The Dustbin
Day 50: Survey Class Part Final
11th of Guardian Moon, Afternoon
"FUCK! SHIT! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! SHIIITTT!"
As Karna curses up a veritable storm as he and Yuri hung for their lives in their involuntary joyride around the ruined citadel, Bias' consciousness inside the malfunctioning [Hermes] tried to fly straight with the inconsistently-flaring damaged vernier, and scrape off the two unwanted passengers off of her tech afterwards.
System's 43% fried, Bias thought as her mind ran over the schematics of her remote autonomous weapon, one more critical hit and I'm toast. Have to finish this or risk irreparable damages by drawing this out even more...
The [Scythe of Sariel] stuck in her weapon's oculars wasn't helping matters. Nor losing her sole close-range weapon that she had on her custom Titanus.
... Dammit, guess I'm not getting my toy back, the bratty Valkyrie mentally sighed before gathering he resolve. Sorry baby. I'll make sure those 400 nonstop hours of R&D won't be in vain!
[Hermes] then speeds up, flying faster with all of its thrusters flaring out at their highest possible output.
"HEY!" Yuri cried out as he kept a tight hold around one of the [Vel] cannons. "IS IT JUST ME, OR IS THAT THING FLYING TOWARDS THE RUINS?!"
Karna then sees the walls of ruined marble and limestone closing in towards them at an alarmingly-fast rate.
"BAIL OR GET BEHIND SOMETHING!" Karna then lets go of his trapped weapon with Yuri jumping off of the Titanus' back right before the mech rammed itself through the ruined building before said crashed object collapsed upon the weapon.
Karna, using his [Gravity H+], softens the impact of his fall by creating an equilibrium between himself and the ground itself, dampening the landing to be that of a person lunging towards a plush couch. As he rolled about, he then spotted Yuri right above where he was, right before his vision was blacked out upon the latter landing right on top of him.
"... That was close," sighed Yuri as he looked back at the collapsed building before looking down at Karna's face wedged between his own thighs. "Also sorry."
"Then please, get off of me-" Karna's words were then cut off by the pile of rubble erupting behind them.
As the two got back up to their feet, they spot [Hermes] emerging from the ruins, now its body crackling with electricity dancing around its chassis surface and moving in a more rickety and disjointed pattern.
System performance down to 13%, Bias observed her overall optics of her damaged [Hermes]. Should've taken it into account of the reduced armor compared to that of a regular Titanus model. Can't afford to get careless. Activating the "Auto-Eject" subroutine and diverting all remaining power to main power core.
From its back, the custom Titanus then purges its twin [Vel] cannons from their back ports before picking up one of them like a club. "... Let the records show that you made me do this," Bias' voice crackled from the [Hermes]' head unit. "Could've saved me the trouble but noooo, YOU FUCKING YONOS JUST HAD TO RESIST!"
"... 'Yonos'?" Yuri puzzledly remarked.
"Means 'scum' or someone who is a lowlife," Karna revealed as he readed his Dark Magic in both of his hands. "If you're curious, the word is a hybrid slang between Eastern coastal regions in Shangri-La and Hanafuku cultures intermingling with each other. Saw a few fishing boats off coast during my visit/kidnapping."
"Well aren't you the textbook definition of a paranoid," Bias sneered as she then trudged her [Hermes] towards the two, dragging her [Vel] club behind itself. "Let's see where being smart takes you WHEN I TAKE YOU TWO OUT LIKE YESTERDAY'S TRASH!"
The custom Titanus then breaks into a lumbering run as it then raised its club over its head unit before swinging it down. Both Karna and Yuri jump out of the way from the attack before they made a swift escape from it.
"So, got any bright ideas?!" Yuri remarked as he ran alongside with Karna.
"For one, I think it's movement is now severely limited!" Karna looked back to see that they were outpacing the crippled (but still functional) custom Titanus. "For now, create as much distance between ourselves and that thing while I come up with an actual plan of attack-!"
The two's path was then cut off by a giant piece of rubble landing before them, causing Karna and Yuri to tumble back and land on their backs. From laying down, Karna saw [Hermes] break of a chunk off of the ruins before placing it down before its feet and winding back its club for a two-handed underhand swing aimed towards the rock itself.
"Crap."
"FOOOOORREEE!" Bias then swung her custom Titanus' club into the set boulder and sent it flying toward where Karna and Yuri were laid at.
"BAIL!" Karna then got up and dragged Yuri out of the way before the flying rock could crush them upon impact. "... Yuri, you awake now?"
He nods before they heard another chunk being broken off from elsewhere. "... Okay, so that thing knows how to play golf," he commented as Karna dragged him out of the Titanus' line of sight. "So much for crating distance..."
"Actually, that can sort of work to our benefit," Karna commented before he turned towards Yuri. "... Tell me, do you any [Thunder]-adjacent spells or have a [Levin Sword]?"
Yuri then partially unsheathes his weapon to reveal the requested item. "... Got a plan?"
"Yeah," Karna nodded before another twack sound was heard before being shortly followed up by another giant rock landing near where they were at. "... First, split up."
At the Site of the Double-Ambush...
"Cease your advance, Children of the Goddess," Simone droned as he threw another bolt of lightning towards them. "Leave the unclean one behind and come to me."
The Altered Golem's request was then met with a helping of horse manure shot towards his face from Cyrus' [Bowgun]. "Here's mine: bend over and line your metal ass up so I can repurpose it into scrap metal!"
The Battuian then mowed through the freshly-risen wave of earthen constructs of Warriors and Fortress Knights with his [Gradivus] lance and Darius' hooves crushing their remains back into dusty powder. Just up ahead, Hilda and Byleth continued to thin the herd to clear a way towards Simone.
"There's like, no end to them!" Hilda moaned as her [Freikugel] broke through droves of earthen Fortress Knights like hot knife through butter.
"Suck it up," Byleth curtly remarked as her [Sword of the Creator] cut through a Warrior before nagging an Assassin by its neck and flung around, whacking itself across the other constructs like a flail. "The enemy won't stop until we're all dead. So do the killing part before the bad guy can do it to you."
From afar, Constance's [Fimbulvetr] spell first froze all of the remaining constructs around the them before [Bolting] struck them all down at once. The Warlock then gives a thumbs up towards the two.
"Now's our chance," Byleth remarked. "Charge!"
"Now that's an order I like to hear!" cackled the Paladin as he and Darius galloped past them as he then untied the bridle around his chest to release Linhardt from his back, with him landing in Hilda's arms. "COME ON PARTNER! LET'S RIDE TOWARDS THE HORIZON! UUKHAI!"
"You did that on purpose, did you?!" Hilda cried out as she pried the comatose Bishop off of herself. "Ugh, wait until I get my manicured hands around your fucking throat!"
Constance then came running towards Byleth. "... I'll take the poor boy while supporting Sorcha."
"Thanks," the ex-sellsword then takes off towards where Hilda and Cyrus ran off towards, both to help them take out the Altered Golem and to make sure that they don't end up killing each other out of sheer mutual spite.
Inside the Ruined Temple Complex...
"... There," Byron grunted as his sole remaining hand casted the last [Heal] for today's limit onto Ashe's broken bones. "... At the very least... his bones are now... intact enough."
"... Thanks," the babyfaced Sniper remarked as he laid next to the still-unconcious Selene, "... you know... you're not that bad of a person... as others make you out to be."
"Don't... get the wrong idea," Byron grimaced as he looked away and checked on Selene's condition. "... I only bothered... so that the option of using you as a meat shield remains... available in the long run."
"... Even so," he smiled at him, "... you didn't."
"Yeah yeah, just shut up and get some shuteye..." Byron brushed him off.
As soon as Byron sees Ashe now sleeping off his injuries, Hapi then takes overwatch with Byron himself now slumped next to where she'd kept watch from.
"... Hapi... can you like... do me a solid?" asked the one-armed Warlock. "... Don't tell Sorcha what happened."
"Why?" Hapi replied as she tilted her head in befuddlement.
Byron then looked towards both where Ashe and Selene were laid at. "... Because I get the sinking feeling that if she knew..." he nervously chuckled at the possibility of her killing Ashe in his sleep as retribution, "... if you knew her... like I did... then it doesn't... take a genius... to figure out... what'll happen next."
Byron then lets out a yawn before catching some of his own shuteye.
Standing Before Marcelle...
"Submit to the Goddess' judgement, child of the unclean," droned the Altered Golem as she swung down her severed arm like a combo weapon between that of a club and a whip.
"SCREW YE!" Sorcha then parries the downwards blow with the swing of her [Claymore], its sheer size being the only thing that's only keeping Sorcha on the backfoot and not completely stomped onto her curb.
Marcelle continues to swing her improvised weapon down repeatedly, raining down sharp, heavy blows upon Sorcha's head as the latter dodged when she couldn't parry and vise-versa. Normally, the advantage of an Altered Golem are that they have access to using their signature [Lances of Light] spells to not only keep their enemies at bay, but also to deliver destructive payload unto said enemies in order to end the altercation quickly and efficiently as possible.
However, recent circumstances has put most of this Altered Golem's main combat options on hold. Extensive damage to her main chassis not only leaves her with inadequate armoring, but has compromised her mana drive core to the point where it can only generate enough energy to keep itself functional and nothing beyond that. Also, this "Sorcha" has proven savvy enough to keep her engagement in close proximity, which combined with her damaged armor exposing her internals, a suicide attack is the last thing on her given directives unless the situation deems it ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
Blowing herself up just to take out one person, was beyond illogical, so compromises to her directives were made in order to accommodate her current situation.
As Sorcha tried to aim her overhead swing towards one section with exposed internals, Marcelle simply body-checks her out of the way with her girth and weight of her metal body. "You are a fool," taunted the Altered Golem as she now made the judgement that she and Sorcha were now at an appropriate length to at least get one thunderbolt thrown towards her direction.
Dropping her severed arm, Marcelle then charges up her spell before throwing it at where Sorcha was at. The latter only had a spilt second to react by blocking her vitals (throat, heart, stomach, and hip joints) with the width of her [Claymore] while she jumped back.
Thunderbolt strikes before where she'd laid prior. The explosion sends Sorcha careening across the ground, landing and then rolling across the bricked road of the ruins as her grip on her [Claymore] slipped before coming to a stop upon hitting her back on the flat of the planted [Adharma]. Constance with Linhardt in tow, saw the whole thing happen before them, with the latter waking up from the sound of thunder ringing through his ears. As for Marcelle, smoke and steam alike hissed out from her numerous gaps (both natural and breached) as she went over to where her severed arm was dropped to retrieve it.
"SORCHA!" Constance cried out as she and Linhardt ran over towards where she'd landed.
"... I can hear ye," she growled as she tried to get up by herself, only for a pair of sharp pains to emit from her now-broken knees. "... Bloody 'ell... me knees are feked up!"
"Linhardt, please heal her," the Ashen Wolves' Warlock requested.
"Why?" the Bishoped yawned.
"BECAUSE THAT THING'S NOW COMING RIGHT FOR US!" Constance pointed towards the now-advancing Altered Golem, dragging her severed arm behind her trail, its horrible scraping sounds being clearly heard all the way from there.
"Fair enough," Linhardt then casts [Heal] on Sorcha's injuries. "Can you like... hold it off?"
"I'll try!" Constance then casts [Fimbulvetr] towards Marcelle to freeze it in place. Marcelle immediately shatters the ice around her feet with the swing of her arm-club before resuming her advance. "FUCK!"
"Try something deadlier!" suggested the Bishop as he kept up his [Heal] spell.
"Why thank you for telling me, Mister CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!" Constance yelled as she casted her final [Agnea's Arrow] spell for the day unto the Altered Golem.
Marcelle quickly sidesteps out of the spell's epicenter, the blast from above grazing her side and melting off bits of her damaged armor.
"Okay, done healing!" Linhardt confirmed as Sorcha manages to get up on her own. "Now we need to come up with an actual battle plan-"
"YER METAL CUNT IS MINE, MUTHAFEKER!" roared the Brigidian Hero as she blitzed past both Linhardt and Constance before leaping towards Marcelle with her [Claymore] raised on high.
The Altered Golem then swiftly parries back the swing with her weapon, both knocking Sorcha back to where she'd ran from and snapping her [Claymore] blade into two.
"... Well," shrugged Linhardt, "that was slightly anticlimactic-" he was then cut off by the broken-off blade of Sorcha's [Claymore] to strike his shoulder like a stray arrow. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! DO I LOOK LIKE A MAGNET TO YOU?!"
"No, it's just that you're lackadaisical," Constance commented.
"FEK!"cursed Sorcha before she tosses aside her broken sword. "... Okay, I'm down one weapon."
"I can attest to that!" Linhardt pointed out as he casted [Heal] onto himself to patch up his nick on his shoulder. "Seriously, what are you compensating for with that thing?!"
Sorcha then looked at the young indignant Bishop flatly. "... Bro, I'm havin' a cock-measurin' contest with all of ye since I got onto dis fekin rock, 'nd I'm de one winnin' without me own," she smirked. "So shaddup 'nd help me think."
Marcelle herself was still marching towards the non-Fodlaner with dogged defiance. "... I will... purge... the filth..." she droned as her metal feet obscured behind her armored tunic scraped against the crumbling brick road. "... Such... is the will... of the Goddess..."
Constance looked at the half-broken Altered Golem after its visored helmet fell off to reveal the same iron maiden-like visage beneath it. "... You know, a single [Fire] spell would be more then enough to take her out at this point," commented the Warlock.
"Nah. Ye gunna die before ye can even try," Sorcha pointed out as she then walked towards the planted handheld blade the size of the largest standard-issue pavise available in the Adrestian Empire's armory. "I know those kinds; de more hurt dey git, de more erratic and unpredictable dey become in a snap."
Linhardt's eyes widened at the Brigidian girl's assessment. "Like a wounded animal fighting for its life."
"Yep," with all her strength, Sorcha then pulls the [Adharma] from where it had landed by its horizontally-aligned handle. "Besides... dat bitch... IS MINE!"
Sorcha then lifts up the giant blade before slamming it back down onto the ground, unleashing a slash of magic towards the Altered Golem's direction. Alerted by the sudden surge of mana approaching her, Marcelle then immediately leaps out of the way, the cutting projectile leaving behind a deep incision on the ground where she'd trudged prior until stopping near a couple feet away behind from where she was at.
Constance blinked stupidly at the executed feat. "... Did you do that on purpose?"
Sorcha shrugs, claiming ignorance. "Now I know wat I'm gunna do," she then grinned wickedly. "Ye two help the others out. Like I said... de bitch is mine."
Just before Constance can protest, Linhardt stops her before giving her a disapproving shake with his head. "... She knows what's she's doing," he reassured.
"... Fine," Constance then run off towards where the others were facing Simone.
Sorcha cackled to herself as she dragged her new [Adharma] blade behind herself as a replacement for her broken [Claymore]. Marcelle takes note of this as she got up, her eyes locked onto Sorcha's hands.
"... Filth... mingling... with filth," she stoically commented as she got back up, her body creaking all over as if it were to fall apart in any second, only held together by her resolve and faith alone. "... As expected."
"Ye owe me for me sword dat ye broke," Sorcha smirked, an expression that hid her rage. "... I think I'll break ye... as compensation."
Marcelle's internals whirr into overdrive in response. "... My faith... is my armor..." she droned, her voice distorted through a veil of melting brass, "... IT SHALL! NEVER YIELD!"
Sorcha then sprints towards the Altered Golem as the latter then broke into the same pace as the former, the two now closing in like a pair of bulls ready to lock horns.
At the Location of the Titanus...
"Bad idea bad idea bad idea!" Yuri rambled as more rocks fell from the sky courtesy of [Hermes] playing the world's deadliest game of golf, when said "golf balls" are roughly the size of large boulders and come at the force of trebuchet shots.
"STOP SCURRYING AROUND LIKE RATS AND GET MULCHED ALREADY!" roared Bias' voice from her weapon's intercom as she then chips off another giant piece of rubble before setting it down and winding back her club for another swing.
Says the person who's trying to kill us, Karna rolled his eyes in apprehension as he kept inching his way towards where the custom Titanus was situated at. One would think that any self-professed killer would be savvy enough that their targets won't just lie down and die. Even the most unintelligent of beasts prioritize survival against all rational odds.
He then heard Yuri's scream followed up with another heavy crashing sound. "... In hindsight, I'd thought I be the one having rocks pouring onto their heads from above," he grimaced. "Did she figure out my plan or is she not bothering to aim?"
As he snuck around a corner of a pillar through all of the kicked-up dust, he faintly spots the glows from the Titanus' internals wirings through the veil.
"... One way to find out," he mused as he then casted [Gravity H+] onto the pillar that he was hiding behind, lifting the giant column up from where it was rooted and chucking the whole thing onto the Titanus' head, knocking ajar before it swung its club for another shot.
"WHAT THE?!" [Hermes] then turned its head unit towards where the marble pillar had been thrown from, revealing Karna flipping Bias off before he ran off. "GET BACK HERE!"
As Bias gave chase, Yuri then peeked out of where he was taking cover from in anticipation for another shot. "... Did it stop?" he commented as he then took a quick survey around his surroundings. "... Now is a good as time as any."
He then speeds off towards where the rocks came from, using his memory of the terrain to zero in on where they initially started from.
"So if everything goes according to Professor Karna's plan..." he mumbled to himself as he passed by a set boulder, "... then the battle itself would be over in one blow."
Unfortunately, the dust cloud left behind made it really irritating for his eyes to navigate through the beige haze.
"... That is, if I can find them," Yuri grumbled as he drew his [Levin Sword] in anticipation. "Thankfully, that metal bastard left deep tracks behind, so I should be able to find them sooner rather than later-"
"WHEN I'M DONE FLATLINING YOUR ASS, I'M GONNA SHOVE THIS CANNON SO FAR UP YOUR POOP CHUTE THAT I'LL BE ABLE TO PULL THE TRIGGER FROM WHERE YOUR JUGULAR IS AT!"
The Ashen Wolves' residential Assassin sighs in annoyance before heading towards the direction where that overly-gratuitous threat of violence was coming from. Upon getting close enough, he bore witness to the giant of iron piloted by a harpy-sounding woman's consciousness screeching profanities and foreign slang in equal measure, chasing down Karna, who is currently running like a complete jackass.
"About time!" the Professor remarked before he jumped out of a way of the Titanus' club swing. "NOW SAVE MY ASS!"
Yuri nods before he then fired his [Wind] spell at the Titanus' head, doing little to no harm to its exterior.
"Was that supposed to hurt me?!" taunted Bias.
"Nope," he smirked as the tip of his [Levin Sword] was then revealed from beneath his cloak, "but this one's gonna sting."
With a little slight of hand, Yuri then fires a bolt of [Thunder] from his magical weapon towards [Hermes]' head unit. Rather than strike the actual head, the bolt instead curved directly into the embedded [Scythe of Sariel], acting as a lightning rod that allowed the embedded spell to travel through its shaft and planted blade, the latter of which was intimate with the internal workings of the Titanus.
The end result was the giant of [Wootz Steel] and roughly 400 hours of R&D overloading and its systems becoming compromised, breaking down like a windmill being gutted of its cogs while it was still turning.
"... FuUcCKkKKkkkK!" Bias' voice howled in a distorted audio from her blown-out speakers.
As the [Hermes] flailed, the [Scythe of Sariel] that was in its ocular unit finally slipped off and landed before Karna's feet.
"Alright, back in business," he smirked triumphantly as he kicked his weapon back up and snatching it back into his grasp. "Let's wrap this up."
Tightening his grip, he then pumps his [Expiration ∆+] from his hands as the spell then traveled up through the shaft and towards the blade itself, giving it a menacing green glow as the Professor wound back his weapon.
"First, [Frozen Lance]," he then activated his learned Combat Art combined with his spell-imbued blade.
"... I... I wIlL... FUckInG... KilL... YOOUuu!" Bias' voice glitched out as her Titanus then raised its [Vel] cannon-club over its own head.
"That's my line, sister," growled Karna as his compound spell blade then cut through the Titanus' knees like hot knife through butter, cutting cleanly through without any drag between its ray of incision.
Thanks to [Frozen Lance] first freezing the joints to a temperature that any form of steel turns brittle as hardtack before coming to contact with [Expiration ∆+]'s corrosive properties enhancing the [Scythe of Sariel]'s already-absurdly sharp edge, the end result was [Hermes] being several feet shorter and faceplanting before it could even swing down its club.
"Got em," Karna then gave Yuri a thumbs-up.
At the same time, as [Hermes] has now suffered critical damage beyond its designated threshold, the "Auto-Eject" subroutine goes into effect, forcibly decoupling Bias' consciousness from BEAST Mode, sending her mind back into her body.
At the Agarthan's Base Camp...
Bias suddenly found herself waking up underwater before immediately bursting out of the blue, gasping for air as steam hissed around her, almost as if she was in a freshly-warmed up bathtub.
"Sup," the Valkyrie turned around to find Myson waiting for her. "... You were heating up like crazy when I found you. So I had to dunk ya."
"And you had to strip me naked?" she glowered as she came out of the water.
"And shrink your clothes size even more?" the Warlock deadpanned. "Then again, it's not like there's much to shrink in your peabody-"
The short-tempered Sage then punches her compatriot in the privates, shutting him up as he slumped over. "... I ain't in a mood for your fucking bullshit."
Bias then finds her clothes dumped right where she was laid at prior to being stripped and tossed into a local cave lake. "... At least fold em."
"I don't want to hear that coming from you, Miss-Trash of the Titans," grunted Myson as he got back up to his feet. "... That said... sorry about your loss."
Bias then throws a soft tantrum as a method to cope with her great loss, moping and whinging for a few moments before calming down to a more agreeable state of mind.
"Better?" asked the Warlock.
Bias nodded her head, moping as she dejectedly stared at her screen of her NES still reading "Visual Lost."
"... Well, it's not like we can do anything about those animal-fuckers taking apart our tech and all of that hard work falling into their grimy-ass mitts," Myson half-jokingly remarked. "Would be a real shame if you can't do it."
That last word then struck her mind like a bolt of lightning. She then realized that her NES only read "Visual Lost," meaning that [Hermes], despite no longer being functional enough to fight, was still functioning.
She then began to chuckle sinisterly as she then grabbed her NES off the ground. "... Why thank you for tellin' me that, Myson," she cooed in a disturbing calm as she began fiddling with her remote control device's controls.
"For what?" the Sage replied before recalling what he'd said to his compatriot prior. "... You have a self-destruct function installed in that thing."
The NES's screen then read "Initiate Self-Destruct Protocol: Z.O.M.B.I.E?" with "YES" and "NO" printed below as Bias began howling in a maniacal laughter of pure spite.
"EAT SHIT!" the Valkyrie roared rapturously as she then moved the cursor towards the leftmost option to initiate Protocol: Z.O.M.B.I.E., or "Zone Obliteration Mass Bioform Incendiary Erasure." In Myson's head, this was basically an overly-fancy way of Bias saying "kill everything around myself with fire as a final 'fuck you'."
The "YES" option was selected before the message "Self-Destruct Protocol: Z.O.M.B.I.E. Authorized" with "T-Minus Until Detonation of Unit: [Hermes]" below it and further below reading "1:00."
"... Myson dear?" Bias emulated Cleobulus' voice and tone as she spoke to her fellow Sage. "Tell all of our operators, including Conquistador..." she spelled out as the time ticked to 50 seconds, "... to find cover."
At the Wreckage of the Titanus...
"Uh... Professor?" Yuri asked.
"Yes?" Karna replied as he tried to salvage the motionless Titanus for materials.
"Is it supposed to be glowing red?" the Assassin pointed out as the blue lines of the autonomous weapon was now red rather than its contemporary blue.
The realization made between it not moving yet having enough juice left to change color then hit Karna's mind like a ton of bricks. "Yuri, run."
"Wait-what?!" he commented, only for his words to be cut off as Karna sped past him.
"IT'S GONNA BLOW!" he cried out as he ran for his life, prompting Yuri to do the same and catch up to his heels.
As the two ran for their lives, Anacharsis atop of her Scythian spotted them from above. "Alright, might as well jump em-"
The piece in her right ear buzzed before the following message was received. Attention all operatives, Sage Bias has approved the activation of Protocol Z.O.M.B.I.E. Please evacuate the surrounding premises of the next 100 meters from the following coordinates effective immediately.
"... Change of plans," the Wyvern Rider shrugged as the location of where the explosion was about to come from. "FLY FASTER SCYTHIAN!"
The augmented wyvern then picked up speed as it fled towards perpendicular of the two's running path.
From above, Anacharsis began surveying the ground, finding any of her fellow operatives to pull out of the incoming blast zone.
T-minus 30 seconds, the voice in her earpiece warned.
"I KNOW!" she shouted back as she then spotted a group of people running in a row. "Wait a minute, Kronya?!" the Wyvern Rider remarked. "Why the hell is she running in the same direction as those beasts-?!"
A shrill hiss was heard coming from behind where the group ran from. On their collective tails was what can be best described as an offspring between that of a human being and a Demonic Beast. In spite of her size being rather minuscule, her speed and bloodlust was nothing to ignore.
"What the hell kind of situation did she get herself into-?!" Anacharsis then felt her ride being pulled own from the air by an unknown force from below. "Oh, what now?!"
The Wyvern Rider then looked down and found the she-beast latched herself onto the tip of her wyvern's tail before taking a bite out of it with her shark-like incisors, causing Scythian to shriek in pain as flesh was torn from his very bones.
"You've got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed as she then brought out her [Geri Beil] in one hand while keeping her bridles held in another. "MY PET'S NOT ON THE MENU, YOU PSYCHO BITCH!"
She then fires a beam of Ice Magic at the crazed Topaz, freezing her mouth shut before Anacharsis herself then cut off a segment of her wyvern's tail with her axe, sending Topaz careening down from great heights and landing headfirst back into the brick-paved roads.
"Don't worry, baby," she reassured her wounded beast, "mommy will get you a new tail. Maybe one with a deadly weapon at its tip..."
From below, everyone then stopped as they both saw and heard Topaz crash land back to the earth.
"... Surely, she's dead now," Edelgard commented.
"I concur," Balthus agreed, "even with all of my muscles, I can't survive fall of that height headfirst!"
Dimitri then approaches Vidar from behind before placing his hand onto his shoulder. "... My condolences," he professed, "but she was too far gone."
"I for one, say good riddance!" Kronya remarked before running off head after spotting Anacharsis above. "HEY! NEED AN EXTRACTION HERE!"
"No," Vidar grunted.
"... Look," the Prince of Faerghus began, "I understand that loss is hard to bear-"
Dimitri's words were then cut off by the bandaged Warrior placing his fingers onto his lips before shushing. "... You... don't hear?"
"Hear what?" asked Balthus.
Vidar then looked back at where Topaz had landed before staring back at them with bloodshot eyes.
"... Heartbeat."
Then everyone, including Kronya, who's now stopped in her tracks upon hearing Vidar's declaration, all saw Topaz getting back up, her neck now bent ajar towards the right, the misaligned neck bones popping out from beneath her neck's skin.
"... What the fuck?!" Kronya remarked as she and Anacharsis saw the she-beast come back from the dead. "... SHE LIKE FELL FROM HUNDREDS OF FEET! NO ONE CAN SURVIVE A HEADFIRST PLUNGE ONTO SOLID ROCK!"
Her indignations were then proven invalid as Topaz forcibly snapped her broken neck back into place, as if nothing had ever happened to her in the last ten seconds or so.
"Evidently not," snarked Anacharsis before she grabbed the Agarthan Assassin by her wrist before taking off back into the air. "NO TIME TO GWAK! THIS WHOLE PLACE IS ABOUT TO BLOW!"
"WHAT?!" Edelgard exclaimed in surprise.
"KEEP RUNNING!" Vidar ordered as he and the others resumed their chase.
With the surviving Agarthans now back together and flew towards where Conquistador was situated at, there was now about only ten seconds left before Protocol Z.O.M.B.I.E. sends all of them within the 100 meters of [Hermes] to the Kingdom Come.
The last of which were none other than Hapi and her group.
"... Oh," Hapi raised an eyebrow as she sensed a cataclysmic levels of mana gathering into one place, as if it were a volcano that was about to erupt. "That's like, bad."
Wasting no time, she then uses her [Crest of Timotheos] to summon as many Demonic Beasts to where she was at as much as she possibly could, not only to shield them from what's to come, but also in hopes that enough Demonic Beasts dogpiling onto where the blast was about to come from will be enough to dampen it to a point where it wouldn't reach her.
For the latter, Hapi estimated those odds to not be that great. So with numerous Giant Crawlers bursting out of the earth, Giant Wolves jumping in from the chasm above and Giant Birds following after their tails, about 99% of the beckoned monsters all beelined towards where the mana was most concentrated at as per their hunting instincts. Hapi then spots one Giant Crawler a size of a castle wall come out of the many hole that its compatriots burrowed through, kills it instantly with her [Hades Ω] and [Death Γ] spells casted in rapid succession, and then dragging the other three into the mouth of the slain monster to act as an impromptu bunker.
"Better shut it tight or go in deeper," Hapi shuddered as mucus drenched her and everyone else with her. "... Gonna do both."
As soon as the preparations were finished, the final ten-count was exceeded, and from where [Hermes] laid, a titanic dome of fire erupted.
The sphere of pure heat expanded outwards, consuming all of the Demonic Beasts into its deluge of infernal oblivion, taking with them the ancient ruins that once stood proudly, reduced to mere dust like all those that it consumed first.
After the flames, came the aftershock. Once the flames had claimed their prey, the shockwave from the force the explosion was spread outwards, emitting outwards a second wave of searing smoke and white-hot ashes. Topaz's back was then struck by the force before being sent flying towards where Anacharsis was carrying Kronya at, but before she can take a bite out of one of the two Agarthans on Scythian's back, the feral Hassashin misses and instead bites through the joint connecting the wyvern's left wing to its body.
Everyone on board crashes below and on top of the other fleeing group. Seeing the wave of smoke and ashes coming towards their way, she then raises her greatshield to block the coming wave as much as she could with Scythian's body now taking the full brunt of the blazing haze in the place of the humans laid beneath it.
The dust storm finally settles, and from where once the custom Titanus stood, remained nothing but a smoldering crater. The flames finally die out, leaving behind only a tower of thick smog that resembled a giant mushroom in its wake.
"... The fuck?" Yuri struggled out.
"... Thank goodness..." Karna fell to his knees to catch his breath. "... Can't imagine what would happen... if we were a little slower."
"Yeah... about that," the Assassin fell onto his butt for a moment of repose. "... How the hell... do you run... that fast?"
The Professor lets out a dry chuckle before giving an answer. "When threats of rape, kidnapping, enslavement become a constant on your trip abroad, you learn how to run fast," he smiled. "Also, having no testicles prevents drag."
"And I'm going to ignore what you've just said," winced Yuri as he ran off to look for the others.
"Hey hey hey!" Karna cried out as he ran after the Assassin. "Stick together or get jumped!"
Back at the Site of the Double-Ambush...
"... What the hell was all that about?!" Hilda commented as she and the others (including Simone) stared at the giant mushroom cloud spouting out from afar.
But just before anyone could attempt to answer, the sudden hot wind buffers all of them before reverting back into a dead calm.
"... Whatever it was, I have no complaints of not being in the middle of that!" Cyrus commented before facing back to the Altered Golem. "So Mister Simone, shall we get back to killing each other?"
"After you," the sentry then forms another thunderbolt in its hand before staking it into the ground, emitting an explosion that signals the continuation of their fight prior.
"Okay, like so, you know," Hilda remarked as she kept a tight hold around her [Freikugel], "... you think the others are alright?"
"Can't do much right now," Claude pointed out as he snot another arrow from his [Silver Bow] towards the Altered Golem's head to disrupt its focus. "For now, try not to solve that mystery by attempting to go to the great beyond yourself."
Byleth was then seen tumbling back to where they were at. "What are you doing here, just standing around?!" she barked out as she used her [Sword of the Creator] as a support. "MOVE OR YOU'RE DEAD!"
The three of them jump out of the way of Simone's thunderbolt before going back into the fray.
At the other side of the engagement, Sorcha, with her new [Adharma] handheld blade (meant for Titanus, not humans), took on the near-broken Marcelle on her own.
"... The Goddess... judges..." she droned as the Altered Golem raised her severed arm before swinging it down, "... I ACT!"
Despite the new weapon's cumbersome and unwieldy form, Sorcha not only successfully parries the Altered Golem's attack, but ends up cutting off her other arm in the process.
"... Holy shite," the Brigidan Hero remarked in surprise. "Dat thin's sharp... real sharp."
Marcelle, now left with no options, begins to ram her whole metal body towards Sorcha's direction. "ALL FOREIGN FILTH SHALL BE CLEANSED!" bleated the Altered Golem as she began stampeding the ground with her feet. "THE CHILDREN OF THE GODDESS SHALL REMAIN PURE! SUCH US THE WILL OF THE GODDESS-!"
"Goddess dis, goddess dat..." Sorcha growled before letting out a furious yess as she then swung her blade across Marcelle's legs, cutting through both of her shins and felling her like a cut tree. "For de last time, SHUT DE FEK UP YE TIN CUNT!"
"... Repose... filth-" Marcelle's words were then interrupted by Sorcha kicking her heel across her helmeted face.
"YE DON'T TELL ME WAT DE FEK I SHOULD BE DOIN'!" the Brigidian Hero roared as she then ripped out the visor of the Altered Golem's helmet. "... I never wanted to be 'ere. I only came because I thought I had someone to believe in... no... someone I once believed in... Goddess dis... goddess dat... ye know wat I think of yer goddess?!"
Sorcha, with her bare hands, rips off the lower plate of Marcelle's helmet, completely exposing her iron maiden-like visage beneath as she then leaned her face against the silent face.
"Yer goddess, is a feking cunt."
"BLASPAMY!" the Altered Golem screeched. "MAY SUFFER A THOUSAND DEATHS AS TO YOU AND YOUR DESCENDANTS AND YOUR DESCENDANTS' DESCENDANTS!"
Having no other means left but to self-detonate, Marcelle then begins to manually overload her mana core in preparations for her final attempt at fulfilling her directives. Sorcha, seeing that her exposed internals were now glowing brighter then previously, takes her [Adharma], hoists the giant blade up over her head before leaping onto the Altered Golem's back and planting the weapon right at the point where her core was at.
As the blade cut through the ancient sentry's very heart and shutting down her self-destruct sequence, Sorcha then pulls the giant blade out of Marcelle's back before jumping back down before her face.
"The Goddess..." spoke Marcelle as her internal functions began breaking down from her failed attempt, "... shall... avenge me..."
Sorcha spits onto the Altered Golem's rusted visage for the very last time. "Fek yer goddess."
With the [Adharma] blade, the sentinel's head is the cut in twain and finally rendered motionless. After doing the deed, Sorcha, dragging her new weapon behind herself, walked away from the Altered Golem as the latter exploded.
She never bothered to look at the explosion nor she acknowledged so. Sorcha was now out of fucks to give after bringing the brass bitch down.
Simone, while fighting against two Relic-wielders and one foreigner filth, felt Unit Marcelle's signal become inactive before spotting the plume of smoke coming from where his fellow Altered Golem was at.
"... Impossible," droned Simone. "... Ceased all functions... by an outsider filth?"
"CAUGHT YOU SLEEPING!" Cyrus from atop of Darius then planted his [Gradivus] lance into the gap between his armor plates and dislodging several cogs within out of orientation.
Simone's left leg then falls off of his knee before falling to his side. The Altered Golem tries to summon its constructs to aid him, but then a [Fimbulvetr] spell swept over the ground where the Warriors were to be summoned from, freezing them solid into half-malformed statues.
"Constance?!" Claude gawked.
"To those that can finish that eyesore off," she announced as Linhardt sulked behind her, "... proceed doing so. Don't stop on my account."
Byleth nods before rushing towards the toppled Simone, unlinking her [Sword of the Creator]'s segmented blades into their whip form, coiling around the sharp strand around herself to build up momentum for her incoming attack, the final lash cutting through the brass plates and carving a searing scar into the Altered Golem's clockwork.
Hilda then follows suit, activating her [Apocalyptic Flame] Combat Art within her Relic, leaping up into the air before bringing her mighty axe back down. Simone tried to parry the attack with his arm, but the heavy and heated blow tore through its metallic carapace as if it were mere paper, cutting through his hand and the helmet that he wore over his iron maiden-like visage.
Even with all the damage inflicted unto him, Simone refused to cease all functions. "... You are all... BEYOND REDEMPTION!"
With its remaining hand, it then conjures a thunderbolt before staking it onto the ground, causing an explosion around where Hilda and Cyrus were about to intersect at. The Goneril Warrior maiden was knocked off her feet as she and her weapon slid across the stone floor while Cyrus was knocked out of Darius' back before the two of them roughly landed on the ground.
Darius tries to quickly get up, only to stare into the tip of a thunderbolt speeding towards where he stood back up from. But just before the bright light can overcome his being, a blur of darkness imposes itself between it and the thunderbolt, killing the light faster than it could reach him.
The one who successfully intercepted the spell was none other than Karna, with residual electricity crackling around his scythe blade.
"I'd swear if these tin-heads weren't racist enough..." grumbled the Professor, "but trying to kill a Battuian's own horse right in front him? Not cool, pal."
"... I do not... care for the welfare... of those not of the children of the Goddess-" Simone then stops what he was saying before focusing onto Karna himself. "... Wait... YOU ARE-!"
"Yuri, shut his trap," Karna signaled as a bolt of [Thunder] spell struck the downed automaton before both Karna and Byleth crossed their slashes through the Altered Golem's head, quartering it before its mana core then finally ruptured, causing its internals to sputter and pop all over until it finally is rendered motionless.
From above one of the many rooftops of the ruins, Yuri then gives a thumb-up to the group below, with Karna and Byleth returning the same in kind. After doing so, the rest of the group then take the time to regroup and recover for a moment.
"... So," Byleth began, "how did you get here so fast?"
"I have no balls," Karna answered with a smile.
"And what of that giant black golem?" she asked.
"Blew itself up after it tried to play golf with us," the Professor replied bluntly.
"How dreadful," deadpanned Byleth as she then turned her attention towards a horrible scraping sound coming from Sorcha and her way-too big of a blade dragged behind her. "... So, any comments?"
"Eh, let her keep it," Karna shrugged, not fazed at the fact that his student now has an even bigger [Adharma] that was her replacement for her broken sword. "It's not like we're properly funded anyway. Might as well take what we can get."
The two Professor share an awkward laugh while Sothis watched the whole thing in complete befuddlement. Um... the spirit raised her hand to catch her host's attention, aren't you two... you know... forgetting something?
"... Ah," Byleth then blinks before realizing that there were other students that they were separated from. "ALRIGHT! BREAK TIME'S OVER! WE NEED TO FIND THE OTHERS!"
"Normally, I suggest splitting up," Karna pointed out, "but given that we're already spread too far thin, I advocate a single search party."
"Where do we start searching?" Constance asked. "For all we know, they could be anywhere!"
"Start with a place nearest to the blast," Karna suggested. "Everyone head to where the crater is at and form a perimeter from there. If anyone finds something funny, holler."
The group comes into an agreement before they set out towards their search for everyone else. Upon spotting the crater, they all notice the numerous Demonic Beast skeletons scattered about, with all of those within the hole being found charred black, with those dotted outside of the crater simply being all cooked to their well-done deaths.
"Holy shit," Claude remarked as he followed the group, witnessing this scene from the depths of hell. "... There were this many?! Why didn't we pick em up sooner?!"
"More importantly, how?" asked Linhardt.
"They were probably attracted to the mana exuding from that giant golem," Yuri pointed out. "Right before it exploded, the thing was entering into a state of magical overload. Attracted them like honey for bears."
"Even if that's the case, I'd assume it would be only around a dozen or so," Constance commented at the number of dead monsters. "Not nearing towards a hundred!"
"Point being, don't search the crater," Byleth pointed out. "Only dead things are there. If we wanna find the others alive, we're going to have to find them further out."
The group then all walk away from the crater and towards the blasted buildings. Weaving their way through one burnt-out wreckage after another, they all then come across a corpse of a Giant Crawler splayed out like a hung catch.
Karna then takes this moment to smell the body. "... Compared to the others, this one's only mildly burnt rather than well-done," he remarked as he then observed the two slightly discolored spots located at the creature's lower jaw and temple. "... That's strange."
"What so?" asked Cyrus.
Karna then leans closer into one of the spots to double-check if his observations were correct. "... If I'm not mistaken, I'd say that this thing was pre-killed-"
A squelching sound was heard coming from next to where Karna stood in front of. From there, one could spot a small knife blade peeking out through the creature's skin as it then dragged itself down to open a gap from within.
A labored breathing sound was then heard from inside the incision. "... Hey guys."
"Hapi?!" both Yuri and Constance exclaimed as everyone else (sans Karna) recoiled at this bizarre revelation.
"You need help?" asked Karna. "Cough once if it's 'yes'."
The phlegmatic girl then belts out a cough. In response, Karna then takes out his [Scythe of Sariel] and cuts open the gap further down, spilling out not only Hapi, but also Byron, who was now missing his left arm, Selene, and Ashe, all of them covered in the monster's mucus from head to toe.
"Explain," Constance asked while Linhardt tried not to vomit at the smell alone.
"... I used my Crest to beckon a shitton of Demonic Beasts to dampen the blast that we couldn't escape from," Hapi revealed. "I took the others inside the Giant Crawler I killed to have its body act as a bunker from the explosion. A little rough and tumble in some parts, and well, no other bones broken I guess."
Sorcha then glares at her with the deadliest stare that she could muster, causing the normally-reserved girl to recoil back slightly from the sheer intensity emitted from the Brigidian Hero's animosity. "... Ye betta."
Karna then interrupts everyone by clearing his throat loudly as he could. "... Okay, that makes four," he remarked. "Now to find the others or suffer a interregional political fallout from two possibly-dead scions."
"And the others with them?" asked Byleth.
"That too," he nodded before turning to Yuri. "Also, Yuri. You sort of remember that Wyvern Rider that tried to jump us from behind only to bail at the last second, right?"
The Ashen Wolves' Assassin then ruminates for a brief moment before remembering that very instance. "... Yeah, I think she flew..." he then further racked his brain for more information, "... that way."
His finger pointed towards the other side of where the group currently stood.
"Alright, guess we're going to have to make a return trip," Karna remarked as he then picked up Byron over his shoulder before slinging his body onto Cyrus' lap. "To any able-bodied students, please carry an unconscious student with them."
"There's no way you're making me carry-!" Hilda's protest was then cut short as soon as Ashe landed into her arms. "EWW! GROSS!"
"Take a bath later, princess," smirked Cyrus as he then took Selene in, placing her between himself and Byron. "Otherwise, the only thing your strength will ever be good for is being a circus freak show's side act!"
"My day is beyond ruined," Linhardt groaned.
"Suck it up," Byleth slightly growled as the rest of the group then headed back towards where they've come from before passing it by and headed further in towards that direction.
The group then come across a road with a charred-black skeleton scattered all over their pathway.
"... I seriously hope that isn't one of ours," Claude shuddered as he walked past a skull.
"We'll see," Karna grimaced at the thought of losing one of the members of the group. Because if that's the case, then the blood is on his hands. Even worse if said blood belonged to one of the Royals.
The group then spot a dead wyvern lying atop of a group of people, with the one holding up the greatshield being none other than Edelgard.
"Shit!" Byleth then ran towards her before trying to pry her out from beneath the dead creature. "Edelgard!"
The Fortress Knight then let out a series of coughs before waking up. "... Professor?!"
As soon as the group arrived, Karna then immediately tries to peel the dead mount off the ground, powering through his allergies to finally upheave the wyvern to reveal Vidar and Dimitri being shielded by Balthus' giant body, with Kronya and Anacharsis being found in the pile as well.
Everyone found then groans back to life, with the Agarthan duo immediately trying take control of the situation without warning.
"NOBODY FUCKING MOVE!" Anacharsis threatened as she grabbed Vidar from behind before leveling her [Geri Beil] to his neck. "Try anything funny, see what happens!"
"Uh, yes, of course," Karna coolly remarked as everyone immoderately went into fight or flight instincts at this sudden reversal. "... Remind me, what's your name?"
"It's Anacharsis," the Wyvern Rider answered curtly.
"... Eh, I think I'll just call you Ana," he shrugged. "So, Ana?"
"Yes?"
"Wrong hostage."
On cue, Vidar then bites down onto her index finger before tearing it off, causing her to violently recoil in pain, allowing him to not only escape his own capture, but also take Anacharsis' [Geri Beil] from her hands and whack her across the face with the weapon's flat, sending a few teeth flying out in the process right before she herself slid across the ground upon landing.
"Okay," Karna sighed as Vidar returned to their side with his new loot and finger for his possible necklace, "that's... all of them-where's Topaz?"
A shrill cry akin to that of a beast's was heard from next to where all of them stood before something crashed between them. Emerging from the smoke was none other than Topaz, her new beastly form now plain for all to see.
"... Am I..." Constance remarked before she rubbed her eyes, "... am I still sane?"
Claude nervously chuckles while Hilda gulped in fear. "... Ah, yeah. Our eyes are still working properly."
"Balthus," Yuri calmly remarked. "... Kindly, tell us what's going on."
"Evidently, she wants to eat us now after absorbing a third Crest," the King of Grapplers explained.
"Her legs look weird," Hapi commented. "And so does her teeth."
"How did she survive that blast?!" Edelgard pointed out. "She should be cinders!"
"We aren't," Dimitri also pointed out. "... For better or for worse."
Topaz snarls once more as her fangs seeped with drool. Everyone but Karna remained extremely cautious.
"Topaz," Karna remarked as he then unfurled his sleeve to reveal his [Minor Crest of Timotheos], "first of all, calm the fuck down."
The sigil then glows, subsiding her bloodlust down to manageable levels.
Now sensing that the situation was more manageable, Kronya then takes Anacharsis by her hand before making a run for it.
"Professor?!" Cyrus spoke.
"I'll stay here," he replied. "Rest of you, go!"
With Karna and Topaz left behind, everyone else in the group went after the two Agarthans. During the pursuit, Cyrus then begins to quickly close in on the two of them, only for Kronya to throw an impact smoke bomb onto Darius' snout, causing him to buck over far enough to thrown Cyrus off of his saddle and have both Selene and Byron land atop of him.
As the chase continued, Byleth then swung out her [Sword of the Creator] towards Kronya's back, only for her swing to be intercepted by an arrow.
Said arrow containing a canister with a lit fuse, followed up with several more landing before the group's feet.
"Huh," Sorcha remarked. "Deja vu."
All of the arrows then explode, not only sending the group back several feet but also provide enough cover to let the two continue running until two of the masked Sages teleported before them.
"All aboard!" Myson spoke as he grabbed Anacharsis by her hand.
"Next time dears, please be sure to check that your belongings are on your person," Cleobulus with her fellow Sage then both used their [Warp Powder] and [Warp] respectively to escape the battlefield and teleport where Conquistador was perched at. "We're pulling out. Block the exit."
The masked Sniper then lights a fuse connected to a barrel full of black powder with her lit [Torch] right as they all began to run further into the depths, the explosion behind them causing the cave's mouth to bury into itself, shutting all access to their pursuers from coming after them.
The battle finally ends, with the expedition group now all gathering back together, the Agarthans losing two operatives during this operation, and all of the citadel's defenders now rendered useless.
"... So," Byleth and everyone else looked at the pacified Topaz. "... She better now?"
"Indeed," spoke Topaz much to everyone's surprise. "And yes, I was fully aware of what happened to me and what I did. Judge me if you wish, but in the battlefield, it's kill or be killed."
"And eating your enemies isn't considered taboo?" Claude pointed out as Hilda cowered behind him.
"Actually, she told me that her new body now requires a meat-based diet to maintain her modifications," explained Karna. "Her outer form doesn't indicate any declined life expectancy from suffering strain of having more than one Crest, but her body is no longer human, per say."
Edelgard tried not to think too much about what he'd just said. "... Nor that of her brain."
"Best case scenario, Topaz is now stuck living in the Abyss," Karna pointed out. "Because the alternative is turning all three armies of Fodlan into the world's biggest all-you-can-eat meat buffet is highly inadvisable."
The notion sounded completely absurd, not for how exaggerated the claim was, but at how accurate the possibility was.
As Topaz's stomach growled, everyone took a step back.
"... You guys go ahead," Karna ordered. "I'll try to feed her some leftover Demonic Beasts while I find the Chalice around this place. I mean, if the Goddess herself couldn't destroy it, then surely a bomb of that magnitude couldn't even scratch it."
"Anything to get me away from that creep!" Hilda squealed in fear as she hastily followed the others back out into the blocked exit.
"Hilda, you're helping us remove the rubble blocking our way back," Byleth firmly declared.
With now Karna and Topaz left to themselves in the ruins, the two began to talk as they walked towards the crater.
"... Topaz," Karna spoke. "When did this... sensation started to occur?"
"... Two week after I absorbed the [Crest of Maurice]," confessed Topaz. "Initially, I was able to keep the hunger at bay thinks to my training since birth, but the more power I accumulated into myself, the more the sensation grew until my body couldn't help itself."
"You know, it's not embarrassing to be seen eating in public, you know," the Professor pointed out.
"I'm supposed to become the next incarnation of my God, Professor," she rebutted. "Azrāʾīl is supposed to liberate all from the physical realm that brings nothing but suffering... so what would that make me if I'm to fall into physical temptations of food and drink?"
Karna sighs. "... It's not a bad thing to do what the body says," he points out as both he and Topaz slid themselves into the crater. "It just means that your body wants to keep itself alive. Really, if you really think about it, our bodies are nothing more than our mind's playthings."
"That just makes it worse," Topaz remarked. "If my mind still desires food, then I will never become Death!"
"No one's telling you to become Death soon as possible," Karna pointed out. "... Possible dogma aside, at least think about it rationally. Do you really want to become Death... with us of all people ending up inside your stomach as bite-sized chunks?"
"... I," she stammered. Normally, she would say 'yes' without hesitation, since all physical attachments and influences are inherently sin, so by definition of her elders, her fellow Dustbin members should be treated as such.
... Yet, there was something in her chest that was telling her that it was a bad thing. Something is telling her that she should spare them.
"... Don't rush it," the Professor shrugged as he then crouched down at the crater's epicenter. "Coming from me, I know it sounds rich. But really, when you become an adult, being a hypocrite is considered a right."
"... I'll go eat the beasts," she then takes off towards the scent of fresh carrion.
Karna, now alone, places his hand onto the ground and finds a strong signal coming from below. "... All of these enhancements, filled to the brim with layers upon layers of both Faith Magic and Black Magic into an intricate pattern that'll take a whole day to decrypt and unlock..." he then smirked as black miasma began spilling out from his placed hand. "... This is way too easy."
He then pumps [Expiration Δ+] not into the structure beneath his feet, but rather the patters linking the said array of spells around the supposed chalice, decoupling all last resort security measures sequentially until all that was left between them was a mundane layer of stone.
Karna then stands up, lifts his leg high until the sole of his boot was facing the sky, for which then he swung it back down, kicking through the pavement and falling right before where the fabled [Chalice of Beginnings] was placed.
Just from standing before it, the power that it exuded was beyond all imagination. Karna then takes the grail without a second thought before climbing back out.
As he then stored the treasure into his coat, he then heads towards where Topaz was at, the latter of which managed to eat half of the Demonic Beast down to its skeleton.
Karna then takes a seat on a rock as he watched Topaz eat and come to accept her new body for the way it is. "Take your time," he reassured as the mutant Hassashin continued eating. "I'm sure the others are doing fine."
Later at Night...
"... What the actual fuck?!" Yuri exclaimed as he found the entire Abyss and its residents fast asleep in random places.
Constance sniffed the air. "... Smells too clean," she commented before rubbing her nose with a handkerchief. "... Someone came here before us."
"I'll say," Hapi looked around the eerily-silent Abyss. "... I don't think anyone's dead though."
"For now, I think we should search the place," Balthus suggested. "... Just in case if any bandits slipped through the chaos."
"I call dibs on de lootas," Sorcha raised her hand. "Anyone else with me?"
"Leave Ashe, Byron, and Selene to me," Constance sighed. "Bring any of the injured you find here."
"I'll go find Aelfric," Yuri remarked. "Professor, mind if you come with me?"
"Hold on," Edelgard remarked. "Let us come as well."
"No," Byleth ordered. "You and Dimitri are staying here. No need to push yourselves after what'd all happened. Besides, someone needs to secure the perimeter."
"Guess that leaves me then," Claude sighed as he joined Yuri and the Professor. "Hilda, go with Balthus."
"Huh?" she exclaimed. "Why?"
"The alternative is being with them," the Sniper then pointed towards Vidar and Sorcha.
"... Fair enough," she then jumped into Balthus's arms. "Please take care of little ol' me."
"Don't tell this to your brother, alright?" the Grappler rolled his eyes in apprehension.
"HOLST?! WHERE?!" Cyrus cried out.
"Hapi, please make sure that he doesn't go on a trauma-induced killing spree," Yuri ordered.
"Kay," she nodded as she then hopped onto Cyrus' back.
As the small groups then traversed their way through the tranquilized Abyss, Yuri, Byleth, and Claude footprints leading towards where Aelfric's study was at. Upon reaching it, the door leading into said study was found with its door bolt from the inside on the ground.
"Geez, they didn't even bother knocking," snarked Claude as he and the others came into the office.
Inside, they found a few papers scattered around the floor, the desk being slightly moved away from its initial position (as evidenced by the exposed dust outline beneath it), and the only thing being found knocked over was the chair.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had transpired while they were gone. "... Guys," Yuri remarked. "... I think someone kidnapped Aelfric."
Their mission for the [Chalice of Beginnings] had left their home base open for the enemy.
To Be Continued...
Support Conversations:
- Byron and Selene (B):
Byron: ... Unbelievable.
Selene: What do ye mean?
Byron: We're playing Chess, and so far, you've beaten me, 41 consecutive games in a row. How?!
Selene: Dunno. Once ye showed me de rules, I... kinda got good at it?
Byron: That doesn't explain how you've managed to outmaneuver me at the worst possible moments that I didn't see coming! Seriously, are you some kind of mind reader or something?!
Selene: Eh... I kinda saw yer eyes move in places of which piece yer gunna move next, so I kinda followed.
Byron: ... Should've taken your vision into account. I know that it's that of a hawk's but this precise?! ... I'll be damned, I'm... I'm astonished.
Selene: ... Does dat mean dat we can't play anymore?
Byron: ... Honestly, I'm not mad.
Selene: ... Wat?
Byron: Truth is, I only played Chess at various bars and taverns by betting gold and other supplies. I never got to... you know. Play for fun.
Selene: Ye never got to play for fun?
Byron: Nor I had others to play with. Kinda hard to do so, given that every day, I was evading town's watchmen and a couple ornery Knights of Faerghus looking to beat the shit out of me for laughs. I kinda... had no time for fun.
Selene: Fun... ye know, it's also new for me as well.
Byron: Let me hazard a guess and say that it's because of Fodlan.
Selene: Nah. Since Brigid. No one wanted to play with a lass bumping into trees and tripping over rocks. Me sister was me only friend I had, and well, she was too busy protectin' me from other kids trying to off me because I was weak.
Byron: You're not weak, Selene. You're just... divergent. To hell with them if they can't appreciate your gifts of having the eyes of a hawk! You're the best damn deadeye I've ever met! And I almost died to a few myself!
Selene: ... Yer jus sayin' dat to make me feel better.
Byron: I'm being real here. You have value. You're still alive and well. That's enough reason to feel good about yourself.
Selene: ... Ye kinda sound dumb wen yer tryin' to be nice.
Byron: It's hard.
Selene: ... Wanna go for another round?
Byron: Hmm, I think if we play the same game again, we'll be here until the heat death of the universe. I'd say... wanna play some cards?
Selene: I'll give ye a handicap by me wearin' glasses.
Byron: Ohohohoho, getting cheeky, aren't we?
Author's Notes: You know, a lot development outside of my life happened, and I think it's starting to affect my overall writing process.
I started going back to church after 5-6 years, I just learned that my job hunting prospects have been all for naught on the account of my legal status, I started playing Monster Hunter: Rise, and overall, life has been... moving in directions that I least expected to.
Simply put, I need another schedule reset. And another mental break.
So, this chapter finally wraps up the Chalice Hunt, with the Dustbin's Professor getting the damn thing and the Agarthans successfully kidnapping Aelfric. Not that anyone came out unscathed, but given that everyone involved took a beating of their life, I'd say that's a valid excuse to push the final battle of this overlying arc until the end of this in-story month. Oh, and both Sorcha and Vidar looted more weapons from the Agarthans, with one being a Titanus' handheld katar blade [Adharma] (a case of "giant's knife; human greatsword" trope coming into play) to replace her now-broken [Claymore], and Vidar gaining Anacharsis' [Geri Beil], which, without the [Crest of Aubin] or the corresponding [Ice Dragon Sign], all it can do is just look cool while chopping up foes.
I'm only saying to remind myself of that little plot thread.
Anyway, just for reference and the fact that I have little else to talk about, here's the character stats:
Karna: Level 38 Warlock
Byleth: Level 35 Swordmaster
Edelgard: Level 37 Fortress Knight
Dimitri: Level 36 Lord
Claude: Level 35 Sniper
Linhardt: Level 33 Bishop
Ashe: Level 34 Sniper
Hilda: Level 38 Warrior
Yuri: Level 36 Assassin
Constance: Level 35 Warlock/Bishop Hybrid Build
Hapi: Level 35 Warlock
Balthus: Level 37 Grappler
Byron: Level 37 Warlock/Bishop/Dark Bishop Hybrid Build
Vidar: Level 40 Warrior
Sorcha: Level 39 Hero
Selene: Level 37 Sniper/Pegasus Knight Hybrid Build
Cyrus: Level 39 Paladin
Topaz: Level 43 Assassin/Playable Demonic Beast Hybrid Build
Anyhoo, wish me luck on my struggles and hope that my brain doesn't turn completely into mush.
References:
- Bias being dunked inside a cave's spring to cool her heating body during her BEAST Mode is a reference to how Cyberpunk 2077's Netrunners had to go either into ice baths or coolant suits to prevent overheating during their deep dives.
- [Hermes]' last ditch self-destruct protocol, Z.O.M.B.I.E. ("Zone Obliteration Mass Bioform Incendiary Erasure"), is a reference to the Cyberpunk 2077's streetslang of the word "zombie," defined in the Cyberpunk Wiki as "A member of a nihilistic movement dedicated to ending their lives in the most violent and spectacular way possible."
- Sorcha's act of cutting down Marcelle's legs was taken from the Koloktos fight from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, with her final exchange between her and Marcelle being a reference to Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, where Scorpion says the line "To hell with your God." to Quan Chi before killing him off.