Chapter 12 - Meeting a Soldier
Infiltrating a Tower like this was NOT something she had thought she would need to be trained in.
That's what the woman who'd ridden the Vulture Bike here had confirmed to herself as she wandered through a large corridor, a Handgun in her hands as she cautiously checked around for any signs of danger. She had come here restocked, fully loaded and prepped for battle against forces she knew she would never have been able to face directly if she hadn't taken to joining THEM after the events with the CMA, not only that but whenever she got ambushed in this place, which happened more often than not and it surpassed the rate of Abnormals ambushing her in the past, the woman had to hone her danger senses to a level which she had never thought possible.
It made her realize just how… different, this world had become since she had her eyes opened to just how twisted, cruel and unforgiving it had truly been.
The woman slowly walked through this large corridor, like mentioned before, but the sounds of groaning quickly caught her attention. Instantly, her guard came up, as she sensed something appear before her as if jumping out like some sort of cliché horror movie villain. Before her, out came one of those black hooded skeletons with a Scythe, swinging towards her head. The woman, however, didn't let that happen as she bent her head back to avoid the sailing blade, before using the momentum to shift into a backflip when she saw one of the red ones having appeared behind her. Her backflip also served to help her avoid its diagonal Scythe Slash too.
Flipping over it, she pointed down at it with her Handgun and let loose a couple rounds, landing behind it and planting a boot on its back, knocking both it and the black one down. Danger sense kicked in again as the black one managed to get back up with the momentum of its fall to swing its Scythe towards her chest, with the woman side flipping over it whilst shooting it in the face some more. 'Of course, conventional normal weapons don't do jack shit to these guys…' she thought to herself upon landing and flip kicking the beast away. Just in time for the creature's partner to come right back up to try and behead her again.
With instincts she could only gain through intense life or death battles, the woman reacted by grabbing the Scythe's shaft to halt it's motion, then swung the creature around above her head, slamming it into a wall a few times before smacking it down into the ground before her, which alerted the woman to several more black robed creatures already jumping towards her.
Pupils shrunk as the woman jumped forwards, spinning like a sausage as she flew like a bullet, summoning and firing a second handgun into the mob of black robed creatures to knock them down. Upon her landing, the woman back flipped to avoid a scythe to her back then twisted into a scissor kick towards the culprit's head, knocking it down before she finished it off with a few bullets to the noggin and then stomping on it with enough force to destroy skulls for good measure.
Whilst the body vanished into particles, the woman kicked it into high gear when she found herself being body slammed from behind, being sent flying to a wall as a result. She quickly came to her senses though, twisting around and hopping over a slash to her legs, bending them so they were tucked to her knees. When the scythe impaled the wall, it got stuck there allowing her to use it as a platform to stand on. Another Scythe slash came down on her, had she not pivoted her footing, so she stood like she was on a surfboard, avoiding it. A third robed Scythe creature swung its weapon horizontally, and she dodged that one by bending herself so the blade would impale the space above her. With three creatures around her, the woman side flipped herself, kicking all three of them at the same time and knocking them away, resulting in her sitting on the wall-impaling Scythe cross legged like she were a government official sitting at a meeting.
'Heh, I'll give them this, they're a tenacious group of bastards…' the woman thought, a slightly devious smirk forming on her lips as she saw the creatures advancing towards her. She then reached behind her seemingly whilst really going for her inventory and pulled out two gadgets… gadgets which came from her Mentor. They resembled a bat shaped projectile used as a ranged, non-lethal alternative to fire arms. it is designed after a Boomerang so when it is thrown it returns to the user. Thus, that was exactly what they did upon her throwing them. Each of these 'Batarangs' as her mentor coined them as, spun through the air like wheels, cutting through each of the creatures before returning to her waiting hands, distracting them for her to switch back to her handguns. She then opened fire on them, showering the creatures with a layer of bullets…
Until she spotted one dash right at her and ignoring the literal bullet hell she had used.
When she saw this, the woman smirked as she switched out her handguns for something else: a set of small, marble ball-shaped explosives which she tossed the creatures' way. They detonated on contact, showering it with explosives which gave her the distraction she needed to switch to something else, a gun which was also modelled after a bat, though on its end looked to be some sort of claw. Her mentor had called it a 'Batclaw' due to the design and functions behind it. Aiming the Bat Claw, the woman fired it and saw the weapon latch onto the creature she had hit with those explosive pellets. With a yank, she pulled it towards her, hopping off the Scythe and axe kicking it in the jaw, grabbing the sides of its head to repeatedly knee it, before twirling around and flinging it right across into its buddies.
With her foes in one place, the woman took out a few grenades from her Inventory, ones the size of her hands with extra firepower, and tossed them into the mix, watching with a satisfied hum escaping her lips as the Grenades exploded, taking the creatures with them if the particles which she saw were any indication.
'Small ambushes like this are common, so I try to use as little of my equipment as I can since I can't really call for a restock in here…' The woman thought, frowning as she cupped her chin whilst walking off. 'Perhaps my friend's Noble Phantasm may need to be revealed soon, though I really don't want to use it unless the time is right. I'll have to get to the bottom of this soon, who knows what effects this Tower will have on the population...'
Noire felt pretty good about herself.
After she had gained the essence of the twin Demon Swords Agni and Rudra, she had continued till she had come to this statue in the middle of this circular room with only two staircases. Both had led to doors, but one of them had been barred by rubble. She COULD have just removed it all herself but decided against it and used the other entrance instead. She had recalled from the memories of those two Demon Swords that the statue held an item which, once the seal would be released upon completing three tests and putting the rewarding essences inside the statue itself, would unleash an energy wave which would destroy the rubble. Apparently, it had been placed there and filled with Demonic Wards in which only the energy wave could destroy, as one of many tests the Tower gives to the intruders to see if they were worthy. Those who live and complete the puzzles, win either rewards, advancement or both. As for those who lose… well, that didn't need to be said, now did it?
In any case, Noire cleared the tests, one of them being a riddle which she took several attempts to solve (each failing resulting in her being trapped in a room filed with Demons), then an obstacle course which she had to run through a corridor whilst avoiding moving stakes from different walls, the floor or ceiling, and finally the last trial had been similar to the first, only the Demons had Wards on them reducing the amount of damage that she could do to them. She had to keep the Damage Wheels spinning at full power in order to do the max amount of damage she could against the Demons, and if even the SLIGHTEST power drop happened, then she would be forced to spin them back up. Not exactly the easiest thing to do when one is fighting hoards of enemies, but she had managed.
In which case, when she had finished the trials and placed the essences in the statue, not only had she seen it release the same energy wave to destroy the rubble and let her continue, but she had also gained a new addition to her developing arsenal: a demonic Gun-shaped Satanic Treasure called the Artemis, which fired purple energy lazers that could be charged for extra damage. Though, like any proud weapon owner, she'd experimented it with some unlucky Demons and discovered that depending on the energy consumption during a initial charging period, it could release multiple blasts at once. Kind of like whenever Neptune would bombard her with energy blades during their spars back when they were fighting against Avenir.
Noire had even made a remark about how Neptune would aim it and be like 'IMAH FIRIN' MA LAZAH!'
Which lead to her current situation of walking leisurely up a staircase, until she came to a platform which looked to have once been something else but now functioned as a destroyed hole in the wall. As she walked out to the ledge, Noire had to look up at the night skies again, marvelling at how, whilst it hadn't been that long since the night began, she still felt like years had passed by. Especially with the foreign memories ingrained into her brain, though she still knew who she herself was and where she could draw the line. "Say, Siegfried…?"
… What is it?...
"What was it like, back in your kingdom…?" she questioned, only she was speaking now due to there being nobody around to call her weird for talking to seemingly air. She wasn't Neptune who talked to Histoire like so without shame. "Did you often see beautiful nights like this, or…?" Thinking about what she had learned of Siegfried's story, it often made her wonder about him. What his personal feelings had been when he ruled his Kingdom, did he ever manage to see some form of beauty in it whilst helping those around him? The amount of info she had on him wasn't very large, even though she had been his student for so long now. In essence, though if anyone ask she'd deny it and possibly take it to her grave, she wanted to know more about her mentor, and every time she asked him questions only piqued her curiosity. There was a saying called 'curiosity killed the cat', but people tend to forget that 'a cat has nine lives' too.
…There were times yes. I would often take breaks when I found myself stressed out from all the work I had to do, or when I made trips to areas on others' requests. I would sometimes look around at the scenery, basking in it and thinking to myself 'this is what I rule over. This land is my land'. To be able to acknowledge the beauty of the world, to see what it was that I had been protecting for so many years, it filled me with a joy the likes of which I cherished up until my death. Even when I died, I died with a smile on my face as I chose one of the greatest forests ever as my final resting place. Of course, I merely admired it whenever I was in a foreign leader's country, I was still a King back then, so I had to act in accordance to my position. Being a Leader isn't exactly the easiest job around…
Yeah, Noire could understand that part all too well. "Truer words have never been spoken. Seeing beauty like this, makes ruling a Nation much easier, I agree. Though its best not to drink it in too much when more important matters need to be attended to. Like now for instance." She replied, making to turn back and continue climbing the tower… until she stopped. Her eyes widened and then narrowed when she picked something up. 'Siegfried, do you sense that…?' she thought to her Heroic Spirit, thinking her comments this time due to the sudden shift in situation.
… Yes. This feeling, it is indeed a Heroic Spirit, but the way it feels constrained, makes me believe that it is in the same situation as you and myself. Feels like an Assassin or Archer Type Heroic Spirit, and its coming our way fast. Be wary, we may have a fight on our hands…
Didn't need to tell her twice. Quickly reaching behind her, Noire grasped the hilt of Balmung but didn't draw it right away. She instead jogged back to the edge of the platform and tried looking around, to see if she could spot any signs of attack in which she could use to detect the enemy's location. She probably shouldn't have assumed it to be an enemy but considering how all she had met so far had turned out to be hostile, not really many people could blame her.
Just then, she heard the sound of something falling from above, and quickly looked up. Her eyes, as well as Siegfried's within her spirit, widened to the size of dinner plates when they saw a female falling down towards them at high speeds, not looking like there were any signs of aggression nor did she look like she was slowing down. 'Holy crap, she's not attacking, she's falling!' Noire realized, quickly leaping into action. Donning her FAFNIR ARMOUR, the blackette jumped into the air, shooting towards the falling body and grabbed it out of the skies, grunting when she had the foreign weight slam onto her without mercy. She still managed though, and that would be the main thing to take away from this situation, as she flew back down to the platform, landed and put down the person she had just saved from becoming a stain on the floor below.
'Whew… that was a close one…' Noire thought as she sat back down, dismissing her FAFNIR ARMOUR so she wouldn't startle the person once they got their bearings. It looked like this person, a girl she realized, had just started to regain her bearings, which felt good since Noire had a few questions of her own. Like, how the heck was there someone else who had a Heroic Spirit as a partner like her, or how she wasn't affected by the spell on the city? Well, part of her theorized that the Heroic Spirit themselves had been responsible for that last question, but still she needed to be sure.
Taking a moment to judge her appearance, Noire quickly concluded this to be a soldier of some sorts. The reason why she thought this, as that the girl had the build of one, slender yet with a layer of muscle deep within, which showed that she took her physical condition quite seriously. Her eyes, whilst initially closed, opened to show how they had a ruby crimson colour, though the left one looked to be concealed by a technological eyepiece. Her hair, reaching her mid back in length, had a milky blue colour whilst it remained held in place by a dark green cloth. Likely to keep her hair out of her vision so she could fight on the battlefield more effectively. Perhaps the girl fought with evasion and agility in mind? Noire wasn't sure on that, but she did see enough evidence to assume this to be the case.
Her Clothing would be one such piece of evidence, as it seemed to follow the trend of… being quite revealing if Noire were to be honest, then again it also left her body quite mobile which supported her theory on he girl's fighting style. To go into more detail, Noire saw that the girl wore a dark green top with black belted segments on it and a white cloth top, partially revealing her breasts (Not something Noire herself felt like she could do, especially since it revealed way more than her dress did). Around her waist, she wore dark dull green shorts with white lining, a black belt, and a slit up the side with black lacing, two belts on the upper leg, and a pair of dull, dark green boots with black and white accenting. She also wore black fingerless gloves (one arm having a familiar Bracer attached to it) and one leg is covered by a black stocking with red line detail. Everything about this girl's clothing told the CPU that she was more on the speed and evasion side of things, especially when she saw the dagger which the girl held in her right hand, which looked distinctly 'bat shaped' now that she thought about it.
In addition to her assumptions about her being a soldier…
'Siegfried… This girl, she…'
…Indeed. This woman, she does have one…
His words only served to confirm what her senses had been picking up. The fact that she would be encountering a Heroic Spirit user just like herself wasn't lost on the blackette, plus she had heard from Siegfried how certain Heroic Spirits had greater standards for potential users. It all depended on the Heroic Spirit themselves really, though in her and her Saber Class Spirit's opinions the easier cases would have bene the Berserkers. Due to their mental states being as bad as they were hanks to this 'mad enhancement' trait, it made it easier to access their abilities... although the consequences of which could vary. 'So THAT'S why this girl's able to avoid the Spell on this city, fighting like there's nothing wrong. Can you tell what type it is from here?'' she asked the former king, to which she got a reply moments later.
...Feels like an Assassin Type Heroic Spirit, although I am unable to tell for certain which one, as I am trying to contact it now. Heroic Spirits of this Class are skilled at operating covertly, stealthy, and silently. Although most Assassins are famous for sneaky killings, there's an exception who was a public executioner. This class is one of the weaker classes at direct fighting though, as its members possess low attributes due to not having glorious legends as heroes, it instead specializes in killing those bonded to them or normal people. It is an oddity compared to the more formal Knight classes who believe in fair duels and chivalry in combat; they will attack using the most unfair and favourable conditions, and with these conditions, it is possible for an Assassin to match and defeat other Servants. The Assassins' special class ability is ''Presence Concealment", which allows them to remain undetected when spying or preparing to ambush their targets…
Noire mentally nodded at this information. A while back, during the earlier days of their partnership, the blackette had requested that Siegfried only tell her about the other classes in more detail than the overview a few chapters ago when they encounter these specific types in person. This way, it allowed her to plan and strategize how to best approach certain individuals differently, as from what she had assumed, Heroic Spirits preferred certain types of people than others, their preferences varying thanks to their classes. Case in point, the Saber Class Siegfried chose only those who had the will of a leader as worthy for his power. Still, it wasn't the BEST plan, as it could distract her if they got forcibly engaged in a battle, but Noire had enough confidence in her new fighting skills to be able to last a while in that scenario.
By this point, the prone woman's mind had completely regained consciousness, her lone eye shining with utter clarity as she groaned, sitting up whilst holding her head with her freehand. "Ugh, that damned bastard… he pulled a fast one on me…" the woman muttered under her breath, shaking her head to get rid of any stray cobwebs. Her brows furrowed in annoyance and irritation seconds later, as if she had been told something that provoked her in such a manner. "I know, I know! I should have been more cautious of that guy, thinking back on it I should have known better! Geez, thinking that he'd be a weakling considering how many times he tried to become a Demon was a bad move on my part. Good thing his arrogance led him to…"
At that point, her eyes blinked in confusion and surprise, as if something had been informed to her that she didn't expect. This assumption soon became realized upon her shaking her head. "Huh? What are you talking about? There's nobody… wait, how did I survive the fall and end up here, I should have landed at the base of the tower…" she muttered under her breath, before she looked to the side and found her gaze landing upon the Lastation CPU. Almost immediately, the woman's gaze became filled with shock and confusion, almost causing her to do a double take as she shot up to her feet. "L-L-Lady Black Hearth-Heart?!"
'Ugh, that reminds me of that time I had to use my cosplay hobby to keep my identity a 'secret' back then…' Noire thought to herself, shuddering at the memory of how bad her acting had been in the beginning. Pushing that thought aside though, the blackette stood up as well. "Finally, took you long enough to notice I was here. Your welcome for the save by the way." She commented, huffing whilst glancing to the side. She could feel the disapproval from Siegfried at this though, but he didn't say anything in favor of contacting this girl's fellow Heroic Spirit.
"I see… That explains it then." The blue haired woman mused, a light of understanding in her eyes. At one point, Noire swore she saw a few… complex-looking emotions in her eyes, but they vanished just as quickly as they came She then shook her head and began to introduce herself. "Its still a great honor to meet you, Lady Black Heart. Originally, I feared that I myself were the only one unable to b affected by the mass sleeping Spell over Lastation, it is good that this isn't the case. I am Lid, General of Lastation's infiltration force." The woman, Lid, introduced herself.
The moment she did, Noire's eyes widened in shock, a particular memory of looking over a certain report coming back to the forefront of her mind. 'Lid? Could that be…?' she wondered, before deciding to inquire into this. If this was true, then… "Lid… by any chance, are you the general involved with the Cornucopia Military Academy?" she questioned. As the CPU, Noire had always been privy to the knowledge of this Academy, as while it was stationed in Lowee, it also had close ties to the Lastation Government section of her Basilicom. Naturally, she would know of such a place in this situation, which also allowed her to learn of the rebellion it lead against a powerful military force known as the Coalition, which had strove to 'prepare for humanity's prosperity', and had been fueled by resentment towards the CPUs for not coming to their aid in making things better. The CMA had been led by a man named Theta, who had been the leader of the rebellion, conscripting soldiers, weapons and ammo from her Country the most out of the four Nations. Naturally, he had also recruited Lid as well.
Not to mention, he had even put in a request to the Guild, in which a certain redhead Spec Ops accepted, which had led to his further recruitment and participation too…
Hearing about that name, Lid found herself hit by a wave of nostalgia, memories returning to her which brought back both painful and gratitude-inducing feelings. She recalled the lessons she had learned there, the lessons in which both Theta and Nico had pretty much hammered into her brain, one with tact and the other with painful, blunt honesty… with a side edition of brute force. Let it be said that it wasn't hard to guess which off the two adopted these specific approaches. "Yes… that is me. I was a part of the rebellion-rebellion!" Lid cursed under he breath as her misspelling habit kicked in. "Apologies, I tend to misspell-misspell some words when I'm feeling overwhelmed… anyways, yes, that was me."
"Whew, well that explains that then…" Noire mused, deciding to ignore the quirk Lid displayed for the General's own sake, something which she seemed to understand herself given the look of gratitude she had sent her way. "Anyways, its nice to see someone else other than me unaffected by the spell, too." Noire admitted, smiling a bit in relief, knowing that she wasn't alone in her endeavors. Although she didn't dare to hope for too much, she just had to ask anyways. "Is there anyone else who's like us, unaffected by it? Maybe we can ask for their help, since this place seems to be the cause of the Spell." It wasn't something which hadn't crossed her mind, in fact Noire had found herself wondering this for dozens of moments between her battles with the Demons. Though, she hadn't dared get her hopes up, nothing truly went according to one's wishes after all. Just look at faulty technology for example.
Unfortunately, it seemed like those hopes even if they had been raised, would have been smashed in the end. Evidence pointing towards this came when Lid shook her head in denial, her lone eye narrowing as she looked out into the city. "Unfortunately, that is a negative, Lady Black Heart. I have checked everywhere in the city myself before arriving, and everyone aside from you and me is under the influence of this spell. Even my Mentor, who trained me to the bone in his ways, has succumbed to it, which shows me just how powerful the Spell really is." Lid explained, a dark scowl on her lips as she clenched her fists. "Damnit, this is just what that bastard Arkham wanted…"
"Arkham?"
The moment she heard that name, Noire frowned as an image of a certain scarred scholarly figure came to mind. She never got a good feeling from him, even before Siegfried had warned her of his connection to the demonic. Thus, hearing someone else refer to him in a negative manner only worsened her feelings towards that man. "I'm guessing you and he have some history with each other, then?" she questioned, drawing Lid's gaze and almost flinching from the look of sheer hatred burning like a furious furnace in her eyes.
"Hate, doesn't even begin to describe how much I loathe that man. If anything, I hate him even more than the Coalition back then." Lid remarked; her scowl strong enough that it could have cut her face in half with how it stretched her cheeks like it did. "Although I would rather be continuing my tasks, it's imperative you know more about the bigger picture, Lady Black Heart. Arkham's a highly wanted criminal in the eyes of Lastation Law, but very few are privy to knowledge of his existence. This is because only the higher levels of Spec Ops Agents are allowed to go after him, and even then, they either return heavily injured or don't return at all. I myself have been hunting him ever since my mentor allowed me to, but even then he had to make me an honorary Spec Ops Agent and make me pass a previous Spec Ops Exam to do so."
Now THIS caused Noire's jaw to drop, the alarm bells in her mind ringing like no tomorrow at just how dangerous this man seemed to be. Back when she'd first seen him, Noire HAD gotten the feeling of being seen as a pawn or a tool when looking into his eyes, as well as saw a strong sense of intelligence from him. She didn't dare underestimate or look down on him at all because of this, so hearing just how people belonging to the SPEC OPS viewed him… yeah, she now definitely wouldn't be underestimating him in the future. This man almost seemed worse than GANACHE of all people.
Lid continued, already aware of the other woman's train of thought by eyeing her facial features, a trick she had developed to see through masks, a lot like a certain Spec Ops Agent. "He's bad news, in fact Arkham has known of the existence of Demons for quite some time now. He has tried numerous times to develop Demonic Powers of his own without having to go through the Demonic Ascension Ceremony, as his Soul is too weak for something like that. That's according to what I recovered from one of his laboratories by the way, but aside from that these tests have ended up sacrificing COUNTLESS villages to the Demonic forces, despite each one ending in failure. He would go as far as to sacrifice his own wife and daughter for this power… its uncountable how many he has sacrificed for this goal…" Lid explained, gritting her teeth so hard that they would have cracked and shattered under normal circumstances.
'Okay, now I'm regretting not killing him when I should have…' Noire thought in her mind as her shock quickly became replaced by overwhelming RAGE. She'd done her best, she'd vowed that she would be a better leader for her Nation, to protect Lastation from any and all threats. Now look at her, how could she claim to be something that grand with scum like Arkham running about? She didn't believe Lid to be lying either, as even a bout of confirmation from her Heroic Spirit Siegfried told her she was being truthful. Siegfried held much more knowledge about this stuff than her, so of course she'd trust in his judgement. The amount of guilt and shame in her right now could NOT be stated with mere words.
"When I saw this tower come out from beneath Lastation, I knew for a FACT I'd find a trace of that scoundrel somewhere. He'd been researching on this Temen-Ni-Gru for some time now according to the documents I stole from one of his lesser guarded laboratories, especially with how it works." Lid explained, remembering what she'd read. "It wasn't easy though, as thanks to it being written in the demonic tongue so no normal mortal could withstand it, I had some… difficulty, translating it into my own documentary about it. According to what I was able to decipher though, it seems this tower not only has great knowledge inside of it along with countless treasures from what I could only assume to be a time when Demons were more well-known…" Oh, how little Lid knew then, Noire felt as she reflected upon the memories of Agni and Rudra. "But it seems to hold the purpose of being a medium, a medium to access a whole new world, I think anyways. How it does that I'm not so sure yet, but I bet whoever raised this Tower has the answer. Not like that's my business though, all I care about is finding and killing Arkham for his crimes."
"Straight up killing… But Lastation has laws to ensure-"
Lid then interrupted Noire who tried to say something about the Lastation Judicial system. "A threshold which has long since passed for this case, Lady Black Heart. Do you really believe that there aren't people out there who aren't redeemable? Those who just want to see the world burn? What about those who constantly offend no matter how many times they are put in prison? People like that aren't those who could be taught to be better, there's no helping them. Those who added the following law knew this truth too. Its stated in article 500 paragraph C section 4 which covers Spec Ops laws: any criminal who proves too great for higher tier Spec Ops to handle has to be 'killed on sight'. Arkham's a clear example of this, and I intend to serve justice which has been denied for way too long." Lid countered, to which Noire had to stop what she wanted to say right there. Her words rung true, as thanks to wanting to repair her Nation, Noire had scanned through the MASSIVE amounts of rules and regulations put in place to keep some semblance of law in place whilst she had been away. Thus, she'd read through that Article in particular.
"…Alright, then. I didn't wish to stop you anyways, since its clear that this is a national emergency." Noire admitted, sighing as she looked out into the city. "Looks like things are going to be getting hectic in the future. In that case, shall we discuss how to go about this? I'm thinking we should split up, travelling down two separate paths but keep in contact with one another." Noire suggested, to which Lid pondered for a moment, before she gave an acknowledging nod.
She then gave her opinion on the matter. "And cover more ground, affirmative. A sound plan, Lady Noire, and I have the right equipment for us to exchange for this joint sortie." She stated, before pulling a couple orb-like devices from her Inventory. Walking over to the blackette, Lid handed her one whilst explaining its nature. "Here's an earpiece, its connected to the one I'll be putting in my ear when we part. Just touch and press it with your index finger, and a comm channel will open between us. We can inform each other at regular intervals of our progress, share any vital information that we come across."
At this, Noire nodded in acceptance, taking he earpiece and putting it in her left ear. She had experience with stuff like this thanks to Raiden, which taught her that the materials used by the Spec Ops branches tend to be quite sturdy stuff, thus she could use her bodily transformation abilities without worry of damaging them. "Alright then, I'll go on ahead then. You take the route you intended before we met up but be careful. Especially if you run into any possible Heroic Spirits or other nasty opponents." She urged, to which Lid gave an acknowledging nod again. 'This girl's quite the formal, professional type, huh? Reminds me a lot of Nico… why the heck do I find so many things relating to that guy?! Seriously, this is MY side story after all!' Well, if she were frank, it made sense since Nico may as well have impacted the world in ways she could not have even imagined. He'd touched way more people than her, and for much longer. Pretty much reminded her with a slap to the face just how much she had missed by fighting that stupid war.
Shortly afterwards, the two girls parted ways… though, Noire nearly had a heart attack when she saw Lid jump off the side of the tower, pretty much go all YOLO like some suicidal nutcase then swan dive down below. 'Is she INSANE?! Does she know how high we are?!' That had been the thoughts she had at the moment whilst she barely resisted the urge to activate her FAFNIR ARMOUR, go down there, bring her back and lecture her for hours on end for how stupid that had been. Not to mention the morbid images of the ground going haymaker on her brain matter. Fortunately before she could make good on her intentions, Lid had contacted her after the fall to let her know she would be fine, that she had her own means of protecting herself. Despite the not so subtle relief which she released, Noire still couldn't help but feel like this had something to do with her Heroic Spirit though, and speaking of which…
Once she had found herself alone once more, Noire decided to get some information out of her remaining partner/mentor, as she twirled on her heels and proceeded to continue on her way. 'So… any luck on your end…?' she questioned Siegfried while continuing to walk towards a door, one which likely led to some other section of the Tower. Not like Noire had much of a care for that at the moment however, since she had learning more about her new companion as a bigger priority.
…I have indeed. We were right in that it was an Assassin-Type Heroic Spirit class/ However, this spirit seems to share their trait for distrusting other beings, as it made me swear an oath not to reveal its true name to you as of yet. It is an awfully wary sort, even for its kind. However, what I can say is that Lid definitely has a formidable partner in it, and they have only met in recent time. If I were to guess, then I would assume it to be somewhat shorter in time frame compared to you and me, although she and it became aware of one another much earlier than us…
'So, what your saying is that whilst you and I spent a larger time frame together, albeit with me lacking your awakened self, Lid and this Heroic Spirit are the same as us right now, but they were aware of each other from the very start. That puts us on equal footing of sorts, when using the powers of a Heroic Spirit, then…' Noire mused back, cupping her chin whilst the clicks of her silver heels resounded across the stone floor as she neared the door and pushed on through. Whilst the door opened from the force she exuded on it with a loud, drawn out creaking sound (which sounded similar to one of those doors in a haunted house would make, though she'd never admit that), the black haired CPU couldn't help wondering what would become of this new partnership.
"So… that was Lady Black Heart, huh…?"
Lid mused this to herself once she landed at the bottom of the tower. She had no doubts she'd have to find her own way back inside again, that was the price she had to pay in order to continue on her journey through the Tower. There likely would be so many secrets, that she likely will find all sorts of things which could help the military, enough secrets which imply that there was more than one way to scale it. Since this place had Demonic Energies and no small amounts of Wards over it though, Lid had been unable to Scan its interior completely with her Bracer. However, the fact that she had met someone else caused her to have… well, mixed feelings, ESPECIALLY since it had been the Goddess of Lastation herself. "Still, as much as I loathe to admit it, its quite fortunate for us to have met someone else like me. You said she had a Heroic Spirit guiding her, too?"
…
"Eh? It's a Saber class, huh? Well, that makes sense, and judging from what your telling me, it seems to be a powerful one too. Fortunately, its not a divine Spirit, as from what you've told me those guys can be annoying to deal with, especially that one who Gilgamesh personally despises. Anyways, do you think she can be trusted…?" Lid asked seemingly nobody as she continued on her way. For a moment, she remained silent, her eyes closed in contemplation whilst nodding to show she was listening to something. What that would be, would be any outsider's guess, though if Noire were here, she would assume it to be the same kind of thing that she had. "I see… understandable, if one knows a Heroic Spirit's true name, they can use their legends to find a weakness to their powers. Each one of them is unique for better or for worse…" Lid remarked, before her lone eye opened and her eyepiece beeped, a fierce scowl forming on her lips. "Just like that bastard said…"
(FLASHBACK)
Walking along the edge of a long platform jutting out the tower, Lid firmly hummed to herself as she held her Bracer up at her torso level. The cold, nightime breeze blew through her hair, but not enough to make it flail about, just enough to cause it to lightly sway as if being cradled by a loving parent. Her eyes cast themselves out towards the vastness which had been laid out before her, and despite her military training the young maiden found herself unable to stop herself from catching her breath at the sight of it.
She'd gotten pretty high up from what she had been able to see from the outside, so she figured she would be close to the top of this damned place. All she had to do would be to keep going, maybe then she'll find her answers. Looking down at her Bracer again as she viewed a holographic 3D map of what she'd explored so far, Lid muttered something under her breath. "Well, despite being unable to use my Bracer to its fullest, scanning the layout room for room allowed me to at least have SOMEWHAT of a map for this labyrinth of a Tower…" the military woman mused to herself, sensing her 'friend' agreeing with her.
It may not look like it, but Lid did indeed have her guard up, her knife remained secured to her person ready to be drawn at the slightest provocation, dripped with poison which she had seen would not be very effective against these pests running amok through the tower. She knew this, since she'd experimented through the many times she had been ambushed by her opponents, forcing her to utilize her supply of gadgets provided by her Mentor. Still, knife work was her forte, when one got down to it through her expertise in firearms and other military feats. Heck, her 'friend' had told her the two Noble Phantasms he had, which she had found together luckily, had pretty much taken root inside of her very being, one of them having originally been sealed off until she had learned how to unseal it thanks to her knowledge of Drive Skills.
"Well, well…"
Her entire body FROZE stiff, like she had become a literal human iceberg, at the very SECOND she heard that familiar voice. That damn, repulsive calm yet menacing and mocking voice of which she had grown to despise with every fibre of her being. Teeth clenched as an explosive whirlpool of fury erupted within her chest, causing the woman to twirl around to face the source of her ferocity: The scholarly scarred man of whom she had been hunting for many months now: Arkham. The man, carrying that same poetry book, stood there as calm and collected as he ever had been. She doubted that this would ever change, even if he stood at deaths door, he would still have this irritatingly calm and composed demeanour, like he already knew how to play things out or how to get out of certain situations. "You…!"
"You've grown stronger…" Arkham stoically commented, his eyes trailing up and down her physique in a calculating way. In some manner, Lid felt even more disgusted by this man than she would an enemy, heck she even knew he wasn't someone who ogled women of his fancy either, the guy didn't even have a heart filled with lust to do that. No, its all about Demonic Power with his guy, that lesson she had learned the hard way. The manner of which how his Scar seemed to shift and distort itself as he spoke sent chills up her spine, but Lid didn't let that distract her. Not when she knew that this guy had some… powerful company backing him up, she just KNEW this to be the case even if she couldn't sense anything nearby.
"Go to hell!"
A snarl escaped Lid's mouth as she glared hatefully towards Arkham, having already readied her Knife for combat. A knife which had been made from Silver Steel, the metal all Spec Ops Agents were made from, the sole metal which had been able to slice through the defenses of the Abnormals. Arkham saw this, and if he had any eyebrows, he would have arched them with the following stern tone he adopted. "You dare point a gun at me? Your own kin? Your dear… uncle?"
"SHUT IT!" hearing him call himself her uncle, caused Lid to practically lose her shit, even with her 'friend' screaming at her to keep her cool. The corners of her vision became tinted with a crimson hue as she unconsciously began calling upon the power of the 'friend' she had made, causing her eyes to gain an unnatural glow to them. "YOU WERE NEVER AN UNCLE TO ME! THE ONLY FAMILY I HAD WAS MY MOTHER AND FATHER! AND THEY ARE FREAKING DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" By the time she had finished yelling, Lid bent her legs before breaking into a mad sprint, becoming a blur as she closed the distance between them. Her knife came cutting through the air like a vicious serpent, intent on carving right trough Arkham with the ferocity of an entire army on a massive surge of bloodlust.
Just a second before the knife could touch Arkham's flesh…
SWOOSH!
Arkham's body vanished into thin air, like he had never been in that spot in the first place. This caused Lid's Knife and bloodlust to cut nothing but air, the blue haired woman landing in a crouch position before getting to her feet in the following seconds. She then got into a defensive stance, positioning her Knife by her chest in a reverse grip whilst the other hand got outstretched at her side, waiting to be receive orders from her brain. "Grrr…! COME OUT, YOU FUCKING TRAITOROUS BASTARD!" Lid yelled out into the vast surroundings. Thanks to there being a bit of smoke in the air, it made vision slightly impaired for her.
"You break my heart, little blue…"
Arkham's voice echoed through the surroundings, and no matter how hard she tried Lid found herself unable to locate the place it came from. Like it came from everywhere around her yet not at the same time. "After all… wasn't it I who started you off on your training? Wasn't it I myself who taught you the survival skills you know?" The more she heard him talk, the sicker she became, Lid realized. That is, until she sensed his presence once agsin and quickly looked upwards with a ferocious glare… seeing Arkham standing atop a piece of a statue upside down leering down at her. With his wide eyes, lack of proper sockets and burnt flesh, the stare he gave her would give children nightmares. "MY DARLING KNIECE?!"
In that moment, the man let his book drop downwards, letting it land on her face too distract her. That gave him the time to hop down, land by her side, grab her by the arm then toss her over his shoulder and off the side of the platform. As she flew, Lid howled as she summoned her Handgun and began firing bullets at him, her rage blinding her to the thought of using any other gadgets at her disposal. As a result, the man grasped his book out of the air and looked down, watching Lid fall down into the depths below with his ever-stoic expression plastered onto his scarred face.
(FLASHBACK END)
Lid shook her head with a grunt, pushing that recent memory to the back of her mind before she could succumb to the urge to let out her vomit. She never liked thinking of that man, not after what he had done to her and her family, of how much he would be willing to go for power. Sometimes it amazed her how twisted people could truly be, they could be even worse than the Abnormals and Demons which prowl the Nations at this point, Lid felt. Still, with how she had been unable to even scratch that son of a bitch for all this time showed her that she still had a long way to go. That she still had the chance she craved to get revenge for her cousin, her aunt and uncle... her parents... and everyone else whom this guy had butchered for his pursuit of demonhood. Though, if she were frank, the first few were the most important in Lid's book. It felt more like an obligation to care about those she hadn't personally met when they had been victims of that man, it wasn't a feeling she personally liked though, no matter how true it was.
Still, back to the whole Noire stuff. She could understand her friend's wariness towards her, even if Lid followed her as her patron Goddess. Lid had learned much during and after her time fighting the Coalition, and one of those things had been to rely more on her own skills than that of a deity which may or may not be all that special. A heretical thought process to be sure, but one which had been forcibly crammed down her throat without hesitation nor mercy, then reinforced by all the atrocities which she had seen afterwards. As for her 'friend', his reasons for not trusting others lay with his nature and occupation back when he had been alive, even though Saber Class Heroic Spirits tend to value honour and chivalry, that didn't necessarily mean their wielders would be the same way. She didn't know Noire, but she DID know the Goddess Black Heart who had abandoned her Nation to fight the Console War. As such, she wanted to wait and see if she had been able to change since her return, changed from the person she had once been to who she should have from the very start. Well, that was the thought process her 'friend' had explained to her, and if she were honest, Lid partially agreed with him.
One can't just trust anyone in this world anymore. One has to always be on guard, lest they find a dagger impaling their backs.
Chapter end
Whelp, here's the one and only: Lid! A General from Hyperdevotion Noire! Now, if you've read the incomplete Symmetrical Evolution story, then you'll know that she was a bit of a brat back then. his time though, the experiences she went through back ten have changed her into a more mature person, but not too mature as she still loses it when things anger her. Such as Arkham. In terms of DMC 3, Lid takes the place of Mary/Lady, cause honestly I can see these two getting along. One's a badass gun user, whilst another is an equally badass Infiltration agent. Its kind of like in Noire's case where she reminds me of Trish, the Demon lady who uses Lightning and fights alongside Dante occasionally. Though different in personality, if these two were to meet I bet Trish could have definitely taken out some of Noire's tsundere traits by encouraging her to be more confident in herself.
Still, I'm also portraying her as somewhat wary of Noire, but not enough that she'll let it affect her professionalism. I want to show her as someone who knows what she wants to do, and won't let outside factors distract her although she'll acknowledge them in her internal monologues. Given how things have been so far, it only makes sense for Lid to be this way towards her, unlike in Hyperdevotion where she was so 'hyperdevoted' to Noire... ugh, kill me for that pun. That, and can anyone guess who her Spec Ops Mentor is? I doubt anyone will guess which Heroic Spirit Lid has bonds with through their Noble Phantasms, and even then there are multiples, which I will get into later on. Lid'll shed some light on that when she is more trusting of Noire, having seen her sincerity firsthand.
I'm also giving her more of a backstory, and a personal reason to hate Arkham just like Lady did her father for what he did to become a Demon, albeit an imperfect one. This'll make it so that she fits more into the DMC 3 Storyline, and that i'll be able to better change some scenes instead of outright cutting them out. DMC 3's story still holds up today actually. Other than that, she's also someone who has become very cynical, having lost a lot of faith in people thanks to the atrocities she's witnessed as shown when she described the fact that some people just don't deserve mercy. Honestly, this is something shown in a LOT of OEG's villains, but for someone to bluntly state this pretty much screams how bad its gotten. This Gamindustri is NOT like the original, you can definitely see that.
Whelp, that's it for now, I guess. I'll see you all in the next chapter, everyone!
Peace out!
