<Ⅱ>
Out there in a vast barren land, after giving a lame roar of agony, the four-legged Demon clad in rotten bronze scales over its slug-like physique, fell to its side in thunderous moan. Its body lay numb on the worthless land. A mighty engine saber stabbed through its pulverized rib cage as the weapon's master started deriding the deceased Demon " Nothing ever escapes from Me Sword !! Ho ho ho! Awesome !!!" The speaker, a rough, energetic, boorish-sounding fellow then turned to his ally standing not far behind a pile of the same deceased scaled beasts, contemplating in silence. This ally, with his emerald sharp rings of ornate gold contours, drawn runes of power emblazoned on the smooth surface of the large sharp primary feathers of light arched in much elegance over the emerald armored shoulders where a small wolf cub innocently perched upon.
" What say you? Felling a sea of foul Dragomite Types in one morning without breaking even a drop of sweat!”
The hotheaded fellow laughed as it rested his massive herculean frame, large and bulking limbs, chest broad as the new boulders right out of the oldest mountains, a huge man boosted twice the size by his trusty yellow glistening StarBreaker armor, squatting down to a bold cross-legged sitting facing his winged ally with a sigh of jolly satisfaction.
“ Recall through your traveling years, my friend,” this yellow StarBreaker continued his merry chat.
“and see if there was anyone comparable to my skills of awesomeness? Tell me if there’s any so I can prove them otherwise!”
“ You know there is nothing to prove, Seito." Spake the latter man in green Starbreaking armor, younger in tone and voice than the heroic large sitting fellow. Spreading wide and those Light energy wings flapping them in powerful yet meticulous blows, to shake off the dark contaminated blood of the Demons off his stainless facade before closing the aviating appendages in one swell swoop into the back of his armor elegantly.
“ My years in the wild are lost behind me, and there’s nothing remaining to be compared to.”
The winged Starbreaker then picked a roasted morsel of Demon flesh for his wolf cub companion which turned its fur head aside in contempt, refusing to be fed with such an atrocious meal.
The large fellow laughed at the site.
“ But still, there are many yet to be seen.” the emerald Starbreaker threw the piece of Demon flesh away, gazing at the barren dry sands and rocky canyons that extend across the horizons.
“ Many as prominent, as outstanding, or possibly more in Demon form or Starbreaker.”
“ Still I will prove them lesser." This Seito man sniffed pompously with much pride over his Demon-brawling profession.
“ By my name as Seito the Mighty, I shall prove no other being stronger and more epical than my excellence! Come, my friend, this journey of Might continues!”
Rising with his enormous legs that stomped the earth downward three feet, traversing the lands one herculean step after the other, with powerful electrical currents spreading with fervor across the barren soil with each mighty stomp he makes.
The emerald ally spanned out his meticulous wings of light and swooped high, following the former’s brave trail towards the beyond, in search of more legendary Demons to fell.
…
………….
From the one light that beamed afar in the swallowing darkness, the voice of calling, like a gentle whisper from under the sea.
Yuri…….
Someone was waiting beyond the glow. While Yuri lay in the dark, listening intentively to the soothing voice call out her name, breathing in the familiar soothing fragrance wafting around her.
…Yuri, it's time to go….
“ Wait…” Yuri replied weakly. She wished to listen more. Floating in the void under the sole light above, Yuri cannot feel her legs, her arms. Nothing. Just there, basking under the warmth as the gentle words flow further away.
The light afar also started to dim. Yet the fragrance grew stronger.
“ Wait…!”
…go…
“ Wait…Mommy! It’s you, right?!” Yuri shouted drastically to call the light back to its shine
“ Mommy, wait…”
…go…to the Land…of Light…
“ But Mom…!”
The light diminished, and all plunged to everlasting darkness.
Yuri jolted up from the cozy infirmary bed, eyes wide like saucers as if she had seen the end of the world. There she was in the hospital wing of the Betelgeuse ship again, but this time the room was slightly more crowded than before. Bradson Captain, Firren Commander, and Secretary Reina were all there, while the secretary had in her hand a piece of unwrapped Choco near Yuri’s face.
“ That actually worked.” Reina gladly handed Yuri the chocolate bar, but Yuri didn’t quite respond as strongly as the other three around the bed expected.
Bradson Captain gave a long sigh of relief and sat down beside Yuri, who looked gravely disappointed.
“ How are you feeling, Yuri?” Bradson asked tentatively, yet Yuri didn’t respond but gazed at the chocolate bar in her hand blankly
“ What is it? What did you see?”
“...I… didn’t see anything…” Yuri whispered sadly and the captain asked no more, letting the girl munch on her chocolate bar in silent melancholy.
Firren only wished to know how Yuri did what she did to the Kau-bog Demon some hours before but was stopped by both the Captain and the secretary, deeming it better to leave Yuri to herself to rest.
" But Captain, how did she do it?" Firren asked eagerly " Defeating a Grade B Demon nearly all by herself? Without training whatsoever? How is that even possible.....”
“ It is possible only because she didn't do it. ”
Bradson Captain showed the recorded footage of the last fight from chapter 1 as soon as they got out of eavesdropping reach, back in their cabin.
“ It is the Armor. Yuri was in a shallow slumber all through the encounter, following the Armor's lead like a puppet. It is dangerous to others and more so to herself. It should not be so." Bradson Captain exclaimed sternly, disgruntled by the truth of his hypothetical.
“ She still has much to learn, now that this is the path she chose. Firren, your expertise I trust. Train her to control this power, not to be consumed by it and lose her way, but for her to choose as she sees, is the right choice.”
Firren pondered his captain’s words, and the duties he face. The power inside Yuri seems to him like an omnipotent force of its own sentience, capable to free the world from its current state, yet hard to harness to their aid. Only through Yuri can they call upon its reverence. The question is how.
“ So, now that she is grasping the past, isn’t it better to just help her remember all of it so that she can fully harness said power?”
Firren inquired curiously.
“ Not in such a hurry, Firren.” Reina the secretary pointed out
“ The One Power inside her goes against us and Yuri discovering the past. It is only through small hints that we can slowly help Yuri retrace her past. If we do it too much and too fast, the Power will resist and Yuri will…”
Reina didn’t need to finish for Firren to understand her point, yet the young commander still tried to find a way to bypass this stubborn omnipotent force.
“ But captain, the more she remembers, the more control she has over her powers and the armor to aid our cause. Should we just…”
Yet Bradson Captains shook his head slowly.
“ Rash not, Firren. Train her on the ways of the StarBreaker and the tactics to survive. Let that be all she needs for now.”
To become stronger, for those that have yet to come.
For the few days that passed, Yuri had regained her strength and her wounds healed properly. The voices in her head had greatly subsided along with the piercing pain that was nearly gone. Without hindrance, Yuri felt stronger and fresher as each day passes. Yet from time to time when Yuri closes her eyes, vague blurry scenes still find their way to resurface, flashing across her eyes in split seconds, leaving nothing for her to reminisce with.
At least she had found her Mother’s Starbreaker armor along with the short glimpse of the past with her mother that was once lost.
Under the blue snow, standing amongst the crowd,
It was her mother in this very same armor of white, that protected her from something, sending the message to her of the Land of Light…The Land of Light…
Yuri pondered underneath her armor, trapped in effortful thoughts. Her memories are not complete enough to provide her answered to her past. Can it be, that finding mommy might help her regain all her lost memories, all the sweet moments that were still in the dark, and bring them all to light? Yuri’s hopes rose as her goals gradually took shape. That is what she will do, to find her mother!
“ Aha! I got it! I am going to find my Mo–Ouch!”
“ Look straight at your enemies, soldier!” Firren barked annoyed by Yuri’s unfocused attitude.
“ They will not wait for you to be prepared! Vigilance at all times, soldier!”
On top of a lone wide plateau erected amongst sand and debris, the two Starbreakers stood against each other at both sides, armors activated, weapons raised, engaging in an intense course of combat.
But the white one doesn’t feel like engaging in any sort of training sessions.
“ But, Commander, I have to look for my mother. I am sure Mommy can help me remember my lost memories! If only I know where to find her…Commander?! Commander wait!!”
Indifferent to Yuri’s cries, the seasoned commander swung his twin blades of flame down at the girl in surprise, heeding not her calls to stop. He had no other choice to make. From what he knew deep down, keeping silent is his only option best for her.
“ Without the skills and experiences, you will only perish the moment you set foot out to the world.” Firren admonished as he struck down on Yuri’s unfirm stance.
“ Being a Starbreaker is more than just to survive, to triumph against Demon kind. It is to protect those that are in need, to safeguard the weak from the Demon’s evergrowing threat! Your mother wore that Armor, and now it is yours! It is your duty to follow the ways of the Starbreaker!”
“ Wait a sec!” Yuri suddenly performed a swift backflip kick out of nowhere to deflect the commander’s blows, which surprised Firren greatly as she escaped from the standstill.
“ You know my mother? Where is she? What is she like?!” Yuri asked eagerly, one question after another bombarding the commander like actual blows of annoyance.
“ I don’t know her!” Firren snapped, charging forth at Yuri who instinctively stood aside from the striking blow at the last moment, letting his blades hit the dusty ground, just to learn more about her mother from Firren.
Firren was perplexed. With such a lack of experience and skill during combat practices, Yuri still seems to have a certain grasp of the StarBreaker ways deep inside of her which she herself wasn’t fully aware of. Bradson Captain was right, what she needs now is to learn and train her own basics to perfectly harness the talents that are yet to fully awaken.
“ I don’t know your mother, Yuri. Neither do I know where to find her. But without the powers to surpass the enemy out there, you will have no chance of getting your answers when you venture beyond. Let me help you become more, become a–what are you looking at, Soldier??”
Firren barked as soon as he realized Yuri wasn’t listening but staring at the yonder plains and mountains afar in a riveted curious gaze.
“ Something is watching us.” Yuri pointed, at the mountains near the horizon.
That was when Firren sensed it too. A cold lifeless mono eye that stared straight into their Light Hearts that brew dread over his senses.
“ Don’t look! And stop pointing!” Firren hissed with grave urgence, snatching Yuri’s arm in his as the commander dragged the dumbfounded teenage girl away from the lone plateau, escorting her back to the Betelgeuse.
“ What? What is it?” Yuri asked but to no reply as the Commander, the secretary, and even Bradson Captain all silently and sternly stirred the airship away from the said location and sped off towards nowhere in escalating speed.
Yuri knew she was kept in the dark, and she doesn’t like that feeling at all, of not knowing what everyone does that was purposely kept secret from her. Certainly Grand Papa Bradson and Commander Firren would have their mouths shut, so Yuri has only one remaining option to ask.
“ Sister Reina~~??” Yuri begged, leaning close to The Secretary’s office, blocking nearly half of Reina’s screen.
“ Why are we leaving in such hurry? What’s wrong??”
Reina sighed in defeat, rubbing the space between her eyes knowing that she can never say no to Yuri’s beggings any time soon. Perhaps she too needs some practice to stay immune from Yuri’s dazzling googly eyes, Reina surmised.
“ You are special, Yuri.” Reina replied in a faint whisper, still scanning the Betelgeuse’s surroundings from her half-blocked screen.
“ You have a special power that many want to snatch away from you, to do bad things. You must protect that power from them, understand?”
“ From Demons, right?”
“ Yes, Demons too. But not just Demons…” Reina thought hard about the words to convey the whole picture to Yuri without making it too complicated.
“ Yuri, you just have to remember, Trust only Bradson Captain, Me, and commander Firren. And yourself of course. But don’t trust anyone aside from us, can you do that?”
“...Why?” Yuri curiously had to ask.
Reina patiently replied.
“ Because we wish for the best of you, Yuri. To help you find what is lost, and protect you from those that will try to harm you for your Power which they covet. We are your family, after all, Yuri.”
Yuri like how the word sounds to her. Family. Though she had no solid memory of anyone around her except vague flashbacks and flashing scenes, the warmth she felt with the crew of this ship felt genuine like she had known all of them for years.
Yuri wished to know more of them, and herself, to retrace her steps and be the Yuri they used to know.
“ By the way, Sister Reina, have you heard of the sound that came from Grand Papa Bradson’s cabin? Beautiful soothing sounds–”
But Reina wasn’t listening. Her face blanched and with grave haste, the secretary held Yuri to a side to see the other half of the screen, which made her eyes widen as Reina shouted to all.
“ DEMON INCOMING!!!”
Before the crew could react, the Betelgeuse suddenly jolted and swayed to a side violently, rumbling with immense force that seemed to tear the ship apart. Yuri was caught by sheer surprise, unable to grab hold of something in time, and flew to the other side of the control deck, hitting the wall so hard she thought her bones might break. But lo, shielding her body from the collision just in time and absorbing all the momentum, was her pale Starbreaking armor, her mother’s armor had come to her rescue. Yuri felt as if her mother was close by her side.
But at the next second, the inside of the airship darkened, the skies devoured and a shadow loomed above all. A long crooked entity, spikes, and horns protruding out of each side of its armored rock-substanced segmented body lurking and slithering slowly in the air so close above menacingly.
Finally, the linear humongous Demon turned around, moving its head crowned with spears of rock to face the airship, its huge red Devilish eyes of eternal torment stared down at them all, focusing its devilish gaze on one and only,
Yuri.
Yuri stared back bravely.
Though this snake-formed Demon may be larger, a hundred times larger than the first Kau-Bog she encountered, they are but Demons, one more vile being that she and her mother’s armor can certainly deal with. So Yuri thought, optimistically.
Her sword rifle materialized in her hand that instant.
“ Yuri, No!” But Bradson’s cries heeded no audience as Yuri sped out of the control bridge through the window, letting her energy grappling hooks pull her up to face this large Demon.
Firren was shocked by the Demon that appeared above their ship all of a sudden, but he was more devastated by how Yuri just went off to face this abomination without hesitation. Is she insane?! No, Firren realized, Yuri had no idea what this Demon is.
This Demon serpent is not just any other demon. It is The Demon, the amalgamation of Darkness that no documented Starbreaker had ever defeated, leaving a long list of perished Starbreakers under its wake.
Yuri had chosen the wrong Demon to trifle with!
Standing strong against the winds that bellowed at the top of the Betelgeuse, Yuri pointed her sword rifle forward at the limbless slithering gigantic foe which looked down at her with obvious interest.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
This is just another Demon, Yuri told herself confidently. This is the chance to prove herself, to prove to commander Firren and grandpapa Bradson that she is capable of taking down a Demon on her own just like last time and ready to set off in search of her mother!
Yuri closed her eyes, letting her armor glow bright blue as her sword rifle started to load with a humming strong blow within its canister.
I am ready.
My Special Powers are ready.
Mother, I will defeat this Demon, and any Demon in my path, and I will find you!
I will find you, Mommy!!!
Yuri felt the beam mustered to its rightful resplendence. Pointing at the Serpent Demon’s head hovering just miles above her, Yuri let go. The energy surged from the core of her rifle and soared upwards across the long barrel, traveling up, up, and up, dashing out of the muzzle with great force.
Only to vanish, at the very end before, shooting out nothing at the designated target.
Yuri gasped, checking her rifle’s tip dangerously to see the energy bullet she just mustered with her sole determination had diminished, reduced to thin blue snowflakes that drifted away, taken by the vehement wind to oblivion.
Yuri was at a loss.
How could this be??
She looked to her sides, to see her six energy grappling of ice hooks vaporizing one after another.
Her armor felt heavier and heavier as they crushed her down to a kneel on top of the airship’s ceiling. Her armor deactivated itself right then and there.
Why?
Yuri couldn’t understand. She tried hard to figure out what went wrong, but as she looked up, the large rows of sharp grotesque fangs of the Giant Serpent bore before her distraught face.
A sense of dread weighed down upon her, as Yuri stared at the large gruesome red eyes hidden under the hardened skull-like exoskeleton that stared back at her, petrifying the dumbfounded girl on the spot.
The Demon opened its mouth slowly.
At first, Yuri thought it was the wind, but the howling deepened into a great all-shuddering roar that vibrated with her palpitating light heart and along made her body shiver. It was a sound opposite of sound; a moan that harbored utmost agony like a sea of tortured souls screaming in desperation all at once in a devastating choir.
Yuri felt her soul being devoured, snatched away by the desperate souls trapped in that
dark enormous husk above bit by bit, losing all hope to stand up again, to rise
against such grave Demonry.
It was, at this moment, Yuri felt the overpowering aspect of what the annals of Demons call
an ArchDemon.
A grave title that Yuri would later learn is the very definition of a Demon of grand overpowering prominence that roams over the corrupted lands of scurrying lesser demons it rules upon, surpassing the norm that categorizes common Demons, Archdemons all belong by default in the S Grade.
Commander Firren was right.
She would perish as soon as she set foot out of this ship.
And the Demons, as sister Reina had just said before, will seek the hidden Power within her and devour her Light, along with all the memories she had with her mother.
Yuri wished she could run, and fly away from this imminent threat, but her limbs were numbed in fear.
She felt alone.
Nothing and No one could save her from her ultimate demise.
Yuri and the Grand Demon, eye to eye, staring at each other in timeless dreadful silence.
…
……….
“ By the nine! Our luck has peaked, my friend!” The boorish Starbreaker hero of shimmering yellow shouted out gleefully as he pointed at the far skies, where a hurricane of darkness towered over the rocky plains, and within the chaotic turbulence, a giant levitating ebony serpent of sheer demonry cornered its prey in the form of a sharp lengthy airship.
Seito the mighty one laughed wholeheartedly, readying his great engine saber booming with electric sparks onto his shoulder.
“ That, is a foe I shall beat!”
And with chivalrous fervor, the big Starbreaker hero charged, running towards the hurricane on his bulky feet.
“ Come, my friend! Join me in this…dude, what are you waiting for?! Come on!”
But the winged ally of the yellow hulking master did not move forth its promised trajectory, but stood in the air, staring with a strong riveted glance through his pointed beak-like helmet.
The wolf cub on the winged ally’s shoulder howled also in trepidation.
Focusing as if in silent calling to the one amongst the dark winds, the winged emerald Starbreaker conversed with the grand demonic one.
…
……….
Then surprisingly, the snake-formed Archdemon roared once more its appalling cry, breaking the silence and shattering the trance that Yuri was caught upon, swimming upwards as bullets of light started to fire out of the Betelgeuse canisters, flashing upon the Archdemon’s impenetrable hide. Cannons thundered with explosions that the grand serpent paid no heed to, as all of the offenses caused zero damage whatsoever.
Laser beams set sail as photon missiles gave chase. Still, none of the weaponry on the Betelgeuse left any sort of mark on the grand Demon, not to mention driving the serpent away through their aggression which seemed meager compared to the utter proportions of the mammoth Demon that slithered off to the horizons before diving down with thunderous force into the earth.
The Demon left because it chose to.
Of what reason, none of the Betelgeuse crew knew.
As Firren pulled Yuri back into ship, she finally understood, that she wasn’t ready.
…
…………
It took a whole day until the Betelgeus settled down to a stop amongst the raw barren hills to repair its damages through time and encounters. Bradson Captain and Reina surveyed the Androids’ repair while Firren checked the weaponry.
After he was, Firren thought it might be a decent time to check on Yuri, who had been silent and locked up in her own space since the ArchDemon encounter.
At least she had learned a lesson the hard way.
She had flown too high too early, Firren sighed as he marched his way to work out in the indoor Training Center located at the subspaces of the Betelgeuse. She still has many yet to learn, Firren recalled what the brooding captain had said. Too true, Firren could but admit, but the problem now is to get her back to her feet and start from the basics. But considering how saddened she seemed to be after the encounter, Firren doubted her confidence would be that easy to rebuild, not to mention the will to fight without using that superpower of hers.
Firren wondered what kind of basics to start off a training course that he had arrived at the training center earlier than expected. The training halls were designed according to where Firren used to train, with wide enclosures surrounded by glass walls acting as screens projecting the outside world environment as background for the emersion. Other hidden devices project Demon enemies within the enclosure for Starbreakers to fight with to horn their skills and review their flaws after the androids standing by had recorded them.
Commander Firren expected to be the only one using the training center as it was for the past few months, but now he saw that he was not alone.
Swinging her gold-lined sword rifle and leaping around the enclosure in deactivated armor, Yuri tried to hit the hovering virtual Demon targets with much effort, only to hit some with lucky accidental blows, with many more targets waiting for her efficient strikes.
Firren sighed without holding back his grin.
Even after losing all the past that defined her, and failing against an Archdemon that proved her, Yuri is still Yuri. Making all the effort to fix what was wrong and improve what lacks further enhancement.
For what she decided to strive she would go forth with all her thriving energy, though her methods may need some hard scrutiny and strong guidance, her direction was never deterred.
That is the Yuri he knew and remembered.
Now is the moment for him to provide some strong guidance, Firren thought.
“ Rest for ten minutes, soldier.” Firren entered the training center and switched off the hologram simulations.
“ We’ll be practicing with Real Demons after.”
…
…………
“ There is an abandoned village right ahead below this cliff infested with Grade C Demons, the Haijus.”
Firren showed four-legged obnoxious monkey-like Demons with blades as arms and eyes sealed under stained metallic steel on a hologram hovering above his arm projector.
Overlooking a dilapidated cluster of ashen square obelisks, The two young Starbreakers perched on a cliff from a nearby hill under the shadow cast by the waning afternoon sun.
Firren went on his mission briefings.
“ They are not too hard to handle if dealing one at a time. Remember, don’t alert the whole pack. They can still tear us down like how they did to this village.”
“ Excuse me, but…What’s a village?” Yuri asked bobbing her head aside in wonder.
Firren was taken aback by the unexpected question but quickly find the words to explain
“ Well, it’s a gathering of houses where people live in them. But that’s not the point. We need to optimize our stealth and precision in this session. I’ll show you how it’s done and you follow suit. Any questions?”
“ So a village is like a big family?” Yuri imagined a place full of people gladly gathered around lively buildings.
“ Living together, sharing memori–?”
“ That’s still not the point, soldier.” Firren pulled the focus back impatiently, trying hard to keep his voice down for stealth’s sake.
“ Demons are what we are after, not villages. This village is likely been destroyed by the Demons long ago, and You’ve seen what Demons can do to this world. If we are not well prepared enough, Demons will destroy everything including our memories. Let’s why we are here, to start from the basics of combat. Are you ready, soldier? ”
Yuri didn’t immediately reply.
Her thoughts were still on the village. A place where people once lived together, sharing life together, where there were families…like in her first memory,
under the blue snow,
where they were gathered around the bright lights…
where she and her mother stayed…
Now they are all gone. Just like this village, shattered by Demons. Shattered by Demons that are stronger, more overpowering,
such as an Archdemon…
She can’t let that happen again.
She must become stronger, become braver, to fight the Demons and even the Archdemons that threaten to devour all the light and shatter the memories that people dear.
Yuri held on to her weapon with a tightened grip.
“ I am ready.” Yuri activated her Starbreaker armor as the golden runes emanated with the bluish flame igniting at the sides of her helmet.
Firren nodded as he activated his armor and the two Starbreakers headed down the cliff secretly.
A hovering pod with a spying mono eye followed the two ominously, shrouded under an invisible anti-radar coating.
…
………..
After the androids have finished repairing the malfunctioned parts of the airship, Reina secretary strolled back to the commander center to rest at her post. It’s been a long month, preparing the essentials, making sure of the plans and timing, and eventually setting sail out of scrutiny.
But the day before, just hours before the Archdemon’s encounter, Commander Firren had reported of been spied upon by illusive eyes. That is what they feared, the all-watching eye is still upon them, monitoring their every move. They are not out of reach yet.
But time is running short, and Bradson Captain has a lot more responsibility on his shoulders.
“ Perhaps we should be on our way as soon as we could, captain.” Reina had suggested perturbed by the circumstances,
“ The All-seeing eye is upon us, and there is a Archdemons around these areas. We have to head on to the second phase of the plan!”
“ This is the second phase, Reina.” Captain Bradson proclaimed, covering his right eye as his left eye stared hollowly beyond, blankly at the front of his desk.
“ They are forced to move. They are not where they are supposed to be anymore.”
Reina gave out a panicking gasp. “ But then…how can they…?!”
“ They are safe. For now.” Bradson assured while the old captain seemed as if searching an unseen dimension with his uncovered left eye, which secretly glowed with active runes upon his dark irises.
“ The Archdemon will not attack us yet, and neither will He. Their goals are similar, waiting for us to unravel what they seek. I will not let that happen, as long as I live…But I need more time…I need more time, Reina…time…”
Reina would buy as much time for her captain, if only she could.
If only anyone could.
…
……….
“ Grade C Haiju types, four-legged isopods with upper primate torsos possessing two primary large sickle blades as arms. Devouring light souls mainly through their fanged mouths located underneath steel plates sealing their eyes under daylight, the Haijus tend to rest and ambush in the shadows by day and hunt in packs by night. Without prominent hides of major defensiveness, and also weak to physical and all elemental offenses, the Haijus are considered a vulnerable species of Demons. Yet, their type thrives from their organized attack patterns observed through hunting in packs, commonly led by a female Haiju Queen that commands the pack through low wave screeches undiscernable by Starbreaker sensors. So, to break the pack, one can simply finish off the Haiju Queen if circumstances allow, yet, in most cases, the Haiju Queen is mostly heavily guarded by the stronger, ferocious few elites, the Haiju Kings…”
Yuri already felt quite dizzy listening to Commander Firren’s long-ass introduction on Demon zoology that she nearly tread into a corner of Haijus resting in the corner if Firren hadn’t yanked her back to the shadows.
“ Now’s not their time to hunt.” Firren observed with his scouring infra-red visor
“ We still have a couple of hours before sundown. We stick to the plan, getting rid of them one at a time.”
“ But you said take down the Queen we break the pack.” Yuri responded in a whisper.
“ If the circumstances allow of course. Which now doesn’t! There’s a quarter of them Haijus guarding just the queen! Come on, each Haiju is a chance for practice.”
And without hesitation, Firren grabbed a pebble and tossed it at the back of a single Haiju warrior.
The Demon immediately started charging at them with its scurrying four thin exoskeletoned legs, frenzying for a meal.
Only then did Yuri learn that the Demon holograms from the training center back in the Betelgeuse can never truly convey the intense threat a real charging Demon asserts towards its prey. In haste, Yuri slashed her sword rifle down at the coming Demon, only to hit the overgrown curved blades attached to the Haiju’s arms.
“ Don’t strike it head-on! Lure its attacks! Dodge the blow before landing one instant strike!”
Yuri tried to do as she was told, dodging away from the Haiju’s piercing blades, yet evading too far to land a progressive strike.
Firren coached on nearby, making sure the other resting Demons haven’t noticed them. It is a relief that the Haijus type’s hearing has regressed to only discern their queens to specific calls, an evolutional choice to strengthen the Haijus’ hearing of their queen even in hectic environments, but unable to call for assistance when assaulted alone.
After a long toiling struggle, Yuri finally landed the defining blow onto the Haiju’s throat, decapitating the Demon with her one last move.
“ Do not show your fear in the presence of the Demon. Watch their moves closely, and react to their disadvantages. Next!”
Firren lured another Haiju out of the village and the training session continued until a small hill of perished Haijus lying on the outskirt of the abandoned village.
Yuri leaned onto her sword rifle which she struck deep into the earth, panting exhaustedly as Firren checked the perimeter. Though very slowly, Firren perceived a steady progression of Yuri’s skills in each fight after the next, defeating each Haiju faster than the last.
“ That will do.” Firren decided the course was enough for the day
“ We’ll slay the remaining ones tomorrow.”
“ No.” Yuri replied, pulling her sword out of the soil with one determined pull.
“ I want to enter the village. Today.”
Firren contemplated if he should reject Yuri’s offer when he realized through his scanner there were only three Haijus left. One of them must be the Haiju Queen, which is pretty vulnerable now without its pack. Won’t be too much of a big deal, Firren presumed.
“ Fine…If you say so.”
…
……….
There they come.
Scurrying to the shadows and hiding behind the walls of an empty compartment that used to be a store indicated by the metal shelves that lay atop each other to the side in an oblique fashion, cloaked under thick dust and sand, situated behind the small figure in a gold dampened hoody that hid under the shattered window pane.
The shadow of a child poked her head up to the opening gingerly, eyeing the two stealthy Starbreakers moving across the sidewalk without a sound.
A red one, and a white one.
Starbreakers. They can't be trusted.
The tiny shadow had seen how these two armored figures lure the Demons one by one and nearly got rid of the whole pack of Demon monkeys with crab legs. These Starbreakers have tactics indeed, as they are snide and wicked, as Sensei so told us.
They can’t be trusted.
Though Demons are indeed a threat to this tiny hiding character and her company, Starbreakers are as intimidating as the wild beasts of darkness. Starbreakers use weapons, trickery, and schemes, to achieve the same evil goals as the Demons they hunt.
All of them hunting for the Light souls of the people.
But something bugs the hooded figure slightly.
Though she hasn’t seen a lot of Starbreakers in her time, she thought the white one felt kind of strange to her, a strange feeling that gradually manifested the longer she stared at the white armored one.
Something about that Starbreaker just seemed…familiar?
Why though?
Putting those thoughts behind her and pulling the gold hoody down to conceal the light violet hair tied to long bangs swaying on both sides down her shoulders, the small child darted from the first hideout to the next to continue her intense watch, hot on the Starbreakers’ trails.
…
……….
Creeping under the inclining shadows of the empty low monuments, the two Starbreakers made their way across the dilapidated urban area in stealth, venturing into the once well-constructed region now cloaked under a thick sandy film of dust. Windows shattered, doors ajar, an unraveled bleak sight beheld Yuri’s eyes as a cold lonesome feeling snaked up her heart.
Nothing was left of this small town. Not even the thoughts or memories of those that once existed behind these walls. It was in a sense, fully perished under the cruel reality of the world ruled by the Demons of now.
This, Yuri cannot accept.
The Demons had to be stopped. If all it takes to protect everyone’s memories is to eliminate every Demon on earth, she would do it.
She had to, that’s why she had to be more, to be able to protect all the memories!
“ There they are.” Firren ushered Yuri to a halt as they observed the premise.
“ Two Haijus rest in that clearing. One of them is the Queen. We’ll go in together, on your mark.”
“ Commander, wait.”
Firren paused abruptly.
“ I want to try it, alone.” Determination seemed to gain color in Yuri’s blue eyes.
“ I’ll be watching from here.”
With the commander’s permission, Yuri dashed forth, wasting no time summoning her energy grappling hook out as she ran at full speed without a sound, sending her sharp projectile off flying straight at the Haiju guard’s throat, stabilizing the Demon in place as the energy lines pulled Yuri twice the speed forth, ending the Demon with one spin of her sword rifle as she sped to where the Haiju had stood.
The perishing Demon wasn’t even aware of what was happening.
…
………
Witnessing the swift finishing moves that lasted less than a second, slicing the Demon in two with but one move of sheer elegance, the child under the golden hoody could hide her gasp of awe, mesmerized by the diving grace performed before her golden pupils.
That white Starbreaker…is different.
…
………
Firren too was amazed by Yuri’s sudden improvement in skills and battle tactics, but with a closer look, Firren understood why.
Yuri was not fully herself no more, just like how she fought the Kau-bog Demon, she is nowpossessed by the Armor once again!
Firren was stuck at a crossroads, knowing he should wake Yuri up from using this forbidden power, but at the same time eager to see how the armor would react, and what kinds of stunts it would perform to smite the enemy. Firren, as a fighter, cannot at this moment impede his urge to witness a new battle form at play.
The remaining Haiju-type Queen rose up from her resting pose, spreading its colorful unique wings rather than the curved blades its kin wields, escaping to the air with a powerful leap of its four exoskeleton legs.
Only to be struck through the stomach by the icy energy grappling hook, and pulled down by brute force, as the blade of the sword rifle sailed across the Demon Queen’s abdomen before the vile creature touched ground.
The separate torsos rolled away from each other around Yuri’s feet, as the teenaged girl stared down coldly, with eyes blank and devoid of emotion.
Firren rushed out of the shadows as soon as the Demon queen perished.
“ Yuri!” the commander cried once
“ Yuri, are you there?! Answer me?!”
All he got was silence.
…
………
Yuri….?
The child under the golden hoody thought she didn’t hear right.
Impossible…It can’t be…!!
Yuri…is it you?!?!?!
…
………
“ Yuri!! Answer me!” Firren shouted for the third time, forcing his hand to the armored side of Yuri’s neck to deactivate Yuri’s helm off her face.
This move seemed to have challenged the armor’s presence.
Sensing a piercing blow coming at his face through the edge of his eye, Firren leapt backward away from Yuri, just in time to escape from her darting grappling hook that shot straight into the sandy soil before his feet.
Firren scoured the clearing, to see the other five of Yuri’s energy grappling hooks were activated, all pointing their sharp tips at him.
He instantly regretted not waking Yuri up earlier when he had the chance.
With the helmet deactivated at the last second, the white Starbreaking helm opened in parting nanoparticle fashion, like liquidus fingers once clasped together, opening up its embrace, to reveal Yuri’s cold blank menacing stare that saw through Firren’s light soul.
The stunning light blue hair swayed freely along her shoulders out of the helmet’s confinement.
Firren blackened one step to pose his stance secretly, ready to face whatever commences towards him.
…
………..
The child was no longer hiding anymore.
She was too stunned, too shocked to conceive who the white Starbreaker actually was.
Staggering forth slowly at the far side of the clearing, the child let her golden hoody slide. The light purple hair danced like two thin streams of violet down to her waist.
Dews started forming at the edge of the young child’s eyes.
“ …Finally…Yuri…….I have found you…!!!!!”
…
……….
“ Yuri, I know you’re somewhere in there. Don’t let it control who you really are!”
like reasoning with an unstoppable force, Yuri slowly marched toward her commander, now six energy grappling hooks fully raised and ready to take off at any given moment.
Firren quickly mustered all the dialogues he could remember of pulling one person back to their senses and used them all in successive vehement cries.
“ Be the master of your own reigns, Yuri! Pull it back and stir yourself out of this! You are more than just the armor! Remember who you are!!!!”
They don’t seem to work as he remembered.
His chances of avoiding a fight are running slim as Yuri was now less than two meters distance away from him now. He is in the optimal damaging range.
“ Well, shoot.” Firren cursed under his breath and activated his fiery gear, his wrist blades protruding out with fierce flame, ready to deflect whatever comes.
But what came was not as Firren expected.
It was a shout, a desperate cry of longing that rang in their ears, echoing over the clearing.
Firren looked over, to see a small tiny shadow of a figure under a dank golden cloth standing at the far end behind Yuri. Shouting one name over and over again.
“ YURI !!!!!!!”
Yuri blinked hard.
Who was it?
Who does this voice belong to?
Where have I heard of this voice before??
“ YURI!!!!!!!!"
Why is this voice so familiar?!?!
Finally, gaining a fraction of her body’s control back, Yuri turned around.
And there they were.
Voices, scenes, memories gushing in across her ears and eyes feeling her senses with that one voice, that one person.
Those lost memories, of herself, of the one standing before her,
and of them together,
reemerging to light.
“ ……Lima…………..?”
Was all Yuri could manage to whisper before her body dropped down to the ground, fainting into tumult slumber, landing right into the dusty cloaked child’s arms.
Firren couldn’t fully contain his shock and excitement seeing the young child appearing without a sign and reuniting with Yuri. He would have cheered also, but something that caught his eye made his light blood run cold.
The mouth of the perished Haiju Queen, was still moving, quivering its jaws as if it was calling…
The Demon queen hasn’t fully perished yet, and by sending its low frequenced cries that escaped both Yuri and Firren’s Starbreaker sensors, the Queen’s summoning had reached far and wide, calling upon packs and packs of frenzied Haijus that swarm across the barren lands, all of them converging to this one deserted village with murderous intent.
Firren could already feel the ground shudder upon the Haiju armies’ wake.
The dust and debris that was shaken up to the air, like an ominous huge smog that slowly engulfed the dilapidated suburb.
Firren gravely made up his choice.
“ …Lima, take Yuri, as far as you can to safety, NOW!!!!”
Call her Lima, a young girl of ten, long light purple of hair with pupils that shimmered light gold, now carrying the unconscious Yuri behind her back, escaping the coming fray of hysteric Haiju Demons into the secret hideout underground,
where more children await her return.
[......to be continued]