A Gods Eater Burst / Gods Eater 2 fanfiction by Lushard.

Chapter 1

A Rainy Night

12 - 08 – 2074 / 16:23:08

It has been raining quite heavily, these past few days, mused Alisa as she tapped a button to change the image shown on the screen.

The room was getting darker and darker, so she thought to light the lamp, but hesitated when she saw the young man who was still laying motionlessly on the sofa. There's still time, she thought. He needed to rest, especially since they were about to depart on a sudden mission that had been thrown upon their shoulders a moment ago.

Sighing, she walked closer to where Ray was resting and bent on her knees, one hand moving to caress his cheek, sweeping his bangs aside from his placid face. Two years ago, he hadn't been anywhere near the type that anyone would bow to with respect or awe. He had been a mere boy back then; a rookie who happened to join Fenrir around the same time as herself. She smiled at the reminiscence.

They had been practically kids back then, trying to defend humanity with the power of their very nemesis, the hideous monsters known as Aragami. But so much had happened in the last two years that it felt like her first year in the Den was more than a decade ago. A series of events had come striking down: Lindow Amamiya's sacrifice, her being confined because of the unstable state of her mind, the Resonance between her and Ray that had been caused by their New-Type powers and DNA, Shio's appearance and departure, Director Schicksal's schemes, and finally, Lindow's return to the Den.

Somewhere within her heart, she still blamed herself of the misfortune that had befallen them. It had been her fault that Lindow, the former Den's assault leader, had been considered M.I.A. Although they had been able to track him down through Ray's Resonance effect with Lindow's God Arc and everyone's effort, sometimes she could still feel the tightening grip of regret whenever she remembered the day when she had almost shot Lindow down.

It was true that her action back then had been orchestrated by Director Schicksal, who had been using her quest of vengeance against a certain Aragami that had killed her parents to brainwash her by replacing the Aragami's image by Lindow's so she would shoot him instead of the monster whenever the Aragami was in her sight. But still, it didn't change the fact that her action was something she could never atone for.

She hadn't been the one to bring Lindow back. She hadn't been the one to make up for her mistakes.

If it hadn't been for him, she would surely have lost to her own madness by now.

"No one is able to atone for one's own sin," Alisa remembered Ray saying when she'd been confined in bed after the Lindow's M.I.A status had been officially announced.

It was him who had told her then to rely more on others and to look more for opportunities to do something for those around her rather than contemplating about the past.

Ray, who had only been sixteen at that time, had already been made the Den's official field leader. His calm and rational persona had seemed to have gained the higher ups' attention, not to mention that he was also a New-Type God Eater who had also shown remarkable strength and strategy in battle. He was a gentle person to begin with, a totally no-leader-material. But through his appointment as a leader, he had grown more mature beyond his years.

Alisa hadn't doubted his abilities and leadership, nor had been anyone in the Den: for they knew Fenrir never looked on someone's age when they were considering promotions. As long as candidates were considered good enough to fit whatever role that needed to be filled, they would surely not hesitate to raise their rank.

But of course not everything had come out smoothly. She remembered how troubled Ray had been when he had to lead the party for the first time. A deep frown wouldn't leave his face and he checked everything more than twice before their departure, eliciting playful remarks from Kota about him turning into a neurotic old man. Something she had agreed with a stifled giggle.

Even after he had gotten used to the role, he would still voice his doubts over his own decisions and leadership skills, more so whenever some casualties were reported in. He had never showed any sign of hesitation nor doubts in front of his underlings, but in his own room or when they were alone, he was just...himself: a young man who had been forced to shoulder a huge responsibility; a boy who often questioned how this world really functions at times.

But two years had passed. Now, he was a much more confident person, no more a young leader hiding behind his mask of calmness and assurance.

Alisa got up and cast a glance at two photo frames sitting on a desk nearby. The first photo, she remembered, had been taken briefly after Lindow had been brought back to the Den—well, to be exact, it had been taken right on his wedding party. Sakuya—the bride—looked at her prettiest with a white wedding dress. The younger version of Kota, Soma, Ray and herself were also there.

Beside the first photograph, there sat a picture of only her and Ray together, which had been taken just before her departure to Russia two months ago. She smiled when she noticed just how much they had changed in just two years. Not just in term appearances, of course.

A movement on the sofa caused a creak and Alisa turned to see a half-sitting Ray shaking his head, dismissing sleepiness away. "You're awake," she said.

He produced a grumbling sound before saying, "How long have I been alseep?"

"Almost ninety minutes."

Getting up, Ray walked over to the window and stared absently at the scenery behind the glass. It was actually a monitor, representing whatever image set to be displayed on its screen since Fenrir's HQ was located underground. "It's raining again," he muttered, more to himself.

"We should get prepared," Alisa reminded him as she grabbed his jacket and gave it to him.

He gave a curt nod, though still unmoving from where he stood. "Yeah."

Alisa knew that he was probably thinking of battle tactics and strategy for the upcoming mission, for such was his role and habit. He was a silent observer and a quick learner, yet deep down, there were always fears of failure that remained still. It was all visible and quite plain to see in here, in his own room where he did not have to shoulder the heavy responsibility and image of a leader worthy of the trust of his team members.

Squeezing his hand gently, Alisa mustered a reassuring smile. "You're thinking too hard again."

Ray studied her face for a while and then said, "And you're still against the mission," which was not a question.

"I am," she acknowledged, desperately trying not to let her voice be colored by hesitation or anxiety. "This mission is still too sudden. Even in the past, there were scouting teams sent in first to at least gather some appropriate info about any new Aragami found lurking around. And in my opinion, sending two battle teams before them is a reckless movement. Hasty, even."

Ray waited and simply stared at her, so she continued. "If I were in a position to complain to the higher ups, I would have already done so the minute we received this unreasonable task. But you're the Leader, and I trust in your decision. If you say you'll go, than as a member of the First Unit, I will go with you."

There was a long pause when the two of them stayed mute for some seconds. But then Ray shook his head and broke his hand free of hers, walking past her towards the door and stopped midway.

"It is very cruel of me to say this: but an Aragami is an Aragami. The very species that have taken many lives is lurking out there, posing yet another threat unknown. This new type monster was first confirmed by the Director a day ago when he'd summoned me to discuss things about the evolution of their species, and by an incomplete analysis alone, it poses a threat in a comparable rate to that of a Hannibal."

He turned to fix his gaze at her in the dim light. "There's no time to send in more scouts as for now, lest we want more casualties. You, of all people, should know the pain of losing people dear to you because of this," he added in a low voice.

Alisa stayed silent, her gaze falling to the ground as she absently let her mind wander back behind the closed doors of her past. She was the sole survivor and witness to her parents' death by an Aragami that had been considered a new evolved species seven years ago. And it had also been for the sake of hunting down the very Aragami that she had agreed to be Fenrir's new type test subject. It was not a pleasant memory, with blood blurring her vision and her own parents' screaming voice.

One hand moved to cover her face, fingers pressing rubbing lightly against closed eyes. "I know I'm just being anxious and selfish," she breathed, "and I am sorry. I don't wish to burden you more with my uneasiness. Please, don't mind me."

Ray approached her and touched her shoulder. "It will be fine. This mission will end like any other previous ones we've succeeded in carrying out."

Lifting up her face to meet his, she gave a nod. "Yes. Let's not keep the Director waiting now."

The two of them went off to the Director's office and met two of their comrades in arms halfway there. Exchanging glances and nods, they came into Sakaki's office.

Sakaki Paylor's room was in a mess, as it usually was. Alisa, Ray, Soma and Kota were standing on some papers scattered all around the floor, and neither of them cared. The Japanese fixed his glasses and typed something on his computer board after greeting them sleepily, producing a bad quality image on a monitor nearby.

"Look at this," he said as he clicked a button to zoom in. "This is the new Aragami that was spotted two days ago. It was last seen around our eastern residential sector."

The blurry and dark image, although hard to recognize, still had some visible traits of a giant monster in shape of what seemed to be a wolf with three tails. "I'm sorry for the quality of the image, but this is the best picture of the beast that we currently have right now," Sakaki said with a sigh. "As you have already heard, this new type Aragami is similar to the Hannibal in terms of speed and strength. And by reports, it is usually only out hunting on rainy nights, which is why we cannot let this opportunity to be wasted."

Soma snorted. "So that's why the higher ups are so eager to dispatch us, huh?"

"It is a chance one cannot let pass," Sakaki nodded in affirmative. "But furthermore, since the monster is currently hunting on a field not so far from the Outer Ghetto, there's not much time for us to make a move were it to be alerted on the residential area's scent of humans."

"Then let us depart!" bolted Kota. He was, as Alisa remembered it well, always behaved like a madman being chased by some ferocious Aragami whenever he heard about some dangers lurking near the Outer Ghetto. She couldn't blame him, for the young Japanese Gods Eaters' mother and sister lived there. Anyone would be dead serious and worried if they knew that their family was in danger. "If this wolf thing got to the Ghetto, there's no telling what would become of the people there!"

"Yes, yes, Kota, that is the very reason why we will be sending two teams to engage this threat," said Sakaki calmly. "Ray." He turned his attention towards the New Type. "Your team's order will be to ambush it, while Lindow's team will defend you with long-ranged attacks. The battle tactics, as usual, are entrusted to you. We will have a third team on standby near the Ghetto should you need more reinforcements, and the rest shall be ordered to guard the residential area."

By Ray's expressionless face and silent demeanor, Alisa noticed that his serious persona had already taken control of him, dismissing the features of a much gentler and kinder person locked inside.

"Understood."

xx - 0 - xx

12 – 08 – 2074 / 18:24:29

"Target spotted," said a voice through the intercom.

Nodding, Soma glanced at Ray, awaiting the younger man's orders. "We will move as planned," Ray said without turning to face his comrades, his eyes still focusing on a binocular glued to his face.

"The rain will make this mission a lot more annoying," grunted Kota as he loaded his God Arc with lightning bullets.

The first unit was hiding behind some rubble of a ruined building. Ray was observing the Aragami, which was still busy eating piles of broken walls from the ground several feet below them. Rain hadn't ceased from pouring down, threatening to slow down their movements and causing misfire.

"That damn Aragami is bigger than Hannibal," said Soma. "Judging from how he moves, it is a little faster than the latter."

"Its tails will be a nuisance were they to be lashed at us," Alisa put in as she re-checked her own gears.

The wolf-like Aragami had finally been able to be seen clearly now: revealing a beast of a size bigger than Hannibal, equipped with clawed feet and sharp fangs, and also three long whip-like-tails which were glowing in purplish light.

Ray put down his binocular and got up to his feet. "Close combatants will be acting as decoys to restrict his movements. Kota and Alisa, you two are to distract him with long-ranged attacks and change positions continuously. Hopefully, Lindow's party members are already placed on the specified spots. We will surround it and give it no room to run away."

They all gave a nod, and on Ray's hand signal, Soma and Alisa jumped from the platform while Kota was heading straight to a higher one.

Running while activating their God Arcs, the three of them dispersed, successfully making the beast caught off unaware. But its agility was one they'd not seen before: it leapt while spinning around, lashing its tails downward as its legs carried him far off ground.

"Damn, it's too fast," Soma spat as his giant sword missed its target and hit the ground instead.

Lightning bullets began to rain soon thereafter. Alisa ran closer to the Aragami while dodging its long tails that began moving at its enemies. Ray changed his God Arc into a sniping mode and fired some bullets while running at the monster without decreasing his own speed. But when Alisa managed to finally got closer for a slash, the beast leapt again with a speed of nothing they'd seen, all the while landing a hit that would have killed her should she was late to deploy her shield. The sudden attack almost sent her flying.

Ray changed his God Arc back to a close combat mode, a light blade suited for pierce attacks and deft movements, then leapt foward, using his weapon to parry the tails as he got closer to the beast. Soma followed suit on the ground.

Recovering quickly, Alisa changed her own weapon into a long range mode and began firing while telling her feet to keep moving. Nothing good would be served by standing still in the face of an adversary that was capable on moving this fast. As soon as Soma and Ray were close enough to the Aragami, a stun grenade exploded close to the Aragami's head. It was Lindow's team, Alisa presumed, who had covered them by opening fire.

Missiles came down upon the monster, successfully damaging and stunning it for some seconds, buying enough time for Soma and Ray to get closer to it and use a Devour Attack on it, tearing off half of its lower body. Blood splashed everywhere as the beast screamed in agony, its tails moving wildly just when the two attackers hit the ground. Soma managed to dodged it by moving to the side, and so was Ray. But one of his tails swung right to where Ray had just landed and scratched his left arm.

"Kota!" Alisa shouted as she dashed back to dodge the blindly lashed attack.

"Roger!" replied him a second after. A beam of green light was shot directly to Ray's arm, closing the wound almost in an instant. It was a healing bullet.

Another round of missiles came in, and Alisa leapt foward to engage the weakened yet enraged Aragami. She moved quickly to its side after dodging its tails and managed to land a hit on one of his front legs. With a roar, the beast almost lost its balance as it leapt clumsily to a higher ground in order to run from the rain of bullets.

"Tch. What a tough guy," Soma said as he dashed to go after it.

Surely this beast is way more dangerous than Hannibals: far more brutal, agile and agressive, that is, Alisa grimly thought. With its speed and size alone, it was already a dangerous foe, not to mention that it had tails that were capable of crushing metal and walls alike. Now she finally understood why the higher ups wanted this beast to be annihilated as soon as possible; it would pose indeed a greater threat than a swarm of Kongos or Ouroborus if the blood thirsty beast was able to spot the Ghetto—a place full of fresh meat and flesh.

"Aim for its head!" Ray shouted. He had changed his weapon into sniping mode again and was shooting at the Aragami. Running closer to the target, he used his enhanced speed that still lasted after the Devour Attack to confuse it. "Alisa, cover me!"

Alisa quickly loaded her God Arc with piercing bullets and did as she was told. Soma bashed at the ground beneath the beast and caused it to crack open. Ray used the opening to slid past through its head from below and slashed at its throat as he did so.

It let out a long, agonizing shriek before falling to the damaged platform beneath it.

"Did it!" screamed Kota. He leapt off from the higher level, swinging his hand to the air in a whoop of joy.

Ray landed on the other side of the platform, sliding on the sticky mud until the impact of his landing stopped, then he stood up.

The Aragami roared once again in pain and moved wildly but without the power to get up to its feet. Its tails were swinging furiously, and after some seconds, it fell completely silent. Unmoving. Black blood, mixed with water poured by the black clouds above, was spreading wider and wider on the ground.

Alisa let out a sigh of relief. Finally it was dead. The battle had lasted about fifteen minutes, and it had already been pretty tiring to move in a heavy rain like this. How many bullets had they wasted in order to penetrate its tough skin?

Soma approached its corpse and let his God Arc devour it. "It is a new breed," he confirmed. He clicked on the intercom attached to his ear. "This is First Unit. We have successfully slain the new Aragami."

Hibari's voice came in: "Great job. Please return to the HQ as soon as—"

A roar suddenly resounded through the area.

A howl, to be exact.

A howl similar to that of a wolf's.

The team quickly switched to battle stance. "On guard, everyone," Ray said through his own intercom, alerting Lindow's unit as well as his own team.

Another howl was heard, and then another of a different pitch. Similar shadows began to emerge from the ruins around them. Two, three, four... There were five Aragami in a shape of a wolf surrounding them.

"More of that thing, huh?" Soma spat irritably.

"So they hunt in groups," Alisa concluded, her hands tightening on her weapon's grip.

She cursed the fact that they were not too far from the Outer Ghetto, a place of refuge, which meant that they probably had to slay all those monsters in order to secure this area. If they were to retreat, they'd have to lure them into a place farther away from the Ghetto, and it would be pretty much an impossible task to do since there were five of them. It was practically a do or die mission.

She stole a glance at Ray and saw his darkening expression. He had already thought of the same conclusion, it seemed.

"Man, what an awful night," Kota sighed. "I guess its roar alerted those guys, more so the scent of its stinky blood."

One of the giant wolves let out another howl, perhaps a cry of lamentation upon seeing the lifeless body of its kin. "They're going to attack," said Ray when they changed their stance and fixed their red eyes upon them.

"Your order, Ray?" the intercom buzzed. It was Lindow's voice.

"We will divide them into two groups and lure them out of this area while trying to at least shoot half of them down. Send a word to a patrolling squad for more men." Exhaling deeply, he added almost bitterly, "The more the merrier, now, isn't it."