Chapter 166
That thing was too big to be called a spear.
Too big, too thick, too heavy, and too long, it was more like a large hunk of mythril.
Poised in Brynhildr's hand, balanced precariously on a single palm like a single breeze could sway it out of her hand, the spear blotted out two of the three suns in the sky, it's shadow stretching all the way to where Assassin stood. Gray's jaw dropped at the awe-inspiring sight, the Valkyrie and the spear akin to a butterfly lifting a mountain.
There was no holding back. If anybody threatened to tear the two apart, they would respond with the fury of dragons.
"HA!"
Just like that, the spear left Brynhildr's hands, and a mythril tower fell on Assassin.
Strength that scaled with her love, the spear's size increasing the fiercer the flames of passion burned in her heart. With Sigurd by her side, she could freely manipulate this ability instead of having to rely on how much her opponent resembled her beloved, simply having him by her side enough to unleash the floodgates of love in her heart. All she had to do was be careful that she didn't accidentally aim her attacks at him, as she had 'accidentally' done so in the past. If he didn't have Battle Continuation and a prodigious will to live, he would have been long dead at her hands.
Against their enemies though, it was a sure-kill ability that would devastate the land and split the sea, capable of tearing down mountains and opening valleys in a plain with how much power Brynhildr could muster, her love for Sigurd transcending the mortal coil and the curse of the Great God Odin, persisting no matter what the universe threw at the couple.
Spreading out to tens of kilometers surrounding the impact point, a low rumbling sound like thunder echoed across the sands, stretching far and wide as the tip of the spear fell like a meteor on Assassin. Before the spear even touched the sandy ground, the sands were already shaking, grains of silicate flying in the air as a large whirlpool shaped depression appeared in the sand, marking the area where it would land before it reached Assassin.
"Damn, are they crazy?"
Leaning against the wall of his humble restaurant, he watched as the massive spear, far exceeding any weapon he had ever made in size, descended like the fist of god on the lone figure standing in the crater of sand blown out by it's imminent arrival, unwavering even in the face of the crushing weight of the gigantic spear. Underneath the deep shadow that grew darker with each second as it closed the distance, her lips moved.
"Is that all you've got?"
A second gout of sand leapt up into the air beneath the spear as it descended onto the land, this stream far more concentrated and flying so high in the air that it passed the tip of the spear bearing down.
A moment later, the sonic boom hit Gray and the man's ears.
"Wah!"
She took a step back in surprise at the sudden noise, then looked back at the spot where Assassin was supposed to be. There was nothing there any more, save for a crater of sand that was waiting for the spear to fill it up.
Sigurd narrowed his eyes, then shouted.
"Bryn, watch out!"
Sword out, a trail of sparks flew as she dragged it on the surface of the mammoth lance, her legs a blur as each step lightly tapped against the cool mythril surface, yet propelling her in explosive bursts that covered more than Usain Bolt could in ten seconds. A flash step that still adhered to physics, but just barely. Her path swirled around the cylinder of the long shaft until she reached the underside, hidden from Brynhildr's sight as she leapt off the butt of the spear in one swift movement.
"...out!"
The cry reached her ears as her body instinctively protected itself, her arms coming up in a cross in front of her chest as runes formed in the air between her and the shining tip of the blade pointed straight at her spiritual core.
*FWOOM*
A brilliant shroud of pale flames sprung up between her and Assassin, the primeval runes of Norse calling forth the very same fire that had tormented her body. Carved into her mind, it was exceedingly easy to bring forth it's strength for her own use.
The scorching blaze burned fiercely, rebuffing Assassin and her efforts to reach Brynhildr. More runes appeared in the air all around Brynhildr, lightning, ice, fire and more swirling forth as they prepared to rip through MHX's body hanging in mid-air, her sword thrust in the middle of the flames as if they were solid.
A second later, all those runes turned to defense as hundreds of portals opened up all over in a sphere surrounding Brynhildr, except behind Assassin. A swirling globe of elements surrounded the Valkyrie, while the dull sheen of the Dun's Stallion's cannons glinted behind the portals
Then the portals disappeared, without firing off a single shot. Looking upwards, Sigurd also couldn't spot either, her figure gone along with the portals after they hid her from sight. The swirling shield of elements generated by her runes disappeared, and Brynhildr stretched out her hand.
Like morning dew fading in the rays of sunlight, the monstrous spear faded away, having struck the ground while Assassin and Brynhildr fought.
Gray slowly floated down after being blown off her feet, unharmed by the shockwave that sent a shower of sand flying over an area the size of several football stadiums. Next to the entrance of the underground ramen shop, a sword crumbled to dust in the blacksmith's hands, the structure untouched by the shockwave.
Sigurd stood in place, immovable even though he was standing so much closer to the epicenter of the impact, his eyes trained in the sky above him for Assassin's presence.
Gray watched as her feet touched down on the ground, only for Sigurd to blast off from it like a rocket, an incredible force not dissimilar from Saber's Mana Burst propulsing his body upwards to the sky, his dragon core blazing in his body as he flew.
In a practiced motion, his left hand unhooked one of the daggers from his belt, borrowing the momentum from his upward motion to add force to his fist as he punched the pommel of the dagger with the gap between his knuckles next to his ring finger, the ring on the pommel fitting snugly before he sent it flying forward like a missile. It flew straight towards Brynhildr, aimed at the space in front of her.
The dagger slammed into empty air, stopping dead in its tracks. Sparks flew, and then a human shaped space flickered. The sky warped and melted as the colors distorted like oil on water, then the stealth technology failed completely as a second dagger flew up and sheared past Assassin's body. It didn't seriously injure her, but it clipped the side of her side suit, tearing a shallow gash on her skin though she was fast enough to bend her waist sideways to avoid it.
Spinning to the right, she dodged the rest of the daggers as Sigurd's fist delivered them to Assassin's body with great force, the backblow of wind slicing her skin as they just barely missed, her clothes getting progressively torn up.
An upside down L and a rhombus seared onto the surface of the daggers once they missed her, the runes Laguz and Ingwaz of potential and the actualization of potential. A glow pulsed from the two letters, and the daggers stopped in place like a rock, remaining still in the air meters away from Assassin.
Every single dagger turned a complete 180 degrees, facing Assassin once more, and losing none of their previous speed, they went flying back towards her. A runic boomerang, made possible by Sigurd's expertise in Norse runecraft instructed by his lover Brynhildr.
At the same time, the spear lashed out, a blow so near and so fast that the tip of the spear was already at Assassin's belly before she had time to twist her neck to face Brynhildr.
A miniature portal leading to the Dun Stallion enveloped the now downsized spears tip, swallowing it up as she sacrificed a little more energy from her ship to buy time, solid platforms projected by her shoes allowing her space to deflect the daggers flying down on her. In a single fluid motion, all four daggers were repelled, the now glowing blue blade of Secret-calibur drawing a neon blue circle in the air above her.
This time, she put a but more force into her deflection, instead of allowing the daggers to glance off her blade and redirect their path, she actively hammered the sword onto the flat of the daggers and knocked them off course, batting them off hard so they couldn't immediately change course and sending them further off than before.
A flashbang exploded between her and Brynhildr as she finished fending them off, which she had thrown right before the daggers had reversed direction, when Brynhildr was still lowering the shield of elements to strike her. Brynhildr's rune's were slowed as she was blasted with sound and light at close-range, her ability to concentrate hampered, though she was able to form her runes, albeit at a much slower rate.
By the time she was done, she opened her eyes to the blurry outline of a figure in black, locking blades with Assassin when she tried to attack after Brynhildr was stunned.
Sigurd wasn't far behind his daggers when he punched them up, and Gram stood between Secret-calibur and Brynhildr, his feet treading air as Raidho runes all over his armor kept him aloft, an upward force fighting against the gravity that threatened to drag him down.
The neon blue blade grinded against the demonic greatsword, a gentle hum coming from the energy blade that the sword had morphed into. Emotionless eyes stared at Assassin from behind the mask, draconic strength pitted against the pinnacle of science, the clone made from masses of Artorian genes. Within his heart, he felt a familiar flare emotion. Though Assassin had no Phantasmal blood running through her veins, nor a dragon core to speak of, the Artorian genes that were ingrained within her body were tightly interlaced with the concept of dragon, a spiritual weight that couldn't be easily destroyed.
Sigurd's body responded accordingly.
"ORA!"
The muscle plates covering Sigurd's arms shifted as the muscles on his arms bulged upwards, the monstrous strength within that deceptively thin frame brought to bear on Assassin and her sword. In an instant, it felt like the pressure against her had increased threefold, the surface of her energy sword rippling from the force Gram was exerting on it. The blue circles of the mask glowed brighter until they became closer to white than blue, and his stiff hair shook with the effort his body was experiencing.
At the same time, Assassin recognized one fact.
He was without doubt, a Saber.
This strength, this power that welled up from the depths of his body, was definitely that of the most powerful of classes, one that reigned at the top of the seven in terms of pure combat ability and strength. As long as they were strong, they had to be a Saber class, which was the logic the universe she lived in ran on. And if they were a Saber class, they had something in common with Artoria. That meant that he too, was part of the Artorian cancer that plagued the entire galaxy. A tumor meant to be excised in the name of the safety of the galaxy.
The train of thought was faulty, the metaphorical thought train cars all separated by miles of rail to any observer possessing even the slightest bit of common sense, but it was Assassin. She wouldn't let little things like logic and common sense get in the way of her mission to exterminate all Artorias, her purpose in life spawning a paradox in the form of MHZ. It could be said that her very existence was a rebellion against common sense, something that made fun of absolute existences. St*r W*rs, for example.
It felt like he was overpowering her for a brief moment, then she disappeared in a cloud of smoke that was released by her suit. A choking black smog, as poisonous as it was thick, covered the Assassin's form in front of his very eyes. Yet his strength didn't waver in the slightest, his sword pressing down hard on Assassin. As long as his sword was going to cut her with the slightest give in her guard, she couldn't run anywhere.
That was, until she cut out the force fields allowing her to stand in the air.
Like a lightning bolt, she struck the ground at terrific speeds, Gram sending her down once she lost her footing with tremendous weight, Sigurd's might that slew the evil dragon more than enough to send her teenage body slamming into the ground with prejudice. It was enough however, to break free from the deadlock with Sigurd.
Taking no chance, Sigurd shot downwards, tucking his entire body into a spear with Gram's point as the tip, reducing drag and making him a smaller target as well as he descended on where Assassin fell, getting on top of her location in a matter of heartbeats. While it was far from the level of Brynhildr's first strike, it was surely enough to obliterate Assassin's body as well as anything in a twenty meter radius around her should she fail to block or dodge it.
Then the directional mine Assassin had prepared blew up in his face.
In the distance, Gray and the ramen shop owner saw a geyser of sand go up into the sky.
When the sand fell back to the ground, the crystalline emerald point of Gram was through Assassin's chest, her body impaled against the sands as she stared disbelievingly at the blood spreading across her metallic suit, the azure strips obscured by crimson.