Disclaim: I don't own Elsword nor its characters, except my OCs.
Elsword - Rune Master (Age: 22)
Eve - Code: Sariel (With part of Code: Ultimate)
Chapter 4: Alterasia & New Comer
- Altera Core -
Elsword and Eve stepped through the entrance and entered below surface. Elsword soon met the familiar area where he and his former team used to invade to retrieve the El Crystal that was stolen by the late Nasod King, Adam. He was amazed by the high technology that was beyond his knowledge but then he got used to it when they travelled in both Elysion, the origin of Nasod, and Elrianode Laborary.
"So what are we gonna do?"
"I need to check the condition of the core if this disturbing energy interferes its function. The last thing I expect is the falling of the whole Altera Island." She told in annoyance.
The Altera Core was setup to force the Altera Island keep floating in the air to isolate itself from Elrios as the Nasod race needs to be restored without any notices from the outsider. It was planned by Adam while Eve was out, but the function went out of order and had changed Adam's mind to set other Nasod prepared for war. His plans were destroyed by Elsword's group. However, After Adam's permanent shutdown, one of the codes was broken and forced the core keep the island floating without stop. Eve planned to set it down but she didn't want to risk the whole island's safety for her plan. Thus, her mission is to keep the core in function.
"Oh, I see."
They kept walking for a few minutes until they reached the core. Elsword found a large El Crystal emitting a large radiant power. He assumed this is the main core to support the island. Surrounding the core was covered with multiple panels that looked like they are absorbing the El power.
Elsword had to stand by herself as her guard while Eve checked the condition of the core through the monitor.
"…"
"How long it take to find the source?"
"I can't guarantee that we can find it sooner or later, but one thing I can assume that it comes from the lower level of the core."
"Lower?"
"The Abandoned Core, also known as Alterasia Floor." She frowned, not liking to speak that floor.
Alterasia is the specie that grows in the abandoned area and creates a small green spores which invade the bodies of Nasod and take over it, one of the most disturbing thing she hates the most. Worse, the Alterasia had taken over the area below the main core, which is the biggest threat to the Altera. It took her year, along with the help from Add, to isolate the Alterasia Floor from Altera Core.
"My suspicion was right." Eve muttered and left the monitor "I detect a disturbing energy from below and it's growing up. At this rate, I highly doubt the defense will withstand it."
"So what will we do?" Elsword asked.
"In order to get rid of it, we… must go down there and terminate it before things get worse." For a moment, Elsword heard her hesitate. He saw her face still maintain the cold look down below the core.
"Hn… In that case, let's go." Elsword smirked "The sooner we are done, the sooner we can have our time!"
"It's not easy, Elsword." She stopped "I have sent my guards to clean up the area but they ended up being the mindless Nasod and went after others. I had no choice but eliminating them. The area is covered in green poison, thus we will hardly made to the core."
"Poison eh? I got this." A small grin still appeared on his mouth as he took out two small vials and gave one to Eve. Eve examined the sustain inside and found the component from El Nature, which was well-known for getting rid of the poison, mostly used in hospital.
"During my time, I learned a thing or two from the Alchemist and created antidote. The one in your hands is giving your body poison resistance. I have yet to find how long it remains until it wears out, but it's worth a shot."
"Hm… You become smarter than I knew you before…" She muttered in amuse.
"Hey! What was that meant?" Elsword asked in annoyance as Eve smiled and replied "Nothing~"
In the end, Eve and Elsword prepared their gears and weapon and started entering below the Altera Core.
"Ah, Damn! It stinks!" Elsword cursed once he stepped inside the tunnel which was almost covered with green spores. He barely saw the sight for more than 20 meters due to the polluted air.
"Can it, Elsword. I know your human nose can smell better than Nasod but try to bear with it." Eve told "Mio, can you scan the area ahead of us?"
"I found multiple signals from Nasod, but none of them are ours." Mio reported in serious tone, which Elsword was surprised.
"I see. Alterasia Nasod. We will move in. Be advised, our communication will be cut off." Eve nodded and cut the comm "Elsword, be ready."
Both advanced inside and faced infected Nasod. He saw the Nasod Guard had the Alterasia flower consuming its head, completely taking control of the body. The same could be told to the Nasod Blader and other victims around. Eve gripped her hand, witnessing her kind fallen before her. She wanted to rescue them, but with the current condition they are, it's too late. All she could do is lay them down in peace, destroying.
"Particle Ray!"
Without hesitation, she shot out the laser beam from her finger through the head, cutting the flower down.
"Elsword, burn it down now." Elsword nodded and chanted a Fireball at the flower to get rid of it just in case.
The duo continued their way through the tunnel while engaging the Alterasia Nasods. They had hard time breaking through the mob as they attacked wildly. Plus, they are aiming at Nasod which wasn't infected by Alterasia, meaning Eve. So Eve is the primary target to them. Elsword's not sure she could need some help as he watched her eliminating Infected Nasod down one by one with ease. He noticed her cold look was slowly broken when taking them down, assuming that she had difficult time slaying her kind.
"Eve, slow down. You are losing your temper." Elsword calmed her down.
"I'm perfectly fine. We need to get to the lower floor fast." Eve said, trying to keep her cold voice "Aim for those Alterasia Plant! We can't let that abomination continue growing."
"Chained Rune Buster!"
Elsword summoned flame runes on both palms and threw them at the plants, burning them down effectively along with those spores growing inside. He charged forward and slashed a number of Nasod with his Flame Sword which easily eliminated them. One of the Infected Bladers attacked him with the swinging blades around it, but was dodged as he jumped over its head and planted a small tag on. The tag went exploded a second later after he snapped his finger.
"Explosive Rune Tag, success."
He then proceeded with another target. He withdrew his sword and stabbed on the plant on the guard's head.
"Taste some fire~ Flame Drive!"
Channeling his magic into the sword, he twisted the handle and triggered the small engine inside. It emitted hot burning flame surrounding the sword and extinguished the poor Infected Nasod(?) into ashes. He continued triggering the engine and swung the swords to create multiple Sword Waves at them. The last one hit the sneaky Alterasia Spore behind Eve who was concentrating on the targets before her.
"You need to chill down, Eve! You almost got yourself in danger!" Elsword told.
"I told you I'm perfectly fine! Now stop wasting your time and take them down!" Eve by now had her spear ready and cut down the close one.
'Something's wrong here. Even if her code helps her regain the emotion, I don't remember seeing her angry this much.'
He decided to put this aside for now and focused on the target before him. They both advanced forward and escaped the tunnel only to see the dark green poisonous air getting thicker that they barely see the sky.
"Make haste, Elsword. My hazardous scanner detects the level of poisonous air exceed the safety the Nasod can withstand." Eve told.
"Ah, don't worry about that." Elsword said and gave her another vial of elixir "Keep it with you just in case the effect wears out.
"Thanks for your offer, but what about you?"
"I already have one with me." He grinned while patting on another pocket on his waist.
Eve was not sure if she should trust him or not and shrugged it off before she opened her hologram which showed the area surrounding her. Due to the thick mist, they almost had zero visibility that it would be dangerous to advance recklessly. Elsword looked around the sticky area covered in spore and Nasod corpses. From what he could tell, some bodies had been decayed for years, some still new. Those still new bodies were those Eve sent to clean up the area but then ended up dead.
"Poor them." He muttered "They must have suffered a lot."
"Come on, Elsword. There's no time for grief." Eve told him, ignoring the abnormal pain inside her core "I found the source." She turned off the hologram and continued her way toward. She tried her best to ignore the feeling inside her as she stepped over the body of the Nasod. The further she went, the harder she held her feeling back.
"Hold on, Eve." Elsword grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.
"What is it?" At this time, she barely held her anger back, which was clearly in her voice.
Elsword was startled by this but then regained his calm and said "You are not yourself, Eve."
"That's not your concern, Elsword." She retorted "We should finish this once and for-"
"At this current, you will put yourself in danger." He interrupted, frowning. "You can't just running and killing those Alterasia."
"They are killing my race!"
"And you are the queen of Nasod!" He said "You are the leader of your race! What's the point in protecting Altera if you are dead?!"
"?!"
Despite her struggle, he managed to calm her down. Her eyes widened in realization.
"I…"
"Have you ever thought of your home?" Elsword asked "Eve, you are acting recklessly."
"I… Elsword…" She was speechless, her mind confused.
"Eve…" He whispered her name and lowered his body to stare at her golden eyes. He saw her iris shaking in confusion. "Don't do something like that… You are my friend. I can't stand this if you are dead."
As he waited for her, he spotted more Alterasia surrounding them. Elsword wasted no time and released her to defend Eve.
"Phoenix Talon! Deal with them!"
The Phoenix ascended from Elsword body and struck down using its wing to burn those spores inside the Nasod. Elsword stabbed the sword on the ground and released flame burning their surroundings.
"Eve…"
"… I hate them… When I see Nasod being controlled by them, I was angry. I couldn't hold back the urge to destroy them. I'm… sorry…" She muttered in sorrow after realizing her mistake "Elsword-"
"Say no more and give me a hand!" Elsword told "We will talk about this later!" and attacked the charging Infected Nasod with Flame Drive.
After that, the Queen of Nasod joined the battle using Energy Needles, which homing the targets. She snapped her fingers to cast El Crsytal Spectrum and fire out double Giga Stream, successfully wiping out other Infected.
"Welcome back to the game." Elsword grinned "Keep it up!"
"Just… eww!"
"The source must be here. Let's go, Elsword. But you're right. This place is disgust."
The duo had arrived at the cave which was supposed to contain the abnormal energy. However, it was the Alterasia Hive. They could see the flowers everywhere, bodies of fallen Nasod laid on the ground. This made Eve disgust furthermore.
"Elsword…" Eve muttered in pure rage, but held back.
Elsword nodded, understanding what she wanted. He pulled out the tags and throwing around, eliminating the flowers with explosions.
"We will destroy this place after our job done." Elsword told.
They advanced forward and found the door.
"Must be it." Eve pointed.
"Then let's finish it!" Elsword yelled and was about to destroy the entrance. He was stopped by Eve. "What?"
"We are not alone."
She pointed her finger on the ceiling and saw a large flower which hatched a spore-like figure. It emerged and dropped on the ground. A disturbing scream came out from its mouth and looked at them with dark eyes, mostly Eve, and pulled out its blade which came out from its back.
"What is that?"
"Scanning…" Eve said "… Alterasia Type-H, no further intel of this. However, we can't let our guard down. Scanner detects high El energy from this."
The Alterasia suddenly charged at Eve with its blade. Both saw this and dodged on both side. Elsword threw fireballs, which was blocked, and clashed his sword with its, their swords' collision echoing the tunnel. Elsword was surprised as Alterasia mimicked his sword style almost perfectly. This confirmed his suspicion when Alterasia launched Wind Blade, pushing him back.
"Hey! That's my skill! First you copied Raven, now me?!" Elsword whined and stopped its blade before countering it with Rising Wave, which the Alterasia Knight jumped over. It approached Elsword and planned to strike again but was stopped by Eve's Particle Ray as she shot at it. Alterasia quickly changed its target to Eve and charged forward. She launched Kugel Blitz but all were dodged and returned with fireball. Eve reflected it but was caught by it sneaking around her and attacked with Wind Blade, hitting her.
"Kyaaa!"
"Eve! Over Geyser!" Elsword triggered his sword and slammed on the ground, summoning wave of swords, separating Eve and Alterasia. "You ok?"
"I'm… fine. Just a scratch." Eve said, holding her shoulder. Elsword noticed something on her scratch, the spores.
"No, you are not." Elsword retorted and took out the antidote in his pocket and poured on it, killing those spores "This will be fine. Hurry and drink your antidote before the poison affect your body-"
Just a second after curing, Elsword suddenly held his sword and blocked the strike above him before throwing Alterasia Knight away with a scold "Don't you see I'm treating the Queen? You will pay for that!"
Elsword and Alterasia once again engaged their sword fight. This time, he overdrove his sword, emitting burning flame around and slashed with high speed.
Clang!
He successfully broke its weapon. The Alterasia Knight was fallen backward, watching Elsword approach with his sword ready to stab. The Red Magician stepped closer and raised his sword. He could have finished it if it wasn't for Alterasia pulling out its trick.
Storm Blade
"What!"
Elsword managed to escape but a blade hit his left arm. The beast roared in desperation and kept those blades rotating around.
"Damn it! That was close!"
Elsword reached for his pouch. He halted for a second then took out a dark blue bandage to wrap the injure on his arm. This, of course, didn't go unnoticed by Eve. She eyed his bandaged arm, then to his pouch. When she was injured, he took out the vial of antidote and cured her. But Elsword, he didn't do that to himself, only wrapping bandage.
Eve snapped out of her thought when Elsword called "Eve! Look!"
She did as he told and saw the Alterasia slowly dropped the Storm Blade down. Part of its skin decayed, revealed something like golden orb on its chest.
"That must be its weak spot. If we destroy it, we can finally kill Alterasia."
Eve nodded. She gathered her energy into her hand and shot Taser Pilum at the golden orb. And again, it didn't go as they expected. A spore came out of nowhere and jumped in front of the pilum, effectively blocked it from killing Alterasia. Both Elsword and Eve were surprised by this. They looked around and saw that those spores had been spawn and surrounding them.
Elsword took no time and ran at Eve to protect her from them.
"Elsword!"
He turned around and saw those spores crawling on Alterasia Knight, which absorbed them. Its skin was slowly regenerating, covering the weak spot again.
"Tsk. Troublesome." Elsword cursed "We almost got it."
"No time, Elsword. Clear them out!" Eve told and released her energy into Energy Needles, killing off the spores. Elsword followed her act and burned them out with Sword Wave.
"Eve, we will do it again!" Elsword once again triggered his sword. He created multiple Sword Waves at Alterasia Knight to prevent it from moving "?!"
However, before he could make another step closer. Suddenly, his body was wearing out slowly. He almost tripped himself and slashed the spore beside it. He barely managed to get away from its blade just an inch. He threw some rune tags to make some gap between him and Alterasia.
"Elsword! What are you doing?" Eve asked in annoyance, seeing how he made himself tripped on the ground. She stopped when she saw Elsword breathing heavily, his face flushing. She reached her hand on his face and quickly pulled back due to abnormal high temperature "What happened to you?!"
"Ha… Ha… I'm… fine…" He said between his breathes. That didn't make her believe in him and gave him a scold while grabbing his injured arm.
"Like you are fine with this poisonous arm. Honestly, are you too dumb not to use your antidote? Moby, Remy!" She called out her little drones which appeared before her "Take care of him. Let no spore approach."
"What are… you doing?"
"I will deal with this." She replied, picking up his sword. She interrupted him before he could ask "And I know how to use your stupid sword. Just stay there and watch, dummy."
He stared at her, dumbfound.
"Since when did she learn how to use sword?"
"A long time ago, Master." Moby spoke while watching Eve engaging "Since Altera Kingdom restored, the Queen grew interest in other kind of weapon. She trained to use with other knight and became familiar with it, as you see her right now."
Elsword stared at the drones in disbelief before looking at Eve. He could tell her sword skill was not professional, yet she managed to drive those spores off. He wondered how far she reached to master sword style. A small smile grew on his face, eager to spar with her after this.
Eve charged in, dealing a blow attack on the spore nearby. To confirm her truth, she stabbed on the ground and spun the handle, triggering the engine inside. Although she can't use any of Elsword's skill, she can drive the fire out of his sword and burn then down.
"Gruah…" Eve looked at Alterasia Knight, the same eyes staring at her with murderer's eyes. She flinched, the aura from the knight seemed heavier than to Elsword. This had to be expected from the source of these nightmares. But to her, it was nothing compared to the rage she had been keeping in her chest, her lust for revenge burning like wild fire. All was hidden under the mask of the cold Queen of Nasod.
"Alterasia Type-H, you have slaughtered many of my kind and attempted to take over Nasod. For that, you shall die, by my hand."
She dropped Elsword's sword and walked to Alterasia with her spear on. With her final words, she attacked.
Somewhere… as you know…
"You want me to do what?!"
The same Red-Hair Knight yelled at the Administrator of Henir's Time and Space in disbelief.
"As you see…" Glave chuckled "You are in for another game, of sacred beast..."
"Oh come on. First, you let me rot to death with giant centipede. Now again? What is it?!"
"You know that I can't interrupt the event or else they will change the future, unless necessary."
"Alright!" He fumed, knowing that he couldn't get anything out of him "Care to tell me what my quest with this beast is?"
"Slow down, kid." Glave chuckled and gave him the case. Dark Knight opened it and saw a small advanced device with label Valkyrur and a small monitor with intel of the beast Glave referred while he explained "Remember this one? It was responsible for guarding a place from invaders. However, due to the abnormal phenomenon from an unknown location which took down it and fell into dimensional Time and Space. We detected the location. You can start at any time."
"Haiz… no choice then…" The Red-Hair Knight sighed "Anything else?"
"Hn… Ah yes. You and your wife are not alone." Glave snapped his fingers as his cubes showed two symbols "There's other two that aims for the guardian: Rebellion and Empire. One to destroy… and one to control… The Empire will seek to take over the guardian to conquer the world you will be in, and Rebellion will destroy this one as well as overthrowing the Empire. Your mission is to recover the guardian and send it back to its world before it can be destroyed or controlled."
"What am I against to?"
"… You will face heavy attack from the Empire. You are to support Rebellion in taking control of the kingdom. They will help you defeat it, if not destroying." Glave explained.
"Alright… I will take this." Elsword(DK) nodded after pondering and took the case.
"Well then… Your first job… is taking the key from a certain Queen of Nasod she's holding inside her. Be aware, someone is aiming for it too."
Yuu: Iya... too tired... study after study... almost no time to write... Sorry for long absence. Got myself in school and assignment.
Anyway, Red and Review, please OwO/