Longing Hearts part 10

Ch10: The power of mankind

Koro had never run that fast in his life before, trying to escape death himself as he run around, grabbing follower after follower and sucking out their very existence. His eyes moved frantically from Yabu, to Nadia, who he tried to follow, to become a barrier between her and the master. Two of Taika’s followers had already fallen and he was now heading for Issah. The male was as capable as any of them, but this man had proved them all useless, or perhaps they had lost every inch of backbone at the mere thought of fighting a master, at the revelations that had dawned upon them.

‘’Stop!’’, Mainda’s voice echoed and just then Koro realized that she had been the only one who hadn’t moved an inch. He turned, still pacing backwards, fighting with his own self on whether to run up and save his sister or keep his distance to surprise him. There was no logical fighting plan in his mind. Everything was in shambles, his head hurt and his instincts told him to flee immediately. As a reaction to her voice, Yabu dropped Issah as soon as his thick hands had grasped his throat, making him breathe in audibly, like he had been drowning. The master appeared in front of Mainda in a flash, and that second Koro moved against him out of instinct, noticing Tori do the same, his rage coloring the air around his formidable figure.

Yabu held a smile on his face as Mainda let her mask melt away, showing her beautiful face, a determined expression altering its features. A few steps away from her, the follower felt his body freeze, an immense power keeping it still, keeping the blood in his veins unmoving. The sensation was the same like the first time they had met this master and Koro had no choice but to keep watching as he approached his sister, only a few inches now separating them.

‘’Make me yours.’’, she uttered and a shiver crawled down Koro’s spine. He wanted to shout, to intervene and Tori probably felt the same, but they were both trapped. Yabu chuckled.

‘’So you have seen my vision.’’, he announced and with a single breath, brought his lips on Mainda’s, her face unchanging like a piece of rock, her eyes not even blinking while his closed in pleasure. She winched in pain for a few seconds, showing that the master actually poured his powers into her, before he withdrew his face, giving a caring look, much like a proud father would. ‘’Should I bring them in now? They are getting frustrated for not seeing through my special ability.’’, Yabu spoke with a smirk and Mainda lifted her brows and stretched her limbs. Koro couldn’t even imagine the sensation of possessing that amount of power. Her body and mind were probably ready to explode. She turned around and faced her pair, Tori, taking a few steps to approach him, while forming a long blade from her blood. Koro wanted to object once more, but he was still very much stuck in place. Mainda pierced Tori’s body once and brought her face near his, touching her forehead on his mask and closing her eyes. The follower could feel it, the power of his master flowing from one apostle to the other, thus making Mainda the holder of three different types of powers.

‘’How clever…’’, Yabu commented and the female apostle removed the sword, Tori’s body kneeling down, still unable to advance. She turned around, her blue eyes barely able to focus and suddenly curled and emptied her stomach, throwing up nothing but water and blood. Her nose bled a bit and her eyes turned red. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and focused on Yabu. The master looked like he was going to burst out in laughter.

‘’Let them find us.’’

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the two masters appeared seemingly out of thin air and all of a sudden the situation became even more intense.

‘’What have you done Mainda?’’, Saika uttered, standing a few steps away from her and the scene felt like an explosion waiting to happen.

‘’She even took my powers from my apostle…’’, Ikrov murmured after placing his hand on the suffering Tori. His face twisted into that of rage. ‘’I told you to get rid of this woman! Apostle or not, she is pure poison!’’, he yelled at Saika and flicked his arm, creating a large black blade, seemingly made out of manifestations. He gripped on the hilt and pointed towards the female.

‘’Stay back Ikrov!’’, Saika yelled at him, his heavy voice echoing in the forest. ‘’She is my responsibility.’’, he added and narrowed his eyes at his apostle. A huge force seemed to be sourcing from him, as he tried to take control of her. Every single cell on Koro’s body, could feel his effort, but Mainda did not budge. She was the one who should have been affected the most. Yabu snickered in the back, breaking some of the tension.

‘’You cannot control me now!’’, Mainda screamed at him and took a step forward, seemingly lifting all the pressure from her. Saika widened his eyes and lifted a visibly shaky hand, creating a blade of his own.

‘’Then I have to kill you… This time once and for all.’’, Saika announced, his voice sounding uncertain.

Mainda was unfazed.

‘’We can fight. I can fight all three of you at the same time, I don’t care!’’, she said, turning to glare at Yabu as well, who seemed surprised by what she had to say. ‘’I want you to save humanity. Do what you were meant to do!’’, she added and Saika took an audible breath. Masters could feel what their followers felt very intensely, and what he had probably experienced from Mainda had left him in shock.

‘’Kill the apostle now!’’, Ikrov intervened and went in to take a step. Yabu run up to him, creating a wall with his own body. Masters were unable to fight each other, but somehow his action had dropped Ikrov’s guard.

‘’I understand now that you disagree with me as well. You want something different from us.’’, Yabu announced, turning his head to look at her. His face was calm now, showing that he was in sync with the apostle. ‘’I will stand by it. This feels like the old times.’’

Saika exhaled and the blade dispersed. Suddenly the air felt lighter and Koro was able to move.

‘’There is no way for us to touch her now, Ikrov.’’, Saika pointed out and Koro was confused by his words. ‘’She has figured it out, much like ancient followers did when they brought us to this earth. As long as she has fragments of our power, we cannot disobey her.‘’ The blonde apostle widened his eyes for a mere second and then, with a defeated look on his face, let his blade disperse as well.

‘’Let’s work together then…’’, Saika smiled. ‘’For humanity.’’

Mainda smiled back.

‘’For humanity.’’