Twilight (Gear, Pulse, Say, Tyr)

[MKR]

November 8th, 2880
Erebonia, Karel Imperial Villa
17:38 PM

The imperial family's vacation estate, normally it was quite empty bar its guards. The only activity here was around the summer when the imperial family spent their holidays here and a month in the spring when it was open to visit by the public. Still, it was property of the imperial family and thus was guarded by the Imperial army, not their finest no those were only here when the emperor was but not a bunch of incompetents either. Fortunately the guards were persuaded to maintain their duty for the betterment of all those involved and not involve the main host of the army as well. There was after all no reason to make a big deal out of this.

Roselia inhaled through her nose, it was time to begin the process. Over a quarter of a millennia had led to this exact moment the culmination of their efforts and the beginning of something new. The staff in her hand was raised, besides her a row of her kin raised their staves as well. Each following the words she uttered in perfect unison. As they did so the ground would manifest a massive magic circle. The premier estate of vacation spending for the last two generations of the imperial family being lit up with the night sky itself. The chance that this locale had been a coincidental choice by the Erebonians was astronomically small. No it was a marker.

Underneath, far below. Contained in something adjacent yet impossibly far away something primal slept. Even as the words spoken above broke the veneer between it and them it continued its rest. A dark aura beginning to exude from its very form, permeating through the chamber in which it slept and further still. The Imperial Villa was overtaken by a black miasma, one which burst from every pore between bricks and every inch of fresh air. The light of the circle began to devour this miasma as well however, until it was well and truly. Blinding.

---

Erebonia, Black Workshop
17:38 PM

Alarms ringing, warnings blaring. Action was required, they had made a move. The move. Eras of preparation had gone into this and yet they were not ready. Black Alberich sat at a table, an emergency meeting had been called. They needed a solution and quick, what they had ready both would not arrive in time nor would it be enough they felt.
"Mobilize the Mirages, send them out in Soldats." He ordered, they could not let this happen. "Contact Amalgam, let them have their fun as long as the Nameless One lives." He continued, they wouldn't ask questions and would look the other way. More than anything they'd want to test out any toys they had and while a risk they needed a group which wouldn't hesitate. A phrase came to mind, specific wording by one of their clients.

"And contact Ardennesse. Lets see if she can work the miracles she claims to." It was now or never, their enemies from three hundred years ago had arrived once more to ruin everything. The man's red eyes settled on the building, or where there had been a building now there was a thing. Like an egg waiting to hatch.
"A̵̷̬̺̟͇r͉̮͉͇͡ͅg̱̙͎̭̞̪̬̀̕r͓̼̬̬̩̥̤͢͝è҉̸̞̜̗̱̹̯̰̺ͅs͔͔̦͙. I won't let it be in vain, all these years. All this time."

He rose from his seat, it would be rough seeing her again after all this time but if this was what she had settled on. Then the past continued onto the present.

---

Erebonia, Karel Imperial Villa Gral of Erebos
18:09 PM

The entire landscape had warped, at the horizon one could see it return to normality. Like a picture from a book had been pasted over another and the edges cut off to reveal the truth underneath. Just at the corner of one's vision. Up close however, it was painfully clear that the structure in front of them had just erupted into reality. For thirty one entire minutes it had already existed in their presence, its very nature giving off an oppressive air. One needn't believe in superstition to be able to truly call this place, cursed. But that was why he was here, why they had brought him here. The man with the golden knight.

Above them there was a spiral of staircases reaching five hundred meters upwards where at the outside one could see a beam piercing the purple sky, seemingly consuming it with every second. Shielding the egg-like shape was a barrier, magic circles on every side protecting an almost perfect protection. No man made tool could pass without their explicit permission a comfort which brought her to the plateau here.
"The stage is set my lord." She turned to the man, the one to slay the Nameless One slumbering so nearby. Roselia gestured towards a woman clad in a white gown, her eyes were closed as she took a bow in front of the man who was to kill her and remained there with her head.

"All you need to do is claim your blade and your battle may commence."

Originator Zero, the pure sword of the End which could fell the beast before them. Though it would resist once it awoke.
Nothing wished to die, not when they had geared every remaining shred of themselves to self-preservation.
But, as expected. Interference arrived outside at that moment. Outside they would face the Guardians of Karel Villa from the Army as well as the majority of their Golems the 'Magic Knights'. On the inside, awaited worse.
Roselia's gaze turned upwards, to the plateau at the very top of the structure where they too had arrived. One hovering almost magically in the air with no clear means of suspension.

"It pains me I will not get to spectate or encourage you but, alas." They had come too far for things to go wrong at the last second. "I shall ensure that your duty can continue."
Like that the woman vanished, moving upwards through magical means to intercept the designated point of arrival. The place the gral had forced them to appear at as well.

 

[Nemesis]

The dawn had broken. The day had come.

Raines Angetener barely reacted to Roselia waving him off, giving little more than a nod of acknowledgement. Nia stood behind him, and together they had witnessed the spectacle as it had played out. The sight of the dread place before them sent chills up the Fatima's spine, and she found herself looking to him for reassurance - but the Headliner simply stood still, as if he were carved on rock, his eyes fixed on the domain's foul shape, the aura of pure evil it exhumed, so potent he could practically taste it.

Looming over the entire macabre ritual was the Knight of Gold itself, like an ancient pagan idol. Who could tell what kind of intelligence lurked behind its metallic features, its own eyes watching the proceedings in silence at the young Knight's request.

"Raise your head." Raines said, suddenly.

It took a moment for Nia to process, but he was addressing the young woman before him, whose neck she had offered so freely. There was something in his eyes as he looked at her - a kind of solemnity, as though she reminded him of someone.

"I should hope they have told you who I am, at least." Continued the Headliner, coolly.

"A knight of gold from a distant star. A hero capable of bringing this fairy tale to a close. These are the sorts of things people want to believe in, more than anything else."

His hand dropped to the sword-hilt at his waist, the Speid's edge humming to life under his grip - but it moved to his waist, and instead he produced something. A small book, as though for children, its pages battered and worn, from his pocket. Something he had taken with him when he had first left, from his own childhood. He gave the witnesses a slightly apologetic smile, as Nia blinked behind her mask. What was he doing?

"...Before we begin, however, please allow me to regale you with something that may be of comfort: A story all in my galaxy, Joker, know from their youngest days:

The tale of The Water Dragon."

---

"Once upon a time, before machines, before clocks, when people had to tell time by the position of the sun... there was a prosperous and peaceful kingdom by a lake, ruled by a kind and wise king.

The people's love for their king was only surpassed by that for his daughter, a beautiful princess whose fairness and compassion for the people was even greater than that of her father. Every day, she would pray to their castle's underground spring for the continuation of peace across their world.



However...

One fateful day, the sky became dark, as ships wrought of black metal descended upon their world.



From within them came the Devils, what in your language would be called "SATAN". With skin as black as obsidian, six-fingers, wings, horns and tails, they looked every bit the part of their namesake - and were just as evil, wicked, and cruel. With beams of light cast from their strange silver staffs, they brought the kingdom to its knees.



Their leader, the one with the largest and most magnificent horns, went down to the surface and made his demand of the wise king.



"Give us the Water of Life, so that we may rule the stars for all eternity!"

But, nobody had ever heard of such a thing. It was an ordinary kingdom, of ordinary men and women. But, the devils wouldn't take no for an answer - and to show their intent, for three days and three nights, they bombarded the surface of the planet, killing everything in sight. Over half of the kingdom was destroyed in less than seventy-eight hours.



The beautiful princes recalled the spring she prayed at, and an ancient saying passed down from a dozen generations ago, its meaning long lost:

"You can save the Kingdom by giving in return your most precious possession."



As death rained down upon the kingdom, she prayed and prayed with all her heart to the spring, neither eating nor drinking. When on the third day, she was on the verge of collapse...

A warm light began to radiate from the spring.



And what emerged was a pure white soul, who looked down upon the frightened Princess and said:

"So it is you, this strangely-shaped alien being, who seeks to save your Kingdom?"

"Are you... God?" Asked the Princess, hardly believing her eyes.

"No. I am Suiree, the Water Dragon of the all-seeing ARCH. I hunt the Vieqle, the demons that arrived from the skies. My powers are limited in your world... But take these. In return for the price of a wish, throw these in the sky as high as you can."

And the entity placed in her hands Five Stars, each little more than the size of a quail egg.



"What are they?" She asked.

"These are Klein... Stars for wish-making. The blue one is called "Delta Belun", the black "Kallamity Godarce", the gold one "Both", the green one "Juno", and the white "Fortune"."

 

[Nemesis]

The Princess held the Klein in her trembling hands, which felt as though they carried the fate of the whole kingdom. She raised her eyes to her savior - but already, she was fading from view, returning to whence she came.

"W-wait!" She cried; "What do I do now, o' great one?"

"You already know, dear child. All wishes exact a price, not prayer alone..."

And just like that, she was alone once more, the light extinguished.

Meanwhile, time was running out. The Horned Devil told the King:

"If you know nothing of the Water of Life, then we shall resume our search after turning you and your subjects to ash!"

For they were as devils, whose eyes shed no tears, and whose black-iron hearts knew neither mercy nor compassion.

The Princess hurried as fast as she could, climbing to the top of the castle as the dark ships brought their cannons to bear.

With all her strength, she hurled the five Klein into the sky. They sparked and glowed and burst like tiny fireworks-



...

...

But nothing happened.

"Oh... Oh no. Now what?" Said the Princess, fearfully - but she remembered the words long spoken... and at last understood.



"My greatest possession is... My life."

And with that... She gathered her courage-



...And flung herself from the roof. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was five radiant lights from above, coloring the sky in brilliant, shimmering hues, like an aurora.

Everyone, even the horrible, heartless devils, stopped what they were doing as five objects crested the horizon.



Dragons!

Blue, black, gold, green, and the biggest being red and white, bearing down upon the kingdom with phenomenal speed!



The greatest battle ever seen was joined, as the Dragons fell upon the devils ships with such force, such intensity, that the legions of Hell were sent howling and screaming back into the skies on tattered wings, nursing broken talons and snapped horns.

They swore revenge as they left, saying:

"Curses! We will return! No matter how many times it takes, we WILL have the Water of Life!"

For they were petty devils, and prone to saying such things.

The kingdom was overjoyed, and a great celebration was declared, celebrating their triumph over the sky-devils...



But not long after, the body of the poor Princess was found... and joy turned to mourning.

The largest and greatest of the dragons flew down, and spoke to the grieving King and his subjects, in a voice that was like the most lovely strumming of great harps by the hands of angels:

"The Princess gave her life to call us to this world's aid. The value of an innocent life can only be measured by the greatness of eternity.

To honor her sacrifice, we cannot return her to life... but instead, we shall take her to our world, where she may watch over you forevermore."

And so, her body rose, and faded into the light. All that remained... Was a small vial, full of clear, pure water that glowed with the light of the sun. This... was the true Water of Life, born from an innocence and purity a devil could never attain, nor scarcely even imagine.

"I am called LED. By her eternal memory, we shall protect this world, and live in harmony with mankind. So long as this water of mine holds strength, I will rule over this realm."

Then, good as its word, the LED Dragon departed - and its fellows flew away, each in a different direction, and the LED itself straight up into the heavens.

To this very day, they watch over us."

---

Raines closed the book, bringing those listening back to reality, yet did not raise his eyes quite yet, as his fingers ran along the book's weathered surface, thoughtfully. Finally, he looked back up at she, the sacrificial lamb, beneath her white hood - everything about her symbolizing innocence, purity, against a backdrop of horror, wickedness, and evil.

"...What do you think?" He said, gently.

"Do you feel like her, perhaps?"

 

[MKR]

The crowd besides them silenced, the woman in front of the Liner rose her head as asked. Giving a small nod in affirmation.
"I was indeed told who you are, and where you are from." Her closed eyes gently opened to look behind her. In contrast to the crowd besides him with red eyes this girl had clear blue ones. Her gaze falling on the beast she, they, were to slay. Then they settled on the man who was to slay her and wield her. Where they would remain for the duration of his tale, her attention wholly on him.

Her expression remained neutral throughout until the realization struck her where this was going, the conclusion of this tale. Where she bit her lip in silence. As he finished with his question she remained quiet. Contemplating the tale.
"Perhaps somewhat." She responded "We both made the decision to offer our life. However unlike the Princess who did so out of a desperate plea to save her people. I have been awaiting this moment for years."

She closed her eyes once more, shutting away the outside world from her sight.
"So I cannot claim to be her here, instead I am more like a reflection of that beautifully sad tale. Where my people will rejoice instead of cry, and so I smile as the end approaches. But as she was destined to be something clean and pure, it is my fate to be coated in vile blood. Perhaps, that tale is reflected here in this day that it may find its mirror in us." She paused, her head still high. Her closed gaze resting on Raines.
"It would do ill to stain a blade with tears unless they are to wash off the blood of fiends."

"My lord, my wielder... I would, as the Princess did, pay my life to call forth a guardian for our clan from a distant land." The gold decor moved forward as she bowed to the man. "In that, we are the same."

 

[Tyr]

Erebonia, Gral of Erebos
18:08

For the last half an hour, the well prepared forces of the Witches had waited attentively, certain that there would be some sort of counter attack by their longtime rivals. Yet so far there hadn't been anything of the sort. Not a single lackey of the Black Workshop had been sighted.

That was about to change.

Like oil on the surface of water, a yawning gap in the fabric of reality made out of dark tendrils of aether marked the arrival of their unwanted and uninvited yet expected guests. Though it disappeared as soon as one person had come forth.
With her unassuming and unadorned black robes and black mask, it would have been easy to dismiss the woman as inconsequential if not for the method of her arrival and the red glyph blazing in front of her face. An obvious tell for those few in the know about her kind of her nature as an Ascian, and one of their ringleaders at that.


The corners of Azem's lips tugged at themselves, slowly turning into a smile that she didn't bother to fight. It was the closest her wants as a person and the needs of her people had been to harmony, and while the latter would always triumph over the former for both her and her brethren, the former still were present and very real. And for the first time in eons, she could even slightly indulge them just this once.

And so, in the middle of the ominous scene straight out of the Abyss or Hell, that wouldn't be out of place at the end of the world, as she raised both her hands skyward Azem was perhaps the only one who smiled out of joy. And as the hands reached as far up as her small body could reach, the barren plains that stretched out behind her exploded into life. Or perhaps writhed into life was more apt, as numerous portals identical to the one she had used to arrive dotted the land. Marking the arrival of the haphazard group Black Alberich had managed to scrounge up in his haste as the dark writhing gaps dissipated in the wake of those who would stop the madness taking place. Brought safely to the Gral, one of the four things agreed upon.

Wordlessly, her head turned to gaze at the egg-looking Gral itself. And while one of the hands returned to her side, the other instead turned to point at the Gral. And out of it, a continuous beam of dark aether shot towards the Gral. Only for the dark lance to collide with the barrier, the protective energy completely negating it.

It was not a feeble barrier, Azem mused as she kept the stream of energy going, far from it. The lance she was channeling would have killed an Eorzean mage dry to manifest even for a moment, much less to keep it going yet the barrier kept steady. It was robust enough that very few things on this planet would have been able to damage it.

Unfortunately, she was one of those few. The lance of energy intensified as she fed even more energy into it, yet it also thinned, to pressure on an even smaller area. And soon it was clear to everyone outside that the barrier was giving ground. Quickly after, the tiny point in the barrier could give no further ground... and with a massive shattering sound a hole formed into the barrier keeping everyone out of the Gral.

The supplying of aether to the beam came to an abrupt halt, but before the tail end of the stream ended and before the barrier could repair the hole it was continuously trying to do the fingers of Azem's hand curled into a claw, and a rectangle formed to occupy the hole in the barrier at the same time as the hand was completely covered by dark aether. The two conflicting barriers crackled along their edges as both pushed at the other, locked to a stalemate. The crackling only intensified as Azem pulled the outstretched hand towards her while twisting it so the curled fingers were facing upwards, not that under the dark shroud it was easy to tell, which caused the rectangle to grow in size until the hole in the barrier was few meters in size.

Azem exhaled heavily. That had been more taxing than she anticipated. Kneeling down, she placed her hand that wasn't shrouded by darkness on the ground. And the ground was suddenly covered by angry tendrils of dark crimson energy that dwarfed their creator flailed around. It took a flash from the crackling hole for the tendrils to calm down, forming into a more stable portal than the temporary gaps that had brought the force there as the connection to inside the Gral was secured. The pathway to the interior was large enough for the mechas their forces had brought with them.


Finally, Azem turned toward her... comrades-in-arms, taming her smile for that brief moment. "The path to the Gral is open. Only the strongest few enter, for the weak shall be naught but a burden, and every passing through the barrier is a struggle." For added emphasis she gestured with her left hand that was still covered in darkness. "Make haste." And with a final nod towards Black Alberich Azem calmly turned around and stepped into the portal. And with a flash disappeared...

---

...And appeared at the entrance, at the very top of Gral of Erebos. Excellent, there was no need to go further.

Smiling once more, she turned towards the first obstacle and her target, Crimson Roselia.

"Crimson Roselia." Azem greeted her casually, like discussing weather over a nice cup of coffee. "Your colleague sends his regards. A chosen few will come through here. As we are a civilized woman whose hands are stained with atrocities and an insane bloodthirsty beast who both should be put down we will display our intelligence by letting them go past us while we keep each other busy and contained."

Her smile sharpened, and energy began to emanate out of her body in challenge to the leader of the witches as she let it pour out in waves, her tone grew much more serious and menacing. Three out of four.

"Won't we?"​

 

[Tyr]

As El-Prado appeared out of one of Azem's teleportation magicks, Robert, already inside his friend, was certain of one thing. Today would be either a beginning or an end, with the side that emerged victor from the imminent clash decreeing which it would be. Keeping his silence, his gaze naturally turned towards the robed woman that had brought them there. Now, Robert wasn't one to judge a book by its covers. Just because something looked one way didn't necessitate it actually being the case.

And yet, as he looked at the woman that had introduced herself as Azem, and noted on just how malevolent and malicious all her spells looked, Robert was quite convinced that this was not the case here, that the spells revealed what she was like.

Still, she had gotten them here like she said she would, and had just pierced the barrier, like she said she would. It seemed that she indeed was on his side for this fight at least and as such Robert had no reason to antagonize her now. Besides, he was old. His struggle was supposed to have ended long ago, the Curse plaguing Erebonia was his issue and his fight. Not whoever and whatever their transporter was.

So, Robert kept his silent vigil, up until the path to Gral of Erebos was opened. At that point the Auric Knight stepped forward, towards the portal Azem had entered.

"I'm going in. This old man's still got some fight left in him, especially for this."

He did not wait for a reply, either a permission or a denial, for it did not matter. Robert was going in through hell or high water.

He stepped into the portal.

---

While the transportation to the outskirts of the Gral had been near instant, over in a snap of his fingers, the portal into the Gral was different. It was much more comparable to the water slide he had gone through once, or journeying through a Spirit Path. Point was, it was like being nudged along and it definitely took longer than the first trip had taken.

When it at last was over, he was standing on pathway next to a massive gap that it spun around towards the bottom, kept aloft by pillars that were decorated with statues with plates on their hands and was that blood that they were filled with and that was flowing over the edges towards the bottom? It certainly was a crimson colored liquid but it was hard to tell from so far.

And before them, Azem shrouded entirely by her energy that was definitely malevolent or he'd shave his head bald, staring silently at a woman barring their path. A witch then. One of the bastards who had played with the lives of his men, a grudge that was still unfulfilled.

"Go on ahead." Azem spoke without turning towards Robert and the rest that had joined him while he was taking the view in. "Roselia here will be kept busy by me, isn't that right?"

 

[PULSEFIRE]

The Black Workshop's remaining assistance was almost comically understated compared to the environment they now found themselves in. Yet, despite their seemingly plausible construction and elegantly pedestrian skins of metal, Arm Slaves were still marvels of Black Technology, the alien realm of the hypercompetent Whispered. Four Zy-98 Shadows stepped forth onto the battlefield with almost primordial grace, following the motions of their encased pilots as easily as if they were the twitches and impulses of giants. Each carried a prototypical mission package, a megacaliber assault rifle nestled safely in their arms among various other AS weapons. Almost immediately, the black machines dropped their stance and began to stalk towards the very edges of the brewing battle. ECS ports flipped open like switchblade crystals, shining brightly for only an instant. Then, they were gone, cloaked behind the Arm Slave's only defense: invisibility.

Silent poison, bubbling in the cauldron of war.

The remaining two mobile weapons were different.

First, clashing entirely with its companions, a gleaming knight of slender wings and sweeping, silver curves materialized. What now stood amongst criminals, murderers, and mercenaries was not a visitor from another realm. Instead, it was a distanced native making her return home: Argreion, the Argent Knight. Its pilot was an infamous name even for the dubious figures who called Amalgam's ranks home, worthy of fitful nightmares and the occasional glance thrown over the shoulder. Neither soldier nor insurrectionist, he was nothing less than the sword of Damocles, his cold blade resting on their necks even now.

"Don't disappoint," a rough voice cackled through comms. "You know what happens if the bastard doesn't think you're trying enough."

The second machine was far more familiar and commonplace in the eyes of its fellow pilots, even if that term hardly had a place in Amalgam's heavily subdivided operations. Entirely crimson, with the vaguest hint of a blade rising from its forehead and back, the Codarl-i was both cloak and dagger, a knife sharpened by successive generations of warfare and development. This particular unit carried a paired set of machine guns on its back, barrels silently stowed beside the fin-like heat sink that signified the Codarl's status as a Lambda-equipped Arm Slave. At a moment's notice, they could swivel and extend to a position below the Codarl's arms, unleashing fully automatic fire across a tight cone at the pilot's discretion.

It might have been alarming for anyone else to realize that this was the least lethal of the Codarl's weapons.

"You like what they've done with the place? It's a bit gloomy. Like, I have no idea what it looked like before, but this is a shit remodeling."

The Codarl's head swiveled to meet Argreion's eyes as its pilot's voice turned to milder jest, shoulders still lightly rolling back in a testing motion. It raised an arm, gesturing towards the dark corridor into the Gral itself, and tilted as if to beckon Aleksandr through.

"Come on. Not every day Silver and Gold are in the same place and on the same side, eh?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the operator was driving his machine forwards, forcing its powerful legs into an explosive sprint. It vanished through the veil of dark light and was swept away by the currents before Argreion's Awakener could reply.

Now, the portal stood, waiting.

 

[Nemesis]

"Beautiful? Is that what you think it is, then?"

Raines gave a slow, dry laugh as he shook his head in response to her words. The scenes playing out before him, the distant booms of emerging conflict... all of it was far, far too familiar.

"You sound like a Fatima."

Raines closed his eyes... and thought of his people. Of the hundreds, thousands of faces he had known over the years who had slipped away into the void. Heroes. Legends. Myths. Corpses. All that remained were stories, perhaps statues, that were more and more worn each passing year, their memory a little lighter than it had been, their deeds sung of less highly, as they slipped away into the abyss of memory.

"The Joker Galaxy, my home... Has been rotting away for thousands of years now. The people there have lost the will to live. Every day they grow more numb to the cruelties of yesteryear, which become little more than the humdrum happenstance of the day.

I came to this planet, this system... Seeking an answer. And what do I find?"

He gestured to her clothing, a mirthless smile on his features.

"The same thing. The very... same... values, stories, that set us on our path of decay and stagnation.

Your Gods have a sense of humor, it seems."

He shook his head. The way the entire situation was unfolding was like a cosmic punchline. He almost expected the Jester of the great palace to come bounding out, clapping his hands, throwing confetti, along with the rest of the palace. Yes, all of it, everything was nothing more than a colossal prank. And he? He was the biggest fool of all.

"The dragons promised to protect us. Now, those very beasts now threaten mankind. The pact in the legend has been broken. Our only hope is to reforge it anew, before the damage done is too late...

But, then what? Shall we throw another unsullied virgin on the pyre whenever they are displeased? Or when power is needed? Even as those sacrifices made are left to fade away into nothing, as new evils emerge to replace those they vanquished?"

The question hung heavily in the air, as Raines voice went hoarse in his throat, catching itself with exasperation. Was he crying out in unfairness? Or simply trying to delay the inevitable? Nia kept her gaze upon him in stoic silence, listening as the young prince spoke to the sacrificial lamb.

"Is that the value of your soul? To be used, crumpled up, and thrown away?

Are we, whose spirits are tawdry and wretched, not sufficient in piety for even kindling?"

In the end - he thought to himself - he couldn't run away. Raines Lokan Angetener XIII was born to find a way where there was none, and all he had done was find more of the same. He could not deny who he was any longer. But, part of him was grateful... for he knew now what he would do. He took a deep breath...

And let "it" come.

​

A bright light radiated from the King of Gold. So much that it seemed to be blinding, the Mortar Headd's Ezlazer Engine beating so loudly within its cavity that it sounded like the booming of a great heartbeat quickening with excitement. A voice spoke - at once Raines own, and yet not, infinitely more vast in its scale. It carried a terrible gravitas, as if it were the very words of fate itself, etched into stone, resounding in the lamb's ears.

"The value of an innocent life is matched only by eternity. An untarnished soul is the immutable counterweight of infinity...

So be it."

​

"In the name of fortune, I, Tsukiyomi-No-Mikoto dis Altair Iyar XIII, Emperor of Joker... will not allow you to die."

A hand reached out and touched her cheek. It was terribly warm, as though it were being graced by the sunlight itself. It was not quite the cold embrace of death that she may have been expecting. Rather, the figure before her in the light radiated an unmistakable sense of divinity, even as his words were those of one who had come bringing not an olive branch, but a sword.

"Your spirit will become my sword, and I shall grasp it in triumph and glory. This is my word, my will made manifest!"



The light from the Knight of Gold suddenly faded. When all was clear-

All three had vanished without a trace.​

 

[yastubb]

Argreion was a different beast indeed. For the moment, unlike its allies from Amalgam, the mana-fueled machine of fantasy appeared unarmed - save for the clearly foreign containers clamped to its forearms and hips, shaped like the sheaths of giant-sized knives. Incidentally, that was exactly what they were, though the pilot had no intentions of using them at the moment.

Such weapons were reserved for lesser enemies. This situation demanded more.

Inside the cockpit, Aleksandr sat silently as the Codarl's pilot rambled on.

"Focus," he responded sternly, as if scolding a child. "An AS like yours doesn't come cheap, Luan."

As the Codarl sprinted into the portal, all he could do in response was sigh. Too eager.

The Argent Knight stepped forwards with some trepidation in the crimson Arm Slave's footsteps, briefly halting at the boundary of the swirling vortex. It raised its hands, gently flexing its fingers -

And with a blinding flash of light, a pair of curious implements settled within its grasp - an odd mix of blade and firearm, ornately crafted with the same silver contours as the Knight itself. A resident of Erebonia could most likely identify them with little difficulty: Gunswords, dual-purpose armaments usable at any range. Perhaps it would seem strange for something so ancient and shrouded in mystery to hold such distinctly modern objects, regardless of whether they aligned with the Knight's aesthetics.

"No more wasting time. Let's do it, Argreion."

He pushed the machine forwards, diving through the portal.

---

Now inside the Gral, Aleksandr took a moment to assess his unfamiliar surroundings with a shudder. Even ignoring the blood-red liquid, simply knowing that they were now within a place that, by all rights, should not exist-

He turned, glancing at his two allies, then at the enemy waiting below. The Knight's silver wings unfolded, revealing six additional "feathers" of golden light as the engines within hummed to life - they would probably need it in just a moment.

"Before we begin, do we have any semblance of a plan?"

 

[MKR]

Roselia gazed upon the arrivals. The staff by her side standing tall as she did so. When she had first sensed that presence belonging to the woman she had hoped that Alberich had finally overcome his cowardice but it was evident that was just wishful thinking as this presence felt different to him even if they were both 'parasites'.
"Welcome Awakeners of the Auric and Argent Knights." Roselia spoke, "And their friends."

"If I may before we all get distracted, I suggest against going the direct route down and instead sticking to the path. Unless you fancy getting torn to shreds by the maelstrom of barriers and wards we have placed. The Divine Knights would, barely, survive reaching the bottom but I cannot speak for the other one." To emphasize this there was a crackle in the air behind her. If this was a bluff then there were some extra theatrics involved.
She was however then rolling her eyes at Azem's insistence on having themselves a duel immediately after.

"If you must, you will have my time until these three reach the lower layer. Though I'd ask you to not project onto me your desire for death."
Perhaps they shouldn't have cleared out the Nameless one's Kin beforehand and secured them away, that would have been a useful guardian that they need to have removed anyways. But too little too late. Roselia took a sharp breath, she would wait with that trick until the rest had cleared out but the mana here was more than enough.

The staff was pointed forwards, phantasmal blades appearing around Roselia. Each of which a translucent red hue. As she straightened the staff to stand tall once more the blades began to dance, striking forwards aiming to cut away at Azem. A nice beginning test to see how well this woman could withstand an assault.

---

Were any of the three to continue as informed by Roselia they would come across the first true obstacle put in place for them. At least one on their scale. In their path, obscured from sight and with the walls concealing what was happening in the main chamber the side path brought them to the corridor at the top of the Gral.

A frown came down upon a man's features, what was the reason to bring in that man? Another damned noble at that from the words of it albeit one from another place. Joker? Yeah what a joke. If this wasn't repaying a debt then he'd have worked his way down there himself, taken that sword from the hands of that golden knight and felled the Nameless One himself! But as things stood, his attention was brought to the arrivals. He knew enough that three to one odds were more than fatal especially given the two Divine Knights involved, Ordine could keep up with one through boost mode but two. That was too much, fortunately he wasn't alone.

Two spheres of energy erupted besides him, Magic Knights appearing from each. One with massive fists and the other wielding a large axe. Fine then, he just needed to stall as long as possible anyways.
Ordine drew its weapon, a sword of Zemurian ore and brought it level with the approaching enemies.
"Well friend, shall we give them a good showing?"

"We should at the very least try."

"Good point. Let's go."

The two magic knights roared in conjunction with this, if the three were to pass there would be a fight.

---

Outside, a wider array of magic knights began to walk forwards in defense of the Gral, opposed to them the forces of Amalgam and the Black Workshop. The latter having brought their Panzer Soldats with in conjunction to another machine. The first of three prototypes, if things went wrong today they would need these tested and ready. For now the blue idol sat still and motionless but that was expected, the fight needed to get going for it to activate.

Alberich watched the four vanish into the portal, his gaze resting on the Gral at the end of it. He bit his tongue he should've gone with but couldn't. What a joke that even now he couldn't do even that.

Gunfire and blades began to fall in equal measure on their ranks and in return, so it begun. Or perhaps, ended.

---

The woman wondered in those last moments, was it wrong to find beauty in such a sad moment. Had the alternative to not been to die alongside her people instead of save them for the princess. What she had done out of love, of her own volition. A life, as the tale told, is worth the vastness of infinity and eternity. But what were the other options?

These questions came to her, yet she wouldn't speak them. The light penetrating her eyelids even as she closed them. The warmth gracing her form, the moment that her life had been building towards were so tender at their end, how was that not beautiful? How could it be anything else?

There however, was a rumbling right besides them. The monstrosity that was the Nameless One rising to stand and turning its gaze towards the Knight of Gold and the newly fashioned blade. It bellowed in fury at them, a dark aura bursting from its every pore which tainted its flesh even darker and the various 'eyes' around its form suddenly gained pupils as well as a deep red color.

​

It slammed one leg furiously on the ground, the jaws on its shoulder snapping in tandem as if to laugh or gnaw, it was hard to tell from the beast's expression. Regardless it had been incited and unless one would strike first the Nameless One surely would.

 

[Tyr]

The moment Argreion arrived safely through the portal inside Gral, it dissipated, leaving the small group stranded inside until the outcome was decided. Behind her mask, Azem's eyes narrowed as she looked into the foe she had been commissioned to handle. "It is not projection." She corrected Roselia serenely. "Killing you at this point would be naught but a mercy. A kindness that, rotten as you are, it is no surprise that you are no longer capable of perceiving it as such."

She did not move in any way as the blades spun towards her, Half a meter before biting through the robes into her soft flesh, the scarlet blades collided with a shimmering barrier. Channeling her energy, Azem brought her left hand to the front of her right shoulder before slashing it to straighten to the left, causing a shockwave to send the ethereal swords barreling away from her.

"To show restraint to that degree in the face of your superiors is an admirable trait." She said as if talking to a child, an indulging, patronizing smile on her face. "But I broke through the barrier surrounding the Gral and brought the three through with ease. There is no need for probing attacks of such low caliber, go as wild as you heart desires."

She brought her arms close to one another in front of her, fingers almost forming into a sphere. A crackling sphere of energy was brought into existence between the hands, that was then pushed towards Roselia, forming into three beams roughly the size of a person that shot forth in a straight line.

---

"A plan? The Gnomes were a bit busy trying to hastily gather anything to throw at the problem, they didn't have the time to think of a plan!" Robert snorted as El-Prado ran past Roselia and into the corridor, staring at Roselia with cold eyes all the while. "How's this then. As long as we get to the bottom and are able to stop the beast being slain we win, so we bullrush downwards and if anything stands in the way we smash our way through. If it's something that can't be smashed to the side quickly as a last resort we can leave one of us behind to make sure that whatever that is can't chase us while the rest continue on."

There was both worry and repressed anger on the back of Robert's mind as the footsteps of El-Prado echoed in the empty hallway and stairs as they ran. Worry, for the witch that had waited for them had acted, seemed and felt like an important one that was high in their ranks. Yet she had waited for them at the top. What would lie in wait for them further in? And if she truly was one of the ringleaders, naught but his own final death would save her from justice. His boys still were yet to be avenged. That their kids and even grandkids would be long dead by now did not matter. Their lives had been taken from them as bait, and that was inexcusable.

But as the first obstacle came to his view, it seemed that at least for now Robert's worry about their opposition was unfounded. This at least he was confident that they could get through. Two Magic Knights and between them was...

"Ordine." El-Prado voiced the end to his thoughts.

"You are on the wrong side this day. Why do you cover for those that would usher in doom? Step aside." They did not have time for extended convincing efforts that would almost certainly be in vain, but the offer by itself might as well be made while he waited for Argreion and Codarl.

As soon as all three were there, El-Prado dashed forward, charging at the Divine Knight, one hand holding the Zemurian Ore sword ready to slash diagonally at Ordine's chest and the other curled into a fist.

 

[PULSEFIRE]

"A plan?" The Codarl's face-mounted sensors flipped open as Robert spoke, spilling pinpricks of blood-tinged incandescence across the Gral's floor. A moment later, it was sprinting, matching El-Prado's quickened feet with elegantly articulated limbs. Something buried deep within the Arm Slave's body flared to life as its feet smashed into the stone; the blade-like fin between its shoulders shot upwards like a jackknife and jumped to life with a hiss. A furious light exploded from nowhere, brief flashes shaping themselves into wild, trailing streamers.

The machine dripped with the colors of sunset.

STARTING LAMBDA DRIVER
OPERATION LEVEL CLIMBING

​

"That sounds like a fucking plan to me," Luan laughed. His yowling voice pitched up as the three opposing Knights came into view, mocking overtones melding with the everpresent strain that left his words scratchy and wet. "Let's give 'em a show, eh?"

Argreion was behind him. Aleksandr was not one to be left behind.

"But!"

In a sudden crash of metal on metal, the Argent Knight found the Codarl's hands hooked onto its shoulder. The shift was almost immediate; the Divine Knight's noble silhouette vanished as Luan roughly yanked its mass forwards, leaving its feet dragging against the Gral's floor. It was a moment of sheer slapstick impulse, driven by nothing more than vague pettiness and a cruel sense of significance.

Luan had to say something, as usual.

"You've got a prior commitment - SO GET IN THERE!"

In a final surge of implausible strength, the Codarl pitched Argreion forwards, leaving it roughly stumbling towards the gathered enemy. A knife-type monomolecular cutter flashed in the crimson unit's free hand, screaming to life in a high-pitched whine. It exploded forwards in a crouching dash, as if to use its ally to block line-of-sight, but veered off as the distance shrank. Little more than a blood-washed blur, it built strength and leaped, crashing towards the axe-wielding machine in a nearly horizontal path.

Even the Codarl's specs couldn't account for that volatile, erratic acceleration. The Lambda Driver within it was alive, now, awake and starving for input.

The aggression answered. Two wild blows scythed for the Magic Knight's left elbow, sloppy arcs imbued with impossible strength. They were feints, undisguised and pronounced, begging for the opposing machine to heft its weapon and raise its guard.

 

[Nemesis]

From unbound brilliance, from radiance beyond imagining, the Knight of Gold advanced on its foe. It shone like a prism of light that had taken human form, as one hand gasped the newly formed sword before it, allowing it to catch its own reflection. It was both ponderously slow, and inhumanly fast, flowing before eye in a dizzying, shimmering mirage that lived up to its nickname. Every step shattered the floor beneath it, let was also light as a feather. A walking contradiction - giver of life, and bringer of death.

Within the cockpit, Raines felt every little thing, connected to the Destiny Mirage, his senses sharpened to their absolute point. No more lives would be wasted today. The evil before them had drawn its final breath.

"Nia."

"Aye, Master. All systems, running at full throttle."

"Let's go."

The new, dawn-kissed blade was grasped in both hands, and with a roar of fury, the KoG stepped forward into an overhead swing aimed to decapitate the beast with one earth-shattering strike, a crescent flash of light that sent shockwaves in all direction as the mightiest Mortar Headd in all of creation brought its wrath to bear. The kinetic force alone was impressive, Raines eschewing the usual Mortar Headd's impressive speed in exchange for pure power.

As if to emphasize this, the Knight of Gold's left hand would have unfolded following its slash, reaching out to grasp the thing's shoulder, aiming to roughly yank it onto its side, to scatter across the floor, disorienting it and rendering it incapable of mustering an immediate counterattack - and giving it a taste of what it was up against.

The battle had begun. Who would emerge victorious?

 

[yastubb]

"Bastard!"

Aleksandr's words brimmed with barely-suppressed murderous intent as the Argent Knight lurched forwards awkwardly, its operator desperately resisting the urge to flick the machine's aim around and blow the Codarl into pieces. This was the worst possible time for the twisted tendencies of Amalgam's pilots to crop up. Under any circumstance, he wouldn't have hesitated to render judgement, but depriving their group of a unit this early on without any means of further support would be beyond stupid.

His rage refocused, changing targets.

The one with fists, then. Currently unengaged, and its choice of weapon surely meant it lacked range. This would be easy.

The silver machine corrected its next step, extending a leg forwards and catching itself. For a moment, it was still - then it burst forwards like its Arm Slave partner, breaking into a full-tilt sprint towards the Magic Knight. Yet, instead of striking, the Divine Knight leapt into the air and stayed there, taking aim with the paired gunswords. The barrels blazed to life, peppering the Magic Knight's position with a rapid-fire volley of violet mana bolts.

Argreion followed in the wake of its shots a mere moment later as its flight abruptly cut out, and it brought the two weapons down in a gravity-assisted hammerblow aimed to cleave through its target's right shoulder.

 

[MKR]

"Please. Its not so much restraint as it is preservation of energy." Roselia spoke as the sword fragments scattered around her, the projections fading as they passed by her and returned to nothing. "I can feel the energy your mere presence is exuding from here you know. And your particular... Flavor of soul I know well." She slammed her staff into the ground. In response a glimmer of reflection appeared between the two, becoming invisible but a moment after yet still teetering on the edge of sight.

The beams collided with it, cascading in every direction as the lightshow became a disco ball at the apex of the Gral.
"Sure, if I put in enough energy I could technically kill your physical body. But it would be a moot point, one its not worth the effort. Two, I want you to live so you can bring the Auric and Argent Divine Knights back with you." The disco ball was having some of its light leak through shattered fragments of it breaking beneath the beam though they were far away from the woman herself, she slammed the staff once more against the stone beneath her as she spoke. Once the beam had passed shards of the barrier would fly at the Ascian like fragments of glass of a broken window.
"Though hm. Oh what the hell."

She inhaled deeply, partaking of the latent mana. The intense mana permeating every part of this place. Fully acknowledging she had talked herself into this but still she couldn't help herself.
"I can indulge a bit." a metamorphosis took place, the girl in front of Azem becoming much taller and in appearance older. Her clothing changing with her as a fur collar appeared on her dress "It isn't every day I can just feel my power from back in the day again."
There was a kind of nostalgia for that time long gone, she hated the last few days of it though so she would not linger on it.

---

"El-Prado. Argreion." Ordine replied in short, acknowledging the opposing Divine Knights. This match was massively favored towards their foes that much was clear. But this was no contest for life or death, not for them at least. Still, it was a bout to start. To test for the inevitability.

"Doom or no, I would not be an oathbreaker." What doom would slaying such a ghoulish creature even bring in. One could only see it as a service to the world at large that the threat of it ever escaping would be denied to it. A beast that could only be felled with such a sword would trample nations before it was stopped were it to escape. "I promised I would assist in felling the foul beast, but the blade was not assigned to me."

Ordine rushed forward in turn, catching the sideways swipe with its own blade in a deflection and sending it upwards. The man within grunting, feeling the impact of the blades on his wrist. The difference in power was clear already, exactly as he was warned. He needed to save that boost for the right moment.
"What of you- Working in tandem with terrorists. How could that be the 'right side'."
Continuing with the motion Ordine's sword was brought down, aiming to crash into El Prado's chest.

The Magic Knights besides Ordine, one facing the Codarl and the other against Argreion were in what could be argued better and worse condition, Heavy Ruby the axe wielding bulbous knight seemed to care little for its own safety. The left elbow being struck not once but twice by the unusual powers of the Lambda driver. While the inhuman existence inside seemingly didn't even consider the possibility of a faint, simply aiming to close the distance between its attacker and itself, the left arm's plating unceremoniously being blasted apart by the force that struck it, the remains dangling limply by its side, bouncing wildly as it rushed forwards.

In turn however it slammed its heavy axe down on the Codarl aiming to bisect with one decisive blow in a display of brutish strength and boorish strategy. It saw, it smashed.

On the other side, the accelerated assault if one could call being tossed against one's will so from the Argreion against the Direwolf had gone somewhat differently, the unique hands of the Magic Knight aimed to strike at the predicted trajectory of the Divine Knight before it took off and up. Fortunately among the few skills held by the Golems, object permeance was one and so its gaze went upwards. Tracking the flying machine.

Barraged by bullets it held up its hands as shields, the violet hail mostly bouncing off of the Knight's signature appeal but in turn. The follow up became that more dangerous for both sides, as now the joint was in full, clear, view and striking distance. The orb in the right shoulder cracking under the impact of Argreion's might but not failing yet. No, that wasn't until a moment later as it put both its hands together and slammed them in a downwards angle. Aiming to catch the agile machine on the rebound with a firm blow to the guts.

Whether this struck Argreion or the ground the resultant crunch was obvious. Like a bulb breaking in a lamp, or a glass shattering in a bar mitzvah the sound was clear. Distinct and the resultant thud of an arm hitting the ground made it clear what had happened. Direwolf however, seemed undeterred by this event.

---

On the ground floor, the radiance of the Knight of Gold now stood in opposition to the Nameless One's darkness. Displaying surprising agility immediately as it ducked downwards in response to the slash. The gnashing maw on its left shoulder opening wide as if to receive a free meat, which perhaps it considered the incoming blade to be.

The shoulder of the beast caught the blade's slash, just at an uncomfortable enough angle that the blade could not pursue flesh. The neck of the Nameless One craning in serpentine ways as the eye transfixed on the illuminant machine, the pupil shrinking and bouncing back and forth as it seemed to track the dizzying speeds before every single eye on the body of the beast would suddenly and sharply center on their foe. The owner of these irises being slowly pushed back by the raw power of the Mortarheadd as its teeth cracked down on the blade whose purpose it was to bisect it. Claws scraping across the ground as the quadrupedal creature sought to use its very structure as leverage against its foe.

Red glow became to emanate from every crevice of the beast, as it seemed to almost recoil from itself. The push given by the Knight of Gold succeeding in partially prying its blade free as its adversary continued to glow. But even better than partial freedom, the uncomfortable angle of the push while keeping the blade between the shoulder's teeth did allow its tip to dive into the side of the beast and get its first taste for the creatures flesh.

However, in return. The neck of the Nameless One craned upwards, as if turning to the heavens. And the arrays of lights across its body suddenly released in an equally numerous array of beams and bolts. Arching up to the sky for a short moment only to rain down upon the Knight of Gold in their number. Accuracy, was not their forte as ample of the beams came down around the Knight rather than on top of it. But the area being hit in turn was impressive.

The battle, indeed had begun.

 

[Tyr]

"Ever has overconfidence been the privilege of the young and the foolish. It is fortuitous then, for both of us, that you are of more use to me alive than dead as well." Azem replied. "But if you are going to indulge in the glory days of the past, then surely I am allowed to do the very same." And finally Azem's emotionless, serene front broke, as something that could be best described as an almost-chuckle escaped her lips.

She hunched over herself, arms going past one another as they clutched the opposite shoulders. The aether within her surged, and countless strands of light appeared out of thin air and cascaded down on her form, the strands spinning around Azem into a cocoon of light that completely covered the cowled figure. It was that cocoon that the shards of the barrier collided with, and in that collision they were woefully outmatched. Inside the cocoon, Azem's heart was soaring for the first time in eons. Her wants and the needs of her people hadn't been in harmony for so very long, and they still weren't, and she full well knew they never would.

But this was the closest the two had been to reconciling, and for this brief moment she could follow both. And so her heart soared. The cocoon of light brightened and its light intensified rapidly, until it was like the sun itself had been transported to the dungeon of the beast they were in. And for a moment the cocoon shined its light to every nook and cranny of the Gral. Then the light was pulled to the cocoon, like it had never been there in the first place.

The side of the cocoon cracked, and broke from the inside as a dainty, marble-white hand partially covered by golden scales straightened out. It was quickly followed by two further holes on the cocoon as twin feathered wings extended to their full length. Then Azem's whole body broke out of the cocoon, she jumped to the air, twirled few times around herself before facing Roselia again, her wings extending to their full length to the sides as she descended down again to hover slightly above the ground. The halo above her head slowly rotating.

"You are your lost adult form, I am as I was seen by others in another time, another world." Fitting for her angelic, holy appearance even Azem's voice had changed. It was filled with warm compassion, even if the longing and bitterness that were mixed in were unmistakable. But in contrast to the rest of the body, there was no warmth in her eyes, nor was anything holy present there. Instead, aside from the golden rings the entirety of them were pitch black, like two bottomless pits of darkness and despair, with pair of thin dark lines like tear tracts went down from them.



It seemed like Azem was going to continue, but instead she faltered and halted whatever it was that she was about to say. Her pale cheeks darkened, and yes. That was, without a doubt, the Ascian blushing.

"...I forgot that the definition of 'revealing' has shifted some." She muttered to herself. Gone were the days when simply being unmasked and unhooded as she liked to be was considered scandalously revealing.

She shook her head, before continuing like nothing had happened. "But keen observations are to be lauded - and rewarded, and even foes are no exception to this. A formal introduction is in order." Her wings lazily beating once, Azem did a slight bow, one hand to the front and the other to the back. "I am Azem, mine is the fourteenth seat on the Convocation of Fourteen, the seat of Wanderer. And I shan't rest until my duty has been fulfilled, until my brethren walks, feels and lives once more!"

Straightening herself, Azem motioned for Crimson Roselia to come at her as her soulless eyes bore into her even as she grinned wildly at her. "Now come Crimson Roselia, let us distract one another while the others bring this clash to its inevitable conclusion!"

---

El-Prado's blade clashed with Ordine's, and despite the Auric Knight's strength it was knocked aside. But that suited Robert just fine. "Interesting times make for the strangest of bedfellows, and these days I'm something of a wanted fugitive myself. And the beast is keeping the curse at bay, stopping its demise is the right side." Robert barked a laugh as he brought the sword quickly back to him to protect against Ordine's continued motion, angling El-Prado's body so the blow was parried by his sword propped against the Knight's shoulder. The force of the blow was softened by the legs bending downwards slightly.

"Oaths given under false premises aren't the best of company for a knight, and if following them causes untold suffering it goes against the spirit of the code of an Erebonian knight, even if not the written word." He should know, he had been one of the knights that had compiled the damn thing a bit over two centuries ago. "But as long as you're certain on your course and ready to shoulder the regret, I've naught more to say!" While Robert had been speaking calmly so far, the end suddenly grew into a loud roar, to startle and distract his foe.

El-Prado pushed back with its legs and sword arm both in an attempt to push Ordine's sword up into the air. At the same time the other arm was covered in golden energy and Robert struck into Ordine's chest hard with an open palm in an attempt to push the other Knight back. Even though he could not bring the whole body into the open palmed strike, the force was still tremendous.

If Ordine was pushed back, disoriented or stunned by the strike Robert and El-Prado would attempt to dash past them further into the Gral.

 

[PULSEFIRE]

"Looks like they didn't give you much of a brain, eh?" Luan sneered as his strikes found their target, then pulled back in slight surprise as the Magic Knight pushed on regardless. The Codarl took one uneasy step back, then loosed the monomolecular cutter from its hands, letting it fall to the dungeon floor below.

When it found its footing, it doubled back.

"Ahahaha- !"

In a carmine, crashing movement, the Codarl brought its hands together and caught the oncoming axe. Impossible power, both muscular and otherworldly, seemed to visibly seep from the gaps in the crimson machine's armor. A cloud of dust scattered around the Codarl and became incandescent, superheated by the excess haze of its Lambda Driver. As the pilot within forced his machine to its full height, the force that exploded forth from its limbs began to circle the entrapped weapon. Warping. Tearing. Pulling apart, then exploding forwards, an invisible sledgehammer pushing past the axe's metallic haft and into the Magic Knight's abdomen. The dust and air followed the wave of unnatural force, glowing like a contained blast of flame. Not enough to damage metal, but forceful enough to push.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

"AhaHAhAhAHAhahAhAhAHAHAHAHAHA-"

Luan didn't slow down.

The Codarl's radiators howled as it lunged, plunging its hand towards the Magic Knight's neck in an attempt to literally tear its opponent's head from its body. A move of wild, pure aggression, given shape by only the hollow fragments of an intellect. Any thoughts of the overarching mission had clearly been lost. It was just a blur of violence, man and machine violating unliving metal with deranged instinct.

 

[Nemesis]

Hellish light rained down on the champion of humanity, the masterwork of another cosmos. A flurry of fury that would have crushed any lesser machine - Yet, to Raines, it might as well have been little more than a morning drizzle. The Knight of Gold danced forward, its footwork impeccable as it skipped after its foe., matching every wild swing of its teeth with a step of its own. Blasts hit its armor - and then ricocheted away, pulverizing the surrounding area into dust.

To any observer, it would have seemed terribly slow - but its grace was beyond imagining, baleful eyes locked with the abomination's own, its focus not deterred by its foe's inhumanity for even the smallest of moments as it moved and twisted, redirecting the incoming rays away from its exposed skeleton, and into where they could do the least harm.

"Excellent work, Nia." Breathed Raines, feeling the reverberations from the impact as they were dispersed across the Knight's frame.

"Thank you, Master."

The free hand came up again - and this time, smashed into the creature's now exposed throat with terrific speed and force, closing tight about mottled flesh as the most powerful of Mortarr Heads wrenched downward with all it might, as if the Knight itself were silently asserting to its foe: No - I am not the weaker one. I am not your prey. Whatever you have dined on before, whatever you have crushed before - I am different.

As it forced its foe to the ground, its other arm pulled the blade free from its snapping jaws with a spray of viscera. Its fingers flexed on the weapon's beautiful ivory and hold hilt, a ripple that drummed a rhythm up its length - chimes that rang out, as if the opening strums of a song. For a split second, vapors of white streamed across its surface, glinting in the eerie sunlight as the Destiny Mirage brought it crashing down across the beast's exposed neck, aiming to severe the root of evil once and for all - and this time, prevent it from seizing the instrument of its demise.

 

[yastubb]

"You can’t seriously expect-"

As if having anticipated the Magic Knight's mindless counterattack, Alexsandr immediately pulled his machine back, bringing the Argent Knight's leg up and planting its foot on the enemy's midsection. With a firm shove, it kicked Direwolf away while wrenching the gunswords free from the destroyed joint, jumping back with surprising speed as its spread wings aided in its acceleration.

Still, the gap in performance was not so wide.

The Magic Knight's fists glanced off the Argent Knight's chestplate, leaving a ruined scar on the unit's chest where the enlarged knuckles had managed to scrape and even dent the Zemurian Ore armor. The blow continued on its downward trajectory, smashing the floor to smithereens where Argreion had been just a moment before. If it had connected fully...

"Damned dolls!"

As soon as the silver machine landed, Alexsandr was pushing the Divine Knight forwards, firing wildly with one gunsword as it charged back into the fray. As soon as it reached melee range, it would bring the blade down in another cleaving strike as it reached melee range - though these attacks were all intended to elicit the same defensive response as earlier. It pulled its other arm back, braced, and stabbed forwards with the free weapon, aiming to bury it within Direwolf's chest.

 

[MKR]

As Roselia settled back into her past self there was a shift in the very air about her, the enthusiasm and temper of youth substituted by authority and experience instead. Still, the smile on her face was clear as Azem herself lifted the veil of her form to reveal what lay beneath. The smile almost turned into a frown as the form of the Wanderer revealed itself, but that was paused as the still very humanoid nature became clear. No attempt at interrupting the transformation took place all the same however as Roselia firmly placed her staff on the stone beneath while she returned the bow.

"If introductions are your desire." Her tone had turned almost regal, boisterous still but insurmountably confident "Then let us exchange pleasantries properly. Mine is the title of Crimson Roselia, last of the True Ancestors borne to this world, Matriarch of the Hexen Clan, Slayer of Divine Beasts and formerly known in this world as 'The Hero' yet none who remember that title are sons and daughters of man." Her gaze was aimed fiercely at the angelic ascian, and despite both the vague nature of the last title none of them seemed at all like lies to any degree.

"Such I could proclaim myself past and present. Such I will." The staff was raised aloft as through the shared arena of the two ancient beings there was a single loud heartbeat that burst forth from Roselia's chest. "Oh distant light of the red moon." She spoke as light coalesced above her, collecting into a sphere of deep red shades "Haunted and hallowed. Gatekeeper of the stars grant me strength!"

Magic circles appeared all around the fighting ring the two had for themselves as even those in the mecha moving forward and perhaps even below should they catch the sight of the moon appeared above could notice the distant unnatural light. Of Roselia herself naught aside from the pinpricks of eyes remained visible in the artificial night that had appeared before the Ascian "Pour from the Crimson Vessel! Bewitching Blood Moon!" The magic circles erupted into beams, coalescing onto the lone target as they illuminated the woman underneath the moon, her staff pointed forwards in command against her adversary. Concluding with the summoned planetoid itself firing a gigantic red rain of light and energy at the member of the Convocation.

"I regret that I have no other suitable way to express my respect Wanderer." She concluded as the moon above began to fade its energies spent. She would not be outdone in this instance, such was her internal decree.

---

"The spirit of the Erebonian Knight was sullied long before!" He replied, Ordine retreating from the blow to avoid an easy retaliation, the yell indeed catching Robert's adversary by surprise as the blade in the hand of the Azure Knight went into the sky. There was a distinct frustration in having to acknowledge not one but two skill gaps. No, cliffs in skill.
"DAMNIT!" Ordine tried to grasp the back barely failing to grasp the wing as it burst past. "I'll shoulder this nation if I have to." He frowned at the dust left behind. The aerial sword getting caught by the blue Divine Knight as its gaze moved to the remaining enemies here, if he could hold one of them down...

"Do you think he's right?" He asked Ordine before deciding his foe. "It is entirely too possible. Through every time I've been called forth, he has been there." Great, just wonderful Gottfried thought to himself. If he was actually, literally kickstarting the end of the world things would be problematic. But the road ahead was narrow and the road behind was steep.

"If everything about this madhouse turns out as he says-" "I know."

He inhaled, behind him in mindless continuation the Direwolf fell for the same trick as the first time, its massive hands, one of which shattered, raised as it aimed to utterly, completely pancake the adversary in front of it and thus fell for its diabolical trap, the weapon dutifully was inserted into the chest of the Magic Knight, causing its motion to halt as it realized the damage dealt to its most important core.
"There!" Yet before the Argreion could deal the ultimate final blow by pushing through the forward thrust, aimed for the face of the Divine Knight unless it let its weapon loose and retreated as Ordine jabbed forwards.

The other Magic Knight, undeterred by the comments comparing it to the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz would wish for nothing more than the destruction of the Codarl. Of course that feeling was more than mutual as the chunky chest belonging to the Arcane construct was struck and struck once more and again. From the sheer force of repeated blows the Magic Knight was forced downwards, no longer able to keep its balance in the whirlwind as strikes came and continued until. The neck, in a swift, grating, sound of metal being ripped from metal the head of the Heavy Axe was ripped from its non existent shoulders. And it evaporated into nothing but a black cloud. Thus the path forward was clear for Luan as well, but there was the wounded Direwolf as well as Ordine yet remaining here.

---

El-Prado could see the scene below as it crossed into the second balcony, turning the corner to the next chamber however would show the adversary to come unless it wished to take the chance to dive atop the dome containing the Nameless One and the Golden Knight of another star. Instead down the path, lodged inside the entrance to the other side was a beast, enormous and bloated. Seemingly more foliage than flesh yet with gnashing maws at its base and a massive looming one above large enough to swallow a Divine Knight half.

And without a seconds delay after El Prado would enter the room, it regurgitated vile venom from the large mouth across the floor, vile enough to gnaw at the Divine Knight.

---

The Knight of Gold, in slow speed had avoided the first attack of the Nameless One. The Beast cared little for concepts such as grace as a physical blow was brought down upon its throat. The two being contesting their might against one another as one tried to force the other down, the fateful blade designed to slay this very creature looming overhead as it in one violent motion pushed up and backwards. As one blow went down the other went up, the ground splattered with a deep purple liquid radiating a vile miasma.

And a roar, the Nameless One's neck now having a massive gash displayed across it cutting a fourth of the way through its accursed flesh but the execution was forestalled. A deep purple now congealed around the fresh wound, the second it had suffered in eons with likely the first wound it had suffered in its entire existence having happened moments prior. This blade could more than wound it, it cut through its flesh like a knife through butter. More than designed to kill, the pure blade was designed to slay this beast and yet it was immaculately clean not a single drop of the tainted liquid dared hang against the weapon.

The time to appreciate this feature however was slim as power poured from the Nameless One, radiating from the massive eye upon its head as if barely contained. It utterly refused to die, so against the idea was it that its greatest attack was unleashed against the one who had tried to defeat it in one decisive blow. A twisted howl as purple flames emanated from its frontal mouth in three distinctive orbs, one aimed directly at the Knight of Gold and the other two amassing walls of flame to prevent its advance.

It crouched down like a tiger about to pounce the eyes covering its every available orifice once more lighting up, but swiftly turning a light purple instead as its neck craned backwards and it screamed, a shrill shriek to puncture glass while light burst forth from the eyes on its hide, but no spectacle of beams rained down this time. Instead the entirety of the dome that contained the dueling pair illuminated purple, like veins they appeared on the ground and clashed against the walls that contained them from an attack like this there would only be escape if the arena opened in which case it would wipe out those around it.

Lightning burst, crackling between the veins as they searched for the Knight. Striking up and down as this decisive blow of a Black End aimed to defend the beast.