24: Transmutation
The transformed hulk of the Patriarch took a few earth-shuddering steps out of the magical black mist as it began to dissipate.
“Did that old codger just become a demon?” asked Yokai. She was backing away, her pride no doubt battered by the realisation that her dramatic entrance had achieved nothing. Wotan seemed less intimidated by the revelation, however.
“It’s impossible to tell,” he said, “He could have transcended decades ago and hidden his true face, or your attack could have pushed him over that point of no return. What is important right now is that the thing in front of us is more than human. Our tactics must change.”
The two sides stared each other down, like two Water faeries locked in a battle of strategy and wits. Phantasia thought back to her last – and first – encounter with a sentient demon, Cecaelia. The Patriarch’s aura was equally as potent as the former-faerie’s had been, if not more-so, and she wondered how the three of them could ever defeat such a monster.
Then the first move was made. The Patriarch flung himself through the air in an arcing jump with such speed that they was lucky to evade him – had Phantasia and Yokai not been faeries, then they would have been dead from the opening gambit.
Wotan, on the other hand, was forced to tap into his own magical power. Phantasia noticed tattoos arching across his face and chest just before he leaped to safety, and she could sense his aura opening up like the unfurling wings of a faerie. The magic power could only help him so much, though. Unless he too was a demon, he would end up trapped by the human limitations the Patriarch had surpassed.
While the muscular mantis-demon tried to corner the more agile human, Yokai launched an attack of her own. Phantasia kept her distance, watching as the Patriarch’s black lightning held off Yosei’s fire, his snapping pincers lashing out as Wotan dove for cover behind his throne. In that moment, the ceiling above came crashing down and Yokai used the brief reprieve to focus her power and send one of her flaming wheels cutting through the floor in the Patriarch’s direction.
Instead of the expected explosion, the Patriarch grabbed the spinning disk of energy and flung it back towards the throne and Wotan, who scrambled away before the area exploded into flames. Yokai stood panting, her defences wide open from her attack, while the Patriarch turned to confront her. Realising she had to do something Phantasia shot forwards and caught the Patriarch off-guard, using her power to stun him long enough for her to dive at Yokai and tackle the two of them through the floor and into the church below. Powerless, they fell to the ground like lead, phasing through wooden benches with enough force to kill a human, before coming to a hovering rest just above the stone ground. Grunting her frustration, Yokai rolled away from Phantasia, picked herself up and readjusted her ethereal clothing.
“And what the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked as Phantasia busied herself with more important matters. Knowing Fire faeries as she did, Phantasia figured Yokai was under the false impression she could overpower the Patriarch without much effort. She knew that wasn’t going to happen and had an alternative plan – one the Patriarch wouldn’t be expecting. She’d only just gathered the tools she needed when the Patriarch came screaming through a circular hole in the ceiling, his body smashing into the benches below.
Phantasia didn’t wait for an opening. She jumped high and dove straight at the demon before he could pick himself up. He noticed her attack and sent a quick blast of dark energy towards her, which she deflected before dropping her secret weapon at his feet. Before he had a chance to react, she pushed the detonator and readied herself to avoid the force of the explosion by phasing through it. The physical shockwave was followed by second, psychic blast as the Patriarch’s rage exploded. Phantasia threw herself towards it like an arrow, hoping to break through rather than be tossed aside. Though it sapped at her strength, she managed to reach her target and focused everything she had left on the Patriarch’s now-disembodied spirit. His physical shell was now a flaming husk torn apart by the plastic explosives and there was no way he would be able to shield himself against her power.
Only there was. A pincer lashed out from the crumbling ruins of the Patriarch’s body with enough hatred behind it to knock Phantasia flying backwards. Yokai caught her before she could pass through several walls and the two girls spun to a halt near a stained glass window. For a moment they floated there, but as their energy faltered they began to drift back down to the ground. As her feet touched the cold floor, Phantasia stumbled backwards against the wall. She felt burning pain eating away at her abdomen and looked down to see her ethereal clothes had been torn away and a scar was developing across her midsection.
