Three Spheres

Chapter 71 - Cat

The rustling of the leaves mixes with the sound of the heavy footsteps of Amadeo's metal boots. He runs and jumps, throughout the forest, aided by wind spells that improve his aerodynamics. He wears only part of the traditional uniform and, in his haste to escape from the hospital, forgot to even pick up his equipment and armor. All he thinks is: "That dumbass must have come back to find Katia! Argh! If the Chindis get him, it'll be a massacre...! Stupid Johan!"

He advances along the path they took the day before. However, as he passes the trunks they used as benches, he thinks: "I don't know how I got better out of nowhere... I feel good. Better than normal, actually... It almost seems like, instead of "draining" my life... some "gave" me energy... Ah! But this is no time to think about it!"

Finally, he arrives, panting. There are no creatures around. He finds a pair of curved sticks and ties them together using his own belt; then hums:

_ "I want to find, to find someone. Show me, soon, soon, who's my only one"... Johan.

The object starts to vibrate and takes flight. Amadeo follows behind it, hoping that his sympathy will guide him to his colleague. As the light fades, he creates one of his sparkling spheres to illuminate the path. Alone, he says to himself:

_ Katia was smart to bring those lights that turn on with heat. Saving energy, right...

He looks around. "Hm, weird. There are no Banshees or Chindis here...", he thinks, more afraid at each step. His sticks continue the confused path through the maze, going down through one of the holes in the ground. Amadeo jumps in, landing on what remains of a pillar. The temperature gradually drops. The sticks collide with a wall and stop, unable to move on.

_ Hm? _ He says, when approaching _ What's that...? Cables? _ He threatens to touch them, but he feels something strange running inside them _ Does it have anything to do with the disease...?

The sympathy ceases and the blonde follows the metal tubes close to the ceiling, staring at them. One of his feet hangs on the edge of an abyss. In the distance, he hears the sound of running water. "Ah, the river. Phew...!", he sighs and turns back. In the corridor that stretches in front of him, he sees a waning, greenish light. He doesn't hesitate. It's really, really cold.

He stops in front of a door when he hears soft music, hummed by a female voice. Amadeo recognizes that it isn't Katia's. Even so, he f that he has heardeels like he heard that melody before.

He peeks carefully, and looks inside: "It's a woman... naked?! What's she doing...?". He sees her raise and low a shard of sharp stone, like a painter scrawling on her canvas. The sounds that the movements make, however, are unmistakable: "She is cutting meat, something like that", he thinks. Daring more, Amadeo leans forward to expand his field of view. He loses his breath.

The canvas is the back of whom he came to meet.

The floor is drawn with fresh blood.

The remains of various creatures complete the macabre scene.

Amadeo understands what is going on. His last thought, before charging against the enemy, is what he said to Keisha, refusing to join the special Witch hunt team: "...I definitely don't wanna get involved with such dangerous stuff, for now. I need to get stronger first..."

He doesn't know if this is self-hypocrisy or an irony of fate.

Leah is having fun. It's amazing how fast the bruises close! She feels like sparing that miserable creature's life to make it one of her experiments. She laughs...-