Chapter Thirty-Five

“What do this Eidolon and Centri do?” Titon asked. I scrolled through their information and read aloud what I found.

“Well, first off, they’re a couple, meaning they know how to fight together. However, that’s not the biggest problem,” I said. “Eidolon is capable of phasing or intangibility. Even down to specific parts of his body. And Centri, which I’m guessing is short for ‘centripetal’, has vector manipulation.”

“What exactly does that mean?” Vulcon asked.

“She’s capable of controlling movement, whether it be speeding it up, slowing it down, or just completely stopping it. Anything that has a speed and direction. Only question is how well she can use it,” Adriel explained. I didn’t take him for the intelligent type. 

“She’s not one of the top Nobles, but that doesn’t mean shit,” I said, thinking about my battle with Cadet. “Neither is her boyfriend.”

“I think it’s time to consider something we haven’t before,” Titon spoke up. “What connections do they have? Who would we be pissing off by offing them? This is something I always consider when doing a hit. Does that app have any further information?” 

“Just their last reported location,” I said. “Shady’s Junkyard.”

The group stayed silent. I glanced at Tristan who had his eyes closed. I couldn’t tell if he was asleep. 

“With their power sets, I think you’re my best bet, Titon. I don’t know how your telekinesis matches up against their abilities, but out of my options, and considering the fact that Rose is recovering, I’m choosing you,” I said. He nodded and followed me out with Aura Ray. 

We pulled up to Shady’s Junkyard and stepped out at the gate. Aura Ray kept the car warm as Titon and I broke into the guard station. Titon held him in place with his telekinesis so he couldn’t call for help. Being a junkyard, this street was in the industrial part of the city, meaning less civilians around to report anything. 

I crafted an icicle and held it to the guard’s throat.

“I-I-I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. N-No need to torture me!” he cried. I guess I could have tried the normal way to get information and just asked, but my current situation made me paranoid and made me think the worst of people.

“This junkyard was Eidolon and Centri’s last reported location. What were they doing here and where did they go?” I questioned.

“T-They were here for Seismic. He said he needed something from here,” the guard answered.

“Seismic. Why do I know that name?” I pondered as I scrolled through my phone. I froze in place as I read the little info they had on him. Titon noticed my reaction and was waiting for me to speak. “He’s…one of the Archs.” 

“So the Archs have the regular Nobles running errands for them? Have you ever heard of that happening before?” Titon asked. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but it’s strange.”

“I’ve never seen the Nobles follow anyone’s directive other than Asai’s. So, could that mean they’re…friends?”

“This is why you should consider who you’re pissing off,” Titon reiterated. I shook my head and snapped out of my frightened state.

“I’ve gone beyond the point of just pissing them off at this point--”

“This is different, Amaia. In my experience, killing off someone powerful’s friends or family makes them irrational. It also acts like a power boost. Especially if done before their eyes,” Titon warned. 

“So they’re headed to the Arch Base, then?” I questioned. The guard nodded. “Did they find what they were looking for?”

“I don’t know. They left without saying anything,” the guard said. I exhaled and thanked the guard for the information before I jammed the icicle through his neck. He slowly choked out and spewed blood all over his desk and controls as Titon and I returned to the car. 

“Are you capable of scanning and driving?” I asked Aura Ray.

“I can, but it isn’t the easiest thing to do. Like we couldn’t be getting chased as I try to do both. Why?”

“Eidolon and Centri are headed for the Arch Base--”

“You want to go there?!”

“No, we need to cut them off before they reach it,” I said. She began driving us. 

“Why don’t we call the others for backup?” Titon suggested. “This could get hairy if we get within a certain distance of the Arch Base.”

“We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Amaia, this battle could end up being bigger than you think. Especially if you try to stop them from reaching their destination,” Titon said. “Whatever we do is going to end up drawing attention, unless they’re taking abandoned streets and alleyways to get to the base.”

“We don’t know if they got what they needed from the junkyard. We have no idea if Seismic’s job for them came from Asai. We have no idea what Asai is planning. Hell, I haven’t seen the bitch since she killed me,” I explained. “I feel like we’re running out of time to stop the Nobles before they find a way to stop me. Whatever we end up doing to stop them from reaching their destination, we need to finish the battle as quickly as possible.”

After a couple of minutes of driving, Aura Ray spoke. “I found them. Luckily, they’re not in a vehicle. Just walking.”

“Whatever intersection they’re about to approach, block it off,” I commanded.

“What?” Titon exclaimed.

“I’ll block the rest off with an ice wall.”

“Okay…” Aura Ray said. And once we reached the intersection, she did as I instructed, stopping the flow of traffic. The sound of a car honking always annoyed me, so I was soothed once I raised an ice wall, knocking the nearby cars out of the way, causing them to crash on top of other stopped and parked cars. The civilians were baffled at first, frozen in fear, but began to run and scream as I stepped out the car with Titon and Aura Ray. The only ones that remained to face us, of course, were the two Nobles we were after.

“Pleasure to finally meet you, Amaia,” Eidolon said. He had red eyes, tan skin, and a mostly dark green, red and white spandex suit with a winter hat that had an “E” on it to match. His girlfriend, Centri, was dressed in a similar spandex suit but it was red and had short sleeves. Her skin was tan like her boyfriend’s and, like Eidolon, her face was uncovered and she had long, black flowing hair with a blue band that matched her eyes. Their uncovered faces made me think they didn’t care about who knew their secret identities. Maybe they only had each other to lose. Romantic. 

“Stop with the pleasantries, babe,” Centri said, frowning. “This evil bitch is here to kill us.”

“You’re right, I am,” I said. “So sorry about this.”

I lowered the temperature around the intersection and caused Aura to retreat back into the car and turn the heat on. My eyes began to glow as I began tossing icicles at them to test their abilities and limits before making a move. Eidolon stood still and let the icicles I flung at him phase through his body while the ones I threw at Centri stopped before they reached her and shattered on the concrete at her feet. I stopped tossing icicles as Titon revealed some information to me.

“I had a theory and your icicles proved it true. Eidolon can’t infinitely stay phased. I switched my mask’s vision and saw his organs. His lungs rapidly expanded and contracted after he released his phased state,” Titon informed.

“Meaning only when he’s holding his breath can he stay phased,” I deduced. Titon tried to telekinetically grasp Eidolon, but Eidolon phased through the grasp. The worst outcome. “Shit.”

I decided to shift my focus to Centri, who hadn’t moved from where she was standing. They were stalling. And both of their abilities were meant just for that. Titon was right and I should have heeded his warnings, but it was too late for regret now. 

Maybe like her boyfriend, Centri’s power wasn’t perfect either. Maybe there was an opening or blind spot I could take advantage of when trying to attack her. 

“Did you try telekinetically grasping Centri too?” I asked Titon.

“Yeah. Her body won’t budge.”

Maybe her power only worked when she stood still. There was only one way to find out as I charged at her, still flinging icicles, before crafting an ice sword once I was close enough. I kept reinforcing the sword with more ice as pieces of it chipped away from this invisible shield she created. She kept her eyes on me as I wildy kept swinging at her from all angles. Then I noticed Eidolon approaching me. Any time Titon tried to telekinetically grasp him, he’d phase through it like his body was acting on automatic intervals. He let his fist become solid as he swung at me, but I dodged and tried to slice his hand off. Instead of hitting him, he phased and I swung into Centri’s shield again, only this time, she increased the repelling force and caused me to fly through the air into a nearby parked car. 

As I got to my feet, I saw Titon swinging at the two of them, dodging their attacks with great agility. It seemed he was trying to help me look for an opening. But, I had another idea. I lifted the car I crashed into with my super strength and tossed it at the Nobles. I left what happened next in the hands of Titon.

As the couple focused on getting ready to deflect the car coming at them, Titon snuck behind Centri. Centri repelled the car with the utmost force and in the split second she did this, Titon used his window of opportunity to slice through a part of her back, but the sword then swiped through air as I saw Eidolon placing his hand on his girlfriend, phasing them both. 

“Ah,” Centri said, in pain from the sword slash. “You idiot. You wait until now to do that?”

“Sorry, babe. Didn’t wanna show all of our hand while we waited,” he said. This mistake was the worst one he could have made though as he was unaware of the capabilities of Titon’s sword. Genocidal Plague or “Genny” was crafted of an alien metal called “Nebula Metal”. It stops regeneration after having been dipped in the Torpid Trench, a location only known to the Haven Gods like Rose and Erza. However, if the target injured by this sword lacks any sort of enhanced healing, the sword poisons the target at an alarming rate. There is no known cure for it. 

A look of concern came over Eidolon’s face as his girlfriend already began to cough up blood. He held her close as she dropped to her knees. Fear affects the human body in a lot of negative ways and in this case, Eidolon was short of breath as his girlfriend began to violently spew up blood. 

Titon must’ve realized the shortness of breath and took advantage, going for a lethal stab through Centri’s back. However, Eidolon stood and got between them, taking the sword straight to the chest. Centri could barely give a reaction as her boyfriend’s body dropped dead next to her. 

I started to approach Titon as he stepped over Eidolon’s dead body and walked toward me and Aura Ray, who was still sitting in the heated car. She stepped out and her eyes were the widest I’ve ever seen them. All I could hear her say was “Another Noble…!” before a ball of bright green energy crashed on the ground between us. The force from the shockwave sent me flying into my ice wall near the car. Out of slightly hazy vision, all I could see in the distance was someone clad in a red sleeveless hoodie releasing a wave of bright green energy at Titon. Once he was done, all that was left of the hitman was the sword. This was Lux, the strongest of the Nobles.