Uzume couldn't forgive herself.
No matter how much everyone told her it wasn't her fault, Uzume still felt guilty.
No matter how many times Hilda reassured her that she was fine, Uzume saw the cracks on her mask.
Despite making a strong face, Hilda had suffered deeply. The loss of her family weighed heavily on her mind.
And yet, she didn't resent her. Instead Hilda forgave Uzume for her actions.
But Uzume couldn't. The Goddess couldn't forgive herself, and seeing how easily her friend forgave her just hurt even more.
The words left her mouth without a second thought.
"I wish you hated me."
And her wish brought the end of the world.
Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract
Unkindred Spirits
The world around them shook, interrupting Hilda. The shaking itself wasn't anything new, but the sound that echoed through the chamber was. It sounded like something massive and metallic snapped, and it felt like it was coming right from within their minds.
Nepgear barely avoided tumbling over, a dropping of the guard that would've easily cost her life if her mortal enemy wasn't similarly stunned. Instead, Hilda's focus had turned from Nepgear towards the ceiling, as if she could see something that Nepgear couldn't. The Candidate could still feel that something had changed, even though she struggled to describe exactly what, other than a vague notion that the world had become less… real.
"I… I don't understand." Hilda said just as Nepgear considered asking what the hell just happened. "Not only could I not possess him, but he also managed to break the sword. How?"
The sword was broken? Then that means the others outside are safe, right? The Candidate had to quickly suppress the smile that surfaced. She didn't want to infuriate Hilda any further by rubbing salt on the wound, and besides, Falcom had to die for this to happen…
Fortunately for her, Hilda hadn't even thrown a glance her way. "He's just a human, isn't he? Is there more to him than I could see? Or is the sword just that damaged? Or…" The woman's voice trailed off. The silence lasted so long that for a moment Nepgear thought that Hilda actually wanted her input on this dilemma.
Then Hilda's disbelief faded, leaving only coldness on her features once more. "No. It doesn't matter. The sword could no longer pierce the devils. It was already over."
Nepgear watched as her enemy turned back towards the monument to Arfoire, a calm yet melancholic air around her. Nepgear wasn't sure what to do, whether she should try to console the woman who had seemingly given up on her misguided quest at last, and even more importantly try to convince her to release her soul from the weapon.
Hilda was her nemesis, sure, but she was also the only one she could talk to anymore. And the only person who knew this place. Nepgear didn't know how to escape by herself. She needed Hilda to do it. There was also a strange feeling of dread within her chest, and it wasn't caused by the woman in front of her. It was something else. Ever since she heard that sound she felt like time wasn't on her side.
Gathering the courage to speak was hard, but Nepgear managed to force herself into saying a few words. "W-Well… If your mission is already impossible, can you please let me go?"
Hilda's gaze snapped back to her, causing Nepgear to flinch. "I… I'm sorry about everything that happened." She said, feeling her heartbeat quicken just from having the woman's attention, "If I could help you I would. But I can't just stay here with you forever. I have to go back to my sister, to my friends. I want to protect this world, and make sure tragedies like what happened back then don't happen again. …Please."
Nepgear didn't have any choice but to plead and appeal to what little bit of kindness she knew was somewhere still inside this wish-born embodiment of hate. She was hoping to see a flicker of that warmth in those eyes, a wavering of resolve. Something that would suggest that Nepgear's words were taking an effect. That there was light in even the darkest abyss!
But that apathetic gaze only grew colder.
"You're right about one thing: You can't stay here forever." Hilda began, letting her words hang in the air just like Nepgear's hopes, before the inevitable crash. "The Gehaburn is too damaged. Its power is destabilizing and this inner world is falling apart. It won't be long before it all collapses and takes both of our souls with it."
She explained matter-of-factly, unafraid, unlike the Candidate whose blood ran cold. How much time do they still have left? If she can't convince Hilda to let her go soon, then this was really it for her.
Even as she struggled to think of a way out though, she soon learnt that imminent dimensional collapse was the least of her worries. Hilda was raising her own version of Gehaburn, its edge still as sharp as the day it was forged, and pointed it at her. "Until then… Even if I can't exterminate the rest of the devils, I can still destroy you personally. It'll be better than nothing."
Nepgear could hardly believe the words she was hearing. "What the goodness?! We're both about to die and all you can think about is killing me yourself?!"
"It is my curse, and my duty, guiding my every deed. Including personal oversight over your end."
"But why?! You know you only think this way because Uzume wished you to! This isn't what you really want! Can't you fight it?"
The bearer of Gehaburn shook her head. "The devil's wishes are absolute. But that's not even the point here. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I realized something. Even if I could 'fight' it, why should I? I was one of Uzume's most loyal followers, a close friend even. I understood and forgave her even after I lost my family because of her. I can remember that. Then, overnight, she turned me into this. A monster with that much power can't be allowed to exist."
"I… I mean… M-maybe." Nepgear relented the point after a brief hesitation. She was certain that the goddess had been a kind and gentle soul that never meant for any of this tragedy to unfold, but she had to admit, someone with that much power did scare her. But, "But we're not Uzume! The CPUs now don't have that kind of power! Sure, none of us are perfect. My sister can be kind of a slob, Vert is vain and Blanc is quick to anger, and so on, but that doesn't deserve death, does it?"
"Not if you were normal people, no. But you are not normal people. You are 'goddesses', immortal, inhumanly powerful, and the center of worship. Accidental or not, your mistakes cost this world too much. A poor decision, a moment of vice... Or maybe a little Neptulium?"
Hilda narrowed her eyes as Nepgear recoiled, remembering the power of that divine metal. "Even without the power of wishes, your very existences are a ticking time bomb to this world and its people. Any one of you could be the next Uzume."
"But-"
"Enough!" The CPU huntress interjected before the shaken Candidate could try to retort. "I will not spend my final moments listening to your blubbering excuses! Now, brace yourself, devil!"
"W-Wait!" Nepgear cried out, in vain. In the next instant, the clash of metal on metal rang through the chamber, the Gehaburn barely held back by Nepgear's own sword, after Hilda crossed the room in a single leap.
What followed for the Candidate was pure instinct, deflecting blow after blow, albeit narrowly. Her body remembered training against Soldier, a defensive dance against a stronger human foe, and for a while she was holding her own.
However, it was clearly something that couldn't last. There were no opportunities for her to retaliate, and every blow was forcing her back. Once again, the Candidate tried to call on her HDD, her only chance to even the playing field by any amount, but it still refused to respond. "Why…?! Why can't I-"
Another crushing overhead strike that nearly forced her to her knees. "Trying to use HDD? Don't bother." Hilda said calmly, not the least bit exerted. "The Gehaburn was created to kill CPUs. Even broken, it can still suppress your powers as one."
A feint forced a rapid adjustment of defenses, this time sending Nepgear tumbling backwards with a pained cry. A following slam into the ground was narrowly avoided by rolling out of the way, the Candidate scrambling to her feet, blade at the ready.
The bluenette however didn't pursue, merely looking bored at her and shaking her head. "Is that all you can do without your godly powers? How disappointing. No point dragging this out then."
The godslayer leapt back as swiftly as she had engaged her quarry and wound back her weapon for an obvious horizontal strike. This time a poisonous purple glow enveloped the blade, growing stronger and brighter with malice. Nepgear's breath hitched; there was no blocking this one.
"Die."
The blade swung, sending an arc of destruction towards its target, wide enough to cover nearly the entire chamber. With only a split second to react, Nepgear sprinted forward and jumped with all her might, tucking her legs in. She should be able to avoid it, if only barely.
Then time seemed to slow as her view of Hilda was no longer obscured by the crackling purple wave, and she could see the Hilda slash again, sending a second wave at her mid-air form. If she had her HDD she could still fly out of the way, but without it, her trajectory was sealed. Nepgear watched helplessly as death flew straight for her. What could she do?! If only she could…!
A memory flashed through her mind, and her body acted in desperation. Certain that the fight was won, Hilda's eyes widened as she saw the Candidate miraculously avoid the second arc. She didn't even continue after the pink-haired girl landed safely, even more shocked herself. "…Huh. Since when could you do that?"
"I, uh, I don't know?" Nepgear admitted, eyeing Hilda cautiously before checking her legs to make sure they're still there. Yep, there they were, not a scratch. She didn't just imagine it then. Her legs had thrust out mid-air, triumphing over physics and propelling her over certain death.
She just double-jumped.
A curled fist to her lips, Hilda considered the possibilities. If even Nepgear couldn't understand it, then perhaps…? "Tell me, did you think of one of your mercenaries just now? The young boy. Scout, was it?"
"How did you know?"
"I had a hunch. As you may have noticed, this inner world is largely constructed of memories. As it continues to fracture, it becomes more malleable, and your memories are manifesting because of it." Hilda explained, a glint of interest returning to her eyes. "Looks like this might be interesting afterall. Let's get back to it then."
"Can we not?"
Heedless of Nepgear's half-hearted plea, the ghost charged forward again. Blades clashed, Hilda's strength pressing against the Candidate's with no room for retaliation. There was a notable decrease in aggression though, as if a chance to think was deliberately being given to the underdog.
That mercy went unnoticed by Nepgear, who was far too busy using that gift already, desperately trying to understand this newfound power with what little time was afforded her.
Alright, so she could delve into her memories and copy the abilities of the mercenaries. She could remember them strangely clearly, all the hours they've spent training together, or simply observing them in curiosity, these weird and colorful people from another world. But, how could they help her now? Being able to double-jump was all well and good, but the rest of the mercs were only human! Nepgear tried to channel Heavy's mighty strength, but she wasn't pushing Hilda back with any more ease. She needed something more distinct, maybe?
Unique techniques. Superhuman powers. Magic. She needed something else! As the Candidate desperately parried each blow as they came, her thoughts turned towards others, to IF and Compa, and Histoire. They had magic! Surely… And yet, when she thought back on it, she couldn't focus on anything about their fighting abilities.
Ever since being rescued from the Graveyard she had spent much more time with the mercenaries than with them, at least out in combat. Histoire especially, though she knew the little Oracle could more than hold her own if need be, she has never actually seen the fairy have to defend herself.
Though she had a feeling it was futile, she tried to focus on memories of the CPUs anyway, one in particular. If there was anyone that could remember fighting alongside Purple Heart, it would have to be her. The might, the grace, the confidence; it was so different from how Neptune was normally, though Nepgear loved both sides of her sister equally. Right now though, those memories did her no good other than a morale boost. The power of a goddess couldn't be channeled here.
A lapse of focus caused her to lose her grip. With a yelp, Nepgear felt her sword knocked from her grasp. Jumping backwards in a panic, a double-jump sending her to the right saved her from a lunging strike, and as she backpedaled to get away, Hilda stood there, giving her an impatient glare while kicking the fallen sword away. W-What should she do now? That sword was her last line of defense!
There were mere seconds left. She had to try something, anything! Didn't Hilda say reality was becoming more malleable? Then please, please let this work…!
The Candidate squeezed her eyes shut and focused with all her might on her last hope, the simple yet effective blade she was most familiar with. She could feel something solid appear in her grasp. Nepgear opened her eyes just in time to see Hilda rush towards her again, and blocked the killing blow with the sword in her hands.
She was sent stumbling backwards from the attack, her arms aching, but what mattered was that it worked. She was alive, and in her hand she now held her personal sword again, albeit tinted green like a Wraith Manifestation. A quick glance confirmed that her original sword was still abandoned on the ground, meaning that she really had just manifested a new one by thought alone. And if she can manifest a sword, then…
The mercenaries were no ordinary humans. Be it footwork, aim, strategy, swordsmanship or knowhow, they were experts in the field of killing, but such subtle techniques couldn't be so easily learned by observation alone. Their more obvious strength lay in their equipment, their myriad weapons of war that ranged from the mundane to the terrifying to the downright bizarre.
She was sure their arsenal was larger than what she had witnessed, but she's seen more than a few good ones in action. Yes, this could work!
Pleased to see her prey had finally made some progress, Hilda spared the girl a few seconds before charging once more. This time Nepgear didn't try to cross blades again, instead diving out of the way and turning her thoughts to the mercenaries' arsenal. A ranged weapon, something she could easily fire from one-hand without need for aim. Her thoughts fell on a crazed medicine man, and she raised the weapon that manifested in her left hand, firing off a salvo of syringes.
For the first time, Hilda was forced to defend, using Gehaburn to block the first few needles before her body turned into black flames and escaped the rest. All the while Nepgear fled for the exit, holding down the trigger until the full clip was spent.
She had bought herself a reprieve, but not for long. She had some new options now, but Hilda could more than handle a few guns, and the clock was still ticking. What should she do now? The Candidate's mind bordered on panic, but she forced herself to concentrate, calming herself by taking stock of her surroundings.
She was running through the halls of the castle now, and she's sure she wasn't imagining it, but everything was looking lower resolution than before. It felt like she was in virtual reality, no doubt caused by the instability of this place. Yes, her priority was getting out of this sword before this inner world collapsed. The question was how to do that.
Her only clue was the master of this world, Hilda. If she could defeat her, maybe there'll be an opening? But having to defeat this legendary swordswoman who could challenge Uzume's forces, all on her own… This same swordswoman who could outmatch the CPUs themselves. Without her HDD it would've been futile. Now, however, armed with the memories of her otherworldly allies, does she stand a chance?
One way or another, she refused to lie down and die. She will go back to her sister, to everyone. She can't allow herself to die here, not after everything! The gears in her head turned faster than they've ever had before, and Nepgear began to formulate a plan.
Hilda was in no hurry as she stalked the silent halls for her prey. She knew exactly how much time she had left, and one way or another, the devil trapped with her will perish by the end of the day. There was no reason not to spare her prey a sporting chance. She was rather curious to see what this weak, naive little demigod could achieve with her unexpected gift.
In a way, she felt rather liberated. The long wait, the anticipation, the desperation. The frustration behind every failure, the stress of the stakes. All over a duty she hadn't even set for herself, one that defied everything she once was. She's long since stopped questioning whether her acceptance of this hateful fate was her own will, or just another chain of Uzume's wish. Perhaps the lack of despair she felt at her ultimate failure was telling.
But now, none of that mattered anymore. There was only her, her prey, and the clock. Hatred, duty, and thrill called out in equal measure, and she would answer. One last indulgence.
Ah, footsteps. "Found you~" Hilda leered and ran after the noise. Sure enough, she caught a certain demigod's foot disappearing around the corner and gave chase. All pretense of stealth had gone out the window now, and with the slam of a door and the crashing of glass, Nepgear had too. Hilda stepped into the study and looked out the broken window. It led to the castle's expansive courtyard. She remembered back in the day, how she would train and spar in that very courtyard, the place where she had delivered her protege many an ass kicking. She remembered how proud she had been of his growth. A hand subconsciously touched her eye. Well, back to business.
The fleeing Nepgear was now on the other end of the courtyard, having thrown down a toolbox that had opened and was growing a rectangular construct. Using it as cover, she was summoning some kind of weapon, something big. "Do you really think that'll save you?" Hilda muttered to herself with a raised eyebrow, pulling back her blade in a fencing stance. Purple energy once again swirled around the god-killing weapon.
Then the sticky bombs behind her exploded, launching Hilda straight out through the window, into the shooting range of the level 3 sentry hidden right under the wall.
Upon the sound of rapid gunfire, the ghost transformed back into flames, a split second before the first bullet struck. The stream of lead and rockets ripped harmlessly through the fire, which hit the ground and raced towards the automated turret. Its firepower was immense, not so much its turning speed. If she could maneuver on top of it, then-
A second stream of bullets would've torn her apart if she hadn't stopped herself from re-manifesting in the nick of time. In Nepgear's hands now was the signature weapon of a heavy-set Russian, a chain of bullets fed to it straight from a dispenser. Nepgear's minigun covered the sentry, while the sentry's fire covered Nepgear. Hilda even tried to make the sentry shoot its builder by positioning herself between them, but the dispenser was somehow taking zero damage from whatever the guns were outputting, acting as perfect cover. She couldn't keep up this fire form forever.
After racing fruitlessly around the field, the black flames returned to the wall on the sentry's side and ran up them, disappearing over the roof. "Not bad! But I can do the same thing." Her voice rang out like the voice of god. "SOLDIERS, TO ME! DESTROY THAT FIEND!"
At their commander's order, the sound of storming footsteps began to grow louder, accompanied by the battle cries of countless men before a veritable army began to surge into the courtyard from its two entrances. This was NOT part of the plan. "What the goodness?!" Nepgear exclaimed, even as she began to open fire on the soldiers.
They were tinted green, just like the Wraith Manifestations from before, only these looked a lot more solid. The two streams of bullets from minigun and sentry still tore through them like paper. Nonetheless, though currently funneled into chokepoints, their numbers seemed endless, their self-preservation non-existent, and Nepgear really didn't want to find out how solid those swords would feel on her body.
The explosions of unending gunfire and the occasional rockets accompanied the ceaseless screams of ghostly soldiers baying for blood. Countless bodies hit the floor, dispersing shortly after death. Nepgear was thankful the gore was limited to sight and sound, but she was making no headway through the tide, and it was getting worse. The wraiths were trickling in from the windows now, leaping down from above, and she even caught several trying to manifest directly on the courtyard. She whipped around to mow down several soldiers that had jumped from above, then immediately turned back towards the entrance she was guarding, pushing back the stream of bodies. It's a good thing there wasn't a window directly above her, and the soldiers seemed completely fixated on her with zero regard to the sentry. This couldn't keep up though. She needed a better, automated defense…
A purple glow from above caught her eye, and the pink-haired girl's heart nearly stopped. The commander of the legion had returned, standing on the rooftop, Gehaburn raised aloft. Black flames swirled around her in a whirlwind, traveling up along her blade and gathering in a growing ball of purest malice. Nepgear immediately tried to turn her minigun towards Hilda, but she had time to shore up her defenses this time. Already weakened from spread and fall-off, the black flames were enough to blow the bullets off course.
The flames. How can she deal with-
FLAMES.
Without the torrent of lead to hold them back, the ghostly army was now streaming into the courtyard unimpeded, and with a sad click, the sentry finally ran out of ammo as well. The soldiers charged, screaming bloody murder, blades raised… then were incinerated by a gout of fire, a youthful girl's voice joining the chorus of battle cries, brandishing a certain gas-masked entity's favorite toy.
Now standing atop her dispenser, Nepgear unleashed a stream of searing flame, like a dragon atop her nest incinerating legions of challengers with every breath. Ever the gift that keeps on giving, the fire spread from soldier to soldier before the corpses could disperse, then to bushes to trees to ivy on the walls, setting everything ablaze. The jerry cans full of fuel she kept throwing into the blaze raised the party to ever greater heights, a festival of roaring flame and dying screams that would bring a tear to Pyro's eyes.
None could pass the inferno now, leaving only a pocket of safety around Nepgear herself. The heat was suffocating, but she couldn't allow herself to be distracted now, wiping her sweat-slicked brow and looking up at her true foe, still standing tall above. The fireball had doubled its size, violet light peering through blackened flames.
It'll be complete any second now, and if Hilda's taking so long to prepare it, that means she's making sure there'll be no surviving the blast. The pink-haired girl could absolutely believe that thing will turn the whole castle into a crater. She needed to disrupt it, a weapon with good stability at long range, enough to pierce the tornado.
Hilda narrowed her eyes as the green minigun in Nepgear's hands disappeared, replaced by something narrower, longer. The Candidate put the scope to her eye. Curses, she still needed a few seconds more to stabilize the sphere. No matter. Snarling, she swung her blade down just as the devil pulled the trigger, sending the incomplete fireball crashing down, intercepting the fully charged Machina shot and detonating.
The force blew Nepgear off from her perch, where she was luckily shielded by her dispenser. With a groan the Candidate got back onto her knees behind the cover, her vision swimming from the purple flare that briefly blinded her. Everything hurt, she reached and found her eyebrows indeed singed off, and her clothes were scorched too, no doubt some of her hair as well. She was still in a better state than her surroundings though.
The top half of the castle was a smoldering ruin. The blast had blown away the flames on the ground, leaving only lingering embers and ash, but at least the army of wraiths was gone too. Especially notable were the purple cracks that ran along the walls and floor now, giving features to the now increasingly degraded textures. Hilda was nowhere to be seen.
For a moment, the exhausted Candidate thought of summoning a medigun, only to remember it doesn't work on the user. She took a bite out of a summoned sandvich instead, a tired smile gracing her lips while she chewed. A mid-battle snack really does help, especially one that heals wounds. There was a ticklish feeling, and she reached up to check. Huh, her eyebrows came back.
"I'll admit, you surprised me, Nepgear. Give yourself a pat on the back."
Hilda's voice came from above before Nepgear could get too comfortable. She was there again, looking ragged, but unharmed. "But we're almost out of time, so I'll have to wrap things up now. Be proud. You've earned a proper execution."
"That's not the kind of reward I'm looking for…" Nepgear grumbled, but there was no point reasoning with the bluenette. She could only brace herself as Hilda raised her sword towards the sky again, a green glyph appearing at the center of the courtyard. All of a sudden, the ground began to rumble, and there was only an instant's window after Nepgear spotted the purple glow beneath her before she narrowly leapt out of the way of a towering blade of light, her valiant dispenser sundered like a hot knife through butter.
Unsure what's happening, all she could do was run, avoiding explosions of black flame and the occasional blade piercing up from below and reaching high into the sky. She would've been caught several times already if it weren't for double-jumping, and even then, the foresight of summoning a Force-a-Nature saved her once, the backblast of the shotgun pushing her away from a rising sword after her legs boosted her away from an explosion. The walls were collapsing, crumbling away into the sinking ground outside of the courtyard, leaving only Hilda's side of the castle standing tall, and even that was cracking apart.
Then everything stopped. The earthquake, the stabbing blades, the eruptions. All was still. Nepgear had a feeling this wasn't the end though, and having seen a trend of where the attacks were coming from, her memories were drawn towards a man who called himself…
…an American.
"Divine Execution!"
Hilda leapt high into the air, the force of her jump sending the final part of the castle crashing down. While Nepgear's vision followed the woman up, her rocket launcher was pointed down. With heart pounding, she jumped and pulled the trigger just as Hilda landed blade first in the center of the glyph, the force of the explosion sending her flying upwards as countless spears of emerald light consumed the ground beneath. A second precautionary rocket jump against one of the towering blades finally cleared her of the spears' reach, then a third sent her soaring even higher. She gritted her teeth against the pain; it hurt, even through the steel-capped boots she gave herself. Now, she could get a bird's eye view of the world below, or rather, the lack of it. Everything outside of the courtyard was falling away into the abyss, leaving only that field of spikes floating in the void.
That field of spikes with a single safe spot.
At the apex of her height, Nepgear took aim and opened fire, sending her last rocket soaring towards the woman standing amidst the forest of spears. Still gobsmacked that her prey just survived her deadliest attack, Hilda sent a hastily charged arc of light at the rocket, blowing it up just before it could reach her, but not without destroying the spears closest to her. Her vision obscured, she could still hear her, the desperate cry of the young warrior as she dived down like a majestic eagle, piercing through the smoke blade first.
Two swords collided once more, and the very ground shattered on impact. As everything crumbled away into the void, blades and spears disintegrating, the ghost mustered her strength for one last push, shoving Nepgear off screaming into the abyss. So the two fell, all the debris disintegrating until only they were left. At some point Hilda lost sight of the other girl as well, leaving only herself in the darkness. She wasn't afraid though. She knew exactly what was down there, beyond the nothingness.
Sure enough, before she knew it she had stuck a hard landing on stone floor, and a thud and a cry of pain nearby told her that her opponent had arrived as well, if less gracefully. The Candidate groaned as she sat up, scrambling to her feet in a panic after seeing Hilda standing there. She wasn't attacking though, turning her attention back towards a certain statue nearby. It was then that Nepgear noticed they were back in a familiar place.
"This is all that's left. The heart of this world." Hilda explained, allowing the Candidate to look around. It was that same chamber where she and Falcom found the bluenette's spirit, the site of Hilda's mortal demise. Now though, the ceiling was missing, exposing the void beyond. The same went for the doorways leading out of the hall, the hallways no longer there, leaving only darkness. The floor and walls themselves were covered in green cracks, and the top edge of the walls seemed to be fraying, tiny shards slowly breaking off and disappearing into nothingness.
"Congratulations, Nepgear. I really didn't think you'd last this long." Hilda's voice brought Nepgear back from their depressingly desolate surroundings. "Here I was thinking I'd have a moment of peace and quiet before this world fades into nothing, but it seems I'm stuck with you until the end."
Nepgear hesitated, then shook her head resolutely. "No, this can't be the end! There has to be a way out!" She declared, to which Hilda raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you think that? If there was any chance of you surviving, I wouldn't have bothered playing around with you. Is this why you tried so hard? Because you think you can escape if you somehow beat me?" Hilda asked, almost feeling pity while she watched her enemy struggle to cope with the truth.
"I…" Nepgear started to answer, but stopped. The same repeated itself several times, her sword and gaze lowered, the girl wavering as the harsh reality became harder and harder to deny. She had fought as hard as she could with everything she had, and all she's managed to do was survive. Time was up, that much was clear to her. There was no way she could defeat Hilda with what minutes they might have left. And even if she could, what then? There being an opening if she could win was just something she told herself. Maybe there really was no point, and all she was doing was entertaining the cursed spirit in their final moments.
And yet…
"...I don't care." The Candidate finally spoke. "It doesn't matter how small that chance is, or if it even exists. I'm still alive, so I can't just give up, not when everyone's waiting for me!"
It was Hilda's turn to be taken aback, as Nepgear finally looked her in the eyes once more - A newfound flame in the girl's gaze. "I want to hang out with my sister again, like the old days! I want to play video games together with her again, and hear her go on her tangents about tropes and fourth walls, and comfort her after we get scolded by Histoire for slacking off again, and see her smile when she tastes my homemade pudding!" Nepgear loudly declared, even as a single tear rolled down her cheek, then another.
"It's not just Neptune neither! Now that everyone's free, I want to get to know all the other CPUs better! I want to watch movies with IF, and go shopping with Compa! I want to learn more about technology from Engineer and Medic! I even want to train with Soldier again! I want to go on more adventures, and meet new friends, and learn more about the world, and the worlds beyond, now that I know they exist! There's still… so much to live for…"
The Candidate's voice wavered as she wiped away the tears. Her declaration had been more for herself than for her enemy, who she knew wouldn't listen anyway. What she couldn't have known nor expected was that for the first time, Hilda felt hesitation. The mask of divinity had fallen off, but what it revealed wasn't a devil. To be with friends and family, to have fun, to grow, to learn. To live. These weren't the desires of some self-righteous godling. Just of a young girl, who once had her whole life ahead of her.
Shame. If only she had been born just that.
…Wait. What is this? There was a change in the air. The ticking clock she felt in her soul had stopped. Something was halting this world's destruction. No, not just that! A frantic Hilda looked around at the pale motes of light that was rising from the floor and filling the endless void without. Her attention finally landed on the pink-haired girl, now surrounded by the light, seemingly without her notice.
"There's still so much to live for…! That's why I can't give up! I WON'T GIVE UP!"
Nepgear screamed to the heavens, and the light erupted from her, enveloping everything…
"Well? What's going on in there?" IF asked, one of many now gathered around the Gehaburn.
After having quickly assessed the extent of damage and injuries, the party had retreated from the public eye to Noire's office. It hadn't taken long for Magic to go out and retrieve the guild agent, the scorched site of her battle with Hilda easily found, and now the MVP of the day was steadily recovering with the help of Compa's medigun. It made her proud to know that her crippling damage to the cursed sword had rendered Hilda almost helpless before the might of all the CPUs present, and now even Falcom had been freed from possession, though one couldn't expect to be the same again after such a traumatizing experience. The vertical discoloration over the girl's now blinded eye was just the surface of her scars.
The broken blade itself had been laid atop a table, and to the observant eye, the cracks along its body had grown larger since Soldier shattered it. It was still a mystery why or how the madman managed the feat. Vert noted that Samantha seemed to have a hunch, but the woman remained as secretive as ever when asked, claiming she had no proof, and even if she could confirm her theory she couldn't say it aloud anyway.
Either way, despite their apparent victory, it was Neptune that reminded everyone it was not yet time to celebrate. As Histoire briefed them before her kidnapping, breaking the Gehaburn should have freed Nepgear's soul, but the emphasis was on 'should'. With an unknown delay before the soul's return home even if all was well, the party had turned towards their local expert on possessed swords, and unfortunately…
"It is as I feared." The Eyelander's ghostly voice confirmed, "Nepgear's soul is still inside."
"What? How? I thought we just needed to break the sword! Is it not broken enough?" IF exclaimed, a chill running down her spine, as it did for many others. It didn't take a genius to know that unexpected development meant something was very, very wrong.
The Eyelander grimly continued. "I did warn that the Gehaburn was no ordinary soul vessel. As a weapon specifically forged to destroy beings like her, it has bound Nepgear's soul to itself. And now it's breaking down. The physical damage is too severe, and the presence of two conflicting souls inside has made its internal structure too unstable to repair itself. There's no saving it now."
"And what'll happen to Ge-Ge if she's still in there when it…?" Compa asked hesitantly, to which Demoman's sword spared them no gentle words.
"Her soul will shatter with the sword, killing her in a way even Re;Spawn can't fix."
As the nurse and even Uni recoiled in horror, Noire was focusing on a solution. "It's my understanding that the Gehaburn absorbed Nepgear's soul by stabbing her, right? If we stab it back into her body before the sword breaks completely, can we send her soul back in?"
Though the Eyelander didn't have one, those looking at the sword could imagine him shaking his head. "At risk of allowing Hilda to go in with her, yes, but even that's impossible now. The borders are broken, no soul can enter or leave. Falcom was a different case, as a non-CPU, and that was before someone snapped the sword."
That certain someone looked around confused as all eyes turned towards him. "What? What did I do?" Soldier asked in complete obliviousness. The gazes turned away again, back towards either one of the two possessed blades.
"Well there's gotta be somethin' we can do, yeah?" It was Scout that spoke up this time, unable to stand this suffocating feeling of helplessness in the air, "We saved all the CPUs, Miss Pauling's captured, Gray Mann went home, the ASIC quit, and now the crazy ghost woman's down and out! We're almost done! Kinda sucks to leave Gear to die after everything."
"If there is a solution then it is beyond my knowledge. And, to be brutally honest, I'm not sure we even have until the sword collapses to find one."
"Wait wait wait, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Blanc crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, annoyed that the possessed sword took this long to bring up new information, but the Eyelander remained calm.
"By that I mean Nepgear is currently trapped with a powerful ghost that really hates her. I can feel it faintly, their souls clashing against each other inside." The Eyelander released a mournful sigh. "The end result of their duel will change nothing, I'm sure Hilda knows this, but it seems she wants to finish the job herself anyway. I'm sorry, but… Neptune, what are you doing?"
All eyes fell upon the hand that placed itself on the Gehaburn's decrepit form, their gazes traveling up its arm towards the pink-haired goddess attached. Despite just being told of her little sister's imminent death, there was not an ounce of grief to be found on Neptune's face. Instead, it was a determined smile that she wore, as if she knew something that no one else did.
"You said she's still fighting in there, right? Then as her big sister, I can't just stand here and let her fight on her own!" Neptune answered with utmost confidence, ignoring the blank, confused stares the others were sharing.
"And what, pray tell, are you achieving by doing that?" Spy was the first to ask, receiving a chuckle from the goddess.
"What, haven't you heard of the power of friendship? If my soul can't go in after her, then I'll send her my thoughts and prayers! If we just will it hard enough, everything will work out! You watch and see!"
Spy facepalmed, and even the others weren't sure how to react. The girl was known for her strange quips about the rules of fiction, but it felt like she was just coping at this point. "This isn't a Saturday morning cartoon, girl! Well wishes aren't going to change the world!" He retorted. Several others were already contemplating how they're going to console the girl once the inevitable happens. There was one, however, that fell into thought.
"...Wishes…"
"Huh? Falcom, you too?" Demoman blinked, watching as a second hand joined the first.
"The Gehaburn was born from a wish. This might all sound like wishful thinking, but maybe it'll be more receptive towards things like wishes because of that?" The redhead said, meeting Neptune's appreciative gaze with a smile. "Besides, all of this happened because I let myself get possessed, and I refuse to stand by and try nothing."
There was a moment's silence. The sorrowful mood was beginning to turn. "...Well, it's not that absurd a theory, when it comes to matters of the soul. If nothing else, enough power might delay the collapse of the sword-" The Eyelander reasoned, and no sooner did he relent the point that a third hand joined the fray.
"Then that's all I needed to hear! Better than sitting around twiddling our thumbs!" Blanc declared, tired of being told what she couldn't do.
"Well said. Perhaps some wishful thinking is exactly what we need right now." Vert nodded, placing her hand on the sword as well while Noire shook off her surprise.
"Don't let it be said that I don't care, and I certainly won't be outdone. Uni?"
"Right!"
It didn't take long before another two more joined in, after IF and Compa shared a look and a nod.
"We've come too far to give up!"
"Yeah! We'll never give up on Ge-Ge!"
Then a gloved hand added itself to the pile with a muffled laugh of childish excitement. Did the Pyro truly understand what was going on, or was it just following the example of its fiery goddess? Either way, Sniper shook his head with a groan.
"This is some sappy cartoon shite alright… But bugger it, she's part of the team!"
"да! Little girl is part of team! We will help her fight!"
"Well, this would make for an interesting experiment, ja?"
Spy pinched his nose and sighed after watching three more of his comrades' hands add themselves to the broken sword. "Ah, merde… Very well, I suppose it wouldn't be the most absurd thing we've seen in our lives."
"Yeah! Alright, let's do this!"
"Heh, why not?"
Soldier watched as Spy, Scout and Engineer placed their hands on the sword as well. "Wait, what's going on? Are we going to war?"
"No, but we're helping Nepgear go to war. You want in, pardner?"
"WE'RE GOING TO WAR!"
To the side, Demoman chuckled while Engineer winced from the enthusiastic hand slamming onto his own, then stepped up as well, placing the Eyelander over a free spot and then his own hand over both swords.
Samantha was now the last one standing back, after watching Magic step forward and add her hand without a word. With a flash of light, Fay now stood at her side, and the two shared a look. The fairy flashed a smile. After all, why not? It's not just Nepgear's neck on the line if she ends up dead.
And as a last pair of hands joined the fray, everyone's hearts united in a single wish, the broken blade began to glow beneath their touch…
Nepgear wasn't sure what had happened. One moment she was baring her heart, trying to psyche herself up for a hopeless battle. The next there was a flash of light, blinding yet warm, gentle, and by the time she could see again, the world had changed.
The statue of Arfoire was still there, but they were no longer in that same hall. Instead, Nepgear recognized a much more familiar place. "This is… my room?" She pondered aloud, looking at all the familiar furniture. There was no doubt about it, the floor and walls may be fractured, items floating in the air, but this was indeed her own room in the Basilicom. There were other things that didn't quite belong, but were no less familiar, and soon she recognized them as her sister's belongings.
Looking beyond the cracks and windows, she could see that what's outside was no longer just a void neither. No, they stood amidst a fractured Basilicom, its pieces untethered yet remaining in place as if in a dream, and beyond was a similarly incomplete landscape, not sprawled out in an expanse, but encompassing like a globe. Straight ahead from where she was looking, she could make out the snowy landscape of Lowee, seen from a bird's eye view with its perpendicular orientation, and looking above she could see a cityscape wholly unfamiliar, towering pillars of concrete and glass mixed with stretches of desert and wooden buildings.
From the structures to the land itself, all of it was cracked apart to varying degrees, as if a great calamity had washed over this world, but its ruinous beauty left the girl awestruck nonetheless.
"So that's how it is. Even now."
With a jolt, Nepgear turned back towards her enemy. The ghost had been doing much the same as her, examining this altered world in astonishment. Unlike the Candidate, Hilda was gripping the window's edge so hard it was cracking apart.
"I've walked this accursed path for so long. Alone, forced to betray everyone and everything I held dear to do what was demanded of me by divine will. I killed my own protege with my own hands. So much blood, so much death, just for it to all fall apart at the end by the hands of some irrelevant fire-wielder and a madman. I thought I could at least salvage one, tiny victory. But no. No! WHY?!" The furious ghost swordswoman turned to face her mortal enemy, black flames smoldering from her body as she looked at the unnerved Candidate with snarling fang and wild eyes. "How is it that every time I'm close to winning, some miracle happens to get in my way?! Is my life just some cosmic joke? Is this part of Uzume's wish too, setting me on a mission destined to fail? Or is it because you're gods, made immortal by fate itself? Is that it?!"
"H-Hilda, please-"
"SO BE IT!" The maddened Hilda roared, brandishing the Gehaburn now wreathed in black flame, "I don't care how many miracles you call down! I will grind your soul into dust no matter what it takes!"
"I-!" Nepgear couldn't get another word in before the Hilda roared and lunged forward, a blow which Nepgear deflected with unexpected ease. The dance of blades resumed, metal clashing against metal in a whirl of sparks. It wasn't that Hilda's strength had waned, absolutely the opposite, but the Candidate felt like she was filled with newfound strength.
Not only that, but her swordsmanship had improved; be it her enemy's motions or her own, her senses could keep up with all of it, years and years of experience guiding her hand, building upon the results of her own hard work.
Further infuriated by her nemesis' bolstered strength, Hilda lifted her sword high after a vicious clash left Nepgear reeling. Black flames erupted from the god-slaying weapon, and this time a direct impact would detonate in an explosion, giving her a chance for a coup de grace before the wretched devil could grow any stronger.
Instead, as the roaring blade came crashing down, Nepgear angled her own sword so that the Gehaburn slid along the flat side, whiffing left while lending strength to the pink-haired girl's counterattack. The pink saber spun back from the centrifugal force before Nepgear brought it up and twisted her wrist, cleaving through Hilda's neck.
The Candidate was swiftly reminded her hunter doesn't go down easily. Her sword cut through nothing but black flames, and in the next instant the ghost had reformed, resuming the onslaught without breaking stride. This time Nepgear let the blow push her back and summoned an SMG into her off-hand, strafing while she opened fire.
Once again, the bullets passed through nothing but black flames, and the phantom quickly closed the distance in fiery form, snaking this way and that in perplexing patterns before reforming to strike the second the clip ran dry. Nepgear already instinctively knew when the bullets would run out, but her off-hand practically moved on its own when it replaced the gun with a second blade and caught the Gehaburn between the two swords.
Even as arms and blades shook from the struggle of strength, Nepgear noticed the familiarity of this second sword. Lullaby Song. This weapon, this feeling… Then that meant…!
Cursed blade and wielder alike dissolved into flames and threw themselves back, reforming into a fencing stance. Nepgear avoided the piercing shot that fired from the forward thrust, not looking back to see the disintegrated wall behind her. That flame form of Hilda's is making her untouchable. Is there a way she could suppress it?
The answer came to her a mere instant later. She just needed a moment's opening.
Nepgear charged back in to stop Hilda from charging another room-cleaving arc, keeping the pressure up with twin blades to make up for weakened defense. Finally, she got what she was looking for. The black flames that were her enemy flew back for another ranged assault.
Rather than brace to avoid the attack, a ship's steering wheel attached to Nepgear's arm in a burst of light, which she held out like a shield as she charged straight at the re-manifesting Hilda, screaming. With a rush, she pushed through the fire, and as the wheel spun and she twisted her whole body in exertion, the girl took a sharp turn mid-charge and careened straight out the window.
The shattered landscape of Planeptune stretched out below her, but now was not the time to enjoy the view. This power, she could feel the time and sweat behind it, and the pride behind its mastery. She remembered being there while her friend first started practicing. She must've missed a lot while she was stuck in here, huh? Nepgear smiled as she closed her eyes, unfazed by the air rushing past and the streets zooming up to meet her. She couldn't wait to catch up with everyone.
"Flame Awakening!"
At her command, heat surged from within, fire briefly engulfed her form, and the girl's very hair seemed to glow with lilac embers. Aiming her hands downward, Nepgear summoned two jets of flame of her signature color, slowing her descent to a comfortable drop.
Nepgear got a brief moment to examine herself, noting how her clothes' patterns had changed a bit, particularly her sleeves that now sported flame patterns at the ends. That was all the time she got before having to focus on the fight again, looking up just in time to see a massive ball of energy hurtling downwards towards her, wreathed in black flame. How did Hilda charge this one this fast?!
But Nepgear didn't panic. She instead allowed Lullaby Song to dissipate, reaching out her open hand towards the descending death, letting her senses connect with the flames, and then willing them to contract. Her fist clenched, and the fireball exploded prematurely once more, forcing the girl to shield herself from the shockwave. This time it was nothing but wind though, the scorching heat wave nothing to her borrowed power.
Without question, Hilda would be but a step behind.
Even before the smoke had cleared, Nepgear was already jumping back, dispersing her sword to arm herself with greater firepower. Except, Hilda did not actually follow down in pursuit. Once the smoke screen faded, the Candidate looked up once more to see a brilliant purple glow at the top of the basilicom. Even as she once again swapped her weapons for the Sniper's Machina, what she saw next made her hesitate.
Countless little dots of light were appearing in the air, spreading out from Hilda's position, until they looked like stars in the night sky. Nepgear took one look through the scope, then turned tail and fled.
Seconds later, the rain of swords descended.
What followed felt like an eternity of hell. Ducking into one building after another, moving from cover to cover, Nepgear ran for her life. The rain fell in the same pattern it formed, starting in a ring around the Basilicom and spreading from there. It wasn't as simple a matter as hunkering down and waiting for it to pass though, not when the swords exploded shortly after stabbing into anything.
So the Candidate jumped and dived and back-blasted herself through the city's fractured landscape, forced to brave pockets of exposure as the world behind her was obliterated piece by piece, the rain barely yet stubbornly keeping pace. It might've even caught up with her, if her feet didn't feel unusually light, carrying her tirelessly with Force-a-Nature in hand.
Another office building came to an end, and as she was forced to re-enter the streets, a shotgun blast shattered the glass of a familiar building, allowing her to continue into the shopping mall. For a brief moment, she could ignore the sounds of impaled concrete up above and detonations not far behind, instead reminiscing on the times she's come here with IF and Compa. A certain shop caught her eye as she ran past. Yes, that was where she used to buy puddings for Neptune, they had her favorite brand there. At least, until Nepgear tried her hand at homemade desserts. She could swear the store-bought ones tasted better, everyone agreed, even Histoire, but somehow Neptune's always asked for more since…
She kept running, the phantom of that memory soon engulfed by the explosions pursuing her every step of the way. A falling sword nearly caught her when she busted out the same way she busted in, missing her by an inch, and she kept going without breaking stride. The streets were changing, pavement turning to snow-covered ground as she continued, though the snow didn't hinder her in the slightest.
Cover was sparse here, but soon Nepgear noticed the same applied to the swords above. She took her eyes off the path ahead and looked up instead; she had reached the edge of the attack's radius, and now the Basilicom stood parallel to the ground, floating unrooted to its completely annihilated foundations. The recreated Planeptune was no more, nothing but drifting rubble.
Memories crossed the girl's mind. This carnage… It's happened for real. An invasion on her nation by an army of machines, countless dead in its wake. Nepgear shuddered. How many might've been saved if she was there to help? The mercenaries, her sister, everyone fought so desperately while she's been trapped here… She needed to make up for it.
Soon, the last of the swords fell, and the radiant glow at the Basilicom's peak faded. An attack like that should have exhausted even a CPU at peak condition. Instead, a shockwave suddenly blew back the entirety of the tower's peak, and a purple streak of light soared towards the recreated Lowee. Of course it wouldn't end just like that.
By the time the meteor that was Hilda Gehaburn landed, the pink-haired girl was ready with weapons summoned, using her control over fire to optimize the blast as she jumped and launched herself up with twin rocket launchers, sending her clear over the countless spears that erupted from the ground on the ghost's impact.
Six rockets welcomed Hilda's arrival, one she blocked with her sword and the rest striking the ground nearby, unable to so much as stagger the woman despite the proximity. The spears themselves quickly shattered away, formed without the power of a full EXE Drive.
A beam of darkness pierced the smoky veil, aimed upwards, but Nepgear hadn't tried to repeat the exact same trick she had earlier. With no plunging attack to counter, the blade came back down, and with a swift swing dispersed the smoke screen completely. There the devil was, charging at her with yet another different weapon. As if it mattered what she used, the result would be the same in the-
-That flame-?!
Hilda came to understand how her earlier fireball had been destroyed this time, and that her main defense had just been subdued, but it was too late to change tact. Nepgear was waiting for this moment. The urge had come to her soon after stepping foot in this snowy land.
While certain abilities of CPUs were suppressed like HDD, there was nothing stopping her from channeling purely physical techniques. All she needed was a suitable replacement weapon, and a memory of her first great foe suited a memory of her first great victory.
Brandishing a certain black halberd with blue blades and a skull motif, one eye mysteriously glowing red, Nepgear wound back her weapon.
"Tanzerin Trombe!"
Though she tried anyway, Hilda immediately found her fiery form pushed back together by an unseen force, and she had no choice but to take the attack head on. Nepgear spun like a tornado, smashing her halberd against the Gehaburn again and again in rapid succession.
For the first time, it was the wraith that was being forced back in a contest of strength. Accompanied by a battle cry, a heavy downward chop finished the attack, knocking Hilda back to tumble on the frozen floor. Even still, the goddess hunter held on to her weapon and quickly recovered, pushing herself upright again with a flip. Her blade was already charging for a Luminous Blade arc, and even still it was too late against someone that could dispel and summon weapons with a thought.
There was a certain satisfaction for Nepgear to see her nemesis flee for her life for once, pursued by the stream of her minigun. What she didn't understand though, as Hilda escaped behind a wooden cottage, was how she survived that. Quite a few of the bullets were blocked by the Gehaburn, sure, but she saw more than a few strike home, spurts of blood and all. She was already focusing her Flame Awakening power on keeping Hilda from turning into flames again, she's sure she didn't just dodge them.
Thanks to IF's power, Nepgear had a good lock on her enemy's position at all times, with Hilda literally smoldering with rage even with her fire form suppressed. Her minigun revved and ready when her rival inevitably reappears, a purple light up above caught her sight despite Hilda herself seemingly not moving from cover.
Nepgear's jaw dropped and she narrowly dived out of the Gehaburn's way, the cursed sword now attacking on its own. Without any wielder, the glowing sword blindly slashed several times where Nepgear had stood, the blade singing as it sliced rapidly through air. It gave Hilda an opening to burst out from cover, firing several icicles that the Candidate had to block with her minigun, destroying it. The ghost pursued without delay, the Gehaburn flying back to her glowing hand.
With no time to summon and rev up a new minigun, Nepgear wisely discarded it and brought back twin swords, soon locked into another deadly dance of blades with herself once more on the defensive.
Then the Gehaburn, once more wreathed in black flame, came down. Nepgear was able to suppress the fire by some measure before impact, but not completely, and the detonation sent her stumbling back and over. Quick thinking saved her from the coming finisher, and the Gehaburn struck her crossed blades, now shrouded by a violet blaze. It was Hilda's turn to be blown back this time, the wraith's features twisted with rage at having her own spells used against her.
Nepgear's gambit bought herself a little relief, and reprisal was immediate. The Gehaburn once again left Hilda's glowing hand; despite being several meters apart, the blade raised high anyway in sync with the wielder's arm, and when she swung, it came crashing down on its target. The pink-haired girl rolled aside in the nick of time, losing a few strands to the cursed edge now embedded in solid ground, and even as she rolled back on her feet, several icicles were already floating around Hilda, before being fired like bullets. Nepgear dived into a roll, then continued to flee to cover, ignoring the explosion behind her from the Gehaburn freeing itself.
It was her turn to be hiding behind an abandoned cottage now, gasping for breath. A touch to her stinging cheek confirmed blood, a scratch from one of the icicles, so close to taking her head off. Alright, a vision reminded her that Hilda could summon those frozen shots of death, but what the goodness since when did Hilda have telekinesis?! Wait, oh no-!
A premonition of the things one could do with a telekinetic blade caused Nepgear to move, and a mere second later, the deadly thwip of sliced air followed by a thunk of impact told her she was that close to having the pointy end applied directly to her cranium. Either that, or having the pointy end of the dozen spears that just sprouted from the ground applied to the rest of her. This was, however, also an opportunity. Afterall, if the sword was there, then it wasn't with Hilda.
A wooden shield with a metal spike in its center appeared on Nepgear's arm, and with another mighty battlecry, she charged at her now disarmed enemy. As expected, Hilda still wasn't entirely defenseless, several lethal icicles flying forth in her defense.
One embedded itself into Nepgear's shield, breaking her momentum, but she continued anyway, twisting her body to avoid another that would've sliced her waist. A sideways hop dodged another two, and Nepgear lunged, using a burst of fire from her feet to close the distance. She ignored the pain as one last icicle grazed her shoulder, far too close to her neck for comfort. Hilda was trying to dodge backwards, arms crossed to block, but it was too late. This was it.
Nepgear swung, and she felt the resistance of flesh as her sword cut through the woman's lightly armored stomach, the best spot she could target with better armored arms shielding higher weakpoints. Still, it should be a crippling blow, except…
The blood flew, staining cloth, blade and snow. Hilda grunted and hissed in pain. The blow landed, Nepgear knew it to be true. So why was there no wound?!
The battle continued without missing a beat despite the Candidate's panicked confusion. Distracted, Nepgear was too slow by a beat to stop the wraith from turning into flames, Hilda easily retreating out of reach in just the instant she was afforded in this form. The ghost swiped upwards with one clawed hand, causing the ground around her to explode with black flames, and with her other, glowing hand, she reached out towards Nepgear, or rather, at something further behind.
Though still completely bewildered and now disoriented by the thunderous explosion she had to shield her eyes from, the pink-haired girl was quick to get her head back in the game, at least enough to avoid having it be taken off.
She turned and got ready to retreat, but not before summoning Judge's halberd once more. As expected, the Gehaburn was coming back to its wielder, though Nepgear wasn't expecting it to be spinning like a buzzsaw. She'll just have to deal with it. Her weapon was already wound back in preparation, and when the time was right, she swung. The invisible crowd went wild; it was a homerun.
Like a professional, Nepgear ran and didn't look back, dismissing her 'bat' to lighten the weight. She ignored the fact the 'ball' was swiftly stopped in its tracks and returned to its path back to its wielder by telekinetic force, and bolting back into cover kept her safe from the icicles, for now. Too much out of her expectations was happening. She needed time to rethink her strategy, time she's not going to be afforded so long as she's anywhere in Hilda's vicinity.
…There was one way. A dagger appeared in her hand - one that didn't belong to this world. It had a green handle with beautiful patterns, and a wing-like blade of pristine gold. Nepgear had no idea whose weapon this was, but she felt the weight of its memory, vague yet far heavier than she expected. There was just… so much, enough for several lifetimes. Perhaps if she had the time, she could spend weeks and months trying to decipher it all, but right now, she had what she needed.
"Executing: Thunderbird Wing."
With a crackle of electricity, she was gone in a blur, long before the Gehaburn could reach her once more.
Nepgear slumped against the wall, gasping for breath. She wasn't expecting her escape to be quite so harrowing. Not because Hilda managed to keep up with her, but because she barely managed to keep up with herself. If it wasn't for the generally wide open area of the Loweean snowfields, she would've crashed into something with that insane speed for sure. Now she was in another section of this rebuilt world, in a Land of Green Pastures, though the city she was currently taking refuge in could hardly be called a pasture.
That giant blocky arch must be Vert's home, though Nepgear chose not to hide in a place as eye-catching as that, or as indoors and restrictive. It was an impressive building though, in fact the whole city was on par with Planeptune's own high tech majesty.
Despite the situation, the girl still couldn't help but look around at the view, shattered though the cityscape was. The last time she was here was before the whole mess with CFW Magic happened, and even then she rarely ever had cause to visit. A lot has happened here in recent days, she could feel, but there'll be time to catch up with the others later. Right now she needed to figure out what the goodness was going on with Hilda.
A few tricks up the sleeve was expected, even something as terrifying as the rain of swords. The telekinetic sword came out of left field, but she could still believe it. It was the lack of wounds that she simply couldn't understand. She knew she didn't just see wrong, she's seen enough grievous injuries to know better after her time with the mercenaries. That might not have been a killing blow, but it would've needed immediate medical treatment to stop her guts from spilling out. What happened?
As Nepgear wracked her brain for an explanation, a warm and familiar feeling came over her, calming her down, along with a line of thought that would be perfectly on brand for a certain CPU. …Bosses do tend to react to hits like that, don't they? They flinch and bleed, get staggered or even knocked down, but they're remarkably sturdy until that health bar's depleted.
The real world, of course, didn't follow the logic of video games, however much Neptune might keep trying to apply it, but in this metaphysical space… Was it really so unbelievable that a soul would follow different rules than the body? It'd help explain the sudden additions to Hilda's repertoire as well.
It was also prudent to remember that the player also often follows a different set of rules from the game world's natural denizens. Nepgear winced as she touched the scratch on her cheek. Yep, that's definately more than blood and pain. There'll be no taking a sword through the gut and getting back up for her.
Here she thought victory was in sight, only to discover a complication like this. Now that all illusion of fair play had vanished, Nepgear could no longer rely on suppressive fire as a defense. Still, the fact Hilda wasn't casually tanking hits should imply her 'health bar' is far from insurmountable. She surely still had more cards to play, but so did Nepgear.
She can still win this.
…So what is this overwhelming feeling of dread she's feeling?
Nepgear's first instinct was to look towards the most eye-catching thing around. As soon as she saw the Leanbox Basilicom, she was on her feet and running away, seconds before the barrage of icicles shredded the wall she was resting against. Figured her hunter would know to find her so quickly.
Nepgear swiftly summoned a wall of fire to melt the projectiles, but then Luminous Blade arcs were simply added to the volleys, and soon icicles large enough to survive the fire that also exploded like frag grenades. The CPU Candidate dived and dodged easily enough at this kind of distance, but she knew it wasn't something she could keep up forever. The destruction of this world wasn't delayed forever, and she's sure Hilda knew she knew while raining down hell. She was then left with two options, neither simple.
She could take the initiative to approach, but even with Thunderbird Wing and rocket jumps it'll be no mean feat to get up to the highest point in Leanbox. Besides, if she was in Hilda's shoes and just got a chance to make moves outside her enemy's detection range, she would definitely set some kind of trap. That left the other option, retaliating all the way from here, but that won't be easy neither. The endless stream of projectiles constantly kept her on the move, and the blade arcs made it hard to see. Even Sniper wouldn't be able to make a shot at this distance under this much pressure.
Then again, Sniper didn't have magic.
"Executing: Deadeye."
Time slowed to a crawl for everything that wasn't the CPU Candidate, who didn't take her time, quickly stepping out of the way of the incoming volley before taking aim and firing - her arms as steady as a professional assassin.
The fired bullet slowed as well once it left Nepgear's vicinity, leaving a golden trail in its wake, and without further delay, Nepgear let go of the flow of time. The shot soared, and the endless barrage of projectiles stopped. The pink-haired girl had no time to celebrate, not when her knees almost buckled immediately, leaving her gasping for breath. Goodness, she had a feeling this skill would cost a lot of SP, but that was a LOT, and her stamina paid an equivalent toll… It's a good thing stamina and SP seems to regenerate quickly here, but this is not a skill she can casually use again, not when she can't confirm if a kill shot actually is a kill shot until after the crippling cost.
Already she was about to pay the price. Long before she had the chance to recover she had to contend with the ghost once more. Flashes of light came from within the cracks of the building, then another mighty jump, another Basilicom left destroyed in its wake, the shattered fragments pushed back by sheer force.
Vert's home detonated but a beat after in a series of explosions from Hilda's abandoned trap, serving as a blinding backdrop to the living comet now streaking towards its prey. As death approached, rather than run away, Nepgear ran towards her foe instead, transforming her weapon back into a dagger and disappearing in a blur.
The speed boost allowed her to dodge under Hilda, who once again struck the ground blade first, dozens of spears piercing out from the ground at a forward angle to skewer everything in front of her. Several icicles floated around her, ready to counter the anticipated rocket jump that didn't happen.
Hilda spun around to attack, but it was already too late. The sight of the Basilicom's obliteration had lit a spark of rage in Nepgear's chest, and as she sped back towards her enemy, her dagger transformed into a golden spear.
"Rainy Ratnapura!"
With blinding speed the spear stabbed again and again, and it was all the wraith could do to block most of the blows with her cursed sword, the clash of steel like the pitter patter of rain. Even still, the prepared icicles were shattered one after another by piercing thrusts, and a few strikes passed the Gehaburn's guard, adding even more blood and pain to join the red splattered on the side of Hilda's head, where the golden shot grazed next to her left eye.
A final spinning slam pushed the two apart, but Nepgear would not allow her enemy a moment to recover. Immediately she rushed back in, weapon transforming once more to a golden sword.
"Executing: Lightning Hands!"
The blade swung once, but the blows numbered three, two phantom slashes to bypass the enemy's defense, all electrified. Two more cuts of blood sprayed from the wraith's waist and shoulder, and still the pink-haired girl did not relent.
"Executing: Light-"
A vicious kick to the stomach sent Nepgear flying back, knocking the breath and several droplets of blood from her mouth.
The agony consumed her senses for an instant, and she felt the intense need to throw up, but her mind registered the fencing stance Hilda had shifted to, and knew she had to act. An explosion of flame projected from her body propelled her to the side, sending her crashing to the asphalt, but out of the way of the energy lance that missed her by a hair. She could feel her arm tingle from how close that was.
Before she even had time to get up, Hilda lunged again, pure bloodlust upon her snarling face. The Candidate summoned a flare gun and fired, a shot that her target easily avoided with a simple tilt of the head, until the flare exploded right as it passed, interrupting Hilda's charge and setting her alight.
The ghost shrieked and clawed at her burning face, the fire turning a bright magenta as it grew stronger by Nepgear's will. The Candidate took that chance to flee, only to keel over in a violent coughing fit when she tried to get up. She couldn't fight or flee like this…!
Then without warning, the earth shook violently, a rumbling earthquake spread throughout the land. Nepgear could hear the sound of splitting rock coming from everywhere. Was it too late? Has this world's extended life reached its limit?! In the next instant, a glowing green crack formed along the ground, traveling beneath her, before the road they were fighting on tore itself apart like ripping paper. Unable to escape like Hilda, Nepgear once again fell screaming into the void below.
In darkness she fell, and fell, and fell, until-
"Augh! Goodness…!" The pink-haired girl yowled as she struck the ground. Thankfully, this world's 'failsafe' for catching falling souls still worked. But where was she now? She certainly wasn't back in that chamber with Arfoire's statue.
Around her was a forest of trees, and above, a stunning view. Far in the sky was Leanbox, its Basilicom still recognizable despite being drifting debris. The region, already fractured into floating isles to begin with, was now completely devastated. It was like someone took a giant hammer to it, and ominous green energy permeated the shattered landmass.
Curious, a quick rocket jump took her up to a tree top, and from there she could see that Lowee too suffered the same fate, whether just now or at an even earlier point. If she were to look closely, she could see pieces of the broken regions 'glitch', stuttering and pixelating, like broken assets in a game.
A quick look over the horizon at the nearby, steampunk-style buildings confirmed that she was now in Lastation. This region was still 'intact', but for how long? How much health did Hilda still have? The answer was 'too much'. There was no time to keep chipping away anymore. She needed something more powerful. More firepower!
…Hmm. Fire.
Hearing a quiet thud nearby, Nepgear decided the time for planning was over. Summoning the Flamethrower and Backburner into each hand, the girl held down the triggers and ran, haphazardly spraying flames that took on her personal hue as they set the trees alight. The CPU Candidate with the blazing pink hair raced through the forest, painting it in her color. Even amidst the roaring inferno, she could still sense her hunter's smoldering presence, drawing nearer and nearer…
Amidst all the flickering pink light, she almost missed the darker shade of purple appearing on the ground ahead. The girl trusted her suspicion and tried to make a sharp turn; one step would've been the difference between getting bisected by the giant energy blade erupting from the ground, and getting blown back by the force as she now was. No sooner had she hit the ground did the execution follow. The Gehaburn flew at her without its wielder, piercing trees like cardboard, spinning like a drill. There was no time to avoid it, not when it could simply pursue.
One instant the cursed sword was finally about to catch its mark; the next it had crashed into a pink barrier, giving Nepgear the time she needed to get back up. She wasn't sure whose power it was that saved her, but Nepgear channeled it nonetheless, deeming that she probably had enough fire now, and if not then soon, as fire does as fire does. The flamethrowers disappeared, replaced by a metal shaft that ended in a wicked curved blade, familiar and chilling.
This scythe…?! These powers too. This is from more than just her own memory of the Felon, unlike when she called on Judge's halberd. Why was CFW Magic of all people here, and on her side no less? No, no time to ask questions!
"How many more must stand in my way?!" Hilda screamed as she leapt out from the trees, returning the Gehaburn to her hand mid-sprint. Nepgear didn't answer with words. At this point she didn't know the answer, nor did the exact number matter. However many currently stood at her side, she would not squander their gifts, and so she answered instead by meeting Hilda's blade with her own.
Another dance of whirling blades followed, only this time the roles had switched. Her black flames suppressed by Flame Awakening, ice nullified by the searing inferno all around, Hilda was being brought down to basics. Nepgear on the other hand now twirled her scythe with the experience of the most powerful CFW guiding her hand, its wicked curved edge cutting graceful arcs through the air while its wielder summoned barriers to deflect independently of the weapon. Bit by bit, blow by blow, the goddess slayer was being pushed back.
It still wasn't enough. It still wasn't enough!
Nepgear let a clash bounce her back, then replaced her weapon with one that made Hilda's blood boil. Knees bent, blade ready, she called on the power of a goddess who always strove to overachieve.
"Infinite Slash!"
The Gehaburn met the Burning Agony once more. As blade deflected blade, Nepgear didn't stop, letting her sword slide off while she continued onwards past Hilda. A barrier formed ahead, acting as a foothold on which she would step, twist around, and launch off with another burst of fire from her feet. This she did again and again at lightning speed, replacing the flight this technique normally required while attacking her target from every angle.
One second she was to Hilda's side, the next she was in the air, then behind, then front. Every time she passed she slashed, and with every slash the burning sword grew hotter, ensuring each successful cut would be more agonizing than the last.
Finally, Nepgear skidded to a halt. Of the near two dozen slashes, three passed the wraith's defenses. Hilda was practically frothing at the mouth, body awash in searing pain, but still she didn't miss a beat charging towards the seemingly exhausted Candidate. Afterall, she only needed one good hit.
Something caught her arms, then her legs, then waist, then neck.
The trap had already been set during the last attack. The tendrils from the little rifts Nepgear left behind now coiled tightly around their prey, pulling Hilda back. But of course, that was not enough. Though it was true the pink-haired girl was near the limits of her stamina, the real reason she looked so distracted was because she was charging her next attack.
With all her might, she called on the inferno that surrounded them and bid the flames rise. While Hilda struggled, the blaze answered. A storm of heat surged through the burning forest as flames gathered and swirled into a tornado above, taking shape.
Nepgear lifted the Burning Agony high, and swung it down. For a brief moment, a magenta dragon seemed to tower over the woods before it dived, pouring its flame onto the trapped wraith. The binding tentacles were burned away, but the Candidate could see the silhouette of her enemy still there, pinned beneath the waterfall of flame. This is it. This has to be it, right?
Then the ground shuddered, causing Nepgear to grimace, looking around worriedly and expecting to see Lastation fall apart as well. Instead, she saw a giant purple blade stabbing out of the ground, followed by another, and another, until the two of them were trapped within a circle. She's seen this before, a rocket launcher appearing in hand, but no, something was different too. For one, the blades were angled inwards, making rocket-jumping out a much more difficult, if not impossible affair.
Distracted by this new development, she saw the incoming attack too late. A line of growing spears sped towards her, and as she threw herself out of the way, a piercing pain in her leg made her scream. As she collapsed to the ground, the flow of flame was finally disrupted, freeing Hilda from its hellish crush.
The monster not only survived, but managed to retaliate… Nepgear's only solace was that her foe wasn't unscathed. The wraith was still a burning heap on the ground, so it was hard to see exactly what state she was in. All that could be told was that she wasn't getting up after her, but the Gehaburn was stabbed into the ground, its glow growing brighter and brighter.
Something was coming, and she was in no condition to avoid it.
It was then that a strange wrench with an antenna attached appeared in her hand. Looking down confusedly at it, a feeling in her head told her how to use it. There was no time for questions. In desperation, the girl lifted her salvation up, lightning coursed through her veins, and then she was gone.
Kneeling on the ground, Nepgear gasped for breath, a Kritzkreig equipped. The medigun beam won't work on herself, but just wearing it gradually healed her, and the fumes released from this one's nozzle sped up that process. The girl breathed in another lungful, shivering. The scent was strong, and reminded her of alcohol, but not precisely. She's hung around Demoman long enough to tell that difference. A sandvich would've been preferable, but at this point she felt too spent to even chew.
She had no idea where she was this time. The wrench had teleported her to a machine, some kind of large metal disc on the ground with various parts connected, itself located in a wooden building. There was a rack of weapons behind her, and a shop front on the side with an 'Upgrades' sign, stocked with even more of the mercenaries' arsenal. Then, this place is…?
Once the torn hole in her leg was reduced to a raw wound, the tired CPU Candidate wasted no time heading out, the metal gate sliding open as she approached. Sure enough, the outside was an arid region, the ground a reddish sandy rock. Across a small ravine were several wooden buildings, built before a cliff wall with a boarded off mine entrance.
The name 'Decoy' flashed through Nepgear's consciousness.
Finally, she got a chance to step foot on the mercs' home world, if only in memory.
She then looked up to the sky. Directly above was Planeptune, still decimated by the rain of swords. Strangely, it wasn't glitching, unlike Lastation. Even from here she could see the ridiculously gigantic sword that pierced out of the still burning treeline, comparable in size to a Basilicom. That continent too was now breaking apart, green cracks spreading from the sword that itself was crumbling.
She failed to defeat Hilda again, even after everything. Just what is it going to take? Her stamina and SP weren't coming back as quick anymore, maybe as a consequence to the world's collapsing. What she pulled off at and before Lastation is beyond her now. Still, she will not, cannot give up. It's not like she's not making progress. The fact she managed to escape here alive is proof enough her enemy is nearing her limits too. Besides, there was a secret weapon waiting right here for her. She just needed to figure out how to use it.
…
…
The pink-haired girl smiled wearily, and in her hand summoned the Huntsman. An arrow was lit aflame, then shot high into the sky. That should do it. The rest, she'll just have to improvise.
…
…
The time she was allotted to prepare was longer than expected. She was almost getting impatient by the time her guest arrived, jumping down from the cliff wall. Finally, Nepgear could get a good look of her handiwork, and though she was no sadist, the CPU Candidate had to admit, that did put a smile on her face.
Hilda's now ragged blue hair was shorter than it used to be, ending in smoking tips. Her armor was falling apart at the seams, her clothes no less scorched, barely protecting her dignity while exposing skin covered in black soot or angry red burns. The places where Burning Agony had struck left scars that practically glowed, and the Gehaburn itself no longer looked pristine, now resembling its real self, warped and dulled. Where once was seething fury, there was only weary irritation.
"I tire of this game of cat and mouse, devil."
"Really? Me too… Let's end this!"
With the press of a button, the stickybombs detonated above. Hilda swiftly dived, clearing the falling overpass, except there was no falling overpass. The lack of crashing sounds warranted a backwards glance. Despite being made of wood, the explosives barely left more than a scorch mark. Odd. Whatever.
The Candidate had taken the chance to flee yet again, and the double blade arc sent after her was easily jumped over, another double-jump into Force-a-Nature backblast to push her into cover. Hilda pursued, wary of her surroundings, and sure enough as she proceeded deeper into the mining town, the sound of rapid gunfire came from her right, another sentry gun hidden around the corner, positioned on a high ledge. The wraith backed off, charged up her sword in a fencing stance, then quick-stepped into line of sight. A few tanked bullets, in exchanged for a destroyed sentry.
A quick look over confirmed Nepgear was about to try the same tactic as before, but had to abort her plans, dropping her minigun like a hot potato and continuing on over the bridge across the ravine.
Wary of even more traps, Hilda decided to take a less predictable way across to the other side, in the form of leaping onto a squat building up ahead, then simply leaping over the ravine in an inhuman bound, landing neatly on the fence.
A glance confirmed the second bomb trap hidden behind the fence next to the bridge Nepgear took, courtesy of the Scottish Resistance, which the pink-haired girl threw away.
"Running out of ideas? Or are you just tired, little godling? You can't even stop my flames anymore." Hilda remarked as she hopped down, turning one hand into black flames. Flame Awakening hadn't been deactivated, pink embers still rising from the Candidate's glowing hair, but the invisible and infuriating grip over her was gone at long last.
The little godling just grimaced while summoning her own sword. "Don't need to." She simply said. Hilda noted the wooden covering Nepgear was standing on, as well as the small hole in the middle of said covering, barely large enough for a person to fall through. There was no attempt to hide the hole at all. …That was so obviously suspicious it actually became less suspicious. What could the girl possibly even achieve with that, assuming it actually was a trap? No matter.
"Bold words. But it's time to put you to bed."
The cursed sword in hand, Hilda charged in once more, eager to finish the job. A spiked shield appeared on Nepgear's arm, and as expected, the pink-haired girl charged too, screaming. With her flame form no longer restricted, the wraith fell back on old habits and simply allowed the girl to pass through. Mid-charge, the Candidate's sword was replaced with a toolbox of all things, which she spun around and threw at Hilda. The metal box passed through the black flames harmlessly. It was almost pitiful how easy it's become, now that the little devil had run dry on borrowed power.
Then Hilda remembered where the sentries came from, and turned around, obliterating the growing mini-sentry with a quick blade arc. When she turned back to face her prey, she found Nepgear… unarmed.
No sword. No gun. No mysterious new energy.
The girl was standing there in an odd posture, one hand at her waist. She looked like she was about to draw a pistol, but there was no pistol, nor anything else. She just flexed her fingers, lifted her hand, and-
"POW!"
…
…
Hilda didn't understand. Nepgear didn't understand. Outside of standard Mann Co. augmentations, Heavy was just a really tough human. He could use a spellbook, but he had no magic of his own. He should not be able to fire a bullet of compressed air, strong enough to kill someone from meters away, by forming finger guns.
And yet, he does. Just like his fellow mercenaries and their own impossibilities, he simply does.
Because they're Team Fortress, and they don't have to explain shit.
Hilda stomped her foot into the ground, skidding to a halt inches away from the hole. So bewildered was she by what just happened, by the fact that she actually almost fell into that goddamn hole, that she didn't even see the flaming arrow fall in behind her.
Nepgear was falling. She's been doing that a lot lately. At least she's not falling through a featureless void this time, wondering when or even if she'll land.
She had to wonder why an entire warehouse filled to the brim with explosive material would have an open roof access like that, it's like whoever built this place took every safety regulation and treated them as a challenge. It sure worked out to her favor at least. Kinda. She wasn't expecting the blast to be THAT powerful.
On the bright side, although she's been literally blown sky high, her injuries from it were remarkably few. Hilda herself was nowhere to be seen, having been caught in the blast center. Maybe she'd been blown to smithereens? One could hope.
Nepgear looked down on the land below. This last region too was meeting its end, green cracks spreading like shattered glass from the blast zone. The pink-haired girl looked around at all the places she's been, those beautiful cityscapes now reduced to little better than an asteroid field. How long had she been fighting here? It felt like it's been days, weeks even, desperately fighting for her life every minute. Surely there was a light at the end of this tunnel. Surely…
The Candidate felt her speed slow, reaching the apex of her rise… then re-accelerating in the same direction. She was now falling up. Nepgear soon realized she had just passed through the center of the world, and was now falling towards the other side.
She was fairly certain this isn't how gravity is supposed to work, but considering she's been fighting on the inside of this hollow 'planet', who even knew anymore? Either way, she was now falling back towards Planeptune. The green cracks harbinging destruction were creeping in from the land's outskirts, and she was heading towards the last place they would reach.
Flames slowed her descent, the roof of her final destination destroyed a long while ago, and then, she was back.
Back in a familiar place. The very heart of the inner world.
Nepgear looked around at her conjoined bedroom, damaged, but still the most intact thing to exist in this broken realm. Spotting something, she went over and picked up a pair of old plushies. Gifts from Histoire, not long after this little sister's birth. How could a memory feel like so long ago, but also like yesterday at the same time?
A thud.
"...How are you still alive?"
"I could ask the same for you." Nepgear said as she placed the plushies back on the bed and turned to face her stubborn adversary. Hilda looked even more tattered now, bleeding from a multitude of places, most of her armor broken off, posture slumped, blade cracked and chipped. But she was still alive, and still intent on completing her mission.
In contrast, though Nepgear had a bloodied leg, the only other visible damage were several bleeding scratches, and being similarly unkempt. Despite that, both of them knew they were both on their last legs.
The two met each other's tired glares for a moment, before Hilda sighed and straightened her posture, brandishing her sword once more. "No matter. I'll admit your little miracle gave me doubt, but reality has proven me correct. It doesn't matter how hard you fight. Even if I fail to kill you, we will both die here in the end. This world you rebuilt returns to nothingness. Your borrowed powers run dry. Your miracles are spent, and you're still here. Our fates are already written."
Nepgear shook her head, drawing her own sword. "I refuse to believe that. Even if it's true, I'd still fight to the bitter end, so even if I fail I can say I tried my hardest! Better that than being left with 'maybe's and 'if only's."
"There are no 'maybe's here. You're trying to do the impossible."
"...Maybe. Heh. There are a lot of things in the world that really are impossible. But, y'know, ever since I was rescued from the Graveyard… I've been living with the impossible every day."
Despite imminent death staring her in the face, Nepgear couldn't help but chuckle with a wistful smile. "Whole other worlds. Resurrective immortality. Whatever 'medicine' Medic does. An entire species of sapient crabs that look way too much like one guy. A man so buff he could match a CPU for power with no magic or augmentations. I don't even know how that finger gun I did works. So what if something's supposed to be impossible? Maybe I just don't know enough yet. And I won't know if I just give up so easily!"
The pink-haired girl took a step forward, wound back her sword, then lunged at the speechless wraith.
"Cross Combination!"
The blade flowed like a dance, crossing against the broken cursed blade in flowing motions. The demigod's steps were mingled with hops, darting forward to press the advantage or jumping aside to flank her foe's guard. Even still, every blow was carefully deflected, the wraith making no attempts to turn the tables. She just needed to wait.
There.
When all the fancy arsenals and flashy powers were set aside, Hilda Gehaburn was still the more experienced swordswoman by far. She knew her opponent was exhausted, and an opponent that was both exhausted and aggressive inevitably made mistakes. One slash, and it was over. She looked down at the body that fell lifeless on the floor, bloody gash cutting through from shoulder to waist. Just like that.
And so it ends, in unceremonious silence.
…
…
…No. She should've known better than to think so little of the little godling by now. She could still sense the other soul nearby, somewhere. It must be another tool of the mercenaries. The Spy's this time, she wagered, invisibility and feigned death. Had she the energy left she could simply sweep the entire room with her blade, but both she and the Gehaburn had less than dregs left.
She could feel it, even the power from outside that she'd also been tapping into had lessened immensely. That was fine. There was only so much room here. All she had to do was wait, and listen.
The seconds ticked by. Hilda's gaze swept the room, ears sharp for the slightest noise. Finally, inevitably, the buzz of a cloaking device powering down to her right invited a lethal arc of purple, the hand quicker than the eye. When she turned to look though, her blade already mid-swing, she could find nothing there but a golden pocket watch, thrown into the air.
Then, pain. Hilda flinched, then looked down at the sword piercing out from her abdomen, dripping with her blood. She didn't resist when the blade was yanked back out, pulling her back to fall to the ground. The Gehaburn clattered beside her, shattering on impact.
The victor too collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath, bloodied weapon resting on the ground. Save for their breaths, silence hung in the air.
"...Should I congratulate you, Nepgear? Well, congratulations. For what it's worth, it was a battle well fought."
The pink-haired girl didn't respond for a time, or rather couldn't, the last of her strength spent. "...Thanks. Even if I couldn't have done it on my own." She eventually said with a bittersweet smile, kneeling down beside the defeated ghost. "I may do my best, but I'm not much, myself. That's why I owe it to everyone who helped me get to where I am."
'Everyone', huh. Hilda remembered when she wasn't so alone. Having people to fight besides, having people look up to her, having people to look up to, having people to just spend time with and enjoy the little things in life together. She didn't hate them for leaving her. It was only natural after what she became. Still, she missed those days.
"You should give yourself a little more credit. Someone that's 'not much' wouldn't be able to earn the faith of so many, much less turn that faith into such strength. You earned this victory through your wit and will. If the world was ruled by goddesses like you… I might be able to accept that."
"Oh goodness, that means a lot coming from you. Thank you." Nepgear chuckled softly, "Still, I'm far from a full-fledged goddess. I'm still reliant on a lot of people, and there's still so much for me to learn. Of course, so does everyone, even my sister and the other CPUs. They're not perfect, far from it if I'm being honest. But I choose to believe in their goodness. That however imperfect they are, their greatest wish will always be the prosperity of Gamindustri and its people. And they're not alone neither. My sister might be a lazy slob most of the time, but she's got Histoire to keep her on track, and IF, and Compa, and all the other CPUs too, and all the new friends she'll undoubtedly meet. We make up for each other's flaws, and help each other grow. That's just how people are. The future will be a bright one, Hilda. I sincerely believe that."
Hilda remained unmoved, though neither did she fall into a rage at the notion that the devils could be anything but evil. Rather, as her lifeblood pooled beneath her and green cracks gradually formed along the floor and walls, she was focused on something else. "...You didn't include yourself in your sister's list of advisors."
Nepgear hesitated, averting her eyes. "...Admittedly, I do enable her behavior a bit too much. Maybe I'll get to try harder in the next life."
Hilda closed her eyes and sighed. "Finally accepted it, have you?" She said, looking up at the darkness. Even the distant debris was gone now, leaving only a void once more. Even the top edge of the walls here was slowly fraying into nothing, millimeter by millimeter. "All that pain and struggle for the both of us only to end up where we started. I did tell you our fates were already written. Well, I can't say I'm averse to going out with a bang."
"Fate or not, I couldn't just give up." Nepgear shrugged, "This life, these memories and friendships, the faith placed on me… The future we could've had together… If they weren't worth my best, what was?" A wistful smile graced the girl's lips, even as a single tear rolled down her cheek, then another. She looked at the green cracks that were appearing on Hilda's skin, then looked at the ones growing on her own palm. "Now I've done all I can. That's… one less regret I can go with."
"...You could try to destroy me completely."
"I… I could. But I'd rather not."
"Whatever happened to 'I won't know until I try'?"
"T-That's a general statement, I didn't mean it for every situation. I draw my line at bloodshed for no clear cause. Maybe it's true that something would happen, but… I don't think you were lying. You're already defeated, and there's no new gateway or feeling that I could break free, or anything like that. …If this is the end, then I think you deserve peace too, and I'd rather not die alone."
"...Have it your way then."
…
…
"...Do you think we'll reincarnate, or something like that?"
"How should I know? It's not an impossibility, at least."
"Yeah. Maybe we'll reincarnate into another world? Though I'd rather stay in this one. I want a shot at meeting Neptune again, and everyone else. I don't need to be a CPU Candidate or goddess or any of that. …And in that case, I'd like to meet you again too. You'll be free of Uzume's wish then, won't you?"
"If fate wills it, I guess."
"I hope so then! The fates can't be bad all the time! And even if they are, I'll try my hardest anyway! I'll… I…"
The two soon fell into silence, a quiet only broken by quiet sobs of a young girl face to face with an untimely, destined death. She fought with everything she had and more against what everything pointed to as an inevitability. Even still, even after failing, cursed with such a tragic fate, she was still looking towards a future she wasn't even sure existed. This little godling she looked down on so much.
Meanwhile, here she was still trapped by the past. She abandoned everything and everyone, walking this wretched path of destruction and hatred chosen for her. She had no choice. Even after she became conscious of the source of this hate, she could not ignore its influence, until she came to accept this hate as her own. She had no choice.
She had no choice. Or so she told herself.
This fate, this duty, ordained by divine wish. Did she have no choice, or did she just choose not to choose? Was Uzume's power really so absolute as she thought? Was everything truly out of her hands, all the way down to her ultimate failure? Was it all fate? Or did she just give up?
There's no way to know, is there?
…Not unless she tried.
It will not be easy. It will come with great sacrifice, with no promise of success. She was tired. So, very tired. But at this end of the line, what was there to gain from giving up? This girl beside her, this… warrior, had given her very best. As a former knightess, it was chivalry to give as much as was received.
Very well then. One last indulgence, to expose the lie of Her divine will.
…Maybe this too is just fate. But if it is, well, why stop now?
Hilda Gehaburn sighed and closed her eyes.
"...Hey, Nepgear?"
"Hmm…?"
"Tell Magic I'm sorry, and give Falcom a hug for me."
