Far East Branch Headquarters - Den Lobby
Neo paced back and forth, eyes watching the clock hand with every movement as it ticked around the face. By now, she had done a lap across every hallway, every stairwell, and hall in the building. It had been well over four hours since they had left for their mission with no news. She knew because she had watched through the window as the sun drifted across the sky. No updates. No radio calls. No, nothing. A fact that didn't sit well with the New Type. At all.
It didn't take this long to clear an area, not with their team compositions. Soma and Alisa alone would have been able to handle the entire northern section even without Kota there as support. Ichiro and Sakuya would have little trouble with the south; and as much as she was loathe to admit it, Utsugi was a formidable foe in his own right. It just didn't make any sense. She was growing restless. A feeling of dread began to wash over her like an ocean wave, accelerating her downward spiral. Pointed fangs pierced into her bottom lip when the clock chimed. She couldn't take it anymore. Something had gone wrong. She just knew it.
Looking over the railing, she eyed the back of Hibari's head at the counter. Her fingers were moving rapidly against the keys… a dangerous sign.
The operator's fingers moved frantically, her eyes looking worriedly at the heat map. Something was happening, she knew, she just had no way to tell what; their technology could only track the Nova's Oracle signature so far. But she knew for a fact they must have found it, especially when their beacons went dark. Three failed attempts to reach them, and her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest. Panicked, she tried to contacted the First Unit once more, breathing a sigh of relief when she got an answer.
"Thank heaven you're back! We lost contact with Soma's team. We've had no coms and no visual since they went dark. I'll ping their last known location. Go find them!"
Typing the hot keys, she summoned the information to her screen, transferring it to the unit. Focused entirely on her work, she felt a sudden jolt, the hairs on the back of her neck rising to the sky. It was as though a dark presence had appeared, hovering right behind her. It felt like a scene from an old horror movie, where if she turned around, she would come face to face with the devil itself. A slight woosh of hair blew past her, startling her into turning. But when she spun there was nothing there. Only the sound of footsteps confirmed that anything had been there at all, rapidly moving toward the stairwell. But by the time she had spun around once more, the door was swinging closed.
Stunned, Hibari slowly turned back to her PC and returned to her work.
. . .
Far East Branch Headquarters - Weapons Hangar
"Bwah!" Licca nearly fell over when the New Type burst through the doors, sliding to a stop a few feet from her machine.
"Where is it?" Neo demanded.
"What?"
"My God Arc. Where is it?" The engineer stared at her in dazed confusion, her mind still trying to recover from the situational whiplash. Her silence lasted a moment too long, jumping when Neo snarled at her. "Licca, I swear to whatever gods exist, if you don't answer me in the next three seconds, I am breaking down that door. Damn the orders and damn the consequences, where is my weapon?!"
Jolting back to reality, she stammered. "I-It's finished! The final diagnostic should be finishing in just a moment!" The look of pure venom in her eyes made her take a few steps back from her, holding her hands up in surrender. Since their last meeting, Licca had found herself feeling a bit nervous around the volatile New Type. And even more so after having a discussion with Sakaki. She hadn't learned much, but she had learned enough to know not to make her angry.
As if answering the call of its master, the machine beeped and snapped open with a hiss. The lid raised, revealing the shining new weapon, glittering with sheen. It had been almost entirely rebuilt, pristine as the day she first received it. The scythe's blade looked sharp enough to slice the air itself. The shield was smooth and reflective, and Neo could all but feel the energy radiating from it. Her partner. She could tell from the Oracle responses alone; it was as eager to return to battle as she was. It was just as well; she didn't have time to admire it. Both of them had a job to do. Grabbing the handle, she wrenched her scythe from its chamber.
"Oh, before you go, there was a malfunction in the settings, so I fixed the —" Licca attempted to brief her on the weapon's new features, but she went unheard. Without another word, she turned and bolted for the doors, disappearing on the other side. They closed behind her leaving the engineer alone in the room. "…devour function," she finished, muttering into the empty hangar.
Neo was a blur rushing through the city streets. People yelped and leapt out of her way as she made a beeline straight for the wall. She had no time to wait for their transport; she could outrun them anyway. The coordinates she had gotten from Hibari's screen fresh in her mind, she ran at full speed. She wasn't sure exactly where they led, but she knew how to get to the Tranquil Temple. She could follow the Oracle cells when she arrived. The guards jumped, stepping aside as she blew past. Neo didn't even wait for the gates to fully open, slipping between the crack and out into the open fields. The moment her feet hit the dirt, she was gone, radiating with energy, pushing herself into Burst.
. . .
Tranquil Temple
Captain, we've got the Nova right here! It — have spotted us, so — er — ick!
Those were the last things Lenka had heard before their signal had gone silent. The three God Eaters of Team 2 walked slowly through the city streets, keeping an eye out for any sign of their target. Their allies were in danger, they knew. But without any way of tracking them, they had no way to assist them. They were contemplating their next move when their question was answered in the worst way possible. Hibari's voice came through the radios sounding nothing short of panicked.
"Do you hear me?! Anyone?!"
Lenka activated his radio. "What's wrong?"
"Thank heaven you're back! We lost contact with Soma's team. We've had no coms and no visual since they went dark. I'll ping their last known location. Go find them!"
Receiving the data, Lenka nodded to his teammates. "Let's move!" Following his lead, Sakuya and Ichiro took off at a sprint toward the provided coordinates, praying they weren't too late.
By the time the trio found them, they felt their mouths fall to the ground below. The scene was utter decimation, their teammates littered across the area like strewn debris. Off in the middle of the street, Alisa lay unmoving. Not far, wedged into a wall, lay Kota, unmoving. In the center was Soma, glaring at their adversary with unimaginable disdain. It looked as though his weapon was the only thing holding him upright. And within seconds, that was proven to be exactly the case.
"D-Damn… you…" with those final words, Soma collapsed to the ground, and didn't move again.
The situation couldn't possibly get any worse. Ichiro scowled, looking at the creature as it snarled down at him. Though he couldn't see any immediate outward signs of mutation, with the frosted tips at the edge of its hair, he knew. It had definitely absorbed the Prithvi Mata. And now, it had taken out their entire squadron, including the strongest among them. The situation already looked unwinnable.
But they couldn't afford to falter. Their teammates' lives hung in the balance. And if not them, the entire Far East. Utsugi gripped his Long Sword, shifting his grip to an offensive one. He gave the slightest turn of his head to his fellow swordsman. "Let's go."
"You got it."
"I'll cover you." Sakuya declared, loading her bullets.
The monster wasted no time; it seemed its patience for playing with its food had finally run out. Immediately, large shards of divine spikes were launching in their direction, shattering into ice crystals on impact. The two melee soldiers evaded them, skirting around the projectiles and closing in. Lenka was the first to reach it, bringing down his blade across the Nova's face. The ear-grating sound of metal on a hardened surface screeched through the area. It did nothing. He hadn't even pierced the hide. Ichiro was next, sliding beneath a swiping paw and attempting an uppercut along its soft underbelly. Like his captain's, the blade slid right along without a scratch. Not so soft after all.
A loud bang drew both men scattering moments before the impact. Sakuya fired a perfectly aimed bullet, right at the back of its head. But it was no use, the creature launching out of the way before it exploded on impact leaving a crater in the snow. The Nova was fast. Very fast. The two sword wielders backed away, holding their weapons steady in preparation. Then, taking a single look at the Aragami, they nearly dropped them. Their adversary stared them down with utter malice and its body didn't have a single scratch. Not so much as a tiny one. Their attacks had done absolutely nothing. It just looked irritated. Like they were a group of mosquitos wearing on its last nerve. Maybe they were. At this point, they definitely felt like it. But one thing was certain.
There was no way they could win against something like this.
"Nothing's breaking through!" Sakuya growled, stepping back at the sound of the monster's echoing roar. From within its gaping maw, a light began to form from within. Turning, the three soldiers scattered, narrowly avoiding a glowing ball of sparking divine energy. Ichiro watched the sphere pass, impacting and utterly demolishing a nearby building. Turning back, he looked on with horror to find the Nova… smirking at him? It was the most disturbing thing he had ever seen. Yeah. There was no way they could allow this thing to continue growing.
But there was nothing they could do. Their attacks were useless against it; it had already incapacitated half of their entire unit. He was relieved that the tweaks on his shield were apparently functioning normally, but that didn't matter if he couldn't even scratch the surface. A tactical retreat was quickly looking like their only viable option, which now left them with a dilemma; the challenge of figuring out how they were going to get their fallen teammates to safety. Considering the monster was pacing in front of Alisa's body, almost possessively, that was looking impossible.
In short… they were royally screwed.
"Not looking good, guys…" Lenka muttered, bracing himself as the Nova lowered itself to the ground.
Ichiro sighed, readying his blade again. If this was to be the end, he was going to have an eternity of suffering. Because whenever Neo finally joined him in the afterlife, she would never forgive him. With determination, he stepped forward, prepared to charge and then…
"Huh?" he paused, a familiar sensation rising in his chest. He could feel his senses alighting, like little sparks dancing through his nerves. His Oracle cells were activating. That could only mean one thing. "Oh no…"
The Nova opened its mouth again, prepared to summon another strike. Then, it stumbled, a small object slamming against the side of its face with the force of a large truck. By the time it turned, Neo had moved again, sliding around it, and flipping her scythe in a series of slashes, one, two, and three. Each grazed harmlessly across the surface. Just like before, her weapon had no effect.
"Neo!" Sakuya gasped, quickly shifting strategies to provide support.
With their final teammate, their enhanced New Type on the field, the battle would shift in their favor. They might actually have a chance of winning this. That was what they dearly hoped. To their dismay, that quickly turned out not to be the case. Her God Arc had the same efficacy as their own, scraping against the Nova's stubborn hide. At the very least, she was giving it a run for its money, but without any way to deliver a fatal blow she was only buying time. Even she would tire eventually. Lenka, shifted into gun form, firing an Aragami bullet to empower his teammate. Yet still, it was no use.
What on earth were they going to do now?
From the sidelines, Soma groaned, slowly lifting his head. He still had some energy left in him, though not any fight. The sound drew his teammate's attention, her golden eye locking momentarily with his blue. Neo felt her entire body turn cold, suddenly taking in the severity of their situation. All of her allies were lifeless, scattered across the battlefield; save Soma who was one gentle breeze away from joining them. Her lips pulled up in a ferocious snarl, turning back to the culprit.
Enraged, she growled with new vigor before launching forward. Her teammates followed her, providing what support they could — which was effectively none aside from providing distraction to prevent her taking too much focus. Even with all four of them, it was hopeless. Their weapons just weren't working on their opponent. Perhaps an empowered weapon could help, she wondered. Time to turn it up a notch.
Frustrated, Neo slid around it, clamping her weapon onto the side of its leg, and activating her Devour. Then, she jolted, eyes growing wide as she felt adrenaline pump through every inch of her body. It was a feeling unlike anything she had ever experienced before, exhilarating and mind numbing. As though someone had injected Oracle cells directly into her core and lit every one of them ablaze. Growling, she rushed forward, reengaging the enemy.
"Whoa!" Lenka yelped, narrowly avoiding her movements as she dashed around him and into the monster's face. Whirling her scythe around her body, she pressed a relentless offense, swing after swing after swing sliding along the creature's hair. It lifted a paw and swung, Neo sliding back to avoid it. But she didn't run. Instead, she lifted her shoulder, letting the edge of the claw scrape across the hardening capes around her neck. "Holy crap, what's gotten into her? I've never seen her like this!"
Sakuya continued her suppressive fire, shrugging it off. "No idea… but she's driving it back. Let's not question it for now."
"No," Ichiro interrupted both of them, watching her movements. "No, something's wrong." His eyes narrowed following her movements as they danced around one another.
She was erratic, her eyes crazed. Her radiating skin meant she had already entered Burst, and along with Lenka's bullets, it had only increased. But that didn't explain her behavior. Even in level 3, she was still capable of containing herself to some extent. So, why was she acting like a madwoman? As she unleashed a feral snarl, he watched her lift her blade once more, the weapon growing black. That was when he saw it, the little red glow as the jaws began to open. A glow extending all of the way back into the bracelet on her wrist. In that moment, he felt his heart stop. He knew exactly what was wrong. "No…No, Neo, stop!"
When the Nova spun around, she leapt through the air. Her nimble body passed over it, coming down on the creature's back and ramming her weapon's jaws into the ridges. Her entire world turned red. She couldn't hear the sounds of her teammates. She barely noticed the violently shaking body beneath her, trying to dislodge the jaws. She didn't know what was going on anymore. And she didn't care. All that mattered was stopping that creature. Protecting the ones she cared about.
The monster threw her off, sending her flying toward a nearby building. Her body twisted around, legs landing against the wall, running down it, and reengaging the Nova head on. The battle continued as it had, her blade scraping against the monster's face, the creature attempting and failing to land a single swing. When the ground began to glow, Neo darted to the side, sliding away from the lightning, and retaliating with a swipe of her own.
Finally. Something happened.
The Nova reared back, yelping as her claws dug into its face, leaving four red lines pulsing against its skin. Neo gave a devilish smile. "Wh-What?!" Sakuya gasped, lowering her sight in utter disbelief. The creature was as startled as she was. But that shock quickly morphed into rage. They could almost feel the air shifting around them as the Nova started to activate.
"Oh, crap… we've done it now," Lenka muttered.
The ground trembled, the Nova's angry roar echoing off the dilapidated buildings. But Neo wasn't fazed; she was too far gone. Instead, she answered its challenge, dropping to the ground and bearing her fangs with a feral cat-like hiss. Ichiro looked back and forth between them, at this point uncertain what to do. The two were entirely focused on one another. It was if the entire battlefield had melted away, leaving only two opponents in the center. Neo gazing at the Nova with wild hatred. The Nova gazing at Neo with a predatory gaze; almost desperation, saliva dripping from its ravenous maw.
The two snarled at one another, ready to charge forward. Until suddenly, an earsplitting noise interrupted both of them, echoing from the rooftops. All five pairs of eyes turned upward, to see a child staring down at them. A child they all knew very well. Sakuya nearly dropped her weapon. "Shio?!"
Soma's eyes grew wide. "No, you… You can't be…"
Kota's eyes were wavering. "How'd you…"
"It's really… really her!" Alisa gasped.
The sight of the child sent the New Type into a rage, unleashing a guttural sound that alarmed even her guardian. A primal, inhuman sound, somewhere between a roar and a snarl. A sound he didn't even know her vocal cords were capable of making. But the child wasn't deterred. Instead, she leapt from the rooftop, landing on the ground and spewing snow in her wake. She rose to her feet, staring blankly at the Nova. She looked exactly like Shio, from her round golden eyes to her pearly white hair… but something about her was off. Something in her ominous dark glow.
The Nova responded similarly, snarling at the newcomer with bared fangs. Shio only stared at it, stepping slowly forward. Then, she opened her mouth and screeched, releasing an ear-piercing screech, a frequency so high, it was nearly a whistle. The powerful soundwaves were nearly visible to the eye as they engulfed the two, both Neo and the Nova startling and shrinking away from the noise. The Aragami was the first to recover, narrowing its eyes at her in challenge. Shio stared back, a threatening, menacing glare. A pair of hardened eyes that all but screamed a single word.
Enough.
The Nova backed away, snarling in defiance before turning and leaping over a nearby wall. The monster was gone. All that remained were two, Neo and Shio glaring at one another, neither backing down. The child stepped forward again, and the New Type backed away, crouching low. Her glowing eye was transfixed on the one before her, her mind a battlefield. She was driven toward her, claws at the ready. To attack. To fight. To kill. To devour.
Opening her mouth again, the child emitted yet another noise that echoed through the area. Only this time, it sounded different. Less like a banshee's wail and more like a low ringing. It was softer now; almost calming. She watched Neo shake her head, hissing once more, though with little fight. Her charge slowed, bringing her to a stop inches away. The clouds were lifting. In her world of crimson, color was starting to return.
In front of her Shio, looked to the sky, engulfing herself in shadow and dispersing into the sky. As quickly as she had appeared, the child was gone.
"What in the world… was that?" Sakuya muttered.
Lenka looked confused, looking around at his teammates' various reactions. He was clearly in the dark, the only one completely confused. "Was that… was that a kid?!"
Ichiro shook his head, just as confused as the rest of them — although not near as much as Lenka who hadn't a clue who Shio was. He had only arrived following her ascent into the sky. In front of them all, Neo watched her go, feeling a sudden warmth overtaking her body. Followed by a heavy weight. Then, total exhaustion. Her hyperventilating slowed, the glow starting to fade. Then, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into the snow.