Soooooo, remember what I said in the previous chapter that we will check up on how Lucas, Noel, Medea, Velvet, Sayyid and the others are doing inside the capital in the next? Well, there has been a change of plans while I was writing this chapter. Instead, for the sake of pacing, we are checking up on how Jellal, Emmanuel, Sumeragi, Shinji and the others are doing in this chapter, and we will actually go over to what is happening in Crocus in the next chapter after this one. I apologize, everyone. ^^;
Until the End, Part 4
On the battlefield, Jellal, Erigor, Shou, Wally, Emmanuel, Mei Li, Amelia, Hina, Hodaka, Brenda, Jason, Yegor, the Garou Knights, the Mizuhans and the members of Quatro Cerberus, Mermaid Heel and Crime Sorciere are engaged in a battle with the remaining thousand Lahmus.
As they stand back-to-back, Erigor and Kama are able to slice through several Lahmus with their scythes. However, one Lahmu swoops down onto Kama from his right and tackles him to the ground. Erigor turns around and tries to help him, but three Lahmus quickly fly down to him to block his path. As Erigor fights them, the Lahmu stabs its right front claw into Kama's left shoulder, causing him to yell in pain. Luckily for him, Wally stands nearby and fires several bullets at the Lahmu with his rifle arm. After the Lahmu falls off him, Wally runs over and helps pull Kama up from the ground.
As five Lahmus crawl over to Neppa, he slams his fist onto the ground. Five pillars of acid erupt from the ground underneath them, sending the Lahmus flying into the air and melt away. However, one Lahmu flies over to Neppa from behind and swings its front claws horizontally at his back. Neppa yelps in pain as he falls onto the ground. The Lahmu is about to deliver an overhead strike to the back of Neppa's head with its right front claw, but Risley quickly flies through the air and performs a powerful kick to its mouth with both legs.
Cosmos summons several vines in front of her and they grab about fifty Lahmus and lift them up in the air. However, one Lahmu flies down and swings its front claw vertically to slash Cosmos's back as it lands behind her. As Cosmos yelps and stumbles forward, another Lahmu quickly crawls over to her from her left and swings its front claw horizontally to slash her left upper arm. After Cosmos collapses onto the ground, the Lahmus cut off the vines with their claws to free themselves and fly over to her while she is down.
Kamika quickly runs over and places herself in front of Cosmos. She throws multiple paper shurikens at the Lahmus and manages to take down about fifteen of them. One of the Lahmus behind her crawls over and swings both its front claws at her, but Kamika suddenly burst into multiple papers. The papers fly around the Lahmu and as Kamika magically reappears behind it, she delivers a spinning kick at the right side of its mouth and sends it sprawling through the ground. The other Lahmu behind her pounces at Kamika, who quickly turns around and forms huge amounts of gray paper in front of her to form a shield and protect herself from its attack. After the Lahmu collides against the shield, Kamika dematerializes it and quickly forms a red paper between her middle and index fingers. She blows the red paper over to the Lahmu and it suddenly creates a huge tornado of fire around it. The Lahmu squeals as it turns into ashes. As Kamika turns around to face the thirty-five remaining Lahmus that are still heading towards her and Cosmos, Beth quickly runs over to her side and thrusts her hand at them. Several carrot missiles burst out from the ground and they fly over and pierce through the Lahmus. Kamika quickly summons a yellow paper and throws it at a Lahmu that is about to fly down to Beth on her right. When the paper lands on its torso, the Lahmu squeals as it gets electrocuted, and when the lightning dies down, it collapses onto the ground.
After punching two Lahmus away from him, Hodaka turns to his left and sees another Lahmu flying down to him. It swings its right front claw diagonally at him, but Hodaka grabs it, turns to his right and slams the Lahmu onto the ground. He looks back to the front and sees four more Lahmus crawling towards him. Uosuke suddenly steps forward and as he stands beside Hodaka on the right, he holds out his hands and uses his Terrain Effect to lift the Lahmus up in the air. Hina runs over to Hodaka on his left and she quickly ducks down and slams her hands on the ground.
"Water floor!" Hina shouted as she summons huge amounts of water across the ground and head towards the Lahmus. Four water tentacles suddenly rise and coil around the Lahmus from underneath before they flail around and slam them onto the ground like they were ragdolls.
Jason, Yegor and Amelia took out several Lahmus with their swords as they stand close to each other, while Emmanuel swings his boomerang through the air and help knock out a Lahmu that was flying over to Nobarly from behind by the back of its mouth. When Nobarly turns around and sees the Lahmu falling over to him, he grabs it by its throat and slams it onto the ground.
The boomerang flies back to Emmanuel and he catches it in his hand. He turns around and swings his boomerang to deflect a diagonal strike from a Lahmu behind him. As the Lahmu stumbles back, Emmanuel quickly runs over to it, swings his boomerang horizontally, and stabs it into the left side of its throat. Another Lahmu swoops down to Emmanuel from behind as he kicks the Lahmu in front of him away. Brenda yells as she suddenly leaps into the air and stabs her sword through the left side of its mouth. Emmanuel turns around and watches them fall onto ground and Brenda stands above the Lahmu's lifeless corpse. She removes her sword and pushes a few strands of hair away from her eyes as she turns to Emmanuel. He sighs blissfully as he gazes at her and lets his arms hang limply at his sides.
"Quelle douce dame tu es vraiment, Brenda." Emmanuel said dreamily.
After ducking down to dodge a horizontal strike from a Lahmu, Mei Li swiftly gets up and grabs its right front arm. She turns around, tosses the Lahmu over her shoulder and stomps her foot onto its mouth to take it out. When she looks over her shoulder and sees another Lahmu crawling over to her from behind, Mei Li whirls about and swiftly runs over to it. The Lahmu swings its left front claw horizontally at her, and Mei Li dodges it by ducking down and sliding through the ground on her knees. When she is near its torso, Mei Li quickly gets up and delivers multiple swift punches to its chest. She delivers an uppercut to its mouth before lifting her leg up and delivers a powerful kick to its torso which sends it sprawling through the ground. After putting her leg down, Mei Li looks around and widens her eyes to see four more Lahmus crawling towards her at all sides.
After swinging her sword down to take down another Lahmu in front of her, Amelia looks up and gasps when she sees Mei Li being surrounded.
"Guys! Protect me!" Amelia yelled to Yegor and Jason before she looks back at Mei Li and pulls her sword back. "MEI LI! CATCH!"
Mei Li turns to her left and sees Amelia throwing her sword over to her. She quickly runs over and the two Lahmus on her left pounce at her. But Mei Li soon leaps high into the air and dodges both Lahmus and their claws. She flies over, grabs Amelia's sword by its hilt, lands back down and slides through the ground for a moment. She turns around and sees the four Lahmus charging towards her. Mei Li yells as she runs over to the nearest Lahmu. As the Lahmu swings its left front claw horizontally at her, Mei Li dodges it by leaping into the air. While still in the air, Mei Li whirls about and swings the sword horizontally to slice off its mouth from its body. As she lands back down, she holds up the sword in front of her back to block a horizontal strike from the second Lahmu. She turns around to deflect another diagonal strike from the Lahmu before she charges forward and stabs the sword through its torso. After kicking the Lahmu off from her sword and away from her, the last two Lahmus crawl over to her and swing their claws horizontally at the same time. Mei Li quickly jumps up and adjusts her body in a horizontal angle to dodge both their attacks and fly through the opening between their claws. After rolling over the ground, Mei Li goes over to the Lahmu on her right and swings her sword diagonally to slash its torso. The other Lahmu on her left crawls over and swings its left front claw vertically downwards onto her. Mei Li dodges it by leaping back before she swiftly runs past the Lahmu and swings the sword horizontally to slice its torso in half. She turns around and thrusts the sword through the back of its mouth to finish it. After recovering from the slash, the last remaining Lahmu pounces at Mei Li, who quickly dodges it by rolling over the ground to her left. After getting up, Mei Li runs over to Lahmu and swings the sword vertically downwards to slice the Lahmu in half through the top of its mouth and out from the bottom of its torso. As the last Lahmu slumps onto the ground, Mei Li turns around and swings the sword to the side to wipe off the blood from its blade.
Bacchus delivers a powerful punch onto the Lahmu's torso, which sends it flying through the air and colliding against two other Lahmus behind it. He turns around and sees a Lahmu crawling over to him and swings its right front claw horizontally at him. Bacchus quickly jumps up and delivers a spinning kick to deflect its attack. As the Lahmu stumbles back, Millianna pounces at it from behind and stabs her sharp nails into its mouth as she lands on top of it. As Millianna proceeds to scratch the Lahmu, Bacchus turns to his left and sees Kagura blocking several horizontal and diagonal strikes from the Lahmu in front of her. When the Lahmu steps forward and swings both front claws horizontally, Kagura leaps into the air to dodge them. As she performs several flips over the Lahmu, she swings her katana vertically through its mouth. As Kagura lands back on the ground, the mouth splits in half and the now lifeless Lahmu slumps onto the ground. Bacchus turns to his right and looks up to see Jellal grabbing a Lahmu by its throat as he flies down. He watches him land beside him and slams the Lahmu hard on the ground. After Millianna delivers a final stab to the Lahmu's throat with her nails, she jumps off it and lands in front of Jellal and Bacchus. The lifeless Lahmu collapses onto the ground behind her.
"I got to be honest with you, Jellal. Despite our combined strength, they still outnumber us seven to one." Millianna said.
"She's right. I don't know if we can do this all day." Bacchus said as Kagura runs over to them.
"Hopefully Erza and the others can take out Cambion Mons as soon as possible before our last ounce of energy." Kagura said. Jellal sighs heavily in response.
"I hope so." Jellal said.
Meanwhile, as Mei, Sumeragi and Shinji carefully remove the armor parts from Ayase's arms and legs, Tsugumi stands in front of her while holding up a large barrier to protect them from the Lahmus. Her barrier takes the form of a tile-matching game, and when Tsugumi brings down a square into a gap to form two straight lines of ten, the tiles turn into bombs. Tsugumi thrusts her hands and sends the bombs flying over to four Lahmus crawling towards her. The bombs explode as they land onto them.
After Mei, Sumeragi and Shinji finish taking out her armor and placing the parts aside, Ayase lifts her head up and tries to move her upper body. But she soon yelps in pain and quickly lies back down on the ground when she felt surges of pain coming from her upper arms and upper back. Sumeragi gently places her hand on her chest as Ayase groans and trembles.
"Hang in there, Ayase. We're going to get you out of here." Sumeragi said. As Mei stands up, Sumeragi holds out her hands and forms a layer all over Ayase's body which later turns invisible. As Sumeragi slowly stands up, she lifts Ayase up from her armor without moving a bone and muscle of her body.
"Hold out your arms, Mei." Sumeragi instructed. As Mei obliged, Sumeragi moves Ayase above her arms. When Sumeragi lowers her hands, the inventor can feel Ayase floating above her arms by a few inches.
"Go! Get out of here!" Sumeragi yelled at Mei. Without saying a word, Mei turns to her left, activates her jetpack and flies into the air.
"What do we do now?" Shinji asked as he stands up. Sumeragi whirls about and holds up her right hand to form a large circular barrier in front of them.
"Stay behind me." Sumeragi said as she sees two Lahmus flying over to them. She thrusts her right hand and shoots the barrier over to them. The Lahmus squeal as the barrier slams against them and they both plummet to the ground below.
As she carries Ayase above her arms, Mei flies towards the city of Crocus, hoping to find someone like Wendy and Estelle who has healing magic to help fix the fallen Qital Dire warrior's body. Unfortunately, both Mei and Ayase fail to notice a Lahmu flying over to them from the left. When it is near them, the Lahmu swings its left front claw horizontally and slashes Mei's jetpack. Mei and Ayase yelp as the inventor trips over, and the Qital Dire warrior falls off her arms. Both girls find themselves plummeting through the air, but luckily, Mei quickly adjusts herself and aims her hover soles at the ground below. She activates them and when she reaches the bottom, the inventor is now hovering a few inches above the ground. Ayase also reaches the bottom, but when her body is only an inch above the ground, the injured warrior finds herself rising by another inch and she is now floating in the air thanks to Sumeragi's layer over her. Mei looks over her shoulder and sighs heavily upon seeing the large slash across the back of her jetpack.
"Not again." Mei groaned.
"Look out!" Ayase cried as she sees the Lahmu flying over to Mei from her right. It swings its left front claw down onto Mei, whose left hydraulic bracer comes out from the bottom of her jetpack and lifts her high up in the air by twenty feet to evade the attack. The right hydraulic bracer soon comes out as well and places itself onto the ground to support her. Mei looks down at the Lahmu, summons her bow and fires an arrow which pierces through its throat. But after taking it down, Mei looks around and sees many more Lahmus flying over to her and Ayase.
"Well, that's just great!" Mei cried sarcastically before she starts firing her arrows at all of them. She manages to shoot down three of them, but one Lahmu swoops down to her right hydraulic bracer and swings its right front claw diagonally to slash it.
"MEI!" Ayase screamed in horror as Mei begins falling to her right.
"Oh snap!" Mei yelled as she quickly dematerializes her bow and deactivates her hydraulic bracers. She plummets through the air and was about to activate her hover soles, but suddenly a Lahmu flies down to her from behind, stabs its front claws onto her jetpack and pins her onto the ground face-first. Ayase turns her head to her left and sees the other Lahmus landing on the ground beside her.
"No!" Ayase cried before three more Lahmus land on the ground on her right. Ayase turns to them and widens her eyes in horror as she sees the Lahmus grinning and crawling towards her.
After Tsugumi shoots down another Lahmu with her bombs, a cat head shaped glyph appears beside her and it cries to her, "Nyan! Friend in danger! Nyan! Friend in danger!"
Tsugumi whirls about and gasps in horror upon seeing the Lahmus crawling over to Ayase in the distance.
"AYASE!" Tsugumi screamed to her. Upon hearing her scream, Sumeragi and Shinji turn to their right and widen their eyes.
"MEI!" Sumeragi and Shinji both cried as they see the Lahmu pinning Mei on the ground. Tsugumi grits her teeth as she turns her tile-game barrier around and claps her hands to turn all the tiles into bombs. She thrusts her hands forward to send all the bombs flying over to the three Lahmus beside Ayase on her right. However, while she was distracted, a Lahmu manages to crawl over to her from behind and swings its right front claw across the back of her right thigh. Tsugumi cries in pain as she stumbles onto the floor.
"No!" Sumeragi shouted as she thrusts her barrier at the Lahmu behind Tsugumi and knocks it to the ground.
"Sumeragi!" Shinji cried as he sees a Lahmu crawling over to Sumeragi on her left. As Sumeragi turns to the Lahmu, it swings its left front claw horizontally and successfully slashes her across her abdomen. She cries in agony as she collapses onto the ground on the back of her head.
Shinji froze in mortified horror as he sees both women are now injured, lying on the ground and unable to get up. He turns to his right and sees the other three Lahmus still crawling over to Ayase while Mei screams in agony as the Lahmu above her now stabs its right front claw through her jetpack and into her back. He gasps and turns back to the two Lahmus who took down Tsugumi and Sumeragi when he heard them laughing in glee. As he sees them now crawling over to him, Shinji trembles in fear and backs away.
"No! Get back! Stop!" Shinji cried at the Lahmus.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You're so funny when you stare at me like that!" One of the Lahmus shrieked. It soon leaps into the air and prepares to swing its front claws down onto Shinji, causing him to scream and holds up his arms in front of his face.
Suddenly, a lightning bolt flies over to the Lahmu and sends it falling back down onto the ground. Shinji turns to his left and sees three Mizuhan warriors standing several meters away from him and the other Lahmu, with the one standing in the front and center pointing his katana at the Lahmu.
"That's not funny!" The other Lahmu remarked before the Mizuhan warrior turns to it and swings his katana diagonally to fire another blast of lightning. The Lahmu squeals as the blast electrocutes it and sends it flying through the air. The other two Mizuhans quickly run over to Sumeragi and Tsugumi and carefully pull them up from the ground.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" The Mizuhan warrior asked Sumeragi.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sumeragi replied softly as she removes her arm from his shoulders. She quickly turns to the Lahmus beside Ayase and Mei and forms two circular barriers in front of her hands. She thrusts the barriers over to the Lahmus and knocks all of them down. With the Lahmu now off her back, Mei groans in pain as she lies helplessly on the ground.
Tsugumi groans as well as she struggles to stand up on her right leg. She looks back at Mei and Ayase and sees twenty more Lahmus landing on the ground and crawling over to them.
"No…Ayase!" Tsugumi cried as she staggers over to them.
"Ma'am, please don't move! You're injured!" The Mizuhan beside Tsugumi said to her in concern.
"No! I have to save Ayase before it's too late!" Tsugumi protested, holding her hand up in front of the Mizuhan as she continues walking limply.
"You won't be alone. I'm coming with you." Sumeragi moaned to Tsugumi as she walks slowly over to her and tries to ignore the pain on her lower torso.
"Thanks." Tsugumi replied softly to her.
"Sumeragi-san, please!" One of the Mizuhans cried to her. "It's too dangerous for you to fight in your current condition! Let us help you!"
"No! Your job is to stay here, protect Shinji, and stop any beast that may attack us from behind!" Sumeragi instructed the Mizuhans.
"But-" One of the Mizuhans tried to protest.
"That's an order!" Sumeragi bellowed, stopping for a moment to give the Mizuhans a fierce glare. The Mizuhans stare wordlessly at her for a moment before nodding their heads.
"Yes Ma'am!" The Mizuhans replied solemnly to her.
"Arigatou." Sumeragi said calmly before she turns back to Mei and Ayase and continues walking alongside Tsugumi.
"You, stay with the Emperor's adviser." The Mizuhan standing in the center said to the one standing on his right.
"Understood." The Mizuhan said before walking over to Shinji. The other two Mizuhans turn around and run off, but not too far away from them. As they came to a halt, they hold up their katanas in front of them and prepare to fight two Lahmus that are heading towards them.
Sumeragi holds up her hand and forms another circular barrier while Tsugumi claps her hands and creates an orange energy orb. Before three of the Lahmus could swing their claws down onto Mei and Ayase, Tsugumi throws the orb and incinerates one of them into ashes. The other two Lahmus halt their claws mid-swing and turn to Sumeragi, who thrusts her hand and fires her barrier at one of them, sending it sprawling through the ground.
"Come and get us, you freaks!" Tsugumi shouted as she claps her hands again and forms another energy orb. She throws it over to the third Lahmu, who dodges it by jumping to the side. It and the other seventeen Lahmus all squeal as they spread out their wings and fly over to Sumeragi and Tsugumi.
"That's right. Come on!" Sumeragi shouted as she holds up her hands and forms a large rectangular-shaped barrier in front of her and Tsugumi.
As he watches them engaging in a fight with the Lahmus despite their condition, Shinji cannot help but feel awful with himself. Even after witnessing the courage and bravery of Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Team Natsu, Brave Vesperia, Noel, Kirito and Yui back at the Temple of Lightning and Rita's laboratory, there is still a sense of fear and cowardice within Shinji that is holding him back from fighting alongside his friends and allies, and he hates himself for it. While others are risking their lives to protect the future of their world even in spite of their injuries, Shinji could still only stand around and serve as a burden to them. Sure, he helped distract Volt and Mirio during their fights with them, but is that all he can really do in battle?
Shinji lowers his head and clenches his fists. He felt so pathetic for not being able to provide more assistance to his allies in their time of need. He closes his eyes, as a painful memory comes to his mind.
Ten Months Ago…
Shinji and a woman with long wavy dark purple hair sat quietly in front of each other at both ends of the dining table. While the woman eats her food, Shinji could only gaze down at his bowl of ramen noodles, with his chopsticks in his right hand placed on the table and never saying a word. Dead silence is all there is ever since Shinji was picked up from school by his guardian. After getting into a fight within only his first week of senior high school, he and his classmate were brought into the principal's office, where he simply waited there for his guardian to arrive. When she eventually came after a day of work has passed, she and the principal had a long discussion with each other which ended with the school letting Shinji off with a strict reprimand. When he saw the look of disappointment on his guardian's face, he chose to remain silent for the rest of the day, from getting into her car to when Shinji dressed himself in a new set of clothes and join her for dinner in the kitchen.
After she finished eating the last of her noodles, his guardian picks up the golden can of beer beside her bowl and cracks it open.
"Are you going to eat your food or not?" His guardian asked flatly before taking a sip of her beer.
"I'm not in the mood, Misato." Shinji mumbled.
"Neither am I." Misato said as she places her can down. She stares silently at Shinji for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. "Shinji, you are going to be 16 this year. This is your first week in a new school and you are already picking fights with your classmate? When are you going to move on with your life and grow up?"
"I…I can't…" Shinji said somberly.
"What?" Misato said incredulously.
"I can't!" Shinji raised his voice.
"And why not?" Misato inquired.
"Because what you are asking is impossible!" Shinji shouted as he finally looks up and glares daggers at his guardian.
"Watch your tone!" Misato scolded.
"My life is a wreck, alright?! My mother is gone, and my father doesn't give a damn about me anymore, which is why he leaves me under the care of his colleague who lives in a cramped apartment, drives a broken car and drinks beer all day!" Shinji yelled.
"Shut it, Shinji!" Misato snapped.
"NO, YOU SHUT IT!" Shinji bellowed as he slams his chopsticks and hand on the table.
What followed was a whole minute of them glaring at each other in intense silence, which ended with Shinji biting down on his lower lip after failing to fight back the tears that are now pooling in his eyes. He hangs his head as he broke down in despair, with tears rolling down his cheeks and some splashing into his bowl of noodles. Misato sighs again before getting up from her chair. She walks over to Shinji and places her hand on his back.
"Please Shinji. You can't go on like this." Misato said softly to him as the boy kept sobbing. "You have to stop lamenting about the past and start living in the present."
"I…I can't, Misato. I-I-I…just can't." Shinji whimpered between his sobs.
"Yes, you can." Misato said firmly. "You only think you can't do it is because you are always thinking about the worst-case scenario. That is why you can never solve your problems on your own." After lowering herself to his level, Misato gently cups his chin and lifts his head up. When she turns his head to make him face her, Shinji stares back at his guardian with puffy red eyes.
"One of these days, you have to man up and stop running away from yourself." Misato continued with a solemn frown. "And I really hope the next time something bad happens, you will make the right decision. Never forget that, Shinji."
Shinji opens his eyes and looks back up at Sumeragi and Tsugumi who are now fighting with the Lahmus. Misato is right. Ever since the death of his mother and being abandoned by his father, he has been shutting himself out from the outside world and drowning inside his bottomless hole of misery and self-pity, to the point that he completely neglects and disregards everyone else around him back on Earth, including Misato.
Now, he and his allies are fighting for their lives and future in their most crucial battle yet, and rather than facing his fears and problems alongside them, he is choosing to run away from himself again. Is he really going to do that? Is he really going to shut himself out again and let everyone living in this world die and suffer because of his cowardice and selfishness?
Shinji shuts his eyes and clenches his fists tightly as he soon remembers what Darren and Alicia said to him back in Mizuho.
'If you guys hate your lives over there, why do you two still want to go back home so badly?'
'Because my mother is waiting for me. After my father died, I'm the only man in the family left who can take care of her. I don't have any siblings, so my mother is all alone right now. If I don't return to her soon, then I'm just being selfish for only thinking about myself. And I learnt my lesson the hard way through what happened between me and my former friend, and my father.'
'For me, I'm honestly just like you. I too initially thought of staying here in Earth Land, with Brave Vesperia. But after spending more time with Darren and Team Natsu…and after seeing how much courage Darren has displayed to keep himself moving forward despite all the hardships and obstacles…I decided I want to become strong as well. So that when we get back home, I'll be strong enough to face my parents…and change my fate.'
'Shinji…Everything will be fine.'
Shinji grimaced before muttering to himself, "I mustn't run away…I mustn't run away…I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away!"
"Ikari-san, are you alright?" The Mizuhan standing beside him asked in concern.
As he lifts his head up, Shinji snaps his eyes open and turns around to the other two Mizuhans, who manage to defeat the Lahmus and remove their swords from their mouths.
"Both of you!" Shinji yelled at them, causing the two Mizuhans to turn around and stare at him in bewilderment. He turns to the Mizuhan standing beside him and said flatly, "And you."
"Yes sir?" The Mizuhan asked in confusion.
Shinji points his finger at the armor laying on the ground beside him and ordered, "Help me get inside that armor!"
Sumeragi and Tsugumi stand back-to-back while the remaining twelve Lahmus laugh as they hover in the air and surround them. Both women were able to defeat six of them, but they are now breathing heavily with cuts all over their arms and legs. Tsugumi summons a wooden duck with a string underneath it. She pulls the string down and the duck quacks as it shoots a pink energy orb out from its beak. Tsugumi catches the orb with her right hand and the duck disappears.
"Ma'am…it's been an honor fighting alongside you." Tsugumi said grimly to Sumeragi as they look at each other over their shoulders.
"The honor is all mine." Sumeragi replied to her with a weak smile. As they look back at the Lahmus, Sumeragi sighs dejectedly. "How I wish I can have one last sip of wine before my death…"
As the Lahmus snicker at the two women, one of them began hovering towards Sumeragi, who quickly holds up her hand and forms a circular barrier in front of her.
"HEY! LEAVE THEM ALONE!"
Sumeragi and Tsugumi both gasp upon hearing the voice.
"Shinji?!" Sumeragi cried incredulously as she and Tsugumi turn to the direction of his voice. The Lahmus stop and turn as well to see Shinji standing about fifty meters away from them.
While still lying helplessly on the ground, Mei and Ayase also turn their heads to Shinji, and they both widen their eyes and gape their mouths open upon seeing his new appearance.
"No way." Mei uttered.
"Is that my armor?" Ayase said in bewilderment.
"Shinji…" Tsugumi murmured as she, Sumeragi, Mei, Ayase and the Lahmus see that Shinji is now dressed in Ayase's Qital Dire armor while holding the horned helmet in front of his abdomen with both hands, making him tower all of them by a few feet.
As he glares fiercely at the Lahmus, Shinji quietly places the helmet over his head and the visor illuminates with bright yellow light. After making sure his helmet is secure, Shinji gets into his battle stance and prepares to fight the Lahmus. As the Lahmus shudder, Shinji begins walking towards them…only to lose his balance upon making his second step, and he collapses onto the ground face first.
Sumeragi, Tsugumi, Ayase, Mei and the Lahmus all stare blankly at him for a moment before the beasts burst into laughter. As the Lahmus, Sumeragi and Tsugumi look back at each other, the two women return to their fighting stances. The Lahmu flies over to Sumeragi, pulls its left front claw back and-
Before it could land its attack on her, several bullets fly over to the Lahmu and shoot through its body, causing it to squeal as it falls and sprawls through the ground. The other Lahmus briefly look down at the now lifeless beast before they, Sumeragi and Tsugumi look back at Shinji and see him holding up a sub machine gun. The Lahmus shriek as they all fly over to Shinji.
"Get up, Shinji!" Sumeragi shouted at him. Shinji tries to get himself up, but the Lahmus reach him and four of them pull him back up on his feet as they grab him by piercing their claws through the back of the shoulders and upper arms of his armor. Shinji yells in pain as he gets dragged back, but he quickly stomps his feet down on the ground and throws his head and body forward to bring himself to a halt. When he does, he manages to move his right arm and grabs a Lahmu on his left shoulder. Without mercy, Shinji clenches his hand into a fist, crushing the Lahmu in the process. He swings his right fist horizontally to send the other eight Lahmus hovering in front of him falling to the ground.
"Alright, Shinji!" Tsugumi cheered as she pumps her left fist into the air.
"Come on! We got to help Mei and Ayase while he is busy with them." Sumeragi said to her. Tsugumi nods her head before they turn around and stagger over to their fallen comrades.
The other three Lahmus that are still hanging onto his right shoulder and upper arms continuously stab their claws into his armor, hoping to break through it. But it proves futile as Shinji grabs the Lahmu on his right shoulder with his left hand and crushes it as well by tightening his grip. He throws both crushed Lahmus in his hands onto the ground before grabbing the remaining two Lahmus on his upper arms. Four Lahmus who recover from his punch fly over to Shinji and try to swing their front claws at him. But Shinji turns and throws the Lahmus in his hands at them. As the Lahmus collide against them, the impact breaks their bodies in the process and they all plummet to the ground in a bloodied and mangled mess. One Lahmu flies over to Shinji from his left and swings both its front claws horizontally at his head. But Shinji quickly turned and grabs its front claws with both hands. They only stay in a stalemate for a brief moment before Shinji crushes its claws by tightening his grip around them. As the Lahmu squeals, Shinji lifts his left leg up and delivers a powerful kick to its torso, tearing off its front claws in the process and sending it falling through the air and sprawling through the ground.
As Shinji turns around and sees the last three Lahmus flying towards him, he throws the front claws at them and they pierce through the throats of two of them. The last remaining Lahmu shrieks as it manages to land onto his face and tries to pierce all four claws through the sides of his helmet. But Shinji grabs its torso with both hands and pulls it off his face. As he looks back at the Lahmu, the beast delivers one final laugh, causing him to narrow his eyes and grit his teeth as he tightens his grip around its torso to crush its body. He proceeds to pull and rip its body in half, letting its blood spill onto the ground.
Sumeragi, Tsugumi, Ayase and Mei all watch in awe as Shinji tosses both halves of the Lahmu's body away and look down at his hands. Sumeragi has since gotten Mei sitting up properly on the ground while Tsugumi kneels beside Ayase.
"This armor is amazing." Shinji remarked before his lips form into a wide smile. He whooped excitedly as he throws his head back and pumps his fists up in the air. "YEEEESSSS! I did it! I actually fought in battle! WHOO! Oh Misato, if only you have seen me."
"What do you know? That boy has potential to be a great fighter after all." Sumeragi said with a wide smile.
"Indeed." Ayase replied as she, Tsugumi and Mei smile as well.
"One suggestion of mine, that armor would have look even cooler in purple." Mei commented.
Shou throws several cards at five Lahmus in front of him. The cards explode when they land on them. But when the smoke is cleared, Shou gasps in shock to see that they are all still standing with their front claws crossed in front of them. The Lahmus place their front claws down and laugh at him. But as soon as they try to charge towards him, Shinji runs over from their right and flails his fists at them, causing the Lahmus to squeal as they are sent flying through the air. One Lahmu swoops down at Shinji and tries to swing its front claws down at his head. But Shinji quickly grabs its front claws, tears them off and stabs them into the Lahmu's mouth. After tossing it away, Shinji turns to his left, leans forward and charges over to another small group of Lahmus. The Lahmus squeal as the horn of Shinji's helmet pierce through their torsos and throats.
Shou, Jellal, Millianna, Kagura, Bacchus, Emmanuel, Mei Li, the Garou Knights, the Mizuhans and everyone else all silently stand and watch Shinji take down multiple Lahmus on his own for a moment before they all erupt with loud cheers.
"Come on, everyone! Let's take them all out!" Kagura shouted as she holds up her katana. Everyone yells as they charge towards the enemy. With Shinji now in his new armor and providing them the extra power they desperately needed, they can finally turn the tide in their fight against the Lahmus.
Sovereign: I would like to thank Amanny, AquaBluey, LayLay lives, Mustafa Jawad1, generatorsonicevo and Crimson-Tuna-Sub for reviewing, favoriting, following, and checking out my story. Thanks everyone!
I hope everyone enjoys reading this chapter. Again, I apologize that this chapter isn't about how Lucas, Noel and the others are doing in Crocus because I actually did write it, but this chapter will go way longer than it needed to be if I include it in this chapter. And I felt it is better to show how Jellal, Shinji and the others are doing against the thousand surviving Lahmus first before we head to Crocus for the sake of pacing. Still, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and next time, we will check up on how Lucas, Noel, Medea, Velvet, Sayyid and the others are doing inside the capital.
Misato Katsuragi is from Neon Genesis Evangelion.