April 27, 88
Type Uranus was in sight. The Lancers, Assassins, and Berserkers followed me into battle while the Archers, Casters, and one Rider stayed behind on the wall to attack from range.
Lancers are best at medium range, so it would be tricky to let them attack, but if they did hit and run as I said, they would be fine. Berserkers deal heavy damage all at once but then would've been unable to do anything combat-wise for a bit, so they were perfect here since they would've needed to retreat anyway. Assassins were good here too since they were just meant to get close, deal damage, and then flee immediately. The Archers from behind me would attack from a range where they were safe, and the Casters would support all of us. The Rider that remained had a ranged Knight Arm to back us up in combat.
Riders are usually pilots, therefore their Knight Arms can qualify for any of the squadrons, They just have to be good pilots at the end of the day. I was lucky to have a ranged Rider backing us up, rather than another sword user.
The air became frigid, and chips of ice sliced against our armor as we got near the storm. This would've killed any old-world human just by getting near, but because we were Ether Liners, we could bear it without issue.
I looked around. The land was empty as it was before, but the ground now had a light blue color to it. Every inch of earth in the area was coated in permafrost which only spread further as the Glacier moved toward the city.
I couldn't see a visible core through its thick icy body, but it was safe to assume it was near the center as the core usually was in the Aristoteles.
"Grand Saber, we Assassins will go first to test out the durability of Type Uranus. You, along with the Lancers and Berserkers should remain here in position."
"Copy that." I, along with the Lancers and Berserkers, remained outside of its effect zone and waited on standby.
One of the Assassins almost vanished into thin air as he rocketed toward the Glacier faster than the eye could see. That was a perk of being in the Assassin squad. They are made to get in and out which would require jets faster than any other at the cost of faster burning batteries.
The Assassin in red appeared to the side of the mass and stabbed with a small, grain-made dagger. But as expected, it didn't even crack the shell. The dagger only slipped out of position and grazed the ice body.
The red Assassin flew out of the effect range just as fast as he entered and hovered next to us.
"My Knight Arm did not affect it, and as you can see, the others are getting similar results. What are your orders, Grand Saber?"
"We just have to keep the attack up, we cannot fail here, no matter what. Berserkers, try and target its center, Lancers, and fend off any attacks it may launch at myself and the Berserkers, that goes for you too, Assassins. I will try to cut it down with Slash Emperor."
"Understood, Ado Edem!" The other Knights yelled out as they flew into battle.
"Hurry!" One resident of the City yelled to the crowd. The mass was overwhelming, hundreds tried to flee and get to the bunkers. There were multiple all around the city of course, but this particular one was the one Eve was heading toward.
The crowd was panicking and screaming, and the flashing lights weren't helping either. People shoved and yelled, others just put up with it to get to safety. Eve was at the back of the crowd as she had joined late. But, she could make it, there surely had to be a lot of room in each, right?
Luckily for her, the bunker she was at had plenty of room still. The people of the Land of Steel didn't mess around when it came to Aristoteles' attacks.
She walked through the crowd, being mindful of her wings and tail. She went straight to the back and sat down, her wings and tail curled around her body. For now, she would wait and hope.
"The Knights have got this! Ado Edem is with them from what I've heard. He can kill the Aristoteles with ease!"
"You're kidding! We're saved!"
Eve only listened to their talking. If it were so easy, Ado wouldn't have looked so worried, right? She thought to herself before closing her eyes to relax for a bit.
An endless barrage of attacks. Nothing worked. Sure, we cracked the ice, but it would nearly instantly "heal" with ice.
Individual attacks won't cut it? Everyone is starting to slow down as well… The Glacier has only gotten closer, which means we have gotten closer to it as well. The storm will ruin us if we enter.
The battle had been going on for 10 minutes already, which meant we had 20 left.
I began my descent to the ground. Slash Emperor needed to start growing. I had a plan to open it up enough properly to get an attack off, but I needed to do this first.
Touching the white earth, I placed my hand on the ground. The seed appeared and began to bloom.
"!"
I rocketed up to the sky as fast as I possibly could, it only took two seconds to reach "eye level" with the Glacier, but in that time, the ground grew thousands of large spikes made of ice. Upside-down icicles would be accurate.
If I was just a bit slower… no, does it know what I can do? I wasn't able to grow Slash Emperor because it stopped me. But how could it have known what I was doing? Did it simply sense a threat? Or is there more to it?
Several spikes of ice form overhead and begin to choose targets. All were aimed at the wall. Type Uranus made a sound not belonging to this planet, and fired.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" One of the Knights on the wall screamed as they all jumped. The wall of Grain exploded, and the city was breached. The Knights who jumped repositioned on what remained on either the left, or right. Unfortunately, our Rider was lost to this attack, frozen solid with no chance to live.
There was no time to mourn though. Tentacle-shaped ice shot out from its body and moved in toward us.
I boosted back, then flew in a zigzag. If the thing even touched me, I'd be frozen solid. Being the Grand Saber doesn't mean I'm any more durable than the rest of the Knights. My sword couldn't have done anything either. My only option was to fly out of its range. The others were able to destroy the incoming ice with their less restrictive Knight Arms. A cannon, a sword that was like a bomb, a dagger that could perform ranged slashes and a lance that could grow extra blades on its sides.
The battlefield sounded like glass shattering and sure looked like it too.
I need to find a way to grow Slash Emperor, but how? The ground is frozen but I can still break it. The real issue is the spikes it can form to prevent me from being down there long enough. Wait, does it need to focus attention on me? Or is it automated?
I took that opportunity and went down to the ground. The Glacier was busy using those tendrils, so if it went to attack me but the tendrils stopped, then I had my answer.
First I broke the ice layer, then dug my palm into the ground once again. As I thought, my instincts screamed at me to run, so I did. The spikes shot up and out of the ground, and the tendrils ceased their movement for an instant.
I rocketed back into the air and reconvened with the Knights.
"All of you saw that, right? The tentacles stopped moving?" I asked.
"Yes, do you know why? One of them almost had me too." A Lancer responded.
As that was said, more tentacles came flying by. We all separated and continued our movement. I switched on the comms and began to speak again.
"Somehow, it knows about my Knight Arm and what it can do. Whenever I go to activate it on the ground, it focuses me. But it can't multitask so easily. There was a brief instance where the tendrils stopped, and the ground where I stood turned to ice."
"So you're saying that it's intelligent?"
"I'm not sure. It should be mostly mindless like the others, minus the Moon. Anyway, no time to think about that now. We are running out of time, fast."
10 out of the 30 minutes have passed so far. In 20 minutes, the City of Grain would fall, and so would us Knights.
I hope Eve made it to the shelter. As long as she stays safe…
"I have a plan, everyone."
"Go ahead, Grand Saber. We will do as you say." A woman's voice said in response.
"I need all of you to focus fire on one spot. Its center to be more specific, is where its core should be. I'm not asking you to kill it, instead, I need you to stagger or distract it. In the best-case scenario, you break its shell and expose the core. In that moment where it can't focus on me, I will grow Slash Emperor and move to cut it down."
One of the Knights let out a slight laugh. "Let's do it then! We don't have any other chance to win, no?"
The other Knights all agreed to the plan and moved to position. I moved to the side of the giant and began to head toward the ground while they took it more head-on. "You may act as you see fit. I will not get in your way, just get it done." I ordered.
First went the Assassins. They chipped away at its center, but couldn't handle the cold so they fled fast. Just like before, no damage was done. In the next instant were the Lancers. They all attacked the same spot that the Assassins did, all at the same time. To their surprise, it left some cracks in the blue ice.
"FIRE!"
The five Archers launched their attacks into the same spot. One "arrow" split into hundreds, and another took the form of energy and went through the beast. The next turned into a bird-like shape and impacted the Type with a crash. One lodged itself into the body and pierced from the inside. Many blades poked out from and around the center. And the last Archer's shot, Archer Two's was like a massive drill. It rammed into Uranus with its massive size and continued to dig in until it was fully submerged in the ice, leaving a sizable hole in its wake.
The Casters went next and boosted the Berserker's Grain production which in turn would've made their Knight Arms more destructive.
The four Berserkers charged up their attacks in unison. As I wrote before, Berserkers dealt heavy damage but had to "recharge" afterward, so there was no point in holding back now!
One of their swords grew to 60 meters in length, piercing the hole created by Archer Two. The next Berserker's blade became a cannon and launched an attack that could only be described as having the output of a small nuclear blast. The third, like lightning, not only hit one spot but landed hits all over the body. The last Berserker only swung his sword once, but that one slash became hundreds, engraving themselves into the ice and sending shards flying across the battlefield.
My jets burned away the frost and my hand plunged into the ground for the third time in this fight. My Knight Arm grew and grew, splitting the earth as it extended in size. My plan worked, the Aristoteles were too distracted by the simultaneous attacks and couldn't stop me. The only thing left was to cut the Glacier down!
My blade grew to 100 meters tall to match its current size, then grew even larger to eclipse the monster in length.
Can't stay in the storm for long, so I just have to rush in and kill it without pause in one moment.
My boosters were set to max and charged to deliver one singular blast of power that would propel me forward like a bullet. With its size, I don't even need to aim for a core, all I need to do is slash and it'll fall.
The trigger was pulled and I was launched forward. In the blink of an eye, I was in front of the Glacier and I cut right through it, ending up on the other side.
A shockwave ripped through the air, and the ice completely shattered and fell to the ground below. Several craters were formed and ice stuck out of the ground forming pillars and hill-like structures.
It took a moment for everyone to process that the battle was won, but indeed, Type Uranus had been felled by Slash Emperor, just like Jupiter and Saturn were. Three Aristoteles have been killed by the Knight of Edem.
Everyone wanted to cheer, but we had just lost a comrade. The Rider that had come to our aid had perished. The Knights just stayed silent and flew over to where his body was. It was fully covered in ice. For now, the Knights would have to wait until the ice melted to bury him.
I stayed silent and observed the situation from afar. We stopped it about 15 minutes early, 15 more minutes and the city would've fallen. And we still have at least an hour until the Aristoteles would arrive. That ship is fast, but it would only take off in the next 15 or so minutes.
All we could do then was to regroup and rest.
I should check on Eve too, she's probably worried—
It then dawned on me. Why hadn't my Knight Arm fully retracted? It goes away when the threat is dead every time, so why is it still out, albeit the size of a normal sword which was its standby length?
I looked back down at the wreckage and noticed something. There was a humanoid figure walking—no, floating toward it. It was purple and black like a humanoid shadow or something. It was too small from this distance to discern what sex it was, but it was a human in shape, not a beast man.
It floated onto a certain piece of ice, Type Uranus's core…
It looked like the others took notice too, and they began to move in to stop this person from getting too close.
The shape put its palm onto the core and only spoke one word. A word that cut through the air and pierced our ears…
"A̸̯̝̋͌͝r̵͖̙̦͚͐̕͝͝ǐ̷͓̚̕s̵̡͙̾͐́͝e̴̯͔̓̊̋"
The Knights that were nearby were frozen solid and died instantly. The shape vanished into thin air like it was never there in the first place. And lastly, the Aristoteles of Uranus became active once more.
Eve woke up to her pointed ear twitching. Her hearing was better than most, so she heard a word that was spoken far away. A word no one here should've been able to hear, and no one did hear it since no one reacted. Following that, a noise that sounded like freezing, then a large boom rang out. Even the people in the bunker reacted to that one.
"Did the Aristoteles breach the city!?"
"I don't want to die!"
"Did the Knights fail?"
Many people began to worry about the situation above. Children began to cry, people were pacing around with their heads in their arms.
*BOOM!*
Following an explosion was a roar from the outside which made the earth tremble. That was when a mass panic started. No one could stop them now. Not even the higher-ups could calm them. As far as everyone knew, their life was done for, along with the city.
But Eve wasn't panicking at all, nor was she worried. She was instead focused on a buzzing sensation in her right hand. It was as if it was trying to lead her somewhere. Like a magnet trying to attach to metal.
So, Eve ended up following the sensation, which led her to the door.
"Miss, where do you think you're going? Out there isn't safe!"
"I am just going to have a look. I'm not sure why, but I must go out there."
Without allowing the man to respond, Eve opened the door and left, she heard it shut behind her and lock.
Eve then broke out into a sprint. Her hand burned. The temperature dropped, but as an "A-Ray," she could handle this much.
She ran through the hallway and opened the front door. The entire city was covered in permafrost, and she could see a dragon made out of ice flying above, freezing all in its vicinity. She could see Slash Emperor as well, attempting to slay the dragon but I couldn't land a hit, my body temperature was falling rapidly, restricting my movement.
Eve felt the cold air, her body felt like it was freezing already.
Just what happened out here? Type Uranus? Wasn't that thing supposed to be a glacier? Why is it now in a dragon form?
Questions raced through her head, but there was no time to think.
The dragon let out another roar as its body glowed, and in the next instant, everything turned white. Though, I wasn't dead and neither was Eve. The "Reality Marble" of Type Uranus was overlaid onto the Land of Steel turning planet Earth more so into the planet of Uranus.
The slender, bipedal dragon hovered for a brief moment. Its four wings flapped as it observed the area. Its white, icy body glistened in the sun's rays.
Uranus is a gas giant, but due to us still being on Earth, there was still solid ground for us to stand on. As for the remainder of the city…well, it was covered in ice.
I moved my arms, but they were quickly losing feeling. The jets on my armor began to fail and the once black outfit began to turn white.
This is really how I'm going to die, huh? Fine with me, but I'll take that thing with me! I thought as I made one final attempt to boost forward, but my boosters froze completely at the most unfortunate time.
Ah… I can't even do that, huh?
Without the ability to fly, I fell to the ground and impacted the hard ice, rolling down a hill that covered what seemed to once be a tavern.
The frost began to freeze my body too when I contacted the ground. In a few moments, I would become just like the other Knights.
I must get up and keep fighting. But I can't move. I need to get up anyway, even if my armor is destroyed. No, I've been in the storm too long. Even if I do get up, I probably won't be able to move.
My vision began to grow dark and my body grew warm.
Wings flapping? Is Type Uranus flying in to finish the job? No, the Aristoteles' wings sound like glass, then does that mean…
I opened my eyes and looked behind me only to see a woman flying toward me. Her wings were covered in ice and her hair looked like it was frozen, but Eve had left the safety of the bunker and came to aid me.
Without a word, she landed, picked me up, and flew off to the base of the Knights where we both started the day. But instead of bringing me to the bunker, she instead carried me into the storage room from yesterday.
She was shivering and looked out of breath. Her wings had icicles hanging off them, and her hair had the same. Her dress no longer flowed around like fabric, but was more solid and barely moved with her. She even had some blue spots on her white skin from being out there unprotected.
"I-Eve what are you doing!? You're supposed to be in the bunker!" I yelled in both anger and confusion.
"I know but I couldn't just leave you. I felt something bad happened, and my right arm was hurting, so I left the bunker. I'm sorry."
I sighed and hugged her. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"What about you, Ado?
"It's a bit warmer here so I can move a bit better. And it seems like we both are thawing out. If you hadn't grabbed me, I would've died out there."
Eve turned her head and looked at the door, then back at me. "What happened out there?"
"Some person touched Type Uranus' core and the next thing I knew, everyone nearby was frozen solid. The rest on the ground were stabbed by ice from the ground. I only lived because I was flying and a good distance away. It reformed into that dragon. It immediately flew into the city and started destroying everything. I tried to engage but the cold was throwing me off from killing it, along with it fighting back. Then it activated a Reality Marble and you know the rest."
Her head fell slightly. "I see. So all of the other Knights here are dead?"
Mine did the same. "Yes. I'm all that's left."
"Should we run? This city is probably unwinnable if it's just you. And it's all destroyed too."
"No, I'm not abandoning this place. It's my job and mission to save, so that's what I'll at least try to do. If I die then I die, I didn't expect to live a full life when enlisting anyway."
"…"
"…"
"Well then, I'll help out. I can't do much, but I'll do what I can. If you die, the city is done for and the residents in the bunkers will die too, no? That would include me. So I'd rather go down fighting than die in a hole somewhere."
"Very well. I can't convince you otherwise. We need a plan though." I said.
The building shook and I thought I could hear some of it collapse in another wing of the base.
"Hey, Eve? Did you say earlier that your right arm was hurting?"
"Yes, it still is actually." She raised her right arm. Nothing looked off about it, but I doubted she was lying about it.
"Anything else?"
"It seemed like it was trying to lead me to the fight. My arm hurts and is slightly tingling."
I looked at my right hand, then back at her.
The dragon was made out of the Grain material. Her wings, horns, and tail are made of the same. I thought she was a special A-Ray, but the dragon did have unique claws on it. Could this mean..?
"Eve, I think you may be an Ether Liner."
"Eh?"
"I'm confused too, but it makes sense to me at least. It seems like you might have a Knight Arm since that's what happens, your arm feels weird and then you use a mental image to grow it. On top of that, your strength rivals mine, which not many A-Rays can compare to a Liner like that."
She grabbed her tail and held it up for me to see.
"But Ado! I have a tail, and these wings and horns. How can I be an Ether Liner when I look like an A-Ray?"
"I don't know. Nor do we have time to figure it out right now."
The building rumbled once again and a shelf fell over nearby.
I stood up and looked toward the door. "I'm going back out there. Eve, it's your call whether to fight with me or get to safety."
Eve placed her hand above her heart and looked straight into my eyes. "I'm coming with you!"
"Got it." She and I began to run. Out the storage room and at what was left of the front entrance.
"To activate your Knight Arm, assuming you have one anyway, is to just…let loose. Don't resist the feeling your arm has and let it flow out. It's hard to describe in words, but once you face down Type Uranus, you'll know what to do. I'm sure of that."
"I'll try my best."
With a simple nod, the two of us rushed out into the blizzard. The dragon flew overhead, freezing all in sight. I was able to resist the cold due to my armor, but Eve seemed to be able to bear it even if barely due to her being an Ether Liner if that was even true. She nor I could last super long though.
Slash Emperor was still in its resting state, so I began to grow it in size to match the dragon and boosted myself into the air. Eve on the other hand stayed back and behind cover. Waiting to grow her Knight Arm.
Eve closed her eyes and let out a breath. Focus. Just let it out. That's all I need to do now. I don't know what it will be, but please be of use!
The dragon known as Type Uranus noticed me. It turned its body and focused solely on me. The storm was as intense as before, and the freezing temperature only dropped more as I grew closer.
I'll cut it down here!
I readied my arm and swung the Slash Emperor. Its double-sided blade cleaved through the air and cut it like a pair of scissors.
The Aristoteles of Uranus summoned hundreds of icicles in an instant and launched all of them in my direction. With a quick boost, I rocketed myself out of the way and above with the dragon following suit. We both grew higher and higher, and each of us attempted to find an opening in the other.
It knew it couldn't get close to me and I was the same to it, so we were locked in a temporary stalemate.
As we were continuing our ascent, the dragon suddenly stopped and began falling to the ground. At first, I wasn't sure what it was doing; but then I realized that it did so on purpose and found a new target. Eve.
Shit!
I began to fly down giving it chase, but it was simply much faster than me. It began to charge up a blast of frost from its mouth aimed at the area Eve was peeking out at.
Come on! Come out, Knight Arm! Please! Eve frantically thought as the Aristoteles grew closer by the second.
Seeing as how it was too late, Eve went to run…only to realize her feet froze to the ground and she couldn't move from her current position.
"EVE!"
Type Uranus let its frost breath shoot out and it hit next to Eve, shards of ice went flying all around and cut her body up while also sending her flying backward and knocking her out after she whacked her head on the hard ice.
The dragon shot right back up out of its descent and began to gain height while I just stopped in the air.
I gritted my teeth and stared down the beast who did that.
I ascended, eager to match the Aristoteles in altitude and cut it down.
Slash Emperor grew to full size and I flew in to cull the Type. But all I could manage was chopping a wing off which instantly grew back.
TEN PERCENT REMAINING, PLEASE LAND AND RECHARGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! A pop-up in my HUD said. After those few massive bursts, the energy that should've lasted an hour only lasted around 20 minutes.
Without the ability to fly, I'm dead. I need to make this last bit count.
A continuous cycle began. I attacked and it fought back, defending itself in any way it could. I got closer, and it flew back and formed an ice barrier. I got too far away and it would shoot icicles at me to keep my back and potentially kill me.
Slash Emperor's massive blade scraped the sky and shattered the ground, but could not cleave the Aristoteles of Uranus's new form.
I noticed that the giant began sending frost above me, so I quickly looked up only to see it was forming a meteor of ice above. It was going to drop it on top of me and at the same time destroy the City of Grain and seal the residents in the bunkers forever.
TWO PERCENT BATTERY REMAINING!
I didn't even need to think, I flew up and with all the energy I had, I destroyed the meteor at supersonic speeds.
ZERO PERCENT BATTERY REMAINING!
The jets cut out, and I fell. The fall would've for sure killed me from this height. I was at cloud level after all. Not even an Ether Liner Knight could survive this.
Maybe the Aristoteles and the rest of the Knights will arrive soon to save everyone. I'm sure they can beat it…
The dragon roared and began to make its way over to me.
Is it going to eat me?
It opened its mouth and closed the distance in an instant.
Wait, this is perfect!
I swung my arm. Type Uranus was a few meters away now. I decided to make one final attempt at its life and used Slash Emperor one more time.
The blade went right though, and its body began to crack and split.
Seeing how close I was to hitting the ground, I grabbed onto the nearby Aristoteles and braced myself for the landing. The Type couldn't fight back at the moment, so now was my chance. It was freezing, but there was no other way.
The two of us hit the ground and it sounded like someone dropped a massive chandelier on the ground as Type Uranus impacted the floor with me on top of it. I quickly got off and got plenty of distance between the two of us.
Type Uranus got back up, but it was missing its wings and its body was fractured all over.
It can't regenerate now? Did Slash Emperor prevent it from healing? It can't fly anymore, nor can it heal. I can't fly either, so we're even!
With Slash Emperor in my right hand, I faced down the mighty beast as it roared at me and began to charge.
I prepared to slash the Aristoteles as it grew closer and closer, and within the instant it was in range to attack, I swung my Knight Arm.
Kill them all. They must all die.
Gunshots rang out through the hallway straight at the figure. The woman manifested a white, rough-looking greatsword and blocked the bullets with ease.
Once their guns ran out of ammo, the woman made her move. She rushed them down without giving them a chance to respond and cut the three in half with one swing.
The white and black-haired woman stood up straight and looked around the metal hallway to see one else in sight. The greatsword retreated into her right hand and she continued on her way.
She looked for a way out of the building and would kill all who attempted to stop her. The woman wore a black bodysuit that covered her whole body except her head, it had a white line on each arm and two on her torso which ran down her legs. It matched her dark gray eyes and her white and black hair nearly perfectly.
"There she is!" One man in combat gear yelled while he raised his gun. Several footsteps could be heard from behind him.
The Knight Arm was revealed and she performed an overhead swing in their direction. In the next instant, a dragon made from Grain was formed and impacted the group in the narrow hallway.
The Grain was like a liquid, shot out like water from a powerful hose. All the men who attempted to stop her perished from the Knight Arm's ability as they were blown away into nothing.
*clap clap clap*
"That Knight Arm sure is something, Eve."
Eve turned around to face a man in his thirties who wore an outfit that suited an emperor. A militaristic uniform with a big cape trailing behind. He wore a gold crown on his head and carried a cane in his left hand. This man was the Crown, the one who ruled all of humanity in this world where A-Rays dominated and the remaining humans had no choice but to join together.
"I believe you have had enough fun. You tried to escape and you have failed now that I have arrived. It seems like you were a failure in the end. Losing your mind after all these years. We all had high hopes for you, but oh well, this is just how it goes, right?"
The Crown raised his cane slightly and smiled at Eve. "We will have to start from zero once again, as for you, I, unfortunately, cannot bring myself to kill you after all this time we've spent together. You will not suffer, I promise you that, my daughter."
"YOU-!" Eve screamed and lunged at the man with full intent to kill.
The Crown simply tapped his cane on the ground, and gravity grew heavier. It felt like Eve was being crushed by an entire building as she was sent to the floor unable to get up. Her vision began to fade as the weight only increased by the second.
I'll…kill you. No matter what… You will pay for everything you and those scientists have done for me!
The battle on the ground had been going on for five minutes. Of course, the area around me was freezing, so moving was difficult to attack the beast.
The wingless dragon lunged toward me and bit down, missing me by a hair. I threw myself back and slid on the ice a few meters.
Spikes of ice formed above it and fell to the earth like hail. The ice shattered around me as I barely managed to dodge it all. But that wasn't the end. Type Uranus swung its tail my way and made contact with my torso, sending me flying into an ice-coated building.
Not giving me a moment to rest, it once again charged in and raised its claw, bringing it down like a hammer.
I can't dodge this! I raised my arms in a pitiful attempt to block the attack, but it would be no use in the end.
But, a miracle occurred. From my left was a dragon made out of Grain which smashed into the Aristoteles, knocking it off balance and creating distance between the two of us.
I quickly got up and ran in the direction that the attack came from. Both to get distance from the Type and to see who the unseen aid was.
"Ado, are you okay!?"
"Eve, that was you?"
That's when I noticed a white greatsword in her right hand. A sword as big as her which was extremely rough looking. Jagged all over its blade similar to how my Slash Emperor looks before it reaches the black blades on each end.
I got to her side and looked at the blade. "Is that…?"
"Yes, I believe it's my Knight Arm. I had a strange dream before waking up, but it had already started to fade. It showed me how to activate and use my Knight Arm. Still getting the hang of it though…"
"Quickly, what does it do? Make it as simple as possible."
"From what I can tell, it can manipulate Grain like water and use it to attack in various ways like the way I just saved you. It likes to take the form of a dragon it seems."
"Got it. I have a plan. I need you to continuously attack it from range and don't let up. Create me a proper opening and I'll take it out."
Eve just nodded and raised her sword as the Aristoteles got back up and looked our way, roaring in anger.
Grain formed around her blade, and a pillar shot into the air like an ascending dragon. It then curved down and dive-bombed Type Uranus, creating a crater around it that kicked ice into the air.
Eve continued the assault with continuous attacks from her Knight Arm while I got ready to cleave the thing in two once it was wide open to attack. I didn't have my jets available, so I just had to get to it on foot.
The dragon turned its body and shot a ball of ice at Eve's location, but she flew out of the way and stationed herself above the Type to rain down her Knight Arm on top of it.
Several beams of Grain fell and crashed into the Aristoteles.
The beams suddenly hardened and kept the dragon in place. As much as it struggled, it couldn't break free immediately, but cracks had already started to form in the Grain, so that was my only shot!
I ran as fast as I could and grew Slash Emperor as big as possible, then swung horizontally in its direction.
Just as what happened to the glacier, happened to the dragon. It cracked and shattered without resistance. I slashed its core, so the rest of the body wouldn't be able to hold. Its head fell off its body and shattered when it hit the ground. The Aristoteles had been killed for the second time.
Eve flew down next to me. "Ado, we did it! Type…uhm…Uranus is dead!"
I nodded and replied. "Yes, with its core destroyed, it should be down for the count. Let us secure the area, then go to the bunkers to tell them it's okay to come out."
Eve's Knight Arm retracted into her right arm and she just looked at her palm. "So strange…But I feel so used to it."
"Eve, did you remember your past or anything?" I questioned.
"Maybe? It has already faded away. But the Knight Arm and how to use it has not. I should be able to aid you in your fights now."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You have a lot of training to do to get used to that thing."
"Alright…" she said in a defeated tone. "I could use a warm bath, I'm freezing."
"Same here. Once this is all over we can head back to my home base, it has a massive room full of baths in it."
Eve looked around the whole city. "Sure thing. By the way, is this ice going to fade? People can't live like this, right?"
And a sudden relaxation flashed in my mind. "Eve! Get ready to fight! It's not over yet! Reality Marbles cannot be maintained after death, so that means this thing is still alive!"
"H-huh!?" Eve manifested her Knight Arm once again and turned toward the pile of ice. "Are you sure it didn't genuinely freeze the area?"
"Even if it did, the ice wouldn't be around anymore. Every other power of the Aristoteles disappeared after their death, such as Saturn's crosses of light. There's no reason why Uranus' would remain."
Almost on cue, a figure emerged from the pile. A humanoid form made of only ice and frost.
And it looked just like me, my armor that is.
"Ado. Is that one of the other Knights?"
"No, that's a Saber Ether Liner design, I was the only one of the Sabers here. Did it take my form?"
As if giving a response, my clone raised its right arm and formed a sword, a sword that was just like Slash Emperor. Double-bladed and massive in size, it grew as much as it needed to grow.
Seeing how it's much smaller, is this a final gambit on its part? It had the time to analyze me and copy my form, so this must be a last-ditch effort to kill me and regain its power, maybe seeing as it is made of ice. Or is this that dark figure's doing from earlier?
I grow my own Slash Emperor and face the Aristoteles.
A piece of ice cracked off the side of a building and smashed onto the ground, and that was when the battle started. The false Slash Emperor grew in size in an instant, rivaling the size of a four-story building, and flung the length our way horizontally.
"Ado!" Eve forcibly grabbed my arm and flew up, bringing me with her and allowing the two of us to evade the attack which caused buildings to crumble behind us for tens of meters. Type Uranus didn't stop there though, several pillars of ice extended from the ground to us in less than a second.
With a quick wave of my blade, the pillars all shattered before they could reach us. But when I looked at where the Type was, it was gone. It had not fled, however. It instead covered the distance between the three of us and began to ascend behind us to kill us from a blind spot. In other words, it now had a sense of strategy behind its actions. Two attacks that would keep us busy while it closed the distance for a kill shot.
My Knight Arm matched it's and for a brief moment, our blades locked and I was able to get a good look at the Aristoteles. There was no detail on it, just my form made out of ice. Even Slash Emperor had little detail compared to mine. Even so, it was still just as effective against me as mine is against the Types.
Grain swirled around us like a tornado, and then it latched onto the false Ado Edem, pulling it away and throwing it to the ground hard. The ice didn't break however, it only froze into the Aristoteles and "healed its wounds."
I took a look at my dragon companion. "Eve, how are you feeling?"
"Even though the cold storm has died down since the dragon died, I don't think I, nor you, can take much more of this."
"Yeah. Agreed. Let's end this no—" I paused. Around the Aristoteles, the ice took shape. The permafrost that was once on the ground grew more humanoid shapes like soil growing a plant. In other words, the Type multiplied into hundreds of frost Ado Edems. All of which now faced toward us, growing blades just like the original.
We could not win anymore.
Our chances were already dwindling as time passed due to the temperature, but combining that with hundreds of opponents…
"Ado, can you wipe them out at once?"
"No, Slash Emperor takes one target and grows to their size. It doesn't account for multiple. I would at best be able to take out two at a time. What about yours?"
"I still don't know how to use it well enough. I can't do much better than you."
The army advanced. Step by step, they grew closer as we fell back.
"Any chance you'll abandon me and run, Eve? You can make it out."
Eve rigorously shook her head. "Not! If I'm dying, I'm doing it in battle. I'm not a coward."
I smirked underneath my helmet and prepared for the worst. I would fight as hard as I could. But I wouldn't be able to do this as I was then.
The ice Slash Emperors grew in length, and the army charged at full speed!
Eve threw her Knight Arm in front of her body, and Grain formed at the tip in the shape of a ball. Pointing it forward, she aimed and—
*BOOM!*
An explosion went off in the middle of the ground, and tens of them shattered and went flying in all directions. More bombs rained from the sky and annihilated the army with little difficulty.
That's… I looked up and was created with The Aristoteles. The Ether Liner Knights have arrived to give us aid from above.
"E…em. Ado Edem, can you hear me?"
"Ruler? Yes, I can hear you."
"Sorry it took so long. We can deal with the army from above. Can you take out the main body?"
"Yes. Leave it to us. Do you know where it is?"
"From what I can see from the binoculars. There's one off to your far left that seems more resistant than the others. Go for that one."
"Got it!"
Clare tapped off the comm and looked down from the main deck. Did he say "us?" She thought before looking back into the binoculars and seeing a woman with dragon appendages and a greatsword in her right hand.
I wonder who that is?
Eve and I raced through the battlefield off to the far left as Clare said. Eve flew above the ground to not risk slipping since she wasn't wearing armor like mine which accounted for all terrains.
"Ado! Swing to the right now!" As instructed, I swung my blade and cut a clone in half as it was about to attack me. "Thanks, Eve! I owe you one!"
You owe me more than just one, Ado. She briefly thought to herself before focusing her mind back on the battle.
"Any reason your friends aren't coming out to aid us?"
"This air strike would make it too dangerous for them. We are after one small target. It would be harder to kill it if we had too many Knights here at once."
"Is that it!?" Eve points ahead and there it is. The original seemed unaffected by the air strike and had its "eyes" locked with mine.
Eve's blade became cloaked in white Grain as it all flared up. Bringing it above her head to perform an overhead strike, she brought it down and a beam of Grain poured out like a high-pressure hose.
Naturally, the Aristoteles avoided such an attack, but I knew it would. Slash Emperor was already at its torso when it dodged the blast and began to regain ground, leaving me with the chance to kill it. But suddenly, its body erupted in ice and spikes shot out from its body as a form of defense, much like a pufferfish from the old times.
Most of them were avoided but some did land and pierce my armor, but I couldn't let up! This was the last chance I'd have, so I had to kill it there!
My Slash Emperor slammed against it and began to tear through, destroying all in its path. The Aristoteles slammed its version into my right side and like mine did to it, its blade began to tear through my armor and burrow into my skin.
Time froze at that moment for me. At best, I kill it and I live. At worst, I die before killing it. And another possibility was that we'd kill each other. I get split in half and it gets its core destroyed. But is this even its last form? Theoretically, it could come back again and would Eve be able to destroy it? Could the Knights do it?
At that moment, I decided to dedicate my existence to that one moment to eradicate this monster, even if it took me with it. But luckily, it didn't need to come down to that.
Grain flew toward me and wrapped around the Slash Emperor of ice, pulling it away as much as it could. Mine however continued strong and after a millisecond, bisected the Aristoteles and split the shining blue core in half. But I didn't stop there. I struck it again with my blade and cut it again into four pieces.
To finish it off, Eve formed a dragon from Grain as she flew in, and it ate the four pieces, crushing them into dust. The Grain flew into the air above and evaporated, raining down bits of the core as it did so.
"Look out!" Eve screamed as her body slammed into mine. It looked like she couldn't stop her body in time after being so preoccupied with saving me and destroying the core.
I now lay on the ground and her body lay on top of mine. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Eve. I'm fine. Thanks for saving me back there."
Eve blushed slightly and nodded. "No problem at all."
She stood up and got off me, then bent down to help me up. I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up and we both stood watching as the ice defrosted and flew into the air as the Reality Marble dissipated.
"Is it over?" Eve asked me.
"Yes. It's finally over. We won."
It took a while, but the ice finally cleared and the city was back to being as it was, albeit destroyed. Rebuilding wasn't an issue in this era, but it must've still been annoying. Eve and I were taken aboard The Aristoteles, while other Knights freed the residents from the bunkers after making sure nothing of Type Uranus remained.
The total losses of this battle were 19 Knights, along with a few unfortunate souls who weren't able to make it to safety in time. Eve and I passed out not long after boarding, in the main control room in fact, due to various reasons such as exhaustion, low body temperature, our injuries, and an adrenaline crash.
April 29, 88
When I came to, I was in a hospital bed on board the Aristoteles. Eve was in the bed next to mine and to my left was Clare reading a book.
"Clare, how long has it been?"
Relax. It's been two days. But you're still injured, so try not to move much. I didn't think you would even be up yet. Clare closed her book and set it on a table next to my bed. "What about Eve? Is she okay?" I asked.
"Eve? Do you mean that woman? Yeah, she's fine, just more exhausted than you. It's like she hasn't exercised in years, so her body wasn't used to all that action just yet."
"Hasn't exercised in years? Like me after getting out of the Witch Swift then?"
"Yes, you passed out from exhaustion then too. Anyway, just who is this woman? Can you tell me about her? Along with everything that happened in the attack on Type Uranus."
"Yes, I'll tell you what I know. But first, can you get me something to eat?" I smirked at her. "I might pass out again otherwise."
Clare seemed to be slightly annoyed to not be able to hear me out right away but obliged my request. She took one more glance at me, and then Eve's sleeping body, and a look of suspicion flashed on her face for a brief moment before she left.
What was that look for? Is it something about Eve maybe? I guess she does look a bit strange, but she seems fine around A-Rays, so it must be something else, but what? No, I'm sure it was nothing. Maybe she's just suspicious of a new person, that's all.
I laid my head back down on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for Clare to come back. Now that the dust had settled, I found myself thinking about one oddity in all this.
Who, or what exactly was that thing on the battlefield? The humanoid figure that "revived" Type Uranus. What kind of threat is it to us exactly?
For once, I had no idea what it could've been. Not even a theory. All I could do at that moment was hope that I ran into it again in the future. And hope I can get answers of some kind out of it. But, would that be the best idea?
Only time will tell, I guess. I thought to myself as I took a long awaited rest.
