Chapter 30

Seiran frowned. Before his eyes, just as Niris was about to pounce on Eviris, he had suddenly stopped in mid-action, his katana raised above his head. From the guard's reaction, he didn't know what was going on either. A few seconds passed before the demon understood the situation. A wide grin split his face and, eyes gleaming with excitement, he raised his sword in turn and, with a warlike cry, launched himself at the angel.

-NIRIS! WAKE UP!" shouted Seiran as he pounded against the wall, desperate to stay behind the energy barrier.

The demon called out to the angel one last time as Eviris was about to bring his weapon down on him, but was surprised to see it suspended in the air a few centimetres above Niris's head. Surprised, Eviris took a step back and tried a second time, but with the same result. He was blocked. Something was blocking him from killing the angel standing motionless in front of him, looking totally absent-minded.

What's going on?" he asked. Why can't I raise my hand to him? It's exactly like when he tried to attack me earlier..." Eviris tried to understand.

But he had no plausible explanation for this situation. So he continued to launch his attack over and over again, but to no avail. Relieved to see that the demon could not harm his lover, Seiran stepped back and thought, completely panicked, of a solution.

"Niris is in danger, I need to contact someone! Inja? But I don't have her chip number...."

He walked back and forth for a while, fidgeting with his households in the hope that a miracle would happen. He was beginning to lose hope when he suddenly remembered that he could communicate with the pegasus accompanying Niris.

"Azure! Of course I can! I can use the mental communication channel we established last time!"

Without further ado, he automatically activated the channel as the angel had shown him and directed his voice at the black-robed quadruped.

"Azure! Can you hear me? Niris is in danger, I need your help! Eviris is about to kill him, I don't know what to do!" he called in a pleading voice.

It didn't take long for the Pegasus's voice to be heard.

"Explain to me what's going on," he began, his deep voice echoing in the demon's ears.

"Eviris betrayed me and he's been fighting Niris for a while now! Niris had the upper hand, but he resorted to some sort of weird thing, which made him stronger, and Niris was about to attack him when he suddenly stopped! Now he's completely immobilised and defenceless against Eviris!"

The demon summed up the situation quickly to make the equine understand the gravity of the situation. He had deliberately omitted to say that Eviris didn't seem capable of attacking him because he feared that whatever was holding Eviris back wouldn't hold him back any longer. He needed the pegasus to come as soon as possible!

"Ok, tell me where you are, I'll find you right away! I'm with Meica, we had a mishap on the way back to our flats so we're in the middle of the palace!"

"Can you feel Niris' presence? We're in an off-centre room of the palace, I'm not sure you'll find us..."

"OK then, we'll meet in the central hall. It'll be easier if you take us straight to the scene. I sensed the activation of two energy isolation zones but I'm not sure which one is yours. The hall lies between the two, which I think will be easier for everyone!" The Pegasus suggested.

"Agreed! I'll find you straight away!" replied the demon, who didn't wait to leave the premises.

He ran into the corridor and made his way to the stairs, which he descended four by four. Never in his life had he felt so close to the edge of the abyss, so close to losing everything in the blink of an eye. He was going to do everything in his power to save Niris.

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Niris fluttered his eyelids. He looked at the strange creature in front of him, perplexed. He couldn't understand a word it was saying. Seeing the angel's lost eyes, the demonic spirit straightened up and crossed his arms.

-Why are you so shocked? This sort of thing was bound to happen sooner or later," she commented, surprised at the angel's reaction.

-Huh?" was all he could think of to say.

The young woman frowned. She was becoming impatient with her host's lack of responsiveness.

-What do you mean 'huh'? Of course this situation was going to happen because my fragments were implanted in your body! It didn't happen earlier because you were powerful enough to protect yourself, but now that you're in danger, I wasn't going to let you be slaughtered by that stupid demon!

Niris understood less and less. His mind was becoming confused. First he found himself in the spiritual lair of a demon spirit, and then he learned that this demon spirit was no more and no less than Niyari. Then she would talk to him about fragments and implantation as if it were all so obvious. But he couldn't understand any of it. He had no idea what had happened to him, especially as he was convinced that Niyari had long since disappeared, destroyed by the last master of blades.

None of it made sense, and yet the woman who claimed to be Niyari seemed to find it all completely normal. It was simply unbelievable.

-Are you... really... Niyari?" he stammered, still unable to form a coherent thought.

The spirit put his hands on his hips and stared at the angel, perplexed.

-You really don't know who I am? You really don't know?" she asked him in a serious tone.

-To tell you the truth, I have no idea what you're talking about...." replied the angel, trying to put all this nonsensical information together.

-I can't believe it.... Angels really are cruel," she muttered before letting out a long sigh and rubbing her chin with her hand, thinking about how to tackle the subject. "You're the son of Aroslan and Leifferina, aren't you?"

The angel nodded slowly, surprised to hear the names of his parents coming out of the mouth of the purple-skinned creature standing before him.

-How could they do this to their own son... Even I'm not that cruel!" she smirked.

-Mrs Niyari... can you explain to me... what exactly are you talking about?"

The spirit let out a light laugh.

-You're the only one who's ever called me Madam!" she punctuated before resuming her explanation. "Listen to me mortal, I'm not a living being, I'm a demonic spirit! Niyari! You've heard of me, haven't you? Just call me by my first name, skip the formalities with me, there's no point!"

She smiled for a moment before returning to her serious demeanour.

-Anyway, we haven't got time to waste, especially as you don't know anything about it. The situation will be more difficult for you to manage..."

She stood in front of the angel and gazed into his slit pupils, slightly dilated by the dim light radiating from the purple smoke.

-You have fragments of my gem grafted into you. They were grafted onto you when you were very small. At the time, these fragments were found by mistake and an accident occurred. Your parents were taken by surprise and decided to implant me in you when you were just a baby. Since then, I've grown up with you without ever being able to express myself because of your mother's firm supervision, and that bracelet that's always been with you."

She paused to check that her apprentice was following. The angel was watching her, his eyes and mouth wide open. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

-In a way... I understand why your parents didn't tell you. As long as you were strong enough to protect yourself, there was no reason for me to come forward. Perhaps they hoped you would live your life without ever knowing I was inside you... A sweet dream that only naive parents can have!"

-Wait... what do you mean grafted? You were eliminated by the last master of blades, so how come... you're grafted to me? What the..."

The spirit sighed loudly and grumbled, holding its head.

Suddenly, the urgency of the situation came back to him. He remembered that he was in the middle of a battle and that something was going on in the palace. He had no time to waste dithering. He had to act or Seiran and his friends would die too!

-How long can you lend me your power?" he asked, raising his head.

The spirit smiled. This was the reaction she had been waiting for.

-Not very long, a few seconds, half a minute at most. It all depends on the strength of the person using it. The fact that he also has a fragment of me on him makes it more difficult, especially as he has an extractor! It nullifies the refraction of the fragments between them and makes my control over him more difficult." She answered in one breath.

-It's OK, I need about fifteen seconds, that should be enough! But I can't reach him, is that because of the fragment he's carrying?"

-Yes, but I can neutralise it if you let me coordinate your actions while you fight," she said, quickly analysing the situation.

-Okay, you have to disable him for at least twenty seconds before I can beat him," Niris reflected.

-It can be done," the spirit nodded.

The angel paused for a moment to think.

-When you talk about being coordinated, what exactly are you talking about?"

The spirit twitched. She hoped the angel wouldn't notice the subtlety, but that was underestimating Niris d'Egea. She knew that, she had seen him grow up, but she still hoped that her subtlety would go unnoticed.

-You must let me occupy your mind as if I were in control, even though you are still the one in control of your body. That way I can pass my demonic energy through your spiritual energy channels and directly control the fragment in the demon's possession."

The angel frowned.

-But that means you can take control at any time," he remarked.

-Not necessarily. I'm standing back and until you give me control of your body, I can't take control of your body, or at least not without risking serious injury."

The spirit had answered honestly. She couldn't fool him anyway, and her life was at stake too. She couldn't risk arousing his suspicions and him refusing to collaborate with her for fear of losing control. She would have plenty of other opportunities to take control anyway.

-I wouldn't take control of your body, don't worry, I have no interest in doing so in this situation anyway," she tried to reassure him.

Besides, the angel had too much willpower. She'd have a hard time subjugating him.

-How can I trust you?" asked Niris suspiciously.

-Don't trust me, there's no point. You don't really have a choice anyway... and you've got an ace up your sleeve to control me," she said, pointing to the purple bracelet with her chin.

Not understanding what she was referring to, the angel raised his arm and looked at the strange jewel that had been with him since he was a child.

-Time is running out, let me into your mind and beat this stupid demon so we can get it over with!" urged the spirit, who felt her control diminishing on the outside.

-One last thing," interrupted the angel. "I want to have a chat with you once everything is over. Summon me here or I'll have you extracted from me, is that clear?"

The spirit laughed at the angel's threat. He was in limbo, I'll give him that. He liked this angel. Maybe she was going to stay here for a while after all.

-All right, we'll talk again when everything calms down. But you know, young mortal, you can summon me yourself..."

The angel frowned, he too could feel Niyari's hold on the spiritual space drying up. He didn't have much time left.

-If I die, what happens?"

The question surprised her at first, but then she smiled with all her teeth. He definitely had more in him than he was letting on! She liked it, she liked it a lot!

-If you die, my fragments will disappear with you. But my other fragments can be reunited to bring me back anyway. The only difference is that the fragments in you would have disappeared so their powers too. As I have almost one third of my fragments within you, it's a great loss I would avoid to be honest. But someone who wants to invoke me wouldn't care about something like that."

-Won't you be free of my hold if I die?" he questioned, wary.

-You're not actually a real bearer, so the situation is different. Because I've taken on a physical form, the part of my mind that's in the fragments disappears if the person with whom my fragments have fused dies. Grafting makes me more vulnerable and seals the existence of my fragments, which is why your parents chose this solution, even though it's cruel for you. It's the safest for the future of the intergalaxy."

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

The angel looked at her for a moment, hesitating. He didn't know if he could trust the information she was giving him. But for the moment he had no choice. He would have to live with it.

Niyari was about to speak when the angel beat her to it.

-Let's go, there's no time to lose!"

The spirit nodded, and the spiritual space began to dissipate little by little. The angel felt himself returning to his senses. He fluttered his eyelids and saw Eviris bring his sword down on him. He narrowly dodged it, which surprised the demon who had not expected to see him move.

He waited a while, building up enough energy in his blade. In front of him, Eviris summoned the power of the fragment in his hand, but to his surprise, it did not respond. He panicked as he saw the fragment glow with an extremely faint light, as if it were about to be extinguished. Niris took advantage of this. He counted in his head. He still had eleven seconds left. He saved a second to gather more energy before launching his attack in the seconds he had left. He had plenty of room to manoeuvre in case this attack wasn't enough and he had to follow it up with a second one.

Once he felt he had infused enough of his own energy and that of the demonic spirit into his blade, he slid his right foot backwards, his body tense, ready for impact. A second later, he launched himself at lightning speed towards his opponent, who was still trying to reanimate his fragment.

-Tae min's Tornado spin!" he shouted before swinging his katana in a wide arc with an extremely precise and controlled movement.

His lightning speed meant that the demon didn't see him coming and didn't have time to parry. The weapon radiated a purplish glow that accompanied the edge of the blade superbly. In perfect horizontality, the angel effortlessly sliced through the demon's skin, propelling him towards the wall with immeasurable force under the pressure of the energy accumulated in the weapon.

As if trapped by a tornado and propelled by its speed of rotation, the demon crashed into the wall, which collapsed on contact. He spat blood from the impact and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Niris was panting. Once he was sure that his enemy would not get up again with a quick check of his consciousness by aura detection, he finally lowered the isolation zone. At the same moment, he saw Seiran come running up, accompanied by the two Pegasus who were trotting rapidly behind him.

-Niris! My God, you're safe!"

Niris smiled weakly, exhausted by the ordeal of mastering Niyari's power for the first time in his life.

-I won..." he said weakly before collapsing to the ground.