The skies turned red. He quickly realized that he had somehow misinterpreted her darkest fears. For a moment he caught a glimpse of it as Cer unexpectedly sent a kick to the side of his head.
“When was I?” Cer’s words rattled him. “Your combat experience is lacking. No wonder your kind is afraid to deal with Moons. We deal with death at every passing hour. Drawing out a nightmare from the back of our minds is another day to us. Will it work against other Moons? Who knows. But believe me when I say this –!”
Cer’s speed had increased drastically.
No. Rather, Terrent’s speed had considerably decreased. The Fractured Nilhim were only as strong as their enemy feared them. Without trepidation stacks applied to their foes, then they were among the weakest of all the Impuritas Groups.
“– The moment you try to dig up past shit from the Moons, then your worst nightmares are going to be made manifest. If you bite the wolf’s tail –!”
Cer struck him again as she zipped from every direction, attacking him far faster than he could even react. She seemingly appeared and disappeared at once, forcing him to hover the wolf aberration over him defensively.
But even that was futile.
“– THEN YOU GOTTA BE PREPARED TO DEAL WITH ITS FANGS!”
One last electric bite was all it took to shatter the illusionary wolf. It crumbled like a stone statue, leaving the vulnerable Terrent to claim a one-sided onslaught that brought upon by himself. He could not fathom Cer’s Willpower to resist what was supposed to be her most repressed nightmare.
He tried to shape himself into something else as he desperately fished deeper into her mind. As he reached into the metaphorical well, it closed on his arm like the mouth of a beast, severing it clean from the shoulder.
“… you’re… Resisting…? Impossible. You’re just a Moon. A Moon that relinquished the effects of Serum G. So how am I being resisted? How… was I just consumed?”
The damage manifested in reality. The same arm mysteriously vanished, revealing nothing but dark and purple void that served as Terrent’s innards. He was not the kind of being that could be defeated normally.
Dropping his ‘Raoul’ form gave him immediate immunity to Cer’s attacks, for only the Blue Moons and those with a Will powerful enough to consume him could dream of finishing him off.
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“What’s a shadow like you to the light of a Moon?” Cer barked, standing defiantly before him. Even though she was nearly half his size, she should not have possessed such an overbearing presence. “Become Raoul again. Fish for my nightmares.”
Cer approached him, and the shadowy figure could only take a step back.
“Hurry. Where did that bravado from before go? What happened to finishing what the Deaf Paw began? Oh. Could it be that you’re afraid?”
“Preposterous…” His body betrayed his words as he continued moving backwards, reaching the bank of the red river.
Thousands of hands floated at the top of the river. Bloated bodies soon emerged as well, all missing their hands. The Escape did better job of portraying Cer’s mind than a high-ranking Fractured Nilhim member like him ever could.
“You were never afraid of Raoul. You were afraid of his absence…”
He was unable to confirm if this was true. His appearance as Raoul had only strengthened her resolve. Her Will was impenetrable. She knew her value more than anyone he had ever mentally fractured, to the point where Cer was an anomaly no different to a Corrupted.
“Deaf Paw, Blind Paw, Speechless Paw. They must be terrified of losing their hands again. I always funny how serfs like you think you can lecture people that lived lives that you’d consider a nightmare. I wonder if you have ever experienced despair before.”
Cer spoke ominously, her voice accompanied by the stench of death.
“I warned you already. You’re going to wish you did soon enough.”
“… At the very least, if I cannot take you, then I will take your sister down to the depths of despair.” He croaked, still unable to believe in his failure to annihilate Cer. “Her, and that healer. If we knew how reprehensible that one would be, then they should have been placed into a Leviathan –!
Cer’s fury increased tenfold, causing the entity to immediately fizzle away. Her eyes were dyed redder than the crimson sun. It set behind her in the direction of the smoke, where the world was far more colorful than this one.
The group reapproached her now that things had died down.
But the moment they went to check on her, their faces went pale. If looks could kill, then they’d succumb where they stood.
“Cat.” Cer began, her unflinching eyes drawn to the light of the sun. “Take me towards that smokestack. I tried crossing the boundary there, but I couldn’t pass through. You’re a denizen of this place. Do something about it.”
The Cheshire Cat dared not to refuse. Her ears collapsed, for she knew it was a bad idea. She clutched her sore stub and nodded, right before she shook her head and wore her usual broad grin.
“Then let’s hurry up!” She exclaimed.
“Cer… What… did you see?” Sana was shocked to find Cer in such a furious state.
She only walked forward, this time, with a grin on her face.
“A clue. Finally, a clue to find out the bastards who threw my friends into a train full of criminals. I’d jump for joy right now but we… I have to save Res. If that smokestack is what I think it is…
… then it might already be too late. Fuck… FUCK!”
The world directly in front of Cer ceased to exist. She carved out the earth with such terrifying power that it was a miracle that no one was injured.
“Res. Just hold on a little longer. I’m coming to get you!”