Irina and Xenovia moved carefully through the rows of inert soldiers. The armor they were wearing appeared to be made out of an advanced polymer and looked quite state of the art. Not to mention the sleek, high powered rifles each one of them was holding.
"Why aren't they moving?" Irina asked curiously.
"I think they're on standby...either way best not wake them up."
She nodded in agreement and the duo continued to make their way through the warehouse to another door. Inside, they found a smaller room containing rows of monolith computers.
"Any clue what this is?" Xenovia asked.
"If I had to guess, this is some sort of data storage room. These look like hard drives."
"Think you can access them with that P'own Box of yours?"
Irina shrugged. "Possibly. We just need to find some sort of computer terminal."
"Over here." Xenovia pointed to an access terminal a couple yards away and the duo approached. Irina quickly hacked into the system and began pulling up files.
"So what am I looking for exactly?"
"I don't know. Schematics regarding the layout of the Nexus might be a good start." She offered.
Irina began combing through data files before finding one that seemed to be the correct document. "Okay. I'll save it to Box's hard drive. Is there anything else?"
Xenovia thought for a moment. "Any information they have on the Vatican."
She frowned. "O...okay." After making another search query Irina was blasted with a giant cache of data files containing information on the Vatican. "Woah…"
"Anything stand out?"
"There's a lot here." She admitted. "It would take days to sort through all of this...hang on."
"What is it?"
Irina inputted more commands on the console. "There's a datacache here that's been separated from the others by a firewall. I'm trying to bypass it now." She cast a squirrely gaze at the document cache that pulled up. "That's strange...these look like biblical verses."
Xenovia quirked her head up in intrigue. "Download those as well."
"Why? Shouldn't we be finding information on their plans for the Holy-"
"Just do it." She insisted.
Irina shrugged. "Fine. Just know I don't have a lot of storage space on this thing, so we shouldn't-"
At that moment an alarm started blaring on the console.
"Well that can't be good…" Xenovia cautiously drew her SMG.
"Dammit! The systems being wiped clean!" Irina began furiously punching commands into the console.
"Just save as much as you can and let's get moving." Her partner insisted.
"Should only take a minute."
Back in the warehouse, every single soldier suddenly flipped on. A single red light illuminating the center of their helmets. One by one they began jumping from their pods and arming their rifles.
"Irina, we need to move." Xenovia warned severely as she braced herself by the door.
"Working as fast as I can!"
The soldiers began marching towards the server room door with their weapons at the ready. Xenovia popped out of cover and fired her SMG at the nearest troop. The bullets ricocheted off its armor harmlessly as it aimed its weapon and returned fire. Bolts of blue plasma flew from the rifle with a metallic thud, dissolving everything they hit.
Xenovia whirled back in to cover. Just barely avoiding a stream of blue plasma bolts as they went merrily whizzing by her, hitting the monitors in the server room.
"Irina! Now!"
"I've got it!" Irina snatched the P'own box from the console and opened a door in the back of the server room. "This way!"
They ran to the back of the server room and sprinted down a long corridor that diverged to the left and the right.
"Do you know where we're going?!" Xenovia shouted over the sound of plasma fire.
"Nope!" Irina admitted before making a sharp turn to the left. Xenovia stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing Irina immediately begin running in the opposite direction. "Wrong way!"
The sound of metallic boots reverberated down the hallway to the left. Xenovia quickly followed Irina in a full sprint to the right, dodging bolts of plasma fire while firing her SMG behind her.
"Our weapons are useless against that armor!" Xenovia shouted while reloading her weapon. "We need more firepower!"
They quickly burst through the door at the far end of the hall and looked around. Two massive grins enveloped their features upon seeing where they had ended up.
It was an armory. An armory stocked full of nothing but those same plasma based rifles. Irina and Xenovia quickly took one rifle each from the walls. After performing a quick inspection of the how the rifles functioned they loaded a fresh magazine into their new weapons and loaded their belts with additional ammo.
"Asketh of the Lord…" Xenovia started while priming her weapon.
"...and he provides." Irina finished before priming her weapon as well.
Koneko and Sammy continued to sift through data regarding the biological experiments being conducted at this facility. Koneko took pictures with her phone so she could share everything they found with Rias and Sona. Though most of it went completely over their heads, what little they could decipher for themselves painted a rather disturbing picture. Valper had been apparently working on a viral pathogen capable of turning healthy living humans into undead. From what they gathered their were two different strains. But beyond that, there was no way for them to tell the difference between the two.
"We should bring back samples." Koneko spoke up.
"You want us to bring a viral pathogen that creates zombies back to Kuoh?" Sammy asked as if trying to understand her logic. "Exactly how is that a good idea?"
She scowled at him in frustration. "We have no idea what this thing is or how to fight it. We need to bring it back to Sona and Rias so they can have it analyzed in a lab of our own."
He shrugged. "Suit yaself. But if anyone asks who it was who started the zombie apocalypse, I'm gonna tell them it was you."
They inputted the commands to retrieve a sample of each strain of the virus. A metal claw extracted two samples of the virus from a nearby quarantined unit. The first was blue in color, while the second was green. The two samples appeared in the matching dispenser, each contained in shatterproof vials. Sammy grabbed both samples and pocketed them before turning to Koneko.
"Alright. We've got our bottles of death. Now let's get the hell out of dodge before-"
An alarm started blaring as a set of quarantine shutters slammed down over their only exit. Sammy let out a long, frustrated sigh while rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"You know...I could almost feel that coming right as I was about to say it."
"We've got a problem." Koneko commented dryly before pointing towards the vats containing different mutated specimens. The green amniotic fluid they were suspended in began to drain away and their eyes opened.
"Ah crap…" Sammy drew his Desert Eagle.
One of the containers shattered as the mutant inside it jumped through the glass and roared with beastial vigor. Sammy unloaded the entirety of his clip into the beast, finishing it off by blasting its head clean off its shoulders. The mutant collapsed to the floor before dissolving into a puddle of goo. As more creatures awoke, they began one by one bursting out of their containers and approaching the duo.
"How many bullets do you have left in that thing?" Koneko asked while adjusting one of her combat gloves.
"Including those eight I just shot, that leaves me with...eight."
So in other words none. Koneko popped her neck and knocked her fists together. Looks like they were doing this the hard way.
The angels had fallen one by one. Feathers rained down upon the board meeting table as Jon and Kiba cut their way through all twenty two of their opponents. Jon was in the process of finishing off the last three, leaping high into the air and spinning upside down before firing off twelve shots into the three Fallen Angels who charged him. He landed gracefully back down onto the table as three fresh corpses plummeted back down to Earth and looked behind him to see Kiba, still standing but nevertheless exhausted.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine." Kiba insisted.
He chuckled. "Liar."
The sound of a figure stepping up onto the table caught his ear. Jon turned back around to see Barathiel the Four Winged Angel step up onto the table. A murderous look in his eyes.
Jon scowled angrily. "Must have miscounted. Kiba, do you think you can find Freed and Valper from here?"
He nodded assuredly. "Of course."
"In that case…" Jon summoned a gauntlet to his left hand and boosted before placing his hand against Kiba's back. "...I leave the rest up to you."
He'd been looking for an excuse to test out this new move he had perfected. And now was as good a time as any.
"Transfer!" Jon bellowed before hitting Kiba with a massive jolt of magical energy.
The power surged through the Knights body, who was taken aback by the sudden blast of energy he was granted. Suddenly he wasn't tired anymore. Wasn't in pain anymore. The toils of their ordeal were now a distant memory.
Hell, this was the best Kiba had ever felt in his life.
A wicked grin covered his features as he stared at the energy coursing through his fingertips. "This power...this gift...when did you learn how to do this?"
"Is that really important?" Jon insisted. "Get going before the trail goes cold! I'll keep this one distracted."
Kiba nodded in understanding, his features lightening somewhat. "Thank you...Brother."
With that, the Knight took off like a bolt of yellow lightning after his quarry. Leaving Jon alone to deal with Barathiel.
"So one ass whoopin wasn't enough for you, huh?" He smirked at the Fallen Angel. "What are you hoping to gain here? I already beat your brother."
"And for that you will pay with your life." Barathiel seethed. "Blood for blood, as it were." An evil grin formed over his features as he raised his hand into the air. The glass jar containing the strange crystal flew into his outstretched hand. He proceeded to crush the jar into shards of glass, gripping the crimson crystal tightly.
Jon quirked a brow at him. "And just what the hell is that supposed to be?"
His grin widened. "Your death."
Barathiel proceeded to stab the sharp jagged crystal into his own chest, much to Jon's surprise and utter confusion. He seemingly absorbed the crystal into his body which glowed deep inside his chest.
And then Jon felt it. An overwhelming surge of power as the Fallen Angel's skin turned deathly white. His hands appeared to rot and turn black as they suddenly grew long razor sharp blades on each finger. His body danced with red electricity as a third set of wings then grew on his back.
From what Devil's Colt was now feeling, his opponent had effectively just tripled his power.
"Now, Ddraig! You shall pay for your transgressions as I slowly tear you to pieces!" Barathiel bellowed in anger as he charged his power.
Jon took a deep breath and steeled himself. He removed his hat and tossed it away into a pocket dimension. Then his coat and shirt which he did the same with. He then summoned his Sacred Gear, a gauntlet on each hand, and two metal boots on each foot. His body became covered in the Dragon's mark, and two horns sprouted from his head. Finally, a massive pair of red Dragon's wings appeared on his back.
"Monsters...guess after this there will be just one less to deal with."
The two massive forces charged and collided in a burst of ungodly power.
Koneko and Sammy had successfully worked their way through each mutated creature. Smashing in skulls, breaking out spines, and ripping out entrails using sheer brute force to fight their way through. As the last mutant fell, Koneko summoned all of her strength and lifted the metal quarantine door over her head, allowing them both a chance to get through. The moment she shut the quarantine door behind them, they both collapsed in exhaustion, battered, bloody, and low on energy.
"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up." Sammy admitted in between labored breaths.
"Me neither." Koneko replied.
"Come on, let's find the others and get the hell out of here." As he stood to leave, Koneko suddenly grabbed him.
"Wait." Koneko pointed towards the computer that contained Valper's personal logs before walking over and ripping it out of the wall.
"Seriously? You wanna listen to more of that shit?"
She grabbed the monitor while she was at it and rejoined him. "Any bit of information we can bring back is worth it. Think of it as insurance to keep us from getting punished too severely."
Sammy sighed. "Eh, that's a fair point. Now come on!"
They ran out of the lab and made their way down the hall. As they rounded the corner, however, they were suddenly stopped by a group of armored soldiers carrying rifles.
"What the-"
The soldiers opened fire. Sammy just barely had enough time to summon his Sacred Gear and form a barrier in front of them as they were hit with high velocity plasma rounds.
"Run!" Sammy barked before tailing it in the opposite direction.
They bolted down a different hallway, with Sammy keeping his barrier up to ward off plasma bolts from behind them. Just as they were about to turn another corner, however, more soldiers appeared in front of them.
"Get down!"
Sammy shielded Koneko with his body as he erected another barrier. Now fending off plasma bolts from both sides, sweat was beginning to accumulate on his brow as his stamina began to wane.
"This ain't good." He grimaced through the exertion of holding up two barriers at once.
When it seemed like they might be at the end of their rope, the soldiers to their left suddenly stopped and turned around as they were beset by an unknown force behind them. One by one they fell as their armor was riddled with plasma rounds. Sammy and Koneko both smiled in relief as Irina and Xenovia came charging around the corner before taking up defensive positions, plasma rifles in hand.
"Get behind us!" Xenovia commanded.
The beleaguered Pawn and Rook both got out of the way as the Holy Swordswomen proceeded to unload on the soldiers behind them. Cutting each down to size in rapid succession. As the last soldier fell, they both lowered their weapons and stood up.
"All clear." Irina declared.
"Man…" Sammy was staring at their plasma rifles the way he normally stared at Ruruko in her underwear. "...I have got to get me one of those."
"Glad to see you two made it." Irina spoke after reloading her weapon. "What's that you got there, Koneko?"
"Valper's personal computer." She explained before frowning at it. "I think."
"We found a server room with some information on the Nexus." Irina pulled out her P'own Box and showed it to her. "That was when we ran into the Robocop brigade."
"What the hell are those things?" Sammy asked.
"From what we can tell they're Husks that have been cybernetically augmented." Xenovia explained. "They were none too happy when we started rooting around in their network."
Koneko nodded. "Sounds about right. The mutants weren't too happy with us stealing samples from their lab either."
Irina gave her a squirrely look. "Mutants?"
As if on que, a mutant running on all fours rounded the corner behind them and roared with bestial vigor. Xenovia immediately turned and smoked the inhuman thing with her rifle. As it began to dissolve, they could hear the distant sound of more abominations coming down the hallway.
"Book it!" Sammy shouted before starting into a dead sprint away from the noise.
The group sprinted down the hall while Xenovia and Irina occasionally turned around to take shots at the creatures chasing them. After gunning down another mutant clinging to the walls, she ran up next to Koneko and snatched the useless monitor out of her hands.
"So here's the good news." She used her psionic power to chuck that thing as hard as she possibly could, nailing another mutant in the head and knocking it to the ground. "You don't need the monitor."
"Guys, I hate to say it but this whole situation is starting to look pretty FUBAR." Sammy admitted as they continued to run away.
"We just need to hold out until we can find Jon and Kiba." Irina insisted. "With any luck, they'll have already found Valper, killed him, and secured an exit route."
"Come on." Sammy insisted. "When have things ever gone that smoothly for us?"
"Try to show a little optimism." She retorted. "Lord knows things can't get much worse than this."
Warning: Security Protocol 88-C is in effect. This facility will self destruct in T-minus thirty minutes.
Sammy audibly cursed in frustration. "The Lord just loves proving ya wrong, doesn't he?"
Jon's back slammed into what he could only guess was a dissection table. Having just been slammed through the roof of one of the laboratories. He quickly recovered in time to see Barathiel come barreling towards him. The two forces collided and began attacking each other with reckless abandon. Wild, animalistic shots taking the place of strategic combat as they battled for supremacy. Jon knocked the six winged Angel off of him and stood up, dodging a flurry of swipes from his claws before feeling his back hit a table. He grabbed a random beaker and smashed it over Barathiel's head. The chemical in the beaker burned his skin and caused him to lurch back in pain.
Devil's Colt then proceeded to bring the entire table over his head down onto his opponent, knocking him to the ground. With a boost from his rocket propelled boots, Jon tackled Barathiel and sent him flying through a metal wall, three glass vats of amniotic fluid, and a window before they finally ended up outside the complex in the massive metal cylinder again.
The two combatants took to the sky once more. Barathiel managed to gain some distance before beginning to hurl redish black balls of terrible energy at Jon. The energy balls detonated with ungodly force, putting him on the defensive as he dodged and outmaneuvered each blast. Seeing an opening, Barathiel charged in again and swiped. Forcing Jon to quickly reorient mid flight and dodge. He was only partially successful, wincing in pain as Barathiel managed to graze his chest with four razor sharp claws.
"And so the mighty Red Dragon Emperor reaches his limit!" Barathiel roared. "Face it, Ddraig, your fate was sealed the moment you-"
He howled in pain as a surge of red electricity jolted his body. Jon instantly capitalized on the opening and smashed him in the face with as much force as he could muster. Sending Barathiel careening into the central pillar of the complex.
"Guess whatever that bloody icicle was it wasn't as stable as you thought, huh?" He taunted.
Barathiel fumed before unsticking himself from the wall and charging. Now it was Jon's turn to hit him with a salvo of magic. He unleashed volley after volley of high tier fire magic, forcing Barathiel back before following it up with a massive Dragon's Roar that scorched the Fallen Angel and sent him tumbling.
It was too soon to celebrate, however, as not even a moment later, Barathiel recovered and came barreling towards Jon at supersonic speeds. Hitting him with a massive uppercut that made his vision swim before following it up with a kick that sent Jon flying. He quickly reoriented himself and hit his opponent with a wall of green energy, knocking him backwards and forcing the two into a standoff yet again.
Warning: Security Protocol 88-C is in effect. This facility will self destruct in T-minus thirty minutes.
He sighed. "Well that ain't good."
Barathiel cackled in delight. "Your friends are in trouble now! This entire facility is about to become their tomb!" He charged up a massive ball of energy into his hand. "As it is about to become yours."
Jon flared black smoke through his nostrils before hitting his boost ability again. A burst of power radiated off of him as he stood his ground and prepared for his opponent's next attack.
Irina and Xenovia continued to clear everything in front and behind of their group. While Xenovia provided cover to their rear with her rifle, Irina dropped her weapon and switched to her Excalibur Mimic. After morphing it into a Katana, she proceeded to cut a bloody swath through anything that stood in her way.
Just when it seemed like they were about to be overwhelmed, the attacks suddenly stopped. Instead, what they found was a pile of corpses, both mutants and cyborgs alike, having been cut down by a blade that was not their own.
"Kiba…" Koneko surmised.
The group followed the trail to wherever it may lead. Sure enough, they were taken to some sort of boarding platform outside the maze of complexes where Kiba was locked in a duel to the death with Freed Sellzen. Behind him was none other than Valper Galilei, carrying a large metal case in his right hand.
Freed cackled in delight as their blades clashed again. He dodged several wild swings from Kiba before backing away and acknowledging the group who arrived.
"Oh hi!" He waved at them with a psychotic grin on his face. "If it isn't the little midget and friends."
Koneko glared at him coldly.
"Oops! I mean little lady!" He quickly corrected with another hysterical cackle. "You know, I was really looking forward to some more Devil Hunting tonight but unfortunately Valper and I need to catch a train."
"Get out of my way!" Kiba bellowed before charging again, using the energy Jon granted him to go toe to toe with the Stray Hunter.
"Xenovia, look." Irina tapped on her shoulder and pointed at the case in Valper's hand.
"The Excalibur Swords!" Xenovia proceeded to drop her rifle and summon Excalibur Destruction to her side, unleashing the full brunt of her devastating power.
Meanwhile, Sammy summoned two black gauntlets to his arms while Koneko knocked her fists together and took a fighter's stance.
"Oh my my! Five of you in one night. I'm overwhelmed by my surging popularity."
"Freed, stop playing around with these imbeciles!" Valper insisted angrily. "The train is due to arrive any second!"
"You're not getting away from me, Valper!" Kiba shouted in seething hatred. "Not this time!"
As Freed prepared to attack Kiba again, Irina darted in front of him and blocked with her Katana.
"Xenovia and I will distract Freed! You go for Valper!"
Kiba was about to say something but then simply nodded in understanding, glaring spitefully at Valper before backing away and allowing Irina and Xenovia to take over.
"Awww, feeling left out?" The Stray Hunter taunted. "Don't worry, there's plenty for you too!"
Freed clashed with his new opponents as Irina and Xenovia did battle with his Excalibur Rapidly. Meanwhile, Kiba leapt in front of Valper and readied his blade, a bloodthirsty look in his eye.
"I've been waiting a long time for this, Valper…" He seethed angrily before bringing his hand up into the air. "Sword Birth!" He roared before slamming his hand down onto the ground. A trail of swords sprang up from the floor on a direct course for Valper, who calmly raised his hand into the air, casting a magic circle that proceeded to disintegrate every sword Kiba just cast.
"What?!" The Knight was taken aback.
"Sword Birth…" Valper calmly observed. "...a rather unique Sacred Gear that allows one to create magical swords at his will. In times passed, I had hoped to one day harness such an ability, that we might be able to create weapons on par with Excalibur." He sighed and shook his head morosely. "But in the end, you were just another disappointment."
Kiba stewed in his seething rage. As Koneko and Sammy ran over to back him up he brought a hand out to stop them. "No! He's mine."
"Don't be an idiot!" Sammy retorted in frustration. "You felt that power just now, same as the rest of us!"
"Kokabiel has clearly blessed Valper with the powers of a Fallen Angel, there's no telling how strong he is!" Koneko insisted.
On the other side of the bay, Freed clashed with Xenovia's Excalibur Destruction.
"Face it Sugartits, the Church lost! Now why don't you be a good little girl and become prey to my sword!" Freed taunted.
"You vile traitors!" Xenovia seethed angrily at him, channeling more and more of her psionic energy into her sword. "Hear me now, Freed and Valper. I condemn your souls in the name of the one true God!"
The Stray Hunter growled at her angrily. "How dare you say that. Don't you ever throw that disgusting name at me again!"
As they continued to battle, Kiba summoned the power he had borrowed from Jon and raised his sword. "This ends now, Valper!"
"Kiba wait!"
Too late, before Koneko could stop him he had already charged. Valper raised his hand again and blasted Kiba with a bolt and purple lightning that knocked him down flat to the ground.
"Motherfucker!" Sammy charged, upon which he too was zapped by lightning and fell to the ground next to Kiba.
"Tsk!" Koneko seethed as she lowered herself further into a combat stance and eyed Valper warily. They were in trouble, big trouble.
Warning: Security Protocol 88-C is in effect. This facility will self destruct in T-minus twenty minutes.
As the automated message played again, a chrome train connected to an overhead rail line pulled up to the station and the doors slid open.
"As amusing as this little distraction has been, I fear we've used up the last of our time together." Valper calmly explained. "Freed!"
"What?!" He called back in annoyance.
"You're done." The Genocide Priest insisted. "All you had to do was get rid of those vermin from the Church and take their Swords. It should have been easy with the power I bestowed upon you." He glared at him in anger. "Yet here they still stand. And before long, the prototype Power Gem I bestowed upon Barathiel will begin to destabilize. If we're not gone by the time the Red Dragon Emperor finishes him off we'll be hopelessly outmatched."
"You think I'm going to let either of you Monsters escape?" Xenovia growled while brandishing her massive Excalibur Destruction.
Valper grinned at her and shook his head. "Ah, Xenovia. The Vatican's infamous attack dog. So doggedly loyal to that archaic font of lies and secrets."
She glared at him coldly. "What do you mean?"
He cackled at her viciously. "Do you really mean to tell me that after all this time the woman known as God's Strongest Swordsman still hasn't figured it out?"
"Figured what out?!" She demanded angrily.
"The truth about your God...about the lies they have spread through that insipid book."
She chuckled at him dismissively. "You expect me to believe a word you say about my Lord?"
"Don't get me wrong, the Holy Bible makes for an interesting fairy tale." His grin only widened. "But I've found the truth is far more interesting."
She remained silent.
"You take the image of your creator from a book. A book written by man. I have heard the truth from the mouth of my Lord."
Again, she said nothing.
"So you have doubted...haven't you?" He laughed again. "In that case, you need only look in those files you stole, they will tell you everything about-"
"Shut up…"
Valper turned to see Kiba slowly rising to his feet.
"Don't count me out. I'm not…" He raised his sword and brought his power to bare. "I'm not done yet!"
A sardonic grin spread over Valper's features as he calmly pulled a blood red gemstone out of his robes. All the energy and fervor in Kiba's body instantly vanished as he dropped his sword and stared petrified at the stone.
"N...no...it can't be. That's not…"
"Why yes it is." Valper taunted cruelly. "This fight was over before it even started."
The Genocide Priest channeled his magic into the stone. The blood red gem began to glow with unknown power. Power that began to radiate off of Kiba as he was suddenly hoisted into the air. A pained scream resonated from his lungs as his entire body began to convulse in agony. A surge of blood red electricity coursing through him.
"Kiba!" Koneko shouted in horror.
"So long as I have this then you can never touch me." Valper continued, holding the stone in the air as Kiba's body contorted and writhed in agony. "And now, my little failure, you shall die!"
The sound of a plasma rifle arming stopped Valper in his tracks.
"Eat plasma, you old fuck!" Sammy shouted before unloading a barrage of rifle fire at the Priest. The spell Valper was casting instantly vanished as he was forced on the defensive, erecting a barrier to defend himself with.
Kiba plummeted to the ground, whereupon Koneko caught him. Much to her relief, the Knight was alive, albeit completely comatose.
"Impudent little…" Valper seethed as he brought up his free hand to hit Sammy with another electrical attack.
"Yoohoo!"
The Priest turned just in time to see Irina perform a spinning sidekick, planting her shin directly in his face and knocking him flat on his side. Acting fast, Irina kicked the metal crate containing three of the lost Holy Swords towards her partner who stopped the box mid slide with her foot.
"Oh fuck you!" Freed charged Xenovia, who summoned the destructive power of her sword and unleashed a devastating wave of energy on her opponent with a single swing. The Stray Hunter was sent flying backwards into the tram car, his head smacking hard against the reinforced steel.
Xenovia quickly grabbed the case and waved for the others to follow. "Quickly! Let's get out of here!"
Koneko grabbed Kiba and Valper's computer and hightailed it out of their. Quickly followed by Irina and Sammy.
"Dammit! You won't get away!" Freed stood up shakily to chase after them when the automated warning spoke again.
Warning: Security Protocol 88-C is in effect. This facility will self destruct in T-minus ten minutes.
"Forget it, Freed!" Valper shouted angrily, wiping a trail of blood from his cheek as he slowly stood back up. "If we don't leave now we won't clear the blast radius!"
"But the swords!"
"They won't make it far." Valper assured, a hideous grin forming on his lips. "The Operation will see to that."
The Facility was slowly coming apart at the seams. The entire complex rumbled as the self destruct protocol neared the end of its countdown. As metal and debris fell around them, the Devil's Colt and the Six Winged Angel continued to do battle above. Jon was knocked back by another powerful blow from Barathiel, who began furiously swiping at him while he blocked with barriers. The Fallen Angel summoned a ball of energy and hit him with it at point blank range as Jon brought up another barrier. It wasn't quite enough and the Dragon was sent careening down into the bottomless pit below. He managed to reorient himself and stop his descent before turning upwards to face his opponent.
Warning: Security Protocol 88-C is in effect. This facility will self destruct in T-minus ten minutes.
Barathiel cackled in delight. "Your friends are running out of time, Ddraig!" He raised his hand into the air and summoned a ball of energy twice the size of anything he had previously thrown at him. "And so are you!"
The massive projectile came hurtling towards Jon who, despite the situation, smirked knowingly to himself as he felt his boost ability kick in. He summoned a red ball of energy and chucked it into the middle of the massive projectile. The two forces canceled each other out in a massive blast that did little harm to either opponent.
"What?!" Barathiel reeled back in horror moments before Jon appeared directly beside him faster than he was able to track. The Dragon backhanded with enough force to send the Fallen Angel smashing into the far wall. He quickly recovered and flared angrily at his opponent.
And that was when he noticed the change. Jon's markings were pulsing with neon green energy and his power had effectively skyrocketed.
"I may be running out of time." Jon calmly spoke, that same knowing grin on his face. "But yours was all used up about five seconds ago."
Jon's wings disappeared as his body became encased in armor. A metal tail sprouted from his backside and a helmet carved into the shape of a Welsh dragon covered his head.
Power erupted from him as Jon brought the full wrath of his Scale Mail to bare.
"It's over!"
The Red Dragon Emperor rocketed towards his opponent, his speed ignited by the twin thrusters at his back.
Koneko, Sammy, Irina, and Xenovia made a mad dash back to the elevator, with the Gremory Rook keeping a comatose Kiba and Valper's computer close to her person. The facility was coming down around their ears as the detonation sequence neared its conclusion. It didn't help that two titanic forces were still battling it out above them. As they reached the elevator the automatic message played again.
Warning: Security Protocol 88-C is in effect. This facility will self destruct in T-minus five minutes.
"All aboard!" Sammy called after opening the elevator and ushering everyone inside. "Next stop, anywhere but here!"
"What about Jon?" Irina asked worriedly as the elevator doors shut.
"He'll make it." Koneko assured.
"But-"
"Just trust me! He'll make it!" The Rook insisted.
As the elevator began to rise, the group was treated to a view of the chaos below them. Two forces were phasing in and out of existence, creating shockwaves with every hit they made. Irina stood in awe of the spectacle, despite the worry she felt as the facility collapsed around them.
"Incredible...I've never seen such power before. What do you think, Xenovia? Xenovia?"
Her partner didn't respond, something seemed to be weighing on her mind. A gnawing doubt she couldn't shake loose.
"What's wrong?" Her partner asked worriedly.
"It's...it's nothing."
"What are you two doing?! Let's go!" Sammy insisted as the elevator doors opened up.
The group sprinted down the hall into the catacombs of the mansion. They were nowhere near safe yet.
Back below, the fight between Jon and Barathiel had taken a drastic turn. The Fallen Angel was quickly finding himself overwhelmed by the much stronger Dragon. He was at the end of his rope despite desperately wishing to believe the contrary.
"Damn you!" He seethed angrily as a jolt of electricity surged through his body.
Jon loomed over him, his expression obscured by the neon green visor on his helmet. "That power of yours is pretty tough to break through but it's clearly taken a toll on you." He seemed to shake his head. "You were never supposed to win. You realize that, right? Your Masters used you as bait to secure their escape."
"Silence!" Barathiel unleashed a barrage of magical attacks that all seemed to hit their mark.
When the smoke cleared, however, the armored dragon was still standing. Surrounded in a neon green energy shield.
"The more I find out about your kind the more I pity you pathetic bastards." Jon raised his hand above his head and summoned a massive ball of fire. "With friends like yours, who needs enemies?"
He tossed the slow moving projectile at Barathiel, who laughed in disbelief. "You honestly expect that thing to hit-"
A gleam caught his eye a fraction of a second too late as his opponent proceeded to deliver his Hyodo Special, smashing him in the face with his gauntlet and sending him spiraling towards the opposite end of the massive cylinder. Jon charged a red ball of energy into his gauntlet which grew before shrinking to the size of a small stone. He grabbed the ball of energy in his right hand and unleashed a massive Dragon's Shot on his opponent.
Barathiel's pained and angry screams slowly faded as he was engulfed by the energy and he disintegrated into dust.
With the battle finally over Jon quickly took stock of the cataclysm going on around him.
Warning: Security Protocol 88-C is in effect. This facility will self destruct in T-minus thirty seconds.
"Welp, time to go!" He commented before channeling his remaining energy into his thrusters and rocketed towards the exit.
Somehow, despite everything they had endured, the group made it back outside. The moment they cleared the front entrance to the old mansion all of their remaining energy was put into getting as much distance between them and the blast zone as humanly possible. Irina suddenly stopped and turned around, prompting the others to do so as well.
"What are you doing?!" Sammy shouted hysterically.
"Where's Jon?!" She shouted back in terror.
Koneko felt her stomach drop. Where was he? He should have been right behind them!
Don't tell me he…
A figure came bursting through the roof of the mansion ahead of a trail of neon green energy.
"Jon!" Irina beamed excitedly.
Koneko's features lit up into a radiant smile. He made it!
The Red Dragon Emperor came barreling toward them, landing directly in front of the group and turning back towards the mansion with his arms crossed in an X formation.
"Everyone, down!"
They hit the floor and covered their eyes and ears. What followed was a white flash of light that enveloped everything as the world deafened around them. The shockwave that followed shook the Earth below their feet as everything within a half mile radius was instantly flash incinerated.
As the smoke finally began to clear, the group one by one began to tentatively open their eyes. It was then they realized they were now standing in the middle of a massive scorch mark, where once there was a dense forest. They were encased in a shield of neon green energy produced by the armored Dragon still standing on his feet.
The only thing that saved them from certain death.
With the blast having subsided and the rumbling Earth having finally settled, the shield slowly disappeared as did Jon's armor, which fell off his body in plates before crumbling into dust. What remained was a man covered in sweat, dirt, and blood, breathing deep labored breaths. As the last of his power faded away, his knees finally gave out and he collapsed.
"Jon!" Irina immediately got up and ran to his side, offering him a hand up and a shoulder to lean on. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" He nodded. Though clearly exhausted he was for the most part intact.
She sighed in relief, her features brightening almost immediately. "That was incredible! My God, Jon. I've never seen anything like it before in my life!"
He chuckled. "Yeah well...it ain't exactly something that-"
He felt a small, strong being press against his body and hug him tight. Jon and Irina looked down to see Koneko holding him by his waist, her cheek pressed firmly against his abdominal muscles.
"You reckless idiot…"
The sound of her choked sobs left Jon stunned in place. As did the sensation of her tears running down his skin.
"I thought you were...you almost…" Her eyes were shut tight as her bottom lip started to quiver.
"Koneko…"
"You stupid stupid idiot!" She broke down completely. Her emotions welling up and spilling over in a way that Jon had never seen her do before. She knocked her fist against his body repeatedly as she took all her relief, all her frustration, and all her anger out on him. But he barely felt a thing. Whatever monstrous strength she may have had left faded away the moment she saw that he was alive.
Everyone stood in silence as Koneko quietly sobbed into Jon's abdomen. Finally regaining his senses he wrapped his free arm around Koneko and held her close.
"It's okay." He assured gently. "The nightmares over now."
Seeing this, Irina slowly lowered Jon down to a knee and walked away as he wrapped his other arm around Koneko.
"Thanks." He spoke while holding Koneko close to him and stroking her hair.
"Don't mention it." Irina spoke quietly. Walking away as her heart began to shatter into a million tiny pieces.