Chapter Twenty - Kaela Kovalskia
—
[Timeline 5 / May 18, 2021 - Just off the shore of Lembeh island]
"We're almost there." Gura says, clutching Amelia's gold pocket watch tightly as she looks towards the island in the distance.
"All of you remember what Kronii told us, right?" Nerissa asks the group as she readies herself for their arrival. "Get the key from Kaela though negotiations, and use force only if necessary." Shiori replies, reminding everyone of the time god's instructions.
"Correct, but there's one thing that we should all keep in mind." Kiara tells Shiori before facing the rest of the group. "We're doing this for Ame!"
[Timeline 5 / May 17, 2021 - The S.S. Kaela 67]
(Five hours after Amelia Watson ingested the Kirin's flower.)
Everyone sits in the couches of the ship's main cabin, anxiously watching one of the bedrooms as they wait for someone to exit.
The door of the bedroom opens, and Kiara steps into the cabin. "She's still alive, but just barely." Kiara says solemnly as she takes a seat next to Ina.
"So Ame might survive?" Ina hopefully asks the phoenix beside her. "I really hope so..." Kiara replies doubtfully.
"Ame isn't the type of person to just roll over and die! She's definitely gonna make it!" Gura quickly stands up and shouts.
"Gura, relax. We all know that Amelia's strong, but there's nothing wrong with being realistic." Nerissa says softly, trying to calm the Atlantean down.
"Ame said not to treat her like she's already dead! So until she actually is, I'm gonna wait for her to wake up!" Gura shouts at Nerissa with teary eyes before sitting back down.
"Gura..." Ina utters softly as she looks at her friend.
The room falls silent after Gura's outburst as everyone feels too depressed, or awkward to speak.
"I'm asking Kronii to heal Ame." Gura suddenly says as she stands up and storms into the bedroom Amelia is staying in.
After entering the room, Gura closes the door and walks to the comatose Amelia, taking a sad look at her as she approaches. "Hey, Ame. I'm just gonna borrow your watch for a bit, okay?" Gura says as she grabs the pocket watch lying on Amelia's waist.
"Gura! Just what do you think you're doing!?" Shiori shouts as she barges into the room. "I'm asking Kronii to help Ame. That's what I'm doing!" Gura shouts as she hastily flips open Ame's pocket watch.
"Kronii, this is Gawr Gura, the Atlantean." Gura says as Shiori watches nervously. "Gura? Why do you have Amelia's watch?" Kronii asks curiously.
"Kronii... Amelia's been put into a coma... And we don't know if she's gonna wake up." Gura answers somberly as she looks at her sick friend.
"What!? Who did this!?" Kronii asks furiously. "When Ame was fighting Shion, she ate a flower, the Kirin's flower, so she could be strong enough to beat her." Gura explains, her heart's fresh wounds opening as she recalls the events that happened earlier that day.
"The Kirin's flower?!" Kronii remarks in suprise. "...How in the world did she get her hands on that?" She wonders.
"I don't know... but I wanted to ask you if there's anything you can do to help Ame." Gura asks hopefully. "I'm sorry, Gura. But once a mortal ingests the Kirin's flower, they're destined to die." Kronii replies sadly, reluctant to deliver the bad news to the Atlantean.
"There's really nothing that you can do to save my friend?" Gura asks desperately. "I'm really sorry Gura, but to interfere with the outcome of ingesting a Kirin's flower is to interfere with faith itself." Kronii apologises sincerely, feeling guilty for breaking Gura's heart.
"Alright then... thanks for listening, Kronii." Gura says solemnly as she moves her hand to close Amelia's pocket watch. "Gura, wait!" But before she can, she's interrupted by Kronii.
"Now that Amelia's gone, there's something important I need to tell you." The god says, her voice carrying a sense of importance in it's words. "Something important?" Gura asks curiously.
"I want to tell you the truth about this mission." Kronii says. "You all aren't going to Indonesia to deliver... Kronite. You're actually going there to prevent Kaela Kovalskia from giving Laplus Darkness the key to unlock her shackles and regain her [shed] form."
"What? So you were lying to us this whole time?!" Kiara shouts in shock and confusion. "Not many people outside of the council know about Laplus's [shed] form, and we intended to keep it that way. But now we have no choice but to tell you." Kronii explains.
"What's so special about Laplus's [shed] form that you had to keep it a secret?" Ina asks curiously. "To keep it short, Laplus used to be a part of the council, but because she committed an act of treason against the council and the creator, her true power was sealed by those shackles she wears." Kronii explains.
"Laplus used to be a member of the council?!" Ina, Gura, and Kiara all shout in shock. "That's right, but there's no time to be shocked. Right now, I need to know if you'll finish this mission on Amelia's behalf." Kronii says urgently, not wanting to waste any time.
"We are." Gura says quickly, not bothering to wait for any of her friends to respond. "That's good. I was afraid that you might refuse." Kronii says, feeling relieved.
"I can't believe you actually spilled the beans, Kronii." Shiori remarks in disbelief. "I had no choice. Now that Amelia's gone, we need all hands on deck." Kronii replies succinctly.
"So you knew the whole time, Shiori?" Kiara asks. "Yep, and the prisoners too." Shiori says as she points at Nerissa and the door leading to the cabin where the rock girl and demon dogs sleep.
"When Shiori and Elizabeth let us free, they told us everything." Nerissa adds.
"Enough with that. I need you all to listen closely, because I'll tell you the plan for when you arrive in Indonesia." Kronii announces, and everyone crowds around Amelia's pocket watch to listen attentively.
"Basing off of where Raora last spotted them, Laplus and her crew look like they'll arrive in Indonesia a little later than your group, but only a few minutes later. You'll use that time to find Kaela and tell her to hand over the key to Laplus's shackles. If she does give you the key, then you'll quickly return to the island Paradise before Laplus can catch up with you." Kronii explains.
"But if Kaela refuses to give you the key for whatever reason, then you'll have to take it from her by force. Once you do take it, then you'll return to the island Paradise just like the first scenario, understand?" Kronii asks as the team tries to process everything she just dumped on them.
"It's a lot, but I think we got it." Ina replies confidently, with the rest of the team nodding their heads in agreement.
"Hey, Kronii. Let's say, uh... hypothetically, Kaela doesn't give us the key and we have to take it by 'force'...
...you think we can beat her?" Gura asks nervously.
"If I'm being completely realistic, even if all eight of you attacked Kaela at once, you would only have about a five percent chance of beating her." Kronii answers bluntly, with no concern for the psychological damage that she could cause.
"Oh... I see... She should be no problem then..." Gura replies weakly as her soul leaves her body, leaving behind a terrified husk of a shark.
"Let's just try to avoid fighting Kaela as much as possible." Kiara says calmly as she pats Gura on the back.
"There's one more important thing I need to mention." Kronii says, bringing everyone's attention back to the watch. "The person that I want to lead this mission is the Phoenix, Takanashi Kiara."
Kiara staggers back in suprise and shouts, "Me?! Kronii, am I really the best option?!" Kiara asks doubtfully.
"You have thousands of years of experience, that should help you in leasing this team." Kronii says supportively, trying to boost the Phoenix's confidence. "Plus, the options I have are either you or Shiori, and I trust you a lot more than the latter." Kronii adds, completely dissing Shiori for no reason whatsoever.
"Why do I feel like I've been getting slighted a lot recently?" Shiori wonders to herself as she takes in what Kronii just said.
"I guess that makes sense. (Of course it does. -Shiori) I'll try my best to live up to your expectations." Kiara says confidently.
"That's great. Now, you all should get a good nights sleep, you have a big day tomorrow." Kronii suggests. "Okay. Bye Kronii, and thanks." Gura says before closing the lid of Amelia's pocket watch, ending their communications.
[Timeline 5 / May 17, 2021 - Throne room of the Universe's Courthouse]
"Did you just say that Amelia ate a Kirin's flower?" Fauna asks Kronii curiously. "Yeah, apparently she got her hands on one somehow." Kronii replies, feeling just as confused as Fauna is.
"Someone must have given it to her." Fauna speculates, resting her head on her hand as she thinks.
"Whistle~ whistle~" Bae casually leans back in her seat with her hands behind her head, whistling while she looks up at the ceiling inconspicuously.
'Damn, I didn't think she would use the Kirin's flower so early. I was really hoping that I'd get to see her fight Kaela or Laplus a Kirin, but oh well.' Bae thinks to herself as she continues to whistle and stare at the ceiling.
Suddenly, Cali slams her fist into the podium in front of her.
*Bam!*
"First we lost Haato, and now we're going to lose Ame... this is bullshit..." Cali says frustratedly, clenching her fist as she pushes it against her podium.
"Amelia..." Kronii mutters softly as she stares blankly at the furious death god.
[Timeline 5 / May 18, 2021 - Lembeh island, Indonesia]
The S.S. Kaela 67 touches down on the sandy beach of Lembeh island, completely coming to a stop.
"We've arrived." Kiara says as she looks at the island nervously. "So, Kaela's in there..?" Gura asks as she points at the the headquarters ahead of her.
Hololive Indonesia's office is a tall skyscraper, about ten stories high. The towering building is covered in large sheets of metal, futuristic screens, holograms, and weapons, lots and lots of weapons. All of these additions being added by Indonesia's very own patron god, Kaela Kovalskia.
After the group disembarks, they take the short walk from the beach to the premises of Hololive Indonesia's office, stopping just a few feet in front of the building.
"So this is Hololive Indonesia..." Gura exclaims as she looks up at the skyscraper in awe. "It's like something straight out of a game." Bijou adds as she joins Gura in admiring the building.
Suddenly, the office's glass doors slide open, only to reveal a tall, blonde haired woman.
"Good morning girls, I've been waiting for you." Kaela says theatrically as she walks out of the front door.
[ Kaela Kovalskia - Hololive's god Blacksmith ]
"K-Kaela!" Gura shouts in shock as she sees the smith, jolting a little bit backwards.
"Oi! Kaela! Where do you think you're going!?" Shouts an angry Laplus, who storms out of the office after Kaela.
[ Laplus Darkness - The god of Knowledge ]
"Ah! It's you guys!" Laplus shouts as she points at Gura and the rest. "So Shion couldn't stop you, huh."
"Laplus got here earlier than Kronii expected! So did Kaela already give her the key..?" Kiara asks in horror as she looks at the two gods.
"Haha! Don't worry Kiara, I haven't given Laplus the key just yet. I've just been waiting for you to come so that we can start our game." Kaela says playfully.
"Game?! What are you talking about!? This wasn't part of our agreement!" Laplus shouts frustratedly.
"Relax, relax. This is just a friendly little competition, Laplus. Or, are you afraid that you might lose?" Kaela teases, causing Laplus to get flustered and even more frustrated.
"I'll seriously blow up this stupid country." Laplus angrily mumbles under her breath, and despite hearing her clearly, Kaela just ignores the spiteful Laplus.
"The rules of this game are simple. It's my team, me and Secret Society X, versus your team, Myth, Shiori, and the prisoners. We'll be having a life-or-death team battle, winner gets the key." Kaela explains her game with a cheeky smile as she flaunts the golden key in her hands. "See? It's super simple, right?"
"Wait, Kaela! Why are you doing this!? Don't you know how terrible Laplus's [shed] form is!?" Kiara shouts, but her voice falls on deaf ears, as Kaela just scoffs. "Do you wanna get killed by the god of knowledge? Cause I don't."
"This is why my game is perfect." Kaela says smugly, "If you guys win and kill Laplus, I don't have to worry about incurring her wrath. But if Laplus wins and I give her the key, she won't kill me, as per our agreement."
"Damn it, she's toying with us and Laplus alike with no concern at all. You've seriously gotta have some kind of complex to be that cocky." Shiori remarks in irritation at Kaela's playfulness.
"Laplus-sama! What's going on?" Iroha asks as she runs out of the office, followed by the rest of Secret Society.
"Kaela wants us to fight for the key, COMPLETELY VIOLATING OUR AGREEMENT!" Laplus shouts as she flails her arms around in anger.
"..!" Kaeala laughs silently at Laplus's temper tantrum.
As she anxiously watches her opponents, Gura flips open the pocket watch in her hands, contacting Kronii. "Hey, Kronii. We've just got to Indonesia and we've already got big problems. Basically, we're about to fight Kaela and Laplus's group. You think you could help us out?"
"You're about to fight Kaela and Laplus, huh? Don't worry, I knew that something like this would happen, so I sent backup." Kronii says assuredly, causing Gura to light up. "Backup, who is it!?" Gura asks excitedly.
"Look up." Kronii says, and as she does, a large shadow covers Gura, Kiara, Shiori, and the prisoners.
"What the hell is that!?" Ina shouts in suprise as she looks up at the structure floating above her.
An island made entirely of firearms flies twenty feet above her. A flying mass of rifles, snipers, and every other type of gun you can imagine, and riding on top of it is Nanashi Mumei, the keeper of humanity.
"Nanashi Mumei! How nice of you to join us!" Kaela shouts flamboyantly at the flying god. "Kaela Kovalskia, looks like you're ready to fight." Mumei replies as she surveys the area.
"We were just about to play a little game with my guests over here." Kaela says, gesturing towards Secret Society. "So you're here, Laplus Darkness." The owl says spitefully.
Suddenly, Mumei's eyes widen in surprise. "Is that... Kazama Iroha? And Takane Lui? What are they doing here? I thought Suisei killed them a week ago..."
"Hahahaha! Wouldn't you like to know!" Laplus laughs devilishly.
"Mumei! What this about Suisei killing Iroha and Lui!?" Kiara asks Mumei as she stares up at the owl's gun island. "I'll explain it to you later, but we should focus on Kaela and Laplus right now." Mumei tells Kiara, causing her to turn to Kaela and direct her attention back into the battle.
"Great! Now that everyone's present and ready, we can start our game!" Kaela shouts excitedly, raising her arms high up in the air.
"Alright Kaela, I'll play your game. But we get to make the first move." Laplus says as she walks in front of Kaela. "Sure, go ahead!" Kaela says encouragingly as she slaps the little demon on the back.
"Ouch! Okay, Iroha. Time to test out your new sword." Laplus says, grabbing onto the samurai's shoulder. "You should try it out on... her!" Laplus shouts as she points up at Mumei.
"You want me to fight her!? But she's a member of the council!" Iroha asks fearfully. "C'mon, don't be so scared, Iroha. Remember that a god made that sword of yours." Kaela says confidently, trying to motivate Iroha.
"I don't need you to win, Iroha. I just need you to stall out Mumei as long as possible." Laplus whispers assuringly into her subordinate's ear, pulling Iroha down so her mouth can reach the samurai's head.
"If Laplus-sama says so." Iroha says, clutching her new katana's handle before leaning forward.
"Be careful everyone, looks like they're ready to attack." Nerissa warns everyone as she steps back and takes a fighting stance.
Iroha quickly dashes forwards until she gets close to Mumei's floating island, where she jumps powerfully into the air, easily reaching the twenty feet of height that the island floats above.
She then lands on top of the mass of firearms and pulls out her katana. "You're nice and heavy, Nobunaga. Let's see what you can do." Iroha talks to her sword as she holds it close to her face.
"Humph! This will be easy." Mumei scoffs, pointing her right hand at Iroha and transforming her pointer finger into a pistol.
*Bang!*
*Crash!*
Mumei fires her finger pistol, firing out a bullet that powerfully blitzes through Hololive Indonesia's office, shattering windows and carving a hole straight through the building.
But her intended target, Iroha, isn't in the bullets blast range. Instead, she's behind Mumei, sheathing her sword.
*click*
The bloody katana slides into it's sheath, and Mumei's right arm falls to the ground.
"This is amazing... Kaela really is a god..." Iroha says, trembling with excitement about the power of her new weapon.
"You'll pay for that!" Mumei screams as she turns to Iroha, her right shoulder sprouting guns in place of her missing arm.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
"Looks like they're off to a banging start!" Kaela shouts excitedly as she looks up in the direction of Mumei and Iroha's battle.
"What do we do now, Kiara?" Ina asks nervously as she stares down Kaela and Laplus's team.
"We fight!" The phoenix shouts as she charges into battle, drawing her sword and shield from her back. "Wait!" Ina shouts, reaching her hand out towards Kiara.
"You're brave, I like that!" Kaela complements Kiara cheerfully as she grabs the massive sledge hammer on her back.
Kiara rushes towards Kaela, but before she can reach her, Kaela takes advantage of her hammer's long range, and swings it at Kiara's left side.
*Boom!*
Kiara blocks Kaela's hammer with her shield, the impact sending her flying to the right.
"We're really doing this... huh?" Shiori remarks to herself as she watches Kaela slowly walk forwards. "So? Who's next!?" The smith asks excitedly, signaling everyone to come forwards with her free hand.
"Shiori! Let's go!" Bijou shouts as she rushes towards Kaela. "Wait! Woooaaah!" Shiori exclaims as Bijou grabs her left arm.
"Ha! Two weaklings, I can't even be bothered to fight you seriously!" Kaela laughs as she grabs her hammer with both hands and points the top of it at Shiori and Bijou.
"Something's coming!" Shiori shouts in fear as she quickly lets go of Bijou's hand.
The top of Kaela's hammer splits in half, with the two halves moving away from each other to create space in the middle for a minigun barrel to emerge from inside the hammer.
"Eat this!" Kaela shouts as she hovers her finger over the trigger on the handle of her hammer. Simultaneously, Shiori frantically pulls out a page of her book and shouts, "On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous 'I have a dream' speech."
[Timeline - / August 28, 1963 - Washington D.C.]
Shiori, Bijou, and Kaela teleport into the busy crowd on the steps of the Lincon memorial.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
Seeing all the people around her, Kaela refrains from pulling the trigger on her hammer.
"I knew you wouldn't want to hurt all these innocent people. You're a weirdo, not a monster." Shiori smugly tells Kaela.
"That's smart, Shiori! Kaela won't attack us if there are people in the way!" Bijou remarks, lighting up as she does.
"Yep! As long as we stay here, Kaela can't lay a finger on us!" Shiori says confidently, taking pride in her master plan. "Tch! You're no fun." Kaela scoffs, dropping her hammer and crossing her arms in frustration.
"They just... disappeared." Chloe remarks as she looks at the area where Shiori, Bijou, and Kaela stood just a few seconds ago.
"Don't worry about that, just focus on the enemies in front of you!" Laplus shouts frustratedly, pointing forwards at Gura and the rest. "Right, sorry." Chloe apologises before readying her weapon.
"Let's go! I wanna fight already!" Mococo urges her sister excitedly as she brandishes her large pink claws. "Yeah! I wanna fight too!" Fuwawa replies with a matching enthusiasm.
The twins then rush forwards, past Nerissa, Ina, and Gura and towards Laplus and Secret Society X.
"I'll take Laplus!" Gura shouts as she follows behind the two demon dogs.
"You're all so reckless." Nerissa remarks, making a fighting pose as she watches the trio run onwards.
As FuwaMoco rush at Secret Society, Koyori, who's at the front of the pack, grabs two green vials from her holster. "You're not coming any closer!" She shouts before throwing both vials at the demon dogs.
The twin vials fly through the air, and as they do, Mococo raises both of her arms in the air, "[Fourth Circle (Greedy Weights)]!" The fuzzy one shouts as she throws her arms downwards, causing the vials to rapidly fall to the ground.
*Crash!*
*Sizzle...*
The vials shatter on impact, releasing the acidic liquid inside onto the ground.
"This one should be a good opponent!" Fuwawa says as she looks at Koyori and Mococo nods her head excitedly, "Yeah!"
"Aaaagh!" Gura shouts as charges at Laplus, holding her trident forwards as she gets ready to spear her opponent.
"We're not letting you hurt the founder!" Lui shouts as she and Chloe move in front of Laplus.
"Get out of my way!" Gura shouts as she thrusts her trident at Lui.
The executive masterfully dodges Gura's attack and swiftly counters with a powerful kick to the Atlantean's stomach.
*Thud*
"Gragh!" Gura grunts as she has the wind knocked out of her.
While Gura is temporarily paralysed, Lui throws a punch,
*Smack*
Which is swiftly caught by Nerissa. "I'll take this one, but the girl in the hood is your problem." She tells Gura as she struggles to hold back Lui's fist.
"Alright. I'll beat her, and then Laplus can have it!" Gura shouts with motivation as she looks at Chloe.
*Bang!* *Cling!* *Bang!* *Cling!* *Bang!* *Cling!* *Bang!* *Cling!*
*Bang!* *Cling!* *Bang!* *Cling!*
Mumei launches bullet after bullet at Iroha, but the samurai swiftly blocks each and every one with her katana.
"These bullets should be blowing you away, how are you deflecting them so easily!?" Mumei asks frustratedly as she keeps firing her onslaught of bullets at Iroha.
"A powerful weapon, and a loyalty to my master." Iroha replies stoically as she continues to slice up any of Mumei's attempts to hurt her.
"That's enough." Mumei says as she lowers her right gun-arm. "I'm done going easy on you."
Mumei raises her left arm, it's hand's palm then opening up in the centre to create a hole in the middle of her hand.
"I'll blow you to bits!" Mumei shouts, igniting the inside of her hand and creating a large explosion that shoots out of the hole in her palm.
*BOOOMM!*
Koyori repeatedly dodges to the left and right as she tries to avoid the duo of colourful claws coming at her from both sides.
"Is that all you got!?" Mococo says, mocking her opponent. "This is barely even a fight." The elder sister teases as she continues to launch attack after attack on the scientist.
*BOOOMM!*
Mumei's large explosion erupts behind the three combatants, causing them to all turn around to see the cause of the sound.
Fuwawa and Mococo stare in suprise at the blazing fire and billowing smoke created by the explosion, while Koyori takes advantage of the twins distracted state and throws an orange vial at the ground beneath them.
*Crash!*
Hearing the sound of the vial shattering, the twins quickly focus their attentions on it, and jump backwards before the chemical reaction cause an explosi-
*Booom!*
""Cough! Cough!"" The twins cover their mouths and noses as thick smoke envelopes the area around them.
"You shouldn't let your guard down, pups." Koyoru teases as she hides in the black clouds surrounding the twins.
"That was a dirty trick!" Mococo remarks as she tries to locate Koyori's position in the smoke.
*Crash*
*Craaackkoooommm!*
A light blue vial makes contact with Fuwawa, causing her body to conduct a massive amount of electricity which gathers in the sky before crashing into her.
"Aaaaaaagghhh!" Fuwawa shouts in pain as the electricity runs through her entire being, the force of the lightning bolt being powerful enough to clear the smoke around the twins.
"You hurt my sister!" Mococo shouts as she spots Koyori. "You'll pay for that!" The demon dog screams as she runs at the scientist in front of her.
"Not so fast!" Koyori says as she grabs a black vial from her holster and throws it at the ground beneath Mococo.
*Crash*
The vial explodes, causing the black liquid to spill up onto Mococo.
"Urp!" The liquid quickly solidifies as it flies up at the pink pup, transforming into a black spike that passes through her chest.
As she walks towards the twins, Koyori grabs two more vials from her belt.
"Playtime is over, pups."
*Cling!*
*Cling!*
*Sccrrraaappeee*
Gura and Chloe both swing their weapons at full strength, hoping to gain an advantage over the other, but none of them budges.
They're fighters of equal strength, locked in a frustrating stalemate.
Chloe swings her three sectioned mop at Gura's head, the shark quickly ducking to avoid her opponent's attack.
Gura then replies with a strike to Chloe's left,
*Cling!*
Which is quickly deflected.
'Damn it... we're not getting anywhere with this...' Gura thinks frustratedly to herself before quickly jumping backwards. 'I need to try [it]!'
"Get ready Chloe, cause you're about to see something spectacular!" Gura says smugly as she brings her fingers close to her face. "Don't tell me... you can use [it]!?" Chloe asks in surprise, clutching her weapon in anticipation of Gura's awesome power.
"Here we go! [shed]!" Gura howls as she brings her hand downwards.
...
"What..?" Chloe asks as she stares disappointedly at the regular, non-[shed]y Gura.
"Hehe! You might think I'm in my regular form, but this is actually what my [shed] form looks like. I'm only keeping my usual appearance to trick you!" Gura explains confidently.
"Hit me then." Chloe says.
"Huh!?" Gura exclaims in surprise, her face contorting to some strange shape.
"If you're so strong, then try to hit me." Chloe doubles down.
"Alright, this is your loss." Gura shrugs. "Aaaaaaagghhghggh!" The shark shouts as she lunges at Chloe, bringing her trident to the side before swinging at full force.
*cling!*
Chloe blocks Gura's attack.
...
Gura looks at Chloe.
...
Chloe looks at Gura.
...
"Ehe, I might have told a little fib." Gura laughs akwardly as she slowly retracts her trident and walks backwards.
"I knew it!" Chloe shouts as she swings her three-sectioned mop at the top of Gura's head.
*Thud!*
"Yowch! You'll pay for that!" Gura screams in anger as she thrust her trident at Chloe.
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
Lui repeatedly launches her whip at Nerissa, but the songbird avoids every strike, drawing closer with each dodge.
Anxious about how close Nerissa is getting, Lui speeds up her attacks, but Nerissa is unfazed and continues to draw nearer to the executive.
*Crack!*
*Bam!*
In a desperate attempt to shake Nerissa off, Lui swings hard, but her attack was quickly avoided and countered by Nerissa, who responded by slamming her fist hard into Lui's stomach.
"Ugh!" The hawk exclaims as she gasps for air.
Nerissa grabs the top of Lui's head and brings it close enough to her own so that they're touching foreheads.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" The songbird screams, completely destroying Lui's ears and causing her to stagger backwards in disorientation.
"Riiinnnggg..." Is all Lui can hear as a river of blood flows out of her ears. She can barely stand and her vision is blurry to the point that even the close up Nerissa is nothing but a silhouette in her eyes.
"#*%*%*" The songbird says, but Lui can't make out a single thing.
Nerissa throws a punch at Lui's face, but her hand is caught by someone from behind.
"Hey, prisoner. How about you pick on someone your own size!" Kaela cheekily quips. "Kaela..." Nerissa exclaims, her eyes widening in fear as she looks at the girl behind her.
"I always wanted to try saying a cheesy line like that." Kaela says before clenching the hand she holds Nerissa's with.
*Crunch!*
"Aaaagghh!" Nerissa screams in pain as she retract her broken hand. But no matter how much she struggles, Kaela doesn't relent and keeps holding onto Nerissa's hand.
"The other prisoners weren't too strong, so let's see if you can give me a challenge!" Kaela says before slamming her knee into Nerissa's back.
*Bam!*
*Crack!*
"Urgha!" Nerissa shouts as she falls to the ground.
"Hmmm... looks like you're not much of anything either." Kaela remarks as she looks down at the crippled songbird.
"Grrr... damn it..." Nerissa grunts as she struggles to stand back up. But being unable to support herself, Nerissa's body gives out, and she falls to the floor.
"Let's see, strong guys... strong guys..." Kaela utters to herself as she surveys the battlefield.
Her eyes eventually settle on Gura and Chloe's battle, and she watches the two battle. The orca and shark's struggle continues as both fighters try to get an advantage over one another.
After watching the two exchange strikes for a few seconds, Kaela eventually gets bored and continues her search for a strong opponent.
Bijou, Nerissa, and Shiori, knocked out. Fuwawa and Mococo, nearly beaten by Koyori. Ina and Gura are too weak and Mumei is busy with Iroha.
Kaela pouts and crosses her arms. "Is there really no one else for me to fight? This game isn't as fun as I thought it would be."
"I'll fight you." A determined voice from behind Kaela says.
"Hm?" Kaela hums curiously as she turns around to see who challenged her. "Oh, It's the Phoenix. You wanna go for round two?" The excited smith asks Kiara.
"Yeah, but things will be different this time." The Phoenix says before bursting into flames, her [true] form then emerging from those same flames and taking to the skies.
"I heard about people being able to enter their [shed] forms without the chant and hand movement. I should have known that the legendary Phoenix was one of them." Kaela remarks as she looks up at her fiery opponent.
"Your about to see the power of the Phoenix." Kiara says confidently as she flies in circles around Kaela.
"Well, what are you waiting for? I wanna see the power of Kobo's mother!" Kaela shouts excitedly as she grabs her sledgehammer with both hands and opens the top, allowing the minigun barrel to emerge.
...
...
...
"Where... am I..?" Amelia asks as looks around the pitch black void she stands in.
She looks in all directions trying to find any clues as to where she might be, but no matter where she looks, the only thing that meets her eyes is pure darkness.
"Yo, Ame!" Cali says as she casually appears in front of our blonde detective, causing her to jump back in suprise.
"Wah! Don't just teleport in front of me like that, Cali!" Amelia shouts after regaining her composure.
"Sorry about that, it's a bad habit I'm trying to fix." The reaper apologises as she akwardly rubs the back of her head.
"So, what? Did you come here to reap me or something?" Amelia asks as she casually sits down on the pitch black floor below.
"I was supposed to, but you're my friend, so I'm giving you special treatment." Cali replies as she takes a seat right in front of Amelia.
"Some reaper you are, I didn't think that death could be so philanthropic." Amelia sarcastically remarks, the death god just replying with an indifferent shoulder shrug.
"So, what kind of special treatment are we talking? Are you gonna bring me back to life?" Amelia asks expectantly.
Cali shakes her head, "No, nothing extreme like that."
"But here's what I'm doing for you. Usually, when people are on the verge of death and they have no hope of surviving, I put an end to their misery and take their lives early. That's the situation you're in right now." Cali explains.
"That's the special treatment!? Killing me sooner!?" Amelia angrily shouts right in the reapers face.
"Ame relax, I'm not finished." Cali says as she pushes Amelia's face away from hers using the handle of her scythe. "You may have one foot through death's door, but your body still clings to life. If you wish to reject the peace that comes with death and continue your struggle in the land of the living, I can grant that wish for you."
"Wow, you're really making death sound like the better option." Amelia jokes sarcastically before standing up. "But I can't just abandon my friends. If you can really keep me alive, then I'll have to take you up on your offer." The detective says determinedly as she stresses her arm out towards Cali.
"Thanks for your consideration, but if I touch you right now, you'll be sent to the underworld." Cali says as she ignores Amelia's hand and stands up by herself.
"Damn, really!?" Amelia asks fearfully as she swiftly retracts her hand, making sure to stay a few more steps away from the reaper.
"Well, I'd better send you back now, our friends are waiting for you." Cali says as she raises her scythe in the air.
"Cali, thank you." Amelia says as she straightens up her hat in preparation for her return to the world of the living.
"Don't sweat it! Good luck on your survival Ame, I hope I don't see you again too soon." Cali waves goodbye before striking the ground with her scythe, destroying the black void and sending Amelia's soul back into her body.
"So much for the 'mighty' Phoenix, she was barely even a challenge." Kaela says to herself as she looks down on Kiara's unconscious body.
Suddenly, a figure falls from the sky and crash lands in front of the blacksmith.
*Boom!*
"Hey Kaela! I'll be your next opponent!" Amelia shouts as she stands up and dusted herself off.
"Oh, Kronii's chosen! I would be excited if you didn't look so... sickly." Kaela remarks as she points at Amelia's disheveled body.
Seeing as she just escaped from the clutches of death, Amelia is a little worse for wear. Her body is feverish and weak, and the vines that wrap around her are larger and are clutching her body even tighter.
Right now, Amelia doesn't at all resemble the mighty Kirin, let alone a living person.
"Shut up! Even in this condition, I'm more than a worthy match for you!" Amelia shouts confidently as she pulls her hands backwards, conjuring the Kirin's Arrow.
"Hmph! Let's see if you can back up your talk!" Kaela scoffs as she firmly grabs her sledgehammer, getting ready to face off against Amelia Watson, the Kirin.