Chapter 6 : The Bright Lights in the Sky (3/3)

The machinery moved swiftly as they processed ore with ease. It was as if ghosts controlled everything, and people weren't needed. I've lived in nature all my life, and I've only read of factories from the books Maxwell gave me. This was my first trip to one, and… it hasn't been a pleasant one.

"W-Where are we going, you two?"

 Suddenly, Mellissa turned and started running.

“Oh, over here!”

We entered a room called "Processing," which took us to a maze of iron belts. Ore was being processed without anyone here to properly do it. This place was only lit up for the sake of the show and nothing else. However, just watching the process take place was a marvel.

“Do you smell that?”

Mellissa asked as she looked up. Her green eyes started to spark a reddish color. When we looked above us, the ceiling was covered with explosives. Wires maddingly protruded all around the roof. Wires danced across the room from one end to the other in a brilliant show of horror.

“Oh my…”

Yuu Yuu whispered.

“I… was wrong.”

Dreadfully, I admitted. I wasn't sure how much explosives it would take to destroy this section, but… something told me there would be nothing left in this processing plant if those went off.

“Huh?”

Something cut into my vision from the side. It was a silver knife about to cut into me.

“She’s mine!”

The devil's voice roared as her halberd stopped a knife from going through my neck. It was sonic fast, and I didn't even perceive it coming. We all turned to see a female clad in a black outfit. She approached slowly with long blonde hair that fell to her hips and a mask obstructing her face. From behind her, a second shadow came in. They both seemed to be female.

“Countess Mellissa!”

I cried. Countess took me by one hand and pushed her body closer to me.

She gave me a good sniff before giggling like a giddy schoolgirl. It wasn't the time for this, so I reached in my pocket, and pushed out the rosary, causing her to let go and back up.

“Eh?! I forgot Jade gave you that. Oh… I wanted to mutilate you and then go on with my day.”

The devil sighed as she turned back to the culprits.

“Guess I’ll have to do it later then.”

She laughed hysterically.

“What is your problem?! We’re on the same side!”

I complained as a chill went down my spine. But I had to brush it off if I wanted to live. With conviction, I turned back to the culprits. Suddenly, a third one dropped from above, making it an even three on three.

The devil smiled.

“These are the scumbags I sensed when Goody-Good first came in.”

I turned back to the three figures. They had on dark uniforms as if they were special operations unidentifiable units. All three of them looked female in appearance. They were in a triangle formation, and the one who threw the knife at me seemed to be the ringleader.

“W-Who are you people?”

Yuu Yuu demanded an answer.

Silently, they glared at us through their mask. The female that threw the knife at me smirked. Like a gust of wind, she appeared in front of me. I shielded myself with my katana, but a backdraft of wind threw me back. I flipped and caught myself, landing in front of Yuu Yuu.

I had a better view of them from this angle. The first one, the ringleader, had long blonde hair and held a short knife at her side. Behind her was one with a darker complexion, bright pink hair, and a bow in her hand. The last one that came from above had ocean blue hair, a lighter-toned face, and held what looked to be a grimoire in her hand.

They all shared the same outfit, dark coat with pants and a white and black mask that concealed who there were.

“The blonde one has to be a wind vessel. These three might be the serial bombers we’ve been looking for.”

I added. Yuu Yuu nodded in agreement.

“W-What are we going to do, F-Feodora, M-Mellissa?”

I turned to Countess Mellissa, who seemed to be roaring to go. She held her halberd behind her and approached slowly.

“M-Mellissa, we need to take them in alive! Be careful not to hurt them too badly."

“Pff, be careful? You don’t have to tell me! I’m going to RIP them apart for trying to kill my prey!”

It was then that I realized the only reason Countess Mellissa saved me… was because she wanted to kill me. It made my stomach churn.

“Haaah!”

Before I was ready, Count Mellissa burst into action. They clashed weapons in an instant. She attempted to slice the head of the blonde leader off. She avoided it, but the explosion from Mellissa's weapon sparked, scattering the group of girls to different sides of the room.

“F-Feodora! S-She could ignite the bombs above if she keeps it up!”

Yuu Yuu pleaded with me for a good reason. I rushed in as the three culprits got to their feet and rushed at us.

“Mellissa, turn that off!”

“Eh?! What are you going on about?”

She swung her halberd in a horizontal arc, cutting away the blonde leader’s attack with her short sword. I had to duck, narrowly avoiding Mellissa’s weapon from hitting me. There was no mistaking it; she aimed that at both our enemies AND me.

“You’re going to ignite the bombs above us!”

I screamed as I swung my blade to the side. The pink-haired culprit shot an arrow my way, and with precision, I cut it in half before it could pierce my skull.

“Don’t worry about the bombs! Just kill these fools!”

The devil cackled as she took on the ringleader. Instead of fighting it, I turned to the grimoire holder and her partner with the bow and arrows.

“Yuu Yuu, I’m going to need help!”

I readied myself as the grimoire user began an attack. It was bright green, and I assumed it was a wind spell being produced. I rushed forward, attempting to stop her, but the bow and arrow user charged a bright red attack my way. Her arrow heated up to a fierce degree before she shot it at me.

“Eh?!”

It was heading right towards me. The arrow caught fire; before I knew it, my blade gained the water's property. I used this to my advantage, cut through the fire spectrum heading my way, turning the arrow to steam as I raced to the terrorist.

“Ha!”

I cut towards the bow user. A fierce tsunami raced towards her causing her to avoid the side, leaving her partner open.

“Feodora!”

Yuu Yuu cried. My blade went a rough brown, and I brought it behind me. This was one of the shadow crafts that Maxwell beat into me. A downwards slash that exuded the dark spectrum to come from below. But before I could connect with the grimoire user, she evaded to the side. My blade hit the ground, and to my surprise, the ground began to roar upwards.

“Huh?!”

A stalagmite pierced above, cutting the two culprits beside me. I then realized this was a result of Yuu Yuu’s enchantments. Effectively, I still struck the culprits with the massive earth spectrum. I could hear them cry as they scattered to get into formation.

“Hurry up and die! Die!”

I turned to witness Count Mellissa exploding her halberd at the ringleader. She was obviously getting overwhelmed as the demon had her cornered in all directions.

“These girls…”

It came to me… that they aren’t too skilled in battle. Or… could it be something else that was going on. They all came back together and made a triangle formation. Mellissa was still on the offensive, so I held out my rosary.

“Come over here, Mellissa!”

“Are you freaking serious?! I wanted to smear their blood all over the floor! I wanna kick’em while they're down and stomp their brains out!”

Yuu Yuu backed up in fear of the devil’s tyrant. Before she could up and run, I held her hand.

“Don’t worry… she’s on our side… believe it or not, Yuu Yuu.”

“On OUR side?! She wants to kill you, Feodora!”

“Mellissa, get over here right now!”

I demanded. Reluctantly, the devil sped over to me. We stood in a defensive formation.

"We can tell you three aren't skilled fighters! Give up, and we won't hurt you!"

I attempted to appeal to them, but instead, they looked at each other. The blonde ringleader put her hand in the air. With a cunning smile, she finally spoke.

“We have come to restore order on this land!”

The two lackeys in the back repeated what she said verbatim like an echo in a hallowed room.

“We have come to restore order on this land!”

It was a tad eerie as the blond ringleader looked up to the bombs above.

“Even if we have to die, we will succeed for our people!”

The pink-haired culprit looked at us.

"We are ready to die… are you three, though?!"

As if this was a script, the blue-haired one spoke next.

“We have heard the truth and won’t be silenced any longer. Judgment is upon you all!”

Mellissa cackled like the monster she was. With her claws, she gripped her gut as she tried to regain her composure.

“What are you laughing about, demon?!”

The ringleader, seemingly irritated, called out the devil.

“I’m not a fucking idiot! Those bombs above us aren’t even live. They don’t even have the right chemical makeup to detonate! Their shells just there for show.”

“Tsk.”

The bow user clicked her tongue.

“So, this was all a ploy?”

I asked, looking at Mellissa.

“T-They did all this to drive people here… just like we assumed?”

However, the demon shook her head from side to side.

"No… there are bombs here, you two… it's just not those ones above us. They are actually below us.”

I looked down, and a red light was blinking. It was large. I noticed it before but wasn't sure what it was because the grates made it hard to see.

Suddenly, the blue-haired one holding the grimoire revealed a portal.

“We were really hoping you’d spend your time trying to dismantle the ones above…."

Casually, she walked over and took the hands of her partners. With a sudden smile that mirrored Countess Mellissa, she tilted her head like a devil.

“But now we’re going to have to release it to buy time. You could have died an instant but peaceful DEATH!”

Her demonic voice raddled my bones. The other two backed up and disappeared into the void behind them. That's when the factory began to rumble. The grates below broke open, and what appeared was a massive machine. On the top of it was a timer on its body. It read the urgent time of 10 minutes. It was shaped like a large sphere.

“That’s the bomb?!”

I screamed. Mellissa began laughing hysterically.

“Oh my… this is too exciting! The impending doom of being killed right here and now… I could die happy right about now.”

The blonde ringleader backed up.

“Have fun dying then, demon. Everyone, back to base. We need to report a successful mission to Mother!”

More machines of all shapes and sizes rushed into the portal. There were massive ones like we faced earlier and small ones too. They all seemed to be carrying materials in their arms. Some were carrying large crates and tubes of flammable ore as they escaped. They all vanished into the portal behind the culprits. The only machine that stayed was the massive bomb as it rolled about.

Yuu Yuu clenched her fist.

“They weren't just here for a distraction. The terrorist… stole ore to make more bombs for later...”

Annoyed, I turned to the devil.

"Ideas, Mellissa?!"

The demon smiled as she reached her claws out to me, attempting to cut me with them. I kicked back and brought out the rosary.

“Heel! Tell me, what’s the best course of action!”

She grimaced and looked away.

"Fine! We don't want to destroy the top of the machine's body. That's where the bombing chemicals are located. We can shut down the entire system if we destroy its power box below.”

I looked closer at the machine. Its sphere-like body was split into three parts. The top was dark black, and the bomb was located up there. The body was bright silver, and the bottom was a darker grey. From what Mellissa was saying, avoid the top, aim to destroy the base. The devil rose in the air. Suddenly the lights turned out as the factory shut down. The sphere machine had its lights, illuminating the massive device in front of us. Thankfully, the holy spectrum wasn’t stopping me from using the shadows any longer.

“Hey pinky, enchant our weapons with the water property! Keep it up as we try to immobilize it.”

“P-Pinky?!”

Yuu Yuu shouted in annoyance. The large machine spun its body and rolled towards the back of the room. As I prepared myself for its strike, my hips began to vibrate.

“Ehhh!”

I shook violently. Mellissa and Yuu Yuu stared at me as I brought out my phone. The devil laughed just like her other half. It was strange, but I began to see their strong similarities.

“Kind of a bad time…."

I answered my phone.

“Feodora, this is Jade. The doors opened, and we’re on our way inside right now. Are you three, okay?”

“N-No, Jade! Get everyone as far away from here as soon as possible, Jade!”

The knight snipped her teeth.

“You sound like something dire is going on. I’ll take your advice. Explain later. We'll get everyone as far away from here as possible.”

The line cut without even a goodbye. It sounded to me like Jade was going to act immediately. It began to move like marble as it spun around the room. It wildly hit the walls, rolled on steel landings, and was just destructive.

Yuu Yuu did as she was told and embraced our weapon with the water property. I pointed my blade out, declaring the battle ahead.

“8 minutes! But we can't trust the countdown! Immobilize it before it's too late. Yuu Yuu, Mellissa, let’s strike it down! Aim for the body and below!”

I commanded.

“R-Right!”

Yuu Yuu responded.

“You don’t have to tell me twice!”

Mellissa cackled.

The ball raced around, slamming into the walls, destroying the processing room. The demon took to her dark wings and flew towards it with her halberd behind her back. Thanks to the darkness of the room, I could keep with it as I shadow walked around.

“Here I go.”

Mellissa slammed her halberd into the side, causing the machine to spark and fly towards a wall. Thanks to Yuu Yuu’s spectrum, water waves were gushing through its bolts. Sparks of electricity scattered about. The demon knew right where to strike, so I followed her lead as we attacked with purpose. I made my few cuts, trying to sever the body from the bomb.

"Keep it up, just like that, Feodora!"

Mellissa cheered like a crazed cheerleader. It was… oddly satisfying as we tossed the machine around like a tennis ball. Suddenly, it stopped itself from being tossed around and screeched on the iron floor. The machine’s body began to glow as red lights shined from it.

“What’s it doing?!”

Yuu Yuu asked as we all prepared for what was next. As if it became self-aware, the machine grew eight legs from under it. Like a spider, it stopped spinning and crawled on the walls. When it reached the top where the fake bombs were, its body opened hatches around its sphere-shaped self. What came out were guns with giant arrows on them.

“What the hell is that?!”

I couldn’t wrap my head around what I was looking at.

“Those are missiles! They’re like bombs you can shoot!”

The demon excitedly cackled.

The devil was flying around, clapping her hands in excitement.

"There have to be hundreds of them."

I whispered. If these arrows were like small bombs aiming at us, it would be nearly impossible to avoid them.

“Yuu Yuu, come over to me.”

At my command, the bunny ran into my arms. I held Yuu Yuu tight as I watched the sphere-like machine start to glow an ominous red.

“W-What are you planning to do, F-Feodora?”

The factory lit up with horrid red lights as the machine shot its missiles. It sounded like screams of people coming from above. With every shot, that ear-piercing noise raddled my bones. The world shook with every blast from the guns.

“Trust me, okay Yuu Yuu?”

She looked at me, and I could tell she was terrified. I was afraid too, but my will to live overshadowed all the chaos around me.

“O-Okay.”

Her warm breath hit my cheek. It made me clench her all the tighter. It was too late to stop the wildcard from flying above us and formulate a plan. Mellissa was spinning in the air, flawlessly dodging the lights. Fire erupted as stray missiles hit the walls, but most of them descended upon me and the pink bunny. I held Yuu Yuu in my arms, timed it, and melted into the darkness when the missiles got close.

Explosions erupted around us as I skillfully avoided the wave of fire in the shadows. Heat still seared us, but we missed the blast of fire that would have torn us apart. The ground began to heat up, and warning lights started to shriek. Cooling mechanisms turned on, attempting to stop the factory from overheating as water rained down on the battlefield. It was like being in a warzone. Yuu Yuu and I reappeared on a platform overlooking the devastation. The clock on the machine was ominously staring at us. It was blinking in less than 4 minutes. The timer could have been a fabrication from the terrorist but the fact that it was there was impending.

“We need to stop this right now!”

I called out to Mellissa, who was still dancing in the sky. The machine moved about chaotically. It was programmed only to survive long enough to die and take us with it. Its primary purpose was to detonate and not allow anyone to deactivate it.

“No matter how many strikes we give the machine, it won't go down!"

I scorned, watching it taunt me from below as it crawled about. Mellissa flew over to us.

“The machine’s back is exposed, Feodora! Dang thing won't let me get to it, though. I could deactivate it with ease if we had a way to hold it down.”

“Hold it down… hold it in place?”

I thought momentarily as I closed my eyes. What came to mind was Yuu Yuu’s abilities. Her… enchantments.

“The stalagmites. What if we pierce it with one long enough to hold it down? That way, M-Mellissa can get to the back of it and disarm the bomb?”

It wasn’t a solid plan but what I had to work with. Yuu Yuu nodded, and even the devil smirked at me.

“Then I’ll distract it for you, Feodora!”

Without awaiting my order, the demon flew off to have more fun with the machine...

“Yuu Yuu, I’m relying on you. Enchant my weapon with the earth's property.”

I let go and ran to the edge of the railing we were on. Before I could jump off, Yuu Yuu caught me by calling out.

“O-Oh...F-Feodora!”

She rushed behind me, held my shoulder, and whispered in my ear.

“J-Just b-be safe… Okay? Be safe!”

“O-Oh, yeah.”

Her words only motivated me as I pushed on. With the battle between Countess and the machine getting crazier, I jumped in to help. My sword shined a deep brown. Like before, I hit the ground next to the machine, earning stalagmites to ascend from below. One formation struck the bottom of the machine and cut through the side. Its arms all pushed forward and grabbed the demon, shoving her into the wall.

“Mellissa!”

I yelled out to her, but it was in vain. She was wedged into the wall as my stalagmite captured the machine. It twisted its metal arms, attempting to crush the demon. With her claws, she forced the arms off her just enough not to destroy her body.

“Dang it! We don’t have time.”

I murmured as I ran to cut down the iron hands. But they wouldn’t go down. Mellissa cried in pain as the arms attempted to crush her.

“Let her go! I said, let her go!”

I brought my blade back and channeled as much energy I could in my strike. I pushed forwards, cutting away at the machine. I managed to slice one arm clean off, but the remaining 7 taunted me as the machine slammed into the demon. Despair started to creep in as the timer on its head was getting dangerously low.

“Nnnnaaaahhh.”

But then tiny footsteps ran from the side of us. Yuu Yuu was whimpering like a cute puppy as she raced behind the machine. It was Yuu Yuu, and she looked determined to see things through.

“We’re going to… live today! Yuu Yuu won’t let us die!”

She slid underneath the machine, reaching the panels. The wires were exposed as she took off her backpack, pulled out a tool that looked sharp, and tinkered with the hatch.

Still, on the offensive, the machine shot more missiles my way.

“T-That’s right! Over here, look at me!”

I dodged, doing my best to keep the machine focused on me and the demon. As the missiles aimed my way, I melted into the darkness and appeared on one of its many arms. I raced up to the devil, who had begun pulling each arm off the machine's body.

“Piece of shit! Bag of bolts! Let me go!”

Together we began dismantling the arms one by one. But before I could free the demon, the machine flashed. I was sure this was the end for us. We had to be too late, and the bombs inside were going to detonate…

The machine lit up, flashed, and suddenly, the arms lost power, and its round body fell to the ground with a clunk. Mellissa pushed off the arms and rushed over to the seemingly dead bag of bolts.

“Huh?”

Yuu Yuu sat up from the ground like a grease monkey. Her cheeks had oil on them as she smeared her face with her arm.

“D-Did I do it?”

The pink bunny asked. Before I knew it, I was walking up to the bunny. Suddenly, I found myself running to Yuu Yuu and taking her in my arms. The oil smeared along my face as I screamed with excitement.

“Good job! You did it! You did it, Yuu Yuu!”

I was too excited, but something in me wanted to hold her tight… so I did. The demon fell beside us and looked at the machine.

“Wow, pinky has skills. How did you find out which wire to cut?”

She put her halberd away and approached us. Yuu Yuu hid behind me as she continued coming. With her claws out, she began running to us.

“Heel!”

I cried, causing her to stop and back up.

“Shit, that rosary is so annoying. Can’t I give you both a victory hug too?”

"I… don't want a hug from you…."

Yuu Yuu cried as she pushed her head into my chest.

After a while, the noise of footsteps came in as Jade, and a bunch of Radiants rushed in behind her. They surrounded the area and began taking into account what had happened.

“This place looks like a warzone.”

Jade remarked. Eve and Vivian looked around, too, taking note of everything that's happened.

"Go over what happened for me, you three…."

The knight demanded.

We explained to her all that had happened. How the place lit up and how we faced off against machines of unknown origin. We continued about the three culprits and them stealing ore from the factory. Finally, we told Jade about the sphere-like machine that was a bomb in itself and how we defeated it before it was too late. Jade pondered and took in all the information before she spoke up.

"Okay, I know where to go next. Mellissa, Feo, and Yuuna, you three are relieved for the day."

"Feo?"

Yuu Yuu asked. I had never heard that nickname before, and even I questioned it.

"Feo? That's a new nickname..."

"It's easier.... I have a lot on my mind right now. Mellissa, you come with me for the time being."

"Fine, I'll go with you."

Mellissa complained. But Jade had the rosary and forced her to come to her like a dog.

"Jade, have you found any leads?"

A woman with bright hair and shining armor met us at the gates. She had these intense silver eyes that radiated her presence. As she walked toward us, her armor clicked. She reminded me of royalty you only see in stories. She had a collection of knights with her, and I wasn't sure who she was.

“Feodora, this is Elizera, the head of the knights. She's my boss, and I'll soon have her position.”

She felt strong and exuded a powerful aura. Yuu Yuu's eyes went wide as Elizera approached us. 

“Do you know her, Yuu Yuu?”

I asked. Yuu Yuu stared but then shook her head from side to side. I wasn’t sure what to make of this as she occasionally looked Elizera’s way.

"You two look exhausted. Take a break. Feodora, take a few days off so I can investigate this bombing case. I'll call you if I need you."

I nodded.

"Alright Jade."

"F-Feo... let's get out of here."

Yuu Yuu asked as she tugged my finger. Jade did relieve us. Yuu Yuu seemed like she was uncomfortable and wanted to get away as soon as she could. So, I followed her as we exited the factory together.