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daybreakacademy2021-01-04 11:26 am
arcadianvampire) wrote in daybreakacademy2021-01-04 11:26 am
Final Episode! A Promise Unforgotten!
Time was ticking down. Though the plot to destroy Hades was foiled, the reveal of Judge Nemo and his nefarious plans to annihilate humanity with the superweapon of legend known as Fear the Great still loomed over Daybreak Academy during the holiday season. Only weeks away from being fully charged, Daybreak's Seers, Hunters, Mages, and general staff worked tirelessly after Utultar's defeat to locate this ancient, fabled threat. Finally, a breakthrough came.
A distant part of the Outlands, far out of sight by most beings, supernatural or not. Hidden in the inky darkness so far away from the sun, lay a weapon of immense power, forged by some unknown force. All that was discovered about it was that it was a terrible force, powered by an equally dangerous source: Malice. Though the original target of this weapon was unknown, someone clearly forged it with intent to blow away entire worlds... with little regard for collateral damage. Daybreak researchers quickly determined should Fear the Great go off, it would not just merely take Earth with it: it could take parts of the Outlands in the blast too. Doubtlessly, a cost that did not concern the enigmatic and cruel Judge Nemo.
With all the intelligence they could gather Daybreak sent everything they could reasonably spare to deal with this threat. Emerging through magical portals, the Daybreak dropships arrived in a dark corner of the Outlands, to be met with a strange spire constructed of unknown stones and metals, billions of runes of long-forgotten languages glowing and pulsing a faint cyan. The whole place thrummed with power, and even setting foot on Fear the Great could fill one with a weak heart with overwhelming dread. As soon as the teams landed partway up the structure, what passed for a sky crackled with fel, red lightning, the top of the spire slowly turning blood red. It did not seem as though Fear the Great had yet been charged... but something, or likely, someone noticed their presence.
Getting to the top of the spire and cutting off Fear the Great's three primary power sources would be the first priority: the devices Nemo was using to process human souls, the magical energy from Hades itself, and the legendary daemon blade Yoshitsuna. But the way up is fraught... it seems Nemo will not allow himself to be so easily reached. Along the way the teams will be confronted with corrupted versions of the same foes they fought in Hades. Short of Celestial Hosts, all foes, including Androids, show their faces here... but all of them to a letter are made of a black mass with red highlights; they are not truly alive. All of them are constructs, made entirely from Malice. They are relentless, with no preservation instinct, and no personality. They cannot be reasoned with, and they will fight with all their might to prevent you from reaching the top. Radiance, however, will prove to be incredibly effective against them.
And up at the very top, the mastermind awaits...
A distant part of the Outlands, far out of sight by most beings, supernatural or not. Hidden in the inky darkness so far away from the sun, lay a weapon of immense power, forged by some unknown force. All that was discovered about it was that it was a terrible force, powered by an equally dangerous source: Malice. Though the original target of this weapon was unknown, someone clearly forged it with intent to blow away entire worlds... with little regard for collateral damage. Daybreak researchers quickly determined should Fear the Great go off, it would not just merely take Earth with it: it could take parts of the Outlands in the blast too. Doubtlessly, a cost that did not concern the enigmatic and cruel Judge Nemo.
With all the intelligence they could gather Daybreak sent everything they could reasonably spare to deal with this threat. Emerging through magical portals, the Daybreak dropships arrived in a dark corner of the Outlands, to be met with a strange spire constructed of unknown stones and metals, billions of runes of long-forgotten languages glowing and pulsing a faint cyan. The whole place thrummed with power, and even setting foot on Fear the Great could fill one with a weak heart with overwhelming dread. As soon as the teams landed partway up the structure, what passed for a sky crackled with fel, red lightning, the top of the spire slowly turning blood red. It did not seem as though Fear the Great had yet been charged... but something, or likely, someone noticed their presence.
Getting to the top of the spire and cutting off Fear the Great's three primary power sources would be the first priority: the devices Nemo was using to process human souls, the magical energy from Hades itself, and the legendary daemon blade Yoshitsuna. But the way up is fraught... it seems Nemo will not allow himself to be so easily reached. Along the way the teams will be confronted with corrupted versions of the same foes they fought in Hades. Short of Celestial Hosts, all foes, including Androids, show their faces here... but all of them to a letter are made of a black mass with red highlights; they are not truly alive. All of them are constructs, made entirely from Malice. They are relentless, with no preservation instinct, and no personality. They cannot be reasoned with, and they will fight with all their might to prevent you from reaching the top. Radiance, however, will prove to be incredibly effective against them.
And up at the very top, the mastermind awaits...
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More importantly--and curiously,--despite how loud he had been, it seems Nemo didn't hear him at all. The man (or whatever was left of a man) hadn't even acknowledged how different his tone was compared to everyone else's at the start either.
He can use this.
He can make very good use of this.
"Those of you who are weak to Radiance, please brace yourselves!" he calls, as two pairs of large, white wings erupt from Christo's back.
He holds his hands forward, summoning a large magic circle that glows brighter and brighter, a light focusing in the center that bursts into several arrows of light, all aimed toward his allies' weapons, enveloping them in holy light.
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Some people here might have an idea of what a Grand Cross looks like. Of course, if they attempt to get out of the way, they'd be surprised to find that this one points sideways, searing forward with the longer beam instead of up and down.
I mean, that's what happens when you're from a shmup instead of a metroidvania.She aims the beam of holy light straight at the most heavily guarded generator."Take this!"
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His knives sing with holy power; he hisses and lets his glamour go, the illusion of flesh dissolving to reveal bone underneath. It's too much effort to maintain it in the face of something that's meant to be anathema to his existence, and he'll need all the magic he can muster.
Desidera and Kokoro look like they have the generator under control, and taking on multiple opponents at a time isn't his strong suit. Focusing on one distracted target, however, is.
He leaps off the generator, burning another spell to speed his descent, and lands on Nemo's back. He digs one knife in for leverage, ignoring the seething morass of Malice clawing at him like a parasite, and plunges the other one as far as it can go into where he guesses one of the man's shoulderblades to be.
He doesn't use this much. Encouraging a living thing to unmake itself is prohibitively difficult at best; it goes against every one of the body's instincts, surging with the struggle to survive. But since his opponent is no longer a living thing, all he has to do, theoretically, is force his body - or what's left of it - to remember that it's dead, and to remember the ravages of four hundred years of existence.
Simple. Theoretically.
Red light surges from him into Nemo, and the way it crackles and seethes around him makes him look otherworldly. He focuses entirely on the wraith's dominant arm, bending all his focus on attempting to force it into coming apart, letting his awareness of the rest of the world fall into the background.
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... She grins as the blade of her rapier is enveloped in the holy light. She darts in again with her empowered weapon, using the rapier to stab at the claws that had formed to attack her and Desidera.
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The final Android of the first wave caught the Belmont fastball special dead on. The Holy Water erupted from its vessel in sanctified blue flame, igniting the hapless Malice creature. The searing flame tore through it and spread over its very body, rending it apart and burning it to naught but ash. Perhaps it was fortunate these beings felt no pain... but its demise was quick and decisive. With the riffraff dealt with, Kokoro had a free and clear shot at the generator... right through the shadow tendrils and captive Malice androids. The sheer amount of focus and holy power that gathered around the Belmont as she focused one of her family's most celebrated techniques lit up Fear the Great like a lighthouse beacon, and the blast was its ray of light in the night. The Grand Cross blew through the generator, its alien casing cracking and shuddering under such blessed force... until the energy within started pushing back. Not against Grand Cross, but the very container it was held in. Red, black, dark magics burst through the cracks all at once, blasting the entire generator to bits all at once, with the energy inside making a beeline away... far away, back to Hades, where it belonged.
All of this happened very quickly, with Nemo roaring in rage and frustration the whole while. Curses and demands only half-comprehensible through a voice with dozens of reverbs. The biggest one comes when Kokoro destroyed the first generator, leveling an insult at the proud vampire hunter, only to be cut off when he notices the sudden light reflecting from Valvatorez's weapon in front of him. ...And more pointedly as Lia and Ekkehardt's weapons and attacks, now blessed with power anathema to him. Lia's weapon pierces through one of the claws, splitting it clear from his body, disintegrating as it flew through the air. Nemo worked hurriedly to regenerate it, though the process was halted as Ekkehardt plunged that enchanted dagger into his back, magic seeping through the quasi-biological matter of the Malice, and into Nemo proper.
A primal, haunting scream, scratching in the far reaching regions of sanity in the mind erupted from the wraith, its body flailing and thrashing. It was hard to tell if the magic itself worked at first, but soon Nemo's right side and primary claw began to buckle against Valvatorez's strength. But in this thrashing, the Malice coating Nemo went to full panic mode, forming spikes and claws on its back to try to impale Ekkehardt or at least throw him off. In this thrashing, more limbs, less formed, lashed out at anyone nearby.
"WH---WHAT IS THIS?! THIS POWER?! WHY DOES IT BURN?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND! WHERE DID YOU GET IT?! VALVATOREZ!!"
He slashed downward at Valvatorez again with the newer tendrils, two of them catching the vampire past his guard, one slashing past his face, and the other shredding the daemon's cape. Valvatorez hissed in pain from the wound, and from the Radiant warmth now taken to his blade. The sword hurt to touch, but yet, he could feel it almost having the will, telling him to strike, to fight back with his very soul. How Radiance itself felt like it was pushing him forward is something he didn't understand... nor did he try to.
Do not hesitate. Do what you know must be done. For everyone.
But then... he felt something else.
From the generator housing a legendary blade... the casing began to crack, the magical circles no longer receiving the power of Hades itself to keep the blade tied. Kokoro's Grand Cross also served to sever the very source of the curse binding Yoshitsuna. The casing exploded into thousands of bits of shrapnel as the daemon blade floated up gently from its bonds... before rocketing toward Valvatorez handle first. The vampire barely managed to free his main hand for Yoshitsuna to fly into, the blade rippling with black lightning and sparks.... leaving him carrying both a now holy sword and a blade of darkness.
"...Yoshitsuna. It's been far too long. Come, let us cleave our path together once more!"
The Vampire could feel it. The legendary blade was weakened for now, its power so consistently drained for so long. But its will spoke to him the same way the Radiance in the other blade did:
Strike forth with your vile soul, your pride, and your very will. End this... with the help of your comrades.
He did not wait. Valvatorez pressed an offense, swinging both swords, striking at Nemo's now weakened right side with the holy sword, and punishing his guard with Yoshitsuna, staggering him back.
"Hit him! With everything you have! Purge the Malice out of him, burn it all away!"
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What he can do is put that angelic magic to good use, and send a pulse of healing magic to each of his allies, putting them into top shape for the final blow.
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His voice is barely his own, hypnotic and dark, with a hint of that rushing river he remembers so well, as he puts all the power he can spare into spreading that decay further into Nemo's body and a command borrowed from the highest authority he personally believes in.
"Dissolve and wash away. Sleep now."
He feels the knife crack under the strain and yanks it out, unwilling to lose it completely for its service; the movement means he's flung off with Nemo's next attempt to impale him, hitting the broken generator hard.
If he was a normal human, it would be a fatal injury. Since he's no longer a normal human, however, he just rolls over onto his side and struggles to get to his feet (he refuses to even bow accidentally before the likes of Nemo).
"I'm billing you for damages," he complains, his voice hoarse.
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"Professor Valvatorez is stronger than you. Every one of us is stronger than you, simply for the fact that we understand what your hatred has forsaken. You should know this!"
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The spikes crash downward into Nemo, exploding with Radiance, only to be followed with a stab from Lia's blade.
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Demonstrating her ability to multitask, while continuing to hold the remaining Androids, additional tendrils of shadow spring forth with Ekkehardt seemingly as their intended target. But, where the ones being used on the Androids were and still are to keep them still and left open to attack, if these new ones are allowed, they weave themselves in and out and around to hold him together without immobilizing him, so he can focus on healing and get back onto his feet quicker without worrying about the risk of worsening any fractures. It should also keep him protected to some extent, should Nemo or any Malice constructs try to get at him while he's down.
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Ekkehardt's magic poured into the creature, and like before it took a moment of more aggressive fighting before it clearly started to have any sort of effect. But when it did, the effects were pronounced. Nemo's attacks slowed almost to a crawl, though his hatred toward Valvatorez let him continue to lash out at him. The others flanking him would find his attacks predictable, laughably easy to dodge, and more blunt than sharp as the claws lost their efficacy. The creature might still get in a lucky shot, but the vigilant should find this straightforward enough a threat, especially in the face of what has come before.
Kokoro's throwing axe arced through the air, splitting off a claw heading for her instructor, before the vial of enchanted liquid burst upon the creature's shell. Holy flames seared the malignant "flesh", threatening to cook whatever was inside with its blessed energies, causing blinding pain to the creature as much of its outer shell began to melt and evaporate into a foul-smelling gas.
It was then Christo's healing magic washed over the vampire. He could feel most of his wounds closing up, the pain that burned throughout him extinguish. It was strange... was that holy, even angelic, magic working on a daemon? He could almost laugh. He truly made friends with some strange comrades. But for the moment, he was too focused on the beast in front of him to give it much thought. Focusing his dark energy within, another pulse burst from the vampire, pitch black, blinding, and imperial. The brief flash of darkness revealed a silhouette of a taller person, hair longer, and the tatters of his cape reformed into something layered and long. A flash of red from his eyes heralded a voice behind it, deep, imposing. Dominating.
"You will stop this. Now."
The figure stabbed both Yoshitsuna and the blessed blade forward, piercing the creature upon both, halting its ability to move as Lia's spikes rained down upon the creature in blinding flash of Radiance, pierced through only by the lunge with her rapier. As her sword punched through what little remained of Nemo's defenses, his body erupted from every pore with light, and let out a dazzling explosion that could surely be seen from another, more distant portion of the Outlands.
When the light faded, Nemo's corpse lay on the ground, no longer bleeding Malice into the air, and the Malice Androids held by Desidera's tendrils slowly dissolved as they gave up any semblance of fight. Valvatorez stood before Nemo's body, normal, as if whatever everyone saw never happened, his cape still tattered and hair its normal length.
"...Show yourself, Nemo. I know you are still in there."
A quiet groan, pained, groggy... and oddly normal, as the outline of a spirit rose from the body. A very soul of a human. Or what was once one. Darkened and still bearing signs of corruption, what stood appeared to be that of a weakened, fatigued, and frankly pitiable man. He spoke, not in the voice of a genocidal madman consumed by rage, but... in something more humble. The spirit hung its head.
"I... why didn't all of you fully destroy me? After everything I've done... I do not deserve to exist. I... am nothing more than a blight. Why, Valvatorez?... I don't understand."
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"If it was up to me, you'd be well on your way to your next reincarnation by now," he says coldly, crossing his arms. "You're little more than an idiot that let your grudges fester until they became everyone's problem. But since Valvatorez has his reasons, and it would dishonor Artina's memory even further than you yourself already have, you're spared my particular brand of ministrations." For now, is the unspoken ending of that sentence. "Fortunate for you that the daemon you despised is so willing to stay his hand."
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"As Mr. Gehring said. You made this Professor Valvatorez's fight, and you hinged it on his vow. He said it himself, did he not? That he would allow no further bloodshed for this."
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Christo smiles. "And considering it was Hades that was affected, it seems all the more fitting a punishment."
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"It's like all of you managed to read my mind at once."
"A punishment...?"
Nemo doesn't sound upset to even hear the suggestion floated. Not happy either, but... there is some sort of curiosity in his voice.
"Yes. It's as Kokoro said. I did not rend your soul from existence because that's not what Artina would've wanted for you. Even now, I'm sure she'd be willing to forgive you," he explained, but quickly raising a finger. "However, she would not want you to get off scott-free. She may have been forgiving, but she was still a Sister. Even if you were sincerely sorry for all of this, it doesn't change the fact that great suffering was brought on by you."
"Even 'great suffering' seems to be an understatement, looking at it from here. ...How... how could I let it get this far?"
Valvatorez finally took a moment to sheathe his swords, his hands now empty and unthreatening.
"Only you can answer that. And as Lia over there so kindly put it, don't think what I'm about to offer you is anything merciful. In fact, what I had in mind is probably the cruelest thing I could do."
"At this point, I don't think I deserve anything less than your worst. Not... not after everything. And... it can't be worse being trapped in a cage of my own making for centuries, right?"
The vampire's grin did not fade, perhaps becoming more wicked.
"Don't be so sure. Surely you know one of the methods that purifies sinful, vile souls, right? The soul is reaped from this coil, and then implanted into the body of a Prinny... where it is made to serve and work until its sins and debts are paid off through labor. As Christo so kindly pointed out, a great many of the people you wronged are in Hades. Working in service of Hades and bettering humankind together seems like a fitting punishment for all of this.
And in fairness to you, in transparency for what you're signing up for? Know this: if you agree, it will be hundreds upon hundreds of years of grueling work. The pay is abysmal. There are no benefits. And you'll probably be thrown about and exploded more than once. ...But at the end, it will provide you with both purification and reincarnation. And what would be a peaceful end to this existence, giving you a clean slate into the hereafter. But you have to commit and earn it."
Nemo's spirit listens, passively, the whole time. As Valvatorez lines it all out, a faint smile manages to form on the soul's face. Not the wicked smirk he so often wore when dealing with others; something distinctly human, something more humble.
"...A daemon offering redemption, to someone who does not deserve forgiveness. She was right about you. You really are a weird one, Valvatorez. But honestly? That whole Prinny thing? That sounds... nice. Even if it takes an eternity, if that's what it takes... at least it means having purpose."
Valvatorez turned quickly to Desidera. "Desi. Do me a favor, and reach out to Emizel on the phone. Call him here and tell him to take the dimensional gate coordinates for the tracking beacon we set up. Tell him we have things under control, but that I need him here immediately. There's something only he can do right now."
Meanwhile, Nemo's spirit turned toward the others... including finally making eye contact with Christo, looking surprised that there was another person here the whole time he missed.
"I know I have no right to speak to any of you after all of this. But... thank you. Thank you for beating some sense into me. Things... are finally clear after so, so long. After Artina died... the soldiers of Gustark dragged me off. Interrogated me relentlessly, tortured me. I... I broke under it all. The war, the pain, the torment by my fellow man, and the cruelty they showed in killing someone who saw humanity before nation. When I finally died... the only thing I remembered was how to hate. ...It does not excuse what I have done. It never will. But... thank you. All of you."
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It was when he reached with the rest of the group that he noticed the spirit, and frowned. "--He's still here?"
Rightfully upset and defensive, although he trusted Valvatorez enough that there was a good enough reason for it.
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Valvatorez walked closer to Emizel, while Nemo floated over the corpse of what was left of his physical existence. The spirit couldn't even seem to look the young daemon in the eye yet. With how weak and pitiful he appeared, and the weak spiritual energy he possessed, he was pretty clearly harmless at this point
"You're probably wondering why we didn't destroy him. Or perhaps, maybe you're not. We both understand the gravity it is to destroy a soul." He looked at Emizel more intently, but it was without judgment, without demand. "And... we both understand the importance of death. As such... there is something that must be done. The duty of a Reaper."
He paused, eyes closing for a moment.
"Nemo wishes to work for his atonement, the purification of his soul, through the purgatory of becoming a Prinny. He knows the weight which he carries, and the difficulties that will await him. And, while I cannot speak for the people of Hades, I believe... they need that closure."
Valvatorez's hand lifted off to the side, his hand open. A pulse of dark smoke and energy curled around it, as he called forth something in a shadowy silhouette. Once it fully formed, a swarm of magical bats flew away in a burst in every direction, revealing what he held. A staff, shaft of the finest black hardwood from Hades, the head and base of the staff adorned in mythril. The base of the staff was shaped like the skull on Emizel's hoodie, the eyes glowing faintly of blue flame. The head, however, was larger, and thrummed with magical power; a true staff of a daemon mage. But with a flick of his hand and a spin of the weapon, a blade expanded out of the top of the head, solidifying into a proper scythe, fit for a true Reaper. With the scythe blade extended, Emizel's skull emblem was plainly visible on both sides of the head of the weapon, saying for sure who it belonged to.
"I hearby ask of you, Emizel, Prince of Reapers, to grant that relief to the people of Hades, and a chance to give a lost soul its proper rest."
Valvatorez held out the impressive scythe to Emizel to take up, a symbol of his trust in the young daemon.
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"...Are you sure about this? You should have gotten Father to do it."
He would be much better at it, at any rate.
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"I am positive of it, lad. Which Reaper was it but you who resisted and fought to liberate Hades from this man's yoke? The one Reaper who fought to save their home and free the other Reapers and the daemons? That was you. That is not to conflate your ego, however.
No, what this is... is finishing what you started. Seeing everything through, and accepting your solemn duty as a Reaper. Granting closure to the wronged, the dead, and the living alike. To Hades, to the world, and even to Nemo himself, given he did not receive a proper reaping at the time of his passing.
In my eye... there is no one better suited to this task than you."
Nemo nodded to the young Reaper, the prince, and spoke, quietly and humbly.
"I have no right to ask you for this, after what happened. After what I did to you, your family, and your home. But... I must make amends. Bring balance to those things. Will you allow me that chance, Prince Emizel?"
Valvatorez held out the scythe's handle to the young daemon. All he had to do was reach out and take it. His expression held no joy, given how unusually serious he was. But even if there was no happiness there, through Valvatorez's intensity, there was something of pride and assurance. The daemon was convinced of his choice, both in himself, and in his pupil.
"I understand it is much I am asking of you. But I would not do so if I did not believe you were ready for such a heavy responsibility. So I ask you: put an end to this saga, so that all of us might move forward."
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And now, to the task at hand. ...Despite everything he was still pretty nervous about this, but he did have some sort of reputation to uphold. 'Prince of Reapers' is one hefty title to live up to.
"...For the crimes you committed, your atonement will likely take longer than any other human soul before." It seemed like only a fair warning to give, before beginning.