Prologue
Nine o'clock. Two hours left.
Jenma, the overworked management trainee, muttered beneath her breath and looked through the lens of her binoculars. She regarded the clock tower in the distance across the River Thames and the titan of light leaning listlessly against it. While she peered through the lenses, the distant sounds of war still reached her ears: the crackle of firearms, the clashes of swords, scythes and tridents and the blast of cannons that rumbled like thunder.
All of the sudden, a stray bullet whizzed past her and caused her to take cover behind the remains of a collapsed brick building. That bullet struck a wooden sign off its hinge and the sign flopped loudly onto the cobblestone street.
Grumbling, Jenma set aside her binoculars and turned her eyes to the fallen sign on the street. It was the sign of what was once the English Maiden cafe.
The place where it all began.
Jenma looked up to the dome of green haze that encapsulated the city of London and groaned.
If only we had managed to gather all of the Myths here back then, we wouldn't be cutting it so close. But then again… the Ancient Ones were prepared for us from the start.
Before she could reminisce any more, the sound of three galloping horses reached Jenma's ears. The management trainee turned towards the horses and saw J-chad riding ahead of Calli and Kiara on one horse and Gura and Ina on the other.
"Southwark is ours!" J-chad reported proudly and hopped off her horse with practiced ease, "The Myths led the charge like champs so we made it all the way to the bridgehead of Westminster Bridge. We captured their stables too!"
Calli hopped off of her horse together with Kiara next and added with concern, "Thing is, Mr. Lowry's holed up at the Westminster Bridge with the bulk of their forces. Looks like they're planning to make their last stand there."
"I think so too." Kiara agreed and dusted the soot and sweat from her face, "They've got lots of guns gathered there. I can't get as close as I'd like to. They have faced me before too, so they're not as afraid of me as last time."
"What about Death-sensei?" Jenma put a hand on her hip now.
"Nobody's seen the guy at all since we began the attack." Gura answered this time. She and Ina dismounted their horse and the Atlantean groaned, "We haven't seen that oversized pooch of his either. I think they're up to something."
"Either way, we've got a stalemate on our hands right now." Ina spoke grimly and folded her arms, "Sir Bloop, Empress Iustitia and Ophelia are preparing to besiege Westminster Bridge, but we simply don't have enough time to breach that blockade."
"That's why we're gonna have to be creative." Jenma smiled at the ladies gathered before her, "It's going to be up to us to break that siege. It's the only way we'll be able to reach Miss Amelia in time." She then laid a hand on the handle of the katana she wore at her side and added, "Plus, you kids will finally get to meet the real owner of this baby here."
With that, Jenma went over her strategy with J-chad and the Myths one last time and she marshalled them to the back alley of the ruined English Maiden cafe. They removed the manhole lid and the Myths climbed down into the labyrinth of the London sewers one by one. That left J-chad and Jenma alone for a brief moment.
"You otherworlders are something else, huh?" J-chad hummed with an amused smirk, "You're councillors, planners and warriors all rolled into one. It's kinda impressive."
"Managers of the Cover Corporation carry a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders, shoe-lady." Jenma chuckled, "We have to be ready to support our talents to the best of our abilities at all times. It's not an easy job at all, but it's worth it. We're in the business of making people happy, after all."
"Is that so?" J-chad scratched the back of her head, "Sounds like a headache to me."
That remark brought a frown to Jenma's lips and her eyes grew sharp.
"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Jenma snapped.
J-chad burst into laughter but mellowed down into a warm, earnest smile.
"It's a headache that I'd like to try for myself, though. Didn't you say that I wouldn't be a bad manager back then?"
Jenma's sour face suddenly went beet red.
"Y-you heard that!?" She panicked.
"I may not look like it, but I'm very observant." J-chad winked playfully, "I've been watching little Calli grow up into a wonderful woman, after all. If working for Cover Corp means I can keep guiding her, I'd be pretty damn happy!"
Jenma puffed up her cheeks, pointed her nose up and folded her arms
"W-well, like I said, it's not an easy job. You're gonna need to talk to Enma-senpai, and fill in paperwork and whatnot." The blonde trainee then glanced shyly at J-chad and meekly added, "B-but, if we make it out of this mess alive, I could put in a good word or two for you."
J-chad, however, stayed silent for a moment and just watched Jenma quietly.
"W-what's wrong?" Jenma asked with rising self-consciousness, "S-say something, damn it!"
"Hmm… I just thought you looked cute when you're embarrassed." J-chad spoke her unfiltered thoughts with a bright grin.
"H-huh!?"
While Jenma was overheating from J-chad's remarks, Gura poked her head out from the manhole and leered at the two ladies.
"Are you two done?" The Atlantean's eyes were like those of dead fish.
J-chad burst out into laughter again and Jenma facepalmed. The rogue senior reaper however, smiled earnestly and spoke.
"I look forward to working with you, Jenma- senpai ."
AlterMyth
What Truly Matters
Eighty-Eighth Scene - Bury The Hatchet
Underneath the war-torn city of London, a labyrinthine network of sewer tunnels sprawled. Jenma, armed with her futuristic, powerful flashlight, followed J-chad's lead while the four Myths trailed behind them and huddled around a ball of fire that hovered over Kiara's hand for light.
Even in that dark, damp space, the rumbles of war reached their ears and echoed through the sewers like an eerie, inhuman heartbeat. Thus, the ladies forded the shallow, ankle-deep waters with grave urgency.
Jenma regarded the brick walls of the sewers and saw the signs of the bitter struggle that had taken place in this darkness many months ago. Slash-marks were cut into the brick sewer walls while empty, rusted casings from all sorts of firearms clinked against each other, displaced by the management trainee's hurried steps.
Before long, J-chad paused and announced with restrained calm.
"Jenma. We're here."
Jenma turned to where the rogue senior reaper pointed and saw what she had been hoping to see for four months now. Under the faint light that flowed through the grills of a storm drain, the lonely figure of Ennis-Marie Miyamoto stood petrified in a prison of pure obsidian stone.
Enma-senpai…
Emotions swelled in the trainee's heart. She instinctively gripped the fabric of her dress shirt and felt the beginnings of tears welling up in the sides of her eyes.
To think that I was considering leaving you to save face to A-chan senpai.
Grief gripped at Jenma, but she felt J-chad's reassuring hand on her shoulder. That hand reminded her of what she still had to do.
Jenma reached into her satchel and brought out the hardbound Book of Enma. She held the book firmly in her hand before she passed it towards Ina. Then, she looked straight into Ina's purple eyes and begged.
"Please save my senpai, Miss Ina."
Ina nodded and took the book from her.
With the book in hand, Ina carefully walked over to the statue of Enma and the grimoire AO-chan floated behind her. She briefly thumbed through the pages of the book and purple runes started appearing around AO-chan.
Ina started to chant in a language that neither Jenma nor anyone else could understand. The book of Enma started to shine brilliantly and bathed the obsidian statue in warm, purple light. Slowly but surely, cracks started to form on the statue and the hardbound book began to fizzle away into specks of light.
Jenma watched the process with pursed lips and clenched fists. Her heart beat wildly against her chest as her darkest fears clashed against most stubborn hopes.
Moments later, the obsidian statue shattered and a live, human woman appeared behind its shell. The manager Enma returned to the land of the living in the flesh. She was clad in the same clothes that she wore when she and Jenma parted ways.
Enma, fatigued by her four months of magical lethargy, stirred but stumbled clumsily forward into the sewer waters. However, Jenma rushed forward and caught her boss in her arms before she fell.
"Enma- senpai! "
A groggy croak escaped from Enma's lips.
"…Jenma?"
Hearing Enma's voice again made the emotions brewing in Jenma's heart boil over. She hugged Enma tightly and started to weep tears of absolute joy.
"Enma- senpai ! It's really you, Enma- senpai! "
Enma wanted to break free from her junior's impassioned bearhug, but she simply didn't have the strength. Thus, she hugged Jenma back and answered her.
"Yeah. Good to see you again."
While she was wrapped snugly in Jenma's arms, Enma's eyes were drawn to the ball of flame that illuminated the familiar face of the Phoenix Kiara Takanashi. She squinted a little bit, but soon saw the faces of the three other Myths accompanying her.
The Priestess Ina'nis Ninomae.
The Atlantean Gawr Gura.
The Grim Reaper Calliope Mori.
"You've done well, kid." Enma praised wholeheartedly, "I knew you could do it."
"Thank you, senpai ." Jenma gladly accepted, "But I wouldn't have been able to get this far without everyone's help."
"Us managers have to work together with the talents, Jenma." Enma reminded her junior, "We're all in this together - until the bitter end."
While she was speaking, she noticed the presence of J-chad among the Myths. Enma tensed up when their eyes met, but J-chad just shrugged.
"I ain't here to fight you folks no more." J-chad reassured, "Plus, I'm here to help you and Jenma get the fifth Myth safe and sound. You folks sent out five invitations, after all."
Jenma finally let go of Enma and concurred.
"It's a long story, but the Ancient Ones chose Miss Ame as their Priestess to do who knows what."
"I see. A lot of things have happened since that day, huh?" Enma hummed, "Though, a part of me wants to have a rematch of that fight, madam reaper."
When Enma said this, however, her legs buckled and she had to cling onto Jenma for support.
J-chad dug into her satchel and brought out a piece of hardtack biscuit. She handed it to Enma with a smile.
"Don't push yourself too hard, big boss lady. Eat up and rest first. When this is all over, we can have as many rematches as you want."
Enma took the hardtack biscuit and scoffed with amusement.
"I'll hold you to that promise, madam reaper."
"Oh yeah." J-chad grinned at Enma, "Call me J-chad. We'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on after all."
"Seeing a lot of each other…?" Enma tilted her head and turned to Jenma with suspicion.
"Let's just say I decided to scout her, senpai ." Jenma hastily explained. She then reached into her pocket and brought out the black-rimmed glasses that she had been holding onto since she was in France, "I'll leave the final decision to you."
Enma took the glasses and wore them once again.
"Very well, Miss J-chad." Enma adjusted her glasses and smiled, "Consider this a working interview. We'll see if you're up to the task."
"You can count on me, Miss Enma." J-chad gave a playful yet eager salute.
Eighty-Ninth Scene - The Headhunters' Reprise
While the sluggish Enma was reuniting with her colleagues - old and new - the earth beneath their feet shook wildly and the waters of the London sewers sloshed around in an unsettling rhythm. Enma nearly lost her balance again, but she clung onto Jenma and J-chad for dear life.
In short order, the tunnel to Westminster Bridge and the route back to the English Maiden Cafe were blocked off by formations of Grim Reapers. The Myths and their managers were corralled by those two platoons so quickly that they huddled together to protect the frail Enma.
To make matters worse, Death-sensei himself and the large hellhound Brutus joined the fray from the Westminster side.
Brutus barked loudly from its three canine heads that the ladies felt like they were being hit by irregular gusts of nauseating wind. Twenty paces separated them on each side, but they were most definitely trapped.
"I had a feeling that you would come here, Jacqueline Chadwick. Calliope Mori." The Lord of Death spoke with a powerful voice that echoed throughout the sewers, "Lady Knowledge informed me that HoloMyth retrieved the book to reverse the spell that we cast on Miss Miyamoto, so it was only natural that we would lay an ambush for your sorry souls. You and Calliope also preferred the indirect approach to battle as well."
He pointed a bony hand towards Calli and J-chad and lamented.
"The two of you were my most promising students. Dutiful. Efficient. Unorthodox, but deadly. If something had to be done, I would send the Potomac Platon with the two of you at the helm! But the events at the Sous La Lune have shaken my faith to the core. After all, the Myths wouldn't have been able to cause that much chaos without help from within our ranks. I knew I had traitors in my midst."
"You're off your rocker, Death-sensei." J-chad summoned her heavy scythe and argued, "The whole campaign against the Otherworlders was bad enough…but this whole plan with Mr. Lowry and Lady Knowledge is plain madness! We're guardians of the afterlife, not overlords in the land of the living!"
"Madness is not seizing opportunities being handed to you on silver platters, Chadwick!" Death-sensei lectured, "You and Calliope are young and foolish, so I forgive you for not being able to see the big picture of our goals. Capturing London is but one step in our plans. Steven, Lady Knowledge and I have our minds set on something much greater!"
"Yeah? And what the hell could these grand schemes be?" J-chad demanded now, completely unamused.
Death-sensei laughed heartily at J-chad and taunted her.
"You have seen the blue blade that the Titan of Light of Amelia Watson wields, yes? That blade is the manifestation of a miracle waiting to happen - concentrated cosmic and karmic energy that can pierce through the borders of reality! With a Priestess as talented as Amelia Watson, we may even be able to bend reality to our wills if we please!"
His eyes then met with J-chad's and made his revelation.
"The Ancient Ones, in their wisdom, anticipated the arrival of Cover Corporation. When the initial party made it to this world, the Ancient Ones severed the connection of the Otherworlders to that company. Our original goal was to ransom Miss Enma, Miss Jenma and the five Myths to Cover, but given Miss Amelia's potential, we will not have to negotiate anything anymore! We would invade their world and overwhelm them in their home!"
Jenma's and Enma's faces went pale when they heard this. The Myths, on the other hand, wielded their weapons with looming concern.
"In the eleventh hour, the Ancient Ones will flood this world with eldritch horrors that you young and foolish whelps couldn't dare to world will fall. Then, the world of the Cover Corporation will follow soon after!"
Tense silence fell upon the sewers of London, but it was promptly broken by amused laughter. The frail manager Enma was laughing at the Lord of Death's revelation.
"What's so funny, Otherworlder?" Death-sensei lashed out at her, "I have glimpsed into the world you came from. The Cover Corporation will be a formidable foe, but it too shall fall to the inevitable!"
"You're absolutely right. The Cover Corporation is incredibly powerful." Enma adjusted her glasses and smirked, "You're so wrapped up in your grand schemes that you forgot to look at what's in front of you right now!" She then spread out her arms and declared, "We are Cover Corporation, you bonehead! We are Hololive!"
"What…!?" Death-sensei recoiled. He turned to his two former students and gasped, "But… that means that the two of you are…"
J-chad snorted and stepped forward towards her old boss.
"Calli and I are joining Hololive, chief, and you ain't stopping us. Consider this our notice of resignation!"
Ninetieth Scene - Old Dogs, New Tricks
At the drop of a hat, Jenma, J-chad and the four Myths sprung into action.
The small fireball that had been hovering over Kiara's hand swelled with power, turning into an infernal blaze that sent gusts of wind flying in all directions. Kiara raised up her hand and crushed the fireball above her head. Waves of fire flowed out in a circle and funneled through the brick walls of the sewers, incinerating the loyalist reapers that were caught in the blast.
Beneath Kiara's hand, however, the Myths and the managers were safe beneath a magical dome of shimmering orange light. When the inferno died down, only the smoldering outline of another magical barrier remained of the enemy forces. Death-sensei, the hellhound Brutus and a lucky few reapers within the force shield appeared behind that barrier, shaken but defiant.
Beads of sweat formed on Kiara's brow and she took a long, deep breath while the flames of her inferno died around her. She was winded, but she still summoned her buckler shield and fiery broadsword. Before she could say anything, the magical barrier around Death-sensei dissipated and dark crimson magic coalesced into his tremendous scythe.
The ground beneath Death-sensei's feet shook and wisps of dark crimson magic circled around the blade of the scythe. He raised up the scythe this time and gave his furious reply.
"You cannot stop the inevitable! Woe upon you, you foolish children!"
Just like before, Death-sensei swung his overcharged scythe through the air. A horizontal crescent moon wave of dark crimson energy flew through the sewers. The edges of the crescent moon tore through the brick walls of the sewers like hot knives through butter and came flying towards them.
Calli stepped forward this time, unfazed by her former master's vaunted technique. She wielded her scythe firmly, steeled her stance before the looming wave and cried out.
" Kusotori ! Lend me a hand!"
With that, Kiara waved her hand and imbued Calli's scythe with luminous Phoenix fire. Orange magic melded with Calli's pink energies and the earth started to shake beneath her feet as well.
"You dare use my technique against me!" Death-sensei growled.
"This ain't your technique, chief!" Calli spat back, "It's mine and kusotori's !"
The rogue reaper watched the crimson crescent flying towards her and she pulled her luminous scythe back in anticipation. Once the crescent drew close, Calli swung her scythe and halted its advance. She dug her feet down into the damp, brick canal floors and managed to hold her ground.
In the blink of an eye, the crimson crescent and the luminous energy in Calli's scythe burst into flashes of light. The powerful crimson crescent was dispelled!
"Impossible!" The Lord of Death relented. His steeled stance softened and his wrinkly human disguise as Captain Morison came undone, revealing parts of the hollow skeleton behind it.
Calli, likewise, had parts of her flesh and muscles dissolve into ashes. The rogue reaper, however, stood firm and unfazed. She turned to Kiara with a partially bony grin and urged.
"Let's go, kusotori! Let's drop some bars on this old man!"
"Lead the way, Calli!"
Kiara and Calli, despite their fatigue, led the charge through the devastated sewers to clash with the Lord of Death. Ina, Gura, J-chad and Jenma rushed to join them, but the hellhound Brutus leapt over the battle lines and intercepted them.
Debris and sewer water went flying towards the four of them, forcing them to shield themselves. Gura shook off the soot and sewer water from her hands and groaned.
"What the hell did Watson see in this pooch!?" The Atlantean whirled her aquamarine trident now, "It's rude and loud and stinky!"
"Ame probably thought it's just as stinky as you, Gura!" Ina taunted and summoned her twelve tentacles behind her.
"Hey, watch it…!" Gura grumbled, but stood shoulder to shoulder with Ina when they faced off against the beast. She passed her Single Action Army revolver to the Priestess and asked, "You ready for this, Ina?"
"As ready as we'll ever be!" Ina took Gura's revolver, drew her own P220 pistol and flicked off the safeties of both guns. She then turned to Jenma and cried, "Call the shots, manager-san !"
"Just like we practiced, ladies!" Jenma drew her Glock 26 pistol and pulled back the slide emphatically, "Give em' hell!"
Ina and Jenma pointed their guns at Brutus and began peppering him with a relentless hail of bullets. Under the cover of that barrage, Gura and J-chad closed the gap with their own weapons in tow.
"It's kinda nice to be back in the saddle with you, Miss Chadwick." Gura remarked while she ran, "Looks like we'll be working for the same company again too!"
"That seems to be the case, kiddo!" J-chad chuckled, "Now let's put this doggie to sleep!"
On her mark, J-chad launched herself towards Brutus' leftmost head while Gura leapt towards the rightmost. Together, they unleashed powerful flurries of attacks that staggered two of the Cerberus' canine heads. The middle head of Brutus howled in pain, but poised itself to pounce on his stubborn opponents and bite them.
All of the sudden, Brutus' eyes were drawn to Ina's. The Priestess' eyes glowed bright gold and a smug smirk formed on her lips. AO-chan floated behind her too, emanating purple runes while Ina cast her spell. Then, once the spell was ready, Ina looked straight into Brutus' eyes and extended her hand towards him.
"Wah!"
The eyes of the hellhound's middle head became incredibly heavy and nearly put the large hellhound to sleep. It stood firm and swung the claws of its front paws wildly, but it was clearly disoriented by the combined assault. Gura and J-chad clashed against Brutus' claws with their weapons while Ina continued peppering the beast with pistol fire.
That was Jenma's cue to act.
Jenma holstered her futuristic pistol and drew her beloved senpai's red-bladed katana. She stole a glance behind her and saw the recovering Enma watching her with anticipation. The senior manager gave Jenma an encouraging smile and cried out to her ward.
"Show me what you've got, dear kouhai !"
"You got it, senpai! "
Spurred by Enma's words, Jenma ran through the devastated sewers towards Brutus with the red katana in tow. Her blond hair flew in the wind and she, for the first time, felt like she was flying in battle.
Gura and J-chad saw Jenma approaching, so they hopped out of the way and let her through. The management trainee took a deep breath and unleashed a powerful skyward slash upon Brutus' middle head. That strike brought the beast down and its three canine heads plopped down onto the shallow waters of the sewer. However, the creature's serpentine tail hissed furiously and tried to bite Jenma.
Jenma snorted and swung her raised blade down. In one smooth motion, she decapitated the serpentine tail. Brutus' entire body fizzled away into wisps of green, magical light.
When the lights dissipated in the darkness, a small, brown hunting terrier dog remained in Brutus' place. It whimpered in fear like a regular dog, but the creature maintained a weak magical aura about it.
"It's a shapeshifter…?" Ina assessed together with AO-chan, "Is this what Ame saw, perhaps? This cute little dog?"
"We'll have to ask Ame when we get to her, Ina." Gura proposed. She rested the handle of her trident on her shoulder and reminded, "For now, we have a war to end."
Ina nodded with an eager smile. With that, she marched forward with Gura, Jenma and J-chad to join Calli and Kiara in their fight against Death-sensei. The Lord of Death saw the four approaching him menacingly and what remained of his face became paler than death itself.
The tired manager Enma watched the battle from afar and wore a knowing smile on her lips. Her bright red eyes turned to the small hunting terrier whimpering nearby. Enma picked up the little pooch and cradled it in her arms until it calmed down. She then looked up to the green haze sky through the grills of the storm drain above her and mused to herself.
"Looks like you and YAGOO struck gold again this time, A-chan senpai . Not just in the talents - but in the managers too. Hololive English is in good hands. I'm glad."
Epilogue
Ten thirty o'clock. Thirty minutes left.
Big Ben rang for the half hour and the stalemate at the southern bridgehead of Westminster Bridge looked like it was going to carry on. Cannons and Maxim machine guns fired from hastily made ramparts hobbled together by the forces of Mr. Lowry while rifles poked out from behind the barricades of the loyalist coalition.
The High Priest of the Esoteric Order led his troops in battle as if he were the bona fide Prime Minister of Great Britain and urged them all to hold the line at all costs.
"Thirty minutes left, ladies and gentlemen! The new age will arrive, so these walls must hold at all costs!"
While Mr. Lowry made his speeches to rouse his soldiers, the artillery on his ramparts fell silent one by one. The gunfire from the barricades softened too until an uneasy silence reached the madman's ears.
"Why are you stopping, you buffoons! Keep firing!" Mr. Lowry's face went red with fury, "Our guns and cannons are the only things standing between the nonbelievers and the promised land!"
However, his impassioned cries seemed to fall on deaf ears. Furious, Mr. Lowry turned around to check on his ramparts and his barricades. That was when his red face went pale with fear.
Behind him, he saw the crews of the Armstrong cannons and the Maxim guns on their knees with their hands behind their heads. The ladies of HoloMyth, along with their three managers, had emerged from the sewers right behind the ramparts and they held up Mr. Lowry's artillery without firing a shot. At the same time, that lull in combat allowed the combined forces of the Atlanteans, the reapers of the Potomac Platoon and the Londoner partisans to close the gap and storm the barricades.
J-chad summoned her scythe and Jenma drew her senpai's red katana. The two of them hopped over the ramparts and surrounded Mr. Lowry with the blades of their weapons.
"Inconceivable…" Disbelief escaped Mr. Lowry's trembling lips.
"Oh, you'd better believe it." J-chad spoke casually, "Death-sensei bit the dust in the sewers, but we haven't thought about what we're gonna do with you yet."
"Grim Reapers are able to revive after a while, but humans like us don't have that ability, good sir." Jenma taunted and held the blade of her katana near Mr. Lowry's throat, "Though, after all the crap you've done, dying might be the better way out of this."
Mr. Lowry cowered under the shadows of the two Cover Corp managers. He saw a handful of people crossing the barricades towards him. Tagmatarchis Bloop, Empress Iustitia IV, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson made their way through together with cadres of Atlantean soldiers to round up Mr. Lowry's troops.
Then, one last figure climbed over the barricade.
His daughter Ophelia Lowry, wielding her M1897 shotgun.
The beleaguered aristocrat girl fired her shotgun into the air and yelled at the top of her lungs, telling the rest of Mr. Lowry's forces to surrender.
When Ophelia turned around, Mr. Lowry called out to her.
"Ophelia! My dear, Ophelia! You have to come to your senses and talk these madwomen out of this! These folks from Cover Corporation are manipulating you!"
Ophelia marched towards her father and a dark shadow formed over her honey brown eyes. Jenma and J-chad backed off for Ophelia, but kept their weapons drawn. The aristocrat girl slung her shotgun over her shoulder, ran a hand through her brown hair and answered her father with grave displeasure.
"This is the first time we met face to face in months, dear father. You froze my bank account, had me hunted down like game and left me to die in some Darwinian game with the Ancient Ones… and now you ask for my help!? You never cared about me, dear father! You only cared about yourself!"
"T-that's not true, dear Ophelia. Everything you have - everything you are - I gave it to you!" Mr. Lowry's face went red with anger once again, "YOU GOT IT FROM ME, YOU UNGRATEFUL DAUGHTER YOU!"
"Oh yeah? That may be true, but I've learned a thing or two after you tried to feed me to the dogs." Ophelia scoffed and stood firm before her kneeling father. She knelt down and stared into her father's eyes to declare, "I can stand up on my own two feet. I can do things I never thought I could do. I'm not the same Ophelia who relied on you for every damn thing! You don't have power over me anymore! Discombobulate!"
When Ophelia said this, she raised up her hands and clapped both of her father's ears at once. Discombobulated, Mr. Lowry plopped down to the cobblestone streets, out cold.
Ophelia looked up to the skies of London now and mused.
"Is it over now?"
However, the green haze encapsulating the town remained above them and the titan of light that resembled Amelia Watson remained resting against the clock tower of Big Ben across the Westminster Bridge. Ophelia was about to turn around to see to capturing her father's forces when she noticed something strange.
The hands of the clock tower of Big Ben were moving incredibly fast! Thirty minutes were condensed into thirty seconds and the belfry of Big Ben rang eleven times. It was almost as if an otherworldly presence had possessed the clocktower itself!
With each ring of the bell, the titan of light stirred and shrieked. Despair and tortured agony painted the titan's shrill voice as if the towering beast was fighting something within itself.
When the eleventh bell rang, the titan stopped its agonized throes and stood up straight and pointed. It drew the powder blue cross-shaped sword from the ruined walls of Westminster Palace and roared a mighty roar that threatened to shatter the ears of friend and foe alike.
The creature's faceless visage shimmered with bright golden light, centered around where its forehead should be. Wisps of golden light started to fall from the visage like diamond tears.
Those diamond tears orbited around the titan's forehead and illuminated all at once. A powerful beam burst out from the titan's forehead, magnified by the myriad of tears, and tore through the entire length of Westminster Bridge in one fell swoop! The once mighty bridge was set ablaze and its foundations started to moan on the verge of collapse.
Inhuman eyes started to form in the confines of the green haze above the city of London. Those eyes regarded the war-scarred city with unsettling gazes. From those eyes, eldritch horrors emerged like black tears and descended upon London en masse like meteorites. All the while, the titan of light raised its blue sword up high once more and slammed the blade into Westminster Bridge, destroying it in a cloud of smoldering soot and debris.
Gura, Ina, Kiara and Calli watched the crumbling Westminster Bridge with horror. Then, they found themselves face to face with the titan of light across the River Thames.
Priestess Amelia Watson.
To Be Continued