During the game's war event, players had to face Bandel after defeating his vice-captain. When the protagonist and his friends had almost defeated him, something happened.
This was a rarity, Bandel's mobile knight evolved. This was not explained, as many considered it part of the final boss's transformation.
Bandel's mobile knight transformed into a kind of creature—a robot, of course, in the end.
The name it received as the final stage of the final boss was Diabolos.
◇◇◇
Aboard Liebe, the royal ship that was supposed to be used to defeat Brynhild before their fight against Bandel.
They were all observing a strange shape from afar.
"...Alisa. What is that?"
"...I don't know, but... for some reason, I'm scared..."
Airi took Alisa's hand, both were sweating in terror while their eyes seemed to weep at the horrifying scene they saw.
Liam and the other two couldn't speak; they trembled too at seeing something unimaginable for anyone.
The only one not seeing it was Erselica, but that was because she was on her knees on the floor, praying.
"Please, my God. Help us... that thing... that guy is the worst thing that could happen to us."
She wept, and no one could hear what she was saying.
"Please, protect onii-chan and us from that! I could never defeat him in the game! I'm scared, please protect us!"
Her teeth chattered as she spoke.
Bell was by her side and could only do one thing: analyze the situation. He sent an analysis to Battler for his master to see.
◇
"...What the hell is that?"
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
This thing is supposed to be that guy?
Impossible, this thing doesn't look human, let alone like a machine.
It's almost as if it were a fusion of both.
He observed it, and not even "he" could believe it.
He checked his hands curiously; his fingers were claws. Just imagining armor with claws was strange.
Now, he looked at his fingers with great interest, like a child. He turned his head to see and touch his wings and tails.
Really. What the hell is this?
I'm scared just looking at it!
"Master!"
A voice message arrived. I don't know whose it is, but if they called me master, it means it's an ally.
I checked the message.
"Analysis of the creature. Analysis error! Cannot analyze! Origin unknown, composition of its body unknown."
Clearly, what it said was not good.
"Cannot analyze its chemical composition, cannot analyze the strange radiation it emanates. Immediate escape recommended!"
Hey, don't tell me that.
"Alert! The unknown being is doing something."
I immediately looked to see what it was doing upon hearing that.
I don't understand.
It's looking towards the horizon in a direction different from this one.
...
No, wait. What the hell?
I can observe that something is gathering on its horns.
It's very visible, it's black and seems to swell on them.
They're getting bigger; it looks like a sphere growing on both horns.
"Danger alert!"
The voice sounded again.
"A mysterious and incalculable amount of magical power is gathering in a single place!"
"The radiation emanating from the strange creature is corroding the ether!"
The spheres grow larger and seem to be spinning at high speed, floating centimeters from the horns.
"This strange pattern has been named dark matter! Master must flee immediately—!"
Before the voice finished speaking, it happened.
"Anagenesis! "
The strange creature shouted something, and then, a great ray of black light was fired towards an unknown place.
Approximately 3 seconds passed, the duration of the ray.
Then...
Kaboom!!
A huge mushroom-shaped black explosion was seen in the distance.
"Danger! Probability of death rate exceeds 100%! Radiation caused by dark matter is a powerful poison that kills everything it touches!"
The great black mushroom kept growing.
"Master, runnnn!"
It was fading little by little.
"It's coming towards you now!"
I didn't react in time. I realized too late.
Turning towards the direction where that thing was, I no longer found it there.
"...Rudel."
A deep, monstrous voice called me from somewhere.
Something touched me gently.
I turned quickly, and found it.
Its wings were real wings. It flew by flapping up and down. Its arms were hanging down, its tails moved slightly.
"It's time to play!"
I couldn't believe it, even seeing it with my own eyes.
This thing hit me with its tails, and I was sent flying at enormous speed against an enemy ship.
A great crash sounded.
When the screen cleared, I saw a group of bodies crushed by debris and by Battler.
This isn't good. A single light blow did this.
"Enemy approaching!"
A message appeared; looking at the direction indicated, it was coming quickly to collide with the ship.
Battler got up and flew. At that precise moment, a great explosion was heard behind me.
I activated a magic circle. A bazooka came out of it, then other circles manifested, and cannons of different sizes appeared.
From the flames, that thing emerged, I aimed at it and...
"Rudel, let's play!"
"Go to hell!"
I fired at point-blank range without mercy.
It seems to be a success.
"Guhahaha, this is so much fun!"
But I was wrong, as that guy came to hit me. I shot at him again, he was very close, but I didn't care.
I was hit a bit by the explosion; after tumbling a bit, I stabilized Battler.
Once again, I observed him laughing among the flames.
This time his laughter was more terrifying. It's because he pulled something similar to a sword from his body.
This sword was long, curved, and had a large eye in the center.
"Rudel, entertain me more!"
"Get away from me!"
I screamed while firing incessantly at this thing.
◇◇◇
The battlefield between the kingdom's fleet and the combined fleet had been ongoing for minutes since it started.
Allied and enemy ships fired without stopping.
Normal cannons and magical cannons were seen opening fire, ignoring anything in their way.
The kingdom's fleet had only about 300 ships.
Although their numbers were slowly beginning to drop.
This is due to something similar to what was happening in the game. That was the aggressiveness of the enemy soldiers.
In the game, a backstory was mentioned; it was due to the fact that before going to war, to not feel fear or panic and only have a desire to kill,
They were given pills made from mushrooms that grow in the Commonwealth.
Resulting in a unique and dangerous warrior called the berserker army.
"Kill the kingdom's trash!"
"The kingdom must die!"
"Pay for your sins, damned demons!"
In a certain fleet from a noble house, a large number of ships, soldiers boarding their decks, and mobile knights attacked them.
This is because their fleet was the most resistant and strong; they only had 20 ships at their disposal and about 35 mobile knights in total.
That fleet was being attacked from all sides. The amazing thing is, they were winning.
"Behind you!"
"U-uwahh!"
A boy used the sword he had to pierce a soldier's stomach.
He wasn't the only one; there were other sailors, none of them were knights. All of them wore armor for protection.
They were fighting on deck with their swords and spears.
On the side of the ships, similarly, the mobile knights fought tirelessly against great enemies.
The allies had old armed units; compared to the enemy's equipment, they should all be dead.
The reason that didn't happen is that those armed units were repaired not with normal equipment, but with superior equipment.
Equipment that, both they and the ships, were repaired and equipped with Ixion technology.
That noble house fighting more arduously than any other was the Bradford family.
Bram was tired despite only a few minutes having passed since the battle started.
His forehead was covered in sweat. He looked at the sailors, commoners from his territory, fighting without real combat experience. Their only experience was getting rid of monsters that entered the territory to attack.
Bram looked wearily around him; the captain's cabin was even being attacked.
Then, his eyes turned to the floor. There was his older brother, Lyle.
"...Hey, firstborn. How long are you going to stay there?"
His breathing was heavy as he watched his surroundings in case someone attacked.
Lyle, covered in light armor instead of heavy armor like his brother. Held his double-barreled shotgun with both hands.
This weapon was built by Rudel (Ixion); supposedly the impact and force are greater. He created it for hunting animals and eliminating invaders.
Lyle trembled on the floor.
What were they doing here? He wondered, looking at the battlefield.
◇◇◇
A few hours ago, the Bradford family was cleared of any charges.
They had been detained on charges they didn't understand. While recovering from damage to their personal property, a message arrived via fax.
This was available at the workplaces Rudel opened.
A commoner working there came running to the feudal lord's residence.
Walt, the head of the house, read the communiqué.
It said that Rudel was cleared of any accusation, that it was all the fault of some old idiots or something like that.
Walt flew into a rage upon reading it.
"Stupid sooon!"
Walt gathered some sailors and went to the capital to see Rudel.
Before arriving, another communiqué reached them.
This time it was about an imminent war. Rudel's document said, "Everyone get out, no one stays in the territory."
Rudel was worried about his family and the commoners.
Walt listened and returned to the territory.
But not to escape, but to gather sailors and go fight alongside Rudel.
Why did they do it?
Escaping was the best reason they could have, as they aren't knights or soldiers. They're just a simple baronial house from the countryside. Why risk their lives?
There was only one answer.
"I can't abandon that stupid son!"
"Besides, my father said before he died that if I dared to leave these lands without fulfilling our ancestor's wish, I'd be cursed!"
"Who the hell is this so-called ancestor? I never knew about him! Why do I have to take care of that useless land separated from the kingdom's borders?"
"Damn dead old man and stupid Rudel!"
"You're going to give me a heart attack at this age!"
That's what Walt shouted while fighting in his mobile knight.
His sword struck his enemies, cutting through metal, which fell into the sea or exploded.
Walt had no combat experience, only what he learned at the royal and military academy.
He was being protected by sailors; none knew how to pilot one correctly. Fortunately, the mobile knight came with a combat program that helped the pilot fight like a professional.
It was a gift from Ixion in case the worst happened.
The head of the house watched through the screen as his fleet mercilessly tore through the enemies.
Several enemy ships rammed kingdom ships. They mutually exploded in flames or fell together.
In contrast, when the Bradford family's ships were hit, only the enemy was destroyed.
He couldn't believe how amazing all this was.
A certain thought crossed his mind as he used his sword to block two enemies.
(What did I do to deserve this? I didn't ask to be born in a rural area. It's better than being a commoner, yes. But... it's horrible to live in the countryside.)
(My parents had three children including me. My mother and younger sister died from the flu. Back then, we couldn't buy any medicine. Only my father, me, my older brother, and my grandfather lived in the house.)
(Before entering the academy, my brother ran away. No one knows why or where he went. I only know his death was evident since pirates roamed a lot back then.)
(My father forced me to go. He couldn't have more children since his libido died from the work, like my grandfather's. My family only had few children; I had no more relatives.)
(After graduating, I married Sonia, the mayor's daughter at that time, since no one wanted to marry or be associated with a peasant. Our family was poor; just imagining a noble marrying a commoner girl was a shame for many.)
Walt was succumbing to the enemy's strength; a third enemy approached from behind.
(I cursed my life and sometimes wanted to run away like my brother...)
The enemy approached to pierce him from behind.
"That was until that headache was born!"
Before being hit from the rear, Walt sidestepped, and the three hit each other.
He approached to stab his sword into one, steal the spear from the one who came from behind and pierce his head, then throw it at the last one.
"Rudel is my reason for being here! That little rascal, always belittling me, throwing it in my face that the territory has improved, our lives, and even putting two companies in my name!"
More enemies approached him; this time he used a rifle an ally gave him.
"Who the hell do you think you are, brat? You have my blood and came from your mother! Don't think you're so great just because you're a viscount! You're still a Bradford, so don't try to show off by sending us away because you don't want us in your way!"
Walt fired without ceasing at his enemies.
"I'm your father! Do you think I'll allow my stupid third son to fight alone!?"
"Don't screw with me, Rudel! Your father will come to help you and then hit you for belittling him!"
The bullets hit the enemies until they ran out; then, he drew his sword and flew towards the enemy.
"I won't let my son do his father's job! I'll bring you home safely!"
While Walt fought, inside his cockpit, a strange black insect-like thing was on his back; the thing slowly seemed to dry up until it did.
◇◇◇
(...This is absurd.)
Bram watched to ensure no one approached until Lyle got up.
His gaze turned to his older brother lying on the floor.
(Why am I here?)
(I am the second son. I always tried hard to be recognized and thus, be able to inherit the territory.)
(As the substitute in case the heir dies or is incapable of managing the territory. I prepared for that... unfortunately, it will never happen.)
Bram sweated as his sword remained firm; an enemy soldier came running towards him.
(I went to the knight academy. Inside, many recognized my skills and even said I should be the next head of my house.)
Their swords clashed; Bram pressed firmly on the hilt so the enemy couldn't feint and hit him.
(I trained very hard... but it was useless. Lyle isn't the problem; I hated Lyle for being the heir. The real problem is Rudel!)
Another soldier came towards Bram.
(Why the hell do you, the younger brother, humiliate me!)
(I'm your older brother! Why have you destroyed my dream?)
(You found an island, found a lost object, fought enemies I never dreamed or imagined, you're close to a duke's daughter, and you have a commoner girl as a friend.)
Bram pushed the soldier back, making him fall onto the one coming behind.
(I envy you, Rudel!)
He started running towards them.
(Despite being unfortunate, you managed to destroy the reality around you! You achieved goals I never thought were possible!)
Bram sat on the enemy and repeatedly stabbed them with his sword.
(I'm ashamed to admit it! I envy my little brother, damn it!)
(I also want to be someone who destroys reality like you!)
(For that reason, I...!)
Bram stood up; his hand, sword, and face had red liquid dripping.
"I'll help you, little idiot! I'll go help you to bring everyone home!"
"I know you'll become a great noble!"
"So wait for me, ex-crybaby! I'll go save your butt and then tell those two you're a good match, even if it's an obvious lie!"
At Bram's feet lay a strange insect that slowly dried up until it disappeared.
◇◇◇
(Why is this happening to me?)
Lyle was sitting, gripping his weapon firmly, watching Bram scream like crazy.
(I... just want to live in peace. I'm the heir to a barony. Who the hell wants to manage an almost-desert territory like that?)
(The population barely reaches almost 200 inhabitants; that number is very low for any barony! A commoner town has more residents, and I never knew that the feudal lord lived on the same grounds!)
The Bradford barony didn't have a special area to live like other rural nobles. Their residence was on the outskirts of the village, only about twenty meters away.
A feudal lord had his own residence far from the settlement. The reason was that seeing the landowner and his workers living nearby was an unpleasant idea.
Lyle could never associate with other nobles or get engaged for that reason.
Bram also applied for the same; anyone who knew or heard of the Bradford family wouldn't think they're actually nobles.
To top it off, they lived on the outskirts of the kingdom's border territory; it's almost like being exiled, but they still had to pay taxes just for saying they were part of the kingdom.
(I always cursed my place of birth; for that reason, at the academy, I changed my hair to a simpler one since black hair is a rarity in this kingdom. There are almost no families that don't possess it. I never knew how rare my hair was until people stared at me, so I also used contact lenses to hide my iris.)
(Everything should have gone well... until that nuisance Rudel was born!)
An enemy soldier approached Lyle while Bram shouted euphorically.
"Die, kingdom trash!"
Lyle saw him; his hands trembled, he aimed his weapon at the soldier and pulled the trigger.
"G-get away!"
He pressed the trigger, and the soldier was pushed back by a great force.
Red liquid spurted out in heaps, and some fell on Lyle; part of his chin, hands, and weapon were covered in it.
A round object rolled towards him.
He approached to pick it up, and upon opening it, his face paled.
Inside that locket was a family portrait; a father, a girl, and a woman holding her.
Then, a dying voice was heard.
"Kill... the demons... of the kingdom..."
The voice came from the man Lyle shot.
No, it wasn't just him. Other voices were heard from other soldiers getting up bloodied.
All shouted dying while bleeding and spitting blood.
"Finish... off... the kingdom!"
"The kingdom... must pay..."
"Altfode... I'll avenge my family!"
Sounds of swords and gunfire came from different places.
The fallen soldier got up and walked towards Lyle.
(Why do I have to go through this just because of you!?)
Once again, Lyle aimed his weapon at the man and pulled the trigger.
"Rudel, it's all your fault!"
Lyle began to cry.
"You're a damn coward, I hate you, I detest you, I despise you!"
The soldier stopped moving, and Lyle.
"Why didn't a weak coward ask for help? Do you want to bear this burden alone!?"
"Damn idiot! I'm sure you must be vomiting right now since these guys remind us of ourselves!"
He released what his heart had kept.
"Coward, crybaby, virgin, idiot, stupid younger brother! Why do you want to be the only one going through this?"
(I hated my life! I hated my family! I hated being a baron! But you, little idiot, taught me that being that is better than being you!)
(You're treated as a traitor, almost killed, fight weird and terrifying guys, and now you're going to war! Aren't you scared? Of course you are!)
Tears streamed down his cheeks.
(I know you must be suffering now! That's why... I... as your older brother, will go where you are and hug you, damn idiot. Stop bearing the weight of everything alone!)
(My problems are nothing more than immature garbage.)
"I'm happy to have been born in the Bradford Household! A poor and simple countryside barony! I'm grateful to be the son of Walt and Sonia! To have Bram, Paula, and Rudel as my siblings!"
Someone approached Lyle.
"Ow!"
And hit him hard on the head.
"What the hell are you doing screaming, idiot!?"
It was Bram who did it.
"I was lightening up, you know! Having to kill these guys is very tiring!"
"Hah, tired? Are you tired already? Better go inside and sleep, heir! By the way, give me your position if it's too hard for you."
"Are you an idiot, second son? Why would the majestic Lyle cede his title and position to the butler Bram!?"
"Who are you calling butler, rotten fruit!?"
"I say the same, shitface!"
The two trembled while screaming at each other face to face until some soldiers appeared.
They realized too late.
"What do you think you're doing fighting right now, stupid sons?"
Walt came to save them by hitting the enemies with his metallic arm.
Lyle spoke, followed by Bram.
"Nobody asked you to come, old man!"
"We can take care of this place without you!"
After saying that, Lyle and Bram ran, competing, to a box; it was locked. They broke it, and inside was a new weapon Rudel (Ixion) created called a grenade.
They had learned how to use them before leaving.
They approached the edge, removed several pins, and threw them like crazy.
Various explosions were heard. Among them, an enemy ship exploded by Lyle's hand.
He himself was amazed, and Bram shouted.
"Stupid heir, let's make a bet!"
"Huh?"
"Let's see who can take down more enemies until we get to and rescue Rudel. If I win, I'll be the new head. Okay?"
"Screw you, damn it! I accept only because I'll win!"
"Stop saying nonsense! Captain, heading to the center of everything!"
Walt yelled at his sons and then at the captain fighting in the cabin.
He heard his boss and shouted.
"To all fleets, we're heading to the center to help young master Rudel!"
The enemies inside had drastically reduced to the point that the fights were countable with one hand.
While resting in that crossfire rain and advancing, Lyle slipped.
Bram laughed at him. Lyle didn't understand why he slipped, but under his feet lay a black insect-like thing; it was very large and disappeared, leaving an invisible puddle.
While soaring through the sky hitting the enemy fleet, the Bradford males had the same thought.
(Don't you dare die, Rudel, you idiot!)
◇◇◇
The place was the Bradford barony, to be more exact, the family's house.
Inside were Sonia and Paula in the kitchen.
"Mommy."
"Yes, sweetie?"
They were cutting meat and vegetables. A woman entered the house to take a basket with cut potatoes.
"Why are we doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
Several meters from the house, some men were making a commotion.
"I heard from my friend, Jessica-chan, that she saw the neighboring noble leave in his ship in a direction not towards the kingdom."
"Well, that's because there's a big uproar somewhere."
The men making a scandal shouted so loudly they could be heard clearly.
"Come on, chop more wood!"
"The soup is getting cold!"
"The meat is almost ready."
Not only men, but women were there too, even children.
Many of them were gathered, and all were shouting in amazement.
"Uproar?" Paula said while cutting carrots.
"Yes. Someone is causing trouble, and the capital requested reinforcements. Your father and brothers went to help."
"I see. Then, why did some soldiers mistreat my brothers and dad badly?"
"Umm, it's because they're horrible soldiers."
"I see."
Now they were cutting onions.
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
Sonia stopped cutting when she heard what her daughter said.
"Is Rudel onii-chan a bad person?"
"...Why do you say that?"
"Well... when those soldiers interrogated me, they said horrible and cruel things about him."
"Do you believe them?"
"No! I know he's a nice and sweet older brother!"
Sonia laughed a little upon hearing that.
Her daughter asked what she was laughing about.
She responded.
"It's just... I see how much you love him."
"Huh? It's normal to love your family."
Sonia looked at the knife and then back; there were some picture frames there.
"I wonder... if that boy sees me as a good mother?"
In those frames, there was only one with Rudel as a child; the rest were the other house members without him.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I... never treated him well, never gave him the love a mother should give her children. It's because I was upset with him..."
Paula looked at her mother, who shed more tears.
"Do you know there's a rumor that says your family will be blessed if you have two boys and a girl?"
"Yes?"
"I... hated my own son for not being a girl... I even thought about cutting his... problem so he'd grow up as a girl, but his father said no, that we could achieve great things with him."
"I felt reluctant at first, but then I didn't."
"For several years, I treated him badly, never gave him the love he needed and... I even tried to sell him! What mother does that? It wouldn't surprise me if he hates me or the others, except you, or wants to sell us as punishment."
Paula watched her mother cry, trying to cheer her up.
Then, her mother smiled at her.
"But... then that boy, growing up, did unimaginable and fantastic things. I wondered, several times, what I did to deserve this son who helps his house without expecting anything in return."
A certain memory came to her mind.
It was when Rudel returned home with Brynhild.
Sonia had gone to the territory to look for her husband, expecting to find him flirting with girls and drinking with the commoners; instead, she found him with the mayor looking at plans on how to expand everyone's houses.
Rudel gave money so the commoners' houses would be more habitable and humane.
Over time, the territory improved from a village to almost an old urbanization.
On another occasion when he returned home.
She found a huge mountain of dresses, shoes, necklaces, among other fine and expensive items.
Sonia got angry; she thought Rudel wanted something in return, or to say it wasn't for her, but that he left it there for her to see.
But, a letter was on top of that mountain of gifts; upon opening it, it said.
"Happy birthday, from your least favorite son."
She cried, not because of the gifts, but because of the content.
For the first time, she understood that her son saw himself as a nuisance to her.
From then on, she didn't see him again since the last semester of the first year began.
In another family event.
The commoners, upon hearing that Rudel was a traitor, got upset; they never thought he was one.
But she did. Sonia felt ashamed as a mother for not having a single good thought about her son.
She cried knowing her son was going to defend the kingdom, save them all, since the only thing she was sure of was that that boy could achieve the impossible.
She calmed down after crying and then told her daughter something none of her sons knew.
"Paula. Do you know who your great-grandfather is?"
"Huh? No, and I didn't know I had one."
"Well, you had one and a grandfather. Your grandfather died from overexertion at an advanced age. Also, he, your father, and your brothers share eyes."
"Eyes?"
"Yes. You got my eyes."
Paula made a big "oh" of amazement, then asked something curious.
"And, if they look like my grandfather, and I look like you. What does my great-grandfather have to do with it, and who does Rudel onii-chan look like?"
Sonia responded after wiping her tears.
"Hehe, Rudel and he have the same gaze."
"Really!"
"That's right. I think I took it out on your brother, since your great-grandfather always seemed to look at me with contempt, but then Rudel was born and I thought he was identical to him."
This time it was Sonia who exclaimed oh.
"Now that I remember, he said something that identified them from others. He didn't use the family name but clans; honestly, this family's history is very strange."
Paula looked at her mother in amazement.
"Our family has history?"
"It does, if I remember correctly... it all started with a certain Leo who came from abroad... your great-grandfather always talked weird things about not standing out and keeping the lineage alive. Sometimes I think he was just rambling due to age."
"Anyway. The commoners are preparing a big feast for when your brothers return with your father. They'll be very hungry, especially Rudel."
"Yes!"
Mother and daughter smiled again to cook.
"Pass me the knife from over there, please; this meat is very tough."
"Sure."
When Paula got down from the stool she was standing on, she touched something and screamed.
"Mom, I touched something slimy!"
"Huh? But there's nothing on the floor; maybe it's some oil stain."
"...Yeah."
Paula continued to grab the knife and pass it to her mother.
Under one of her feet, there was a yellow trail of something like a black insect she had stepped on.
That insect had disintegrated, leaving a stain.
None of them, neither the commoners nor those on the battlefield, noticed a great white radiance emanating from a single place.
◇◇◇
At one of the borders of the Kingdom of Altfode, a great struggle was taking place.
Ships fired their cannons at each other, and mobile knights collided.
On the flagship of that fleet was a man, Frey's father, Heinkel.
"General, we have a report that Viscounts Fact and Ooze have fallen!"
He was in the command cabin drawing up a plan.
They had been fighting for hours.
The number of enemies wasn't decreasing at all; in fact, it kept increasing.
"We're losing more and more ships!"
Heinkel had created different countermeasures in the last hours.
The ships that were before the current ones were destroyed, and the ones before those.
Victory was clear until a great pirate fleet arrived.
"Yahoo, let's take over the kingdom!"
"Now that the trash hunter is dead, Altfode is ours!"
"Kill those fools in the name of the deceased pirate pillars!"
Heinkel couldn't think clearly while they were attacked from all available flanks.
"Urgent report! The ship where Earl Arses was has been destroyed!"
He reacted to that; then, another message came.
"No, it's a mistake! Earl Arses is in his armed unit fighting! It seems he got out before his ship sank."
Heinkel was relieved, but then called him an idiot.
Then, another message came.
"General!"
"What now?"
"Look over there!"
"...?"
Heinkel directed his gaze where the soldier pointed. Both he and the others were amazed by what they saw.
"What the heck is that thing!?"
"By the Saint! Evade it!"
The general shouted because in the distance, two objects were approaching at high speed.
One of them, the front one, was a strange object they had never seen.
It was shooting at a black object similar in appearance; the black object had a kind of tentacles with hands.
When it tried to grab it, the strange object that was Brynhild shot at it to prevent it from touching.
Brynhild flew backward; somehow, it moved its thrusters to one side to be able to fly and shoot.
Unintentionally on purpose, they had arrived at a side of the border.
Ixion fired with everything he had at the strange creature.
Without even bothering to notice that he had entered the battlefield.
The kingdom's fleets received instructions to retreat immediately; some weren't lucky.
As they were grabbed by the tentacles with hands and thrown at Brynhild.
After observing they were kingdom fleets, Ixion changed course, heading towards the invading fleet.
Ixion was indirectly helping the humans he desires to destroy.
"I'm getting fed up with you! It's incredible that you're more annoying than the master!"
The black thing similar to Brynhild grabbed enemy fleets and threw them at him.
He destroyed them without mercy; debris and other remains fell in flames.
He kept traversing the enemy zone so the black thing would destroy them instead of the kingdom's fleet.
Finally, the number drastically reduced since they were fleeing.
Then, he found something that could serve him.
In the distance was an island; it was uninhabited, luckily, according to analysis.
On that island were magic stones; he analyzed their composition and discovered they were perfect replacements for dynamite.
He headed to the island and made a hole to enter. The black thing followed him; they pierced the hard earth as if it were sand.
Remains of earth hit Brynhild's windshield, but there was no damage. Behind him was the black thing trying to grab rocks and throw them.
It couldn't, because Ixion pulverized them with his lasers.
After going around, he found a large underground mine of magic stones.
Upon entering, he launched missiles, but they didn't explode.
Then, he looked for an exit; the black thing was behind him.
Brynhild exited after roughly piercing the ground and then destroyed a mountain so the remains would fall into the place he escaped from.
He flew until he was at a very far distance.
His radar detected something; that was a great radiation emanating from the island.
The island seemed to fracture; cracks opened from different sides; black tentacles with eyes emerged from them.
Seeing it, Ixion said something.
"Now, perish."
A great tentacle split the subsoil, and a gigantic blue explosion accompanied it.
The island blew into pieces, and large rock fragments were shot like meteors.
These hit Brynhild, but nothing happened to it, similar to throwing mud at a vehicle.
Something fell from the island in chunks; it was black.
Ixion analyzed what appeared to be remains.
"Hmph, as expected of me. Nothing is superior to ancient humanity's technology."
The remains kept falling since much of the island was in flames and slowly fell into the sea.
The kingdom's fleet called Ixion.
They wanted to know if he was an enemy or ally. Apparently, communications were back to normal.
Before boasting that he was, an alarm sounded.
Turning his ship's body towards the alarm's direction, he observed a great black mushroom that dazzled the sight in the distance.
That only meant one thing.
"Master is in danger!"
Quickly, Brynhild headed in that direction, leaving the kingdom's fleet like fools as they approached.
◇◇◇
In the sea where the remains of the black thing fell, they disappeared without a trace. Right after Ixion headed where Rudel was.
◇◇◇
Rudel was fighting against Bandel—no, that being was no longer Bandel but something else, Diabolos.
Diabolos used his sword to hit Rudel as if he were a piñata.
He wasn't even putting effort into it; he just moved his sword as if what he held in his hand were a pencil.
"Guhahaha, come on, resist more!"
He savagely moved his sword against Rudel's axes.
He had already destroyed three pairs of them without any effort.
Now he flew into the sky and did quick pirouettes so Battler couldn't track him.
After being confused, he appeared from behind and used his tails like a whip, as if it were an uncontrolled hose.
"Guhahaha, that's it, resist more, don't end the fun quickly!"
After finishing hitting him with his tails, his sword returned to his body in a grotesque way.
"Let's play rough!"
Diabolos shouted and then laughed while using Battler as a punching bag.
His fists hit Battler's chest, torso, and head.
Dents were slowly seen; Rudel fled from him, but Diabolos didn't give up.
He went after Rudel, and then...
"Viscount Bradford, we've come to help you!"
A voice was heard in the distance.
"Allow this Feldmann to help you defeat that thing!"
Rudel noticed that fifteen armed units were heading towards him.
"Stay away, idiots!"
Rudel shouted while watching Diabolos, annoyed, heading towards the enemy.
The kingdom's soldiers drew their swords and rifles and began the attack.
"Don't interfere with my fun, filthy pests!"
But it was useless; the bullets were absorbed by his body; the leader Feldmann was the first to die.
He swung his sword at Diabolos; the blow landed, but there was no effect.
Using his claws, he split him in half as if his armed unit were cheese.
It fell into the sea.
Then to the others; he pierced the abdomen where the pilot was located; one after another died while trying to fight and defeat that creature.
"Stoooop!"
Rudel approached at high speed; Diabolos saw him and smiled.
"That's it, give me more fun! More entertainment! More, more, more! Guhahaha!!"
He headed to fight Battler again; he drew his sword from his back, and his weapon, along with Rudel's axes, clashed.
Blow after blow, Rudel was thrown, even kicks, but Diabolos didn't move an inch.
Rudel retreated at high speed and then decided to use a trump card he had.
Battler's chest glowed; its center had a small reactor; the intermittent red light grew brighter.
Diabolos laughed very loudly.
"That's it, show your best toys!"
He didn't retreat; he stayed there still while his horns seemed to gather something; it was dark matter.
The black circles spun at high speed; they became one after growing much larger.
Battler's red light shone to the point of looking like a star; it was there that two colossal attacks collided with each other.
"Eat this!" Rudel shouted.
"Anagenesis! " Diabolos did too.
Two great rays of black and red energy collided with each other.
The power was so strong that small debris flew in all directions.
They impacted the sea and fleets, enemy or allied.
After a while like this, both forces collided with each other, generating a great explosion that sent many flying.
Battler spun, tumbling until it crashed into the sea.
While Rudel tried to focus his brain on what happened.
"Guhahaha, again, it's so much fun!"
Bandel came flying with his sword impacting Battler.
There was no vision of either; only from the surface, bubbles and explosions could be seen.
◇◇◇
"...Why?"
"Why are they fighting?"
"...It hurts so much."
The battlefield near the flagship Liebe was chaos.
"I don't want to die!"
"Help, please!"
"I want to go home!"
The kingdom's fleet fought arduously against the enemy fleet; to make it more terrifying, the magical beasts were more savage for some reason.
It no longer mattered if they were enemies or owners; they attacked anyone; their eyes were red, they bit the wood of the ships to get in, screams and explosions manifested from different sides.
"I won't let them get close!"
Bell shouted while the bodyguard robots used machine guns to shoot at the magical beasts approaching the royal aircraft.
Piercing sounds of gunfire were heard. Everywhere, the robots fired large-caliber, high-speed firearms; in another area, they used rocket launchers to shoot the larger ones.
Liam and the other two were watching this; they were scared.
Liam thought.
(This is different from what I faced with my allied forces!)
Neither Liam nor Chlust, much less Frey, moved; they were in armed units, but they didn't move at all; they just watched as the robots eliminated the monsters tirelessly.
Also...
"Eeek!"
They watched as an escort ship was destroyed by Commonwealth forces in a suicide attack.
While behind him, something similar happened.
He turned around and observed another escort exploding in flames due to monsters that got in.
The escort and guardian ships had been completely destroyed. No one nor anything remained except Bell and the robots protecting them.
Erselica clung to Bell while screaming.
In contrast, Bell...
"Come on, come, I'll destroy you all!"
He was out of his mind while provoking the monsters.
The only people who didn't seem to see the situation were those two.
"Airi, are you okay!?"
It was Alisa who called out worriedly to her friend.
Airi was crying on the floor.
Alisa grabbed her shoulders.
"Be strong, this will end when Rudel—!"
Alisa's words were interrupted by a cry of pain.
"Why are they fighting!"
"This makes no sense!"
"Stop, please... enough... don't hurt each other anymore..."
Alisa didn't understand what was happening to Airi.
"Help, please!"
Suddenly, a voice came from the side of the ship.
It was a mobile knight flying directly towards the royal aircraft without a leg and with several injuries.
"I'm Jake, from His Highness's student army, let me board, I beg you!"
Both girls raised their heads to see him; they didn't care who he was, they only saw a person in danger.
"Hurry up quickly!"
Alisa shouted while watching the scared boy fly at high speed.
He was only about four meters away... he didn't make it.
As he approached, from below, a monster with a whale's mouth grabbed him while soaring through the sky.
The sound of armor being chewed and screams of pain resonated loudly.
They saw that; the robots immediately changed their focus to that creature.
Alisa trembled after seeing how a person, an academy classmate, was devoured alive.
"Ahhhh!"
Airi screamed loudly.
Alisa didn't know what was happening, but in contrast, she.
"Huh?"
A tear rolled down her cheek.
She wiped that tear, but more kept falling, with intensity.
"Why? What is this? Why am I crying?"
A small sob escaped from her; she wasn't the only one.
"Onii-chan, help me, I'm scared!!"
Suddenly, Erselica was also crying for some reason.
Despite being scared and terrified, this is the first time she's done so since all this began.
"Anomaly detected!"
Alisa heard Bell say something; she didn't understand what he was saying.
"I don't want any more!"
"I want to go home!"
"I want to see my wife and children again!"
Different sobs and tears were heard on that battlefield.
While crying, Alisa thought.
(What is this?)
(My heart hurts so much?)
(Like... as if a part of it were being torn out while I'm alive.)
"The anomaly is not located, but it's growing in magnitude!"
"It has been categorized as an emotional attack!"
Bell kept saying things Alisa didn't understand.
"Ahhh!"
She directed her gaze towards a scream she heard.
Something had crashed into an enemy ship; it was Rudel, coming out on his knees.
An object flew and crashed into the same ship; it was Diabolos.
Alisa watched helplessly as Rudel was hit by the creature's arms as if it were a game.
He was lifted, and then thrown against a kingdom ship that was in flames.
Diabolos laughed while watching him.
(Rudel... why can't I do anything for you?)
Airi cried with her face looking at the floor. A tear fell into the ring-shaped hole.
"The source of the anomaly has been detected... from Irisdina!?"
The teardrop fell onto something; at that moment, a strange mechanism began to move like the hands of an old clock.
Alisa turned to look at Airi because of what she heard.
"...Huh? ...Airi, is it you?"
Looking at her friend, Alisa didn't understand what was happening.
Airi was glowing; her hair, to be exact.
Slowly, it swayed as if it had a life of its own; the light blonde color changed to a beautiful pure white.
It grew a bit longer; not only her hair, her body seemed to take on an appearance that didn't match her age, as if she were in her mid-twenties.
Her clothes, the uniform she had, were replaced by a white dress, a pearl necklace on her neck, and a floral bracelet on her wrists.
Raising her head, she looked at Alisa.
Alisa herself was frightened to see someone she didn't know.
The blue eyes were no longer there; instead, golden eyes like Alisa's hair were reflected.
Alisa wanted to ask.
"...Are you really Airi?"
When "Airi" spoke.
"...Alisa."
The voice was the same, but the tone was very mature for a teenager.
"Give me your hand."
Alisa didn't know what happened, but without a doubt, she gave her hand.
A warm, kind, and benevolent sensation emanated from that touch.
Alisa said without thinking.
"Airi, are you okay?"
"Airi" smiled at her.
"Better than ever. Alisa, lend me your strength."
"Huh?"
Alisa didn't understand what she was talking about.
Airi positioned herself side by side to face her.
"I want you to help me. Help me stop this war and protect Rudel-san."
Airi extended her other hand; Alisa didn't know what was happening, but her free hand moved in sync with Airi's to touch each other.
Their fingers interlaced.
"Alisa, lend me your power."
"My power?"
Airi showed a very warm smile.
"The power of love you have, both yours and mine, we'll use it to protect everyone."
Once again, as if in sync, Airi's and Alisa's heads inclined to touch their foreheads.
Their eyes were now at the same level.
"Think," said Airi.
"Think about what?"
"Happiness, what has made you happiest in the world, think about it."
Alisa closed her eyes and thought.
Their hair swayed as if it had a life of its own.
(A happy memory...)
Her mouth moved to release what made her happiest.
"Being saved and meeting Rudel..."
"Multiply it."
"Meeting you and becoming friends."
"Multiply it much more."
A certain memory came to Alisa's mind.
"The day we went to Rudel's island... we bathed in his hot springs and... we called each other by our friend names! That was the day I smiled from the bottom of my heart and was grateful to be alive!"
"A stronger memory and feeling, think about it!"
Airi's hairpin began to glow; Alisa's earrings too.
Both were being covered by a transparent white blanket.
Alisa shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Being in love with Rudel, truly my heart was happy when I discovered I loved him! I also love you like a sister! I want to be with both of you forever!"
"Thank you. I love you both equally."
Alisa opened her eyes and saw Airi glowing.
She let go of Alisa's hands and stood in a place almost near the front of the ship.
She closed her eyes and joined her hands as if to pray.
"Protect them."
Those words were expressed with calm and serenity.
◇◇◇
Diabolos directed his fist at Battler, which had dents in various parts.
Before he could touch it, his fist was destroyed.
"Huh?"
Rudel didn't understand what happened, much less the monster himself.
Both stared at the right hand that had been destroyed by something.
That was...
"This is!"
A white shield, with a winged heart engraved on the crest.
Diabolos used his other hand to try to break it, but it was destroyed too.
Rudel took advantage of that opportunity to kick him and fly away from there.
While moving away, he observed more oddities.
"What the hell is happening?"
All fleets and mobile knights were being covered by the same white shield.
It appeared out of nowhere and slowly stretched entirely to cover the human beings, whether enemies or allies.
Even Rudel's own shield was covering Battler.
"Roooaaaahhhh!!"
A strong roar sounded; it was Diabolos, who flew out towards Rudel; his hands had regenerated.
"Come on, get out of here! What's wrong with you?"
Rudel couldn't control Battler, which wasn't moving; Diabolos had reached his position.
He directed his regenerated fists at Rudel.
Rudel's face showed fear, but that's when Diabolos roared.
"Roooaaahhh!!"
Something was happening to him; Rudel didn't understand the reason; he only saw that creature roar.
A message came to Battler; it was from Bell.
Rudel opened the electronic message, and there was a video recording.
It was Airi; Bell's voice was heard in the background.
"Master, it's an emergency! Irisdina is causing a strange anomaly in the environment!"
The recording showed things Rudel never noticed. It wasn't just Diabolos suffering.
All the monsters were too!
They all roared in unison. Then, one by one, they turned to ash; all the monsters were disappearing.
Rudel now directed his gaze at Diabolos; he was turning to ash too.
"Ahhh, damn it!"
Little ash came from him; right there, he let out a roar, and all the monsters headed towards him.
It looked like a tumor growing with each monster that hit his body; it became a large hot air balloon.
Slowly, the balloon grew smaller; after a while of growing, it finally returned to normal.
"Damn idiots!"
Diabolos shouted in anger; his horns began to gather dark matter; he aimed it not at Rudel, but at the kingdom's fleet.
"Don't you dare!"
Rudel shouted and couldn't do anything since he couldn't move.
"Anagenesis! "
A great black ray was fired towards the kingdom's fleet.
But that's when humanity witnessed something that never happened in the game.
The ray hit the fleets with the white shield; as if it were a magic mirror, the black ray was repelled and bounced until it fell into the ocean, generating different explosions.
Rudel didn't understand what was happening.
Diabolos even less, but he got angry and did the same again.
The black rays were fired in different directions with great speed and force, but the shields repelled that attack effortlessly.
Great explosions occurred in the sky or the ocean due to what happened.
The blue sky darkened due to the intense bombardment.
At the ship where Airi was, he fired an even larger ray.
It couldn't even reach and was pushed by a strange force towards the sky.
The explosion was so intense and large that it seemed like an eclipse.
Rudel was amazed; he didn't understand anything until the recording distorted.
It seemed the signal was cutting out until he heard.
"Rudel-san..."
Airi's voice, seemingly addressing him.
"I'm going to fight by your side."
Then Airi extended her right hand, and a light generated from the ground to her hand; it seemed to be a staff or scepter.
The object in her hand pointed at Diabolos.
Airi said a single word.
"Attack."
And from the shields, different fractured magic circles were created, spinning counterclockwise.
They seemed to be charging something; no matter the shield's size, all were acting the same.
Diabolos was looking exclusively at one ship; it was the royal ship.
His horns pointed at that ship.
But he didn't notice that the strange white circles were spinning, generating a small sphere. Upon doing so, that's when something Airi never showed in the game could be seen.
"Release it!"
The true power of the Saint.
Airi shouted, and the shields from different directions fired rays of light at high speed against Diabolos.
In a single attack, a white pillar formed, directed towards the sky.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Diabolos shouted after disappearing a while later when the pillar faded.
His body turned to ash, but he drew strength from the monsters hidden in the sea that weren't destroyed.
"Damn fools!!"
Diabolos shouted; from his body emerged a kind of tentacles with a sphere on them.
The sphere seemed to break, but it was just their mouths opening.
From his body, mouths also opened; legs, arms, forearms, and chest had mouths with sharp teeth.
His wings opened large eyes, and both the mouths, horns, and eyes generated a great multitude of large black spheres.
The ships and mobile knights with the white shield also prepared.
This was, without a doubt, the power of the Saint.
This was the power of Airi.
"Anagenesis Metoria! "
After moving away, a bit, Diabolos shouted his ultimate attack, and the black rays were fired in different directions; the white rays too.
This seemed like a battle between interstellar ships, rather.
Rays of white and black lights collided with each other.
Allies and enemies were hit without suffering damage; only Diabolos received damage.
In an unforeseen attack, the royal ship fired a great ray of light towards his right side.
Almost the entire right zone had been destroyed.
The attacks from both sides stopped.
Diabolos fell onto a ship in flames with half his body erased and bright yellow liquid gushing out in heaps.
Even part of his face and horn were erased.
Victory seemed to be for Saint Airi.
"Airi!"
Or so it seemed until she suddenly collapsed on the floor.
Her glow and staff disappeared, as did her white dress.
Her eyes and hair returned to normal, and the strange mechanism stopped.
She coughed due to the fatigue of using her own magical power without rest.
Alisa held her because Airi coughed incessantly.
She wanted to ask her what had happened, but her health was a priority.
"Damn you all!"
Diabolos shouted again. The shields had disappeared.
Rudel could move now, but he didn't due to the shock of everything that happened and not being able to understand what was going on.
"So you're the culprit!"
That's when he reacted; he heard Diabolos stare fixedly at the royal ship, Liebe.
His hands weren't moving because they were trembling.
During the impacts, most of the robots, drones, and ships were destroyed.
The others were confused because the anomaly affected their systems since they weren't AIs like Bell.
Diabolos was concentrating a great black ray directly towards that ship.
Rudel still couldn't move.
He ordered the ships to block the attack using their shields to the maximum.
They no longer had ammunition to wish to attack him.
The ships made a defense by lining up one behind the other.
Diabolos fired.
The ships couldn't withstand the impact and were destroyed.
He now looked at Rudel and cut off his tails; he threw them where Rudel was, and it looked like an octopus trying to engulf him.
Rudel still didn't react, but Battler did. It tore off the strange tentacles clinging to its body without Rudel's order.
Once again, Diabolos prepared his attack, this time more powerful and larger.
The girls and the others were in danger.
"Master!"
At that moment, Rudel received a voice message; it was Ixion.
"I've come to help you!"
Battler, while tearing off the tentacles, turned its head towards the east and saw Brynhild coming flying at high speed.
"I'm going to shoot from here!"
"Nooo!"
Rudel shouted at Ixion.
"Use your shields and protect the girls' ship!"
Ixion fell silent while getting closer and closer to them.
"But. Wouldn't it be better to shoot so that—?"
"Ixion, with a demon. Protect the girls using the shields to the maximum! Physical attacks are useless against this guy!"
Ixion fell silent, and after a brief moment.
"...Understood."
He took Brynhild to protect the girls; it was already crossing allied and enemy ships while its shields protected the ship.
"Shields at 600% capacity!"
Brynhild positioned itself sideways to receive the attack; at that moment.
"Anagenesis Metoria!! "
Diabolos shouted, and a gigantic ray of black light was fired towards Brynhild.
The impact was so powerful that it pushed back the world's strongest aircraft a bit.
"Don't think you're so great!"
Ixion exclaimed with great force while the attack hit his current body.
The repelled rays hit the sea, sky, and ships nearby.
It seemed Ixion was winning as the ray decreased its attack power.
Victory was for super technology.
"Shield power at 500%!"
Until a message was sent to Battler's cockpit.
"350%!"
The message was a live notification of Brynhild's situation.
"220%!"
Brynhild's engine was overheating, causing the shield energy to reduce in a very terrifying way.
"110%!"
Various internal alarms sounded.
"-50%!"
The black ray was now disappearing as it became thinner.
"-6%!"
Only a little more was needed for Ixion's technology to win.
"Shields destroyed!"
But that illusion died right there because the shields broke, and the last discharges of energy from the black ray pierced Brynhild.
The outer layer was destroyed, then the inner one, and everything in front, including the ship's core.
It exploded, and then the ray pierced through the aircraft.
Flames came out from different places while Brynhild fell into the sea.
"Brynhild!"
It crashed.
"Ixi-!"
Before finishing pronouncing his name, Rudel watched as his aircraft, the one he worked so hard to obtain, the one that stored his achievements, the one that was super technology and contained his servant's consciousness.
Kaboom!
A huge explosion sound was heard as that aircraft sank into the depths of the sea.
That day, ancient humanity's technology was defeated by a mysterious being who laughed because there was now nothing and no one who could destroy him.
The end of humanity seemed to have arrived.