"She tells me not to blow up the bridge?!" frustration simmering beneath Mikoto's surface, her lips curled, and her fangs pinching her lip. A throaty growl escaped her, followed by a hard, angry laugh dripping with disbelief and even a little contempt.
"How could she think we'd blow up the bridge?" little misaka snarled, seething with defiance. "Oh, ye of little faith."
"I am definitely kicking her ass!" Mikoto yelled, her anger surging, seeping its way out.
Vita's eyes widened in alarm. "What?" quickly looking across the ridge. Noticing the firing had stopped. Everyone was looking, including Aya, Gallum, and Nya, heads tilted, brows furrowed in a What the hell did you do this time? Vita nervously coughed. "I didn't do anything!" she blushed, voice weak but defensiveness. "And keep firing!" she shouted, regaining her focus.
Grommok's thunderous charge shook the stone bridge, its foundation trembling in a slow demise. As he raised his stone hammer high, another primal roar echoed through the gorge, shaking the ground and ripping through the air. Fueled by fervor, many rushed to the gorge's edge, hurling boulders like primitive cannon balls, causing explosions and shockwaves that filled the air with dirt and chaos.
As Mikoto's forces retreated, the ridge transformed from a defensive stronghold into an extension of the battlefield. Cannonballs relentlessly tore through the valley's edge, causing the rim to quiver, crumble, succumb to the relentless barrage, and collapse into the valley below.
Fueled by her determination and anger, Mikoto charged across the stone bridge, the eyes of the predator glued to her prey. Her adrenaline rushed. As she closed on Grommok, the stone troll, something unexpected happened. Grommok, this lumbering stone troll, unleashed a burst of surprising speed., catching her off guard. Her eyes went wide.
"shit!" she heard little misaka yelling. "Did he just time skip!"
He was now closer than she should have been. A hesitation or redirection. The loose grains of stone dust under her boots shifted. She lost her footing, sliding helplessly across the stone surface towards an inevitable collision. Despite her reflexes and instincts kicking in, she couldn't stop in time.
The sudden loss of footing made her wonder if he could control the sand and stone particles. Much like she could control iron particles. She could already see him grimacing. And he kept coming like a train on the tracks. Mikoto knew she couldn't stop in time. Her reflexes were already reacting. Her instincts told her it was less than a heartbeat away. He was already in motion. Grommok's stone hammer descended so fast she thought it was whistling through the air. Engulfing her in darkness. And then it happened.
The stone hammer slammed against Mikoto. There was a moment of nothingness, and then white hot excoriating pain exploded in every fiber of her body. Blood sprayed from her mouth. Followed by weightlessness. The world spun around her as she tumbled over the edge of the stone bridge, her grip on reality slipping away. Triumphant roars of the stone trolls echoed in her ears, a mocking opus of victory. Some of them, reveling in their conquest, hurled boulders into the abyss, spit, and pissed over the gorge's edge.
She felt the sharp sting of broken bones, tearing ligaments, and shredded muscles. As she dropped like a stone. "My turn to shine." Little misaka giggled. As her black form radiated pulsating light as she began. This was part of little misaka's unique identity and purpose. She was integrated with Mikoto's existing systems. Her vampire attribute is revealed as a symbiotic blend of strength, heightened senses, and regenerative abilities. She could heal broken bones, close and mend soft tissues, and heal minor pains and aches. The nervous system, cardiovascular system, and others work together with her vampiric system.
When Mikoto was bitten by Anastasia Von Alucard to save her life, her venom flooded her systems, wrapped around it like vines snaking along a fence, and became part of her. She did not become an average vampire. Many researchers hypothesized that the amalgamation of the queens' venom and Mikoto's Esper nature gave her Little misaka. For good or bad. Depending on who you talk to.
Anastasia was a Queen and had fallen in love with Mikoto Misaka. Anastasia had always said, "It was a happy accident." Even though she had told her the minute she turned thirty or had two children, she would turn her then. Mikoto could only shake her head, sparks flying, "I'd like to see you try!"
"Okay!" Anastasia would smile. "It's a deal." Never challenge a vampire.
As little misaka went to work, her body surged with painkilling endorphins, mending her broken bones, attaching ligaments and torn tissue.
Mikoto grinned, a sense of euphoria rising, feeling little misaka working inside her. She pulled from within her electrical and magnetic abilities and channeled them to her iron whip. The iron particles sped up. Pulling in more iron particles from the rocky surface of the abyss wall. The whip hummed, lengthening like desperate fingers yearning for escape. With a defiant grin, she cracked the whip and swung it in a wide arch, soaring upward, and snagged underneath the stone bridge. With a powerful swing, she swung in a wide arc and propelled herself upward toward the opposite side of the stone bridge.
"spiderman, spiderman…friendly neighborhood Spiderman. Spins a web any size, catches thieves just like flies!" little misaka sang, dressed in her Spiderman outfit. An attractive woman was by her side, wearing a fly outfit.
She soared through the air, her heart pounding, fangs throbbing. The triumphant roar of Grommok and his stone trolls filled her ears, their chants and celebration taunting her.
Vita's voice yelling to keep firing. Vita knew. She was her Mistress, after all.
The coolness of the gorge faded away, replaced by the intense heat of the twin suns. She heard the roar of victory growing louder, and she swung higher. She let go of her iron whip, watching the particle disappear into the dark abyss.
A rush of air swept over her as her wings billowed and spread wide, casting a large black shadow over Grommok, the stone bridge, and many stone trolls. Vita ordered a cease-fire. The chants of victory slowly faded. Mikoto Misaka hung high above them, her eyes locked on Grommok.
He was standing where she had tumbled over the edge of the stone bridge. Arms over his head, holding the stone hammer. The stone trolls on the other side of the gorge, chants fading as they stared in awe, and one could call it fear. Grommok slowly turns, looking over. At first, he gazed at the other side of the stone bridge as if she had crawled up from the abyss. Then his eyes slowly rose, and they locked eyes.
"you are no ordinary child of the blood goddess. Are you?" his voice sounded like crushed gravel and doubt. He was now facing her. Arms down by his side, tapping the stone hammer in the palm of his stone hand.
She hovered above him, two pairs of wings, each as large and expansive as old sailing vessels extending from her back, beating in a slow, mesmerizing rhythm. A bluish-white energy surged through an intricate network of veins within her wings, illuminating them in an eerie glow. The wings' edges were adorned with large and small blackthorns. Beautiful and deadly.
In her hand, she casually tossed a small pebble or stone, a seemly insignificant gesture. Her eyes, a captivating swirl of crimson and deep brown locked on her prey with unwavering focus.
As if commanded, an icy wind rose from the gorge. It crept over the edge of the stone bridge, coiling and swirling around the bridge, around Grommok, and rose to Mikoto. Snaking around her in a whirlwind now, slipping over her wings.
The atmosphere crackled with electricity and fear. The stone trolls slowly stepped back. Grommok could only stand and watch. She didn't answer him. He narrowed his eyes, and in a fit of anger and desperation, he roared and twisted his body and hurled the stone hammer. The massive weapon hissed through the air and exploded, shockwaves ripping across the battlefield. The hammer shattered, fragments plunging into the abyss, striking the bridge and the stone trolls relentlessly. The impact stirred up a massive dust cloud, engulfing the surrounding in a haze of debris. Each piece trailed a wispy smoke-like tail, leaving a visible mark of destruction as they plummeted downward.
The heavy dust cloud dissipated among the chaos, swept away by the strengthening winds. And there, emerging from the shadow of dust. Mikoto appeared untouched by the surrounding devastation. Her expression remained impassive as she continued to flip the small stone in her hand. The dust particles clung to her shimmering force field, sliding down like raindrops on a windowpane. She harnessed electricity and magnetism, conjuring a protective force field.
Electricity crackled around Mikoto as she hung in the air, fangs pulsing, eyes filling with determination. She slowly raised her arm, fingers spread wide. The small stone at her fingertips. Brimming with formidable energy, a brilliant surge of blue and white lightning surged along her arm. With a thunderous whomp, the stone bursts forward through the atmosphere like thunderbolts.
The blast surged, not directed at Grommok, but at the stone trolls running for cover. The air was super-heated and exploded. The ground swelled in burning colors as stone trolls, not having the time to scream, melted, and some exploded. The valley behind the lord of Troll burst into a white-hot liquid lake.
Steam hissed, and vibrant liquid fire erupted, shooting skyward. The valley became a boiling Calderon. Wavering heat carried the acrid scent of sulfur, marking the scorched earth below. The lord of trolls turned around and stared at the destructive power.
Grommok'a eyes grew wide in disbelief as he witnessed the raw and destructive power unleashed by Mikoto Misaka. His stone face cracked briefly, revealing fear, awe, and something he knew nothing of. Terror. He recognized the intense heat. The boiling fire flickered across his face, matching his amber eyes.
"you have taken so many?" he said in a voice rough as gravel. "what are you?" he asked.
He slowly turned. His massive stone's shoulders seemed not so enormous. His amber eyes were no longer glaring.
"the fate of those don't matter," she used his words to answer.
His amber eyes, once filled with defiance, now glimmered with uncertainty. Her reply rattled him. He had underestimated her strength, and it came at a price. He was the lord of trolls. But what was he now, with no trolls to rule over? The weight of what had happened held him in its grip like an iron chain. He was thinking of his next attack. But what would it be, and where could he seek shelter? He was stuck on the massive stone bridge. On one side, a lake of liquid fire. On the other side, an army, now standing on the edge of the valley, weapons readied. And in front of him, she was hovering silently, glaring at him. His words, her voice, etched in his mind.
Mikoto waited. She refused to show emotions fighting back the tears. Her fangs pinched the inside of her mouth. The images of those Vita had sent in her mind. She wondered and hoped the one who left the warning had died quickly and painlessly.
"I have faced many foes…." his words rolled through her memory. "Even after I have crushed their bones and chewed on their flesh." And the sneer on his face.
"You are the one… aren't you?" Grommok asked, tilting his head. "the one who took Behamut down to hel?" his question hung in the air, a mix of curiosity and recognition. Mikoto's gaze hardened. She wondered how the story of her battle with Bahamut had spread.
"He means hell." Little misaka, still in her black form, interrupted with a sharp tone. Arms crossed over her small chest, speaking in steely resolve. "I don't hate to say it…but there is only one action we can take," she said. "He gave no mercy and should receive no mercy."
His harsh words were rolling across one of the screens surrounding Little misaka. "fucking monster."
Mikoto's brow twitched at the blunt assessment. But little misaka's words slipped quickly into her ears. "you know what I mean?" Little misaka answered.
Vampires had evolved into civilized species and coexistence with much of humanity. "We have blood houses now…and a blood industry where we can buy bottles off the shelf." She said, "We're civilized now.." she nodded sternly. " we live in the underground school district in Academy City. We live in villages, towns, and cities on Sakura Island. And hell, we have been in Japan since the first queen….but This one has no idea what civilization is. He is a beast that bullies and devours his prey.
"Watch yourself, Mistress," Vita's voice sliced through the air, brimming with anguish and righteous fury. The burden of responsibility and guilt weighed heavily on her. In an instant, her emotions shifted dramatically. Something within her, a memory, broke the surface as she spoke. She wanted him dead. She had sent them to him, and he killed them. Her eyes blazed with hatred, and her heart pounded with loathing. Falling to her knees. she succumbed to an unexpected unraveling.
"he ate them…Mistress! He is the notorious monster known as the devourer. He did not discriminate between man or beast, women or children. " her voice trembled with control, each word soft on her lips. "He'd skewer them like kabobs, writhing and screaming in pain were his seasoning before roasting them over an open fire. He'd slaughter herds of reindeer," her speech quickened, driven by the fear of pausing, and would be too afraid to continue. "leaving unfinished remains behind!" the memories flooded her mind. Overwhelming her with grief and anger. She let out a piercing scream, a shrill cry, recalling a painful event. "entire villages devoured!" tears streamed down her face. "he did it…he killed them all…." she shook in anger, face twisted by the vivid memories of her past. "I wasn't there! I'd returned from days of fishing and…and…" tears flowed, "they were gone. Blood was everywhere…they were just little babies." Her fist clenched tightly, arms shaking with distress.
Aya and Gallum hurried to her side, dropping and wrapping her in their arms. Vita's sobs melded with growls of anger, a growing storm within her. Nya swiftly positioned herself behind Vita, pressing the barrel of the mini railgun against the back of Vita's head.
Aya's eyes widened in disbelief and worry, her voice trembling with uncertainty. "What…what are you doing?"
"She said if she ever loses it, this is what we have to do," Nya explained, voice filled with grim resolve as her finger curled around the trigger.
"NO!" Mikoto growled, resonating, "You will not!" imposing her will and compelling Vita to lower herself. Her determined gaze refused to let Vita lose herself to the chaos brewing in her mind.
The queen's intent, the power granted by a queen vampire, surged through Mikoto's veins, a surge comparable to adrenaline. With her commanding mind, she could dominate and control legions of vampires if she needed.
"you will not…."
Despite her youthful appearance, Mikoto was in her mid-twenties. But she possessed a certain advantage. She had spent years in a realm where time flowed differently. One day on earth was equal to one hundred years in that realm. Allowing her to gain wisdom and strength beyond her physical age. At almost eight hundred years old, Vita, one of the most powerful vampires, felt the weight of Mikoto's authority. Her voice quivered, and her body shook. She yielded to her mistress's command with loyalty and submission.
"yes, mistress…" Vita murmured, tears streaming down her face.
Mikoto hovers over the bridge, focusing on Grommok's intense stare. His stone hands gripped tightly, ready for the decisive strike. In a fleeting moment, she looks at Vita. And he takes his chance. Fueled by unyielding determination and seething resentment, Grommok charges forward. No longer the lord of trolls, he rejects humiliation, knowing his companions have been reduced to nothing.
A sudden burst of electricity slams into Grommok, smashing him onto the stone bridge. Mikoto's gaze shifts toward him.
"I suppose it's time…" she said.
"time…" he said, slowly rising to his feet. "I have nothing but time…child of the blood goddess.." he sneered. "I am an immortal being. Born of rock and fire. My mother is a dragon of creation, much like your mother." He said, straightening his back and stretching his shoulders. "I can do this all day and night. Over and over." he looked over to the ridge. "how many of them are you willing to lose? Until you finally know better and just turn around and leave." He grinned. "Or are you willing to pay a toll?" laughter erupted from him.
She knew the stories of trolls under the bridge, but ignoring him, she remained silent. Floating above the stone bridge, she just stared at him. Grommok burned with unbridled hatred. "you think you can defeat me?" he snarled with contempt. "You and your kind are nothing but weaklings, unworthy of this realm." She drifts down to the stone bridge's edge. Her expression hardened as she spoke. "your hatred blinds you, Grommok. It consumes you, making you blind to what's about to happen."
Grommoks' lips curled in a wicked grin as he taunted her. "the only ending written here is your demise, child of the blood goddess." He hissed, dripping with arrogance. As if looking down his nose. He reached over and clenched his forearm, causing it to tremble, crack and shatter. Broken fragments fell to the ground, merging with his feet. Holding his severed arm, he wore a malevolent smile. "Oh look, it's not my stone hammer, but it will work." He declared, his amber eyes ablaze with absolute hatred.
He quickly lunged, but Mikoto sidestepped, slipping under the stone arm. Taking his wrist, she swiftly spun and hurled him over the edge of the stone bridge and didn't drop.
He hovered in mid-air, suspended by an unseen force. His legs dangling, he dropped the severed stone arm, and it disappeared into the gorge. Confusion flickering in his amber eyes.
She looked at him with the calmness of a cat playing with a mouse. Through her command of electromagnetism, she finally showed him her true power. She held him captive like a puppeteer, manipulating him with invisible strings. A whirlwind swept around her feet, slithering around her form like a coiled serpent. She held her hand out, hand open wide, and slowly clenched her fist.
Grommok watched. The pressure around him intensified. The air shimmered with a familiar energy. Growing warmer and then scorching hot. It wrapped around him, constricting and exerting control over him. He fought back. Resisting. He pushed back with all his might. Force against force. He struggled. His limbs strained and suddenly snapped tight. Bits and pieces of his stone body groaned, and shallow and deep cracks ran across his form. And finally shattered. Until Leaving nothing but his head. His amber eyes trembling, voice trembling disbelief, "How? How can you..?"
Mikoto quickly twisted her hand, and he burst. Arms and legs plummeted into the abyss. Fragments of his abdomen followed behind. And she held his head in the air, turning his head with her power so that he may see his body fall.
"I will return, child of the blood goddess.." he muttered, amber eyes momentarily lifeless before blazing with renewed intensity. "and when I do…." she dropped him. And he disappeared into the black abyss.
"That was dramatic…not," little misaka said, hinting at sarcasm. "Why didn't we just railgun him?"
Mikoto let her arm drop to her side and nibbled on her lip, glancing towards the ridge where their companions assisted one another. Thoughts of fallen comrades weighed on her.
"I wasn't about to blow up the bridge." She said, "I would never hear the end of it. Besides, we will have to rest here until things cool down."
"Tru," little misaka simply agreed.