(A/N: Since the last one was so short, this is gonna be my longest one yet at 9,200≈ words. Hope you guys enjoy it, since I had a lot of fun writing it in some parts! There are some new side characters, but they won't be more than that, so dw.
Anyway, enjoy!)
Chapter 15: What a Mess...
The wind off the Antarctic plains carried two smells. One was the sharp, electric burn of the Railguns and the other something sweeter underneath, almost like old copper.
She'd stopped noticing the second one yesterday, which worried her more than the first.
Standing on the defensive walls of Humanitas Nostra, the slender armored figure stood and observed the ever-growing horde of Nightmare Creatures mounting outside the city walls with a grim expression. She tightened her grip on her halberd.
"What a mess..."
The armored lady was none other than the blessed Master Fortuna. Her mission, along with five other Masters and the local garrison, was the protection of this relatively isolated human citadel located at the western edge of Eastern Antarctica, with her being the first in command of these fearsome warriors.
Luckily, thanks to their oracle's early warning, they had managed to fortify this citadel quite well in advance. It gave it a structure that resembled an ancient star fortress in many ways.
At all the multitude of protruding tower walls, pairs of gigantic Railgun batteries were placed facing down at designated kill zones, mostly manned by mundane soldiers and civilian volunteers.
Since the unexpected escalation of the Nightmare Gates a few days ago, these guns have been firing day and night without pause, along with all available long-range specialist Awakened that were lined up on the defensive walls. These awakened were firing everything they had until they either ran out of essence or stamina, and then switched positions with a new, freshly recharged warrior.
All these desperate measures were obvious signs that things weren't looking great...
She allowed herself to chuckle a bit at their predicament and then reassessed their situation as she moved to the edge of the walls, looking at their besiegers more carefully again.
It was a mix of grotesque beasts from various tribes, each having come from a different surrounding Nightmare Gate that had opened up in their vicinity. Especially in the last few days, these damn gates seemed to become more and more aggressive.
Looking at the horde of abominations, Fortuna did her best to hide her fear. Of course, she felt scared... who wouldn't?
'Heh... probably that Devil guy from the center. Gods, I wish he were here. He'd only have to be half as good as the rumors say!'
But she knew that was not gonna happen. The man who somehow walked wherever he pleased, effortlessly creating miracle after miracle without batting an eye, was still fighting his own fight to return to humanity.
Her eyes traveled up the horde of a few thousand abominations until she saw it. At the rear of the formation stood a singular fifty-meter oversized creature that reminded her of one of those extinct gorillas... only it was a dark crimson, had four arms and five jagged horns on its crown.
"Look at that overgrown fucking monkey... I have to kill that thing eventually, don't I?"
It was the Corrupted Tyrant controlling most of these abominations after all... if the monkey were to be killed, all these creatures would just be mindless idiots again, making things much easier.
But how was she even meant to kill it?? It was too far away for a proper long-range attack, and she would somehow need to get past the whole abomination army to reach it.
'Think... what would Saint Cor do in this situation?'
But for once, her strategy couldn't find the gap.
She sighed. 'That old man always finds a way, even if his methods sometimes are... too uncouth for my taste.'
Being the leader of the world government, Saint Cor couldn't exactly be too altruistic if he wanted to keep this civilization going.
They had already dispatched a messenger to the Dreamrealm, bringing the terrible news of their dire situation to the army command in Bastion and hoping for eventual reinforcements.
But that was only a distant hope for now. With the communication network partly disrupted, they were practically isolated and had to put a great deal of faith in that single messenger.
Looking around the distance, she saw a vast number of Nightmare Gates in the distance, a few big, most small... but all of them had invited these thousands of abominations here.
In the beginning, things had been mostly manageable, but it seemed the Nightmare Spell was done holding back. Just a short while ago, more and more Nightmare Gates had been manifesting in an increasingly aggressive manner, making the maintenance of an evacuation corridor essentially impossible... it was as if something had spurred this endless corruption just recently.
Shaking her head, Fortuna turned and walked along the towering alloy wall with determined steps.
To her right, countless shots and explosions thundered as the struggle continued without pause.
To her left was the heart of what had once been a vibrant human citadel. Now, it looked like a desolate, mobilized war fortress. The many robust high-rise buildings and underground hives served as shelter for the remaining civilians and wounded.
If something were to get through these walls... She swallowed tensely.
'Don't think about it.'
In the distance, one of her fellow Masters partly covered their eyes and turned to her as well with a grim expression. He was clad in enchanted ebony leather armor, a deep scarlet cape trailing from his shoulders and fluttering behind him with every movement. His auburn hair was still neatly kept back despite the conditions.
She furrowed her brows. This wasn't the time to cower. Her people needed her.
Fortuna strained a weak smile. '...just a little miracle, isn't that your whole flair, lady Fortuna?'
When she reached him, Dave gave her a measured look.
"Tower four isn't looking good. There are just too many abominations, boss. The walls are taking too much of a beating as well..."
Between the Railgun discharges, there were moments of relative quiet, and those were almost worse. You could hear the abominations clearly then. The noises of claws on alloy, the low chittering of whatever the tentacle-infested monkeys did when they were hungry. She really hated the quiet seconds the most...
Fortuna sighed. She knew he was right, but what should she do?
"I'm aware. The other towers aren't looking good either. We have to find a way to kill that fucking Tyrant and thin out the horde."
Dave looked toward the distant silhouette, squinting his eyes due to the bright sun reflecting off the snow nowadays. Even after all this time, the ascended hobby gardener wasn't yet used to this type of environment from her observations...
"Any concrete plans, boss? I don't exactly think any of us can get past the horde and defeat that Corrupted Tyrant..."
When another explosion thundered from the Railgun close to them, Fortuna strained to make herself heard.
"Not really... We'll just have to hold out until our reinforcements arrive! I know things are looking grim right now, but you have to have faith, Dave!"
She knew that guy had a strange republican spirit in him, yet he was still her most loyal ally of all... one person who wouldn't abandon her—the part-time cultivator.
Dave nodded, trying his best to trust her. She had always struck true thanks to her gift.
"Alright, faith it is... let's prepare everyone for the melee-..."
Just as Dave uttered those words, a loud rumble interrupted them, shaking the whole tower that was just to their north...
'Crap! What the hell was that!?'
Fortuna straightened and quickly checked up on Dave beside her, making sure he was safe.
Quickly straightening himself, Dave cursed loudly before pushing her arm off of him with a sense of urgency.
"Boss, I'm fine! We have to go check out Tower four for spell's sake!"
"Alright, alright, tough guy!"
She yelled in slight exasperation at him before bolting off to the critical tower along the wall. He quickly followed, arming himself with a weapon-type memory just behind her.
She was honestly considering just grabbing all the high-value people and fleeing the increasingly hopeless scene...
'Wasn't this supposed to be just a small outpost at the edges of Eastern Antarctica!?'
A sudden yell disrupted her secret contemplations. Dave was looking at the distance beyond the horde; his face had drained to an unhealthy, pale shade.
"Boss! Look!"
'What is it now!?'
Fortuna turned in the direction Dave was pointing and froze.
In the distance, the giant four-armed Crimson Tyrant was using both its right, hairy arms to lift a broken, abandoned military truck... and then it lifted it just behind its head, straining its disturbing muscles.
"Y-you've got to be kidding me..." Fortuna's face fell at the sight. A looming sense of dread was creeping up on her, and from the looks of it, on everyone around the walls as well...
Almost all the people along the walls suddenly stilled, some of the Nightmare Creatures stilled too, all staring wide-eyed at the charging Tyrant. Some started trembling... this time, not from the cold.
A gust came in from the east and lifted the snow off the wall in a long, slow sheet. For a moment, Fortuna could see all the way to the horizon. The sun was so bright off the white that it hurt. She wondered, absurdly, how a day this beautiful could also be the day they died.
Uncaring, the Crimson one exploded with movement, letting out a low growl of strain. The multi-ton heavy military truck was violently slung and shot through the cold, wet air...
Fortuna sucked in a breath, and her eyes widened.
"Everyone, get the fuck down!!"
"Incoming!!"
"Take cover!!"
Everyone dropped to the ground for cover and yelled out in panic.
But there wasn't enough time.
Not even two seconds later, the military truck heavily crashed into the main entrance gate's tall alloy doors, ripping them violently off and shooting them back with enough force to crush anyone and anything unfortunate enough to stand behind its trail of destruction. The whole attack was throwing debris, snow, and body parts everywhere... making the onlookers that had been spared by sheer luck tremble in their boots.
Looking at the sight of the abhorrent carnage the Tyrant's attack had left in its wake, Fortuna paled a deathly white and struggled to breathe.
"Holy hell..."
The Crimson Tyrant was apparently smarter than it looked. The artillery shot it had casually let loose hadn't just lowered their morale and left a chilling trail of mangled bodies that painted the snow red near the former entrance gate... it also breached the most important part of their fortress, leaving a wide, gaping hole.
This was it. They couldn't hide behind their towering walls any longer. They had to build a shield wall or some resemblance of a battle formation at the breached part of the wall with their awakened soldiers, or else the safety of their human citadel would be critically threatened.
Just thinking about the steep, suffocating amount of casualties this would cause gave her a heavy heart.
If things hadn't been looking well before... then they were completely fucked now.
Fortuna gritted her teeth, swallowing the crippling dread that had grown among the defenders like a plague. She gripped her halberd so tightly that her knuckles turned white and took another controlled breath. Then, she raised her halberd in the air.
"Dave!! Come with me! Anyone who can still mount a fight, come with me as well!! We have to hold the breach at all costs!! That's an order, damn it!!"
Without letting hesitation get the chance to strangle her, Fortuna sprinted off with all she had, shoving supply crates and other, still stunned soldiers out of her way with no regard anymore. She had to reach the breached entrance. No matter what. She can't let a single abomination enter the citadel, or more and more blood of not just soldiers will be spilled.
Seeing his leader's urgent reposition, Dave snapped out of his shock and quickly followed after her with increasingly desperate strides.
"You heard your superior!! Die fighting or fight death!!"
The surrounding soldiers, who had witnessed the two strong Masters that manned this part of the wall rush to fill the new gap, all came to a chilling realization.
Either you went with them to plug the hole and prevent a complete collapse and—most likely—die in the process...
Or, you stay paralyzed by fear and shock.
Like a sitting duck waiting to be overrun by these primate-like abominations eventually... inevitably.
It was a tough choice. Many had so much to live for, so much to struggle for, so much to lose...
Yet rationality was what won over one particular awakened soldier.
He hadn't slept for three days, his essence at the edges of exhaustion. Yet he knew what stood behind them... a shelter of tens of thousands of people—women, children, the weak—that all relied on them with the very sanctity of their feeble lives.
This soldier gritted his teeth. He strained his muscles, as if breaking apart a stone shell that had kept him paralyzed—and then took one step forward. And then another.
The bow in his hand dismissed itself, and in its place, a new memory came to life with a whirlwind of sparks...
A longsword engraved with a beautiful design of an otherworldly phoenix.
The soldier finally broke into a sprint, rushing to man the gap as well, offering himself to his people, despite his fear, despite his lack of individual strength. Yet full of resolve.
"I'm coming too, Commander!!"
This singular man's bravery—or perhaps stupidity—seemed to finally rattle many out of their frozen states...
Seeing a master run for battle was one thing... but seeing an awakened just like themselves show the same fearlessness—or whatever it was that motivated him—deeply resonated with them. There was no excuse to stay behind with the group now. No skirt to hide under.
"Agh..! Damn it! Damn that bastard! Wait for me!"
A young government soldier yelled out as he quickly followed behind, memories already manifesting in his grip.
One by one, more and more awakened followed their leader to certain death. Hoping... praying that reinforcements would finally arrive. Or perhaps having already accepted their fate.
Meanwhile, Fortuna was almost there. She could see all the damage and bloody carnage that the damned Tyrant had caused up close now.
'Gods... that fucking monkey. I will rip it to shreds! Reinforcements or not!'
She reached the edge of the top of the stone wall without stopping. A large staircase led down the seventy-meter-tall wall; alternatively, there was a lifting platform too... she looked down, gritting her teeth once more, that wouldn't do, way too slow.
Someone had once told her that when you were most scared, that was exactly when you had to jump.
And with that, she leaped off the wall and summoned a memory in the form of a comically wing-adorned pair of boots...
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Come on, feet first!'
The wind pulled tears from her eyes on the way down. She saw the upturned face of a young volunteer staring at her with a stunned expression from the ground while the rubble of the gate grew larger and uglier with every meter. But at last, her landing was coming to greet her.
When she hit the snow-filled, muddy ground, her magical boots somehow absorbed most of the impact before she dropped into a barrel roll, distributing the remaining impact.
She smoothly got up without stopping and immediately sprinted towards the breach with all her might, the magical pair of feathered boots already vanishing into sparks again.
The young volunteer's eyes followed her with his mouth open in stunned awe. "Holy shit..."
Despite her huffing and puffing like an ox, she was focused on the sight of the first few Nightmare Creatures climbing over the rubble to enter the human citadel in hopes of having a feast.
As an Ascended, she was surprisingly fast and had a certain power in her strides. Fortuna could also walk surprisingly fast.
'Ya hungry? Eat this!'
Without slowing down, she held her halberd like an improvised lance and rammed it into the nearest tentacle-infested monkey, pinning it violently into the concrete floor. With a weak shrill, the abomination died.
[You have slain an awakened beast: Member of the vile troop]
As her halberd was still embedded into the abomination and the ground, another one of these tentacle monkeys lunged at her, opening its maw to bite into the side of her neck, thinking she was disarmed...
"Not today, rodent."
At her command, a thin, deadly blade shot out of her vambrace, hidden at her wrist just for moments like these.
She swung out her arm in a precise, clinical arch and cleanly beheaded the gluttonous creature mid-air... warm blood spilled at her, but she merely narrowed her eyes.
[You have slain an...]
She stepped on the pierced tentacle-monkey at her feet and then pulled out her halberd with one forceful pull.
"Two down... a thousand more to go."
She glanced to her left at the now distant staircase, seeing many soldiers, led by Dave, rush down to help out. Too bad they couldn't negate fall damage like her...
Then, she felt a large group of people rush over from behind her... the close-range reserve had arrived.
"About time... I was actually thinking I was gonna need to do this alone."
Someone landed beside her with the kind of light footwork that didn't belong on a battlefield. The voice came a half-second after the boots.
"Lucky you! I'm sure you missed us, didn't you, Commander?"
'Ah, it's her...' Fortuna sighed. It appeared that the third of the five Masters had noticed the commotion and decided to lend a hand as well.
"Focus on the breach, Alice. We've got our plates full today."
"Ay ay, captain! Slaughter and carnage at your command!"
'This stupid...' But before Fortuna could make another comment, the Nightmare Creatures were already upon the newly formed group of defenders. More and more of them managed to climb over the rubble and charge at them with demented fury.
"Formation! Hold the line!"
At the order, many awakened soldiers summoned the remainder of their weaponry, from shields and swords to bows and spears... everyone got into position, ready for battle.
A moment later, the wave of abominations roughly crashed into their formation, thus starting the arduous battle at the breach.
Awakened battled the corrupted abominations with honed skill and trained efficiency. Their formation half-encircled the newly formed breach, using the advantage of the uneven terrain and the bottleneck formed by the relatively manageable breach.
Fortuna thrust the pike of her halberd into another tentacle-infested monkey, piercing its meek brain with fluid action. She allowed herself a moment out of focus to get a look at their current predicament...
On her left, her soldiers stood firm despite the ongoing assault.
More and more awakened were arriving to help them plug the gap, while the rest of the garrison seemed to be busy manning the still-standing walls and operating their heavy weaponry, as well as performing crucial logistical operations.
Master Dave had finally made it over as well, having helped out a struggling soldier just in time.
She lifted her long halberd, flicking it to get the alien blood off. 'Good enough.'
To her right, Alice was thrusting and slicing abominations with her rapier at infuriating grace... while the awakened soldiers gathered at her side held the right flank of their crude half-circle. They were holding, for now.
Three out of their five Masters were now manning this critical part of the citadel. That left two to help man the walls while they cleaned up down here...
Fortuna returned her focus to the breach once more, sighing when she saw what was coming for them.
Things had fortunately been manageable for now... but it seemed the Tyrant had sensed opportunity. More and more of the abominations under its command were diverted towards the breach the Tyrant had created.
Funneling them in at increasing rates.
Another one of the infested monkeys made it over the rubble, but this one was different from the usual beasts.
It was larger, much larger, at a towering four meters—not as big as the gigantic fifty-meter Tyrant, but certainly making them all look like small fries.
Additionally, that bastard had four arms with clawed, razor-sharp hands and feet. In its revolting eyes, a paranormal intelligence and fury burned as it singled her out.
'Disgusting. Corrupted rank too.'
So one of the other stray demons had reached them at last. Fortuna wasn't surprised.
These were too smart to be controlled by the Tyrant, so they acted as independent wild cards that tried to find gaps to exploit instead. Just like that pesky living siege-ram earlier.
Not wasting time, Fortuna poured essence into her trusted memory. It glowed in a blueish hue, the halberd morphing into a large, thin javelin instead.
She raised it above her head, straining her muscles for a perfect, picturesque throw...
'Heh... I can do this too! Look at this, Lady Mongrel!'
She grinned to herself, guessing that fortune was by her side today once more.
With a practiced motion, she shot forward, straining her body into an almost supernatural position as the javelin left her hand and shot at the infested demon like a bullet...
The infested, fallen demon had seen it coming—yet despite that, it wasn't enough to dodge out of the way.
It tried to twist its body, but the incoming javelin struck it by the left shoulder, leaving both the demon's left arms uselessly hanging at its side...
The fallen demon roared out in anguish, glaring at her specifically with demented fury that resembled the other beasts more than an intelligent demon.
'Now for the best part...'
As the fallen demon grabbed the still-embedded javelin and tried to pull it out, it suddenly morphed once more with the same blueish glow...
Then, the tip of the former javelin grew sharp spikes and blades that grew and expanded in a chaotic mess, digging deeper into the demon's upper torso. In just a few seconds, it had transformed into a growing ball of steel and blades...
This was the hidden enchantment of her favorite memory. The metal could form into any blade and shape she desired, even if the form wouldn't make sense for usual combat... she called this particular attack the "blight of steel."
Now it was a chaotic ball of countless blades and spikes, growing ever larger inside the body of the demon until it was ripped out, causing catastrophic damage, or the enchantment reached its physical limit.
The demon strained, its remaining two right arms pulling at the handle with all its might, ripping its own left side totally apart. Falling to its knees, it growled in pain and anger...
"Look at you, all big and strong..." Fortuna's eyes flashed with victory, unsheathing her secondary sword memory holstered at her waist. She took a step forward, now on eye level to the demon.
"All it took was a little stick to bring you down. Well, let me do the honors then..."
She already licked her lips at the thought of getting a Transcendent Memory out of that thing.
The hateful demon used its remaining right arms to lift itself, its muscles straining to jump at her for revenge.
...and then a pink bolt suddenly pierced its maddening eye from the right, turning its brain into mush.
The demon fell to the snow-filled ground, its brown blood seeping into the concrete.
"..."
Fortuna stopped and looked to her right...
Master Alice stood there, an unloaded, heart-shaped crossbow outstretched in her left hand, while she still held her graceful rapier in her right hand. A pile of pierced corpses surrounded her.
Fortuna's eye twitched...
Alice turned, noticing her and smiled toward her brightly with those damn, sweet, irritating....
"Hey, boss! Thanks for the assist! You're the best~!"
Alice spoke in a sweet, innocent voice—even daring to wink at her...
If only looks could kill...
'That stupid bitch... I'm gonna kill her! Yes, that's right! How dare she steal my kills again!'
Alice seemed done with the conversation; her bubbly smile dropped for a split second into something less intentional, something almost apathetic... but when a group of beasts saw the carnage surrounding her, they fell into a fit of rage and stormed at her for revenge. Only then did an excited smile adorn her face once more.
Fortuna narrowed her eyes slightly.
'Weirdo...'
"Boss! Please keep focus!"
Dave's voice rang out again as he held off a troop of infested monkeys by himself. Out of his hands and feet, blackthorn vines grew out of seemingly nowhere, growing at rapid, unpredictable speeds as they tangled and restrained their feral Nightmare Creatures, allowing him and others to easily finish them off...
Additionally, the blackthorns hid a paralyzing poison that seemed to immobilize even the largest and strongest of them.
His body armor had been cut in several places, causing small bleeding, although fortunately, nothing severe. He simply covered his skin in a healing, natural bandage. The awakened around him all had their hands full as well, but having his useful Aspect made the defense that much easier.
'Great.'
Fortuna thought as she turned back to the swarm of abominations that climbed over the rubble with ever-increasing wrath. Her halberd resummoning in the palm of her outstretched gauntlet.
She rushed forward, not hesitating to strike. Her big prey had been stolen... but countless other opportunities were rushing at her right at this moment!
She became a whirlwind of death and destruction, her powerful ascended physique finding no trouble to overpower all the mere awakened and fallen abominations that tried to reach her.
[You have slain an...]
[You have slain an...]
[You have received a memory.]
[You have slain an...]
Using the incredible versatility and reach of her trusted halberd, she sliced and thrust her way through those abominations, using all the capabilities of her weapon to fully wreak havoc among her enemies.
One after another, more and more carcasses piled up on the bottleneck of the breached entrance. Fortuna, as well as the other awakened, moved to pile all the dead creatures near the breach, forming an improvised barricade and making their entrance even more cumbersome.
Slowly, with everyone here holding the line, the three Masters, as well as about two hundred awakened soldiers, were starting to manage.
It wasn't getting easier. The opposite was true, actually. It was just that they had finally stabilized the line, filled the gaps, and worked together like a well-oiled machine.
Government training for awakened soldiers wasn't bad... but it was always considered "just enough" for standard operations.
But this wasn't standard operations... nothing in this frozen hell was.
'If only it were enough for Humanitas Nostra...'
Fortuna lamented inwardly as she cleanly beheaded another Nightmare Creature with a fluid swing.
[You have slain an...]
'But really, where the hell are our reinforcements!?'
While she inwardly complained, the battlefield shifted once more in humanity's favor.
The Nightmare Creatures seemed to have slowed their assault for some reason, allowing them a brief moment of respite despite the still ongoing battle.
In the background, the Railgun batteries and smaller weaponry were still firing everything they had, making the foundations they stood on rumble almost permanently.
For a moment, Fortuna turned to watch past the wall breach... only to freeze.
'Ah crap... d-does it hate its own soldiers that much!?'
The Nightmare Creatures who stood on and around the breach all suddenly halted their assault, standing frozen while some of them turned to look back at the Crimson Tyrant that was controlling them.
The unnerving sight made the stationed soldiers first grow confused, then elated... and lastly terrified when their eyes traveled further past the small hill of rubble and carcasses.
'It's doing it again!'
Perhaps the Corrupted Tyrant was getting frustrated with the lack of progress, as it was now picking up a derailed part of an armored Mega-Train, already preparing for another, much more painful artillery strike despite its own minions still being among the targets as well...
The Crimson Tyrant seemed to have noticed her, recognizing Fortuna as the person in charge, and it grew a revolting, sadistic smile that made its enormous fangs show. Its target was now set.
The soldiers, awakened, and Nightmare Creatures all stared back at the charging Crimson Tyrant. Some turned to run, and others stood frozen and pale as ghosts.
"Damn bastard..." This was it. She couldn't save any of these brave warriors who had given it their all. Her fists clenched.
She turned, her eyes resentful, yet without any solid plans to stop the incoming death.
"Dave, Alice. Pull on your tether, and escape to the Dreamrealm, you two! Don't die here!"
Dave's eyes widened, and then he grimaced while looking down at his feet... he was struggling with the thought of abandoning all these people he had fought side-by-side with for the past ten minutes.
Alice was in a similar position, her enchanti...—no—annoying smile had vanished a while ago when she realized their predicament... and a frown from their unofficial cheerleader meant a lot.
When Fortuna saw their reluctance to retreat, she just shook her head... of course, they'd let a false sense of heroism or whatever it was make them hesitate.
"Idiots, all of us..."
She looked at the distant Tyrant once more, perhaps for the last time. She mused half-heartedly, trying to suppress her rising dread.
'I guess my fortune finally ran out in the end... what a shitty Aspect. Where the hell's my refund, Spell?'
The Crimson one had managed to lift the huge container wagon, massive amounts of snow falling off it as it was lifted up. The overgrown gorilla was already leaning back, straining its unnatural muscles for the death blow...
...when unexpectedly, a blindingly radiant star suddenly streaked across the frozen skies, coming in from the distance.
The Crimson Tyrant halted in its unprepared position and glanced at the approaching shooting star...
It let out a frightened roar and tried to turn its body to the side with all of its might, but the Crimson Tyrant was already too late, too out of position.
In the next moment, the shooting star mercilessly collided with the Tyrant's head in a blinding flash, making it violently explode in all directions like a raging volcano... burning parts of its disintegrated skull flew all around the battlefield like ignited meteors. Its crimson fur caught fire in some places.
The now decapitated and burning body of the Crimson Tyrant fell to its knees, the Mega-Train dropping to the ground first, and then the giant corpse toppled to the ground like a falling spire, causing a minor earthquake to shake up the whole battlefield.
Fortuna looked at the scene with stunned shock, her breath caught, and her eyes trembling as her halberd almost fell from her gauntlet.
"..."
A moment later, she and everyone else were thrown out of their reverence when the sonic wave from the sheer impact finally crashed against the fortress, leaving everyone thrown off balance and covering their ears as they let the chaotic aftermath wash over them.
Dust, snow, and the strong gust of Antarctic wind were thrown up against everyone, distorting the sight as everyone gathered themselves once more.
The Nightmare Creatures were first to react, all seemingly stunned and confused now that their connection to the Tyrant was severed. Their deliberate actions degraded into a mindless horde once more...
When the dust finally cleared, humanity looked upon the toppled, beheaded remains of their terror with disbelief and shock.
All the death, the struggle... defeated. Just like that.
An awakened soldier of veteran age who stood near a Railgun atop a defensive tower lowered his enchanted bow in disbelief as he watched the dust settle. None of his colleagues could see it, but beneath his shemagh, his mouth comically hung open...
"Wow... what a power. Did a Saint finally arrive?"
His colleague beside him lowered her spelltech rifle, taking out the magazine and putting new energy charges into it one by one. She had been by his side for months, learning and adapting until she was considered a veteran just like him. Her voice was excited, yet slightly wary.
"I don't know any Saint who uses an attack like that... and I've seen my fair share."
Elsewhere, a young soldier finally fell to one knee, panting as he saw the undeniable defeat of the Corrupted Tyrant through his red vision. He spat out the metallic taste on his tongue and supported himself on his sword as he tried to wipe the warm ichor flowing down his ruined face...
"So, they finally came... just a little more now..."
He finally allowed himself to smile. It was a faintly hopeful smile as his eyes drifted to his embedded sword... on it, a mesmerizing phoenix was engraved, shining brighter along his resolve...
While most people were still looking at the burning corpse, Fortuna's eyes had caught something else in the distance that was directly in the way of the sun, thus casting a relatively noticeable shadow upon the citadel...
She strained her ascended eyes. 'What is that?'
There, floating in the sky, was a dark figure of a young man. On his back, he had four large, raven-like wings working in rhythm to keep him airborne, while his head was adorned with an onyx crown... his dark-gray, silken tunic fluttered from the strong winds as he lowered a raised hand.
Now, her eyes widened as she put things together. 'Dark wings... dark appearance, and impossible actions? D-don't tell me...'
As the realization settled, she grew a dangerous smile, her eyes never leaving the distant figure...
"So it's you... you were just in time, little Devil."
Chuckling to herself a little, she silently felt both envious and in awe. 'What a cool entrance!! How can he do these things all the time!'
*
Looking down at the distant citadel, Sunny let out a sigh of relief. He had been just in time... that Corrupted Tyrant had almost turned the elite part of their defensive garrison into red mist.
His eyes wandered as he subconsciously moved his manifested wings. He struggled to make out all the details from this distance, which was slightly disappointing...
'If only Kai was here... damn this ascended body.'
He smiled regardless. 'Whatever, I've got Shadow Sense for that.'
He spread out his Shadow Sense encompassing the entire citadel, which, thanks to his five cores and reinforced [Soul Weave], gave him much more control and range over it.
"Hmm... some casualties, but luckily, nothing too extreme."
His perception wandered, feeling all the people and Nightmare Creatures in great detail.
It seemed he was starting to be discovered by more and more pairs of eyes. Especially the Masters of this relatively modest citadel had found him quickly.
One of those was staring at him with a strange, crazy grin, as if she found something very interesting.
Sunny raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior.
'Weirdo.'
With that, he let himself fly on, flying toward the human stronghold.
Meanwhile, Fortuna was thrown out of her focus when a slightly indignant, male voice resounded in her head.
<"I appreciate the hospitality, but would you mind not staring at me like that, miss?">
"What the hell!?" Fortuna straightened, putting a hand to her forehead.
<"Am I hexed? What is this...">
Suddenly, an image of a high-up perspective was projected into her mind, and she saw Humanitas Nostra and the horde from this new view. She tried to close her eyes, but that didn't stop the image from projecting.
<"That's... is that you?">
The man's voice answered. If anything, he was slightly amused at her startle. The projection of his perspective finally vanished from her mind.
<"Ah, 'Humanitas Nostra', is it? Nice place, and yes, that's me. You can call me Sunny.">
She scowled a little at his attitude, lamenting inwardly.
<"Telepathy, huh? How convenient... can this bastard just do everything? Wait! How did you know the name of this fortress!? Can you read my mind!?"> She grimaced at the thought... Fortuna didn't have much to hide, but it also didn't feel nice to have her mind invaded without consent!
<"Wha..? No! I can't read your mind! You're the one projecting all your vile thoughts at me! Ya never did telepathy before or what? Tsk tsk, Masters these days...">
Her eye twitched.
<"You're a Master too! Don't act so high and mighty, Mr. Hero!">
The man's... no, Sunny let out a quiet groan.
<"Ugh... don't say it like that, I'm getting sick.">
Fortuna shook her head at the dramatic newcomer... luckily, she quickly figured out how to properly use telepathic communication and stopped blasting the poor guy with all her thoughts.
She lampooned inwardly. 'Still... he's so different from what I expected... the rumors don't do him justice. And 'Sunny'..? That sounds so... normal compared to all the titles they put on him.'
Sunny spoke again, his voice thoughtful as he flew closer.
<"Anyway, you must be the one in charge over here, so I don't want to pop your bubble, but the horde of abominations is still there... in fact, they've found their composure again and are soon coming for you guys again.">
Fortuna sighed as she turned her focus back on her current situation. 'Right, gotta clean up the few thousand minions too.'
<"Ah... right. Looks like we've got some clean-up to do then.">
The ethereal man's voice resounded in her mind, while his distant figure had finally flown close enough to be just above the bulk of the swarm of abominations.
<"Good. Then let's not keep them waiting, I've got some plans for today; no need to waste time on small fries.">
Many of the now rogue abominations halted at the mere sight of him looming over them like a dark omen. Unnaturally, his chilling shadow seemed to cover most of the area despite his humble size...
The casual confidence this man exceeded left her almost speechless. How could a mere Master even dare to be so full of Will and arrogance at the world?
'But is it really arrogance if he can back it up?'
She tilted her head up, watching as the dark, winged figure raised both his open palms in the air as if casting an all-encompassing spell over the increasingly frightened Nightmare Creatures beneath him...
At his waist hung a dark lantern that broke all logic, only releasing an endless darkness instead of offering light.
These manifested shadows quickly shaped out in all directions, growing to encompass the largest, most dense parts of the horde of abominations with a huge net of shadows that ominously loomed over them.
The humans atop the walls and, by the breach, watched in tense anticipation, wondering what the hell the Devil of Antarctica was doing... but from the looks of it, one thing was clear: the Nightmare Creatures were gonna have a bad time any moment now.
After a short, breathless moment, the trap finally snapped shut as the cast net of shadows fell over the major part of the horde, thus trapping thousands of abominations in a robust cage of shadows. The edges of the net embedded themselves deeply into the ground, ensuring that the trap stays shut.
The now caged Nightmare Creatures realized their predicament too late, and the few more intelligent ones tried to lash out at the net of shadows, only to be stopped by their own 'comrades' who were now all lashing out around themselves mindlessly, attacking each other in hopes to somehow escape, but ironically only causing more and more chaos...
Sunny's open, outstretched palms slowly tightened into fists, and with it, the net of shadows slowly grew smaller and tighter, squeezing the caged beasts more and more together, causing increasing chaos and panic among them.
Fortuna watched with astonishment as this Ascended man played around with the beasts like he was some minor deity that was just messing with them out of boredom...
'H-how the hell are we the same rank..?'
At this point, the cage had shrunk so small that the abominations were tightly squeezed together, unable to move around anymore. In some parts, it had gotten so bad that the Nightmare Creatures couldn't even move a shoulder...
Just then, even more shadows spilled out of Sunny's lantern, moving just above him as they gathered and formed together in the form of countless, rustling swords that hung in the sky like a dark guillotine.
The Devil's voice spoke quietly and without rush, yet somehow, through all the noise of the battlefield, every human could hear him perfectly...
"Find peace within me, corrupted ones. Let the mercy of Shadow thus cleanse you all."
Then, the Devil of Antarctica let both his fists fall, allowing his strain to give in.
...not even a second later, the guillotine struck as all manifested blades fell with terrifying speed toward the cage of shadows.
The Nightmare Creatures could only look up and scream out in fright as their final judgment came crashing down like countless dark lightning.
'Crazy... this is crazy.'
Fortuna grimaced at the sight and turned to the side, not wanting to witness such a one-sided slaughter despite everything these abominations had put them through...
She couldn't see it, but the countless impacts of swords thundered throughout the battlefield as the pained noises of the countless abominations slowly and gradually grew quieter with every impact.
Finally, after almost an entire minute of the ongoing slaughter, everything came to a stop with a chilling tranquility that felt alien after the day-long battle for Humanitas Nostra. The smell of thousands of liters of mixed blood hit her nostrils, worsening her grimace.
After a moment, she finally dared to look at the result...
The shadows all seemed to give up their manifestation, being sucked back into the dark lantern by the man's side.
The only thing that remained was a hill of mangled flesh, blood, and bones that didn't resemble anything anymore.
You couldn't put these things back together if you tried. Fortuna paled even further...
'Gods... did I say this guy is crazy?'
On the wall, the old veteran looked at the mess with a mix of disgust and astonishment. He scrunched his nose and glanced at his colleague by his side...
His female colleague was almost like a perfect mirror of him, their eyes meeting with silent agreement.
"We shouldn't get close to that one..."
"We should keep a six-foot pole around that monster..."
The awakened soldiers near the breach looked around at each other with uncertainty, exhilarated by the victory, and a faint sense of fear... should they celebrate? Tremble? Worship the legendary Master? Who knows!
Among them, Dave chuckled tiredly and spoke to the awakened beside him.
"He's simultaneously just like prophesied... but also so much more..."
*
Still flying above his gruesome work, Sunny coughed a little and looked aside.
'What a mess... luckily, I won't have to clean it.'
In the distance, the figure of a dark destrier and its rider emerged from behind a hill west of the fortress...
Sunny smiled faintly. 'So they've finally made it as well.'
Jet, Him, Nightmare, and Saint had previously been chased by a wave of abominations through the mountains of the coastal area... While scouting, Sunny found this besieged human city and determined that it needed his intervention... fortunately, he had been just in time to stop the Tyrant.
Jet and the others, meanwhile, had been busy running circles around the sizable horde of abominations and thinning them out horse-archer style.
It seemed they had finally managed to get away from them or perhaps just killed them all off...
Sunny was betting on the latter as he landed on the snowy grounds near the breached entrance, his mighty wings dissolving into intangible shadows that clung to him like an ethereal cape instead.
<"I'm at the damaged entrance, Jet. Why not come greet our hosts?">
<"Sounds great, Sunny... and I see you've cleared us the way as well. How thoughtful of you.">
Jet atop Nightmare had finally made it over to him.
Nightmare, who had been halfway sunken into the shadows, finally emerged fully and drifted to a halt just before him, the momentum of his scraping hooves throwing up sparks and snow.
Clad in her government-issued full-body suit, Jet lowered her hand, which was hooding her eyes from the snow and gave Sunny her usual, lazy grin.
"Ah, nice to see you again, little Devil! It's been a while, no?"
Sunny cranked his neck to look up at her, which was even worse now that she was still mounted on Nightmare...
"It's barely been half an hour, noona. Stop blathering nonsense."
Jet started laughing and swung her leg over to climb off the saddle. Her boots hit the snow-filled ground, and she stretched her back casually.
"Ah... it sure as hell felt like hours though! I'm seriously not used to riding a horse... or whatever that terror of yours is."
An approaching female voice called out, interrupting their little reunion. The newcomer seemed a bit excited to see the two of them.
"Sorry to poke my head in, but you two wouldn't be the legends from the center, right?"
She stopped near them and smiled gratefully, her helmet dismissed, revealing her tired yet warm expression and flowing, chestnut hair.
"Nice to finally meet you two in person, I'm Master Fortuna. And thanks again for saving us there, Sunless."
Sunny chuckled and looked at Jet, who glanced at him as well and just shrugged. Sunny then spoke...
"Ah, that was nothing. It merely cost me some essence."
Jet only gave a laid-back shrug as she took in the sight of the battered walls...
"It was no problem. This is merely our job now that we're here. And it would make the remaining evacuation of this place much easier, I suppose."
Sunny looked at Nightmare and beckoned it with a slight elbow. "You too, Nightmare."
The tenebrous steed let out a terrific snort that let out a plume of steam and made the air tremble for a second...
"What a good boy. Don't you think so too, Fortuna?"
When she felt the deep noise of approval from the terrifying terror, Fortuna secretly shivered a little... 'How the hell does such a powerful being serve that madman!? It's obviously not an Echo!'
She smiled weakly to hide her paling face. "Yes, of course... the goodest..."
Jet glanced at the obviously uncomfortable woman, then back at Sunny, shaking her head a little...
<"Don't scare her off, Sunny. She's a well-respected government Ascended.">
<"Pft... yeah."> Sunny cleared his throat and then summoned Saint to emerge from his shadow to stand by their side.
"Anyways, this is Saint, who you people call Lady Mongrel these days for some reason... she's a bit shy and doesn't talk a lot these days, sadly."
Sunny gave an intense sideways stare at the slender onyx knight. 'Right, Saint?'
Disappointingly, the stalwart onyx knight didn't even turn his way, only analyzing the newcomer silently.
'Hey! Don't just ignore me!'
Fortuna cranked her head up to look at the towering female warrior with slight awe. "Damn... she looks like she's born to kill..."
When she found her composure again, Fortuna turned back to look at the group and secretly sighed in envy...
'The Titan Slayer, Soul Reaper Jet, Lady Mongrel, an Ascended terror and possibly more hidden aces... gods, this cohort could move mountains here!'
Then, she looked Sunny up and down again, this time more thoroughly, which made her raise an eyebrow... 'damn, does he wear make-up? He's really got something to him... pale bastard.'
"Sunless... aren't you the kid from that movie? I must say, that's one hell of a journey. Really shows that anyone could make it!"
Jet stifled a chuckle, raising her hand to cover her mouth... <"Ouchy.">
"...sure." Sunny looked at the newcomer with a blank face, although if one looked closely, they'd see his eye twitch faintly. 'Right... people around this time should still remember that hot dump. Gods, did she have to bring that up..?'
Fortuna tilted her head a little at his strange reaction.
'Does he not like it? Strange...'
"Uh... well, anyway, I should probably introduce you all to the others-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence when an immense, spiritual pressure washed over them and caused them to stagger slightly.
Sunny immediately tensed and looked through his Shadow Sense to feel the culprit of it approach them...
The figure was flying toward them like an otherworldly beacon; it was a familiar one that he wouldn't have thought to meet again so soon...
A moment later, she landed near the group, throwing up a gust of wind that felt like the world taking a breath.
The figure straightened herself and took in the sight of them with cold observation that wasn't exactly unkind...
Standing near them was a tall and slender woman, with long, flowing hair that fell in a gentle cascade of pale gold. Her posture was perfectly straight, and her cold face was dazzlingly beautiful.
Sky Tide was wearing a newly crafted light steel armor decorated with stylized feathers. The gaze of her stern amber eyes was piercing and heavy, while her strange vertical pupils took in the world before her.
Her stern gaze drifted across their group, momentarily pausing at Sunny with a minuscule surprise. She finally turned her head away and looked at the beheaded Corrupted Tyrant in the distance, and then toward the hill of unrecognizable flesh as well, though she seemed mostly unfazed with the sight...
"It seems I'm not needed here anymore, Master Fortuna."
Saint Tyris turned to look at them again, her amber eyes betraying a hint of approval. "But my arrival wasn't fruitless after all..."
Her usually cold eyes swept over Him and Jet with a rare glimpse of emotion that left even Sunny a little shaken...
"Welcome back to humanity. Sunless. Soul Reaper."
The Saintess paused for a moment and then spoke, her voice stern, yet full of earned respect toward them.
"I don't know how you both accomplished what you did. And I don't need to know either... but I'm glad that you've picked up my sword where I had disappointed you all. That, I'm thankful for."
As Sunny heard these sincere, rare words of Saint Tyris, he couldn't suppress the genuine smile. Looking to the side, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. 'She's too humble! How can she be so humble!?'
"That's... that's very kind of you, Saint Tyris."
He lowered his head, unsure how to take this praise. Then, he sighed with a shake of his head.
"But I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends and all my subordinates who believed in me... without their support, none of it would have come to fruition."
The images of Professor Obel and him having a heated discussion with a cup of tea while the world around burned...
...of his friends: Jet, Dorn, Belle, and Samara, staying behind with him despite knowing the danger...
...of the soldiers bringing order and protection...
...and of the millions of people who had believed in him, despite the impossible odds.
In the end, everyone had made it. This once again made him realize just the magnitude of his accomplishment.
It was impossible. A children's fantasy story. Yet here he stood, alive and kicking.
Sunny finally looked at the Saintess before him again. He would be lying if he said his eyes weren't gleaming a little.
"...and of course, most of the credit goes to you, Lady Sky Tide... if you hadn't held off the titan for so impossibly long, none of us would have made it, regardless of preparations."
Sky Tide looked at the young man before her and shook her head faintly.
"There is no need for humility in this case, Sunless. You have attained a great feat that will go down in history, among other legends. So stand proud. You are strong."
Then, she turned toward Jet as well... "And you too, Soul Reaper."
Hearing this, Jet smirked and waved her hand dismissively... "Ah, don't thank me, I was mostly a bystander at times... it was all thanks to this little cunning devil—and don't let him tell you otherwise!"
She leaned in and viciously elbowed Sunny in the side.
"Gah! You..!" Sunny grunted at her strike and glared at her. 'You idiot! I'm trying to split the credit and keep my reputation in check!'
Seeing him being messed with made Fortuna chuckle. It was nice seeing the guy's more human side after his dramatic entrance.
Saint Tyris, meanwhile, looked between the two bantering Masters and sighed faintly.
"Now, introductions are over, so it's time to move forward."
Her amber eyes turned to take in the distant sun.
"Sunless, Soul Reaper. You two are coming with me. There is a lot to do. Saint Cor has also been awaiting you both quite impatiently."
They all looked at Tyris before turning to watch the stuck sun as well.
The Saint's voice spoke again, this time more sternly. "Oh, almost forgot... you both are promoted."
"Huh?"
"Oh?"
Ignoring their curious eyes, she continued.
"Despite not being Saints yet, you two are hereby promoted to Generals. Congrats."
Fortuna's mouth dropped, and her eyes almost popped out... she had never seen this!
"HUH..? A JUMP BY 6 RANKS!? Are you kidding me!?"
Sunny looked at the flabbergasted Master and raised an eyebrow... 'The jump from Major to General is that big?'
To be fair, he didn't know much about military structures besides a few big words... apparently, the jump to General sounded quite big... so his past self-promotion in Falcon Scott was even more shameless than he had expected...
'Oopsy... oh well! At least it's official now!'
As he watched Jet console the fainting Fortuna, he found himself smiling again. Perhaps this was the start of something new. If things go well with Saint Cor, he'd be able to open a lot more doors and thus bend the fate of Antarctica to his will.
Objectively, he was just a Master in a world of Saints and Supremes... what could a mere Master do?
Sunny chuckled to himself.
'But factually, I could change everything once more. I have everything and so much more in my hands.'
A cold sensation crawled up his left arm, and a second later, the head of Serpent popped out of the sleeve to sizzle and lick his cheek affectionately.
As they were blanketed in warm sunlight, his other hand reached over to pat its head.
'Especially with you, my Supreme Serpent...'
The sun's rays shone over the bruised fortress, over the slain Nightmare Creatures, and over the figures of them standing amid its grave aftermath.
'Let's do this. I can't wait to see the others.'