A few minutes had passed since Allen and Nera landed their massive blow that seemingly vanquished the white android in Xalia's ruined laboratory. Allen was now watching over Nera's sleeping body as he waited for the barrier that Iyo and Xalia were behind to finally disappear completely. Suddenly, he was hit by an invisible wave of energy that sent him flying out of the barrier he had first broken through to where Iyo and Xalia still waited. They both immediately checked on his injuries.
The white specks that made up the enigmatic machine came together again from all over the room and slowly but surely reconstituted the android to its former appearance. It took Allen a few moments to realize how that could be.
“...You broke your body apart right before the energy hit you. You slimy bastard.” Allen derided with venom in his voice.
“Yes, although that attack did manage to destroy over 30% of this vessel’s component drones. It was so impressive that I assessed that your existence is so insignificant that Valkyrie will reach her true potential whether or not you are around.”
‘...Am I only a detriment at best?’
Allen clicked his teeth at the backhanded compliment and tried to get back up but was held down by Xalia’s hand.
“Woah, when you told us Nera was an inheritor of the Grim Reaper, I didn’t quite believe you but now there’s no room to doubt. We can ensure she stays by our side once we confirm your arm will stay by yours.” Xalia talked in her usual carefree tone but she already administered as much first aid as she could with the potions she had on hand.
“Allen, are you ok?” Iyo asked. “Your hand… it’s not in good condition.”
“Don’t sugarcoat it, Iyo. We need to leave now to get that lump of flesh treated, but I’m not sure if that thing is going by cool with that.” Xalia said as the barrier broke up into multiple hexagons that hovered over the three and started to glow brightly with white light. Without the separation, Iyo helped Allen to his feet.
“It looks like my associates have decided to eliminate all three of you with this opportunity. It does not matter to me since the Oni and the Witch are not crucial to my plan.”
“Mariner Craft, Page 4 - Burbuja Prounda!”
Xalia cast a mystic skill forming a ring-like Sigil around the three along with a massive bubble created from the potions hanging from her waist. The hexagons became a blinding white that basked the entire room, but before that makeshift shield could be tested, something else crashed through the skylight.
It was a giant bird creature with the visage of a monstrous falcon and emerald eyes with spiraling darkness. With a flap of its wings, its steel feathers shattered all the hexagons like arrows piercing fragile glass.
It swooped down and landed with a tremendous thud. On its back, stood a gray-haired woman wearing a black jacket strewn with white musical notes. Accompanying her was a warrior dressed in a full suit of armor.
“Sorry for the late opening but there’s no way you thought I was just going to let you get rid of my precious understudies, Soothsayer.” Harpe addressed the masked entity directly.
“I did not Siren, but I will not be your opponent tonight. Calamity will be.”
Instead of the ceiling this time, a fiery explosion collapsed the wall behind the Soothsayer. Erno Rautianainen bounded through the flames and charged directly for him. Using his golden sword, he swung in a vicious arc that should have slashed straight through the mechanical figure.
“With this much racket, even an ant would be able to notice what’s going on! You’re the mastermind here, aren’t you?”
Despite what looked like a direct hit, the masked enigma in the shape of a human simply dispersed into specks of white. Its fading voice could still be heard.
“The same goes for you Inheritor of Muspelheim. I will leave you all to your own devices. When you are ready to harvest, the Inquisition will be there to hunt you down as well. Then, I will be able to reap a soul and see its shape for myself. Its beauty should be worth more than all the art in Atelier City put together…”
With that, the robotic voice disappeared completely. Erno clicked his teeth in disappointment before lifting his sword to Harpe. The red-haired warrior was not leaving without a fight.
“Looks like I’ll have to settle for you. You’re also an Inheritor, so you’re sure to know more about that Soothsayer or whatever too.
Harpe placed fingers on her golden lyre and started playing a haunting melody. “What makes you think I was going to let you get away? Keep me entertained for a while before offering up your Grim Piece with your last words in exchange for putting you out of your misery.”
“Hmph. As if the bravest person in the world would do something so cowardly.” Erno gripped the blade of his sword tightly. Emerald and crimson magical energy began to collect around the two of them.
“Allen, come to your senses. Hurry up and get Nera, so we can get out of here.” Xalia shook Allen from a daze he had been in. The confrontation with Soothsayer had taken a colossal toil in more ways than one. It felt like the foundation that he stood on up until now had been pulled from under him.
“Me? Are you sure Iyo wouldn’t be a better able to-”
“No, I’m busy building up power of my own to make a way through and Xalia’s shielding us while I do so. You can help as well with this.”
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“Yeah…” Allen clenched his fist. “Yeah, this is what I can do to help for now.”
He ran outside of the bubble surprisingly seamlessly and rushed toward Nera while ducking and dodging debris from the Inheritors' clash of conflicting powers. When he nearly reached her, he rolled and grabbed her limp body with a firefighter carry he learned from a safety guide one dreary day then rushed back to the others.
Xalia’s bubble burst immediately and Iyo charged ahead and sliced the wall with his carving knife. Countless slashes appeared on its surface until it completely collapsed to the outside and allowed them to get away. No one dared to spare a moment checking behind their backs.
“Run.”
Two chants could be heard from the battle of the two Inheritors.
“Give applause to the hysterical opera of the depraved humans…”
“Let the fire giants turn this land into a scorched battlefield…”
“Enter Midgard.”
“Enter Muspelheim!”
An explosion rang out that engulfed the entire building and everything in a two-kilometer radius. If it was not for Xalia creating a last-second shield, they all might have met their end right there. Even after that initial blast, they still kept running and running with no clear destination in sight.
‘Run, because for now, that’s all you can do.’
***
“Huff..I think we’ve gotten far enough.” Iyo admitted through ragged breaths. They had run for so long that the sun was beginning to peek over the distant horizon and illuminate the tops of skyscrapers. The sky slowly turned from ebon to blue. Looking back, they could see a large pillar of emerald and crimson breaking through the clouds above.
“So…it doesn’t look like I’ll have to pay rent for that place anymore. That’s about what I expected when I heard the Grim Reaper was involved, but what’s your plan now, Leader?” Xalia asked as snidely as one could while keeling over from exhaustion.
Allen glanced at Nera who was still unconscious and let out a deep sigh. “I don’t have one yet but, I’ll make one. We’ll just have to try-no, we will find a way to get another Periapt and I’ll become strong enough to make that happen.”
“Heh…” Nera suddenly spoke which shocked them all. “I know just the place for that but you might wash out, Lackey.”
Allen tried to respond but her eyes fluttered shut once more and she began sleeping so soundly he did not want to disturb her. He grinned.
“Rest easy, you can tell me when you wake up. I’ve decided to stick with his path all the way to the end. Even if nobody chose me for it, I’ve already chosen myself.”
***
It was late in the afternoon as Virtuoso sat in Allen’s cramped apartment room. His various figures lining all the desks and tables in the area filled their view. There were hand-drawn posters and pages taped on the wall displaying anything from his proudest works to indefinite works-in-progress. In a pristine corner of the abode, stood a glass case that held all his prized mecha figures.
Allen and Iyo were seated at one table playing a card game with cheaply produced pieces of cardboard with a thin film over them. Meanwhile, Xalia was sitting on a solitary couch thoughtlessly switching between food and crime channels.
“I manifest Adamantine Tiger and arm it with Cliff Divider then strike your Phoenix of Brilliant Flame,” Allen stated monotonously as he slid two cards of his own design across the table with his left hand. His other hand was lying motionless on the hardwood surface. Xalia had given him two potions to accelerate the healing and ease the pain respectively but they could only do so much. The spectral corruption did not retract and it would still take another full day or two before his right hand was in full working condition.
Iyo responded calmly. “I use my Phoenix’s ability to discard a Skill Card in order to avoid destruction.” The young man with sleek black hair who wore yellow goggles around his neck placed a card from his hand into a perfectly neat stack next to his deck. Allen grunted as he tapped his finger on the table anxiously.
“Is this game making you that upset?”
“Nah, it’s not that. Just ready to go ahead and start learning how to get better at magic. We don’t know when another insanely strong threat will show up. It’s not like they punch a clock or are nocturnal monsters that can’t survive the light of daytime.”
“We are better off not encountering any Atelier City vampires. They’re animated corpses that could siphon all of a human’s blood content with a brush of skin,” Iyo confirmed the existence of that nightmarish threat without even batting an eye as he proceeded with his turn.
Allen’s eyes widened. “Okay, I’m morbidly curious. Do they have to drink blood or are they just compelled by an uncontrollable urge for-”
“Where the mega fuck am I?!” A loud, feminine voice interrupted Allen. It came from the same couch on which Xalia was seated. The girl with monochrome hair who was lying on the sofa behind Xalia sat up with a start as everyone’s eyes turned toward her.
“Glad to see you full of energy after your long 14-hour nap. We all ended up crashing at my place since it was the closest.” Allen said with a crooked smile. Nera’s battered state from just earlier that day was still very fresh in his mind.
“I’m not talking about that,” Nera replied as she stretched her sore body. “I could tell this was your dump from the tacky drawings all over. I meant why am I sharing a couch with Xalia when there’s a semi-decent bed over there.”
She glared at Allen but Xalia slid her face in between their gazes. “I would be the one to blame for that. I had to make sure you wouldn’t toss and turn around much while the heavy dosages I gave you circulated through your body. Wouldn’t want to vomit all over Allen’s sheets, don'tcha think?” The self-proclaimed witch explained with a wry grin. Allen still could not tell how much her mischievous persona was an act. Being outside of the dream realm that forced her to keep it to just stretching the truth did not help.
“Huh, you injected a bunch of potions into me? I guess that explains why I don’t feel like total garbage right now after getting shocked for so long,” Nera examined her hand where Soothsayer had sent strong voltage streaming into her body. Only a tinge of pain could be felt as she opened and closed it but there was still a faint red mark left on her skin.
“Yeah, but your body heals quite fast anyway. The recovery rate of your metabolism must be wicked efficient,” Xalia postulated.
“Well, all that’s neat to hear. I just need to know if you’re ready to lead us to where I can get the training I need.” Allen said, addressing Nera directly.
Before speaking, she spontaneously threw her body off the couch and flipped into a skillful landing.
“Of course, I hope you’re ready for a long series of grueling lessons.”