Chapter 14
To be or not to be? That is the question.
If that question was then whether he should be fighting or not fighting this monster, he'd definitely spend all his credits and bet his life on the latter.
*UAuhauAhuahAuHahuUhahAhH*
An inaudible screech escaped the large metal tank, as blue light seeped out of the opening gates. That process however, was quickly finished when a giant black hand broke free from inside, and tore the entire tank apart.
"…" It was his few rare times when he didn't make a joke or a sarcastic remark about the monster he was fighting. He was simply staring at it, legs trembling, sword brandished, and conviction steeled.
A hulking monster, even bigger than Brave, emerged out of the tank. It was covered in black armour, with green outlines running across its body. Its head had two empty sockets, probably where his eyes were, but they were now empty and lifeless.
A pair of 2 black jet-like wings floated behind its back, along with 2 other floating cannon-like objects floating besides him. In his hand was a terrifically large spear, one that shined a blinding light, one that broke through the miasma of Negative Energy.
If he ignored the black armour it was in and the 3 weapons it had on its side, he'd almost be tempted to say the he believed that he was a god reborn.
"A fallen god indeed." He spoke softly, almost like a reply to a person no one could see. Looking upon this monster of an enemy, the thought of a tactical retreat crossed his mind, but he quickly tossed the idea.
"Tch…"
He felt even worse now, ashamed he even managed to conjure such a thought. He's here to bring back the CPUs and bring back the real Arfoire for good. Not being as strong as he previously was was an excuse used by the weak.
To which, he admitted, was somewhat correct.
Swallowing his fears, he gulped and looked on ahead, glad and somewhat annoyed that the monster hadn't even noticed her presence here, and was just aimlessly floating around.
Should I use that…? No, not yet, especially not with my unstable energy.
Right now, all he had to rely on was his simple spells, and probably some added bonuses from the cable ability he 'stole' from CFW Trick…Damnit, just a single thought of that guy was almost enough to make him vomit.
[Helheim] will definitely not work on him, so no instant killing moves. [Brahmastra]…? Nah, even worse.
Sweat poured from his skin as he held his sword up, scared but hopeful of the outcome. He quickly threw his sword into the air and took his stance, his right arm clenched and ready.
"[Hades'…"
Rather uncharacteristically, he spoke the name out loud, despite how fucking chuunibyou it sounded to him. Perhaps hearing everyone shout their skill names before launching the attack was starting to rub off on him.
"-WRATH]!"
A strong burst of flame shot out of his right arm, and towards the monster. Its entire body was covered in his flame, before an explosion took it,
And it came out hardly damaged, if at all.
"…Fuck."
The being turned its head towards him, and for the first time, its empty eye sockets burst forth a red light. Immediately, he felt its eye bore into him, peering into his soul. An odd mixture of feelings surfaced, but he had no time to contemplate as he leapt back from his previous spot, narrowly avoiding the incoming spear strike.
He danced around, his feet stepping from one side to another, his body bending and moving accordingly as he danced with death itself. The monster attacked more and more frequently as he dodged its attack, and the two cannons by its side soon went active and began shooting out as well.
He was too far to attack it with a devastating [Ares' Chariot], but also too slow to use his [Hades' Wrath] without getting himself drilled with many holes.
Shit. He cursed to himself as he felt a graze form on his waist, reacting slightly as he jumped back and parried two incoming spear strikes, and avoiding a speeding cannonball flying her way.
"Cables."
Then, he had a realisation and stopped, only to realise that he had just stopped in the MIDDLE of a fight and moved to evade.
But its spear came faster and stabbed him right through the chest…or it would have, if not for a sudden barrier of wind that he created with his left hand between him and the spear. But even that did not last however, as the wind barrier broke apart, and his left hand took most of the brunt damage. He winced as he felt his muscle fibres tearing apart, but those few seconds were enough for him to make an escape from the attack.
Landing back, he let out the breath he didn't know he was keeping and winced again, noticing that the injury this time was much worse than normal. Blood trickled down.
Taking the suggestion the voice gave him, he summoned several lines of cables and strung them around it, its spear, the 2 cannons, everything, almost like spinning a thread around an object into a cocoon.
But it was his chance.
He leapt forward with his [Ares' Chariot] giving him a boost, before he sent a strong kick to its head. *Bam!* It went as he heard several cracks from it, as it was blown back. He hovered in the air for a moment, before a sudden incoming cannonball shot him back.
He cried out in pain as the attack sunk into his stomach, feeling his insides churn from the immense force it had. Slowly, he pushed himself up from the ground, feeling more and more blood trickle down from his arm.
He was beat, absolutely beat. His body felt like a block of bricks, and even moving a single finger felt tiring. But he pushed himself up, panting and heaving for breath as he felt a bit of internal bleeding.
But, at the least he got a hit in, right?...Right?
He despaired for the first time when the dust faded away, and while yes, there were several cracks running along its head, it was still fine, and all 3 of its weapons were armed and pointed at him.
Then, it charged in, spear aimed at his chest.
"Eject!"
"*Cough* T-That…I will do." He grinned slightly as he felt his legs succumb to his weakening body, and before long,
The spear reached its target, and Ventus' heart was no more.
At around the same time Ventus made first contact with the being, Kei, Linda, and Blanc were making their way around the dangerous toxic graveyard, with Linda and Blanc's senses as their only guides through this hellscape.
The suffocating amount of Negative Energy was…concerning, to say the least. Blanc was definitely taking it worse, her face paler than ever and sweat pouring out. Her head was spinning like crazy, and if it wasn't for her new axe absorbing the excess energy, she might've fallen prey to this hellish place.
Being a CPU has its downsides after all.
They had no time to worry however, as monsters kept coming out to battle them. They were easy to deal with, too easy, but even a goddess would start getting tired fighting these weak, seemingly robotic monsters that spawned in every 30 seconds.
Their new equipment helped out quite a bit for that, giving them an edge they could use to come out victorious. Even if they weren't completely used to it, the power they held were amazing. Not a surprise, since Ventus did make them himself.
"That's-"
But it's not the time. As they turned another familiar corner in this graveyard, Kei was first to react as she saw the three other CPUs, tied and pinned against the wall, black cables injected into them, feeding deadly Negative Energy.
They were even still in their HDD forms, even despite not even having enough Share Energy to sustain them. Blanc gnashed her teeth, her hand clenched tight, a small dent beginning to appear on the axe's handle.
Her friends…the people she spent her life being with, playing around with, joking and eating together with, stuck against the wall, their bodies being tainted by darkness even as she stood there, her pupils shrinking.
RUN
Blanc ran as quickly as she could, the other two quickly following behind her, just as worried as they checked upon them.
RUN
Blanc ran her hand across Neptune's face. Her best friend, her ally against the army of melons, tied here…It was quite a blessing she hadn't gone into a rampage and smashed everything into little tiny blue chunks.
RUN
She tried using her axe to cut the wires, but it hardly moved. Kei, and Linda to some reluctant extent, tried to help with her endeavour, but it almost felt like they were trying to slice open a brick of concrete with a table knife.
RUN
Soon, Blanc was smashing her axe against the cable, putting all of her weight into each of her swings. They wobbled slightly, but the cables remained unharmed. But then, as she was about to swing her axe down, she stopped.
RUN
Where were all the monster? That question ran through her mind, a bead of sweat trailing down her back. This was too easy. Once they reached this location, she hadn't even felt a single monster get near them, and they were previously swarming them like zubats!
RUN
A chill ran down her spine.
RUN
Pain seethed into her mind.
RUN
Strength was leaving her arms.
RUN
Her skin paled even more.
RUN
DeaTh Was nEAr.
RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN
The three girls stopped every single thought running through their heads, and slowly, slowly, turned their heads around.
To see the lifeless body of Ventus hanging off the edge of a bloody spear.
"VENTUS!"
Kei cried out, her expression warped in terror as she saw the powerful adventurer hang on the sharp edge, dead. His mouth hung open, blood drooling out, and his entire body was a mess.
The sound of a clank was heard as Linda fell back, her metal back rolling around in front of her as she slowly backed away, her sensory organs bombarded with the absolute sense of foreboding death, the coldness of death hanging before her neck.
"You've done well, reaching this far."
"…!"
The three turned around once again, and floating above them was CFW Magic. Her lips split into a malicious grin, and her one eye gleamed menacingly. Her scythe floated around her, spinning and rotating happily around its master.
"M-Magic-s-sama…"
Linda choked out, tears flowing out from her eyes as she saw her master stare at her, filled with anger and disdain towards the follower that had happily rejected her. Her hand moved to take hold of her scythe,
But…she stopped. Death was too kind. This girl needed a rework, to change everything about her. Her grin only grew further, as the helpless girl felt the cables extend out and take hold of her, dragging her across the floor and around the corner, her screams slowly quieting down.
Until her voice was no more.
Blanc was soon to follow, another set of black cables shooting out and taking hold of her limbs, dragging her towards an empty spot besides the CPU of Leanbox. Not without effort, as Blanc toiled and struggled against its pull, but her already weakened state and lack of HDD didn't help her as a dose of Negative Energy knocked her unconscious, the cables tying her up against the wall as her mouth failed to speak.
"Oh…God…"
Kei managed to say, terror in her eyes as she took a step back, and two, before turning around to run away from her, dropping the weapon Ventus had graciously gathered for her, letting it tumble down against the dirt.
But even she could not escape, as the cables latched itself into her back and pulled her back, ignoring her pleas and cries as it dragged her away, away from prying eyes.
A complete loss, Ventus would say, but as even he had been killed, no one could speak a word as Magic simply smiled to herself, unable to contain her excitement as she increased the ferocity of her cables, pouring more and more Negative Energy into the suffering CPUs.
Victory was hers, her maniacle laugh echoing through the graveyard.
It was snowing, just like always. Lowee was always like this, and had always been. From the moment this place was founded, piles after piles of snow would just appear out of nowhere, littering the streets and forcing those with enough motivation to clean it up.
Today was not that day.
Yes, it was still cold as shit, and they'd still need to wear several layers of clothing over their initial ones to keep themselves from hypothermia (which Ventus and his group clearly had no problems with), but snow wasn't falling down.
Everyone merely looked at this anomaly with raised eyebrows before they resumed their activities, continuing their lives as they enjoyed their oddly clear sky for the first time.
Of course, the priest new better.
"Takeyama, how long are you going to stand there? It's been 15 minutes, come in already!"
Takeyama, the priest that Ventus had met on his short visit to the church, replied back with as much enthusiasm he could muster. The woman, a caretaker, sighed as she turned around and returned inside, probably readying herself as she was bombarded by the kids.
It wasn't that he hated dealing with kids, he just, didn't have much enthusiasm on anything at all. Releasing a sigh of his own, he shrugged his shoulders as he looked up to the clear sky, a small smile on his face.
Maybe if there was one thing he enjoyed, it was the supernatural. And, yes, Gamindustri was already crazy enough, but that just meant his standards for craziness was even higher than normal. Which would make him a great pair for the insane cheery CPU of Planeptune.
Ah…the shrill of excitement, the chaos of adventure, simple thoughts like that truly made his heart-
*Throb*
"Kh…?"
Throb, yes, throb. He was about to continue his delusions of excitement just a bit more, but something was…calling him? He wasn't sure how to put it, but he could feel a nagging feeling to leave the nation, and run west as fast as he could.
That sounded dumb enough, seeing as he was just a normal priest with maybe some special skills on preaching and healing, but…he felt like the path would be safe for him, as if a god had given him a calli-
"Ah, I see…"
He couldn't help the wide, almost psychotic grin sneaking up his face. Yes, of course! It would be him! Ha! To think he had easily forgotten the feeling when he had come to talk to him just a day ago!
He couldn't help but laugh to himself, gaining him some odd looks from the nearby people, but he didn't care. Tucking his cross under his coat, he turned west and ran as fast as his legs could take him.
Ignoring the guard's weird looks as he eyed the running priest, Takeyama continued his run, ecstatic to heed the calling in his heart. His smile deepened, seeing a spaced trail of clouds leading his way from above.
He felt amazing, following and accepting the voices in his heart. It was almost addictive, threatening to drown him in this euphoria.
A call to adventure, some might say.
And as childish as that sounded, it felt so true it actually hurt.
It hurt mostly because he failed to notice a slight bump on the path he was travelling, and tripped, diving head-first into the snow under him.
Slowly, he pulled himself out from the snow, silently promising for god's sake that he'd watch his step as he ran. That, and he couldn't stop the wide grin blooming on his face.
Before him was a conspicuous door, standing where there was none before. It was pure white, a soft red hue radiating from the inside. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled himself up and reached out for the door.
And as his fingertips grazed the edge, the door opened, and the red light devoured him whole, leaving behind nothing but snow.
But that wasn't the end for Takeyama. No-, far from that. It was the beginning of his fun.
As his eye readjusted to the sudden change in light, no longer was the white scenery of snow that stretched far beyond what his human eyes could possibly see. Instead replaced with an enchanting, almost mystifying room, pointed completely in purple. A low hum played out from somewhere,
And at the centre, was a large crystal, the body of a naked young woman trapped inside.
How…lovely…
The calling in his heart grew even louder, telling him to reach his hand out and touch the crystal. To free her. That thought sent shivers down his spine, and he revelled in the amazing feeling of excitement that brought him.
Forgetting about his life as a priest, even if for just a moment, he brought his hand up and lightly placed it upon the crystal. It felt warm to touch, almost as if-
He didn't have time to finish that thought, as the crystal cracked upon his light touch, and the woman simply floated there, as if the meek forces of gravity had no qualms on her. She hung in the air for what felt like an eternity,
Before her eyes flashed open.
"Ah~, that felt nice." The woman softly remarked, her orange eyes taking in the room she was in, her red shoulder-length hair flowing as she slowly descended onto the floor, her petite feet gently landing against the cold purple floor.
"And-…Hmm? You're…"
"Yes…My lord!"
The woman smiled-, well, grinned in return, her expression a perfect mirror of what Ventuswould usually have.
Of course, she was him, after all.
Yep, heard that right.
"Ho? Damn, you knew it was me from just my looks? Holy hell." He-, she emphasized a bit on her 'looks', since, she was admittedly quite proud of how this body turned out to be.
After all, if she had to choose to migrate his soul into that of a female, a child, and a twin-headed hyena, it'd be a universal constant for her to always pick the first choice. Even if the extra asset did hinder her movements slightly.
And 'sides, he-, she was about to get slaughtered by that monstrous beast back in the graveyard, so it wasn't like she had much time to debate which one she wanted to jump into.
A~nyways, explaining a bit,
If Takeyama hadn't made this clear enough, Ventus wasn't exactly human, per se. That wasn't saying much, since even the humans of Gamindustri displayed some unhuman-like powers without much effort.
He-, she (Damn, that's confusing) was a…not exactly a CPU, but not a human either. Saying that she was a god would be the most appropriate choice.
What god she was, it wasn't quite clear, even to herself, but she at least knew that she had an obsessive love of creating things, blacksmithing, cooking, knitting, anything that involved him using his brain to make something really.
And at one time in history, she decided, 'Hey, why not make more bodies for myself?' Seeing as death was pretty common, she made several copies of her body, even made some different alterations along the way. Which, if you hadn't pieced by now, was why there was a female version.
Explanation done!
Although…it was quite unnerving to have a fully-grown man, a priest no less, kneeling before her and clasping his hands together in prayer, small traces of tears forming in his eyes as he looked upon his literal goddess.
It was…embarrassing.
She wasn't too sure if changing bodies also altered a bit of her personality (since it's quite clear that her usual quirky side's not going anywhere), but that didn't detract too much from her anyways.
It also didn't help that her left arm was still as useless as ever. It's healed, sure, but even a small application of her wind barrier thing would leave it all bloody again. Which sucked. She didn't realise she had a small pout on her face when she stared at her left arm.
Now, enough dillydallying, it's time to go and rescue her comrades!
And before that,
I need some clothes…
Now, just to stop any worrisome thoughts some might have in their heads, no, this is not going to be permanent. As Ventus said him/herself, she could jump bodies, but just chose his female body over the other choices.
But enough of that. First! I should've done this a while a go, but I kept on forgetting. So, I am a fan of the Neptunia series, just that my memory can get pretty shitty and checking every single forum and wiki (The wiki still has many holes too) would just get tiring for me. Therefore, if there are any mistakes/changes to the plot and story, just think of it as my own twist.
Anyways, enough from me. See you soon!