Hi guys! It's time for Chapter 4!

I don't know if it's just me, but the archive seems to be having less and less people in it? Just my imagination, I guess.

Hope you guys haven't forgotten me yet XD

Sorry for not updating for a while. If you dropped by my facebook page (which is pretty much dead lmao), I explained there why. Well, long story short, my right middle finger has an injury, which my nurse brother told me that it could be a Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. With all of the stuff about COVID-19 everywhere, I can't go to a hospital/clinic to get it checked, so there's that.

Anyway, I have nothing to say more other than my gratitude to anyone who's still following this story!

Onto the chapter now, Enjoy!

Planeptune - City.

Nepgear was walking down the streets of Planeptune. With her hood on, she hoped that nobody would recognize her but alas, the people still did. She was still getting greetings from the people despite her face being hidden under her hood, so she had no choice but to greet them back even with just revealing half of her face.

"..."

The streets were so peaceful despite the destruction of Lastation. It was giving her a weird feeling of deja vu. Well, going back to the other day, she was also doing the same thing before she got transported to another dimension.

"...Goodness, I hope that won't happen again..."

Yep, she hoped that she wouldn't go to another dimension suddenly. Once would be a good experience, second would be a bad one. It was stressful, to her at the very least.

After walking aimlessly for about an hour, she stopped by the guild. As she entered, she noticed that the staff were somewhat restless, and adventurers were coming and going at a very fast pace. She wondered what was happening so she decided to approach the receptionist.

"Good morning." Nepgear greeted as she stopped by the reception. "Things are a little bit rowdy here; what's going on?"

The receptionist jolted a little as she heard Nepgear's voice, and another jolt when she saw Nepgear's hooded face. She was of course, nervous, and Nepgear could see that. Though she had no idea if she was nervous from seeing her face or by the current situation; Nepgear didn't bother knowing.

"A-Ah, Lady Nepgear...!" The receptionist was about to say something but she hesitated. To her mind, she didn't need to bother Nepgear about this stuff, but another thought was telling her that she should tell the CPU about this.

And yes, of course, Nepgear knew that as well. She wasn't the CPU of Planeptune for years for nothing, after all.

"...I want you to tell me." Nepgear ordered in a serious tone. She didn't really want to do that but if she wouldn't, who knows if the receptionist would spill the beans.

With that said, the receptionist jolted once more, but she complied with the order. She couldn't disobey the CPU, after all.

"...T...There seems t-to be a commotion going on in L-Lowee..." The receptionist stuttered between her words.

Nepgear raised an eyebrow. That didn't tell her anything at all. "What commotion...?"

"The monsters... are abnormally marching towards their borders..."

Nepgear gasped a little after hearing that news. "...Borders? Plural?"

The receptionist nodded nervously. "Y-Yes... in all directions... We're sending out adventurers to Lowee for reinforcements as fast as we can, and as many as we can, but we don't have much time..."

Nepgear bit her thumbnail as she heard that. Why in heavens didn't she get informed about this? Or rather, why the oracle of Lowee didn't contact her, or even Histoire. Surely even if she just informed Histoire, Nepgear would immediately know about it because for sure, Histoire would immediately inform her about such things.

"..."

Well, Nepgear could only think of one thing. And that thing was the most obvious one she and the people involved in that incident.

"Please keep on doing what you can. I'll head over to Lowee's Basilicom." Nepgear said and dashed out of the Guild without waiting for the receptionist's reply.

As soon as Nepgear got out, she immediately transformed and flew up to the skies, but shortly after that...

"...Ngh!"

Her chest felt a very strong pain for a moment that robbed her of her breathing at the same time which made her halt. She tried to catch her breathing, and fortunately, she managed to.

"...What... the hell... was that...?" She asked herself but alas, no one was able to answer her question.

As she was catching her breathing, her comms suddenly rang. She then checked who was calling and found out that it was Histoire.

"...She must've been informed just now..."

Nepgear answered the call. "I know, Histoire. I'm heading to Lowee now."

"Ah, I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but it saves me the time to explain." Histoire replied through the line. Nepgear could agree with what she said. "I just got informed by the guild about it. I know I can't stop you from going but please be careful and don't overexert yourself. Your body is still not in very good condition."

Nepgear smiled a little. "Thank you for worrying. Just to be sure, Mina didn't tell you anything about this?"

"No... this is the first time I heard of it. Probably they just got the wind of the monsters' activity recently."

"Is... is that so?" It would be great if that was the case; Nepgear hoped. But her thoughts were saying the otherwise. "Alright, then. I'll be heading to Lowee now."

"Take care of yourself, Nepgear."

"Mhm..." Nepgear then cut the line. She then looked towards the direction where Lowee was located and clenched her fists. "What the hell is going on now...? Mina should be the one informed of this before Planeptune..."

Without having her question asked, she flew to Lowee at full speed.

~o~O~o~

Lowee - Basilicom.

Inside Lowee's Basilicom, the staff was moving non-stop as if they were in a panic, but that wasn't really the case. It was just, the nation was in a state of calamity due to the reports of the Guild that a herd of monsters from outside Lowee's walls was heading towards all of their borders.

In the middle of the crowd, there was someone giving out orders. That was why despite things looked so messy, nobody was loitering around. Everyone had their own roles to fulfill.

"Ms. Mina, the citizens from the western border has been completely evacuated."

The lady named Mina, who was wearing a graduation outfit of sorts, was the one guiding the people in the Basilicom. Through her orders, she managed to keep everything in place. She had been doing that for years, after all.

"Is that so? That's good." Mina replied with a sigh of relief, but the problem, of course, wasn't solved yet. "Is the eastern border not fully evacuated yet?"

Sadly, the staff who reported to Mina swung her head. "Not yet, but we already dispatched additional hunters to help the citizens evacuate."

"Good." That was one weight off her shoulders. "I know I'm asking too much as we're totally outmanned here but, I want all of the hunters and adventurers from the Guild to defend our borders.

The staff nodded before leaving. Mina then immediately headed her office, well, formerly someone's office. As soon as she arrived at her destination, she opened the door and entered the room. She locked the door afterward to prevent anyone from getting in.

"..."

She looked around. There were portraits of someone and framed pictures of three people on the walls and on top of desks, respectively. The people in it were completely familiar to her, well, familiar would be an understatement. Mina spent a lot of her life with them. Saying that she spent all of her life with them would be incorrect since it had been years since they were gone.

"...Huh?"

She didn't realize that her tears started to fall from her eyes as she stared at the pictures. Without even thinking twice, she immediately wiped her tears. It wasn't really the time to be reminiscing memories because the nation she swore to protect with her life was being threatened.

"...I can't be like this right now." Mina then hit her cheeks to compose herself up. She had her own duty that only she could perform... well, except for another one, but she'd rather not seek help from her.

"Let's do this." Mina then headed towards the bookshelf on the right side of the room and pushed a book inwards. All of a sudden, the bookshelf moved and revealed a hidden room. Mina didn't hesitate and went inside the said room.

Inside the said room, there was an artifact that took the shape of a power button and was floating above a short pillar. It was called a share crystal, where the share energy of the nation was stored, or was gathered, whichever of the two.

Technically, that is. Why?

As everyone knew, only one CPU remained the Gamindustri. And that was the CPU of Planeptune, Nepgear. That only meant that Lowee had no CPU governing over it. But the share crystal still remained intact. Why again? Well, the nation was still gathering shares, but not to the point it used to be. The shares getting expended were faster than the rate of recovery. This was the result of the divided faith of the people in the nation. Because some people could never accept Nepgear as their CPU, while the others had no choice but to put their faith in her. Only Lowee had this divided faith of the people because of the strong attachment of the people towards their CPU. That was what caused this phenomenon, and Mina couldn't do something about it.

Or rather, she didn't want to do something about it. And Nepgear didn't want that either. They let the people decided who they would put their faiths into.

But what did that have to do with Lowee's current situation? Long story short, the share crystal was acting as divine protection for Lowee which was the one driving the monsters away from the city. The same could be said for the other three, well, two nations. And yes, the reason why the monsters were marching towards Lowee was the divine protection of Lowee was getting weaker. The monsters were getting attracted by the people inside.

"...This is the only way..." Mina murmured under her breath as she stared at the floating share crystal that was gradually losing its bright. Her hand slowly reached for the crystal while completely being unaware of her surroundings. Out of desperation, her mind was filled only with the thoughts of saving Lowee.

As her index finger was about to touch the crystal, somebody grabbed her arm, which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"What the hell are you trying to do?!"

Mina gasped as she heard that question that was filled with anger. She turned her head to her right and saw Nepgear with her hood on and an angry look on her face. She must've really spaced out too much that she didn't even notice her enter the room.

"...N-Nepgear..." Was all Mina could say.

Nepgear pulled Mina and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me about this situation? Or why didn't you even reach for Histoire? Why?!" Nepgear asked while shaking Mina. "Am I really that unreliable? Or did you think I never cared for Lowee?"

Mina was speechless. She could admit that a part of what Nepgear said was true, while the other was just her ego thinking that she should just do everything by herself.

Nepgear realized that Mina wouldn't be able to answer and just sighed. She then pulled her hood back and revealed her face to Mina.

"Wha-?" Mina gasped as she saw Nepgear's face. She wondered what happened to Nepgear but judging from the previous events, she could only conclude that this was the cause of the ordeal in Lastation.

Nepgear cracked a little smile. "So you haven't lost your ability to speak yet." Though Mina still did not reply and just narrowed her eyes as she stared at Nepgear.

"...You just don't want to talk to me." Nepgear added. Mina then looked away from her as she embraced herself. Nepgear was so spot on how Mina was acting, and of course, Mina herself knew that she couldn't fool Nepgear.

With that, Nepgear sighed in disappointment. "...At the very least, talk to Histoire." Nepgear said as she released Mina from her hands. "I know that you still hate me, and I know you will never forgive me, but don't take it out on Histoire."

"Ah..." Was all Mina could reply as she turned her attention back to Nepgear, but Nepgear was already facing the share crystal.

Nepgear took her PDA out from her pocket and contacted Histoire. After a few moments, Histoire picked the call up. "Hello, Nepgear. Are you in Lowee now?"

"Yes, I'm in the Basilicom right now and Mina's here with me." Nepgear said. She heard a small gasp from the other side of the call but Nepgear didn't bother pointing that out as they had better things to worry about. "Can you establish a secure link from our Share reserves to Lowee's?"

""What?!"" Both Mina and Histoire replied at the same time.

"Nepgear, are you...?"

Before Histoire could finish what she was about to say, Nepgear spoke, "Yes, Histoire. Lowee's share reserves are almost out and I'm sure the divine protection of the nation is already gone. That's why the monsters are attracted to the city." Though that might have been the case, there was still something other than that in Nepgear's mind, and she decided not to disclose it to Histoire nor to Mina. She still had to confirm it, though. "And I want you to transfer enough shares to bring the divine protection up."

"You do know that we wouldn't be able to restore the divine protection until Lowee has enough shares, right?"

Nepgear nodded. "I know. That's why I will go out there and help the hunters and the adventurers to defend Lowee."

"But then, you-"

Histoire was once again interrupted by Nepgear. She knew what Histoire was thinking, but that wasn't the real issue here. "Don't ask any more questions, Histoire. Just do what I say. We can't keep the divine protection down for too long."

With that said, Histoire gave up on trying to argue sense with Nepgear. "Okay, I'll do it, but be very careful, okay? Your body is not on a really good condition to take on a fight."

"I can handle myself." Nepgear replied and then ended the call. Mina was dumbfounded with the conversation that just happened in front of her and was left speechless. Actually, she was contemplating what she would have done if she didn't feed her ego, but then again, no one could ever just forget what happened during that incident.

Nepgear turned back to Mina, but the oracle just looked away at her. She frowned a little from that reaction. "...Look, I know you don't want to talk to me, but if you have time to waste, contact IF and Marvy and tell them to go to the Guild, but don't tell them that I called them." She said and then headed for the exit.

Before exiting the room, Nepgear spoke once more, "...I know you'll do the right thing, Mina. Don't be like me." Nepgear then went out of the room.

As soon as Nepgear left, Mina fell down on her knees. Her legs lost its strength as if she was relieved when Nepgear left the room. Mina never knew that she was this afraid of Nepgear. Was it because of her appearance?

"..."

She tried to convince herself that it was because of those black marks from Nepgear's face. Those marks were emitting some kind of malevolence, at the very least Mina could feel it. She wondered what happened to Nepgear since she wasn't like that the last time she saw her.

"...Was it because of Lastation's destruction?" While she was sure that it was because of Lastation's doom, she had no idea what actually happened to Nepgear there, and of course, she didn't bother asking; neither did she want to. Whatever was Nepgear up to, she didn't give two cares about it.

Or so she thought.

"...This is not the time for thinking about useless things." Mina said as she hit her cheeks and composed herself up. Though her legs were still a little wobbly, she managed to stand up on her two feet. She didn't waste any time and immediately contacted IF using her phone.

After a few moments, the call was picked up. "Hello? Ms. Mina?"

"Ah, IF good timing. Where are you right now?"

She could hear IF's heavy breathing from the phone and wondered if she was on the run. "I'm on my way back to Lowee from the west... Are the civilians evacuated yet?"

"The western border is completely evacuated. We're working on the rest." Mina answered. "We don't have much time, so I'll cut to the chase. I want you to go to the Guild immediately."

"Why's that?"

Mina left the room before answering IF's question. "There's someone you know who wants to meet you there. I can't tell you who she is but don't worry, she's not hostile at the very least."

"She? At the very least? That's not really reassuring."

"Believe me or not, we have the same thoughts, but she can help us in this crisis." Mina said. "Tell MarvelousAQL to go to the Guild too. This person wanted to meet her as well."

IF sighed from the other side of the call. "Alright, I'll trust you on this one."

"Thank you." Mina said and the call was cut. Mina sighed in relief. She hoped that this relief would continue on, though she really couldn't say it as she might jinx it later. Still, she could only hope that Lowee would overcome this problem.

~o~O~o~

Lowee - Guild.

The Guild was filled with lots of people coming and going. With the current situation of the nation, it was to be expected. Every adventurer and hunter was joining in defending their beloved country.

Amidst the crowd, IF could barely be seen trying to get past through it. She was looking for a certain someone who wanted to meet her. From Mina's description earlier, that person was someone IF knew. It couldn't be vaguer than that.

"...Yeah, as if I don't know a lot of people." IF mumbled under her breath as she finally got past through the crowd and arrived at a spacious area. She looked around the crowd to see if she spotted someone she knew. Well, actually, she could see a lot of faces she knew, but she was particularly looking for someone who had a strong impact.

As her eyes were pinned to the crowd, someone tapped her shoulder from behind, which made her jolt a little. "Eek-!"

IF immediately turned around to see who just tapped her. There, she saw a girl wearing a hooded sailor uniform, in which the uniform was something she was very familiar with and that surprised her.

"What are you-?!" Before she could finish her sentence, the girl shut IF's mouth by putting her finger on IF's lips.

That action seemed to have convinced IF to not speak loudly anymore. The hooded girl released IF's lips.

"What are you doing here...?" IF asked, though she realized it already right after she saw the hooded girl in front of her. Mina's description was 'someone she knew' and 'can't tell who she is'. Personally, for IF, there could only be one person that would fit.

"...Nepgear?"

Yes, it was Nepgear, obviously.

"...It's nice to see you again, Ms. IF." Nepgear replied with a smile while half of her face was covered by the hood of her clothes.

"Don't Ms. IF me!" IF unintentionally raised her voice which caught the attention of other people. As she realized what she just did, she turned to the crowd and apologized at them before turning back to Nepgear. "You know you're unwanted here, right?!"

Nepgear frowned a little. "...It's been a long time since we saw each other and this is how you treat me..." Nepgear said which gave IF some chills down her spine. "That aside, what you said is right, that's why I called you and Marvy."

IF didn't say and just glared at her but Nepgear just sighed. "...Meet me outside at the back when Marvy arrives. I want to have a private conversation with you two, but don't tell her that it was I who called you both." Without further ado, Nepgear left the Guild, leaving a confused IF.

IF just sighed. There was no use in worrying about Nepgear being in Lowee when the whole nation was in crisis. In fact, she was kind of glad that Nepgear was here since they could definitely use her strength to defend the nation against the threat of the monsters.

"...That aside, where is Marvy now anyway?" IF unconsciously said out loud, in which she didn't know that there was someone already walking towards her from behind.

"I'm here, IF."

IF jolted as she felt a tap on her shoulder. Deja vu, she just had this feeling earlier. IF quickly turned around and saw a busty orange-haired girl with a music note pupils wearing a tight, single buttoned shirt which didn't somehow fit her as her cleavage were visible. She had a red ribbon tied around the collar of her shirt and one piece of a headset on her left ear.

"Now that's a rare reaction, coming from you."

IF sighed. "You'll know very soon why, Marvy." She said as she rubbed her temples.

Yes, the person who just approached IF was named Marvy. The other person that Nepgear wanted to meet.

"I'm sure I will." Marvy said with a smug look. "Anyway, why did you call me here? We ain't got a lot of time goofing around here."

IF started to walk to the exit and signaled Marvy to follow her. "...We're going to meet someone that can help us in this crisis... though I already met her earlier."

"Who?" Marvy asked as she followed IF towards the exit.

IF opened the door that was leading outside before answering her question. "You'll find out soon enough."

The two of them then exited the vicinity and headed to the back. As soon as they arrived at their destination, they saw Nepgear leaning on a wall with her hood on and was meddling with her phone. IF called her without hesitation.

"Hey, we're here." IF said as she approached Nepgear.

Marvy was still confused about the identity of the person, though what she was wearing was somehow familiar to her. Nepgear turned to them, revealing only half of her face. That somehow gave Marvy an idea about her identity but she didn't jump to any conclusions.

"IF, who's this person?" Marvy asked as she wanted to confirm her suspicions.

IF turned to Marvy with a hesitant look on her face, which somehow confused her. "She... she's-" IF was about to speak but Nepgear stopped her.

"I'll do that myself, IF." Nepgear said. The two of them then turned their attention to Nepgear.

A few moments after that, Nepgear pulled down her hood, revealing her face. Both IF and Marvy gasped in surprise as they saw her face. That surprise was both shock and confusion.

"Wha-? Nepgear?!" Marvy sweatdropped as she stepped back a little. She was feeling intense malice coming from Nepgear even though Nepgear wasn't directing it towards them. It was as if that malice was directed to somewhere else, avoiding both her and IF.

IF reacted the same way as Marvy as she didn't expect this turnover of events. "What happened... to you?" She asked.

"This... is the result of my desperation and failures." Nepgear smiled weakly at them. The two somehow felt sorry for the CPU. They couldn't imagine the suffering she went through and was going through right now. And of course, they didn't want to feel that either nor want to touch that subject for that matter.

IF and Marvy could just stare at Nepgear for a while. Nepgear realized that they wouldn't be able to have a conversation if that continued, she decided to drop the subject. "Enough about that. Let's go to the main topic as to why I called you both here."

The two jolted a little but that gave them the chance to compose themselves. "We're listening."

Now that they were finally onto their main topic, Nepgear cleared her throat before speaking, "Okay, here's the plan. You might've not heard Ms. IF say it earlier, Marvy, but you're probably aware of it already, I'm sort of unwelcome here in Lowee. That's why I can't show my face to anyone."

"But, you're okay showing yourself to us?" Marvy interjected.

Nepgear weakly smiled. "Because I know the two of you know which to prioritize." She answered, but then dropped the current subject about herself immediately. "While that's the case for me, that doesn't mean I can't help you. As we're speaking, Histoire is working towards connecting Planeptune's share reserves to Lowee so we can bring the divine protection up."

IF's eyes widened a little. Marvy had no idea about what they were talking about, but IF, who had been with the CPUs far longer than any human was, understood what that could bring forth to Nepgear. "But... if you do that, then you'll-"

"Do not concern yourself over trivial things, Ms. IF." Nepgear interrupted IF as she knew what she was going to say. Marvy didn't need to hear it, nor they even need to worry about it. "Anyway, that said, Mina is also on board with this and is helping Histoire. While they're doing that, we will need to keep the borders locked down and try to keep as many monsters out of Lowee."

"But... you said that you're not welcomed here, right? How can you join the others?" Marvy asked.

Nepgear expected that question, and so she elaborated her plan further. "I won't." Nepgear answered. That raised several question marks above IF's and Marvy's head, and Nepgear could almost see that, literally. She then pointed at the tall tower in the center of the city that could be considered the tallest one. "See that tower? I will be staying up there and defend the air."

Both Marvy and IF then made an 'Oh!' expression. That was indeed the good plan since there were only a select few adventurers that could shoot enemies in the air. And with Nepgear, they could defend the air along with her not getting seen by people.

"That's a good plan." IF said as she nodded, but then she swung her head afterward. "Actually, that's the only plan we can go with."

Marvy didn't have a comment on that since she couldn't think of anything better. Nepgear was glad that they were in agreement. "I will still try to assist you guys from up there against ground enemies if it ever comes to that but, I'd be glad if you could keep that from happening."

Both Marvy and IF nodded in response. It seems like there was no room for discussions anymore.

"Alright, let's get a move on. I'll be heading to that tower now. You two do what you have to do." Without waiting for a reply, Nepgear started to run towards the said tower.

The two of them could only stare at Nepgear. They had the same thoughts running in their mind regarding Nepgear.

"...I... I am aware of what happened in Lastation... and I know it was a very big deal but... was that the only thing that made Nepgear like that?" Marvy asked nervously. Since she managed to talk normally earlier when they were in a strategy meeting, now that it was over, her nervousness came back. That ominous feeling that was coming from Nepgear returned to her.

And of course, IF was no different. "Y...Your guess is as good as mine..." She said. "A-Anyway, let's just get to the plan. We can't waste any more time."

"R-Right..."

~o~O~o~

In the streets of Lowee, Nepgear was running towards the center where a very tall tower was located. The hoodie of her outfit was covering her face so no one would recognize her, and it was proven effective. One thing was because there were few to no people loitering around as most of the civilians evacuated already. The only ones that she was passing by were hunters and adventurers.

She arrived at her destination without any interruptions. Not really a good thing, per se, because of the current crisis in Lowee, but she was glad that the building was empty. That way, nobody would question her entering without any verification of sorts.

She looked around her to see if there were people around her. After verifying that the place was deserted, she transformed and quickly headed for the roof. As she landed on top, she immediately scouted the borders using the virtual scope of her gunblade. From up there, she could see the monsters nearing the borders, and from her estimation, it wouldn't take them a long time before making contact with the adventurers.

"...About fifteen minutes, or less than that." Nepgear mumbled as she finished scouting all the borders. She couldn't estimate the number of monsters from each direction but that didn't give her a hard time making a decision on where to defend first.

"...I should start in the direction of where Lastation is... was." Nepgear then turned to the said direction and aimed down her sights. She decided that because Lastation was no more, the monsters around that area might've headed towards Lowee, and that would mean double the numbers, even though she couldn't exactly estimate the total numbers.

Nepgear could already see flying monsters headed towards Lowee. She brought her sights down to check the ground units; there, the adventurers and hunters were already in position just outside the borders. The goal was to not let a single monster break through the gates but Nepgear knew that it would be impossible to achieve that.

"Heh... IF is also in that direction..." Nepgear said as she saw IF in front of the adventurers. It seemed like she was leading them, and Nepgear was glad to see that. They probably wouldn't need Nepgear's help against ground enemies, which was what Nepgear thought.

Nepgear then brought her sights towards the direction of Gamindustri Graveyard. There, Marvy blended in the adventurers. She expected that since Marvy was a shinobi, leading a lot of people wouldn't be her forte. Her best tactic would be a hit and run style. The direction towards Planeptune didn't pose much threat as much as the other two so even without the aid of IF and Marvy, the adventurers should be fine since Planeptune was always reducing the number of monsters in their territory, but Nepgear wasn't overconfident. Whatever the case, she still had to provide aid in that direction if the situation called for it.

"...Well, then. Let's get started."

~o~O~o~

Just outside the Lowee border towards the direction of Lastation, a lot of adventurers were gathered. They were set to defend the gates at all costs, even if it would cost them their life.

Among the adventurers, IF was standing in front of them, with her facing forward to scout the monsters using her binoculars. Of course, it didn't look very pleasant to her eyes as they were totally outnumbered, but she believed that anyone among their ranks was weak.

As soon as she got the gist of what they were up against, she put down her binoculars and faced the adventurers.

"As you guys already know, we're totally outnumbered here." IF declared. Even though that was not a good thing, none of the adventurers felt chickening out. Lowee was very important to them and they would stop at nothing from keeping it safe. "In more or less ten minutes, the monsters will be swarming in front of us, but we can't push too far because our main objective is not letting a single one of them get inside."

The crowd roared as a response.

"We have flying enemies and that would pose a very big threat, so anyone who can shoot those should focus on it." IF said. "We also have air support from afar that would help us against them so you just have to keep on doing what you have to do."

As IF was delegating tasks to everyone, someone braved up and asked something that shouldn't need to be asked. "Uh, Ms. IF? Who's the person who will help us against the flying monsters?"

IF jolted a little as she stared at the female adventurer. "That... you do not need to know her identity. As for the location of that person..." IF pointed to the tallest building in the center of the city, which the crowd followed. "That person will be sniping from up there."

From the ground where they were standing, of course, they couldn't see a figure on the tower where IF was pointing, but a little short while afterward, a large beam laser suddenly emerged from there heading towards their direction. But of course, they were not the target; the beam passed by above them and went to the direction where the monsters were.

"Looks like they're closing in." IF said as she prepared her katars. "Everyone, get ready to defend Lowee!"

"OOOOHHHHHH!" The adventurers roared to boost their morale as the monsters were approaching.

~o~O~o~

At the other border of Lowee that was facing the direction of Gamindustri Graveyard, another group of adventurers was gathered. Among them was Marvy, who was in the frontmost of the crowd that was being led by a veteran adventurer. Prior to this time, Marvy had explained the situation and Nepgear's role without telling them the identity of the CPU. As they were discussing their strategies, the lead adventurer saw the beam laser emerge from the tower in the center of the city headed towards the other border.

"That's our cue." The lead adventurer said as the beam disappeared. "Alright, you guys. Get switched on, it's time to defend our home!"

The crowd roared to boost their morale as they prepared themselves for the incoming attack. They then charged outside the gates to prevent anything from going inside, while Marvy did her job as a shinobi, disappearing into thin air and scouted for the monsters.

Marvy reappeared on one of the trees' branches, just a few meters from the adventurers. She could see the monsters marching already towards their direction and they would make contact in no time. The numbers were somehow worrying Marvy but they had no other options but to reduce them with everything they've got.

"May Goddess help us..." Marvy unconsciously said, even though Nepgear was already helping them. She just couldn't help it.

~o~O~o~

1 hour passed.

On top of the tall tower in the center of the city, Nepgear could be seen shooting her weapon in all directions. She kept on changing the direction of her aim to support all of Lowee's borders, but the monsters didn't seem to be reducing in numbers. It also had been an hour since the attack started, but there was still no news from Histoire about the restoration of Lowee's divine protection. From her scope, the adventurers could be seen holding their ground, but Nepgear could see that they were growing fatigued already. An hour of non-stop battle would definitely drain anyone's stamina, after all.

She was getting impatient already as the situation didn't improve whatsoever and instead became worse, so she decided to stop her attacks and called Histoire. The call was picked up in just a few seconds. "Hello? Histoire? What's taking you so long?"

"Ah, we had a hard time directly connecting both our share reserves, so we used a pseudo-wire to connect the two." Histoire replied.

"YOU WHAT?!" Nepgear was surprised to hear that. As to why she was surprised, "Where did you re-route the link then?! Do you know what possibilities of danger could that bring to us?!"

Nepgear heard Histoire sigh. "I know, Nepgear. This is just temporary, but we also made the link private. Don't worry, it might be routed on a layer two traffic, but it's not the one that we're currently using. It's our backup line in case our main network goes down."

"Just get to the point, Histoire. I don't know how long the people can hold out here." Nepgear said as she resumed her sniping. There were more flying monsters arriving on every border and she made sure each of her shots counted.

"What I'm trying to say is, it's a backup network for the one we're currently using. We failed to directly connect both reserves because Lowee didn't have enough resources, so Planeptune shouldered everything to establish the link."

Nepgear sighed in relief. "As long as we're not broadcasting something, then I'm okay with it."

"Don't worry, we will deactivate the connection once we bring up Lowee's Divine Protection."

Nepgear nodded unconsciously. "That's cool and all, but can you hurry it up? The adventurers were getting fatigued already and the numbers of the enemy don't seem like to be reducing."

There was a slight pause from Histoire which made Nepgear raise an eyebrow. "That's... yes, we can speed the transfer of shares... but..."

"But what? We don't have the luxury like time in our current situation."

"You... you will definitely feel an unpleasant feeling if we do it."

Nepgear clenched her fists as she heard that. She was sure that 'unpleasant' would be an understatement, but given Lowee's situation, she couldn't be picky now. After all, many lives were at stake it, or even Lowee itself.

And so, she made up her mind. "Do it, Histoire."

Histoire sighed in a low volume before replying. "Okay... it will take three minutes for the stream to reach Lowee, another three minutes to bring the divine protection back up... and another three minutes return the excess shares back to Planeptune after we cut the line. Is that okay with you?"

"Just do it, Histoire." Nepgear ordered. "I can handle myself."

"Okay. Just hold out there for a little." The call then was ended by Histoire.

Nepgear turned back to her weapon's sights and aimed back at the monsters. It was just her feeling but it looked like the number of monsters increased. The adventurers were getting pushed back, especially the direction towards Planeptune.

As she was about to pull the trigger, her body suddenly felt very heavy as she almost dropped down to the ground. She unintentionally let go of her weapon as she braced herself to keep her balance.

"W-What... i-is...?!" Nepgear couldn't even muster her voice properly due to the pressure she was feeling from inside and out. She then turned around and saw the Basilicom emitting light towards the sky, and then towards Planeptune's direction. That must've been the link Histoire was talking about.

"Un...pleasant... i-is... r-r-really an under...statement...!" Nepgear could barely keep her balance. The black marks on her body were glowing as well. Her vision was gradually turning dark as if she was going to collapse, but she couldn't afford that. She still had to help defend Lowee.

Nepgear struggled to pick her weapon up again. Her body was shaking terribly and she couldn't keep a stable posture at all. Still, she tried to aim down her weapon's sights.

"...This is crap...!" Nepgear's shots were not hitting anything at all, but still, she kept on firing. The pressure on her body was getting stronger every second, and she had to endure this for a good ten minutes. "...Get yourself... together... me...!"

She then changed the direction of her aim towards IF's group. From up there, she could see the adventurers getting pushed back little by little. The same went for Marvy's group as she directed her sights on them. The battle was dragging too long and it was only taking a toll on their side. After all, fatigue is one of the worst enemies of anyone on the battlefield.

Nepgear was about to fire another shot when she heard an explosion from afar. It didn't come from where she was aiming nor where IF's group was, but towards Planeptune's direction. She quickly turned her aim towards that direction but her body experienced a very sharp pain from the inside that she almost dropped her weapon again.

"...Haah... Haah..." Her breathing was getting heavier by the second and it wasn't even five minutes since it started.

As Nepgear finally got a good look from where she was aiming, she gasped hard that it almost made her choke. She saw the adventurers retreating; most of them were injured, and the monsters broke through their defenses already.

"...Damn it...!" Nepgear cursed as she watched the events unfold through her scope. She was contemplating if she should jump down there and risk her identity getting blown, or just keep shooting from up there but let the monsters get in.

Even so, she still knew what she had to do, and that was the only logical thing for her to do. Nepgear then summoned a red flare and lit it up. She dropped it on the ground and let the smoke go up the skies before flying down towards the breached side of Lowee.

"I'm... not going to... let Lowee... be harmed... too!"

~o~O~o~

Back in IF's group, they were continuously repelling monsters despite them getting pushed back. There was no time to rest at all as every monster they kill, two more would appear, and this had been repeating ever since the attack began.

"Don't lose focus! Just take out as many monsters as you can!" IF commanded as she kept on slicing the monsters in their vitals for an easy kill. "Back away if you need to-"

Before she could complete what she wanted to say, one of the adventurers called her attention. "Ms. IF! Look over there!"

IF then brought her attention towards where the adventurer was pointing at. "...What the...?!" IF couldn't believe what she just saw.

The place where the adventurer was pointing at was the tower where Nepgear was, and there was red smoke rising up from there. She was no soldier, but she knew what that red smoke meant. Something must've happened to Nepgear, was what IF assumed.

Without wasting any time, IF broke through the horde of monsters and shouted at her comrades. "I'm gonna check that red smoke out. You guys hold-" Again, before she was about to complete what she wanted to say, she was interrupted by another adventurer pointing at somewhere.

"Ms. IF, look over there too!"

Irritated, IF answered, "What is it-?!" She interrupted herself as she saw what was in the direction where the adventurer was pointing at.

"What the hell...?!"

There was a red smoke coming from the border to Planeptune. IF then looked back at the tower, then to the border again. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"No, Nepgear...!" IF realized the possible scenario that could unfold. She then called the attention of the other adventurers while pointing to the second red smoke. "I'm going to that red smoke. Hold your ground here!" Without wasting a second, IF dashed towards the border with the red smoke.

There were a few kilometers of distance so it took IF a few minutes to arrive at full speed. As she did so, she was surprised by what she saw. There were several adventurers wounded who were retreating, and in their vanguard was none other than Nepgear. But the faces of the adventurers didn't look relieved at all.

"Nep-" IF was about to call her when she noticed something wrong with Nepgear. Her body was shaking madly, especially her arms. It didn't look like Nepgear was afraid; like monsters could do that to her anyway.

As IF was staring at Nepgear, the CPU then fired her weapon and a beam melted the enemies in front of her. It wasn't as strong as IF expected, but for some reason, it blew Nepgear backward and crashed on the ground.

"Nepgear!" IF didn't hesitate and immediately rushed to Nepgear's aid. She then helped the CPU up back to her feet, and it surprised her to see Nepgear's current state, especially the black marks on her face that were already glowing dark red. "What happened to you?!"

Nepgear was relieved to see IF. "IF... Histoire is... speeding up the process... of restoring the... divine protection." She said as she aimed her weapon again and fired at the monsters. This time, she didn't get blown by the recoil because IF was supporting her, but still, the monsters didn't stop from breaking inside Lowee.

"What does that have to do with you looking so drained?"

Nepgear breathed a deep one before answering IF's question. "It's... taking a heavy toll... on my share reserves... that I can actually... feel it."

IF understood what Nepgear meant by that. Actually, that was the only thing that could explain her situation. "Okay, I understand. How long will this take?"

"The divine protection... should go up any minute... now..." Nepgear's eyes widened afterward in surprise. If was confused as to why Nepgear did that, but when she brought her attention to where Nepgear was looking at, she made the same reaction.

From the border, there was a very large monster that almost as tall as the medium-sized buildings around. And it wasn't just any big ordinary monster.

"Is that... an Ancient Dragon...?" IF gasped. Though there was something different with this ancient dragon that she was seeing, since as far as she knew, Ancient Dragons didn't grow that big, and the color scheme was definitely different from the one she usually knew.

"No..." Nepgear said as she broke away from IF. "That's... not an Ancient Dragon..." She said as she readied her weapon. "That's... a God of Fire."

IF was surprised to hear that. "A God of Fire, you say?!" She only heard about it in books as that being was considered a legend, but to think that that it existed all along, it really caught IF off-guard.

The God of Fire released a breath of fire from afar, incinerating everything in its path. Nepgear raised a barrier to protect herself, IF, and the other adventurers behind her, but it broke down after the creature's attack, blowing both IF and Nepgear backward.

"Haah..." Both IF and Nepgear grunted in pain. IF managed to stand up immediately but Nepgear couldn't even lift her body up. IF realized that and so she helped Nepgear back to her feet.

"T-Thanks..." Nepgear said.

IF just swung her head. "Don't mention it." IF replied before turning to the monstrous being in front of them. "How are we going to defeat this thing?"

Nepgear broke away from IF and took a step forward. She almost lost her balance but good thing she managed to use her weapon as a stand. "I... can defeat this thing... but I need everyone... else here, including you... to get away from here as far as you can..."

"What?! What can you even do in your current state?!" IF couldn't believe that Nepgear would suggest something outrageous as that. Her proposition was tantamount to Nepgear sacrificing herself, and IF of course wasn't very into the idea.

"If it bleeds... I can kill it." Nepgear said as she smirked sinisterly, which sent shivers down IF's spine. "More so if it's a God."

Now that completely scared IF. She had never seen Nepgear act like this before as if Nepgear's whole being was covered in malice. IF could just step back, feeling more danger from Nepgear than the current invaders. Even though Nepgear was in a pathetic state, IF could definitely feel the power emanating from her.

"I... suggest you step back more, IF. Take... the adventurers... with you..."

IF didn't hesitate and complied with Nepgear's order. She headed over the wounded adventurers and tended to them. "Let's go. We don't wanna be here when Nepgear starts."

"But... Ms. IF, she's in a miserable state than us..."

"No, Nepgear might go rampant at this moment." IF said. The adventurers just gulped before complying with IF's order and retreated back, and right after they got a few meters away from Nepgear, the atmosphere around them was suddenly filled with dread, making them stop on their tracks.

"...W-Wha-?!" IF became paralyzed all of a sudden, and so did the adventures. IF struggled to turn around to see what was going since she could feel the intense malice coming from behind, and as she managed so, to her surprise, she saw Nepgear emanating dark purple aura around her, with her weapon stabbed on the ground.

The dark purple aura then expanded and turned into a pillar that covered Nepgear's entire being and rose up to the skies. Shortly after that, the pillar disappeared, revealing Nepgear in the same state, but with a slight difference. She was now holding another sword on her left hand.

IF saw what had transpired, and was also surprised by what happened. She did recognize the sword Nepgear was holding; in fact, it was the reason why everything in this world was still intact, though already crumbling little by little due to the events that were occurring.

"The God-killing sword... Gehaburn..." IF blurted out unconsciously, which was heard by the adventurers around her.

"A what?" One of the adventurers asked. IF jolted as she heard that question and immediately covered her mouth. She then faced them with a worried look on her face, but as she was about to speak, the ground started to shake madly.

"Wha-?!" The adventurers lost their balance and fell down on the ground, except IF who managed to keep her footing. She turned back to Nepgear and saw that the aura around her was growing stronger. In an instant, Nepgear disappeared from her position and reappeared in front of the dragon, slashing its face, but her attack was blocked by the dragon's claw.

Nepgear's blade sliced the dragon's claw, which made the creature roar in pain. Nepgear blinked back down to the ground and dashed back to the dragon to deliver another attack. This time, the dragon created a barrier to block Nepgear's attack.

"...?!" Nepgear had this surprised expression as she saw her attack got repelled. She gritted her teeth and repeated the process and eventually, the barrier started to get dented.

As the attack continued, the ground's shaking grew intense. IF's group couldn't move due to the tremors but if they wouldn't get away as soon as possible, they would get caught in the battle.

"Move! Things would get ugly for us if we stay here!" IF ordered as she pulled some of the adventurers who were injured more. "Pull those who can't stand, even if you have to drag them!"

The adventurers had no choice but to stand up on their feet even if the pain was unbearable. They started to escape the vicinity without looking back. As they got a good distance away from Nepgear's battlefield, about a few kilometers away, they had a break. All of a sudden, the skies became so bright that it almost blinded them, and then it disappeared afterward. IF knew what could that mean and decided to share with the adventurers what she knew.

"It seems like the divine protection of Lowee has been restored. The monsters won't be able to coordinately march towards the city." The adventurers then sighed in relief as they heard the good news. "But the restoration being this fast must have taken a huge toll on Nepgear more than I imagined. I will go back and assist her."

"W-Wait, Ms. IF! Don't you know what that thing is?! You can't fight that thing!" One of the concerned adventurers said. It was clear to IF how worried the adventurers, but she couldn't leave Nepgear alone.

And so, IF just swung her head. "I... can hold my own." IF said. "...Besides, that girl... has a heavy burden on her shoulders and never shared them with anyone. It's the least I can do for her."

Without waiting for any replies, IF dashed back to Nepgear's location. Their location was a bit far from Nepgear's position so it'd take a short while before she could get back, but she wished that nothing would happen to Nepgear. She believed in Nepgear's strength, that's one thing, but her current condition was what worried IF.

Halfway there, IF heard a very loud scream, which made her stop and cover her ears. It also somewhat made her body heavier as if gravity was intensified. It stopped after a few moments, but IF felt like she was drained of her strength.

"What... was that...?"

Sadly her question wasn't answered.

~o~O~o~

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

Nepgear dropped down from the sky to deliver a downward slash towards the dragon. Its barriers were getting destroyed after Nepgear repeatedly attacked the same spot, giving way for her attack to connect, though it was taking a heavy toll on her stamina.

"Haah... Haah..." Nepgear's breath was getting heavier by the second. The divine protection just got restored, and the excess shares were coming back to her reserves. It wasn't giving her a heavy feeling but the surge of share energy was something she couldn't handle properly because of her body's condition. That's why even though her source of power was going back to her, it was backfiring instead.

"Ngh...!" Nepgear gripped on her head. She felt a very sharp pain from it which made her let go of her main weapon. Her vision was starting to fade away, but she didn't know the reason why, until she started to hear voices.

"Why...?!"

Nepgear's eyes widened as that voice spoke through her ears. Actually, no, it didn't speak through her ears but through her mind instead. And what was more, she completely recognized that voice which made gave chills down her spine.

"Why didn't you protect Lastation?!"

After hearing those words, Nepgear was certain. It was Noire's voice that was echoing in her mind. And even though her consciousness was awake, her vision was fading away, and she could see a blurry figure in front of her. It may be blurred, but she could recognize whose figure was that.

"No..."

Nepgear was swinging her head madly as she was feeling fear towards the blurry figure that her eyes were giving her. She knew that she was hallucinating, but still, she couldn't keep her mind from not believing the silhouette in front of her.

"No... no... no... no...!"

She was hearing the same words over and over as the blurred silhouette approached her. For a delusion, this was too realistic for Nepgear, as if it was manifesting from her mind.

While she was having an internal conflict, the dragon didn't wait for her and delivered a fire breath attack. But even with that advantage...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Nepgear screamed at the top of her lungs, which must've been heard by the whole nation as it could be louder than the loudest sound that an object could produce. Afterward, Nepgear picked both her weapon up and instantly dashed towards the God of Fire. In just a split second, she passed by the monster, cutting both its left arm and wing, and then she landed on the ground a few meters away from it. The beast roared in pain as it got injured and attempted to flee failed as it only had one wing.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nepgear screamed again as she was gripping on her head. The black marks on her face were glowing sinisterly red; it must've been the influence of the cursed sword she was wielding but she couldn't let go of it.

Shortly after that, there were a lot of monsters approaching her position. Those monsters didn't come from the border, but from every direction aside from it. They must've been attracted by Nepgear and for whatever she did earlier, and they came from the other borders that got past through before the divine protection got restored.

Nepgear gritted her teeth as she saw the group of smaller monsters head towards her direction. The numbers were against her odds, but that didn't stop her from doing her job.

"Don't...!"

Nepgear prepared her weapons.

"Get...!"

Nepgear did a spinning slash and sliced the first wave of monsters. Their guts splattered everywhere without Nepgear giving two cares about it.

"In my...!"

She jumped in midair before rolling downward and smashing the next and last wave of monsters down to the ground. A small crater was made as Nepgear crushed both the monsters and the ground. Actually, that attack transformed the whole area into ruins.

"WAY...!"

Nepgear stomped her foot and jumped towards the God of Fire, aiming for its head, but the dragon managed to keep its head from getting detached and instead sacrificed its right arm and wing

"Tch...!" Nepgear clicked her tongue as she landed on her feet and slid on the ground. She turned back to the dragon and saw it charging its breath of fire again. Just a second after that, the attack was thrown at Nepgear, leaving her with no time to evade and so she just blocked the fire with her weapons and her quickly made barrier.

"Ngh...!" Nepgear was trying to hold out as much as she can but her barrier started to have cracks and it was cracking very fast. "Ah...!" Her barrier finally broke and it blew her backward, but she managed to stay on her toes. She turned her attention back to the dragon and saw that it was stepping back.

"...!" Nepgear saw this as a chance and dashed back towards the dragon. In just a split second, she managed to reach the monster and attempted to deliver a sideward slash, but it was blocked by another barrier.

But of course, Nepgear wouldn't let her attack go to waste.

"Why... won't you..."

Nepgear pushed her blades further. The barrier started to have cracks from the blades.

"JUST DIE!" Nepgear poured more strength on her blades and finally broke the barrier, but then she was met with another nightmare.

The God of Fire was charging her breath of fire while Nepgear was trying to break the barrier, and now it was heading towards her.

'Ah, is this as far as I can go...?'

Time seemed to have moved slower as Nepgear waited for her impending doom. She had no strength left to spare to block the attack, now that she was at its point-blank range. Nepgear was about to close her eyes and let the fire burn her when suddenly, three blurry silhouettes appeared before her, which surprised her.

"Are you just going to give up just like that?"

Despite the blurry image, Nepgear completely recognized that voice. It was a voice that she could never, ever forget, as she owed a lot to her.

"Didn't you say that you will protect Gamindustri?"

"Didn't you say that you will do everything for our world?"

The voices; Nepgear's heart started to race. Her promise to them. The commitment she made when she took their lives. To protect Gamindustri. To keep Gamindustri safe. To not let any harm befall upon it. And lastly, to serve the people. Nepgear was tired of it; she really was. But alas, fate must've had different plans for her as she wouldn't be off the hook that easily.

'Ah... I see...'

Nepgear unconsciously smirked.

'I just can't take the easy way out... huh?'

Nepgear finally closed her eyes, but it wasn't because she gave up. After seeing those silhouettes, hearing those voices, giving up would be the last thing she could do.

'If that's the case, then bring it!'

Before the fire could hit Nepgear, she brought Gehaburn at the right side of her neck and sliced it. The God of Fire's flame then engulfed Nepgear, but after a short while, the flames dissipated, revealing Nepgear covered in a dark purple aura. She wasn't completely unscathed as several burns could be seen from her skin and processor unit.

"Nggrrggh..." Nepgear was gritting her teeth. Her right eye was glowing red, along with the black marks on her face. Her teeth were bleeding due to her gritting it very hard. With her actions, she was left half-conscious, that was why she couldn't speak comprehensible words. But the power she gained was definitely noticeable.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHH!"

Nepgear raised both of her blades and then rolled downwards, slicing the body of the dragon along the way. The monster roared in pain as Nepgear sliced down to the bottom, but her attack didn't end there. In just a flash, she dashed forward and sliced its right foot then the tail into several parts, and lastly the left foot. Blood splattered everywhere each slash, and finally, the dragon fell down on the ground, but it was pretty much still alive.

"...Ngh..." Nepgear just grunted as she approached the dragon. She didn't cut the dragon's head to kill it and instead, she sliced it into two, cracking the head open. Short while after that, the body of the dragon vaporized, leaving none of its traces. Nepgear was about to sigh in relief when she felt a great pain in her chest, which made her let go of her blades and clench onto it.

"Haah... Haah..." She was losing air to breathe. Her glowing right eye became brighter, and the purple marks on her right face were moving. She couldn't even scream from the pain she was feeling because she couldn't breathe. The dark purple aura around her suddenly went inside her chest, but after a short while, it went out and headed towards Gehaburn which she just dropped.

After all of that ordeal, Nepgear fell down onto the ground, with a bit of her consciousness left.

"..."

Her vision was gradually fading. Actually, she could hardly see anything anymore.

Other than the blurry figure of a person staring at her.

Alright, chapter 4 is done!

Sorry guys again for not updating for about four months? Welp, my new work rendered me with less time to write. Even now when I'm in lockdown due to COVID-19, my right middle finger hurts. I don't wanna stress it any further so I think I'm gonna refrain activities that use my fingers other than when I'm working, until I get it checked.

I managed to break the 10k word count, heh. Well, just an exchange for me not updating for so long.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the chapter? Drop it in the reviews!

Until next time, see ya guys!