271Hello people! Man, I think I just keep writing apologies for being late, so this time I'm not gonn…nah, who am I kidding, sorry again for it XP This time it was a mix of time, being left alone taking care of the house and the dog by myself for a month…and that this idiotic author of yours somehow confused months and thought April came before March in a fantastically idiotic moment. On a side-note, this year's April's Fools surprise will be up without delay 'cause 90% of it was writing way in advance XD
Okay, but enough about me being a fool, it's time for another chapter of this insane adventure for survival, freedom and to regain the ability to just punch the plot away with one punch! But…how high will be the cost of that, in the end?
Read on to find out!
And, like always, TvTropes' page is appreciated!
Disclaimer: Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!
Chapter 12: Ultimate Heroes
16th day of the 12th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 379. Depths of Southacroith's forests. As the sun sets…
Have you ever felt total and complete hopelessness?
A feeling of complete and utter despair?
A certainty that, no matter what you do, there is nothing that can prevent the incoming tragedy?
That was how almost the entire group staring at the rampaging form of the Elder Centipede charging towards them felt for a fleeting moment. Paralyzed in a mix of fear and shock, their minds barely able to understand the monstrosity charging at them to kill them…except for one of them.
Because the only thing going through Kirigaya Kazuto's…through Kirito's mind as he saw the hundreds of tons of giant bug barreling through the forest to run him and his new friends into paste was…
"I'm going to punch Kikuoka SO hard once I get out that he's gonna need to see have his jaw sewed back in place".
…of course, the black-haired young man knew he couldn't just voice said thoughts out loud, both because they would make no sense and because they were all going to die if he didn't act. Which was why…
"MOVE!" not even waiting for an answer, the caped hero shot to the side, pumping as much strength as he could on his legs as he swept Ronye on his arms, ignored her squeak of surprise and catapulted himself towards the nearest tree, then bolted from it forward, ignoring the sound of thick branches breaking apart like twigs as he did so.
At the edge of his vision, he was glad to see Eugeo reacting just a second after him, breaking his own legs from the strength he put in his own jump while Tiese all but exploded after him, the fear driving her faster than the training had ever had.
Sortiliena just let Sleipnir engulf her, Selka…and the terrified form of Armored Draco in shadows, vanishing from the spot just an instant before the massive form of the Elder Centipede smashed through the place they had all been in like a freight train without brakes.
Taking her 'sister' along the way as 'she' did so, too. With just a vague sense of horror, Kirito saw how the quite big form of 'Telure', as she had called herself, crashed against her sister's massively armored head and all but broke apart from the strength, the meaty body of the monster he knew as 'Gyoro-Gyoro' being no match for the much bigger Disaster Level-Dragon Mysterious Being.
At least, that's how it would have looked like for anyone else. The boy from another world, however, let his eyes fall on the upper half of the 'corpse' as it crashed down amongst the trees, and how it held itself together in a way that flesh shouldn't have been able to when thrown with that much force.
He had no time to give that much more thought, though, because at the next moment he was landing and letting go of the white-faced Ronye just as the shadows burst near them and the Valkyrie, her nigh-comatose ward and a screaming cyborg-dragon crashed out, the 'Kamen Rider' cursing as she stood up while holding a moaning Selka as close as she could to her armor.
"Sleipnir had no power left for another big jump! Dammit, should have let the big guy to die…"
"(Tha-thank you for NOT doing it! Oh, Stacia in Heaven, I can't believe I'm alive!)" cried Armored Draco as he haphazardly got to his feet, a bit shaken but alive. "(Now let's get the hell out of here before…!)"
Its mad charge never stopping, already almost an entire Kilolu away from them, the titanic form of the centipede-abomination, turned around, like a living train of death as it continued its massive body's movement, roaring madly as it continued its rampage to end them.
This time, it was actually Ronye, of all people, who reacted first, the girl screaming and raising her arms as her hands glowed and countless orbs of destructive energy shot from them, seemingly annihilating the very air between them and their objective as they sped towards the titanic monster.
Out of everyone there, Kirito had easily realized the Cursed girl of blue eyes was the one that had the most trouble 'training' her powers. If it was because of a lack of self-confidence, a fear of how deadly her abilities could be, or just a subconscious desire to not harm others by accident, the boy from the real world couldn't tell.
However, even with just minimal progress so far, the annihilating power behind the dozen of orbs flying right and true was undeniable. They all struck true, carving away pieces of the Elder Centipede like an eraser over a pencil's line, shell, muscles, and flesh being disintegrated and making the monster scream in pain and rage.
However…
"I-it didn't work?!" taking a step back, Ronye seemed horrified at seeing the abomination still charging at them despite the massive wounds she had caused it, all of which were now bubbling and shaking as if something from within was pushing the damaged flesh outwards, even if it had slowed down.
"No, it did! It's just too big and angry to care!" replied Kirito as he got ready to move. "You, dragon guy, stay close, that thing will kill you easier than swatting a fly as soon as you're alone if you try to run! Ronye, Liena, we gotta…!"
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
The sudden, familiar, voice screaming his lungs out was enough to catch everyone's attention. Disbelief filling him, the caped hero's head shot to the side in time to see a horrified Tiese with her arms still extended in a clear throwing motion…and the blur that was Eugeo flying through the air, faster than a speeding car, with both his arms out and weapons gripped as tightly as he could.
"He…asked her to throw him at it…?"
Barely having time to let that thought and one about how crazy everyone he called a friend was, with he himself probably being the biggest example, the boy from the Real World saw his friend skid over the carapace of the titanic Mysterious Being, his knees and legs probably breaking and turning into a gory mess as he did so.
Yet, his face's fierce and determined look never wavered and the arm holding his trusty axe lashed out just in time to bury it on one of the only 'fleshy bits' of the armored insect: The human face on its forehead.
Letting an unholy roar from both its human and inhuman mouths as the damage registered, enough strength to probably dislocate and borderline tear the undead's arm from its socked making his body whip around like a ragdoll for an instant. Immediately, the small and clearly unseeing human eye of the Elder Centipede somehow moved towards Eugeo's savage grin…just as his other arm came down and buried the Blue Rose Sword hilt-deep into the face, causing even more pain to fill the creature's brain.
And yet, they all could see it would be useless. Such a small wound, if painful and in a critical point, would be much less effective than Ronye's blasts had been.
Unless…
"RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"
Echoing through the forests like an ode to wonderful impossibilities, the green-eyed boy's words and Will exploded outwards; the air itself for countless Mels around him turning arctic cold as ice colder than the harshest winter bloomed from his blade.
Which was buried straight through the most direct, exposed path to the Elder Centipede's brain.
Staring in absolute amazement, Kirito couldn't help but let a silly, almost childish, smile appear on his face as he saw the nigh-unkillable force of nature's eyes widen as they froze, its titanic body suddenly stopping even as its momentum kept carrying it forward. Having its brain turned into nothing but frozen flesh would probably do that. The only problem was that…
"(It's still coming towards us!)" Armored Draco pointed out the obvious even as it spun around, Sortiliena reacting just in time to jump on its back while still holding Selka while the talking beast rushed at full speed through the trees. "(Gah! Whatever, hand tight, we gotta make it!)"
"Ki-Kirito-san, it's coming!" Ronye screamed as she held onto his arm and tried to drag him away, only for him to casually pull her back, into his arms, and cover her with his cape. "E-eh?!"
"There is going to be a lot of dust all around here in a few seconds, so…"
As those words nonchalantly left his mouth, the titanic body of the Disaster Level Dragon monster finally flew past them; not touching the pair by a few Mels even as they stared in muted awe as the tons of armored bug taller than the Immortal Walls reduced part of the forest to twigs and destroyed earth. Like the caped hero had predicted, a wave of dust and splinters flew over them the next second, but his trusty cape prevented the worst of it from hitting them much.
In fact, the Cursed girl realized, he had purposefully covered her so that nothing actually hit her at all. That realization made her feel warm inside, her cheeks flushing as she leaned onto him as the sounds of a mountainous monster slowly stopping its crashing descend covered them.
When was the last time she had truly felt so protected by anyone…?
"…it's over, Ronye." Kirito softly declared as he let go of her, making her fight off a weird feeling of longing as she looked up at him, then back at the unmoving titan beside them. "Man…Eugeo is truly more fucking amazing than I could ever hope to be."
"Tha-that's not true, Kirito-san…u-uhm, you're pretty amazing too…"
"Heh, thanks for the compliments, but back in my world I would have never been able to even entertain the thought of pulling that off in twice the time he took to do so, knowing my life was at risk. And yet he just…did it, almost without thinking…"
"Hey, partner, I resent that. I totally thought every part of this plan through." declaring so as he ran towards them on top of the now dead-looking centipede, his clothes looking like a ruined mess and covered in blood but seemingly unharmed, Eugeo seemed particularly proud of his words. "Actually pulling it off on the first try was a bit doubtful, but Tiese had some amazing accuracy."
"You did it…you did it…you did it!" screaming in a mix of relief and almost delirious happiness, a red-haired blur came hopping from tree to tree, then catapulted herself onto Eugeo's arms, almost throwing him off the massive monster as he laughed and caught her. "I…I…snif…"
"He-hey, it's okay, no need to cry!" suddenly panicked, the green-eyed boy didn't seem to know what to do as he looked from the sobbing redhead in his arms to the other two staring from down below with amused smiles. "I-I didn't mean to worry you like that, I just…I had to save us and…ehm…!"
"I-I know…these are tears of happiness, you dummy." chuckled/sobbed Tiese as she looked up at him with teary eyes. "I…just can't believe you actually killed it just like that…"
"Well, it's technically not dead, but as long as my sword stays where it is, its brain will be nothing but a chunk of icy flesh." corrected the undead with an awkward look as he looked away, clearly unused to anyone showing such naked and open care for him. "We should find Sortiliena and figure out what to do before…"
A rumble, inhuman and impossible. The feeling of the earth shaking beneath their feet.
Kirito's eyes widened in horror, holding Ronye's shocked form and jumped back even as Eugeo's face twisted for just an instant before he kicked the redhead girl away from him, off the massive monster.
Tiese had an instant to look pained and hurt, staring at him with incomprehension, before the green-eyed boy was thrown into the sky like a ragdoll by a sudden shudder of the titanic body he had been standing on, limbs bend in every wrong way possible.
Then, the massive form of the Elder Centipede rose and, with speed and savagery that no being whose brain had just been frozen a minute ago should have, it ate the undead in one fierce swept, like someone swallowing a candy.
A second of absolute horror, even as the titanic creature roared to the heavens and turned around to 'look' at Kirito and Ronye, letting them see the frozen 'mass' that was literally bleeding out of its eyes.
"She…it…forced its frozen brain out of its head through its eyes…? But…that's not something Elder Centipede could just do, how…?"
The answer hit Kirito's numb mind just as another second passed, massive jaws opening while aimed towards them. The power to do things that shouldn't be possible within the laws of the world, which powered every single 'Blessed' and 'Curse' released into the Underworld.
Incarnation.
Then, as the third second passed…
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tiese's despair-filled scream pierced everyone's soul as she crashed down and immediately bounced back into the air, her body breaking into a cloud of shadowy bats and swarming around the unholy insect's head, blinding it where, apparently, bleeding its own frozen brain out as it grew a new one hadn't.
Still, it was clearly futile, none of the pieces of the girl's new form able to penetrate through the carapace of the titan, or even deep enough into its soft flesh to do more than draw blood…
"Tiese!"
"Consecutive Normal Punches!"
…twin screams, however, proved much more effective, concussive force with the weight of a speeding car crashing several times over the monster's head and cracking its shell, one of its mandibles even snapping off, only to be quickly followed by several orbs of raw annihilation that tore through its flesh as if it was wet paper.
And yet, Kirito knew it was not enough. Even as the combined force of his hits and Ronye's much deadlier destruction orbs all but tore apart through the monster's 'neck' and left a massive hole through it, he knew it wasn't anywhere close to stopping, let alone killing, it.
Bones suddenly growing like a cancerous flower from within the hole they had left through the creature made his hopeless train of thought stop, though. Nothing but joy and a need to laugh filled the caped hero's mind as he saw Eugeo forcing himself out of the giant centipede's esophagus, his entire body covered in some disgusting liquid as his axe's released power dragged him in the open. Suddenly totally uninterested in the screaming monster's eyeballs, the living cloud of bats moved as one towards the gaping one, the blinking undead just being shocked for an instant as they dragged him into the air, away from the danger.
"Ronye, is gonna come back for them as soon as that wound regenerates! Let's keep hitting it with all we can!"
"Ye-yes! Bu-but how are we going to escape afterward?!"
"I will carry you across half of Southacroith if needed, but we're not letting that thing kill any of us today! Ready?!"
"Ye-yes!" the girl shouted as more orbs of death gathered on her hands.
Smiling, Kirito ignored the tingling feeling on his arms from the last barrage, telling him that he was overexerting himself too much, too fast.
Their lives were on the line. It didn't matter.
"Okay then…Consecutive-!"
"Final Attack Ride!"
It was his voice…yet the black-haired young man knew that he hadn't said those words.
Even so, he knew very well what that meant, his eyes moving almost in slow motion towards the back of the roaring (Somehow, despite having a giant hole through its 'throat') head of the titanic monster, the 'mechanical recording' of his own words still echoing through the air as he saw a silver-white 'meteor' descending towards it, leg-first.
His eyes widened.
"LIENA, N-!"
"RIDER KICK!"
With the sound of a thunderous explosion, the Masked Valkyrie crashed against the back of the Elder Centipede's head, the shockwave shaking the forest for countless Kilolu.
BOOM!
Two roaring screams followed.
Alice Synthesis 30 growled in frustration as she dismounted from Amayori's back, the dragon cooing softly and nuzzling her head against her master to try and comfort her.
"…sorry, Amayori. It's not your fault." softly caressing her loyal ride's back, the Golden Knight was able to ignore how much her feet ached from having been running all over Eastabarieth for hours without rest.
She hadn't found either the escaped Criminals or any sign of Eldrie's…remains. His armor could have been any piece of scrap metal left in their abandoned hideout, for all she knew, and his Divine Object wasn't anywhere on sight there either.
Hopefully, that just meant that his whip had been destroyed when he…when he was defeated. Because if the Criminals had taken it, well…
It's not as if she needed more reasons to want to destroy them at that point.
"…that's a scary look you had on your face, little one." came a familiar voice from the entrance to the Floor where the dragon nests were, making the surprised blonde turn around to see Bercouli Synthesis 1 standing there with a small smile on his face. "Glad your dragon calmed you down, but you shouldn't get so stressed like that. It will tire you and make you weaker when the time to fight truly comes."
"Ojii-sama…I know that, but still…" trailing off, Alice could only sigh once she realized she had no logical answer to give to the closest thing she had to a father figure. "I guess I'm just feeling frustrated…useless. I have never felt like this before, but…we lost Renri and…Eldrie, and the majority of the Criminals just escaped, and…I just don't know what to do."
"…I wish I could tell you it would get better, but…you have lived a lot less than me, little one. I have been here almost since the very beginning and, believe me, sometimes we have gone through some bad times. You just need to look at your number and then at how many actual Integrity Knights are active to know that." chuckling darkly at his own 'joke', the man's eyes suddenly seemed distant, the Golden Knight suddenly being fully aware that, despite how he looked, she was, in fact, staring at someone who was almost 300 years old…the strongest warrior in the entire Underworld. "Still, things have always gotten better, sooner or later. And while sometimes we lose things we can't recover…all we can do is stand proud and pick up the pieces. Because our duty never ends, even if we do."
"To protect the Human Empire. To keep this world and its inhabitants safe. That is the one Sacred Duty of the Axiom Church and, above it all, of the Integrity Knight Order." recited the blonde girl like a student who had memorized the most important information for an upcoming exam would. "I know, Ojii-sama…our duty is more important than anything else. Even our personal feelings…but…"
"Letting something as petty as wanting revenge for your disciple's death blind you is certainly inadvisable…but channeling the wish to make your fallen comrades' sacrifices mean something by making sure those Criminals can never harm another innocent is just something expected of a knight." giving out a grin at the younger knight's surprised look, Bercouli felt slightly more at peace with himself upon seeing her slowly start to smile his way. "Heh, yeah, that look certainly suits you much be…"
A loud 'bell' echoed through the entirety of the Central Cathedral, making both knights freeze. All through the massive building, everyone who recognized the sound snapped into attention, some even letting their hands move to their weapons.
"Wha…?! Emergency Alarm?! Are we under attack?!"
"No, I don't think so. We would have noticed if anything came close enough to force its way on the Cathedral, and the alarm seems to be ringing on all Floors." rushing towards the closest wall, the First Knight slammed his palm upon the smooth surface and let his Will flare out through it, even as Alice tried to calm the dragons. "Guardian! What's going on?!"
At once, inky darkness seemed to condense around where the leader of the Integrity Knights had unleashed his Incarnation, a part of eerie eyes forming in the sinister shadows as they gave a 'nod' of acknowledgment towards him.
'We just received an emergency report from Synthesis Twenty-Eight, Synthesis One.' answered the spectral voice of the tower's guardian while both knights suddenly had their focus completely on it. 'A Level 5 of Emergency has been declared by Chief Elder Chudelkin, all Subterraneans on the outer walls are entering onto defense patrol patterns and citizens are being told to stay indoors for their safe-'
"Guardian. WHAT is happening?" further insisted Bercouli while his eyes flashed.
'…the Elder Centipede is awake.' barely acknowledging the utter shock and hints of horror within the humans' faces, the guardian continued with its answer. 'Apparently, a group of Criminals heavily suspected to be the ones we have been looking for has engaged it. Orders are to wait until they're killed and then assess if the Centipede will go back to sleep or head for the Ci-'
"A gate to the 95th Floor. Now." without even giving a chance for the entity to reject his order, the First Knight took a step back and then plunged into the Darkness without the slightest hesitation, just idly acknowledging how Alice shouted something and rushed after him.
As soon as they stepped out into the floor better known as the Morning Star Lookout, the tall man rushed towards the side of the open platform that watched on the direction of the Southacroith Empire, hands lashing to the sides as they summoned two small circles of 'crystal' on them. Then, as soon as he arrived at the edge, he put one before the other at almost half a Mel of distance, closing one eye and putting the other before the closest crystal.
The improvised telescope worked without issues as the First Knight's gaze scoured the distant forests from the privileged view of Central Cathedral's highest open area, ignoring when the blonde girl reached his side in favor of looking for his objective.
Where…?
BRRRMM…
Distant and muted, yet still clearly felt, hundreds of Kilolu away and so high they almost touched the clouds. Zeroing on that feeling, the man's gaze finally found, amongst the distant trees, what he had been looking for.
It was barely visible, even with his special contraption to spy over large distances, but the titanic form of the insect monster was still seen amongst the giant clouds of dirt it created while thrashing around.
Strangely, though, the monster was stopped in one place and…not moving. Had it fallen asleep again somehow…?
"Ojii…Synthesis One-sama, that is…do you see it?"
"Yes, I do, though barely…and it's not moving. Something in my guts tells me that's not good." looking way from his improvised telescope, Alice was sure she had never seen Bercouli's eyes look more serious than at that moment. "Do you know why we leave that thing alone despite knowing where it is, little one?"
"Because…it's so strong it would take almost all of the Blessed Integrity Knights to defeat it under normal circumstances. And even then it wouldn't be a guarantee."
"I see you still remember your studies, but that's not all that accurate…I could probably kill it if I went all out, but I would be lucky to not end up dead too in the process." revealed the man without any hesitation, making the girl's eyes widen in shock. "However, the slightest chance that I wouldn't be able to take it down with me almost guarantees that it then will come and kill everyone, so it's not something Administrator-sama has ever been willing to risk. That thing killed 2 Knights as if they were nothing when it first awoke and Renri only escaped alive because he gained his powers at that moment…I wouldn't put any of your lives at risk like that for something that isn't a direct threat unless there was absolutely no other option."
"Then…if it's that powerful and dangerous…how could those Criminals be foolish enough to try and fight it?! Do they have a death wish?!"
Before the First Knight could answer her, a tremendous shock reached his ears, head snapping back through his improvised telescope in time to see the Elder Centipede shooting up and 'biting' into the sky. He couldn't properly see anything at that distance but, if he had to guess, the creature had just devoured something, probably one of those poor unfortunate Criminals…
And then a swarm of 'blat dots' (At least to his eyes) suddenly seemed to rage all around the titan's head out of nowhere. Then, some invisible force made its head whip around as it broke one of its massive mandibles before several orbs of destruction all but annihilated most of its 'throat'.
For a moment, Bercouli felt himself going speechless, even as he heard Alice gasping at his side, no doubt able to at least see the aftereffects of the clash in the distance. While he knew that wouldn't be able to even seriously harm the abomination, having participated himself in the only ever failed attempt to kill it, it was still more damage than he had seen anyone inflict to it in just a few seconds. Yet, just as he knew it would happen, the massive insect just roared in anger once again, the massive hole on its flesh starting to regenerate as it got ready to lunge forward and crush or devour the fools that had tried to pick a fight with i-
A flash of light. A flare of power. Something, small but burning with an intensity the First Knight had never seen before, just behind the Elder Centipede's head.
With a sound akin to angry thunder, it crashed against the massive monster. Then, the shockwave shook the forest around it for countless Kilolu.
One second. Two. Three.
Bercouli had just realized the 'thing' was actually a person when the abomination starting to rise, finally overpowering the one trying hopelessly to crush its head…when, for a brief instant, a different flash of light seemed to BURN from it.
Then, a blinding explosion consumed everything in sight, making Bercouli Synthesis 1 drop his crystals in shock while covering the eye he had been looking at the flash with.
The shockwave reached them a few seconds later, making the Morning Star Lookout shake, to their utter disbelief.
And, in the distance…the Elder Centipede fell with a crushing impact, broken…
Sortiliena Serlut wasn't stupid, but she knew she had made many foolish decisions during her life. She hadn't regretted a single one of them until that day, though.
Selling her humanity to a giant horse-demon for power to save someone? No problem.
Becoming the de facto leader of a group of exiled 'monsters' that were all actually innocent? Sure, why not.
Continuously risking her life to save more 'Criminals', despite how each new one just made her and the others' work to keep them alive harder? Never even doubted it.
Now, however, she had been forced to actively run away from an enemy that was, truly, so overwhelmingly powerful she had felt her heart consumed by terror for a moment. Even facing that Integrity Knight head-on had been nothing compared to being stared down by that gigantic abomination.
However, seeing Eugeo rushing headfirst to try and deal with it had made her feel ashamed of feeling like that, even if she knew quite well that the boy had an unhealthy lack of fear to dying because of his unique Blessing. Then, seeing the seemingly invincible monster rise again and devour him had made her almost scream from the shock.
That's when she made the first foolish decision she actually regretted in her life: She threatened Armored Draco with her whip and left Selka on his care, using a quite graphic description of what she would do if he harmed her in the slightest. Then, she ran towards the gigantic mass of insect-death, her mind rushing at a million Mels per second.
She remembered Ruval, one of the oldest members of the group, who had become a similar creature…albeit way less deadly, much smaller, and noticeably nicer than the titan they were now facing. While she had sometimes heard rumors about the 'giant insect' from Southacroith that even the Integrity Knights were afraid of, she had chalked it up to an over-exaggerated tale that had been blown out of proportion, just like the tales revolving around her had been: Dramatizations meant to make the Axiom Church warier of going after them.
Forcefully pushing aside that line of thought and how stupidly outmatched she was, she once again recalled what she had been trying to in the first place: How Ruval always complained about being unable to see anything directly behind him coming because he had to twist at least half his body or completely turn around to do so. A disadvantage of not having an actual 'neck'.
The thing before her was endlessly more powerful and massive than the affable old man she was thinking of…but it should still hold that same weakness. Busy as it was right now, probably aiming to attack Kirito and Ronye, she had just one chance to…
Tiese became a cloud of bats, swarming its eyes. Then, one of its mandibles broke and a massive hold was created through it, obviously thanks to Ronye and Kirito.
And then…Eugeo created a bunch of bones from his axe and climbed out of the thing's 'throat', only to be hurriedly carried away by the bat-swarm in which the redhead vampire had become.
It was now or never.
'Unit Sortiliena, I would like to remind that this is, in your own terms, borderline-suicidal. We lack the firepower to kill that thing.'
"Maybe, but if we don't act, it will kill everyone else! Us included!" roared the Rider as she gathered as much power as she could into her legs and jumped, higher than she had ever tried to before, the act seemed oddly natural despite its novelty. "Time to use that trump card again and pray that the Goddesses are feeling kind today!"
'…acknowledged. Activating!'
"Final Attack Ride!" Kirito's distorted voice announced from her belt, the words that somehow had been 'recorded' when he said them, the words her mind and soul now associated with the technique she was about to use, guiding her body into the perfect pose, her leg shooting out as she suddenly seemed to stop being bound by the laws of gravity and perfectly aimed towards the back of the giant bug's head.
One chance. Almost no real chance of victory…but still one.
"RIDER KICK!"
With more power than she had ever unleashed before, Sortiliena felt Solus' light reflecting off her silvery armor as she became a small shooting star for an instant, before crashing brutally against something that felt harder than solid rock like a meteor.
A brutal shockwave ensued, shaking the forests around them like a wave of invisible death, many trees breaking or being uprooted from the impossible impact.
Pain immediately shot through her body from where her leg was still trying to push against the seemingly unbreakable carapace. Despite somehow having managed to force the roaring titan to 'bow' its head…the Valkyrie quickly realized it wouldn't be enough.
Slowly but surely, the Elder Centipede started to growl as it rose, pushing back against her every-second-weaker kick, the shining aura around her starting to fade as the power of the technique slowly vanished, having been unable to even break her foe's shell…
"No."
In seconds, her attack would fail, the monster would spin around and devour her, probably killing her instantly because she didn't have Eugeo's insane regeneration…
"No."
Roaring mightily, the titan pushed harder, her Kick finally losing all its st-
"NO!"
Harder…Faster…Stronger! Wasn't this supposed to be her trump card? Her ace in the hole? The way Kirito had described it, this was an attack that should bring her victory when she used it…a technique meant to defeat the enemy no matter what, to ensure those she was protecting were safe!
Tiese, Ronye, Eugeo, Selka…Kirito.
If she failed, they would be next…an outcome that simply wasn't acceptable.
"Uoooooohhhh….!"
'What in the…? Unit Sortiliena, what are you doing?! Stop!'
She didn't need a kick that could beat an injured Integrity Knight…she needed one that could destroy the monster before her or, at least, leave it injured enough for everyone to get away.
'Incarnation Levels breaching innate security protocols…no! Unit Sortiliena, you need to stop!'
She needed a kick that could break a mountain…no, a kick that could crack even the Immortal Walls!
A kick that could…[destroy worlds/shatter dimensions/bring absolute victory]!
"So…you want…more power…huh…?"
"…what?"
And suddenly, Sortiliena Serlut wasn't trying to kick the Elder Centipede in the forests of Southacroith, but floating unmoving in some sort of dark…'room'.
Except that, for some reason, there were dozens of human heads hanging from the walls, endlessly chanting overly complex Sacred Arts that she couldn't even begin to make sense of.
However, the only thing that caught the entirety of her attention was the…anomaly 'hanging' from the wall.
There, in a space that had been cleared of chanting heads, Something-That-Did-Not-Belong was 'connected' to every single one with some macabre 'cables' that seemed to burrow deep into its body.
It was staring directly at her too, its mismatched gaze focused in nothing but the shocked Rider, its voice filled with nothing but soul-rending pain.
"Fine by…me. Never thought that…stupid horse would…find a User with such a powerful…Incarnation. Use as much…power as you want…I don't care…just…bring him to me…"
I need him to kill me, after all.
And with a scream, the young woman was back in her body, feeling the entirety of herself burning as her belt suddenly released an unholy ringing sound, something that, when asked about it later, Kirito would say was akin to a computer's speakers glitching.
'Limiters…removed…no…Unit Sortiliena…!'
"[Release Recollection! RELEASE RECOLLECTION!]" chanted the belt with that unknown female voice that, for the first time, sent a chill down the Valkyrie's back.
Power exploded from the tool, Sortiliena's scream intensifying as she felt like something unholy and massive was trying to completely override her existence, like a torrent of Memories too big and too chaotic for her to make sense of was trying to crush her soul to make way for itself.
Many screams, figures in colorful armors, changing forms and using different weapons seemed to burn through her vision, faster than her brain could process even as her armor seemed to start changing both shape and color, darkening as it started from her legs, something trying to emerge from her back…
Her aura ignited once again, stronger than ever before, and the monstrous insect titan had a brief second of utter shock before it was slammed downwards by a force akin to a meteor, the Rider's scream intensifying beyond human limits as the sounds of something cracking suddenly echoed through the entire forest…
'Emergency Override 001! Canceling Transformation!'
Sleipnir's words somehow managed to reach Sortiliena's mind through the painful and burning haze of Memories trying to consume her, before a painful 'explosion' covered her and her once again human body flew through the air like a ragdoll faster than she could control.
Her mind was empty again, the pressure and burning sensation gone as the Memories had been forcefully shoved back into the belt…but she also couldn't move a single inch of her body, which was now falling at deadly speeds towards a very hard-looking forest. She couldn't even move her arm to try and reach the Frost Scale Whip hanging from her side to attempt swinging off one of the incoming trees (She probably would break her arm if she could, but that was better than dying).
Even the sight of the Elder Centipede's shell cracked like cheap glass from head to toe wasn't enough to distract her from that terrifying fact, even if it did manage to make her smile. At least, the others would be able to…
"LIENAAAA!"
Blinking, the girl of navy blue eyes looked in shocked wonder as Kirito's form shot from somewhere in the distance, landing on a nearby tree and cracking it with brutal force as he jumped forward a second time, reaching out with his arms and ripping her out of her falling trajectory as he flew by.
It was painful, sudden, made her nauseous and probably broke a few of her ribs. Fairy tales never accounted for the reality of someone being grabbed as they were falling, preferring heroic rescues to just look amazing despite things like physics and inertia.
However, Sortiliena Serlut could feel nothing but joy and relief as she looked at the pained face of the black-haired boy holding her against his chest for dear life, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes as his cape flapped behind them and he did his best to spin in the air so that his feet were the first to crash against the forest's canopy.
There was nothing graceful or heroic in their landing either. If anything, the Rider was sure some branches ruined her hair and left quite a few gashes on her clothes and skin.
And yet, the moment the painful crash was over and the young man from another world shakily stood up, still carrying her in his arms, and gave her a bloody smile, was the first time since she was a child that she had ever felt safe and protected by the will of someone else.
It made something warm and fuzzy to spread through her chest and a pink tinge to enter her cheeks, confusing the hell out of her.
"He-hey, Liena…you okay?"
"Ye-yes…I can barely move but…you saved me." mumbled Sortiliena while giving him a tired smile. "I'm…surprised we didn't die from that crash, or came out worse…"
"Yeah, well…we got lucky, this thing here absorbed a good chunk of the impact, otherwise I think I would have probably broken both my legs at least. I seriously didn't think that through beyond 'I have to save her no matter what'…"
As he muttered those words, Kirito looked back at what had softened their landing (Missing how the young woman's face went full red for a moment): The upper half of the 'corpse' from the psychic creature that had first confronted them, the 'Gyoro-Gyoro' monster.
Just as he was opening his mouth again to say something, though…a demonic rumble almost made him lose his footing, both his and Sortiliena's gazes shooting to the distance…and seeing the titanic and broken monster rising once again.
"N-no…it can't be…it's still alive?!" shouted the Rider upon seeing the Elder Centipede release an agonic and angry sound.
"Its regeneration isn't kicking in…whatever you did with that 'Rider Kick' must have hurt it beyond its capacity to regenerate, at least for now…but if we don't do something quickly…dammit!"
"Kirito…?"
Ignoring Sortiliena for a moment, the black-haired boy let her leaning against a nearby tree with an apologetic look, then quickly rushed towards the half-corpse and slammed his fist into it with just a bit of force.
The entire ugly mass of meat with one dead-looking eye shook in place, much to the watching girl's confusion.
"Hey…you're still there, right?"
"Ki-Kirito, that thing is clearly dead beyond…"
"If you were actually dead, this 'corpse' would have vanished a while ago." Kirito's interruption silenced Sortiliena, whose eyes widened at that realization. "And I know for a fact that this was nothing but a 'meat puppet'…the real you is still inside there, right?"
Once again, there was no answer.
Within the 'corpse', however…someone's eyes were closed with almost painful force, the small figure curling into a fetal position and covering her ears.
"Is…someone really inside that thing?" the Rider questioned with clear disbelief.
"…I need you to get out. I know you must be terrified and that you're just waiting for that thing…for your sister to just kill us and calm down before doing it, because you don't want to hurt her despite having the power to subdue her easily…"
"Wait, what?!"
"…BUT if you don't do it…I'm going to have to kill her." finishing that grim declaration while ignoring his friend's shocked question, Kirito looked at the unmoving 'corpse' with a determined gaze, unaware of how the one within had just turned to look at him in utter shock. "…tch. Well then…time to be a Hero."
Giving his back to the unmoving half-body, the caped boy gave the wide-eyed Sortiliena one last look and a slightly melancholic smile, before taking off in a run and jumping as hard as his tired body allowed him.
He pointedly did his best, and failed, to ignore the scream of his name that followed.
"What are you doing?" Charlotte's voice shouted from within his hair, making him wonder if she had been there silent all this time or had been hiding somewhere else as soon as the fight started.
"What does it look like? There is only one way to kill that thing: Utterly obliterating it." landing atop another tree, Kirito ignored the pain on his legs before catapulting himself into the air once again, even as the massive form of the hellish insect started to shake, before continuing with his declaration. "And I'm the only one who can do it."
"Wha-what are you talking about? You don't…even remotely have such power!"
Was it him or did the spider sound genuinely scared of something?
Such idle thought shot through the black-haired boy's mind as he landed once again and started to run through the trees, opening and closing his fists while mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do…
It was at that moment that the Elder Centipede seemed to see him, though, despite how the distance between them was still quite considerable, the slowly-regenerating beast roaring as it started to lumber forward-
BOOOM!
…only for a beam of raw energy to slam on the side of its head, the ensuing explosion causing the injured titan to stagger as it cried out in agony. Kirito's eyes widened.
A few hundred of Mels away, Armored Draco lowered his head as his laser weapon slowly cooled off, something akin to an excited look in his visible eye.
"I-I did it! I hit him without my targeting system! I don't know how you did it, girl, but thanks for guiding me!"
On his back, Selka's body let out an unintelligible moan, the arm of the young girl that wasn't tightly holding on the black sword and that had been raised to point straight at where the dragon cyborg needed to aim lowering. A small happy tear seemed to roll down her eyes.
Feeling a new purpose behind his steps, the caped hero once again jumped off another tree, harder this time, the distance between him and his objective now halved.
Growling, the titanic centipede once again seemed to focus on him, actually lunging forward this time, albeit much slower than it would normally have been able to. The boy grit his teeth, ready to dodge it at the last second…
Until a wave of annihilation orbs destroyed half of the creature's face, making it twist upon itself in the air and crash far behind him. With a surprised look, Kirito landed more or less where he had been aiming for, the massive 'scar' on the forest that the monster had left when Eugeo first downed it.
There, looking tired and battered, Ronye lowered her arms with a smile, Eugeo standing at her side while holding an exhausted Tiese, giving him a serious look.
"Yo-you did it, Kirito…you saved Liena-san!" happily declared the younger girl while breathing harshly, apparently having pushed herself to the limit to damage the monster so much.
"Partner, that thing just keeps getting up. We have to take advantage of how it's now and run before…"
"Liena can't move. And Armored Draco is the one carrying Selka now…there is no way we can all escape with those conditions." the boy's dark declaration froze all three of them with horrified shock, especially when it seemed to be punctuated by Elder Centipede's screaming form rising once again not far from them, the pained beast somehow seeming to be growing as a new shell broke through the broken one to replace it. "Which means…that I have to kill it in one go so you can survive."
"…what?" there was nothing but confusion in Ronye's voice at hearing those words, given how they seemed to contradict what he had just said, which only grew more when he reached into his hair and walked to her, putting a small and squirming form in her hands. "Ah…?"
"Here, make sure Charlotte is safe from now on, okay? She still has to guide you to her 'mom' so she can fix Selka…"
"N-no, wait! Stop, whatever you're trying to do!" cried out the spider as the boy let go of her and then moved backward faster than she could jump back to him, standing almost 20 Mels from the trio now. "Kirito!"
"…partner?"
For a moment, the black-haired boy looked from the quickly-paling young girl to the green-eyed undead, giving Tiese's shocked form a quick glance before once again focusing just on his friend.
In an instant, something seemed to flow between their gazes, a quick and dark understanding being passed on even as Eugeo let go of the girl and tried to take a step towards him, only for his sudden sad smile to freeze him in place.
"This is goodbye, Eugeo." giving that sad declaration, Kirito turned around his ruined cape flapping in the wind and, for a moment, seeming pristine and of pure white color. "Protect them for me, okay?"
Staring unflinchingly, the black-haired boy drowned the shouts and calls from his name behind him, his eyes fixed in nothing but the roaring abomination once again rushing forward, towards them, ready to kill them all in one go.
He knew he couldn't do this…because if he did, his body here in the Underworld would break apart without a doubt. There was still no way for him to fully channel 'all of his power' in that world, after all…for every time he tried to visualize himself with it, something seemed to crush that mental image, like Chains placed into his very consciousness reminded him that, no matter how crazy that place was, it still was more or less working under the rules of 'reality'.
Someone that could defeat everything with One Punch couldn't exist in such a world. Therefore, any attempt to use such power in its maximum expression would end up killing whoever tried to.
"And yet…if it's for them…" rearing back his fist fully, even as his body twisted to the side, the caped hero couldn't help but smile as, without effort, the entirety of his right arm was covered in black fabric with a spark of Imagination and Willpower, a white glove covering his tightly closed fist like a testament of his Incarnation. "…I don't mind."
They would get to live to fight another day, to continue surviving. He…wouldn't really die, even if, whatever happened to him, probably would be quite bad if he was in as bad state in the real world as he had deduced some time ago. Worst-case scenario, though, by the time he woke up he would never see them again…that world's Accelerated Time would make sure of that.
"Super Skill. Serious Series…"
Power gathered in his fist. There was no visible aura, nor pressure, nor change in the air, not even a dramatic wind suddenly making him seem more terrifying…and yet, the sheer presence he suddenly seemed to exude told everyone all that they needed to know.
The next punch…would be his last.
"KIRITO!"
"NO!"
"Wa-wait!"
Reality seemed to scream and, briefly, his face 'glitched' from his determined look to a carpet of darkness with two white voids instead of eyes…
"Mother, I have to save…!"
No time. The insect titan was upon them. Gritting his teeth, the black-haired boy finished rearing back his fist and-!
"Serious Pu…!"
"STOP!"
A sudden scream. A figure all but flashing into existence between Kirito and the Elder Centipede.
Even without the crushing pressure suddenly stopping him, the caped hero would have stopped anyway, utter relief filling him as he saw the crying form of a small 10-years-old girl floating there, clad in rags…and with a dark-colored psychic aura flowing from her to cover him and the suddenly completely unmoving Elder Centipede.
Disaster Level Dragon…Psykos. The second strongest psychic in the world of One Punch-Man. Also the secret/shadow leader and founder of the Monsters Association.
Even if in the hands of a scared little girl…such terrifying power was obviously beyond effective, if the way in which the titanic insect was slammed into the ground was anything to go by.
"…you really cut it close there…Telure-chan, right?" commented the boy with a pained smile, the 'effects' on his arm and face vanishing even as, behind him, Eugeo, Tiese, and Ronye were suddenly looking with wary shock from the floating child to the groaning form of the unstoppable monster that had been about to kill them all.
"Ye-yes…that's my name…" sobbing, the little girl looked from him to his friends, then back to the massive creature, floating before the head in less than a second and putting her hands over the pained-looking human-face. "Shhh…it's okay, Teline…I'm sorry it took so long again…I'm just a scared crybaby, big sis…I really am good for nothing…please, relax…you have to go to sleep again…"
Slowly, the animalistic rage on the insect's eyes…dulled, for lack of a better term. Suddenly, the 'error' messages on the remaining human eye of the creature started to disappear, a very brief spark of intelligence visible in it before the Elder Centipede rose, shot into the air and, without more fanfare, dug deep into the earth, vanishing underground in an instant.
All of a sudden, nothing but an awkward near-silence was left surrounding the group as the distant sounds of the titan burying itself in the depths vanished.
Then, finally, Eugeo spoke what everyone but the tiredly panting Kirito was thinking.
"That…was the most anticlimactic ending that I have ever experienced…and I couldn't feel more grateful for it." Without saying anything else, the undead let himself collapse on his ass, making sure the squeaking Tiese landed on his lap instead of hitting the ground. "…thanks for that save before, Tiese."
"I-it was nothing, Eugeo…I'm just glad you're okay…" the vampire whispered as she half-closed her eyes and leaned on him, suddenly feeling completely spent.
"…Kirito…is she really someone we can trust?" asked a worried Ronye while looking from the silent floating girl to the clearly exhausted caped hero. "If she could…stop that thing before, why didn't she…?"
"Because she's a scared little girl, Ronye. One that clearly has had the power to get out of here to try and live a better life for a long time, yet has chosen to remain in a desolated forest to take care of her sister who had become a building-sized insect from nightmare for who knows how long." replied the black-haired boy without hesitation, making the Cursed girl's eyes to widen as she covered her mouth while he looked at the still-crying psychic. "You…you're the only reason that thi…I mean, your sister, hasn't rampaged like crazy and attacked any villages or the capital, right? And that 'meat puppet' from before…you built it to try and scare off anyone that came here so they wouldn't get eaten by her, right?"
"…I'm sorry, I just…I didn't know what else to do…I try and feed as many animals as I can when I can't keep her asleep, but…bu-but when you came and she lost it I was…so scared…it felt just…easier to…!"
'To let her kill you all while I hid' wasn't said, but it was pretty much implied in the way in which she just sobbed harder, earning heartbroken looks from the group.
Then, Ronye Arabel rushed forward, past the surprised form of Kirito, and jumped high enough to close her arms around the crying Teline.
Almost by instinct, the little girl buried her face on the teenager's chest, her cries intensifying while her psychic powers stopped and both fell down, but the older Cursed one managed to easily land on her feet, shushing her as she hugged her tighter.
"Shhh…it's okay…it's fine now…"
"Sorrysorrysorry…I am…so sorry…!"
"I know…we know…just let it all out now, okay?"
Watching the one carrying Homeless Emperor's power comfort the child carrying Psykos' ones would have been quite bizarre for any normal person.
For Kirito, however, all that he felt watching Ronye doing her best to try and comfort Telure, her own grief-filled heart reaching out to someone that had suffered in a similar way, was happy warmth that reminded him of home.
"Heh…she would make a great mother…huh…where did that come from? Man, trying to do that must have cut off more blood from my brain than I tho-"
And those were the boy's last thoughts before his eyes rolled to the back of his skull and he passed out.
"What…what did we just see, Linel-chan?"
"…"
Noticing the lack of answer, the little girl who bore the title of Integrity Knight and the name of Synthesis 29 looked from the now blackened screen (Which had been showing the craziest…Gods, 'fight' couldn't even properly describe it, she had ever seen) towards her closest friend and partner.
The one who carried the name of Synthesis 28 didn't answer, her eyes behind her glasses still opened wide as she looked straight towards the
"He-hey, don't all mute on me all of a sudden! What the hell?! First the monster you were hoping would kill them shows up, then your pet screws-up big time and the freaking Elder Centipede wakes up and…and…I don't even know what to say of what happened afterward! How did that boy get eaten but then just walked it off?! Was the Rider always THAT powerful?! And, tha-that guy with the cape especially…isn't he the one who was driving Alice mad?! The criminal without a Blessing?!"
"Amazing."
"…huh?"
"Don't you see, Fizel? What we just witnessed?" sounding almost…excited, the girl of the two braids jumped off her chair, hands shooting out to grab the shoulders of the one clad in the 'prisoner' outfit. "A total impossibility! Something that defies all odds!"
"Wha-what are you talking about…?"
"The Elder Centipede…a beast so great and powerful that even the mightiest Integrity Knights can't just attack without risking death! Out of everyone there…the only one worse than him as a match for it was the girl that literally couldn't move by herself…but he still pulled off moves and faced it directly without hesitation! Without being an Integrity Knight or possessing a Blessing/Curse! All of it was done out of his own power!" looking more talkative than her friend could remember seeing her in years, Linel suddenly started pacing around the room, lost in her excitement. "My pets are like toys compared to what he was doing…and did you see him there at the end?! I don't know what he was doing, but he honestly seemed to think he could take down that legendary monster with his fists alone…the sheer implications of what that could mean are just…!"
"Hey, Linel-chan, calm down." trying to be as 'gentle' as she could, Linel all but crushed her friend's shoulders for an instant, making her groan in slight pain before giving her an annoyed look. "There, that's better…okay, I know this guy hyped the hell out of you, and I admit that, if I wasn't scared shitless of getting into the range of that Cursed one able to simply tear holes through the mega-bug, let alone the one that could just smack it down like a bitch, I would be very eager to fight him myself, but aren't you forgetting something?"
"Huh…? Oh yeah…we should report back to the Cathedral about what just happened…they surely were at least able to see some of that, especially after our earlier report." sighing, the lab coat-wearing knight seemed to come down from her 'high', so to speak, and walked towards the closest computer. "Hopefully all this data with made sure they stop treating us as if we were just two ki-"
"Fizel! Linel! Is anyone hearing me? Is this thing on?!" suddenly came the voice of Bercouli from the machine as soon as the girl turned it off, making both of them blink. "Dammit! How the hell is that only Renri out of everyone in this damn tower knew how to work this thing?!"
"…because we never really bothered to explain in that much to anyone…"
"Li-Linel-chan, don't say that out loud! Synthesis One-sama can hear us!"
"No, he can't…he hasn't turned the reception system on." casually pointing out at a certain icon on the screen, the 'genius' knight prepared to reach out and activate it herself. "We really should start trying to teach someone else over there how it works now that…Renri is gone, I gue-"
"Okay, not sure if you're listening, but if you are, do NOT tell her anything you hear me?!" Bercouli's unexpected words made both girls stop and just stare at the screen showing the ongoing transmission. "That kid is about to do something very stu…!"
The screen went black at that moment, together with every light in the underground building.
After a few seconds, emergency red lights covered everything with an eerie illumination, Fizel looking extremely tense and ready for a fight while Linel looked around in shock.
"Linel-chan, get ready! Someone is here!"
"Wha-what?! No…that can't be, not only is this place too far away for anyone to attack, the defense systems should have…!"
"I destroyed them all before they…could get me." came out a tired but still powerful voice from behind the two little girls, paralyzing them with shock as two strong hands suddenly gripped their shoulders. "Now, tell me…where are those criminals?"
Several hours later…Sortiliena Serlut was silently staring at her hands, opening and closing them a few Mels away from the rest of the group, who was roasting some meat around a small campfire.
That in itself wouldn't have been too strange…if it wasn't because they were inside a massive underground 'cavern'. Which was actually a glorified tunnel made by the 'sister' of the little girl that was now lying half-asleep against a softly smiling Ronye, even as Kirito handed her a piece of meat with a smile on his own, Selka resting against him as he turned to continue feeding the disabled girl.
She had 'flown' them all down there and closed the entrance behind them with dirt and rocks as an 'apology' for everything of before, like offering them a safe place to rest for the night at least, which helped given that Kirito had been out like a light for almost 3 hours and she hadn't been able to move for almost 5…as 'safe' as the same underground labyrinth within which the Elder Centipede slept could be.
Honestly, Eugeo was the only one acting as one would expect of a group knowing they were taking refuge inside a place where, somewhere within the depths, what arguably could be the most destructive creature in the human empire was sleeping, what with standing guard and glaring at the darkness beyond…even if the image was a bit ruined with Tiese standing at his side and handing him some meat while chatting happily with him.
Also, Armored Draco was sleeping soundly near that last pair, the cyborg just content by being alive and, apparently, willing to stay with them as long as needed…aka, he was hoping they would keep him alive from whoever his 'master' was.
As soon as she was sure none of them were staring at her, though, the Rider made a familiar gesture with a finger just above her hand, opening her Stacia Window. For a moment, she stared blankly at it.
"…Sleipnir…that power of before…what was that?"
'…my full power, Unit Sortiliena. All the (memories) embedded within my belt-form are released, granting access to a power beyond all comprehension. Probably enough to defeat most of the Integrity Knights singlehandedly…but it's also a power that no Fluctlight Unit within the Underworld can withstand.'
"…so, using it is…harmful?"
'It's lethal.' the blunt answer given by the 'horse' within the girl's mind made her take a sharp breath. 'I don't know how it was forcibly activated before through your Incarnation, but I canceled the Super Form Change before it could take full effect with an emergency protocol…if it had been activated…you wouldn't have survived the change.'
"…and I didn't come out of it exactly unscathed either."
That mental musing made Sortiliena's eyes moved back to her Stacia Window.
There, as if nothing was wrong, the numbers indicating that her Maximum Life had been halved compared to what it was that morning seemed to mock her entire existence.
Essentially…she had more or less lost what amounted to 30 or so years of her life, if her mental math was accurate. And that only from using that 'power' within Sleipnir for a few seconds.
'Unit Sortiliena…you must never use that power, no matter the circumstance. Regardless of how powerful you become…that Transformation will be your last one. You will never return to a 'human' state…you will simply burn out in your Rider Form until even your soul itself is gone.'
"So, ultimate power for the ultimate price, huh? Well, good to know, I suppose…" whispering those words out loud, the violet-eyed girl closed her eyes quickly, before coming to a decision. "Do not say a word of this to the others, okay?"
'…as you command, Unit Sortiliena.'
"Liena? Everything okay?" opening her eyes at the unexpected voice, Sortiliena noticed a worried-looking Kirito standing just beside her, a piece of roasted meat in his hand. "You aren't feeling any lingering pain from earlier, are you?"
"…heh, no, Kirito, everything is alright." casually lying to the one who had saved her life without missing a beat, the Rider grabbed the offered food and bit into it with gusto, ignoring the strange pain in her chest when she did so. "Just trying to make sure my body is working properly again…wouldn't want to slip-up during a fight and screw over, right?"
"Well…I guess nobody would want that." conceded the boy with a small frown. "But seriously, Liena, if something is wrong then you can rely…"
BOOM.
Blinking, everyone looked around at the distant echo, wondering where it had come from or what it could be.
"Was it some rocks falling somewhere?" Tiese wondered with a confused look.
"I just hope it wasn't you-know-who waking up." even as he said that, Eugeo was already walking closer to the campfire and seemingly getting ready to grab his weapons. "Otherwise none of us is going to get any sleep tonight."
"I'm sure it was nothing THAT bad, EugUGGHHR!"
"Kirito?!" standing up in shock, Sortiliena blinking in confused shock, for the boy had been standing before her a second ago, before some sort of golden blur made him disappear and…why…why were there countless golden petals suddenly filling the air around them…?
"None of you move." demanded an authoritarian voice from the nearest wall of the cavern, causing everyone awake to look in shock to see a gasping Kirito behind held in a choking hold by a figure clad in golden and blue, icy eyes fixed on them all while several 'petals' orbited around her, a formation of them forming a long blade around her hand resting above the boy's neck. "Otherwise, his head will meet the ground while he's still standing. Now, lay down your weapons and surrender or…"
"Good…night…blondie." growling, the caped hero glared at the young woman holding him, hoping that Ronye would do the smart thing and wake Telure up instead of trying to blast the many petals currently surrounding the pair. "The new look…suits you better…makes you look more…like Flashy Flash…"
Glaring at him as if he was the bane of her existence, Alice Synthesis 30 tightened her hold upon him ever-so-slightly.
"I have no time for your mockeries today, Kirito. Your luck has finally run out." all but snarling as she declared so, the blonde's demeanor told Kirito that she wasn't exactly in the mood for his usual jokes. "You and your friends are about to pay for what you did to El-!"
"…Alice?"
A single word, uttered by a voice filled with disbelief, horror and, worst of all…Hope.
Surprised, the Golden Knight's eyes turned towards the green-eyed boy, just as the caped hero did the same.
For the first time since anyone there knew him…nothing but naked weakness and hesitation filled the undead's eyes, no sign of him trying to reach for his weapons on sight even as he, instead, raised a trembling hand towards Alice's confused form.
From where she had been lying in silence as she was fed…Selka Zuberg's form started weakly moaning as she too tried to move and reach out towards the blonde girl, the grip on her black blade tighter than ever.
Watching from a place that was yet wasn't there…an unseen blonde specter cried as she stared at a 'meeting' that couldn't have been more twisted.
And the Chains' grip became tighter than ever…
…
…Log Error.
…Log Error.
Systems Failing. Self-check recommended. Capacity of observation over the Human Empire reduced by 80% during operation.
Priority Level of the action: Maximum. At least 3 Dragon-Level Threats are gathered and without supervision and an Integrity Knight is missing from the Cathedral without authorization.
…Administrator approves the course of action. Initiating self-check…
…
…
Not much time left…before she realizes…quick, Kirito…
Next…
There exists a lost prophecy, about 3 friends separated by [FATE]…
Eugeo: Alice…please!
Tiese: E-Eugeo…?
Alice: I already told you, criminal…I don't know who you are!
…and it also says that, when they meet again…
Kirito: Don't make me hurt you, Blondie…release them or I will bre-!
Alice: Let…GO!
With that shout, blood flew everywhere even as a figure of black and white was bathed in red.
Many screams rang out a second later.
…it will mark the beginning of The End.
Bercouli:…what did you just say?
Chudelkin: Are you deaf, Synthesis One?! I said that it's coming, straight here, destroying everything on its path…the Elder Centipede is charging towards Centoria's South Wall!
Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':
Chapter 13: My Most Precious Person
Author's Notes: Chapter done and moar cliffhangers! Damn, it seems almost every chapter of this story is one, huh? Then again, it can't be helped that much with its nature…
Hope the battle against Elder Centipede was good enough for your tastes! Technically, if Kirito and the rest had been against the True 'Centichorro', at least a few of them would have been killed without a doubt…little Cursed Teline here was mostly like a maddened animal, which, while the original may seem, it's not really, as it's actually a very old and surprisingly smart monstrosity. The fact that Kirito had experience fighting impossible things, Eugeo is just plain suicidal and powerful enough to live through it and that Liena-sempai is a goddamn Kamen Rider in a world ruled by imagination were big helpers in their favor too…that and that Ronye's Curse is extremely OP regardless of herself.
Also, another clue as to the 'mysterious' origins of Sortiliena's powers and Sleipnir's true origins that don't seem to fit at all in an OPM-setting. Can anyone figure it out before the inevitable reveal? Who knows.
Also, the end there may have been a bit cruel, but it also means next chapter is one of the ones I have been looking forward to writing the most since I finished the original OPM. Next time, the 3 friends reunited face off…
Before then, though, I shall leave you with today's Omake, to try and lighten a bit the mood from that! Enjoy!
Capes and Roses 12
There were many things going through Kirito's mind as he stared up at Vale's skies that day from atop a rooftop (Something that quite a few people in the city were also doing, with a lot more pointing and whispering than him).
However, there was just an exasperating one that he felt the need to say out loud as he stared at the Atlas emblem in the vessels high above, most of them heading right towards Beacon.
"Why, no matter the Multiverse, do people that think bringing a lot of warships to a populated city is a good idea exist?"
Sighing and deciding that maybe he should go and check on his friends within the Huntsmen Academy, the Heroic Spirit blurred out of existence, hoping that his new friends wouldn't be about to get dragged into something crazy…and knowing by experience that was almost surely what would happen.
Despite that, though, there was no way for him to imagine that someone he himself didn't know was talking about him at that moment.
Ozpin certainly hadn't expected that, after a few 'pleasantries' and that Glynda vacated his office, James Ironwood would put a small holographic device on his desk and show him a frozen image of a sinister figure atop the collapsing docks, carrying Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong amidst the exploding debris.
"THIS is another reason I came with all those ships, Ozpin…"
"…James, how did you get this footage? There were no cameras around when we checked the area." frowning, the headmaster reached out for his coffee mug, barely resisting the urge to take a sip as he instead concentrated in the image.
"That's irrelevant compared to this, Oz…what do you know of this…'Kirito'?"
"Hmm, why do you assume I know anything at all?"
"Because I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't be letting him run around Vale unsupervised if you didn't have enough knowledge about him." suddenly looking all serious, the Atlesian General leaned over the desk as the image of the docks changed to several reports of a 'blur' stopping crimes all over Vale for the past weeks. "Especially considered he killed at least half a dozen people that day, after shattering several tons worth of metal and concrete with seemingly no effort."
"…if you know that much, you will also know that those members of the White Fang were openly opening fire against two underage huntsmen-in-training. I don't condone his acts, but that boy still saved their lives and prevented a big theft of dust. He may not be a Huntsman or a student of mine, but his heart is in the right place." crossing his hands together before his face, the bespectacled man gave his longtime friend a calculating stare. "What do you really want with this, James?"
"I want to know why there is an unknown variable being allowed to freely roam Vale taking justice in his own hands when apparently you can't even pinpoint his allegiance." standing up again, the dark-haired man looked a mix of worried and anxious. "You know I trust you with my life, Oz, but after Qrow's report can we really run the risk of someone we don't really know about running around so close to the Vytal Festival?"
"And you think that someone truly working for Her would be going around stopping petty crimes seemingly without rest day and night, befriending and helping train some of my students, and actively frustrating the plans of those we suspect to be allied with her subordinates?" lying back against his chair, Ozpin let the full weight of his words sink into the general before letting out a small sigh. "James, I know you're trying to help, but believe me, even if you were right to suspect him, bringing an entire fleet of Atlas' best ships isn't going to do anything except worry the people of the city…"
Grimacing a bit, Ironwood thought back on everything Penny had told them after a long session of questioning, though nothing more beyond what a nice and great person 'Friend Kirito' was…along with 'Friend Ruby'.
Also, the way in which she constantly used the word 'intercourse' with them had almost given him a heart attack, before his 'father' had confirmed she just still wasn't fully able to grasp the meaning of how some words should be used.
"…can you truly say that this Kirito won't be a threat, Ozpin?"
"I can't, James. But I have faith in my students and they do seem to trust him easily enough." shrugging, the headmaster let an enigmatic smile appear on his face. "Or do you think he's somehow convincing them to bring about the end of the world?"
At the same thing, in Beacon's library…
"…and I have destroyed all of Remnant again."
"…dammit, Kirito!" cursed Ruby while throwing down her cards, a gobsmacked Yang at her side looking from the board game to her own cards and back at the black-haired 'boy' that had taken over Blake's spot after showing up when the girl seemed clearly uninterested in continuing to play. "Have you really never played this before?!"
"First time of this particular game, though I have played some vague variations in a couple other worlds. Yang's rant about the rules was easy enough to understand."
"…I can't say if you're insulting or praising her with that." letting out a small chuckle and ignoring the blonde's 'HEY!', Weiss lowered her own cards and gave the Caped Hero a small 'glare'. "Did you really sneak into Beacon again just to play board games with us?"
"Actually, it was to see if you somehow hadn't gotten involved with the air fleet suddenly covering the city and school, believe it or not. This was a good distraction after knowing you hadn't…for now, though."
"…why are you looking at ME when you say that?" Blake complained as she looked away from Kirito's pointed stare. "I promised, didn't I? To everyone here…I won't do anything crazy on my own again."
"Awww, see, Kirito? Blake is all grown-up now!" laughing openly at that, Yang patted her partner in the back with a bit too much force, making her bow twitch in obvious annoyance as her hidden ears reacted. "We're so proud of you!"
"Eh, while the ships outside are cool, I prefer weapons that are more portable than anything." bringing out her two cents, Ruby gave her strange friend a massive grin. "Oh, but you can come over to our room for a bit if you want! We have some videogames there and I'm totally going to beat you back from the other at the arcade!"
"That sounds like a challenge…but…uhm, does anyone know why Sun and his friend whose name I still don't know are hiding behind the corner there?" casually pointed out the Heroic Spirit, gesturing towards one of the nearby bookshelves.
Almost instantly, a few books fell out after what sounded like a scared squeak, before a certain monkey Faunus ran off from the library with his tail literally between his legs, bowling over a few tables and a couple of students as he did so, followed closely by his profusely apologizing blue-haired friend.
A few seconds of silence ensued as team RWBY+K stared at the spectacle before Blake sighed and covered her face with her hands while muttering about thinking better the next time she trusted random people with her life's problems (Something her team wholeheartedly agreed with, even if they didn't bother saying it out loud).
Of course, that was also when Yang's face turned into a shit-eating grin that Kirito just knew, from a loooong life/lives of experience, could only mean 'trouble' for someone's ability to keep their cool…
"So…sis, I know you're growing up at all, but I didn't think you were ready to invite a boy to our room so boldly!" even as the other girls' brains froze at her words, the buxom blonde patted Ruby's unmoving form. "I'm truly proud of you!"
…3, 2, 1…
"YA-YAAAAANG! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT A AAAAALL!"
"U-ugh, Yang, I can't believe you…"
"Re-really, Xiao-Long, have you no shame?! T-to insinuate such things…!"
And now he was sitting at a table with 3 girls blushing madly and screaming a third one who was just laughing her ass off at the whole thing. Truly, the tales of greatness one would expect from a cursed Heroic Spirit, am I right?
…also, was it worse or better that this wasn't the first time he had been in a similar situation? (The amused/unamused waves coming from his Link with his Family at the Throne didn't seem to settle in one or another, after all) Gods, his entire existence was truly bizarre…
That was okay, though. As long as it kept those four, their friends, and every innocent he could reach, safe, then he would put up with anything for as long as his summoning lasted (Not that it wasn't fun sometimes…the joy of 'pretending to be human' with Ruby and the rest always warmed his heart).
Besides, it's not as if whatever unfathomable evil had prompted his Summoning was just waiting around the cor…oh heavens, he had just totally jinxed it by tempting [FATE], hadn't he?
Ignorant to what was going through Kirito's mind at that moment…Cinder Fall stared from the other end of the library at the group of 5 sitting around a table and being quite loud, except for the one she was observing the most.
And so, the pieces were ready to start falling apart…
Author's Notes 2: A more lighthearted bit, before the truly 'serious shit' of RWBY's first arc starts coming…given how different things are because of Kirito's interference, most of the incident that came now in Canon will probably be skipped, as Roman is in no state to be piloting a Paladin to help motivate the White Fang to recruit, nor are they exactly in the best state after Kirito accidentally murderized half of who went to the docks, got most of the others arrested and left the rest traumatized.
Penny's bit may get summarized in an interesting way, though. And after that, Mountain Glenn…
That shall be later, though. Next time, see you all in Eroge's next update!
This is Saint, signing off!
