A metal arm flew past me, leaving a trail of steam in its wake. Muller, his harsh gaze fixed on the void spawn in front of me, slammed his fist into the center of the creature's body. Its body rippled as if it were made of a viscous liquid before being sent flying with its limbs lagging behind. The void spawn's body morphed in mid-air; several tentacles launched out of its body and embedded themselves into the walls, floor, and ceiling.
"You're a tricky fellow, ain't ya?" Muller readied himself for another strike. I could hear his breathing slow as he bit hard on his lip. Steam burst out of the back of his arm. "Your appearance is a blight on the world of the goddess's image, and I will purge you from her canvas."
"Purge…?"
"Kill?"
"The adult means to kill."
The creature tilted its head and spoke with disjointed voices. I slowly stood up as Muller charged the creature head-on. With a swift uppercut, the metal spike at the tip of his gauntlet sprang out with a hiss of steam. The void spawn twisted its body around his attack and morphed its arm into a wrench and swung down.
Muller parried the strike with his human hand and thrust his knife into the creature's left leg. The knife was absorbed into the void spawn's body, and Muller backed off, making his way towards me.
"You still alive?" He said while handing me two knives.
"Yeah," I released the hand that was covering my right eye and held the knives in both hands. My vision was blurry, but the creature was loud, making it easy to keep track of it.
"Good." Muller then ran off right as the void spawn began running towards us.
On the ground was the creature's teddy bear. I kicked it off the ground, sending it above me. The void spawn avoided me to grab the bear.
I was right; this thing doesn't fully see me as a threat. Either that, or it seems to be more attentive to that bear. Either way, it's time for payback. Both knives flew out of my hands, one impaled the creature's right leg, the other the bear.
"TEDDY!"
"GRAAAAA!"
"IT HURTS!"
The void spawn roared as it swung at the air, trying to catch the teddy bear that I sent flying away. With a wet sound, the void spawn hit the ground, recoiling from the impact. The creature turned to me with its otherworldly eyes, thirsting for blood. Now with the shadow gone from its face, I could truly see the horror of the stitched faces. Crimson blood trailed from the creature's eyes.
This void spawn was different from the others that reached this stage. There was no way this was a class 3.
"You hurt teddy."
"Brother…why?"
"Why are you hurting us?"
While the creature stared me down, Muller ran up behind it, ready to shove another dagger into its body. With a tilt of its head, its tentacles shot out towards Muller, forcing him to back off. It then stood there, its tentacles ready to launch out at Muller and me.
It was a deadlock. Neither Muller nor I had any ranged weapons. No, that was not completely true; Muller had his knives, but they were limited in number and were very much needed for precise placement. And, one of those knives was thrown at the bear.
A soft set of footsteps came from behind me, followed by the faint sound of chattering teeth. It was Sara; she was carrying my blade while running on top of the bodies that were scattered around the area.
"H-here!" She thrust the weapon forward clumsily while closing her eyes. The weapon was shaking violently in her little hands. She was brave.
"Thank you." I looked around, "Where's the reporter and the freeloader?"
"Free loader?" Rinne's voice called out. It sounded closer than I thought she was. I turned around to see her somewhat close behind the creature. She was holding its teddy bear along with the knife I threw at it. "That's the thanks I get for saving you?"
"Damn it!"
"You dumbass!"
Muller and I both shouted as the void spawn locked eyes with Rinne. Your silent steps mean nothing if you speak. The creature's arm morphed into a sledgehammer while its tentacles lashed out at both of us.
I grabbed Sara and pulled her behind me. I swung at the incoming tentacles, cutting them until they could no longer reach us. Then I turned to Rinne. She had nimble movements, carefully avoiding its hits all the while watching her footing on the corpses below her. But by no means was it graceful. She was having trouble keeping up with the void spawn's swings.
But it was then that I noticed something. The void spawn swung heavily right, and only its right side. Even with its one arm, its movements were predictable, like a child's.
Like a child's…That's it!
"Rinne, stop moving backward. Wait for it to swing right, then use that knife in the back and stab its arm."
Rinne did as she was told and let the creature strike the ground before her. She dashed behind it and stabbed it with the knife she pulled from the bear. The creature let out a screeching noise as Rinne let go of the knife that was in its arm. She ran towards me. Muller took the opportunity and charged forward, using his metal arm as a shield. He blocked the tentacles aiming for him and stabbed the creature in what remained of its torn arm with a knife.
"Thanks," Rinne said. "I guess you are sharp even with one eye."
"It's not that." I readied my sword in a defensive stance. The pain all over my body flared up. It would be hard for me to join Muller in this fight as I am now. "This thing is a class 2, acting like a class 3. It's impatient. It's using the memories of the children it killed as a base while using their bodies to create a shell for itself. A class 2 will slowly change into a human-like appearance over time."
"Leave us alone!"
"Let us eat!"
"We want to live!"
The void spawn cried out as it slammed its arm into Muller's. He dug his feet into the corpses and pushed against the creature's attack.
"Let you live?" Muller said as he shoved the creature back. He readied his final knife, but just before he could stab it into the creature's neck, its arm morphed into a pickaxe and struck down at him from overhead.
Muller brought his arm above him to stop the strike.
"Heh, behaving just like those kids in the mines." He pushed off the creature's arm. But before he could counterattack, it brought it down again, this time harder. "Those days are long past me." Muller pushed off the arm, steam shooting out of his gauntlet as the metal spike shot out towards the creature. It tore through its arm.
"STOP!"
"IT HURTS!"
"WHERE'S TEDDY!?"
The creature tried to run, but Muller grabbed it by the neck with his metal arm. He slammed it into the ground while stabbing his final knife into its neck. It squirmed around, trying to push Muller off. Tentacles shot out from its body, aiming towards Muller's head with their sharp tips.
I yanked the teddy bear from Rinne's hands and threw it towards Muller and the void spawn. Just before the tentacles reached him, they stopped, changing direction for the bear.
"May the goddess offer mercy to the souls consumed by this creature." Sitting on the creature, Muller lowered his head. The void spawn stopped trying to escape as it brought the bear to it and embraced it to its cheeks. "May they be reborn in a time when this city will find its change. In a time freed from the injustices of its people, who have forgotten the way of the goddess."
The void spawn's body then began to shimmer brightly in a white glow. "Mister," the void spawn said in a clear voice. "Did Mother deserve to die at the hands of Brother?"
The question stung my heart. Why was it asking that question? No, the shadow was confusing me. But could it really be referring to Rinara as mother?
"Maybe," Muller said with an emotionless voice. "People don't kill without a reason. Perhaps," he turned to me with a frown as if he knew the creature was talking about me. His next words felt directed at me rather than at the creature. "He did it to save your mother's soul from being consumed."
"I see," the void spawn said as it vanished into several small particles of light.