"Warning! Warning! Shock Riot A is ready to unleash Thunderclap! Take cover now!" The voice announced before highlighting rubble for each of us to hide under.
I grunted softly and grabbed Dior and Lotus's hands before rushing to cover under the questionable rubble. I kept Lotus near to me as bolts of lightning began crashing down upon the rubble and arena floor wildly. Lotus gripped my cloak and took refuge against me as pillars of lightning crashed around us.
The rubble over us began to crumble, our cover now in ruins from the power of a singular Thunderclap. I peeked over the cover and noticed the stagger gauge above Shock Riot A blinking orange, signalling he was in a Pressured State.
I glanced over at Dior. "He's in a Pressured State. What now?"
Dior looked up at me then glanced around the cover she sat behind, noticing the blinking orange gauge over Shock Riot A. "It's similar to when we deplete our ATB gauges using a powerful attack. He needs a moment to recharge and attacking him will bring him closer to a Staggered State."
I nodded then looked over at Shock Riot B and C, noticing them taking guard in front of Shock Riot A while he recharged from his exhaustion. I took a look at my list of current abilities and noticed one that only took a single Action Bar to use.
"Hm, I wonder how my Insight works here..." I said, glancing up at Shock Riot B and used my Insight upon him.
Upon using Insight, the battle had entered a Wait Mode where time slowed down for me to assess the current situation and Shock Riot B. With my Insight, I was able to identify his weaknesses, immunities, and tactical data for dealing with him.
I noticed while in Wait Mode, my own physical actions was also in slow motion, keeping me bounded by the rules of Wait. Once I stopped using Insight, the time returned to normal and my Limit Gauge filled by a small amount.
"What's the plan, Motosaki?" Lotus asked, looking up at me while hugging her shinai close to her chest.
"I just used Insight, and it's like I entered bullet time...I could see their information. Shock Riot A definitely has the stronger attacks since the system literally warns us, but I say we take out B and C first," I said, taking hold of the handle of my sword.
"And how do you propose we do that? They are equipped with shields that deflect physical attacks," Dior said, glancing up at me then grunted as a bolt of lightning struck near our cover.
I detached the front blade of my fusion sword, revealing the cutlass-like sword then vaulted over the cover. "I only have one sword that can smash through steel. If I'm right, my front blade should have defense ignoring effects according to this game."
Dior peeked over the cover, watching as I dashed ahead toward Shock Riot B and C. Pushing off my good foot, I performed a B-Twist to dodge Shock Riot C's Thunder, a stray stream of lightning breaking away from the core bolt to tag my arm.
I grunted as I landed then dashed forward, my body instinctively throwing my sword forward while a blurry light blue silhouette formed in behind it. I was moving too fast to clearly see the silhouette, my front blade bouncing off the surface of Shock Riot B's shield into the air.
"Tch! What is your plan here, bunny man?" Dior scoffed, vaulting over the cover with one of my back blades in her hand.
Lotus looked over the cover and watched as Shock Riot B deflected Dior's slash and countered with a swing of his lightning baton. I rushed in front of her to block the attack with my fusion sword then pushed Shock Riot B back to create space.
"Binah! Your sword!" Lotus called out, pointing in the air at my descending blade.
I looked up to see my sword falling down then dashed ahead toward it, my cloak causing me to flow like a winter blur as I ran around the Shock Riot brigade. Shock Riot C yelled as he charged toward me with an attack, but I vaulted over him and used his head as a footstool to leap toward my sword.
With a powerful kiai, I came down with a spinning slash, striking Shock Riot C with a critical smashing strike. He groaned as he flew forward and dropped his weapons, his body bursting into virtual energy particles.
"Shock Riot C defeated!" The system announced and rewarded me with one full Action Bar.
Dior stared at me for a bit with intrigue, wondering where I learned how to fight. "Hm...you're good. I might just make it to the final round with you."
I fixed my mask upon my face then sheathed my main fusion sword while keeping my heavy blade out. "You ready, P1?"
"Yeah, poyo," Dior nodded, looking ahead and taking on her stance against Shock Riot A and B.
{Chapter 32: Ready, P1?}
Shock Riot B ran toward Dior and leaped forward with a frontal swing of his baton, but Dior dodged his attack then countered with a knee to his stomach. Knocking him back, I rushed forward and went for a finishing blow, but Shock Riot B managed to block my attack quickly enough to recieve less damage.
"You're done!" Shock Riot B bellowed, casting Barrier and using his force field to knock me away.
Lotus rushed forward with glee and began firing off multiple bolts of light, each bolt using up small portions of her ATB while she pressured Shock Riot B's shield. Lotus twirled around then snapped her fingers, a crystal of light forming in front of Shock Riot B.
"Say cheese!" Lotus giggled, snapping her fingers again and caused the crystal of light to detonate into a light explosion.
Shock Riot A immediately casted Reflect upon Shock Riot B and deflected the light explosion back toward us. Dior grunted softly and stomped her foot down to raise a hexagonal digital surface in front of us as a shield to block the explosion.
"That was close..." Shock Riot B sighed then grunted heavily as a bolt of light struck him from behind. He looked back with a bit of surprise on his face to see Lotus. "What?"
"Heh~! I may not be a huge gamer, but I'm knowledgeable enough to know what a unique ability is!" Lotus said, wagging her finger at Shock Riot B.
"Oh, that's right. Unique Abilities are powerful moves that can be used without using an Action Bar. You just have to meet the requirements to use them, like your friend," Dior explained, looking over at me to see if I caught on.
I glanced over at my HUD to see my unique ability and rose an eyebrow as I recognized it as one of my father's unique abilities. "Warp Strike...is that what the system was trying to show me earlier..?"
I looked ahead at Shock Riot A and B, deciding to test my hypothesis upon them and readied my sword. I began walking forward slowly then used Insight upon Shock Riot A. The information was the same as B, but I had another plan in mind.
Watching Shock Riot A closely while he moved in Wait Time, I noticed his shield begin moving to the right as if he were preparing an attack. Quickly, I stopped using Insight then threw my sword forward while Shock Riot A was in the middle of his movement.
"What the—" Shock Riot A exclaimed, his body freezing as he noticed my sword flying toward him.
A light blue silhouette formed clearly this time behind my sword, a butterfly-esque symbol forming upon the handle of my blade. I targeted the symbol, my body becoming a light blue silhouette as I warped toward my sword and immediately struck Shock Riot A with a heavy spinning strike.
Shock Riot A groaned as he was knocked back immediately into a Pressured State, his body crumbling onto one knee as he tried to catch his breath. I looked at my sword and began to wonder how my father acquired this ability.
Dior tilted her head at me, blinking twice as she tried to figure out what happened. "Poyo..? What the heck was that..?"
"Warning! Shock Riot B is preparing Surging Storm! Intercept him or take cover!" The system warned, highlighting Shock Riot B then generated cover for us to use.
"Bunny man! Use your teleporting move to stop him!" Dior called out, pointing at Shock Riot B.
I looked at Dior then at Shock Riot B, noticing him generating lightning within his baton. I nodded then threw my sword toward him and prepared to warp toward it as the butterfly symbol appeared upon the handle. Shock Riot B dodged my sword and let it fly past him into one of the walls of debris.
"You missed?!" Dior gagged, her head whipping toward me in shock.
"I didn't miss. He simply dodged it," I said, grabbing hold of my modular sword and unsheathed it.
"Don't worry guys! I've got this one this time!" Lotus called out, leaping in the air and firing off her Ray of Light toward Shock Riot B.
As the beam of light rushed toward Shock Riot B, Shock Riot A recovered quickly enough to cast a second Reflect onto Shock Riot B. Lotus noticed the reflect then tried to turn her body along the the recoil of her attack, the beam sweeping around and cutting through the cover before striking Shock Riot A.
"Let's go while Lotus is evicerating Shock Riot A!" I called out, dashed toward Shock Riot B.
Dior nodded then ran after me, running along my left before speeding up and lunging forward with a swift slash. Shock Riot B blocked her slash then pushed her back before launching a spinning heel kick toward me.
I baseball slid under his kick while launching a sweep kick at his legs to knock him off balance. Dior rushed forward with a missile dropkick to his chest to knock him backwards while I warped in front of him with my modular sword then used an Action Bar to use Brave Cleave.
Shock Riot B grunted as he blocked my heavy overhead slash with his shield, the force of my attack breaking through his guard and forcing his shield down into the virtual floor. I struck the back of his head with an elbow, my Warp Strike ability switching into Flutter Strike as a light blue silhouette formed of me striking him with a hook to his jaw.
Shock Riot B immediately recovered with an Instant Counter, striking my stomach with a crushing body shot which dealt critical damage. He roared as he launched me backwards then pointed his baton at me to unleash his Surging Storm.
"Bunny man!" Dior called out and looked at Shock Riot B with a heavy grunt as a powerful stream of lightning rushed toward me.
I crashed onto my back and rolled backwards onto one knee then looked up, my eyes widening behind my mask as I noticed the destructive stream rushing toward me. Having little to no time to dodge Shock Riot B's attack, my body froze in place.
'No, not like this!' I yelled mentally as I tried to move my paralyzed body.
"Binah!" Lotus yelled out to me, rushing toward my aid then groaned as a bolt of lightning struck her.
Shock Riot A panted heavily as he rested on one knee, lowering his baton then glanced at Dior. "You lose again...even with a full party."
Shock Riot B's Surging Storm struck my body and detonated into a massive blue and gray explosion, a stormcloud forming up to the ceiling of the virtual space. Shock Riot B watched as the clouds slowly cleared then rose an eyebrow as he noticed shimmers of energy flowing within the cloud.
"Thank you for your contribution of 1,000 Credi, P2! Lightning Wall has now been activated for this round!" The system chimed happily, a happy jingle echoing through the space.
I adjusted my mask and exhaled softly, standing up on my feet then smirked behind my mask. "I bet winning those games without spending money was worth it now..."
Dior stared at me in awe, looking up at the virtual ceiling. "You can spend Credi in here..? I thought when Averice built this thing in here, he said it was impossible due to the code..."
I looked at Dior and noticed her astonished expression, her gaze fixated upon the ceiling of the combat simulator. I looked back at the remaining Shock Riots then readied my sword. "Looks like there is something worth looking into here."
"Alright, P1, let's focus! We are immune to their lightning abilities due to the Lightning Wall. Let's finish this!" I called out, detaching the side blades of my sword then stuck my core sword into the ground.
Dior looked at me and watched as I threw my machete-like blade toward Shock Riot B and warped to it. I caught it in my hand with a downward slash, but Shock Riot B dodged my attack, countering with a shield bash.
I threw my second machete at his shield, causing it to bounce off his shield then warped toward my sword in the air. I caught it then threw it down toward him once again before warping behind it then struck his shield with a heavy wheel kick.
Shock Riot B groaned as his shield flew from his hand, but he stood his ground and countered with an upward swing with his lightning baton. "Whoever you are, you will not pass this round!"
I blocked his swing with my sword then pushed his arm down before finally landing on the ground. I pulled the hood of my cloak down before dashing ahead at top speeds. "Show me what your data can actually produce!"
Dior watched as I began rushing around Shock Riot B like a white mist, a slash striking his body from every conceivable angle possible, his Pressure gauge building up constantly. "Just who is this bunny man..?"
Shock Riot B let out a bellow and immediately unleashed another Instant Counter, but I used my Insight to enter Wait Mode, my eyes watching his body language while I prepared myself. I ducked under his haymaker then got low on the ground to counter with a NY Flare to his cheek.
Shock Riot B grunted as he skidded a ways back, but remained on his feet. He looked up to see a Sovereign Butterfly circling around me. He stared at me for a moment, his AI confused on what else to use against me.
Shock Riot B chuckled softly and rose his hands, a digital white flag appearing over his head as he surrendered. "Well... The Developer was not expecting for an Izuna to make an appearance here."
I rose an eyebrow behind my mask, lowering my weapon and tilted me head slightly. "What?"
"Izuna? Wait, like that late Legendary Clan? You're an Izuna, poyo?" Dior asked, glancing at me with surprise.
I stared at Shock Riot B, trying to analyze him, but he began dissolving into virtual energy particles before I could gain any information. My mind ran with questions, specifically on if this simulator could read the bio-data of a person before replicating the body into this "game".
"Victory! All Shock Riots Defeated! Round 2 Win!" The system chimed before rewarding us with a bit of recovery.
Lotus groaned softly as she began to sit up on her knees then sighed softly. "That was only Round 2? How many more do we have to go through?"
"I chose a three round match, so this upcoming one is the final round we have to go through. This final round is up against a Valkyria, and I can never seem to even land a scratch upon her," Dior said, looking over at us and crossed her arms.
I barely paid any mind to the girls' conversation while my mind was occupied with if this Developer could be Averice or someone else. The fact they knew of my clan set red flags off in my mind, yet I knew I wouldn't get any major answers right now in this moment.
"Get prepared for the final round!" The system announced then laughed, a pool of light forming above us.
The three of us looked up at the pool of light, golden feathers slowly descending to the ground as the pool of light grew larger. I grunted softly as I began to feel goosebumps along my arms, my eyes widening as I noticed a twinkle from the pool.
"Look out!" I warned before running off and diving away before a piercing light crashed down upon me.
Dior and Lotus gasped then scattered to avoid the multiple blades of light flying toward them before a katana flew down and landed in front of me. I came to a full stop and looked at the katana, my eyes widening slightly as I recognized it as my mother's katana.
"Ding~Ding~! It appears we have a special challenger, and for our special challenger we've prepared a special match for you, P2!" The system chimed before debuffing me and locking all of my abilities except Insight and Krisis Mind.
I grunted softly as I looked at myself, noticing glitching red energy forming around my body. I took a step back and noticed a woman warp in front of me, her white cloak flowing as she stood before me. "Okaasan..."
"B-Binah?" Lotus spoke up, noticing I was frozen in place as I stared at the figure before me that looked exactly like my mother. "Wait, that's not—Binah, you have to get away from her!"
The Valkyria stared down at me, noticing I was frozen in place then smiled at me before picking up her katana. She stared at me with a look that my mother always gave me then she reached out to me and caressed my cheek.
"It's been a long time, my son. We have been reunited alas, and now we can fight together," The figure said then pointed her katana at Lotus and Dior. "Fight them."
The figure's command entered my ears, and it was as if I lost all control over my body as I swiftly turned around. Lotus and Dior gasped as they noticed a corruptive red energy around my eyes, the two of them bracing themselves to fight against me.
'Something isn't right...' I said mentally as I watched myself dash toward Lotus and Dior.
Lotus let out a panicked scream and held her arms up to defend herself as I came toward her with an overhead slash. "Motosaki, stop!"
Before my blade crashed down upon her, I managed to stop myself, as much of a struggle as it was. Dior slowly lowered her guard and looked at me, noticing me struggling against myself to prevent myself from striking down Lotus.
"Motosaki?" Dior asked then gasped as everything began clicking to her.
"This is your final round! Your final battle is against The Illusory!" The system laughed before going quiet.
I grunted softly as I fought against the possession of my body then groaned as I finally pulled my arm back then exhaled heavily with exhaustion. I glanced over at my ATB gauge, noticing it was now regenerating a lot slower than before.
Lotus looked up at me and noticed my exhausted face then hurried to me then held my arms. She looked into my eyes with concern. "Motosaki...are you okay?"
I nodded at Lotus then held my head, closing my eyes then took off my mask. "This system isn't normal... It seems to know personal information and have the ability to replicate it accurately. However...that woman is different..."
"What do you mean?" Lotus asked, staring at me for an answer.
"There's nothing for you to understand! Motosaki, attack!" The Illusory commanded, thrusting her katana forward.
Suddenly, the command took over my body once again without my permission and forced me to push Lotus away then launch a straight punch. Dior rushed forward and clashed her fist with me, grunting softly as she was pushed back them got into her stance.
"Tch, Bunny Man! Get a hold of yourself! You're the same gamer with a high IQ, and you can't get a hold of your own body?!" Dior bashed, taking on her fighting stance.
I took on my own stance and exhaled softly. 'If I could understand how, I wouldn't be here, P1!'
Dior charged ahead and leaped forward with a corkscrew kick, but I blocked her kick and grabbed her leg before tossing her aside. Dior rolled on her side then recovered onto her feet before charging forward again, but whiffed her punch.
I countered with an uppercut to her chin, dazing her them went for a follow up right hook. While my attack was charging up, Lotus managed to grab my arm and hold me back from striking Dior again.
"Motosaki! You have to stop! Find a way to get a hold of yourself, please!" Lotus begged, grunting softly as she used her might to hold my arm back.
I grunted softly as my body fought against Lotus, but my ears were still willing to listen. I glanced over at my ATB gauge, noticing I had one full Action Bar from my bout with Dior. I grunted as I pulled my arm away from Lotus, but before my body could act, I immediately used Insight on myself.
Time slowed down and my own information showed up in front of me with my own weakness tactic displayed before me. I scanned my own information for a moment, my mind having a moment to calm and think about my options.
[Weakness Tactic: Once Possessed, you will have no control over your actions unless someone intervenes with Prayer. Only Prayer can remove the Downscale Debuff and unlock abilities again.]
While in Wait Mode, the Sovereign Butterfly fluttered around at normal speed, unaffected by the slowed time of the simulation. It fluttered in front of me, bouncing around in front of my eyes before flying toward Lotus and fluttering over her head.
'Lotus..? She has managed to stop me twice...I have to figure out this possession thing before we focus on The Illusory,' I thought to myself before stopping my Insight and returning to normal time.
"Dior, duck and counter!" I called out as I launched an attack at her.
Dior grunted and ducked under my roundhouse kick then performed a back handspring to create distance before generating a hexagonal prism in front of her. She fired the prism toward me, the geometric shape striking my chest and detonating into an explosion.
I grunted heavily as I rolled backwards, but recovered onto one knee beside my sword. "Lotus! Start praying!"
Lotus looked at me quickly, watching as I picked up my fusion sword then charged at her. She let out a panicked scream as she ran off and clapped her hands together with desperation. "Have mercy on me O' God and hear my prayers! Save me from the iniquities of my enemies, heal those who have been lost to their corruption!"
Just before I reached Lotus, the Sovereign Butterfly began to shine brightly before flying toward me at full speed into my head. I grunted as light blue energy pulsed around my body, completely depleting my ATB gauge and causing me to call to the ground.
The Illusory watched in intrigue, tilting her head and wondering what I had planned. "My son...why do you not honor me and do what I ask? Now look at you..."
Dior looked at me and noticed I was unmoving then glanced at my HP gauge, her eyes widening as she noticed it rapidly depleting until I was at a sliver of HP left. "Did...he just proc... Reprieve..?"
I grunted softly as I weakly pushed myself off the ground, my breathing labored as I was completely exhausted, but my mind was more clear than ever before. I glanced at my HUD and noticed the lock upon my Warp Strike shatter and become available again.
The Illusory hummed softly at me then began walking forward before stopping in front of Lotus, pointing the tip of her katana at her neck. "So, you've figured something out? I guess that Insight of yours is truly something special..."
Lotus stood still, being careful to not even gulp too hard to prevent The Illusory's blade from cutting into her throat. "M-Motosaki..."
I took hold of my sword then grunted as I used a lot of energy to swing it backwards at The Illusory, but missed as my blade rippled through her body as if she was a ghost. "I...won't let you keep using my mother's body..."
The Illusory smirked at me then pointed her sword down at me, my mother's katana shifting into a blade bladed broadsword. "Don't feel too bad...not even your party leader could win against me. And after all if this is over, you'll be joining us."
I smirked at her comment and chuckled softly, standing up straight and held my sword with both hands in front of me. "Joining you..? As in us, you mean the Womato-gumi? As if I would join you all..."
"But you're running around Kabetori, leading a false Yakuza under the name of Karma and seeking for Rosa und Grün. You're better off as virtual data, a puppet for our people to use for training. Solving Rosa und Grün won't bring your parents back," The Illusory laughed, thrusting her hand against my chest then began taking possession of my body once again.
I grunted softly as The Illusory forcefully took over my body once more and recovered me to full HP and ATB. I looked back at Lotus and Dior once again, pointing my sword at them before charging forward with a wide slash.
Lotus gasped and barely blocked my slash with her shinai, grunting heavily as the force of my attack pushed her back. "Motosaki! Come on, get a hold of yourself!"
This time I couldn't respond back to Lotus, only detaching my back sword then threw it forward toward Lotus. Lotus barely dodged my sword and watched as it landed beside her, her eyes widening as I warped to my sword and caught her with a knee strike to her stomach.
As Lotus was launched backwards, The Illusory flew forward to Lotus and struck her body with an overhead slash. Lotus groaned as she hit the ground hard, blue digital particles floating up in the air from her landing.
"Lotus!" Dior called out then looked forward at me and The Illusory, watching her shift forms into a Womato-gumi gunsman. She braced herself once she noticed The Illusory point her rifle at Dior.
Lotus grunted softly as she began slowly pushing herself up from the ground, looking up to see me and The Illusory fighting against Dior herself. "Please God...I call upon you once again. Touch Motosaki and bring him back to his right mind, let him taste your right judgement and mercy!"
Another Sovereign Butterfly appeared inside the combat simulator and flew toward me, this time entering my heart and stopped my heart for a moment. I fell onto the ground once again, The Illusory's possession losing hold of me as I once against entered a state of complete exhaustion.
Reprieve activated once again for me, this time unlocking Brave Cleave and filling up my Limit Gauge. The Sovereign Butterfly exited my body then fluttered over me, the butterfly healing me this time instead of The Illusory.
"Another one?" The Illusory asked, noticing the Sovereign Butterfly fluttering over me joyfully.
I began to stand up slowly, white lightning crackling around my body and my cloak flowing around my body as my aura began flowing around me. I opened my eyes slowly, my clan symbol faintly gleaming upon my back.
"You require nothing else..."
"My Grace is sufficient enough to sustain thee..."
I heard the mysterious voice once again, my lips curling into a smirk, a joyful smirk as my eyes began shimmering gold. I looked at myself, feeling a rejuvenating energy coursing through my body. I felt an overflowing abundance of spiritual energy throughout my body and all I could do was one thing.
With the overwhelming energy within my body, all I could do was let out a bellow of praise. My roar began echoing through the virtual space, an energy I thought I lost as a child returning to me.
Lotus and Dior began smiling once they saw my aura pulsating around me like a star while the Sovereign Butterfly circled around me with high energy. The Illusory braced herself and smirked as she noticed an ember forming upon my chest.
"So...when you're reduced to nothing, your true self shows through. The Developer knew there was something special about you Izuna," The Illusory chuckled as she readied her rifle.
I turned around then tossed my cloak off my body with a grin, my eyes gleaming brightly as I locked onto The Illusory. "Sorry, but it's seems that my Lord had other plans for me...and I think I've figured something out."
"Oh? Amuse me, Izuna," The Illusory said, smirking at me and tilting her head.
I chuckled softly as I activated Krisis Mind, hasting gears forming around my head and turning quickly as my thought process became accelerated. "You're targeting me for the same reason you all targeted my parents. I'm getting closer to the trail it seems...and now you want to kill this crafty bunny."
"Well, you can't kill us in here because of our virtual bodies. All you can do is boot us out of the game. But that's not all...I now know the CEO is not the developer of this simulator," I added, slowly gliding my hand across the blade of my fusion sword.
The Illusory noticed I used Krisis Mind, but noticed nothing different. She smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Of course Director Orla didn't patent nor develop this. All she does is direct what goes in and out of this very simulator, however that information does you no good!"
As The Illusory rose her rifle to shoot, I noticed four red laser sights appear to show me the trajectory of each bullet before she fired it. I dashed ahead just as she fired her four rounds then used the surface of my sword as a shield before throwing my sword at her.
My sword phased through her body then I warped to my sword to gain the position behind her then struck her back for critical damage. "Did you really think that would work on me twice?!"
"He— You actually landed an attack!? How?" Dior asked in shock, her eyes fixated upon me with awe.
"She can only become intangle to attacks she can see, and now since she knows that I know her weakness...she will begin scaling. Isn't that how NekoP1 works?" I asked, staring at The Illusory with a smirk.
The Illusory back at me form over her shoulder with a scowl, her teeth grinding against each other as she began wondering how I figured it out without the use of Insight. "There's no way you could have known that without Insight..."
I chuckled at her and tapped my forehead with my index finger just as my father used to do as Inspector Krisis when he had a mental breakthrough. I closed my eyes and shook my head before snapping my fingers. "You just don't understand do you?"
"Of course, I wouldn't expect a bunch of data and code to grasp the concept of pure discernment and judgement. Did you forget that everything about us is augmented in the simulator? That also means when Krisis Mind is active, my discernment becomes Christ-like," I said, opening my eyes to look at The Illusory.
"Error! Unidentified data detected, safety protocol enabled!" The system warned, the virtual space now flashing red. "Error! Unreadable data detected. Commencing restart protocol!"
"Maybe that's why you all killed my parents...you thought stopping the people God was using to deliver justice was going to stop Him? Fascinating mindset," I said with a chuckle then glanced up at the flashing red lights.
The Illusory looked at her hand and noticed it was glitching due to the VR Combat Simulator trying to fix an error it could not truly find. She looked back at me and smirked. "Something told me...when I was recreated that this was not over yet. Now I see why...their legacy lived on.."
"Error! Error! Unreadable data detected! Activating Overdrive Mode!" The system warned before massively augmenting The Illusory to give her an advantage against us.
I placed my hand upon my chest, feeling a powerful warmth flowing through my body with a hint of comfort to keep my mind clear. I took on my stance then smirked. "Lotus, Dior! We're getting out of here, one way or another!"
Lotus nodded and readied her shinai, her Sovereign Butterfly fluttering around her with a lavender glow. "Right! Let's do this, Motosaki!"
Dior took on her stance as well, her eyes shining with determination. "Alright, Bunny Man...lead us through!"
The Illusory spread out her wings and pointed her sword at us before taking flight in the air. "I will be sure to destroy your virtual bodies, so that you may never leave!"
The Illusory swooped down with a blurring slash toward me, but I immediately entered a counter stance and parried her slash to knock her off balance. While The Illusory was off balance in the air, Dior rushed forward with a leaping tornado kick.
The Illusory noticed her attack coming then became intangible to Dior's attack then immediately struck Dior's back with an elbow before following it with a pivoting overhead slash. Before her blade could land, Lotus ran forward and clashed with The Illusory.
"You think you can keep up? Do you truly believe your God can pull you through this?!" The Illusory taunted as she threw rapid heavy slashes at Lotus.
Lotus remained calm with her Zanshin, keeping her eyes upon each movement while she parried each of The Illusory's slices. The Illusory feinted her next slash by causing her sword to phase through Lotus before following with a aeolian spinning slash.
Lotus groaned as she was blasted up in the air by the strong winds, but recovered in the air then pointed her shinai at The Illusory. "Don't ever doubt the ability of my God!"
The Illusory noticed Lotus fire off a righteous Ray of Light toward her then smirked as she casted Reflect to deflect the Ray of Light toward me. I immediately stabbed my sword into the ground, using the blade to split the beam in two and protect me.
"Dior, circle around her!" I called out, detaching the front sword of my modular blade before dashing forward.
Dior nodded at my command then ran off to get behind The Illusory while I threw my sword forward. The Illusory turned toward me and caused my sword to phase through her, but Dior caught my sword and struck her from behind, pressuring her.
I ran toward The Illusory, my eyes flashing golden as my Sovereign Butterfly flew forward then pulsed with light to act as my anchor point. I locked onto my butterfly and warped toward it, entering a position to strike The Illusory with a spinning roundhouse.
"Lotus! Cast a ward upon me and swap then start spamming!" I commanded, looking up at Lotus.
"Okay, let's do this!" Lotus called out, pointing at me the casted an flowering ward beneath my feet.
My Sovereign Butterfly and Lotus's pulsed with light before swapping me and Lotus's positions. Lotus began charging up light energy and began firing blasts of light at The Illusory, the ward causing the blasts to duplicate and strike twice in a row.
The Illusory groaned loudly in pain as the light explosions began damaging her effectively and blinding her sight. The Illusory roared and immediately unleashed her Instant Counter, firing a beam of dark energy toward Lotus.
I ran forward and grabbed my sword from the ground before throwing it forward and warping behind it, grabbing Lotus's arm and pulling her down to the ground. I rolled forward and grabbed my mask before placing it over my face.
The Illusory spread her wings once again before flying in the air once more then pointed her sword down at us. "I will see to your destruction! You will fall, Izuna!"
I looked up at The Illusory and noticed multiple magic circles opening behind her. I readied my sword as beams of darkness were fired toward the three of us. I ran forward and began deflecting the beams away from Dior and Lotus as quickly as I could while evading the others.
"Follow Me..."
"You must move diligently!"
I heard the mysterious voice guiding me through His whispers then noticed a white silhouette guiding my every step. I followed his movements, deflecting each beam of darkness with the silhouette's help.
"I understand you now...now it's time to finish this!" I bellowed, detaching the back blade and began dual wielding to deflect the beans faster.
Lotus noticed The Illusory was occupied with trying her hardest to take me out, but nothing could hit me as some beams were seemingly deflected by the air. She looked up at The Illusory then pointed her shinai up at her.
"Holy Spirit, be my eyes and aim!" Lotus asked, charging up a Ray of Light and began gathering spiritual energy around the virtual battlefield.
I dodged the next beam of darkness before launching my sword in the air with a kiai then warped behind it and threw my core sword toward The Illusory. The Illusory watched as I warped toward my core sword and launched a spinning slash which she dodged.
I threw my sword forward and quickly warped behind it before The Illusory could become intangle, a pulse of dark energy forming around her body. Noticing the intangible attempt, I immediately struck her with an Rising Cutter and finally put her in a Staggered State.
"Now!" Lotus bellowed, firing the strongest Ray of Light she had produced since.
Dior grunted as the Ray of Light produced a flashing light, forcing her to cover her face. The Ray of Light shot up to The Illusory like a speeding bullet and pierced straight through her chest. A bright light began to shine as the simulator began to glitch more aggressively.
Suddenly, the light vanished and each of us opened our eyes slowly to see us standing in the middle of the VR Room with blinking red lights around us. Our VR Glasses were on the floor, the walls battleworn and each of us panting with high exhaustion.
I looked around at the room then glanced at Dior and Lotus, pointing at the walls around us. "Someone...or something was actually here. We were actually fighting something in here."
Lotus began feeling an evil presence within the VR Room and quickly grabbed my arm, staying close to me as she glanced around. "There's something weird about this place... something I didn't feel before entering here."
Dior could feel a chilling presence within the VR Room as well, but couldn't figure out what it was. She looked at me and Lotus with a hint of concern. "Let's get out of here...I don't like the feeling of this location."
The three of us quickly left the VR Room without any hesitation, the automatic doors sealing shut behind us once we left. We all began hurrying downstairs then stopped as we noticed a few men in golden suits inspecting the area.
Dior stopped us then grunted softly, preventing us from going forward. "Hold on...those are Averice's Knights. Why are they here?"
"Knights? This man has every piece of this board? Are we sure that he isn't the owner of Rosa und Grün? Who needs this much protection underground?" I asked, crossing my arms and looked at Dior.
"When you have enemies at every corner, you'll need allies everywhere. Those guys are bad news because they are corrupt cops of the Kabetori PD. They apparently overthrew their captain, so now the Kabetori Yakuza owns the PD," Dior explained, looking back at me and Lotus.
"What? Why would they betray their people like this? Isn't it the law's duty to serve and protect the people?" Lotus asked, looking at Dior with bewilderment.
"I thought you knew since you're a Christian and all that. We live in a fallen world according to your mythology," Dior said, looking ahead at Averice's Knights.
"It's not a myth..!" Lotus fussed, stomping her foot down in defense of her religion. "Jesus, why does everyone call The Faith a myth so much? Besides, why are you telling us this?"
Dior crossed her arms and looked back at me and Lotus again. "I know you two and your friends want Averice and frankly, I have some things to ask him as well. Seeing your intelligence, we may can work something out...if I can convince CEO Neko to support your cause."
"You want to help Karma huh? Well, I suppose Kabetori is rather close to Itakatsu, so I could make some arrangements every week to come here and help. After all, Averice has become a person of interest for me in this Big Three," I said, looking ahead at Averice's Knights.
Dior smiled at me then looked ahead, wanting to sneak past the Knights so we could leave NekoP1. "Follow me, I know a pathway that'll get us away from those guys."
Lotus and I nodded at Dior and began following her lead, avoiding the Knights as quietly as possible while slipping through the scarce crowd around us. Reaching the exit, the three of us ran out of the gaming cafe and made some distance away from the building.
I looked back at NekoP1 then grunted as I bumped into someone and looked up to see it was Riggs. "Captain..."
Riggs looked at his watch then back at me and Lotus before glancing at Dior. "It's way past 4 PM. I see you're just collecting women like they're Zodiac Crystals. Your harem can wait."
I grunted with a flushed face and looked at both Lotus and Dior. "W-What? I'm not starting a harem or anything like that. We just lost track of time in there."
"Right, well everyone's at North Haven meeting up to discuss the information we have. Let's go, you two still have school tomorrow, kids," Riggs said, turning around and walking off with his hands coolly in his pockets.
I sighed at Riggs and scratched the back of my head. "Alright..."