"A monster of such caliber, what horrid experiments did Vitaly do in order to make you?" Claire spoke to herself, evading a barrage of energy blasts from Pawn as it tried to shoot her out of the air. Although it had range, and even tried to throw debris to bring the Slayer down, the creature was limited by its biology, unable to reach her and bring the fight down to the surface.
Meanwhile, Claire had total control of the battlefield, blasting apart the concrete thrown at her and evading the energy it roared out. When it reached down and dug its claws into the street, the Slayer moved without a thought and flew right at the Chimera. When it attempted to bring its arms up, Claire's cannons shot and kept it exposed, landing just in front and aiming all six pods at Pawn's chest. A combined shotgun blast of energy sent it skidding back, the Slayer ordering her Hundred to follow.
Pawn was struck across its armored frame, its head snapping from a shot before its knee buckled from another shot. When the cannons all rose above the Chimera's head, Claire fired down a continuous stream of energy, forcing it down to its knees from the force. Recalling two of her cannons, Claire formed a smaller version of her Buster Cannon, beginning to charge her energy as Pawn screeched in rage.
As the heated energy rained down on the Chimera, the armor on it began to glow orange as it was slowly being melted from Claire's attack. It was the one chance to do as much damage as possible, and hopefully find where the core was so that it can be destroyed. And she took the chance, firing a sizeable beam right into the Chimera, a small detonation from the reaction of mixing energy coating the area.
But amidst the dust, Claire saw a faint green glow and recalled all her cannons. Flying at the beast as it slowly attempted to stand, another of her cannons fused with her Buster Cannon, enhancing it as it charged with energy again. Bringing it up as she aimed it at the source of the light, Pawn's abdominal arms grabbed the Buster Cannon, narrowly forcing it up to avoid taking the blast directly.
Claire grunted as she tried to push the cannon back down, her free cannons firing at the arms and splitting them off. It was only a brief struggle, but enough for Pawn to slash out, destroying the Buster Cannon and forcing her to retreat back. When Claire landed her eyes focused on the glow, seeing the mishappened core visible before Pawn's regeneration covered it, revealing it to be at the base of its neck. And when its head reformed, Pawn glared directly at the blonde, growling in irritation as its smaller limbs reformed.
'So unlike your other projects, this one does need a core.' Claire thought, seeing that Vitaly's advanced project needed a larger amount of power then the drones and pseudo-Savage she attacked with. The energy justified the threat level, and flying back into the air Claire was certain to make sure the next attack run would be the end of the Chimera.
The beast notably didn't try to attack, measuring out the Slayer before lowering down, howling in pain as its armor started to break apart. Taking the opening, Claire reformed her destroyed Buster Cannon and fired a controlled blast at it, hitting her mark and knocking it tumbling back into a damaged car. The downed beast squirmed as it attempted to get up, Claire responding with a second blast that knocked it through the vehicle and struggling to remain on its feet.
The efforts were stopped as Claire's free cannons surrounded the beast and shot its arms out from under it, causing it to crash its chin onto the concrete. Wasting no time, she flew down instantly and stomped her foot into its head, denting the armor from the impact as she charged a third blast. "Go back to the pit you were created in!" Claire bellowed, about to fire the blast when she was thrown off balance, Pawn twisting its head completely and getting her foot off.
The disturbing turn of its neck was followed with a mouth full of energy, Claire only able to get her barrier up before it fired a strong blast and sent her flying back. She was able to recover and take to the sky, but she was shocked to see that in her blitz Pawn had partially mutated with two spikes coming out from its shoulder in an arc down its back.
Sparks of green energy went between the spikes, Pawn panting with a sickening grin as it stared at Claire with bloodshot eyes. Energy coursed across the entire Chimera, the green markings glowing bright as it opened its mouth and fired a massive beam of energy. The Slayer winced as she blocked the beam, staring in surprise at the instantaneous blast from it.
'It… it's been evolving this whole time!' She realized as it hissed, steam escaping before the spikes shot out, savage fluid and blood spraying out as they transformed into a set of armored wings, energy filling in for the membrane. The Slayer then charged a blast and fired as Pawn took to the sky, cutting through the energy and biting off the barrel of Claire's Buster Cannon before she could escape.
The blonde quickly recovered, reforming her cannons as she chased after the Chimera fired a volley of beams at it. Pawn showed adept flying immediately, avoiding each beam before turning and flying right at the Slayer. Claire narrowly dodged, feeling its claw just cut into her side past her suit. Using the opening to fire all five cannons into its back, Pawn only was knocked down for a few moments, recovering and flying back up at her.
A dog fight ensued between them, Claire narrowly avoiding blasts and slashes from Pawn while the beast seemed to just tank everything she could fire on short notice. The Slayer had maneuverability on her side, but it didn't matter if none of her attacks could break through the Chimera's armor.
'Think Claire, you can destroy it with a blast from a full powered Buster Cannon! You just need a way to buy yourself a little bit of time.' Looking to the water, Claire found her opening as she flipped back to avoid Pawn's monstrous bite, boosting down to the water with the Chimera turning down when it saw a splash in the ocean. It didn't waste a second furling its wings in, divebombing in to continue its chase after the Slayer.
When the splash went up, Claire flew out from the bottom of Little Garden's upper deck, five of her cannons following her as she went up. The sixth cannon could only lead Pawn on a goose chase for so long, so she immediately planted her feet on the edge of her ship, her supports digging into the concrete as the four cannons fused together into her Buster Cannon and she began to charge.
'Six can destroy it, but I'll have to make do with five.' She solidified, building up her energy as she felt her final cannon be destroyed, a small burst of water signaling its destruction before Pawn emerged from the water high into the air. It screeched in anger as it saw Claire on deck below, opening its mouth as bolts of energy spread across the air, immediately matching her energy in seconds.
"All or nothing it is!" Claire cursed, having no more time to charge as Pawn roared a blast of energy down at her, firing her Buster Cannon and clashing in a bright struggle. The air exploded out after the initial collision, the roar of the energy clash heard across the ship as Claire held her ground.
The commander held back Pawn's attack, but as bolts were still going across the air she felt more energy pool in the Chimera. Eventually its attack began to push ahead, now overpowering Claire's blast. The Chimera was able to generate and release energy simultaneously now, making a struggle of energy pointless. But if she pulled back now, the blast could burn through the entire ship and cause massive damage.
Knowing her role in protecting the ship, Claire continued to resist, attempting to put whatever energy she could into her Buster Cannon while Chimera's beam continued to gain ground.
"I… am Claire Harvey, Commander of Little Garden!" Claire grunted as her energy quickly lost its power, while Pawn's continued to grow. "If you wish to destroy this vessel, you will have to go through me first!" Declaring her resistance, Claire poured whatever ounce of energy she had left in reserve to push back, holding back Pawn's beam for just a few more seconds, returning to lose ground to where the clash was only meters away from her.
"Hold on for another second commander!" To Claire's rescue, Matthew and Reitia smashed through the remains of the Trenta Replicant they were fighting, going through the barrier and planting their feet against the torn hull.
"Its wings are generating energy through rapid vibrations!" Matthew called out to Reitia, the girl grinning as pink energy burst to life around her.
"Destroy the wings, got it." Was all the brawler responded before the two jumped down, blitzing Pawn from behind. Piercing through the beast's armor while it was defenseless, Pawn had lost its ability to supply energy and its flight. Impaling his trident into the Chimera's back, Matthew flooded it with lightning and reacting with the energy inside it, causing an explosion that took massive chunks out of its body.
With Pawn no longer returning fire, Claire overpowered and dissipated the Chimera's beam, her attack heading straight for the crippled beast. Almost by instinct, Pawn kicked its legs out and struck both Slayers, pushing itself out of the beam and crashing harshly onto Little Garden's deck.
Seeing that the two were recovering midair, Claire wasted no time approaching the scorched Chimera, Matthew's lightning tracing around its armor and seeming to prevent its regeneration. And it was in desperate need of regeneration, along with the missing arms and chunks of its legs gone, the entirety of its torso was exposed, the core pulsing with energy in a clear sign it was barely holding on.
"You've taken enough lives today." Claire stated as she aimed a single flying cannon at its core. A single shot was all that was needed, shattering half the core into pieces. "Stay dead."
That seemed to get a response, Claire stepping back in defense as Pawn's half destroyed head let out an agonizing roar, the bestial craze dying out as its abdominal arms reached out in desperation before one dropped limp. The last arm remained up, trembling as it held itself to Claire, the Slayer having her complete Buster Cannon summoned and ready to blow it to smithereens.
"Thank… you…" Claire's eyes widened in horror as the core pulsed, part of the armor covering the lower portion collapsing and exposing the full core. The shape was severely damaged, but a single eye could be seen in what could only be assumed was a socket, the identifiable shape that of a human's skull. As more of the Chimera fell apart, and at the sight Claire felt sick to her stomach as she saw what could be assumed were veins and arteries connecting the core to the rest of the lower body.
Stepping back in disgust Claire held a hand over her mouth before she puked, falling to her knees as Matthew and Reitia ran over to her.
"Commander!"
"Claire, what's wrong!" The Slayers knelt next to their commander, Matthew seeing the cut across her side from Pawn. "You're injured, Reitia go find a medic!"
"On it!" Reitia responded, running off as Matthew looked over Claire.
"Claire, talk to me. How bad is it?"
"It's… it's… human." Claire's response confused the hybrid, before he turned his attention to the Chimera and tensed at the armor completely falling apart, and slowly seeping out was a gory sight of blood and Savage fluid seeping out, chunks of flesh that could only be assumed were what was left of the organs from whoever was in the Chimera.
"By the gods…"
"She's a monster. A pure, heartless, monster." Claire muttered out, spitting out whatever bile she had left. But even then she continued to tremble, horrified to see what had created Vitaly's latest work.
'H-How can someone be so cruel? To disregard life like this is inhuman.'
"Come now Charlotte, are you going to keep me waiting?" Vitaly asked with a wide grin, her hair covering her right eye but unable to hide the red glow, the black aura appearing to crawl across the corridor like a living entity.
"Just taking in the moment." Charlotte admitted, the intensity of her presence remaining as she casually reached into her lab coat, pulling out a handheld container. "Never took either of us as fighters, yet of the original four of us we're the last to actually keep fighting. Ironic isn't it?"
"And here I believed irony always escaped you. Criticizing my work yet slaughtering just as many people in equally brutal experiments."
"No, we're very different." Charlotte stated, her grin heard as she held up the rectangular device. "One of us had the strength to look away before it was too late."
"To allow It to gaze back is what gives It strength, more than you could understand." A spiral of black magic then shot out at Charlotte from the creeping aura, the armored woman throwing the device past it as a single beep was heard before an explosion of light. The light burned away the aura in an instant, remaining long enough for Charlotte to lunge at Vitaly with a straight punch. Vitaly blocked the strike with a single hand, bringing her forearm up to block her following kick aimed at her head.
"A flashbang, how quaint." Vitaly said with a grin, summoning a torrent of black magic before throwing her palm out at Charlotte. The smaller of the two landed on her feet and ducked back, narrowly dodging Vitaly's attack. A tendril then wrapped around her leg and tripped her over, Charlotte twisting with the movement and landing on her hand, raising her spare and firing a blast of energy directly into Vitaly's chest.
The force sent Vitaly back several meters, stopping as she was folded back to look directly into Mei Mei's eyes with an inverted stare. "A little spunkier than I remember, ain't this going to be interesting?" Vitaly then swung her whole body forward, colliding her head with Charlotte's as the scientist attempted to push her advantage.
The collision prevented Charlotte from landing a punch, but the two continued to press their head's against each other to prevent giving the other any ground. Both threw their own punch at the other's gut, a pulse of energy sending Vitaly crashing back into the elevator door and Charlotte skidding across the floor. Slamming her fists into the floor, Charlotte stopped herself and stood up, flinching in shock as Vitaly was directly in her face with an interested smirk.
"Still alive, I guessed you would have died after one solid punch." Vitaly chuckled, spinning around Charlotte's energy blast and grabbing her wrist. "I guess more than a love tap will be needed to end this." Without a chance to react, Charlotte gasped out in pain as Vitaly slammed her knee against her chest, the force bypassing the armor and sending her into the wall.
Charlotte let out a pained cough before pulling herself out, jumping to the side to avoid Vitaly's fist. The taller of the two punched clean through the wall, casually pulling it out as she checked out her knuckle. "Skin could use more work, but otherwise a good amount of power." She commented without worry, turning her attention to Charlotte as she rushed her.
Vitaly showed little effort as she blocked Charlotte's kick, then stepping back to avoid a combo of body blows. It ended when she caught both of Charlotte's wrists, grinning down to her formal rival with entertainment. Charlotte brought her wrists up as Vitaly attempted to knee her torso again, Vitaly's head snapping back from the combined force of two blasts. Charlotte then added on by freeing her wrists, energy erupting from her elbows as she pulsed forward.
Vitaly had moments to block Charlotte's first punch before a flurry came, several punches landing across her body and head before her vision snapped to the side, whisps of energy behind Charlotte's heel as her propulsion struck with enough force to nearly bend her neck completely to the side. Following with the movement, Charlotte spun and jumped up before slamming down on Vitaly's head completely, planting her into the metal flooring with a loud clang.
To finish it, Charlotte followed with one more spin and kicked across Vitaly's body, ripping her head out from the floor and sending the mad woman against the wall. When she finished with her rotation, Charlotte watched as Vitaly's neck had completely twisted a full 180, seeing the back of her head as her body faced her.
While Mei Mei stared in shock at the brutality of the moment, energy erupted from the Charlotte's shoulders as she flew directly at Vitaly's body. At the last second her neck twisted back into place and she opened her mouth, releasing a torrent of black magic that overtook Charlotte and the entire room.
Charlotte skidded to a stop as she registered the shift in space, knowing she easily passed the wall and stomped her feet firmly into the ground. Hearing an echo from a result, her visor instantly readjusted her sight and formed the dimensions of the area with echo location. Dodging to the side, Charlotte saw the silhouette of Vitaly punch at her with inhuman movements, twisting her body to bring a devastating kick to the side of her head.
Charlotte was unable to dodge the kick, half her helmet shattering and exposing her bleeding forehead as she closed her right eye with a wince. But knowing Vitaly had nowhere to go from her position, propelled her foot with energy again and swung it high to strike her head again. Feeling Vitaly press her hands against it to lunge over, Charlotte went through with the motion and brought her other leg up.
Vitaly looked over just in time to see the tip of Charlotte's boot slam directly into her face, the sound of metal hitting flesh sickening the air before Vitaly dropped to the ground. Her body rolled across before hitting the wall, remaining down as the black magic dissipated and revealed their positions in the hallway.
'She could have taken my head off with that kick…' Charlotte though, grunting in pain as blood trailed down over her eye and nose, spitting out a bit of blood from her mouth as her helmet retracted back into her armor.
"Yes, it would have been easier to. But where would the fun be in that?" Vitaly asked, a static echo to it signaling what Charlotte was expecting as she rose up to a seated position. The entirety of Vitaly's nose and the right half of her skin had been ripped apart, obsidian black metal seen under to reveal the synthetic's nature.
"A… An android?" Mei Mei muttered out.
"You don't look surprised, I was hoping for at least a flinch at the scene." The android said, seeing Charlotte approach it with a glare.
"You wouldn't dare come here personally. And if you did you would have brought more abominations." Charlotte stated, holding her right palm up as an energy blast charged. "A sacrifice play isn't your forte."
"Alas, nothing escape's your deduction."
"Your pet project is dead in the water. Whatever that thing was, you threw it to the slaughter and wasted it."
"Oh Pawn is just one of many subjects I've been working on. And I can assure you my precious child has yet to meet its end. A wounded child will always run away… well, ones that are guided by their mother at least."
"Why did you come here. If not for Liza then what?"
"I told you, just poking the hornet's nest to see the response."
"Bullshit, you wouldn't reveal your new abomination unless you had a plan. And seeing as it was hunting Variants you could do better to hide what you were planning."
"Well, I suppose I wanted to finally make my introductions to him." Vitaly pondered. "It has been 18 years, I was curious to see what man he's grown up into."
"…You. Won't. Take him."
"Who said anything about taking? Maybe he would come willingly? There are many wonders a mature woman could pull with a man of his burden."
"Lay a single finger on him, and I will raze hell to tear you apart!" The intense force of Charlotte increased, a pulse of raw spirit seeming to overcome her as she bared her fangs.
"Hahahaha! Oh god, you're even more delusional than I believed!" The android laughed heartedly. "You actually pretend like you have a right to care! You! Oh how the years have taken that fire out of you! That sour spit you swallowed for the sake of your research! If he could see you now, he'd spit in your face after such blatant hypocrisy!" Vitaly's bellowing laughing had caused Charlotte's intensity to melt away, the scientist's hand trembling as she continued to aim at the android. The sight only caused her to laugh more, the static becoming more apparent as the other end was losing contact.
"You're so pathetic! After everything you don't even have the stomach to admit you don't care! That you never cared! Oh how rich it must have been when he ended up on this ship! I bet that's when your whole world crashed down! Because suddenly you're reminded! You're reminded you threw him to the wolves and did nothing-NOTHING-for him! Nothing but sing a tiny lullaby as he was beaten and humiliated for the decisions you-!"
"SHUT UP!" Charlotte screamed as she fired the charged blast, burning through the upper segment of Vitaly's torso. Charlotte shouted in fury with every shot, barraging the android as its artificial skin was burned away, the metal following as it burned and dripped. Charlotte's bellowing continued as she let out all her anger out at the android, nearly destroying the elevator door in her fury.
"Charlotte stop!" During her barrage, Mei Mei had gotten up and pulled the scientist back, the woman continuing to yell as the android tried to stop her. "Charlotte please! It's over!" As Mei Mei comforted the woman, her barrage slowed down until her firing stopped, collapsing back with the maid holding on to her as she hugged her close. "It's okay, it's okay… please stop before you hurt yourself… it's okay…"
Mei Mei's gentle words had sapped the anger out from Charlotte, the woman looking down as her armor retracted, revealing the energy barrage burned her hand from the constant use. Her trembling had only continued, staring at Vitaly's molten android as its eyes slowly dimmed out.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are." Vitaly's voice sang calmly through her android, watching from the slow loss of feed with a proud smile. "Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky."
"So long my friend, I await seeing you in person." Vitaly said as the feed was lost, fixing her hair as she sat down with a chuckle. "A short but fun game, a shame to see she lost her edge. Oh well, I knew she never truly had the stomach to back up her words with conviction." She then turned her attention to one of the remaining security cameras, seeing Artorian effortlessly trade strikes with Krovanh and Nesat, the pure Variant having no trouble with drug enhanced fakes.
"Now, to see what you have left in you. Before you burn up." Vitaly said, tapping a single command into her console as she relaxed, wondering what information she would get from today's main event.
"Fucking dog!" Krovanh screamed as his energy erupted violently, the Hunter charging at the Slayer with full abandonment.
"Krovanh!" Nesat called out in concern, unable to wait and charged along with her brother, Artorian looking between the two as they rushed him from opposing sides. With a calming breath the hybrid allowed the two to come at him at full force, raising his blades at the last second and blocking both of their attacks, holding them back easily.
"Your advantage has always been your numbers, a short-term advantage easily broken when facing someone equal to your combined strength." Artorian stated, turning his gaze to Krovanh as the Hunter snarled in exertion.
'I haven't used this form since fighting the Trenta, so let's not test the time limit.' He thought, before pushing his arms out, the overwhelming strength from the hybrid forcing the two sliding back. He then charged after Krovanh, the Hunter swinging at his head in retaliation. Artorian easily blocked the attack, his own swing overpowering the Hunter and forcing him to step back. He then swung his free sword, forcing Krovanh on the defensive, swinging constantly and causing sparks to fly with each blow.
Recovering her footing, Nesat lunged at the hybrid's back while he was busy, her eyes widening in shock as she leaned back to avoid Artorian's Armament blade, the Slayer letting the clash movement go through to prevent her approach. When Nesat attempted to attack him again, she then had to raise her feet as his natural blade nearly slashed them off from Krovanh's counter strike.
The blitz had done little to aid the Hunters, as Artorian continuously pushed Krovanh back with powerful blows he could barely block, Nesat being able to get too close with his greatswords swinging behind him with each fluid movement. In just a few moments Artorian turned the tides of the fight, preventing the powerhouse of the Hunters from attacking and forcing the abatable Hunter to come straight at him with little results.
The Hunter being pushed back kept trying to swing back and force the hybrid away, but every swing was clashed, the dual blades preventing him from making a solid move. At the same time, Artorian's eyes appeared completely focused, his actions against Nesat natural as his attention was on the violent attacker. Artorian's own assault continued until he felt his Armament get grabbed from behind, looking to see Nesat wrapping her arms around the blade, bleeding as she fought against his strength.
"Krovanh!"
"On it!" Krovanh bellowed, bringing his sword up and slashing it down. Artorian blocked the swing, turning back to the Hunter with a cool gaze. "Bastard dog!" The Hunter then returned the favor for the past minute, unleashing a rapid flurry of swings at the Slayer. But every swing resulted in a heavy clang, Artorian using his free sword to block and parry every attack thrown at him.
"Have you noticed it?" Artorian questioned, sneaking his blade between Krovanh's guard and keeping him from swinging, much to the Hunter's rage. "You're slowing down, running low on steam?"
"S-Shut up!"
"Your speech is even fixing itself, guess Vitaly's drugs can only last for so long." The hybrid continued, easily preventing Krovanh's efforts to push him back.
"Shut up!"
"Your arms and legs are starting to shake, how long can you keep that Hundred up for?"
"SHUT UP!" Krovanh screamed, his energy exploding in a violent aura as Artorian was forced back, turning and kicking Nesat to free his second blade and send her rolling across the stage. When he turned and lowered himself into a defensive stance he predicted Krovanh's forward assault, blocking his sword with both blades held in an X. The ground behind him cracked at the pressure, but the Variant remained unfazed.
"Second wind?"
"Enough to gut you like a fish, damn dog!" Krovanh shouted, his eyes wide as they glowed dangerously. Breaking apart, the two began to trade swings, sparks flying as the sheer speed caused wind to gust around them, the ground slowly breaking apart with each clash.
'You idiot, you're burning the candle at both ends.' Artorian thought, seeing the Hunter bleed from his nose and mouth, this second wind seeming borrowed rather than achievable. 'You'll die long before you get anywhere.'
His thoughts aside, Artorian showed no hesitation in every counter, the clashing blades ringing from the endless attacks. With one clash between Artorian's Armament and Krovanh's, the hybrid took his opening and slammed his free sword into the Hunter's side and sent him skidding back.
The Hunter nearly seemed to give out there, his leg buckling as he collapsed onto his hands and knees, putting a hand over his mouth before vomiting blood into a puddle. But despite every centimeter of his body screaming at him to stop, the Hunter pulsed his energy once again, standing upright with the damage to his body visible to everyone.
"I… WON'T LOSE!" The Hunter screamed, his voice hoarse as he rushed Artorian again.
'He's beyond doped, he doesn't even know the extent of his damage at this point.' Artorian noted, too familiar with the effects of excess enhancement drugs, not even blocking and simply stepping out of the way. The Hunter tried to stop, but stumbled forward before falling onto his face, his body trembling as he coughed out more blood.
"F-Fuuu… I can't feel my… what'd you do to me?" Krovanh croaked out, his Hundred reverting to its variable stone and falling out of his hand.
"Nothing at all." Artorian stated, walking towards the downed Hunter, watching as he began to convulse in pain.
"I-It hurts…!" Krovanh gasped, clutching his hand to his chest as he felt it tighten up.
"Vitaly's failsafe." Artorian guessed, looking down to the helpless Hunter as his breathing became heavier, his strength gone and his eyes slowly losing focus. He then looked to his variable stone, picking up the green gem before crushing it in his palm. "My bet, you're dead in a few minutes without medical attention. And the only professionals I know is too far away."
"G-Get away from him!" The hybrid heard Nakri call out, but instead of readying himself, he merely looked down, seeing the girl on the ground wrap her arms around his ankles. "I… I won't let you hurt him… I'll… I'll…" Without thinking she clamped her teeth down on his greaves, desperately trying to bite down to break through.
"That's it? The Hunters we worried about for months, reduced to doped out rejects?" Artorian taunted. "And you thought you could fight Little Garden? Break in to the most fortified fortress in human history and waltz out with Sakura? I don't know if to feel disappointed or disgusted."
"H-Hrrrk!"
"Try all you want, your teeth can't bite through."
"Hrrrrk!"
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Artorian's focus was brought back as he heard chipping, but it was coming from the girl's teeth, her gums starting to bleed as she tried with everything she had to bite through his armor, her eyes glowing from her virus.
"You idiot, stop biting!" Artorian shouted, kicking his foot out and knocking her to the side, a tooth coming out as her mouth bled across her gums. "Is fighting that big to you! That you'll break every tooth just to crack my-!" Artorian stumbled a step forward, turning to Krovanh to see that he kicked at his heel.
"L-Leave her the fuck… alone… dog…!"
"You stupid brat I was…!" Artorian was about to respond, but stopped as he took note of their position, his posture relaxing as he looked to his sides. Two of the three Hunters, the violent and arrogant of the trio, were already long defeated. Even if they won the fight; if this was their condition they would've died regardless.
A suicide mission. Vitaly sent literal children on a suicide mission. And he was the death condition.
'Why the hell do you care?' He thought to himself. 'They attack your friends every time you see them, and they tried to take Karen. Do you really pity those pathetic eyes that much?'
.
.
.
"Fuck!" Artorian swore under his breath, stepping to Krovanh and using his foot to push him onto his side, the Hunter nearly going limp as each beat of his heart burned his body with pain.
"Stay away from him!"
"He's going into cardiac arrest, or a heart attack, or fucking something, I don't know. I just know he's dying and there's blood building up." Artorian stated, not looking back to Nakri as he dropped his blades and placed his hand on his back. "Now I'm not a doctor, hell I'm better at breaking bodies then fixing them, but energy's been a miracle worker so far… ah hell in for the penny."
Energy coated the hybrid's hand, slowly pulsing as Artorian was trying to see if there was any way to concentrate where his blockage was.
'I don't have a clue on what the fuck to look for, all this training and there isn't a medical use for energy control except… oh.' Artorian's method wasn't getting anywhere, having no idea what would require flushing out the energy withdrawal before it dawned on him. Turning him to lay on his back, Artorian looked to see the faintest sign Krovanh was focused, the hybrid looking down with a harsh stare.
"Bite me and I fucking end you." Artorian gave only a single warning before leaning down and placing his lips on Krovanh's. The Hunter barely reacted as Artorian forced his tongue in, both their eyes glowing as energy was transferred between them.
"W-What is he-!"
"Don't look!" Sakura shouted as she placed her hands over Karen's eyes, the two both stunned at the sudden action of the Slayer.
The transfer went on for only a few seconds, Krovanh's eyes focusing before Artorian pulled away and he turned on his side, coughing out fluorescent fluids with pained hacking. He sounded as bad as he was before, but his breathing calmed much quicker as he nearly collapsed with a strained cough.
"Huh, that worked." Artorian hummed, spitting to his side to get the aftertaste of Krovanh's blood out. "Count yourself lucky Sharkboy, natural energy trumps diluted Savage fluids. A modern medical miracle."
"What… did you do?" Nakri questioned, Artorian standing up as he looked over to her.
"Did the favor you three never would have done, saved his life. And twice, says a lot about us "damn Slayers" don't it?"
"K-Krovanh!" Nakri cried out as she crawled to him, hugging him as she managed to pull herself up enough, desperately holding onto him as he barely remained awake.
"Na… kri?"
"It's okay… you're okay…"
"Word of warning, don't try a third time." Nakri flinched when she looked up, seeing the edge of Artorian's sword as he glared down at them. "I have never given someone a third chance, if you so much as touch a hair on my Karen or Sakura again, there'll be hell to pay."
"Where's… Nesat…?" Krovanh whimpered out, looking to the corner of his eye to look up at the imposing Slayer.
"Staying down like a smart person." Artorian answered, looking back to the third Hunter, motionless against the wall after his kick forced her nearly through it. Although, the Slayer considered the fact that he shouldn't have done that much damage, considering how durable she had proven to be. Not to mention the bubbling energy she was still releasing, her eyes glazed but still glowing from the virus.
'What the hell's going on with her?'
'My body's burning up… is the drugs wearing off?' Nesat thought, feeling a mind splitting headache but unable to bring her hands up to nurse the pain.
"Not quite, in fact I'd say it's finally starting to kick in." Nesat's eyes widened when she heard Vitaly's voice. "Oh come now, you remember the deal that was made, being surprised is unbecoming of you."
'H-How am I…?'
"Not important. What is important is what's in front of you." At Vitaly's words, Nesat's body went against her will, looking up to see the unconscious Krovanh, cradled by Nakri with Artorian standing over them. "Your precious family, moments away from being snuffed out by a Slayer."
'But he… he's stopped. He's stopped and you… you wanted us to… you're afraid…'
"Do you really think that matters? You threatened his precious friends, to expect him to spare any of you after that? In fact, I seem to remember him saying something about ripping your eye back out." The reminder of the hybrid's threat had Nesat's body begin to tremble, the sickening sound and unbearable pain from when she lost her original eye igniting whisps of energy across her body.
"Now be a good girl, and kill Karen Kisaragi."
"KISARAGI!" In a bright explosion of energy, Nesat's voice shook the entire arena. A torrent of wind forced the Hunters and Slayers to protect their faces, Artorian standing firmly amidst the bellowing air. When the torrent ended, he was about to take a step forward when suddenly the wind pulled back violently, the hybrid stumbling forward a few steps before seeing what was happening.
"KISARAGIIIIIIIII!" As the Hunter shrieked in uncontrolled rage, energy was being pulled from the barrier protecting the audience, spiraling around Nesat in a dome of reflective energy. The pressure from her absorbing was even pulling on the Variant, the occasional whisp of blue energy escaping from him to mix with the built-up energy.
However where the Slayer held his ground, the Hunters were being pulled, Nakri desperately trying to hold on to Krovanh as even their remaining energy was being pulled in. Just as she was about to lose her grip, Nakri was aided by Artorian, the hybrid stomping in front of them to act as an anchor for the pair.
"It's getting stronger!" Was all Sakura could say, barely able to keep herself from flying off amidst the growing pressure. "Karen, hold on a little bit longer!"
"I… I'm trying!" Karen grunted, Sakura seeing purple energy being freely pulled from her as Nesat was draining her effortlessly. Her lack of experience in energy control made her the perfect target, Karen slowly getting pulled along with her energy before she was pulled off her feet. "Sakura!"
"Karen!"
"I got you!" Amidst Karen's desperate shouting, she felt her arm get pulled harshly against the torrent of energy, looking up to see Artorian holding on to her wrist. He wasted no time as he pulled her as close as he could, shifting his shield to protect her as he held her close to his side.
'This is insane, how much more energy can she absorb?' Artorian thought in concern, having lost sight of Nesat amidst the flurry of energy, the blending colors forming the same green the Hunters had been using. And just as the barrier protecting the audience was giving out, the torrent of energy stopped and the entire weight of the situation came down, the dome surrounding Nesat cracking with a pulse of power.
"Oh shit…" Was the only thing that came to the Slayer's mind when the dome blew apart, Nesat standing still amidst the disintegrating light. Her eyes were glowing with the raw power of a Variant, her energy pulsing uncontrollably and causing her hair to flow, the once brown locks now glowing gold like her carnivorous eyes.
What happened next was so fast that by the time she realized it, Karen was pushed to the side along with the Hunters as Artorian was slammed into the wall. He coughed out blood as everyone saw Nesat slammed him into the concrete, her fist digging into his stomach to bring out more pain. Her gaze then turned to Karen, the girl trembling as the Hunter was about to approach.
Nesat was stopped when she felt a pair of hands grip her head, pulling her back enough that she was looking up to Artorian's glaring eyes. "I'm not losing my spirit to a gut punch twice!" He shouted before throwing his head down, headbutting the Hunter with enough force that the ground cratered around them.
Nesat barely reacted as she returned a blank stare to Artorian, snapping her head forward and forcing him to step back from the force. She then prepared to lunge for Karen when Artorian grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, slamming her into the wall. Nesat merely looked at him before pulsing her energy, knocking him back before moving at blinding speeds, kicking him across his head before gripping him by his hair.
The hybrid could only realize her grip before she slammed him face first into the floor, shattering the concrete beneath as she then rushed after Karen. She was just about to grab at the girl when Artorian caught her by the waist and threw them both back in a suplex. Nesat broke free and kicked back, slamming him back down to the ground and stomping onto his face several times to try and keep him down.
On the fifth stomp Artorian knocked her leg to the side, throwing Nesat off balance and rising up enough to land a solid punch on her chin. Nesat stumbled back from the impact, her expressionless eyes dazed as Artorian delivered two more punches to her face. When blood began to drip down her face, Nesat's awareness returned and she caught his coming punch. Artorian saw her swing to break his elbow and caught her fist with his free hand, the two initiating a standoff as their energy began to build up.
"A lot nastier than before huh?" Artorian growled, the power of their energy causing the barrier to fizzle on the brink of collapse. As their energy clashed more and more, Nesat's blank stare slowly gave way, the Hunter's energy matching her volatile snarl as she began to grunt like a beast.
"RRRRAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
"Nesat…" Nakri muttered in terror, seeing her cousin changing drastically from the calm and collective older sister she saw her as.
"C-Come on. We need to get him somewhere safe." Nakri's attention turned as Karen knelt down next to her, trying to help Krovanh up.
"What are you doing? We were trying to capture you, we tried to kill the dog, why are you-"
"Don't call him that!" Karen's shout caught the Hunter off guard. "He's not a dog! And I don't care what you think, if I can help someone I… I have to try…!" Karen groaned in exertion, trying to pull Krovanh up despite her lithe frame. "He didn't want to fight you, he still doesn't! But you won't stop so he has to!"
"He… doesn't want to fight us?"
'Like what… Mei Mei said?' Krovanh thought, barely able to move as Karen's efforts did little to help.
"Careful Karen, he's not looking too good." As Karen struggled, Sakura ran over and started to help, Nakri struggling to push herself up as the two singers started to pull Krovanh out from the open, the Hunter keeping her eyes on Nesat and Artorian's power struggle as it grew more intense.
Eventually the energy build up was too much to contain, and a small explosion between the two sent them flying in opposite directions. While Nesat recovered mid air and charged for Karen, Artorian planted his feet in the ground and lunged to intercept her, slamming his shoulder against her side and knocking her onto the ground. As Nesat rolled onto her back to get up, Artorian stomped on her shoulder to pin her down, rearing his metal fist up and slamming it down at the Hunter's head.
Nesat avoided the punch at the last second, placing a hand on the hybrid's chest and firing a pulse of energy that knocked him off. The Slayer regained his balance in time for Nesat to fly past him, but clamped his elbow to his side fast enough to catch her ankle when she went past him. The Hunter turned to blow him away again, but missed as Artorian's energy coated feet slid across the ground, maneuvering around her and throwing a punch to her face.
The Hunter was knocked back with a growl, stumbling back before baring her teeth at the Slayer. As she readied her energy, Artorian closed the gap instantly and delivered a straight punch to her head, following it with a punch aimed at her gut. When she finally fired a beam of energy, he narrowly dodged to his left and swung wide for a left hook that landed on the Hunter again. As the Hunter stepped back with a dazed expression, Artorian threw a final straight punch that knocked Nesat flying back and rolling across the ground.
"Now would be a good time to surrender. Before that drug wears off and your heart explodes from whatever extra shit she put in you." Artorian warned, cracking his neck as he approached the downed Hunter. "Now I don't know what's got you crazed on Karen, but I'll be understanding and believe somehow that insane bitch is whispering in that pretty little head of yours somewhere. So step back, take a deep breath, and just-"
"KISARAGI!"
"Shit!" Just before he reached her, Nesat, unleashed a sudden burst of energy at him, deflecting it with a barrier and sending it up to the sky. The crowd's barrier had suffered its last hit, the energy shattering as dissolving to their shock. "Not good…" Artorian muttered, energy sparking across Nesat as a torrent of power spiraled around her. Her mouth widened in a roar of rage and pain, the hybrid swearing her jaw was going to snap apart when a sphere of energy formed in her mouth.
"Oh fuck…" Was all he could say when Nesat released the energy, the sphere instantly growing to the same size as Artorian. He was about to step away, but by instinct realized he had put himself between Karen and the Hunter before trying to talk her down. Throwing his arms forward, Artorian altered the pressure of the energy at his feet for better traction, holding back the energy as it tore apart the concrete it passed over.
"God damn pain in my ass!" Artorian shouted with fury, digging his feet as the concrete slowly gave way behind him. Despite his efforts, he was still getting pushed back, the idols and Hunters watching as he held it back. "Stop gawking idiots, move out of the damn way!" His order went to them and the entire audience, a panic following suit as he continued to push against it, feeling the energy slowly burn through his glows.
'Losing my footing, the energy's getting hotter, and those fucking idiots aren't running fast enough!' Artorian growled, feeling his hold on the energy lose control while everyone behind him was running blindly, forcing him to continue holding it back despite the need to retreat. 'Headless chickens, a bunch of stupid, helpless, headless chickens!'
Feeling on the verge of losing his battle against the energy, Artorian took a last look into the bright orb before shouting, digging his fingers into the hard shell as energy began to erupt around him. With all his strength, Artorian crushed the surface of the energy, disrupting it and causing a massive explosion. Everyone who weren't braced were nearly sent flying into the air, the idols and Hunters on the ground coughing from the debris that filled the air.
"It's getting worse up there." Judal spoke, feeling the vibrations of Nesat's rampage. "Vitaly isn't trying to win, but at this rate it may not be a matter of trying." The man then walked over to Liza's dome, looking up to the unconscious girl. "She sent her agents to try and collect Abyssal, but made sure if they failed there's a chance it'd take you out with them."
"You're… both of you are humanity's last hope." Judal admitted, marching towards the elevator. "If I can stop the lose of at least one of you we'll have a fighting chance. But if both are gone now… he's in the direct danger so I have to go to him."
"No…" Judal froze in his tracks when his sister's voice spoke up, but instead of the usual synthetic voice given for her communication the gentle tone of Liza Harvey spoke, with some effort being needed to do so.
Judal only had the time to look back, seeing Liza's eyes open before her energy overwhelmed her container, a bright light blinding Judal as the whole room shook from her power being released.
'It… it's starting to work!?'
"Artorian!" Karen shouted in panic, attempting to run into the cloud of dust had Sakura not grabbed her.
"Karen no!"
"He's hurt! I know he's hurt!"
"The Hunter's after you, Artorian's the last person that would want you out there!"
"He can't keep fighting like this! He…" Karen's pleas were silenced as the cloud of dust dispersed with a gust of wind, surprising everyone at what was at the center.
Nesat was mid lunge, aiming for Karen again but was stopped by Artorian and getting punched back across the stage. Artorian stood with damage across his variable suit, his collar and gloves destroy while the upper right of his suit was in tatters, exposing small burn marks across his exposed skin.
"He… he's…"
"What is that guy made of?" Nakri muttered out in awe.
The damage aside, what was the most stunning sight was the beam of golden energy shooting out from the ground, spreading across the area before forming a new barrier protecting the audience. The warmth behind it gave Artorian a sense of calming, the burns on him slowly healing before he realized what was going on.
"You're awake?"
"Only for a while, it's taking all my focus just to form the barrier." A gentle voice spoke seemingly from the energy healing him. "I'm sorry, but I can only hold this up for a minute. You have to finish this before I lose consciousness."
"Liza, you don't need to keep up the barrier, if I can get close this is over. Don't waste your energy on this."
"I can't stop, I'm barely even aware as things are. I… I had to help everyone."
"You and Claire both, just think about yourselves for once."
"Artorian, right now there's no thinking for ourselves. The Hunter's energy is building up, more than what she absorbed." Liza informed the Slayer, Nesat's shouting and growling causing her to spit out blood, blood also escaping through her eyes and ears and boiling just after the droplets leave her. "I think her bodies unable to stop producing energy like I couldn't. If you don't stop her she'll…"
"Burn to dust or explode. I see then." Artorian said with disappointment, gripping the torn end of his variable suit and ripping the remaining clothing covering his torso off. "Liza, I promise you I won't throw away this chance. When you fall asleep again, I'll be sure to visit you again to thank you personally."
"Please… save her first…" Liza's voice became weaker as the energy began to flicker warning Artorian she was reaching her limit and had to end this now.
"Okay Nesat." Artorian spoke, walking towards Nesat as her energy shot out in every direction, the golden barrier deflecting the beams away. "Look at me, and nothing but me. And pray I can figure out how to do it a second time."
Eventually, the hybrid broke out into a sprint and charged directly at the Hunter, narrowly dodging several energy beams as he sped himself up with his energy. Amidst her shouting, Nesat saw the Slayer and turned her attention to him, her artificial eye glowing bright as she threw a volley of blasts at him. The Slayer was about to jump when he felt a pulse of energy send him high into the air, reacting in time to flip and plant his feet against the top of the barrier.
Without a word, Artorian narrowed his eyes in understanding and jumped off the barrier, the action causing it to shatter and disperse, feeling the warmth that was healing him disappear with the glow as Nesat looked up to him with crazed fervor. With a lasting roar, Nesat fired a multitude of energy beams at the Slayer.
Forcing as much energy as he could, Artorian coated his entire arms and legs with a blue glow, forming barriers around his limbs and using them to slide against and slip between the barrage. Artorian felt the strain instantly affect his arms, his muscles tightening from the effort without the energy rings at his wrists to act as conduits. But he pushed through, sliding between a pair of beams before pushing off them, punching down at the final beam fired and knocking it into the ground and cloud them in dust.
Nesat swiped out with energy to try and strike Artorian, but when she saw his energy through the dust it was too late. Grabbing her face with his left hand, Artorian covered her artificial eye and grabbed her shoulder with his metal hand, keeping her in place as energy started to burst violently around them.
"Come on!" Artorian growled as Nesat thrashed around in his grip, cutting across his face with one of her nails and drawing blood. But the Slayer continued to hold on, his eyes glowing as brighter than ever before as he forced as much energy out as possible to match Nesat's. "COME THE FUCK ON AND LET ME IN!"
Fighting against the torrent pushing against him, Artorian's energy began to bleed into Nesat's, the Hunter's struggles turning desperate before white light shined out and blinded everyone, the torrent continuing on as the pair were shrouded in the powerful flare.
The arena bled away before Artorian's eyes, finding himself standing in the same barren wasteland he had before, evaluating his surroundings for any differences from Krovanh's memories. 'Well… I'm in so at least something went right.' The hybrid thought to himself, noticing different rock formations and an approaching sandstorm in the distance.
"Now the real question, same memories or different?" He spoke to himself, looking around before seeing his target, Nesat walking through the strengthening wind with Nakri right behind her.
"We can't just leave him!"
"I know, but I have to get you somewhere safe! Once we have a hiding spot we can weather the storm and escape!"
"They'll kill Krovanh by the time the storm ends!"
"They won't risk losing three slaves… please Nakri, trust me."
"So Krovanh's escape plan kicked off." Artorian figured, seeing he was getting the missing piece from his last dive into a person's mind.
Artorian followed the two as they trekked on, the sand getting kicked up as the wind grew even stronger. He lost track of the time, feeling the chaotic flow and realizing Nesat's memories were foggy from the adrenaline and fear. As before he realized it, he was standing outside of a cave, Nesat throwing a stick onto a fire while Nakri tried to warm herself, night having settled in while the storm raged past him.
"…What do you think they're doing to him?" Nakri asked, the crackling of the fire the only sound accompanying the bellowing wind.
"I don't want to think about. And it doesn't matter, when I get back I'll save him. Then we can run and get away from this hell."
"Will we? No one came for us back then." Nakri said, curling herself up and hugging her knees as she stared into the fire. "Al-Salaam had us, UN officials saw the labor camps, they saw the lashing, and no one came for us. The whole world has just been watching. It's just another hell, a silent and cruel one."
"I… I don't think so." Nesat responded, looking down as she did. "There… there had to be more too it. A barrier or maybe because they were so far away they couldn't see it. How could anyone watch this and think it's okay?"
"Because it's not them, or because they can't." Nakri guessed, narrowing her eyes as she began to cry. "All because Slayers hold all the power, they decide what to do to us and treat us like objects. Like livestock! Like… like…"
"That won't happen, that life is behind us." Nesat promised, walking back to comfort Nakri as she began to shake in fear and anger.
"I just want us to be safe… I don't want our lives to be nothing more than hell for the sake of damned Slayers! I want our friends back, I want mom and dad back!"
"I know Nakri, I do too."
"I just want all these Slayers to pay! Someone has to!"
"More than just a few do." Artorian's blood boiled the moment he heard Vitaly's voice, the past Hunters instantly getting defensive as they backed against the cavern wall, the woman appearing next to Artorian as she entered the memory.
"Who are you?"
"Good question, not the right one." Vitaly chided as she clicked her tongue, stepping closer to the two.
"Stay back!" Nesat warned, looking around desperately before looking to the fire, Artorian moving to try and stop her but unable to change anything, the girl grabbing a burning piece of wood as she held it towards Vitaly. "I'll hit you! I'll hit wherever I can and you'll catch fire!"
"Well, that's quite the defensive response." Vitaly commented, Nesat biting her tongue to avoid letting the pain of her burning hand drop the stick. "Is that for yourself, or the girl behind you?"
"I mean it! Don't get any closer!"
"You really are desperate to protect her, is the boy you're talking about that important as well?"
"Stop talking and leave before I-!"
"Would you like an easy back door through the facility?" Vitaly offered, flicking her fingers into one of her coat's pockets and pulling out a sleek red keycard. "A secret passage that even the Slayers don't know about? One that could instantly get to your precious little brother?"
"H-How do you-"
"You ask such good questions, but never the right ones. The ones you should be asking is "Is the gamble worth it, will saving my brother get the peace I need"?"
The terrain began to shift again, the sand vanishing almost instantly in favor of cold metal, the hybrid now standing in Vitaly's laboratory as she shackled Nesat onto an operating table. The eye Nesat had lost was still missing, bandaging covering that side of her face before Vitaly slowly unwrapped them.
"The surgery won't be long, but I will admit I'm new to the prospect of eye-replacement. Especially since you requested your eye to be your variable stone." Vitaly informed, picking up the eye from it's tray, inspecting the glow. "While it's true they've been known to bond with people, there's no telling if someone with little energy will be compatible. Professionally I recommend my testing be done first."
"If I can't handle a single surgery, what will Krovanh and Nakri be forced to endure?"
"I suppose that is understanding enough. Now, I have administered anesthesia to lessen the pain, however you need to stay awake for the bonding process." Vitaly explained, a machine lowering and gripping Nesat's face, opening her hollowed eye socket before walking over. "So be a good girl, and hold still as best you can."
Artorian watched as Nesat's whole body convulsed the moment Vitaly inserted the artificial eye into her, energy sparking across her body and tearing into the ground as she let out a blood curdling scream. The Hunter was suffering so much pain that Vitaly stepped back to avoid one of the restraints flying off when Nesat grabbed the machine holding her eye open, ripping it out from its body and throwing it across the room. She then clutched at her eye and writhed as she fell down to the floor, one final burst of energy going off before everything started to settle.
"Congratulations Nesat, you're my first Hunter." Vitaly said with a smirk, kneeling down to the whimpering girl. "Open your eyes, and see what the world that needs changing is now." Nesat was still panting from the pain, reluctant to do anything but eventually opened her bleeding eye, stunned to be seeing far clearer than ever before, the low glow charged by the energy she was now producing.
The scene melted away again, Nesat once again on the operating table and screaming in agony as several needles were implanted across her arms and legs, a final one going through her natural eye. All of them were injecting green fluids into her body, energy sparking around far more powerfully than before.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Calm now Nesat, we're almost done. Try to avoid dying so soon." Vitaly commented, standing by her monitor as the girl screamed. Artorian watched for seconds but the time was closer to hours before the needles slowly pulled away from Nesat, the Hunter crying as she was freed from her restraints and held onto her eye. "That'll be a good enough dosage for this week. Be sure to rest up after that."
"Who's… next…?" Nesat wheezed out, trying to calm herself after her injections.
"Nakri, she's fallen behind on her injections after the accident last time. I'll have to double her dosage in order to have her catch up to you and Krovanh. There's no place for weakness here."
"Y-You can't do that! Nakri's not as energy sensitive as us, giving her that much will kill her!"
"My Variants must be as powerful as possible; her weakness will just slow you two down. So either she'll improve with the dosages, or I'll be able to focus your training."
"…Give it to me." Nesat's words had Vitaly look over in intrigue, Nesat glaring up to the women with golden eyes. "Give Nakri the normal dose, I'll take the second dosage now."
"Oh, and why would I do that?"
"Nakri will still increase in strength, killing her makes me and Krovanh more likely to rebel. If you give me the dosage I'll… I'll become even stronger."
"And who says you'll even be able to endure it? What makes you special enough to?"
"I will." The two remained silent afterword, Vitaly measuring out Nesat's gaze before chuckling and inserting another canister of her diluted Savage fluids into the injection device.
"Well then by all means, lay back down Nesat." The area dimmed out as Artorian watched her lie back down, tightening his hands into fists as he was eventually shrouded in darkness.
"You stupid… stupid kid." He said to himself, looking up as he concentrated his energy. Without taking a step the whole area felt as if it converted around, the hybrid feeling his body drift in the endless void before seeing an endless light.
"…What are you doing?" Was all Nesat said as she heard Artorian begin to walk towards her, sitting with her back to him and knees curled against her chest.
"Poking around, trying to find a way to stop your suicide." Artorian shrugged, crossing his arms. "Guess you're more in tune with energy then I thought, Krovanh didn't realize I was in his head."
"…Sympathy is a means to transfer knowledge, Vitaly believes it's how Savage communicate between each other."
"And here we are now. Funny thing, not caring and all." He commented, blowing off Vitaly's theory. "Shit goes down hard when the people that care too much stop caring."
"…Is this going somewhere?"
"Why give up? Vitaly's serum is strong but you should easily be able to resist it. With the amount of that shit she injected into you, you may as well be a Pure Variant." Artorian noted. "So why give up and let yourself get turned into a nuclear timebomb?"
"…We failed, we aren't strong enough to defeat a single Variant. What more can we do?"
"You can fight for your world, throw this shit one out the window."
"…The world doesn't want to be saved, you said it yourself."
"Yeah, I did. Not the world I was talking about either."
"…Then what point is there?"
"Besides being pathetic? Besides giving up like a coward? Besides condemning everyone who died for you to be nothing, not even a memory? Cause I know for certain they don't matter enough to you if you'd take the easy way out and take out everyone."
"What right do you have!?" In a display of rage, Nesat stood up and turned to Artorian, her eyes glowing in blind fury. "We've fought for as long as we could, we lost everyone! Our parents, our friends, our homes, everything! WHAT SLAYER WOULD KNOW A THING ABOUT THAT!" Nesat stood amidst the blinding light as she glared at Artorian, blinded by her light before the shadows around Artorian slowly balanced the world. When it did, Nesat nearly stepped back when she fully processed the hybrid.
"Because I've lost a world once." Artorian said.
He was half the size he normally was, covered nearly head to toe in soot and covered in cuts and bruises. Blood was going down his face and his neck had the bruising someone who was strangled would have. Looking to his hands and feet, they were burned badly, covered in splinters from the debris of his evacuations of the Kisaragi residence and his attempt to save Emilia during the Second Attack.
"I watched people I considered family die. My friend's parents died instantly from crashing debris. My best friend was… taken after a blast of energy struck him. And my dad died in front of me seconds after he nearly strangled me to death." Artorian words were accompanied by the void around him changing, Nesat on the receiving end of their Sympathy link as she witnessed Artorian's desperate attempt to survive.
"And I suffered before even then, at the hands of normal people." Artorian's body then morphed again, appearing bruised and bloodied as he reverted to the time he had been attacked by Kai and his goons.
"I offered a chance to change things, to make peace at a mutually destructive path. My peace was met with violence, my nose broken, several of my ribs cracked, and I was forced to watch my friend be beaten for trying to save me. And then… and then Karen was hurt and everything went red." Nesat then watched as Artorian's encounter with Kai played before them, watching as Artorian began pounding Kai within an inch of his life before stopping.
"I nearly gave up that day, had I thrown one more punch it would have been over then and there. But she saved me, the girl I vowed to protect." Artorian then smiled as he looked down, his small frame still damaged as he looked to Nesat.
"I gave up on the world that day, no cause is worth fighting for if the kids are reduced to animals. A world that turns blind hatred to undeserving enemies deserves to burn to the ground. And I'll gladly enjoy those last moments in solitude before the flames swallow me."
"Then… why…"
"Because I had another world to protect." A visage of Karen the appeared behind Artorian, slowly expanding to include Emilia as he looked to Nesat. "People I wanted to protect, people I loved and cared for. And then the damn Blondie went and started inspiring the best in me." Artorian's harsh statement came with a happy grin, Claire appearing next. Sakura followed soon after, and then Miharu, Liddy, Erica, Charlotte, Mei Mei, Reitia and Touka all faded into view.
"It's a big world for me to protect, but they're strong. So I'm not worried, they'll be fine when I kick the bucket. But what about you?" Artorian then pointed to Nesat, visages of Krovanh and Nakri forming behind her and surprising her. "Your world has the people most precious to you, aren't they the reason you've fought this long?"
"I… I'm not strong enough to protect them…"
"Then why give up? Get off your ass and get stronger!" Artorian barked at Nesat, surprising her as he stood firmly. "You and me… we've suffered hell for the people we care about. The people we want to protect. But now… well now we're watching them grow. Krovanh and Nakri will keep fighting to survive, and you just want them to be safe. But there's no being safe in this hell hole of a planet. And that's why we have to keep getting stronger, no matter how small the world you fight for should be protected to your last breath." Artorian then held his hand out to Nesat, the Hunter staring at him in surprise at his peaceful gesture.
"Nesat, your world is worth fighting for. Don't throw it away now, not when they'll need you the most."
"I… I don't know how to… what if I can't stop it?" Nesat asked, Artorian's smile remaining as he held out to her.
"You can, just take my hand and trust me." The hybrid remained confident in his offer, the wounded kid smiling with a genuine smile to comfort the Hunter.
And slowly, Nesat reached out to his hand. She shook the whole time, but she gripped his hand, feeling his cool hand as he held on. His body reverted back to his current self, the Slayer nodding in understanding as he felt the surplus of energy merge between them.
The light at the center of the stage began to dim out, the intense pressure vanishing almost instantly amidst the energy. Once the light was gone, everyone looked to see Artorian standing calmly and carrying Nesat in a bridal carry.
"You… absorbed the energy?" The Hunter looked up in dazed confusion, her hair still blonde from the mutation of energy while her eyes dimmed back to their original color.
"I showed you my scars, I haven't shown you my tricks." Artorian responded to Nesat's confusion, walking towards the idols and remaining Hunters. "How you feeling?"
"Tired… and cold."
"Sorry about that." He apologized.
The whole area was silent as Artorian walked, left in awe after the display of power from the Slayer after facing three opponents at once and winning. And now he was still in good health, the worst injury the mark across his face from Nesat clawing at him.
"He… he did it." Sakura muttered out, her and Karen both brightening as they jumped up. "He did it!"
The cheering of the two caused a reaction amidst the crowd, everyone shouting out in approval and hurting the Slayer and hunter's ears. While Nesat could cover her own, Artorian growled and was about to yell for everyone to stop, he saw Karen and Sakura running towards him, getting him to step back.
"Wait you two, I'm already carrying-!" His words were ignored and silenced as the two hugged him, nearly knocking him over as he rebalanced himself with the Hunter.
"You did it, you really did it!" Karen cried as she hugged the hybrid, refusing to let go as he squirmed.
"Hey come on! The entire crowd is watching! At least let me put Nesat down before you get all teary-eyed."
"Give us this moment, there really were moments we thought you were… but you kept getting up. My Wolf Knight." Sakura answered, looking up to Artorian with a smile through her tears of relief, getting a tired sigh from the Slayer as he returned the stare.
"Ownership of me might be a little over the place, but I'll leave that to all of you to settle."
"Well I'll be damned, guess we weren't needed here after all." Matthew commented, him and Claire having came after the explosion expecting the backup was needed, only to see the aftermath of the fight.
"He's really started to grow, hasn't he?" Claire said, smiling as she watched the Slayer slip out from the idols' hug in order to bring Nesat over to her family, laying her down as the remaining Hunters looked over the eldest of them.
"Mercy's one thing, I'm more worried about what's going to happen next." Matthew pointed to the other side of the coliseum, over a dozen of Warslran soldiers rushing in and surrounding the Hunters, Artorian looking over his shoulder when he heard the N-Tranquilizer rifles priming up as they aimed at the Hunters.
"Corporal Abyssal, step away from the fugitives." The captain of the soldiers ordered; his rifle aimed at the Slayer as Artorian's golden eyes glowed brighter. "We are ordered to bring the Hunters in under any circumstances, which includes the crippling of you if need be."
"Oh, you've picked a bad time to try this shit." Artorian growled, his shoulders cracking as he stood up, his energy slowly forming into an aura as he continued to look at the captain over his shoulder.
"Stand down Corporal, or we will put you down."
"I'd like to see you try."
(A/N): AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! Finally got it done! over 12,000 words and the climax of the arc is wrapped up! This chapter had been a tough one for me, as I ended up writing the first two sequences after Artorian's fight with Krovanh, meaning there was some back tracking needed. Additional editing and honestly not being able to find a good end point resulted in my second longest chapter I've ever written for any story, and to be honest I feel good about it.
I don't intend to take a break again, chapters might be a little slow but I'm feeling good on writing again and Abysswalker just keeps pulling me back in. And I always feel I need to say this, I'm always grateful for everyone who has been reading Abysswalker, knowing I'm entertaining people enough for them to come back and keep reading, after being gone for a year... twice... keeps me inspired to better craft the story. I can never thank you all enough and I hope this chapter lived up to the standard I'd been making. And most importantly, I hoped you all enjoyed it and I'll see you in the next chapter where things will start to get interesting.
PEACE!