Chapter 132 - Demonic Invasion PT 9

"You sure you're feeling okay, Nep-Nep?"

The Three Groups now stood before the entrance to the Dungeons below, the entrance that looked to have been mutated and deformed by Demonic power. The entrance had large, crimson brass doors that stood halfway between the stairs, with large knobs that would be just enough for a hand to grab. The mutations however, caused it to have multiple groaning faces, sharp jagged spikes protruding from its top and sides, as well as dozens of skulls jutting out in various formations. All of them looked frozen in screams of pure agony and torment, so basically part of the traditional demonic shit that had been thrown their way. There were large, long spikes that jutted out around the entrance, jutting out diagonally to make a makeshift twisted crown made from chitinous material.

Not to mention the fact that, for those attuned to sensing Demonic Power (IF, Neptune, Vert, Noire, Compa thanks to her abilities, Lucy and Raven) they sensed so much down there that if it were possible they would have choked on it. Hell, the entire entrance seemed to be saturated with a crimson aura that seemed to light up each and every skull. Almost like each one was a second away from erupting into flames of unending blazes. Furthermore, each of them swore they could hear despairing moans in the thousands, echoing throughout the vicinity and originating from the open-mouthed skulls dotted about and displayed like hard earned trophies, some of them even looking like they were still alive.

It became clear to them that they would likely be facing hordes upon hordes of enemies at this point.

However, these grotesque details weren't something that Neptune herself paid any mind to as she turned towards her friend, her eyes showing just how she felt about Compa's motherly-like behaviour towards her. "I said I'm fine, really Compa. This Nep is A-ok." She replied, even resorting to making the muscles flexing gesture. "Look, these Nep muscles are still at their prime and ready for action!"

Noire however, couldn't help but snicker at the rather… lacklustre muscles on the petite arms that Neptune sported. "Pft, like there was anything there in the first place…" she muttered under her breath, her shoulders shaking slightly whilst an affronted glare towards her was made by the offended preteen.

Yeah, needless to say that Neptune didn't find her remark very funny as she pouted angrily. "Mou, Nowa's being rude! I guess this is why she's got the eternal title of lonely heart, huh?" she responded with a tone just loud enough for the blackette CPU to hear. She intended for Noire to be bristling with anger over her comment, then she could go into super trolling Nep mode to rile Noire up even more.

However, she did NOT expect a smug smirk to form on the blackette's lips, a taunting look dancing through her eyes as if she were trying to say the patented meme 'try me, bitch!'

"At least I don't eat like a slob and have next to no leadership ability." She retorted sharply, huffing with a prideful, borderline arrogant smirk, escaping her with a matching aura resonating from around her. Deep inside, she could feel some form of… laughter, echoing from Balmung. Like, it was amused with the response she gave and offered its approval. Whelp, it DID have beastly traits, as well as traits only a King would have. In essence, it basically had a sense of sassy humour that Noire appreciated.

Again, logic in Gamindustri should be thrown out the window.

A rather shocked and surprised look formed on the preteen's face as she took a single step away from her fellow CPU, leaning backwards slightly whilst holding her left arm in front of her protectively and her right arm being outstretched to the side. Kind of that classic creeped out pose in a horror movie… only, it was used more to express the absolute disbelief racing throughout Neptune's form. "Whoa! Now that's below the belt! Ya making me mad, Noire!"

"Uh huh. Blah-Blah-Blah…"

"Grr!"

Beside them, IF could only watched on as Neptune and Noire quarrelled. Well, it looked more like Neptune tried to pummel the black-haired CPU with her tiny fists only for Noire to hold her back by planting a hand over her face. "Those two…" she muttered under her breath as she sighed whilst shaking her head. 'Well… I guess its no surprise, Noire just said all that to relieve the tension… and probably to annoy Nep for all the times she teased her.' The brunette remarked, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. 'Surprisingly though, Noire has a sassy side to her. Guess she has to have one when dealing with someone like Nep…'

That smirk soon turned into an upside-down frown though, as she remembered what had happened before. 'Nep may not show it, she's likely trying to keep up a brave face but whatever happened back there has definitely shaken her up. I can tell cause her hands twitch as if she's trying to stop herself from doing something. Not to mention the way her heart is beating right now…' In the end though, IF couldn't help but understand why Neptune had been so freaked out, even if she hid it away before anyone could notice. She didn't want her friends to worry, and not to mention how they still had a load more enemies to take out before this invasion was quelled.

Speaking of that time, after it all got settled down, everyone had their misgivings about going inside the Armoury again. After all, if these items were placed in here, then they were placed here with a reason behind them. Upon checking a

Thankfully, none of what happened to Neptune happened to the rest of them… at least, not to the same extent.

For Vert, she decided to take what looked to have been a gauntlet-like accessory, one that was fitted to her right forearm. It had a large stone surrounded by a set of 4 smaller ones over the back of the palm, whilst being coloured a pale white. There was also the kanji for 'wind' on the main stone. According to the data on her tablet, it's name was 'Fujin' or 'Wind God' and it was a gauntlet that gave the wielder the ability to manipulate wind for combat purposes. With Vert's attacks being what they were, she felt a connection to this particular item, hence why she chose it. Not only that, but combining wind with her Spears would increase their range and destructive prowess, something that she saw as QUITE useful in the times ahead.

As for her second item, Vert chose a hand-sized iron ball. According to her data from the Tablet, researchers called it the 'Tetsugan' or 'Iron Ball' which, when swallowed, can be activated at will. When activated, the Tetsugan enhanced the user's defensive abilities. Research showed that the Tetsugan's defences would be strong enough for one to survive a fall down a deep chasm or break through solid iron. Thus, Vert swallowed it to allow her to have a better chance at surviving larger-scale attacks especially if somehow, she would be separated from both Gungnir and Beninuki.

For Noire, she only chose one item: A gauntlet-like item with a long tail-like appendage. The CPU had found the kanji for lightning on it, so she had decided to call it her 'Raijin'. Like Vert's Fujin, the Raijin also had a central stone over the back of the palm, as well as 3 smaller stones around it in a triangular formation. The central stone was where the kanji for lighting was imprinted, in addition to that the blackette found that the Tail would enter her body and connect to her brain. According to Vert's tablet, this was to take her energy and use it as a means to enhance it's own ability to generate and manipulate Lightning.

Ironic, that it seemed like the opposite of Balmung, which she gave her energy too, whilst this thing could take it on its own.

Next up, was Neptune. The first item she had gotten was that blue ring, so Vert had told her that she would only be allowed one more item (she didn't know about the green Ring, though). Thus, she chose a silver ring with carvings and a red diamond set into it, a ring that Vert had found to be called 'Azure' and according to research, this ring made one immune to fire and heat-based attacks. It was something that would DEFINITELY help, since Bloodletters, Heralds and similar demons possess many fire attacks, so this thing would help her resist them.

Out of the rest of the Groups, only these girls chose to have these items, the rest all abstained from choosing their own for one reason or another. Lucy and Raven because they already had similar items of their own, Guts because he preferred his own gear, Isaac for a similar reason, Aiden and Ivan because they also had their own items and Raiden because since he was half machine, none of the items would recognize him as their master anyways. This fact got proven during the selection, so nobody questioned it. Even so, everyone could tell how elated Vert had been in the knowledge that her Basilicom had provided some form of help to their efforts.

Which lead up to this moment.

"So, whose going in?" Guts questioned, arms crossed as he eyed the door with thinly veiled distaste. One could tell by how sharp his gaze became and how his teeth gritted together. Even so, it became the most emotion anyone had ever seen him express, save for Isaac who sighed in understanding.

Nevertheless, he had asked a question, thus it would be rude not to give an answer, right? Not to mention it kinda needed one anyways, since it was a good and important question to ask. A question that got answered by Vert herself when she turned to look at him, her gaze having been focused on the quarrelling CPUs too. "I already thought of that, and I do believe that myself, Neptune, Noire, and Mrs VERONICA should go inside."

"Huh?" Neptune blinked, temporarily putting aside her squabble with Noire (who also looked just as surprised as she did) to look over to the CPU of Leanbox, surprise and confusion evident in her eyes. "Why's that, Vert? I thought it'd be the main heroine and her sidekicks that got the spotlight in this arc." She questioned, getting some glares from the other girls.

Even Vert didn't look too pleased but that one but chose to let it go. She just had to get used to this current personality Neptune had. She may not be the same as she once was, but that didn't mean she couldn't be irritating. "Heroine and sidekicks aside, I chose this group because it is a small group, and each of us has different advantages that are significantly effective against Demonic enemies. I with Gungnir…" she began, summoning the divine-feeling weapon into her hand and holding it out for them. Neptune and Compa each went 'Ooooooh!' over it, which prompted the woman to continue whilst her lips twitched in an attempt to hide her amusement. "Neptune has her divine/demonic sword Soul Calibur, not to mention her Azure ring allows her to resist their fire attacks completely. That'll make her an ideal fighter against these creatures. Noire has her skills with Lightning and that strange sword she possesses seems particularly effective at destroying Demons. If a bit destructive, however considering what we're facing some collateral damage is guaranteed. Lastly, Mrs Veronica's apparent ability to manipulate vegetation will be exceedingly useful since we're deep beneath the earth."

Everyone then looked to Lucy in surprise, save for the members of Team RAIL and Noire's group. They didn't expect THAT to be Lucy's reason for being selected, and judging by the amused roll of her eyes, the woman seemingly knew about this decision somehow. Ivan and Aiden didn't show much that indicated they were displeased with the change, in fact it almost seemed like they understood the decision completely, whilst Raven had no reaction, though they didn't know for sure thanks to her Mask covering all of her face. 'Now that Vert mentions it, I did notice before, but… why does Lucy feel so similar to me, Vert and Neptune?' Noire thought to herself, confused and curious. Part of her did have a large amount of suspicion towards the redhead woman and Team RAIL's leader, however that part of her had been largely suppressed. Suppressed mainly by the fact that Team RAIL had done much for her Nation as well as had a great record of successful missions both as individuals and as a team across the four Nations.

All this however, did indeed satisfy the Black Swordsman's original question, as evident by the acceptance on his features. Like everyone else outside of Team RAIL, he too had his share of suspicions, though he didn't really care much to investigate. All he cared about was when he'd get to swing his sword once more, for that was the very definition of his existence as a warrior. "I see… and what should the rest of us do?" Guts questioned again, looking back towards this Nation's CPU. "It wouldn't be good to just leave us out here with nothing, it shows a strong negligence by the one in charge."

"Wow, this debate's getting tense… feels like that time with that robot in Lastation all over again."

Vert nodded her head once more, ignoring what Neptune commented to her friends beneath whispering levels. "You all should remain on standby, and as for command I believe Mrs SAMURAI should qualify as a substitute commander. Her experience with leading others makes her the ideal candidate for taking command whilst we are away. We may have destroyed the main portals spawning Demons and other forces throughout the Basilicom, however I am worried about the smaller ones. We should have a force stay out here just in case something happens.

GUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Almost as SOON as those words left Vert's lips, the very air itself seemed to tremble and shake, dozens of loud roars filling the air like a twisted melody of death and destruction. Following those roars, an equal amount of small portals opened up, filling the walls, floors and ceilings from which a mix of Bloodletters, those demonic-looking warriors that Vert fought, and a series of Northmen Forsaken emerged. The ones from the ceiling fell to the ground below, some landing on top of their brethren before being rudely shoved off.

"Yikes!" Neptune exclaimed as everyone got into their defensive stances. Raven slowly drew her Odachi which had it's blade an icy blue colour, whilst Raiden drew his HF Blade. Guts pulled Dragonslayer out from behind him whilst Isaac summoned his Plasma Cutter and Contact Beam, with his Force Gun appearing at his hip for a quick drawing. Aiden summoned his Pistols, lowered his Goggles over his eyes and activated his STORM DRIVE Skill, whilst Ivan quickly switched his Biotic Arm to Blade mode, lowered his own goggles whilst raising his Mask and drawing one of his Knives. IF quickly formed her Armour as well as her Claws, whilst Compa (whom had been in her Astral Dress this whole time) summoned Gabriel and began floating in the air. "Looks like we got some more baddies coming!"

The one to respond to Neptune's exclamation, turned out to be Raven, as Vert guessed she would. "This is not the time for pointing out the obvious, Neptune. We shall hold the line here, you, Noire and Vert need to head inside and finish this Invasion off by the roots." She stated coldly, her breath slowly beginning to release a frosty vapour whilst her eyes slowly gained a blue glow behind her Mask. "Go!"

"Our thanks." Vert replied simply, quickly getting Noire and Neptune's attention. "Let us be off, it is time that we finish this battle off ourselves, our enemy awaits us down in the Dungeons."

Both CPUs nodded, and with that the four descended into the Dungeons. The end was nigh, both sides could feel it.

The end was nigh, oh so… so nigh.

If any of the four thought that things would stop being so intense, then they would only be fooling themselves.


After entering the Dungeons, Neptune, Noire, Vert and Lucy jogged to a stop and looked about, the three CPUs shivering at the sights around them. The entire dungeon had that medieval feel to it, with stone floors, pillars that acted as supports, with various cages hanging up above them the size of a person, and various cells throughout the walls. Not to mention the fact that some of those cages still had rotting corpses in them, decomposing still from the point of death. Then, there were the more… demonic influences that could only have happened recently, such as some areas of the ground looking more like groaning faces, a red hue all over the atmosphere, the feeling of being choked even though their necks were not being touched, Skulls piled up in certain places to make it seem they were looking right at the girls, sharp and barbaric spikes hoisting corpses into the air, the works.

"Geez…these guys sure know how to well, make themselves at home, huh?" Neptune couldn't help but remarked, scratching the side of her jaw nervously as she had her Azure ring on her right hand's index finger. A bead of sweat rolled down the preteen's forehead, showcasing just how uncomfortable she looked with all of this. Even when she had seen such sights before, Neptune still didn't find herself getting any better at getting used to it. She didn't want to either, seriously who would want to be okay with seeing a horror fest like this?

Noire rolled her eyes, flicking one of her ponytails and landing the hand on her hip. "We can't dawdle, Neptune. Everyone's counting on us to move forwards." She stated coolly, before looking about and grimacing at the sights. She tried not to show it, but Noire felt that these sights hit her close to home. Especially when she remembered helping her Nation's military clean up the aftermath of Avenir's attack. Seeing things like this…. It made her imagination replace the scenery around her to the desolate streets that were once lively and full of citizens. 'No! Don't think about that right now, Noire! Right now, focus on the things you CAN do, not the things you COULDN'T do!' she chastised in her mind.

Stepping forwards so that she was in front of them, Vert summoned Gungnir into her hands, her eyes harder than steel as she stared in the direction they would need to travel. "Everyone, I must warn you, being down here will probably be as maze-like as the rest of the floors, as that is the way that this Dungeon has been built. Thanks to everything that's happened…" Vert began, wincing when she remembered everything she had seen thus far. "I've become attuned to sensing this twisted energy down to it's source, thus I'll guide us through to the target."

"Wow, you must have had a thing for mazes, huh Vert? Makes me wonder if you like those legends about that one monster that looks like a human and a bull that was made by some form of sea god."

"Actually Neptune, according to my Nation's Spec Ops database, that creatures called a Minotaur and it's actually real."

"Nepu?! Fore realises Noire?! I was just trying to make my references, ya know, the norm and stuff!"

When she saw the two girls commenting like that, Lucy couldn't help but crack a small smile, amusement dancing in her eyes before she quashed it. "Alright ladies lets settle down. In any case…" she began, only for her words to trail off when she sensed several presences, each one containing Demonic Power according to her senses, approaching them. Crushing her amusement, the redhead woman's features hardened once more as she got into a fighting stance, her Cleavers drawn. "It appears we have company."

Instantly after she said that, Neptune and Noire faced the direction the other CPU did, just in time to see her throw up a defensive Panel in front of them to shield them from a large fireball. She couldn't throw it down however, as many smaller ones came flying towards them with the intent to burn them to a crisp. Not if Vert had anything to say about it though, as she swiftly reared Gungnir back and, when she saw the tiniest opening, lowered the Panel and threw the Spear towards the unseen target. Thanks to it's traits however, Gungnir quickly found the source of the fireballs, or rather the sources, and impaled one.

A loud cry escaped the lips of what sounded like a masculine voice, before several forms shimmered into existence. Each form became that of men in dark robes concealing the upper halves of their faces. Each of them held various staffs, with ceremonial daggers strapped to their waists for close combat. All of them quickly began holding their Staffs out, muttering spells in the runic language before summoning a series of Bloodletters. Each one roared a victorious battle cry, their Hellblades roaring like the infernos they were. There seemed to be 40 of them in total, and all of them now glared heatedly towards Vert who had Gungnir return to her, its previous target having fallen to the ground in a dead heap with a hole in his chest where the heart would be.

Looking at their robes, Noire's eyes flashed with recognition as she summoned Raijin from her Inventory. The Gauntlet appeared in a flash, coiling around her right arm whilst she also summoned her HF Blade. "Looks like these guys belong to the cult following Overlord Momus. I recognize those robes they wear." She remarked, remembering some of the conversations that she and Nico had together. In those, he made reference to these guys' appearance, mostly when he talked about the Hellverse Dungeon and the state of affairs he'd discovered along with the other party members. Raijin's form crackled with electricity, sparking violently and dangerously.

"Indeed. Let us deal with them, quickly. We do not have time to be wasting on cannon fodder enemies." Vert replied simply, glaring with intense rage towards the Cultists. In her eyes, these men must not only have a connection to Overlord Momus, but also Maghda herself as well. After all, who else would have employed such tactics like summoning Demons within her sacred Basilicom.

At that moment, Neptune grinned as she summoned Murasama as she created a replica of it with Crystal manipulation. She also deployed her Armour, before charging forth. "Whelp, time to do what we've been doing this whole battle arc! Charge ahead blindly! What ya waiting for guys? Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" And with that, Neptune blasted forwards, holding her dual swords with a crystal slide forming beneath her feet to help her slide and boost her speed.

To that end, A couple Bloodletters slammed into her with their Hellblades crashing into her own swords like two bullet trains. However, the moment that they got near her…

SHINE

The Azure began to shine, and the flames that their Hellblades sported quickly got snuffed out leaving only the main swords left. As they dispersed, Neptune swore she could have heard the roars coming from within those flames turn into dying screams for a moment there, though she got too caught up in smirking deviously beneath her helmet. Smirking at the surprised and furious expressions in the two Bloodletters' eyes. "Hehehehe looks like the Azure's a nepping success!" she boasted, applying enough pressure to push back the infernal Hellblades before she quickly dashed forwards using TRACKLESS STEP, ending up slicing both Bloodletters' heads off at the same time.

Their death by fiery implosion followed, though thanks to Azure Neptune remained unaffected.

'Looks like these tools work as they should…' Noire thought to herself as she looked towards her Raijin, the gauntlet's tail already having dug into her and connected with her brain. Clenching her fist, Noire gritted her teeth as she too dashed forwards, empowering her legs by imbuing them with Lightning. In an instant, Noire had dashed right into a Bloodletter and placed her gauntlet-clad hand on its chest. "Go! RAIJIN!" she yelled, and the Gauntlet responded. In that second, Noire saw how her Gauntlet released a surge of pure white electricity, covering the Bloodletter and reducing it's inside too much. The Bloodletter didn't even have time to cry out, as it's form imploded from all the lightning, allowing Noire to see another coming towards her from the rear left flank of its fallen brethren.

Lucy activated her POLLEN DRIVE Skill, allowing her body to be enhanced beyond its limitations as she dashed forwards, cutting through a good chunk of the Bloodletters with her Cleavers before they could even raise their Hellblades. She then slid to a halt, jumping into the air and thrusting her legs upwards. At that point, a large platform made entirely out of what looked like spiky green vines emerged from the stone ceiling, providing a foothold for her to charge downwards.

As she fell towards her enemies, the Bloodletters each howled as they made to swing their burning Hellblades towards her, intending to char and carve through her flesh. However, the redhead woman had her own counter to this, as she flipped forwards and launched a single ax kick, smashing the back of her right leg's boot heel into multiple Hellblades to deflect them down to the ground. This gave her the chance to spinning slash with her Cleavers, literally cleaving (pardon the pun) their heads from their bodies.

"Fufufufufu, sorry boys, no killing lives for you today… or ever." The woman cooed, giggling as she flipped back to avoid their explosive deaths. When she landed in a kneeling position, the woman sensed an abundance of energy gathering behind her, and turned to see several cultists pointing several staffs towards her whilst chanting in the runic tongue. 'That Spell… if I don't do something, it'll likely cause great trouble for me in the future.' Lucy thought, before a plan of action formed in her mind. 'Well, since the time is nearly upon me anyway, I might as well. Ravey may get mad at me for this, though…'

With her plan in mind, Lucy giggled as she put a hand on her lips, her eyes flashing like a sultry seductress before she blew each of the two Cultists a kiss. Both men widened their eyes as blushes formed on their faces, though what they didn't see was the small cloud of green gas that escaped her lips, soon entering them through every hole on their faces and burrowing into their brains.

"So beautiful… she likes me!"

"No, she likes me!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

"ME!"

Both Cultists glared heatedly at each other like wild animals in heat, unknowingly pausing their spell at a… rather volatile time. Thus, it ended up in the Spell detonating prematurely, killing both of them thanks to the eruption of magical energy vaporizing them down to every last cell in their bodies. None of them would have even noticed either, such was the strength of the hypnotic 'effect' the woman had on them.

It wasn't even her full power, either, another thing that amused her.

Said woman only giggled at the sight, amusement dancing in her eyes as several Vines erupted from her body, thwacking away multiple Bloodletters that tried to get close to her. 'Fufufu, its always fun seeing men fall victim to my gases… Nature is indeed one cruel mistress if you piss her off.' She thought to herself, retracting the Vines and spreading her arms out. Instantly, a series of sharpened spikes made out of natural wood rose out of the ground, impaling the surrounding enemies through multiple vital areas. Those that were cultists just died right then and there, whilst Bloodletters died in their signature fiery explosions.

At last, Vert jumped forwards, feeling the power of Fujin activate when it formed over her right forearm and hand. Instantly as the Cultists aimed their staffs in her direction in an attempt to shoot her down, a wind barrier appeared around her and deflected an incoming barrage of energy blasts. A small smirk formed on her lips at the sight, her eyes dancing with devious intent. 'So, the wind of Fujin is capable of deflecting magic attacks, is it?' she thought to herself, before she threw her Fujin-clad arm forwards. "Shred, FUJIN!" Vert yelled, the item quickly responding to her demands. From it, a huge series of wind guts shot forth, shooting through the air like bullets and tearing through more than half the cultists. Their blood smeared the stone ground below, organs and bones being grinded into a finely thick paste as she landed behind them before standing upright.

Flicking her Beninuki to the side, Vert sensed a Bloodletter coming at her from behind, raising its Hellblade to bring it down on top of her head. However, Vert made no move to counter it, something which should have made it suspicious as all hell, but since this thing was a creature of pure rage and bloodlust… yeah, no brainer. So, when its Hellblade met her head, it expected the fiery weapon to cleave right through her… only, it didn't, and instead, the Hellblade bounced off her like it had bounced off some form of uncuttable metal.

If it had a brain, then it'd be dumbstruck.

"Apologies, Demon, but I'm afraid you won't be heading anywhere but your grave!"

SLICE!

Swiftly, Vert responded the moment the Hellblade bounced off her Skin, twirling Beninuki around to perform a back-to-front decapitation. The blade of the Spear quickly tore through the Bloodletter's hide, leaving its head to the fate of flying clean off its body, spinning through the air before crashing into the ground with an audible 'THUD'. The headless corpse soon fell to the side, exploding afterward which Vert blocked with Fujin's wind. Afterward, Vert looked down at her hand, or to be more specific the Gauntlet item that allowed her to manipulate wind more freely than anything her previous Skill attacks would have let her. 'These items… so far, we know little about them, which is why they were hidden away, yet… for some reason, I feel like these things are important to Gamindustri's history in some manner…' she thought to herself, before looking to the rest of the battle. Around her, Neptune and Noire rained hell upon their enemies, tearing through them with no mercy via the sword, crystal or the use of their new items. Couldn't let them outshine her, now could she?


After taking out the rest of the enemies, Vert, Noire, and Neptune regrouped together, dismissing their items and weapons since they wouldn't be attacked for a short while according to their senses. Even so, all three of them still felt like they were on some form of 'high' after that battle, a high that could only come from the true thrill of the conflict that dozens craved. Craved to the point of becoming warmongers for.

"Whew, now THAT was fulfilling!" Neptune exclaimed, putting her hands over her head whilst grinning a toothy grin. She looked absolutely radiant right now, as if any stress she had built up had melted away during the heat of battle. "Those thingamajigs you gave u really helped, Ver-Ver, they're so cool!" she added on at the end, glancing over to the Leanbox CPU with approval.

Noire gave a sigh, a reluctant admittance in her eyes as she glanced anywhere but the blonde woman. "I… I guess that they were decent, but that's to be expected. After all, we ARE Goddesses after all. Its only natural these items are super effective." She remarked. "It was… decent of you to let us have them, I suppose."

"Awww, you're such a tsundere, Noire. You really like these items, and you know it, no need to be shy now."

"N-Neptune, what the hell?! Don't just jump on me like that!"

Lucy and Vert could only chuckle at the responses the two girls gave to each other, amusement shining in her eyes at the antics the two displayed. Whilst part of her wanted to get a move on already, it felt nice to know that the groups' morale was high, and now that she thought about it, perhaps this was the way that the girls could cope with what was happening here. A means to lighten the situation around them with comedy, and in Vert's mind, she couldn't help but break the fourth wall a little. 'Even though it's not his best forte, the author tries to do the canon proud with bits of comedy here and there…'

Eventually, the redhead woman spoke up as she stepped towards the two and separated them by grasping their shoulders and pulling them apart. "Alright lovebirds, you can suck each other off at a hotel later. Cause right now, we have some ass to kick." She told them with a sultry smile, a teasing glint in her eyes. "Or afterward, cause I don't judge."

"H-HUH?!"

"L-LUCY?!"

"What? As I said, I'm not judging. If you girls want to release your latent homosexual urges for each other, do it A: after the mission, and B: in a love hotel." The redhead second in command of Team RAIL stated with a dismissive hand gesture whilst walking down the corridor. Vert herself couldn't help but chuckle in amusement, though she stifled it behind her hand all lady-like whilst catching up with Lucy and leaving two red-faced girls behind.

"You sure do love to tease. I do say, that your reputation as a seductive temptress is well-earned."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at the blonde woman, cackling as she looked Vert up and down. 'Hoh? Looks like someone's got powerful sexual urges they are competing against. Seems like she hasn't had any action since she came down from Celestia. Though, it also seems like she's in better control over herself than those two…' she noticed and jotted down in her mind. 'Maybe I could hook her up with a few of my contacts, give her some stress relief if all goes well… although, judging by what I'm sensing, I guess she's already found someone she's willing to bed.' Whilst keeping her thoughts to herself, Lucy responded to Vert's comment. "They're just kids if they can't take a little teasing like that. I wasn't even using half the sex jokes in my head just then, and they already folded." She stated.

Vert raised her brows in surprise at this claim, and she had no trouble believing it. She'd not been lying when she had said she knew of Lucy's reputation, heck she was one of the Agents she looked into extensively aside from Nico's. All of Team RAIL seemed to show excessive promise and potential… but each of them almost seemed like they had their own skeletons in their closets especially Lucy and Raven. Vert felt like, when she read over Lucy's file which was given to the Spec Ops branch in Leanbox by their Planeptune brethren, that she could get along with this woman and her perverted humor. "Ufufufu, I do say, you have a point there. Though, I doubt that they can truly take in the heat, if you know what I mean, just yet."

"Oh, you mean taking in the shaft? Heh, yeah, I got that impression of them, especially from Lastation's CPU. She seems like too much of a prude right now for something as sensual as that, though who knows, it could change if she finds someone." Lucy responded, chuckling at Vert's slight innuendo. It actually felt refreshing to her, finding another woman she could talk to with sex jokes and innuendos, since she didn't find those types a lot. As she giggled and laughed with Vert once they began regurgitating jokes until their next inevitable attack, Lucy got the feeling that they would be getting along SWIMMINGLY in the future. Though, behind them would be a completely different story…

"Hey, Neptune…?" A crimson-faced Noire questioned an equally red Neptune as they tried to block out the jokes and remarks the two older looking women kept tossing about and laughing on. The amount of mortification that ran through her system like a super-powered virus could only be described as titanic, especially when her ears forced her to hear what the two women were saying. Part of her bristled at being called a prude, but she couldn't help the storm of embarrassment either. Not to mention the jokes they made sent some… tantalizing images through her mind. 'AAAAAARGH! Stop it, Noire, you're better than this! Those two are just perverts, don't sink to their level!' she chanted inside her mind… though the images wouldn't cease.

On Neptune's side, the preteen couldn't help but feel light-headed as the perversion spread through her mind as well… only, in a comparison between the two, Neptune found herself experiencing it way more. Especially since she had memories of absolutely dominating Nico on the bed that one time. The more jokes she heard from those two, the more her imagination went wild, and for a girl who, whilst teasing and seductive, had a pure maiden's heart deep down, all these images definitely made her more… well, mute in layman's terms. She could understand Noire's reactions to her teasing a little better now, especially with how much blood raced to her face… and her nether regions as the thoughts in her mind outlined her and Nico doing various… raunchy things that would make even an MA rating feel like a drastic understatement. "Y-Yeah?"

"Do you…" For a moment, Noire didn't know what to say. No, that wasn't right, it was more like she got tongue tied and had to stop lest she splutters in embarrassment, something that her pride refused to allow her to do right now. After a second or two, however, she managed to regain her ability to speak. Though, it was way softer than before. "Do you have the feeling that we've just witnessed the birth of the most hellish duo of friends ever made?"

Just as meek as her friend was, Neptune responded with a slow nod, too embarrassed to do much else right now with what she had been hearing from these two. "Yes, Nowa Chan, yes I do."

"Oh good, so it's not just me."


Travelling through the Dungeons was both draining.. and embarrassing, in more ways than one.

The fighting wasn't too bad, it actually was ironically some of the less insane and embarrassment-inducing moments for the girls, or rather Neptune and Noire.

Said preteen had gotten WAY into body surfing and performing what she had affectionately termed 'stylish combat' pulling off varying attacks and chaining them together as if each one were a Skill Attack like they did at Lastation. One time, she stomped on the ground to knock some debris into the air, oddly enough each piece resembling a set of billiard balls, before she thrust her sword at one piece and demonstrating the domino effect by sending each piece forth into a group of Cultists... all the while performing the splits to dodge two Hellblades then rose into a Helicopter kick, one which knocked her opponents over and allowed her to impale with crystal spikes. She had once responded when asked by Noire, with: '"For some heroes, it's not enough just saving the world, they gotta look good doing it!" To that end, Neptune got... creative, in how she dispatched the Demons that came at her, as well as their Cultist summoners.

As for Noire, she had taken to using her new items and combined them with her HF Blade, refusing to use Balmung for the time being. Not that she didn't like the weapon, but for enclosed spaces like this it was more of a disadvantage plus with the fact that she couldn't control it very well... yeah. That didn't extend to Raijin and Nan though, and THEY definitely felt a load of 'fun' to use especially the latter when she threw her limbs forwards so fast it looked like thousands of punches were descending upon her opponents. Noire may not be a fist fighter, but she DEFINITELY felt the appeal of just clocking assholes in the face when she did that. Though, she mostly used her elastic abilities to slash from unpredictable angles, extending the range of her sword or more defensive means like pulling herself out the range of certain attacks or restraining her opponents. As for Raijin, she would either use its Lightning to attack her opponents from the inside by touching them, imbue her sword with Lightning, or her own body when her elastic powers weren't activated.

So... what was the more embarrassing part, one would ask?

Well, the times BETWEEN battles would be the answer to that, especially when Vert and Lucy would either tease the hell out of them with sexual jokes and innuendos. Seriously, for someone who had more maturity than the others, someone who was supposed to be the adult of the group, Vert had one dirty mind alright. Hell, it seemed to rival a trash bin in terms of perverted dirtiness, something that could only have been made worse with someone like Lucy. Seriously, this woman would be the death of them, both girls thought to themselves with no small amount of embarrassment. She had a combination of experience to back up her humor, and as well as a teasing side to her that went well with the perverseness Vert sported thanks to all the erotic games she played. One might say they were a match made in heaven, whilst Neptune and Noire would say they were a match made in hell, ironically enough.

One of them would be bad enough, but together... each of them feared for their sanity.


In the end, after so much fighting and teasing the girls' sanity finally got a chance to have a break from being hammered by so many sexual innuendos when the Group found themselves in what looked like a large room... a large room that once looked like it had been used as a torture chamber what with all the devices lined up around the edges of the room. Now though, it seemed to be used for a ritual of blood, as there were various symbols and wards drawn with thick, heavy crimson blood that almost seemed like it would be staining the stone materials for years to come.

"So, this is it...?" Lucy questioned, crossing her arms beneath her bosom whilst frowning deeply. Her eyes narrowed at the room as she took in the sights, memories returning to the forefront of her mind. 'This room, no doubt it has taken the lives of many during its existence... lives that were both guilty and innocent.' she thought to herself. The time for jokes had passed just as they had entered the room, which had been located at the rear end of these Dungeons. Not to mention the fact that she almost shuddered at all the bodies that were used to make what she assumed was a summoning circle on the ground. She knew this because of the large barrels stuffed with human remains at the back of the room, all of them belonging either to prisoners or captured staff members. Lucy refused to look at those any more than necessary, especially since she could feel the bile rising in her throat.

Vert glanced over to her new found friend, her friend who understood the pleasures of naked butlers just as much if not more so than herself. Even she herself found it hard to keep it together, cause these WERE her people, her staff members. Seeing them being treated like this nearly made her go berserk on the ones responsible, if she were alone that is. The reason why she hadn't, simply so she could set a better example for the other CPUs. Though, her new best friend seemed to be a whole different story. A worried frown escaped her lips for her friend's health, though she decided to answer her question instead, offering a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Looks like it." she said, getting a look of thankfulness from the redhead woman who offered her an assuring smile in return prompting Vert to remove her hand. "This is the room where the source of the demonic forces is located. I can feel a MASSIVE amount of ambient energies in the atmosphere."

Neptune shuddered whilst nodding in agreement. "Yeppers..." she added on, feeling no small amount of shivers crawling down her spine like a marching bad. Her hands ran up and down her arms as she attempted to smooth the goosebumps filling their skin. "Don't think I've ever been this creeped out in a long while. Me SO ready to end all of this already." Heh, wasn't that the truth? In fact, her feelings were shared by the rest of the group, all this shit did NOT bode well for their dreams tonight, they'd likely be having nightmares about it for a very long time. Considering practically all of them had immortality in some way, well, that prospect grew even more terrifying. To live forever in a world of nightmares...

Not something any deity would like to experience.

As she said that, each of them nodded in agreement, before Vert noticed something within the center. "Huh? Is that...? Oh my goodness...!" she gasped, a hand over her mouth to suppress the urge to throw up. As for the rest of them, each of the group found their gazes drawn like magnets to the floor which Vert had been looking at. The reason? Why, the largest summoning circle is drawn in blood that they had ever seen of course. The drawing expanded across the entire floor of the room, whilst looking so complex that it would take the most talented of Mages weeks to decipher even a small piece of it. That didn't even begin to take into consideration what that summoning circle would be trying to bring forth into Gamindustri.

"That is... one BIG circle." Neptune stated, eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. The amount of iron in the air she could smell made her feel like her face was going a little green. Before she could though, she quickly deployed her Armour, as well as her Armblades. Just for safety, if she had to draw on Soul Calibur, she'd do that easily enough. "And UGH, just what the heck is that corpse doing over there?" She wondered with her face crunching up behind her helmet. If Compa were here... suddenly, she felt a WHOLE load of glad that the young Nurse-In-Training wasn't here right now.

The corpse at the center of the circle looked to be that of a man, likely a worshiper of Chaos due to the robes he wore and all the twisted, wicked looking accessories that adorned him. Accessories that consisted of a neckless with small human skulls dangled beneath his neck. Dozens of runic carvings made from blood adorned his frame, with his eyes and tongue having been gauged out and used as ornaments. 4 staffs were embedded in corners around him, forming a square. Each of them burned brightly with the infernal demonic Hellfire, lighting up the room in an eerie, twisted and sinister manner. Almost as if the devil itself was watching over the room, it's gaze never missing even the tiniest fraction of movement. Several spiked bracelets and anklets adorned his four limbs, each limb spread out in a fashion that made the corpse look somewhat like a mutilated 8.

Something that did NOT go unnoticed, by the way. "Um, why's the corpse looking like an 8? Is it some kinda prank?" Neptune questioned, scratching the top of her helmet in confusion. Whilst disgusting and morbid with the way it was presented, Neptune still couldn't help but notice that detail.

"Its cause the number 8 is Khorne's Sacred Number." Lucy replied, getting everyone to turn their heads towards her. How the heck did she know that? That question ran through everyone else's minds, making them seek an answer out of the redhead woman. Once she noticed their curious stares, the woman began to elaborate on her words. "I looked into some of the books stolen from Chaos camps during Spec Ops orchestrated raids, and we found that whilst the reason why Khorne is connected to the number 8 is unknown, its actually a large part of those who follow him. Apparently, its been that way since Khorne came to be. His affinity for the figure, and any of its multiples, is strongly reflected in the organization of his daemonic legions, remember all the Demons and followers we fought? Their numbers are usually part of the multiples of 8."

Eyes widening slightly, Vert felt her breath hitch as realization dawned on her. "Oh yes, I did notice something like that. I first thought that it was just something off about these followers, along with all the other disgusting morbid practices they do. So, its connected deeply to their god, huh..." she remarked, thoughtfully as she glanced down to the ground. Her right gloved hand cupped her chin with her index finger stretching along the side of her jaw, with her thumb the following suit on the opposite side. "I'd like to know more about that sometime, but for now we should focus on destroying this ritual." she commented after a second.

Lucy nodded her head in agreement, and made to raise her hand to fire an attack that would destroy not just the corpse, but also the blood that made up the summoning circle. However, just before she could do that...

"Ufufufufu, how disgustingly cute..."

Instantly, everyone became on guard when they heard a sickly sweet, twisted and distorted voice echo across the room. Each word, no each SYLLABLE that was uttered by it felt like they grated on their nerves and made them want to snap, unleashing a furious rage that would bathe entire kingdoms in endless oceans of blood, ground up guts and other specs of gore. It lit their hearts aflame with the desire to kill, especially Vert herself though she had no idea why. The four quickly got back to back as they heard the voice, a voice that unmistakably belonged to a woman, let out a twisted and demented laughter across the room like a phantom in the darkness. Eventually, Vert became the one to speak after suppressing the unfavorable rage burning like a furnace within her. "Who are you?! Show yourself!"

"Oh? Someone who dares suppress the glorious fury that Khorne brings to us all? Well then, I will just have to see about punishing you for that."

After hearing those words, the various flames from the four staffs all began to converge on a single point, one located just before the corpse of the man meant to be used likely as an offering. The flames gathered there and expanded outwards, soon forming a human-sized vortex until the trails severed their connection to their sources. Whilst the fires on the staffs burned evermore, the vortex of flames soon took on a humanoid form, reshaping itself into the form that the controller wanted. In the end, the flames formed a fiery woman-like form, with eyes that were made from embers themselves, a body made of flames that wore equally fiery robes mixed with some Armour on various body-parts.

When the girls saw this, they each had their own reactions, and each of them all reacted with some level of confusion. First off, Neptune. "Huh? Who the heck is this crazy looking chick? She looks like she's constantly on her period, if ya ask me." she commented bluntly. Even if she hadn't met this person yet, her instincts screamed at her that she would be like that white-haired woman in the Monster Cave, and considering how she made fun of said woman before, could only respond in a similar manner. Plus, just looking at her seemed to tick her off for some reason. Why was that? Was it Khorne's influence?

"I'd normally scold you in place of your friends for that remark, Neptune. But honestly, I have similar questions in my head..." Noire stated, not even bothering to hide her own befuddled look as she stared at the fiery woman. Whilst she had similar thoughts to the Planeptune CPU, Noire also couldn't help but note a certain series of things she'd witnessed. Like, how the woman didn't even flinch when she heard Neptune's comments. Someone normal, if called old in such an insulting manner, would have had at least SOME form of reaction, but this person didn't and that concerned her. Whoever this was, or whatever she was, she likely had a strong sense of composure. Then, there was the amount of power she could sense. Not only did it feel like she was swimming within the shallow end of a small lake when she sensed this woman's power, but there was also something else about it that she just couldn't put her finger on. 'Wait, could it be...?'

Lucy, however, she had a different reaction. She narrowed her eyes at the fiery woman, noting in her mind that this person possessed demonic power within her in droves. 'This woman... she must command great power, for this technique... Also, I can't help but find this woman familiar for some reason. Like I've seen her somewhere before...' she thought to herself, trying to jog her memory for what this could have meant. However, she couldn't find out what that was, much to her frustration. 'Ugh, I just can't seem to grasp it! But, even so, I can't help but think that whatever that woman is, something about her just makes me want to shove a blade down her throat or boil her alive in poisonous toxins...'

Soon enough, however, Vert became the one to recognize the figure first, her eyes widening with vengeful fury. "YOU!" She yelled, raising a hand and pointing it at the fiery woman much to the confusion and surprise of the other girls. The amount of rage coursing through her right now could not even compare to what she felt before. Not to mention how much more personal it felt to her. She realized who this woman was, and what significance she had with her Nation.

"Ufufufu, I see. It has been too long, Lady Green Heart. Or shall I call you Vert now? I'm surprised, with your current state, I would have thought you'd be cowering like a pathetic little princess in your silly little room, playing your worthless games all day for the rest of your life. Will wonders never cease?"

It seemed the woman identified who Vert was just by looking at her, as well, if the slightly disgusted look hidden beneath a veil of arrogance was anything to go by. The woman had then proceeded to mock Leanbox's CPU, who looked like she would explode like an atomic bomb in rage at any second now, the more she eyed this woman's presence. Behind her, Neptune made to say something before a hand covered her mouth to stop her, courtesy of Noire. When she tried to protest, a look from the Lastation CPU quieted her down.

"And here I thought I'd have to hunt you down for what you did to my people all those centuries ago..." Vert sneered, her previous demeanor all but gone. She had none of the usual composure and maturity she usually sported, instead adopting a vicious, borderline twisted snark whilst if looks could kill, this woman would have died thousands of times over with how heated her glare was. Around the blonde woman, an aura of Killing Intent manifested, being so thick that it actually began to physically affect her by making her hair sway slightly behind her. "You have got some nerve defiling my Basilicom with your sick stench, MAGHDA!"

...

...

...

...

...

'...MAGHDA?!' Lucy screeched inside her mind, her shock prevailing just for a moment before it erupted into a fierce and intense inferno within her chest. Almost like the pits of hell itself had opened up and showered her being with their infernal flames of hatred, hell her eyes began to gain a sickly green glow as she gnashed her teeth, clenching her fists to restrain herself from showing just how DISPLEASED she felt with this woman. 'Of COURSE! I should have known, it only happened a couple centuries ago, goddess dammit! I think back then I must have been seducing some stupid noble or something, so I didn't get the full story till after I looked into it when I felt a disturbance in Leanbox! Shit, so this is her! She must have found a way to become immortal as well, fuck!'

"Huh?!" Noire gaped, as well as Neptune when they heard that name is spoken with such hateful venom from Leanbox's CPU. Noire then scowled, remembering something that Nico had told her about during their texts. She remembered him talking about a Maghda who had been the boss of the Hellverse Dungeon which had been infested with Chaos Cultists and Demons. Not to mention how she had been the one to order a kidnapping of one of Nico's friends, though to her it was more of a happy accident that it was, for their rituals. 'If this is that same person, then...!'

As for Neptune, she too glared fiercely behind her helmet, her fury swelling inside of her like a bottle about to break under the intensity of the many explosions contained within it. The pressure she could feel inside felt like it would detonate into just as big a firestorm of rage at any moment when she realized who this woman was. 'This... this nepping HARPY! She was the one who kidnapped Iffy, and blinded Tekken with Hellfire!' she thought, remembering what IF had told her about the incident at the Hellverse Dungeon since she wasn't there herself. Neither was Compa, and if she were here then she too would likely be just as enraged as she felt right now.

To see such a person right in front of her like this...

"Oh? Looks like my reputation proceeds me. In any case, it would be impossible for you t hurt me as this is just an avatar, not my real body. I'm simply here to congratulate the four of you for making it this far."

The fiery form of Maghda, the Witch that kidnapped IF back in the Hellverse incident, as well as Stefan Von Kessel way back when, spoke this with an amused chortle escaping her, embers falling from her form to the ground below.

"... As much as I loathe to admit it, she is right." Vert reluctantly admitted, clenching her fists tightly in an effort to keep herself under control. She had done her research on Maghda's actions when Stefan had returned, she had learned what atrocities she had committed. If she were here physically, as in with a full flesh and blood body then she would gladly throw Gungnir into her twisted black heart (an ironic description considering Noire was nearby), to end her once and for all. Part of her suspected that Maghda somehow knew that she had a secret killing move like Gungnir's ability to always hit her target, hence why she was doing this right now. Though, how she knew this Vert had no freaking clue. "Right now, I'm sensing only magic coming from her. Though, I do wonder why she is using magic instead of just being here in person. After all, she does follow a God that abhors Magic."

"Well, aren't we the knowledgeable one? Do not be afraid, my Lord indeed abhors Magic, however, there are ways to skirt around the issue, and I have utilized one of these. Those Staffs you see? They are actually Satanic Treasures, relics of a bygone era full of glorious combat. I will only say that they allow the one who set them up to communicate through long distances, and since I'm not the one using magic, my gracious lord Khorne makes an exception for me. Now then, how about we enjoy this wondrous little gift I have prepared for you?"

Immediately, that set off warning bells inside her head. Noire narrowed her eyes at that one, something about the way this fiery woman said the word 'gift' did NOT sit well with her. Not only that, but her gut told her that she should summon Balmung right the hell now and get herself ready, so she followed her instinct. "What do you mean?" she asked cautiously, the sword manifesting with a black sheath with silverish metal detailing on her back.

It was the same for the rest of the girls... until they noticed that the Summoning Circle beneath their feet began to slightly glow.

"Oh, nothing much, my dear. Just a little reward for facing so many of my Lord's followers and Demons. You see, it pleases him that you all fought so well, he is truly salivating at the thought of taking your souls and making you all his servants in his Brass Citadel. But before that, here's your 'gift', a gift that only a truly magnificent being such as Khorne COULD EVER CONCEIVE!"

At that moment, Maghda released a how, and that seemed to ignite some form of signal. For the instant that she yelled out, the Circle began glowing intensely, so intense that it would rival the surface of the sun itself. Each and every Girl quickly covered their eyes, hoping to protect their ocular abilities from being blinded by the intense light...

Before their minds got overloaded by a TITANIC torrent of Demonic Energy that spilled forth into the material world.


"...?! Oh no!"

Up at the Basilicom's roof, MAGES. eyes shot open wide, as a surge of horror and dread entered her system. It filled her up like a bowl being filled with water from a fully opened tap. An audible gulp traveled down her throat whilst her hands gripped her Wabbajack's staff tightly, as in enough to cause her hands to go white from the lack of blood circulation. Her skin lost its color, and a huge pressure fell onto her shoulders whilst sweat constantly fell from her brow like a waterfall.

This... This is not good! Not good at all!

If she were to use military terms, this would be between a code red and a code black level situation!

Just now, the blunette sensed it, she sensed something that she had hoped would NOT have had to happen. The worst possible scenario that she had foreseen when she had used her magic to look into the possible outcomes for this event. MAGES. would always say she was a Mad Magician, so looking into the future to see what kind of options awaited her and those she cared about fell well within her realm of madness. This magic was one of the oldest ones she had learned in her years as the Mad Magician, it entailed looking into the future to see what kind of outcome one's choices would make. Depending on how much Mana was used, the distance she could look into would vary. MAGES. would use this to predict what might happen if she performed certain actions, such as making a new invention or trying to prevent lives in the thousands from being lost. Such as with this Gala.

By no means was that magic risk-free, however, no Magic was, as sometimes the number of things one saw could end up breaking their minds and reducing them to shallow husks of their former selves. Hence why she had several means to prevent such a thing from happening. Even then though, she had always kept this magic a secret from the world, even her best friend Tekken didn't know of this Magic. It was the reason how she had been able to foresee this Gala, how she had been able to realize that it would be the stage for a Demonic Invasion of large-scale proportions if she didn't act soon.

Her actions had limited the invasion somewhat, and if she hadn't done anything then it would have spammed across the entire city of MICROSOFT...

The things that had been avoided would best be unmentioned for the rest of time.

As for the disturbance she felt, it was one that transcended boundaries between multiple planes of existence. According to her research, there were countless plains of existence that made up the reality that this planet called home. If something existed in multiple different plains, then they would not be damaged by anything other than those that also existed in those plains. Though, those kinds of items were rare in and of themselves, something she could attest to as Wabbajack was one such item.

There could only be ONE source that could have caused this disturbance, and it made MAGES. want to flee from every plane of existence and make sure that it could not find her. Even her own pride as the Mad Magician felt small and minor in comparison towards this thing. If one were to comprehend what she feared so much, they would have to know the same as she did about the Chaos sub-religion, though in her eyes it was already taking over the Overlord Momus side. Among the followers of Khorne, there were several types that could describe them, she had found out by investigating them and learning through books that had been found by the Guild and military. The ordinary ones, the bottom of the figurative hierarchy, would be the Cultists and other human followers like the Northmen. Following the ways of Khorne gave them tremendous boosts in rage and bloodlust, almost like they had taken drugs that caused them to become goddamn psychotic to the space around them. There were even those who, through a series of rituals and sacrifice not unlike that of a little something called the 'Demonic Ascension Ceremony' which binds the souls of humans and Demons together, allow Demons to enter their souls and literally possess them. They literally give their bodies and their souls up to their God in order to gain power.

The difference between the Demonic Ascension Ceremony and this possession, was that the Ceremony allows the two souls to reach an equal footing if the human soul is strong enough to handle the Demon one. Therefore, the human host doesn't lose themselves and they gain access to the Demon's powers, though there is a risk that the Demon Soul can overpower the host and turn them into mindless husks that attack anything around them. Possession, on the other hand, is where the Demon Soul is literally FORCED into the body without any kind of warning for the body, and the host allows them to take control over them.

For some of the more extreme devotees of the Chaos Gods, simply offering their souls up to their service would not be enough. Those who thirst for power at any cost would offer themselves wholly to Chaos, becoming willing hosts for the Demons. Such a possession had been recorded as an immensely lengthy and agonizing experience, as the Demons within them infest their physical forms and reshape them to better suit their particular needs. Those who offered themselves up for possession were recorded to usually spend months in rituals of debasement and scarification, offering up blood sacrifices and preparing their bodies to harbor a Demonic entity. Though the personalities of these half-mad supplicants would end up being subsumed forever within the power of the possessing Demon, mass possessions were nonetheless seen as great celebrations for the devotees of Chaos. They were marked by the more lustful amongst the devotees of Chaos with orgies of feasting and other depravity, and by the more devout with solemn hymnals of impurity.

That was the thing that Vert and her group had encountered on their Floor: Possessed followers of Khorne.

Some of the more prominent followers of Khorne, as MAGES. discovered from her investigation, were the Khornate Berserkers which could be considered the more fanatical of his followers, and more likely to offer their everything up to this particular Chaos God. Following them would be the Chaos Champions who were in essence mere mortals who had gotten the attention of their Gods and were given rewards based off their exploits in Khorne's name, or whatever God they beloved in. Then there was the World Eaters, who call themselves a 'Space Marine Traitor Legion'. She didn't know much about them, as information of that magnitude was considered scarce, but from what little she HAD been able to discover, they were an entire company of these 'Space Marines' who had turned their backs on humanity to devote themselves to Chaos. She had no idea what Space Marines were, either, as that information also was considered scarce.

Then there were the Demons that were made from the rage Khorne was constantly fueled by. Demons that serve as a representation of their master's domains. There were the Bloodletters, which were basically like the foot soldiers of Khorne's Demonic Legions. They were the more common ones, too, and the most numerous of the Demons following Khorne. Aside from them, there were the Flesh Hounds, their canine variants who track down those who dare to flee from the 'glorious battlefield' as the Khorne followers call it, or do what their God consider disgraceful acts, and punish them by devouring their souls. Finally. there were the Juggernauts which would be considered simply as the Steeds of Khorne's Demonic Armies, which hone their killing skills in Khorne's personal realm. That was just the basic summary of those beasts, which would be a whole new can of worms MAGES. didn't feel like going into right now.

But these Demons, these creatures that Neptune and the others had trouble facing at first only to get used to fighting to the point they could go toe to toe with them... They were only the Lesser of their kind, the LESSER Demons. There exist plenty of beings of higher power and standing in the Demonic hierarchy, Demons which could be considered continent and planet busters in their own right.

Thus, enter the GREATER DEMONS.

Now, unlike the Lesser ranked Demons, the Greater Demons only had one type within their ranks, but even then that would be plenty to cause untold amounts of severe carnage: The Bloodthirsters. Bloodthirsters are Khorne's ONLY Greater Demons, and each one (there is a nigh endless amount in Khorne's realm) would be a perfect personification of the unreasoning rage and savagery of total war. According to the books and tomes she had read, as well as the documentaries other researchers did on Khorne, there are no more powerful masters of battle in the entire galaxy than the Greater Daemons of the Blood God, and that none may stand before them. They were, no, they ARE the very essence of brutality, every blow ever struck and life ever taken in anger distilled into a single, towering form of iron and sinew.

As the living embodiment of war, rage, and murder, Bloodthirsters represent the bloodiest side of warfare and would be renowned throughout the Blood God's followers as the greatest warriors amongst Demon-kind. Only the boldest and most heroic of mortal champions would even stand the slimmest chance of survival in combat with a Bloodthirster, and an even smaller chance of victory. Then there was the Demon Princes, but they were a set of worms she didn't want to go into right now, not to mention the fact that the power she sensed coming into Gamindustri was a Bloodthirster and thankfully, not a Demon Prince.

That would be a small measure of comfort in the chaotic maelstrom of negative emotions swirling within the center of MAGES. heart. Even if that comfort would be like the size of an ant. Demon Princes would be considered planet busters, whilst Bloodthirsters would be considered continent destroyers in comparison. Therefore, since it was a Bloodthirster she was sensing, then hopefully he Goddesses could stand a chance.

Even so however...

She could only grit her teeth as the Mad Magician quickly began chanting in the runic tongue, the tip of her Staff Wabbajack beginning to shine brightly in its eyes and mouth sockets. Around her, the Magic Circles that formed this pocket dimension began to glow whilst MAGES. began casting spell after spell, altering the ones that were already in play. From here, there wasn't much she could do, and most of the floors hadn't been secured yet by Stefan's forces. She couldn't let them get anywhere near the Dungeons right now, unless they would WANT to be barbecued without even knowing what was going on. Fortunately, she had not neglected this scenario occurring when she looked into the future, so she had countermeasures set in motion.

MAGES. could only hope that they would be enough to stop that creature...


Chapter end!

Alright, here we go! The final battle of this Invasion begins, and what better way to end it than with one of the Greater Demons of Khorne?

For all you Warhammer fans reading this, I bet you guys saw this coming a mile away, as after all, I DID make use of various forms of Khornate following in this invasion, so why would I NOT use the Greater Demons, too? The only one I'm not really using would be Demon Princes, cause they have a different role to play in the future. Even so, I apologize if you guys thought I wasn't portraying the followers of Khorne right, it's not exactly easy to do so, though I admit I used Warhammer Battle March and the wiki to help me. Perhaps I can use the Lexicarum in the future, as well.

Oh yeah, and Vert getting along with Lucy? That's due somewhat to Vert being sexually frustrated (we've seen that before so far), and one of the ways she deals with it is perverted humour. Something that Lucy can get behind which leads to some... interesting options for teasing the purer minds and even the dirty ones in the future.

Next chapter will be the final battle, and it might take more than a couple of chapters to complete, since this is the epic finale of the invasion. I want to make it so that the Party of Goddesses experience the overwhelming difference in powers between the Lesser Demons they have fought so far, and the Greater Demons known as Bloodthirsters. Believe me, this experience will be one to be REMEMBERED for the CPUs, for it'll give them a better understanding just how much danger their world really is. And this is not even BEGINNING to take into account the roles the Chaos Gods will be playing in the future.

I wanted to make Gamindustri a horrifying, nightmarish place to be in, and with Warhammer that is exactly what I got.

Also, for anyone whose curious, don't worry the items that some of the girls got will be explained better later on in the story. There's a reason why they were introduced here, and its something to do with the DPU Era. So, look forward to that those who think that they weren't foreshadowed enough.

Till then guys, peace out!