{Date: 10/17 - Monday}
{Time: 2:30 PM}
Pandora extended her blade into a whip slowly, her lips slowly curling into her infamous grin, the tip of the shape end of her whip phasing into the ground. Celene, Yusa, and I stayed on guard, watching Pandora's every move.
"You know, I'll let you on another secret...the Lost Syndicates have been doing their own dirty work. A plan that will reshape the world as we know it," Pandora began, her cruel gaze shifting over to Celene.
"Those masks held more power than our elite scientists could image...the essense within those masks are more complex than any of us would like to admit, but with enough tampering we were able to figure it out and I have a power that you should recognize, Messenger," Pandora finished, her dark pink energy flaring around her body.
Celene glared at Pandora, her gaze focused on her aura, studying it closely. Upon recognizing it, Celene let out a soft grunt. "You have her energy..."
"Mhm..~ The energy of Lustie's beautiful daughter, Luselle. With this power, everyone falls in line..~ All for just a little kiss on the cheek and if they are extra good, they will get a little more," Pandora giggled softly, biting her lip gently.
"You and your foul partners have corrupted the meaning of Love upon this sacred island. No longer shall I stand by and watch your corruption. My Champion's name shall not be tarnished by you!" Celene bellowed, letting out her Tribal Howl and her pure silver aura bursted around her body.
I grunted heavily from the high winds and heat Celene's energy produced, using my arms to guard against the rubble and debris flying around with the wind. Within a blink of an eye, Celene had already escaped my vision, appearing in front of Pandora with a devasting kick to her stomach.
Pandora grunted heavily as she was sent flying, but the tip of her whip was still in the ground, allowing her to fling herself forward. Pandora began twisting her body around, launching a spinning heel kick toward Celene's neck.
"Too slow," Celene said, taking on a counter stance, Pandora's foot phasing through Celene's afterimage.
The afterimage vanished, a barrage of invisible strikes landing upon Pandora's midsection, causing her to stagger to the side. Pandora grunted lightly, clutching her stomach lightly then looked up, noticing Celene's fist soaring through the air directly at her face.
Pandora managed to weave her strike at the last second, Celene's fist barely grazing her cheek. Pandora countered with a swift body shot, her fist connecting upon Celene's rib then following with pink blades of energy erupting from the ground to impale Celene.
Yusa rushed toward Celene's aid, launching her lance at the energy blades, the Death Energy around her lance absorbing the energy blades and converting it into a larger pool of Death Energy. She ran toward Pandora, throwing a palm strike toward her chest.
Pandora dodged her palm strike, smirking at Yusa and blowing her a kiss. "Let us dance, Headmaster..~"
Yusa summoned her lance back into her hand, shifting it into her katana once again then summoned her white lance, shifting it into a white bladed katana. She didn't respond to Pandora, staring at her with a cold, focused gaze.
"Not speaking anymore? You remind me so much of Hisumi when she gets into that mode. Like mother, like dau—" Pandora began, her voice abruptly stopping due to her body being dragged toward Yusa.
Yusa landed a swift downward slash, knocking Pandora to the ground then used her Scarlet Field to keep Pandora planted the ground. Immediately, her body vanished, a barrage of slashes striking Pandora at once within the small field of scarlet energy.
Yusa appeared in front of Pandora, landing an imperceivable upper slash to knock Pandora in the air, launching herself to the air as well and manifested her wings. Just as she was about to go for the killing blow, Yusa's eyes widened as she saw me in the air, her muscles tensing with hesitation.
This hesitation allowed Pandora to recover, countering Yusa with a spinning Horizontal Kick, the blow of the kick sending Yusa crashing to the ground. "You're mine, Governer!"
Pandora let out a yell as she thrusted her sword at Yusa, the blade extending and flying toward Yusa's chest. I acted quickly, dashing to my mother's aid then slashed upward with my katana to deflect the blade.
"Mom, are you okay?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder to check on Yusa.
Yusa rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times before standing on her feet. "I think so...I don't know what happened to me. All of a sudden, I just see you in the air and I hesitated, thinking it was you in the air.."
"Love is such an interesting element...rumored to be the most powerful element in history. Lust is said to be an impure form of Love, and yet Shiro made it pure," Pandora said, gracefully descending to the ground with a sly grin on her face.
I stared at Pandora, stepping forward and readied my katana to face off against her. "I've studied you while you were fighting Celene and my mom, and yapping off about your studies. Your main ability is Pheromone Manipulation...an application to the concept of Lust."
"And look at how smart you are..~ Figured it out so fast, and yet it helps you none," Pandora said, pointing her blade at me with a soft chuckle, the blade extending and phasing into the ground. "Orochi, capture her."
Suddenly, the tip of her whip emerged from the ground beneath me, splitting into a split end whip and wrapping around my legs. The blades latched onto my heels like a serpent biting onto its prey, the pain causing me to lightly grunt.
Pandora pulled on her whip, dragging me toward her then gripped my neck. "Once I take you back with me along with the other two traitors, I will break you beyond recognition."
I gave Pandora a glare of defiance, breaking out of her hold then struck her stomach with an electrifying Spirit Flash, light blue lightning flashing around my fist upon impact and knocking her away. I grunted heavily as the blades of her whip were snatched out of my heels, causing me to fall on one knee.
Yusa's Life Energy began to slowly embrace around my heels, washing away the pain with a gentle warmth and began healing my injury. "Don't worry, sweetheart...after this, I will make sure we truly get to enjoy our vacation.."
I stood up slowly, looking at mom and felt a warm security as she stood next to me. "I believe you..."
Yusa looked at me with a smile, reaching over to wipe away the last of my tears. "Let's defeat Pandora together..."
I nodded, enjoying the gentle touch of my mother's hand on my skin. "Alright."
{Time: 2:45 PM}
Orika and Adrianna watched as the last service cars left with the hikers inside, driving them all to safety in Twilight City. Once the area was cleared, the two turned around to look at the dome of energy shimmering a dark green glow, their minds concerned about our safety.
Orika turned her gaze to Kioshi and Yumi, glaring at the two of them. "How could you two be so complicit in Hisumi's suffering like that? And you, you were think of bringing her back to the place that caused all of her pain?!"
Kioshi grunted softly, lowering her head and rubbed the back of her neck with a soft exhale. "There's nothing I can say to justify my actions...but you don't know Judgement like I do. What you experienced was only surface level of what Judgement truly is."
"Then explain. What are we really fighting against?" Adrianna demanded, her eyes firing up with intensity as she waited for Kioshi to speak.
Kioshi looked up from the ground, meeting Adrianna's gaze then exhaled softly through her nose. "There's multiple layers to Judgement. A total of 13 Lieutenants and the Commander. The Commander, Hazuki Ishida, is an Ex-Valkyria...just as powerful as Yusa."
"What..? You're saying the leader of Judgement...was a Valkyria? But why would she betray Yusa?" Orika asked, her mind racing with more questions, trying to make sense of the information.
"I don't know much, but from what I do know, she's jealous of Yusa. Yusa isn't known as the Strongest Valkyria of all time for no reason, she's theorized to have access to a power beyond comprehension," Kioshi said, crossing her arms with a look of begrudging respect.
"It's a power almost anyone wishes to obtain. It is the Commander's main goal. Yusa has the power to become a Ruler, and Hazuki wants to stop it. You wonder why the main pawns of Judgement are Fallen Valks? They are the main soldiers, each one are dead Valkyrias, Zombies..." Kioshi finished, her tone filled with honesty and disgust.
"Exposing a secret like that, you broke your oath," A voice said from a distance, the tone dry and sarcastic.
Kioshi turned around to face the source of the voice, her gaze landing on Amadeus leaning against the hiking trail sign. "Amadeus...you're here too..?"
"Pandora told me about her plan to take Hisumi back, and I figured I come. But I didn't think you'd betray Judgement," Amadeus said, pushing himself off the sign and walked forward.
"Judgement is just full of creeps who prayed upon the lives on innocent people! What they did to Hisumi is unforgivable and for it to have gone on for so long.." Yumi snapped, summoning her bow and taking aim at Amadeus.
Amadeus stopped walking, adjusting his mask then snapped his fingers, three other Lost Syndicates members emerging from the shadows of the hiking trail. "I was actually starting to like you two...such pretty faces now having to be put in the dirt along with other gorgeous women..."
Orika grit her teeth, readying herself for a battle against Amadeus and his allies. Genesis hovered next to her, her expression tensing and growing more serious. Adrianna got into her stance, tapping the tip of her foot against the ground in 4/4 Time.
Kioshi summoned her axe using her flames, grabbing upon her handle then took on her stance. She stared at Amadeus with a serious expression on her face, a flame emitting from her chest with resolution. "Save your romantic flirts for someone who cares. Bolverk and I will have no empathy for those who side with monsters."
Amadeus chuckled softly, his cloak flowing with the gentle breeze. "Bolverk..? Must be the name of your Valkyrie. Interesting, let's see what she can do."
Amadeus snapped his fingers, the other three Lost Syndicate members charging toward Yumi, Adrianna, and Orika to strike them down with their daggers and an electrically charged baton. The first Lost Syndicate member rushed toward Adrianna, slashing down at her with his dagger.
Adrianna swiftly evaded the attack, sweeping his legs from under him with a kick then got on the ground, swinging her body to land multiple NY Flare Kicks to suspend the member in the air. Knocking him higher in the air, she noticed multiple arrows homing in on the man, striking his body and exploding upon contact.
Yumi lowered her bow, splitting the two halfs to create two small swords, and rushing forward to clash with the Lost Syndicate member that was charging her. The two clashed ferociously, the two of them swinging their blades rapidly and clashed with each attempt.
Yumi dodged the woman's next slash, flipping backwards and connecting the two halves of her bow again. While in the air, she aimed her bow at the woman, perfectly aligning her shot. "Target locked... aiming shot..."
The woman tried to move away from Yumi's field of view, but as she tried to escape, icy energy surrounded her legs and feet, encasing them in ice and preventing her movements. Yumi fired the energy arrows at the woman, the three arrows impaling through her body.
Orika turned to face the last Lost Syndicate member, noticing the third one zipping around her like a cool, collected assassin. She felt her heart rushing with adrenaline, but kept a strong face for herself and her allies.
"Genesis, be my eyes!" Orika commanded, surrounding her hands with Spirit Energy and continued to watch around her surroundings.
"You already know that I am!" Genesis replied, tracking down the last Lost Syndicate member and followed his movements with clarity. "Dodge right and counter!"
Orika dodged to the right, evading the swing of the man's electric baton then countered with a powerful blow to his midsection, frost slowly forming around the area of impact. She followed it with a stomp on his foot, driving her heel heavily into his foot.
The man screamed out in pain, swinging his baton to get Orika off him, but Genesis swooped in, taking the hit for Orika and absorbing the electricity from the baton. The man looked surprised, not expecting Genesis to take away his one advantage.
Orika staggered him with a swift roundhouse kick then pivoted around with an elbow to his face, following it up with an uppercut to knock him in the air. She held her hand out toward the man, her eye flashing with power.
"Snowflake Volley!" Orika bellowed, firing a barrage of Soul Blasts at the man, each one landing their marks and causing icy explosions in the air.
Orika generated one last Soul Blast, hurling it at the large white, chilly cloud of smoke in the air, the Soul Blast finding its targeted and exploding. The explosion caused the man to be thrown out of the air, crashing savagely onto the ground.
Amadeus crossed his arms, watching as his allies were defeated quickly by the three then scoffed lightly. "Well, seems like you all are more than pretty faces."
Kioshi pointed her axe at Amadeus, her eyes shining with justice and fury. "There's no one you can run to. You're finished, and once we take you down, we will take that Mask back from you."
Amadeus laughed cruelly, taking on his stance, his Spirit Energy flowing around his body. "I would love to see you try to take this mask from me. Come at me, if you're bold enough..."
With her best foot forward, Kioshi launched herself toward Amadeus, swinging her axe in a wide arc. Amadeus used his Spirit Energy to block her attack, rushing forward with a powerful lariat, his arm crashing upon Kioshi's neck.
Kioshi groaned loudly, her body flying backwards, but Adrianna quickly caught her, the two of them sliding backwards. Yumi ran forward, leaping in the air and firing a volley of arrows at Amadeus, each arrow curving around his body like a vortex.
"Such child's play," Amadeus taunted, manifesting his demon wing and spreading it open to deflect each of Yumi's arrows.
Orika grunted softly, a nervous sweat rolling down her cheek, her skin crawling with goosebumps and her heart beating faster against her chest. 'This guy...is way out of my league..'
'But if we don't stop him, they will take Hisumi away...I won't let them take her away. Not my soulmate,' Orika thought to herself, her Energy Points within beginning to awaken inside her body.
Amadeus stepped forward, letting out a cold laugh at the girls. "No one dares to step up anymore? Afraid..? Let the stakes be clear, I don't care about Hisumi like the others do. My main goal is focusing on the Revival of Lotus, and you all are in my way of that!"
Kioshi got out of Adrianna's arms, letting out a frustrated exhale, smoke leaving from her nose and the flame on her chest burning even harder. "You won't even get the chance to complete either plan! I know my hands are covered in blood...my sins can not be unseen, but I Vow to purge this world from people like you!"
"Bolverk!" Kioshi roared, slamming the bottom of her battle axe against the ground, her fiery aura surging around her body.
Kioshi's battle suit began to manifest upon her body, a red headdress with curved horns resembling a ram, the pauldron on her left shoulder shimmering with a the Vow of Bolverk humming with power, beating in flashes of red.
Bolverk hovered behind Kioshi with a tome filled with fire spells, four blazing orbs of flames floating behind her, each orb dancing up and down with energy. "You finally return to me..."
Kioshi nodded, readying her axe with a determined glare toward Amadeus. "I know...it's been a long time."
Amadeus laughed softly at Kioshi, crossing his arms and folding his demon wing. "You think shouting your sins to the sky makes you a hero? You're just another killer trying to rewrite her own story, just like someone else we all know. Besides...one Valkyrie isn't going to be enough to stop me."
"You're right, one isn't enough!" Orika called out, stepping forward with a gaze of resolution. "I am also a Valkryia and for my love for Hisumi, you will not be taking her!"
Amadeus chuckled lowly, adjusting his mask and turned his head away from Orika. "Cute. You think love will protect Hisumi? I wonder if she'll still love you after she sees your corpse frozen in the dirt."
Orika's eyes began glowing an icy blue, her skin becoming as pale as a snow princess, her aura shifting into a chilling snowy white, beautiful snowflakes sprinkling down around her. Her Valkryie, Yuki-Onna, began manifesting behind her, her white hair flowing around her body.
The weather began to take a dive, the clash between fire and ice causing a thin layer of haze to spread around the area. Adrianna and Yumi were in awe of Orika's and Kioshi's Valkyrie Forms, their bodies receiving a raw mix of coolness and heat.
"Two Valkyries...as they say, two is better than one right. This makes no difference to me, I'll kill you both the same," Amadeus said, readying himself for the final showdown.
Kioshi scoffed at Amadeus, taking on her stance and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Enough chit chat, it's time to end this."