Veil Of Greed: Hunt For The Numbers

Chapter 40: The Final Veil Of Greed Arc Approaches

Date: July 10th, 2023

Orwin sighs: "I can sense it.. Vash Naroom.. It's under attack again." Konan replies: "Some of us in the Akatsuki have learned of what we're meeting here for. Every single universe we have members in is under threat. We are here together to address the attacks he has already launched since he lost in Neksdor." The others with us besides myself, Athena, Whis, Orwin, Konan, Tsunade, and Twilight Sparkle are quite the variety of individuals. We have: Barla, Komorka, All Might, Wonder Woman, Deadpool, Atemu, Daichi Misawa, Aki, Kaito, Reiji, Shun, Yuzu, Leo Akaba, Tojiro, Ghost Gal, Yuga Ohdo, Madoka, Shope, Seiya, GADGET, Bonnie(ROO), Guardian Swiftdrawer, Luxerion, Gelina, the Kanoka spirit, Dr. Bonesbane, the RCT3 Park Inspector, Krush, Ovenzilla, Isabelle(Animal Crossing), Master Wu, the Dark Magician, Sonic, Acheron, Cookie, Dr. Doofensmirtz, Garnet, Bubblegum, Benson, Eris, Vegan, Fran, Teacher, Cid/Shadow, Ryoma Day, and Pickle Pickle Not An Alien. Cid speaks up: "Shadow Garden has been monitoring things closely. His forces are attacking our world. I left Alpha in charge to deal with them until this meeting is over." Bubblegum says: "This is a really concerning development. Konan, what kind of information do we have on Pmurt Nedib's forces? What are the numbers on them?" "We have been unable to determine much from what we have gathered. All we know is that he can send out millions upon millions more people to attack other universes." "Damn it! I hope Young Midoriya and the others are safe. If my universe is attacked, the villains will definitely take advantage of the chaos to cause more destruction. And just when the public perception of heroes is not in great shape." "All Might, you reminded me of something important I must share. The Leo Corporation has also been keeping an eye out. We have determined that 13 different dimensions are under attack by our foe's forces at this moment. The Lancers have already been informed and are sending help to other dimensions as we speak."

"This whole situation is concerning to me. I've been well informed of the entire situation with Pmurt Nedib. But what is he after now that all of the number cards have been safely retrieved and are in our possession?" I speak up: "I think I know. It isn't just that he wants to divide our forces up so that he can conquer Mii World in one fell swoop. It's like he's trying to force us to use the numbers we've gathered so he can take them from us. He's trying to rapidly expand his empire. We have pushed him to a point beyond rage and he is not responding nicely." "My ovenly senses are going crazy. The attacks on those dimensions are fiercer than the ones that affected several universes where Duel Monsters is incredibly popular." "Damn it! This is worse than the Infinite Tsukiyomi! We need to make some plan of plan to deal with all of these attacks. We also must address any concerns brought up by other BRAINS members before we plan anything." I speak up: "I haven't heard anything that needs to be addressed other than anything regarding Pmurt." The others confirm the same. Seiya breaths a sigh of relief: "That makes things a lot easier. So what are we going to talk about next?" "Normally, I'd suggest pure chaos but this is serious. If there's a traitor among us, they'd better come out so I can use the chainsaw on them. Anyway, if we're gathered here for this emergency meeting, shouldn't we let our comrades just decide who's best to send to those dimensions so we can focus on things that we ourselves need to actually figure out? This is being streamed after all." "You are a most unusual and fascinating mortal but I do have to agree with your thinking. We have to tread carefully in these matters. We are a collective so it really isn't up to us to decide who goes where. We're just representatives. No one here has more power in the collective than anyone else." "Aye. This is still an emergency meeting because Pmurt is getting a lot more ambitious very quickly. All these attacks on different universes, his words today. He could be planning something big so we had better getting planning for more bad stuff."

"As Hokage, I have to agree. My position in Konoha doesn't translate to here but I still speak as the Hokage." "There is one thing I've discussed with some of the Akatsuki. We need to plan how to bring Pmurt Nedib down." "Sometimes, the answer to life's problems lies in the simple or unconventional. I'm a bit old to be representing Ninjago but I will impart some of my wisdom. We have to get the jump on him. We have to strike when he least expects it." I speak up: "I would say we could save time by just going with what I already foresaw but that just isn't always perfect. Some of the things I foresaw turned out quite differently after all." After a long meeting, we ultimately decide on the plan. It will be shared later on. Right as we were about to end the meeting, a projection of Mel appears: "Comrades, Pmurt has launched attacks on every single one of our home universes with very few exceptions." "Equestria.." "Seiya, get your fellow knights together. We will go immediately." "The ninja will have a hard time facing this." I say: "Damn it! Every single one with few exceptions?! Those who are free will have to go in small groups to help! Mel, what universe would be best for me to go assist?" "Swiftdrawer, that is hard to say but 5Ds is among those universes that has a lack of knights or other professional swordsmen." "First one that came to mind, huh? I'll go there immediately!" The meeting ends with us splitting up to go fight in different universes. When I got to Neo Domino City, I was surprised to see Dominic and Minglow Bats among others. I look at the brewing professor: "Why are you here? I thought Minecraftia was under attack." Despair appears: "It was but the people were far too well armed for them. Neither of us had to help them. The people's militias took care of the invaders." We look around to see chaos all over. Combined frozen soldiers and ice androids were wrecking havoc.

As if that weren't enough, there were fake number cards on the ground too. But they glowed purple: "What the hell? Fake number cards?! Pmurt has resorted to making fake number cards?! If they're anything like Don Thousand's, this entire world is going to be doomed soon." The citizens of Neo Domino City were before our very eyes turning into demon like monsters with icy energies surrounding them. I draw my sword: "Comrades, I'm going to go to Team 5Ds. How the hell are we supposed to fight this invasion when innocent people have been turned into monsters who want to kill us? I don't even know. What I do know is that we have to work with them and I have to lend them my thrusts, slashes, and so on. Don't take that out of context. I'm a knight, what else do you think I was referring to?" The others which also include Marceline, Sena, and Lumpy Space Princess nod at me. On ground, I'm the fastest of those of us gathered. I run off towards where Yusei, Jack, and Crow lived together. At first, getting past the monsters and yelling: "Don't pick up the cards!" was easy. But as the streets became much more full of them, I wished I had Herbsalvin with me. I love them so damn much. And their wings could just fly right over them. That's when I remembered. My duel runner. Ever since I bonded with Herbsalvin as part of my journey to becoming a knight, I kind of brushed the duel runner to the side. It doesn't exactly help I don't have enough experience fighting while on one for this. I might have stated something contradictory in the past but that is the truth. I use Quantum Leap to bring the runner to me. That's because the mutated citizens are very much in my way now. As a result, I can't just simply maneuver through them. And then, I hear the chanting..

They all began to chant: "All hail Lord Pmurt Nedib, our god and savior! He will release our world from the lies of kindness, inclusion, diversity, and wokeism!" I have to get out of here. I could wipe the floor with some of them but these are innocent people. They aren't even pawns of Pmurt's that are brainwashed through non magical ways. You heard me. They aren't. This is among the most vile things anyone can make a thing in the way of people like me. I get on my duel runner and turn it on: "Runner, Limited Overdone Ovenzilla Speed, now!" My duel runner accelerates to that speed. Because that speed is faster than light, the runner passes through the corrupted citizens of the city. In under a second, it has arrived to the destination I set before even getting on. Team 5Ds are all there, with the additions of Aporia and Z-One as well. I get off my duel runner. Yusei greets me: "Swiftdrawer, what are you doing here?" "Yusei, good to see you. I wish it were under better circumstances. Has anyone in your group picked up any cards that have appeared on the ground? Do you know of the enemy forces from Pmurt's world and such that are invading this world?" Jack Atlas answers instead: "As long as I'm around, no one will be foolish enough to even touch those mysterious cards! Furthermore, we're well aware of the situation and are ready to take care of it." "Then why are all of you here instead of fighting?" Yusei answers: "The thing is.. We're trying to split into smaller groups in order to spread out throughout Neo Domino and Satellite." "6 of our comrades pretty much are headed for the BAD area. I know this because Dominic just messaged me that they're heading there. Good thing too considering what's there. I'm here to lend you my knightly spirit and strength."

"Well well well, looks like someone's embraced being a knight of justice quite well. We'll have to see how well that compares to my skills as the Master of Faster in a turbo duel!" Crow frowns: "Really, Jack? The world's in danger and that's what you have to say?" "Settle down, both of you. We have to get focused on this." "Yusei is right. We can't allow this world to face the level of destruction that eventually brought myself, Antinomy, and Aporia to your side. There's no time to settle this with a duel. The teams should be balanced. Yusei, you must be on one team. I will be on another. Same with you, Antinomy and Aporia. That gives us 4 teams. The 4 of us exhibit formidable intelligence. The other members should be chosen based on other attributes such as strength and agility." I don't remember what all of the team pairings were but I ended up on a team with Aki and Crow. All of us have duel runners that can go Limited Overdone Ovenzilla Speed so we weren't worried about travel time at all. After all, that speed is millions of times faster than the speed of light. I really doubt I mentioned this before but as a result, that's how my duel runner was able to pass through things and people earlier. At such a high speed, the laws of physics and molecular bonds just don't matter. Aki, Crow, and I ended up going to Neo Domino's Kaiba Dome because there was a turbo/riding duel tournament going on there. The 3 of us went there on our runners. Instead of making a remark, I said once we got there: "Damn it. Most people here haven't been mutated but they're being attacked and frozen instead. Crap." Crow and Aki Synchro summon Blackwing and Black Rose Dragon respectively. Crow replies: "You're right. We have to be fast if we're going to save them all." Aki nods: "We can't let anyone else get hurt!" Crow activates mechanical wings that match Blackwing Dragon's in color that were built and designed by Yusei for him. Meanwhile, Aki uses her psychic powers without need to do so with her dragon comrade due to using the Arc duel technology.

I summon Regnes shortly thereafter and draw my sword after dismounting from my runner. "Let's do this. Remember, we can't afford to kill any of the mutant monsters. Those are innocent people still and it would go against everything we stand for to kill them! Now, let's attack for real! Haaaaaaaaaa! Continuous Great Infernal Tornado Slash: 30! Now that I have more hp bananas, I can afford to risk things! It matters not how much damage is done here to this stadium because Dominic's here. I hope the others are doing well too!" My attack is intentionally directed towards the invading forces which are gathered up within a very specific area. I would go further into the details of how things played out. Unfortunately, our foes were very predictable and a lot happened in a really short time. It was the same thing over and over again for a while. Completely defeating the invaders while doing our best not to kill the innocent who have fallen victim to fake number cards. But once the invading forces are gone, things do slow down a little. I sigh: "We beat those bastards but it was incredibly hard and repetitive. Worst of all, we've hardly subdued any of the mutated this entire time. I'm a knight but even I cannot hope to knock out every one of them here cold on my own without spending a lot of time. Even with the help of you two and our monster comrades, it will still take too long. We need a better way to handle this than that." Crow replies: "I don't really have a solution. We should focus on knocking out cold as many as we can while we figure this out. Can you tell us just how much force it would take to knock out one of them cold while minimizing injury?" "I can't calculate that in the middle of something like this. The best I can give is try it out and give you a estimate based on that." I proceed to knock out one of the mutated with the broadside of my sword. This minimized the physical injuries while still knocking them out. "As you can see, we need to balance the application of force with the minimization of injury. That's hard if you don't use a sword or magic or something else that can do things similarly."

Aki speaks: "My psychic powers could lull all of them to sleep." "Aye. I did not consider that. It's worth a shot. After all, your powers are capable of incredible things. It shouldn't be that difficult to channel it in such a way to lull them all to sleep. I only wish there was something we could do for those who have been frozen solid. They'll all start dying soon.. I tried using my best techniques to warm them up but that did not work. That being said, enough pressure could break the ic- Nevermind, I know what it's like to deal with that ice for real. If we try to break the ice, they're going to die. With that in mind, I'm going to try again since neither of you really anything fiery to use to save them. But we'll need to move the frozen to a single location so no one else gets caught in what I'm trying to do." Aki gets an idea and shouts at those who are still moving in the audience(we saved the duelists who were dueling very quickly and early on): "Listen, audience, we need your help! If you're able to move, can you please help us-" "My apologies, Aki but that won't work. Audience, we do need your help. If you are able to wear clothing that protects from the cold, you can help. Aki, you can continue now. I'm sorry for interrupting. I don't like interrupting people because I really disliked being interrupted when I was younger." "It's alright, Swiftdrawer. Members of the audience, if you can wear clothing that protects from the cold, please help us in moving those who have been frozen. But be careful, the fight isn't over yet. We will hold those who have been mutated back for you. Please transport those who have been frozen to the duel course down here. If you can't help, please evacuate to underground. It isn't safe here."

I jump up into the stands of the stadium. Some of those who can still move, mostly duelists themselves begin transporting frozen people away from the action. Others look at me in awe. I yell: "Hey monsters, I bet you can't touch me! Come and get me!" The chaos had been going on even in the midst of us getting help from the audience. But Aki, Crow, and I along with our monster comrades had captured the attention of most of the mutated. My yelling only increased the truth of that fact. Now, a whole bunch of them were trying to swarm me. A little kid got very excited seeing me in my armor and cape while swinging with my sword. And pissing the mutated off so they wouldn't dare touch anyone else. They ran towards me despite the danger and yelled: "Woah! You're a real knight! You're so cool!" "Stand back, kid! It's far too dangerous for you!" The kid gets closer to me still and I see mutated go behind them, ready to attack them. I grit my teeth and jump so that I'm between the kid and the mutated. "Kiddo! Now's not the time! I told you, it's far too dangerous! I know you're excited but I can't risk your safety just so I can let you express your feelings of excitement towards me. I'll keep these unwitting foes busy as long as I can but I have to hurry up. Some people are going to die very soon and I can't let that happen." I knock out the mutated that were after the kid before moving around in a circular motion around the kid after getting them to stay put. As I spun around, I knocked out more and more of the mutated at a rate faster than they could close in on us. When there were enough knocked out, I grabbed the kid's hand: "Come with me, kid! I'm going to get us out of here! Quantum Leap! Take us to the gathered frozen people!" We're instantly teleported to where they are, right next to my, Crow, and Aki's duel runners. I then say: "Kiddo, I can't talk to you right now. I have to save these people so stand back. Please! It's for your safety! I've had to take too many lives, I don't want you to die by being in the crossfire of what I can do!"

The kid listens to me and steps quite far back to watch. Meanwhile, Aki successfully lulls the still conscious mutated to sleep with a use of her psychic powers I didn't even know she could pull off. Threat eliminated for now. I sigh in relief before wasting no more time. I stand before the bodies of those frozen. "We're so lucky none of them are dead yet. I can sense them still through their low power levels. That's good but most of them have no longer than 20 seconds I'm afraid. Haaaaaaa!" I start generating as much heat from friction as I can. I rapidly skid my sword on the road of the duel course. I do this so fast and so hard that my muscles are burning and I was afraid that I'd chip my sword a lot. But I still kept at it until the air around me was engulfed in flames. The heat made me sweat a lot but I still kept going for a bit longer before using my sword to direct the flames more so towards those who need to be thawed out. When all of them were thawed out, I made sure to help protect them from the heat I generated. Once it was over, I could finally stop until we moved to help people out in another area. However, I immediately felt how drained I had become from all of that. My dehydration caught up with me very quickly. I sat down on my duel runner and had an hp banana and a water. I felt better when I was done. The kid from before ran towards me: "Wow that was amazing! You really are a knight!" "Thank you, kiddo but Aki, myself, Crow, and our monster comrades just don't have the time to hear things like that right now. We don't even know how to cure the mutated."

That's when Lumpy Space Princess appeared via teleportation. I gave her a questioning look. She said: "Don't worry, we didn't find anyone in the BAD area and I was able to like, come here. My lumps work against the mutated. It's totally cool." LSP demonstrates that with ease. She's clearly gotten a lot stronger with her lumps since joining BRAINS. Once she's done curing them all, she teleports away. I sigh: "Damn it. We have to do all of this all over Neo Domino City. Even with all of us throughout the city, it won't be enough to save those who are being frozen. Crap. What the hell are we supposed to do?" Aki replies: "We'll have to rally anyone who can fight alongside us. Crow, can you get Sector Security to help us?" "Yeah, sure I can. I don't know if anyone is able to help anymore but I'll at least give it a try." "Swiftdrawer, is anyone from another world able to help us?" "No. Almost every universe where BRAINS members are from is under attack. I doubt anyone else from Mii World or Minecraftia will be able to help us even though any invasions there have been crushed already. This is going to be hell but I'll lend my sword to the efforts even more. We have to overcome the odds against us. It's the only way." Aki and Crow nod. We fought for 3 hours throughout Neo Domino. As time passed, it got a little easier to handle our foes but we always had to employ the same strategy we had already been using. The battles leveled most of both halves of Neo Domino. It was unavoidable. Some of its very people even helped us by moving frozen bodies carefully and knocking out some of the mutated.

Other dueling groups such as Team Ragnarok and Team Unicorn helped us out. I would have written more but the truth was that we were far from finished. Most universes that had been invaded were still under attack. The fighting had taken so much out of all of us. Even with so many helping us out, it was just exhausting and painful. Despite our best efforts, many people were injured and some even died. Now, we were standing before the remains of the KaibaCorp building of this timeline. Very few buildings stood around. During all the fighting, I used my main sword almost constantly to block, parry, thrust, and slash. It was truly a bad situation. I collapsed to my knees and cried when the fighting was over. The only other true silver lining is that apparently, the rest of the world was actually spared from the invasion. I spoke quietly, unable to raise my voice: "Despite all we did, people still died! That bastard.. We have to stop him.. All those innocent people caught in the crossfire.. This pain.. This despair.." No one speaks, what has happened has affected all of us deeply and not in very good ways. My armor was dented in many areas. My fingers hurt. My legs hurt. My feet hurt. I couldn't truly comprehend what anyone else was going through for my despair was that great. After several minutes of silence, Dominic said: "Nap causation. I've had enough of this. We have to make things right. A new version of the resurrection device was built and replicated a bunch of times. It's portable and can be fueled by any magical energy, even if it's sealed away. That's only possible because of how portable it is. It's time to bring back everyone who perished." The deaths include even the members of Team Unicorn as well as most of Yusei's oldest friends. It was truly a tragedy. The smell of death hangs over the city like a veil not of greed but of despair. What has transpired has shaken all of us to the core. There's no denying that fact.

Dominic brings out the portable device and sets it to extract energy from the sealed Earthbound Immortals. Yes, the device can use even their magic. The scientist presses a button after a few seconds and suddenly, those who had been killed were brought back to life. Before anyone could really react, Dominic used the last of his strength to restore the city to its former glory. I caught him as he collapsed after I had stood back up myself. Without a word, I sent Dominic to the main BRAINS base to rest and recover. Aki spoke up: "The worst has been reversed but now, we must fight in other dimensions." I grip my main sword tightly: "Pmurt Nedib won't get away with this. He only cares about himself. Billions upon billions have been hurt by him at this point. He may be even worse than Frieza by now. I heard UA High is under attack right now. We had better split up with some of us teleporting there next. If we don't, we might lose some universes and comrades. It's like that tyrant has been secretly planning this all along. I'm going to UA. It doesn't matter who goes. If you want to help there too, you should just go. No one's in charge here due to the collective nature of BRAINS. It's up to all of us to work with the challenges and responsibilities that come with being decentralized like that. Our unity has to be stronger as it in fact is versus if we actually had a leader or leaders. I'm going now. We can't afford to stand around here." I teleport to UA to see something a little different. It's just as I thought. Time has in fact moved forward in this universe to up in line with the events of MHA Season 6. It looks like the situation is very different here. I encounter Yaoyorozu first: "Creati, what's the situation here?" "We were able to react quickly to the invasion. Most innocent people were quickly evacuated before those mysterious cards could mutate them."

"Thank goodness, I just got here from Neo Domino. The situation there was horrifying. And it looks like the invading force here is still giving all of you problems. Worst of all, there are villains here. How are the others holding up?" "Not good. We've exhausted all the supplies we got from other universes. We have no healing items anymore." "Damn it. Well then, I'll lend myself to the fight. As a knight, I'm supposed to be a symbol of hope and justice. But as you know, I really don't like the spotlight so I'm just here to help save this world and move onto helping elsewhere. All Might did tell you everything, right?" "Yes." And so, I begin helping take a stand against the villains and invading forces. I wasn't the only one to come help. Yusei, Aporia, Minglow Bats, Despair, Marceline, Sena, LSP, and Roddy came too. With our arrival, the tides began to turn against our foes before long. They weren't able to handle all of us working together with UA heroes like Deku and Yaoyorozu. As a result, we won in under an hour. As if my exhaustion weren't already apparent enough, it only got worse. I would tell a lot more about helping out there and in other dimensions but it's too much to recall. Way too much. But I will talk about the final dimension I helped a bit. A bit could mean any decent length or brief at this point. I don't know which anymore. That dimension ended up being the Moonlands which suffered a large swarm of enemies. I joined up with the Final Dreamers, Orwin, Evu, and others. The Z Fighters and the Time Patrol as well as Naruto and his closest comrades came as well. We had to fight against invading forces, mutated people, and shadow magi. In the middle of it, I blocked so many attacks by shadow magi and ice androids: "You will not break us." Tony adds: "We will fight fit the safety of the Moonlands no matter what danger poses a threat to it! Furok, Energy Blast!"

Buu and Tsunade were nearby, teaming up in a twist of fate. "Buu like strong woman!" "Majin Buu, you are a surprisingly excellent individual to fight alongside." "Strong woman make Buu so happy!" Goku Double single-handedly wiped out a large portion of enemy forces due to being a fusion of Gokus with Super Saiyan 4, Ultra Instinct, and more under his belt. Our foes just didn't stand a chance. Pmurt Nedib made a huge mistake. He thought that dividing us up by invading so many universes would allow him to conquer the universes. However, it just didn't work. In time, we won and soon got word that the other battles in other dimensions had ended as well. Once things settled down in the Moonlands, everyone who fought there including myself was standing around in Vash Naroom. I smiled while even more exhausted since I had run out of hp bananas again. "We did it. It took many hours but we managed to foil Pmurt's latest scheme. The hardest part was dealing with those fake number cards. With all the innocents mutated by them, it was so hard to go all out at times." Edyn replies: "You're right! None of my spells could cure them. LSP isn't here so she couldn't have cured them." Evu adds: "Indeed, it took a lost artifact for us to deal with that issue but it's over now." I say: "Aye. Honestly, I'm so exhausted that I just don't want to stay around any longer. I'm returning to Miitopia. See you again when we need you all there. I'm really sorry to leave like this." I teleport to the Miitopia BRAINS base and pant heavily. "Soooo... exhausted.. Why must I be so exhausted?" My vision blurs and I lose consciousness.

*Meanwhile, UMC headquarters, Pmurt's office* The villain slams his fists onto his desk: "Those sinners! Not even that invasion worked! Just how unified are these freaks? How come I always see them all messing with my plans? This isn't working anymore! That's it! I'm going to lure them all to Karakaton and gather up an overwhelming force there to kill them all! Invasions of different areas in Miitopia have failed over and over again too! Their defenses and organization are so good that it might be among their biggest sins! I will eradicate them and wokeism forever with my pawns! I have no more tolerance for failure! My employees, I hope you're listening! If you fail even once on the smallest of things, I will inflict my divine punishment on you! As your god, I expect perfection moving forward! If I ask you to give me an injection of steroids, you administer it successfully! If I want you to get something for me, you will get it! Do you understand me?! I have tolerated minor mistakes for too long! Do what I tell you and don't screw up! If you value your lives, you will do as I command and that's final! There's no room for mistakes! Let the wokeists have their fun for now! The war will slowdown so I can prepare to destroy them in the last location I control in Miitopia! I will make sure my pawns are immune to the heat of Karakaton! They will be perfect! They will be powerful! They will be lethal! Next month, this game is finally over. The game of who can destroy the other will finally end in my victory. Those freaks have gotten in my way so many times. The multiverse should have been mine but no, they had to ruin everything! I will root out all remaining dissent in my territory!" He gives an order to execute all suspected dissenters in the now inhabited Dark Lord's Castle which has become a city of its own. "Now, they will have no choice but to come to avenge them! It's perfect! I'm perfect! I'm the only true god!"

*Don Thousand's castle* Lightning is furious. He paces back and forth: "Why?! Why did my creation have to destroy itself like that?! Why?! Why?!" Yappa Yappa laughs: "Looks like someone's creation messed up! It was so faulty that I would have loved to slowly kill it myself! It would have been so much fun! You should have just let me kill it when it started messing up!" "Be quiet, you!" Mr. Heartland finds their exchange amusing: "Now now, you two! As amusing as it is to watch you fight, I have to remind you of our shared goals and plans." Yappa Yappa laughs: "You're right! How could we have forgotten? Lightning, if you fail, I'll slowly kill you painfully and mercilessly! It will be so much fun if I get to because of you failing! But first, I can't wait to get my revenge on Pmurt Nedib! He's losing and getting angrier by the day! When he's confronted for real, I'll slip in to steal the kill out from our shared enemies' feet! It will be the most fun I've ever had! When do we start the interdimensional war again?" The Doktor from the Fusion Dimension walks over and laughs: "Oh don't worry! As soon as Pmurt Nedib dies, we'll launch the first invasions! Soon, every dimension will be ours and united as One Supreme World! We'll do what not even Leo Akaba was able to do!" Lightning interjects: "You fool! That's not when we'll start it! We'll start it after we trap a bunch of our enemies in Sword Art Online connected with Link VRAINS and other virtual worlds! We'll let them all become food for the floor bosses, Raid Duel Bosses, Wither Storm, and more! Humanity will be eliminated permanently."

*Back with Swiftdrawer* I woke up in bed with Herbsalvin looking over at me very concerned. "Swiftdrawer. You're awake." They give me a kiss. I actually blush and kiss them back: "Herbsalvin.. You must have found me. You fought as hard as I did. Why do you look alright, my love?" "I didn't have to use as many hp bananas as you did." "Oh, that would explain it. What time is it anyway?" "10 am." "I must have been out for hours. Oh well, can't do much about that. Are there any battles going on today?" "There are no battles going on today." "Weird. Pmurt must be smartening up more. No matter how many horrible things he throws at us, we still find a way to overcome them. *sigh* And there are 2 conflicts coming up after we get him at last. We can't afford to spend all our time relaxing." "You are right. We will communicate further with a display of swords after consuming some food to nourish ourselves." "Sounds good. Helps that I feel a lot better now." We eat breakfast together and after that, we head to the training ground. I look down at my armor and inspect my main sword to see them all okay. "Herbsalvin, who fixed my armor and red and black longsword?" They smile: "I did." "Thank you so much. I'm glad we're going to spar here. I'm grateful to you." Our enemies are just going to get tougher. Even ones who have already been defeated in the past are going to emerge stronger than ever. Yappa Yappa is a primary example. We know that he's training to become stronger. We can't afford to be left in the dust by our enemies. Now that we have time to train, we have to use it. I'm still almost completely no good with controlling the wind or using chakra or ninjitsu. I've foreseen the coming near future many times and I need to at least learn chakra control for it. And you need to learn a lot too. In fact, we have way too much to learn. It's going to be years before we learn it all. I think my final step up to the ultimate battle will be achieving Ultra Instinct. Compared to Goku, we are very far behind."

"Indeed. Let us begin a clashing of swords." They pull out their own sword and we begin. The clashing of our swords fills the training room with sound. A bunch of our comrades come in, as if attracted by us simply trying to perform thrusts at each other. Barla exclaims: "Sparring?! Sounds fun! Hell yeah! We could all use some sparring to train! Let's push each other to the limits!" Pirate Blaster adds: "Arr! You be right! We'll get stronger so our foes will just have to walk the plank." Dominic yawns: "I'll train. It's a nap causation but I will. The stronger we are, the probability of Swiftdrawer's foresights about their fate and the fate of Pmurt Nedib being correct increases. A battle royale between all of us sounds like such a headache and a nap causation. Would it even be effective for us to train like that? 1 on 1 sounds like something that would make me yawn less and work better. However, we should switch training partners every so often to learn from each other's unique skill sets. We represent a variety of professions and fighting styles. Bray would be so proud of us if she were here." Mel nods: "Dominic is right. We can't ask of our comrades from other universes to train with us right now. The fallout of all those invasions will keep them busy for a couple days of not longer." My lover and I keep trying to thrust at each other's armor but we just keep getting in each other's way. Our sword swings are fast and effortless. The flat parts of our sword just collide over and over. Our feet perform a complicated dance on the ground. "Herbsalvin, we aren't getting anywhere! You have more experience with swords than I do so why aren't you knocking me back?" "That may be so. However, I find you to be an opponent who pushes and tests my mettle very well. Beyond our love, bond, and friendship, I still have complete respect for you. The reason I have yet to successfully strike you with my sword is because your mind has a sharpness mine lacks."

"Experience versus strategy huh? Now that's really interesting. Oh well. Let's keep going! No matter how much we may strike each other, our armors will protect us so that our sparring will be mostly safe!" I briefly glance as Dominic and Barla spar near us. That was the slip up Herbsalvin was waiting for, the slight delay in my swings due to looking at them briefly was enough for the pegasus/knight to find an opening in my movements. I get knocked back by the resulting blow which was infused with elemental magic. I easily regain my balance and jump to the ceiling of the room. "Herbsalvin! This is what I've wanted! A one on one fight! The kind of fight where I can really show my stuff! We knights are best for one on one close quarters combat. Mages, ninja, and incredibly fast fighters as well as martial artists are best suited for different ranges and multiple opponents. Part of the reason I struggle to write fights where it's not one on one sword fights is because my mind in my other body also has a version of the optimal for one on one close quarters combat thing going on. It's also just really hard for us to show what we can do outside of our ideal fighting circumstances." I pull out one of my guns. Herbsalvin pulls out one of theirs as well. "As always, when it comes to swordplay, you are correct." The fight evolves. We begin firing at each other while also knocking away bullets with our swords. We start fighting at a larger distance while also going in for close quarters every so often. Mostly when either of us runs out of bullets and is forced to reload. It doesn't matter to us how long we keep at this. To really show growth in strength, we'd have to spar multiple times for extended periods of time.

Truth be told, if you aren't just starting out, it's difficult to get a lot stronger in a single day. After our magazines for our guns run out, we go back in for sword to sword fighting. We counter everything we throw at each other. Even our special techniques. Every time we use a special technique, we risk getting hit by the other but we unleash them so fast that we leave ourselves open only for a few seconds at most. After some time, we switch partners and then again and again. In the end, it's 2 pm now and we're exhausted. My stomach growls: "Damn, I think we just got of equivalent of 12 to 16 hours of training alone in just under 4 hours. We really should eat." Herbsalvin goes to me: "Of course, my knight in shining armor." "The irony and cliche.. If anyone was going to say that, I thought it was going to be me, Herbsalvin. You are MY knight in shining armor. We literally embody the literal interpretation of the phrase. That's why it's ironic and cliche." The clanking of our armors is barely audible as we walk to the cafeteria. As I mentioned, my armor is basically quiet even on stealth missions but if you pay close enough attention, you can kind of hear it clank. Same with Herbsalvin's. We sit down wherever in the cafeteria after getting what we want. In the past, I used to write about it being okay to have all these unhealthy meals due to training and fighting so much. But let's be real, it still isn't that wise to do that. I have 2 savory slices of cheese pizza, a slice of sweet brown bread, a bowl of spaghetti and (lab grown) meat sauce with a low salt and sugar content, a piece of plant based steak, 2 oranges, and a glass of water for lunch. I remark to Herbsalvin: "You know, plant bases and lab grown meat is always wiser to have than animal meat. Did you know that when say a carnivore eats a rabbit that the calories gained from eating the rabbit are only about 10% of the calories that ideally could have been extracted from the rabbit? That's why there's so much livestock in my world to the tune of 2 billion chickens or so."

"So that's everyone discouraged me from having anymore meat from monsters." "That's right. By eating plant based meat, you get the most energy out of your bites. The calorie decrease along the food chain also plays a role in the balance and population of a ecosystem. Humans and miis are omnivores. We are capable of eating both plants and meats. It's fascinating how much our very nature has shaped societies in our respective worlds. Also, it's worth mentioning how pointless it is to eat sweets and drink soda. Yeah, that stuff is so delicious and tasty. I miss drinking cherry colas the most but at the same time, they're generally less nutritious and less healthy than other things. Brownies and cookies can be nourishing but at the same time, it's like do I even need all that added sugar?" Mel sits next to us: "Great training, you two. I apologize for interrupting." "Mel, I should be the one sorry. Could have seen you and waved you over. Oh well. You did awesome in your training too. I can tell. Wish we could have some hp bananas to relieve the effects of training. We ran out of them yesterday so more have to be grown, synthesized, cloned, and created. We also need to save most of them for what's to come too." "You are right, Swiftdrawer. It is also important to ensure you both remember our duties. Training should happen only when our other duties are taken care of or someone is covering for us. As we need to recover from our respective training, we must spend time resting before we set out on other duties." 15 minutes pass. That's when the Wacky Clowns pull some of their antics. Most BRAINS members here in Mii World are in the cafeteria with us.

We're all talking and eating when the Wacky Clowns make a fool of themselves and unleash loud noise making things like extreme kazoos. They got all eyes on them. When they notice that, they stop and gain serious expressions on their faces before pointing at a running Barla who stops by them and catches her breath. With that done, she exclaims as we all go silent: "Hell no! Comrades! We have a huge problem! It's the people of Karakaton.. All of our contacts there as well as others have been.. killed.." We all widen our eyes in horror. Dominic gains a serious expression himself and stands up: "We're going to bring as many of them back as possible. This is no time for my normal complaining. We have to find all of their bodies." Barla shakes her head: "That's just it.. Their bodies.. They've been burned to ash.." Pirate Blaster stands up: "The hell kind of sick action is this?! Pmurt Nedib will walk the plank. We'll still bring them all back." Madeline stands up and nods while controlling her emotions: "Right! We'll still bring them back no matter how much mana it takes." I stand up and put on my Akatsuki cloak and Swiftdrawer mask: "I'm going. I'm going to Karakaton to gather as many ashes and personal possessions of theirs as possible. Quantum Leap!" Many others follow me and we spend some time gathering as much as we can discreetly. That tyrant is going to regret this. We'll make sure of it. It took about 2 hours for us to complete the emergency mission. It was difficult. We had to all evade Pmurt's forces there but we did get a lot of stuff and intel in the end. We all used our Quantum Leap devices to teleport tiny boxes to us in order to put the ashes in. The personal possessions went into our ended pouches. Once we were done, we returned to base and placed all the ashes and personal possessions we could find into the machine that has been almost the sole reason we haven't lost the war. After a while, we managed to bring everyone back.

Once they were all back to life, Mel spoke to them: "Welcome, all of you. No need to panic. You're safe here. You're all safe." Pirate Blaster nods: "Arrr! Feel free to stick around here for now. It was hard to bring all of you back but we did it." The new Great Sage, Nathan nods: "Yeah, it was hard but I know we did her proud. Bray.. We really miss you.." He collapses from exhaustion as do the other mages. Thrashbeak shouts: "Squawk! Transport them all to their rooms! Squawk!" And that's exactly what we do. I was the one to transport one of our best spellcasters, Julia to her room. I didn't stay by her but I left her a note. Even though my handwriting isn't what you'd call good, my friends have learned to read it just fine. That includes Julia. I go to the library and sit down after picking out a book. After I sat down, I got my main sword out and placed it over my lap. I muttered to myself: "Funny how a knight like me here is an image pretty much everyone in this base who is a part of BRAINS has forever engraved in their memories. This is perfect. My body is so strained from all of that stuff today. But I'll be better soon." And then, Andromeda walks in and puts their paws on my legs. I smile: "O you big pile of fur. Alright, fine. I'll move my sword." I move my sword so that it's next to the right side of my body. The wolf puppy then curls up in my lap. "Awww. This is even more perfect, exactly what I've needed in the midst of everything that's been happening lately. Alright. Time to read this story of a comedy show called The Ooo and Aaa Show. Wouldn't it be funny if I were someday transported into the world this book depicts? I wouldn't be surprised. I did write down the name of a Chaotic Hangouts chapter called The Ooo and Aaa Show after all. It hasn't happened to me so I haven't written it but I do know it will happen eventually." As Andromeda sleeps peacefully in my lap, I read the book and for a while, I forget about all of my troubles. Occasionally, I stopped to stroke Andromeda's incredibly soft fur or hug my sword.

After some time, Dominic walks in and says: "Swiftdrawer, it's a nap causation but you need to help us help the people. If you're rested enough that is." I nod: "Aye, I can help the people now. I feel better enough. But first, I kind of have to get Andromeda off of me without waking them up. This war's been hard on the little one. Andromeda's so brave, helping us fight fascism. But just as even knights like me and scientists like you need to, Andromeda does need time to rest and relax too. If we can't have any time for either of those things, we'll eventually succumb to the burden of the war. I know how to handle Andromeda. Tell the others I'll be ready to go soon." The scientist nods and walks away while yawning, clearly finding talking to be a nap causation at the moment. That's Dominic for you. I teleport the book to my side of the bed I share with Herbsalvin to finish another time. I then put my sword back in its scabbard and use both of my hands in a hug like position to gently scoop up and hold the wolf puppy despite them being big for my hands. I head to the relaxation room we have because Dominic insisted we have one some time ago. There, I place Andromeda on a chair and quickly write a note for them and tape it where they'd see it. It's a good thing I carry a notepad, a pen, and scotch tape in my ender pouch among other things. I then headed to the meeting room where everyone else is waiting. I speak: "Is everyone here. I'm guessing that there's so much to do that we need a meeting to decide some things." I was right. I was asked to go to Greenhorne Village to help there. I accepted and teleported there immediately. Upon my arrival, a little girl ran to me with tears in her eyes. She hugged my right leg. I bent down: "What's the matter, kiddo?" "My family.. They're missing.." I extend my right hand: "I understand to an extent what that's like. Don't worry, we're going to find them. But in case we don't, I'll make sure they get found by someone. But if that doesn't work, I'll make sure you find a new family who loves you very much. Let's trace your steps. Okay?"

She nods and we soon find her family. They've been captured by some monsters. They laugh at seeing me, especially their leader: "Look at who we caught into our trap! Innocent miis are always such nice bait!" The little girl screams: "Let go of my family!" The leader laughs: "Pfft! As if! Thank you for making this easier on us! We've wanted to kill that knight for Pmurt Nedib for months!" I draw my sword: "Interesting that you've only wanted me dead. That's highly unusual and suspect. Oh well. Let's dance." "You foolish knight! We're among the last monsters loyal to Pmurt Nedib, the only true god! We've been so good at hiding that you freaks never found out about us! We were presumed dead! And now that you're here.. Boys, kill this knight!" The smaller monsters attack me at once. One comes at me from below. I draw both of my swords, using my old sword as a mostly stationary weapon. I use it to stab right through the enemy coming from below. 5 others tried to attack me at once but they didn't even scratch my armor. Instead, I cut them non lethally. Soon, it was just me and the leader standing. I say to the smaller monsters: "If you don't wish to die, you're going to have to begin redeeming yourselves right here, right now. Otherwise, I will be forced to have no mercy on you. Okay, a quick death but that's the only mercy you'd get from me." The monsters screech: "No! We refuse to give up our ways! They're so nice and fun!" "Hurting others is fun to you? You're no better than the Republicans who preach about freedom, respect, patriotism, and more all the damn time. Those liars. You're all actively dying, are you sure you don't want to embrace kindness?" The leader comes at me as they scream: "No!" "Then, I have no choice but to add you to my oversized body count.. I say oversized because my body count should be 0, not in the thousands. But I've had to take many lives. As much as I despise some people and desire their deaths, I will not allow that to cloud me. I'll only kill if I don't have a choice." They don't change. "Great Infernal Tornado Slash!"

I dodge the leader's attacks as their henchmen die instantly. I say to the little girl: "Untie your family and back away! Things are about to get ugly and I don't think you need to see the horrors of that ugliness. Please understand that." She nods and wipes her tears. And so, my battle with the leader begins. I let them hit my armor as many times as they want to before striking right back with my main sword. Their attacks are strong but not enough enough to penetrate my armor. As a result, it takes me only 30 minutes to win despite their own strong defenses. On the ground, the monster staggers: "What are you doing to do to me?! You win! I give up!" "I'm going to spare your life." "Why would you spare the life of your enemy?!" "You surrendered. You have a shred of logic after all. That's enough for me to spare your life. Change for the better or I'll find you should you decide to hurt anyone else." After the family and girl thank me, we exchange farewells and I teleport back to the village. There, 2 teenage siblings are having trouble lifting up a box full of stuff. I walk to them: "Looks like you're having a little trouble there. Allow me to help you." They widen their eyes. One of them says: "You'd be willing to do that for us?! But I thought knights like you are always fighting on the front lines." "Wow, a knight here?! So cool!" "No need to flatter me. It's true I fight a lot up close and personal but there's no battles today. I swore to protect the innocent and an extension of that is helping them. Can't build trust or help develop the commune here without making a difference, right?" I work with them to lift the box. I could have done it by myself but I felt it would be better if I didn't do all of the work for them.

After some time, the other one says: "Perfect. We can put it down as we need it right here." I nod: "Alright. Down it goes, then. Be careful. It's no wonder you couldn't lift it. It's a big and heavy box." We put it down. They both smile at me. The first one says: "Thank you so much for your help!" "It was my pleasure. I'm Swiftdrawer. I love to help people out. It makes me feel good. Being selfish is never that satisfying. That's what Pmurt Nedib doesn't understand." The other replies: "It's so true! And you're Swiftdrawer?! We've heard about you! You're so strong! Can you teach us how to be strong like you?" "I don't see why not. Many of my comrades are helping out all throughout Mii World. I can spare some time. What job or class are you most interested in? The sword is my main weapon of expertise so I want to cater your training based on your preferences." "A scientist!" "A thief!" "Interesting. There's nothing wrong with either of those. I could still teach you the sword if that's okay but what neither of what you two desire are focused on swordsmanship." I spent 2 hours teaching them basic swordsmanship anyway as well as philosophical stuff, stealth, dagger use, and anything else that would prove useful to their chosen future paths. Once it's down, I lead them to a natural spring to hydrate themselves after the training I had them do. They thanked me again and I went on to help even more in the village even though it was now late at night. That was after I stopped in Twisted Land to grab some dinner to eat from the Proud To Be Queer Cafe. There weren't many people up at this hour in the village. I drank another Sleep Replacement Potion with my dinner. Upon my return to the village, I didn't find anyone out and about besides those guarding the village. One of them, a mii with the Elf job runs over to me. Once they stop, they say: "Please, Artistic Knight Swiftdrawer! One of our usual guards has caught a cold and can't guard until they feel better! Can you please help us with night watch tonight?"

I reply: "I would say yes right now but I have a idea to do more first." "What?!" "Give me a minute." I call Madeline and explain the situation. She teleports to the village's hospital which was recently constructed. Myself and Dominic helped design its layout. I turn to the mii after I put my phone away. "I have a feeling that that guard you mentioned is going to need tonight and tomorrow to rest. I'll help keep watch. After all, Pmurt and his forces aren't the only threats. A few people even here still don't like what we are transforming this land into. There could be hidden or even ancient threats around as well as interdimensional threats just waiting to strike. That's why we established 24/7 watch in the first place. You and your fellow guards are doing a great service for your village. I'll be happy to help keep watch with you for the night. Your sacrifices are honorable and inspirational. Remember that." And so, a time of less fighting began and lasted for about a month. There were still battles in Miitopia and other dimensions but they weren't that bad despite their difficulty. We spent more time on missions, training, and helping people. However, it was clear that that was only the prelude for the final days of the fight against Pmurt Nedib and his forces. He can throw all he wants at us but we'll be ready. In the middle of August, the final days would begin. By the time they began, we had all grown significantly stronger. I could now do Continuous Great Infernal Tornado Slash: 40 without dying instantly. I could also finally performance jutsu as I spent enough time focusing on balance and chakra control. However, I didn't learn any actual jutsu. Meanwhile, we had firmly solidified the existences of the communes throughout Mii World. We are fostering the growth of communal societies, in tune with Mii World's history and training the people. And the transitional government was very much active. We are ready for this to end.