiger was no more as it became a wider and more muscular torso, and the legs also changed to match the body’s new form. The head of the tiger rested on the spine of this form, switching places with the horned head. Two red and soulless lights took the place of its eyes, looking down on the knights as it towered above them.

“YOU WILL ALL DIE HERE.”