“Get out of here while I distract it,” ordered Phantasia, but Dante was rooted to the spot.

“It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real,” he mumbled over and over to himself.

“Dante, this is real and—” Phantasia was interrupted as the stone monster took a few ground-shuddering steps towards them and pulled one of its lithe arms back to strike. She pushed Dante away as sharp fingers cut through the air and smashed into the concrete behind them. Dante shielded his eyes from shrapnel – or perhaps the sight of the creature – but was still too numb to react.

The creature, pivoting on its two pointed feet like some kind of three-tonne ballerina, swung its body towards them. Hiding her identity in the face of such danger wasn’t an option so Phantasia threw her arms around Dante’s waist and jumped away. He was still locked in catatonic shock when they landed twenty metres away behind a disused skip, his body shaking with vertigo after Phantasia’s aerial gymnastics. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard.

“Look, I’m going to have to fight this thing,” she said to vacant eyes, “Dante!” She bathed his tormented aura in her light, hoping even a slither might make it through the cracks. As the creature began twirling its way towards them, Dante came around.

“I need you to hide,” said Phantasia, “Run away when you get a chance!”

Dante nodded and tried to take a few deep breaths, then turned and scurried like a rat into a tight gap between the skip and a wall. For the time being it would have to do, as Phantasia didn’t have time to deal with him. The creature was getting close, its sharp feet stabbing the ground leaving a trail of bullet-holes in its wake. Phantasia shot backwards, passing between the creature’s legs before it had a change to react. A crystal hand dragged along the ground, sending sparks flying, as it swung its body around to face her.

Phantasia floated above the creature, probing its body and aura for a weak point. The main body, grey and cracked, looked like it had been moulded from the ground below while the creature’s aura wasn’t so easy to explain. Unlike living creatures it had no effect on the mana flowing around it and unlike demons it wasn’t absorbing or corrupting it. If only she’d paid more attention to her lessons on demonology back in the Innerworld then maybe she wouldn’t have been so perplexed!

The creature noticed her presence and swivelled its featureless face around to confront her. Then its stance changed. It fell on all-fours like an animal ready to pounce and the triangular head rose up on a blazing chain of dark energy connecting it to the base of the creature’s would-be spine. Was it really a head? A tail? Which end of the creature was which? Phantasia was even more befuddled now. She dropped like a weight to avoid the head/tail, which whipped at her like a flail.

The creature’s new weapon crashed into surrounding walls and rubble as Phantasia’s superior agility evaded its every blow. One strike uprooted a disused streetlamp, while another smashed through the ground into an old basement, buried for centuries. Thanks to the disturbance the creature’s offence was creating Phantasia could feel people coming to investigate. They could be innocents for all she knew, and easy victims should thee creature decide to attack them. Finishing the battle before they arrived was now a top priority!

Chapter 34
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