Noble Sacrifice

Orca continues to punch and irritate Mitsurugi, until she grabs him with her paw and tosses him away. Slinger and I camp on a mountain. She fires her sniper rifle, while I increase her firepower exponentially.

I also help by channeling Excalibur against her, firing a deadly laser beam that slices through the landscape. She turns and flies toward us, engulfing us in flames.

???: "One..."

Lich summons a sentinel ice dragon. It charges for a moment and then launches a powerful ice cannonball at Mitsurugi, freezing her for a second. Dullahan leaps and slices off part of her wing. She begins spinning in the air, shooting massive scales in all directions. The mountain we were atop collapses.

I fly with Slinger to another mountain far away. She grabs something from her Stocker: a very big missile.

Slinger: "Can you enpower it?"

Sun: "How much?"

Slinger: "As much as you can."

I nod as she presses a button. The missile begins to fly toward the beast. I increase its speed. Dullahan punches Mitsurugi out of the way. Brawn punches her from above.

The missile continues to approach her at high speed. Vampire summons enormous spikes of blood from the ground, piercing the dragon's tail and wings, holding her in place for a few seconds. The sentry fires again, freezing her even further.

The missile hits, leveling the entire nation. Nebula and Lich protect us with magical shields, but we're still pushed hundreds of kilometers away. We slowly stand up, injured.

Slinger: "She's not dead yet."

A deafening sound reaches us, pushing us back. It's Mitsurugi's roar. Something else reaches us too, illuminating our faces.

Slinger: "The sun! It's finally up!"

We sense something big and fast approaching.

Sun: "You don't even have to say."

I summon Excalibur and point it at the impending threat. When she becomes visible on the horizon, I unleash a powerful beam of sunlight from the sky. She slows slightly, but doesn't stop.

I fire another beam of sunlight from my sword. Then I increase the size of both exponentially, until they can engulf an entire city. Another roar can be heard. She accelerates and outruns the beams. When she's close enough, something suddenly stops her. She flies in place and begins scratching her own face.

I break off the attack to conserve my energy. Her entire body is charred and wounded. Purple tentacles grab her from behind, while blood spikes pierce her wings, which Dullahan cuts off with his scythe. Brawn punches her from the sky, pushing her to the ground. Orca leaps onto her head and punches her in the eye. She roars again.

Suddenly, she transforms back into her human form and flies straight at us. Slinger fires her weapon, but misses due to her speed. Mitsurugi severs her arm. I swing my sword at her, and she stops it with her claw. One of her eyes bleeds, and she goes blind. I take advantage of this and kick her in the blind side.

She bites my helmet, shattering it instantly. Slinger throws both grenades at us. Four enormous sunbeams descend from the sky, converging on a single point. Then, Mitsurugi devours my brain.

???: "Zero..."

Mitsurugi cuts off Slinger's arm. I quickly grab the shooter and fly as fast as I can, toward everyone. Mitsurugi flies faster and punches us in the heart. I release Slinger as she approaches the others. The dragon devours me again.

???: "This is too much, this is too much! I can't do this!"

Sun: "A... nima..."

???: "Huh? You... you know my name...?"

I slowly stand in the ocean, dizzy and tired.

Sun: "You are... my creation..."

Anima: "Yes, yes! You remember me! I thought you had forgotten me..."

Sun: "I can't... forget my creations..."

I can vaguely see her face. Her pink and green eyes, her rainbow hair... exactly how I designed her.

Anima: "I'm so glad you remember me! I love you, my creator!"

Sun: "We can talk later... revive me again... please..."

Anima: "I can't do this... I can't, I can't, it's too much!"

She falls to her knees. I'm still too dizzy to help her up, so I just stare at her.

Anima: "I'm so sorry, master... this is consuming too much of my power..."

Sun: "What...?"

Anima: "Reviving and giving you cosmic power is exhausting, even for a goddess... I can't help you... you'll have to wait..."

Sun: "I can't wait...! I won't let my friends behind...!"

Anima: "I can only let you watch..."

A magical window appears before me, showing the fight after I died.

Mitsurugi devours me and slowly heals. Lich fires a barrage of explosions. She flies into the sky and transforms into her dragon form again. Dullahan jump and pierces her head with his scythe. She accelerates and leaves the atmosphere.

Miguel: "She's coming back!"

Slinger: "Throw me inside her. It's the only way."

Vampire hesitates, but then Brawn places a hand on his shoulder.

Brawn: "We have no other choice."

He nods. As the dragon re-enters the atmosphere, Nebula summons four massive purple tentacles and a magical shield above them. Miguel slows her down with his power. Orca leaps and punches her in the mouth, then forces it open.

The tentacles slow her down. Two enormous blood spikes appear in the sky. Vampire clasps his hands together, piercing her body with both spikes. Brawn summons two celestial fists and holds her in place. Mitsurugi still hits Nebula's shield, so Lich empowers it.

The dragon spits fire from her open mouth, burning Orca. Nebula freezes her mouth with the help of the Lich's sentry. Brawn grabs Slinger and jumps into her mouth. Orca manages to force her mouth shut with the help of the celestial fists.

With Mitsurugi's insides frozen, they have some time before she retaliates. Brawn punches a wall to keep from falling again. Slinger holds both grenades in one hand, the other having been severed. She looks down and hesitates for a moment.

Brawn: "You're a Hero."

Slinger: "Hm?"

Brawn: "We're in this together. If we leave, she might spit out the grenades. Like you said, this is our best outcome."

Slinger: "I know."

Brawn: "What bugs your mind? We don't have much time."

Slinger: "Sun is in another timeline now, so he's not watching us... I never got to tell him how I felt."

Brawn: "Another timeline?"

Slinger: "He revives stronger every time he dies. I killed his friend, then betrayed his trust after he saved me. Does that redeem me?"

Brawn: "Heroes must make sacrifices. We kill millions to save billions."

She chuckles wryly.

Slinger: "I guess so..."

She presses the button for both grenades.

Slinger: "Sorry, I'm not used to opening up to strangers."

Brawn: "This is also my last day. We have no reason to hide anything anymore."

Slinger: "Then... thank you, Sun, everyone... for saving and helping me so many times... The world would be doomed without you."

The four enormous sunbeams converge into one, destroying the landscape. Lich and Nebula fly with Miguel and Vampire. Dullahan keeps pace with them.

With nothing but the celestial fists holding Mitsurugi, she begins to tremble and fly away from the sun's rays. However, they follow her, as the grenade is the epicenter. Desperate, she flies into space, trying to spit out Slinger and Brawn, but he remains attached to the wall.

Slinger: "I apologize for everything I did wrong... I was too blind to trust anyone. Thank you all for being my friends..."

The rays converge into a single beam that devastates Mitsurugi and the surface. Then, a black hole grows rapidly, swallowing part of the planet.