My body falls to the ground at the same time Frivia's does. The technique I just used completely drained my energy- and I struggled to stay conscious. Oiran's hulking form approached me, noticing my limp body. She bent her head down, and gently grabbed my arm with her jaw, before throwing me onto her back. A few yards away, Shinimaru approached us, followed by Gin, Siken, and Enshi who had been freed from the tentacles Frivia made.
Shinimaru walks over to me and Oiran, before shuffling around in his back pocket. He rummages for a while before pulling out a glowing gold piece of bread. "We should head out as soon as possible. But before we do that, we should try to figure out where the other slices are." Shinimaru says. I nod, looking over to the others. Shinimaru and I were very wounded, but it didn't seem to faze him- but on the other hand, I could barely blink. Oiran was practically fine, and Siken was relatively unscathed and was carrying Enshi who was still unconscious.
We had been walking for at least a half an hour, all of the citizens screaming upon witnessing the sight of the beastly Oiran. We had fought through the whole day, and now the sun was starting to come up-
BBBRRRRRMMMMMM
The ground began to rumble below- well, Oiran's feet. I was still in her mouth... Oh f**k!! Some of her saliva got in my mouth! I look towards the source of the noise- and it was the bird machine, Garuda.
It was moving.
Its gargantuan form shook the earth as it began to shift. I look to my left, and Gin was running towards the bird.
"...in order to do that, you have to take down Frivia, which is what I'm trying to do, and it's the reason I'm here right now..."
Gin had said that when we first met in the bird...What was he doing there in the first place? I had never asked- but this didn't seem like the right moment to ask. Gin's hover-shoes blasted him into the air, and in one swift moment, Oirann jumped out of her mannequin and landed on her hovercraft. She reached her hand down and lifted me up onto the hoverboard, as well as Siken, who was carrying Enshi. We lifted into the sky, before blasting forward.
Garuda had lifted into the air, and a crowd of people had gathered around it. Soon, we managed to make it to Garuda, and we landed on its neck before slipping into the slit. The interior was as vast as I remembered it from last time. Gin sped over to the control deck and began messing with the panel.
"No, no, no..." Gin was muttering what seemed to be angry gibberish. To my right, Siken was reading a book- wait. It was the book that he was reading when I met him. It was "Top Ten Best Gay Furry Po-" Gin smacked me in the head, causing me to vomit out at least half my body weight in blood. "You didn't see anything."
I could feel Garuda beginning to move faster and faster- there was no chance that we were still in Neo City. It had been a while, so I could sort of walk now. I shuffle over to Gin. "What's going on?" I ask. Gin rubs his forehead. "Anemi Kaminari has been working on something to further his conquest of the world. He calls it Project War."
"Ha-" I stifle a laugh. All of the names here are so cringe.
Gin kicks me in the balls- which in my current state, nearly kills me. " HOLY F**K!!" Gin continues. "Project war is a plan to take control of the three Akashiro beasts- and Frivia was in charge of the Garuda part. She had a hacker that would enter Garuda daily to reprogram it back to its war state- and that's what I was trying to stop. I managed to kill him a while after I noticed, and I did my best to bring it back to its docile mode, but apparently, the damage he had done was irreversible." He hangs his head. " I've failed my duty as a Templar Knight..." I put my hand on his shoulder. "Y'know...at least...uh...yeah- you kinda f**ked up bro."
BOOM!!
Garuda shakes violently- something must have hit it. Gin immediately jerks his head in the direction of the noise. He flips a card out of his pocket and catches it as it morphs into a sword. "So cool..."
Gin flies out of Garuda's neck, closely followed by Shinimaru, leaving me, Siken, and Oiran. I look over to them.
"We should go- oh. You- you're already gone."
I walk outside, and I am met by the endless expanse of sky- and at least 40,000 feet below us are winding and endless lands of otherworldly proportions. The wind whips in my face- my hair flowing in the air.
BOOM!
I look to the left- and what I see causes my eyes to widen. Fighting Gin, Oiran, Siken, and Shinimaru is a woman who seems to be teleporting...and is wearing a techwear jacket and a skirt.
She was the same girl from the forest.
She teleported with coordination and grace, her Naginata blade cutting through all the others with ease. My face contorts as I try to activate my Twitch-
My body falls to the ground. I couldn't take this fatigue! She looks over to me, her twisted grin- she appeared right in front of me, her face a hair from mine. She's kinda hot-
She kicks me over, and I struggle to hang on to the edge of the bird's neck. If I fall...I'll die. "OKORAMO!!" I hear Shinimaru yell. He runs over to me- only for the girl to appear above him, kicking him to the side...and he falls off. My eyes go blank white. My grip loosens as I look her dead in the eyes. "The next time I see you...I'll f**king kill you." My hands release as I barrel through the air after Shinimaru.
"YOU F**KING IDIOT!!" I hear Oiran yell- before she jumps off as well. I look up, and before long, everyone else is falling with me. A wide grin spreads across my face. Everyone was willing to risk their lives to follow me! I look down.
"HOLY ***************************************!!!"
We were falling at insane speeds, and the ground was growing closer and closer.
"Secret art: Titan Mannequin Hawk!!"
An explosion bursts outward from behind me, and as the smoke clears, Oiran's form comes into view. It was a large, gallant hawk with golden feathers and a golden Roman Centurian mask. She swooped down quickly, catching us all on her back. As she caught the last person, she outstretched her wings, catching her descent like a parachute. Garuda was flying so fast that it was now out of sight- and we're at least a hundred miles away from Neo City at this point...but the true marvel was below.
A vast city spreads out before us, a sprawling ancient-like civilization sprawls across boundless land. Cathedrals and castles dot the land, surrounded by millions of other stone structures- and in the center...was a colosseum. "Wait..." I say. "This is just Iskeai Greece-Rome." I stare in wonder at this...until I realize that we've landed. Screams and yells can be heard from everywhere- which is reasonable. We are in fact a hoard of sweaty men on top of a bird with a gladiator mask. Speaking of the bird...Oiran had exited the Titan, and she was completely frozen. Her eyes were a blank white.
"Not here..." I begin to walk over to her, but I'm shoved down. Above me stands a man clad in golden armor, holding a silver sword in his left hand. It hadn't even been a minute, and we were already surrounded by what seemed to be police. Shinimaru begins to protest, but Siken stops him. "We're in no shape to fight." He says. Shinimaru begins to protest, but he stops himself. The guards tie ropes around our arms and begin to walk us toward what seems to be a castle.
After not even five minutes, we enter the castle. The inside was glimmering and shining with thousands of trinkets and gems- the walls themselves made of polished marble. An old man was polishing the walls- oh. He died. The guards walk us up a set of spiral stairs, before we enter a large room. The entire back wall was a window, and this room was LINED in valuables. In a large throne in the center of the room, sat a woman. On her back were two large angel wings, and her hands are scaly claws. Her boobs are also HUGE-
"What is our business here?" The woman demands. The guards stand at attention, before speaking. "Lady Athra; these four fell from the sky on what seemed to be a bird that this one," He shoves Oiran forward. "created." He finishes. Athra looks forward inquisitively at Oiran. "Lift her hair up." Oiran begins to scream. " NO!! PLEASE NO!!" One of the guards holds her in place while the other one lifts her hair revealing a red tattoo of a devil. Athra smiles. "I knew it. A Valkyrie." She looks at the rest of us. "Throw them in the Colosseum- and put her in the dungeon. She'll be rejoining her job." She leans in close to Oiran. "Deserter." They begin to drag Oiran away.
I was losing one of my friends. Again. It was my fault.
"OIRAN!!!" I scream. "I'LL FIND YOU!!"
Oiran gets further and further away, slowly exiting my line of sight. "I'LL FIND YOU!!"