Until The End, Part 2
Meanwhile, everyone on the other seven ships is still dealing with the Lahmus as they struggle to fly towards Cambion Mons.
On the deck of Macey's ship, Lloyd, Zelos and Genis are busy fighting the Lahmus with their respective weapons while Colette and Raine use their magic to provide them healing and defense. Sherria and Toby finished beating up two Lahmus until a third one tries to swoop down onto them. Yuka quickly runs over and uses his wave magic to form a large shield in front of them. The Lahmu swings its claw down onto the shield, and Yuka, Toby and Sherria are all completely unharmed. Lyon takes the opportunity to leap over to the Lahmu and slice off its mouth from its body with his ice sword. Road aims Lero at some Lahmus that are crawling towards them, and her umbrella roars as he fires several dark red energy blasts at them from his mouth.
Archer swiftly runs over to a nearby Lahmu and swings his right sword diagonally to slice off its mouth from its body. He turns to his left and sees a Lahmu flying down to him and swings both its front claws down at his face. Archer quickly swings both his swords to deflect the attack. The Lahmu quickly recovers from the blow and delivers several horizontal swings with its front claws at Archer as it continues hovering in the air in front of him. Archer quickly blocks all its attacks with his swords, and after managing to deflect both its front claws out of the way, he sees an opening and swiftly thrusts his swords through the Lahmu's throat.
"HAHAHAHA! You're really fast! What an interesting human you-" Before the Lahmu could finish, Archer twists his swords to the side and swings his arms horizontally to pull them out, slicing off the mouth from the rest of the Lahmu's body in the process.
Over at Emmanuel's ship, Mei Li performs a flying kick at a Lahmu to send it falling off from the railing. As soon as she lands, she turns around and sees another Lahmu crawling over to her. It swings its right front claw at Mei Li, who dodges it by ducking down. It swings its other front claw at her, and this time, Mei Li evades it by leaping into the air. After performing a somersault, Mei Li stomps her feet onto the Lahmu's mouth and breaks its teeth. She jumps off the Lahmu, and after performing another flip, she lands on the floor behind it. Brenda runs over to the Lahmu from behind and quickly uses her sword to slice off its wings. When she is done, Mei Li quickly pushes the Lahmu over to the railing from behind. She made a brief dash towards it and delivers a roundhouse kick to the back to send it falling over the railing and down to the ground below. When the Lahmu is out of their sight, both Mei Li and Brenda turn to each other and smile.
Hodaka yells as he swings his right gauntlet to punch a Lahmu and send it slamming against the ship's main mast, breaking its back in the process. He whirls about and sees another Lahmu flying down to him. As it swings its front claws down at him, Hodaka quickly grabs them to stop its attack, but his feet are sent dragging back through the floor by a few meters. Hodaka groans as he manages to bring himself to a halt, but he struggles to push the Lahmu away from him.
"Please! Let me at least scratch your face! I want to know what is behind your skin!" The Lahmu cried at Hodaka with a grin.
Suddenly, a water whip wraps around its mouth and pulls the Lahmu away from Hodaka. The boy straightens himself up and sees Hina pulling back her left fist, which has a water gauntlet around it, and throws a punch to the back of the Lahmu's mouth when it reaches her. She releases her whip after the Lahmu collapses onto the floor.
"Care to join me?" Hina asked Hodaka, looking up at him with a tender smile.
"Um, sure." Hodaka said, smiling nervously as he runs over to Hina. After Hina forms another water gauntlet around her right hand, she and Hodaka look down at the Lahmu as it tries to get back up, and they quickly deliver multiple punches at it.
After tearing off their wings, Bacchus, Rocker, Warcry, Nobarly and Semmes toss five Lahmus onto the same spot. Jager aims his fists at them and summons a large flytrap beneath them. As the flytrap emerges from the floor, it sends the Lahmus flying into the air, out of the ship, and falling to the ground below.
On the quarterdeck, Emmanuel controls the helm as Amelia stands behind him. Jason and Yegor stand beside them on both sides as they use their swords to fight back any Lahmus that try to go near them. After deflecting a front claw from a Lahmu, Jason quickly swings his sword vertically to slice its mouth and body in half. Yegor also manages to slice off a front claw from a Lahmu with his sword before he lifts his leg up and kicks it over the railing and out of the ship. One Lahmu however manages to swoop down onto Yegor and swings its front claws horizontally at him. Yegor blocks the attack by holding up his sword, but the impact sends him sprawling through the floor. The Lahmu laughs as it lands onto the ship. Emmanuel gasps as he and Amelia turn to the Lahmu.
"HAHAHAHA! You two are mine to play with!" The Lahmu cackled.
"Don't be so sure. For I have learn some new tricks during my stay in Era." Amelia said as she places her hand behind her back. The Lahmu simply laughs in response before it charges towards her. Amelia quickly pulls out a small sword from the back of her skirt, removes the top cover, and swings it to the side to extend its blade by thirty inches. She dashes towards the Lahmu and swings her sword horizontally as she runs past it. Both of them quickly came to a halt and stay there for a few seconds before the Lahmu laughs maniacally.
"That…really hurts…" The Lahmu said before all four of its claws and lower torso separate from the rest of its body and it collapses onto the wooden floor. Amelia turns around and smirked as she adjusts her glasses.
"How do ya like that, ya dirty beast?" Amelia said.
As Ichiya steers Christina 3.0, the cannons on all sides of his ship fire at the Lahmus that are flying around the other ships to help provide firepower and protection to drive the beasts away from them. Fifteen Lahmus fly over to Christina 3.0 and try to attack it, only to be greeted by Dobengal, Minerva, Jenny, and Eve who are all standing on the deck waiting for them.
Dobengal swiftly throws several yellow daggers at the Lahmus and manage to take out three of them. Minerva extends her arms and form four large orbs around four Lahmus.
"TERRITORY EXPLOSION!" Minerva shouted as she spreads out her arms. The orbs explode, killing the Lahmus inside them.
"BLIZZARD!" Eve shouted as he swings his arms through the air and fires a strong gust of snow at four Lahmus, which sends them flying away from the ship.
The four remaining Lahmus fly over to Jenny Realight, who is in her Battle Suit. One Lahmu reaches her first and swings its front claw horizontally at her. Jenny quickly dodges it by ducking down. She soon gets up and grabs the Lahmu by its throat. While holding it up in the air, Jenny grabs its front claw and tears it off. After tossing the Lahmu aside, Jenny yells as she swings its claw horizontally at the second Lahmu across its mouth, sending it sprawling through the floor. She aims the end of the claw at the third Lahmu and throws it at it. The claw stabs through its throat, sending the Lahmu falling onto the ship floor. The last Lahmu reaches Jenny and swings both its front claws down at her. But Jenny grabs the claws, turns to her left and slams the last Lahmu onto the first Lahmu. The second Lahmu gets back up from the floor and crawls over to her. But Jenny turns and delivers a powerful kick at the Lahmu which tears its mouth off from the rest of its body. She turns back to the first and last Lahmus, jumps into the air and stomps her feet hard onto them.
Sumeragi's ship is also able to shoot down most of the Lahmus with its cannons. Although some of them did land onto the ship's deck, they are easily taken care of by Mei and Ayase, who is now dressed in her Qital Dire armor.
Using a sub machine gun in her hands, Ayase shoots down five Lahmus that are crawling and flying towards her. One winged Lahmu manages to land onto her right shoulder.
"HAHAHAHA! What's with this big chunk of metal around-" Before the Lahmu could finish, Ayase grabs its claw with her left hand. As she turns to her left, she throws the Lahmu and sends it flying through the air with great force. As the Lahmu slams onto another, their bodies break, and their limbs dismember, thanks to the brutal impact of Ayase's throw.
Another winged Lahmu flies over to Ayase from the front and tries to attack her with its front claws, but Mei quickly fires an arrow from her bow, and it stabs through the Lahmu's torso. After the Lahmu lands onto the floor, Ayase quickly runs over to it, lifts her left leg up and crushes its mouth underneath her foot.
"Thanks for the assist, Mei!" Ayase said, turning to Mei who just dodged a pouncing Lahmu by being lifted in the air by her hydraulic bracers from the bottom of her backpack.
"No problem! Always a pleasure to give a helping hand to someone in need!" Mei said, smiling at her as she holds up her bow and casually fires an arrow through the throat of a Lahmu that was flying towards her from the front.
Inside the control room, Sumeragi and Shinji both smile as they watch Ayase and Mei working together on the deck through the front windows.
"It's nice to see these two working together so well." Sumeragi said.
"Indeed. Their teamwork is truly a great display of brains and brawn." Shinji replied before turning to Tsugumi. "What do you think, Tsugumi?"
Unbeknownst to Sumeragi and Shinji, as she watches her closest friend working alongside with another person, Tsugumi sat behind the ship's main control panels with an ugly scowl on her face.
"Oooohhhh yyyeeesss…great teamwork indeed." Tsugumi grumbled through gritted teeth as her hands on the control panels tremble with irritation.
On Crime Sorciere's ship, four Lahmus laugh as they surround Kagura. Kagura gets into her fighting stance as she closes her eyes and holds onto the hilt of her katana. The Lahmu in front of her decides to crawl over to her first. When it reaches her, Kagura snaps her eyes open as she swiftly draws out her katana from her scabbard and swings it diagonally, slicing off the mouth, upper body, and the top of the right front claw of the Lahmu. After the Lahmu's lifeless body collapses onto the floor in front of her, the other three Lahmus crawl over to her and try to attack her all at once. Kagura turns to her left, leaps into the air and performs a backflip before she lands behind the Lahmu on her right. She swiftly dashes forward and swings her katana horizontally to slice off the claws and lower torso of the Lahmu as she runs past it. One Lahmu swings its right front claw down onto Kagura as she approaches it. But Kagura quickly came to a halt and swings her katana upward to deflect the claw. The impact causes the Lahmu to stumble back and Kagura quickly thrusts her katana through its throat. The remaining Lahmu laughs as it jumps up and tries to perform an overhead strike on her with its front claws. Kagura quickly removes her katana and rolls to her left before the Lahmu lands on top of the other Lahmu she had just killed instead. Kagura leaps into the air again, flies over to the last Lahmu and swings her katana horizontally to slice off its mouth from the rest of its body. Kagura soon rolls over the floor, stands back up and swings her katana to the side, while the lifeless Lahmu falls right on top of the other.
On the quarterdeck, as Richard and Wally stand beside Sawyer, who is controlling the helm, on both sides, the Buchanan brothers use their Earth Magic and Polygon Rifle to fight off the Lahmus that try to go near them.
"Just like old times, eh brother?" Wally asked Richard with a smirk after shooting down two Lahmus with his rifle arm.
"Indeed, brother." Richard said with a warm smile as he extends his arm and holds up two fingers. The floor below two Lahmus in front of him suddenly explode and send them falling off the ship.
Macbeth, Meredy, Millianna, Shou, Beth, Arana and Risley are able to fight off multiple Lahmus on their own as they stand close to each other on the deck. However, after taking them down, twenty more winged Lahmus fly over and surround them.
"METEOR!"
Fortunately for them, Jellal and Erigor suddenly fly over to the deck in incredible speed. With his body now flowing with huge amounts of magic, Jellal swiftly take down ten winged Lahmus in the air with his fists and punch them to the ground below. Erigor also uses his scythe to slice off ten winged Lahmus as he flies over to them. After taking out the last Lahmu, Jellal and Erigor land down on the deck floor and in front of Meredy and Millianna.
"Thanks a lot, guys." Millianna said, smiling at Jellal and Erigor as they stand back up.
"Anytime." Jellal replied as he and Erigor turn around and smile at her.
Over on Nolan's ship, Natsu yells as he punches three Lahmus with his flaming fists as they crawl over to him. Nearby, Gray swings his ice sword horizontally to slice off a mouth from a Lahmu's body. He quickly turns his ice sword around and thrusts it backward to stab through the torso of a Lahmu that is behind him. After removing the sword from its body, Gray turns around and swings his sword downwards to slice the Lahmu in half. One Lahmu tries to crawl over to Gray from behind. But as Shouto runs over and stands a few meters behind it, he stomps his right foot on the floor to create a glacier-like wave of ice towards the Lahmu. Several large spikes of ice form up below the Lahmu and the beast finds itself trapped inside them. Gray turns around and swings his sword horizontally to slash through the Lahmu and the spikes of ice.
Natsu leaps into the air and delivers a flaming kick across a Lahmu before landing back on the ground. Another winged Lahmu tries to swoop down onto Natsu from behind, but Shouto quickly holds up his left hand and shoots a stream of fire at it. Natsu turns around and quickly moves to his left as the burning Lahmu lands and slides through the ship floor. As Natsu and Shouto turn around, they and Gray see multiple Lahmus flying over to them. Both Natsu and Gray quickly run over to Shouto's sides and prepare to attack.
As Natsu enlarges his cheeks and Gray slams his fist onto his other hand, Shouto stomps his right foot to create a floor of ice towards the Lahmus. Several tall spikes of ice form up from the floor and pierce through the Lahmus' torsos from below. After immobilizing them, Gray proceeds to extend his arms out and fire multiple lances of ice from his hands at the Lahmus while standing next to Shouto on the right. When seven more Lahmus fly over to them on the left, Natsu throws his head forward and shoots a large blast of fire from his mouth as he stands beside Shouto on the left. Shouto also holds up his left hand and shoots a stream of fire at the Lahmus.
Lucy wraps her whip around a Lahmu, and she yells as she turns around and tosses it over to another three Lahmus that were crawling towards her from behind. Two Lahmus try to crawl over from her left, but they were quickly shot down by several bullets from C.C.'s Mauser C96 pistols.
Lucy glances at the fallen Lahmus before turning to C.C., who smiles as she looks down at her new weapons.
"These are impressive." C.C. said before turning to Momo, who just knock down a Lahmu with her metal staff. "Thanks for making them, Momo."
"You're welcome." Momo replied, briefly smiling at C.C. before she quickly turns to her right and swings her staff horizontally to knock down another Lahmu. When another Lahmu tries to crawl over to her from her left, Momo quickly turns to it and thrusts her staff at its torso, sending it stumbling backwards. Allelujah quickly runs over to it, grabs its mouth, and lifts it up high in the air with both hands.
"HAHAHAHA! What are you doing-" Before the Lahmu could finish, Allelujah brings it down and lifts its right leg up. The large sharp blade on his right greave slices through the Lahmu's body and claws, killing it instantly.
As she stands near her husband, Marie fires her M16A2 rifle, which is also created by Momo, at three Lahmus that crawl over to her. When she hears a Lahmu laugh, Marie gasps as she turns to her right and sees a Lahmu swooping down onto her. Allelujah quickly runs over and stands in front of Marie. He grabs the Lahmu by its front claws as it flies down to him.
"Leave…my wife…ALONE!" Allelujah roared in front of its mouth before he spreads his arms out and rips the claws off from the Lahmu.
"AHAHAHA! What is a wife?" The Lahmu asked as it lands onto the floor. Allelujah did not reply as he lifts his right leg up and delivers a powerful kick to its mouth that sends the Lahmu sprawling through the floor and slamming against the ship's railing. Allelujah turns around and Marie proceeds to give him a warm embrace.
"My hero." Marie said with a wide smile. Allelujah could not help but smile too behind his helmet.
Happy and Carla fly through the air as they try to escape from two winged Lahmus that are chasing after them. The Lahmus laugh as they are about to reach the exceeds. But Happy and Carla suddenly fly upwards and the Lahmus are instead greeted by Kirito, who leaps over to them and swings his swords horizontally to separate their mouths from their bodies.
As Jeanne and Erza stand close to each other, the red-haired mage, now dressed in her Armadura Fairy armor, swings her right sword horizontally to slice off a Lahmu's mouth. She quickly turns to her left and swings her left sword diagonally to kill another Lahmu that was crawling towards her. When she looks back to the front and sees four more Lahmus flying over to her, she leaps into the air and yells as she thrusts her right sword at them, and several bolts of green lightning cackle around her.
As she flies through the Lahmus, the beasts squeal as they get electrocuted by Erza's attack and burst into ashes. When Erza finds herself now up in the air, she quickly changes into her Black Wing Armor. She flies over to three Lahmus and slashes all of them with one powerful horizontal swing of her sword.
Back on the ship, Jeanne thrusts her spear upward and pierces through the torso of a Lahmu that was hovering in front of her. As the Lahmu laughs at her, Jeanne lowers it down onto the floor and asked, "What are you? And why do you serve the one known as Cornelia Corningston?"
"We are humans, just like you." The Lahmu replied.
"Humans?!" Jeanne cried incredulously.
"That's right." The Lahmu said as its grin widens. "Our masters, Cornelia and Mard Geer, taught us that the current humanity only cares about fighting itself, while we on the other hand are always obeying our creators to do the right thing. We are the true humanity, while you are the monsters! That is why our creators want us to eradicate you. To reset humanity by replacing all of you…with us! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Jeanne stares at the Lahmu in shock for a moment before lowering her head.
"These creatures…are the new humanity?" Jeanne said softly as she trembled. "Creators…is it telling the truth? Is our mere existence truly a mistake? That no matter what we do, our self-destruction is inevitable? Are we really destined to be swept away and be replaced by something else? Is humanity…" She gulped for a moment. "Really beyond redemption?"
The Lahmu tittered as it lifts its front claws up, preparing to take this opportunity to stab Jeanne through her head while she is distracted. But suddenly, Jeanne was snapped out of her thoughts by a furious yell and the sound of another spear being stabbed through the back of the Lahmu's throat.
"What?" Jeanne murmured with her eyes widened. She lifts her head up and felt her heart skipped a beat when she sees a familiar figure standing before her and behind the Lahmu, while clinging onto a black spear that is identical to her own. She is also currently wearing the exact same clothing and armor as her, except they are almost entirely jet black, and the ends of her sleeves and dress are dark red and tattered. "It's you."
"You vile creatures are to be the next humanity? You must be joking!" Jeanne's doppelganger yelled angrily. "While you only think about the path that your creators have laid out for you, we on the other hand strive for something better! Knowledge, respect, and power! You things clearly aren't capable of working to obtain such goals. And that is why at the end of the day, we are the ones who will triumph over you! Don't you dare underestimate us!"
Jeanne gazes at her doppelganger momentarily before her look of shock is replaced by a wide smile.
"I agree!" Jeanne cried determinedly at the Lahmu. "We still have the capacity to change the world we lived in for the better! And unlike you and your creators who want a world that is devoid of freedom and emotion, we fight for a world where everyone from all walks of life can live together in peace and harmony!"
"Is that so?" The Lahmu replied before laughing again. As it does, Jeanne and her doppelganger both yell as they swing their spears horizontally at the same time to tear the Lahmu in half. After placing its mouth and body onto the floor, Jeanne and her doppelganger put their foot on top of them and remove the blades of their spears from them. They place their foot down and hold up their spears as they now face each other.
"Thank you." Jeanne said, bowing her head to her with gratitude.
"Tch, whatever. I'm only helping you because I can't exist when you are dead." Her doppelganger said in annoyance. Jeanne giggled in response. "I need some rest."
"Of course." Jeanne said as she watches her doppelganger fade away. She yells as she turns to her left and swings her spear horizontally to slice off a Lahmu's mouth from the rest of its body. She whirls about and swings her spear diagonally to slice through another Lahmu that was crawling over to her from behind. She turns to her right and quickly holds up her spear horizontally to block the front claws of a Lahmu who tried to deliver an overhead strike at her. Jeanne manages to push the Lahmu back before she turns her spear and stabs its blade through its torso. She yells again as she charges forward and stabs her spear through three more Lahmus that are in front of her.
As three Lahmus crawl over to him, Darren charges his katana up with Volt's Lightning before he swiftly runs past them and slices them all with one powerful horizontal strike. He turns to his left and sees three Lahmus flying over to him. As the nearest Lahmu is about to swoop down onto him, Darren uses Volt's Lightning to swiftly leap into the air and slashes through all three of them with his katana. Afterwards, as he plummets through the air, Darren turns his katana around and delivers a downward strike through the top of a Lahmu's mouth as he lands right above it.
"Thanks for saving me the trouble." Gajeel said to Darren with a smirk.
"No problem." Darren said as he stands up and removes the katana from the fallen Lahmu.
"You certainly have changed a lot since the last time we met." Gajeel commented.
"Yeah well, it's because I've learnt from the best." Darren said with a wide smile. Gajeel grins at him before he turns to the starboard of Nolan's ship and throws his head back as he enlarges his cheeks.
"IRON DRAGON'S ROAR!" Gajeel yelled as he throws himself forward and fires a large tornado of iron shreds at several flying Lahmus in the air.
Meanwhile, Alicia and Sheena stand back-to-back as several Lahmus surround them.
"You ready?" Alicia asked as she holds up her electrified yo-yos.
"Aye." Sheena responded with a solemn nod.
"Time to see what's inside both of you! AHAHAHAHAHA!" One of the Lahmus laughed as they all pounce at them at the same time.
Sheena quickly ducks down as Alicia swiftly twirls around and swings her electrified yo-yos through the air, thus creating a ring of Volt's Lightning around them that knocks all the Lahmus away. As Volt's Lightning flows through her body, Sheena swiftly runs over to all the Lahmus while they are still in mid-air and places a paper on each of them. When she is done, Sheena slides through the floor and crouches in front of Alicia, who stops circling around and lowers her yo-yos. As the Lahmus get back up from the floor, Sheena quickly performs several hand gestures. The papers on all the Lahmus soon explode, dismembering their limbs in the process. As Sheena stands back up and turn to Alicia, both women chuckle as they bump their arms against each other.
One Lahmu swoops down onto Rogue and swings its front claws at him, but the Shadow Dragon Slayer turns into shadows as it lands on the floor.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Playing hide-and-seek, eh?" The Lahmu laughed as the shadows now circle around it. "Sounds like fu-"
"SHADOW DRAGON'S WAXWING FLASH!" Rogue shouted as the Lahmu is shredded into pieces as he swings his arms through the air and reappears at where it originally stood.
"WHITE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Sting yelled as he fires a blast of white energy from his mouth at several flying Lahmus that are trying to swoop down onto Lucy.
"Thank you, Sting!" Lucy said, smiling at the White Dragon Slayer. Sting gave Lucy a warm smile and a solemn nod before he quickly turns around and throws a powerful punch at another Lahmu.
Lucy also turns around and throws down her electrified whip at a Lahmu that tries to crawl over to her from behind. Another Lahmu crawls over to Lucy from her left and squeals as it tries to pounce at her. Wendy quickly notices this and leaps through the air.
"SKY DRAGON'S CLAW!" Wendy shouted as she performs a flip and generates huge amounts of wind around her feet. Before the Lahmu could reach her friend, Wendy swiftly brings her leg down onto its mouth and slams it onto the floor.
"Thanks, Wendy." Lucy said to her.
"No problem." Wendy replied with a smile as Makoto runs over to Lucy from her right.
"Need some help?" Makoto asked Lucy before the blonde-haired mage looks to her left and sees several more Lahmus crawling over to them.
"I sure do." Lucy said as she holds up her whip and pulls it.
Both girls yell as they charge towards the Lahmus. Lucy leaps into the air and delivers a powerful electrified kick to the nearest Lahmu. Makoto also uses her right tonfa to throw an uppercut at the second nearest Lahmu. When it lands on the floor, she quickly climbs over it, jumps into the air, and brings her left tonfa down onto the next Lahmu. Lucy throws her electrified whip and wraps it around the next Lahmu in front of her. As soon as Makoto lifts her head up, she sees the next Lahmu in front of her trying to attack her, but Lucy quickly throws the Lahmu she wrapped her whip around over to it. Both Lahmus collide against each other and sprawl through the floor together. When Lucy unwraps and pulls her whip back, Makoto quickly gets up and lunges forward to deliver a powerful punch at the next Lahmu beside the blonde-haired mage with her right tonfa, sending it falling over the railing and down to the ground below. Another Lahmu tries to swoop down onto Makoto from behind, but Lucy quickly leaps into the air and delivers another electrified kick to its torso. As the Lahmu is sent flying back, Erza suddenly flies over and swings her sword horizontally to slash through its claws and torso. Lucy finds herself briefly falling through the air, but Makoto quickly runs over and catches her in her arms. Both girls look at each other and chuckle.
As C.C. and Marie try to reload their guns, and Wendy healing Shouto's wounds with her magic, Yui forms a barrier over them and herself. Three Lahmus slam their front claws against her barrier as they try to break through it. Kirito quickly runs over to them from behind and slashes all of them with his swords. As two more Lahmus try to crawl over to him from the left, Kirito swiftly turns to them and pulls his Elucidator back.
"VORPAL STRIKE!" Kirito shouted as he swiftly charges over and thrusts his Elucidator at them. As its blade illuminates with bright yellow light, his Elucidator incinerates the two Lahmus into ashes as he runs through them. After coming to a halt, Kirito turns around and sees Erik landing down in front of him, as well as two more Lahmus trying to swoop down onto them.
"POISON DRAGON'S GUARD!" Erik yelled as he crosses his arms and forms a large shield of poison in front of him and Kirito. The Lahmus swing their claws down onto the shield, but with no effect. When Erik lowers the shield, Kirito yells as he leaps past him and swings both his swords vertically to slice the Lahmus in half. He soon lands back on the floor and turns to Erik.
"Thanks, mister." Kirito smiled at him.
"Meh, it's nothing really." Erik replied as he shrugs his shoulders. Kirito temporarily sheathes his Elucidator as he jogs over to him. Erik stares at him in bewilderment as Kirito chuckles and holds up his fist in front of him.
"Even still, you did protect me, and it was much appreciated." Kirito said. Erik stays silent for a moment before holding up his fist.
"Yeah, sure." Erik said softly before he and Kirito bump their fists against each other.
As Rita stood still with energy flowing up through her body, and a large red circular glyph beneath her feet, Darren, Alicia, Natsu and Momo surround her as they fight off the Lahmus with their weapons and flaming fists.
"Oh, countless particles that wander Earth Land…" Rita suddenly rolls out and swings her sash around to form a spherical glyph around her. "Rain down and glorify the land…" She puts away her sash and finished chanting her spell by opening her eyes and thrusting her hand forward. "METEOR STORM!"
As several more Lahmus crawl over to Darren, Alicia, Natsu and Momo at the same time, several portals suddenly form in the sky. Everyone present on the deck of Nolan's ship look up to see several meteors emerging out from the portals and rain down on every surviving Lahmu that is crawling on and hovering over the ship. As the meteors hit them, the Lahmus squeal as they burst into ashes.
"Amazing." Lucy uttered as she and her friends look around and watch the Lahmus explode and disappear.
"Good thing she's on our side." Makoto said as she stands beside Lucy. After all the Lahmus on Nolan's ship are defeated, the portals disappear and Rita moans as she collapses on her knees.
"Rita!" Alicia cried in concern as she, Darren, Natsu and Momo quickly run over to her.
"Are you okay?" Natsu said as he kneels to her level. Rita lets out a sigh before looking up at them.
"Relax. Just a temporary shutdown of my muscular system." Rita replied. As Erza lands back down on the ship's deck, Rita inserts her hand into her pocket and gets out her lacrima orb. "Hey Captain! Are we getting any closer to Cambion Mons yet?!" She bellowed impatiently.
"Just three more kilometers away from the machine, Miss Mordio! Wait a little longer!" Nolan replied while gazing at the visualization of Rita above the large lacrima in front of him.
"I may, but Cornelia and Mard Geer sure won't!" Rita yelled back before signing off. Nolan swipes his hand through the air and brings up a visualization of all seven ships, including his own, in front of him. There are also thousands of red objects above the ships to indicate the remaining Lahmus that are still flying around them. Nolan grumbled as he grits his teeth. It seems no matter how many powerful fighters he has under his command, these winged beasts just keep on coming over to their ships to obstruct their path towards Cambion Mons. If he does not find a clear path through these monsters soon, not only will his men grow tired, but Cambion Mons will surely destroy the Flower Light Palace by now. Nolan turns to his right and swipes his hand upward to bring up a menu in front of him. He presses the red button to bring up the visualizations of the other six captains accompanying him above the large lacrima.
"This is Captain Mathias. How are you all doing?" Nolan asked.
"You can clearly see I'm a little busy trying to keep my ship under control." Emmanuel replied, still gazing at what is in front of him while steering the helm of his ship. "Other than that, I'm still in one piece."
"Why did you call us, Captain?" Macey asked as she sat on her chair in the control room of her ship.
"I want to know if there is any one of you who can help clear a path for us. These winged beasts just keep coming to block our path towards Cambion Mons, and we are clearly wasting precious time with them." Nolan said.
"Leave it to me, Captain Mathias!" Ichiya replied solemnly. Nolan turns to him and sees the leader of Blue Pegasus saluting to him with his other hand. "My ship's cannons have just finished charging up to its full potential!"
In one of the lower decks of Christina 3.0, Hibiki, Ren, Sherry and Nichiya are inside the cannon control room where they are each sitting in front of a control panel and four large-screen computers to analyze the ongoing battle outside their ship. As they turn their views by rotating the knobs on their control panels, their computers will automatically place a crosshair on every flying Lahmu that appears on-screen.
'360-degree panoramic analysis complete.' A computerized voice said throughout the room.
"Aniki! We've finished scanning the entire battlefield!" Hibiki said to Ichiya through the mic of his headphones.
"Understood, Hibiki!" Ichiya replied from the control room at the top of the ship.
As Christina 3.0 begins to levitate, Dobengal, Minerva, Jenny, and Eve, who are still on the front deck, quickly run over to the port and cling onto the railing.
"What are they doing?" Yegor said in bewilderment as he and everyone on Emmanuel's ship look up to see Christina 3.0 rising in the air.
"Ichiya, do you mind telling me what you are planning to do?" Nolan asked Ichiya through his lacrima.
"You'll find out soon enough, Captain. At the meantime, you might want to tell everyone to stay back." Ichiya replied to him.
"Alright, I trust you know what you're doing." Nolan said before looking at the visualizations of the other captains. "Attention all ships! Steer away from Ichiya's ship!"
When Christina 3.0 is now about a hundred feet above all the other ships, Ichiya brings it to a halt and waves his left hand at his lacrima to bring Hibiki up on-screen. "Adjust the cannons!"
"Adjust the cannons!" Hibiki yelled to everybody else inside the cannon control room. He, Ren, Sherry and Nichiya push down the levers on their control panels, and every cannon on the back, front and sides of Christina 3.0 rotate and aim downwards at all the Lahmus that are still flying around the other ships. Many Lahmus laugh as they look up at Christina 3.0 and decide to fly up to it.
"OPEN FIRE!" Ichiya ordered.
Upon his command, the cannons begin firing multiple lasers at the thousands of Lahmus below them. The Lahmus squeal as the lasers hit them and they soon burst into ashes. Some Lahmus try to evade them by rolling to the side, but the lasers swiftly turn around and hit them from behind. The cannons also fire its lasers at the other Lahmus that are crawling around and flying above the other ships below Christina 3.0. The lasers carefully fly around and hit the Lahmus on the decks without causing any damage to the ships themselves. Some Lahmus even try to hide behind the masts and the people on board the ship, thinking that the lasers will hit them instead. But to their surprise, the lasers go around the masts and people they are taking cover behind and still hit their correct targets.
Everyone on the decks of the other ships simply stand back and watch the Lahmus explode around them in awe.
"Incredible!" Darren yelled ecstatically as he and his friends watch the Lahmus getting hit by the lasers and bursting into ashes.
"Alright! Way a go, Ichiya!" Natsu cheered as he and Happy look up at Christina 3.0 and pump their fists and paws into the air.
"Aye!" Happy added.
"This is amazing." Allelujah said in amusement as he and Marie look around.
Erza chuckled as she looks up at Christina 3.0 and pushes a few strands of hair away from her eyes. "Maybe I should have taken a grand tour after all."
"Whoa." Hodaka said softly, standing next to Hina as they and their friends on Emmanuel's ship watch the Lahmus explode around them.
"It's like Independence Day here." Jason added as he, Brenda, Yegor, Amelia and Mei Li smile.
"This is so cool!" Mei squealed with a wide grin as she and Ayase stand next to each other on the deck of Sumeragi's ship and watch the explosions in the sky.
"I know, right?" Ayase replied. One Lahmu grins as it crawls over to Ayase on her right. But as soon as it lifts its front claw up and tries to attack her, Ayase suddenly throws a punch at its mouth while still looking up at the explosions above her. Her punch sends the Lahmu sprawling through the floor for a moment before a laser lands right on top of it and burst it into ashes.
Christina's cannons continue firing lasers at the Lahmus below her for about a minute before they suddenly stop and rotate back to their original positions.
Back in the control room of Nolan's ship, Ichiya explained to the captain through the large lacrima in front of him, "The power of my ship's cannons is out, Captain Mathias. It will take another thirty minutes for them to recharge."
"It's alright, Ichiya. Thanks to your ship, an overwhelming majority of the beasts have been eliminated. There are still about a thousand of them roaming around, but they are no longer a huge obstacle for us. We appreciate your help." Nolan smiled. Ichiya cups his chin and winks an eye at Nolan as his lips form into a lopsided smirk.
"You're welcome, Captain." Ichiya said before Nolan lifts his head up.
"Attention all ships! Most of the beasts have been taken out! Full speed ahead towards Cambion Mons!" Nolan yelled to all the captains as he extends his arm out.
"Right!" Ichiya and the other captains responded.
Sovereign: I would like to thank Amanny, LayLay lives and AquaBluey for reviewing my story, and Crimson-Tuna-Sub for checking out my story. Thanks guys!
