Hope you enjoy reading this. Oh, I really hope...
As Amaterasu finished her words, the black sky above Master beetle quickly vanished. And at that moment, me and Chihiri saw what was making the light behind the skies. A gigantic vortex several times bigger than Master beetle, swirling huge amounts of red spiritual energy. The same energy that Amaterasu was discharging from her body. And with a flash of bright red light,
BLLZZZRRRRRTTTTTTT!
Followed by a deafening sound, an enormous pillar of a beam, fired down from the vortex and struck the very earth. The whole ground beneath us shook. Massive gusts of wind blew heavily. Sending thick dust clouds everywhere, and almost felt like me and Chihiri were going to fly away by the strong wind. Everything was hard to see by the dust cloud, except for one thing.
While covering my eyes from the dust cloud, the red light of the beam didn't die out one bit and kept glowing bright. I couldn't even see Master beetle's body by the strong light. The beam was still firing down from the sky until there was nothing left of Master beetle.
ZZZZRRRTT-
When it felt like the attack was never going to end, the beam's light started to dim out until it finally stopped. The sky was no longer black, and soon returned to normal as if nothing has happened.
"Fuu..."
As the dust cloud began to clear, I saw Amaterasu standing in front of me. She lowered her hand from the sky and let a quiet sigh. My head was spinning from what I just witnessed. The laser's loud sound was still ringing inside my head, like there was a bell ringing in my brain. I tried to ignore my legs shaking and took each step carefully while walking towards her.
"Are you okay, Amaterasu?"
"Ah, master. Yes I'm fine. What about you? D, Did you get hurt by any chance?"
"Don't worry. Got no scratch whatsoever."
Amaterasu's body jumped a little when I called out to her. It looked like she had to put all of her concentration to do whatever she did. However, Amaterasu didn't seem to be tired even after using that huge attack, not even breaking a sweat. I guess her title of 'goddess' isn't just for show.
"Thank the gods you're not hurt..."
"Well, we did stay behind you so there's no way... Wait, where's Chihiri?"
"N, Now that you mention it. You don't think..."
"*Cough* H, Here!... Damn dust got in my eyes..."
Me and Amaterasu turned around to the direction where Chihiri's voice came. She was just getting off the ground with thick dust covering her body from head to toe. It was likely that she lied flat on the ground to avoid the wind(or could've actually been flown away?). I'd be laughing at how messed up she was, if I hadn't realize that I wasn't the cleanest person myself.
"Oh, damn it. And I just got my uniform dry cleaned two days ago!"
"Well, tell your parents that you ' got lucky at gym class'. If you know what I mean. Ay? Ayyy?~"
Chihiri moved her eyebrows up and down while giving me two thumbs up, like I was thinking the same thing as her. While there is no way in hell that I'd be thinking the same 'things' that Chihiri does, I was wondering how on earth could someone see dust covered clothes and think of, oh right, I just forgot who I was talking to.
"First off, shut up, and second, how about I just tell them that I wore this while playing soccer?"
"Nah, my story sound way better. If you don't like it, there's always the 'trapped in the gym closet' setting?"
"Do you always have to make things sound perverted?"
"Uh, is there any reason NOT to?"
Chihiri said in a nonchalant tone like there was nothing wrong about it. It's almost scary that she doesn't even hesitate when saying those things.
"What are you two talking about, master?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know."
I moved along before Amaterasu could hear things that would make her lose hope for humanity. Unlike me and Chihiri who looked like beggars in our dirty uniform, Amaterasu's clothes were unharmed and pitch perfect. Not a bit of dust on her whatsoever, even though she was right in front of the attack.
I guess when you're a god, you're able to stop dust from getting on your body. And judging by what Amaterasu was capable of, I half expect that to be the case.
"So uh, is the bug dead?"
"Yes. You don't have to worry, Chihiri sama."
"Really? I mean, I'm not trying to bad mouth you or anything Amaterasu, but that thing just looked like it'll never die."
Even when seeing me and Amaterasu standing in front of the pit, Chihiri still didn't believe that Master beetle was dead. Her face had turned blue in fear and was hesitant to walk towards us. If Chihiri took every step slow and careful as she's doing now, it'll be night time before we know it. Which is sooner than I would've thought, since the sun was going down, and the sky turning dark(this time the natural way).
I mean, I don't blame her considering the things that we just saw. I'd be acting the same way if I was there and not here.
"Itou, tell me the truth! Is it safe?!"
"Yeah it's fine, so come on already! It's safer to stay close to Amaterasu than just standing there alone, you know."
"I know, man. Look, just tell me if that bug looks dead for sure. I don't want to see that thing squirming or burst out in front of my eyes or anything..."
"Well, I don't know because there's nothing left TO see."
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
Looking confused and somewhat curious, Chihiri finally picked up her pace and ran towards us. After stopping right next to me, Chihiri looked at my face like she demanded answers to what I said. Thinking it's best to show than tell, I slightly tilted my head to let her see for herself.
Chihiri turned her head to see what's in front of her. Only to scream out of shock of what she saw.
"Holy shit?! Wha, Wha, What in the?!"
What I meant about 'nothing to see' was that there was 'nothing left' other than a huge hole that was once where Master beetle was. On second thought, it wasn't even a hole. The whole intersection, including a half a block worth of buildings were obliterated along with Master beetle, so it was more of a crater than a hole.
The gigantic hole that the beam left was not just wide, but extremely deep as well. I couldn't say for sure, but it looked deep enough to fit a six story apartment.
Thud
Overwhelmed by the massive hole, Chihiri fell on her behind as if her legs gave up. Chihiri wasn't close to the edge of the hole, and yet she looked quite shaken up. Although looking at the size of the hole, I think it's safe to say it'll make anyone's head spin.
"Wait, were you afraid of heights?"
"No, I don't! But did you see how deep that is?! That's enough to make anyone seeing that piss themselves!"
"Wow, then I guess I shouldn't have called you to see this."
"You think?! And how comes you're not scared out of your ass right now?!"
"Oh, I am. You think I'm standing here for the sights? I'm standing here because I can't move. My legs aren't moving, because I'm TOO scared!"
My legs weren't even shaking and was frozen solid by the total fear of falling.
"Huh?! Y, You should've told me that sooner, master! I'll move you right this second!"
Amaterasu was almost in a state of panic, as she basically bear hugged me in the back and lifted me up. Unlike her lady like figure, Amaterasu lifted my body with ease and placed me behind her like I was a light pillow.
"Oof!"
If I wasn't already embarrassed of getting handled like a baby, I wanted to run and dive in the hole myself, when I dropped down like a tower of cards the moment I touched the ground.
"Pff..."
"Shut it, Chihiri."
Chihiri scoffed at me, even though she had her butt on the ground like I was. Thankfully, Amaterasu didn't laugh. She immediately held out both of her hand, and pulled me and Chihiri off the ground. Just by being away from the hole made me feel a lot better, and for my legs too.
"I gotta say, good job on taking out Master beetle, Amaterasu. Although next time, could you be a less... overkill?..."
"The hell are you talking about, Itou! There's no better way to handle a problem, than good old overkill! Amaterasu, don't listen to him! You did a damn good job!"
"No, it's okay, Chihiri sama. Master is right. Next time, I'll be sure to 'properly' weaken my attack."
Me and Chihiri were listening to Amaterasu's humble words, until we heard something weird, and we both stared at her at the same time. Amaterasu noticed our gazes and looked at us with worrying eyes, as if she was wondering if she did something wrong.
"I, Is there a problem, master? And Chihiri sama, too..."
"No, no, it's umm... What do you mean by 'properly'?"
"Oh, there was a slight miscalculation on my previous attack. I thought simply weakening my energy output would be enough, but it seems I was wrong."
"So... 'that' was you pulling back?"
Amaterasu nodded, while looking at us innocently as if this was all normal. Judging by her natural reaction, I guess this is a matter of thought difference. But to me and Chihiri it was hard to wrap up, that an attack strong enough to wipe out an entire block, was just the weaker version.
"When you mean by 'weaken', how much are we talking about?"
"About fifty percent from the normal output, Chihiri sama. Less than that, the attack would've penetrated the earth's mantle, and I couldn't risk that from happening. But seeing how things turned out, I suppose sixty percent would've been fine too."
"O...k... Thanks for... doing that?..."
I kept on nodding, not knowing what to say. I honestly didn't know how to react on that. Mostly grateful that she didn't go all out, AND kind of scared of the same reason.
'Fifty times, huh... Don't want to imagine what this place would look like if she just fired...'
"You weakened it that much, and the beam was STILL that strong?! Now that is hardcore!"
Chihiri's eyes were glowing with excitement. It looks like someones having a good time, even though that someone almost died.
"Amaterasu?"
"Yes, master?"
"How long do you think we have left before the barrier in this area is gone?"
"Let's see... At least two hours left, master. Why do you ask... Oh."
Amaterasu noticed exactly what I was talking about. I just hope that she isn't too shocked.
"Why, what's the matter? Is there something happening after two hours?"
"Uh, Chihiri? Look around you!"
"Around me? What's there to... OH."
I was baffled if Chihiri was being serious or not. I don't know how Chihiri could miss several destroyed buildings, and a huge ass crater right in front of us. We were basically in the middle of a war zone, which is really hard to miss.
"Holy crap, I didn't think it would be THIS bad..."
"Haa... I know, right?"
Chihiri's face grew darker and darker when she turned around to see the destruction. Cleaning all this up was way beyond our reach. And we couldn't just leave it like this, either. My stomach was growling like crazy, just by the thoughts on what to do with this mess.
"So... where should we start? If we act fast, we could at least fill the hole with debris?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I mean, even though there's no casualties, is it even possible to fix this? And in less than two hours, even!"
"Yes, it's possible."
""Huh?!""
Me and Chihiri looked at Amatetasu with shock. The two of us were wrapping our heads what to do, and Amaterasu just came in and casually proposed something impossible. It was good of Amaterasu to try to fix what she did. Amaterasu was definitely powerful, but it was hard to believe she also had the power to fix this, when she was the same one who caused it.
"Y, You could?"
"Yes. It's actually quite easier than you think, master. With the power of my Yata no kagami, I could restore everything just the way it was. Although it would take a few minutes for complete restoration, but it'll be over before we know it."
Amaterasu said it with confidence, while showing us a jade colored mirror that she was holding on her chest. It's size was big as a small tray. The mirror looked ancient, with beautiful patterns drawn on the surface, like the ones made from copper that I've seen at a museum once. However, unlike those ones, Amaterasu's mirror was dentless and the surface was smooth and clean like it was brand new.
"Wait, 'Yata no kagami'? Isn't that one of the three treasures from ancient myth?"
"Earth to Itou? She IS Amaterasu. Goddess of the sun, remember? Of course she's going to have the sacred treasure."
"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense..."
The Yata no kagami was shining brightly like a gem, and was emitting a sort of divine aura that genuinely felt like it belonged to a god. When Amaterasu flicked her finger and the mirror floated in the air and span in circles like itself was alive.
"Whoa! That is so cool!"
"Hey Amaterasu, do that again!"
"H, Huh? Is this so fascinated to you two? I mean, I did do it to make master and Chihiri sama to appreciate this magnificent artifact..."
"A floating mirror! That spins, too!"
"I know!"
"...You two aren't focusing on the mirror, are you..."
It may be a simple trick for Amaterasu, but me and Chihiri were certainly wowed by it.
'I guess Amaterasu is Amaterasu, even if you're from an alien world or not...'
"Umm... Would you like me to start?"
"Yes, please!"
"Holy shit, yes please!"
We answered immediately. Amaterasu smiled gently and nodded her head with confidence.
I was almost jumping with glee. If Amaterasu is able to actually fix this, I'm going to start worshiping her as my god...
W, Why is my head spinning?...
"Step aside, master. This could get mess"
"Argh!"
Suddenly, I felt an intense pain in my head like it was about to crack open. Everything around me felt like it was spinning in circles. The pain and the nausea was enough to make me collapse on the ground. Unable to even stand, all I could do was squirm on the ground like a worm, begging for the pain that I don't even know to stop.
"I, Itou!"
"Master!"
Screaming my name with shock, Chihiri immediately kneeled down and pressed my chest with both hands, trying to hold my body still. I wanted to stop, but the pain made my body move on it's own.
"ARGH!...AAAHHH!"
"Ow!"
My body kept jumping violently, like a fish out of water. And despite her efforts, Chihiri lost her grip, and I pushed her away from me. Chihiri tried to give it a second chance, but I was moving to ferociously, that she wasn't able to come near me.
"S, Stay urgh, still, man! Amaterasu, give me a hand here!"
"H, How could it... Master beetle has already fallen..."
"Damn it, come on! I need you here!"
"R, Right! Just stay calm, master! Everything's going to be alright!"
"A..Ama..."
It took all my might to say anything, and yet all I could get out were barely parts of a word. My mouth felt like it was covered by thousands of bugs, crawling around and trying to stick my lips from opening. I tried to lift my arm, but it was heavy to even lift a single finger, like my entire arm was made of metal. I put in all my strength, but it was meaningless other than making my arm shudder.
"T, This is impossible..."
"What is?!"
"Master's spiritual energy is rapidly decreasing. At this rate, almost half of his energy is going to be gone!"
"W, What do you mean? Does that mean Itou's going to die?!"
"No. However, it's going to bring an ungodly pain, that's awfully close to it. I, I still can't understand how this is happening... Hang in there, master! If I transfer my energy, some of the pain will settle down!"
"You heard Amaterasu! You're going to be alright, so don't go walking into some light, ok?!"
Amaterasu and Chihiri were no longer panicking. Working together, they were focusing everything on fixing me. Hearing and seeing the two of them trying, it was rather touching that they cared about me. But right now, I wasn't the thing that they should be focusing about.
My body was breaking apart, and yet my visions worked with no problem. It was urgent to tell Amaterasu about what I knew. But I couldn't talk, I couldn't make any gestures, basically I had no way to tell her.
The only part of the body I could move freely, were my two eyes. I opened them as much as possible. Shaking, begging for Amaterasu to understand what I'm trying to say.
"I promise you'll be fine, master."
Amaterasu was so fixed on curing me, she mistook my signs as just mere reflexes from the pain. After breathing in deeply, Amaterasu carefully put both of her hands on my chest. When Amaterasu's hand touched my chest, a warm, cozy feeling came from my chest. I could feel Amaterasu's energy flowing on to me. The pain slowly started to calm down, as well as my body.
'Come on, come on!'
My mouth no longer felt like it was stuck together, but I was still unable to talk. It was going to take only a few seconds before I could talk, but even that was taking too much time. I had to tell her. Tell Amaterasu the 'image' I'm seeing, before it's too late. Tell her to...
"WATCH OUT!"
"What?..."
THOK!
"Urgh?!"
As soon as I could speak, I screamed out as loud as possible, only to be too late.
Amaterasu froze in place, flinching as her face was in pure shock. All the sounds around us went silent, except a single bloody sound that kept ringing through our ears, like the sound of bells. Me and Chihiri wanted to scream. Our mouths were wide open, as well as our eyes, and yet we couldn't say one word, like someone ripped out our tongues.
Her eyes filled with confusion, Amaterasu seemed to be unable to comprehend on what just happened to her. She lowered her shaking eyes to look down, to see the truth for herself. But when she did, the slight hope in Amaterasu's eyes vanished without a trace. It hit Amaterasu, harder than any weapon imaginable.
All sorts of emotions ran through Amaterasu's eyes. Seeing the truth with her own eyes, made it harder for her to turn away from it.
A jagged tip of a blade, that rose from the ground. The sharp metal, piercing straight through the goddess's chest.
KUGUGUGUGUGU-
The ground began to shake wildly. An earthquake, but without no warning of it happening. Giant cracks quickly spread around the pit, as if the whole area was about to sink down into the ground. As the ground kept shaking, huge amounts of dust and debris rained down the area around us. Covering our mouth and nose from the thick dust, me and Chihiri saw 'it'.
A gigantic figure covered in dust and debris, rising from the ground. It's building sized body blocked the sunlight, and painted the area that we were on in black shadows. Overwhelmed by size, me and Chihiri who were ants compared to the figure, lifted our heads to see the figure's identity. Only to see a face that we never, ever wanted to see again.
"Ahahahaha! What's the matter? It looks like you bugs just seen a ghost!"
It's body erecting from the pit, the once thought dead Master beetle screamed out a sinister laughter, and shook the ground with only it's roaring voice.
The pit where Master beetle stood was very, VERY deep. It looked like the gigantic meteorite crater I've only seen in books, and yet the pit only came up to Master beetle's chest, even though it wasn't fully standing. To Master beetle's gigantic body, the huge pit was just a mere pool to it.
"Master... beetle!"
"T, That bug!..."
"How is that thing still alive?!"
The three of us looked in shock at Master beetle's still standing body. I just couldn't believe the nightmare that I was seeing. Amaterasu's attack was more than enough to wipe out Master beetle from the face of the earth. There was no way that Master beetle would've survived, and yet it was standing here, very much alive in front of our eyes.
"You... should be dead! There's no way you could've survived from a direct attack!"
"Haha! Well that's where you're wrong, you goddess bitch! Sure, I would've been dead if I've done nothing. But dig deep enough, the very earth becomes your armor!"
"That's impossible! You couldn't even move from the gravity press!"
"Please, my specialty IS gravity! I could've escaped from your gravity press anytime I wanted! Hell, that's the whole reason my pressure works so well than the other Megacolony freaks!"
I didn't know if Master beetle was telling the truth, or if it was spewing a bunch of lies just to mess with us. Master beetle already seemed to enjoy toying us, like it was feeling superior from everything else. However, seeing Master beetle alive was pretty sure that it wasn't lying. Sure, Master beetle was more than capable of doing so, but it didn't seem the type that would lie when it came to it's precious life.
"Then... Why pretend that you couldn't move?! You just played dead for no reason?!"
"Oh, but there WAS a reason. As much as I hate to admit it, I know when I'm over matched. If I'd moved or try to attack by surprise, you would've stopped it either way and finished me off right then and there. With my body being damaged thanks to you, the only chance that I had for a payback was to make an opening. And as history has shown, there's no better way for an opening to fools like you, than a good old fashioned fake death!"
"D, Damn you..."
"Sure there was a 'price', but what isn't in life, am I right?"
"Price? What is that thing talking abou..."
Dun! Dun!
"Huh?"
Suddenly, from inside the pit where master beetle was standing, I heard loud sounds of water echoing through the steep hills, like the same way as a dam. I thought Master beetle was scheming something, until I saw closely and found something off about it's silhouette.
Except for the arm that was used to attack Amaterasu, Master beetle's left arm was gone entirely. Little parts of the elbow was the only thing left of it's arm. The cut was so clean, it almost looked like the arm was naturally detached, rather than being cut off.
Dun!
One by one, huge drops of blood that was almost the size of a water tower, fell from Master beetle's elbow and crashed with a bang when it touched the bottom of the pit. The sounds of the blood drops kept deflecting around the pit's walls, that almost sounded like an constant echo.
"So that's what it was making these noises..."
Now that I had a closer look at Master beetle, it's state was looking FAR from 'well'. Unlike it's care free tone, Master beetle's body was covered with wounds. The hole on the stomach where Master beetle's own ribs punched out, got wider than the first time I saw it. Not to mention looking way worse and painful, with trails of half hardened blood covering up Master beetle's entire stomach and lower body.
Not only that, there were also new wounds that I haven't seen before. Large holes and cuts, looking no better than the old wounds, with details of Master beetle's insides that we didn't even hope to watch, oozing out of the open gaps.
It's arm blade was also damaged. The enormous chunk of metal that divided the whole street in two was no more. Most of the thick metal was gone, probably melted away by the laser. The size of the blade that impaled Amaterasu was no bigger than a small pole, and the shape wasn't straight but was crooked like a sculpture of a lightning bolt.
Master beetle wasn't just an arrogant bastard. It was far more cunning than we've thought. It was smart, calculative enough to fool us and even Amaterasu. Even determined to sacrifice it's own body, just for a chance to attack. There was no enemy more scarier than one who had the brawn and the brain.
The only good thing(if I could even call it that) to come up from this, was that the blade was way smaller than I dreaded. If the blade's size had been a little bigger, Amaterasu's body would've been cut in two, right then and there.
'W, What am I thinking?! There's NOTHING good about this situation, at all!'
I must be out of mind, thinking that there was a silver lining about Amaterasu getting impaled. I felt disgusted by myself, but that quickly changed. Or rather, was unable to think about it, when there were hundreds of other things that I had to worry about.
"Itou, what're we going to do? Without Amaterasu, we have no chance of fighting that thing!"
"I know! J, Just let me think!"
Chihiri's face grew dark. Her body was trembling, not knowing what she should do right know. To run away from Master beetle? Or to do something to save Amaterasu?
I could see in Chihiri's eyes, that she wanted to save Amaterasu. I also wanted the same thing, but how? Amaterasu was the only one able to fight, and she was the one who got attacked. We couldn't even give a dent to Master beetle's body, much so save Amaterasu from it. The other option was to run away, but no matter how far we try to run, one step from Master beetle was all it took to catch up with us. I wasn't even sure if we HAD options to begin with. I wanted to say something hopeful, or hell anything to Chihiri. But I couldn't say anything to her, when I didn't have the answers to tell myself.
I couldn't imagine the pain what Amaterasu must be feeling. I knew that she was different from us, but getting impaled by a jagged steel like that deep through the chest, was a death sentence no matter who they were.
'Need to think something... Just, anything! Come on!'
"I don't know about you, but I'm going to have a hell of a time ripping your so called 'master'!"
"...Not... on my... watch!"
Zlrt!
With the sound of blood splattering, Amaterasu thrust herself forward and pulled Master beetle's blade out of her chest. The blade was completely out of Amaterasu, leaving a huge gaping wound right in the middle of her chest.
"S, She's fine?!"
"But the blade's!..."
The tip of Master beetle's jagged blade was covered in Amaterasu's blood. Seeing the blade soaked in fresh red blood, sent shivers down my spine. The pain that Amaterasu had to go through to get the blade out, was too much for me to even imagine.
And even if Amaterasu survived the pain, she wasn't going to last long before the shock or the blood loss takes her toll. Unless some kind of miracle happens, we had to see the end of Amaterasu.
However...
"Amaterasu! Behind you!"
Master beetle tried to catch Amaterasu with it's giant hand while she had her back against it. She didn't even turned back, and yet Amaterasu easily dodged by swiftly moving to the side as if the attack was obvious. And without a second to even breathe, she quickly turned around and extended her hand towards Master beetle, while holding the Yata's mirror in the same hand.
Fwoosh-
Amaterasu flicked one of her finger, and suddenly Master beetle's gigantic body went flying to the side, as if it was moved by an invisible force.
BAMM!
"Argk!"
Shaking the ground with a loud thump, Master beetle crashed it's head first onto the pit's wall. Crashing hard enough to shake the ground was one thing, Master beetle crashed to the wall SO hard, that it's head was split open. The huge horn on Master beetle's head smashed to pieces as it crashed to the wall. Then large chunks of the horn's shards got lodged into it's head, as rivers of blood came pouring down and covered Master beetle's face.
DUUUUU-
Right after Master beetle got smashed into the wall, an immense force pressed the entire side of the pit, along with the giant bug. The power that flung Master beetle seemed to be a variation of Amaterasu's gravity manipulation. The walls began to crack and crumble like weak glass by the sheer force. However, unlike before, Master beetle's body wasn't crushed by the gravity and was able to move perfectly fine, supposedly it also being able to control gravity.
It was also possible for Master beetle to escape. But soon, Master beetle's 'movement' quickly turned into meaningless struggle.
"Heh, like this sort of thing can damage, Oof!"
DUM!
With a sudden spike of energy, the gravity pushed the wall with immense force, the wall's shape bent and turned into a deep crater. Master beetle's movement halted as it was stuck firmly against the wall, with the gravity pressing it's body like an invisible hand Unable to handle the pressure, Master beetle coughed out buckets of blood while broken pieces of the wall came falling down on it's head.
"Ugaaaah!"
The force of the gravity would've been massive, probably even stronger than before. If it was able to change the shape of a wide area like that in an instant, the gravity's strength was now at least ten times more powerful than last time.
With her hand still aiming at Master beetle, Amaterasu lifted her index finger. And at the same time, the wall where Master beetle was began to shake.
KUGUGUGUGU
Huge parts of the wall's debris came falling down with a thud. With it, the giant bug's body was easily lifted up in the air like it was a small doll, until it stopped in place right in front of Amaterasu's face. She knew for a fact that it was impossible for Master beetle to move, and confronted it face to face with only a few centimeters off of the bug's face.
"Did you honestly think that was the extent of my power? I may have underestimated you, but the consequences of underestimating me will mark the end of your life. And I'm afraid you just did."
"Kuu..."
Amaterasu moved her hand which held the mirror to the side. Seeing that, I was worried Master beetle's restraint was going to be gone if she stopped pointing at it. Luckily that didn't seem to be the case, as Master beetle kept floating in place even when Amaterasu moved her hand away.
Following Amaterasu's movement, the mirror in her grasp moved on it's own and floated still above her hand. Right after leaving Amaterasu's hand, the jade colored mirror began to glow red, like metal being heated up by fire. Ringing loudly, I saw red sparks flashing around the mirror. While also feeling a huge amount of spiritual energy gathering to the now turned red mirror.
"Yeah! Way to go, Amaterasu! Show that son of a bitch what you're made of!"
Jumping with glee, Chihiri cheered loudly as she was more than happy to see Amaterasu finishing off Master beetle. I mean, who wouldn't want to see the bastard who tried to kill you, finally kick the bucket? I should be cheering with Chihiri right now, but...
I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling on my chest.
"Is... she going to be ok?"
"Huh? What do you mean, Itou?"
"Amaterasu was just impaled but she's acting far too well, like that never happened. Doesn't it seem kinda weird to you? There's no way that kind of damage can be taken lightly!"
"W, Whoa, take it easy, man! I mean, are you sure? Amaterasu is a being literally out of this world. Who knows what she's capable of? No matter how you look at it she's fine, all right? We should be grateful for that rather than worry."
"Y, Yeah... Yeah you're right."
I understood where Chihiri was coming from. Amaterasu didn't show any signs that she was in pain. Even her movements haven't changed or has slowed down from Master beetle's attack. It was like Master beetle's surprise attack didn't happen in the first place. A bad dream of some sort. Just like Chihiri said, Amaterasu looked perfectly fine.
But the thing was, it was TOO fine.
The wound on Amaterasu's chest was still there, like a sign telling us that Master beetle's attack did happen. I thought Amaterasu's absent for pain was weird enough. But now I realized her Kimono was supposed to soaked in red, due to her blood loss. And yet the only red part was the chest part of the Kimono, and the rest was for the most part fine. Even the bleeding has stopped.
But the one thing that made me question all of this, was Amaterasu's face when she was being impaled. She didn't scream in agony, her face wasn't filled with pain, she was all right.
Which shouldn't make any sense, for her to look confused about it.
'If she isn't the one, what's doing this..'
"Ow..."
Suddenly, I felt a needle like sharp pain pressing my chest.
"Arm's of the sun(Solar weaponry)!"
ZZLLRRTTT!
An explosion of red energy came bursting out of Amaterasu's mirror. Filling the gap between Amaterasu and the pit's bottom in a heartbeat, which was at least a hundred meters, the laser like stream of energy kept going until stopping right before it could penetrate the earth. The bottom part of the energy stream had a sharp triangular point. When Amaterasu lifted the mirror along with the energy stream with ease, I quickly realized the whole energy was a huge blade. It was two times more bigger than Master beetle's already gigantic body. The output of the stream's energy was unbelievable. It felt like I was standing in front of an enormous energy plant. Just feeling it made my body shake like crazy.
'If that's strong as the laser before, Master beetle doesn't stand a chanc'
"Urgh!"
A second wave of pain struck my chest. Except this time it was much more painful than the one before.
"You say something, Itou?"
"N, Nothing..."
I pressed my chest while shaking my head, pretending like it was nothing. I mean, I was able to handle the pain and I had better things to do than alert Chihiri. With no idea what 'this' was, I pressed my chest more harder and hoped this pain would quickly fade like the last one.
Just what is causing this pain?
"I hope this brings you the pain you deserve."
"Kekekeke..."
A low creepy laughter echoed around the pit. It was coming from Master beetle, which sounded weird with it's mouth filled with blood by getting crushed by the intense gravity.
"What could be so funny for you to laugh at this situation?"
"Because, I know that you're dying to seek answers, which so happens that I know."
"There is nothing that I want to know what's in your head. If that's all, say goodbye to this eart"
"It's kinda weird that my blade doesn't hurt that much, does it?"
Amaterasu flinched. At the same time the huge energy blade stopped in it's track, right before it could strike Master beetle's head. With the blade being close to it's face, Master beetle's menacing grin glowed bright red by the energy's light.
"H, How do you know..."
"Getting interested, are we? In fact, you were expecting the gut wrenching pain to come, but was a little surprised when it didn't and probably asked yourself, 'why doesn't this hurt when my stomach just lost it's 'first time'?"
"Is... Is this one of your doings? Answer me! What did you do to me!"
Amaterasu was almost screaming at Master beetle while asking it for explanations. She moved the blade right in front of Master beetle's face and demanded it to talk.
SSSZZZZ-
With a sizzling sound, the blade's enormous energy burned the side of Master beetle's face when it wasn't even touching it. The pain of one's face being cooked like meat, was something I didn't want to even imagine for a second. And yet, Master beetle kept smiling as if it the pain wasn't a problem. Was it enjoying the pain, or something else?
"Oh, no no no no no. It's not what 'I've' done. It's what YOU'VE done to yourself. And your precious master."
"W, What I've done?... That's ridiculous! What could I possibly do to harm myself, or my master?! Do not dare lie to me!"
Growing tired of Master beetle's lies, Amaterasu moved the blade even closer to the bugs face, to the point that it was mere centimeters away from being stabbed. With the blade being close, the heat that was burning Master beetle also rose and part of it's face began to turn black like charcoal.
"Itou, what did that bug say?"
"That... Amaterasu did something to me."
"What, that's bullshit! That bug's just spewing lies out of it's ass! Right, Itou?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, there's no way Amaterasu wouldAAHHKK!"
Without a chance to react, I screamed at the top of my lungs. Out of nowhere, the pain on my chest struck again. Only this time, it was the worst pain I've ever felt in my entire life. The intense pain fried my brain, and I couldn't feel a bit of strength in my body. I collapsed immediately while my hands were buried to my chest.
Breathing was impossible as well as standing still. I squirmed on the ground like a worm, unable to stop as if my body wasn't my own, while gasping for air that I couldn't take in my lungs. Everything in my head turned to black. All I could do was scream out my lungs. Closing my mouth wasn't an option. The loud screams coming out of my mouth were like hands that were trying to open up my jaw so it could come out.
With all my uncontrollable screaming, there was no way that Chihiri and Amaterasu wouldn't notice it.
"Itou! W, What's the matter?! Talk to me!"
"M, Master?... Master!"
"Told ya."
"Y, You bastard! What have you done to my master?!"
"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not responsible for that. Although, I do know what's going to happen next. 3...2..."
"Arrghhh!... Arrggghhhhhhh!"
My back jumped to the sky as the pain suddenly grew ten folds. That moment, I felt something. Something I shouldn't be feeling. Something that doesn't belong where it should be. Something sharp and hard. Something moving...
Inside me...
"1."
Splat-
I could hear the sound of blood splatter ringing through my eardrums. Fearing the worst, I lifted my head towards Chihiri and Amaterasu. But Chihiri was fine with no wounds on her. And Amaterasu's chest wound was still strangely fine as usual.
However their eyes were shaking, and filled with fear as they were looking at me.
'They're... okay... But then, who is...'
Something warm was dripping down from my torso. My chest was burning hot like I had a bad fever. Then a bone chilling feeling ran down my spine as I realized something. After taking a small gulp, I pressed my hesitation and looked down to face the truth.
"Ah..."
My mind froze when I saw 'it'. A huge gaping wound right in the middle of my chest. It just happened out of nowhere. The injuries I had so far were bruises at best. There was nothing around me that could cause this. I wasn't stabbed or attacked by anything, and yet my chest was opened by itself, with extreme, real life pain of being stabbed.
I felt a faint taste of blood in my mouth, which was followed by the sickening feeling of nausea.
"Ugehh!"
The bitter smell and taste of blood filled my mouth and nose, while I hurled out bucket loads of blood. Every bit of my strength were being drained out of my body. The nonstop pain was getting numb, but it didn't mean good news. It meant my body was shutting down and brought a dark, chilling feeling that I've never felt before, but knew what it was at the same time. The feeling of death.
"N, No... S, Stay with me! Stay with me, you dumbass! K, Keep breathing! Just try to stay awake, you hear me?! Stay awake! Amaterasu! Help him, please!"
Chihiri was shaking my body with all my might to make me stay awake. But I was barely able to feel Chihiri's touch. With my body getting number and number, Chihiri's hands were like fog, that felt like it was going through me rather than touching me.
"T, This isn't happening... Why is master... My job is to keep Master safe and..."
"I must say, you really suck at your job."
"I, It's... standing?!"
Chihiri looked shocked as she saw Master beetle standing tall with it's two feet. There was no way Master beetle was able to overpower Amaterasu's gravity. And there was no way in hell that Amaterasu lost focus and let it go by mistake.
Then what happened? How is it able to stand?
"You... you did that to master! I'll kill you, you wretched bug!"
Amaterasu didn't seem to care if Master beetle was free suddenly from her gravity. All she seemed to care was to chop up Master beetle until it became minced bug meat. She fiercely thrust the gigantic energy blade towards Master beetle's head.
Pzzt-
Only to disappear without a trace. The huge stream of energy that was as big as Master beetle was gone in an instant, like a candlelight being blown out by the wind.
Amaterasu's eyes were shaking, as they were glued to the mirror on her hand. She kept thrusting her hand out front to try again but to no avail. The light that was almost as bright as the sun has faded without a trace. And the mirror that launched devastating attacks which changed the very landscape, was now no more than a useless old relic.
Seeing Amaterasu's meaningless struggle, made Master beetle's smile to stretch all the way to the top of it's cheeks.
"Well Well Well, looks like the tables have turned hasn't it?"
"Kuh!..."
Amaterasu was floating right in front of Master beetle's eyes in a completely helpless state. Without the means to attack Master beetle, she was vulnerable as an ant under a boot.
Master beetle seemed like it'll rip up Amaterasu into tiny pieces any second now. But somehow in the middle of moving it's hand, Master beetle just stood there and retreated it's hand. We didn't know why. It was like Master beetle just suddenly lost all interest of doing so.
"Shit, I guess it's too late to do anything. It's a damn 'shame'."
"What... do you mean by 'shame'?..."
Master beetle clicked it's tongue while saying in a tone filled with hate. It wasn't like Master beetle to show any signs of mercy to anything. We couldn't understand Master beetle's actions.
Until something weird was happening to Amaterasu.
"A, Amaterasu! Y, Your body!"
"My... body?..."
Followed by Chihiri's loud cry, Amaterasu lowered her head to see herself. When she set her eyes to her body, Amaterasu's face was shadowed with shock, confusion, and most of all fear.
"W, What?... What is... happening?..."
Amaterasu's body was starting to fade. We didn't know when it even started, but the process was fast. From her fingertips to her hand, Amaterasu's form quickly became hollow. The sunlight no longer touched Amaterasu's hand, but went through her like a ghost.
I tried feeling Amaterasu's spiritual energy. And sure enough, Amaterasu's energy was quickly drained from her body like water evaporating into air. Seeing Amaterasu long enough made me realize, that her current state looked almost the same as her spiritual form.
'Is that... Is that because of me?... That I can't provide her enough energy?'
It was the most likely answer. If I had the strength left, I wanted to bite down my own tongue. I was the problem. She could've won but lost because of me. If I was more stronger, Amaterasu would've finished Master beetle once and for all. If only I had the guts to not hold her back when it meant the most. But no, I was too weak for that to even happen.
I was... a failure. One that didn't deserve to be called Master by her...
"N, No... If I disappear, Master and Chihiri sama will be..."
"Oh, come on! Still playing dumb? I mean, I've been called heartless more times than I can remember, but I at least admit it when I do! Don't tell me you're going soft now, when you made your own master ignore the 'steps'! This is just reaping what you've sow."
"S, Steps? What... What're you talking about? What steps?!"
"What're YOU talking about? The steps that you... Hold on a second."
The smile on Master beetle's face disappeared. Master beetle slightly tilted it's head while looking dumb founded by Amaterasu's question. Master beetle didn't move or let out a word. It just stared at Amaterasu while keeping it's lips sealed tight.
"P, PUHAHAHAHAHA! Now this is rich! This bitch really doesn't know a single thing! I've seen a lot of idiots, but you! You take the cake! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"S, Steps?... What is... Explain this now!"
I kept expecting that Master beetle was lying to her. Amaterasu didn't seem like the one who was short on knowledge. There was no way someone could lead a mega cooperation like Oracle think tank if they weren't bright. In fact, from all the things I've heard from her, she was down right a genius.
Compared to that, Master beetle talked and acted no more than a mere thug. Which would be the case, seeing it was from Megacolony. A thug that knows more than a CEO of a successful company, was like hearing a bad joke.
And yet, Amaterasu honestly didn't seem to know what Master beetle was talking about. What in the world was this so called steps about, that was so clear to the likes of Master beetle, and not someone like Amaterasu?
"Well I guess I should tell you! As a farewell gift for someone who fabulously kicked their own bucket."
"Kick... my own bucket?..."
"Even your shitty brain would know that we need spiritual energy in order to be materialized. Normally you need to make a pact with a psyqualia user who can provide enough spiritual energy. But as you can see, there ARE other ways if you just use a bit of imagination."
Master beetle snickered, as if it was bragging about the ways how 'it' got materialized. By milking out spiritual energy from humans like cattle until they were dead. I truly didn't want to believe that an inhuman method existed, and even worked.
"Do not dare call your horrid ways imaginative!"
"Using people like they're disposable batteries? Just how fucked in the head are you to think that's right?!"
"Oh, please. Do I look like the type that gives a fuck about ethics? At least know your audience when you talk shit like that."
Master beetle rolled it's eyes and scoffed, like it was hearing something completely meaningless. Expecting any form of empathy from Master beetle was like trying to talk to a brick wall.
"As I was saying. Spiritual energy is the vital key to do anything on this planet. But not all units are required the same amount of energy. The needed energy is differed by the unit's individual strength. And of course, the stronger the unit, the more energy is needed in order to materialize. In our form of cards, I believe our strength is measured by..."
"Grades..."
"Well look at that. Congratulations, you're not an absolute idiot."
"What? So the card's grade aren't just there for game mechanics?"
Chihiri took out a vanguard card from her pocket and stared at the number written on the top left corner. So that's what it meant. Truth be told, it sounded something what a conspiracy nut would say. A literal power level for beings for beings from outer space? I doubt nobody, not even the makers of the card game would've known about this.
"You see, there are grades starting from zero to three. And..."
"Enough! Those are things that anyone from Cray would know! What is the meaning for saying it again?!"
Amaterasu was furious of Master beetle's blatant explanation. She was extremely anxious about the time she had very little left. Her arms were gone and almost half of her torso have already become hollow. If her fate was to be sealed, Amaterasu was making sure that she would listen to the answer to the very end.
Or it could've been to give us a chance to escape, while she was making Master beetle to keep talking and to make it focus only on her. However we weren't going to go very far with me not being able to even stand.
Master beetle didn't care one bit if Amaterasu was upset or not. Master beetle's shoulders shook as if it was holding in it's laughter. Soon after that, it stared right into Amaterasu's face with a huge grin.
"Then you'll also know about the 'side effects' that happens from calling high grade units, hm?"
"...Eh?... W, What do you... mean... side effects?..."
Hearing Master beetle's words, Amaterasu's fierce attitude was gone like fire being put out by water. Her face turned pale white like she was freezing cold. Master beetle's smile grew bigger knowing Amaterasu was unable to say anything. With nothing to interrupt, Master beetle continued talking.
"G...G...Go..."
I kept pushing Chihiri's arm with very little strength I've got, to at least make her save herself. In my condition right now, I was nothing than dead weight to her, and seeing her die because of me was the last damn thing I wanted. Even though it was clear that Chihiri got the message, she ignored me and acted like she didn't know.
If this was her way of being a good friend, she was going way too overboard. I didn't want to die, but just thinking about Chihiri dying was more painful than all the pain I had to withstand.
"Can't talk? And here I thought you knew everything. Very well then, here's a valuable wisdom that you'll take it with your grave."
Master beetle pointed Amaterasu with the tip of it's jagged arm blade and started to talk. But for some reason, Master beetle's voice suddenly became shaky, like it was freezing from sheer cold. It was either that, or Master beetle just became brain dead.
"The... penalty of... calling a grade...3 directly... is... is... is..."
But then, I saw Master beetle's shoulders shaking more lively than other parts of it's body. I felt like I've seen that reaction before, and then realized what it was.
It was laughter. Specifically muffled laughter, when someone, or something was trying pretend to not laugh.
Master beetle's limit was broken when it continued it's word. With nothing to hold back, Master beetle's maniacal laughter roared loudly like the sound of a thunderbolt.
"AHAHAHAHAHA! The penalty of...pu... a direct grade 3 materialization is... wasting almost half of the supporting side's spiritual energy down the drain! And... And... while also... Kaha!... Overcharging the link of both units and pioneer, causing your 'precious' master to suffer the exact pain or damage YOU feel! KUHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"...Wha...What?..."
Amaterasu's confused words were so quiet it was like mumbling to herself. Her body was trembling like crazy. She didn't talk, or even show any other reactions besides standing still like a statue.
Or rather, Amaterasu seemed to be in so much shock, that it was like the whole concept of 'reaction' had just been erased from her head. It didn't help that her voice was silenced by the loud sound of Master beetle's fists striking down the ground, along with it's roaring laughter.
"I, I mean... you have to be a complete idiot to skip the steps and 'override' a grade 3 unit! At first I thought there was a grade 2 unit in hiding, but nope! KHAHAHAHA! Isn't this the best irony, or what?! This dumb bitch won't shut up and says master this, master that! A, And she's... oh my god! THE WHOLE FUCKING REASON WHY HER FUCKING MASTER IS GOING TO DIE! PURE! COMEDY! GOLD!"
"N, No... It's not true! You're just making this up!"
Amaterasu violently shook her head in denial. Master beetle tried to say something, but it was out of breath from all the laughter. After taking a second to breath, Master beetle scoffed at Amaterasu and started talking.
"Pfff. As if. I'll have you know that I practiced a lot to figure that out."
Master beetle then turned it's head towards Chihiri.
"Hey bug. You know anything about accidents happening recently? For example... several missing humans?"
"Oh my god... D, Don't tell me that's..."
"Like I said. A LOT of practice."
Chihiri took a huge gulp as her face turned white in terror. The missing person's case that sensei was talking about. The constant news on television. That was all happening because of these bugs. The thought of those innocent people, becoming live test subjects to these monsters, sent horrific chills to my body that felt like I was frozen solid.
Amaterasu saw Chihiri's face and realized that Master beetle wasn't lying.
"That means... master is... hurt... because of... me... I did..."
Muttering to herself, Amaterasu looked down at her own two hands. The truth hit Amaterasu more harder than she, or we've thought. Amaterasu slowly turned her head back and looked at me. When she saw me in the state I am, the last bit of light in Amaterasu's eyes vanished. Drops of tears ran down on Amaterasu's beautiful eyes.
Her eyes that sparkled like gems lost it's light it once had. I felt Amaterasu's emotions by looking back at her eyes.
Despair.
Regret.
Fear.
And deep, deep sorrow towards me.
"A...ma...Kupk!.."
"Itou, stop! Your wound's going to spread even more!"
I forcibly opened my mouth to talk. But moving a single muscle caused my wound to leak more blood like a faucet. My chest certainly felt painful. But the thing that was truly killing me from the inside wasn't the wound. The wounds on my chest was only split once. My heart was constantly splitting over and over.
"..ra...su..."
Amaterasu didn't deserve to feel those painful emotions. She wasn't the reason that I was suffering. I wanted. I had to tell Amaterasu that this wasn't her fault. But the shocks from the pain squeezed my lungs and throat over and over. It was near impossible to get out a simple sentence when I had to constantly breathe with all my might, just to not get choked by my own blood which kept rising up from my throat.
Amaterasu's time was up. Her whole body was now transparent like a ghost. Everything below Amaterasu's waist was gone, and the rest of her body was quickly being erased like millions of bugs were eating away at her existence. Standing in front of her, Master beetle was folding it's fingers one by one, while humming happily as it was counting down the seconds that Amaterasu had left.
"Don't worry. I'll take goo~~~~d care of those two. We'll have a REAL good time."
I reached out my hand. I prayed for a power that I didn't have. A power that I didn't even know that was inside me, that could let me stand, fix everything that what was happening. I didn't care what it was. Something... Anything that could stop Amaterasu from disappearing. I cried, cried, cried, cried in my painful head for a miracle.
But no matter how many times I called out for help, I was still a pathetic runt that couldn't even lift himself up from the ground.
My hand was out, but for what? I couldn't catch her from disappearing, or comfort her from all the fear she was feeling. All I could do was barely breathe and watch, until Amaterasu was gone in front of my eyes.
I was helpless.
"Master... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm"
"Buh bye~"
When Master beetle folded it's last finger, Amaterasu's form vanished without a trace. The little bit of hope that I believed in even to the end. Just maybe. Just maybe that Amaterasu might not disappear, came crashing down on my head like a tower of cards.
"Amaterasu... She, she can't be gone..."
Devastated, Chihiri kept looking at the place where Amaterasu was. For me, I didn't know what to think or what to believe. Even, know everything seemed to be a bad dream. Or at least that was what I dearly hoped right now. However, it didn't take long for reality to put us back in our place.
"Now, now, now... What should I..uh... do with my favorite..ah... duo?"
With Amaterasu gone, there was nothing stopping Master beetle from doing what it desired. We were under Amaterasu's protection this whole time, that we forgot just how terrifying it was to stand against an unwinnable foe. With nothing to fear, Master beetle with a grinning smile on it's face, turned it's body towards us and stepped forward. At the same time, it reached out it's hand that quickly shadowed us from above.
The hands were big as huge circus tents. Even if we started to run now, we wouldn't be even close from escaping the hand's radius. There was no telling what those hands would do to us, if it didn't squash and kill us in a blink of an eye.
"Fast? Slow? Painful? Oh, so much to choos"
RIP!
The first thing to reach my ears was a grotesque ripping sound. I thought I've died so fast that I didn't even notice it, but that wasn't the case. The noise came from Master beetle's direction. After taking one step, the giant bug suddenly lost it's balance and fell forward into the pit. We were about to be squashed by Master beetle's hand, but due to it's body falling down the hand barely missed us and went over our heads, smashing the street right next to us instead. The hand's fingers sunk deep into the concrete as it was trying to grab on. But eventually the fingers were quickly pulled back by Master beetle's tremendous weight and was dragged into the pit.
"AHHHHH! FUCK! FUCK! WHY THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT HAPPENING TO ME?!"
Master beetle's curses roared inside the pit. Along with it's anger and hatred, Master beetle's voice sounded like it was in pain. I didn't know what happened, but it was wise to not stay here and figure it out. Not that I was able to do that in my condition.
"Alright, now's our chance! Ugh! Up and at em! We gotta run as far as we can before it gets out that pit!"
Chihiri moved hastily. She grabbed my arm with both hands and pulled me up from the ground. While pulling me up, she looked back and forward to me and the pit to check on Master beetle. After that, Chihriri hung my arm onto her shoulder and walked while supporting my body weight.
Due to my weak condition, Chihiri was basically dragging my body all by herself. Even if we were running non stop right now, I wasn't even sure if we were able to outrun from Master beetle's sight. Chihiri was doing the best she can, but with me being dead weight we were moving no faster than snails.
"C..hi..."
"I said stop talking! If we just... find a good place... to hide, Master beetle will just go past us! We're... going to make it! You know that I don't... give up on things that matter to me! So... shut up and stay awake!"
Chihiri said it with confident smile on her face, but her breathing was too heavy to fool me. Drops of sweat was dripping from Chihiri's cheeks, and her movement was getting slower and slower compared to when she started to carry me.
Part of me was touched that Chihiri hadn't given up in me. However, she wasn't going to make it while carrying me. It was a cruel answer, but it was the truth. I knew it, and she knew it.
"As long as Master beetle's screaming in that pit, we have a chance"
BOOOOOM!
With a huge boom, a sudden earthquake stopped us right at our tracks. We lost balance and right before we hit the ground, our bodies were blown back by a huge gust of wind and dust.
"Arrgh!..."
"Ah!"
A sharp pain hit my back when I tumbled on to the ground. My body leaped barely a meter off the ground, but my backbone already felt like it was going to split in two. Not only did my body get weak to the point of not being able to move, the pain that I was feeling got amplified as well.
The gray dust cloud that came with the wind, thickly covered the area around us. I couldn't tell what just happened, or what was going on.
"Itou! Oh thank god you're still breathing..."
Despite us being blown away, Chihiri landed right next to me. It was probably thanks to her grabbing my arm with a firm grip. I was relieved to see her without any new injuries. Chihiri also checked me out to see if I was hurt, and she let out a relaxed sigh to see I was fine.
The fading sunlight penetrated through the fading dust cloud. We were able to see things again, as the dust cloud was fading away pretty quickly. Now that we can see where we're going, Chihiri grabbed and pulled my arms to lift me up again.
"All right, Itou! Get ready to move again so hang in there!"
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Wha..."
When the dust finally cleared, Master beetle's face appeared right in front of us. Huge drops of black blood was dripping from it's torn up face. We were looking at Master beetle's face dead on, because it wasn't standing.
Or rather, was 'unable' to stand.
"T, The legs are..."
"Not much to see, is there? IS THERE?!"
Both of Master beetle's legs were gone. It wasn't cut with a knife or something, but brutally ripped off. The part that was left was Master beetle's upper thigh. Below that was a smashed endoskeleton surrounding a butchered mess of flesh and muscles. Fountains of black blood was flooding out from the ripped out wound at least five times more than it's face.
"Ugh!... I just take one step, and my legs get chopped off?! That fucking bitch, with her goddamn laser! How the hell did it sever my legs without me even knowing it?!"
'So that's the reason why Master beetle was screaming in the pit...'
"W, Wow. Talk about a counterattack..."
Even after she was gone, Amaterasu was able to land a last blow to Master beetle.
But how was it 'here'? Without it's legs, there was no way that it was able to get out of that pit. It didn't even come at us from the ground, like when it hid from Amaterasu's laser. The dust cloud just now was Master beetle's doing. To do that, it had to fall from the sky. Not to mention, from a very considerable height like a meteor.
"How the hell did you get out of that hole?!"
Chihiri asked the question that I was unable to do.
"Gravity manipulation has multiple uses other than squashing fools. Although, never thought there would be a day that I'd launch myself with it."
Even without it's legs, Master beetle was still able to move.
'This is bad...'
Master beetle was stubborn as all hell. Every time it seemed to be over, Master beetle kept on standing up to block our path. In this case, it was quite literal. We couldn't move forward, or anywhere with it's giant body blocking the path.
Three of Master beetle's limbs were severed from it's body, with only it's right arm remaining. It was a miracle that Master beetle was still alive. At this point, it was a breathing hunk of meat. However, that hunk of meat was still able to crush us like it was nothing. With nowhere to run, we were standing right in the middle of it's anger filled gaze.
"You know what? Fuck this. Fuck ALL of this! I'm getting nothing but shit luck today, and all of that is happening because I'm fighting you two fuckers. So fuck it. I don't fucking care about any pioneers anymore. All I want now, is seeing you two bugs turn into bloody stains on my hand."
Master beetle temper was out of control. It forgot, or rather didn't care anymore about it's purpose. Finding a pioneer wasn't it's goal anymore, but to kill us as painfully as possible. Without any hesitation, Master beetle raised it's one arm. The arm alone covered us in a thick shadow. The jagged blade on it's arm shined, as it reflected the fading sunlight.
"R...u...n..."
I pushed, pushed, and kept pushing Chihiri's arm. Telling her, begging her to leave me. If she didn't run now, Master beetle's blade was going to squash her body along with me. Flesh, bones, intestines, every part of us were going to turn into unrecognizable mush. Even after that, Master beetle will keep on pounding down our remains with it's hand like a madman, until there was nothing left of us.
That was going to happen. Since that is the vision I'm seeing.
But if Chihiri moves right now, she could avoid that. She could even get a chance to run away, when Master beetle was too busy breaking every part of my body.
"So this is it... I'm going to..."
Even when I'm saying Chihiri to go, truth be told I was scared out of my mind right now. All my life was ahead of me, and I was going to die here just because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
But not Chihiri, Chihiri had nothing to do with this fight. She deserved her full life. And I'm sure she'll find another friend better than me.
Just like she 'saved' me, this time it was my turn to save Chihiri. Make her realize that she'll survive if she leaves me here. I kept pushing until something stopped me.
"I'm your friend, man. And friends don't leave their friends alone. I ain't leaving you even if it kills me!"
Chihiri held on to my hand with a tight grip. No matter what I do, Chihiri made up her mind to stay with me. She stood up in front of me, spreading her arms and legs while glaring at Master beetle.
"You're gonna have to go through me, you son of a bitch! I'm not gonna let you lay a finger on him, you hear me?!"
"Arrogant piece of!... Fine, THEN FUCKING DIE!"
Master beetle's blade came rushing down at us. Our bodies were pressed by tons of air made by Master beetle's arm. There was nothing left to do but wait for the inevitable. Even in the brink of death, Chihiri didn't move a single step away from where she stood. I couldn't bare to watch. I closed my eyes as the shadow grew darker and darker at every passing millisecond.
And I waited, for my life's clock to stop.
Well, crap. Looks like I'm going to take the award for worst writer ever. I got nothing to say but sorry. Like reeeaaaallllyyy sorry.
Anyways, there it is. The super dickish monster that's called Master beetle! The crime organization, Megacolony's gonna eat you up!
Wait, why am I saying this?
BTW: Would really appreciate comments. Like, REALLY... So lonely!