Chapter 25: Simultaneous Chaos
11:11 AM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 2nd…
"… Alright. You have been chosen… You know your targets. Go on ahead and fight until either of the two is unable to move anymore."
"Get it, guys? Go beat 'em!"
"ROGER!"
Six Navis had been standing in front of a podium atop which Slur and Legato were giving out commands; the other Navis looked on from nearby and glanced at the currently blackened six holographic screens, which would obviously display the battles.
"Five of those guys are never-before-seen types but the fith one is a strong guy." Burner Man chuckled.
"Shah, shah, shah! They obviously picked competent guys. As expected of Slur – sama and the Commander!" Needle Man laughed.
"I'll use these feedback data to compose a masterpiece! There'll be tension, sweat and drama! Wonderful!" Video Man rubbed his chin.
"This looks promising, yessir…" Dark Man chuckled.
"So it does…" Shade Man eagerly muttered.
"Hmpf… They'll be met with big trouble…" Cosmo Man added.
"Kick their asses." Lily giggled.
"Beat 'em all." Tom snickered.
"Have fun, naughty boys." Sandra encouraged.
"They will, once again, regret not training enough!" Beta X laughed.
"Truly!" Legato chuckled.
"Go! Show them your true power!"
"HOORAY!"
11:22 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Damn it. This guy's too fast and by the time I get a lock on them they strike me with a lot of power!"
"Surprised? I'm Killer Man! Assassin for hire! I'm gonna delete ya 'cause that's my job, ya know? There's no beating the great me's speed, no! Festival, bloody festival! Eat this one for a change! Death Killer Beam!"
Search Man was fighting a Net Navi named Killer Man.
Killer Man appealed as being taller than Search Man; he was shaped like an oni from Japanese folklore given how his "skin" was just combusting grayish flames; his main body was shaped like a sphere colored purple, and having a green eye with red edges drawn on the chest; the lower half of it was colored gray.
His face's skin was red while the edges of his face were purple; he had normal eyes with black shapes drawn below them, and teeth; part of his "hair" scaled down to form a nose and two small red "horns" emerged from the top of his head.
His emblem was that same green eye set against a white background; his shoulders had two curved axe-like formations attached to them and he carried three purple armlets over his forearms and wrists, interconnected by a chain.
His legs had four circle-shaped pieces of armor starting at the hips and stopping around the knees, which progressively decreased in height, on each leg; his feet were curved-shaped blades with two reddish curved lines drawn on their surface; the upper one was shorter than the lower one.
He carried a scythe with a black wooden shaft, and red blade with a purple-edged green eye set on the center of its surface.
"Scope Gun! Satellite Ray! Search Grenades!"
"Hell's Sickle!"
"What!"
Search Man attacked at once with three of his techniques but Killer Man didn't seem to mind them; he swung his scythe across the air, shooting an slice of energy towards Search Man, which he avoided by ducking, but then a beam of energy shot from the chest's "eye" drawing hit him; the blast sent him flying, and he stood up again only for Killer Man to ram into him with the left shoulder, and start a close-quarters fight by ramming and kicking Search Man, who tried to counter.
"Battle Chip, Samurai Sword! Slot In!"
"Samurai Sword!"
"Damn it!"
Search Man managed to open up a wound by slashing across Killer Man's chest where his drawing was located at; he stepped back only to rush on forward while brandishing the scythe.
"DIE~!"
"Scope Gun!"
"Mugro~h! Impossible~!"
The attack, shot at close-quarters, pierced his body through the wound, and he did collapse on the ground while clutching the wound; Search Man then placed the muzzle on his forehead.
"The end."
"Objection."
A purple gateway formed on Killer Man's feet and he "fell" inside of it.
"What!"
Slur emerged on his place, and drew a thin yellow sword, which she wielded with the right hand, as it was a real sword; Search Man grimaced and stepped back, trying to put distance between them.
"Feel the pain of your sins, sinner!"
"Damn it! I won't go down so easily! Scope Gun!"
11:33 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Thunderbolt!"
"Great Sword!"
"Damn it! This guy's too strong!"
"Sword Man won't fall so easily! Hum!"
Thunder Man's opponent turned out to be a Net Navi by the name of Sword Man.
Sword Man happened to over a meter and ninety tall; his main body was colored white and had a hexagonal form.
Two brownish parallel metallic bands crossed the chest from left to right and formed two trapezoids aiming up and down in the middle, above and below the black center section.
His head was shaped like a sword's hilt placed on its sheath; the edges were red with two white spots at end of the upper edge; a vertical metallic white piece with a round grayish spot was set over the forehead, and a brown handle emerged from atop the head; his face lacked a nose, had a thin mouth, and his eyes were yellow irises sans pupils.
His emblem was a simple close-up of a sword's blade, which aimed upwards, set against a brownish background.
His shoulders were white spheroids with two white circle-shaped pieces covering the forearms and the segment below the shoulder; they lacked elbows.
The wrists had square brown armor over them and the hands' skin was black; he also carried a short sword with a brown hilt on his right hand.
His body below the torso had a pyramidal piece pointing downwards, and a central sword's blade emerged running down the back.
"Sword Press!"
"Thunderbolt!"
Sword Man jumped into the air and landed down while hitting the ground with the edge of his body's blade; a shockwave spread from the descent point and spread around, while the "Thunderbolt" attack from Thunder Man was nullified because Sword Man used the small sword he carried on his right hand as a lightning rod.
"Shit. We won't get anywhere like this."
"Starting to realize your own powerlessness? Go, my brethren! Sonic Blade! Sword Press! Great Sword!"
The yellow "head" replaced the red one and swung the blade across the air to produce a sonic attack; the red "head" returned and jumped to land down and create another shockwave, while the blue "head" attacked directly with the sword; Thunder Man was hit by all attacks.
"We are victorious!"
"Not so fast you punks… Program Advance! Hi – Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon! Go, Thunder Man!"
"EAT THIS!"
"I-impossible…! Mugro~h!
"The finishing blow!"
"Objection."
Slur emerged from the purple gateway in the ground right after Sword Man sunk on it; she still had her sword drawn and she hovered some inches above the ground; Thunder Man stepped back, grumbling.
"It would go against the contract clauses." She dully argued.
"Sheesh. So that guy was a merc you hired for the show, huh?"
"Indeed. Now… Show me what you can actually do!"
Her face contracted into a creepy grin, making Thunder Man feel a shiver go down his back and unconsciously step back.
"You are not coming? Good. Then I am going for it! Warrior!"
11:44 AM (Japan Time)…
"Hmpf! They lured me out here, and they want a fight… I'll give them one! Come!"
"Rolling Slasher! Slash Man won't lose!"
Colonel was fighting against the Net Navi known as Slash Man.
He was a "humanoid" design Net Navi whose height struck as being shorter than Colonel's; his upper body's color palette was lush green plus a vertical red stripe crossing through it.
His face's skin looked "human" enough yet his eyes lacked irises and were black; green armor protected the head and two claw-like shapes were set on both sides of it; he had a small red triangle drawn upon his chin, too.
His emblem's design was elaborated (a white character looking like the Alphabet letter "L" turned 90º to the right and extending almost the whole length of it, a tear-shaped object close to the center and another drawing which looked like a small "V" character) and its background was mere black.
His shoulders also had claw-like shapes set over them, and armor covered the whole of his arms; the wrists were red and three sharp claws replaced his hands.
He had a small black space between the upper armor and the lower body; his legs were covered in thin armor, which looked rather reminiscent of pants, with yellow patterns running down the sides after starting on the waist; the front edge of his feet had a slight piece of black armor while the rest of them were unprotected.
"Slash! I'll slice you up before you can count ten."
"That's my motto. Colonel Cannon!"
"Shit! Rolling Slasher!"
"Useless. Screen Divide!"
"Whack! You lowlife~!"
"Hmpf. Is that all?"
Slash Man had tried to spin upon his axis and then shoot on forward to attack Colonel, but he had no real trouble intercepting his attacks leading to Slash Man's increasing anger.
"Triple Edge!"
He formed three kunai, which flew towards Colonel from different heights, followed by Slash Man jumping across the air, trying to hit Colonel with his claws, but Colonel formed another "Screen Divide" to get rid of the kunai, and easily blocked his claws with the sword.
"I won't lose! I'll make of you my 50th corpse!"
"50th! You're a serial assassin, then!?"
"Surprised, fat ass? One of the best! I act alone unlike that Killer Man guy, who has an Operator somewhere. I'll delete ya and get a juicy reward!"
"It'll be the other way around."
"Wha~t? Ya wanna steal the great me's money?" He grumbled.
"No. You're the one who's going to be deleted. Program Advance! Navi Scout, Shirahadori, Kawarimi! Slot In! Bodyguard!"
"DIE~!"
Slash Man managed to land a hit on Colonel but he was replaced by a wooden log as he jumped into the air and bombarded Slash Man with shuriken one after the other; he landed back, threw his cloak at Slash Man and then drove his sword into the chest of Slash Man; he then pulled it out as the opponent collapsed into the ground.
"Screen…!"
"Objection."
Slash Man was retrieved and Slur emerged; this time her face was emotionless while Colonel's contracted into anger.
"You lowlife! I'll make you pay for such humiliation! Colonel Cannon!"
11:55 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Double Go-Round!"
"Crazy Locomotive! Outta the way~! Charge Man's gonna run ya over and kick ya outta the tracks!"
"Fuck."
The Navi sent to battle Punk was known as Charge Man.
Charge Man's overall height could be about 2 meters tall, and he was built like a steam locomotive colored crimson; the front part of it had his green eyes with black irises set on them plus a nose-like shape; he had no mouth, tough.
Two cylindrical shoulders with a grey cover at their end sprouted from the sides, and he had pincer-like objects instead of hands at the end of his forearms.
A round yellow emblem, four quarters of circle plus a round spot, was set above his armored forehead.
He also had some carriages attached behind him, colored black, and having the white skull and crossbones drawn into them.
He was running towards Punk, who barely had time to jump into the air to dodge, but Charge Man turned around faster than one would expect.
"Volcano Charge!"
He shot some hot coal from the chimney exhaust, which landed on Punk, and he yelped from the burning sensation; he was rammed by Charge Man and landed on the ground, but managed to stand up.
"Mad Roller!"
"Crazy Locomotive!"
Both clashed in the middle of their paths and began to push against each other; sparks resulting of the friction of metal and metal jumped all around them; Charge Man detached the carriages.
"Go, Punk! Show 'em your guts!"
"OK, Meijin! Leave it up to me~!"
Punk managed to climb over the surface of Charge Man's "face" and ran over his body before landing behind him and resuming his normal form; he lifted him up and then threw him against the slope of a tall rocky hill; Charge Man bounced off it and ended up with the wheels upwards thus forcing him to use his arms to get into normal position.
"Damn this jerk!
Punk used that window to attack him with the "Mad Roller" attack, and send him flying; he crashed into the ground again as Punk continued with his serial attacks; Charge Man tried to run into Punk by using his "Crazy Locomotive" attack, but Punk bounced around to dodge all of his attacks.
"Damn it! I'm gonna blow ya up and get money!"
"Yeah. Sure. Like desperate tricks will work!"
"Oh yeah! I hate guys who do it for money 'cause they're not real macho guys! Take this! Double Go-Round! Shield and Chain!"
"What!"
Punk's shoulder disks cut some of Charge Man's wheels and then he used the "Chain" to coil it around his body and repeatedly slam him against the ground, until he was rendered incapable of battling.
"OK! Let's send this guy to the Navi Prison, and…!"
"Objection."
"Oh crap. We're doomed!"
"By all the…"
As in the previous battles, the opponent was retrieved by Slur, who appeared on the scene, still unscratched; Punk and Meijin cursed as Slur landed on the ground and held up her blade.
"Let us see what made you worthy of Serenade's trust… Warrior!"
12:05 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Tomahawk Swing!"
"Make Shadow!"
"Wha! What's that?"
"Spark Man – sama's recycling! Trash will fuse with trash and create more trash and there I come in! I set it on fire to dispose of it!"
Tomahawk Man was having a hard time with a jerk named Spark Man.
Spark Man could be close to a meter and seventy tall but had a rather massive shape.
A small dome-like shape formed over his upper body, and below the head; the head was shaped like a circle and had orange armor over it plus a small tooth-like piece forming beneath the forehead, which extended until the spot where a person's nose would be.
His eyes' irises were red in color and he had no visible mouth; the head had a metallic piece shaped as the "L" character turned 90º to the right to aim northwards.
His main body was shaped like a thick disc, and the front half was orange; a hollow circular line spread across the front face of it that had two green lightbulb-like objects set on it, plus his emblem, which was two yellow lances crossing each other and set over a navy blue background.
The rear half's top and bottom were yellow, and three layers of metallic armor took up the center of the rear half.
His shoulders were orange-colored spheroids, and his arms were navy blue; two orange cylinders were placed there the hands would be, allowing him to carry large metallic spears emerging from the front and short ones from the rear of each cylinder; the outwards-facing sides of the cylinders had yellow curved bands spanning their total length set on them.
The lower body was also navy blue; same for the spheres placed were where the ankles would be.
Spark Man's legs spread from them until the knees, where the tall boots began; a yellow piece reminiscent of the "L" character turned 90º to the left extended from the front to the rear through the in-between; there was a navy blue hole in the center of the front part.
His boots were colored orange and ended in round platform-like formations; the central band was yellow, accompanied by three green drawings starting at the upper edge and spanning until the lower edge; the disc-shaped platform-like feet were decorated with a small navy blue dot set on the front of them.
He'd currently formed a "substantiated" shadow of Tomahawk Man, which was but black and white; the enemy attacked Tomahawk Man, and he was trying to held it at bay but it was being rather relentless.
"Time to take the trash out! Spark Whip!"
"Totem – sama! Meteors!"
"Wha~t? You fucker!"
The "totem – sama" showed up and made meteors rain down on Spark Man's position just as he'd intercrossed his lances and begun to build up electricity; Tomahawk Man jumped into the air and delivered a clean slash, which cut through the imitation.
"Spark Ball!"
Spheroids with yellow voltage conversion antennae colored orange and having a small circle in the middle formed, and took positions in the air while emitting electricity; as green energy formed a "shell" around Tomahawk Man; Spark Man hesitated but, before he could attack, he was showered by meteors again.
"Elec – types are weak to Wood – Types! Moron!"
"You fucker!"
"Come, ugly nose."
"Spark Whip!"
"Too bad. It didn't make any difference."
"Impossible! The great me are a terrifically powerful mercenary! I can't fail here! I'll bring your head to the Danna! My word!"
"Oho. My Danna came, see."
"What! Where!? Behind me!?"
"Gotcha. Tomahawk Air Raid! Tomahawk Swing!"
"Fuck you!"
Tomahawk Man used the distraction to throw his tomahawk at the enemy, slicing off the tips of his lances, and then delivering a blow to the chest emblem; Spark Man roared and his electricity began to overflow in a mad manner so he collapsed face-down into the ground, out of energies.
"OK! The finishing blow! Tomahawk Air…!"
"Objection."
"No way!"
Spark Man was also retrieved as Slur appeared on his place; Tomahawk Man stopped his attack and stepped back but he felt an invisible wall behind him cutting his retreat.
"Heck! Plug-Out doesn't work!" Dingo gasped.
"Do not fret. It is not as if I intend to delete. I am simply going to test your strength by myself." Slur dully announced.
"But isn't it unfair to come after we've been beaten up by that jerk? That's one-sided, no? What point is there to such a brawl, then?"
"There is not an option named "Full Recovery Program"?"
"Now that you mention it… Full Recovery Program!"
"Now you cannot complain, can you? Warrior. Show me that you are more logical that your employer. Come at full power!"
"Yikes! There's no other choice, I guess! Here I come~!"
12:15 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Shit. This guy again."
"Such is Fate! Blues!"
"Fate and whatever."
"You haven't changed."
"That's my motto."
"Let us continue!"
"Neo Variable Sword!"
"Ice Stage! Ice Tower!"
"Fuck. Freeze Man again!"
Blues' opponent was Freeze Man; the surroundings were frozen and Blues was having a hard time moving around.
"Been a while since the battle onboard the SS Queen Ocean… We fell there! It matters not! Because our name has been engraved in history, forever! Now I have another opportunity in life thanks to the almighty and great Slur – sama! Glory to Golden Star! Mountain Spear! Be defeated!"
Blues jumped into the air and deflected the "Mountain Spears"; he tried to hit Freeze Man but he crossed his arms in the shape of an "X" and formed his shell of ice with spears protruding out of it; Blues broke one off and tried to break through the shell only for a new spear to form on his feet and rise upwards dragging him along; it broke down and he fell face-down into the ground.
"Icicle Fall!"
Blues barely managed to roll across the iced floor and dodge the rain of icicles that rained down; he stood up, but Freeze Man had changed positions; he appeared behind him and gripped his head with the right hand to start encompassing Blues on ice as he lifted him off the ground.
"Be frozen for all eternity!"
"Battle Chip, Salamander! Slot In!"
"WHAT!?"
"EAT THIS!"
"DAMN IT! T-TACTICAL… WITHDRAWAL…!"
Blues formed flames around him to melt the ice and Freeze Man's right hand by extension; he recoiled, trying to regenerate the hand, but the shape of a dragon formed around Blues as he jumped skywards and crashed down on the ground in front of Freeze Man; the heat's explosion and expansion along with the vicious flames which leapt across his body forced him to escape while all ice around the area melted.
"We made it through, somehow…! So they're gonna turn this guy into a permanent member, while the others were mercs hired for the occasion! Sheesh! I did say I was eager for a battle, but I wasn't expecting such a diehard foe! You were right, Blues!" Enzan grumbled.
"Be careful of what you wish for, Ijuuin. Or else that desire shall become real in a shape that shall make you regret it."
"Damn it! Don't tell me Slur comes next!"
"Indeed. I have come to prove I am not a bluff."
Slur landed down from above and tossed Blues a spherical program; he caught it with the right hand, looked at it, and then closed his hand around it to use it; the program healed his wounds at once.
"Now you cannot say the conditions are not fair. Can you?"
"Sheesh. I can't, no. So be it! I won't make it easy!"
"Was not expecting you to. Show me that cursed blade!"
"Alright, Blues! Full Synchro… Now!"
"Roger, Enzan – sama! Full Synchro!"
"Excellent. I see you will bring out your full strength. Show me that you are worth of Serenade's trust, indeed."
Reddish light formed around Blues' body as he drew his Muramasa Blade and he took a step forward; Slur drew another yellow sword, which she gripped with her left hand and took a step forward as well.
"This aura, this pressure…! It is indeed Serenade's gift. Only a powerful one like can make such an artifact indeed…" Her eyes glowed with amusement.
Blues rushed forward while leaving an "afterimage" on his wake and swung the Muramasa; Slur brought up both blades, but the Muramasa easily shattered them and hit her forearms, leaving a shallow cut there; Slur merely lifted her eyebrows as she hovered over the ground, put some distance between her, and Blues.
"Fascinating. Its power is indeed real. None of the others had been able to land a single wound on me insofar. Consider it an honor."
Blues didn't speak and merely rushed forward once again; Slur extended both palms forward and formed an spheroid of energy a few centimeters away from them; Blues stopped, crouched, and jumped upwards to draw an arch and land behind Slur; she whipped around at the same time he swung the blade, and it cut up the spheroid, causing a small explosion putting some distance between both of them; Blues jumped again as the wires emerged from the ground and failed to catch him; he landed in front of Slur and swung the blade diagonally to make a cut over the stomach area; Slur put some distance again and looked at the wound, amused.
"So this is what that blade's sharpness feels like… I can feel the power sleeping within it, indeed. Fair enough. That is why we were spurring you to regain your past strength. That is enough for today."
"Phew! This level of concentration…! It's been ages since I'd felt it! You knew that I was almost at my limit, no?" Enzan admitted.
"Indeed. Well then… Farewell!"
"Are you alright, sir? Please take a rest, this battle was demanding!"
"You're right, Blues… I feel like I'm recovering my past mental strength, too… Fair enough… Let's rest, and regain our strength!"