My sweat-stained body causes my flex grip to slip, and the third round of pain nearly robbed me of my consciousness. When my eyes cleared, The blue AVATAR screen was hovering over my bleeding wrist, and I was able to smile when I saw all my activatable Skills were still online, unlike my gray passives. I needed a break, so I rested on my heels while holding the chains.
—————————————
(Changing to Lavender's perspective)
"You need to calm down! We just got back from the arena and everything else!" Victoria complained.
"What did we really do? Dave did everything, we had one fight each, and we fully recovered. Do you think Dave will just sit by and be a captive? What are we going to do if he gets back here before we can save him and we haven't Improved?"
"He did just beat four-floor bosses, but none of us seen him level up since then," Iona mentioned.
"Then we can't become a burden, to him, even though this is his fault," I stood as I spoke.
"Let's burn through these demons! We aren't small-time adventures anymore!"
I watched Tilly hop from foot to foot with excitement, but then my eyes were drawn to Victoria's worried face. I walked over and sat down beside her. Victoria was looking troubled about something, so I tried to get her to talk.
"What's up? Why do you look so worried, Vic?"
"I'm scared of losing again. I can't do that again, and you know this time it will be worse. You saw the sick trick Fate just pulled at the restaurant!"
She was in tears now, and I pulled her in close.
"You know we just have to do our best then. I bet you Dave will get himself out of trouble before we can get rid of the first demon," I said with a smile squeezing her.
Chapter 63: Battle Against Fate Part 1
Only a short amount of time had passed, and I could feel some health recover, so I decided to try and go for it. Holding up seven fingers, I was able to get my hands together, and the MOUNTAIN BLADE was in my right hand. With a flick of my wrist, chains and cage shattered.
Next, I was on the ground, and I released the MOUNTAIN BLADE to catch my breath. Instantly I noticed the flashing icon and opened it, rapidly accepting everything. I flashed with the light of leveling up, but I didn't bother checking my stats.
I felt strong, all injuries gone, and I didn't even think about it as I bent my knees and jumped. Thirty meters of dirt and rock passed in a flash as I erupted from the ground. The sun before dusk caught my eyes, and I shielded them while searching the skies. Found it!
I started to run towards the floating castle, and once I broke Mach one, my foot smashed down, and I left a crater as I shot into the air to the castle. I almost overshot and had to use earth magic to catch myself, pulling me back down to the courtyard.
Everyone inside must have noticed the commotion because all four girls came running out with…Miss Grace? What was going on?
"DAVE!"
Tilly was the first to reach me as I let go of MOUNTAIN BLADE. I caught her in my arms and pulled her into a deep and passionate kiss. The feeling of her soft and warm body pressing into mine almost brought tears to my eyes as the other girls tried to push Tilly off me.
Soon we were all on the ground, and I was getting kissed and soft breasts from every angle. It was indeed a delirious paradise for any male keen on this sort of thing. I wasn't here to argue as the girls fussed over me.
Then I received a chop to the head from each girl after they settled down, telling me not ever to do that again.
"We need to stay together. No more running off!" Lavender scolded me, and I was like deja vu of my embarrassed rush into the dungeon in the MINI-GAME.
"I know I'm sorry. Something broke inside me when I saw Miss Grace's head."
"This Fate character is proving to be more than a problem. All the city's nobles that kept demons sealed are dead, and we just received a report that the castle is under attack by hordes of demons. According to what the report said after five minutes of battle, things aren't looking good."
Miss Grace had walked over to us. Now that the girls looked the same age as her, she waited until they finished harassing me. I looked over to the edge and pulled the girls off me, but helped each one up before heading out to the edge. Below we could see the castle, but its outer gates were already breached, and the army was being pushed back effortlessly.
"Take us down there, Miss Grace. We can't let them get to the King or its game over for everyone."
Tilly and Iona sat on either side of the strange disk-shaped hovercraft one of the house's maids of all people was piloting for use. We were all ready, and we had a plan. Trinity had joined us two since there was nowhere else left to protect. This place was the final showdown.
We neared the jump site, over eighty meters in the air, and we started to leave. First, Vic fell and transformed into a massive stainless steel dragon that caught the already dropping Lavender. They would rain down magic from above while The rest of us would act as the ground crew.
Trinity leaped from the disk, already bathed in golden light as cried out, "Come forth, Augusta, Holy Angel of Light!" The golden angel swooped down from the heavens and caught trinity, descending in a rush the rest of the way. When they impacted, demons flew in all directions.
Last but not least was Tilly, Iona, and I. I thanked the maid for the ride. Then, turning to the girls that latched on tight to either side of me. I waited till the hovercraft was where I judged to be the best drop point, and I stepped off the edge.
The wind rushed up, and I felt the girl's grip continually tighten, but I held them both firmly. The drop took seconds, but there was a brief moment before impact where everything went quiet. Then we connected with the ground.
Instantly, a dome of earth and light covered us and protected us from oncoming attacks and the falling debris of my impact. I let the girls go, and everyone got ready.
Iona produced black mist that she fell into and disappeared immediately. Her job was to swallow large groups in open areas and help us from the shadows. Tilly's improved fusion hammer was out, and I almost called her Sasha When I turned to her.
Tilly's six eyes were alert, and she had a thick layer of magical shielding surrounding her body. Seeing this, I summoned my swords and activated my skills. Golden flames surrounded my body, and a HOLY BLADE and I looked into Tilly's eyes.
Our shield and earth wall dropped as the demons poured into the crater, but they never stood a chance. Massive blades and a jet-fueled hammer tore through the demon's waves, causing them to disperse into black particles. All different sections of demons were disappearing into the darkness around us, and I knew Iona was also hard at work as Tilly, and I stood back to back.
Above, blue flames poured from the mouth of Victoria's dragon form as she swooped in. At the same time, Lavender rained down huge balls of orange flames from Victoria's back.
Soon a pair of flashing gold lights approached from behind. Trinity and Augusta were carving their way to us, and Victoria was coming into land. The demons were thinning outside the gate now, and the army had a better handle out here now. We advanced through the gate, but three massive demons were tearing up the military and courtyard.
"Iona, work with me and Tilly with Trinity. Each group takes one of those demon giants!"
We split off, and Iona climbed onto my back. In the car, we talked about different strategies to work as teams using our respective magics, which was one of them.
Beside us, Tilly and Augusta rushed in with a blade and hammer, tearing through the demon like paper. Simultaneously, the other demon was already ashes, with Lavender and Victoria over excessive fire blast. My attention fell back to the demon, rushing me.
I leaped into the air, and Iona created a black mist at my feet, coming on a high arc to descend on the demon. Its weapon flew up, but as our weapons were about to connect, I fell into the mist, instantly shooting up through the demon's shadow below. I shot through the giant demon, splitting it in half.
> The demons kept coming, but their numbers were beginning to wear down. Within five minutes, the demons were retreating, but that wasn't the end.
The earth started to shake as a massive red circle of summoning appeared around us.
"Everyone get…"
That was all I got out before a massive horned demon broke through the surface, scattering my party. The thing only stood out of the ground from the waist up, but it was still over fifteen meters tall. The thing reached out, and a gigantic glowing red sword burned into existence.
I quickly looked around, but my party was already getting back up. The same could not be said for the members of the army, though. Bodies and cries of pain were everywhere.
The demon turned to me as we all formed up, and a churning ball of dripping molten lava formed in its hand, but Lavender and Iona were already on it. Two streams of water, one large the other on an entirely different level. Lavender was using that staff again, and the demon was pushed back. The fire turned to rock in the demon's hand.
I nodded to Tilly and then jumped into the air, summoning both swords. Tilly timed her swing, and when my feet connected, I jumped and her rocket-powered hammer boosted me like a missile at the demon. With surprising speed, the demon brought his sword over to block, but nothing could stop me.
The glowing blade shattered as I connected with subsonic speeds. My blades tore the demon's head from its shoulder, but before Victoria could catch me in her dragon form, I heard a scream from the castle entrance stairs.
"HERO!"
Chapter 64: Battle Against Fate Part 2
"I have a name you know, Tyron."
Biford/Fate/Tyron had lost all the color in his eye, and now I was staring into a large pair of black beads. Dark veins covered his exposed flesh where there weren't chains already sprouting. Even a pair of black horns had ripped through the flesh of his forehead. Tyron no longer looked human.
"Those don't matter anymore! This is your Fate to LOSE TO ME!"
The last part came screamed in a demonic roar that had some weight, pushing us back only slightly. I looked to each girl and received smiles in return. Everyone was ready for battle, and we started forward, but a massive black circle that shone with unholy light surrounded Tyron.
More demons were starting to appear from the circle, but the demon inside Tyron absorbed them as fast as it produced them.
"Nothing spared. Pump your spells into me and Tilly, relaunch me!"
I didn't even look, I just jumped into the air, and I could feel all elements pouring into me. Tilly's now dual jet hammer connected with me perfectly, and then I was on the other side of fate, and he was no more.
I never even had time to move my sword. Instead, I plowed through Tyron. Right through, nothing left but chunks and mist. And the demon!
As I turned around, I was belted by a chain and knocked out of the circle. I flew into a wall but recovered quickly to jump back at the monster. Victoria breathed blue fire from her dragon form, and Tilly was already racing forwards.
Tilly went to swing and slammed down her jet hammer just short of Grismald. Still, her Magic, like Victoria's fire breath, was stopped just outside of the purple-black ring surrounding the Grismald, but he retaliated immediately with chains. Iona dropped Tilly into darkness, allowing the chains to pass by her harmlessly, as I pulled back both swords to strike.
"LOOK OUT!" Screamed Lavender.
Too late! A chain caught me on my side that I couldn't see coming, and I was sent spinning towards the girls. Iona caught me with shadows, but I had a severe bleeding gash on my side. Coming out of the darkness, all of us grouped up again.
"What are we supposed to do against that thing?" Iona asked with exasperation leaking into the question.
"Magic doesn't work, and the chains make it hard to get close even to touch him. I guess it was too much to ask for him to die in one shot, hehe."
"This isn't a time for laughing!"
Lavender rounded on me, so I put my hands up in mock defense. Lavender was right, and I looked to the other girls. Each looked tired and beat. Now of us has had any proper sleep over the last few days, but none of that mattered. All that matters is winning or losing at this point.
The demon didn't seem to care what we did, as long as we left it alone to eat minor demons. I tried to dig deep on what might work when my eyes fell on the red cape Lavender was wearing.
"Lavender, reach behind you. The CAPE AT HAND might be our only option!"
Lavender nodded at me and reach behind herself while keeping eye contact with me. The thing she brought out was not what any of us expected, and Lavender stuff the letter she had pulled out quickly into her pocket. After that, I told Lavender to focus on the demon when she tried again, but I was also curious about what the letter said.
Lavender reached behind herself again, but this time she was focus on the chain wielding demon that was getting bigger and bigger by the moment. The item pulled out was a spear with a large, broad, and golden tip, and the staff shaft was made from the same material as the Gauntlet I had given Lavender.
"What will this do?" Lavender asked while holding out the spear.
"If that doesn't kill him, nothing will." Trinity piped up from the back
Trinity and Augusta moved forward, but Augusta was the one that spoke.
"That is the Longinus Spear, AKA the Holy Spear. That Item can only be summoned, and it is one of four restricted weapons that can only be given by a god. Using that weapon might win us the fight, but there is no telling what repercussions you might face after!"
Just then, the demon roared, and we were push back farther than the first time when Tyron screamed. We all turn to see the circle surrounding Grismald had left, and he was twice the size. Large black chains surrounded the horned demon as he towered over us.
Instead of attacking us, Grismald turned to the castle. The massive chains dove for the castle and started to tear it apart, smashing everything. Soon a golden halo was revealed, and the chains began to assault the King's Eternal Shield. Divine Knights tried to stop the chains but were crushed by falling rocks or eviscerated by the black chains.
"We can't let him kill the king, or it's all over!"
I grabbed the Spear of Longinus and broke from the group, digging my feet in as I raced to stop Grismald.
"Stop, Dave! You don't know what will happen if you use that! Even If you win, they might disqualify you!" Trinity screamed after me, but It didn't matter if someone else could win.
They should have never given us an item like THE CAPE AT HAND in the first place if it could produce something like this, was my thoughts before I took my last step. The Kings Eternal Shield was starting to crack as I pulled my arm back, and I could feel the energy building in the spear.
Grismald must have sensed the Divine Weapon and his assault on the king stopped, and he began to turn to me, with chains already changing directions. That was when I slammed down my front foot on my last step, releasing the Holy Spear with all my might.
That spear ripped a small hole in the demon's breast where a heart should have been but then continued to the clouds. Grismald and I looked at each other for a brief second, and I thought I was done for when he smiled, but then something else happened as the chains continued towards me. Just before the chains could tear my body apart, they were stopped by a golden light.
Like Augusta's summon, The demon Grismald was bathed and surrounded by a golden light that repelled all of its attacks. Suddenly a spear fell from the sky, narrowly missing Grismald. As the first one hit, more continued to drop, and soon the entire golden cylinder was filled with spears streaking down to Grismald.
"NOOOO! IMPOSSIBLE!" Screamed Grismald in his demonic roar, but the golden light stopped any pressure produce by the voice.
The spears flew down and pin cushioned the demon Grismald to the ground until the chains stop moving. Simultaneously, the golden cylinder and Grismald burst into gold and black particles. I fell to my knees; it was over.
I turned my head to see the girls running towards me, but something strange was happening. The world around me was breaking down, and the girls that ran to me were slowly fading away. Was this right? Is this how it happened usually?
I couldn't remember. All I could do was watch my friends fade away, and the world fell apart before my eyes. Like data, the world's pieces were stripped away into the sky, leaving everything with a distinct digital look. Even though I had experienced this before, each time was just as impressive.
I wanted to say goodbye, but that wasn't right. This departure wasn't goodbye. This departure was a see you soon or in a bit. I couldn't seem to remember things happening like this, though.
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