…Like stated last chapter, shit is about to hit the fan. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, then the Schwann Brigade wouldn't fail epically (since they're not the sharpest tools in the shed).
Edit: I've fixed the chapter a little.
"…That was surprisingly merciful of you," Rita stated to the dark haired swordsman after they left the room where they fought Yeager.
What the genius mage said was true. And the fact that she was shocked – or surprised – by the act of mercy Yuri displayed to the enemy…she hid it pretty well. And she had a feeling Judith also hid her surprise – way better than the twerp, the Old Man and Estelle. Though, the shock of Yeager having a Blastia heart like the Old Man nearly overrode what happened back in there…
"Ugh…" The strange accented man groaned, clutching his wound as he fell to his knee.
With the Old Man cursing under his breath, it seemed that he missed hitting the Blastia heart. He pulled out another arrow and cocked it ready, pointing at the leader of Leviathan's Claw. "Nothin' personal, but," the dark brunette narrowed his pale eyes, "this is for the Don."
"For all the things you've done," Karol added, gripping the white/yellow broadsword tightly.
"And for being a pain in the ass," Rita put in her two cents, conjuring a fire ball in her hand.
The odd man, however, just laughed then winced in pain. "Ugh…Ja, you've got me good, didn't you?"
No one said anything at first…until Yuri spoke up. "I guess we did." Then he looked in a different direction, "By the way, how come you two didn't jump in?"
Huh? What was he talking about? She thought as she looked in the direction he was-
She nearly jumped in shock when she – and she's sure the others had as well – saw the two girls that were with Yeager standing in front of the doors they had come in from earlier. What the-? How long have they been standing there? ?
Wait. The brunette girl looked over at the dark haired man, who looked unsurprised seeing them. She narrowed her eyes. 'Had he known they were there the whole time?' She asked herself. If so, then how did he-?
"Yeah, that is a good question," Karol's annoying voice broke her out of her thoughts. She glared briefly at the boy – who scratched his head a little – from the corner of her eyes as he continued, "How come you didn't help him?"
The one with red hair – she didn't care to catch the girls' names – seemed to growl at them while the one with greenish-yellow hair made a face. And the genius mage made a similar look. "Not going to answer, huh?" She muttered, crossing her arms.
The Old Man lowered the bow, the arrow dropping down a little. "…Were the two of you ordered to stand by?"
The way they flinched means that he was spot on. She briefly heard Yuri mumble something under his breath until he turned away from the girls, towards Yeager-
And walked passed him. The dark haired man didn't allow them to recover from their shock when he said, "C'mon, Alexei isn't waiting on us."
The female mage couldn't help but look at the dark haired man in shock. She looked back at Yeager and the two girls – seeing them just as surprised as the others – and back at Yuri. "Wait, you're going to leave them? Just like that?"
He paused a moment. "…They better get out of my sight fast, before I change my mind." Then he continued walking.
All Rita could do is share a look with the others (besides Repede), casted a look back at the leader and members of Leviathan's Claw – as the green/blond girl (Droite, right?) slowly walked over to the odd accented man – before she reluctantly followed the dark clad man with the others…
When she finished going through her memory, the dark haired male just shrugged indifferently. "Eh, it probably didn't occur to me."
"But-" The twerp piped up.
"Just consider that I've given Yeager a once in a lifetime opportunity," the second older male piped in, "Besides, if there's one thing I can't stand the most is people who were forced to do things they don't want to." She caught the flinch the Old Man had made – since what Yuri said is most likely spot on.
"That's right…" she heard Estelle mutter, casting a small glance at the pink haired princess, "He had a Blastia heart, much like Raven…"
"Oh c'mon," the Old Man sighed, "Talkin' about ta past just gives ol' Raven bad memories…"
He yelped when Rita karate chopped the older male on the forehead. "Save your sob stories for later, Old Man," she said in annoyance.
"Yeah," Yuri spoke up, "We've still got a bastard's ass to kick."
They nodded, and silence fell over them as they continued to make their way to where Alexei most likely is. However, Rita couldn't help but cast a glance over at the dark haired man. She narrowed her eyes at him. Ever since this morning, Yuri's been acting…well, weirder than usual. She caught the dark haired man usually held a hand over one of his ears while on the way to Zaude – though he seemed to suspiciously do so when it seemed no one was looking. While exploring Zaude, she noticed the swordsman giving her, the Old Man, and Estelle a particular look while they were in battle – against the Royal Guard or the monsters that live here, it doesn't seem to matter – especially when they were using magic.
What's weirder, however, is that he seemed to be able to tell where the enemy is. It was as if…he could hear them. But that's impossible! He mind argued, there's no way a human can have that kind of hearing. Yuri may have been experienced in battle, but…there's still no way in hell that he could be able to do such things. He's-
"You've been staring at him for a while Rita," Judith's voice shocked the female mage out of her musings. She glanced at the blue haired Krityan – who always had a smile on her face – then stubbornly looked away from her.
"It's nothing like that!" She retorted softly – she didn't want anyone to hear her. Not even Yuri; she didn't want to let the other male know what she was up to.
However, she also knew that the female Krityan is just as perspective – if not as much – as the black clad swordsman. "Is there something on your mind?" She asked as she moved in step with the genius mage.
…Although she trusted the Krityan, somehow…she felt that it was a bad idea to talk about this with Judith – and the fact that she had gone around destroying Blastia as the so called 'Dragon Rider' (or 'Dragon Freak' as Rita called her) didn't help much; before they learned her side of the story that is. But… At heart, she's still a researcher; so, as one, she had to talk to others of their theory – since, in a way, Judith's dad is a researcher himself.
After giving a peek at the dark haired swordsman, she looked back at the Krityan. "I don't know, but…for some reason, he's been acting, well, strange-r than usual since early this morning," she said, with her voice low. "And not the usual strangeness he displays."
"Oh? How so?" With that smile, not even Rita could tell what she was thinking.
But she went on, as prompted. "…I noticed that he seemed to have given everyone weird looks while we were leaving Zaphias," she said, "I mean the citizens that are returning to the city, and even the dopes in the Old Man's brigade and the people of the lower quarter." Now that she thought about it…yeah, he did seem to give everyone weird looks. He even looked up at Ba'ul funny even after they were relieved that the large Entelexia is fine, along with Tokunaga. "And…he did ask me a weird question while on our way here."
"What's that?"
Even Rita felt weird when she remembered how odd the question is. "…Well, he asked me if I ever felt anything strange in the air. Like…" she put her hand over her temple, as if she was thinking (or maybe enduring a headache) "some sort of mist that we can't see, and not even feel. And…it's thicker around living things, like people and monsters."
At Judith's silence, she shook her head. "Like hell I knew what he was talking about," she said, "So I just gave him an odd look and said 'no'." Well, not really 'no', but she's sure the Krityan got the general idea.
"Anyways, I hope you're happy with my answer," the genius mage started to walk off to catch up with the others-
"He felt strange."
Until Judith spoke up, making her stop in her tracks. She looked back at the Krityan, who also stopped, and the smile on her face is gone. Rita blinked. 'What…?'
"…What exactly do you mean by…strange?" She asked the blue/white clad female slowly, turning to her.
She didn't say anything at once. Then, she casted her pink gaze behind her – and Rita looked back as well, towards Yuri as he seemed to be in a conversation with Karol about something before back at the Krityan – before she looked back at the younger girl. "…Ever since we went into the illusion town of Yormgen, the energy around him is changing. As the days gone by, it continued to do so…as if his body is rejecting Aer itself."
The young brunette stared at her, and she's sure her face is like 'What the hell?' "…The hell do you mean? You need Aer to survive! Without it, you'll die!"
But Judith shook her head. "There are some people who can live without Aer." She told her, "As we speak, Yuri's body is still trying to reject Aer, even when the energy around him has completely changed. Ba'ul had felt that change last night."
…Wait, what? "The hell do you mean 'last night'?"
Judith, once again, didn't say anything at once. The two of them had a stare off, with Rita trying to say with her eyes for the Krityan to tell her what she meant, and now! …But the blue haired female didn't seem fazed at all.
After a few moments, the young brunette groaned, frustrated/aggravated or all other emotions that is associated with irritation, giving up. "Fine! Don't tell me!" She then stalked off towards the others, leaving the Krityan female behind.
Sometime later, in another hallway – similar to the one that leads to the room where Yeager is – another surprise came up to them.
In the form of Flynn, and his two lackeys (who she didn't care to know the names of). Although, she honestly wasn't surprised when Flynn said that they were going to aid them in taking Alexei down. And neither was Yuri…yet, he didn't seem surprised to see Flynn and his lackeys coming in… It was as if he had heard them come in, despite the roar of the water around them.
If her suspicions weren't high before, then they wouldn't have gone higher than it already was. But she decided to put her suspicions on hold; after all, they had unfinished business to take care of.
Yet everything nearly went to hell once they went in.
They came in to see the ex-Commandant (bastard) fiddling with the controls of sort associated when dealing with Blastia or other sources of research – which she herself and a few other mages have used. While they were fortunate that the silver haired bastard doesn't know how to make the whole place work, the Royal Guard that was with him are stubborn bastards much like their leader; their loyalty to that jerk is admittedly scary.
While the rest of Flynn's brigade took care of them, they focused on the man who is pretty much the bane of their existence right now (and the person who pretty much started this mess anyway).
Yet, instead of just charging in (like he would sometimes do), Yuri stared up at one of the Blastia next to the stairs that leads up to the ex-Commandant. But she barely paid any mind to it as she blasted back a Royal Guard that tried to attack her. When it looked like they were having the upper hand-
"EVERYONE! MOVE TO THE RIGHT! NOW!"
What the-? Was that Yuri? And she never heard that level of urgency in his voice before. Yet she did as the dark haired man said (and she noticed the others doing the same)-
"HOLY-!"
Just in time to dodge a laser of sorts from the Blastia Yuri was looking at!
What- How in- What the hell? ? The young female mage looked over at the dark haired male, how had the blonde Commandant's arm in his hand as they just dodged the blast. How in the hell did he-?
Growling mentally, she shook her head. Not NOW! There are more pressing matters to deal with! And she's sure the others had gone over their shock as well before they all quickly got onto the rising platform where Alexei is.
It wasn't long until they all had gotten into battle after hearing the ravings of a mad man – like hell he gave a damn about everyone else in the world; seriously, saving the world by destroying it? That's not only downright crazy (the bad variety that is), foolish, and, well, stupid (it seems so in her mind, though). And the Old Man wasn't kidding when he said that Alexei is tough.
For one, he's very sturdy to withstand Violent Pain, and even Witcher's own magic spells (not as powerful as hers, but that's beside the point). The Old Man and even Karol had to go on defensive – using long range attacks to boot – to avoid the ex-Commandant's attacks as Judith and Repede covered for them. Estelle had to work double time – despite the seal she placed on her powers – to heal anyone that is injured, even throwing in a couple of light based spells to help as Sodia guards her. Even Yuri and Flynn were having a hard time doing damage to him; all they could do is block his attacks, and Yuri usually had to guard Flynn as the blonde casted his own brand of spells – either healing or using light based ones like Estelle.
…But she couldn't help but admit that seeing the two of them working together – as if they were one – trying to subdue the older man was quite a sight. She never really saw the blonde fight – besides the time where the two fought in the coliseum after reaching Nordopolica – but it was still interesting to see the two of them like this. As she casted another spell, she noticed that Alexei was saying something to the two men as they locked blades in an 'x' position with his False Dein Nomos. She couldn't hear what they were saying. But whatever he just said must've pissed Yuri off as he retaliated against him violently – if she was any normal person, she would've been quite disturbed to see the male do that; however, the only times she had ever seen the dark haired male like this was when he was extremely pissed off – with Zagi or anyone else unfortunate to be in the path of fire that is Yuri's wrath. Mainly monsters.
Preparing another spell, she noticed that the dark haired male's attacks – as he guarded Flynn as he prepares a spell – have started to become…faster. Faster than her own eyes could catch – despite months of perfecting her magic, and getting stronger along with the others.
When they broke off, and Alexei managing to dodge a Holy Lance – a lot stronger than Estelle's – fired by Flynn, he seemed to be smirking, despite the cuts and tears on his red outfit (and she could've sworn that she could even see dents on his armor).
"Impressive," he said, slightly panting. "It has been a while since I had to fight like this." He immediately frowned and narrowed his eyes. "But I'm afraid that I have to 'end' our little game…"
For some reason, Rita had a feeling that they're all so screwed right now.
Evident when the man held up the sword in front of him and the blade began to glow a whitish-blue hue. She could've sworn that she heard Yuri take in a sharp in-take of breath but was distracted by the sight of the sword growing seven 'prongs' – and she could feel the Aer condensing off of it.
"Fly, oh holy sword!" He chanted, before he threw it Yuri and Flynn. They managed to dodge, but the two had gotten their shirts cut as the result. But Alexei wasn't done as he brought up his hand and swept it across from right to left-
"AUGH!" She cried out as she felt the 'prongs' slash across her back, forcing her to fall to her knees as she heard Karol's yelp of surprise and the Old Man's grunt – sounding as if the sword had got him as well.
Then the elder man held his hands upward. "Brilliant…"
Rita had one thought before the ex-Commandant finished his attack: 'Oh fuck…'
"CATACLYSM!" The sword pierced the ground and a large, circular glyph spread out until it was under everyone-
And she screamed as the light energy from glyph brought pain – much worse than anything she had dealt with; the attacks from a couple of Giganto Monsters were nothing compared to this! In her pain filled haze, she heard the others screaming – or howling in Repede's case – in pain as well. In her befuddled mind, the pain felt like it had lasted for a minute- an hour- a day- a week- a month- no, it felt like a year or more!
But it only lasted for a moment before the pain subsided and they – even the strongest ones out of their group – fell to the ground in pain.
As she groaned in pain, her body twitching once every few seconds, she couldn't fathom just how powerful that attack is. All of them had come with every intention of stopping the madman – yet, even with the old man's warnings, despite their confidence, despite their teamwork… this man had effortlessly brought them down with just one attack! One. Attack. As if they were nothing but mere mosquitoes to him!
But, she couldn't give up! She can't die! Not like this! With every ounce of her willpower – stubbornness and desperation giving life to her shaky, weak arms – she managed to push herself up a bit, until she was on her elbows. From there, she could see everyone else struggling to push themselves back up, despite the pain they were in. Yuri was the first to get on his knees, using Dein Nomos to prop himself up, panting with effort.
"Well, it seems that all of you are still alive," Rita snapped her head to the red clad man – feeling light headed for a moment – when he spoke up. This time, he looked a little impressed. He didn't seem fazed by the death glare she – and she had a feeling some of the others were making – had on him. "I was sure that I'd like a little challenge."
She growled under her breath. That bastard! He was toying with them! This guy is a lot worse than Ragou and Cumore combined!
"But I'm afraid that I'll have end this pointless strife," the ex-Commandant held up his sword once more, where it once again changed into its seven pronged formed. As he held onto it, it glowed brighter and brighter…as if he was charging it up, or he was going to take them out. One by one.
Suddenly, she saw his eyes shifted for a moment – as if he directed his gaze onto something – and he threw the sword. Right at Flynn!
All of them were to slow to move; too slow to get up to either repel the blade, push him out of the way, or any method to shield the new Commandant.
All but one.
To her, time seemed to have slowed down, as Yuri – of all people – was the quickest to move his body and tacked Flynn out of the way with his own body…
…And the Bodhi Blastia on his wrist was snagged by one of the prongs on it, and – with the force of physics – was literally torn in half, shattering into pieces.
She couldn't help but stare in shock – and she's sure the others were doing the same – as the Blastia fell to the ground, useless. After saving Flynn, Yuri stared down at the broken Bodhi Blastia, seemingly ignoring the cut he got on his wrist as blood dripped down a little. Silently, the dark haired young man picked up the piece with the red gem still in its place on the Blastia, staring down at it in the palm of his hand.
She looked back up at the red clad man – who had somehow retrieved the sword and gritted his teeth, as if annoyed (but she could see that he was just as shocked) that Yuri had saved the young Commandant's life – slowly walking up to the dark clad male, his sword still glowing that same whitish-blue hue.
"I'm partially surprised that you were able to move that fast to save Flynn Scifo's life," he said, standing above the dark violet haired man, "Yet, a risk that ended up costing your Bodhi Blastia." Yuri stayed silent, stilling looking at the red gem. "Such a shame, really. The two of you had such potential when you two joined the Imperial Knights. However, all it took was for Niren Fedrock to die that made you quit."
The female mage flinched – and she barely noticed Yuri doing the same – when she heard that name. Niren Fedrock? That name…why does it sound so familiar? She didn't have time to rack her brain to figure out why – since she admitted that she was never good with remembering faces due to her solitude and her reputation – when Alexei added:
"I suppose that's what he gets for disobeying orders."
For some reason, the air seemed…colder after he spoke that sentence. And she could've sworn the hair on the back of her neck started to stand straight up, feeling a sort of instinct to run from a predator when her light green eyes shifted over to Yuri, who clenched the hand around the Blastia, still silent.
She looked back up at Alexei, just as he said, "It's time to end this." He held up his sword skyward and the sword's glow intensified. Yuri still didn't move.
What the hell is wrong with him? Rita thought as she gritted her teeth, trying her best to get up and help! Save Yuri's ass! Shut the hell up, she told that part of the brain, I'm trying to!
But, once again, time seemed to have slowed when Alexei brought the sword down-
CLANG!
Rita couldn't help but stare dumbly – and she felt that the others were the same way. How- How in-?
She didn't even see that! Since when did Yuri get that fast? ? He-He caught that blade like it was a poorly thrown punch! …And from Alexei's face, he somehow managed to stop him cold, no matter how much the older man tried to put his weight into it!
And every hair on her body started to stand up straight when he slowly moved his head up to look at Alexei. Then the man's face took on a look of horror – yes, horror – from what he saw from the dark haired man's expression.
"Don't you dare…" he hissed his voice so low that she almost didn't hear it – his words as if they were…ice – almost…vicious. "Mock Captain Niren! !" He riposted the ex-Commandant's sword and standing on his feet in the same motion-
For a moment, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. But it was gone in that same moment- before Yuri all but slugged Alexei, making the older man crash onto the ground and tumble back a couple of feet, the False Dein Nomos clattering near the center of the platform.
'Holy-!' She wasn't able to finish that thought when Yuri tossed Dein Nomos aside, ran towards the ex-Commandant as he was getting up-
And she couldn't look away as Yuri started to beat the living crap out of Alexei. Literally, the guy was unleashing hell on him!
To be frank, this is the most pissed off side of him she has ever seen. Sure there were times in the past, but…
She forced her thoughts to go blank, equally forcing herself on her knees as she dug around for a Lemon Gel – one of the few gels that she had…well, 'taken' when no one was looking. Even though she's a bit mature, she still favors the squishiness, and the rich, fruity flavors of the gummies – to bring back her stamina. After chewing on the gummi – and having no time to relish the sour, lemon-y flavor of the healing item – she regained enough of her strength to stand on her own (though still feeling slightly weak).
As she did, she took stock of everyone else, the Old Man slowly standing up, chewing on a gel of his own while holding onto his bow – the arrow he was cocking glowing a soft, light blue – and some of the other females were starting to stand. Then the old man held up his bow and let loose the arrow, where it flew up in the air before it split apart to go to the remaining males of the group. Karol then gave Repede a Lemon Gel as he was getting up, using the Bravior sword as leverage like Yuri had done moments before.
When she looked back at fight, she couldn't help but feel a little unnerved as Yuri kept pounding away at Alexei. But, after giving the corrupt man a right hook, followed by an uppercut with his left, the dark clad young man grabbed the ex-Commandant by the collar and threw him towards where the False Dein Nomos laid. The platform they were on finally reached the top floor of the large structure, the older man lying near the large, floating core hovering over them.
Everyone is on guard, watching as Alexei slowly pushed himself up from the metallic floor. He looked a little worse for wear…and Rita could spot a bit of blood coming out of his mouth, along with a bunch of bruises on his face.
…Yuri really did a number on him, she thought as she looked over the dark haired male, who was panting a little. She made a mental note not to piss of dark purple haired male in the future, for her own sake.
As the ex-Commandant get to his knees, Flynn walked next to Yuri – and without her knowing (or see it) – with Dein Nomos in his hand. "Alexei Dinoia," he spoke up with an authoritive tone, "For crimes you have committed to the people of Terca Lumireis, for endangering the lives of Master Ioder and Lady Estellise, you are hereby under arrest. It's over."
The ex-Commandant didn't say anything…
…But when she saw him smirk, she had a sudden feeling that something is very, very wrong. "You're right. It's over…for you."
Before anyone could question what he meant, the display Alexei had on earlier reappeared behind him. After staring at it for a while, she took in a sharp gasp as horror filled the female mage's veins when she realized what happened. "You- You were analyzing this thing the whole time!"
Excluding Flynn and his lackeys – who looked confused by the terror they heard in her voice – the others looked back at the young brunette in equal horror, and the silver haired bastard barked out a laugh. "That's right," he said, the others looking back as the red clad man got onto his feet, his False Dein Nomos held in his hand, "Now it is time to activate Zaude, and destroy the threat for good!"
He held the sword in his hand as six symbols – similar to the original Dein Nomos but blue instead of yellow – came into existence around him.
"NO!" Yuri cried out as he snatched Dein Nomos from Flynn, ran towards the ex-Commandant and held the sword the same way the older man did. The energy they emitted clashed against each other, pushing against them and nearly made them fall over from the sheer power from the two forces. Truly, it was a battle of willpower; the ex-Imperial Knight verses the ex-Commandant, each fighting for control over Zaude – one trying to stop the structure from activating while the other did the opposite, all in the pursuit of power.
All of the sudden, they all heard a loud moan, that made the two swordsmen to stop what they were doing and everyone looked around for the source. A surprised bark from Repede made her look at the dog, the said canine looking up at something in what resembled shock. She looked at what he was looking at-
And did a take in surprise. "What the hell…" She let out.
The giant core above Yuri and Alexei…it was glowing.
At what she said, the others looked up at the core – including the wielders of Dein Nomos (real and fake) – as it continued to glow. Then, it let loose a beam of light up into the sky. She couldn't help but blink. Isn't that where Brave Vesperia is?
As soon as she thought that, the beam...made contact with something in the sky. After that something glowed brightly for a moment…dark red lines started to appear – shaped like hexagons, actually and…they started to spread.
She watched this spectacle in confusion. What the hell is going on?
Rita soon got her answer as one section of the sky started to turn black – like something had ripped a hole in the sky-
And she gasped when something started to fall out of the hole. Masses of energy followed that…thing, like-like they were seaweeds stuck to a creature. But…what the hell is that-that…grotesque thing coming out of the sky? !
"Wh-What is that thing? !" Witcher literally took the words right out of her mouth – and she could clearly hear the terror in his voice.
She heard Judith gasp a little, and she shifted her gaze over to the usually calm Krityan – and she couldn't help but be disturbed when the female mage saw her cover her mouth in shock. "It-It resembled the creature from the picture in Myrozo…!"
'What?' Rita thought as she looked back at the large mass. …Now that she got a good look at it, it does resemble that-
Wait. WHAT! ?
"You mean…tha-that thing is…" She didn't dare finish that sentence.
But Yuri did. "The Adephagos…" For the first time, she could hear the fear in his voice – and it unnerved her. A lot-
"NO!" She looked back at Alexei, seeing stagger forward, looking up at the mass they were looking at. "Zaude- It- It was- It was supposed to be a weapon! A weapon to destroy the Adephagos!"
A weapon? What is he-?
Then the phrase from what Judith said in that picture in the elder's house in Myrozo flashed back into her mind.
"And so the Adephagos disappeared into the void…"
Suddenly, what Alexei had said made sense! The Adephagos, the terrible threat in the past that the people of Geraios Civilization and the Entelexia had fought against…
"Oh god…" She let out, ignoring the looks everyone is giving her. "Zaude…It was never meant to be a weapon!"
"Rita, what are you-"
She cut off whoever spoke, continuing, "'The Adephagos disappeared into the void'… The people, Krityans and the Entelexia from a thousand years ago never defeated it! And Zaude was never a weapon to begin with! This place…it's a giant Barrier Blastia!"
After she exclaimed that, somehow…somehow she felt that everyone now had a look of horror on their faces. But, she felt that this was true. How else could it be that this place existed? Why else would the Krityans dispose of the Blastia centuries ago? And the reason why Phaeroh warned them not to disturb Zaude? The Entelexia were afraid that history was going to repeat itself! …In a way, it did.
All because of one man who was so drunk on power that he would resort to…this?
"That's right…" She and the others looked back up at Alexei, who held up his hands, as if beckoning something towards him. "We're all at the Adephagos' mercy… Soon, everything will perish!" Then he…he started to cackle.
That made the female mage glare at him in disgust. Has he finally gone mad? That bastard! Because of his mistake, everyone is going to die!
And it seemed like she wasn't the only one who's angry – or disgusted with him – as she noticed Flynn and Yuri quivering in rage.
The moment she blinked, Alexei's mad cackle was cut off, seemingly chocking on his breath. She looked at the two young swordsmen, who had each thrust their swords into the crazed man – Yuri on the right, and Flynn on the left.
"You bastard…!" Yuri snarled, "You're going to make everyone pay for your mistake? !"
"You truly have gone low!" Flynn added, just as pissed off as the dark haired male beside him.
When Flynn finished speaking, Alexei let out a chocked chuckle, a bit of blood coming out of his mouth. "This world is filled with fools…" She heard him say. He then closed his eyes – and she could've sworn she saw tears falling from his eyes as False Dein Nomos fell from his hand. "But the greatest fool of all…was me…"
The large Blastia Core above them started to shake uncontrollably, electricity started to spark around it and the four towers around the platform. The female mage took notice of this, and hollered at the two swordsmen, "Yuri! Flynn! Get your asses out of there!"
They looked up at the Blastia Core over them and Yuri kicked Alexei's body off of their swords-
But the core chooses that moment to start falling right over them. Yuri took a moment to glance up, grab Flynn and hurled the blonde over to the others as he quickly ran the other way-
Just as the giant core smashed onto the platform, crushing Alexei – who didn't bother to move, to get away like Yuri – under it, and shattering the platform in the process with enough force to make large pieces of it to kick up. The others quickly moved out of the way to avoid getting hit by the debris from both the platform and the core, Sodia and Witcher quickly dragging Flynn away.
Once the dust had settled, and them in the safe distance, they all looked at the core, shocked by what just happened.
Shocked by what they had just witnessed, by what they went through – anything!
But in moments, the shock disappeared as Flynn stood up and looked at them. "Everyone," he said softly, "What exactly is going on?"
At that, even Estelle had no idea how to explain what just happened. So he clarified, "What exactly is the Adephagos, and what do you mean by what you said, Miss Mordio?"
From what she could see in his eyes, he diffidently wanted an explanation. He – and his lackeys – were pretty much in the dark by what they had gone through since Pharoeh tried to kill Estelle back in Dahngrest after the whole fiasco with Barbos.
After they gave each other a look, the Old Man sighed. "Get comfortable. It's gonna be a long story…"
Rita wanted to sigh tiredly herself – damn, what a day…
~o~
"Holy crap…" Yuri muttered, slowly pushing himself from the ground when the impact of the core literally knocked him off his feet.
When he was sure there would be no aftershocks, stood on his feet as he looked over at the core that is now sticking out of the platform. He tried not to look at the pool of blood that was seeping out from under it, and looked back up at the mass in the sky. Or rather the Adephagos.
What Rita had said came to his mind, along with the reading Judy translated back when they were in Myrozo. And considering what she had said, he couldn't help but huff in exasperation. "I guess Rita's right. If they weren't able to destroy it, then all they could manage was seal it away."
That explained a lot of things actually. Why else would the Krityans throw away the Blastia? Why else would the Entelexia tried to stop the humans ten years ago from using the damn Hermes Blastia?
These thoughts left his mind when he gazed back at the piece of the Bodhi Blastia in his right hand. The small red, diamond shaped gem imbedded in the piece of golden-yellow metal glinted in the sunlight, making him frown. "I'm sorry captain…" He muttered softly, curling his fingers around the remaining piece of the Bodhi Blastia that had been with him for four years ever since…ever since that day.
He had failed to save the captain. Just as they had failed to stop Alexei from screwing the world over; in a way, he did – but not like this. Now with that thing out, how in the hell are they going to get rid of it? Those people back a thousand years ago tried to, but failed. Will they fail like them? Will many innocent people die, along with the Entelexia? Will they-?
Every hair on the back of his neck started to stand up straight, and he felt his entire body to freeze.
What- What the hell is that? It was- It was unlike anything he had felt! The feeling he felt from the Adephagos was nothing compared to this! Where the Adephagos felt so…so thick – and it felt somewhat like Ba'ul for some reason – but… this one felt thicker! So thick, it-it felt like heavy cream. Ice cream? But…where is it coming from-?
He turned on his heel to look behind him, only to let out a confused grunt when he saw nothing. Yuri took cautious steps away from the edge, and warily looked around, pocketing the Blastia as he did so. After a couple of steps, he stopped and looked around again. That was odd, he could've sworn he felt-
"How interesting."
An unfamiliar voice spoke up behind him, making him freeze again. What the-? Wasn't that space empty a few seconds ago? He was pretty sure it was.
He shifted his eyes a little, not daring himself to see what – or who – is behind him. The dark haired male remembered Dein Nomos still in his hand, but…for some reason, he felt this this being is different from what he faced.
Again, Yuri turned on his heel, confronting whoever was behind him-
"Huh?" He let out, seeing nothing there again. Right now, he's getting a bit creeped out. The dark clad swordsman gripped the sword tightly, taking shaky breathes to calm his beating heart – and the fact that he could also hear his heart did nothing to settle his panic-
"You're terrified, aren't you?"
He nearly jumped out of his skin, and he could've sworn his heart had literally stopped beating when he heard the voice…
Right behind him!
He turned again to confront the being – no run! Safe yourself – and he felt his blood turning cold.
Before him is a man he had never seen before. His long blonde hair reached to the middle of his back, his fringe nearly covering his left eye, both colored in a pale green that somehow sent shivers down his spine. The man is clad in nothing but a white – completely white, like powder snow – form fitting outfit with golden yellow at the hems of his sleeves, and pants – both of them slanted inwards at an angle – and a sort of design at the middle, white shoes with yellow at the toes, and a rather large, diamond shaped gem is on some sort of…yellow thing on his chest.
In any other situation, Yuri would've laughed at the way the man was dressed – he was wearing a spandex for crying out loud. But there's one final thing the man has that made Yuri stare in shock.
He has wings. WINGS. Like himself. But…bigger, and colored in purplish-pink rather than his own bluish-purple ones.
Yuri had no idea what to make of this now. It's just one thing after another today!
The man, however, seemed amused by his expression. "I suppose you would be surprised," he said with a smile – that somehow unsettled the dark purple haired man, "There wasn't any method of receiving the wings on this Aer infested world."
The statement made Yuri go still in shock again. This guy sounded as if he knew something about Aer! But…why couldn't he shake the feeling that something was wrong? Something was telling him to go- run- find the others and get the hell out of here! And why are his thoughts like this? ? Why is he so terrified?!
"But," the man's voice suddenly went emotionless as he frowned, "what sort of use would you humans do with it? The humans here are much like the humans I used to know, and perhaps are still the same."
What the fuck; what is he talking about? Is this guy off his rocker or something? Isn't he a human to-
Not a human. You must run. Get away from him! He'll kill you!
What?
"Though, I suppose you're not a human yourself, aren't you?"
That statement made Yuri look at the blonde man weirdly. "…What?" He let out.
The blond man then smirked cruelly. "I won't enlighten a dog such as you."
The insult snapped Yuri out of the trance the man had put him in. He narrowed his eyes at the man. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded, holding the sword up in a wary stance.
The blond man merely looked at him, his smirk still present. Then, the man chuckled – and the dark swordsman felt unsettled again. "As I've stated, I won't enlighten a dog, no matter how much you demand. Your courage is misplaced. Now, I shall offer you a deal. Come with me – if you do, then I shall tell you what you want to know."
Yuri's mouth went flat at what the blonde man said. Something about what the man said didn't feel right. Keeping his expression neutral, he asked in an equally emotionless tone, "And if I refuse?"
The blonde man answered, "Then I'll just take you by force."
Doesn't mince words, does he? Yuri thought, still on edge. From what the dark clad male figured, this spandex wearing guy wanted him to surrender himself. And if he doesn't, then this guy will probably kick his ass to kingdom come to make him submit.
But Yuri never did like taking orders from anyone – especially from people he never knew.
Yet…something kept screaming at him to run. To get away from this man- far away-
"YURI!"
The dark haired male flinched, his eyes wide.
"YURI! ARE YOU OKAY OVER THERE? ?"
Oh crap, that was Flynn! What is he-?
"Wait a minute; is Yuri really on the other side?" Karol!
"Yeah, I saw him go over there before that core fell," oh damn, Rita.
"I hope he's alright…" He nearly flinched when he heard Estelle.
It didn't help matters when he heard the man in front of him say, "Ah, so they are your friends?" Yuri sharply looked up at him, shocked. He could hear them too? ? The smirk the man had on his face seemed to grow, making it look sinister – but it's still cruel, nonetheless. And wasn't that the disturbing part?
"Perhaps a little persuasion will get you make your decision," the man said as he held up his hand, and an energy of sorts appeared.
Upon seeing that, the dark haired male's instinct to protect his loved ones kicked in and he slashed at the man, who just dodged the swipe. "Leave them alone!" He shouted, getting into a stance – injuries be damned.
The white clad man narrowed his eyes at the dark clad swordsman. "So you wished to resist? Very well," he held up his hands as the energy formed over them, "you have dug your own grave."
For the first time in his life, Yuri was truly scared for his life, and one thought that entered his head before the fight began was:
'Oh fuck…'
What happened next was a blur to the dark purple haired male. He wasn't sure why, or how, but he could barely remember the battle. But he did remember two things.
The unbearable pain he endured was one of them. And hearing himself scream was the second.
And in what felt like a second later, Yuri crashed back onto the core and he felt the back of his head collide with it. He was unable to let out pain induced cry, stars flooding his vision for a moment, and he crumbled to the ground the next, Dein Nomos clattering on the ground before him.
Oh damn…he never felt this level of pain before… He could barely move...
This guy…he isn't human… And he's too powerful to be an Entelexia… Just who is he…?
He was barely aware of the man calmly walking up to him before stopping near his head, pushing aside the sword with his foot as if it was junk. And he could feel the man smirking down at him. "See, it would have been easier if you had surrendered," he said, "but instead, you prefer to resist. All for defending those inferior beings you called friends."
Something in Yuri snapped. What…did he call them? Inferior? How dare he call them that! He thought as he clenched his hands as anger once again gave life to his limbs as he struggled to push himself up. He heard the man say something, but he ignored him as he focused on getting up.
Gotta…protect everyone… He thought, Must…save everyone…
He had succeeded to get to his knees and glared up at the man. At that moment, he didn't care if he died. If he does, than he would die trying to protect the others (and kicking his ass for insulting them), defying this guy-
All of a sudden, the man's eyes went wide. "That face…"
Wha-?
The next thing Yuri knew, a cold hand is on his throat and he was smashed against the core. He was barely able to let out a strangled groan when the man squeezed his neck a little tighter. The dark haired man tried to escape the grip, trying to breath, but his grip is like vice – and he's losing oxygen.
"Tell me…" Yuri barely registered the growl(?) the man emitted, pushing him against the core. "Who is your father? Where is he?!"
The Vigilante managed to take in a couple of gasps and cracked an eye open to look down at the blonde. "I…" He choked out, "I have no idea what you're talking about…!"
"Do not play dumb," the man's tone is dangerous as he squeezed a little tighter and his lungs are screaming for air. "I will ask again: Who. Is. Your. Father?!"
Yuri could see blackness appearing at the edges of his vision. Not good, he's going to pass out… Or worse-
"Yuri!"
At that moment, the man released the grip he had on the man's neck (the dark haired man falling to his knees and taking in some oxygen, coughing all the same) and he had become aware of the many footsteps heading towards him. As he turned to them a little, and using his peripheral vision, they had just came into the small arena behind the large core. And they all stopped dead when they take in the situation in front of them. And for once, Yuri didn't care if they saw him like this, having his ass nearly handed to him. Because he had a feeling that they were more shocked by the guy with wings right now than seeing him like this.
"What the-?"
"Who is that?"
"Is that really wings that guy has? ?"
The most shocked was Flynn, staring up at the wings the man has then glanced over at him and back at the man, as the others were shocked/surprised by the man.
He suddenly heard the man scoff a little. "Pests," he muttered and Yuri looked back at him in time to see his hand up a little and a purple sword with white at the base suddenly appeared.
Despite the sudden surge of power he felt from it, his blood nearly turned to ice. No…
His body took on a will of its own, swiftly getting up and – without realizing it – picking up Dein Nomos. He couldn't let this guy harm the others- gotta protect them- must stop him!
The man in white saw his attempt and raised the sword to block it, and the blades collided. Yuri was barely aware of the bluish-purple aura around Dein Nomos, but he was more focused on trying to fend off this creep. But the blonde man looked as if he wasn't having any trouble on fending off the black clad male himself. But Yuri didn't let up, putting all of his weight into it-
The two swords started to glow a strange light. The blonde man's green eyes widen in shock, just as much as Yuri's. "What…?" He let out.
The light between the blades intensified, and it consumed everything around them. Everything.
The next thing Yuri knew, he was flying through a tunnel of sorts. All around him is nothing but white. Blinding white. Everything is soundless. There wasn't even a feeling, but he felt that he was flying through…something.
He also felt the energies of the others – the soup-y feeling from some of his comrades (and he could've sworn that one of them felt…sweet; like honey), the juice-y feeling from Judy, and the pudding feeling from Repede – and he diffidently felt the extremely thick energy from that man. He followed the source to see the man had managed to regain his balance and glared at him. The man said something, but Yuri couldn't – literally – hear what he was saying.
The blonde man held up his hand and the same energy from earlier formed at the palm. Oh shit, he's going to try to kill them!
No way in hell!
Yuri wasn't sure how, but… somehow, he fired what looked like an Azure Edge at him, just as the man fired it at them. The two blasts collided, and the resulting power of the explosion created from the colliding attacks made Yuri fly away, Dein Nomos slipping from his grasp.
In fact, it made the others scatter! In panic, he tried to reach out to them, just as Estelle (who had regained her balance herself) did. But it was in vain, and everything had turned blindingly white at the very same moment…
…
…Cold…
He felt so cold…
"…ho…he…"
…Who is that…?
"…jus…ord…"
He cracked his eyes open a little, but his sight is completely blurry. He could see boots…shadows of other people that is around him…and a lot of white around him.
…(), why does it snow here a lot?
A chuckle. He couldn't hear the reply, nor the voice… Is…this a memory…?
Will I meet her one day?
Another chuckle. This time, he could make out the words…but he still couldn't make out the voice.
Perhaps one day…
Yuri groaned a little before his eyes slipped closed.
And the world around him went black.
-End Prologue. Begin Act 1-
Oh wow… This…actually took a lot longer to write… I'm so sorry everyone…
But hey! The fun has now begun!
Yes, I've change a couple of scenes from the Zaude play-through, especially letting Yeager live. I've decided to let the German-accented man live – and I have a feeling that there are Yeager fans that will probably spaz out on me after reading this. And there's a VERY good reason why the Bodhi Blastia Yuri has must be broken; because Yuri won't need it where he is.
Reviews are loved! And PLEASE tell me I've got Yeager, Alexei and Yggdrasill's characters right. Flames will be used to burn Ragou, Cumore, Kvar, and any other sadistic bastards I hate.