Chapter 56 - Return to Leanbox
Before them, the Garm lay on its side, dead. But it didn't vanish for there was another creature near it, at its underside. The creature's head was buried into its underside, gripping the underside with what looked like a pair of maws on its claws, with a bulky humanoid body. its long, spine-like Tail swayed eagerly behind it while its giant claws and mandibles tore away at the flesh that they gripped, with the crimson angelic wings lightly flapping occasionally. Sounds of flesh being torn with blood dripping from where the head should be, falling to the ground, gave a perfect indication of what it was doing.
SQUELCH, SQUELCH, TEAR, TEAR, TEAR, SLURP, CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP, TEAR, SLURP, CHOMP SQUELCH, SQUELCH, TEAR, TEAR, TEAR, SLURP, CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP, TEAR, SLURP, CHOMP SQUELCH, SQUELCH, TEAR, TEAR, TEAR, SLURP, CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP, TEAR, SLURP, CHOMP
This new creature… was EATING the dead Garm.
"Oh, my goddess…" Compa whispered, breathless while holding her armored hands over her mouth in horror at the grotesque sight in front of her. Seeing something like this, while she had seen gory sights before thanks to the Banshee infestation, she had still hoped beyond all hope she would never get to see a monster savagely take down another monster and feed on its corpse. She at least wanted to preserve that piece of her innocence! She could feel the vomit welling up inside her gut, and she didn't like it one bit!
IF had similar thoughts as she regarded the sight before her. She however, had seen sights like this several times, being a Guild Agent meant you had to see some pretty nasty shit sometimes, so she had a better constitution for it. Nevertheless, a sight like this was way more brutal than usual. Monsters that hunt other monsters usually attack them when they were in an enclosed space, with nobody being the wiser. When they were defeated, the Particles then go into the other monster, rejuvenating it. It was their own unique way of 'feeding' and it also applied to humans as well. When a human was fed on though, the process was usually 1000 times more painful than just being eaten alive, something she never wanted to witness.
Apparently though, Compa's comment was all it took to get the creature's attention, as it turned to them to show the guts and gore dripping down its mandibles. It then swallowed what was in its mouth, licking its maw while the Garm vanished into particles, particles that went inside the creature. It then threw its right arm to the side, which began to bulge and tremble like IF's would when mutating in to weapons.
TREMBLE, TREMBLE, SQUELCH, SQUELCH, RIPPLE, RIPPLE, RIPPLE.
Gory sounds echoed through the area, originating from the trembling arm as... something, seemed to be travelling down the beast's arm from within, going down it like a slide towards the limb's hand.
The mandible at the end of the arm opened wide, wider than what should be physically possible, before the tip of a blade could be seen sticking out of it. pretty soon, the rest of the blade followed suit, then the hilt which the maw grabbed onto and held in its fangs. In the end, it held a massive brown sword with teeth going down the center of the blade, and a circular guard. It was quite wet and slimy on the surface thanks to where it came from, but the beast took care of that by practice swinging it several times. It soon shone brightly in the sunlight, all slime and other liquids driven from its surface as the beast held the sword before it, seemingly inspecting it until a grunt came from its maw, one that signified satisfaction.
It's glance in their direction was their only warning. In the next second, it was on them, swinging its sword at IF first. She quickly raised her Claws to block it, but the swing was too powerful, and it sent her flying over 30 metres in the air. Just before she could hit the ground, IF gasped when she saw the creature appear parallel above her, grabbing her in its free left claw's mandible by the side of her hip. It then raised her into the air before slamming her into the ground, hard, causing the ground below to form a crater.
"Gah!"
"Iffy!"
The brunette barely opened one eye in time to see it already over her, to her shock as she saw its sword already raised. When it brought its sword down to finish her off, Purple Heart quickly flew forth and swung her sword, blocking it from reaching IF's prone form. The brunette used this opportunity, shifting her right arm and left into their 6 Tentacles, before sending all 12 at it to pierce its Armour. However, the creature was fast, and managed to dodge it by vanishing and appearing at their left flank.
Before it could strike, Purple Heart flew towards it with her sword facing downwards, before she stopped went and slashed at its waist. The monster blocked with its sword, as well as the slashes that followed. There was a horizontal slash, a diagonal slash and then a thrust to its face, which it pivoted to the side to dodge. It made to bash her with its free claw, but Neptune pivoted around it as well, mirroring its earlier actions, and slashed at the fleshy suit underneath. Unfortunately, her sword didn't do much damage, and what little damage it did do, which was in the form of a small cut, was repaired instantly.
"So, it can heal…?" Purple Heart muttered, before she strafed back to avoid a swing from its massive sword. Though she may as well have been hit by it as the shock wave sent her flying backwards the same length that IF had flown earlier. 'And that sword...! It can generate powerful air blasts from its size alone...! This battle will not be easy.' She quickly got out of the way of a massive slash that would have severed her in half vertically before shooting into the skies. She glanced behind her, and saw the beast flare its flaming crimson wings to take off after her.
While that happened, said brunette quickly sprouted her Wings from behind, turning her head to Compa while they formed. "You stay down here, Compa. Me and Nep will keep this thing in the air." she ordered.
The Nurse-In-Training nodded her head firmly as she readied her Syringe. "Right!"
With that out of the way, IF nodded as her wings fully formed. They flapped a single time, to launch her high into the air towards the other two, which were already starting to do battle. IF growled at this as she charged in. "Hey, you guys forgot about me!" she charged at the monster while its back was turned, launching her Tentacles at its back.
However, the creature managed to deflect them from it with its Tail. It then shot its Tail towards hr, only for IF to retract her Tentacles and quickly catch it, stopping it from moving. She grimaced when she felt the talons try to rip through her thin Tentacles, but held them strong nonetheless. "I got it, Nep! Now's your chance-!"
Before she could finish, the creature shrieked, its Tail raising itself into an arch before flicking in her direction, ripping itself free and allowing it to slash through several of her 12 Tendrils, reducing them to 6, 3 for each arm. The monster then blurred out of existence, much to their shock, before appearing behind her with its sword raised.
A series of rounds peppered the creature's arm before it could bring the sword down however, coming from Compa who held her Syringe like a Sniper Rifle. "You're a meanie! leave my friends alone! Big bully, you!" she yelled, and for once she looked genuinely angry, though her angry face just enhanced her adorableness, that was something Purple Heart's human form would say.
Unfortunately, that garnered her the attention and irritation of the monster, as I gave a blood-curdling shriek before flying down towards her, leaving behind a trail of embers. It closed the distance and swung its sword, but Compa managed to dive to the side. The sword's arc made a large fissure on the ground going in the same direction the sword was.
Compa made to get up, when she saw the Tail seconds away from slapping her on the face. She eeped and barely ducked her head in time to dodge it, side flipping onto her feet and aiming her Syringe, firing at its head. The monster swiftly flew towards her like a bullet, intending to cleave her head off with one swift flying strike.
However, both Purple Heart and IF managed to get there in time, the former blocking the sword with her own while the latter rammed a pillar made from her remaining Tentacles into the side of its head. Thanks to the impact of this combination attack, the monster was sent crashing into the ground, causing a medium sized explosion with a low booming sound resonating through the air.
"This thing is persistent, that's for sure." IF commented while reforming her arms back to their human forms. Her Armor form restored its claws as she sharpened them against each other. "It took a lot outta me just to recover from those few hits." She mentally checked her Biomass reserves and winced: things didn't look so good for her, she would only have a few mutation shifts left before her powers would need to feed to recharge. Since they hadn't fed on the monsters earlier, she had to be running on fumes at this point.
Purple Heart nodded her head in agreement. That, and her warrior-trained eyes picked up the subtle signs of IF's powers running dry. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, she didn't want this battle to last any longer. If IF was running low on power, she would have to take the brunt of the damage herself. That Garm and those monsters didn't exhaust her powers as much as she had expected, so she could fight a little longer. Plus, there was something she wanted to test out. "I agree, this adversary is quite formidable. The Armour it possesses is strong enough to defend against a CPU's weapon, which means it is very dangerous."
"Yeah, I hear that, sister. What should we do?"
While the two flying women were discussing about the creature they were fighting, Compa hummed as she stared at the smoke cloud generated by the creature's harsh landing. She didn't know why, but there was something about that monster, the way it moved, the way it fought. It seemed to strike a chord in her, a familiar one that she didn't know the reason as to its being struck. "Um, guys, don't you think that thing seems… familiar?"
Upon hearing her words, Purple Heart and IF looked down at her, confusion on their features before they looked to the smoke cloud. For a moment, it seemed that they didn't get what she was saying, until a few moments later when Purple Heart raised a brow. "Now that I think about it…" she whispered, cupping her chin thoughtfully in her free hand. "I do find something odd. The way it fought resembled a fighting style that someone else we know uses…"
IF nodded her head again in agreement with the purplette sword maiden. Something about this creature was different, different than the other Abnormal Monsters. Was it even Abnormal, or even a Monster at all? "It moves intelligently, going after the middle link and weakest links first. It went after me, then chose Compa. Now that I think on it, through that entire exchange, it hasn't gone after you at all, Nep."
That too was strange, usually monsters would be attracted to the strongest of a Party first to take them out before they would destroy them. Kill or be killed could best describe their behavior. Though for Abnormals their behavior is too unpredictable to have this method count. This behavior however was applicable too normal Gamindustri Monsters, as they would usually go for Purple Heart or her human form, or even the people in her party that were equal or stronger than her. For a monster to act like this was weird, suspicious too.
They couldn't think on it for long because the creature shrieked once more.
SSCCCCCCCCCCCCRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
They were getting used to it slowly, so they didn't cover their ears this time. Though they did wince at the volume the creature roared. "Why Don't we call it a screecher? Things got a loud voice, for one." IF suggested with a snarl behind her half Mask. She shifted her right arm into her Axammer, readying her free claw as the beast charged towards them from within the smoke.
"Now is not the time for jokes, Iffy. Even I think that is a bad choice for a name... although it does have an annoying shriek." Neptune chastised, but IF never got the chance to respond as the beast was already at them, swinging at their heads intending to cleave them off. Just like before though, it went after IF's head first, they noticed.
Both dodged by side flipping into a vertical dive, shooting towards the ground. The beast roared and swooped downwards after them, giving chase. It looked determined to not let its prey escape, though that wasn't their goal. As the ground approached them, and the beast neared their flanks, the girls suddenly pulled up at the last moment, leaving the beast unable to stop itself as it crashed into the ground.
Floating back upwards, both girls looked down at the creature's impact area, their eyes calculating. "Well, whatever the case is, this thing doesn't seem overly smart. Most of it is brawn and no brain." IF spoke with contemplation. It did have somewhat of an intelligence, but its instincts seemed to be stronger than its mind. Not a good combination, but it could be used against it for traps and stuff.
"Be that as it may, it still is a threat, if it wanders into a city it could lead to a disaster." Purple Heart reminded the brunette, although she herself agreed with her deduction. The creature seemed to move on instinct, not judging them with any meaningful tactics or strategies. Usually that would make a foe easier to defeat, however this creature had the physical ability to compensate for it, thus it would be too much for any normal human to handle.
On that, IF had to admit that Purple Heart was right, this beast needed to be put down for the good of Leanbox, no, for the good of Gamindustri. It couldn't be allowed to live and cause chaos wherever it went.
No sooner had she thought that did the beast roar again, instantly closing the distance between them with its speed and launch a kick to her face. IF blocked it with her Axammer, using the momentum to make a reverse swing towards its face. However, it used its Tail to block it, wrapping the Tail around the weapon and flinging her to the ground while slashing towards Purple Heart, who deflected the first attack.
'Its strength and speed are commendable…' she thought while defending herself from its massive sword. Her eyes soon spotted an opening and thus she activated CRITICAL EDGE. She slashed downwards and then upwards, but before she could use the finishing blow, Purple Heart saw it literally vanish before her very eyes. KI could be felt behind her as she quickly boosted forwards, dodging a slash that would have sliced her diagonally in half, from the right shoulderblade to the left hip. 'And its agility is no joke. It may not be overly smart, however that doesn't make it any less of a threat. I have no choice, I was saving it for Nicky, but I guess I must use THAT.'
"It is the first time that I'm using this technique in battle. Be grateful I'm showing it here, for there is one who I want to beat way more than you." Purple Heart spoke, lowering her head with her hair shadowing her eyes. The beast made no effort to move again, it's instincts telling it that something big was coming.
From her spot on the ground, IF looked up to see the Planeptune CPU cease all movement, holding her sword in a ready stance. "Huh… what is Nep doing?" she wondered, before trying to get up. However, she winced when a spike in pain forced her to stop her attempts, and she soon felt why: her spine was broken from the fall, the impact and the physical strength that the creature possessed was enough to get past her natural defenses. "Urk! Sh-Shit… goddammit!"
"Iffy! Don't worry, Nurse Compa is on the way!"
When she saw the young Nurse-In-Training running towards her, a sigh escaped her lips. She couldn't do much with her damaged spine, so she decided to watch what Purple Heart was doing up in the skies. She'll help once she had fully healed from these wounds. 'Be careful, Nep…'
Back in the skies, Purple Heart sensed no movement from the beast, so she assumed that she finally had its attention. 'Alright, I don't know how long I will be able to keep this up for, however I must stop it, here and now.' she thought, her eyes having closed during her thought process. She then opened them and lifted her head, showing that the power button symbols in her eyes were shining much brighter than before.
"PLANEPTUNE DRIVE!"
The second she yelled that, her whole body erupted in a purplish aura, thick and heavy. It moved around her like a flame, sporting a black outline to add to its intimidating feel. the surroundings began to feel heavy, like a weight had settled on the air itself, with a powerful pressure filling it. both girls below fell to their knees, breathing heavily as sweat rolled down their foreheads.
"Kya!"
"What the heck?! Wait, this is-"
The Beast stepped back, startled and stunned from this surge. Purple Heart's eyes focused on the Beast as she readied her sword. "This power, this Skill is something I learned to fight a dear friend of mine, someone I cherish with every fibre of my being. I'd even go as far as calling him a lover, though I'm working on grinding away his resistance." She told the Beast. Why was she saying all this to a creature that wouldn't even understand her?
Perhaps that was the answer. After all, she never had many people to express her true feelings to, like a mother or a father, or so she thought. With her amnesia she wasn't sure, but she did feel that she had been alone for some time. In her human form she didn't ponder this very much, but in her HDD, her true form, Purple Heart was critically aware of this fact.
The fact that she could pour her feelings out to this creature, which would only listen in confusion, felt oddly like a therapy session, where she would speak her mind and vent her stress. Though, this journey did give her one other person to be open about her true feelings too, and that person had more than deserved her affections. Being a comic relief character wasn't an easy job, usually you weren't treated like you should be, and people tend to misunderstand you. So, that person, who saw past her mask and allowed her to speak her true feelings, was someone she could never truly express how much gratitude she felt for him.
She probably would get some from Compa later, but even if they were rivals for Nico's love, both had confirmed one thing in their minds, hearts and souls when they began this little chase: that they were friends as well.
Eyes blinked as she glanced down and saw the state her friends were in. Seeing their states, she quickly realized the effects her power was having on the surrounding area... and her friends. Purple Heart's eyes narrowed as she tried to rein in the energy she was producing with PLANEPTUNE DRIVE, and while successful, she could only lessen the burden on them for the time being. Controlling the energy output was difficult, if not mentally excruciating. The fact that there were humans, normal humans who could do this in battle and come out on top like it was second nature was almost baffling to her, which ended up increasing her respect for them. 'I must end this quickly, I can feel my body buckling under the strain.' She thought, grimacing as the effects of her Skill were starting to show.
When she had first heard of this Skill from Nico, he said that it was taxing on the body at first, until one grew accustomed to it, then it got easier. She could see that now. Every bone in her body felt more like heavy steel, her muscles kept screaming in her ear their protests and pains as the energy coursed through them, making them work beyond their in-built limits. Drive Skills were said to enhance the body to the point where the user could fight against beings they couldn't otherwise, but that kind of power always came with a price.
This was that price... even for one of those otherwise untouchable beings.
Looking back at the Beast, Purple Heart began to sheath her sword slowly within the futuristic sheath on her hip, gathering the energy her PLANEPTUNE DRIVE gave her. The Beast sensed something was going wrong, and rushed to stop her pumping everything it had into its legs and wings to go faster. It roared at her, rearing the sword back to quickly decapitate the woman before whatever she was going to do would finish.
As the blade was swung towards her throat, Purple Heart faintly heard the alarmed cries of her friends down below, but pushed them to the back of her mind. Right now, she needed to stay calm and do this correctly. Time seemed to slow down between them, the blade of the Beast's sword nearing her throat.
All the while, her sword slowly sheathed itself into the sheath at her waist, her right hand on the weapon's hilt while the left was on a trigger mechanism on the sheath. Since her HDD form formed the sheath from her human form's Murasama sheath, it had the same rifle mechanism, only much more powerful she could sense.
…
…
…
…
…
Sensing that the Skill was ready, Neptune pulled the trigger and felt a BOOM rush from her Sheath as the blade was launched from it. She used her grip on the sword to slash upwards, yelling "RIFLE SLASH!" as she did so. The added impact from the mechanism, her PLANEPTUNE DRIVE Skill, and the slash hit the armoured monstrosity, sending a massive crack through its armour as it roared in pain, stopping its attack and stumbling backwards.
Noticing the cracks in the armour, Purple Heart cursed to herself. 'Shoot, that attack should have went through the armour. I guess I need more training in RIFLE SLASH if I want to use it effectively.' She thought to herself.
Things got even worse for her soon enough, however. The CPU then gasped as she felt the PLANEPTUNE DRIVE Skill suddenly cut itself, making her double over and generate a digital panel before her, to stab her sword into and use as a Cane to support her weight. She breathed heavily, a huge weight of fatigue on her shoulders as sweat rolled down her shoulders. "D-Damnit, looks like… this is my current limit."
This was bad, the Beast had endured her attack and she was nearing the end of her HDD time. That attack had drained much of her power, she may not be able to remain transformed for much longer. Worse still, when she did revert, odds were that she'd be defenceless considering her human form's personality and how her power will be practically spent.
Sensing its opportunity, the Beast looked to its enemy and gave what it could call a cackle, which sounded highly disturbing in her ears as it flew towards her, sword raised to finish her off. Purple Heart saw this, and gritted her teeth as she tried to force her body to obey her mental commands. She only managed to shake her limbs however, her body refusing her mental commands vehemently.
'L-Looks like… this is it.' The sword maiden thought as she closed her eyes, awaiting the blade as it would inevitably cleave her head from her shoulders. 'My time has come… Nicky, forgive me… I have failed… I love you…'
The Beast was now right before the kneeling Purple Heart, who was reminiscent of a Samurai kneeling with his sword stabbing the ground before his lord. It cackled more as it raised its blade, before bringing it down on her head. IF and Compa wouldn't make it in time to help, the former unable to move and the latter unable to fly. Things looked hopeless for the young sword maiden, so she just went and accepted her end like a true warrior would. She did have some regrets, like not being able to save Histoire, spend more time with the man she loved to the point of getting some steamy M rated scenes…
Just as the blade was a millisecond away from hitting her flesh however…
CRACK!
A shockwave was made from the sword just as it stopped at her neck. Purple Heart wasn't blown over, but her hair fluttered in the shockwave's direction. The shockwave hit a section of the field beside them, blowing it out of the ground and into smithereens. This lasted for several intense, heart-pounding seconds, before the shockwave dissipated into nothingness and Purple Heart's hair returned to its normal state.
The said Sword Maiden's tightly closes eyes slowly relaxed, sensing that her end was not coming anymore, before her nose twitched in confusion. Why was she not dead? Why has the Beast stayed its hand? Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, and when they were open completely, she looked upwards and gazed at the Beast, her would be executioner.
Said Beast was frozen in motion, cracks slowly spreading across its armour. She noticed that one of them had reached the core on its chest, something that made her eyes widen. 'No, could it be…? But I thought…!' she thought, shock and realisation dawning on her. Was THAT why this thing's fighting methods were so familiar?! Could it really be…?!
The cracks began quickening their pace, spreading over its armoured body while the Beast's eyes lost their hollow yellow glow. The cracks even spread down its arms to the sword it wielded, something that confused her even more than she already was. Purple Heart then became witness, along with the girls below, to the armoured Beast completely shattering apart, each piece disintegrating out of existence, to reveal…
"NICKY/NI-NI/NICO?!"
They cried out the name of their beloved male party member in shock, surprise and confusion as they saw Crimson Soul who flashed in a dim light to reveal his reversion to his human form as Nico. However, he had his eyes closed and his form motionless. Also, something worth noting, at least to Neptune and Compa… his clothes were gone, showing his entire body to them.
'Wh-Whoa… This is Nicky in his birthday suit…' the sword maiden and Nurse-In-Training thought, eyes wide and crimson red blushes on their cheeks. Unknown to them, a certain Guild Agent also had a mild red hue on her cheeks that she tried to suppress by looking away. However, Purple Heart soon snapped out of it when she saw that he was unconscious, and beginning to fall with no flight capabilities to sustain him.
Acting swiftly with strength fuelled by adrenaline, Purple Heart lunged forwards. "Nicky!" she cried, catching him in her arms before he could fall. Holding him with her arms under his arm pits, his head buried into her bosom, Purple Heart gazed down at his unconscious face, eyes shining with worry and concern. Now that she was of a different mindset, Purple Heart noticed that his body was covered in heavy duty burn marks, cuts and bruises, some of them looking possibly life threatening, although they were also beginning to heal over.
It made sense, since his DDD form had high self-healing powers, though she was confused on why this healing looked like long thin red tendrils stitching the wounds back together. They didn't look like they were made of energy, more like they were made of flesh itself. Nevertheless, what was important right now was getting Nico out of here to safety.
"Was that okay?"
"Yes. Overlord Momus should be pleased."
"Th-Then, may I get a stamp on my stamp card, as promised?!"
"Yes. There you go… Does that look good?"
"Yes! Now my stamp card is complete!"
"Now I believe this plush, ultra-sof Overlord hugging pillow is due."
"Yes! Thank you! Lady Conversation, where will you go now?"
"I will head back to the Leanbox Basilicom. Now I have proof that Neptune summoned Monsters, and that boy DEATHSTROKE to be someone to be considered a threat against Leanbox… Heh…"
After retrieving the unconscious Nico, the party picked up Tekken who had remained out cold, and made their way back to the City of Leanbox. It wouldn't be right to leave her out in the open like that, something could happen to her and she'd be defenseless. That was what the girls thought as they carried the two-unconscious people like sacks of potatoes back to the city. Neptune, after returning to human form, had been adamant about keeping Nico to herself, much to Compa's ire.
IF had volunteered to carry Tekken, considering her BOW powers would make carrying her a piece of cake, but Compa did it anyways reasoning that's he was a Nurse-In-Training, so she was most qualified. Plus, she'd done it before with Neptune, so it wasn't a problem for her.
The group had found and rented a room in a hotel that would fit their standards, although IF had made sure Neptune wouldn't spend too much credits on over-extravagant rooming. She almost did that one time after a Quest, and Nico wasn't around since he was busy with his own Questing, so she had to put her foot down.
Seriously, they'd a child for a party leader, didn't they?
Right now, they were in the hotel room, a solemn silence about them. Nico was resting in his bed, a wet down on his forehead with his breathing labored. A red hue was present on his cheeks with sweat rolling down them, causing a wave of worry to sweep through the girls. Even though his physical wounds were healing nicely, Nico's body still seemed to be suffering from what had happened. IF suspected that it was due to his demonic energy, remembering the moment that Crimson Soul first appeared back there.
Tekken had woken up an hour ago, and after a quick medical check-up she said she had to leave for some training and left. She didn't leave without anything though, as Neptune and the girls expressed worry for her state, so she assured them she was fine. She did say that she would have to train to get stronger and fight those Abnormal monsters though, saying how people who could fight them on even ground and win would be too powerful for the current her to fight.
"Is Nicky alright, Compa? How's he to your professional opinion?" Neptune asked, walking up to the bedside where Compa was. She leaned across over him and tried touching his cheek, only to go "Ouch!" as she quickly retracted her hand, the finger she used having a horrible burn mark on it. "He's hot! And not in the sexual way, either!"
Compa turned to her and frowned. "Nep-Nep, you shouldn't disturb an injured patient, Ni-Ni needs to rest." She chided her, hands on her hips like a professor scolding a rebellious student. "Anyways, whatever happened has made Ni-Ni get a fever, it should subside soon, but I don't know what'll happen to him afterwards. We don't even know what happened to make him act like that, so I can't say anything for sure." She explained, casting a worried gaze to the unconscious male. She then softened her gaze when she noticed Neptune holding her injured finger, and quickly retrieved some water and some bandages. "Here, Nep-Nep, lemme look at that."
"Are you sure? The last mummification comes to mind right now."
"It was one time, Nep-Nep."
While the two tended to her injury, IF cast her gaze over to the male's prone form. He was still naked, but she had offered one of her spare coats to cover the majority of his body from the public's eye. That spare, was now being washed in the room's washing machine. "Whatever the case may be, it's gotta be to do with when he fought that Ghoul…" she muttered under her breath as she cupped her chin in thought. The last things he'd seen before flying off was Crimson Soul about to undergo a massive power surge. She remembered when Crimson Soul told her to leave the area with her friends as fast as possible, did he mean to warn her that he was going to do whatever resulted in that thing? And that they should have gotten further away than they did?
It was only a moment later that Neptune's injury was bandaged properly, much to her relief. "In any case, that stuff with that MS-whatever dungeon took WAAAAY longer than expected." Neptune remarked, pouting as she threw her arms aside. "We lost way more than what we got back, 1 party member down and a whole load of butt kicking." For someone who usually sounded happy at the prospect of fighting monsters, Neptune oddly seemed more… subdued, than normal when she said that. It was to be expected though, since they usually got off scot free, or with minimal injuries thanks to Nico's quick thinking, precise judgement, and aggro skills.
Now that he was down, though…
"Well, the Disks were destroyed during that whole mess, so we at least don't have to worry about them being a problem… though I would have liked to show one to the Basilicom for evidence against whoever's making them." IF stated, crossing her arms as she walked away from the bed, not wanting to look at her unconscious comrade any longer otherwise she felt she would show something she didn't want to show, before sitting on a chair and crossing one leg over the other.
Neptune then hummed crossing her arms under her chest, before a light bulb switched on above her head, literally as something came to mind. "Oh! Iffy, do you remember, Overrod mommy? What's his dealio? Do you know anything?"
Compa nodded her head alongside her friend, standing before her and mimicking her pose. "Hmmm! Hmmm! It would be great if you knew something about this Overlord person, Iffy."
"Well, while we were walking back, I did some digging through some internet research though I never got the chance to finish since Nep here rushed us the rest of the way to the City." IF replied, aiming an accusing glare towards the preteen, who blushed and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "So, I don't know exactly. Lemme have a look."
She reached for one of her phones on her coat, which was hanging on the back of the chair she was sitting on, and pulled one free she flipped it open and examined the screen's contents, frowning as she read it. When she was done, a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead as her scowl deepened. "… This may be worse than expected."
"What's the matter, Iffy?"
"According to my Overlord Research, its worship is spreading." IF explained, looking up from her phone at Compa, he one who asked her that question. She then looked back at the screen to continue. "Worse still, is that the with the small number of Spec Ops Agents, faith in Leanbox's CPU is dwindling faster. Spec Ops don't believe in any CPU, but they also don't believe in this Overlord either. With so few, and their numbers restricted, people are being targeted easier by these cultists." IF explained, reading articles and notes she had made while walking back to the city with the others.
Her words did nothing to settle their nerves as Compa uncomfortably glanced towards Nico's prone form as a form of comfort, only for it to backfire when she saw his heavy breathing. She quickly replaced the towel on his head to get the fever down, all the while looking over to where IF was sitting. "But, I've never heard of this Mr. Overlord before." she protested. In her mind, she couldn't grasp the sudden appearance of this deity she had never heads d of or how so many people were now worshipping it. it just didn't make sense to her. If one wanted to put faith in something, why not something that's had more of an impact like the CPUs or the Spec Ops?
"Neither have I." IF agreed, sighing as se closed the phone down and placed it back where it belonged on her coat. She then looked to where the Preteen was, sitting by the bed Nico occupied, bouncing on it lightly. "Nep… oh, that's right. How would she know?" IF had been about to ask her if she had heard of this Overlord Momus, but remembered at the last second that she was an Amnesiac. She wouldn't have any previous memory of this deity if she ever heard about it, or even paid attention to anything about it.
Neptune frowned and huffed in her direction, tilting her head away from the Spec Ops Candidate irritably. "Now, you won't know if you don't ask, right?"
Shock ran through both girls as they directed wide-eyed stares towards the preteen. IF was the first to get her voice back after her words as she asked her what was on both hers and Compa's minds. "Wait. You know something about this?"
Neptune hummed for a moment, before she revealed to them… her troll face. "Of Course not."
Their hopes dashed faster than that high-speed running bird fleeing from its wolf-like hunter. IF hung her head, though she had a tight smile on her lips and a twitching eyebrow. "My bad for expecting something from you…"
Just after she said that, a loud rumble shook the room. Everyone gasped, eyes wide as they looked around, trying to find the source. When they heard a sheepish laugh, both girls frowned and turned slowly towards Neptune, who was rubbing her stomach in a criminal-like manner. "Ahahaha, looks like I'm kinda famished. Haven't eaten yet, seems. Iffy, Compa would you mind getting some groceries?"
"And why can't you do it?" IF retorted, narrowing her eyes at the preteen. "You're the one that's hungry, and why should we go out there when we ca just order some room service?"
Neptune responded by throwing her arms into the air above her with a massive grin on hr face. "Because, plot!"
In the end, Neptune managed to convince them to go get some groceries. It was just so that they could stop Neptune's incessant whining, and she complained that the food service here wasn't very good, even worse back in Lastation. They would have argued back, but then they remembered the last time they got a hotel in Leanbox, the food provided wasn't as good as they'd hoped.
When they left, closing the door behind them, Neptune tiptoed to the door and pressed her ear against it, trying to listen to the sounds of their footsteps fading away. Once she was sure that they were gone, an impish grin slowly swept across her face. "Hehehehehe, all alo-ne now…"
With her companions gone, Neptune tiptoed back to the unconscious male's bed with her grin becoming more and more evil by the second. Oh, how she was waiting to do this. Every time Nico had pranked her, she would always return fire, but his pranking skills were infamous. He was like those characters who excelled in bullet hell games, though she was pretty sure that there was character in Rebirth 2 who was an expert in those. Went by a name beginning with C…
Whatever, she was beginning to go off track, anyways. Looking down at the male, who for the first time since she'd met him looked helpless, Neptune knew that her time to act was now. 'Well, this actually isn't the first time that he's been knocked out, there were those times with the Banshees, the time after that meanie woman nearly killed him… gosh, now that I think about it, we've been through some tough scrapes. The Author really went all out in trying to make this series' light-hearted atmosphere mix with tension and seriousness. Though, I'm not sure others will agree…'
Shaking her head, Neptune forced those meta thoughts aside for the time being as she gave a sinister giggle oddly reminiscent of a Gremlin. If anyone saw her right now, they would mistake her for one as they swore there were gremlin ears and tails come out of her. Slowly, she leaned forth and gripped the covers that were on the male, throwing them back.
A bright light shone through th windows of their hotel room as well as a feminine giggle.
Chapter end!
Whelp, here's another chapter, guys!
Not much to say here, save for read, fav, review, oh and make sure to vote about IF and the Spec Ops Exam! It'll mean more chapters for the Leanbox Arc, but it'll be good character development for her.
