DAKU
"ARGH!" I screamed as I felt Hirako's agonizing touch on my neck. Rupture Magic was indeed scary that even a slightest physical contact could make someone explode into dust like a bubble. Thankfully, my abilities as a Healer somehow countered the destructive power of the forbidden magic.
However, I knew for myself that I wouldn't last long. I could feel the Rupture Magic was slowly overpowering my healing abilities that it started to fail to keep up. If i stayed like this, death would surely take me.
But how am I supposed to defeat Hirako?
All I could do was heal and sent some offensive that were futile and ineffective, while he could not just heal himself but also had the ability to use one of the forbidden magic in the world. In terms of power, I was nothing against him. Like a predator and prey, and I was the latter.
If there was one thing that had a chance of turning the table around that was to use the same forbidden magic against him. Fight fire with fire. But would it be worth it to use such tactic? Is the time that desperate already that I have to use the last resort I have right now? Do I really have to be like him just to defeat him?
With the information Thelah injected in my brain, Rupture Magic had a consequence. It was far worse than receiving a wound or anything physically-related. Because in order to use Rupture Magic, one had to sacrifice the ability to feel emotions. In other words, using the magic would lose the person's innate ability to feel.
All of a sudden, Hirako's grasp on my neck vanished, returning my attention to the position I was in. When I looked up to see the person behind such interception, I found out that it was Kenshi. And I almost did not recognize him because of the way he fight. It was way more different than his actual fighting style but it was making the fight favored his side.
This made Hirako annoyed and pissed and so he delivered three of his tentacle-hands to Kenshi but I was confused when all of them went pass through him and ignored him. Are they targeting me?
Kenshi knew about it and immediately pivoted himself to watch the direction the hands were going but that was a trick after all. Because the moment he turned his back against Hirako, the three hands changed direction and were on their way toward Kenshi.
Surprised by the hands sudden turn, Kenshi unconsciously made a wrong move which fulfilled the hands intention: to bring Kenshi close to Hirako. My eyes widened not because of worry but because of what happened next. It happened so fast that my body, even in intense pain, became numb and unable to move.
Hirako's hand pierced through Kenshi's chest, and was now holding a black shard of which I thought would be an artifact.
That fact triggered something at the back of my mind that it made my vision narrow. There was only one thing that was in my mind: Save Kenshi. And that intention clouded my judgement and accidentally surrendered myself to the power of the forbidden magic that I was trying not to use ever.
I could still see what was happening around me. I could still feel the wind. I could still hear the noises. But I was neither angry nor sad.
Looked like I was indeed using the said magic because this was certainly its consequences. Since it was already to late to go back from it, I proceeded and launched myself to Hirako and Kenshi. It was the only way forward.
I successfully saved Kenshi. With my newly added abilities, I was on par with Hirako. We were both healers and using the same forbidden magic. Only power would tell the victor of this battle.
I carried Kenshi away from Hirako and placed him on the ground to rest his already-wounded body. Normally, I would feel sad and worried about his current condition but I didn't know how to show those emotions. I looked at him one last time, and this time, our eyes met. He looked at me and I was trying to read his facial expression but I couldn't tell what emotion was he trying to convey.
I didn't have the time to learn about it so I went back to face Hirako. I could hear Kana and the rest talking to Kenshi and as much as I wanted to join them, I couldn't. Because I still had a fight to finish, and also, it would be awkward if I join them and was oblivious of their expressions.
Hirako and I continued fighting. As I'd said, the fight was fair. None of us of were overpowering the other even though he had more experience being a healer and using Rupture Magic.
As for me, I was using Rupture Magic as if I had been using it for a long time. Seeing its crimson glow on my hand as it delivered explosive touch to one of Hirako's tendrils did not feel new at all. I wanted to keep using it even though I didn't know why.
"That's right, Daku! Use it! Taste its power!" Hirako hysterically said. His face was in familiar form but couldn't point it out why it was like that. But his eyes were wide open and his lips were curved and stretched in both directions.
The fight continued. Whenever Hirako sent his hands at me, I would either deflect or block it using Rupture Magic. It kept on happening again and again until it became a cycle. That was when I noticed Hirako's change in expression. It was the complete opposite of what his face showed earlier.
His forehead formed creases and folds while his brows met at the center. His lips curved downwards and his nose flared, enlarging the two holes. Faint lines of his veins were visible on the sides of his head, and his eyes were slightly bulging.
Suddenly, a strange force entered my body and I felt like I was being pushed back.
And then, I heard a voice and it was no doubt that it was Thelah, "Sorry for this, Daku, but I have to do this."
My narrow vision, narrowed even more and my autonomy for my body was taken from me. That was when I realized that Thelah was controlling my body. I could still feel the movement my body made. The way how my hand would block and destroy Hirako's tendrils, each step forward of my feet, everything. The only difference was that, it was not me who made them move.
And Hirako was aware of it because every progressive step my body made was a step backward from Hirako. His expression changed once again: his brows shifted position from the center to the opposite corner of his eyes. This was his face when he tried to push my body back but failed.
My mouth moved to speak but a different voice came out of it saying, "Daku was right, Hirako. Your mind is weak. You let people's comments about you being a Healer get to your head. You let yourself drown in the sea of anger and rage. When I taught you forbidden magic, parts of me were saying that you would use it to harm other people. It was a fault on my part to believe otherwise. Now, I have come to correct my mistake."
"N-"
Hirako didn't get to finish his word when my hands reached out for his head. In an instant, a thick-black smoke-like substance came out of his mouth, sored into the atmosphere and dissolved from existence. While this was happening, Thelah spoke to me again in my head.
"Sorry for interfering late. I should've stopped you from using Rupture Magic. I didn't anticipate this to happen. If I did, I would have taught you how to avoid the consequence in case you really have to use such magic. But worry not. I'll use my remaining divine power to hide and protect your emotions, so that when the time was right, you'll get them back. Once again, Daku, I'm really sorry. This might be our last time talking to each other. I'm rooting for your recovery, Daku, because they are rooting for you as well."
That was when my vision turned black.