God Eater: Shattered Dawn

Chapter 50: Shattered Dawn

True to his word, Ignis got them to the Tranquil Temple in just under ten minutes, and they were soon able to see the battered snow-village.

Without a word, Soma leapt out of the helicopter, followed immediately by Sakuya and Lindow. Aria hung back for a second.

"Ignis?" She called, and the man looked back at her. She hadn't failed to see how ridged his arms were, how fast his breathing. "What is it?"

"Maybe nothing..." He shifted the controls, gradually landing the helicopter in a heap of snow. "After all, the strong wind and snow are probably interfering with the tracker..."

"Interfering?"

He tapped the screen of his radar in explanation. "...Her armlet signal has gone."

Aria took a shaky breath in, then stepped out of the copter, God Arc ready.

It could mean nothing.

Seeing the others ahead, she ran to catch up with them, and they hurried up the steps to the temple.

Then again, it could mean everything.

"Dammit." Lindow muttered. A group of Ogretails were roaming around ahead, and one or two were already alerted to their presence. "This isn't going to be easy..."

Without hesitation, Soma had already leapt into the fray, smashing his Buster Blade through the group of enemies. Aria joined him, and the two made short work of the aragami.

They continued up another flight of steps, time weighing them down with terror.

Soma swore, sliding to a halt. "They just keep on coming..."

A roaming pair of Sekhmets waved their fists at him before taking to their wings, spreading fire in their wake. He dodged under a wing, blade slicing through one of their backs.

At this rate, there was no way they were going to reach Lupa in time.

Whichever way Soma turned, a Chi-You was stood preparing to attack, offering no exit point for him to escape through.

Keeping up his shield, he watched two fireballs being blown from the Aragamis' fists, which hit his shield, sending him stumbling.

Two aragami of the same type...maybe I can work with this.

Soma hacked at a Sekhmet's arm cells, watching the cells shudder and unbind, breaking off in chunks onto the snow. The aragami clenched its fists, shaking its head in aggravation.

It brought its arms back, energy collecting in its fists, and Soma stood right in its tracks, watching.

Lindow raised an eyebrow, motioning for him to move out of the way. "Soma, what the hell do you think you're-"

Soma leapt out of harm's way at the last second, and the fireball missed him by millimetres, continuing along its path until it hit the next object in its wake: the other Sekhmet.

The aragami looked momentarily surprised as the fire enveloped it, the cells on its face crumbling and dying. It fell face-first onto the snow and stopped moving.

Soma sprang a charge crush on the second aragami, the weight of his God Arc forcing the aragami onto its knees with a loud snapping sound. It soon followed a similar fate.

Barely pausing to devour the aragamis' cores, the group charged up the last set of stairs into the temple.

"It's..." Aria looked around with a frown. The small room was completely devoid of life. "Empty. I was sure she would have come here..."