Chapter 17
The Hraesvelgr struck first by going for Compa, lunging to slash at her with the talons on its feet. It could smell the sweat and fatigue rolling off her in waves, and thus chose her to be its first target for a meal. The rest would come later once it had its fill. The tired girl barely rolled out of the way in time, and when she got up the creature was already attacking her again, lunging forth with its Beak. She raised her Syringe and blocked it, the beak trapped and unable to clamp down on her Syringe's form.
"Ni-Ni, guys! Its singling me out for some reason!"
Nico grimaced, its senses must have told it that she would be the weakest thanks to her being the most tired. Neptune had her HDD to rejuvenate herself, however Compa was not so lucky. She was only human, thus had little to help recover her stamina, and in a dog-eat-dog world like this, that was grounds for quick killing. Quickly, Nico turned his head towards the others and alerted them to this problem. "Everyone, make sure Compa takes the least bit of damage! With how exhausted she is she'll be an easy target!" Rearing Rebellion back, Nico flipped it so that he held it by reverse grip. Its demonic energy gathered around the blade, an energy aura manifesting around it. 'Here goes!'
When the energy was sufficiently charged, Nico swung the blade in a down-to-upwards arc. The blade dug through the ground and when it was released into the upwards park, the energy was released into a crimson energy wave akin to his PHANTOM WAVE Skill. He repeated the motions, changing hands for the second energy wave before spinning into a third horizontal launching.
The Hraesvelgr was quick to react, dodging the first two by sliding left to right and vice versa, but the last one managed to cut into its chest area, causing it to howl in agony. It flapped it wings wildly in response to the massive amounts of pain that coursed through its veins and systems from the attack, never having tasted the power of demonic energy that tore away at its being. A massive wound was left across its chest, hollowed out and crimson red in colour, smaller red cracks spreading from the wound.
Seeing the results of the demonic energy Rebellion can use, Nico whistled in appreciation, looking down at his weapon which crackled with HF electricity. 'Nice, and with the HF tech in it, this sword has become even deadlier…' he thought with satisfaction, pride swelling in his chest at his weapon. This was one of his strongest weapons, though it wasn't his iconic Plasma Claws. Anybody with a brain could tell this sword had immense bloodlust, just like its wielder.
"Nico, get your head back into the game, its coming!" IF's words made his eyes widen as Nico swiftly did the splits, going under the large bird monster as it flew overhead, rising into the air before circling around for an aerial strike from above. Sliding back to a standing position, Nico spun around and fuelled Rebellion with more demonic energy, increasing its aura and began sending more energy waves at the creature in greater numbers and increased ferocity.
Up in the air though, the creature had a greater chance of seeing and dodging the fast and strong energy waves, which it demonstrated by acrobatically avoiding each one. It then swooped down from one of its flips into a dive, heading for Compa again. This time, when it raised its Talons to grab her, it was blocked by a furious Neptune's sword, which she pushed energy into and made a diagonal slash, sending it flying back. "Iffy, try it now!" she yelled to the brunette who was already prepping her Skill.
"Got it! DEMON FLAMES!" Her skill was launched from hand, and while it did connect to her opponent, the attack barely did any damage to the monster. "Tch, it didn't work!" she called to the others. It was only a glimpse, but when she glanced at the Hraesvelgr from the corner of her eye she saw how it snorted, as if amused at her attempts to injure it despite the purple and red slash marks on its body. A tick mark formed on her forehead at the gall of this monster. "You're kidding right now, this thing's making fun of me?!"
Compa looked and saw it about to make a move. Lifting her Syringe into position, she aimed at its face before firing rounds into the said area of the Monster. The rounds hit home, peppering the Monster to distract it from making a move on the Guild Agent. "Iffy, follow your own advice!" she called to the brunette. "You can call the meanie names when we're done!"
Nico looked at the monster and analysed its movements. The slash marks on its chest were impeding its breathing slightly, but enough to decrease its stamina, and by extension how long it can move before taking a breather. It seemed to move primarily by flight, which relies on its wings to function. In that case, he had an idea. Turning to where Neptune was, the male shouted over to her. "Hey, Neptune! I'll distract it, you go for the wings!" he shouted, before dashing off instead of hearing her reply.
The monster saw him coming and made to charge at him. However, Nico pulled out Ebony in his left hand and fired on its face, each bullet causing it to turn its head forcefully, its body jerking with the impact the bullets made. Thanks to it being stronger than the average monsters, the bullets didn't destroy it in one shot like it did before, but that wasn't what he wanted. instead, his actions provided him with the distraction he needed, as he holstered Ebony and grasped Rebellion with two hands. Once he was close enough, Nico jumped and swung his Claymore down in a diagonal slash from the right shoulder to the hip.
To stop this, the creature Squawked while jumping at him, launching its Talons to grapple with Nico's Rebellion, which was once again coated in demonic energy to protect it from the sharp talons. As the two battled it out in a contest of strength, Nico reached out with his senses, and felt a Presence beginning to move from above. 'Yes, Neptune's got it!' he thought to himself. He beamed happily on the inside, while on the outside Nico barely restrained a smirk from his features. "Looks like your all out of tricks, birdy."
While the creature tilted its head in confusion, momentarily pausing in its contest, it soon got its answer when Neptune flew down from above, her Sword ready. With a mighty battle cry that only ones who were scorned could give, Neptune brought her Sword down on one of the bird monster's Wings, the energy she poured into it enhancing its cutting power and slicing through the wing in one clean swing.
Pain erupted from the Hraesvelgr from lacking its Wing as it fell to the ground, its ability to fly greatly limited thanks to its lack of the severed Limb. It doubled over onto its back and tried to get up, only for Nico to jump onto its back and swing Rebellion onto its other Wing, severing that limb as well.
IF and Compa seized this opportunity when they saw the Tendril-like protrusions begin to loom over Nico's head. The former raced forwards and jumped at the left one's base, slicing through it with her Qatars and landing behind it in a one-legged kneeling position. Compa followed up by aiming her Syringe and blasting the right one to pieces.
"Like I said, you're out of tricks." Nico remarked… before hopping off the monster as he finished his sentence off with a two-fingered salute, Rebellion being sent back into his Void Storage. "Bye-bye, birdie."
While it was confused for a moment on the meaning behind that statement, the Hraesvelgr soon got the answer to its puzzlement. It was in the form of a rising KI it sensed, and when it looked, it began to lose its colour as it saw a furious Neptune flying at it with her energy enhanced sword poised to end its life. "This is the end, foul Monster! Taste the wrath of interrupting my pudding time!"
With that, Neptune released a battle cry as she stabbed her sword hilt-deep into the creature's head. It gave one last weak caw before it began to disperse into particles, signalling that the battle was over.
Once it was completely gone, Neptune stood straight as she wiped the sweat off her brow, her sword now sheathed inside is waist-strapped sheath. "Whew…" she muttered, turning to the others as she floated over to them. "That was some fight."
"Really? It was rather quick because of you and Ni-Ni, Nep-Nep." Compa said. She remembered that Nico had given her the opening to deal the fatal blow, likely so that Neptune could have her 'vengeance' for her interrupted break time.
Nico soon joined them and, unknowingly, confirmed Compa's thoughts. He had his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants while he looked about the area, before his gaze landed on the transformed Neptune. "While usually it drives people mad, rage can be a powerful motivator." He said, frowning when he remembered how some Guild Agents attacked monsters in a vicious rage for one reason or another, only to get ripped apart and eaten alive. "Just glad that this time it's not the case. I'm just glad that Neptune here got her vengeance."
He would have said more, but something was detected by his Motion Tracker. he quickly glanced down at it, and his eyes narrowed in thought. 'Huh...? Looks like we have some company...' he thought to himself. Was this new arrival working with Avenir? or did they have their own agenda? Only time would tell, that is, if the person hiding didn't show themselves.
Hiding away a fair distance from the party, there was a single feminine figure. Upon stepping out to get closer to them, it was revealed to be the same girl that Nico had nearly hit in an accident. She had a deep look on her face as she observed the group as they had celebrated their victory. She then released a sigh and paused her movements before hiding behind a rock. "I've come as fast as I could but… I didn't expect them to be in a battle. I lost my timing to show myself…"
Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the ground, trying not to move as she sensed Neptune's energy. "I rushed here, but now that I have the chance to cool myself down…" she then shook her head as she confirmed it for herself. "…Attacking her now is too low for me."
"Still, it does make sense to fight so that I could regain my position…" the girl admitted, cupping her chin as she thought back to events that had occurred in the past. This happened for a short moment, before the girl shook her head to get rid of those thoughts as another addition reared its ugly head. "I can't lose my Shares… I won't be able to win the Console Wars like this… but fighting Neptune now isn't like me as a Goddess. I sure wouldn't enjoy my victory… And my pride wouldn't let me."
She had to admit to herself, fighting Neptune as she was would be far different than before. not only did she have her memories gone, but also, she had allied herself with a bunch of humans, two girls and one boy, though that last part was unbelievably rare. Usually, guys were either weak or useless, or were evil and wanting to dominate the world.
The one difference here? That boy was a Spec Ops Agent. She had done some research into his identity, and discovered this fact as well as his track record. She'd even watched some footage of him fighting the 'Abnormal' monsters in the world. It was almost scary how powerful he was. Though, for some reason he wasn't using his armour, something he never went without in a battle, which both intrigued and relieved her. Intrigued because she wanted to know the reason why, and relieved because without it, Nico, or rather his codename DEAHSTROKE, would be easier to defeat in battle, that was what she was thinking. Turned out that despite the lack of armour, DEATHSTROKE remained as skilled as ever.
Then, there was this strange power she was sensing that was radiating around him, even when in his human state. It was powerful, even though she couldn't sense all of it, and for some reason, the girl felt that energy was something she didn't want to be used against her. It felt like the opposite of Share Energy. Instead of divine, it was sinister, dark, yet ready to be unleashed whenever its wielder chooses it. Someone like him… will be a large problem in dealing with Neptune.
"Then there's that human boy Neptune is travelling with… He seems like a nice guy, which is rare, but how the heck did Neptune find someone like him? He even bothered enough to try and make it up to me when he nearly caused that accident… not many guys would try and do that, I'm sure." She said to herself, feeling her confidence stagger slightly.
Memories assaulted her as she remembered the problems in her home, and her eyes sharpened, and her resolve re-strengthened. Even in her current state, she had to do this despite how it'll hurt her pride. Though traces of regret could still be seen in her eyes. "Sadly enough, with my position now, I guess I've got no other choice…" after she said that, she called upon her power, and it came.
Meanwhile, back at the party, an idea popped into IF's head as she regarded Neptune and the male before them, the two people in their group that could transform. "Hey, wouldn't it have been faster if Nep and Nico in their TRANS-AM modes flew us here?" she asked them, while sneaking a glance at Compa. If they had done that then not only would Compa have not been as tired as she was now, but also the fight with their target monster would likely have played out differently.
Unfortunately, Neptune with her HDD personality, refused that notion vehemently. "No. there's no way I could carry you both. This is quite tiring, you know?" she explained. In her mind, she could imagine carrying one piece of cargo while Nico in his DPU form did the same with the other. Both would be exhausted to fight for a short while, and without their two main powerhouses, the party would lose most of its fighting strength. Seriously, IF's attack had little effect on the monster, so what else would she have done to save Compa?
"Also," Nico began as he also had the same opinion as Neptune did, but for different reasons. "I am still unskilled in my ability to transform, and I don't know what effects it might have on me. Whether I change like Neptune does or something else, I don't know. I'd rather train for a while in it before I can even think of using it as commonly as Neptune's HDD."
His explanation served to pacify the two human girls, as he did have good points in there. Not only did he not have much experience doing Demon Drive Demonica, but also, he had not transformed since the battle with Arfoire, therefore he wouldn't know about its effects, whether it changes him or how drastic it does so. "Alright, that seems legit." IF nodded reluctantly. Though she didn't know why she was reluctant to allow Nico to carry someone, even if it's her.
"Ni-Ni aside, we still have Nep-Nep's super mode." Compa pointed out before turning to the dark purple haired sword maiden. She already had an offer she was sure would work on her. "How about being our Taxi for one pudding each direction?" she proposed with her ever-bright smile. She then sweetened the deal even further. "This is no ordinary Pudding. I'm taking about the super-premium one."
'Whoa girl, that's some major power right there!' Nico thought, eyes wide with shock when he heard Compa's words. Damn, girl must be wanting a transport bad. Well, he couldn't blame her, since she was tuckered out when she first came to the Dungeon. Neptune speeding ahead forcing her to run all the way here to keep up probably didn't help. 'Still though, would it affect HDD Neptune like Neptune herself? Let's see…'
The older Neptune looked like she was pondering it, her face flushed at the thought of that much pudding, even making false direction changes so that she could get more. "Ah…" she barely brought her voice out as she pushed her fantasies to one side, something that she wouldn't have been doing in her human form. "Th-That's enticing, but I'll have to pass."
'Holy shit, hold the freaking phone! Neptune able to resist pudding?! What madness is this?!' Nico exclaimed in pure disbelief, almost doing a double take as he regarded Neptune cautiously. "Ok, who are you and what have you done with Neptune?"
"What are you talking about, Nicky? I am still me, be it my other form and this one."
While the two were talking about if she was who she claimed she was, Compa pouted in disappointment, her fantasies now crushed by the harsh hand of reality. She deflated at this as her shoulders sagged and she became hunched as she looked down. "Aw… That's too bad. It would have been so easy if we just flew instead." She whined.
Now Neptune had enough, and it showed on her irritated face. Both the questions by Nico on her identity, and Compa's pleading for her to be their living transport carrier. "Enough on this already. I'm changing back." She told them as she slowly closed her eyes, about to change back to her normal hyper self.
However, If's eyes sharpened as she glanced to the side, like when an animal suddenly sensed danger lurking nearby. She twisted around to face the source, throwing an arm to the side in a sudden manner that caught everyone but Nico off guard. "Wait a second, Nep. Don't undo your transformation just yet." she called out to the womanly version of her companion.
"Looks like we have some unexpected company. Come out, we know your there!" Nico said before Neptune could respond, though now she didn't need to since she was now on guard, her Sword being pulled out its sheath with HF electricity crackling along the blade.
A faint chuckle could be heard from nearby, and the party were able to trace it to a large rock near the entrance to the platform through the way they came in. "I didn't expect you to notice. Well done." A womanly, mature voice that drenched in bloodlust. Then, the voice's owner walked, or rather floated, out of hiding and approached the party.
'Oh, my goddess…' Nico thought as he looked at the person before them. It was a woman, and if he was a pervert he would say she was smoking hot just like all the girls in his party. But he wasn't, so he focused on her appearance. The woman had a fair skin tone, and a mature face. She had pure white hair that was worn down to her waist with a few inches cut off and her bangs messy. Her eyes were a glowing teal, with the same power button symbol as Neptune and his own. She wore a black turtleneck leotard with a cleavage window at the chest. Everything else, the arm and legwear, was akin to Neptune's only the arm armour was detached from her leotard, with a mix of black with a secondary colour of silver. In her hand, she wielded a large sword, shaped like a broadsword unlike Neptune's Katana based one, and his Claymore Rebellion or his giant greatsword Soul Edge. It was mainly black with a glowing silver edge that went into the diagonal tip. Its handle had a circular guard around it with a matching edge to that of the main blade.
Whoever this female was, something told him she would have the pants when it came to a relationship with another. She seemed like the aggressive, dominating type. Especially with how she looked at them right now like a predator about to corner its prey, well, it was mostly aimed at Neptune for some reason. However, there was one thing for certain in this encounter. And that was that this woman, regardless of her identity, would likely prove to be a foe in the upcoming moments. He prepared to summon Rebellion, when an idea struck him… one pertaining to the conversation just moments before.
'While I would like to train in that ability... it would be beneficial to see if I can use it at all...'
Silence spread through the area, dominating everything ese in the vicinity. The air was thick, the party was tense. This new woman who had just complimented IF for noticing where she was hiding was floating before them, sword in hand. The aura round this girl, the silvery white aura, had them on edge, especially Nico. It had a greater effect on the male because of his use of demonic energy, which caused him to become suspicious on who this girl was. 'Whoever she is, by her posture and how she was holding that large sword, I can tell she is a formidable fighter.' Nico thought in calculation, planning how to defeat her with the skills and equipment he had available. A part of him wanted to go Ebony and Ivory for support roles, but that would be counterproductive and waste his Skills. In Layman's terms, he preferred to be in the thick of the action.
However, Nico also had a part of him that wanted to match her, power for power.
Finally, after moments of silence and staring deep into Neptune's eyes as if they were the only ones in the room, the new woman smirked as she stabbed her sword into the ground beside her. "It's been a while, Neptune. Of course, you probably don't know me now…" she said, causing Neptune's eyes to widen when she realised something, something about this girl that was familiar.
"Iffy! Is she…?!" Neptune asked her friend as she turned her head to face her. Her eyes showed the brunette what she wanted to ask, but she couldn't find the words to do so. She wanted IF to confirm to her what she had noticed as she was the closer of her and the Spec Ops Agent.
The brunette went and confirmed it, an eager smirk on her lips. "Yes… she does look like you in that form of yours. That form and eyes… I think she probably knows something about you, Nep." She hypothesised. 'If this girl can look like this… then odds are it's a transformation as well. That means that this transformation isn't limited to Nico and Nep. Whoever she is though, has to have a reason to transform before meeting us.' She thought to herself, but didn't say. The fact that she knows Nep's got amnesia is a bit suspicious, though. 'Man, Nico's observation skills must be rubbing off on me.' She glanced to the said male to consider his eyes and find that, to her, he was thinking similar thoughts.
Once again, the woman confirmed it fully when she placed a hand on her hip and gestured to the dark purple haired sword maiden. "Indeed. I know Neptune very well." She explained, her tone slightly more drawn out when she said the last part, which further proved that she did indeed know Neptune from her past lost memories.
"Really?! Then tell me, who am I?!" Neptune exclaimed in shock, joy and relief. If she were in her childish self, she would have been bouncing up and down on her feet with joy at the new revelation of someone who had known her. She may not show it, but she was eager to learn about who she once was, before she became who she is today. The fact that she had finally found someone who knew her before she lost her memories was a source of great excitement for her.
Strangely enough, at least for them, the woman placed a gloved palm on her forehead and laughed, bending backwards slightly. "Ahaha! Being asked for help by Neptune! Very well, let me tell you…" she spoke after her little laughing fit. The tone she used lowered into a dangerous one under the pretence of talking.
'I'm sensing a 'but' here…' Nico thought. That facial expression was one he had seen before in the eyes of many Guild Agents. When female agents were giving the male ones a taste of feminine fury when they tried to peek on em in the changing rooms. With that in mind, Nico slowly reached deep within himself to the reservoir of demonic power within him. He had been channelling it into Rebellion, merging it with the sword's own demonic power to form its shockwaves, but when he touched it with his mental presence, it was like he'd only took a glass of water from the ocean. There was so much left to spare!
"Really?!" Neptune cried out in joy, so happy with the knowledge that she would be getting answers to her long-time questions about herself to notice the change in her tone. Unlike the male Spec Ops Agent, she didn't seem to notice the approaching danger.
Compa, was another to not notice the change as she, in a moment of blissful ignorance, blissfully beamed at her purple haired friend. "That's great, Nep-Nep! We finally met someone who knows you." She exclaimed, sharing in her friend's joy. She was one of the few that could see through the cheery façade that Neptune often wore, and she could tell that this was a big deal for her.
"But, it's on one condition." The new woman spoke while slowly reaching for the handle of the sword she had impaled into the ground earlier. She tugged it lightly, and the blade burst free, allowing her to wield it although she hadn't made any moves yet. her posture slowly turned increasingly threatening, KI gradually rising from her being.
'Called it.' the male thought as he readied his power. His eyes gradually gained a faint red tint, not enough to be noticed, but enough to signify that the change was about to begin. 'Looks like I'll get to test my DPU Form out again. I can only hope nothing bad will happen that'll scare the girls… I have the distinct feeling I jinxed myself.'
Neptune blinked, her joy from earlier now mixed with caution, her mind registering the danger vibes that the new woman was radiating. "Condition? What's that?" she asked while her hand slowly reached for her sword. The tension in the air was thickening by the second, and at this point even Compa had managed to realise that something was wrong and that she should be ready.
"Do you have to ask…? Defeat me in battle!"
Right after she yelled that, the white-haired woman flew at Neptune at speeds that caught the sword maiden off guard. She made to block, but before the woman could connect with her sword a blur slammed into her side, sending her tumbling away although the woman used her momentum to get up into a sliding motion, using her sword to slow her movement to a stop.
Once she stopped completely, the woman looked up, furious at who had interrupted her. "Who did-" she began, before she froze, her muscles tensing as she felt a burning heat in the air, causing a light bead of sweat to roll down her forehead.
Nico was the source of both it and the kick that he had slammed into her side with, his body radiating a thick layer of demonic energy, his eyes glowing crimson and looking like they were about to form power button symbols. "Hey, Neptune. Remember when I said I haven't transformed in a while?" Nico asked as he turned his head to look at the purple haired sword wielder.
Said wielder nodded at his words, too surprised to speak at te moment. This was only the second time, but she wasn't used to the oppressive nature of the energy roaring within him. It looked like he was about to burst, too.
The male then turned his head back to the surprised woman who had gotten back to her feet and resumed her floating position. "I think now is the time to change that, don't you think?" Neptune didn't answer, but her face said it all. He nodded, and with that. His transformation begun.
Unlike the HDD Transformation, DDD started by unleashing orange-red flames from a ring underneath his feet, forming a cocoon around him. It lasted a second before it exploded into embers, a much less volatile explosion than the first time in the Monster Cave. And like before, the man that Nico became soon took his place, his fiery bird wings spreading out as he kneeled on the ground.
Slowly rising to his feet, the transformed Nico opened his crimson eyes to show his power button symbols, getting a jolt of shock from the white-haired woman while he summoned his Sword Soul Edge. "Wh-What the hell?! Why can you transform?! There should only be four of us!" she yelled, pointing at him while trying to ignore the chills gnawing at her spine when she saw the sword manifest in a vortex of flames.
Nico stared emotionlessly at her, holding Soul Edge in one hand as he wordlessly pointed the tip at her. The flames from the sword gathered at the tip and fired a series of large fireballs her direction, faster than a bullet fired from a rifle.
She barely dodged it in time by strafing to the side. "Not going to talk, are you?! Fine, then!" she cried before she flew towards him from his right flank, going for a cut to his neck. It was blocked by the grotesque looking sword. She went for a series of slashes to different areas, each one being blocked expertly by the sword's massive form. It was just as large, if not larger, than her own, plus it seemed to have much more power than it let on. The woman found it… disturbing, especially when the eye on the blade would move wherever she went, like it was watching her.
Just as she was moving back, the woman was attacked by Neptune, who came at her from above and slammed her sword into her. The woman barely blocked in time, the shock from the earlier revelation slightly decreasing her reaction time. "It appears you have been caught off guard. Interesting. I'll remember that if we have to face the rest of you." Neptune commented as she flipped backwards, landing 25 metres away and sliding to a halt.
"And don't you forget about us!"
"We won't let you hurt, Nep-Nep, meanie!"
IF and Compa roared as they charged at her from multiple angles. The brunette went first, going in for a series of kicks and slashes to the chest, while Compa went for providing fire support from afar. One of her kicks connected, and IF exploited the opening by raising her right Qatar and bringing it down on her stomach.
The woman gritted her teeth while hook kicking the arm away from her, using the momentum to spin into a reverse back kick to knock IF back. She then reared her sword back as a purple aura formed around it. "Try this on for size then! VENOM FENCER!" she yelled, thrusting rapidly at the brunette. While she was able to dodge the majority of the attacks, IF got hit by the last one to the stomach, poison seeping into her as she was sent flying away.
"Iffy!" Compa called out to her friend in alarm, seeing her go down like that. She began to race towards her friend, only to find the Woman already before her, sword poised to strike at her. "Focus on your enemy instead of your comrades, girl!" she yelled, bringing it down on her.
However, before she could strike the Nurse-In-Training down, her sword was blocked by the tip of Soul Edge, Nico having gone on the offensive at the sight of Compa getting attacked. "Stop playing around." He said emotionlessly, his dual voice equally disturbing the girl as he pushed her back. Nico then flew forwards, swinging at her head which she blocked. The male broke away and went for a reverse spinning slash to her chest, which the woman ducked under and made to launch another VENOM FENCER at him. His wings flared however, and he ascended into the air, avoiding the Skill easily. "Useless."
"What?!" the Woman called out, infuriated with the veins sported on her forehead being an indicator of what she felt from that statement. "I'll show you useless!" she flew upward after him, the male rearing back before he swan-dived after her. The two clashed in the middle, sword against sword creating deadly sparks from the friction between the two weapons.
Eventually, the two separated the Woman vanishing into thin air, to the untrained eye anyways. Nico's eyes flashed as he spun around and blocked a strike that would have decapitated him. No fear, happiness, joy, or any emotion was present on his face as he wordlessly parried the Woman's attacks from every angle, not giving her a single inch of an opening.
'Tch, this guy's defence is flawless.' The woman thought as she backed away from him. Big mistake as the male raised his sword, fiery trails erupting from the eye, almost like it was crying tears of flames, before condensing around the metallic edge of the blade. He then brought it down, and the edge launched a dozen or so beams of fire at her. "Oh shoot!" she cried, quickly going about and flying in erratic, complex arcs that almost seemed akin to a dance routine. The beams chased her down wherever she went, homing in on their target without question. Some of them hit their brethren and detonated into fiery explosions, while the rest sought their target.
As she flew, the Woman gasped when she saw Nico appear before her, raise his sword and bring it down. She quickly stopped and raised her own, blocking the attack from hitting her, but the resulting force and impact sent her crashing into the ground with an explosion shielding her from view. The flaming beams soon followed her, colliding with her and resulting in several explosions accompanying the first one.
When the dust settled, the woman was revealed to be standing still, however she was not undamaged. Her body was covered in burns of varying degrees, her hair was singed in multiple places, and her sword looked like it had seen better days. Some wounds began to heal with a silverfish energy being applied to them, while the woman looked up and glared at the male, who responded with an emotionless stare, not even phased by the fact that she'd survived his attack.
She couldn't move after him though because Neptune already took his place, charging in from behind. "You should focus on more of us, not just him." She commented while swinging her sword in multiple arcs. The Woman blocked most of them, however one of them left her open for a kick to the face by Neptune, sending her back. The purple haired sword maiden then went for a sausage flip and exited into a knee to the top of her head.
However, the woman jumped back and got some distance. She needed to think of a plan before going in again. Her previous plan of overwhelming Neptune was failing epically on multiple factors. One, she didn't expect her to have strong company, sand two: she didn't expect one of said company to be able to transform like they could! Was he one of them and they didn't know, or what?
The woman focused back on the battle and went for Neptune. She would deal with the questioning later once she emerges victorious from this battle. 'It doesn't matter if Neptune has help, I'll still win!' she thought as she decided to activate a Skill. "PARALYSE FENCER!" she called out, her sword becoming covered in electricity.
When it was thrusted her way, Neptune wisely decided to dodge the blows so that she didn't suffer the same effects as IF, or akin to them as she was poisoned and currently being treated by Compa. She then activated a Skill of her own when she saw an opening after the Woman's attack ended. "CROSS COMBINATION!" Neptune rushed forwards, dealt a series of slashes before kicking upwards and knocking the Woman into the air. She jumped after her, and swung downwards.
All but the last slash connected, so the Woman didn't take too much damage, however Nico then stopped her from attacking by going on the offensive, Soul Edge radiating demonic power that he used to amplify his next attack. "Be sliced in half." He said emotionlessly, and the woman strafed sideways like her life depended on it, to avoid the demonic sword as it hit the ground instead. A huge line of fire erupted out from the blow, rising to 30 feet in the air.
'That attack could have killed me!' the Woman thought in shock and horror as she got into a defensive stance. Nico had already beset her when she did this, and she was barely able to block his sword in time. The next strike came towards her side, so she spun around and went for his back with a reverse slash, only for his wings to act like they were living beings and reform themselves into a shell behind him, blocking her attack. "What?!"
"Useless." He stated, his Tail whacking her as his wings reformed while he spun around and slammed his Soul Edge into her chest, the Woman screaming as demonic energy raced through her from the impact. Her earlier hunch was right as she felt like her body was being shredded apart from the inside out, literally going through a paper shredder. It was not something she had ever felt before, and that alone was enough to scare the living daylights out of her, despite her pride attempting to force it down. She was sent flying into the cliff face of the mountain with a large CRASH sound accompanying her, the impact being enough to make her cough up blood and saliva in a horrific mix.
Her body felt weak, her power was spent healing from that last attack. there wasn't much left of it now, she realised. Before she could fully grasp the situation, she was in, Nico was already floating before her, Soul Edge's tip pointed at her throat. Her eyes widened and her body tensed, a sense of fear rising within her gut. It mixed with the pain she was experiencing, creating a truly uncomfortable experience she did NOT want to feel again. "This can't be… even if I was outnumbered… me? Lose? What is going on? Or, is this my power…? No, I won't believe it!"
Shakily, her head moved up to gaze into the eyes of her killer. She didn't have any thoughts that she would survive this, her mind was in too much shock from the experiences thus far to come up with any decent strategy to escape the… nightmare before her. His eyes were full of nothingness, like a void, like he was nothing but a shell of what he once was before his transformation. That power he displayed seemed to be in direct contrast to the divine, she realised, a power that had the direct effect of being like poison to people like her.
Just… what the heck is this… thing?
The eye of Soul Edge began bleeding flames again, the flames moving to the tip to form a fireball. This time though the fireball slowly increased its size to that of the woman before him, its heat being so large that the Woman could hardly stand looking at it and had to look away. Though, she still felt like she was being boiled alive thanks to the infernal heat it was emitting.
"Tell me, woman… do you know why you did not win today?" Nico asked her, his eyes and face remaining the same as before. it was like he had only asked the question because he had no other option, which confused the Woman. Why would he talk about something he obviously had no interest in? ignoring her confusion, the male continued. "It is because one: you lacked variety in your abilities. Your skills focus too heavily on one aspect of combat. Unlike myself, who specialises in multiple fields. Thus, your defeat was eminent. Now…" his eyes gained a tint of malevolence to them as the flames began to intensify. "Burn to ashes."
The flames became so intense that she didn't think looking away would shield her eyes from being reduced to glass anymore. A lone tear slid down the corner of her eye, unseen to anyone because it was hidden behind her nose. 'All this… for Lastation… and now, it all comes to an end…' she thought, sure that this would be her end as she closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable impact of that monstrous blade that belonged to the transformed male.
However, a loud CLANG! Was heard, and the flames were extinguished.
