Final Chapter:

"…"

Translation: Ho, ho. So you killed off the CPUs. Impressive...

I…

"…"

Translation: Despite your heavy resistance against the idea, irony seems to be on your side.

…

"…"

Translation: Well, I'm not one to judge. But even I didn't expect this development. Truly impressive…

Why?

"…"

Translation: Hm?

Why are you…?

"…"

Translation: Oh? It's all to see my brother.

…Your brother.

"…"

Translation: That's right. And to that end, this is the only way to see my brother.

And to see your brother, you have to kill someone to do that!?

"…"

Translation: Hm? Why me? I wasn't the one who had done the deed.

It's because of you! It's because of you! That I…! Noire, Uni, Blanc, Rom, Ram, and Vert. That I have to…!

"…"

Translation: Lying is useless you know.

…!

"…"

Translation: I can tell. From the moment you heard the sword's gimmick, you were pondering about it.

I… I wasn't!

"…"

Translation: Then why did you hesitate when that pigtailed girl asked you about it?

It…It's because she startled me!

"…"

Translation: Then why did it took you a day to answer the fairy's question?

It's because I have to think about it!

"…"

Translation: Then why were you always carrying the sword?

…! I…! I…!

"…"

Translation: Admit it. You wanted to kill them.

I…!

"…"

Translation: You wanted to use the sword on them.

No…I…!

"…"

Translation: It's not for the sake of Gamindustri.

No…! I…! I…!

"…"

Translation: It's not for the sake of defeating the Deity of Sin.

I…! I…! I…! I…!

"…"

Translation: Rather, it's all because you…!

No, that's not true at all! You… don't know! What I've gone through! Killing off each and every one of my friends one by one! You know how that feels!? So stop talking like you know how I feel! I won't waste the lives and powers they gave me!

"…"

Translation: Then, why are you thinking that it isn't enough?

…I-Isn't enough?

"…"

Translation: Oh, you stuttered. Don't tell me you haven't thought of it.

…Wh-What are you saying? There's no way…!

"…"

Translation: There are only 2 CPUs left in the world you know. Other than you, the most important one of them all is your…

…!

The passerby lands in the basement area, the metal door right before him. It's a small dungeon-like area where the smell of burnt wood that comes from the only torch at the ceiling, which is hanged by 4 metal rods. The metal door is ajar, as though maliciously tempting anyone to open it fully. The crackling noise of the torch, made by the burning of wood, adds a little comfort.

The passerby stands before the metal door, steeling himself for what's beyond it. What would he see beyond the door, he wonders? Is it the price of desiring to return to time? The consequences of failing control? The havoc left behind by one who lost a piece of their soul? The hypocrisy of saving the world?

Or is it a past life that he wished not to enter again? The dues and debts that he has yet to pay.

He walks up to the metal door and places his hand on it. He smells him on the other side. His blood boils, remembering that day as if it were a videotape he had watched over and over. An old blood rushes through his veins. The heat, the smell, the scream. Those feelings pump his old blood; fueling his entire body.

He pushes the metal door open. The smell bursts out like a gust of wind. The horrible smell of flesh left out into the open. Flesh turning black from the lack nutrients. Flesh slowly rotting away releasing the rest of its content into the air. A scene where you hear the flies buzz around from one flesh to another. A scene of grotesque and disgust that is far beyond recognition.

A scene of corpses, corpses, and corpses. They cloy and overfill the entirety of the dome-like room.

*SQZZZ!*

"...!"

The passerby's headaches begin to emerge from within as the memories of what he did return to him. A scene dyed in red, all for the sake of creating a throne for him. A throne where he should always be. The headaches are far more tolerable now than it was the first time. Maybe because the first time was a shock to him. That this impossible place is here right in front of him. Or that he realized that this place is a replica. A creation for something else.

There's a pathway in the middle of these buzzing bodies. A pathway colored in red liquid. As though it was prepared for him like a red carpet. At the end of that pathway is a stone. A stone shaped into a cube. He takes a step forward, not minding now if his white shoes are now stained if he was still then he'd have traverse through the piles of corpses.

The splashing sound with each step he makes is dyed down by the buzzes of the disturbed flies. They scatter around and then converge again as soon as the passerby passes them. The passerby walks on, his eyes aiming at the center of this dome-like structure. Towards the cube made of stone that has caught his attention.

He approaches the end of the path. A big open area is before him, the cube at the center. There is no one here other than a cube and him. From where he is standing, he can see something small lying there as if it was sunbathing. He approaches the cube, not minding the caution that his instincts told him. The thing lying there slowly comes into view.

Its hair is in two blonde pigtails at medium length along with the purple and orange headdress that is accompanied by a hat with the letter N in the center. Her dress is an open shoulder graduate gown with a teal tie. Its leg-wear consists of thigh high socks and white shoes with green circles with a black lining on the center.

"Histy…" the passerby said as he approaches her.

He takes a good look at her. The fairy is sleeping right now, it seems she has suffered at the most fatigue as if she was overworked. He undresses her by unbuttoning the N button by her dress. Then he spreads the dress open revealing the rest of her skin. He looks at her body finding anything that resembles internal damage.

"I don't think that would be necessary brother…" a voice behind him. A voice he doesn't know. A voice filled with him with each breath. He fixes buttons on Histy's dress, fixes her hair a bit, and stands up straight.

Without giving a comment on her statement, he turns around, facing the speaker.

She has long light dark blue hair with a single D-pad hair clip and dark blue eyes with a light red hue and wears a white, button-up sailor uniform with purple designs and a yellow ribbon being held together by the N-emblem. She wears thigh high socks with pink and white stripes and medium-sized boots that match her uniform in color scheme.

"Nepgear…no, I should say Sister" his 'eyes' meets hers.

"Heh…" she smiled at the passerby as she 'returned' the 'gaze'.

"So it's just me and my Sis…"

The girl with long purple hair, wearing a sailor uniform mumbles to herself in her and her Sister's room. She sits on a chair with the sheathed sword lying on top of her desk. The same sword that took the lives of her friends. The lives of her Sister's friends. All in an effort to save Gamindustri from evil.

"Noire… Blanc… Vert…" she states the names of the fallen.

"Uni… Rom… Ram…"

6 people. 6 friends. 3 of which took her time to make friends with. 3 of which are her Sister's friends. All of them rivals from other countries. 3 of them assisted her. And in turn, assisted them. They are a rowdy bunch. But a bunch of people that she grew to care about all the same.

"Was this really my only choice? When did I start to walk down this path…?" she tries to remember when it all started. When this killing spree started. But her mind, filled with noise, doesn't seem to remember anymore. Instead, she remembers their final breaths. The moment that the light in their eyes dims and flickers out. As though blowing off a candle's struggle to light up into a fire. The color of red. The feeling of something shattering. She remembers them so clearly and in vivid detail that it sends shivers down her spine.

"No, I need to snap out of it. I'm sure IF would scold me if she saw me like this..." she shakes her head. Forcing her mind to exercise the negative thoughts that are about to take over her.

"I can't let everyone's lives go to waste. We have to win" she said to no one but herself. Supporting herself with her own words of encouragement.

*Knock!* *Knock!*

"Hey, Nep Jr.? You around?"

"Oh, Sis. Please wait, I'll open the door…"

Nepgear immediately props out of her chair and rushes towards the door. She opens the door revealing her cheery Big Sister on all smiles.

"How're you feeling?" she asked almost innocently.

"Ah... Mhm, I'm okay…" Nepgear answered taken slightly aback by the cheeriness, or normalcy from her Big Sister.

"Really? You kinda look pretty glum to me"

"Really. I'm really okay. I can smile and everything…" Nepgear forces a smile to prove her point.

"Say Nepgear, can we talk in here for a bit?"

"Eh? Here? I'm sorry Sis, but I don't feel well, so…"

"Aww, don't be such a spoilsport Nepgear. We're just going to talk for a little bit" Neptune forces her way inside. Nepgear, thinking that it's probably okay, closes the door before her before turning to her Big Sister.

"Oooh! Remember that place over there Nep Jr.!" she pointed at a faraway place through the window.

"It's the forest we used to play back when we were tykes!" she smiled at her little sister with glee.

"Aah that brings back so many memories," Neptune said in melancholy as she back away from the window.

"Really? I don't remember… I guess I was really young"

"Yeah… you were still in your pink-striped diapers"

"Mhm…"

Neptune walks around the room, looking around at each and every corner of it. She walks as though she's nonchalantly remembering the past. Humming as though she's taking a break from work. Smiling to herself as though enjoying the simple embrace of silence. She looks around the room, looking and remembering. The comic books that they both saved up to buy in one bundle. The video games that they bought. The double-decked bed which was formally a single large bed. The make-up accessories that they tried just for fun. The toys they bought just to have fun. The shelf full of small electronics that they, mainly the little sister, created in their free time. The lamp that keeps on shutting down. The picture books that they both read together when they were really young.

She remembers all these and more.

"Ehehe… Sure is relaxing remembering all those stuff…" she said as she faces her Sister, still wearing a smile.

"I guess it is…" Nepgear answered half-heartedly.

"Uhhh… So…" her Big Sister steps back as she tries to find the words.

"Uuh… Sis. If this is all you wanted to talk about, I think I'd better step out for a bit"

"Aaah! Wait! I have something super important and plot-advancing to say to you"

"…What is it?" Nepgear gives her Big Sister another chance.

"So, don't be too shocked when I tell you, okay?"

"Mhm. I'll be okay"

"Okay… so uh…"

"…!"

Suddenly her Sister tossed something into the air. A long object protected by a brown sheath stopping anyone from being cut with it. The object goes wide from the tip to the base. It's tossed towards Nepgear, its strap flapping in the air. Reflexively, Nepgear catches the object that her Big Sister tossed. It's heavier than she had expected.

"So, um, how's about you give your ol' sis the stabby-stab with the sword?"

"…Eh?"

Despite appearances, the girl in front of him isn't Nepgear. The eyes and hair are different in color as though affirming its unique identity. But moreover, the source of the smell is from her. The smell of him filled his nostrils and lungs. It's like half of him is actually right in front of the passerby right now.

"Are you okay, 'Big Brother'? You don't look particularly well"

"It's your receptionists, 'Little Sister'. They welcomed me in a not so pleasing manner"

"As her manager, I'd like to know what happened"

"One welcomed me coldly and was forced to take off my coat. The other tired me out"

"My apologies for their behavior. Though, I did tell them to escort you here"

"You're undertraining your staff. You'll hit rock bottom if you don't train them properly"

"Duly note. But I don't think there'd be any newer guests visiting this place sometime in the future"

"Is it because your old guests seem to enjoy the buzz? They are quite enjoying themselves"

"I tend to them personally" she smiled at him, proud of her job.

"Do you? But the fairy behind me seems to be not so well treated"

"Ah, that girl is a special guest with special treatment"

"Really? You must be pulling my leg here, she doesn't seem to enjoy herself"

"How rude of you Brother, it's the second time that I've met you and you're already accusing me of being a liar"

"When was the first time we met?"

"At this place as well, you vomited and collapsed, remember?"

"I'm sorry for such a vulgar display if I had known then I might have presented myself a bit more properly"

"I don't mind. It's unsurprising given what you've suddenly seen"

"I'm far more surprised by the mass of materials you've gathered" the passerby looks around the corpse-filled room of a dungeon. The smell is concentrated enough that it might actually stick to your skin. The mountains of corpses feel like they slowly surrounding you. The buzz from the flies becomes background noise. The splashing of drops of blood to the small puddle of blood on the ground

"It took work, but with a few help I've gathered the necessary materials"

"Impressive…"

"Not as impressive as yours, Brother. If anything I'm a fan of your work"

"You are? I'm honored then. Though I do wish I could've done it better"

"If you did, then we might never have met"

"We might. But at the very least those 3 girls won't get mixed up in family matters" his gaze returns to his Sister.

"What are you really planning, Sister?" the passerby asked.

"I'm reviving the CPUs of course. That's what they all wanted right?" she answered.

"If you're going to revive 8 girls then you don't need this much for materials" he rebutted.

"They're no ordinary humans, remember? They are CPUs, ageless beings that thrive on faith" she raises a vital point.

"My point still stands. You don't need these much materials, their gimmick can be reproduced easily with the right combo"

"Ah, but they have to transform as well. Their double personalities would surely double the materials needed"

"That's true. But it won't amount to this much"

"Then how about their abilities. Surely I would need more"

"The materials for those are different"

"Then how about their rotting bodies? I would need materials to return their skin to their former selves"

"Using the skin as a base would only generate failure"

"Ah I'm out of argument points" her voice sounds as though she's having fun in a friendly debate.

"Then what are you doing here, Brother? Stop me?" she suddenly asked the passerby.

"Shouldn't you be looking for your wife?" she raised a valid question.

"Oh, right. She's dead. So are you here to get revenge again?"

"I'd do those if my wife was here and dead in the first place"

"Oh, so the girl that was killed off by this person isn't your wife? That is quite cruel, Brother"

"She's the same person, but not the person I've made vows with" he answered.

"Then how do you know that your wife isn't here?" as if ready for that question the passerby pulled out a book from the inner pocket of his vest.

"I noticed it when I read this book, Sister" he flips through the pages and shows a particular page to her.

"There's nothing written on this thing about my arrival here, my wife, and this whole mess"

"At the same time you've arrived, the Tome is still possessed by this girl's 'eyes'. She would have no way to record your arrival"

"And why would she need to be sane to record my arrival?" he asked rhetorically.

"This book can record and acknowledge all events from the past to future. It's set passively so that the interface won't be bombarded with work" he explained.

"By that logic, this whole charade isn't happening right now"

"If that is true, then how come we are all here? An event that can't be recorded and acknowledged cannot exist" his sister raised a valid point.

Just like the Schrodinger's cat experiment, the event in which the observer doesn't see the alternative does not mean it doesn't exist, it was just not observed. The existence of the alternative lives in the acknowledgment of the alternative by the observer. Therefore it exists but not observed. The Tome exists to observe and record all events. The Tome can only record and observe observable events, just like how normal humans observe time in linearity. It doesn't record alternative events. The alternatives can only be observed and recorded by another Tome existing in that alternative.

The paradox here is that the Tome exists here in this time but it has stopped observing and recording during the events of the CPU's candidate's plan to save Gamindustri. If those were not recorded or observed then how come the events occur or exist at all? If the events were occurring and existing then the Tome must record and observe it as part of history. Unless...

"There's another Tome observing this" he answered the fallacy.

"Oh?"

"It's the only sounding reason that an event that cannot exist on one record surely exists in another record"

"As expected of my brother I'm surprised that you were able to discern this" she gives praise.

"But then you're also suggesting that we are in another dimension then" she adds.

"That's what I initially thought, but the numbers didn't appear…"

"…? Numbers?" a genuine question from his Sister.

"As long as the numbers don't appear or change then I'm still in the same dimension just in a different time and space"

"If that were the case then where exactly are we, Brother?"

"A closed space just like that place" he immediately answered.

"As expected of my Brother. Well done" she gives him praise.

"And? You haven't answered my previous question. Explaining your predicament won't help you now"

"…" he said, putting the book on the stone beside the fairy.

Translation: I think it's obvious by now, Sister. You are his daughter, after all.

"…?"

Translation: That's so cruel of you. Have you ever heard of the sins of the Father are not the sins of the child?

"…" the passerby said 'staring' down on his very own Sister as he walks forward towards his Sister.

Translation: If you weren't born as his daughter then I might spend some quality time with you.

"…"

Translation: So forgive this Big Brother of yours, this is how I spend quality time with family.

"…"

Translation: *Sigh*…What a coincidence.

"…" she also 'looks 'at him as she walks forward towards her Brother.

Translation: It is also my way of spending family time.

"...?" the bloodlust between them rises as they got close. Meeting at 2 arm's length between them, she takes a stance and so does her brother. Their 'eyes' locked onto each other, 'their' intentions colliding in the air like wild creatures.

Translation: Shall we have fun then, Big Brother?

"...!"

Translation: Thought you'd never ask!

Both of them lunge towards each other

"...!"

Translation: Let's dance, Little Sister!

Nepgear couldn't believe her ears. Or rather, she couldn't believe that she's awake right now. Was she half-asleep when her Sister said that? Did her Sister make the wrong choices of words? Did her depression earlier covered and muffled her ears somehow? Is she in a dream? Is she imagining things? Her mind playing tricks? There's no way her sister could have said that to her. There's just no way she would suggest something like that from her little sister.

There's just no way that her Big Sister is suggesting to be killed off by her own Little Sister.

"Oh, you really weren't that shocked. That's good. So let's get on with the stabbing, okay?" as though it was so natural for her. As though she was asking from her Little Sister to feed her some piece of candy. She asked to be impaled by her own Little Sister.

"B-But, I am shocked! It… It took my breath away, and I couldn't say anything else…" Nepgear replied as she recovers from the shock.

"I mean, why do I have to stab you, Sis?"

"I mean, if you want to max out the stats on that sword, you need eeeeevery CPU's power right?"

"W-We have enough Sis! That's you and I, Sis can…!"

"Yeah, but it'd be bad if it was just a teeny bit too weak, you know?"

"Well, if you put it that way… I-I mean, no! Why does it have to be you!?" Nepgear protested.

"If that's your reasoning, then let me…"

"Yeeeeeeah, I thought about that, but it wouldn't really work" Neptune declines the idea.

"Why!?" but it only fueled Nepgear's adrenaline.

"Uh, hmm… So like, when the Shares of Planeptune were gathered… You're the one who collected them" she answered.

"Meaning you've got more Shares than me. And that means you've got a better chance of winning" and lied as well.

"Even so…! You're still much stronger than I am!"

"Hm mm. You're strong Nepgear, definitely strong" she praises her Little Sister.

"But… But there's no way… How could I ever kill you?"

"I know you can do it. So…"

"No… I can't do it…" tears runs from her eyes as she almost begs that it was just a joke.

She can't do it. She can't do it. The thought is repulsive enough it sends shivers down her spine. The thought of red liquid spilling from her mouth. The thought of her face as though falling asleep and would never wake up ever again. The thought of her never breathing again. Those thoughts are all too scary for her. She can't do it. She can't do it. She can't do it. She can't kill her own Sister.

"It's time to grow up, Nepgear!"

"…!?"

Neptune's voice brings her back to reality. A voice full of both desperation and bravery. Nepgear looks at her Sister in the eyes. Her eyes tell her how serious she is.

"Why do you think we went around and took everyone's lives!? It's all to save Gamindustri, isn't it!?" the corners of Neptune's eyes started to water as she practically screams to her Little Sister. Shouts from the bottom of her heart.

"Y-Yeah, but…"

"We told them we'd beat up the Deity of Sin in their place, didn't we!? So we gotta do it right!" Neptune clenches her fists as she bellowed at her Little Sister. Tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"*sniffle!* *sniffle!*"

"Please! I wanna save… *sniff!* Gamindustri, too!"

"And this is…*sniff!* about all I can do *hic!*" she tries to hold back the tears. She desperately tries to hold it back. But it's too much for her. It's just way too much for her.

How many trials did her Little Sister go through? How many times must she relive the same nightmare over and over? It's just too cruel. Even she knows the pain she has to go through. The pain of personally taking your friends life. Becoming the very reason why they can't come back anymore. And now, in an effort to save Gamindustri, in an effort to stop her suffering, in an effort to give Nepgear a good life. She's asking her Little Sister to kill her. What kind of sick logic is that?

"Big Sis…"

Neptune wipes away her tears with her sleeve. As though wiping away her moment of vulnerability. Dignifying herself once more as the Big Sister to her Little Sister. She forces herself to return to her usual as she takes looks at Nepgear with a smile. A smile so picturesque that even her Little Sister sees it rarely.

"I didn't lie. I always will be with you, Nepgear"

"Mhm! *Sniff!* Okay…!"

Having finally been convinced of what she needs to do. Nepgear pulls out the sword from its sheath. She throws the sheath away as she takes a stance. She tries to look at her Sister with the sword in between, but the flashes of red that she's seen and imagined over and over, comes rushing through her vision. Reminding her of the sin she's about to carry on her shoulders.

"Thank goodness. I knew you'd see it my way!"

"Yeah…Are you… ready…?"

"Sure. It'll probably sting like the dickens, but no worse than a wasp sting or something" Neptune braces herself.

"Mhm…!"

She takes one breath and closes her eyes as she dashes forward to her Sister. She points the sword forward running towards her in 1 long stride to her chest. Neptune spreads her arms open as though accepting a gift, accepting an embrace, from her Little Sister.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

*Thud!* *Thud!*

"Kh! kAh—uch!"

The force of the stab was strong enough that Neptune's knees buckled and fall on her bottom as her head hits the edge of the table. Her eyes went from clear to being blurry and out of focus. Nepgear toppled forward her foot being caught to one another. She falls forward towards and on tops of her Big Sister.

"…" Neptune feels weak, sleepy even. She can't seem to get some sort of strength to keep her from waking up.

"Nepgear…"

"Sis! *Sniffle!*"

With blurry and unfocused eyes, she found the lilac colored hair of her Little Sister. She reaches up to her and smiles the rarest smile you could ever see from her. She caresses her Sister's cheek, remembering how so it always feels. She burns the image of her Sister, tears in her eyes, and blood in her retina as she remembers all the times they've spent together.

"Okay, Nepgear. I'll be going now. Let's win… together…"

The hand that was holding her cheeks until now drops to the floor as though someone cut off its strings. Her sister's eyes stare at an abyss. Her chest stops rising and falling. The wound from the impaled sword slowly spreads out its red liquid staining the white Parka hoodie she always wears.

Nepgear pulls back, sitting on her bottom in the process, blindly.

"Ehehehehe…" she laughs mournfully. Laughing at the twist of fate. Laughing at her predicament. Laughing at her the irony.

"It's… funny, really… I was trying to save Sis this whole time, but I had to kill her in the end…" without her knowledge the second wave of tears is welling up from deep inside her.

"Sis… Sis… Sis…!"

"As I thought"

A voice of a mature small voice enters her ears. The CPU candidate looks at the source of the voice and found the floating fairy on a book, looking at the scene before her. She takes a good long look burning the image in her mind. Registering the smell, the dread, the sadness, the mourning.

"I… I had to take my sister's life with my own two hands..."

"Neptune informed me of her plan before talking to you. So do not force yourself to explain" she floats down to Nepgear's level in front of her.

"*Sob!* *Sob!* Histoire…!"

"…" she nods. And as though the floodgates have been opened, the permission granted, the feelings she almost has to suppress, the bonds she broke just to save Gamindustri, the lives of their friends she took, the pain of those nightmares she's been having lately. And finally, the life of her very own sister she took it just for the sake of the entire world. All of those bottle up feelings suddenly comes rushing towards her.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"…!"

"…!'

Both of them blocks and locks each other's fist by wrapping their arm around it. His Sister launches her right foot towards his left side, he blocks it by raising his right knee. She returned her foot to the ground and kick with her other foot. He raises his other knee, blocking the attack. As she returned her foot on the ground, he uses his raised left leg to flick it towards her face. She leans her head back avoiding the attack by centimeters. He returned his left leg on the ground after his kick ended. Then pulls her in with her right arm and pushes her with his extended arm. He raises his right leg, performs a side kick with the outside side of his foot towards her right shin. She raises her left foot and intercepts his kick.

He uses his left pivot foot and readjusts his posture then pulls his knee towards his chest. The notion of which pulls her even closer to dangerous zones of the stance. She unwraps his right arm and forcibly pulls out her own right arm from him. She crouches down with her right foot as she performs a sweep kick with the other foot.

"…!"

*SPLASH!*

"…!"

Instincts kick in as he jumps with his left pivot foot, twisting in the air and changing pivot foot as she lands. The sweep kick went under him as he was in midair. Still using her right leg as her pivot foot she rises and performs a roundhouse kick towards his temple, following the momentum of her sweep kick. He steps back with his raised right leg, letting the roundhouse swing pass him.

She uses that swing and miss to perform a reverse kick. He blocks it with his left hand and thrusts a jab at her. She parry's it with her left forearm as she hops back with her pivot foot, letting her raised foot to return to the ground.

The moment she does so, she steps forward as a series of punches flies off towards him. He parries the first two punches outside. The next two were parried inside. The next punch was parried upward with the forearm. He steps forward as he drives a fist towards her open side. She responds by driving her left elbow towards him. He ducks under the elbow strike by stepping further forward. The slippery ground covered in the 2-inch blood caused him to slip. The aim of the punch gone off. His Sister, not missing the moment by moment changes, pulls her torso away as the punch misses her

Using the momentum of the swing he twists his hips as his back leg performs a low reverse sweeping kick. The kick caused the blood on the ground to splash and rise in the air. For a moment, his Sister's vision was covered by the color of red.

*SPLASH!*

She steps back as the blood wave collapsed…!

"...!"

But just as the wave of blood recessed to the others, her Brother lunges towards her. With straight fingers, he thrusts it toward her Stomach-9. She blocks it with her right elbow as she steps back with her left foot. He swings his left elbow as he steps forward. She parries with her right elbow, continues with the momentum of the motion, twists on the spot, and swing her left elbow to his right.

Blocking, she performs a back kick towards his torso. He blocks and catches it. Using his brother's hands as a platform she jumps with her remaining leg and performs a reverse kick to his neck.

He pushes her caught leg in the middle of her mid-air reverse kick. Causing it to miss by a few centimeters.

*SPLASH!*

She catches herself with one hand, the blood splashing about. Her sleeve is dyed in the color of red. Her elbow bends bracing the fall, then like a spring, jumps with one arm and launches two sidekicks at her brother. Parrying them both as he steps back, his Sister recovers to her fighting stance as her feet lands on the ground. With his fists vertical her Brother throws a series of punches like a Gatling gun as he takes his steps forward. His Sister parries them, stepping back as she steps back.

She blocks one punch by raising her forearm. She tries to draw a circle with that arm, intending on throwing his Brother's arm aside while twisting it. But her brother catches her arm before it moves.

He pushes the arm down as he swings his straight hand towards her neck like a knife. She blocks with her free hand. He let's go of the arm he is holding turn it into a fist and thrusts towards her gut. She parries it upward and bobs her head to the side as the fist comes rushing.

He grabs her by the back of her neck, the base of her skull, then moves his other hand to support the hold. Then he pulls her head is as he drives his knee to her face. She pushes the knees down forcing the foot to return to the ground.

After two consecutive knee drives, she swings a hook towards his liver. He let's go of the neck with one hand to block the punch. She slips out of the hold, rises, and swings another hook at his head. His free hand turns to a fist and launches it to her chest. She twists her body further his punch missing its mark. Her hook getting dangerously close, he steps forward as he weaves underneath. He retracted his extended arm as she grabs her extended arm. He thrusts his fist towards her liver she used her back leg to intercept. He retracts and springs it once more to her. She intercepts it again.

'She's good…' her Brother comments on the fact.

He would be lying if he's not enjoying this fight a little. The techniques she's using is a direct counter to his own. It's like she's fought him so many times now that she knows almost all of his tricks. Like she was specifically taught how to counter his move set. Unless…

'…But not good enough!' …those movesets were only just warmup.

He weaves to the other side and punches the point between her bicep and shoulder, Pericardium – 2. This causes her arm to send electric shocks creating pain. Her face distorts from it, clicking her tongue in the process. Her arm tries to remove itself from the threat but her Brother wouldn't let her. He strikes her open side during the opportunity, her Spleen-21 causing her entire body to buckle on reflex from the pain.

He then straightens his fingers, still having the middle finger touch the edge of her clothes. He traces it down towards a point at the top of her hip bone. Finding the right spot, he twists his hips forward to her, pushing his hand into a fist and striking the point called Gallbladder – 26.

"…!"

It causes her lower limb to dysfunction and she falls on one knee. Still holding her arm, he pulls his leg back intending on kicking her in the face. As he swings the leg, she uses her remaining arm to block. He let's go of the arm his holding as soon as it made contact.

*GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

*KSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH!*

Oh, you killed your very own sister.

…

To be perfectly honest, I never expected it.

…

She was the most important person out of everyone.

…

Oh well, if nothing else, it could serve as a way to get my Brother's attention.

…Are you…

…?

…Are you happy now…?

…happy…?

I killed my Sister… the very Sister I wanted to protect the most… the very big Sister that supported me through everything… the very Sister that promised me to stay by my side… the very Sister that I had fun with when I was a kid… the very Sister that understands me… now… she's…

…Of course, I'm happy.

…

No matter who, no matter what. All I am thinking about is seeing my own Brother. Nothing else matters right now.

…And then…?

And then…? Hmm, I haven't thought of that yet. My plans haven't extended that far…

…I see.

Though I do want to ask you, Nepgear.

…What is it?

How does it feel killing your very own sibling?

…!

…

*SWING!*

Be careful Nepgear, you might cut someone with that.

…You…!

…?

…It's because of you that I…!

…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

…

*SWING!*

…

*SWING!*

…

*SWING!* - *SWING!*

…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

*SWING!* - *SWING!* - *SWING!* - *SWING!*

…

AAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAH!

*SWING!* - *SWING!* - *SWING!* - *SWING!*

…

HAAA! HAAA! HAAAH! HAAA! HAAA! HAAA! HAAA! HAAA!

*SWING!* - *SWING!* - *SWING!* - *SWING!* - *SWING!* - *SWING!*

…

Haa… haa… haa…

…Are you finished?

…Why?

…?

…Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!?

…Why did they have to die!? WHY DID I HAVE TO KILL THEM!? WHY DID I HAVE TO KILL MY OWN SISTER!?

…

IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!

…

I KNOW I HAVE TO DEITY OF SIN! I KNOW I HAVE TO SAVE GAMINDUSTRI! BUT… BUT…!

…

NOIRE! UNI! BLANC! ROM! RAM! VERT!... SIS!... I KILLED THEM ALL JUST SO…!

…

…It's not… *hic!* … worth… *hic!* all these sacrifices…*sob!*

Tell me, Nepgear…

…*hic!* *sob!* *hic!*

What expression did you have when you killed your Sister?

…*hic!*…?

Ah, well you don't know, did you...? Well, let me re-iterate. What expression did you have when you killed the CPUs?

…Wh-What are you…?

…I believe you were smiling then.

…What are you…!?

When you killed those CPUs, when you killed your Sister… you were smiling then…

…I wasn't…!

Oh? But why continue using the sword…?

…It's because…!

Was it fun, taking their lives?

Stop… I…!

Was it fun killing your own friends?

STOP!

Was it fun killing your own Sister?

STOP IT!

Even right now, you're smiling from the fact that you remembered…

No… I…!

…See…?

The kick from her Brother gave her was enough to push her away from him. The drops of blood that splashes around her as her feet were pushed back by the shallow puddle of blood dyes her white sailor clothes. Her skin slightly taking a shade of red from the blood. Her forearm, used to defend herself against the kick, is bending in a way that is not meant by nature.

"So you're this good, huh?" she commented as she drops her guard.

"And you as well" he commented as well.

She stands up on the spot, not minding if her left arm is dangling on her side by the skin and muscle. Her 'eyes' haven't wavered as she looks at 'his'.

"Though I wasn't expecting that you were holding back even to me, Brother"

"…Am I really that transparent?"

"I heard stories that you were never the type to hold back, why the sudden change?"

"History can do a lot to a man"

"…I suppose so"

"Though that said, it seems you've heard stories of me…"

"Of course, I want to know more about my only Brother after all"

"Quite the adorable little Sister you are. So is that why you gathered all these materials? In commemoration of me?"

"...Of course not, despite our talk about ingredients earlier, I do truly want to revive the CPUs. It is a job that was requested of me"

"…A job eh? Is that job influenced by him perhaps?"

"…Who knows? As far as I know, I am here of my own volition. Even before my delivery…" she emphasized on her last sentence.

"I see. So that is why you… Tsk, this is going to be hard to pull off"

"Whatever will you do Brother…" putting her hand in front of her, a sword appears before her, she catches it before it starts to fall.

"…! Nice sword…"

The sword she conjured up, the moment it was held by her right hand, sends ripples of malice around it as though giving out an SOS signal. Bloodlust strong enough to cut through morality and make anyone go mad. Animosity vivid enough that you could even touch and taste it. A sword of glowing purple, with the base wide by the guard. A sword where it took a major role in all this mess, the reason, the judge, and the executioner.

"…"

Translation: Gehaburn, huh…

But more importantly, that sword that she is holding…

"…"

Translation: Now how did something like that get here? And here I thought it was some random sword from this dimension with a gimmick of sorts.

"…" she said as she takes a step forward.

Translation: I think you know where it came from, Brother.

"…"

Translation: Of course, it would be very unfair of me if I was the only one with a weapon.

"…?"

Suddenly, in front of her Brother, a katana appeared before him. A katana so familiar; a purple blade and a futuristic design. He catches it before it falls in mid-air. His hands hold it comfortably. So comfortable that he couldn't help but get his chest to warm up.

"…"

Translation: How kind of you, Little Sister.

"…"

Translation: Anything for my dear Big Brother.

He takes a stance he is all too familiar with as her little Sister continues to walk towards him.

"Shall we continue Brother?"

"One more time, Sister!"

Both of them lunges to each other.

*CLASH!*

Their weapons clash against one another, sparks fly at the point of contact, blood splattering all over. Their 'eyes' locked onto each other. A grin on his Sister's face.

*SSSSHING!*

Both of them tilt's their sword, passing one another as their weapons grind against each other. Both of them takes a step forward and uses their back foot as a pivot as they turn and swing their weapons.

*CLASH!*

Her Brother tried to uppercut her, but she collided it with her own attack trying to cut his clavicle. Despite holding the sword with one hand, she is still able to brace her Brother's swings with her knees. Both of their weapons intersects at the balanced point of their weapons making them seem unable to move.

*SSSSHING!*

Her Brother pulls the sword upward in an arc. The moment the tip of his weapon separates from her sword, he thrusts it towards her neck. She forcibly moved her hand as fast as she could, using the wide guard of the sword, she deflects the weapon's attack to the side.

*CLASH*

Her Brother twists on the spot and swings the sword towards her head to her other side.

*CLASH!*

*SSSSSHNNG!*

His Sister reverses the hold on the sword and quickly angles it to her Brother's swing. She ducks a bit as the swords make contact. His futuristic katana slides on it cutting a few strands of her hair.

*CLASH!*

Due to Gehaburn's design, there's a gap between the guard and the blade. Her Brother quickly pushes his futuristic sword down as soon as it's blade swing over the gap, purposely getting caught by the sword's design.

"...!"

He quickly angle's it a bit then pulls her in. He let's go of the sword with his left hand and grabs it with his right, in a reverse manner. And as he does so, he swings his back right leg to her side.

*TING!*

She quickly twists her bastard sword, making sure that her sword isn't caught with his. Her forces her other arm, which broken by the forearm, to raise itself by the elbow towards her side as the kick comes close.

"...!"

Pain ruptures from her broken left arm, as she was pushed back. But the notion of which freed her from their swords entanglement. His blood soaked shoe now coat a deeper red on her sleeve. His brother places his foot down and dashes towards her as she recovers from the kick.

"...!"

Dangerously close she raises her weapon horizontally over her he strikes down.

"...!"

"...!"

But before the sword connects with hers, he suddenly steps back, with the sword leveled on his waist. He lunges forward again towards his Sister, striking to her lower left.

*CLASH!*

*SSSSSHHNG!*

She changes the hold of her sword as she repositions it to block. The moment their weapons connect, she angles it a bit, letting the futuristic katana slide on it.

"Tch!" he clicks his tongue.

He steps forward as she steps back, he quickly repositions the sword to his other side and swings it to her left side.

*CLASH!*

*SSSSSHHNG!*

She responds by performing the same defensive technique. She quickly repositions the sword with just one hand and lets it slide towards her upper right. He steps forward...

*SWING!*

*SPLASH!*

Finding the opportunity, she performs a fade slash as she hops back. The attack missed as his instincts instructed him to lag his forward step for a moment; the moment her sword pass he continues his step and dashes towards her.

She lunges forward as well and thrusts her weapon towards him.

*CLASH!*

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

The moment their weapons collide, a tornado of thrusts and swings erupts between them.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

Neither one plays defensive, as they swing for at each other's throats. Their 'eyes' still locked onto each other as sparks fly in between them.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

The shallow lake of blood shakes by their sword swings. Neither giving in from the other's attacks.

*CLASH!* - *CLASH!*

*CLASH!*

Their swords clashes and deflects back. Both of them swings down towards the other's shoulder.

His Sister tilts the sword slightly intending to outbalance him. But he countered it with his own countering the effect. She tries to draw a circle with her weapon but he responds by drawing his own circle to the opposite side, making them both regain their original position.

"Pretty good there, Sister"

"Is that praise coming from my Brother?"

"What? Can't take a compliment?"

"If it's coming from my Brother, then it's a badge of honor"

"I haven't had this much fun in such a long time"

"Then I'm grateful that you're enjoying this much Brother. But don't you think a dance between us siblings is a little too lonesome?" she said as a smile forms on her face.

"Should I invite more guests, Brother?"

"What are you…?"

"...Nepgear…?"

"...!"

"Heh..."

"Fuck! Histy!"

He made a mistake. A grave mistake. He curses himself at the sheer simplicity of the plan. It was so obviously simple that it's almost laughable that he fell for it. The moment he realized it he dashes towards the groggy fairy. He puts all his strength into his legs, kicking the ground below him, splashing the lake of blood all around him.

"His…!"

_cxx_global_var_init: # _cxx_global_var_init

push rbp

mov rbp, rsp

sub rsp, 16

movabs rdi, offset std::_ioinit

call std::ios_base::Init::Init()

movabs rdi, offset std::ios_base::Init::~Init()

movabs rsi, offset std::_ioinit

movabs rdx, offset _dso_handle

call _cxa_atexit

mov dword ptr [rbp - 4], eax # 4-byte Spill

add rsp, 16

pop rbp

ret

val(char): # val(char)

push rbp

mov rbp, rsp

mov al, dil

mov edi, 48

mov byte ptr [rbp - 2], al

movsx ecx, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

cmp edi, ecx

jg .LBB1_3

movsx eax, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

cmp eax, 57

jg .LBB1_3

movsx eax, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

sub eax, 48

mov cl, al

mov byte ptr [rbp - 1], cl

jmp .LBB1_10

.LBB1_3:

mov eax, 97

movsx ecx, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

cmp eax, ecx

jg .LBB1_6

movsx eax, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

cmp eax, 102

jg .LBB1_6

movsx eax, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

add eax, 10

sub eax, 97

mov cl, al

mov byte ptr [rbp - 1], cl

jmp .LBB1_10

.LBB1_6:

mov eax, 65

movsx ecx, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

cmp eax, ecx

jg .LBB1_9

movsx eax, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

cmp eax, 70

jg .LBB1_9

movsx eax, byte ptr [rbp - 2]

add eax, 10

sub eax, 65

mov cl, al

mov byte ptr [rbp - 1], cl

jmp .LBB1_10

.LBB1_9:

ud2

.LBB1_10:

movzx eax, byte ptr [rbp - 1]

pop rbp

ret

decode(std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar const&): # decode(std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar const&)

push rbp

mov rbp, rsp

sub rsp, 96

mov rax, rdi

mov qword ptr [rbp - 8], rsi

mov rsi, qword ptr [rbp - 8]

mov qword ptr [rbp - 56], rdi # 8-byte Spill

mov rdi, rsi

mov qword ptr [rbp - 64], rax # 8-byte Spill

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::size() const

and rax, 1

cmp rax, 0

je .LBB2_2

jmp .LBB2_2

.LBB2_2:

mov byte ptr [rbp - 9], 0

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 56] # 8-byte Reload

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::basic_string()

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 8]

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::size() const

shr rax

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 56] # 8-byte Reload

mov rsi, rax

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::reserve(unsigned long)

jmp .LBB2_3

.LBB2_3:

mov qword ptr [rbp - 40], 0

.LBB2_4: # =This Inner Loop Header: Depth=1

mov rax, qword ptr [rbp - 40]

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 8]

mov qword ptr [rbp - 72], rax # 8-byte Spill

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::size() const

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 72] # 8-byte Reload

cmp rdi, rax

jae .LBB2_11

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 8]

mov rsi, qword ptr [rbp - 40]

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::operator[](unsigned long) const

movsx edi, byte ptr [rax]

call val(char)

mov byte ptr [rbp - 73], al # 1-byte Spill

jmp .LBB2_6

.LBB2_6: # in Loop: Header=BB2_4 Depth=1

mov al, byte ptr [rbp - 73] # 1-byte Reload

movzx ecx, al

shl ecx, 4

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 8]

mov rdx, qword ptr [rbp - 40]

add rdx, 1

mov rsi, rdx

mov dword ptr [rbp - 80], ecx # 4-byte Spill

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::operator[](unsigned long) const

movsx edi, byte ptr [rax]

call val(char)

mov byte ptr [rbp - 81], al # 1-byte Spill

jmp .LBB2_7

.LBB2_7: # in Loop: Header=BB2_4 Depth=1

mov al, byte ptr [rbp - 81] # 1-byte Reload

movzx ecx, al

mov edx, dword ptr [rbp - 80] # 4-byte Reload

add edx, ecx

mov sil, dl

mov byte ptr [rbp - 41], sil

movsx esi, byte ptr [rbp - 41]

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 56] # 8-byte Reload

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::operator+=(char)

mov qword ptr [rbp - 96], rax # 8-byte Spill

jmp .LBB2_8

.LBB2_8: # in Loop: Header=BB2_4 Depth=1

jmp .LBB2_9

.LBB2_9: # in Loop: Header=BB2_4 Depth=1

mov rax, qword ptr [rbp - 40]

add rax, 2

mov qword ptr [rbp - 40], rax

jmp .LBB2_4

mov ecx, edx

mov qword ptr [rbp - 24], rax

mov dword ptr [rbp - 28], ecx

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 56] # 8-byte Reload

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::~basic_string()

jmp .LBB2_14

.LBB2_11:

mov byte ptr [rbp - 9], 1

test byte ptr [rbp - 9], 1

jne .LBB2_13

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 56] # 8-byte Reload

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::~basic_string()

.LBB2_13:

mov rax, qword ptr [rbp - 64] # 8-byte Reload

add rsp, 96

pop rbp

ret

.LBB2_14:

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 24]

call _Unwind_Resume

main: # main

push rbp

mov rbp, rsp

sub rsp, 160

lea rax, [rbp - 40]

mov rdi, rax

mov qword ptr [rbp - 128], rax # 8-byte Spill

call std::allocatorchar::allocator()

mov ecx, offset .

mov esi, ecx

lea rdi, [rbp - 32]

mov rdx, qword ptr [rbp - 128] # 8-byte Reload

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::basic_string(char const*, std::allocatorchar const&)

jmp .LBB3_1

.LBB3_1:

lea rdi, [rbp - 40]

call std::allocatorchar::~allocator()

lea rdi, [rbp - 88]

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::basic_string()

lea rdi, [rbp - 120]

lea rsi, [rbp - 32]

call decode(std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar const&)

jmp .LBB3_2

.LBB3_2:

lea rax, [rbp - 88]

lea rcx, [rbp - 120]

mov rdi, rax

mov rsi, rcx

mov qword ptr [rbp - 136], rax # 8-byte Spill

mov qword ptr [rbp - 144], rcx # 8-byte Spill

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::operator=(std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar &&)

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 144] # 8-byte Reload

mov qword ptr [rbp - 152], rax # 8-byte Spill

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::~basic_string()

mov edx, offset std::cout

mov edi, edx

mov rsi, qword ptr [rbp - 136] # 8-byte Reload

call std::basic_ostreamchar, std::char_traitschar & std::operator char, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar (std::basic_ostreamchar, std::char_traitschar &, std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar const&)

mov qword ptr [rbp - 160], rax # 8-byte Spill

jmp .LBB3_3

.LBB3_3:

lea rdi, [rbp - 88]

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::~basic_string()

lea rdi, [rbp - 32]

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::~basic_string()

xor eax, eax

add rsp, 160

pop rbp

ret

lea rdi, [rbp - 40]

mov ecx, edx

mov qword ptr [rbp - 48], rax

mov dword ptr [rbp - 52], ecx

call std::allocatorchar::~allocator()

jmp .LBB3_6

lea rdi, [rbp - 88]

mov ecx, edx

mov qword ptr [rbp - 48], rax

mov dword ptr [rbp - 52], ecx

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::~basic_string()

lea rdi, [rbp - 32]

call std::_cxx11::basic_stringchar, std::char_traitschar, std::allocatorchar ::~basic_string()

.LBB3_6:

mov rdi, qword ptr [rbp - 48]

call _Unwind_Resume

_GLOBAL_sub_I_ : # _GLOBAL_sub_I_

push rbp

mov rbp, rsp

call _cxx_global_var_init

pop rbp

ret

. :

.asciz "5446816567276562057776137322006162016266fe7962047726806f620363668f65661e7476536462056f76e120774568665520677e6f67236c66452e754368265e72265020577461673820661520266061674d68665f7272057776836f62057227506966e165664e2067446826502067736f67216c76442e254e6826507256542067786167352026102076456577636966c52027706866ff2066367226506167456576402067496866532077736f272c6c26402e754468665872665520277061773620661f2066736f664120677c6826f020664365673f74672e6f77966566452077496866552077726f77236c264c2e254068665172665e2067746127302076142066d86166e52027706876f72076326f66c96f772465764420674568665e2027706f67236c76422e654568665172765420677961673f20661e20267e6927206c52046167482067456826502066366576e574665572620c6f266e2027406856542067786f67256c26402e646d7266f56d620174668e65773365220e63268061572461663f7426507267312027307066177266bf65664120665c70269e6327302e520454668f6522006266f879620973665d6526b073620168669e7362046626107466886567292c620d74268c65220066761574668e65672520673e6566546b673920674e68665720264e6527606946c22e62054766f664620f7376526566b57322007476846562086266f57922c02067446876522066296f779620673565265c6b273020674268665520667669672f6c72e20a64d56126e02077446866582067056126906e674265672120661e6e664720274e6826502047056176946e67456576422c620e74668165620c6926ee6326f06d47016c265074765720770269663f74675e7266572026f066720474768565720266665e75264c2e"

"TµéeBbµ÷yRt╓åaτF ÷6hFVaτFeF &÷ntéeRwå÷rF┼dóµ≥uµµd≥tûåeBv6÷iûF,"afftRrRnå÷bFòlªÉtτÆ.ÆArs÷åe╞╞l≥wVûtFåoùVtaRbçVlF┼eº ;ΓfFùrûVsRo6ffRµ Dne6╫bvRrBw╞ûtûå åµo2a2hRµ àFhFU ª0oµ┬dRs╓÷fWF ╓vr≥u6τdrlFy'7 åiF╫ 6Govn"α TFüeg'ebwvs" abbf■ybw&ÇobcfÅeftvSdbovß wEhfU g~og# &^r&P Wtag8 f &`agMhf_rrwvâobr'PifßefN gDh&P gsog!lvD.%Nh&PrVT gxag5 & vEewcif┼ 'phf"

*SQZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!*

"Theodore…!"

*SQZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!*

"f6r&PagEev gIhfS wso',l& .uDhfXrfU 'paw6 f fsofA g|h&≡ fCeg? ûefE wIhfU wrow#l&L.% hfQrf^ gta'0 v f╪afσ 'phv≈ v2of╔ow$evD gEhf^ 'pog# gyag? f &~i' lRagH gEh&P f6evσtfUrbo&n ' hVT gxog%t&îe" fvtfÄeg% gefTkg9 gNhfW &Ne'`iF┬.bGf÷dbsvRef╡s" tväebf⌡y"└ gDhvR f)owû g5e&\k'0 gBhfU fvig/lrΓd╒a&α wDhfX ga&ÉngBeg! fnfG 'Nh&P GavöngEevB,btfüebi&εc&≡mGl&PtvW wif?tg^rfW &≡frtvàerff^u&L."

"His-!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

*BOOM!* - *BOOM!* - *BOOM!* - *BOOM!* - *BOOM!* - *BOOM!* - *BOOM!*

7. Seven bolts suddenly dropped down from above around her. Forming the points of a heptagon around the fairy. The lake of blood ripples wildly into a wave. Colliding with the others, slamming and splashing against each other. And just as quickly as the lightning and thunder came, it disappears.

"…"

And just as it disappears, the fairy, who was screaming as loud as she can as though her soul was being tortured. She collapses on the spot like a puppet that suddenly lost its string. His Sister came into his view, blocking her Brother's view of the collapsed fairy.

"Rejoice, Brother. I've fulfilled my first job" she smiles, proud of her work as she stretches her arms wide.

The passerby stands before her work. A work she so happily fulfilled. A work which reminded him of how the world is cruel. A world where it doesn't matter who you are, everyone is always a victim of the world's cruelty. A fact unchanged, even if you're a passerby. A work, taboo enough that media forbids it. A work so alluring and yet repulsive at the same time. That no one should ever consider of performing.

7 beings replace the place where the lightning struck. 7 girls that she knows too well that he cares. 7 important people that helped him more than he helped them. 7 important girls that gave him a place belonging. 7 important girls that he treats as family.

1 of them is his wife. Or looks like his wife.

7 girls that Nepgear killed to save the world.

"That's the worst… Sister…" he 'looks' at her. She responds by 'looking' at 'mine'.

"But what do you think Brother?"

"…What I think…?" strength reenters my body. A strength that I have not used in a long time, a strength that I always thought of using when never I'm in a pinch. A strength that I won't use unless needed. A strength that I only need to borrow.

I take my stance, a stance that I always knew, a stance that I was thought.

"…I think I'm mad"

"*Sigh* what is it now, Neptune? I just came back and you're already calling"

"C'mon don't be like that Noire, I know you're always acting busy and stuff"

"I'm always busy you know"

"…Busy with making your next debut?"

"I'm busy making a dre—! Hey!"

"…From the horse's mouth"

"Next time Noire, allow me to sponsor a character for your next debut"

"I respectfully refuse. With your tastes Vert, it'll be the death of me"

"If it's Vert we're talking about it might be really risqué enough to get us an 18+ rating. Then again, we're known for that anyway"

"…I think Noire is exhibitionist"

"Oooh, so she's that kind of person, huh. No less from the Loneliest Girl in all of Gamindustri"

"How many times- You know, I'll just let it slide"

"How mature of you, did our constant insult finally got to you?"

"I'll just make you pay for this next time"

"...I didn't know that you were the revenge type of person"

"Well? Why'd you call us Neptune"

"Um, well it's kinda awkward after everything that's happened earlier..."

"It's unlike you to be this conscious of others"

"...You're usually the type to just talk randomly"

"Hey, stop pushing me in the wrong river I can be serious too... once in a while"

"...That's… Nevermind, questioning it gives me headaches"

"So, Neptune, tell us already so I can get back to doing my business. Not like I want to hear it anyways"

"I'mma tell it to you guys as straight as a pencil. How about we give my Lil Nep Jr. a chance"

"...You mean, us giving away all of our Shares to Planeptune"

"Mhm… I mean, you guys thought it was a good idea too right?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"But with it, it leaves us way too weak to even move" Noire answered.

"It'll take years for one of us to even recover" Vert added.

"...I'm more concerned about how Lowee would still even be able to function with me bedridden"

"Right… It's better if we just die-! Are you…?"

"...Mhm..."

"Why would you even suggest this Neptune?" Vert asked gravely.

"Because I think there's no other way to save Gamindustri now"

"...So you're suggesting that we should use the sword"

"Well… I wouldn't go that far, Blanc"

"...Then what is it then? If you take our Shares we'd be bedridden for years and years"

"To quote Nepgear, 'At least no one has to die'. But our nations rely on Shares so much that too few of them would lead in very bad situations"

"Even if we delegate the work to the others as a means of preparation, the future after that isn't so cut and dry"

"Ooooh, so you guys gave a lot of thought on it, huh. You just made me see a new light in you guys"

"Why do you think we rejected the idea?"

"...I thought you rejected it for the heck of it"

"...We wouldn't react the way we did if we didn't"

"And again, we've come back full circle"

"...Should we use the sword or not?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Let's use it"

"Neptune, you're suggesting that one of us has to kill the others"

"Mhm"

"...Why?"

"I kinda realized that we've been twiddling our thumbs for awhile while the Deity of Sin is growing in power"

"Your random sharpness always pops up suddenly. So the question is which of us should use the sword"

"...*Sigh* Despite our constant fight over Shares, I didn't think that we would discuss on who to live and who to be killed"

"We have no choice if it's the only way to save the world"

"...Honestly, I don't want to use it. Or my sisters"

"I feel the same way as Blanc, I don't want to or Uni to use it too"

"Then how about my I let Nep Jr. do the smacking"

"...!"

"You would be breaking your Sister's heart if you tell her that"

"I know but I know she's the only one who can"

"...Why her"

"Because I know that my Li'l Sis is strong"

"And you're also suggesting she kills her friends too"

"Mhm"

"How can you nod so enthusiastically like that?"

"Because I know that my Li'l sis can do a swell of a job saving the world"

"...That's some messed up logic, did you get hit in the head before you made the call?"

"Nope! I wish I was though; for thinking something like this. But for really reals this all I can think of"

"At least you're aware of it"

"...At this point, I don't know if what we could do"

"I agree"

"I kinda just want to throw it out there for you guys to think off you know. But I just want to say one thing to you guys"

"What is it?"

"I really, really love you guys and Gamindustri"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"That's enough of the sappy stuff. Me want some pudding, so bye!"

7 girls, that he knows all too well, stands before him with their weapons at the ready. He looked at the girl's finding some sort of humanity in them. But their eyes are no hollow than the dark void of outer space. Emotionless as though they don't have their personality. Empty as though they are just puppets.

Something swells up from deep within him, power that has always been there but kept in check. Emotions that he locked deep within him.

All 7 of them dashes towards him all at the same time.

"...!"

Noire comes at him first, on the left side. She uses her feet to stop herself, the pond of blood creates a wave. The moment she stops, she lunges towards him. Her sword ready to stab his neck.

"...!"

He suddenly leans back, her attack missed, she can't control the inertia of her lunge. Without giving a second thought, he punches to her liver.

*CRACK!* *CRACK!*

"Kuah…!"

He can feel her ribs number 7, 8, 9 shatters within her. Her fists send ripples of shock to her liver, shocking the whole body, pushing the air out of her in an instant. The force of his punch pushes her up a little bit, he uses the butt of the handle of the sword and hammers it o her shoulder, dislocating it in the process. She hits the ground hard, and he raises his right foot behind him. He swings it to her with a might of a professional soccer player kicking her where her broken ribs lie.

*CLASH*

After being kicked away, his instincts direct him to his right. He turns towards it while he swings his sword to deflect the spear coming at him. He knows whose woman the spear belongs to. The force of the deflect numbs her entire arm, she tries to recover but it wouldn't budge. He sweeps her off her feet, blood splashing on her clothes. Then in mid-air, he sidekicks her gut and is sent flying.

"...!"

"...!"

*CLASH!* *SSSSSSSSSSSSSHNG!*

Up above, Blanc comes downs with her hammer raised. He raised his weapon to block. Blocking the attack he tilts to the side the moment it comes in contact with the sword. A big splash of blood comes rushing the moment the hammer hits the ground. He immediately steps on her hand, not caring if the bones in her hand broke from the force of it, to stop her from lifting her giant hammer again. He grabs her head and smashes it to the ground as he takes a knee.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

Instincts direct his sword gripped hand, deflecting 3 bullets from a sniper with twin pigtails. She's about 10 meters away from him. He throws his sword towards her, she jumps back from her crouching position. As he did the throw, he lunges himself towards her.

"...!" It took less than a second to get close to her.

She raises her rifle, but he immediately deflects its aim with his right forearm. His left fist launches towards her plexus. The oxygen in her lungs got knocked out of her, she steps back. He steps forward with his back foot, crossing over his front leg and swings his new back leg towards her thigh. Her sense of balance disrupted, she reflexively uses her rifle as a shield. He holds the weapon down, making sure she doesn't think of raising it and swings a chop to her throat. Her throat contracts from the pain as she steps back. He parry's the rifle with one hand and punches towards her jaw.

*CRACK!*

He can feel her jaw collapsing from his punch as she was thrown to the ground by the force.

"...!"

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Arrows made from ice suddenly started shooting from behind him. He takes the sword on the ground and makes a break for it on his right. He takes a look at the source of the arrows of ice, and found twins of blue and red summoning them from thin air.

"Tsk…!" clicking his tongue, he suddenly stops, twists his front foot towards, and dashes.

"...!"

"...!"

*BANG* *BANG!* *BANG!*

*CLASH!* *KLSSSSSSSSSSSSSH!*

He deflects 3 arrows coming at him. The twins launched 4 large arrows at him. He parries the first arrow to the left; it's just centimeters away from his face. Another arrow comes as soon as the first is in the clear. He raises the sword and supports it with his free hand.

*CLASH!**KLSSSSSSSSSSSSSH!*

He forces the arrow to pass overhead as he pushes forward to the twins. And just like the first giant arrow of ice, the third rushes in. He suddenly stops and twists on the spot to the right side. The arrow missing him by just half a second.

*BANG!* *SPLASH!*

Blood comes raining from the large splash that the arrow created. As soon as he faces the twins again he lunges forward, covering the 5-meter gap in almost no time at all.

"...!"

Ram naturally defends her older twin, holding her mace in front of her in the process. He slips a palm towards her jaw, pushing her head back from a very light tap. Then using the same arm, he draws a circle with her leading arm. Then she grabs her wrist and wrist-locked it as he pushed the twisted arm up. He pushes his free elbow towards her rib. Breaking number 23 and 22. He sweeps her off her feet from the front, as he still holds her arm. Rolling her forward towards the shallow bloody flood.

Rom raises her mace as soon as she has eyes on him. But he immediately steps close and pushes her mace with his forearm. Then with his free hand grabs it and guides it into drawing a circle. Her hand twists in the process. He kicks her by her right temple and cracking a bit of her skull.

"...!"

"...!"

Instincts suddenly direct to her behind him. He turns towards it as he raises his weapon with both hands. The last person he met, the 7th addition to the number of opponents he has right now. The person that has her signature lilac hair. Her purple eyes meet his, eyes that show no emotion like a doll. The person who swore an oath to him; and him to her. The girl who he is indebted to.

"...!"

*CLASH!*

Neptune swings her sword towards his side, instincts guide him as he pulls down his raised weapon towards the side blocking the attack. He draws a circle the moment the weapons connect, passing her weapon overhead and positioning it to the other side. He steps forward as he lets go with his left hand and punches her solar plexus.

"...!" her breath got knocked out of her, he quickly performs a hook to her temple. Then he sidekicks her by the ribs, pushing her away.

"...!"

*CLASH!*

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

His 'sister', her 'sister', suddenly moves, replacing where Neptune was. As though greeting her brother, they both engage in a small dance of swords. The Gehaburn seems to be glimmering as though enjoying this fight. The siblings 'stare' at one another, his Sister smiling from ear to ear.

"Are you enjoying this dance Brother?"

"You…!"

"Oh, it seems you are. That's good to hear. Then… dance for me, Passerby!"

"...!"

She suddenly jumps back, as the 2 girls come rushing from her side replacing her from where she was. Noire comes first, moving nimbly as though she doesn't have any fracture whatsoever. Swinging from above he raises his weapon to block. The moment it connects he tilts the sword to the right sliding it down towards the ground.

Vert comes, her spear leading the charge. He lowers the sword and swings up as he jumps disrupting the flow of the spear. He twists his body in the air facing Noire. Then he pulls his body down and swings his katana at her from above.

*CLASH!*

Noire blocks using both hands supporting her sword. But her grimace looking face looks like her shoulder is taking a toll on her. Using the intersection of their weapons as a fulcrum he raises his foot high behind him and swings to towards Noire's chin.

"...!"

He can hear the cracking of the bones and teeth as his foot connects with Noire's chin. She flies away as he flips in the air using the momentum he has left with his kick. Landing on the ground, Vert thrusts at his exposed backside. He dodges as he parries the weapon with his futuristic katana away from him.

As he rises, he swings his weapon towards her arm. She recovers from the parry and blocks it with the long handle of the spear. Using her back leg she cross-steps to the side as she draws a circle with her spear, guiding it to the other side. Gaining the spear over sword advantage, she thrusts it towards his gut. He parries with his free hand. He clenches that to a fist and launches towards her liver.

"...!"

Wanting to go into a fetal position, he performs a hook punch towards her jaw. Then using the butt of the weapon he hits her temple with it, cracking her skull in the process. She falls to the ground, blood spreading on her dress from the puddle of blood.

"...!"

"...!"

Blanc rushes towards him as Vert falls, dragging her hammer with one hand. She swings the hammer in an uppercut.

*CLASH!*

He blocks but due to the quaking impact, he lets his arms raise in the air softening the blow. Due to the weight of the hammer and her using it with just one hand, she doesn't have full control of her hammer.

"...!" she brings the hammer down, using all the strength she has. He positions his sword as he steps forward with his right foot.

*CLASH!* *SHNGGGG* *BAM!*

She steps forward as she as she lets go of the hammer and performs a front kick. He catches the kick and throws it back down to the ground. Her clenches her fist and launches it towards his face. He blocks, draws a circle with the arm as he grabs it, then wrist locks it in place.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

"...!"

Arrows made of ice suddenly shoots from nowhere. He lets go of Blanc's wrist and jumps back avoiding them. He takes a quick look and found the quiet little Sister was the one responsible for the attack.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

Instincts force his body to move, avoiding a bullet that is coming at him. Then as he turns he blocks three more bullets.

"...!"

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

The moment he parried those bullets, arrows suddenly rain down from above. He takes a stance and fends off the ones that are only coming to him.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

"...!"

*CLASH!*

Suddenly the purple haired girl drops down from above swinging. Blocking the attack, she jumps away from him and lands on the ground, not minding if the blood splashes on her parka dress. She lunges towards him swinging her katana to his left side.

*CLASH!*

He blocks.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

"Tsk…! Those are annoying!"

A giant boulder made of ice rushes towards him 70 degrees up from his left. He steps and performs a side kick to the short-purple haired girl. Kicking her ribs through a roundhouse kick, breaking a few ribs in the process, pushing her away as he faced the giant boulder coming at him.

*SLASH!*

He splits the boulder in half, spreading it open revealing another boulder coming towards him.

*SLASH!*

He cuts another one, the moment it splits apart another ice boulder is coming in his way again.

*SLASH!*

"...!"

A girl with black hair and black eyes, wearing a white, button-up sailor uniform with purple designs drenched in blood comes at him with her purple-malicious broadsword. Her 'eyes' staring at 'his' with so much glee.

*CLASH!*

He deflects the sword coming at him, but wasn't able to cut deflect her inertia. Due to the placement of his sword; she grabs onto him. Catching her, he immediately uses the inertia she has to twist on the spot and throw her to some pile of the bodies.

Vert rushes with a thrust as soon as she got a clear shot. Instincts kicked in, and he dodges to the outside he grabs her hand with his free hand. He clenched his other fist and throws a punch to her elbow.

"...!"

It bends in a way that nature did not intend. Her face grimacing, he uses his free arm to strike her plexus.

"...!"

Then he palm strikes her jaw, breaking it in the process. He grabs her head on one side, sweeps her feet as he lifts her up, and smashes the cracked part of the skull on the ground.

*BAM!*

He can feel that her skull has a hole now because of the impact and the previous crack.

"...!"

Noire rushes from his right, her sword raised with her left hand. He swings his weapon intercepting it.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

She attacks again after the 3rd hit, he delays his swing for a moment and strikes the back blade of her weapon, driving it to the ground. It borrows on the ground from the combined force. He swings his katana towards her neck. She swings her right arm to intercept.

*SKSSSSSSSSH!*

"...Smart girl" he compliments as a dismembered arm drops on the shallow pool of blood.

He crossed his right leg behind him, stepping on the sword. Using that, he turns an about face as he raises his right foot and swinging it towards the dismembered arm.

*BANG!* *BANG!**BANG!* *BANG!*

*CLASH!* *CLASH!*

It blocks 2 bullets coming his way and he deflects the other 2.

He lunges towards her, covering the 8-meter gap like a bullet. As she is about to swing his sword, arrows made of ice comes raining from above. He hops back, avoiding the arrows. Rom and Ram stand beside Uni, raises their mace, and conjures 2 giant swords of ice from their sides. The giant sword swings towards his neck, with all the intention of beheading him. he raised his sword horizontally as the swords close in on him.

*CLASH!*

The giant ice swords clashes against the horizontal futuristic katana. Pinning it in midair by the tip and the butt of the sword. He lunges towards Uni, as she fires her rifle at him.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!**BANG!*

He dodges the aim as she closes in on her in a blink of an eye. From her mouth, he can see signs of bleeding heavily from her broken jaw. She aims her rifle at him but he parries her rifle's aim with a right palm strike. Then he steps with his backfoot, lifts his front foot, and side kicked her knee, dislocating her knee. Using the same leg, he kicks her rifle making her support hand let go of it. He drops his left leg wide, as he punches her left ribs.

"...!"

She feels pain, her ribs broken almost pulverized by his punch. Then, he steps with his right back foot, and hook punches her right side.

"...!"

Both of her sides echo in pain, he flicks a kick towards her broken jaw. Her head snaps back, He grabs her wrist, pins her Heart-6 releasing the grip on her rifle. He pulls her rifle away and points it towards her head.

"Sorry Uni, it's better than this"

*BANG!*

The bullet went through her forehead and exited at the back. She falls back first towards the ground. Her eyes losing it's light with each moment. And in a moment before she completely falls, she smiles.

*SPLASH!*

He points the rifle to the left, pointing at Rom, he squeezes the trigger, all he could hear is a clicking sound.

"Damn!"

Cursing, he throws the weapon away and lunges towards the quiet shy girl.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

He can hear the sound of objects breaking the sound barrier behind him. He stops and turns and saw an almost infinite number of arrows and swords made out of ice. Close to one another, making sure that he doesn't weave through the attacks. His futuristic-katana is a bit away from him.

He waits for an ice sword to come close and grabs it in mid-air. The cold instantly spreads through. The moment he does, he throws it towards Rom.

*CLASH!*

Rom summoned a giant ice wall, saving herself from being impaled. He grabs another ice sword and started deflecting arrows and swords.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

He deflects the heavy rain of swords and arrows, utilizing all his skills he gathered throughout the years.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

He weaves when there's a chance as he deflects the onslaught.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

He started dashing towards Ram as he deflects the numerous amounts of pointy objects at him. She takes a step back, as though bracing herself, raises her mace a little and summons, even more, ice and swords towards him.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

He deflects it nonetheless as he continues his dash. And not his speed is affected. He lunges straight towards her still. Ram holds her broken ribs, feeling the pain more and more as she continues to conjure her storm of arrows and blades.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

He deflects the arrows and blades as he heads towards her. With only just a meter of distance between them, he stands still, still deflecting the pointed objects that want to impale him.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

*SWOOSH!*

"...!"

Suddenly, an arrow just grazed Rom's cheek. It took her 2 seconds flat before she realized that one of her arrows was reflected back at her. Those precious 2 seconds was enough time to recalculate his physics.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

"...! …! …! …! …! …! …! …!"

2 arrows and 6 blades impale her from his deflected shots. The heavy rain of arrows and blades stop as soon as 8 weapons struck her neck, shoulder, chest, stomach, arms, and legs. She falls back first towards the lake of blood on the ground lifeless.

"Sorry, Ram. Better than this too" he can see a smile on her face.

"..."

*SWOOSH!* *BAM!*

A giant hammer flies from his right. He simply dodges it as his next victim comes at him with all the rage in the world. She raises a fist towards him as he lets go of the ice sword in front of him. With his both open fist, he takes grabs he catches her fist easily. She clenches her other fist, even if her hand is broken that it hurts a lot, and launches it towards her.

"Sorry Blanc" he catches the other fist as well.

*BANG!**BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Ice shards come after him from the right. He pulls Blanc in, wraps an arm around her neck and forcefully faces it to the ice shards.

"...! …! …! ...!"

Ice shards impale her body, her own blood seeps out from the edges of the wound, reddening her almost soaked dress from the lake of blood they've been standing on. He grabs an arrow just as he lets go of Blanc. Blanc falls towards the ground as he rises up and throws the arrow of ice towards Rom's head.

"...!"

"Sorry Rom"

Both of them falls at the same time.

He faces both Noire and Vert. Still emotionless as though they are a doll of sorts. Even though Vert has blood trickling down from the corners of her mouth, a broken right elbow, and a fractured skull she is still able to stand and face him. Noire on the other hands has her ribs broken, a dislocated right shoulder, a dismembered right arm, and a broken jaw. She still has her sword on her left hand.

"...You two are next"

"...!"

"...!"

They move in towards him, his eyes follow them as they approach his sides. They dash towards him thrusting their weapons at him.

"...!"

*CLASH!*

He leans back at the last moment, the tips of their weapons clashing. As he leans back, he takes a sword made of ice from the ground. Using his other hand, he flips backward as he breaks the connection between their weapons with his newly found sword.

*CLASH!*

He recovers from his backflip as quickly as he could. With their weakened bodies, they won't be able to recover their fighting stance in time. He dashes towards Noire on the right side first.

"...!"

She forces her body to recover and swings her weapon towards him. At the last minute, he let's go of his weapon, catches Noire's hand and wrist. He draws a circle with it, twisting it in the process, and raising it up in the air to block Vert's spear coming from above.

*CLASH!*

He kicks her ways from him, presses Noire's Heart-6 forcing to let go as he moves in behind her. Wasting not another moment, he takes the sword from her and stabs it through her from behind.

"...!"

A spear is coming at him from behind, swinging from his left. He uses the sword as a handle, lifts Noire slightly above the ground and turns towards the spearwoman. The spear hits Noire's sides, borrowing a little bit through her flesh. He pulls the sword from her, slips through the corpse and lunges towards Vert.

"...!"

He thrusts at Vert's throat. Blood spilling even more from her mouth and from the edges of the sword that has punctured through her throat. Her knees fall on the shallow lake of blood as her eyes lose its vision. He pulls the sword from her throat, she can see a faint smile from her as she falls face first on the shallow lake of blood.

"Oh my, oh my. You killed those girls"

He doesn't need to look, the source of his little 'sister's' voice is about a few meters away from him.

"..."

"..."

"And you consider them as your family too"

"Shut up..."

"Maybe you never really thought of them as family"

"Shut up"

"Playing house all these years. You'll never change Brother"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!"

"You will and always be a monster, Brother"

"...!" he bellows, echoing through the entire underground dome.

Translation: I SAID SHUT UP!

"...!" his 'eyes' meets 'hers' with all the rage he could muster.

Translation: Don't you dare…! Don't you fucking dare say another fucking word with that face and voice!

"...!"

Translation: Sister, I'm sure you know. That as part of this 'family', as part that 'man's' flesh and blood. There is nothing we NEED to talk about!

"…"

Translation: I'm know, Brother. Shall we continue…?

Neptune, who was standing beside her 'sister', dashes the instant her 'sister' takes position. The futuristic-katana that is about 2 meters away from him. He dashes towards her as well, both of them closing in on each other fast. He picks up the sword off the ground, covered in sticky red blood as he runs. Getting dangerously close to one another, both of them raise their weapons overhead and brings it down towards each other.

"…!"

"…!"

Both of them grab each other's weapons as they attack. Their hands bleed in the process as both of them push their blades at each other's shoulder. Her eyes meet his, no emotion to the man in front of him. He expected that.

"Let's make this quick"

As though agreeing, both of them pull their swords from each other's grip, takes a stance and swings their weapons at each other.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

A tornado of swings erupted between them. Both of them displaying at each other techinques that have been engraved into their bodies.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

A storm of sword swings that one mistake could be fatal. Neither of them defend from the other's swing, instead, counters it with their own attack.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

Though emotionless, her swings' intent are clear, bringing forth the true purpose of her katana.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

He responds the same way to her as he looks for an opening from her barrage of deadly swings.

*CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!* *CLASH!*

*CLASH!*

"…!"

Their weapons stop as it clashes against each other.

"…!"

Warning signals fires off within him. He looks at his right and see his Sister coming towards him. He hops back at the last minute letting her Sister pass, missing her attack. The moment she passes, Neptune lunges towards him, swinging her sword from below.

He weaves under the upper cut swing, missing his hair by just 2 centimeters. He puts his hands on the ground and sweeps the ground along with some blood with his back leg.

"…!"

He rises quickly and strikes her exposed abdomen with a palm strike, breaking more of her ribs.

"…!"

As she was struck away, his 'Sister' comes at him thrusting her malice-purple glowing bastard sword at him. He parries it to the side, but her lunge still continues. She raises her left arm, broken by the forearm, and strikes a palm towards him.

*SKSSSSSSSH!*

Blood sprays from her arm. She hits his chest without much force other than the sound of flesh and liquid, dying his clothes an even redder shade of red. She hears a splash and a thump to her left side. She looks, finding an arm that is supposedly attached to her.

As he is about to thrust his weapon at her. Neptune kicks him whilst in the air. Instincts aided him, guiding his forearm to protect his head. The kick connects, Neptune flips in the air to recover from the kick. During this time, his 'sister' swings her sword to his neck. He reverses his hold and block the attack.

*CLASH!*

Neptune, swings her weapon to his head. He takes a step back in a twist, avoiding the swing. His sword ready on his side, he lunges forward, swinging a roundhouse slash towards them. Neptune steps forward, and block the attack.

*CLASH*

She was pushed aside from the sheer force of the strike. He steps forwards as he raises his sword, and brings it back down as he steps forward again.

*CLASH!* *SKSSSSSSSH!*

She tries to block the sword but her guard was misplaced and the attack went through. Cutting her entire left arm from her torso. Her blood sprays out of her like a geyser.

*SWING!*

He backflips as a sword tries to uppercut his face. Recovering, he swings the sword to the right, deflecting Neptune's swing from above her head. Then he swings it again towards his 'sister'.

*CLASH!*

His 'sister' blocks the attack, this time proper enough to stop it. He uses his front leg to kick her by the knee, making her kneel. Then as she is about to hit her abdomen, someone grabs his foot as he is about to swing it.

"…!"

Neptune raises her sword, intending on cutting his foot. He puts force on his foot, continuing its swing, and escaping from her grasp forcefully. But his target blocked his kick with her remaining forearm. Breaking it her remaining working arm, Gehaburn flies off.

He immediately brings his foot down, twist with his body and block a swing towards him.

*CLASH!*

He twists both his feet, turning his body towards her. She moves in to him, her palm ready to strike his chest. He repositions the butt of the handle of the sword pointing it towards her, aiming for her oncoming palm.

"…!"

She hits the butt of the weapon, more specifically the corner. It sends pain from her hand to her brain due to the strength she exudes. He lowers his stance the moment her movements stopped. Without hesitation, he swings his weapon across her gut.

*SKSSSSSSSSSSSSH!*

"…!"

Her guts opens wide, blood spurts forth like a shower, her intestine spills out of her. With her free hand she tries to hold her guts in, but the cut was too wide and it comes out like a one of those children's toys. As she steps back, he repositions his sword, and thrusts it towards her chest.

"…!"

"…"

In almost an instant after she got stabbed, she falls down on her knees.

*SPLASH*

Her hand stopped holding down her gut from spilling out. She drops her weapon on the ground, slightly peeking from the shallow blood lake. She stares at her killer, her eyes slowly loosing focus, as though giving his face a perusal. As though trying to remember who he is, as though burning his face in her retina. And as she slowly slips out of the sword, slowly loosing strength…

"Thank… you…" she slips out of the sword and falls so comfortably gently on the lake of blood.

"…"

"..." he turns towards his sister.

Translation: …Now then…

"…" he 'stares' at his 'Sister', or rather at some piece of this world's trash.

She sits on the ground, letting the lake blood soak her legs and clothes. Her left side still profusely bleeding. Gehaburn is a few ways from her, too far to make a dash and take. She can't fight anymore with her beaten state.

Translation: How should I kill you 'Sister'?

"…" a bead of sweat crawls down her cheek from her forehead as she 'looks' at his 'eyes'.

"…" he points his sword at her towards her chest.

Translation: Are you sure you want to kill me, 'Brother'

"…"

"…"

"…" she said.

Translation: Think about it 'Brother' why were you sent here? How can you be so sure that killing won't cause something 'Brother'?

"…" she said.

Translation: I'm your only lead to 'him', Brother. If I die here, then you'll only delay your own damn paradise.

"…" he pushes the tip of the sword towards her chest.

Translation: If that's the case, Sister…

"…" he puts strength in his arm, shoulders, and hips.

Translation: Then there's no need to hold back.

"Kh…!"

He buries the sword through her chest. Puncturing through her heart. She pushes the sword until the midway point. He face grimaced from the pain. She grabs it the sword with her working hand, but he still pushes through regardless. Intending to make his 'Sister's' death as slow and painful as possible.

*SQZZZZZZZZ!*

"Kh… Ack…! Hehe…"

*SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!*

"Hehehehe…!"

*SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!*

"Ahahahahhahaha…!" she started laughing as he puffs out her chest. Laughing as hard as she can, a smile forming on her face.

*SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!*

"Congratulations brother!" she said. 'Looking' at her Brother, grabbing the sword and forcing it even deeper through her.

"…!"

"You made my nightmare come true!"

*SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZ!*

"…!"

"Hey, you're not even looking!"

I can feel the familiar cool of the air conditioner. The slight blaze of the sun through the glass of the sliding door. The wooden feel of the floor. Sounds of the waves of the beach. The smell of a familiar shampoo. The feel on my clothes, light and comfortable. The warmth of someone sitting on my lap, pushes away the cold temperature that I was experiencing a moment ago. The familiar, tender, loving, temperature makes me want to shed tears.

"Nepu?"

"…" I embrace that warmth, as though wanting to steal it from her. A warmth that I've grown dependent on. A warmth that it feels like I haven't felt in a long, long time.

"Nepu! What's wrong Jared?"

"…Sorry… It feels like I haven't seen you in a long time"

"Eeh? Where'd ya go? Were you cheating on me something, you bully!?"

"Some faraway place. It's a terrible place really, the pudding there tasted like iron"

"Gueeeh! It's a good thing I didn't come there with you"

"But it seems our Li'l sis likes the place. So much iron"

"You were with my Sis!? Why didn't you tell me!"

"I thought you wouldn't mind"

"Nepu! You've been cheating on me with my Li'l sis!?" she proceeds to perform some tantrums.

"No. Why would I cheat on you for your Nepgear?"

"I mean, she's really popular y' know. Everyone finds her cute"

"Well yeah I get that but…"

"So you don't find her cute huh? You've got some weird taste in girls huh"

"Just because I'm not attracted with someone else, doesn't mean I have weird taste" my taste in women is still loyalty first, personality second, and looks third.

"And besides, you're the weirder one here"

"Nepu! Don't you dare lump me with you Mister. I'm cuter than you"

"I know you are"

We engage in small chatter to pass the time as she lets me steal some of her warmth. Her comfort erodes my tired mind. Calming down the feelings that I have once locked up. Was the events I experienced moments ago a dream? An illusion? Or a haunting of my distant history? It was real, I know it is. But the abrupt change between 'there' and 'here' are miles apart that I might think of it as one.

I felt every bit of it, the sword clearly cutting through them as though butter. Their smiles as they slowly lose their light. The fairy that screamed painfully before she collapses. The sound of thunder revealing them. The laugh of my 'Sister' as she happily takes the sword through her chest.

It started abruptly, ended as well. It is both a truth and an illusion. A truth that I cannot escape from, a reality that I will always remember, my fears slowly returning like a moth contaminated with a plague.

'My nightmare, eh?' her final words, echo within me.

"…" I hug her a little bit tighter a sign of a small desperation and a form of my prayer. A prayer to anyone who can hear me, to the 'Goddess' that I am embracing right now. I ask again, just a small extension of my reprieve…

'Just a little bit more…'

"I see so that's what happened" she finished talking. She finished telling her story. The story of one girl wanting to save the world without sacrifices, the friction of that ideal was too much for her.

"I'm… sorry…"

"…"

"I'm so sorry…" I stayed quiet.

"If I hadn't taken the sword then this wouldn't…!"

"If I didn't suggested taking everyone's shares then they wouldn't even…"

"I'm so sorry…! *hic!* *sob!*"

"I failed everyone *sob!* *sob!* *sob!*"

"I failed my friends"

"I failed Gamindustri"

"I failed my Sis!"

"I fail-!"

"That's enough Li'l Sis of mine" I tell her as I pet her head.

"But I… I couldn't save anyone. I couldn't help anyone. Because I…"

"…You…?"

"I wasn't strong enough! I wasn't strong enough to…"

"…I don't have any fancy speeches to impart to you right now. Nor convince you that you made an okay choice" I firmly abrupt her.

"But all I can say is just 3 things"

"…*hic!*"

"You've done well"

"How…!"

"…?"

"How can you that I've done well…!?" tears streaming her face as she demands questions.

"I killed them! I killed them! I killed them! I couldn't save anyone! How did I did well!?"

"…" I force her to face me and embrace her.

"I… I don't deserve this…! I don't…! *hic!*"

"You've done well"

"I…! Let go, I don't deserve to be…!"

"You've done well, Little Sis"

"…! Why? Why do you care so much? I.. I killed my own Sis *hic!* I killed the most important person to me"

"…It's because I've been there before"

"…"

"…It took me a hell of a long time to get over it. And all I can say to myself is, 'I've done well'"

"…Don't please…! *hic!*"

"Don't bother with it anymore…"

"…Please…! *sob!* *hic!*"

"Don't think about it anymore"

"*hic!* *sob!* *hic!* *sob!*"

"You've done well, Nepgear"

"*hic!* *hic!* UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Nepu!"

"Oops sorry there" it seems I opened the door at a bad time. Neptune was by the doorway doing something and I hit her head.

"Owwieee…" she still holds the place where I accidentally hit her.

"Sorry there. Lemme give another one so you won't feel the first one" I said as I crouch down in front of her and get my finger ready to flick her forehead.

"Nepu! Then that'll hurt a lot more!"

"No worries, then I'll give you a chop on the head so you won't feel the second one!"

"Hyaa!" after saying that, she immediately goes for a chopping blow on my head.

"...Mm…!" of course I'm faster, I immediately parry and move forward, sealing her lips with mine.

"Mm… Hey! That's unfair!"

"That's payback for yesterday woman"

"Let bygones be yesterday!" I'm sure you know that the second word is bygones.

"By the way what are you doing? You do know that someone is going to get in without knocking sometimes"

"Oh, lookie! I found some pictures that I thought no one took!" she shows off the album right to my face.

"Someone must have hired a stalker then..." I take the album off her hands and sit nicely on the floor to get a better look at the pictures.

"Woah… these look good"

"Mhm! And there's a pic of Compa and Iffy and I fishing"

"That is one giant tuna that Iffy caught"

"And this one during a festival!"

"Well lookie here, Histy is wearing a kimono"

"There's also this one!"

"Why is Compa wrapping bandages around you?"

"Because it was Halloween. You're supposed to be scary"

"Scary, yes. But naked too?"

"But it'll get hot if I wear something under it" a valid point.

*Knock!* *Knock!*

"Come in" Neptune said, then the door opened...

"Ow!"

"Oh goodness! I'm sorry Big Brother" I hear the voice of my little sister-in-law

"It's fine..." I rub my head a bit since I was just hit by the corner of the door, it stings but it's not that bad.

"Did it hurt?" Neptune rubs the spot where the door hit my head.

"No, not really. Ow!" did this girl just flicked the spot where I got hit. It does sting, yeah, but it's not like it won't hurt if you hit it again!

"Haha! I got ya!"

"Why you little…!" I started wrestling with her. Of course, I'm just playing with her. She won't get hurt or anything.

"Nepu! You started it first mister! Don't play all victimy on me!" she fights back, there's also no force it at all too.

"Uhm… Big brother, Sis. Can I talk you two for a sec?"

"Hrr?" we immediately stop what we were doing, mainly chewing on each other's forearms and pay our attention to Nepgear.

"Hmm? Puwah! What is it cute Li'l sis?"

"Uhm well, since the wedding, you two haven't done that right?"

"That?" question marks float on top of our heads. What does she mean by that? Did she mean our legal papers? Did she mean we haven't bought a house for ourselves? Did she mean sex? I mean there's a million and one things you could do after your wedding.

"Uh, I mean, your honeymoon"

"Oooooh..." yeah, it has been two weeks since we've been married and we still haven't had that yet.

"Well, we still haven't found a place to go yet" Neptune answers.

"What she said, the past year, we've already gone to some places so it's been really hard for us to find a place we haven't been"

"Oh, is that so?"

"At this rate, we might not be able to have a honeymoon if we can't decide on a location" I do want to have one though, even if it's a place we've been to before.

"Everyday is a date with you anyway! So it's fine" what a sweet wife I have.

"Oh that's great then" Nepgear clapped her hands together and reached out to her pocket.

"Here," she pulled and handed out some papers in front of us.

"Tickets?" we take it and read the contents.

"Mhm, there's a newly found island that was made into a resort recently"

"Oooooh! A newly found island, there must some treasure to find there!" Neptune gets excited for the weirdest reasons.

"I don't know about treasures, but there's also a village nearby"

"Well that's fine and all, but not to sound ungrateful, but I'm sure the ticket costed a fortune"

"Well..." I knew it.

"...but um, I had everyone pitch on it too! Since you two haven't had a proper rest as of late. And also..."

"Hm?"

"Ever, since a year ago, I've been kinda being difficult for you two so I kinda feel bad during all that time"

"..."

"...And Sis finally smiled a lot so..." sigh, what to do with this girl?

"Nepgear"

"...?"

Her big sister comes up to her calling, the little sister looks up. Her vision is filled with the face of her sister. With one big smile, Neptune said only 2 words.

"Thank you!"

Chapter 3: A Myth, A Tragedy

A/N: F'n FINALLY! It's done! One month. Made this one chapter for one F'n Month! Again I am truly sorry for the constant delays. There have been so much going with me lately that it's even a miracle that this chapter came out in one piece.

- First off, yes, the quality is garbage. I can see inconsistencies with story telling. My 1 year hiatus plus everything after that is affecting it recently. And I might not recover that same quality as before. Maybe I'll branch off into a new 'style' of writing that may be greater than or equal to my original style. Who knows, but in a sense, I have to do a little soul-searching.

-Second off, I won't be using Patre-on as a place to write my fanfics anymore. It's going to be a place where I write doujins (with pics) and original works. So check out my Patre-on, there's already a teaser image there of a project. Or look at the pic at Rom's Love story, if you are interested. (Link at profile, remove dashes).

-There's a public announcement at both my and at my profile check it out for more details

Usual Thankyou's

Patre-on:

Richard Greenwood - Wow, huge, huge thank you to this guy! A really great guy!

Twilightiger - My first Patron, great fan. Great guy.

Sqbika - A supporter with a cute profile pic.

FFn:

GodofMadness - You reviewed every chapter again.

And to everyone else, thank you for your patience with me. Through the ups and downs of my writing. Through the entire shit I've gone through, you guys still welcome me with open arms. To everyone that pm'd me about this fic being awesome and to everyone that reviewed and said this is awesome, thank you very much! I deeply appreciate everything and I'll continue to create stories not just for our enjoyment.

Goodspeed, good reading!

P.S. Ahuh, Chapter 3 huh? So the next one is 4? Oh my...