To be honest, seeing her laugh was actually terrifying given her normal state. "Y-You're laughing... W-Why?!"
Clutching her stomach, she bended over. "You couldn't...! Defeat...! It!" Struggling to speak, she leaned her hand on the rock the mushroom hid behind. "Could you be...! Any less weak...?!"
Hurt by her degrading statement, I pouted and stomped my foot on the ground like a little boy but immediately stopped when I realized happened.
Wait. Eve is laughing. I won the contest?! Yes!
As I mentally cheered, the pesky little mushroom hopped out of the bush once again. Upon seeing us, he jumped three times, and a large siege tower rolled out from the direction the mushroom came from. Following it were five other glitters on Cockatrigles and another wearing a Bio Hazard suit with a tank on his back and holding bubbling liquids in flasks. An Arc Glitter Sniper lifted his bow and pulled an arrow back, aiming at the laughing nasod.
"Eve!"
Launching myself forward with my cannon, I shielded her from behind with my weapon. The arrow made contact with my Destroyer as we both toppled to the grass.
"Darn, they noticed us," said the glitter with the flasks. "Never mind, attack them!"
Eve and I quickly stood up from the ground, focusing in on our opponents. She summoned Oberon and Ophelia out and the two summoned a large spear. "Assault Spear!"
As the attack was launched and exploded on the siege tower, the glitter with flasks opened up his tank. A dark gas was released from the container as the glitter ran a circle around us. He stopped and cackled loudly before the released gas exploded around us. The once serene trees lit up in flames and surrounded Eve and I.
"Hehe, if only Queen Chloe could see me now! Never mess with the genius Sullen Joaquin!" The glitter exclaimed. "I hope you said your goodbyes to your friends!"
The mounted glitters slowly closed in on us and Eve's group. The flames followed suit, gradually burning the grass to death.
"Chung..! What do we do?"
"I don't know. My cannonballs will explode and kill us if they touch that fire."
A Glitter Spearman made a slash at Eve that knocked her off her feet. Using her dropped guard as an opening, another enemy swung his spear. I leaped in front of her and attacked the glitter off its Cockatrigle.
Snap... There's no way out...! We're dead...!
A shriek was emitted from behind me, and I spun around in place. A Cockatrigle's tail had been lit up by the flames and was going berserk. Sullen Joaquin pulled out a blue orb and shattered it on the monster. The fire was consumed by a gush of water and frozen by a cold air.
Wait. That's it!
Upon seeing the reason for water orbs, I rapidly pulled out the burlap bag Lowe had given me and threw it hit up into the air. As it plummeted to the ground, a large cracking noise was produced. Gallons of water leaked through the cloth and flooded the grass, extinguishing the fire. A chilling breeze gushed through the trees and froze every droplet of water. Icicles clutched branches, and waves were halted.
The glitters kept the water orbs for emergencies! If they ever got trapped by their own fire, they'd use orbs to put it out!
"Great." I exclaimed while dropping ammo into my Destroyer. I began shooting down the Cockatrigles one by one, causing the mounted glitters to fall to the ground.
"Oberon Guard!" Oberon covered me from an enemy behind. Eve then summoned her drones to assault the Arc Glitter Spearman, finishing up with Ophelia's magical blast.
"R-Retreat!" Sullen Joaquin declared as he began to back away. His calls couldn't be heard by the combating, so he abandoned his group and ran off.
One last glitter remained. I swung it over to Eve, and she slapped it to the ground. My breaths were heavy as we gradually calmed down from the battle.
"Perhaps you have been of some use," she spoke while the surrounding ice melted away.
I laughed slightly at her comment. "And you finally laughed. Do you find emotions important now?" I smiled warmly to her.
She appeared startled by my comment. Before I knew it, Oberon's blade was held up to my throat. I raised my hands up and dropped my cannon in the process.
"Emotions will always be a waste. My laughter was... was but a mere representation of how vulnerable one can become in battle through these emotions. It will only be a hindrance for me."
"O-Okay!"
Her face was mere inches away from mine, and I couldn't help but notice how shiny the blue semi-sphere on her head was. Or the specks of gold littered in her eyes.
I feel like those orbs splashed water all over me. Why am I sweating so much?
As the Queen backed off me, Oberon retracted his sword and disappeared into her code. Eve crossed her arms and glared at me before giving me a different look. A poker face.
The moon continued to shine as we headed back to Ruben to deliver the news. The moon's pitch black background had changed, however. The colors no longer held the void of an empty space. Along the horizon was a growing red hue that inched its way into the sky, followed by a bright golden light.
A new day was coming for the two.
So, I believe the next chapter will be the last one. I won't be around this archive again for a while since I'm working on my next story. I've got... two in the works now, both AU's.
Anyways, would you guys rather read a story based(slightly) on the anime 'Kino no Tabi' and a really nice wallpaper, or a story based off the anime 'Sword Art Online'? I want to focus in on one to work on. Review your answer please!