Author Notes: This marks the second anniversary of the story. I was personally hoping to have released more chapters for this story by now, but things don't always work out. I originally wanted to produce this chapter for March 2018, but I had some difficulty with writing this chapter. This was partly due to the Persona 5 anime that would air during the Spring and Summer 2018 seasons, so the priority of my writing had to be focused on my other story, "Into the Fog." As a result, this chapter has been in development hell for a few months, so I was glad that I finally decided to get to it.
Last chapter ended on a cliffhanger with Azumi and Yu spotting some Aragami and God Eaters. This chapter will continue directly where the previous chapter left off. At first planning the God Eater fight had some difficulty, but I think it worked out in the end. I hope you will agree with that assessment after you read the chapter.
I decided that Azumi and Yu are watching the fight from that partly destroyed Skyscraper that you occasionally see in the God Eater games. I figured that it would give them an excellent vantage point to spot Aragami for their group while also being far enough away to avoid the detection of the monsters.
So far throughout this story, I have revived some positive feedback regarding how I have handled the sibling relationship between Azumi and Yu. I'm grateful for those of you who have provided feedback on that. Developing the sibling dynamic between the two of them was a challenge, but it has been fun. I hope you will also continue to enjoy their relationship as this story progresses.
As usual, I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter, and please provide feedback. Some of the previous chapters have had disappointing numbers when it comes to receiving reviews. If you can leave feedback, it would be greatly appreciated.
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Past is Prologue
Story Arc One – Surviving in the Wild – Part VI
Chapter Six – Destination Fenrir – Part Two – God Eater Encounter
/
Those things are monsters
We have always been in fear
Now it is their turn
/
A city that was slowly being consumed by Aragami. Buildings that could be used as sanctuaries for people wandering the worldwide wasteland were becoming scarcer with each passing moment. Aside from eating people, the Aragami diet appeared to include the consumption of buildings among other things. At the rate they were eating, there would eventually be nowhere else left to hide outside of places like Fenrir.
Azumi and Yu had climbed on top of the remnants of the city's large skyscraper, and they were able to get a view unlike any other in this city or anywhere else they had been. Unfortunately, they couldn't spend their time enjoying the 'sights' even if they wanted to. Using their vantage point, they were able to see there were at least three other Aragami in the area. All of them were Orgetails. They were all preoccupied with eating buildings.
Even though it appeared that eating buildings was sufficient to temporarily satisfy the Aragami's hunger, they would jump at the opportunity to eat a human if they ever noticed him or her. At least, that's what Azumi and Yu had come to understand after witnessing it first hand on a number of occasions. Luckily for them, they were perched on top of what was left of a skyscraper. They were far enough away that the Aragami didn't notice them.
Today also proved to be their lucky day for another reason entirely. A reason neither of them had expected. They saw more than just Aragami from their vantage point. They saw something else. Something they had been hoping to see for a long time. The answer to their prayers. God Eaters.
/
One of the God Eaters was a man by the name of Amamiya Lindow. He had dark hair and grayish eyes. He wore a brown coat that had many pockets that all appeared to have something in them. He also wore a black shirt that he had the zipper partly down and gray pants. One thing that stood out about his attire was that he had a large red bracelet that was attached to his right wrist. Additionally, he was carrying around what appeared to be a Zanbatō, which should be too heavy for an ordinary man to carry, but he was casually carrying it around like it was nothing.
Despite hearing the sounds of monsters munching on the buildings, Lindow leaned against the wall and opened up his upper chest pocket. In that pocket contained his favorite brand of cigarettes. He pulled one out and used his lighter to light it up. He then breathed in the fumes before his breath released the toxic smoke.
"Do you really have time for that?" A female voice asked him over the radio.
"I'm sure you already know the answer to that." Lindow casually replied as he held the cigarette between his fingers.
"…" There was no response over the radio.
"You in position yet?" Lindow asked before putting the cigarette back in his mouth.
"Just another minute." The female voice responded.
"Okay." Lindow replied before getting back to business.
Lindow was the leader of one the God Eater teams in Fenrir. His team was well known for having a higher survival rate compared to other God Eater teams. It didn't matter if one of the teammates they had was considered harbinger of death. He always gave simple orders that his subordinates had no issue following.
Contrary to how Lindow would tell his teammates to stay alive and healthy, he had a habit of constantly having a cigarette in his mouth. He still had one hanging from his mouth when he was leaning against the wall. Based on how he was casually leaning against it, most wouldn't think he was in the middle of a battlefield. After taking a puff, he then started to move towards the edge of the wall while holding the cigarette between his fingers.
When Lindow moved his head, he saw the three Aragami they were told about in the briefing. Lindow then moved his head back into hiding. He put the cigarette back in his mouth. He took another breath and blew out the smoke again. He removed the cigarette before he spoke to his other teammates through their communication link, "Okay. It doesn't look like they've noticed us. They're still stuffing their faces into those buildings. Everyone else in position?"
"Ugh …" A female voice replied in disgust, "I wish they didn't have to eat like that."
"It's better than watching them eat a person." Lindow casually remarked while flicking the cigarette away.
"Yeah. I know. I know." The female voice impatiently replied.
Lindow leaned back on the wall again as he asked, "I take it that you're in position?"
"Yes, I'm in position. I got a bird's eye view of them." The female voice sounded eager as she said, "If they try running, I'll get them before they can round the corner. Just tell me when."
"I'm in position too." A younger male voice could be heard on the radio.
"All right." Lindow looked over the corner again and instructed them, "On my signal, Soma and I will charge at two different Aragami. Sakuya will first shoot the one closest to me then shoot the one that Soma's target. What we do about the third will depend on what it does." After giving his instruction he then inquired, "Understood?"
The female voice identified as Sakuya replied, "Understood."
Soma answered in a bored tone, "As long as it works."
"I'll take that as a 'yes' from you." Lindow looked over the corner again. He held up three fingers before quietly beginning his countdown over the radio, "Three … Two … One … Go!"
Bang!
What sounded like a massive gunshot could be heard, echoing in the remnants of the city. Azumi and Yu both jumped at the sound. They could feel their hearts skip a beat. The sound caused their ears to perk and eyes widen. Their eyes would remain widened upon witnessing what happened next.
The siblings had both seen bullets bounce off an Aragami's body like they were made of rubber. However, unlike any other bullet, this bullet made contact with the Aragami's head. The bullet forced the Aragami's armored head to jerk to the side. Upon impact, the armor began to crack. The monster was stunned which gave the chain-smoking God Eater Lindow the opportunity to rush his target.
Bang!
A second gunshot was heard, and it made contact with the second. It had the same reaction as the first. It was knocked off balance and incapable of understanding what had happened. A young boy who couldn't have been older than a teenager was rushing towards the monster. He wore a blue jacket and hood that covered him, and he was carrying a massive sword like Lindow, but he held it like it was nothing.
Both Lindow and Soma were charging at their respective targets at full throttle. Both of them raised their swords and cut into their respective targets. Their swords cut into the furry parts of their targets' bodies with no resistance. Before the monsters could give counter attack, Lindow slashed the monster again, but it was not enough to kill it.
With each attack Lindow and Soma inflicted on their targets, blood could be seen gushing out of the monster's wounds. Azumi and Yu could not help but gaze upon this sight in surprise. They had no idea that red blood flowed through these monsters veins like theirs. However, they couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction with that. A smile could be seen creeping up Azumi's face while Yu's became slack-jawed with awe.
Upon seeing the first two being dealt with, they looked to see what would happen with the third Aragami. When it came to Aragami, they tended to either attack a God Eater that was harming one of their own, or they would run away. Sometimes they would do both. The third Aragami decided to make an escape attempt.
Lindow used his radio to call his sniper, "We got a runner."
"No problem!" Lindow heard Sakuya's voice from the radio.
Bang!
Before the monster could escape, another shot hit it in the armored head. Feeling the shot forcing its head back caused the monster eyesight to become shaky. The monster slowed down making it a sitting duck. Then shots began raining down on it before one of the shots managed to hit its leg, and it came crashing down on the ground. As the monster was knocked down, the shots stopped coming.
"Damn …" The female sniper remarked as she then attempted to quickly charge her weapon.
"Grh …" The monster whined upon being grounded.
The monster that Lindow was dealing with attempted to launch a counter attack. It spun its tail around, but Lindow saw the attack coming and jumped back. He jumped further back than ordinary people would be able to do, and he was faster too. He then quickly attacked the Orgetails' exposed side. His blade once again sliced into the furry side of the monster. The force of the attack was strong enough to knock the monster off balance, and it fell to the ground.
Before the monster could get up, Lindow gripped his weapon tightly with the hand that had the red bracelet attached to his wrists as he activated his God Arc. His large blade suddenly changed from something that appeared to be a regular weapon into something that was 'alive'. The sword now looked like it was a giant mouth. Lindow thrusted his blade forward, and the 'teeth' of this mouth latched onto the Aragami.
"Gah!" The Aragami cried out, but the hold the God Arc had on this monster was absolute. It wasn't able to break out of the hold that Lindow had on it. The God Arc was draining the life out of it. Blood was pouring out of where the God Eater's teeth had clamped on it.
Lindow then pulled his blade away, and the teeth ripped out a chunk of the monster's body. Then the God Arc returned it its original form of a Zanbatō. This monster would not be putting up any resistance. Its function had ceased.
Following the monster's death, Lindow witnessed a familiar sight as he checked to see if his cigarettes were still in his pocket. The Aragami began to fade away leaving only the bloody stains on the ground as a reminder of its existence. He looked over the see that Soma was finishing his monster off as well. Then he looked to see Sakuya had the last Aragami pinned down due to her sniper fire.
"Heh." Lindow activated his God Arc again. "That makes my job easier." He contacted Sakuya, you can stop firing, I'll finish it.
"Understood." Sakuya immediately followed through with her orders.
Lindow then rushed the monster and thrusted his blade at it again. The monster was unable to resist the teeth of Lindow's God Arc. It would only be a matter of moments before their mission was complete.
/
In the distance, Azumi and Yu had witnessed the action unfold through their binoculars. When they lowered their binoculars, the siblings both had their mouths wide open. They weren't sure if it was out of awe or horror. What they had witnessed was something that would never be possible for either of them.
"Holy shit …" Azumi said in a mixture of amazement and nervousness as her lips trembled.
"Those God Eaters …" Yu hesitantly stated, "They took down those Aragami like they were nothing. That was …" Yu's face lit up as he shouted as he jumped up in the air, "That was so awesome! Holy crap! That was awesome! What a show!"
"Yeah …" Azumi's voice was far more subdued than her brother's.
"That's it? Come on!" Yu nudged his sister in the back. "Isn't this what we've been waiting to see? We heard God Eaters can do this kind of stuff, but this was awesome!"
"Hmm …" Azumi then looked through her binoculars again, "They definitely look like they can handle themselves.
"What's wrong?" Yu asked, "You look like you're disappointed."
"Hmm …" Azumi looked in her binoculars again as she then looked at something else that caught her attention, "It was a good show, but there's something a little 'off' about what I'm seeing." Azumi pointed at the scene below and told her brother, "See that building over there. The tall building that kinda looks like a lookout tower. I'm sure you can see it."
"Okay …" Yu looked through the binoculars to see the female God Eater. She was carrying a massive gun with two hands, and she had a red bracelet on her right wrist as well. However, there was a massive discrepancy in her attire. "Whoa …"
"Glad to see you noticed." Azumi replied in a deadpan tone.
"Pretty hard not to." Yu said while still looking through the binoculars. The female God Eater was wearing clothes that one would not expect to wear on the battlefield. She was wearing a revealing black top that showed off a great deal of her skin, especially her back. It looked more like an outfit that one would wear to a party rather than a fight.
"Those uniforms ..." Azumi cringed at the sight of the female God Eater's uniform.
"Yeah …" Yu kept switching between the male God Eaters and the female God Eater as he pointed out, "The guys are dressed normally, but the girl … She's not … Well …" Yu uncomfortably looked at Azumi as he bluntly stated, "She's kinda dressed the opposite of you."
"What the hell is she wearing?!" Azumi blurted out loud, "That better not be some kind of weird female uniform." Azumi felt embarrassed at the very idea.
"Uniform?!" Yu pulled his eyes away from the binoculars. "Are you …" Yu's voice sounded fearful as he asked, "Are you saying if you become a God Eater, they'd force you to …"
"Hell no! Hell, hell no! I wouldn't be caught dead looking like that! That would be …" Azumi cringed, "Ugh … That would be just wrong on so many levels."
"I know." Yu remarked, "I could never picture you wearing something like that
Azumi put her hand on her brother's shoulder and firmly warned him, "Never picture me like that. Never."
Yu furiously shakes his head and hands as he said, "I won't. I wouldn't want you wearing something like that."
"…" Azumi remained looking at her brother who kept shaking his head.
"I'm being serious." Yu stated, "That'd be crazy! I wouldn't want people looking at you like that! Not in a million years!"
"…" After an awkward moment, the two siblings look down at the remains of the battle of the God Eaters. Azumi looked through to see the God Eaters were still communicating with each other. Azumi stated, "… Okay then. Let's try to forget that … Uniform discrepancy aside, I think we found ourselves an escort to Fenrir." Azumi pulled out her flare gun and said, "This might be risky Yu, but this is our best chance to get their attention. Hope you're okay with this."
Yu replied, "I'm fine with it. How we use the flare gun is your call anyway."
"All right!" Azumi pointed the flare gun in the air. "Here goes nothing!" She pulled the trigger and the flare went flying in the air and lit up the sky.
Yu grimaced, "Let's hope they come before another Aragami does."
"Yep." Azumi raised her hands waved in hopes of getting their attention.
"Hmm …" Yu paid attention to their activity on the ground. At first they didn't appear to be moving in their direction, "Are they … All right! It worked! I think they're coming!"
"All right!" Azumi excitedly replied, "We did it!"
/
After watching Lindow finish off the third Aragami, Sakuya couldn't help but feel satisfied from her position. "Heh." Sakuya chuckled as she proudly said, "That's the last of them."
With the last Aragami out of the way, Lindow then pulled out a fresh cigarette from his breast pocket. After lighting it up, he breathed in his cigarette and huffed the smoke before remarking over the radio, "Good work. As expected. Now let's all …" Suddenly Lindow heard something that sounded like a bang. He looked up to see lights in the air. "Hmm?"
"…" The young Soma looked up into the sky but gave no comment to what he was seeing.
Lindow softly asked in surprise, "Flares?"
Sakuya was tending to her weapon from her lookout spot when she heard something behind her. She looked up to see the red flare light up the sky. As soon as she saw it, she contacted her superior, "Lindow! Look over there!"
"That was definitely a flare." Lindow sounded more serious about seeing the flare than dealing with the Aragami.
"Hey!" Sakuya's voice could be heard on Lindow's radio as she asked, "Is that supposed to be HQ? Are there other God Eaters out here we didn't know about?"
"I don't think so." Lindow pulled out his binoculars from his coat and looked through. He adjusted the magnification to faintly see two distinct fingures at the top of the skyscrapper's remanents, and he saw that one of them waving to them from the top. "Uh huh."
"Do you see something?" Sakuya's voice could be heard again.
Lindow responded to his radio, "It looks like we've got an audience today.
"An audience?" Sakuya then asked over the radio, "Are you talking about more civilians that managed to survive out here?"
Lindow breathed in and let out a breath full of smoke before he answered, "Looks that way."
Sakuya stated, "They were probably using that tower as a vantage point to keep an eye out for Aragami. Pretty good thinking."
"What now?" Soma impatiently asked.
"Well …" Lindow scratched the back of his head as he nonchalantly replied, "Based on those flares, I think they'd like to have a chat with us. Want to go meet them?"
"Of course." Sakuya replied without hesitation. "Now that we know there are other people, we're not just gonna leave them up there. We shouldn't turn them away."
"Good answer." Lindow sounded pleased. Lindow then turned his head to look at his other companion who had his back turned to him as he looked at his God Arc. "That's a 'yes' from her. I trust you don't have a problem with this Soma?"
"Hmph." Soma replied in a bored tone, "I don't really care, but 'he' might get pissed if we let this go." Lindow could hear Soma sighing as he placed his weapon on top of his shoulder and began walking towards the tower, "Let's just get it over with."
Lindow coyly asked, "I'll take that as a 'yes' then?"
Soma merely said as he kept walking, "Fine. Whatever."
"Okay, then." Lindow looked through his binoculars again. He could still see the two distinct figures up there. Lindow couldn't help but grin in amusement as he remarked, "It is interesting to see people enjoy the show. Let's get to know our new fans then." Lindow then used his radio to communicate with headquarters, "Hibari. Change of plans. Inform Gen's team we won't be heading towards the rendezvous point. We just saw outsider civilians use a flare gun near our vicinity. Gonna go check it out. Over!"
Hibari replied, "Copy that! Report back immediately after you've completed your investigation. Over."
"Copy that. Over." Lindow then issued his orders, "All right everyone. Move out towards the flare. Over."
/
The two siblings remained on top of the skyscraper as they waited for the God Eaters to arrive. She saw they were moving towards their position far faster than they could on foot. Azumi could see through her own binoculars that the God Eaters were heading in their direction. Azumi grinned at the sight of that, but she could also feel a tense feeling in her stomach. It felt as if it was starting to tie up in knots. She attempted to massage her stomach and relax when she noticed something. She observed that her brother's hands were shaking. Yu tried to stop himself from shaking by holding himself, but it was to no avail.
"Hmm?" Azumi looked at her brother and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I …" Yu nervously pointed out, "Sis … Those guys just ripped those Aragami apart. We're going to be talking to them …" His previous amazing and awe was completely gone as he spoke, "If we piss them off, they could do the same to us."
"…" Azumi couldn't think of anything to refute what her brother just said. The awestruck feeling he felt had clearly faded. Instead, Azumi kneeled down and put her hand on her brother's shoulder, "Listen Yu. Let me do the talking." Azumi pointed toward a potential hiding place as she suggested, "You can hide over there if you want."
"Mmm …" Yu looked for a moment before looking back at Azumi and shook his head. "No. I'll stay here. We came here together. We're facing this together."
"Hmph." Azumi grinned and patted her brother's shoulder, "Good man."
"Heh …" Yu attempted to smile. Suddenly he felt Azumi's hand weigh down on his head. "Huh?"
"You're still a bit of a squirt though." Azumi playfully mused while she rustled Yu's hair.
"Hey! Cut that out!" Yu protested as he attempted to shake off Azumi's grip to her amusement. After Azumi let go, she became serious again.
/
When the God Eaters finally arrived, Azumi could immediately noticed the divergence between God Eaters and normal people. On the outside, they appeared to be ordinary people, but they carried themselves differently, and it wasn't due to the massive weapons they could wield. Azumi could feel an aura emitting from all three of them.
It was an aura that Azumi didn't know how to describe. It was completely foreign to her which caused her to feel uneasy and tense up. She silently gulped as her eyes widened. She did her best to keep her eyes normal while speaking.
This aura was different from any other person that Azumi had ever encountered. It was as if Azumi could sense their power just by being near them. She may have seen them in action, but it was different being this close. She could feel her right foot reflexively moving back.
"Well um …" Azumi closed her eyes, held up her hand, and awkwardly waved, "Hello God Eaters. I see you got my message."
"…" Yu was not doing much better as he softly gulped. He found himself hiding being his sister, much to his dismay.
"We did." Lindow took a step forward with a cigarette in his mouth while his two companions remained in place. "I take it you saw quite a show from up here."
"Yeah …" Azumi did her best to compliment them, "My brother and me saw the whole thing. It was pretty amazing how you took down Aragami like that. You were incredible." Azumi put her hands together and slightly bowed her head as she praised them, "It really is an honor to meet a God Eater personally." As they spoke, Azumi noticed that all three God Eaters appeared to be wearing a red bracelet on their right wrist.
"Thank you." Lindow grinned as he pulled the cigarette from this mouth and graciously accepted the praise, "It's always a pleasure to meet a fan of our work. Although, I'm sure you wish to do more than congratulate us."
"Yes." Azumi put her hand on her chest as she introduced herself, "My name is Azumi. Kannagi Azumi." She then put her hand on Yu's shoulder as she said, "This here is my little brother Yu."
Yu slightly bowed as he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hmph." Lindow looked amused as he commented, "Didn't expect that. Good to see the kid's got some manners. I take it he gets it from you?"
Azumi replied, "I do my best to keep his head on straight."
"Hmm …" Yu looked away in embarrassment.
"I can see that. Anyway, since you introduced yourselves, we should do the same." Lindow flicked his cigarette away. He then stuck out his thumb and pointed at his chest, "My name is Amamiya Lindow. I'm the leader of this particular team." He then gestured his companions. "And these two are …" Lindow intentionally cut off his sentence.
"Tachibana Sakuya." The scantily clothed female God Eater spoke in a pleasant voice, "It is pleasure to meet you as well."
"At least she's nice …" Azumi couldn't help but think that while trying not to focus on her.
The other companion who wore a blue jacket also had darker skin and lighter hair than either of his companions. He also appeared to be around Yu's age which starkly contrasted to his companions who seemed to be closer to Azumi's age. The only thing this silent God Eater contributed to this conversation was his introduction, "Schicksal Soma."
Azumi graciously replied as she clapped her hands together, "It is an honor to meet you all. My brother and I are part of a larger group that's heading to Fenrir. We were sent out to scout ahead for Aragami activity when we came upon you."
Sakuya summed up her conclusion, "So you two really were using this building for a vantage point? Good judgment, but a little risky."
"Yes …" Azumi uneasily replied as she recalled their ascent, "Getting up here was quite difficult, but I think it worked out. Thank you for the compliment Tachibana-san."
"There's no need to be so formal." Sakuya assured her, "You can call me Sakuya-san if you wish Azumi-san."
"Um …" Azumi was briefly taken aback, but she nodded her head and replied, "Okay."
"Hmph." Lindow remarked in a deadpan tone, "So your group sent a couple of kids to take care of some of the hard work. That sounds very familiar."
"We're not kids …" Azumi then glanced at her brother and backpedaled, "Well he is, but I'm not. I'm 22 years old, and I'm sure under Japanese law in the old world, I'd be considered an adult."
"Really?" Lindow raised an eyebrow, "That's interesting. Then I stand corrected."
"My little brother maybe a kid, but I wouldn't count him out either." Azumi confidently stated as she patted her brother's shoulder, "The two of us are a team. Thanks to the training I agave him, he can handle himself. We might be young, but we're the best in our group, and they can always count on us to get the job done."
"I see." Lindow nodded with a grin, "Never mind then."
Azumi then reiterated, "As I was saying, our group is heading to Fenrir, and we were hoping we could enlist your help to escort us there. I understand if it's something you may not want to do, but I'd be willing to compensate you after we arrive." Azumi put her hand on her chest, "I don't have anything to give you right now, but I'd be willing to personally work off the debt. So …"
"That's enough." Lindow held up his hand which stopped Azumi in her tracks. He pulled out another cigarette and let lit it as he told Azumi, "You don't have to keep going on and on. It doesn't look good after a while."
"…" Azumi light bit her lip.
"Ahhh …" Lindow breathed in his cigarette. Azumi could see the butt of it spark as her elder took it in. He then let out a breath, and she could see a cloud of smoke emerge from his mouth. He casually stated, "If you want us to escort you to Fenrir, we can do that."
"Really?" Azumi asked in an excited tone with wide eyes, "You'll really do it?"
"Why not?" Lindow shrugged as he nonchalantly remarked with the cigarette between his fingers, "It'd be pretty lame of me not to help you now. You have traveled a long way after all."
"You don't have to act like that Lindow." Sakuya turned to Azumi and Yu and assured him, "Of course we'll be happy to escort you, and you don't have to worry about payment either." She then nudged her leader, "Right, Lindow?"
"Yeah. Yeah." Lindow casually scratched the back of his head, "Of course not."
It was Yu's turn to asked, "Really?"
Sakuya then assured the siblings, "The moment we saw your flare, we decided that we'd be willing escort you back to Fenrir if you wanted it."
Azumi smiled as she excitedly replied, "All right! We did it! Thank you so much!"
Lindow remarked before breathing in his cigarette, "You probably shouldn't thank me yet."
"Sorry sir." Azumi nervously remarked, "It's just a … real honor to meet real life God Eaters. I feel so lucky that you'll act as our escort."
"Lucky huh?" Soma thought to himself, "We'll see."
The way Soma was looking in their direction didn't go unnoticed by Azumi who glanced in his direction, "Hmm?"
"Don't mind him." Sakuya stepped in, "He's a grump."
"Seems pretty young to be one." Azumi curiously remarked.
"…" Soma remained silent.
"He is, but that's beside the point." Sakuya stated, "Helping people is what we do, so you don't have to worry about it."
Azumi stated as she bowed her head again, "Even so, we're very grateful."
Soma thought to himself before they moved out, "Let's just see how much luck you really have."
/
Author Notes: How did everyone enjoy the God Eater fight? I did my best to try writing it as best as I could. The fight scene with the Orgetails was intentionally fast. To an ordinary person, they would be horrifying. There is one way for a normal human being to fight them. However, someone with the powers of a God Eater can fight them. If they are experienced like Lindow's team, taking them down won't be a problem. While they can be a bit of a pain if they attack you all at once, they do seem to be one of the easiest enemies to fight.
What did you think of how I portrayed the God Eaters? This is the first chapter to feature canon characters outside of Yu. Unlike Yu who is generally a silent protagonist outside of the manga adaptation, these guys have tangible personalities. Soma was the easiest since he doesn't talk much and doesn't go through significant character development until the events of the first game. I really wanted to capture Lindow's laid back but occasionally serious personality. I had to touch up his body language and dialogue a few times in my attempt to utilize it.
The way they spoke on the radio was done intentionally. He spoke to Sayuka and Soma without using 'Over' before they saw the flares in the sky. I figured I'd make him take things a little more seriously when he knows there are civilians in the area.
I wrote Azumi and Yu to go through a great mix of emotions intentionally. Seeing the Aragami go down was cathartic for them. It was scary and exciting. They also wanted to meet the God Eaters, but also felt a little intimidated by how powerful they are. If they wanted to, they couldn't do a thing to stop them. After all, it isn't like there is any actual proof that the God Eaters would be friendly and let them in Fenrir. Even Azumi's brief attempts at being playful with her brother were overshadowed by the aura of the God Eaters. It was risk they took, and they were fortunate enough that Lindow was the one that found them.
As with previous chapters, I considered having more content in this chapter, but I decided to save it for the subsequent chapter. I hope I will be able to provide updates for this story in the near future.
Please be sure to leave a review. Writing this story takes time, especially when trying to bring it out of 'Development Hell.' Feedback will be greatly appreciated, and I hope to hear from you soon. See you next time.