Chapter 125 - Demonic Invasion PT2

With the plan that was made for them, each of the Groups made their way towards the entrance, each of them having cold, firm and grim gazes in their eyes. All of them had no delusions about what lay in wait for them as beings pure chaos, possibly the worst kind of chaos that Gamindustri had ever faced. The Console War, the raids on the other Nations, the other Abnormals, none of it could be compared to the sheer horror and morbid terror that awaited them on the other side of that door. Hell, as they got closer that door almost seemed to loom over them like it was condemning those who passed it to a life of untold torment and misery. Behind the door, their ears could pick up the tell-tale cries of the Guards defending the Main Hall, the fierce, animalistic roars of the Demons and the other forces belonging to Khorne, and last but not least the sounds of flesh being torn with untold brutality.

All of this… simply a promise, a PROMISE, of what would be awaiting them on the other side.

"Whelp, here we go." IF remarked, having switched back to her usual outfit with her powers. Thanks to the majority of the people around her already being in the know about them, she didn't feel too bothered by shifting the Biomass that made her clothes into her original gear, nope not one bit. Hell, she even formed her Armour and Claws, generating 2 Tendrils from her back. Internally, she couldn't help the primal eagerness that flooded her system, her OW instincts squealing at the thought of Assimilating more Demonic Flesh. Not only did it do wonders for her existing powers, molding them to be better than their original states, but they also allowed her to develop some… rather potent weapons and enhancements of her own. Things that she would LOVE to try out on these fuckers who DARED try to destroy her favorite Nation. "We got a whole load of demonic ass to kick, so let's get this party started." She stated further with a small grin, eyes alight with bloodlust. She could already imagine the fun that would be had here, and she couldn't wait.

Beside her, one Nurse-In-Training couldn't help but shudder and tremble, clutching her MPCS with her trembling hands like it was her lifeline. She had also, in her anxiety, deployed her Armour too for extra defense, something in her gut telling her that these next few battles would be some of the bloodiest she had ever seen. Compa didn't like the thought of seeing something like that, if she had a choice she would rather NOT have had to see what she would be seeing soon. However, she didn't, that was the cold reality which was presented to her. Thus, she had to suck up her fear and put on her brave face. However, with the sounds coming from the opposite side of the door, her attempts to remain calm had been met with little to no success whatsoever. "Y-Y-Yessie… so-so-so-so-so It w-w-w-would s-s-s-s-s-seem…"

Momentarily, IF glanced towards her friend, her well-honed eyes quickly noting just how nervous Compa seemed. She had tried to hide it, but IF's eyes saw right through her demeanor. A frown etched itself onto the brunette's lips as she placed a hand on her shoulder, confirming her thoughts when Compa practically squeaked in fright, turning to her with wide eyes. "Hey, hey! Compa, it's alright, we can do this. Just think of this as another dungeon crawl, trust me you'll be fine." She urged her. Honestly, IF wished she could believe such thoughts herself, each syllable that left her mouth felt like one big lie after another.

Among their group, it could be said that Compa would be their weakest link. Unlike the rest of them, she was indeed still human. She hadn't lost her humanity, like IF herself, or not had any humanity to begin with, like Neptune. She wasn't sure about Nico yet, but if her gut suspicions were true then he may as well have been a bit of both. Seriously, their group consisted of several deities, and a shapeshifting weapon of mass destruction. Heck, a lot of the people they knew of were stronger than her, could do more than she could, who had better experiences and powers than her. Compa served as the healer of their group, the one who healed their injuries, kept them going whilst curing any ailments that the Party would suffer. She shouldn't be on the front lines like this, heck the only reason she was still alive, despite having faced so many entities that could have munched on her flesh, was because she had been shielded by the rest of the group.

Compared to the rest of them, Compa may as well be the weakling of the group as harsh as it sounded.

Just by looking into her eyes, though, IF figured out that Compa had the exact same thought process as her.

"Heeeeeeey, quit sulking you two!" The loud, obnoxious voice of their Party Leader popped into their conversation, conveying exasperation and annoyance. Both girls turned to see Neptune, who had deployed her Armour already, standing before them with her hands on her hips. It honestly felt… weird, seeing a robotic humanoid like the Armour she wore acting like a preteen, but IF and Compa were used to such a sight by now. That couldn't be said for the rest of them, but they chose to remain silent for the time being. "Keep those chins up and those noggins held high, ya hear?! We gotta look cool for the rookies here, you can't let something like this dampen your spirits, ladies!"

'Easy for her to say…' IF thought with a mental grimace as she watched Compa nod with a brave face. However, the fear of being slaughtered like cattle still remained within her eyes, just hidden. Though, to the brunette and Neptune, it may as well have been in plain sight, especially with the minuscule trembling her form did. Thing was, only one of them chose to ignore it for the time being as she turned towards the door and skipped towards it. Seeing this made IF arch a brow, a wave of curiosity and mild annoyance with the preteen filling her gut. "You seem chipper, Nep. What's the deal with that?" she asked her.

Part of her couldn't help but wonder what their Party Leader was thinking right now. Well, she had gone on training trips with Neptune for the last three months, so she had a good idea of how strong she had become, but something nagged at IF. Something kept telling her that there had been more to Neptune's training that she had kept hidden, even from herself. Part of her wondered if it were to do with that faint trace of demonic power she could sense deep within the Preteen's being, but since she couldn't get much of a read on it IF had put it to the back of her mind for now. Not only that, but Neptune seemed oddly… too calm, if she could put it into words. She didn't show any signs of being afraid or signs that she was masking any form of trepidation or anxiety over what was going to happen.

Thus, it had led her to ask that question.

Once Neptune was at the door, reaching for the handle when IF's question stopped her mid-stride, the preteen CPU twirled around to face the rest of them. She had her hands behind her back as she leaned forward, her expression hidden thanks to her Armour's helmet. That didn't seem to matter though, for the moment she turned, everyone, and that was literally EVERYONE, felt chills crawl down their spines. Even the other CPUs who waited patiently with their Groups didn't get off Scott free from those chills.

Something about Neptune changed at that moment, and if she didn't know any better, IF would have thought she had turned a 180 in terms of personality. But no, that wasn't what it was at all, no it felt more like her aura had done the 180. That faint Demonic Power she felt earlier? Well, slowly it began to rise, peeling through the surface of Neptune's energy and began pouring out. That was what IF's senses told her, and ever second it did she got the feeling of being drowned in a sea of flames. This Demonic Power, Neptune had said it came from Nico's powers when IF had questioned her once, but now? Now it felt… different, no signs of it once belonging to Nico at all.

It honestly unnerved her like all hell, and whatever unnerved her would be deemed an enemy by her BOW Instincts.

Unaware of her thoughts (or anyone else's actually), Neptune giggled as she felt it, her ace in the whole, her secret weapon, slowly stir from within her being. She felt it grumble and rumble, slowly coming out of its slumber when she called upon it, allowing it to answer her. She could feel its essence slowly pouring out from within the center of her being, it wouldn't be long until it would manifest into the real world, so she wanted to get into the conflict fast. She wasn't kidding when she had said that she had a secret weapon, nope, no sir. "Oh, it's nothing Iffy!"

With that said, Neptune bent her legs, placing her left hand just above the ground while her right one was thrown upwards behind her. In this one motion, that Demonic Power they had felt began to spew out faster, as if attracted to the preteen's movements. Beneath her feet, a circle of dust began to form, spinning around her under the influence of the power spewing forth within her like a waterfall… a very VIOLENT, chaotic and SAVAGE waterfall that aimed to crush an entire city with its pressure. "And besides…!"

Making an exaggerated swishing motion, Neptune did a twirl all the while switching to an upright standing position, ending up throwing her left arm forth towards them. Her hand had been manipulated so that her fingers represented a gun, a gun pointed to the center of the room. If they could see her face right now, they would have seen the battle-ready smirk etching onto her lips, as well as the excited gaze in her eyes.

"It's showtime!"


On the other side of the doorway, what could only be described as one's worst nightmares made real could best describe it. Everything literally looked like it had been wrecked beyond repair, knight statues had been destroyed, leaving them as crumpled messes on the ground. Countless weapons lay, broken and battered beyond belief, across the ground. Some even looked like they had been stomped on or slashed to bits by something sharp… like the Hellblades of the Bloodletters, the hoofs of the Brass metal/fleshy Juggernauts, or the large weapons of the Khornate Berserkers and World Eaters that gathered around the entrance.

Blood soaked the ground, walls and the ceiling around the area, almost like it was used as paint. Paint that would stain the Basilicom for months to come thanks to how much of it had been shed during these short moments. Sharp spikes, made from this black chitinous material, had been used to hoist their defeated opponents, either whole or in pieces, into the air as if preparing for a ceremony. Countless fury-filled roars, frenzied shrieks, and monstrously loud howls echoed throughout the halls, creating this inhuman symphony that would very well cause the ears of even a deaf person to explode from the overdose of sounds.

Countless weapons were raised and shaken in the air to accompany these roars, the unholy fury behind these actions not going unheard by their fellow brethren. In fact, it almost seemed to serve the purpose of provoking their brethren into a wilder frenzy, creating this non-stop cycle of war cries and frenzied demeanors. It almost seemed like they would just be toppled off the edge of what remained of their fickle sanity and into the realm of madness that their Patron, the Chaos God Khorne, demanded of his followers. None of this conflict could have sated their hunger for conquest, none of these so-called 'warriors' held a candle to what they were used to. This world, over its countless millennia of peace, had dulled its fangs compared to what it once was. That had been something eerily apparent to even these psychotic assholes, and it only served to heighten their excessive fury to new heights.

They would have to remind this pathetic world what the real state of things were… in the most ungentle manner possible, that is.

With how they had taken over the majority of this structure, it would seem that it was time to take the fight to the rest of this pathetic city. Parts of them hoped that they would put up a better fight than the rest of these weaklings, but nonetheless they would not hold their breath. Their warrior spirits could not help the disappointment they felt towards these wretches, as several of their brothers made to get ready for a mad sprint into a shoulder tackle. That should have been enough for them to break in, kill the last of the feeble resistance here, and then lay waste to the entirety of this pathetic spec of dust called a Landmass.

Just when they made to charge, however…

"POW, right in the kisser!"

BAM!

In an instant, the doors were thrown open by a great force, the shockwave that had been generated by the impact having stopped the horde of Khorne-forces cold whilst blowing back the Khornate Berserkers intending to become humanoid battering rams. The said Soldiers stabbed their various weapons into the ground to slow themselves to a halt, allowing them to look up and see what it was that, in their blind rage, dared interrupt the most glorious aspect of an invasion.

All they saw, however, would only be described as a black and purple blur, a blur which slammed a foot into a Bloodletter's face with extreme force. If it had been a being like a mortal, then the bones in its face (if it even had any) would have been shattered beyond imagining from the blow. Its screams remained unheard thanks to its face being smashed into a point where it couldn't even move its maw let alone speak, as it fell to the ground back-first whilst the figure landed on top of it.

That wasn't where it ended, though, as the figure used the momentum from the surprise attack (which caught the rest of the horde by surprise hence why they didn't respond to this attack right away) to use the Demon as a surfboard and slide along the ground, making an arch as the figure tore through the demonic ranks of the horde. Whatever that figure used remained too fast for the eye to make out, however, but what they could see was that it indeed packed a vicious punch since it tore through the Khornate Berserkers and the World Eater Legion soldiers' armors with ease.

Once the arch was completed, the figure circled about till it halted at the middle of the entrance, flipping off tits 'ride' while kicking it into a section of the horde the figure hadn't touched yet. Either because of range, motion or attack power wasn't known yet, but thanks to the flip the figure landed in a crouch, allowing them to finally see what it was that had attacked them: a feminine, womanly figure clad in black and purple armor.

Said womanly figure got to her feet, and while this happened the horde remained motionless. Now, normally this wouldn't have been the case, as these guys, controlled by nothing but malice, bloodlust and a lust for combat, would have instantly been on her. They would have seen her as a worthwhile opponent, something they've long since yearned for this entire invasion, but right now they didn't. They stayed put, each of them raising their weapons in defensive stances. Bloodletters growled and grunted while they got their Hellblades ready for combat but didn't move. Juggernauts snorted and huffed, as they trotted their hooves on the ground with their blazing eyes narrowing their gazes on their newest prey. The rest of the Khornate Berserkers and World Eater soldiers growled and sneered in both anger and caution, their battle-hardened, unrelentingly savage instincts roaring at them to be on their best guard.

The reason for this?

Simple, as the woman slowly got to her feet, all around her dozens of long, glistening blue crystalline Shards appeared from nothing but thin air. The sounds of crackling crystal filled the air as the shards reshaped themselves, becoming long Javelins held in the air by seemingly nothing. Nothing but the woman's own willpower. There were about 100 Javelins made from this Crystal manipulation, or Crystallokinesis if one wanted to get technical, and ALL of them were aimed towards the Khornate horde. Needless to say, each and every one of them flipped their lids, screaming mindlessly about 'foul sorcery', 'heresy' and even a few comments about 'those damned Tzeenchists!' Though, the woman didn't let that get to her as she held a hand up… before throwing it forwards.

Instantly, the Javelins flew forth like a meteor shower.

Neptune could hardly believe it. She couldn't help but grin to herself under her helmet as she conjured Javelin barrages one after the other, peppering her enemies with them while forming a large crystalline blue boulder beneath her feet. A boulder that, using her powers, lifted into the air and carried her over the horde, allowing her to constantly pepper the with crystal Javelins, Spears, Spikes, Blades, Hooks, Axes, pretty much everything one could think of that could be used as a weapon. Not only that but as she hovered over the horde, strafing the air above their heads she had large diamond-shaped Shards the same size as herself guarding her, protecting her from attacks.

Attacks that came in the form of the Bloodletters jumping up to strike at her with their claws or, more often than not, their Hellblades.

One of the Khornate Berserkers howled in monstrous fury, raising his arms and flinging a large Axe-like weapon at her platform with extreme force. Tossed from its sinister owner, the equally sinister weapon sailed through the air with the speed of a bullet and the force of a car traveling at 200 miles per hour. However, Neptune glanced down and saw it comin, however, and just before It collided with and shattered her platform, she managed to flip into the air and avoid a direct hit.

CRACKLE, CRCAKLE CRACKLE, CRCAKLE, CRACKLE, CRCAKLE, CRACKLE, CRCAKLE, CRACKLE!

The shattered pieces didn't fall to the ground, however, as they seemingly remolded themselves into long Spikes, shooting down in the form of multiple streams that slashed through dozens upon dozens of Khornate followers. In the air, Neptune twirled and flipped about, dodging tossed weapons hurled her way with the grace of a ballerina, giggling to herself all the while beneath her helmet. She found herself doing various poses in the air to avoid getting sliced to pieces by all the weapons expertly tossed at her before she finally crashed into the ground on all fours. Her impact LITERALLY puts a large, pretty much human-sized, dent into the floor which resulted in it cracking apart, forming a crater.

Each of the Streams she had made by will slithered through the air like aerial serpents, tearing through the hordes before returning to Neptune's side. Though, they didn't remain idle, however, as each of the Streams combined their Shards together, molding and morphing themselves by the will of their mistress Neptune. In seconds, the preteen had a horde of 50 on her side of the entrance, 25 constructs resembling the stereotypical Knights which each sported the same Armblades her Armour was equipped with, whilst the other 25 were shaped like the Abnormals known as Viperwolves and Thanators.

It hadn't been often that she did it, she wasn't the type of person to study, but even so, Neptune had sucked it up and studied on the various Abnormals in the world. There were so many to choose from that she had wondered what to do with them all, but with her Crystallokinesis allowing her absolute freedom in what she made (she knew, she had checked), it eased her worries. Since the halls were too narrow for the bigger Abnormals, Neptune had decided to stick with smaller ones like the Viperwolves and the Thanators, though the Knights were more like representations of her love for heroes.

Their emergence, however, did shock the horde back into reality, and at one like a storm breaking out each of them gave a furious bellow towards their new opponents. Their eyes, each of them, danced with manic glee whilst raising their weapons in a unified war cry. Each of them quickly charged towards their new opponents, crazed joy and happiness coursing through their beings in their excitement for a new challenger. A challenger who proved herself to be more competent than the useless rabble they had fought so far. Up first were the Khornate Berserkers, with the Juggernauts following close beside them and eventually rushing on ahead. Bloodletters trailed behind these two types, all the while the World Eater Legion soldiers followed beside them whilst brandishing their wicked weapons…

Just as Neptune liked.

In response to the charge, Neptune's own constructs charged back, each of them howling and roaring as they leaped towards their prey on their Mistress's orders. The thing about these constructs was that they matched the combat prowess of the one who created them AKA Neptune, plus they had some degree of autonomous behavior allowing them to fight as a fully disciplined military unit.

Though, one could say that was also their greatest weakness.

Neptune furrowed her brows as she threw her right arm to the side, calling upon her secret weapon. The beginning of the battle seemed to be in her favor for the time being, but her gut instincts told her that wouldn't last. Thing is, these constructs had comparable combat abilities to herself, but that was where their weakness lay. None of them would be stronger than herself, and if the enemy was way stronger than her, then these constructs would be pretty much useless, unable to defeat those particular enemies. Plus, it wasn't like she could give them complex orders yet, THAT needed more training.

Still, it seemed that they were enough for a distraction at the least, she thought as she watched her constructs take out the Bloodletters and Juggernauts. However, when it came to the Khornate Berserkers and the World Eater Soldiers, that was where they figuratively fell flat on their faces, since despite their berserk tendencies, those soldiers had way more bite than their bark so to speak. Each of them individually fought like they had WAY more experience and combat ability than herself, a Goddess who had existed for more than a couple thousand years (or so she had heard from Noire at one point), taking her constructs apart before they could do more damage. She COULD have created more constructs and let them loose on the horde, but A: that would consume energy and B: Neptune was NOT the type of gal that left everything to her minions.

Finally, a flash of blue light illuminated her hand, a shaft forming within it which she grasped, the weapon soon forming completely. Neptune didn't even glance at it when she saw a Khornate Berserker tear through one of her Knights (having jabbed his sword into its mouth then tore the head clean off the body, rude!) to charge at her. His bulky, demonic and horror-inducing armor clunked and clicked, his massive boots stomping enough to make holes appear on the floor whilst roaring bloody murder. "KILL, DESTROY, SLAUGHTER!"

Just when the guy was within arm's reach, about to sewing his weapon: a massive Axe-like weapon with what looked like a chainsaw mechanism…

SCHWING, PARRY!

Instantly it got parried by something else, something glowing as it finished forming. Both weapons grinded away at each other, like a sword being sharpened at a blacksmith's. All the while, the preteen armored Goddess looked towards her opponent behind her Helmet. The Soldier's eyes couldn't be seen thanks to his own horned helmet over his head, but if Neptune wanted to guess what his expression was, she would like to think it wasn't one of calm composure at least. Though considering this guy's allegiance and behavior, describing him with 'calm' adjectives felt like a stupid thing to do.

Nonetheless, the preteen Goddess quickly pushed him back with a quick application of pressure from her weapon. The weapon itself seemed to do the rest, pushing back the much larger Khornate Berserker with surprising force behind it, much more than what the warrior seemed to have been expecting. For a brief moment, he stumbled backward, caught off balance from the unexpected push, until he went into a handstand and flipped backward, landing in a crouch and getting back to his feet. Afterward, he quickly settled into a combat stance, a stance Neptune recognized as one that likely took years of disciplined training to accomplish.

Still wouldn't save him from THIS beauty.

As she got into a combat stance of her own, Neptune held her secret weapon, her ace in the hole and quite possibly the strongest weapon she had right now. The weapon looked like a large, glistening blue, crystalline sword as long as Neptune was tall. The blade had a long, two-handed hilt, with a blue crystalline Jewel on the bottom. The blade had a circular hole at the base, where a single slit-like gem floated within, much like the eye belonging to a certain demonic sword. From the circular hole, the blade sported a wide base before two blades protruded forth from it. The main blade was on the bottom which curved inward slightly, till near the end of the blade which shapes itself into a harpoon-like structure. This blade had a sharpened edge, making it the main edge for attacking. The other blade had more of a crystalline spike-like appearance, marking it as the weapon's rear blade. Lastly, were these two fin-like accessories at the blade's base.

The moment that the Berserker, along with his brethren, noticed the blade's presence in her hands, they each shuddered and took steps back… well, the ones who weren't in combat that is. They each recognized this blade's energy signature, for it would be considered an 'abomination' in their eyes. The blade constantly gave off this holy and demonic vibe to it, which would make sense considering what it was. As well as how Neptune had gotten this weapon in the first place.

'Soul Calibur… That's the name of this weapon.' Neptune thought in her mind while idly glancing down at her weapon behind her helmet. At her thinking about the blade's name, the weapon in her hand instantly unleashed a torrent of excitement and glee. Excitement and glee towards the thought of finally getting the chance to shine after so long being honed through countless hours spent training. Hours she COULD have spent gaming or eating Compa's delicious pudding (she so wanted to do that too), but training had to come first. Believe her, it had been a HORRENDOUS decision, who the hell would give up the glorious treasure that was pudding for something as exhausting as training?! She herself normally wouldn't do something like that, since she was definitely a pudding fan. However, IF and also Compa had convinced her to take her training seriously.

'Get it in gear, or us and Nico'll leave you in our dust…' IF had said.

It was not something Neptune had wanted, the thought of Nico becoming so strong that there would be this irreversible gap between them made a pang of pain erupt inside her chest. It often occurred to her that Nico was strong, heck he was so strong that he had the capacity to handle a lot of problems others couldn't, all on his lonesome. Someone like him, who fought on the battlefield every day of his life… that felt like a saddening, lonely experience. Not something Neptune, herself wanted to go through. Hell, not even Nico deserved that. She didn't want him to be alone, not anymore, the guy deserved a chance to be happy for Goddess's sake, and YES, she knew the irony of her saying that. She wasn't as dumb as she made herself out to be, ya know!

At the core of the issue, those words had been her inspiration for training when she got the urge to just nap and stop the training forever. That… and what she would end up fighting against on Quests. She didn't want people to suffer from those Demons, nor any other evildoers out there, goddess Neppit. In the end, it had resulted in her current strength, and she felt goddess darn proud of how far she had come!

Now, she wanted to test just HOW far she had come... not just with her techniques, but with Soul Calibur.

Raising her foot, Neptune stomped on the ground, a sheet of blue crystal quickly spreading across the floor and around the battlefield. Some of the enemy force, most notably the Bloodletters and Juggernauts, lost their balance due to the abrupt terrain shift, and fell over to allow her own constructs a chance to finish them quickly. Her Knights impaled them on their Armblades, while her Thanators and Viperwolves toe them apart limb from limb. A rather messy sight, to be sure, but considering what they had been doing previously the sight before her eyes seemed rather tame in comparison.

Neptune then did a kick, sending a long line of crystal spikes from the point of her kick leaving the ground, towards the enemy horde. Her constructs wisely chose to back off moments before the stream hit them, allowing the spikes to impale only her enemies. The World Eater soldiers, as well as the Khornate Berserkers, managed to avoid lethal blows thanks to their rigorously honed instincts, but the rest of their comrades didn't have the same luxury, thus getting impaled in a similar manner to their victims by the crystalline Spikes.

The preteen then held a hand out, smirking beneath her helmet as she let the Spikes separate from the sheet on the ground, before molding them into additional 50+ Construct reinforcements. All of them were Knights, however, no beasts as there weren't as many Juggernauts left thanks to her previous efforts. She then broke into a sprint, charging into battle with her reinforcements behind her, slashing and hacking away at her enemies with relentless determination.

She would use a mix of her own Martial Arts Techniques in tandem with Soul Calibur, swinging the Divine Demonic weapon in wide arcs and cleaving through dozens of opponents. Neptune wouldn't show it though, but she did have a little more trouble breaking through the Armour of her more human opponents, and it wasn't like their weapons were made of stone compared to hers, either. Instead, every time she fought them it felt like she was stepping into the middle of a minefield. One false move and she would be reduced to nothing in a matter of seconds. Still, she didn't feel too worried, since she had her Soul Calibur out, and it wasn't like she neglected her Crystallokinesis either. In the midst of her sword swings, Neptune would unleash various Crystal-based attacks, be it blasts, waves, walls, spikes, shards etc.

Soul Calibur wouldn't lose to the weapons it fought against, either. It came from Soul Edge, after all, and thus, it had the same properties as that Devil Arm. It had the same traits as an average Devil Arm, the sentience, the power to manipulate crystal, the 'might makes right' mentality, everything. However, it wasn't a 'pure' Devil Arm thanks to her Share Energy having purified and merged with it while it was developing into Soul Calibur after merging with her soul. In essence, it could be called a hybrid weapon, a hybrid of demonic and divine energies with the properties of both. The amount of raw potential in this weapon, thus, felt staggering, and even now Neptune felt like she had barely touched the depths of the weapon's power.

Her reinforcements mirrored her determined demeanor, aiding their surviving brethren in tearing through the enemy ranks like hot knives through rubber. It helped that Soul Calibur had one of many special abilities, abilities similar to Soul Edge's but unlike it, Soul Calibur focused more on positive support like boosting. Case in point, the ability she had dubbed DEMONIC BLESSING, an ability where Soul Calibur granted a buffing of any and all resistances to a single ally or a group for a duration of 5 minutes. Elemental, physical and mental resistances are doubled for that duration, and would be seen by the thin blue aura that appears around the receiver of the blessing.

Then, there was KARMA REFLECTOR, a Skill which allowed Soul Calibur to make a Mirror of pure blue energy before Neptune or any of her comrades, a mirror that absorbs an incoming attack, be it physical or energy-based, and reflect that attack back at the enemy multiplied by the strength put into the attack originally. She had applied this to herself as well as her troops, helping them stay alive for longer against their foes.

Last, but most certainly not least, would be HEAVENLY ATTRACTION, a result of Soul Calibur being demonic energy purified. It uses its energy to trap enemies with its glistening allure, making them immobile for 20 seconds to allow Neptune's comrades some easy yet critical hits on them. Those who have a high mental fortitude, however, can resist this ability. There were others, but they weren't meant for group battles like this. However, it didn't matter as at this point it became a battle…

A winnable, battle.


About 10 minutes later, everything was cleared up. There were no more Demons or humanoid insane warrior dudes in sight, having all been cleared out by Neptune herself. As in, herself, her Constructs (which erupted into Crystal Shards that were absorbed into Soul Calibur), and her Crystallokinesis powers. In the end, she stood in front of the entrance, dismissing her Armour but keeping Soul Calibur out. She wanted to keep it for the time being since there would likely be more enemies out there that would require its power. Now that she thought about it, that would definitely be a certainty not just because of PLOT, but also the fact that she could sense an abundance of demonic entities throughout this floor. More of them were even detected in the lower floors, meaning they would be having a LOT of fighting to do.

Whelp, no point in just standing around here, then.

"Come on guys, let's go!" Neptune called out, turning to face her friends who had opted to stay back and see what Neptune could do. Needless to say, they got the shock of their lives, seeing the destructive capabilities that the Goddess of Planeptune had shown herself to be capable of. All of them stared at her in varying forms of surprise and shock, especially the sword in her hand, said sword's gem almost glowing like an eye. It constantly released this feeling of serenity... serenity that could become a furious storm at any moment. Kind of like a Tsundere, one moment it would be calm, the next murderous. "We can't rest now, not when there is booty to kick, people to save and shower us with adoration and pudding!"

'Ugh, that love of Pudding... yep, that is definitely Nep there...' IF thought, grunting irritably as she got over her shock the fastest. Part of her had wondered if what she had seen was really Neptune, but that comment had shut that part she could remain so fixated on Pudding at a time like this, all with a massive smile on her face.

Even so, it surprised and befuddled her. Her BOW instincts warned her to be wary of that blade the moment she had seen it, something she had listened to and by the Goddesses, she felt gad to have done so. Whatever that blade was, not only did it feel like something that could destroy her with nothing left of her to regenerate from, but it also felt similar to a Demon sword. Yet, at the same time, it didn't, creating this uncertainty on whether or not she should be wary or relieved with its presence. Hopefully, she could get used to it, cause she didn't want to have to deal with that feeling forever.

Not to mention, seeing Neptune hogging all the fun made her want to strut her stuff too.

"Th-That was amazing, Nep-Nep!" Compa squealed, jogging over to her friend with the rest of the Groups simply following suit. Her face a mix of worry and amazement, Compa quickly pulled Neptune by her head into a hug, squealing while jumping up and down. "Nurse Compa got soooo worried when you just carelessly jumped out into that scary place...!"

Neptune however, showed she didn't mind her behavior and giggled into Compa's chest, getting her to chuckle at the ticklish sensation assaulting that area. "Hahahaha, aw shucks, it's alrightie Compa-poo. I was perfectly safe, the power of plot Armour and my status as the main character was on my side, I couldn't lose!" she chirped, flipping Soul Calibur into the air. When it reached the apex of the throw, Neptune gently pried herself out of Compa's grip, and when it came back down she bent her upper body forwards so it would land on her back. The weapon did so, in a diagonal manner, the hilt peeking out from behind her right shoulder before it tethered itself to her back. She always found that part of the weapon to be insanely useful, as well as slightly weirdo get used to. She was more used to summoning weapons from her Inventory after all.

Still, it didn't mean this wouldn't be spammed for all that it was worth, hehehehe.

"Alright girls. Let's keep moving." IF interjected, walking up to them with her hands, now returned to their Armoured forms, at her sides since there were no enemies for her to fight... at least for now. "I know we all have questions to ask Nep about her weapon, but let's save that for after everything is settled." she stated, gesturing to the corridors they had yet to travel down. Her words silenced any and all questions that were about to be asked, especially from those who didn't know about the preteen's training. After all, they had more pressing matters to attend to.

With that in their minds, everyone proceeded to continue down the hallways, intent on obliterating the demons from the second floor.

Though, none of them noticed the brief flash of sadness go past Compa's features before she suppressed it.


Chapter end

Another chapter done.

Now, here's how the next series of chapters will come about. There will be one chapter for each girl, and I've arranged it so that they will fight on different floors. So, Neptune's had her time to shine (for now at least, there's still a few more things she can do with Soul Calibur - what do you guys think of that idea BTW? Was it expected? Did you think it was coming since Neptune DID receive a piece of Soul Edge from Nico. Just look at the original franchise these swords came from). The Next couple chapters will focus on IF and Compa, AKA the rest of Group 1, then Group 2 (Mostly Noire as I have plans for Raven and Lucy who will take more of a background role like Aiden and Ivan will - don't worry, I could make a scene showing Lucy and Raiden going all 'Jack The Ripper' on some unfortunate Bloodletters, that could be fun actually lol) and lastly group 3 (Vert and Guts mostly, since those two will have badassery written all over them, more so for Guts cause, well, he's Berserk's Guts. Enough said). By the time they reach the last floor, it will likely be all the Goddesses at once fighting whatever lurks beneath the Dungeons, and boy will THAT be a doozy. Hopefully you'all will look forward to that.

But until then, peace out!