Happy Birthday An0n Author lol

Chapter 43 – Heart of Darkness

They were flying through the dark night, lit only by the stars and the technological wonder of their night vision goggles.

"Toshiro, do I have to carry these too?" Heidemarie asked before the mission.

"Yeah, because they have the eye protectors," Toshiro answered calmly.

"Ah, well, it's logical…"

Heidemarie's eyes glowed green in the darkness, but everyone saw their ghostly white glow through their goggles. Toshiro also wasn't using the goggles, since he had to have a wide field of view, and they narrowed it down to a mere fifteen degree cone.

Mio, contrary to popular belief, used the goggles, since she wanted to conserve as much magic as possible.

After a quick flight, they arrived at the designated position, five kilometers directly south of the edge of the Berlin Mother Hive. The gargantuan Hive, despite being black, was perfectly visible in the darkness, thanks to the random red lightning bolts crossing its surface.

"So this is it… The heart of darkness…" Mio said.

"Hovering over the capital city of our homeland…" Minna muttered angrily.

"Mein Gott… Berlin is so damaged…" Heidi gasped.

"Sanya - set your antennas to full power," Toshiro commanded. "Everyone, stay put, don't move anywhere."

"Roger," the girls responded.

Sanya's Magic Antenna popped out above her head and she started listening.

"Say, Toshiro, can we have some fun now?" Shirley asked.

"Depends on the type of fun."

"Well…" she said and pulled out a small package.

"What's that?" Francesca asked.

"Sparklers."

"You want to ignite sparklers now?" Trude asked. "Seriously…"

"Whatever…" Toshiro sighed. "It's not like we're besieged at the moment…"

"Oh, cool!" Shirley cheered. "Here, everyone take one!"

The girls flew up to Shirley, and everyone took a sparkler.

"Aw shit… I forgot the lighter…" Shirley mumbled.

"Lighter you say?" Toshiro said with a smug face.

"Oh riiiiiiight, heheh…" Shirley laughed.

"Everyone put your sparkles away from your faces," he said.

Once everyone did that, Toshiro his hand forward and concentrated. The rods started to glow on the tips and suddenly, everyone had a spark shooting little firework.

"Wee, how nice!" Francesca cheered and started waving her sparkler around.

"How long has it since I have I ignited a sparkler…" Toshiro sighed.

"Why are we actually doing this?" Trude asked.

"Are you thick?" Erica asked. "It's New Year's Eve…"

"Oh right… Damn, I forgot that two years ago Mio brought a whole damn crate of fireworks from Fuso…" Trude scratched her chin.

"How'd it turn out?" Shizuka asked.

"Hurrrrr…" Mio groaned.

"I won't dwell on it…" Shizuka raised her hands slightly.

"It's so beautiful…" Yoshika said.

"Yeah… It's nice to find happiness in small things…"

"Hey, Toshiro, when will you tell them?" Mio asked.

"About what?"

"About your little temporary promotion, duh!"

"Ah! Ladies, before you hovers the Supreme Commander of the International Anti Neuroi Contingent!" Toshiro boasted.

"What?! Is that even a rank?!" Trude yelled.

"Kinda. I inquired about the details lately, and I'm basically what you can call a six-star general, heheh…"

"Hoho, congrats, Toshiro!" Shirley smacked him on the back a few times. "But how temporary is that?"

"Only for the duration of the operation, sadly…" he shrugged.

"Toshiro, I think I hear the countdown… Yes, it's on five now! Four… Three… Two… One…" Sanya made a pause, during which everyone looked at her with bathed breath. "Launch successful! Patching the communique through!"

"Toshiro, can you hear me?" a familiar voice sounded in everyone's transponder.

"Daddy!" Yoshika cheered.

"Hi, Sweetie. I guess you can hear me. The Siegespfeil launch is a success, ETA six minutes. Toshiro, use all your powers and the detonator to ascertain its distance!"

"Roger that," Toshiro said.

"Daddy…" Yoshika said with a sad voice.

"Don't worry, Yoshika, everything will be okay."

"I love you…"

"I love you too, Sweetie. I hope we'll meet again soon."

"Okay!" Yoshika cheered.

"Ichiro, if this fails, I'll personally smack you in hell!" Mio shouted.

"You'll have to get in line, heheh…"

"Hahaha!" Mio laughed.

"Take care Mio, and everyone, Ichiro out."

"Time to take out the detonator…" Toshiro said and everyone suddenly dropped the still lit sparklers.-

He hung his MG on his neck and pulled the detonator off his back. It was a square box with a counter and a small glass window slightly above it. There were two holes on the bottom, into which Toshiro put his hands. He felt the cold metal of a spherical object, and after putting his fingers on two indentations, he pulled his hands apart. A flash of magic sparked through the glass of the box, and one could see a lightning surge between the two parts of a metal orb.

"Holy shit… Shiny!" Shirley shouted. "So, how does that work?"

"The Hermóðr Special Purpose Detonator is something… well… futuristic. And damn special! You see, right now, I have activated it by pulling apart a sphere made of metalized ether. The whole box is basically a magic, omnidirectional antenna, with ultra-low latency, magically infused wiring. When the Siegespfeil will reach a distance of three thousand kilometers from us, the counter will activate, showing the distance between it and us in real time, and you'll see it changing rather fast… When the red light switches itself on, I slow down time and look for the missile in the sky. It's supposedly equipped with immensely powerful infrared lights, so I'll see it from miles. When it reaches the designated distance above the ground, I join the halves of the sphere, and an omnidirectional pulse will be sent and the Siegespfeil will go boom."

"Wait, but will it react in time? I mean, it will move so damn fast!" Shirley asked.

"Yes, but listen to this! The pulse from the detonator will carry a microscopic part of my time diluting magic, so it will activate the circuitry in the Siegespfeil in real time."

"Fucking ingenious…"

"But Toshiro, how will we know when to pull out the protective glass?" Minna asked.

"There's also a yellow light that will light up exactly three second before the red one comes on."

"And who will put on yours?" Mio asked.

"Me!" Yoshika said proudly. "I can also dilute time by a fair bit, so I will also help those who are stalling."

"See? Nothing to worry about, haha!" Toshiro laughed loudly. "Now, everyone focus on the box…" He said and put it up over his head.

After five minutes, Trude said, "Sure is quiet… The Neuroi aren't attacking, although we're at their doorstep…"

"Big, bad, and ugly probably thinks she'll just steamroll us without effort, so why bother with sending minions," Erica shrugged.

"How arrogant can you be…?" Mio muttered. "If I was…"

Suddenly the yellow light on the detonator went on.

"Eye protection, now!" Toshiro yelled.

Suddenly his vision got black but he could see both the light and the magic discharge of the detonator. Then, the red lamp went on. He felt as the world around him slowed down to a halt. Looking to the west, he saw it, thanks to the Tekkaku Hebigan. A long shape, white from the heat the IR flares produced, traveling at an astounding speed, despite the time dilution.

He looked at the counter on the detonator, and saw that the number was quickly going down.

I just have to wait until it shows zero… Maybe then… Just maybe… We could win…

The Siegespfeil entered the cloud of the Mother Hive. Toshiro watched tensely as the counter changed from three digits to double digits, single digits and finally, zero.

"NOW!"

Toshiro rammed the two sphere halves together, and he saw as a wave of magic spread out in all directions with blinding speed. At the same time, he felt as the time flow resumed.

Despite the fact that the radius of the Hive was two and a half kilometers, the explosion of the magically infused nuclear warhead was intense, even if dulled by the black shades. An enormous ball of light formed itself and blew away the cloud that constituted for the hive.

"Mein Gott…" Minna whispered. "Nothing can withstand that…"

The ball of atomic energy slowly dissipated, but something was dead wrong in Toshiro's eyes.

"No… No, no, no, fuck no!" he shouted.

"Foolish earth dwellers…" they suddenly heard the ominous voice in their heads.

"Toshiro…" Mio said with a bleak face. "Don't tell me…"

"Not even a nuke could defeat her…"

Suddenly, in the middle of where the Siegespfeil exploded, a single entity could be seen.

"Are you so eager to die, earth dwellers? It's still a few minutes to midnight. Since you are all going to die anyway, I will now tell you how the Neuroi came to be on this planet… It began millions of years ago. From our home planet, I sent a meteor with spores that would colonize your petty little rock, because as it turned out, it is rich in resources necessary for the functioning of our kind. The meteor finally struck your planet; in a place you call the Yucatan Peninsula. Yes, earth dwellers, I have killed the dinosaurs to make room for us. The spores were spread, and we slowly evolved into more complicated organisms underground. There was a minor setback, because my spawn had to evolve from scratch, but a few thousand years ago, they finally started posing a threat for your kind. Once my spawn constructed a beacon, I could instantly transport an invasion force. You call it the start of the Second Neuroi War. But then, there was you, Chosen One. You had to interfere, and you interfered with such force, that I was in turn forced to act, thus, I appeared here personally. I will eradicate humankind personally, and leave an empty husk of a planet. I will become a goddess of death!"

A brain melting cackle was heard, and the Matriarch continued.

"Well now, come, Chosen One, show me what you're made of. I doubt you can withstand the power of godly prominence…"

Toshiro almost instantly loaded the round he got from Kye into the Agneyastra, using a special spring-loaded cartridge, and fired at her. The gravity well produced by the flying projectile was visible to the naked eye, but something that Toshiro didn't anticipate happened, as the projectile simply bounced off towards the sky as it hit the Matriarch.

"Impressive, Chosen One. However, it should occur to you that my power is on a far higher level than of my spawn. Of course you are allowed to further humor me in your futile attempts to stop me."

"What the fuck…" Mio muttered

"Indeed…" Toshiro joined in.

He quickly pulled another cartridge off his back and reloaded the cannon. He slowed down time as much as possible and fired. The flame magic imbued round flew with a speed over Mach Two, leaving an orange trail. It hit the Matriarch dead on, sprouting an enormous fireball.

The girls around him cheered, but their joy was quickly interrupted.

"Also impressive, Chosen One. I must say I did not see that one hit me, but as you may, or may not, see, I'm unscathed."

"Fuck this shit!" Toshiro shouted and threw away his cannon. "All-out attack!"

"Roger!" the girls responded.

Toshiro rushed forward with sword held high, reaching Mach 3 in mere second. Powering up Oblivion Lost, he struck an overhead blow, which the Matriarch blocked with her hand. She looked just like in his dream – like some kind of queen, with a crown hovering over her head. She had a shape similar to a woman in a long skirt but rough and edgy like all Neuroi. Her head had the shape of a deltoid, with two red eyes with deltoid black irises.

"So we finally meet eye to eye, Chosen One," the Matriarch said, this time directly.

"Shut up!" Toshiro roared.

He spawned Aganaimaru and powered up with the Flame of Kōjin. After channeling his magic to his second sword, he cut from the side. That attack was also blocked.

"Chosen One, you disappoint and amaze me. Nobody, on any planet with intelligent life I have conquered, has put up such a resistance. But you are still too weak."

Suddenly Toshiro saw Yoshika striking with two Aimaru's from the behind.

Yes!

She made a double Reppuzan stab aimed at the back of the Matriarch, but the latter glowed red and the blow was stopped.

"Remarkable, Chosen One's mate."

"What the fuck was that?!" Toshiro asked utterly surprised.

"I also evolved, Chosen One. I'm capable of shielding myself, just as you humans using magic can."

"Dieeeeeee!" Mio roared from above and drop cut the Matriarch.

The sword stopped on just a hairs width from the Matriarch as she glowed red again.

"Three against one? Getting desperate, earth dwellers," the Matriarch said, and suddenly the three were pushed back several dozens of meters by an invisible force.

At the same time, Perrine tried a lightning attack, with the bolts returning to the Matriarch instead of skipping on, due to the lack of multiple targets.

"Worse lightning struck me on Mars."

"What?" Perrine asked. "Mars?"

"Why do you think Mars is an extinct planet? Answer – me."

"So there was life on Mars?!" Toshiro asked.

"Yes, Chosen One. But using the past tense is indeed correct in this case. There was a civilization of intelligent life forms, capable of very powerful magic. But they met their demise from my hand."

"Monster…" Minna grit her teeth and suddenly she grabbed her head in pain.

"Oh, earth dweller, do you not know that trying to control my mind is impossible? This is a fair warning; I am leaving you with only a nosebleed."

Yoshika flew up to Minna and asked, "Everything okay, Minna?"

"Sure, sure… I'm just a bit shaken."

"Why you!" Trude roared and rushed at the Matriarch.

She threw a straight punch, but the enemy blocked it off, generating an immense shockwave, throwing back Trude a hundred meters.

"Well, it seems you are very eager for me to get serious, earth dwellers. Fine then, have it your way. First, I will destroy this city, and then the rest of the world will kneel before me."

"Not before I have something to say!" Toshiro roared and his body covered itself with a black aura with bright white edges. "I will kill you no matter what it takes!"

He rushed towards her, and slashed with his Legendary sword. The Matriarch put up the shield, but this time, she recoiled.

"Impressive, Chosen One!" the Matriarch said amazed. "Show me the power of your despair!"

"You think Toshiro is the only one desperate?!" Yoshika shouted, and green particles started circling around her, exploding into an emerald, flame like aura.

"Yoshika, what is that?" Toshiro asked amazed.

"This is my Magic Aura, the Body Limit Remover, courtesy of Kye's training when you were gone doing yours. Prepare yourself, Matriarch!" Yoshika said viciously. "Toshiro, let's go!"

"Okay!" He yelled and both jumped towards the enemy at the same time.

Diluting time in various degrees, Toshiro and Yoshika slashed at the Matriarch. This time it had a much better effect, as she had to escape upwards from their valiant attack. But the pair didn't miss a beat and flew up after her. She shot a barrage of beams towards them, but an attack of such lesser force had no effects on the shields of Yoshika and Toshiro. Suddenly, they disappeared from her sight, and reappeared on opposite sides of her.

"Tetsu!" Toshiro shouted.

"Magische Faust!" Yoshika yelled.

A new technique?! What did Kye teach her?!

The two attacks connected and they ripped heavy chunks out of the Matriarch. When they were to do a follow up, she shrieked immensely, dispelling their auras.

"My head…" Toshiro winced in pain. "Yoshika?"

He looked at his fiancé, writhing in pain mid-air.

"You fucking monster…" Toshiro gnarled, raised his sword up high, and shouted, "Awaken!"

But nothing happened.

What the… Livy? Livy! Why can't I awaken your sword form?! Livy!

"By your sheer confusion, I deduce that something failed greatly, Chosen One," the Matriarch announced. "This is literally the first time anybody has damaged me in direct combat," she tipped the crown hovering over her. "But I cannot spend any more time on this game."

The Matriarch flew over the center of Berlin with immense speed and started forming a red ball of energy with terrific speed. Before Toshiro could even form a thought, the red ball, engulfing the whole city of Berlin with red light, was about a kilometer in diameter itself.

"It's over…" Trude said as if her soul left her.

"We're done for…" Shirley said with tears over her eyes.

Suddenly, Toshiro's dream had flashed before his own eyes.

So this is it… The end of my journey…

The Matriarch fired the beam and it hit Toshiro with brutal force, despite him preparing a flash defense out of the Celestial Aura and a big shield.

Gods… This is as if I was hit by the Yoshika from that world… Maybe even more intense… No, it's like a commander from the simulation… And I don't have my power up… And Oblivion Lost won't awaken… This is truly the end…

His shield started cracking, but then, he felt somebody embracing him, and the shield was strengthened.

"Do not falter, Toshiro!"

"Yoshika?"

"Yuki told me about that dream of yours! We can do this Toshiro!"

"Yoshika…"

He saw as the rest of the girls started swarming in and each adder her power to Toshiro's shield.

"Guys…"

"Stop yapping and power up that shield, Toshiro, hahaha!" Mio laughed.

"What a moving display of unity," the Matriarch said with her usual emotionless voice. "Time to turn it up a notch it seems."

The beam suddenly doubled in width and the shield started cracking once again.

"No… No…" Francesca cried.

"I'm sorry, everyone…" Toshiro said with tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry…."

"It's not your fault, Toshiro… This is a totally different league…" Mio said. "A warrior's fate is ultimately death…"

Toshiro looked at Yoshika, who was also crying.

She suddenly kissed him.

This is the end… Kye was wrong… This end will be a bad ending… And when the Matriarch destroys humanity, the afterlife will soon cease to exist… All this training, all this pain, all the sacrifices… Everything is going to naught… Maybe I'll pull a good number on the reincarnation lottery…

Toshiro's ring suddenly glowed with blinding intensity, and he was surrounded by darkness.

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