LW: Hello people, new time skip chapter!
Today, we have something surprising, a double-character chapter. They're unrelated in location but they're linked by theme, as the title of this chapter will suggest. So time to see how Alvida and Victor are doing during the 2 years away from the rest of the crew
Drop in the Ocean - The Monster Within
Fwishhh
"Decent, but you missed the main target" the redhead critiques
Victor sighs "It's been a while, but if that was a person that would definitely be a hit to the shoulder" he defends, his current trainer chuckling as she nods
"A debilitating shot like that would be impressive… if that had been the plan. Here it was an accident and if you had been aiming for the shoulder you wouldn't have even hit the target" Sternritter S 'The Sharpshooter' also known simply as Aloy notes "Try again, and this time remember to breathe, it's been a few years but we tend to slip back into old habits rather easily"
"I sure hope so, using these are more draining than I remember" Victor sighs, the runes on the bow drawing Reiryoku from his blood and the air to form an arrow, which he once again fires
THUMP
CLANG
CRASH
"I think you're getting the hang of the new weapon there Alvida" Diane grins as she bounces around a swing, then blocks a kick with the head of her own Warhammer Gideon "Even getting the spinning thing down, took me months when I was first learning… though maybe it helps that Brunhilde is more symmetrical than Gideon" she chuckles as Alvida stops to catch her breath
The smooth woman nods, looking down at her new weapon, which was more Mallet shaped than the classic Hammer that Diane's was "Yeah, the weight is different than when I had just a regular mace, but it's growing on me. Now if only you'd stop dancing around my attacks I'd feel like I wasn't wasting both of our times" she growls
Diane laughs "Hey, it's just how I was trained, just because it's not the classical style you'd see Elbaf Warriors using, doesn't make Matrona and Drole any worse trainers, in fact, their techniques actually suit me perfectly" she grins watching the energy gather as Alvida' spins Brunhilde behind her and lashes out, the pigtailed girl merely summersaulting over it with practiced ease "Heavy Metal" she cries as her skin turns steely grey with a flicker of oily black due to the added armament haki, before ending the fight with a pin
"Weather Release?"
"That's what the elemental triad I'm looking at is called over here, and it's the only explanation for what I'm seeing" Valentina argues through the mirror "So if there's any chance you can check your records about them, that would be great"
"You'll have no luck finding StormBenders, that bloodline died out decades ago"
"Jez Haschwalt, ever been told to wear a bell or something?" Victor sighs as his heart rate slows to normal, Val looking equally shocked in the mirror
"Only by those with poor situational awareness" the blond responds blankly "But I reiterate, there is no point searching for the Stormbenders, Waford was lost centuries ago and there hasn't been a confirmed wielder in over 80 years, the bloodline is extinct. Searching for them is a fools' errand, there are plenty of things more worth your time" he sighs deeply before walking off, having just overheard the conversation rather than actually looking for the living Bomb
Victor sighs deeply "Well, that's disappointing, guess old tomes is all you'll be able to use for your project after all"
"Oh pish, just because there's no confirmed users doesn't mean they're gone, our navigator is proof of that" Valentina argues "Plus, just like the eye of the World Tree, if the real thing is no longer with us, we can MAKE more, one way or another" the blond ninja grins widely "And there's also the fact I don't need a master, just notes and possibly tomes and records, such as the fact they're called Storm breakers by the Helsing faction, according to Vivi's own attempt at helping me with my research"
"This is quite unexpected, usually non-mages steer away from magical solutions and augmentations, call it cheating. Or maybe it's because my Holy Relic occasionally spits lighting with the power of a vengeful Thunder God" Merlin hums as Alvida gives her a look that is best described as 'Yeah, probably'
"If we were having one of those honorable brawls Escanor talks about maybe, but I want to survive the New World, and it's not like the others are just using their muscles, Valentina's part Bat or some shit and Vivi…. My baby's got back, and combat foliage. So if you have something magical that would not completely wreck my current combat style, I'd love it very much" the mace…. Now warhammer user asks, clasping her hands in a praying gesture
Merlin clicks her tongue before nodding "I may have something. A ritual art which would allow you to convert excess fats, proteins, and sugars into mystic energy to use activate the array and fully enhance yourself via expansive means"
"I feel like you just overcomplicated, whatever you just said" Alvida deadpans
"It means if you eat a lot to power the array, it will make you grow as a temporary battle mode" the oni sorceress repeats
Alvida blinks, then grins "That sounds great, where do I start?"
"Remove your shirt and we'll go right now"
"Say what?"
"Remove your shirt, so I can imbue the glyphs onto your back, which can then draw in materials and mana from your body" Merlin explains
The smooth woman agrees and complies, lying on the table like she was getting a massage while Merlin consulted a very old and worn looking tome, before snapping it shut and laying her hand on the small of her back.
"Ich sha ro choku sa bac she dos esh rok…" Merlin chants as runes flowed out from her hand, marking the younger woman's skin for the first time since eating the Sube Sube no mi, All was going well until a different mark flashed on her neck catching the sorceress by surprise, the Boar of Gluttony. Besides the other Sins Merlin had only seen the mark manifest on 2 other people, the Boar on her Godmother, and the Dragon of Wrath on her father. It did at least confirm what she was thinking, that this girl would be a force to be reckoned with soon enough, especially when she was done with this…. Partially because if she stopped now, the results would be messy and painful for herself and Miss Alvida "...gu zho rak shim val cha mahk" she finally stops, smiling at the spiraling web of runes along the woman's back and arcing across her shoulders and the back of her thighs, already beginning to passively draw in magic from their owner, and with it increase her apatite and capacity "Sleep now my dear, we'll see what you can do soon enough" she coos, ruffling Alvida's hair as the woman slips into unconsciousness, mentally and physically drained.
"You've improved in leaps and bounds Victor" Ywach muses as the bomber man kneels before him "And BJ9 seems particularly interesting in implementing some of your design suggestions for some of our new bases"
Victor nods but keeps his head low "I'm an architect at heart sir, it's what interests me. And this place was home to me once, I want it to still be standing when I'm a much older man"
The Quincy King laughs "Of course, and you may stand it's not that kind of meeting. Now, there is a reason I called you here for this discussion, besides a friendly chat. You know of the Sternritters, my elites, all of who have been gifted powers by me personally, through my Devil Fruit" he clicks his fingers and a ball of fire flickers into life resting on his palm "I've not yet found a new H so, for now, this one remains as the Heat, fire manipulation, and generation are a useful power though, so maybe I'll keep it for myself" he muses before closing his fist and snuffing it out "But you're not here for H, you're here…." he smirks and presses his fingertips over his heart, a translucent energy bubble being pulled from himself "...for this. You may leave this island a pirate, but your loyalty to your homeland means you will also leave… as Sternritter I. Accept my power and grow from it" he commands, pressing the orb to Victor's chest and watching the power flow through him, as well as the lightheadedness that follows. Hopefully, the young man survives the night.
SMASH
"Still a vicious monster, just hidden under a pleasant shell. You needed a Devil fruit to ensnare the poor boy though, he'd have just looked right past you if you were still that beached whale from before"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Alvida screams, swinging Brunhilde but it passes through the spectre like she was mist, destroying another tree in the process. As she pants heavily, a low gurgle is heard in the clearing, her eyes starting to glaze over "I've changed, I have people who care about me" she mutters lowly, swaying as the Warhammer keeps her upright
"Nobody changes, not at their core. It's why hubby is partying it up on Amazon Lily with those bimbos, and you're stuck here wallowing and getting tossed around"
"I…. I'm tired of this shit" Alvida groans, as she stills and her eyes gain a red tinge, the hallucinations chins jiggle as she laughs before fading
"That's it, dearie, now come drown your sorrows. Princess and Captain aren't here right now, so we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way" the spirit purrs, a withered hand passing through Alvida's hair, before the Smooth woman swings her weapon sideways, the meaty thud that followed the crunch told her she'd hit her target "The starter to a glorious feast little one Fafafafa!"
"MEAT!"
A few hours later
"How do you lose a crazy bitch with a hammer?" Ban mutters as he, Meliodas, Gother, and King search the forest for Alvida
"Never been a problem before, Diane tends to stick with the group" the short blond laughs, before getting a spear jab to the back of the head
"It appears King doesn't like you bad-mouthing his woman" Gother notes "I'll be sure to avoid doing so within earshot"
"Idiots the lot of you" the Fae mutters, then his nose wrinkles as a familiar metallic smell catches his senses "Um guys, I think we have a problem. I smell blood, and a lot of it"
"Really hope it's not Alivda, not only will Merlin and Diane kill us, but Elaine as she's JUST gotten her to agree to be Lancelot's godmother" Ban whines, but speeds up after the 2 flying members of the group, Gother shrugs but runs along-side him.
What they found, was a mess to put it lightly, a massacre also works "They've been torn apart, just bits everywhere" King gags
"Should we be glad it's mostly wildlife and only one of these bodies is human?" Meliodas wonders aloud as he kicks aside a discarded hand from one of the bodies
"Given one of those bodies is a bear, and it looks to have been torn open…. No, no it does not" the immortal answers
"Speaking of, that bear is still moving, or whatever killed it, is still here feeding on it" Gother points out, referring to the way the carcass shifted from side to side in an almost rocking motion, which given its guts were all over the forest floor and its head pancaked…. Clearly wasn't the bear's doing.
As usual, the Sin's lack of stealth bit them in the ass as whatever the cause of the destruction was, were made aware of their prescience, the figure standing before approaching them with a sway and a squelch
"Target located, somewhere under all that blood and viscera is Miss Alvida" Gother declares, then ducks before she could take his head off "And she seems to be displaying heightened aggression, SIQ perhaps?"
"Or she's just gone nuts" King suggests drawing Chastiefol "This is going to be a very long fight isn't it?"
"MEAT!"
Melioda's eyes widen, though the pupils shrink to pinpricks "Fuck! And more importantly how is there someone else with violence causing hunger pangs?" the Lunarian groans, then notices something more worrying "Um, guys…. Is she taller than she was this morning?"
"Correct, her current height is approximately 17 and a half feet and slowly rising, most likely due to the runes on her arms and legs" Gother hypothesizes
"So…. Merlin's fault?" Ban asks
"Merlin's fault" Meliodas and King nod "We're going to need her at the very least to deal with this, as I don't know what else that array could do. For all we know it ups her regen to just shy of yours Ban"
"So we need to lead her along until we can get her in range of the girls? Gother, this is your area of expertise"
"Of course" the pinkette nods before manifesting a magenta energy bow "Herritt: Mind trap" he calls, before firing the luminous projectile, only for it to shatter against an orange barrier
"Kill them all!" Alvida bellows
"Well, that kind of worked, just not how we hoped"
"Just shut up and run!"
Boar Hat
"Should we really have just let the boys go looking for her on their own, it is getting late" Diane hums while Merlin simply sat outside meditating
"They'll be fine, nothing on this island would be a threat to them….." the attempts to assure her friend…. Before the tremors start "On the other hand, anything non-native to the island could be a problem" she amends, summoning her staff from a tattoo on her right rib, while Diane grabs Gideon
"Merlin! Get your ass over here!" Ban shouts as the foursome runs out of the forest, shortly followed by the trees being smashed as a massive, 28ft tall Alvida thunders behind them, a visible aura flowing off her and a feral hunger in her blood-red eyes
"Shit! Diane, it looks like we're going to have to go all out if we want to stop our student from killing the others"
"I understand, though maybe wait until I'm not so close to the pub before reversing it" she hums, before running straight for the currently taller woman
"But of course. Absolute Cancel: Megamorph" Merlin casts, slamming her staff on the ground before the click of a lock is heard and both females began to expand, up and up and up "Warowarowaro, Oh how I've missed this" the sorceress cackles, now standing a healthy 20ft, though the horns technically made it 23 feet, meanwhile Diane ballooned out, luckily the enchanted clothing meant they remained fully intact, even as she went from 6ft to 69ft/21m, and much like Alvida's Brunhilde, Gideon growing to fit her original form just as well as it had previously "Now, I think it's time you stop this and calm down"
"I will not be stopped until I feast on all there is!" Alvida scowls before lifting the hammer "Earth Cracker!" she cries ripples forming before a crevice opens up, barely missing the Boar Hat
"Ok, maybe I'll need this after all. Aldan" Merlin sighs before a shimmering orb rises from her back and slots into the head of her staff which reformed into its original magical scepter form, purple lightning arcing off it as well as a scent of ozone filling the air "Really hope this doesn't kill you kid" she mutters before shooting forward, using her magic to float and increase her speed to inhuman levels "Raimei Hakke" she cries as the attack hits, discharging on impact as well as pushing back the towering woman several feet, though Alvida just coughs up some blood and growls
"You're going to need more than tha…"
"Jormungander" Diane cries
And more indeed came, in the form of a haki-coated, and green streaking Gideon slamming into the side of her chest, just seconds after earthen spears threw her off balance, the massive woman flying several yards and hitting the ground with a rather painful-sounding thump.
"Oh, I really hope I didn't do too much damage, it's been a few years since I was this big and powerful" Diane frets as Alvida doesn't get up, in fact, she starts to steam as far as the others could describe it, and once they got closer could see she was already shrinking back to her normal size
"Merlin, explain" Meliodas states, and at any other time how nervous someone could be over someone about a fifth of their size would be funny, but not right now
"I may have incorrectly applied a ritualistic array to Miss Alvida. The book was old, some pages were stuck together, others missing entirely"
"So you somehow managed to accidentally mix two of those things together…. Without killing both of you?" Ban asks, as impressed as he was shocked
"Essentially. Not that it would have made much difference, she has a Sin brand same as the rest of us, it was always going to go wrong somehow, this just wasn't how I was expecting it to" she admits and the others inhaled sharply. Sin brands were rare, given not only did you have to resonate/embody the mark, but have a magical index of over 3000. Though given there didn't seem to be any marks on Alvida, it's possible the latter requirement was fulfilled solely from being linked to Merlin during the ritual.
"Sorry to ask… but which one?" Diane whispers nervously
"Mine. The Boar of Gluttony" Merlin answers, then rolling Alvida onto her front grimaces "As I suspected, the symbol in the middle of the circle, Ganon the Insatiable"
"Is there anything we can do about it?" King asks as Diane picks up the unconscious Straw Hat
"Not right now, more research will need to be done, but I'm sure I'll think of something" she assures him as they walk back to the bar.
Inner Realm
Victor was currently regretting accepting power from Ywach, mostly because it seemed to involve a trial of being attacked by an armored demon of a man with an exploding hammer trying to kill him in limbo, while a woman with a white bow shoots exploding arrows at them both from time to time.
"You're not much of a talker big guy, just SMASH everything instead?" Victor hums, using his own bow but the arrows were mostly blocked by the hammer and the few that hit the armor didn't do much from what he could tell. The same couldn't be said for the return volley which he blocked some, causing his bow to fade to ash once again, though at least the main damage of the arrows was able to be ignored due to his Devil Fruit "Though maybe that's the point, no talking means I can't understand you"
"Oh, is someone figuring out the challenge?" his female opponent muses, while the bomb man ducks under another hammer blow "If you have, then let's see if you can solve the problem"
"I know what you are, he, on the other hand, took some time to figure out and resonate with but I think I know it now" he admits, surprisingly getting a deep chuckle from the armored man
"Then speak it child, or die by my hands for you will be unworthy of this power" he rumbles, the hammer steaming as he raises it over his head to slam down on the man before him
"Outshine the Sun Kaiser der Sterne" [Emperor of stars]
The hammer fades into smoke just before it strikes Victor then to his own surprise it forms in the Bomberman's right hand and instinctively he swings left into Kaiser's helmet, pushing him back
"Very good, maybe you are worthy of our power boy" Kaiser chuckles, before nodding to the woman who puts away her bow
"Thank you, and I know that she's the manifestation of the power I, the Incendiary" Victor replies breathing heavily
"Correct, but there's more than that" she grins before glowing brightly and reforming into a large, deep blue and horned, dog-dragon hybrid looking creature with large leathery wings "I am the flames of Lunastra!" she growls, heat rising in waves from the Elder Dragon's body even in this echoed form "and you would do well to remember that"
"Always have to spoil the surprise" Kaiser sighs then begins to steam and glow before a new form is expelled from the now molten armor. Similar in shape and size to Lunastra but with a strong crimson and a thick red mane similar to that of a lion "I am…"
"Teostra" Victor answers, recognizing both animals from legends he'd read as a child
"Close. I am Emporer of Flames: Teostra. And I hope to see if you truly can handle the full extent of my power" he Teostra growls but gives a very canine grin which Victor returns
"I fully intend to, with both of you"
"We shall see" Lunastra purrs as the world fades out and Victor reaches true unconsciousness
"You're a Giant now? That's so cool!"
"Luffy please behave this is serious"
Alvida chuckles "Not quite, 30ft isn't a giant, though it is still impressively large"
"Still be fun, like a full body Gear 3rd" Luffy chuckles while Vivi rolls her eyes, while still agreeing that this new technique would be interesting to explore when they all reunited
"Just without the chibi form, as far as we know for the moment, just that I shrink back to normal when I pass out"
"Shame, might have been fun to carry you around" Vivi teases "All cute and squirmy"
"Laugh it up princess, things keep looking up, we'll take the New world by storm soon enough"
"YEAH!"
"It's like ash a first glance, but it's a scaly, highly combustible powder" Victor explains as Valentina nods from the mirror
"And that's what your new power gave you? Anything else?"
"Besides the hammer that I managed to unlock from figuring out its name, both sides of my power resonating have given me more, I'd best describe it as draconic features, such as retractable wings and while not fire breath, as useful as it would be, being able to expel a plume or cloud of this combustible ash is the next best thing, especially as it doesn't require direct contact with myself to detonate, just focus and a haki pulse"
"Definitely works well with your fruit, or at least compliments it, and the powder flakes would make things easier to move and hide before detonation" Val suggests
"Untraceable and undetectable blast charges, quite a boon" Victor chuckles to himself.
TBC
LW: Well, stuff happened, hope it was enjoyable. Next time we go check in on our researcher and see what crazy things he and the Demon Eye are getting up to, on a Mysterious Island.