Chapter 48 - The Defiler PT 2
"People…?" Compa blinked as she registered what the older woman had said. She felt confused on the meaning though, even though a part of her told her that's he may not want to know. She had to know though, as it was about her crush. "What do you mean, Hel-Hel?" She didn't like the vagueness of the answer, and wanted something to elaborate on it.
Helen gave a sombre sigh as she leaned back on her chair, uncrossing her legs then folding the other leg over the one that had been on top of it for so long. "Well… I… you have to understand, normally this world is full of cute girls, action, adventure and fanservice, yes?" she aimed a careful gaze towards them, getting nods from the girls at the mention of the dynamics that they faced on their adventures. "Well, this isn't that world anymore. Not with what Nico saw."
That didn't sound ominous at all, in fact, it succeeded in increasing the tension in the room. It was like a 100KG weight had settled on every spec of atom inside the room, making it difficult to breathe. It didn't help that Helen had this haunted, remorseful look on her face as she held her arms for comfort, possibly scarring memories going through her mind. "You see, while Spec Ops Agents and Guil Agents do essentially the same thing, there's wone thing Spec Ops do that dGuld Agents don't: and that;'s Human-based quests." she told them.
Compa blinked, and so did Neptune at the unfamiliar term, while IF's eyes flashed with realisation. "Human? Human Quests?" the two girls asked her, getting a nod from the older woman.
"I've heard of those." All eyes turned to IF, who now looked as irritated and concerned as Helen looked as she spoke those words. When she saw that they had their attention focused on her, the brunette continued her speech, never losing her troubled expression in the slightest. "Human Quests, while classified as Spec Ops Quests, are reserved for them ALONE. That means that only they can take them, so if they were in a party with other people that weren't Spec Ops, he or she would have to ditch them or hand them another Quest instead. Spec Ops normally fight monsters like the rest of us, but on the off case..." she trailed off, not wanting to continue anymore as she gritted her teeth. 'I think I know where Ms Dawson is going with this... and I don't like it.' she thought afterwards.
She then stood up, walking around while dragging her chair behind her until it was back before her Desk. She sat down on it once again, leaning forwards with her arms on the Table, with her sombre look never ceasing the entire time. "You would be correct in your assumptions, IF the four years, Nico saw little goodness in people… and a lot of how corrupted they are. Murderers, rapists, child molesters, and all the scum of humanity was what his world was immersed in. He'd been trapped in a world unlike yours, a world full of criminals down to deranged psychopaths that weren't above committing crimes worse than you could even imagine A truly dark, twisted world."
The girls gulped, not liking the sound of that. Those words alone brought many images into their minds, images on a graphic gore level of the Banshee Nest, no matter how much they tried to fight against it. Adventurers, Guild Agents, they didn't deal with the criminals and scum of humanity, they usually dealt with the monsters that threaten their species as a whole. Thus, they usually believed humanity was more of a peaceful race that didn't deserve to be destroyed by the Monsters.
Apparently, they were wrong on that assumption.
Seeing their responses crushed Helen's heart inside, to have to tell them this truth, however it had been necessary. Helen did all she could to convince herself of this, which wasn't much. Years of experiencing such a life made it a little easier to bear, although she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Getting used to the fact that humanity was filled with scumbags and horrible criminals, that wasn't something one should get used to. But there were those that did, well, those people usually ended up becoming worse than the people they hunted. Although, Helen sometimes doubted they were people at al with the things they did.
Looking at the girls, Helen saw slight comprehension in their eyes, probably thanks to Ganache and Avenir's actions at Lastation. However, they seemed to think that it was only because of them that criminal activity ha been happening. Time to crush that hope, she thought with slight bitterness. She reached under her desk, pulling out a draw that had a series of files in them. She pulled the files out and placed them on her Desk, quickly searching through them till she found the one she wanted. "This is just one example of some of the twisted shit Nicky-Nick has seen. Aha, here it is." She found it at the bottom of the pile, pulling it out and opening it, but not showing it to the girls. She didn't want to give them nightmares for the foreseeable future. "This is a case, one that was released to the public by the way, revolving around a serial killer known as the 'Hidden Nepper'. He was a serial killer that targeted people that even remotely resembled the Planeptune CPU, and as you know, there are a LOT of people who aspire to be like you, Neptune."
The girls gasped at the information they had received, while IF's eyes narrowed darkly as the name struck a chord in her, a familiar one. "I've heard of that case. Some nutcase had decided to go off the deep end and kidnapped many young girls resembling nep here." She said, frowning as she summarised the case in her mind before voicing it so that Neptune and Compa understood. The former was losing colour in her features fast at the thought of such an atrocity. As for the latter, she was shaking in her boots as she remembered hearing a news report about that person. "You're saying that Nico was involved with this case?"
Helen shook her head, confusing the girls until she spoke again. "No, not just involved, he was the one to stop the murderer. And to do so, he had to track the bastard down to his hideout. He found it easily enough, kid has a nose for this sort of thing, but wat he saw in there was enough to scar anyone for life."
Compa shook with her face almost ghostly pale. She was sure she didn't want to know what that was, but her mouth moved without her brain's permission as if it was going against her on this. "What…. Wat did he see?" she barely got the words out without losing to the urge to scream till her throat was hoarse.
Wordlessly, Helen pulled out a remote from another drawer on her desk and pressed a button on it. From the centre of her Desk, a single holographic projection shot out and formed in front of her face, though they could still dee the disturbed look in her eyes as the screen showed pictures, pictures of what Nico had seen in that hellhole that was the murderer's hideout.
If they thought it was bad just hearing about it, seeing it was way worse. The girls gasped again, holding their hands over their mouths to suppress the urge to scream out the top of their lungs. Even IF got taken aback by what she saw, and it was one o the most gruesome sights she had ever witnessed. The pictures showed some disgusting sights: young girls no older than Neptune's preteen age, girls who likely had friends, families and loved ones… horrifically slashed and cut along their bodies, some of their body parts having been forcefully removed and put on the walls behind them, while their bodies were impaled and strung on top large circular Disk-like devices. Their eyes were rolled back, but their expressions said it all: they had died horribly, likely screaming for someone to help them, only for help to arrive far too late.
"Oh… my… Goddess…" IF gasped unable to showcase just how much she was disgusted and deeply disturbed by the sights of the images. Her teeth were clenched and she gripped the sides of her chair tightly, shaking in both horror and rage at the sight. "That's just… I don't even have the words…"
Neptune moaned, trying to stop herself from throwing up at the revolting sights before her. "G-Geez… that's just dark, yo." She tried to get her words out, but every word became harder to say as the urge to vomit her lunch rose in power. It was worse for her, since those girls likely aspired to be like her, hell, they even loo0ked similar to her save for things like height, bust size, etc. To see them killed in such horrible ways, well, she didn't SDSEE how they died, but the wounds spoke for themselves. She had to turn her head away, unable to stomach the sight anymore. "Th-that's just freaky!"
… Does anyone need an in-depth description of Compa's reaction? It's quite clear what hers would be at such a horrific sight.
Helen sighed at the reactions that the girls had. She may not have wanted to cause them nightmares, but something told her that it would have happened either way. She decided that enough was enough and swiped her hand across the screen, the images vanishing as if they were wiped clean from existence. This was relieving to the girls as they didn't want to look at those images any more than necessary. "Yes, those were my thoughts exactly when I first learned of this. But it was worse for Nico as he saw and had to document it afterwards. Even worse still, was that some of those victims… were young orphan children. Their treatment was arguably worse." Helen revealed, horrifying the girls further.
They were glad that the images weren't of children with that treatment, they would no doubt be traumatised by the sight alone. None of the girls could forget what they saw though, the looks of hopelessness and despair at not being saved in time, those were firmly ingrained into their brains. Having nightmares may just the tip of the iceberg to the traumas that this might cause. "That wasn't the only case Nicky-Nick was involved with. He's solved numerous cases like this alongside his regular Quests, cases that resulted in him seeing the worst of humanity, and little of the best. I'm talking about betrayal, murder, rape, discrimination, the works. So much darkness and so little light."
Putting the files away, Helen focused her hard gaze back at them. They didn't look like they were bothered by it anymore, compared to what they just saw. "As one can imagine, this fucked with Nico mentally. He lost faith in humanity, in people. He began to suspect people of committing crimes just by looking at them, becoming more and more aware of his surroundings. While he didn't openly accuse them, it didn't stop him from not letting them get too close to him. On some cases he made acceptions, though I had to prompt him too... and they didn't exactly work out. In the end, he barely showed any emotion back in the day, he was more like a machine than a person: but when it came to criminals..."
The trio witnessed to the woman shuddering, as if recalling something possibly traumatic, worse than what they were thinking about when seeing those images. "You've bee with him long enough, so you all should understand how brutal Nico can be right? Well, imagine that brutality, amplify it by 100, then add the rage of an Abnormal overwhelmed by bloodlust with the mental state of a psychopath, and you get what levels he went to when he got his hands on those criminals..." Now THAT got them to shudder, faces losing all colour as they could imagine Nico EASLY flipping his lid whenever he caught a horrible criminal. "Well, for a while, I've noticed how tempered its become, something I dido believe you girls are the cause of, so I must thank you."
"But, there's something I don't understand, Ms Dawson." IF began, getting a look from the woman. "I mean, why would anyone allow Nico to go as far as you claim? Not that I don't believe it, but it sounds as if he was a powder keg waiting to blow up any second." It just didn't make sense to the brunette. Planeptune, like all of the 4 Nations, had laws when dealing with criminals, from low ranked ones like muggers and other mild crimes, to the truly sick ones out there. With what Helen described, it made it hard for IF to imagine the people up op to be okay with behaviour like this.
Helen nodded her head in understanding, releasing a tired sigh from her lips. "You'd be right, IF... had it not been them who sanctioned Nico to act that way in the first place." she told them, adding to their shock. When wold they stop getting shocked over things like this? Probably not for a long time, as far as any of them were concerned. "You see, they wanted to use Nico's brutality as a means to deter future criminals from pursuing their goals. It mostly works, but there's always a select few that try anyways... and then the hound is on their asses, leading to an end that not even dogs deserve."
"But that's..."
Compa tried to say something, anything, to express emotions she hadn't felt in a long time: utter revulsion and utter disgust. She had never felt these so strongly before now, with how sick and twisted the way her childhood friend was being treated as by the governing powers in Planeptune. She hated the fact that they used him like he was their dog, but what brought confusion into the mix, was why Nico allowed his brutal tendencies to be used that way? It was a question she quickly answered when looking at the facts though.
Nico was someone who believed highly that a person should act like her grandfather did. To him, her grand father was an idol, a link to a better generation than the one they currently had. Back in her grandfather's time, criminal activity had been at an all time low, as everyone was focused more on staying alive from monster attacks than acting out on their own desires. But, that time had long since passed, and it seemed that Nico had to accept this the hard way. To him, it was time to deliver some serious karma, to satisfy the needs of the wrongfully damned. Nico had told her many times during their calls that he would became the 'avenger that protected the innocent' and 'punish the guilty' for their transgressions, something she didn't quite understand at the time.
Now though...
"Fortunately, there's a silver lining, hence why I am so fucking grateful to you girls for being with Nico like you have.2 Helen told them, giving them a smile that seemed much larger than it actually was. It was the first of its kind that they saw from her through this whole ordeal, and it succeeded in lowering the tension in the atmosphere if only slightly. "There were 2 things he held solace in, 2 things that kept him sane and stopped his mind from breaking down upon the revelations he had at that dark time."
The woman held up two fingers as the holographic screen shut itself off. "The first: what few signs of comradery and companionship he could find within the Guild's ranks. There was much corruption in the Guild's Agents, still is unfortunately. Team RAIL, they each have a connection to him, a history if you will, that brought them together recently. That is no coincidence, for they may consist of people he's managed to help, but in truth they were the ones who were saving him, saving him from the hatred that burns in his heart for others, limiting it to distrust and paranoia." she told them, smiling fondly as she remembered those four.
Only two f them knew this though, the truth of Nico's mind and soul, but nonetheless she could tell just by looking at those four for the first time that they all held Nico in extremely high regard. They just didn't realise how highly he regarded them as well. She quickly cleared her thought s of them for the moment. now was not the time to dwindle on the past since she had a point to deliver. "And the second thing?"
When the woman paused, the trio leaned forwards in eagerness for what she was about to say. Now, her solemn look had been replaced by a small smile, a smile of comfort that sent comfort into their beings too, when she pointed towards Compa. "You, Compa."
Said Nurse-In-Training blinked and made an "eh?" sound while pointing a finger to herself. "Huh? Me?" she asked, stunned. Her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were filled with confusion at the woman's words as she tried to figure out how she would have a factor in all of this.
Realisation slowly dawned on her though, just as Helen spoke next. "Yes, you Compa. You were there for Nicky-Nick through your phone calls and Texts, you were unknowingly there for him when he needed you the most. I'm sure that because of that you have a firm place in his heart for that kind of act, an act that he cherishes more than you'd ever realise." She explained, praising Compa with a sigh of melancholy as she remembered times when a rare smile would form on her son's lips during that time, which was whenever he would be on his Bracer talking to his childhood friend.
She was literally the light to his darkness.
Compa had no idea. She felt her heart swell with joy and sadness at the same time, resulting in this complicated feeling in her chest. On one hand, it hurt that she was literally the only person besides Team Rail, and the few camaraderie sigs within the Guild, that Kept Nico from losing himself completely. It hurt her to think that he could trust others so little, but it also made sense. Nico always did have that cautious air about him since they reunited. And when she hugged him for the first time when he showed up at her door, she got the feeling that he missed her just as much, if not more, than she missed him. It was like a child finally letting go of the negative feelings in his heart to the one he cared for the most.
On the other hand, it made her squeal with joy on the inside, to know that she had a large influence on him, that he considered her so highly to be someone that would keep him sane through the madness, a voice to guide him to doing the right thing. It made her feel like a guardian angel sitting on his shoulder, something that made her almost giggle with giddiness. It warmed her immensely to know that her childhood crush had such intense feelings for her, and it also filled her with hope, hope that maybe someday, those feelings could become... something else, something, more.
This didn't sit well with Neptune however, and it showed through her annoyed expression as she crossed her arms behind her head. "Mou… Compa-poo is already ahead of me in th race… if Nicky is like this for her, then…" she mumbled under her breath, her cheeks puffed out in irritation. She had always expect ted that Nico would have such a huge place within Compa's heart, and vice versa, but seeing it with her own eyes kind of dampened her hopes for the future, as well as set alight the flames of jealousy within her. Se just had the comfort of knowing that their bond was also as unique as his bond with Compa, more o her end, but still.
An idea hit her though, and her previous expressions evaporated faster than a Kangaroo jumping at max heights, a grin slowly crept onto her features. "I know! I'll deepen my bond with Nicky, right now!" she bellowed, startling everyone with how loud she suddenly became. Before anyone could stop her, Neptune already turned tail and ran out the room towards the lift once again.
"Wh?! Nep-Nep, where are you going?! Wait, you're not getting the wool over my eyes! Wait for me!" Compa yelled, as she put the pieces together in her mind. 'I'm not letting Nep-Nep show up me in Ni-Ni's eyes! Its game time, Nep-Nep!' she thought and with resolve, she took off after them.
Meanwhile, the brunette could only sigh while face palming her face, shaking her head left and right at their antics. "Ugh, what'll I do with those two? They have it bad for Nico, but he just doesn't realise it." she despaired.
Helen also chuckled, a bead of sweat falling down the side of her head as she smiled weakly, giggling awkwardly. "Yes, while I love him to bits, my boy is incredibly dense. Hopefully he won't be as dense as that one guy in a school full of girls that pilot mechas." She remarked. Even if she loved her beloved little boy, Helen would freely admit that Nico had a dense streak going for him. She'd tried many times to help him hook up with a couple female agents, but he would never have the mind to go further with them, sticking to friends and not noticing whether they would want more from him or not.'
A brief flash of sadness erupted in her heart as another thought entered her mind. 'Though, with what he's gone though I can see why he would be dense. With all the shit he'd seen, its no surprise that he doesn't see much good. Its like he's been cloaked in darkness to the point where he can't see the light that's in front of him. He probably doesn't even realise that these girls want to have abeautiful relationship with him, something that can prove to be more illuminating than anything he's ever dealt with. I can only hope their hearts will illuminate the darkness staining him, letting him open up tot hem at last. Who knows, if he shares his secret with them, and they accept him, maybe... Anyways, enough of that. The ones that hadn't given up were Raven, Lucy, and now Compa and the CPU. 'Although, I didn't expect the CPU to fall for him of all people. And if I know my boy's luck, he'll likely attract more girls. Maybe one of them can finally break through that thick skull of his.' She thought hopefully, before her eyes landed on IF. 'Speaking of Girls and Nicky-Dear…'
"Mrs IF, may I ask you, are you willing to take the Spec Ops Exam?"
Upon hearing her question, IF turned from the corridor where she could faintly make out the forms of Neptune and Compa as they tried to get the Elevator working, so she could afford to spend a little more time with the former Spec Ops Agent. "Well, I'm pretty sure that it's the best course available to me. I mean, I'm sure that Nico told you of my condition, right?" she asked, getting a nod from the woman before her.
"Yes, he was very specific on the details of your new… nature." Helen replied, frowning as she stood tall and walked up to her. "I'll not mince it and say you'll have a hard time ahead of you, many of our ranks frown upon relying too much on others. We're meant to be the strongest of our force, the best of the best. We do not take kindly to relying on others to do the dirty work for us. If you keep this in mind, then I see no problem with you taking the Exam." Helen explained sternly, her gaze and tones making IF aware of how serious she was being.
Though judging by her determined gaze, the woman felt she didn't have to say any more.
After a short moment of silent staring, Helen gave her a small grin as she brought out a Smartphone and pressed on its screen a few times. One of IF's phones on her belt vibrated, indicating that she had received something. "There, I've sent you the details of Nico's current position. You kids should find him easy now." she explained before the Guild Agent had a chance to look at the Phone.
The brunette gave her a short, but grateful, smile in return, shaking the woman's hand. "Thanks, and for what it's worth, it's good to meet a legend like yourself." She commented, much to Helen's amusement, before IF turned on her heels and began walking leisurely out of the room. Although it soon turned to a sprint when she saw the two having gotten the elevator open. "Hey, wait up you two knuckleheads!"
Helen watched this, before she shut the door to her office and turned around, her expression neutral… until a massive perverted grin crept onto her features as her cheeks turned red, a blood trail coming out her nose while she giggled erotically. "Ufufufu, momma's so proud of you, Nicky-Dear! You're everything a young male should be, now keep attracting more girls! I wanna have grandbabies already, gosh damnit! It's way later than normal for men your age to lose their V card!"
Back with Nico, a sudden chill escaped his spine as something told him he had been talked about… and not in a good way, at least for his manly pride. 'Why do I have the feeling some stalker's eyes are on me right now?' he wondered, lowering his weapons, which was right now his Hidden Blades as Rebellion was resting in his Void Storage.
'Nico, watch out!'
The male's eyes widened as his face morphed into an 'oh shit' expression. Swiftly, he dodged one of the 'Construct Warriors' as he decided to call them, as one tried to smash him with its Club. The rest soon ganged up on him, each one doing a series of swings to keep him off guard. 'Whoa, these guys don't mess around!'
He heard some maniacal cackling within the back of his mind after thinking that and while ducking under a Construct Warrior's Swing and kicking it in the head, getting some distance. 'HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE, WHAT DO YA EXPECT, KING?! THEM TO LET YOU DANCE ABOUT LIKE A FREAKING BALLERINA?! USE IT, THAT'LL SHUT EM UP, REAL-GOOD!'
That could not be allowed, no way, no how. Nico quickly flipped to the side to avoid another Construct Warrior's club, using another one that tried to attack him while in mid-flip as a springboard to enter a spinning slash with his right Hidden Blade. The plasma-based weapon cut through the Golem's weapon arm, making the limb fall to the ground as Nico twisted in mid-air, landing on the ground and sliding to a halt. He refused to back down though, as he swiftly charged back at it to slice its legs off with one wide swing and then spun around to decapitate it with another. The Construct Warrior's form fell to the ground with a thud, vanishing into black vapour.
He hardly had time to celebrate as the rest were already one him. 2 attacked from the front, the male raising his Hidden Blades to block their Clubs from smashing his head in. More came at him from behind, numbering at 6. There'd been 9 in total, and he'd taken 1 of them out already. This fight had lasted for over 30 minutes, which in battle felt like a REAL long time. It was a testament to how tough these things were, add in the fact that they kept him on his toes after catching him off guard.
When they were about to attack him once more, Nico felt their bloodlust and decided to activate one of his Skills to help get away. "PHANTOM WAVE!" he raised a glowing leg and kicked sideways… behind him, launching the Skill at the enemies from behind and using the momentum to break the stalemate between the clubs and his Plasma-based weapons, swinging them at their heads. One of them was beheaded while the second one managed to get out of the way in time. The ones behind him barely survived the Skill, it seemed, since they had severe burns over their bodies which limited their movements.
Nico saw his chance to finish them off, and poured demonic energy into his legs, which enhanced his jumping abilities when he jumped 30 feet into the air. "Alright ladies, I have to finish up here so let's end this, shall we? PHANTOM BLADES!" He yelled as he spread his arms, a large magic circle appearing behind it. From it, large blades that looked almost transparent are fired like machinegun fire. They cascaded down on the rest of the Construct Warriors, impaling them in multiple places and finally ending their lives.
Landing in a crouch, Nico looked up and raised a brow behind his Armour's helmet as he watched them vanish in a manner that was unlike normal monsters. "… That's new. Normlly monsters disperse into Particles when defeated, even Abnormals share this trait." He commented to himself before shaking his head and switching focus back to the task at hand. "Ponder that later, right now we got a Defiler to take down."
'I believe that now will be a good time to transform. It appears that Crimson Soul has the best attack power against the Defiler.' Biko commented within his mind. Plus, judging by the maniacal, borderline psychotic cackling reverberating within the shadows of his head, Nico guessed IT surprisingly enough, agreed with him.
(Play Blue Dragon OST - The Earth Shark is Comno)
Nico agreed witht them nonetheless, though, and began to start the transformation process. In a moment, Crimson Soul's eyes opened as the cocoon of fire dispersed into Embers. Soul Edge was strapped to his back, so he drew it and spread his phoenix-like wings to take flight. "I sense the Defiler's demoic energy… in this form, its energy output is equal to my own. I believe a sound strategy is in order."
'Agreed, however we mustn't dawdle, Crimson Soul.' Biko's words reverberated within his mind, making the DPU nod as he prepared to take flight. 'I sense that creature's power is getting stronger, in addition there seems to be something growing from wherever it touches ground. Likely something dangerous, thus we must stop it quickly be before this phenomenon overtakes the entire forest'
'Of course, we must make haste. Let us go at once!'
With that, Crimson Soul narrowed his crimson eyes as he took to the skies. His form becoming a blur of red and orange as he performed a near-complete circle and flew off after the Defiler.
"It appears that we have made it." Purple Heart commented with a sigh of relief as she landed at the entrance to the forest, the same one that Nico had entered previously. She had taken on her HDD form after learning of the location from her party member IF whens he was outside Planeptune, and in a show of energy flew the entire way here. While it did strain her stamina, it wasn't as major as it would have been if she had carried her Party members with her.
Speaking of said party members…
The sound of feet patting against the ground grabbed Purple Heart's attention as she turned behind her to see IF and Compa running up to her in a mad sprint, attempting to keep up with her. By the time they got to her, the two girls were panting heavily, Compa nearly falling to her knees. "Nep-Nep… slow down next time… we almost… lost track of you." Compa tried to say between pants, although her pants were more like wheezing thanks to how heavy her breathing was as her lungs got rid of the lactic acid in her body and drunk in all the oxygen they had missed.
IF looked up and glared at the purple haired swordstress. "What the hell, Nep? Why'd you go all god-mode and fly all the way here? Isn't it taking your crush a bit too far?" she commented, wiping the sweat from her brow and standing tall. Thanks to her BOW status, she was able to recover more quickly than Compa was, plus she could keep up easier with the transformed CPU when she flew away from them without warning.
Purple Heart gave a small smirk as she held her Sword overhead, like a Gangster would with his baseball bat or pipe. "Come now, Iffy, you heard what Hel said, Compa has a big spot in my Nicky's heart. I have to make sure to close that gap somehow." She replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the word. Her brow then furrowed as she thought of something. "Now that I think about it, Hel isn't a good nickname for her… sounds an awful lot like Hell for my tastes. I'll stick to Helen then. It's not that hard to say anyways."
IF rolled her eyes at Neptune's reasoning. "Of course, you do…" she decided to let it pass, as she knew that whatever form or identity she had, Neptune would always be Neptune. "Anyways…" she then glanced into the forest, and her instincts quickly told her something was wrong. "I don't like the looks of this forest. Feels kinda sickly, if you get my meaning." There was just something about tis first that didn't sit well with her, and thus she would have to remain vigilant. Who knows what had happened ever since Nico first arrived here.
"Yes…" Compa nodded her head in agreement, an unsettling look forming on her face as she worriedly gazed at the forest. To her, it seemed to be towering over her, the sole human of the party, and she didn't like it. There was also this oppressive feeling about it, something unnatural to the normal peaceful serenity it used to offer. "I always loved strolling through forests with my grandpa and Ni-Ni when I was small, but for some reason this place gives me a real-bad vibe." She remarked, a shudder travelling up her spine.
Purple Heart made to respond to those comments, when her instincts snapped to attention and her eyes darted about, wide alert. Something was coming their way... and it wasn't friendly, thus she alerted her comrades swiftly, like a seasoned general leading her troops on the battlefield. "Everyone, be ready. I think we have company." She told them, Compa nodding as she deployed her portable Armour. She then deployed her Armcannons, ready to fight a possible ambush.
IF made to summon her Qatars, when she decided against it at the last minute. She then focused on her right arm first, picturing another mutation she had developed during training. Her arm rippled and trembled violently, the Guild Agent gritting her teeth as the arm went through a particularly gory transformation.
The transformation lasted a moment, and when it was done, IF now had a only one half of her arm that was still human, the inner half of the arm. The outer half, plus the hand, had completely been changed, becoming a mass of crimson flesh and bone armour, shaped like a ribcage that was a full forearm longer than her true arm. Its shape resembled an overly muscular limb, with the point after the hand being where he limb shifted its shape to a broadsword-like shape. It had a single metallic edge from the point where her hand used to be to the tip, the edge straight for the most part till it curved into a diagonal tip.
This… was her blade mutation.
Swinging the blade a few times, IF got the hang of it quickly enough, before she applied the same transformation to her other arm, favouring dual wielding over single wielding since that was what she was trained in. Not a second afterwards, several beings jumped out the wilderness at high speeds. Compa reacted the slowest and was taken down by one of them with a startled scream. She was lucky her armour could protect her against the claws that went against her Skin otherwise she would have been shredded.
Remembering some close combat lessons Nico had taught her, Compa was able to kick the offender off her and roll to the side, standing up while peppering it with rounds from her Armcannons. The Offender jumped back to get some distance and to stop the barrage, landing on all fours and glaring at the group with its brethren around it.
The attackers were revealed to be large, hideous-looking creatures that were the stuff of nightmares. They were easily taller than a human, about 14 feet tall. They had slim lower bodies concealed by pitch black armour, their feet ending in 3 large curved talon-like toes. They had mostly bare upper bodies that were larger than their lower halves, making them look like they were permanently hunched, with chains dangling from their shoulders, looking like they had been dug deep into their brownish flesh. More chains wrapped around their wrists, while their large hands were sporting dual wrist-mounted claws. Their heads had large horns coming out the sides of their heads as well as tusks jutting out the bottom of their jaws. They had lipless mouths filled with fat fangs, with crimson red eyes filled with hunger and bloodlust. Several earthen protrusions were attached to its back, almost like pipes.
"Wha-wha-wha-what are those?!" Compa shrieked behind her helmet, her face pale as a sheet of paper as she held her Armcannons at the ready. She'd seen plenty of freaky looking Abnormals back in Lastation, more than she'd ever thought she'd see in her lifetime, but to her they just seemed to get more and more grotesque every time they fight them.
IF got into a guarded stance, glaring at the enemies as she counted them off in her head. "Looks like there's 3 of them. We should be able to take them down with relative ease." she told them. She then quickly ate her words when more creatures, different from the ones that had attacked them before, jumped out the wilderness and surrounded them. "Okay, I take that back… we may be in a bit of trouble here."
Neptune remained undaunted by the sight of these creatures. The second type that had surrounded them moved on all fours, their limbs almost like sticks with regards to thickness, with large shoulders indicating disproportion. Long spikes grow out their acks, going down their spines and ending at the base of their long Tails. Their heads resembled human skull, with heavily deformed teeth and no eyes, although she could tell they could see and smell even with the lack of nostrils. "Remain calm, they will fall like all the others, but do not underestimate them. They could have a few tricks hidden up their sleeves." She said while drawing her sword from its Sheath.
"I remember, the Co-Ordinates also specified several Abnormals from the Planeptune Database. These are recent additions to their books, though, so not much is known about them. The small ones are called 'Flamecallers' due to their orangish skin tones and their hellish appearance, and the big ones are 'Traumas'." IF commented, and no sooner afterwards the creature, both the 3 Traumas and the 6 Flamecallers all charged at them, roaring for blood.
Neptune launched an offensive first, slashing at several Flamecallers while a Trauma made to strike her in the chest. However, she flew into the air after executing a swing, avoiding the limb before she brought her sword down on its head. It raised its Claw to block and the weapons collided, grinding against each other.
IF charged in from a moment of inspiration, charging at another Trauma that tried to gang up with its friend on Compa, who had fired on a couple Flamecallers. She hopped into the air slightly before throwing her blades to the sides, spinning like a spinning op. Her blades cut through the Flamecallers, slicing through their shoulders but not killing them unfortunately, and impacted against the 2 Traumas, which both blocked with their massive claws. One then tried to grab her, but IF kicked off their laws and got some distance, landing with a crouch before she rose to her feet.
Compa watched with awe as IF, using her enhanced speed and agility, moved around the Traumas' and their attacks, nicking them a few times with her blades. "Wow, Iffy is really getting the hang of her powers, huh…?" she remarked, blinking several times before she ducked under the lunge of a Flamecaller and then rolled to the side to avoid 2 more. She aimed one of her Armcannons and unleashed a volley of Plasma Needles, rounds which impacted the Flamecaller that had attacked her first. The Abnormal screamed in agony as it was impaled, before it jumped into a spin while curling itself into a ball as it sent itself hurling towards her. Compa barely had time to react, but couldn't get away as the creature slammed into her, knocking her onto her backside.
Neptune managed to push her opponent backwards, before she noticed the Flamecallers closing in on the downed Compa, who had yet to recover from her little date with the ground. "Compa, watch yourself! CRITICAL EDGE!" Neptune cried as she quickly activated a Skill, slashing one Flamecaller into the air before slicing it in half, lowering the number of them to 5. She noticed the other 2 coming at her and swung her sword in a manner that was akin to Crimson Soul's ATOMIC INFERNO, releasing several beams of purple energy from the blade's edge that hit the other 2 Flamecallers, disintegrating them into nothingness to lower the number to 3.
While they were fighting on that side, IF managed to jump over one of the Traumas' attacks and swung her blades to deflect the claws of its partner. The first then stabbed its hands into the ground below it, before with a mighty tug, it pulled a large chunk of the ground out into the air, holding it with its arms. IF paled as she realised what it was going to do, and swiftly began evading the incoming attack. However, she was unable to avoid it completely, her instincts told her this when the projectile was launched at her. It was too close for her to avoid, so she had to do te next best thing:
Pull a black swordsman skill and do a scissor slash, cutting the projectile into pieces.
The Trauma's weren't too happy about that, and with furious roars they launched a vicious offensive on her, keeping IF on the defensive. Their claws swung with great force, for IF to parry them or deflect them with her blades. Whenever they tried to smash her head in, she would dodge out of the way like she'd seen it coming a mile away, before they even thought of it themselves even.
Even so, the strikes were coming without a limit, and IF was worried that her enhanced Stamina might not hold out. She had to finish this NOW, before that could happen. An idea hit her as she slid below one claw thrust and jumped upwards, her blades tearing through the arm up to just below its shoulder. Blood squirted over the ground while the Trauma screamed, holding its stump as it stumbled about, unaware of IF Before it was too late. She reared her left arm back, the mutation switching from her blade to her Tentacles. Each Tentacle then lunged forth and impaled it, from the head, shoulders and the remaining 3 slicing off its remaining arm for good measure.
Outraged at the death of its comrade, the other Trauma rushed at IF as she landed, te body of her victim suddenly being set on fire a lot like how she had turned into that chrysalis. It then turned into a liquid that flowed into the Tentacles, and immediately afterwards she felt a large influx of energy rush through her, as if she'd drank a dozen or so Nep Bulls at the same time.
This was yet another power she had discovered about her BOW powers. They had the ability to 'liquify' the cells and/or atoms of whatever they are in contact with before absorbing them, adding the liquified cells to her own cellular makeup to make her stronger. She called it, Cell Absorption. She used it to enhance her potent regeneration abilities.
She looked and saw the partner f the creature she absorbed the Cells of racing towards her in blind fury. She rolled her eyes at the predictability of these monsters, and used her Tentacles to block and restrain its limbs, spreading them apart so she had a good angle, before thrusting her remaining blade-arm into the Trauma's face. She repeated the process on it too, burning and liquifying its Cells before absorbing them into herself through her Tentacles.
Without even looking, she used her Tentacles to block and slash apart the remaining Flamecallers, which had tried to attack her from behind. One of them had lunged at her while the other shot like an aerial ball at her. Both met the same fate: being caught in 3 of her Tentacles each before they met their end via Cell Absorption. 'Gotta admit, being a BOW isn't as bad as I thought. If I was like before, I'd have had far more trouble fighting those things.' She remarked to herself, impressed as s hooked at her blade-arm, the mutation reversing itself so that she had her normal arm again. Just like how her Tentacles retracted to the length of her original arm before moulding together to reform it.
With the battle over, the trio regrouped and discussed what had happened just now. "That was an ambush, made by Abnormals…" Compa muttered, shuddering. As she crossed hr arms around herself and spoke in a softer, meeker voice that just oozed how disturbed she was. "One could call it a surprise encounter: Abnormal style."
"I'm not so sure those were Abnormals…" Neptune commented, getting the two girls' attention as she sheathed her Sword back into its futuristic sheath. "I don't know how, but I could sense demonic energy within those creatures, energy that is similar yet different to Nicky's own. If he has encountered them, and I am sure he has, I don't doubt for a minute that he hasn't noticed."
Indeed, unknown to them Nico had INDEED noticed the fact that there were others who had similar energy signatures to himself. Also, unbeknownst to Nico, Neptune had honed her senses to be able to sense demonic energy, so she had just about as much information on this new development as Nico did.
After a while of pondering, IF huffed as she placed her hands in her coat pockets, her Trench Coat having been repaired thanks to her powers. She turned on her heels and made her way into the forest. "More importantly ladies, one of ours is in that forest, likely fighting alone against those things. I don't know about you, but I'd feel like a crappy party member if we didn't at least lend some aid to our comrade. Now let's get moving, Nico might need us."
Back with the male, Crimson Soul was flying, following a trail of destruction that led deeper into the forest, towards its centre if his guesses were accurate. Wherever the Defiler had gone death and destruction was left in its wake. It would seep its corruption into the land, covering it in this black material that would form webby entrails on certain areas, sometimes forming more Construct Warriors to slow him down. It must sense his large energy reserves and was trying to whittle him down. Unfortunately for it, the Defiler didn't realise that he could fly, having never seen this form during their last battle. Not only that, but Crimson Soul's Wings were weapons in their own right, launching Tendrils of fire that impaled and vaporised the Construct Warriors before they took their first breath.
Eventually, he came to the end of the trail. The centre of the forest had a huge moat around a circular platform the moat being filled with Corruption-based waters. He had no clue as to what that would do, but something told him that it wasn't going to be good for the creatures here. There was a single ground-made bridge to connect it to the main forest.
The Defiler was suspended in the air by its Tendrils, looking up at him with narrowed eyes in a predatory manner. It released a snarl while forming its Axe once again. "Champion… of Sparta…" it spoke, much to Crimson Soul's surprise. He quashed it however, in favour of staring blankly as he descended to the opposite end of the platform, hovering just above the ground like a CPU.
"You speak? It appears that my earlier estimates of you being a mindless beast were for naught. Interesting…" Crimson Soul replied, pulling Soul Edge from his back. He held it in a diagonal angle, just above the ground, to send the message that he wasn't going to attack yet, but would defend himself nonetheless.
Another snarl escaped the creature's lips as it glared at him, lowering itself so that it stood on its two massive feet while its Tendrils swayed behind it. "It appears… that you have not yet realised the depth of what you are… good. That just means that once I defeat you, I'll take your soul for my own! I'll use your power to make this world ours once again!"
While Crimson Soul narrowed his eyes at the creature for its plans on dominating the world, something else caught his attention with regards to what it had said. "Ours? Do you mean that there are more of you?" He questioned. If tahat was the case, then those Obelisks may just be gates to wherever the hell these beingc that have similar energies to him, and maybe even this power as well, came from. He would have oto inform the Guild's authorities when he got the chance.
"Of course!" the Defiler yelled, looking like it was affronted for some reason. Best not to say anything, Crimson Soul thought, so he could learn more. "We, the Demons, were once masters of this world! Now, we will return to claim what is rightfully ours!" with that proclamation, the Defiler raised its Axe and slammed it into the ground, creating a long trail of Corruption that formed a series of deadly spikes jutting forwards, aiming to impale him.
This could not be allowed, so Crimson Soul aimed Soul Edge and released a large fireball from its tip, destroying the spikes at the front. The rest he avoided by strafing to the side, before he levelled a glare towards the Defiler. "I see… so then, I assume from what you have told me that you plan on destroying everything n this world and rebuilding it in an image that it had once been to you, before something happened in the past that changed it to what it is now." he commented. It was a statement, not a question as he already knew the answer. Types like these were something that Crimson Soul's human persona was used to, thus that nonchalance was extended to his current self as well.
People like this guy were the ones responsible for his distrust in others. They were nothing but pathetic pieces of shit that deserve to face the eyes of death itself before being cast off into oblivion. The world would be much better off without them. While some of the things this being, a Demon as it called itself, intrigued him, he would not hesitate to rip this beig apart. His warrior honor demanded that it be satisified by killing this monster, protecting the innocent from the scum of the Guilty.
Flames danced over Soul Edge, the massive sword seemingly quiveriong in his hand. Crimson Soul knew that this meant it was hungry, hungry for battle and desiring to feast on the blood of the enemy before him. And he would let it soon enough. What Criuimson Soul didn't notice was that the flames that he was generating were slowly changing colour, from their usual orangish red to an abyussal black, with a crimson red outline.
"In that case…"
The male raised Soul Edge and brought it down, sending a stream of shifting coloured fire towards the Defiler. It erected a wall of Corruption to block it, but the wall didn't survive the collision as the flames gingerly sucked and devoured the mass in front of it, before expiring when the wall was completely gone. This had been Crimson Soul's plan all along however, as he dashed forwards and swung in a reverse horizontal seeing. The Defiler raised his Axe to block it, but the impact and strength behind the swing was enough for it to be sent flying backwards. It dug its Tendrils into the ground to slow its movement, allowing its feet to get a foothold once again as it stopped moving altogether.
That done, the Defiler looked up and glared at the enemy before it, only for it to notice something off. The flames had completely changed, no trace of their original colours remaining while they coated Soul Edge, its eye surrounded by crimson fire with the rest of the blade becoming blacker than night thanks to the rest of the transformed flames. Crimson Soul scowled at his enemy, unaware of these changes as he focused solely on it. Raising Soul Edge, he pointed it towards the Defiler, who shuddered when he felt the ominous KI radiating from the flame-covered blade. "You must be punished, and I shall be your executioner."
Chapter End
Whew, another chapter done!
This one is a doozy of mine, considering it tackles something that A lot of Gamindustri fics don't really consider. I'm taking about how criminals exist in the world that do things just because they can. Its not something seen very often, which is kind of disapp9ointing, since its an interesting concept to ad to the reality of a fic, to make it more engaging to us as readers. Well, now this fic has some of that at least.
I know I'm not the best writer in the world, my grammar and spelling errors will see to that, but I do try to keep my stories interesting. Also, if anyone thinks that the Demons coming into the scene was too random or some shit like that, I shall tell you that this has been foreshadowed since the end of the first Lastation arc, heck even to the point where Nico first learns of his DPU powers. The demons will be mostly from a mix of Darksiders, a fantastic series by the way, and the DMC series.
Give both a go, you won't regret it.
Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter, and leave a review, like, follow, all that good stuff. Views are still climbing, soI know that atleas tsome of you like this story.
Now, I'll see you guys at the next angry-nope, wrong internet show, shit!
Peace out!
