Hello guys! This is a LONG one, and i'll be honest and say I'm quite fond of this one. This is for all the Vert fans that want to see more of her, and believe you me, this one has quite the character development in store. Also, picking up where the last chapter left off, talks for a possible alliance and Noire's reasoning's will be revealed. So, enjoy!


Chapter 111 - Alliance, WHAT?!

A sigh escaped her lips as she sat at her desk in her office, looking over the newspaper and looking at the reactions her people had to the recent undertaking she had chosen. Her right hand twirled the end of her right pigtail as a means of finding solace and comfort from the recent headache that she had suffered from this move she had done. Yet, in her mind, this was the best course of action she could take with the way things were going.

Noire, CPU Black Heart of Lastation, had expected the reaction of her people to be this way. There were many who opposed the idea of a potential alliance with another Nation. If it were Leanbox or Lowee then she doubted the reaction would have been this bad. After all, Lastation didn't have as much association with those two so something like this could have been just business-related in the eyes of the Lastation citizens.

However, this wasn't with Leanbox or Lowee.

It was Planeptune.

PLANEPTUNE.

The rivaling Nation that Lastation had bee founded to defeat for so long now, and they were just going to enter an alliance with them? Many in Lastation, most of them being part of the masses with few being higher ranking officials in her government, did NOT agree to this proposal. They felt like they were just simply giving up their rivalry with the Land of Purple Progress, like they were giving up their identity as the Land of Black Regality. If this had happened the opposite way around, they probably wouldn't have been so against it since it would have been a sign that Planeptune finally accepted that they were the superior Nation, but in the end that hadn't happened. Not in this reality.

Noire had done everything she could to keep this undertaking a secret for as long as she had possibly could. She had met with officials who shared her opinions about the proposal, she had discreetly convinced other officials to follow her lead. She had even met with members of the Avenir faction, members who at least could see reason, that their forces wouldn't be able to hold off the growing Abnormal packs for long. They had their Spec Ops Branch, but as she had learned while working with them, even they could only do so much and be at so many places at one time.

It had been a hard pill to swallow, oh it had been. She would probably NEVER have even THOUGHT of something like this… had she not fought alongside Neptune when Avenir unleashed that Zombie invasion on the city.

THAT moment had opened her eyes, opened her eyes to a lot of things, actually. Like how pathetic and stupid this Console War had become when their Nations needed them. Like how their greed and lust for the title of True Goddess of Gamindustri had blinded them to what really mattered, what being a Goddess truly meant. It was thanks to Neptune that she had this epiphany, that she had the willpower to go on like this. Noire had done much wrong by her people, and she fund the resolve within her to change that, to make amends for what she had done.

She remembered the way that Neptune talked to her when they spoke about the Console War that night over some pudding, how she talked about saving the people in front of her first rather than win the War that she had unknowingly been fighting for centuries. Perhaps it was a good thing, a blessing in disguise, that Neptune had been blown off Celestia by the rest of them and thus gaining amnesia. It completely changed her as a person, gone was that arrogant, battle-maniac of a swordswoman who always boasted being the best out of the four with the bite to match her bark. Gone was the Goddess Noire detested with a passion.

In her place, stood someone who supported her friends with an intense passion that could incinerate anyone who got too close, or dared harm those she considered precious. Someone who actually gave a damn about the masses yet enjoyed the little things in life… maybe she enjoyed them a little too much though. Noire could remember that time when Neptune actually had a hangover from eating so much pudding. No idea how that happened cause she was PRETTY sure that Pudding doesn't make you drunk, but hey this was Neptune she was talking about. Yet, it was that kind of familiarity that she NEVER thought she would have with the other CPUs, Neptune especially, which just went to show how big a personality change she had undergone.

Putting down the paper, Noire massaged her Temples with a soft sigh. Memories assaulted her mind, memories of when they briefly interacted with each other while they fought in the Console War.

(FLASHBACK)

Two swords, one long and slim while the other bulky and large, yet near equal in skill, clashed repeatedly and with great ferocity. Each slash created rippling air waves between their wielders, who each gave each other fierce stares. One of them had a furious snarl on her lips, while the other had a smug grin on hers. The sounds of clashing could be heard both from their weapons and the weapons of the other two who fought in the skies above, not wanting them to interrupt.

Their clash lasted a few more seconds, before the two ladies, Black Heart and Purple Heart themselves, suddenly broke of and faced off like a Mexican standoff. The Planeptune CPU "Hmph, it's a surprise that you have made it this far, I would have thought you would have blown up after all that hot air, you weakling." Purple Heart remarked, a smirk that was a mix of condescending and arrogance stretching onto her lips.

This resulted in an infuriated twitching of her brow as Black Heart readied her sword, a sneer and a wicked laugh escaping her as she fantasized the oh so satisfying look of horror on her opponents face as she ruthlessly cut her down. Oh, how good that moment would feel to her. "Hah, I could say the same to you, Neptune!" she retorted, before gesturing to her with her off hand. "Look at yourself, acting like you're on top of the world. It just makes me want to defeat you even more! Just you wait, I'll defeat you yet!"

It didn't look like her words rattled the other woman before her, however. Instead, it almost seemed to be a form of entertainment for the Planeptune CPU who put her sword on her shoulder gangster style while attempting (and failing) to muffle her amused giggles by putting her hand over her mouth… not unlike how Green Heart laughed, now that Black Heart thought about it. "Ufufufufu. Why, please do come try, but believe me the results will NOT be what you favor. #Mocking smile with a 'come hither' motion#"

"Grr! You asked for it, you bitch! Raaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh!"

(FLASHBACK END)

The memories dissolved back into the sea of emotions within Noire's gut, but they did leave their mark on her. She remembered that Neptune and the Neptune she knew today, and she could not compare the two. They couldn't be more different, well, sure they both liked to fight as Neptune definitely seemed more like her old self whenever she sparred with Nico, forcing her to go all out while not landing a scratch on him, but there was none of that arrogance her previous self, had possessed. But aside from that, not much else had remained the same about her.

If she were her past self, then she would NEVER have answered the way she did that night.

That was one of the big reasons why Noire went through with this plan of hers, a plan that she had discussed with only a select few at first, one of which being her Oracle. Oracles weren't that well known in today's society, but hopefully in the future that would change. After all, if it weren't for her Oracle keeping Lastation economically stable even with Avenir's antics, then Lastation would have died long ago. She couldn't help but feel a bit competitive with Neptune though, if she thought she was the only one who was capable of bringing great change to others, then she would be dead wrong.

Noire could do it, too. Her recent actions proved that. Just this once, Noire would throw aside her pride, her foolish pride that had nearly gotten her Nation and her people killed, and start negotiations between Lastation and Planeptune, negotiations for a Truce that would hopefully turn into a full-on alliance. Noire had no doubt there will be hurdles along the way, both from Lastation and Planeptune officials, but she owed it to her people to make up for her mistakes, to be the leader she should have been. Hell, she even owed Neptune for this change, and THAT wasn't something to scoff at. Not that she'd admit it to her face, oh no she wasn't going down that path of humiliation.

Though, another reason why she was doing this was because she owed one other Person, one other person who had fought alongside her in reclaiming Lastation from Avenir. Who had done much more for her Nation than even Neptune. Someone who had been there for her people when she should have been. A member of a foreign Nation's Spec Ops branch who carried a cloak of death wherever he went, yet had more of a heart than a lot of people she knew.

DEATHSTROKE… Nico.

The blackette's cheeks flushed pink when she thought of that boy, no that MAN, who had practically stormed his way into Lastation, beat up some of its problems with a ladle, then headed back home. Well, obviously there was more to it than that, but she had heard some of her people comment about it that way and she liked the comparison. It made her chuckle at the imagery of a Chibi Nico wielding a massive ladle and whacking the Kanji for 'problem' over a smaller Lastation out of existence, before huffing and walking away with his ladle over his shoulder like a boss.

Who would have thought someone she had considered an annoying idiot when he quite literally crashed into her life could be someone she owed a great debt to? Noire had thought about it many times, but while she probably would have gone with Neptune that night on her own some, Nico's talk with her sped that process up significantly. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she may have even bought some materials and a… certain bunch of tools to create a costume replica of what Nico wore when he saved her Nation to do… stuff in front of the mirror.

Then, there was something that made her brow twitch more visibly than she would ever want to show others.

It turned out that Nico had quite the bit of fans in Lastation, and a lot of them being teenage girls. Apparently, it had always been around, from 4 years ago which was around the time when Nico had joined the Spec Ops Program. While those examiners must be rolling in the dough thanks to passing such a successful Agent, it seemed that the popularity this fan club had skyrocketed ever since the Lastation invasion incident. No matter where she went, Noire could see some of the female teens of her citizens, some middle-aged women and even some elderly commenting about the guy.

For some reason, Noire didn't particularly LIKE these fangirls, whenever she saw how they gossiped about him she felt the urge to just pull him into a protective embrace and keep him away from all those hus-

'Whoa, whoa-whoa! Where the heck did that come from?' Noire's eyes shot wide open when those thoughts began to go down a road she had never went down before. She didn't want to either as she pushed them back to the recesses of her mind.

In an effort to forget that way of thinking (although those thoughts constantly pestered her) Noire took out her phone and gave a soft sigh, a smile tugging at the woman's lips. Her phone had a message Icon in top of the left corner, and when s she checked it was indeed from the person she had been monologuing about. She opened it and found tat it had been sent to her this morning, but thanks to her being in another meeting regarding the future alliance between their nations, she hadn't received it till now.

Though, it was better late than never.

Honestly, these messages of good morning, how are you, good night, etc were like breaths of fresh air to the blackette, and she looked forward to every time they come. Nico kept his word and kept in touch with her, informing her of what he had been doing with the Party. Most recently, she had heard that he had been to this place called Hellverse when IF had gotten herself captured by some powerful Abnormals called Ghouls. The memory of that one sickly looking man back at West Wind Valley filled her mind and made her shudder.

But aside from that, Noire ad Nico chatted a lot, calling and texting about random topic sometimes but mostly about how they have been doing. This was the first time for her tat she had someone to talk to like this, and it gave her great opportunities to vent her stress on someone who did nothing but listen and offer advice. Even though he and her were too different in position, Nico's advice was the advice she found herself listening to above most others.

Some people who both were in his fan-club and knew that she had his number always gave her jealous looks, prompting her to smugly smirk back.

Not like she was happy with their jealousy or anything, she was just glad to have the attention and not Avenir.

Noire's eyes then hardened, her lips closing into a firm frown when she closed her Phone after quickly typing a Text back to her… friend. Wow, she still wasn't used to having a friend. There was something about him that bothered her, actually. Shortly after Nico left, Noire had found herself processing documents that said to halt any mention of Nico's involvement in the Zombie outbreak, to not mention his name at all and make it seem like she and Neptune did all the work.

This did NOT sit well with her, so she refused to do that, cause in her eyes Nico deserved the recognition he did. He may be a Spec Ops Agent who works outside the limelight, but she knew something that most others don't. At night, sometimes she had caught him looking over the town with this longing gaze to his eyes. That kind of gaze the CPU recognized, having seen it on her own more than a few times.

The look of someone who yearns to find acceptance, someone who wants to find others to confide in.

Someone who, like her… was lonely.

She hadn't told anyone about it, and she didn't plan on it. That felt like she was betraying Nico in some way, and she didn't like that feeling at all. But, even so, she couldn't help but wonder why it was that Nico felt that way. Though, part of her wondered if it was to do with why her officials had requested that nobody know of Nico's involvement. She didn't like the thought that someone would try to demean Nico like that, to try and make it so that he didn't even exist when it was so clear that he did. This was what made her smile whenever she heard how citizens other nations were remarking about the redhead.

It must be something big then, if the Officials she had worked to gain the favor of did what they did though. There had been some who had threatened to switch over to Avenir's side if she didn't comply and not mention anything about him, but in all honestly Noire dared them to. To her, while the officials were a big part of Lastation's government, most of them had already betrayed her once when they sided with Avenir and filled her Basilicom with their goons. If they wanted to earn her respect, they would have to work for it.

This CPU wouldn't be ordered around, not by scumbags like them.

It was a shame that she still needed those scumbags, for now in any case. Maybe when she had completely sublimated Avenir she could see about reforming her government, re-instating those who had been faithful to her before. In the meantime, she'll stick with what she had while also investigating why Nico had this reaction from her officials in secret, under the desk work sort to speak. Though thankfully, she wasn't alone in this case.

In the end though, there was one thing that was for certain in her mind, and that was the biggest driving forces for her actions were currently in Leanbox, doing what they must. If they were doing their best, then there was no reason why she should do anything less. When those two finally return, Noire would greet them as Lastation's true leader, with her people fully supporting her and her Nation thriving.

If she couldn't do that, what kind of CPU would she be?


Back at Leanbox…

After reading that Tome and Newspaper (along with the evident reactions plus the concerns for the future), Nico had decided to get a move on. There was much to think about, and he planned on asking Noire what was up tonight when he messaged her. That conversation would be quite interesting, he knew that for a fact. Maybe this was why he had been getting late messages from her for a while?

Sometimes he forgot that she was a Nation's ruler and not the regular girl he texted.

While he walked through a street, Nico passed by several middle-aged women who sat at a plastic white table with an umbrella in the middle. Thy say at a café, which was why they had that setting, but Nico didn't focus too much on that as he instead focused on overhearing their conversation.

"Did you hear? It looks like one of those Nobles got ousted…"

"No, really? Which one?"

"I think it was that Augustus character, you know the one who has rumours of scandals surrounding him like a cloak?"

"You mean the guy who was rumoured to be an extortionists to the traders he deals with, yes?"

"That's the guy. The one who ran a social gathering business across his territory of SARL, where people could talk to one another from a distance using technology. User identity is kept confidential with User ID's, so people can say whatever they damn well please. Apparently, someone caught him trying to have his way with a bunch of ladies and used it as a means to expose him to the rest of the public."

"Sounds like someone just wanted to have access to his money, land and power."

"When do these Nobles NOT care about such things?"

"True."

Nico furrowed his brows as he listened to the women talk, leaning on one leg as he processed this information. He knew about this Augustus Character, he was a Noble who governed a section of one of the southern Leanbox territories who believed that the looser the tongue, the better value a person had. Quite a contradictory statement, really. Loose tongues of course, were a threat to any secret criminal mastermind, for they wouldn't be able to keep a secret when questioned by certain individuals. Nobody likes a tell-tale after all.

Though, using stolen technology from other nations allowed him to develop some social media outlet for his territory where people had the opportunity to post any kind of information onto it where the rest could see it. Well, that was what he had said it was, but in reality, though, he just used it for his own means like keeping his own seat of power. If a Noble dared try to take his position, he would respond by threatening them with secrets he would find out about them from the loose tongues on the social outlet.

Loose tongues spilled out all sorts of incriminating information, after all, enough to create scandals within the nobility. What's more 'interesting' was that even if the noble complied and refused to take his seat, then somehow various documents made it to the right people and that noble would end up stripped of his power. If they had families like sons, wives or mistresses, they would be taken into Augustus's house and used for his own purposes: pawns for the sons and… well, one didn't want to know what he did to the wives and daughters. One could say this was like his 'capture net' for any Noble.

Guess it was only a matter of time till someone used that against him.

'I heard he had an offspring from his main wife… a young girl actually… Augustus didn't have as much rank and power in the political world, which means that under normal circumstances his kin wouldn't have a snowballs chance in retaining their nobility. Odds are whoever exposed him took those he called family and is using them as he pleases…' Nico thought to himself, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists tightly at the surge of anger flooding his system.

Stuff like this always grinded Nico's gears, and he sometimes hoped that if the CPU learned of what her Nation had been reduced to, then she could do something about it. After all, with her political position they would have no choice but to cater to her whims. Proof being why they haven't been barging through the Basilicom to try and see her. Shame that something has happened to her to result in her becoming a shut-in…

'It would be a good idea to see her sometime before the Gala, build up her trust in us so she can tell us what happened to make her act like this.'

'While that's true, Biko, I'd rather not form a friendship with that kind of intent, it'll just make me feel like I'm using her. Then again with the way things are going, I may have no other choice at this point… with Count Mott, Maghda and all the other players converging on the Gala, odds are Vert may be caught up in the spotlight whether she likes it or not. Ugh, I REALLY hate politics.'

'Understandable. While you comprehend them, you are a warrior at heart, a warrior that may be bumping into someone if you don't hurry.'

'Huh?' Nico thought, before his eyes widened when he looked to see he was almost about to do exactly what his Demon Persona said he would: bumping into someone who was walking straight towards him. 'Holy shit!' the teen mentally shouted, quickly backpedalling to avoid the incoming collision while a startled exclamation escaped his lips. Any second later and he wouldn't have made it in time, either. "Watch out!"

"Huh? Oh my!" The other person exclaimed after looking up and realizing what nearly happened, stopping their movements cold. Quickly, panic filled their eyes as they hurriedly tried to apologize to the person they had almost collided with. "M-My apologies forgive me, I…" the person began, and Nico could sense the feminity in it to make the person an adult woman, at least in her early to mid-twenties. From the startled tones behind her vocals, it seemed that she too hadn't been paying much attention either. Whether that was because she didn't see him or had other reasons was debatable right now. "…Wait, is that you Nicky?"

.. Huh? What? Nico's eyes blinked when the woman (he hadn't looked at her yet, so he didn't know her appearance) stated something very few people knew he had. Only those who knew him like Neptune did knew that nickname. 'Whoa, wait… that womanly voice… the way she used the nickname that Neptune gave me… oh Goddess speak of the devil and she appears…' That surprise didn't last long however, and soon gave way to the feeling of anxiety and nervousness, nervousness that could only come from seeing an adult woman who had the notorious reputation of liking to tease him. Ugh, why did fate like to do this to him? It was like fate liked messing with him or something, maybe even put a stick u his booty and then roast him over a fire with his form frozen in a diving position.

… random thought, but whatever.

When he had put his brain back on the right track by whacking it a few times (apparently the answer to a lot of problems in society) Nico went about looking towards the woman at long last as he soon found himself getting tired of not knowing what she looked like, and his eyes found themselves gazing into the surprised set of sad looking dark blue ones. The eyes that belonged to a certain Gaming Goddess who stood before him carrying a bag filled with what looked like figurines. Probably figurines from some Otome game.

Though, the moment she saw him, she dropped her bag in shock with wide eyes.

'Huh? Why's she looking so...?' Nico began to wonder, following her gaze to find that she was staring at him. Or more specifically, his features. His mind flashed back to when he revealed his look to the girls in his party, plus Neptune's little stunt, and realization dawned on him. 'Oh shit... please don't tell me...'

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!" Vert 'ooh'ed as she jumped at him, quickly looking Nico over with stars twinkling in her eyes. She even began touching him in places where... he'd rather not be touched thus he swatted her hands away. "Wow, Nicky, I like the new look for you! Did you do this for me? Oh why you shouldn't have, ufufufufufuf, you look so much like an Otome male character! I could just eat you up-no wait, in fact I'd rather take you home with me and have my way with you!"

'To be fair, this is your own fault for taking inspiration from that 'blades' character from that Otome Game about a corrupt city, where the gap between rich and poor is growing bigger and bigger.'

'Not the time, Biko, so NOT the time! I-oh, wow that felt really-no, wait! Focus you idiot, don't let her violate you!'

'SHE'S DOING THAT WITH HER EYES ALREADY, KING! HAHAHAHAHAHA, SAW SEVERAL SLUTS EYEING YOUR ASS WHEN YOU WERE WALKING DOWN THE STREET, YOU LADYKILLER YOU!'

Unfortunately, his white self just HAD to make things worse for him, Nico's face turning bright red at the words that the white Nico stated. Worse for him, Vert saw this and almost squealed even louder as she grabbed his head and pulled it into her chest. She even tried to walk back the way she came with a slight nosebleed, eyes shining with lustful, perverted thought racing through her mind at what Nico would look like in even more handsome apparel.

While he flailed about like a helpless fish, Vert 'trying' to sooth him by rubbing his head softly, his two other selves each had amused expressions at his misfortune... well, one did, the other just remained blank like always. Though one could tell if they knew him enough, that he had an amused glint in his otherwise blank eyes. Also, true to his white self's words, several female passerbyes, some even with boyfriends who were too busy glaring at him with thinly veiled jealousy to notice, eyed the teen with appraising and lustful looks.

Looked like Nico was experiencing the 'downside' of his new look...

hehehehehe.


At LAST, he managed to break free from that hold of hers and calm her down. Took nearly 2 goddess damn hours for that to happen, much to his embarrassment, Seriously, he wasn't THAT good looking, girls shouldn't be into him like that!

Pushing that aside, Nico then decided to evaluate the person he had bumped into.

Now that he got a look at her, Nico noticed that she wore a different set of clothes compared to what he had seen her wear before. Now, she sported a dress with similar designs to her base princess dress, however this one seemed unique all on its own. The reason for that, was because the dress had a mix of black and real light green colors instead of white, green, gold and some pinkish red. It gave off this noble-looking alien vibe around her. Like she was an elite among elite. She even had light green glasses that matched her dress, giving her an air of intelligence. Whereas Noire's Glasses (for the short time she wore them) made her look like a secretary, Vert's made her more of a businesswoman/noblewoman type of female.

It was all he could do not to blush at how pretty her dress made her look.

Vert DEFINITELY knew how to pull off a dress.

Thanks to his partially unleashed hormones (which he could feel his Demonic Power working overtime in suppressing right now), Nico felt his breath hitch in his throat and his heart beginning to beat irregularly. His eyes trailed down her form, drinking it in like a vampire getting his next meal… just without the predator side. He didn't get much of a chance to comment on this the last time he met her, but right now Nico could admit (albeit in his head) that Vert looked absolutely beautiful… in whatever she wore.

Part of him wanted to glare at several of the lecherous males that passed by, ogling the two melons on her chest.

Apparently though he hadn't pulled off his discretion right and concealed his examination of her clothes properly because Vert had noticed, if the amused smirk on her lips was any indication. "My, see something you like, Nicky?" she asked him with a teasing undertone, twirling around on one heeled shoe to show off more of her dress to him. This made him see how the once white cloth-like material on the sides of her legs had become light green in colour. When she finished the twirl, a giggle left her lips that she covered behind several gloved fingers. "My, it seems my natural charm has ensnared another man's heart yet again. Ufufufu…"

She hopped up and down once, and whether intentional or not (though Nico had the feeling it was the former) her boobs bounced quite… audibly. There may be a need to call some form of medical professional to this street soon cause there was an excessive amount of nose bleeding happening from that. Was that a rainbow formed from the illusion of the water-like blood mixing with the Leanbox heat?

Ignoring that… weird, wacky, whatever looking spectacle, the red-haired Spec Ops Agent scratched the back of his head awkwardly while looking to the side, refusing to look at Vert due to not wanting to get ensnared by the two… things on her chest. That would make him feel like an idiot and a pervert, not something he wanted to have. "W-Well, you definitely have the beauty thing down pat, Vert…" he shyly admitted, his hand moving from his head to the side of his jaw as he scratched it.

Goddamnit, why the hell did that seem so awkward? You'd think that because he travelled about with a bunch of… eccentric girls (he swore he heard a sigh within the confines of his mind but dismissed it) that he'd learn to be more composed when around beautiful women. IIs like if he doesn't have something like an important mission to think about, he has a chance of being like an awkward schoolboy building the courage to ask a girl out. He blamed the newly awakening hormones for that, when in doubt blame the hormones.

That's what he did so far, and it worked.

Though he must have done something right, or at least that's what he assumed, for Vert let out a childish giggle as she wrapped her arms around his neck (electing a heavy red blush for her troubles) and dragged his head into the confines of her boobs which wrapped around him and cut off his air supply. What can he say they were just that large? Pretty sure that he'd get bitch slapped for something like that. "Awww, such a sweet boy! You try to be all badass and cool, but deep down you're a shy little one, aren't you?" Vert cooed, softly rubbing his scalp while the teen struggled to break free.

'Wh-wh-what the hell?! Why can't I get loose? I should be stronger than the CPUs right now, so why the hell do they have such a strong grip?! It's like she's overdosed herself on some STR boosters or something cause this strength shouldn't be possible for her!' Nico raged within his mind as he struggled in vein to free his head from the cage that it was in. Hell, h could feel his oxygen levels dwindling right now, so he focused as much power as possible to form more of it inside of him to help him last longer. 'Shit… this isn't good…!'

'Nico, calm yourself. Try and feel her emotions, believe me this is not the right course of action.'

Biko's words, words which broke through the chaos in his mind and made themselves clear as crystal, made Nico pause for a moment. His eyes widened slightly within the confines of Vert's two mounds, before he narrowed them and tried to feel what Biko had told him too. Curious phrasing aside, Nico managed to get a grasp of Vert's emotional state… and he soon saw why Biko had said that.

There was an unhealthy mix of emotions boiling like water on an oven within her. There was Sadness, frustration, guilt, anxiety, worry and fear. Whatever had generated those emotions he didn't know, but Nico soon found himself realizing that this hug had the undertones of desperation to it, like she had been craving a hug for a very long time. These revelations calmed Nico down immensely, returning his heart rate to normal and making him stop thrashing about so much as a wave of concern overtook him. Something had been causing Vert distress, and no matter the situation he felt obligated to help her out. Just like how he did with a lot of his comrades.

But, how should he go about this? Well, returning the hug might be a good start, he figured. If not, then at least he could say that he could sense tension in her that usually resulted from heavy stress. It was with these thoughts that Nico slowly raised his arms, wrapping them around her back and pulling her into a soft, warm embrace. This action surprised the woman if the loosening of her hold was any indication, which Nico used to his advantage by moving his head so that it was now on her shoulder.

"Something's been bothering you, hasn't it?" he asked softly and lowly into her ear, and that resulted in her tension returning. If he could see her expression, then he would think that she would be surprised with her mouth open, eyes similar in state. Nevertheless, Nico ignored that for now. "If something's been bugging you, we can talk about it. I may not be able to understand it, but I can listen."

There was a distinct difference between their positions, she was a leader, a ruler of a nation with the lives of thousands on her shoulders. Whatever decisions she would make would have an impact on not just her, but loads of others, thus she couldn't afford to be reckless. Though, this didn't stop her gaming habit, but the fact of the matter was that Vert was a ruler whether she acted like it or not. There was no denying that. Someone like her was too different from normal people, something she probably didn't like due to how lonely it would be.

Then, there was him, a soldier or in less humane terms a 'watchdog' who howls at the call of his superiors. His actions wouldn't affect as many people as Vert's position would, just a select few. He was a creature that caused nothing but chaos and death, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake. He sat atop a mountain of dead bodies, both human and monster alike. Now, he could add demons to the ever-growing list of victims under his banner. His world was nothing like hers, hers was a world of solitude, and his was a world of blood, death and destruction of life.

But still, he could still listen to her vent her worries, that was something even someone as monstrous as him could accomplish easily.

It felt like an eternity, but finally Nico felt te tension leave Vert's body as she hugged hm back, this time her hug generating feelings of relief and happiness. Her arms kept a tight grip on him, tight but not at the level where it was uncomfortable. Then, a small chuckle escaped the woman's lips, a bitter one before she spoke once more. "It seems that the reputation DEATHSTROKE has for being observant is not to be underestimated." She remarked.

Nico couldn't help but chuckle at that, even in this state Vert still had some sense of humour. "Heh, guess I do..."

Finally, Vert pulled back from the hug, and the two separated as Vert looked about and checked the streets. Whether she noticed that there was more than a few splotches of blood (all from nose bleed victims people who had been hauled off somewhere) or she chose to ignore them was a debate that would last a lifetime. She then turned to him again, smiling all the way with a slight jump in her movements. "This place hardly seems like the place for this type of talk. Come dear, I know a place where we can talk."

Before he could respond, Nico felt his right gloved hand get grabbed by the older woman as she pulled him along the streets towards this destination she wanted to go to.


At first, Nico thought they would return to the Basilicom. After all it only made sense, since she had a space there that wasn't accessible to anyone else. Therefore, she would be able to share what was troubling her with him without fear of being overheard. This was also what Biko had assumed, and with his trust in his Demon Persona Nico believed him wholeheartedly.

However, it seemed that both of them were wrong, as Vert instead chose to guide them to a park. A fairly deserted park, but a park nonetheless. Not somewhere Nico or Biko expected for her to take them since it offered NONE of the privacy her own room provided, but on the other hand the two couldn't help but be relieved as well. Now they wouldn't have to feel so awkward at going into an adult woman's room, especially the room of a beautiful woman like Vert, anytime soon.

'Wow, this place really is deserted… where are the people?' the teen couldn't help but wonder inside his mind as Vert gently lead him towards one of the nearby benches. The gentle winds brushed through the forest, making her hair gently sway like that of an angel's which made Nico look away to try and hide the flustered look beginning to form on his features. 'Ugh, sometimes I wish I could wear my Mask, at least then people won't see my embarrassment…' the male thought, furrowing his brows while not offering any resistance. 'Even so, I wish Vert would tell me what's wrong, so I can help her already, her stressful emotions are really bugging me…' Despite his mildly flustered state, the male still wanted to know what was worrying the woman dragging him by the hand right now. It didn't feel right to just up and leave her if she had the amount of stress that he could sense from her.

"Here we are." Vert finally spoke, snapping Nico out of his thoughts as she gestured to the bench. "Please, have a seat." She offered politely with a smile, though it was one that didn't breach the sadness present in her eyes. That look just grinded his gear so damn much, it de him want to rip apart those who dared make her that level of sad till there was nothing left, but Nico made sure to keep his cool. He'll wait till he heard her story before deciding on his next course of action.

After taking a seat, Nico saw the voluptuous woman sit beside him, her hands on her lap while one leg was crossed over the other. Even as she poised herself as a noble young lady, Nico could still sense the turmoil swirling within her like a violent whirlpool, threatening to pull her under and never let her go. For a moment, there was nothing but silence between them, an awkward, heavy silence that almost denied them the ability to speak. Well, Nico more than Vert who looked like she was trying to hide how nervous she was.

"S-So, ummmmm…" Nico finally began, pushing through the awkwardness to ask the question that would get this conversation going. It didn't look like Vert was willing to start it off, so he had to do it himself. Though, that didn't really make it easy for him, no way no how. "W-What's this you wanted to talk to me about, Vert?"

'Ugh, geez could I sound anymore cringy?' Nico mentally scolded himself with disgust rushing through his bloodstream. Rushing at speeds that nearly made him want to throw up at how bad the male's composure had been. At least it wasn't as bad as when Vert pinned him to her bed and almost made the worst mistake of her life (trust him, he knew what he was talking about). He had a suspicion that she realized that as well.

Vert finally cleared her throat, finding that to be an apt thing to do to clear her head. Before, she finally spoke in a soft, unsure tone despite her attempts to sound level. "I… I may be feeling… more than a little vexed as of late. The Basilicom, which has been a safe haven for me, now feels more like a cage than anything else. Its why I wanted us to talk here and not back there." She explained, her lips pursed with worry. Her already sad eyes, if possible, just got even sadder when they were mixed with other emotions like worry and disbelief.

Not something Nico particularly liked would be mildly understating it… MILDLY.

Finally, she got down to the reason why she was like this before mount Nico could explode. "It's… It's about Noire. Surely you have heard the news, about her Nation and Neptune's?" Vert began, looking up at him since she had been looking down at her heel clad feet. "Apparently, she and Planeptune are conducting talks that will result in them joining forces."

Nico hid a wince behind his usual calm, composed self. If he hadn't read that newspaper, he would have been more shocked that this was what was bothering her, but thankfully that was not the case. Still, this wasn't good, not one bit. 'Right, Vert would be like that… oh boy, this is gonna be a toughie…' It was common knowledge that the CPUs have been... at odds with each other (fighting for centuries up in another world aside from the human one would be an understated description for 'at odds' but whatev). This definitely left them with bad impressions of each other, impressions that didn't fade away the more time they spent around one another. Hell, the CPUs of Leanbox and Lowee, as well as those from Lastation and Planeptune, developed a great rivalry with each other because of this war. A war that claimed the lives of countless, reaching cataclysmic proportions.

Now, one just heard that half her enemies were starting to push aside those grudges (as difficult as it may seem) and start conducting talks between one another for an alliance. Something that would make her Nation's lives a whole hell harder which, by extension, didn't bode well for Vert either. Not just for the Console War but life in general, for she would spend the rest of her days as ruler worrying about an impending attack from both Nations at once. She would't be able to call on Lowee to help defend her land since they were at most odds with each other, and there was no status quo to protect her in that situation.

The status quo was that the four nations needed each other to survive. If one spent excessive numbers to destroy another nation, they themselves would be left weakened allowing for the others to swoop in like vultures and pick them apart. It would be a waste of time, money, resources and shares, so no Nation has ever initiated a full-on invasion. One could say that they had an intricate yet parasitic relationship with each other, well, until now. Raids on them for their technology, funds etc however were another matter entirely, though.

"Yeah, I've heard. Surprising like, didn't expect that to happen, to be honest." Nico eventually replied, shifting his gaze so he could look about the deserted park. That was not a lie believe it or not, since he just heard about it today. He didn't have all the details, planning to ask Noire tonight about it, but he didn't expect to encounter Vert shortly afterwards. This sort of felt like some form of play on fate as much as he believed in fate... which was none at all. Now that he thought about it, Nico should have thought about this earlier, that Vert would be this affected by this news. He guessed that he didn't because he assumed she would be too focused on her apparent 'problem' to notice or care.

Guess not, apparently.

Unaware of his thoughts on the matter, Vert continued as she looked in the direction that lead to the Nations that were the source of much of her recent vexing, Lastation and Planeptune with conflicted eyes. "I agree, it is an... unorthodox plan, one that I would never have thought would happen. Especially because those two Nations hate each other more than they hate Leanbox and Lowee respectively. But, its happened, according to some helpful hands I sent discreetly." It was one thing to admit this to someone of another Nation, but since this was Nico she was talking to, someone who was as secretive as they come, plus the area was deserted as all hell (both of them confirmed that tidbit of trivia) so there were no threats of this information ending up in the wrong hands. "It just... blows my mind. Why would someone as prideful, arrogant and tyrannical as Noire do such a thing? With Planeptune of all people? I would understand somewhat if she allied with another Nation since she doesn't have as bad a relationship with their CPUs as she does with Neptune, but Planeptune? It just doesn't make sense."

Leaning her head back, a sigh escaped Vert's lips as her eyes reflected her inner worry. "Nonetheless, this does not bode well for me or Leanbox. Those two are the leading nations when it comes to technology, and their military do better jobs in handling all these attacks on their borders, at least better than my Nation no matter how much I hate admitting that. Not to mention, Leanbox's forces can't muster their full might due to how many territories are being attacked, I see it all the time on any social media site I visit, every online chat in every game I play, how families are either killed or go missing, how children are mourning for their loved ones, wives and husbands, mothers and fathers being separated forever." At this point, Vert's anger and frustration began to build, soon reaching a breaking point as she clutched her fists tightly, so tightly in fact that if he could see her bare knuckles Nico would have seen them turning as white as her gloves. "It is most... vexing, which is the most civil term I can use to describe this situation, of how utterly powerless I am to resolve it."

... Okay, time out here. Lets see if he was hearing this right. This was what Vert thought of Neptune and Noire? Back when they were up in Celestia, fighting in that pathetic, pointless Console War? He was starting to think that the girls he knew were like total opposites as to what Vert knew them as. Which would make sense since they would likely have remained in their HDD forms up there so they could keep fighting at their maximum potential. This information was what kept Nico from jumping to their defense, though. He could also tell how much this information troubled the womanly CPU, who had expressed her worries on what might happen as a result of this new alliance with her past experiences with the two CPUs as a reference. Not just that, but this frustration and bitterness he could sense emanating from his female companion was anything but transparent, it was so thick that it manifested as a dark aura around her.

There had to be something that he could do to help her, something he could say to not only cheer her up, but also to give her a sense of direction, to help her through this problem even though their positions were so different. From what he could tell, Vert desperately wanted to help her Nation, enough to a point where she couldn't play any games without seeing the mention of her Nation's problems. This 'problem' she herself had also seemed to be a bother to her, stopping her from taking action and if his senses were accurate he had figured out what that 'problem' is.

But... how could he help her?

It was then, that something clicked in the DPU's mind. 'Wait a minute, wasn't there something on the Guild Website...?' The male wondered, quickly and discreetly accessing the site through his right Bracer. While he had wandered about earlier, the teen had received notifications from the website itself, bit of news that he found interesting and that there were some 'interesting' looking Quests posted on the Quest board. He looked over the news headlines, then went to the Quests available at the Guild, and his eyes quickly zoomed in on one that held the most promise for this situation. 'Yes! This could work! Not only will it resolve her 'problem' but it might also teach her some things and raise her opinions of the Spec Ops Program.' he thought in excitement to himself, though he kept a neutral look on his face.

Images of Neptune and Noire standing next to each other, the former doing a cute pose while Noire looked all tsun and stuff, entered his mind, making his eyes harden and his resolve strengthen. "Say Vert..." he began, getting her attention.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go on a Quest with me? Seems like you need some way to relive all that stress these issues have placed on you, and killing monsters I've found is a good way to do that."

... in all honestly, that sounded almost therapeutic to the bombshell CPU right now. Maybe killing some monsters might help her relax a bit, clear her mind of all these troublesome thoughts so she can then focus on what to do. The more seconds passed, the more appealing the idea became to the blonde woman until a small smirk formed on her lips. Nico knew that smirk, he often wore one, most of his comrades e it Spec Ops or not wore one before heading into battle. A smirk of unbridled bloodlust and desire for combat. The smirk of a warrior eager to unleash hell on their enemies. Yet, even when she was showing her warrior side, Vert still retained the aura of a princess. "That would be lovely, I would not mind going on a Quest with you in the least." she told him.

What she didn't say was that she realized just now that this may be a chance to getting closer to her online gaming partner in the real world. 2D men were a great attraction for her, but a 3D man who she actually enjoyed the company of? Someone who gamed just as much as she did and was her equal in skill to boot? That was like a super legendary rare item acquired from a Boss raid with a drop rate of 2%. Plus, he was one of the few people she could talk to so easily, so there's that.

This response garnered her a big smile from the redhead teen who nodded as he held a hand out to her. When she looked to it, he sheepishly began to explain his conduct. "They say that in Leanbox, offering a hand to help a lady up is seen as gentlemanly." he told her. Though, he wouldn't have known this Leanbox custom if Compa's grandfather hadn't told him about it. He just didn't see most people in Leanbox as worth the respect for that. Vert though, would be one of the few exceptions to that rule.

A small giggle escaped Vert's lips which were concealed by her fingers, a giggle that only heightened his embarrassment that he desperately tried to hide, as she gently took his hand in her gloved one and stood up. "My, you possess a gentlemanly side, how very interesting." she remarked with amusement. Her eyes glistened with mirth, which made his embarrassment and slight (read: HEAVY) humiliation at having to adopt a custom Leanbox Nobles used worth it.

Nico just chuckled while rubbing the back of his head nervously, before she and him left the park to do the Quest.


The Quest Nico had chosen for them to do was called: Ruination - Gunbreak Underground Cavern. According to the Quest details, some miners had been digging down in tat Cavern for excess resources, when they stumbled across a hidden path. They hadn't ventured down it, just fled with their tails in-between their legs, quickly calling for a Quest to be issued. Considering the unknown nature of the Quest, it was made Spec Ops Quest. Normally this wouldn't tick Nico off, but since most of those miners were the servants of rich and powerful Nobles, the case was turned on its head and flipped.

Still, he could deal with it for now, especially since this kind of thing was what had lead Nico to Rebellion, Ebony, Ivory and Alastor. All of this just reeked of undiscovered items and treasures, something that he was sure Vert would like to see for herself if his instincts were true, since she was this Nation's ruler. Possibly could find an item that could help her with her problem, too, he kept his hopes up. In addition, Nico found this to be the perfect chance to have a talk with the womanly CPU, get to know her a little better since he didn't have much of a talk with her last time.

This resulted in them talking a whole hell lot while they walked to the Dungeon. Nico kept his Motion Tracker and Holomap active though so it would sense any hostiles approaching them. He didn't want them to get ambushed, especially if what Vert's problem was, was what he thought it was. Meanwhile, the teen learned a bit more about Vert than before, something he found to be a good thing. He learned how while she stayed mostly in isolation save for her games, there were a select few whom she trusted enough to see her in 'the state she was in' though she didn't indicate why. Nico didn't press, he didn't see the need to since he already had a good idea of why this was.

One of those people, was the Leanbox Oracle, Chika Hakozaki. She had been her Oracle for a long time now, and while she had some... eccentric personality traits,, she still held more loyalty to her than any Noble throughout the Nation. Vert had put her on a vacation though to reward her for her hard work and to give her a chance to wind down, though she got the suspicion that Chika hadn't been too happy with the idea. Nico knew of this Chika woman, he had seen her a few times during missions in Leanbox, though only on either a screen or an image of her. However, he knew enough of her personality to know that giving her extended leave like that isn't something she would want.

Another was, surprisingly, a Spec Ops Agent known simply as 'Cave'. She was someone who helped Vert with the military side of things, as while she could talk with Yvoire about it given how he was the head of the Leanbox military, Vert wasn't too keen on trusting him with such information. Of no doubt he was loyal, thinking only of her nation, but even so Vert didn't want too many people knowing her 'secret', something Nico didn't press about. One could say that her biggest fear right now, was that 'secret' getting out. Not to mention that the man had some... bias views that made her uncomfortable.

That comment made Nico laugh.

Looks like even the CPU was wary of this 'loyal' follower.

Aside from that, the two talked about things like games, what was good this year and what was not, what they thought of certain games, what franchises they hoped would do well and what franchises could do better. Heck, they even talked about different businesses, like this one called E-A which hadn't done as well as another company called Micro this year. Even Lastation's Son had done quite well for themselves by showing games like KH3, TLOUP2, etc. There were quite the few action games coming out this year, and it excited them both, well, Nico more than Vert. Action games may not be something he played very often, but even he could see the appeal of slicing through one's opponents in a game. He did that in real life too, though.

Nico made sure not to touch on the subject of Leanbox's affairs with their talks, however, as he wanted to give her a chance to wind down from all that shit. Judging by the glances she gave him when she thought he wouldn't notice (when he did), it seemed that she knew what he was up to as well but didn't say anything. This could be counted as Vert's downtime, a chance for her to kick back and let loose the tension building within her. Goddess knows that she needed it, and that was a funny thought considering who this woman was.


Finally, the two arrived at the Dungeon entrance, which was simply a hole in the ground that lead diagonally downwards. It was located within the centre of a large valley, one that from a bird's eye view looked more like a circular hone than a Valley.

"Looks like we're here..." Vert began, summoning her weapon from her Inventory. In a flurry of pixels, she had formed a Spear-like weapon in her hands, gripping onto the shaft tightly. She looked down at the weapon she had summoned, memories sparking within her that were triggered by the hard metallic feeling that assaulted her hands' nerves. How long had it been since she last fought in her human form? Quite a while, she felt, as she couldn't even remember. Not to mention that this Spear was... a unique one.

The Spear looked like a long Katakama spear with a short sickle pointing out asymmetrically to the point. This Spear can mutilate practically any kind of foe she used it on in many different ways, and this is what gives it its name: Beninuki (Crimson Extractor). Thanks to its size, Vert could also use it as a javelin and throw it at short distance as a surprise attack. She hadn't realized it until she had started training with this Spear once the 'incident' had happened, that she LOVED the way this Spear was made. It was both a stabbing and slashing weapon thanks to its tip, the metal used to forge it (Spec Ops Silver Steel) was of high quality. It was a good Spear, and she planned to showcase the techniques she had with it alongside her list of Skills.

Training that she wanted to show off in front of her new companion, who knows maybe he could become a follower of hers if she showed him that she was still competent as a Goddess.

"It also looks like the constant commotion between the Abnormals, Demons and the other troublemakers have caused the monsters that should still be here to flee." Nico commented after scanning the Dungeon with his Bracer, learning that there were no life signs within it. Almost like it had been completely abandoned. He wasn't surprised, it was a natural instinct to flee something far stronger than oneself, and Gamindustri's normal monsters wouldn't stand a chance against the beings that were repopulating their world. While partially disappointed that they wouldn't get a chance to kill some monsters, Nico couldn't help but be excited. After all, if this trek proved as successful as he thought it would, then Vert would have much less to worry about.

Vert heaved a sigh at that, it looked like the Demons were causing even more problems than she thought. To cause monsters to abandon entire DUNGEONS showed just how much they feared these creatures, these beings that were tormenting her people. All the while, she had been unable to do anything but watch as her people were tor asunder by fangs, claws or other horrific means. She tried not to think about this though, as she wanted to unwind for the time being. If there were any stragglers left, she'll wipe them out so that they don't repopulate the Dungeon as fast. Less monsters like those will make dealing with those new problems a little easier at least.

"We should head inside, then. We can focus on putting the minds of my people at ease with the lack of monsters here." Nico stated, having prepared himself already. One could tell because he had Rebellion tethered via Demonic Power to his back, alongside Ivory and Ebony which were within his Trench Coat and attached to his hips. He also had his Liberator in his hands, just in case they needed to execute some crowd control. Part of him hoped he wouldn't have to transform to deal with anything here, as he wasn't with anyone who knew about his DPU powers. Worse still, was that he was with a CPU, a GODDESS that was supposed to be one of the ONLY beings capable of transforming according to the current world. Who knows how she would react to a being stronger than her that could also transform and whoop her ass in a fight.

No, that was NOT him being arrogant, either. It just felt like that was the case, though it wasn't like he was saying Vert was weak.

Vert, unaware of his thoughts, nodded in agreement. "Indeed, we should." she said, twirling her Spear as she and Nico proceeded to walk inside.


Entering the Dungeon, Nico and Vert didn't take long to find the newly discovered entrance, as it was quite literally next to them the moment that they entered. The entrance looked lie one of those zigzag-like holes in the wall, cracks spreading forth from it which exposed a certain stone-like resource underneath. One could tell that this opening had only been discovered recently due to the state it was in being similar to the aftermath of an earthquake. However, both Vert and Nico noticed something off about the entrance as soon as they saw it:

There were Monster Corpses surrounding it.

"Didn't my Bracer say that there were no monster readings...?" Nico muttered under his breath as he stared in confusion at the corpses. There were Ice Fenrirs, Tarantulas, and Numb Dogoo corpses scattered around, killed but their bodies didn't disintegrate like normal. That wasn't something one saw every day, and from what his senses told him, Demonic Power was involved. Maybe these things were killed by invading Demons, or something else related to them. His eyes lingered on them slightly longer than necessary, before he recomposed himself and mentally hoped Vert didn't see anything. "Guess there aren't any living monsters, then..." The teen then walked up to one of the fallen Monsters, his eyes shining with curiosity and confusion while he poked its carcass with the tip of Rebellion.

The Leanbox CPU furrowed her brows, just as concerned as he was. "This is most concerning... yet, compared to everything else I cannot bring myself to be more shocked about this revelation." she admitted, having Benimuki lean on the front of her shoulder while her eyes scanned the dead corpses with small amounts of concern. Hey, when your home is being invaded by freaking DEMONS and insane cultists, seeing something like Monster corpses not vanishing didn't seem as shocking in comparison.

Nico nodded his head in agreement, while he didn't see this development as shocking as the Demons, it still unnerved him slightly. Though, the fact that he had a lead on what made this happen made this revelation have a weaker impact on him.

'What do you think, Biko?'

'Odds are, these Monsters were killed by something that released powerful currents of Demonic Power into them, currents that destroyed whatever it is that makes these Monsters vanish the way they do.'

With that information, Nico and Vert (though the latter wasn't aware of his conversation with his Demon Persona) went inside the crack in the wall.


Walking in, the two quickly found themselves descending down what looked like a spiraling staircase. There were no lights, which made seeing particularly difficult for the two, though Nico just used the light from his Bracer's Holomap to illuminate their way. Though there were stone walls and a cylindrical pillar that the stairs spiraled around, there were some things that the teen noticed alongside his companion. "Hmmm..."

"These Drawings..." Vert continued, running her hand along the walls which showed various chalk drawn images. Very detailed ones which depicted various scenes. She recognized some of them to be her Nation's military, though they wore Armour and wielded weapons that were far too outdated. Thus, she concluded that these scenes were many battles that were fought throughout Leanbox's history. "They must be the historical battles that have happened throughout Leanbox's history, battles that spanned through before and during Leanbox's earlier days." She remarked when she began noticing familiar scenes more and more. Scenes that sparked memories in her.

After so many centuries, Vert began to recall the time when she founded the Nation that would become Leanbox, the Land of Green Pastures. She remembered how barbaric her Land had been back then, how tribes constantly roamed about pillaging, slaughtering and waging endless conflicts with each other. No matter their reasons, their ways had been horrific and nightmare inducing for even the purest of souls. Villages were razed to the ground, men and women were either killed or taken captive, the former to be used as slaves and the other as... well, think of reproduction and you get what would usually happen. She remembered every time she would find a village, hoping to find some semblance of peace only to see burned ashes and scattered corpses all over the place.

When she first descended into that world, she had not expected anything like that, she hadn't known what to expect really. However, when she saw what she did, Vert couldn't help the nightmares and the disgust that humanity would commit such atrocities to each other. There were next to no good people in the Land, hardened hearts born from the constant tribal conflicts. Life was terrible, technology was in the most primitive of stages, and there was next to no happiness throughout the Land.

That wouldn't do, not by a long shot.

Thus, she quickly set to work, and while it took her 8 decades, 8 decades of hard work negotiating and strenuous efforts combating the Monsters that loved to shake things up for her, she had finally founded her first Village, the village she would come to call MICROSOFT. It had been a tough, grueling process, and she barely had any followers to start with compared to the number she had today. But let it be known that when she put her mind to something, nothing would stop Vert in getting it done. Just look at how she handled her MMO's, managing multiple guilds using the skills she had a CPU ruling her Nation, helping her Guildmates as if they were her own followers, to Vert the real world and the Gaming world may as well be just one in the same with how intricately connected they were. At least, in her eyes. She used the Skills she forged in both worlds to set up her Nation, bringing others into the fold and ensuring her Nation's peace. Technology wasn't Leanbox's strong point, but they made do with the cards they had been dealt, which lead to how her Nation stood today.

Nodding in agreement, while unaware of her thoughts (though with the complex negative emotions he was sensing, the redhead could only guess what she was thinking) Nico hummed as they finally reached the bottom of the staircase. There, they found themselves standing before a short corridor which lead to a stone door. There was little else of note, save for some statues that looked like older medieval-style Knights with Spears, shields and swords lined up beside the door, along the walls, and next to the corridor. All of them faced inwards too, so it looked like they were looking towards Nico and Vert as they began walking in.

Nico kept an eye on the corridor, his senses on full alert. These types of places usually had tons of traps waiting to be sprung on unwary adventurers looking for loot. This corridor had the exact same feel to it, and his senses wouldn't allow for any sign of negligence. When he had found those ruins that contained his first few Devil Arms, he had to deal with some... pretty wacky traps that almost broke his logical mind as they broke the rules of reality. Ever since then, Nico had a... pretty open mind when it came to the potential of these traps.

... though, what he had NOT expected was what happened next...

"... ufufufufu. My, this is starting to get exciting... Now this is starting to feel like one of those RPGs where the heroes stumble across a starting point to an epic adventure!" Vert couldn't help but comment, a big smile slowly forming on her lips as excitement began filling her being. She even had her hands clasped together as if praying for something. Hey, what could she say, even with all of these things happening, she couldn't help the gamer side of her from coming out. Plus she was TRYING to have some unwinding time here, so letting that side out was a good thing. "I wonder what we'll find, will we find an amnesiac prince from another dimension? A mysterious girl walking on water? oh-oh, maybe we'll even find some ancient super-weapon!"

At this point, she was just fantasizing at this point, Vert's eyes shining and sparkling with stars radiating around said body parts which earned a sweat drop from the male.

'HAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I KNEW SHE'D DO IT AT SOME POINT! HAH, IN YOUR FACE, SUCKER!'

The comment that got suddenly made by his white self made Nico mentally arch a brown, confusion fulling him while his Demon Persona radiated a sense of defeat. What the heck?

'Yes... you win, you can access the coliseum for training for 5 hours like you wanted...'

'WHOOP-WHOOP! YEEEHAW, I'MMA BRING IN MY LITTLE PET LIZARD!'

'...Dare I ask, Biko?'

'... Long story short, me and HIM made a bet on when Vert's gamer side would come out, he won, and now he's reaping the benefits.'

... Wow, wow. Nico had no words. Really, he didn't know what to say to that.

Opting to... move on from that (Biko agreed way more than he normally would), the two walked up to the door. Turned out there were no traps either, either they had already been triggered by Monsters (it had happened before when a Dogoo accidentally got impaled on a pit of spikes, vanishing seconds later) or there hadn't been any at all. He was willing to go with the latter. Just when Nico made to open it, Vert pushed by him as she blurred towards it. "Sorry, Nicky! But This is just too exciting for me to ignore any longer!"

"H-Hey, wait! Vert! Ugh, goddamnit, wait up!"


Breaking through the door, both Nico and Vert found themselves to be... in a room. A rather spacious, empty room with 4 big tiles on the ground for a floor. The walls and ceilings were made of stone, and there was a significant lack of... well, anything. There was a sense of dullness about the room, with the walls showing several cracks and looking torn in some places to suggest the age this room had. Think of what a room would be like when one is moving into a new house, stripped of all painting and tiling, and you can get a better idea of this room's layout.

Even so, Nico couldn't help but feel like this was just a facade, a charade to dissuade those who came here hoping to make a quick buck. He had experienced this before, like when he was within those ruins where he had gotten Ebony, Ivory, Rebellion and Alastor. One could say those were his first experience with the demonic elements. Thus, why he stepped into the room with caution while Vert...

She was just going all over the place, looking for some device that she assumed was hidden behind the plainness of this place.

'Wow... I didn't expect her to have THIS much energy all of a sudden...' Nico thought to himself, half amused and half concerned as he watched the Leanbox CPU dart about the room like a madwoman. And he had every intention to keep referring to her like that when she and that disturbing grin on her face as well as that mad scientist chuckle.

'Yet, this is still better than her being all depressed about those problems Leanbox faced. Disturbing and possibly slightly insane is still better than being depressed.'

Well, that... was indeed true (?), Nico thought with a little uncertainty on whether or not that was actually the case. Though, when he glanced at the way she looked right now, Nico saw glimpses of pure joy shining behind those dark blue orbs. A joy that felt purer than a lot of things that he'd seen from her. That joy was what concluded the conflict within his mind, and allowed a small smirk to form on Nico's lips.

It was like this was the first time that Vert got to be... well, herself, in a very long time. There was none of that tension, that stress and pressure he had sensed from her before. It was almost lie she was being who she really wanted to be, and to him, the person he was seeing right now...

She had a whole new league of beauty on her previous troubled self.

Its amazing how much one can change when they are displaying who they really are, huh? Well, unless they were corrupt assholes like the Nobles, but yeah. Its like when someone pulls off their mask and shows the world just who they truly are inside. This was the real Vert, not the one from before, the woman who enjoyed life and not the one who looked like she was one step away from committing suicide. Yes that was how bad she had looked back there, he knew thanks to his negative emotion sensing.

... why was his heartbeat getting irregular? Why was his blood rushing to his cheeks right now? Those kinds of things would usually happen when he was around the more aggressive girls like Neptune, Lucy and IF.

'SHOULD THOSE OTHER BITCHES BE WORRIED FOR MORE COMPETITION, KING?!'

'Oh, shut it, you.'

And then his white haired self came in to ruin the moment for the redhead male, earning a narrowed eye, stern glare from the main aspect while he did his best to remain his smirking self from before.

Well, good things can;t last forever, nothing can.

Just before he could call out too Vert and rein her in (possibly by yelling that there was a bunch of naked butlers next to him), he noticed something that made his eyes widen and horror to fill him up inside. "W-Wait, Vert don;t touch that-"

PUSH!

... Too late.

"Eh?" Vert blinked as the woman had accidentally pressed on a hidden button while rummaging at the back wall for any switches. Instantly afterwards, her brain clicked and she paled slightly, realizing what she had done. "Oh dear... I made a faux pa..." she remarked, turning to her companion and offered a sheepish smile. "Apologies, my bad."

Before Nico could respond, 60 or so magic circles appeared all across the floor, each of them shining a bright orangish red color. From those circles, various cocoons made from what Nico realized was Hellfire, formed into existence, before they vanished to reveal crimson colored Knight-like humanoids. Each of them wielded an assertion of different weapons, from two handed axes, to spears, glaives, swords, swords and shields etc. Their heads however wee anything but humanoids, resembling a mix between a goat and a horse with curved horns coming out and pointing forwards, eyes made entirely from Hellfire, as well as glowing maws filled with sharp fangs. The blade parts of their weapons were also made from Hellfire, as were the spikes that protruded from their shoulders and elbows.

'Well, looks like this is the welcoming committee...' Nico thought to himself already leveling the Liberator at the new arrivals. Judging from his position, he couldn't get to Vert as the Knights had separated the two, forcing him to focus on 20 of the total 60 that appeared. 'I guess we finally know what destroyed the monsters from earlier, then.'

'Indeed, these are ideal weapons to make the wounds that we observed on those corpses. However, the make of them must have been different as normally, Hellfire burns until there is nothing left, the time it takes depending on what form it is in.'

'I agree... still, this isn't good, hopefully Vert will still be able to fight. If her problem is what I think it is...'


On her end, Vert looked around at her new opponents, holding her Beninuki in a ready position. "Oh my, it appears I have been surrounded." she remarked to herself, eyeing each of the knights that were giving her dark glares with their inferno-like eyes. Those eyes made chills go down her spine, and it became quite clear to her that she would not be getting out of this situation without a fight. Too bad for them that THIS was what she wanted, no, what she NEEDED right now. The metallic feeling of her Beninuki's shaft felt like a couch's comfort against her gloved hands, a feeling of reassurance being born within that things would be alright. When someone receives such a feeling from holding a weapon, sentient or not, it proved that they have experienced enough combat with the weapon to form a bond with it.

'Also, now that I think about it... maybe this can help me get Nicky to become my in-game husband... maybe even help progress to an actual marriage in the future...'

Putting those thoughts aside for the time being (as well as the thoughts of her companion in a butler suit), Vert narrowed her eyes as she set her mind into combat mode. These fools would not be getting the drop on her, Vert was combat ready. "Coma hither, boys." she began, a slight smirk on her lips as her eyes shone in a challenging manner with an undertone of excitement. "Let me show you how Leanbox's CPU wields her Spear."

Her eyes sharpened when she sensed an attack from behind. Before her attacker could get close however, she jabbed the Knight in the stomach with the back of her sear, twirling around and cutting through its eyes with the main blade. She didn't stop there as she repeatedly thrusted the tip into the gaps she could see, which were barely visible according to the human eye. With the 10th thrust, Vert swiftly decapitated her opponent.

This prompted the others to swarm her from all directions, prompting Vert to ready herself for the next onslaught.

Once her first opponent got close enough, Vert thwacked it with the back end of the blade, using the momentum to follow up with a vaulting over another. She then used her current lift to stab several Knights in the head, the last one however experiencing a worse fate as she sliced his head clean in half vertically and then used its falling body to jump through the ranks, twisting and blocking the various weapons rising up towards her. She had been upside down in this jump, too.

Landing in a crouch, Vert swung the back end of her Spear to deflect a thrust from another Spear aimed at the right side of her neck, using the momentum to swing and cut through the attacker as she gets to her feet and flips over several Swords slashing diagonally. Once she was back on her feet, Vert launched a snap kick to one knight and parried another's Axe before using Beninuki to slice the weapon arm off the night and then impaling him on Beninuki's main end. She sidestepped several slashes made by a Knight wielding two Axes, before catching them both with Beninuki and twirling the Spear vertically like a wheel, quickly disarming her opponent by sending its weapons into the air above them.

She then sausage flipped through the enemy's ranks, mixing in a barrage of thrusts, slashes and smacks to keep the enemy away from her before she landed and rolled to her feet, twirling around to slice through the necks of 2 Knights at once, ducking under a sword swing then hopping to the side to avoid a shield bash, slashing off the offender's arm then his head afterwards.

As she fought about the battlefield, a battlefield akin to ones many warriors throughout history have fought in, Vert remembered the story behind her and this wicked Spear, Beninuki. Originally this Spear belonged to a Spec Ops Agent that had been trained in the art of Sojutsu, the art of using a Spear as a cutting weapon. This Agent however, perished on the battlefield by the time Vert first descended from the Console War and, even tough she knew little about him, she still felt a strong respect for him as a warrior. She had seen his last moments herself, the skill he had displayed when slicing through Monsters so easily almost hypnotized her.

After his death, she had sent his body back to his relatives for a burial, and had asked them what they wanted to do with the Spear he had. Originally they wanted to sell it off, as the Spear hadn't been able to protect their relative when he needed it to, but Vert, when looking at the Spear, didn't like the sound of that. She didn't know why at the time, but seeing such a Spear be degraded to being sold about by people who knew little about the original wielder didn't sit well with her. It almost felt like it would just stomp on the previous Master's legacy, and after witnessing his final moments (she hadn;t the chance to step in herself) that just seemed like an insult to his memory. Thus, she had asked if it would be alright if she could wield it in his name.

One could imagine the shock, and later on honor, his relatives had that a Goddess was willing to inherit the legacy of their deceased member.

In the end, they had agreed and Vert became the next owner of Beninuki, the Crimson Extractor. A fitting name for such a spear, for the way it utterly mutilated the enemy on the battlefield was a mix of both savage and beautiful to her. It spoke to Vert from a warrior's standpoint, and to see the way its former master wielded it with skill and almost inhuman grace made her want to be just as good with it. Thus, before the 'incident' she had practiced heavily with the Spear, trying to get a grasp of how to properly used it. It wasn't like her HDD form's Spear, definitely not, but her experience in the Console War helped her master the Spear in record time.

After becoming Beninuki's wielder, Vert found herself a special Manga that featured the previous wielder online. It was a shounen martial arts manga, not something she would typically read but in order to master her new weapon she had consolidated it to see if she could learn any techniques from it. There was a difference between technique and Skill attacks, Skill attacks used SP while Techniques took blood, sweat, tears and training to acquire. The fruits of her labor resulted in her learning the original wielder's signature technique, but also several others too.

Which she should probably start using right now.

Sensing several Knights approaching from her right, Vert deflected more from the left and jumped to engage them. However, this was proven to be just a feint as she slid beneath her opponents legs before getting up and twisting so she faced their behinds. She then got into the proper fighting stance for her Style: Sojutsu: Generally speaking, there are many kinds of Spears throughout Gamindustri, some of which sporting side blades or other unusual features. However, nearly all of them are used in the same way, with the user holding the bottom of the shaft with one hand and the other one near the middle. With the spear held like this, the user can keep the weapon between himself/herself and the opponent, giving him/her a great advantage, and can also move it out of the opponent's range and slash back at them easily. Depending on the shape of the tip and its features, each spear can be used in a different way.

Sometimes she goes for her original set of holding her Spear diagonally downwards in one hand, though.

Now that she was behind her opponents, Vert quickly unleashed her Beninuki's signature attack: the Chigarami (Blood Tangler). For this technique, Vert thrusted Beninuki while rotating the Spear quickly and, thanks to the design of the Spear being asymmetrical to the point, caused the shaft to bend. Not only did this make dodging the attack harder, but it allowed Vert to get through some of the Armour's small cracks, and with a proper exertion of strength for a Goddess, tore the two Knights in half.

4 Knights came at her from all directions, each wielding their own demonic Spears. Vert however, held a smirk as her hair shadowed her eyes. "Hm, coming at me from all sides like this..." she muttered under her breath. Twirling Beninuki above her head, she stabbed its rear into the ground beside her, using it to lift herself over the lunges that the 4 Knights made. Another from within the crowd threw one of their Swords like a Frisbee, intending to catch her by surprise.

However, this would prove to be a failure as Vert gripped Beninuki in one hand and spin it like a wheel in front of the direction the sword came from, sending it down to the ground and impaling a random Knight. With that out of the way, Vert re-angled herself and spiraled downwards, crashing into the Knights and spinning in a full circle, slicing through her opponents before they could react. She trusted at another, lifting it by its chestplate before tossing it towards its brethren, killing them both by throwing Beninuki like a Javelin.

Side flipping over an onslaught of weapons that followed, Vert retrieved her weapon and jabbed a Knight in the eye with its rear end, causing it to stumble backwards and allow her to jump into a twirling spinning roundhouse kick to the side of its head, knocking it to the ground. She followed up with a stab to its face, killing it. She pulled Beninuki out and swiftly swung in a reverse upward swing, slicing through another Knight's Spear through the shaft and mutilating it's face. She quickly ended its misery by stabbing through the mutilated area, however.

The sound of Armored boots brought Vert's gaze to her left, seeing several Knights wielding dual swords heading towards her. She, in response, readied Beninuki to unleash another Technique: Jasen (Snake Twist). With this Technique, Vert caused the shaft to warp by thrusting it with her right arm and moving it in a spiral motion, thereby producing an ever-changing thrust and trajectory. This Technique allowed her to thrust into one Knights head, Beninuki cleaving through the flesh as easily as tit did the others before she yanked it out and twirled around the others, soon getting into position for another position.

'Time for a personal favorite of mine: Hassei Kaigan (Enlightenment of the 8 Planets)!' she thought to herself. For this technique to work, Vert had to rotate Beninuki in a circle that looks like there are 8 blades of the spear. Vert then had to thrust forward, preforming an all-round attack from all sides with no openings. Which was what she did the next second, stabbing through both Knights with deadly and fatal precision. Vert liked this technique because of how dangerous it was on the battlefield, as well as how it was nigh impossible to block due to the 8 strikes coming from impossible angles. The previous wielder inherited this technique from his father, but thanks to her centuries of experience handling Spear-like weapons, Vert had a much easier time wielding it. The previous wielder also kept it his hidden ace in the whole, so she honored that decision by naming this her personal favorite Technique.

She kept up this attack for the remainder of the battle.


By the time that they finished, it had taken them a full hour.

A full hour to take out an army of 60 Knights.

Well, that wasn't quite accurate, as halfway through the battle there had been an increase in their numbers, increasing them to 600 halfway through the fight. That must have been why the room had been so spacious, as the amount of Knights that filled the room back then made movement nigh impossible. Something that seemed to have been intended so that they could get a better kill on their opponents. The more time passed, the more ferocious each Knight became, almost like the battle prowess of these two warriors was igniting some form of competitive spirit within them. Not even seeing their own lay dead became a bother to them for they just kept fighting on and on.

Throughout the battle, the army seemed to focus equally between Vert and Nico. The former, who wielded the Beninuki with the skill of a true warrior, decimated her opponents with well aimed slashes that sliced through body parts, techniques that the Knights got thrown their way, and the overall martial prowess the woman had with it, kept the imaginary blood flowing. Imaginary, because there hadn't been any blood when she killed. It somewhat limited the goriness of the act, but Vert didn't really notice or care thanks to losing herself into the heat of the battle.

How long had it been since she had felt that way?

It must have been at the start of the Console War, where she had felt that rush in great intensity when she was in combat with the CPUs. Through the centuries however, it must have dulled to the point of being unrecognizable for her, which is only natural since Vert was fighting the same opponents back then. Still, it left her warrior side unsatisfied, frustrated even, until she reached the breaking point and saw the Console War as meaningless. She even got bored of the fighting, and probably found herself the first one to fall into this mentality out of the four CPUs.

But now? Now that she had so many opponents to chose from, opponents of varying Skill and destructive power, Vert didn't realize it until now but perhaps her warrior side was waking up now, squealing in delight at what it had seen occur. She hadn't felt this rush, this thrill, this boost in adrenaline in so long that she had almost forgotten entirely what it had felt like. With Beninuki at her side, Vert planned on fighting a lot more than what she had bee so far, to cross blades with her opponents in combat like this. The closer one was to death, the more they feel alive... the CPU of Leanbox may not be that much of a battle maniac, she did have her people on her mind constantly, but she could definitely say she understood them better. Everything had just ceased to matter to her, her insecurities, problems, fears, everything, it all just vanished into the winds of combat as she threw herself into it like a madwoman.

On Nico's side, the teen stood, glancing about for possibly more reinforcements, in the middle of a large circle of bodies. Thanks to there being no blood, he didn't lose as much control over himself as he thought he would, but the constant rush of Combat helped his inner beast wake up, allowing his attacks to be increasingly brutal and deadly. He hadn't seen what Vert had been like, but something told him that she had been in a similar mindset. He had been using a mix of his Liberator (that gun fired so many rounds that it was ridiculous, and freaking sexy. He felt like he was becoming slightly gun crazy after hearing the Liberator's firepower and feeling the recoil behind each bullet).

Aside from his Liberator, Nico had used Rebellion for any that got too close, mixing in a variety of his Sword Techniques. Using them in large crowds wasn't something that he had gotten used to yet, but this definitely served as good training in how to use them in such situations. Though, he noticed that using the Vipersword had helped Rebellion tear through Armour like a hot knife through butter, something that honestly, nearly gave him a boner. Was it weird that got turned on by seeing his sword go through his enemies so easily? Maybe, but hey since when was normalcy a thing in Gamindustri? Not even before when Demons weren't coming back, nope no sir.

But, apart from them, the most interesting thing happened with his two Guns Ebony and Ivory. Remember that time when he gained a wide arsenal of tricks from his Devil Arms in the Hellverse? How Ebony and Ivory were two of the three weapons (the third being Rebellion) that didn't give any new info on techniques? Well, apparently these little buggers were either super stingy, or they were upgrading themselves (he went with the latter) because when those 600+ reinforcements came, they had sent him a torrent of information, information pertaining to techniques that Ebony and Ivory were capable of. These techniques, actually, were more of a single one and a couple variants, but each variant was unique in its own way.

These were the techniques he gained from them:

Cero - A powerful, crimson red blast or concentrated Demonic Power. Its potential for destruction apparently seemed to grow with the wielder's strength, Biko had noted, and at this moment in time it was capable of putting large holes through tall buildings.

Bala - A weaker version of a Cero which has no charge time and is 20 times faster. Could be fired from one gun or both at the same time, with the damage output being limited to small buildings (according to Biko's examinations).

Oscuras - A super charged black Cero, the strongest Cero that can destroy entire villages with ease. Though, it takes longer to charge than a normal Cero but to compensate it only needs one gun to be used, the other can still keep firing Ceros.

Metralleta - This is a Cero which is fired from either 1 or both guns, and is fired as a rapid barrage of Ceros. Like the Bala, it has no charge or recharge time, allowing for instant fire from one or both guns.

Mirada - Basically a 'dual Cero' as both guns release a Cero at once, allowing for double the damage a single Cero is capable of. However, the problem here is that it uses up both guns, leaving the user defenseless.

On top of that, he can still use normal bullets made from Demonic Power...

Ebony and Ivory were TRULY holding out on him.

Bringing himself out of these thoughts, Nico looked over to Vert after putting his weapons (save for Ebony and Ivory) back into his Void Storage while walking towards her. "Well, looks like we have finished them off..." he remarked, glancing about in case of a sneak attack. While he couldn't sense any emotions, his Bracers not picking up any Motion, the redhead didn't want to get caught by surprise.

"Indeed..." Vert replied, nodding in agreement as she held Beninuki at her side. "I don't sense any more of them. Those reinforcements must have been the last ones coming."

That calmed him down immensely. Heck, his heart had been pounding hellishly within his ribcage for a while now while he recovered from the aftermath. It seemed that intense battles like this were slowly becoming the norm within Gamindustri, thanks to the events that have been happening throughout the lands. Even so however, Nico couldn't help but wonder something as his lips pursed into a frown, Ebony and Ivory now tethered to his hips within his Trench Coat where he could retrieve them instantly. "Looks like. Though why they were here honestly eludes me. They have to have been here for some reason." he remarked under a whisper.

Though, Vert heard it still.

"According to my gaming instincts, this means we will no doubt be lead to a room filled with grand loot we can use for our adventures. Its common knowledge in MMO's you know." she suggested with a grin slowly spreading onto her lips, her mind going into fantasy mode at an equal speed. She even had her hands together in a preying gesture with hearts in her eyes.

This only served to make Nico sweat drop, face palming at the way that Vert analogized this to gaming. It was like her mind was hot-wired to that kind of thing, and with what kinds of people he was surrounded by, Nico would readily believe that if it were the case. 'This woman is definitely not the 'Gaming Goddess' for nothing. I wonder when someone says GG, they are actually a Leanbox supporter in disguise...'

While Nico pondered on the rules of gaming, a bright light began to shine in front of the two, accompanied by a pure crimson light. Both Vert and Nico quickly covered their eyes in response, lest they be blinded by the lights and their intensity.

"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIII! I WAS RIGHT, I WAS RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GET SOME CRAZY LOOT FROM THIS DUNGEON!"

"OKAY, OKAY WOMAN, DON'T HAVE A FREAKING FANGASM!"

FAINT!

"..."


By the time the two lights died down (of which Nico had to try and cool down the furiously hot Vert. Not just figuratively but literally, she had been overheating from all this combat), the two had managed to recover from Vert's fainting spell. This allowed them to look over to see what it was that appeared before them, and from what they saw, their jaws dropping became the apt reaction.

There, floating before them, were two items. The first Item was actually a weapon, a Spear actually. It was a golden 3 meter long Spear with a ribbon-like design intertwining with each other at the end of the handle and below the blade. The tip of the Spear was not a sharply pointed blade like on a knife, but instead it was a wide blade as if a double-edged sword had been forcibly attached. It's broad blade also had designs that somewhat looked like a branch with leaves on it. The weapon constantly radiated an aura of pure light, almost mythical in feeling as if looking at the source of all light in existence. Yet, it also had the intensity of a weapon that was meant to be used in combat.

It was a no brainer that this weapon would only exist to be wielded by someone with divine deity-like strength, and luckily one such person was in this room.

Vert gazed at the Spear, taking in its form and design with a look of awe on her features. Her eyes slightly bulged, her mouth slightly dropped open, and her hands moved on their own to return Beninuki to her Inventory. She couldn't help but be transfixed onto the weapon, her eyes unable to escape its grasp. It was just so... so beautiful. Majestic, divine even. She had never seen such a gorgeous looking weapon, a weapon that had boasted both beauty and power in one package. This weapon had powers beyond that of ordinary weapons, she could just FEEL it.

Not only that, but she could hear it... she could hear the weapon itself. The weapon was calling to her, reaching out with the presence of a deity. She knew that presence all too well since she had been surrounded by divine deities after all. It wanted her, it wanted her to come to it, to take it and accept its power as if it were her own. It had seen her strength for itself, and had thus deemed her worthy of it. That was what she was getting from the Spear, those were the sensations she felt ripping through her gut like a mad rush of bulls stampeding across a large lush green field.

Slowly, she reached out towards it, holding her hand out as if to grasp it by the middle of its shaft. Like a magnet, the Spear floated over to her, radiating golden light and untold power. Yet, she could sense a giddiness only an excited child on a sugar rush could exhibit from it, like it had been waiting for her for a while. After a few more intense seconds, Vert grasped the shaft at last... and almost INSTANTLY got blown away (figuratively) from the power that exploded into her from it. 'My goodness! This power... Its so immense...!' the Blonde CPU thought as she stabbed the Spear's rear end into the ground, using it as a support as she struggled to contain and control the power. This power, it felt unlike anything like she was used to, it felt so large, so vast, and oh so rampant. Like it would not accept any but the best as its master. It constantly ran wild within her body, almost hurting the woman to the point where she nearly lost the fight against the urge to scream her lungs out.

All the while, a name appeared in her mind, engraving itself into her brain like a golden piece of chalk being written on a chalkboard. A name that soon left her lips as she slowly but surely began adapting to the power coursing through her.

"Be steady... GUNGNIR!"

The moment she shouted the Spear's name, a huge shockwave ripped out of her, causing Vert to cry out with a gasp as the ground ripped apart beneath her. It formed a 3 inch deep crater of 8 meters in diameter, cracks spreading throughout it from the spot where Vert stood, and even partially outside the Crater's influence. All the while, Vert slowly fell to one knee, holding onto the Spear known as Gungnir and panting her lungs out like she had never even breathed before. That had been one of the most intense feelings she had ever gone through. Worse than that 'incident' that left her the way she had been in the first place. Hell, she had gone through something so intense that drool and tears escaped from her eyes and mouth, prompting her to weakly raise an arm from her weapon and wipe her face clean.

"W-Wow... to think that I... would have to go through something like that... I can understand... what heroes in games go through when they awaken to their legendary powers..."

Even with the state she was in, Vert still managed to process what had happened. How through all of that, information ingrained itself into her brain, burning into it so that she would never forget its power. Information on what it was, its name, and what it could do.

Gungnir... a weapon Created by a CPU called Norse Heart. As a weapon created by a CPU, it is extremely powerful. Simply existing, the Spear holds weight and dominion over many aspects of life. The characteristics of Gungnir are:

The Spear was made to be thrown, with cutting, slashing and stabbing a secondary function.

The Spear would always hit its target once thrown like a seeker missile without the weaknesses said object has.

The Spear could not be shot down or destroyed mid-flight as it also distorts the space around it while in motion.

The Spear would always return to its owner's hands in a golden flash after piercing the target.

That Spear would destroy the other symbolic weapons of other CPUs.

Within the weapon itself, Vert felt its power pulsating from what felt like a core of some sort, and the moment that her senses grazed it, her body was enveloped by a pillar of light. She looked down at herself afterwards, and saw that to her shock she had done something that she hadn't been able to do for so long. Though this process reverted thanks to her mind not staying fully connected to Gungnir's core. Still, there was a possible connection there, and it definitely filled the void in her being mostly. She could still feel the mortality of mortals dominating her being, but at least now she could do THAT.

Slowly, she looked up from her exhausted state, her stamina having been spent trying to rein in this weapon's power, towards Nico. When she saw him though, she once again felt shock rush through her system.


Before, when they just saw the new appearances, Nico's eyes became fixed onto the other item that appeared before them. The item in question, had a much different feel to it compared to the Spear, a whole different league to it. Whereas the Spear felt so much like a divine weapon, this one felt like the exact opposite. It felt like his DPU, Hellfire and other Demonic Powers: the feeling of sinister energies constantly colliding within it into a chaotic mass of power. This item he saw before him, staring him down so intently he felt like he was a mere child before it...

Was a Ring.

A Ring.

This Ring was at least the size of a basket ball, and was colored the most crimson of red that he had seen in anything related to the Demonic arts. The redness gave off a sinister glow from it, equally crimson electricity constantly zapping around it in a rater chaotic manner. There were also various carvings etched into the Ring's outer shell, with two cylindrical bands at the top. Nico felt so small compared to this power, this power that seemed so elderly, so ancient that it dwarfed nearly anything he could ever have found and brought before it. He felt just that small.

'Biko... what the hell is...?'

'Th-This is...!'

Now THAT got his attention. Seemed like his Demon Persona DID know something about this Ring. Judging by Biko's tone, it must be something major, too, either that or it is something very, very bad. 'You know something...?'

'You can be sure of that, Nico! This Ring, it is a 'Satanic Treasure'! These are an arsenal of Artifacts, Weapons, Armours, and other pieces of equipment from the DPU era. These Items were created at the dawn of the DPU's reign over Gamindustri by Sparda himself, then scattered across Gamindustri for other DPUs to find! The exact number of these Satanic Treasures exactly, I cannot tell you, but from what I can understand there were LOTS of them. This is just one, and each of them provides different benefits to their wielders, if they are able to control such power. You could say they are like Devil Arms, but they don't die when their user does. Instead, they either latch onto their Souls if they're strong enough, or they search for someone else with similar power levels! You could also say that those Items Maghda got from Khorne can be classed as Satanic Treasures!'

'Shit, you're serious?!'

'Dead serious! Looks like this Satanic Treasure has recognized you as worthy, Nico! It will be entering you momentarily, there is no way to disconcert what it is until the procedure's over!'

Before Nico could respond to that, the Ring pulsed with power, getting his attention... before it shot forth into him and went RIGHT into his chest with the force of a bullet train. The force nearly knocked him onto his ass, but Nico managed to keep himself up straight while sliding across the room. By this point, the corpses had disappeared, but Nico didn't care for that.

Not when this burning rage seemed to be invading his body!

'Wha-ugh! Guh! Uggghhhh!' The redhead thought, gasping and coughing as he held his chest like it was about to burst. There was a searing hot sensation there, building and building to the point where Nico felt like he was standing right next to the sun itself. 'Th-this burning...! Feels way worse than Hellfire does! Much hotter, too! I feel like i'm going to combust at any second if this keeps up...!' the teen opened his mouth, but no sound came out as he fell to his knees, planting his hands on the ground for support. Though, with the amount of energy coursing through him, Nico could barely even feel his nerves let alone what they sent him. His head hung low, his arms and legs bending while his body struggled to adapt to this new power. If something like this was happening, and his body was struggling to adapt even with it being what it is, then that was a good indicator of the intensity he was under.

This kind of feeling had happened before, part of him screamed through the pain, making Nico's eyes widen in recognition and remembrance. He remembered creating Urthemiel, whom was now currently waiting for his next summons within his Void Storage like Ember. This feeling, the feeling of being burned so intensely like this felt so similar to the feeling of being ripped apart molecule by molecule. Nico barely stopped himself from coughing up blood by the gallons, though it left a heavy taste of iron in his mouth which was gritting its teeth so tightly that he feared that any tighter and his teeth would shatter under the intense burning pressure.

It stretched on for what almost seemed like a painful, torturous eternity, until the burning sensation receded from his entire body to just his torso, retreating even further into its source, the Ring itself. Said Ring remained inside his chest, sitting there comfortably and adjusting itself so that its Master would not feel any discomfort either. The only sign that it was even there at this point, was the symbol that looked exactly like the ring itself, glowing brightly on his chest through his clothes before dying down.

Heaving, gasping and panting, Nico attempted to regain his composure while heat rolled off him in waves from subconsciously accessing his Hellfire to equalize the heat born from the Ring's intrusion. The heat burned any and all sweat from his being, almost feeling like a cool blanket due to how shot his nerve system seemed to be. He couldn't feel the ground still, which was why this was so.

After a moment though, his regeneration had healed him enough so that he could stand up without fear of falling over, as well as helping his nerve system. Smoke trails rolled off him in waves thanks to the intrusion, though it wasn't as bad as before. Even so, Nico's mind raced with thoughts and possible ideas as to what the fuck just happened to him, and none of them were in any order thanks to how chaotic his mind was. 'W-Wow... that was intense... definitely surpasses Urthemiel's creation...'

'Of course it would. It is the Red Ring of Rage.'

'The what?'

'Just Found out from the Ring itself, it is called the Red Ring of Rage, it is a Satanic Treasure that enhances a DPU's fire-related powers, plus their own Demonic Power reserves via rage, as well as offers up an astonishing amount of rage that is normally sealed up inside of it. To be a bit clearer, those are just the passive effects it grants, it has much more rage inside that it can send into your Hellfire and Demonic Power Reserves. The power of rage... I can scarcely believe how immense this is. if you want to have a good comparison, the amount of rage inside this Ring rivals that of the number of humans across the entire planet. It can also project this rage onto others, too, make them so overcome with rage that goes through their minds, bodies and souls all at once that they are left nothing but husks controlled by their own anger. Interestingly enough, this power is affecting our Berserker Mode somehow, though I do not know how this will affect it in the future.'

Hearing this nearly wiped out all the color from Nico's body, his expression that of pure horror. The power of rage, equal to that of every human on Gamindustri? Okay, that is seriously scary, rage is definitely one of the strongest emotions humanity feels. Rage at the Abnormals, Monsters, the Goddesses, anything really. It causes many disasters like wars, plots, destruction and retribution. Its way up there with Pride, in his opinion. This Ring controlled the aspect of Rage to such a degree... He could scarcely imagine what would have happened if this thing fell into the hands of someone like, say Arfoire. Just imagining her with this much rage nearly sent him into cold shivers. If this was just the power of ONE Satanic Treasure... he could only imagine how horrifying the others would have to be to match the danger this one poses.

Though, on the other hand he could feel its passive Rage already being applied to his powers, strengthening them like his Hellfire, Demonic Power reserves, and his Berserker Mode. He hadn't even touched that since he regained his powers, and with this he was even more inclined not to. Him and Biko both agreed that form should only be used as a last resort, as the form's uncontrollably would end up destroying much more than just the intended target.

After he finally managed to get his head on straight from that information, Nico looked over to Vert, and well that was where current times set in.


Later, the two decided to head back to Leanbox, having been in that Dungeon all day. It was about mid evening when they got out, so they wanted to get home as soon as possible for their own reasons. Vert because her staff would likely be about to start a mad hunt for her location, while Nico wanted to make sure to reach the rest of his Party. He could only imagine how worried they would be. Though they would have to return to the Guild first to turn in the Quest, informing them that it was safe to go down there. There wouldn't be much to discover anyways, both Nico and Vert had THOSE spoils.

Once they returned to Leanbox and turned in the Quest, Nico and Vert walked back to the Basilicom, the male having volunteered to walk her back to her home. It wouldn't be right to leave her to walk alone in the dark, not to mention rude and insensitive. Plus, while he didn't say it and he probably wouldn't for a long time, Nico worried for the blonde CPU. He wanted to make sure she was okay, that she was happy and satisfied with this outing. There were a few things he wanted to say to her after pondering her situation a bit on the way back.

In the meantime, the teen made to have a mental conversation with his Demon Persona.

'Say, Biko. That whole stuff with those ruins reminded me of something.'

'Oh? What did those Ruins remind you of?'

'When you said that Devil Arms cannot function without a human soul to latch onto otherwise they die. I believe you, but Rebellion, Ivory, Ebony and Alastor were sealed away in Ruins like that last one, thus weren't attached to any human soul. What the heck is that about?'

'Really? Interesting... I believe that it would likely have been something to do with the ruins. However, if you want to be certain a trip there when these Fragmented Memories are completely restored may be in order.'

'Okie dokie. Say, how's the Devil Arm Alastor doing?'

The male frowned in his head when he asked that. Biko had told him not long before they returned to Leanbox from Skies End, how there were abnormalities occurring within Alastor. Of course, he had reacted like any sane person would when finding out that something was happening to a weapon latching onto his soul, almost falling off Ember to the cloudy depths below. Then there was the massive worry he felt for the Devil Arm itself, he didn't have no attachment to his weapons, they were his comrades for crying out loud. Of course he wanted to know if these changes would affect it negatively, it was almost like he was their brother and them his siblings in arms.

'So far, these abnormalities haven't been too dangerous, if you feel mild spikes in emotions or experience memory flashes, then this is the cause. Though I will say that thanks to the Red Ring, they are proceeding much faster due to the Devil Arm absorbing the excess rage this thing radiates. In my humble opinion, I will say that the changes should bear fruit when the Gala in a few months time is ended.'

'Of course, that is only if there isn't anything bad that happens to interrupt it.'

'I do believe the expression 'you just jinxed us' is appropriate here.'

'...'


Finally, Nico and Vert arrived at the Basilicom entrance. The stars twinkled brightly in the night skies, yet they were nothing compared to the moon. No matter how many times one see's it, the moon will always be a spectacular thing to witness in its full glory. Meanwhile, the blonde CPU twirled around to face her companion, hands behind her back while leaning forwards with a princess-like smile on her face. "Thank you, Nicky, for walking me home."

"No problem, Vert." Nico replied, smirking while pocketing his hands in his Trench Coat. The redhead teen had his head tilted slightly with his eyes twinkling in the night sky. "It would be a pretty asshole thing to do to leave you to walk home alone." Unbeknownst to him, his eyes almost made Vert lose herself in their light blue orbs. The fact that he looked like one of those Otome Game characters only made him look all the more appealing to the blonde CPU. Heck, she wouldn't be surprised to find fanart, doujins and fanfictions pairing Nico in straight or gay pairings when they see his new look.

There had been countless women who eyed the teen, after all. Vert had not been out of it enough not to notice those looks of intense desire. Didn't look like Nico was aware, though which honestly made her chuckle to herself.

By the end of today, she bet there would be a substantial increase to his fanclub, probably making him as popular as the CPUs themselves.

Guys have their fanservice and girls have their manservice.

Everybody wins.

"Ufufufu, you are such a gentlemen, my dear." Vert happily remarked, and as a sneak attack she made her breasts bounce slightly. She noticed, much to her satisfaction, how his eyes trembled showcasing his willpower in no looking and being labelled a perv. Though, if it were him, Vert wouldn't mind as much. She did pride herself on those melons of hers, unlike a certain CPU she knew...

Moving on.

Glancing back towards the Basilicom, a flash of disappointment formed in her eyes, the CPU knew all good things must come to an end, but she really didn't want to leave Nico like this. She wanted this day to last for eternity, since this had been the first time she had felt 'free' in so long. Free to be who she wanted to be without fear of being judged. But still, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and she had some work to do. "Well then, I'll be seeing you around, Nicky. I do hope you'll come to the Gala, I heard from one of my staff that you were invited."

"Heh, word travels fast, huh?" Nico remarked, hiding his disdain for that event. The importance of it was not lost on him, but the fact that he would have to try and play civil with upstart nobles who may or may not try to flirt with the girls in his Party was more than draining enough. Never mind when he actually had to break a few necks for looking at the girls wrongly. "Well, yeah i'll be going. Pretty sure that i'd have a man hunt on my ass if I didn't."

His words prompted her to think of a joke, and in an effort to get Nico to blush that cute blush again (she liked that look, especially with his otome bad boy appearance) she quipped. "They will have to wait their turn then, till I've had my fun, and don't you worry. I'll be extra. gentle. All. Night." she even leaned forwards ever so slightly at the end of each word, dropping her voice an octave at a time to further pronounce the seductive teasing.

As a result, Vert finally got to see Nico's face become red again, electing more giggles out of her. It felt nice knowing that she could get a rise out of him, it really made her day. She may have found a new hobby aside from gaming to indulge in.

Nico took a deep breath to regain his composure, trying to ignore the howling laughter his white self was making inside his head. 'One day, I swear...' he thought with a dangerous glint in his eye. Getting rid of such thoughts (for now) the redhead decided that now was the best time to say what he wanted to for a while now. "Say, before you go, could I ask you something?"

When he asked her that, Vert tiled her head curiously, her previous amusement dissipating slightly. She felt quite exhausted, but she also wanted this conversation to last longer. "Oh? And what would this question be?"

"Have you thought about getting Noire to come to the Gala?"

"Eh?" Vert blinked once. Then again, and again, and again. For a moment, his words didn't even process themselves in her mind, ad that moment seemed to drag on more than it needed to. Eventually though, she managed to reboot her brain from that blue screening and give her companion a confused frown. "What do you mean to intend for that statement?"

Well,at least she hadn't blown up yet, that was something at least. That was what ran through Nico's mind as he answered like a professor. "Well, I've been thinking for a while now, ever since you told me what was bothering you. You said that you were worried about the Alliance and wanted to know why Noire would do such a thing, right? The best way is to ask her directly, and what better way to do that than at a public event?"

Vert thought about what he said, instead of just outright denial. something she had almost done when a thought had hit her like a hammer. What he said just now, it made her think about what IF had asked her when they first met in her room. Questionable phrasing aside, she remembered how she had asked about the Console War and the other CPUs, and if what she had known about her friend was accurate it was safe to assume they had had contact with Lastation and Planeptune's CPU before coming here. If the two of them were talking about the Noire she thought they were, there had to be a reason why. "Well, I'm not sure that is a good idea. For starters, she would likely not even reply, she isn't someone whose very co-operative when her blood gets going..."

"Yeah, that's only in HDD though, and believe me after the events that happened in Lastation, I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about..." he began to say, getting an understanding nod from the woman. She had learned of Lastation's recent events a long time ago. "You can bet she's gained some new perspective. Noire's changed, she's not as bad as you knew her to be. True she's prideful, stubborn and a hardcore tsundere..."

Nico almost swore he heard a distant yell of 'no I'm not!' from Lastation's direction, but dismissed it in favor of continuing. "But she's doing her best to make amends for her mistakes in not overseeing her Nation. And really, that's all anyone can do these days. Nobody's perfect, and everybody is different. They have their own ideals, their own beliefs. Heh, just look at us Spec Ops." A small chuckle escaped his lips at that, one that was mirrored by the CPU before him. If what she has seen and heard is anything to believe, the Spec Ops were a... weird bunch. "Point is, things are changing, and you cant really hold onto grudges in times like these. If you're worried about how the public may view this, think of it like this: if the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow. In essence, if you don't project yourself as a competent leader eventually people will not follow your rules. You need to show them that even if your down, Vert Leanbox's CPU Green Heart is not out. Believe me, I've been there."

Oh, how he'd been there. He remembered the few times where he was assigned to group missions, mostly after that incident with the Coalition, where he had to show the others that he was NOT someone who would be ordered into a one-sided massacre. That he wasn't someone to be pushed around. There are a lot of arrogant Spec Ops Agents out there who think people like him would be easy pickings. Well, believe him, he soon showed them how wrong they really were. Lets just say that they NEVER messed with him again afterwards.

THIS Spec Ops Agent had more than a few ways of scaring the shit of some weak-willed idiots, and that was the most civil way he could describe them.

On her end, Vert still didn't look convinced. The way her face looked like right now was eerily similar to having swallowed an entire lemon mixed with uncertainty. However, she didn't say she wouldn't do it to him, thanks to the passion she saw in his eyes. She also remembered seeing bits of footage showing Noire in her human form helping some people in her Nation getting to safety, some of them not even being from her Nation. She hadn't thought about it back then, but now that she was now... "I'll... think about it."

Hearing that made him sigh slightly. Not what he ideally wanted, but in the end he didn't expect much else. She hadn't seen Noire go through the changes that he did, she hadn't seen the hardships Noire had went through. The only one who could show her that would be Noire herself. Something told him that this would be much easier than he was making it out to be, though. Didn't know what that was, but he hoped that it was right."That's all I ask, Vert." Nico stated, softly smiling as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Have a little faith of your own. I'm sure you'll find yourself pleasantly rewarded."

With those parting words, Nico gave her a two-fingered salute, a childish smile on his lips as he began making his way towards the direction of the Party's hotel. "I'll be seeing you later then, Vert! Have a nice night and take care of yourself!" he called out to her.

"I will! See you soon, Nicky!"

Chuckling at the near fall that Nico did at the nickname she addressed him as, Vert turned and walked towards the Basilicom. This day had been a roller coaster for her, and she had a lot to think about.

But one thing was for sure...

If dates were supposed to be this fun, she would LOVE to accidentally stumble upon the red haired Agent again.


Chapter end!

Whelp, there you go! This is the end, and now to clarify a few things:

That scene with Vert seeing Nico's new look was something that made me snigger. We all know she likes her man-service, so why not throw the Hyperdimension girls alongside Vert some man-service for a change? Give them something to be happy about. I can already imagine how the fangirls in the story are gonna react.

Poor Nico...

The Red Ring - it is an inspiration from Sonic and the Secret Rings. Played that game a long time ago, liked it once I got used to the controls. Not to mention it plays nicely into this idea of Satanic Treasures.

I got this idea from two separate Anime and Manga series': Shakugan no Shana and Flame of Recca. Two series that are completed yet are quite fun to watch/read.

Heck, Gungnir's from To Aru no Index, a divine weapon that is used to remake the world. Such a powerful weapon would be great for a Goddess like Vert, and if you look carefully you'll see something interesting about that weapon.

In addition, I don't know if you'll notice, but readers I took inspiration and gave Vert the Beninuki from a martial arts manga called Gamaran, set in Japan's edo period. Believe me, its an intriguing read if you like martial Arts. It helped me get some ideas for the new abilities for Vert, and yet there's going to be way more in store for her.

Also, I took another page from Bleach's book and gave Ebony and Ivory some of the Cero variants, plus a Cero and Bala technique while they are still able to fire Demonic Bullets. This way these Guns, while not as numerous in abilities as his other Devil Arms, can be more relevant. I'll explain more about the relationship these Devil Arms have within Nico next chapter, his situation is VERY unique. You'll see.

Anyways, review, PM if you wanna ask questions, Fav/follow, really helps me out guys.

Peace out! :)