A short author's note, but I wanna get this chapter started as quickly as possible, since it's gonna be one hell of a ride!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic. They're the property of their respective creators.
Note: Any made-up cards/skills will be underlined and will get their effects explained in their introductory chapters.
Chapter 36: The end of the Divine Powers?
Hunters Association HQ: Two days later
The atmosphere in the room was abuzz with the sound of chatter from dozens of hunters, all asking each other regarding the purpose of this sudden meeting. Included among the crowd were Astolfo and his gang, with Ame and Nora tagging along in the hopes of rescuing Damien from Krishna's grasp, the former of the two having a good idea what the meeting was about. A couple minutes later, Fujiwara and Skins entered the room and made their way to the front of the room, with everyone present paying rapt attention to them.
"Thank you all for coming, my apologies for the sudden meeting." Fujiwara apologised to the crowd. "As you may have heard, the Divine Powers suffered a major loss when Tressa openly expressed her betrayal to the world, revealing his master plan in the process. Though this means we're up against another enemy faction, at least they crippled the Divine Powers for us."
"Krishna's so caught up in damage control that we've been able to reclaim several districts from his grasp. I think it's about time we put a stop to him once and for all!" Skins called out, with the hunters yelling and hollering in ecstasy. "As we're speaking, Flynn and Isabeau are busy rallying up the strongest hunters around to prepare for an all-out assault on Tsukiji Kongangi."
"But it's not all good news, the angels heard about our planned assault; that damned Toiletbowl wants its samurai to hog all the glory. I have faith that all of you will prevail in the end and give the angels a run for their money. That is all for now, you may leave to prepare." Fujiwara concluded, with the hunters giving him one last cheer before leaving to prepare for the assault, as Astolfo and his group opted to discuss a few things with the two men.
"Nice speech, a shame that Toiletbowl's trying to ruin our fun. But enough about that, why'd you call us here?" Astolfo inquired.
"We need you to sneak in the temple itself and take out the Divine Powers, while they're distracted by Flynn's assault. I heard rumors that one of you managed to infiltrate the temple a while ago." Fujiwara informed them.
"Yeah, that'll be me. It wasn't that much of an infiltration, so I doubt my knowledge will be that helpful." Sothe admitted, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"Any intel is better than no intel." Skins replied. "You'll be joined by our 3rd highest ranking hunter, a young protégé by the name of Nanashi; he's got plenty of experience dealing with demons." The muscular man continued, gesturing at a young kid, no older than 15 to join them.
"Ah…you must be those Starlight Studio fellas…nice to meet you." Nanashi introduced himself, a creepy smirk on his face, his glowing green eyes locked onto the heroes.
"Y-Yeah…nice to meet you." Chevalier replied nervously, a little taken aback by Nanashi's confrontational tone. "So what do you suggest we do?"
"Hahahahaha! I happen to know of a secret route to the tunnels under Tsukiji Kongangi. We can go through there and catch Krishna off-guard, putting an end to that tosser once and for all." Nanashi explained, giddy with his plan.
"Nice; we can get the drop on him and watch the samurai act like complete fools in the process!" Boudica voiced her support but was met with Nanashi's look of disapproval.
"No, no. We'll use their leader as a scapegoat, I've worked with that pompous braggart before." Nanashi suggested, smirking that same creepy smirk. "Oh have I got plans for him…" He chuckled, walking away from the group to do his own business.
"He seems charming…" Ame told the two leaders, though the heroes could tell she wasn't being truthful. "That said, would you have any issues if we tried bringing Damien back with us? We've got something he'll want to see."
"Fine by us." Fujiwara answered, taking a small sip of coffee. "I assume you want to show him what really happened to his mother?"
"Yes, turns out Jaern forged her death certificate; Audrey isn't dead." Nora answered. "I've got a few friends searching the region for any signs of her."
"That's good to hear; taking Krishna's Godslayer away from him will be salt in the wound, I love it." Skins chuckled, crossing his arms. "I assume you have no issues with the plan."
"No, none at all." Micaiah answered curtly.
"Good, then you may leave to prepare. However, we would like Ame and Nora to stay behind so they can help monitor the assault with us." Fujiwara informed the heroes.
"I can live with that; the rest of you may leave to prepare for the assault." Ame agreed, dismissing Astolfo and his group so they can prepare for tomorrow.
Tsukiji Kongangi: The very next day
The heroes arrived at the scene and were witnessing the definition of chaos; from all sides they could see hunters fighting against agents of the Divine Powers, with the angels and demons joining in on the slaughter. The streets were caked in so much blood, that it'll be nigh impossible to clean.
"O-Oh my…" Chevalier squeaked to himself, resisting the urge to vomit on the spot. "We should get a move on as soon as possible."
"Y-Yeah…I don't wanna watch this any longer than I have to." Blair agreed, her face paling at the gruesome spectacle.
"Oh please, I thought you lot were made of sterner stuff." A hasty voice called out, a familiar figure walking up to them, with Nanashi gazing at the newcomer.
"Ah, Gaston…I was wondering when you'd show up." The young man commented casually, irritating the samurai.
"Oh shut your trap! I'm not letting you steal MY glory again. I shall be the one who ends the Divine Powers, while you lot can act as my cheerleaders, it's a most prestigious honor I'm bestowing onto you." Gaston retorted, puffing his chest out.
"Whatever keeps you up at night…" Boudica commented snidely, making sure the pompous braggart didn't hear it. "Anyway, where was that secret route you mentioned earlier, Nanashi?"
"See that statue over there?" The young man pointed to a bronze statue of a four-armed deity besides the bridge. "Press the plaque hard enough, and the statue'll move, revealing the hidden entrance."
"Is that so…?" Gaston inquired, grabbing Sothe by the scruff of his neck and pushing him towards the statue. "You; do what the kid says, now."
"Ok, ok. No need to push me." Sothe snapped at the samurai, who snorted in response.
"I would do it, but the entrance could be booby-trapped. And out of all the people here, YOU'RE the most disposable." Gaston repled coldly, with Sothe grumbling to himself before pressing down on the plaque. The statue creaked and groaned as the base slowly shifted away, revealing a trapdoor on the ground. "Huh, it wasn't booby-trapped…guess that's good I suppose."
"It's a damn good thing there was no trap; if Sothe had gotten injured, or worse, I'll end your miserable life!" Micaiah snapped at Gaston, glaring dangerously at him.
"No need to get angry; the boy is still alive, though I question why you care so much about some street rat." The samurai sneered, marching towards the trapdoor and opened it, climbing down below to the underground tunnels. Astolfo and his group wearily looked at one another, before opting to follow Gaston down the ladder, with Nanashi following behind them, closing the door once he was down.
0000
As one would expect from a series of underground tunnels, they were dark, damp and cramped. The heroes had to get on their hands and knees to crawl through the tunnels, with Gaston moaning about how his uniform's all dirty now. Nanashi continued to dawdle behind, something which the heroes found somewhat odd.
"Any reason why Nanashi's falling behind? I don't wan the guy to get lost down here." Roland inquired.
"Perhaps his teenage hormones got the better of him, and he's deciding to check us out." Boudica suggesting, wincing slightly as she felt the sensation of wet moss rub up against her hand. "I swear if he tries something, I'll put a boot up his ass."
"Well if he wants to see some ass, I'll be more than happy to indulge him." Astolfo giggled, lifting up his skirt so that everyone behind him got a good look at his juicy backside.
"Compose yourself, you degenerate pervert!" Gaston snapped, the young man in a foul mood.
"Why, you jealous about how much nicer my ass is than yours?" The pinkette teased, causing the samurai to splutter in rage while Blair chuckled loudly in response. "Hey look, we're almost out of these tunnels!"
"About time, I'm getting tired of crawling around like a rat." Sothe sighed in relief, as the group emerged from the tunnels and appeared in what looked like an underground arena, with several caged doors lining the walls. "Where are we…?"
"Ohohohohoho! It's your new grave, sonny!" the voice of an old man echoed throughout the arena, as a demon appeared out of nowhere and confronted the heroes. "Well, it's been quite some time since we last met, eh?"
"Zhong Kui! It's about time we dealt with you." Micaiah declared boldly, pointing at the demon. "You will pay for brainwashing Damien that day!"
"Oh I didn't brainwash him, I just showed him his mother's death certificate. No deceptive practises whatsoever." The demon countered the accusations.
"Oh yeah? Then what do you say about this?!" The silver-haired maiden retorted, showing him copies of the proof Ame showed her the other day. Zhong Kui stepped closer and took a closer look at the documents, before handing them back to Micaiah.
"Huh…guess I was lied to that day. Ah well, it still doesn't change anything whatsoever. I shall put a stop to you right here, right now." Zhong Kui declared, bringing out his duel disk.
"If it's a challenge you want, it's a challenge you'll get! Chevalier stepped up to the plate, bringing out his own duel disk. "If I win, you'll hand over the Relic you stole from us that day!"
"The Diamond Earring…? Alright then, guess there's no harm in wagering it if it's a duel that you can't win." Zhong Kui agreed to the terms, a confident smirk on his senile face.
"Duel!" Both combatants called out, drawing their opening hands.
Chevalier: 4000
Zhong Kui: 4000
"Allow me to make the first move; I'll set a monster facedown and end my turn with a card facedown." Chevalier calmly replied, leaving everyone surprised at his barebones turn.
"Guess he must've bricked hard…" Sothe suggested.
"And what was that pitiful display?! I could've wiped out that demon on the very first turn!" Gaston snorted, disgusted by the pitiful display he just witnessed.
"Ohohohohohoho! I wouldn't be sure about that. It's my turn." Zhong Kui chuckled, drawing his card. "I'll activate my newly acquired Diamond Core of Koa'ki Meiru, enabling to add any Koa'ki Meiru card of my choice. And I've got the perfect choice for the situation; Iron Core Specimen Lab." The demon continued, activating his field spell.
"Uh-oh…this is not good. Not good at all." Astolfo paled, upon the field getting transformed from an arena, to a dark, underground laboratory.
"Hmmm? Is something the matter?" Boudica inquired.
"Koa'ki Meiru is a powerful deck, designed to counter decks that heavily rely on LIGHT and DARK monsters; some of those archetypes include Dark World, Vampire, D/D/D, Lightsworn, Blackwing, Prophecy—" Astolfo began his explanation.
"My god, this guy can theoretically sweep us all!" Sothe exclaimed, with Gaston snorting in response.
"Pah, my deck has no reason to fear such trivial garbage." He snorted arrogantly.
"Not exactly; they can also sweep your Vylons without breaking a sweat." The pinkette giggled, with the samurai glaring at him in response.
"Where was I? Oh yes, I'll summon Koa'ki Meiru Urnight in Attack Mode, and activate his effect to special summon Koa'ki Meiru Crusader." Zhong Kui continued, with the bulky warrior shuffling from one of the lab chambers to a designated monster zone next to the armoured centaur. "Now I'll have Crusader destroy your facedown monster, attack!"
The armoured knight barrelled towards the facedown, monster, plunging its sword through it as a spectral wolf emerged from it and attacked Urnight, the centaur groaning in pain as it was destroyed. "Thanks, Ryko. Your sacrifice won't be in vain." Chevalier smiled, milling the designated cards. "And what a surprise I've got here; thanks to her effect I can summon Felis, Lightsworn Archer in Defense Mode!"
"Hoo-he! That's quite the comeback, sonny." The deity chuckled heartily. "Crusader's effect activates, enabling me to reclaim any Koa'ki Meiru card from my graveyard, like my Diamond Core. Then I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."
"I assume you know about your monsters' drawbacks?" The petite blonde inquired.
"Indeed I do; in fact it's what my skill's about, sonny. Behold, Emergency Core Repairs!" Zhong Kui boldly declares, his deck glowing a faint white. "Whenever I'm required to pay maintenance cost for my Koa'kis, I can send or reveal cards from my deck as well as my hand, like so…" He continued, revealing a second copy of Crusader from his deck.
"Unbelievable…he has a skill that circumvents the decks main weakness." Micaiah muttered, curious on how Chevalier will respond to this new development.
"Not bad, but I've got plenty of trick up my sleeves. I draw." Chevalier called out, drawing his next card. "I'll summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner and activate her effect. By discarding a card, I can summon another Lightsworn monster, like the one I just discarded; Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid!"
The graceful woman uttered a prayer, with the stocky man rising up from the grave, clutching his book firmly, with the gears slowly clicking in Chevalier's mind. "Then I'll play my trap card Sixth Sense; my numbers will be 2 and 6, thank you very much."
Intrigued by the bold play, Zhong Kui activated the digital dice on his duel disk and rolled it, a 2 showing up as the result. "Heh, lucky guess."
"Oh it wouldn't have mattered anyway; now allow me to show you my newest friend. I'll tune Aurkus and Lumina to Felis in order to Synchro Summon the mighty Ascension Sky Dragon!" Chevalier boldly declared, the majestic dragon descending onto the field and let out a mighty roar.
"Wow…when'd you get that kickass dragon?" Blair inquired, staring in awe at the massive beast.
"I've had this for a while now, but added it into my Extra Deck recently. If you want, we can do a bit of trading after all this is done." Chevalier answered, flashing her a peace symbol with the young girl accepting the proposal.
"Heh, that's a neat card you got out there. Can't wait to crush it in battle." Zhong Kui called out, eager to fight the powerful dragon.
"Oh you can try, but my dragon has quite the powerful effect; when it gets summoned, it gains 800ATK for every card in my hand at the time, and I count four." The blonde man began.
ATK (0-3200)
"Battle! Ascension Sky Dragon, destroy his Crusader; Draconic Blast!" Chevalier called out, the serpentine dragon charging up a ball of energy, launching it at the warrior who was instantly vaporised.
Zhong Kui: 2700
"I'll set a card facedown and end my turn. It's your move…" The petite man smirked confidently, with the ancient warrior chuckling heartily in response.
"Hahaha! That was some attack you pulled off; which'll make my comeback all the more spectacular, I draw!" Zhong Kui called out, drawing his next card."I'll activate my facedown card, Core Reinforcement to bring back my Urnight. Then I'll activate its effect to special summon Koa'ki Meiru War Arms from my deck, and normal summon Koa'ki Meiru Sea Panther from my hand, before tributing them to XYZ summon Number 103 Ragnazero!"
"A Number card?!" Astolfo gasped in shock. "Where'd get one of those?"
"Number cards? But I thought those were banned for being way too powerful." Sothe chimed in.
"Quit cowering like a child; it's just a card!" Gaston snorted, impatiently waiting for the duel to end.
"Oh it's no ordinary card laddie; by using an XYZ material, I can destroy a monster whose current ATK is different from its original ATK." The deity retorted, as one of the energy balls dove into the fairy's curved sword, with it firing a beam of light towards Chevalier's dragon.
"Not so fast! I activate Sky Dragon's second effect; if it were to be destroyed, it is returned to the Extra Deck instead, then I get to special summon all the monsters that were tributed for its Synchro Summon!" Chevalier retorted, the dragon disappearing in a ray of light, with the three Lightsworns making their grandiose return.
"How intriguing…but I won't let you summon it on your next turn. Ragnazero, destroy his Lumina. Urnight, destroy his Aurkus!" Zhong Kui ordered, the fairy lunging towards the spellcaster and bisected her, dealing a decent amount of damage, followed up by the centaur crushing his foe.
Chevalier: 2600
"I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn." The deity concluded his turn, using his skill to fulfil the cost of his cards, with Chevalier wiping the dust off his face.
"Better make a comeback soon, or I'm toast. I draw." He mused to himself, drawing his next card. "I'll activate Charge of the Light Brigade, a card I'm sure you're all familiar with." He continued, adding his chosen card after paying the cost, with two, massive humanoid wolves emerging from the graveyard and stared down their opponent, a vicious snarl etched on their faces.
"Now that's what I'd call a lucky break." Boudica smiled, with Gaston rolling his eyes in disgust.
"Next I'll summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin in attack mode and use Monster Reborn to special summon Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter! But that's not all; I'll tribute Jain, Ryko and my first Wulf to LINK summon Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion, then I'll follow up by tributing Felis and Wulf to synchro summon Light End Dragon!" The blonde man continued, milling a card with Curious' effect, a second Felis being special summoned from the graveyard via its effect. "Next I'll activate my facedown Back to the Front to special summon Jain, enabling me to tribute her and my second Felis to special summon Avenging Knight Parshath!"
"Now this is what I've been yearning for; a challenger giving me a run for my money!" Zhong Kui cackled with glee.
"I'll be happy to indulge you then; Light End Dragon, attack his Ragnazero. Parshath, attack his Urnight!" Chevalier began, the two heavenly beings charging at their foes and destroyed them effortlessly.
Zhong Kui: 1900
"Now, Curious; time to end this—" the petite blonde began.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Shrink. This ought to save my hide." Zhong Kui called out, surviving the direct attack.
ATK (2400-1200)
Zhong Kui: 700
"I'll end my turn with a card facedown, during which, Curious' attack goes back to normal." Chevalier concluded his turn.
ATK (1200-2400)
"I must say, you've been the most enjoyable opponent I've faced in a long time. It's a shame that we're on opposing sides." The deity mused to the heroes.
"Yeah, you seem like a nice guy despite your bosses being anti-fangame bigots." Astolfo replied, with Zhong Kui letting out a quick chuckle.
"I myself don't think your games are a hinderance to our plans, but who am I to question Krishna's will? That said, I'll draw!" He declared, drawing his next card and gazed at it. "Perfect…just what the doctor ordered?"
"Come again?" Chevalier inquired.
"Allow me to make the comeback of the century; first I'll activate another Core Reinforcement to bring back my Urnight once more, using his effect to special Koa'ki Meiru Overload. But they won't be around for long, as I tribute them to summon Koa'ki Meiru Valafar in attack mode. Furthermore, I'll banish an Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru to special summon Koa'ki Meiru Maximus, using his effect to destroy your Curious. Finally, I'll activate Core Overclock to grant a 500ATK boost to all my Koa'ki Meiru monsters.
ATK (3000-3500)
ATK (3000-3500)
"Oh no…" Chevalier cried out in fear, with Zhong Kui puffing his chest out in pride.
"Time to end this; Maximus, Valafar destroy both his monsters!" The deity called out, with the two massive titans charging at the heavenly beings, crushing them with their sheer, overwhelming strength.
"GWAAAAHHHH!" Chevalier cried out in pain, as he was flung back to the ground by the resulting shockwave, before barely managing to get up off his feet.
Chevalier: 800
"I'm impressed you lived that assault. But it'll all end on my next turn, it's your move." Zhong Kui called out, paying the required cost for his cards.
'It all depends on this next draw…I have to win this, I must!' Chevalier thought to himself, reaching for his deck and drawing his next card, quietly gazing at it. "I'll activate my facedown card, Poison of the Old Man, in order to recover 1200 Lifepoints."
Chevalier: 2000
"Pffft, what kind of pathetic card was that?! Surely you aren't throwing in the towel to this demon?" Gaston inquired incredulously.
"Oh, it was a necessary step, especially when I special summon my Judgement Dragon!" The petite blonde inquired, a nervous expression appearing on Zhong Kui's face.
"Aah!" The deity cried out in fear, recognising the dragon's mighty power.
"I see you already know of my dragon's power; guess I won't have to explain it then." Chevalier commented, wincing in pain from the lifepoint cost as the dragon unleashed a mighty roar, destroying every other card on the field.
Chevalier: 1000
"B-But that means—" Gaston spluttered, with Nanashi finally raising an eyebrow in a hint of intrigue at the duel.
"Yep, it's time to end this! Judgement Dragon, lay waste to your enemy!" Chevalier called out, the massive dragon flying into the air and fired a massive beam of energy at the deity, who cried out in pain as his lifepoints dropped down to zero.
Zhong Kui: 0
Winner: Chevalier
"Alright! Way to go Chevvie!" Blair cheered, with the other heroes, sans Gaston and Nanashi joining in one the celebrations. Zhong Kui scoffed at himself in annoyance for his failure to stop the heroes, as red cracks soon showed up on his body.
"Ah…so this is the price I pay for failure…" He muttered sadly to himself, gesturing for Chevalier to come over to him, the deity handing him a small jewellery box. "Here, as I promised before the duel."
"Thanks." Chevalier smiled, checking to see if the earring was still alright. "Yep, just as it was before it got stolen."
"I sense great potential in you and your friends, young man. Perhaps humanity can survive without gods and demons…but please, don't let that Tressa lass go through with her scheme, or this all would've been for nothing…" Zhong Kui parted some last tidbits of wisdom, before his body exploded into millions of tiny pieces.
"Not gonna lie, I'll miss that guy. He seemed to be one of the nicer members…" Micaiah commented to herself.
"Such is the price of war…" Nanashi interjected, pointing over to a door that just opened. "Now are we going to end this or not?"
"Oh I'M gonna end this; no way am I going to let any of you tossers steal MY glory." Gaston snorted, running over to the door in a complete frenzy.
"H-Hey, wait up!" Astolfo called out, with his group quickly following behind as Nanashi watched them go, a sinister smirk on his face.
"Hehehe…it's time to spring the trap." He muttered, his eyes glowing bright green.
Tsukiji Kongangi: Ritual Room
The room was small, dark and incredibly musty, as if it hadn't been used for several years. Standing upright in the rooms center, Damien was tied to a wooden cross, crucified for some odd reason, a look of confusion and fear on his pale face, the young man weak from hunger. Meanwhile, Krishna was frantically pacing up and down the room with his co-patriots eyeing him up wearily.
"This is absurd! How is he not attaining his true form?! I followed the ritual to the letter, even going above and beyond, but nothing's happening!" Krishna ranted, kicking an empty box aside. "Between Tressa's betrayal, and this botched ritual, nothing's been in our favour for the last couple days!"
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems that Zhong Kui has been bested by the fangame dealers; that makes it two relics they've reclaimed." Maitreya added, with the Hindu deity snorting in disgust.
"Great, just great. More bad news to throw onto the pile." He retorted, bitter over the new turn of events.
"Fret not, the fangame junkies shall be slain by my hand." Odin pledged, with the door to the room swinging wide open, the heroes storming into the cramped room. "Speak of the devil…"
"D-Damian!" Micaiah cried out in shock upon seeing his weakened form, turning to glare at the deities. "What have you down with him, you monsters?!"
"Him? Oh we tried helping him attain salvation, but it seems he's resisting our noble efforts. That, or he's not our Godslayer at all. Either way, he's useless to us now…" Krishna casually commented.
"So you're just gonna toss him aside after poisoning his mind with lies that you ordered Jaern to produce? Some "benevolent" deity you are." Boudica scoffed in disgust.
"Your words mean nothing to us; we should be able to do anything we want to our worshippers; such is the law that all demons, gods and angels follow." Maitreya retorted.
"Enough of your lies! I shall cut you down where you stand!" Gaston called out, pointing his spear at the deities.
"Do you want a—" Sothe began.
"Shut the hell up and stand back! This is my fight, I'm not letting anyone else steal MY glory!" The Crusader snapped harshly, with Odin chuckling at the arrogant tosser.
"I'll be more than happy to take you up on your challenge. I shall determine if you are worthy of Valhalla." Odin accepted, bringing out his Gungnir and pointed it at the samurai.
"…come again?" Gaston inquired, a puzzled look on his face.
"The highest honor for a warrior is to arrive at the gates of Valhalla upon their death. The fact that you don't know about it raises questions as to whether you really are a capable warrior or not…" Odin answered, his stealth taunt infuriating the samurai.
"Grrrrr, I'll kill you for that!" Gaston roared, his ego wounded by the taunt as he lunged at the deity in a blind fury. Odin effortlessly parried the attack, sending the samurai flying back a few feet, with Gaston charging once more, dodging the incoming attack and started striking Odin's legs with his spear…but it was doing very little damage to the deity.
"He's shrugging them off as if they were small flies…" Blair commented to herself.
"G-Gaston, let us help you!" Chevalier pleaded, the samurai ignoring his words.
"I told you, I can do this myself!" He hissed back.
"If you've got the energy to bicker with your friends, then you can put more effort into your attacks!" Odin called out, delivering a swift kick to Gaston, pushing him back a few feet. Enraged, he opted to charged once more at the deity, who dodged the attack and charged his spear full of electricity, before firing a bolt at the samurai, striking him dead on as electricity coursed through his body, the warrior letting out a cry of pain before collapsing to the ground, weakly kneeling before the deity.
"Ugh! I-I won't die here…" Gaston hissed weakly. "M-My spear can still do something…"
"If you still think your spear can do something, then impale yourself with it, to spare yourself the humiliation." Odin told him, contempt in his voice as he soon uttered the worst thing a dying warrior could ever hear. "You, you are not worth of Valhalla…"
"No…No! I-I can't die here…M-My Crusaders will…save me…" Gaston cried out weakly, before falling facedown onto the floor and left the realm of the living.
"And as the humans like saying, you left him in the oven for too long." Maitreya lightened up the atmosphere with some dark humor, the heroes left utterly stunned by what they just saw. Though he was rather arrogant, they still thought that he was very talented and didn't deserve to die in such a brutal fashion. Remembering what the came here for, Astolfo made a beeline for the prisoner, with Roland and Boudica helping him free the weakened Damien.
"Ugh…w-where am I?" The young man inquired, with Roland and Boudica hoisting him up on his feet, an arm around his shoulders.
"We're here to rescue you; that and we've got some good news about your mom, she's not dead!" Roland smiled at him, the white-haired youth's ears perking up.
"R-Really?! She's not dead?" Damien double checked with the heroes.
"Yep, you can double-check with Ame once we arrive back at base. I'm sure they'll be delighted to see you again." Boudica replied, the group of four walking back to their group.
"Yeah…I guess I should apologise for causing them all this trouble…" Damian chuckled weakly, with Krishna just noticing what was happening.
"H-Hey! Give me back my Godlsayer!" He demanded.
"Hah! That's what you get for spreading your anti-fangame bigotry. We all know the real reason you hate them." Astolfo retorted, poking his tongue out at them.
"Why you—" Krishna began, before taking a deep breath and starting over again. "Fine, you caught me. I opposed the fangames due to the amount of strong female characters in them; such empowerment is an insult to the old gods and everything we stand for."
"Hah! I knew I was right; shame on you for brainwashing—" The pinkette began.
"That was sarcasm you incomprehensible bint! My god, are all the fangame addicts double-digit IQ mongoloids?! You randomly get outraged over such trivial garbage it's a miracle you twits even know how to breathe!" Krishna ranted.
"What's the matter Krishna, fangame's got your tongue?" A familiar voice echoed through the halls, with the deity in question immediately recognising the voice. What followed was the arrival of Nanashi, his eye's glowing green as a sinister smirk was plastered on his face. "I gotta give my puppet some credit; he got that insolent samurai killed, makes my job easier."
"You took your time getting here, Dagda." Maitreya replied, with the deity emerging from Nanashi's phone and stood beside his puppet.
"W-Wait, what's going on here?!" Blair inquired, confused at the new turn of events.
"Isn't it obvious? Dagda has betrayed the both of us; his followers got several hunters killed in an ambush." Krishna sneered, with the heroes turning to face Nanashi, horrified looks on their faces.
"H-How could you…?" Chevalier inquired quietly.
"Easy, Dagda and I concocted a way to deal with the Divine Powers and the Hunter Association once and for all; they were both in our way and needed to be dealt with. Of course, I didn't expect the fangame peddlers to show up, but they're naught but kindle to the Cult."
"The Cult…you mean you're with the Cult of Kosmos?!" Micaiah exclaimed, with Nanashi laughing maniacally.
"No, not quite. I'm referring to the Freedom Cult; a group that we founded in order to help humanity achieve true freedom, a universe where humans are not the slaves of gods, demons and angels." The young man proudly boasted. "And if I have to destroy your fangames to achieve said dream, then so be it."
"Quite the enthusiastic kid, ain't he?" Dagda commented casually, with Odin glaring at his former comrade.
"Is this true Dagda? Are you really betraying the old gods for whatever scheme you concocted with this brat?" Odin demanded an answer.
"I didn't betray you; after all, it implies I was on your side to begin with." Dagda retorted. "Besides, we've got bigger things to worry about than pointless video games."
"You insolent vermin!" Odin roared, pointing his spear at Dagda. "I will make you pay for your treachery against the old gods. We will ensure that you're forgotten for all eternity!"
"You say that as if I care about being remembered;" Dadga ignored his former comrade's rant, as the tv screen in the room suddenly crackled to life, with Jaern on the other end.
"K-Krishna…we need to talk…" Jaern spoke in his high-pitched voice, alerting the deity of his presence.
"Oh what do you want now?" Krishna inquired, clearly not in the mood for any more nonsense.
"I've talked it over with my comrades; we've decided to quit the Divine Powers and join up with Tressa's gang. You haven't been keeping up your end of the deal, so there's no reason for us to stand under your banner anymore. Make no mistake, we will get revenge for what they did to us, without your help whatsoever." Jaern explained, quickly shutting the feed off on his end, a livid expression appearing on Krishna's face.
"Ouch, that's got to hurt…" Dagda rubbed some salt in the wound, with Nanashi looking back and noticing that the heroes were gone.
"Dagda, they left without us, no doubt ratting us out to the Hunter Association." Nanashi informed his puppetmaster.
"Not a problem, we'll catch up to them while Krishna's busy. Besides, I know a way we can get out of this situation alive. You'll just have to do as you're told, kid." Dagda replied, hopping back into Nanashi's phone, with the twisted youth making the arduous trek back out the temple.
Talk about a plot twist and a half; that was one hell of a chapter. I tried to imitate the botched raid on Tsukiji Kongangi from the game, but with a few surprises of my own. The next two or so chapters will be slow, but that's just to build up for something major that I'm sure you'll like. Catch you all latter, peeps!
Astolfo's group:
Astolfo
Roland
Chevalier D'eon
Boudica
Blair Flannigan
Micaiah
Sothe
Jack Frost
Dawn Brigade:
Micaiah
Sothe
Nolan
Edward
Leonardo
Laura
Aran
Ilyana
Meg
Pelleas (not an actual member, but is a close associate of them)
Pokemon Fangame Community/Starlight Studios:
Ame (W.I.A)
Kymmi
Cain
Aya (Pearl Hairpin reclaimed)
Hardy (Reborn)
Titania
Amaria (Sapphire Bracelet stolen)
Julia
Alice
Charlotte (Diamond Earring reclaimed)
Laura (Not associated with the Fire Emblem Laura)
Saphira
Luna (Emerald Brooch stolen)
Serra
Bennett
Adrienn
Anna/Nostra (Amethyst Pendant stolen)
Noel/Nomos
Radomus
Corey
Heather (Ruby Ring stolen)
Shelly
Dr. Connal
Melia
Venam
Saki
Amber
Aelita
Nim
Erin
Crescent
Ren
Maria/Mariannette
Valerie
Scarlett
Shiv
Aurora
Garret
Richard
Rosetta
Hardy (Desolation) (K.I.A)
Amelia
Nora
Damien
The MS Loyalist Army:
General Nikita
Perche
Ami
Ulala
Marco
Tarma
Eri
Fio
Grazia
Loretta
Norah
Allies:
Sanaki
Sephrian
Oliver
Clover
Light
Akame
Kurome
Fujiwara
Skins
Commissioner Gordon
The Forces of Heaven:
Merkabah/Jonathan
Gaston (K.I.A)
The Forces of Hell:
Lucifer/Walter
Plasma Tech:
Ghetsis Harmonia
N/Natural Harmonia Gropius
Anthea
Concordia
The Divine Powers:
Krishna
Odin
Maitreya
Zhong Kui (Defeated)
Medusa (Defeated)
Loki
Quetzalcoatl
Seth
Baal
Elysion
Alma
Amber
Izabella
Aisha
HMT (K.I.A)
Beecham (K.I.A)
Aswang (K.I.A)
Agalia (K.I.A)
Arsinoe (K.I.A)
Halle (K.I.A)
Mahiru (K.I.A)
Chunyan (K.I.A)
Molly (K.I.A)
Ichima (K.I.A)
Louise (K.I.A)
Gisee (K.I.A)
Emma (K.I.A)
Franke (K.I.A)
Teresa (K.I.A)
Julia (MS) (K.I.A)
The Divine Conspiracy:
Tressa Colzione/The Grandmaster
Ophilia Clement
Cyrus Albright
Olberic Eisenberg
Primrose Azelhart
Alfyn Greengrass
Therion
H'aanit
Shesha
Missy (Defeated)
Harold (Defeated)
Bandit Keith (Defeated)
Flamvell Dilly (Defeated)
Maximillion Pegasus
Varis
Specter
Lekain (K.I.A)
Hetzel (K.I.A)
Valtome (K.I.A)
Numida (K.I.A)
Jarod (K.I.A)
Tayama (Left the group and has gone solo)
General Wolfgang (K.I.A)
Big Smoke
Ryder
Sweet Johnson
Carl 'CJ' Johnson
Niko Bellic
Roman Bellic
Johnny Klebitz
Mario (CEO of Nintendo)
Gentarou Hongou
Nagisa Nijisaki
Teruaki Kubota
Kagechika Musashidou
Dio (Zero Escape: VLR)
Senator Armstrong
Admiral Greyfield
Anvil (K.I.A)
Meathook (K.I.A)
Colt (K.I.A)
Greasy Steve (K.I.A)
King Dick
Triple 6
Pretty Boy
Caesar (Ride to Hell)
Junko Enoshima
Yasuke Matsuda
Mukuro Ikusaba
Nagito Komaeda
Yuuto Akimaya
Jaern
Zenith
Professor Maple
Lin
Sirius
Blake (P.O.W)
Cal (P.O.W)
Fern
Madame X
Nastasia
Madelis
Neved
Geara
Professor Larkspur
Rick (K.I.A)
Professor Gobline
Radius (K.I.A)
Redi
Sam (K.I.A)
Elia (K.I.A)
Lavius
Lavia
Baron
Connor
Texan (K.I.A)
The Joker
Harley Quinn
The Riddler
Two-Face
Bane (Arrested)
Mr. Freeze
The Penguin
Mr. Zsasz
Clayface
Killer Croc
Deathstroke
Deadshot
Firefly
The Electrocutioner
Shiva
Maxie Zeus
The Mad Hatter
The Ratcatcher
Hush
Scarface
The Ventriloquist
Killer Moth
Scarecrow
Black Mask
Prometheus
The Great White Shark
The Calendar Man
Ra's al Ghul
Talia al Ghul
Poison Ivy
Professor Strange
The Freedom Cult:
Dagda
Nanashi