Omnidimension Neptunia: Infinite Memes Chapter 36: 36 - Casualties of War! Reawakening!, a hyperdimension neptunia fanfic

All rights are reserved to their respective owners. I own nothing in this piece of fiction except my OCs and the story itself.

"FIRE!"

LASER FIRE!

The high-ranking soldiers yelled as their lower-ranking subordinates started to blast at the levitating vampire as a maddening smile flashed across his features before his stand moved in the way to absolve the lasers of their effect.

BLOCK!

BOOM!

EXPLOSION!

The lasers were soon deflected as they blasted into the debris around them as more rubble was scattered and blown away by their weaponry.

DUBSTEP FART!

TIME STOP!

DASH!

JUMP!-

ROUNDHOUSE KICK!

DECAPITATE!

DIO then took the opportunity of their blocking figures from their missed shots to time stop and close in on an unsuspecting soldier before jumping up and roundhouse kicking his head clean off with one powerful movement.

The bloodsucker soon resumed the gears of time as he then bore witness to the appalled and terrified looks of the soldiers around him as their comrade had just been brutally dispatched.

TIME RESUMES!

"Sanchez, NO!" A soldier cried in despair.

"You BASTARD!"

AIM!

GRAB!

RAISE!

LASER FIRE!

Another one yelled before aiming his gun and firing point-blank at the vampire, only for DIO to grab the muzzle of the firearm before aiming it upwards as the guard fired, making him miss.

The soldier quickly tried to wrestle the gun out of DIO's grip, only to be at a loss as the vampire's monstrous strength dwarfed that of the soldier to a measly peon.

WRESTLE!...

'Shit!' The soldier mentally cursed.

STAB!-

BEND!

He then pulled out his combat knife with his free hand, in an attempt to stab the back of the vampire's palm to force him to let go, but his heart sank as the knife bent upon contact with the disgruntling sound of bending metal screeched out.

DIO's face remained condescending as the soldier completely disengaged as he pulled out his handgun and fired at the vampire.

BOOM!-

BFFT!

BOOM!-

BFFT!

BOOM!-

BFFT!

"Too slow!" DIO mockingly yelled right before he chin-checked the Leanbox Soldier to the afterlife.

UPPERCUT!

SHATTER!

"Grk!-"

DECAPITATE!

But DIO simply stopped time in intervals as he dodged each oncoming round of laser rounds before closing the gap the soldier made from jumping back and sent a sickening uppercut that broke the soldier's jaw completely before ripping his head from his shoulders.

The soldier's last moments of life were spent in utter agony as his face was contorted into the gruesome look-alike of a pancake before his skull became an independent appendage from his body.

LASER FIRE!

IMPALE!

"ARGH!"

THUD!

DIO ironically wasted no time in continuing the slaughter as he fired a round from the gun he took through the chest of a random soldier, killing him near instantly as he was ruthlessly outsped.

He soon threw the gun to the side as if it were nothing more than trash as its frame was lodged in the body of another soldier that was, unfortunately, standing exactly where he threw it.

Almost like he did it on purpose-

"Pathetic."

YEET!

IMPALE!

The bloodsucker spat as he threw the rifle, as it killed yet another soul.

"Cripes...!"

THUD!-

DISLODGE!

The soldier looked down as he felt the feeling drain from his body as he fell back, losing the feeling in his feet as the gun was pushed out of his body as he was left to bleed out.

"We need a medic!" Another nearby soldier yelled as he came to his dying comrade's side.

Some more soldiers fired at DIO's current position factoring in the man's power to stop time as they tried to overwhelm him as he was just one person.

"Surround him and fire, if we can just give him more than we can chew we might be able to beat him!" A lieutenant commanded to the other nearby personnel.

Cave and Mister Chief joined in this time as the original 8 soldiers present were now 10.

They all fired their respective firearms towards the one point where the stalker of the dark stood as he quickly fell back, falling into his shadow right before they all fired, missing as their lasers and bullets hit debris and damaged walls.

"Overwhelm me? Please."

FALL!

SINK!

The vampire's tone oozed with underestimation, and rightfully so as he held his hands together at his shoulders before falling back into his own shadow, sinking.

LASER FIRE!

BULLETS!

Moments before they fired at him.

"Fuck! We missed!" A corporal among the 8 swore as they then looked around for the vampire.

The wounded soldier was quickly carried back to the convoy for treatment as he was becoming closer and closer to death as they transported his now frail frame.

RISE...!

But unbeknownst to them, they were being stalked by their shadows as indiscernible figures were arising as they swiveled around, the shadows shifting as they slowly rose to ambush them with a fatal attack.

The other soldiers were also looking for the vampire, not understanding how he could still traverse through the darkness as they had shrouded the place in the light.

"How did he even get away?!" Taleia asked as she looked around. "This place is as bright as a midsummer day!" She yelled.

The brown-haired Loweean then looked around for the vampire before something was recalled within his head of his.

He remembered how the meeting told the participants of it that he was able to use the shadows.

As well as traverse through them.

And since his one body created a shadow as well, and due to all the light drowning out any other natural shadow that meant his one was the only one he could seat the time.

"He used his own shadow," Domio told her as he kept his eyes on where he had vanished before moving to the shadows of the ones who were near him.

Taleia's mind clicked as she realized that DIO could use his own shadow to make himself an escape path. Not only that but also use the shadows of others!

It was at that moment that she saw the figures emerging from the flanks of the soldiers that were near the silver-haired menace.

"Behind you!" The swordswoman yelled as Domio, Brave Heart, AL, Lady Wac, Moru, and Poona all looked to where the woman had shouted to as her intended targets heard her before turning around.

"What the-!"

GRAB!-

SNAP!

Their startled looks were replaced by shock as they saw the fully formed shadow clones of DIO behind them as they began to grab the heads of the soldiers before twisting them forcefully as their necks were broken, killing them instantly.

The process was repeated as more off-guard soldiers' necks were being broken like toothpicks.

It was soon down to one more soldier, Cave and Mister Chief as they were alert and fast enough to react after seeing their fellow soldiers be taken down.

GRAB!-

DUCK!

RUSH!

LEAP!

Cave simply dodged the maneuver by ducking before dashing ahead and lunging upwards.

SHRINK!

STEP!-

And by doing that, decreasing the size of the shadow before the clone was killed due to touching outside of the shadow it occupied, the sheer amount of light no doubt being of significant assistance.

"UREY!~"

DISSIPATE!

As the shadow stepped from its remaining, well, shadow, it instantly dispersed as a shrill cry was its lasts words.

BOOM!

DISSIPATE!

Mister Chief shot the ground in front of him, his armor durable enough to take the brunt of both the recoil and debris from firing directly at the ground as the light emitted from his rifle was enough to cut off the shadow from the source of its darkness.

As well as most of it's body, causing its remains to fade before it even got the chance to cry out.

The private that was remaining was currently in shock of seeing all of his comrades being slain before him but knew he had little time to mourn OR act since he was the last one with a boogeyman behind him.

If what Taleia said was true, he wouldn't be able to pull out his gun and turn around before his head was spun like a Bayblade.

His knife and handgun were no good either since they would also use up the precious time and also not do much once grabbed and utilized.

DROP!

GRAB!

So he reached for his flashbang as he crouched, dropping his gun as he didn't hesitate to try and time the shade behind him, ironically letting him perfectly time a near-miss with the enemy.

The soldier then pulled the safety pins before dropping it and covering his ears as he rolled with the shadow following him through his shadow, helping his fellow soldiers as he yelled out what he had just done.

"Flash out!" He roared, causing all remaining soldiers to brace themselves as Taleia grabbed Domio and pulled him back in the convoy so that he would be spared from the effects.

Master Chief simply looked away as his armor was strong enough to protect him from the undesirable effects in terms of audial pain.

GLOW...!-

BOOM!

FLASH!

The shadow clone made its eyes glow for a powerful laser to the back of the man's head when the flashbang went off.

"UREY!"

DISSIPATE!

The bright explosion caused the shadow to instantly be drained out in the overexposure of light as it let out a cut-off scream as a farewell.

LAND!

Cave soon descended as she landed on top of the convoy, looking down at the current environment of light and debris.

"Using the flashbang as a tactic to destroy the shadow. Impressive." She mused to herself before looking around as the rest of the soldiers began to regain their bearings.

"Where is he?" One soldier asked. He looked around briskly as he was on his toes from the shadows.

"He could be anywhere under a place that projects a shadow. Be careful." Mister Chief raised his sign before scanning the shadows of the soldiers.

Domio and Taleia soon emerged. the convoy once more as they looked around for the vampire.

"The flashbang went off. We just have to find where DIO is." She explained.

"But he could be in any one of our shadows. How are we supposed to find him if he could come out of anyone's shadow?" Domio nervously asked.

The soldier that remained soon went for his gun as he dropped it to pull off the maneuver he did just now.

He felt some courage return to him once he had his gun back in his hands as he turned back to his fellow soldiers.

The shortest Commander then contributed to their search as she voiced a method to find the hidden bloodsucker.

"I'll sniff him out!" Moru promoted.

"How? He's in a shadow." A first-class private asked.

"Um... By sniffing the last place he was, and using that for reference?" Domio opted for the Commander as a viable method.

"Shadows don't work like that, Domio." The half-elf shook her head.

"Then how are we supposed to find him...?" Poona asked as she was shaken up by what had just happened.

"I don't think we have to!" The private shouted as he saw two glowing dots underneath one of the convoys that transported them.

TACKLE!

JET!

"Uah!" A soldier yelled as she was pushed to the ground as the two dodged the beam.

He rushed as he tackled the soldier directly in front of the vehicle as the Space Ripper Stingy Eyes blasted forth moments after as it hit one of the cannons, causing some serious damage if it connected.

FLY!

DEFLECT!...

EXPLOSION...!

TREMOR!

The rest of the soldiers saw the beam shoot past as Brave Heart raced forward and smacked the pressurized jet of water into the distance before the ground rumbled from the impact.

"He's under the third convoy!" The soldier that was tackled yelled as they all scattered from the vehicle as they were too close for a good shot.

BFFT!

SUMMON!

GRAB!-

SLAM!

CRASH!

But DIO had other plans as he summoned The World to wreak some havoc as the phantom-like hands appeared before grabbing the face of a soldier and slamming it to the ground with such force that not only did it crater but his head was reduced to a pile of brain matter and blood.

"!" The other soldiers reacted as they had no idea how their comrade just died.

"H-He just got murdered out of nowhere!" A surprised veteran yelled as he gripped his rifle with fear.

STAND BARRAGE!

SUPER PUNCH!-

BLOODY EXPLOSION!

And unfortunately for him, he was next as the arms of The World suddenly started to barrage the soldier as his bones were broken and muscle was softened to jelly as he violently convulsed before delivering a super punch that turned him into a human stain.

"Oh my goddess!" A nearby soldier yelled in modification and sheer terror as he, alongside others, was now covered in the blood of their deceased friend.

The faces of the commander were morphed into utter horror as Brave Heart and AL were no different from the unprecedented show of brutality.

CHOP!

BIFURCATE!

The World did not stop there, however, as it found its next victim as it raised its arm before chopping clean through another unfortunate soul as his face was still reeling from the horror we bore witness to.

RUSH!

IMPALE!

The phantom then moved on to the next target as it opened its hands before moving it at blinding speeds, ramming it through a traumatized sergeant's chest as her front torso exploded in blood before her back did so as well as The World had managed to rip her heart out of her body as her eyes widened in pain and shock.

She sharply inhaled before her body felt weak as she couldn't even fathom what had just occurred to her.

GRIP!

CRUSH!

The bloody hand of The World held her heart as it was still beating in a grotesque and unnerving fashion due to the raw speed and power he removed it out of the woman's chest cavity before crushing it.

FLEX!-

BLOODY EXPLOSION!

Her eyes became glassy as she slumped before the stand flexed its bicep as the woman's body was destroyed from the inside out from the sheer amount of fear energy that coursed through its arm in that instance.

SWAT!

BLIND!

"Agh!" The soldier roared in pain from the speed the blood hit his eyes with as he held them.

The stand soon swatted the blood on its arm towards another soldier that was close enough to be blinded by it before his leg was grabbed as the stand raised him off the ground.

REEL BACK!

"Urk!" The poor soul guttered.

SWING!

THWACK!

"AAAAAAHH!" A corporal yelled before being slammed into a building with many broken bones before the collapse of its frail structure sealing his fate.

COLLIDE!

He was then raised from the floor as The World reeled the soldier back before lashing another one with such force that they were sent hurling into a barely standing building before it collapsed in them, effectively killing them.

SMASH!

SPLATTER!

The World then continued as it threw its weapon straight down into another soldier as they were pancaked from the pressure that the stand forced upon them as they too were left in a human-sized crater.

GRIP!

JERK!

SLAM!

POW!

SHATTER!

The dark stand then finally decided to put its tool out of its misery, by materializing its legs as it soon grabbed the bludgeoned head of the soldier before jerking the man down into a stomach stirring knee to the spine as the audible breaking of bones and torment of flesh was enough to garner the attention of even the drivers inside the convoy.

LAND!...

FALL!

CRUSH!

The man's eyes went white with pain as he was effectively paralyzed. He fell to the ground as he landed with a disgraceful thud before The World completely materialized as his foot landed on the stunned man's skull before crushing it afoot.

ゴゴゴゴ!

The World soon looked up menacingly to the persons that could sense his presence, almost as if it was calling for them to fight it.

OUTSTRETCH!

CLENCH!

ATTRACT!

Brave Heart stuck out his hand, before clenching it as he pulled the murderous stand towards him as he charged an orange orb of KI in his other hand as he used his Attraction ability.

A look of indignation and fury for the gory demises of the innocent souls before him drove him to drive the attack he had into the stand's face as his eyes were constricted with anger.

"Bakuhatsu!" The CPU yelled as he got in range with the stand for the attack.

BFFT!

"!" The god's face fell when he realized that he stopped time and got out of his gravity manipulation.

AXE KICK!

"Eugh!-"

BOOM!...

But as he was about to strike the phantom, he managed to get behind him due to his ability before axe kicking him to the ground.

ROLL!

SMASH!

RUMBLE...!

Brave Heart was sent to the floor as he narrowly rolled out of the way of what would have been an earth-shaking double heel kick to the back as it missed.

"Where is he?!..." Poona yelled, somewhat snapping out of the gruesome scenes she bore witness to, her voice still rather shaky from fright.

"I don't know! I thought he was still under the convoy but soldiers are just dying around us like it's nothing!" Lady Wac responded, being unable to pinpoint the vampire's exact location.

Taleia then looked to her darker blade as she contemplated using it to become somewhat able to deal with whatever invisible force was attacking their alliance.

But she still hadn't fully recovered from using it from the last time.

It equally pained her to sit by and do nothing as she saw men and women being slaughtered without pause because of her inaction.

But there was no time to regret, due to the fight that was happening before them.

The downed soldier still looked back to the place where she saw DIO's glowing eyes as she had gotten up alongside the other private.

She had a suspicion that the vampire still lurked there, but was unsure of how to prove his presence.

"So do you think he's still under there?" The surviving private asked.

"I'm not sure. He can't move anywhere else though. Throw a flash and weed the scum out." The man suggested as she grabbed her stun grenade.

"And if he's not?" She queried.

"Use my other one." He handed as she took the item.

ZOOM!

KICK!

Brave Heart lunged at the stand as it faced away from him, using its awareness to his advantage as he went for a turning kick to its head as he neared.

GUARD!-

SHOCKWAVE!

The World raised its hand besides its head before guarding the strike as a shockwave emitted from the blow as it was blocked.

KICK!-

GUARD!

SHOCKWAVE!

The CPU then used his other foot for a follow-up kick as the stand simply moved its hand to suit as it blocked that strike as well.

AL soon found himself able to move after seeing that Nebula was now fighting The World and being shrugged off.

BOOST!

RUSH!

LEAP!

He immediately boosted towards the frontal of the stand as he charged up a move after running at max speed before jumping and coupling his legs.

"Volcanic Piston!"

GRAVITY!

AXE KICK!

PISTON KICK!

The fire user yelled as he went for the chest right when Nebula applied gravitational force to his leg as he went for an axe kick of his own in tandem.

CLUTCH!

The World used his other hand as he grabbed both legs with extreme agility.

DISRUPT!

An invisible shockwave was emitted as their energies were negated due to the properties of fear energy as the stand was brimming with the egregious energy source.

FLOAT!

"What the-"

"Uh oh-"

PLUMMET!

"AH!-"

CRASH!

The two were now caught with their pants down as they stand shot up into the air before shooting down and into the ground, going underground as the two were unable to single to free themselves from The World's vice grip.

ROTATE!

SPIN!

Their impact blew everyone back as the dark stand put the two six few under quite literally as they were buried deeper and deeper within the ground as the stand began to rapidly spin as it turned back up.

EMERGE!

BOOM!

STOMP!

CRASH...!

The two warriors were soon uprooted as they were spontaneously busted from the ground before being stomped back onto its surface from The World as it stood upon their bodies.

The soldier pair witnessed the two fighters being beaten by an invisible force before acting as the corporal pulled the safety pins and threw the flashbang under the convoy.

"Flash out!"

THROW!

LAND!

SINK!-

BOOM!

FLASH!

She yelled as the others moved away from the vehicle once again as DIO with knowledge of its effects quickly tried to sink to dodge the apparatus.

But it went off too soon as the grenade triggered, blinding as well as giving away the vampire's position as he was sent out of the convoy above him as his stand flinched in reaction.

"Ack!"

SKID!

The bloodsucker yelled as he was shot out from underneath the army vehicle as his body skidded from his hiding spot.

Brave Heart and AL took advantage of the stand's inactivity as they felt the pressure on their bodies eased up as they grabbed a leg of the Stand before detonating some KI into it as they were blown off.

"Grab his leg and follow my lead!"

GRAB!

AL wheezed as he took his hand and got ahold of the dark stand's calf.

GLOW...!

His hand soon glowed as he channeled some energy into his hands as it glowed a bright orange-red.

SQUEEZE!

FRACTURE!...

The CPU beside him wasted no time as he too clutched the other calf of the stand before clenching it as well, causing it to crack from the sheer gravitational pressure he applied.

GLOW!

His hand also glowed an ethereal blue as KI with a mix of share energy was being transferred as they both then yelled, their hands fiercely reacting before exploding with energy as the legs of The World were destroyed.

"Together!" Brave Heart yelled before they both screamed.

"HAA!"

DETONATE!

DESTROY!

BLOODY BOOM!

The stand master's legs also exploded in a gory mess as DIO looked down in shock as his legs up to his lower thighs suddenly exploded in a violent bloody explosion as he was further propelled from the force.

"FUCK!" DIO screeched as his blood gushed out of his leg wound as the elite soldiers and Commanders took advantage of his fallen state as they fired and attacked the vampire, with Cave being the starter of the assault by firing her guns at the vampire's moving body.

"You're wide open!" She yelled as she blasted the invader with her weapons, his body violently jolting back with each round that hit him.

BOOM!

Mister Chief then delivered a couple of rounds from his weapon as he fired around within an area that Cave had originally shot the vampire, making sure that it was going to be some shots that dealt damage as to be fired.

CRASH!

DIO was further blasted by the two until he hit a wall of a mostly destroyed building.

FADE...!

That incited the rest of the military that was still standing to unload their laser fore into the last position he was seen as the lot of them fired round after round into the area as the damage was being reflected onto DIO's stand, as The World was full of holes with eyes widened in shock as it faded away.

"Fire!"

LASER FIRE!

The surviving private yelled as he began to blast his rifle at the building.

LASER FIRE!

BOOM!

BANG!

The others paid heed to his words as soon, the entire squadron was firing at the building within the rounds from Cave's and Mister Chief's guns.

"Hadōken!"

"Flaring Blazer!"

BLAST!

EXPLOSION!

Brave Heart and AL soon got back to their feet as they fired some attacks at the building, giving it the incentive to explode as the energy they fired did just the trick, reducing the structure to nothing but smoldering ash.

The wind blew back from the force of the explosion as all sans the originators of the attacks and Mister Chief shielded their eyes as it died down.

The formerly shielding individuals then looked around as they searched for the vampire's remains as they saw that his body was no longer present, plus with all the smoke coming from the area made it nigh impossible to tell that he was there from a visual perspective.

"Was that it?..." Poona asked as she looked into

Moru sniffed into the air before shaking her head. "I'm not sure. The smoke is blocking his scent from my nose!" She explained.

"Well someone has to check." Lady Wac opted as a soldier cautiously looked to the smoke cloud before volunteering.

"I'll go." The man in uniform volunteered as he walked forward.

"Wait!" The private told him.

"?" His ally turned back to him.

"Throw a flashbang at the smoke cloud. If he screams in pain or anything, well know he's still alive." The private thought of in advance.

"So he can't use the shadow to get away if he is there, and we'll know there's no risk if he isn't. Smart thinking, soldier" Taleia praised the strategy.

"Thank you." He saluted.

The volunteer pulled out his flash before throwing it into the smoke cloud after pulling the pins.

BOOM!

FLASH!

It went off as the smoke was somewhat cleared.

No sound of indication was heard from the vampire, however, as he then deemed it vacant of the terror's presence.

"Nothing. Think he finally kicked the bucket with all those shots?" He queried.

"I want to believe that, but with all these events unfurling in this fashion, that's highly unlikely." Taleia shook her head as Domio then looked up.

His eyes then widened with absolute fear as his skin turned pale, and his mouth slightly dropped as he clenched his gauntlets with instinct.

The private then noticed the child's disturbed demeanor before asking him what the problem was.

"Oi, kid. You alright?" He asked.

WOOSH!

STAB!

"Gak!"

Domio's eyes shifted to the soldier as he went to explain, but not before he was interrupted by the sound of someone being stabbed.

BYPASS!

INDENT!

...THUD!

A fear knife had lodged itself into the man who claimed his death as the blade passed through his body fully before indenting itself into the ground as the man fell back before bleeding out, unable to move from the wound as well as the effects beginning to set in, facing an early demise.

The others turned to see his lifeless body as they quickly looked around to see where the projectile had come from before Lady Wac looked up and pointed as she yelled out.

"Up there!" She alerted.

Everyone gazed to the sky as they saw DIO floating as he and The World who was only visible to those mentioned before were looking down on them as DIO had his arms folded with a frown and half-lidded eyes as he spoke.

"What a useless question to ask. My death is as unlikely as your chances of victory. And seeing from how I'm fully regenerated, slim to none would be a vast overestimation."

BANG!

The vampire talked shit as someone tried to snipe him out of the sky, that being Cave.

DODGE!

KNIFE!

EVADE!

DIO craned his neck before throwing a fear knife towards her head before she jumped from her previous position as she dodged the blade.

"How are you still alive!'' Another soldier yelled in disbelief.

"He has regeneration. And not like lizard tail growing back in a few months kind." Brave Heart voiced. "He can regenerate the destruction of his entire body down to a stain of blood." He specified to the horror of the soldiers and the hidden intimidation of the Commanders.

"Correct. But even your explanation might be a bit off, Nebula."

JET!

BOOM!

ENGULF!

DIO commented as he then shot his Space Ripper Stingy Eyes at another group of soldiers, quickly ending their existences as they were engulfed in the explosion as they let out a scream of pain, their bodies being burned to bone and ash from the attack.

"AHHHHH!" The cries of the brave souls were snuffed out as their bodies were destroyed by the confines of the blast.

"We can't give him time to act, we have to take him out!"

BOOM!

Mister Chief raised a sign of danger before firing at him.

WITHSTAND!

THROW!

His shot was unfortunately blocked, as The World moved in front of DIO, taking the brunt of the round before throwing a knife to the super-soldier.

THROW DOWN!

DIGITAL SHIELD!

BLOCK!

Mister Chief quickly dropped something of his arsenal as he threw it down like a field of energy, a digital done of sorts was sprung up as it momentarily blocked the knife.

It was his Bubble Shield.

BYPASS!

STRIKE!

RIP!

But its structure was quickly disrupted as the knife passed through and grazed the armor he was wearing, leaving a heavy dent in his armor as a chunk was violently ripped away revealing its metallic exoskeleton.

DEACTIVATE!

The Bubble Shield was deactivated as DIO stopped time, before setting up a wall of knives.

"ZA WARUDO! Tomare wo tokio!"

DUBSTEP FART!

TIME STOP!

He brazenly yelled as Brave Heart, AL and Taleia tried to rush him, only to be suspended only meters away from him.

LEFT HOOK!

JABJABJABJABJABJAB!

ROUNDHOUSE KICK!

STAND BARRAGE!

FLINCH!

SUSPEND...!

DIO immediately attacked the three that were nearest to him with a hook, a couple of jabs, and a roundhouse kick respectively as they were knocked back before letting The World barrage them.

SLASH!

THROW!

He then moved away before pulling out and slashing the trio with a fear knife, sure to paralyze them as he took our more before throwing knife after knife as he aimed for event singe person remaining below him with extreme accuracy and prejudice, no person receiving less than 10 sharp objects aimed at them.

ドドドド!

Soon enough, the knives were large enough in number to mimic a certain amount of arrows that killed a certain movie Spartan as they were all pointed to the group below them.

DIO was reaching the limit of his time stop, due to the amount of time he spent throwing knife after suspended knife at those below him as he said one more thing before he resumed time.

"At least in death, you all can look sharp. Serves you right for ever thinking you stood a chance." He said before resuming time.

"Toki was ugokidasu,"

TIME RESUMES!

DIO muttered as the discoloration of time was removed, as time moved once again.

CRASH!

The collection of knives soon began to race towards the ground as Taleia, Brave Heart, and AL were all jarred towards the ground as they were knocked down temporarily from the sudden force of the attacks hitting them.

Domio looked back up as the boxer guarded with his forearms as he focused his magical power on his gauntlets, making them more resilient as a faint light blue aura flowed from him as he focused.

"Uah!" He yelled as he saw the sheer amount of knives before blocking as the soldiers tried to run from the knives, knowing challenging the mass was impossible.

"GET TO COVER!" A sergeant yelled as the others followed suit, or at least tried to.

The surviving private saw the boy and ran before pulling him into the convoy as he told the corporal next to him to get in the vehicle.

"Get in the convoys!" He yelled as his peers followed suit.

The Commanders rushed into the vehicles with the others, conveniently the one that Domio and the Private resided as Cave and Mister Chief fended for themselves as the redhead was not one to deny a challenge to her dodging skills.

"These knives are akin to a mid boss' ultimate move. This will prove difficult, but not impossible." She steadied as Mister Chief felt the crack in his armor before looking at the army of knives above them.

UPGRADE!

INVISIBILITY!

He activated his Overshield before using an Active Camouflage item within his disposal as he became invisible.

TIME SLOWS!

RUSH!

And Blinx, who was silent throughout all of this, gawking in the carnage that had been caused finally snapped out of it when he saw the knives and got out of the way thanks to the crystals he possessed that slowed down time enough for him to escape the area of effect.

He went to collect rubble and debris for his Sweeper to store so that he had an arsenal for the bloodthirsty bloodsucker.

TIME SPEEDS UP!

'I can't help them as I am now. I have to get some stuff to rough him up with!' Blinx grit his teeth in determination as he got far away enough from the action to start collecting as time sped back up.

The knives of DIO were upon them when they went into action.

KNIFE RAIN!

DODGE!

WEAVE!

EVADE!

MISS!

MOVE!

Cave dodged and weaved knife after knife as they hailed like the wrath of a deity was behind them.

Well, DIO's name checked out so...

DASH!

RIP!

SHRED!

SCRATCH!

SCREECH!

Mister Chief braved through the knife storm, as his invisibility made it impossible for DIO to tell where he was from sight, but gave him the advantage of not giving him an exact location of his whereabouts as his armor was damaged and ripped part as he ran through the knives.

The man behind the helmet grit his teeth as Mister Chief braved the rain of blades, his armor being ravaged by metal as he soon got out of the mess as half of his armor had been shredded, breathing heavily as he looked for a vantage point.

STAB!

The soldiers that were unlucky enough to not be in a convoy were killed mercilessly as their bodies were turned into human pincushions as the sound of people being stabbed tens of times could be heard as they died within seconds.

BLOOD POOL...!

Their voices were silenced by the effects of the knives, all that was heard from within the convoys was the flesh of the soldiers being shredded as blood soon spread throughout the outside of the convoys.

PIERCE!

STAB!

But it wasn't over yet, as the knives were soon starting to reach within the convoys as the sheer speed that they were thrown at was enough to pierce through the titanium alloy military-grade vehicles as the occupants were now being slain within their protective hide holes.

"They're piercing through the-"

PIERCE!

STAB!

A cry of alerting was cut off by a knife.

I'm joking about mass genocide. Says a lot about the tone this story just took-

PIERCE!-

EXPLOSION!

The rest of the occupants were soon filled with holes before the engine of the convoy itself was struck as the vehicle exploded from the damage it took.

EXPLOSION!

BOOM!

KABOOM!

Several other convoys followed suit as they exploded from the knives hitting specific areas of the vehicle by mere chance, meaning that some soldiers died from the explosion itself rather than a painful and paralyzing demise.

The hull of the convoy that Domio was in a beginning to cave in as the knives were getting closer and closer to the hull.

"This thing's not gonna last much longer!" The corporal reminded as the loud clattering on the outside of the vehicle became louder and louder.

Domio then looked around before putting his hands on the interior hull of the vehicle.

"You all might want to rub your hands together for this!"

FREEZE!

He warned before freezing the inside of the vehicle as the upper level as well as the front of the vehicle was flash-frozen as his gauntlets went into the maneuver.

"Shit! T-That's fucking cold as hell!" The private cursed as he shuddered from the temperature drop.

CRACK...!

"I-I don't t-think it's gonna hold for long, though!" The corporal pointed out as the ice began to crack under the pressure of the knives as they looked up in concern.

"I have to feed the ice more magic for it to hold out!" Domain started as he started to blast SP spells at the roof.

"Cold Bolt!"

ICE BOLT!

FREEZE!

He yelled as he reinforced the ice wall, fending against the swarm of blades.

"You're gonna freeze us solid if you don't cut that out!" Moru voiced as she shivered, rubbing her shoulders.

"But well be sliced and diced if that wall falls!" Lady Wac opposed the 6 within the convoy.

ICE SPELL!

The rain of knives only pressed down harder as Domio tirelessly blasted ice spell after ice spell, trying to keep him and the people alongside him alive.

Please, Vergo! Gris! Where are you?! We need you' The boy pleaded mentally as he held down the fort the best he could as the vampire continued to throw more knives in a cruel twist of fate.

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"

THROW!

A wide smile was etched into the vampire's face as he and The World continued to throw knives like they were bullets.

"This is taking bloody forever. I know Nebula said that it takes a while but this is awful." Vergo tsked as he steadily flowed share energy into the body of Gris as his pulse was no longer erratic and his breathing was stable.

They had been there for a while, the Leanboxian CPU Candidate sitting cross-legged as he tended to the otherworldly negative force of energy plaguing the CPU's body.

TRANSFER!

The green flow from the CPU Candidate's hands was ever constant as he circulated more of the divine energy into his fellow CPU's body.

The fear energy within the blade was being neutralized as the two opposing mediums of energy were combining and canceling each other out as the fish eyes that Gris once headed were starting to return to their lively silver color, albeit slowly.

GLOW!...

SHARE ENERGY...!

"His vitals seem stable. For the time being, all I really have to worry about is the best energy itself if Gris' regeneration is as cracked up as it's made out to be." The blonde CPU Candidate voiced as the knife then began to glow as his share energy was now fighting the fear energy at its source.

"And it figures, since eyes still alive after taking a knife to the cerebral cortex." He muttered with a sweat drop on his head from the grievous injury itself being a nonthreat to his life in theory.

AURA!...

Gris himself was quiet, his babbling and rambling coming to a halt as he was now glowing white, signaling that his aura was active as the wound around his knife entry was convulsing, almost as if it was trying to heal but the blade was preventing that outcome.

"Still though, where in the MMORPG plotlines did DIO get this type of weapon? Fear energy-infused knives... That has DPU influence all over it. I'll have to question that condescending plonker when I get the chance."

GRIP!

GLOW!

TRANSFER!

Vergo growled as he then gripped the knife itself as a green glow came off of his body as it then completely transferred to the weapon as it got brighter and brighter.

CLUTCH!

"Most of the fear energy should have been neutralized through the method of cleansing I used." The CPU Candidate said as he clutched the handle.

PULL!...

ECHO...!

"So if your regeneration is truly on that level, you should survive." The blonde continued as he then started to pull the knife out of the wound, the sound of brain matter and flesh sliding off of the obsidian alloy composition echoing through the lonely rocky biome they were situated in.

YANK!

DIM...

Vergo soon yanked out the knife as a large trail of blood was trailing from the blade as the knife was now faded in color, its fear energy hue completely eradicated as he looked at the weapon.

"Now it's back to normal. But besides that..." He pocketed the sterile blade as he looked to the wound of Gris.

HEAL...!

It had the blood that was now spilled rewound into the wound itself as blood from the back at the site which he had been stabbed was returned to the injury as well.

"That's a pleasant surprise. I just hope he doesn't sprout out any more nonsense when he comes to." Vergo folded his arms as he got up, looking down at the deity. The blonde CPU Candidate then observed the state of his ally as he noted that his eyes were now mostly clear, not quite as crystal when he was kicking in the face of DIO, but enough to confirm his status as alive.

The silence was present, the somewhat battered body of the assassin lying still as he breathed in and out.

...VIBRATE!

SHAKE!

RUMBLE!

But a ray of hope was seen when suddenly the ground began to shake, Gris' body being the origin of the seismic event as the pebbles rattled uncontrollably before bigger rocks followed suit.

The environment around them became unstable as the larger rocks and boulders began to shift on their positions as the smaller rocks and pebbles rose off the ground.

GLOW!

An energetic pressure was felt from his body as his hair rose, flowing wildly as his pupils transformed into l glowing power signals, his rises fading into a raven black.

FISSURE!

The ground underneath the hitman fissures and cracked as more and more spider cracks from underneath his body.

STATIC!

AURA!

CLOUDS...!

Static began to bounce around his person as the yellow flashes of lightning made themselves known once more, as he then radiated his fighting aura as the clouds slowly covered the night sky.

Vergo put an arm in front of himself to race the winds of pressure coming from the lying body of Gris as it reacted to the troubling wound finally being removed.

"His power is rising...! But how?! Unless..." It became clear within the CPU Candidate's mind as he sensed a skyrocket of share energy within the silver-haired man.

PILLAR!

TRANSFORM!

PART!

A pillar of light suddenly shot up from the ground below the assassin as it shot up, parting the clouds as they were spread from the glowing white pillar as green digital numbers circled the beam of light as Vergo witnessed the transformation.

"Brilliant! Gris is back with us!"

DISSIPATE!

The Leanboxian God fist-pumped as he anxiously waited for the CPU to emerge from his transformative state. His eyes were bright with excitement and hope as he started into the circling numbers.

The pillar of light dissipated as the standing figure of Edge Heart with his eyes closed as his scythe was not in his possession.

His body then started to bulk as his teeth became exposed, gritting them as his eyelids revealed his constricted onyx eyes as he activated the Tenryū Kokyū Ho.

"UOOOOOOOOOOO!"

BULK!

He flexed as his gloved hands clenched, his body bulking as his spandex was able to keep his muscular shape without even the slightest sight of any ripping and tearing.

"Hokuto Shinken. But he can stack it on his HDD state? Seriously?! This took a sudden turn for the awesome!" Vergo watched on as his past teacher's hair suddenly spiked briefly akin to being shocked before returning to its normal style as static burst forth in droves.

FRIZZ!...

STATIC!

"Divine Neuron Acceleration."

CLENCH...!

LOWER...!

Edge Heart muttered as he felt his reaction time accelerate exponentially as his body vibrated for a bit as he looked at the inside of his gloves before clenching them as he looked at Vergo.

"Is that what you're calling it?" The blonde raised a brow as he looked him over.

His energy felt way stronger than ever before, even dwarfing the former self that was brawling with an empowered DIO but not much of a violent vibe to him, although the intimidation of his HDD state replaced that personality void.

"I preferred Godspeed, but that's already taken." The CPU shrugged as he then folded his arms in instinct.

"Pretty sure that would be a nice reference to a certain anime. But DNA is also a cool acronym... But who cares in the end? Now that you're back in fighting shape, let's go curb stomp that conniving supervillain."

FLY!

Vergo said as he went flying off, but stopped as Gris stayed.

TURN!

"Huh? Oi! We're leaving!" The blonde called Edge Heart turned as he slid his foot as he swiveled.

"You cannot go back. Not yet." The CPU shook his head.

"Wot?! What do you mean I can't go back! Our friends are enduring and my sister's people are dying in droves and you're on about this shite?! What's the matter with you!" Vergo called out the good as he shook his head.

"You misunderstand." The god looked up at the blonde.

"How the bloody 'ell am I misunderstandin', Gris? Enlighten me."

BLEED!...

The blonde narrowed his eyes as his fist gripped to the point that blood was beginning to drip out of his white palm.

"Your will is enough to challenge him, but your body holds you back." He began. "You cannot hope to defeat DIO in that state. You don't even have your Demigod State active anymore." The CPU said as he pointed at his divine companion.

"what does that matter? I'll just tap back into it and be on top of my game!" The blonde CPU Candidate voiced as he tried to access the state.

"Grk...!"

GLOW!-

RELEASE!

He groaned.

His eyes flashed the signature purple hue of his failed HDD state before bursting out of him as he panted heavily.

"GAK!"

DOUBLE OVER!

FALL!

CRASH!

ZOOM!-

RIPPLE!

Vergo hunched over as he landed on the ground on all fours as he breathed heavily, a wave of fatigue washing over him before he rated his forehead on the ground as the CPU rushed over to him, his movement speed causing a ripple from the speed alone.

"Just as I thought. Your reserves have been depleted. I always found you to be rather lucky, with how you were able to use a transformation at all with that improper connection to your Sharicite." Edge Heart explained as Vergo responded.

"Then what should I do?..." He asked.

"If I were in your shoes, I would focus on establishing a proper connection with the Sharicite. But you are too far away as well as weak to do that within a comfortable and appropriate amount of time." The CPU gave an option that was not the most optimal.

"..." The exhausted time traveler remained quiet as the Laststionite CPU continued.

"Instead, tap into your being, and bring out that power. It is within you, and both of us know it. You just have to reach for its presence and pull with unparalleled resolve. Your endeavor within the future is being repeated as we speak and you are powerless to stop it as you are now. If you truly are Vert's younger brother, then you must bring out that same state you were once in fighting the DPUs!..." Edge Heart directed as Vergo got up shakily as he used his staff for support as he stuck it into the ground.

"Alright... But how do I ascend?" The blonde time traveler looked up. "All I remember was that I was angry beyond belief for what they had done." He recalled.

"Then wrath is the key, but we need the ignition. And I have an idea on how to ignite that spark." The CPU cupped his chin as a lost look was formed on the blonde's face.

"The ignition?" Vergo questioned.

"The feeling within your soul. When I transformed, there was a warm feeling from the pits of my being that burst forth as I transformed every time, even just now." Edge Heart explained as he continued.

"And I bet that Nebula can vouch for that feeling as well. You just have to reach that familiar feeling of share energy deep within you and bring out your waiting potential in tandem with accessing the Sharicite. I theorize that you cannot call upon its power without a beacon to concentrate it into, no?" He asked metaphorically as Vergo looked at him.

"I guess you're right, Gris. So how should I start this?" He asked.

"First, close your eyes and focus. You'll have to search within yourself to find the location of your share energy. You should be aware of its location due to your existence being directly correlated to the medium, hence being born from a future variation of Leanbox's present Sharicite." Edge Heart instructed as Vergo closed his eyes and sought.

He saw black as he dug deeper and deeper into his consciousness.

It was true that he was comprised of share energy for the most part, so this part of his transformation shouldn't be too hard.

The transformed CPU was deathly silent as only the static that bounced around him was an innovation of his lingering presence as he observed.

Vergo soon saw a faint green twinkle, a dimming glow around it as it had been completely exhausted. This must have been the reserves of his independent share energy, consumed by that pseudo transformation of his as he neared it.

'This... This must be my remaining share energy!... But why is it so diminished?' The blonde's mental manifestation's face scrunched up in confusion as he then concluded.

'The only reason I could come up with is... That when I interacted with the Sharicite, instead of giving me a complete connection, it only gave me a substantial boon instead, and my body used the energy it had to work with to give me a dying flame of sorts with the Demigod State instead of an actual HDD transformation, being the reason for the improper connection. For fuck sake.' The future CPU Candidate cursed as he continued.

'The only reason I even got any share energy was probably because my being felt similar to Vert's, which was why I even got any access at all from the Sharicite.' He theorized as he then reached out for the green glimmer.

REACH!

He grasped the sparkle of energy, the black void around him becoming white in a turn of inverse coloration. It also let out a green energy wave that spread as he grabbed it.

SIGNAL!

CHANGE!

TENSE!

His surrounding became a white void as his body on the outside suddenly began to harden its features, muscles tensed as its face became somewhat scrunched

"Good. Looks like you've found it, from what it seems. I can tell by your energy signature completely diminishing in terms of share energy.'' The CPU explained before he went on to the next step.

"Since you've probably either failed or have currently obtained your source of share energy, we will move on to the next step in the assumption you have done it. For this, you will have to contextualize the Sharicite that you have bonded with. In this case, that being the Leanbox Sharicite." Edge Heart went on as Vergo snapped within his mind.

'If I failed, I would have been talking to you in the physical plane!' He shook his fist.

'Nevermind...' The blonde's mental personification shook its head.

'Contextualize the Sharicite, hm? Now I wished I read Nebula's Book on The Theory of Share Relativity but alas, I did not. Was rather daft of me in hindsight.' The Candidate regretted it as he then heard another voice.

'What manuscript are you referring to, CPU?' A voice that sounded eerily similar to Vert, or rather Green Heart as the blond turned around to see the large glowing crystal as it floated within the void.

It looked identical to the one he found in the Basilicom as well as its future variant in his time, which made sense due to it being such a closely protected room due to it being the source of storing a CPU's power.

Its radiance felt familiar yet dismissive of Vergo's mental manifestation as he answered it.

'Don't bother, it's not going to be out for a while... I think.' The blonde pondered his existence inadvertently causing a butterfly effect that might cancel its creation.

He shook off the speculation before continuing.

'But you have to help me. I... I need your power.' He sincerely asked as the Sharicite responded.

'But I have already given you my power. A sizeable portion. That, in itself, should be enough for someone who emits such familiar energy but does not belong.'

Those words caught the CPU Candidate off guard.

Not belong? Well, in a sense the Sharicite was correct since he was a temporal mishap saved from a grim fate stranded in the past, but it couldn't possibly know about that from a single touch...

Could it?

'How so? I suppose we've never met before but could you elaborate?' Vergo asked the giant crystal to explain itself.

'I would know better than anyone else if Vert had a CPU Candidate. That is obvious in my very nature as Leanbox's Sharicite. But you... You are enigmatic. An anomaly in the most basic format. You feel as if you've been created from my being, yet you are independent of my current connections.' It explained as Vergo folded his arms as he thought.

It was catching on to the time traveler's identity as he responded.

'Then why did you give me any power at all, if you had no idea of my origin, or ultimately my legitimacy as well. Familiarity can only be so much of a guide before it becomes detrimental.' The CPU Candidate answered the stone.

'You were circulating with energy that was identical to Vert's in which gave you access to the reserves of our shares. But once my senses picked up on a foreign CPU, and even more off-putting that he felt so identical to the CPU's energy, I halted the process midway, hence the reason why you have to do little share energy at your disposal as of now.' It was explained to Vergo as he understood.

'So basically it was as if I just felt really similar to Vert, but wasn't her, so the automatic process was halted by you in a bout of wariness and suspicion?' He queried.

'Affirmative.'

'Then I need you to give me full access. I have to reach the power I once had when I was able to transform into the CPU Candidate of Leanbox. We really don't have any time to waste!' Vergo tried to appeal to the situation as the Sharicite denied his claim.

'I cannot abide by that request as your identity, your existence is but a glitch in the matrix if you will. You have already received my power, so why do you seek more of it? Have you not taken enough of it from me already?' It asked as the CPU Candidate was adamant about getting its assistance.

'No, I haven't. Because if you didn't know, Leanbox is currently on the brink of destruction by a fabulous vampire capable of leveling the entire ISLAND! And your military, as well as my friends are risking their lives to ensure that your crystal arse doesn't fucking shatter and that people in this bloody nation still have homes to sleep in and lives to live!' He emphasized as he paused.

He earned a gasp of surprise from the Sharicite as it tried to respond.

'What did you say?-' It quickly asked before being cut off.

'Oh, hold on, scratch that! Because most of the populous of Leanbox, if not all of it sans the military have been bloody brainwashed by said metrosexual vampire and are now rampant amongst the streets as they tear your nation apart! So Celestia help me if you don't help me, help yourself, help Vert, and help everyone in Leanbox by bestowing me your power!' He continued as he started down the giant crystal.

'Because if you don't, then the feeble amount of followers that still believe in you, which consist of myself and the military will dwindle and that will be the final nail in the coffin of making Leanbox crumble to ruin, not to mention killing both myself and Vert. Who is in fact, trapped in the Gamindustri Graveyard AS WE SPEAK, So do us all a favor and give me not the energy you have, but the remaining amount of energy you can muster without any detriment to Vert's health, because this is basically the make or break of this fight, and you're here wasting everyone's time.' Vergo vented as he was met with the silence of the Sharicite, deep in pondering after several revelations were exposed to it.

...

'I see...' It finally responded. After what felt akin to an eternity, its voice finally was heard by the CPU Candidate.

'So will you aid me? Aid Leanbox?' The time traveler asked as his expression softened, not meaning to snap at the Sharicite that created him technically, but left him no choice due to its reluctance and undertones of indecisiveness.

'I... I... I will assist you in saving Leanbox, CPU.' The Sharicite decided as it finally took in the gravity of the situation. 'You are correct. There is no time for prerequisites or formalities if my nation is in this state of disarray and destruction.' Now conscious of the predicament the country was in, it could not afford to be stingy and best around the bush.

'Then what must I do? We don't have much time, so I suggest you explain with some haste.' The CPU Candidate asked as the glowing crystal instructed without pause.

'Repeat after me, young CPU.' The Sharicite stated, the now attentive Vergo was ready to listen to the words that would give him the power he needed.

'I am thou, thou art I.'

SHINE!

It began, as the white void soon became dark and foreboding once more, but was somewhat off-put as the Sharicite began to glow.

'I am thou, thou art I.'

GLOW!

Vergo repeated as the twinkle he grabbed started to shine within his hand as it radiated through the cracks of it.

'We are one, a unity that is woven through the string of fate as we combine with the coalition of the valiant and the righteous.'

'We are one, a unity that is woven through the sting of fate as we combine with the coalition of the valiant and the righteous.'

ABSORB!

They both said, the stone before the god as the twinkle then shined even brighter as it soon went into Vergo's hand without his knowledge.

To defend and preserve the prosperity of Leanbox is the duty we must carry with power we shall wield in leaps and bounds, endless in potency.'

'To defend and preserve the prosperity of Leanbox is the duty we must carry with power we shall wield in leaps and bounds, endless in potency.'

CIRCULATE!...

SHINE!

The twinkle then moved around sporadically before settling in the chest of Vergo as it glowed even brighter, almost at the point where it emitted enough light to challenge the Sharicite's glow.

'And in times of danger, we will rise to the occasion as we spare it from the clutches of damnation in the name of salvation!'

'And in times of danger, we will rise to the occasion as we spare it from the clutches of damnation in the name of salvation!'

FAINT GLOW...!

And with that, the ritual was finished as the light within Vergo's mental manifestation had brimmed within the confines of his body as he felt power bursting from inside, veins glowing with energy as his physical self was starting to glow like a green outline of energy encompassed him.

"That hidden power is not so hidden anymore now, is it? Now pull with all your might!" Edge Heart encouraged as he pointed straight at the semi-conscious CPU Candidate.

'The ritual is done. All that is left is to strike when the iron is hot and relish your power. Bring it out, Vergo!'

'WRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!'

ENERGY SHOCKWAVES!

The voice, now aware of his name due to some of its essence being within the man instructed as he then began to yell as energetic shockwaves rung out within the mental space.

Within the physical plane, however, the CPU Candidate began to grit his teeth as his hands clenched tighter, getting into the oh so loved standard power-up position many shonen fans knew and loved.

GUST!

WHIRLWINDS!

THUNDER!

The wind soon picked up as it blew around the two, the pebbles and rocks from Gris' transformation being whisked away in the force of nature as the clouds above began to cover the skies once more, this time accompanied by thunder as several whirlwinds were created and wreaked havoc around the rocky biome.

LIGHTNING!

CRASH!

SWISH!

The clouds above then soon sent lightning down as it crashed down to the earth below as it blasted multiple mountain tops off as the water on the seaside began to violently crash against the rocky cliffs as the that they entered the nation with was on the verge of capsizing.

DEPRESS!

The ground itself that Vergo stood upon broke down as his feet were now implanted into the ground as large rocks were upturned as a result.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

BLOW AWAY!

TREMORS!

And the wind that blew around the two gods became a twister as the rotation of the objects within its clutches became immensely more rapid in circulation as the whirlwinds became more apparent in number as boulders, large rocky hills and small mountains were all being raised from the ground as the ground itself began to tremble from the tremendous power that was being released from within the CPU Candidate's body.

GLOW!

PARTIAL TRANSFORMATION!

The eyes of Vergo opened as the familiar purple eyes of the Demigod State returned but this time, accompanied by the occasional flash of green as his hair raised with it before regressing back to blonde as sweat formed on his skin.

"I did not actually expect you to get this far (Or myself, since I've been pulling this out my ass the entire time). But my expectations have been happily exceeded. You are almost there, I can already see the results! Release it!" Edge Heart yelled through the winds as Vergo began to yell in response.

"...Aaaaaaaaaaa!..."

AURA!...

AURA!-

AURA!...

He let out a low-pitched sound as his aura became brighter as the green outline became waves of green energy rolling off of him.

"...AAAAAAAAAAAAA!..."

BULGE!

LEVITATE!

GUST!

The CPU Candidate continued as his muscles developed veins, his irises contracting as slight veins in his eyes could also be seen as the earth was uprooted since many large stones were being ripped from the ground due to the strong winds, his hair now levitating as it was shifting from green to yellow in a more controlled manner.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

GLOW!

He slowly rose from his position as he stood up straight up from the sheer amount of power coursing through his veins, his aura now rapidly cycling as a spike of share energy busted forth from within as his hair glowed white with green outlines as his irises glowed purple as well.

Edge Heart's hair was also being blown back from the sheer power output as his folded arms and floating statue accompanied by his expectant demeanor indicated that he was everything but waiting to see his new form.

Vergo arched his ack as he looked up.

And then he shouted.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

RIP!

SHINE!

PILLAR!

His eyes glowed white as his hair sporadically fluttered, his vest ripping apart from the sheer energetic pressure before the white pillar came shooting up from his feet, the light rushing past all else as it pierced through the heavens for a second time.

FLASH!

BLOCK!

The light blinded all that was there to best witness as the whirlwinds, the tremors, the lightning, the thunder, the sea, the rocks, and the trees were all engulfed in the light as even Edge Heart was not spared as he used an arm to obscure some of the light to be able to see what was happening.

"Finally." The edgy god sighed.

All the commotion ceased as the black-clad god saw nothing but white for several seconds before the light began to fade away.

And as it did, what replaced Vergo was a CPU Candidate.

Or rather something different, because he was not the same as he thought he was.

His body returned to its tall and imposing height of 6'8", his hair returning to its spiky seafoam green color, his tips blending into lime green as he stood. His purple eyes with glowing power signals for pupils were back in glory as they shone throughout the darkness.

A difference that he nor Edge Heart noticed was that instead of an incomplete arc as in the future, and the CPU Candidates of the present such as Nepgear, Uni, Rom, and Ram, his power signal had a complete bend akin to a matured CPU.

But his clothes, on the other hand, had changed.

His spandex had now become a very dark green, one that could almost be mistaken for black due to the darkness around them as the sleeves now reached his upper arms just over his shoulders as more skin was exposed.

His green accents now had some lime ones as his gloves had turned into the same dark green color as his spandex as a single shoulder pad that was lime green was attached as it was very futuristic and a new accessory.

His boots also became dark green with lime and black accents as his lower legs were fitted with the new change as the spandex length stayed the same. His flight processors ironically were the only thing that stayed the same as his look had evolved into something worthy of his cause.

GLOW!

Even his aura felt different from how it used to be. Levels above when he was in the future as he looked to his hands as a green glow was still radiating from his body.

"Congratulations, Vergo. You've transformed. At the expense of the environment and several minutes but nevertheless, transformed." Edge Heart celebrated as he welcomed the CPU Candidate's state.

"Thanks. But I don't look or feel the same as when I was in the future." Green Brother pointed out as the black CPU raised a brow.

"You do not?" He inquired.

"Not at all. I feel much more evened out than last time. It must be because I told the Sharicite to bestow me as much as it could. This power..." He trailed off as he then looked to the horizon.

"It might actually be enough. But before we go, I have to do something." He said.

"Make it quick. We've already spent enough time here. That transformations sequence was awfully drawn out." The edgelord admitted.

"A name. I need a name." He told Edge Heart.

"A name? But you're Green Brother." The scythe god furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Green Brother doesn't look like he came from the interdimensional gulag, mate." The CPU Candidate made a valid point.

"True. Then what would you like to name yourself?"

SUMMON!

The CPU asked as he was now in two instances where he was in the presence of CPU naming.

"... It might seem obvious, but I'll proclaim myself to be Future Heart. It makes sense since I can't be a brother to a sister that's, well, dead. I may not have fancied her presence, but I will honor her death by protecting Leanbox in this dire time. It's the least I can do for letting her die." The now reinvented Future Heart atoned as he summoned his weapon.

MENACING!

His lance returned in its glory, now the metal being obsidian colored as the platinum titanium alloy weapon bow had a more dark and menacing vibe to its appearance. Rather fitting for the opponent the two were going to face as Vergo smiled at his weapon.

ゴゴゴゴ!

"I've had this weapon for less than a day and already feel like it's my third arm. It's that normal?" Future Heart asked.

"Well, I have had my scythe for nothing more than a couple of days and already getting used to its touch."

SUMMON!

Edge Heart responded as he summoned his weapon of choice.

"But you're an assassin, Gris. You've trained in scythes. I've never wielded a lance until yesterday... 20 years in the future... In a parallel timeline...- look, you have experience, I don't." The CPU Candidate clarified as Edge Heart shrugged.

"It must be a CPU trait to automatically grow accustomed to your weapon. Either that or you just instinctively fancy long-range melee weapons." The scythe god opted as he began to fly.

"Now let us be off. We have to get there before DIO kills them all...!" Edge Heart shouted with haste as Future Heart.

"Cheerio. Let's be off!"

SONIC BOOM!

WOOSH!

The Leanboxian CPU yelled as he flew, the wind creating a sonic boom as he used it to travel thousands of times the speed of sound.

"Let's." Edge Heart answered before traveling so fast that his body resembled a black blur of mass.

ZOOM!

WHOOSH!

At Leanbox prior...

...

The knives of DIO had finally stopped. Thousands of the throwing blades laid across the battlefield as many were indented into the ground, through the convoys, and into the bodies of many as their mutilated carcasses laid about, spreading through the area as the bloody scene had turned into something repulsive to be near.

Cave stood atop the bloody pool that was created by the oozing fluids of all the bodies around her as her clothes were ripped and torn from dodging all those knives, some even having the liberty of slashing her fabric due to their sheer number.

But her dodging skills proved legendary as she had not one scratch on her body itself. Although, how scantily clad she looked with all that exposed skin, it basically felt like she got damaged, but in a different sense.

The redhead maintained eye contact with the vampire as to her DIO alone floated as he looked down at the soldier.

"Feeling intimidated yet? I wouldn't blame you if you did. Since your fellow soldiers lie face down." The bloodsucker uttered, his daunting presence causing the elite soldier to look up at him.

"You won't win this fight. I'll make sure of that. For everyone you've killed!" Cave furrowed her brows as her monotone voice became more vibrant as she harbored animosity for the invader.

"That is some bravado for someone who has done nothing but dodge my knives when I throw them." His face slowly gained a mocking demeanor as Cave pulled her gun and aimed it at him.

BANG!-

BFFT!

But DIO only let out a single laugh as she shot the weapon, before the bloodsucker teleported in her view and reappeared behind her, then backs facing each other.

"How quaint. Then again, you are using a gun of all things." The vampire cut some slack for the inferior weapon against his superior ability.

BANG!

EVADE!

BANG!

WEAVE!

BANG!

DODGE!

Cave's eyes widened before she twisted around on her heel and fired once more at the vampire, the bullets being weaved and evaded as the vampire moved his head with minimal effort.

LEAP!

BANG!

BANG!-

BFFT!

The elite soldier then jumped back as she fired more bullets at the opponent as DIO then teleported again before reappearing behind her once more.

"Going down."

GRAB!

SWING!

SLAM!

DIO voiced before grabbing the elite soldier's leg before slamming her into the ground as she recoiled and laterally spun away in pain.

"Kuh!"

SPIN!-

SLIDE!

Cave guttered before repositioning herself as she slid and looked up to see that DIO pulled out a knife before throwing it at high speed, but not quick enough as a quick draw from Cave managed to offset the knife to the point where it flailed away.

"MUDA!"

THROW!

The vampire yelled as he chucked the projectile.

BANG!

It was shot out of the air as the redhead soon saw another knife thrown at her and shot it without hesitation.

THROW!

BANG!-

But as she fired, she received a love tap from The World as the soldier was sent sprawling from the invisible blow, being impossible for her to realistically dodge.

PUNCH!

"Unf!" Cave grunted as she was caught off guard by the blow.

CRASH!

SCATTER!

"!"

BIFF!

SLAM!

She slammed into some debris as they scattered in all directions before she scrambled to her feet, only to be sent back down by the invisible stand once more.

BANG!

MISS!

Cave winced in pain as she tried to shoot whatever was attacking her, but because of the nature of The World, the bullets were evaded as they made the effort to move even while invisible.

HANDSTAND!

SPRING UP!

She then swung her legs up before bending her arms as she sprung up, trying to gain some distance.

WALK...!

BFFT!

DIO simply walked up to in front of where she had leaped and waited for her to stop ascending before stopping time, carrying her back to the ground using The World, and resuming time, all in seemingly an instant.

"Huh?!" Cave reacted, now back at the ground as DIO laughed.

"Hello. How was your flight?'' He further toyed with the soldier as she unleashed an SP Skill.

"Full Burst Options!"

ROTATE!

She roared as five floating cybernetic parts came from her clothes as they all rotated as she stuck out her hand and fired.

"What is this?!-" The vampire reeled before being blasted by the beam as his stand came to his aid as the two were carried away from the momentum of the attack.

"Spread!"

LASERS!

BLOCK!-

She yelled, the 6 lasers firing and seemingly hitting the vampire.

SMASH!-

EXPLOSION!

ASCEND!

The two were pushed into a destroyed convoy as its remains exploded from the move as the vampire was blown sky high, his stand returning to his side as he then fired his Space Ripper Stingy Eyes at the RRoD member.

"WRYYYYYYYY!"

JET!

BOOM!

DIO yelled before a large red laser came forth from his pupils as Cave had the hindsight to move from her current position but not before being blasted away by being close to the blast radius.

"Tch!"

WHOOSH!

CRASH!...

Cave evaded by a hair's breadth as she cross guarded the force of the explosion near her as she was stooped by crashing through a flimsy wall.

"Not bad. But it will take leagues above that to even come close to DIO!"

GROUND SLAM!

TREMOR!

SHOCKWAVE!

The vampire yelled as he reeled back his hands as his fists were behind him as he went for a ground slam. He sped towards the wall Cave had landed in as he shouted with fervor.

"SHINEI!"

DIO screeched as he approached the destination.

He slammed the ground with such force that it shook with power as the dust and debris exploded in a seismic shockwave that spread on the ground as it emitted.

Cave was fast enough to dodge the initial blow but was sent flying by the sheer power of the enhanced vampire.

"Gah!" She yelled as she was pelted by the shock wave.

SHOCKWAVE!

THUD!

The same effect was mirrored to the three on the ground that had been cut from one of DIO's knives. AL, Nebula, and Taleia were blown away as they were ragdolled into the side of the only remaining convoy left.

The vehicle tilted as all inside yelped in surprise.

"Wah!" Domio yelped.

"Eek!" Poona shrieked.

"By Vert!" The corporal called to her goddess as she braced.

"Ack!" Moru slammed into the private.

"Oof!" The private crashed into Moru.

"Oh!" Lady Wac exclaimed.

The seven then collected themselves as they felt the thud outside.

"What was that?!" Lady Wac questioned, sweat visible on her face.

"I don't know. It might not be something we wanna see." The corporal assumed.

"It's better to check so we know of were sitting ducks in this fridge of a convoy." The private said as Domio volunteered.

"I'll go. I just need someone to watch my back." He stated.

"Count me in, kid. I can use some time out of his ice trap, no offense." The private opted.

"Thanks... Uhm...Leanbox Soldier?" Domio faltered, not knowing the soldier's name.

"Avery. Avery Johnson. Just call me Avery." The soldier introduced himself as John have a nod of introduction as Domio stored the knowledge.

"Ok, John. Anyone else?" Domio looked around.

"I'll go!" More excitedly volunteered as she shivered. "Anything to get out of this cold truck!" She added.

"Right,"

"...Frigid Boxing...!"

FREEZE!

Domio said as he summoned his gauntlets, muttering the spell under his breath.

The three quickly came out for a fight, but were reasonably shocked when it was the friends of Domio.

"Taleia? AL? Neb?!" The child widened his eyes as they saw the paralyzed bodies, their eyes white with fear.

"Drag them in the convoy, quick!" Avery yelled as he pulled AL from under the arms as Domio hoisted his dad on his back once more as Moru dragged Taleia by the legs.

"Good thing we checked." The ice user sighed as he learned his father's deadweight.

"These flesh bags and butt fat make her heavy! But I'll manage...!" Moru commented as they dragged the three into the vehicle.

MELT...!

From the three being placed within the convoy, AL's presence managed to melt all the ice that Domio had created as he provided an excellent heat source.

"How delightful. Finally some warmth." Lady Wac sighed in relief as she huddled closer to the paralyzed man.

"You can say that again... But what's with that look on their faces?" The corporal inspected as she observed their whitened pupils.

"It's scary.. !" Poona said with some freight as she felt unnerved.

"It probably has something. to do with that DIO. Do you know what it is, kid?" Avery directed his gaze to Domio after inspecting the three.

"Fear energy," Domio mentioned.

"Fear energy?" Lady Wac repeated, her tone confused with a pinch of interest.

"It's something that I've come into contact with before. It can completely incapacitate anyone it comes into contact with if their will is weak enough... Or if the person is strong enough in DIO's case." The boy explained as everyone became pale at the explanation.

"So you're telling me they're dead?!" Moru yelled fear etched on her face.

"What? NO!" Domio quickly got that idea out of the catgirl's head. "I mean, they might look dead but I'm pretty sure they're alive," Domio said as Avery checked for a pulse on each of them.

"Kid's right." He nodded.

"Right. Even I was under the influence of it, so I think I may have gotten a resistance to it... Or at least I hope so."

IGNITE!

The boy stated as AL suddenly had the flames in his pupils ignite once more as it gained the attention of everyone.

"Huh..?!" Poona's eyes widened as the flames startled her.

"AL!" Domio said with surprise as he then turned his head to the boy, albeit slowly.

"Domio..." He muttered. His voice was strained but clear as he communicated.

"He's coming back to us!" Avery had his voice fillies with awe.

"But how?" The corporal asked.

"You have to help... The three outside..." AL continued as Poona identified them.

"You mean Cave, Blinx, and Mister Chief?" The green-haired commander named Poona continued.

"Yeah... You have to help them... They can't take on DIO for long... They'll perish before long...!" He revealed as the persons in the convoy gasped.

"What?!" Lady Wac yelled.

"He's a kid! What can he possibly do to stop someone like DIO?!" The corporal told the straining warrior as Avery spoke next.

"You sure you're still not scared out of your wits, man? Pitting the boy against Wrytard isn't gonna end well for him." Avery glared at the downed form of AL.

"He has power... I've seen it. Nebula has. Gris has... He just has to use it. It comes as a response to his anger... He can do it...!" AL clarified.

"And you expect him to win?!" The corporal asked incredulously.

"No... He just has to stall!... Until either Vergo and Gris return or Nebula, Taleia... And I can fight again!... They need you, Domio...!" AL gave a hard stare to the boy as he felt the expectation and hope he was putting into him.

"I... I... I'll do it." Domio answered.

"You WHAT?!"

RUMBLE!

Avery yelled as the convoy shook from the battle outside.

"There's no time! If I don't go and do something, then we'll all be goners!" The boy accepted his responsibility as he was grimly reminded from the shockwave of the attack they had just felt.

"But you're just a child! Are you really going to throw away your life just to buy us some time?!" Lady Wac asked the boy.

"What other choice do we have. If they fall then we'll follow after and Vergo and Gris meet nothing but corpses. And if we all go, then he kills us all in one fell swoop, and no one can watch Dad, AL, and Taleia. It would be better for me to go alone so that the least amount of manpower is used..." Domio came to terms with the fact that he may die in this confrontation.

But the stakes were too high to stay.

"But-" Avery sent to protest once more but was cut off by Brave Heart as he slowly came to.

"Let him go..." He breathed out.

"You too?!" The corporal asked with disdain.

"He's my son... After all... He'll survive..." The CPU stated as his eyes slowly became glassy instead of void of color, smiling in the process.

"Tsk." The corporal grumbled at the notion of letting a prepubescent child fight a man that could pose a threat to a nation, but she knew when she was beaten.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but... Go on, kiddo." Avery let the child pass as the Commanders voiced their opinions.

"We'll watch them for you..." Poona promised as she bowed.

"If you need help, just beat the side of the convoy." Moru gave some advice.

"Make sure to stay away from him if you can. His ability is formidable as it is terrifying." Lady Wac reminded the boy.

"Thank you."

DASH!-

SKATE!

Domio thanked as he left the safety, or rather what was left of the feeling of safety of the convoy as he dashed forward before creating ice beneath his feet as he skated towards the battle.

He moved at high speed towards the battle as he constantly told himself that he could do this.

'Don't lose courage... Don't lose courage... Your father figure is Brave Heart, for Lady White Heart's sake!' Domio's face hardened as he headed straight into the fight.

"Useless! Useless! Useless! MUDAMUDAMUDA!"

KICK BARRAGE!

BLOCK!

DIO yelled as his stand repeatedly kicked a blocking Cave as she struggled to stand her ground from the powerful assault as she was attacked by the seemingly invisible force.

FLOAT!

REEL!

PUNCH!

"MUDA!" The vampire yelled as the elite soldier was shot into his waiting arms as he decked her back to The World.

"MUDA!"

SWIPE!

The World had floated above and behind the soldier before drawing back his fist whilst upside down and clocking her right in the back of her spine as she was blasted forward as spit and blood flew out of the redhead's mouth.

RIGHT HOOK!

The stand reciprocated the blow with another hook as DIO yelled once more."MUDA!"

"Urgh!"

PUNCH!

KICK!

SWIPE!

HOOK!

ROUNDHOUSE KICK!

SIDE KICK!

JUMP KICK!

SNAP KICK!

ELBOW!

KNEE!

The elite soldier grunted as some blood escaped her clenched teeth, feeling the pain of the punches and swipes as she was the equivalent of a human volleyball as she was tossed around like a hot potato.

After several blows, Cave was sent twirling into the air as DIO and The World slid their feet back as they cocked back their fists for a fatal straight.

"This is the end! MUDAAAAAAAA!"

REEL!

DIO's red eyes constricted with excitement and adrenaline as he was getting ready to finish the job.

BOOM!

"!"

DODGE!

But before they could crush the redhead into a bloody paste, DIO quickly dodged around that came from the side.

THUD!...

Cave fell flat on her back as she groaned in agony as DIO looked around for the perpetrator.

"Who fired that! Reveal yourself!" He yelled, as his eyes darted around with indignant and agitation, looming for the person that interrupted his kill.

BOOM!

DASH!

His search was rudely interrupted when he was shot once more, from a slightly different angle as he dodged the shot once again as he moved away from the downed form of Cave.

"Blasted vermin!"

JET!

EXPLOSION!

DIO snarled as he then narrowed his eyes in annoyance before widening them as he fired a jet of water from his eyes, his signature eye beams firing towards the general direction he dodged the shots.

SCATTER!

"..."

His shot came into contact with some ruins of destroyed buildings and they were destroyed completely as its materials were scattered in the blast.

BOOM!

DIO was somewhat put at ease, but not completely sure that the threat had been neutralized as he still kept an eye on the rubble of the now destroyed area.

BFFT!

"Of course." DIO grimaced as stopped time and moved out of the way after taking note of its direction when he resumed it.

JET!

DISTANT BOOM!...

CRASH...!

It was from his left when he was still standing in its fired another Space Ripper Stingy Eyes in the direction it came from as it just went forward for a bit before striking a distant building outside of the sector they were currently in, causing it to collapse.

PLANT!

'They're managing to change their position every time I fire at them in an attempt to disorient me... If I want to find where they lie, I will have to pinpoint them.' The vampire strategized as he put his ear to the ground, to listen for them moving.

FOOTSTEPS!

He bypassed the beating heart of Cave and the sounds of dysfunctional wiring and water problems of the buildings as he focused his hearing on the sniper ...

'There!'

JET!

EXPLOSIONS!

The bloodsucker's eyes widened as he got up before twisting around to his right he fired one more eye laser towards the place where his footsteps were heard before continuing to fire it as he made a line of destruction before stopping.

Multiple apartment ruins and office building remains were destroyed as DIO focused his hearing to listen in on the sound of anyone in pain in that direction after he fired.

DIO smiled as he heard the grunts and groans of Mister Chief as he had managed to injure the super-soldier with the water pressure beam clipping him in the leg before blasting him into a wall as he limped to another vantage point.

"How quaint. By the skin of his teeth, I hit him. Or rather by the skin of his teeth he survives. But that won't be for long!" DIO said as he flew off to finish of the super soldier, about to leave the seriously injured Cave all by he lonesome.

But before he did, he made sure she couldn't escape.

"But before I go, I'll make sure you can't leave. Or live." DIO menacingly threatened as he clutched the thigh of Cave as she slightly lit up at the rather suggestive area.

"What are you...-"

FLASH FROZEN!

She blushed as she winced, before being cut off.

Her words were cut off as she was completely frozen from head to toe.

"And death ensues within minutes. Your cells should be damaged from being frozen alone, and hypothermia will do the rest. Farewell, trash."

STAND FLY!

WOOSH!

DIO bid goodbye before flying off for the head of Mister Chief.

The ice statue of Cave was left as she laid there, motionless as the uncomfortable and slightly aroused look on the fallen soldier's silent features were going to be etched into history forever as her final reminder on the face of Gamindustri...

A/N:

And we finish the chapter with a somber note.

DIO continues his atrocities on those who stand up to him in a remorseless fashion, the lives of the brave being ripped away faster than ever before, their corpses painting the damaged nation red.

Only the strong can survive, or the plot is conveniently passive as the last convoy is the bastion of the surviving Leanbox infantry as well as the Commanders that watch over the heroes as they lay paralyzed by the agent of fear itself.

But with Vergo and Gris on their way, all hope is not yet lost as the CPU Candidate might just be strong enough to give the egotistical vampire a run for his money in the fight that decided the fate of their lives, as well as the nation itself.

It's up to Domio to keep the phantom blooded monster from taking anymore lives as he stalls for the two CPUs to reach there in time. But can the boy pull through? Or will another contrived character come to his aid at the very last second? Or maybe both? Who knows.

Oh wait, I do, but that's not important.

That's it for now, though.

Arriverdeci.

WRYead and WRYeview!