Here we are at Chapter 40. The final battle begins. I do not own Code Vein. They belong to Bandai Namco. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 41. Enjoy.
Chapter 40: Enemy from the Past
It was mayhem. Monsters coming out in waves from holes all over the capital city. Civilians flee in terror. Soldiers try to fight them off, but are getting overwhelmed from the sheer numbers of the beasts. In one section of the city, people run from a horde of orcs as they chase their prey. One closes in on a young woman, licking its lips. However, it's head suddenly goes flying. The woman looks back to see Fuyumi as her savior.
Fuyumi looks back, "Go, head to the royal castle! You'll be safe there," she says and the woman nods before running away.
Fuyumi turns back to the monsters, "How the Hell did something like this happen?"
She creates several ice shards and launches them at the monsters, followed by a Flame Roar. Her attacks destroy the monsters in front of her, but more just keep coming. She conjures a large lightning blade and swings it, slicing them all in half. She looks when a group of goblins come out from an alleyway, but they get burned alive by Hikaru's breath attack.
"This is happening all over the city. No matter how many we kill, they just keep coming. What could be causing this? I don't recall there being monster hordes underneath the capital like this," Hikaru asks, batting away one monster with her tail.
"This was definitely caused by someone with bad intentions," Fuyumi replies, cutting down two ogres with her blade.
"Jorus," Hikaru says.
"It's the only logical choice. He still hasn't been found, and to pull something like this off would require a lot of magical power. He fits the bill perfectly," Fuyumi fires off a blood spike, spearing through three kobolds.
"Makes sense. But... what about the academy? If Jorus is doing this, then won't he..." Hikaru couldn't finish the thought because she had to punch an orc into the sky.
"I know, but Yuki's not alone, and Jorus doesn't have the manpower he did before. She and her friends have gotten stronger too," Fuyumi says, slicing through two more monsters.
"I suppose you're right. Do you think Jorus would use all this chaos as simply a distraction to get to Yuki?" Hikaru asks, punching another orc into the middle of next week.
"I wouldn't be surprised, but right now, we need to be here helping out the people. These monsters are everywhere. First, we need to thin their numbers and cover the civilians while they evacuate to the castle. The king already put out the call for reinforcements, but it'll be a little bit before they arrive. As soon as we create an opening, we need to find out the source for where these monsters hordes are coming from and shut it down," Fuyumi slices several monsters to pieces.
"I guess we have no choice then," Hikaru turns a group of lizardmen to ashes with a breath attack.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the city, more of Fuyumi's lovers are aiding the locals with the situation. Iris, who was at the castle at the time of the attack, stands with guards at the castle. She guides the civilians inside while she and the royal guards keep the monsters at bay.
"Hurry, inside! Don't try to climb over each other. The castle grounds will be safe for you. The royal knights will not allow any harm to come to you!" Iris shouts.
She spots one woman with a little girl in her arms running away from a chasing ogre. It raises its club high, ready to smash them. Iris charges in, drawing her sword and making a swift strike. She slices the ogre's arm off, saving the woman and her child. While the ogre roars out in pain, Iris jumps up and makes another swing, decapitating the beast.
"Get inside, now!" Iris calls out.
The woman briefly nods in thanks before heading inside with the others. Iris looks back, just as more monsters come.
"When will this end? I hope the others are doing okay," Iris mutters before getting back into the fight.
...
Back at the academy, the students are being brought together into the ballroom along with the staff. The king had increased security here since the previous attack, so aside from the castle and the city borders, the academy is the most well-defended place in the capital. In the large mass of people, Hiei and Hana look around for Yuki.
"Where is Yuki and Veronica? Shouldn't they be here?" Hiei looks around, worried sick.
Just then, Sophia and Princess Iris join them, "I checked all around. Neither of them are here," Sophia says.
"Then they must've not been gathered with the others. They could be somewhere else within the academy," Hana thinks.
"Then we'll go look for them. I'm not just gonna sit around here and wait," Hiei says, running ahead with Hana and Sophia right behind her.
One of the faculty members sees them running towards an exit and steps in between them.
"Hold it. Stop right there!" the faculty member commands.
"Out of the way! I'm going to find my fiance!" Hiei ad Hana jump over the staff member, while Sophia slides under his grasp.
"Wait, you can't just-," he turns to pursue, but...
"Let them go," Princess Iris stops him.
"B-But, Your Highness, we have to keep them all here," he says.
"They have a mission to complete, and we can't stand in their way. For now, we must focus on helping the people right here, right now," Princess Iris says.
Right now, all she can do as a princess of Anatolia is to keep the people at the academy calm and safe. To fulfill her duties as a member of royalty. Meanwhile, Hiei, Hana, and Sophia scour the school, searching for Yuki and Veronica.
"Where are they? Come on, where are they?!" Hiei gets really worried.
"Let's split up. We'll cover more ground in less time that way," Sophia suggests.
Hiei nods, "Alright. If you find them, then meet up at the school's front entrance,"
They find a fork in the road and split off, heading in different directions.
...
Back in the city, Anelia stands with a squad of mages as they fire off magic spells at the monsters from a rooftop.
"Spirits of wind, slash through my enemies... Air Cutter!" Anelia and her mages fire off a series of wind blades at the monsters below.
They've already cut down and killed a large number of them, but still more come.
"Lady Anelia, how could so many monsters suddenly show up like this?" one of the mages asks.
"It must be the work of a powerful spell. One that may have taken some time to prepare. It's the only explanation. If we can just take down enough of them to give us some breathing room, we can find the magi circle and destroy it. That should stop the monster hordes from coming," Anelia says.
"Ooh, sounds like a nice plan. There's just one problem with it," a female voice rings out.
Suddenly, the mages behind Anelia have their throats slashed and they fall down as their lives come to an abrupt end. Anelia turns to see none other than Margaret as the culprit.
"Can't have you interfere with my master's plan like before. Besides, I still have a score to settle with you," Magaret twirls her daggers around, flinging the blood off of them.
"You... You really are annoying," Anelia glares at her little rival.
In another part of the city, May swings her scythe around, slashing through two ogres. She glances behind her as an orc attempts to tackle her from behind. She swings her scythe upwards, bisecting the monster in half. All around her, there are monster corpses in pieces. But, despite the amount of progress she's made, there are still more coming in.
"Will this never end?" May mutters before charging at them.
Twirling her scythe around, she runs around the monsters, leaving them in pieces in her wake.
...
Back at the royal academy, Hiei continues her search for Yuki and Veronica. Her search takes her outside as she looks all over for them.
"Think, if I were a damn sex demon and wanted to have some time alone with Yuki, where would I go? Somewhere with some privacy where we won't be interrupted," Hiei mutters as she looks round.
Moving to the back of the school, she finally locates Yuki, sitting up against a wall while unconscious. But, no sign of Veronica.
"Yuki!" Hiei rushes to her side and shakes her awake. "Yuki, are you alright?! Please, wake up. Yuki!" she yells.
Her shaking and yelling eventually cause the white-haired woman to stir awake. She groans and slowly wakes up.
"Huh... Hiei, what's going on?" Yuki wonders as she slowly comes to.
"That's what I want to know. What happened to you and where is Veronica? Monsters are flooding the capital city. It's chaos right now!" Hiei asks.
"Huh? Monsters? Wait... Veronica, she cast a sleep spell on me," Yuki remembers what happened now.
"She what? Why would she do that? Don't tell me she's a part of this mess," Hiei starts to get angry.
"No! That's not it at all. Hiei, we have to find her before something worse happens. I think she went to clean up this mess by herself and didn't want me to get hurt! She needs our help!" Yuki retorts.
...
Deep in the catacombs beneath the city, Jorus walks towards his next destination. He can faintly hear the mayhem going on above him.
"That should keep them occupied long enough for me to accomplish what I came here for. Have fun delaying your inevitable demise, human scum," Jorus chuckles.
However, a sudden blast of black flames bursts forth ahead of him in the tunnel.
"Wall," Jorus creates a wall of heavy stone to defend himself from the flames. Once the flames die down, he has the wall collapse. "I honestly didn't think you'd find me so soon, Veronica. I was trying to be extra sneaky this time, too," Jorus jokes as Veronica approaches him.
"I could smell your stench no matter how far. I've come to settle matters and sever ties with you once and for all... brother," Veronica says.
"My, out to kill your own brother? Now, which one of us is the real demon here," Jorus says before a pair of curved black horns and black wings erupt from his body. His hair changes color to match Veronica's, as do his eyes, and his face appears younger now. "It took a long time to mask my appearance and make it realistic enough for people to see me as a human. And I hated every minute of it. Having to walk around, pretending to be one of these little mongrels. To hide my true, glorious lineage. It was sickening!"
"Our people's time has come and gone brother. Nothing lasts forever. That is the nature of life and death. I've lived a long time, and will still live a while longer. I've learned to enjoy life to the fullest. Not use it to simply seek destruction or revenge. Those are wasted efforts," Veronica says.
"Are you really that naïve, dear sister? Your precious Yukitsuki is a human. She will die long before you and you'll be all alone again. These damn humans took everything from us. They and their precious goddess. I'm going to avenge our people. Even if I can't bring them back, I can make these humans suffer for their crimes!" Jorus gets pissed.
"I'm done listening to your crap. This ends... now. Burn!" Veronica casts another fire spell.
"Burn!" Jorus matches her spell with one of his own.
The two demon children burst through the flames, throwing a punch at each other. Their fists collide, creating a shockwave.
"Lightning!" Veronica sends out lightning through her fist, shocking Jorus.
"Blow away!" Jorus fires off a gust of wind to send her back.
Veronica crashes into a wall, but then dodges out of the way from Jorus' fist as he hits the wall. The two engage in a fast match of fists and feet as they try to smash each other's face in. However, the two appear to be evenly matched in terms of physical ability.
"I wonder, dear sister. Why did you come all this way to face me... alone? Where are your new friends? Where is your precious Yuki?" Jorus taunts her.
"Far away from you. Besides, I don't need their help to take you down," Veronica replies.
She throws a fist, but he catches it and swings her around into another wall and then throws her down the hallway.
"You'll have to do better than that if you want to stop me, Veronica. Or else, I might just go and pay your precious Yuki another visit," Jorus smirks.
Veronica growls before charging at him again.
...
At the royal academy, Yuki and Hiei reunite with Sophia and Hana. Yuki explains what happened when she disappeared, and they gave a more detailed explanation of the current situation in the capital.
"It's gotta be Jorus' doing. He must be using all this chaos for his own ends. I wouldn't be surprised if Veronica had suspicions and went to fight him by herself," Sophia theorizes.
"That idiot. We'll just have to give her a piece of our minds when we find her," Hana notes.
"Then let's go. I can faintly feel her presence. Our soul connection will guide us to her. I'm not just going to sit by and do nothing while everyone else is out fighting," Yuki says.
Seeing how she won't be dissuaded, the others nod, "Then let's go" Hiei says and the four move to the main gate of the school.
Back in the city, Fuyumi and Hikaru continue to shred through the monster hordes in the city.
"Any sign of progress here?" Fuyumi asks, burning a few monsters to ashes.
Hikaru unleashes another breath attack, sending flames down the roadway to burn through every monster in sight.
"Fuyumi, I think we've got ourselves an opening here. I'll keep the stragglers busy. You find the source and take it down!" Hikaru yells.
Fuyumi nods and moves ahead. She slices through a few monsters as she runs. Eventually, she comes across a large hole in the ground where more monsters start to climb out of Fuyumi.
"This seems like a likely candidate," Fuyumi mutters, casting a Plasma Roar to shock them to death.
Once they're out of the way, Fuyumi jumps down and finds a large, glowing magic circle before her. From that circle, more monsters are slowly coming out.
"So, this must be the source. But, how do I stop it?" Fuyumi mutters. But, seeing as how time is not on her side right now, she only has one option. "When in doubt, break it. Why not?"
Deciding to go big, Fuyumi conjures several crystal spikes, her Purging Thorn blood gift. She sends the thorns into the magic circle itself. The magic circle short-circuits before falling apart and the monsters start coming out.
Fuyumi sighs with relief, "Well, that's one down. But, if these monsters were coming out from this magic circle, then that must mean there are others scattered throughout the city. We must hurry,"
...
Meanwhile, Anelia jumps from one rooftop to the next while Margaret gives chase. Every time she tries to conjure a spell, Margaret would attack or do something to stop her mid-chant. These situations always make Anelia wish she could use magic in a way similar to Fuyumi's blood gifts; with no chants to get in the way.
"Must be tough not having anyone to help you use your magic, huh," Margaret taunts her as she gives chase.
"I wish you would shut up for once," Anelia groans.
"Well, I can't really stop talking since it's not my style. So, we find ourselves at an impasse," Margaret replies.
She throws a few throwing knives at Anelia. Anelia ducks under them, but one clips her leg and she loses her balance. She falls off of the building and lands on the ground hard. She struggles to get up, just as Margaret lands in front of her.
"Well, I've enjoyed our little game, but you've reached the end of the road, mage girl. Too bad," Margaret raises her dagger and swings down.
Anelia closes her eyes, expecting a painful end. Instead, she hears some noise and then some cursing.
"Damn it! Where did you come from?" she hears Margaret's frustration in her voice.
Anelia opens her eyes and gasps upon finding May in front of her in her battle garments.
"Looks like I made it in time," May notes.
"May, how did you get here?" Anelia asks.
"Hikaru and Fuyumi were able to take out a magic circle in their area of the city. Turns out that magic circle is the thing that was creating and sending out the monster hordes. It seems there are several of them scattered throughout the city. That's how these monsters have been coming in large numbers. After Fuyumi and Hikaru destroyed the first magic circle, it stopped the monsters coming out of it from appearing. They've moved on to other parts of the city alongside Elane while Iris guards the castle with the royal guard. Once the rest of those circles are destroyed, this monster attack will end. Then all that's left is Jorus," May explains.
"Magic circles? Now it all makes sense," Anelia staggers to her feet.
"Tch, of course the hero would be our biggest problem," Margaret clicks her tongue in annoyance.
"So, Hikaru took over my area, and thus I came here to help you out. Can you still fight?" May asks.
Anelia takes a breath, "I can still fight. Just keep her off of me," she raises
May twirls her scythe, "That won't be a problem," she says as hey face off against Margaret.
...
Meanwhile, Yuki's group race through the city, taking out any monsters that stand in their way, but they don't focus on them. Throughout the battle, Yuki's mind remains focused on Veronica. Focusing on the connection between their two souls.
"Feel anything, Yuki?" Hiei asks, slashing through a goblin.
"I can feel our bond between us getting stronger. She's closer now, but it feels like there's something in the way. A barrier or a wall or sorts. I don't quite understand it," Yuki replies.
"A wall?" Sophia looks around, slowly turning her eyes to the dead monsters on the ground. "Wait, what if it was not a wall... but a ceiling?"
"Huh?" Yuki asks.
"These monsters suddenly show up in the capital city, but they didn't come from outside the city's walls, nor from the skies. That leaves only one avenue of entry," Sophia explains.
"They came... from underground," Hana figures it out.
"It's the only logical explanation. I heard that the royal family kept underground passageways beneath the city for escape in times of crisis. I don't know all the details, or how many there are, but that seem like a good way to sneak monsters into the city. So, we need to dig deep, literally," Sophia says.
"Then let's go. I won't let anything happen to Veronica," Yuki says, her expression full of determination.
...
Fire, sparks, and blasts of energy ring out throughout the tunnels beneath the capital city. Veronica fires off more fire blasts against Jorus. Jorus, counters with powerful gusts of wind or by blocking them with walls of stone.
"You can't keep this up forever, sister. When it came to magical capacity, I've always had the edge," Jorus laughs.
"I doubt your endless chatter counts as magical capacity. Lightning," Veronica sends out a surge of lightning at him.
"Wall," Jorus blocks with his earth wall again, causing the lightning to get sent down into the dirt. "You'll have to do better than that to-,"
Veronica kicks the wall, sending fragments flying at Jorus. He covers his face from the projectiles, giving Veronica the chance to kick him in the stomach and send him crashing into a wall.
"Looks like I can do better than that, brother," Veronica says mockingly.
Jorus growls, "Fine then. Playtime is over,"
...
A hole appears in the ceiling of one of the tunnels and Yuki's group fall inside. They land on their feet and look around, finding no monsters waiting for them.
"Alright Yuki, which way?" Hiei asks.
"This way!" Yuki takes the lead.
They run down one path in the tunnel. As they do, they hear the sounds of combat ahead of them. Running faster, they come around a corner, only to freeze in shock. They spot Jorus standing in one spot... and Veronica laying against a cracked wall in another.
"Veronica!" Yuki yells.
Jorus turns and smiles, "Well, well, so the goddess' child has come to me. That saves me some time. Now, I will finish what I began and claim my revenge, once and for all,"
Yuki takes out an ice blade as her friends prepare to fight, "Let's end this, Jorus," Yuki declares.
And that's the chapter. The battle continues in the city. Meanwhile, Yuki and her friends face Jorus one last time. Who will emerge victorious? Until then, please Read and Review.