Chapter 130 - Demonic Invasion PT 7
"Heh… goddamn, this is going to be a blast." Ivan remarked to himself as he and the rest of Team RAIL (along with Noire and Raiden) journeyed down a spiraling staircase. The Spec Ops Agent cracked his arms over his head, moaning in bliss at the actions while thoughts of taking out Demons by the dozens filled his mind. One could not IMAGINE how eager he found himself to be at the thoughts of being able to prove himself, they would never grasp how much he wanted this. After all, aside from comedic moments, the last time they had gotten much action was that mission in Mojang Village, and how many freaking chapters was that again? Yes, he was being meta, don't blame him but he'd spent more than enough time with Nico to pick up that habit.
Didn't make him as bad as that ONE guy or Neptune, but still.
Looking over to his companion whilst hearing the cracking of his limbs throughout the staircase, Aiden leveled a neutral stare whilst he stated with a lack of emotion behind it. "It appears that you have become beyond combat ready." If anyone were to try and see if he shared those sentiments, they would have no luck since he was in full on 'soldier mode'. They'd not be able to see anything even if they stared right into his eyes, and that would be as long as the guy would even let them without gutting them with his Knives or shooting them with Pistol rounds.
The staircase they walked down was a spiraling one, as per mentioned before. It was also only big enough for people to walk in pairs, so the groups had to decide on who went down in their Groups. In the end, it resulted in Lucy and Raven going up front, Aiden and Ivan following suit, Noire and Raiden trailing close behind. The rest of the groups would take a moment to wait till they couldn't hear Group 2's footsteps, before they would follow suit in their own double files. According to their intelligence gleaned by Lucy, the floors would have these staircases as the only means to get down the floors till they reached the Dungeon, and each floor had been designed to be somewhat like a Maze with corridors and rooms galore as a defense mechanism to ward off invaders.
Though, right now those designers must be rolling in their graves since their decisions were being used against them.
"Of course, man!" Ivan responded excitedly, a large grin on his face since the two of them were unmasked at the moment. Once they would get to the bottom of the staircase would they each put on their Masks and Goggles, but for now, they would remain the opposite. Though, Raven would be the different one of the Team since she had her white and red Mask over her head already, her Odachi at her hip in a ready position for emergency drawing. Heck, whilst Lucy remained the casual member of the two they could see that it was just a ruse, especially with her Cleavers now strapped to her waist instead of inside her Inventory. "I mean, those hot gals in DEATHSTROKE's posse aren't the only ones who've been getting stronger, my arm," he raised his robotic arm for emphasis as he manipulated its fingers to wiggle mechanically. "Has received more than a few upgrades since it's last use. This battle will DEFINITELY be out time to shine!"
Glancing behind her, Raven then cut into the two boys' conversation with her signature icy cold, leader's voice. "If you are done trying to stroke each other's' egos, get suited up. We'll be arriving at the second floor momentarily." She stared, the chills her voice giving making Noire and even Raiden shudder. Though, the rest of Team RAIL didn't show much fear from it since they were used to it by now. It was simply a quirk Raven possessed. Her title of Ice Queen definitely wasn't just for show, after all.
"Yes Ma'am!"
By the time that they got to the bottom, with Ivan and Aiden donning their Masks and Goggles, what could only be described as hell awaited them. Something they should have honestly seen coming, yet the Demons of Khorne always found ways to surprise them, especially with what they saw.
"How barbaric!"
"Well, that seems to be the theme these bastards follow, apparently. We're just the reapers."
"Man, these guys really need to get laid, maybe that can help them deal with their stress instead of… this."
"Not everyone is a slut, like you VERONICA."
"How mean, SAMURAI!"
"Geez, these guys need to simmer down…"
"It is unlikely that they will comply with that request, CYBORG."
All around them looked like it had gone through an explosion of blood and gore, with entrails and inner organs hanging all over the place like they were decorations. Dozens of barbed wires lined the corridors, some short and others going along the corridors in their entirety. Not to mention there were countless jagged spears viciously inserted into the ground, with varying body parts hanging in the air in the messiest of fashions. There were legs, arms, torsos, heads, all sorts of them suspended on top of those pikes, some higher than others as if they were more important or had been 'elevated' up the ladder of death that loomed over this place. Not to mention how twisted, mangled and mutilated each body part looked… it almost looked like an artist's depiction of hell itself, a morbid thought that crossed everyone's minds.
Seeing something like this caused most of them to feel a bit queasy inside (save for Raven, Aiden, and Raiden) but out of all of them, Noire found it the hardest to take. The blackette trembled with unspoken anger, her anger almost white hot whilst her eyes glowed like the center of flames themselves at the disgusting sights before them. Her fists clenched so tightly that they could have drawn blood if they were the hands of a human, her knuckles turning white with how hard she clenched them regardless. It felt nearly impossible to suppress her powers and stop herself from transforming right this minute to go ahead and utterly rip these inhuman freaks to pieces. At this point, any hesitation she felt for killing beings that, underneath their over-sized Armour were still human, faded into oblivion. No, she would NOT be giving these scumbags any mercy, not after seeing all this and, once she met them herself, her instincts told her they would have no remorse for this vicious harvesting of life.
These may not be her people, these may be the people of another Nation whom she would have nothing to do with since they follow another CPU. However, as a Leader herself, seeing something like this reminded her a lot of what she had seen in the aftermath of Avenir's attack on SONY. She remembered all the devastation, loss and despair she had seen. Not just from the city itself but also the residents as well. Many had lost loved ones and cherished possessions forever following that awful disaster.
This…
THIS though…
Deep within her, she could feel IT start to resonate, reacting to her anger and also expressing its own rage. Rage at the absolute travesty this sight before her truly was to it. Something which Noire wholeheartedly agreed with as she mentally vowed to, when she finally found the ones responsible for this, to utterly annihilate them with no mercy. None of them deserve it, not for their actions this day. By the time this day was done, Noire vowed deep within her heart, and also her very SOUL, that she would make sure these monsters met their just ends. They would get their just deserts, mark her words.
"Noire." A masculine voice snapped her out of her thoughts, making her turn her head towards the source. She soon found that it was Raiden, the man having a stern yet understanding look in his eyes, which began glowing with this eerie red shine. Noire knew that look, the moment those eyes became like that, it meant that the guy wanted to kill, tear and shred his opponents with brutal efficiency. That was what he did on a daily basis after all, but if this KI she could sense emitting from him was any indication, then there would be no doubt that he would gain nothing but sheer pleasure from seeing the cause of this bleed out before his eyes. "Don't worry, we'll make these assholes pay for this. The wrongfully damned will have their revenge." He told her firmly, his hand slightly tightening its grip on her shoulder.
In response to this, Noire took a deep breath to calm herself, exhaling it seconds later as she closed her eyes and calmed her racing heart. Now would not be the time to unleash her range, no that would be best reserved for when she would go onto the battlefield. When she would eventually meet the enemy in battle, only THEN would she exercise righteous vengeance. She could only IMAGINE what Vert felt right now when she'll eventually see all this. Once she found herself considerably calm again, Noire opened her eyes and nodded in Raiden's direction, showing that his task was done. The Cyborg Ninja nodded as well, his eyes narrowed as he removed his hand from her shoulder and looked ahead.
"Good thing you got your priorities straight Lady Noire, cause we kinda have company!"
The moment that Ivan's voice broke through the slight calm but tense silence, did Noire and Raiden's eyes quickly glance towards the direction the Spec Ops Agent pointed towards. There, up in the distance, poured forth a whole flood of Men in bulky Armour as well as what Team RAIL had informed her and Raiden were called 'Northmen'. There were no Bloodletters, Juggernauts or other Demons, something of which the others grew grateful for, as they would be able to get rid of the enemy quicker. They came from multiple directions, the left, right and front lines quickly becoming filled with various masses of bodies, axes, swords, and various other close combat weapons. They broke through the Barbed wires with ease, as if they didn't even acknowledge that they were there.
At least, to them, the more important thing would be their newest prey before them.
As the enemy closed in on them, each and every one of Group 2 took out their weapons, arming themselves for combat. Ivan raised his Bionic Arm to switch it to Blade Mode. He got into a combat stance which favored his previously mentioned arm whilst glaring at his enemy. Aiden drew his Pistols, getting into his own stance while making a note to rely more on his Drive Skill. Closed areas like this weren't particularly favorable for his Jetpack and wings, since they worked best in bright open spaces, so he'd be grounded for the time being. Noire drew her HF Blade from her Inventory, it wasn't time yet for her secret weapon to be unveiled yet, not by a long shot. Raven and Lucy drew their respective weapons too, eyes hardening deeply whilst the enemy charged at them.
A whole load of bloodshed followed.
Once the fighting started, it didn't stop once. Nope, the fighting continued throughout the entire clearing of the first floor.
From the moment that Group 2 began to fight, more and more enemies seemed to crawl out of the woodworks. Everywhere they looked, turned to, whatever would be filled to the brim with different enemies dedicated to the Chaos God Khorne. The hallways, corridors whatever one would call them became nothing but masses of Khorne worshipers, with the Northmen consisting of Marauders, Warhounds, Chaos Knights on matching horses, and all sorts of Northmen. It almost seemed like the entire floor was coming at them in one fell swoop, eager to sink their axes or swords into their flesh. None of them wanted to give them a break, instead they wanted to taste their blood and gouge their flesh on their respective weapons. To sacrifice their lives to their patron deity.
Whelp, none of them would get it without a serious fight, that was for sure.
Even so, the fighting became insanely intense from the get-go, and would only continue from there on. None of them got a moment's respite as they fought throughout the floors, viciously ripping through the enemy with brutal efficiency. Ivan and Aiden worked together flawlessly, showing off their years of working as a duo with the latter being protected by the former. The former though, he definitely showed why he had been so excited to finally get a chance to shine, with how his Bionic Arm appeared to have more than a few new tricks up their sleeves.
For one, it had a series of abilities that he had gotten it through some… experimentation back at the WDD:
Whip Mode – An ability that consisted of Ivan's Bionic Arm launching its hand like a whip, said hand readjusting itself into a chopping motion, allowing Ivan to literally whip his enemies into submission. The chord part was covered in these long, metallic spikes that allowed it to bisect his opponents. Not to mention the fact that HF technology was implemented into this ability, giving this weapon greater cutting power. More than a few enemies met their end whenever Ivan would slice through them with this ability.
Drive Arm Mode – This ability came from the WDD's experiments with trying to integrate Drive Skills into weapons. It was based off implementing Plasma Technology into weaponry and look where that got them. In this case, the Buster Arm activated by surrounding his Bionic Arm with a blue aura with spirals of digital energy surrounding it. Not only did this make it more resilient to damage, but it also increased its strength to the point where it could punch through walls (and more, Ivan knew he'd checked). Plus, it used less energy than the Drive Skill CYBER DRIVE he possessed, so yeah a win for him no matter how much one sliced it.
Plasma Claw – Unlike the previous abilities, this one wasn't really a mode, per say, as it was more of an ability. An ability that was derived from Plasma Cells that the WDD installed into Ivan's Bionic Arm in a similar manner to Nico's Armour. These Cells allowed it to develop the ability to shoot a purple energy claw the size of an average Car out whenever Ivan wanted it to, and he got REAL creative with how he used it. Especially for slamming things into the ground.
For Aiden, the teen didn't really improve by gaining new weaponry per say, more like he improved on his CQC skills as well as mixed in his own Gunslinger attributes, allowing him to mix his Guns in close combat, making it harder and harder for his opponents to get shots in. Not only would he be able to shoot them out of his enemies' hands, but he would also follow up with a deadly series of shots to their heads whilst completely ABUSING his Drive Skill STORM DRIVE. Training in its use allowed him to use it for up to a day at most, something that was matched by the rest of the Team…
Whom could also use it for a day, though Lucy and Raven could do it for up to a week or two at most.
Aside from them, Lucy and Raven used a mix of their own combat prowess with their weapons, Lucy's Cleavers and Beyblade alongside Raven's Odachi, to utterly shred their opponents to pieces, limbs flying in whatever direction the weapons would be swung towards. Blood gushed in gallons, splattering against the already stained ground as the two women went on mad butchering sprees, tearing through their opponents with vicious efficiency. Yet, none of the blood dared mar their skin, not a single drop. It almost felt like the blood got redirected away from them during their ferocious duet dance of death, using their opponents as their tools in their performance.
As for Noire and Raiden…
The word 'storm' could best describe the two as they blurred throughout the constant battlefield that the second floor had become, their blades being swung with both viciousness and deadly efficiency in ways that became harder and harder for the enemy to predict. It helped that Noire spammed her ZANDATSU Skill to slow down her perception of time, so she could chop her foes as savagely as possible. She didn't like to admit it, but part of her deep down reveled in their screams of pain, relished their howls of suffering. It felt like the more she fought these monsters, the more vicious she would become. Though, considering the situation, that wouldn't be too bad since it would help her survive longer.
Raiden on the other hand, didn't have ANY problems with that part of him, even if it had a greater size and influence on him due to his upbringing. In fact, he allowed it to consume his mind right now, turning him into a nigh-unstoppable killing machine with his sword, his HF Blade, drenching itself in the blood of his enemies, enemies whom would fall like flies beneath his Blade. Blood drenched his arm, shoulder and slightly on his torso as well, whilst his eyes would shine red with insanity and madness. Something that only countless years on the battlefield, neck deep in bodies and trauma could produce. Mad, psychotic laughter escaped his lips, laughter that seemed to be a stark contrast to his previous demeanor as he lost himself to the bloodshed around him. His whole body radiated this dark, crimson aura that seemed to almost be FUELED by his own madness.
'Hehehehehehehe… this is it… my normal… my NATURE…!'
On one moment during their constant battling, a little something happened though, something that would spell nightmare fuel for any sane person. A presence got detected beside him, and by reflex, Raiden swung his blade in a reverse, upwards arc to bisect the one who dared try to sneak up on him. He then heard a loud CLANG, and when he looked, Raiden noticed that Lucy stood there, her Cleaver blocking his HF Blade from trying to cut her. How those weapons had the power and endurance to block such a blow, Raiden didn't know, nor did he ponder it. "What do you want, get outta my way if you don't want to be RIPPED to pieces!"
"Oh, nothing much, mister JACK THE RIPPER…" Lucy replied, grinning darkly as she chuckled when remembering the nickname that Raiden went by in the past. That title had been a large inspiration for her, an inspiration to name one of her Skills after it since it made her act in a similarly crazed manner. It happened a long time ago, but it wouldn't be considered important by either of them, not when they had more ass to kick. Ass which, conveniently, came in the form of a group of Chaos Knights, ones not on horseback actually since their rides had been killed by one of their comrades' attacks, charging at them whilst yelling bloody murder. However, this only served to excite the two, as Lucy tilted her head towards them whilst activating her JACK THE RIPPER Skill. "Shall we, Jackie?"
"GAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES, WE SHALL!"
That was the crazed Raiden's response, as the two dashed forth towards the Knights in the form of 2 blurs. They dashed right past their opponents, 2 of the Chaos Knights getting torn to pieces right after from the barrage of dash attacks both Lucy and Raiden did within the SECOND that they got past them, before Lucy finished off the third with an X slash and Raiden decapitated the last one, as well as sliced off all his limbs and drove his HF Blade through his chest.
Yup, you saw that right…
Raiden, in his self-proclaimed 'Ripper Mode', accompanied Lucy with her JACK THE RIPPER Skill to perform a combo…
Wow, the author actually shuddered at that one.
By the time that they actually COULD get a breather, it was when they were in front of a large door. The entire floor had been cleared by them in one fell swoop, taking about 5 minutes as opposed to Group 1's 10. Though, that could be attributed to them not knowing the same amount of info as they did now as well as the fact that there were multiple portals to take care of. As for those Groups, Group 2 didn't keep track of them due to constantly fighting for their lives, so they weren't too sure about their current position. Nonetheless, they did believe they were sticking to the formula of heir plan to search for any survivors and guard their rear flanks.
Right now, the members of Group 2 stood before the second floor's Portal, looking mildly winded. The door before them Noire recognized, it was the door leading to the large waiting room for the non-noble Guests that had been invited to the Gala. Spec Ops Agents, bodyguards, and other types of guests and staff members would have been packed inside… if the Demons hadn't invaded that is. Who knows how many were left something none of them wanted to think about. "Looks like we have the Portal…" Ivan remarked as he switched his Bionic Arm to Rifle Mode. His eyes narrowed at the door though whilst his Bionic Arm vibrated uncomfortably. The teen cursed under his breath at this, quickly pressing a hand on it to calm the vibrating down. Eventually, though, it did, but Ivan realized from its behavior that there was likely a LOT of danger behind it.
A theory that got realized when Aiden looked to the rest of them and informed them of what he found. "Scans indicate that this Portal is the only one on the entire floor. Looks to be twice as large though, and that means that unlike the first floor we may have to deal with several 'boss' monsters to shut the Portal down." He stated, frowning when he remembered what they had learned from IF (who had told them Group 1's account of what they had seen throughout the first floor). It looked like the mini-portals used by the Demonic forces were spawned by these larger ones whilst said larger ones acted more like a primary gateway. It was like having more than one entrance to a building, one primary entrance and dozens of secret ones.
"Whelp, then we have our target." Lucy stated whilst placing her Cleavers on her waist before reaching forth with her left hand. For a moment, everyone looked to her with curious and confused looks on their faces, although Raven's was more one of annoyance and realization, as they wondered what she had planned.
Before they could ask, however, their answer came to them when, right in front of them, dozens upon dozens of large vines suddenly erupted from the ground and latched onto the door, quickly throwing it open with brute force which ended up ripping it free from its hinges. Both pieces flew over their heads and into the walls behind him, creating large and VERY audible crashing sounds.
'Wha-?!'
Noire gaped at the sight, looking towards the places where the doors used to be, then back to where they had crashed. Her mind got boggled with trying to process what she just saw as well as what her senses had told her, before she looked over to Lucy with an equally baffled look on her face. Even Raiden looked surprised, though he had kept his composure better than her. 'What the heck?! What was that just now?! Just now, I thought I sensed…!'
Just as she made to voice her thoughts on what she had just seen, another person beat her to it, although they looked moderately calmer than she felt right now. "Uhhhh… Lucy, why the heck did you give away our element of surprise?" Ivan questioned with concern, as well as worry as his senses informed him of a LOT of KI being aimed their way. Though, with the amount they have dealt with already, Ivan didn't show as much hesitation to jump into that room in the first place.
"A: they already knew we were here from the star, so we didn't have the element of surprise anyway. B: Cause it felt good to release some tension. Now then, let's go and kick some more Demon ass, ladies!"
Entering the room, everyone came face to face with what lay inside… and boy was it something that shared the same themes of utter bullshit crazy. Countless corpses, corpses of Spec Ops, civilians, even some who followed the rules of Chaos. They all looked to be hoisted high in brutal mannerisms atop sharp spikes that looked to be made from a chitinous material. Not to mention countless Skulls littered the room's edges, almost resembling a treasure room only instead of shimmering gold, it was dull, gory Skulls drenched in thick, crimson blood like it was a topping on a meal. There were some hastily constructed structures that resembled trees, each of the 'branches' containing an untold amount of Skulls like they were nothing but ornaments.
A mix of a bloody treasury and a bloody forest…
"Ugh…" Noire cringed as she held her hand over her mouth, her face gradually going greener the more she stared. Eventually, she could no longer stand to look, especially when she noticed some of the Skulls looked… younger, as in they were ones of children or even infants. "Wh-What the h-h-h-h-heck is with these scum…?! T-This is…!" she tried to say, but she couldn't do it and keep her vomit inside at the same time. Therefore, Noire decided to go with the latter. The sight of what she saw after Avenir's attack had NOTHING on this in terms of comparison.
"Believe me Noire…"
"H-Huh…?"
Looking over to her side with surprised eyes, Noire found Ivan shaking his head whilst sighing and crossing his arms under his chest. Though, it looked kind of weird since his Bionic Arm was in Rifle Mode. Still, his demeanor showed that the guy, to her surprise, didn't look all that affected by the sight. At least, not as much as she felt, considering how tightly he clutched his biceps. Eyes hard, Ivan looked ahead with a look that showed zero of his joking, light-hearted nature. "All THIS? Believe me, his is actually mild compared to all the shit me and the rest of the Team saw during our Quests to suppress their activities."
Whilst Noire tried to comprehend how something like this couldn't be the WORST that these Khornate Worshippers could be capable of, Raven eyed their surroundings, narrowing her eyes whilst she kept her hand on the handle of her sheathed Odachi. "Something about this doesn't feel right… this whole room is deserted…" she commented, her eyes almost shining like that of the Demons they fought as they tried to find any hints of a trap in the room. She found nothing, unfortunately, which built up the frustration and caution that bubbled within her chest.
It constantly rung alarm bells in her mind, as so far, this entire floor had been filled to the brim with enemies, so… why were there none here?
Not good, that was what she felt, and it seemed to be mirrored by the rest of them from the way they each went into guarded stances. "Well, we should advance with caution. The Portal at the center there does seem like it's stable, which means that they will likely have already come here or something." Lucy commented, drawing her Cleavers once again in case of an ambush, something that they all believed to occur at any moment in time.
Something that, soon enough, became confirmed in reality when several loud growls entered their hearing ranges. Quickly, the group split up when a loud cry of "Scatter!" came from Raven in the form of a mighty bellow. Noire and Raiden jumped to the left, Ivan and Aiden jumped backward whilst Lucy and Team RAIL's Leader jumped to the right sides. All of them slid in the directions that they chose, coming to a stop right after, though that turned out to be the right thing to do seconds later when a large, hulking form crashed into the space where they once stood. At the rate it had moved, combined with the size and impact of the dust cloud shrouding it, if Raven had been a millisecond slower than they all would have bit the dust in a messy fashion, just like the many Skulls in the room.
"Whoa, what the hell?!"
"Tch, looks like they tried to ambush us…!"
Ivan exclaimed that first part, to which Raven took it upon herself to answer with a guttural growl escaping her lips like the beasts she fought on a regular basis. She drew her Odachi, getting into a combat stance whilst everyone else in Group 2 mirrored her actions as the dust cloud settled, like two curtains peeling away to reveal what lay behind their embrace. This allowed them to see what had caused their near-demise, showing a hideous-looking figure to their eyes.
Where they once stood, now stood what looked to be a hulking behemoth. That was pretty much the best way they could describe it in a nutshell, what with it's large and bulky yet humanoid frame. It wore what looked to be the remnants of the plate armor that the Northmen sported, with plate shoulder pads clinging onto almost unnaturally broad shoulders with a chainmail under suit beneath it that got ripped near the center. This ended up exposing unnaturally bulky muscles in the torso, with plate armor over the legs and forming a 'skirt' around the waist. The upper body looked much bulkier than the lower portion, with the limbs looking more like dual Scythe-like blades. Blades that grew both out of the arms as well as merged with them, making them look incredibly grotesque with long spikes protruding out from the shoulders. Its feet looked like they had horns coming out the back of their heels. Not to mention that the face looked to have been stretched forth into a dreadful mix of a snout and a human face that constantly drooled with thick, crimson and hot lifeblood that nobody thought was it's own, with Tendrils coming out from the sides to hang downwards.
"Okay, this is a new one…" Lucy remarked to herself as they all watched this creature for any signs of movement. She then glanced to Raven, who had cupped the bottom of her mask in place of her chin. This made her think that Raven knew something about this creature, according to her many past experiences with the leader of their Team, and so Lucy decided to see what was on the woman's mind. "Penny for your thoughts, Ravey? You look like you know this thing."
In response, Raven shook her head, a sigh being heard behind her Mask as she replied to her second. "I do not know them personally, for this is my first time seeing one. However, I did do some research on the Chaos sub-religion during some of my free time to better understand what we are fighting against. I did this by studying tomes that we acquired from Northmen Camps and other followers of this sub-religion. Best to know everything you can about your enemies, it's the most effective way about killing them. There was one term that kept coming up, however, and that term was 'Forsaken'."
"Forsaken?"
"Indeed. According to my research, the Forsaken were once Champions of Chaos like the one that DEATHSTROKE told you and myself that he fought in the Hellverse Dungeon. Many Champions, no less valiant in the service of the Chaos Gods than their brethren, find that the rewards they get turn out to be more a hindrance than a blessing. At that point, they are 'Forsaken' by their Gods who give up on them, which results in them fighting merely due to a dark, animalistic and maddening desire. Though once proud and mighty Champions of Chaos, the severity of the mutations bestowed upon them have twisted them into something less than human yet more than a mere Chaos Spawn. These unfortunates have been literally forsaken by their gods, reduced to the levels of mere animals who growl and snarl in a guttural parody of human speech."
'Sheesh…' Lucy thought to herself, shuddering at the images cropping up in her mind at what some of these Forsaken must look like aside from this one. She did NOT want to end up like those guys then, which only fuelled her desire to kill off the Chaos Gods if she got the chance, as well as to take out these followers of Chaos. Not to mention, it added to her bafflement that anybody would want to follow these kinds of deities. Then again, given her past experiences with humans, it shouldn't be that surprising since they were naturally a sinful species.
The creature simply ignored the rest of them, however, and focused its gaze, a gaze that looked to better fit on a beast rather than a masculine humanoid, upon Noire. Like it KNEW she would be the one to fight the hardest. Its eyes, shining red from the Demonic Power she could feel from it, glared at her with unending madness and ever-growing insanity. Nothing but deranged growls and frantic snarls that almost seemed like a pathetic parody of the human language escaped its mutilated lips, its teeth sharpened into horrific, deformed-looking fangs.
At that moment, however, it's snarls spiked in volume which served as their sole warning.
SWISH-PARRY!
"GUH!" Noire had next to no time to react, though, as she quickly raised her HF blade to block a slash that would have diagonally cut right through her frame made by one of the Forsaken's blades. The Forsaken being screamed and howled, constant growls escaping its deformed maw whilst it pressed harder against her HF Blade. The blackette gritted her teeth together tightly, taking a step back and applying weight onto it so she could better hold off her enemy's attack. Even so, however, the woman got forced to bend backward whilst sparks flew true like a river from the connection point between their two weapons. Dangerous sparks of electricity from her HF Blade flew off in random directions, lighting up the two competitors' faces.
"Lady Black Heart!"
Raiden quickly yelled that out whilst dashing forwards HF Blade drawn as he made to slash one of it's arms off. Just as he got within striking distance, however, the beast rolled to the opposite side, vaulted around Noire and quickly swung its Blade, hitting Raiden in the side, causing him to cry out in surprise rather than pain as he found himself being sent flying across the room. The man quickly flipped about so that he could plant his feet onto the wall before he ran alongside it and jumped right back towards it with a slash aimed towards its snout. Unfortunately, it missed by a mile since the creature jumped away before the HF Blade could reach its target.
Things got even worse, however, since, by some unseen signal, more enemies burst out of the many Skulls that littered the room, creating many miniature eruptions of both Skulls and blood in their ambush attempt before jumping out towards the rest of the group. Countless unholy roars, howls, and screams filled their ears as the plate armor wearing warriors of Khorne charged at them like a horde of violent, bloodthirsty Demons.
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"
"FOR THE GLORY OF THE GREAT KHOOOOOORNE!"
"KILL, DESTROY, SLAUUUGHTEEEEEEEERRRR!"
"Sh-Shit!"
Ivan had been the one to yell that last one out, as the entirety of Group 2 found themselves separated from each other by the surprise attack made by these beings. Split away from each other and forced into conflict by these warriors.
On their end, Aiden and Ivan quickly got into battle stances, each of them holding out their respective weapons. The latter soon realized that his Bionic Arm's Rifle Mode wouldn't cut it, not with how they were completely surrounded like this. 'Tch, so that's what their goal was…' the male thought as he switched it to Whip Mode. 'They hid within these Skulls, concealing their energies and their presence, until the moment that Forsaken whatever came out of hiding. That must mean that these guys have a skilled leader, one who is capable of intelligence and decision making.' Kind of a stark contrast to the usual mindless beasts they have faced thus far, the mechanical armed Teen had to admit to himself.
"It looks like we will be put through a sieve." Aiden commented as the two went into a back-to-back position. The male glared through his goggles at the enemy around them, each of their opponents brandishing their weapons in a dangerous manner. Whatever expressions they had were shielded from view thanks to their helmets, their forms covered in plate armor. Not to mention they each had these long fur cloaks too, giving them this rugged, barbaric appearance that went well with their savage mindset. Now that he thought about it, every one of the Northmen they faced in this attack had those furry cloaks on, Aiden hadn't noticed it until now.
"Geez, ya think?!"
That was all Ivan could retort with before their Northmen enemies broke into mad sprints towards them.
Deep within Noire, one would find there to be nothing but a completely empty void. A void that represented the unconscious world where one would go to once they are knocked out. It was within there, that something pulsed, something raw, something powerful, something divine.
In the void of her heart, a dull light began to shine, illuminating the immediate vicinity around it. From that light, a presence slowly began to stir, slowly rousing itself from its slumber when it sensed something… it sensed off…
Very, VERY off…
It didn't take long for this presence to realized what was happening right now: It could sense it's wielder's emotional state… and knew. Judging by how vicious and rage-filled the emotional state of its wielder was, it knew the time for its return was upon it.
The time would soon come where the world would once again tremble at the mention of its name… where it would fear that name once again…
it would come…
And it could hardly contain its excitement.
Back outside, things looked bleak for Noire.
Well, bleak actually felt more like an understatement for the situation she found herself in.
'If I survive this, I'mma give Vert a piece of my mind for not upping security for such an important event...!'
Those were Noire's thoughts as she fought for her life right now against her enemy.
Thanks to having been separated from Raiden, the forces of Chaos surrounding her had managed to make it so that Raiden couldn't come to her aid without going through them first. That was what he had been doing right now, but unfortunately for him, it proved to be easier said than done. Every time he cut one down, more seemed to take his place, reinforcing the wall of flesh dividing the two Lastation affiliates. Therefore, the resulting situation was that the Lastation CPU now had to face off against this 'Forsaken' creature alone without any backup.
Not something she liked to think about, rather she just let her body and mind act instead of think. For that had been the best way for her to stay alive at this point since the Forsaken kept coming at her with one vicious, uncompromising strike after another to keep her on the defensive. It was all she could do to keep herself in the fight whilst also keeping all her limbs attached to her form. One false move, and she could have ended up losing a couple limbs or so... and that was one of the BETTER scenarios.
Fortunately, it seemed that the rest of the Northmen seemed content with just watching her fight this thing in single combat, not taking a single step to interfere. They each formed a circle of bodies, which separated her from the rest of the group. Some of them shuffled about to show that they weren't used to staying still, something she would have smirked in amusement in any other situation. Not to mention the fact that she could hear the sounds of the others fighting valiantly against their attackers, but right now she put that detail to the back of her mind in favor of survival.
Raising her HF Blade at a vertical angle, Noire blocked an overhead swing towards her head. The weight of the blade then left as soon as it came, prompting Noire to re-angle her HF Blade to a diagonal one to block a follow-up horizontal one. Because of her weapon's angle, it diverted the blade down its form away from her to allow for Noire to push the attack away. Unfortunately, she couldn't get a chance to strike back as the Forsaken just tore right through with a shoulder tackle, knocking her to the ground.
"Kya!"
Noire gasped as she felt her back hit the ground first, knocking the air out of her lungs. For that split second, she had her eyes closed, until she sensed KI coming towards her. This caused her to snap her eyes open and roll to the side, avoiding a blade that would have sliced her vertically in half had it landed. Rolling, Noire used the momentum to get back to her feet, using her silver heeled thigh high boots to kick her HF Blade into the air, grasping its hilt with one hand when it came down. Good thing too, cause it had already closed the distance between them and instantly began it's assault anew.
'Th-This is tough-!' the black-haired CPU thought with a twisted snarl escaping her lips as she blocked and parried one attack after another, the Forsaken relishing its use of its two blades in single combat. It constantly howled, screeched, roared and snarled like it was trying to say some human language. All Noire got, however, were the sounds that only a beast would make though. Nonetheless, her arms felt like lead just after their short brawl, each strike she had blocked or parried felt like she was stopping over 20 CPU weapons at the same time. CPU weapons definitely had a superiority to human weapons, so something that had strength comparable to over 2 dozen of them definitely left her arms in... not the best shape they could have been.
Part of her wondered if she should transform with HDD, but in the end, she decided against it.
For one, she still had IT on her side, and she'd rather only transform when it was absolutely necessary.
Before she could think any more, the Forsaken had already charged at her, breaking the ground beneath its feet whilst flipping into a sausage flip, going into a double downward slash. With her arms and experience on her side, Noire decided to NOT risk the possibility of her arms being broken, so she sidestepped around the attack and swing her HF Blade towards it's back. However, just as her weapon began swinging, the arm closest to it suddenly had ripples going down it, like something just used it as a walkway before it seemingly, much to her shock, disgust, and horror, COMPLETELY twisted a full 180 degrees to put it's Blade in her own weapon's way. The result was that her attack got blocked, obviously, before the Tendrils from its mouth quickly lashed out, elongating and lunging straight towards her with the intent to spear through Noire's stomach and neck.
'Oh crap!'
Just as quickly, Noire ducked under the first one, then sidestepped the second one. Unfortunately, this allowed for the Forsaken to get in close and ran into her with a headbutt to the side, sending Noire sausage spinning through the air with a pained cry escaping her lips. The blackette then crashed into the ground with intense force, sliding along it with enough power to make a small fissure on the ground until she came to a stop. Pained hisses escaped her as the dust settled, before Noire opened her eyes to see that the creature had retracted its Tendrils whilst jumping forwards, quickly thrusting its right Blade towards her chest.
If she didn't react right this instant, Noire would soon find herself run through in the one place she didn't want anything, or anyone, touching within a million years!
Well, maybe one person, but still!
Those thoughts left her mind, making room for the instinctual desire to stay alive and NOT have a blade ripping through her like she was nothing but tissue paper. Oddly sexual phrasing aside, Noire quickly flipped backward, landing on her hands before pushing herself upwards, flipping over the creature and whacking it upside the back of its head in the process. After she landed, Noire turned around, gasped and quickly raised her HF Blade to block a furious wide slash which had enough force to make her arms act more like vibrators, whilst sending her sliding backward. Fortunately, before the impact had come, she had applied Share Energy to reinforce her arms durability. If she'd been a split second later, then the bones in her arms would have shattered under the strain.
Once she halted herself, and then deflected several Tendrils aimed at a couple of her vitals, Noire applied the use of ZANDATSU, slowing her perception of time so that her surroundings nearly halted. With the ZANDATSU applied, Noire closed in with her HF Blade and unleashed a couple of VIBRATION ATTACKS. She had long since discovered through the small amounts of attacks she DID manage to land, that VIBRATION ATTACKS and VACUUM SLASHES helped damage her opponent better than just normal attacks. It had been shown when she managed to get a few good hits in before in their battle, striking at its shoulders and chest areas. However, it seemed that this Forsaken had some form of minor regeneration ability granted to it by its former masters, because those wounds had quickly healed over.
Even so, as she struck her opponent, sending Vibrations that ran through its body to damage it's inside, ZANDATSU ran out and time returned to normal. That was something she had to work on, but ZANDATSU, even with her energy, didn't last very long. That wasn't the ability's fault though, but if she were to keep her brain drugged with Share Energy too long, then she'd get a headache and the ability wouldn't be usable. 'Tch, at this rate, I may have to use IT to take that thing down beyond its ability to regenerate. It almost seems like regeneration's becoming a thing with these beings.' Noire thought to herself after jumping backward to dodge a slash, then sidestepping to avoid several lashing outs of its Tendrils.
Just when she thought about activating ELECTRO CHARGE for her HF Blade, however...
"HMMMMM, so YOU are the ONE I sensed ATTACKING my MEN..."
... you know, Noire REALLY began hating those demonic voices whenever they appeared. Something about them just grated on her nerves, or maybe that was just her prior emotions talking, masking any utter dread that voice might have caused her to feel. She had heard once that sometimes one emotion overlaps another when there was excessive stimulus, for example, anger overriding fear or people acting more on emotion and not seeing reason. It was likely that the others had similar thoughts, thought that soon got pushed onto the wayside when they saw the reactions that the rest of the warriors had when hearing it.
Like they were recruits in a military training camp, each of them straightened up and tensed, becoming almost like sticks going upwards whilst being careful not to make a sound. Instead of primitive savages, Noire got the impression of a trained, disciplined military unit. A complete contrast to the sights they had shown previously, to be sure. Whoever this voice belonged to, must have had a great and efficient influence on these men to have this kind of effect just from his voice alone. Yeah, she figured it was a male's since the voice was predominantly masculine.
Looking to the direction the voice came from, Noire saw a masculine figure emerge from the Portal. Loud stomping sounds accompanied metallic bulky boots, the sounds being followed by the scraping of metal. Each time her ears registered them, Noire got the inexplicable urge to gulp, feeling those loud sounds echo deep down into the depths of her being. Her heart thumped wildly against her chest, and she felt IT seemingly rattling with excitement at the prospect of meeting the maker of these sounds.
From the portal, Noire found herself looking before what looked like a man. A rather large brute of a man who looked as if he could give the best of Leanbox's bodybuilders a run for their money. He looked to be clad in rounded plate Armour similar to that of the others, along with a fur cloak that came down the back of his shoulder pads. Unlike these men, however, he wore no helmet, exposing his mostly bald head and his large ginger beard. One that easily reached his torso. His eyes shined a crimson light, almost like they were comets about to catch fire from entering the planet's atmosphere. On his body, Noire noted with moderate revulsion that he adorned many human skulls like they were trophies, each of them hanging from his Armour whilst a whole upper skeleton seemed to tower from behind his left shoulder.
In his hands, there were two things: In his right, was a large sword, easily fit to be a two-handed one though it looked like he could use it in one hand just fine. The sword itself had a leather-clad hilt, with a golden end. The sword's guard looked rectangular, with two sharp spikes standing up and pointing down the blade, whilst at the center was what looked like a Rhombus with a Skull in its center. Several spikes protruded out of the blade's base, which had straps of rope wrapped around the base, before the rest of the blade was laid bare. The rest is straight with a V-shaped tip.
As for his left hand, it had bound to it by leather straps, a huge shield. A shield that easily went upwards from his feet all the way to his shoulders. That was how tall it was, and if he were to put it in front of him, it's size would cover the majority of his body. The shield seemed to be made of the same materials as the sword, with curved horns and spikes protruding from the top. That part definitely creeped her out, but what creeped her out even more was the skin-like shroud that covered the shield, it's center having a human's head that had a horn protruding forwards. The head's mouth looked to be frozen open, open into a look of sheer horror and despair which sent chills down her spine.
Not to mention, the fact that this man had a similar aura to the Demons that she had fought up to this point. There was this look of inhumanity about him, like he had gone beyond his mortal coil and had achieved heights only those who could be considered monsters possessed. The weapons he used, that sword and shield, were littered with scratch and slash marks, almost like they told a story of nothing but conflict, conflict, and death that would never end. Even so, those weapons each radiated a power unlike any that these other warriors possessed, even the Forsaken seemed to be wary of him as it stumbled over to the wayside.
Not to mention the fact that this man seemed to have an eerie silhouette floating behind him that seemed to overshadow his form, increasing the menacing vibes he gave off.
"Lemme guess, you're the leader of these men?" Noire questioned, her eyes narrowing in accusation whilst she stepped backward, keeping her HF Blade level. Just by looking at this guy, Noire could feel the word 'power' as it oozed off his frame in waves. She felt IT eagerly awaiting the chance to unleash its power and might against this person, even if this man wasn't even doing anything and just standing there. She felt her Skill ELECTRO CHARGE just moments away from activating id she perceived this guy to be doing anything that could indicate an attack. Even the slightest twitch of the purest muscle.
"HMPH. Yes. I am, WOMAN. I go by MANY names... CHAMPION of the SARL, the WORLDWALKER, Executioner OF the GODS, but You MAY call ME... Wolvrik the WANDERER!"
Each word he spoke seemed to be coursing with the power overflowing from within like each word emitting waves upon waves f energy that slammed into her ears with unrelenting force. Noire scowled at the man whose eyes shone brightly with the bloodlust that his fellows possessed, only he had it in greater quantities than they ever could. Just by looking at his sword, Noire's instincts screamed at her to be wary. It may look like an ordinary sword, but something told her that would be FAR from the truth.
"... Alright, Wolvrik or whatever. What is it that you want? What's your goal in doing this?" Noire asked, a harsh and mean edge to her voice. Oddly enough, it seemed reminiscent of a shimmering blade. She remembered how IF had asked the opponent whom she had fought and... Assimilated (she so did her best not to shudder at that, IF's descriptions of that happening had been perhaps a little TOO descriptive), and he had simply responded that h didn't have a reason. He just wanted to fight to his heart's content, to collect the Skulls of his defeated enemies. Looking around this room though, she couldn't help but wonder if this would be something of a dream come true for that guy.
Well, that would never be figured out, thanks to IF.
"I am BLESSED with GLORIOUS purpose! The GREAT lord KHORNE has TASKED me with ELIMINATING this PATHETIC society, to SHOWER it with KHORN'S wrath! As THE GODS executioner, I shall OBEY their CALL!"
Wolvrik answered with pride and confidence, as well as a thick layer of arrogance. He had the demeanor of someone who'd proudly go on and on about his many exploits to his mate at a tavern. He had that down pat, as far as the black haired CPU was concerned. Not to mention the way his aura swayed around him, it matched some of the more pig-headed of the Agents Noire had encountered, as well as some of the Avenir lackeys who had once replaced her staff inside her own Basilicom.
Even so, now that he had her answer, Noire couldn't let this slide. Since this guy was merely a servant, that meant he was just like the rest of these warriors, uncaring of all the pain and loss they leave in their wake. She narrowed her eyes, her own beginning to form their power button symbols that symbolized her identity as a Goddess. She remembered the pain that her people went through with the attack made by Avenir, and she could only imagine what the families of those who had died here would think. Someone like him... Noire would NEVER allow him to live another day. Normally killing a human would be something against her nature as a Goddess, but thanks to this invasion she had learned one important lesson: that these people NEEDED to die. One sword keeps another in its sheath, that would be an ideal she'd follow. Thus, that ideal ignited the spark within her, the spark that turned into a vicious flame upon ignition. She held her HF blade in a tighter grip, eyes glowering at her future opponent.
She'll have to get him riled up first though. Even with his arrogance, his stance still depicted a strong sense of a warrior's path. It had been something she'd found out about whilst she stayed in Leanbox, but many of the people she had met followed that same path. Martial pride seemed to be a huge thing in Leanbox, tot he points were Noire found herself able to recognize that kind of spirit in anyone. Therefore, if she riled him up enough, maybe like insulting his ability to fight or say she was the better fighter, then he would challenge her to single combat and, hopefully, she'll be able to end him quickly. Maybe even unleash IT for a quick finish, since IT had too much power for tightly closed spaces like this.
But first, she had to get him to fight her one on one, then things could really get rolling.
Just as Noire made to say something back to him, likely being an insult or something else as equally as fury-provoking...
"YOU... you FEEL like a POWERFUL opponent! VERY well! I shall CHALLENGE you to a DUEL!"
All her thoughts and attempts at speech halted like car tires screeching when the driver instantly pushes the breaks. 'H-Huh?!' Noire gasped, blinking owlishly as she almost lost her composure for a moment there. Did he say what she thought he did? Did he really just solve her first problem for her? Well, far be it for her to look this gift horse in the mouth. Still, she didn't know if this was truly a good thing or not, so she'd be cautious for the time being.
"WE shall DUEL, in THE name of the GODS! It WILL be most GLORIOUS indeed, ONE of my MANY exploits on the BATTLEFIELD!"
Just then, the man jumped forwards, landing about 20 steps away from the blackette. The moment he did, a ring of pure fire suddenly roared to life around them, sealing them up inside. Noire's eyes widened as a gasp left her lips, her head frantically looking around the ring to see what the heck was going on. "Wha?!" she exclaimed, baffled and stunned.
"Lady Black Heart!"
The call of her bodyguard made Noire look in his general direction, just in time to see Raiden break through the lines separating them only for the flames, which burned brightly in front of the warriors, to hinder his progress. No matter how close he tried to get, the flames merely pushed him back, even as he tried to jump over them as they'd simply rise upwards and form a wall, knocking him back. 'What the... what is this?! Where did...? Wait a minute... of course! This must be what IF had told me about!' the blackette thought, eyes flashing with realization.
Once, IF had told her of her battle with that Armoured man in red (she couldn't remember his name though, it definitely was something outlandish though). She talked about a ring of fire encircling them and everyone outside acting like they couldn't get into it. Raiden's actions confirmed that part of the tale at least, which meant that these flames must somehow block all entry from the outside. 'Now that I look...' she thought, glancing downwards and noticing the symbols around the edges of the ring of fire. Now, Noire by no means had adept skills in magic since that was Lowee's shtick, but she DID know enough to identify magic symbols, and this definitely fit the bill.
'So then, odds are that, with everything that's going on, the only way for me to get out would be to win this duel...' Noire thought, glancing over to Wolvrik to see him already in his combat stance. That quickly caught her attention, surprise flashing through her eyes as she stepped forwards, clutching the grip in her HF Blade. "Raiden, don't!" she called out to him. "Looks like this is the same as what happened to IF! Leave it to me, I'll take care of it on my end!"
"I... very well, Lady Black Heart."
Noire nodded as she heard the response, however reluctant it sounded, and held her HF Blade even tighter to try and wrestle the feelings of nervousness she felt deep inside. Looking at this guy before her now, she didn't know if she could beat him, even in HDD form. The way he held himself, the sheer power she could feel rolling off this guy in waves, told her much about his combat prowess. She didn't like what she found out, either. Chances were, that she might for the first time, be facing someone who could actually end her life, as she sensed that sword had killed many in its life, both mortal and immortal. Looking at that blade, Noire gritted her teeth, it was almost like she could hear the pained groans of those it had slain in cold blood, calling out to her, begging her to join their ranks.
'Looks like I have no choice... I'll have to use IT!'
That thought crossed her mind, and following it came a surge of warmth from deep within her being. The thing that chose her as its wielded, bonded with her in a way no normal weapon could, it called out to her. It wanted to be used at long last, as if this person had been deemed worthy of it to register him as an adversary. Noire felt inclined to agree, the last time she truly felt this way was when the Console War first began, when she stared down the other CPUs in preparation for intense combat. There may be a risk for it to cause collateral damage in this small space, but at this point, she may just have to risk it. Gripping her free fist, Noire nodded to herself, whispering "Okay... Okay." under her breath.
She wouldn't admit it, but her breath had been rather shaky just then. This would be her secret weapon' debut, so she had to make it memorable. With that in mind, Noire dismissed her HF Blade, returning it to her Inventory. Of course, this drew the man's attention, by the way, he arched a brow and tightened his stance, expecting something to happen soon judging by his posture.
"YOU would DISCARD your WEAPON, warrior?"
A small smirk spread across Noire's lips at the query as she held her hand to the side. Her eyes closed themselves as she felt the weapon come to her, seeping down her arm towards her closed hand. "Oh, don't worry, its nothing like that. I've just got something much better for a battle like this. You'll be the first person I've used it on though." she replied, before she flexed her closed hand open as well as shot open her eyes. At that moment, a bright light began to shine as something began to materialize before them all, unleashing a downright majestic aura into the atmosphere. "Feast your eyes on THIS!"
"Come... BALMUNG!"
From that light, a huge white energy eruption roared to life, spreading across the ground throughout the infernal ring. It created massive tremors and whipping winds that felt more physical than they should have been, tearing through both air and ground like they were not even there. Noire's hair whipped about behind her like Tendrils erratically flailing about after being sliced in half, her bangs swaying just as wildly in the breeze whilst she kept her eyes trained upon her opponent. Even then, it almost felt like this was the source holding back it's power as it manifested itself into the physical world from Noire's Soul. The sight forced Wolvrik, who merely laughed out of merriment and thrill at the prospect of a powerful weapon to clash swords with, to raise his shield to protect his face from the energy.
By the time that Noire got the energy under control, a weapon had been formed in her hand as it dismissed these phenomena from existence. When Wolvrik lowered his Shield, both he and the onlookers could see the weapon in it's true physical form. It took the form of a two-handed greatsword with a blue jewel embedded in the hilt, looking like it almost boasted a powerful magnificence and enormity that made it seem as if it was created by inhuman hands. The hilt was black and made of a rather elegant metal fit for a king or a knight, with its blade being a shining grey. The blade easily matched Noire's height in length, whilst it glistened as it had just been forged in a heavenly radiance.
It looked to be a beautiful blade...
Beautiful, but deadly all the same.
"AHHHHH...a FINE blade. YEEEEES... I can FEEL it's POWER from HERE... it is NO blade a mere MORTAL is meant to COMMAND... What is your NAME, warrior?"
"Hmph." Noire huffed, a proud smirk on her lips as she flicked one of her twin-tails and placed the same hand on her hip. "You may call me Black Heart, and I'm no mortal. I'm a Goddess, so you better remember it!" she bellowed, pointing Balmung towards her opponent. Her form then got enveloped in a pillar of light, and by the time it vanished, Noire had taken on her HDD form, now radiating a HUGE amount of power thanks to both it ad her new sword, which took the place of the one she usually had when transforming. Her teal eyes, clad with their power button symbols, glared heatedly towards her opponent whilst she got into her battle stance.
On his end, Wolvrik let out an even bigger bout of laughter, excitement and bloodlust dripping from him like the blood of countless enemies he had slain. Combined with the demonic multi-voice he had, it painted a rather creepy image, but Black Heart chose not to let it get to her as she readied herself...
and charged, with her enemy doing the same.
'Lady Black Heart... so you've decided to use that blade after all...'
Raiden frowned as best as he could, with his facial structure being what it was the Cyborg Ninja found some expressions harder to pull off than others. Even so, he still made a frown as he watched his CPU fight. His instincts told him that these people cared more about watching this duel than trying to kill him, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to see how it would play out. Even though they fought like savage animals, Raiden still got a sense of a warrior's path from them, this sight before him being proof of those thoughts.
Not to mention the sheer respect that this man commanded of his followers, being enough to quell their thirst for conflict and carnage which made the threat this 'Wolvrik' guy (no idea who named him that, but whatevs), all the greater.
'Still, you must be careful, Lady Black Heart. You don't want to destroy this entire City with that blade.'
Even while watching the battle begin, at last, Raiden still didn't find himself free of the complex emotions boiling in his gut. He knew well that blade's power, he'd accompanied Noire on her many trips in subduing the growing Abnormal packs around her Landmass after all. He'd seen it wipe out entire armies in one fell swing, leaving nothing but destruction in her wake. Not to mention the blade itself had more than a few tricks up its sleeve in case wide-spread destruction wasn't it's wielder's goal. Tat blade held both power and versatility in spades, which was the main source of his worry.
After all, such a blade being drawn in such a closed space could be a very dangerous act to do... something Noire had considered but found few alternative options.
He could only hope that things turned out in an ideal manner, but Raiden wouldn't bet on it.
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!
Furious strikes rained down upon the two fighters, like a thousand bombs striking in a single spot on top of one another. Balmung and the sword of Wolvrik fiercely duked it out in a vicious, almost frenzied struggle for supremacy whilst their wielders kept eye contact. Both blades constantly slashed in a myriad of different slashing motions, like two animals engaging in a territorial battle with one ending up dead and the other the victor. Wolvrik sometimes pulled his shield in to keep attacks he couldn't deal with using his sword at bay, and those times his arm would tremble at Balmung's power.
CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!
Both fighters circled each other, swinging their blades with a combination of skill and brutality only two experienced warriors could have accomplished. Wolvrik blocked a swing to his neck, thrusting his shield forwards to catch Black Heart off guard. However, the white-haired CPU had anticipated this, so she quickly spun into a roundhouse kick that Wolvrik blocked with the bottom of his Sword's hilt. Not letting that stop her however, Black Heart used her free leg to jump and stomp right into Wolvrik's chest, though he used his Shield to block it in time. Even so, the impact had bee enough to make him stumble back a few steps.
'Tch, this guy's defenses are pretty solid...' the white-haired woman thought, a 'tch' escaping her mouth as well as the one in her mind. She quickly analyzed her opponent's stance, and an idea flashed through her mind. 'Wait, perhaps THAT could work!' she thought. Thanks to being it wielder, Black Heart had spent days practicing and researching this new and mighty blade that had bound itself to her. The practice had revealed it to not just be any normal blade, in fact, it would be better to say that it's origins... likely had divinity involved, making it a divine weapon with special abilities of its own. She had trained a long time to discover those abilities, and even then she got the feeling that she didn't know everything about this blade.
However, right now, only one thing registered in her mind at the moment: her next plan of attack.
Gripping Balmung's hilt, Black Heart went and applied ELECTRO CHARGE to the blade. One of the Sword's powers was 'Galvanism' – a Trait that allowed unrestricted conversion and accumulation of magical energy and any form of electricity. In that case, then she could definitely apply the previous Skill to this blade since it stored her energy, and thanks to this weapon being of divine property, the energy accumulated inside would be intensified and purified, making it that much more powerful than it would be if she used her HF Blade. Therefore, Noire found herself able to apply ELECTRO CHARGE into the blade to cover it in a layer of pure white Electricity, electricity which had its divine nature intensified to optimum levels. Perhaps her HDD form helped too, she figured.
With Balmung encased in Electricity from ELECTRO CHARGE, Black Heart blasted forwards in a burst of speed, catching Wolvrik by surprise... though that only lasted for a split second as he chose to roll to the side. A good thing too, cause when Black Heart swung Balmung in an upward motion from the ground up, it created a pillar of light that would easily be half the size of the entire ring. The pillar shot through the ceiling, instantly obliterating it and leaving a giant hole in the Basilicom roof.
Black Heart mentally winced. 'Whoops, hopefully, Vert won't be mad at me for that...' she thought to herself as she twirled around and raised Balmung once more. Good thing too, since Wolvrik had already closed the distance between them and swung his blade towards her head, resulting in them being put in a deadlock. 'Still...' even so, the CPU still fond her thoughts process-able as her teeth gnashed, then two swords trembling with the strength put into them by their wielders. Thanks to that attack just now, Balmung had used up the stored energy she had put into it from the ELECTRO CHARGE. 'Thanks to that, I can now say for certain that this blade is more suited for fighting in open spaces. I only applied the smallest amount of my energy to the blade, and it nearly destroyed the entire Basilicom. I'll have to be extra careful and try not to use any big attacks.'
"THAT attack just NOW... your BLADE is NOT meant for SINGLE COMBAT, is IT...?"
Whilst she made it a point not to show any of her emotions on her face aside from intense desire to kill, Black Heart still felt shocked creep up her spine at the man's insight, his eyes clearly telling her he had figured out the workings of her blade. 'Tch, from that one look alone, I can tell he knows... but how?' she wondered. "And what makes you think that?" she replied, deciding to keep her internal struggles to herself.
Breaking away from her, Wolvrik kicked Black Heart's gut, causing her to go flying backward. He too flipped backward, the two righting themselves in mid-air before they landed, sliding to a halt just millimeters before the edges of the ring. Both fighters got into the respective stances, their weapons almost glowing with their own radiance that expressed the resolves of their wielders. One of twisted bloodlust, and the other of righteous fury. Even so, Wolvrik showed no signs of fear, just a look of pure elation and joy as he pointed his sword at the CPU.
"DON'T take ME for a FOOL, girl! I have BESTED many a BEAST in my CENTURIES of COMBAT! It does NOT matter if THEY are MORTAL, IMMORTAL or ELSE, they ALL fall BENEATH my BLADE! Just NOW, I could SEE it, you express DIFFICULTY in HARNESSING that SWORD'S power! YOU cannot CONTROL it COMPLETELY!"
Well, she had figured already that this guy had experience under his belt just by looking at him. The fact that he boasted about those exploits so much would normally indicate a level of arrogance which would usually doom most warriors. However, just by their recent clashes in the beginning of this conflict, Black Heart got the impression that every boast he had made just now was 100 legit. Like, he had the bite to back up his bark. It irritated her, to be honest, knowing that she would have to endure his boasting until this fight was decided, however she still believed she had a chance. Not only did Balmung have more tricks up its sleeve, but she too had many centuries worth of experience in wielding a sword.
She WAS a swords-woman after all.
"Well, I'll admit that you're pretty good in a fight. Pretty good though, maybe better without all the unnecessary boasting..." Black Heart began, holding Balmung in both hands as she angled it in front of her. Concentrating her thoughts on the blade, Noire scowls at her opponent as she felt it respond to her will. Already, she could see out her peripheral vision, the darkening of Balmung's Jewel, an indication of what would happen next. "But still, don't think that this is all I have, or you'll regret it! Now, BALMUNG!"
At that moment, the jewel seemed to almost 'pulse', before it suddenly released a very thick, black mist. The mist quickly rushed up against her arm and covered her completely, shrouding her form from view. The moment he saw that mist, Wolvrik's instincts quickly informed him to get on guard, for what had just happened likely would make this fight a whole hell harder for him. This only lasted a second thought, before the mist easily vanished just as soon as it had appeared. Though, when it did... a whole new Black Heart floated before him.
Black Heart now looked to be clad in a black skin-tight suit covering everything but her head, with silver plate Armour over her thighs, knees, feet, forearms, hands, biceps and shoulders. From behind her, the Armour formed a pair of large, abyssal black draconian wings that would easily stretch across 6 feet, and were merely connected to Black Heart by some form of gravitational pull. Just like the wings of her HDD form. This also has the side effect of turning her skin to a light brown and giving her hair a wilder, animalistic appearance, whilst her eyes...
Well, they no longer looked like the eyes of a human... but the eyes of a DRAGON... as in, they became a pair of ruby red eyes, with bloody red slitted pupils. Not to mention, it increased the potency of her other senses, her hearing, sight, smell, touch etc are all vastly increased in this state thanks to the blood.
A draconian smirk etched itself onto her lips when she saw the man's look of surprise as she felt her body go through a side effect of activating this ability. Apparently, this sword not only had a strong divinity, but a powerful soul sealed deep within the blade. She knew this due to discovering the sealing on the blade when she first found it, and after looking into some Lowee tomes she had found within her landmass's Guild Library, she found that this Soul apparently had once been one that belonged to an Abnormal. A powerful one at that. She could tell due to the wild, animalistic feel of the soul she got when she, under the tomes' instructions, tried to feel the soul out. This Soul, at the moment she would summon the Blade, quickly connect with her own, and give her a smaller boost in physical and magical resistance in comparison to summoning the Armour.
In the end, whatever sealed the Abnormal also imbued Balmung with the ability to release it's very blood, if that makes sense as even she still had trouble getting to grips with that, into her body, starting from her heart. There, the blood would be pumped into the rest of her body, giving her the Abnormal's physical and magical resistance boosts. The tanner color she sported, her eyes, and her slight draconic demeanor were simply proof of this blood working. Seemed to only happen when she summoned this Armour though. Hence, she had called it 'Fafnir Armour'. She didn't get why, but she just got the feeling that would be the right call.
Combined with the divine element from her HDD form, and Noire found her body being mixed between Dragon and Goddess. A potent combination since Dragon-like Abnormals seemed to be exceedingly tough compared to their brethren, most of them being between A to S ranks. All that power... and right now she found herself able to bring that power down to bear on her enemy. She could hardly contain herself.
In the end, Black Heart's smirk widened as she leaned forwards... and closed the distance between them in a millisecond. Her opponent reflexively raised his shield to defend himself, only for Black Heart to vanish and reappear behind him, Balmung poised for a reverse swing horizontally that would have bisected him at the waist. The second the two blades collided, Wolvrik noticed a drastic increase in physical strength, as he exerted more of his own to block the attack. He'd say that, in comparison to before when he only used about 40%, now it took about 70% to withstand that attack.
And the attacks just kept coming from different angles at once.
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG,CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!
Although the Worldwalker held his own, from an outsider's viewpoint it looked like Black Heart had gained the upper hand, moving so fast that she looked to be in multiple places at once and striking simultaneously. In essence, she moved so fast that it was like she were multiple people attacking at the same time. Wolvrik furrowed his brows whilst wasting zero movements in his defenses, constantly moving about to try and hold back his opponent. His sword swung like a madman had possessed it... which wouldn't be far from the truth, honestly. Not much worked, and she moved fast enough that he couldn't strike back without leaving himself open. It didn't help that Black Heart constantly kept getting faster and faster the longer the constant onslaught went on.
It looked like this woman... she would require a bit more effort than his usual prey to take down.
He could see why she would be a worthy adversary for the Chaos God Khorne to summon him to this world to hunt down.
"SUCH power... HOWEVER!"
Raising his sword into the air after a lucky parry, Wolvrik gave a mighty howl as the blade started releasing a strange, red aura. An aura that Black Heart quickly took note of, as well as the fact that what felt like sound waves, many voices colliding all at once till it was nothing by a mass of sound, radiated from its form. Immediately her instincts, honed by the animalistic Abnormal blood flowing through her right now, told her to get the fuck away from that blade lest she goes through something that EVERY being with acute senses feared.
"Your SWORD cannot HOLD a CANDLE to MINE! SONIC BLAST!"
The moment that he called those words out, Wolvrik roared as he brought the blade down towards the ground in a downward slash. In the second it's tip touched said surface, a huge sound wave erupted from within, spreading in all directions. The sound wave carried many groaning voices both mortal and immortal alike, all moaning in agony and pain, centuries of torment having made them nothing but husks of their former selves. The wave quickly covered every spec of the ring's interior, and Black Heart had to quickly erect a Panel in front of her, reinforcing it with as much energy as she could, to stop herself from being sent flying. Luckily for her, she had managed to get far enough away from the epicenter that her Panel succeeded in its task... although, it was only barely, since by the end of it the Panel looked like it'd crumble just from a single poke.
Good thing she also diverted power to her ears, reinforcing them otherwise she may have had her enhanced eardrums busted.
Finally dismissing the Panel, Noire stood up from her kneeling position, lifting Balmung into position as her draconian eyes narrowed darkly at her opponent. "And WHAT was that? You nearly took out my eardrums with that one!"
"Hahahaha! Be GRATEFUL it DIDN'T, WARRIOR! Without your ACTIONS, you would CERTAINLY have had MORE than ruptured EARDRUMS!"
That had been Wolvrik's response as he prepared himself to continue. At that moment, however, Black Heart saw something. Something manifested behind the man, but it looked so vague that she had trouble identifying what it was. However, the more she looked, the more she began to see it take shape, until finally, she could see it entirely, what looked like a humanoid bat-like creature with black, heavily scarred skin. Its small, dome-like head sat on top a heavily muscled body, and was dominated by a wide, toothy maw.
She did NOT know what it was, but her instincts went crazy from looking at it.
"... JUDGING by your LOOK, it seems you SEE it. My TRUMP card. My ULTIMATE gift from KHORNE himself. Alas, I cannot fully TAME such a BEAST myself... not YET. It is my GOAL to MASTER this GIFT I have been BLESSED with by the GODS... even so, THIS does SEEM like an INTERESTING development..."
Wolvrik remarked this to himself, and for the first time in this battle, Black Heart noticed something. In that moment, he lost his previous demeanor and adopted a rather calm, thoughtful one instead. There was this light in his eyes, this light that could only be born from someone who had experienced a change after so many years of being stagnant. Years, meaning centuries or even thousands depending on how long one has lived. It looked like the man had begun thinking hard about something, and whatever it was it had something to do with her since his eyes kept themselves focused solely on her.
'What the heck is this guy thinking? H-He better not be looking at my chest or I'll drive Balmung through his groin!' the CPU couldn't help but think with an irritated twitching brow. She also had the strange urge to rip this guy in half with her bare hands, a deep growl rumbling from within her throat. It didn't take her long for her to realize that the foreign blood was affecting her, making her primitive side more prominent due to its animalistic nature. That was another side effect of donning this Armour and allowing the blood to flow through her system, it made her more like an animal than a Goddess, not something she particularly liked for a couple of reasons.
Especially when she thought about claiming a certain Agent for her own.
'So not the time, Black Heart! Keep those thoughts down the gutter where they belong!'
"MRS BLACK HEART! I have a PROPOSAL for YOU!"
"H-Huh?!"
"This BATTLE, glorious as It may BE, cannot CONTINUE for LONG! We have an EXTRAVAGANT conquest before US. However, IF you DEFEAT me with ONE strike, I will CONCEDE my LOSS and BEQUEATH everything I am, to YOU!"
At hearing his statement, Black Heart found herself gaping so much that her jaw hit the ground. Her eyes would have flown open if they weren't connected to her sockets. "Wh-Wha?!" she squeaked, pretty much dumbfounded over the situation. Did he say what she thought he said? Her ears had been enhanced, so they wouldn't be playing tricks on her. By bequeath, she felt certain that somehow included... death... but why? Why would he say such a thing right now?
"This BATTLE has shown me MUCH about you, WARRIOR! You are INDEED a powerful FOE, an FOE worthy of my LIFE! Every WARRIOR dreams of DYING in glorious COMBAT, and my SENSES tell me MY time is NOW! However! I will DIE on the SWORD of a WORTHY WARRIOR! That is MY dream! The ONLY one I VALUE more than CONQUEST!"
For a moment, Black Heart found herself rendered speechless, her mind temporarily blue screening. She couldn't even begin to process the proposal she had just heard from this man.
This barbarian...
This Warrior...
This Warrior who felt like he had fought in countless conquests, more and more conquests than Black Heart could ever imagine.
And yet, he showed himself willing to bet it all on one strike, and if he lost, then...
As she heard this, a feeling welled up inside her as she gritted her teeth and clenched the hilt of Balmung. She hadn't noticed, but she had already been pumping the sword's Jewel with Share Energy, allowing it to slowly turn a pale silver color. More and more energy got poured into the weapon's jewel, allowing it to shine brighter and brighter by the second.
This... how could she turn away from this?
Looking into this man's eyes, Black Heart saw something, something beyond the eyes of a barbarian as she had considered him throughout the battle. She found experience, experience honed through battles she could scarcely imagine, as well as in numbers of a similar magnitude... in addition to fatigue. This man, he had fought for a very long time, longer than any human or immortal on Gamindustri could ever have recalled. She knew this just by looking at those eyes, as it reminded her of the old war veterans she met with back in Lastation to secure their financials.
A gulp went down her throat as a feeling of tension swept over her body. She felt like she was beginning to sweat, her hands felt clammy even though they gripped Balmung's hilt so tightly. Even so, despite the weight on her chest, despite the questions that constantly ran wild through her mind about this man, she couldn't answer in any other way except by readying her strongest attack. None of the risks she thought of earlier felt important right now, the only thing that did would be meeting this warrior's resolve with her own. She had no clue where this had come from, but she didn't think it was important. Plus, it wasn't like he would answer if she asked, the look in his eyes told her that much already.
To that end, Black Heart felt Balmung informing her that it was ready, that the Share Energy she had put into it was now of a sufficient quantity for this attack. She'll direct it all at a single point so she didn't destroy the Basilicom, but that would be the best she could do. At least, with this current level of control, she had over Balmung. Therefore, she wordlessly nodded, mentally commanding Balmung as it began to emit what could only be described as an aura born from the twilight.
That was all Wolvrik needed to be assured she would accept, as the man hardened his gaze once more after a faint look of gratitude passed through it, though Black Heart couldn't be sure. Even so, though, they had to finish this. She and him got into their stances, and began gathering their energies into their weapons.
(Play OST: Identity by mikio sakai - Chivalry of a failed knight)
On the CPU's end, Balmung's aura violently spasmed and jerked about, as if straining against the user's will to keep it in check. This made Black Heart mentally grimace as she barely exerted her will over the power, quickly subduing it and making it obey her. That was when it got started, and began to spiral and wiggle about whilst releasing a powerful vortex of wind behind her. This would be her strongest attack, so she hoped that things would turn out okay after this. She still had questions, but the warrior within her told her that this wasn't the time for talk but the time for action.
Meanwhile, Wolvrik's own attack began charging, rippling airwaves indicating the future attack's upcoming potency. The same creature from before appeared behind Wolvrik, looming over him whilst bearing its fanged maw towards her as it reached forth almost as if it were trying to grab Wolvrik's head and crush it. Though, Black Heart found that to not be the case as sound vibrations rippled around his fist, extending to his sword and causing the space around it to warp. Not to mention the violent sparks of electricity that ignited occasionally from the vibrations causing friction with each other.
In that time frame, just as their attacks began entering the apex of their power, both fighters locked gazes. No words were exchanged, there would be no need. Not with what would happen next, but their eyes each showed the same thing: the resolve to fight to the end, not just as warriors, but as individuals. Individuals with hopes, dreams, and ideals. Things that had clashed so frequently over the last few minutes that it seemed almost like they had spent an eternity together, crossing swords. Even so, none of that had been meaningless, for both parties.
After all, when two warriors clash on the battlefield, the only language they need, would be spoken not with their words, but rather the sharp metals in their hands.
Both had their attacks ready, and at that moment, they charged.
During that brief moment, time seemed to slow for both fighters. Black Heart's hair flew about wildly, just like her appearance whilst her eyes almost shined with the intent to kill. Her teeth gnashed as she moved forth while keeping her attack contained until the moment of opportunity She looked to her charging opponent, eyeing the sword that just screamed danger to her like a thousand blades were about to descend upon her, feeling a slight sense of apprehension crawling up her spine from her stomach. This would no doubt be a close one.
In a second, they were within striking distance... It would definitely be a close one, and if possible time seemed to slow even more. If it were at a turtle's pace before, now it felt more like a snail's pace. Black Heart's Balmung began swinging from her right whilst Wolvrik's sword swung from his left, aiming towards her head as she aimed for the same thing. Black Heart quickly saw how much of a disadvantage she would be in, thanks to this guy having a shield to help block her attack, whilst she had no such protection. She was no fool, whatever those sound abilities were, even if they seemed incomplete and un-mastered compared to Wolvrik's warrior prowess, something told her that she should NOT let them touch her otherwise bad things would happen.
Just as his sword neared her head, however... Black Heart ducked beneath it, pausing her swing. Her heart thumped wildly within her chest, sweat trailing down her forehead all the while she would have almost bathed in the look of utter surprise on Wolvrik's face that spawned from his attack missing... then the realization of what would be happening next. With his attack gone, Black Heart took the opportunity to slide by Wolvrik's exposed side, twirling around to prepare to unleash her attack. After all, now that she had gotten past his sword, it should be smooth sailing, right?
Nope.
It seemed that this guy's reflexes were NOT for a show, for the man had twirled around in the counterclockwise direction, so that his shield could once again block Balmung's path. He did it just as swiftly as Black Heart's slide, perhaps even swifter, moving so fast that he had not uttered a single sound like a quiet breeze in the wind. An admirable feat to be sure, considering the bulky Armour he wore.
However, if Wolvrik thought that she would let that stop her, then he truly underestimated the stubborn drive of Lastation's CPU. Her sharp eyes got even sharper, to the point that if looks could cut Wolvrik's sword would have been sliced in half more than 4 times. 'I will have one shot at this!' she thought to herself. 'One shot to end this fight once and for all! Alright Balmung, don't fail me now!'
Aiming Balmung, Black Heart quickly swung upwards as she finally let her attack out. "TWILIGHT WAVE!" She bellowed, the energy contained around and within the sword instantly erupting forth. It roared like a furious dragon, shooting forwards like a high-density beam and enveloping Wolvrik in a twilight light. Plus, thanks to his close proximity, he wouldn't have been able to dodge it either.
Just before he got hit by the attack... Wolvrik looked like he had just had an orgasm with the relieved smile he suddenly sported, his mouth opening to make two soundless words escape:
"THANK you..."
The battle over, as evident by how the ring around them had literally vanished into nothingness, Black Heart gasped and panted heavily, sweat dripping from her brow as she fell down to one knee. At once, her mind realized that she had held her breath the entire time that instance, which prompted her t let out huge and heavy gasps to take in as much air as possible. She impaled the ground with Balmung and used the blade as means to help her get back to her feet, her body feeling more than a little taxed at the moment.
Speaking of Balmung, there was something she had noticed about her blade throughout the battles they had fought. Even when it was still within her soul waiting to be used. She didn't get it herself, but the blade acted somewhat like a Vacuum, sucking up the ambient demonic power in the atmosphere. Something that happened in much greater quantity when she finally drew it, though she attributed to one of the many things she still didn't know about the weapon. Perhaps that could change in the future?
Hopefully.
'Whew... looks like I... did it...'
Those thoughts passed through her mind, as broken as they may seem. She didn't want to admit it, but controlling that attack took a while hell lot out of her, even after training with Balmung for the last 3 months. Well, she didn't have time to completely devote herself to training since she had other duties as a CPU. Even so, she had still tried, n but still she couldn't really control that attack well. The fact that, out of her peripheral vision, there was a huge hole in the Basilicom's roof that led to the outside more than proved her mental remarks.
A bright light flashed, and soon enough the CPU had returned to her human form. Now that she was, her body no longer floated as it did in HDD form, though she still had the wings her Armour made for her. Her black hair did not return to its ribbon twin-tail style like it usually would have in the case of returning to human form. She attributed that to her Armour, she figured... and honestly, after today she felt like she might keep her hair like this. She didn't get it herself, but something about this new style felt... fresh, to her.
New hairstyles aside, Noire lifted her head as she looked around, deciding to see what the situation was. She had JUST defeated the leader of these barbarians, so she should at least be cautious of a revenge assault. Now, there were two things she noticed. One was that her attack had apparently done much more than she had expected. There were dozens of cracks, both big and small, throughout the room. There were faint burn marks, too which could only have come from the heat her attack must have radiated. The second thing, however, was that when she looked around, she didn't see any of the enemies they had faced before. None of them, like they had just vanished off the face of the earth. "Huh? Where are...?"
"I think THAT has something to do with it."
Turning towards the voice she heard, Noire saw Raven and the rest of Team RAIL, with Raiden (part of her felt relieved to see him unharmed) behind them, regrouping with her. Each of them looked like they had seen better days, with the two boys having various lacerations over their bodies that could only be explained as sword wounds, which they were dealing with by using what Noire realized were Hero Drinks. They healed both health and SP in Gamindustri, so they were widely popular for Guild Agents. Looked like Spec Ops could also be added to the list. Though in comparison, Raven and Lucy looked pretty much fine. Not a speck of dirt on their bodies to show that they had been fighting. Now that she thought about it though, that had been the case for when they fought together throughout the floor, too. "R-Raven! Whew I'm-" The CPU made to greet the other blackette, but then she stopped as her words then registered within the CPU's brain and Noire looked towards where Raven had pointed. When she looked, Noire could only scratch her jawline in confusion. "Huh?"
There, floating before them, was what looked like a crimson colored flame, with a black outline around it. The Flame just... floated there, doing nothing not even burning the air around it. Not to mention that it radiated a strange aura, one that fel remarkably like the many Demons populating the Basilicom right now. The difference between them though, was that this one felt... calm, tamed and peaceful, like it's chaotic nature had been satisfied to a level that the energy had never been before. Not to mention the fact that the flame's core looked distinctly like that of the head of the creature that sometimes appeared behind Wolvrik during their bout.
Speaking of that warrior, Noire's eyes widened when she remembered his proposal to her. That proposal soon led her to realize what this flame was, and what it represented. "This... This is...!" she exclaimed, stopping towards the flame before anyone could stop her. When she was about a foot away from the flame, Noire reached out towards it, intending to grasp it by its core. "So... this is your existence, your everything..." the woman mused as she grasped the core. It didn't feel that hot to her, surprisingly enough. It was almost like the heat welcomed her or something, but even so, deep within the flame Noire could sense it. the Burning passion of a warrior who fought in many battles, simply because it was his calling.
Such a feeling sparked many questions in her mind:
Who was Wolvrik?
Where did he come from?
What was his life like?
Did he have friends? Family?
Was he married, did he have loved ones waiting for him?
These questions... well, they filled her mind, and at that point, Noire gasped as she dismissed Balmung to use her free hand to clutch the side of her head. Her eyes, unbeknownst to her shined brightly as if they were the eyes of a cyborg, going with a cross-shaped light. Nevertheless, Noire's attention got caught by the searing pain echoing throughout her mind. "Ugh... what is...?!'
Before her, however, her eyes suddenly flashed, and soon, Noire found herself looking at... something.
A young boy, born within a world where combat was everything.
Where the gods they worship were deities of a foul, sinister nature.
A land where one has to fight to survive, where packs.
The boy grew into a man, a man who fought with brutality and savagery throughout many battles against other tribes.
His talent for the arts of war gave him much fame, much glory and honor to his tribe and himself...
But the man grew cocky, and that cockiness ended up being his downfall.
He found himself cursed by the Gods that he so worshiped, gifted with immortality in exchange for forever being the Gods servant, sent to accomplish tasks throughout the world that of which no mere mortal could ever hope to comprehend.
The man would have no choice to do this, or risk losing his soul forever.
At first, he despised his curse, for it tied him down to the gods and would never allow him to pursue his own ideals.
However, a plot of corruption and deceit tried to take him, and it was ironically his own curse that helped him uncover the plot to destroy it.
Which lead him to believe his curse was a blessing in disguise, thus he accepted it.
So began his centuries-long life, a life of constant combat, looting, slaughter, and pillaging.
A life where he leads countless hardened warriors into battle, fighting against an untold amount of horrific abominations both mortal and immortal alike.
None of those times were he defeated, none of those times did he die. Everyone else died around him, but the man would constantly grow stronger and stronger, earning much favor from his allies as well as the Gods.
In time however, weariness settled in. He had fought for thousands upon thousands of years, his skill with a sword making it so that he had never lost a fight, for if he did then his curse would sell his soul to the demonic legions of his Gods to be tormented for all of eternity.
His only chance of escape, if he so desired, was to die in glorious combat, to be executed by a worthy warrior ad pass on everything he has, his experience, techniques, abilities, his loot, all of it would go to that worthy warrior.
He would have done nothing less to ensure that his legacy would survive even if he would not.
Another flash happened, and Noire found herself back in the room where she had killed Wolvrik. The CPU let out a breath she had been holding as the pain all but vanished in an instant, nearly giving her whiplash. Not to mention the flame in her hand sunk into her arm and filled her with a similar aura to what it radiated before. This only lasted a second, though, before it vanished completely. "Ugh.. what?"
"Whatever happened just now, we can ponder on it later." Raven called out, before any questions could be asked by her team or Raiden, Noire's bodyguard. she knew their feelings, she too felt curious about what had happened just now, but right now they had an invasion to stop. That took priority for the moment, and since they had cleared this floor of demons anyway, along with destroying the source that powered the portal as evident by it having vanished (probably that Forsaken and that Wolvrik guy), it would be time to press forward to the next floor.
To the Dungeons where she, and most likely Lucy as well, could sense the demonic presence that lingered there, waiting for them.
Chapter end
Here you go guys, a new chapter!
Now, in this one the first part was more of an overall summary of the conflicts that happened throughout the floor. The reason why I wrote it like this is very similar to why I wrote some of the battles in the Hellverse arc. They're mostly filler fights (save for that moment where Lucy and Raiden did the jack the ripper combo, shoutout to Mgasmsms for the idea, sorry if I got your username wrong) that show what the situation on the other floors are. The REAL juicy bits are where the portals are.
Also, funny story. Originally I wouldn't have had Noire inherit Balmung from the fate series, as Vert got her weapon from To Aru no Index and I wanted to keep to that trend. But then, I couldn't find a proper weapon for her that I could understand on that series, so I took to the Fate Series. Heck, I even have plans for their further growth in powers thanks to the fate series, something I have King Carlos to thank.
Not to mention, that includes the abilities Balmung has and what they do to Noire. As for the ones you just saw, Balmung basically made her look like a mix of herself and Siegfried from the fate series, with influence on her personality like the BOW instincts IF has. Not to mention that even though she's trained with Balmung, Noire still has little idea on the full potential this sword has. That'll change though, don't worry. Plus, she now has the legacy of Wolvrik, something that'll have MAJOR power boosts for her. It was also an idea I got from looking into some Chinese novels.
Hopefully you guys like the chapter, and i'll be seeing you in the next one!
Peace out!
