At this point of the operation to take down Behemoth, Kojiro liked to say that he was well versed in taking down those inferior copies. The moment they escaped the veil of death, like a child would leave its mother's womb, his sword already finished swinging. They could not even let out a roar before their very cores were split in half within. Despite the swiftness of his strikes, the speed having increased considerably, he couldn't help but frown deeply. Once again, he had cut into the flesh as well, instead of just the crystals.
More compact. To channel one's entire potential within the body and merely allow a simple flick of the wrist to release it all, into one singular spot. Again and again, he struck, slashed and pierced. To the eyes of any onlookers he was a blur, a dancing phantom as his feet slid across the ground, his mighty blade like a staff meant for performance instead of a tool for murder and death. He exhaled slowly, as he started to retreat once more, the venom having furthered its borders once more. But something was off this time, with this retreat.
"You noticed it too?"
"I notice many things lately," Kojiro stated with a small smirk, turning to his former Chaldean colleague. Said colleague never ceased drawing his bow and releasing the arrows he created on the fly, aiming upwards however.
One might wonder why he, who possessed the Divine Body, resistant to all poison, did not go inside the fog himself. Alas, for the claim of "complete nullification" it was just like the claim that Adamantite Weapons were indestructible. A close thing to be sure, but nothing was absolute in this world. Even Arash was not exempt from the effects of the poison, diminished effect as they had. Not to mention, he had a much more important role outside of the fog.
He was their best shot to protect not only this battlefield, but the far away nations themselves. After all…
Boom after boom. Just as they soared towards the skies, defying gravity and desiring to land in foreign territory, they were blasted apart by arrows. Behemoth's desire for propagation was being halted by the discipline and consistent fire unleashed by Arash. For only the Starfall could snipe the monsters being launched into the skies before they could crash into the foreign lands. His vision might not pierce the fog, but it could see far, in time and space, predicting where he had to shoot before the monsters could fly away too far for him to accurately shoot down.
With him covering the skies, the ground was left to all the other mighty warriors spread out across these accursed grounds. The two of them could sense it. The roar of Bete, unleashing the wolf within. The light of the Braver shining in the distance. The darkness of Kaguya overshadowing even the poison. The elements of various elves, fighting back against those that neither Kojiro nor Arash could take down. A great and important duty, shared across different Familia…yet the archer noticed that the swordsman next to him did not look into the poison for incoming enemies, but tried to peer further within, to no avail.
"You also wish you could go in there?"
"I do understand I am more use out here, to help you cut down their numbers." Kojiro spun and slashed upwards, his blade in a reverse grip, before holding it normally again. He let out a weary sigh. "Still, I wish my vision came with X-Ray."
"Mine used to. It's rather annoying sometimes." Arash narrowed his eyes. "Hm, this is not good at all."
He was not the only one to notice. Finn slid across the ground, retreating with his allies again. But he realized two things, as he stared at the trail he left behind, before spinning his spear in preparation.
"There are fewer than before."
"That's good, right?" Tiona asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Her captain slowly shook his head, biting on his thumb.
"No." Reports mere moments ago sorted themselves out in his mind. The rate of "escapees" was in fact decreasing. If he was an optimist, he might have believed the main Behemoth was weakening. But another reason was a lot more likely. "That means it's concentrating its forces within. To act against Aiz and the others."
"That's bad!"
"Damn straight it is." Gareth walked up to them, resting his battle axe on his shoulder. He pointed forward. "The poison spread is slowing down as well. I can still see our traces over there, after a minute passed. That wasn't the case before."
"Is it…capable of controlling the mist?" Riveria muttered under her breath.
"We can only assume so." Finn clapped his hands together. "There's nothing we can do about it. We need to keep up with our jobs."
Still, the heavy sensation in the depths of their stomachs did not disappear, worry for those that were within. Ryuu especially almost slipped up, needing Lyra to cover her flank with an explosive as she quickly retreated. Accepting the tongue lashing from Kaguya, barely listening to her words, the elf pressed her lips together behind her mask.
"Bell…Alise…Aiz–"
/
Bell underestimated how deafening it could be within a "storm" like this. The fact he couldn't see a thing beyond Aiz' protective bubble was a given he expected. But his eardrums were begging for sweet release as the winds of venom bashed against the shield, like sharp whips made of razor scratching across steel. He exhaled slowly, trying to relax his grip on his swords as he jogged alongside everyone else. Their initial velocity slowed down immensely, what with the gap that the others created closing in on them. Aiz could only move the winds so fast around them, else he would've volunteered to carry her. Still, now that the adrenaline was fading a bit after their first burst…he couldn't help but feel the pressure.
His eyes darted around. The pressure of knowing that there was a threat around them…but he couldn't spot them. None of them could, thus even the King kept his guard up, more than he usually did. Not to mention, he knew the level up from Haruhime's magic did not last forever. They were barely moving for a minute through this fog, but he could sense the clock ticking on the back of his neck.
"I knew it was going to be bad, but this is worse than I thought! I can't see anything!" Lefiya shouted against the volume of their surroundings, gripping her staff tightly against her body.
"Save your breath! Only communicate when you have to! Keep the comments to a minimum!" Hedin adjusted his glasses, his eyes focused on their back flank. The girl flinched, clearing her throat awkwardly before turning her head to the left.
"Girl's got a point!" Alise shouted, digging a finger into her ear with a wince. She kept her eyes on their right flank, but nudged their protector with her elbow. "Sheesh, and you wanted to go in this alone?!"
"It was just a suggestion…" She muttered under her breath, Bell close enough to actually hear that. But suddenly, her knees buckled for a moment. Ottar almost ran out of the wind barrier before forcing himself to a stop. Everyone turned towards her as she pushed her hands up, as if struggling against some invisible force, finally standing upright after a few moments. "Tch…!"
"What's wrong?!"
At Bell's worry, his girlfriend shot him a small smile before taking a deep breath.
"It's getting…thicker…! It's like the poison is condensing and pushing against me…!"
"Keep it up, you doin' gre-!"
Before Alise could finish her encouragement however, Aiz' ears twitched. Then each and every single one of them felt a tingle run up their spine, their experience of numerous battles screaming at them. Thus, they all reacted as one.
Instead of keeping up the barrier, Aiz let it down for just a split second on several spots. The moment they closed, the invaders already got inside, not slowed down at all due to being allowed through. But before the clones could even unfurl, to reveal their forms and their poison, the adventurers within already moved.
Ottar swung his great sword upwards, cleaving the incoming beast in half. Lefiya already shot her magic at the same time as Hedin, each frying their target immediately. The flames of Alise and Bell accompanied their steel, piercing and slashing at the same time. The corpses barely dropped to the ground before Aiz proceeded to throw their decaying forms out before they could unleash any death inside their bubble.
"Is that thing launching the clones at us?!" Bell shouted. He heard Aiz grunt, causing him to move in instinct, increasing his speed and leaping into the air, just in time to cut and divert another clone, sending it over to Alise who finished it with a fiery pierce herself.
"Of course they can see through this fog unlike us!" Alise rolled her shoulder before pointing at Lefiya. "On your six!"
The elf in question immediately ducked, before the rapier unleashed its torrent of flames. Ottar meanwhile let out a grunt before uppercutting another incoming clone, sending it upwards.
"That is good."
"How is that good?!" Lefiya shouted, her veil acting as a whip, distracting one of the beasts before Hedin finished it off for her.
"We know where it is now," he stated with absolute confidence, pointing towards where the first volley arrived. The others blinked for a moment before realization hit them.
They came at them at different speeds. More specifically, the direction Ottar was pointing at, was them at their fastest. Ergo…
"Ohohoho, trajectory and acceleration! Right!" Alise cracked her neck with a smirk. "Let's get it!"
Still, even as Bell bounced around the area they created, with the others covering Aiz' flanks, he realized how drenched she was in her own sweat, her forehead furrowed in focus. It didn't help that more and more beasts were converging on their location, seemingly breaking off from their attempts to spread across the world and instead trying to attack them. Pushing their way through the winds, even as it was tearing them apart, their sheer mass was sufficient to slow them all down. It did not help that some did manage to get through and caused chaos among their formation. They picked them off as swift as they could, but with each death, two more came inside.
"Stick together! It's attempting to split us up!" Hedin ducked under a swipe and blasted lightning into its mouth before he shot a look towards their anchor. "Wind Princess, status!"
"I'm doing my best…!"
At this point, Aiz was no longer walking, instead focusing on keeping as much of the invaders and their poison as possible. Bell tried to get to her, to help her move, but he was too busy closing the gaps their formation was having, hunting down one clone after the other, stabbing into them and burning them to a crisp as fast as he could. He was sure he covered a distance of Orario itself many times over at this point with how often he had to dash from one end to the other. Fortunately he was not the only one who knew they had to keep the Wind Princess moving. Even more fortunate that someone was actually able to do something about it without diminishing her own combat ability.
Aiz let out a girlish yelp, almost losing her focus, when the ethereal tendril wrapped around her stomach and lifted her up. Lefiya shook her head, letting sweat droplets fly as she blinked rapidly before putting up a confident grin.
"I got you! Just focus on the wind!"
Befuddled for a moment, Aiz smiled back and closed her eyes. As if empowered by not having to move, the wall of wind pushed forward once again, rapidly keeping up with the now running squad. Not as fast as their initial velocity, not as fast when they were jogging, but they were moving. All while fighting off the monsters entering their space, with Aiz trying to push out any poison they carried with them. However, not all could be pushed out, which was where Bell and Alise came in, as well as Lefiya with her other tendrils, burning with their flames to make sure they could not eat away at their flesh.
At this point, Bell lost count how many clones they took down. They weren't even the worst, as even one or two massive versions almost crushed the air barrier, only to be cut down by Ottar's mighty attacks before it could get to that point. Still, his eyes were racing around, trying to pierce the darkness that was around them.
They were being stalled out. Being exhausted. All while the true body was still nowhere to be found. His breath was growing shallow, rapid, as his limbs burned to keep up with the speed he was exerting.
"C'mon, c'mon, it's gotta be-!"
Time slowed down when it appeared. The shadow cast over them all despite the darkness they were engulfed in already. Only when it was right on top of them did Bell realize what this something looked like.
A massive claw.
His Argonaut was not ready. Alise was in the midst of turning around. Lefiya was still in midchant. And Hedin didn't even bother aiming upwards, though he visibly tensed up by the sudden threat.
However, it was the King who swung his blade against the incoming threat, his muscles bulged with ferocity. A titanic clash causing a shockwave almost knocked them off their feet. It was thanks to Aiz' focus that the bubble of air didn't lose form and allowed all the poison to seep in. Knocking the claw back, it was as if it was never there, the void it created filling up just as quickly.
"What was that?!" Alise screamed, having not seen the claw at all. Ottar stared at his shaking hands before clenching them, forcing them to stop.
"That was the main body. It is using hit and run tactics now. Taking hits it can afford to in order to try and crush us." He narrowed his eyes in displeasure. "I can't get a proper bead on it."
"From the records, Behemoth should not have been this smart…or mayhaps the records were wrong to begin with."
Hedin's words caused a shiver to run up Bell's spine. Did the Night Queen inject some sort of intelligence into the Behemoth? Or was a Monster Rex of that caliber simply that smart? Before he could figure out an answer, his eyes widened, as he saw a sudden shift, for lack of a better word, within the storm. Trusting his gut, he pointed towards his right.
"I think I see it! Over there!"
With no hesitation, Lefiya turned towards the direction, slamming her staff down. Bell couldn't help but blink at that display of trust, as the circles shone with magical might.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!"
The icy winds of the Nine Hells pushed against the deadly winds of the Behemoth. The venom froze in mid air, becoming a poisonous snow as the spell pierced through. It was then that they heard it, the furious scream that shook their very bones.
A hit. Aiz roared in response and forced a path forward, creating a corridor…until the frozen form of the main body revealed itself, already struggling to break free from its restraints, half succeeding with only one claw being stuck to the ground.
If the variant that Bell fought before alongside Lefiya, Alise and Welf was big, this one was gigantic. A true titan that could threaten all of mankind and then some, with an aura that was befitting of a king originating from monsters.
But it was not the only king around.
Just as it freed itself, it leapt to the side, just as Ottar slashed downwards, the very force itself capable of cleaving through a fortress. The King clicked his tongue in annoyance at having missed. The moment the true Behemoth landed on the ground, it rushed forward, head first through Hedin's and Alise's combined spells. With a combined roar, Ottar and the Behemoth clashed head on, blade against horn, locking each other into place.
Aiz groaned, having to adjust her winds as the main body was now in rage, the production of its poison so much more than any of its clones. At this point she had to maintain their territory while continuously removing the poison that the Behemoth, including its clones, was creating. A constant flow that needed to be kept moving, leaving no chance for the Wind Princess to launch any attacks herself on the enemy. Which left it up to the others, including himself. Bell coughed before his legs tensed up.
Intending to shrink earth, he already charged up his Argonaut, while his eyes tried to find a weakspot, strained and tearing up with effort.
He needed to back Ottar up, quickly. The faster they…they…
Bell blinked. He felt the earth shift for some reason, yet he didn't release the tension in his knees yet.
"Awww shit-Bell, keep ya eyes up!"
What was Solaris talking about? His eyes were wide open…if a bit…blurry…?
…why was he on his knees? He still felt the pressure so why…?
Nothing was entering his lungs. He tried to inhale, to refocus. But nothing came through. It was as if the winds themselves denied him. But why would Aiz do this…? No, she would never. Which meant…
Did the poison touch him…? But no, the poison would be erasing his flesh, not cause this dizzy spell.
With all the effort he could bring up, he turned his head…and spotted the others wavering as well, with the exception of Ottar. Lefiya was already on all fours, yet her Ether Veil refused to let go of Aiz, moving and protecting them as much as she could. Hedin himself moved much slower than before, focusing on blasting lightning strike after lightning strike at the clones around them. Alise seemed to sway for a moment before stomping on the ground, forcing herself up, her cheeks puffed up. As if she was holding-
It was then that it truly hit Bell, realization dawning on him, just as the darkness began to creep into the corners of his vision.
In this realm of poison, thick and not allowing anything else to pass…Air was running out in the dome that Aiz created. There was only so much that she could possibly create out of nothing, so much she could filter out of this sea of death.
In other words…
"Haa….haaa…haaa…!"
They were suffocating. All of them. Him specifically, with how much he was taxing his body, with how much he was leaping and running around compared to the others. With oxygen denied to his blood, his ears were ringing, the noise of the storm replaced by shrill ringing.
"Heyheyheyheyhey, do not go into lala-land!"
He tried. By the gods, he tried to keep his eyes open, to heed the words of the only person he could hear, one made of his own imagination.
But his willpower was not enough. Bell barely noticed how he was falling headfirst, his consciousness leaving the battle.