It happened quickly. Against the night sky, Anju could see something like a cloud obscuring even its blackness. Accompanying it was a deafening 'whooshing' like a powerful gust of wind along with the screeching cries, guttural snarls and gnashing of teeth.
"Darkcallers inbound!" Cried a knight as sirens wailed all around.
"To battle stations!" Ai commanded, her voice unnaturally loud amidst the clamor. At once, people barked orders and crews ran quickly across the decks of the ships. Anju could now hear the whir of helicopter engines as they prepared to take off from the large carriers that ferried them into battle. Upon the various vessels, turrets and anti-aircraft guns spun up as soldiers readied their own weapons.
"Brace yourselves!" Akira cried as the flock now approached, the screeching and snarling loud enough to deafen even the whirring of engines and machinery. Immediately, the guns opened fire, anti-aircraft rounds ripping through the flock of paragon beasts and causing mutilated bodies and blood to shower the oceans.
Still, the massive number of Darkcallers flooding the skies also meant there were more than enough to get through the anti-air fire. Anju was suddenly alerted to heavy thuds all around them. She turned sharply as one sounded nearby, seeing the Wretchling snarl and leap at her. With a swift motion, Anju unfurled the scythe and bisected the monster, its halves now flying apart into the ocean, blood spraying as it did. Behind her, she sensed another land, and so instructed Shadow to claw it apart. She also watched Akira now move around, slicing apart the monsters with his sword whilst binding others with his shadow creatures.
"Those things are dropping Wretchlings all over us!" Akira exclaimed as he impaled another through the mouth. "We need more anti-air cover!"
"I'm on it!" Emi said as she flipped over a railing, stabbing a Wretchling through the throat mid-way before landing daintily on her feet. "Cover me!"
"Right there!" Shinji replied, his sickle slicing out the throat of a Darkcaller while the weighted chain smashed in the teeth of another Wretchling. Quickly, he ran to Emi's side as she readied a stance. With a twirl, she summoned multiple icy swords that now hovered around her. Quickly, she darted them all towards all the Darkcallers in the air. Anju watched as the icy blades sliced through the Paragon beasts without pause, slicing through bodies one after another without breaking.
"No way." Emi gasped, amazed at the effectiveness of her attacks. "They're like diamonds now…"
"Worked like a fucking charm then!" Serenity's voice came from over their earpiece. "That settles it. I'm calling that one Diamond Edge."
Ganju immediately came forward, the axe glistening with red energy as he swung, cleaving apart Paragon beasts with ease. Beside him, Henry sliced his way past with his katanas that glowed an eerie red as he cut off a Wretchlings head. As a Darkcaller dived at him, a red afterimage of the blade appeared, swinging forward and slitting the monster's throat, whereupon it gurgled as it fell into the ocean, blood trailing from its neck.
"Woah." Henry remarked as the phantom blade disappeared. "It's like holding more than two swords at once."
"Should be enough for a skinny dude like you." Serenity smiled. "And now I've got a name for it too! Mirage! Hoo boy am I on a roll today!"
"Seems like she's having fun." Ganju remarked as he smashed away a Wretchling.
"Well I guess for a creator nothing beats seeing your creations perform the way they should." Gabriella nodded as she placed her hands together. The red strands of her dress suddenly lit up, sections dropping away like fruit falling from its tree and subsequently morphing into bats. The constructs now rushed at a group of Darkcallers overhead, readying to drop Wretchlings into the fight. The reddish bats blew their way through their flesh like bullets, leaving gaping holes in them as they fell lifeless into the ocean.
"Incredible." Gabriella remarked as she created more of them, stopping only when the strands disappeared completely from the dress.
"You've already got good senses with managing large numbers of living animals thanks to your own innate abilities." Serenity explained. "I just took that dress and made it do something similar. But it was hard to make sure it was easy enough that it wouldn't suck your life away."
"It does feel a lot simpler that dealing with bats." Gabriella noted. "Though it doesn't have any numerical advantages."
"Quality over quantity with this one." Serenity explained. "Oooh, Bloodmantle…"
Guess she thought of another name. Anju thought as she took to the sky again, slicing down a trio of Darkcallers with the swing of her scythe. Come to think of it, she didn't give mine a name, nor Akira's. Anju now felt Shadow ripple. Ducking, she narrowly avoided a swipe at her head as Shadow retaliated, sinking large claws into her attacker.
"Anju, watch yourself!" Akira said as he slew another.
"How much longer till the teams can deploy?" Anju asked.
"We are focusing on that right now!" Katarina hollered as she beheaded a Wretchling. "Just keep those creatures off the ships! It wouldn't matter if our crews get slaughtered!"
The battle raged on, the flashing of guns and shipboard cannons complimenting the clamour in the skies. The fleet slowly edged their way to the castle, battling off the Darkcallers that swarmed all around them and the Wretchlings being dropped onto their decks. Despite the chaos, Anju could see that they were mostly faring well. She watched as a trio of Wretchlings charged down a small squad of troops, only to be cut down by their rifles. The new bullets and weapons Serenity had developed did the trick, piercing through their flesh with ease. She wondered what it took to make even small arms fire powerful enough to kill Paragon beasts, though she suspected Ichigo's guns had something to do with it.
Then a ship suddenly buckled, caving inward. Metal splintered and broke apart as the ship appeared to be sucked downward by some invisible force. Everyone watched as a figure burst from the water and landed on the bridge of a nearby frigate. The eyeless monster howled as it smashed its way through, screams emanating from the inside.
"Aquatic Nightfiends!" Shinji surmised as he headed toward the ship. Soon enough, more were appearing, boarding the ships in an attempt to deal as much damage as they could, or to allow the airborne forces to drop unhindered.
"Looks like we need to deal with these things first!" Ganju said as he jumped towards a carrier vessel. Already the Nightfiend was attempting to smash apart the helicopters on the deck. With a quick swing of his axe, he cleaved open the Nightfiend's head. The blade now glowed with hunter sigils, causing the blood stained upon it to quickly crystalize, forming jagged edges upon it. Keeping with the momentum, he swung again and smashed a Wretchling's head, bits of its brain now splattering across the deck.
"Hot damn!" Serenity smiled as soon as she saw it. "Hmm, Bloodcrust… Nah that shit sucks. Better think up a better one."
"Is she seriously still going on about our weapon's names?" Ganju frowned as he bashed another Wretchling away.
"Let her have her fun." Emi said as she sent another swarm of frozen swords into the sky. "Anything to lighten the mood."
Ichigo aimed and fired, blasting through the Wretchlings that had boarded the vessel. The bullets pierced through their heads, causing them to falter. Ichigo fired more rounds into them till they went down.
"Damn, that lady can practically field a whole damn army." Ichigo remarked as he ejected the magazine of the assault rifle he held and loading a new one. He aimed and fired again, cutting down as many of the Wretchlings that had clambered onto the decks. With the obvious full scale battle they were to engage in, Serenity had seen to it to fit all the hunters with weapons powerful enough to harm even the Paragon beasts. Based on what she had explained, the bullets were weaved with a type of enforcement magic and tiny fragments of metal infused with Anju's blood, allowing them to bypass the Paragon Beast's natural resistance.
Still, it was impressive how fast she had worked. Even if it was just merely for small arms, it was no simple task to ensure there was plenty of this ammunition for everyone, despite all the help and resources given by the queen.
A trio of Wretchlings charged at him. Ichigo paid them no heed as a shaped rushed in and collided with them. Rodin lifted them all up with a single grasp, crushing their bodies with unnatural strength. As he dropped their corpses into the ocean, Ichigo couldn't help but remark at the horrific claw that was Rodin's arms.
"You sure you should be using that this early?" Ichigo frowned. "Won't it eat away at your own life?"
"Not if I keep the usage low." Rodin said as he flexed his clawed digits. "Besides, I'm saving Blood Drive for when it really counts, same as those guns you are using right?" Ichigo's mind now drifted to Wither and Havoc, which he kept holstered. Of course, it was wise to save them for later, especially after Serenity's modifications.
"Hey guys?" Misaki called from above as she disposed of another Wretchling, immediately flinging her knife at a Darkcaller that landed in front of her. The electric enchantment shocked the Darkcaller into submission. She walked forward, swiftly running the knife across its torso and opening a gaping wound. "I think we should be close enough soon! We might just be able to mobilise our forces for landing!"
"About damn time." Rodin smiled. "Been getting tired of fighting out in open waters. But what is the status of the helicopters?"
"I'm working on it now." Misaki said. "According to her Majesty, we are just ready to get the transport boats for the landing teams! Emi and Shinji are preparing right now!"
"We will need air cover for the landing teams!" Rodin said. "So every helicopter at this point counts!"
"Gabriella says she'll accompany the landing boats and provide air cover!" Misaki called. Katarina and Lady Ren are asking for every still working frigate to assist in taking out those monsters!"
"Which means we need more people to work on ensuring those Nightfiends don't sink the ships!" Ichigo said as he fired another burst at a Darkcaller.
"It'll be tight, but this can work!" Rodin nodded. "Just hang on everyone!"
Ai cut apart another Paragon beast as it landed before her. To her side, Ren and Katarina fought them off as well, the Wretchlings standing no chance against them.
And yet, that did not give Ai comfort. How the hell are there this many? Months or not, Mortis's numbers seem endless.
"Does my grandfather have an assembly line on these things?" Katarina gritted her teeth, echoing Ai's thoughts.
"My thoughts exactly." Ren nodded. "It's as if they are replacing the ones we kill almost immediately."
"Perhaps Mortis has something up his sleeve. If there is one thing we cannot predict, it is the development he put into with these monsters. Katarina, I suggest that your assault team find out what the cause of all this is. We have to do what we can to stem the tide!"
"Agreed!" Katarina nodded. "I will take my detachment to find out where those labs are located. The scientist, Romanoff, I will make finding him my top priority!"
"Very good!" Ai nodded as she spied the island. "It seems we are close enough. We have no choice but to commit to our strategy lest we fall to this battle of attrition." She now turned to the helmsman. "Signal for the landing teams to get ready! Fight their way to the island if we must!"
Mortis smiled bemusedly. While he wasn't going to be able to prevent their landing, he was still feeling comfortable with his current position. Obviously, the Paragon beasts will not be able to hold them off totally. However, there were more than just those creatures that Ai's forces needed to deal with.
"Romanoff did well." James smiled. "He truly was a good assistant to Lestat. To think he managed cultivate that many Paragon monsters…"
"His new creation was mostly based on Lestat's own notes." Mortis nodded. "But yes, his success should be celebrated."
"However, I doubt we can keep them from the island." James nodded. "They have plenty of forces at their disposal."
"As we predicted James." Mortis nodded. "Lead the defenses, and above all do your best to stop the assault."
"I will try milord." James replied. "Though despite the gifts you have given me, I have uncertainties about being able to stop Katarina. I highly suspect she may be planning to strike directly at the laboratories, considering her knowledge of this place."
"Fret not James." Mortis nodded. "I have a plan for her. Just do your duties right."
"As you command." James bowed before taking his leave. Mortis went to the window, frowning as he went through the predicted scenarios in his head. Indeed, it would be simple to strike with all his might against their fleet. But it was a more prudent choice to save his powers for last. After all, he was already expecting a particular enemy to show, and he needed to be ready for it.
Still, if there was one thing that did irk him, it was his unruly granddaughter. Indeed, she was useful when she was loyal. Unfortunately, she had apparently too much of her mother in her, letting family ties distract her from a much bigger picture. If only Verona had been a tad bit more pragmatic, things like this whole conflict would have been much easier to resolve.
Nevertheless, what was done was done. In the end, all that he had to look toward was the future, the one in his grand vision.
Author's Note:
Hi all. I know it has been a long time since I updated. Things became really difficult these last few months and I had to take a break from the writing just to sort some personal things out. Thus, I apologise for the delay. But with life now (somewhat) stable, I intend to go back to writing this fanfic again. My current aim is to finish this within the next 4 months, so I hope you all will continue to be supportive of this series as we soldier onward to the end. As always, read and comment constructively on anything.
Jdbl00d
