Thus Fought The Crusaders (IC|Closed)

[Gigaverse]

Japanese
Dastani

Pūgkrang-dju
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 4th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

The Dastani Theocratic Empire had never fully recovered since the death of its Founder and Grand Overseer Ral Zlilqun.

In the short time since his departing the material world, the disciples of the Angle-To-Be had struggled to maintain order in God's domain. Having lasted barely 20 years yet already showing signs that it was falling apart crumbling apart, Dastan sought to renew its reputation towards God's children by launching early the promised Glorious Crusade, even despite being without their charismatic leader to take charge.

A decision that would lead to the current situation in Dastan, and more specifically, its capital Pugkrang. In the dim light of the Palatine Church of the Yet-to-Ascend Angels' deepest chamber, councilors once underneath Ral Zlilqun's watch were discussing the status of their fragile nation, without a master to whose opinion could be referred.

"What is their last reported location?", one of the robed councilors asked.

"County of Grūnghngwārls, Gljungtūg-dju, Province of Gālpūg. They aren't even that far away from here...!", another councilor panicked, "Is our information outdated; they could be here any minute now!"

"Cut the cowardice, Councilor!", the first councilor to speak gave the panicking one a jab, "Satan's army is already launching the Apocalypse, can't you see? They're at our gates! For all that is holy, we must fight and push them away from the Holy City!"

"He does have a point, however.", a third Councilor spoke, "Given our current state, Pūgkrang is practically indefensible. Our best bet is to retreat to another Holy City - preferably Dongkrang; and then continue our operations ther-"

"NONSENSE! The Gates of Hell will open any minute now; and Satan's Legions will be here! We will stand and fight in the name of God, for Death is a push to the most rewarding price of Ascension!"

Ironically, the Councilor would come to regret his statement later on.

Gālpūg-sreng
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 4th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

"What kind of loony person could do this...?"

Johano gazed at the sight before him with horror, puzzlement and contempt. Shortly before they came, intelligence indicated that the towns of Grūnghngwārls County were teeming with civilians. Living ones. For some reason, they were mostly laid flat in their own pools of blood - be them women, children, the elderly, or those supposed defenders of the County. Much bloodier than anything he came across during the Fall of the PCian Empire.

"Search for survivors! EVERY SECOND COUNTS!"

Was the command issued by the giant-of-a-man moving quickly towards Johano. His black coat lightly floated with every cool breeze that also traced his long, blond ponytail, while his sharp, violet eyes were fixed on the sight of civilians before him. As he put his hand on young Johano's shoulder, the latter turned to inquire:

"Who do you suppose did this, master?"

"Government-mandated morality. If you've read Dastani history, you'll know why their branch of Christianity isn't one brandished by other parts of the world. Now, quickly; we need every help we can."

"Sir, these people are alive!", a soldier, who stood alongside his comrades by the bodies of a family, reported; to which, the blond-haired commanding officer responded: "I won't say good work until you brought them back! HURRY SOLDIERS, CIVILIANS DON'T JUST RESCUE THEMSELVES FROM DEATH!"

He took one more step forward, about to help with lifting that family away from the location, when a vision suddenly passed his head.

The familiar silhouettes of certain individuals with whom he had not encountered for a while.

For that half of a second, the world around him seemingly paused. Then, as everything started moving again, he put the thought aside, ready to deal with the bloodied civilians before they could turn into unfortunate casualties of ritual suicide.

[Mefpan]

Japanese
English

Illuminated Citadel
Order of Tarnhill, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

From a distant hill, one could observe the strange goings-on within the lands of the Order. Stranger things, mind, than usually occured in this godsforsaken (though the Order would always insist otherwise) stretch of land. Beneath the hill lay what the slaves of whatever malicious blight they worshipped as their Lord referred to as the "Illuminated Citadel", a curious inversion of the normal concept of a fortress for everyone who did not know the secrets within, as the defensive measures - tall brick walls, though reinforced by steel pillars within, and further protected by mighty energy shields laid on top of the masonry - all were aimed inwards onto an empty field of paved ground and intricate mystical markings circling around a spot at the very center of the compound. Every now and then, lightning arced and danced at the center of this marked courtyard, with a constant dull thrum permeating the air. Already one could see the outline of a strange, alien structure slowly materializing, but yet too indistinct to make out any details.

This did not much deter the troops gathering within the courtyard. Rows upon rows of Acolytes, the Order's preferred choice of obedient once-human machine soldiers, flanked by various types of other war machines, the concept of which had been introduced but never been popularized years prior, mostly thanks to the unfortunate association of technology with the monstrous actions of the Order during their occasional incursions into the neighboring realms.

"Well, they have learned, at the very least. They're not leaving the gate open and unguarded anymore, not after they poked towards Wiru's little ill-fated nation at just the right time. What do you think, sis?", asked a certain blue-eyed blonde as she turned away from the foreboding spectacle and towards the frowning red-eyed girl standing next to her, the one she among so many other things also shared a hair color with.

Her sister swept her hand across the fortress in the distance, her face twisting into a grimace, "Tsuya, believe me when I say I would much prefer if they had not. They disrupted the link to our other home just a few months ago, and they are now seeking to try at subjugating another world again? We should just have used that time and put a stop to them."

"Yes, but the two of you are too magical to even try to survive setting foot into the Fallenstar Sanctum, Tama. And there lies the entity responsible for tearing open the fabric from which worlds are spun - one that none of us can face with mere material powers.", spoke a third, this one clad in heavy armor. "Much as I would prefer the Order ceased to exist, the influence of their master is too great for the other realms of this world to counter them and their automatons on their own soil. Where the Order sets foot, the Order stays."

"And what do you propose, Emeline? Stand here and watch, hope and be thankful they go to devastate a far-off realm instead of our homes, this time?", Tama hissed. She never had much of a soft spot for the Order, and several times now could she hold them responsible for uprooting her from the places she had come to hold dear. With the last time they'd done so, the severance of the world's connection to that other place, they had also shattered Ezaya, cast Will into the void and put Tomomi into stasis. That had made it personal for the normally calm, peaceable girl.

As she regarded the fortress in the distance again, she noticed that something was changing. The shapes and lines and the lightning were coalescing into...something. A jet black structure, not unlike an arch resembling something built by a long-dead civilization of that other place, emblazoned on it the Order's symbol, the Order's sigil, a ring, with three stylized flames at the top. She narrowed her eyes - this was not the Order's technology, not their way. What had they stolen now, and from who?

That was about as far as she got in her speculations, however, as the portal finally activated. A tunnel of perfect white, though not glowing, bright to the absolute yet not blinding now filled the empty space within the arch, even this far away Tama noticed a faint hint of ozone and...chrysanthemum? Hold on. This usually happened in the past when she was near...but it smelled...kinder, somehow, than back then? How does a scent even smell-poke.

"Oi, Tama, I think the Order's just messed up big time again", her sister grinned at her, outstretched finger still only a hair's breadth away from her cheek, "what do you say about checking it out?"

The grin her sister wore was positively vicious. Tama just nodded in response, feeling just a bit of a smile creep into her expression as well. Of course the Order was always quick to undo its own successes. Hoe could she forget that?

"Now hold on just a-!"

Twin flashes of light later, the two sisters had manifested their wings and were soaring off towards the distant portal at breakneck speeds.

"...you crazy birdbrains! Hey! How am I supposed to get home now?!"

The cries of a very upset Emeline Knightsbridge went unheard by friend and foe alike.

---

Pūgkrang-dju
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

There was not much of a noise when it appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. One second the gate was not there, and when people paused to blink, it was there, as if it had always been. It would have almost had stunned the few people still roaming the streets at this time of dayinto silence and inaction had it just simply stood there for them to process its sudden manifestation.

Understandably, the effect was much diminished when two indistinct blurs of blonde and black shot out of the portal like a pair of bullets trailing feathers behind them as they went off into the distant horizon. That was what caught most people's attention. The actual bullets and the missiles following in their wake however were the point at which the screaming started in earnest, when the first warmachines of the Order poured out onto the streets to spearhead the invasion.

[Gigaverse]

Japanese
Dastani

Pūgkrang-dju
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE ENEMY IS HERE?!?"

"Their Satanic reinforcements, Lord... They're only a kilometer away from the Holy Church!"

The Head Councilor grasped his forehead. He just couldn't believe it. Was the Golgotha's Blood Inquisition already so ineffective without their great Overseer as Director that their information could be outdated so quickly? Or had Satan decided to give his all to enslaving the entirety of humanity, and would waste no amount of reinforcement in order to just completely destroy God's Heaven on Earth? Preposterous! The fate of humanity depended entirely on the survival of Dastan's theocracy; of the Council; of him!

"Order the TDA to set up roadblocks and retaliate; do not let them march any further past Golgotha Avenue, and smash their forces to smithereens!", the Councilor worriedly ordered his subordinate as he walked away from the chamber they occupied. He hurried towards the Council's room, expecting to meet the other Councilors and discuss what to do to protect the Holy City.

Yet, he could only sight one of them; all of the others had long since evacuated the Palatine Church.

"CURSES!", the Head Councilor snapped, "WHERE ARE THEY?!?"

"They fled.", the sitting, other Councilor calmly explained, "I presume, to earn the tickets out of the warzone."

"COWARDS! THE SONS OF CHRIST FIGHT TO THE DEATH!"

"Not them, for they are no Sons of Christ, but superficial halfhearted believers with no faith in God's grand plan. As they shall be trampled by Satan's wrath, we, too, will martyr ourselves in the Blood of Golgotha.", the seated Councilor remarked, "I understand the chance for Angelic Ascension when I see it."

"Councilor...?", the Head Councilor was perplexed. Then, as a thought dawned on him, his initial zeal died out, as he lowered his voice, "Councilor, can't we just... get out of here, as quickly as possible?"

"Oh? Head Councilor, what in Heaven might you have just suggested? Cowardice?", the other Councilor slowly took out a pistol and pointed it at his supposed superior.

"No- NO!"

"God's Heaven on Earth has no room for dirty cowards. Repent in the flames of Hell, Satanist."

With one gunshot to his head, the Head Councilor fell to the floor, as the only Councilor to remain in the capital clasped his hands and pray.

"O Saint Zlilqun, tell the Lord to have mercy, and grant us strength to defeat this great evil. Amen."

The sounds of battle outside drowned out the prayers of the last Councilor.

With the enemy arriving in the middle of Pūgkrang on such short notice, only a handful of garrison troops from the nearest barracks had made it to the front, directly in their very capital. As a Holy City, Pūgkrang was supposed to be one of the most well-defended and attended; instead, with the majority of fire- and manpower having been thrown into impossible battles against Phantom Crusade and their allies beforehand, the only real elite soldiers to participate in battle against the unknown enemy were the guards of the Palatine Church.

Bloodied bodies of civilians, who had been unfortunate enough to fall right in the middle of the battlefield, littered the aptly-named Golgotha Avenue. Their unknown enemies perceived as spawns of Satan, there to provide assistance to the devilish Phantom Crusade on the other side, the Theocratic Dastani Army (TDA) had found an unparalleled zeal they never possessed since the beginning of the war. Tanks, mortars, machine-guns and sandbags, all laid in the way of the Satanists to stop their Apocalyptic march.

They would go into the pages of history as heroes; and if need be, they would burn down the Holy City to save it.

Gālpūg-sreng
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

A day had passed since Grūnghngwārls County was subjugated. Since the night of the 4th, the Order of the Phantom Crusade had been engaging in battle against TDA forces stationed in neighboring Brōnben County - the final door leading into Dastan's capital, Pūgkrang. The performance of the TDA had been understandably subpar without the charismatic guidance of Overseer Ral Zlilqun: in the whole Battle of Gālpūg alone, the TDA had lost an average of 13 soldiers per each casualty on the part of Phantom Crusade's alliance.

Much unlike the Imperial PCians from several years before, however, Theocratic Dastanis were more intent on fighting to the death, despite the hand of mercy having been offered to them in exchange for their defection. After all, Dastan wasn't in a clearly losing position yet.

Thus, Knight Marshal Sakahara's policy of compassion had ended where the Battle began. Even for its size, Dastan had lost sizable tracts of its industrialized Northeastern territories, leaving the Central farmlands and Eastern urban agglomerations to fend for themselves in the foreseeable future. A massive blockade was taking its toll on the Theocratic Empire. And to top it all, the Council had not even had the chance to relocate themselves to the Central Plains in time as planned.

But there was something off about the defenders of Brōnben. Their zeal wasn't apparent, and they seemed to be pulling massive retreats towards the capital itself. Almost as if there was some immediate threat there that they had to respond to.

"Commander. Our contacts in Golgotha's Blood Inquisition reported sightings of an unknown third party, currently battling the TDA on Golgotha Avenue - with combat spreading to some neighborhoods in the vicinity.", a blond-haired woman relayed information back to her black-clad superior standing next to her.

"I'm aware, Rheia. That's why we've been picking up the pace.", the Knight Marshal said.

"Is there a strategic objective that we must achieve, commander?"

"Maybe; but not really."

Rheia did not catch what her commander's cryptic message meant. Even if she had spent the last few years by his side and warmed up to him considerably since the days he first kidnapped her from the battlefields of the PCian Empire, Rheia thought she might need forever to decipher her commander. She was still holding him in a professional light, and yet...

"Push forward!", the Marshal ordered through comm link, "Pūgkrang is now our priority target!"

[Mefpan]

Japanese
Dastani

Golgotha Avenue, Pūgkrang-dju
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

Another acolyte went down under withering machine gun fire, its distorted mechanical scream drowned out by the ever-present thunder of combat all around. The losses incurred by the Order so far were higher than expected, but at a rough three-to-one ratio even against the entrenched Dastani forces the defenders' ability to fill its thinning ranks was slowly being depleted.

Not that it much mattered to the Order- this place was promising. Just one look around gave that much away. Just in securing this district they would gain far more of the raw materials needed to expand their master's vast armies than they had expended so far in taking it. This place, the name was irrelevant, it would be where the Order could grow strong, likely even strong enough to put to the sword those that were anathema to the might of their god, and to ensure its dominion.

Regardless, this particular defensive position had proven to be a bit too much for the acolytes, perhaps. Two of the Order's templars clad in tough powered suits doubling as life support systems for blight-ravaged, grotesquely atrophied bodies stepped forward, and raised their weapon-arms, an ominous hum alerting the defenders to their presence. Only one of them went down under the hastily redirected storm of fire, its faceplate cracked in many spots and a mixture of blood and nutrient fluids leaking out of the broken shell just as the other one fired.

By the time the defenders had gotten around to redirecting their fire onto the second one, the baleful green orb of energy struck the fortifications, and the shockwave reduced it and the defenders behind it to dust, swiftly scattered by the boots of advancing acolytes.

---

Jericho District, Pūgkrang-dju City Limits
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

"...okay, where in the gods' names have we ended up now?", Tsuya asked her sister, who was currently resting against a railing on top of the skyscraper they'd made a stop on, "I...this place is a cesspit. Not even that other place was this bad when we first came there, and that's saying something. There's barely enough space for people to live on their own here. Not to mention the ever-present cruciform architecture. I didn't know you could make this stupid cross look so menacing without covering it in spikes like that."

Tama, for her part, frowned as she turned to look at the surrounding city, "This city feels oppressive to such a degree...I don't think their god is paying them any attention. Not the one of the new book. The one of the old...I don't know. This would be Ezaya's area of expertise... Well, at least we can safely say the Order is not going to worsen the lives of the people here by any stretch of the imagination."

"Should we go home, then? He'll stumble upon the portal eventually and-"

"D-demons! Fallen! Betrayers! DIE!", a particularly rude interloper interrupted Tsuya, brandishing a knife and charging at the two of them, a bloodthirsty expression etched into a manic face. Some kind of lowlife, as far as she was concerned. She didn't understand the words this man used, mind, but the body language was a clear enough indicator for her.

With a flick of her wrist, her scythe unfolded and cut through the air, and the solitary fanatic's upper and lower halves went flying over and underneath the railing, respectively. She dispassionately noted that the upper body's screaming faded away into the distance before its impact on the streets below could silence it abruptly. And this roof had seemed safe to stop on, being so much higher up than any others.

Sighing in exasperation, Tama stood up and brushed off her clothes. "Well, so much for that. Someone's bound to have heard that, and I'd rather we avoided more of...well.", she motioned towards the part of the railing that was now stained in a red that was slowly being washed away by the soft night rain.

She turned to look at Tsuya. "Let's go and find him. There's no way he hasn't noticed the gate opening, so we should be able to find him easily enough."

As the two of them took to the skies again, her sister looked at her, "How do you propose we find him, anyway?"

"He's a bit like Will in that regard. Sure, he knows how to be subtle, but when he's fed up with something you can't not notice him.", Tama smiled.

[Gigaverse]

Japanese
Dastani

Palatine Church of the Yet-to-Ascend Angels, Pūgkrang-dju
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

"In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

The same chamber where the Council's members always convened to heed every word of wisdom and bear witness to every miraculous deed of Overseer Ral Zlilqun was now but a shadow of its former glory; bloodstains of heretics long since dried without new sacrifices, and what little light it possessed having been spirited away. Access was understandably restricted even for most Council members, for it had been turned into a mausoleum that housed the body of the holiest of Saints: none other than Ral Zlilqun, The Last Messenger.

A man with no equal, an once-living Saint, Ral Zlilqun was the man who unified the various nationalities of Dastan as the first domains of God's Heaven of Earth - the Theocratic Empire, aeons ago. White-haired and gold-eyed, he was the spitting image of an Angel - though not. And that was his single fatal imperfection. Without the powers and assistance of Angels, his form was defiled in the first battles of the Apocalypse - against none other than Satan himself.

A State Funeral was held. Flags flew at half-mast. God's Children mourn the death of an Angel-to-be, praying for God to return him to life and smite Satan for his sins. And ultimately, the Palatine Church immediately canonized the national founder as a Saint, right after the grand funeral.

His canonization was to justify, however, what was about to happen.

The last Councilor had offered enough prayers. It was time to revive Humanity's Greatest Ruler.

"Yes, Lord... Wake up..."

The holy form of Saint Zlilqun was moving. His hands were lifting themselves. The forbidden knowledge was indeed working; he who was thought dead, lived. At this rate, the Councilor would be beatified himself - or so he thought. The moment he was about to hold his great Lord's hand and kiss, the Saint would instead reach for his throat and catch it with one firm grip, then begin to suffocate him.

"You, treacherous dogs...", cold air exited the mouth of the long-thought-dead Saint, as his head - obscured by the darkness - turned to the Councilor, "How dare you... use Witchcraft?"

In one instant, blood flowed out of the perpetrator's nose, as he was unable to answer the Saint for his great sin. Letting go of the dead Councilor and moving from his deathbed, what little light in the chamber revealed the once-beautiful face of the great Saint to have changed radically: his old face was there, but the rots, the single bloated red eye and a face seemingly made from china - as indicated by the part of his cheek falling apart under his other eye - made clear that he was no longer a normal human, but a Saint. One who had been denied his Angelic status.

"Apocalypse..."

The Saint muttered as his altered body made its way towards a suit of armor that was falling into disrepair on the other side of the chamber. He might have been brought back by Dark Magic, but the Apocalypse was ongoing, and regardless of form: his mind was pure. His intentions were pure. He would fight in the glorious name of God, he would defeat Satan's armies, and he would ascend - finally to become an Angel and provide a guiding hand for Humanity.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"THE ENEM- AAAAARGGHH!!!"

Satan's armies had landed in the capital but moments before, a kilometer away from the Holiest of Churches; and yet, as they pushed, the initially resistant defenders were mowed down with ease. And reinforcements from outside the Holy City wouldn't be able to make it there in time forever; not when a part of them were busy fighting another massive Satanic legion.

The distance between Satan's worshipers and the Church's staircases had already shrunken to within twenty footsteps. Christian soldiers had given their lives defending that position, their blood tainting the flights of stairs as their last breaths were spent in despair, hoping for a miracle to save God's Heaven on Earth.

Said miracle emerged from the church in a golden light. There he was, Saint Zlilqun.

To an average human's eye, he might be grotesquely ugly, being a fusion of monstrous organic decay and mechanical mockery of a sacred being. But to the Dastani zealots, that would have been the holiest sight for sore eyes, their Overseer refusing to die and retaking his old body just so he could fight alongside them. His wings spread far and wide; even if they were tainted by mosses and cobweb, they would emanate the protective warmth of a father figure, aiming to protect the dream of God's domain.

"CHILDREN OF CHRIST!", he raised his rusting sword and announced with a coarse, almost growling voice; not at all resembling his old one, but nevertheless powerful and inspirational, "TAKE TO THE FIGHT; DROWN THE ENEMY IN FLAMES AND CLEANSE THEM FROM THE FIELDS OF GOLGOTHA!"

Jericho District, Pūgkrang City Limits
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

The massive city walls, visible from afar - as if they were reminders that it was but a glorified cage, were already crumbling from a combination of stray artillery shells and missiles from the city center making it all the way there. But the thing to finally break a gaping hole through them though be the armored forces of Phantom Crusade from outside, tearing the walls apart with their firepower to make way for entrance into the city. Pūgkrang's defensive measures against such a large invading force was surprisingly lackluster - perhaps because there was already another in the middle of the city.

"Commander, what do we do now?", Rheia's voice reported back to her commander, who was then already inside the city - or rather, one of its buildings.

"Defensive positions; partially hand command and responsibility over to Major General Egami. I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

I shouldn't be too far away now...

TDA troops guarding the building were only the most lightweight of zealots. As the Knight Marshal practically waltzed up the stairs, those unfortunate enough to be pitted in his path were each given a swift death by a single cut. The tanks on the streets outside were generating a morphed symphony that the blond monstrosity gracefully danced to on the way towards his final destination.

Finally, they were on the same floor. With one step, he had reached behind a single TDA trooper intending to sneak on two girls with their sights set on the street below. Before they could spot either of the two men and the trooper could detect the presence of a fourth individual, the knife used to kill his fellow Christian soldiers down the stairs was already buried into his neck, while his vocal cords were simultaneously disabled, stopping him from effectively managing anything more than a few weak groans before his imminent death kicked in.

As the knife dissolved into thin air, the corpse in uniform were tossed behind its killer's towering figure. Perhaps the blondes standing before him had also finally noticed, as they turned back and were casually greeted with the subtlest of smiles by the black-clad giant.

"Took you long enough."

[Mefpan]

Jericho District, Pūgkrang City Limits
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

In the end, the both of them had simply elected to wait, only occasionally changing position to avoid the local brand of lunatics, with debatable levels of success. It'd have been easier if they'd just left the city, but given the very obvious signs of war neither of them had felt particularly inclined to brave the likely present air defenses. Not that those mattered anymore if Sakahara-kun was here - he probably razed the whole sordid lot of them.

"You know, that's kind of my line. If you'd dallied any longer, we'd have switched roofs again just so I wouldn't have to split more fools with a deathwish", Tsuya declared lazily, allowing herself to smirk back at the giant of highly situational gentleness, "seriously though. Can you tell me why it feels like we've crossed from one land full of crazy fanatics into another?"

Tama looked at her sister, oddly enough giving her a bit of a blank look, "That might be because we did. The obsession with crosses ought to be a clear indicator. Remember one of them hurled one at us and seemed shocked we didn't burst into flame."

"Well, the cross did burst into flame. Though I think that's because it was some kind of improvised bomb. One that was an almost-dud or something. Seriously, who goes to pick up a grenade you yourself threw that didn't explode?"

She had no response to that, so a shrug had to suffice. But there was one other...oh, yes. Tama turned to face the young not-so-young man, her face becoming more serious. ""Ah, there is something, Sakahara-kun. The Order of Tarnhill has invaded the city. I am sure I mentioned them to you at least once. They've come here looking for new lands to subjugate. And they're responsible for...well..." She gestured at herself and her sister, and then to a spot between the two. There wasn't anything special about the spot indicated, but the message was clear enough: Something that should be there was missing.

---

F̸͎̑͂̌͑͋i̪̘̻̟̱̗̞ͫ̃ͦͮe̘̠͚̾ͧl̺̣̫̗̼̙̜͌̑̈́ͦͨd͉͇̰͚͒̇̆̚͞ ̨̗͇͕͙͛ͣ̀̎ͅō̼̜̳̝ͧf̖ ̢̟͇̳̹͎͔̟͛͐ͭG̻͖̈́̃̇̉̚o̞̤ͪ̍̑̚ĺ̫̩̆g͉͕͉͌ͥͪ͆̿̿ͨo̥͇ͧ̒ͫt͍̼̯̑̂ͪh̠͉̺͉̠ͮ̂ͮ̅̔ͣ͋a̴ͪ̂ͤ
THE THIRD DAY
ANNO DOMINI

As brutal and unyielding the Order's advance had been, just as abruptly it had now stopped. The sudden and unexpected resurgence of defenders that had been shattered and routing just a minute ago meant that the acolytes, having largely given up on a steady, organized advance in favor of charging down their foes, now collided with the bodies of Christian soldiers drunk on zeal and bitter, dogged determination. In any normal instance, the advantages of unfeeling cybernetic augmentation would have shattered bone, torn flesh and left behind defenseless, whimpering broken men, to be collected later at their own leisure.

But desperation and faith each by their lonesome are things than can drive even ordinary humans to extraordinary, inhuman feats. As weak and fallible as the body of a man may be, sufficient motivation might allow them to ignore or to acknowledge and to put aside for later review the numerous warning signs a body sent when entire parts of it crumple as direct result of a true beliver tackling down a vaguely humanoid cybernetic aug-abomination at least three times his weight, or when skin split and muscles tore under the effort of restraining one of these creatures, just to buy more time for others to rally. All these actions invariably ended in a gruesome and messy demise, certainly, but these sacrifices meant one thing before all: For a crucial moment, the Order's shock troops were stopped in their tracks.

And that was all the time the defenders needed to bring their weapons to bear on an enemy that only now realized they had charged headlong into an area where they could find little cover, if any at all. Most of them were simply cut down as they charged into a newly established line of defense. Some of them elected to avoid sticking their heads out of what hiding spots they had found, and wait for reinforcements.

And reinforcements would come, in the shape of a massive metal automaton, blocky, standing four meters tall, once painted a matte grey but now stained in dirty black by soot and rubble dust, Dastani small arms fire bouncing off its armored shell harmlessly. In the darkness of the night, its four optical sensors glowed a deep, baleful red.

It rose one of its arms, one that ended in some kind of cannon. As it took another thunderous step towards the Dastani defenders, it analyzed the situation.

Malignant influence detected. Noncooperative baseline human presence detected. Small arms detected. Limited anti-armor capacity detected. Designated as enemy. Enemy morale analysis: Incalculable. Adjusting parameters. Adjusting. Recalibrating. Enemy command unit identified. Targeting.

The machine known to the Order as Inquisitor Unit #1527 leveled its weapon on Ral Zlilqun, Overseer and Saint of the Empire. There was a mechanical rumble, a crackle of static, and finally, a challenge.

"I COME TO DESTROY YOU."

[Gigaverse]

Jericho District, Pūgkrang City Limits
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

Or rather, somebody. Then, the mouth attached to the permanently stoically serious face of Shinji Sakahara moved.

"You mean Emeline?"

For the next two seconds, there was silence, as none of the three present spoke a word about the male's answer. At the three second mark, he gestured with his right hand. As he did, he began walking towards the blonde sisters.

"No, sorry, that might have been rude of me - I knew who you were talking about. Being a lone conqueror of an entire world isn't fun, so I've been keeping watch of you during my free time. I already have several courses of action planned out for us; but first, we must make sure that we can leave this city with no strings attached."

Once he finished, several Phantom Crusade helicopters flew by. The voice of Major General Egami could be heard reporting from the other side of the comms.

"Marshal, Jericho District secured. The path to the Inner City is cleared."

"Excellent.", the black-clad Marshal responded, "Our priority objective lies in the city center, on Golgotha Avenue. Resistance will be heavier as you penetrate deeper inside, be careful."

"Roger!"

From afar, the roaring hurrahs of Phantom Crusaders could be heard.

"The Empire and the Syndicalists clashing in Willsburg all over again. Brings back my memories.", the giant blond offhandedly remarked, before he asked the pair behind him, "Want to go yet?"


F̸͎̑͂̌͑͋i̪̘̻̟̱̗̞ͫ̃ͦͮe̘̠͚̾ͧl̺̣̫̗̼̙̜͌̑̈́ͦͨd͉͇̰͚͒̇̆̚͞ ̨̗͇͕͙͛ͣ̀̎ͅō̼̜̳̝ͧf̖ ̢̟͇̳̹͎͔̟͛͐ͭG̻͖̈́̃̇̉̚o̞̤ͪ̍̑̚ĺ̫̩̆g͉͕͉͌ͥͪ͆̿̿ͨo̥͇ͧ̒ͫt͍̼̯̑̂ͪh̠͉̺͉̠ͮ̂ͮ̅̔ͣ͋a̴ͪ̂ͤ
THE THIRD DAY
ANNO DOMINI

Angel or human Saint, Ral Zlilqun's duty was to the children of God, first and foremost. Upon seeing their exalted Overseer emerging from inside the Holy Church, from his own death, to lead them into battle, the morale of many a Dastani soldier was rekindled. Their crusading zeal and godly fanaticism was almost bloodthirsty, their fear erased as they marched into battle, ready to repel their Satanist enemies. As defenders from outside the city center were redirected towards the Holy Church, Dastani resistance against the Satanists greatly thickened again.

The holiest of Saints had little problem with the vile scum invading the holy city, his blade cutting through swathes of enemy soldiers as his armor generated a force shield to protect him from Satanic taint. While his shield was still powerful, it had been considerably weakened during his last face-off against and death at the hands of none other than Satan himself. That he had weaker weapons was God's test against him, but he remained undaunted. He would fight on, and he would guide humanity safely through the Apocalypse.

"Feeble traitors.", he commented as he glided past his fallen enemies. Since his appearance, the enemy had been pushed to a safe distance, away from the Holy Church.

Not so feeble were his foes, however, when their reinforcements came.

"I COME TO DESTROY YOU."

Was the challenge hurled at him by a towering, rumbling mechanical contraption reeking of Satanic aura - if its four menacing red "eyes" weren't already a clear indication as to its allegiance. The cannon it was pointing at the greatest of Saints wasn't any less threatening.

But the Saint had learned plenty from his battle with Satan, however; rushing headlong to strike at his foe wasn't a great strategy. And thus, with his shield activated and strengthened, he flew away from the range of the Satanic machine's cannon, just as it spat one of its outlandish rounds upon him. As quickly as he left his position, he flew behind the bulky metal mass as he halved his shield's power, preparing for a strike.

"God's Judgement."

With a swing from both of his hands, Saint Ral Zlilqun created two massive, gold-colored sword beams that easily cut through the seemingly-thick armor of his soulless enemy, forming a cross through a highly-precise right angle that quartered the machine and reduced it to nothing but scrap heap.

But that was only one of Satan's many tricks; by experience, he knew the Devil was so much more resourceful than something as simple and idiotic as his metallic victim.

[Mefpan]

Jericho District, Pūgkrang City Limits
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

Tama frowned for a moment, not really appreciating even the well-meaning attempt at loosening the tension, but before she could state as much, an explosion broke through the lull of constant, low-intensity weapons fire in the distance. Fire and smoke lanced up in the distance, accompanied by a shockwave that blew out windows even this far away. She straightened herself, and seemed almost...tranquil. A loose end, yes?

"Hm. You're speaking of a chain of events that has ceased to have ever been. We have much to do. Too much."

She walked over to the edge and looked towards Golgotha Avenue. Without so much as another word or even a second look, she threw herself off the skyscraper, wings unfolding and going into a dive to gather speed as she headed towards the center. Tsuya looked after her, a moment of worry flickering across her face.

"She's losing herself...I didn't think she'd deteriorate this quickly! I'm going after her - you had better not waste any time", she said, and leapt after her sister.

---

F̸͎̑͂̌͑͋i̪̘̻̟̱̗̞ͫ̃ͦͮe̘̠͚̾ͧl̺̣̫̗̼̙̜͌̑̈́ͦͨd͉͇̰͚͒̇̆̚͞ ̨̗͇͕͙͛ͣ̀̎ͅō̼̜̳̝ͧf̖ ̢̟͇̳̹͎͔̟͛͐ͭG̻͖̈́̃̇̉̚o̞̤ͪ̍̑̚ĺ̫̩̆g͉͕͉͌ͥͪ͆̿̿ͨo̥͇ͧ̒ͫt͍̼̯̑̂ͪh̠͉̺͉̠ͮ̂ͮ̅̔ͣ͋a̴ͪ̂ͤ
THE THIRD DAY
ANNO DOMINI

Struck by purifying light magnified a thousandfold, the Inquisitor's hull shuddered and cracked, and when the power crystal within its armored bulk was shattered a shockwave of fire and pressurized air blew into the sky, smashing windows in as it rolled through the streets and sucking fine powdered shards back into the streets as the wave of pressure faded, glittering dust slowly raining onto the ground below.

The Saint was unfazed, even as the shock forced Acolytes onto their knees before Ral Zlilqun, and the believers, the soldiers of Christ too were thrown down. For a short, perfect moment, silence reigned between the two opposing groups, as both forces took in the power wielded by the returned Overseer.

So silent was it that not a single being, not a single soul missed the soft footfalls as a small, solitary figure landed amidst the pious and the loyal. Long, smooth golden hair, pale (though not unhealthily so) skin, majestic, feathered wings. All of this would have added up to the single greatest symbol they could have realistically hoped for apart from the return of Ral Zlilquin, had the face not been marred by little cuts, had the figure's hands not ended in wicked talons, had the feathers not been a charcoal black and had the eyes not blazed in a deep, furious crimson.

The figure laid her eyes upon the un-Saint, and her lips turned upwards ever so slightly. An innocent enough expression, had it not seemed so out of place on this face. She had seen Ral Zlilquin, had seen the reverence of these zealots, and that one look told her enough. A failure. Full of regrets. And a history with Sakahara. The obstacle. The loose end.

"Your call for the Heavenly Host once echoed at a dreadful place - dead angels lined the path of a treacherous providence.

Once a great battle was lost, even though the prophecies had sworn you would be victorious.
Betrayed by fate and driven into damnation inglorious.
Witten by bloodied hands, in ancient runes immortalized
was the wisdom of myths, that of a judgement forever unrealized."

Off to the side, the crack of a fired gun violated the foreboding silence. Sparks flew as the bullet ricocheted off the air around her and found its mark in a different believer standíng just a few meters off to the side. She leveled a gaze upon the one who'd fired, a young stupid little boy, barely sixteen from the looks of it, face mixed with confusion and horror at his still smoking weapon's uselessness. His lips quivered, or moved, over and over, always the same motion. Prayer? Litany? Or just begging for his life?

"One should not interrupt their betters when they speak."

She was faintly aware that she might have cared under other circumstances, but at present all she cared for was that she had a way of helping Tomomi and Ezaya now, and that these creatures stood between them and that help. Her gaze became contemptuous, and the boy snapped like a twig under the powerful gust of wind that simply slammed him into the floor. A shudder went through the mass of assembled believers, and a few took a few steps back.

"Oh, hell."

Tsuya dropped in next to her sister and made to cautiously approach her, then stopped, and looked around. Dastani soldiers surrounded the both of them, but seemed undecided on which of the two fallen angels that had arrived within seconds of one another they should pick a fight with. Tsuya unfolded her scythe and spread her arms wide, scowling at the ensemble of fools.

"What are you dumb fucks waiting for? Get lost, or do you have some kind of deathwish?!", she roared at the seemingly paralyzed zealots. One by one, they backed away, and when the first gun clattered onto the ground, abandoned and left behind, it only confirmed that sometimes, such messages transcended even the language barrier. One by one, the once-brave soldiers of Christ turned and ran, leaving behind their beloved saint, for where giants did battle, ants like common men would simply be squashed underfoot.

[Gigaverse]

Japanese
Latin
Dastani
Esperanto

F̸͎̑͂̌͑͋i̪̘̻̟̱̗̞ͫ̃ͦͮe̘̠͚̾ͧl̺̣̫̗̼̙̜͌̑̈́ͦͨd͉͇̰͚͒̇̆̚͞ ̨̗͇͕͙͛ͣ̀̎ͅō̼̜̳̝ͧf̖ ̢̟͇̳̹͎͔̟͛͐ͭG̻͖̈́̃̇̉̚o̞̤ͪ̍̑̚ĺ̫̩̆g͉͕͉͌ͥͪ͆̿̿ͨo̥͇ͧ̒ͫt͍̼̯̑̂ͪh̠͉̺͉̠ͮ̂ͮ̅̔ͣ͋a̴ͪ̂ͤ
THE THIRD DAY
ANNO DOMINI

Or at least, a battle was the intention.

In the approximate four seconds after the soldiers of Christ fled the scene where the godly Saint and the pair of Fallen Angels were poised to do battle, several black-red tentacles dashed towards the former, in the space between the latter. Another second passed, and the Saint was already cleanly within the grasp of the arms of hell. They clearly originated from a single mass of indescribable, monstrous objects cobbled together as a hellish amalgamation floating before the holiest of Saints.

To the Saint in question, the creature was none other than an avatar of the Devil, coming to aid his Fallen Angels - mockeries of the Saint's soon-to-be colleagues - in battle. For the "Fallen Angels", however, the gigantic newcomer was merely a manifestation of the man who stood on the same rooftop as them, just moments before.

"Satan.", the Saint simply remarked.

"Yơ̶u̧̨r̶ ̕͞p͝e̸r̀͞s͘͝i̛͏st̴̶͞e̷͡nc̵͜e̴ ̸́̕i̧͞s̨ ͠al̕͞m̸̢ơ̸s̢̕t͟ ҉͘admi̸r̸a҉̨̢b҉l̨e̷͠,͞ ͞F͜͞͡a̴l̵͢ś̵e̷͢͞ ́͟S̵͘͞à̢i̢̡͞n͢͠t;̛ ̡҉b͏̕͜ù̢t̷ ̵̨̨p̸̵̕l͞a҉͜y̴̢͜ ̨t́͡ì͏̀m̴͞e̶̛ ̛i͢s ̶͏o̷v̶̸e͟r̛͢.̛", the unholy "voice" of the gigantic mass echoed, seemingly made up of the synchronization of a thousand distorted voices. The language spoken was clearly Dastani - fluent Dastani at that; yet at the same time, it also seemed so alien and incomprehensible for the normal man to perceive, "To̢̧da̢͝y͏ i̵s͝ ͢͢͜t҉ḩ͡͠e ̨͜T҉̸̴h̵͝i͘͜͠r҉̢d̢ ̶Da͏̧y;̨ ͏͝l̷͟͠ì͡ke ̷̀͘i͟t̵͡ ̛҉o̡r ͜͞ń҉o҉t͞,̸ ̶̸̢yơ͞ư̢͞ w̶̢͜il̷̀l҉̵͝ ̢d̴͠i̵e.́͢"

Those Dastani soldiers with the misfortune to be very close to the source of the speech was forced to grab their heads and fall to the ground in agony. Some pitifully trembled and begged for the pain to stop, others foamed at their mouths before coughing up blood and died on the spot. There seemed to be no visible effects upon the Saint, however.

"Afraid I am not of either the Devil or his vile hordes."

"N̛ò̴͝,҉́́ ͜R̛a͞l̕ ҉Z̸l̶̀il̸̨q͞ù̶̧n̸̨; ̡I̡ ̀͜҉d̴o̢̕n̢'͜t͏ ̢n̵e̵̕è̷d͜ ̶͘y̷͞o̵͏u̸͝ ́͟f̵̷̛ri̛͟g̛h̡t̡́͢ęn̸͟͞e̶d̀͞.̷̧͟ ͘Į͡ n͏e͘͜e̛͜d͡ yo̡̕u̴ ́͟͝d͏̨e͜ad̀͟.͡"

The tentacles of the creature immediately connected themselves with the rotten flesh of the holy Saint. He tried to activate his defensive shields, perhaps with the hope to cause some kind of damage against the Great Enemy. His attempt was for naught; his armor's functions were soon disabled, as one of the tentacles crept up by his ear, on the side of his head that still looked vaguely human (as contrast to the other, decayed part of his face).

He sought out his swords, yet they were not there. Instead, three seconds after he began the search, his two powerful blades were instead planted into his head by more of Satan's hellish arms. The way they formed the shape of the Cross as they went from one side of his head to the other was most likely intentional on the Devil's part. Within the grasp of the evilest presence he had ever known, the Saint soon began to bleed all over. The joints between his torso and his arms decayed. His eyes shed a combination of sickly-green and crimson fluids.

The true key to his temporary immortality lying much deeper inside him was, finally, encroached on: the file that contained a backup of his personality, should he ever fall in battle against Satanists - which he had. Slowly, the file was corrupted and overwritten with useless information, eating away at and deleting the personality of the holiest of Saint. Eventually, everything lasted barely half a minute, and the once-great Overseer was nothing but a lifeless corpse.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

What could have been a drastically long battle was efficiently ended by the timely presence of a towering monstrosity - none other than Sakahara himself. The black shadow shaped like a human, seated near the very top of the creature, spoke to the two "Fallen Angels" below.

"T͝he͞ ͝p̸o͟ŗţal s̸h͡o͝ųl͠d be d͝ow̨n҉ ́t̨hi̸s ve̸r̡y A̵v̨e͢ǹue̕;̀ ͟we m͡u̡st͠ ̡h̢ùr͢r̷y.", he curtly stated, before the gigantic mass launched itself along the Avenue towards the portal, not waiting for the sisters to react or respond to his sentence. Any Dastani or crony of the Order of Tarnhill to stand in the path of this godly presence would be mercilessly annihilated, without fail.

Golgotha Avenue, Pūgkrang-dju
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

Priority objective, he put it.

Heavy resistance she did face, but nothing Rheia couldn't handle. More difficult was that she had to do everything while carrying the boy-soldier Johano Dek around. The same was true for her fellow Valkyrie, Ursula; who had to fly while hugging their nurse-girl Adorinda Pov.

"Hey, I can see something from here. ... What the fuck is that?"

Johano Dek reported as he lifted the binoculars away from his eyes. He then noticed that the object he was wondering about was clearly visible even without the aid of any type of magnifying glasses. A large; no, huge; monster. Apparently holding a white-haired figure struggling to escape its grasp.

"We must help him!", the young man shouted.

"No, wait!", Ursula signaled, "I know whose face that is... it's Ral Zlilqun!"

"WHAT?!?", Rheia exclaimed in surprise, "Something must be wrong, he's dead!"

"No, Rheia, look.", Ursula shook her head, then pointed to the face of the monstrosity's victim, "That face can't possibly be mistaken."

As both Valkyries stopped themselves and levitated in midair, Rheia had one good look at the man. Indeed, it was Ral Zlilqun upon close examination... Albeit his face was in a state that no cosmetic surgery could ever hope to help him. Perhaps, such a face was more suitable for him, given what he had managed to accomplish during their short encounter, the one that resulted in his "untimely" death.

"N̛ò̴͝,҉́́ ͜R̛a͞l̕ ҉Z̸l̶̀il̸̨q͞ù̶̧n̸̨; ̡I̡ ̀͜҉d̴o̢̕n̢'͜t͏ ̢n̵e̵̕è̷d͜ ̶͘y̷͞o̵͏u̸͝ ́͟f̵̷̛ri̛͟g̛h̡t̡́͢ęn̸͟͞e̶d̀͞.̷̧͟ ͘Į͡ n͏e͘͜e̛͜d͡ yo̡̕u̴ ́͟͝d͏̨e͜ad̀͟.͡"

The voice of the creature echoed as it looked down upon the hapless false Saint. Along the Avenue and on all the streets visible from Rheia and Ursula's position, Dastani soldiers were collapsing from just these words alone. The quartet wasn't exactly safe from the incomprehensible sentence uttered by the demonic mass either; while the eardrums of the Valkyries were less affected, Johano and Adorinda had to cover their ears, but ultimately still suffered slight pain.

"Heh...", Johano stopped covering his ears, "Adorinda, you okay over there!?"

"Y... Yeah...", the timid girl answered under her breath; her low voice would probably have not been made apparent had it not been for the company of her nod.

"What was that...?", Johano raised his eyebrow.

"That was...", Rheia paused for a brief moment, before continuing, "the Commander."

The remaining three looked at her in shock.

"You don't mean...", said Ursula.

"I could hear. Something in that voice... is reminiscent of the Commander."

Of course, Rheia had always been aware that her Commander, the Knight Marshal of Phantom Crusade, wasn't just any average human being; but apparently, the gigantic mass floating close to the ground far below her was indeed him. More curiously, also, Rheia had picked up the presence of two other females standing by the side of what she presumed was her Commander.

Only a very short moment later, the rotten body of Ral Zlilqun had gone limp in the midst of the Commander's tentacles, and quickly vanished without a trace - not even thrown aside, or disposed of the way it was back then, during their last encounter. The corpse just... disappeared.

"T͝he͞ ͝p̸o͟ŗţal s̸h͡o͝ųl͠d be d͝ow̨n҉ ́t̨hi̸s ve̸r̡y A̵v̨e͢ǹue̕;̀ ͟we m͡u̡st͠ ̡h̢ùr͢r̷y."

Suddenly, the monster spoke. And, strangely (or not), in the language that she could understand - even if it also simultaneously sounded like nothing the average man could manage to say. Nothing in line with the languages of mortals. As though it was from a God's manifestation.

Rheia finally snapped out of her inquisitive daze that she spent analyzing the entity, noticing that the three figures they were observing had started to move down the Avenue.

"Hurry!", Rheia raised her voice, "We must follow them!"

"Why?", Johano looked upward at the Valkyrie's face and asked.

"I'll tell you later! Right now, we must absolutely do so!"

Truth be told, she didn't even know what she was doing, or what she would be getting into.

[Mefpan]

Golgotha Avenue, Pūgkrang-dju
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

Tsuya paid the spot where the broken un-Saint had fallen no heed as she hurried after Shinji and her sister, who seemed intent on matching the towering, humanoid mass of writhing darkness step for step as they strode ahead, the Order's automaton soldiers simply dropping dead in their presence and those that were too much machine to simply obey the biological command of dying were shattered by a veritable force of nature following closely in its wake. She hated seeing her

They rounded a corner, and she could see another of the Order's Inquisitors disappear into the portal, and then...it flickered, for a moment.

---

Illuminated Citadel
Order of Tarnhill, the 8th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

The dust and smoke slowly cleared, but...the gate still stood, wrapped tightly in a shimmer of golden light slowly fading away into nothingness. At its threshold stood the embodiment of steel, unyielding, her great sword half-buried in the smooth rock composite underfoot, flanked by one of her accursed towering golems. The intricate warding that surrounded the portal had long since burned out, had flickered and died with agonizing magical screams the moment she had set foot in the courtyard, and disrupted the intricate runecraft that was as much protection against otherworldly menaces as it was stabilizing measures for the gate. Three days were plenty of time for her to force her way in. With the resources at her disposal in this land, she could amass a terrifying force at her own leisure. And so she'd done. They wouldn't last long before they ran out of energy, but that didn't matter.

She vaguely noted that one of the Order's priests was screaming at her, blood leaking from ears, eyes, nose, mouth as he did. "You fool! The gate must be shut! Something is coming, something...it must noT BE ALLOWED TO PASS!" She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but something clearly had the fanatics spooked.

"My friends are beyond this gate. You will not close it. You will not destroy it.", Emeline declared, each word like a thunderclap in the courtyard as the world .

The irate priest staggered even closer, boil-covered, bloody hands clutching desperately at her armored form "THEY ARE ALREADY DEAD! NOTHING CAN STOP THE ANTITHESIS!"

Emeline burst into laughter, loud and unrestrained laughter, as the priest sunk to his knees, his limbs no longer able to carry the weight of his own body. She knew Tama and Tsuya, and those expressions they had. She hadn't sensed it personally, being merely an ordinary human, but they clearly knew what was on the other side. And they'd seemed like like they were about to meet with an old friend.

"Even nothingness itself can't put a stop to what's coming to you."

She shoved the hollow shell that was once man away from her, and was only alerted to a presence behind her when something behind her crumpled with the sound of a soda can being crushed. The mangled form of an Inquisitor flew overhead and impacted against the distant fortress wall, where it detonated in an amazing display of fire, smoke and shrapnel.

---

Golgotha Avenue, Pūgkrang-dju
Dastani Theocratic Empire, the 5th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

Whatever had happened with the portal ended as suddenly as it had begun, and it stood as stable as before. Tsuya paid it no heed as she plowed onward after Shinji and her sister. Her sister...her endurance should give out soon, that much she was certain of.

And...she'd make certain to be there when it inevitably happened. Not that she thought Shinji would just leave Tama hanging, mind, but the idea of leaving her sister's well-being to someone else grated on her nerves.

Not even two tenths of a second had passed between the two in front of her and herself crossing the gate's threshold, but she still felt she was going too slowly.

[Gigaverse]

---

---

Illuminated Citadel
Order of Tarnhill, the 8th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

---

---

And there they were, the other end of the portal. Almost as soon as they arrived, Tama collapsed, large parts of her strength having been spent during the trans-dimensional travel. At that exact moment, Tsuya caught her sister, despite her own fatigue, and landed on the ground as gracefully and gently as possible. While she did, the writhing mass of darkness that emerged alongside them disappeared; in its stead was the familiar form of Shinji Sakahara, who immediately walked towards the Mokujis to verify the sisters' status.

"Tsuya; how well are you faring?", the male figure did not emote, yet his tone was indicative of at least a slight tinge of concern.

"I've been better, really.", Tsuya responded, not particularly caring about herself as her sister was down at that very moment.

"What in the gods' names happened over there?", Emeline Knightsbridge, who was greeted first by the sight of a downed Tama, approached the trio and inquired; her question directed specifically at the only male present there, and perhaps worded slightly harsher than necessary.

"I do admit I am at fault for rushing here without prior warning or travel assistance to her," Shinji calmly spoke, "but this is the one method I can see that would allow me to teach her something. Regardless: long time no see - good to finally see you again, Emeline."

Just as he finished, another four emerged from the portal, and fell to the ground, landing in front of the four that were already there.

"This is also unavoidable, after all; given our circumstances before coming here.", the man in black regarded the newcomers, who knew of him as their protector and benefactor.

"We... We didn't mean to follow you, Dad; honest!", Ursula - the one with long, wavy rose-golden hair and moderate armor among the three new female arrivals - raised her hands and blurted.

"Knowing you, I don't think I can take that for an answer.", the blond man raised his eyebrow.

"More importantly, Commander," Rheia - blonde and most armored among the three new girls - looked upon the giant seriously and started asking him, "we would really like some answers as to what just happened back there; we saw it, and it couldn't have been anyone other than you."

"Your questions will be answered in due time.", Shinji stated. "As it is right now, we have a more pressing concern.", he then turned to Emeline in particular, "Now, Madame Knightsbridge," he jocularly addressed the woman in armor, "Would you like to give us newcomers - me, especially - of what's been happening in Mementon during the time we were in touch and after we've temporarily lost contact?"

[Mefpan]

Illuminated Citadel
Order of Tarnhill, the 8th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

---

"Well...where to start", Emeline sighed and sat down on a particularly large piece of rubble. "I'm sure you're familiar, to some extent, how this world is divided, how it's run and all. Right now, we're in Order territory. You've probably been introduced to them already. There's the Split to the east, notable in its irrelevance, Luriez to the southeast, my homeland, the Borderlands to the northeast - that's where the two", she motioned towards where Tsuya was busily trying to lie her sister down comfortably - someone had apparently handed her a couple blankets - "come from. It's also where the Magocracy resides. The only other place of note would be the Sea of Clouds. It's mostly empty, with the very occasional island. You also might want to avoid stepping off the edge of the isles; you'll fall for at least fifteen minutes."

Behind Emeline, the still-standing Mokuji had finished making her sister as comfortable as possible, and looked on as she slowly reverted to a more...human appearance.

"Well, that is the very rough rundown of what's where. I wish I could provide a map, but maps have gone a little weird ever since the Order...well...cut off that...other place. None of us have any idea what exactly they did, but they didn't exactly make a secret out of it when they found out they succeeded. The Or-"

"The rotten bastards had the gall to waltz into the council chamber and proclaim how they've avenged the humiliation they'd been dealt.", Tsuya interjected, venom in her words as she strode over to Shinji and Emeline, though quite noticeably focusing on the former of the two, "They went so far as to thank the Councilors for their cooperation, and my sister very nearly broke right there, in front of everyone. If I hadn't been there, she very well would have snapped, and they'd probably have put her down. It's been a balancing act ever since to keep her from losing it completely. Damn all the good that other place's ever done for our world, the only thing that mattered to these bastards was to soothe their broken egoes.""

Her fists clenched for a moment, but eventually relaxed, and she continued on, "The Magocracy sold us out. There's no way to pretend otherwise. They know everything that goes on in the world, to some extent. If some malignant plot is carried out unopposed, it's because it was not important enough or because they wanted it to succeed. For this latest incident, we were told to see what the Order is up to and stop them if it poses a threat to this world, but sundering the connection of two worlds before was apparently not considered a threat to anyone important, because they never saw fit to let any of us know until after it was done."

Seeing as Tsuya was done, Emeline nodded, and continued. "You'd expect a big plot, but for the most part they've been content to go back to the stagnancy of the old days. The Talespinners still serve as arbiters and enforcers, and other than the three of us, nobody seems to have much of a problem with that", she said, and sighed, "Mirabel is neutral and mostly concerns herself with her duties, and, well, Kairaiseishou is content so long as she gets to kill things, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. At least the other two are...hidden. And protected.

And truth be told- they probably know that you're here, and that we're apparently with you now. I cannot imagine that that they'll like that."

"Which is utterly irrelevant. You're here, and you will help us fix this. All of this."

---

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Meanwhile...
Somewhere within the Sea of Clouds, the 8th of October
Anno Domini 20XX

---

The girl turned to look at her two charges, and frowned. Still no change. That didn't bother her, not really. After all, there were few things that bothered someone when you were already busy wondering about who you were, where you were and why your last memory before waking up was that of most of your chest disintegrating thanks to being hit by...some kind of weapon, she figured. On an intellectual level, she knew she was probably meant to be freaking out a whole lot more about that than she was, but

From the few times she'd been outside, she could tell she was on a floating island, held up in the air by unseen forces, with no way to get off. But there had been a letter inside, in numerous scripts, among one of which was, incredibly luckily so, the language of her homeland. On it was an apology, for whisking her away from her home (well, she didn't mind, given what she last remembered from that place), and a plea to take care of the two people she shared her home with. And that there were books to pass the time with, and plenty of food in the pantry. Perishable food that didn't perish, curiously enough. It was another of those things she elected not to question at the moment.

And when the doors and windows begin to rattle, that was a sign that she'd have to do her work. There was, in the distance, an airship as it turned out - quite literally so, a ship's hull suspended under an actual balloon, and it bore the sigil the letter said to prevent from getting too close.

So she grabbed the rifle she'd woken up with, braced it against her shoulder and pulled the trigger. A sharp crack broke the silence, and after some four seconds she was rewarded with a blossoming fireball, and a rapidly descending ship plummeting fast through the cloud layer, to a certain end on uncertain ground far below.

Huh. She hadn't quite expected them to use hydrogen, of all things.