Chapter 2: Desperation II
Part 1: Cartil Household
I am on the roof taking a break from dealing with all the chaos in my house. There are too many people here at the moment. I stare into the sky. "I regret agreeing to this," I say to myself. "This sucks I don't get any alone moments anymore with my wives. This sucks major cheese balls. Oh well it can't be helped."
"Hey cousin," Milicus says as he walks up.
"Looks like you found me," I say. "How is your school work doing?"
"Its going fine," he says.
"Good," I say. "Make your parents proud." I smile.
"How did you learn to infuse the power of destruction into things?" he asks.
"Simple trial and error," I say. "I had to practice hard every day with different swords made from different metals. I also had to learn how to put just enough in and not destroy the sword. It was not easy. Are you thinking about how you want to use it for yourself?"
"I kind of am," he says.
"Just do what feels right," I say. "We all have our unique ways that we use it. Make it your own." I pat his head. I place my fingers on my chin and start thinking. "If you ever want to learn infusion for it let me know."
"There you are," Grayfia say. "Milicus come, its time for you to study."
"Alright mom," he says. I smirk and grab his hand.
"I think not," I say. "I am enjoying my time with Milicus. So I am going to kidnap him in front of you."
"That would not be wise," she says.
"Come Ultimate Queen, try to stop me," I say teasingly.
"Is this how a future devil king should act?" she asks. I glare at her.
"I choose to enjoy life now," I say. "Milicus would you rather study or hang out with your awesome uncle?"
"I want to hang out with you uncle," he says.
"I win," I say. A teleportation circle appears below us.
"Don't you even dare," she says.
"Come sister in law stop me," I say taunting her.
"What's going on up here?" brother says as he shows up. "Why does it look like there is a show down going on here?"
"I am kidnapping Milicus," I say. "He wants to hang out with me and not study. So I am taking him. Grayfia has only protested and that's it. I am trying to taunt her into action."
"You are crazy," he says.
"Just admit it brother you like seeing her better in her day off personality and outfits," I say.
"Don't drag me into this," he says. I laugh.
"I guess we will be leaving," I say. I wave and we teleport away. We arrive at the Team AxA HQ in Kyoto. I sit down and laugh.
"Why would you anger her more?" he asks.
"She won't take it out on you," I say. "She may be angry right now but I think she will be okay with it in the end." I press a button on my desk and a screen turns on. I look at the screen. "Good we have time." I stand up and walk over to him. "Let's go Milicus I will show you around." We walk down the hall.
Part 1.5: Cartil's household
We were having a chat to talk about planning the day when Lady Grayfia and Lord Lucifer came down the stairs. Lady Grayfia was upset about something. "I can't believe he did that," she says. "What has gotten into Cartil?"
"What happened?" Lady Hanalil asks.
"Your husband ran off with Milicus after taunting me to stop him," she says. I sigh.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Hanalil says. "He is probably teaching him important things. Yin, where do you think he would have gone?"
"If I had to guess," I say. "I think he would have gone to Kyoto. He may be getting Milicus early training in so he has a better understanding of things for the future. He gets to hang out with Milicus and teach him how Team AxA will function." I take a sip of my tea but even with my words Lady Grayfia hasn't calmed down.
"We need to trust that Cartil knows what he is doing," Lady Gremory says. "I can see the changes in him. He is starting to enjoy life more than before. Before hand he would have gone to his lab and just started planning right?" Everyone nods. "So this is good for everyone."
Part 1.75 Team AxA HQ in Kyoto
I had just finished showing Milicus around. He has taken an interest in how things work here. We stop at the main computer in the lab wing. "This computer is the only computer that is connected to my system in my lab," I say. "All the sacred gear information is also shown here, this will be the only branch that has this."
"That's awesome," he says. I move to the side and offer the chair so he can look. He sits down and starts going through the information. "What are these tags?"
"Any sacred gear that is tagged purple is a mutated new type," I say. "It's an old sacred gear that mutated into a new type. Yellow tags have the potential for mutation. Blue are new types and Green are the normal sacred gear. There is also a tag for Longinus." He nods and continues through the information. I hear a cough and I turn to see Ruval.
"Sorry to interrupt," he says. "Cartil we have more applications for the miracle tear."
"Have Nisha put them on my desk," I say. He nods. "I assume there is more."
"The school has been completed," he says.
"Thank you," I say. "Work with Sona to find good teachers for the school. Ruval you have been a big help, so thank you." he nods and leaves. I sigh.
"You have a lot of things going on don't you?" Milicus asks.
"Yes I do," I say. "It's kind of why I let Ruval run things unless something important comes up. He understands my vision so he has been doing a great job. He is also training someone to replace him for when he becomes head of the Phoenix family." I look at the clock. "Look at the time we better get you home."
Part 2: Heaven days later
I have gone to heaven to check out the birth of the angel baby. I was joined by Viv, the Church trio, sister, and Issei. I sigh as we reach the area. I turn to Issei. "Do not be perverted here today," I say.
"I will try," he says.
"Do not try, just do it," I say. "This is very important to me. I need you to hold back those thoughts until we leave." He nods and I turn to sister. Dulio arrives to greet us.
"Good you have come," he says.
"It's good to see you again Dulio," I say. "Have you recovered fully?" he nods. "That is good; I can't lose my favorite angel."
"Don't worry about that one," he says.
"He is your favorite?" Viv asks. "What about me? I am an angel too you know." I laugh.
"I married you," I say. "He is my favorite because I married my first favorite." She glares at me. We walk down the hall and go into a room. I see 2 angels and a baby. I walk up to them and smile. "This is amazing. I am so glad it worked." The church trio walks up behind me and is amazed at the sight.
[Heartbeat]
[Heartbeat]
"You have done amazing things Cartil," a voice says in my head. "We chose well"
We step out of the room minutes later to not crowd them. I am watching them from the window. Everyone else is talking about the baby. "Amazing isn't it?" Strada says as he walks up and stands next to me.
"I assume Michael let you come here," I say. "This is what I fight for."
"You are doing great work," he says. "I heard you about what is going on. You sure are crazy for using Trihexa." I look down.
"These titans are the worst thing I have ever fought," I say. "Juggernauts of Destruction, I needed a way to stall them some how. Since Trihexa can't be killed I figured it would be perfect. After learning that they are still not to full power I feel like we are facing a wall. I fear I may break and take a risk that that very well may kill me for good."
"You will find a way," he says. "Don't give up hope."
"I will try to Strada," I say. "I know what I have to do now." I turn and walk away.
Part 2.5: Site of the final battle between Zeus and the titans
I have been joined by Zeus at the final battle he had with his father and the rest of titans. I am walking around feeling the energy in the ground. "Its very faint but I do feel it," I say. I place my hand on the ground. I close my eyes and focus the energy of the titans. "This may be the only way to create the titan slayer since I don't have a flesh of a titan." I lift my hand up and a crystal comes out of the ground.
"Do you think it will work?" Zeus asks.
"Maybe but I know it wont be ready in time," I say. "I just need to do something that might work." I stand up and put the crystal in my pocket. I walk up to Zeus. "You better go back and get ready for the next attack. I will see you soon Zeus." I walk away and teleport away.
I appear at the location of the prison of the titans. I walk up to the broken seal and place my hand on it. I look around. I don't see anyone so I close my eyes and focus on the titan energy here. "The energy here is strangely unstable. I wonder if it has something to do with the spell the used to unseal them. It feels like whatever they used also was infusing the titans with something to become stronger. This is very bad. Stupid Gods of Chaos, you will be dealt with." I look at the new crystal in my hand. "What is this I sense? This is not good. Why" I step back fly into the air. I look at the seal from the air. I am in shock at what I see. "This is very bad. Why is the whole area dead? Loki you fool. I understand why she is here now." I teleport away.
I arrive in my lab and quickly move to the computer. I put the crystals on my analyzer and then walk over to the blacksmithing area. I grab some metals from the wall and place them into the tub to be smelted. I run over to the computer to check the progress. I nod and run back to the blacksmith area and place the tub in the smelter. I pull out a container and place it on the table. I run back to the computer. I read over the results. "This is very bad." I grab both crystals and run back to the black smith area.
I pull out the tub and pour the molten metal into a mold. I grab a handful of dust from the container and sprinkled it on the molten metal. It begins to glow bright and I careful place the crystals into molten metal. I sprinkle more dust on the metal and step back. I place my hands up and magic circles appear. Magic begins to pour into the metal. "This is the first step to the birth of the titan slayer. You crossed a line Loki and I will see you die for it." I walk over to the computer and begin going over the results again. A communication circle appears next to my ear.
"Cartil we have a problem," Vali says. "Cronus and 2 other titans are headed straight for Mount Olympus."
"Get the Team," I say. "Get Issei, we will deal with the titans while the team evacuated Olympus."
"I am on it," he says. I step over to the teleportation pad. I close my eyes and disappear.
Part 3: Base of Mount Olympus
I have teleported to the battle field. I am in the air above where the where the titans are. I look around and sigh. "So they have minions now," I say. "These feel like golems of some sort." I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open my eyes and look at Cronus. "Infinite Crimson Archangel God Rook Formation." I boost towards Cronus and slam my fist into his face as he looks up. The impact causes him to fall backwards. A crater is formed and dust flies up. I boost backwards out of the crater. I quickly turn around and block an attack from another titan. I sense the other titan attacking so I boost out of the way. I move back and watch them. Issei and Vali come up next to me.
"So it's these 3 again," Vali says. "I guess I wouldn't mind some pay back."
"Let's do this," Issei says. I look at Issei.
"So that is your AxA form," I say. "It looks good hopefully it will be enough." He nods. Cronus gets back up and walks out of the crater. I get into the ready.
"Very sneaky Cartil," he says. "That Rook formation of yours won't work this time. We are at our full strength now." I glare at him and my boosters begin to fire up. I boost forward and slam into Cronus. I push him back away from everyone else. I stop and quickly upper cut him. He laughs as he flies up and slams into the ground. He gets back up and I punch him in the face. He flies back again. I fire the missiles at him and the exploded when they hit him. He slides back and continues to laugh. He wipes his cheek. "Like I said. I barely took damage from those attacks. He charges forward and I block his attack. My armor cracks a little from his attack.
"Enough," I say. I boost up and quickly boost back down slamming my fists down on his head. He falls to his knees but grabs my leg. He throws me into a tree. I slowly get back up and I look at him. I sigh and look at my left armor. "It looks like I might have to use one those modes, just not yet." I knock away a magic attack but I get hit in the chest. I slide backwards and into another tree. I look down to see the armor is cracked some. I look back up and boost forward. I slam into him and grab his arm. I boost into the air and throw him into the ground. I boost down and slam my fist into his chest. I jump back and he coughs up blood.
"Even though you can damage me don't get cocky," he says. "I have been letting you damage me. So I can break your spirit." He laughs as he stands back up. I glare at him. "Are you mad? What do you plan to do about it?"
"I plan to punch that stupid look off your face," I say. I hold up my left armor and my armor begins to glow. "Rook formation Goliath mode activate." Missile pods form on the shoulders and chain guns form under the gauntlets. The armor becomes slightly more bulky.
"What is this?" he asks. "A secret weapon you have been hiding?"
"Not really," I say. "I created this after our last battle. It's basically a combination formation. I infuse the Rook formation with the powers of a bishop to create this form." I lower my left armor and aim at him. The chain gun barrels pull forward and start to spin. "I can do the same thing with the Knight and Bishop formations only they create different forms." I fire the chain gun and he dodges the bullets. I follow him as he is move around. I stop firing and recalled the chain gun.
"You are very accurate with that," he says and I laugh. "What is so funny?" he looks down to see flashing lights and then the area around him explodes. He flies backwards and slams into the ground.
"If I wanted to hit you I would have," I say. "The left chain gun fires delayed explosive rounds. The right chain gun fires infused magic bullets and is way more accurate than the left side chain gun." I activate the brace and it slams into the ground. I aim the missile pods and fire the missiles. They slam into him as he stands back up. They exploded and I watch the area. He stands back and dashes towards me and I block his attack. I grab his armor and put the right chain gun barrels on his chest. I fire the chain gun. He knocks my arms away and jumps back.
"Well played," he says. He dusts himself off and grabs something from his shirt. My eyes go wide and he opens the bottle. He slashes it on himself. I summon a communication circle to everyone.
"This is Cartil Gremory," I say. "The titans have phoenix tears."
"These things are very handy," he says. "To think devil would create a very useful tool." I glare at him and he laughs. "What's wrong little devil? Do you understand it yet? I am far beyond your reach. You can't kill me. I will break your will and you will be begging for death." I activate the brace again and it slams into the ground. I aim both chain guns forward and the missile pods. Four larger cannons appear and aim forward.
"TRIHEXA," I yell and behind me it appears. The cannons begin to charge. "Let's do this Trihexa." It roars and charges its own attack. "Armageddon Barrage." We begin to unload an assault on Cronus. We lay waste to him and everything around him. I fall to my knees after I used up all the ammunition. Trihexa leans in and looks at me. "I am fine. I just need to reload the weapons."
"That was a nice shot," Cronus says as he walks out of the smoking. He bloody but he is holding another phoenix tear. He splashes it on himself and he starts laughing. "You are still not strong enough to stop me, sadly for you." He charged forward and hit me into the chest. The chest plate shatters. I swing at him but he dodges. He grabs my arm and throws me into the air. I spin in the air and start firing the chain gun down at him. He jumps up and the bullets hit him. He isn't taking damage this time. He hits me in the chest again. I cough up blood in my helm. I slam into the ground. I stand up and glare at him. I move to aim the chain gun and armor completely shatters. "Time is up for that form."
"Damn it," I say as a fall to my knees. I punch the ground. "It's the same story all over again." He begins to unload spells at me but Trihexa stands between us taking the damage. I look over to Issei and Vali. They aren't doing well anymore either. I look at my left gauntlet. "The timer is not done yet." I keep punching the ground and start crying in frustration. "I have no choice anymore." I stand up and black aura erupts around me. "Trihexa go help Issei and Vali. I will handle this." It nods and leaves.
"Have you giving up?" Cronus says. "It's sooner than expected but I will give you a swift death if you beg."
"I will never beg," I say. "I will only destroy." The black aura becomes more intense. "UNITED FRONT ACTIVATE!" The area explodes around me and I dash into the air. I slam my fist into Cronus. He coughs up blood. I spin and kick him into the ground. I create different magic circles and unload on him. I quickly move down to the ground and summon a sword. I boost forward and slash him. He staggers back. I grab his arm and place the blade of my sword under his armpit. I slash up as I pull on his arm. I toss his now severed arm to the ground. He looks at me in shock.
[BoostBoostBoost]
I charge forward and slash him again. He blocks with his other arm and his arm starts bleeding. I slam my fist into his chest.
[Divide]
I breathe deep and focus. I breathe out sending black flames all over his body. He staggers back and tries to pat out the flames. My boosters change into cannons and aim forward. I fire them at him. He falls to his knees and is dripping blood. I return to normal. "Looks like that forms time is up," he says. "I still have more phoenix tears."
"I expected that," I say. "Ruval just reported to me that there was some stolen during your attack." he slashes the phoenix tear on his body. He walks over to grab his arm. He reattaches his arm to his body.
"Now with you out of that form you are weak," he says as stretches. I take a deep breath.
"That is where you are wrong," I say. "United Front Activate." The area around me gets destroyed and I boost forward slamming my fist into his face. He flies backwards spinning. I boost after him and grab his arm. I punch him and a crater forms underneath him. I stab my sword into his shoulder and twist the blade. "I will keep using this form until you are out of phoenix tears and then I will kill you." I jump into the air. I boost towards him and slam my fist into his chest. The crate becomes way larger. I jump back. He stands up and walks out of the crater.
"I really do hate that form of yours," he says. I return to normal and fall to my knees. I am breathing heavy. "What is going to give out first my reserve of phoenix tears or your body?" He charges forward and I counter attack. Our fists slam into each other and cause a hug shock wave completely destroying the area. "So you used it a third time." He jumps back and shakes his hand. "You attacks are also getting weaker now."
"SHUT UP," I yell. "I will kill you right here." I summon a huge amount of magic circles and 4 larger cannons form from the armor. The cannons aim forward. "Mega barrage." I unload everything on him. I return to normal and fall to my knees again. I look around. The battlefield has become a wasteland.
"Still not good enough to beat me," Cronus says as he walks out of the smoke and dust. "If you would have used that on your first transformation you would have killed me for sure." He laughs in a taunting manner. "Just give up and accept your fate." I stand up.
"I am not finished yet," I say. "United…" I feel shocks all over my body. "What is this? I can't move. What is going on?"
"Cartil," Ophis says in my head. "You are pushing yourself too much. If you continue to use that form it will be your life force being used up. You are burning through my blessing. You need to stop."
"I need to kill him," I say.
"This is not the way," she says. "If you use up my blessing you will never be able to use the infinite again." I sigh. "You need to recover your strength."
"I don't think I am going to make it out of here alive anyway," I say. "I can't move. I think I overloaded my nerves and paralyzed myself."
"I will contact Issei and Vali," she says.
"What is wrong Cartil?" Cronus says. "Where is that resolve?" I can only look at him. "Nothing to say?" He charges forward at me. Before he reaches me, Trihexa jumps into the way of his attack. He knocks it away. I look at it and it's slowly trying to regenerate. This is not good our advantage has gone out the window. "Not that it is out of the way time to kill you." A flash of green light appears. A woman stands before me. She kneels before me.
"Poor Cartil," she says. "You have pushed yourself too far this time." She touches my cheek. She stands up and turns around. "My stupid foolish children."
"Lady Gaia," I barely can say.
"Don't push yourself, Cartil," she says. She looks around. "Trihexa your master will be fine. You should return to the barrier now." It roars and disappears. "I will be taking Cartil and the 2 dragons now. You will be a good boy and wait until their return to start another attack."
"I was bored anyway," Cronus says and he leaves with the other 2 titans.
"Now let's get you 3 out of here," she says and a green light engulfs us.