COI C169
Tabitha was right, sort of. Prioritize Junko was the best idea she had to do. The curse is stronger than before. The defectors come first as they couldn’t ignore it for long. Hito is with them, and nothing else they could respond to the abysmal presence of magic. The man he saved from Wheatley’s test trap is here, to score and settle to that bastard. Along with the other defectors as they are holding a special magic item to harvest C’s power. They turned around as they saw someone who is looking at them. Tabitha and Archivist come closer and reach out to Hito.
“C?” The defector corrects her
“That’s Hito. We all know that you are Enders, but we preferred not to reveal ourselves. Not yet at least”
Hito points out to them to go into the store, hand signing to them as this conversation is not a good time. The defectors are here and already committing to get the man down for good. They have made the mistake to keep the low lives under control, now they are surging up in powers as they can’t expect anything weak from them anymore. The horrible experience is happening throughout the city while their doubles are disappearing.
Junko sees Tabitha and Archivist watching them outside, getting ready to go inside of the building. They see the sign entrance says closed, worrying what’s going to happen next. Junko have revealed to the that her bead is chipping itself off to dust. The magic circle from the ceiling is hurting the bead to the extent. Forcing Junko to ask for help and meanwhile the defectors are hunting down the low lives. Everyone in the lower excuse of a society have become stronger. Their doubles disappeared out of nowhere. Leaving their partners can’t use their identities while reported missing.
The magic circle on the ceiling begins to shake. Archivist places his hand in the air to bend the weight of the spell coming down to her. The bead is holding on with Archivist helped. The powerful force pushes him down and the floor pierced through his feet. Tabitha uses her cards to enforce him as they attacking the spell without notice. It happened so sudden as Junko fell off to the floor feeling the force slightly touch her. The bead protects her and being restored slowly. The weight of the curse grew stronger as her shocked silence her from saying anything.
Tabitha’s card casts down on the cursed magic. The flow of the mana exposed to her cards, and the card couldn’t play. The difference between magic strength was the obvious. Archivist spoke to her in their bind
“This magic circle is more powerful than it was. Tabitha, channel your magic cards and enforced every magic enhancement you have to break the curse. Junko won’t be alive when she exposed like this”
“Archivist! That’s a bit sudden to have me !!!”
The magic circle transforms and the bead and Archivist feel the presence of the demon. Junko hears her nightmare again. The voice who had tortured her has return.
“You bitch! You think I have forgotten you. My magic circle should’ve got you by now. This is the only way to you to show your forgiveness to me. Now get inside here!”
“No!!!”
A strong shout coming from Junko. The shrills grew stronger as her magic returned, corrupted and forcing her will into the magic circle. Tabitha’s magic cards are thrown accidentally, filling the room to secure Junko from the intense screams. Then it suddenly stops. The two women look around and hope it was over. It didn’t, the bead and Archivist is holding their own strength to resist the magic circle. His sash and coin are forcing out the demonic magic.
There they could see it above Archivist’s hands, pushing the visible platform building up to form a foundation. The magic circle is falling down from the ceiling crushing them below. Tabitha tries to open the door or anywhere to find a way to get out of here. It was effortless, the room is fully transformed into a prison. All contacts ceased and everything else around them blocked and consumed by the magic circle. The cards returned to her deck holder, trapped into the falling ceiling into the crushing room floor. Junko resists him once again, and prayed for Hito to come and save him.
He had enough, C is getting close to get what he wanted. The magics he used are all now shared through the idol’s power. He is protected somehow, only the rune equipment sheltered his body by the influence. He is crafty yet advantage to use the demon’s power. He can’t ignore what they are doing. His own group becomes worthless to the point of realizing the chains of back stabs all around him. Those defectors are hunting them down to those who are suspicious enough to kill someone. C did it too, only to the stalkers.
There is no way that among the stalkers have doubles. No! But then again, they also know his power. What he did to Junko, proven to show in public. Not judging to which sides are wrong or which sides are taking the advantage. Time is already up, they get to the door and ramming it with great force. The realm activates and his collection hid into a safe place, along with the harem he made and only left behind are the creations who are independent. C asks them
“My realm raises the defenses. You five should be escape too”
One of them giggle as they suited up for his fight. “Such a sweet master, but your death means to us and we will be gone with you. We will be at the back cheering you on, if you fall. We’ll make sure we will be on top of you, giggle*”
The rest didn’t say anything, C is very fortunate to have these women helping him. He senses their magic, fading away from the original mana of the stalkers. He is wary that will happen to them or rather will be his end, today. Yet, he is selfish, and he place his control on to them, only his command and they will respond. The door shatters and the noise of the wooden door cracks as splinters spread inside the realm.
C adjusted his realm one more time, if this is the end for him. At least he uses the demon’s power or the Loli queen’s blessing up to full force. He needs to know to the very last moment why they are here. It would be better to know everything as he is up against the people who are experienced on fighting and killing. The UI is updating all the secrets. The realm transformed and his own personal touch is permanently lost, and the realm is sacrificed as he hears the loli voice.
“. . . In the end, you’re like the rest of them”
“No . . . I want to survive, even I have to abandon this city in order to have my paradise thrive”
“Chuckle*”
The defectors hear a childish chuckle, a slight laughter for them to be weirded out and at the same time endangered. Hito comes in as the realm ceased their only exit. The realm shows the chronological time line since the beginning of C’s life in this new world. It happened when the idol is on his hands. It started during summer. Visions of his activities appear before them. They tried to erase this vision from their distracted eyes. It resists and continues to play. The defectors are being consumed all around as the realm become hostile to any living being who stands before it.
They brought out their rune gears and some to Hito. They are forced to watch what happened to C’s life, the moping sounds and the restriction of this realm is powerful than they have thought. Yet, the damage didn’t occur to them. It only holding them back. The idol was the first to appear before C, all that is happen had started there. It is the cause to create his own paradise and making this realm into reality. Then later Hito appeared forced to do his bidden as he begins to work with the defectors in smart elusive way without them knowing the skill and ability, he was given were not his.
Hito watches how the tech he used are from the unknown entity. The idol brought it here, only in a form of a magic textbook. This is C’s first project to make it sure that he can replicate the one Hito used. It is revealed to him that his abilities and skills from the UI is shared with C. Hito’s soon realize his worries that he was used since the beginning. The next scene shows are the realms shared among his groups. The defectors have suspected it, and clearly see what the cult leader is trying to find. These hidden realms were not made by the low lives and they made by the unknown entity given to them.
So much realms showing in front of them, and C known for having a unique take of it and become the designer of said structure within the realm. Rumors were no lies. The shrouds of suspicions were giving no flukes or dreams. It is real, beyond they should’ve stop from what the cult leader is trying to focus on. But the defectors were not assigned to this because fighting small fries were not their thing. Their devices and UIs are trying to contact the others and give the truth was going on. The lost doubles disappeared because of their own inner conflicts. It happened already, the stalkers are missing and trace of no life when the sun rises.
Then that means, they are facing a stronger foe. The scene plays where it wasn’t about C. It is about them, the defectors, including the man Hito rescued reveal parts of the east coast. The time they were fallen into the abyss, the demons approach them. The accursed mortals, the citizens, were easily influence secretly and moderately tempted every day and night. Hito watches it carefully and someone taps his shoulder. They look at the scene every moment of them whispering to him for no explanation but trustful words.
“You’ve seen it, we will make up to you after this, ok?”
The man he rescued said it as he witnesses how he was involved more than just his allies today, and they are enemy of his own people. A fugitive, all of them by his side. More than so, they sided with the demon from the east coast. A demon who sided with the rebellion. They hear C’s voice laughing at the defectors and said to Hito
“Now, I know why you are trying to get me. You people are not growing in strength by surviving out there, but growing in with the demons you’ve sided with. You are just the same as us. Wanting power to overtake the unjustly of this new world we are trying to adapt.”
Hito didn’t move as the defectors walk forward and the last man follows them and said his final words “Don’t send your sympathy on us. We lost our freedom, and we hope you shouldn’t be joining us as well. Losing our doubles, those people were actually innocent. That’s all you can hear it from us”
He left him in shock, this moment had made Hito distracted to whom his is friend with, and with only the last truth is held either the defectors or the realm giving away the secrets of their past. The strangers he is closed to only a short time, and their interest on him was revealed. They are harvesting souls.
The last scene was heart breaking, and yet it was on a fresh start. He thought they come to fight against their common rivalry, but they too have the devil’s touch. While they have to face him, he watches their scene with the demon
“Leave this place, foolish mortals of the same kind. Your driven to power will only be a gift to us. You all did well to scourge your own people. Even the people who trusted you, are now abandon your journey for the false pilgrims. Look how these souls keeping in my hands”
Multiple demonic hands holding in each soul, not a handful but each growing hands. A lot of them were all what most their own people had done like in manga. Power, they wanted power to achieve to take this forbidden land to themselves. Fallen to the hands of the rebellion, scattered and sheltered with artificial worlds inside the caves. Trapping altogether with the harsh environment. There is one scene that ultimately breaks his trust on them. They left them, received the powers they always wanted. Molded into the defection and the termed named them what Horsin tongues should describe them.
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“Traitors”
In death was the tribute to gain their powers, it is the way how demons give their service who offered sacrifices. C, he is doing it the same thing as they did. His mind is calling out to him to escape and imagined these people want him for their tribute. ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’, but what if the they are all under the same demon just for entertainment. He breaks his train of thought and let himself stay idle, even though the vision continues to show him more painful views than he tried to focus his main goal.
C seen it all “Like that, you just using to get me and the rest of the doubles who possessed actual influence by the demon, correct?”
“No, you are ripened enough for us to harvest. From what you’ve show to the boy, it is only what happened in the coast. Not here in this city”
C claps his hands and trying to evade the question or trying to provoke them. The realm shows more revealing past they have done outside of the city. The defectors see it with a familiar point of view, they whispered to each other. The unscathed about the truth and their actions lead to into a more dangerous situation where Hito sees it with his own eyes.
The sight of them, having met the demons themselves. Not against, but a chance to escape the coast. The grave mistakes they did, harming and killing the Horsin natives. All goblin bodies piled and one certain man who is not part of their group appeared. The forbidden cursed name, Col, was there and including themselves obtain the power of the bad spirits. The realm changes to adapt against this blood thirsty people while C is already feeling the spirits’ presence.
Hito can’t resist the spirits’ presence as many souls within the chained spirits of the dead crawling out are not goblins. Recognizable screams, the defectors greatest burden for salvation. He watches them, leaving him backing into the realm’s wall. Distracted what he had saw, the moment he realizes the defectors true reason to return back. It mentions on the vison, but he stops to hear the sole demon who pushes them to leave this place. It was the presence of Lady Hivites, without saying a word she portrays herself a heroine to them. Hito can’t believe that a city state’s leader appeared to them and make them leave that place ending the harvest cycle.
Enrage by her stares, looking down as hell brought to them. Showing to him as she can easily controlled them now, the defectors didn’t remember it. This is not the time for them to figure it out. C is looking at them too, wondering why is she there. He tries to contact the demoness, she was silent. This is different, he feels the shakes on her mana. Dwelling within him knowing that she lurks within his magic. The realm had turned around and caused a confusion to both sides. That short moment of distraction was enough for the defectors to react.
Unleashes the powers they held since back in the east coast. Admiring the curses made by themselves, matured with their own talents, and vilify with their own harmful rituals. C didn’t try to block it, and dodges with his lightning-fast speed as the infestation of their spirits rose up with mindless zombified face coming out from their fists. It converts quickly back to their hands and swiftly flow down to their feet, the ritual casts down touching the ground. A spirits swimming on the ground forming small seismic waves to find him. C uses his magic to float in the air.
Suddenly trapped as the defectors as they leaped and pounce him back down. All five of them had enough of this, they are willing to take him down to death after seeing this realm. It reveals their true origin, their powers can’t contact anyone outside, and their UIs are flashing warning at them nonstop. This man is dangerous and he is still weak as they fight. C is cornered without a wall to lean on, they surround him and spinning around in different directions. C’s speed flashes with lightning, he able to grab them and send an electric shock. They didn’t raise their resistance as they shout in pain.
C gets hit left and right, keeping up his stats to endure all their attacks. Surrounding with lightning on the ground, quickly disappears as the spirit are gnawing his runes. Colliding with runes and spirits together as they battle out for supremacy, the realm gives its best with powerful buffs to C’s advantage. He becomes the boss of his own realm building up his strength to the beyond limits. The defectors were secretly happy to see him building up his strength. Their spirits are overwhelmed with his flourishment. He didn’t know how shamanism interact with different mana type, as always as a man possessing the power exceed the law of nature, the spirits were pleased.
C starts to waver, the magic that the defectors use are not neutral mana nor runes. Shamanistic curse and rituals are gaining the realm’s power. Draining off the magic he couldn’t control, only left to his own will is the rune equipment behind on his shoulder blade. The runes help him fought against the spirits, but it won’t last long as his normal body is taken a beaten by their normal strength. The defectors don’t need their weapons, their knowledge about magic interconnection is too easy for them to deal with him. The fight is what they have expected. C is strong with his rune equipment, but with other types of mana. This is the best thing they could do.
The sudden flashes of his lightning magic stop. The defectors surround him blocking even the small gaps. C swoop his legs to form a lightning circle swirling around form an electric static field. The defectors reckless phases through the lightning field as the electric field frying their bodies. They grip him by the joints, hands, feet, and neck. He spins around as they push and down to the ground. The painful shock broke off his rune equipment. The realm clears off, C falls down while surrounded with the defectors leaning down to their knees while the spirits healed them back more aggressive inside of them.
C looks up at their eyes with the spirits cursing in on him. The realm couldn’t feast on it and neither with them holding themselves back and sealing their mana from within. He can’t beat them with their spirits on their sides, a painful groan as one of them stomps on to him. The spirits flow into his body, possessing all his strengths. Yet, the spirits sprung out from out from his body as it forms apparitions and protect the defectors from their backs. It wasn’t too long when C gets hurt like this. It triggers the realm and they bring forth with the demons’ mana. The defectors expected this, but this mana they are feeling with the spirits brought more harm than they could’ve expect.
Hito was standing there watching the fight as C’s harem comes to his aid. The moment they start spreading out. One of C’s harem appeared behind him. Hito’s mad dodges quickly hold her hand. C’s creation didn’t do anything, and with only just touching him to see how he reacts. Her beautiful face is resembling most real-world women, Hito never seen his creation to be realistic than the most hentai characters he made. The woman breaks his grip and forced control his runes. His equipment was quickly temporary nullified after one interaction.
Hito backs away in disbelief, it turns out as she shows her fingers that she wears rings to all her fingers except her thumb. The runes written on it glowing to the unbelievable sight, the strength of the runes is stronger than his equipment on his back shoulder. The lightning casts on the ground as it being absorbed on her rings, the process of her rings put him discouraged as it converting his magic runes to hers. One of the defectors falls back to him after getting hit from one of the women, he lands near him as the spirit pulled him back up from the knockback.
He catches Hito from the spot where his opponent casts her rune spells. The spirit helps them against the magic, destroying itself in order to endure the rune magic attack.
“Take out your double. I don’t think we can survive”
“. . .”
“I know what you’re thinking. This is not about us anymore. Get yourself together, and free yourself from this curse”
The man grabs him and spinning them both around creating a tornado. The two women breaks the wind with their rune weapons. The man deceptively appeared holding the two women off. Hito strikes forward with the trails of electrical current.
The women saw it chases to their master, they tried to stop him but the defectors are holding them off with their spirits. Their desperate hands reaching out their master. The strong loud scream breaking through the presence of the spirits. The spirits’ destruction and revival in mid screeches, their powers are too immense to keep them sheltering Hito. The defectors feel their bodies are aching to the sounds and the effects of the runes are harming their bodies. Their mana is quaking inside of them. C’s harem is slowly moving in ignoring their distraction. The defectors see their discovery. C’s realm is a demon realm. It is impossible to fight like this, his harem is possessing what they truly feared.
All of the defectors have no choice, but to retreat. This is the fight they could not win. The women were able to break through the rituals as the spirits are trying to tangle their bodies with all the horrendous mana it gathered around them. The defectors were thrown over to where Hito is. Hito made it to C’s unconscious body, feeling a bit weak to the greatest extent. The realm is forced draining him to lose all of his strength. His use of the lightning equipment doing harm to himself than he realized. He quickly hits C’s heart with every strength he had. Blood spurt out from his torso as he pushed away with the defectors being thrown at him.
They succeeded. The defectors didn’t take the time to rejoice but to give them their devices on to Hito. Hito fell to the ground as his inventory was forced open and received their own devices. Without saying a word, they say to him with a painful grit to their faces.
“We will get you out of here. Tell the cult leader what happened here, or the fate of the city will bring the end for the rest of our people”
Hito didn’t give a time for him to respond, only left him with their devices and forced to escape the realm.
The defectors turned around and see the women are now resurrecting him back. C is no longer human at this point. They see the ideal body appeared secretly entering to this realm. The defectors never thought to die this way, and the spirits around them drumming their presence. Hopes is lost, and the second time is happening to them once more. They feel their body is washing away with the spirits’ help, they couldn’t understand why all of this have happened. The fools are given with god-like powers, nothing to hold at their own free will. The sounds of the spirits are rejoicing their doom. A loud chant opens into the spirit world.
The defectors sacrifice themselves to the very existence including their souls to escape the hands of the demons. Leaving Hito into a mystery of their lives disappearing while on the floor. He hears C once more before he was dragged by the thousand spirits with their nightmarish hands into the spirit world.
“Junko! I am ready to bring you here and make my harem real with your very flesh!”
The spirits revealed to him what C is thinking before escaping. All that happened in the brink of time. It was a lost, a lost he couldn’t understand.
C wakes up with his new body. His weak body is gone and forged into a body he tries to make with the very flesh of the stalkers. Disgusted, but he had no choice. He can’t win against the defectors with his own pre-existing conditions. Again, even weaker under the 10 times of the flesh of the stalkers. He sees his creation couldn’t fight because of his ideal representation of his ‘leadership’. He hears the voice of the demoness again, annoyed of his fictional response of that fight.
“How drama puts you in such a situation? They are all prepared and ready to die to see what’s going on. Complete it, or these women who worked so for you will be your doom”
The women looking at him worriedly, C’s control over them made them slow and puts his own demise thinking to them. She is right, and his control put them to silent because of fear that they could kill them. He was wrong, his realm is definitely not his anymore. The demon helped him, to the most viable skills she could do. Now she complains of his bad decisions. Then a sudden break happens on beneath the floor. C feels his magic disappearing. Junko is escaping. He descends with the other women along, once again ignore the calls of the demoness to give them the proper mind. C’s harem doesn’t need one. He is still the harem king in his pride.
Archivist bends the mana on the circle and destroy the magic circle. While Tabitha was shocked to pull out Hito from the same magic circle. Junko is seeing it what’s happening. The sudden actions from them led her hand being pulled to Hito’s hand and said,
“We need to get out of here. C is gone mad”
C descends down from the magic circle dropping his poor self into the floor as Archivist breaks the magic off from his teleportation. Archivist didn’t hesitate, with Tabitha’s cards, he grabbed the appearing women around them. Pushing their bodies phasing through the solid objects.
Junko was rushed to get outside as they broken through C’s imprisonment. Where the magic circle is dragging her back in, it was destroyed in a blink of an eye. Tabitha was thrown outside of the building and see Haw and Ironno is setting up outside of the store.
“Get out of here!” Ironno uses his magic scrolls to open a route for them to escape.
The magic scroll quickly burns to ashes as one of the women come out phasing through like a ghost. While the other women were trapped within the building breaking free. C is coming out and catches a potion thrown at him. The potion explodes and his mana burns in flames distorting his powers.
His body breaks apart and fell to the ground, his artificial body was easily taken down. C looks outside of the store, a realm that is not his is forcing to trapped him inside. His confidence grew as his new body know what to do with it. The realm quickly corrupts into his control. Pushing Haw and Ironno out of it, during that moment, Ironno and Haw use their secret magic scroll to grab Junko and Hito and left the realm. C watches his control of the realm and banished those two including the woman he desperately hated. Realized that this is the Enders, crafty to the point of his awe never ceased of their elusive talents.
Tabitha raises her wand, as he looks at her insanely deranged with his own stares. In rage with patience depleted by the fast pace of their preparation. He had enough, C flashes forward in a terrible thunderous lunge with his legs kicking to her. Her robes resist the magic and slides him off. More and more that he doesn’t know how to face these Enders. The madness he brings out when Junko escaped, leaving him to force what the demoness have told him. The women gathered around him. He gives them their free will. Tabitha casts her cards, and one of the women stopped it with only with their fingers on the cards. Her cards were converted to their own magic spells. They said to him
“You can now hit her, darling”
A slow tone gives the wrathful man into an embracive aura of terrible electric currents moving wildly around him. The demonic presence in his aura appeared out and tries to express all grieves put into his hands.
Archivist appears and pulled Tabitha into his arm and sweep under to dodge C’s demonic lightning strike. His harem intervenes and uses the card they stole and converted to make C maneuvered close enough to hit them. The sounds of sweet voices coming the sparks of lightning cracking through, a sharp turned around as his fist reached them. Archivist parry his fist in mid-section, and the current flows through his body. To the last ditched effort to escape death, both of their bodies shattered through this thunderous rage and disappears to the ashes.
The women watch him go all out, and forced through the realm. The pathway to find Junko is coming. C had enough of the distraction, his selfish powers put through to himself as the demon is now whispering to him to his mind now. Lost in touch and all of his weak ass performance to face them. No knowledge nor experiences, he had to do it. Before he forgets himself and be one with the devil. Desperate to get out from it, but he has too much to think about to escape from it. He can’t, it is because he is inexperienced to survive.