P97 - Disappeared Forever

LuLu and Glonk, struggling to hold their tears, sit there and bask in the anguish they've been given.

"We can't sit here and mourn while we could become just like that any second." Nepheres calls out, holding up his guard between them and the enemies present.

"I'm nearly spent, and everyone else is incapacitated or unconscious... we're the last ones that can protect the others."

"W-We're also... at our limits..." LuLu shakily replies.

"...I can... hold them off if you guys want to escape with the others..." Glonk suggests, slowly standing up.

"I will assist you, but don't expect me to do all the hard work." Sin adds, walking slowly over as he drags his claymore across the ground.

"We have to win!.. Or else our reason for coming here would've meant nothing... and they'll forever be lost..." LuLu says, lowering her head.

Nepheres' eyes widen, "We could have them help us."

"They're... still unconscious... and need some reviving BS or something like that." LuLu quickly responds.

Raye, Kori, and the other Daemons and Serpent sit in the front area, watching from afar as their prey's last few members try to come up with a plan.

"They're suffering, but I kind of am interested to see what expression is left on the face of the last pest dying, as they look at me while I tear apart their body" Raye adds, with a slight chuckle under her breath.

"Can I...- Kill the one in front..." Calyxx adds, spitting out black blood whilst trying to keep itself upright on the ground.

The spear left beside Toku's ashes started to dissipate too, losing its light overtime and return to dust.

LuLu frantically tried to grab onto it, but it fell out of her hands like sand, flowing with the wind and out of the Academy, flying elsewhere to settle down in its final resting place.

Nepheres, Sin, and Glonk stand side-by-side as they nudge at LuLu to assist the others and get them out of there

A tapping noises emitted from Glonk's amulet like a clock was ticking, with him activating his dial's timer. "In 2 minutes... make a break for it Lu." Glonk commands.

Sin grips his claymore for what seems to be his last battle, "I'll use all of my power to make sure you get out of here."

Nepheres grabs onto his scythe, "That's good, I only have about 2-ish minutes before I transform back.

LuLu scoots herself over as she grabs onto PB "We have to go... now."

PB, still in shock at the murder of two of his friends, "I... I-... I can't..."

"WE HAVE TO!.." LuLu yells out, gritting her teeth in frustration at the thought of being unable to help, let alone even win.

"Get them-" Raye demands silently but stern.

The Banshees, Kori, and two other unfamiliar faces charged forward as the Serpent Drakoryx, Raye, and Calyxx stayed back.

"Give them hell!" Glonk yells, as he lunges forward, doing a 3-hit combo into one of the strange being's torso, sending it backwards into a wall near the 3 in the back.

LuLu slowly walks PB over to the unconscious Valentine, Hoshina, and Finn, "We have to leave, they're putting their lives on the line for ours... it's the only way."

"Take... this..." Hoshina says, while reaching out with her necklace in her hand.

LuLu's eyes widen with both the remembrance of being able to awaken Rikushi and Blaidd but also that the necklace is the lifesource of Hoshina.

"You'll die if I use it... Hoshi."

"I... know..."
"Bring back our... Riku" Hoshina struggles to say.

Hoshina's hand falls to the ground as her breathing had seemed to stop.

LuLu grabs the necklace from Hoshina's lifeless hand and grips it tightly.

"I'll avenge you and Toku..."

LuLu sets down PB and tries to flux her wing one final time but to no avail.

"DAMMIT... My wings are still f#ck#d..."

"PB! SNAP OUT OF IT... AND TAKE THIS... I CAN'T MOVE QUICKLY, SO USE THIS ON RIKUSHI AND BLAIDD INSTEAD, I'LL PROTECT YOU" LuLu yells, in a commanding tone.

"I can't... I don't know anymore..."

LuLu grabs him by his shirt, pulls him in, and slaps her hand across his face.
"SNAP OT OF IT PB"

PB stares at her as he grabs his face.

"You're the ONLY one that can do this now, so go, NOW!" LuLu gives him the necklace as she uses her shadow to summon her scythe. "I can only protect you for a few seconds... I used all of my mana earlier..."

PB drags his leg across the ground, progressing himself towards the infirmary's corridor.

Raye realizes and walks up from behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rays says as she lowers her hand to place on PB's shoulder.

LuLu quickly gets in between them and swipes away Raye before dropping to her knees. "That was all.. I have... GO!"

PB uses all of his strength and goes into the infirmary.

LuLu, breathing heavily with her body shaking profusely, grips onto her scythe as she attempts to pull herself up, but before she could, Raye grabs her hand and pulls her up. "You look like you needed help" Rays smiles as LuLu looks down at her hand, seeing cracks starting to form.

With a last-resort idea, she quickly swings her scythe in her direction, cutting her hand cleanly off, and saving the rest of her body from decaying.

"You b#tch." LuLu curses as she grips onto her Scythe, grits her teeth, and slides one foot forward, attempting to dash towards Raye, but she is instead met with the ground, as her body finally reached its limit, dropping her legs from under her, and having her fall to the ground.

"Oh? I thought you'd be atleast somewhat entertaining, but all pests are the same after all." Raye says, mocking LuLu's appearance.

Raye looks back to see the Banshees getting destroyed by the trio that was left. Sin using his body's weight and velocity to swing his giant claymore around, breaking the Banshees' bodies and bones, Glonk punching with half-power fists but still enough to inflict lethal blows, and Nepheres slicing up the strange figures while holding his own.

In the infirmary, PB found his way to Blaidd's bed. "This fight was all for you, your revival better be with it-." PB opens the necklace, as a strange and sparkly liquid that was held in the vial drips into Blaidd's mouth.

He then pushes his body to Rikushi's bed, emptying the rest of the necklace.

PB, already on wit's end mentally and physically, drops to his knees beside Rikushi's bed, looking down at his hands and struggling to fight his body as he has seemed to reach his limit.

"I can't... go... anymore". PB says, as his eyes begin to close and his head falls forward.

Two hands are placed onto both of his shoulders, "You may rest now." "You've done well." The two voices said, as PB subdues to his limit.

Outside the infirmary, Glonk yells "IT'S TIME, I HAVE ONE SHOT"
As one of the figures yells out "Vessikar, grab him by the legs, now-"
With the other being replying, "I'll do my best Morgrith-"

One of the beings grabs onto Nepheres as the other raises its giant axe, but Glonk, covered in his void-torn armor, like he's become the galaxy itself, bumps into them, sending it away. "MORGRITH!-"

The other being throws Nepheres to the side and lunges as Glonk, with their gauntlets clenched, "YOU TRAITOR!"

Glonk pulls his fist back as purple stars light up his arm, like constellations being formed. He then quickly pushes his fist forward with the entirety of his power, which blasts a hole straight through the figure.

"YOU GOT ONE, GOODJOB" Sin yells out, but sees Glonk fall forward, unconscious.

Sin's facial expression went from excitement and hope to shocked and despair the moment Glonk went down.

Whilst Sin was distracted, the other being swung its hammer's blunt side, throwing Sin into a nearby pillar. "AGHH-" Sin yells in agony, standing up but with his other arm broken, unable to pick up his weapon.

The being swings its hammer at Sin but Nepheres quickly ran and pushed down Sin to dodge it.

The being stood above them, lifting its hammer down to inflict a fatal impact, but Nepheres uses his scythe to cut one of its ankle, causing it to topple backwards.

Nepheres stands back up, adjusting his scythe to initiate another attack, but his rage-meter completely emptied, so his scythe reverted back into its original form of a spear with Nepheres dropping to one knee, "F#ck F#ck F#ck... not now..."

The being walks over to the other being that Glonk put a hole into, "time for us to end this, Vessikar."

"Grab my axe for me, Morgrith."

Vessikar and Morgrith approach them steadily, but freeze mid-walk just stare at Nepheres and Sin.

"Come to me... my inscribed weapon-"

The two slowly turn their heads towards the direction of the voice.

"-For I need you-"

They see towards the infirmary, but only darkness covered the area, all they saw was two silhouettes.

"-and call you to my aid."

Vessikar and Morgrith quickly dash beside Raye and Calyxx.

"Why are you two bugs back here, go get them!" Raye calls out.

"Them." Calyxx answers for them, before gulping.

"Sunbearer"

A humming noise starts being emitted, getting louder and louder with each second, with it finally coming to a halt as it bursts through the wall, flying itself towards the darkness.

Vessikar hugs himself, trying to warm up, "It's... so... cold..." they say, whilst shivering.

"It's... so... hot..." Morgrith mentions, seeming to lose its balance from heatstroke.

"If you don't, I'll have you skinned alive."

Vessikar turns to Morgrith, "They did only just get back... they might be way weaker than before"
Morgrith nods, and they both jump forward, axe and hammer in unison.

In the next second, their bodies are laying lifeless and headless on the ground.

"It's been a while since I've opened my eyes hasn't it?" One voice says, with a voice echoing through the halls and corridors.

"It feels like it's only been a minute or so, but apparently the planet's cycle has happened more than 100 times." Another voice adds, sounding layered and absolute.

Raye squints her eyes before telling Kori to 'do it'.

Kori appears out of the shadows, driving a knife straight into the back of one of the beings. But before another second passed, Kori is seen being thrown across, nearly hitting Raye.

Calyxx quickly gets up despite its injuries before groveling before the two beings. "Please forgive me, I'll become a lowly servant, just for you! Do you remember me? We were being worked on by each other, back in Zavren's domain?!"

"Haha, I do remember that." The being swipes the large sword they hold, completely slicing Clayxx in half, down the middle, which its body lights on fire, engulfing its entire presence.

Sin and Nepheres, clueless to what specifically happened, sit at ease knowing that even if those beings aren't their allies, they certainly aren't with the enemies.

"I call upon the lost rights of the Celestials...-"

one of the beings stands still, with lights flicking around them, lighting up spontaneously, showing a tall being, raising one hand up to the sky.

"-I walk beyond the gate of magic...-"

The other being pauses, planting their sword into the ground like they're spectating the show.

"I am the... Broken Archangel."

"And so it beings" The other beings says.

The chanting being lifts slowly in the air, "Ray of Dissolution"

Raye quickly moves back, as all of the Banshees, the leftover bodies of the daemons, and Kori get evaporated by a beam of pure arcanic-fury, like a beam of light called down from the heavens.

Raye demands the serpent to fire at the two beings as she stands next to it, shaking and flinching.

Drakoryx fires a blast towards the two beings, while at the same time, the floating being falls to the ground as their aura and weapon(s) transform into one large sword.

"Protect thy light, God-Protector"

The beam gets redirected towards the serpent, fighting back it's own power. The serpent's head gets engulfed in its own power, frying its own body.

"With this Fate Shattered, A New Celestial arises from the Depths of Time, Fractured Eternity."

Ice shards float around the being, following its hand movements, as they're commanded forward, all shoving their way through the serpent, piercing through its thick skin.

The serpent, after several seconds, finally falls down to its injuries, with the being walking into the light, walking past Raye and slicing the serpent's head off, ending it's wretched life.

"Let me take this next one" the other being says about Raye.

Raye, scared to lose, lunges forward at the being as her last-ditch effort.

The being sidesteps to the side, having Raye falling forward in front of them, then cleanly slicing off her head, as her lifeless corpse falls to the ground.

"Now then... Where's the final boss?" The being who killed Raye mentions, with the other being adding onto it, "I believe it'll be outside."

"That...was the last one... you just killed her." Nepheres mentions.

"THAT WAS IT!?" The being exclaims, sounding slightly upset.

The other being, staying calm and collected, walks over to Nepheres and Sin, reaching out its hand, "Don't worry about him, but here, you seem hurt, take my hand, I'll take you to the nearest hospital."

Nepheres, confused and at a loss for words, reaches out his hand.

"My name is Blaidd Frostwalker, but please, just call me Blaidd." He says, while grabbing onto Nepheres' hand, and pulling him upwards.

A few beings' heads turn the corner, with Blaidd grabbing onto his sword's hilt quickly.

"WE'RE FRIENDLY I SWEAR!" The voice calls out.

A few maidens walk out from behind the corner,

"we were attempting to escape... but when we reached the exit of our secret escape path... we ran into some adventurers that said they know you guys..."

right after mentioning that, Para, Rumoto, Ceri, Mek, Gem, Tyrant, Davie, Kaide, Yunoi, and Abstra enter the main hall. "GLONK!" "BRANT!" "LULU!", and many more names were called out as they ran to everyone to aid.

"Are you guys all okay?!" Yunoi calls out, asking.

"Barely... uurgh-" Valentine responds to, picking up his head "I'd assume it's over... based off what I'm seeing..?"

"Yeah" Blaidd replies,

"BLAIDD!!" Everyone collectively calls out, with Ceri running into his arms "YOU'RE ALIVE?!?", she yells, crying into his chest.

Para and Rumoto run over quickly to Rikushi, asking if he's okay.

Kaide tends to Valentine while still making fun of him, "Looks like you're in bad shape there bud"

"Oh I oughta strangle you... But my arms..." Valentine replies,

"You'll be fine, we made some connections whilst y'all were gone, Abstra hooked us up with some of Eagle City's best healers, the same ones from the Arena Games."

Gem heads over to Brant to heal him up, whilst Mek and Davie bring over everyone around Gem to be healed, as Tyrant and Yunoi walk up to LuLu.

"Where's... Toku?" Yunoi asks, excited to see him.

...

Nothing but silence came from LuLu.

"He's...-

gone..."

Yunoi's eyes widened, with Rikushi stomping towards her.

"What do you mean... he's gone?"

"He turned to dust... that woman's Decay magic... took him away from us." LuLu responded, with her tears starting to flow once more.

"Let's take him to the best healers in Eagle City, ASAP!" Rikushi yells out, but Kaide interrupts, walking towards them, "It was Decay Magic... he's not coming back."

"We brought Hoshina back once before from death, we can do this to him too right?!?" Rikushi asks, holding back both his anger and tears.

"No. It's impossible, even for a god." LuLu adds, "No one can, not even a primordial."

"Wait... where is Hoshina..." Rikushi shakily asked.

LuLu points in a direction "The rest of her is there..."

Rikushi walks, shaking with each step, like he's trying to hold himself back from destroying the entire mountain from anger.

Rikushi stands above Hoshina's corpse, "She's turned back to normal... her necklace... it's gone, WHERE IS IT!?"

"It's what brought you two back..." LuLu adds, holding back her resentment of their actions and what all happened.

Blaidd froze in shock, as the others stopped what they were doing, with some dropping to their knees and covering their face.

Rikushi drops down to his knees, picking up Hoshina's corpse, as her body has changed back to Kite.

"So they've... Disappeared Forever?"