Midnight Arcadia

Chapter 10

Sky stared directly through the man in the mask, their eyes meeting and the tension in the air growing with each passing second. The platform was silent, the line not running due to being shut down for the day. Everyone was tense, as if just waiting for the proverbial balloon to pop. As if right on cue, the platform announcement sent everyone into action, finally releasing the tension. The man in the mask allowing his Vein to roar to life as he moved with unbelievable speed towards a pillar upon the platform. Chiyoko was first to activate her Vein, attempting to cut off his escape routes. Kaminari was next and she was able to keep up with the masked man as jolts of electricity followed her. Before she was able to grab onto the masked man, she lost her balance due to Chiyoko’s Vein frosting the platform tile, causing her to slide out of control. “Oshiro! You’re screwing us over too!” Kaminari yelled out in frustration as she smoothly corrected herself, sliding past the masked man. Chiyoko ignored her as she used the ice to slide towards the man but the look in his eyes looked manic as she approached him. He threw his arm to his side and caused the very shadows to jump up out of the ground and crash into Chiyoko. She managed to bring her arms up to block the worst of the attack but her aura was shattered and her Vein was turned off as she was sent into the wall with extreme force. Rocketing in from behind her came Sky, who with a boost from Ayumi was sent flying towards the masked man. The masked man was about to easily dodge but he began to be pulled towards Sky, Ayumi using her Vein to form a vacuum to suck the man forwards. Sky readied his newly energy filled punch and threw it towards the masked man. The masked man brought up his arm to block the punch best he can, letting out a groan as the punch connected. He quickly counter attacked, throwing a punch of his own knocking Sky back. Sky landed on his hands and springboarded towards him with a kick, landing firmly in the masked man’s abdomen. The masked man let out a pained groan as Kaminari came in from behind forming basic staff out of light. She took a swing towards the masked man connecting with his arm, launching him across the train platform. “Himura!” Sky yelled out, holding his hand out towards her. She understood and threw the staff towards Sky as he ran towards the masked man, his confidence growing as the encounter continued. Kaminari followed up with Sky, forming another staff out of light and flanking his other side. The masked man looked up, his anger evident even under the mask. “Enough. I tire of this.” He said, his voice was low and menacing. He grabbed the staves, one with each hand without much effort. They break into motes of light as Sky and Kaminari look on in surprise. A wave of shadow erupts from the man, forcing Sky and Kaminari to hold up their arms to attempt to protect themselves from the onslaught. Sky was grabbed by the neck and lifted up off the ground by the masked man. Sky winced in pain as he grabbed onto the masked man’s forearm. “I don’t understand what she sees in you, boy. Count your blessings, you will leave here alive, however broken you might be.” He spoke before he threw Sky straight into the wall in front of him. Kaminari looked back as she yelled his name before also swiftly being knocked into a nearby pillar. Ayumi launched a ball of wind directly towards the man, causing him to stumble backwards a bit. Ayumi quickly pulled out her phone, calling the number that was on the map earlier. “Dai! Get here quick! We found one, but he’s going to incapacitate us at this rate!” She yelled into the phone before hanging up and gathering a big gust of wind and creating a wall of wind. The masked man put his arm up at the force of the wind, but he didn’t budge. The force of the shadows meeting the wind in equal measure. As Ayumi is struggling, Chiyoko gets up and activates her Vein once more. “You’re dead asshole!” Chiyoko yelled out as the temperature on the platform quickly dropped. The wall of wind began to toss shards of ice as Chiyoko walked forward. Ayumi looked over at Chiyoko, surprised at her willingness to combine attacks with her. “It’s just a byproduct. It wasn’t intentional.” She scoffs before she summoned multiple icicles around the masked man and had them all fall upon his location. Ayumi dropped the wall of wind and formed a vortex instead around Chiyoko, allowing her to chill it to absolute zero. Chiyoko yelled out to fire towards the man and without hesitation Ayumi fired it all off towards the masked man. A chilled fog obscured the point of impact. Both Chiyoko and Ayumi begin to breathe harder due to the exertion of energy they were putting forth. A rush of shadow cut through the fog and went straight for Ayumi. Chiyoko attempted to raise a wall of ice to block the attack but all it did was dull the impact. Ayumi was knocked back towards the stairs leading out of the platform, lying unconscious. Sky, who had the least amount of reinforcement, stood up. His energy dull but still present. He walked up beside Chiyoko as they both looked towards the man. There was silent camaraderie as they both got into a fighting stance, staring down the masked man who had shadow pouring out from his body like a raging storm. This fight was only getting started.

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To Be Continued