Yang: We ask the deepest questions in our segments…Why do men always get hurt when they're in a sauna and bath scenes in anime?
Shiho: We just got back after summer vacation and that's the first thing we start off with?
Yang: I am serious~! In almost every anime I watch, the males are the ones who can't go one day in a bathroom, sauna or a bathhouse without getting pummeled, slapped, kicked or getting hit by a wooden bowl!
Varvula: What brought this on?
Sanya: Persona 5 Strikers 2nd bathing scene.
Raven: Oh, that scene…Honestly it took about two games to recycle that stupid trope again.
Yang: Yeah, it would be funny if it was someone who was trying to peep into the girls while they're changing. But it's always the innocent ones, or the girls are at fault!
Freddy: I sort of agree with Yang on this one…There was a webcomic that peaked my interest. But I dumped it due to a certain scene in the comic.
Yang: Yeah, just because he gets involved with a demon girl doesn't make it right to beat him up! And keep in mind…that he's the one who gave you food you jealous jerks~!
Gwen: Isn't that in all harem manga or anime?
Yang: Yeah, but that's not the point!
Shiho: We could continue this debate of harem tropes later. Let's start the chapter already.
Throughout the Upper Yards, everything was quiet, mostly due to the fighters either at Upper Ruin or laying on the ground, defeated.
BOOM~!
However it didn't last long when Shervan's body was seen flying across the forest, colliding through several trees before crashing onto the ground. The boy was severely injured and was sprawled on his back. He lay there for a brief second before he quickly did a handspring out of the way, right when Maki's fist slammed into where he landed.
Shervan did a series of flips to keep himself at a safe distance, away from Maki. She had minor injuries with a bit of her shirt and leggings ripped, yet she still stood tall and confident. 'Damn it…I was able to get a few more hits on her then last time we fought, and yet…she's still much tougher to kill.'
'Should I take over?'
'No, using your Logia powers will only make things worse,' He told his other half. 'You just make sure to stabilize his mind. I don't want him to take over until I-'
Maki glared at her opponent. 'How annoying. To think he's been improving himself throughout the years just to kill me.' She clenched her fist. 'I don't know how he managed to survive that fall, but that doesn't matter. This time I'll make sure to-.'
'Kill him/her~!' They both thought in unison while glaring at each other. In a split second, the two both closed the gap between each other, readying their fists to punch each other.
Chapter 53: Sixteen
No one in the Going Merry said a word.
They just stared at the cliff area of where the three men had been vaporized by a thick beam of electricity. Once the beam vanished, even the Vearth they were on was destroyed leaving a cylinder-like hole on the coast.
"...P-Pagaya…" Lucy covered her mouth with streams of tears flowing down her eyes. Tsubasa, Gray, Gajeel and Yozura were mortified at what occurred.
Last Order clung onto Accelerator crying her eyes out. He gave him a gentle pat on her head, with no reaction to what occurred.
"..." Connis gazed up in horror while clung onto the railing. She just witnessed her own father being killed along with one of the divine squad and an Ultimate Elite that tried to rescue them both. Tears were still running down her face and were biting her lower lip looking down. Suu ran over to Conis to attempt to comfort her. Conis wasted no time hugging her little pet.
"...What did he say?"
The silence was cut by Kinoko, who walked over to the female Skypiean. Her expression shows no hint of shock, sadness or remorse. "There should be a reason why Eneru would suddenly attack them right? So what is the warning?"
"Hey! Can't you wait till she's feeling better?" Lucy defended while glaring at Kinoko.
"Okay, sure, let's just wait for her to calm down. That way Eneru kill off more people just like her father," Kinoko's harsh words made Conis flinch a bit.
"What's your problem!?" Lucy argues angrily.
"Listen," Kinoko ignored her and knelt down beside Conis. "Crying for your loss isn't going to help anyone." She gave a gentle but firm pat on her shoulder. "Save the heart clenching, grieving after your home is saved and Eneru's mangled corpse is falling through the clouds. Got it?"
"..." Conis sniffled as she slightly lifted her head up to Kinoko. She recalled the warning the weakened man's gave to her father and quietly told them everything.
"HE'S GOING TO DESTROY SKYPIEA?!" After hearing Eneru's true goal, caused everyone above deck, minus Accelerator, to shout in horror. Conis replied with a nod as she slowly stood up.
"Y-You mean all those people on A-Angel Island..." Last Order sobbed, while hugging Accelerator.
"W-Will die?" Juvia finished with a dreaded look on her face.
"W-Why would he do something so despicable?" Yozura muttered in fear.
"Is that even possible for him to do?" Jayden questioned. "I know Eneru is strong because of his Devil Fruit, but even that's not enough to destroy the entire Sky Island."
"Most...of us saw what he's capable of first hand," Lucy clenched her quivering fist. She had a mix of horror and anger on her face when the memories of him appeared on the ship flash into her mind. "But to kill tons of people who worship him…What kind of God does that?!"
"The minute the bastard got bored with watching us kill each other, he'll just destroy it for his own entertainment," Gray growled.
"I don't get it," Tsubasa said, looking conflicted. "If he's going to destroy Skypiea, which includes Upper Yard and Angel Island, why make this game?"
"Maybe because he's just twisted," Kinoko scoffed. "He knows that he's strong and can kill anyone he wants with a snap of his fingers. Since we have opposing sides with Luminous Tail, Shandians and his forces, he decided to let us do his dirty work."
"I…I can't just sit here and cry," Conis's whimpering voice caught their attention. Kinoko's words were harsh, but at the same time uplifting. She placed Suu down and glanced at everyone with a renewed determination. "There's no time to lose. I have to do everything I can to tell the people what's going to happen."
Some of them smiled at Conis's not giving up. Only for the mood to change by Gray's question. "That's great and all, but aren't you a criminal to them? If you step foot on Angel Island, the White Brigade won't hesitate to attack you."
"I still have to do it," Conis said while preparing herself to move out. She gave Kinoko a soft smile. "Thank you for encouraging me Kinoko."
"Yeah whatever," She mumbled while turning her head with a slight pout.
"Don't think you're going off alone," Lucy declared walking toward Conis. "I'm coming with you."
"Me too," Jayden offered.
The young woman's eyes were widened by the two volunteers. "I appreciate your help b-."
"Not a word," Lucy cuts her off with her hands on her hips. "We're going with you and that's final. Beside," she then had a wide grin. "I need some time to get off the ship for a bit."
"Yeah, and I owe you and your father a favor for saving Akita," Jayden added, with his arms crossed with a stern expression. "It's the least I can do…"
"Misaka will take care of Suu for you, Misaka offered!" Last Order said, wanting to hug Suu.
A few moments later, Conis sped off in her father's bull-themed boat. She was in control of it while Jayden and Lucy rode on each side of her. The young woman had a cannon strapped onto her back.
'I have to warn them no matter what it takes!' Conis thought while racing back towards Angel Island. 'I won't let my father's death be in vain!'
Natsu was breathing heavily. Combining his dragon flames with god flames for a final move was exhausting, yet satisfying. It was enough to finally take down Moses Reynoldo the Ultimate God Slayer.
"Not again," Natsu stumbled, his hands on his stomach feeling queasy. This was the second time he ate fire from a god slayer. He collapsed on his knees breathing heavily looking down on the ground briefly, and then raised his head up to the sky. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR~!"
A large torrent of flames escaped from his mouth and was unleashed into the sky. Depleting the God Slaying magic out of his body. The entire Upper Ruin shook, and startled the python a bit as it gazed at the flames.
Once it died down, the pink hair mage looked fine. "Ha~! That's much better~! I'll just have a quick nap before I-."
CRASH~!
Just when the mage was about to relax, something crashed right through the ruins behind, creating a massive dust cloud. When he turned around, Natsu used his left arm to cover his eyes from bits of dust heading his way. "What is it this time?!"
When the dust cloud finally settled, he saw that Eguchi on his knee was severely injured but still conscious. Natsu then tensed up when spots Kaito walking through the hole in the wall. He had minor bruises and burnt marks on his body.
"Okay…you win," Eguchi declared as he slowly got to his feet. It was still possible for him to keep fighting, but since Kaito was much stronger than him, he wouldn't be conscious for long.
"Throwing in the towel already?" Kaito asked, a bit surprised.
"Yeah, I may have lost again, but at least gotten a few good hits on you," Eguchi joked with a weak chuckle.
"Sure did, you've improved a bit from our last fight," Kaito admitted. The two glanced at Natsu and noticed the carnage around him. "Hey, you okay there kid?"
"Y-Yeah," Natsu felt his hands trembling, and clenched them into a fist to make it stop. He didn't notice earlier since he was focused on taking down Moses, but now he felt the pressure of his magic emitting around him.
"Oh, sorry about that," A purple aura surrounding Kaito shrunk causing the pressure around to vanish without a trait. Natsu stopped trembling when he no longer sensed the magic. "I forgot to lock my magic. Don't worry I'm not here to cause trouble, unless you want to get a shot at me."
"N-No thanks!" For the first time ever in his life, Natsu declines into a fight. It was unsure if it was due to exhaustion after dealing with Moses, or the fact that Kaito was in the same league as Maki who almost killed him.
"That's fair, you must be really exhausted after you somehow managed to beat Moses," Eguchi walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder with a wide grin. "Which, by the way, I'm genuinely shocked that a lizard like you was able to knock that bastard down a peg!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LIZARD FEATHERHEAD~!" Like a switch, Natsu was back to his comical tantrum self.
"It's great to see your voice again, Natsu." Simon's voice caught the three men's attention. They noticed him along with Erza, and Happy. Simon was carrying the cage that had the unconscious Sango and Chopper inside it, while Happy flew beside him while lifting the traumatized Terra.
"Good to see ya again Simon," Natsu beamed, glad to see him again. Kaito steps back away from them and sits down on what's left of the wall.
"..." Eguchi had noticed a certain arm in the distance. He then turned to Terra's shocking expression for a bit and put two and two together.
"I managed to slain Ohms," Erza said to Simon, looking a bit out of breath. "All that's left is the snake and Eneru."
"Zoro and Wyper are fighting each other along with the snake," Simon announced using his mantra. "I still don't know of Eneru whereabouts though."
THUMP! THUMP!
Almost everyone was on guard when they noticed a certain large canine in the distance approaching them. Natsu, and Erza quickly got in front of the group, readying to fight.
"N-Nice doggy," Happy comically shivered.
Holly stopped and it opened its mouth. "...Feed me…FEED ME~!"
"...
…
…IT TALKS~!?" Happy, Kaito, Natsu and Eguchi comically exclaimed in utter shock.
Not phased, Erza pointed her sword at Holly. "Your owner is beaten, so I'll give you a chance to surrender. However, if you choose to fight, then we'll slay you here."
"I WANT FOOD~!" 'Holly' yelled out. "FEED ME OR ELSE I'LL EAT ALL OF YOU FOR DINNER, JUST LIKE I DID WITH THE BLUE HAIR PRINCESS GIR-!"
BONK~! BONK~! SHATTER~!
Everyone blinked awkwardly at the mid cut. The mist surrounding the dog scattered instantly, revealing its docile nature as it sat there wagging its tail obediently. Then jumping off its back were Dimanu, Sinolia and Touma, which got the two mages to lower their guard in relief. The two boys were carrying Yuko and Hime motionless yet breathing bodies.
"Aw, why did you have to ruin the joke?" Dimanu pouted childishly, messaging the lump on his head.
"I already told you that I'll stop it if it goes too far," Touma lectured. "Saying that Holly has eaten Hime was a prime example!"
"Killjoy," Sinolia mumbled, also had a lump.
"Touma, glad you're still alive," Erza beamed weary.
"Barely," Touma mumbled tiredly.
"So what's with the dog?" Natsu asked while eying it suspiciously. "Isn't he baldy's pet or something?"
"Well…" Touma trailed off while glancing at the grinning Dimanu.
Flashback
Touma, and Sinolia watched Dimanu dueling against Holly. Even with no magic, Dimanu was still durable after he stood up from the rubbles after receiving one of the dog's paw punches.
"Is that all you got?!" Dimanu yelled out. He rushed towards Holly and duck to avoid his paw strike. After that, he swung his fist into Holly's stomach, causing the dog to tumble back and crash into the stone wall behind it. The wall crumbled down under the dog burying it.
"..." Dimanu's feet finally gave in as he collapsed onto his knees.
"Is it…" Touma stopped himself, when noticed rubble moving a bit.
RUFF~! Holly roared while it freed itself from the broken wall pile. It wasted no time lunging towards the kneeling boy with his jaws wide open.
"DIMMY/LOOK OUT!" Sinolia and Touma instantly dashed forward to save him.
"Stop!" Dimanu's sudden shout made Touma, and Sinolia freeze on the spot. Not just because Dimanu ordered them to-
They were gawking in shock that Holly stopped as well.
The large dog would've been a few seconds close to biting Dimanu's head off if it didn't listen to him. Its vicious demeanor faded instantly and it was replaced with an obedient house pet. Holly sat right in front of Dimanu wagging its tail and letting its tongue out.
"Good boy~!" Dimanu rose to his feet and walked over to Holly. "Now shake!"
The two braced themselves when the dog raised its right paw, thinking that it might attack the boy.
Only to comically facefaulted when the dog brings its paw forward like a handshake. Dimanu offered to shake Holly's hand.
"Am I missing something here~!?" Touma rose from the ground first looking dumbfounded. "Isn't that the Priest's dog?! Why is it suddenly docile?!"
"I have…no idea honestly," Sinolia mumbled while lifting her head from the ground. "I didn't expect Holly to suddenly stop attacking."
"Now that Baldy's dead, I'm your new owner," Dimanu declared with a wide grin on his face. He then began petting Holly in the stomach, causing the dog to stamp its feet, enjoying it.
"YOU MEAN IT LISTENS TO ANYONE~!?" Happy and Natsu comically exclaimed.
"After that, I told Holly to retrieve all of our comrades who were unconscious," Dimanu concluded. While he somehow brought back a few Shandians who were unconscious, or dead, Holly mistaken Hime as Luminous Tail and brought her back as well.
"That's a bit insane," Eguchi admitted with a chuckle. "Then again you've always been asking for a pet when we first got to the Upper Yard."
"Wait, what happened to the fire breathing bird?" Natsu asked curiously.
"That bald bastard sliced it in half," He grumbled a bit. He then hugged Holly like a child. "Kudos to the one who finally silenced him. Now Holly is all mine~!"
Sinolia slowly glared at Holly with a jealous pout. "...I want Dimmy to death grip me too."
"Y-You mean hug right?" Touma, being the only one who heard her, corrected with a sweatdrop.
Erza did a quick headcount to see if anyone in her and Simon's squad were missing. "Wait, are you missing…!"
The soft atmosphere vanished the second she spoke. Natsu, Happy, and Simon frowned while the others were either confused or realized.
"That black pillar of lightning early…" Eguchi said sternly. "Did Moses…"
"...Yes," Simon replied, sadly glancing at Terra's frozen expression. Dimanu and Sinolia were mortified when they witnessed the woman's expression.
"T-Terra..." Sinolia murmured quietly.
"...!" Erza gasped in shock, when she spotted a familiar arm laying in the distance. Simon, Sinolia, Dimanu and Eguchi glanced at what remains of the young spirited swordsman in horror and sadness. Kaito noticed and looked down unresponsive. "Is that…"
"That's what's left of him," Natsu answered quietly. He clenched his fist out of anger. "If Happy and I would've gotten there sooner then…"
Quietly, Eguchi turned to where Moses was launched and began to walk forward. A few of them were confused by his actions, as Simon called out. "Eguchi wait!"
The man stopped when Simon called him, but didn't turn around. "Sorry Simon but I have to do this…"
"I know," Simon slowly steps forward. "But it's not his fau-,"
"I know that you've been lying about Margaret's death," Simon, frozen in shock by Eguchi's serious tone. "I overheard Margaret's leaving the message on the Tone Dial. At first I was a bit pissed off after hearing that she betrayed us…But at the same time, I was glad that it was you that made her change. I followed her so I could confront her, but Terra beat me to it."
"S-So you saw…" Simon gasped while he collapsed onto his knees.
"Yup, she stabbed her twelve times," Eguchi replied. A gasp escaped from Sinolia's lips in shock while Dimanu's eyes widened. "Margaret really wanted Terra to finish her off badly."
"I'm…so sorry!" Simon couldn't hold it back any longer as tears poured down his face. "I couldn't stop Margaret from going forward with her plan! I couldn't stop Terra from killing her! What kind of a leader am I?!"
"You're a great one," Eguchi replied and turned his head to look at him with a smile. "If you hadn't lied, then we would've been at each other's throats and distrusting one another. Which was what Eneru and Shizuka wanted from the start."
"B-But what about Todd?" Simon asked, making Terra flinch. "It's my fault that…"
"Cut the crap~!" Natsu bellowed as he marched towards Simon staring down at him. "You weren't the one who killed him! Neither was his sister!"
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Eguchi joked a bit. "You lied to protect one of our own. Just like Margaret did in her final breath. So quite babbling on the ground, leader. You look ridiculous."
"Yeah you do," Dimanu chimed in with a small smile. "I honestly didn't expect someone like you to lie like that. You're not a Mary Sue character I thought you were. Good job~!"
"If Dimmy isn't bothered then I'm okay with you lying," Sinolia added softly.
"I sense Juvia vibes on her," Touma and Happy sweatdropped.
Simon sniffled a bit and wiped some of the tears away. He slowly stood up a bit and glanced at Eguchi, Dimanu and Sinolia with a warm smile. "Thanks guys. Sorry for seeing this way."
"It's alright," Eguchi nods and then begins walking again. "Now I'm heading off to kill him before he wakes up."
"Wait what~?!" Touma, Erza, Natsu and Happy exclaimed in utter shock.
"...Make it quick," The three mages turned to Simon, still stunned.
"S-Simon?!" Erza stuttered in shock.
"I already took him down! Why are you going to kill him~?!" Natsu roared at Eguchi angrily.
"...If I don't, then we'll all die," Eguchi replied bluntly as he stopped again. "Moses is no doubt the strongest out of all of us in Luminous Tail, and that's without using his Trigger Code."
Erza's blood froze cold in realizing what Eguchi meant. She recalled when she, Lovely, Todd, and Ray were fighting Aoi. The second she said her Trigger Code, they were outmatched until Gonta came. "Trigger Code…Just like what Aoi did."
"That's right," The Phoenix Slayer nodded before turning to Natsu. "Thank you for knocking him out before he got the chance to use it."
"...Isn't there another way to stop him without bloodshed?" Touma asked nervously.
"Sadly no, he was the only one in our group who kept his mark. We tried to talk him out of it, but he stubbornly kept it," Eguchi replied. "If he does release his trigger then he'll be impossible to beat."
Before the three could say anything, a large purple portal formed behind the group. Simon, Dimanu, Sinolia and Eguchi quickly got on guard, waiting for an enemy to pop up, but instead it was Tsubasa who appeared.
"You guys! I'm so glad that you all are alright," Tsubasa said in relief. "We need to get you all out of here. I don't know how long George could last."
"George…?" Kaito whispered, surprised.
"Good timing," Dimanu's legs were finally caving in but Sinolia caught him before his body hit the ground. "I think it's time for me to rest a bit."
"I hope you don't mind my team resting on your ship," Simon said. Sinolia, Dimanu and Holly went inside while carrying the unconscious Hime, Yuko, and Terra with them.
"No, not at all. Some of your comrades are already on the Going Merry being treated," Tsubasa replied. She glanced at the big dog entering through the portal. "Though the dog might freak them out."
"Be careful," Simon warned them. "His followers may be defeated, but Eneru is a force to be reckoned with.
"We will," Erza smiled reassuringly. Simon smiled before disappearing into the portal.
"That's everyone! I'll stay behind and see if I can assist!" Tsubasa called out on the other side.
"Very well, be careful," George's voice called out from the other side. She and the others watch as the portal shrinks and vanishes.
BA-ZOOM~!
Before Tsubasa could speak, the ground underneath their feet suddenly began to glow a light blue and white, startling everyone who was still active above the Upper Ruins. Including Zoro, Wyper and the snake who stop their fighting.
"This is bad~!" Eguchi exclaimed.
"Grrr~!" Wyper growled, realizing what Eneru's planning.
REHH? Even the snake was confused at what's happening.
The stone ground beneath them started to crumble apart, destroying the entire ruins off of the beanstalk.
A few minutes earlier
Down below in the City of Shandora, Eneru's body finally stopped cackling with electricity after his judgment attack.
"What exactly did you just do?" Robin demanded.
"I showed mercy," Eneru humored her demand and answered. "A pitiful worm was in a great deal of pain so I saved him. Along with obliterating one of the intruders, releasing both of them from their torment. I perform my duty as God. One young woman is behaving desperately though, but desperation is the most interesting emotion. Soon enough true despair will be something everyone truly understands."
'This man, he has Logia Powers,' Robin realized while narrowed her eyes. While spending years working for Crocodile. She knew how to recognize a Logia Type Devil Fruit user upon first glance.
"And now," Eneru concluded. "I must say that what little time we have left here is coming to a close. This is the beginning of the end. I will now set into motion the series of events that will reveal my ultimate plan."
"What plan are you talking about?" Robin questioned.
"Yahahaha~!" Eneru lowly chuckled while he raised his arm up once again. "THE SKY LORD IS CALLING YOU! HEED MY CALL LOWLY BEINGS AND COME TO ME!"
"Aah!" Robin had to step back when she witnessed Eneru's entire body emit a blue-white glow as he cackled with even more electricity than before.
"SANGO~!" The second Eneru yelled it out, a wide beam of electricity shot out of Eneru's body and rocketed into the. The massive beam plowed the bottom of the Upper Ruins, and destroyed the entire area, including the large white barbed dome that Ohm's created.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON~!?" Natsu's arms were flailing comically. He and the other were plummeting downward after the ruins were destroyed.
"Try to hang onto something!" Erza ordered everyone.
"I'm sick and tired of being in the air!" Touma cried out while flailing.
"I guess Eneru's done sitting around!" Eguchi wasted no time and sprouted white phoenix wings made of fire. He caught Tsubasa on his back, and used his left wings to block some of the few pieces of the stones in the ruins.
"White flames?" Tsubasa whispered intrigued by Eguchi's magic.
"The whole place is falling apart!" Zoro yelled out.
"It had to be Eneru's doing!" Wyper realized. "He's the only one powerful enough to pull it off!"
"Heads up~!" Kaito announced. The large snake hissed alarmingly fell within the humans.
"What's that?" Wyper's voice with confusion as he stared down all the way down Giant Jack. He saw a hole that punched through the ruins and clouds cover above Shandora. "There's a hole at the base?"
"YAHAHAHA~! Let's bring forth this climax battle~!" Eneru declared loudly.
Misaka, Wendy, Charla, Cynthia, Nami, Luffy, Aisa, Pierre and Gan Fall were trying to avoid falling deeper into the snake as it fell through the air. Charla quickly caught Wendy from the back of her shirt and sprouted her wings. She maneuvers around the falling debris towards Cynthia while Wendy extends her arms out to her. "Cynthia, grab on!"
"Almost there…!" Cynthia reaches her hand out toward Wendy to grab hers.
The second their finger's touch though, the golden horseshoe fell and landed onto Charla's left wing, causing it to glow.
Boom~Bumpa~Boom!
"What…?" Charla suddenly muttered. She felt her magic suddenly depleting quickly, causing her wings to vanish and was falling unconscious.
"Ah~!" Wendy yelped when she felt Charla suddenly letting go of her. Since they were falling Wendy crashed onto Cynthia in a free fall hug. She glanced forward and noticed the unconscious Charla falling faster below them. "C-CHARLA~!"
"What's going on out there~!?" Misaka exclaimed in confusion.
"I don't know, But I suggest we attempt our escape now!" Gan Fall suggested.
"Right, it's now or never!" Nami agreed as she looked down below. Luffy was holding onto Aisa's wrist and Misaka was not too far from him. "Luffy, Misaka get over here and grab the Waver! I'm gonna finally get us out of the snake!"
"Right!" Luffy quickly agreed. He looked down at the Aisa. "Hey you, hang on to me."
Luffy pulled the girl to him, causing her to wrap her arm behind his waist. He then grabbed onto the back of Nami's Waver. After barely avoiding a piece of rubble, Misaka caught up to the waver, and grabbed onto the back too. "Ready Nami!"
"HERE WE GO!" Nami prompted as she pushed down on the pedal.
Unaware that Luffy and Misaka were holding onto the exhaust pipe.
"AAAHHH~!" Misaka, Aisa and Luffy gurgled comically as they were blasted back by the force of the exhaust pipe. Falling down into the snake.
"MAN OVERBOARD~!" Gan Fall announced with his eyes comically bulged out. "WE CAN'T LEAVE THEM~!" Nami's waver speed passed the Sky Knight. "PIERRE! YOU'VE GOT TO GO BACK AND SAVE THOSE THREE!"
Pierre's eyes popped out when Gan Fall launched himself off of his steed. "PIIIEEE~!?"
"WAAAHHHH~!" Wendy, Cynthia, Nami, Gan Fall, screamed as they sped out of the massive snake's open mouth.
"W-We're…!" With her friend held tightly close to her, Cynthia blinked and finally took notice that they were falling hundreds of feet in the air. "AHH~! WE'RE NOT ALRIGHT~!"
"YAAAHH~! Nami shrieked while comical tears streaming down her freaked out eyes. She clutched onto the handlebars. "HOW DID WE GET UP SO HIGH~!?"
"I HAVE NO IDEA!" Gan Fall hollered back as he plummeted past her. "PIERRE DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! YOU HAVE TO SAVE THE OTHERS!"
"PIEE~!" Pierre acknowledged as he spread his wings and shot up into the air, and back into the snake's open mouth.
"SO WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO NOW YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR BIRD ANYMORE YOU WEIRDO OLD MAN~!" Nami screamed.
"MY NAME IS GAN FALL…" He corrected loudly. "GAN FALL~!"
"I DON'T CARE, JUST SAVE US~!" Nami wailed back. "AAAAAHHHHH~!"
Wendy and Cynthia were the last to fall out of the snake, each of them holding onto each other tightly. Not far from the two was the motionless and beaten Moses falling head first.
'I can't believe I let some Neanderthal beat me…A God Slayer,' Moses berated in his head. 'It's not fair…I've been betrayed by my own team. After all I've done for them…they point to me as the traitor. Terra and Simon should be the ones to die, not me!'
"Then go for it,"
Moses's eyes opened to find everything around him was frozen in time. While still stuck upside down, he looked around noticing Wendy and Cynthia also frozen. "...What just…?"
"Is this where your story ends?"
The second he heard the voice again, he faced forward.
And was met with a certain cloaked figure right up his face.
"...!" Moses recoiled back startled by the unknown figure. He was upside down just like Moses, with his hands behind his head.
"Is that all you got?" The male questioned, sounding curiously. "The strong and smart Ultimate God Slayer, vanquished by the flamehead protagonist, is such a clique, overused gimmick…
Especially when your feelings have been trampled on by your own comrades…
The one you loved was taken away from you, and the culprit gets to live and be forgiven for their actions…
Are you going to let your story end here?"
"No…" Mose's clenched his fist, with his teeth gritting. "I won't let them get away with this…I'll make them pay. Terra, Simon, and that pink hair brute…I'll eliminate them till I die!"
"Well then, give them a show, my champion~!" The man declared joyfully. With a snap of his fingers, the red infinite symbol around his eyes was visible and glowing. "Show them what the Ultimate God Slayer's strong ambitions~!"
"...GodSlayer:...025…"
Time resumed like nothing happened, as Mose's body began to glow. A large blast of black wind suddenly blasted around him, causing everything around him to get blown back a bit.
This included the two young girls.
"AAHHH~!" Cynthia and Wendy wailed in agony as they were suddenly flown away from Giant Jack by a massive gust of black wind. While it caught them off guard, the two wizards weren't hurt or injured, as they disappeared into the thick forest below.
"...What just happened?"
That was the question coming from Robin's mind, after the raining rubble finally settled. She was surveying the large mass of ruins that had just seemingly fallen from the sky.
"Why did all these ruins fall out of the sky?" Robin wondered while looking up. She saw the hole that Eneru had blasted through the clouds that had previously been overheard around the beanstalks.
Suddenly, a large chunk of rubble was lifted up and caught Robin's attention. She recognized the certain mosshead underneath it. "Swordsman?"
"This…is not my day," Zoro groaned as he lifted a large boulder-size chunk of stone with one arm.
"Don't tell me you fell down here with all of this," Robin realized.
"Yeah…" Zoro grunted as knocked the stone and stood back up. "...I did and it almost killed me!"
"I'm surprised you're not dead," Robin admitted. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah," Zoro replied while breathing a bit. "Good to see you too Robin."
"Glad to see, you're alright," Erza's voice caught their attention. The two pirates noticed Erza, along with Touma heading towards them.
"Erza and Touma too?" Robin's words caught the two off guard.
"Robin? What are you doing here?" Erza wondered.
"Better question is where are we?" Touma added.
"You fell into the City of Gold we've been looking for," Robin explained.
"Wait, this is the City of Gold?" Touma blinked while scanning the area.
"It doesn't look much different than the ruins up above," Zoro said, while walking, observing the new area they landed in. "Did you find the treasure?"
"Unfortunately not," Robin replied. "There's no evidence that the gold is here."
Meanwhile, the massive snake was trying to yank its head out of the ground, whacking its tails on it aggressively. After a few seconds of struggling, it managed to free itself from the ground. The snake slowly blinked as it took in the ruins around it.
"WAAAH~!"
The screams from Luffy, Misaka and Aisa ranged as they finally finished falling down the snake's body. Luffy hugged Aisa to shield her as they crashed into the ruins, with Misaka landing after.
"Ow…" Misaka groaned, while she rolled onto her back. "This is getting really old."
Aiksa yanked herself free from the rubble while Luffy sat up cross legged, laughing. "That was a crazy ride, if I do say so myself! Let's do that again~!"
"ARE YOU TWO STUPID~!?" Aisa yelled at the two. "WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU HOLD ONTO THE WAVER'S JET!?"
"Shishishi~!" Luffy laughed it off. "Sorry!"
"Everyone else managed to escape!" Aisa angrily reminded them. "We've been left behind by your stupidity! It's all your fault!"
"Ugh~! Would you just shut up already?" Misaka snapped. She quickly sat up and turned to the young girl. "I get it, we made a mistake, but yelling at us isn't going to help us get out of here!"
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Luffy reassured Aisa. "All we have to do is make our way down the back of the snake and escape it's bu-!"
POW~!
"THINK AGAIN, JERK~!" Aisa cuts Luffy off with a punch to his face. "THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN~!"
"PIIEEE~!" Pierre cried out, as he flew the rest of the way down the snake and landed in front of the three.
"Hey it's the horse," Luffy noted.
"THAT'S A BIRD~!" Aisa exclaimed.
"He's sorta right," Misaka corrected.
"PIE~!" Pierre crowed as he saluted them.
"Uh…are you telling us to get on your back?" Luffy questioned.
Pierre cawed in reply, before his body shifted from a bird, into a horse, due to his Devil Fruit Powers.
"WAHHH~!" Aisa freaked out in shock. "How in the world did he do that~!?"
"I…honestly forgot that he can turn into a horse," Misaka admitted in a bit of surprise. She jumped onto the horse back while Luffy stretched his arms out and reeled himself onto Pierre's back.
"AHHH~! YOU'RE A FREAK TOO~!" Aisa comically exclaimed in shock.
"I ate the Gum Gum Fruit," Luffy demonstrated his power by stretching his face. "It turns me into a rubber person!"
"FREAKS~!" Aisa shrieked. "YOU THREE ARE FREAKS OF NATURE~!"
"HEY~! I DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING~!" Misaka comically yelled back.
"Let's go~!" Luffy grinned as he stretched his arm, snagging the freaked out girl by the back of her shirt and then yanked her up onto Pierre's back behind him. "You better hold on tight okay?" Aisa nods weakly as Pierre gallops along the ruins grounds and then begins flapping its wings until it takes off into the air.
"LET'S GO HORSE~!" Luffy encouraged. Misaka and Aisa hanging on so that they don't fall. "DON'T STOP TILL WE SEE THE SKY~!"
"Ow…" Nami groaned as she slowly got up. "...Ugh, thanks for nothing Mr. Weirdo…"
Gan Fall didn't reply back as he had the unconscious Charla in his arms. "We've gotten lucky when we landed on the clouds."
"...We left Luffy, Misaka and Aisa back there," Nami informed. She panicked when she noticed Charla's condition. "Wait, where are the two girls?! What happened to Charla?"
"I'm guessing that they were left behind as well. I saw the little cat injured so I caught it before the rubble could crush her." Gan Fall guessed. "I sent Pierre along to fetch them. When push comes to shove, he's a reliable bird or horse."
"I see," Nami nodded. She scanned her surroundings. "Hey, where are we anyway?"
"I have no idea," Gan Fall replied truthly. "I've traveled all across the Upper Yard in my lifetime, but I never seen this place before."
Not far from the two, Wyper stood in the center of the founded city, staring around the place in utter shock and awe. His bazooka is host behind his shoulder. "...Our homeland…We've found it. This is the proud city that our ancestors once protected…Shandora!"
The large snake began to act strange as it cleaned its neck around like it was searching around the city for something. This caught some of the others' attention from its odd behavior.
"Uh, is it just me, or the snake is acting weird?" Touma questioned.
"I think the snake is looking for something," Nami commented. "Either that or Luffy's provoking it again."
JULALALA~! The snake suddenly let out a loud, yet odd roar into the sky. Tears started well up in the beast's eyes, as it continued to cry out.
"I think…it's crying," Nami noticed.
"What is the meaning of this ridiculous outburst?" Eneru questioned while watching the snake's actions. "Just what are you getting yourself so work up Lord of the Sky?"
Eneru's fist began to glow with electricity dancing around them. "You've always been an annoyance to me but not longer!" He launched a ball of thunder out of his hand as it hovered above the snake's head. "El Thor!"
The ball of electricity became a powerful blue-white beam that consumed the upper body of the massive snake. Everyone in the lost city was frozen in fear by the large beam, as the snake was electrocuted by Eneru's attack.
"AISA!" Wyper screamed in horror.
"NO!" Erza and Touma cried out.
"AH~! NAMI~!" Zoro freaked out. "SHE'S DEAD! THERE'S NO WAY SHE'S COULD'VE SURVIVED THAT!"
Once the attack died down, Nami turned around and noticed Zoro and the other. "Zoro? Robin? Erza, Touma? When did you guys get here?"
"W-Wait what are you doing here~!?" Zoro exclaimed when he saw Nami.
"Glad to see you're alright," Robin calmly replied.
"Yeah but…" Nami trailed off, while glancing at the scorched snake. "But I don't think Luffy, Misaka, Wendy and Cynthia managed to escape in time."
"Wait what? S-Seriously~!?" Touma blurted in comical shock. He did not expect Misaka to get eaten.
"What the-?" Zoro comically gawked when he heard that his captain, and the three girls were in the snake too. "What are they doing in there?!"
"I was trying to get them out, but Luffy and Misaka fell off the waver," Nami argued back.
"C-Charla!" Erza cried out upon noticing Wendy's companion resting in Gan Fall's arm. "What happened to her?"
"She must've gotten hit by the falling rubble," Gan Fall replied while handing the cat to Nami. "She was alone though. I didn't see the other two with her."
THUD~!
Everyone jumped when they heard the snake that was terrorizing everyone, collapse onto its side motionless.
"Just one hit…" Wyper just stared at the scorched snake, gripping his weapon in anger. "Eneru destroyed it when my bazooka couldn't even scratch it. Aisa…I can only hope that she somehow survived."
When the smoke around the snake finally cleared up, Wyper caught a glimpse of his main enemy seated on the ruins behind him. He spun around and wasted no time firing his bazooka at him.
Eneru launched himself off the ruins and flipped over the blue beam of fire. While in the air, he took out a dial from his pocket. When he pressed the apex, Eneru tossed it in the air. The Dial shot out a white cloud, forming into a ball. Eneru casually sat down on it, looking at Wyper in amusement.
"Eneru…" Wyper growled.
"Yahahaha~!" Eneru laughed while twirling his staff. "Is that how you treat your host, Shandian Warrior? I thought you would be happy that I brought you back to your homeland."
"Why you!" Wyper aimed his bazooka, ready to fire at Eneru.
"Now, now," Eneru chuckled, trying to calm Wyper down. "There's time for that later. This is just the beginning. You don't want this game to end so soon do you?"
"Game? This is all just a game to you?" Wyper demanded.
"Yes, it was a petty little game," Eneru smugly replied. "Behind you are half of the survivors you'll be fighting against for my entertainment."
Walking right next to Wyper was Gan Fall and Erza. The two knights glaring at Eneru. Robin, Zoro and Touma made their way to the middle of the clearing. Zoro drew two of his swords out while Touma clenched his right hand. Nami was hiding behind the rubble, with Charla in her arms.
"Well done~! I'm happy so many of you made it this far!" Eneru announced to the six fighters standing before him. "The Survival Game was created to see who out of the original one-hundred and forty nine, including myself, are still standing after three hours on this island. Among you are a few participants who are invaders or entered late in the game. But I've decided to allow them to stay, to make things more interesting. Just like I predicted, It comes down to the final sixteen."
'Wait…sixteen?' Nami questioned in confusion. 'But aren't there seven of us here?'
"The sixteen finalists are split into three sections in their own battle," Eneru predicted what they were all thinking. "The eight of us is one fight. Five in the second fight, and finally four in the last one."
'That's why Natsu and the others aren't here,' Erza realized. Eneru must've done something to keep the others from interfering.
"I cannot make false prophecies," Eneru declared to them. "Which means that out of the three final battles, this one will be the first one to end. Now will you slaughter each other until one remains? Will you gang up on the weak? Or will you foolishly resist your fate and force me to pick? The choice is yours."
Gan Fall, Erza, Wyper, Zoro, Robin and Touma were all silent for a few seconds, letting Eneru's offer sink in for a bit.
"So…" Erza broke the silence, as he turned to Robin, Zoro and Touma. "Any volunteers?"
"Not interested," Robin admitted.
"Me neither," Zoro agreed.
"Not going to happen," Touma replied instantly.
"What about you…?" Erza questioned, glaring at Wyper.
"I'm done playing his sick games," Wyper stated.
"I refused entirely," Gan Fall added.
The six then turned their heads towards Nami who peeked her head out. She freaked out for a second and turned back before yelling out. "Don't drag me into this~!"
After their confirmation, the six readied themselves.
Erza's entire body glowed, changing into her Lightning Empress Armor. She then aimed her Spear of Lightning towards her target.
Touma clenched his right fist and stretched it upwards on his target.
Zoro pointed the end of his sword at his target.
Robin brought her right arm upward at her enemy.
Wyper aimed his bazooka at his target, his hand on the trigger.
Gan Fall raised his lance and pointed it at his target.
"You're the one who's going to get slaughtered," The six fighters chorused boldly as they aimed their respective weapons on their primary target.
Eneru gave them an amusing smirk at their response."...Insolent fools."
Fight#1: Zoro, Erza, Wyper, Touma, and Gan Fall vs Eneru.
On the opposite side of the Shandora City, Natsu, Happy, Eguchi, Tsubasa, and Kaito had just recovered from falling into the city.
"Where are we?" Happy wondered while staring around the stone city.
"We must've landed into the lost city of gold that you guys were looking for," Eguchi informed, surveying the area a bit. "Not much of a golden city though."
"You're right," Tsubasa realized. "I wonder what happened to this place?"
"Eneru must've taken all the gold for himself," Natsu guessed while barely standing.
"It's possible but for what though?" Eguchi wondered.
"...Something's not right," Kaito voiced getting their attention.
"Ah~! It's the goatee weirdo~!" Happy exclaimed.
"Don't call me goatee weird~!" Kaito retorted back before calming down. "What I mean is why are we sent further back from the others?"
"Now that you brought that up, I did feel a gust of wind when we were falling," Eguchi noted, looking cautiously. "It's like someone was separating us on purpose."
All of a sudden, a massive magic pressure caught the group's attention. While Natsu, Happy and Tsubasa felt their bodies shaking from the pressure, Kaito and Eguchi braced themselves and were not as effective.
"Here he comes…" Eguchi declared, while enlightening his fist with fire.
"It's been a while since I've fought against a trigger user," Kaito said, readying his fist.
"Damn it," The second Natsu got a whiff of their scent, he gritted his teeth. "I thought I took that bastard down for good."
"You did," Eguchi replied sternly. "Which is why he used his Trigger Code."
Approaching the four encased with a deadly, massive pressure, was Moses Reynold. However, his entire appearance was completely different.
The God Slayer's eyes were pitch black while his hair was pure white and hovering in the air like it was defying gravity. Even his attires have changed into a black cloak, with multiple eye patterns on it, and were looking in random directions.
Until they set their gazes on his five victims. When Moses spoke, his voice had no emotion or personality. "...
Eliminate…"
Fight#2: Natsu/Happy, Tsubasa, Eguchi and Kaito vs Ultimate God Slayer: Moses
The clash of the two killers echo deep into Upper Yard. Maki and Shervan were in a fast paced hand to hand combat. While it looked like the fight was in a stalemate, Maki was landing more blows and cuts onto the boy, who shook off the pain and continued lashing out.
'He's much quicker than the last time we fought,' Maki muttered coldly after she managed to grab his right leg, before his kick could connect to her face. 'Still, I can still kill him without going above 50%.'
Maki pulled Shervan forward, and once she let go of his ankle, she slammed her left fist into his stomach. The dragon slayer hunch over in pain briefly, until he his fists coated with dark green wind, and slammed a left hook right under Maki's chin. He then twisted his body, and punched his right fist into her stomach, forcing Maki to slightly stumble back.
"Delta Sky Dragon: ROAR~!" Not giving her the chance to retaliate, Shervan finished the combo by unleashing a point blank funnel of dark-green sky magic. Maki flew across the clearing and crashed into the tree, creating a dust storm.
"..." Maki rose up from where she landed, instantly and cracked her neck in one motion. The combo did minor damage to her, and she didn't look weary or tired, but was annoyed. "You're a very annoying cockroach to kill."
"Same to you…" Shervan lightly breathed. He tried to hide his fatigue from her as his entire right arm was coated with vicious black-green swirling around it. "Let's finally end this shall we?"
"..." Without a word, Maki's left arm morphs into a black and red demonic claw. "This time I'll make sure to decapitate your head."
"Not if I plunge a hole right in your chest," Shervan boldly retorted back, letting his wind around his arm spin faster and aggressively.
In one step, Maki and Shervan lunged at each other. Both of them lash their respective attacks at each other with killing attention.
KLANG~!
KLASH~!
Both of their enchanted punches managed to strike.
But not at each other.
Maki's demonic claw was parried down by a large green halberd, locking her arm into the ground. Maki blinked a bit, startled by the interference, and stared at the certain blond hair girl wielding the large weapon.
Opposite Scythe: Rapunzel!
At the same time, Shervan's punch was blocked by a massive wall. The wind around his arm disbursed, clearing the dust cloud. Shervan's eyes widened when realized that the towering wall was actually four massive pink and black buzz saws in a two by two array.
Reverse Gamma Style: Reckless Swastika Finish!
Right between the four buzz saws, Shervan's widened emerald's eyes made contact with the serious, yet concerning pink eyes. "You…"
Shirabe Tsukuyomi barely blocked the dragon slayer's attack with her large buzz saws. Right behind her was Kirika Akatsuki who still had Maki's right claw pinned to the ground.
Shirabe clenched her fist while looking down. She then glared at the boy her voice echoed in the clearing. "...
…Who are you, and what have you done to Shervan?!"
Shiho: Now we're at the bottom I have to say…I improve with the author doing gender equality.
Yang: Good. Even if it's their OC, I would've been really angry if Cynthia got Scott free from Nami's wrath!
Peace: So Gender Equality means that everyone gets beaten up?
Freddy: Not really, it's mainly that genders get the same treatment in anime terms. For example, usually when a boy walks into a girl who's changing, the girl beats him up and calls him a pervert.
Raven: But what if the roles were reversed? Let's say a female barges into a boy who's changing. What would the boy do?
Sanya: …Scream and jump out of the window?
Shiho: While naked~?!
Yang: Nope, they call the girl a pervert and throw stuff at her till she leaves~!
Peace: But what if it's an accident?
Yang: Well, she'd better close the door quickly!
Freddy: This is why Izumi and many viewers avoid harem anime where the male protagonist is treated like a punching bag for misunderstandings. Love Hina, To Love Ru, and Infinite Stratos are prime examples.
Yang: CURSE YOU STUPID HAREM TROPES~!
Varvula:...Next Chapter: Origin: The Boy with Three Souls.
Gwen: What are these idiots talking about?
Varvula: Why you're asking me? I blanked out the second Shiho spoke.
Raven:...Seriously?! How freakin' dense are you? You're a walking exhibition~!
Varvula: …Hey I'm not a exhibition…Whatever that means.