Disclaimer: 'Honkai impact 3rd' is the property of Hoyoverse, Singapore. I do not own any characters in this story except the minor OCs here and there.
Losing Oneself
SLASH.
CLANG.
SLASH.
BOOOOM.
CLANGGGG.
The sounds of weapons clashing and big impacts were ringing across the Hall. The burning building shook every time there was an impact on the ground or the wall. The impacts made by a creature that defied Human understanding destroyed the floor made of marble as there was just a bunch of mangled earth and broken marbles in the place of the most exquisite marble floor.
The building itself was burning in a blaze, the various decorations that adorned its walls, stairs, ceiling, and floor, were either burned to ashes or were currently getting mangled into a heap of molten metals. Nobody would've expected that a building barely three years old can have such a fate, but it was happening whether they liked it or not. However, it was a miracle that the building was able to maintain its general form and not collapse entirely. Although inside the building, it was a scene of total chaos and destruction that no living person could ever imagine.
In this hell, three figures were fighting. Two of them were against one. One of them was a man with an androgynous body, long raven black hair and green eyes that shone with insanity and madness. He was using a weapon which looked like a mixture between a spear and a spike with both of its ends sharpened. The weapon spewed flames which burnt so hot that it melted everything it touched. The man flung the weapon in the air in an arc in hopes to catch the other person unguarded but was blocked by them.
The said person was a boy in his late teens with silver-white hair and sky-blue eyes. He was wielding an eastern longsword called a Tachi. And while he had the basic movements and posture as expected from a person who had studied far eastern sword martial arts, it also contained hints of western fencing and great sword fighting techniques. He held the Tachi like a normal straight sword with only one hand and his sword techniques were heavily influenced by the great sword fighting style. He swung the Tachi in a series of horizontal and vertical slashes to cut the opponent he was fighting. And even though his movements seemed very simple enough to follow, the speed at which he executed them and the fluidity of connecting the slashes to create a seamless movement made them extremely hard to dodge and avoid.
"Caladbolg."
The boy called out the name of one of his special attacks. The slash was followed by a burst of flames which came from the Tachi he was wielding. The sword itself wreathed in flames throughout the entire length of the blade. The attack made its way to the last party present in the burning building and struck its humungous torso.
HOOOOWWWLLLLLL.
The creature howled in pain being struck by flames which burned a part of its skin despite the creature being seemingly immune to fire. The creature was huge, almost towering over both of the humans present in the burning building. It was a humanoid monster which was covered in flames from head to toe except for the small portions on its chest and face.
It looked like a demon depicted in many folklore and bedtime stories around the world. It almost seemed as if the demon had come to the mortal world to judge the humans and incinerate them. True enough to its description, the monster punched the place where the two humans were fighting, intending to kill them on the spot.
The attack however, was stopped by the boy with silver-white hair as he blocked the incoming fist with his sword held in a vertical fashion stopping the attack. The arm holding the sword barely flinched back from the momentum of the blow showing the raw physical strength of the boy.
Seeing that its blows were being blocked again and again, the monster grew frustrated and roared loudly, while flinging its arms in a wild motion. The monster intended to destroy just everything surrounding itself so as to kill the insect in front of itself. However, in its enraged state, the monster left open a lot of openings that were quickly taken advantage of by the boy.
The boy unholstered one of his pistols and fired the flaming bullets toward the monster. The monster tried to swat away the annoying bullets that were hitting him. However, taking advantage of this opening, the boy fired another one of his special attacks from the blade.
"Gram Laevatein."
The attack formed a vortex of flames that started to suck the monster towards its epicentre. The monster was however able to largely resist its effect because of its huger body and its efficacy to the element of fire. This however, was no more than a further distraction to break the line of sight of the beast. The boy moved to the beast's blind spot as it was diffusing the earlier attack and readied another attack to inflict damage on its unprotected back.
"Clarent Cr-" however, a sudden throw of a spear-like weapon broke the boy's attack in mid-charge as he had to shoot the incoming projectile with one of the guns. The charged flames dissipated into the air harmlessly and also alerted the monster to the boy's annoyance.
"…" the boy simply looked over to the person who had thrown the weapon. The person simply smiled maniacally and said:
"Can't have you killing our beast now, can we?" and charged towards the boy holding a set of throwing knives in his hands. As he approached the boy, the man threw the knives towards the boy to which the boy shot them down with the pistol he was holding. The man however, got his chance to call his weapon back and stabbed it forward intending to skewer the boy throughout.
SHINGGG.
The sound of metal against metal rang out as the weapon was deflected by the boy with his blade. The man however didn't relent and followed the stab with a flurry of quick attacks. The boy responded in kind by deflecting the attacks and counterattacking through the gaps of the space left behind after each thrust of the weapon.
The man responded by making the weapon detach in the middle, creating two separate stakes with pointed sharp ends connected by a chain. He then circularly swung one of them and threw it like a dart toward the boy. The boy successfully deflected it by swinging his sword vertically and changing the direction of the stake. The man however smiled and said:
"Caught you."
He then yanked the chain back, causing the stake to barrel back towards the boy. The boy tried to block it, only to find that the second stake was heading towards his way. He tried to shoot the second stake, only for the shot to miss due to his attention being split between the two stakes.
STAB.
The boy saw himself getting impaled by the first stake in his abdomen. If he was a normal person, he would have gone mad from the pain. However, his training as a soldier added to the fact that he couldn't feel physical stimuli preventing him from getting distracted and allowing him to get stabbed from the second one. He shot down the stake coming from the front and then held the stake impaled in his body firmly. He then charged up the Tachi he was holding and slashed at the man. The flames of the Tachi burned the man deeply as he grunted with pain.
"Ghh. As expected from the strongest fighter of the Moths. Details of your strength were not exaggerated at all."
"…" the boy remained silent.
"However, this is precisely the reason that you are going to die today. You have gotten too much arrogant about your strength and had failed to realize the situation you are in." the man then continued:
"I, Roque Adalbert, second-ranked agent of the Cocoon will ensure that you will never see the light of the day again. You are going to repent and pay for your sins today here. Godslayer: Kevin Kaslana."
"…" the boy named Kevin just glared at him with narrowed eyes, bloodlust dripping off of him. seeing this the man exclaimed:
"Good, Good. Show me more of that. Show me the true monster that lies behind the mask of the Moth's hero."
Kevin responded to it by firing one of the APOLLO at the man. As expected, the man dodged some of the bullets fired, but he was unable to totally negate the effects of the flames as they licked his skin and made the black suit he was wearing catch fire. Seeing that his garment was now totally ruined, Roque tore it off and threw it to the side to show Kevin what he was wearing inside that suit.
The agent was wearing an exoskeleton type of battle suit with sockets for various throwing weapons. In the chest area, Kevin noticed a very familiar structure with a chip in the middle. It was an A.I designed by the Cocoon after compiling all the combat data that they could gather from his fight against Cocoon agents.
The agent soon sprung into action by throwing a pair of throwing knives at Kevin. Kevin responded by deflecting it away by firing the APOLLO held in his left hand. The throwing knives were followed by grenades which exploded once came near to him enough. Kevin dodged them by rolling away, but some of the shrapnel still hit his leg, drawing blood. The initial throwing was followed by the agent throwing the weapon like a javelin, which Kevin deflected again with his blade.
Kevin noted that the man was proficient in using the weapon in both melees and ranged combat. This led him to conclude that the agent before him was trained in the art of combat, which meant that he had to treat this man cautiously unlike Coscoe who used only distraction or Ralph who was just pure brawn. He decided to engage this man in a battle of attrition. However, there was a problem with this approach.
ROOOOOARRRRR.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The building shook again, as the judgement class Honkai beast rammed its fist on the floor again intending to crush both of them. Kevin dodged the attack and slashed at the leg of the beast with Homura, injuring it a little. The beast howled in agony after being wounded by the human it was trying to kill and tried to ram him down again. Kevin simply blocked his attack by Homura and slashed down with one of his attacks again.
The flames of Homura were powered by Honkai energy converted from energy from a higher dimension through the mark on his hand. The exact nature of this energy was still unknown, except for the fact that it was more efficient and powerful than simple Honkai energy. It was also seen that Honkai-powered weapons gained an additional efficiency of around 25 per cent when powered by this energy. This was the reason that those flames were burning even the flames of the weapon that the agent was holding and even those of the Honkai beast.
Welt had conducted many tests along with Kevin to harness this energy on a large scale, as it was not only more powerful than Honkai energy but also provided a natural counter to the corruption due to the Honkai energy. But alas, all the tests had not borne any fruit, as the energy couldn't be extracted from Kevin's body in its pure form. It would become unstable and dissipate as soon as it was outside his body. The only way to utilize it in this reality was to convert it to a lower form of energy. Welt also noticed that Kevin was naturally inclined towards heat energy, as his mastery over the element of flames was much more than any element.
This was the reason that all of his weapons were fire-based, as they did fire damage to the opponent. And even though he had an admirable efficiency over other types of conversions and energies, his control over fire was the finest. He could wield it like another part of his body and shape it to any form, not to mention he could withstand temperatures that easily melt even the toughest metals.
The agent got the first-hand impression of the flames of Homura as Kevin called out the names of his strongest attacks:
"Excalibur Galatine."
Raging flames bore down on the agent and the beast alike. The golden flames even burned away the flames produced by the sacred key the agent was holding and those of the beast.
BOOOOOOM.
An entire portion of the building blew away to smithereens and the debris burned into nothingness at the attack. The agent and the beast suffered tremendous injuries to their bodies. The beast howled loudly as its flesh smeared and disintegrated in some places, leaving its body now vulnerable. The agent also suffered deep burns and got slashed across his torso which was painfully cauterized by the flames of that same attack. As the attack went beyond them, destroying the portion of the building behind them, Kevin noticed the Walls trembling more than usual. It seems as if the continuous battle and the burning inferno had finally started to demolish the building's structural integrity. It was only a matter of time before the entire building would come down on them, unable to bear any more damages.
Kevin looked around to find himself in a sea of flames. The flames produced by the three of them had burned away everything, whether it be living or not. He suddenly noticed a mangled hand under one of the debris. There was a ring on the third finger of the hand, indicating that the person to whom the hand belonged had a family of their own. Realization dawned on him that the intense flames had burned the bodies of those who have been killed here. Seeing that ring brought memories of another one of the victims of the fight between Moths and Cocoon. He also died due to getting caught in the middle of his fight with Ralph, and now won't ever be able to return to his daughters again.
Similar to him, many innocents have died here today just because of a fight between two organizations they didn't even know. Kevin wondered if what the Moths did was truly the right thing. It seemed as if no matter how much he tried, he could stop people from dying unnecessarily due to stupid reasons.
"It's Hell." Kevin muttered to himself. It was true in his eyes; or else how could one describe a surrounding full of burnt corpses beyond recognition, monsters: both human and not and a never-ending inferno that destroyed all that was good?
Kevin released a cold breath as he concluded that this is his punishment, an eternal hell for a dead man who refused to move on. However, he didn't have a choice, as in if it was not him, then somebody who was alive would have to suffer this agony. Somebody like his comrades at Moths; somebody like aneki, aniki, Welt-san or even Elysia and Hua. This he refused to let happen. If him becoming a monster beyond salvation is the price for their chance at their small share of happiness, then so be it.
Kevin's soliloquy came to an end as he saw the Cocoon agent removing the debris on top of him and getting up. His exoskeleton was torn in many places and he was bleeding slightly from the diagonal cut across his torso. The expression on his face looked totally different from when they started fighting. At that time, he still had a malicious smile that hid his intentions. Now, it was replaced by a feral look that told that the person had thrown all his rational thinking, morality and sanity out of the window. Reinforcing this thought was the tone in which he started speaking:
"THIS IS IT. This is your true nature, Godslayer. This is the monster that killed my sister in Brussels. I will kill you. I will kill you in the most agonizing way possible. Your last moments are going to be a living nightmare."
"…" Kevin didn't respond and just glared coldly at him. He held Homura diagonally downward with its sharp edge facing the agent and got into an attack stance. He lowered his hips and spread his legs to create a firm base from which he can begin his charge.
The agent seeing that his opponent was not fazed at the least gritted his teeth in frustration and ire. How dare that thing act so nonchalantly while destroying everything that he cherished. He will never let it be at peace. He will make sure that his last moments were as painful as possible. Both physically and mentally. Thinking such, he decided to use the experimental feature of the sacred key that was created just to specifically deal with this guy. This showed how much important the removal of Godslayer was in the organization's eyes. Of course, having a personal stake in this made things all the better for him.
Kevin suddenly saw a pink-purplish aura rising from the man which was followed by a rise of Honkai energy that would easily turn any normal person to ash. The very familiar veins of Honkai corruption began to spread all over the agent's body as the weapon he held began to shine more brightly than before. The flame's temperature started to increase as well and it was able to overpower some of the Homura's flames as well.
The judgment class Honkai beast also became wary of this new power release as it fixed its attention on the second human in this place. It instinctively got on guard as it sensed the Honkai energy levels rise to abnormal levels.
The agent as if satisfied with the expression on Kevin's face said in maniacal laughter:
"This is the end for you. Behold the latest innovation in the sacred key project, specially developed just to annihilate you. Be grateful that the Cocoon puts this much attention on you, worthless scum."
Saying this, the agent joined the two stakes together and shouted:
"Ignis: 1st drive."
A pillar of flames rose where the agent was standing. Kevin shielded his eyes at the intense light that the pillar was producing. The Honkai energy was at a critical range. Too much concentration of it in a place will lead the beast to go berserk and devour it. Honkai energy was like a drug to the Honkai beast which always sought more and more sources of it to devour and evolve. This was the reason that the beasts were always attracted to him, as he always had huge amounts of it running through his body whenever he was fighting.
Coming back to the scenario on hand, as soon the pillar of light dissipated, a figure stepped out of it. He looked like a hybrid between a Honkai beast and a human. His limbs had beastified, showing the characteristic silicon structure of a Honkai beast. His entire torso had veins of Honkai corruption running through them, and his eyes had turned to those of zombies, with black sclera and red irises. The weapon he was holding had seemed to meld into his arm, as the handle of the weapon appeared to be joined to his body in a manner of a biological implant. Kevin couldn't make out how much of the agent was human and how much had already been converted to Honkai.
Kevin became more on guard as he felt the Honkai energy radiating off the man was higher than normal. The flames produced by that implanted weapon were now overwhelming those of Homura's. Kevin felt a very familiar sensation that he had felt only two times in his entire life.
The Herrschers.
Kevin's eyes widened a little as he realized the implications of the power the man before him was showing. This guy had somehow manipulated the Honkai to his favour to grant him powers comparable to a Herrscher. However, he felt that the agent was not powerful like a true Herrscher that he had fought. So, was it a false one? An entity which can only mimic a Herrscher's powers and not become Herrscher themselves.
Kevin also noticed the beast becoming more subservient towards the man after his transformation. So at the very least, this man held higher authority and power than this Judgement class beast. This was bad, Kevin decided. Not only does he has to fight a Judgement class beast now, but there was also this transformed agent.
As Kevin was thinking such things, the agent finally opened his mouth to speak:
"How does it look? Do I look like one of those Herrschers you have fought?"
The voice that came out of his mouth was totally inhuman. It was as if a Herrscher itself was speaking. However, instead of losing his ego completely, Kevin could see that the being in front of him still retained his sense of self. That meant that what stood before him was Roque and not him at the same time. It seemed that Welt-san was going to have his hands full after all this is over.
Kevin didn't get time to think anymore, as a burst of flames barrelled towards him. He quickly dodged them and fired APOLLO at the one who fired them. The bullets however, didn't manage to reach the now transformed agent and melted the moment they came to the vicinity of his body. Realizing that bullets aren't going to work on him, Kevin decided to go close-quarters. He pumped Homura with Honkai energy again and sprinted towards the agent intending to initiate close combat.
CLANG.
SLASH.
SLASH.
The sounds of metal against metal were ringing out amidst the raging inferno of the collapsing form of the Imperial Hall. The battle had been going for some time now, and Kevin felt himself at disadvantage more and more as time passed. He had already been injured during his fight with Ralph and now those injuries were affecting his physical strength.
"Cough… Cough…" Kevin coughed up blood from his mouth for the seventh time. He was feeling shortness of breath and his vision was flickering. It seemed the damage to ribs that had broken earlier was worsening. After coughing the blood out, Kevin felt a bit of air rushing back into his lungs which helped him to clear his head a little.
At this time, the Honkai beast attacked him again. Kevin blocked its attack by Homura but was pushed back a little due to him getting weaker by the moment. He charged the blade again and slashed out calling the name of his attack.
"Caladbolg." however, it had lost the intensity that it had at the start of the battle. Now, it was only able to mildly wound the beast, which shrugged it off like nothing. Kevin saw the wounds on the beast's body closing up at a rapid pace. Through the power of his mark, he could feel the flow of Honkai energy flowing from the Agent to the beast. The beast also seemed to be powered up more than when it showed up. The flames on its body were burning a bright blue instead of the usual orange-red. This implied that the flames were at a very high temperature. Also, the blows felt much more impactful to Kevin; whether it was due to his injuries or the beast's strength had really increased, was up for debate.
Kevin noticed that the agent was also not doing better, as the corruption was worsening. The veins now covered the entirety of his torso and he was becoming more animalistic in his attacks, relying on Honkai energy rather than actual combat skills. However, it was made up by the fact that his attacks were much stronger than before, and harder to avoid now.
"Kh." Kevin grunted as he parried off another series of rapid thrusts and swipes by the bionic spear that was fused with the agent. The attacks were becoming more powerful and instinctual, and this made it difficult for him to read and parry. There was minimal to no pattern in attacks that he could predict and counter. Thus, all the parrying and counters that he did was out of the instincts that he had honed during all these periods he had spent as a warrior. But this was becoming more difficult as he found it hard to breathe again and his vision started flickering.
The agent stabbed again which was parried by Kevin. This was followed by a horizontal slash of Homura, which the agent blocked by his spear. The agent in response threw a wave of extremely concentrated fire toward Kevin. The flames were reaching extreme temperatures the fact that they were pale blue. The surroundings melted and the air was filled with a peculiar smell as if indicating that the very atoms present in the air were breaking down due to the extreme heat.
Kevin just put his left hand forward in a grabbing motion. The mark on his forehand started shining brightly as he could feel the mark converting the energy of the flames dissipating into the surroundings. However, it was not effective in fully nullifying the effect of flames as they struck him.
BOOOM.
Another loud impact sounded in the collapsing building, indicating that Kevin had been struck by that blast. The building shook and a large portion of it collapsed again into a heap of burning rubble. Nearly half of the building had come down. The backside was completely obliterated with only the front portion of the building managing to stand somehow. It was almost surreal that it had stood this long, bearing impacts from the strongest class of Honkai beast and the aftermaths of the clashing of two strong peoples who wielded Honkai-powered weapons.
Roque looked on to where the Godslayer had stood when he had fired that flaming attack at him. He was sure that the creature had been severely wounded by that attack, as he had sensed him getting weaker as their fight had progressed. It seemed that musclehead had at least done a part of his job by wounding the Godslayer to a great extent. Now all he had to do was to tire him out by making his wounds worse, and when he is completely exhausted, then he can begin that creature's exorcism.
Roque knew that he had an unhealthy obsession with the death of the Godslayer, but he cared little. When you have lost one of the most precious people of your life because of someone, you tended to be driven for killing that person in the most painful way possible.
He still remembered that day, when she went out saying that she will return. That had been a normal day, until it wasn't; and it was all because of him. He was the one who killed her in cold blood. So, what if she was branded as a Herrscher? She was still his beloved big sister. He knew that there was a way to turn her back, to make her human again. But instead of trying to find that way, all that they did was to declare her as humanity's enemy and kill her mercilessly. And the one who killed her without remorse was none other than this piece of trash in front of him who couldn't even face him now properly.
Roque gritted his teeth as he remembered how they treated her sister's corpse. They threw it in a box like a dead animal. They didn't even let him see her for the last time, and the reports that he had got from the insider at Moths had stated that she was dissected like a specimen and put on display. He had also read reports on how the anti-Honkai weapons were developed by using her flesh as experimental material.
He hatefully saw the place where the one responsible for all of this stood. He will not kill him instantly; he will make him suffer endlessly. He will make him beg for death. And only after he had punished that demon enough for his sins, he will kill it.
Roque saw the debris move a little. Then a bloodied hand poked out from it, removing further pieces of debris. Following it, a bloodied figure stood up unsteady on its feet initially. He looked on as the figure raised its head to see the face of the one he hated the most. Even though his body was now brutally roughed up by his attacks, the Godslayer still looked at him with defiance and resolve in his eyes. This caused Roque to become enraged as he thought by now the Godslayer would've understood his position. Thus, he readied Ignis and said:
"It seems that further display of my strength is needed for you to understand. Fine then… I will happily show you."
The agent then charged towards Kevin while stabbing his spear. Kevin tried to block the attack, but with his body sustaining damage from the earlier attack and his internal injuries, he was not able to block it completely. He was pushed back as he saw the spear successfully stabbing the side of his abdomen. Blood sprayed out of the wound as the agent pulled his spear back. Thankfully, the wound was cauterised by the flames that the weapon was emitting but it left a nasty scar on the side of his stomach. Kevin chose to respond with a series of fast slashes that was aimed at the joints of the agent. He slashed in a combo of horizontal and vertical slashes, some managing to hit the agent some not.
The agent hissed in pain as he felt the blade of Homura slicing his skin. He then said in an enraged state:
"You pathetic monster." and started to suck the Honkai energy into himself. Kevin felt the Honkai energy thin in the air around him, making the flames of Homura dim. He also saw the beast make a sound as if it was in immense pain. Then that meant the agent was sucking Honkai energy from the beast as well. Kevin's instinct suddenly told him to dodge this attack, because he would not be walking out of this one if it hit him. trusting his instincts, he started to charge his way towards the easier of the two opponents: the Honkai beast. He ignited Homura with whatever leftover Honkai energy was present and slashed at the beast.
"Caladbolg."
The attack hit true for the beast which howled in agony as it felt its skin being torn open by the attack. However, the attack stopped midway as Kevin kneeled down on one of his knees, unable to stand properly anymore. He felt exhausted and his vision swam. Breathing was also nearly impossible for him now as he coughed large amounts of blood. It seemed that the earlier attack had wounded him further.
Kevin watched as the agent finished sucking in the Honkai energy. He then pointed his spear forward and began pouring all the Honkai energy into it. The spear was engulfed with white-coloured flames, indicating just how powerful the attack was going to be. The agent seeing Kevin kneeling on the ground laughed while saying:
"Is this it for you, O' great hero of the Moths? So pathetic."
He then pulled the spear back and got into a javelin-throwing stance. The Flames started to converge on the tip of the spear, making a pointed conical veil of flames. This attack was going to be bad, Kevin decided. he tried to move again only for his legs to fail to cooperate. Seeing him unable to dodge, the agent said in a malicious voice:
"Your nightmare is just starting, Godslayer."
The attack was fully charged. The spear was overflowing with Honkai energy and the spear tip vanished behind the flames on it. The figure of the agent also vanished behind the flames, as the only sound Kevin could hear now were those of the flames burning the air itself. As he finished preparing the attack, the agent said:
"Repent for your sins, you demon."
Kevin just looked on steadily, without a hint of fear in his eyes. Seeing him unfazed irritated the agent as he clicked his tongue and said:
"Tch. Then fall."
"Gungnir: Heavenly Piercer."
The flames barrelled towards Kevin, destroying everything in its path and disintegrating them. The marble floor, the ceiling, the burning corpses, the very earth below the building; everything burned into nothingness the moment the flames touched them.
Kevin put his left hand forward again, pouring everything that he could muster into the mark on his hand in hopes of at least lessening the impact of the attack. The mark shone brightly indicating that it had activated and was working at full capacity to stop the flames. However, due to his weakened state, the barrier formed by the mark was neither complete nor strong and was torn easily by the flames shot out by the agent.
'Bad.' Kevin thought as he saw the flames reach him. his vision was filled with white flames, and he could see his skin started to suffer burns already. As a last resort, he stabbed Homura in the ground in front of him as a shield, as he waited for the impact.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The attack tore the building apart finally making it collapse completely. The white flames could be seen even from the back alleyways of Sundown Alley. The ones present outside the Imperial Hall could also feel the power behind the attack, as they felt the extreme temperature of the flames. The unfortunate people who were standing near the building were vaporized in an instant. Only the ones present much farther back, near the plaza roundabout could survive the resulting explosion. However, they also felt the tremors of the resulting impact and felt going deaf by the resulting sound.
"What in the name of all that is holy is happening inside?" commented one of the people standing at the roundabout.
"…" the crown prince who was escorted earlier could only look in shock as the symbol and mark of their power and status was being turned into a pile of dust before his very eyes. His whole worldview was shattered as he witnessed the massacre inside the hall. He realized that there were things that were beyond his understanding. He didn't understand all the details, but he knew that they are the ones who held all the answers, he thought to himself as he glanced over at the new people that had arrived just a few moments before.
As he was thinking that, the leader of the new group of soldiers came to greet him. she was a woman with a generous body and long crimson hair. Her eyes added to her mature charm and he was sure that he would've tried to court her if not for the sword she was holding and the serious expression in her eyes. as she approached him, she started speaking professionally.
"Greetings to your highness the crown prince. You may not know me, but rest assured that we are here to protect you and your entourage. If it gives you any peace of mind." She said as she tossed something towards him. he caught it before it hit the ground and when he opened it, his expression stiffened. Because what the woman had thrown towards him was the imperial seal of the newly formed empire, and the only one who had it was…
"Your father had asked us for assistance to get you to safety and to handle the situation here. And that is what we will do. But before that could you please share all the details of what you saw and heard in the Hall?" the woman said with an air of professionalism and authority.
"gulp." the crown prince gulped audibly as he found someone who was not afraid of his position. Added to that fact was that his father had personally requested them to handle the situation here. He could only nod to the woman as he recounted the happenings of the evening after the first gunshot was heard.
As he kept talking, the crown prince could only wonder how an evening of celebration had turned out to be like this.
"Mmmm…" she groaned a little as consciousness came back to her little by little. As her eyelids struggled to open, she heard a voice near her speak:
"Please don't push yourself, Elysia-san. The medicines on your wounds will smear. Furthermore, you were hit with a heavy blow. So, it will take some time for you to become fully conscious."
"H…ua?" Elysia said groggily as if she was in a dream.
"Yes, it is me Elysia-san."
"W…hy?"
"We were dispatched here after the operators in the base got high Honkai readings. We have come as soon as possible."
Hearing this Elysia grew a little assured. At the very least, there would be not many casualties now that the Moth soldiers were here. Still, she wondered why she was lying on the ground in the first place. The last thing she remembered is that huge Judgement class Honkai beast and…
"Kevin!" Elysia exclaimed as she shot up suddenly. The memories of what happened after the beast came rushing to her. That stupid reckless idiot had punched her unconscious when she refused to leave the Hall, leaving him behind to fight the beast alone. She turned her head to the side and to her absolute horror found the Imperial Hall nearly demolished and burning in a maelstrom of flames.
She was scared out of her wits as she realized that Kevin was fighting the Honkai beast and the Cocoon agent all alone in there. And knowing him, he wouldn't back up even when extremely wounded. As her anxiety and worry grew, she tried to get up only to find a piercing pain wracking her entire body making her unable to get up.
"Please don't move too much, Elysia-san. Your wounds are bad." Hua's voice said in concern from the side. She looked to her other side to see Hua supporting her while a concerned frown was etched on her face. However, she couldn't care less about her condition now. He was all alone; Again. Small droplets of tears appeared at the corner of her eyes as a single thought bounced in her brain.
'Why?'
Why did things always happen this way? Why was she not even able to support him, less protect him in these types of situations? Why was the only choice left for her was to wait while able to do nothing? Why was she so powerless to do anything?
So many negative thoughts were swirling in her mind. For the first time in her entire life, Elysia started to hate something truly. As for what she hated, it was her situation.
She hated her powerlessness to do anything. She hated that no matter how much she prepares, it was not enough. She hated how she was not enough.
She hated it.
She hated it.
She hated it.
She hated it.
She hated herself.
Her eyes widened as she realized that she finally was feeling the same exact feeling that Kevin felt when he was unable to save someone. She now could understand a fraction of the reason why he acted as he did.
As she thought more about this, the more her love for the man grew. He was so so kind, so much that it hurt. Even though he presented himself as an emotionless ice-cold man, who had a block of ice inside his chest instead of a heart, the truth couldn't be farther from it. He cared for others so much that he was willing to bear all the pain if it meant that they could be safe. It made it impossible for anyone who knew him to not care for him.
However, the same qualities that made him so loveable brought pain to her and the women who loved him. It was because while he cared for everybody, he never did care for himself. He always referred to himself as a monster and did things that ended up hurting him more and more. He thought that it was natural for him to get hurt and suffer. He didn't realize how much it hurt them… hurt her to see him suffer again and again while being powerless to do anything.
Such a cruel man.
As she was thinking this, she heard footsteps approaching her. When she looked up, she saw Colonel Himeko looking at her with relief in her eyes. then before she could process anything, she felt the Colonel hugging her.
"Thank goodness you are okay Elysia. I was so worried seeing you wounded and unconscious like that."
"Hmm." Elysia hummed hugging the Colonel back. The hug was so warm. It made her realize the goodness in people's hearts and soothed her troubled mind a little.
They kept hugging for a while after which Himeko separated herself from her. she then smiled a little and said:
"We can have the report a little later. There are two more persons anxiously waiting for you to wake up."
"Eh?"
Elysia saw a white blur barrelling towards her. she then felt someone embracing her tightly. As the person hugged her, she heard a familiar voice.
"Waaaaaaaaa, Ellie nee-chan. I thought you would never wake up. I was so scared. I was so scared."
"There, there Felis-chan. I'm awake now see~." Elysia said while gently patting Pardofelis' head. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her newest friend approaching her. once she was close, she took Elysia's hand and said with a tone filled with relief:
"Thank the gods that you are finally awake. We all were really worried for you Ellie."
"I could say the same for you, Eden. Thank goodness you are also awake."
"Yeah." Elysia said as she grasped Eden's hand back.
As they were having a little reunion, Himeko coughed a little to get their attention back.
"Ahem… So now that the reunions are out of the way, we have more pressing concerns to attend to."
At this everyone's face grew serious. Elysia understood that they had to evacuate the people farther back and potentially prepare for a Honkai outbreak. She had to fulfil her duty and responsibilities as a Moth soldier; but…
Her gaze went towards the burning hall where the destruction was at its worst. It was impossible to tell that the rubble which was burning down used to be a grand Hall just a few hours ago. This night had changed the lives of many who attended the party and perhaps will change the future of this empire as well.
Also in that burning hell, he was fighting all alone, again. Just thinking about it made Elysia's heart clench in pain. She felt a deep pit forming in her stomach, as her anxiety grew. However, the colonel's voice brought her out of her morbid thoughts:
"Elysia, I know you are worried about him. Heck, even I'm extremely worried about him. However, we still have our responsibilities to uphold."
"Colonel…"
"How can we scold him if we ourselves don't perform our duties? He is keeping his oath; shouldn't we keep ours as well?"
"Ah."
"And when all this is over, then we will give him the biggest scolding of his life. But for now, he is counting on us to keep the innocents safe. You don't want to disappoint him, right?"
Hearing this made Elysia determined again. She had promised herself to grow as strong as him to be able to help him shoulder his burdens; and thus, she couldn't fail, not especially now when he needed her and all of their help. Making her mind, she started to get up slowly which caused Hua and Eden to grow worried for her:
"You should rest for a little more while, Elysia-san."
"Miss. Hua is right, Ellie. Please rest for now. Your wounds are deep."
However, to their concerns, Elysia just smiled and said in her usual voice:
"You heard the Colonel, Hua. We can't fall behind him, right?"
"…" Hua became silent as she realized that what Elysia-san said was true.
"But Ellie-" Eden on the other hand was still reluctant.
"Don't worry, my dear friend Eden. I'm not alone anymore. See, I have so many friends here now."
"Sigh…" Eden sighed knowing that it was useless to stop her now. She then turned to Himeko and said:
"Miss. Himeko, I'm aware that I am ignorant of many truths of this world. I also don't know anything about those monsters and about any of you. However, my heart tells me that the place where Ellie belongs to can only be a good place. Therefore…" she bowed her head as low as possible and continued:
"Please protect the innocents here who don't know what is happening to them. And…" she stopped for a little while as her emotions threatened to get the better of her. she then said in a pleading voice:
"Please save Kevin also. I beg you, please. He shouldn't suffer for trying to bear such a heavy burden alone. please." Eden finished speaking as she felt her eyes stinging. The thought of Kevin getting hurt was unbearable for her; but she also knew that she was in no position to offer any sort of help. She was not a warrior like Kevin, nor was she a soldier like Ellie and them. So, the only thing she could do now was to pray for his safety and hope that they will be able to make it in time.
She heard Miss. Pardofelis also joining in:
"Me too. Me too. Please help Kevin-boss. I will get you all anything you guys want afterwards for free. So, please please help him."
Eden continued to bow her head until she heard a chuckle. Then she felt someone lifting her head. When her head was fully lifted, she saw the same warm blue eyes with pink pupils that comforted her earlier. Elysia then said in her same playful voice:
"There is no need to bow your head for this, my dear Eden. We were going to drag him back to safety whether he wanted to or not. And as Colonel Himeko said, we will give him the biggest scolding of his life after we have taken care of things here." She then wiped the tears at the corner of Eden's eyes and continued:
"So, there is no need to make such a sad face. Tears don't suit such a beautiful face like yours. So, smile okay~."
Hearing this, Eden gave the most genuine and heartfelt smile she had in years while nodding and saying:
"Mhmm."
Seeing the smile Elysia said:
"Now that smile suits you far better." all the while the male soldiers were having different reactions.
"Goddess."
"Wait, I know her. She is the Golden Diva!"
"That famous singer."
"Yes. Such a beautiful and angelic figure can only belong to the greatest star of our times."
"Wait, that means… she also, for Major Kevin…"
"Damm that guy. Was Dr. Mobius and Corporal Elysia not enough? Now even the Golden Diva."
"Curse you, Kevin Kaslana."
"Hope that he dies in there."
As the entire group erupted into murmurs at the supposed addition of yet another 'fish to the pond' and quite an exotic one at that. However, that hardly mattered, as all the ones in the 'pond' were only the best of the best. The soldiers were equally jealous and in awe of Major Kevin's luck with women. All the women who were deeply in love with him were goddesses in their own right. Many of them were upset that they would never get a woman even close to their level, in this life or the next.
"All right. Enough of chitchatting." Himeko's voice silenced the ongoing murmurs. Everyone looked at her awaiting her next instructions.
"So as all of you know, Kevin is fighting one of the agents of Cocoon inside that building. Leave that to him. our primary objective here is to assist in the civilian evacuation and to round up the Cocoon members scattered in the city. Any questions?"
"Mam, what are we supposed to do when we engage the Cocoon members?"
"You will try to restrain them to the best of your abilities. However, remember that public safety is our top priority. Hence, if your squad commanders logically conclude that they pose a safety threat to the public, then you are free to take drastic decisions."
The soldiers listened with rapt attention. Many of them wanted to settle the score for the things these guys had done to them. Some of them were furious and outright wanted to kill them considering that many of the Moth members were found out as traitors. So, they wanted to make an example out of them, so that another group would never think of doing what the Cocoon had done.
Himeko knew about this and thus wanted to make sure that no one under her command should abuse the power they were granted. Thus, she said in her commanding voice:
"However, remember that the squad leader will have to submit a full account of the situation. We are not them, and I will not tolerate any warmongers in my regiment. Is that clear?"
Total silence.
"I SAID IS THAT CLEAR?" Himeko shouted.
"YES MAM!" the soldiers shouted in acknowledgement.
"Good. Battalion 1 will take the east portion of the city. Battalion 2 will take the northwest. Battalion 3 will take… " Himeko continued to give out orders to the different Battalions to the area assignments. At last, she said:
"Finally, Battalion 5 will follow me along with the members of Battalion 7 of Major Kevin. We will take care of the central portion of the city. Our additional objective will be to provide Major Kevin support in fighting the Judgement class." She then turned to elysian and said:
"Sergeant Elysia, the command of the members of Major Kevin's Battalion will be temporarily given to you. You and the members will join my group to secure the central city."
"Yes Mam." Elysia saluted.
"Any more questions?"
The entire field was silent. Treating their silence as full acknowledgement, Himeko ordered:
"Well then, Let's move. Remember to maintain radio contacts at all times."
"Yes Commander." all the soldiers saluted for the last time as they started to move to their allocated districts of the city. She then turned to the men she was commanding and said:
"Squads 27-39, remain here and form a temporary headquarters. Your job is to coordinate the information between the various squads. furthermore, you are to provide security for the crown prince and the other two present here."
"Yes Mam." the soldiers saluted.
"Rest of all follow me." Himeko said as she started to make her way to the northern road of the central plaza. Seeing their commander make her way, the soldiers started to follow her. Elysia seeing that turned towards the members of the 7th battalion present here and said:
"As Colonel Himeko said, I will be leading this battalion in Major Kevin's absence. So, I will be in your care."
At this Hua said:
"We also will be in your care as well." with soldiers nodding in approval. All of them knew Sergeant Elysia's leadership skills were in no manner inferior to Major Kevin's. Thus, they were assured that their commanding officer was a competent one.
As they started to make their way towards Himeko, Eden and Pardofelis approached Elysia and Hua and said to them:
"I leave Kevin in your hands. Please take care of him. And please be safe yourselves also."
"Of course~."
"As well as you."
After that Elysia along with Hua and other members went on their way to meet up with Himeko. Eden saw their retreating backs and prayed for their safety and success. She then saw the burning hall and prayed again in her native tongue while holding the cross that hung around her neck:
"Bitte beschütze ihn, unseren Vater im Himmel."
The remnants of the building were falling down little by little. At this point, only the front entrance and its arch were all that was remaining. That would also soon come down at the rate at which they were burning. The symbol of a newly formed monarchy was being burned to nothingness within hours.
The entire surroundings looked like those depictions of the underworld in the bible. A never-ending fire that burned every sinner to nothing. A charred landscape that brought only despair and hopelessness to anyone stepping their foot here. And scattered parts of humans, half-burnt everywhere. Any pious follower of the church who would see it would most assuredly tell that hell had come on earth to judge the sinners. However, as absurd as it sounds, this scene was not created by the supernatural but by human hands; only for to kill one person.
Roque made his way to the said person, for whom to kill he had created this scene of absolute destruction. The large Honkai beast looked on in vigil behind him, lest somebody other would interrupt his punishing the demon. He slowly made his way to the place where the monster was pinned down after the attack. Along the way, he saw the destruction and the death that his crusade to punish the demon had caused. A sad sight for sure, but a necessary sacrifice to save millions in the future from the dark regime of the Moths. He trusted that these people would find salvation now. He also promised to not let their sacrifice go to vain and to completely kill that demon in human clothing.
He came to the place and saw the said demon with silver-white hair pinned beneath a pile of rubble. His body had been burnt horribly; with the coat he wore being torn in several places. There were many cuts on his body, from which blood seeped out. Overall, the person looked to be extremely roughed up. His breathing was also shallow, indicating that his lungs were damaged as well.
Once he reached the demon, he looked at it laying still and not moving. His entire being was filled with happiness. He finally brought down the supposed hero of the Moths to their fall. Now he won't be able to hurt anyone with his hypocrisy and his barbaric tendencies. Realizing this he started to laugh:
"hehehehehehe… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I did it. I finally defeated the strongest demon of the Moths. And that now you are down, your colluding little demons are going to next. We, the Cocoon will eradicate the evil Moths."
"…" the figure of the person stayed silent. Seeing this, Roque said in a bored manner:
"So, this is it for the legendary Godslayer. So boring." He then smiled again maliciously as he remembered another titbit of information about the thing before him, that he personally heard from the Grandmaster:
"Well considering that you are supposed to be a failure, it's not surprising. After all, you were the worst of them all; Subject 108 of the PROJECT SALVARE."
At this, the entire atmosphere changed.
Kevin was feeling extremely weakened. His vision was flickering between blackness and brightness. He was not able to make sense of where he currently was. Breathing also was very difficult now, as he found his lungs refused to take in air being blocked by something. His limbs also refused to move despite his repeated command. This led him to believe that he was now extremely injured.
This was exactly like the fights with Herrscher. But he couldn't understand why would he be in this state fighting a foe weaker than him. the realization then suddenly hit him:
He was holding back.
He then started to wonder why was he holding back against this man who had killed so many people. Was it not his promise to burn this organization and its agents into nothing? Then why was he holding back and getting beaten up like this?
'You are not a monster, Kevin.'
His lips parted a little as her voice rang in his head. Oh, so that's why he was holding back.
He didn't want to disappoint her.
He was not able to think much about it as he heard footsteps approaching. He then heard the agent speaking to him about his nonsense sense of justice and how he would purify the world of the Moths. Kevin internally scoffed as he thought about how were they planning to fight the Honkai in their stead.
He started to ignore the words of the agent as the ramblings of a madman; and started to focus the power of his mark to heal the injuries to his limbs and lungs. That was until he heard the man say:
"After all, you were the worst of them all; Subject 108 of the PROJECT SALVARE."
Throb.
Throb.
Throb.
Something snapped inside him as the memories of the past came rushing in. A past that haunted him and had a firm hold on him even today. A past where he failed to do anything in the end.
…
A white room with a surgical table.
Men with white lab coats who looked at them with cold expressionless eyes.
Day after day being bound to a surgical table, as they cut open your body.
The inhuman pain which drives him to madness.
The daily news that another one was not returning.
A jail where they got only food one time a day.
The physical torture of the guards.
.
.
.
.
"Be grateful. You, a failure are given a chance to bring Salvation to Humanity. So shut up and take the serum."
"No. No. No. No. No. No no no no nononononononono…."
"Just shut up and take it."
"No. nooooooo… gugh…"
As he kept trembling at the chair to which he was bounded, the people started talking:
"Subject 108's vitals are the most stable. It is almost comparable to subject 57's. A shame really. If only she survived till the end of the experiment."
At this, his ears perked up. 57 was Elisa onee-chan's number. What have they done to her? Mustering up every last bit of strength in his body he asked those devils:
"Elisa… onee…chan….. Where…. is… she…."
"What is he talking about?"
"Elisa? I think he is talking about 57."
"They gave themselves names? Gross."
"Well, let's answer his curiosity. He has earned it after his success, right?" one of them snickered.
"Yeah." the other one agreed while cackling. Then they made a gesture towards one of the sides of the room. A big screen then lighted up out of thin air. As he moved his eyes towards the screen, one of those devils said:
"This is what happens when you don't cooperate. But I must say, her flesh was quite delectable."
"You are sounding like a predator."
"Well, you also got your chance, right? Heck, if I remember, you were the one who popped her cherry."
At this, the other devil just laughed. By this time, the screen lighted up and what he saw would forever be burned in his memory.
At another operating table, some other devils were cutting open a corpse. It was so hideous that there would be no way anyone would say it was a human. Yet at the head, there were strands of very familiar golden hair and at her wrist lay bound the rosary that he along with *** and others had given her for her birthday this year. There was no mistaking it. She was Elisa onee-chan. They made her like that and then killed her.
They… they…. Demons…..
He will kill them.
He will kill them.
He will kill.
Kill.
KILL.
KILL.
…
KILL.
The entire surroundings exploded in Honkai energy that came out of nowhere. At the initial burst, the Honkai radiation was so potent that it made Roque back away in response. The air suddenly felt thick and suffocating. There was unease and intense bloodlust in the air. He then looked at the source of this intense bloodlust and saw the dark purplish Honkai energy gushing out of the body of the Godslayer.
The debris on top of him disintegrated into thin air as the concentration of Honkai energy reached levels that even he couldn't manage. He felt his body burning more than usual and saw the corruption advancing at a very rapid pace across his body. He felt his mind get corrupted as the Honkai threatened to swallow him whole. The beast that he had brought with him was visibly shaking with fear as it let out a whining sound as it was truly afraid of whatever the Godslayer had become.
He then heard someone standing up. Turning his head, he saw the demon standing unsteadily on his legs. The intense Honkai energy radiating off of him could be physically seen. The dark purple aura seemed almost black to him. this aura promised him death and pain. The Godslayer's head was bowed down, so he couldn't see his expression. However, he didn't have to wait long, as Kevin raised his head to look at him. and when he saw it, Roque took a step back instinctively.
Cold, dead Golden eyes greeted him. They were not the usual sky-blue ones, but a bright golden yellow that shone amidst the raging background behind him. those eyes were completely devoid of any life save for the boundless rage in them. They looked at Roque as if they considered him an insect that he will crush mercilessly under his heel.
Roque suddenly felt his entire body shaking. His hands were sweating like crazy and his legs were trembling. Whether it was from fear of the being before him that he knew completely overpowered him or the excitement that he had finally made the demon show his true colours. Deciding on the latter, he shouted while laughing maniacally:
"You finally show your true form, you demon. This is the truth that lies behind that human face of yours. Finally, I can exorcise you in your true form, Aeshma."
"…"
"Face your judgement." Roque said as he readied Ignis and charged the attack again. He then looked at the Honkai beast and commanded as he finished charging his attack:
"Go and Devour him, Ashura."
The Honkai beast roared in pain as it was forced by the biochip implanted in its body to obey the words of the Human in front of it. The resulting pain overriding his self-preservation instincts forced him to move towards the human that seemed to be on a higher level than itself. It roared as it raised its fist and punched at the human intending to kill it at once and end this pain. At the same time, Roque finally finished his attack and said while pointing his spear towards Kevin:
"Let's see you surviving this twice, GODSLAYERRRRRR." He then threw the lance while saying the name of the attack:
"Gungnir: Heavenly Piercer."
He saw the attack barrel its way towards the Godslayer. He watched in total satisfaction as he thought that it was his win. However, he felt something was off soon, as Honkai energy started to surge in the surroundings. He looked over to the source to find the Godslayer going into a low stance with his legs spread and his body twisted. He pulled back his hand holding the sword diagonally in a simple motion of slash. However, he realized that things were not as simple as that. That was when he saw it.
A thick black aura surrounded the body of Godslayer. The absolute feeling of insanity, bloodlust and wrath permeated the air. This amount of killing intent made his blood run cold as his mind finally realized the fact that he was no longer the stronger one here. He stood rooted to his spot, petrified as he saw flames covering the blade of the sword.
However, instead of his regular orange-red flames, these flames were completely black. It was so black that it consumed every single ray of light that fell upon it. The amount of Honkai energy in those flames was also absurd as he felt his body burn from the inside out as it got corrupted by the concentration of Honkai energy. His natural self-preservation instincts told him that whatever standing in front of him was no mere demon, and he should run away from there as far as possible. The thing before him was evil personified beyond his comprehension. Thus finally, he decided to heed the warnings of his instincts as a human and tried to retreat, but before he could do, he saw his attack reach the Godslayer.
He then saw the flames condense on the blade in such concentration that the hand holding the blade became invisible behind a layer of impenetrable black. He then saw the Godslayer bringing down his blade while saying the name of the attack in a voice even more inhuman than his:
"BAHAMUT'S RAGE: ABYSS."
The only thing Roque could see was a big black wave of flames crashing down on him and the Honkai beast. The beast was cleaved in half and charred to death in an instant. He unsuccessfully tried to block the attack, only for his sacred key to disintegrate into nothingness. The attack tore open his torso and burned his body near death. At first, he felt burning and pain that was incomparable to any that he had suffered till now. Soon, however, as his nerves burned off completely, he stopped feeling anything. He also sensed his body's sensation fading as he was sliced open by the attack. The last thing he saw was the face of Godslayer looking at him with those cold, expressionless Golden eyes.
His vision then went black.
BOOOOOOOOM.
Sakura made her way to the central Hall as fast as she could at the request of Aponia-dono sitting behind her. She was not quite fully trusting of the woman; with that weird power she had used against her to stop her from beheading that soldier. However, she was the best lead she could have in saving Rin from the Cocoon. Also, she had said that she knew Kevin-dono and that finding him would help her to find and rescue Rin. She may not trust this woman, but she trusted in Kevin-dono's sense of honour. Thus, she accepted this woman's request to take her to the place where he was supposed to fight Roque. While she was not worried about the physical prowess of Kevin-dono, his mental strength was another matter. She had sensed a deep rage and darkness buried within him, on the verge of bursting at any moment. It was only held back by the impressive self-restraint shown by Kevin-dono and she shuddered to think of what would happen if it finally snapped.
This was the cause of concern for her. it was because of what type of person Roque was. Even though he was a bit physically weaker than her or Ralph, he used underhanded tactics to gain an edge over his opponent. He was an expert manipulator who would relish in bringing up old wounds and tearing them open again. She was also sure that he would try to do the same thing to Kevin-dono. She had noticed that he had an unhealthy obsession with killing and torturing Kevin-dono for some reason. Thinking such thoughts made her anxious as to what was actually going on in the Imperial Hall. She wished that he would not be forced to take decisions that would haunt him for days to come.
Thus, she twisted the accelerator of the bike she was riding, increasing its speed and making her and Aponia-dono's way as fast as possible to the Hall so as to prevent such a tragedy from happening. She however didn't realize that the one sitting behind her was far more anxious and worried than she was.
Aponia had been having a deep sense of dread as they were approaching the Hall. She felt as if things got even worse than she had seen in her vision. This made her extremely worried and scared for Kevin-san. She had to save him from falling into the darkness. She would never be able to face Ellie-san again if something happened to him. More than that she would never be able to forgive herself if she was late and unable to do anything. Thus, she prayed to whatever power was outside there dictating the flow of fate to listen to her at least once in her life and to prevent something horrible from happening.
Her anxiety grew as the silhouette of the Imperial Hall came into view. Her stomach dropped to the lowest as possible as she saw the Hall burning the same way as she had seen in her vision. Her heart twisted in agony as the possibility arose that she was already too late.
Sakura noticed a familiar face directing people and fighting the organization's soldiers. So, she made her way to the said person. By the time she reached her, the group had already taken care of the cocoon soldiers and had tied them up. She stopped the bike nearby and turned the ignition off. The person hearing the sound of the vehicle turned their head towards the duo, their smile visibly widening as realization dawned on their face. Sakura and Aponia made their way towards the said person who greeted them first:
"Sakura~. Aponia~. It's sooo good to see you both again."
"Elysia-dono" "Ellie-san." they both greeted. At Elysia's greeting, one of the soldiers with her looked at the duo and said:
"Do you know them, Elysia-san?"
"Oh, why yes Hua. They are two of my best friends."
"You have too many best friends." the soldier deadpanned.
"mmmm." Elysia pouted at the remark. Elysia then looked at the duo and said while smiling:
"Let me introduce you to my cut Kouhai and one of Kevin's unit members, Fu Hua."
"E-Elysia-san." Hua said flustered being introduced like that.
"Hello." "Greetings." Both Aponia and Sakura greeted her. Then Elysia turned to Hua and introduced the duo to her:
"And as I've said earlier, they are my two best friends. Matsui Sakura and Aponia." At this Hua greeted them back. After the introductions were over, Elysia asked Sakura:
"By the way, where did you go after that fight, Sakura?"
"That's-"
"Fight?" Hua asked. At this one of the bound Cocoon shouted:
"Wait that pink hair and that dress. A-Agent Sakura!?"
"What, she's an Agent?!" Hua said as she and the rest of the soldiers got into fighting positions at once. The tension in the air went up as once as Sakura put her hand on the hilt of the sword. At this Elysia got in between them and said:
"No. no. no. You misunderstand, Hua. Sakura is not our enemy."
"What are you talking about Elysia-san? She is a member of the Cocoon. Not to mention she is an Agent."
" 'Was' an agent." corrected Sakura, as she sighed and put down her hand and spread them in a gesture of non-hostility. Hua was still on guard but since Elysia-san had said that she is not an enemy, she decided to give this woman a chance to explain herself. She learned that from her commander after all.
"Explain yourself." Hua said while still in a guarded position.
"Sigh… indeed I was an agent of the organization, and was sent to assassinate Kevin-dono…" Hua's guard tightened "-but he defeated me and let me go. At that moment, I became a rogue agent. Then they took my sister somewhere out of my knowledge, and searching for her led me to meet Aponia-dono. There were cocoon soldiers attacking her orphanage also. After taking care of them, she told me that finding Kevin-dono was the key to finding my sister, and so here I am." Sakura explained.
"…" Hua still looked at her with suspicion.
"It is true, Hua." Aponia spoke for the first time in this conversation "I'm aware that the Moths are trying to locate the last hideout of the remaining Cocoon members, and that is where you plan to strike next after wrapping up things here right?"
"!?" Hua was alarmed again. How did this woman-
"No need to be alarmed that much, Hua. I'm also not your or the Moths' enemy. Instead, I want to help you people find the location quicker."
"…" Hua remained silent not deciding to believe their words. A former agent of the Cocoon and a strange woman who knew secrets that no normal person should. At this Elysia again spoke:
"Please let them help Hua. I can vouch for them. They are good people."
"How can you say that Elysia-san?'
"Because they helped me and Kevin."
"…" Hua again became silent. She didn't have an ounce of trust in those two's words; however, Elysia-san was a different matter. Thus, she finally sighed and motioned for the soldiers to put their guns down. She then looked at the two of them and said:
"Fine. I will not engage the two of you here. But you two will be brought back to the base where you will face interrogation."
"As you wish." Sakura said. However, Aponia grew worried for the children's safety during her absence. This was not going according to what she had foreseen. This was the effect of him changing the destinies of all those who had entangled with him. As she was frowning in worry, she heard Ellie-san speak up:
"Don't worry Aponia. I will make sure that all the children are brought to as well. Safe and sound."
"Ellie-san…"
"Please believe in me." Ellie-san said while holding her hand.
"Okay." she said trusting her words. In all this time she knew that her words carried sincerity and truth.
Hua saw the exchange happening and frowned a little. From where did Elysia-san meet these people? And why was she so confident about their loyalties? She couldn't answer them. However, she knew her to be a sincere, dependable and honest person whom commander Kevin trusted. Thus, she put her faith against her judgement on Elysia-san to do the right thing.
After the exchange was over, Elysia asked Sakura again:
"Was this the only thing that you guys came here for?"
At this, Aponia's eyes widened as she remembered the real reason they came here for. Thus, with a sense of urgency she spoke:
"Ellie-san, we have to stop Kevin-san or he-"
BOOOOOOOOM.
She was however unable to finish her words. A loud explosion rattled the entire surroundings they were standing upon. Aponia not used to sudden changes in footing fell down.
"Ugh…" she grunted a little. She didn't get the chance to say anything further, as an intense wave of darkness washed over everyone. The miasma caused many soldiers to gag and kneel, feeling unwell. One of them commented:
"W-what is happening?"
The answer came in the form of a big black wave shooting into the sky from the burning building. Aponia was shell-shocked beyond words as she saw the black wave. She felt nauseous at the expanse of negative emotions that resonated off that wave. Pain, wrath, hatred, despair, bloodlust it was full of it. She instinctively scuttled away a little. Even Sakura, Elysia and Hua who were veteran soldiers seemed to be affected by it.
"W-what is this?" Elysia asked not able to comprehend such a strong negative feeling. She felt like choking as her lungs refused to take in air.
"It is-" Hua tried to say but failed as she felt extremely weak.
"Bloodlust." Sakura said while shivering. To cause such an intense killing intent that would even drive all of them to their knees. Whatever caused it was no normal human.
The Imperial Hall finally collapsed not being able to take the brunt of that final attack. The ones present there then saw three figures falling from the sky.
The first was a huge Honkai beast, cleaved in half and most assuredly dead.
A man with long hair followed, his torso being burnt half to death and open wide.
The final figure landed on the ground, creating a crater where he landed. The figure then stood up, and that was when Aponia's worst nightmare came true.
The figure had silver-white hair that she could recognize in a heartbeat. The sword he was holding was wreathed in those same black flames that she had seen earlier. The bloodlust radiating off of him was so intense that it made it impossible for her to get up. The women around her were shocked the same, as they questioned the man standing with his back to them.
"Ke…vin?" Elysia asked not able to wrap her head around as to how he could give such an evil aura.
"Comm…ander?" Hua asked as her brain stopped processing what was happening before her.
"Ah…" Sakura could only gape at the man in front of her who radiated darkness and raw power that she could never reach in her lifetime. She had underestimated both his potential and the darkness in his heart. She sighed internally as she realized that there was no saving Roque now. He had tampered with something beyond his capacity and now he was going to face the terrible consequences.
Aponia watched in pure horror as the scene from her vision started to play out exactly as she saw it. Kevin-san started to make his way towards the fallen man; blood dripping off his sword and vaporizing by the heat of the black flames surrounding it.
Kevin made his way towards the fallen agent with Homura spewing black flames. The entire surrounding was burning in a black blaze that seemed even more horrific than before. However, in this scene he could only see one figure to whom he made his way, with only one thought ringing in his mind:
"KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL."
"KILL."
Once he reached the agent, he stood before him. His golden eyes bore down at the prone figure of the agent. The agent coughed out blood as his internal organs were destroyed by the attack. Then with the same malicious smile that he had at the start of their encounter, he said:
"Yes. Kill me like the monster you are. Hehehehe…. You cannot hide your true nature. You WILL ALWAYS BE A MONSTER."
Kevin couldn't care less as he raised Homura to finish the job. The flames roared as they condensed on the blade again. This time, he will make sure that nothing is left, not even his soul. He then started to bring down the sword, intending to finish what these people had started here in Bucharest.
"NOOOOOOOOOO."
He suddenly felt his hands were difficult to move as if someone had bound them. He then saw a pair of white cuffed hands holding his hands back as he sensed someone hugging him from behind. The nauseating smell of Jasmine invaded his nostrils as he heard a soft voice speak up:
"Please stop, Kevin-san. This is not you. Please don't let the darkness consume you. You are better than that."
Kevin ignored her and tried to move his hand only for her to hug him tighter.
"Please listen to my words. I know that you are in pain, Kevin-san. Pain so deep and so huge that none of us could even start to imagine it. But please, don't give in to that pain. We all are here for you; you are not alone Kevin-san."
"Don't listen to that woman. Kill me like the monster you are meant to be, Godslayer."
"His name is not Godslayer." Aponia raised her voice for the first time in her life. She continued "His name is Kevin and he is not a monster. He is a hero."
"You talk as if you know him." the agent scoffed.
"Yes." Aponia said with absolute certainty "he is one of the kindest persons I have ever met. He loves everyone so much. He tries his absolute best to protect everyone without wanting anything in return. He is not like you, who wallow in despair and self-pity. He used those horrible experiences he had to make himself a better man. He is far above someone like you who only knows to bring up people's old wounds to torture them. You are not even half the person he is, and you never will be."
"How are you so sure?" the agent roared with all that he had left.
"Because I believe in him."
Kevin's body stopped suddenly as these words registered in his ears. His eyes widened as he realized the implications of what this woman had said to the agent. She trusts him. She believes in him. Even after everything he had done, after everything he had wrought, she still believes in him.
Still, a part of his mind refused to accept it. that part that always reminded him of what he has become: a demon of destruction. That part of him tried to attempt one last time to pry himself away from the woman's embrace. However, as if anticipating his move, she just held him tighter and nuzzled deeper into his back. Then with a voice that sounded as if she was on the verge of breaking she spoke:
"You are a kind human, Kevin. And those who say otherwise know nothing about you. so…" her voice cracked as she said in between sobs:
"Please… please… come back to me."
The aura started to dissipate as the black flames started to die out. After a few moments, she heard him taking a deep breath and exhaling it in a drawn-out sigh. The sigh sounded to her as he finally accepted something, while also letting go of something. As the sigh continued, the choking aura of bloodlust and rage dissipated completely leaving behind a serene feeling.
They both stood there for some time before Aponia felt Kevin shifting in her embrace. She then saw him turning around while his eyes were closed. When he fully turned, her hand instinctively reached out and cupped his cheek gently. She felt him take a sharp breath the moment her palm met with his skin. It was so rough, with a cut lip and tiny scars littered all over. And even though they were in the middle of a maelstrom of fire, his skin felt so so cold, almost like a corpse. She started to caress his face as gently as possible so as to share some of her warmth in hopes that it would also warm his frozen heart a little bit, healing it. As she caressed his face, he finally opened his eyes revealing the usual pair of sky-blue eyes that she had seen. However, instead of detachment and coldness in them, she saw pain and vulnerability. In those gentle sky-blue eyes, she could see a child searching for forgiveness and trying to atone for sins that were never his to belong with. Her expression softened as she tenderly looked at him without her realizing it. She had a gentle smile spread upon her soft pink lips.
"Aponia… I… " Kevin tried to say something but found his voice dying inside his throat.
"shh…" Aponia gently placed a finger to his lips, silencing him. She then said while smiling:
"You don't have to say anything, Kevin. I understand."
Kevin then saw tears rolling down her eyes like silver beads. She then in a voice choked with emotion said:
"Thank you. Thank you for coming back to me, Kevin."
"Yeah." Kevin said in an extremely soft voice, unlike his usual one. A small part of Aponia wished that he would see her and only her like this with his current expression. She then hugged him again and said in a gentle voice:
"Let's go home."
"…" Kevin didn't respond, but she could feel his body relax as the adrenaline finally died off leaving him tired and exhausted. However, before she could speak again, she heard a voice full of anger and spite:
"No. no. no. no. no no no nononononononon. NO!"
She looked over to the prone form of the Cocoon agent looking at her with insanity and madness in his eyes:
"I was so close to unveiling his true nature. How dare you tame him. HOW DARE YOU."
"He is not a monster. The only monster I see here is you." Aponia said coldly. She knew that some are beyond saving and the one in front of her was a prime example.
"HOW DAREEEE YOUUUUUUUUU…" he shouted as he threw his hand forward. Something launched from it, making its way towards her. All the people standing around got alarmed and tried to warn her.
"gasp."
"Aponiaaaaaa."
"Aponia-dono."
"Aponia-san."
Aponia's world seemed to slow down as she saw the remnants of the sacred key hurtling toward her. At this range, the projectile was sure to be fatal; however, her body refused to move for some reason. She only watched as her death approached near. Surprisingly she felt detached as if she was seeing another one of those visions.
She simply watched the spear approaching her before something came in the way between her and her supposed death. Her face morphed into disbelief and horror as a familiar silver-white head filled her vision.
SLASHHHHH.
Everything happened so quickly. There was a loud piercing sound and the nauseating smell of blood filled the air. Aponia moved before she could comprehend what happened. She felt someone falling on her, and their blood splattered across her face. Her eyes widened to the maximum they had been in these eighteen years of her life. She fell down with the person still on her. She then heard a laugh from seemingly far away:
"Yes, yes. Die you demon. This is your pu- gugh…" the sound cut off abruptly as another slashing sound rang in the air. It was followed by a gargle of words that she couldn't understand.
The world around her seemed to fade away as she felt something warm and sticky covering her face and hands. It had a very disgustingly familiar iron scent. Her vision was filled with silver-white hair pure as snow, now defiled by that disgusting red liquid. She heard the sounds of someone's breathing getting fainter by the second. The little warmth that she was feeling was fading away at an alarming pace. She embraced him tighter, trying to retain whatever little warmth he had left. Her eyes travelled down to see the face of the one she was holding. It was the face of the one for whom she had travelled all the way here. She was so close too. However, not only did she fail, he had protected her at the cost of his own. Tears pooled in her eyes as she wondered why things always ended up like this.
Aponia didn't pay any heed to the people running towards her and focused solely on the man she held in her arms. In a voice filled with desperation and terror, she desperately called out the name of the person again and again while tears streamed down her face like a waterfall.
"Kevin."
"Kevin."
"Kevin."
"KEVIN!"
To be continued…
Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warriors Destiny'.
Well another long chapter huh? Who would've thought? I hope you guys are enjoying reading these long chapters, as I'm having writing them. Also, please forgive my late update schedules. I have been swamped with many IRL things that have made it difficult to devote as much time to writing this compared to earlier. But don't worry. As I've said earlier, I'm not abandoning this story. We will witness this story to the end together.
These things aside, version 6.0 is coming up soon. Tell me in the comments who all are planning to pull for our upgraded Miss Pink Elf. I know I am. I just hope that 47k crystals with 40 pity is enough to 4/4 her. Please bless me, gacha gods.
Anyway, we have now only two chapters to wrap up the Cocoon arc. Like this one, it will be full of revelations and fights. So stay tuned to see how it all comes together.
As always if you like the story please leave a follow, favourite, and/or review.
Thank you for reading, until next time.