Work was kind of fucking me up recently so i apologize for the late update.....
Anyway, here's the chapter!
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A few moments before Shin Getter Ace's first launch and right after Diebuster was eliminated from the final battle…
["Es, how was it? Did you manage to devour her soul?"]
Ryoma's muffled voice resounded from within Rebellio, asking his beloved goddess of death who was gently supporting his mechanical body that had lost its menacing platinum gleam and full of cracks from head to toe in her arms.
Just like Diebuster, this mech of his could no longer be used for battle because the prior all out release of Weapons Carousel System had critically damaged it and triggered its emergency preservation mechanism which disabled most of its functions save for the main reactor which was forced to run on extreme power saving mode and its basic movement functions.
And that was the aftermath of the Weapons Carousel System full burst release for just a fraction of a nanosecond even after most of the damages had been mitigated as Rebellio was in mechanical apostle mode.
Imagine if he used it for longer…..
["I did…."] His wife answered succinctly, but the uncertainty in her voice as she gazed upon the frostbitten corpse of the crimson colossus which had a large gaping hole on its forehead with utmost alertness made him think otherwise.
["But is it still alive?"]
["Presumably yes, because I strangely only managed to devour the head part of her soul while the rests were gone as if they never existed in the first place."]
After pondering for a very brief moment, she tried to explain the weirdness of Diebuster's current situations to him as simple as possible.
Based on her experience in devouring souls so far, once she devoured the core part of a being's soul such as the head or heart, the rest would automatically follow its trace thus enabling her to devour the soul completely without needing to do extra clean-up work.
But in this case, she somehow only got the head part but not the others…
Was it because the crimson giantess soul only consisted of the head? That wasn't the case at all because when her dearest husband she appointed as her apostle took that giantess' right leg with the bullet imbued with her power, she actually got the soul parts of that specific torn off limb.
Then how??
["That was indeed odd…."]
The rest of the souls were gone? Did someone or something manage to move it into somewhere safe in time? It should be the work of The Will of The Universe but for what purpose? To cut losses? Then where did it relocate Diebuster's remnant soul?
["How about you, Theresa? Found anything strange with the Variable Gravity Well after you finished it off?"]
Faced with such mysteries, he decided to gather more clues by asking the executioner of the other champion of the universe as her twin crusade rifles were powered by Getter Rays so they should've been able to devour the beast's body and soul completely.
[Yes, Master. It was almost as odd as Mrs. Esdeath's case. The difference is, i only managed to retrieve its body and not even a tiny fraction of its soul]
And his system maid reports finally solidified his suspicions….
That the Will of The Universe was finally able to directly interfere with the outcome of this war!
'But isn't it only in the infancy stage? Or has it evolved as it could feel that its demise is already close?'
In any case, no matter what the reason might be, there was one thing he must find out.
["Thanks, Theresa. Then, would you please calculate the most probable locations of the two's souls?"]
Indeed, If they could find out as fast as possible then they could foil whatever sinister plans it was brewing with those souls.
[I know you would ask for that, Master! So I've already done it earlier! The most probable location of their evacuation should be–]
Thump!
Nevertheless, the dutiful maid couldn't finish fulfilling her Master's request….
["Hm? The black hole? Wait, it's still intact?!"]
Because the resounding thumping sound that wasn't from her Master's hibernating Getter Emperor did it in her stead.
Thump!
The black hole, formerly hovering behind The Variable Gravity Well, was completely unscathed even after its host had been utterly annihilated. Furthermore, the said blackhole was now pulsating grotesquely like the heart of a living being.
Something was hidden inside its hideous shell, waiting to be freed into the chaotic cosmic battlefield. And whatever that thing might be, it far eclipsed the combined strength of the empowered Diebuster and the Variable Gravity Well completely!
["Maid, you need to finish your job properly next time…."]
After picking up the astonishing energy readings of the disgusting singularity, Esdeath reprimanded the system maid with barely contained anger in her voice.
Her dearest husband had assigned that thing with a truly crucial operation which could turn the tides of this war despite her own objections. So the least that digitalized slave could do was executing his order completely and perfectly!
Even so, raining down insults to that thing wouldn't do any good to their situations because she actually failed to finish off her own target completely just like that damned maid….
So she'd let it be, for now…..
[Master and Mrs. Esdeath, I apologize for my incompetencies…]
This time, The maid regretfully agreed with her Master's psychotic iceberg because even after using the weapon personally crafted by her Master, she still failed the duty entrusted to her.
Sigh, even if there was a logical explanation for her failure, that was still a disgraceful display….
["No, you don't need to because you have truly exceeded my expectations in the prior opening show, well done!"]
Her Master wasn't angry in the slightest but praised her instead.
Still, that didn't help in the slightest and only made her even more embarrassed!
[I– uhh…. Thank you, Master! But–]
["Hush, don't be too harsh on yourself. In fact, we have already been prepared for unexpected turns of events like this, right?"]
They would be fools if they hadn't, for having bigger and meaner weapons to use is mandatory when waging wars. Especially if you wage one against the whole universe like they did.
[Project Ace…]
["Exactly! But still, do tell us what made the black hole capable of remaining unscathed after being hit by your attack. We need as much information as possible even if we already have something that could solve our problems easily"]
Who knows, the weirdly pulsating black hole had something which could render their trump card easily right? So having more information regarding it was very crucial.
[Very well…. Then Master, are you familiar with the conceptual ability nullification of Diebuster?]
["Yes i am"]
How couldn't he be? His two divine beasts were the first victims of that….
Though even if the deceased Diebuster could nullify conceptual manipulation of the mechanical divine beasts' [Zhen: Awakening], she didn't have any over the top offensive ability like existence erasure imbued in her attacks save for her overwhelming firepower.
That was why her counter attack against the divine beasts could be stopped by the last surviving head of Zhen Xuan Wu's Divine Beast Manifestation as it had lost most of its power after smashing through the vermillion bird and the five heads of the black turtle.
["So, you want to say that the weird blackhole survived from the devouring property of Getter Rays because of a similar ability?"]
[Indeed Master. In addition, its durability far surpasses the raw firepower of my attack hence why it could survive without any meaningful damages]
["This is quite worrying…."]
The one which made his Shin Getter Ace their most prized trump card was already rendered useless, putting his force in exceedingly threatening situations.....
'Now what should we do?'
Still, the only thing he could do right now was to rack his brains to devise effective countermeasures while praying that Ace's raw power could surpass whatever the hell the damned black hole was brewing.
[But rest easy, Master. You can proceed as it is]
Or he didn't have to?
Well, his maid's tone as she said those reassuring words was very much calm and collected as if he didn't have anything to worry about.
And it did reassure him…
Like, his maid must've known the things that he didn't as a base for her confidence. Her database as a system must be beyond his comprehension.
["Hm? Any particular reason?"]
Even so, he must know why his system maid could still keep her belief in his ability even after she revealed their adversary's card which could ruin this war for their side.
Not because of mistrust, but simply his curiosity.
[The Getter Rays generated from mine and the five supercarriers are of lower quality than the ones produced by your Getter Emperor's Heart, hence our inability to pierce through such complex defensive measures.]
["And using this logic, Ace which has shards of my heart as the base for its main reactor should be able to pierce it?"] He added, asking for confirmation regarding his system maid's conjecture.
[Exactly! And I've said it in the beginning right? That whatever transcendent machines that you picked, they will have the same potential! So your Getter Rays are automatically elevated into the level of the other transcendent machines' power sources even if right now you are still lacking in raw power to even think of fighting them.]
[But it should be sufficient to deal with whatever this universe will throw against us!]
["Phew~ It's quite reassuring."] and upon hearing his most trustworthy assistant confirmation, he sighed in relief as the trump card he had prepared wouldn't be useless.
It would be scary if that scenario occurred even if things would be much more interesting that way.
Though he had one more question….
["Hmm, then how about my wife's Hel? Her soul corroding ice could bypass Diebuster's conceptual nullification without any resistance too, no?"]
["Indeed, my ice could corrode that oversized whore's soul easily as it touched her body in our prior battle"] His wife chimed in, supporting his claims.
And if that wasn't the case, then Diebuster wouldn't bother avoiding Hel's Ice like a plague in the first place.
[I… uhh…. How do I say it?....] faced with the least expected question, she hesitated. As if the answer she would give might bring a bad outcome.
["Theresa? Is there something wrong with Hel?"] The strangeness in her response absolutely couldn't escape her Master's hearing module and it made him concerned.
[None at all…..]
Her statement made him sigh in relief internally but…
["Then?"]
Her reluctance to answer irked him. If there wasn't anything wrong then why did she act wishy washy like this?
[My apologies…. Ehm!] She cleared her imaginary throat and reluctantly explained. [Based on my analysis when you first received Hel, it's potential is only slightly inferior to your Getter Emperor. And while it definitely has a much worse starting point, the possibility of becoming your equal isn't completely nil...]
["Well isn't that a wonderful thing? No need to beat around the bush for that, no?"]
This assistant of his is really weird sometimes. Like, why did she need to be so hesitant in telling him such harmless information?
[It was because I didn't want a certain someone to know as it could be disastrous for your wellbeing, Master]
["Disastrous? Why would yo–"]
He tried to refute, but the voice from this certain someone he held in arms made him shut off his mouth.
["Hehehehe~"]
It was an innocent giggle, an expression of her joy for knowing that someday she could stand on equal grounds with her dearest husband.
But when he took a peek towards what was going on inside her mind, one word escaped his voice module....
["Pervert…"]
Yes, that was the only word which could precisely describe what he just saw….
["Heh~ Pot calling the kettle~?"]
The suspect too didn't even bother to feign innocence and counter attacked instead.
Sigh, worse was he couldn't even deny it!
["Haish, with that settled, let us begin the final phase– Dear, what are you trying to do?"] Deciding to put the alluring images he just saw into the back of his mind, he tried to declare the final phase of this war. But a certain adorable murder maniac of his who had started acting up caught his attention.
["You said it yourself, it's time for the final phase! And didn't that maid of yours also say that I have almost the same potential as your main weapon? "]
Yes they did…..
And he knew what was on the mind of his dearest one…..
["No, not when you're already half dying just like this body of mine!"]
But like hell he would allow his most precious to step into the battlefield against something which was way more dangerous than Diebuster and Variable Gravity Well combined when she couldn't even defeat one of them without his assistance in her perfect conditions, let alone now!
And immense potential is meaningless if she is dead!
["But i can still–"]
["Esdeath…"]
He interrupted her denial, his voice as he called her name was melodious and gentle yet the demand of no refusal was glaringly obvious as he brought the lovely battle maniac he held face to face.
["Y–yes!?"]
And gazing towards the dim yet menacing crimson glow in her dearest husband's eyes while being clutched strongly in his seemingly frail hands….
All her desires to deny him vanished….
Resisting, she had tried to, she really did! But no matter how many times her mind told her body to shake off his hold, it couldn't muster any strength at all!
Just like a small and helpless animal in the clutches of an apex predator!
But worst of all…..
'Mmhm~ Is it time to claim my prize~?'
She was aroused by it! But it couldn't be helped, his temperament right now made her remember the moment right before he turned her into a mewling mess under him!
Though unfortunately, the thing he said afterwards wouldn't lead into another bedroom battle…
["You have done well! Now leave the rest to me"]
For it was just some praises and his own request to not interfere in the upcoming battle as he patted her shoulder.
["Yes!"]
But as the one and only wife of his, she obeyed his order with a nod without debating him any further because she knew this worrywart wouldn't relent no matter what.
And she isn't such an insolent woman who would whine until all her whims are fulfilled anyway.
Still, as this bad man of hers had triggered her switch she must do one more thing…..
Thunk!
["Ugh…. Es, couldn't you at least wait until we returned to our human form?"]
Yes, she kissed him….
Even if only the coldness of his metal mask could be felt, it was enough to sate her thirst for a little.
But it obviously couldn't compete against the addicting warmth and sweetness of his lips, yet she had to make do with this.....
["That's on you for trying to tempt me~]
["Eh? when did i even–"]
["Shush~"]
She put a finger over his mask before pulling him close, her head was right beside where his ear would be if he was in his human form.
Then with a seductive mirth in her voice, she whispered. ["Don't lose! You have a debt to pay!"]
That's right! She had always been anticipating the time she could cash-in that debt from her dearest husband from the moment she won against him!
So no matter what happens, he couldn't lose!
She would drag him from the depth of hell if he did!
["O– ohh…"]
Ara~ where did his domineering assertiveness go?
Why did her dearest act so flustered like that?
Was the predator actually the prey all along~?
'So cute~ Too bad that i can't eat him up right now~'
How unfortunate indeed, if only the prior two champions were the last of their enemies…..
But, waiting a little more wouldn't hurt~
It would only make the harvest more delectable when the time comes~
["Well then~"]
Thus after being satisfied with teasing her dearest prey, she released her clutch and patted his cheek softly a few times before floating backwards into a swirling blue portal she just created.
["I'll be waiting for your victory~"]
While not forgetting to blow a kiss for his good luck charm as her frame slowly vanished alongside the portal, leaving her man wondering how his fate would be after this battle ended….
......…..
["H–hey, Theresa…"]
With noticeable nervousness in his voice, Ryoma called his system maid once the menacingly seductive debt collector was gone.
[Hm? Master, you don't sound so good. Shall I take over the battle in your stead?]
And listening to the anxiousness in his tone, she offered to take control of Ace in the incoming final battle. Fighting in such low spirits is very dangerous after all.
Though she was confused about something. Didn't she already say that his Getter Rays should be sufficient to handle the new threat seamlessly? So why was he still so nervous?
["No, that's unnecessary but…"] he paused to take a breath and continued. ["Would i lose?"]
[Absolutely not, unless you stand still without resisting our enemies]
Truly an illogical question!
His chance of victory was infinitely close to 100% so why was he still so apprehensive?!
'[Oh wait, Has Master find out something even more threatening than the thing brewing inside the pulsating black hole?]'
If that was really the case then she couldn't let it be! She must find out what the thing was and devise effective countermeasures ASAP!
["No, not this battle. But the following one…."]
[Eh? There's still mo– Oh...]
False alarm….
Her Master was just worried about that kind of "fight" with that mad woman!
She really didn't want to answer that ridiculous question, especially if she wouldn't be inclu––
Oops, she almost went astray again…
But as much as she wanted to directly go offline without answering that perverse inquiry, she needed to at least give a perfunctory answer.
[Nah you'd win…]
Yes her Master would reign supreme against that perverted ice berg even if he wouldn't be allowed to resist for around eight hours.
And it's not like she isn't allowed to interfere if her dearest Master has shown signs of losing.
["That's reassuring…"]
["Well then, all surviving vanguards! Retreat and reinforce the Wall of Ramiel from within!"]
Then as if a switch had been flipped, his silly apprehensiveness vanished into thin air as he took full command of the surviving mechanical armies.
Those little ones were no longer needed in the front lines as the remaining crimson tides had been annihilated for attempting to block Theresa's Wing Gundam Israphel pillar of extinction.
In addition, even if the survivors had become so much stronger after receiving residual powers from their destroyed allies and enemies, they still wouldn't be able to put a dent to the lone pulsating singularity and the thing nurtured inside of it with everything they got. So it was better for them to retreat inside the safety of the cosmic phalanx while empowering its defensive capability with their own power cores at the same time.
["Return Rebellio, Zhen Xuan Wu, and Zhen Zhu Que to the hangar!"]
Following his next command, the critically damaged Rebellio and the two mechanical divine beasts stationed nearby the pulsating blackhole turned into particles and vanished entirely.
Because they too were no longer necessary…
For it was time for their Emperor to take the stage!
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