Good things happened this month:

- I finished the rewrites. Chapters from 2 to 5 have been completely rewritten. Not much was changed story-wise (as I didn't want to accidently create some plot holes), but the writing style should be a bit better. I also added light foreshadowing of Samantha on Chapter 5.

Chapters 6,7 and 8 just got some light editing.

That's not all though.

- The artist I'm working with drew me two pics, one of them is Samantha and the other… is a scene. Yes. To celebrate the fact we're so close to the end I've commissioned an entire goddamn scene. The link is in the author's note

- I put a poll my profile, which will have a severe impact on the future. More info also in the author's note.


Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Final Arc - The Longest Day of Planeptune:

Bloodshed on the Holy Grounds


The doors to the Devil's Nest opened, and Hilda stepped inside.

She ignored everyone and everything, her attention was solely on the doors leading further into the building. Time was precious, she shouldn't waste it.

"Welcome to the Basilicom, how can I-"

The receptionist greeted the Possessed Adventurer like any other visitor. Hilda ignored her and walked past her, towards the elevators. The receptionist tried to stop her. "Umm, miss? You need an appoint-"

Hilda stabbed through the woman and walked away. She didn't spare her victim even a moment of thought, as her target was so close. So very close.

People gaped at the scene with dumbfounded silence, while the security guards stepped in to apprehend her. That was the last thing they ever did in their life. Four more people laid dead at her feet, the witnesses started running at the second kill.

Alarms started to ring through the building and shutters covered the points of entry. Hilda simply went through the doors, her body becoming black fiery vapor that melted the metal and glass with little trouble.

"This is an emergency announcement. A dangerous individual has entered the building."

More guards were waiting for her behind the barricade, those were reluctant to approach and more eager to simply shoot her.

The bullets went through the Possessed Adventurer, achieving nothing.

"Security status RED. I repeat. Security status RED."

Hilda started to run, and the guards continued their fire. She killed those who got too close and ignored the rest, her kills were swift and efficient. No mercy for the Devil's helpers but also without pain for their final moments. She couldn't afford to waste time being sadistic. The Devil was most likely already notified of her assault. She needed to be quick if she wanted to have a chance getting to her.

Thanks to Falcom's memories, traveling through the Basilicom was easy. She already knew where the Devil's bedroom was, their office and where the teleporters were located. She also knew how to quickly get there.

"A dangerous individual has entered the Basilicom."

But as she turned around the corner, more guards were waiting for her. This group not only had guns but some of them also had shields and swords.

It didn't help them much. Bullets didn't do anything, the swordsmen were weak and unskilled. Their shields failed to protect them from Gehaburn. The fight was fierce, chaotic and messy, but it was over within seconds. And now Hilda had free access to the elevator.

Operating the panel came to her like second nature, thanks to Falcom's memory of it. Hilda pressed the button and waited.

...Nothing happened.

"This building is now on lockdown."

And lockdown meant that everything that could be used to block her advance would be used. Taking the stairs would take too much time, The Devil was on one of the highest floors of the building.

Hilda had a different way to get there.

She cut open a small hole in the elevator's ceiling and jumped onto the roof. Above her was a very long shaft leading all the way to the top. An emergency ladder was attached to the wall, but that wouldn't be Hilda's route.

Once again she turned her body into flames and then climbed the walls. As she climbed the Possessed Adventurer left small cracks in the concrete and a trail of burn marks, but she didn't care. She was getting closer to the Devil. While the guards searched the bottom floors in hopes of finding her, she will be already finished with her task.

That was what she hoped would happen, but the moment she stepped out of the elevator shaft she knew this wouldn't be the case.

What met her was a room straight out of a cathedral, a very modern one at that. Narrow space with benches on the sides, and a lone path in the middle was the only way through. On the very back of the room was a statue of the very first Devil of Planeptune, highlighted with stained, colorful glass.

But the thing that made Hilda wary was a brunette girl standing before her, wearing a blue coat and a green hair accessory. IF. The Devil's friend. Immortal.

Annoyance.

"What do you think you're doing?" IF asked her. Unlike Hilda she had her weapons still hidden, and her arms crossed. An untrained eye might say that her guard was down, but Hilda knew better. This girl was a step above the bread-and-butter goons she fought on the lower floors.

While Falcom sized up and down her newest opponent, IF didn't take too kindly to the silent treatment. Especially not from someone wearing her friend's face. "I said. What do you think you're doing?"

"This does not concern you, step aside or die like you did before." Hilda said, walking towards IF.

"Oh?" The Guild agent scoffed. "Doesn't concern me, huh? We'll see about that."

IF let her arms fall, and then with a flick of her wrist her Katars were brandished. Both women tensed as they prepared for a hard battle.

Hilda came at her slowly until she got in range, then they clashed with lightning speed. Their weapons interlocked together and IF's face turned into a frown. While Falcom was always taller than IF the brunette was actually stronger than her, thanks to the enhancements. Now however, Falcom had gained a ridiculous boost in her power, IF wouldn't be able to just overpower her.

But IF had two weapons, one for each hand.

So while one blade blocked the sword the other dagger went for Hilda's face. IF expected many things to happen but she did not expect her weapon to simply pass through her face, nor for her friend to simply turn into black vapor.

Her surprise caused her to overextend herself and lose balance, and that was one stupid mistake Hilda used with deadly efficiency. A thrust was already coming to end the battle right when it just started, but IF proved herself to be an agile opponent, twisting out of the way and saving her own life. What was about to be a lethal blow and a swift end turned out to be a mere flesh wound and a cut on her jacket.

The guild agent ducked low and swiped Hilda off her legs. Hilda, surprised by IF's evasion and swift counter, lost her footing and fell - turning into black smoke the moment she hit the floor.

With no target in sight, IF was on her feet and alert. Her mind tried to figure out what just happened and how she would deal with this. She never saw Falcom use this kind of stuff before, not even when she almost killed Blanc. This was new… which made IF really wary about other surprises waiting for her.

Especially when Hilda reappeared behind IF, Gehaburn ready to strike. IF only had a split of a second to react, a quick side step earned her a nick on her arm. A second strike came quickly, too quickly for IF to properly block. While she blocked the blow the force put behind it sent her sprawling across the room.

Hilda's strength was enormous, and she put it all in each of her swings. And also she had the advantage of narrow space. IF only had a narrow path in the middle to fight on, the sides packed with benches too tightly to dodge in.

IF hit one of the benches, which were bolted to the floor, and fell over it. She hit her head against another bench and was left lying on the floor, arms and legs in the air and with her skull cracked against the hard floor.

Hilda waited for a moment for her to move, before walking away. A cracked skull meant IF wouldn't be able to fight anymore, and the Devil was still in the same place like the fool they were. This was Hilda's chance.

The path split into two. Hilda had a choice between going left or going right, but from Falcom's memories she knew that either choice would be correct. This floor was just a gigantic loop with various meeting rooms, one of them even had the Teleporter to the Mercs' Den. Ultimately it didn't matter which door Hilda choosed, as they both were the same distance away from the Devil.

Theoretically she could also go straight through the wall, but the wall here was too thick and also solid. No holes to squeeze through.

"La Delphinus!"

Light erupted underneath Hilda and engulfed her whole. IF was standing behind her, her face of cold fury she felt for the Possessed Adventurer. What Hilda either didn't realize, or has simply forgotten, was the fact that IF had nano-machines swimming in her blood. And those things distributed force and reduced blunt damage.

When Hilda reappeared next to IF, the Guild agent was more prepared.

She moved through Hilda, scattering her like smoke, and stepped into the middle of the room once again. When she looked back Hilda was gone. "Are you seriously going to just pop in and out whenever you want, like a Spy?"

Hilda appeared in front of her, the Gehaburn held highly above her head. IF prepared to deflect the overhead swing, to move it aside and not take the full brunt of Hilda's strength.

She didn't expect this to be a feint though. Instead of a sword IF was hit with a roundhouse kick, that sent her onto the floor again. This time Hilda didn't let IF recover and she moved in for the finishing blow. The Adventurer raised her blade and casted it down to IF's chest. The Guild agent blocked it with both of her weapons, her chest ached from the force pressed on it.

"I-I'll take that as a yes." She stammered.

The floor cracked due to the force, IF grit her teeth as she desperately tried not to die. Hilda however was hellbent on killing her now and pressed the sword further. Now the only thing left for IF was to pray that somebody would save her, or that the Re;Spawn timer would be generously short. "S-Seriously. What happened to you Falcom? This isn't like you!"

She pleaded, but her words fell on deaf ears, as seeing that IF was still not dead, Hilda took a different approach. She kicked IF in the ribs, breaking them and making her gasp from pain, and then when she was stunned and surprised Hilda buried the Gehaburn deep in IF's gut.

The brunette's eyes widened as the cursed blade penetrated her stomach, going as far as to actually make a hole in the floor. The blade was sharp and the stab was clean, IF's body offered almost zero resistance towards it.

"F-Fight it, Falcom." IF said.

Then Hilda ripped the sword out.

...Before stabbing her again.

IF was reduced to incomprehensible gurgles, as blood started to build in her throat and mouth. She looked into the eyes of her killer, seeing once warm gaze of orange (and then blue) eyes now turned into cold glare.

To make sure that the brunette was truly out of the fight, Hilda twisted the blade before getting it back. The Possessed Adventurer didn't spare the brunette a single thought. She simply got her sword out and left the scene, letting IF die alone and in pain. Hilda picked the doors on the right for no particular reason, put her hand on the handle and opened the door.

For a brief moment she caught a glimpse of red, before everything exploded.


"If you're hunting trouble, lad. Yer found it."

Demoman reloaded his Stickybomb Launcher, smiling wickedly at his handiwork. A blind spot, one idiot and an explosive trap. A classic story from the Gravel War. The doors held… somehow. The scottish merc gave himself a mental pat on the back for a job well done.

"Welp, that was easy, eh? Eyelander?"

"It's not done, behind you."

...Ah, he figured.

His body moved outside his will, quickly drawing his own sword and parried a strike that came at him. The Eyelander and Gehaburn clashed together, the force put behind them equal to one another. Demoman and Hilda disengaged and shifted into their stances, looking for an opening to exploit.

"Finally lost yourself, didn't you woman?" Eyelander said, taking over the body of the merc and speaking as him. "Really bold of you to just barge in like that."

"This needed to be done." Hilda answered.

"Because decapitating the heads of state always worked so well." The other ghost said. He took slow steps to the left while Hilda stepped to the right, and now two possessed fighters were walking in circles, just like Eyelander wanted. "The moment the ruler's gone, anarchy comes in. People on top rush in to fill the power vacuum, people on the bottom suffer the consequences. You want this nation to go through something like this?"

"The alternative is worse."

"Oh yeah? How?" Demoman stopped and pointed the possessed blade at his kindred spirit. Not by a coincidence, he was also putting himself in Hilda's path. "Enlighten me." He challenged.

"People are dying, killed by you at the orders of her. And more will die in the future as well. Something like that happened before, and it wasn't pretty." Hilda explained.

"Well… we stopped. So they won't be dying anymore." At Eyelander's command Demoman shrugged. "And while Neptune might not be the best ruler, I've seen worse than her. And Histoire keeps everything stable."

"People will still die, I guarantee you that. And I don't have much time to talk, so get out of my way!" She charged at the merc with a strong swing. Demoman blocked it, but the force pushed him away for a few centimeters.

Hilda attacked again, but with no luck in breaking through Demoman's guard. Unlike IF, he had some bulk in these enhanced muscles of his, so he could take her hits better than the Guild Agent. For her 3rd attempt Hilda charged her SP, while Demoman pulled out the Iron Bomber.

He shot the grenade with just one hand, but accuracy wasn't his goal. Eyelander wanted to get Hilda to stop. If she managed to use Falcom's skills then he would be in trouble, as Demoman didn't have an equivalent of those.

The grenade hit the adventurer and blew up, scattering her like smoke. This also had the intended effect of interrupting her skill. Demoman threw away his grenade launcher and charged at the spot where Hilda was about to reappear.

The moment she did their swords clashed once more, but this time their engagement was like a dance of death. Two fighters continuously traded blows and blocks, not letting each other go and pressing onto every advantage they found. Demoman was taller and had longer reach, while Hilda was more maneuverable and had armor protecting her limbs.

Then when it was Hilda's turn to strike her hand started to shake. She didn't swing as fast as she meant and that gave Demoman the opportunity. He slapped the Gehaburn away and slashed at her torso. When Hilda expected to turn into flames and avoid the blow, Demoman instead drew blood.

The Possessed Adventurer screamed in surprise and took a step back, manually disappearing just before the Eyelander was thrusted where she was just a moment ago. Instead of hitting flesh the sword hit the wall, but the Eyelander counted that as a victory.

"Surprised? I'm also a ghost. Your trick won't work on me."

Hilda reappeared quite far away from Demoman, clutching her bleeding injury. She grit her teeth and tapped into her SP sources. "Tear-All!" Green light washed over here and after just a second she was back to the fighting shape.

Demoman stood there and waited, time was on his side after all. Hilda had to go through him, and every second he bought gave his team more time to regroup and gear up.

So he stood there, as one of few obstacles who could actually harm Hilda Gehaburn.

"So what will you do once you kill them, huh?" He asked.

"Rest peacefully, knowing I broke the circle." She answered, moving back into her stance.

She charged her SP, and her sword started to glow. Demoman tensed, realizing that tossing the grenade launcher aside to save time was not the wisest long-term decision. She moved into a different stance, raising her sword as highly as possible. Demoman braced himself. Hilda unleashed her strike.

"Luminous Blade!"

A wave of energy annihilated everything in front of her. The doors and entire hallway was destroyed, and the wave of energy did not stop until it reached the end of the hallway, at which point it kept going.

Demoman was nowhere to be found.

...Because he and Eyelander were cowering around the corner, fearing for their lives and wishing that they would never ever need to do something so outrageously stupid again. Next time their primary stays on them the whole time.

They also just remembered they had the Stickybomb Launcher the whole time.

Hilda saw the destruction in front of her… and huffed. She actually wanted that attack to hit and kill Demoman, not miss entirely. However she knew where he was hiding, his leg was peeking from the wall. It was time to end it, one way or another, then she can focus on the Devil.

A pillar of fire smashed into Hilda, engulfing her whole body in heat and making her trip and fall. She turned those flames black and made them vanish. The Possessed Adventurer looked back at the source of this attack, and what she saw genuinely surprised her.

IF, covered in blood and with a cauterized holes in her stomach, stood with one arm outstretched and the other on the chair for support. Just her survival was enough to surprise Hilda, but she also changed her looks to boot. Her hair had turned blonde and her coat became red, her katars lay on the ground and instead there were flames covering the tips of IF's fingers.

The Guild agent has underwent the Flame Awakening while Hilda's attention was elsewhere.

"W-Well, is that all you got?" IF said.

Suddenly, the Devil was the least of Hilda's concerns.

Surrounded by two formidable opponents, one hard to kill and the other able to injure her. Hilda realized that she actually needed to run, fighting these two would take too much time. Time she didn't have.

Hilda ran towards the other door. Demoman chased after her while IF swung her arm, a wall of flames appearing between the Possessed Adventurer and the exit. But that was fine, Hilda turned her body into black flames and disappeared.

Then with another flourish of her limb IF forced her back.

Flame Awakening granted the user total control over fire. They could conjure new flames or do anything they want with the existing ones. So when Hilda turned herself into flames to avoid the obstacle, she unintentionally allowed IF to take control over her.

And IF utilized this… by complete accident. The Guild agent just wanted to spawn another firewall near the exit, and instead she turned Hilda back into her human form.

Hilda stopped herself before she burned into the crisp. When Demoman reached her, she locked her sword with his, grabbed him and then shoved him into the firewall. IF quickly killed the flames she placed.

"Crimson Slash!"

Then IF ducked as Hilda swung her sword at her, releasing a shockwave which cut through the benches in its path.

Instead of continuing the fight, Hilda turned tail and ran while both IF and Demoman were still recovering.

Hastened by the sense of urgency Hilda cleared the hallway within seconds, IF and Demoman were chasing her but they were too far away to do anything. She just needed a moment. One moment to deliver one good strike and everything after that was of no concern. They could kill this body for all she cared, she has done her job.

When Hilda reached the Devil's chamber, one thought occurred her. Just one, but a very chilling one.

Why hasn't the Devil moved yet?

Ever since the alarms rang, the Devil was sitting in that one spot. Hilda cut through her security, got onto this floor and even fought her friends and she was still idly sitting in the same room as ever. Something was wrong.

She cleaved the doors opened and peered inside, and the answer to this mystery was obvious.

There weren't any CPUs on this floor.

Three people were inside. All of them Hilda knew from Falcom's memories, one even Hilda recognized from her own memories. But none of them were a CPU.

Machias and 5pb stared at Hilda with wide, surprised eyes. 5pb was inching away in terror while Machias put himself in front of her with his gun aimed at Hilda. Histoire meanwhile stared at the Possessed Adventurer from behind her desk, her expression neither surprised nor angry. Just resigned. "I see this worked. It's good to see you again, Falcom. If we can even call you that."

It was a trap, and Hilda couldn't be blinder if she didn't notice it. She has been so focused on killing the Devil and defending herself from interlopers that she didn't actually put any thought as to why they didn't act yet.

"A Decoy?" Hilda said.

"I've been fearing the ASIC's attack on our building for quite some time, so I had a few contingency plans prepared." Histoire sighed. "I take it you're Gehaburn, yes?"

"Hilda Gehaburn, Histoire. Did Uzume's wish make you forget me too?"

The Oracle frowned at the name, trying but failing to remember where she heard it. "I… don't know what you're talking about, but instead of inquiring further I'll have to arrest you. You've killed some very good people working here, and you're a threat to the nation as a whole."

Histoire didn't imagine she would be defending the Basilicom from one of Nepgear's friends, but ever since that talk with Falcom she feared that this would be necessary. Behind Falcom, or Hilda as she re-introduced herself, Histoire saw IF and Demoman ready to back her up.

Histoire tapped into her SP and a glyph appeared underneath Hilda. Four orbs surrounded her, each one was volatile and represented a different element: Fire, Earth, Water, Wind.

"Machias, 5pb, you're free to hide behind the desk." Histoire said.

And then at Hilda Gehaburn's command, the whole area went dark.

"Let's end this."


Histoire, Demoman and IF found themselves on top of a tall pillar. Dark, starry sky surrounded them, filling them with an uncomfortable feeling of dread and awe. Underneath their feet was a glyph made out of green flames, and they were right in the middle of it.

This was space Hilda controlled. This was her strongest attack, her EXE Drive. It interrupted anything and always had a priority over anything else. The spell that Histoire cast was gone, and the Oracle quickly realized she couldn't cast anything else.

What's worse was that she somehow recognized this attack. She didn't know where was the last time she has seen it, but everything about this scenery was familiar to her.

And every part of her mind told her to go up quickly.

"It will come from below!"

The Oracle cried out as she hovered higher, hoping that she'll avoid doom simply by getting as high as her book would allow her. Demoman and IF ran but the pillar and the center of the glyph simply expanded, keeping them in the middle. You couldn't run away from it, you needed to get high to avoid it, however neither Demoman nor IF knew this, and Histoire failed to notify them.

"Strike! Mortal Punishment!"

At Hilda's command huge spears burst forth from the ground, impaling both Demoman and IF and raising them above the ground. Their bodies were broken and their blood spilled, as more and more spears spread them apart. Histoire winced at the gruesome image. She herself avoided any harm, thanks to her altitude and tiny frame.

Shortly after the skill ended and the dead bodies of Demoman and IF fell onto the floor. In pieces. They looked like they faced their death through a firing squad, before getting ripped into shreds by two Fenrirs. Their bodies quickly disappeared as the Re;Spawn System took them in, but 5pb and Machias still bore witness to the gruesome image.

The idol screamed in fright, unnerving both Machias and Histoire as Hilda stood before them. Still covered in blood. Machias pointed his Enforcer at the Possessed, his arm shaking, Hilda however spared them no thought. Her focus was solely on Histoire, and the Oracle suddenly felt less confident about her chances of survival.

"So you do remember." Hilda said. "Once Samantha and the True Goddess uncensored the real history of this world, I too started to remember few forgotten facts. You should too."

Histoire created and prepared more and more projectiles to shoot Hilda with. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm also not interested in that. I just want you gone."

And instead letting Hilda say anything, Histoire unleashed every single magic spell she prepared. Explosions shook the Basilicom as projectiles of all elements were fired with a single intent: kill Hilda Gehaburn. The enormous firepower that Histoire unleashed alone outmatched anything that the mercenaries could do together. The Oracle of Planeptune would destroy the whole building if it wasn't the fact she has designed the walls of her office to specifically withstand such an onslaught.

And none of them hit Hilda.

"First you start off with your strongest attack, just like last time."

The Possessed Adventurer appeared and disappeared as the projectiles came at her. Few of those she even reflected back to hit other projectiles, buying herself space for her next step. Homing missiles couldn't follow her, she moved in-between the spread shots, and the projectiles straight-as-bullet couldn't even hope to getting close to her.

Histoire just unleashed an equivalent of an airstrike combined with an artillery bombardment, and Hilda came out of it unscratched.

In fact she got close enough to take off Histoire's head.

Histoire ducked and dropped down as Gehaburn came at her neck, the cursed purple blade came close enough to snatch her headdress. Then Hilda sent a roundhouse kick at her, and the Oracle had no way to dodge. She screamed as she and her book were flung across the room, hitting the wall with a splat before dropping onto the floor.

"Predictable, and even more unskilled than before. You've lost your edge, Histoire."

Hilda didn't hesitate to rush over there and end it, and Histoire was too stunned and in pain to do anything. If the Oracle died then the Devil would be exposed, and then truly nothing would prevent her from carrying out her duty, and the revenge of her kindred spirit.

So Hilda raised her blade and brought it towards Histoire's body.

And with a deafening bang she missed. Embedding the sword a milimeter away from Histoire.

Hilda turned her head towards Machias, who alongside 5pb looked like a small prey near the predator. The smoking barrel of the Enforcer notwithstanding. If he hadn't made that shot, Hilda would have just killed Histoire and left. If he didn't act at all then he would live.

But he has saved Histoire, and that made him an enemy of Hilda.

"I would've let you live if you stood by. But now you've signed your death warrant."

It wasn't clear who screamed louder, 5pb or Machias. But when Hilda started dashing towards the terrified duo Machias started to shoot his gun. None of the bullets found their mark on their target but Machias, even when fearing for his life, won't let fear freeze him completely.

But he, like any normal person, found himself scared shitless when the possessed woman reached him and attacked without hesitation. He put his gun between the sword and himself, preventing Hilda from killing him outright.

Machias stared at Hilda's glowing green eyes and felt terror filling his mind, especially when he got a first-hand taste of Hilda's sheer strength. 5pb squawked as she was being crushed between the wall and Machias's back, while the former goon fought against the death incarnate to save his own life. The blood-stained visage of Falcom's face was burned into Machias's memory, and her chillingly cold voice would haunt him for ages.

Then they were saved, as Histoire got up for round 2.

An icy spike erupted under Hilda's feet, forcing her away from Machias. She spun around to block a projectile coming at her, before continuing the circle and striking Machias once more. This time the Gehaburn found a small knife deflecting the attack.

"Stay away from them, I'm your opponent." Histoire said firmly, firing off a thin beam of light.

Hilda reflected it with her sword, while simultaneously punching Machias onto the floor. "He saved you, and he'll die for that." Hilda said, and raised her sword to finish off Machias.

"Get away from him!"

5pb screeched and threw the first object her hand could grab - the desklamp. It went through Hilda's body and shattered on the wall, but it bought Histoire enough time to save Machias.

And Hilda was livid.

"Fine. You can ALL die!" The Adventurer said before turning into flames and melting into the carpet. She didn't reappear again, instead she ignited every single flammable object she could get her hands on, before waiting at the sole entrance of the room.

Histoire tried to extinguish the flames but they wouldn't die. 5pb and Machias started to sweat from the heat, both of them panicking because of the intensity of the flames and at how wrong they looked. Those weren't the usual orange flames or cursed green, but black as an ink inferno, consuming everything within Histoire's office… and Hilda waited for anyone to even dare to leave.

She wasn't idly waiting though. She raised her sword to strike and charged it with her SP, making it glow with brilliant light.

Histoire fired a shard of ice at her, trying to get her to scatter and cancel the skill, but Hilda just took it. She allowed the ice to impale her stomach just so she could get that one decisive blow.

Machias and 5pb hid behind the desk, but it was no use.

"Luminous blade!"

A wave of energy flooded the office, annihilating everything inside. The desk was reduced to ash, the wall that was designed to withstand Histoire's attacks was destroyed, the floor and ceiling were gone… and Histoire, 5pb and Machias lay dead at Hilda's feet.

Histoire was dead, and without her Hilda Gehaburn could finally sense the real location of the Devil.

And not just one, there were two of them. They were sticking together like a good pair of sister.

And Hilda was coming for them next.


Nepgear had a bad feeling.

"Okay guys, you know how we used to do it. Orderly, and without pushing. That's right, you're doing fine!"

Even when her big sister tried to appease the endless crowd of workers, all walking into an emergency entrance of the bunker, the CPU Candidate couldn't help but to feel like the whole world was about to crumble.

After all her Basilicom, not Planeptune but her own home was being invaded. Nepgear didn't know who was invading, but she knew it was someone powerful and all of them were caught off guard. The mercs were scattered and unready, so it would take time for them to gear up. Blanc was too busy trying to sort out Soldier's mess and Rom and Ram were… somewhere. IF was the only one who was more-or-less ready to fight, so Histoire sent her to buy time with security, while sending Nepgear, Compa and Neptune to help with the evacuations.

Buy time. Nepgear didn't like this word. It sounded like they wouldn't be able to handle whoever was invading them.

Why Histoire sent them to help evacuate the workers? She and Neptune should be out there, dealing with the threat roaming their hallways. There wouldn't even be much risk in that, considering her sister was immortal while Nepgear had the Re;Spawn System protecting her.

"Ge-Ge, is something wrong?"

Compa broke her out of her thoughts, planting her hand on Nepgear's shoulder. The Candidate shook her head. "No, it's just I feel like we should be doing… something. Right? I mean someone just attacked us."

"But keeping people safe is doing something." Compa said. "If we did not, then something could happen to them."

If they weren't here to ensure their safety, then whoever was invading could harm them. And a CPU should place her own people above everything else, so maybe Histoire was right when she sent them to oversee the evacuations. Compa was also there if someone needed some medical attention, and this time instead of the usual Quick-Fix she has been running around with Medic's Medi-Gun.

Nepgear could understand why Histoire did this, but...

"I'm still worried."

She was worried because she sent IF to buy time. Why did she have to word it like that? If Histoire used literally any other expression then Nepgear wouldn't feel so anxious.

"Iffy can respawn and has new powers. She will be fine." Compa reassured.

Nepgear however didn't share her optimism. The heavy feeling in her gut wouldn't go away with just a few words, and every tremor they felt only intensified that emotion. The fight over there was heated, and she didn't know anything about who they were fighting. She could only hope that the mercenaries already joined the fight.

"Hey! What's with the sad face!"

As if the universe really didn't want Nepgear to feel sad, her sister joined into the conversation. People stared at the scene, but those who stopped were either shouted at or outright pushed to keep moving.

Because their goddesses or not, this was still an evacuation.

"Ge-Ge is worried about Iffy." Compa explained.

After hearing that Neptune rolled her eyes and dismissively waved her hand. "Oh please. Iffy's a bonafide badass, and she got one of the mercs to help her too."

The CPU Candidate blinked, her anxiety subsiding at the mention of the mercenaries. "R-Really? Who's fighting?"

"Uhh, Demo I think. That drunk guy with one eye."

"Mr. Demo." Compa nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah!" Neptune snapped her finger. "So see, there's nothing to worry about. The mercs are already fighting and they're like… super OP. So everything will work out great!"

A beat and then another as the corners of Nepgear's mouth started to turn upwards. Because if the mercenaries were already engaging whoever invaded them, then the situation would be resolved quickly.

Neptune laughed nervously and then grabbed Nepgear by the shoulders. For reasons unknown to anybody else the CPU started pushing her sister into a different spot. "Also could you... um… stand over here, please? Thanks!"

Both Nepgear and Compa were confused at that. Out of curiosity they both looked at the spot Neptune pushed her sister from, and that's when they saw it. On the ceiling there was a dark… something there. A swirling mass of flames that slowly rose and took shape, slowing turning itself into some sort of cocoon.

Neptune didn't like what she saw. "E-Everyone stop!" The CPU commanded, drawing her sword. The line of people stopped at her command and stared, a few backing away from the cocoon. "G-Guys! East wing! G-Go through the east wing! I repeat! East wing! Go!"

And then people started to panic. Running in the opposite direction of where they were going. The order and composure was gone, and replaced with screams and chaos.

But when the cocoon burst open and a person fell out of it, people panicking were suddenly the least of Neptune's concerns. As that person dropped onto the floor and charged right at her sister.

And to Nepgear's shock she saw Falcom charging right for her, sword in hand and already poised to strike.

Neptune got in front of her and deflected Falcom's attack. Then the CPU retaliated and slashed her sword across Falcom's arm. The sword went through her, but it didn't do any damage. Upon contact Falcom's arm turned into a mist… with the rest of the body soon following.

Instead of wasting her time fighting with an alert CPU, Hilda decided to take out the shell-shocked one first. After all, she was just dumbly standing there, while staring at her former friend's face. Just like Hilda hoped she would.

Hilda bypassed Neptune and stood in front of Nepgear. The Candidate recoiled as her mind finally caught up as to what was happening, but it was too late. The Gehaburn was already in motion.

As a last desperate measure Compa turned the Medi-Gun towards Nepgear and activated the Übercharge.

It didn't help at all, as the Gehaburn still went right through Nepgear.


Histoire opened her eyes… screaming.

Her mind on alert, she stood up and looked for Hilda… only to hit a desk lamp and knock it over.

The sound of glass breaking made her lash out in a random direction... with a fireball. The fiery projectile hit the wall and charred the wallpaper.

Then her mind finally realized where she was. She wasn't fighting in her own office but somewhere else, she wasn't lying on the ground but rather tucked into a bed. She wasn't fighting Falcom anymore. She… was defeated.

The Oracle took a few deep calming breaths and observed her surrounding. She recognized the room as Medic's personal quarters, in fact there were still those holes in the wall from the last time she was here.

She still had her outfit, and her book and headdress were lying beside the bed. Above her was the Kritzkrieg keeping its healing beam on her.

"Hello?"

And standing in the corner of the room was Compa, one of the people that Histoire wanted to see first. The Oracle another deep breath and sat on the bed. "Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Falcom escaped…" Compa said, her voice dying out. "T-That w-was Falcom, right?" The Nurse asked.

"Unfortunately so."

While she wasn't in control, it was still her own voice and her own body. "Falcom was… possessed, if you haven't heard that already. And it appears she has completely lost the control of herself." If the way she acted wasn't enough, her eyes were proof enough. The similar effect appeared on Demoman whenever he used the Eyelander.

"Neptune was devastated the whole time." Compa said. Histoire understood why, Falcom was one of the few female friends her sister has. To learn that she, even when possessed, was the one invading them would surely break Nepgear's mind.

"Are Nepgear and Neptune okay?"

But Histoire needed to know if heartbreak was the only thing that happened to them. Once Hilda defeated her, there was nothing protecting Neptune and Nepgear. Hilda would surely go for them next.

"Neptune is fine but Nepgear…"

Compa paused. Compa paused and that was the worst possible thing she could've done to Histoire. The Oracle caught onto that pause and assumed the worst. And seeing that Compa had trouble relaying that information to Histoire just made it worse.

"Compa…? What happened to Nepgear?" The fairy demanded. She needed to know what happened. Even if she preferred not to know, to deny that anything has happened, she needed to know what the fuck happened to Nepgear.

"I'm still working on Nepgear. You should see this."

Compa stood up and walked towards the doors. Both of them avoided each other's gaze, opting instead to stare at the floor. Lots of thoughts were running around Histoire's head. Assumptions of what happened to the Candidate, questions as to why Compa didn't let her just Re;Spawn didn't fix and trying to make a plan on what to do next. There was even a theory that the Neptulium was somehow involved in it as well.

Histoire silently climbed onto her book, placed her headdress where it belonged to and followed Compa out of the room.

The hallway was devoid of people, possibly for the best as Histoire didn't feel like talking with anyone. But on the other hand... lashing out at the mercenaries or Blanc for not being there would perhaps be therapeutic for her mental state.

Compa opened the doors to the Medical Bay and allowed Histoire inside.

Vaccinator and Medi-Gun were attached to the ceiling. Every piece of equipment that Compa had was used here, there were even two Dispensers for good measure. And the sole target of all of this was Nepgear, lying on a surgery table… with two blank eyes staring right at Histoire. There wasn't even an ounce of light or emotion in her gaze.

Histoire's heart started to break. As a last resort she turned her head towards Compa, who was watching the Candidate with teary eyes.

The Nurse sniffed... before breaking completely. "N-No matter what I do, Ge-Ge won't wake up. Re;Spawn can't fix her, M-Mr. Medic is gone a-and I don't know what to do."

Tears also ran down Histoire's face.


Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Final Arc - The Longest Day of Planeptune:

Bloodshed on the Holy Grounds


And this marks the start of our final arc. With Nepgear… out of commission. It was really, really fun writing this chapter, especially once Hilda vs Histoire started.

Some of you guys have been expecting another Mercs vs Threat battle, and I gave you a short Eyelander vs Gehaburn. But did any of you expected Histoire to start fighting? Or Machias even?

Me neither, but it was an interesting idea that I got on a whim.

At first I wanted to kill off Neptune, but then my editor pointed that that she just woke up. So I have decided to switch it up and have Hilda stab Nepgear instead.

Don't worry.

It will get worse.

Images:

Samantha: htt(ps:/i.()imgur.(com/AXkhPDO.()png

Scene: htt()ps:()/i.()imgur.()com/3DozQUT.()jpg

A version without subtitles: htt()ps:()/i.()imgur.()com/qtwckli.()jpg

And now for the info about the poll.

So seeing as we are near the end, I've thought to myself 'why not invest just a little more time to start a new project?' I've been talking about what I would write after RED-Contract all this time, and maybe it's time to finally do it.

I remember also talking that I already have few projects in consideration (Author's Note in chapter 45). I forgot if I said something more about these… but few of these plans have changed.

I've decided to drop the XCOM / Touhou fanfic because I don't know much about Touhou. But I know enough to realize there are few fundamental problems with the premise (namely Yukari wouldn't allow it, Reimu would be untouchable for the aliens) and while I do have ideas to to solve these problems, I'm pretty sure I would piss off half of the touhou community by doing so.

Also I don't know much about Touhou and it's really hard to learn the characters. Games don't really explain much and fan works are… fan works.

(+)

For the RWBY fanfiction… for this one I'm unsure. I do have ideas, many ideas that could be interesting if handled correctly… or turn everything into complete shipwreck if not.

At least if it does turn out to be a shipwreck then at least I'll know what to avoid when starting my own novel.

Have you read a Neptunia fanfiction named "Goddesses Save the Queen" written by Good Old Hoxton? Because this project will be heavily inspired by that fanfic. I'll also take few elements from works such as "Madness Combat" by Krinkles. (An animation series that you can find on YT)

It would be yet-another MC from Earth in Remnant but with few twists. First of all; RWBY as a show wouldn't exist, the MC wouldn't know anything about Remnant.

And he'll also be a slav, with another slav for comedy. Because kurwa and cyka blyat do not mix together.

Like I said, I got ideas where to go with it, maybe I'll change few things if I need to, but if you guys really want I could write it.

I already have 1 really good plot twist in my mind that I want to try writing, inspired from Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki and AO no Kiseki.

(+)

As for the prequel to RED-Contract (which will be Fairy Fencer F fanfic)… nothing really changed, but my motivation to write it is low for several reasons. 2 main reasons are: I've grown tired of all Idea Factory games, including Fairy Fencer F and Hyperdimension Neptunia, and writing this story wouldn't actually give me a lot of traffic.

Fairy Fencer F is a really small community, which hurts because I love when people notice and review my work, and also it would be related to RED Contract. People would take a look at it, see that this is a prequel to a different fanfiction and most of them will go away.

...I could write it, but only if the demand for that is high.

So now let's talk about new projects.

- I had a really good idea to make a XCOM and Fire Emblem crossover. Yes, XCOM and Fire Emblem (The Blazing Blade to be more specific). It would be about Annette Durand, the Volunteer, flinging herself into Fire Emblem universe after the ending of XCOM: Enemy Within.

A lot of XCOM crossovers bring the other universe into XCOM, not me though. I'm going to bring XCOM into Fire Emblem, and have Annette try to learn how to live in a medieval world and show that vastly superior technology won't actually turn you into god. After all, you're cut off from the modern civilization.

As a fun fact I even talked about this with DrAmishMD (the author of XCOM: RWBY Within and XCOM: Remnant Unknown, both very great RWBY / XCOM crossovers), and he liked the idea and the intro I sent him piqued his interest.

(Yes, 1st chapter of that one is already done)

- I also got a vastly different RWBY project, a crossover with Terraria.

This is something me any my editor cooked up with. Portals have appeared in Remnant and Terraria, connecting both worlds together. The kingdoms of Remnant scramble to explore the new lands and hope to gather its resources.

But they find it already occupied, by a person with enough power to single handedly crush all kingdoms.

This one something me and my editor already figured out how it should end, got the foundation for the Terrarian's personality and made outlines for few interesting scenes. So unlike the RED-Contract I'm not going to blindly stumble around for 200k words before finding out how I really want to end the story.

It also satisfies my weird obsession with writing overpowered protagonists. Seriously every project I thought about has an OP MC and I'm not sure why.

Even RED-Contract falls into this category! Just look at the mercenaries and Samantha!

My heart wants to write all of them but my brain knows I can't do that. So I'll be leaving the choice to you. Lazy approach, I know. But I'm gonna do it anyway.

Responses:

- AngelTheDragon1992

Yes, RIP Rick May.

- Mustafao0

Let me tell you, when I started out my TF2 fanfic I had no idea how to write either. I mean, you can see how poor quality was in the early chapter. You'll learn eventually.

Also TF2 and Warhammer? I have a friend who could be interested in that.

- YORCHspartan117

Are you satisfied with this chapter? Because to be honest you made me go 'oh shit' when you reminded me that we still didn't have Gehaburn vs Eyelander. So everything that happened here was born thanks to you.

Thank you. You helped me show everyone how utterly fucked this finale is going to be.

Because I guarantee you, it will get worse than that.

No CPU vs Hilda though, as Hilda would utterly wipe the floor with any CPU that's unfortunate enough to meet her. It would be a curbstomp battle.

Instead you got a surprise in from of Histoire vs Hilda.

- Harmless Orange