COI C257

The ruins were left so barren can’t even try to trace it back. It could only differentiate the roughness in its surroundings. All grayed to compared to the dark brown sank into the seabed. This grayness are the only things show it was made out of highly masoned foundation. More so, if they see its actual aesthetic of this forgotten city, they would’ve known that this has special materials floating along the waves. From the very surface down to the depths of the deepest trenches, where lies a waterfall cleanly fall straight down or up unimaginable. This unique phenomenon like any realms in the East Coast, but lies inside where the falling water holds the history of its fate.

Harsh torrents going through the waterfall with great power, and it will be hard for anyone to touch it or go through. Acting as walls to keep them away from certain places and others weren’t intended to use. Then there’s this box floating from the surface, many Circoston invaders wandering through as they busy trying to find out the tall hill was. Many noticed it and left ignored. This box spins around as it is getting caught from the whirlpool. It sinks down as one of the victims of the tidal city. Del’Montra Esteval, the tidal city. The ruin trapped inside the East Coast.

Tabitha tries to reach out her team. R-cord and McS4 are all inside the ruin. Data collected as they found her guild’s hidden stash and notes downward of the ruin. Interested to find out what this city could be, and words got out from McS4 about the Benedictus are with him. Silfa scratches her head furiously as she heard the message

“We are in a rescue mission. Then your team goes silent not telling us about Benedictus. They are the one who are helping our people here. Why can’t they explain all everything here?”

Juela explains to her “Benedictus too are doing it the same. They never mention each other”

“Ugh!”

Both known of their military ethics. Easy to coordinate with great details, superb coordination to their respective guild, and harmonize to any forms of tactics, except their rivals, effectively. Dexter Guild have shown great teamwork with Tabitha from the basics. Even they take action suddenly, like rescuing the people who got caught from the Circoston invaders. Still, 6 survivors are enough than all of them died. Able to escape is one thing, and all of them escaped from their enemies’ impressive might.

Aoi pulls Silfa’s back clothing “Haven’t you guys forgotten about something?”

“It’s fine, we’re close by”

Aoi walks back and return to her friends. Mina asks “Did we forget something?”

Kenta answers “Probably those two guys. Man, we are almost done for”

Toba scuffs him then turns to Sakura “I saw you two having chat earlier. What did she forget about?”

Sakura shakes her head “Who knows. Those creeps are the only thing that bugs me”

“Them? Yeah, I have a strange feeling about them. But why am I thinking and struggling to remember them”

They reach one of the hidden camps.

The mark shows multiple small holes, bullet holes. The debris show no signs of a fight. Tabitha goes near it and instructs Juela

“Say, use R-cord’s monocle at this angle”

She points at the edge of the cliffs. Juela actually raises concern at that distance

“Over there?”

“Yes!”

Tabitha confidently instructs her with no hesitation with her cards ready to play. Juela uses her sash to check the environment. For Tabitha so boldly confident to tell her to go there into the unknown where enemies are everywhere. The trust she had with her was never bothered, except the dangers where she is ready for.

The truth, Tabitha’s team already know from the start. There is at least one person who is they think is the traitor. Mina said to them earlier about those kinds of people. This constants failure they have to leave this realm are too much for them to count. That incident before was no fluke of being discovered. They have found one of the examples of suspicious group. Among the three adults are the culprits, but they managed to test one of them. The woman was checked earlier. Tabitha’s time with the woman was pure luck when she uses her card. A valuable card that helps here to see corrupted mana.

The three kids were used soon after as they quickly fell down into a nice slumber. Tabitha daringly uses a cost-effective card. A mass spell gives them haste, the price is their bodies will use their natural bodies like normal. It was very useful on children after thinking it as a babysitter wanting them to get them tired fast. Yet, she almost goof because it is meant for Haw. To hear him to able to do faster with his already skilled crafting while battling. She almost thought of wanting him back.

“Alright, Tabitha. Is this the right angle?”

“Almost there”

“Almost there!?”

“I am not really joking. This is R-cord we are talking about. What would a guy with a long-range gun would do?”

“I am a specialized scroll caster, not an assassin”

The girls are laughing as they argue. Kenta takes it seriously on their discussion. He goes to help Juela.

“Hey, would you mind let me take a look at the monocle?”

“You know how R-cord using with it”

“Let me try”

“Al-right, don’t try to lose it. It is a special lens”

“I’ll take good care of it, you’ll see”

When Kenta holds the monocle, he lies down on the ground. From what Tabitha says to be a long-range gun, she probably meant a sniper rifle, right. Carefully placing his hands to his eye and pretending what he is holding is a sniper rifle. He sees through the monocle as the bullet holes give dark small dots as the wall are blank in white. Juela says to him

“Did you find anything?”

“Wait, I think I can move a little”

Crawling his body to the side where the waterfalls almost blocked him from view. The clear water is at his view then the monocle switches visuals. A sniper hiding behind the waterfall, this makes Kenta feel so surreal, but this is enough to see through it.

“Oh wow, this guy you mention is some kind of secret agent. I can see it”

When he stands up, the message on the wall hid again.

“Really, just wow”

Lost to the amazement from what he saw. Juela holds the monocle and uses her sash brings it to where he lies down. Levitated with her sash then directly backs to her and see through the delayed time where it looks at the bullet holes. She places her fingers on her chin reading at the message.

“Tabitha, it’s time”

She whispers through Tabitha’s telepathy.

Tabitha gathers everyone. “Ok, Juela and Kenta. Do you find what it says?”

Kenta shakes his head “I really don’t understand what it says, but it was so cool that reanimates just from the bullet holes through the waterfall”

Toba reluctantly smirks at the guy’s dumb reaction. She overconfidently responds

“What do you expect from a guy who takes it seriously then backs out unintentionally?”

“Hey!”

Juela chuckles “Ok, calm down. There are requirements needed to get into the camp. It has this old custom secret. I need pieces of cloth and any form of writing tools”

Everybody from the survivors handed over their rags. Juela keeps asking for more as they took out everything they’ve got.

“Thank you, hmm. There is no one has any writing tools”

Mina answers “You mean pens? We never have those”

The kids step in and offered them some crayons.

“Is this will do?”

“How thoughtful, thank you”

Juela gives a big smile and the kids are smiling back at her.

“If there anything else, no? Alright, let’s begin”

She raises the rags and the crayons into the air. The cloth begins unsown then sown together into one, the colors melted turned itself to dye. A body is form and fills with mana pressurized in clear glow, the writings in each sown cloth dyed in creating magic writings. The limbs are form, the body wrapped around as it forms its own core, mana release such harmonize control as its blood flowing all around the body, then it wraps around Juela before them. The bullet holes start to light up and flashes of light blinded them. A loud noise comes after then it starts.

The two men being pushed back close to the cliff. The man who keeps an eye on Aoi laughs back from the surprise.

“Clever, and I thought you people don’t know anything about this place”

Silfa shouts back at him “Was looking at the girl menacingly wasn’t good enough to know?”

The man replied “Or was it because you have something on you that we can’t know for sure you are”

Tabitha’s team have always prepared about these circumstances. All prepared and planned by Yui and Voldemyr, because of them giving the right item to not let a single trap touched them. If they didn’t, the oblivious aura will not be convincing enough.

Silfa uses Haw’s magic item provided for her. A forcefield enhances and spread around them. A battlefield replica combination with Silfa’s forcefield and Yui’s materials into one. She brings out Fae-chan out

“Seal this place, no one will enter after we are done”

“Yes, ma’am!”

It disappears into the walls. Trapped, the two men look around and see that there not the only three women fighting.

The man smiles at Aoi “You guys need their help. How weak can you get . . . OUCH!”

Sakura throws a rock like a slingshot “You guys think we are not capable to take you guys down after what you did to us”

“To you? I can’t even remember”

The curse of the caves is still lingering within them. Aoi starts remembering after her charm is gone. Slowly recovering lost memories from the influence’s temptation. Many have forgotten the worse they live within those caves, and the price is their own memory from the past. This is her time to bring what the dwarf guy had taught her to do. To prove that, she must take down the people she wants to get rid of. One strong voice comes out to her

“You go die like the rest of you, onii-chan!”

“YOU REMEMBER!”

A horrific voice spout in excitement. The monstrous voice breaks open the seal inside of him, spread around his power to the other man. The man reveals himself to be the older brother of Aoi. The bastard who uses his younger sister as bargaining chip with his so-called friends. That incident when he found her praying at the altar. It was no inconvenient because of their UI connect each other’s location. An abusive bond.

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The man lunges at her but quickly blocked by Silfa’s shield then bashes him back close to the cliff. The man chuckles for a bit

“What are you waiting for? FIGHT!”

A force call to the other man as he brings out the power of the demon within them. Aoi continues screaming at his brother

“All my life, you are nothing but being ungrateful. You took away the people I cared for after what you did”

Aoi goes berserk as she rants through all the pain she had suffered. Sakura grabs her hand. Aoi is tearfully looking at Sakura, her worried face made her turns to her brother with a death stare. The battle begins.

Tabitha channels out her telepathy both Silfa and Juela “We’re fighting a literal possessed demon. Don’t waste any of your powerful items”

“Juela, good work on getting those things you ask. I can’t believe you can actually do that”

“This ruin is well protected from the dusts. I can go all out”

“But it also includes that demon”

“Silfa! Juela! Lookout!”

Silfa blocks another attack, and the man pushes her back as her feet slides back. The change of direction displaces her as she is being maneuvered around at her back. She was pushed towards the cliff.

The other man helps grabs a hold at Silfa’s aura. He throws her further to the cliff. Silfa almost falls but catches by Juela’s sashes. The men turned to Juela dashing forward from both sides and strikes her from the top and bottom. Lightning-fast speed reaches in as they were stopped from Juela’s kite shield. The other man hits the shield disarming her. It bounces at the man directly aims at her inside of her magic cloth body. The shield stops in mid-air and the man misses and gets hit from it. The shield moves again bashing further but he keeps going without flinching.

Tabitha observes the situation as they behave like anime characters with high-speed fights. It was predictable at the same time impetuous for them. Yet, she sees the kite shield is breaking apart by their raw power. Already dent after a few hits. The man is able to grabs it and breaks it down after getting hit like it was nothing but an insect. She readies her wand as she calls out to Mina’s group

“Stay away. This is fight . . . What!?”

The ground shakes as the men casts their spell freely throwing it around in a barrage of hailstorm.

Juela shields herself with the cloths. Made from citizens’ materials are showing benefits as it absorbs punishable attacks. The cloths mingle through the destructive mana force then pushes back at them. The other man was caught from the cloth, strangling him with the magic forces back into his body. Overloading with immense power, it implodes inside of him bursting out fully drained his mana.

“Silfa, get him”

Silfa brings out her two weapons on both hands. Elemental and Highspeed sword, twirling rapidly at the other man into pieces. The other man falls down leaving a pile of body parts, no blood and the insides shines like goo.

Silfa breathes heavily and see the enemy they witnessed. The man pushes Silfa out, but she countered with her two swords. Masterfully casts out her magic both elements and speed, the man wasn’t expecting to getting stab through his body the moment he reaches her. Then elemental magic pummels him to his chest. He felt no pain and pushes forward to get the body. He made it and burst down the demonic mana into it. The other man quickly revives and hits her chin upward.

“Ugh!”

Juela sees Silfa flies up to the air. She swipes them as they are wrapped by elemental magic. The magic writings on the cloth burns as it leashes on to them then thrown where the burned cloth goes.

They were pulled to the ground. Tabitha plays her support card on herself then slams on the ground creating a shockwave towards them. Magic erupts and ruptures their mana. The man scuffs out his mana out

“Cough* Damn it! The core can’t bring our mana here. The stinking UI is still not working”

Another attack thrown at them as Silfa charges further. Tabitha uses another spell card on Silfa. Silfa’s images emerged as it transforms themselves into her friends’ image: Ruby and Gemina.

She grins at the sight of her friends. All three together as she gives the real weapons to them. Both Ruby and Gemina receives their actual weapons, giving the potential of Tabitha’s spell card. Ruby goes full light speed and Gemina brings the wind into air slamming down with fiery dives. The man goes after the Ruby image, but quickly out pace as she just throws her sword directly at him impaled and he keeps going. Her hands both grabs her sword still stuck on him then uses his momentum swinging him around then throw him back.

The other man fires spells at Gemina then immediately struck down from the fiery dive. Magma rages up as the Gemina image garnered the mana from the demon then erupted into a hardened shell. The man gets caught. The hardened magma bursts open from the man’s speed. Juela brings Tabitha with her long sash closer to them the moment the man escapes from the magma. The use of her wand, she sends a wave knocks him back to the magma shell. The magma cools down as the two men are stuck inside the magma. Trapping them and struggling to get out.

Silfa looks at the images as they faded away. Looking again at Tabitha with great pleasure on her face

“I hate to admit, but I never have those kinds of images actually think like them. Ruby really knows how to fight high-speed enemies. Gemina has her way to deal with people like this”

Juela picks up Gemina’s sword “It feels kind of nostalgic wielding this sword again. I remember they were a bit overconfident during my first stay”

“Oh that, she gets humiliated more when someone with a runic glove stole her weapon”

Both of them laughs

The man trapped in magma. This trap has something inside negate them to breakthrough. He looks at the battlefield as it is the same reminiscence when attacked by the Circoston invaders. This limited memory of his finally recovers what he should’ve done since the beginning. The downside has already proven when the UI lost connection to the source. Now his memory regaining thanks to his younger sister freeing from the influence. His cheat card was foiled immensely by these people. When his memory is coming back a little more, he remembers who was the first had able to beat him. An Enders. Then he turns and see in their clothes, no doubt they must be them.

A slap in the face, where Aoi stands there without hesitation. Angry from what all he had done to cost them to survive here. The older brother just keeps smiling back. Aoi didn’t say a thing as she moves away, then she heard her brother talking smack at her

“How does it feel that you rely again on other people to solve your problem? You can’t lie to me. The shorty saves you with his big ass crossbow”

Aoi responds “I don’t think you understand the situation you are in. They are here to rescue us. We will never meet again as far you are going to rot here like father says when you’re in your room”

The older brother grits his teeth as his eyes glow. The water starts to shift where its clear wall falling water has started to have ripples. The battlefield begins to ruptured as crack lines to appear. Mina and her friends pointed out something is falling above them.

“What’s that?”

“It looks like smoke falling down”

Juela looks up and warns them “That’s no smoke. It’s the slime water. Everybody we have to deal with him before anything happened”

A falling debris breaks through the barrier and hits the older brother. A metallic piece lands on top of him destroying the magma shell.

His head drops down to the floor, no blood and mana comes out from it. Aoi chan stares at her older brother’s head. The head moves and jumps on to her

“AAH!”

Sakura punches the head then kicks it back to the debris. The debris catches the head as it reveals itself as a metallic body. A large body with metallic four needle like legs, the head is attached to it and the remains have taken inside of its body chamber. The mechanical body uses the head as the voice of its nightmarish combined both two men inside as mana nutrient.

“Del’Montra Esteval fell once more”

Tabitha desperately contacts with her team through telepathy

“That’s the same monster from the sphere, is there any way to beat it”

“There’s no way we can beat it. Team Platinum was able to fight it. Beating it never happened. It leaves the moment they found out they can’t”

“If it is the same thing as before, we might get away as it only runs back and forth in highspeed”

“Tabitha, we don’t know what version of this model from. The thing inside the sphere is the first model”

“Then this, thing, is . . . what is it?”

The mechanical four needle legged spider turns to Aoi, giving her older brother’s stare with his voice calls out to her

“You shouldn’t have said it. You’re dead”

Aoi can’t move as she stares death right in front of her. Her friends shield her. Tabitha and her team are forced to attack it. The mechanical spider feels the magic leashed on it. It shrugs it off as its needle legs pick out the leash cutting its spell in dark pigments decaying the spell. Silfa uses her forcefield to catch it. The mechanical spider twine itself into the forcefield as it rapidly scratching through as it legs piercing through as a small hole appeared. It uses magic squeezes itself into smoke then appeared outside in quick succession.

Tabitha uses her wand and plays her support cards boosting on herself. She casts a sonic wave pushes the mechanical spider back. It knocks back to the cliff. It falls, but it climbs back up as it moves sideways like a crab and looking at its target, Aoi. They cast their spells trying to land a hit. It stops as it shields blocks it then absorb into its chamber. Juela shred a piece of cloth and throws at it. It absorbed it. Its chamber bursts open.

“Good work, Juela. Wait, there is no way”

The mechanical spider vomits it out and the chamber hardened into a new shell.

Juela can’t believe it “A machine that heals. That is one of the old machines. The only way to destroy it is using a rune weapon”

“Does my rune weapon count, Juela?”

“The rune weapons I’m talking about no longer exist, Silfa”

“Then how are we going to deal with it? We can’t escape like the first one”

Tabitha calls them out. “There is no time, we need to escape. We have to get inside the hidden camp”

The mechanical spider jumps toward Aoi. Everyone dodges it as they evade from its relentless chase. Aoi quickly teleports away as it chases her.

Mina calls out to Tabitha “The monster prioritized only Aoi. We can use this our advantage”

Kenta shouts at Mina “We’re on it. We don’t know how long our mana will last though”

Silfa pulls out a mana potion and throws it at them. Juela catches it “We shouldn’t waste more than we needed. We are lucky they didn’t target them”

“Juela’s right. We run out of those teleporting gems like to the woman and the kids. We shouldn’t waste more”

Silfa reluctantly nods as she places it back into her inventory.

Fae-chan is struggling outside. The mechanical spider gets inside the battlefield, easily penetrating the concealment and the barrier trying to keep anyone from getting in. The fights are screeching loud and high as the top of them see more of those things fighting to the surface. It reaches to the wall as it hid within the grey where there is a clear water sealed the rest of the remaining mechanical spiders. All are waiting to be free. It looks down and up as someone breaks open the wall. The doll hears a voice calling out to it. The voice direct speaks from the waterfall guiding down to the abyss.

Aoi runs as fast as she could. Her mana drained where the slime reaches their breathes. Its toxic fumes weakened them greatly as she falls down. She turns around and sees a needle leg reaches down to her face. Kenta grabs her and carried her off.

“This smoke again. Can’t cough it out, making it feel harder to keep going like this”

“It looks like it always aiming at me”

“I am not surprised. Hearing that scumbag is your brother make a whole lot of sense to chase you down”

Kenta goes into tight corners and small tight spots. For a fast-moving giant robot, it sure has problems getting through it. Its needle like legs and its enormous body won’t try to smash through.

“Kenta, throw her to me!” Kenta sees Silfa is reaching out to help.

With eagerness to use his ability, Aoi tried to stop him “Let me teleport to her instead, I don’t need your . . .”

“Too late”

He throws her to the best of his ability. In mid-air exposed by the mechanical sider leaping as its mouth ready to bite with its magic casting fangs to reach her neck.

Kenta throws all the magic he could think of: rock bullets, gust of winds, and concentrated magic missiles. All of them absorbed without any chance it lands a hit, yet, it was able to miss her. With his last spell on mind, he had to use grease magic on its legs. When it reaches the ground, it slips a little bit and returned its footing after a few balancing steps. He drops on the ground as he worn out while breathing the fumes

“So fast, we need to get out of here”

A sash tangles him pulls out to safety.

Mina and Toba are with Silfa going to the open trying to stop the mechanical spider to get her. They dodge from the slime air continue dripping down as the fog reaching to their shins. The mechanical spider roars out to Aoi with her older brother’s voice. Its threats are slowly diminished becoming repetitive. It is still impossible to get it down as its powerful body in mechanical limbs. They keep circling to no end waiting for the right time to leave, together.

Then the mechanical spider darkens its sight and its voice returns as it stops

“Thousands shout in a thousand words. Let the shadow fade me from the light”

A spell casts through its body. It disappeared. Mina is holding Aoi as they all caught off guard. Tabitha warns them

“Get everyone here, now!”

The mechanical spider blinks behind her, two void missiles curve around her then hit Tabitha. A silent hit, Tabitha couldn’t scream as the void took out any sounds come across. The terrible magic is returning to the present as the void spells return.

Juela daringly faces it with her cloths. The mechanical spider blinks again and appeared right in front of her. Juela suddenly feel the tension in great force. Never experience like this. Her mana is leaking like strong wind bursting out finding release from the pressure of her own made mana core. Yet, there was no pressure, but vacuum into the void where the mechanical limbs appeared. Its needle legs pierces through her cloth sashes as she burns it all to fight back. The long cloth had turned into a fuse, it lights up ready to reach to the end as it runs out her spells to cast.

Silfa comes to aid her. The mechanical spider was too swift, easily capable to struck Juela down without any issue. Her core quickly destroyed and the blast knocks her out. Silfa, seeing everyone is taking down as fast as she could react, throws her shield at Juela able to catch her and take her away from the fight. Holding both her two swords, from Ruby and Gemina, it won’t be enough to stop this void magic. Forcing to use her ultimate, knowing both Juela and Tabitha are out. She has to coordinate what she can do with their abilities.

The mechanical spider fades back to the shadow, easily seeing it move in high-speed. Silfa’s stats are still able to keep on eye on it. Limited only by a blur and not its silhouette would be any help of its fast reflexes. There is no way in defeating it. The monster though all powerful by the sheer silent of its void magic. Its eyes turned brighter as the body slowly reappeared before itself. The body shakes massively losing all of its lethality. Vibrating out of control, its eyes glow and it speaks again with Aoi’s brother’s voice.

“Finally, I got control with this new body”

His voice turned demonic as he laughs after.

It suddenly turns to see Aoi again as its rage still fester in with endless rage readily made for her. Mina and her friends made the last ditched effort to do the same trick again. It failed only by a single second. They were got pushed away from the sheer push of its mechanical body, breaking every bit of their bodies as bruises appeared everywhere. The void silent their painful scream as the machine is at the front. Aoi tries to runs away. It playfully toying with her as she desperately trying to get away.

The older brother said to her “You have no idea what this world has to offer. Even I died, I will always come back. If you just follow to the end, you won’t be living or ‘ghosting’ here like this forever”

Aoi uncontrollably crying after what just happened. All what she said before really meant it. Just to take all back because of this incident. She closes her eyes and begs with her one more prayer. Her brother laughs as he readies to use his needle legs pointing down on her. Raising up as he keeps watching her desperate prayer. One swoop.

“AAH!”

A strong scream reaches down with the torrent of powerful water gushing down. The mechanical spider feels the weight of the waterfall. Raining down water forces the powerful monster down to its body to the ground. Aoi peeks and sees it is down by mere waterfall. A voice calls out to her

“You must finish what you are trying to free from . . .”

Her ankle was struck by the needle leg, impaling her as she drags with it. The pain didn’t reach her head as the void siphon the pain and her blood down as she being drained.

The evil laughs coming from her brother as he barely holds on from the water pouring on top of him. The battlefield starts disappear and more of the falling water reaches down in one strong flash flood. He fell down to the abyss. Aoi was free as she managed to remove it. Silfa starts to multicasting both Tabitha’s cards and Juela’s remaining cloths. Aoi looks up from the sky and hears the orchestra of battles. A song of hymns coming from above. The choir voice reaches down. All fell to no point of getting back up from what happened.

Silfa hears the Benedictus as she longed to find them. Reluctantly try to save them as she so close see them. The fighting is above them continuing the fall of bodies she can see using the monocle she recently picks up from Juela. She plays Tabitha’s card and used it on herself to pull everyone in. As everyone gathered in such a brutal condition, they teleported away from an almost defeated battle.