Unexpected Visit

I pose in front of my bedroom mirror with my new red armor.

Nebula: "You look great in it!"

Sun: "Thanks! Barik really did an amazing job."

Nebula: "You said it had regeneration powers, right? Can it repair itself?"

Sun: "Of course. Any armor can repair itself if we consider it part of our body. This one just makes the task much easier."

Nebula: "Now we have a chance against Mitsurugi. Brother, I... I'm really sorry for her..."

Sun: "It's not your fault, I'm sure of that. I don't know what happened while she was here, but nothing she does now will undo her crimes. We need to end her before she ends the world."

She smiles, determined.

Nebula: "You're right. Do you plan to recruit more people?"

Sun: "Tomorrow. Now we should rest."

Burier comes into our room and hugs me tightly.

Burier: "I have missed you so much, young master!"

Sun: "Eh? But I still sleep here."

Burier: "I know, but seeing you once in a while isn't enough! I need to feel you all the time!"

Sun: "I-I'm glad to hear that, but... we still have a lot to do, so we won't be here for long."

Burier: "Really...? Then I'll let you rest. You seem to be planning something big."

Sun: "Thanks, Burier. After we're done, we can go on adventures together!"

Burier: "Are you sure? I need to protect this place and the cemetery..."

Nebula: "We can take turns once we're all strong enough."

We chat a little more, until it's late enough to sleep. It's not nighttime, but we can enjoy some extra time to rest.

I close my eyes, finally relaxed. After a while, I feel something, or rather someone, shaking me and screaming.

Burier: "Young masters, wake up! We're being attacked!"

I slowly open my eyes.

Sun: "What...?"

Burier: "We have no time! We need to jump!"

Nebula: "Jump...? From where?"

Burier: "From the island! We're no match for them!"

Sun: "Where are D, Mom and Dad...?"

Burier: "We don't have time for them!"

She holds us in each arm and jumps out of the window, running toward the edge of the island. She jumps with us.

Sun: "What?! Wait, let's save the others!"

Something pierces her stomach: a harpoon. She throws us toward the surface. A huge shockwave destroys the island. What's left stops floating and begins to fall.

D flies off the island and bites the rope holding the harpoon. It retracts, pulling Burier's lower half out of her body. Just as D flies to retrieve her upper half, he is struck by the same harpoon, which this time electrifies and throws his body to the ground, kilometers away. A huge crater is formed.

We float in the air, wondering what to do.

Sun: "Get Mom and Dad, I'm going to get Burier!"

She nods and flies below the island, trying to find any survivors still falling. I fly as fast as I can, catching Burier's upper half. She's still conscious, surprisingly.

Burier: "Young master, let me go... save your family..."

Sun: "You're part of the family, Burier."

We land next to D's stunned body. He's still emanating a lot of electricity. I place Burier behind me, protecting her with my body.

D: "It's him... the dragon hunter..."

Sun: "Who?"

We hear an explosion overhead. Nebula flies away like a shooting star.

Sun: "Damn it, we're being overpowered!"

Something, or rather someone, lands in front of us, with such intensity that cracks the ground.

It's a middle-aged man. He has white hair and a beard, wears mechanical goggles and holds a harpoon gun in one hand. He's overweight, but also muscular.

Who is he...? I don't remember creating him...

He narrows his eyes, staring at me.

— I thought you were dead.

Sun: "Who are you?!"

— It's going to be troublesome if you keep reviving like that. I'll make sure you stay dead this time.

He shoots his harpoon at me before I can even react. An ice pillar emerges from the ground and pushes the projectile upward.

Nebula: "He's Draco, the dragon hunter..."

She stops beside me, bleeding and holding her other arm.

Sun: "Sister! What happened?"

Nebula: "He didn't let me search for them... brother, the sword..."

He points his harpoon gun at me again, ready to fire. I summon the Excalibur at the last second and block it, the blade vibrating.

Draco: "An Excalibur? Where the hell did you get one of those? Well, it doesn't matter, it's nighttime anyway."

I point the sword at him, unleashing my power in a beam of sunlight, cutting through the landscape. He dodges easily, shooting the harpoon at me again. Nebula blocks it with a magical shield, which severely wounds her.

Sun: "Sister, stop! I can dodge it!"

Nebula: "You can't... it's too fast and unpredictable..."

Someone kicks me in the side. I block it with my arm, which breaks instantly. The kick sends me flying across many mountains.

I struggle to get up, my senses deteriorating from the pain. Someone approaches me from the sky. I dash to the side, avoiding the landing that makes several mountains disappear, but I'm still thrown skyward by the shockwave.

He leaps again, causing even more destruction. He throws a punch at me, which I block with my broken arm, holding my hand with my intact one, improvising a slingshot that cushions the impact somewhat. Furthermore, I sacrifice my arm with a nuclear explosion that pushes us apart.

I land far away, struggling to stay conscious. The old man walks toward me, with only a few scratches. He slowly points the harpoon at me. Nebula grabs it in midair, trying to snatch it from his hands. He kicks her away, with enough strength to break her ribs.

He points the gun at me again. Purple tentacles grip it, while ice shards fly toward him from all directions. Nebula touches his back with her palm up, releasing an explosion that rips through the sky and dissipates the clouds. He's thrown away.

She coughs up blood and falls to the ground.

Sun: "Nebula! I told you not to push yourself too hard..."

Nebula: "This is the end, brother... he's not dead yet..."

He lands a little far away, but runs so fast that he reaches us in a second.

Draco: "You know what? I'm quite impressed. You weren't nearly as strong as you are now. What happened these past few days?"

Blue and orange fire converges on him from afar. D flies overhead. Draco turns his attention to him, firing the electrified harpoon. D flies faster and curves upward, releasing a sonic boom.

Something grabs his legs: skeletal arms. The ground turns green and releases a gas common in cemeteries. His skin begins to darken slightly and rot. I punch the ground, exploding it with the gas. The smoke hides me as I slowly stand up.

As the smoke clears, the old man becomes visible again. Behind him, Burier stands, with skeletal limbs where her lower half once was.

Draco: "You're still alive...? Good lord, you're all immortal, it seems."

She punches the ground with both hands, infecting the biome with rot. As he points the gun at her, D flies in and bites his arm with great force, but doesn't hurt enough to tear it off. The man simply swings his arm to the ground, immobilizing him.

He points the gun at D. I fire a more powerful beam of sunlight from the Excalibur, pushing him away and toward Burier, who grabs his face and tries to rot it as quickly as possible. Nebula summons a pillar of ice and slams it at him, pushing him away from her.

We all slowly stand up. Draco advances toward me. I summon my orc horn and blow it at him, emitting a sound powerful enough to push him back for a few seconds before he fires the harpoon. D freezes it with his breath, and I punch it away, taking damage but avoiding the worst.

The ground begins to shake as someone approaches.