The Other Side of Darkness

Mechanical Demon

Lev pulled herself closer to the aircraft, willing it to go faster. After Vil had screamed Idia's name, the line went silent. Heart pounding, she flew through the air, looking anywhere for something. Anything!

Her chest tightened with short breaths. The vaporized blot surrounding her thickened and invaded her lungs. 

Suddenly, a blast of fire appeared from the darkness, almost hitting her. The Chariot jerked to the stop. Her head slammed onto the wheel. She hissed in pain and looked around.

"What the--?!" she started, but was cut off when a dark figure flew past her. As they stabilized, Lev realized why Vil had panicked. It was Idia. He had Overblotted.

His normally long blue hair was short and dark at the roots. He was covered head to toe in black armor, including a mask that opened and closed like sharp teeth when he gasped at her sudden appearence.

"Oh-ho~ Another problem child has appeared," he crooned. By the way his eyes tightened, she figured he was smiling, but she couldn't really tell. 

"Leviline!"

Lev turned. Through the mist, she could see Vil, Epel, Rook and Lelie standing on the staircase. Battered but happy to see her. Well, all except Lelie, who was definitely not pleased.

"Are you guys okay?" Lev shouted.

"Not for long!" Idia laughed. "Now that another enemy has appeared I have to show you my final OP invincible move! My condolences." He held his hands in front and below him, towards what Lev could now see what the bottom of the tower. Tartarus.

"'Game. Set. Match. Gate to the Underworld!'" 

The room shook as the floor began to open up, revealing a green pool similar to the one Lev fell into in her dream. Shadows and Phantoms began pouring out.

"Lev!" Vil shouted. "Get out of here!"

"Not without you!" she yelled back. The matchine seemed to have gone off autopilot, so she grabbed the steering wheel and yanked it to move towards her friends. Before it could however, something grabbed her waist and yanked her out of the seat. "AAAAH!"

"LEV!" 

The thing that grabbed her held her in midair over the pit. Lev turned her head to see the dreaded black figure. Incredibly large. Black body and head. Blot everywhere. The Phantom.

"Hiii, Prefect! I'm baaack!" Orthro's voice cheered. It was tainted by a dark growl.

Lev's heart stopped. "W-what? Ortho?!"

"Yep it's me! Look at how big I am!" It flipped her right-side up and spun her around like a child. "My friends from the Underworld really helped me! Without them, I would've never gotten this big! They turned my 'curse' into a 'blessing!'" 

What on Earth?!

"What 'blessing?'" Lelie spat. "Look at yourself kid! You're a monster!"

"Says you!" Ortho snapped back childishly. A movement appeared by the top of his shoulder. A little black furball with blue flames.

"Grim!" Lev screamed. The small monster gave no indication that he heard her, instead just clinging to the Phantom's black robe-thing as blot slowly absorbed him into 'Ortho's' body. "You-! Get back here!" 

She lit up her palms and shoved them against the hand holding her waist. Ortho cried out in pain and released her. Blowing out another burst she pushed the Phantom away and launched herself back onto the Chariot. She yelped as her back slammed against the hard metal.

"Ortho!" Idia yelled, rushing to the Phantom.

Lev's earbud buzzed.

"Hey, we have a bit of a problem here," Leona growled. "More phantoms are appearing from out of the Underworld! And they ain't the pushovers we had earlier."

"They're attacking the staff!" a scientist added. "If they don't get help, they'll be killed!" Lev's blood chilled. 

"Leona! Vil! Get in the Chariot with Lev and rescue them!" Riddle ordered. "Azul and I will stall Ortho and Idia."

Vil huffed. "Very well. Good luck." Lev peeked up and saw Vil and Rook launch themselves into the air with magic and land beside her on the Chariot. Lelie grabbed Epel and did the same. 

Vil held up a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Leona, we'll take the first floor. You get the sixth floor. We'll meet back down here with Riddle and Azul when we're done."

"Ugh. Fine."

Vil looked at the control panel. "Now, how to operate this thing."

Lelie chuckled and cracked her knuckles. "Leave it to me." She sat down at the control panel and pressed a few buttons. The aircraft quickly began to rise, slicing through the dust and black fog. The three remaining students slid backwards due to the force.

"Woah!!" Epel screamed in delight after grabbing onto the side of the Chariot. "This is awesome!"

"Hold on to your hairpins!" Lelie laughed. She pulled a lever back, lunching them up even more quickly. 

Lev squeaked as she slid backwards, falling onto Vil and Rook who grabbed her arms to ensure she didn't fall off.

"I think she wants to kill us," she gasped. 

Vil looked over the edge. "Out of everything that's tried to kill me today, this would definitely be the worst way to go."

"Almost there!" Lelie said. Screams filled the air as the Chariot slowed. 

Just below the entrance to the tower, a group of scientsts fled from several small Phantoms. One saw them and shouted: "Praise the Gods! You're here!"

Vil nodded. "Rook and Epel, go help them get out of here. Ladies?" He looked between Lev and Lelie. "Would you help me send those demons back into the Underworld?"

Lelie scoffed. "Like you have to ask." She pulled the Chariot over the path and powered it down. They hopped out and ran to their respective objectives.

Lev grabbed the sword the scientists gave her and unsheathed it. Lelie blinked in surprise.

"What's that?"

Lev shrugged. "I'm not sure. But it's better than nothing." She pointed the tip at the demon. "You better get a good look at it. Once this is all over, I'm gonna stab you with it."

The demoness smirked. "Good luck trying." She pulled two rapiers out of the air. "And in my defence, I told you several times before giving you that vial not to trust me." Before Lev could answer, she sprinted towards the phantoms and immediately started killing them. The Heartless spun like a dancer, cutting away at the creatures with deadly precision. 

Lev groaned. "Hey, save some for me will you?!" She had some stress she needed to get out.