Hyperdimension Neptunia Third Sister: Darkness

by Somedudeonline

WARNING: This a direct sequel to 'Light', read that first if you don't want to be confused. After having died, Bios is reborn with the energy of Despair running through her, now the opposite of a Goddess. In spite of what fate demands of her, she gathers a group of vigilantes to save Lowee from a sinister group of organisations known as, SCJP

1. Volume 1: Death

Hyperdimension Neptunia

Third Sister; Darkness

Chapter 1

Re;Birth

I was once born a goddess of Lowee, one that was meant to protect this nation of white lands, colorful building and magic wielding people. But in reality, my destiny was the reverse. I was never born out of the faith and hopes of people, rather the despair and negativity. Having known that, I left my sisters and went on to fight those who harm Lowee from within the shadows. Under one stipulation, I was not to use my more well-known abilities and techniques, as to not be discovered. Of course, it would mean I'd eventually find someone with enough skills to best me…And in the end. I was stabbed. The feeling of warm metal entered under my chest and exited my back, it didn't hurt, however, for my consciousness was already fading.

I remembered recalling my entire life story, knowing someone somewhere outside this world will recall my existence before it being removed of the minds of the people in this dimension.

"Am I…Dead?"

I don't know. I cannot tell whether or not I am alive. I only know one thing, and that is that I can feel my fingers move. And as long as I have strength, I will lift them up, together with my hand. I clutch the blade that had me hanging on it, as I feel my eyelids had opened. I can see now, the falling of snow in the purest of white. Over time, I could feel the entirety of my body again, and my vision is returning. With a blurry vision, I raise my head, trying to look at the face of the one who I fought.

I can see clearly now… And what do I see first, but the young man who stabbed me aghast. He isn't just looking at me like that because I seemingly just got back from the dead, I can see tears in his eyes as well…What are they for?
Either way, I can't really feel much pain of his sword now, and since I'm not dead, I might as well use this sudden shot of adrenaline to my advantage.

I am holding my hand tightly on the sword as I push myself sideways with my feet. He looks like he's still trying to figure out what's happening, so I am getting a free kick in his cheek in. Whilst he flinches, I push myself off his sword with my legs against his body. After doing that, I leap over to him to knock him over the ground with a kick.

After his back hits the ground, he uses the momentum to do a back roll, he then asks me, "Y…You…Didn't…Didn't you die?!", now actually being afraid of my revival.
After shaking a bit, he points at me and shouted, "You were hanging off my sword! You were dangling around lifelessly! What happened?!" He sounds more distressed if anything.
I am looking around me to see a bunch of people shocked. I notice my mask was dropped into the snow. I want to pick it up before addressing anything else…

Maybe I did die. Which would mean…
After picking up the mask and putting it back in my inventory, I looked at the man and asked, "Hey…What do you last remember doing?"
"Wha- I…I was fighting someone. You probably? But I don't know why, and I certainly don't remember having stabbed a little girl until I saw your body taking my blade.", he says.
I see. I looked at the sky, I really did die…And came back.

I look back at the young man and ask him, "Well, now that that has happened, you can't win anymore. Please, could you give up?"
He looks taken aback as he reacted with, "What?!"
He quickly retorts, "Listen, girl! No matter who or what, I have to go through with this! I have no choice but to keep going! And I won't be intimidated by someone not even half my size!"

He spreads his arms out as string came from his sleeves attaching themselves to debris, lantern posts, and other throwable objects.
"String cluster!", he shouts as he threw boulder sized projectiles my way from every side.

Every way I look at it, I would not be able to dodge if I was fighting him like before. There are no opening gaps someone at normal speed could move through. However, no one remembers me now…I can use all of my skills. And with that, I get ready as I lift the heels of my feet with bursts of light flaring from underneath, leaving a small trail.
"Light Step.", is what I say before getting behind the boy in a second with the projectiles crashing into themselves.

I can feel him slowly turning his head looking under his arm to see me behind him.
"You won't be able to hit me again, fighting you is child's play now, do you get it yet?", I try and tell him that.
He quickly turns around and used the pulling of his string to perform a powerful and swift strike with his sword, using light step, I step to my left and avoid it entirely.

He looked at me, eyes open wide, almost leaning back for a second before swinging his sword around. I have gained such a high level of staying calm that I am able to dodge his blade with my arms behind my back, not feeling a single nerve in my face. My breath wasn't even getting ragged a little as I am doing a few short hops and looking at his sword pass me, as if I were an instructor ready to criticize him.

After the last swing, I used light step to get behind him. Of course, he was turning around my way, however, he isn't fast enough, so I can place my hand glimmering with light on his body and send him flying a few dozen meters at light speed whilst saying, "Reflection"
I look at him falling onto the ground after warping as if he slipped over a banana peel.

Whilst he is busy getting up, I look at my hand. I can't feel share energy anymore. I'm pretty sure I can't use 'that sword' either. Fine. I'll have the make a new one.
I hold my hand out in front of me, blue particles fly around and a weapon in the shape of a sword is being formed. The shape continues to change while I think, I need to advance my weapon even further. I shall create one that never existed. With my imagination and knowledge of the sword, combined with the energy of dark magic that I can now feel…

The blue light suddenly flared up in pitch black aura, and almost looks like I am killing the sword. It looks nasty, the energy spikes even harder than when I use light magic. It also almost looks like something sketched roughly with a black pencil.
"Oh sword of myths. In these cold lands, show you black steel and make me ruler of the falling white. As the heavens pours down the souls, our powers shall unite them and take control of those that do not fear the cold…", after saying this chant, the energy disperses, and I took hold of a black blade that looks like a longer katana.
Holding onto it, I called out is name, "Of the mythical 6 black blades, Yukishihai"

After the young man stood up, he panics, asking me, "What the hell is that? A sword?! Where did that come from? What are you?!"
I look at his eyes to see he still has some fight in him left.
I suppose I have to test out this sword, huh?
I pull the handle of my sword to my chest as I aim my eyes at his right cheek.
I wait until the snowflakes aligned with my eyesight. With Wind Sense, I can feel every single snowflake falling from down near our area. It helps me be more precise.

With a thrust forward, the snowflakes in reach shatter, the one near his cheek disappears as it flew to his cheek, and then, it gets a small cut, as if my blade went past him, just like that.
I can see terror on his face, and in the span of a second, he anxiously holds his hand on his cheek. He then, proceeds to look at the blood on his hand.
"What did you…", maybe he is about to have another outburst. That was what I thought at least, but now he charges at me, perhaps wanting to hit me before I can do anything weird again.

There is no way to beat me now, though. Imbuing my sword with a slight bit of cold magic, I thrusted my sword to my left. A shockwave moves through the snowflakes, they made some kind of charge attack that knocks the young man over. I see him roll over the white ground, and yet, he remains on his hands and feet at the end to quickly get up.

I thrusted my sword to my right, and as such, the snow shockwave attack comes from the opposite direction. This time, the young man notices it and blocks it with his sword, only being pushed in front of me.
"I don't know what you're doing, but it has to have a limit!", is what he said before he uses a bunch of threads on the highest levels of all buildings to catapult himself into the sky. He holds onto his strings, with that, he aims himself at me, flinging himself my way like an arrow.

With one hand, I do a casual thrust of my sword in the direction of the ground just before he gets in front of my face. Through the snow, a blow strikes his hand in which his sword was carried. I can feel a gentle breeze as his blade shoots down right in front of my nose. With his momentum stopped, I kick him in the face, knocking him back into the air.

After he did a back flip to absorb some of the pain, he tells me, "Think you can do that twice?!", as he holds the sword above his head with two hands. Before he could strike me, I thrusted the sword to the south of me, an attack through the snow hit him in the back and had him fall over behind me.
I can feel a weird sense of calmness, like no one can hurt me now. I stood still as I can hear him get up, the snow shuffling off his clothes and onto the ground.

He jumps my way again; I can feel his body trembling. I thrusted my sword slightly to the right, a small gust-like attack blasts the arm that he was trying to stab me with. I can see the end of his blade go past my head from the corner of my eyes. I jump and banged the back of my head against his face as hard as I could. I am able to hear his painful grunt as he lands on the ground. He holds his hands in his face as he scuffled around for a few seconds.

After he picked up his swords, he swings it my way horizontally, barely reaching my head.
I can feel the strings protecting his side through the air, but it matters not, as long as snow reached him, I can make a compact attack by thrusting my sword to the left and knock his left to right swing back, giving me the time to do a jumping spin kick to hit him in the cheek. After I made him flinch, I shoot myself at him with Light Step.

He guards by diagonal sword swing, but with the force I have behind me, I can easily push through and launch him back. Now he is a few dozens of meters away, and I can tell string was made behind me. He is preparing a bunch of subtle webs to my front. It's clear he wants me to move around a lot and get tripped over or trapped by his strings. He pulls himself forward with his strings for another attack.

I close my eyes, feeling every little snowflake dance over the air. I envision and focus on individual snowflakes reaching every string that is an obstacle to me while holding my blade to the side and sinking deep into my knees. After I move from my position, I swing for every snowflake that is touching every string in the millisecond before the snowflake would be separated.

With my sword's special power, I am able to cut the strings through the snow. He tries to strike me down after finally reaching me, but I hit his arms back into the air as I thrusted the sword into the air from my back. His eyes widens as he is completely open for an attack, I enchanted my fist with light as I punch him in the gut, I can hear the sound of him gagging, fortunately, nothing comes out of his mouth.

With Light step, I quickly move a distance behind him, in pain, he turns around. He can't do anything, so I just fly myself over the ground with another kick off the ground using light-step, after I closed the distance, I stomp him over the surface. He was unable to stop himself alone, he needs to attach his string from his back to a bunch of buildings in order to recover. He ends up doing so.

I can feel an intense gaze at me, he holds his sword up and close to his chest. His feet are relocating all the time. it is clear to me he only intents on defending himself now. But that only makes me want to try another technique with this sword.
Again, I focus on the snowflakes falling near him.

I looked for some kind of diagonal line of snow that matched up in front of his chest. After I line them up in my mind, I will swing my sword matching that line.
Now that I have done so, I can see blood spill from his chest. It cut it, it seems to be not much more than a scratch however.
I look at my sword, it seems I don't have full control over the snow yet. I don't know how this sword woks. My attacks are too weak compared to when I just physically hit someone

I tested enough. I hold my blade next to my hip, and as star-like particles sparks around the blade, I chant, "Fallen stars. I call upon you. Revive and dance once more."
While light was flaring up like flame from my sword, I chant more whilst it gets bigger, "Combine after having fallen apart. Become whole as one after breaking to pieces. Even alone, stand strong and believe in your strength as one. Become one bright light to vanquish those that dwell in the dark."

The light of my sword burst out and moved around like some kind of tail. I revved it up by swinging the sword around me while saying, "UnionStar…"
I finish my sentence and fire a giant flying sword slash of light at the scared guy in front me, shouting, "Light Slash!"
Using strings, he throws everything in front of him, as much as he can.

The light disintegrates everything he has used as a barrier. However, a second later, and I see movement through smoke. Running away makes sense. I can attack him without touching him, I cut all his trap strings, no attack was able to hit me, I suddenly moved so much faster than anything he had ever seen. However. I can't just let him go.

I wonder if he thought he managed to give me the slip. It took a while for him to look at me, but here we are, I am chasing him, jumping from building to building with light step. He is using his strings to pull himself further with each jump as he is building hoping. We are both going too fast for people to really notice us. He is pulling strings to throw objects my way, however, dodging them is child's play. I can tell, he isn't able to think of as many tricks as before.

Perhaps he is thinking, "What even are you? Get away from me!", or something like that.
He jumps between an ally way and increased his momentum attaching strings to the sides of the ends of the alleyways, catapulting him further. I jump far above scout him, which seems to be his plan, for an object flies behind me. I don't feel much danger, I don't even feel like dodging it.
I can see it was flown from below using one string, and another string was attached to the ground so it will knock me there with a strong pull from that string. I let it happen, sort of.

I am enchanting my feet at level 3 to use Reflection-step, allowing me to get away from the object with a kick before we touch the ground.
With the getaway made, I trail the dude from below as he is building hopping. I see him look back, hoping I am not chasing him. I can feel him sigh in relieve with Wind Sense. Oh man, how scared do you think he is, now that I jumped right above him in the middle of his jump. He looks up at me with a face that looks like he was screaming internally. I don't know if his face is pale, or if that is just the light of my blade overflowing with my light slash that I had charged up.

His only option is to try and block my sword with his own, of course, he can stop my sword, but the sheer strength of my light shoots him onto the ground. My attack was quite dense and needed some space If I don't want it to create a massive ravine, so it dispersed and flew like multiple beams through a network of alleys. I didn't feel his body on the ground with Wind Sense. He must've used string to get away in time before hitting the ground.

I can follow a trail he made. Quietly, I move as I sense him in the wind, sitting down, gasping for air. As I am around the corner, I see him whilst he says to himself. "I finally managed to escape? What was with that girl?! How can that little girl do so much?! Why am I fighting one in the first place?! I don't like hurting… Damn it. This is all too much…But I can't die yet…"

He seems like he wants to move on, however, there is no energy in him left to escape, especially now that I have my blade at his throat. I stand next to him, leaning my back against the wall, relaxed.
He raises his head slightly as the steel of my weapons gets close to his neck.
"You can't escape… I'm sorry, but there was no way for you to win.", I tell him.
"How…? What is all of this? Where did you come from? Why do you want to get to me so much? How are you still alive…?", he throws so many words out. He shudders as he tried to make a cohesive sentence.

In the end, he gives up, sits down with an unstrained body, telling me, "I can't die yet…But I get it. I was never going to succeed with unknown powers like you coming forth. I don't even remember how our fight started…"
"I don't know your story…But may I ask…Do you feel you deserve sympathy after killing a little girl?", I ask him.
He looks surprised, his head raised and turned at me, looking at me like he saw a ghost.

"So…I really…? But… No. No, I never wanted to kill…Listen, that attack might kill those too weak, hut it usually doesn't stab through someone durable! I never went for the kill!", he tells me, I can almost see his eyes welling up.
"Can you tell me…Why is it that you turn to crime?", I ask him.

"Does it matter? You're going to take revenge, right? I don't really get it, but if I really 'killed' you, then…Well…I don't deserve your mercy.", he says, the light in his eyes faints, and his posture lowers.
I take my blade back. I was thinking that he might not necessarily be a bad person.
"I won't take your life. You had something to do? Something you're willing to die for? Then, don't give up now. You want to atone? Work hard to do the right thing.", I tell him.

He was looking at me, trying to make eye contact.
I kneeled down to him and asked, "I want you to tell me everything. Maybe we can help each other."
His gaze shifts the other way, maybe he felt like declining at first, on the contrary, he says, "You're right. I can't die. I'm not doing this for myself. But for some special children to me."

My interest was piqued. I stare at him, hoping to hear more.
"One of them is my little sister. She and a few other kids had their orphanage destroyed and had to live out on the street. I was away for a while, so I only learned of it a little later. I was helping them find shelter, and took care of them. Now, maybe you have heard this story many times, but my sister had gotten sick, so I had to work hard to get money. I worked as an adventurer at first, and I learned all my techniques from that…", he tells me.

His story got a bit more twisted after he clutched his fist and anger came forth in his voice.
"Some rich people, or whatever they are, have taken the shelter hostage. Saying it was now their property and those living out the streets don't deserve rights. I wanted to fight them, but they seemed to have these weird mecha suits, I had never seen or heard of them before. I had to make a deal with them. I had to give them a sum of money, and I had to destroy their competition. But it wasn't just that. At some point, I have become so angry at all these, people who take and screw over honest people with their financial power and network of connections…At some point, I even got so angry at the idea of it all."

"You know…They were probably never going to release the children you care for.", I tell him. I do not feel like he was wrong, but I also know he could've tried something else.
"I KNOW, DAMN IT! I know…But…I also don't! Because, what if they do release them? I can't just decide to not do it just because I think they won't! And they keep…They just keep threatening not giving my sister any treatment, so she will die! Not only that! But they can just kill them all if I rebel! No one will do anything about it!", he shouts, he whines, he grunts.

"Not even the goddess?", I asked.
He stared at the ground with vacant eyes, "I don't know what she's doing. But she doesn't seem to care at all. There are more like me who get no help. An no one believes me when I tell them about this issue. I don't even know the business they are in, so I can't give any info", he says

I can see some dark aura. I feel shaken up a bit…I remember…yes. These feelings were the same I felt when I was born and roaming around for a month. The negative energy! This person has given up all hope, and even resents the CPUs.
I give him a hand and say, "I understand now. Come with me. Let's make things right.", I told him.

"Why? Why would you help me? Didn't I hurt you? And what are we even going to do?", he asks me.
"You know, I am strong. But you are no slouch either. You know, you can do the right thing. And we, now, both know the situation. Helping each other out is simple now, isn't it? I know what to do. And if you come with me, you shall find your true purpose too.", I tell him.
"What is that? Sounds high and mighty. You are strong, but…How do you know what my true purpose is?", he asked me.
"Because I have learned mine. And it is to help those like you, left in the dark.", I say.

I try to raise him up, however, midway, he stops me and says, "Sorry, you're still a bit too small, I'll get up myself."
I somehow feel insulted, so I will just say an irritated, "Oi…", as he gets up.
He clears his pants of snow before asking me, "What is our plan?"
"Let's find a hideout first. We can't discuss much out in the open. And we need a place to rest.", I tell him.
"Okay. But before we go. Can you at least tell me your name?", he replies.
I am thinking about it…I mumble, "My name". while thinking, Should I use that name?
"My name is…Bios."

Name: Bios
Age: Nonexistent, died after a year.
Height: 125 CM
Occupation: Vigilante.
Residence: None.

My hair was brown and rather short, except for two long strips of hair at each side of my face reaching down to my chest. My eyes are a dull blue color. My skin is fair, though it seems to have become paler. Indeed, I am not nearly that big.

The top of my clothing looks like a coat that belonged to a biker dude; it is partially wrapped in leather tethering. Black in color with light blue buttons all over. It is detailed and made with a multitude of materials. It is split open above my chest area, and showed the crimson red cotton layer underneath. It is a one piece, I wear a black, incredibly folded miniskirt, with some folds being colored grey instead. A dark red belt is around the skirt despite it being attached to the overall outfit.

I wear black thigh-highs, which are hold up by dark red garter belts. I didn't use shoes; I am going to go on with my Black Geta from now on. I have black fingerless gloves with dark blue accents. I wear a black hat that has the symbol on the front of a red flame with a blue snowflake on top of it. It was mostly made of fur. I don't wear this too often if I get into a serious fight, however.

We roamed around for a bit. It took a while, but we ended up finding some kind of abandoned dome in a connection of alleyways with mostly empty buildings. It would seem a failed experiment caused some fighting robots to go haywire, some speculate there being some remaining danger looming around. I didn't sense anything with Wind Sense, neither did I care, if there is a problem, I would just get rid of it.

"Isn't this place perfect for a hidden base? The floor is covered with snow because of the roof being torn off, yes, but no one will look for us here.", I say as we walked in.
"I'm used to sleeping in the cold, so it's fine with me.", he responds.
There is a higher level, some kind of, metal hill, that I jump on. I like being higher up, gives me the feeling I can see more.

I turn around and looked down at the one who followed me.
He looks at me, for some reason, I can see a sour face on him. I tilt my head slightly.
He asks me, "Um…That stab wound…Doesn't it hurt. There is no blood…But…"
I looked down and held my hand below the hole in my belly.
"Oh this? It seems to not be a problem. But it does look weird. Let me try something.", I say.

I could feel my eyes lit up with power, and before I know it, I am in a pillar of light. For a second, just a second, I can feel the change of body, only for the last remaining share energy within me to fade away. I look down, the hole is healed by my act of transforming.
"What are…Wait. Are you. A goddess?!", he says as he looks at me dumbstruck.

I feel kind of sad, but I will try to answer him without hurting his feelings. "I am not one. Such was not meant to be my true purpose."
He still looked down. I think he could feel it was hit fault.
"Before we discuss anything. Can you now tell me, your name?", I ask him.
He nods to me. He prepares himself, tries to look confident.
"You can call me, Silicon Knight."

Name: Siruku Kumodachi
Code Name: Silicon Knight
Age: 17
Height: 174 CM
Occupation: Vigilante
Place of origin: Lowee.
Place of residents: Same as Bios.

His style is kind of weird. He has green hair which had darker shades close to the center of his hair. It kind of looks like a spiky bush of hair, he told me he had to comb it a lot for it to look presentable. He wears an expensive looking traditional outfit that seems robe-like. I figure he used his own threads to create some of his clothing.

He told me he wore a skin-tight black under-shirt and a sturdier green outfit when he was just an adventurer who used little string in combat. He was able to get some armor that acted as machinery that used the wearer's SP to create string threads. With white armor and string as attachments, the more lose outfit his green robe was tightened to his body so it won't inconvenience him in battle. He wears dark green pants with some of the same type of silk-like parts. White metal armor-like pieces are stuck to his arms legs and hips most of the time. He wears something bigger om his back, string seems to constantly circulate over his armor.
His sword is made of the same material, it looked big, and it actually looks rather blunt. It is technically a silver wide sword.

"Now that we know each other, can I ask? What is the plan? And what is your goal besides just simply helping people?", he asks me.
I sit down with my legs crossed. I look at him and give a speech, "We're going to keep things simple. Obviously, helping people is one thing. Defeating criminals, stopping threats to the citizens, giving to the unfortunate. However, those are all things even regular people could possibly do. While attacking bigger people has a nice sound to it, not all of them are shady. We won't solve anything either that way. We have to go after those that hide in the dark, cut off their connections to be taken by the goddess whilst they stay in shadows. They are who take what they want, knowing who won't be able to do anything back, yes, the ones lost in the shadow."

I point at him, "That includes the ones who messed with you! They will be the first big target…And after that. We'll go after every connection to these dark business people that throw those with no way to seek the light in the garbage when they serve no use. I don't care what their goals are, if the goddess won't do anything, I will stop them from terrorizing this nation."

He stares so intensely at me, I feel like I can even hear him absorb all I just said…It's kind of embarrassing.
With a smile, he says, "Well, that is all good. I don't know where you came from, but your big goal gives me the idea you've seen a lot."
I don't understand what he means. "Hm? You gave me this idea, to be honest. Sure, I wanted to help those in the dark. But now I really understand what I have to do. After listening to your story, I understand the negative side of this nation. And I have an idea of who I'm after.", I reply.

"So, we're going after them? Even the ones who hold so much control over others? Even those with hostages?", despite the questions, he says all of that as if they are statements.
He knows the answer already.
I stand up, holding my hand in front of my face.
"Weapon Create…"
Weapon Create, an ability I was born with. It allows me to create any weapon that I understand. I know how swords work, so I can make swords. It uses my imagination in order to fully materialize it and give it the correct properties. I read about the swords of myth, I know how swords work, and can imagine what those blades were like according to the scripture, which allowed me to make this black blade. But what is a weapon?

Such an ill-defined term. Can't everything be considered a weapon? When they say that the pen is mightier than the sword, they don't simply mean you can stab someone with it. Your writings can incite people into attacking your enemies. So, my weapon, will be my identity. Strike fear into enemies, and to never be known by friends.

I had to think, focus and imagine to create a similar mask to the rabbit one.
"Dark Weapon Create.", I say as the blue building blocks flare into a black chalk-like flares, making a black mask. It looks like black metal, but wasn't heavy. It feels like steel in my hands, but when I put it one, it feels comfortable and soft. It starts rather wide from my nose but the side of the mask gets thinner and ends with a sharp point.
"Let's go then!", I say as I raise a fist.
I lowered my fist to point forward and said, "It is time to get these guys what they deserve."
Sili-san, as I shall now call him, got excited, even yelling with me. "Alright! Let's do it!"

Out in the snowy city, some common thief ran having stolen someone's mobile device. He thought he could smoothly stay off the guards' radar after turning a corner, only to get stuck in a web of string. Sili-san walks past him, he moved slowly, his posture felt like that of an assassin's.
I can hear the guy try to scream, but Sili-san used his string to wrap the man up and silence him. "Silicon Cocoon.", Sili-san says after completing his…"Art piece" The guy wasn't dead, just ready to be captured by the guards.

Sili-san uses his strings to launch himself towards me. I was standing on a building, watching it all.
"Is it really worth putting much time into capturing fools like that along the way?", he asks me.
"The more criminals you capture, the faster the real dangerous ones come out of hiding. Besides, less idiots on the streets means a higher chance of us running into someone with useful connections.", I tell him.

I can hear a scream. I look in the direction it's coming from and saw a woman struggling with a guy.
It seems the streets aren't as safe at night as it used to be, fair enough, most have been busy with the Assailants of Death. The few guards stationed here at night have their hands full.
I glance over to Sili, and after that, I focus on the target.
With light step, I launch myself down.
The slight shockwave of my landing had pulled the woman and man apart.

"What the he-", before he can end his sentence, with my fist glowing in light, I punch him into a wall. I can hear two other guys running my way. Through the air, I can feel their breaths ragged. From the shadows of an alley, one of them jumps out and tries to slug me in the face. I knew it was coming, so I jump over his fist.
With a kick to the face, he flies over the ground.

After landing on his back, unconscious, the other man shoots at me with a hand pistol.
Since I can see at the speed of light, this bullet appears slow to me. I easily step away, and will spring behind him with light step. After the heels of my feet flared up white, I was at his back.
"Eh?! Where did she go?", the panic in his voice kind of made me feel bad for him.
I tap his back, letting him know I was behind him.
He turns around, knowing where I am. Now I feel comfortable knocking him out with a powerful punch to the gut.
Seconds after he drops to the ground, I walked back to the middle of the street.

"Um…", I hear the woman behind me, so I turn to her to hear her out.
"Thank you for saving me! Could you, please, tell me your name?", she asks.
My name? I didn't want recognition, so my real name is a no-go. But people believing me to be fighting for them might be advantages… But I can't think of a stage name at the spot.
I reply with, "I have no name. I am simply a shadow that fights for Lowee when no one else can."
For the record, I never talk as often as I am going to have to. I only spoke often with those close to me. I want to sound like I am strong too, but how do strong people normally talk? I can only use my imagination.

I think she wanted to ask me more questions, but I feel I have no business here, So I launch myself into the air with a burst of light from under my feet.
I see Sili-san is gone from our position. After looking around, I notice he caught more people with strings. I followed him after seeing him get back onto the rooftops. On our way to where they hold the children, we cleaned up the streets here and there. Until we eventually saw someone Sili-San recognizes.

We look at them from above.
"He's the one that has been giving me all my orders. He calls himself Bragi, pretty sure it is not his real name.", Sili-san says.
Bragi wore a generic suite, had sunglasses on, but his hair was weird, pink and standing up in a wavy form.

"Do you think you can lure his boss out?", I ask him.
"If that is your plan, I can simply do that by threatening him. However, they will most likely aim deadly forces at the children, trying to convince me to stop, or even kill me.", he told me.
"Don't worry. I won't let any innocent die. Challenge him. We beat the boss, we beat them all.", I give him my thoughts.

Sili-san jumped off the building. He is falling in a way that made him look as nimble as a butterfly. He attaches string to the wall, and three other man that are with Bragi are violently pulled against the wall. After Sili-san landed, I see him tying them up with string, making sure they won't get in the way.

"Hod. We've been looking for you.", Bragi says, seemingly unimpressed as he readjusts his sunglasses and calmly turns to him.
"We've been thinking you are planning to betray us. Your next assignment has yet to be done. What is it you think you're going?", Bragi's voice sounded annoying, kind of what you would expect a talking mouse to sound like.
"I was preoccupied. There has also been a change of plans. Call the boss, I have to discuss our terms of agreement.", Sili-san replies to him, he gave off the feeling of a smart-ass.

"Change of plans? Since when do you think you have the authority to do so? The deal is simple, we won't kill your orphans, and you do as we say. You can't decide how you work for us.", Bragi sounded like he wants to say more, but Sili-san brought his sword out and holds it to his neck.
"I can. Make that decision.", is a cold reply that he gives to Bragi.

I can feel him tremble. He attempts to keep his composure, but he knows he will die if he doesn't respond appropriately, "I understand. I shall contact boss immediately. But you should know, he will most likely come with an army. You don't need to worry about these three guys. I was doing business with them, but they were leading me into a bad deal I couldn't have escaped from. However, what will make the boss angrier, is the fact that you have wasted your time tying up criminals.", Bragi tells him.
Sili-san put his sword back and said, "I don't care. Just bring everyone, if you can."

With a strained face, Bragi walks away from the scene. I can hear an eerie sound through the wind, I stood up. In the next second, a black shadow had moved behind Sili-san.
It was someone in black ninja-garb, holding a knife at his throat.
"Ah…I can sense it…Your true intention is to destroy our business, isn't that right? Huhuhu. You don't have to hide it, I can feel what you feel. The boss won't be mad at me for disposing you earlier than intended, trust me."

I didn't even think, I materialized my bow and arrow and will take a shot at him. Despite the speed of my arrow, the ninja grabs it with his hand. He looks over, I notice a spike of movement from his body. He is nervous, only able to catch the arrow by the noise of it splitting the winds.
I jump over to him with light step, he moves away at the same time.
"He's getting away.", I hear my friend whilst this ninja moved like a shadow as he ricochets from the side of buildings.

I materialize a knife and say, "No he won't." With light infused in my finger tip, I chant, "Reflection!", and shoot my knife at him at light speed. The ninja falls on the snow. We walked over to his motionless body.
Sili-san seems shocked. "He's dead.", he says to me.

"So he is.", I reply, I feel rather disappointed, but for some reason, I don't feel guilty either.
"But. Is that alright. I mean, I sure have done something like that as well…But we are supposed to be heroes, or something, right?", He tells me.
"Sorry, Sili-san. I got to this path because of the people I killed for the first time. You are right, if you can help it, don't kill anyone, even if they deserve it. Not for them, but for your own soul. You will change as a person; you might get a fate you wouldn't have wanted. Don't worry about me, however. For me it is not only too late, I was also meant to become this way.", I reply.

Sili-san walked over to my side and asked me, "I have been questioning this from the beginning. But where do you get this wisdom from?"
Wisdom? I have been stuck in thought after dying. And I had so many feelings swell up when I was reborn. I just can't help but say what I think.
"I wouldn't call myself wise. I know not much. But I have learned what my destiny is, so now, I feel I know exactly what to do, even if I am confused by many other things.", I explain to him.

He nods, says, "Okay," He stood up straight and looked out, asking me, "He is going to harm the hostages if I fight back. What is our plan? Is it really going to be okay?"
"Don't worry. They don't know about me. You go there, beat some of their weakest first to show them you are serious. I will be sniping them with this bow and arrow from afar for when they threaten the hostages. They won't do anything foolish when met with an unknown force, I would think."

"I get it…But wouldn't it have been better to find their base and take them out slowly, but quietly?", he asks me.
"And give them the initiative to get to the hostages? Maybe even killing them already? Whilst we get them in their buildings, others can easily slip out and cause troubles, too. Not only that, they knew from beforehand that you have not fulfilled the assignment yet. If they were attacked, they will know it is you from the beginning.", I explain to him.

"So, we get them all outside to take them all out and safe the hostages at the same time? That's crazy.", he replies, I can almost hear his heartbeat.
"I am a little crazy. Don't worry, together, we are strong. We will defeat them, and take the children back.", I say so with confidence. I make it sound like I am excited for this, hoping he will not be worried for our fates.
"You got it!", he shouts before walking with me with presto.
It's a good thing he is an optimist, or at least, easy to convince.
With our morale high, it has become time to face his nemesis.

As per our plan, I am standing on the most nearby tallest building to where the fight will happen. I have my bow and arrow out. Conveniently, I also have these binoculars that Rom and Ram gave me a long time ago…I kind of left it in my inventory and forgot to return it before I left…Oops.

Sili-san gave some kind of audio, communication livestream recorder mcthingy…I don't really understand how it works, he had to set it up for me so I didn't need to do anything.
I can already see some gun wielding mooks near some old worn-down buildings surrounded by some apartment buildings that looked out of place, like they didn't belong in Lowee.

I see Sili-San in the air, attaching two strings to the corners of two rooftops to catapult himself downwards. When he was within reach, he shot string at two guards that were the farthest away from the rest of the group. After flying past them, he uses his momentum to throw the guards inside buildings with a pull from his strings.

There was one guy there that looked rather weak. He wore some kind of purple outfit that looked similar to a schooler's uniform.
"Hod?! Why did you sent those guards flying? Didn't you just want to talk?!", this guy said.
Sili-san stood straight after sending those guards flying, I see him straightening his posture and telling him, "That is not my name anymore. Those guards? I figured you lot wanted to give me a welcome committee, so I thought, why not give you a little greeting?"

Some more armed men gather around the schooler clothed person aiming their guns at Sili-san. I think he uses the mechanisms on his fingers to attach strings to their guns. He pulls them towards him, making some of them nearly fall over. He spins their guns around and flung them back at them at high speeds, knocking them over.
"Does it even matter, Mimir? You guys place these mooks to just be destroyed. You don't care for these incompetent fools; I and others have beaten many of them before without any of you blinking an eye.", Sili-san says.

He is doing a pretty good job of aggravating them. Their leader should show up soon
A large group of the same enemies gather far behind Sili-san, and just now they fire bursts of bullets at him. He crosses his finger behind his back and says, "Silicon Web.", creating a complex web of threats that slices or just entangles the bullets. He turns his head back and shoots a nasty glare at them.
I see them intimidated, stepping back and tripping over some threats as they stepped back.
Looking around the area, I notice he has been placing far more threads than when he fought me, almost like our fight is made him more careful.

I just saw him pull himself at them with string, and swinging his sword wildly as he passes them. However, he didn't hit a single one.
He sighed, and just a moment after, he calmly walks back to whom he called Mimir.
As the soldiers were getting back up, he tells them, "You can send as many goons as you want at me. They won't be able to hurt me."
Right before the soldiers can fire, Sili-san raised his hand before pulling his fingers into a closed hand. All the strings he had quickly set up, linking the mooks to the non-sturdy walls, are being pulled. The walls collapse onto them, surely knocking them out.

"Then how about a monster?", I hear a new voice through the intercommathing. I can see someone cast in shadow. They are wearing some kind of odd mystic robe and a turban. They threw some kind of cube and summoned a Flame Fenrir. It runs fiercely at Sili-san, but there is no sign of fear from him. After movement of his fingers, large stone bricks, a lantern pole, and other projectiles from the street flies into the Flame Fenrir from every angle simultaneously.

It feels like time has stopped as Sili-san attaches a string into the Fenrir linking it with the tip of his sword, he lets the string pull his sword so he can send the monster flying with a powerful thrust. It hits the mystery summoner, sending him sky-high. The Fenrir was fading away, and I only now noticed he shot another string out his sword with that thrust, linking it with the mystery person. He pulls that person down towards him and prepares to swing his sword at full power. When that mystery person reached his altitude, Sili-san slashes him. That mystery person ends up flying into the corner of a building, he practically breaks into it.

"You took out Hermod?!", Mimir shouts at him. He looks scared.
"You guys really are that surprised. You should know, it is only your boss I fear, and that is only because of the battle mecha he has.", Sili-san tells him.
Now, a large group of mooks with different weapons gathered. Behind them, a huge silhouette emerges. He rode on what looked like some kind of big mechanical hippo-crocodile hybrid.

"Well, well, well. I didn't expect all of this from you.", is being said by this big man wearing this really stupid looking Dracula-esque cape.
"Boss. He is kicking our asses! Please, punish him!", Mirmir tells him, fidgeting around pointing fingers.
"Hm…? Where did your composure go, Mimir? Man, one thing goes wrong and all of you get laid out like this?", their boss replies.
"Hod…I have heard you wanted to renegotiate our verbal contract? I don't quite care for you wasting my men. I am quite tired of everyone's incompetence. Hermod shouldn't have even attacked. And you Mimir! You should never lose your cool as our informant! What kind of status report is, "Kicking our asses", HUH?!", their boss rants, seemingly switching moods often.

"I came here to tell you, I quit!", Sili-san tells them.
All of them look at him with wide open eyes.
Even their boss is taken aback, saying, "No…Why? I have your sister hostage? You know what quitting means right?! I would've been fine giving you more freedom. I was even thinking of promoting you for being more competent! Are you screwing with me OR WHAT?!"
"I know what quitting means. And don't worry. It is not all. I shall forsake the codename given by you, and go by the name under which I will face you. My name is Silicon Knight, I will stand against any of you who dare use your power to abuse the weak!", he tells them.

He says it with pride, but I can see on his face, he isn't sure if it is the right choice.
Their boss clicks his tongue. He looks over to his right. After making eye-contact with his underlings, he nudged his head.
The building next to them, it was an old ruined building, but the inside had modern technology in them, they don't even look from Lowee. Now that I look closely, the children are in there. Their boss aimed some kind of gun with a long barrel at the window, whilst inside there, some kind of mechanical stands with electric discharging weapons were aimed at the kids.

"Now, think about this, Sillycon Knight. I can shoot your sister right now, if you refuse to obey me. You can fight back, but then, the other children die. You may be able to try and safe those children, but then, I shoot your sister. Got it? You don't really have a choice.", so their boss says.
I can barely see Sili-san almost choke. His breathing got more ragged. And yet, he says, "You're not my boss. I have found a new hope."
I am standing up, not even looking at them fully anymore. I have made the plan.

With a bow and arrow in my hand, I take aim, I will be that hope. Fight back.
I fire an arrow of light at the gun of their boss, and immediately fire a second one aiming for his head.
But I am not done yet, I don't understand much of electronics. But I do know how a lightning rod works. If those weapons discharge lightning, all I have to do is have it absorb the electricity, and then shoot it elsewhere with another arrow of light. But before that, I have to unload an arsenal of arrows to distract those goons below.

As per my plan, a storm of arrows rained onto the goons, whilst they were occupied, I shot a lightning rod with my bow and arrow through the window of the building where the kids are stuck in. I will now quickly shoot another arrow of light so that it knocks the rod away after it absorbs all the lightning. With the lightning rod knocked away, it safely discharged in an empty space. Time is of the essence, so I shoot myself down onto the ground with Reflection Step, right next to the boss. I see him catch a glimpse of me, but he has no time to react.

I place my hand on his machine with light shining from my palm, and then I say, "Reflection"
He was heavy, so I could only reflect him off of me at a short distance, but, is that bad when I can basically push him into a building at light speed? It works for a good distraction at least.
"Boss Odin!", I hear his subordinates yell.
So that is his name.

"You shall pay for this!", men and women with swords and axes jump towards me.
Sili-san, who was behind me, shot strings out of his mechanical attachments and attached them to these people.
"We shall pay…?", he said before throwing them into the building with the children inside. I did not even need to look, I know he smashed their bodies against the weapons, destroying them. I am worried about the children being hit however.

My feet are still enchanted with Light, I can use reflection step. Unlike Light Step, it is not as easy to control, but I can move at the speed of light. Before any of them can get hit, I am moving them to a safer room further back into the ruined building. They will probably get dizzy from that, but they will be safe at least. I can feel Sili-san fighting through the wind. Throwing enemies around, hitting them with his sword, using his strings to trick and trap them. I can feel he needs some help. I zoom out of the room and kick an unsuspecting henchman into a bunch of others, they flew like a bunch of bowling pins.

After that, I am taking a breath, relaxing a little. I can feel someone approach me, I hear his howl and his sword swooshing towards me. I casually step behind his back at light speed, I can see him missing me. Confused, he looks for me. Without any thought, I punch him in the back with a fist of light, to make it hurt a bit extra. As he flinches, I kick him away. I do not know where he ended up, for my enchantment was still on, so he flew at the speed of light.

I can feel a bunch of them gathering around me, ready to shoot a full burst of bullets. I reflect myself off the ground at light speed and into the air, I notice my light enchantment fading.
After looking at them shoot each other instead of me, I let my blade burst in a flaming white light. With a swing, I throw a raging stream of light at them whilst shouting, "CombinationStar, Light Slash!", it was a weaker version that was quicker to shoot and less destructive. It was enough to take out a bunch of mooks.

After landing, some dude quickly rushed at me with a katana. He tried to strike me with a diagonal slash, I easily moved aside and hit his blade towards his feet with a quick swipe of my own sword. With light step, I move through him whilst my sword goes through as I hold it horizontally to my right. Now that I am behind him, I swing my sword before putting it into my sheet.

I can hear the thud of him falling unconscious behind me. I went to many different samurai-like enemies with light step, either cutting them down before they could do anything, avoid an attack and immediately counter, or in cases where they are grouped together, I let my sword flare up in light to do a powerful slash that had more range and prowess.

I notice my sword being stopped, a bunch of men with heavy shields got on my way.
"Cut through this we dare you?", they say.
And this is exactly why I trained with multiple weapons. I materialized an axe and will use it to smash its blade inside one of the shields. "Explosion", I say before jumping away, letting the axe explode, knocking all of the shield bearers out.

"Main shield unit is out! Prepare light shield units!", I hear as I land back onto the ground. From the smoke of the explosion comes a lancer, before he can Pierce me, I shall jump high into the sky. I avoided him altogether. I will proceed to fire arrows from above to pick out weak enemies, some of these I've cast explosion on as well. In the meantime, I want to watch Sili-san for a bit.

I can see he has gotten rid of the rest of the gun carriers by slinging them into the air and smashing them down onto other groups.
A guy with a sword moves forward pushing back at him. Little does he know, Sili-san's sword emits strings as well, wrapping the enemies' sword in his string, he jumps back and with a mighty pull, throws that guy into another building.

He sees a lancer approach him. he jumps past the lancer and avoids his thrust, whilst string releases. The string entangled the lance, with it, Sili-san snags it out of his hands. And with a spin, he plunges it into the back of the lancer. A squad of attackers with swords and lightweight shields in each hand charges at him.

I see his hand thrust in the direction of a roof piece, after that, I see him fly over to them, or so it that is what it looks like, he is using a string to pull himself towards them. He slams his sword against their shields, which doesn't do much. But then, he does a leap to his right while swinging the sword with him in that direction. Debris from shattering buildings flew into the squad, hitting their bodies in the sides. They're soaring across the ground, tumbling over each other.

Someone tried to smash his axe into Sili-san, only to be mortified as a bunch of string stops his axe. Sili-san had already turned around, he tells him, "Oh come on. You all should've been more informed than this. I use many types of string, including ones made of steel, bundle them together, and not even an axe can get through." He wraps his axe in silky string whilst entangling his hands to the handle, he then threw him against a bunch of other mooks.

I can see one ninja sneak up on him, so I shoot her with an arrow in the neck. I quickly land behind Sili-san to block a blade from another ninja who had lunged herself at him. I pushed her blade away with my own sword before shooting her over the air with a kick. I felt it is better to fight back-to-back with him, with fewer enemies to jump at us, we can easily fight defensively rotating around to take out opponents best suited to our fighting styles at the right times.

I turn around as I hear the rumbling of debris moved away. Their boss came out, the thing he rode on folded and combined with his body in the middle as it turned into the shape of some kind of mecha suit. It was a simple robot designed to look like a rhino. He wielded two large detachable electric blades.
"YOU LITTLE SHITS THINK YOU CAN JUST COME IN AND DEPLETE MY ENTIRE WORKFORCE!? Fine. I shall find more useful tools later. But first! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!", he rants at us whilst swinging into extreme moods of calm and fuming.

I can sense someone at the top of a tall building. I jumped into a crowd of mooks avoiding some type of projectile. I'm pretty sure I heard the sound of a rifle going off. I barely notice the crowd of mooks running around to get into better positions.
Oh, these guys are still here. Maybe I should take them out so they won't get in the way of the fight. After that thought. I shoot a blade of light at them, hurting and blinding most of them. After that, I sliced through the rest at sub-sonic speed before dodging another projectile from the marksman.

I look behind my shoulder to see some woman in shiny chrome armor with a rifle in front of my nose. I instinctively slashed the barrel of the gun before I let my legs move away from her out of habit. The chrome woman thrusted herself at me with jet boosters, pushing me over the snow as she uses a crooked chrome katana-like longsword against my blade. I can see we are reaching two small buildings behind me. I will jump onto one to get her off of me, she jumped onto the other building. We stared at each other.

Looking at her from up close. She doesn't even seem human. Could she be a robot? The energy radiating from her feels familiar.
With a burst from her engines, she flies over to me in an attempt to cut me down, it feels sudden. Without thinking, I sprung high into the air, looking below me, I see the air sliced by her sword, she spent no second and is going to be flying into me in less than a second. I guard myself with my sword as she knocks her blade into mine leaning her whole body onto it, lifting me further into the air.

Whilst our blades were at each other's throats, I can see energy coming from dents in her arms. If I follow these strings of energy, I can see that she was forming some kind of ball of power behind my back. The moment I noticed the outer layer of the energy orb moving, I cast explosion with one hand to propel me away from the space between the Chrome lady and the energy ball. I can see her firing a beam from the energy orb where I used to be. Part of the laser hit herself, but didn't damage her too much.

She puts herself above me, about to strike me down. I can only block her sword with my own blade.
If I weren't tough enough, I would be dead from crashing into the building, but for me, it just feels like a rough landing on my feet.
I can see the air warp with a boom as the machine shoots herself at me, so I leap away with Light Feet.
She follows me with an attempt to stab me in the face. I quickly nudge her sword away from my head with my own blade.

An A.I must be controlling her. Her attacks are too simple. I hopped to the downwards slope of a building's roof to my right as she swung her sword down. She chases me with another strike whilst I move away. She seems to be of relative intelligence. Able to fight with basic fighting procedure and typical moves. However, she can't think outside the box. This won't be nearly as much of a problem as Blue Screen.

I jump over her as she did a dashing slash. Just as her head turned to me, with a light engulfed foot, I kick her in the face, only slightly knocking her back.
Her steel is tough. She moves towards me with haste, thinking I could take a scratch, I moved forward and targeted her foot. We are only standing a few centimeters apart with our swords swung. I scratched her leg. More importantly, I can see a tint of blood from my shoulder she slightly sliced.
She has to power to mortally harm a what I am. That isn't normal.

I swiftly placed my hand on the robot, with "Reflection", I send her away to the other building at light speed. She is somewhat strong. My strength is not high enough to reflect her very far. However, it isn't at a level that I have to take her seriously. I've seen all the most important aspects.
I look over to the side. I can see Sili-san's fight is about to start. I'll have to dodge her attacks whilst watching. I have to see what he can truly manage alone.

"You sure you have the confidence to defeat me? Last time you thought you could defy us, our little squabble didn't end well for you.", Odin said.
"I don't think I can win. But that little girl has terrified me more than you ever could. So, I dare to fight.", Sili-san told him. He took a position, holding his sword ready to deflect any attack.

"Haha! I shall crush that spirit!", the boss says to him. His machine had winter tires under its feet, with an engine in the back. He closes the distance to Sili-san. Sili-san seems to have induced that he was going to do a cross slash, for he had strings prepared to block his swords, however, pieces of his swords were made to detach, without losing the speed of his swing. The string went between the detachable parts of his blade. The tips of Odin's swords are flying at Sili-san.

While Sili-san can effortlessly deflect these with his own blade, the mecha can easily move forward, thus, even if his swords can't reach him, he can shove Sili-san further and further back at the speed of a bike.
Not only is this putting a lot of force on his body, but if the swords were to detach and fly into him now, he will die. He struggles with his arm, but carefully releases a string. He grabbed onto the string with his hand and moved under the machine's groin, a gap between the two legs, letting the string pull him. All he had to do was let his feet relax and lean his back to the ground.

I can see the boss quickly turn around and shoot a bolt of lightning from one of his blades. Sili-san seems to have experienced this before, for he had already shot a string at a lantern pole to rubber-band himself up into the air, he dodged the lightning bolt. With a swipe of both swords, the boss releases their steel as individual pieces, connected by a field of lighting, they charged one another up, about to shoot huge rays of lightning at Sili-san.

Luckily, Sili-san can move around in the air by shooting his string at the ground and getting himself pulled in that direction, barely escaping the huge field of lightning. He rolls over the ground, and at the same time, the boss pieces his swords back together. When Sili-san turns around to look at Odin, he slams his sword onto the ground, creating a wave of lightning that covers the area in front of him.

Sili-san uses two strings on the buildings to his sides to get himself into the air. Even if he avoided that move, Odin shoots two lightning strikes at each end of his string. His strings conduct electricity, I can nearly make out his skeleton from the lightning. Should I do something? Then, I see despite smoke coming from his body, that his fighting spirit is no lower than before.

Odin takes the chance to fire a bunch of small missiles from all over his body. Sili-san grinned before he gathers his arms and says, "Spider String" A web of strings entangled the rockets as they got near each string, Sili-san redirects them back at Odin. Odin can only guard as he gets barraged by explosions.

"Warning, damage taken. Mecha suit at 1% damage.", can be heard from a system voice coming out of the robot, I see Sili-san on the ground catching his breath in the meantime.
"I see…You have become cleverer. And our last fight built some resistance to lightning. However, that does not imply you can win… IDIOT!.", Odin tells him calmly before snapping all of a sudden.
With a clasp of his blades, he shoots another thunderbolt at Sili-san, jumped over it, using a single string to quickly get up, he instantly let's go of it to prevent another shock.

With haste, Odin moves right in front of him preparing to smite him.
I see Sili-san attempting to block it, only to get kicked high into the air.
"Just because my swords are my most intimidating weapons doesn't mean this mecha isn't capable of using its own fists and feet!", Odin shouted.

With a burst from the engine, Odin shoots himself into the sky above Sili-San. With both swords, he smacked him onto the ground. After landing himself, Odin dashes over to Sili-san, who had bounced off the ground with his back. From his right, Odin launches Sili-san over the ground with his two lightning swords. To stop himself from flying, Sili-san uses string on the corners of buildings and a webbing on his back. Of course, this is a great target for lightning. He gets shocked by another one of Odin's attacks.

Gasping in pain, Sili-san drops to his knees.
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you… It is unfortunate you have to perish now. But man…YOU DESERVE IT TWAT! HAHAHA!", Odin looked sad at first, then rages, and is now laughing. He stretches an arm out, it is extending at a rapid paste, its blade nearing Sili-san.
With one look of determination, Sili-san stood up before he jumps over the blade. He entangles the hilt of the sword with string. Despite being electrocuted, he takes the pain and takes the sword out of Odin's hand.

I can see a raging adrenaline on Sili-san's face as he does a flip to get behind one string, pulling on it with the electric sword. Now he fires it at back at Odin. It pierces through his armor, running its electricity through the machine, hurting Odin himself. He grunts, and he even nearly collapses. Alas, it would seem there is some resistance to lightning build inside the machine, so he didn't take the full load of thunder.
"Warning. Damage at 10%. Non-essential circuits overloaded, non-functional.", so says a voice coming from the armor.

I suppose he figured not to use ranged attacks on Sili-san anymore. He grabs the other sword with both hands and charges at Sili-san, who has fallen on the ground, catching his breath. He drags himself up. He parried Odin's blade with his own sword, using strings to pull his sword faster. They were clashing with their blades at near equal strength multiple times until Odin performed a powerful strike that Sili-san is struggling to shrug off. While shoving the sword down onto him, Odin let one hand go off his sword. He quickly punched Sili-san, he even stretched his arm out to further push him away.

Odin immediately followed up with a lightning bolt, nearly frying Sili-san.
I suppose this is as far as he goes. I have played around with this machine for enough time. I will finish her off and get to Sili-san in a minute
I was in mid-air thinking that, after I landed, that machine's blade glows blue as she is about to do a thrust. I jump high in the air, looking down, she unleashed a small blue beam that seems strong enough to pierce iron.

I see it willing to block a strike from my sword, so I will throw it into the air and grab my axe instead. Realizing I had switched weapons, it jumps away at the last second. I chase her with a thrust of a spear I materialized right as the axe broke the ceiling. She barely blocks my spear and was flown over to the other building's roof.
After standing straight, I ask, "What are you? I can sense something odd from you."

"This is Machine KamiKira013, Code Name, Freya. I am one of many test modules produced to fight with the power of a Goddess. Artificial Share Energy is used.", it talks to me.
It would seem she follows orders, but besides that, this machine was never made to be actually used, thus, it also had no qualms in revealing secrets. Most probably die before knowing anyway. Artificial share energy? I knew something was odd. However, I think she's using more light magic rather than divine power

I hold out one hand, aiming my palm at her, I feel kind of bad for it. To fight me with inferior goddess power. You have an inherit disadvantage to me. You are weak to darkness and negative energy.
I close my eyes. After dying. I got filled with negative emotions. Those are used for dark magic, I wasn't capable at it at first, because I never felt that way.
After I opened my eyes, I shout, "Nega-Sphere" A purple orb appeared in front of Freya and bursts as it expended, dealing damage. I can tell she was weakened by it.

I took the time to enchant my sword with the darkness element, she quickly dashes towards me in the meantime. At just the right time, I had finished my enchantments. With Light-Step, I sped my way past her. It went by in a flash, her sword went over me as I ducked, just before I swung my own sword below her torso. She was cut in two and fell off the roof.
Looking back at the fight between Sili-san and Odin, he is stretching his arm to punch Sili-san, who could barely stand.

Shooting myself near Sili-san, I unsheathed my sword. I landed, my arm was in the air, with my blade raised up high. I had already cut the arm's extending cord. I stopped right in front of Sili-san. I turn to see Odin's arm retract awkwardly.
"You can just cut through his arm like that?", Sili-san asks me. I can see Odin leaning his head back as he looks shocked as well.
"When you go as fast as me, it is a bit easier to cut through certain things. But don't worry about it.", I reply back to him.

I calmly walk over to Odin, at the same time, I tell Sili-san, "Take a minute break, support me when you can. I will take him on."
"Take me on? Who do you think you are?! What did you do to Freya?!", Odin sounds angry, then scared, all of a sudden, he bursts out laughing, "Well. this is fine. Maybe I can actually use this thing more seriously."
He dives towards me, he might've thought he can strike me down. However, it is easy for me to deflect his blade, bursts of light could be seen in the air as Odin is starting to panic from his blade being smashed back.

He takes another swing at me, but with my sword flowing in light, I knock it back again.
They might be wondering how I can be so much stronger, well, concentrating light magic into my sword whilst still using it as a melee weapon simply makes my sword stronger.

So, no matter how hard he tries to slash me, I can knock his sword back any time. After a while, he seems to have realized it is no use. Jumping forward, I push him back with the light of my sword growing in size, and raging with motion. I let myself fall on the ground as he slips further back.
When he stopped moving, Odin slams his sword onto the ground, unleashing a wave of lightning over the ground.

With Light-step, I shot myself into the air to avoid it.
"Fallen stars. I call upon you. Revive and dance once more.", I say as I am gathering light and revving up the blade as I spun it around me to increase the Ferocity.
"UnionStar Light Slash", with those words, I shoot a huge warped blade of light at Odin. He can only guard in front of its size. An explosion unleashes that shatters nearby glass and blow a huge wind over the city block. If I had a little less control over it, I'd say about ten buildings would've crumbled.

After I safely land on the ground, I watch the smoke rise to the sky.
"Warning. Damage taken. 15% Damaged.", the sound of his machine traveled over the air, entering our ears. I can tell his suit was getting some of its plating bend.
His armor is tougher than I had thought. It is certainly made of high class, which not a lot of people should be able to own. There is something more going on here. I would be kind of in a dilemma over my strongest attack only doing 5% damage, but I can tell his armor is resistant to elemental attacks.

It was time to get serious. He launches his missiles at me, I dodge them quite easily, letting them explode on the ground. He throws his sword in the air, following up on that, he does a rush of stretching punches at me, I calmly evade them using light step, watching them go by me. When his sword got back down, he grabs it and shoots a bolt of lightning at me. I throw a lightning rod in the air and let it take the hit. Within that instance, I hold the sword in my sheet as light flares beneath my feet. "Flash Step Slash.", I said before I move past his legs.
I cut the metal out of his left foot.

He quickly shoots a bunch of missiles my way, I think he knows what I am trying to do. He moves around in his machine a lot, pressing every combat button he can think of.
I notice some string moving in the distance, a bunch of debris and some steel plating are flung together in front of me. The missiles only decimated the random objects instead of me, letting me cut the other leg using another "Flash Step Slash"

I moved a bit further away this time.
"Warning, warning. 17% Damage taken, Rocket boots damages. Mid-air flight not advised.", his suit sounded an alarm.
"Well then. You can have fun dying together!", Odin charges all his electricity into one sword.
The heat of his blade begins to generate some form of plasma.
"Take this! Thunder Beam!", he says before shooting a big blue beam at me.

"Mirror Blade.", I say while enchanting my sword with light.
I just hold my blade in front of me, dispersing the beam effortlessly.
As if he was expecting it, he prepares his turrets to fire at me right after.
I didn't have much time to think and just blocked them with a shield. He seems to have planned these attacks to fire missiles at me at the same time I am busy fending his other assaults off.

Good thing Sili-san is here, with his string, he just reverted the missiles back at him. He made some small holes in already bent metal.
Sili-san jumps in front of Odin whilst his suit sounded the alarm, "Warning! 20% Damage taken. Missiles non-functional."
"Well, it seems Bios' attack there weakened the armor. Yet, you're still a difficult one to take out. In that case, I shall pierce through your metal and create an opening!", Sili-san said, he sounds excite somehow.

"And what are you going to do?! A good for nothing not even capable of taking care of his siter, or able to find a home? Hehe… You are nothing but a street thug! You need me more than I need you! Go down like the LOWLY DOG you are!", Odin tells him, he appears unable to choose between being angry or finding the situation amusing.
"Yeah, I might've been a good for nothing. But then I was hopelessly beaten by my friend here. While I was at my lowest, she raises a hand to me, her killer. She gives me the idea that anyone can become something. I don't need you. With determination, I will do my duty as an older brother, and as a friend. I will release myself of your shackles and fight for what is right!", Sili-san delivers a speech as he unloads all of his string.

"You can't stand up to me!", Odin says. After some laughing, he continues "My lightning will simply render you useless once more!"
"EXE Drive Skill…", Sili-san says, the air grows tense and his strings covers the arms and legs of Odin's mecha.
Lightning blasts into Sili-san. Struggling, He moves his arms, holds his blade ready to stab into metal.
"No pain will stop me now. Because I am born so low, I have to be extra hardcore to overcome any obstacle. I won't stay a low life anymore, and never again will I let myself or anyone else be left alone."

He is still moving even though he's getting fried. I didn't think I would see someone go so far. Am I like this? Is this how others feel when they see me hurt myself to continue?
"Ultimate Web Stinger!", Sili-san said before he pushes forward and thrusts his sword covered in threads into the metal of Odin's mecha. Bunch of strings supported him as he pushes forward and pierces the armor. He pushed beyond his limits and knocks Odin back, leaving a massive hole into Odin's mecha. String got inside the body and is pulling things apart.

"Warning, Warning. 50% Damage. Retreat advised!", the suit sounded the alarm.
"Oh, no you won't.", under his breath, the smoking Sili-san said before he pulls some strings and grabbed the sword out of Odin's hand.
"Now, Bios!", he calls me.
With Light feet, I move above the sword. "Reflection", is what I say as I fire the blade into the left chest piece of the robot. Lightning stormed throughout the entire machine, Odin squealed in pain.

"Take this final gift…", Sili-san says as he let go of some more string he was holding onto. A bunch of bundled up string held onto snow, he blasted the snow into the holes of the machine. It got even inside the cockpit.
He fell down, unconscious. Didn't think he would figure out how I used snow to hit him.

Odin fought himself to get back up, frantically, yet stiffened, his arms are moving as he tries to press anything he can press.
I am not going to give him that chance. With snow stuck on him, I merely have to swing my sword diagonally upwards to my right. After I did that, I saw him nearly drop out of his chair.
I didn't just cut him, I want to cut down plenty of inside metal of this machine. With all the snow inside, I frantically wave my sword around to slowly tear the machine apart from the inside.

Now to finish it off. I hold by blade in the air as it flared up in light, creating a spikey flowing tower of light. "UnionStar Light Burst.", it curves as I smite my sword onto the ground, unleashing giant beam of white light. It overtook the machine, creating smaller explosions that eventually just destroys the entire mecha. Odin inside the mecha must've died inside the cockpit, or at least, that is what I would think.

I put my sword back into my sheath. I look over to the buildings the kids used to be in.
I suppose I should get them here. I'll let them watch Sili-san recover with the Life Fragment I can give him. I have got some other inquiries to make.
The children are rather timid. Can't blame them, bunch of weird people locking them up can do that. Of course, it means they didn't trust me either, but when I take my mask off to not seem much older than them, they are more willing to follow me. They were in fact gawking at me. Some even asking way too many questions. I let them watch and stay close to Sili-san while I am investigating Odin and his robot.

On top of the machine, I am looking for specific parts. I see Odin's body. I feel no sign of breathing in the wind, I am pretty sure he didn't survive. I take one outwards metal plate. Then I look into the mess of a cockpit. I can't help but notice a logo on the command board.
"Big Brother!", I hear from behind me. I get up and look at Sili-san, he's waking up.

He tries to get up on his butt, but stops midway groaning a bit. With eyes aimed at me, he says, "Man…It hurts…Then…Again. I actually don't feel as bad as I was expecting."
"I gave you a life fragment. Also, there are some restorative items lying next to you. You're not a goddess, so they don't work as quickly, but you'll get up real soon.", I tell him, sitting comfortable on top of the robot.
"Where did you get all of this?", Sili-san asks as if I smuggled drugs.
"Well, obviously, I bought them at the item shop a while ago.", I reply to him with snark.

I see him exhale, as if he finally got his bearings and understands where he is at. His younger sister, a girl in a shabby stitched together dress with green hair hugged onto him and says, "big brother! Don't ignore me!"
"Silica? You're here already?!", with energy, he immediately gets up while saying that.
So, he calls himself Silicon Knight, and his little sister is named Silica? Interesting…

Silica nuzzled into Sili-san's chest and said, "I was scared, brother!", she is crying.
"Hey, hey, hey. I get it, you were stuck there and some strangers would come in every day. But that's over, don't cry now. It's all fine.", he replies, but his facial expression changes to a confused one as he sees his sister get a bit angry.
"No, stupid! I thought you were going to be gone, too! I was afraid you would…", she can't even finish her sentence, for the kids around them were whining too. Some of them acted cool and thanked him instead.

He pats the back of Silica's head and says with a smile, "You guys aren't much smarter. I told you, didn't I? I am not able to die if I haven't gotten you to be able to live a true life."
I let them have their little moment. After ten minutes of waiting, I jump off the robot.
"It's great to have saved them…But there are a lot of things we need to talk about right now.", I tell him whilst walking towards him.

He looks over his shoulder at me and says, "Yeah, you're right."
He nods to the other children, so that they will let him go. After he stands up, he walks towards me.
"Before we address the obvious problem we need to solve, I have one question. Was Odin's organization or business called, "SCJP?", I ask him.
He seems puzzled. He tilts his head up and says with doubt, "No…? Isn't that a fusion of companies? Why do you ask?"
"The inside of the cockpit had that label, it was clearly a company logo.

"You think he might have bought the mecha from them?", he asks me.
I try to think out loud so he can follow my thought pattern, "If they can sell military grade mecha's like this, wouldn't they have to be a black market? It also has multiple big organizations in different nations, which doesn't happen too often. Was Odin's business even profit based? I don't even think he has money to buy such a mecha. Something fishy is going on.", I tell him.

Sili-san sighed before saying, "hu…So it's not over yet.",
I look over to the children. Looking back at Sili-san, I say, "Now, we can't just keep the kids in our secret base, we don't know what danger might approach."
He crosses his arms and says, "You're not wrong. But I don't know where to keep them or how to feed them."
"I hate to say it, but we might just have to find someone we can trust to take care of them. Honestly, I think I can make the goddess do her work.", I tell him.

"I know you're saying that with me not liking that in mind. What makes you think she will suddenly help now. Even I know she can't get every child shelter.", Sili-san says.
"Yes. But what if the big story breaks out. "Big explosion in this town have rendered homes and parents to dust, children all alone"? She will have even more of a reason to help, and I know just how to find her and get her at the right place. She may not be able to help everyone, but she does have pride in making Lowee a nation where people of all ages can live happily.", I explain.

With a bit of a back and forth, we had decided to go on this plan. Of course, I know how to find Big Sis. I gave her a letter…Which I had Sili-san write for me because I am not so good at writing. With our manipulating of information by spreading it around towns and guilds, we now watch as big sis and her servants walk the children to a new temporary home. I see Silica gaze our way.
"It seems they will be alright for now.", I give my comment while we sat on top of a roof.

"I'm surprised. I thought you didn't trust her.", Sili-san told me.
"Doubts have been planted in me recently…But. I had so much faith in her before. There are some things I know for sure to be true.", I reply to him, I didn't feel like I was hiding my emotion very well. I can't help but feel…Some kind of, bittersweet joy at seeing my older sister.

I stand up and move away, saying out loud, "That's it then. I need to find out more about this, SCJP."
I stopped, feeling Sili-san right behind me.
"Why are you following me?", I ask him.
"Huh? We aren't done, right?", he replies acting daft.
"But, you already have what you want, right? You don't need to stick around if you…"

I feel it odd someone wants to join my little crusade, but then he tells me, "You have given me a purpose, which helps me find a new strength. I am moved by what you did for me. And I want to do the same for others, which I know, you will also continue to do. If there is more to this story, I want to be there as someone affected. But more importantly, I want to help you, genuinely. I mean, it's not over, like we said."
I felt my heartbeat, which I can't believe, I shouldn't have one anymore.
Acting tough, I tell him, "Indeed. It isn't over. It is just the beginning…"

Chapter 2

Copying and Cleaning

In the blackest of night in this colorful snow country, sparks of white are left behind as I hop from building to building using Light Step.
Between wide gaps of buildings, I see some woman getting mugged by some weaklings. I cast explosion from my feet to get down onto the ground in the middle of them. There are three figures. One, I knock onto the ground away from us with a swift punch.

The man next to my right tries to strike me with his blade, but I am simply able to step back and let his blade pass me. In the blink of an eye, I have unsheathed my sword, and slashing the man in retaliation. I put the sword back in its sheath whilst the man falls unconscious.
The man on the left takes aim with his rifle, but with my Light Step, I already moved right next to him and placed my hand on his belly.
"Reflect.", I say as I shoot his body into a wall.

Right after, the one that is shot against the wall gets caught under a web of string that had suddenly been shot onto him. I move away as the other two were already held captive by string. I hear a, "Thank you!", from below as I move back looking for me trouble.
At the time of searching, I notice more villains caught in string.
I am really impressed with Sili-san' efficiency I was almost about to crack a smile.

I see Lowee patrollers having a difficult time with a monster brought in the street by some random person. So, as I jump by, now I shoot a blade of light at it. With the light obliterating it, I move with no second to spare. They screamed, "Hey you!", at me, but I do not care for what they think.
I stop as I see Sili-san having moved down a building where someone had broken through the window. It was a store and that guy was clearly a burglar.

I observe Sili-san using his string to tie one of the burglar's arms to a support pillar. After wrapping the burglar in string, he shoots out another string onto a building's roof to shoot himself away. We're almost done. So I am just going to move a little behind him.

Something comes in my ear, a signal trying to establish itself. "B…Bio-… Bios! Can you hear me1", Sili san says through an ear piece he had brought.
"We're done with all the small timers, right? I see their HQ up ahead. I am going to sneak around as planned, are you almost in position?", he tells me.

"Yes. Today is the last day of our hunt in this district. After today, Lowee's biggest street gang will be no more.", I reply back to him.
That's right. After a few days of capturing criminals for the police to take into custody, we have our sights set at this big gang in the far northern border of the Lowee cityscape.
My plan is quite simple. I start a fight in front of their HQ so that Sili-san can sneak behind and take the stolen stuff, maybe find some information, and capture their bosses.

The moment I reach this place, I will already have shot dozens of explosion arrows at it. The explosions are too weak to really damage the building, so it is mostly a scare tactic. This building that clearly used to be abandoned had been their base for a few years it seems. I can see them covering the window with steel from crates. Any gaps between the wall were covered by some special magical cloth that could harden like steel. A common practice for makeshift or poor houses.

This building was at the end of the street up a flight of stairs, it was on a cliffside. I am pretty sure Sili-san is probably hiding under the cliff side using his string. But I have no time to worry, a bunch of gangsters with weird clothes on run outside the building wielding rifles, some in the back had swords. As for their clothing, they are wearing very unmanly looking fits made of pink cloth and black leather, they also wear dark hats. I have no idea how they can take the snow with the little amount they are wearing.

I could say I hate being here right now, but that would not correctly convey how I feel, it is rather, "I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this", but I am going to keep my head cool anyway.
I am getting pointed at, I see them yelling at each other. I take my sword out just to clearly emphasize that I am here to fight.

They shoot at me with their rifles, for me, the bullets don't even look fast. I deflect and halved every bullet with my blade, and feel pretty good swaying my sword around. I put my blade back in its sheath and tell them quietly, "Unfortunately, I can see faster than light…"
"But how does that make you fast enough to deflect them?!", is a reply I got back.
That is a pretty good point. Now that I think about, how did I move my arms that fast?
Either way, I have other priorities.

I put one foot forward with enough strength to crack the paving, and with that, I am going to shoot myself forward. With much speed I had thrust onto the stairs, and with a fist, I punch a bunch of guys into the air. In the next second, I use the explosion spell on the floor to create smoke. From the smoke, I jump into the air with an axe coming from my inventory. I cast it with explosion magic before hitting it onto the stairs, blowing even more people into the air.

Those that came close to me can only see me now that it is too late, for I got my hammer ready to knock them all the way back up on the same ground their HQ stands.
As I walk up the stairs, I have brought the bow out. I see someone preparing a sniper rifle, thus, I shoot it out of his hands with an arrow. Hopping back and forth, I shoot my arrows at several men in the back whenever they have a more dangerous gun than a simple rifle, or if they seem like they are preparing some kind of trap. The back-and-forth hopping are helpful in dodging bullets or thrown objects, which includes bombs.

In the right corner of my eye, I can see someone coming my way. It looks like someone had jumped my way from up high wielding a big bended blade.
I'm going to hold the bow with its string over my shoulder and grab my own sword to parry him. I say parry, but I have basically smashed my sword back into his own with enough strength to send him flying.

I move forward, dodging a swipe before upper cutting the attacker's chin with the palm of my hands, I follow that up with a roundhouse kick to blow him away, just as someone tries to slash me in the back, I have blocked him with my blade. This is going to take a while. I am going to spend at least a few dozen minutes before Sili-san is done…

After low-key dodging and countering the men and women with my weakest strength, the front door finally shoots out of the building a big dude that looks like a bald wrestler is blown out of the building with a string attached right above his stomach.
Sili-san comes out of the door, holding his hands onto the top of the doorway. He kicks himself into the sky, and in combination with that, pulls the big mafia boss with the string attached to his sword against the middle base of the building.

With more string, Sili-san swings around the building to use the string attached to the boss to wrap it around the building. He detaches the string from his sword and does a mid-air pose as he has successfully captured the don.
A bit of a show off, but then again, I did say we should do things with style. I smile at the thugs as I let my black sword burst into white light. I am making sure my next swing will both knock out all of them without killing them, and also leave a beacon of light for the Lowee force to investigate.

"So then. What did you bring this for?", I ask Sili-san as we had gotten away from the crime-scene, now I am staring at some items he has stringed up and organized outside here.
"You asked for intel, and besides that, there are some items that aren't stolen, but are clearly something they had gotten out of treasure boxes in dungeons.", Sili-san explains.
"I suppose treasure boxes aren't exclusive to adventurers…", I reply to him.
"Oh, honestly. I know many people who just keep forgetting how much they can get if they can just run into a dungeon and get a box. Even I often forget!", Sili-san tells me.

"While Lowee's authorities can handle this, we should take this and go to our base ourselves.", I tell him.
"Not that I mind, but couldn't we let them have the intel so that they can search for connections?", he asks me. It wouldn't work.
"If they had either the time or the power to go after these guys, I'm pretty sure we would've seen that. But they didn't even get near this base of theirs, or ever stop any of these men.", I explain to him how I feel.

"Got it. So that is why we were so busy these last few days? To get these guys?", Sili-san replies unsure.
Certainly, we formed this team to take on crime during times the police force is less active. Surely, I want to take care of the villainy in Lowee that hides in the shadows. And yes, doing this brings us closer, and maybe the Intel gets us near our goal to end hidden organizations. But there is another reason.

We go on our way home. And once we arrive there, I will elaborate further.
Once there, I sit on a bunch of stacked up crates in our hidden base.
"Well then. There is a reason we went after so many people in the upper district, and it isn't because we just wanted to take on the area with most crime, no. We need to make sure our own base is secure. Going all the way to another part of a city and doing our jobs there, will make authorities think we might have our HQ there rather than here.", I tell him.

"Oh, so it is a deflection tactic, then!", Sili-san says, he was looking at me with a big smile on his face.
"A deflection tactic, yes, but there is more. Vigilantism is not necessarily something that you will get arrested for in Lowee, however, it is only because of lack of enforcement. But if we go after organizations that have ties with them, we must look out. Of course, with our high rate of capturing criminals in that area, big orgs and smaller criminal gangs might go elsewhere. If they were to get close to base, it would mean we could easily capture them, hopefully without being seen. With them spread out, we might be able to do our work in many areas, making it harder for anyone to guess where our base might be.", I give him the full picture.

"That makes sense. That is why we worked so hard to get intel during the day, in order to find a big gang mob with ties to others.", Sili-san said.
I nod to him. I wanted to make sure we at least hit something big there.
"So you can rest now, right? You can take a day off to sleep, we barely had any whilst we looked for intel.", Sili-san said.
That's right. I haven't slept much. I think in the past three days, I have 9 hours of sleep total. "Oh, you go ahead and do that. I still have to look for something when day breaks.", I respond.
"What?! But if you keep going, you might just pass out!", He shouts, worried.

"It's fine. I prepared myself to do anything I can to achieve my goal.", is what I'm saying.
He tries to argue, "But going so far isn't necessary!"
"Enough.", I shut him up and say to him, "We are a team, but I don't think us close enough for you to worry about my health. That is my concern. As leader, however, I can tell you to take it easy. You will rest, I am going to roam around after the sun has risen"
I'm sorry, Sili-san. But there is something I must know… What is…The artificial Bio-life project?

During the day, I wore different clothing. Mainly, a silver coat with black frills at the ends. Over my head, I wore my Fox mask. It will hide my presence, but differently from the black mask I had made, this way people won't recognize me as the vigilante. Also, what helps, is that by putting it to the side of my head, I will look more like a generic version of myself. No one suspects a little girl when it comes to spying.

I walk around the streets of Lowee, opening my ears for everything. Visiting many culinary places usually brings people that talk about anything. Of course, some that have secrets whisper. Sound is the vibration of air. So, I tried to listen better with Wind Sense. This was extremely difficult. It has taken me a whole week to master this, and even then, I can only use it with my eyes closest and my head emptied. I also have to specifically focus on the wind around their mouths, if they move too much, I can't accurately make out what they are saying.

My best info usually comes from the guild. Braver people means more willing to go to strange places and more dangerous time slots, more willing to go off rumors to see if they are true, causing more people to also tell them here. I am now on my way, hoping to get a nice rumor. Even if it isn't necessarily something criminal, I want to find someone strong to recruit. I also either need some money or something else to strengthen the team. If this artificial project is as dangerous as I am guessing it to be, I don't want us to be too weak to fight it.

I walked around a bit at the guild. I was kind of looking at quests, just to see what is happening lately. I'm hearing adventurers discussing their plans and their spoils, also some of them having to run from strong monsters. Then, I hear an interesting urban legend from one.
The undefeated warrior under the white moon.

"If you don't know about him. He is rumored to appear at night around the time the moon is directly above the ground. In a village where elderly live near the south border of Lowee. It is said many of the old people there used to be former adventurers or were part of Lowee's army. He attacks you if you have a clear sign you can fight. Only a few have said to have survived an encounter, but nobody believes them", is the story that is being told.

Folks surrounding him are having a bit of a laugh. Telling him, "Haha, that's great. Rumors of some kind of super boss is very common here. I've heard of that one too, never get tired of it."
"That's the warrior with huge metal arms capable of any movement, able to use any weapon, and can use all magic spells, right? Something like that can't exist."
"You may be laughing now…But I have come across him!", he said.

They look at him with a sigh that says, "Yeah, right", but their eyes are still lit up and shaking a bit in anticipation.
"I was in the neighborhood, visiting my grandfather. At night, I took a stroll. I noticed the moon was about to get to the middle of the sky. It felt like no one was coming, so I figured. "Maybe he appears outside the town rather than in a tight alley" Made more sense to me. So I went south to the outskirts, passing the forest with the mountain directly within my sight. In there he stood.", as he is telling his story, I am seeing more people getting quiet, holding their breath.

This is very interesting. I must listen closer.
"This man was just staring at me. I couldn't see a face, it was covered in shadow. He wore a huge poncho. He had two giant metal arms. Most of his body seemed covered by something. I pulled out my sword, and so, he pulled his own. He used a weak strike against me that I could easily dodge. So I thought this wasn't nearly as difficult. But every move, he blocked. Every buff skill I used, he used back against me. Even if I use SP Skills, he kept knocking me back harder. I had run, in fear, as he chased me down. Shooting magical spells at me. I barely made it out alive.", after telling his story, he is laughing.

I can't help but look at him. Even after all of that, he just laughs it off.
"Well, it is kind of cool to fight someone like that. But all of you should definitely be higher level if you want to take this guy on. It's like he can read your mind or something.", he says.
I see people looking at each other.
Some were shrugging, "Well maybe someone strong exists there, but I still think the Urban legend is an exaggeration."

It has nothing to do with my work, but it is interesting to me. Some details people here miss is his location. Why is he there? Is there a relation with other older people? Is he a veteran? Or perhaps, someone who has beef with them? Either way, I am going to find out. I walk out of the guild and make my way south.

Over there, is a quiet village. Wandering around, I indeed see a lot of old people. Well, it is quite curious that they live in such a hilly area. Besides the middle and the road in the middle leading to a plaza, a flatter section of this village, there are lots of hills everywhere you look, a very vertical area. Old people would live in an easier to walk area. I look at their clothing. as stated, they are former warriors or mages, still wearing their old battle-ready clothing. The still appear tough despite their age.

If not that, in this unbearable cold, they wear very traditional clothing. Yukata-like and all. A lot of them wear them with very fancy add-ons it seems. In fact, they felt custom made. I suppose former adventurers have some good credits saved up. I am turning my head sight-seeing too much. Okay. Back to business. I should ask some of them about the urban legend. Unfortunately, I think I might have to bare the burden of being rude, for I am certain they have been asked this many times.

I definitely got some looks, as I look like a generic small girl now, some might think I am visiting a grandparent. Okay then. Let's walk over to that old lady who has a bunch of kunai hanging from all over her clothes, I bet she is nice. Haha… Should I consider myself fortunate that dying has also killed my emotions enough to make talking less anxious? If only it could make me anxious proof…

"Grandma? Grandma?", I call out to her, acting childish and cute.
"Why, what does such a sweet girl like you have to ask me?", she replies to me.
"Are you a female ninja with all of the kunai hanging? Does that mean you know things?", I ask.
"Oho, are you perhaps interested in female ninjas? Or is wisdom really what you seek?", she asks me with glee.
"You see, you see…My friends at school told me there was this REALLY strong guy in this town. Is that true…?", I ask her.

She laughs at me a bit. Then she says, "Well, young lady, there are still plenty of strong guys here. All here used to be skilled adventurers or soldiers, some have not lost their edge much. If you could be a little more specific, maybe something you want to see, I could point to someone interesting."
"Well…Um…Ah. My friends say he can do anything! Even magic! Isn't that cool! My sisters are mages, but even they can only do ice magic well…", I reply to her.
"Oh…You are talking about the Urban Legend. Hahaha. So many have been coming here lately. To fight this man. Unfortunately, all of them either returned disappointed…Or were never seen again. I don't think someone of your age should seek him out.", she replies to me with a smile.

"Really? Really? Is he dangerous? A bad guy? Why?", I speak sounding as dumb as possible.
"You see… Either it is a fruitless effort to wait for him. He doesn't always show. But some of the stronger people living here have barely escaped with their lives. Even I barely managed to escape him when he appeared. It is thanks to my kunai that I had killed thousands with in my prime that I could sneak off and escape.", she said casually.
Why would you tell a child about your death count? Well, not relevant.
I pretended to gasp and said, "He is real?"
"I think so. I think the rumor is a bit off if he was. But he seems to kill people, so we prefer to stay inside at night nowadays.", she told me.

A few hours later…
So, I spoke to some more of the elderly, shorter conversations this time, as I was hoping for something specific, they can tell me. But the other ones who faced them either aren't around or told me to not be insensitive since their lives almost ended, which is fair. But if this guy is such a threat, I have more reason to take him on.

I walk around, down to the flat area, eating some kibi-dango, which is actually pretty good. I heard hunters that hunt monsters used to live in this village and these gave them special skills or something like that. Well, they taste good at least.
Now, to recount what I know. He doesn't always show up in the rumored area, but there is a chance, and he does attack people that just happened to be around there. It is always someone on their own that he shows up. He does indeed show up more frequently when you are closer to the woods further south. He can indeed use any weapon. And some have seen the use of magic from him. But as far as I can tell from that old lady, he may not be able to do everything.

It seems most fights don't even last that long. But I don't have any data from others that have fought him. He is able to use buffing skills too, but I have only heard that from the adventurer at that guild, so who knows if that is accurate. Either way, I think he will show at night.
I move close to a building, my eyelids are forcing themselves to close. I try to keep them open, but speaking so much has tired me out. I lean on a building… and went to… sleep...

I can feel the cold air entering my nose as I struggle to open my eyes. The sky had turned orange from dusk. With half-open eyes, I look to my left and right. As if my arms and legs were creaking, I stand up. Only sleeping a little after not sleeping enough hurts even more than not sleeping. But oh well. I can't sleep here, I can tell some are looking worried at me. Anyone would be if someone like me would sleep outside in this village.

I am going to have to hide myself. So when no one is looking, I fully put on the mask to appear as a silhouette. Then I go into an empty street. I use fire magic to create hot air to hide myself in a mirage. With that all done, it is time to change outfits. I put on my black clothes I usually have on at night, together with my black mask. Only thing left to do is wait for night. I suppose I can just sit down. I think I can kind of feel how I'm doing with my SP, preparing all my magic and special attacks that I may have to use against this guy.

Six hours later. I walk around in the park. The moon is about to reach the middle. I slowly head my way into the rumored alley at the plaza. Of course, with Wind Sense, I can sense whenever he is around. A heavy wind blew in a pattern, every wind had hefty snow. It was almost like a declaration for a duel. I draw my sword. Showing I am ready for a battle. The moon shine reflects from it, as it has reached above my head. I can sense something moving from the buildings. With another gust of wind, a figure was visible from a few dozen meters away also holding a blade.

Is this him? If he is a boss then… I should look above me. And what do I see? Not one, but two health bars. Clearly a Secret Super Boss.
The description given by that person in the guild was authentic to reality. He is covered by lots of shadow. Maybe it's a technique. And just as he said, he hasn't moved yet. If I do nothing for too long, will he attack? What happens when it becomes day time? Will he leave? I am certain he will fight when I move.

Well, I do have the patience to do nothing, but I am very intrigued by what he can do. So, I will put one foot forward, hold my sword with both hands, I kind of take a Judo stance.
He did exactly as I did, it was like he mirrored my pose. His sword is definitely different, however.

I take an instant leap over to him and tested his strength with a clean strike. I heard a clang of the sword as he blocks my strike, within expectations. He easily pushed me back, and follows it up with a similar quick-step and a striking attack. I casually dodge it as I step back, however, I am seeing that he is able to swing his sword hard enough to shoot a blade of air, so I have to hop to the side to avoid it. Good thing I am nimble enough, for it allows me to avoid getting cut.

He swings his blade at me again, and I easily deflect it. He swings the blade from my upper left right after, and that is easy to see coming too, so I hit it back. I tried to attack him back with a diagonal upper cut, but he blocked me. I hop back slightly to get more room to strike him once more. And as I thought, he parries me with a similar strike. I am going to speed up my attacks a bit, do a rush, see how fast he can react.

After thirty seconds, we have been hopping like rabbits to avoid getting hit by our blades as we swung them wildly, fiercely attacking and parrying, it was so wild, it felt like our blades had minds of their own, to the point we had to dodge them rather than parry all attacks.
He is about as strong as me physically. His speed matches mine without using magic too. However, I have yet to test his "Mind-reading" ability, because that is the most dangerous one.

I swing my sword from my lower right, up against his strike, our swords are being pushed together. But with our difference in sizes, I think I can easily slide off his blade and jump for his neck. I do that and end up above his sword, about to strike him down. He does immediately react and uses his empty-handed right arm to block it. But what he didn't see coming was me letting go of my sword.

With light enchanted on my feet, I kick him below his arm, pushing him away. I swiftly land on the ground so I can make a speedy dash below him to do an uppercut with my fist engulfed with white light.
Adding magic to my fists makes them stronger as I hit his chin with an uppercut, now above him, I am going to follow that up with a roundhouse kick of light, I think he will block it.
No hesitation, he blocks it, as I thought. He is pushed regardless.
I am not going to let him rest, I am jumping after him and will throw him a rush of light enhanced punches.

He is guarding all of my hits, but I think I am still hurting him. It is clear to me he can't read my mind. He can predict certain attacks I use, perhaps read my skills, but if he could mind read, a trick such as letting my sword go wouldn't work.
Hm? His fists…They are glowing with light.

He attempts to stop my assault with a kick enchanted with light, which I avoid. I try to continue my attack with another punch, but he blocks it with a light enchanted fist of his own. I guess there is no reason to think he can't do that if he actually is capable of all magic. No matter how hard I try to punch him, he simply parries me with a fist of his own. I guess, if he can read my moves, he knew he couldn't dodge my rush attack, which is why he just took it.

Now I can't keep any momentum up to do another rush attack, in fact, his arm strength is slightly stronger than mine, so I have to keep dodging. That is until he starts to copy my exact light speed rush attack, even calling out its attack name despite me never having mentioned it.
I could only guard it, until he finishes it. He ends up punching me over the air, with my arms still held in front of me.

A moment later, and he jumps into the air. I notice he has kunai in his hands, and I kind of expect he is using a move that that old lady describes. I grab the sword I dropped and deflected a bunch of kunai thrown my way as he said, "Kunai Curtain!"
I'm standing here, all of the kunai stabbed into the ground around me.

It is clear to me, that his "Mind reading" ability and him being able to "Use every magic, skill, and weapon", is a misunderstanding. He can read your moves, perhaps through body language? And he can copy them exactly. But there is one thing I don't quite get, is he really able to use every weapon? Let me see, as he lands down, I will use my bow and arrow to shoot a barrage of arrows.

I do as I planned, using my bow as if it were a machine gun and rapid fire my arrows. He jumped over it, it was a very high jump, probably one befitting of a ninja. However, I always enchant my arrows with wind, with the snap of my fingers, I let them redirect themselves back to him as he is in the air. I saw him use some kind of magic buff, perhaps for defense? He holds his sword in front of him and gets hit by the arrows. I shot another arrow of light at his back.

He is able to stop it with a kunai. It looked instant, how he pulled out a bow from his metal arms, he shoots an arrow of light back at me. I can easily step away and dodge it, but he then let the arrow redirect itself at me. In the meantime, it seems he had prepared to do a barrage of arrows, the same attack I had just used. I jump far back in an attempt to avoid it, however, I can sense they too are infused with wind.

As they curve just before hitting the ground, I use my inherent skill, "Weapon Create", to make two generic great swords. I shove them into the ground and use weak Ice magic to freeze them, creating a make-shift shield to stop the arrows. Now, if it were me, I would redirect the arrows again, but he didn't do that, they were simply stopped.
He can copy my moves, but it seems to be the exact same skill, he doesn't necessarily understand every skill he uses. He may not be able to use them creatively. Copying a skill and learning it are separate things, I suppose.

Either way, the arrows are just a decoy attack, while after he lands on the ground, he flies over the ground, thrusting his sword forward. Probably a move he copied from one of the many people he fought.
It is a lot faster than I thought, he breaks through my ice shield, and even though I have jumped back, he is close to hitting me. Even if he misses, I can predict he will hit me again with a follow up attack.

As I have observed, just because he can read my moves, doesn't mean he is fast enough to dodge every one of them. So I hold my hands out and shout, "Explosion!"
My explosion magic isn't really much in power, but hitting someone with their guard down will hurt regardless, and it definitely stops him.

I jumped up high in the sky and periodically shoot three arrows at him, spinning in the air after each arrow to change the angle. He could only block them with his metal arms, as he is still recovering from the explosion. Now, even if he can read me moves, I need only cast magic at the last moment to stop him reading it as a magical enhanced attack. I've materialized an axe, now I will go down onto him.

He wasn't able to dodge my axe, however, I can tell that with his defense buff, my axe isn't hurting him much. On top of that, I see that he is reenforcing his block with one steel arm giving the second one energy. But that won't matter once I cast, "Explosion!", onto the axe, blowing him and his arms away. With him flinching, I materialize a huge hammer and shall take it for a spin. With one foot placed down, all the momentum I have garnered will be used as I swing my hammer into him shouting, "Zerstorung!"

He flies over the ground. I cast another explosion onto him before making a huge leap his way with my axe in hand. I materialized a spear to thrust at him, this will make him read my spear attack, but not what follows. He blocks it as I predicted, and now I can get another free hit in with my axe.
He finally lands on the ground, I had thrown my hammer at him by that point. I cast explosion magic unto it so it would blow up near him, even if he dodges, it should still do some damage.

He avoids it as I had predicted. That's okay, I go forwards with my spear. That is, until he pulled his arms forward. It is the same stance I take when I cast explosion. He has his wrists pushed together with the palms of his hands aimed at me. He yells "Explosion" I see the magic form around me and step back, barely dodging it as an explosion as big as my own was made. Before I know it, he jumps in the air and shoots three arrows at me the same way I did at him. I can easily dodge it and deflect the last one, of course.

But it was mostly a trick, as he comes down and uses an exploding axe on me, even if I jumped back and it hit the ground, I was still in range for the explosion and it was hurting me. It's on the same level of power as my own explosion. But how does that work? I doubt he has the same Intelligence stat as mine.

I look at him as he pulls a hammer and spins forward, it is the same movement I did moments ago. Yelling "Zerstorung!" as he smashes the hammer into me, blowing me away. It pains me a little, but only because my feeling for pain is numbed. My arms are definitely going sore after this fight. I see him dual wielding the hammer and axe, so he can do moves other than the ones he has learned, but he is still limited to his own creativity, which I feel is lacking. Either way, I pick up the sword, enhance it with light magic. It is level 4, but I had my magic output to the minimum, I don't want him capable of using Light Slash at all.

With my sword enlengthened by my light magic and having gained a slight pulsing effect, I am capable of deflecting some of his attacks whilst jumping backwards. Often, I avoid a horizontal swing, as the explosion that comes after the swing doesn't hit me, but vertical swings I have to parry. I can hit the shafts of each weapon to misdirect the attack, the residue of the explosion afterwards stings a bit, but I can take that easily.

I know he can copy every attack, including weapons and magic. His attacks always feel as strong as mine, unless he is not specifically copying an exact skill. I am saying that because he is mostly swinging the axe and hammer around wildly now. He can read every move, but not my mind. He cannot copy Wind Sense, for he would have been able to avoid getting hit by arrows more often. However, is that because it is a passive skill I have learned, or is it because he can't tell I'm using it?

I can't get out of his rush normally anyway, I will use light step and move away. As he smashes both weapons down, creating quite the explosion, I have already moved to the side beyond Super Sonic Speed, and I can get behind his back. He does turn around, but I will now rush him with a spear attacks. I rapidly move my feet, creating after-images as I thrust my spear multiple times shouting, "Rainy Ratnapura!" You may be able to copy all skills, but I actually learned them and know how use them strategically, try dodging this!

The spear combo is finished with a clash that staggers him, actually, his stagger is going to last longer, because the moment I let go of my spear, it fully blows up, hurting us both, but I am prepared for that. I can always make the same spear with weapon create, it's fine. Now, I cat hit him with, "Critical Edge!" In a flash, I had moved past him, slicing his thighs with my sword with one slash. The pain should stop his movement for a bit. I hope my next attack will floor him.

I let the light under my feet burst, looking like two huge blazing white fires. My fist glows white as I retract it for a spinning thrust. After I shot myself forward, I shove my fist into him shouting, "Reflection Punch!", shooting him into the forest far ahead. I can see his health bar having depleted quite a bit. But I am barely halfway through his first bar, his endurance is crazy. I am just going to have to do one more slash, using the speed of Light Step to increase the ferocity of the slash.

After getting near him, with the next burst of light shooting from under my feet, I am going to swing my sword from its sheath, finishing him of-… Where did he go? As soon as I moved past him and my sword was drawn, he fled. Now that I think about it, light came from under his feet. I look to my right and see him launching himself at me. He has copied "Light Step." With a fist of light, he punches me. I feel panicked, but I must shake it off, I can easily follow his movements with both my eyes and Wind Sense, I just need to keep calm.

I thrust my feet onto the ground, so the next time he dashes at me with Light Step, I will use my own Light Step to move away from his next attack. He may have grabbed a sword, but no matter the size, with my speed, it is just as easily eluded as I move away. I attack him back with my own sword, but he does the same thing I did and dodges it. I immediately jump back with Light Step and look at him stumble a bit as he got out of his momentum. Clearly, he isn't used to going that fast and is a bit clumsy. Despite that…He dodges me again after another attack. It feels slow, but he quickly charges at me with another swipe of the blade.

So, he can learn passive skills. Thinking back on it, when I used critical edge, he touched my back with one of his hands. But why, though? Does it have something to do with copying? Regardless, copying the skill doesn't mean he fully understands it, but he can still use it automatically, so despite the clumsiness, he isn't any less difficult to fight now that he has Light Step.

I Enchant my sword with a stabilized light magic, a bit weaker but should still do enough damage if I were to hit him. Of course, he can do the same. With our light blades clashing, we both are quickly staggered. Of course, with Light Step, it won't mean being stuck, as we can easily move far away, recollect ourselves, and get near each other again for another collision. As we moved past each other, our blades slid off, leaving many bright sparks.

I can tell this isn't going anywhere. No matter what, we will parry or dodge the other's attack. Even if I were to trick him, he can automatically use any attack, skill, formation, movement and magic against me. One on One might be impossible, for every attack I do will be countered by an equally strong copy. And added up to that, he has skills of others that have fought him, so eventually, I will be outclassed. And with how high his endurance is, even with my trickery, I can only hit him with weaker attacks.

I think it is better to retreat. I don't have any reason to fight. Right now, no one else is in danger. I have no idea who this is or what he stands for. And I am not fighting out of pride, no honor is on the line in this fight. Running wouldn't mean much to me. With that said. I cast explosion on the ground to create to stop his movement, just a second or two. Only so that I can charge the bursting light under my feet to shoot me up into the sky.

I can feel my heart pounding, that is because I can feel him moving my way through wind sense. Of course, he has learned how to shoot himself into the sky as well. Now that I turned around, I can see him above me, with a big axe behind his back. I cast explosion from my feet to go further up to avoid the strike, however, he quickly grabs my leg, throws me down, and follows it up with a slam from an exploding axe. I can't help but let a groan escape my mouth. With strained eyes, I watch him, shooting light from under his feet.

"Air Stance.", she said. Another skill from another person? I can see his fist glowing with light and retracted into his side. He was going to use my strongest punching attack. I don't feel up to dodging it. I haven't felt this panicked in a while. I can't think straight. He is going to shoot me into the ground!

And so, he did, punching me with a spinning thrust whilst shouting, "Reflection Punch!", taking the breath away from me before shooting me towards the ground. I have crashed somewhere near an abandoned neighborhood. I feel…Sleepy…I can't keep my eyes open. Is he not coming after me. I see him in the sky…As a dot…Or. No. He is gone. I think…I can…Give up now…

"…Ios…Os! Bios!", I hear someone calling my name. I open my eyes and see Sili-san. I get back up, unleashing a yawn. I rub my eyes and casually reply with, "Good Morning…"
"Don't "good morning" me! What happened! Why are you in this crater, who did this?!", he speaks with quite the aggravated tone. I blink a few times. I need to stretch a bit…After that…Ah, I feel pretty good now. I suppose a nap is what I needed.

"Ah, I fought some guy. I chose to lose. There was not much in winning.", I tell him.
He looks astonished. In fact, his face was a nice combination of fear and…Disgust? He responds with, "How…Is there really someone so strong you can't beat?!"
"Contrary to what you may think, I am not all that strong.", I tell him.
"How can you be so calm about this?! You went after some super guy without me?! What if you died?! I am your friend! Take me with you on these missions! You have been taking too much on yourself!", he tells me. Ah, perhaps he feels left out. However…

"Maybe you're right to a certain extend. Your help is something I need to accept more. However, this time it wasn't because I didn't want to trouble you. I followed some rumors of some urban legend, a fighter than can use all weapons, skills, and magic. I didn't think it was going to be hard, so I just kind of went and faced him, believing I could handle it.", I explain.

He calms down a little. He rubs his neck and looks at me with a slightly puzzled face replying, "Well, if that is the reason, then I suppose I can understand. But despite you saying you aren't the strongest, you have impressed me a lot, you know? I hardly believe just anyone can beat you. You even just said you can handle someone that can do everything. That confidence comes from somewhere."

He is right, I know I am not all powerful, especially now that I can't transform. However, I should still be able to defeat most enemies, or so I thought. But something like this, I've never encountered.
"Anyway, I have heard of that legend. So, is all of it true? Is that why you lost? Were you overwhelmed by too many different attacks?", he asks me, I suppose that is what really bothers him now, the lack of explanation.
"Most of it comes from misunderstandings. There are truths within the rumors.", is what I lead with.

"Anyway, I am not up to fighting him. The night hasn't really ended yet, let's find some place to rest and do some research. I will explain on the way to whatever place we can go to. I expect you to not have rested for the morning, so we need to sleep a bit, if possible.", I tell him.
We find some abandoned house we can rest at, since its foundation was still rather solid. The beds needed some…Cleaning though… I had explained him everything whilst we were searching.

How late is it? It seems around 11AM now? We are walking down the street, not really paying attention to anyone else.
"How exactly are we planning to defeat someone that can copy every move?", Sili-san was asking me. I can tell by his neutral face that he wasn't giving up, he is just expecting a plan from me.
"Well, that is not even the worst part, he can copy every move including its strength, or so I have felt. A one-on-one fight will be impossible, since he can read every move and use it against us. He cannot read our minds, however, so if we trick him, we can perhaps land some vital blows to knock him out.", I answer.

It is the only way to defeat him, it's kind of frustrating. I prefer to fight fair. I have trained for a year to be able to take care of things myself after all… Oh well, there are cases like these where we can't be choosers.
Putting that aside, I tell Sili-san, "We're not going to fight him right now, however. As far as we know, he has only appeared in night time. According to all but one rumor, he has only appeared in the streets. But he sometimes never appeared at all for some. But there is one place where one adventurer escaped him."

"Oh…You're thinking he might live around there?", Sili-san replies.
"Yeah…", I say before pausing. I need to form my thoughts properly before speaking, "I find it curious he doesn't always come out. People rarely escape him, or so it has been said. We don't know why he shows up, but he did show up for me, and not that adventurer. Is there a reason? Either way, there must be one for him to show up in a whole other location. Perhaps he is hiding something further south, like his house, like what you said."

"You think he'll come out even during the day if we arrive?", Sili-san asks me.
That is a good question. But there must be a reason for why he shows up at specific times. "Perhaps he was showing up at the same exact time to give people an incentive to come at that time? Perhaps like a statement of challenge…", I began speaking my thoughts out loud, "He is always cloaked in shadow and appeared later than the appropriate time in the woods. I think, if he has a secret to hide, he doesn't want to be seen during the daylight. Maybe he won't show up."

Snowy winds are visible through the woods, yet the sky is nothing but bright blue. This truly is an odd place. I wonder if this is the place that adventurer fought…No, wait, it was next to the forest. But there is nothing to hide there…
"Hm…Hey, Bios? I think I have an idea.", Sili-san said.
"A better way to search for any clues?", I ask him.
"Yeah, let me show you.", he says, and without warning, he launches himself up with a string pulling him from the top of a tree.

I follow him with a burst of from under my feet.
"String Road!", He shouts as he shoos a web of string, connecting the top of all trees together. We land on top of them.
"From up here, we can keep searching, possibly without having to deal with monsters.", Sili-san said.
"Yeah, this should work out.", I reply. Though, now that I think about it, sight is the least of my problems with Wind Sense…

We are walking over the string road. I can hear Sili-san mumble a bit.
"Man, Bios. You really are great, huh? Even being able to walk over these strings so casually. Do you have super balancing powers, or what?", he asks me like I did some beyond-human deed.
Well, I did learn to have great balance over time. I reply to him, "I trained for a year to be this strong. I made sure to be able to walk over small things like this. But besides that, I was forced to do Ice-ballad once, I had been thought how to balance by my older sisters."

"Hoo…", I heard him behind me, he sounds pleased for some reason.
"So you are more human after all. I was getting worried. You do something like ice-ballad, too? And you have sisters?"
"I didn't do that by my own volition…", I mumble.
I speak up and say, "Don't ask me about family, it's complicated."
I spoke too much. I don't want anyone to know I am related to the other Goddesses.

We do find a shelter, it looks like. A tent made out of metal, but it seems kind of roughed up. We jump down and search it, but there is barely anything here.
"Does he really live here, you think?", Sili-san asks me.
"It is hard to tell. The constant snow breezes are covering up even our most recent tracks. However, some of the food dropped here is still very fresh. And a tent of metal is not something I've ever seen before. But if he is not here now, he is either hiding from us, or he has already left.", I say what I think. My Wind Sense isn't picking anything up either.

"So, which is it, you think?", Sili-san asks.
"I am not sensing anything with Wind Sense, so maybe he did, in fact, leave. I don't see much reason for him to go around outside, aside from maybe hunting. But he has to sleep at some point.", I reply.
Sili-san crosses his arms and taps his foot impatiently as he asks, "So, what now? There doesn't seem to be any clues here."
The only other place of note is the factory on the other side of the border build into the mountains.
Well, I suppose we have nothing else to go off of.

"There is an abandoned factory build into the mountains across the border. It is a long shot, but there might be a reason it is never touched again. Since he lives so close, why don't we check it out? I don't think we'll lose anything.", I tell him.
He does seem rather happy with having something else to do. He smiles and says, "Fine with me."
We crossed the border to Lastation. We had a nice trip over the mountain roads. There were some monsters, but we're too high level for them now.

We went down as we saw some metallic structures below us, and now we're are standing in front of this giant metal opening as a heavy cold wind blows dust all over us.
"Wow. Even the floor outside here is made out of metal. And that is a long outside hallway.", Sili-san comments.
"Right? This place certainly looks like it was important. With mass like that comes a lot of money, abandoning it must've come with a reason.", I reply.

Even if we don't find anything, it invokes a slight adventurous feeling I haven't had in a while. I can't help but smile.
"Man, even if we can't find anything. Exploring a facility like this by ourselves might make quite an exciting adventure. Maybe we will find something useful for something else!", Sili-san says, it feels kind of refreshing to have someone think the same thing as me.
I might feel a bit too excited, I can't help but tell him, "Agreed. Maybe we will find something else interesting. learning more is always a pleasant feeling."

We get a bit closer to the door.
"It says, "Forbidden to enter", should we still go? We might actually be criminals if we go in, don't know how you look at it.", Sili-san exclaimed a bit of worry. I can tell he has doubts.
"Well, as far as I am aware, no one has come here for over a decade. I am sure no one will really be bothered if we entered. It tends to also be a safety thing, after all. I am pretty sure this place has become a dungeon, like most factories.", I tell him how I feel.

"But how are we going to get in?", he asks.
I take my sword out and walk over to the door, saying, "Well, if no one cares about this place…" Yeah, I am pretty sure no one will be bothered if I cut the door. Besides, it is free metal if anyone can transport it.
I engulfed my sword with light. With a bit of effort and focus, I controlled the light more, making it smaller and calmer.

With a nice diagonal slash, I cut a part of the door. I need to step back, though, for it is falling over.
Sili-san had the side of his hand on his forehead as he said, "Oooh. I didn't know you could sharpen your sword with light magic."
"Most elements can sharpen your sword if you increase its frequency.", I give him my knowledge.
We walk into the abandoned facility. It is dark, too dark to see. Even if there is a light switch, we won't we be able to see it. And I doubt there is any power in this place now, must've been cut.

But I have a solution. I enchant my sword with just enough light magic to create a makeshift flashlight.
"Wow. Magic is way more useful than I thought. I've been fighting with just string and strength all this time, I thought learning magic would be too much time spent.", Sili-san said.
"Ah, you don't need to be exceptional at magic to do this. I only know basic spells, everything else is enchantment. Even the simplest fighter is often capable of an elemental edge attack.", I tell him.

"I see. But, is this all the light it can make?", he asks me.
"Obviously, this magic enchantment is not made for brightening our surroundings. I don't know a spell like that, so this will have to do.", I say.
I can't see far with this light, but I can kind of tell this is a very soulless looking facility, all walls and ceilings of grey metal. Doors are clearly automatically opening doors, well, if there was any power. I might just have to cut some steel down.

I hold my sword next to the wall, I am hoping to see if there is any marking or naming of this place on the wall. Low and behold, a name.
"Plagiarts Laboratories…?", I said out loud. I heard a "Hm?", noise behind me as Sili-san walks right behind me to look.
"Have you ever heard of them?", he asks me.
"No…", I replied too quickly, now that I think about it, is that name within the papers we found?
"Wait…", I say right after, I have to think.

Plagiarts Laboratories… There was something…What was it…Plagiar…Plagiarts Defense…Yes, there is another organization in those papers with a similar name.
"Hey. Do you remember the papers we had stolen? Did you read any of it? Perhaps their name is in it?", I ask Sili-san.
"Yeah, I read at least half of it. Especially the Artificial Bio-life Project. But that one had no name attached to it, seems it was a very strict secret to keep.", Sili-san told me.

"How does such a small group have such papers?", I ask him.
"Well, remember the guys you help me take out in the beginning? They were a small group working for SCJP. They were ordered to spread certain documents to other groups. Apparently, they were planning something big. A gathering of sorts.", Sili-san answers.
"SCJP. What does it stand for?", I ask him.
"Each letter represents an organization, who they work under, I don't know yet. The four companies are, Socia-Entertainments. Computement-Corp. Justit Info B.V and last, Plagiarts Defense…", on the last one, he has definitely realized it.

"Wait, do you think there is a link between the two?", he asks me.
"Maybe. This is an old facility, perhaps this is their old name?", I reply.
"But it seems so…Shady. Nowhere did I find any info about this name. Only Plagiarts Defense pops up, it would seem they are a business that sells weaponry, and sometimes even mercenaries. They had even sold some of its weaponry to Lowee!", he tells me. But if they are a company in Lowee…
"Then, why was this officially in Lastation?", I can't help but ask.

Walking further, I have one more thing on my mind.
"This place, it isn't a factory like everyone said, but a laboratory. Don't you think that is strange? When I was in Lastation, the goddesses also called it a factory. There might be some secrets here…", I tell him.
"If that is true, we need to find a way to power this, so we can use a computer.", Sili-san responds.
Ah yeah, but even then…I have no idea how to use a computer well…

"Hey, Sili-san…Do you know how to operate a computer?", I ask him.
He looks at me, slightly stupefied, and says, "A little bit. Whatever comes out, I think any computer is as simple as reading and trying things out until it works."
"All right, good. We'll be fine then.", I say before walking a bit faster, I can feel my heart stopping.
"Hey, wait…Can it be.", he starts to chuckle, "You are technologically more inept than a Caveman like me?!"
Just ignore him…He won't think about it for too long…I hope.

As we go through more doors, we enter multiple rooms with different functions. We walk across a tube filled with green liquid.
"Ueh…This is just like the movies…", Sili-san lets out a whine.
I turn my head to my right to see a room filles with, what I guess was supposed to be tubes. Only one hasn't shattered and is filled with liquid…But it isn't just that. I walk closer and take a better look…A silhouette.

"…This looks like some Biohazard stuff…", Sili-san says next to me. We appear to have found some…Humanoid creature. It feels like it's not really alive, however.
"Sili-san…I think. This may have to do with the Artificial Bio-Life Project.", I tell him.
He glances over to me, now he is crossing his arm and keeping his composure, with his reply, "According to the papers. The Artificial Bio-Life Project has already ended. There isn't a word of its success. Apparently, they did make Something close to a machine with skin, but the skin and materialized organic elements that came with it decayed in a fast, but also irregular way. They have no way of actually continuing the project."

I see, so this thing was never alive to begin with. Is there metal underneath that, moss-looking skin? Either way, we need to keep going. I turn my head and perform a steady walk forward. I must know more.
"Come with me, Si-", before I could even finish my sentence, Sili-san was already behind me.
We both know what to do.

Along the way, we found more humanoid robotic limbs and torsos. No legs, however. As we are reaching the end of another hallway, I am hearing some mechanical noises. I look at another door to my right, a shutter-door. Sili-san is asking me where I am going, I can hear his voice, but my instincts tell me to get near the shutter door to the right. It opens. To my surprise, there is some power left in this facility.
We go through it, and…What is this? An actual factory? Conveyer belts with robotic parts, chips…Skin? Is that an arm? Using Wind Sense is a bit difficult here with a lack of air coming into this place. It seems robot bodies had been made, though many are thrown away.

"Do you think they made this place originally to send pics to Lastation to pretend it's a factory?", Sili-san asks me.
"It's possible, but why would it be on now? I am going to check what exactly is being made here.", I tell him.
"Let me make a round for you…Well. Then again, I can't see.", he got all excited at first, but now he seems troubled. If only my light traveled further…But…I got ranged weapons too.

I pick up my bow and let the tail end of my arrows light up as I shoot them into certain locations. The ends were made of a sticky cup so they can stick onto surfaces.
"All right then. Let's start an investigation!", Sili-san shouted excitingly as he made a whole network of string. Walking over it, I can closely examine whatever is being put together. Now, to machine parts seem obvious. What I am less understanding of is the amount of different robotic limbs and torsos being shoved into giant metal limbs.

I am curious about the chips, however. What could they be for? They aren't just simply creating machines, are they? There are many ways to do it legally, even if the intended use for them is illegal. Going this far would be silly. I can't grab them from here without screwing it up.
"Hey, Sili-san. Can you use your string to grab the most completed looking chip?", I ask him.
"Sure thing!", he replies. With no second to spare, he snags a chip with his string.

"Hm…This chip is clearly not made for a mecha suit. And with all the M3s and Bits and R4s we have killed in this factory, the chips they had dropped don't look anywhere near this thing. In fact…I am no expert but… There is no machine part to slot them into? No bus. No cable port. No hole, nothing.", Sili-san says as he looks very confused at what he has grabbed.
"Well, let's take it back and hope we can find someone with more of an understanding to find out for us.", I tell him.

There must be a power source somewhere. I am not comfortable with letting this place stay like this. Who knows who's behind this.
"Let's cut the power, Sili-san.", I give a command.
"Roger.", and he treats it as such.
After jumping around for a few minutes, a bright spot can be seen below.
"Look, something is powering the generator using electric magic!", Sili-san points it out.
"It's a monster! Looks similar to an M3, but has arms, more floating laser weapons, and open slots to discharge electricity, or so it seems.", I am saying out loud what I am looking at.

Well, that simply means we can easily kill it. Doesn't look like a threat.
With my bow and arrow, I simply snipe it a few times, getting my arrows stuck within its openings. I let the arrows explode and kill the monster.
"We should head back to the hallway. There must be some kind of central room, or director's office of sorts.", I tell Sili-san whilst lowering my bow and arrow.

After heading very deep into the hallway, a large silhouette is blocking the way.
"Sili-san. Stop.", I order him to stop moving. I can feel it, with Wind Sense, an enemy is before us.
He stops. He looks at me and asks, "What's wrong? This silhouette, is it scaring you?"
"I can feel it…It is heavily armed. The current is altered slight, as different air is exhausting from him. He may be active.", I say.
It's probably something we can handle, but it is packing a gatling gun, fighting such a big thing with ranged speedy attacks in such a shallow hallway will not do us much good.

I need to set up defense and trick it. Mirage attack isn't going to work, as its eyes won't be tricked by it like a human's. It's a risk, but maybe he can't see through smoke? I should warn Sili-San.
"Sili-san. I am going to bait him. Can you prepare defenses in case the gunfire becomes too much?", I ask him as I slowly materialize an axe.
He smiles at me and says, "You can count on me."

I take a deep breath…And with light coming from my feet, I made a small leap forward. The machine's eyes glow red in this dark hallway. He has his gatling-gun arm aimed at me, so I cast explosion on him to create a smoke screen. I move to the right a bit and avoided turning into Swiss cheese by the bypassing bullets. One almost scratched my left cheek.

I honestly whiffed, it was so close. I throw my axe at it, low and behold, he has a forcefield. However, I can confirm that the smokescreen works. So as I planned, the axe explodes after bouncing off, allowing me to close the gap. Before giving him the chance of a counter attack, I swing my hammer at him as it is imbued with light.
As my hammer smashed into the forcefield, I shouted, "Bright Explosion!", I let my hammer of light explode, combining that with the force of my attack, the forcefield was broken through.

It suddenly moves its left arm. I can see him extend a chainsaw from a hole. With his lower body being that of a tank, it had fast conveyor belt mobility boosted by jet engines…I think. It's what it looks like. He drives towards me as he thrusts his chainsaw my way. I think I can block it if I let the light of my sword rotate in a similar manner as the chainsaw. While I am barely blocking him, my arms are soon to give out, and my feet being dragged over the floor isn't quite pleasant.

On top of that, I can see the light of my sword being sucked into the chainsaw, at some point, he was slightly tuning his chainsaw to push me to the left. I have to duck and help him shove his sword to the left, I can go under it to give me time to jump back. My plan works, and I manage to escape him. But now he is going to fire bullets from a gatling gun.
As I am frantically backing off with Light Step, I hear "String Cluster!", somewhere in the background. A bunch of deteriorating metal was pulled from the wall and ceiling as a means to block most of the bullets.

Whilst the plates are hanging there, it isn't too difficult to dodge the remaining bullets. Sili-san tells me, "Bios! Use electricity on the string. Maybe it will deflect nearby bullets."
Not sure how that works, but okay. I cast "Thunder!", onto the string to electrify them. Bullets are getting diced as they come near us.

The machine opened some kind of tray on his shoulders revealing a bunch of holes that I can feel through Wind Since. Yeah, he launches missiles. Of course, knowing Sili-san this isn't a problem. The webs simply catch the missiles and yeets them back at the machine. Causing as bit of destruction, and giving me an opportunity. I was already prepared, now I jump through the smoke, my sword bursting in light as I am about to throw it down onto the machine. "CombinationStar Light Slash!", I shout as I attempt to blow him up with a slightly weaker Light Slash. But the cave caving in is the least of my worries at the moment, for he absorbed most of the attack with the chainsaw anyway.

I cast explosion from my feet to move away downwards as he is doing a horizontal swing. The light of the chainsaw discharged creating a light blade that flew over the air. He tries to hit me with a strike, but it is pretty is easy to dodge. The light emits a small explosion upon contacting the ground, and a towering wave of light is shot from under the ground that traveled quite a distance. But the light has faded from the chainsaw, meaning it won't last long.

He shoots his Gatling gun down onto me, making the first rain of bullets easy to avoid, all I have to do is jump backwards with Light step, but as he slowly adjusted his aim to fire straight ahead, there is almost no way to dodge it. Luckily, Sili-san had made lots of webs on the ceiling for himself to crawl over. With string, he grabs me to safety. The machine fires more missiles in retaliation.

Clearly, this is not an intelligent machine. Sili-san sends them back once again. This time, I appear from below, with a more focused long blade of light, I slid over the ground with my legs. I need to do this too quick for him to react. It's going to have to be a static projectile rather than bursting one. Less damage, but fast enough for him to block with his Chainsaw.
"Light Slash!", I shout as I damage its lower part. Some of his wheels get cracked.

From what looks like spikey ends of a satellite dish, he zaps powerful lightning. I can barely dodge it. Moving away with Light step just before the lightning hits the ground. Eventually, I get surrounded by about ten bolts of lightning. String appears before me and it's absorbing the lightning. Unfortunately, that might not be enough. The machine shoots the lightning at his chainsaw and runs it through the string. My only option is to deflect it with my sword enchanted with light. And while it is doable, the lightning curves around my sword and hits me, not as strong as an actual bolt, but it still hurts.

"Then, how about this!", Sili-san shouts as he shoots a lot of string at the chainsaw, He seems to have perfectly calculated what to entangle. Getting the string just between every tooth of the chainsaw, going inside the mechanism that made it move. Now he has fully wrapped the chainsaw as he pulls it in the air from the ceiling.
Thanks, now I can take the time to cast Mirror Blade.
I hold my hand on my sword and chant, "Mirror Blade…", giving it reflecting properties.

I hold the blade above my head whilst light burst out from under my feet.
In the next second, I am behind him, with my sword nearly slamming into the ground, I say, "Ichimon-Kagami-Giri!"
With Mirror Blade, the machine was split perfectly in two, and each part violently collides into the wall. Seems my strength stat is high enough, for each part explodes upon contact.

The steel walls are warped and partially burned black from the explosion.
At least cave-in might not actually that big of a deal…
The sound of Sili-san jumping down right next to me is loud within my ear.
"…I'm getting goosebumps. With a machine like that blocking the door, there must be something interesting beyond!", he speaks as he breathed heavily.
"Yeah. Whatever is on the other side of that door, it will determine whether or not this adventure was worth our time.", I say.

The door opens. We walked inside a darkened room. I hadn't used my sword of light yet to brighten the area. So, let's do that first. But…Suddenly. The light turns on? …What is going on?
We're clearly inside a computer room. With the design of the room, there is one wall with an overly large screen, and the two walls next to that are askew, also having large screens attached to them. Below them are large control panels. In the room itself is filled with lots of desks with PCs.

"Oh? And who is here to cause trouble after so many years? I figured ze Deaztrooper would at least be able to ward intruders off.", a voice came out of the intercom.
"This place is supposed to be abandoned. With what right can you call us intruders and have a murder machine ready for defense?", I ask him. Obviously, I know whoever he is, he is up to no good.
The screen turns on. An alien looking scientist guy appears on the screen.

"Oh…I see, I see. My scanners can't quite detect who you are. If you are not an auzority, I don't quite care. Hyak Hyak hyak.", he says as he makes exaggerated movements over the screen, trying to eye us.
As if having only one eye with a pupil in it isn't creepy enough, he laughs weird too. And he also has a slightly high-pitched creepy voice. Can't stand him already.
"And uh…What is it exactly you two require? Or did you just stroll here for fun? Perhaps you guys are zose low-intelligence adventurers that like to go to factories?! Hyak Hyak!", he mocks us.

"Sili-San. Can you get the computers to work?" I whisper to Sili-san.
"Just leave it to me.", Sili-san replies to me.
I can't let this guy stop our search. He might be able to do something to delete the evidence or something I must distract him.
"We just happened to be adventures looking for a thrill. I thought no one cared about this place. I am even surprised there is still power. How did you do that?", I lie to him.
"Ooh… I am glad you asked. We have a backed-up generator charged with magical lightning zat will be cast so we can power ze whole zing one last time in case of intruders. You see, it works lik-oh, Hyak Hyak Hyak! I know what you are doing, buying time, are you? Too bad for you", he replies to me, after talking for a bit, he snaps his fingers.

Lasers surrounded the pcs, we can't get near them, unless we want to lose our fingers.
"Now, could you tell me ze genuine reason you are here?", he asks with a bright smile.
Well, if the PC is not an option anyway…
"What do you know of the Artificial Bio-Life Project?!", I ask him.
"Hoho…I perceive I have underestimated your intellect. You must know quite much if you can give me the name of such a secret project.", he replies.

He looks up and speaks, "You see. We wanted to create a warrior. Machines are highly capable of combat and wartime, but zey just lack ze motivation. Ze drive that humans have to persevere. Ze hate to kill. Ze passion to protect. However, humans lack ze intellect and quick learning of a machine. We can make a perfect fighter, one to copy all ozer's attacks. One wiz infinite magic, one wiz all weapons. Now, ze project itself wasn't necessarily wiz zis in mind, but it is ze prelude, to what ze actual members wanted.

So many here were duped into zinking they were going to create life, Hyak Hyak! Of course…Someone had to find out. You fought him, didn't you? Zanks to him, I was warned of your arrival. And now zat you are here, and since you seem to have no auzority…I think I'll just…Bury you wiz ze rest of our secrets. Ze items from ze factory have already been produced and shipped, ze ones being made now were just extras…Which would've been nice, but alas…"

"Bios…", Sili-san spoke into my ear, I can feel erratic finger movements from him with Wind Sense.
"Look at the screen to the left.", he says.
I look over to see a message saying, "All files copied." I can't believe it. My eyes are wide open.
"With string, I was able to take control of the PC. I have found an USB lying around and copied all of the data.", Sili-san said.

The scientist looks over to the screen on the left. His mouth slowly opened as he is realizing what we have done. From shock to anger, he shouts, "SHIT!" He rapidly presses a button. Alarms are going off all over the factory, and the computers in this room self-destruct.
"We have to go now, this place is going to wipe itself out!", I tell Sili-san.
Now I see that Sili-san is already running, shouting back to me, "I am way past you!"

We are on our way out of the Laboratory. Unfortunately, loud sirens aren't the only things we have to deal with. Every room and hallway has been brightened up by lights. And from nowhere comes an army of machine monsters. I materialized a sword I had custom made by someone else. it is specifically made to reflect or weaken magic. Any magical attack from the monsters can be deflected back at them as we kept on running.

Explosions need to be dodged, they come from anywhere. I'd wonder what is exactly used for this self-destruction sequence…It's not like the whole thing blows up at once. It is slowly weakening its foundation, perhaps it will all go down after?
I can sense three large presences!
"Weapon Create!", I hold out two hands. If I don't quickly make these, we may die. I need something that can withstand steel bending bullets…

"Diamond great shield!", I shout. Sili-san stops next to me, looking at me panicked, his face leaned my direction, probably is confused as to why I stopped. I throw him a second shield and tell him, "Take cover!"
A rain of bullets bounces off our diamond shields. They are taller than even Sili-san, and just wide enough to cover me.
"Diamonds are hard, but can be cut from the right angle. These shields are made to withstand any blow, hopefully bouncing them off. Even if they are steel piercing bullets.", I am explaining to Sili-san while we hold onto the shields.

I look over the shield, three of the same Death Troopers are firing their gatling guns at us.
"How are we going to beat three of them when one was super annoying?!", Sili-san asked.
Indeed, if they surround us or get multiple attacks off, we could be in danger. On the other hand.
"We know what is enough to break them and what their skillsets are. We also know they aren't smart or self-learning. I must quickly destroy one of them in a single attack, you must stop another one of them. The third one, we gang up on. This is a larger hallway, we have more moving space.", I lay it down onto him.

I keep the old magic resistant sword under one of the many straps of what I am wearing, and unsheathe the black blade. I cast Mirror Blade on it. In an instant. I cast my feet with light, giving it reflective properties, Reflection Step will be used. Now then, all preparations are done. I use reflection on my shield so that it will be instantly shot against one of the machines, hopefully staggering it.
With Reflection Step, my movement is stiff, but at light speed, with that and Mirror blade, I did a diagonal uppercut as I passed by, slicing the middle Death Trooper in half.

The Death Trooper on my left attempts to turn around to shoot me, but his gatling gun got jammed by the string that entered from the walls, thanks to Sili-san. Sili-san covers it with more string, he let the string go inside even the tiniest gap of the machine, wrapping any moving part that gives the machine functionality. Sili-San jumped over him as he completely wraps it in string, even if it shoots electricity, the string won't snap.
"Now that I have fought one of you, I can guess exactly how to wrap you up without you breaking free!", Sili-san declares.

However, the Death Trooper is getting charged by its own electricity. Since it is partially magically generated, he is only gaining more wattage. Eventually, it gets strong enough to cut the string with the chainsaw.
"EXE Drive Skill!", Sili-san shouts as he thrusts his blade forward. Electricity discharged around it, and with a barrier of string around him, he won't be hit by most of the lightning, it must still hurt him. I can see him struggle to push forward. But he does it anyway, impaling the machine while shouting, "Ultimate Web Stinger!"

Sili-san jumps away as the robot explodes. With another string, I see him throwing a great shield my way. I was dodging the final Death Trooper as best as I could, but he was about to hit me with the gatling gun. Thanks to this shield, I am fine, blocking all projectiles. When it shoots lighting at me, I can use my Magic resistant blade to deflect it, and I will immediately follow it up with my enchanted black sword as I step forward. Sili-san stops the chainsaw from moving so that I can cut this robot in half as well.

I put my swords back to where they belong. I ask Sili-san, "What made you risk yourself like that to pull your EXE Drive off?"
"You said you knew what destroyed them. I assumed your "Mirror" blade or whatever has a limit close to my strongest attack?", Sili-san answers.
"Basically, if my strength stat is at a certain height compared to a defense stat, it can cut it in half no matter what. However, if that isn't the case, the thing that is cut will be put together with no damage taken. Meaning it didn't have the highest defense.", I explain to him.

"Okay. Now then, we need to get out of here, but…", Sili-san is talking as explosions go off. We look at the path ahead, blocked by rubble, fire, and bent steel from explosions.
"We're kind of stuck here…", Sili-san says, he didn't sound worried. Actually, he looks at it with a smile that says, "Ah well, I give up. Guess I'll die."
I could feel air coming into this hallway though. Looking around, I see an air vent. Sili-san had followed my vision, it seems, and is looking at it now too.

Sili-san turns to me with glee as he says with a bright smile, "That vent may lead to outside! Either way it is the only way out of here!"
I tilt my head. I don't understand why he seems so glad. I tell him, "But it is too small for the both of us. How are you going to fit inside?"
He closes his eyes, still keeping the corners of his lips raised. He holds his finger up and tells me, "If you focused on your sensing skill, you would already know the answer."

Why is he giving me such a smug answer?!
With Wind Sense, I can feel he has string connecting me with the vent. What?! I instantly figured out what he is going to do. With a gasp, I try to shout, "Stop!", at him, but I couldn't even get that out of my mouth before getting slinged into the air vent.
He uses other debris from the explosions to block the air vent.
He tells me, "If you can live, you should. There is no time to find a way out for me, so, you can escape. Don't worry, you have helped me in saving those I care about. My life is worth this!"
Don't say such stupid drivel! I didn't invite you to die for me! Humans shouldn't… I look back to see the path of the air vent. Dang it! There is nothing I can do from here! No time to think!

As I tell myself that, I moved out of the air vent. It leads to an exit. The side of the mountain. This means this vent is made to get air from this side of the mountain through layers of rock. There must be air vents like these all over the place. But, whatever. I shoot myself up in the sky, as high as I could.
I look at the facility as explosions can be seen from any side.

"If it is just rock…I can break through it!", I shout to myself. I won't let anyone die again!
One sword does not contain enough power. I quickly create a second sword with Weapon Create.
I have to make a good quality sword, or else it will just flare up into nothingness too soon.
I ended up making a sword containing light sources within its platinum blade.
With both my black sword and light sword bursting into flaming white lights, I chant, "Two of light, combine into one power, to shower one who is close to the end of his life, with a ray of hope!" The two swords have combines into a huge flaming blade of white light.

"FusionStar Light Burst!", I shout as I shoot this blade at the mountain wall, I try to hold my sword in place so the blade forms something similar of a beam instead. I am trying to kind of drill a hole into the mountain wall rather than carve it out. I was mildly successful, a lot of the mountain is destroyed. Lots of rocks and debris are falling out, some of the air vents are still standing.

I see some metallic aspects. I don't have time to do the Light Slash with two swords. I must rush a consecutive powerful Light Slash attack to dwindle down the earth and steel.
With my black sword still intact, I hold I slightly above my left waist as I ignite it again with a large white burst of light. I did a spin, enlarging the white energy of my sword before doing a slash motion to fire off another shot. With one bright flash, another explosion digs deeper into the mountain wall. I did these slashes, over and over again. Draining my SP.

No matter what. With every drop of SP I got, I will get you out of there! I shoot another shot, the palms of my hands are feeling rough, warm as if the skin is aging rapidly. My arms are getting sore. But no matter what, I won't give up. I am sweating now, shooting another shot. My breath is ragged, but it won't stop me from yet firing off one more slash. Even as my arms are feeling heavy, and I can barely move them. I did a spin and managed to swing my weapon one more time.

I won't let anyone sacrifice themselves for me ever again! I will not allow someone to throw their life away, when I am not even human! No pain can stop me now!
I can see the steel wall of the lab. That's it! One last time! I hold my sword into the air. I grit my teeth and strained my arms as I imbued so much magic into my sword, it hurt to just hold it.
With all of my magical power I have, I shoot a final blade of light at the wall, perfectly cleaving it open.

Through the smoke, I can barely see Sili-san. So, I shout at him, calling for his name. You better get out of there!
With his string, he attached them to the elevated mountain walls that are now to his side to fling himself out of the lab. Just in time, because it blows up in a spectacular fashion. The explosion probably is what propels him my way. I find it hard to tell, it's difficult to keep my eyes open. I think I have lost control over my nerves, I can barely feel a thing. But…I guess it is fine now.

I can feel something pulling me. With my eyes slightly open, I can see Sili-san's face. He is holding me as we are falling down. I lose consciousness…
Not for long, it seems. When I open my eyes, I was still in his arms.
Yawning, I try to raise my head. I look around, and I see that he made a web across a nearby forest, did it catch our fall?
"Did I…Doze off?", I blurted out without thinking.
"You probably should've slept more!", Sili-san says. I look at him. He was kind of jesting, I could tell.

I get off from him and onto the string.
"So? What did you do? Massive hole was blown out of nowhere, and I see you dropping from the sky. Even that special sword you had is lost now. I had to do like, air swimming techniques or something just to get this far. I don't know, I tried everything just to move further away in the air. This web caught our fall. ", he tells me.
I take my time to breathe. I feel a bit shy to just tell him I went all out to safe him…But.
"I…I didn't want you to die. So, I used all of my SP to destroy that mountain side.", Bios.
He was speechless. Stop staring at me! I already feel awkward!

"Anyway.", I say as I try to move over. Feeling light-headed, I fall on my knee.
Guess using up all my SP and not sleeping well is taking its toll on me
"Oi, are you all right?", he asks me.
"I may have used more magic than I should've been capable off. I don't think I can move for a while.", I reply to him.
He grabs me, the nerve , and tells me, "Well then. Let me carry you. Should we head back to the village?"
Without having the energy to really react to him holding me yet again, I simply reply, "No. Let's get back to base…We have to figure…Something out…"

It took us a good while to get back to Lowee's center. I wasn't even conscious most of the trip and have spent all my magic. Sili-san must've been no less tired carrying me all the way back after fighting so many enemies. However, the time to rest could not come. We are in a state of caution right now. They knew we've been snooping around in the lab. There is a strong guy out there who has ties to our target organizations, and on top of that, it has something to do with a secret project to create artificial life.

We did all the reading on the paper we had stolen a few days back, not letting a single detail escape. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell everything. We do not have any electronic devices to use this USB, and finding a public one to use is not quite wise. The things we know for now: Plagiarts Laboratories and Plagiarts Defense are one and the same. Their forces act as a private military-grade weapon handler who snuck their way into Lowee's army with their weapons, in other words, they are business partners without most Lowee officials knowing their true nature. I hope it's just that they don't know, though…

They are in charge of the Artificial Bio-Life project A project made to create a perfect lifeform capable of copying any magic, skill, and attack. The details on how are missing, but we know there is one man who fits this description despite the paper saying the project has ended in failure. We also know the factory was producing chips of unknown function, and weaponry that has already been delivered. In other words, they must already have the equipment needed for whatever they are planning. We need info soon, because they could potentially do something in just a few days.

I doubt we can just ask about the Bio-life project in public, but we have to indirectly get info anyway. In the end, we have to defeat the mysterious warrior. Considering this Urban Legend is quite popular, there must be other locations he could appear, you'd think, right? Well, regardless. We want to know more. Me and Sili-san went around during the day, dashing, flying and jumping all over the place, unnoticed as we tried to figure out where we can maybe find a link. Heck, I'd even take another weird facility.

"Ah…", some nerdy guy who works for a social media company is visibly emoting that he is thinking hard about my questions. He tells me, "All I know is. Some strong guy apparently has moved into the north. You know? Where that mafia hideout was that got destroyed by vigilantes. Some people only saw him for a few seconds before he left. Does that ring any bells?"
I am breathing in and out. I can't even close my eyes with how ecstatic I am, I thank him deeply with a bow before running.

I turn my head left and right looking for Sili-san. Then I hear him call my name.
"Sili-san! Did you get any useful intel?!", I ask him.
"He's in Lowee! The man we're looking for has been fought by someone here. And apparently, some of the authorities have tried to arrest him, but weren't capable of it.", he tells me.
"Yeah, he is in the northern area, the same place we were capturing gangs.", I reply.
"Oh good, we can go there this night then!", he tells me. So you didn't know his exact location, well then, my info searching was not a waste of time then.

"But Bios, we have to hurry! I've got someone else talking! And uh…I might've used some forceful methods. BUT! Word has it lots of weaponry is being moved around between the army and smaller groups. No one knew the details, but new and advanced war-planes Are being prepared for take-off. These planes are made by Plagiarts Defense!", he shouts at me.
I place my head between my index finger and thumb, they want to start a war? with whom? We know they had some roots in Lastation…Don't tell me…
My thought is interrupted by Sili-san saying, "Well, figured anything out?!"
"No. Putting that aside, that man may know something about it. We need to fight him, tonight!", I reply to him.

I could sense two girls nearly as small as me running this way. I can feel my heart skip a beat as I quickly turn, I just see basic shapes of two girls a little taller than me. I immediately dash away. I can barely hear Sili-san's confused voice utter, "…Bios?"
I hide behind the building. Holding my mask close to my face just in case, I look out onto the street the two girls were running into. Rom. And Ram. My older sisters.
They mustn't see me. I cannot let anyone know who I am.
I see them, happy. Conversing with each other without a care in the world. I can almost crack a smile, seeing they are okay…I see Ram hugging onto Rom's arm before dragging her off. I wonder what they are doing…I…Feel kind of hurt. I really do want to…Talk to them again…

I move back from the corner, leaning my head against the wall, before dropping on my butt. I lowered my mask as I sigh, both in relief…But also…
"Good thing you noticed, Bios. I almost got caught by the CPU Candidat-", I heard Sili-san speak as he jumps down next to me. The moment I turn to him, I see his eyes widen a bit.
"Are you…Crying?", he asks me. What do you mean? I didn't feel…
I rub my finger below my eye and feel a single tear.
I will shake it off and reply with, "It's nothing…Just panicked a little."

I quickly get up afterwards and strongly speak, "We must rest and get out in the evening! We will find this man! And defeat him!"
Sili-san nods. With a smile, he tells me, "I understand."
As I watch him leave, I can't help but declare in my head…I want them to keep smiling. I refuse to let them suffer from a war. I will not allow anyone in the shadows to hurt them. For their sake, I'll do everything I can!

And so, night time came. With the moon at its peak in the sky, we walk in the northern streets.
I had told Sili-san that we should focus on exposing his face. With the streets of Lowee's capital, there should be enough light sources unlike the village I fought in.
Without further ado, from within snowy winds, he appears.
"I assume that is the guy?", Sili-san asks me.
I nod, and now I will get my sword out and move into my stance.

"I am amazed.", to our surprise, this man can talk.
"I thought you had died back there. How were you able to survive that fall? Even creating a crater.", he asks me.
I must give a vague answer. It is better if he doesn't know what I am. "I've simply trained my body to surpass all human limitations."
"…You were strong…Yes, I had felt it. That is why I fought you, despite looking so tiny. The guy next to you isn't weak either. I am happy. I thought I had everything I needed after our fight, but I might be missing something if you can survive something like that.", he says.

He has a pretty deep voice. He kind of sounds angry, maybe he just naturally speaks in a grumpy voice? Either way, I prefer to inform people what they're up against per warning.
"Strong? I haven't even shown a glimpse of what I can do.", I tell him.
"Perfect…Then this fight will be all the more worth it. When I saw you move into the lab, I knew I had to come here to fight you again. Show me! The limit of your power!", he was talking normally at first, but by the end of his speech, he shouts at us. Ready to fight.

"Flame!", I cast fire magic repeatedly to increase the temperature in specific areas. He can probably see that I am using a mirage technique from the beginning. However.
With Light step, I move forward. He doesn't even flinch, as an image of me goes through him, fading into the air. He looks, disappointed.
"You were stronger, you say! Then show me, not these petty tricks!", he shouts.
Much obliged…

I appear behind him, my sword engulfed with light. He had expected me and swung his own sword my way with a one-eighty spin.
But then, I was pulled back by string, I can see his two confused eyes as I grab my axe from my back with the other hand.
He holds his right arm in front of him to take my axe, and I swing into it. I let my axe explode into his arm, knocking him back, probably hurting him a good bit. Something is odd…
He should've been able to move away with Light Step, why didn't he? He even saw me use it?

He leaps forward towards me to attempt a punch, I knock it down with the use of the explosive axe. From my other hand, I materialize a spear to thrust it at him. But in the middle of that motion, he uses his other arm to swing his axe at me.
I let go of the spear to jump back, but beforehand, I had cast explosion into the spear. I let it blow up in full, hopefully getting him to cease moving for a second.
I move back in with my axe, spinning it around as I shout "Zerstorung!"
I managed to knock him over with an explosive axe swing. He did throw and explosive spear back to me. It is easy to dodge, however. At this moment, someone else can attack him now to not allow any counter attacks.

Sili-san is behind him with his own sword. The man is capable of stopping it once, but in the next clash, Sili-san has used the string on his blade to help pull his blade further against the man's sword to increase its velocity and with that, its strength. The man's sword is pushed back letting Sili-san cut him once. But when Sili-san swings his sword again, I can see the man parrying it with ease. Sili-san is using the same technique as before, so why doesn't he get to push through this time? Simple, the man copied the move and can now use string from his sword as well.
The two did overhead diagonal swings multiple times, until Sili-san's sword is pulled back by its own string. It was caused by the copy man, he learned to control Sili-san's sword string.

"Small Light Slash!", I shouted as I shoot a small blade of light at the man. The man was about to hit Sili-san with an explosive spear, however, Sili-san managed to pull himself back using the string from his arms attached to the buildings behind him. The blade of light landed into the man's back, doing minor damage. The man turns around, his sword now glowing. He shoots multiple blades of light at me. Over and over again. I need only deflect these with my own sword, which is not too difficult.

Eventually, he was stopped by Sili-san grabbing the man's left arm with string. While the man is looking back at Sili-san, he is still trying to pull his arm forward, I dash at him using Light-Step. However, the man quickly copied Sili-san's string capture and let the string on his arm Unwrap themselves. He cut the string off from the source and uses it for a different purpose…Capturing me. I am being pulled right in front of him. I tried thinking about any counter-moves, but he was quite quick to just punch me back onto the ground. Out of everything he can do now…Why a normal punch?

As I am getting up, I see him looking at Sili-san. I almost don't dare to look. But now I see light glowing under his feet. He was going to use Light Step to get to Sili-san. I swiftly get up and go after him, but he is just as fast as me. Sili-san uses a string attached between buildings to trip the man up. Noticing it too late, he doesn't fall over completely, but within trying to recover his posture, I manage to cut the cloth he is using to hide his face. I kick myself off him afterwards.

I lean my head forward as I stare at him. The lights of the street focused on him. Sili-san was no less anxious, I can see. This man's face… It looks. Kind of rigid? He had streaks of metal over his head and face. He is bald and has the eyes of a reptile. Or so it looks like.
Sili-san points at him and shouts at me, jerking his finger around as he fidgets, "B-bios! This man's face showed up in the papers! He is a man code named, Acclaim!"

"He must know something. Acclaim! What do you know about the Bio-life Project! Are you perhaps the one success they have made?!", Sili-san shouts as he aims his blade at him.
I also hold my sword up, asking, "Do you remember the details of your creation?"
"No…I was not created…", a groggy voice came from him. He gurgled as he held his hands in his head. He was making sounds indicating pain.
"I am me…I am human. I was born normally…", he was muttering random things. Some I can't quite made out.

After one scream, he held his arms up and angrily says, "These arms are not mine!"
With shaky noises coming from his mouth, he moves his arms over his head.
"This is not what my head used to be like…", he states.
He looks at the two of us angrily before screaming, "I am not someone else's CREATION!"
We must take our chance. I can see Sili-san thinks the same. I shoot myself over to him using Light step, ready to swing my sword. Sili-san used his string to pull himself forward in order to perform a strike.

He quickly moved into a dark alleyway, avoiding our pincer attack, however, this is not unexpected.
I nodded to Sili-san, who has a string ready for me. I jumped onto the string into the air, and as it is being pulled, I generate light from under my feet so that it will shoot me at the man.
With the bouncing of the string and me jumping with light, it feels like an instant that I have gotten so close to Acclaim. I engulf my sword in light as I slam it down onto him. In the meantime of that all happening, Acclaim tried to cast explosion on us, but was stopped by Sili-san's string pulling his arms away.

However, after casting fire on the strings, Acclaim is free to block my strike with his own light sword. The bursting lights flew off each other like flames as I am pushing him forward with the force of my jump alone. But I really need to damage him, or else we'll only tire ourselves out. "Explosion!", I shout to let my sword create an explosion that will help push his blade down. I need to hit him in the head to make him flinch. I did so with flip kick. After getting down, I grab my spear.

I will not allow him a moment to breath. I did a rush of spear thrusts whilst constantly moving using light step. I increase my movement speed with light step many times to transfer the velocity into my spear thrusts. I need to do this for what I want to try next. I cast explosion with every thrust of the spear. I thrust the spear about five times a second. With the barrage of explosion hitting him, I'm calling it, "Explosion Rain!" I think I am bringing in some decent blows.

Eventually, he breaks my flurry of thrusts using the explosive axe as a shield. He thrusts his sword at me, but I have already jumped back. In a few milliseconds, he throws an axe my way. I am pretty sure it will blow up, so I use Light-Step to distance myself from it. In the meantime, he comes out of the alley, I assume to go on the offensive. But as he raises his hand, he gets pulled by a string attached to a building. Right after, a string gets pulled by Sili-san's finger, breaking off a part of a roof. In the next second, it smashes into Acclaim's head.

Sili-san comes right after him with his sword, but stops immediately, for Acclaim leaps right at him with a spear. Acclaim moved with great speed leaving after-images as he says, "Rainy Ratnapura!"
Sili-san is having an incredibly hard time deflecting and blocking the massive amount of spear thrusts. His face is strained, almost like he is in tears. However, he manages to shoot his string his way bouncing off the walls to stop the spear. But Acclaim can read his moves. So, as he finished the combo with a slash, the strings were cut, and Sili-san painfully knocked back.

I had already maximized the throttle of light bursting from under my feet, I launch myself at insane speeds at Acclaim, too fast for him to dodge. With reflection punch, I hit the side of his head and send him flying. Yet, he still lands on his feet, only seeming pissed as he shrugs his head. It looks like he only got a stiff neck.
This guy is tough. He not only took so many explosions, he doesn't even flinch from blows to the face.
I shoot a weak blade of light at him, but he simply cancels it out with his own version of it. I must create an opening, so I move forward firing off light blade after light blade. He did the same.

It is only inevitable that we get into close range distance. He swipes his sword at me, but I have already thrown mine into the air. I want to use both hands with the hammer to slam his sword down. After doing so successfully, I expect him to do a one-handed swipe with the axe. As he does that, I duck underneath after grabbing my sword. I use Light Step to kind of slide under him to avoid an explosion. I cut him in the back with a spin as I got up. He tries to counter me with his axe, but it is only going to hit this shield I had in my inventory. I let go of it so that I don't take recoil damage from the explosion.

When the axe blew my shield away, I was already in the air, attempting to hit him with my own exploding axe. He tries to exchange attacks with an exploding spear thrust, but I cast explosion from my feet to move away. Immediately after getting on the ground, I dash forward with light-step to lay my sword of light on him. With the smoke clearing, he hits his own sword back on mine, and our blades are locked once more.

"Explosion!", we both shout to let our blades ignite with an explosion, pushing us both back.
I leap back even further and shoot multiple explosive arrows at him. More so to create a smoke-screen, for I am not expecting it to do anything else. He shoots his own out of the clouds, probably thinking he can take advantage of the smoke-screen so I might find it harder to dodge said arrows. I know they are going to blow up.

While dodging them, I materialize a hammer and take it for a spin. Immediately after throwing it, I move past it using Light-Step. Dispersing the smoke screen with the wind of my speed, I hurl my axe at Acclaim. It isn't that unpredictable that he blocks it, even letting the explosion hurt him. He wants to counter-attack me right away, but I am predetermined to move out of the way this instance. So, whatever he tries to do, is not going to hit me. I shoot myself into the air, watching my hammer collide into him and blowing up.

I shoot more blades of light as I go down onto the ground. After doing that, not caring if it did anything, I move forward to make sure he doesn't have time to recover. I noticed thanks to Wind Sense, he had a trip wire active using Sili-san's string. I jump over it.
I am not letting me get fooled by that again
After thinking that, I can see Acclaim using the pose I use to cast explosion. I jump away avoiding the explosion, however, it has led me into a trap.

He figured out Sili-san's debris string attack, obviously, but he also learned to use a 'String Cluster' move! Debris broken off of buildings, the street and lantern poles fly my way in order to create one cluster with me in the middle. I used explosion from my feet to get out of a gap in between, only to see the cluster shatter as he had dashed my way at full power.
He screams, "Reflection Punch!", as I try to block the attack with my arms. I am still flying over the air, from the attack I had invented.

He shoots a blade of light at me as a pursuit attack. Sili-san stops me with his string, and blocks the attack with a spider-web move.
I stand up and ask, "Thanks! But are you okay after getting cut?!"
"I don't lose all my hp from a simple slash!", he replies.
"However, I don't know if blocking that attack was wise. He will learn that skill too.", I say.
I squint my eyes. But will he really? Just like that?
Testing it out, I shoot a blade of light at him, and he simply deflects it with his sword.

"Why don't you use the spiderweb? Can't you just copy it, no SP lost?", I ask.
He snickers a little. He then asks me, "Well, you know I can copy things…But…"
He looks at me and tells me, "You really think I do so by looking? I guess so, huh? It must be the most obvious thing. But just because you can see a move, it doesn't mean you understand the intend of the user, you need to get deeper than just what it looks like."
Sili-san shook with frustration before shouting, "What is that supposed to mean?!"
With a scoff, he says, "I am not going to tell you all my secrets. That is just unprofessional."

Back then, while using Critical Edge. He touched me for some reason. By deeper, he means…
"Through touch, I suppose.", I say quietly.
"Hm…I suppose I can't let this go on for too long. I have got other things to do after all. How about I finish this? I don't feel like killing you, though. You've been helpful in making me stronger.", he says.
He walks forward. Full confidence. He keeps casting fire magic in certain areas. Before I know it, he disappears.

Sili-san looks like he just saw a ghost vanish. I know he is using the mirage technique.
"Stay calm, Sili-san. He is tricking our vision. Listen. I am going to hit him with my strongest attack. When I do, you tie him up. We must down him in two hits. If we can't, we may as well give up.", I tell him before moving forward.
Multiple images of Acclaim were created alongside the road, some on top of the buildings.
Mockingly, he is talking to me, "You seem confident. Or are you throwing it away and giving me the victory? You could quickly swipe every fake you see, maybe you get lucky? No? Just going to walk there?"

He has moved around a lot to make these images. However, my Wind Sense does not get fooled. I know where your real body is, but you can't see this skill. You have been standing in the same spot you've vanished for a while now.
He jumps my way, but I have already snapped my fingers.
"Arrow storm!", I say as thousands of arrows fly directly at Acclaim whilst he has revealed himself. He turns around knowing the arrows are coming, but has not time to do anything but get a shield up and block the arrows.

In the meantime, I charge light into my blade. Shooting flames of pure white, generating a powerful sword that moved like a giant whip of light. I curl it around chanting, "Combine after having fallen apart. Become whole as one after breaking to pieces. Even alone, stand strong and believe in your strength as one. Become one bright light to vanquish those that dwell in the dark."
He looks at me whilst holding down the arrows, I can see a vein over his head.
"Hey…Stop…Why don't we talk about this…", his voice is weakening as I come closer.

"UnionStar…LIGHT SLASH!", I shout, slamming my blade of light right into him, the explosion brightening the entire neighborhood.
This attack has weakened him, now it is up to Sili-san. He is wrapping his arms and feet using his most powerful and numerous strings from all mechanical pieces.
I jump over Acclaim as I push two swords of light into each other creating an even more powerful blade of light.
"FusionStar, Light Burst!", with what almost looked like a blinding beam of light, I have landed my most powerful attack on him. I see the smoke clear up.

Acclaim was bruised. His clothes are slightly ripped. However, as a voice from a small device echoes the street, we can tell only one thing.
"Acclaim! The time has come! Get to the departure point! You must protect us at the abandoned underground base north-east! Don't waste any time!"
Acclaim is still up, and our time is cut short. The smoke is gone now, and a stoic faced Acclaim stands up. He may be in pain, but that is not important anymore.

What endurance. I know he is beyond human, but he is at the level of super villains I've faced.
"Sorry. But either you give up, get knocked out, or you die. It is no longer my decision.", he says before dashing all over the place. I can see him charging his own version of my Light Slash. Sili-san tries to stop him with string, but it is too obvious now. I can still stop him, however.

I grab a knife. I use Wind Sense to pin point his next location. Using reflection off my hand, I can shoot this knife at light speed. Light-Step doesn't even come close. With Wind Sense, I can predict where he will move. I turned around and shot a knife from the palm of my hand. It hits Acclaim and stops him from moving.

I can tell it hurts a lot. He has to stop charging the light slash in order to cope. Wait. Something is off. I can feel many strings bouncing off the walls…They were leftovers from Sili-san's ultimate binding technique… I turn around, and see him fully wrapped. Acclaim must've grabbed the strings that he was captured by before and is now using them against Sili-san.
I can see them light up. They are going to explode! In a panic, I look back at acclaim, he quickly attaches a string to me. As I was pulled high up into the air, I watch Sili-san get burned by a huge explosion. I doubt he is actually dead, his HP stat is pretty high.

I get smashed into the ground by the string. It was a heavy slam that hurts just enough. He is pulling me again. Smacking me into multiple buildings. I am thrown towards Sili-san, who seems to have barely stood up. We are thrown into a building. It's hard to tell, but I guess we were thrown inside with great strength, for the whole building collapses on us. I can see through some wide gaps between the rubble, Acclaim had jumped above us. He combines two light engulfed blades into one.

With a large swing, he shoots a blade of light shouting, "FusionStar Light Slash!"
That could end us. In fact, that is what normally should happen. "A large bright explosion that shattered the nearby buildings had ended the vigilantes that soar through the night."
But I refuse to let it end here. This can only kill Sili-san. And I won't let that happen either.
I will cast Mirror Blade…And disperse this light! It is no easy task.

The power instilled so large and dense, it practically stops being mere light and begins to be raw energy. However,…It is still my technique, my strength. There is no way, it can stop me!
My arm has become numb from pushing it back against Light Slash, but it has been halved. The explosion it causes by hitting the surroundings hurt us, but we will survive. Acclaim leaves us. He didn't want to kill us, I guess. He must think this mission more important than our lives.

The rubble is mostly cleared. I can hear lots of people leaving their houses, and the authorities may arrive soon. I need to grab Sili-san, now. I cast Reflection Step on my feet to go as fast as light. I want to get into an alleyway. As the same time, I cast fire magic in certain places, creating a mirage wall to hide us in. I can now take a breather.
I lean my back against the wall. Looking at Sili-san, I ask, "Will you be fine, Sili-san?"
To my surprise. He actually gets on his hands and knees. He pants and coughs for a bit.

After a few chuckles, he sits on his butt and casually says, "Man, he is tough! Wow!"
What made him so chipper? Did he figure something out? I tilt my head.
"What did you do, Sili-san?", I ask him.
He smiles at me while reaching his pocket, tells me, "Nothing gets past you, Bios. I got something from him.", and he pulls out this device that looks similar to a smart-phone.

I observe it closely. I know it must mean something. The only thing I can relate it to Acclaim as that he was contacted. So, I ask, "Wait. Is that thing perhaps his communication device?!"
"Oh, from the looks of it, it is way more! It seems there are some documents stored inside!", Sili-san says as he holds the phone in front of him, with a wide smile and spry eyes.
"Let's go back to base. We need to rest and take a good look at this device!", I tell him.
After agreeing, we had to head back home. In a discreet manner, it was quite hard to avoid the authorities and their summons whilst our movement had become sluggish from weary bones.

Back home, we found multiple reports on this device. I don't really understand how to use it, so Sili-san found everything and read it to me.
From what we have gathered: The Bio-Life project had one success, and one successor. There was nothing about the successful subject, but a new project had begun. Experimenting with genetics of living adults. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough information about that. Only that a new lab in Lowee had been working on this project, while the old one in Lastation was merely kept for low-key creating certain parts for the next few projects.

The one thing that takes precedence now, is their "Lowee X Lastation war plan"
They have given instructions to Acclaim to protect the launch-site so that two new advanced war planes together with a giant aircraft can initiate an attack on Lastation and make it seem like Lowee had ordered it. The location was in the east, in the direction of the ocean. There is a wide plain area with some steel buildings sparsely scattered about. The ground in some spots were made out of steel, because this area is used for underground facilities. Used formally by Lowee and officially, in the hands of Plagiarts Defense.

Either way, it starts tomorrow night, so after resting, we have to get there at all costs.
I stand up and prepare my weapons. They have only been sloppily recreated after blowing them up every-time. I must give them some proper maintenance. Isn't going to take long with my ability.
Sili-san asks me, "But can we really win against that guy? He not only has most of our techniques, his defense is absurd."

"This time, it will be different. At first, we were unsure of what is happening. But I think I get it now. I don't know why they are starting a war, but it will affect Lowee negatively. I won't allow it. And I won't allow them to hurt others. In this next fight. I am not going to stay down. That is the biggest change. I hope you are ready, Sili-san. If you want to flee mid-fight, that is fine with me. But I promise you, until I have ceased to breath, in this battle, I won't stop standing.", I give him a speech.
I can see him trying to absorb all I have said. It comes with worries, uncertainty, but then...
He relaxes his face, sits down, and says, "Well, after you have helped me. I will stick with you no matter what. I honestly have no idea what you mean, but I will do my best!"

With that all said and done. The time has come. At night-fall, we are advancing onwards to the iron plains.
The moon lightens the night sky. The falling snow reflecting its light felt like lanterns. I don't know why, but something is off in this area. Despite there being no light source, everything felt rather bright.
Once again, a heavy wind filled with snow blows past us. And I know what it means. He is here. A shadow emerges, and shows himself to be Acclaim.

"So, indeed you have come. I would prefer to keep you alive. You've helped me reach my first goal after all.", he says.
"What is it that you do this for, Acclaim?! You looked in pain from what had been done to you, yet you help the same people. Even when making war. Why do you help them?", I have to ask.
"Why? There is no reason. After such a long time, I don't really think anymore. I don't feel like a person now. All I feel is an urge to do as I am told. I needed to get stronger. I had to fight many strong people to raise me up. It's not about copy ability either, but experience.", he says.

He points at me, saying, "You are the strongest I have faced. And I know if I keep you alive, you will fight me and make me stronger. But they want me to end anyone who gets in their way. I want to get stronger…Maybe I'll get control back…But then again…Where will I go? Forever alone…"
He is giving me a somber look. It is a look of someone about to cut off their emotions. He requests something of us, "Can you not just leave this alone?"

"I can't. For the sake of others, I fight.", I reply to him.
"Is that so…Well, I knew you would want to fight…", he says, slowly grabbing a big sword.
I stand ready, with my own black blade pointed his way. Our lights lit up with white flames.
In the next second, I can see him almost right in front of me, as we both moved beyond Super Sonic speed. Like two cars crashing into each other, our sword of light cross, blowing the snow around us away.

The sparks and bursts off of our swords repeated as we dance with our swords. Only difference was that he does more askew overhead swings whereas I do unterhau moves to block his sword. Forcing him into a horizontal swing that comes from my right. I am going to block it holding the sword down from above my head. As his sword is pushing back against mine, I use my arms to push his sword over my head, staggering him ever so-slightly. I can try a counter-attack. But Light-Step easily allows him to evade me by jumping to my left.

I did jump slash, but he avoids it, so he is free to land his sword at me as he dashes my way. I can only block it. After being blown back by his sword-slam, I quickly use Light-Step to shoot myself at him, barely striking my sword at him, for the force of my leap is powerful enough to shove him back, not doing any damage however, as he manages to block my sword yet again.

We both moved away at high speed until appearing in front of each other again for another collision of swords. Our sprinting with Light-Step became more erratic, heavy sword attacks are abundant as we are trying to force an opening among the fast movements and heavy swings.

I take this opportunity to do a feint attack. As he swings his sword, I got on top of it. I am pretty small, and his sword is relatively big. I can stand on it and strike his head. He may look confused at me after having turned his head my way, but I can feel an expansion in the air. He is going to make his sword explode. So I jump off, and thus, dodge the explosion. In order to not lose momentum, I shoot a few arrows at him while going down. He counters it by blowing them up with his own arrows.

After landing on the ground, I notice his sword bursting into light. He shouts at me, "UnionStar Light Slash!", and shoots a giant white blade of light at me.
"Reflection…", I say under my breath as I make the palms of my hands glow, magically giving them the property of magical mirrors. I hold back the light that is slowly nudging me backwards. I dig my fingers in the middle, trying to tear the light in two. Eventually, the two halves were slowly being taken apart until my hands were able to reflect them to random directions.

In the meantime, Sili-san has used his strings on the ground to pull himself forward. Practically flying his way over. Acclaim attempts to subvert the strings to capture him instead, however, Sili-san let's go of the string he was holding, making it harder for Acclaim to reach him. He still tried, but in the end, Sili-san just uses different string to block them, and then subverts his string back to his control to alter his position. All so he could thrust his blade towards Acclaim.

Acclaim blocks it, then he shoves it away. That's when I come in using Light-Step, and parry his strike. Both me and Sili-san, our shoulders almost touching, try to strike him down, but he blocks it holding his sword perfectly horizontal.
He pushes us back, that being so, it shan't stop us. We take a deep breath forward and furiously swipe our blades at him.

With his big long sword, he is able to block our simultaneous strikes. Even if we took turns to attack, he could use his arms if it were a weaker slash, a heavier slash would be easier to block. At some point, Sili-san's string covered Acclaim's sword. Even if Acclaim is trying to unwrap his sword and use that string against Sili-san, Sili-san now expects it and basically locks him down in a fight over string.

In the meantime, I can land a free blow on him. I use an axe, spin it around and will slam it into him shouting, "Zerstorung!" I blow him away with an explosive axe slam. I can see he is going to cast Explosion, so I and Sili-san jump away. In return I fire off multiple arrows at him. Instead of countering them, he opts to dodge them using Light-Step. Sili-san had already covered the ground with his string to trip him up. Acclaim knows this, so he just jumps over one string as he moves…He was lacking critical information.

An explosion goes off on the area he had jumped in.
Confused? I have casted a Mine spell. It is a bit difficult to get right, but it works like the exploding weapons. Enchanting certain parts of the ground with explosion magic. It isn't actually the mine spell. That one is more powerful as it uses a full magical circle unlike this. But it will work. Not even I remember where I placed them for that would mean him knowing where they are.

I see light coming from under Acclaim's feet. As he flies himself over the ground, he uses string to redirect himself my way, not risking a hit from the mines. I avoided a light-engulfed punch to the face, however, he can move straight to Sili-san after. Sili-san uses a string shield to block a sword strike. Of course, Acclaim knows the fire spell, so he can just burn through the web. Sili-san was pretending to push his sword back against him, but actually drops it instead.

It feels like watching a move of my own being used. Acclaim's strike was used with a lot of focused strength, making him incapable of dodging Sili-san's fist. He was punched right across the cheek. It isn't very powerful, as Sili-san hasn't trained much in hand-to-hand combat. But to surprise him more, Sili-san uses the string on his arms to grab his sword. With efficiency that goes above Acclaim's recovery, Sili-san slashes him with an unterhau.

Now that hurts a lot more. Acclaim took to the sky. I can see he has some knives in his hands.
He is going to reflect them at the speed of light! I swallow.
I move over to Sili-san as fast as I can. Luckily, I am pretty close. The knives were shot at a speed only I really have an eye for. Just barely, I could stop them using shooting light blades from multiple swords. As I moved over the ground in front of Sili-san, I spin with my legs as I rev up the whip-like light energy that burst from my swords, eventually fusing them.

I yelled as I shoot a big Light Blade at Acclaim. Of course, having come into contact with me, he learned to use the Reflection hand to disperse the light. Instead of halving them however, he strained his body a lot more in order to simply push it into another direction, as if it were a river.

In the next moment, I see string in his hands. I think he is going to use it to increase velocity as he flings himself back onto the ground. He uses explosion from his feet to do so. I launch myself his way, materializing a spear to thrust forward. I feel we are at the same wavelength, neither of us want to take a big hit in the air from this collision. At the same time, we use Explosion from our feet to stop ourselves, moving away in opposite directions.
Still wanting to hurt the other, we thrust our spears forward. However, both of us can materialize shields now. So, we only managed to push each other away. As we are falling down, I can only think to hit him with my best ranged attack.

I let my blade fly into a bursting light.
Even if you deflect this, I can hit you with arrows after
And I suppose he thought of that, for he is only going to rev up his own Light Slash.
"UnionStar…Light Slash!", we both shout, Firing off our blades of lights at one another. The collision created a giant orb of light. It almost feels like staring at the sun. The winds it creates are blowing onto the ground below us and further. The sound as this orb of light explodes makes my ears ring. After landing back on the ground, I need a minute to recollect myself. Acclaim, too, seems tired.

I look at Sili-san. I think he is stunned. He looks shaken up, his sword is barely in his hand.
I'm sorry. I forgot, you are mostly a normal person. My powers are too great. You must feel like an ant right now, seeing two people far stronger and faster than you clash. It's fine. You can kick back. I refuse to lose.
Determined, I tighten my grip on my blade. Acclaim doesn't even look at Sili-san, we are currently locked in a fierce fight between two wielders of destructive power.

Moving around with Light-step, us two shoot arrows at each other. The arrows were ricocheting off one another until slowly coming together to a singular point, it is kind of pointless but the both of us fired an arrow of light at it to cause a star shaped explosion.
Both of us shout, "Shooting Star Arrow!", at the explosion.
Now I can close in on him. I want to quickly jab him with a spear, but he mirrors my move. The spears thrust into one another and blow up.

We move back and forth again to clash with two exploding axes. Even though I jump down on him with my axe, he just has better physical strength and knocks me back with his own axe. We both did a spin before ramming our hammers against one another, blowing them up too.
I jump back and shoot a spear at Light Speed at him. Perhaps because he can read my body movement, he manages to dodge the spear by looking at where I aimed it.

He shoots a bunch of knives at me. I finally decide to use a morning star. Rapidly swinging it all around me, the knives bouncing off. I do a spin and fling the spiked ball at him with a yank from my chain. Of course, he tries to stop it by throwing an axe at it. But I cast wind onto the chain to slightly swerve the ball around the axe. I get a lucky hit onto Acclaim's head. Of course, this means he can now use it too.

He grabs his own morning star and we swing it at each other, Constantly blocking our movement. But then, I can throw another item at him. While the ball was high up in the air, I threw an exploding axe his way. He stops it using the morning star. Maybe he is thinking that with a lack of momentum thanks to the great height the spiked ball is at, that I can't hit him with enough force.

He doesn't know yet, that I can cast wind magic on all parts of the chain, increasing my pull as I yank the entire chain downwards. He can see the ball about to slam down onto him. He jumps, but I set it up so it would explode upon hitting the ground. The spikes flew from the ball's explosion and into Acclaim. Might be very painful. He looked pissed, hovering his hand over his head. I take the opportunity to shoot myself at him.

He looks at me angrily and held his left arm out. I can only guess a magical spell from that. I slow down a little to aim the palms of my hand at his face. "Explosion!", is what we are shouting. An explosion spell hit both of our heads, knocking us back.
The sound of our feet being dragged over the snow feels loud. The wind feels like it is accelerating as I am looking at this guy who feels the exact same way.

Our fists engulfed in light, I thrust it forward as he did the same. A clash that causes a shockwave as we scream. I am overcome with an adrenaline rush, and so, I keep on punching. It was a flurry of white fists banging against one another, neither of us are backing down. We can only end this by throwing one heavy punch, but even that only creates a BOOM that shoves us both back.

He shoots a powerful, "Light Slash" my way. While grabbing my sword with one hand, I use Reflection on my other hand to push the burst of light to my left as if slightly pushing myself past someone. I had already been charging light into my sword and will shoot my own Light Slash back at him. Of course, he can just as easily deflect it with his own hand, it actually is getting close to hitting me, I have to jump away. And as I do that, I will shoot another Light Slash at him.

He has learned how to reflect it back to me, turning his hand just right to shoot it back. Of course, I can dodge out of the way, but he will shoot another Light Slash at me. Well, if he can reflect it backwards, so can I. I practically grab the light slash and faintly raise my wrist before letting it go and pushing it forwards. It flies from my hand towards his head. He dodges it by bending his neck and using his hands to push it above himself slightly. As I get close with my sword bursting with light, he is about to strike me with his own.

I did another Unterhau as he does a strike, two Light Slashes at point blank range hurts my arms just holding on. The two swords shoot big beams that fly in various directions as we push forward. I think there is no benefit, so I will use reflect on him to create some distance. But he just copies me once again. We reflected each other slightly, I was turned one-eighty degrees and fell with my hands to the ground.

As I get up, I do a backwards roundhouse kick, but he just parries me with his own kick, so I jump over his leg and try to kick him down with my other leg, but he blocks that with his arm. After being pushed back, I engulf my fist with light once more. He responds by doing to the same.

Now, thrusting my fist forward will do nothing. However, he can only read my movement if I activate the skill. So in the middle of him trying to parry me, I will shoot myself at his face.
I end up thrusting my fist in his nose, but he punches me at the same exact time, we even cast explosion onto our fists at the end just to do a little more damage. I roll over the ground to grab my sword. Now we are here again, our weapons almost touching, no idea how to take advantage of this situation.

But now I feel it. Sili-san has been spreading his strings around, pulling parts of the non-steel ground out. In fact.
What is he doing? He hasn't given up?!
Before I knew it, I am together with Acclaim, surrounded by Debris heading my way from every direction.
Ah, I see. he must've figured out which piece of earth I had enchanted with magic. Can his string feel out magic our something? Either way, this is my chance.

Either way, Acclaim has jumped out of range. But that is fine. The explosion will mask me, and also perplex him. Before the boulders can hit me, they blow up, with Acclaim still in the air. I grab a second sword and make it burst in light together with my black blade. I jump out of the smoke cloud. Acclaim tries to counter me with a rushed Light Slash, however, nothing can give him time to do an attack that overcomes mine, which is a fused blade of Light. No matter what, my attack will push through him and damage him quite a bit.

I slam down my fused blade of light at Acclaim and knock him over the ground with a blow of light.
He watches me run towards him. He holds his white flaming sword in his right hand up in the air. He comes at me to try and slash me.
However, I must force an advantageous situation. So, no matter how painful, I grab the sword, pushing my reflecting hand through the light. I hold his arm down.

He casts explosion on it, severely burning my left arm, but that is fine. I hold my black blade in my right hand, letting it shoot into a spiking light.
He is about to grab something in his left hand to stop me, but Sili-san pushes the arm back with string.
I see Acclaim's eyes widen, he is panicking. Even though he uses fire to get rid of the string, Sili-san just keeps overlaying it with new string.

Repurposing the string doesn't matter for Acclaim, for Sili-san is now prepared for that result, and can use all of his limbs whereas I am holding one of his arms. He looks back at me with fear as I slam my sword of light into his face. Acclaim soars over the sky. And after getting back on ground, he almost fumbles over himself. Yes, he is tough. But I know, we are getting close to his limit.

He moves all over the place using Light Step. I do that often when I am unsure of what to do, or I need to recover from a major blow.
Quite funny. How much you can see yourself in someone once they use the same techniques.
However, Reflection Step is faster, and he doesn't know that yet. I enchant my feet with light.
After figuring out his next position, I move over to him at light speed, my sword overflowing with light.

His eyes look watery from fear as I strike him with my sword, blowing him away. I can see him grit his teeth to get his feet on the ground to move further. But it doesn't matter, I am faster now. I go through him with a spear, almost tripping him up. He tries to hit me back with a sword swing, but I just moved far away from him. He may be enchanting his feet with Reflection Step now. Seems dangerous, on the other hand.

As he shoots himself at me, I only slightly moved way to avoid a thrust attack. He has zoomed quite far past me. Over and over again, he tries to hit me, but can't do it. He may be able to copy my move, but he hasn't learned how to maneuver with it yet, like I have. More importantly, his eyes and brain aren't used to light speed.

He didn't know beforehand, that he can only move in a straight line now. Since I do know that, I know exactly where to interrupt him. And so, I did, with one more attack, I hit him with my sword, Damaging him. He wraps string around my arms and pushes me slightly into the air. Even if I am up here, I can easily remove this bind with fire. But he shoots more string at me to pull me, and at the same time, has shoots himself right above me. He knocks me down with an exploding hammer.

With string, he gets close to the ground sooner than me. With an axe glowing in light, he spins it around before launching me like a baseball. Then, he charges two blades with light before fusing them together. He bounces my way, shouting, "FusionStar Light Slash!", and shoots me into the ground with an incredible explosion. It feels like a heavy weight is on my back as I lay on the ground with my front. I can't get up yet, he is shooting arrows my way, exploding ones.

I can hear Sili-san call my name, as I feel Acclaim landing on the ground. I took so much harm. And even then, with my new body. I don't even feel that much pain. I struggle to get back up, but any bone that doesn't want to work I am somehow able to shove back in position. So, as I slowly got back up, I reignited the energy in my arms by hitting them. I turn to look at Acclaim. I can see Sili-san far behind him, speechless. Even Acclaim flinches.
No matter, I have to push through. To pep myself up, I shout with two swords held in my hands. Bursting them in great light. I am sacrificing a lot of energy.

Acclaim copies me, knowing he can best parry my attacks with this much magical energy. I shoot Light Slash after Light Slash. They are greatly weaker because I am rapid firing them, but that isn't a concern. Acclaim will do the same, I want to force him to keep going and overtake me. He is panicking, and maybe angry. He will keep going as adrenaline fills him.

While doing flips and acrobatics, I get between all of the light blades that were shot askew at me. I want to get close to him. After doing so, I jump into the air, holding both light swords together. He is expecting a FusionStar version of the attack, so he charges his own. But I was only pretending. The weaker sword, I slam down onto him, as his light-attack overtook mine, however, I let go of the sword, slightly hurting my hand by the light as I move in on Acclaim from below.

Now, I have a free hit, and my other blade is all charged up. With one spin, I swing my sword at him, shouting, "UnionStar…LIGHT SLASH!", blasting him quite a distance away from me.
My arms fell near the ground, about to take me down, but I put one step forward and pull myself straight. Sili-san swings past me, with one glance at each other, we nod. I hold my hand out to his sword. Afterwards, my blades are set aflame with light once more, I hold them together, pointing their ends at Acclaim's direction.

Multiple rays beam out as I pulled the source of Light magic behind my side, but I mustn't waste any magic, so the rays bend back into the swords of light to my will as I am charging a large quantity of SP into it. In the meantime, Sili-san had all of Acclaim's limbs wrapped up into string as his sword was covered in it. Many strings from the ground and Acclaim were attached to the sword as Sili-san says, "EXE Drive Skill…"

Slowly, the string around Acclaim was being unwrapped by him, we know he is going to use Sili-san's sword against him. And yet. Sili-san thrusts it forward shouting, "Ultimate Stinger!"
As predicted, the sword does get unwrapped. Acclaim holds the string that held him, and is planning to redirect the sword at Sili-san. However. I have cast explosion magic on it beforehand.

I wonder what Acclaim's face looks like. Now that the one chance to turn this around, is lost as the sword blows up in front of his face. Sili-san told me exactly where to ignite the explosion in a plan devised before coming here. All mechanical parts unleashing string now surround Acclaim.

And so, Sili-san binds Acclaim yet again with string. Acclaim tries to take control over the string, but this time, he can only end in a stalemate, meaning he has no choice but to be stuck.
While they are doing that, I am about to use this new attack I've thought of.
I give Sili-san the heads up by shouting, "FusionComet…"
Acclaim shouts at him. "What are you doing?! That attack might vaporize you!"

"Yeah…Well. That is a risk I am willing to take. Now that everyone I care for is safe…Also, I have learned the importance of risking your life for a better tomorrow. This person that has helped me, I will trust with my life!", Sili-san tells him with a smile.
Acclaim shakes. His breathing gets heavy. But no matter.
"Light Blast!", I shout as I unleash a beam of pure white at them. Sili-san stops using his string against Acclaim in order to escape. His string was attached to my right arm, I help pull him my way.

This means that I am not putting anymore magic into this attack, slightly weakening it.
Acclaim can now use the string that is left behind to block the attack. However, expecting this, I had already shot two arrows beforehand. With the snap of my finger, two flaming arrows burn through his string, leaving him no means of escape. After the beam passed, we can see him lying down. I move forward whilst Sili-san asks me, "It was a great plan. But are you sure about letting me escape? Your new attack seems weaker than it could be."

"It's fine. I don't want to kill him anyway.", I reply.
Despite looking cooked, Acclaim stands up. Indeed, he is tough. However, the fact that he didn't use light-step, might be an indicator to how much stamina he has left.
"No matter what…I will fulfil my duty…That is the only meaning to my life.", I hear him mutter.

"You said you weren't created… You used to be human, but got turned into what you are.", I speak to him. He looks at me, clearly listening to me.
"Sili-san! Give me the chip!", I shout at him. After hearing him yell an uncertain, "Okay?!", back at me, he throws the chip my way. Without looking back, I catch the chip as it flew next to my head.
"Do you recognize this? Does it mean anything to you? Please, tell us.", I ask of Acclaim.

His eyes were shakily watching the chip. He almost covers his head with one hand. Now he looks at me seriously and tells me, "Yes. That is what turned me into what I am now. A chip to read body movement, gaining knowledge of every skill and magic as it is seen and felt. Jacked into my brain. This is their real fruits of the Artificial Bio-Life Project."

"As you know, the project had ended with one success. That is only half-true. There was a successful subject. But they wanted to create a life that can already think like an adult. A perfect being from birth. That doesn't work. The created life had no thoughts other than to fight to gain skills and had gone mad with information it doesn't grasp thanks to an underdeveloped brain. However, they had eventually captured him and brought him to Lowee. Eventually learning to copy the brain patterns that allow him to learn any skill or magic.", he says looking up at the sky.

He looks back down and clutches his fists as he continues, "Instead of creating more failed artificial lives, they can enhance living human beings. And so, the Bio-enhancement Project came into being. Creating metallic arms that function similarly to the Bio-life they have made to conjure any weapon and generate any magic, and this chip jacked into the brain, fusing with it. I was changed. Many others became mad, the amount of information gained from this chip strains the brain too much. I am the first success…But they are planning something even graver now, with the Bio-life that had been made."

He suddenly shouts, "But that doesn't matter to me!" He grits his teeth as he explains, "They ripped arms off and replaced them with these. The chip in my brain gives me countless information, but the shape of my head has been modified to wield the mutated brain I have. I am not even human anymore! I don't belong anywhere! I can never live a normal life again!"
He slowly breaths. Calming down, but looking somber as he finishes, "I am nothing but a weapon now. A weapon must do what he is made for! My fate is already decided! With nowhere to go, no one that will care about me, what else must I do? Rebel? And then what?! There is nothing for me no matter what! That is my fate!"

So, he is reborn to fight. No matter his will. I can understand that feeling. I too am…
I shake off my thoughts. My arms are burning up. My legs feel heavy. My head feels light. But knowing he hurts the same way, fills me with just enough energy to keep going! I hold my sword out and say, "I get it. No longer human, created by other people for a purpose you never wanted to be a part of…But! That doesn't mean your fate is set in stone! I too, am born with incredible strength! I can no longer live a normal life either!"

"What are you talking about…How could you possibly get how I feel?!", Acclaim shouts, but I can tell in his shrill voice he is confused.
"No matter what the purpose is of the power I was born with, I am the one that decides what to do with it! Even though I was born not to, I want to protect Lowee! Even if I have felt alone, I have also met many people that will care about me! No matter what fate has been decided for me, I will work around it using whatever power to my will!", Is the speech I give.
"So, that is your answer…You take your fate, and fight for a path that isn't intended."
"That's right!", I shout, while holding a Judo sword-stance.
"Show me then…How far your determination to force a different way goes…", he says, copying my stance.

I have to use, all of my remaining SP. I can tell, Acclaim has been hurt so much, only through copying can he continue to fight. I must force him to exert himself even more.
All my magic going into my sword, except for just a tiny sliver, for I need it on my feet. A giant sword of Light. He copies my exact move as we move forward at Super-sonic Speed. We barely needed to move our sword, we hold it straight in front of us as we move forward at high speed. Slamming into one another like two bullets, we push our swords against each other.

The wind was akin to that of a natural disaster. The towering light flies into the sky, unstable rays shooting off our clash like lightning over the ground.
"I can copy every attack you do and make it automatically as strong as yours! However, our own individual strengths come to light after the fact. I am physically stronger than you, as your SP runs out, I will be the one to force your sword down! Your determination won't make me budge!", he is telling me. I can feel my arms losing their strength. In fact, they are shaking with strain, more I cannot take.

You think you're a weapon? Because of your copy ability, that you cannot be defeated? Don't overestimate yourself. I won't lose to someone who doesn't have the will to face their fate. You want to force my sword down? Fine, do it! If you want to so much, there isn't anything I can do to withhold you from that. However… In return…
As he was slowly pushing my sword down onto my, I use the snow controlling ability of my sword to push his arms down whilst I took the black blade out of the fused sword attack. It is a very precise maneuver, but I let myself almost drop to the floor as I grabbed my black blade, and then let my Light Step move me just a little further.

After going under his sword, his great attack created an explosion behind me, I use its air to carry me up, then I kick Acclaim in face with enough force to lift his left foot from the ground. Of course, that is not going to down him. I did one back flip in mid-air before revving up my sword.
Come one…Just a little bit. let there be just a little magic left from the enchantment. I am all out.
Somehow, I managed to get just one more burst of light from my sword. It is weak, it would barely damage a building. But it should do just enough.

I swing it down and see Acclaim being knocked over by a minor explosive slam on the ground. He still lands on his feet. He almost closes his eyelids, but quickly widened his eyes to stay awake.
Standing here, I can barely keep my back straight. My left arm is injured, it is difficult to lift. This guy doesn't cease to impress me. He is no less spent than me, but here he stands
"Well. That's it. My SP is spent… However, you don't have the strength on your own to generate magic or efficiently use your weapon either.", I told him.
I don't know if he is tired, I hope he provides me his real status.

He breaths heavily and has to pause between his sentences, "I may be exhausted…And while I can generate an infinite amount of magic…Using techniques like yours requires brain power I am running out of as well… However… Without SP, what kind of trick do you have left…? In terms of physical strength, you can't beat me…"
I hold the left end of my mask and say, "I have one more trick up my sleeve…"
Taking off my mask, he can now see what I truly look like.

He is taken aback. Even though his breath was ragged before, it is taken away as he utters, "A little girl…?"
"A small girl has been beating me the entire time?!", his voice was a mixture of confusion, but also anger. Not really frustration, though, it was more akin to disapproving of fighting children. But of course, he doesn't know what I truly am.
"This is it, Acclaim. With my next special technique, it will be the end!", I speak before running at him with my sword held in my right hand.

"Do as you please! Any technique I will copy and use against you!", Acclaim shouts.
As I jump his way, I turn around. I hold the tip of my blade above my middle holding it with two shaky arms.
Not attacking me? I am not surprised. You can read what I am about to do, can't you? It shouldn't make sense to you. You mocked my determination before. Let me show you what I mean. What it means to use any power forced upon you to your benefit, to get the outcome you want.

Too stunned to move, Acclaim lets me hit mine back against his belly. I impale myself against him. It should hurt him quite a bit.
You can copy my technique, but not my body. Just like you should be unable to copy Share Energy, you do not have my immortal body. Even if it hurts, this new body lacks what is needed to feel it at its fullest, and it barely wounds me. You can't do that, especially without being determined.

I take the sword out and throw it away so I can turn around and give him a good punch. I feel desperate. If this doesn't down him, nothing will. I let my fists fly at great speeds, pushing him backwards as I continue an onslaught. I end everything with one great uppercut to the chin, launching him into the air. With his back finally on the ground, I can feel my victory shine upon me at last.

I walk over to Acclaim, hearing him grasp for air. Despite this dark night, it felt the snow around us brightens the area. I can clearly see him. I can listen to his voice as he asks, "Why, did you go that far. Even if you beat me…Your body is smaller. Surely…You have hit a vital are…a?"
He looks up at me. I must show him, what makes me different.

I let go of the hole I stabbed in me, and tell him, "There is nothing there."
There is no blood. No insides to see. No organs damaged. It is an empty wound.
It almost looks like his face was about to shatter from shock, he asks me, "What…Are you?"
"I told you…I am not human either. I have already died once. Even though I wasn't human back then either, I would still feel hurt from something like this…But now…It is just empty. It barely even hurts anymore."

I can almost shed a tear as I keep talking, "You think you're the only one, but that is wrong. From the feelings of hatred and despair from those abandoned, that was what gives me this power. I can feel the hatred they have for Lowee, and its goddess…And I can't blame them for how they feel. I don't know what's right or wrong either…", I look away for a bit, getting my feelings and thoughts straight.

I look back at him and speak strongly, "But I know! I have met many people in Lowee before, and I have been helped by so often! I have felt being alone with no one noticing you, but the amount of help and support I have been given, I will never forget! I can't hate Lowee! I love it! That is why, no matter for what reason, or purpose I am made, I will fight to protect it and its people! Even if it has to be from the shadows!"

Acclaim lowers the back of his head into the snow. He closes his eyes, almost cracking a smile. He talks in slightly whispering voice, "I get it now. You are just like me. Someone who can never live a normal life…Someone who may not be accepted by others…But you take that pain, and even use it to your advantage to create the outcome you want…I am defeated."
He chuckles a bit, "What have I even been doing. I am so stupid."

My feet have finally reached him. Now close to him, I hold a hand out to him.
He watches me with caution, as I ask him, "Hey, why don't you join us?"
Sili-san ran behind me, leaning forward as he shouts, "Bios?! Are you sure?! This man fought with us to the death, do you really feel nothing from that?!"
I look back at Sili-san, telling him with a confident smile, "Maybe it was a bit much. But I think some of us understand each other better after a fight. Our emotions calm down, we see a reflection of ourselves in our fight…And…Besides that."

I look at Acclaim, and say, "You know, too, Sili-san. He isn't a bad person. Just a confused one. Like you once were…"
Like how I sometimes felt recently…
"You really…Want me to help you?", Acclaim asks me.
"Hey, I am all for more members. And…Uh… You're the boss, I suppose.", Sili-san says as he awkwardly crosses his arm and looks to his left and right.

"Well? I would say, "Join us as a friend, instead of as a tool", but I think that might not work for you at first. So, how about this? Let someone that cares about you command you, rather than someone who probably will throw you away the moment you become useless. If we can become friends later, that's great…And while you are with us…We can help you, find a nicer life, since you seem to yearn so much for one."

I can see the air from his last breath still slightly expanding his chest, I suppose I asked something absurd from him…Please, let it not be a bother
He grabs my hand, and tells me, "I am in your debt."
So, here's the problem. It took everything in me and Acclaim to get to this conclusion. However, the launching will still happen. And it is not clear when it takes place besides 'tonight'.

Sili-san is the only one who didn't even lose half his stamina and his SP had only been spent by a quarter. He uses his string to kind of patch my body up. If I could transform, my bones and skin would heal way faster, but I have nothing left. Sili-san carries me, and Acclaim follows his running by using string to manipulate his body to move.

"Are we going the right way?!", Sili-san asks Acclaim.
"There are many latches that leads to a number of facilities underground. One of them is for the underground hanger. Now, we could wait nearby, as the metal on the ground will open up and raise the launching platform. On the other hand, that would mean having to quickly destroy the planes as they are taking off. And we don't have the strength or SP left for that, especially considering there may be plenty soldiers protecting the planes.", Acclaim says.
"Well, then what is the plan?", Sili-san asks.

"An option is to simply go into the hatch and raid the hangar, however, we may be lacking in strength and they may have big machines to stop us. If that isn't enough, there is more to their plan.", Acclaim answers.
"What? They have more plans then simply attacking Lastation?!", Sili-san raises his voice.
"Yeah. Near the control room, there is a tube. Inside, is the one successful Bio-Life. It has been kept in stasis the entire time. Part of their plan is to complete it. The one leading these operations has a similar chip to mine linked with that of the Bio-Life, once he dies in this attack, the theory is that he will take control over the Bio-Life", Acclaim explains.

"How is it even possible?!", Sili-san asks.
"According to their research, some people are capable of feeling similar to another person. If one person hurts, the one watching him might feel that pain. They think that by linking brains, one can transfer their consciousness rather than their pain. They assumed that, perhaps people that think ghosts of the dead contacting them, are actually people that can feel the leftover pain from one's mind before their end. It is bizarre and I am not sure if it is just a mad plan, but I doubt it is safe to risk it.", Acclaim elaborates.

"Acclaim. You forgot…To introduce yourself.", I say weakly while trying not to fall asleep.
"Is that really something we need to fess over during this time?", he asks me.
"I like working with people I know better.", I tell him.
Acclaim looks confused at Sili-san.
Sili-san shrugs and says, "Just do it, man."

I have been named Acclaim. My real name is none-existent. I have the ability to copy others. My favorite food is a giant turkey. My blood type is B. I am thirty-six years old. My physical strength is beyond human limits thanks to my brain actively shaping my body to peak performance as I work out. I like driving cars and crashing cars. Nice to meet you.

Name: Acclaim, Barunu Aoto
Age: 36
Height: 214 CM.
Occupation: Vigilante.
Origins and Residence: Born in Lastation, lives in Lowee.

What does it mean to like 'crashing cars'? Seems like a waste? Or are you just bad at driving? I have to make sure never to enter a car with him,
I speak, "Anyway. With the mood being slightly lighter. Let's think carefully about this. Sili-san can fight, and Acclaim can move his body thanks to the string ability. You two can easily infiltrate the control room. I, on the other hand, need time to recharge at least some of my SP. Acclaim, do you know if the planes are already on the hangar?"
"Why would they not prepare them on the hangar before they leave?", Sili-san asks me.

"Well, they have to outfit is with weaponry, instead of bringing them over, they keep them stored in small tubes where they are efficiently outfitted with the best ammunition. Basically, they are stored in the same room, meaning they might take some time to fully outfit the advanced war-planes. They don't need much prep time on the hangar, so they basically just get stationed there and will be off rather quickly.", Acclaim tells us.

"Do you know of a way into the tube?", I ask him.
"There should be a hidden hatch in case of emergencies.", he replies to me.
"Wouldn't there be someone guarding it?", Sili-san asks.
"You're walking with the guard right now?", Acclaim glances over to Sili-san with confusion.
Sili-san slams a fist on his hand, figuring that out.

"Either way. I will get onto that plane. Since it is advanced, there must be an auto-pilot. I think…", I say.
"Well, yeah. In fact, the two planes are being remotely piloted by the huge air-craft until reaching the battle-zone.", Acclaim answers.
"Wait, hold on. Are you actually thinking what I think you're thinking?", Sili-san asks.
"Well, the inside of a plane seems like a good spot to rest. The height helps with gaining velocity for an attack, and-", I was explaining things to him, but he interrupted by holding his one free hand forward and saying, "Never mind, I won't even bother asking anymore. So, we're raiding the control room, and you're going to take care of the airships?", Sili-san asks.

"If everyone gets it, then it's time to move. Acclaim, get me inside a plane. If one goes higher and is behind, then that would be preferable.", I respond.
"Copy that.", Acclaim replies.
Did you just make a pun…?

As we planned, they found one hatch and I snuck on board one of the planes. With my expert hiding skills, which just equates to me sitting in the luggage cabinet, I can just sit here and regain some of mine SP…Very slowly… Acclaim shared communication devices with us. He has brought multiple ones in case his one broke. He had like, ten of them. A very thorough person, he is.

Listening in on them. It would seem they have arrived. I can hear guns fired and screams of people being tied up. I heard very little machinery, however. Perhaps they didn't expect anyone to raid their control-room. I can hear them kick a big door in, the immediate moment they get inside, string is shot everywhere.

Everything is quiet…Oh, I hear Sili-san comment out loud, "Man, this room has a lot of screens! It's like a tower of television inside here, geez!"
A deep voice that gives nothing but an old cold vibe comes from my piece, "How rude of you to block all of our inside security with your…Silicon string?"
"Who is that guy in the revolver chair?", Sili-san spoke out loud.
"Are your purposefully shouting every detail?", Acclaim asks him.

"Don't you think it's kind of sad Bios doesn't get so see everything? Oh, right, you're new. Let me explain. She wants to know, EVERYTHING. And I mean, EVERYTHING. If there is a single ant inside a room, you BETTER have mentioned it.", Sili-san replies.
Am I really that stingy with information?
"You can just tell her everything later, can't you?!". Acclaim replies to him just before this other man yells, "You two should pay attention, unless you want to end up in a tube."

"Damn, his face looks like a biohazard zombie ****'ed his face with a ****", Sili-san shouts.
"Oi! That's not being detailed that's overly describing things in an extreme way!"n, Acclaim replies.
Why even bother to censor it, I can still tell what you mean…I think.
"Well, how would you describe him then?!". Sili-san asks loudly.
Acclaim clear his throat, and with a sophisticated tone, describes the man, "He is an egg-shaped man with a bald had and skin that seems to have been medically restored to a somewhat normal degree after being burned badly. He is wearing a steel mask over his mouth with pipes leading into his neck, probably because he has difficulty taking in oxygen."

"How apt of you to tell your leader of my appearance. But perhaps your attention is better placed on what is below me, and right in front of you…", he said.
"Is that a tube with the ultimate life form in it?!", Sili-san asked.
"Yeah. He is here. But, why is he so out in the open?", Acclaim asked.
"Well, in case this plan fails, we are planning to release this monster, of course. Our secret plan B, is for me to turn it and myself into a machine life-form, creating the ultimate machine life-form.", the man explains.

"This is getting more ridiculous by the minute.", Sili-san says.
"Stating your own opinion rather than giving information? Unprofessional.", Acclaim comments.
The two argue for a bit, but honestly, I am kind of tired of listening to their squabbles.
"I don't understand something, though. Why would you tell us this? Not even Acclaim knows.", Sili-san asks.
"Because, I am not letting you leave this place alive. You two are perfect sacrifices for my power. You see, I am a psychic. And through many abilities and experiments, I can create machine lifeforms from living beings and technology around us, let me show you", the man replies, kind of explaining why he sounds so lifeless.

"Wow, his body is burning up, the space around him seems distorted! Wow! mechanical things are flying into the distortion! It's a giant robot!", Sili-san keeps shouting, he gets stopped however as Acclaim yells, "Quit your announcing and get to work."
A long battle was what came after. I have heard gunshots, rockets, grenades, but no matter, he had no idea about the string abilities, and the fact that two of them use it.

Most attacks are simply countered, and a bunch of mechanisms can be blocked by the string. Eventually, Sili-san yells "String Cluster!", and judging from the sounds coming in, he shoots a bunch of Screens from the walls into a machine. I assume Acclaim than took the TVs out and lets more string inside of the body. I hear them completely tangling the machine life-form up.
"It's too late. The core of a machine life-form is a ball of energy from the leftover person. You are unable penetrate it, especially as it is the source for all ultimate attacks.", a robotic voice spoke.

"EXE Drive Skill!", I hear multiple voices shout.
"Living Laser!", I hear a machine voice as a giant beam gets shot.
"Double Ultimate Stinger!" I hear the other two scream, I suppose they are thrusting their swords against the beam?
"Don't worry, I have enchanted our swords with Mirror Blade, it splits the beam apart.", I hear Acclaim.
They thrust through the machine, smashing the life core out of it. I hear them covering it with string.

"It's going to blow up.", Acclaim says.
"I don't think we can prevent that!", Sili-san replies.
Another voice echoes through my mic.
"It's okay."
After a pause, we hear more, "Acclaim…You have come to save me, haven't you?"
"It is coming from some of the left-over screens. What is this signal?", Sili-san comments.

"What are you talking about…? You're the ultimate life form, right? Sorry but…", Acclaim tries to talk back but can't seem to make anything out.
"Acclaim. The chips came from my mind. I can feel what you feel, some of my thoughts are shared with you. That is the true nature of all chips. Despite nearly going mad because of me. Even though it is because of me that they did this to you. I can feel you want to get me out and give me a chance.",

Acclaim mumbles a bit before saying, "I didn't really think that…But. I suppose, that girl has given me a chance to live as a person…I am inspired do the same. I thought you were practically a beast at first, but in fact, you were merely a baby, confused by the information given to you."
"You aren't wrong…However, thanks to the linked chip. I have seen what you've seen, felt what you've felt…I have learned. That girl that so swiftly changed your heart. I have been inspired as well. However, it is too late. My body, through its fast growth, is already unusable, not a muscle can be moved.", it says.

"You…You want me to?", Acclaim spoke aghast. The ultimate life-form had to say, "That is right. I want you to use my body to tank the explosion. I should never have been born, yet you have granted me the conscience to make this decision. Don't worry, my mind will live on with you. So please…Save yourselves.", it said.
I can only hear the winds blow as the time for detonation nears.
I hear Sili-san shout, "Hey. We ARE saving it. It is asking us to save its mind. So help me! With our string, we can get him out and onto the life-core!"

"You're right…", Acclaim answers. I hear the two of them scream as they push themselves to get their string to break out the ultimate life form's body and throw it into the Life-Core.
The explosion sounds more like a beam now, I suppose the Ultimate Life-form has taken the core into itself and is disintegrating now. We still hear one final, "Thank you."
"He was connected to the computer. They were trying to teach him more…But I was the one in the end that taught him. I don't know…", Acclaim tries to speak directly to me, but does so with a broken voice.

"Hey, man. We've done a good thing. It said it would stay with your mind, right? As long as you are alive, it is as well. And look.", Sili-san was trying to cheer him up, then he points something out on a screen.
"He has told us exactly where this scientist is that was linked to him. Bios! He is in the other war-plane!", Sili-san tells me.
"Thanks, you two. I grow happier with my choice to make you two my allies. Leave the rest to me. I have regained a little SP, it should be enough. Meet me outside.", I tell them, albeit, I had to speak very quietly.

The man inside the plan is occupied though, the plane is heading for the hangar. My 'debut' is about to start.
I think they are checking on the pilot, making sure the right person is inside this plane. Except, I am here, but they will never know…Until five minutes later I suppose. Either way, we blasted off high into the air. I am lucky to be in the plane behind the huge ship. Since it is on auto-pilot, I can easily jump off after knocking out the pilot.

So, I will do just that. Quietly walk over to him, knocking him out with a small hammer. Then, red lights spun around inside as an alarm rang.
"Warning! Pilot unconscious! Enemy attack!", is coming from multiple speakers. Out of the intercom of the mothership, I hear more voices.
Oh well. Knowing doesn't matter now. You are alone in air-space with me.

"What?! How is this possible?! Who could've snuck inside?!"
"You are better off asking who defeated agent Acclaim! Can't be a Lowee authority!"
"The goddesses haven't been sighted on the radar! So it isn't one of them either!"
"Who can have the intelligence to just sneak on board?!"
While all of that shouting came loudly in my air, I opened the door, the wind blowing out into the sky, I stood on the bridge that was made from opening the door. Outside, I looked down on the big ship, there was some kind of air-deck people could stand on.

I see them pointing at me. And then, from the intercom, I hear, "It is the Vigilante! The Shadow Mask!"
I suppose there is no need for introduction. But let me make an entrance anyway.
I squad as I hold my sword within my sheath. Light was flaming from under my feet before it launches me with a burst. With one flash as I swung my sword, I cut a large portion of the ship off.

I can hear them scream and shouting questions, but I am not even going to let the see a glimpse of me. I move around using Light-step. Taking out random enemies and placing bomb enchantment magic in many important areas. I am specifically looking for a control room, hoping to disable the auto-pilot thing…By smashing it. I hope it works like that. After my job is done, knowing I don't have to worry about blowing up the scientist, I jump off the huge air-craft, letting all my explosion magic off creating dazzling fireworks.

I land onto the other war-plane, looking at the pilot turning his gaze my way in horror. However, I am distracted by bullets flying by me. I look behind me upwards and see the pilot I knocked out regained consciousness and is trying to gun me down.
This is kind of annoying.
I charge my sword with light before swinging it with a shout, "UnionStar Light Slash!"
The plane blows up in a bright firework of white after my shooting light-blade hit him.

I walk over to the cockpit's glass, I punch through it with a light punch and cast an explosion enchantment on his seat, I tell him, "If you don't keep quiet and fly, your chair will blow you up instantly."
With stiff arms, he keeps at it. I charge into the room in the back of the plane, found the scientist that mocked us back in the lab.
He is about the shout, "What in ze fu-", but can't finish his sentence as I grab him.

I can sense the pilot behind me turning around with a gun aimed at me. I sigh.
Man, why can't you people just let things go.
I let his chair explode, shooting him out of the war-plane. Now, the plane is definitely going to crash, so I jump out with the scientist in hand.
"Are you mad, lass? We are falling to our doom! The friction may burn is us before we even hit ze ground!", he tells me.
Why do Lowee Scientists always have such weird accents? Anyway, I must exhaust a lot of magic again. Here we go.

I cast ice spells over and over again, along with that, I am casting wind magic to lessen the friction of us going down. Of course, that won't stop us from flattening, but I have outsourced that problem to my allies down there.
"STRING TOWER!", I can barely hear them shout as they make an entire structure out of string. It is powered by Acclaim's physical strength, I assume. Either way, the string catches and pulls me towards the ground. On the ground I stand, and I hold my blade near the scientist's neck.

"Do not think of turning this situation around. The Ultimate Life-form has already been eliminated, you won't revive. I will personally make sure Plagiarts Defense will crumble. If you want to get off easy, you better do as I say.", I tell him, trying to be intimidating.
"I'm sorry, but ze voice of a girl is slightly not intimidating, in fact, it sounds quite pleasant.", he replies.

I have my edge almost touching his neck, making him squirm a little before saying, "Now hold on, hold on. I have no desire to fight. I am only curious. How did you defeat Acclaim?"
I uncover one eye from the mask, with only that visible, I let my power symbol glow for a few seconds.
"A…A goddess? But how, ze Share energy radar showed nozing…", he looks flabbergasted, there are no pupils in his eyes, I can't tell what he is thinking.

"I am no goddess, not anymore.", I reply to him.
He looked up at me, gasping, somehow happy.
"I get it now! You are like zat ozer lady from Lastaishon!", he says.
I don't understand his accent, it is like he is making it up. Did he mean Lastation?
"Yes. She also has similar powers, but is ze opposite or somezing. White-hair, tall, lives in ze shadows like some cult. But she has more influence zan ze Black Heart nowadays. Ah, perhaps you are acquainted?", he thinks out loud, it would seem. Very overjoyed to have pieced something together, only to look at me worried as he asks me a question.

"That's right. We are the same type of being.", I reply to him.
She might also be what I am, but I have no idea. Perhaps he will share more info if I lie to him.
"Ach, darn it all! I knew vwe shouldn't have trusted her. Asking us to attack Lastaishion, helping us prepare ze materials. Most likely, she has a different agenda.", he talks angrily facing the ground.
I should not ask why the lady wanted this, he'd expect me to know.

"What benefit is there for you to start this war?", I ask him. Sili-san and Acclaim are walking this way, I think they are in range to hear our voices.
"Why, I am just following orders. I want to see, and complete ze ultimate life-form. It is my and mine friend's life work after all. Alas, zis is ze result. As for our company, all of SCJP want the same. "For ze benefit of Lowee", zey say."
This ticks me off. I ask him, "What does Lowee gain from war?!"
He just takes a moment to laugh.
"This guy is insane.", Sili-san comments.
"Of course he is, how do you think I became what I am?", Acclaim retorts.

"Zink about zis. Ze goddess gets ze power from shares, correct? And wiz zat, Lowee will prosper more, no? However, in peace, all ze goddesses will not fight. How will she kill ze other goddess and retrieve her shares with no cause to fight? Zere are many vile things zat can improve Lowee and help ze goddess. So, zese organisashions were formed under one to make Lowee prosper and help ze goddess. War brings jobs and more marketing, Lowee will grow stronger. Lastaishion was merely a first target, for it has an organizashion based zere that also wants war. Easy to manipulate. Oh, I don't care about zis, by ze way, zis is just what zey want.", he explains to us.

"All under one. What entity do they refer to?!", I ask him.
"Oh, zas I do not know. Only most loyal and leaders of Plagiarts know. Not all companies are equal in terms of secrets. Plagiarts is mostly independed after all. However, as I can see zat ze time has come for it to die out, since you have taken care of me and my friend, zey will soon stagnate. I will give you all info you need.", he tells us.
"Why so compliant. I know my sword is frightening, but you're giving us more than asked.", I ask him.

"Like I said. I can see it all end. No point to fight for zem when I have already lost. I was not loyal to zem, I just used zem for experiments, hohoho.", he answers us smiling, before looking at the ground as if he was staring out into space. He tells us, "I don't know where ze CEO of Plagiarts is, finding him will take too long for you. I only know one organization zat has most info about ozers. It is called, Socia-Entertainments. Ah, it is an organization bent on entertainment on ze outside. But zey specialize in…", he chuckles before finishing his sentence, "Pleasure…"

"Hey, Bios is too young for that!", Sili-san screams.
Shut up, Sili.
"Don't goddesses have no age? She might be an old grandma, you don't know.", Acclaim replies.
This is why I prefer doing things alone.
"Quiet.", I command them.
"Ah, but zey are zinking about ze right zing. Zis organisashion is similar to Plagiarts in zat they are more independed. However, zere business requires information about ze customers. Even high ranked customers come in person, meaning someone must know somezing.", he tells us.

"Well, why is this company so bent on their customers giving information?", Sili-san asks.
"Because ze pleasure is illegal!", the scientist says so laughingly.
"Ze customers from big businesses, to Lowee auzorities, and of course, our organisashions mix togezer. It is perfect for info gazering about ozers. On ze ozer hand, it is a weak point. So to hide info from Lowee, zey need to know a lot about zere customers to plan zere discreet events. Zere is more to ze organisashion, you know? Gazering fools who enjoy zeir entertainment, brainwashing zem into soldiers, for example. I heard zem trying to capture a CPU once, but I heard zey ended up dead.", he explains.

My stomach turned. Painful moments flashes back inside my head. It feels like the air got dense.
This organization…Those guys I killed that lead me to this path…They are part of it!
"Ach, well. I do not find it entertaining. But some colleagues are somehow more morally comprehensible zan me. I know where zey will have zeir events. I also know of one base. But, be careful, zey have been given powerful mecha suits to protect zer business in exchange with partnership with SCJP.", he tells us.

"After telling us where that base is. I will make you turn yourself in and tell White Heart personally about Plagiarts. You will go to jail, which is more merciful than what I will do if you don't", I say.
"White Heart has more mercy zan you? You impress me by ze minute. Ah well, I've got nozing to lose anymore.", he answers, still holding a condescending tone and smug smile.

This ended our little skirmish with Plagiarts. It will be easy to wipe them out, especially if Big Sis decides to lock their members up in jail. Now, with three teammates, things should move along, right? But, this next organization. It is going to determine whether or not our battles will be worth it. Both mentally and physically, we'll be challenged. The turning point is soon, let's see if it is doable, ridding Lowee of its shadow.

Chapter 3

The morality of saving another

Selfishness, it is a word describing one's actions or feelings to be for only oneself with no consideration for others. Even an act of helping others can be considered selfish, as you may just be doing it for your own satisfaction. But how do you measure selfishness? How are you sure a person is acting only for themselves? I have been wondering, after all the crime fighting, I tell myself I do it for Lowee and its people, but is that just what I tell myself?

Maybe you don't realize you do things for your own satisfaction, as you always want to feel like you're not doing anything wrong. So with every act, you may think you did it for others. You protect your own ego, an ego is necessary to keep yourself motivated. But then things don't go your way, sometimes dramatically so. Perhaps you may doubt yourself then, "Am I doing the right thing?" I hadn't thought about it, until recently.

What if…What if someone doesn't want to be saved? Is saving them doing so in consideration to them? If you force your heroism onto them, is that selfish? As a vigilante, some may be more scared of you then the criminals. Even as a hero or goddess at times… Because if criminals can't beat you, who will once you are the one that turns to the dark side?

Maybe you may not think you're doing anything wrong yet, because no matter of this is personal. The people you save, you don't know. The people you fight, you don't know. The crimes they commit, you haven't been a victim off. But one day, you will come across something that you relate with. Your behavior will change. You may be so infested, to refuse help of others, and refuse to let others go, or maybe go so far against the enemies you face. If it is someone going through what you have been through, is forcing your kindness on them, selfish?

The nearly full moon together with its great number of stars brighten the black night-sky. A streak of light burst seemingly out of nowhere.
It is me, as a wave of light shoots from under my feet, I fly over an array of buildings. As seconds pass, I get slower until I see a group of shady people walking down a wide, but dark, alley way.

I've got a communication piece given by Acclaim. I hold it down my ear as I say, "I see a small group of men with three children. Over?"
"Acclaim, and the Sili-san are on standby. "What do you want us to do, over?", a voice came from the speaker in my ear.
"Sili-san, use your string to capture the one in the back, I want you to interrogate him. There are more men between the smaller alleys, Acclaim, I want you to make sure they do not enter the same alley Sili-san will capture one in. Aside from that, back me up, copy?", I lay out a plan.
"Copy that!", I hear from both of them.

I don't even need to tell them what I am going to do, after a month we all know what I usually do. I am both the ace, and the bait.
As soon as Sili-san quickly wraps one of them around in string and drags him into an alley, I jump up into the sky and shoot a bunch of arrows near the men. I did it just slow enough for them to point at me and shout. I make sure they can't touch the children by shooting their hands immediately after they move.

I blast myself down with explosive feet to quickly get the ground, I want to knock those men against the walls. While doing so, a bunch of other dudes armed with machine guns surround me. However, Acclaim uses Sili-san's string ability to disarm them. Afterwards, it is just simply me using Light-Step to knock them all into the sky. Wait…I hear a weird noise. Large footsteps. I can feel something back approaching me. I look to the direction the men walked from, and see a mech.

It immediately uses the wheels below its feet to charge at me, it has a sword in its hand, so all I have to do is block it with my own blade. Casually, I hold my one arm forward and use my heels to slide backwards as it is pushing against me with its sword against mine. Eventually, it stopped and moves backwards. Acclaim uses my Light-Step to move the kids behind us, and string to stop a barrage of bullets, he bounces them into the air after.

"Let's kill it in one hit.", I tell him.
"Roger that.", he replies.
Both of our swords burst out in light. As we swing our blades around us, the light gets revved up, increasing in size and ferocity as we hold it into the air.
"DoubleStar Light Slash!", we shout as our blades of light combined onto one giant blast of light, obliterating the mech, and perhaps whoever was inside of it.
We take relaxed postures, I don't sense anyone nearby. Still, that machine…
"That mecha may have been weak, but even I can tell it is not something anyone can just get their hands on.", I say.

"Speaking from experience, it is definitely military grade. For just some lowly kidnappers, it should not be possible to have one on standby.", Acclaim tells me.
I hope Sili-san comes quick with new intel. We may have found the ones we were looking for.
And just After thinking that, Sili-san runs out of the tight alley, and he gets in front of us.
"Bios!", He called my name before grasping for air, he then tells me, "They were taking the children to an abandoned warehouse Five kilometers from here! Maybe you can catch them!"

Sili-san points me to the right direction. I look at the kids, they are staring at us in fear. As I walk towards them, I put my mask to the side, making me appear as an ordinary girl, they can recognize most of my body, but not my face. Unfortunately, as a former Lowee CPU, I look not much older than them…I'm not sure if they will do as I say, but maybe they'll be less scared.
Thinking that, I tell them, "Don't worry. These two will see to it that you return to your homes. Okay?"

Their overall stances changed, from fear to…Confusion? They just leaned forward a bit and looked at me funny.
Before they can say a thing, I put my mask back on. I look at Acclaim and Sili-san and say, "I'm counting on you two."
With an intense light bursting from my feet, I shoot myself into the sky like a rocket. Hopping over buildings once again, I can see a dirty big warehouse that has holes and other defects in it.

It has lots of windows on the roof. I would think that as a security risk, but I suppose we don't know much about this organization.
I silently leap onto the roof. With swift movement of my feet, I move over to one of the windows and look inside. Despite this building looking like it should have multiple floors with how tall it is, I can directly see the ground floor.

My heart sunk for a second. I might have a vile look on my face as my eyes are fixated on what I can see that has been left behind. The building has been vacated. I can tell they were rushing out of here, probably knew I was coming because of the little squabble we had with those goons a few minutes ago. But I don't care about any of that. The stuff inside, was the same stuff I had seen before…When…When. It was when I was lured inside a basement room, I got lost as I let my raging instinct kill the wicked fiends inside.

It is what lead me to this path in the first place. This is more evidence, those guys back then, are part of the same group, of Socia-Entertainments.
In the corner of my eyes, I see a few men dressed in black running away west from this building. They may have ran at the last second. If I can catch up to them, I may be able to get more information. I use Light-step to quickly drop myself down onto the ground. As I have my targets in sight, I am about dash their way. Wait. What is that sound? A weird sound comes from the building.

Using Wind Sense, I feel the air being sucked into the windows and door. I turn to the building before jumping back and holding my arms crossed in front of me. The building was set asunder by flame and smoke that reached the sky. The explosion is strong enough to knock me hard into a wall.

They got rid of the evidence, huh? Did those two guys prepare this explosion? But I didn't see anything explosive inside. A spell? Who and when?
I stand up looking confused at the towering fire.
Someone moved through the harsh winds emitted from the explosion. I turn around, I see a girl walk past me. She was even tinier than me.

From her attire, it seems like someone who can cast magic. A large red robe that flutters in the wind, underneath, a thin white dress with golden accents. The skirt portion was super short and had red accents. Black leggings and red sandals. It's quite an odd outfit to wear in this weather. She looks like a shadow as she walks by, thanks to the flames burning. But as I got a closer look whilst she moved, I can see the face of a sad child who has given up. It feels painful, like she emits the feeling of regret.

It is such a bizarre sight, I can't help but watch her pass by and walk into the darkness. I can't chase her, unfortunately, the loud sounds of the fire department and Lowee Police Force come close. They often don't use cars, but they use magic to announce their coming.
I can't be seen here, I have to escape.

After a while, I managed to get back to base. Sili-san and Acclaim have already arrived.
After asking for the details on the info Sili-san had gotten, I have gone silent.
My heart was raising. I can feel so much anger inside me. But if I don't remain calm, I will end up doing stupid things. Alas, I can't shake it off, the things they are doing. For how long, have they gotten away with it? How come not a single person is doing anything about it…Big sis, where are you in this situation?

I looked at the other two, they were watching me, hoping for a plan. However, this feels personal. I want to take them down by myself. I doubt they would accept that answer.
"Leave this to me.", as expected, me saying that has them raise their heads in confusion, so I continued, "There is little information on them, and they seem to run at the first sign of danger. It would be better to let me handle this. In the meantime, I would prefer if you two find the other allied organizations."

Will they accept this reasoning?
Sili-san laid his hands out and open, perplexed, he speaks, "That's a bit odd, though? Like, normally you want us all to gather intel. Even if this group quickly escapes us, both me and Acclaim have enough abilities to chase and sneak. Do we at least get to fight after you obtain all info?"
"Things change with more people. The three of us haven't gone up against a group this bad yet, I was planning for this to begin with. We can split the work up now.", I resorted to lying.

Acclaim looks at me with arms crossed. Staring. And Staring. After a while, he says, "Excuse me, but it kind of sound like there is something you want to do that you know we wouldn't agree with.
Well, you're not wrong. But when you say it like that, you make me sound like I am about to commit a heinous crime.
"I am simply going to conduct the same info gathering and fight as I have normally done. I just want to multi-task.", I tell them.

They appeared very reluctant, but did as I said anyway. Now, the next noon in Lowee, I roam around with a fox mask to the side of my head. I look like an ordinary young girl, but it kind of looks like I have no recognizable face. I roam around, trying to hear any word on the street. I especially walked near places where the kids we did save could've come from.
I think I walked past on of their parents. As she describes their kid having seen some kind of machine fly past their window, they were convinced to walk outside to see it.

I assume they have more than one tactic, but luring kids with mecha is… Well, whatever. This does mean a few things. For one, they have mechas that don't make sound, because I cannot believe one could just fly around with no one hearing a thing. Never mind these being military grade, according to some people speaking loudly on a terrace, someone had seen a much bigger machine roaming the streets.

This gets more and more bizarre the more I hear about it. Of course, there are plenty of rumors of vanished children. Usually taken at a later time-slot, just as the sun goes down. While I am walking here, I am slowing down with my heads weighted in thoughts. I look up, and I see an orphanage. Walk near the windows and take a look inside. I can only see some tired-looking adults conversing with each other.

Oh, the door is opening. I feel a strain over my body thanks to anxiety. I jump back and look at a woman walking outside the building.
"Oh my, what are you doing young miss?", she asks me.
Well, might as well try and ask some questions.
"Why do the adults look sad?", I ask pretending to be innocent.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. Don't you have more fun things to do?", she replies.

"But other kids here have no parents, right? It's kind of sad. I want to make them happy!", I said.
"Aw, that's so sweet. But you need not do anything. We're making very sure they won't be unhappy.", she tries to cheer me up.
Of course, I am not actually here for that, I need to know something.
I look at the open door and said, "I don't see many kids at all inside."
She got a troubled look on her face. She struggles to keep her smile as she turns her head at the door and replies, "Well, that's because some of them went out…Adventuring!"

"Adventuring? Is it a long adventure?", I ask her.
"Yeah, yeah. Oh, those rapscallions! Always leaving for a long time. It's pretty troublesome you know.", She nervously replied.
They disappeared, didn't they?
"Okay. I will go find them!", I play along and pretend to leave her like that.
She tries to reach out as I run away, but in no time, I am gone.

I see. If kids walk outside by themselves, you may not necessarily suspect a kidnapping. Not much the Lowee force can do about that. And taking kids from an orphanage may be considered low priority, since no parents are present to care about them. This is messed up.
I walk with my head down, holding my hand on my chin. In the corner of my eyes, I catch a glimpse of a girl who looked similar to the one I saw last night. As I looked over that direction, I see her move into a market place.

I give chase. Here I am, running in this friendly street filled with pretty energetic salesmen and people, unfortunately, the one I am looking for is nowhere in sight. In my rush, I slip over a frozen puddle. And I thought such a thing wouldn't happen to me anymore. Am I losing my edge?
Hm? Did I bump into someone? Wait, I can feel my arms wrapped within someone else's arms. I open my eyes as I am being pulled up.

A soft voice to my left asks me, "Are you okay…?"
A loud energetic voice to my right tells me, "You need to be careful when you run!"
I have to keep my poker face, but inside my heart, I might as well be ugly screaming.
Before my eyes, the ones who helped me up…Rom. Ram. My older sisters.

No, they cannot see me. They can't possibly figure out who I am. It's painful. I can't be with them. I have to talk my way out of here.
"I'm okay…Thank you.", I tell them.
"But you don't look happy at all!", Ram shouts at me in return.
Huh? How can she tell? Together with my mask, it should be too difficult to notice that I'm stressed out from letting the person I chased go.
"Can we help you…?", Rom asks me.

I step back a bit, trying not to sound nervous, I respond, "I'm fine. Um…", I pause for a bit, then I clap my hands together and speak as if I am impressed, "You two are the CPU Candidates are you not. What coincidence. What are you doing here?"
Ram held her fists against her sides and said with pride, "We are patrolling, of course! We need to keep Lowee safe!"
"Big sis is busy, so we are helping her here,", Rom tells me.

"Big sis…Is Lady White Heart, right? What do you mean? What is she doing?", I ask them, trying to sound innocent.
Rom looks at me with rather sad eyes and replies, "She isn't here…",
"That big machine dummy is causing trouble in other nations! Big sis not only needs to beat him, but she told us she also is chasing after something.", Ram explained.
"She wanted us to lay low with C-Sha…But we wanted to do something…", Rom says.
"We told her we can protect Lowee while she's out! We're pretty confident, since we're the bestest!", Ram finishes their story.

She left? No. That is such bad timing. Without her here, can we even keep these organizations locked up after beating them?! There are so many things lurking in the dark, and she won't stop them?
I can feel my heart raising. Multiple feelings, some of them not even mine felt like they were slithering through me.
Rom and Ram got closer to me, Ram asked me, "Hey! Why don't you come with us? We'll help you relax?"

"Huh?!", I could only make a weird sound as even Rom got close to me and says, "You don't have any parents… do you…? We'll be your friends…"
"Why do you think that?", I ask them.
"Hm…? A feeling? You have odd clothes on, no one is near you, and you look pretty thin, don't you think?!", Ram says.
Since when did you two get so perceptive?!

Ram pulled me and Rom pushed me.
"Let's go do something fun…", Rom says.
"Hey, wait…!", I meekly try to stop them, but went with the flow after.
Again. Just like when I was born and no one could see me. You two brought me home… Now you two see me once more when I should be invisible. Even without knowing who I am, you are trying to help me…
"Oh, sorry. We didn't even ask your name!", Ram says loudly.

My name? I can't say Bios. I have to give a fake name.
"You can call me. Suno.", I give them a fake name.
"Suno. Hehe. I like that name. Come on, let's play together, Suno!", Ram said.
"It's going to be fun…", Rom spoke softly behind my back.
After being dragged far enough, they give me something sweet. Chocolate ice cream.
It helps me forget about my troubles for a little while. I suppose I'll play along. Otherwise, they will suspect me

Following them, I see them trying to cheer me up by telling me a bunch of stories of the shenanigans and mischief they've been up to. Some of those things are recent, but others are I can tell were events where I was with them. But they don't even remember my presence there.
When it gets to the point that they are wondering what we should do first, a snowball gets thrown at me.
"Isn't in the face a little too much…?", Rom asks.

"Hey, you have to wake up a bit! You're not thinking with us!", Ram shouts at me.
If participation is what you want… I rolled up my own snowball and throw it back at her.
She shields herself with her left arm, and with a giggle she says, "See, that is what I mean! Isn't it a lot more fun to move?!", she says.
"All right then…Let's have a snowball fight.", I declare.

It is practically two versus one. At first, Rom and Ram would throw snowballs at each other occasionally, but after finding out they can barely hit me, they concentrated fire-power at me. Even with minor effort, I am too agile to be hit by a volley of snowballs. What was casual side jumping simply becomes a dance routine to me now as I evade snowballs and fling some back at them. But of course, they are used to moving a lot as well. I could throw the snowball harder, but that would just make it crumble.

At some point, a cold snowball that almost looked see-through hits me in the cheek, I almost trip over to me left, I feel surprised. They were using magic!
I point at them and speak, "Hey! Magic is not fair! Banned!" Now they are laughing at me! How rude!
"We can't possibly hit you otherwise! That's also unfair!". Ram shouted back.

"Your face is funny…", Rom says quietly.
"My face?", I let my thoughts come from my mouth.
"Yeah. You finally smiled.", Ram tells me, she sounds kind of relieved.
I feel my hand over my face, the corners of my lips are raised. Well, not anymore because I've become self-aware.

Following them, doing silly things at every turn…How long has it been?
Doing small favors for locals as we pass them by…That I have smiled?
Eating nice food and listening to their stupid jokes…That I have felt 'happy'?
We reached high up places, played plenty of games…That I can forget about trouble?

I have forgotten. How it feels. To not worry about danger, about others who live nightmares. The feeling of being at peace.

Alas, it is time to say goodbye.
"It was fun being with you, Suno.", Ram states.
"I had fun too…", Rom says to me.
"Hey, can we exchange phone numbers?", Ram asks me.
"We just got new ones…But we don't have many friends…". Rom says.
I look disappointed and tell them, "Sorry, I do not have a phone. I can never get one."

They look at each other with troubled faces.
Observing them, I can see them nod. Ram quickly runs into a store.
Rom tells me, "Can you wait a little bit…?" I feel confused. But later, Ram walks out.
She throws a phone my way. I catch and look at it. I glance back over to their smiling faces.
"Now you can call us whenever you need us!", Ram shouts.
"Nm… Now we can help you, from any trouble.", Rom says to me.

I look at the phone, did they pay for this? They just got phones. How…
"But this costs…", I mumble.
"Don't worry about it!", Ram said thrusting her fists in the air.
"We saved up money…Just in case…", Rom says to me.
I don't remember them conserving money. What happened?
"Anyway. You will be our first phone-friend! Don't you forget it! I already added our numbers to that phone!", Ram explains to me.

"You were alone…You said you have no parents…". Rom says, with a somber tone.
"And we thought you may not even have any friends.", Ram adds to that
Despite their immaturity, they are considerate…Kind.
I crack a smile and say, "Thank you."
As we are parting, I heard some talk behind my back. With Wind Sense, I can feel multiple men near a shady door having a conversation.
"The meeting place has changed. Appar…y….ey…wa…fin…girl.", I can't make out what they are saying completely. As soon as Rom and Ram turn around, I will put my mask completely on and close in.
After doing that, I am now hiding in the corner, listening in on their conversation, I pretend to look at my phone.

"Eh? They want us on a wild goose chase to find some girl to get in?", I overhear them.
"It's not as difficult as you make it sound. Simply, this girl of theirs is their highest profile one. According to them, she doesn't act on a will of her own, so she never escapes and follows any order. As for the reason she is able to do more than be a prisoner to them is because of her use in magic. She wears clothing resembling an experienced mage. There is no way we can miss her."

I hear annoyed groans before one of them says, "Yes, but going outside to search for her is still a pain. We are paying customers, aren't we?"
"Ah, don't be a piss-baby about it. They figured that out, no? They have her finding us, we just simply need to spot her and follow her. Since we are walking on mostly silent streets, we should be the only ones seeing her.", The guy further explains.
I hear a sigh followed by, "I suppose that is one benefit to keep our info in a register."

This is one-hundred percent the same girl I saw twice. They are changing the way they do meetings? Perhaps them getting aware of me got them to be more careful. And that registry. I must have it if I want to take down all the other companies.
I run through an alley to get to another street to make sure I am not near them.
I have to follow them. These people must arrive to whatever base at the time of them committing their sins, leaving nothing for an evacuation like last time.

I made sure to trail one of the men until he gets home. It is a stake-out until night time. I have changed my outfit and mask and am ready to fight at any moment. I stand on a roof of the most nearby tallest building. Waiting for movement. Eventually, the guy walks outside his house, looks around to see anyone nearby. I will carefully observe his stroll. I have Reflection Feet activated to move at light speed, in the hopes that my leaps onto other buildings would be less recognizable.

He met up with his friends whom he spoke to earlier in the day. I trailed them until can sense a heavy fluttering in the wind. The girl was nearby, I needed to be extra inconspicuous. I crouched down and hid behind a chimney. I can see no words are spoken, the girl, no bigger than me, slowly steps away from the group. She seems to cast ice magic to hide herself in a wind of snow, making it appear as if she disappears and reappears further.

Either way, if I follow the men, I will still end up in the right destination. After a while, I encounter yet another warehouse in an abandoned street. This one was in the opposite direction as last one. This building actually looks bulkier than the last, only one floor, but perhaps more room. The roof is made of glass, so I can easily view what is happening inside…Huh?
I can see them grabbing the girl into the building. The door is open and what looks like a business lady is standing on the other end.

I know someone in distress when I see one…I think. I shoot myself into the sky to get on the glass roof. Inside… My stomach wrenches just seeing it. I only see children inside with a bunch of adults grappling them. Test subjects? I have no idea…But my blood is boiling. I can't even think straight. I'm going in.
Glass shatters as I slam my sword down, I dive onto the ground and as I can feel a breeze through my clothing. Once down, I straighten myself and stare at the villains inside.

"Don't worry about a "Let the kids go" speech, all but one of you will be left standing.", I try and intimidation speech to see what reaction I can receive.
I only hear laughter, though I can sense some of them shaking.
I give them a glare, if they are not going to explain anything, I might as well…
Just as I noticed their reason for laughing, I heard, "Well thank you for sparing us that speech. Since there are no children here to safe!"

Dolls. Badly made ones. They were doing horrible things to a bunch of dolls. Obviously, this makes me tense. But I have to stay calm. Now, one might think they are mistaken and that they were secretly only life-size dolls for fun. However. You wouldn't be so secretive about going to a place where the only thing you'll find are bad quality dolls.
"A trap?", I ask.

"That's right!", I hear one of them say. I look at him as he points with his thumb behind him to a door, "This warehouse was chosen because it was made with a large home for a former CEO to live in. In other words, we tricked you into coming here while keeping the kids in the back. Of course, being careful as we are, the instance we heard the glass shatter, one of the staff has warned the others. By the time you get past here they will all be long gone."

As I listen to the explanation, I look around to see if there is any more info I can get. I see the girl in a mantle chained to a bed. The chain is odd looking. There is some kind of thick white stone disk with a red glowing gem in the middle.
"Well, there is at least one I can save… Your time is done regardless.", I've stated.
After laughing some more, they took out a bunch of machine guns, some were even laser blasters…Or something, I don't really know what they are firing.

It matters not, with Wind Sense, I can predict any movement and with the sight to perceive Light Speed, All I have to do is stand in the right spot with the right pose to dodge all of the bullets. Although, despite standing where I need to be, it would look like the sheer volume of bullets is too much, but that is okay, getting hit by a few won't kill me.
Some throw bombs at me, now that does hurt. At this point, I've taken worse damage, and I barely feel pain after having died. I can sense some of the bullets have hit their own men as they passed me by.

I use the smoke-cloud to my advantage and speed over to one of them with Light-Step to stab them in the throat. I quickly returned to the smoke. It is waning, so one of them probably saw me, which is why they are going to thrust a bayonet at me. I step to the side. In a moment, I run my sword through his stretched arm before slicing him down, I want to do an elegant spin after that slash to give an air of overwhelming skill. As my feet move over the ground, I squat as I put my sword in my sheath.
"Flash-Step Tenakami", I say silently before moving at them with Light-Step, in the exact second I stopped, did a clean horizontal swing of my sword as I pulled it out of my sheath with much strength. it had light coming out of it with magic.

An air blast sends the smoke and some people flying, anyone near me is cut by my sword, and everyone in front of me are diced by the wind that came from my sword swing.
I materialize a tomahawk, designed to work like a boomerang. Of course, it is easier for me to use by enchanting it with wind magic. I swing it around, hit a bunch of others behind my back as my weapon arcs around.

After snatching it from the air, I hear, "Let's quickly snatch the girl and get out of here!"
As per my reaction, I jump up high with my sword raised. As I go down, I will cut her chain down. Seeing as it is probably magically bound to something. I cast reflection onto my sword before hitting down onto the chain, splitting it. The girl looks surprised at me, but there is no time to observe her behavior, I materialize a bunch of knives. After turning around, I shoot them at the remaining criminals using the reflection magic from my hands. light speed knives floors all of them.

I grab the girl's arm and tell her, "Come on! let's go.", but as I pull, I can feel some resistance. Of course, I am way stronger, so I already pulled her out of the bed before she can say anything else.
I stop for a second to listen to her, "I don't want to be rescued…Leave me behind. It's not worth it…"
I feel puzzled about this. But I can sense something big tearing through the other side of the door that leads to the home area.

I quickly throw the girl outside through the door. When my sight returns to the other door, I can see a spiked ball on a chain being flung at me. I hold my right arm against my sword as I use it to guard myself from the ball, it still knocks my outside in the same direction as the girl. After hitting the ground with my side, I stand up. Looking above, I can see someone in mechanical parts having jumped to the skies from the building, about to fling a second spiked ball at me. I jump away and let it hit the ground, but I can sense a small port opening.

I materialize a shield. And just after that, I am barraged by thousands of bullets at once. After it stopped, I see the business woman in a mech suit, the chains were coming from her arms, it seems she has some form of extra control over these chains. I shoot the shield at her at light speed, but it would appear that she saw it coming, for she uses rocket engines and conveyer tires on her feet to quickly get away. She is now in front of the door to the warehouse. I reposition myself to stand face to face with her.

Another Mecha suit? How do they have access to all of these. Even if they were available in the market, one must cost a good hundred million credits.
"I was told to be prepared for your arrival. We do our activities in the utmost secret, no matter how weak anyone who sees us is, we will eliminate them. For the company's image, no one must ever find out. We have made many steps to assure our safety, even if a video were to leak, we'd have someone to simply shift the blame or make it disappear, and even then, we are careful enough to even trick a small warrior like yourself to death.", she tells me.

I throw my sword at the chains of her weapons, and it ends up bouncing right back at me.
Pick it up after it flew at me. I look at her confused face. I threw my sword hard enough for it to stab into steel. Those chains are made of much tougher material. I have to assume the armor is also something I can't just damage normally.
"I would've liked at least some reaction to my well-prepared speech, I don't quite often get to say them, you know? I don't even get to talk a lot for my image…", she complains.

I throw the sword at her armor to be sure, same result.
I can see a vein on her forehead. "Okay…", she sighs before throwing the chained balls into the air.
"SPIKE STORM!", With relentless speed, the spiked balls are flying all over the place, as if a hundred are being thrown from each direction every second.
However, with Wind Sense, I can just calmly walk over to her, only slightly bending my body and neck to let any incoming spiked ball past me.

I can perceive her right arm slightly bending to her right, one of the balls fly behind the back of my head opening a port. I jump over with my heels as machine gun fire rains on the ground. Now I am surrounded by chains that have curled around me. As I thought, she is using something to control the chains.

"Explosion, I shout as I cast explosion from my feet to get out. The chains can only wrap up air. I see the other spiked ball coming from below me. I hold the flat end of my blade below my feet and let it hit me into the sky. These attacks would appear strong enough to topple giants. It is quite impressive, it can almost break my bones.
I see her trying to grab the girl, so I do a quick charged weaker light slash. As I shoot a blade of light down, her mecha moves with jet engines away from my attack.

I figure she knows she can't ignore me. And just as I thought, she thrusts her chain my way at full power, the encircling windblasts around it are strong enough to crack rock.
With Explosion magic from my feet, I raise my altitude a little and let the ball go under me. I then place my right foot onto a safe spot of the ball. I use all of my strength to hurl myself over the chain. As I go down, I hover my hand around the entire chain, casting a wind enchantment on it.

I can see her jet engines flare up once more. I materialize a spear and thrust it at her, but she dodges is. Now that my feet are on the ground, I can do a rush of spear jabs, but no matter what, she dodges them.
"I am quite impressed. Your attacks are powerful enough to actually be dodged on the automatic evasion radar. But no matter what, with accurate calculations, you can never hit me.", she tells me. Never heard that one before… I jump back, preparing my master plan.

"Well, given up now? Just be a dear and stay still." she says as she swings her flail at me. "Mirror Blade", I say as I casually cut one of her chained balls in half. Naturally, she looks aghast at me. I made her think that I can't cut her stuff, but just because I can't do that through normal means, doesn't mean I don't have magic for it.
She thrusts her second ball and tries to curve it in an attempt to get me off guard. I duck as the chain curves. With the ball flying back to her, I move my hand around. Well, with how elaborate the chains are, I can use wind magic to easily manipulate them.

The ball is flying her way, and she shouts in a panic, "Why isn't the anti-recoil function working?!"
I enchanted my spear with electricity. I made it look like I was thrusting it wildly, but every tenth thrust, I made sure the lighting would disrupt its functions. I can tell electricity ran through every individual chain to control. To be honest, it is more a lucky guess that worked.

The ball crashes into the main body of the mecha suit, damaging it heavily.
And now that it is cracked, I can destroy it easily. I grab an axe.
As I jump forward, the woman presses buttons wildly, but only the movement system seems to be working. Meaning no automatic dodging either.
Her time was wasted getting the ball out of the suit.

For I have already closed in. I stand in front of her and slammed the ground with my foot. I spun my axe around, I am going to throw it at the hole made by the spiked ball.
"Zerstorung!" I shout as I shove my axe into her, then I yell, "Explosion!" With the force my axe swing and the power of the explosion magic cast on it, I sent the woman and her shattering mecha flying into the night sky.

I look out to the stars. That was too easy. Should I assume that was an underling? She didn't seem overly skilled, nor did she even understand how that thing really worked. Mecha suits are given to weaker members, what is given to the stronger ones then…?
I get taken out of my thoughts as I can feel the snow around me acting up. A small blizzard is summoned. I know that the girl is doing that with magic. What she doesn't know is that I can sense her regardless.

I speed through the cold winds to grab her arm. I see a scared face emerge from the heavy snow-covered wind.
"No. please. There is no point in saving me!", she says.
"I'm sorry. But I don't have time for this.", I tell her. I have decided to take her by force. With Light Step, I get as far away as possible. I am going to look for a hill or something, somewhere away from buildings and where I can have an outlook on anything.

Stopping after finding one, I look at the girl. She is recovering from having to keep up with my speed.
"I am sorry. It must be rough to me carried at that speed.", I tell her.
She clutches her hands and backs away while talking, "You are pretty strong…Huh?"
She looks at me, her face looks meek as she says, "But even then. The people at play…You can't stop them. No matter how strong you are, they are so big, no one can stand in their way."

"Well, I'm sorry. But that doesn't impress me at all. I know they are part of a group of organizations. It doesn't scare me.", I tell her.
"It doesn't stop there though…That is why...", she looks away, perhaps struggling to find the words. She then says, "Even then. There is no point in saving me. You got lucky in cutting the magical chain. Normally that stops anyone from using magic without authorization. Even then…I won't fight back."
Staring at her. I can't help but feel confused. But she elaborates.

"They know I can't be a bother to others. If I escape, they told me they will end all of the children. So, I can't run, or fight back."
I put my hand to my side and ask her, "And how much time would you need to be gone for them to pull that off?"
"About three days. Earlier if it seems obvious I have run.", she answers.

I look away and walk for a bit. I ask her, "And what if it is obvious you are kidnapped instead?"
She moves her head up a little, it seems my question has her stunned.
"Well, I think they'll only try to retrieve me…", she tells me.
Now, I stare at her and say, "I am not saving you. You are my prisoner now. In my anger, I have taken out everyone inside, so you must be interrogated instead."

She lowers her shoulders a bit and says, "I see, you won't let it go, then? All right."
"As for my first question!", I shout in a serious tone, making her anxious.
After a pause, I gently asked, "What is your name?"
As her eyes widen, I say, "It's inconvenient to interrogate someone I don't know the name off, don't you think?" After relaxing herself, she says, "Right. My name is Theresa."
"Got it, then… I am the leader of an opposing force. Bios, is my name!"

Name: Therisa Vuren
Age: 9
Height: 119 CM
Place of birth: Lowee
Current Status: Slave of Socia-Economics, Strongest Mage bodyguard.

Theresa is wearing a short red dress covered by a overly long white coat meant for older mages. She wears white robes with golden accents and detailing over it, usually only when she's out to do work as a mage. Her coat has a lower part of its sleeves cut off by the middle so she can get her hands through an exit. She wears a golden necklace and a few golden rings on her fingers with gemstones in them. These seem to specifically been made to boost a user's elemental attacks. The robes and hat she wears increases her intelligence stat for magical attacks.

She wears big white boots with red accents and golden chains to make sure they don't fall off her tiny feet. Underneath she wears white socks that barely reaches her actual legs, which were bare even in this snow, only the coat and robes covering them. She has an overly large white which hat with a red strap that has golden stars attached to it. There are some red symbols across her hat. She has light brown hair and red eyes. She carries a big wooden rod, however, instead of having one gem stone like the usual wooden rod, the tip bends over one red gem, and a steel cage-like design made on top of the rod contains a black gem.

At first glance, she would look like a healing mage, but it appears healing magic is the only magic she never learned. Her outfit is more for style than for any kind of practical effect. The large elegant clothes showing a sign of status and strength, but its colors and actual design giving off a feeling of innocence and kindness. Two gem stones uses for magic output seems strange, but I have no idea how magic works in terms of strength. Maybe there is a reason for it?

The night has passed.
After getting to know Theresa, we shook hands and promised to meet up during the day.
I doubt any kidnapping would happen in broad daylight.
I barely slept and needed a bit of rest…But could only get three hours in.
Now I walk, through white silent streets.
I look at the meeting place, a big fallen tree with a park around it.

This is a quiet small town in Lowee, no big corporations in sight. Less chance of anyone seeing us.
I sit next to her.
"Well then. Would you like to share me. Your story? How did you end up with those creeps?". I ask her.
She is twiddling her thumbs. She looks at me and back on the ground.

"I've been with them for as long as I can remember… My parents had sold me off at a young age. Even though I had been used as a toy, I was quickly capable of magic. They call it a natural talent or something. I wasn't able to be anything. Wasn't allowed to be. To deal with it, I kept my mind empty. Sometimes, I might be able to snatch a book from someone. The ones teaching magic are the only ones that made me think again. Eventually, I could use any magical attack and started using them without knowing.", she told me.

It's maddening. But I have to keep my cool. She was pausing for a bit, so I ask her, "Not only capable of using magic. But you don't seem to act your age either."
She looks at me, a little nervous, she continues, "Yeah. That is because…I have to be, to keep magic under control. At some point, it has become powerful enough to be uncontrollable. Besides that however…It is also that I am not simply allowed to be myself. After becoming a mage, they would give me the privilege of being a higher ranked. They can use me as a weapon now too. I am forced to study a lot."

"I see. I think you already told me. But with magic like that, couldn't you have escaped?", I ask her.
"No. They not only have an anti-magical chain made for me. They have a set of five magically absorbing gemstones. They can put a seal on me whenever…Not that they need to. I did try to escape once I learned how to use magic willingly. But they still captured me. And as punishment… They brought my parents to me…They weren't breathing however.", she tells.

She kicks her feet forward and back, continues her story, "They will never kill me, for I am too useful. But anyone else is not out of the question. They also wanted to make sure I have no home to return to… I have to stay, so they won't hurt the other kids. Bios. Don't try to save me. My true self is already lost. Because I feel that way, there is no point in saving me."

"I can't do that. This organization has a list of names I need, and I have to save all the other kids too. Besides, you don't have a chose.", I tell her, and following that up, I look at her as seriously as possible and speak strongly to her, "I am interrogating you, right? So, tell me. Where can I find them?!"
She lowers her head and says, "They told me their next event is in an old colosseum. It is a pretty big one, too."

"Do you not know where the leader is?", I ask her.
"He comes and goes. He is always surrounded by two guards. Perhaps if all possible locations are discovered, will he show up. I know some office buildings he can appear in, but with any suspicion he somehow vanishes. The only way you can save the kids is by taking them by surprise at an event and destroying each of their event location.", She explains to me.
"Understood.", I said as I walk away.

I stop for a second as I hear from her, "If you're not successful…"
Looking back at her, she adds, "If you're not successful. I will run back to them and convince them to lay off of you…I don't want you to save us at the cost of yourself…"
"Don't. I will succeed. No matter what it takes.", I say back.
I left her behind and prepared my weaponry.

With 'Weapon Create', I can make and also alter any weapon as long as I understand how to use it. I do have to imagine out of what materials it is made, but I had read books about that months ago. I am creating a new set of weapons aside from my swords. I can only hope they are strong enough. If their executives have bigger mecha's, then I may only pierce them using magical enchantments.

I try to rest a bit, but in the end, I couldn't sleep for more than an hour.
Under the stars I walk to the abandoned colosseum, lots of the surrounding buildings are decaying, some other houses a tad further away are bereft of light. This may be a poor area.
The gate is open. I don't feel the need to go from above and get them by surprise. I walk into a dark building. It is awfully quiet in here. Either they don't want to seem suspicious, or I have been lied to.

I walk from a dark hallway, the only light I see is from the moon outside. Within the arena is only an empty ground made of tiles. I can only think this place was used in the end for an emergency before being completely abandoned. But I am not alone. On the stands in front of me are two big machines, they are standing up.
"Well well well. So, the threat has arrived."
"I honestly didn't believe you would come here."
It's a trap, they have been expecting me.

After standing up, the two mecha are big enough to the point you should be able to see them from outside. One of them is very round in design. Looks bulky. I can tell through the wind flowing from the gaps it its machine that it is hiding a huge arsenal within its body. It looks like it has a bulky jetpack on its back. Its legs look weaker, the front plates seem durable, but the behind area has black looking bars slapped on together.

The other mecha is the opposite, slim in design, but blades sticking out everywhere. His back has a giant sword on It, it actually kind of makes him look like an airplane. This one has a weird creature-like head with every point ending with a spike. They are both colored white with black joints and accents.

I feel like I am suddenly bloated by air. I mumble, "Did she betray me?"
"Oh, don't look so sad! We had been planning this for a while."
"That's right! After your first intrusion, we made sure to give the mage false information."
"In other words…"
They leaned over. The bulky one says, "You know of her location!"
The other one shouts, "Return her to us at once!"

I see. This is a trap laid out without Theresa knowing. That's fine then. With no one here, and there being, what looks like, two higher ups, I can go all out without hurting anyone, and destroy their ranks.
I am not going to waste time. With Light Step, I shoot myself into the sky. My black sword bursts into white flames before I revved it up with a spin. A glorious spiking white energy tails behind as it bursts from my sword.

I will destroy you with one shot!
With how I am feeling stressed and irritated, I have forgotten the basics of battle. In my haste, He used a whip on me that I couldn't notice. It wrapped around me, as I swing my sword, I see no light being shot at them. I am slammed down. The immediate thing I can see as I stand up is a red gem glowing in the dust.
It is attached to me, I spread my arms to see it being stuck to me and I can't get it off.

"We had heard it was a small person that is fighting us. Figured we'd have to use one of our precious anti-magic gemstones on you."
"Unlike my brother, I thought it was a waste, but now I guess we should thank our CEO for the order."
"Without magic, what can someone of your size do? You're going to die here."
Indeed this is going to be difficult. However… I take a stance with my sword, I won't give in!

The bulky mecha fires off a few missiles from its left arm. I cannot sense them, Wind Sense is a magical skill. Normally, even with Skill Seal I should be able to use it, but this stone even stops me from FEELING magic. Well, I can still see and hear very well. So, with quick movements, I jump around the barrage. In the middle of it, I materialize an electric spear. The tip is already sparking with yellow lightning.

With one strong leap, I practically am like an arrow going up to the sword mecha. I thrust my spear at him, but it only seems to budge him ever so slightly. He tries to grab me, laughing at my spear attack. I get my feet on the hand that attempted to grab me, and then I jump just above his head to do multiple thrusts of the spear. I was hoping the lighting would deal extra damage, but it is barely weak to it.

A sword is extended from the top of his hand, with is, he raises it my way. With my last spear thrust, I tilted myself out of its way. I put the spear back in my inventory before he uses his sword to slam me down. I grab my own blade to block his, he only got me pushed down onto the ground. Their metal is tough, but they are not necessarily stronger than me. I have to push a lot, I can feel my muscles ache. But I manage to shove the sword away.

He tries to flank me with another blade, I set my right foot down with strength, I strain my muscles as I reflect the sword back with a clash from my own. He tries to slam the other sword down, I hop to my right, he tries another sword swipe, I jump over it, he wants to quickly get me airborne with a slash from my left using the other arm, I kick my feet down onto the ground before deflecting his blade to my right using me feet to push my upper body.

I can deflect his blades, I can avoid them alongside some rockets shot from the bulky mecha, but nothing comes out of this. At some point, I let his blade slam into the ground again. I try to slice the hand off, but as I force my sword down, it only bounces back up from the tough steel.
I can't even damage it, my sword is practically useless without magic.
I hear the sound of something ejecting.

I turn around to see the sword mecha emitting a bunch of controlled barbed wire my way, they actually looked more like black chains with spikes. I try to leap backwards away from them, they're slithering into the air as if they are alive. One is getting close to me, Maybe I can cut it?
I swing my sword to my left, but it only gets knocked away slightly.
I can't cut them?!
I move up the podium as these wires are catching up to me.

I might as well try everything.
Materializing a red sword, I once again take a swing at these wires. This sword is red and made to ignite whatever it cuts. The wires are burning up.
Despite looking like chains, they are flammable? These machines are definitely a lot stronger than the other mechas we've encountered. Is their organization really that important to the collective? They are stronger than Plagiarts!

Flying in the air, the bulky mecha has all of its armored plates open up. Revealing over a hundred missile holes, ten rocket launchers, his hands are equipped with laser blasters, and over five hundred Vulcan cannons.
"Full Burst!", he shouted as he unloaded everything. It is powerful enough to be called an EXE Drive skill.

I try to dodge everything, but in the end, a rocket's explosion has too much range. I can only cover myself with my arms to stand the heat before getting flung into sky. Of which the sword mecha is waiting for me. With no possible resistance, he punched me into the ground. I bounce and roll over. Pain is lessened, but I can still feel like a truck ran me over.

This isn't the end. The bulky machine shoots a spinning red blast at me. I can dodge it. I see a small sized red explosion from the ground I escaped from. But as I am air borne, the blade Mecha kicked me into the sky, of which the Bulky one continues the onslaught as he shoots himself into the air with his jetpack. In a second I get punched back onto the ground. it was hard enough for me to bounce off. Their movement is super smooth, both of them quickly get together kick me simultaneously.

I am flung over the ground. I stop myself from moving further by reaching my hand through the concrete. It hurts a bit, but looking at the sky and seeing the bulky mecha shooting itself up again, I feel that it is worth it.
"I'm doing the bomber dive!". the bulky mecha appears to be warning the other guy. He propels himself downwards with jet engines activated from, its shoulders, if I stay here, I will be ground pounded into the core.

With all of the strength in my legs I desperately get away, even though he misses me, the wind is blowing me far back. I end up all the way in the tunnel. I can hear them laughing at me. I stand up. Slowly I walk back outside. Laughing already?
Lights gather in both of my hands as I materialize newly made weapons.
I was told about your anti-magic gem. I didn't expect it to be this bad. But just in case, I had made this axe and hammer to compensate for lack of strength.

Outside, I have in my left hand, an oversized hammer, it was white with bending silver plates around it. It was steampunk-esque in design. Tubes that were bend finish at the edge of its black ends. On my right hand is a matching oversized axe with its edge being black, it having three smaller blades sticking out on the back. Both weapons have tiny black exhausts coming out of the sides, shooting flames to increase velocity on each swing.

I spin both around in each hand before thrusting them close the ground, creating a big wind that scatters the dust beneath me.
"Is that supposed to intimidate us!", the guy in the sword Mecha shouts as he hurls his sword from my left. No need to flinch. I casually swing my hammer with the strength of my left arm alone back at it. It is knocked into the sky after my hammer exploded.

"WHA-!", I could hear the surprise in his voice, then the other guys says, "Impossible, she can't be using explosion magic!"
The sword mecha takes a step back to keep his balance whilst the other states, "That hammer must explode on its own!"
If magic becomes unusable, my sword won't be strong enough to cut through everything. Heavy weapons utilizing explosion would be the best. Aside from the lightning spear, I made these to damage machines. These engines are made with fire crystals inside them that emit flame magic when moved with speed. Increasing the speed and explosive power whenever hitting something.

"She shouldn't be able to move much carrying those! Hit her quickly! Overhead swings should make it harder for her!", The round mecha told him.
Weight? I got strong enough to cover that months ago… I chuck my hammer into the sky as the sword mecha is about to strike me down, or rather, try to strike me down. I easily jumped away, as soon as I land on the ground, I'm jumping up whilst his sword is still close to the ground. I slam my axe down onto it, the edge of my weapon digging into the ground through the arm, getting it stuck.

I use the explosion to jump a bit higher, the sword mecha uses his other arm to thrust his blade my way, but this just allows me to land my feet on it for another jump. After doing so, I reach for my falling hammer. I will proceed to dive to the sword mecha's head. With one front flip, I slam the hammer onto its head, with a big explosion, I got his feet off the ground. Before he falls, I kick my feet off of his armer to reach my axe. The bulky mecha shoots a laser blast at me, but with a spin of my hammer, I can deflect the blast.

I grab my axe, I must perform a roll over the ground to keep my momentum. Within less than a seconds, missiles and rockets are flying my way. I swiftly hop around them, and if one gets close, I elegantly guides them else here with my weapons. I jump onto the stage to get on equal level to the bulky machines. He has all his weapons out. "Full burst", he shouts as an
array of Vulcan shots, laser blasts, missiles, and ten huge rockets are being fired off.
I spin around with my axe and hammer. My strength combined with their weight, plus the flame exhausting out of them, allows me to spin so fast, it creates a tornado.

The tornado catches everything and either sends projectiles into the sky, or in random places. It is difficult, but I can move at the mecha who fired all of his weapons.
"What the hell is this?! G-get away from me!", he begs, he seems less coolheaded than the other one.
But no, this is all wind up for an SP skill. No need to stop now. When I get close…

I jump, and let the acceleration I build up guide my next attack. I swing the axe and hammer together simultaneously as wind has gathered around them. I shout, "Super Explosive, Zerstorung!"
With double explosions, my hammer and axe caused a great impact against the robot that send it crashing through the stands. I know it is not done yet. I can see black marks on its gut, and it was surely torn slightly, but it's not enough damage. I jump back into the air after landing, and I hold my axe and hammer together in order to smash them into the damaged area to completely break it.

But then I realize, my leg has been grabbed by a barbwire chain. I was so angry, it is making me forget to keep my guard up, all I wanted was to simply kill the guy in the bulky machine. Now a sneak attack has got me, getting pulled towards the ground. I crash into the ground, and now, I am being raised up again. After a few swings, he wants to hurl me into the ground again. All I can do is use the heat of an explosion to cut it.

I inch my upper body, bending it against the heavy wind, I manage to clap my axe and hammer together against the wire, the heat of the explosion burned it off. It doesn't stop the impact against the ground, unfortunately. I bounced over, and I land on my stomach with my arms spread forward. I try to get up, but before I could move my arms away, another barbed wire ties my wrists together. I stand up, but can't get out of this. The axe and hammer are too heavy to wield like this combined with the barbed wire pulling me.

He pulls me up with his left arm and punches me towards the stands with his right. I land on my feet, jump away to dodge a rocket, only to be swung across the stadium before being kneed. Then I am getting slinged around the colosseum. After one more crash against a seat, I get pulled back to be kicked into the sky. He was specifically aiming for my weapons. As I lose my grip, two laser blasts were shot at them to send them flying away.

The barbed wire was retracted, why? It's because they don't see me as a threat anymore. The guy in the bulky mecha kicks me towards the ground with the added strength of his jetpack.
I see three swords light up on the sword mecha, his arms and the big sword in the back.
"EXE Drive Skill!", is being said as he pulls his arms back, he leans forward. "Three Musketeers!"
He flies my way, and all three swords are thrust into me with glowing yellow lights, they created an exploding bright impact that thrusts me into the stand near the entrance I walked out of.

I can tell. Even this dead body is still taking damage. Even if I take more, I can still die after exhausting all of my energy. Things are starting to hurt again. Even then… I stand up. Even though I stand no chance. You may think that I should be able to simply re-create the axe and hammer, but no time is given. I can already feel the limit of this body, and they are now making sure there is no room for a counter attack. They knock my back and forth, onto the ground, against the stands, I can sometimes block an attack or shield myself with my blade, but in the end.

I get knocked down from the sky by the bulky machine as he smashed me with both hands. Close to the ground, I get kicked forward. It is overwhelming, their strength. As I lay down, I feel too weak to move. A rocket hits me directly, I can feel the pain of the flames generated by the explosion.
I can hear them pant.
"Hehe…That should've killed him.", the one in the bulky machine says.
"You say that, but her body doesn't even seem burned from the rocket.", the other one replies.

My hands tremble, my fingers feel stiff as I try to bend them, reaching for my sword. I grab it while pulling myself from the ground using my left hand.
"Oh? Well then, isn't this precious.", the guy in the sword mecha says.
"he's still alive?! Is he even human!", the man in the bulky armor shouts.
I can hear him breath out, however…
"Right? It doesn't matter. Your body can't even move smoothly anymore."
Despite what he says, I get back on my feet one more time. I drag my body up.
"Hey hey…Give it up already. You're only hurting yourself, you know? Come on, say you surrender, and we will just leave you alone.", the sword guy says.

Both are laughing at me. I doubt they would keep such a promise.
I raise my sword at them.
"Hoho…Fine then. Killing you right now isn't even a challenge anymore.", The sword mecha says.
"I already prepared some rockets for you.", the bulky mecha tells me as he points at the sky.
He had prepared so many rockets beforehand? I can shoot them down with my bow and arrow.
There is no need, however…They…They have stopped? Looking closer. I see them turn around.
I know someone who can easily to that.

My eyes widen, they are here!
"You think we'll let you beat our leader like that!", a voice echoes around the stadium. Sili-san swings around with his string and get up to the Sword mecha's left arm. He uses the same tricks with string to increase his sword swing's force whilst weakening the opponent's, they clashed blades, but can't push any further.

In the meantime, I can see Acclaim moving towards the bulky mecha using his own string. The bulky mecha blocks a punch from him. The bulky mecha shakes him off, flies back, and shoots a few missiles at him, but they were blown up by counter missiles Acclaim fires from his arm.

"Who are these people! That guy just shoots the exact same missiles back at me!", the bulky mecha shouted.
"Friends?! We were told he works alone!", the sword mecha shouts in irritation.
I am speechless, even as Sili-san comes near me, I stay frozen.
Sili-san walks in front of me and casually says, "He? Wow, that thing even hides your gender, huh?"
Acclaim lands next to him and replies, "Not now, Silicon. These guys are a threat."
They walk forward, "You thinking what I'm thinking?", Sili-san asks.
"We already discussed this, right after I told you about these two mecha. They are part of a set of five and these two are designed to work together.", Acclaim argues with him.

"You guys think you can just have a Leisurely conversation around us?!", utter rage as the bulky mecha screams whilst firing a thick laser blast at the two. They separate whilst the mecha fires off a rocket and more missiles at Sili-san. Sili-san swings around using string whilst catching the missiles and rocket to fire them back. It appears to inflict a good amount of damage. The bulky Mecha was pushed by the rockets, but that doesn't mean it can't use the Vulcan bullets and laser blasts instead.

While Sili-san plays around him, the sword mecha throws a punch at Acclaim. Acclaim simply parried him with his own fist. As the two push against one another, Acclaim is getting shoved, ever so slightly.
Something opened up around the mecha's hand, three curved blades extended and are digging into Acclaim's arm, trapping him.
The mecha speaks "Now, stay still as I…Why isn't your arm shattering?!", and he stops himself to ask a question.
Acclaim simply stares at him.

"Your arm is made of tougher metal than mine?! TOUGHER THAN NINTENDIUM?!", The sword mecha shouts like we just crashed their party.
"I would suggest you give up, but I can't forgive either of you.", Acclaim says as the exact same blades come out of his arm, penetrating the mecha's steel.
"WHAT?!", he screams. After a quiet moment, he realizes, "…Wait. You can't be. Plagiarts' secret weapon?!"
"I am under no obligation to answer.", Acclaim says before ripping off the for-arm of the mecha.

"Acclaim, take the string!", I can hear faintly from my left. As Sili-san swings around, he pulled Acclaim away. Only a moment later, and a laser blast and few missiles scorches the ground he was on.
The bulky machine seems angry as he throws his arms into the hair and kicks his feet around shouting, "AND NOW YOU EVEN HELP YOUR FRIEND DODGE! OBNOXIOUS TWAT!"
He fires off more missiles and rockets in his rage, forgetting about the string. Sili-san bounces the rockets and missiles back at the sword mecha.

It is hard to see if it did anything with the smoke covering him. But I see a sword disperse the curtain of dark clouds, he jumps out of it and attempt to slash Sili-san shouting, "That won't work, you fool!"
Sili-san gets pushed into the stands, but he made a net of string and is able to withstand the attack without taking damage.
"Silicon!", Acclaim shouts, he looks like he is about to run over to him.
With the speed provided by the jetpack, the bulky mecha showed up behind Acclaim appearing as a blur at first. "You got distracted!", he shouts before punching him into a wall.

Sili-san moves away from his enemy's blade letting himself get dragged away by string, the opponent's sword tears the seats of the stands. He pulls his blade up and swings it across the tribune, but Sili-san avoids it pulling himself up with a string attached to the mecha's head. The mecha tries to hit him with a kick, but with string from the ground, Sili-san swiftly moves to his left with a spin. Whilst he is evading the sword Mecha, Acclaim flies towards the Bulky mecha, copying the jet engines its jetpack uses.

The bulky mecha ascends into the air to dodge a punch. He growls at him, preparing for another full burst.
"Your friend is not in the way this time! FULL BURST!", he shouts.
Acclaim simply opens a bunch of hatches from his arms and gathered them together. The bulky mecha tilts backwards, maybe shocked as he speaks weakly, "…But. That's my…No way."
"We were watching you fight. The moment I touched you…I learned everything.", Acclaim says to himself.
"Full Burst!", Acclaim shouts as he shoots the same arsenal back at him.

It looks like fireworks going off, seeing the varied weapons explode against one another. However, Acclaim's ability allows him to infinitely fire off his attacks. A "Full burst" for him practically means "Infinite Barrage"
Eventually, the Bulky mecha gets engulfed in a sea of flames in the sky.
The sword mecha turns around to watch the blazing star that is made in the sky.
"You bastards…", he says quietly, with a raspy voice.

Sili-san walks over to him, shrugging his shoulders, talking him down, "Oh, what now? Now that the fight is two versus two, you act like you weren't the one trapping someone into an unfair fight?"
"You have reached my limit!", the sword mecha says as he throws his sword down at Sili-san.
But Sili-san doesn't flinch, he just says, "You think I only moved around to annoy you?"
The blade stops, I can see his head turn, only now seeing all of the string he is wrapped in.
"I have prepared the stage, my string are tough enough to hold down your sword, and your body is being held back as well.", Sili-san explains, he then says, "Now…", and moves at full speed near his leg.

"EXE Drive skill! Ultimate Stinger!", he uses his EXE drive skill to hit the back of his leg, making the sword mecha lose its balance. Then, he uses the rest of the string to pull him down onto the ground. He is using all of his string to hold the sword mecha down.
"Oi! Acclaim! Can you hurry up! Holding him down is a major challenge!", Sili-san shouts. I look at the smoke in the sky, the Bulky mecha is barely visible.

Acclaim uses the jet pack to move towards him, the smoke dwindling, he fires more of his arsenal. Acclaim reaches his back and says, "I believe these are the reverse thrusters for a ground pound attack."
The bulky mecha panics, "You idiot! What are you doing up there?!"
Acclaim unleashed the hatches and activates the thrusters.
The bulky mecha looks down and shouts, "Wait! How did these strings get attached to me! The other guy is…Wait…CAN YOU CONTROL STRING, TOO?!"

"Get away! Silicon!", Acclaim shouts as he pushes the bulky mecha down with his jet boosted arms.
"Why isn't my jetpack working?! Did you disable it?!", The mecha shrieks, a lot. But no matter, Acclaim smashed him into the sword mecha, creating a huge impact that sends debris flying.
The wind can blow me away, luckily, the two seem to have made it out. I had to cover my face, but I think I can move my arm away now.

I can see the bulky mecha taking his strings off and flying into the sky, looking at the other mecha.
The sword mecha has been squashed, it is not a pretty sight. Anyone inside that thing should be dead. Even I doubt I would survive that.
The bulky mecha appears to be fuming. Wild movements as he screeches. He then dares ask, "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO MY BROTHER! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

Sili-san and Acclaim gather in front of me.
"For professional assassins, they don't seem all that composed.", Sili-san says.
Acclaim replies, "From the reports I've read, Kuso had never really been the most clear-headed. Even if he lost his brother, anyone should be prepared in a death battle they perpetrate."
"Gather! All of my energy!", The bulky mecha (Kuso) says as he combines his two arms. Yellow energy gathers from all body parts, rockets and missiles get absorbed as his hand withdraw within his arms, forming two holes that gather energy.

"Acclaim, touch my hand!", I shout. Letting him touch me means he can use my moves.
"Use Reflections Sword to stop his next attack.", I tell him.
"Roger.", he replies as he takes out a big sword out of his arms and enchants it with light magic.
"EXE DRIVE SKILL! ARSANAL BURNER!", Kuso shouts as he fires off a huge yellow beam at us.
Acclaim takes the hit head on with the blade.
"That's right! HOW DOES THAT FEEL! HAHAHA! YOU HAVE ALL BEEN DISINTIGRATED BY!-", he shouts in glee, but stops, most likely noticing his beam going onto two separate directions as it hits us.

As the beam disparages, Kuso is slowly flying back with Acclaim staring at him intensely. He places the blade into the ground and says, "And that, is your most fatal mistake."
"Why you! ", Kuso hisses, but was caught out of breath as he flails around trying to move. He can't get away.
Sili-san is holding his arms with string.
"This won't hold for long either…!", he shouts with a pained voice.

"Wait…What are you doing!", Kuso speaks with a loud scared tone, looking at Acclaim who has his arms combines.
"EXE Drive skill!", he says whilst yellow energy gathers around him.
"No…No. Stop this! Let go!", no matter how much Kuso struggles, his end is neigh.
"Arsenal Burner!", Acclaim calls out the attack name before firing off a giant laser.
Desperate for hope, Kuso responds with a laugh, "Hahaha…I can still take that!"
But the beam pierces through him. He looks down and shouts, "…That. That BASTARD'S AXE AND HAMMER ATTACK!"

It appears the small damage I did was worth it. With that hole, his system was overloading from the energy of the beam. The plating of his armor weakened into a state where the beam overtook him fully. I can't even see anything left of him now.
They're gone…
Sili-san looks satisfied from the victory, and albeit Acclaim looks more relieved than anything, the two talked to each other like friends who just left work.

Why?
They walk towards me, greeting me.
Why are you here?
My body stiffened, yet, my sword is shaking in my hands.
I calm down by sheathing it. I ask, "How did you know I was here."
"We didn't see you for days, so I suggested Acclaim we follow you.", Sili-san says.
"To be more precise, I found it odd we are only on information duty, yet we can't find you at the base at all to exchange said info. You want us to look into the other organizations, but why do that when the one we are after has the most vital info we need, it is suspicious.", Acclaim explains.

Sili-san opens his arms and says, "He says that coldly, but he was the one more frantically searching for you tonight. Eventually we heard loud noises and saw something in this colosseum. We knew we had to safe you."
Why are you concerned about me. We may be allies. But that doesn't mean friendship, does it? You two are meant to do a job…But…
I bow and say, "Thank you. You did save me. I couldn't do much. My magic has been sealed by this gem."

"Should we take it off?", Sili-san asks.
"Apparently, you can't do it normally. I safely destroyed a gem like this using mirror blade.". I said.
Acclaim uses Reflection Blade to violently split the gemstone in two, freeing me.
"Thank you.", I say. Now I turn around and walk a few steps. I hear them quietly call my name.
I really am grateful. If it weren't for them, I doubt I would've made it out…But…
I turn around and watch them, I have to hold back any hard feelings.

My eyes feel heavy.
These guys…They brought me down this path. And so many others suffer without being able to fight back like me…I can never forgive them. I want to defeat them, by my own hands. With my own strength. I have to!
"You guys…You are capable…But. Can you please strop helping me on this case.", I ask them.
"Bios?! W-what are you talking about?!", Sili-san reacts in bafflement, he looks upset.
Acclaim raises an eyebrow and says, "I can't see a good reason why?"

"…Listen. I want to fight them alone. It's personal. This doesn't concern you. We may have agreed to take down this group together, but that is technically MY fight. This group of them is more dangerous. Your lives could be ruined, trying to fight with me…So please…Leave me alone.", I tell them, my head feels heavy.
"Oi, Bios! What is that bullshit! Not our fight?! We came together because we needed to defeat scum like that! Aren't your fights our fights?!", Sili-san spoke angrily. It hurts to listen.
"This seems illogical, Bios. We did sign up for this. And our moments of bad situations were personal, too, but you still helped us.", Acclaim argues calmly.

I…I can't make up any excuses. Everything feels dark around me.
A single tear rolled up my eye. No control over my mouth, I scream, "THEY DID THIS TO ME! They are the ones that brought me on this quest! They are…They are the people… I CAN'T FORGIVE! JUST LET ME FIGHT THEM ALONE! I DON'T WANT YOU TO SAVE ME!"
I can't do it. I can't compose myself Infront of them.
I hold my face into my arms and turn around. I wipe the tears away, and run.
No matter what they yelled, they cannot catch up to me.

I don't even remember what I did throughout the night. The sun shines brightly on me as I walk the street. But I myself am not so bright. If I look at a mirror, there are bags under my eyes, my hair is a mess, I look pale. I suppose these are the negative effects of being stressed.
Coincidentally, I run into Theresa. I look at her stunned face, actually in the reflection of her eyes, I seem to be wearing a similar expression.

"Bios…You're all right.", she says, her shoulders are lowering and she was leaning back slightly.
She walks up to me and touches my left arm. She examines me, then she asks, "You were fighting. Weren't you?"
I nodded with an "Un", sound coming from my mouth, then I say, "It was a trap. So no children to save. But their executives are down by two numbers, at least."
"Were they the twin assassins?", she asks me.

"I think so.", I reply.
"I see.", that is her response. Her head hangs low as she looks at the ground. I wouldn't call it a sad look, more one of disbelief. Maybe she is afraid to hope that I can save her?
I walk to her side and say, "You know. During the day. Why don't we do something fun?"
She raises her head and looks at me as if I suggested world domination, "Fun?!", she gasps.
I nod my head and put on a smile, of which I don't even know is genuine, as I say, "Yes. My older sisters help me by doing that. It motivates me. It frees me. I think even in serious situations, if you don't have some sort of fun, you're not really alive."

"What does that mean? Not really alive?", she asks me, her eyes staring deep into mine.
"It means…You can't be true to yourself. We all put on a mask for any situation to behave accordingly so things go smoothly. But the mask is dangerous when worn too long, you become a different person, and your heart may reject that, making life harder. In a sense, we need the time we have been given to goof off to remember who we are.", I tell her.
I don't really know, when I was with them this is how I felt. Maybe it can do the same for her.

"Who I really am?", she says under her breath. She looks away, thinking about it. Then her gaze matches mine once more and says, "Sure. Let's try."
I take Theresa by the arm and I run with her.
For some reason, I can't stop running. Just going around gets me thinking of all the things we could do, things that I normally did with Rom and Ram.
Running might loosen her up a bit, too.

At some point, we have run up a forest hill with a sled. We go right downhill with that thing. She clutches onto me and shouts, albeit, her cries sounded very subdued. She looks at me to see me control the sled by leaning around, we went around trees and other obstacles.
She looks at me with shaky eyes asking, "Why are we doing something so dangerous?"
Oh, right. I tell her, feeling kind of stupid, "Sorry. I am used at the speed of light, so a normal sled down a hill does nothing for me, I forgot this may be too much to you." I can't help but giggle a little.

"Eeeeeeh!", Theresa cries as we fly into the sky off a ramp.
With a crazy slide down the hill behind us, we walk back on the streets, with Theresa holding onto my clothing behind me trying to keep up. Her breathing is pretty audible.
I, myself, feeling a little jolly, ask Theresa "So, how was your first activity?"
"It…", she grasped for air every word she says, "Was…Exciting…I…Suppose."
"Sorry if it was too exciting for your first outdoor activity. I was going to suggest a snowball fight, but perhaps that is also too much for you…", I say with a smile looking back at her.

She stops, looks up at me with a pouty face, and then she asks me, "How do I make a snowball…?"
I give her a short explanation and watch her clumsily put together a deformed ball of snow. She closed her eyes as she threw it at me, she did it making a childish sound that can make you think she is faking anger.
I easily step to the side and let it past me. I can hear the impact of the snowball. I turn around to see some lady's head covered in snow.

I look back at Theresa, her eyes almost popping out and her mouth wide open, almost sounded like she is screaming but only a silent noise came from her mouth.
"YOU BRATS!", I can feel the anger in that voice, in the meantime, I grab Theresa and say, "Sorry!", before running.
"W-w-what is happening?! Did we do something wrong? Was she dangerous? Is that why we are running?!", Theresa panics and panics.

"They're not dangerous. But angering people, especially on accident, and running is kind of funny!", I reply.
"EEEEH?!", She shouts in disbelief.
Eventually we stop to catch our breath. I continue talking, "Well, I am not always so into it. But my older sisters always enjoy it for thrills."
"You make people angry…And…That's it?", She looks at me, worried, small tears in her eyes.
"Kind of. You may get words thrown at you, or you may get pranked back.", I say.

I see genuine confusion on her. She blinks twice before asking, "I can't even imagine making someone angry and laughing it off."
I lean against a wall and say, "It's normal for kids to make others angry. Right now, it's funny, you're doing what you're told not to do, it gives a thrill. Seeing people angry over small things is funny. As adults, the joke is not only old, you can kind of understand how adults feel. Even then, sometimes people anger others for jokes. I think if you can get angry over small things, you can also easily laugh it off after."

She stares at me. It took a few seconds of waiting, but now she is laughing at me. Huh? Now I am puzzled.
"Bios…You're funny. Doing childish things and then giving long-winded explanations. You still have such a serious personality despite everything.", she says.

"I see. So that is funny?", I speak without a thought. I do feel weird. Am I trying to act stupid to desperately forget about my own stress?
Theresa walks my way, but then, I see her right foot fly into the sky as she trips over something.
I use light step to quickly get below her back in order to catch her.
She slowly opens her eyes and is now directly looking into mine.
"uh….Um…Thank you.", she says.

Why do I feel so odd? I can't get any words out… "Yeah…", that's it. Then I just pull her up.
"What was that?", she asks.
I look at the ground. Might as well search I find out it is a crayon.
I continued digging around the snow and find more.
"Someone must have abandoned them here.", I say.

"Should we look for the owner?", she asks me.
"I don't think we'll have time for that, we can only place them in an easy to find location.", I say.
My sisters always love doodling everywhere. What about her?
I look at her and say, "Hey, do you ever draw?", I ask her.
"Huh? No…", she says to me.
"I didn't draw often. But want to give it a shot?", I suggest with a smile.

I toss a crayon to her, she examinates it carefully while talking, "Um…Is drawing…Fun?"
"Can be. You draw more to express yourself. How you're feeling for example. You also draw something that you think is cool or cute, you might feel satisfied. But drawing takes skill, and doing one professionally may not be as much fun as it is satisfying. Simply doodling something that comes up in you can be fun.", I tell her as I walk around looking for a good flat surface to draw on.

"Whatever comes up in my mind…", she says with an empty stare. Her eyes light up as she clutches her hands, she says, "I'll give it a shot!"
Here I sit, dragging the crayon along the ground. I never imagined getting here, but this is where my path of vigilante has come too. The melancholy is quite strong. Also. I lift the crayon to look at what I made.
I don't really know how to draw. I try to draw something simple, like a cat, it just looks silly. Maybe I should try some environmental art.

"Um…Bios. I am done with my…Doodle? Is it good?", I hear Theresa behind me. She is drawing on the wall. I feel relieved to take a break. I stand up, and happily turn around to see her…
Her artwork was that of a great holy knight, whose armor was clad in Japanese styled robes with the setting sun's light shining on his sword. How she got so much detail with lighting out of crayons is incomprehensible to me.
"That is not a doodle, that is an arcane masterpiece.", I quietly say.

"How did you draw this?", I ask her.
"Well…I always make magical circles and have memorized each one of them. I can picture anything in my head. So, what I usually do for magical circles, I did for this. Is it good?", she asks me.
"You're practically a genius.", I don't sound surprised because of my monotone voice, but I am literally stunned right now.
"What is the inspiration for this?", I ask her.

"I wanted to draw a great mage at first. But I felt like it would look too close to me, and perhaps that is conceited of me. I want to draw you, but your identity should be secret. So, I drew someone that would travel alongside a mage, a knight.", she explains.
I made a, "huuuu", noise as I keep staring at it, everything else is silent.
The silence is broken by the growling of Theresa's stomach.

She holds it, making a painful sound. Then she says, "I haven't eaten in a while."
"Then we better get something. Have you ever eaten anything sweet before?", I ask her.
She looks at me sad and says, "No."
I give her a beaming smile and say, "I'll treat you to something good. Follow me."
After agreeing with me, the two of us head over to a pastry store.

"Hey, Bios.", she asks me.
"Ah, my name outside is Suno. Secret, you know.", I reply.
She ignores me and asks, "You're an adventurer, right?"
I look back at her. How does she figure? I reply, "Well, I was."
"You went on many adventures, right?", she asks me.
"Naturally.", I answer.

"Have you…", Theresa hesitates…Then she speaks up, "Have you ever been to the other nations?!"
I glance over to her, perplexed. It's like she can tell how I feel. She looks away.
"Do you want to know?", I ask her.
"I've never been outside this city. I only hear about some of the other kids or adults about the other nations. Even leaving the city sounds exciting to me.", Theresa explains.
"I've been to every single one of them.", I tell her.

"I knew it! You really are amazing! All of them? I can't even imagine. Escaping this city!", she talks overly excited for the first time.
"Traveling really broadens your way of thinking. I feel I grew every visit to a new place.", I say.
"Please, tell me all about them! I've always wanted to know! What I am missing!", she requests the tales of places I've been.
I don't really talk about my whole story. But tell her about Lastation with its steampunk style and large mountains, Leanbox, with their crazy roads, urban areas that light up in the night, and lovely beaches. And of course, Planeptune's futuristic cities, crazy people, and pretty parks.

Theresa looks like a completely different person listening to me. I suppose this city is like an old prison to her. She's used to every bad thing now, she didn't even act like a child. Her childish sense of wonder is still there, and I guess it is for the things she's never seen before.
I feel pretty good now, the shop is within my eyesight.

I sit on top of a low hanging tree branch whilst she sits below it. I take a bite of my donut and almost forget where I am.
I hear a high pitch voice below me. I look at Theresa, she seems to be loving it.
"It stings, but it feels good. What is this? So this is a sweet taste?", she says, observing her donut eccentrically.
"You love it too, right? They say all women love sweets. No matter the age! I like food in general, but sweet things just throw you into another world, right?", I tell her whilst leaning over to the point I'm about to fall out.

She looks back at me with glee before nodding, "Yeah!",
"I've been feeling down and stressed for a while. I forgot how good life can feel with a little sugar.", I spoke my thoughts out loud.
"Sugar makes life good?", she asks me confused.
"Life is rough. But you can make it through if you have something to look forward to, like sweets. It makes hard things forgettable for a little bit. I personally think whatever plan I set up, no matter how difficult, will eventually get me the result I want, the result that would cease my stress…", I explain.

I kind of stopped thinking, right now I am filter-less.
"But…What if it doesn't work out?", she asks me.
"I can't even think about that. Rather, I mustn't allow myself. Of course, there should be back-up plans for anything that can go wrong, but I will never give up on the result I know is possible.", I say.
Her eating slowed… She asks me, "What makes you decide the result is possible?"
I give a quick response, "If nothing proofs me otherwise.", with a straight face.
"Aren't you saying…That you don't actually think about the impossible?", she hesitantly asked me.
"Well, I still got my stubbornness from my eldest sister, I'd like to think.", I reply.

After finishing our food, we walk the streets once more. Oh, there are no more buildings ahead of us
I look to my left and see an outside bowling alley. It seems to be made with magic. The bowling pins are made of ice and simply get recreated afterwards. Most of it is actually made with ice magic, though aspects of it have wood as building material. From the signs around, you can tell this is made by adventures who've come to settle down for a bit.

Feeling too lightheaded to think, I mumble, "I've never bowled before…"
"What is a bowled?", Theresa asks whilst looking at the bowling alley and back at me.
"You pick up the bowling ball, throw it over the alley, and try to strike down all the pins. If you do it in one go, you get a lot of points.", I tell her.
she gave me a puzzled glance and asks, "Why would you do that?"
"You know, I do wonder who comes up with things like this. But people are bored, and that makes life unmotivating, so we do things to keep ourselves active. It can either be fun, or something to become good at for satisfaction.", is what I think of it, so I explain it as such.

We decided to give it a try…But…
A lot of people shouted as a bowling ball flew over the ground and destroyed all pins, the wind even cracking the surroundings.
They all looked at me.
Ah… I might be too strong for this. I trained soooo hard to overcome the weight of my weapons, but I now find it difficult to tell how hard I can throw things.
I look over at Theresa, to see how she performs.

I can see her face, strained, sweat flying, her arms wobbling. Just carrying the thing is hard.
She puts her fingers in the hole and almost dropped it.
She tries to fling the ball, but it ended up only being airborne for about two milli-seconds.
This is the first time I see her cry in frustrations. I turn around, feeling troubled.
I don't play a lot of RPGs, but now that I think about it. I was told mages basically don't have any physical strength, right? Maybe we should just leave…

I can see the sun, heading its way down from the clouds. It's not quite dusk yet, though.
I see a stand to my left. Wait…He seems familiar… I stop to watch the guy in the stand.
Déjà vu hits me hard. Theresa stops a few steps later. She now roams around me to figure out why I stopped.
"Come on…isn't there anyone?! Anyone interested in shooting arrows for prices? No? Not even the children?", I hear him speak.
I am getting flashbacks from my time at the amusement park, He is that guy! The one where I practiced shooting arrows!

I walk over to him and ask, "Didn't you work at an amusement park, mister?"
"Hm? Sorry, miss, but may I ask who you are? Better yet, are you interested in testing your skill?!", at first, he seems flabbergasted, but peps himself up to sell his service to me.
I give him a smile and say, "I would win all your prices if I were to do that."
"Hoho, confident, are we? Then why not try it out? I'll answer anything after.", he says.
"I accept this deal.", is my reply, Theresa is still behind me staring at me puzzled.

I gave him the equivalent of pocket change, 50 credits.
Of course, I can easily hit every target, I don't even need to aim anymore.
The guy's jaw drops so hard, his hair is about to fall out.
"Well then. Can you tell me?", I ask him.
"You…", he says as he observes me closely. His eyes are intense, it makes me uncomfortable.
"I feel like I know you. The way you are so nonchalant…It reminds me. Who was that person…?", he talks to himself.
"Um?", I make some noise to get his attention.

"Ah.", he snaps out of it, then he waves his right arm in front of his face whilst saying, "Don't mind me, I just feel like I'm missing a memory!"
I tilt my head, confused. He begins his tale, "So, you are asking me why I am not working at the amusement park, I am assuming this right? Well, it kind of got wrecked by a monster. The CPU candidates did take care of it, but we never had much of a visitor base. Even when we finally managed to make repairs, in the end, no one was interested in coming anymore."

Disappointed, I feel. So, I ask him, "White Heart didn't do anything to help?"
He shakes his head, his eyes are closed and his shoulders are low as he says, "No. This incident doesn't have anything to do with Lowee, so they are not obliged to pay for any damages. And monster attacks are not covered in our insurances."
I look at the snow below my feet, But I thought we are meant to help people. Shouldn't we have taken care of more than just defeating the monster back then?

I heard a noise from him, so I watch him struggle with his arms as he tells me, "Don't get me wrong! I am still a devout follower of White Heart! Kids like you must not doubt her. I am absolutely certain she herself would've helped us and a few others. However, recently, she has been busy. I've heard she barely is even close to the nation anymore. Large amounts of monsters are spawning, and they are still pursuing that machine who was part of that weird cult or whatever."

Machine from a weird cult? Is that Blue Screen perhaps? He is the only surviving members of the Assailants of Death. They still haven't caught him?
"Either way, with it gone, all of us lost our jobs. For some reason, it has become very difficult to find any other work. We had to move to the cities, and even then, there is no one to hire us. Most hire people capable of magic, or people that have always been part of the city's work culture. With no way to make money, I have practically been begging people to give me money, in return I just offer this stand like I did back then. But it seems without some kind of festive spirit, not many are interested.", he explains to me.

Silence gets broken by Theresa, who asks me, "Hey…Do you know him?"
I look at Theresa. My head is spinning trying to come up with a response. I can't tell her I know this guy from some time ago. I must make sure he doesn't remember me. Honestly, I'm already afraid he has an idea
"Hey, little miss. Would you like to try and shoot, too?", he asks her.
"Huh…?", she is shaking and can't get any more out than, "I…"

"Hm…It would be nice if you could use magic instead. We could have a competition of who has the best aim.", I say. While pretending to think, I look at the guy. Tell me you have something.
He jumps as if he just figured out the hardest math questions. He says excitingly, "I do have these toys that can shoot out a bunch of things from the ground. You can fit in a bunch of small targets!"
"Well then. We can use that. I'll give you 10.000 credits for them.", I tell him.
Theresa jumps back in awe, even the guy looks at me funny.

"10.000! That is way too much!", he says.
It is all I have left to be fair. But I can grind more after my mission is done.
"It's fine. If you can't be helped by the CPUs, then we must help each other. I want to help others in Lowee. For me this is a fair deal.", I tell him.
He is bawling his eyes out, the tears are even close to hitting me, I have to step back.
"I don't know how I could thank you. You're only a little girl and even you…", is what I can get out of what he's saying.

"Before you talk about anything like, "But what would your parents think", and, "Are you sure you can give this away", don't worry, I know enough about money and can spend this.", I tell him.
Some time passes. He finally calmed down and after some exchanges, me and Theresa are on our way near a forest. I wanted to go somewhere empty so we can freely fire off anything.
Walking next to me, Theresa asks, "Hey. Why are we having a shooting competition? What's fun about that?"

"To see who is better! The fun in it is how active it can make you. Maybe more energetic. And it can even make you want to improve.", I tell her.
She tilts her head and gazes into my eyes as she repeated with confusion, "Improve?"
"That's right. Getting better at something makes you feel good. Knowing someone is better than you can make you respect them, but can also show you what you can do better. When you are truly good at something, it can make you more confident as a person. Confident that you can do anything!", is my explanation.

Before we knew it, we are dancing around. I am shooting every target that has been shot into the sky. Theresa tries blowing them up, she spins her rod around as she does various moves. If it isn't an explosion, she thrusts a fireball out of her rod. We almost get too close to bumping into each other. I can see her, extremely focused. Out of breath. Her sweat vaporizing as she casts flame. In the end, one target is left. We both have the idea to jump in front of each other. Because of this, we collided, my arrow and her fireball missing the target.

We land flat on our butts. We lean on each other's back, the target falls and bounces off of our heads.
I glance at her as she does at me, she starts to laugh loudly. Even I can't help but giggle.
After getting up, I can see her shake, breathing in and out heavily, but there is a big smile on her face.
The corners of my lips raise as I say, "Makes you feel alive, doesn't it?"
She hold herself by her knees. Then she looks at me, tells me, "It was…Exciting. I never thought moving like that could make me feel so…Free."

She stands up straight, turns around and looks to the sky as the wind blows through her hat. She tells me, "I never thought, my magic is something I can be proud off. Magic is just a tool of destruction to me…But now I see, it is how it is used. To become better, is not just with talent…But you mean as a person, too, right? I understand now. You improve your skill, you work on it, you compete, you play, to understand others, and also yourself…"

"You're looking at it very deeply.", I say with a smile. The sky turns orange as the sun sets.
We walk towards the edge of a cliff to watch it, but not without me saying, "I think whatever you get out of it. Depends on what kind of person you are. You have not been allowed to do anything, so you don't really know who you are. All the people you have met, are people that cannot show who they are, so you don't genuinely know anyone. This is your way of understanding things. That's how I see it, anyway.", I speak what is on my mind.

"How do you know so much? Bios?", she asks me.
"I don't know that much. I look around my surroundings. Then I get lost in thought. I end up thinking about what others think. How they would feel. I suppose I just get sentimental when I am in a place that looks nice. Kind of like this sunset. Can you see it? What do you feel?", I say.
We both stare at the sunset for a bit.

"It's beautiful, it lets you think of how warm this day felt, how lovely it was. But it's sad, the day is over, and darkness is cast over us next.", she tells me.
That's concerning. I look at her with the side of my eyes and ask, "You are pretty sophisticated for your age."
"I am not allowed to express, so I speak with no feeling. I am not allowed to have fun, so I think only practically. I am not allowed to be a child…", she tells me.
"I get it…", I say, even I can tell how depressing my tone of voice is. I clutch my hands and say, "Don't worry, I will save you. And all of them. Then you can be the goofiest idiot around."

"Why would I want to be that?", she asks me.
"Because…", and I immediately think of Neptune, but also how the other people I know act like clowns, and so I say, "Because they are the happiest and most alive in the world!"
"You can't save me. Bios.", she says, looking back at the sunset.
I don't even look at her, I quickly reply, "I will."

She grips her rod tightly.
"Theresa. Tell me. Where can I find them?", I ask.
"You destroyed a few of their gathering areas. There are only two left.", she tells me.
"Give me their locations.", I am demanding her now.
She sits down, she tells me where I can find them.
"The night is coming. I will go out to fight once more.", I say. As I take my leave, I tell her, "Today has been fun. Since it's only you and me here, I think it's safe to say. You are my friend."

At night, I went to one of the two potential warehouses where I should be able to find the organization. Unfortunately, it isn't the one that is being used right now. There is however, one person guarding it. I suppose they had someone here in case I'd show up. I got a kick out of nowhere. This time there is someone inside a mecha suit with very thick legs. It is clear this mecha is made for combat using kicks and high jumps.

My enemy jumps in front of my and tries a spin kick against my head, but I can just duck under it. I let it go over me, they quickly follow up their high sweep with a fury of leg thrusts. It is child's play to dodge for me. I notice flames being ignited from their feet. I do a back flip as they kicked their feet up at me, trying to hit me with a bursting flaming kick. They use the strength of their legs to jump high into the sky.

Then they spin around before attempting to strike me down with their heel, however it is easily blocked with my sword.
I quickly use Light Step to move away from the leg, making her almost trip as her feet crashes into the ground.
Then, I hop forward and place my hand on them whilst saying, "Reflection", sending them about a hundred meters away in an instance.
I can see them lumber around a bit before regaining their posture.

They rapidly kick the ground with fire shooting off their legs. With an explosion, they shoot themselves my way. I can see they want to swing their legs at me again. I cast reflection on my blade and just jump over their leg. All I have to do is simply hold my blade to the right, just touching my blade will make them split in two. As I land onto the ground, the mecha suit explodes as it has been split.

I look at my sword. Not much of a talker that one. It is kind of refreshing for a change to not have to talk to someone I am about to fight. It is quite tiring.
I look over at the building, well, I missed. But if I destroy this, they can't use it anymore. Meaning I have them pinned down
And thus, I jump into the sky, with my sword bursting out into light. With one swing, I destroy the building in an exploding light.

As I get back down, I can hear a lot of noise coming my way. It sounds like the Lowee police force is coming after me. Probably for destruction. One of them shines a light at me. They mustn't see me!
I quickly get away kicking myself off using Light Step. Hopping across the buildings, I am thinking.
I can't just move over to the other location now. Whoever that was, he or she probably has already alarmed them at the other location through phone or something. And the Lowee police force is onto me as well. I have to wait until tomorrow to strike. And be prepared for their strongest fighters.

The next day comes. I haven't slept for such a long time. I just can't fall asleep. I roam around, gathering information. A lot of people talk about my skirmishes with Socia-Entertainments, not that they know that is what has been waking them up. Word has it that many are already gathering to their last hideout, even at day.

I walk into a plaza, one that has a pretty large building with a huge screen on it. I hear the Nepstation music playing. Figuring the news is info too, I stop to watch it. Some of the news is just silly things…But now, something haunting is on. It as a figure hidden in mist…Wearing my mask. A picture of me during the night.

"There is a vigilante in Lowee. Some may have seen him as a Super Hero, but lately, Lowee authorities label him, a terrorist. Responsible of blowing up buildings. Some that have fought him and made it out alive have told us of the brutal way he fights. And his great speed. If you see anyone unrecognizable at night that uses light magic, please report it!"
And so it is said. A target on my back. I am officially a wanted criminal. But that is not what bothers me.

"It has been said he is trying to destroy the famous hobby and social-event providing company, Socia-Entertainments. According to reports, the criminal wants to lower Lowee's shares by tearing apart its infrastructure."
They are setting me up! The police listen to Socia-Entertainments! Even though they are the ones doing the most evil in the night!
It dawned onto me. How come the police don't know anything? They have been around at night, haven't they? Lowee authorities take part of this.

I see it now, some of the deaths that I am being suspected for…Is from customers that were ministers and other high positions. Those bastards.
I clutch my hands, I feel sick to my stomach, like something is rushing up my throat trying to break through my mouth.
Big sis…You…Do you not know? The horrible things they do…?

I feel loss in strength over my whole body. As I lower my head, I walk a bit to my left.
"Bios?", I faintly hear. I can tell someone is in front of me. I look forward.
"Theresa…", I say her name as she is looking at me, she looks deeply concerned, about to cry even.
We sit on a bench next to each other. Unfortunately, the TV is in perfect view.
I can see Big sis announcing that she will do anything to stop me. She was in her HDD form, so she acted very angry, of course. Not knowing me, she threatens the worst for me. I know it's nothing…But still, it hurts to listen to…Also…She doesn't know anything.

I believed in her more than anything, but this happening under her…It brings doubt…The negative feelings I have been given by those despairing in this country, they are laying on me thick…I almost feel like I am losing my mind.
I only snapped back to reality upon hearing my name from Theresa.
"Are you, okay? They're trying to capture you…Is that bad?", she asks me.

I can feel one tear coming from my eye, but I wipe it away.
"It's disheartening. Doing the right thing when everyone is against you.", I say.
"I see…Then…", Theresa looks the other way, she fumbles with her finger.
"Can you please stop…?", she said, her tone cold.
I look confused at her, I blurted out a, "What?"
"It's over…No one wants you to do this. You can't save me.", she tells me.

"What do you mean it's over?! One more location, am I wrong?", I reply, my heart is raising, it is becoming hard for me to see.
She looks at me, depressed, she tells me meekly, "I've…Already returned to them."
Almost everything turned white to me as she says that. "What?"
"Look. They already have gotten everyone out of this place.", so she says. It is true, all the people gathered here are gone. Some tough people in business suits in the distance have us surrounded.

I hear laughter, an evil, obnoxious laughter. To my left, I see a man with brown hair that was flowing over his head, like he put some weird gel on it, and he has a purple business suit on. He also wears glasses. Next to him was a big buff bald guy, and on the other side, a blond woman who looks like she comes from Leanbox, both of them wearing black suits.
"Theresa…Good girl. You have led us right to our nemesis.", he says.

I quickly put on the mask in full to completely look unseeable.
"Ho-ho. Hiding your true self, huh? That's fine. I made a deal with our star, after all.", he says.
I am so mad. He keeps talking, but I can only see red, I have so many visions of killing him.
Theresa stands up, gaining my attention.
"Bios. The last day we spent…Was the happiest of my life…That is even more so why, this needs to stop.", she says as she walks between me and him.

My rage turns into sheer confusion. "What do you mean…?", I can barely speak.
"That day…I could see. You were hurt. You fought hard, didn't you? You will only be hurt more. It doesn't matter what you do. They have their money in everything. No one will be your ally. And in the end, there is nowhere for me to go. They made sure of that. Saving me. Fighting them. It will only bring you more pain. On that day, you have shown me. What a normal free life is like. Truly, it is what I desire…You are my friend…That is exactly why, I must keep my life locked. I don't want yours to be over, when it doesn't need to.", she explains.

"Over? What the hell…What the hell are you talking about?!", I can't tell whether I am speaking loudly, or silently to myself.
With Light Step, I appear quickly above the man, my sword blazing with light.
"It will be over…OVER FOR YOU! If I kill you now!", I try to chop his head off, but with a snap of a finger, the light fades from my blade, and I just barely miss.

"You didn't think I'd come here unarmed and unprepared, did you? I got a Skill jamming Pod.", he says with a smug face.
"I can just kill you normally!", I shout as I try to thrust my sword forward, but to my surprise, a net-like rope is shot at me, it bounds me. I can't move and fall onto the ground.

He shakes his head and says, "Silly. Was it fun? Playing hero? There is no such thing as good or evil. We have made it in life, and are using it on those who can't. What does it matter to you? That others suffer? You can't do anything about it, everyone loves doing wicked things once they have power. Whose hero are you? No matter how much you try, from any place, to any organization, they will be against those who defy order. And order dictates, we can do as we please when we don't bother too many people. Your fight will never end your way."

"I'll…", I try to get up whilst growling, but my energy is being drained with every movement.
Theresa looks at me, close to tears. She tells me, "Bios. It's over. I got back to them, in return, you will be left alone. You can even take down the other organizations…But please, don't mess with the wrong people anymore…Don't come to save me. Even your criminality will be forgotten if you leave us alone. Everything will be fine. All in return for my freedom. So Please, forget about me."

I feel so weak,
"You heard her. Feel good about yourself for being the only one to have come this far. Or the only one stupid enough to keep trying. Any more attempts, and you will end up like the many journalists and "Good Guy" officers tried to come for me. Buried under the snow, forgotten. Even the goddess won't do anything to us! Because of our network!", he says before laughing.
That broke me the most…Even. Even big sis…Won't do anything?

"You should be grateful. We're letting you go, despite taking down our great gifts of assassins. The twins. I, CEO of Socia-Entertainments, Mr. Dadd, will take his leave. Come, Theresa.", so he says
Struggling to stand up, I manage to get onto one knee. It's like carrying a train on your back. But I am furious, my eyes feel like bursting, I shout, "Where are you going!"
"Don't LEAVE! THERESA!" "GET BACK HERE! DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY!"

Various version of what I've shouted, I repeat. Never before have I screamed so. But no matter what, they won't even turn around.
Dang it! Dang it! …DAMN! Never before have I cursed in my head. It's like losing a friend all over again. I don't know why, but the pain and weight doesn't even bother me anymore. I get up and run to the nearest enclosed space. I slam my back against a wall, the weight I feel is reflected on the cracks I had made from just doing that.

The skill jamming pod should've followed them. I think I am out of its range. These chains have an ant-magic gem on them. I have to cut these chains with the explosive axe, in that exact milli-second, I have to cast a protective spell on myself to not take too much damage from my either explosion. I've not fully recovered yet from the last two nights.
I materialize and axe from my pocked. I had to align it by kicking against the opposite wall and then moving it slightly using my feet.

I let it drop on me, as the explosion burns the chain, I cast a barrier like hue on myself to lessen the damage I take. It's a very small spell, but an easy one to learn, even non-mages learn it easily. I rarely cast it because it only boosts defense a little bit, but in this case, it's that little bit of pain I am avoiding. I feel strength coming from my body as I flex my muscles, adrenaline shot through my body so hard, I could scream.

I jump onto a building. I can't see any sign of them. Even if I did, it won't do me any good chasing them. I need something to counter that jamming pod. Not only that, the authorities will certainly show up if I fight now.
I know where they are going. Tonight, I assault their final stronghold. Then, they will be gone forever.

The full moon is out, it's light overshadowed by the bright building far from the city. It's like a casino town around that building. Despite it being a snow country, fake palm trees surround it. It is a giant building filled with windows that are somehow lights in and of themselves, the building itself is shaped like the 山 kanji. As if three buildings were stacked together.

It's light somehow bounces dimly off of the surrounding buildings made of concrete, they look abandoned. This place didn't look inconspicuous at all, but maybe that is the point. This place is so obviously over the top, no one would expect anyone to hide anything here. I suppose it is marketed as a special hotel…Well.

I step on the edge of the tallest opposite building, I draw my sword.
Today, I will break it.
I look below and see two turrets carrying anti-air missiles turning towards me. As they got their aim on me, I heard an automated voice, "Target in sight. Firing now. VRRRR"
I launch myself up in the sky, being chased by a hundred missiles. I can shoot them out of the sky with magical sword attacks, I can hop on and off them. I can dodge them by running over the buildings.

The turrets can be sliced by my white light blade projectile attacks. Of course, further below they had turrets armed with huge gatling guns. Armed drones fly around this area as well, and they even had monsters spawn on top of the roof. However, this defense doesn't feel nearly as threatening as I expected. Anything here, I can easily cut. Nothing is blocking any of my magic or skills. Items can be used.

Nothing intelligent is plotting against me either, so everything here is easily fooled. It doesn't take me long to defeat everything here and get down in front of the building. I assume they already know I'm here, I have no reason not to just bust through the door. As I am about to break in, the doors open on their own. The CEO, MR. Dadd greeted me with a smile. He even crouches down and looks down at my face from above.

I take a step back, assuming he has something to hit me with if I were to strike.
"Well well well, as expected, you've arrived. Much to Theresa's dismay.", he says before chuckling, he then walks down the steps past me.
While he walks, he speaks to me in a condescending tone, "You really have gone through all defenses and are about to bust in and "Save the children", good job. But, come on, I can tell you're not stupid. You're wondering why the guys using expensive mecha are using cheap turrets, drones, and unreliable monster spawners, aren't you?"

He leans onto the building with his left shoulder, looking at me with a mocking smirk.
He doesn't have anything to defend himself, his confidence has a different source…However, that means I can strike him!
"Why do we not hide? Why did I come here by myself? Because I know, you can't do anything.", he says as I am about to end his life.
But then, I sensed a change in the wind.

With light step, I back off, before all elements blow up in the spot I was standing on. Various mages and wizards stood on top of the roof, all decked out in expansive colorful robes, magical circles shining below them and their staffs glowing with elemental lights. These are the mages Theresa spoke about, of course they'd help him. I don't feel like sparing them any mercy, whoever helps him out, is not someone who I can afford to be considerate to.

After side stepping away from lighting, icicle spears, and explosions, I used reflection on one sword and let it stab in someone's face. I myself used Light Step to move to that mage and carved my sword out with brute strength. Some other mages shoot lightning bolts from multiple directions at me. I can materialize a sword that can absorb the lightning and shoot it back.

I shoot the lightning magic back at a mage standing behind me. He uses some kind of magical set of gloves to split the electricity around him, however this gives me an opportunity. I used light step and cut him with a clean horizontal cut. His top flies into the sky as I land. I do a back flip into the air, avoiding another lightning strike. I materialize an axe and throw it at a mage on a shorter building.

He uses some kind of magical shield to block the axe, but I have set it to explode anyway. The smoke covering me. The moment he drops his guard, I crush his head into the roof with my exploding hammer. I can feel a ball of magic being shot my way. It was a compact bomb with a lot of exploding magic trapped inside. However, the outer barrier is made of light. I casted a light enchantment on my hammer and guide the magical ball back to sender with a spin.

I saw a panicking mage before it blows up not only on him, but it causes a chain of explosions that takes buildings and people with it. I take a breath. I can see the ground below me light up with cold wind blowing. It is the spell, Eternal Force Blizzard, knowing this, I spring into the sky to avoid it. With a single movement of my arm, I rev my sword up with light.

I see the mage casting ice magic and shoot a bursting blade of light at him. He manages to block it by creating a thick wall of ice. Whilst avoiding magical flames in the air by using explosion magic from my feet, I materialize a spear. The spear I shot at the speed of light using reflection. It easily penetrates the ice wall and leaves a hole in the mage behind it.

As their body drops, the ice wall shatters.
I can feel air being dragged in a spot behind me, I cast explosion on my feet once more to move forward and down onto the ground. I turn around to see a giant tornado cast nearby.
In the meantime, the sky above me lit up. Someone casts giant pillars of light from the sky to hit me with. I use my reflecting hands to shield myself from the lights.

It feels pretty heavy, but I know I can reflect beams of the dense light with my hands. I redirect the light in random directions, I aim them at the opposite sites of the street. One mage was below here as well, getting dragged into who knows where by the light. Not knowing what's next, I have to do a double take. Suddenly, I am enveloped in darkness. I can't see anything, except for a purple mist. This is certainly magic using the darkness element.

I hear someone laughing, saying something about having caught me. I spin around a few times to let my sword burn with light. With each spin, the spiking, flowing white energy that is the light coming from my sword grows in size. Eventually, I do a circular cut through the dark sphere I am stuck in. When I can see again, I strike. I see some of them, afraid. I've made eye contact with one of them, on top of a building. I shoot my strongest blade of light at him, it is almost a beam.

Along with the top of the building, he is no more.
I hear clapping. I turn around, ragged breath. I see mr. Dadd, talking with a smile, "Whoo…Good show, good show. Very entertaining."
I grit my teeth. My eyelids almost block my sight. I jump towards him.
I will kill you. It ends here!

With a scoff, he snaps his finger.
I see another rod light, up. I can see a younger girl, pointing her staff at me.
In a moment of processing what is happening, I get flung back by a booming hit as I hear, "EXPLOSION!", coming from her.
Face first on the ground, I get up. Before completely getting off my hands, I look ahead of me, it is Theresa.

"Theresa. Show her. Why I told her she won't do anything.", he says.
I can only see her mouth more strained as he says that. Her face is blocked by shadows cast by her big hat.
"Theresa. Stop this!", I shout before jumping forward. I want to strike my sword down, to knock her over. But as she spins her wand around her, and created a red magical circle around.
She chants, "Firewall.", and blocks me with a big wall of flames.
With a swing of her wand, she says, "Burst extension!" The wall of fire is losing its form.
Before I knew it, A beam of fire pushes me back, even worse it's dragging me through the air.

It is so devastating. My clothes look like charcoal, and my body feels stiffer. Despite being hard to move, I get back up. "I won't give up…Even if…", I say.
I jump forward, but she just casts another explosion on my and hits me back. With every movement I make, she uses a small explosion on any body part to keep me from moving.
"Please…Stop…", I can hear her murmur.
"I get it. You have to do this for him. Don't worry, I'll get through, and save you!", I shout before getting blown up again. I can see her frown harder before getting floored by flame once more.

She spins her want before thrusting at me, and she shouts, "Blazing Explosion!"
A ball of light surrounded in flame, enlarging as it takes the surrounding buildings apart, after it blew up, I fell on the ground, face-first.
I can hear a sigh from her. I can feel my fingers, still. So, I try to get up again.
I can feel her taken aback.
"I'll save you, no matter what…", I say.

She screams at me, "STOOOP!" I feel shaken. I can now see her face, in tears.
"You're only making things worse…", she says.
"How can things be worse? If I can save you…You…", I try to speak, but everything hurts.
"Why don't you get it…", she says quietly, but then she leans forward and gives a shrill shriek, "I DON'T WANT TO BE SAVED!"
I stop for a bit. I can only feel frozen, as I watch her crying face.

"You don't understand! There are somethings that cannot be done! There are some fates, that are doomed! There are some powers, that won't be toppled! Some people, cannot be saved! YOU'RE WASTING YOUR LIFE! You're only making it harder for people that care about you…", she quiets down a bit after shouting all of that.
She looks at me, frustrated, she says, "After everything. The kids had been hurt more because you tried to safe them. I will be given less freedom as well…"

I can feel nothing, but my heart sink. My eyes stay open, as I listen to her.
"Some people…Can only be hurt for others…I am one of those people. By doing what you're doing, you're only going to make them hurt us more. They got their hands in everything. Everyone is against you. I don't want to be saved. As long as I am here…I can keep them save enough…That is the deal. You are unable to beat them…Only deal with them…And hope for the best…"

Mr. Dadd snickered. He moves in front of Theresa, holding a tablet. He points at the screen and says, "She's right. While you've been off destroying our forces, we've built and outnumbered you. Look, seventy new buildings we've bought. How will you ever find our location? You can keep searching and searching, you'll only find us when we have yet another force to hold you back. And by that point, we are somewhere else once more."

"And of course!", he says as he gets up and starts pacing around, "I wonder how long your consciousness lasts? If we kill one for every building you take? If we hurt Theresa and humiliate them more of every transgression? Because I know how stubborn you are, I had this all set up to show you. I have made a deal with Theresa, if she stops you, I know you can't fight back anymore. I'll let you off this one time. Fight the other organizations, I don't care. In fact, it's a pleasure. However, cross me again, and I will hurt the kids you're trying to safe. And I won't stop there, your life is on the line, too, naturally."

Theresa looks at me, depressed.
"Theresa…", I call out her name once more.
"Bios. No one cared about me. I've never known how it felt like to be a child…But. You gave me your hand. Despite it being cold, it made me feel warm inside. You don't just pretend to care about me. You go out of your way to teach me how fun life can be. Without you, I would never know what it would be like to not be fated to…Well…Not live. But knowing it now, I don't want your fate to be doomed like mine. Out of everything, that hurts me the most.", she tells me.

The lights of the buildings next to us are shutting off.
"Ah, looks like the evacuation has ended.", Mr. Dadd says as he looks up, holding his hand out. He shows me a switch and says, "This building is made with a metro-line beneath it. You will never find us all. Well, not that you have the will anymore."
"Farewell…Bios…", Theresa says, before they both turn around and leave me.

The moon is blocked by buildings. Everything around me is dark. I can only stare out. My sense of time… I don't know. I don't even know when a minute passes, or an hour. I am trying to process this. What did I do wrong? Is saving someone, not selfless, like I thought? It hurts them when I am hurt? …I lost a friend…That pain is…I don't intend to sacrifice myself, but, are others that afraid of my dying too? Scratch that…I made things worse? All my efforts against me…? What do I do?
Eventually, the sun rises. Its's rays bouncing off the buildings.

I finally get up.

Water splashed through a rock, as the tide moves up onto the beach. Here I stand, my feet on the ground as I look over the ocean.
I don't know. Maybe it is wrong to call myself a hero. Perhaps, I can't save anyone. Maybe, I was being self-centered all along…But if that is so…I might as well keep fighting. For myself. I started this for personal reasons. I am not going to let them get away with that. Yet, I don't want others to suffer from my actions.

I look at the sun that is across the ocean.
I have many questions. I have doubts, even about my beloved elder sister. I lack so much information. And I am at a situation where one mistake is fatal… I can see they have bought estate through Lastation, I don't know how. But their weapons, too, are from there… Just like I need to find answers, I need someone that can answer them. There is only one person I know that is good with computers that can help me…
It's been a while…Since I've been to Planeptune.

Chapter 4

The Hero of Lowee

Planeptune, a nation with futuristic cities. Sunlight bounces off the many tall chrome skyscrapers, brightening its parks, roads and forests.
The goddess governing this nation if of course, Purple Heart, also known as Neptune.
At the top of the largest building in the central of Planeptune, is where the goddess and her sister resides.

Today, again, she was arguing with her best friends, IF and Compa, and also, the oracle of Planeptune, Histoire.
"EEEEEH?! What do you mean we're out of pudding?!", Neptune shouts out loud, stomping her foot on the ground and flailing her arms like a child.
IF sighs with her eyes closed. As she opens them up, she retorts, "I've already told you, that is the result of you eating way too much every day. You always forget to check whether the reserves have been refilled yet or not, and then at night, you sneakily eat like, five puddings.", she sounds cranky.

"EEEH?! But shouldn't it always be filled?! I believe I gave someone that job!", Neptune leans over, looks at IF upset as she keeps complaining.
IF holds her hand on her head while shaking it as she says, "What kind of job description is that anyway? Do you really think someone is going to get paid a decent wage for that?"
She looks back at Neptune and explains, "Listen. With high tech being stolen by Blue Screen, a lot of Planeptune's money is being used to ensure prosperity of its citizens. In other words, we've run out of your, "Pudding Funds", of which I still am amazed Histoire allowed that."

Histoire looks troubled, holding her head into her hand saying, "I thought that maybe Neptune would work more often if we promised her more pudding. But she ended up just eating more. I was hoping that getting fatter would make her realize to stop, but then she created a weight loss technique through transforming."
Neptune almost sunk to her knees. She's taking emotional damage.

"Nep-Nep. You can't always expect people to refill it for you. We should grab some from the store ourselves.", Compa told her.
Neptune rubs the back of her head and gave them a pathetic laugh as she says, "Hehehe…I don't have any money anymore though…Haha…"
You could tell everyone else in the room is cringing so hard they are about to fall over.

"In that case, can we do a quick side-quest for money?! Then we can buy pudding!", Neptune shouts, filled with confidence as she puffs her chest out.
Compa looks pleased with this answer, gives a nod and says, "Good idea. I'll help."
IF on the other hand looks annoyed and responds with a clear, "No way!"
"EEEEEHH?! Why not?!", Neptune shouts with wide eyes.
"I am so done! This happens every month now! You eat all the pudding and then make us fetch you money through side quests. If you would just eat a little less, you'd be fine! Why do we have to go along with such stupidity?!". IF folded her arms and heavily criticized Neptune.

"But Iffy…", Neptune cries, "If I don't get pudding soon…I'll die!"
IF closes her eyes and leans back, mutters, "Sometimes that sounds like a plausible alternative…"
"Iffy!", Compa whines, "You can't say that…That's a little too far."
IF sighs and says, "Right, right. Sorry."
Neptune looks stupidly confused and asks, "What what? Did Iffy say something? About me? Was it a complement?!"
"Forget it, Nep. I'll join, but only this once.", IF says.

"I suppose doing sidequests is at least some form of work.", Histoire says to herself.
Suddenly, you hear out of her mouth, "ABABABABABA", she's being called.
"Huh? Histy? What's wrong?", Neptune asks with a smile before springing up and asking, "HUH?! IS IT PUDDING DELIVERY!"
Compa looks somewhat stern at Neptune and says, "Nep-nep. We're going to earn our money for it fairly, right?"
Neptune calms herself down and says with an awkward face, "Right, right. We already promised, didn't we?"

In the meantime, Histoire was listening to a message.
"You three. Something is happening at the Virtua Park. You need to go there now.", Histoire told them, whilst saying that, she still held her hand on her ear as if she is still listening.
"Hey, Iffy, can this be considered a Side Quest?", Neptune asked her.
With a straight face, IF replies, "I could ask the guild if they can make it one to give us a little money at least."
Neptune jumped for joy.

Histoire's face grew more anxious.
She tells them, "I'm sorry, but I have to come with."
"Histy? You're joining the party? That's rare normally you are a rare DLC character, you're only in the party during gameplay.", Neptune says in jest.
"Nep, if you don't take it seriously, I will turn you into a rare DLC character.", IF replies with a tired face.
Neptune looks scared at IF and says, "WHAT?! But that can't be, I'm the main character!"

"Meaning you'll be worth 20 dollars. Have fun with an entire group of people in pain deciding not to purchase you because you're too expansive.", IF spoke turning around with her arms locked as if it were a threat.
Neptune grinned, with a nasty look she tells her, "You say that Iffy, but there are many people that would love to spend 20 dollars just to have me in a game."
"And you also get a group that will call out Idea Factory for being greedy, but you wouldn't care, because you're going to buy the DLC anyway and we know.", IF says, sounding like she's giving in.

Histoire's eyebrow furrowed as she shouts, "Can you stop talking about controversial business tactics and get ready?! Dimensional rifts are opening and I have to close them. Hasten yourselves!"
"Yes Ma'am!", Neptune shouts, then she runs around to grab all her equipment.
While the girls get ready, Nepgear walks into the living room.

"Big sis? Where are you all going?", she asks innocently.
"Ah, we just need to do a quest real quick. It's like an emergency one!", Neptune loudly tells her as she puts her shoes on.
"So that was what that screaming was about. Wait then, I'll come too!", Nepgear says this, not even questioning what is happening.
Neptune looked kind of down, but gives her a smile and says, "Ah, sorry. But Histoire is coming with us, so you need to be here as a guard."

IF looks Nepgear in the eye and says, "In case Blue Screen invades, we need someone at the tower to stop him, or take command. Histoire is coming with us this time, so it needs to be you. No offense. I'd rather you come with us than Nep."
"Hey!", Neptune shouts angrily in the background, "That's so mean Iffy!", but she is ignored.
"Ge-Ge. None of us have to worry with you here…We'll be back soon and then eat together, don't be sad, okay?", Compa tries to reinsure her.

Nepgear gave a faint laughter and says, "Hehe…Right. Good luck you three. Don't worry, I won't feel lonely."
They said their goodbyes, and then, the three girls leave with Histoire.
Nepgear sighs and says, "It's been hectic. Uni doesn't have time for me either. Uzume isn't around too…Guess I'll do some tinkering."
How convenient of them to leave…Now Nepgear is alone.

Everything I've told you is from my perspective, peering into their open window.
I've gone around the continent via the ocean. I strapped two shields on my legs and used ice magic so I could walk over it. Whenever a boat went by, I casted flame and ice to screw with the temperature to create mirages so I couldn't be seen.
Now, I am here. I am going to jump through their open window.

I sit down on the edge of the window, as a draft hit Nepgear and flutters her skirt.
She already noticed something has changed, so I say, "I've come to talk…Nepgear…"
She turns around, scared. Can't blame her. All she can see is some dark figure that can't be recognized, sitting at her window. The only thing she can notice from me is some straps of my clothing waving in the wind.

"Who are you…?", she asks with a quiet tone, then she turns around fully and speaks up strongly, "What are you doing here?!"
I stand up, from there, I tell her, "I needed to be alone with you, I've waited for a bit until you were. Now, I have come to ask something I can only ask of you."
Nepgear looks confused at first, but now she gives me a glare and asks me, "I think I've heard of you before. The unrecognizable one of Lowee. You're a terrorist, aren't you?!"

I shake my head. We'll get to telling her who I am later, first, I need to get to the point.
"I need your help, Nepgear.", is what I say to her.
"Help?", she repeats, puzzled. She gives me a scrutinizing look and says, "Why should I help you? I don't know who you are. And I am not planning to join you."
"You do know me, Nepgear. And I know you.", I say to her.
Now she's taken aback for sure.

"CPU Candidate of Planeptune. Good hacker, great tinkerer. You use your own high frequency blade as a weapon, once transformed, it is a gun-blade that shoots the Multiple Beam Launcher. Your love for your sister is great. And Uni is your best friend.", I am stating a few facts.
She twitches, saying nervously, "I mean…That is something. But those aren't secrets either. So it's not like it's impossible to know…But. Even still, I don't know you. Who are you?"

I look at the ceiling. It feels like walls are closing in on my. Yeah, my identity. It is what makes me suffer. No one remembers who I am…However. What if they can? I don't want them to remember me, only to miss me later.
"My identity, is something I can show to no one, except for a few. There are people, that I can especially not tell who I am. For if they remember me…It is worse than my life being over.", I say, without really thinking anymore.
"Huh? I mean…I feel bad for you…But I still can't trust you.", Nepgear says, now she looks troubled.

I look back at her and say, "You are one of the people I really shouldn't show my identity. You are close to people that must not know me no matter what. Even if you don't say anything, I have no idea what it will do…So"
I grasp my mask and continue, "Showing my face to you…I put all of my trust in you. I am risking everything…I am no terrorist. There is someone I need to save. That is why…"
I take off the mask, and stare deep into Nepgear's wide open eyes, "Nepgear. I beg of you…Help me, save my friend."

Nepgear looks stunned. She quickly says, "You're…A small girl!"
I can feel cold sweat going down my cheek.
"You have to believe me…Nepgear. No one knows, the horrible things that are happening in the underground world of Lowee. Not even the Goddess.", I tell her.
"I understand. I don't know if I can trust you. But, I'll listen to what you have to say…Um…What is your name?", she asks me.

"Bios…", I say to her. I feel stiff, my eyebrows have lowered. I am very worried.
We sit down as I explain to her that I am being framed by Socia-entertainments. What they are doing to children they have kidnapped. And why I do what I do. Didn't say everything, however. I don't need her to know I was once the CPU candidate of Lowee.
"To think all of that I happening under Blanc's nose…But. Can't you tell her? I think she can solve this too.", Nepgear tells me.

"I don't think she can do anything about it. Even if I tried that, she's pretty stubborn, don't you think? She won't listen to me. Maybe to you, but…", after explaining, my body sinks, I am staring at the floor.
Nepgear's head tilts as she repeats, "But…?"
"I find it hard to believe in her nowadays…Also…There is a bit of a personal stake in this for me…I want to defeat them… But right now, I don't know where they would be at. They've bought so many buildings to carry out their crimes without being findable. And I can't mess up.", I tell her.

"I see. I've known someone who also likes to take personal fights alone. I think you should try and get more help if you can…I guess that is why you came to me.", Nepgear tells me, she smiles at me to try and keep my spirit up.
She asks me, "What are you planning on doing?"
I look at her seriously and explain, "They have bought a lot from Lastation. Not only that, they even have registered those buildings under Lastation. I don't know the connection, but if you hack into Lastation's database, I think we can find their main HQ."

Nepgear leans back on her chair, her eyes were closed and cold sweat goes down from her face. She mumbles, "uuuuhh…Quite an awkward time to do this right now…"
"What's wrong? Can it not be done?", I ask her.
"It's a bit difficult to explain.", Nepgear said before shaking her feelings of anxiety off, she tells me, "Recently, the Lastation Basilicom have been taken over by an unknown group of people. As far as we know, they appear to be part of a different religion. Noire unfortunately is away quite often in the fight against Blue Screen and the shadows. I cannot simply enter inside the Basilicom now. We'd have to sneak in. The network is also not connected to the main net anymore because of this. So, we have to get in the main computer."

"I see. You're troubled. Maybe you're not sure how to deal with it?", I ask her.
"Basically. Uni says it's a matter of her and her older sister's people. In other words, let's say I help fight them, there might be a civil war as result. Shares in Lastation might go down by too much. On the other hand, we can hack the computer without feeling guilty, as it shouldn't affect Lastation much now…", Nepgear tells me, she wears her concern on her face.

I tell her, "Well. I think we can easily sneak in. I am pretty good at stealth too. While you hack to computer, I'll stay guard. Since I am a 'terrorist' anyway, no civil war should be sparked if only I do the fighting."
"Then it is settled, right? I'm sure the others will be back soon. And I'll have a lot of explaining to do. But… If what you say is true, then I can't leave it be. We'll go soon.", she tells me, her voice is strong, her face is determined. We stand up.

Moments later, she holds me in her HDD form and flies me over the air. We don't spend much time doing anything. I cast fire and ice magic to create a mirage. We should be hidden, even people close to us are not able to see us.
"This is a very useful ability, isn't it?", Nepgear states.
"They can still hear us.", I whisper. Then I tell her, "It's just basic magic. But by heating up and cooling down parts of the air, I can do things like this. Using hot and cold shields work even better."

We were waiting for nightfall. We should be able to get through the street without really being seen. I think we can sneak in through the sewers.
As night falls, we get into the Basilicom from the sewers. Lots of cloaked figures are patrolling the hallways. No one looks especially tough, although, they might carry the armor and spears of the former Basilicom staff.

It doesn't matter much, using fire and ice, I create mirages, distractions. And I do have sleeping arrows on me. So if necessary, I can shoot some people and put them to sleep. Doing everything we can to stay under the radar, we move our way to the computer room.
We had to walk through a long hallway, and open two super tall doors. At the other end is a large screen with a bunch of pipes running into it. These pipes are connected to the PC.

"I've never seen something like this before.", I can't help but say out loud, the steam, and pipes, just the design of this room makes me gasp.
"Yeah…It kind of gets me excited.", after Nepgear says that, her heartbeat got so loud, I can hear it.
"Who's there", we hear coming from the hall. Of course, someone had to find us and say those often-used words in these situations.

With a shadow cast over us, I don't think the person further away can see us. But I can tell, the one marching the hallway, is none other than, Uni. CPU candidate of Lastation.
"Eh, Uni? What is she doing here?!", Nepgear asks me.
"Get to the computer. You don't want to be seen here with me.", I tell her.
Nepgear glances over at me, showing disappointment, her hands clutch as she says "Eh? But, couldn't we ask her to help us?"

"No. Showing you my identity is already the most dangerous thing I've done. Two would be too many. Besides. The less know about my fight, the better. I don't know how others are going to interact. So, you go to the computer…", I cut off my explanations. I walk forward.
"I'll hold her off.", I state with my sword drawn out.
"You're going to fight her? I don't want to see you two get hurt.", Nepgear's voice was high pitched, she takes a step back.

To make sure she isn't worried, I tell her, "Don't worry. I won't hurt her. And I am pretty strong myself. You just focus on getting the list of buildings and equipment sold, and any location you can find. Even if you can only print whole lists out, that would be fine."
I can feel her nod, she then gives me a, "I'll get it done. be careful."
The doors close behind me. The lights of the hallway are dim, Uni can be visible one second, and then be covered in shadow with her next step.

Finally, she is close enough to the point we can talk to each other.
"Who are you? You can't be here either. Are you their leader?!", she says as she is pointing a sniper-rifle at me.
She thinks I'm one of the cloaked figures here? Maybe she has snuck in to try and take control back. "Black Sister. You have to turn around and leave the computer room. At least for now."
"I refuse. You're not getting away with whatever you're doing. If you don't let me through, I will shoot.", she tells me.

"A threat is only a threat if you can actually follow up on it.", I give her a bit of sass.
"I'm warning you…I never miss.", she says, as she puts one foot forward and carefully aims her rifle at me.
"Even if you did hit me, you wouldn't be able to stop me.", I banter with her.
She shoots one bullet my way, but I just simply hold my sword forward and slice the bullet in half, the two halves just flying into the wall.

Uni growled, she holds her gun further from her face as she says, "How about this full burst then!" In the next seconds, dozens of bullets fly my way.
I blink once, then I can see them coming with me being used to the speed of light, and with Wind Sense, I can predict where they will go. I can swing my sword fast enough to deflect all of them. My arms and blade look like blurs as I cut through every one of them.

I can sense she has fired off one more projectile. My instinct tells me to dodge it, so I use Light Step to slightly alter my location, dodging it. It exploded behind me.
I wonder what that was about never missing?
She lowers her gun, she looks at me dead serious, telling me. "I can see why you're confident. But I'm telling you. If you won't back down, I might kill you."
Power symbols are glowing in her eyes.

In moment's notice, a bright flash illuminates the hallway. It is blinding, but with Wind Sense, I know her clothes are getting torn, and then replaced by a new outfit. I can slowly see again, a massive pressure of wind is coming from Uni, her hair turned white and is worn in twin drill tails. Her eyes turned green with power symbols on them. Her sniper rifle turned into a giant cannon.

Heavy sounds come from the cannon as it recoils by firing three explosive mortars. I try to block them with my sword, each one is pushing me back and burning my arms a little. I can see her eyes twitch, I think she knows now I am not a normal person, normal people tend to die from these explosions. She shoots three beams at me next. Her boost in power makes deflecting these projectiles hard, I can only block and take damage, or dodge them.

I choose to dodge the three beams whilst inching towards her using Light Step. She puts her foot down and charges her cannon. In the next second, she shouts, "XMP: EMPRESS!", and shoots a giant yellow beam that covers the hallway. It is undodgeable in this position. I enchant my sword with light and call, "Mirror Blade"
I spilt the beam in two, holding my sword against it. This creates two tunnels next to me. The beam is very hot, I still get hurt from this.

I can't let her keep attacking me, I need to force her to dodge my moves as well. I shoot myself up whilst letting my blade burst with light. I do one flip in the air, making the tail of light coming from my sword bigger. "CombinationStar Light Slash!", I shout as I shoot a blade of light at Uni's feet. She doesn't know what it does, so naturally, she backs away a bit. It hits the ground and blows the floor up.

I use Explosion from my feet to quickly get down onto the ground. The moment my feet, with light coming from underneath them, touch the ground, I instantly leap over to Uni doing a slicing motion with my sword, I stop my blade at her throat. As the dust clears. She has her cannon aimed at my head. I wanted to show off that I CAN get to her at any time if I wanted to, but she is far stronger than me at the moment.

I jump backwards into the air, she reacts to that by firing another full clip of bullets at me. I get away from her projectiles by blasting myself backwards using Explosion from my feet and hands. In a carefully coordinated attack, she blasts me out of the sky using a High-explosive grenade. It didn't hit me directly, but it was shot into the ceiling, the residue hit me and knocks me onto the ground.

I get back on my feet. My body feels tense. The muscles in my arms and legs are strained.
As I should've expected. The difference in our strength in her HDD form is abysmal.
I hold my sword tightly. If only I could use mine…Everything would be so much easier.
My fight against Uni is super rough. Her fighting style knows no mercy. Any weapons usable, she will use, regardless of how damaging they can be. Her only limit is the fact that she can't destroy the Basilicom.

I dodge most attacks and pretend to do counter attacks whenever she charges her gun up. I need to avoid getting hit by giant lasers and the like. Of course, I've been hit many times already. My only other strategy is using explosive arrows to create smoke, this makes her wait until she can see again. Of course, she isn't stupid. She has already asked me many times at this point why I am not hitting her back.

My breath is ragged. I can feel my skin has been burned in plenty of spots. I don't know for how much longer I can hold out. I hear a massive *THUD* noise coming from the door behind me.
Is that her way of saying she is done?
Now then, it is time for an escape plan, that is the easy part.
I whirl my sword around a few times whilst a spiking trail of light comes from it. This stream of light that is flowing off of my sword gets bigger and bigger.

I can tell from her face that Uni is on edge, she grasps her cannon tightly and plants her feet more firmly on the ground.
As I smash my sword down, the lights spreads across the hallway. damaging it entirely. The floor shakes as if a huge bomb went off. Uni can only cover herself, probably taking minor damage from the light. I moved past her with Light Step. Whilst creating after-images of myself, I cast fire and Ice magic at a few spots.

I've created a mirage of myself that goes the opposite way. Uni turns around and chases a reflection of me. Of course, whilst flying after me she shoots at the fake me. I quickly open the door, get through it, and close it. There is no way she hasn't figured out I got back inside here. She'll probably come through these doors as soon as possible.
Hurriedly I look over to Nepgear and shout, "Do you have the data?!"
I can tell Nepgear got anxious because I am wearing fear on my face right now.

She shakes her head and looks serious at me, "I have everything!", she tells me.
"Can you transform and shoot a hole above us so we can fly out?!", I ask her.
"But won't that cause a lot of other problems?! Won't we be seen as we fly out?", she asks me.
She is right, this whole thing is very risky. But there is no time to think.
I practically yell at her, "We have no choice, Uni is right behind us!"

With much haste, Nepgear transforms into her HDD Form and shoots a beam from her cannon into the ceiling. She drills a hole towards the sky.
She reaches out to me and tells me, "Grab my hand!"
I do as she says, and without any delay, she flies me all the way into the sky. Luckily, barely anyone was on the upper floors. The commotion my fight with Uni caused most of the people inside to move downstairs.

I can see Uni through the hole we left out of. I can only try to cover us up with explosives, and a mirage. I can see Uni did try to fly after us, but she can't see us. She also flies off in some random direction, probably because she knows she can't be seen fighting the entire group of cloaked figures. I don't know if I should feel satisfied, but I am relieved I at least am given one stroke of luck these past few days.

To be safe, Nepgear flew us near the edge of a Planeptune city. The night is almost over, I can see the moon going down. As we fly onto the ground. I had to catch my breath. That fight took a lot out of me.
"Are you okay? Those wounds should be looked at.", Nepgear tells me.
"Don't worry about that. I am not a normal person. They will heal rather soon.", I say to her.
I can see sadness in her eyes, I tell her, "Don't worry. I didn't hurt Uni. I didn't even really attack her."

Nepgear seems surprised, she holds her grasped hand in the middle of her chest and loudly speaks, "Huh? But she was using HDD, wasn't she. You could've fought back at least a little bit. No wonder you're hurt."
"Never mind that. Can you give me whatever you've found?", I ask her.
"I've got it printed and uploaded to my N-Gear.", she says to me.
"I don't really understand technology. Can you put it on my phone and give me the papers?", I ask her.

I take the papers as she takes my phone.
While I'm trying to read, I hear her gasp, "Rom and Ram's numbers…They are registered…"
I forgot about that. I have a problem with tunnel vision as of late.
Nepgear gives me a dumbstruck look.
"Hiding my identity from those two is the most difficult. No matter what. They always see me. Always find me. And…Always become my friends…", I tell her.

She looks back at the phone, quietly, she says, "They are the only ones registered…"
I keep reading everything she's printed out. There are many details to what has been bought, but more importantly, where things are being transported. There is a huge order of items to one building in Lowee. I need to be careful there aren't any diversions. They can order a lot of something to make me think that is where their main base is.

"I'm sorry for invading your privacy.", Nepgear's words get my eyes off the paper and on her.
I see my phone being handed back to me. I grab it as she says, "The same info should be on there."
"Thank you…", I say…I stare at the phone for a bit. I feel a rush of melancholy
I look back at Nepgear. It feels like something is stuck inside my throat…But I swallow.
Then I ask her, "Hey, Nepgear…Can I ask you some questions?"

"Huh?", Nepgear tilts her head. Then she nods and says, "Sure. Do you need to know something?"
I shake my head and say, "It's a bit more personal…You see. I am conflicted."
She staring with curiosity at me. She's the kind of person that really wants to know what you have to say.
"You see. My friend I told you about. I really only spend one day with her.", after starting my story, I look away. I feel a bit shy telling her this.

"Even though it had only been one day. This girl who acts more mature than she should. She who has lost her childhood. I can tell, she was having fun. I was having fun too. Just that one day, I have realized, how much of a difference one friend can make in making your life brighter…But. She went back…To them. Saying she doesn't want to be saved. No matter what. I want to save the other kids too…But her. I especially want to bring happiness to her, but she refuses my help…Even if it meant fighting me. Saying that I would make things worse…", I tell her a whole story.

The more I talk about it, the more it hurts. I hold a fist close to my heart.
"On top of that, she said I would have no allies. Because of their connections. But I don't understand. The goddess should do something, right? I believed in her with all my heart. But I can't help but feel doubt in everyone now.", There are so many things on my mind, I can't even come up with a cohesive question anymore.

"I guess I want to know…How do you see people, when they react like that? When they tell you things like that?", I ask her, now looking right at her.
Nepgear closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, taking all of that in. She then gives me one stroke on my head with a smile.
"Goodness, I can't imagine being in such a position…And, I don't really understand everything you've said. But I think I can relate when I hear you say your friend doesn't want any help.", she tells me. Then backs away.

She explains how she feels about what I told her, "You know, there was a time where ASIC and their four felons were a major threat. Uni was beaten by one. But she absolutely refused any help. She would go to fight him again on her own, with no way to win. Of course, it is somewhat different. She did it out of pride. Your friend seems to want to sacrifice herself. But in the end, their real reason for refusing help…Is because they are scared."

"Scared?", I uttered. Scared of what. That can mean many things, can't it? How is it the same?
Nepgear nodded an looked at me seriously, "Uni was afraid of being considered useless. At some point she told me she genuinely thought no one wanted her to be here. That there is no need for her. And I think your friend, is also afraid. She probably thinks she doesn't deserve a happy ending, that helping her means trouble for everyone else. That she should just be forgotten about."

I look up at Nepgear, my eyes wide open. It's true, she always tells me there is no point in saving her. For that reason…
I clenched my teeth. I asked her, "So, what did you do?"
"You see, I refuse to believe that there is anyone who shouldn't exist. I desperately wanted Uni to be my friend. I've been around so many that were, somewhat older than me, of course I don't have an age but. Uni was similar to me. I felt a bond from there. Even though she can act like she doesn't like you, I always knew she could be my friend. So, I came in to help her no matter what. Talk to her no matter how many times she pushed me away.", she gives me so much to think about.

She looks at me, smiling, "Aren't you the same. From the sound of it."
I lose sight of everything. I look down to think. I suppose so. I pretended I don't need anyone. But when I was reunited with big sisters Rom and Ram, I was overjoyed. And when I spend time with her…
"I used to easily believe anyone. And I still do, but now, I also try to see every side of them. Some people have such beautiful sides to them they never show. So, maybe you are developing trust issues, because now you see others making mistakes. It may be tough, but until you know for sure, you need to believe that those you believed in aren't just simply mistaken, and it is up to you to tell them that…Maybe. Someone else might do it for you.", Nepgear lectures me, but kind of got a bit mixed up near the end, closing her eyes whilst thinking.

"Thank you, for sharing your story.", I say to her.
Nepgear nodded and says, "I don't mind."
"Actually, I do have one practical question. I want to read something, about history. But I need very specific info. A lot of libraries still have inaccuracies. Are there any places in the world where I can find even more ancient history written into books? The Leanbox and Lowee libraries are huge, but I doubt what I want can be found in the cities.", I ask her.
Nepgear looks slightly taken aback. She looks around, maybe her way of thinking.

"I can only think of one such a place. But it has sunken after the fight against the Deity of Sin.", she tells me, she actually looks kind of creeped out. Is the place that ominous?
I ask her, "Can you tell me where it used to be, at least?"
She nods her head.
Her face got slightly grim and says, "It is called LAN-castle. It's a place where I got to talk to my ancestor. But the place is rather creepy. It contains a cursed sword. NEVER. Pick it up."
Even I feel a hint of fright from her tone.

After she pointed out where I needed to go, I thanked her and gave her my farewell. The sun is rising, it's light making the light magic I use with Light Step insignificant. It has been many days, since I last slept. I've seen this sunrise too many times.
But finally, I have arrived at the supposed location. There was a river, but to my surprise, a tower has risen out of it already…I suppose that should already warn me. LAN-castle… Is up once more.

I break inside the building. At first, it was darker than the blackest void, then suddenly a few green flames flew around, and before I knew it, the whole area is lit up. It is certainly a creepy place, imagine walking inside an old dusty mansion. Everything has green and yellow colors to them. There are a lot of windows of which orange-ish light shines through. There are many clocks and pendulums. Occasionally, there are rooms with red carpets in them with golden accents, in circular rooms, there is a green pattern on the dim-yellow ground.

Walking around, observing everything. I hear digital noises. Before my eyes, monsters spawn. Of course they would spawn here too. Most of them are the tarantula type enemies, these are yellow. There some dogoo's and blue flower enemies as well. Nothing I can't handle. The spiders jump off the walls and ceilings my way.

I materialize an axe and spin around with it. Every spider that shoots something at me or comes my way gets cut by my axe. My rotation goes fast enough to the point it sucks enemies in with its tremendous force."Tanzerin Trombe!", I shouted as I moved forward whilst spinning with my axe. Enemies fly into the air as I stop, holding my axe in the air before smashing it down near some Dogoos and flower enemies, sending them flying.

There were still monsters left in front of me and behind me. I take out the bow and arrow. I shoot one arrow that spread out into more arrows to kill the most nearby enemies. Then I use light step to hope around whilst rapid firing arrows until it they formed what looks like a beam that covered nearly the entire hallway, at the same time, I say, "Arrow Rain!" I killed monsters in front of me, but those spider creatures are still lurking everywhere. I have to be quick, I use flaming arrows on the spiders to easily shoot through their venomous webs. I use regular arrows on enemies in the back.

That takes care of most of them, but I will encounter small groups moving forward. However, with the bow and arrow and my strength, I can quickly kill them. Some may even surprise attack me, but my fists alone are deadly enough. In one big room, there is even an Ancient Dragon, although I think this one is stronger than a normal one and is named differently.

It doesn't matter to me, as I am in his sight, I pull the string of my bow back with an arrow. It's an explosion arrow, it will do minimal damage, but it creates a smoke screen. I jump past its arm thrust and get behind him. As it is confused as to where my location is, I charge up the light that comes from under my feet to take it down in one attack. It turns around to face me just a little too late. I shoot myself forward whilst my right fists was shining brightly with white light. "Full Power. Reflection Punch!", I shout as I punch it in the ground, amplified with the power of light magic, it got heaved over the floor before disappearing, meaning death.

At my level, this is mostly a stroll through a creepy house at this point. I find an entrance to a basement, one that hasn't been lit up yet. I figure something special might be in there, so I get down. As my feet touch the floor, green flames quickly covered the room and zoomed around the room until disappearing. Then the room suddenly lit up, it really was odd. It's not the slow illumination that flames should give, but more like some switching electric lamps on. But there were no lamps.

This is a huge library. Wherever I am, this is basically what I came for. But I can feel something is odd. In one spot, the air is colder. I look at the top of one of the book cases. And an old man clad in black sat there, watching me with a smile.
I point my bow and arrow at him and demanded him answer me, "Who are you? You can't be here!"
He holds his hands up and says, "Now now now, young goddess. Ah, guess you aren't one anymore, huh? This is my home, and YOU'RE the one barging in."

"Huh? This place if for spirits from what I've heard. You're the old man that told me I wasn't a goddess. Who are you.", I ask him.
"I am just an old man who tells stories. You know, old people have lived long, we have so much information to share, but no one willing to listen.", he replies.

"The information you carry is something not even old people should know. Are you a spirit? Are you immortal? Which is it?", I ask him. Because I feel uneased, I make myself sound threatening.
"You could say I am already dead. I am technically a spirit.", he tells me.
I lower my bow and arrow. No point in trying to kill that is already not living to begin with.
"Why do you want to tell stories so much?", I ask him.

"You know it, too, don't you? This world his so many mysteries, rumors, and especially, unknown histories. Said histories also have prophecies. And I know not only the past, but also potential futures. You are someone who wants to know about it. I am someone that wants others to know about it. It bothers me, knowing a tale, but never seeing its conclusion.", he tells me.
Wait a minute. That means… I look up at him with disdain, "So when you just passed me by and said that…", I wanted to ask him something, but he immediately replies.

"Of course. I wanted to see the conclusion of your story.", he said.
He is giving me chills. He says all this with an unnerving smile. He keeps talking, "Of course, even if I said nothing, the events would've unfolded, and you'd have died all the same."
"Do you find it funny? Seeing people suffer?", I ask him, annoyed.
He shakes his head, "No no…", he says.
His smile widens with his next words, "I am indifferent. Happiness. Sadness. It means nothing to me. Happy endings or unhappy endings are all the same to me."

"…Do you just. Tell anyone something that is related to the stories you tell?", I ask him.
"Yes. I want see their choices. I want to see how they react to it. You're not the first goddess I've spoken with, only the single one that knows my true identity. I told that girl, Nepgear, about the cursed sword.", he says.
I lean back a bit as it feels like my head is kicked with a flashback, Nepgear told me about this sword. So, I ask him, "You know about the cursed sword?"

"Ah, yes. The Gehaburn. I like to make people think, so rarely do I tell the full story. It is a sword that was rumored to once have been used to kill the Deity of Sin. But it comes at a great price.", he tells me. He leans forward to look directly at me, with a grin, showing his teeth, he says, "It's powered by the death of goddesses."
What a horrifying thought. But honestly, I am not scared…Because.
"What kind of idiot would use something like that. The world might as well end after you murder so many important people.", I say, full of confidence no one would ever use it.
The man simply chuckled. "Well, I suppose you can see it that way. But in desperate times, people don't think clearly.", he says.

"Why has this castle risen? I have heard it sunk a while ago.", I ask him while looking around.
"Ah, yes. This castle opens every time a world ending deity is summoned. Something about its history related to something. However, it being submerged did not stop it from people entering.", he says.
I turn back to look at him, I raised both eyebrows as I ask him, "Wait, who was here before?"
"Ah, you already know them…", he says, pausing with a chuckle, "They are the Assailants of Death."
I pull my sword out and point it at him, my eyes were laser focused.

I ask him, "You work with them?!"
He holds his hands up, he shook, yet his smile never fades. He tells me, "Now now now, I don't work for anyone. I told you, didn't I? I simply tell stories. They broke in here and made it their base. I can't kick them out."
Whilst swiping my sword from left to right, I tell him, "Well, it is awfully convenient you're only seeming to tell stories that negatively affects the goddesses."
"Not true. Soon you will know, I tell positive and negative myths to anyone willing to listen.", he says, as he is lowering his arms.

I should try lowering my aura of hostility. I take a deep breath and relax my shoulders.
I look at him again and ask, "So. This God of Death, is it real? I was supposed to be one of the keys, but nothing happened yet?"
He leans his head on a fist and goes, "Aaaah…", before explaining it to me, "I told them you and the other sisters of each nation that were just born needed to die to summon this god. Obviously, as you know, you are reborn as something else...However, you can feel it don't you? The darkness binding you…"

Suddenly, I feel suffocating tension. I can barely breath. I ask him, "You mean…The summoning of him. Is still linked with me?"
"Yes. Your deaths have transformed all four of you into who you really are. The negativity that each nation had held for so long, but cannot be answered, has finally fully transformed you…Although, unlike the other four, you have yet to harness your real powers. I didn't tell them the actual summoning condition, because it is unnecessary. With all of you, you either destroy your respective nations…or…", he didn't finish his explanation, he looked at me with his mouth agape.

"Or what?", I insinuated he continue.
"HE will do it for you…All the negative power grown within the four of you will bring him to life. To end it all once again. It is quite unlucky for you, three is a perfect number to summon him easily. With four, he can grow quite powerful.", he says without a care.
"But what do you mean four? The others didn't have sisters?!", I ask him.
"Think about it. No one remembers you.", He says, staring at me with a grin.

I can feel myself trembling as my eyes open wide, "I…Can't remember them, because they had already died!"
It all makes sense now. When I was recounting my life before, they mentioned they already had killed two of the keys before coming to me. And then the third one. The other three had died before my rebirth.
"You four were quite good friends, you know. How sad it is, you can't feel the sorrow over their ends, because you instantly forgot they even existed. You were a little jealous they could transform almost as soon as they were born, but you couldn't.", he tells me.

I'm not really listening. This revelation has me trying to dig in my mind for any memory. But maybe I'd have to meet them to remember them.
So, basically. I have to fight my sister and destroy Lowee, or else the God of Death will end all life. There are three others like me, one for each nation. We are born out of the negative feelings that lingers in each nation…But one thing bothers me…He said 'Once Again'
"Ah, too deep in thought to listen?", he asks smugly.

"Hey, when you said once more…", I didn't need to say more.
He gleefully tells me, "Ah, yes. This isn't the first time, you know? Have more than 2 of your kind, and it is almost a guarantee he comes once all lose their fight. Gamindustri has been known by many names and has died and been reborn through millions of years. The first time one of your kind appeared, it wasn't that much of a destruction that this continent got a new name. But when civilization was at its peak…The first great war of opposites had your kind defeating the then goddesses. Ah back then it was called…What was it again? Ah, Gladiatindustri."

He animates a lot, constantly switching poses and tilting his body.
"Oh…Some people survived and build new nations. Called this continent by the new name Musindustri. All the lovely music made…Ruined by the symphony of the harshest blood shed ever visible on this continent, they called it the CPU/APU war. Both sides were equally powerful. Most nations collapsed, some stood tall. A few hundred years later with some new nations, there was another fight between dark and light, this time, the goddesses won. But were their faces pale once the blackest creature imaginable tore open the sky. Each goddess alone was powerless, the continent instantly having lost all life.", his story is long.

He does more motions, taking breaks to think, as he keeps it up, "Once the God of Death kills all life, some of the energy and souls are reconstructed and new life springs forward in ten-thousand years. Novindustri was a time of enlightenment. It was when the continent was at its most intelligent. But then again, in the end, they too were ended by the hands of your kind. The reverse goddesses are quite a bit stronger, they are made to kill their respective Goddess after all. They actually ruled their lands fairly for a while, but knew what their destiny was. And simply awakened the God of Death even if the current continent could've lived longer."

He calms down a little bit, to tell me his next piece, "Boardindustri was the most similar era to this one. It had four goddesses ruling for a long time. Their fight with their devils was super difficult. They weren't as strong as the ones now, and only one had a CPU candidate. It was through sheer planning and strategy that they had defeated their enemies, not to mention having the most united citizens. Alas, even with all the people combined, the final form of HIM destroyed the continent nevertheless. I'm not sure if he even needed to go that far.", and finished with a laugh.

"Then, one of my favorite eras. The one before this one. Movindustri. It is the longest lasting one. Not only having defeated the Reverse Goddesses once, but they even managed to stop the summoning of the God of Death…Only for the next few generations to have even more hatred filled spawns. Oh boy, they summoned the death god, and it was all over, as you would expect. Now finally. We are in the current era. I like to call it, the era of miracles. Gamindustri. It's the only one with this many CPU Candidates, don't you know? And the strongest Goddesses.", this is the end of his long story.

Gamindustri. This continent…Has ended five times over?
I look at him, I feel weak to my knees. I request him to tell me, "What causes this? Why was I born?"
He raises a finger and says, "Aaah…That is an important question. You see, everything has an immune system. Nothing should last forever. The cycle of life and all that. This is the world's cleansing system. You know about the CPU Shift period? People look for a new ruler, and that is when they are supposed to fade away. Either power goes to the next generation, or they simply die as people now follow a new Goddess…But."

I finish his sentence, "That didn't happen."
He gives me a heavy nod before speaking, "Exactly. Now the people that weren't satisfied, hoping for something new, are left in despair. No one is able to bring them happiness. So their feelings materialize in what you are. The opposite of a Goddess. Meant to destroy those that escaped fate. You're not 'evil' perse. Afterall, your goal doesn't need to be to kill your former citizens. No. Just end the goddess and nation, and people can start looking for new rulers, as intended. But if they can even overcome this fate, natural order is broken, and that is when HE is required."

Now it all makes sense.
Some of this, I knew already.
Deep in my heart. Instinctively, I could say that I am the opposite of a Goddess.
"Are you thinking about it? Because you haven't transformed yet, you don't fully recognize what you are. But don't worry. HE can erase and return memories. Soon, you will know everything about what you are and how it works. I don't need to tell you how he is summoned, HE will simply give you the knowledge upon transforming.", he explains to me.

"I refuse to let that happen.", I tell him strongly.
"And you'd be the first to not want this to happen! HAHA!", he said before clapping.
He leans over and says, "You are most interesting. I suppose you came here for information. Pick whatever book you want. I'll help!"
Something lingered in my mind. In ancient Lowee history, the first Goddess and Hero fought a being known as, 'The Great Evil'. But no one can describe what it looked like. And it suddenly spawned after killing the CPU Candidate of Tari, of which no one has any memory of.

"I need Lowee's book of history. True history. One where IT cannot alter memories.", I said.
"I see. I see. Yes. I'll lend you all the knowledge you desire.", He says as he points to every book I'd want.
What is a goddess? Are they inherently good? What really went down in the fight against the Great Evil? What were they fighting for? …Was their sacrifice, necessary? I want to know, how they felt. And. How they dealt with it.

I read a little bit of Lowee's ancient history, but being watched by that man feels uncomfortable. I suppose I always preferred being alone whilst reading. A location is known to me now through this book, so I intend to visit. I rushed over back to Lowee. I see the sun lower again, now, the moon shines on me as I am in front of a mountain.
According to the book, the original capital of Lowee was very different from this one. Back then, most buildings were made of wood and there were large shrines everywhere. They were Japanese style buildings. In fact, everything was very traditional.

This has all been laid to waste during the battle against the Great Evil. Apparently, it was wished by the second-generation CPU of Lowee to hide this area, which is now a snow-covered wasteland. She wanted them to rest in peace with no one disturbing this land. Unfortunately, I am drawn to this place. And no one can rest if my supposed 'destiny' is meant to be fulfilled. This mountain here is fake. The book doesn't really describe how they did it. But it is a barrier of share energy that hides a wasteland.

Two kinds of people can open the pathway, a Goddess, and, a Hero. I still have properties of a goddess technically. So, I use Lowee's legendary Hero's sword and cut the fake mountain. I was hoping for some kind of beautiful light floating into the sky, but it just kind of faded away, as if killing an enemy in an old RPG. Now having done this, all goddesses can find and see this place. But I doubt they will anytime soon.

The sky is filled to the brim with stars. The moon somehow looks a lot bigger. I can even see Auroras. Without a doubt, the most beautiful sky in Lowee. Perhaps…Are these the souls of our ancestors? Snow falls here at all times, despite there being none before I entered the area. The sky is covered with many white lights, but the same white particles fall on the ground here.

Everything is quiet. I would say eerily so…But no, it is actually kind of relaxing. This place felt serene, but at the same time, I can see black markings on the snow, as if to tell me something had blown up there a thousand years ago. I can get sad just watching how once a huge beautiful city is reduced to this. And all the people that had to flee…

I use my black sword, with its ability to control snow, I blew some away from the ground with a swipe. I can see, there were some modern buildings made during battle times, but they have somehow sunk underground… The only thing that wasn't completely ground level, was one building in the middle. It must have been a new building meant to replace the old Basilicom. I use Light Step to quickly get over there.

Looking up, this must've been astronomically tall in the past, the tip is still sitting at a good fifty meters above me. I jump to the highest floor. The roof and walls of the top are almost completely ripped off. There is one door that leads to a room that is mostly intact. The bizarre thing is, it that no snow can teach this building. It is completely clean. There is a table with four chairs near the door. Through the door is a kitchen.

The technology on display is impressive. Not that I really get it. The only thing I understood is that it is magically powered. The fridge's power comes from using lightning magic. Somehow, there is a coffee maker that can produce its own coffee beans. There was nothing else here, so I just let it make one. Maybe my taste has changed and I'd like it now?

I sit down on the chair and lay the thick set of books I've gotten out of the LAN-castle. I am reading the ancient history. The Hero and the first Lowee goddess, Red Heart. They were locked in a fight against what they deemed as a Demon Queen. They had no other explanation. She had light blue hair, a revealing black outfit, usually being small sets of clothing with thin cloth hanging from each part. Her eyes had power symbols on them, but they were described as black and upside down. As for her name, she called herself, "Hate Soul"

The goddess could barely fight against her, as she wasn't simply stronger, but her attacks could severely wound her. Normally, the body of a goddess is tougher, for they are meant to be immortal. But she uses a power that can easily damage the body like it is owned by a normal person. The other way around may have also have been true, but as stated, she was just that much stronger.
Luckily, with the Hero of Lowee, things didn't seem impossible anymore.

At first, the two didn't get along. Red Heart found it inconceivable that some guy can just wield the Legendary Hero's Sword and just use share energy not owed by him. Hate Soul had created some way to spawn the monsters we see today. Through her dark energy, she had a legion of abominations send to Lowee. Among them were four generals, the Four Disasters. After killing the first, Red Heart joined the Hero and his party of adventurers. Soon, she gained an appreciation for him, despite not willing to admit so.

What was appreciation, turned into admiration. His willingness to train, his kindhearted spirit, his ironclad will. He was what games would describe as the pure hearted hero. On their fight against the third disaster, his other party members had been killed. He went through a lot of pain to save the goddess, he could've avoided it by letting her power get drained, but he refused. After the third was defeated, something else bloomed between.

A rarity. Almost never seen. Love between man and Goddess. Though this would only be admitted at the worst time. The fourth disaster had barely any intelligence, it may not even be considered a living thing, as it loomed over the capital's sky and destroyed anything below it. The evacuations were already in order. And while the two did manage to defeat it, the area was practically taken by Hate Soul, who had finally come to conquer Lowee.

The two of them were not ready to fight her yet and retreated. The two of them were stuck on what to do. They knew, if they were to fight, death is unavoidable. Even if another legendary weapon was made for the Goddess to wield. Their enemy was just that powerful. Fortunately, there was another Goddess born. The next generation CPU, later named, Color heart. Red Heart knew what to do. Together with the Hero, they made a decision.

Red Heart said goodbye to her sister. Implying she would die, but not directly stating so. She left Lowee to Color Heart. With the Hero, a promise was made. They'd live together. They'd fight together. And yes. They'd die together. One couldn't bear to lose the other, so they made an oath, that if one dies, so does the other. In this final battle, everyone was pushed to their limit. In the end, the only way to defeat Hate Soul, was self-sacrifice. By using each other as a shield to take a fatal attack, they stabbed Hate Soul, and burned her up using Share Energy from within.

Her disk spawning monsters had fallen into the snow and was forgotten for the longest time. The Hero and Goddess had one final exchange, finally admitting love. Then they both collapsed, buried underneath the snow. The Hero's blade would later be found. And so would the monster spawning Disk. In the end, the disk had been used by one named Arfoire, copying said disk so much to then have monsters spawn worldwide, it is no longer reversable, it has simply become part of nature.

I take another sip of my coffee.
I never enjoyed this until now. Granted, I have put plenty of milk and sugar in this. I haven't slept for a while, but I feel a bit relieved.
I place down the coffee mug.
The two of them, couldn't bear to lose the other. So, in an impossible fight, they sacrificed themselves at the same time… I know how it feels like to lose a dear friend…I never want to experience that again. That's why I'm going so far…Do…Do other people feel the same about me? Have I not considered that?

I put a book down before me. I am hesitant to open it. Somehow, diaries of any goddess are written in this library, down to their very thoughts. It was in the most protected section, but the old man got it open. This one, was of my elder sister.
This is it…If I read this, I will know what she really is like…But…What if. What if she really isn't who I believed she is? What then…
It's taking me a while to realize, but fear is stopping me from even touching the book.

I can't do it. I'll be able to read all of her past thoughts. It's an invasion of privacy. It's proof of my distrust. But at the end of the day, it means my life could change forever.
I'm not so sure what to do. Say she wasn't actually a good person, what then? Fulfill my destiny? Destroy Lowee? It's unthinkable, yet I'm losing touch with the people that live here. Do they even care about what is being done to children? Do they not know? Am I wasting my time? Let's say, instead, she's perfect. Then what? Can I stop fate? I thought so at first, but…

I feel lost. For the rest of the night and day. I roamed around aimlessly. I didn't even notice the sun rising. I have a way to search for where those guys are and take them out for good. But I don't even really understand what I'm fighting for. If it there was one reason, it would be to safe Theresa…But in the end, that is also a selfish desire. I didn't allow others to help me, so I should just accept that she doesn't want help either, right? I don't know.

I sit on a bench. In the middle of some small square in Lowee. I don't know if I'm just going crazy, but the sky just looks like one bright light. No clouds, the sun doesn't even look like the sun anymore. All my surroundings seemed bleached by the light of the sky. Slowly, I stop even thinking.
Then suddenly, I hear an alias of mine.
"Suno!", among my name were more callouts made by two girls. I finally looked forward, to see my older twin sisters, Rom and Ram trying to get my attention.

"Rom…Ram…", I sounded like I was about to crumble away.
"What's wrong?!", Ram asked. "You don't look well…", Rom says.
Suddenly, I can feel myself breathing again. I curl up my fingers and tell them, "I…Don't know what to do anymore."
Rom sat down to my right, hugging my arm. Ram flumped next to me and gripped my other arm with both hands.
"Hey, I told you to call us if you need help.", Ram says to me, sounding strict.
Rom spoke with a tone as sad as mine, "We are friends… So, tell us…Why do you look so sad?"

They are so warm. I can almost cry. I think I can let out one feeling…
"I can't…", Friends, huh? I look down as I ask, "Hey… If you two had a friend that was in need. Even if it was scary, would you help them?"
Ram speaks up loudly, "Of course I would."
"I don't like seeing friends sad. So even if I'm scared…", Rom tries to answer my question as well.
"It's natural right…But even then…I don't think I can save my friend!", it feels so painful saying that.

"I don't understand.", Rom says, her sentence followed up by Ram's, "Why can't you?"
I take a deep breath. I can't tell them everything. I need it to sound childish.
"I have a friend. She is in trouble. Her parents are tasking her with something that is impossible alone. I tried to help, but she refuses to accept it. Worse, she has shown me that things got harder for her when I helped her. I don't know what to do anymore. How can I help her without making things worse? She even says she doesn't want my help, she wants to take everything alone. She doesn't want to bother me either…Is it selfish for me to still help her? Therefore, should I stop? It hurts…", I tell them an altered story.

I sink back into the bench, letting out more of what how I feel, "But it doesn't end there. I feel like I'm not sure if I can trust people anymore. Like, do others not care that she has to do tasks that are impossible? I believed others would help people in need. But I'm not so sure. And she also acted in a way I didn't expect. I can't help but wonder if I maybe can't see people wanting to do any good anymore. I don't know what to do."

Rom and Ram jumped off the bench. They stare at each other, then nod.
They looked at me with smiles. Ram casually says, "Then…Just help her!"
What are they talking about, did they not hear me?
I feel so confused. I leaned forward, I try to look at both of them in the eyes. I try to argue, "But, isn't it selfish? I mean, am I not imposing my help onto her?"
Ram looked at me annoyed and said, "So what?! If you feel you want to help her so much you become sad, then just do it!"

Rom says to me, "Me and Ram do selfish things all the time…Sometimes we bother people on purpose…But it also is kind of fun…Um…We are supposed to be selfish, right?"
Supposed to? Is it our destiny to be selfish? I stare so hard at her, my eyes are burning.
"Yeah! Who cares if it is selfish?! That is what you want to do right? If it's wrong, you can apologize later! That's just how it is for us!", Ram tells me.
That kind of advice would be terrible to a child…But right now…

"Even if it's selfish. You feel it is the right thing to do…Don't you? I would need to be told by a lot of adults to stop…If we're talking about helping friends…I don't like seeing others sad.", Rom says.
"Yes! That's what I mean! Like, isn't it selfish of your friend to deny you your help?! Now you have to feel sad for her, that's not fair either!", Ram says to me.
"But…What if I screw up again! I don't want to make things worse for her?!", I yell at her, feeling scared.

Ram put her fists on her sides with a triumphant pose, shouts, "Then don't mess up, dummy!"
My mouth is agape. That is the dumbest tip I've ever heard…And yet. I think she's right.
"If you made things harder for someone…Then even more so…You need to think about it. Then come up with a solution…It is difficult…", Rom tells me.
"I often called others losers for trying and failing to help others. But me and Rom also screwed up many tasks.", Ram tells me.
Their faces become a bit serious, probably thinking if they can explain it better.

"Usually when we mess something up, it's because we stopped to think about anything… I've learned from Big Sis that if you work too hard on something, you stop to think about it logically and end up making mistakes…", Rom says.
"Yeah she says that!", Ram shouts before adding something to her sentence with a laugh, "But she does that all the time as well…Haha!"

"If you're scared that you make things worse…I understand…", Rom says.
"but not helping isn't the answer. Just do a better job next time. And show the other person she doesn't have to worry.", Ram continued the lecture.
Rom seemed to not have thought about it as she reacted, "Oh…That's a good idea Ram! I would be scared if you came to help me, but didn't tell me what you are going to do."
"Anyway!", Ram shouts as the two prepare a mouth piece in sync.
"If your heart tells you to help her! Then no matter how selfish or hard! Just do it!", They shout.

It feels like light shines from those two. I don't know whether to smile, or to cry. My mouth twitches, my eyes hurt. But I suck it up for now…I get it. I know what I have to do!
I manage to crack a smile, and say, "I understand.
I stand up from the bench, "No longer will I doubt. I must help her!"
Rom give me and open mouth smile, and Ram give me a thumbs up.
"Do we need to help you? We don't mind!", Ram says to me.

I shake my head and tell them, "Don't worry. I think I know exactly what to do. Whatever is happening, it's not that big of a deal."
They keep smiling at me. I suppose they feel satisfied sounding slightly more like older sisters. They don't even realize…
Though, I need as much help as I can get.
"Ah…I do however. Want you two to do something…But it happens late at night…If I call you…Can you help me? Also, don't ask, I can only tell you then.", I ask them.

They look at me funny. But nonetheless, Ram tells me, "Of course!"
Rom says, "We have to not use the phone late at night…But…"
"You're our friend. I'm sure everyone will understand!", Ram says.
"Alright…That is settled then…", I tell them before turning to a different direction.
I run off, whilst doing so, I look back at them and say, "Thank you! I am off to do what I must do!"
Those two…Even though they don't remember me. Even though we are destined to not be friends…You've helped me again…

I've been so angry. These people that wanted to hurt me the same way, are doing these operations…And now I have befriended someone they're hurting too. I lost focus. I actually was too angry to even think straight. I've doubted everyone, but I don't know a thing! Nepgear, Red Heart and the Hero, Rom and Ram, all these people have their own way of thinking, thanks for your words and actions…Now I know, I must save her, in MY way.

Some time has passed. It is now night time. I've run all day to talk to as many citizens as I could. I've set up as many plots as I had time. I have all the weapons prepared that I need. I also know where their main base is. Sili-san and Acclaim aren't in the home yet…Fine. I feel more comfortable doing it like this. I've written a letter. I'm placing it where they can easily spot it.

I wrote exactly what I am planning to do. Where I am going to do it. And at what time. I asked them for help. I wrote that I understood it is a selfish request after saying all those terrible things those few nights ago. But I understand that I was wrong. If you don't want to help me, that is fine, I understand. I'll find a way no matter what.

Having prepared everything, I am once again jumping over buildings. This time their location is a bit more discreet. I made a mirror like shield, with it reflecting the sky, I am hiding from everyone's sights. I can easily sneak my way to the top of their building. The location is an abandoned town, though oddly enough, the surrounding buildings look odd, like they were made recently.

The middle building had few roof windows. I can easily see them and what they are doing to the children. It angers me, but I calm down. It doesn't matter now. I am going to safe them today, that is all that matters. First and foremost, they must have a skill jamming pod nearby. I am going to shoot a bunch of explosive arrows down, not only to hurt the men and women inside, but also to make a smoke screen.

I set my plan in motion. I don't even give them time to run. The glass shatters as arrows rain down. With my perfect aim, no child will be hit, and the explosions themselves are rather small. When smoke covers the area, I jump down towards the Jamming pod. Normally, it is pretty sturdy and takes some smashing to break, however. as I swing my sword down, it splits in two at light speed. I had already cast Reflection Sword before coming here, knowing I would otherwise be unable to use magic.

I can hear shouting, I am about to be attacked. But I smile anyways. I pull out an arrow and make it flare up with light…I can use as many skills and as much magic as I want.
I leap everywhere and shoot dozens of arrows in random directions, it didn't matter, with my magic I can make them target whatever I wish. Most of these guys aren't so tough. If one comes close to me, they'd be split up by simply touching my sword, of course, as long as the effect lasts.

This goes without saying, but the toughest opponents are the mages. One of them shoots a beam of flames at me, I materialize a spear. With one hand, I spin it around hard enough to stop the fire from hurting me. Actually, this spear is made to conduct flame. I hold onto it as I channel Light magic through my sword that I hold behind my back. With one rev, I spun around with my sword, shooting a full circle blade, I did shout, "DUCK!", so the children will duck before firing this off. Some mages got hit and were taken down on the spot.

Of course, some of them took my advice as well, like the flaming mage that shot me.
I quickly threw the now burning spear at him. It stabs through his face and puts him one fire.
Sensing someone casting a spell behind me, I do a long back flip into the air before raising a different kind of sword. A lightning bolt comes from above me, but I blocked it with the sword, and as I go down, I swing it at the mage. The lighting that shoots off my sword got him into shock. I then shoot about five arrows into him. I casted a delayed explosion on them, so they would blow up from inside.

I can feel a change in the wind, air currents are swirling around me, one mage is trying to cast some kind of tornado on me. I quickly used Light Step to shoot myself over to him and thrusted my sword into his neck. Not wanting to take any longer, I abuse Light Step and increase my speed as much as I can, slicing the remaining mages and cutting any chain or rope that trap the children. Theresa is watching me, but I am going so fast for her, she can't even react. I'll free her a little later.

I can sense only one mage left, but he is hiding, so I stop in the middle of the room, air blasting from me ceasing my movement. The leftover mage came up to me, clad in white. Hiding his or her face. He or She is clearly about to cast a huge light element spell, and it's already charged. However, snow is dropping from the broken glass ceiling. A few snowflakes being near her arm is enough for my sword. I thrust to my upper left direction, the snow creating a shockwave that hit his or her rod wielding arm to his or her left. She can't stop her spell from going off as her rod is aimed at his or her face.

After a beam of light exploded on the mage, he or she drops to the floor. There is a lot of pressure made by the eyes of kids glaring at me, confused, but perhaps, mostly in fear. That is fine. "You are all free now. Leave this area immediately. If you walk the path I have set, you are likely to be found in safe hands."
I can tell they are in doubt of my words. Of course, they are frozen, even if they deserved it, I killed most people here, not necessarily intentionally, I just didn't care.

I should just play the villain. I think they're more used to that
I light up my sword with a bursting white tail, I threaten them, "That is an order! LEAVE NOW! OR ELSE!", I shoot a blade of light against the wall I want them to escape through, making a big hole they can easily walk out of.

They are terrified, but jump out of their beds, chairs, and from the ground.
"Get out of here through that hole, NOW!", I shout.
They screamed and ran at full speed out of the hole. That is fine. Only Theresa is left, looking at me. She is stunned. But after taking it in, her eyes shifted, she gives me a frustrated face.
"Bios! What are you doing here! I told you not to come!", she says whilst I walk up to her.
"And why should I listen to you? Didn't we establish this? I am stronger than you, so I can choose your fate. If you don't like it, you should do something about it.", I tell her. Sounding like a true villain.

She has an anti-magic stone on her, as expected. I cast light on my sword to turn it into a reflecting blade. I cut the stone in two.
"What are you saying?! Do you want to mak-", I don't let her finish, I crouch down to her and say, "I'm sorry." With my hand I pat her on the stomach, and then say, "Reflection", shooting her out of the hole in the wall I made at light speed. She is not used to traveling that fast, so she will be dizzy and nauseous for a bit. I don't like it, but this is the best way to leave her out of this.

What comes next is obvious, I hope it doesn't take too long. I saunter around a bit. It's been about twenty seconds…I hear the sound of walls shattering. Finally, it is here. With great speed, a giant mecha jumps onto me with two big and especially wide curved blades. He tries to strike me down upon landing, but he can only make me slide over the floor as I block it with my sword. Multiple missiles are fired at me, But I disintegrate them with a blade of Light as I shoot it forward. The light blade hits the mecha, but it is carrying an anti-magic gem, so it just nullifies the attack.

Inside of the mecha was Mr. Dadd. After setting a few steps, he says, "Bios, Bios, Bios. I thought I gave you a good chance. I was thinking you might show up, but then the days passed and thought, "Maybe you are smarter than this", only to see my expectations twist. I didn't know you would come this far. You think you saved those children? I'll simply kill them all except for Theresa and then get new blood."
I hold a kendo-sword stance and say in a very monotone voice, "Incorrect. You can't do any of that, because I am ending you here."

"Ho ho. Where does this confidence come from? I have so many people backing me. So many secrets to uphold to make sure none dares betray me. What do you have? You are all alone, I am an empire! You think the machinations I have built up for years, the tools I have collected, the people I have gathered, would simply fall because you think you can just waltz in and destroy that which you don't like? This is a temper tantrum, nothing more. Everything and everyone can be replaced, because I know what I'm doing. You…Hehe…You… YOU ARE BUT AN ANT!", Mr. Dadd says to me, swinging through different moods.
"You aren't replaceable? That's good…Lowee doesn't need another bastard like you.", I say to break his ego a little.

"Fine…", he says in a high tone, then he snaps his fingers and shouts, "Teach her with a punishment of pain and death!"
I can sense a presence behind me in the wind. A spear is going to be thrust my way. It's quite fast, I lean my body to the left, this spear had some small blades on its side, I stepped on the blunt end, and with my leg, I thrusted it into the ground. I notice the tip of the spear glowing, I use Light Step to leap away as it explodes, I can feel the warmth of the explosion. The Spear itself is fine.

I look to my left, another Mecha appeared, it has so many spears attached to its back, its forearms are just nothing but spears, its feet are spikey and its kneecaps have spears on them. The staff of the arms spears have small razor blades on them as well. Its body is primarily white, but it has a bunch of golden attachments, every blade was gold and its face had kind of a golden tiara but not just on the head it even had a blade-like golden beard design.

It is rapid thrusting its arm spears at me, with every thrust, the spear explodes. Not knowing how to counter it, the nearby explosions make me stumble around. At some point, she retracts his spears, his arms spread into a bunch of steel beams with spears, he is going to thrust them into me. I materialize one of my shields, a throwaway one. He hit the shield, and as she destroys it, I have already jumped above her with a golden axe.

I do an overhead swing, which she blocks with her spear-arms. I am pushed back a little, but that is it. I swing my legs onto her chest plate so I can shoot myself away from her with Light Step. With some distance, I can safely spin my axe around. I want to throw it at her. When it is about to impact the mecha, I use explosion magic to blow up the entire axe, creating a smoke screen.
Alright. I need to separate him. That gem is a problem. I need to cut it ASAP and then fight the two of them in different locations at the same time using speed and heavy attacks

Unfortunately, there is another mecha. Out of the ground, came some machine with a spinning fist. This one looks like a car transformed into a big round metal human. There are many different black joints between body parts allowing for many different 'drills'. There are wheels on the elbows, right behind the heels, behind the knees there are wheels too, on his back were huge once, same for just a little behind the shoulders. The head kind of looked like that of a robot dog with a black eye-shield with glowing red eyes.

I block a punch, but with it rotating the fist, I am unable to push my sword against it and got hit back anyway. Despite being flung over the ground, I can still swing my sword, so I let it burst with light to shoot a blade of light at him. However, he just lets a bunch of body parts spin, the light is absorbed by the rotation as if designed to counter all elemental attacks.
This match-up is even worse. Relaying my options. I could place a bunch of magical mines around the building, drop all the arrows down I have shot before breaking in, and distracting them under the collapsing building, I could use reflection blade on the drill guy, and swiftly kill the man inside.

My thoughts are raising, but I would be lying if I said the three huge machines looming over me as they walked together makes my shoulders stiff in angst.
The woman in the spear mecha laughed, she asks Mr. Dadd, "Is this really the person giving you all this trouble? Did you need to have all three of us here?"
"I'm just happy to be here.", the guy in the Drill mecha sounds whimsical as he says this.
"Trust me, it is better to be safe than sorry. If anything, she is too persistent.", Mr. Dadd tells them.

He chuckles, "Besides", then he coldly speaks, "I want to bring despair to her."
Pointing his blades at me, Mr. Dadd says, "Showing her how foolish it is to fight us three, all alone. Like she's important or something."
I grip my blade. I tell them firmly, "I don't care if there are three or a hundred of you. This isn't a threat. It is a fact. By the end of tonight. This is over!"
They laugh at me.
"Sure. This farce of your self-righteousness is over, with no one to care for your end.", Mr. Dadd says. He signals with his arms for the two to fight me.

However, once the spear women tries to hit me, the body got stopped by something.
"Huh? Hey! WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!", she screams in pure rage.
Looking closely, I see some string having caught her spear. They are here!
Feeling like I am about to explode in excitement, the Drill mecha tries to punch me, but in front of me jumps Acclaim blocking the fist.
"I don't know who this is, but I am happy I've got more work to do, also that the work is made easy. Thank you for dying to my blunt drill.", he claims victory already, however.

The whole machine tilted with his head as he asks, "Huh? Why doesn't the drill shred him?" There was a dust-cloud blocking our vision, but as it goes away, I can see that Acclaim has copied the drill attack, his metal arms are spinning in reverse to block the punch.
"You are happy for more work. I am grateful, you've given me such a useful skill.", Acclaim has said before pushing the fist back with his own arms.

"Who is going to die alone? Who said that?!", A loud voice echoed through the building. Sili-san was swinging around shooting string at every enemy. He lands on a steel beam and says, "You said no one would care if she dies? For someone with many connections, you sure lack information, huh? Even us three have a better intelligence network."
"Oh? And I should be impressed that two more losers have come to die?", Mr. Dadd says.
"YOU SHOULD BOSS! That guy has ruined the despair factor! I was having fun and then these two nobodies just come in thinking they deserve some spotlight!", spear woman shouts.

"I am just happy to do my job.", the Drill guy says.
"You appear to have overestimated yourself. Let us clear that up for you. There are now an equal number of combatants on each team. Our leader will take care of you.", Acclaim explains calmly.
laughs. He then points at him and says, "And how will she do that without being able to use magical attacks against me! You guys are so ignorant, I have the anti-magic gem!"

"Oh, so that is what this is?", Sili-san's words draws everyone's attention.
He is tossing the gem into the air and catching it back in his hands on repetition.
"I'm sorry. I thought it was important, so whilst I shot string at all of you, I took it.", he says with a smug face.
He crushes the gem in his hands and says, "Oops. So…How much in credits do I owe you for this?"
growls. You can see his veins pop within the cockpit.

Sili-san jumps next to me. The three of us now stand side-by-side.
"Thank you…And…I'm sorry. I said we weren't friends…But. I don't know if that is fair, when we've been together for so long."
"It is no worry. I'll follow you everywhere, because you helped me. But I am not just repaying a debt, I consider you, my friend.", Sili-san says.
"We are always under your command. Now. Leader. Give us the order, and make it official.", Acclaim says.

I crack a smile, "Right. Let's do it."
I raise my sword and say, "Acclaim. Silicon-Knight. This is the leader of the organization, Socia-entertainments. He rules the shadows of Lowee that puppeteers the ones ruling the light. He has info of all of SCJP. We must know their leader. Take out his executives, then we will retrieve their info, and vanquish the shadows that plague Lowee!", I swing my sword forward as I finish my speech.
"YES! MA'AM!", they shout in return! Sili-san bring his sword out, and Acclaim readies his fists.

"You!", the spear woman shouts as she moves into Sili-san, she speaks arrogantly, "For humiliating me, I shall bring you an explosive end!", and thrusts a spear down onto him. As it explodes Sili-san swings into the air using his string. There are a lot of metal bars molten into the walls above us, and he takes full advantage of them. The spears however, are destroying them with explosions. At some points, she stops thrusting and opens a bunch of holes from her mecha. A barrage of spears is launched towards Sili-san, they are like rockets.

However, this works for Sili-san, he uses a web of strings to stop them from reaching him. He puppeteers the spears to fling them back at the mecha. What we are not expecting, it is her swiping a portion of spears away, the explosions brushing off her armor, and her mecha itself thinning its mass to avoid getting hit. Sili-san comes from above using his string sword to strike the mecha, and despite using string to pull her spear back, she is still able to block it, creating an explosion that forces Sili-san to back off onto a metal bar.
"After everything said, I think I got the wrong match up. Oh well.", Sili-san says to himself before going between the spear mecha's legs.

He covers her under string, bounding multiple body parts, but is no use. With the flames of the explosion, she burns away the string attached to her and says, "HAHAHA! You fool, what is your plan now? Your toolset doesn't even compare to mine!"
Sili-san lands before her, pointing his blade forward. He said, "I'll make it work somehow!"
In the meantime, Acclaim and the drill guy were clashing with spinning fists. Repeatedly throwing one punch only for one fist to block the other. The sparks are flying and you can feel the wind spinning around.

"My job got a bit more challenging. That is an opportunity to improve! I am glad. Let me use something better!", the drill guy said as his fist turned into an actual big drill that he tries to stab Acclaim with.
Acclaim attempts to stop it with the palms of his hands, the steel drill grinding against his own. It must be some insane rotation speed, because he is gritting his teeth and going deep in his knees to hold his ground. Now, smaller drills are coming out of the drill Mecha's chest.

They blasted out like missiles, and they fly down at Acclaim. Just before they can hit him, Acclaim let light burst form under his feet, using my Light Step to move out of the way at great speed. Acclaim seems to want to hit the mecha from behind, however, it's upper body spins at an insane velocity, rendering him invulnerable to a normal attack. The wheels attached to his legs dropped below his heels, the back of his body also had its wheels creating some kind of air-flow. He starts to use generated wind and his wheels to move with such haste, it can keep up with Light step.

Looking at Acclaim speeding around to avoid every individual drill attack, Light Step might still be slightly faster. Even with missiles shot at Acclaim, he can use the spinning of his arms to make them enter the rotation, which flings them back. Of course, that is copied from the Drill mecha's defense functions, so it is just a pointless back and forth until the margin of error has some drills collide and explode upon each other.

Acclaim turned his hand into the same kind of drill as the mecha, and their two drills are pushed against one another. They are still going at it, even the air gushing from their attacks is almost turning into some kind of drill. I am not even focused on Mr. Dadd anymore. By the time I am ready to fight, he is already moving at me whilst grinding the edges of his blades over the ground. I can only block an incoming double Unterhau. But his strength is great enough to shove me through the wall and into the sky.

After that wake-up call, I see him fly over to me with big jet thrusters on his back. I guard myself from another sword attack as I am knocked onto the roof of an overly large building. His jet engines had a big burst of flames coming from them, now he flies my way at the speed of a bullet. I barely dodge it in time and reach the edge of the rooftop. My back is against the building I was smashed out of. I stare as I see the mecha under the moonlight, I can see Mr. Dadd looking at me.

So far, he is the only one with an executive mecha suit that has a clear visible cockpit. Is it meant to mock the enemy? His suit should be the strongest, he can't be that unguarded. Definitely isn't made of glass.
He smirks. Says, "Well, how do you like it? This building was made for combat tests, it is nigh indestructible, especially the roof. The walls may be a little easier to break, but who can say. I chose this location because of buildings like these. Isn't it a perfect arena?"

"Do you want me to thank you for making my job easier?", I ask.
"Oh you have no idea…", he responds, sounding excited.
A white flame comes from under my shoes whilst the jet thrusters behind him are firing up, with one burst, we are about to collide against each other. A massive shockwave blows over as our swords are smashed together. However, in a few seconds, my strength is failing me. I get pushed back a little.

I can confirm his mecha suit is physically above my level.
I jump as soon as I land, I don't want to lose any mobility, nor even the feeling of it. He wildly swings his swords at me, not like a person would, but as if his arms didn't have any bones in them. I can barely weave his sword swings, his speed is impressive. I just have enough strength to push one thrust out of my way by hitting the side with my sword.

I move forward blocking an overhead with my blade, I know, that as I am sliding my sword underneath his whilst walking, he will eventually break through my guard, so I step to the side to let his blade sink into the floor. I jump at him about to strike, but he manages to quickly retract his arms and block it. He shoved me into the air, that is fine by me. I take the time to let out a burst of light from my blade. Before landing, I do a front flip to fire off a blade of light from my sword swing.

It does hit him directly, but his armor appears to be too thick, not even a scratch.
A weaker Light Blade won't do. I need a fully charged one. Hitting him directly with the bursting Light Blade might scratch him, but that is about it
He does a series of sword thrusts at me, with how fast they are, I needed to do an SP move that temporarily increased my speed. I grab a spear and jump forward. With each jump to avoid the attack, I follow a hop forward with a spear thrust. Eventually, I can move fast enough to leave after images. "Rainy Ratnapura!", I shout whilst rapidly moving with my spear wildly thrust forward, stopping his arm's mobility for a bit. Once close enough, I will spin around and do one slash to finish my attack.

After having done so, I use Light Step to make a massive leap back at the edge. Looking at him, I can only see a tiny scratch from my attack. It can't even be considered real damage.
Mr. Dadd laughs at me, asking me, "Are you satisfied now, for making my armor look ugly?"
In the meantime, I look back as I see Acclaim blocking what looks like a hug from the drill guy. It seems all body parts are spinning which would mean excessive pain when touching his skin. Despite blocking it, Acclaim is being pushed by his wheels and ends up crashing into the wall of the first floor of the same building I am standing on.

Just after that, I can see Sili-san zigzagging backwards avoiding explosive spears from the other mecha. He appears to be trying to capture the arms with string over and over again to no avail.
"Won't you stand still?! No matter how hard you try, the result is obvious already! You're just wasting time!", the woman in the spear mecha shouts before throwing both spears on the ground at the same time.

Sili-san jumps up high, avoiding it. He creates some kind of small bridge of string between buildings to stand on. He says cockily, "If you haven't noticed, I've already trapped you!"
The woman can't get her mech to move up, the elbows are stuck to the ground. Sili-san has carefully attached strings into joints protects by explosions. But she didn't notice it because of him pretending to try and tie up her spears. He had even put strings on me as I was knocked onto this building.

I don't know how he does it, but strings are on the edge of this building, attached to the other Mecha, he shoots a variety of webs at her, his sword holding onto all the swing. He snaps his fingers and string is pulling heavy stone from the ground, they are also attached to the spear mecha.
"You are right, thought.", he says as he grips his sword tightly. "I shouldn't rely on these alone. My strength has to make up for everything else!", he speaks in a rough tone as he is trying to pull his sword up, with all of the string having to raise the spear mecha.

With one mighty push into the air, he gets the spear mecha above him, he then, quickly turns around and throws his sword down to send her flying through a wall in the second floor of the main building. Sili-san jumps inside soon after.
As it stands, all three of us are having 1v1 fights in and on this building.

Mr. Dadd laughs more. He tells me, "Your friends are fools to think of themselves capable to defeat my two executives. I keep them next to me at all times for a reason."
I look back at him and say, "Maybe they are fools, but unlike your henchmen, they've got the persistence needed to win."
"Oh, the naivety. So what? None of you can topple my mecha. It isn't like any you have fought before.", he says smiling.

He flexes his grey arms and shouts, "This is the finest Mecha made for our organization to take out anyone snooping for info! It is made with the properties of all the other executives mecha's and then some!",
So it is LITERALLY like every other mecha I've fought before
"It is made of the toughest steel in Gamindustri! It cannot be destroyed! Its jetpack is fast enough to reach Mach 4! On top of that! The body is made of nanomachines to slightly alter its form, especially its stretchable arms! Not to mention its physical strength to rival even the strongest monsters!", he says to me, looking quite proud of this mecha.

Its looks aren't as special. Its arms look like thick grey vacuum tubes, the actual gauntlets are more bulky and look high quality with silver braces. Other than that, it looks like a pretty basic white mecha. No head, the cockpit takes most of the middle of the body. While the body is wide and looks rounder, the legs actually have more silver spikes on them, they don't look as bulky. Maybe to enhance speed?

Suddenly, his right arm is thrust my way, stretching far beyond me, its blade passing me. After dodging it, I prepared evasive maneuvers, for he his arms moved around like an octopus on crack. It feels like dodging a whirlwind of blades as his arms are flung at every direction near me. It doesn't feel random either, he can manipulate them at such a crazy speed with inhuman precision. But I can avoid it, with much difficulty, even so, that is not the problem.
The problem comes now, miniature Vulcan turrets pop out of his hands and they fire projectiles at me.
On top of that, he can also launch missiles my way.

The projectiles will do very little damage, but are distracting enough for him to get close to hitting me. Aside from doing small movements to dodge his sword, I have to do large jumps with Light Step to avoid every bullet, not to mention the missiles. Only whenever I have space to dodge anything, otherwise, I have to take some blows to cut the bullets away that would hit my vitals, not only that, now I have to actively parry some of his attacks.

"You're putting up a fun dance. However, you're forgetting what I told you. My mecha can do what the others can…", I can faintly make out what Mr. Dadd is saying.
I dodge one thrust, but his arm stops to the right of my head. It generated an explosion, and now flung over the ground, I am open to another attack.

His arm hits me with a sweep, his blade knocking me to the other side of the building. I roll over my back and get on my feet, I can sense him flying at me with his jet thruster. I avoid an upwards sword swing, but he quickly gets behind me to do a kick that I can only block with my sword. Since I have jumped in the air, it is easy for him to kick me far over the floor. However, I can still get back on my feet, even if they will hurt a bit from sliding over the roof. Mr. Dadd dashed at me yet again, about to do a double overhead swing. I jump through the gap underneath him using Light Step.

He smashes his swords into the roof and generates an explosion, however, I am already gone from there. I go back close to the starting point, spear in hand. He charges at me.
I use Reflection from my hand to send the spear through him at light speed. He stops, but out of shock. A hole is blown through the mecha's cockpit. Through the wind, I can feel the spear has come out to the other end of the hole, yet he is fine. The machine changed its physical body for a bit to avoid damaging the pilot.

Mr. Dadd looks at the hole, concerned. Then he gives me a smile before loudly declaring, "HOHOHO, impressive! HOWEVER! This cockpit is made in mind of attacks aimed at the pilot! The defense mechanisms in place make me invulnerable! Not that I will tell you what they are! Have fun figuring it out!"
Should I be impressed he isn't that stupid, or should I be annoyed that now of all times I'm fighting someone refusing to explain his abilities?

Regardless. I know one thing, things can go through the cockpit, and I have the capability of breaking its steel.
I keep one spear in my left hand, and my sword, enveloped in a spiking white light, in my right hand. I move forward into a whirlpool of flying sword as his arms are flailing wildly around me. With the light of my sword, I find it easier to knock certain attacks away, and I can shoot a small blade of light over the air to get rid of incoming missiles. I spin the spear around me to deflect bullets.

When I see an opportunity to jump high in the air, I take it and charge up a slightly bigger blade of light, I slam my sword down at the ground at the same time, to let the impact create a dust cloud. Landing, he takes the opportunity to laugh at me whilst sending both arms straight at me. I materialize great-shield to block his exploding blades. At the same time, it would seem he has left many traps for me, rockets surrounding me and mines about to explode.

I materialize many shields around me. I let him think he hit me through sound, as the dust and smoke clouds should cover me, but I have jumped out of my cocoon of shields, leaving them behind. I am up high in the air. Now that I am going down onto him with my spear held in both arms, he notices me. It is too late, I use explosion magic from the low end of my spear's shaft to increase the strength of my thrust, letting me stab the spear through his cockpit. The spear is about a few dozen centimeters away from him, but it is stuck, I can't move it further.

This is part of the plan, I set the spear up to explode. I place my feet on the mecha to shoot myself away, I can see him annoyed, shouting something as the spear explodes. The cockpit is nothing but smoke now. I wait a few seconds to see the smoke come out of the hole I made with the spear. However, the mecha moves a bit. I can see that he is all right. In fact, he barely has taken any damages, maybe some of his skin is red now. No blood or burn marks.

He is grinning at me, knowing that would've killed a normal person. Even if you can argue that he may be at a higher level, not even being burned a little is off. Does the defense mechanism reduce the explosion's effect? Wait… Am I seeing this right?
I observe the mecha with caution, his cockpit doesn't even have a scratch anymore, let stand a hole. What happened?

He thrusts both sword at me. I materialize two axes. I jump to my heels as his blades approach me. With my back almost reaching solid ground, I let his blade slide over my axes as I push them up, the second his grey arms are close, I get up from my heels, and with the strength of standing back on my feet, I smash his arms into the ground with my explosive axes, his arms are pinned down for now.

His face is strained, he mumbles something as he launches rockets at me. I grab my sword and let it burst out in a flowing white light. I jump into the sky to avoid the rockets as I rev up the stream of light that spikes from my sword. I do another flip to enlarge the light coming from my sword as I chant, "Combine after having fallen apart. Become whole as one after breaking to pieces. Even alone, stand strong and believe in your strength as one. Become one bright light to vanquish those that dwell in the dark."

"UnionStar Light Slash!", I scream as I fire off a big blade of light at him. The explosion of light upon impact is blinding, the whole city block is lit up. However, its blinding effect doesn't last long, I haven't even touched the ground yet, and I can see…It isn't enough.
It damaged his mech, for sure. The white paint is broken, off, there are cracks, some metal is torn apart, there are holes, but it isn't enough to really destroy him. However, this taught me something important. I can see his mecha…Fixing itself.

Safely, I get on the ground, he stops for a bit to look at me. He closes his eyes with a smile, then he leans back and looks at me. He says, "You are strong for sure. I wonder who you really are…Are you using some kind of magic to hide yourself? Anyway. My armor is not invulnerable just because of the steel it is made off.", he snickers afterwards.

Could it be? Regeneration? How far does it go? Is it even possible for metal to regenerate? On its own? With no materials? Even the glass can regenerate…Although it probably isn't glass.
"Now then. How about round two?", he asks as he pulls his arms close to him, ready to launch them.
When did he get them out of my axes?
They are still lying on the ground, I pick one up as one arm is shot at me.

I slam it away, blowing my axe up in full within my hands, the pain is minimal. I grab my other axe within the smoke-screen, as I jump out of the way from another arm, its bullets scraping my right leg, I throw the second axe directly at him. I cast Explosion to blow it up, creating yet another distraction. Now using my 'Reflection Blade', I move over the ground with a full burst from Light Step, with a clean vertical strike, I go through him.

I thought I could throw a knife at him as he is split in half, but my strength stat isn't even high enough to split his mecha for a full second, nay, half a second. He got back together before my knife could do anything. He seems a bit dazed, but he immediately throws his arm at me, I avoid it with a huge leap as it explodes behind me. I duck under a swing from the second arm, I place my hand on the concrete and use reflection to move myself further away from him.

His steel is tough. A strong Light Slash only slightly damages it. And I can't split him in half with Reflection Blade for long enough. However, what if I use it to only cut off an arm?
As I turn around and create a shield, his rockets are about to hit me head on. I can block those easily. After that, I will shoot this shield at him at Light Speed and blow it up. Successfully done that, I swipe his arms away easily with Reflection blade, now I have the opportunity to move past him and cut off one arm with a kendo strike.

I am expecting him to stay still for a bit, stiffened by the fact I am capable of destroying his arms. Alas, he swings his arm at me, rotating his whole body along with it. I duck under it, by the hand above me just blows up and almost gets me to the floor. I look up trying not to fall down, but I can see his other arm regenerating. He uses his jet thrusters to catch me off balance and from below the ground, he throws a fist against me, catapulting me into the sky.
He spirals around me into the air.

With one blade, he tries to smack me down. I use my own sword to block him, but his strength alone gets me plunged back onto the roof. He dives down at me in the meantime. I use explosion magic from me feet to get out of line of his plunge attack, he stops himself to land on his feet, and I manage to get back on the ground. Although, by the time my feet are on the ground, I can see his arm thrust my way already. I don't have time to dodge it, so I block it with my sword. It is pushing me whilst stretching, closer and closer I get to the edge of the building.

Then, the hand explodes, hurting me a bit. He retracts it as I almost fall with my back off the building. I manage to get my balance back, but I can see he is charging some kind of energy to the mecha's stomach area. And orange light swirls around it.
"This ought to finish you off! Atomic Beam!", he shoots a pretty big orange beam at me. I know it is from that one round mecha with the large arsenal of projectiles.

I also know Reflection blade can split the beam. So, I use that again. As the two halves of the beam pass me, the heat is hurting me a lot. I am wincing and I almost groan. I can tell this beam is made to evaporate atoms. After the beam was gone, I have to catch my breath. My arm is twitching, I can feel my muscles ache slightly. I am dead, yet it hurts.
"Hoho…I knew I wasn't paranoid for asking for such a powerful mecha! No one would be able to stand against that beam, and here we are. For the record, it is far more powerful than the round mecha suit. As it can gather a lot more energy and fuses it with all magical elements.", he explains.

As I stretch to get my body straight, I can feel a presence in the wind. Someone is walking up a set of metal stairs on the side of the building. This person is wearing some kind of robe with a cape. A witch hat. I know it. She's coming.
"You take so much pain, for what? Are you really willing to fight me still?", Mr. Dadd asks.
I point my sword at him, and say with confidence, "This was just round one. I'm far from losing my fighting spirit."

Theresa jumps onto the roof, out of breath. She had run up here at full speed. One look at her, I can see determination in her face. She doesn't have her rod, however. probably wasn't allowed to have it. She looks at me, her eyes are lowered as she looks to be disapproving.
"STOP THE FIGHT!", She shouts.
She wheezes…Takes a few more breaths as she moves forward.
"Theresa? I was wondering where you were. So, you have decided to go up here? How brave. But the adults are talking, I would prefer you don't get in the way.", Mr. Dadd says.

"Please! Let me convince her to stop! Only I need to be punished!", Theresa shouts.
"You should listen to him. Nothing can stop this now. If you attack me, I'll just simply knock you out. Painlessly of course.", I respond with the sternest voice I can do.
She gives me a frustrated glare, her voice becoming shriller as she said, "I told you…Not to come for me, Bios!"
"You sure did. But I don't see why I should do as you say? You can't order me. I WANT to save you, and I have realized, THAT I can DO whatever I WANT!", I shout back.

"But…", Her face warps, she yells at me, "I TOLD YOU, I DON'T WANT TO BE SAVED!"
She sounds so incredibly sad. Tears are welling up in her eyes.
I stop moving, and ask quietly, "And why is your WANT more important than mine?"
She looks at me, shocked. Just pure disbelief, she never expected that answer.
I clarify, "I want to save you, and you don't want to be saved. But why should your WANT to not be saved be adhered to, and not my WANT to save you?"

"…You're being selfish.", she says as I walk.
"Yes. I am. And I don't see anything wrong with it. So what? Everyone is a bit selfish. Considering others is good, but if we can't do what our heart desires, life isn't worth living. I was about to give up on that, but then, I would lose myself…You, have already given up on yourself. You've stopped listening to your selfish desire. Fear has clouded you.", I talk.
"What are you talking about…I just don't want anyone to die.", she tells me, confused.

"Yet, you want me to let you sacrifice yourself?", I ask her.
I stop to look at her in the face, then I speak more, "How is that any less selfish?! Just like you want me to live, I WANT YOU TO BE FREE! I Don't want you hurt just as much as you don't want me hurt! Regardless of which one of our desires is more right, it can never be fair!"
She looks scared at me. Her eyebrows raised and her posture meek, she steps back and replies, "But…You can't save me…I can at least…"

"Don't tell me what I can't do! Don't decide for me that I can't win! Your fear…Doesn't decide my fate! It is because I will it, that I will win! You can stand there all you want, and tell me as much as you can to give up on you, but with no will behind it, there is no reason to listen. You can't stop me! That is what makes my WANT more important! I BELIEVE I can make it happen!", I give her my last speech, now I turn back to Mr. Dadd and walk to him.

He is leaning with his arms over his controls, with a condescending tone, he asks me, "Are you done?"
"I apologize for the wait. Now that matters are settled. It is time for round two.", I say before I stop walking. I point my sword at him and say, "This time, I'll rip that mecha open"
"Hohoho! You seem to not get it! I haven't used my full arsenal yet! Let me show you something!", he shouts before raising his arms. The hands started spinning like drills.

He thrusts one forward, I try to block it, but the rotation is nearly grinding my sword out of my hand, in the end, I am thrown over the ground. Another one of his arms are coming from my left, I needed to speed myself out of the way with Light Step, I even use my own hand to jump off of. With more missiles flying my way, and an increased barrage of bullets behind me, I can't avoid taking chip damage. A rocket blows up near me, the heat hurting me. A bullet goes clean through my shoulder, grazes a foot, grazes my neck, however, I am not going to yield.

I cast Reflection into my sword, and within the next Light Step, go through him after temporarily slicing him in half.
He laughs saying, "I thought you'd do something new, but we both know this is nothing?!"
But I never intended to attack him, it was just a way to buy time. I materialize my explosive axe and hammer. As his arms are coming my way.

I blast myself into a spin with Light Step. As I am spinning, a tornado is being created by my strength combined with the weight of my two weapons. Even the drill arms can't pierce through. Like I did last time, I stop myself and use the force of my rotation into one double swing as I shoot myself at his mecha. He tries to block my next attack with his spinning arms.
"Super Explosive, Zerstorung!", I shout as I slam both hammer and axe against them. I feel pretty good being able to push him to the edge of the building, showing I do have the physical strength to match him.

But in the end, that isn't going to do much, at most it stops him from hurting me.
I see a light blinking red below my feet.
"I set up a lovely trap for you, can't wait to see you get out of this one!", he says as I am surrounded by rockets flying off the ground, lasers that are shot at me from tiny devices flying in the air, and obviously, the ground below me had become an energy mine. I jump and cast explosion from my feet to get high in the air, with perfect timing, the lasers, rockets, and mine will blow each other up creating a lovely red bomb.

He takes this as an opportunity to knock me into the sky. I cast explosion from my hand below me to move me up just as he tries to drop kick me, he went just under me, on the other hand, I don't have time to dodge an elongated spinning uppercut after. I materialize a shield whilst being pushed up by his spinning fist. Eventually, the shield is knocked out of my hand and I am thrown up into the cold sky.

I can see him flying to me at Mach 3, I cast explosion in front of me to shift location so he just ends up in the clouds. I suspect he will dive down, so I am already prepared to cast explosion to move away, this time from my legs. He ascends to eye level before flying my way, I aim both hands to my left and blow myself away from another charge. He then goes higher, shoots a few energy blasts at me, and follows that up with an askew dive. I can easily deflect the blasts, then I hold my left hand where my feet are and cast a triple explosion to gain a lot of altitude, making him miss me again.

Right after, I cast explosion from my feet, do a flip down at his mech whilst charging my sword with light. I commence a strike, but he blocks my sword, I can see the spinning of his arms absorbing my magic. He opens his arm with such strength that it knocks me back. The light swirling around his spinning hands is aimed at me. He shoots it. It is easy to counter, with light from the palm of my hand I can deflect it at a building below. While doing that, he uses his jet thrusts to get above with his back in my vision and his leg raised. He kicks me in the face, smacking me down.

My hands are against the cold roof. My hands are hot enough to melt the snow below me. I hear a massive *thumb* as I get up, my eyes are still closed, trying to shake off the impact. When I open them, I realize my mask has been torn in half. I see the pieces on the ground. I fully get up. I stare at him.
He leans over in disbelief, a few seconds and…He laughs with tears in his eye, one hand covering part of his face.

"Oh, isn't this poetic?! A little girl trying to save a bunch of children? AHAHA! Now I get why you are so stubborn to save them! Sympathy, huh?! BWAHAHA!"
I can see Theresa look disheartened. Maybe hearing that makes her think even more how impossible this all seems.
I point my sword at him and say, "My form doesn't matter. I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. When I defeat you, wouldn't that embarrass you even more?",

"Oh no. I am grateful, really. That your sword isn't as sharp as your tongue.", he says at me with a cocky smile.
He leans back, as if he needs not worry about anything. He says to me, "Hey. Silly girl. You are clueless, aren't you? About this world I mean." I raise an eyebrow.
"Why do the Lowee authorities do nothing? Because I paid enough of them to silence and exterminate those that do. Why do reporters not find out anything? Because I gave them luxuries and send assassins to those that dared. Why do the elite class come and enjoy the show? To know what they can get away with and observe their power, but also to keep each other in check. Betrayal doesn't simply mean death, it means destruction!", is his view.

"What's your point? You mean you're not doing this for fun? Or to get some kind of ritual off?", I ask him.
He scoffs, "Ritual? Fun? Heh, those quack scientists and rich idiots can do whatever they want. You don't know why I picked children, do you?"
He raises his arms and his face warps with joy, "IT IS THE PERFECT INSTRUMUNT OF POWER! Think about it, what is the most awful thing a human can do?! Isn't it to hurt children?! In Lowee it means execution! BUT THAT MAKES IT SO DESIRABLE FOR PEOPLE! Why shouldn't I take advantage of that?!"

He lowers his arms trying to tell me something with his expression still crazy, "I don't care about the children! Not at all! Not even an iota! Death, pain, or even freedom, I DON'T CARE! But seeing the few people that like to do the worst coerce and corrupt fellow successful people into doing the worst, creating a secret society of pure evil where one slip up can be the end for it all! Don't you realize the beauty of it! You have to trust everyone whilst they hold a gun at your face! And if there is a slightest hint of treason, BANG! They and their family vanishes…And everyone pretends they never existed!"

He calms down a little, with a confident smile, he continues, "Of course, no one can simply leave this society whenever they feel like. Especially when you are in positions of power. But with my infinite web of connections, I have created a network where key figures in authority, rich communities, soldiers, businesses. Everyone here knows what everyone else has done, so they can never betray each other, for it means death. Even a part of society as a whole will suffer once they all come down, inviting even more motivation to keep the secret and silence dissenters."

He lowered his arms and sits straight, he wraps up his tale, "And here I am, the one who creates this business. The center of this network of fear and fun. SCJP is organized by one company. However, Socia-entertainments, my company is the most free. Only because of me. They know how important my business is, so they lent me the newest weapons they've made for protection against unhinged fools like yourself. However, with my connections, one day, I can take them over and become leader of SCJP!"

He chuckles before yelling, "I WILL BE HEAD OF THE GREATEST ORGANISARTIONS OF LOWEE!", his insane rant goes on, "I will be the one that controls this country from the shadows! Using the suffering of kids no one cares about, using fear to control the adults, and using misinformation to control the masses, and using strength to control the rest! With everything in my hands, I will live my life at the top where no one can reach! I used kids, but it could've been anything highly illegal! I can let those kids die and think of something else. Or just kidnap more. You are a fool, girl."

"You think your connections and strength will render my actions meaningless?", I ask him.
"Yes! You could've just survived and lived peacefully! But no. Instead, you only succeeded in signing a death sentence! When I can just capture those girls outside anyway! Now that I think about it, what was your plan anyway? Where do they go? Must be frustrating, right?!", he mocks me.
Truly, his ranting can boil anyone's blood, even under this frigid weather. However.
"I am not angry.", I released my hand.
He looks at me confused.
I shake my head. Then I stare him down, "I was angry before. But I have realized. That is big sis' thing. It works for her. But it makes me just not think well anymore"

Anger just blinds me. My strength is planning my victory
"You should kill me as soon as you can. Within three minutes…I will already know how to beat you.", I say.
With a smirk, he shakes his head himself and then asks me, "Was that meant to scare me? You're talking big. However…"
"Let me enlighten you on something. Those kids are on their way to Lowee authorities.", my telling him that has him perplexed.

"I talked to more than enough people. I have figured out which are the corrupt authorities and ones that would help. I have calculated where they would patrol. On my way here, I casted mine spells on broken buildings and empty roads to create a path for them to travel on. The moment they were running, I had snapped my fingers and let them go off.", I tell him.
His mouth finally opens with his breath taken, he gazes at me and says, "Well then, I'll just have to arrange a tragedy."

He walks towards me and says as the building is shaking, "Your friends are still busy down there, huh? You think your small connections of two people can topple what I have built. Don't make me laugh! I will show you the true power of this mecha!"
He raises his arms, a bolt of light shoots past him. I see lightning coming from his arm, then it slowly engulfs his whole body. A yellow lightning shields him.

"You and your friends will die!", he shouts jumping my way. He does one slash from my right, I try to parry it, but lightning is shot into me upon contact, giving him a free hit. His sword brushes my side, I slide over the ground trying not to fall, and I did almost trip at the end, but I manage to catch myself using my legs. I immediately let light burst from my feet, knowing another attack is coming. I launch myself back to avoid a thrust, narrowly avoiding his attacks can be dangerous, because lightning can still catch me.

I avoid another slam using Light Step, I do a back flip jump to avoid a swipe, I quickly cast explosion to move down and further south after he tries to swat me whilst I was airborne. His attacks are still quick, I have no choice but take an evasive approach, I need some distance to think of a counter measure. I use every acrobatic skill I have learned with any magical spell I can cast to get behind him, then I jump back as he tries to slam the ground with both swords.

The lightning discharged when he uses both of them at once is even more dangerous. What can I do? Maybe if I use a lot of magic, it can block his lightning from conducting into my sword?
Either way, I have to act now, for another elongated slash is coming my way. I let my sword burst in Light. I parry it, my great spiking blade of light blocked his lightning energy, it somehow expands both into the sky a slightly around us, but it seems harmless now. With the strength of my Light Blade, I am capable of pushing his arm back.

Of course, he'd attack me from my left as well, I jump over it with a side flip, the moment its arm was below me, I swing my Light Blade against it to keep it moving away from me, but especially, to keep lightning from hitting me. As soon as I touch the ground, I get moving with Light Step. I dodge a storm of lightning blades as I move erratically, using a combination of Light Step, explosion, and knocking his swords back with my Light Blade.

Eventually, I shall be on his left. I jump over a thrust attack and knock his arm down with my blade of Light, then I use Explosion from my feet to close in on him. With one front flip, I slam my sword onto him, or rather, his other sword. He's blocking me, since he is this close with his arm, he can use all his strength. He shoves me into the air above where I ran from.

Another arm is thrown at me, I cast explosion above me to get to the ground, swiftly avoiding his first attack, once on the ground, though, another thrust attack is about to stab me, I get on my front legs and lean my back as far down as possible while pushing the arm above me with my Light Sword, it takes a toll on my arms, but I can push it aside, and then, hastily hop on my toes to do a back flip jump over an electric sword swing. Back on my feet, I knock another arm to my right before jumping into the air. I do a crooked mid-air roll strengthening my light sword to shoot a blade of light through the air.

He blocks my Light Slash with one arm, maybe I'm imagining it, but his feet tilt back a little from my attack. He gathers both of his arm to slam them together, emitting a bolt of lightning aimed at me. I materialize my electricity absorbing spear to absorb the electricity. His bolt packs quite a punch, but I can use that strength to do one 360-degree spin, with that spin I masterfully throw the spear at him at full force.

He discharges a lot of lightning from his body, stopping the spear, the spear itself harmonizes with his own lightning, this spear gets destroyed by its own output of electricity. I need to take a second to process what happened. I hold my sword, engulfed with light, in both hands, grit my teeth, and advance. Whilst fighting, I hear Theresa again. She's still scared.
"Bios! Please, you can stop this! I understand, okay! I get it! But even if your 'want' is as important as mine, it just can't be done! That is why you should stop! Even if you don't believe me, others have tried and died fighting his connections, not even the man himself! I…I have tried to escape. And it only got people hurt! My method at least eases our pain!"

Within every breath, I try to speak to her as loudly as I can. It is a struggle, but I'll do it, "Eases our pain", you say?! …That only means you're still accepting that you are a slave! You are scared of him? Terrified? I suppose that make sense…However! …Don't think your failures means it is impossible! With every failure, you must find out more information. With every defeat…You must learn how to grow stronger!"

The sound of clashing blades, the volume of light and thunder clashing, it is something I have to shout above, "If this fate is really something you want…THEN THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY PAIN TO EASE!"
"That is unrealistic! You can't just expect things to go well, that people like me can live a life without pain…", she says.
"There is a difference…Between getting hurt in the process of improvement…And letting yourself be hurt eternally!", I reply.

"Remember that day? …We spent together? You felt different, didn't you?! Saw things you would never have…The world is much bigger than you know! For the longest time, you didn't even know your true self! You may not even be sure now…But at that moment…You finally could feel again, couldn't you? And finally, your true self! That…THAT IS WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING FOR! At that point. It doesn't matter if it is unrealistic, the pain and hardship is worth that freedom. In the process of that, we have become so much stronger, not just as fighters, BUT AS PEOPLE!", Is the speech I give.

Mr. Dadd has his swords raised in the air, as I have mine. We swing them forward, with a direct clash, we are pushing our elementally charged weapons against one another. Lightning and Light piercing the clouds above us.
Amidst our fighting, I can sense with wind, the battles taking place below us.

Sili-san is dodging many explosive stab attacks from the lance mecha. He tries to stop her from moving with his string, but it is no use as the heat from the explosions make it easy to snap or burn string off. Sili-san lets string yank him into the air to avoid any damage, but his breath is ragged, he is getting weary. It is maybe the worst match up.
"I told you…It is no use!", the girl inside shouted as she just lets her spears explode on their own, wiping away more string.

She shoots more explosive spears out of her mecha, of course, Sili-san simply catches them with string and flings them back, but the smoke screen that comes from it can be used as a cover. This might be the intention, because he barely responds to another spear thrust. He tried knocking the shaft away with his sword, but the blade is still too close to him. With an explosion, I assume he burns his arm, his sleeve is burned off at least. But he has set up a spider-web of strings behind him, he is bouncing off of it with the wind of explosions enforcing his landing.

With equal strength he is catapulted back towards the spear mecha and hits its middle body part encircled in string. His own blade had many strings attached to various things inside the room.
"How could you trap me when I burned all the string off?!", the girl inside asks.
"It would seem both of us benefited from the smoke-screen!", Sili-san gives a cheeky answer.
"EXE-Drive Skill!", he shouts as the air grows dense around him. He thrusts his sword forward, letting the string enforce its strength by pulling it forward.

He stabs through the middle of the body shouting, "Ultimate Stinger!"
He takes a few breaths before looking up, the body of the mecha had changed slightly.
"You wretched scum! You almost hit me! You're lucky I can change my position inside the body!", she shouts at him.
Sili-san can only take the sword out, for right after, he is going to get stabbed by a spear.
He manages to shift to his left, only his right shoulder gets stabbed, of course, the explosion gives him a major injury and flings him almost against the ceiling.

Sili-san shoots a lot of his string against the ceiling and the surrounding support bars, he hangs from them, maybe trying to catch a break. However, bladed tips slowly dig out of the ceiling and some walls.
"HAHA! You think I'll let you hang there?! You must be stupid! Have fun with my next toy!", she shouts.
Sili-san lets go of his string. To get to the floor quicker, shoots more string at the ground near the wall opposite to the big hole he made at the start of this fight.

However, the spears collide and create an explosion big enough to give small burns on his face. He makes a rough landing on his feet, he sank through his knees, he has to stop himself from falling. A second passes, and he sees the tops of small spears sticking out of the ground nearby him. His eyes open widely as he shakes.
"Every time I thrust a spear against a wall, I can shoot smaller metal into that wall and make it form weaker explosive spears. Of course, when they are gathered up, they're not going to make small explosions.", she says before cackling.

In the split second, Sili-san jumps, letting the residue of the explosion blow him further, he uses two strings on the mecha's legs to swing underneath the body, I can see him go out of the hole, with two strings stopping him from flying away, he is holding onto it with both hands. I can tell from the grip of his right hand that his arm isn't functioning too well.

Of course, the spear mecha isn't doing nothing, it already shot a bunch of spears at him as a pursuit attack, but Sili-san already prepared strings outside just in case. The outside strings catch the exploding spears.
The woman laughs, "HA! Try aiming them at me again! Or are you going to explode them to get to me? How will you ignite them, huh?!"

Sili-san shot one more string…It is covered in oil.
I can sense a sudden movement within the mecha, she realized it. The oil can ignite the explosive spears as well. Sili-san accepts small burns on his back as he will be shot towards her. She tries to catch him with a spear, but he is faster and with his sword in his left hand, he slices one spear arm off.
With a grin, Sili-san attaches string from his sword to the cut spear. He continues his attack by smashing that spear into the head of the mecha, blowing the head off.

"You scoundrel! No…IDIOT! The head barely does anything! It's mostly just the main camera.", She berates him.
"But you look bad now. I'm sure that is something you'll lose your head over.", Sili-san replies.
The girl made her mecha shake. She screams with rage, "I will make sure no one recognizes your body when I'm done!"

Below is a less fierce fight, but not much easier. The problem is that neither of them really have any attacks to hurt the other, or so it seems right now. With spinning punches being parried, and speed barely mattering, the fight isn't going anywhere. Even with Light Step, Acclaim isn't a master at it, he only copies it after all. Just like the spinning punch. It is difficult for him to combine the attacks. So whenever he comes in to throw one, his speed reduces enough to the point the Drill mecha can react.

The drill mecha cannot hit him with the stronger drill attacks, because Sili-san can easily evade it. But Sili-san's counter drill attack or any other attack is rendered useless by its guard, because it can spin almost every part of its body.
Something is changing in the wind. The spinning arms and legs are now generating blades and more air is blowing out of its plates.

He swings one arm and creates a razor-sharp whirlwind, Sili-san dodges it and the wall behind him got cut into pieces.
"I am just enjoying myself. I haven't used this function yet. How exciting.", he says this in a low tone, he sounds kind of stupid.
The drill mecha would drive in circles of the building, attempting to cut Acclaim with its wind attacks, forgetting that Acclaim can copy its wind attack.

Of course, Acclaim tries it out, why not? But his attack is dispersed by the many spinning parts. Acclaim decides to attack him head on, with a punch as razor-sharp wind is gushing from his fist. The Drill mecha mirrors his attack, the two only manage to blow each other back and cut some support beams. I sense Acclaim using Light step to increase his speed, he grabs a sword out of his arms. What is he planning?

While the guy in the suit loses track of him, Sili-san jumps in the air with his sword bursting with light. He shouts, "UnionStar Light Slash!", and shoots a big blade of light at him. Of course, the light is just caught into the rotation of his many spinning parts. Just like what Mr. Dadd did to me, the drill mecha can shoot the light back at him. Of course, Acclaim already copied this move. Now the two are at a standstill, their drilling fists glowing with spinning light energy as they push and push.

Suddenly, Acclaim stops his arms from spinning. He holds the palms of his hands out and asks, "Does your body rotate faster than the speed of light?"
The palms of his hands are brightening up. As light hits his hands, he shouts, "Reflection!", and reflects the light back at him, but much stronger. The mecha is blown back, its body is now cracked, some fingers fall off and the upper-left of its face is blown off.

As he stands up, he says, "As a matter of fact, they do no. Thank you for testing my limits."
"It was a rhetorical question.", Acclaim replies.
"I'm just happy to fight a worthy opponent.", he responds.
Acclaim somehow frowns harder. The two stare each other down before moving forward and throwing another punch again.

I hear Theresa's sad mumbles, "But…What is impossible…Is impossible, isn't it? What makes you so confident…? I don't understand…"
I create a lightning absorbing spear in my left hand and a lighting absorbing sword in my right hand. I tell her, "We are confident. Because we know who our enemies are. We don't do this without planning. But even then…"

He spins one arm, which discharges more lightning when he shoots it at me. I jump in the air the catch his thunder with my sword, As I go down, I unleash a blade of lightning with a strike onto the ground, he discharges lightning as a counter to my counter, it manages to only reduce my retaliation by a shallow cut, however, I am pretty certain now he can't keep this protective discharge up.

So, I throw the spear at light speed one more, the lightning being absorbed and reused. It goes through the shallow cut on the arm and breaks it off.
I say, "My friends down there. They're not going to lose either. They have come here to fight, not because I told them to. I just told them what happened…Then they came on their own!"
I zoom around the roof whilst his arm regenerates, even if it is a second, I want more time placing mines.

I already placed a few magical mines, but I need to cover nearly the entirety of the roof. Whilst speeding around I keep talking, "Despite of how different we are. Even though all of us have been lost at some point. And on top of all that, we had faced many things we thought impossible. Even with every obstacle in the way. When we got together, we took it all on and won! Why is this any different? If anything. We're more motivated!"

I stop in front of Mr. Dadd and finish my argument, "His connections are all fake! He will be thrown under a buss if it became desirable! But we're fighting for our will! Our connections can't be undone now!"
looks at me tired, he asks, "What are you saying?"
"An empire of unwilling scared soldiers, can easily be destroyed by a few passionate fools!", I reply.
He blinks and looks at me weird. I say one more thing, "We all came here to fight the impossible, because that is how we want to live. How we stay tough. And if we die, we do that together, too."

"Oh, you don't fear death, it that it?!", Mr. Dadd asks me.
"Death? That can be quite calming for yourself. But the thought of others grieving over you…And to experience losing someone again. That is way scarier. I know, Theresa fears the latter. So. That's why I fight. Because if regret and grieve is inevitable, we might as will live together, and die together!", I say with a smile.
"I understand…Then. let me put the fear of death back into you.", Mr. Dadd says as he holds his arm up.

The electricity is gone, but I doubt for long. His hand starts spinning, a great wind is gathering around it. Then, I see spears coming from his hand. The heat of the explosions rotate around his fist. Adding up to that, is the energy that he uses for his big laser and blast shots. On top of that, he charges a bunch of electricity into it.
"This is a concentrated attack of all the mechas. The second strongest attack. With many elements being uses, anything hit by it will never recover.", he says.

I cast flame magic repeatedly, this might confuse him. So, he responds, "Desperate petty attacks now, eh? Well then. Die."
He thrusts his arm towards me, shouting, "Chimera Tornado!" Of course, the flames have drastically changed the temperature around us. My mirage is blown away before his drill even reaches it, but since he is confused as to what is happening, he can't really react now.

"You're too late. I told you already. You should've ended me sooner.", I say as I walk past his arm. I snap my fingers and said, "Mine."
The magical mines I have placed around this building are revealing their magical circles. Within a second, the roof is turned into a giant smoke pillar after a great explosion that hurts even myself.
I snap with the fingers of my other hand as I say, "Storm Arrow."

Finally, I use the arrows I have shot into the air before launching my assault. They all shoot down towards the mecha, this doesn't hurt him of course, but it is a working distraction.
"Theresa…I still haven't heard if from you.", I speak to her, while recreating the lightning absorbing sword using Weapon Create. She looks confused at me.
Now dual wielding swords, I run forward shouting, "WHAT IS IT?! WHAT YOU REALLY WANT!"

"EXE DRIVE SKILL!", I scream while I give a pressure off that makes the air hard to move in for others. I shoot myself forward using Light Step, this time, both feet are engulfed with an overflowing amount of light, my speed is increased. My swords are engulfed with a spiking stream of light. I move around the mecha at high-speed slashing at him with both swords constantly. He can barely fight back.

"He took away your childhood. He took away your confidence. He took away your magic. He may have even taken a part of yourself. But there is one thing he can't take!", I shout at I keep at it, my attacks becoming more ferocious and cutting away his armor.
He tries to fight back with lightning charged blades, but with my sword absorbing it, it isn't a threat. He spins his whole body around, but as part of my combo, I myself was already going to do that.

Him spinning around only made me go faster and let more lightning get absorbed into my blade. I jump into the air, the light from my swords growing huge, now also with sparks of yellow lightning shooting out of them. I combined my blades shouting, "HE CAN'T TAKE AWAY YOUR HEART! And my flame! Will also not be doused! "Doomed fate", you said? There is no such thing!"

"FusionStar…", I say as I go down at him, he can't move due to the EXE Drive Skill.
"Light Slash!", I scream, simultaneously a burst of light shoots off from my sword strike, it almost looks like a big beam that flies over the whole city block. The light makes it impossible to see the mecha, it is too bright, and the smoke it creates is too thick.
I say nonetheless, "That is why…We fight. Because when we learn what fate we have, we work to a goal no matter what…Every day, it becomes clearer how to turn any ill fate around. Don't let others tell you, what your fate is!"

As the smoke fades, Theresa looks in shock.
The top of the mecha has been torn off completely along with the glass of the cockpit and arms. Inside the chair is a dumbstruck man with his eyes about to pop out.
"So go ahead. Whatever fate we have. We don't need to alter it. We can only learn how to deal with it to get an ending we want. So, tell me…What do you want?", my words have Theresa completely speechless.

I look at Mr. Dadd, I materialize a knife and say, "As for you. You can deal with this!"
I directly throw the knife at him, I cast explosion onto it so that it blows up as it stabs him in the throat. Or so, that is the idea. Honestly, I knew it wasn't going to end so smoothly. But what I am seeing now is a ridiculous feat of engineering…I think.
The sword is held into place. I can see some red lights coming from the controls and edge of the cockpit. Maybe they are stopping the blade?

It's not even exploding anymore, in fact it is dissolving into red particles.
It is quite fast, how that machine regenerates. His torso is now already healed.
, in cold sweat, swallows. Then he laughs at me. He says, "You almost got me. I won't give you that opportunity again. Hey, isn't it unfortunate? The cockpit is made safe as it is created to automatically "Store" any weapon inside an inventory where it is deleted automatically!"

They are using the inventory technology as a defense system? That is clever. My spear maybe only went through at weakened power. Too fast for the system to activate, but weakened to the points of not being able to hurt him? Damn, this is tough…But.
My swords disintegrated with the light. So, I use Shadow Create to create my black sword again. I look at the snowflakes fallen on him.
Will this work through solid objects? Let's find out.

His mecha is fully healed by now. However. I swing my sword down, and slightly cut his real shoulder. He looks at his bleeding shoulder while making grunting noises.
I do one askew swing of my sword to my upper right, and following that, is a small slice on his whole body. It is practically just a flesh wound, but it still hurts him a bit. Only a little blood comes out of it, but he is freaked out.
"What is this?! I should not be able to be hit!", Mr. Dadd says.

I glanced over at Theresa. She is just watching this man get hurt. I can't tell, is she about to laugh seeing him get made into a fool?
He angrily walks over to me and yells some things, but I am not listening.
Snow can be used through the body. He regenerated almost everything. But at the end of the day, a machine has communications and stuff…I don't really know, but I understand that there are small delicate things that let it use its functions. It can barely regenerate small things alone. Perhaps I can destroy its functions on the inside.

I am looking at my black blade. I will have to master this blade. Right now.
Walking over to Mr. Dadd, I taunt him, "Three minutes are up. It is too late. I know how to win."
"That's it. I would respect your strength…BUT THAT CHEEKYNESS IS UNACCEPTABLE!", He reacts with anger.

I let my sword shoot out into a beaming blade of white light. I advance into a storm of blades, parrying my way forward. Once I get close enough, I look for a blind spot. I jump and cut the shoulder part of his mecha with the Light Blade. A rift opens, I make snow enter the rift before it can heal. I did not defend against a counter attack, his sword smacks me over the building.

I glide over my left hand and my feet, I put one knee forward to quickly dash my way back at him. He spins his hands as he shoots his arms at me. I throw a spear at light speed at him as a distraction, then I dodge his arms and shoot myself over to his right. As I pass him, I cut part of his leg open. I quickly turn and thrust my sword to the left to get a lot of snow inside the leg before it regenerates.

He uses everything in his arsenal, not always at once. But with swords, lightning, Jet Speed, energy blasts, Vulcan bullets, rockets, missiles, mines, drills, lightning, explosions, superior strength, great defense, infinite regeneration, this is an impossible fight. However, a fight at a high level like this, can always be won with trickery and mind. How much fighting experience does he even have?

I move around, finding any opening to create a medium sized cut to get more snow inside his machine. I get hit often by every attack, he is practically knocking me around or blowing me up at this point. But no matter what. I continue to fight. I use the bow and arrow to shoot explosive arrows for distractions. I throw axes at the cockpit as a threat so he doesn't realize my sabotage. I use the lightning absorbed spear to save myself. I even use a morning star chain to get myself to him and cut him again. I can cast Blast wind to quickly destroy projectiles and misdirect bullets.

Eventually, I place a bunch of mines to create explosions from a distance. It is a distraction method whilst I change the moisture in the air to create mirages. He is weary of this trick, so even though I have a fully charged Light Slash prepared, it might not hit. I go in for the attack, but he flies into the sky. He shoots many projectiles from there, but I can hop around them and fire my own Light blades at him back.

Now he is right above me, about to bring down two spinning elemental drills.
"Double Chimera Tornado!", he shouts. In the meantime, I recreate the electricity absorbing sword. With all the explosive and wind magic I can cast, I use it in combination with Light Step to get myself up in the air. My blades burst into light and cover me as I spin around at high-speed using the same explosion and wind spells. I hold a spear between my legs as well, also enchanting it with Light magic.

I got head on against the two fists like I am a drill myself. Somehow, I am able to hold up his two fists. But I can feel they will eventually stop me and grind me into dust. So, I let me spear blow up full, at the same time, I push my legs to the left and cast explosion to fling myself away. I almost got taken by the wind of his drill fists, but I manage to get out. Even he is looking at me with his mouth agape and his eyes squinting.

I give him no time to relax, I let the electric sword disintegrate as I turn it into a strong blade of light to shoot at him. Obviously, he takes cover to defend himself from a hit. I wonder what he thought, when he saw a shield fly by. It was a gamble, but I materialized a shield in my emptied hand, got on top of it, and cast Reflection to shoot myself with the shield above him, my other sword fully charged with light.

I jump off the shield, he sees me now, but too late. I cut some pieces of his mecha off whilst shouting, "UnionStar Light Slash!"
He grumbles angrily, in sync with him flying ride besides me, he hits me with his kneecap sending be flying quite a distance. As I fall, I can see him charging orange light in his stomach.
With our altitude aligning, he fires off his atom burning beam. I cast explosion from my hand while holding it below my feet, I get above the beam, I move forward, immediately shooting myself down and around the beam casting explosion from my feet.

I cast explosion multiple times in various ways to spiral around the beam, getting on top a puzzled looking Mr. Dadd, he does manage to block my Light Blade however, with both arms even. I let my sword blow up to surprise him.
I lower myself a little, my left hand is held behind me over my right side whilst my right fist is retracted and ready to be thrown. I cast explosion to shoot me forward, and Light on my fist to do a shining punch.

With increased force, I punched through his glass, and in that split second, I am able to, I spread my fingers out to directly cast explosion onto him.
"You damn brat!", he screams angrily, I can hear some pain in his voice too. He discharges electricity and knocks me back a bit. He swiftly flies behind me, ready to swing his left leg. I ended up being kicked back onto to roof, I bounce over it even. I take no time to get back up, I recreate my black sword as he comes back down.

There isn't time left to really block another slash, so I am flung over the building, back to my original position. I am getting weary. He is in more pain now, but I don't know if I can fight at full strength anymore. But despite the hyperventilation, I leap forward for another round.
At the same time, my friends are fighting battles that aren't any less uphill.

A flurry of exploding spears are thrust towards Sili-san, he blocks one his with his sword, but the blade gets knocked out of his hand and he is shoved towards the ground.
Sili-san shows he is just as determined, jumping into danger entangling the mecha into even more string.
"You really don't understand how screwed you are. Fine! Let me show you!", she shouts as her whole mecha was glowing up.
"Full body explosion!", she shouts as the string burn away from the hot explosion, blasting Sili-san into the wall. The room gets caught in flames. The air gets thick with smoke and heat.

"This mecha's full power is to freely control explosions and its flames!", she shouts as she thrusts her arm spear at him, he dodges it, but her blade catches the flames and turns into a flaming sword. With one swing, she raises flaming pillars from the ground that barely hit Sili-san.
The Spear mecha moves forward and raises her knee, the intend appeared to be a direct hit, alas as Sili-san tries to escape, she shoots a dart into his knee. It blows up.

It isn't enough to blow the leg off, but it is entirely burned.
"Now, you can't use your leg. You can only move with string, but this room is on fire. And oh? What is this?! I can blow it all up! You're trapped! Funny, I thought spiders were the ones laying the traps, but what is a web compared to flame?!", she talks high and mighty.
Sili-san gathers one string filled hand into a fist and shouted, "String Cluster!"
But The flaming debris that are shoot towards the spear mecha is just burned away as she does another full body explosion.

She violently plunges her spear into the ground, the floor is suddenly a trap with hundreds of spears sticking out.
"There is nowhere to run! Final Detonation!", she shouts as the spears shoot up and explode on their own, the entire room is drowned within the fire explosion. The ceiling comes down, but above it, is a room still cold from Lowee's snow. And in between, is one massive web of strings that Sili-san has escaped in.

The spear mecha looks above and says, "How insidious. You were secretly creating a web through the gaps of the ceiling. You're taking a nap, you little baby? HUH!", sounding more enraged as time goes on.
Just a bit before that, Acclaim was fighting the Drill mecha, but things got weirder.

To start with, Acclaim cannot make mirages due to the Drill Mecha's wind manipulation constantly changing the air around the room.
On top of that, he decided to completely go into a ball-like from and perform a rolling attack.
Acclaim can only stop himself from being ripped to shreds with his own arm rotation. Consequently, he got tossed through a wall to another floor.

He goes around the mecha with Light Step, keeping up the momentum he went forward trying to punch the mecha, unfortunately, it is used to his speed and manages to dodge out of the way using his wheels.
Now, Acclaim can copy his roll attack and the two had another mirror fight. However, then the guy in the mecha suit noted, "You can copy this technique using your metal arms. But there is quite a lack of spinning parts. I am happy knowing this matters."

The mecha suit lets small spinning parts out of the side of its body, grinding against Acclaim without him being able to do anything about it. The pain was too much, he got knocked back near the wall to the outside of the building.
The drill mecha spared no time as he shot small drills out of its body.
Acclaim's reaction time was on the low end, probably due to the pain, he blocks the small drills with his own arms, but they are designed to be rockets with drills on them.

Now they have blown up.
The mecha guy says, "I am happy you gave me this opening. I've always wanted to use this!"
His arms combined into a giant drill, a green hue coming from it as it makes a magical tornado with its spin.
"My drill is the drill that will pierce the clouds! Giga Drill Destroyer!", he shouts as he thrusts his drill forward.

It is a mighty attack that Acclaim is unable to defend against as he has to be hit by it to learn it himself. I can see him shoot out of the building, his clothes torn as he lays down onto the snow outside.
In my case, have gotten many cuts into Mr. Dadd's mecha, but my strength is dwindling. It almost looks like the repeating scenario of me hopelessly thrusting myself forward, only to get knocked back, to the point where it seems pitiful.

But this time, I feel different. I already have a winning plan. And Mr. Dadd, he still looks scared. However, with this final strike he did against me. I am on the ground. My muscles ache. I am exhausted.
I hear Theresa plea to him.
"Please…Master. I'll come back…I'll do anything you ask. Please, stop this. She can't fight anymore, can't you see that?!", she's in tears.

Mr. Dadd is laughing. Dropping his guard.
He says, "That is why I like you, Theresa. You are such a caring child. Selfless, your passion for others makes you easy to manipulate. You make my life easier, you know?"
He points his blade at me, "But it is too late for her. She and her friends have acted too foolishly, they deserve death. Besides. They will certainly come back again."
He smiles over at Theresa, it looks cruel, he tells her, "But don't worry, I'll spare the children if you return."

I get back up, pushing myself off the ground with one arm whilst gripping my sword tightly with the other,
I push my back to stand up straight. I ask him, "Spare them of what? A life like that is not living. No matter how many mental blocks are thrown to ease pain."
"Oh you stupid girl. Can't you see your friends? They have already lost. You have no hope.", he replies.
"They'll get back up. And beyond that. I have already beaten you.", I respond.

He raises his head looking disgusted at me.
A vein pops as he yells whilst swinging one arm.
I need to scream to get myself going now, and so I do as I throw my blade downwards. An explosion comes from inside his arm and stops movement.
"Huh?! What is this?", before he gets to shout more, I swing my sword with my right hand to the right from the ground using all my strength. His shoulder blows up.

"What is…", he looks over to me and shouts, "What have you done?!"
I grab my sword with both hands and do another slash, blowing one hole into his leg from inside.
"Stop that!". he tries to stop me, but I make him cease his movement by slashing him over the shoulder with the snow inside his cockpit.
Over and over again, I swing my sword.

The inside of his cockpit has red lights and sirens going off as I use the snow inside the body to destroy small parts.
"Warning, movement system compromised! Warning electric discharges permanently disabled. Warning. Warning. Warning.", you can hear the intercom.
More and more features are destroyed as I cut small components in his machine. Because of their smallness and complexity, they cannot be regenerated to functionality.

On top of that, I am cutting into him using the snow. It may not mortally wound him, but the pain may pass him out.
I slash and slash and slash, until the snow runs out.
Breathing in and out fast, I raise my head to see him bleeding quite a bit, his mecha is smoking from the inside. But he snaps back, he angrily grabs his controls and groans loudly.
"Back up systems activated!", I hear as the mecha begins to move again.

"You…You bitch. I don't know what that was, but I can tell you have reached your limit! You may have permanently disabled this machine's full power, but I can use its most basic functions still! Without strength, there is nothing you can do!"
"Theresa…You said I can't fight anymore? I told you to stop worrying. This is a fight to the death. I can only 'not fight anymore' when I or him stop breathing.", I say with a smile.

Her face sinks a little.
"Bios…", I hear her call out to me. I stare at her as she constantly opens her mouth, only to stop herself from speaking.
Finally, she lets out her true feelings, "I…I want…I want you to win! I don't want to go back to him. And I don't want to see the other children hurt…I want to be free. Together with you!"
I feel like a weight is lifted. I stand up relaxed with a smile and shout, "You hear that you guys?! You two can't ignore the request of a little girl, can you?! Stand back up!"

Acclaim gets back up and says, "How rude, leader. We can plan ahead for victory just as well as you."
I get to the edge of the building to watch him walk. There is no hesitation in his movements.
"Oh, I am so happy to work this job! You standing up means I can play a bit more.", the drill mecha says. He tries to move forward, but suddenly, his body stops rotations.
"Huh? A malfunction?", he responds.

Acclaim holds string in his hand and said, "We finally set up our trap. Our matchups were bad. So, we communicated."
Acclaim wasn't using string the whole time. The enemy isn't smart enough to think he might use it. Maybe he doesn't understand his copying ability. They were hiding it.
Sili-san is laughing as the strings in his web were tilting.
"Hehe. I have heard of a web of communication, but this is ridiculous.", Sili-san says.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT ASSHOLE!", the woman in the mecha screams.
"He probably finished cutting all support pillars, hasn't he? Me and that guy over there have placed string through the gaps of this floor and the one below together without you two noticing. The only thing holding the floor you're standing on up is in my hands.", Sili-san says with a weak smile.
"I should thank you for cutting apart the support pillars, that is quite helpful.", Acclaim says.
"Why, no proble-", the drill mecha was about to reply happily but then panics, "No wait! This will kill me!"

"If you looked carefully, you would have noticed some of my string shooting equipment isn't on my body anymore.", Sili-san said with a chuckle.
The spear mecha looks around, then she gets trapped into the string shot by the equipment.
"I can just burn the-!", she gets cut off by Sili-san saying, "Too late.", as he lets go off the string.
Acclaim pulls his strings down, the floor collapses and the spear mecha is pulled into the body of the drill mecha, her explosive spears going off as she falls onto the ground floor.

The spear mecha gets up from under the rubble.
She looks down at the spread-out armor plates of the drill mecha. She looks below the crushed and torn machine as she shouts, "How dare you use to me to kill my comrade!"
"You were about to kill mine. Unfortunately for you, we swapped enemies and I have a lot more of an advantage when fighting you.", Acclaim replies as he walks forward.

"I know who are you are! Plagiarts little experiment! You think you're hot shit because you can copy skills?! So what?! You're a dimwit who can't actually fight on his own merit! Your copied skill is nothing to my original ones!"
She moves like a flashing orange tinted Light. Acclaim dodges a spear with Light step and immediately faces a tough enemy.

He uses a drill against her, but she is able to counter it by changing the shape of her body to coincide with the drill.
She tries to stab Acclaim, but he brings out his own explosive spear and thrusts it at her. she blocks it with her kneecap, which gets broken off, then she jumps back, and so does Acclaim.
When she jumped back, she shot a bunch of spears at Acclaim. But he responds by simply firing off a bunch of drill missiles, intercepting the spears.

Acclaim wants to go forward, but she plunges a spear into the ground, in a few milliseconds, the ground is covered by exploding spears. Acclaim backs off and sees a pillar of flame that comes from the exploding spears.
"How is this? With good speed, decent range, and a perfect shield of explosions, what can you do?! Huh?! Are you smart enough to figure out how to break through?! You're not! You are a puppet, you can't think or act! You wouldn't take any pain to defeat me!", she mocks him.

"You are right. I have learned. That the perfect fighter, isn't one that simply learns techniques and sacrifices himself to become the strongest. The ultimate warrior is a person, it cannot be a pure logical machine. Such a thing doesn't have creativity. And more importantly, determination.", Acclaim says. He looks over at me, he smiles. He turns his smile back into a frown and looks at her.

"I respect my leader a lot. She taught me this…I will put by entire being on the line.", he says.
Acclaim stretches his arms wide and puts a lot of strain on them. He gives a gruff scream as the metal of his arms vibrate.
"EXE Drive Skill!", he shouts, making the air around him dense. The metal of his arms is taken apart and spread into many different pieces. The pieces merge and transform into hundreds of weapons and spells.
"UNLIMITED ARSENAL!", he shouts, with his now paper-thin arms, he uses a just booster to fly forward, with his arsenal following him.

"If I don't make myself bare and use everything I can. Then I can't have said I have fought at all! I am no coward!", he shouts as he punches the mecha in the face. She tries to fight back using many techniques, but is probably blinded whenever an exploding projectile or spell is shot into her. He flies around her using every weapon and skill he can use. Completely seizing her movement.

With string coming from all the weapons, she is flipped onto the ground. Drills and spears have impaled the hands of the mecha to stop it from moving.
With jet boosters from his elbows, Sili-san flies into his sky, the metal of his arm returning,
He shouts, "This is it! My first original move!"
His arm starts spinning as it is bursting with light. From every side of his arm, an exploding spear sticks out. The jet thruster on that elbow unleashes a huge violent flame.

"Amory Combustion!", he screams as the jet thruster blasts him downwards like an arrow at super-sonic speed. The Sound barrier is destroyed.
His fist goes down onto the girl's mecha, the punch alone creates a crater and goes through the mecha, but it is when the ground is hit, that the spears detach and light up. Acclaim gets off and shields himself with his arms, as the biggest explosion yet flings him back into the building. The explosion itself reaches the clouds, I can feel the heat from here.

It isn't a surprise. But when the smoke fades, there is barely anything left of the mecha, let stand the woman inside.
I turn around to look at Mr. Dadd. I can tell, he is in distraught. I'd actually say he looks heartbroken.
A mix of emotion warps his face as his muscles tighten, he says, "How dare you…Those two…They have been with me from the beginning. They were the only ones I…"

"You don't deserve my sympathy. You did the same to children. You are not allowed to complain when it doesn't go your way.", I say coldly.
He grinds his teeth, his eyes pierce through me with hatred. He is about to move.
Then, I see light reflected in his eyes, and he stops completely to look ahead of me.
I turn around and see two pillars of light far in the distance.
"No…Impossible, that can't be…HDD? No way, did our fight bring attention? Yes! That must be it! Then they will arrest you!", he tries to stop himself from panicking.

But I turn to him with a smug face, "Oh, it is them. Rom and Ram are out now. How unfortunate. I wanted to defeat you first. Now there is an even stricter time limit."
He looks at me, terrified. His face turns pale. He points his finger at me and shouts, "What do you mean?! You're using their real names…No. You don't know them!"
"I gave them a call and explained the situation just before I left. I don't want them to see me fight, though. I only told them everything about your organization.", I said with a smug tone.

"How…Why would they believe you?!", he asks me.
I smile and say, "Because we're friends."
He leans his head back as he stares me down with rage.
"I told you. Your connections mean nothing. Because I have people I can trust. And people that trust me. They believed me, no matter what. Besides, the proof is in the pudding now. The children are out running.", I explain to him.

I walk around a bit and keep talking, "I gave them the locations of every warehouse you bought. I spoke to many people and determined on who's side they would be on or how far they are willing to go to help. Sometimes something small like tipping someone off doesn't get you killed when so many do it. Now all of Lowee will know of your crimes. That sucks, doesn't it."

"You ruined…Everything!", he growls through his teeth.
I give him my final speech and say, "I told you, right? This night is your last. Even if you beat me, I have already gotten what I wanted. Because after I am gone, those two WILL beat you. You could run, of course. But no matter what, your plan is doomed. You could only live in fear and darkness, the same fate you bestowed upon those children."

Mr. Dadd's skin is red. His eyes are about to fade to white. I have never seen so much anger within someone. It is like even the suit trembles with hatred.
He screams, "YOU….YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!", the fire from his jet thrusters is shooting flames harder than before. He appears as a blur and moves past me. I can tell he is going to be behind me, but it seems he is now moving at the Mach 4 speed he bragged about.
I can only turn around and block an upper swing from his sword, so much strength coming with his speed, my arms feel heavy as I am knocked into the air beyond Sonic Speed.

He's too fast. Even if I see him coming my body can't react in time.
His speed increase lets him move past me within a second, I try to block another his but he kicks me away. Everything is happening so fast, I can't even react to him getting past me and kicking me higher into the air. He shouts, "EXE DRIVE SKILL!", as he knocks me down only to fly below me to hit me into the air again.

Like a ping pong ball, I get tossed around through the sky by kicks and slashes whilst he shouts angrily, "YOU'RE JUST A LITTLE GIRL! Do you have any idea…HOW LONG IT TOOK TO MAKE THIS EMPIRE?! I have connections everywhere. Everyone is a hidden enemy! The police, the judges, the Basilicom guards, doctors, businessmen, soldiers, criminals in the underworld! YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT I AM?! I AM THE ONE RUNNING LOWEE! No one cares about your issues or others' suffering! They can enjoy their life whilst we can ours! WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT SOME BRATS?!"

After a while, he kicks me up high again, flies past me through the clouds. He comes down at me at full speed shouting, "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!", and slams both blades at me. I crash onto the roof the building, unable to move. He doesn't stop, he throws his swords into the air and throws rapid stretching punches down onto me, he is moving so fast it looks like he grew hundreds of arms as I am being pounded.

"Take this! CHIMERA ANHILATION!", he shouts, shooting the orange beam, it seems stronger and bigger than before. It directly hits me. It hurts a lot, I can feel my whole body burning up. Theresa is protecting herself with a barrier spell, whilst the beam makes an explosion that lights up the surroundings. I can't move. my eyes are open, but I can only see snow fall.

I hear the sound of him coming down.
He breaths heavily. I can sense how tense both he and Theresa are. He must've shuttered, when I moved a finger.
I can hear him gasp as I grab my sword next to me. It might look like I am a puppet on a string as I get up. I struggle. Bones have broken inside my body. I simply hit them so they are somewhat correctly aligned. Doesn't hurt anymore, I don't feel anything after that beam.
Slowly, I am getting over how stiff I feel everywhere, and I get up.

"Why…WHY WON'T YOU DIE?! I threw everything at you, and you're still alive?! No one should just survive that!", Mr. Dadd shouts, he is frustrated, but I also hear fear in his voice.
I cough a bit. I force a reply, "I told you already…This is a death match. And I don't like losing."
I can hear a confused mixture of emotion in his voice when he speaks, "I don't understand…I don't get it! It's inconceivable! How are you getting up?! Why are you so stubborn?!"

I snap some more bones back into place. I feel I can move my arms a little bit more smoothly after raising them to hold my blade with two hands. I moved my sword into a kendo position and said, "I told you already. No matter what. I am going to defeat you."
I said all of that. But honestly, I am at my limit. I know I can win, but I might die in the process…Oh well. I just need to sabotage his machine once more. If I can stop his regeneration, I can hit him once really well. I know he will pass out, he is at his limit too.

I almost stumble over. Looking ahead, my vision gets blurry. I try hard to snap back.
My hands are somewhat wobbly. I can barely hold my sword straight. But…I want to fight!
…Huh?
Everything…Turned black for a bit…But I can still see snow.
Is that? …A voice?
That voice…It is familiar… I can hear it call my name, "Bios…"
It isn't something said out loud…It's a transmission into my mind.

"Bios.", I can tell, it is Sili-san's voice. My heartbeat stops as I hear him.
"You know. I thought I would be a lowlife forever. Even if it is to help the children and sister I took care of…I felt dirty. Angry even. I thought I'd feel good about robbing rich businesses at first…Because they were lucky and had more than me. I realized how stupid I was being. Someone being better off than you, shouldn't be the reason to hate them. But I was lost, and didn't even think anymore. Even when I went lower as a thief, I convinced myself there was no chose. My fate."

I kind of feel bad for him. But he continued, "You know? I can't thank you enough. For saving me. But not only that, you had shown me that fate is unclear. We shouldn't be too hasty to decide that our fate is sealed in suffering. We fight for what we believe in, and now, even if we lose, we've come so far. I never thought I'd be anything than a confused low-life. Thank you. Bios."

I could almost cry. But then another voice enters my mind. This time, it is Acclaim's.
"Bios. I respect you so much. I thought there was no point in being my own person. Because of how I was, I thought I should be like a weapon, and nothing more. But you came in, you aren't a human either. But you don't let that bother you. You showed me to see the good side of our oddity, and use it to our advantage. No matter what other people think of us, we do the right thing together…You are my first friend…That's why, I put all my faith into you."

Now I am tearing up, but still trying to hold a stone-cold face. As snow falls, it is like I see images of people. They…I have met some of them before. The guy from the amusement park, the family that owns the shooting range in Lastation. The lady who has that delicious bakery in Lowee. That one mouse who owns that retro shop. That guy with the piano at that bar in Leanbox…I remember talking to these people when I was alive…That guy at the amusement park talked to some of them about how I helped him a bit, and they spoke further…And somehow…Memories of the old me are returning to them…What is happening?

This feeling…It can't be. I haven't felt like this since forever. It is slight. It is only a few people. But I can feel it, the faith of others…This is!
I regained consciousness as I heard the shouting of Theresa, with all her strength, she screams, "BIOS! WIN! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"
This feeling Power symbols cover my eyes. Share energy?!
And now, I am enveloped in a towering light.

My clothes are ripped off, in return, I get A thick fabric of black panties with a majestic see-through black skirt covering my bottom. I get a black tight body-suit that has an open window revealing my stomach, middle, and back, and it all connects to my neck at the end.
My hair is slightly longer and darker in color. My eyes are red with blue power symbols for pupils.

Theresa and Mr. Dadd look absolutely flabbergasted. A miracle happened.
He looks like he got assaulted by a ghost as he stutters to get his words out, "I-I-impossible…A CPU?! That can't be?! There shouldn't be another one! Who the hell are you?! You were a Goddess this whole time?"
I open my eyes and feel absolutely calm. I say quietly, "My name is Cold Heart. And for the sake of Lowee, I will make you pay."

Getting that out of my system, I look at my hands. Observing my new form, things feel odd.
It seems I don't have enough share energy to generate actual body pieces. I can fly and use divine power. But that is about it. Even my share energy output isn't to the max. I don't know why my hair is different. And this black outfit, perhaps as the reverse of a goddess I have a darker form? Whatever. This little bit. Is more than enough to beat him.

Cold sweat is easy to spot on his face, he forces a laugh, with false courage, he attempts to mock me, "You are a goddess? But no one has heard of you before? Cold Heart? What is that? Your name isn't even based off a color. Heh…Hahahaha! Look at you, fighting me with such little faith! You can't be that strong! You can't even get a proper outfit!"
I pat my front with a fist, and speak with a strong voice, "This form of mine is a true version of myself. It represents my freedom to be me. But. I suppose you wouldn't understand."

"I don't care what it represents!", he shouts, giving me a vile look, then he continues, "The Lowee people? They don't give a rat's ass as long as it doesn't affect them! You represent them? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!"
"I have spent…A lot of time talking. Telling them what ifs. And how they feel about it. I have given some of them the chance to do small acts of kindness. The people of Lowee like smallness and cuteness…However. I have learned that most of them also, despise people like you, that hurt children. Lowee. Doesn't. Need. You. And for them, I will vanquish you!", I give him my statement.

A mix of anger and fear warps his face. He stands ready to fight.
I have a black sword in my right hand and a just made holy sword on my left. I let them both get engulfed in a flaming white light.
We stare at each other, Flames of white shooting from under my feet as his jet thrusters were emitting blazing fires as he is about to fly at me at full power.
Sonic booms and shockwaves reach to other buildings as we shoot ourselves forward, we pushed onto each other as our swords clash and create a huge boom.
It is clear after pushing a little, my strength is now the better, as I throw him back.

After sliding over the ground, he shoots his arms at me preparing to swing them wildly whilst I walk slowly. I run a bit before using Light Step to dodge every blade. I get closer and closer to him with ease. Now I can easily parry his swords with my own swift swings. It was a whole minute of swiping, I am looking for a good opening…I found one.
With the right timing.

I hold my swords behind my sides with my arms crossed, then, in the right moment, I do an X shaped upper swing, knocking both of his arms back simultaneously by hitting the tips of his swords. I see him, scared, perhaps his heart stopped moving for a second. He did nothing as I do a double slash attack on him, flinging him off the building.

I pursue my attack by flying at him, but then he rockets himself into the sky using the full power of his jet thrusters. I chase after him, slowly, I creep up to him. He seems out of it, but stops, for I have already moved past him, and now, I am staring him down with the moon shining on my back. He looks at me in shock.
I look at my hand and say with a monotone voice, "This won't do."

He tilts his head, his face looks shaken still.
"I can't reach my top speed. My share energy may be too limited. I can only go up to Mach 5.", I say to no one in particular while moving my fingers a bit.
He growls at me whilst boosting his jet engines again, he flies away from me in a horizontal direction.
I fly in a bow after him, I say to myself, "Calculations…He is slower than Yellow Light."

I intercept him by kicking him down, askew from me. He flies back at me to try and slice me up with a swing from both swords, but he only cut the residue of my aura as I go backwards.
Face to face, he stares at me saying, "You definitely are a massive source for a migraine. However! This suit was made to combat CPUs! Don't get cocky! I'll overclock this thing!"
The flames from his jets got hotter and brighter. He put his blades under it, covering them in flame.

"That is logical. I have calculated a 5% chance of victory for you and a 0% chance of escape.", I say.
He looks at me whilst squinting his eyes.
A heavy wind blows as I draw my sword closer to my chest and speak, "I am faster, so escape will result in death as you can't react to my attacks when attempting to flee. 5% chance because a number lower might seem unrealistic."
I then lit up my blade with white light before it burst into a spiking energy sword.
"In other words. Come at me.", I say.

He screams as he flies my way, leaving a flaming trail into the sky.
I fly at him holding my black blade enveloped in light in my right hand, leaving a trail of light in the sky. A clash between us had enough force to create an explosion.
The fight has become too fast for normal people to keep up. A mecha and goddess fighting at Mach 5 around the skies. I can see him move at high speed in an area, and within a blink I am in front of him to clash blades before moving away.

If it isn't a quick movement to another space in the air for a clash, we take our distance to fly into each other at full power, then fly in circles like going around a moon to try and get behind or at someone's side for a sneak attack. In the end however, his fastest speed is only Mach 4.8, so I am able to dodge some of his rapid sword strikes, and return a few cuts into his suits with a blade of Light.

We often get down to the ground or near another building for a small skirmish. We just got on top of a building where I jumped over his overhead swing and I got to his back and ripped it open with my sword. Of course, he escaped and regenerated. Now I am with my back against this building with him about to slash at me.

However, I use reflection from my hand onto the building to get away, he cut through the building's wall and set it ablaze. I quickly get behind his back and kicked him into the building. I fly away and see the entire top of the building crumbling as he goes after me.
A little later, we get onto the white ground below.
He does a rush of thrusts, the flames on his swords slowly dwindling. I avoid it quite easily, but can't do much from here. I look at the row of buildings to my left.

I boost the strength of Light Step to shoot myself to the building, from the wall there, I jump and pierce through him like an arrow. A large portion of his mecha breaks down, but no surprise, he regenerates.
He attempts to slam me with one sword, I move away, he instantly follows up with a thrust.
Getting tired of it, I try to catch the blade only to see if I can. With one hand, his sword is in my grasp, my grip is strong enough to render him stuck.

He makes a lot of noises and shouts as I pull him my way. I gather light in my fist before punching his mecha upwards. Quickly, I jump up to his mecha's leg. Now I can take it for a swing. I spin it around at high speed before throwing him through multiple buildings.
I get back into the skies. Of course, he'd be following me. I snap my fingers, but only sparks appear in the sky.
I can't properly form share energy into anything. I can't use it for Weapon Create. I probably can't use the Hero's Sword either.

I move away before he can close in and attack me, I see him swiping at air, missing me. He shoots a few energy blasts at me that I can easily deflect them with my sword. It doesn't take much brain power to figure these blasts are to keep me busy whilst he charges right at me. When he gets close, I fly down leaning my back towards the surface with my knees on my chest. With one great double kick, I send him further up.

I fly above him before using Mid-Air Light Step to move faster and faster creating after-images. He has no trouble discerning fake from real and blocks many of my swipes. No, now that I look closely, his body can just move quick enough to hit every version of me with his sword, so he doesn't have to worry too much.
He launches a bunch of missiles and rockets at me, they go through every after images and are tracking me, at the same time, I fly further into the clouds.

I swing downwards with the rockets flying past me whilst I grabbed a second sword and engulfed it with light.
Both my blades were enchanted with a flowing light, one I used to disintegrate incoming missiles, the other I used to fire off at his mecha.
He dodges it, but now I have flown above him, ready to strike him down with two blades of lights. He tries to guard himself with his sword, but ends up crashing onto the building we fought on regardless. I shoot one powerful Light Blade shouting, "FusionStar Light Slash!"
at him.

It directly hits him and destroys a lot of his mecha.
As we know, when I get down there, it will already be regenerated. I come down on my feet, sinking to my knees to absorb the shock of my rough landing, air shooting from my landing.
This fight is practically over. However. I want to try using my black blade's ability more
I see snow standing still as I look at them and hold my blade tightly. I twirl my sword a bit and see the snow spinning.
Maybe I have to use more of my mind to really control the snow with my sword.

Mr. Dadd, is unsurprisingly walking my way with anger. He is about to do a thrusting attack.
I gather more snow in the rotation. When he does a thrust, I'll try to grab his arm.
The snow I have gathered spirals around his stretched left arm, and they wrap around it tightly. Snow is just water in the end, and could become dense in large volume. Snow is no different.

I feel a strain on my own arm muscle as I make the snow hold onto his arm. I figured me moving my own arm, the snow itself would act like an extended arm of mine. So, I turn around and swing my sword over my head, it felt like swinging a hundred-ton hammer, because I actually carried the mecha's weight. I see him getting flung over me, falling with his back on the ground.

he stands up and will probably attack soon, I can see veins pop from under his skin.
I just entrap his legs with snow, then I swing my sword to my left whilst turning myself, making him slither with his back over the roof. He almost fell off the roof as if he was thrown like a bowling ball, but no, he gets back up.
I suddenly hear a clicking noise. My feet are strapped in some kind of metal boots with pipes coming from the ground.

I can tell, I am surrounded by numerous explosives around me.
"I wouldn't break out of there if I were you.", he says before laughing. He sounds sick.
He makes a face that looks like he can't even see clearly anymore as he says in a mad tone, "This suit was made to combat goddesses! As a counter, we have made these mine shoes to blow their feet off! You may be able to fly, but you need it for balance and speed, don't you?!", he asks.

He chuckles more as he points at the surrounding explosives, "You are surrounded by anti-Share explosives. The more share energy you put out, the stronger they become. However, they can only be shot when a goddess moves from a certain distance. So even if you will yourself to break out of your shoes, these will instantly demolish you with your own strength!", then he cackles a lot.
This is pretty troublesome. I wouldn't have thought of this. However. I have enough strength to take him out in one hit. I just need to gather enough power into one sword.

He is going to attack me, I have to take a hit and then counter. Just as I thought I could defeat him without dying a second death. Oh well.
I combine two blades of Light as I hold them above me. They turn into a pillar of light that gathers energy.
"No matter what. The fact is…You are just one little girl fighting the whole world! Your foolishness will be your death! I am the true leader of Lowee. You are just some self-righteous idiot who shall die alone!". he speaks loudly as his face warps and his mecha moves around.

His arms dangle like fluid, then he flies at me, preparing one strong slash of his sword.
"She is not alone!", I hear Acclaim as I sense two men jumping up this building. Sili-san blocks his right blade shouting, "Her friends are right here!"
Acclaim blocks a swing from the left sword. Mr. Dadd tries to push forward to knock them off their feet, but he is being hold back by a lot of string that they both have prepared.
"Get off me you nobodies!", Mr. Dadd shouts as he loses his mind.

"Finish him off, leader! We'll hold on no matter what!", Acclaim shouts.
The two stand their ground in a desperate struggle as Mr. Dadd tries to push forward, he won't let himself get countered by their blades either.
"Mr. Dadd! I am not alone. I'm carrying everyone's hopes! These are my connections! And unlike yours, mine will never let me down!"

I start chanting to make this attack work. I see snowflakes brighten around me.
I can do it. I can enchant snowflakes into light using this black blade…I can increase this attack even more!
"Broken scattered souls. Come back and brighten up, as we fight for a new future to trample over despair…Let us come back from the dead, as small and dispersed stars, will come together into one that flies strongly over space. Small hopes, vague dreams, weak spirits, come together to follow a light in the darkness.", I chant as more snow gathers around, increasing the strength and size of my sword, more snow keeps flaring up around me.

"YEAH?! Well can your connections stop this beam! You're going to die by the hands that made this machine! Get evaporated!", Mr. Dadd shouts as his chest is gathering energy, brightening up with an ominous orange light.
No need to say that I am getting worried. But as he shouts the attack name, he is interrupted.
A single shout of, "Explosion!", and one magic spell was cast that blew up in front of his chest, the beam is blocked and combusted inside the chest, making it unusable.

Mr. Dadd looks over with his mind finally broken, I look over in the same direction.
Theresa had her hands out, they are smoking.
She panted a bit before shouting, "Finish him off! Bios!"
"HOW DARE YOU! THERESA!", his voice begins to peak, it's losing its girth.
"SynchroStar…", my just saying this quietly gets him to panic.
He looks at me and hurriedly presses a bunch of buttons. He is trying to use more of his thrusters, perhaps trying to use them with more power in risk of destroying them outright.

But he looks confused. Then he looks at his back, snow swirls around his thrusters. And now, his arms, his legs and his whole body, before turning into a flowing light.
"NO?! STOP?! DON'T DO IT! I GIVE UP! GODDESSES DON'T KILL, RIGHT?!", he pleads for his life with his voice having turned shrill.
I lower my sword as it us swirling with Light energy. Almost connecting to the lit-up snow that has trapped his mecha.
"Sili-San. Acclaim. Move out of the way.", I say. They did as I told them, now I can unleash this attack.

He screams for me to stop, but I ignore his request. I shout, "HELIOS BURST!"
From my sword and the surrounding snow, a white flame-like light blasts over the building and through Mr. Dadd, the burst is big enough to cover the entire city black…No. It turns into a beam and reaches outer-space. I can hear his scream fade as he together with his mecha, disintegrated into air. Only his arms are left, but they fall onto the ground.
Suffice to say, I am exhausted. I immediately turn back to my human form. My swords have disintegrated with the light.

I breath heavily whilst Sili-san and Acclaim limped over to me. Theresa is just frozen, looking at us with wide open eyes. Perhaps in disbelief.
I give them a sheepish smile. I want to celebrate, but I am not only tired, my feet are still stuck. The surrounding explosives won't go off even when touched, Sili-san can simply use string to tie them into the roof.

"What should we do about these shoes?", Acclaim asks.
Do you think the detonation will stop if you freeze it?", I ask him.
If these are what I think they are. I am sure they would stab you too if you moved your feet. We might want to rust their mechanical parts so that doesn't happen. And then freeze it?", he suggests looking closely at the metal shoes.
After discussing it, we use whatever water we can get and use magic to rust some components. Then we use ice magic to freeze the water. It takes a bit, our ice magic isn't strong. Theresa is still stunned.

Sili-san uses string to stop anything, just in case. Coincidentally, we have the idea to maybe break the shoes apart using said string. With a little effort, the shoes are taken apart without blowing up, freeing me. I give a sigh of relief. Finally, Theresa walks up to us.
"We…Won…", she says, I'm not sure if she's asking or not.
I can see Sili-san's smug face and Acclaim trying to hold his own smile back.
"He is…Gone…", tears wallop in her eyes.

"Yeah. We defeated him. You're free. Theresa.", I say to her.
Air fills her lungs as she gives us an open smile, she jumps in the air, "We won!"
She wipes her tears away and says, "I didn't think I deserved it. I thought it was impossible… Bios, you really did it!" She can't help but laugh. She might be going through many thoughts and feelings. I can't imagine living your life imprisoned forever, only to suddenly be free.

I look at the sky to my right and see lights headed our way.
"Sorry. But we must celebrate a bit later. Rest is a priority, and so is escape!", I tell them.
"That's fine, but I can barely stand.", Sili-san says.
"There is no way to move away from authorities the way we are.", Acclaim states.
"Sorry. Without my rod, I don't have enough magical capacity to teleport all of us at a quick notice.", Theresa says.
"Don't worry. I have an unorthodox transportation method.", I say as I hold the palm of my hand up.

Theresa cringes as I move around them.
She looks scared and says, "Don't tell me, you're going to…?"
The other two look totally lost on what my plan is. But Theresa recently experienced it.
"This is going to be a bit of suffering. But you'll feel better soon.", I say.
Now they look worried, Theresa, though, was about to scream.
"Reflection.", I shout as I enchant my hands with light to shoot anything at the speed of light.

With it, I quickly tap those three, and send them flying into a building at light speed.
They can take it. No need to worry. They won't find us.
I enchant me feet with light to travel at light speed. With Reflection Step, I can get to their location in no time. I end up crashing into a faraway abandoned town. I think I've been here before…
They were there, pretty ill. They experienced this before, so they will get over it quicker. But still, they are unable to move well. No puking yet, though.

"Sili-san, can you use your string to place objects in ways so we can't be found here?", I ask him.
He coughs and replies with, "SCREW YOU!", then he stares at me before saying,"…I'll get to it."
"Theresa. I'm sorry. Could you get this place heated so we can sleep here?", I ask her.
She looks at me confused, "Huh?", she responds before saying, "Oh. Sure."
"Acclaim, can you maybe set up a mirage? So, we don't get found.", I ask him.
He says with a serious tone, "Yes ma'am.", but after setting one step, he coughs like mad.

After we set the room up, me, Sili-san and Acclaim drop onto the floor.
"Haaa….We won…But I can't go on.", Sili-san says.
"I can't move anymore…Happiness can be generated tomorrow.", Acclaim says.
Theresa lies down with her back against a wall.
"Well then…I think it is finally enough…", that is what I say, before closing my eyes.
It has been weeks…Finally. I sleep. A few days pas whilst I sleep…I have never rested so well.

Chapter 4.5

Reason for Faith

My eyes open. I can slowly feel I am on top of something warm. It feels like hair? It's a carpet? My vision is steadily sharpening. I sit straight up to hear a few excited voices.
Sili-san is already shouting, "Ooh! She's awake"
I can hear the voice of a girl call out my name, but I am too drowsy to see anyone clearly.
"Huuu…I haven't slept like this for a while…How long…?", I muttered as I try to get up.

Standing up, I hear Acclaim say, "If you're asking how long you were sleeping. It was for three days, three hours, three minutes, and three seconds."
I am Histoire now?!
"YOU WERE KEEPING COUNT?!", Sili-san shouts at Acclaim.
"Wait.", I said as I looked up to think. I have been asleep for that long? Did anything happen?
Sili-san leaned with his back on the wall with his arms crossed and says, "Man, you really worried us there. You just weren't waking up."

Acclaim points at him with his thumb and says, "He cried a few times."
Sili-san gets out of his cool pose and yells embarrassed, "Oi! You don't have to tell her every detail!"
A girl walks up to me. Now being able to see a little better. It was Theresa, wearing a bright smile on her face.
"Bios…", she calls my name with a gentle tone before jumping into me and embracing me.

She's clinging onto me, saying, "You did it…You looked so pretty back there."
I giggle a bit awkwardly, I still am trying to process what is happening. Also, I feel awkward being hugged, it has been so long.
I grab her shoulders and distance her a little bit, "It's great you're here Theresa…But uh…"
After saying that, I look at the other two and ask, "Why is she in our secret base?"

Sili-san and Acclaim looked at each other and then back to me.
"Well…She wants to join us.", Acclaim said, hesitantly.
Sili-san rubs the back of his head with a smile and says, "Yeah, we thought you may not want her to fight with us…BUUUUT. She's a strong mage and well…"
I feel like there is another reason. But whatever.

"Is it okay, if I join?", she asks me.
I look at her and ask, "Why do you want to join? Do you know what we are doing?"
She nods, "I don't know all the details. I just wouldn't know what to do with my freedom…But. You taught me that I need to do what I want. I desire to be with you. And I am happy, if the work you do is similar, fighting for others. You are my first friend so…I want to follow you…Also. I have put my faith in you, my goddess.", she gives me a whole explanation, but it bothers me.

"My goddess"? Um, for the record. I am not really a goddess. Put your faith in me if you wish, but I want friends, not followers.", I tell her shaking my head.
She gives me a smile and says, "Don't put yourself down. No one came to save me but you, so for me, you are my goddess! I want to be your friend and follower, both."
"Sounds a lot more loaded, to be honest.", I whisper to myself.

"I would say I'd be against this…But…", I paused for a bit, making her anxious, "Would you even listen to a rejection?"
She gives me a cheeky smile, closing her eyes, she says, "Nope!"
"I figured as much. You would just follow us and do whatever anyway.", I say.
"I learned it from you. You told me to do what I want, and that it is fine if it's selfish.", her reason
"Taught you to be selfish…Huh?", I say, slightly sarcastically.
"Pfft…", I scoff, then it turns into a giggle.

In reaction, Theresa bursts out laughing. And I can't help but laugh too.
I have never actually been driven to tears by laughter before, but we are laughing so hard, we ended up bumping into each other and falling with our butts on the ground. But even then, we can't stop.
I hear Acclaim whisper to Sili-san, "It seems our decision to push their companionship was a good one."
"I told you. It would be better if there were a girl like her in the group, she looked so lonely before.", Sili-san whispers back.

Our laughing already stops. I don't really know what to feel. But I reply regardless, "I can hear you two."
They flinch, Sili-san even waves his arms around a bit in a panic.
"Don't be offended, leader! We just thought having us two dudes around in the base might feel awkward for you! We didn't mean anything by it!", Sili-san is making excuses, explaining himself profusely.
In the end, they are just being considerate to me. They care about me.
I look down to hide a smile.
Standing up, I looked at the highest platform, and moved over using Light Step.

I look at them as they group together.
"Listen up! There are some things to discuss! This is an official gathering now! All members are here!", I call out the meeting.
With them now standing in a row, looking at me intently.
"First, there are some things I need to share with you. No, that wasn't a pun on share energy, shut up. You all may have seen me transform into HDD.", I tell them.
I can see them nod at me, Theresa smiles.

"It is true, I can transform now. However, that is not something that I thought was possible anymore. In fact, it should never have happened! That is why I didn't bother to bring up what I really am! Share Energy should not be accepted by my body, yet, our strong believes in ourselves and cause, have created a miracle! But I should reiterate! I am NOT a goddess! I used to be one, which is why I can even access such a from…However! My body has changed!", I explain everything to them. Now their faces are a bit grimmer.

"I've lost the true power of my goddess form, and that cannot be restored by simple faith! I been forgotten, and my body has reversed. My energy source should be despair and fear now. I, however, REFUSE, to bring disaster to Lowee. That is why I made this group! To do the things the goddesses can't do! I can fight for Lowee my way, and I refuse those that hide their evil in the dark to prosper!", I give them more and more of a speech.

"Let me enlighten you all once more, the purpose of our group!", I raise a finger in the air with my talk, then I continue, "Our first priority, is getting rid of all the big organizations that have taken hold of Lowee from the shadows! SCJP is going down! Aside from that, in between, we fight crimes! Our goal is to help the people of Lowee! Small acts of kindness are things we can do as well! Really, what we want is, the nation to be the lovely care-free place to live in that the people want it to be! The nation that White Heart believes in!"

I hear clapping from the two guys, and Theresa is just staring at me in awe.
"For we are…! Um…We are…", I lose the hype a little, they give me an uncomfortable glance.
"…We never named ourselves.", I say out loud.
"We never really brought it up.", Sili-san says with his arms spread.
"It never really occurred to us one is needed. We were just a small group of vigilantes. Too straight forward.", Acclaim comments.

I cross my arms. I can't think of a good name. I don't even name most of my weapons…
I look at them and ask, "Any suggestions?"
"How about, the Phantom Thieves?!", Sili-san said with the excitement of a child.
"…That name is probably copyrighted. Also, we're not thieves.", I judge.
"Stardust Crusaders.", Acclaim gives his suggestion.
THAT ONE IS EVEN MORE COPYRIGHTED!
"Rejected. We'll get destroyed by an even more dangerous enemy.", I say.

I can see a shit eating grin on Sili-san's face as he raises a finger, and he suggests, "Phantom Crusaders…"
Giving them a sigh, I feel defeated and almost hang over.
I stand back up straight and say, "Not original…But fine…I think it will work."
"So…As of today. We are…". Sili-san is trying to hype us up.
We jump in the air shouting, "WE ARE THE PHANTOM CRUSADERS!"

I wait a bit for them to stop talking. They were very enthusiastic.
"With that said and done. We still are missing something. We needed their customer list.", I tell them, acting all stern.
Sili-san pulls a map with lots of paper in it using his string.
"Don't worry. The reason we were late to the fight was because we were looking for this.", he says, showing off the map. Within the span of three seconds, he throws it my way.

"It lists everything, from names to organizations. But more importantly. They have one organization that leads all four.", Sili-san gives me a full report, basically.
I appraise the map a little. I'm thinking of reading it later.
"For the record. We did get your phone to send copies to Rom and Ram, minus the information about the four organizations themselves. We thought it is our job, and you would hate shifting it to the other Goddesses. Is that correct?", Acclaim says.
I look at him confused, "Isn't it password protected?"
"Do you know what hacking is?", Sili-san asks me.
"…", I don't know what to say. I just leave it. I'll ask Rom and Ram to change my password later.

I hold the map in my arms and say with a playful smile, "You all have done what I've wanted. We do this because the goddesses have their hands full. I don't want to worry them. We will destroy the organizations ourselves, so that the illusion of Lowee being a care-free place becomes reality without anyone noticing."
After discussing a few things, I walk over to the exit.

"Hm? Bios? Where are you going?", Sili-san asks, they all look at me afraid.
"I'm going out for a bit. There is something I need to take care off.", saying that makes everyone frown.
I look back at them and try to ensure them, "Don't worry. It's not a fight…"
"Sorry, you have a bad track record.", Sili-san says in jest.
"Don't worry. I've learned now. Rely on your friends.", I say.
"Take care!", I hear from Theresa behind me. I wave them goodbye.

Back at the desolate wasteland that used to be Lowee's capital. I return to the one standing building. The sky is as star-filled and moonlit as before. Beautiful. I can look for hours whilst sitting down and drinking this coffee. Of which I've grown fond of.
I look down on the table, with the book about my big sister's thoughts and experiences.
Normally, it would be an act of distrust to look inside, but for me it is the opposite, I wasn't trusting her, so was scared to find out she wasn't such a great person…

However, now I know that there can be both a good side and bad side to someone. And I need to believe in her, that whatever is in this book, it will lead me to fully understand her as a person.
I open the book. And begin to read. There is so much. Most notably, how she felt when trapped in the Gamindustri Graveyard, when they fought the Deity of Sin. When suddenly someone called, Iris Heart, terrified her in the event of the CPU of Tari attempting to destroy dimensions.

When Lowee had forgotten about the goddesses and some group had turned it into a totalitarian state…Then I realize. She had felt similar to me. Without people even remembering her, she became a great hunter and stopped this new system where people's jobs were assigned by birth. How they saved Uzume and stopped Kurome from destroying Gamindustri. There are so many great stories in here.

Then I see her thoughts and feelings of today. I can see, she has been fighting hard. Not only against Blue Screen, but there were some odd monsters that have spawned all over Gamindustri. "The Shadows", Nepgear mentioned them. Not to mention her helping the other CPUs, every nation had their own new problem to deal with…And some of them, I assume comes from 'those guys'. Finally, there were her thoughts on me. Even if she has forgotten me now, this is unaltered history.

Me. Rom and Ram. She may get annoyed and angry. But there is nothing but utmost care for us. She wants us to be safe no matter what. I can even see thoughts of…Well…Murder if someone were to hurt us. To say the least, she works hard on trying to help us and basically raise us, she reads so many books, unsure of if she's doing it right. She finds it a bit embarrassing. In the end, she loves us the most.

I close the book. I can see it soiled by tears coming from me. I stand up and say, "I'm glad…"
I walk over to the end of the building, and I look up at the moon with my wet eyes. I bring out a smile as I utter, "She really was a good person after all…"
After taking it in, I get myself together, and look ahead.
"I won't let you do whatever you wish. I will crush your remaining organizations…And then…I will free Lowee from your filthy hands. I'm coming for you…Avinir!", I say to myself.

Epilogue

Those that are born from despair

Near the heart-lake of Planeptune…Lies a secret.
I know this, thanks to the library…But I am also instinctively called there. It is the intended home for me, after all.
I walk through the secret underwater tunnel. Aside from leading to the island in the middle, there is another passage way. An ancient one. The only thing millennia old.
I walk over, despite some leakage, there was only a minor flood.

It is dark, the only light comes from the sea's natural light sources. Finally, I reach a room. It is basically an under-water temple that reaches the surface. Of course, it is all ruins now. I am being watched. Looking around, there are three girls in the shadows. All of them glare at me. I can hear their cackling.
"So…The last one has finally arrived. Took you long enough!", these words set off their laughter.

"You sure have some nerve showing up here without being able to use your devil form.", I hear from one of them.
"We can tell your darkness is lacking, you can't transform yet. Still don't feel hate towards your sister? Maybe you shouldn't have come.", I can hear the judgement in that voice.
Looking above me, three girls are sitting at various heights and positions above me.
Their eyes have power symbols in them, but not really.

Their symbols are black, but somehow, glow brightly. I never have seen the color black as a light before. Not to mention, their power symbols are upside down.
They are wearing black torn clothes over what looks like sharp metal assets that covered their bodies.
I don't care for them. I don't even remember them, and I know the feeling is mutual.

I bring my black sword out and say, "I have come to make a demand."
They have become quiet. I can sense their aggression, it is so thick.
"You three…You have your own nations to fight…Leave Lowee alone.", I speak with the grimmest tone I can do. I glare over to all three of them, they look at me with disgust.
"What do you mean?! Huh?! You still care about your nation?! What is it to you?! We have to destroy it anyway!", I hear from one of them.
"Do you like your nation?! What a disgrace! You dare make demands whilst you're weak?!", I hear more dissent.

I step forward and swing my sword, so I say, "If you won't do it…I'll make you."
"WHAT?! The audacity!", I hear from my right.
The tallest one with black hair stood up, she is in between the other two.
She crosses her arms and says, "Why should we listen to your demands?"
"Someone who can't even transform should just lay down and shut up!"
The three are getting ready to fight.

I look to the right and see the shortest one, I can tell from her face she's the most infuriated and acts the most emotional. Easy first target.
I materialize a spear whilst light escapes from under my heels. I cast a timed explosion spell on the spear.
I shoot myself at the short one with a burst from Light Step, obviously, with a higher transformation comes great reaction speed, so she catches the staff of my spear.
I can see her smug smirk as she tries stare at my face, time to wipe it off.

The spear explodes as I have planned. Using the smoke from the explosion, I get behind this girl who is panicking and turning her head in every direction.
I use Reflection on her to send her flying between the other two at Light Speed, at the same time, my sword is charged with light in the other hand. I revved up my blade with it letting out a trail of white light that ferociously swayed with energy.
"UnionStar…", I said whilst they are panicking. Shouting, "Don't use that here!"

"Light Slash!", I yell after I swing my sword to unleash a huge blade of Light onto the three. After one great explosion of Light, I jumped high into the air to rain down hundreds of arrows onto them from my Bow and Arrow. Every one of them were explosive arrows, I wanted to create a huge smoke screen. I can hear them cough. I sensed they nearly escaped my Light Slash, only being hit by its edge or explosion. Regardless, all I want is an open space to make my time easier.

I get out from a hole in the ceiling, jumping out of it, I can see some kind of force is stopping water from entering the hole, creating a pretty sizable gaping hole in the ocean. Is it magic? I have no clue. I think it may be similar to the spell that created that fake mountain in Lowee.
Manipulating elemental magic spells, I can still stand on water. It is a bit awkward, but I have to constantly move with Light Step, so I barely really walk on it anyway. Out of the smoke pillar comes the three beings of shadow. They stare down on me in anger.

"You had your fun?! You can't even fly! We'll beat you from the sky!", the short girl with deep purple hair told me.
"Picking a fight with us and doing that stunt is something you'll regret.", a woman of average size (aside from her bust, that thing is huge. Definitely from Leanbox) with dark green hair told me.

The tall one with long black hair isn't saying anything, just giving me a disappointed stare.
"Multiple beam launcher!", the purple haired girl said as she unleashes a few drones firing small lasers.
"Bullet Cutter!", shouted by the tall girl with black hair she…Shoots bullets out of her sword? She shoots them whilst waving her blade. What kind of weapon is that?
I can sense through the wind where to stand to avoid most of them, other than that, my Light Step is a little faster than a bullet.

After a while, I got bored. Feeling that way, I grabbed my own bow and Arrow and will fling Light infused arrows back at them. Some arrows, however, are explosive arrows. Alongside that, I throw some knives at Light Speed their way. I want to tell them that air supremacy means nothing to me. But that tall girl, she flies higher into the air to avoid the storm of arrows anyway, and now she grabbed a huge cannon that splits open.

"You deserve punishment for your insolence!", she says as electricity flows through her cannon. So, it shoots lightning. I must grab my Lightning absorbing spear
"Railgun!", she shouts, shooting a huge bolt of Lightning at me. Since this isn't magical, it actually goes at Light Speed. But, I already have thrown my spear of Lightning at it. While it did stop the lightning, its strength was enough to burn the spear away in the process.

"UnionStar!", I shout at I spun around to enlarge the bursting white Light coming from my sword. With one more spin, I shoot a blade of Light in the sky shouting, "Light Slash!"
The tall girl flees in response, escaping my attack that rips even the sky apart.
From seemingly out of nowhere, I see the short one flying straight to me about to hit me with a vertical sword swing. I blocked it, but my feet are dragged over the water as she's pushing me flying forward. My arms hurt slightly, her strength is certainly beyond mine.

However, I accounted for that. I use Light Step to move to my left, my blade slid past her and she ends up losing her balance, her sword goes down as she is about to fall in the water.
I appear behind her without her noticing. Only the illumination of my sword as it bursts with Light got her attention.
"Light Slash!", I shouted as I blow her away with my attack. Although, I can tell, it only hurts a little bit, barely does any damage.

The girl with green hair comes charging at her with a spear as she shouts, "I won't forgive you!" Like I care
I materialize a spear and shoot it at her using Reflection. She can't react to the speed of Light yet, her eyes aren't trained like mine. The spear goes straight through her. Of course, she's dead like me, a hole through her body is just void, however, the surprise stops her.
In the meantime, the taller one has snuck up to me and moves in a zigzag motion to throw me off.

I block one elegant sword swing, only for her to do a back flip kick that sends me into the air. At the same time, I'm guarding against a mid-air triple spin-kick, she shouts, "Lace Ribbons!" Then gets to the ground to jump higher above me, to finish her attack off, she does an elegant spin slash in midair whilst one-handing her sword. I thought it was about to hit me, so I held my sword forward, but as I get down onto the water and she's doing a pose, suddenly, from my left shoulder to my side is cut.

Noire's move, huh? I know one too…
I dash over to her, I duck with my head under a horizontal sword swing, I held my legs in the air almost in range of getting cut, so I can throw them down to do my own back flip kick. She blocks it with her left arm, but is shoved into the air regardless. I get above her and shout, "Drop Crush!", before swinging my sword down. She swiftly flies to my left far away from me, I hit nothing, the strength of my swing unleashes a blast of air that dents the water below us.

I fall back onto the water, but can tell she is not going to attack me soon.
Instead, the spear-girl comes at me again, not flying at full speed. Most likely trying to avoid getting hit again. I put my blade in its sheathe and summon another spear.
"Rainy Ratnapura!", She shouts as she moves at high-speed thrusting her spear consecutively.
It is easy for me to dodge, and I know that this attack ends with a strong slash.

I messed up her spear-wipe with the staff of my own spear as I rotate it. I skip the part where I would hit her up and then down with the spear, with some energy, I slash her whilst shouting, "Purpurascens Burst!" Green energy unleashes from the impact as she is thrown further away in shock.
"Critical Edge!", I can hear coming from behind, I use Light Step to quickly dodge a speedy movement where the user instantly speeds past a target with a sword slash.

I can see the strength of her slash cut even the water below her. The short girl missed me, now she turns to fly towards me. I mirror her movement.
"Cross Combination!", we both shout as I parry her Special Skill with my own. Two over the shoulder swing from opposite directions, followed by a second round of the same after a mid-air spin, then you're supposed to knock you opponent into the air, immediately doing an uppercut after you swing your sword down.

Knowing this, I place my blade below her to misdirect her blade into the air. Then we both do a striking attack, clashing with our blades, creating a gust of wind. She looks at me with wide open eyes.
I won't let her think. I blow up my sword in her face, she coughs as smoke fills her lungs. I have moved behind her using Light Step, now I materialize a hammer.

"Zerstorung!", I shout as I knock my hammer with a spin into her, chucking her over the waters.
I spin my hammer around some more, the tallest is coming my way, so I throw my hammer at her at full strength. She stops to defend herself, but it is bait, I cast explosion on it to make it blow up.
I move past her using Light Step, she won't even know, because of the smoke.

I materialize a morning star. As I fling the ball at her, I move the chain a bit, I make the chain wrap around her throat. With her stuck in this chain, I throw her at the others together with the spiked ball, also letting this ball blow up upon impact. The three carefully fly around me now, probably thinking of an attack.
These three are no doubt stronger than me.

Honestly, judging from my fight with Uni, their form would even surpass HDD. This means that once I fight Big Sis for real, I'd probably become too strong for her. The others need to become stronger. For now, their only advantage is battle experience. I can tell. They lack training. I find it hard to remember, but there has to have been a reason not being able to transform bothered me so much. They probably learned quicker, like they have now. Relying on HDD, not doing much training at all, unlike me.

I look at the tall girl with raven black hair.
She's the only one that feels like a threat to me. She may also not be as experienced as me, but she is clever. She might come up with a battle plan if the fight drags on. Either way. I have trained more, and I have experienced plenty of huge battles. It doesn't feel like they have.
All three of them are flying towards me. I cast a bunch of fire and ice spells to create a mirage.

Bullets are fired, beams are launched, spears are flying, but as they will soon realize, I have already moved away. I recreate the black sword in one hand and in the other I grab a silver great sword. I see them cut through the mirage, looking confused. The tallest one looks behind her to see me, but it is too late. My swords are fused into one big sword of Light.
I shoot myself up, then I shout, "FusionStar Light Slash!"

As I swing my sword down onto the bed of water, A big light shoots from me that made a long cut through the ocean and blows up a rock formation in the distance. I assume it does minimal damage to those three, especially since they've flown away.
I can sense the shortest one coming my way from behind.
I use Light Step at the last moment to trip her up as she tries to slash me, but then I moved to her side and laid my hand on her. "Reflection", I say as I shoot her at Light Speed into the tallest one, for she was about to cut me down.

The green haired girl saw this as an opportunity to get me from behind, goes full in on a plunging attack. I step to the side and grab the spear she's using. I use her strength to spin her with the spear around before throwing her against the shortest girl, who had gotten back up and was ready to perform another assault.
Then, immediately, the tallest girl appears to my right and tries to stab me. I stop her sword with my own whilst hopping backwards in order to not get pushed.

She drags my arms into the air by pushing my sword up, then she raises her own with two hands and turns it into big rainbow sword as she shouts, "Tornado Sword!"
Then I shall do something similar. I let my sword burst in light and say, "Light Blade!"
The lights of our swords collide and spark as we push them against one another. One heavy swing after another, she clearly is stronger, but all she can do is push me as our attacks cancel each other out.

I've decided, I'm going to unleash the light and let is explode, then shoot myself into the air.
I do so, using Light Step to go into the air and the explosion of Light Slash to blow myself further into the air.
The tallest girl looks at me with a smirk, thinking she has an advantage into the air.
She flies at me, probably wanting to take a swing at me, but I cast explosion above me to move under her as she goes past me, slashing nothing but air.

I am losing altitude, and she is diving my way. I materialize a shield.
I can tell from the positioning of her arms that she wants to knock me below the water, which would be the end of our fight, since they can fly through water and I can't, or so they think.
I let go of my shield, simultaneously, I cast explosion to my left, so she just hits an exploding shield with nothing behind it.

She covers her face as it blows up, I have swiftly used explosion magic to get behind her, now with my sword engulfed in light, I hit her down onto the waters shouting, "Light Slash!"
Following up from that, I grab an electrified spear, and a few knives of which I cast weak Lightning enchantment magic onto, I then throw all weapons into the lake.
They are staring at me, one of them quickly gets off the water. They are clearly baffled.
I then drop head first towards the ocean. I can hear two of them laughing.

"Are you giving up? This isn't even suicide, what are you planning?", I hear one of them speak in a mocking tone.
I materialize my lightning absorbing sword. I drag it over the ocean to absorb all electricity, then I do a front flip and land. I can see from one glance, they are absolutely puzzled. The tallest girl, however, didn't seem to care. In fact, she looks entirely unamused.

All three of them fly towards me. I jump at them, my sword letting sparks fly as I raise it into the air. From the top of my head, I swing it around my front and emit a wave of lightning at them that knocks them back. This shouldn't even really hurt them, but they'll feel a bit of pain and get annoyed.
"Urg! What's up with this chick?! She copies even the moves of our sisters. Can't decide on what weapon to use, and now is even annoying us!", I hear the shortest girl as she stamps her feet on…Air.

"I think we need to step it up. I am quite done being outperformed by someone who can't even transform.", the green haired girl sounds irritated.
"Agreed. Now I can tell she's definitely better at fighting, but I don't want to respect her at all.", the tallest girl replies.
Our fight continued. It's a lot of hopping around and using their attacks against them.
A one-vs-one would have actually been more difficult. They have no teamwork.

But, in the end, they are much stronger. Once they used larger attacks, I had too much difficulty dodging them. In the end, the tallest girl had flung me in the air, the girl with spear launches me further up, and as if hitting a volley-ball, the shortest girl knocks me down into the water near a shore. Now they've gathered and plan to finish me off. Knowing of course, I'd still survive.

"Tornado Railgun!", the tallest girl had her railgun shine in rainbow colors and fired off what looks like a black lightning tornado at me.
"Green Sun Spear!", the girl with green hair raised her spear in the sky, it was like a green sun appeared to illuminate the spear, after a second, the spear glows in a plasma-looking light, it's barely a spear anymore as she throws it.
"Multiple Beam Slash!", the shortest girl combined her sword with the beam shooting drones and created a neon-light beam blade, and she makes on large slash that soars through the sky.

The three attacks fused into some kind of sharp spinning hyper beam. I am being dragged through earth and sea, eventually, I end up in the depts as the attack explodes.
I am in pain, but honestly, I feel too numb to even care. Because at the end, I know that was just a practice round. Now I am going at them for real.

I can see the environment around me light up as power symbols shine in my eyes. With my transformation comes a white tower of light that shoots all the way back up to the surface. In HDD, I can fly all the way back up into the sky within a fraction of a second. Once they can see me, I slowly fly a little above them, their bodies look tense. They have mesmerized looks on their faces. Within an instance, I have flown with a Sonic boom right above the shortest girl.

"What?!", is the last use of her mouth before being smashed down by my hammer, of which I then shoot at her at light speed using Reflection to make her fall into the ocean. The other two had turned to look at me when I moved at her, they seem to only now believe that I have flown over here. The girl with spear came at me, she is pretty fast. But in the end, it is only Mach 4 speed.

Using Light Step on magical circles that can be physically made with HDD, I dodge her attack, disappearing as fast as a flash. Her body eases up, her arms look less strained, she must be confused. Anyway, I step behind her with a sword of overflowing Light. She turns around, only to get hit by it. After taking the knockback from my sword, she's about to be launches down with the short one, as I use Light Step to quickly go after her, place my hand on her belly, and then use Reflection.

The tallest wants to fight me, but after closing in on me, I spam Light Step to move around her at such speeds that I leave after-images. From every direction, I surround her with after-images. She tries to fight back As I get closer together with all the after-images. But she only manages to cut the fakes. I punch her, I slash her, I kick her, I go through her until she is unable to block me. Or so I thought, now I am above about to use a fully charged Light Slash, but she manages to guard herself regardless.

She's tough. If it weren't for the fact that she's stuck at Mach 3 speed, she might have put up a much better fight. I cast reflection on my feet to move at the speed of Light. I shoot myself at her from a magical circle, drop kicking her at the speed of Light, down towards the ocean where the other three were.
Now I grab a second blade and make both of them light up with immense magic.

"EXE Drive Skill.", I say, making the air dense and hard to move in for others.
I fly down towards them in a bow before maneuvering around them as I slash into them with the two lit up swords, there is nothing they can do whilst I perform cutting acrobatics around them. They get pushed into the air as I did a jumping spinning slash, now they fall at the same time that I combine the swords together saying, "FusionStar…"

They recover from falling, but it doesn't matter, they will take the full brunt of my attack as I go down and swing my huge sword of light onto them shouting, "Light Slash!"
I fly way to look at my gigantic dazzling explosion.
Afterwards, I can see them wheezing, making pained expression, but then, they look disgusted at me as I fly above them, crossing my arms.
"Impossible…You died too, right?! Then you should be like us…You can't transform into HDD!", the shortest one shouts.

"How can you use shares?! You shouldn't be able to get them!", the tallest one acts like I owe her an explanation.
"HDD? Disgusting…Can you be even more of an eyesore?", the green haired girl speaks in a lower tone, staring at me with hatred. She is pulling something from her back…Wait.
Looking closely, I see a black sword. That black blade? Is it feasible? They're supposed to not exist, I made mine based off the legend. Were they real swords?
I shake my head, no, Now is not the time. But if she has such a weapon, I need to be careful.

I take some time to think about their questions.
The fact is, we can still use some share energy, our bodies just reject it from the inside. Which is why share energy leaks a lot more when we use it. Hm…Could I maybe strike a deal? If she uses that sword, I don't know what will happen.

"It would seem fighting is pointless…How about we make a deal instead?", I suggest.
The shortest girl and green haired girl both give me an annoyed, "HUH?!"
Whilst the tallest one crosses her arms and looks at me with furrowed eyebrows.
"I want you to not target Lowee. I doubt that is much to you. In return, I'll teach you how to use HDD.", is the deal I propose.

"What?! Is this bitch stupid or something?! Why would we want to use HDD when SSD is way better?!", The shortest one reacted.
"I don't see the point. All we want is to destroy our older sisters. HDD is a form I'd rather not take. I'm going all out this time! I'll teach you…", the green haired girl voiced her dissent and is about to fly at me. But then, the tallest girl holds her back with her left arm stretched.

"Wait…", she says. Then she looks at me and asks, "Surely, you have an idea of what use HDD can be for us."
"Of course. Think about it. Fighting one goddess is simple. Destabilizing a whole nation, and you lose by numbers. But if you can use HDD, you can trick them into thinking you're on their side.", I tell them. I'm sorry, Vert, Noire, Neptune. But I have to protect Lowee. I'm sure you can handle it…

The tallest girl looks down, probably thinking about it. Then she gives me a smile, "Fine. I think we'll take you up on this deal."
Angrily, the shortest girl snaps at the tallest, "What the hell?! Why are you making the decision for us?! Speak for yourself!", weighing her whole body in as she shouts.
"Think about it? We could kill them and destroy their armies from behind. Wouldn't you want to see the look of betrayal in their eyes?", the tallest one argues calmly.

The shortest girl suddenly leans back, her mouth formed an O as she realized how good this deal is.
She gives a weak laugh and says, "Now that you put it like that. I can think of a few fun pranks I could do.", and then starts laughing a bit more.
The green haired girl sighs, then she says, "I suppose we can let Lowee alone. It's not our focus of hatred anyway…"

"I can think of a lot of usefulness in being able to transform into another form. Think of another identity we can create…", The tallest girl says.
The green haired girl puts her hand on her side and says, "I suppose I can get behind that idea."
The tallest girl looks at me and says, "You've got a deal. We will refrain from harming Lowee, be it through digital means, through monster summons, through physical attacks, or even economical ones. In return, you teach us how to use HDD in our current state."

I'm sorry everyone. But I have to make a deal with a devil. Well, of course, I am one as well. One day, the four of us will fight all of Gamindustri, that is our fate. But I want to put my faith in them…I want to believe, those big sisters of ours, can defeat us.

Afterword

Man, it has been a long time. 2022 definitely is a bit more of a productive year than the last one, but I don't feel like I've done enough this year either. I actually wanted to write both volumes of this and release them this year but could only get this out. Although, it is my longest volume yet.

Where should I start with this? First the predictable part, this was not meant to be so long. Chapters 3 and 4 were supposed to be a single chapter. But figuring how long this was going to get I split it in two halves. A lot of chapters 2 was winged with a lot of things made up on the spot. Only the character Acclaim was really planned, and some backstory elements were thought off, but for the most part, I made it all up as I went along.
One other thing I did do that some might already know. The maker characters are named after closed game studios, just like Bios, they are revived from the shadows. I kind of pick a name from a dead studio and see if it fits the character. Theresa's code name will be from another dead company or studio, which you'll find out in the next volume.

The organizations were partially made up on the spot. Originally (And I didn't remember until proof reading the whole thing) Avenir was supposed to be name dropped in the first chapter instead of SCJP. Doing it like this feels better, not only a bit more mystery, but also, we don't immediately deal with a name drop from the first game. I was thinking about the fact that the first game is non-cannon, but in some dimensions parallel characters do exist, so this would be the parallel to Avenir in the Superdimension.

Since the lore is somewhat different between games, I made up some of my own.
Now, obviously, the first thing you may have noticed is the darker tone of this. As the tittle "Darkness" should suggest. Originally, I wanted to make Thirst Sister a slice of life relaxing kind of thing to write for fun to relax. But I already had an idea for a serious story about the opposite of a goddess. I figured to just fuse the two together. "Darkness", is the story of the main character's journey to Devilhood versus "Light" where she reaches Goddesshood.

Sometimes I get an idea and I have to write it, even if it may not always make sense. I read one review stating they usually don't like a more edgy Neptunia fic, and I understand that completely, I actually would feel the same way. But at heart, I just really wanted to write this.
But it wasn't easy to write for sure, especially chapter 3 and 4.

I didn't do anything there to be edgy for the record. I simply think all these 4 nations should have some reason for negative energy to give birth to Bios and the others. And I thought, (What would be the darkest side to Lowee?) And I just thought, thematically what I've done would make sense as an issue in Lowee.

At first, I was wondering how far I should go, but figured it would be best to leave it vague and let the reader make up what kind of evil things people do. This would mean if your mind is more twisted, you'll think the worst, and if you want to not think something too edgy you can imagine something lighter. I thought, maybe this will be fine. There is just a line no one dares to cross, and I understand why. At the same time, I like to cross such lines, but this is a Neptunia fan fic, I don't want to make it too dark…

And still, I am not sure if I made the right call.
The only thing I kind of regret is lack of time and the need to not have a story that is too long. Chapter 1 is very short and to the point upon proof-reading. Maybe I will rework it at some point. And I was wondering if there weren't some smaller things, I should add here and there in chapters 3 and 4, bit it already is too long, so I'll leave it for now.

You may have noticed I got rid of the Character profiles section. I normally have character profiles like this in my other works (Most of them have never been released anywhere).
I decided to got his route because as you may have noticed, there aren't a lot of characters I have been writing profiles for. it is partially because I don't find them important enough. But if a lot of people want me to write a character profile for them, I will.

The next volume should be released in April at least. I would like to say March, but I doubt it.
Next Volume should end Darkness, but with my track record, I have no idea.

If you're wondering why Chapter 4.5, Epilouge, and afterword is written in a bigger type, IDK, I just copy and pasted from word and this thing decided that they should just have a bigger font.