Chapter 35 – Babylon Nebula's Judgement Day
Lidelle's POV
"W-Wait a minute! Are you serious?! This ENITRE world's going to be destroyed?!"
"*sniff* I-I speak…th-the truth, Lidelle." Neva said to me as she had begun to cry. "Wh-When a star explodes, it *sniff*…i-it turns into a supernova and *sniff*…c-consumes everything within an 800,000 kilometer radius. B-But with Zubeneschamali…i-it's size is so massive, that…th-the blackhole it creates will *sniff*…w-will…will…"
"Consume this entire world and everything on it." Arfoire interrupted. "You're taking such a long time to explain it all that I'm starting to get bored over here."
"Shut it! Nobody here gives a damn about you being bored!" Balance yelled at her.
"Isn't there a way to prevent this, Neva?" C-Sha asked. "I mean…there has to be SOMETHING, right?"
"Th-There's nothing *sniff*…w-we can do. Y-You can't stop a star from exploding. I-It's *sniff*…i-impossible."
"She's right…" We then saw Nasos suddenly walking up to us. With the same sad look as Neva and Raum. "Right now, the pressure inside Zubeneschamali is dropping rapidly. Once it completely drops, a supernova occurs. And…well…a powerful and luminous explosion of THAT size is something nothing and nobody can survive."
"N-No way…"
"Are you done accepting your fates, now?" Arfoire asked with a cocky smirk on her face. "You only have 45 minutes left to live. Unless you want me to shorten that for you. Hahahahaha!"
"Grr…you demented bitch!" Blanc yelled. "It's already bad enough that you destroyed my Lowee! And even the rest of Gamindustri with it! Now, you're trying to destroy a world that has NOTHING to do with you?! Just how psychotic can you get?!"
"You naïve little child. I am the Deity of Sin! Destroying worlds has been my goal since the day I was created!"
"But you weren't "created" at all…" Mother said with a sweatdrop.
"Whatever! No matter what my past contains, I shall destroy everything and everyone! Whether it be with my own powers or those enhanced by the power of the Zodiac, you will all regret the day you crossed paths with me! AS I WILL SEND YOU ALL TO YOUR EARLY GRAVES! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Ridel's POV
"*giggle* Damn…the old hag's really gone off the deep end. Destroying an entire world just because of something that happened in her past? It's petty…but also badass as hell!"
…
"But…Kurome did say that we need this world in order for the fusion of worlds to be fully complete. So, as much as I don't want to…I probably should go stop her…"
As I was about to intervene in this soon-to-be-fight and drag Arfoire out of there, I felt this intense chill down my spine. And it made me stop in my tracks.
"W-Woah…wh-what was THAT? That insanely powerful aura just now…I usually only get those kind of chills when Mother is about to punish me. But yet, she's right there. Unaware that I'm even watching her. So, what was that…"
That was when I caught sight of something that not only gave me more chills…but also baffled the hell out of me. As I didn't think THIS would be the source of this intense power I'm feeling.
"Th-The hell? Is that a butterfly?"
Lidelle's POV
""Regret the day we crossed paths"? *slightly demented chuckle* I already felt that the moment I saw your ugly-ass "other form" back when the Graveyard was a thing." Blanc said as I could tell that her anger was slowly growing again. "Time and time again, we all thought you would stay dead. But you just keep coming back, huh?"
Blanc then took the Crystal Shard from her neck, clenched it tight, and absorbed the power within it to transform into that ice dragon form from before.
So, she can fully control the Crystal Shard's power now. That's honestly somewhat concerning…
"You keep coming back…and now you want to destroy all worlds because of some petty thing that happened back in your high school days that you apparently have? That's just sad. Even for you."
Blanc then brough out her hammer…covered in the same icy aura as her body is right now.
"But…I'll humor you, at least. If you TRULY want to have this world destroyed and send us all to our graves…THEN YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME FIRST! FIGHT ME WITH ALL YOU GOT, YOU REPETITIVE SISSY-ASS BITCH!"
"W-Wait, you're going to FIGHT her?!" I asked in shock. "Do we really have time for that?!"
"Look, I know it's risky as hell. But just maybe…if we can get that Zodiac Shard from her, we could possibly find a way to at least delay the inevitable."
"D-Delay Zubeneschamali's explosion?" Neva asked. "C-Can you really do that?"
"Me, no. but I might know someone that could possibly try. We just need to get that shard."
"Delay the explosion of a star…is that really something we can do?" Mother asked.
"I've heard it was possible…" Nasos said. "…but even my own power from the Star of Creation isn't strong enough to do it. What makes you think this person you know can?"
"Honestly…I'm not that positive, either." Blanc said. "But anything's better than letting this world explode into nothing! Parts of Lowee are still existing here and if this "supernova" thing wipes everything out, then I'll never get my nation back!"
"I see." Nasos gained a somewhat exasperated look. "So, that's what brought this idea."
"Either way, I'm still gonna try! I'm not gonna let these sociopathic dipshits have their way anymore! And you guys can either help me fight or find a way out of here! I DON'T FUCKING CARE ANYMORE!"
All of us stayed silent as we were shocked at Blanc's determination to fight Arfoire for that shard. The situation here was really dire…having only minutes to either win this fight or find an escape route to Primp.
And as to which one was morally correct…
…
…
…
"Blanc…I'm going to fight with you!"
"L-Lidelle?!" Mother said to me in shock.
"I wish to fight alongside you as well, Blanc!"
"Neva?!" Nasos said in the same tone.
"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" C-Sha asked.
"Don't get me wrong. I wholeheartedly agree that this is risky as hell." I said. "But I also agree with Blanc on not letting them win. Ridel's gone too far this time and as the Demonic Princess, I'm gonna make her pay GREATLY for screwing with other worlds like this."
"And I must do what I can to save my home." Neva added. "With me being the only Zodiac Princess here with a stone in my possession, I would feel nothing but guilt if I just let our kingdoms be destroyed for no pure reason. I'm doing this for my own benefits, too."
"I see." C-Shan went silent for a bit. "Then let me help, too. I don't have much of a reason to fight…but you don't really need one when you're helping your friends."
"Lidelle, Neva, C-Sha…I really owe you guys for this." Blanc said with a small smile.
"*sigh* Well, in that case, we'll just make this easier." Nasos said. "The rest of us will continue to look for a portal to take us to Primp. If it really comes close to the final moments, I'll come and wrap you guys out of here."
"Rom, Ram, and Chu went off on their own a while back." I said. "If you could find them too, it'll be great."
"Seriously? *sigh* Fine. We'll just have to REALLY make these final moments count. You know what to do right, Raum?"
Raum replied with a simple "yes" gesture. Looking more positive and determined than she did a few minutes ago.
"Poochy. You go with them, too." I said to him. "Your strong nose can help them find a portal to take us home. Think you can do it?"
"ARF! *LICK*"
"*giggle* Good boy."
"Alright, then. "Raum. Donny. Let's get going." Nasos ordered. "We're close to 30 minutes until Zubeneschamali explodes. So, we gotta do this fast."
"Ribbit!" Dongurigaeru cheered while Raum gave another nod of her head. The group then went off to search for a portal that would get us out of here in a flash. Leaving this battle with Arfoire in the hands of me, Blanc, Neva, C-Sha, and…
"Good luck, everyone."
There was no way Mother was going to flee this fight. I still don't know what exactly happened between her and Arfoire…but she's DEFINITELY gonna want to settle it here and now…
"*exaggerated yawn* Are you done? All of this touching friendship crap is making me sick."
"Oh, Arfy." Mother said to the impatient Arfoire. "We forgot you existed for a second there. Then again…we did forget about you once you fell into the mirror back in high school. So, nothing's really changed about it. So sad. *giggle*"
"Grr…I REALLY CAN'T STAND YOU! You're just as annoying as that blonde dumbass Melody!"
"But she was stronger than you…"
"SHUT UP! This is your LAST moments alive and you wasting it ridiculing me?!"
"What can I say? After what you caused this far, seeing you blood boil is starting to become funny. I could do this forever if I had the chance~. *sadistic giggle*"
"L-Lidelle, your mom's starting to creep me out." Blanc whispered to me.
"Yeah…that's normal." I replied with a huge sweatdrop.
"Tch! Damn you. DAMN YOU ALL! Every single one of you have pissed me off for the LAST time! If you truly want this Zodiac Stone, then you'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands!"
"I prefer to rip it out of your mangled corpse. But either way is fine." Blanc said. " What's more important is that you DROP DEAD, BITCH!"
"You're the ones that will be "dropping dead" once I'm through with you all! I'll crush everything and everyone in this single…"
"PUYO BATT-"
We were about to start the (possibly final) Puyo battle of our lives…but then something weird happened. Before the famous words could be said…an orange butterfly appeared from the sky and landed on Arfoire's nose. Staying there for a good few seconds.
…
…
…
"What the…what's with this butter-"
*POOF*
…
…
…
"D…D-Did she just disappear?" C-Sha asked after we had witnessed Arfoire just…vanishing out of our sights after her body glowed in a bright orange light. Only having the butterfly remain.
"Th-That butterfly…wh-why am I getting such intense chills from it?"
"S-So, it's not just you huh, Neva?" I asked feeling the exact same way.
It was then that the butterfly began to glow again. Its power grew greater and greater the brighter it got. Until it finally stopped…and something formed out of it.
What we saw was a black spherical creature with white glowing eyes shielded by a red & black mask. With horns that resembled antennas. It held in its right hand a red & gold sword coloration with a butterfly pattern on its handle. And the red sparkling butterfly wings on its back…once fully spread open…glowed brighter than the sun itself.
All of that together only brought one emotion for me to feel: fear.
Wh-What…What IS this thing?
"The day of Judgement…is finally here."
"Judgement?"
"What's this thing talking about?" Neva and C-Sha asked in confusion after this butterfly thing (somehow) spoke.
"Who cares?!" Blanc yelled. "This thing just absorbed the Zodiac Shard and I'm gonna make it spit it out!"
"Bl-Blanc, wait!" I yelled. "I don't think that's a good…"
"Metzelei Schlag!" Blanc completely ignored my warning and lashed at the masked butterfly thing. Preparing to strike it with her hammer.
But…
*PING*
"H-Huh?!"
"I-It BLOCKED it?! With no effort at all?!" I said in shock after we witnessed the thing blocking Blanc's hammer attack with a single slash of its sword.
"Thou shall not…interfere with…Judgement!"
*POOF*
"Wh-What?! Wh-Where the damn thing…"
"Blanny, look out!" C-Sha shouted after the thing had reappeared behind Blanc. She tried to fight back, but…
"Piercing Slash…"
*MULTIPLE SLASHING SOUNDS*
"Gah!" The butterfly swordsman pierced Blanc in the back with its sword.
"Morpho Upper…"
*MORE SLASHING SOUNDS*
Then it rose Blanc up in the air with it.
"Morpho Caliber…"
Now it was slashing her repeatedly as it moved so fast it looked like it was teleporting. Each strike left a huge gash on Blanc's body. Letting blood drip to the ground as she continued to take every single hit.
Eventually, it stopped. But then it rose its sword in the air and…
"Morpho Sword Dive…"
*SLAM*
…it slammed Blanc to the ground in a powerful downward strike. Creating not only a shockwave that tripped the rest of us watching this horror…
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
…but also a lingering flame that burned Blanc's body. Her screams of pain and suffering could be heard from miles away.
"BLANC!" I yelled in a huge panic as Neva and I tried to douse the flames from her body.
Ridel's POV
"D-Damn…that thing nearly MURDERED that White Heart bitch! And not only that, it completely disintegrated Arfoire! Just what the hell is this thing?!"
*RINGTONE CHIME*
*sigh* Really bad time, Kurome!
"Hello?" I said as I answered the earpiece in my ear.
"Ridel. What is your progress on finding the last Zodiac Stone?"
"I still haven't found it…but there's something you should REALLY know."
"What do you mean?"
"This strange-ass butterfly just showed up out of nowhere and completely absorbed Arfoire. Now it's fighting Lidelle and that CPU girl and it's pretty damn strong."
"A…butterfly?" Kurome sounded completely baffled by what I just told her. "Did you hit your head somewhere?"
"I'm serious! This butterfly is kicking everyone's ass right now! And not only that, it started talking about Judgement Day and religious crap like that. I think it wants to fulfill Arfoire's desire to destroy this world."
"W-Wait, what? Arfoire wants to destroy that world?"
"Oh, yeah. She said something about breaking one of the Zodiac Stones and having the biggest star in space destroying this place in about 15 minutes."
"That should've been said FIRST, Ridel! If that world's destroyed, all of our efforts will be for nothing!"
"Why do you think I'm telling you about it?"
"*sigh* Jesus Christ…" Kurome groaned in agitation. "…just keep an eye on them. I'm on my way and I'll tell Shiro to do the same."
"Fine, whatever." I said before ending the call right then and there. Continuing the crazy-as-hell fight that was happening in front of me.
Thank God I'm not down there…
Lidelle's POV
"What the hell is your problem, you psychopathic freak?! Who even are you?!" C-Sha shouted in anger as she stood in front of us all. Face-to-face with this strange but clearly powerful creature.
"Do not get in my way." The thing spoke once more. "This world is destined to receive its Judgement Day. And as the Butterfly of Judgement…I shall deliver this moment to its fullest."
"Butterfly of Judgement?" Mother asked. "It…It sounds familiar. Where have I heard that name before?"
"I don't care who you are! You're not going to destroy this world just to satisfy your crazy-ass desires! And you're gonna PAY for what you did to Blanny!"
"C-Sha, wait!" I shouted. "You saw what this thing did to Blanc! Fighting it is basically a death sentence!"
"But it has Raum's shard! Don't we need it to delay this Zuben-whatever's explosion?!"
"Y-Yes, but…it's with Arfoire and we don't even know what happened to her."
"Either way…we still gotta try! For Blanny and this world's sake!"
"C-Sha~…" I whined.
"To challenge the Butterfly of Judgement…this will be the biggest and last mistake of your lives. Prepare to face…ultimate Judgement."
The judgement butterfly thing then raise its sword in the air once more. Only this time, it started to get bigger in size. It kept growing and growing…until it was the size of the nearby buildings.
And at this point, my fear for this thing grew to MAX level.
We could REALLY use a freaking miracle right about now!
"Feel true Judgement. Gigant Judgement Shot."
"Sukhavati Scale Wave!"
*BOOM*
…
…
…
"H…H-Huh?" I opened my eyes to see someone standing…or rather floating…in front of us. A girl with shiny light-blue hair made into a ponytail and HUGE butterfly wings.
I didn't know who this girl was at first. But then I noticed the crystal clear butterfly resting on the girl's head. And it immediately made me think of one person.
"Ch…Chu?!"
"Hey, guys! I'm back!" The 11-year-old sister of my classmate said to us.
"Woah…Chu, what happened to you?" C-Sha asked in amazement.
"I became the Butterfly of Enlightenment! And I'm going to destroy Judgement and save all dreams!"
"What?" All of us questioned what she just said.
"It's a little complicated to understand." Ram said as both she and Rom joined us a few seconds later. "But trust us, it's SUPER badass!"
"It's a gift from her mother, too." Rom added. "She said her name was…Lulisia."
"L-Lulisia?!" Mother shouted in shock.
"You know who she is, Mother?" I asked.
"W-Well…"
"Butterfly of Enlightenment…you are here to interfere once more. How infuriating." The Judgement Butterfly spoke.
"So, you're the Butterfly of Judgement." Chu replied. "You're shorter than I thought…but I can still sense that crazy power of yours. You really have been devouring dream power for centuries, huh?"
Devouring dream power? For CENTURIES?!
"All of this power stored within me…is from the most unfortunate of entities. The alien traitor…the beauty-obsessed bee…the greedy businessman who longed for his lost daughter…and even the Temporal Warrior himself. I have enough power to cast eternal Judgement on the universe. Thus…it is absolutely pointless for you to get in my way."
"You sound so sure of yourself. But I made a promise to the Queen of Butterflies…my very own mother…that I would destroy Judgement and save all dreams from being devoured."
Chu then formed in her hand a sword that looked very similar to what the Judgement Butterfly had in its hand. How she managed to do that, I really couldn't tell you.
"And believe me…this is a promise I intend to keep!"
Wow…Chu seems a lot more…determined than she normally is. Did becoming this "Butterfly of Enlightenment" thing change her personality or something? It's like night and day with her…
"Hmph. You naïve little child…you cannot destroy Judgement. It is the very fabric of life itself. Thus, meaningless to try and stop it."
"Meaningless? You're the one that's meaningless! I won't let you cast Judgement on those that don't deserve it! PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED, BUTTERFLY OF JUDGEMENT!"
This was definitely a dire situation. Arfoire is just gone…with the Zodiac Shard that we NEED to temporarily delay this world's demise. And in her place was this Butterfly of Judgement thing that Chu's about to fight on her own.
All of this…when we only have about 10 minutes until this world's done for.
How the hell did it turn out like this?
Author's Note: Judgement Day is almost near for the Babylon Nebula. With its only way to at least delay it now mysteriously gone, their only hope now is to rely on Chu's "Butterfly of Enlightenment" powers.
The outcome of this fight will be revealed in a later chapter.
So, before I get asked about this…yes. The "Butterfly of Judgement" is indeed Morpho Knight. I did say in an earlier chapter that the Kirby series will play a role in this story. And this is indeed one of those moments.
Thanks for reading. Later.
