April 26, 88
The woman with dragon features looked at me and got ready to attack. Her slender but tall body bent down slightly, and her gray eyes pierced my soul.
She looked to be in her twenties judging by her height and proportions that could be seen very clearly due to her lack of clothing. Her skin was almost pale, probably due to her being down here without any light for what seemed to be a long time.
Before she could leap at me though, her eyes went dull and her body went limp, she fell to the ground below. She passed out before she could even attack me.
My body moved on its own. I caught her before she could hit the ground, then set her down as gently as I could. After that, I backed away and decided that I would stay until she woke up at the very least. I needed to make sure she was alright.
Using the materials I brought with me, I covered her body in a cloak, and set up a light to huddle around and relax while the woman slept soundly. I drank some of the water and ate the food I brought with me, making sure to save some for my new "friend."
Hours flew by as I passed the time polishing and tuning my equipment. Shards of Grain were lodged in the cracks of my armor, Slash Emperor bent and warped my right gauntlet out of shape, but nothing could be done about that at the moment. It still functioned as it should, just looked different than usual.
Nonetheless, sleeping beauty eventually had to wake, and that time was now. Her eyes fluttered open, then her body stretched and she sat up with her legs under her butt and her tail curled around her waist like a belt. Her wings folded at her side. Her eyes darted around and they locked onto a piece of bread I was holding at the moment.
I waved it around the air to confirm, and she was definitely gazing straight at it. "Here, have it." I told her.
I extended my arm with the bread at the tips of my fingers. At first she was wary of my intentions, but she took it anyway and immediately stuffed it into her mouth without breaking eye contact.
I dug into my bag and pulled out some rations I packed and slid the metal container over to her across the floor. Without missing a beat, she picked up the box and opened the lid, throwingp it to the side and scarfed down the contents like a dog that's never eaten before in its life.
I looked away from her and focused on myself at the moment. What now? She's awake? But I'm not sure what to do with her now? Who even IS she?
"So, do you have a name?" I asked her as she finished up her meal.
Looking up with an annoyed face, she answered. "Eve. That's my name. Eve."
"Eve, huh? My name is Ado Edem. Nice to meet you." I extended my hand to be greeted with a confused glance. I pulled my arm back and touched the back of my hair nervously. "How did you get down here? And that dragon, what was that? Can you transform?"
The white haired woman shook her head. "I don't know. I don't remember anything but my name. The earliest thing I remember is being freed because of that blade of yours. Other than that, there's nothing. I don't know why I was a dragon, or what I was doing while I was a dragon. It's like I was asleep and time passed by in the blink of an eye."
I touched my chin and looked down, reviewing everything I just heard in my mind. "Amnesia, huh? You don't remember anything from before I cut you loose except for your name? Do you know what race you are by any chance?"
"?"
"Thought so. I'm guessing you're an A-Ray since you've got those horns, wings, and tail. A-Rays are beastmen, so you certainly look the part. But I've never heard of one that can transform into an actual beast. And yours was of that material like Grain…How fascinating… You must be a rare case then?"
The woman shrugs in response as obviously everything I said flew over her head and splattered on the wall behind her.
"Are you an A-Ray?" She monotonously asked me.
"Me? No. I'm what's known as an Ether Liner. An evolved version of a human created by other humans. We were made to counter the A-Rays in a war, and it was somewhat successful. We are very durable and can hold our own even against the Aristoteles. Even more, we each have what's known as a 'Knight Arm.' A blade that grows from our bones and is an extension of our bodies. Each has different effects and are used in different ways." I show her the seed on my right palm. "Mine is 'Slash Emperor.' A simple blade that grows in accordance to the opponent's physical size using the planet as a fuel source. It is able to cut anything in one slash assuming the situation is right. It's how I killed Type Saturn in a single blow."
She nodded her head like she understood what I was saying. "What is an 'Aristoteles'?"
Oh, I forgot to consider that she wouldn't know what an Aristoteles was. The creatures that everyone knew of in the Land of Steel were a mystery to just her alone, the woman who dwelt in this cave for who knew how long.
"The Aristoteles are aliens who invaded about 20 years ago. They are the strongest life forms of each planet. All you need to know is that they are extremely powerful and near invincible. They all look different, but they are threats to our planet. According to 'Angel's Notes,' the planet called them here to kill all life on its surface which means us. I can show you more later."
The woman looked toward the ceiling. "Where are we anyway?" She questioned me.
"We are in a mine about 500 meters down below the surface. I found you down here and we fought."
Eve stood up and looked down at me. "I wish to leave."
"Fine. At least put that cloak on. You can't go walking around out there completely naked like you are now." She picked up the brown fabric on the ground and put it over her body. I got up and helped put a rope around her waist to bind the bit of cloth together so no one could see her lower body.
Wait a minute. "Can you turn around?" I asked.
Without responding she turned around and another problem arose. "Your wings are too big. The cloak isn't covering much of your back. Oh, here." I removed a pair of pants from my bag, the same pants that I was wearing earlier in fact, and gave them to her to put on along with a belt.
I turned around and let her put them on in peace, then looked back after a bit to see her wearing them, albeit a bit low due to her tail, but better than nothing. Now she just had her back exposed which wasn't too much of a problem.
"Alright, the way out is the ladder at the end of the hall. After we climb that and take the elevator up, we will go straight to the base here so I can give a report and get you some actual clothes. Oh and…" I walked over to the corpse and pointed at its horn. "Do you mind if I take this?"
"I don't care, it's not my body anymore."
"Alright." I snapped the horn off the dragon, stuffed it in my bag, and walked toward the doorway. I could already see the dragon girl using her wings to fly toward the ladder, and up it before I could even get halfway down the cavern hall.
After hastefully climbing the metal ladder, I met Eve at the top and we rode the elevator up together.
"Why do you trust me, Eve? You seem to not mind going with someone who you tried to kill a few hours ago."
Her gray eyes stared back into my own and her blank expression was on her face as always. "You gave me food, that is good enough for me."
I looked at her dumbfounded as she seemingly didn't notice my gaze. No way she said that just because I gave her some food, she trusts me enough to come with me for a while. No wait, what am I thinking? She knows nothing of this world so she needs a guide. I will do just that, then she will be free to do what she wants with her life.
The elevator reached the top and we headed out of the mine and straight to the base. We moved as fast as we could to avoid strange gazes toward her and myself from the other A-Rays. Through the checkpoint and into the doors, I went straight to the office of requests and threw open the door, shoving her inside and closing it behind us.
"Oh, Mister Edem, you've returned with a guest?"
"Yes, this is Eve. I found her in the mine. She was hiding from the dragon and must've been trapped." I sent Eve a glance that said to 'just go with it,' and luckily, she picked up on it. "Yes, the dragon had me trapped down there and Ado saved my life."
The man removed his arms from the desk and placed them onto his lap. "Does this mean you killed it?"
I nodded my head and reached into my bag. I produced the horn I took earlier which was still undamaged in its transit. "Yes, the dragon was slain and here is its horn as proof." I placed the heavy horn on his desk and he seemed to inspect it. He picks it up and flips it around a few times to cover all of its surface, and then looks back up toward me. "Very well then. Thank you, Grand Saber. We can finally resume our operations and I cannot thank you enough."
I held up my hand to stop him. "I'm just doing my job."
The requester smirked and then opened a drawer in his desk, and produced a black and gold box from it. "I believe I still owe you payment? Here, take it. You've earned it." He placed it on the desk and slid it toward my side.
"Are you sure?" I asked in hesitance.
"But of course. Everyone should be paid for their work."
I took the box and put it in my bag to get it out of my sight for the moment.
"And if there's anything else I could help you with, I will see if I can fulfill that too."
"There is one thing actually. Would you mind letting myself and Eve here stay the night in a spare room if you have any? I wish to stay in this city for a while longer to help her get back onto her feet."
Eve looked at me with her eyes wider than normal, then her wings and tail drooped. "Are you sure? Do you not have anything else to do?"
"It's fine. Don't worry about it." I smiled back at her.
The man turned on a computer monitor and began to type something. "It seems like we do have a spare room. It has two beds as well and enough space to fit both of you just fine if that works for you."
I nodded my head. "That'll work just fine."
"Very well then. I will have that prepared. It will take about two hours so why not look around for a while? Show her around town?"
"There's one problem…" I said while gesturing to her.
The man let out a small chuckle. "Ah right, she needs better clothing. Yes, those will not do at all. If you visit our storage unit, you might find something that can fit her. We have clothing for other special A-Ray kinds, so I'm sure you can find something for her."
He pulled a key out of a drawer. "Use this to open it and if anyone asks, tell them I sent you."
I balled my fist over the key and thanked him for his time, then left with Eve toward the map I saw before. After finding the location, we both headed over there at a brisk pace.
I could see her looking around at everything as we passed by. Things that I was used to seeing all the time were brand new to her. Artwork, decorations, even other people. Of course, they were looking at her with curiosity too. To my knowledge, there were no dragonoid A-Rays, so they probably thought she was strange or defective. But Eve didn't pick up on any of that.
"Heads up, Eve. We're here." Before our eyes was a normal sized metal door with a keyhole under the handle. The sign to its left said "Storage," so I tried the key and sure enough, it worked and opened with a click. Eve folded her wings inward to squeeze through and we were both in the massive room.
"Some storage room this is. It's basically a warehouse. I was expecting something much smaller."
The room was massive, metal shelves lined the space in rows, and each row sorted something different. The lighting was bright and we could see everything we needed to, and the space smelled like dust and antiquity. This room must sit unused a lot of the time, huh?
"Well, let's get to looking around. We can start over here." I said while pointing to the farthest left shelf.
We browsed the shelves for a long time. There was plenty of spare armor and weapons, canned goods, and other common materials scattered amongst the room. But Eve stopped for one particular item near the center of the storage room on a shelf at about eye height for her.
"A dress?" The dress was white and had a silver pattern around the bottom of the skirt. It had no sleeves and was cut off around the armpit area. The fabric would go around the neck, and then would fall like an upside down triangle into the rest of the outfit. But most importantly, the back of it was exposed which would allow her wings to spread out behind her without issue.
"Try it on. See if it fits." I said as I picked it off the dusty shelf and handed it to her. After she took it, I turned around to give her privacy as I could hear her pants and cloak come off. After a short bit of rustling, she tapped my shoulder and I turned around to see that the dress fit her perfectly. Her wings even had room to move around freely just as I thought they would.
"Does it look okay?" She asked while looking at herself. Her skirt swayed as she moved her body.
"Yes, you look good in that outfit. I'm glad it fits." I responded. Eve spun to give me a better look and…she sure was something…
*ahem* "Anyway, let us head out. I can show you the city. I'm sure you want to look around, right?"
Eve gave me a firm nod and we headed on our way outside.
The sun had begun to set when we walked outside. The sky turned an orange tint and the temperature began to drop along with it.
"Ado, where will we go first?" She asked while looking in all directions and at all the structures around us two.
"I was thinking we just wandered around and went to places that interest you or I."
"Alright then." She set off ahead of me with that statement.
The city was packed just like before. The sunset reflected off the white surfaces which littered the population like a cityscape. Sunsets in this world were always very beautiful when combined with the blood red sky which only appeared after Type Pluto's demise.
After wandering around for 30 minutes and looking at the city, we found a shop that sold jewelry and other accessories.
It was a small sized building with a few A-Rays inside doing their own shopping. A box shape was in the center made out of glass, and in the glass were several fine pieces of jewelry.
"What's all this for?" Eve asked while pointing at the glass container.
A Lion A-Ray overheard the question and walked over right away. "That, miss, is a one of a kind necklace. It's made out of silver with a ruby gemstone right here. You wear it around your neck for decoration purposes. It can make you look more beautiful than you already are." Eve stared at it with a look I had never seen on her before. Did she find it beautiful? Or was perhaps just curious about jewelry?
"How much is it?" I asked while pulling out the money pouch.
"That will be ten gold coins, sir."
"Very well, I'll take it." I removed ten gold coins out of the brown pouch and handed it to the man. He gently removed the necklace from the container and placed it into a box and then handed it to me.
The man waved to the two of us as we began to leave. "Thank you for your purchase, have a nice night!"
I opened the door and a bell rang saying that we had left. We both walk onto the street and I hand the box to the dragon A-Ray. "Why did you buy this for me?" The woman asked while looking at the gemstone.
"You seemed like you liked the way it looked, so I bought it for you. I'll help you put it on."
I removed the necklace from its open box and asked Eve to turn around. I put the necklace around her slender neck and clipped the back to secure it.
"There, it's on. It looks good on you, Eve." I said as I looked her up and down briefly.
Eve looked down and touched the ruby. The red gemstone glistened in the sunset and she smiled for the first time. She then looked me in my eyes, her gray pupils shining in the light. "Thank you, Ado Edem. This is the first gift I have ever received in my life. I think so at least. Either way…it means a lot to me. Thank you..."
"It's no problem at all, I'm glad I could make you happy."
Her head tilted in response to what I said.
"What's up with you? Your personality I mean. You barely know me, yet you bought me this necklace and are traveling with me? Plus you saved me in that cave when you could've just left me. Why is that?"
"Why?" I touched the back of my hair and felt around while I thought of an appropriate response. "I like helping people. I have the power to help others, so I should do it. It's the least I can do in this world."
I pointed into the distance. The endless dirt and field stretched into the horizon as the sun grew lower and lower. The wasteland was something that should be ugly and a constant reminder of our dead planet, but at that moment looked quite beautiful.
"In the Land of Steel, everyone's life is difficult. The Aristoteles could show up at any time and wipe out humanity, fighting between or amongst races, unfairness from the higher ups." that last one stung even me to say. "Because of all that, I do my best to make everyone's life, even if only a little bit, better if I'm able to. That includes you. I don't care if we only just met, I'll help you back onto your feet and then we can part ways. I am still on a mission after all and now that the mission is complete, I normally would head back to the City of the World Trees to await orders, but I'm not leaving you until you can be on your own. I promise you that."
Eve's face flushed up ever so slightly, it could've been played off as the sunset, but I personally didn't think it was. "Thank you…" was all that she said, unable to exactly process everything that was said. "I still don't really understand what some of these terms are though."
"Don't worry, you'll learn overtime. Here, come with me." I grabbed her hand and began to lead her all throughout the city, showing her all sorts of things that define the world. After a while, I took her up onto the wall that sat on the west side of the City of Grain, and what we were met with was the full "beauty" of this world.
As expected, all we saw was a mostly baran red field with a few rocks and some long dead trees, but in its own way, it was beautiful to look at. The sunlight came down just right as it set into the horizon, the wind caused a small dust storm to brew, the smell in the air was like wood due to all the Grain around.
I looked over at Eve and she stared into the distance with her mouth slightly open. Despite the view being so empty, what she saw was enough to put her in awe. Her short, white and black hair moved ever so slightly from the breeze, her elf-like ears became visible from under her hair, and the sun reflected off her gray eyes which turned them a shade of orangish red.
"Eve?"
She turned her head to face me, a calm smile was on full display now. "Yes, Ado?"
"…it's nothing, what do you think of this world?"
She looked back toward the horizon and began to speak once more. "I think it's beautiful. There's not much to it…but I do like it anyway. To think I've been underground for so long…"
I put my hands in the pockets of the trenchcoat I was wearing and turned around. "Yeah, I like this world too, but nothing can be done about it anymore. Earth is beyond healing at this point, so we've got to make sure humanity can live as long as it can. That's all we can do. If possible though, it would be nice to restore it some day."
Eve placed her hand on her chest and looked at me with worry, she took one last look at the earth, then moved to follow me.
"Would you like to get something to eat? It's been a few hours and you already didn't eat much before. I'm sure we can find a good place, and I have plenty of money so we can have our fill."
Eve's dragonic tail cutely raised up and started to sway around like a dog wagging its tail. "Yes please."
We walked back to the base of the Ether Liners to dine there. A place that would be less busy so that Eve might feel more at ease. After following the map, we came across a small cafeteria with a few Knights and other officials already eating at the tables.
We noticed the menu and ordering area so we walked over and began to read the long list of food.
"I want to eat meat now." Eve proclaimed and it was settled with just that, we were going to eat meat for this meal.
Instead of being what most women were like, at least in public. She decided to literally stuff her face like a child with a steak without even cutting it up. Of course, everyone was looking at us, and I couldn't just explain to them that she has amnesia and doesn't know proper etiquette, so I did my best to ignore them while also trying to correct Eve in her sloppy way of eating, while at the same time eating my own food the correct way. All in all, it was an interesting experience for everyone in that room. But one thing I did notice was that her tail never stopped wagging as she devoured her steak dinner.
"Jeez, I really have a lot to teach you, Eve." I said to her as I wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Ado, I can eat how I want. There was nothing wrong with that. I was hungry, okay?"
Whatever, as long as she's happy…
I stood up from my chair and she did the same and both walked out of the cafeteria and into the long hallway.
"Now then, I'll show you to the archives so you can learn more. Let's go."
"Archives?"
"It's a place where documents of the past and present are kept. We are able to read over them whenever we want, though some of it is censored unless you have high enough clearance."
Then a certain thought crossed my mind. "Eve, do you even know how to read?"
"Yes, I read that menu just fine didn't I? I might not know what some words are, but I should be able to do well enough on my own."
"Got it then, we should try to make this quick so we can relax in our room for tomorrow." I said.
"Oh, are you tired, Ado?" She questioned me while we walked down the hallway.
"Yeah, that fight against you took a lot out of me, plus an earlier fight I had. I'm out of practice after all."
"Was it really that rough on you?"
"You don't remember?"
She shook her head. "No, as I said before, the first thing I remember is waking up after you cut the dragon body. I don't really remember fighting you at all."
I touched my chin with my hand. "I'm curious about that dragon. Why was it made out of that material, why were you a dragon in the first place, and what are you exactly?"
"What am I? Am I not an ' A-Ray?'" She said while gesturing to her wings and tail.
"I think you are, but you seem stronger than a majority of them and I've never seen them be able to transform like that. You have dragon appendages, so it only makes sense to say that you are an A-Ray, but something's just off to me about all this for some reason. Normally, an Ether Liner Knight would be able to beat an A-Ray no problem, but you were holding your own well enough against me. So I'm just wondering if you happen to be really powerful."
She looked down to the ground, then looked back up with a determined gaze. "Hmm, well maybe I'll learn more at this Archive place."
"I'm sure you will."
We found the archives after a few more minutes of walking and entered through the heavy metal door. We were both greeted with a massive room with several bookcases which contained thousands of books and documents. In the back, we could see several computer monitors that were free to use. The room wasn't empty of course, several people walked the isles and read at tables, a few of the computers were in use, but there were many more available.
I touched her shoulder to signal to her to follow me. We walked over to the computers and she sat down in the metal chair. I pulled up a chair next to her and grabbed the mouse, logging her in, and I quickly gave a rundown on how computers work to the dragon woman.
"What would best suit your interests is a file called 'Angel's Notes.'"
"Angel's Notes? That thing you mentioned earlier?"
"It's a file that contains information around this world like what A-Rays and Ether Liners are, Aristoteles, what the world is like, all that. Though, some of it is censored due to having information that is classified, or would panic people."
"If it's classified, how did the author know?" She questioned.
"No one knows. The author is anonymous, but is thought to be an angel type A-Ray. One day the book appeared at headquarters with no writer in sight. The title was what made everyone think it was an angel who wrote it. And some angel they are since they knew about information that was either classified, or found out later. Are they a profit? An insider? No one really knows. The real copy was locked away for safekeeping, but it was heavily censored online when it was uploaded so people could learn about this stuff while also not knowing too much."
"How strange, but that's what makes it interesting. I'll give it a read then."
I opened the file and the white page popped up with big words reading "Angel's Notes." on top.
She used the mouse and began to scroll through the long document. It listed terms I already told her about such as A-Rays and Ether Liners, as well as the state of the world. Eventually though, the Aristoteles portion was reached
"So these are the Aristoteles things you mentioned? Those aliens?"
"Yes, this is all the information we have on them thanks to that angel. We know some of this already due to fighting them in the past, but others we've never seen before in action, only their silhouettes in the sky."
"I'll give it a read then." She scrolled down and a block of text appeared.
ORT:
Details unknown. Rumour has it that it is a mutant species that suddenly fell into South America before the Christian Era (AD, Anno Domini).
As a creature of aggressive nature, it takes pride in its distinct extradimensional abilities. The previous █████ ████████ recklessly attempted to capture it and was killed instantly. After that, it gained vampiric abilities, which established its treatment as an ████████
An alien entity with an over-all length of █████
meters. It's covered with an outer skin that's harder, more flexible, more resistant to temperature differences, and sharper than any other material on earth.
Besides the main body's absurd attack values, it possesses a special ability resembling a ███████ ██████ ███ ███████ ███████
Type Moon:
Also known as "Brunestud of the Crimson Moon." He takes the form of a human male, but his origins are unknown. He is a passive life form who will not bring you harm as long as you do not harm him. He solely wishes to explore the planet.
There are stories of his defeat long ago the hands of ███████ ████████ ██████████ but that cannot be confirmed as to have actually happened, nor the method of how.
A being that can be called the "King of Vampires" yet is seemingly the only one left these days. He and the planet have a special connection to one another and he can manipulate aspects of it at will.
Type Moon has a ███████ ██████ called ███ ██████████ ██████ █████████
Type Mars:
Type Mars resembles a worm around 200 meters long. It is an aggressive life form that will kill and destroy all in its path without hesitation.
It carries a storm of red dust wherever it travels which can aid spotting it if it is nearby. This dust is toxic to breathe in if enough is inhaled. Sensors and most other technology are interfered with within the storm.
Type Mars has the ability to ███ ███ ██████ ████████ ███ ██ and can █████ ██████ ███████████ ████ ██ ██████ █████ ███ ███████
Type Saturn:
Type Saturn has the appearance of a 3000 meter long flying cross. Its outer shell is composed of an illuminated mineral, and no other pattern can be seen on its surface.
It attacks by raining down one meter, cross-shaped electromagnetic shockwaves from its body towards the surface that explode and destroy the surrounding area on impact. It can generate different types of its "cross lights", such as ones that will bore through the surface in order to cause an earthquake, destroying the very land on which the beings of Earth live. As it passes through different areas, it leaves behind wastelands covered in countless crosses piercing the ground like tombstones.
Status as of April 23, 88: DECEASED
Type Jupiter:
Type Jupiter has the appearance of a black giant several dozen kilometers in size, closely resembling a human. Its true nature is a "group of black photon gas" that can theoretically expand its size infinitely. Its core in the center of its body is an unknown object that can be described as an "artificial sun", and the gasses that make up its body are emitted from that core.
It has the ability to consume areas in gas that are very harmful to all that breathe it in. The gas also has the ability to burn all that touches it due to its core.
Status as of █████████ ██ ██: DECEASED
Type Neptune:
Type Neputune is a cyclone like a tornado which towers at an upwards of ███ meters, but can shrink to be less than that. Once one enters the Cyclone's area of effect, they cannot be saved as they will be dragged into its mass and destroyed by the winds.
Type Neptune is passive in nature and does not seem to be able to track down the residents of the planet, but rather "accidently" wanders into and/or around civilizations which will be destroyed without a reason behind it other than it was in the way of its path.
The Cyclone does not seem to have the ability to think or even have instinct. It will not fight back against attacks, but has its body to protect it from any harm. No abilities of Type Neptune are known, if it has any at all.
Type Mercury:
Type Mercury looks like a mass of silver gel. It has no set form or size, and can shrink or grow to a size not yet documented.
Type Mercury is hostile and will attack any lifeforms in the nearby area. It moves across the surface like water, sliding over all surfaces on the planet.
It's body is extremely hot and will melt through even the toughest of metal. And its body is not solid, but a liquid, so attacking it is not easy. A direct hit to the core is the only way to harm it as it will reform all injured parts of its gel body.
Type Uranus:
Type Uranus is a glacier of ice that reaches ████ meters tall. It can reshape its body by melting and freezing it's body in different ways.
A hostile lifeform that will attack life nearby, trapping them in a polar storm that can reach temperatures of -██ degrees celsius.
Close combat is not advised due to the sheer cold surrounding it in a ███ █████████ radius. Armor and machinery will freeze solid within minutes, and frostbite will appear in seconds. If unprotected, it will only take a few seconds to kill a life form in its storm.
Type Venus:
Type Venus resembles a female humanoid Angel who is white in color. It has golden wings, and a gold halo above its head. It's size is around 10 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide.
Type Venus is hostile and will attempt to kill any life in its area.
It is an invasion type environmental cultivation forest bed that roots itself into the ground and spreads hundreds of millions of spores as it eats away at the planet. It gradually takes its time to investigate its target, and it can select from different seed beds depending on the conditions.
Status as of █████████ ██ ██: INACTIVE
Angel-Type Predation Terminals:
Humanoid females with wings on their backs similar to the "Guardian Angels" species of A-Rays. They are not the angels that were originally of the planet, but rather the falling feathers from Type Venus' wings. While they can be easily defeated by firearms in single combat, their numbers if released all at once would be in the billions.
City of the World Trees:
The city built around its corpse is known as the strangest city within the land of steel as it is the only place on the dead Earth that can naturally support life due to plants being able to grow on it unlike the soil of the dead world. Plants cannot grow on the planet that no longer has the power to support life, but another life not of Earth is able to support them. The vegetation is not particularly healthy, as the trees are gray and a withered grass field on a hill is noted as being special. Its wings, the World Trees, are situated on top of a large hill in the center of the city. Given their name due to their size, they are large enough to reach the sea of clouds and cover the sky of the entire city. While the release of the angel spores was prevented when Type Venus was shot down, its corpse still releases angels from the World Trees at regular intervals. The angels, with the intelligence of wild dogs, constantly attack people in the city, which has led to the formation of various angel hunters to destroy them.
Type Pluto:
Type Pluto is a 150 meter long white and brown whale-like creature.
Type Pluto is hostile in nature and will attack all in its vicinity.
The Whale spends its time flying high over the clouds surveying for the perfect place to attack using a blast of what looks to be water, but the true nature of it is unknown.
Its blood is able to harden and as a result has covered the sky in its blood like a dome, which helps protect the planet from the other Aristoteles descent.
Status as of █████████ ██ ██: DECEASED
After a long time of reading, we finally looked away from the screen. "So these are the things plaguing your world? How interesting, but also terrifying."
"Yeah, these are just a general overview of them too, it didn't go into specifics. They are much more creepy in person, but I pray you'll never have to see one."
"By the way, Ado. If these are supposed to be the strongest being of each planet in the solar system, does Earth have one?"
I looked up at the ceiling and leaned back in the chair. "As far as I know, we either had one and they're dead, or we never had one. None has ever shown up, nor does Angel's Notes have any record of one. Frankly, if there was one still around, I'm sure it would've killed us all already. Humanity did kill its planet after all."
"I see. Well, this has all been very fascinating to me. It looks like there's one more section underneath."
She grabbed the mouse and scrolled down to a section all about Knight Arms.
Knight Arms:
Babies born with a large amount of Grain within them shape the grain as if the grain is bone, and it emerges outside their body upon adulthood as a Knight Arm. The Knight Arms, being created from the unanalyzed Grain, are able to cause various effects with power strong enough to be considered a weapon. Few Liners shape Knight Arms, and those with a Knight Arm powerful enough to fight in the war are considered Ether Liners. Each Ether Liner only has a Single Knight Arm. The Knights are an aggressive species that can fight the powerful A-Ray without any support of the weapons of the old world.
Overgrowth:
If a Knight Arm is used too much, there is a chance it will overgrow and take over the host. The Demonic Sword will continue to grow until the body is covered in the Grain, killing the host, or will no longer have free will of their own, only following what their Knight Arm wishes. In the rare case this happens, it is advised to eliminate the host for your safety, as well as to free them of the pain.
"That sounds awful! Have you ever seen that happen, Ado?"
I touched my chin and recollected for a moment. "No I have not. It's incredibly rare. I know it has happened though according to multiple cases, but I've never personally witnessed it. But I've heard it's awful and is very painful."
"And your Knight Arm is?"
I opened my right hand and manifested a seed. "Slash Emperor. It grows to whatever I deem an enemy's size and is able to cut them in two from there. This includes the Aristoteles. Of course it's not a solve all weapon as you might think it is. I still need proper set up and support. I have all the attack power I need, but it's not like I could tank a direct hit from one. I need a good opening to attack, whether I create one myself, or someone else helps."
"All that power in such a small seed? Knight Arms are strange, aren't they?"
"Yeah, I guess so. I was born with it though, so I'm more than used to it."
Eve let out a yawn and stretched her arms. Her tail went stiff and her wings stretched out as well which invaded other people's space.
"I think I'm done researching for the night. Is our room ready?"
I checked my watch. "Yeah, it should be. Let's get going then." I picked up my heavy bag and we both went to where our room was.
There was a metal door with a keyhole, the plate next to it said 246, which proved it was our room. Opening the door, we were greeted with a small, yet spacious guest room. There were two beds, two nightstands, drawers, a television, and a view of the city. Next to the door we entered though, there was another one which led into the bathroom with normal bathroom things inside.
We both walked in the main room and looked around, I set my bag down and decided against putting everything away since I did not anticipate staying long.
"Hey, Eve. Why don't you take a shower? You've been down in that place for who knows how long, so you should probably wash yourself before bed."
"Rude. But I probably should, shouldn't I? Can you show me how it works?"
"Yeah, I want to see the bathroom for myself anyway."
We both walked into the bathroom and looked around. Just an ordinary bathroom which was light brown in color. I showed her how everything worked and handed her a towel then briskly left the room as I heard the shower be turned on.
There wasn't much to do, so I figured I would write down what happened today in my journal as I am doing now. I've always liked writing down the day's events. It helps me remember them better and it takes my mind off of things, like an easy way to get the weight of my mind off my chest.
I was given a journal years ago by an old mentor, he said it would help me. I thought it was stupid at first, but as anyone could tell, I've warmed up to it. I'm not quite sure where my previous journals went from before I was imprisoned, but I don't really care too much. I'm starting new with this one, and this one seems like it'll be very interesting to read later.
This reminds me, when I have the chance I should try and visit some of my old friends. I wonder if Kai got the promotion he wanted?
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the shower stopping, I didn't realize that I was using the noise from the water as white noise until then.
The door was flung open and out stepped Eve who was completely naked. Her hair was dripping a bit, but being so short, it would air dry fast.
"That was fast." I remarked and looked away as fast as I could. I guess a towel wouldn't work because of her wings and tail. Still, be more careful, Eve.
"I did all that you said I should. I felt like there was no point in staying there any longer than needed."
I walked over to a chair and picked up her dress. "Here, you can wear this to bed."
"Huh? No way. I like the dress but I'd rather not sleep in it. And I can't wear anything else because of my wings and tail. I'll sleep naked tonight."
"Even if there's a man in the room with you?"
"You found me naked and didn't seem to mind, do you even care about a nude woman being around you?" She pouted.
"Yes actually. I just wasn't focused on that part back then. Now that it's peaceful, I absolutely mind."
"Well, I'm not wearing anything whether you like it or not." After that, she climbed into her bed and went under the covers, quickly falling asleep.
She's already out cold, huh? Must've either been tired, or she's naturally fast at falling asleep. I should get some rest too, I've been going all day long.
I got into the other bed and set an alarm for 8:00 am. I would let us both sleep in as a little reward. Even I deserve this, don't I?
I laid on my back, and shut my eyes. Clearing my mind, I prepared to rest for the night. Today was a long and interesting day, but it's time to figure this all out tomorrow. What would I do with the dragon woman? How long should I stay in town? Questions like that vanished from my head as I would think more on it after a rest, and I drifted off to sleep.
March 7th, 81
"But—your honor! Ado didn't do anything wrong! He killed Type Jupiter, no?"
"He did, and that is the issue. Ado Edem has the ability to kill anything in one attack, and that is a problem to society. He could topple governments, kill anyone he wishes without a rival. He's far too powerful to be free." The man with white hair said while seated high above everyone else.
I was sent to trial because of my Slash Emperor. I was deemed a threat and the higher ups wanted me put away for everyone's safety.
"But—!" Clare began to retort, but I put my hand up to silence her. "Clare, it's all right. There's nothing that can be done to change the Crown's decisions."
The room erupted into chatter, most agreed with the ruling, while others disagreed, but everyone knew it was over.
"Ado Edem will be locked away in the Witch Swift Umbrella, escorted and contained by the Six Sisters."
Though, I can't say I was happy about all this. I of course wanted to be free, but I could not find it in myself to be mad at them. The world is done for, so they could not potentially lose everything we still had else to someone like me. Not that I had the intention to take anything from them. I decided then and there to accept all that came my way. Did I want to? No, but I felt like I had to in order to keep the remainder of humanity at ease. A necessary sacrifice.
I was released seven years later to assist with killing Type Saturn, but I did not remember a second of being locked away, like I was sleep the whole time.
When I awoke, the thousands of chains were slithering off my body, and the weight of the chair lifted. Standing was tough at first but I managed after a few minutes. And not long after that I was led out of the place and brought to the surface by…well I can't remember who right now, but they helped me out of there and showed me where the rest of the Knights were. Which brings us to the section I documented earlier.
April 27, 88
The sound of alarms blaring filled my ears as I jolted awake. I looked over and saw that Eve looked startled too as she momentarily flew above the bed in shock.
"What's happening!?" She shouted to try and be heard over the loud, incessant noise.
"This alarm, it's only supposed to be used when there's an Aristoteles' attack." I said out loud to both her and myself. It would be helpful if they said exactly which one it was though!
"Any chance it's just a drill?"
I grabbed my bag and began to remove my black armor from it, putting it on as quickly as I could while I instructed Eve to put clothes on.
"No, this alarm is broadcasted to the whole city. They wouldn't use it for a test; in fact, they could be heavily punished if they did that. That means this is the real deal, but how? Type Saturn JUST attacked!"
"Aristoteles never attack so close to one another, the pattern shows that they attack every few years due to their sleep cycles. Why are we being attacked right after Saturn just died? Coincidence maybe?"
I could hear footsteps and panicked voices rush past my door which proved even more that this was the real thing, that an Aristoteles was at the very least nearby. After securing my armor and seeing that Eve was dressed in the same outfit from the day before, I grabbed her hand and began to pull her out of the room with me with a very tight grip.
Looking in the hall, red lights were flashing, turning it a light red in color. Many people ran for safety while Knights headed in the opposite direction. Honestly, the light combined with the loud noise was almost disorientating to me who just woke up a few minutes ago. The normal residents of the base were screaming in panic and confusion, while the Knights didn't make so much as a peep while running.
"Eve, I need you to follow those people going that way, they'll lead you to a shelter where you will be safe. I'm going with the other Knights."
Her grip only got tighter. "Can't I come with you? I can help!" She said in a desperate and worried tone.
"No, that's far too risky. I don't even know which Ultimate One it is yet. You will remain here until the threat is killed, understood?"
Her teeth gritted and she looked toward the ground momentarily with a heartbreaking expression. "Got it…I understand." Her hand left mine and she ran off following the others with one look back before continuing out of my line of sight.
With a slow turn, I chased after the Knights of varying ranks that were ahead of me and followed them to where the threat was.
Instantly, when I left the base, I could feel the temperature drop by a huge margin. Small snowflakes fell from the sky and icy wind blew through the air. Winter is no longer possible in this world, and snow can no longer naturally fall, so that could only mean one thing…
We all climbed a staircase of the wall made out of Grain on the west side of the city and stood on the top, looking toward the red horizon.
"Anyone see the Aristoteles!?" One Knight yelled at all of us in a questioning voice.
"There! I see it! About eight kilometers at one o'clock!"
I, along with the other Knights, looked in that direction and saw it. The Glacier. The mass of ice slowly but steadily moved toward The City of Grain. And with it came a massive snow storm. The sky grew dark with flakes of snow raining down. The temperature kept dropping as it moved closer and closer to us, and the city.
Type Uranus moved by sliding across the Land of Steel. It's body breaking and reforming as it did so. The ground around it froze instantly, turning from its normal brownish red into a whitish blue color. The sound it made was like an avalanche. Ice and snow scraping on a hard surface, and the sound of ice shattering as it fell off its body and onto the hard earth.
I could see some of the Knights step back in fear, so I did only what I could do at that moment.
"Alright, listen up everyone. There are…20 of you total including myself, and I'm the only Grand rank here as I see no other black capes, so I will take over as temporary Ruler for this mission. I'm sure the City of the World Trees has been notified and is mobilizing, but they won't make it in time. Type Uranus will arrive at the city in about 30 minutes I'm guessing, and it'll take just as long for the Aristoteles airship to even take off." I looked down at the ground, bracing myself for the potential reactions to what I was about to say. "This means it's up to us and us alone to stop it. We have no backup. The 20 of us are going to bring down an Ultimate One."
The crowd immediately erupted into panic. Voices stacked on top of one another, it became a jumbled mess instantly.
"How are we going to be able to do that!?"
"Us alone with only one Grand rank?"
"We don't even have airship support…"
I raised my voice once more, yelling over the crowd! "Everyone! I know it seems hard, but we can do this. Remember, I have the Slash Emperor. If I can get an opening, I can end this with one attack. But to do that, I need all of your help. I can't do it without you all.
They all looked at me with a newfound hope in their eyes.
I looked back over at the Glacier that was slowly approaching our location. "I'll make this quick. Do not get too close or you will freeze rapidly and die due to its storm. Attack from range if you can, and if you need to get close to attack, perform hit and run tactics. Stay airborne as much as you can, if you land, there's a chance the ground will freeze and you'll get stuck and crushed. Are there any Casters here?"
Two people raise their hands, a man and a woman. "I'm Caster Five!" The man said "And I'm Caster Seven." The woman added on. Both of them wore robes with the man wearing a green one while the woman wore a yellow colored one.
"Alright, you two stay behind and provide enhancements to the Archers who will also remain here and attack from range."
I scanned the crowd of twenty Knights. Four Berserkers, five Archers, four Lancers, one Rider, and three Assassins. Including what I just mentioned that adds on one Saber, and two Casters. This lineup isn't great, but it'll do.
"I will allow you to act as you see fit, but don't be stupid, and don't be a hero. I assure you that we will save this city and its residents. We all have important people here, right? Fight for them, fight so they can live another day!"
The crowd screamed cries of war and hope, then put their helmets on. I slid my own helmet on and looked toward the beast. My HUD came on and and systems were all operational.
I activated my jets and I, along with a few other Knights soared into the air and toward the incoming glacier, the Aristoteles of Uranus.