An Old Ally, A Foe...
Unbeknown to any of them, the two battles in both Goliath and the Innovators' lab weren't the only ones occuring that night.
In different parts of the city, the rest of Seekers were still fighting against Killer Droids.
Gouda: " can't they give us just a one day rest!"
He ground as Hakai-O's chain sword cleaved through a droid's neck. He kicked away just in time to avoid the explosion.
Sendou took out a card and spared a moment to look at it.
Sendou: " seems fate doesn't intend on releasing us any time sooner."
Nightmare was jumping from one Droid to another, stepping on their heads before turning around and slashing at them from behind, taking them by surprise.
Nightmare: " anyway, where's Vampire Cat?"
He asked as he was driven back to back with Hakai-O.
Hakai-O: " I didn't see him for a while now!"
Sendou: " Asuka, your LBX better not have escaped, leaving all the work for us."
Asuka looked away, whistling a melody and pretending to not hearing him.
Gouda: " watch out!"
The Killer Droids advanced on them, but they were shot from above before they could attack. All of them rose their eyes up at the building nearby and they could see Vampire Cat standing up, holding Aquarius Laser proudly with his eyes glimmering.
Asuka: " now! Vampire Cat!"
The robot jumped down, shooting at the droids who backed away from Nightmare and Hakai-O.
Asuka: " you're not running away!"
Her fingers flew across her CCM. As soon as Vampire Cat landed he dashed towards the first Droid in its way, smiting the nuzzle of his rifle hard against its chest and knocking it off balance before shooting it straight and causing it to explode.
He nimbly dodged as the other two pointed their tail rifles at him and he ran around evasively. His speed and movements made it harder for them to aim and it took no time to create an opening.
Asuka: " now!"
Vampire Cat skidded to a stop and shot at the two droids, blowing them apart immediately. He stood still as both droids detonated, the Laser rifle over his shoulder and his eyes catching on the explosion light, making them glow bright red.
Asuka: " well done Vampire Cat!"
Gouda and Sendou sighed in defeat.
Gouda: " she used us to gather them in one spot didn't she."
Sendou: " with no doubt."
Asuka: " now what are you waiting for. Report to Takuya-san that we had this area cleaned!"
She said giving a mild slap to the purple head's shoulder who merely rolled his eyes and took out his CCM...
Momona: " ahaha... I'm not sure how I ended like this but... Help please?"
She had tripped on her own foot and fell to the ground. Once she rose her head up, she was already surrounded by Killer Droids.
" Attack Function: Jet Striker!"
Wataru's Odin M pushed them away as the brunette ran to her.
Wataru: " are you alright, Momona-san!?"
Momona: " somehow, thanks..."
She said taking his hand and standing on her feet.
Arata: " as clumsy as ever."
He sweat dropped at her before his attention was shifted back to the battle at Gendou's call.
Gendou: " be careful!"
Dot Blastrizer flew away as a rifle shot his way before he fell upon the droid, clawing at its back with his beam claws and taking down the maneuver system.
Dot Blastrizer : " Muraku!"
Muraku: " let's go, Magna Orthus!"
Magna Orthus: " yes! Muraku-san!"
The purple unit sped up as he thrusted his sword ahead, piercing through the killer droid's throat.
Magna Orthus: " bring the other one! Gendou-san!"
Saurus: " here it comes!"
He brushed away the larger robot's claw with his sword before grasping tightly onto its tail and swinging it in the direction of Dot Blastrizer and Magna Orthus. Both of them intercepted it with a mid air slash at its chest which caused it to explode.
Muraku sighed before turning to Wataru and Momona.
Muraku: " here we're coming to help out!"
Wataru: " please do!"
Odin and Dot Phasor were hardly keeping the three droids at bay by shooting nonstop at them.
Dot Blastrizer and Magna Orthus took one of them as their target.
Arata: " Muraku! Get ready!"
Dot Blastrizer punched the droid's head, he conducted a few kicks and punches at it before he used a rising punch, using his thrusters, he pushed the robot up in the air.
Muraku: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Catastrophe Drive!"
All three clones of Magna Orthus cleaved at the larger droid and finished it off.
Gendou: " Saurus! Beat it to the ground!"
Saurus: " yes sir!"
His visors shone brightly as he stepped firmly on the ground, making sure he won't lose balance.
Gendou: " Hissatsu!"
" Attack Function: Thundering Rex!"
The eyes of the dinosaur head on Saurus' chest glimmered before it opened its mouth, gathering a ball of yellow energy and then unleashing it as a large searing beam. His aim was the droid's torso and it impaled it successfully.
Momona: " Wataru-Kun!"
The boy nodded at her.
Wataru&Momona: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Triple Hyper Energy Bomb!"
They both used the same hissatsu to crush down the last Killer Droid. All of the five players breathed out once there was no more danger to be seen.
Muraku: " well done, everyone."
Momona: " that wasn't bad at all."
Arata gave her a pat on the head and ruffled her hair.
Arata: " says the one who almost got herself killed. Be more careful."
Momona sweat dropped at his words.
Momona: " s-so sorry..."
Gendou: " anyway. I will tell Takuya-san we're done here."
Back at Tiny Orbit, Hikaru breathed out when he heard everyone were fine.
Val Diver: " if you were that worried. You should have gone with them."
Hikaru: " I can't. As much as I want to help out there, but we also need players to protect Tiny Orbit."
Yuuya: " true, after Leviathan has finished off with all CIS members, his attention will shift to us."
Genesis: " because we're the only people still fighting against him."
Yuuta: " you don't think... They would resort to the same method."
He sweated at just the thought of it.
Liu Bei: " he had made sure to us many times now that he didn't care what happens to us, we were target for his attacks most of the time."
Takuya: " it won't be a surprise if they decided to use the same method against us. That's why we need to be careful."
" President Uzaki."
An employee called for him with a worried voice making him jolt back. It was just a testimony to how much he and the others watching from the sidelines were worried and distressed.
" We're detecting something around the area where Arata-kun's group is."
Takuya: " what? Are they more Killer Droids?"
" It's a single unit though."
Hikaru: " eh?"...
Muraku was the first alarmed at the red dot approaching them on the scanner.
Muraku: " something is coming."
He said facing the direction of the possible threat. Seconds passed like hours while they awaited. What they didn't expect was for the enemy unit to come flying at their LBXs at a ridiculous speed.
Wataru: " back off!"
Luckily, they were able to do so in time, avoiding a vigorous impact. The LBX rose from the dust and the players who ducked on the ground the moment of the crush rose their heads up to inspect it. It was a familiar salamander like black and red unit.
Arata: " that's...!"
The LBX gave a terrifying roar, one that froze the blood in Wataru and Momona's veins.
" Let me destroy them! I want to destroy more!"
The unit screamed out as he was getting ready to launch.
" Not now Ifreet Kai."
If they miraculously weren't shocked by the unit's appearance, that voice made them. Or at least, the older three were in loss of words as they recognized the voice very well. It was that of someone who fought with them, someone they lamented on for they thought he died during their last fight, someone they didn't have the chance to see again since they parted.
Muraku: " Arata... That voice right now..."
Arata: " it can't be..."
Gendou merely stared at the direction of the sound. Walking down the back stairs of the building across them was none other than Rikuya, a classmate of theirs.
Rikuya: " it's been a while, Sena-kun."
His voice was colder than ever and his glare was burning.
Arata: " Rikuya!"
For a moment, Arata forgot the situation they were and was about to approach Rikuya with an excited smile about seeing him again. However, Gendou thrusted an arm in front him, stopping him from advancing. He leveled Rikuya's glare.
Gendou: " what's the meaning of this, Rikuya!?"
Rikuya: " what are you perhaps referring to, Isogai-kun?"
With a bead of sweat running down his temple, Gendou looked back at the LBX across of them.
Rikuya: " ah, you mean about Ifreet. He's my new partner. I think it's obvious right now."
Both Muraku and Gendou tensed at that.
Arata: " eh! What's obvious?"
Gendou: " Arata, Rikuya is working with Leviathan."
Arata: " eh!"
He looked back at his classmate in disbelief.
Muraku: " why?"
Rikuya's hands clenched into fists till his nails dug into his palm.
Rikuya: " because Leviathan... Is the only one who understood me."
Muraku and Gendou gritted their teeth in frustration while Arata was desperately having an inward fight.
Arata: " Rikuya..."
Momona was confused at the lack of details and whispered to Wataru.
Momona: " who is this guy?"
Wataru: " if I remember clearly, he was a member of Jenock, exactly a classmate of Arata-san. I don't know much more."
Muraku: " what do you mean he understood you?"
Rikuya: " Leviathan..."
He said holding up a dark crimson smartphone type CCM in his hand.
Rikuya: " ... He found me when I've lost everything, granted me the power to change everything, to change the future and make my wishes come true."
Gendou: " Leviathan is trying to lure the world into its downfall! Open your eyes!"
Rikuya's teeth gritted against each other.
Rikuya: " how dare you accuse him with such thing. Leviathan is merely trying to save the mankind. I don't expect any of you to understand his ideals. "
He took a deep breath to calm himself.
Rikuya: " I won't repeat myself, Isogai-kun, Houjou-kun, Sena-kun and their juniors. Stop this foolishness while you still have the time. We will not hold back against those who defy Leviathan."
Muraku: " you want us to surrender to Leviathan, huh?"
Gendou: " not happening! I would never be able to face Ayabe again if I turn my back on that AI."
Arata's eyes narrowed as he stepped ahead of the others.
Arata: " you don't know how much we've sacrificed to reach this far. We're not going back, nor giving this world to Leviathan!"
Rikuya: " so that's your answer. Unfortunately. I've done my job and warned you though, so I have no regrets whatsoever."
He held up his CCM.
Rikuya: " rip them apart! Ifreet!"
The unit roared and dashed ahead like a monster that was set free after years of capture. His first target being Saurus, he tossed him backward with just one punch.
Gendou: " Saurus!"
Wataru: " this is bad! Momona-san!"
The pinkette nodded as she held tightly on her CCM. They both went to attack the black LBX, but never expected to be dodged as he jumped up and then fell down on them, smacking their faces onto the ground. He then held them by the scurf of thier necks and tightened his grips on them.
Wataru: " Odin!"
Momona: " Dot Phasor!"
Arata: " let them go!"
Dot Blastrizer and Magna Orthus zoomed to rescue them. They slashed at Ifreet from behind, making him drop the two other units and whirl around to attack them. But they managed to evade and quickly got Dot Phasor and Odin Away from him.
Wataru: " sorry, Muraku-senpai."
Muraku just offered a reassuring smile before he tuned around to Gendou.
Muraku: " Can Saurus still fight?"
Gendou was pressing on his CCM and Saurus jumped out of the rubble.
Saurus: " don't you look down at me!"
Muraku: " yes, we have the advantage in number. Try to overwhelm him!"
" Roger!"
Rikuya: " hmph, useless."
They attacked him from all directions, hoping against hope that they could press on him and create an opening, though it seemed a fat chance. Ifreet's strength and power were stellar, he was far superior to them in almost everything, he wasn't even overwhelmed by their quick onslaught attempts and their tactics, steadily fending them off with nothing but his bare hands.
Dot Blastrizer: " tsk, doesn't this thing have a weakness!"
Rikuya: " this the new strength I've acquired from Leviathan."
Ifreet roared as he grabbed both Saurus and Magna Orthus, slamming their heads together before kicking them far from him.
Arata: " damnit, Dot Blastrizer!"
" Set up: Blast Magnam!"
Dot Blastrizer equiped his beam guns and tried to affect Ifreet from a distance.
Arata: " open your eyes Rikuya! What you're doing is wrong!"
Rikuya: " I've already... Opened my eyes long ago!"
Ifreet neutralized the beam blast with nothing but his hands before he dashed to the other unit, bunting him hard against the head and causing a crack to form over his eye.
Dot Blastrizer : " my right visor was taken!"
Arata clicked his tongue in frustration at the incredible power of their opponent.
Rikuya: " I've stopped my own foolishness. I stopped pretending like we can fix everything with hope and friendship. I've grown up Arata. And you should all probably do the same."
Arata: " Rikuya..."
Rikuya: " we can not change the world, but Leviathan can. He will make the utopia humans yearned for."
Muraku: " Leviathan is trying to rule the humans!"
Rikuya: " that's exactly what mankind need! A perfect leader! With Leviathan taking the reins, there will be no wars, no illness, no poverty... He will create paradise itself."
Arata's hand tightened around his CCM.
Arata: " is that really what you believe... Rikuya?"
For a second, Rikuya's eyes were unfocused as a memory was pulled into the front of his mind. It was of himself standing by his desk, panting in rage while his own PC was thrown on the grown, cracked and broken. Anger was building up in him as he recalled the last lines he read before he ditched the whole thing aside, making it break with that.
Rikuya: " Dad..."
But from the supposed broken screen came a red glow. He looked in its direction to glimpse a certain L logo on it, calling out for him.
Rikuya: " it is."
Gendou: " give it up Arata. Seems he had set his mind."
Arata: " but..."
Muraku: " if we want to prove him wrong then we have to beat him, Arata."
Arata: " Muraku..."
Seeing his teammates resolve to fight, Arata regained his own spirit.
Arata: " yosh! Let's do it!"
Muraku: " focus your attacks!"
Wataru: " Momona-san! We're supporting from afar this time!"
Momona: " Roger that!"
Both Odin and Dot Phasor rained their shots on Ifreet to distract him while the other three advanced on him.
Muraku: " Gendou!"
Magna Orthus and Saurus tried slicing at him together but he avoided them, leaving them skidding past him.
Dot Blastrizer : " now!"
Changing his weapon to deal blade, he thrusted it at Ifreet's chest as he was distracted, carving a hole in it.
Arata: " how is that!"
Rikuya: " you've manged to land a blow. As expected from you. However..."
Ifreet roared as her held on Dot Blastrizer's shoulders and bunted him then kicking him away. He sprinted forward and punched him before he could land on the ground, sending him even further.
Arata: " Dot Blastrizer !"
Saurus: " it's no use! Gendou! Give me an attack function!"
Magna Orthus: " me too! Muraku-san!"
Muraku&Gendou: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Catastrophe Drive!"
" Attack Function: Thundering Rex!"
They hit him head on, but when the dust cleared, they held their breaths in fear as it didn't receive the least of damage.
Momona: " is that... A monster..."
Ifreet roared as it made for the onslaught this time. He dashed through them, grasping Odin in his arm and zooming to the building across, slamming him on the wall. As he was trying to recover, Ifreet's attacks fell upon him nonstop. It was like if the other unit was enjoying torturing him.
Wataru: " Odin!"
Momona: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Hook Eye Drive!"
Dot Phasor shot three beam bullets at Ifreet, driving him away.
Dot Phasor : " are you okay!?"
Odin: " more or less..."
Rikuya: " you're not the only ones who can do it! Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Varzodas!"
Ifreet rushed in their direction with an eruption of fire from his back, punching Dot Phasor on the chest and tossing him against Odin. The crush was pretty bad that neither of them stood again.
Momona: " just with one blow..."
Wataru: " Odin and Dot Phasor..."
Gendou clicked his tongue at the loss of two members already.
Gendou: " keep attacking!"
All three of them pressed on, but Ifreet was still exceeding them in everything, toying with them and enjoying their suffering.
Ifreet: " destroy! More!"
He grasped Saurus' head after he lost balance trying to land a blow on him and slammed it multiple times on the ground, cracking it. He only let go to avoid Dot Blastrizer and Magna Orthus attack.
Ifreet: " one more! Rikuya!"
Rikuya: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Prominence Raid!"
Ifreet clenched his fist tightly and grew wing like energy from his back before he flew upward and gleaned all of his energy into his fists before parting them, unleashing the gathered power as searing rays of light. There was a blinding light that they had to cover their eyes and once it faded, all LBXs were littered on the ground with sparks flying out of them at the damage they sustained.
Muraku: " Magna Orthus!"
Gendou: " Saurus!"
Dot Blastrizer somehow managed to pull himself on his feet. Arata's eyes widened in horror at Rikuya.
Ifreet: " not yet! Rikuya! Unleash me! Let me destroy them!"
Rikuya pursed his lips at Ifreet's request, he seemed hesitant for a moment. Yet in the end...
Rikuya: " do as you like."
Ifreet levitated up as he gather his power in the form of a fire ball before he unleashed it upon everyone, humans and LBXs. It split to small sphere of fires and fell like rain on all of them. Rikuya looked away from the rising dust.
Rikuya: " I warned them."
He was about to leave, but he stopped on his track and looked back to the ground once again, slightly taken aback.
There, stood Arata holding up his shield and protecting everyone else from Ifreet's attack.
Rikuya: " he took it head on!"
Arata winced slightly.
Muraku: " Arata!"
Arata: " don't you worry. My armor is made of the danball technology, it absorbed most of the attack."
Dot Blastrizer : " that was a risky move!"
Arata: " I wouldn let my friends get hurt!"
He held on his dual blade and dashed for Ifreet who easily jumped away. The small unit bolted off the wall and came back at Arata who blocked him with his shield then slashed at his opponent. Ifreet fell back, finally affected.
Arata: " we have a chance!"
Dot Blastrizer : " just hurry it up! With that last attack your body won't hold long!"
Both the human and the LBX clashed. Ifreet tried to get the upper hand by keeping the onslaught, not stopping in his kicks and punches while bouncing around to confuse the red head. However, Arata wasn't egged by him at all. He just waited carefully for the moment he could knock him off balance while skillfully defending using both blade and shield.
When Ifreet opted to sweep at him from above, Arata grasped that chance and, using his enhanced speed, he thrusted at him midair, which caused him to fall down with a deep crack on the chest.
Arata panted heavily as his energy was running out. He could barely stand.
Arata: " that's it... Rikuya... You've lost..."
Rikuya: " I wonder about that."
His unfazed tone and calm glance perplexed them.
Rikuya: " you still didn't see Ifreet's real strength. My real strength."
Muraku bit his lip as he and Gendou moved closer to the younger kids behind them as if trying to cover them in case of an onslaught.
Rikuya: " let me show you, how an Ifreet is really like."
He typed on his red CCM.
" Volcanic Mode!"
A red glow surrounded Ifreet and the aura morphed to raging scorching fire coming of his armor.
Arata: " impossible..."
Rikuya: " this is one of the special modes that Leviathan bestowed on a few of his trustworthy followers based on the L mode."
" What!"
Momona: " that's bad... We've seen the L Mode already... And it was bad!"
The red head attempted to launch again.
Arata: " I'm still..."
He sank to his knees as his energy was drained and Dot Blastrizer unfused them.
Dot Blastrizer : " I can't let you fight any longer! You'll collapse again!"
Arata was barely keeping his eyes ajar by that time.
Dot Blastrizer : " I will take care of him myself!"
He pivoted so he was facing the raging monster.
Arata: " you're damaged that much! You can't fight him on your own!"
Muraku: " he won't!"
Magna Orthus flew next to Dot Blastrizer, brandishing his sword at Ifreet.
Arata: " Muraku!"
Muraku: " Magna Orthus is still able to stand up."
Arata: " but giving their state... They won't!"
Muraku's eyes squinted.
Muraku: " no! We can! We still have something!"
Arata looked up at his friend who was standing right next to him by now.
Muraku: " Arata... Wanna go for it? The Jogress?"
Arata's eyes shot wide open at him, but he can tell, Muraku was serious in his suggestion.
Arata: " but... We don't know if we can pull it..."
Muraku: " no..."
Kirito: " it doesn't come from just standing side by side, it requires standing against each other as well."
Muraku: " I know we can. "
His eyes flicked to lock up with the blue ones besides him.
Muraku: " will you trust me in this, Arata?"
Arata's perplexed look shifted to that confidence as he smirked at him.
Arata: " you don't have to tell me!"
Muraku gave a small smile and a bob of his head before he frowned again once he looked back at the battlefield.
Muraku: " let's go!"
Arata stood by his friend's side and held out his CCM.
Arata: " ah!"
Both Magna Orthus and Dot Blastrizer bolted ahead at Ifreet, taking turns attacking him. However, his agility allowed him to keep with them before he aimed his own punches. He aimed for the cracks on both their armors.
Muraku: " tsk! He is aiming for the damaged parts! Arata!"
Arata: " Roger!"
Dot Blastrizer changed his weapons to guns and sped up to Ifreet, shooting at him. Ifreet merely brought up his arms together to defend himself. As Dot Blastrizer approached, Magna Orthus was right behind him. The red and white unit shifted weapons to the dual swords and swept at Ifreet along with Magna Orthus. The black unit was dodging them by backing or defecting their attack, however, their speed was increasing that it was harder to block them, eventually their blows landed on him.
Rikuya: " what!"
Wataru: " amazing..."
Seeing their seniors fight side by side, Momona and Wataru marveled over their perfect combo play.
Gendou: " they're quite synchronised together ..."
Their LBXs' moves were getting better by the time.
Momona: " Muraku-san and Senpai... They're awesome..."
Arata: ' now thinking about it, I've hardly had a proper chance to fight alongside Muraku this way. He is really a dependable ally and knows how to make everyone work together. He's really an amazing guy...'
Muraku: '... We've faced against each other for so long. To be honest, Arata's battle style seemed too reckless and risky to try and team with at first. But now...'
Arata: ' I get it now. Battling this way...'
Dot Blastrizer rushed ahead, blocking Ifreet's onslaught and opening a way for Magna Orthus to land a slash.
Muraku: ' I know I can trust Arata with my back!'
Dot Blastrizer and Magna Orthus manged to slash at Ifreet's chest, causing his crack to widen more, to which he roared in rage. Just around that time, both their CCMs bursted in light. A tab with Dot Blastrizer and Magna Orthus' blueprints appeared long with the word Jogress on top of them.
In a flash of purple and red light that swirled upwards, both LBXs fused into one large unit. As the light faded, the white and green armor was visible to them, a large lance with beam blade was held by the robot, brandished at Ifreet already.
Arata: " we did it! We did it Muraku!"
Muraku: " ah!"
He looked down at the new name hovering above the screen of his CCM.
Muraku: " EX Nova..."
Rikuya: " what..."
He frowned at the new unit, but still he wasn't backing. Ifreet dashed forward but his attack was blocked as the LBX held up his lance in defense.
Ifreet: " what!"
Rikuya: " impossible ! He blocked him!?"
Muraku: " Arata! Let's go for the counter attack!"
Arata: " got that!"
EX Nova pushed away Ifteet then pivoted and kicked him on the cracked part, pushing him back. He then thrusted his lance forward and despite Ifreet's quick reaction, he was wounded on the side.
Ifreet: " Rikuya! Let me destroy!"
He roared.
Rikuya: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Varzodas!"
Ifreet scooted forward with a burst of flames to land a punch, however, EX Nova was faster than to get hit.
EX Nova: " I need an attack Function!"
Muraku and Arata swapped nods.
Arata: " Hissatsu Function!"
"Attack Function: Prophecy Lance!"
His beam wings enlarged as he soared upwards, the generator on the base of the lance span fastly, erupting sparks as it caused the beam blade to enlarge drastically. EX Nova reared the lance and slashed at the air, which caused many green energy slice to be send raining down on Ifreet.
Ex Nova floated around, waiting for the dust to clear. As soon as it did, Ifreet was thrown on the ground, armor cracked and scathed with charred marks all over him.
Rikuya: " Impossible... Ifreet was done..."
Arata and Muraku breathed out in relief, but it wasn't over yet.
EX Nova: " he is standing up!"
Their eyes flicked back to the black unit.
Arata: " it can't be..."
Muraku: " even with all the damage he sustained..."
They clang to thier CCMs again, all alarmed. Rikuya merely pursed his lips before he spoke.
Rikuya: " that's enough, Ifreet."
Everyone's eyes blinked wide open at his words.
Ifreet: " I want to destroy them!"
Rikuya: " not in your current state, pull back now."
Ifreet begrudgingly obliged and hopped all the way back to his player where he rested on his shoulder. Rikuya then whirled around and was about to leave when.
Arata: " wait! Rikuya!"
The boy halted on his steps, not looking back at his former classmates.
Rikuya: " you should think about it again, Sena-kun. Your struggle in this world in meaningless. You can't fix anything. No one of us can."
And he walked away, leaving a confused and distraught Arata. Muraku slowly approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Muraku: " Arata..."
The red head directed his glance to his feet.
Arata: " we should get back..."
Everyone nodded silently before they trudged back towards Tiny Orbit as the sun begun to rise...
