Jayr POV - Nasuverse, Moon, SE.RA.PH, Tsukumihara Academy - 2030 AD
The morning begins the same way it always does, a quiet light from SE.RA.PH's false sun spilling across the room, the hum of distant programs pretending to be birdsong.
Nero stirs as I rise, greeting the day as if it's a stage curtain lifting by saying, while stretching, "Another dawn in our glittering cage."
Heading toward the kitchenette, I calmly reply, "Another opportunity to find out our enemy's secret and prepare for the Elimination Battle."
After saying that, I prepare breakfast and start to consume it with Nero, who devours it with great relish.
We're halfway through our meal when the portable terminal lying on the table chimes. The screen flashes:
[The second cypher key has been generated on the second floor.]
For a brief moment, we both freeze in surprise, then Nero grins and says in an excited tone, "Fate calls us to conquest."
In response, I start to already think ahead and answer, "More like a deadline. If Helena's influence reaches the second floor, it'll warp the Arena to her advantage like before. It will surely make the process of searching and finding the Secondary Trigger much more annoying... And maybe even dangerous. We need to move."
She pushes her chair back, ready, but before leaving, my eyes drift toward the small vial resting on the desk, the liquid gold Aletha gave me yesterday, the Felix Felicis gleams like it knows I'm looking and invites me to use it.
I then stop the very eager Nero by saying, "Wait. There's one thing I want to try first."
Nero's gaze follows mine and also lands on the small vial resting on the desk, making her arch an eyebrow while asking in a part-amused, part-curious tone, "We're stopping for a drink now?"
I grab the vial and start uncorking it while saying, "It's not a drink. It's a hunch I feel that this is the right occasion to use it..."
After saying that, I don't hesitate and take a small sip, one that, in theory, should make the effect last around 5 hours.
The golden potion flows warm and heavy down my throat, as sunlight turned to honey, and the moment it hits, something in the world shifts, like the system just inhaled.
My mind clears, but not in the logical way; it's more like faint but clear intuition stretches its legs and starts walking ahead of me, showing me the right way to move, to act to achieve the desired results, like nothing can go wrong, like a huge middle finger to Murphy's Law.
I blink once, twice. Nero studies me and comments, "Your smile became kind of goofy, Praetor. That's either feels wonderful or terrifying."
Hearing that, my grin became wider as I said, "Maybe both. It is a very strange, almost surreal feeling... and I've experienced quite a few unusual things in this life. Anyway, let's go. I know what to do now."
We reach the door, and I stop again as an odd thought suddenly surfaces, soft but insistent, to the point that it makes me unconsciously murmur, "The rooftop."
Baffled, Nero tilts her head and asks, "Excuse me?" Making me say in a confident tone, "I want to see the view from the rooftop."
In response, her stare sharpens as she asks in an even sharper tone, "The Secondary Trigger awaits in the Arena, and you wish to sightsee?"
I can't explain this sudden urge logically, which means it's the potion's doing, so I look at Nero straight in the eyes and say, "It's the Felix Felicis. It guides through instinct. We follow what feels right, not what makes sense."
For a few moments, she continues to stare at me as if trying to discern any kind of foul play, then she exhales a laugh halfway between disbelief and admiration before she says, "Then lead on, my prophetic fool. Let us humour fortune and see what the blind Goddess has in store for us."
After giving her approval, Nero's figure fades away as she takes her Spirit Form, and then, we step out of our Private Room, and with confident and eager steps, we head directly toward the staircase, ignoring everything else around us, our destination clear: the rooftop of this building.
Soon, we reach our destination, and the rooftop wind greets us like a forgotten friend.
From here, the whole campus can be seen. I can see a bit of the fake city beyond the borders of the campus that seems to stretch even into false infinity, its light reflecting off invisible walls.
For a long moment, I simply breathe, but then the potion hums in my blood, and suddenly I know what to do.
Without thinking, I use my powers to materialise an electric guitar from nowhere, its data-form solidifying with a metallic shimmer.
At the same time, Nero's voice resounds in my mind and through our bond, I can sense a hint of unease behind her even tone, [Now you truly concern me.]
I try to reassure her by saying, "Trust me," before I start to play the melody of one of the most memorable songs of my childhood, Butter-Fly.
The legendary opening song for Digimon Adventure, sung by Wada Kouji and composed by Chiwata Hidenori.
The first chords of Butterfly echo into the air, sharp, upbeat, and bright. The melody feels alive, resonating with something deep in SE.RA.PH's code.
At this point, I start to sing, pouring all my feelings into it.
"♪Gokigen na chou ni natte kirameku kaze ni notte
Ima sugu kimi ni ai ni yukou
Yokei na koto nante wasureta hou ga mashi sa
Kore ijou shareteru jikan wa nai♪
(♪I'll become a happy butterfly, and ride on the glittering wind
I'll come to see you soon
It's best to forget the unnecessary things
There's no more time to be fooling around♪)"
Nero watches, first puzzled, then smiling faintly as the music fills the open sky, her love for the arts making her fully appreciate my performance.
"♪Nani ga wow wow wow wow wow kono sora ni todoku no darou
Dakedo wow wow wow wow wow ashita no yotei mo wakaranai
Mugendai na yume no ato no nanimo nai yo no naka ja
Sou sa itoshii omoi mo makesou ni naru kedo
Stay shigachi na imeeji darake no tayorinai tsubasa demo
Kitto toberu sa on my love
Ukareta chou ni natte ichizu na kaze ni notte
Doko mademo kimi ni ai ni yukou
Aimai na kotoba tte igai ni benri datte
Sakenderu hitto songu kikinagara...♪
(♪What do you mean, wow wow wow wow wow? I wonder if we'll reach the skies
But, wow wow wow wow wow I don't even know what my plans are for tomorrow
After an endless dream, in this world of nothingness
It seems as if our beloved dreams will lose
Even with these unreliable wings, covered in images that tend to stay
I'm sure we can fly, on my love
I'll become a merry butterfly, and ride on the earnest wind
I'll come to see you wherever you are
Ambiguous words are surprisingly handy
I'll shout it out, while listening to a hit song...♪)"
When the song ends, the sound of clapping breaks the silence, making me calmly turn around and look at the two figures standing at the doorway.
They look like a pair of twins, both are young ladies with doll-like limbs and light pink eyes. They have long, pure white hair that is divided into wavy pigtails that are tied off with a white and cyan ribbon for each.
Their primary attire is also the same and consists of a hat that has a ribbon on each side, a frilly Victorian-era dress with pantalettes and Mary Jane shoes.
Their dress is trimmed with lace and decorated with two ribbons: one around their neck and the other tied around their waist.
The only clear difference between the two is the primary colour of their attire; one is mainly white and blue, while the other is black and purple.
They are naturally Alice, who wears the white attire, and her Servant Nursery Rhyme, who wears the black attire.
(Image Here - Alice and Nursery Rhyme)
Alice and her Servant's small hands applaud enthusiastically while calling out, "Encore!"
I glance at Nero; she shrugs her shoulder, amused, so I play and sing again, shorter this time, letting the sound ripple like laughter.
When I finish, Alice beams and says, "That was wonderful. It made this world feel like a dream again."
Hearing that, I reply gently, "Dreams are meant to be beautiful," before I carefully ask, "Are you having fun?"
She slowly shakes her head, her voice dropping to a whisper as she replies, "The scary big sister's there. I don't want to play with her anymore."
Hearing that and her tone, something twists in my chest. I kneel to meet her eyes, and without any hesitation, I say, "You don't have to. You can leave the game."
Her eyes widen, uncertain as she asks, "Leave?" Making me nod before I tell her, "I can send you somewhere safe. A real world, not this copy. Another version of me will be waiting there for you. There will also be many kind and beautiful big sisters who will look after you and other kids to play with. You and Nursery Rhyme can stay there together."
The Servant hesitates for a moment, then looks at Alice and says in an emotionless tone, "If it's what my Master wishes, then I'll follow. Staying with her is fun."
Hearing that, Alice smiles shyly and agrees, "Okay. I'd like that."
With a thought, I make use of the abilities I've inherited from my Digimon Incarnation and my Spiral Cosmo to sever their link to the Moon Cell.
Then I focus on their virtual bodies, more specifically their souls connected to it and use the Dark Resurrection technique to create true living bodies.
In response, the data dissolves around them like glowing petals, reconstructing into true bodies ready for living in a true reality and transfers them to my home universe.
I open a gate leading to my Soulbound Territory and send them through it by saying, "On the other side, you will find a young girl named Bidi waiting for you. She is very fun and can transform into a very big and cool spaceship. She will take you to my home, where those beautiful big sisters and I will take care of you."
Hearing that, Alice and Nursery Rhyme start to walk toward the portal, but before stepping through, they stop, Alice turns around and waves one last time while saying, "Thank you, mister singer. See you soon!"
Shortly after that, they step through the portal that closes behind them, and then they're gone; the rooftop is silent again.
At this point, Nero's figure appears beside me as she speaks softly, "You do realise you just disqualified a participant with kindness."
In response to that statement, a relaxed smile forms on my face as I look at her and say, "Sometimes mercy is the best strategy that one can use. And if someone in this cruel Holy Grail War is worthy of receiving that kind of mercy and kindness from me, that someone is, without any doubt, that pure and pitiful Alice."
Her lips curl in amusement as she comments, "And fortune applauds your sentimentality."
An hour passed since I sent Alice and Nursery Rhyme to my home universe.
I had to make sure that my little spontaneous divine intervention didn't damage SE.RA.PH and the Moon Cell, after all, I was quite forceful in cutting off Alice and the Nursery Rhyme connection.
In the end, I was able to confirm that everything is fine, "luckily" the Moon Cell wasn't damaged and SE.RA.PH and the Holy Grail War weren't compromised.
Now, we're back on the first floor of the main building, right in front of the entrance to the Arena, ready to face our opponent and without wasting any more time, we step through the door and enter the Arena.
The transition hits like a plunge into cold water, and soon the new floor unfolds around us, and for a heartbeat I can't tell which way is up and which way is down.
The second floor looks like an impossible paradox: an underwater desert.
The usual layout, full of corridors and wide open areas, is still present, and the same is true for the underwater view beyond the transparent walls, but the floor is covered in sand dunes that drift beneath slow-moving currents with glowing particles swirling around.
The gravity itself is uneven, constantly changing, while the light is dim and shifting.
Nero whistles loudly before commenting, "A contradiction fit for poets. Our opponent is shaping paradoxes now."
I keep my gaze focused on the desert-like labyrinth in front of us and mutter, "This time she chose a different battleground. On the previous floor, she used her powers to turn the Arena into a cave. This time, she chose a desert and considering that she originates from the Pokémon Universe, I already have an idea of what she plans to do..."
After saying that, I look at Nero standing beside me and tell her, "This time we have to be very careful. If Helena's strategy for this floor is what I'm thinking, then carelessly advancing may give us more trouble than it is worth..."
Hearing that, Nero nods and summons her sword, Aestus Estus, before declaring, "Let's do this, my Praetor."
Then I summon Behemoth, and we both get on it. Naturally, I sit behind Nero; after all, we still want to give the impression that Nero is a Rider Class Servant.
We move forward carefully with very controlled speed, but as soon as we leave the starting area and enter the first corridor, what I was concerned about actually happens.
One moment, the desert-like corridor stretches wide, empty, and more importantly calm; the next, a wall of dust starts rolling in, thick as smoke and alive with fury.
The wind hits like a living thing, howling, clawing, lifting the sand in violent spirals that slash at skin and eyes, the air turns brown and choking, making every breath taste like grit.
Sound twists into chaos with the shriek of wind, the hiss of sand grinding against the walls, the muffled thud of debris tumbling unseen.
The light dims even more, turning into a copper gloom where the artificial light coming from above is only a faint rumour.
Shapes blur and disappear, making the already smaller space shrink to a few feet of swirling madness.
Then comes the weight of it, the pressure, the constant sting, the sense that the storm wants to erase everything, to grind it down to dust and memory.
It doesn't just move through the desert-like labyrinth; it is trying to consume it, roaring across the dunes until nothing stands but the storm itself.
This isn't a regular sandstorm, this is the Sandstorm, the Rock-type Pokemon move that is able to change the weather, making so that everyone else is constantly damaged by it unless it is a Rock-, Steel-, or Ground-type Pokemon, on top of giving advantages to the Pokemon whose natural abilities allow them to be empowered by such hostile weather.
Moreover, considering the sheer scale and power of this sandstorm, it is natural to infer that this is the result of more than one Pokémon unleashing the Move Sandstorm at the same time.
Naturally, I immediately inform Nero of what is happening through our bond, making Nero comment in an impressed and resolute tone, [As expected of an enemy you were wary of. To change the battlefield to such a degree to one's own advantage is very impressive. But this isn't the first time Rome fought with adverse conditions. In the end, the glory of Rome will overcome all!]
Like that, we start our exploration, and almost immediately, a swarm of Enemy Programs attacks us, but we easily dispose of them, not only because they are too weak to put up even a slight form of opposition, but also because they, too, are negatively affected by the ongoing sandstorm.
The real opposition comes in the form of the countless Pokémon almost constantly ambushing us while we are occupied with the Enemy Programs.
Onix, Golem, Rhydon, Gigalith, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Flygon, Gliscor, Excadrill, Krookodile, Sandaconda, and many other Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon, each one fighting with eerie coordination and all of them very annoying to deal with, especially since we are limiting ourselves to simply knocking them out instead of directly killing them.
After all, even if they are our enemies, I will still feel bad about needlessly killing such creatures, even more so when they aren't a true threat yet, but only an annoyance at best.
With Nero on Behemoth and my support in giving directions and anticipating attacks, we carve through them efficiently.
On top of that, every strike Nero delivers feels somewhat guided, as if fortune itself adjusts the angles, like when Behemoth suddenly jolted when running over a small rock, making Nero's swing shift very slightly but enough to hit the enemy weakspot with pinpoint precision and with such an angle that the defeated enemy collapse on top of another one knocking it out too.
And such "lucky" coincidences constantly happen all around us; it is almost frightening to see how a little bit of luck can actually help a battle in such a decisive manner.
This makes me fully reconsider some of my thoughts about the Felix Felics, and I'm not the only one, as Nero says between clashes, "That potion works wonders..."
I watch the body of a collapsing Onix deflecting a wave of debris directed at us and tell her, "Remind me to thank Aletha again... I knew that probability manipulation was a very broken form of power, but only now that I'm personally experiencing it, I know how dangerous it can truly be."
Like that, we continue to explore the Arena while still confronting the combined force of the sandstorm, the Enemy Programs, and the swarm of Pokémon, and after overcoming a series of narrow corridors, the terrain opens into a vast hollow chamber.
At its centre floats the Secondary Trigger, encased in a spiralling column of sand and light, and standing before it, there is our opponent, Helena Harrison.
She stands tall, composed, her seemingly closed eyes look serene, her presence is still, too still, like the silence before an earthquake and right beside her, there are three imposing Pokémon.
One is a bipedal, draconian Pokémon that is primarily dark blue in colour.
It has red on its underbelly from the lower jaw to the middle of the abdomen, including the undersides of its arms.
A patch of gold comes to a point below the red on its belly, and a golden star shape adorns the tip of its snout.
The Pokémon has horn-like appendages that resemble a jet or plane's engines, giving it an appearance similar to a hammerhead shark.
Its large mouth features razor-sharp teeth, and the feet have three white talons, and each arm has a single large, white claw for a hand.
Curved fins sprout from the arms, creating wings that allow the Pokémon to fly, and it also has a large dorsal fin and another on its tail that resembles a shark's tail fin.
Pairs of small, white spikes protrude from its upper arms and legs, and there are gill-like slits on the sides of the neck. The eyes are intense, with black sclerae and gold-colored irises.
Naturally, this is one of the most powerful Dragon- and Ground-type Pokémon, the Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon Garchomp.
(Image Here - Garchomp)
Another one is a large, bipedal, dinosaurian Pokémon with a green, armour-like hide covering its body.
It has two pairs of pointed teeth: one in the upper jaw and one in the lower.
Several spikes of varying sizes protrude from the back of its head, neck, and shoulders.
Both sides of its chest, the centre of its back, and its knees have two triangular holes.
There is a grey, diamond-shaped patch of scales covering its belly and a smaller one on its back.
It has three claws on its feet and hands, and a ring of spikes surrounds the tip of its tail.
This one is yet another very powerful Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, Tyranitar, a Rock- and Dark-type Pokémon.
(Image Here - Tyranitar)
Lastly, there is the one who has the absolutely strongest aura among the three, to the point that it completely eclipses the other two.
It is an 1 meter tall bipedal creature with triangular, brown eyes, light brown skin and a cream-colored underside. It has two small claws, one on each hand, that serve as its thumbs, one large nail on each foot that makes up its toes, and it has a short tail with a small spike near the tip.
But the most curious aspect is its head, which is composed of a skull mask with two pointed spikes on the back, similar to ears and tiny nostrils on the tip of the snout that seem seamlessly fused with its head. Moreover, it is armed with a thick bone club.
This one is Marowak, a relatively common Pokémon, and one that isn't usually considered very powerful, but obviously, this monster is a completely different story.
The next moment, her voice breaks the silence. When it comes, it is low and precise. "You took your time to enter the Arena, yet you move quickly, Champion. That is… inconvenient."
I keep my calm and say, matching her tone, "Helena Harrison, I presume. The Champion of Earth."
In response, Helena keeps her gaze focused on me and replies, "Titles are for those who need to remember who they are. I require no such reminders. My duty is clear."
At this point, her Pokémon step forward, each one radiating lethal focus, making Nero smile dangerously and say, "So the lady of stone chooses to greet us after all."
Helena tilts her head slightly and says in a completely empty tone, "Obstacles are to be removed, not greeted."
The next instant, the battle begins before the last word fades.
Garchomp dives like a torpedo through the sand currents; Tyranitar slams the ground, sending seismic waves that distort the dim light and Marowak darts between them, its bone weapon burning white.
Nero meets them head-on, Behemoth roaring as she counterstrikes with perfect precision.
Every movement is a dance of gold and crimson against muted earth tones.
Meanwhile, I coordinate through our bond, calculating predictive vectors and feeding Nero energy to counterbalance the field's instability, limiting myself to purely a supportive role as it is way too soon to reveal my true capabilities.
It seems that Helena is doing the same, as she doesn't shout commands, she barely moves, just small gestures, efficient, mechanical.
Her focus never wavers; she treats the battle like an equation to be solved, but equations can be broken by unexpected errors.
When Nero drives her sword through Tyranitar's guard, who was about to unleash a powerful Hyper Beam, it also breaks Tyranitar's concetration causing the gathered energy to lose control and explode.
The shockwave generated shatters the battlefield, making Garchomp fall seconds later, wings torn by reflected pressure, leaving Marowak fighting on alone, driven by loyalty rather than command, but even that fire wanes.
I glance at Helena and see that there's no anger, no grief, only a calm assessment of loss and when Marowak finally drops to one knee, she raises a hand and says, "Enough."
The Pokéballs open in red light, recalling the fallen partners, Garchomp and Tyranitar vanish cleanly; However, Marowak's ball sparks violently, its circuitry damaged by the same shockwave that took out her Pokémon.
Helena's expression doesn't change as she comments, "Damaged," before she casually tosses the broken sphere aside, draws another, and withdraws Marowak manually.
Then, without another word, she steps backwards into the storm, making her form fade into the haze, swallowed by sand and silence.
The chamber stills shortly after making Nero exhale, lowering her blade as she comments, "Cold as granite. That woman is completely devoid of passion... What a sad existence."
Shortly after that, the sandstorm stops completely, a sign that Helena and her Pokémon fully retreated from the Arena, so we approach the Trigger.
I retrieve it first, then I pick up the damaged Pokéball Helena discarded. It hums faintly in my hand, still holding traces of her, a sign that she held it for quite a long time; it is very likely her first Pokéball.
Seeing that, Nero smiles and comments in an amused tone, "A relic delivered by fortune herself."
I pocket both items and say, "And with this... We will hopefully learn more about our opponent thanks to Rani."
Then we also leave the Arena as the environment begins to dissolve behind us.
Back in our room, I set the relic beside the half-full vial of Felix Felicis, the golden liquid still glows as brightly as before, and its warmth still lingers in my chest.
Nero leans against the wall, watching me and asks, "So, my Praetor, was fortune worth the taste?"
I look down at the relic, then out the window toward the false stars and reply, "It was. But luck always asks for something in return. This is why such potions must be taken very sparingly."