Evening, Day 361 of the New Age…
"… This is the famed tower…"
"I guess that Rufus and Death Shadow are already inside…"
"How do we come inside?"
"I guess that the cat will eventually open it up for us…"
Netto stood before the "Heaven's Tower" along with Yoshitstune.
"Is there a need to keep up that disguise, anyway?" Netto asked him.
"It allows me to focus on swordsmanship. Role-playing, if you must…"
"Fine. It's not like I'm annoyed at you, it's the impatience…"
"Naturally. I also don't like having to follow one's pace…"
Netto sighed and looked up towards the top of the tower.
"Why bother set up a diamond-shaped "DA", anyway?"
"Maybe to avoid a direct attack…" Rock Man suggested.
"If that is where the owner dwells, one more reason to…"
"That makes sense…"
"Analysis of the area reveals faint traces of a time-space distortion…"
"Something like a "Fossa Ambience"?"
"Probably. This tower might come from another world…"
"Makes sense. Beyondard's tech is stagnated due to the long war…"
"However, materials used here as the same as Earth…"
"Maybe they built in a rush…"
"Scans of the outer walls shows traces of it having been underwater…"
"It was underwater!? How did they access it, then?"
"It's a bit of a puzzle. It also has traces of snow and ice…"
"What. It was beneath the Antarctic and then emerged?"
"But if something like that emerged, wouldn't it be detected?"
"Remember that it comes from another world…"
"True. Then it was hidden there but something brought it here…"
"Whether it was by intent or an accident, we don't know yet…"
"Sorry for the wait. We finished coordinating…"
"No updates yet?"
Enzan and Raika met up with them.
"No. We were talking about the traits of the tower…"
"What's stopping us again?" Raika asked.
"An invisible, thin "DA" spread over the doors…"
"I see. Too thin to burst through…"
"And there is no apt surface or means to gain entry speed…"
"Scans suggest that there is a wide room near the top…"
"That must be the battlefield…"
"And that it has a "DA" inside of it…"
"Not unusual. There was a "DA" inside of that warehouse…"
"And in the "Neo WWW" building…"
"Speaking of which. What about Tesla?"
"Was seen fighting Rufus over a burning factory…"
"What factory?"
"Lunch boxes…"
"I remember. Mr. Kanou told me about her love for those…"
"Apparently, it was the maker of her favorite lunch box…"
"And Rufus did that in purpose to lure her out?"
"She called Charlie to complain over that, so…"
"Must be the case…"
"Naturally, the call was from a train station's public phone, so…"
"Which station?"
"Shinagawa, Tokyo…"
"I see. It's a big business district, too. Plenty of hiding spots…"
"Sorry for the wait, gentlemen. Had to run several checks!"
Cait Sith appeared before the doorways and bowed.
"To make sure that both foes are the real deal?"
"Yes. With Mr. Freeze Man's help, I tracked the source of Rufus…"
"What is it?"
"A satellite owned by a dummy business and disguised as debris…"
"I see. Clark did use a satellite to shoot down the "Converters"…"
Netto briefly grimaced and looked away, barely hiding his fear and anger.
"That's… I guess that I brought up something bad?"
Netto sighed and shook his head.
"It's not your fault…"
He walked back towards them.
"And? What is our role in this?"
"Easy. Those two are fighting an obstacle that I readied…"
"And once they're weakened, we come in and finish them up…"
"However. Those two aren't going to be weakened so easily…"
"Even less Death Shadow. It must have an ace up their sleeves…"
"I don't deny that…"
"Will you ever show us your true form?" Yoshitsune asked.
"If we can defeat those two…"
"What was the original purpose of this tower, anyway?"
"Well… To sum it up in simple words… A trial of strength…"
"Sounds like a JRPG, alright…" Enzan muttered.
"But that hardly matters right now, does it?"
"You're not going to fight us after we beat those two, will you?"
"No. All I want is to deal with those two and then I'll leave…"
"Fine. But we reserve the right to suspect your intentions…"
"Feel free to. If that satisfies you…"
He shrugged, unimpressed.
"Why not do it yourself instead of involving us?" Raika questioned.
"Well. Because it involves your world. I am but an outsider…"
Caith Sith crossed his arms and was thinking about it.
"And you probably prefer to end this battle by yourselves, don't you?"
"Well. Can't deny that. Clark began this, I want to end it…"
"What about Nakayami and Obihiro?" Enzan asked Yoshitstune.
"They said that they prefer to leave this up to you…"
"Thought that they would want to finish off Rufus…"
"There are still plenty of copies out there…"
"Alright. If they won't interfere, I don't mind…"
"They're working with Warrior Burai DS to chase the enemy…"
"There's no point in arguing now. We can do that afterwards…"
Raika headed for the doorway, drawing his PET.
The field before them became visible and vanished.
The two doorways opened outwards.
"The tower's main shaft as a "DA", too…" He muttered.
"Yes. There's a spiral stairway, but you can skip if you want…"
"Fine. Let's go!" He rallied.
"Roger!"
The other three followed him inside.
The main shaft only had a central pillar and a stairway around it.
Vertical stripes with LED lights provided dim light to the interior.
The trio drew their "Synchro Chips".
"Synchro Chip, Slot In!"
Their PETs glowed.
"CROSS FUSION!"
They transformed and ignited their jets to fly upwards.
"What's the point of the stairway, then?" "CF" Netto asked.
"Well. At first, the challengers were meant to climb it…"
"To test their strength and see if they'd made it to the top…"
"But since we don't have time for that…"
"Fine. Let's get there!"
They reached the end of the stairway, going inside the pillar.
There was a round platform set on the ground.
A banner next to it read "WARNING: MAX 300KG".
They looked upwards to see an open shaft in the ceiling.
Sounds of a scuffle rang out from there.
"It's an elevator, but you can skip it, too, if you want to…"
"Alright. Let's go…"
They flew skywards and crossed the hatch.
They exited into the southern end of a round, wide and tall space.
A thick purple energy field was spread before them.
"It's to ensure that they don't run away from here…"
"… Come, evolution that could not rule the Universe!"
"This stupid amoeba is more annoying than a gorilla!"
They could hear Death Shadow and Rufus fighting something.
"Once I am done with this freak, you're next!"
"Come, hollow and feeble life-form destined to become extinct!"
The sounds of the scuffle intensified, followed by machinegun fire.
A laser beam was shot, followed by something sweeping the air.
The sound of a rocket igniting echoed, followed by an explosion.
"This stupid thing is more armed than a tank!" Rufus growled.
"Feeble attempts to delay the inevitable…" Death Shadow laughed.
The barrier became less thick, allowing them to see beyond it.
There was a "monster" standing in the center of the space.
Both foes were constantly circling it and keeping a distance.
The main body was a pillar with a core spheroid atop it.
It had a membrane covering it.
There was a circle with a red eye set atop it.
Two small curved "horns" formed at its sides.
Metallic armor covered its back.
Two metallic detached forearms with claws were set next to the core.
Two lances originated from behind the thing.
The machineguns set on the shoulders were shooting at the foes.
"Where did you dig that from? A videogame?" "CF" Netto asked.
"Not really. I brought it from my world…"
"What is it, then?"
"A collection of computer bugs that grew into this thing…"
"Scary!"
"And tried to take over the Internet as a whole, too…"
"Devil!"
"It was sealed, but some evil folk meant to steal it…"
"And you forestalled them?" "CF" Raika guessed.
"Sure. Since they couldn't agree on how to deal with it…"
"But it can be beaten, right?"
"Of course. I weakened it considerably…"
"Does it have a name?"
"Proto… As in Prototype… A system's core infected by bugs…"
"How long have those two been fighting it?"
"About… 1 hour. But I added tricks to prolong the fight…"
"Such as self-regeneration?" Yoshitstune guessed.
"Correct…"
"And? Have those two become weakened?"
"To some extent. Neither is designed for long-lasting battles…"
"Even less Death Shadow, I take it…"
"Yes. While it copies a lot from the original, it's more impatient…"
"No wonder. With that out of scale ego and all…"
A huge missile formed before Proto and shot for Rufus.
He jumped and unloaded his shotgun towards it.
The missile detonated in a huge explosion, spreading fragments.
Rufus moved away as Death Shadow moved before Proto.
The eye glowed and a powerful red laser beam shot out.
It hit Death Shadow head-on, but the foe absorbed the energy.
It transferred it to the arm cannon and shot a powerful green beam.
A barrier formed before Proto, and the beam split into smaller beams.
They landed on the ground behind the monster.
"When is this going to be deleted!?" Rufus growled.
"The will of the Universe never persists!" Death Shadow laughed.
"You speak so mighty, but you're unable to harm it as well!"
"Any feeble construct will eventually crumble away…"
"I'm fed up with that toy! I'll blow you up instead!"
"Become extinct!"
Rufus and Death Shadow engaged each other.
"Now!"
The barrier before them vanished.
It reformed as a cylindrical field around Proto.
"You bastards!" Rufus hissed.
"Come. I shall show you what your fate is!"
"Rock Man and I will handle Death Shadow…"
"Fine. We'll handle Rufus instead…"
"CF" Netto and Yoshitstune rushed for Death Shadow.
"CF" Blues and "CF" Raika rushed for Rufus instead.
"Golden Fist!"
"Witness my swordsmanship!"
"CF" Netto punched Death Shadow on the chest, pushing it away.
Yoshitstune drew this blade and quickly cut the cannon from the arm.
Death Shadow laughed as the cannon hovered and attached again.
"Scope Gun!"
"Sonic Boom!"
"Out my way, pests!"
"CF" Raika shot at Rufus, and "CF" Blues followed in with a slash.
Rufus growled and shot two blasts towards them.
"CF" Blues jumped over it and "CF" Raika jumped to the right to dodge.
Death Shadow opened the frontal cover and readied five missiles.
"They're locking on us!" Rock Man warned.
"I know! Chaff Grenade!"
He formed the grenade and flung it to the ground.
It rolled across the ground, and it detonated.
The missiles flew across the room at random, hitting the walls.
Death Shadow loaded the beam on the left arm.
However, Yoshitsune stepped before it and stabbed it.
The device frizzled and exploded.
However, the foe merely grabbed the blade from beneath.
Blue energy flowed into it, but Yoshitsune dropped it.
He formed a new blade and sheathed it.
The foe made the dropped blade hover to the palm.
It fused with the underside of the forearm.
"Now it means to fight you back at swordsmanship…"
"Delighted!"
"I'll handle the beams and missiles. Deal with the blade…"
"Understood…"
Yoshitstune unsheathed the new blade and clashed with the foe's one.
"CF" Netto formed his Rock Buster and shot several attacks in a row.
Death Shadow also countered with non-charged beam attacks.
It laughed as it charged energy across its body.
It hit the ground with the blade and a sheet of ice formed across it.
"It's pointless. We can hover!"
"It might be a distraction. Don't take your eyes off it, Rock Man…"
"I know!"
The foe zig-zagged across the area, forming pillars of ice with spikes.
"Intending to limit our movements…"
"And those of Rufus, too…"
They glanced over at the other end of the room.
Rufus was shooting at the pillars, ignoring the attacks by the other two.
"Little tricks!"
"Better give it up, Rufus. Your spawning machine is gone…"
"Bluffs!"
"Well then. Try to link with your satellite!" "CF" Blues challenged.
"There's a jammer, anyway! But I'll soon spawn again!"
"Fine. Let's see how far that confidence will last…"
"Silence, fools! You will soon become merchandise!"
"Really. But those two are busting all of your "businesses"…"
"Fools. Even if I and Clark don't coordinate them…"
"More will eventually appear, is it?"
Caith Sith's hologram formed there but wasn't impressed.
"But you're forgetting how they're eager to destroy each other…"
"What would a failed experiment know?"
"There we go again. Disregarding people that you don't know…"
"If you have to use that form, that means that you are WEAK!"
"Didn't you stop to think that it's because I don't want to?"
"What kind of fool doesn't use power to crush the vermin?"
"Because you and Clark are arrogant fools. I'm wiser…"
"Wiser! Don't make me laugh. A toy that Vadous threw away!"
"Again, I'm not his toy and I wasn't thrown away. Show me evidence!"
Rufus clicked his tongue, annoyed.
"From a neutral party, that is. And without forgeries or lies…"
"Shut up! Odoroki Housuke!"
"Calling me fictional characters names won't change reality…"
"You have the Reality Distortion Field! I'll steal it!"
"You're one who has such a field to begin with…"
"I'll steal that weapon, too, and lay wreck to that stupid world!"
"What if it has a bomb that wipes out all in a 50m radius?"
"Damn it!"
"As if I couldn't foresee that you'd try to steal it…"
"Whatever. My invincible Thanatos Army will raze the world!"
"Invincible? In your dreams, Mr. CEO…"
"Sure. Miyabi and Yuriko have raided many factories…"
"And it's only a matter of time before we find the master factory…"
"Which is surely hidden somewhere in this world…"
"Damn it! Hounds of Densanville!"
"Making parodies of The Hound of Baskerville? How erudite of you!"
"… Is that all? Fools that delay the inevitable…"
Death Shadow was still full of energies and fighting the duo.
"Heck. Guess that I underestimate its resilience…"
"Maybe it's also internally healing!" "CF" Netto sighed.
"Could be… Talk about a sticky foe…"
"Matters not. I shall fight to the end!"
"If you do not unleash your slumbering power, it is in vain!"
"I don't need it to win. Be gone, Grim Reaper…"
Yoshitsune calmly clashed his sword against Death Shadow's
"CF" Netto landed a Golden Fist on the right cheek.
The foe didn't mind it and aimed the arm cannon upwards.
A beam of plasma hit the ice that had formed on the ceiling.
A mass of ice fell towards "CF" Netto, but he jumped away.
He noticed something and found a copy of the foe behind himself.
He ducked to avoid the purple electrical beams from the foe's cannon.
"Heat Body!"
He formed a mass of flames around himself to melt the ice.
He then jumped and tackled the copy.
It ignited and exploded into many pieces.
"… What? Devil!"
Caith Sith gasped as he realized something.
"Those four Asteroids are attacking the Resistance's camp!"
"What the…!?" "CF" Netto cursed.
"This world is headed to the next evolution. I shall speed it up!"
"I gave them advice on how to fight those back…!"
"Heck! What a coward!"
"I also contacted Dark Comet. Maybe they can help…"
"Alright. Handle that…"
"They shall seed the power of Omicron across this planet!"
"Not if I am here to object. Seen what happens afterwards…"
"What?"
"I'm not talking about fiction. But a real, distant planet…"
He sighed and shook his head.
"It's filled with aberrations, and nothing can live there…"
"Such is the will of the Universe!"
"Save me the dramatics. It's but a mutation of a single planet…"
"Which shall rule the Universe!"
"Then don't complain if someone else comes "evolve" you…"
"Nothing can defy the Universe!"
"Again. You're but a coincidence. Not a mighty existence…"
"Silence!"
Death Shadow became the spheroid and accumulated energy.
It shot towards the field protecting Proto.
Both energies clashed and frizzled, making bolts jump out.
The spheroid managed to form a "rail" of energy.
It climbed upwards and attached to the frozen ceiling.
It set a bomb there and detonated it.
The ice shattered and so did the ceiling panels, revealing a space.
The spheroid crawled inside and set another bomb.
It opened another hole and rushed upwards.
"Heck. Too small to chase it!" "CF" Netto cursed.
"By the Universe! What are you!?" Death Shadow cursed, for once.
"Me? Someone. Didn't your brother teach you manners?"
A sarcastic voice echoed from there.
"VADOUS! You shall not fool me!"
"I am not him. That fixation is something Rufus snuck into you…"
"All weapons: fire!"
The weapons fired but the owner merely sighed.
"This armor can't be broken so easily, my chap…"
"Ridiculous! The power of the Universe…!"
"Yankee Go Home!"
There was the sound of something cutting the air.
A hatch opened and Death Shadow fell from it.
It hit the floor face-up with a THUD.
Its body had burn marks, as if something hot had hit it.
"Wait. "T" is up there?" "CF" Netto realized.
"Hence the "DA"… To avoid anyone from attacking it directly!"
"Yes? I never denied that…"
"Out of the way! I'll destroy it myself!"
Rufus flew through the hatch and gasped.
"Metatron!?"
"Well. Close?" "T" admitted.
"Who sends you!? YWHV!?"
"This isn't Shin Megami Tensei, Rufus. It's the real world…"
"As if angels would exist…!"
"To begin with… I'm but a Net Navi. No angel. Gotcha, buddy?"
"Say that earlier!"
"Weren't you a genius CEO?"
Rufus snarled something undecipherable.
"Sorry. I don't speak Wookie language…" "T" sneered.
"I see! You're the one who defeated Clark, right!?"
"No? Never met him… Heard plenty about him, yes…"
"No use pretending! I know it all!"
"Including how many stars are in the Milky Way?"
Rufus growled again and the others rolled their eyes.
"I must agree with that "T" guy. Rufus is DUMB!" "CF" Netto sighed.
"Same as Clark. Speaks without thinking of the consequences!"
"Don't place us at the same level as politicians!"
Rufus unloaded his shotgun, but it bounced off something.
"I already said that this armor is pretty good…"
"Ridiculous! Nothing can overcome us!"
"Really. Try telling that to Anaya, will you?"
"What about Their Grace?" He tried to elude the topic.
"It would seem that in either world that she exists, she failed in both…"
"Ridiculous!"
"Why not? It's but a common human. It's no superhuman…"
"The Mighty IQ is invincible and eternal!"
"Sounds like deluded, fanatical folk. Get lost, Sufur…"
Something cut the air and again and Rufus fell back, his body burning.
The hatch closed and was covered by a purple energy field.
"There. No more trespassers…"
"Shit. Can't believe that Metatron would hide behind a cat!"
"Hide? More like it was easier to make contact in that form…"
"I don't deal with cowards! Come out!"
"I can say the same to Clark. If he's so mighty, he should prove it…"
Rufus grumbled something but then Death Shadow stabbed him.
The blade thrust through him from behind and emerged from the front.
The left hand closed around the neck and crushed it.
"I don't breathe, fool!" Rufus growled.
He aimed the shotgun at the shielded "Proto".
His shots hit the field and purple bolts jumped out from it.
He managed to push away and displace his body.
He dropped to the ground as the bolts hit Death Shadow.
The foe absorbed them, but small explosions happened on the torso.
Death Shadow howled as the bolts spread across the whole body.
"This is why you shouldn't play with fire. Didn't Bro tell you that?"
"Silence! Such a feeble life-form that depends on others…!"
"There's nothing wrong with that. You have a superiority complex…"
"Silence! Only I can stand at the top of the evolutionary chain!"
"That's no evolution. It's but something bent and distorted…"
"T" sighed again, slightly exasperated.
"An invader that erases or distorts the lifeforms of planets…"
"What would you know!?"
"I'm an alien Net Navi. I've travelled across the galaxy for a long time…"
"Thought as much…" "CF" Enzan muttered.
"I happened to meet Vadous and his crew and learn about humans…"
"Hence why you know so much about fiction and such…"
"To think that Death Shadow wandered here and revived…"
"And you ended up "here", too?"
"It was an accident. But that tale can wait…"
"Sure. We must deal with these two!"
Rufus had recovered and resumed shooting.
"The will of the Universe… is unfathomable…!"
Death Shadow recovered as well and roared.
Their body glowed and formed several copies of itself.
They spread out in a circle and stabbed the central field.
They loaded their blades with the field's energy.
"This could be bothersome…" Yoshitsune muttered.
"Sure. But we'll find a way around…" "CF" Netto replied.
"All you do is pointless! I geared myself up for this battle!"
Rufus roared as he shot and flung grenades at his opponents.
"Heck. Both were acting and pretending to have weakened!"
"I guess that they predicted that we'd come…" "CF" Raika guessed.
"I only outputted a bit of my strength to drive them off…"
"We shouldn't count on those wounds weakening them…"
"Exactly. Sorry, but as I said, it's your battle. I don't want to meddle…"
"Come out, Metatron! I'll peel off those rainbow wings!"
"Go race at the Rainbow Road, Rufus, and leave us in peace…"
"Maybe we need helping hands. I arranged for them…"
"Fine. The more, the better…"
"Your turn!"
"Needle Cannon!"
"Explosion!"
"The Wet Works Spies!"
"Very funny, Rufus. Now get lost…"
"Same. We have no time for your lame humor…"
"CF" Yuriko and "CF" Miyabi joined the fray next.
"Fine! I'll bury you, Mayabi, and turn that woman into merchandise, too!"
"Did you forget Rule 2A as well, Rufus?" "T" chuckled.
Rufus gasped and became nervous, cursing under his breath.
"Women are outside of your jurisdiction. Argue that with Anaya…"
"The Mighty IQ!"
"Force me to say it…"
Rufus growled and shot at random.
"Ignore that thing in the middle. It won't bite!" "CF" Raika told them.
"Roger that. Come, barking dog. I'll show you your place…"
"You're one to talk! Yimaba!"
"Making parodies of others won't change anything!"
"But I have more aces up my sleeves! Such as Snake Eater!"
"We know that it's a farce to blind Death Shadow…"
"Dream on! Because I will change the world!"
"By imitating A. Wesker? Hardly impressive…"
"How did you…!?"
"A snake that eats itself… The Ouroboros. A bomber…"
"T" sighed, disappointed.
"Even I could pierce the pieces together, you know?"
"Ridiculous! Not even that damned sage…!"
"Mr. Meijin is no sage! Your fixations are your doom, Rufus!"
"CF" Netto sighed as he fought Death Shadow.
"He never claimed to be almighty, either…"
"If they want to call themselves that, they must prove it!"
"You have a misconception of what "meijin" entitles…"
"To begin with, it means someone famous or adept at something…"
"You're but a clown that Clark built in a lazy way to begin with…"
"Nothing smart can come out of you…"
"Silence, Yibama! Go back to the mountains!"
"CF" Miyabi ignored him and formed his "Shadow Clones".
They attacked Rufus at once, but he formed a barrier to shield himself.
However, he didn't see the golden "Powy" falling from above.
It crushed him and he groaned.
"Stay still. We'll deal with you once that freak is finished…"
"Agreed. Field, deploy!"
The cylindrical field formed around Rufus, trapping him there.
"I will use any means necessary to keep you there, Rufus!"
"Damn you!"
"Now you can focus on that freak. I'll save Proto as a last resource, too…"
"Fine. Come, Grim Reaper!"
"Foolish, feeble life-forms. The hour of judgment is close!"
Death Shadow laughed and formed two long, dark blue wings.
They hovered over the ground as the ice was replaced by gel.
The "gel" soldiers emerged as well and brandished their blades.
"And then that powerless observer shall be annihilated!"
"Let's go! This ends today!"