Longing Hearts chapter 2

Ch:2 Humanity’s greatest darkness

‘’The Bermuda mission was supposed to end in ultimate success.’’, Ikrov spoke and crossed his fingers over his office desk. Koro was barely seated opposite of him, the nervousness keeping him nearly hovering above the leather surface. The blonde master shrugged his shoulder and released a long sigh before carrying on.

‘’Losing such a valuable pairing was a tough decision to take, but the only way to get rid of that specific manifestation.’’, his brows knitted in annoyance. ‘’And we are still unable to contain the results of it. We were also unable to locate their bodies, despite the fact that no sign of the manifestation is left. No humans should be able to get there, no one could have taken them, not even the sea should be able to keep us from finding them…’’

The black-haired follower could feel and even relate to the frustration his master expressed at that point. Losing an apostle was probably not easy on the masters either.

‘’All these outbursts are probably the result of the Bermuda manifestation. We have our best people getting rid of them, while Saika is searching for the bodies. In the meanwhile I am assisting him with his own team, everything under wraps.’’, he added and Koro, despite the concern his master’s words brought him, the question in his mind was why he had decided to admit the lie and explain the situation to him.

‘’The only reason I am taking my time to share this with you is first of all because you happen to be in my top ranks at the moment and also because you were close to the two apostles.’’, Ikrov added, clearly reading his thoughts. Koro nodded to his master, trying to come to terms with the information presented to him.

‘’From you I ask cooperation in the missions I give you, as always.’’

‘’Can I ask something of you, master?’’ Koro questioned, nearly cutting off Ikrov’s words. The elder male nodded, a blank expression on his handsome face.

‘’I want to be kept updated on the situation. I believe you understand my reasons…’’, he began, knowing full well how right he was to feel that way, but his nature still holding him back. Having fear and respect for one’s master was ingrained in the followers’ brains. Ikrov gave Koro a smile.

‘’Of course.’’

Koro’s time off was short lived, since his next mission was related to another major outburst in the city of Amsterdam. The male had been in the town before for a mission, but at that time was in company of his late best friend. As he paced around the paved streets of the multicultural town, the memories flowed back into his mind. The fact that the newest memory was going to include lonely walks and a tough mission, saddened him. He decided to have a cup of coffee in a Starbucks near the center, scrolling through his phone for any news concerning the town itself. If it proved that an increase of criminal activity had happened, it meant that the manifestation had managed to affect the minds of the citizens.

He pursed his lips in dissatisfaction as he read reports of five recent violent crimes, near the Vondelpark and inside of it, during night time. He downed the rest of his cappuccino and got up, as darkness had soon covered the busy town, despite it being only 6o’clock in the afternoon. Living in northern parts of the world had forced him to get used to shorter and colder days. The follower walked out of the café, enjoying the cool, fresh air as it hit his skin and took the trail to the famous park. Tourists and locals pranced around town happily, engaging in conversations, having foods and drinks, oblivious to the poison that spread in their area. Koro could feel it from the moment he entered the suburbs. He only hopped that they were quick enough and located it before it became defensive, thus requiring an absorber and infiltrator to be defeated.

The closer he got to the park, the more intense the sensation affected his body. He felt sick, and shivers run down his spine every few seconds. It had to be the worst manifestation he had to face. His blue eyes scanned the area, to ensure that no citizens were close by. Regular humans might be unable to witness the darkness, but they could definitely be affected by it when it manifested. When Koro was finally able to see the dark matter, despite all the darkness around him, he was ready to throw up. The manifestation seemed to be clinging on a tree, which had its roots deep into the water of the small rivers that sliced the park into pieces. The follower bit his palm, drawing blood from it. He decided to play safe and covered himself in the crimson armor, before creating two long blades from the back of his wrists. He closed his fists and took decisive steps towards the darkness, watching it as it stirred in his presence, being instinctively aware that its time had come.

Suddenly, Koro froze in place, his eyes widening at the sight. Just beside the tree from the side that faced the waters, was a mass of indistinguishable human bodies. The scent of death invaded his nostrils and it was clear that the darkness clinged onto the dead bodies. Koro could do nothing about them, since messing with possible police evidence was something he was forbidden to do. The dark cloud moved towards him aggressively, forming thorns towards every direction possible, destroying the flora around it. Koro moved quickly, avoiding the attack and dashing against the mass immediately after, his blades tearing it with ease. Instead of showing signs of pain, or fear, the manifestation kept on increasing in size and there was no way for Koro to locate the center of it.

The young follower tasted bile in his mouth as his biggest fear for this line of missions came to life. It was possible that Koro had been too late to catch up with its development and the manifestation required a pair to be defeated. His mind focused on it again, despite the panic that surged through him. Again and again, the attacks sliced off parts of the darkness, but there was no way to tell if it was being defeated or not. Koro tried to circle around the spot where he had seen the bodies, jumping over the small rivers to get to the other side. He could see the source barely, just beneath the surface of the water where a smaller sized human body lied. The back of its head, a full head of long, blonde hair, and the shoulders was the only visible part of it, but Koro was certain that the energy was clinging onto it desperately.

Attacking constantly for nearly an hour was no big deal for the follower, as he was used to completing the toughest missions. The issue was though that this manifestation did not budge one bit and simply tired him. He had no way to contact his master, no way to receive further assistance. If he left the situation as is, more crimes were going to happen the following day, people in the verge of suicide were just going to do it and even humans with a stable mindset would start feeling blue. It had to disappear.

The male gritted his teeth and, recalling the way his sister had fought the first time he had seen her, he mimicked her, despite him not expressing any infiltrating qualities. He sliced and sliced and walked through the thick darkness, pain and fear grasping on his existence. Breathing and walking was hard in there and it made him appreciate what Mainda had gone through as nothing but a rookie. Koro pushed forward, going beyond the limits of his own body and soul. When he finally located the center of the manifestation his strength had nearly left him. As a way of pushing himself forward, he repeated the possible lie that he was going to make it out of there. He stretched his hand out, using every last ounce of power he had left, while his eyes began to close.

Not yet, not yet… This is not it…, he thought to himself as he began losing his senses. Suddenly, as if emerging from deep waters, the pressure around him disappeared. Koro found himself falling on the grassy ground of the park, his eyes barely open, enough to see the darkness getting sucked into a female figure, while a bigger one in front of her thrusted his extended hand against her. Then he felt nothing, as he fell into deep sleep.