Right now Issei was walking without directions while talking to Yaldabaoth, he wanted to know about his world, as he found out recently that the supernatural existed and he had almost no idea about it. "You said you didn't want Ophis and Great Red to find you, right? Who are they exactly?"
"They are known as the most powerful beings in the world, both can easily defeat me, I am unsure if Sophia could even go up against them." Commented Yaldabaoth. He knew that he was weaker than most beings, the Dragon Emperors would have been a problem for him in his current state, and he was quite relieved that Ophis hadn't tried anything against him, he supposed that she thought he was not a threat yet.
To him, any creation that became stronger than the creator needed to be extinguished before it could cause any problems. He knew that Sophia had tried that with him, taking away his support alongside anything related to him meant he was left with no resources to go against her, hence why he had gone into hiding, and now he had Issei, who he could call upon to make his dream a reality. "But what makes you think that they will both come after you?" Issei asked yet again.
"Ophis is the one I am worried about, she is currently active in your world, going around while devising a plan to take the Dimensional Gap back from Great Red." Yaldabaoth did wonder however, why hadn't Ophis made any actions against him? He was sure that every single spy he had created could have been easily discovered by her, even if according to Issei the system had created him, those Xiao clones should have been spotted at least by now.
"Actually, I wanna know something, you said that the Xiao clones are the ideal image of what you want your harbinger to be, where did that image exactly come from?" Asked Issei with a bit of curiosity. Yaldabaoth hummed. "At some point in time, I heard of the tales of a legendary warrior in the land of China during the Three Kingdoms Era, he was known to have lived through the rise of Shu Han till its fall, even being able to watch the fall of Sun Wu and the unification of China."
The conversation was cut short after Issei noticed a giant bird flying over him, which made him become cautious as he pointed at it with his guandao. The bird landed in front of him, as it did, a girl with green hair was dismounting the giant bird, then she looked at Issei to ask. "It's dangerous around here, traveler, are you perhaps lost?" She had a white short dress, a pair of shorts and a long brown coat covering her, she was equipped with a staff that had a green gem in the middle.
"Uhm, yes I am kinda lost here, I'm not sure where I am." Issei attempted to sound as oblivious as possible, he was unsure if he could trust her or not, she looked around his age, she seemed armed and flying around on a giant bird was something he didn't expect to see.
"Then you should hop on, we're near the borders to a tribe we are currently at war with." She informed as she then hopped onto the bird again, she held out her hand so that Issei could boost himself up to ride alongside her.
When he finally got seated he could feel the wind blow around them as the bird started to ascend, as they went up, Issei could start taking a look around, the land was completely green, it was a very vegetative forest with a mist covering the deeper parts of it, and just a bit further a vast land completely made out of stone that had mountains and many man made structures in them could be spotted, while on the other side, a wide blue ocean with ice mountains and a few caves that had light coming out of them could be seen, even further he could see volcanoes and fields that were made of fire and magma with trees burning.
Issei then looked at the girl for a bit, he wanted to know as to why she would be so kind as to let a stranger ride with her, it seemed a bit dangerous, especially given the fact she had told him that they were currently at war.
He saw as they got closer to what seemed to be a temple, the mist covering the whole place slowly became clearer as they got closer, but he also saw cliffs that had dragons in them alongside habitants taking care of them.
What caught the interest of both Issei and Yaldabaoth was actually the huge tree that stood out from the field of green. Yaldabaoth in particular could not but feel a sense of familiarity upon seeing it, which led to a sense of uneasiness start seeping into his mind.
They started losing height as he realized that they were going to what seemed to be a small tribe with houses built on trees and on the floor. "We're here." She proclaimed, as they both got off the big bird, the same bird started shrinking, to the point it looked like a small round bird covered in armor, this was something Issei didn't expect but didn't question, as he continued to follow the girl he noticed that everyone in the tribe had green hair.
The girl then exclaimed. "Welcome to our tribe! We are the Gusto, we take care of the shrine in memory of our protectors the Mist Valley Tribe." Issei looked around, it was incredibly green, from people to the animals, the whole place was brimming with that color, yet he never heard of any of those terms, this confirmed him that he was no longer in the world he used to be.
As he kept analyzing the place, someone came up to him. This man had a robe that covered his hair, he was armed with a weapon in hand, a mix between an axe and a staff, he then said. "What brings you here to our tribe lone traveler?" Before he could say anything the green haired girl started explaining. "Father, they are a traveler that was lost wandering through the forests, the Naturia beasts didn't seem to have attacked him, and they almost went to where the Gishki were."
"Had I not stopped him, he may have been approached and attacked by the Gishki." She finished.
The man nodded in understanding. "Mmm, very well. I should introduce myself then, I am Windaar, the Sage and current leader of the Gusto." As he presented himself he continued. "And the one who has brought you here is my daughter, Winda. She acts as the matriarch when I am not present in the tribe." As he finished he then said.
"Tell me, lone traveler, what is your name?" Issei quickly responded. "I am Issei Hyoudou, it is a pleasure to meet you." This tribe seemed to be friendly at least, so the least he could do is be polite to them. Before they could continue with their introduction, a loud noise came from nowhere.
"Damn it Kamui! How many times have I told you to stop practicing inside a building!" An angry individual with ponytails came out chasing a young boy around the same age as her, the boy continued running while being accompanied by his bird partner. "Sorry, sorry, tell my old man about this, he'll fix it ah ah!"
"That won't be needed." An adult with white robes was currently grabbing the boy by his scarf. "You've done enough for today, I am going to have to make you stay in the church until you learn your lesson." He was disappointed at his son for how reckless he was, alongside him was a girl who also dressed with white robes, she then scolded him. "Brother, we have told you that you can't just go to the Warrior House to practice, you need to ask formally for permission." She didn't speak loudly but her annoyance could be felt.
Upon hearing the voice of his family, the boy looked around just to say. "Urk! He-hey pops, hey sis, how are you doing?" The boy named Kamui was nervous now, as each of his problems seemed to come back to bite him. "Ahem, we have a visitor everyone." Mentioned Windaar.
Kamui thanked the Goddess above that Windaar had changed the topic, as they all looked at the visitor, they simply stayed quiet and some even apologized. "Sorry for making trouble, I hope it hasn't made you think badly of us. I am Caam, I am part of the Priest House." She was gentle and calm, Issei could see that she had trouble expressing herself. "And I'm the father of both of these kids, I am Musto, if you need any help I am willing to help with your troubles as a priest." Winda then added another fact about Musto. "He's also the adviser and is in charge of the council of the family."
The girl with ponytails then decided that it was time to present herself. "Well, guess it's my turn, I'm Reeze, I'm part of the Warrior House, I see you have a weapon with you, so if you want I can be your sparring partner if you need one!" She smiled as she was looking for a decent challenge.
Issei smiled back. "Well, it's nice to meet all of you, none of you need to worry about the first impression. Now, mind telling me more about the Houses?" Issei wanted to know everything about the tribe.
Winda agreed to do so. "Of course! We're a tribe that consists of spellcasters alongside a few warriors. We also have a great relationship with creatures of the forest." Issei notices that most of them had an avian creature alongside them.
"We consider our bonds with the animals to be very important, to the point that we choose the next chieftain by judging who has the deepest bond with their companion, it tells us that they are willing to continue our practices and can teach the next generation well." Explained Winda. In response, Issei nodded in understanding as he smiled at the upbeat nature that Winda had, it truly gave off the feel of a leader who was close to the members.
Suddenly Kamui exclaimed "And I'll be the next chieftain!" He seemed excited about this as he dreamed to be the next leader of the clan, his bird companion was as excited as him. No one else seemed to be bothered or annoyed by this, far from it, they smiled as they were happy to see the next generation to still be willing to work with the creatures of the forest.
As they continued to hang out, Caam noticed the weapon that Issei had. "That gem... wait, are you perhaps part of the Gem-Knight Tribe?" This got everyone's attention.
"Uhm... I don't know any other tribe sorry..." Responded Issei. He was confused about what this world was all about, there were tribes, so it meant that they couldn't be advanced enough to modern days when it came to society. Yet it could also mean that there was no need to have everything under a single union, similar to countries.
"Oh sorry for saying such then. You see, we're grateful to the Gem-Knight Tribe, they've been defending us against the attacks of the Gishki despite them being at war against the Laval Tribe." Caam apologized.
Reeze then commented. "I don't know what the Lavals are thinking by attacking the Gem-Knights, I am sure that because of Judgement Lord's attempt to attack the Gem-knights, his three daughters decided to live in the woods." Reeze scratched her head as she felt bad for the three of them, hell, the fact that none of the Laval or even their father used their actual names was quite mean in her opinion.
"In which case, I should proceed to call a meeting with every single member of the tribe, you are allowed to stay Issei.'' Windaar excused himself as he ordered everyone present to reunite the members available for the meeting.
Now that every member was present, Issei felt like he wasn't supposed to be there, but given that supposedly the Naturia beasts didn't attack him, he was someone who they could trust.
Naturia beasts... According to Winda they were in a way, guardians to this whole area, they are located at the borders so that no creature would infiltrate the territory without any of the tribes living inside knowing, those who made their intentions clear would be allowed to enter, this was the case with the Gishki, as they had declared war against the Gusto, Issei thought that they were sort of judges as to what was allowed in war and what wasn't, but they seemed to stay there solely to defend something important too.
Windaar proceeded to sit down as everyone finally calmed down, he then started the meeting. "All of you know about our relationship with the Gishki right?" They all nodded with some even replying. "We used to be on good terms ever since the Trishula Incident, however, recently they've been attacking us." He pulled out a map, he marked both of the territories and various lines that seemed to point at a few sections where a battle happened, alongside a circle that surrounded the Mist Valley mountain that had a Shrine on top.
"They seem to be going after the zone of the Great Marshlands where the Mist Valley Tribe previously inhabited, we cannot allow this." He then proceeded to draw even more lines on the map. "Their commanding officer for this operation seems to be Ariel, I've been able to cross blades with her, her group seems to be able to use the creatures they've made a pact with to fly though the forest." Upon the mention of that name, Winda looked a bit sad, they knew each other when they were kids after the war against the Fabled ended.
To have to cross blades with a friend was an event that she wished to avoid if possible. And yet, if the time came where they'd need to kill one another, they promised to not hold any grudges no matter what events transcurred during the war.
"We are going to make contact with the Dragunity to create an alliance and defe-" Before he could finish, another member of the tribe had burst into the meeting. "Chief! I bring important news!" He screamed while trying to catch his breath, it seemed as if he had come from a long way.
"What is the matter?" Inquired the chieftain. No one acted like this in the tribe unless it was truly important, as he got closer, the man finally recovered. "The Laval and Gem-Knight conflict has temporarily ended! They have written a temporary truce! They have come to an armistice!" This news made everyone happy, this meant that the pointless conflict that was started by the Laval had finished, in some cases it could also mean that the Gem-Knights could also lend their help with the Gishki conflict.
"However, this was all because a new group had come to intervene between them!" This ended up making everyone's smile become a worried expression, thanks to the fact many of the old members had survived. They knew that such situations like this had happened before, and they were never good.
Could this be a situation similar to the Fabled Conflict? Because of the Fabled Gods, many old Clans and Tribes had lost their bloodline, such were the fates of Flamvell, Mist Valley and Ice Barrier, the last one having its remaining members being turned into the Gishki, gone were the members as they were mostly inhabited by sea creatures. Other groups such as the X-Saber mercenaries, the Jurracs and the Genex had all ceased to exist after Trishula had been released. Out of them only Gusto, Dragunity and Naturia had survived, only those within the Great Marshlands had survived, and ironically the Gusto was said to be the weakest tribe.
Windaar was quiet upon listening to this, he proceeded to order the others about the change of plans. "This new group could mean trouble, I will go visit the Gem-Knight Tribe to talk about this sudden development, in the meantime, Winda will be in charge of the Tribe in my absence." Everyone continued to nod as they followed the head's orders. "This concludes today's meeting."
While everyone left, Windaar had come up to Issei. "I'd like for you to accompany me, your weapon seems to be related to the Gem-Knights, and so I'd like to see if your origin is of the Gem-Knight Tribe." Issei didn't know why Windaar would want to let a stranger go with him, the community of this tribe seemed to be incredibly trusting of people.
"We will be going tomorrow morning, so I suggest you get some sleep now." As he finally finished talking to him, he left with his bird companion to prepare for the trip. Issei looked around and saw that there were some houses without any sort of sign of people residing in them. Issei didn't question it as he prepared for tomorrow.
But before he could do anything the system had given him his first quest. Now that Issei thought about it, he hadn't checked his stats for awhile, he'd look at them for a bit after seeing what the quest was all about.
Quest #1
Elemental Alliance
Condition: Discover the mysterious new entities
Failure: The four main Tribes become hostile to each other
Accept
Issei saw that the quest was much more detailed when it came to what he should and shouldn't do, this time, he had to make sure to not make the relationship between the Gusto Tribe and the Gem-Knight Tribe become hostile.
He now went to check on his stats, it had been awhile since last time he did, in fact, he might have not even opened it during the storylines of the church and Kiba. As he pulled out the stat screen, he saw that the Fruit of Knowledge had increased drastically his Temperance.
Stats
Health 500/500 Sanity 390/400
Fortitude 4 (+1) Prudence 3 (+1)
Temperance 15 (+1) Justice 6
Role: Secondary Character
Both his Fortitude and Prudence were his lowest stats, and he was unsure how to increase them, he'd start to practice with his weapon once he had time, maybe now was the perfect scenario to do so, as he'd have a place to do so without getting weird looks for having a weapon on the streets. His traits were mostly not useful, as more than likely the enemies he'd have to fight would not have biblical ties.
He refused to look through the Relationships section, as he was Yaldabaoth's harbinger, he mustn't get attached to anyone no more, as if he did end up looking at it, he would be letting his emotions get the better of him.
He drifted into sleep while thinking about what this world was. As he did, Yaldabaoth was awake trying to learn what the books had in them.
Yaldabaoth kept looking through them, he noticed that there was a faint glow coming from both of them. "Oh? They're reacting to something?" He grabbed both of them and tried to see if they would glow more if he got closer to somewhere, yet there was no more glow after a few moments. He'd look into them more later, right now he needed to learn what the language these books had was all about.
But something was sort of strange to him the closer they got to the Great Marshlands, it was a feeling of eeriness that Yaldabaoth knew was not normal, Issei may not have felt it, but he sure did, it was as if... There was someone calling for him.
Yaldabaoth wanted to go around while Issei was asleep and gain more information.
Both Windaar and Issei were about to leave, the other members of the tribe waved as they wished them luck and to always follow the winds. Windaar was ready to fly, he was waiting for Issei to also hop on. "We should leave now Issei, come, get on top of Egul." But he was met with a surprising statement. "Don't worry I can go fly by myself" He spread his wings, it surprised everyone around him, there was even someone who got hit by his wings and fell over, to which Issei apologized.
"Wait, so you could have flown this whole by yourself instead? Why didn't you start flying instead of walking when I found you?" Winda was confused over the revelation.
"I just wanted to see the place a bit, and I didn't want to cause much disturbance." He responded, and at the same time, he also apologized to her for hiding it.
His different wings did seem to make a few uneasy, but he didn't know the reason, he started flying alongside Windaar and Egul to where they were supposed to go. While flying Issei asked a few questions to pass a bit of the time.
"So how long would it take us to get there?" Windaar looked back, and he responded to that simple question. "It should only take us a few hours, the lands aren't too far away, we are able to fly easily onto the territory of others, the fact that we have our bird companions helping us gives us an advantage most other tribes don't have." As they continued looking at the beautiful landscape Windaar then took his turn to ask a question. "Are you good at fighting by the way Issei?"
"Well, not really, I'm a beginner." Issei wanted to be realistic, he'd need to spend years before he could even call himself adept with the blade. "But I can defend myself from threats at least." He had powerful effects that would passively boost his power, traits such as The Black Swan to boost his damage or the Poems Schadenfreude and Slash Your Wrists.
When it came to defense he had Poem Girl in Pink, Deus Ex Machina and Reasoning to make sure he wouldn't enter a Panic state. And then his weapons Justitia and Blade Forged From Souls seemed powerful enough to be used against enemies that could be difficult, all he needed was experience to be able to use them.
Issei continued with his next question. "I'm curious, why were some of the members of the tribe uncertain about my wings?" Windaar spent a bit in silence as he narrowed his eyes, he seemed to have spotted something but he was unsure.
But realizing that he still needed to answer Issei's question, he responded as they were getting closer to it. "I'd say it's because of the black wings you had, they were similar to the ones the Fabled had, so that might be the reason." Windaar finished as they kept flying over the land.
Issei could see a few strange devices flying around, which Windaar then commented. "More flying creatures? I've never seen them before..." He knew he had seen something on the air, but he was unsure, seeing them a bit closer made him a bit cautious, but it seemed like they weren't attacking him at all.
This mystery was getting bigger each time as they kept entering deeper into the mountains. They finally ended up where the base of the Gem-Knight Tribe was ubicated. They landed on the floor as Windaar got off his bird companion.
Issei noticed that every single person in the base was completely covered with colorful armor. Three of them got closer to them as they've been expecting to see Windaar. "Chieftain Windaar, it is nice being able to meet you here, I assume you've heard of the peace treaty we've made with the Laval Tribe?" An armored man covered in blue armor talked as he seemed to be the one in command of this base.
"Yes Sir Aquamarine, I was surprised that an unknown third party had intervened in the battle, I am worried that this new group could be similar to the Fabled." Politely answered Windaar as he put his hands together to pay respects.
"Do not worry about this third party, in fact, they could be considered allies." This piqued both Windaar's and Issei's interest. "They are looking to gather all of the main tribes to battle against a greater evil." As he continued speaking both of the visitors could see that some of the flying creatures they had seen were also in the camp.
"Then we would like to cooperate, if it is to stop a greater evil just like the past tribes have done, we would be more than willing to do so." He accepted.
Windaar was a bit worried over what this greater evil was, the stories he heard of the Worms when they invaded the land had made him fear of the damage that could be caused if something like this happened again. Many scars of the world were still present as they could see the remnants of the Ally of Justice inventions scattered around the ground.
"We're thankful for your cooperation chieftain." All of the knights present put a hand on their heart, where a gem was present. "We've gotten confirmation that both the Laval and the Gishki have also agreed to this alliance, so you shouldn't need to worry about them invading you for now." Explained Sapphire. Windaar smiled at this news, he was worried that he would need to battle against a tribe that had shared the atrocities with them.
"Now, moving onto the next matter, I would like to ask, who is besides you? I've never seen them when some of our knights went to help you." Inquired Aquamarine, who was curious about the unknown person that seemed to accompany the chieftain.
In response Windaar said. "His name is Issei, he's a traveler who was able to get past the Naturia beasts, so they are trustworthy, however we were going to ask a question too, Issei mind showing your weapon to Crystal? The knight on your left."
Issei agreed and lent his Blade Forged From Souls to the other Gem-Knight, as they looked at it they seemed to be in awe at the weapon. "Mmm... it has a gem on it, similar to the ones we have, yet it feels like it contains the power of various ones..." As the Gem-Knight kept analyzing it he got even more invested in such a weapon. " Yes, I can feel it, it has the power of our cores, as if it was the weapon made out of various Gem-Knights who have fused their core!"
This seemed to surprise many of the present, Issei had no idea what they were talking about. The same Gem-Knight continued to talk. "Issei, that is your name right?" He nodded in response, not knowing what else to say. "This weapon you have could be considered a powerful weapon of a Gem-Knight, the more cores one had, the higher their status was."
"They must have had great respect for you to willingly sacrifice their lives to become your weapon, the emotions of each one of them express happiness and gratitude." Crystal was now bowing to him, as he gave him back his guandao, Issei took it, remembering his time with the six children, this weapon made him feel sad but happy at the same time, if what Crystal said was true, then it meant that each of them had truly felt happy with his presence and care.
This moment was interrupted by the third party sending messages. "Message received. Sending message to all Vylon Units." They started talking in unison, Issei snapped back to reality at the sudden voice, yet he couldn't think of anything else aside from the fact that they closely resembled Yaldabaoth's original form.
If only he were here, Issei would have teased the shit out of him about that. But supposedly, he had gone out to explore the land alone to find any sort of important information.
"Showing message. Our first assault against the greater evil known as the Steelswarm will be initiated in 13 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 40 seconds. The coordinates of the assault are yet to be released."
Everyone present was listening, everyone was tensed up as they listened to what would be their greatest threat yet after the previous war, however, the next message alarmed Windaar and Issei the most.
"Message received. Showing message. The Steelswarm have initiated an attack against The Great Marshlands. Sending request for support." As soon as this message finished, Windaar went on top of Egul as the giant bird got ready to take off, the other Gem-Knights couldn't do anything right now, they couldn't go immediately as they would take too long to get to the place, but one of them was bold enough to ask them to take him with them.
"Both of you, let me aid you with the situation! I wish to be of immediate help to aid the Gusto!" A knight in green armor asked as he wanted to help as much as he could.
Windaar was unsure if their mount could carry two of them, and so, he asked his bird companion. "Egul, do you think you're able to carry the two of us?" Windaar asked his companion, which nodded back in confirmation, but another Gem-Knight seemed to want to join them.
"Hey, can I come as well?" This time it was a smaller member of the tribe, in fact, this member seemed to be a girl who was a bit younger than Issei. "I don't weigh much so I can also come!" The man in green then said. "Lazuli, are you sure you want to come with us, this would be your first time in battle." He asked as he wanted to make sure that she truly wanted to come knowing what it could entail if the situation went awry.
"Yes Emerald, I want to help them just like how we Gem-Knights try to keep this world peaceful!" She was determined to help. "Even if I don't have a pyroxene like all of you, I am still able to give my all!" None of them really tried to talk back, they knew that she was strong enough to fight for herself, and they wanted to believe in her, no matter what imperfections others had, they wouldn't be judging or think less of their members.
"Both of you can come with us. I am grateful for your assistance." Windaar was truly thankful for how willing the Gem-Knights were to help them, while Emerald got onto Egul, Lazuli was being carried by Issei, it was a bit uncomfortable for Issei to be carrying her while flying but after a test to find the best way to carry her, he decided that the best way was to just carry her bridal style.
He was now grateful that Yaldabaoth wasn't there to see him. Perhaps that was karma for wanting to tease him.
Aquamarine then proceeded to give orders to others. "Everyone, we march now to assist the Gusto Tribe, even if we come late we must at the very least make sure no other enemy leaves the battlefield, protect the lands of the Great Marshlands no matter what!" He was met with roars of determination.
Egul and Issei then took flight towards the Gusto Tribe.
Issei was nervous, he was unsure if he could battle unlike when he went up against Kokabiel, his exchanges with the White Dragon Emperor were a good sign that he had good instincts, but he was unsure if he could battle against an opponent who went seriously against him. Each time they got closer they couldn't see anything happening, no explosions, no screams, nothing, perhaps they were flying a bit too high up to be able to hear what was going on below, but they then saw someone on their own bird companion coming towards them.
As they got closer they saw that it was Kamui, "Chief! Thank the Goddess you're here, the others have sent me to tell you that a group of small creatures alongside a few big ones came to attack us." He finally finished the message while looking incredibly nervous. "You need to go to the border between the Great Marshlands and the Gishki as well, apparently they are also fighting the same enemy and I'm not sure if they can hold up any longer!"
Windaar looked much more worried now. "This got difficult." As he quickly thought what to do, he decided that the best thing to do was to balance between both. "Sir Emerald, you should lend a hand to the Tribe alongside Kamui." He nodded as Kamui proceeded to have his companion on the side of Egul as Emerald jumped from one to another. "Issei, Lazuli and I will check the situation with the Gishki, assuming they are in the alliance they will more than likely work with us."
"Let's move quickly before it is too late, I wish you luck." This was the last message Emerald gave as he and Kamui went back to the tribe, Issei and the others went towards where the Gishki were supposed to be. They kept flying until they finally saw the Gishki troops fending off what seemed to be the Steelswarm troops.
"You need to land near the Gishki and ask for information."Instructed the chieftain. Windaar didn't want them to recklessly enter into the fray. "I will try to find the officers of the army on the front lines to communicate a message, both of you try to support the Gishki as much as you can." Issei nodded, Lazuli stayed still until Issei landed, when he did, she gave him his guandao as he didn't have anywhere to put it without having to resort to Mystery Storage.
He saw the Gishki troops doing various actions at the same time. They were sea creatures with human features, all of them were armed as various of them kept trying to take down the Steelswarm troops, he saw that the enemy were all bugs.
But what shocked him was the gruesome ways some of the Gishki died, they were being ripped apart and eaten by the Steelswarm, he saw as one of them even screamed of agony while being eaten alive, this made him want to vomit, he knew his Sanity was going to lower the longer he stayed here, yet despite that, he looked at Lazuli.
She was unfazed as she put her hands in front of her, as she did, light came out of them and shot against the Steelswarm monsters, Issei knew that he needed to get his act together and fight as well, but he couldn't as he just saw a gruesome battlefield for the first time, he simply tried to look as unfazed as possible to not let his emotions go wild. To make sure he didn't enter a panic state, he decided on using Reasoning to gain back some of his missing Sanity.
You have activated the Skill (Reasoning)
You have gained 50% of your Sanity back
He was then approached by a Gishki member who had a staff with him.``Ah, I was not expecting to see reinforcements, especially Gem-Knights here, I am the advisor of my queen, you may call me Shadow." The sea creature introduced as Shadow vowed in the middle of the battle, he had black robes and a staff with him.
"It is nice to meet you, we are here to help as they have attacked the Great Marshland, could you give us details of the battle?" Issei said, finally calmed down, he was unsure if anyone else noticed his initial expression.
"Why yes I can, I will be completely honest to you, we were backing away from our previous attack on the territory of the Gusto,the attack carried out by Ariel, one of the queen's daughters, after the intervention of the Vylon we were forced to back down. As we were about to leave the territory, we were then ambushed by the Steelswarm." Shadow explained as they kept walking deeper into the Gishki lines.
"And what about the enemy? Anything we need to know about them?" Issei needed to know what he was going up against, the advisor quickly responded. "Mostly bug like monsters that eat any living creature they can find, but we've been able to see that they also eat each other," This grossed Issei a bit, he was unsure what kind of opponent they were going to go up against, and killing them felt like a favor to nature if anything.
"Is your queen by any chance in the front lines?" If Windaar was a chieftain that was willing to go to battle alongside other members, he expected her to do the same. "Yes, she is currently at a base that is further within the Mist Valley, oh, I should also introduce you to the adoptive son of our queen, he is also our strategist, he's currently in this room." He pushed the curtains as they went inside one of the camps, Issei and Lazuli were a bit wary of their surroundings, unsure if this was a trap.
When he looked at who was sitting in front of him he saw a young man with a darker tone of skin, also around his age, he covered himself with a cape, he carried various medals and a sword on his side, when the white haired boy noticed both Issei and Shadow, he proceeded to say. "Shadow, didn't I tell you to not bring people in without my permission?" Shadow quickly apologized. "I apologize for the sudden interruption Prince Avance, but they are members of the Gusto and Gem-Knight Tribes."
He then sighed. "It's all right, and remember to call me just by my name during times of war. Nobility and such are worthless on the battlefield." He looked at the other two people in the room. "I assume you're here to protect this land right? I am Avance, it's a pleasure to meet you." He proceeded to extend his hand out for a handshake.
Issei accepted it while replying. "Likewise, I am Issei Hyoudou, I am a traveler who has been in the care of the Gusto Tribe since yesterday, and I want to protect this land." He smiled as he was glad that Avance seemed to be competent and willing to fight alongside them.
"So then, what is the strategy for this battle?" Lazuli went straight to the point as she wanted to make sure to not waste any more time. Avance took out a map of the territory and explained the situation. "My mother and my sister are currently at a base up ahead deeper inside the territory, I can't reach either of them from here by message, but I am sure they will be able to hold up there, in the meantime, if we go through the Gusto Tribe we should be able to attack them from both sides, since the Gem-Knights will come later, we can create an encirclement against the enemy and defeat them this way, they won't expect us to do an envelopment, as they'll think that we are going to push them forward until we get to where my adoptive mother and sister are, especially since they still don't know that the Gishki and Gusto tribes are currently allied."
He proceeded to then look at both of them. "Make sure to avoid any of the enemy troops that have colors aside from black and gray as those are officers of the Steelswarm that are much stronger than the average Steelswarm." He got two nods from both as they understood. "Both of you will be coming with me to the Gusto Tribe, if there is anyone else that you know of that is currently outside battling the waves of the enemy, let them know that we are going to attack from both sides."
"But wait, what about the other Gishki troops?" Lazuli asked, Avance looked grim at the mention of them. "They will have to stay to hold the line and act as decoys, but don't worry Shadow will stay here to make sure the amount of casualties is minimal." He tried to then make sure it didn't look as bad as it sounded.
"If that is all, then we should move now, we should be able to reach the Tribe in less than an hour if we go quickly." He took his sword out and walked outside, in the meantime as they all got closer to the frontlines, both Issei and Lazuli looked back at Shadow who was going to stay.
But Issei was surprised to see him holding a mirror while chanting something, Shadow turned into a giant creature, which then proceeded to rashly move forward as he flailed around, swiping enemies left and right. Avance then commented. "For an adviser he sure likes to choose brute force."
As they continued to move on, a group of Steelswarm troops blocked their path, the three of them stopped on their tracks as they saw that one of them was bigger compared to the others. It had a cannon for a hand, while his other hand and a part of him was completely orange.
"Damn it, just when I said that we should avoid officers." Avance was now on guard, he was waiting for the enemy to attack, but instead a few smaller insects started to swarm at him, he stayed calm as he started to slash at the first one that came towards him, he slashed horizontally, then vertically and proceeded to do the same again and again, the enemies was acting pretty simple minded as they didn't seem to change their tactic. Yet despite that he could see that this was a never ending stream of insects coming at him, this was the reason why the Gishki were struggling, they were incredibly outnumbered by the amount of enemies that rushed towards them.
Issei intercepted the stream as he proceeded to use his guandao to cut down some of them, he saw as Lazuli started to cast and shoot light at the enemy, he wondered how she could do that, as it seemed like all the other Gem-Knights had a weapon with them except Crystal and her.
Then came bigger insects that were more durable or knew how to dodge, Issei decided to rely on Justitia while holding Blade Forged From Souls, he took the revolver out of his pocket and proceeded to shoot at the insects that came towards him, most of them fell after one shot, but some of them continued to attack. Issei concluded that the effect of the gun didn't activate against monsters that didn't have self consciousness, additionally, they seemed to be resistant to bullets.
But thankfully a giant whirlwind came to save them as it took away and destroyed all of the enemies except the officer and a few standing back. When Issei looked up, he saw that it was Windaar, Avance then commented on the appearance of the chieftain. "It is good to meet you chieftain, I appreciate your help against the waves of enemies, we must go to your tribe. I will later explain the strategy we must enact!"
Windaar understood as they all concentrated against the last few Steelswarm enemies in front of them, which included an officer. "To think the enemy would be able to defend against our onslaught, we have underestimated the power of the surface dwellers." The giant Steelswarm commented. It seemed to have gotten serious in the battle. "I am Girastag, I am the next in line to become a general of the Steelswarm, so brace yourself for I won't be holding back!" He then took his tail and pierced it through his allies, as the stabbed Steelswarm insect screamed, it got weaker until it stopped moving, the creature was then dropped onto the ground, its lifeless body looked completely drained, the other Steelswarms ended up fleeing as they saw what had happened to one of their troops.
It was a dog eat dog world for the Steelswarm.
Girastag proceeded to shoot from his arm cannon at his grounded opponents. Lazuli and Avance were able to easily dodge them, but in the case of Issei he tried to parry them with his guandao as he wasn't fast enough to dodge. He was successful on the first few shots, but the fourth one hit him point blank. He was blown back, being launched a few meters away from where he originally stood. It hurt a lot, he was surprised he didn't have a hole in his body, but he still tried to stand up.
"Are you okay Issei?!" Lazuli yelled worriedly, as he tried to get up, he made sure to check his stats again to see how much damage that shot had done to him. He was unsure how he was even alive.
Stats
Health 250/500 Sanity 296/400
Fortitude 4 (+1) Prudence 3 (+1)
Temperance 15 (+1) Justice 6
Role: Secondary Character
He was exactly at 50% of life, this meant that he had survived thanks to Poem Girl in Pink, if it weren't for that item's effect, he would have been sent back in time with Second Take. This made Issei sweat, compared to his fight with Kokabiel, this opponent could easily kill him with a single attack.
Yet he continued to stand up, even if it hurt, he knew that no matter what, he'd come back to life, his damage should be higher now thanks to Poem Slash Your Wrists. He let himself calm down and proceeded to charge at him, while Girastag tried to shoot more times, they were intercepted with Windaar's wind as he tried to get closer, making them miss Issei completely.
Avance followed Issei as they both went to attack Girastag, while Avance's stab simply left a dent on him, Issei's slash had completely gone through the armor of Girastag. Despite that, it wasn't enough to defeat him. Girastag proceeded to counterattack despite having a new scar and punched Avance in the face, making him get sent back, Issei then tried to attack one more time and slashed horizontally again, this time however he missed as Girastag dodged, he then proceeded to try and shoot him, who was directly in front of the officer, while the attack was about to finish charging the attack was interrupted by Lazuli's light beam. Issei backed off as he helped Avance to stand up.
"That was too close Issei, we need to be more careful." Avance stood up with the help of Issei, he knew that, had Lazuli not been there, Issei would have easily died from a shot that close. While Windaar tried to get closer to try and attack Girastag, he couldn't due to the fact that now the attention of the shots were onto him, the light beams from Lazuli were dodged by the Steelswarm as he parried them with his tail.
Avance then whispered towards Issei. "Issei, I have an idea." Issei was now listening closely. "You're currently the opponent's biggest threat, however, that is mostly due to the fact that you've been able to psychologically damage him with fear, Windaar will be able to overpower him with the help of his bird companion, so I want you to act as bait with me to divide his attention, then Windaar will be able to attack, Lazuli will continue to shooting her light beams and distract him."
Issei then nodded and saw as Avance rushed towards the enemy. "You idiots! Do you seriously think you can cut me with that sword?" He prepared to shoot, only to be interrupted again by Lazuli's light beam, just like Avance had predicted. "Gah! You pesky rock bitch! I will make sure you don't throw any of those attacks ever again after I make sure I blow off your head!" He aimed at her as he finally had it with her.
Issei proceeded to move towards him, Girastag who was too focused on Lazuli, realized that the two boys were rushing him, he decided to parry Issei's attack instead of Avance's. He successfully did so and went to try and punch him, but he did not have time to do so as Avance then covered his view with his cape.
"Argh! You fuckers keep using such tactics thinking you can take me down this way!" As he tried to get it off he then grabbed Avance with his tail. "I will make sure that I suck every single drop of life out of you." As he was about to try and stab Avance, Windaar finally got close to the opponent and let Egul drop onto the Steelswarm officer.
Egul proceeded to rip the head out of him, it was gruesome yet was something that Issei thankful of, unlike with the Gishki casualties, he knew that with the Steelswarm it was either them or him. Girastag had been defeated with the overwhelming power of Egul's giant form and Avance's tactic. They finally defeated him and waited a bit to catch their breath to continue onward.
Meanwhile at the Gusto Tribe, the whole place was filled with panicking members, as the Gusto members tried to run for their lives, some died while others were staying together as Musto and Caam were continuing to defend the tribe members.
In the meantime Reeze was hacking at some Steelswarm enemies with little to no problem. "When is Kamui going to come back?!" She was worried that something had happened to her childhood friend, but she still needed to make sure the other members were safe too.
The other Warrior House members were trying to push back the Steelswarm, but there was no telling if that would work. Caam was currently holding up a barrier while Musto kept blowing away the enemies with winds. Winda was aiding and ordering the warriors around to make sure no other Steelswarm enemy got close to the barrier while defeating some with her companion Gulldos.
"Caam hold on just a little longer, I'm sure you can keep this barrier up!" Musto was currently pleading her daughter to continue casting the barrier as it was the only way for the Gusto tribe members with no combat ability to survive this attack.
But what they did not expect was for a Steelswarm to make its way towards the civilians that were being protected by Musto and Caam. A winged Steelswarm creature had infiltrated from above and broken through the barrier.
"What!? When did it get up there?!" Winda was shocked over the sudden destruction of the barrier, the monster started attacking the villagers as it kept using its tail to absorb their life, it had green parts running through its body which helped him camouflage better in the forest.
As it continued to massacre the civilians Musto tried to attack it only to be blown back by its tail, Musto was thrown towards the building, upon impact the wall crumbled, leaving an unconscious Musto there, as more Steelswarm monsters tried to rush at him, the Steelswarm creature went up to Caam, she tried to cast barrier again, the creature proceeded to rush at her.
Winda tried to cast a whirlwind that would at least push back the Steelswarm enemy from Caam, yet the monster blocked the wind with its wings, and before the monster could kill Caam, a knight in green came to block the attack with two rotating shields in his arms.
Emerald had come to the rescue as Kamui defeated the Steelswarm imps that had tried to attack Musto while he was unconscious. "Sorry for being late, are you ok?" While staying on guard, he put himself between the Steelswarm enemy and Caam. "Yeah, thanks for saving me." She got up and went towards her father and brother.
"Ahh, I wanted to continue my massacre without interruption." The insect seemed disappointed, he then dodged an attack that Reeze had thrown at him. "You bastard! I'll kill you for what you've done!" Reeze continued to swing her weapon while the monster continued to dodge.
"You're driven by rage dear, you won't be able to hit me with those attacks." It then blocked an attack with its wings as it blew her back, Emerald then dropped onto the creature and bashed his shields onto it, only to be blocked by its wings. "Do you think those small shields are going to do anything to me?"
Emerald kept a neutral look while trying to keep the clash going, just then the shields started to rotate, cutting part of the enemy's wings, upon realizing what had happened it backed away, but Emerald continued with his attack as he then proceeded to put the shields in front of him.
The creature noticed that it was being sucked by the shields, as he looked at them he saw as they continued to rotate. It attempted to back away, but the power of the pull was too much for it, as it grasped the grass around him it flew into the shields only to be shredded by them.
What was left of the monster were only pieces of it, green, black and red. They then proceeded to take care of the rest of the Steelswarm troops as they were much weaker thanks to the presence of Emerald. Once they finally finished with clearing the place they all went into trying to rebuild some of the important structures.
"I want to thank you for saving both Caam and Musto from their demise." Winda thanked the Gem-Knight as it would have been a huge blow to their morale if both of them ended up dead. "You don't need to, it is my purpose as a Gem-Knight to protect the peace of the land." Emerald helped a villager with stacks of wood, he was also followed by a wolf with thunder powers that had a backpack full of wood.
Winda looked around, wondering just how many of them had died, even under her command, she did not expect things to go that badly, she wondered, had her father been there, would things have gone differently?
Those thoughts disappeared as she noticed that her father had finally come back. "Father! It is good to see you back, and you too Issei!" She was happy to see that they were safe. Emerald then got closer as he saw that they had finally arrived. "Lazuli, Issei, it is good to see you were able to come here, tell me, how is the situation with the Gishki?"
Upon hearing about the mention of the Gishki, Reeze had jumped into the conversation. "Wait, the Gishki are also here? Dang, do we need to face them as well?!" She was annoyed at the amount of problems that had come to the Great Marshlands in a single day. But as Avance finally got off Egul's back he explained the situation. "No need to, all four tribes are currently in a temporary alliance to take care of the Steeswarm situation."
When Winda saw Avance she was surprised as she recognized who he was, she didn't know how to feel, unlike Ariel, she wasn't as close to him, all she knew was that he was always together with his childhood friend, she kept quiet as she was unsure if he remembered her from when they were all kids being taken care of by Noellia.
"Steelswarm? So that is what these insects are called." They looked at who had talked, it was Musto, he was all bandaged up as he had been thrown onto a building. Windaar was worried about him and said. "Musto, you shouldn't move much, you're recovering!" Musto laughed it away, while Caam still looked a bit worried for her father. "Ah ah ah! Don't worry about me Windaar, I won't be going out to battle any time soon, but I am still interested in listening to what these creatures are."
Avance knew that it was time to deploy their strategy. "Now that everyone has calmed down, I came here since I have a plan to take care of the Steelswarm, if we are able to attack from both sides we have a chance to easily defeat them."
The fighters present decided to listen to his plan, as he started to explain, he could not but continue worrying for his adoptive mother and sister, especially his sister. He wanted to know how both of them were doing.
Noellia was the leader of the Gishki Tribe, she was a former member of the Ice Barrier, however, after the Trishula Incident, she and many others same thought, left the tribe to create the Gishki tribe after the terrible decisions the Ice Barrier tribe had done, she did a great job as a leader, making the Gishki a strong tribe that could even go up against the Laval or Gem-Knights, yet right now she didn't want world domination or anything, not at all.
All she wanted was to revive her friend back.
The guilt that she had from when she did that ritual with Natalia, it completely changed her life as she was now haunted by the death of her best friend, it left her alone alongside Natalia's son, Avance, who she adopted. She took care of the orphans after the war, she even took in Ariel, although she was a bit disappointed when she couldn't take care of the Gusto girl. But in the end, she had three strong children, her adoptive son Avance, her adoptive daughter Ariel and her biological daughter Emilia.
And right now she was getting closer to bringing Natalia back.
She was currently preparing a ritual just like the one she did before, but this time she came prepared, she had her daughter as a sacrifice for the Steelswarm. That's right, she had been trying to contact the Steelswarm ever since the first time she made this ritual with Natalia, she felt that they were the biggest lead to bringing her best friend back to life.
When she initiated the ritual, Emilia's screams of agony echoed through the chamber, yet there was no one to hear them aside from her mother, she had used her own daughter as a sacrificial lamb. It didn't matter to Noellia, as it meant that she could later bring her back with the same ritual when she had enough resources.
The screams of her daughter meant nothing to her, she had prepared her body as a vessel to when she could bring Natalia's soul into her daughter's empty body, not only that, but this ritual was what broke the seal of the Steelswarm. Her guilt over the matter had driven her crazy and now she was a step closer to obtaining her redemption.
"Stand up." She ordered just to test and see if the hollow corpse of Emilia would still continue to work as a puppet, the corpse stood up as she had an expressionless face on her. "Try to act more like yourself Emilia." This order was met with mixed results, the smile that Emilia was incredibly different to the one she usually had, she was a bright child brimming with energy, but now she looked like a tired person who hid her problems with a smile, Noellia knew that she could find an excuse for that, after all, being on a battlefield could lead to some terrible trauma from the survivors if they weren't hardened warriors who lived to simply battle.
A knock could be heard after a few hours of failed attempts of trying to communicate with the Steelswarm again, as she got closer, she was prepared to attack whatever was outside, upon opening the door she realized that it was Avance. "Oh, Avance dear, thank god you're safe." She embraced him tightly, she loved her adoptive son, more than her daughters, as he was what was left of Natalia.
"Mother! I've been worried about you and Emilia!" Avance was embarrassed about the whole interaction, but truthfully he was much more worried about Emilia than his own adoptive mother, he felt guilt, he knew he was the favorite of the siblings, and he believed he didn't deserve such attention. "I've come here with the members of the Gusto Tribe and the Gem-Knight Tribe."
As she looked at the people accompanying her son, she took a much more aggressive attitude. "Ah, so they came as reinforcements, Avance, you know that we could have easily dealt with them ourselves right?" She didn't need any of the other tribes to get in the way of her plan right now.
"Sorry to interrupt your family reunion, but we must take care of the remaining enemies according to your son's plan." Windaar knew that this passive aggressive commenting wouldn't get them anywhere. "I've scouted the place and found many of the Vylon troops trying to take down an officer of the Steelswarm, I recommend we go aid them."
"While I'd like to refuse to work together with weaklings like you, I guess I have no other choice than to give a helping hand given we promised to be part of the alliance." Noellia in actuality did want to participate, she'd try to gather any information about the Vylons to give to the Steelswarms.
Before all of them could continue with the strategy, Avance noticed how Emilia looked. "Hey, Emilia, are you ok?" He was starting to get worried as she didn't respond. His mother then said. "Sweetie, I'd recommend you not talk to her at the moment." Avance looked at her confused. "What do you mean?" He wanted to know what happened while the two of them stayed in the base. "I'll tell you later." She'd need to find an excuse as soon as possible.
Avance looked much more worried than before as Emilia didn't respond to him. He held her hand to assure her that she could tell him anything if she wanted to, but there was no response.
They all got closer to where the main conflict was happening. Gishki and Vylons could be seen working together to battle against the Steelswarm monsters. As they got closer they noticed that there was one Steelswarm officer, it had wings, but it was bigger than the ones the green Steelswarm officer had, and the color that it had was blood red.
But the moment they got even closer they started to feel weak, Issei checked his stats only to see his Health slowly drop, not only that, the trees and plants around the battlefield seemed to have withered away. They were in a dangerous zone and he was surprised some of the Gishki were even able to battle, so he decided to warn the others.
"Everyone, I think that officer has the ability to cast a death zone, I can feel myself feeling weaker." He saw the Vylons working together to try and defeat it, yet it didn't seem to affect it. "You're right Issei, I can feel it as well." Winda commented as well, with Kamui nodding in agreement. "What are you guys talking about?" The three of them looked at the ones who said that both Lazuli and Emerald didn't seem to be affected by it.
"I think the reason why both of you can't feel it is because of the fact you rely on the gems to live, and since you don't need to breathe or eat, you don't inhale whatever that creature produces." Explained Avance as he was starting to back off from the zone.
"Then I suggest you call back the Gishki and let those unaffected by the death zone to proceed." Emerald suggested. Noellia seemed to agree with that statement, she wasn't foolish or arrogant enough to believe that there was no need to do that. She used her staff to brighten the place up, getting the attention of every single Gishki on the battlefield. "Fellow Gishki! I order all of you to fall back! This is not your battle to fight!" Her voice was augmented with the power of the Gishki mirror, they were the source of their power as they could use it to do their rituals to exchange something to increase their power.
Upon hearing their queen command them to retreat, they all went back as quickly as possible. The Steelswarm officer noticed this and saw the few flying birds far from him. "To think you would truly end up retreating from the battle!" He proceeded to smash one of the Vylon Soldiers with ease. "I am Caucastag! General of the Steelswarm, any of you fools that dare to challenge me will be eaten by yours truly!" The voice of the now named General was loud enough to be heard by the group that had arrived.
"Wow, what a generic line." Commented Issei. Suddenly a Vylon had attacked Caucastag, this Vylon however was different to the others one, instead of the usual gold and white colors it had, this one was gray with black wings, unlike the previous Vylons that met their demise against Caucastag, this one could go head to head with the Steelswarm.
The new Vylon proceeded to raise its hand, when it did, the pieces of the broken Vylon came towards it, rings surrounded his body as it turned into the symbol of Omega, this symbol passed through the holes in its shoulders as it started flying towards the Steelswarm general. They both had their hands pushing one another as the other Steelswarm troops tried to take care of the other Vylons.
Issei watched as a battle of titans had started, the battle between what he could consider good and evil. While doing so he got closer despite the fact his health was running out. He wanted to help in some way, this thought was discarded as he saw that the Gem-Knights had arrived to help the Vylons.
Aquamarine was in front as he was accompanied by many other Gem-Knights. Issei could see a black Gem-Knight and a red one alongside them. "Everyone! We must surround and defeat any Steelswarm enemy you find, make sure to rescue the injured!" The roars of the troops loudly echoed as the Steelswarm looked in fear, their morale was at a current low as reinforcements had come, sealing their attempted invasion as a failure.
Issei saw the Gem-Knights as a ray of hope that had come to take care of the rest of the enemies, even if they were too late to help the Gusto Tribe, they were able to come in time to help with their biggest problem, one of the Steelswarm generals. Issei thought about what skills he could use, right now close combat was not a good idea as the closer they tried getting the worse the damage over time became.
He thought about the abilities that the trait False God gave. As he did, he remembered the attack that Kokabiel did before, yet he didn't know how to summon a light attack.
Wait, Lazuli could do something like that couldn't she?
Looking at her, Issei wanted to at the very least try. "Hey Lazuli, how do you shoot light beams?" When he finished his question, Lazuli had a thoughtful expression. "Well, I start by concentrating at my hands, then I imagine what I want to create, after that I revert back to concentrating and after that the light starts to appear." Well, that was a simple explanation.
He did just that, he had his hand out as he concentrated specifically on a projectile made out of light. It didn't appear at first, but he noticed that his hand sometimes glowed. He tried again each time, and Lazuli noticed this. "Oh? You can also do that too? Try doing it with one hand first, focus it on one hand first rather than trying to divide it between your two hands."
To Issei, it was weird that he was being taught how to shoot light out of his hands while watching two entities battle it out. Emerald had hopped off and went to assist the Gem-Knights while also telling Lazuli to stay put. On the other hand some of the people in standby tried creating ranged attacks, the Gusto redirected some ranged attacks or removed rubble with their powers of wind, but the Gishki couldn't do anything, they mostly centered around close combat and defense.
Issei finally got to summon a light spear, unlike Lazuli's light beams that shot from her palms, he wanted to use spears so that he could have better flexibility when it came to attacking, either throwing it or using it as a close combat weapon could help him in case the enemy got close while supporting from afar.
He then threw the spears towards Steelswarm enemies that were alone to make sure he didn't accidentally hit any of the Gem-Knights. While that went on Caucastag was starting to get exhausted, the Vylon opponent he had was able to match him in strength and didn't seem to be getting tired. "Damn it, I refuse to be defeated in this battle!" He proceeded to release even more toxins in an attempt to affect any of the present, yet the ones that would be affected had gone far enough so that it wouldn't reach them.
He then tried to punch the Vylon again, as he did, the spiked on its shoulders pierced through the armored skin of the Steelswarm general, yet he continued to punch, getting desperate to defeat his sworn enemy as it would rather die than be imprisoned again.
In the end it was just a matter until the Steelswarm general was defeated, the Vylon proceeded to take off its omega symbol from its shoulder and raised its hand yet again, more parts of destroyed Vylon had turned into another one of the omega symbol, then it put both of them in front of itself, sparks could be seen coming out of the omega symbols, it seemed to have started charging an attack. When it finished, it shot a plasma beam that electrocuted the general, Caucastag fell to the ground, truthfully he felt like he'd rather die like this than go back to meet the other generals.
The Steelswarm monsters that were still alive started retreating, none of the Gem-Knights gave pursuit as they saw that it wasn't needed, after all, they had encircled them, they had nowhere to run. They all cried in victory as they were able to keep the Great Marshlands safe, not only them but also the Gishki and the Gusto tribe members that were present.
When they all finally calmed down, Avance saw as the decoy Gishki had come towards them, he saw Shadow amongst them, feeling happy that nothing happened to him, he went up to them. "Shadow! I am glad to see you safe!'' Yet despite Avance's happiness Noellia said something different.
"Shadow, tell me the current situation with our Gishki troops" Shadow respectfully bowed. "As you wish your majesty, two third of our troops have fallen against the Steelswarm attack." This shocked everyone who heard that, they thought that they had done well against the invasion, yet it seemed like the Gishki had suffered the most casualties out of all of them.
Avance had a grim look on his face, he knew that this would happen, yet he still didn't feel right by making such a decision. "I thank those who have fought till the end for their sacrifice, there is nothing that could have been done to end this any way sooner without more casualties."
"What about Ariel?" Winda asked, she wanted to know more about her old friend. They hadn't met in a long time yet and she didn't see her in the war. "She is currently resting after being ordered to fall back, I am not sure why you need to know about her." Shadow seemed a bit wary over the question for the queen's daughter.
"According to witness she was fighting against a Steelswarm officer with a white undertone and long antenna, she and a few others were able to escape." Shadow continued explaining what the officer looked like. But then Noellia intervened as they needed to move back to their base of operation. "Shadow, Avance, this is no time to talk about this, we must prepare ourselves back at our base!"
The harsh personality that Noellia had even when she was listening to her daughter in a dangerous situation annoyed Winda a lot. "How can you say that after the fact your daughter could have died after meeting an officer?!" She was furious, the person that should be taking care of the Gishki didn't seem to care about any of them. Windaar looked at Winda trying to calm her down, he knew that being antagonistic to the Gishki would not help the tension within the alliance.
Noellia smirked at the response of the green haired girl. "Foolish girl, we are at war right now, do you expect me to crack under pressure?" She went past her as she got with the Gishki troops. "You still have much to learn." Winda still was mad at her, after all, the first time she had met the Gishki was when they weren't even called that. "What happened to the kind woman who took care of the orphaned when the war ended?! What happened to that caring personality you had before?! Answer me!" She was starting to cry, Avance looked back at her, he thought the same, but couldn't express it, in the meantime Emilia who was simply following her mother didn't say anything.
"Kind woman? That kind woman was too weak to lead the Gishki…" Whispered Noellia, as she then started to feel doubt of her decisions, but just a few seconds after, those thoughts were changed into ways to contact the Steelswarm.
Issei was back at the Gusto Tribe, it was badly damaged, but not to the point they had to move to another place, they have been repairing the place little by little. Over the last few days they hadn't gotten any message from the Vylon.
He was inside a small house, waiting to see if Yaldabaoth would even show up. He had been silent the whole time and he was starting to get worried and he was unsure where he had gone. He saw Yaldabaoth finally appear in front of him. "Yaldabaoth, where have you been? It's been like a week or so." Issei asked calmly, there had to be a reason why.
"I have been scouting this whole world and the habitants of it." Answered Yaldabaoth, but it did feel a bit weird to Issei, the False God had a much more serious look than before.
"So what did you find?" Issei wanted to know if the False God had found anything about their opponent or their unknown ally. "The Vylon as they are called, are machines that seem to operate according to the orders of a higher being, I am not sure if this higher being is a god or not, meanwhile the Steelswarm could be considered the underground dwellers, they suddenly came back from being kept prisoners in the deep parts of this world, I saw that there used to be a spell to bind them."
Issei nodded in understanding. Before he could ask more about them, Winda entered the small house to tell him something. "Issei sorry for coming in unannounced but my father has an important meeting and he'd like you to be there as well."
While walking towards where they were supposed to meet up, Issei wanted to start a bit of conversation. "So how have the reparations progressed?" He was met with Winda's positive attitude. "Well, there were some damages done to most of the important structures, but we can simply repair them in due time, we are currently focusing on the houses of the members."
"I didn't have much time to ask before since all of you seemed too busy with the reparations, but could you tell me more about each house?" Issei still didn't know much of the tribe despite living there for a few days now. "Of course! The Main House consists of those that are blood related to the chieftain, it would be composed of my father, my sister and I. Once a new chieftain succeeds the previous one, if they are not blood related, the previous one must either transfer to the Warrior or Priest house."
"Wait, you have a sister?" Questioned Issei, he never saw her sister anywhere. "Well yes, but she decided to leave the Tribe since she didn't like being tied down to the Main House." She didn't look sad at the fact her sister left the tribe, far from it, she was happy that she was willing to adventure by herself to discover more about her identity. "Then there is the Priest House, they are known to be able to give tribute and pray for the Sanctuary of Mist Valley, it is even said that Musto is able to feel the spirits just like Caam."
"What about Kamui?" Asked Issei, in response, she laughed a little. "He doesn't have an interest in that, far from it, he wishes to one day transfer to the Warrior House or even the Main House if he does end up becoming the next chieftain." Issei understood that some people had dreams of their own, he couldn't really feel the same, that old dream he had was completely erased as he now wandered around the world doing what Yaldabaoth told him to do. Truthfully, he wished to do good for the world, and this seemed like the best way to do so.
"Speaking of the Warrior House, that is where Reeze and most of our warriors reside, they are our main source of power, they work as guards that defend the tribe against any threat." He didn't get to see any of them in battle, and he wondered what kind of attacks they could use aside from wind. They came to a stop as they were now in front of a house. "We're here father." They finally got to where all of the others were.
He could see that there was a Vylon with them. "Thanks for bringing Issei here." He paused for a moment before proceeding to talk. "Now that everyone is here, the Vylons have given us a message that all of the four tribes will be meeting up at the middle of the borders of each territory."
"This is to plan the counterattack against the Steelswarms that have previously invaded the Great Marshlands." As he finished many of the members understood that they'd have to work with the Gishki who used to be their enemies.
"The attack has been delayed until next month as they have decided that they would like to make us practice together and create strategies to be able to attack the Steelswarm." Windaar then took his weapon and elevated it. "In which case we march to the base that the Vylons have set to talk with the other tribes." He was met with agreement as the members of the Warrior House prepared themselves with their bird companions, leaving behind some in case they were going to need to defend the place against a sudden ambush.
Some Priest House members were also coming due to their supportive abilities that could help with the injured. As they all started flying, Issei remembered what Yaldabaoth wanted to tell him. He had explained everything he needed to know about what happened previously in this world.
"The Ice Barrier tribe caused the Trishula Incident, in which they kept releasing beasts to combat a threat known as Fabled, something else that is interesting is the fact that before the Fabled attacked, the powerful tribes that existed had battled against alien life that had come to invade them."
"They also used to experiment with the Genex to make them more powerful and even ended up using some of the Worms for experiments." Yaldabaoth continued while Issei was flying towards the middle. "The Mist Valley didn't like this and ended up leaving the alliance, hence why the Gusto Tribe is far less powerful compared to the other tribes."
Issei seemed interested in the backstory of this world as it was an incredibly unique fantasy setting. Yet it still felt weird not hearing Yaldabaoth boast about anything he had done nor tease him for any small thing. Issei felt like Yaldabaoth was hiding something, but at the end of the day, everyone had secrets, and so decided to not push the topic and wait till Yaldabaoth would share it with him.
Issei continued flying until they could see a base camp, as they all finally landed he could see the different tribes that were present, from the Gem-Knights, to the Gishki, to what he assumed to be the Laval.
He saw that the Vylon that had defeated Caucastag was also here. As they all finally settled down, it started to talk. "Message received. Showing message. I welcome all the tribes that have united together to take care of the incoming attack of the Steelswarm."
It looked at the Lavals.
"Be it for fun."
It then looked at the Gem-Knights.
"Or to protect this world, you have all decided to aid our call to take down the greater evil."
"During this camp all of you will train to get to know each other well and strategize as to increase the coordination between the tribes." None of the present objected to this. "You all have 27 days, 15 hours, 56 minutes and 12 seconds until the start of our assault, good luck."
(A/N)
About 13k for the first chapter of this arc! You know the funny thing? This whole thing was originally explained in less than 1k words in its source . And if you haven't realized, this is the Yugioh Duel Terminal lore! I didn't go with World Chalice or Fallen of Albaz, both had their own protagonist, in the Duel Terminal however, it has so much going on that is not explained at all that gives me freedom to make my own interpretation of it, that being said there are going to be a few headcanons to make this interesting, Zoodiacs supposedly have some relation to Duel Terminal, but I couldn't find anything about it, I want to apologize if I end up missing anything, keep in mind that everything I write is based on what is written in Duel Terminal, Master Guide 3, Master Guide 4, Master Guide 5 and The Valuable Book 1 (Anything that is released in November 25 will also be included unless it basically demolishes this arc).
Also screw Zefra Metaltron, he is so out of nowhere, he shouldn't really exist on the story, and yet they ended up making him included in an artwork alongside Lara. I'll be ignoring its existence as it simply will ruin what I have planned.
This will also work as practice for battle scenes, since there is probably going to be a lot here, and I might rush some of the events as it would take too long to move on. This arc will go through all the important parts with a bit of speed. I could extend this to be 20 chapters if I really wanted to extend it, but I have a certain problem with making everything fast, I tried tho, most chapters went from being around 8-11k, to being 9-13k.
There are going to be a shit ton of characters showing up, and I'll have to give many of them screen time, in this case, Issei might end up actually being a secondary character... For certain character interactions that is.
I ended up imagining what Issei would sound like after these arcs, right now he just sounds like (GI) Xiao's Korean VA. Funny part is, I don't really like Xiao lmao. The voice fits for his current version, it has some sort of roughness to it that encapsulates the scars of the recent events that he had to endure.
Just as a heads up I also want to say that in this arc this is where most of the Lobotomy Corporation/Library of Ruina content will be used as reference, there is another arc that has those elements, but that will be mentioned later, expect a lot of songs from Mili to appear, 3 of which were added because they fit and 2 of which was used as the template for a part of this story, the context behind the song isn't needed, far from it, the only thing important is the lyrics themselves since for some reason some of them straight up had what I wanted.
There weren't any references except the fact that this is Yugioh, instead of saying which character is which, I am going to just say the archetypes that showed up but not mentioned, this is to make sure you only search up the characters to see how they look and such, to be careful as they can lead to spoilers if you delve too much into them.
Gusto, Gishki, Gem-Knights, Steelswarm, Vylon.
Now, the scrapped things from the last arc. Oh boy, this arc had a complete overhaul.
First of all, as I mentioned before, Kiba was supposed to die at the end of the arc. Remember when I mentioned Ophis in the first arc? Yeah she'd have been the being that accompanied Issei instead of Yaldabaoth, but ended up against it since, one, it would be weird for a future arc and two, Yaldabaoth makes much more sense given the timeline. アブノーマリティ･ダンシンガール/ Abnormality Dancing Girl by Guchiry and ロウワー/ Lower one's Eyes by Lanndo would have played during the arc as they were reference to what inspired me to create it.
Then with the church, it was supposed to be a cannibal cult where only Father Ichirouta showed as an important character, I was able to include the crucifix scene, but aside from that I didn't add the ending where Issei became a cannibal... Why? Well I realized that there is already a cannibal called Issei in real life so I really did not want to make something that could be linked to a real life event. Which led to me making an overhaul of the whole thing. The song that would have played at the end would have been ビターチョコデコレーション/Bitter Choco Decoration by Syudou.
Then there is a scrapped arc that would have happened after Issei became the owner of the cult, where the six children would have appeared, in this case Issei would have become the man behind the slaughter and harvested the souls of the children. Since I already scrapped the cannibal cult I ended up just including this to the renewed church storyline, this arc also conflicted with another arc.
And I think that is it, this arc is going to be the longest one by a long shot imo, since there is still Master Guide 5 lore as well and we've only entered like 5 events out of the 90 there are.
And I think that's all for now, I'll see y'all in the next update.