Chapter 1210: War. War Never Changes
As Dana and Julia went to reinforce Thelsa, the strike team was departing for the Five Nations Guild headquarters. Lifre had fully transformed into her Wanderer persona, in which she wore a tight, leather outfit with a green and white feathered cap. She opened a portal, while Aurivy and Tsubaki worked to quietly connect it with the enemy stronghold.
Given the possibility of a critical failure when firing their superweapon, it is likely that the Origin of War does not directly live within any of the five worlds. Rather, they more likely live in the structure of the weapon itself. Aurivy explained, the portal soon stabilizing. Thanks to the Stealth domain from Tsubaki, the other side of the portal was entirely invisible.
The four stepped through, finding themselves in a silver hallway. They didn’t have enough information to send themselves straight to the enemy, so the best that they could do was put themselves somewhere within the facility.
Still, Tsubaki maintained the stealth effect surrounding the four goddesses as they walked forward. Are you sure about this, Bihena? Aurivy asked in concern, glancing out of the corner of her eye to the human goddess. If your weapon doesn’t work in the first hit, the enemy might be able to take it for themselves.
However, Bihena shook her head in response to Aurivy’s silent questioning. That shouldn’t be a problem in this case. She thought, though the two were interrupted by Tsubaki.
Pardon my intrusion, but we should avoid contact as much as possible. If the enemy is able to detect the energy fluctuations, our ambush will be ruined. She reminded the duo, and they fell silent, as if having been scolded by Tsubaki.
Tsubaki herself blinked at the response from the duo, having to remind herself that these were only their incarnations, not their true bodies. Still, there was a need for as much stealth as possible.
The four walked along the side of the hall, passing several soldiers and technicians along the way. Some of them seemed to be on patrol, while others were relaxing. When they reached a secluded hallway, Tsubaki signalled for everyone to pause. Then, she turned to Lifre, gesturing towards a nearby display on the wall.
Lifre blinked, trying to understand the gesture before her eyes lit up. Nodding her head, her form rippled, changing into a more futuristic attire with a robotic exoskeleton. She walked over towards the panel and placed her hand over it. Her eyes began to flash with various patterns, which were reflected in the panel, before she looked back at Tsubaki and gave a thumbs up.
From there on, Lifre led the way, having accessed the facility’s map from the control panel. While it would have been possible for her to put in some form of self-destruct trigger, there was a high likelihood of such tampering being detected. It was easier to simply read the data without trying to interfere with anything.
Thanks to this, it took them only half an hour to cross the large structure, until they finally stopped in front of the command center of the entire superweapon. Tsubaki lifted a hand, closing her eyes and projecting her World Sight into the room. She couldn’t afford to probe too deeply, and was merely looking for the familiar energy signature of an Origin.
Once she found it, she pulled back her senses, not wanting to risk being discovered. There were few energies that could detect World Sight, but there was no need to take the chance that the enemy could do so. She looked at the others, nodding her head to signal that this was the right place.
Unfortunately, they had to wait for someone else to come and open the door for them. If the door were to simply open on its own, it would be too easy for the enemy to realize that someone was sneaking in. Thus, the four moved to the side, waiting for their chance.
Time passed slowly, the four standing as still as could be, until finally, a woman in a red military uniform walked by. She opened the door, stepping in with a quick bow. “Excuse me, master.” She said, the strike team quietly slipping in behind her. “I’ve received a report that the Fierce Night’s Master has been slain. Our scheduled probe into his shadow world has shown that the shadow world itself has disappeared.”
“Oh?” A black-haired woman spoke up, resting her head against one fist as she leaned to the side. “What of his Black Cathedral? Is there any report on it being claimed by the enemy?”
The reporting officer shook her head. “No, master. We don’t have an informant in the administrator’s inner circle yet, so we can’t be sure what happened to the spoils.”
The black-haired woman sighed, sitting upright and stretching her hand out. “War is all about gathering information. If you know more about your opponent than they know about you, victory is assured.” She said, and a screen appeared in front of her, showing a pitch black church.
The officer watched intently as the screen suddenly shifted, black wisps flooding the area and causing a hectic battle to break out. Four figures appeared to direct the battle, until they entered a brief brawl with the Origin of Darkness. Tsubaki and the others watched as Dana and Julia appeared in the screen, and the red sword appeared next to Julia.
When the Origin of War saw that sword, her eyes lit up. “That weapon… I want it.” She said, as if she were looking at a treasure. “A weapon that can kill a Master with one touch. If I add that to my collection, challenging the Hermit will no longer be a problem.”
Aurivy grit her teeth, clenching her fists as she forced herself to stay calm. She could only watch as the enemy pulled up another screen, displaying information about Julia. “Oh? It seems that she is quite close to the Administrator of this dungeon. It would be great if we could pull her to our side. Arrange for someone to contact her discreetly.”
As the enemy spoke, Bihena closed her eyes, extending her hand. A golden spear appeared, which she grasped firmly by the shaft. Taking a calming breath, she stepped forward, thrusting the spear towards the Origin’s side.
However, rather than the satisfying feeling of her spear piercing into the target, she found a black shield appearing in front of her spear. The Origin of War looked over at her with an amused smile. “Oh? It seems that someone has sent assassins after me?” She questioned, glancing at Bihena’s spear. “Your spear is not bad. It can disrupt the internal energy of anyone struck by the blade, correct? Against a normal opponent, that could already be dangerous, but if it worked on a Master, it could give you a crucial opening.”
“Still… I have many of these weapons.” She said, snapping her finger. Immediately, the spear shattered, causing Bihena’s eyes to widen as she felt her divinity weaken.
Aurivy’s eyes narrowed, and she stretched her hands out. “Well, how about this?!” She shouted, clenching her fists. Her anger was boiling over, and the entire structure shook around them. “Establishing a new law, enforcing balance!”
They had not entered the ‘dungeons’ owned by the Five Nations Guild, so Aurivy had been hesitant to unleash her dungeon powers. In order to do so, she had to take the extra step of establishing the territory as a dungeon, which made it naturally more fragile than if it were an already existing dungeon. However, in the current scenario, this was no longer the time to hold back.
“Balance?” The enemy looked at Aurivy curiously. She glanced down at her own hands, clenching her fists. “I see… you mean to reduce my energy output to the same level as your own, that way you can even the playing field. This type of law is easy to break. All I would need to do is call for my guards.”
As she said that, she stood, seeming unbothered by the ambush. “If there are any more of you, you should reveal yourselves now. I don’t want to go through the trouble of fighting in waves. And besides, I am protected by a shield that nullifies attacks that I can’t perceive. A war must be fought openly, and the king must be protected against hidden daggers.”
Tsubaki’s eye twitched at that, having moved behind the enemy. As if to test her words, she struck out with her twin daggers. Sure enough, the same black shield appeared, negating her strikes.
The reporting officer gasped, stumbling back as she saw the three assailants. She hadn’t been expecting a sudden attack like this, and found herself targeted by the small, pink-haired girl. “Get lost.” The girl said, and the space around her seemed to crumble, shattering her body into a bloody mist.
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The Origin of War looked at the red mist in exasperation. “It is always hard to find good officers…” She said, seeming entirely unaffected by the death of one of her people. “So, there are three of you? Or should I assume that another one is waiting in hiding?” She asked, though there was no answer.
“No matter.” She shook her head, creating a black blade in one hand. The air around her shook as she adorned herself with a full set of heavy armor, the joints glowing with an ominous red light. When she spoke, her voice carried a deep echo. “Once I kill you three, I’ll have my answers.”
Aurivy grit her teeth. Even if the enemy’s energy output was limited to be the same as theirs, their equipment would remain unchanged. She had no way of identifying what type of items the Origin had equipped herself with, so she could only prepare for the worst. “Bihena! Tsubaki! I’ll act as support!”
She had noticed that Tsubaki didn’t bring Lifre out of stealth, but she couldn’t draw attention to that fact. Even if she glanced in that direction, it would be enough to alert the enemy that there was another combatant. Thus, she couldn’t check to see what Lifre was doing. Instead, she waved her hands, causing Tsubaki and Bihena to be teleported in clouds of golden mist.
Bihena, having appeared to the enemy’s right, narrowed her eyes in focus. A whirling drill of water formed around her fist as she slammed it forward. Due to the previous exchange, she knew that the enemy could shatter anything classified as a weapon. Even Tsubaki had put away her daggers, fighting with light blades in the shape of claws.
The Origin took these attacks without moving, seeming to gauge their power. Small cracks formed along the black armor, though it rapidly mended itself after each strike. “I see… your attacks are quite powerful. If you weren’t limiting yourself, you might be a match for a normal Master.” She praised from within the armor. “However, you stand before War. As such, we will need a more suitable battlefield.”
With that, the Origin of War waved her sword, and the space around them shook. After a brief tremor, Aurivy was surprised to find that they were now standing atop a rocky plateau. She looked around quickly, assessing her surroundings, and discovered that Lifre had not been transported with them. Instead, it was just Tsubaki, Aurivy, Bihena, and the enemy Origin.
The enemy stood in the distance, pointing her sword at the trio. “Come at me. Nobody can leave the battlefield before the enemy is slain.”
Tsubaki and Bihena looked at one another, nodding their heads. Tsubaki charged forward while Bihena lifted her hands to the sky. Dark clouds began to rapidly converge, creating a torrential storm, with each drop of rain as sharp as a divine blade. Tsubaki, meanwhile, charged forward, her nine tails spreading out behind her.
At this point, there was little that they could do aside from confront the enemy Origin with their full power. Especially if they truly couldn’t leave this place. And, given that Aurivy made no visible attempts to bring them out, Tsubaki could only assume that to be the truth.