Resistance. Survival. The Long Road Ahead.
Lila could feel her mind peeling apart as she panted through the tropical foliage. Imura's attack had already begun, her Psionic gaze piercing into the girl's soul. But she had to keep moving, regardless of the pain.
Nearly tripping over a bit of glowing bush, Lila pressed onwards, ignoring the way the purple luminescence of her surroundings practically stared back at her. It was as if Imura was everywhere, watching her from the shadows. Perhaps in a way, given her abilities, she really was watching.
"A nimble one," Imura commented, realizing Lila had already darted her way well into the heart of the Garth. "Find her." She commanded.
A series of purple portals emerged behind her, shaped like jagged eyelids. A host of Xenquar lept out from each opening, their faces disfigured and morphed by Imura. Their features were almost plant-like, resembling a closed petal of sorts with several eyeballs sticking out from the fringes.
Those eyeballs did not belong to them, however.
A series of grim feminine faces could be seen grafted onto the Xenquar's bodies, still twitching in horror. That was the reputation Yrix had spoken of. Their pain and endless torment seeped out from their strained irises, darting around in a desperate need for relief.
Imura was a Flayer. And she had come to add Lila's face to her collection.
Her Xenquar began to sniff the ground, searching for Lila. And once they had caught her scent, they sprang into action, practically leaping into the foliage in hot pursuit. Torment was the only word that could describe the situation the Earthling would soon be in.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Ivy muttered to herself as she sprinted headlong into the darkness.
She could see easily enough, spotting Imura and her pack. Realizing her chances of facing them all were slim, she broke off and headed into the fringes of the Garth in search of Lila. Perhaps, if they could find each other, they would stand a chance.
Ivy had the advantage of stealing her opponent's progress whenever they changed course to mirror Lila. And she would push that advantage as far as she could.
"Well, well," Imura hissed, turning around to see Ivy make a break for it. "The coward came after all."
The Flayer aimed her rifle and fired off a shot with cunning precision. Ivy deflected with her freshly summoned staff, falling to the ground from the sheer force of the impact. She was not deterred, however, and felt enraged.
Imura was cracking into her mind, just as she feared, but her reaction to it was entirely unexpected. Ivy ignored Imura for the time and pressed on, as the race to find Lila officially began.
Lila moved as fast as her little legs could carry her, nearly falling into a ravine several times. She tried to find an escape but realized Yrix had dug a pit so deep into the earth that even the Garth was just an island of sorts. There was nowhere to go.
"Ah!" Lila quivered as Imura entered her mind, appearing in the form of her mother's voice.
It wasn't long before her entire family began to speak to her, urging her to turn around in a euphony of voices. She resisted as long as she could. But when a lone Xenquar came barreling out of a sea of blue leaves, Lila was completely unprepared.
The Xenquar pinned her to the ground, opening a portion of its mouth to reveal a sea of twitching purple eyeballs. It attempted to devour the girl, only to receive a boot to the face. Lila's actions, however, spurned Imura, causing the Flayer's face to project itself in front of her like an inescapable image.
Realizing she was unable to fight back, Lila ran off. But her speed was failing her, sapped by Imura using an invisible grasp. It soon became clear why she was such a feared huntress, not that she was ever underestimated to begin with.
Unlike Omizen, Imura had no intention of giving Lila a chance to prove herself for the sake of glory. She wanted the kill. And she wanted her face.
Ivy pushed through the foliage, realizing she was getting closer to both Imura and Lila through her own divergent path. It was paramount that she intercept them at a favorable position, lest she be forced to face Imura and the bulk of her path. She wasn't at all surprised, however, when a Xenquar turned around and leaped at her, realizing she was hot on its trail.
Imura's face appeared before Ivy, just as it did with Lila. But her strength was not sapped. If anything, Ivy was emboldened.
She was faced with the faces of her family, and the haunting image of the endoskeleton she called mother. But Imura's intent was for her to feel the shame and the pain of that legacy. It worked well enough on Lila, who was consumed by fear and guilt.
But Ivy felt nothing but heartless apathy, manifested as violent rage. Once the Xenquar got close enough, she smashed it over the head with her staff, causing a purple shockwave to knock her back. She wanted to feel afraid, just as she had expected.
But Imura had given her something far worse. With her defenses stripped away, Ivy was consumed by mania. What little impression she had left for herself was gone.
"Pssh." Ivy ignored her sense of dread, focusing on Lila.
With the Xenquar tossed out of the way, she sped off into the foliage, sensing that Imura was close. True enough, the Flayer was taking position to fire at Lila, given that the Earthling's position was recently exposed. She deligthed at the thought of shooting her kneecap off, leaving her helpless and in pain.
"Come to mother." Imura hissed.
But just before she could squeeze the trigger, a baton struck her from behind, though ultimately deflected by a purple barrier. Imura was surprised for a brief moment, having not expected Ivy to cope with her cowardice.
Her impression of the heiress was accurate. She should have been crying on the floor like a baby. But she stood firm.
"You don't seem to understand." Ivy glared ominously, holding her staff aloft. "Lila isn't yours to claim."
Imura chuckled manically, her own mind consumed by mania, as if silently understanding Ivy's unique condition.
"A Psion after all!" She tilted her head, gesturing with her hand for the heiress to come forward. "Come then, little girl, show me who you really are."
Yrix was right.
Ivy sprang into action, calling her baton back to her side before sending it careening towards Imura with a blow from her staff. Imura brushed it aside before transforming her rifle back into a trident and tossing it like a javelin. The heiress narrowly ducked out of the way, scraping her delicate skin against the rough terrain.
Imura was quick to recall her own weapon, spinning it around with some flair before casting a purple wave of energy. Ivy blocked with her hand, using her Psionic ambience to absorb the attack as much as she could. She may not have been as mighty as the Flayer, but her determination was still evident.
As if to prove her case, a Xenquar attempted to attack Ivy from behind, only to be splattered into a mist by a single punch. Imura nearly chortled as a response. She always did like to see a fellow enthusiast.
Imura lept into the air, her trident glowing with purple energy as she slammed it down onto the earth. A spinning blade of glowing energy erupted forth from the crater, catching Ivy off guard as she barely avoided the first attack. So mighty was the impact that she was sent crashing through the Garsh.
"Now then, for the real coward." Imura hissed, signaling for two of her pack to finish Ivy as she turned back towards Lila.
The Earthling wasn't faring well, even as Ivy fought to defend her. As far as she was concerned, she was still isolated, trapped, and betrayed in Imura's trap. Lila collapsed onto her knees, surrounded by Xenquar, whose mere presence evoked the wrath of Imura.
Their voices shot forth from their eyeballs, whispering sweet lullabies into her ear, all urging her to give in. But that wasn't the half of it. Imura still had something in store for her.
"Torment," Imura spoke to herself, raising her trident in the air as she levitated herself up onto a mound of dirt.
As if conducting a chorus, she directed the majority of her pack to stand on their hind legs and open their entire face. After a brief moment of preparation, the Xenquar began to sing, using their voice to scream and howl into the darkness. Their power was so overwhelming that the very air began to glow with a purple mist.
The Xenquar were Psions. Gifted power by the faces grafted onto their hide. And as they sang, ghostly arms reached out from their bodies, heralding the end as if in silent worship.
Imura reached her trident higher into the air, intensifying the Psionic howl. Lila screamed in response, her skull on the verge of shattering. She was entirely helpless, kicking at the air as her end drew near.
"No!" Ivy grunted, picking herself off the floor as her own mind became overwhelmed with a searing pain. "Lila!"
Her wrath reached a boiling point, and with a single swipe of her staff, she obliterated the Xenquar that pursued her. The heiress even grabbed another by the throat as it lunged at her, before tearing it in half by the mouth with feral strength. Unbeknownst to her, however, a single curved edge formed at the tip of her staff before disappearing in a flash, brought on by her violent act.
She had a scythe.
Ivy ignored her broken state and pushed forward towards Lila, regardless of how much the Psionic howling tormented her body.