Chapter 21-2

Hunter and Hunted (Finale)

Akira suddenly found herself in an empty void. There's nothing here… nothing. Not even the darkness of space… point in fact where is she? It's like the light at the end of the tunnel had engulfed her senses… was she looking or did she go blind… she's not sure anymore… The pain that had so tortured her was gone and she found she can breathe just fine… wait is she… breathing? She's not so sure… of anything anymore.

But once she's adjusted to her new surroundings, she also noticed she's not alone.

Standing in front of is a girl she had never seen before. She seems to be entirely composed of shadow and purple smoke. Her long hair was tied into a pair of very long pigtails, and she was dressed in what appears to be royal garments. Her eyes glowed neon green and her smile still visible even through the discoloration of her dark pigmentation.

Akira recognized her. "You're… Lieselotte W. Dorssia… right?"

Her eyes widened slightly but she shook her head briefly. She lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed courteously. "I am Mistltein. Humble servant of milady."

"Mistltein…?"

"Do you want power?"

"What?"

"Do you want to save all your brethren suffering down there?"

"…I do." Akira frowned however. She had heard all about this type of Faustian deals. "But what do I have to give in return!?"

The ethereal being simply shook her head. "For now, nothing."

"For now?" Akira raised an eyebrow. At least she's honest that this is a free sample. For now. Which means she did not try to hide that this was a temporary setting bound to change in the future. Akira frowned in deep thought. "…you helped me once before didn't you?" She remembered that one little help Malefic had given her when she faced her berserk Brother.

Mistltein smiled and nodded. "T'was but a little nudge."

"Why me?"

"Akira-chan, I've been watching you for a long time since I got here. Your mastery with the cyberworld you dabbled with is akin to my master's own skill set, albeit somewhat different. My master ordered me to find a worthy one, and I believe you are it. But she also told me to use my own judgment. So… here's how it's going to work. For now… I will permit you to use my powers freely… for… ummm… 9 times. I'll even save your life just this once… for free."

"Nine times? And what do you hope to gain from it?"

"As I have mentioned, I will assess you. For nine times, I will give you a sample of my powers. And I will let you use it as you see fit… because I want to see what you will do with it. Interested?"

"What kind of power do you have?"

Mistltein stretched out her hand. "Take my hand… and you will see."

Akira fearfully stretched out her hand… but paused momentarily in uncertainty… before she finally reached out and touched the ethereal hand.

A light erupted and engulfed the void…

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Pino felt a nudge in her ephemeral chest. A nudge strong enough that it drew her attention away from Marie and Grey's duel for the first time.

She hadn't felt this feeling since… "…Lieselotte…?"

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The Malefic sense nerve suddenly lit back up, and her Rave Engine began to build up energy, much to Jin's surprise. But they came in form of dark matter seeping out of her exhausts.

"Wh… What…!?"

The Malefic start moving again, and unknown to everyone, she was moving on its own.

"Akira-chan, are you alright?"

They have no idea that the pilot had nothing to with what's currently transpiring. The Malefic did not answer. She instead pulled out a Wakizashi from her waist. She held it with both hands… and she pointed it at her own throat.

"Akira…chan…?"

She pressed it against the side of her throat… and sliced it open.

"Jigai-?" As soon as Jin said that, blood sprayed out of the slit wound in Malefic's throat. Wait… is that really blood? It's far too thick and glutinous, and it splattered all over the place… and more importantly it's not red blood. It's black, thick pitch black with purple energy glowing within. And the impossible happened, the blood was splattered flat… on the surface of empty space around the Malefic, as if there's this invisible wall surrounding her.

"W… what is this…?"

The 'black blood' kept spraying for a good long while, as if it's draining every drop of liquid inside the Malefic. It wasn't long before the Malefic suddenly fell limp as the last drop of this dark blood flowed out – though her Sense Nerve remained lit. Once that was done, the blood began to move again. As if it has a life of its own, every droplet of blood rose up and converges behind the Malefic and formed… another Malefic. An exact shadowy Doppelganger, but composed entirely out of darkness and smoke, with purple energy simmering within. And unlike the mechanical Malefic, her doppelganger seems to be more biomechanical in nature. It also copied the array of sense nerves on her body as tendrils of shadow and black mist, but they did not shine. Nevertheless, an identical crown of neon green sense nerve adorned its faceless head, and this one did glow neon green.

The wraithlike Malefic flew out towards the Kakaiju and at first, Jin thought they were about to collide… but no. The intangible wraith literally went through him like a ghost. It left the confused Kakaiju behind unharmed and untouched while it zoomed towards where Akira lay in pain, unnoticed by all but the immaterial mech. In one instant, her massive form engulfed Akira's figure before it flew away from the scene like a billowing mist, the pilot was nowhere to be seen.

When Akira woke up, the pain was gone, but she found herself inside the most surreal environment. She can breathe again, and all the damage her helmetless outer space experience had inflicted quickly regenerated. She's inside a spherical room made entirely out of this misty shadowy material that composed this ethereal Malefic. A wisp of this smoke converged before her and Mistltein's avatar of Lieselotte reformed in front of her and bowed with a smile.

"Thank… you." Her throat is still sore but she can speak. "…I… don't suppose… you can find… my helmet?"

"Why would you need that?"

"…" She's gonna pretend that was an alien joke. Well, she can breathe just fine, so. "…so… what should… we do now?"

"As we established, you may use my power freely nine times to accomplish any of your designs."

"…what can you do?"

"Try… anything and everything… for a start. The question is… what do you want to do?"

Akira tried to think. "…does… uhh… if I asked: 'can you show me the situation out there', does it count as one?"

Mistltein chortled and shook her head. "What kind of servant I would be if it takes that much effort just to fulfill the very basics of tasks?" The mist whirled and flowed, it opened up multiple holes that acted like the alien version of circular monitors. Images showing the events outside came to view like the reflection on the surface of water… in 32k and Crystal clear super HD quality. "Here's a tip: try asking something that sounds impossible."

And the image shows… fleets, upon fleets of Splicers. All of them had nuclear payload. And they all came swarming upon her.

Jin and his team were chilled down to their bones. "…where's your nuclear deterrent when you need one!?"

Akira grunted. "Okay… then… first wish… can you stop them from blowing up my friends!?"

"Easy peasy lemony whatever it was."

First Wish: stop a charging fleet of nuclear suicide bomber.

The Mistltein Valvrave batted her left arm, and a massive claw formed, floating over her actual hand. Its leaner than the mechanical power claws. In fact its talons are longer and narrower, more skeletal. And the dark matter created the claw to be more biomechanical in nature – like a disembodied hand.

When dozens of nuclear armed suicide fighter came charging, all she did… was snap her finger.

…and reality split apart.

Dozens of nuclear armed suicide fighters was swallowed by the gaping maw of the torn reality and when they were spat back out on the other side, the pilots were flung out into space due to the lost momentum when their star fighters turned into a flock of songbirds that now flutter out of the torn reality.

"W… Whaa…!?" Jin felt like his brain just gone haywire. "What in the…"

And for the record… they're still in outer space.

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The crew of the Valravn who witnessed this sanity muddling sight also jaw dropped. The only one who did not was Pino and, surprisingly, Kriemhild.

"…I've seen this before… that smoke too…" She had witnessed the Princess of Dorssia alter the weather, changed rats into bats… and so much more… "That black smoke creature… Is that… who I think it is?"

"No." Pino answered. "That's not Lieselotte if that's what you're asking. That's Mistltein. Lieselotte's very own 7th dimensional Sentient Valvrave."

Kriemhild blinked in confusion. "Wait… THAT'S a Valvrave!?" She didn't even understand what being 7th dimensional means.

"An original unit just like Dainslev. But it's the only one of its kind, made personally by the Grim Witch. It is also a perfect testament of her skill and genius, the first Valvrave who attained perfect sentience… and even perfectly inherited her powers. I imagine she's been storing all her runes in her for centuries."

"Lieselotte's powers?" Ivan frowned at the mentioned of her 'daughter'.

"One thing that we Magius immediately learned when we first crossed Universe… your universe has rules." Pino explained. "Unseen, unfelt, but omnipresent and absolute, such is the laws of nature that shaped your world. Physics, chemistry, biology, arithmetic… these are the things you humans created to try to codify those rules. To help you understand the way the world, your reality, works. You make them by observing what these rules do in your life: gravity pulls you down, fire is hot, up is up, time moves forward, no oxygen in outer space… etc, etc. And for the most part, they are accurate. Human… all living creatures are shaped and dictated by these laws of the Universe. But what if it wasn't?"

By now, most of the crew at the bridge gave Pino their undivided attention.

"What if you can somehow rewrite those rules: gravity pulls you sideways, up is down, fire is cold, time moves backwards… what if… you can superimpose your will upon reality itself? Instead of reality shaping you… you shaped reality to become what you wished it to be." Pino looked at Mistltein's ephemeral form. "The secondary ability of the Malehexen Magius. Quite possibly the most powerful and dangerous of all abilities of all Subpecies of Magius: Corruption. The ability to break and rewrite the rules that shaped your very reality itself."

And while everyone in earshot is now busily preventing themselves from soiling their pants, Kriemhild pondered: "Such… power… there can be no limit to what it can do!?"

"Don't be silly, of course there are limits." Pino shook her head. "We call it the Cat's Box law. From that Schrodinger box. Yes, that Schrodinger Cat."

"Uhhh… Schrodinger Cat? Cat's box?"

"It's a thought experiment, yes? Put a cat inside a box and in so doing you turned that cat into an unknown value. In that state of unknown, the cat's condition cannot be confirmed by outside viewers. So… Let's say, you sealed the box completely so that it can never be opened and you only tell people there's a cat in the box. Well, yes, others will only know there's a cat in the box. But no one will know what state the cat was in: it could be alive, it could be dead, it could be mutated into a Catzilla… still didn't understand why you had to put a radioactive material into it for that experiment… Basically, you won't know what becomes of that cat for as long as the box remains closed. So long as no one opens that box to see what becomes of that cat or if there's indeed a cat inside that box, the idea that 'there is a cat in the box' will never change. A 'cat' will forever exist in that box as long as there are people who believe there's a cat in that box"

"The point being…?" Kriemhild asked before any more of her men's brains short-circuited.

"The point is, that experiment sees things from the perspective of the people outside. Has anyone ever asks what the 'cat' in the box thinks? From the Cat's perspective, the box is its world. It doesn't care what people outside the box believe. So long as no one opened the seal of that box, as long as everyone believes there's a cat in that box… that box can stay sealed for centuries… and the existence of the cat inside that box will continue for centuries. So long as the lid of the box remained closed, the cat… the existence inside the box can believe whatever it wants inside that sealed box… That is our version of Schrodinger Cat thought experiment. This… world of the cat, where the cat can make the world on what it perceive it to be – as long as the lid remained shut. The Cat's Box. The most powerful Spell ever conceived by the power of Malehexen's Corruption."

And Kriemhild suddenly understands why Malehexen is so terrifying. "…pocket dimension. She creates a pocket dimension where the laws of nature within that world will obey her absolute will. So, she can alter reality within that pocket reality. Inside that pocket dimension… she's… practically a God."

"For as long as it last."

"…as long as it last?"

"Cat's Box is not meant to be used for combat. Apart from the fact it was the basis of our FTL travels, but… originally, it was meant to simulate the environment of our Universe. My people need to indwell within Valvraves to survive in any other universe apart from our own, but… when that was not available; Malehexens will create the Cat's Box for their essences to momentarily take refuge. I emphasis on momentarily because creating a Cat's Box… or the Pocket Dimension as you put it… is a taxing endeavor. Especially, if you fiddle around with the natural laws inside it a little too much. That's probably the biggest weakness of the Malehexen: they're all huge glutton of Runes – probably the most out of all Magius."

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Violet's purple hood hides a very exhausted and youthful face, panting and wheezing. She knew she should've never used her Cat's Box for this… but she certainly did not expect her Box to be damaged to this extent. Point in fact, HOW did one damage reality itself!? Fixing it had drained what little reserve of Runes she had left. Now's forget about altering the universe, she's struggling to maintain its integrity as it is for as long as she did. Come to think of it… she had no idea the fight with the Behemoth would last this long.

Without the Gryphon, the Queen lost aerial superiority and the Behemoth reverted back to its tried and true method: stop thinking… just land a punch on her. And much as Violet hates to admit, that's the right decision for now. One punch from that oversized fist and her frail Queen will be obliterated in a heartbeat. That being said, it's not like she was being idle. This Cat's box is still under her absolute control, and these idiots still had no idea what to do except apparently this simple plan. But then again…

She had made that yellow abomination crushed, battered, grinded by the pieces of the shattered reality around her. She dropped entire mountains atop them, rain the sky to slice them like swords… And insofar the worst damage she inflicted on it was just a few dents, scratches, and bents. She knew Valvrave made from original unit can be tough… but she never heard a Valvrave THAT tough. What's worse, they start being able to actually fight back.

The Queen ordered several blocks of the world to launch itself towards the Behemoth. The Behemoth stands his ground… and punched those blocks back at her one by one. One block very nearly took her head off. Suddenly, they became able to, in their own simple minded way, affect this reality.

If this is Pino's Valvrave it would be a different story. Being a Magius, she know all about Dead Heat metal and its properties, as well as its history. But even if they reconstructed unit 03 with it, it is a metal only a Valvire Magius can use effectively. Besides, if this is Pino's Valvrave, Deadheat Metal is the least of her worries. But she digresses. The question is… how can a Valvrave made of 50 separate pieces be so tough?

Meanwhile, Yusuke and Raizo still had no idea of the manner mess they're trapped in. They're not even sure if this is real or illusion, but one thing for sure, the pain inflicted upon them was real enough. And this would be something quite serious… if not for the fact of just how little the damage that has been inflicted upon the Behemoth, something they now noticed.

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"And uh… there's one more weakness it had beyond its abominably huge Rune requirement. That experiment with that Schrödinger Cat… I mentioned earlier I don't understand why you put Radioactive Material inside it. But I do understand why you shouldn't put… say… TWO cats inside it. They'd claw each other to death for dominance."

"I'm afraid I don't see-"

"-because that's exactly the problem. A Cat's Box created by the Malehexen is a… metaphysical world where an individual's thoughts are made into reality. And not just the Creator of the Box's thoughts… but also any other sentient being capable of higher thought that get dragged into it. In other words, if a Malehexen bring another person into their world… they ran a risk of that person having the potential to also affect that pocket world… to affect the laws inside that Box… so much so that it might even overwhelm the Malehexen's will."

"So… if one were pulled into the box… they have the ability to use that box's powers for themselves?"

"This is where it gets tricky: in order to affect any changes into the laws inside the Box, you need to utterly cast aside any of your belief and understanding of the Law of Nature from the World outside the Box, and embrace, as in, believe in the new rules one creates in the box with absolute surety. You have to completely trust this new world you get dragged into in a simple childlike belief. You may choose to disbelief this world completely… trying to tell yourself that it is an illusion, thereby nullifying whatever effect it may had on you. But if there's even the slightest bit part of you, even if there's just 1% in your mind that actually believed that everything that is happening in this world is real… then it will be real. And whatever happened to you in that box will be carried out into the real when you get out. If you die in the Box, you die in the real world."

"But… if you can 100% believe in something. To believe in it so strongly that there was almost no room for a single iota of doubt… that belief will manifest itself into reality in this pocket dimension… and it could potentially affect even the Caster of the Cat's Box."

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Yamada Raizo was your typical school bully. He's bigger than everyone, he's stronger than everyone, and therefore he thought he's the center of the universe. Whatever it'll throw at it, he will overcome it with his strength, one way or another. Of course, he didn't just talk the talk. He made it a point of professional pride that he's not making boasts he cannot prove with a 'no pain no gain' attitude.

And there's a reason why he's the leader of the delinquents gang in Sakimori, and it's not just because of his strength. It is his ability to instinctively understand when one must threw the first punch… and when one must not. If there's someone stronger (L-cough-Elf), then he'll just wait patiently while he get stronger and stronger until he's the stronger than the stronger one. He's a brute force simpleton, but he's not above using on the spot cunning or sleight of hands when it served him – and if it's agreeable to a simple might makes right martial honor that Grey would approve. This, in conjunction with his stubborn diligence, did give him some vindication to his claim and belief that he is the strongest.

When Tokishima Haruto seemingly took the crown as the strongest being on the school, that belief was not shaken. When he originally tried to force Haruto into giving up his Valvrave, he did not know of the price that entails. But when Raizo saw what Haruto become, it was a revelation. Raizo believed, rather correctly, that being transformed into this Novus Magius thing is… simply amplifying what's already there in the first place. If it can turn a wimp like Haruto into someone THAT strong… imagine how strong he'll get. Thusly, as proof of his savvy street wisdom, and a form of his newfound respect for Haruto, he forgo his intial approach and he watched, he waited… and more importantly, he trained. Vigorously. He wanted to make himself as strong as he can be as a human before he became even stronger as a Magius – an instinctive awareness that it will be harder for him to find ways to get stronger when he's a Magius. And once again, his effort and patience was rewarded. He may not be much for Runecraft, but even Haruto couldn't match him as far as brute strength goes.

Raizo had grown much since then. He learned some measure of cunning, techniques and tactics… but one thing that will never change. One thing he believed more than anything… is his simple belief that he is the strongest person among the Sakimori students.

If this was a real world, that simple belief will be attributed to useless bravado and psychological matter.

But this is not… the real world. This is the Cat's Box. This is the world where beliefs and thoughts are made into reality.

And even in this pocket alternative reality, when everything around him gone insane, Raizo's belief in his strength, which already border on obsessive zeal, remains as unshakeable as ever. And thusly… this realm obeys this strong will. This unshakeable belief that Yamada Raizo is the strongest, toughest son of a motherfucker this realm has ever seen became the natural law of this dimension.

So strong, that even when Violet's Queen hooked the Behemoth with her scythe, dragged it across a field of Asteroid getting slapped multiple times by zooming rocks before slamming him head first into a planet ending meteor…

…the meteor actually lost, and the Behemoth just waltzed out of the ruin… unscathed.

The longer Behemoth stays in this Pocket Dimension with Raizo at the helm, the greater his confidence in his own strength grew, the greater his belief that his might was unmatched, and the Cat's Box will make this increasingly stronger belief into reality. And slowly, but surely, Violet began to realize how much this had backfired on her: she had dragged the WRONG Cat into her Box. Raizo has become an existence so strong that he cannot be destroyed by any means imaginable in this box of Imagination.

There's only one way now she can survive this… she had to bring down the Cat's Box. That's the one thing the Caster can do the 'Guest' can't. But if she undo this Cat's box… there's no guarantee she can make another one. "Well… there's one way."

The Behemoth jumped from one block to another, chasing the Queen as she glided around the shattered reality, punching other blocks that barred his way. But as the Behemoth boosted up for that one punch… the Queen spin her scythe in a clockwise motion in front of her. The scythe rips the air and created a portal. A Worm Hole. The Queen jumped into the Worm Hole before it immediately shrank and disappeared. Behemoth's fist reaches nothing but empty air. The Yellow giant landed on a block… and realized what the Queen has done.

Back outside the Box, in the real world… The Queen fell on her knees once the portal disappeared, holding on to her pole-arm weapon for support as all her heat vents are burning red. The mutation from Violet's Corruption was gone. But the Cat's Box is still hanging eerily behind her.

"Mother Violet! Mother!" The other child soldiers run towards the Queen. "Mother! Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine… children…" Violet choked. No. She's not. Her hand was holding on to her head as blood trickled down her nostril, then she moved it to her stomach, nursing a terrible pain within. But she looked in satisfaction at the Box behind her and smirked. She can't beat them in a fistfight… but she can lock them up in that pocket dimension. Maintaining a Cat's Box with a rampaging muscle head trapped inside will create its own issues, but… that's not her concern right now. She had reappeared right in front the ruins of the entangled Mad Hatter and Alice. The children had pulled its poor pilot, a young boy named Jonnah out of the wreckage… but he's a mess. "How's Jonnah?"

"Not good, Mother. Not good." "I think his legs are crushed!" "Shut up! You don't know that!" "But there's a lot of blood…"

"Sob…"

Violet quickly raised a hand to silence the other children when she heard a sob. "Aloysia? What's the matter?"

Aloysia, the pilot of Alice is already outside the cockpit of her mech. Alice also suffered no small damage from Behemoth's punch, but unlike the Mad Hatter's pilot who took a full brunt, Aloysia get away easily with just a bleeding temple, thanks to Jonnah' sacrifice. But when she looked at what becomes of her savior, she fell in tears. "…this is my fault… If only I'm more careful… that meddlesome four eyes!"

Aloysia, the teenage girl who had sold her 'services' to the Dorssian troopers before Yusuke stopped her.

"No. It's my fault for sending you in the first place." Violet grunted. "I'll figure something out. Maybe Red will have some prosthetics that…"

Violet didn't get to finish her prognosis. Her sensor starts picking up new incomings. And these heat signatures… "Albions…!? And this many…!?"

"Mother…?"

"…kids, take cover. Leave Jonnah. I'll handle this." The child soldiers took refuge and hide from sight. More importantly, she compressed the Cat's Box to the size of a marble and hid it out of sight.

Before long, the Queen was surrounded by at least 15 Albions. One Albion in particular was a bit different than the rest, as he was colored in a black color with the silver parts switched to gold. Also, unlike the other Albion that uses Lance, this one wields a massive two handed crescent edged great sword with a pair of gun cannons flanking its hilt on his right arm, and while his left arm had a built in foldable cannon. Also, his shield is different. Instead of one large Kite shield like the rest, it uses a series of 8 smaller shields that also serve as the Black Albion's wings that allowed him to stay aloft. One pair of the shields bears ARUS official military sigil.

'…talk about bad luck.' Violet clicked her tongue. Of all people that can be sent to check up on her, they had to send in ARUS regulars. "…how can I help you gentleman?"

"First, why don't you identify yourself? State your name and code!" The Black Albion pilot asked.

"…Codename: Violet, Six Sense of Regnant International PMC, Operator code: 100003." Violet looked on warily as she noted several of the Albions in the sky are still aiming their cannons at her, and more importantly, her children. "Put down those guns, you're scaring the children." But if those guys heard, her request was ignored. Violet clicked her tongue again. "Actually, this is good timing. I could use some medical hel-"

"We're the one asking questions here. We detected a massive energy anomaly erupting from this location. That anomaly just took out our entire east side forces. What do you know of it?"

"I dunno. These guys are using alien techs. They're about as crazy as it gets. Who knows what else they might do. Anyway, I need some med-"

"But based on our latest surveillance, you've been engaged with unit 03 did you not?"

"…So I did. And I've taken care of it."

"Taken care of it?"

"Not without a cost. One of my children needs some medical attention. Right now!" Violet raised her voice at the last part.

And yet, the Albions showed no indication of complying. "We've been having other anomalies from this sector as well." The Black Albion kept ignoring her request. "Curiously, we haven't heard any report from your team for quite some time, have we? And our surveillance was cut off as soon as you start fighting solo-"

"I thought our contract stipulates we're free to do our job anyway we see fit?"

"Your contract also stipulates you must also submit to ARUS military command for questioning when and where it is needed." The Black Albion continued. "Violet of the Six Sense. You will desist and disarm immediately!"

It became quite obvious to Violet, and judging by the way their cannons are trained too dangerously at her and her children, that they have no intention of listening to reason, let alone her request for aid. In fact, she had a nagging suspicion they were here to destroy more than just the source of the anomaly. Well… that is to be expected. Grey may have said she had a bad feeling about the contract they're taking, but Violet had seen this happening enough times to know when future becomes history. They're Mercenaries. Sellswords. Disposable imaginary numbers that can be easily thrown away. One doesn't owe anything to the dead after all.

"…" Violet growled. "Wait… okay… fine. I'll tell you something. I did face unit 03 here. And yes, it was that thing that unleashed that freak thunderstorm."

"I thought you said you've taken care of him?"

"I did. I did. Would you like to know how?"

"?"

What she's about to do, is the one thing that there's no undoing. And she's doing it based on a hunch.

The Queen grabbed the marble sized Cat's Box in her hand and tossed it right towards the Black Albion.

"…DeXgvXd #ue."

Violet muttered an undecipherable alien incantation… and then…

The Box opened up… and the Behemoth rematerialized while swinging his best punch at the Black Albion's face.

BTTTOOOOMM!

To Raizo's shock, the punch was blocked by the surface of Black Albion's great sword. Even with the element of surprise, the Black Albion still managed to react fast enough to deal with it. The Blade suddenly tilted, and the Black Albion parried the fist to the side before sending a powerful roundhouse slash that pushed the Behemoth back… but not that far back.

"We're finally out of that thing, and this is what await us!? Talk about a step down!" Raizo grinned.

"That's a lot of… wait… I've never seen this type of mech before…" Yusuke counted at least 15… each and everyone had energy readings way above anything that they have faced before. Especially that black Lead unit.

"Doesn't matter. We'll beat the crap out of them all!"

"Wait, where's the Queen!?"

When they get her eyes on her again, she already opened up a portal and vanished into it, along with the Mad Hatter and its child pilot. She even gave them a goodbye middle finger while she's at it!

"AAARGH! That bitch!? Did she just sic us!?" Raizo growled.

Raizo may be furious… but Yusuke felt an awkward relief. He didn't understand her reason, but she's a Magius… in the midst of a xenophobic army that absolutely hates Magius and hates God for creating Magius. "Doesn't matter, does it?"

"Huuh?"

"As you say…" Yusuke grunted. "We just had to beat the crap out of them all, right?"

"You're surprisingly into it?" Raizo gripped his controller with renewed fervor. Yusuke had gone the trouble of restoring their Behemoth to tip top condition when they're still trapped in the box, after all.

"Sort of." Yusuke focused their cameras on the sigil on the Black Albion to confirm a point. "That's ARUS Sigil. Regular army."

"Which means…?"

"They're running out of PMCs to throw at us." Yusuke also grinned. "We've pierced the meat shield… now we've started chewing on the bone."

"Hee… is that right…?" Raizo's irritation evaporated immediately. "How nice to know we haven't worked our ass off for nothing…"

The Black Albion raised his sword, and six Albions flew in and lined up in a uniform formation with the lead unit at the center.

"COME!" Raizo roared.

And as he wished, three out of six Albions charged in as the opening salvo to answer his challenge.

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"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Marie's scream was almost heartbreaking, even if it did come out of someone else's mouth.

The Albions didn't care though, and their rail guns had reached critical point. The people on the ground had only just now understood their peril. But before they can warn everyone else…

A green flash streaked past the Albions, and the next second, 7 Albions lost their heads.

It didn't stop them, but it did disorient them. And it most certainly warned everyone something just arrived. Something WAY more powerful than a Kagerou. So they didn't open fire, saving the ammunition for what's to come.

The Albions, those who still had their heads, looked around… but their sensor immediately tell them this… absurdly high energy signature is coming at them. It rivals, if not surpass, even the Valvrave, but it's different. Calculating the trajectory of this high energy, the Albions can easily predict where the intruder will be coming from. Point in fact, it became obvious that this newcomer boosted up his output as high as he can for the sole purpose of announcing his coming from a mile away.

With that said, the Albions trained all their guns at that general direction, and immediately opened fire. 1 salvo, 2 salvo, then they just fire at will… either they missed or it didn't have any effect, this thing just keep on coming at them, with speed completely undeterred by the attacks. Projectile after projectile kept raining down, until eventually, even the onlookers on the ground gets to see what the Albions are firing at.

Hurling forth like a fiery green comet, the Dainslev made its presence known as he caught back his returning Maltne Seltsam glaive. Cain Dressel calmly calculated the number of hostiles and friendlies as he zoomed towards them, taking note of the Kagerou, the Faux Valvrave, and the three Albions down below. Not his concern right now. Right now, these 15 Terran Mechs are firing rounds after rounds of bullets that are testing even his shield. "Alright then."

Mid flight, the Dainslev split into 5 pieces: the body, two arms, and two legs. The four limbs split to four directions while the body keeps moving forward, bearing the Maltne Seltsam. Each body parts were encapsulated by green and gold Solid Afterglow crystals, each became a hardlight copy of the Dainslev. And in a blink of an eye, the five Hardlight composed Valvrave became streaks of green light dancing across the sky, wreaking havoc on the Albions at blurring speeds. They tried to open fire to every direction, but they can barely catch sight of him. Conversely, Cain faced a temporary setback: these Albions are tough. Real tough. Energy shielding, Clear Fossil Chobham armor, even that annoying rune dispersal coating. So tough it may take a while for Cain to find a weakness.

Upon seeing the green newcomer is on their side, Marie immediately acted. First, she took back her body. When she returned, Jason immediately fell unconscious. She just woke up when she noticed all three Albions on the ground buckled down and revved the engine on their whirring lance. The exhaust port burst several plumes of flame as the whirring borer lance reached peak rotation. Furthermore, the boosters on their backs began to whir in a high pitched noise of air gathering.

"Delphi! Pick me up!" The Kagerou lit up to life and immediately walked forth as it stretched down his arm to grab Marie and shove her into its open cockpit. She scrambled to ready the system to fight as fast as she can while the Albions, outnumbering her three to one, had already came charging. Marie would've broken a sweat with worry… if Haruto didn't already brought one way back earlier and dissected their weakness inside out, top to bottom.

"Their weaknesses are in their armpits, joints, and their backs!" She roared at open channel, just as the Albions are right in front of her nose.

The first Albion charged in, plunging his lance. The Kagerou dodged the lance by the millimeter and spun on the side until he got to see the Albion's overstretched armpit. The she quickly jammed the Blackrose straight into the opening. The Albion went offline instantly, another charged in, but Kagerou yanked the Blackrose out before she used the dead Albion's body as a shield. The incoming lance punctured its back and burst through its chest at the front. The lance was stuck there, and the Kagerou pushed the stabbed Albion forward in a sudden charge, pushing out the lance ever deeper until the dead Albion's back slammed the second Albion behind him, face first, as well as entangling them both. She spun the tangled bodies around, causing the second Albion to lose balance and showed his back to the Kagerou, who immediately sliced the two entangled Albion in half. As soon as the two bisected Albions part ways to clear the view, the third Albion's lance came whirring and it was aimed at her chest. The Kagerou side stepped to her left and the lance only rip a piece of her side waist armor. Almost instantly, the Yashagarasu power claw lit up in a superheated glow and she mauled the third Albion's knee joint with it. The burning claw went through the limb like hot knife through butter and the Albion fell on its stump of a knee. As it fell, it tried to swing its lance feebly, but the Kagerou readily cut the whole shoulder of the arm and then stabbed the Blackrose straight through the shoulder stump until it came out the other side.

Up above, Cain also saw with great approval with how flawlessly Marie defeated all three Albions in less than 2 minutes. "Straight AA's on all parameters. How did I miss such a gem?" Well then. She had gone through the trouble of telling and then showing him how, if he didn't do better, then perhaps it's time he hang his eye patch. "Armpits, joints, and backs. Of course." The five Dainslev components flew faster, targeting those specific weaknesses. And they start by cutting an Albion apart limb by limb before impaling him from behind. And soon, other Albions are falling like mutilated flies from the sky.

When Delphi Kagerou had pulled the Blackrose out of the fallen Albion, she noticed the Cinderella didn't move a muscle to stop her. But… judging by the way she placed her hand on her sword, her intention was quite obvious.

"That… was the first time I've actually… 'seen'… it in action. They told me about the power of the Magius, your ability to indwell and become someone else… Violet never did that. She always used her ability to drain sustenance, she said."

Marie twitched and caught the meaning. "You had a Magius friend?" It took a bit while for Marie to comprehend its implications. "Dear me, woman, what the hell are you doing here? You ever think you might get hired by a wrong client? Better yet, you ever think you work on a wrong profession?"

"Wrong client. Maybe. Definitely. Wrong profession?" Grey chuckled and shook her head. "My dear, if there ever was a doubt of what else I could be… that doubt was long gone, and meeting you had erased whatever trace of it that remains. And right now… I just feel grateful. For everything. I'm grateful for this job. I'm grateful for this profession. I'm grateful to have come here. I truly am."

As this happened though, unknown to the two, the three fallen Albions are still barely operational. Damaged severely to the point it being no longer combat capable, but it was still online enough to analyze the situation. And right now, the situation is thus: three barely intact but completely immobile machines, three masses of bleeding edge technology lay untended in a warzone filled with hostiles.

Solution: a dead man switch thermo nuclear self destruct mechanism that immediately activates with a 10 seconds countdown.

Something Delphi programmed to warn. "Marie Nobi-"

Marie let loose a lo~ong groan as she watched an Albion carcass right next to her starts beeping. "…they're going to explode, aren't they?"

"It's cliché. But it is a logical step to take."

10 seconds had passed, and the carcass exploded with all the force of three thermonuclear bombs capable of producing.

The explosion expands very quickly and soon, the resistance at the beach began to feel its heat. When they saw the expanding firestorm surging towards them, they knew right then and there that they won't make it.

Three Kirschbaums suddenly landed from the sky and stood between the militia and the wave of fire. They placed all their open palms before them and generate their respective energy shields, and then locking them together to create the largest and strongest shield possible. K-Zwei roared: "HOLD YOUR GROUND!"

Alas, the explosion overwhelm their defenses in size and strength, and their shields are being corroded rapidly. But then, the five limb Valvraves of the Dainslev landed right next to them. Having finished off all the Albions in the sky, they're here now to quickly reinforce the shield with their own Rune equivalent.

K-Zwei's grateful, but he can't help but wonder what becomes of those get caught in the blast, especially that girl.

"Concentrate soldier!" Cain's firm reprimand resounded over his com.

"SIR!" K-Zwei gawked in recognition of that voice.

"This battle is won, but it's not over!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

'Not that I don't understand how he feels…' Cain saw when Marie Nobi had just run when the explosion reached her. If she was but a nobody, then he'd say it's a foregone conclusion. But… she had stayed and, quite clearly, learned at the foot of a master. So… Cain was prepared to make a safe bet. For the moment though, his concerns also lies in other battles at other fronts.

He should've stayed together with Raizo and Yusuke, but so many things happening in this battle, Cain knew he had to choose and make sacrifices. This amount of resistance was expected, but the level of damage it inflicted on both sides certainly far exceeded his prediction. For a country already tethering on its end, Arus provide a surprisingly fierce resistance. Before the blood dries on this floor, he suspected, there will be more losses to come.

And everybody has to be ready for it.

00000000000000

This has been a hell of a day for RI and X-ssia. Whenever they signed in on a contract, it's not uncommon for their clients to avoid explaining everything about the various dangers they might face in an attempt to lower the price. But this isn't their first rodeo, and for professionals like them, doing their own due diligence has become part of the job description. Just… the fact that the hazard now involves multiple Demigod children whose idea of temper tantrum can unleash cosmic level catastrophes isn't something anyone can actually prepare for.

And yet here they are, desperately doing everything humanly possible in their power to stop the biggest, most dangerous of them all right here in their backyard. Their job ultimately composed of two things: Keep Target Alpha asleep… and lower his Temperature to a manageable state where he can then be moved to a more secure location. And it is an arduous duty that had stretched over the course of few hours. A few hours where, if there's even a briefest lapse in any one of the aforementioned two tasks, they die. If they stop cooling him down, they die. If all the cooling units are destroyed before he's cold enough, they die. If they do anything that woke him, they die. If they make even one mistake and its mission critical, they die. Even if they do everything perfectly right… the cost they've spent on this endeavor already put them deep in the red.

And dear heavens, hoping for the Murphy's Law to not apply here is just too much it seems. When that duel between two super hackers erupted in cyberspace, where one desperately trying to keep the slumbering supernova asleep and the other desperately tried to wake him… everyone lose a year of their lifespan for every second of the match's duration of a few hours. When it ended in a hairbreadth marginal tie, everyone breathes again… for a few seconds. Then that Freak Superstorm hit them… for 10 seconds. 10 seconds where everything shuts down. 10 bloody long seconds, where all their effort to curtail this cosmic disaster was on the very edge of failure. And to top it off: that 10 seconds of Freak Super Storm caused X-ssia's flagship, Thor's Revenge, to fell from the sky when its system was forcibly shutdown. They made it as close as 500 meters from the slumbering Valvrave before X-ssia crew managed to finally get it back online. Ezperanza definitely regretted placing her flagship right on top of the Valvrave… because dropping a cold fission powered starship on top of a slumbering cosmic event will definitely 'brighten' the mood. A lot of people wrote their will at record time or saw phantasmagoria of their whole life in their eyes during those 10 nerve frazzling seconds.

Basically, to say they are stressful of the situation is the understatement of the century.

Doing their current job is already hard enough, now they have to constantly look over their shoulder; terrified if there will be any other sudden freak accident just around the corner. Still… for all the pressure and disasters that plagued the process, RI and X-ssia's joint operation to cool down the Valvrave was finally nearing its end without any further accident. And now Ezpe just sent down her last fleet of cooler Waffes…

"What's the temperature?"

"210 degree. We're getting there." Her subordinate replied. The Waffe can now get as close as 20 feet and hold out for a good long 10 minutes before they need to retreat. Considering that thing started on over 2,200 degrees which is the temperature of a nuclear reactor on meltdown, the fact they were able to bargain him down to the level of home oven is good progress.

"Okay… so, what now?" Ezpe asked with a weary face to an equally bleary eyed Red on the other side. All this pressure is really wearing everyone down, and to think Ezpe was only on cooling duty. The only thing that makes this easier than Chernobyl is that at least there's no harmful radiation that will slowly poison whole continents radiating from the target.

"Get him into a God damn freezer container before - oh, for FUCK's sake!" Red's sensor picked up multiple incomings. IFF identify as Friendlies, but… with the kind of friends they've made so far, enemies are a much more welcome sight nowadays.

It's another fleet of Albions, led by several Black Albions.

"Identify yourself."

"For fuck's sake, can't you see we're working here-!?"

"Identify yourself!" The lead Black Albion repeated and his entourage aimed their lances in a threatening manner.

Red scratched his hair. "Codename: Red. Director of Regnant International. Operator code: 100001. What do you want!?"

"Ezperanza 13, Captain of X-ssia. Operator code: 300001. We're pretty busy here, so hurry the hell up and spill."

"Is that the Alpha Target, Unit 01? And what of the pilot? Is he in it?"

"Yes, he is. And he's heavily sedated. We're cooling him down so that we can move him out."

The Black Albion didn't respond. Red suspected they're contacting the Central Command to inform them of the developing situation. The silence went on for a while. When there's this much silence, Red knew he's not gonna like what comes next.

"Roger. PMC Regnant International and X-ssia, you've been ordered to stand down. We'll take it from here."

"WHAT!?" And of course, Ezpe found that disagreeable. But Red had fully expected this, so he's a lot calmer in dealing with it. "You do understand this isn't an empty mech unit you're dealing with? This thing is live. Live, as in a live Atomic grenade with its pin off. It took us a lot of effort to put him to sleep-"

"The Central Command will properly reimburse your losses."

"I'm not talking about money!" Red growled. "I don't know what the Central Command had been telling you. But whatever numbers their data showed had been immensely undervalued. I'm trying to tell you how dangerous this guy is, and if you don't know what you're doing, you risk waking him up again! And if… when… that happens, it's game over, do you understand!?"

"We've prepared for every contingency and situation. Now I need you and your 'men' to stand down. Now. Central Command will take it from here." Again, the Black Albion made the threat known by having other Albions aim their cannons at the Mercenaries.

Amber looked at Red, awaiting his decision. And his decision is… "Stand down."

Ezpe showed her displeasure as she clutched her smoking pipe a little tighter.

Hellsing and Rapunzel stand aside as the Albions wasted no time to immediately surround the kneeling Valvrave. Ezpe immediately ordered her Waffes to pull back… and as expected, without the cooling units, the Valvrave's temperature immediately shoot back up, jumping straight to 450 degree Celsius, and the Albions that got too close to him began to smoke.

"I'd keep my distance if I were you." Red added with a smirk. They seemingly ignored his advice, but the Albions did decide to take a few steps back.

As this happens on the outside though…

0000000

Years that followed was a blur.

After one final escapade, Shoko announced her much anticipated pregnancy. 9 months later his firstborn son and daughter finally had another little sister of different mother. And they still unwind once a week. Life was good…

…well, as good as it can be.

There were problems, of course. His son with Saki inherited all the problems that came with his parents. Combine that with the headstrong attitude he inherited from his mother, this manifests in a form of a slight delinquency, with his son in need of special care to control his 'thirst'. Conversely, the symptoms on his and Shoko's daughter were a bit more benign, and unlike his son, showed little sign of the thirst. But that was because the daughter inherited his father's shyness, and she was so earnest, she wouldn't say even if she's in pain.

But things do work out. Saki strictly disciplined the children with a firm but fair hand, teaching them to control the impulse. Shoko would encourage them with kind words, thinking up creative ways to help them progress and have normal lives in the society of humans. Haruto remain mostly behind the scene, but give them a shoulder to cry on when the pressure became a bit too much.

Shoko continued her duties in the Cabinet, but after several more years, she announced something unexpected:

"I'm announcing the Dissolution of New JIOR."

"What!?" Haruto and Saki was shocked.

"And I'm going to do the transformation into Novus Magius."

"H… Hold up… Shoko, slow down a bit. Let's start with why you want to dissolve New Jior?"

"I've been thinking about it for quite a while. New JIOR was originally created for us to escape from ARUS. And for us to have a safe haven as we fought in the war. A home. But… look what happens now that we've won?"

Haruto also remembered what happened after the war. Kyuuma and Aina finally got married, Yusuke became a scientist and started his own Game and Electronic company, Raizo opened up his own dojo, Akira became a full on recluse, but she was known as the Legendary Queen of Cyber Underworld and she still kept a constant contact with Shoko… everybody found their own way of life now that peace is here. They have their own home now.

"That's why I think New JIOR is not needed anymore. So I'm thinking dissolution would be best."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Saki asked. Haruto also followed: "And… you want to be a Novus Magius? Didn't you say you don't want to?"

"A lot has changed. I chose not to be a magius the first time because I thought I needed to stay as human so I can give you home. But… now… we ARE home. With our children and the people we care and love. And I… I want us to stay like this… forever."

Haruto and Saki looked at each other and finally they gave her their silent consent. Shoko merely smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sure everything will be fine!"

And so it is. On the same day New JIOR was dissolved, Shoko finally became a Novus Magius. Coincidentally, she's the last Sakimori Student to be transformed. Because right afterwards, Haruto destroyed all Valvraves to make sure no one else can be transformed.

But that doesn't mean their problems were over. And though the Sakimori Student's war with the council was over, with the absence of super powers like Dorssia, JIOR and ARUS, conflict erupted all over the globe. International Crime. Terrorism. War. Too many wrongs for good people to ignore.

And then one day…

By fate or coincidence, Haruto called back all Valvrave Pilots for a 'reunion'. Some way, somehow, everyone show up, and they already know where this reunion will take them. 3 years after that meeting, the Valvraves were rebuilt, and they set out to bring peace in a world plagued by conflict.

It was an unmitigated success, in more ways than one. Led by Haruto, the Valvrave team earned a new sobriquet: Golden Seven. Their powers were absolute, and no force on earth, or beyond, can stop them. With peace restored, Humanity enjoyed prosperity, unity, and advancement that are unprecedented. And for a while, Haruto and his friends enjoyed their life in a semi divine stature of a celebrity. But…

"Papa! Papa! Look!" His son came running to his study one day to show his father something.

"What is it, my son?"

The boy clasped his hands together, and when he opened it up, green particle energies erupted from his hands. Haruto choked at the sight. The light of runes. His son had learned to manifest that power already? And he was still a little over 6 years old! And so, Haruto had no choice but to begin teaching his son about rune control. The techniques he had refined throughout the war and his long life. And his son, to his pride, was a great student.

But then problem after problem kept arising. Even after decades have passed, Haruto still look the same. He was still 16 years old in his appearance. And his children also aged very slowly… if not at all. At 16 years old, they still look as if they're 7 to 8 years old, even when they speak and talk like teenagers of their age. This began to give rise to problems at school, where everyone who knew who they are, what they are, and who their parents are… began to treat them like freaks.

No one tried to bully them physically, thinking their parents would burn them to ashes if they try… but no one wants to befriend them either. And… whether its good or bad… they were not the only one. There are other children like them. Kyuuma and Aina had children. Raizo too, found someone. And then there are many more Novus Magius, being born… all of them suffer more or less the same treatment. They banded together in their grievance and found solace… but they need guidance.

Thankfully, their parents were there for them. Saki in particular, was a great help. Being former celebrity, she's well aware of the many issues that plagued those who attracted far too much attention to themselves. And Shoko took it upon herself to reshape society, reentering politics and become a well known activist and vocal speaker for equality between Novus Magius and humanity. And Haruto continued his fight to defend humanity against many perils, together with his friends, and later, his children.

For 200 years, they would continue to defend humanity as its greatest champions. Even against scrutiny, criticism and sometimes outright hate from the very people they protect, they persevere… and then today, a part of their devotion was rewarded.

After 200 years of fervent advocacy, Shoko finally managed to push the bill. The bill that would finally enforce equality between Novus Magius and Humans.

"…then again…" Haruto sighed. "When we already composed like… one third of all human population, I don't think they'll have any choice."

"…is this really okay?" Haruto asked as he read the approved bill of Equality that has been signed by all the nations of the UN.

"I know this is… a bit disconcerting." Shoko explained. "Nothing is okay with a species going extinct… we still got a lot of problem. But it's a start. And… it's not like we actively hunt them down and kill them, right?"

"No we don't. But we do breed them out."

For the record, 200 years with two beautiful wives, and of course he had more children apart from his first three. Not to mention those first two wives also had no trouble of him having more wives, and they themselves sometimes had lovers. 200 years can really stretch tolerance for stuff like this by… a LOT. And his first born even already had grandchildren. And with Novus Magius had a tendency of NOT dying – at least not naturally, everyone simply sees the inevitable. It was a simple calculus: an explosion of Novus Magius population, and a decrease in the normal human. It's evolution, taking course. One will go extinct… the other will go on.

And when a species are facing the prospect of extinction… war on the scale hitherto unheard of was inevitable.

But seriously… how exactly are the humans supposed to win at this stage? The Golden Seven had protected them for so long, the mortal humans' military might was as rocks and sticks compared to the Novus Magius laser cannon and jet plane. The conflict was short. It was brutal. It was tragic. And it was glorious. When the dust settled, a new empire arises with the Tokishima Dynasty ruled at its throne.

Haruto snapped as he looked at the mirror in his royal bedchamber. "…what am I doing?" He looked back at his bed, where his many concubines lay sleeping and exhausted.

He's now a King at… he didn't even remember how old he was… how many centuries he had lived… only that he already had as many children as there are planets under his rule. A lot of things… had changed. He accomplished so much. No king was more beloved… but… when he opened his wardrobe, he always sees it. First his pilot combat suit… then his wife's. He recalled he ordered his servants to never remove them. He personally took care of it, tend to its many battle scars, he never had it fixed, keeping it untouched but well cared in an almost… obsessive manner.

He never wore it. In fact, it's been centuries since he last rode in his Valvrave. He can barely remember how anymore. The Empire was superbly protected by its unbeatable army of immortal super soldiers. But he never let this armor go for some reason. If any of his wives or concubines tried to convince him otherwise, he got strangely angry and rebuked them harshly. One concubine who tried to remove it in secret was incinerated on the spot.

"…what am I doing?" He asked that question again to his reflection in the mirror. Still the face of a 16 year old even after all his centuries of living… but… there's… something… missing… something in his youth that he had lost… but… he couldn't even remember what it was.

When he left his bedchambers and went to the dining hall, Shoko and Saki were waiting for him with a pair of lovely smiles, together with their family… and a very big cake with a lot of candles on it.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They all yelled.

Haruto chuckled. "I didn't even remember…"

"Well, in all honesty we kinda forget about it too." Shoko grinned. "So we had to unbury your birth certificate. Turns out we missed it by a day… we had no choice to set this up as quickly as we can."

Haruto laughed. But somehow… his laughter felt hollow. It was devoid of emotion. And yet his family are laughing happily and jovially…

…you do realize something is wrong in this picture, right?

It began as a whisper… but it was as loud as a scream in his ears. He barely recognized the voice… was that his voice? Or someone else…? "…What… What am I doing?"

"You're saying something honey?" Shoko asked. "Come on! It's your birthday!"

"…this… this is wrong."

"Wh… What do you mean? Aren't you happy?"

"I am." Haruto shrugged. "…but…" Haruto can't seem to put it in words.

You know something was wrong.

"This is a picture… of everything I've wanted. But… is this really what everybody wanted?"

"Well… if your recall not everybody. Centuries after you've lead us to peace and prosperity and still many problems arise. Just the other day, the Type Six Alien broke into our mausoleum-"

…you know what you had to do.

Haruto couldn't hear the rest of what Shoko said. They sound so dreamy, so distant. This time the voice is getting clearer…

"No." Haruto frowned. "…it isn't over."

"What?"

"The fight… the war… it's not over. It'll never be over…"

"What are you talking about?"

Haruto looked at Shoko… and somehow… he could barely recognize her. Still the same face, the same smile… yet she seems so alien… He looked at the face of his children and family, smiling happily… but… they look so… unreal.

"What am I doing…?"

What are you doing? Suddenly, Haruto finally recognized that voice. He walked away from Shoko towards a lady sitting in her seat. It was Saki, sitting alluringly with a dress that revealed a lot of skin… but there's a dissonance here. Her body language and smile was geared towards seduction, but her eyes… her eyes were fierce… like that of a wounded warrior, cornered and desperate… where have he seen those eyes?

Ignoring his confusion, she still looked at him in the eye with those eyes. What are you doing? Is this really what you wanted?

"…everything I see… is everything I wanted. Everyone I cared about is happy but… but…"

That's all it is? That's all that matters? Just you? Everyone you cared is happy. Yeah. That's good, isn't it? The lady asked. So why aren't you happy?

"…I don't know what I'm doing."

They are all happy, because you want them happy, but you are not you.

Haruto began to realize why this… this image felt so wrong and yet so right. And not just this. All of it. His centuries of living, the decisions he made that lead to this happy image… he made them under the pretext he wants his loved ones to be happy, BUT: "This is… wrong. Something is… wrong." The feeling. That feeling is screaming inside his head now. The feeling of wrongness. "What does this mean? Is it wrong to get what I want?"

As it became clearer and clearer, the world began to diminish and fade.

'Saki' didn't answer. To want something is in human nature. But sometimes, it is also a question… if that's really what we want. And how we get what we want also matters.

You should realize this by now. What you want is for everyone to be happy… and so here they are, happy as a loon, because you simply want them to be. But… you don't always get what you want – you know this better than anyone. What you want doesn't mean it's what they want.

It was at this point did something finally clicked. Haruto suddenly remembered something. The crucial, most important trait that pretty much define who he is.

'Why can't we all be happy and let's be half and half.'

His very own catch phrase that practically define who he is. He's not a king, he's not a super soldier, he's not a super hero… no… He's Mr. Wimpy Realist. The dawdling Pushover. The Capitulating Compromiser. His happiness is not when he gets everything that he wanted… it's when everyone gets a share of what they wanted, including himself.

So when he sees everything he wishes came true, he's happy, but… this is not what THEY would've wanted. What do they want? How the hell should he know!? He's not a mind reader! They looked happy because he wanted them to be. This is not the happiness he's looking for. So of course it's all wrong.

…or not. Saki continued to speak. This isn't so bad. Everyone happy, got everything they wanted, including you. Maybe it's not so wrong if you get used to it?

Haruto looked at Saki. What she said makes sense… and he doesn't find it disagreeable…

But even louder than his own head… was the scream of something straight from his soul that everything he sees right now is DEAD Wrong. And that scream finally began to knock the veil off his eyes. "No. This is wrong." That statement suddenly had more weight and conviction in it.

So what are you going to do about it?

Saki looked at him in the eyes again with that fierce eye…

And so the final puzzle piece clicked in, everything suddenly became clear. That puzzle piece… was a memory. A very specific memory.

Haruto had seen that eyes before from his wife. He'd seen it… the day they found out they had created the future.

Haruto looked back into the window… and he returned back to that time… in the infirmary.

After Rion and Kibukawa came with the verdict, Haruto and Saki were still nursing the shock. It was equal part joy and horror that left them speechless for quite some time in the ward… but… they were both thinking. Hard. And then… Haruto break the silence:

"…Saki…"

"I know what you're going to say." Saki gritted her teeth. "You're gonna ask me to stop piloting. You're gonna ask me to stop fighting."

"…" This was painful for her. It was quite clear judging by how her eyes were glazed.

"It's hard." Saki's voice trembled in anger. "…fighting has always been part of who I am. The world that I knew is… cruel and unkind. They only know how to take and take. I had to fight SO hard… to get what I want… to push back all the shit they throw at me. All my career. All my life. It's practically a part of me already. I can't stop… and I don't want to stop. I realized now that I was scared of the idea… the idea of no longer fighting… because if I stop, I was afraid I won't be me anymore. I wouldn't even be able to recognize myself."

Haruto thought of saying something but Saki cut him off with a glare.

"…but if that's how it's going to be, then you better go now and train."

"W… What?"

"Train. Get stronger. Stronger than you are now, stronger than anything else!" Saki growled words that seem like something Raizo would say. She even glared at him the same way too. Except, perhaps, Raizo won't say it with tears in his eyes.

"I'm… a selfish woman. I know. I really am. When I first came to Sakimori high, not knowing the true reason why, all I wanted to do was to get out this dump as soon as I put my foot in it. I wanted fame. I wanted recognition. And then… I saw you. The pathetic pushover who caved in so easily… with that ridiculous half and half thing. You will never get anywhere with that kind half assed resolve… that's what I thought… And yet… as I watched you… wimpy as you are… people still loved you, still cared for you… and you were able to reciprocate in your own way… I never had that. And… I wanted that… somewhere along the way… that feeling changed into wanting you. Until I realized getting one means giving up the other. And you know what? I made a big fucking mistake. I picked the other one. For days afterwards, not a single moment I didn't regret that."

"Then life threw a curve ball… and it would seem I had the chance to get them both… or so I thought. Turns out my choices are still the same, just a bit different. This time… this time though…" Saki touched the womb where this life is growing. The Life Haruto gave her. "I know I didn't mess it up."

"I wanted to fight with you. I want to go through hell together with you. Whatever horror, whatever hardship you will face, I want to face it with you. And if you die because of it… at least I want to die with you, at your side." Saki's firm voice finally cracked. "But I can't even do that anymore. I can't. Because now… if I do that, this… your happiness, the greatest thing you have ever given to me will die or worse. And it scares me more than I ever thought possible!"

Haruto put Saki in his arms and hold her tight, never wanting to let go. "Saki… I… I will protect you. I will always stay by your side. You and our child. Now and forever, I promise!"

"No." Saki smiled in bliss. She wanted to hear those words from Haruto the most… but she knew better. "You can't. Not yet." She pushed him away gently so that she can look at him in the eye. "We can't do that yet and… we both know why. I want to fight with you, to satisfy my pride… and… and to stay at your side so that you will always have a reason to need me, you want to stay by my side… to keep me safe… these are what we both wanted… but not what we needed. Because… This… this is far from over. In fact, this is just the beginning. Mark my words, before our happiness can even begin, we will all see more Hell than either of us can stomach in our lifetime. We rarely ever get everything we wanted so…" Saki smiled. "…so we do you. Let's just all be happy and get half and half. Get just half of what we wanted and be happy with that: I get to be safe, but you don't get to stay by my side, that's half what you wanted… what you needed of me…. as to what I need of you…"

Saki caressed him with all the love she can muster in her fingers… because her next words is firm and seemingly dispassionate. "I don't get to fight personally… so you will do it for me. And to do that you need to get stronger. Get harder. Smarter. Faster. Become stronger than that creep L-Elf. Hell! Become stronger than anyone! Strong enough so that you can also fight my share. Strong enough so that… no matter what hell awaits you… whatever they throw at you… you will overcome it… You'll become so strong so that nothing can stop you! Not Dorssia, not Arus, not Magius, not anyone! You will always survive… so that you can come back… come back home… to me. THAT'S what I needed of you."

The memory ends there. And so is his dwelling in these dreams. When Haruto snapped back from that trip down the lanes of memories, he's still in the dining hall with that birthday cake… but no longer was he in his royal garment. No. He's in full gear of his crimson Combat Pilot suit, with all its grime and scars.

And so is Saki. The illusion of the loving flirty wife was gone, instead was the strong spirited woman who had pushed him on this thorny path of carnage and glory. The raven haired lady stood before him in all her TRUE glory, wearing her scarred green pilot suit, watching him with THAT fierce taciturn eyes.

Haruto looked at this new reality, at his suit… And then… on purpose, he scratched the paint job of his red suit… revealing its true green color, matching that of his wife. Haruto never did wear his original Red suit ever since Saki stopped piloting. It is a commander suit yes, but it was originally colored in his wife's green color. This is his way of having Saki fight at his side, as per her wish. But Saki thought green really doesn't suit him so she gave it the original red paint job. Of course, ever since he fought in the Dyson Sphere war, the armor had been taking in all manner of brutal damages, so he had replaced some with parts from whatever's available. His current armor was a slap dash of various salvaged components. That it is now returned back to the way it was when he first started simply explains the truth to him. "This is a dream. I'm in a dream."

"Yes." Saki nodded with a firm smile. "But I gotta admit, it's a nice one."

"A dream is just a dream."

"True. But it's worth fighting for, don't you agree?"

"I guess…" Haruto smiled sheepishly. Everything is starting to feel more real, especially his wife. Conversely, the scenery around them began to fade out of focus.

"And you have to wake up now."

"…I don't know how."

"Yes. Yes, you do." Saki took his hand… and placed it on her chest. He can still feel the warmth of her chest, the pulse of her heartbeats.

And Haruto realized what he had to do. "…I… I don't know if I could- Th… there has to be another way!"

"Haruto. Remember. You've promised. Become strong, Haruto. Stronger than anyone, and that also means you have to be stronger than even me. And come back. Come back to me. Remember. Remember that promise."

Haruto closed his eyes and a tear trickled down his eyes. When he opened it again, there's that sad resolute gleam in his eyes. "…Spike asked me this. At the end of the day… why did I choose you over Shoko. I didn't know the answer then… but I think I do now. I said to Spike… that parting with Shoko made me a better man than I was… but… it was you. You made me into that man. And I… I will always love you for it."

Saki smiled.

"Dad?"

Haruto looked and saw his son looking at him curiously. "What are you doing?"

Then he saw it all clearly: Shoko, his children, their children, their family… so happy… so happy… the things he wanted…

…are the things he had to let go.

"…goodbye."

Haruto suddenly unleashed a full burst of burning rune, first incinerating his wife, then his children, Shoko, everyone and everything he loved… all turned to ash… And as everything around him had been reduced to dust and nothingness in the inferno of his making, Saki's charred remains the only thing still standing… but she did not writhe in pain. Even as goblets of her existence fell off her bone, even as her body began to disintegrate… somehow, her face was spared for the last… just long enough for her to say the word:

"…I love you too."

And when the only thing that is real in this dream disintegrates completely before his eyes, Haruto's roar of anguish was horrifying to behold.

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CRASH…

At first Shoko thought Saki just broke something again in another episode of inexplicable rage…

…except this time, tears won't stop falling from her eyes. And she was holding on to her chest like something just stabbed her. "Saki-chan!? Saki-chan, what's wrong?!"

Saki felt amiss as she clawed the clothes around her heart. Something… something in her just… died… killed… She had a brief image of her husband burning her to death… but she felt no anger, no sorrow… only love everlasting… but there's this… great sense of loss… a gaping maw in her soul that may never recover…

"…Haruto…?"

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Up above…

Verdant saw something impossible in her monitor… "W… What… how is this possible!?" Haruto's brainwave that was infinitesimal a moment ago suddenly skyrocketed, overwhelming the signals she's been sending into the receiver. She didn't know how, but he's undoing what she did to him with sheer force of will. Amber's sedative didn't seem to work anymore, even when there's still so much of it in the air. He's waking up and he WANTS to wake up. She quickly picked the com and contacted Red as fast as she can: "Red! Get out of there!"

Ice flowed through Red's veins when he heard the tone of Verdant's call. To emphasis the bad news, the Valvrave twitched… and sparks of flame erupted from his inert Sense Nerve pinions and crown. "Everybody… back up… BACK UP!"

Ezperanza watched in disbelief as the Valvrave's temperature is climbing from a home oven… to a point blank blow torch… and it's still climbing at a very rapid rate. "Verdant… I don't know what kind of dream you're giving him, but I think you just upset him."

Upset.

No one in that module had any idea of what they're about to face.

In human terms, Haruto and Saki are lovers and a married couple. In Magius terms, they are a mated pair – a soulmate. Not the sentimental term, but in literal sense. They have not only exchanged human fluids that serve for reproduction, but also their Magius runes. They have inoculated, tainted, bonded, and shared each other with… well, each other. A piece of their most essential Runes, a piece of information that pertains to their very soul, their life itself… lived inside one another when they become a soulmated pair. It's among the few runes that Haruto had stored deep, very deep inside his Rune Bank A under the strictest lock and key. The most untouchable of all untouchables.

…and just now… to have the strength he needed to break out of this illusion… he was forced to burn it down.

So basically, his enemies just forced him to… kill his very own wife… in his very own soul… with his very own hands.

And they think he's upset.

The Albions had just begun the process to move him… when the Valvrave suddenly unleashed explosive gouts of flame that instantly engulfed everything around him during its ignition. The explosion's roar was accompanied by an ungodly howl of pure hatred and fury that reverberated from the Valvrave's skeletal face. 3 Albions were blasted back in a heartbeat with half of their frontal armor melted. And that was just the beginning.

The crevices where the Valvrave's twin katana had sunk began to glow as the blade within start to burn as well. Whatever residue of their wielder's power still in them also reacted to the man's rage and ignited. Cracks and superheated veins of fire began to spread around the cleaved earth… the same cracks also began to spread from ground where the Valvrave knelt. The Sense nerve began to glow… but they changed very quickly from neon green… to fiery gold. The black parts of the Valvrave peeled off with cracks, veins of fire and cinders spread allover his form. Everyone can now hear the distinct sound of pulsing. A heartbeat, echoing in their minds, reverberating from the Valvrave's burning heart. The beat is slow and rhythmic, but the frequency is steadily increasing. More and more parts of his body catch on fire… cinders and sparks floated in ever greater numbers…

And while the Valvrave is responding to Haruto's awakening, the actual pilot himself is still… half asleep. To be precise, Haruto is still trapped in a half dreamy state. It's like… his body and his rage wants to wake up… but something in his brain is telling him to sleep. And that's when Haruto, with what little he had left of his lucidity, began to realize there's something wrong with his brain.

Exerting what control he could from the subconscious he was trapped in, Haruto willed his hand to grab his side arm, put it in his mouth… and pulled the trigger.

Red burning blood sprayed allover Haruto's cockpit monitors.

And Verdant saw the blue screen of death on hers. "…Red… I think he just shot himself in the head."

Which is her way of saying the boy just gave himself a very rude wakeup call. Red, Amber, and Ezperanza didn't catch that, on account they were now too busy being frozen in terror.

The Valvrave twitched and his upper body fell forward. SLAM. It angrily punched the ground, leaving a burning crater in its wake. His wings unfurling, and spread wide… his heartbeat reached its peak…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGHHHHH!"

With another fresh howl of pure rage, the Valvrave is now fully awake… in all its explosive furious glory. Every part of him that was glowing with smoldering fire suddenly burst into a full inferno. His skull face unleashed an ungodly roar into the heavens as it was engulfed in flames. A state shared by his every superheated joint, exhaust, and his outstretched burning gold sense nerve pinions and crown, incinerating out all the poison and parasite within at a molecular level… Following, Dark red hardlight crystals erupted from his hands and feet, engulfing his fingers, turning them into claws, the foot was consumed into talons. The dark red crystal limbs were soon wreaked in veins of fire that quickly turned superheated red before igniting in infernal energy of its pilot's wrath. More hardlight crystals violently spiked out from other parts of the Valvrave, punching through its superheated armor from inside out like an uncontrollable cancerous growth, some bursting out of his neck, others snapped through his shoulder armor…

Red recognized this. "…Stage… Three…?"

Red still had no idea that this is something far worse.

The Valvrave suddenly gathered a mass of his fiery energy into his fanged maw and Red knew what he's aiming for before he even fired the shot. "VERDANT! RUN!"

As soon as Red said so, the Primate Engine roared once again into the sky, unleashing a massive stream of burning destruction that pierced the sky.

Verdant had just gotten Red's warning when the all-incinerating pillar of fire erupted from down below. It melted and then smashed through the module's plate off its hinges before it struck the satellite Faux Valvrave in full, instantly ripping the Aurora in half.

"VERDANT!" Red screeched in panic as he can see the debris of the half molten Aurora falling from the sky even at this distance.

"You cared for her?"

Red froze when Haruto's voice hailed him, not through the coms… but through means beyond any technology's or man's understanding. It thrums and boomed straight into his eardrums, skull, and mind. There was little trace of that light hearted voice of the mild, well meaning boy he had been communicating with earlier. It was sinister and infernal like the stuff of nightmares from the deepest pits of hell, dripping with rage that swallowed all forms of humanity in his soul.

"You cared… for her…? For your women…? All of them…?"

Red didn't even have the guts to answer.

"…and yet… you… did this… to me!? You… made me… kill her… WITH MY OWN HANDS!?" More fire erupted from every inch of the Valvrave's body, an infernal representation of the pilot's fury.

Red was so terrified; he didn't even have the wits to understand what Haruto accused him off. Not that he would, even if he wasn't pissing his pants. He only had enough mind to turn around and run.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHH!" That was pretty much Haruto's last sane word of the day. His rage and wrath had consumed his mind, whatever control he had of his unbridled strength had died with that piece of his wife's soul. Worse, this rage had made him draw out more power… vast amounts of power in which the pilot's unhinged mind is in no condition to control. And this reflected unto the Valvrave as more and more uncontrollable Dark Red hardlight crystals violently and haphazardly erupted across his body to reflect Haruto's final fall to wrathful insanity. The Dark Red crystals grew at an exponential rate, utterly consuming the Valvrave's form, the wings were soon engulfed and deformed by more crystal growth, and the Valvrave's skeletal face was soon enveloped by the Dark Red Crystals. In fact, more and more grew uncontrollably, until the Valvrave was soon seemingly cocooned inside his crystalline tomb… until finally… all those dark red crystals underwent what everyone expected to happen: they ignite, simultaneously and explosively.

Hellsing and Amber had flown to safety, but the first 7 Albions and one Black Albion closest to the ground zero were vaporized in an instant. Any building and vegetation that had somehow survived the initial duel was instantly incinerated to ash. The blast first incinerated the plates simulating the sky on the ceiling before the shockwave overwhelmed the armor plating. The whole Hexagonal roof of the Module 010 briefly lit up in a superheated glow before it exploded inside out. The module's dome was now splayed open like a blooming metallic flower… with a fiery crater of lava at its center. Every drop of water in the module had long since been vaporized even before the decompression get to them.

The now truly monstrous Valvrave floated menacingly in the center of destruction. Its original mechanical form were now engulfed by a mass of Dark Red crystals that encapsulate his form… turning what had been a purely mechanical machine into a… crystalline bio mechanical monstrosity. The Valvraves were often likened to a naked skeleton in structure, and now they serve exactly that: a skeleton for a bio mechanical body whose 'flesh' is composed entirely of dark red crystals, leaving just little of the Valvrave's original mechanical body on its chest, which now glow with pulsating infernal energy, heaving like a living beast in accordance to the beat of its burning furnace of a heart. Pieces of his terrestrial armor was snapped off their hinges and then fused shut with the erupting crystal matter. The Dark Red crystals had created a far bigger and bulkier profile of the Valvrave, but protrusions of that same dark red crystals also spiked out haphazardly across various parts of his body, such as his left shoulder, his right forearm, and even one spiked through the sockets of his right eye. Its wings were now forcibly overstretched and enlarged, its sense nerve pinion had been enlarged and defiled by these new dark red crystalline growth, becoming a spiky twisted version of the original, just like the rest of his body. And the tips of these crystals all burn in a fiendish dark red flame, deforming the once Angelic Valvrave into something truly demonic. The ground around the spot where the Valvrave's legs floated a few meters above constantly burns with swirling cosmic dark red fire, the same flame that are also erupting from the palms of his clawed hands and enveloped his skeletal face.

Thus the Valvrave of Cinders and Ash had fallen into the madness… of Rune Overload.

00000000000000

If there's any cosmic cataclysm that will surpass all the disasters that had ravaged the Dyson Sphere, this was, by far, the absolute worst. And while Module 010 is a battlefield that was distant from all other battlefields, its destruction as the Valvrave fell into Overload was felt allover the planet. The humans only felt what they can feel in the physical world: an earthquake that shook the planet as the Module exploded inside out, the temperature that suddenly increases by a few degrees at the most, the drop of moisture on air, and their skin seem to dry up, at the worst case, some fainted from heatstroke… Any body of water began to shrink rapidly. Everyone thought of it as a severe case of heat wave.

But to Magius who knew this for what it is… it's a racial terror that stabbed straight into their very soul and send a cold chill of death down to their very spine. For them, Valvire's Rune burning is the most terrifying thing in the world. The heat it produces was strong enough to incinerate their runes down to their very essence. Even if those Magius are within human vessel, even if they were nowhere near the accident, it still feels as if they're standing too close to a burning sun and they're being forced to stare straight at it. Fact is… there's only one Magius in this planet that was hardly affected by this, the only Valvire Magius that is still much stronger than Haruto.

Pino immediately recognized the problem for what it is. Rune Overload. It is what happened when a Magius consumed too much Rune, or brought out too much energy… to the point he was unable to control it, and the energy overwhelms them, resulting in their mental descent into a berserk frenzy. The last time this happened was with Behemoth, and it very nearly destroyed an entire city. Now it happened on the most dangerous of all Valvraves… on the last person who should suffer such a thing.

"Haruto…? What have they done to you…!?"

00000000000000

Violet was still in her newly created Box as she tended to Jonnah when she too felt this radiating heat that threatened to set her Magius essence alight. The last time she felt this kind of heat, she had witnessed an outraged Pino burned an entire Coven to death for some dire transgression she can no longer remember. Lieselotte had tried to allay her fears, saying this is not something Pino was fond of doing often… and indeed she never saw her do it again for centuries… but she can still hear that painful screams for mercy in her nightmares.

There's a kind of hierarchy and compatibility between the Awakened abilities of each subspecies of Magius. Some can work well with others, some is better off working on its own. And in this case, a Valvire Prominence compatibility with a Malehexen Corruption is by far the WORST. Thusly, she was rightfully deathly terrified.

In fact… as soon as Violet sensed this incident, already she can see her Box began to unravel and corrode. "This is insane… two Boxes in a day…" With a heavy heart, she had to exit the Box and this time she didn't even get a chance to preserve it, the cosmic heat radiation from the Valvrave's Overload burned it out of existence before her very eyes. Violet had used so many runes by now, her Valvrave had all but lost its color and its sense nerve had dimmed.

Before Violet can even think of a way out of this situation, something fell before her. It was… an Albion, who had its own Lance shoved into its chest. Then she heard a loud thud behind her, and when she peeked over her shoulder, the Behemoth just fell on its knees next to her. There are about 2 to 3 lances embedded on various parts of his body. She looked further behind and… there are still about 10 more Albions, and that stupid Black Albion is still around. "Oh come on! You brats had the original units in your hands and this is the best that you can do!?"

Yusuke and Raizo were panting in their cockpit. Firstly, they never even fought an Albion before. Secondly, these guys are COMPLETELY different. Their movements are far too clever and intuitive to be an AI. And that Black Albion led them. Lead, as in truly lead them. They fight in disciplined formation, with first class tactics and skills far beyond their simple brawling tactics. Three units defend, three attacks, three supports from the distance, and the Black Albion will accurately deal the critical blow with either his great sword or his foldable cannon amidst the barrage of attacks. Simple tactics based on the famous Spartan Phalanx. Simple… but with limitless forms of applications. More than enough to be a challenge even to the Heavy Hitter Valvrave.

"You idiot!" Yusuke barked at the Queen.

"Huh?" Violet blinked.

"What are you doing here!? Why didn't you take these children further away!? You can drag us face first across the sands of Sahara or slam us into a passing meteor, but you can't even bring those children out of this module at least!?"

"Do you have ANY idea how much you have COST me!?" Violet shrieked back. "Opening a Cat's Box is no small task! And I just wasted two thanks to you clowns!"

"How interesting." The Black Albion loomed closer to the downed Valvraves. "To think… there's actually another one of those alien monsters so close to our own. Truly, you aliens are as dangerous as you are devious."

Violet merely clicked her tongue, now regretting of having used so much of her power out of a spur of rage.

"You are identified as Violet of the Regnant International… I wonder… are you the only one? That group is filled with a bunch of freaks…"

Violet laughed. "Don't be silly, human. Did you seriously think they had any idea what I am? If they do… did you really think they won't give me up the second they took this contract!?"

"Yet here is the problem. Your denial simply proves that you're trying to protect them. I wonder… why would you do that?"

Violet growled.

"…well, I suppose we will find out later when we put them through the Inquisition." The Black Albion gave the signal and all remaining Albions trained their cannons at them. "Prepare to open fire in 3… 2… 1-"

"ATTAA~AACKK!" Suddenly the whole Wonderland Menagerie jumped upon the Albions from out of nowhere, including even the gravely damaged Alice. The Albion's formation was immediately thrown into disarray when the mini mechs literally rammed and opened fire at them at point blank.

Upon seeing the child soldiers once more jumped in the fray, some kind of unspoken agreement instantly clicked between the two opposing Valvraves.

The Behemoth yanked out two of three lances embedded on his body and used one to skewer an Albion distracted by the Caterpillar's point blank flamethrower straight to his head. The Lizard and Marching Hare are working together to restrain an Albion while the Cheshire Cat plant bombs on its joint. Once that was done, they left him for the Queen to hook him with her scythe, plant some spell into him, and then quickly tossed him towards another Albion, currently being kept busy by the Flamingo. The hurled explosive laden Albion hit the other, but no collision. It briefly passed through him like an intangible ghost… before solidifying once it was only halfway through. The entangled mess of two mechs exploded soon after. Two Albions are chasing the Dodo and the Dormouse before they ceremoniously stopped. Behemoth had gone and grabbed their legs and dragged them back before impaling them with his lances. Yusuke and Raizo noted one of the stab seem to go through much smoother when the impalement happened on the back of the unit. The other was impaled on the chest, it didn't go all the way through and now the lance is stuck on its still squirming body.

One Albion is coming their way in a charge, but the Lizard swing in and tripped its foot with a swing of its mangled chainsaw. The Mech stumbled a bit, only to be bashed off the ground by the Behemoth, using the Albion dangled lance as a bludgeoning hammer. When it landed with a bent head, it squirmed a bit before the Behemoth slammed him again with the Albion hammer, and again, until both mechs lost their shape and they stopped moving. Once that was done, Behemoth quickly grabbed another Lance still embedded on his body and hurled it across the field until it punctured an Albion cornering the overwhelmed Knave. It pierced its back and out through its armpit. It still managed to move a little before the Queen came down and beheaded him with a scythe, step on its shoulder and jammed the butt of her staff deep into the exposed cavity. Unfortunately an explosion knocked her off. The two remaining Albions had taken to the air and start bombarding her with their lance cannons and shield missiles. The Turtle jumped to defend the Queen, but his energy barrier was not like how it used it, having suffered too much damage to maintain even a proper defense. That's when a much larger figure steps in, and Behemoth used his much larger physique to protect the two. One of the shot even hit him squarely in the head and shot down an arm, causing severe damage. Both pilots were too spent to maintain their Iron Skin.

The Queen shouted an order, and as one, the Wonderland Mini mechs circled the Behemoth and charged the last two Albions en-masse. In a blink of an eye the two giant humanoid mechs were swarmed by the miniature creaturoid mechs, latching on and won't let go, wreaking all kinds of damage. In the confusion, Behemoth and the Queen swiftly closed the distance and when the time was right, every Mini Mechs let go and one Albion got skewered by the Behemoth's lance from the armpit, and the Queen's scythe sliced through the other one's chest, leaving no visible damage, but when the scythe went out, it dragged out the Mech's nuclear reactor at its tip, and the Albion fell offline to its doom at this height.

Now there's only the Dark Albion left, but when they turned to the last… they froze. The Dark Albion is holding Alice under its foot and its sword hovering menacingly right where the cockpit is. "No funny moves! Or the girl gets-"

Before he can finish, the Queen hurled a shrapnel made of dark purple hardlight and it stabbed the Alice on its foot. The Hard Light shrapnel sank into the Mech and spread an infection like energy circuits allover its frame in a blink of an eye. The Dark Albion opened fire with its embedded gunsword but shot nothing but thin air. He also lost his footing when the trapped Alice turned intangible and phased away from him in a heartbeat. The Dark Albion was still wondering what just happened, Behemoth came to view, sending one of Raizo's full power Berserker Punch straight to his chest. Neither his shield nor his sword had time to defend this time, and the entire torso shattered to a million pieces instantly upon impact.

For a few moments, everyone stood still… still processing, questioning… is this the end? The Behemoth is still standing… barely. The Mini Mechs were also spent… but more importantly…

CRASH!

The Queen fell on her knees, her sense nerve died out and the black part of her armor turned white. Its cockpit hissed open, and the pilot finally walked out of the cockpit looking so frail. She wears a tight fitting suit, but she also wore what looked like a purple nun hood over her head, adorning a face of a beautiful youthful woman with dark purple hair. She would've been very beautiful… if only she wasn't so sickly pale. She managed a few steps out of the door before she fell off to the ground. She didn't have any strength left to stand.

The Mini mechs quickly swarmed their fallen mother. Many of the Children jumped out of their cockpit and came running towards her. Yusuke and Raizo can't help to notice how their expression showed nothing less than horrified concern. And then there's that little boy with wrecked leg… suddenly, something clicked. "Those children… they're all humans aren't they?"

The Behemoth approached the fallen Queen and knelt. Yusuke dropped down while Raizo stayed, in case more are coming. Yusuke came running carrying an entire case of what looked like cans of soda. When they saw him came running towards them, several of the children drew their weapons at him. Not that it would do him any harm, but Yusuke lifted his hands up. "Wait! Don't shoot! I'm here to help!"

"We don't need your help!" Another angry voice growled. Yusuke turned and his eyes widened.

It was that teen prostitute he rescued earlier. "YOU!?" Yusuke's mind raced a bit but he immediately shook his head. "Okay, you might not need our help… but she does." He pointed at Violet lying on the ground. "She's a Magius isn't she? She's out of Runes. We've seen it before! This is Synth Rune."

Upon hearing a familiar word, Violet's eyes sprang open. She struggled to get up and took a glance at Yusuke, sure enough, dangling in his arm is a whole case of her salvation. But…

"Why do you want to help us!?" Aloysia growled. She immediately got close enough to put a gun on Yusuke's head. "Just an hour ago you were trying to kill me!"

"And a few seconds ago I just saved your life."

"Mother saved me!"

"And I imagine doing so is going to cost her life if you don't give this to her now!" Yusuke glared at Aloysia, even letting her gun barrel to get planted right inbetween his eyes, jus so that he can shove the case of Synth Rune cans before her.

"Aloysia…" Violet's weak voice cut through the arguments. Aloysia looked at her mother, and saw her pleading dying face.

Aloysia said no more and yanked the cans from Yusuke before she rushed back to Violet. She opened a can, but momentarily paused when she saw eerie green particles carbonating out of the hole. She thought of taking a sip to test if they are poison…

"DON'T!" Aloysia stopped. Not only because Yusuke shouted, but Violet as well. Aloysia looked questioningly, but the Mother glared at her disapprovingly, even when she looked like she's one step away from the grave herself. Reluctantly, she handed the can to her. Violet took it, and once she took a sip… she gulped down the rest in a heartbeat. One empty can was tossed away in less than a minute, and already color returned to her face as she gulped down another.

The children sighed in relief seeing Mother Violet vigorously drank can after can of that magic drink. They didn't lower their guns, but they didn't open fire as Yusuke can finally close the distance without worry.

Once she drank halfway her fourth can, Violet had regained a healthy complexion, but she still remained seated on the ground. She glanced up and saw Yusuke closing in over her hood. Yusuke can see her green fluorescent eyes staring at him questioningly. But Yusuke couldn't care less. "Why?"

"Why what?" Violet asked.

"You pummeled us halfway across reality and beyond because we harmed one of your children. Your girl not only sold her body to Dorssian soldiers to spy for you, she's even ready to drink a lobotomy in a can because she thought I was poisoning you… and you… you were so starved out of your mind, you burned through so much Rune you were ready to die for them yourself… all these humans around you and you didn't even take a nibble… so why?" Yusuke growled. "If you loved them this much, why lead them into this life!?"

Violet sighed and deigned a bitter chuckle. "…what choice do they have? When they were kidnapped and then brainwashed to slaughter their own village? What can they do when their family was starving and they had to sweep life minefield to earn a living? When their own parents sold them to prostitution for drinking money!? What else can they do… when they don't even know any way to live normally!? They don't have much choice!"

"Yes you do! Their parents at least, didn't sell them to be a Lab Experiment before they were even born!" Yusuke spat back. "My option to choose came as a result of a committee and an accident. I've read their full plans… what Arus and Dorssia would've done: they want their weapons to grow up first to a usable size before they forcibly transform us into this. If it wasn't for Dorssia recklessly attacking us first to get ahead, I won't even get a chance to choose. Don't speak to me about not having a choice. I know you had it, and you chose to not teach them to live normally!"

"NOW Hold on one minute!" Aloysia suddenly intervened. "Mother didn't even ask us. We want to come! We want to fight with her! That's why Mother forced those eggheads to make the cockpits on those minimechs, so we will be better protected in battle!"

"Your mother is a very powerful Magius… I reckon she's centuries old! She should've had a mind to do better to keep you out of it!"

"No thanks to you Hybrid idiots!" Violet growled. "Do you have any idea what you've done!? Exposing the Council and the Magius to the world like that!? I used to have some options when people still had no idea about who or what I am. Then you thoughtless fools came around exposing the whole damn deal, suddenly I had the rug swept under my feet! Some of us… many of us didn't even care about this crap! We just want to live in peace, was that so much to ask!? Thanks to your stunts, our world has also gone to shits!"

"Yeah, sure. Just keep laying the blame on someone else. Need I remind you, if those Council 101 weren't such stuck up jerks, we won't even exist!"

"You-Urghh…" Violet wanted to argue but her energy quickly dissipated. She was quickly reminded that right now, there's a more precarious situation developing. Violet lowered her hood to reveal her face to speak with Yusuke face to face. She was as beautiful as she is motherly, with a light purple hair that extend just past her neck to crown her head, and a small, well placed beauty mark placed near her luscious magenta lips, matching her greenish tinted magenta eyes. But her beauty was cold and lifeless; rendering her youth a bit unnatural. Like an inert statue forever trapped in an ageless state. "Well… in a couple minutes it won't matter who's right or wrong."

"What!?"

"I don't know if you brats knew this term or not… but I think your leader… that Tokishima Haruto… I think he's consumed by a Rune Overload."

Yusuke and Raizo knew firsthand how dangerous an Overloaded Magius could be. And now she's telling them their leader, the most powerful and the most dangerous of them all… had just gone coo-coo!?

"From that shocked expression, I see you had the experience."

"We gotta do something!" Raizo growled from the Behemoth. "There's gotta be something! Hey! Queen Girl! C… Can you use that magic trick thing to send us to where Haruto-aniki is!?"

"With only this much runes!?" Violet nudged her shapely chin at all the spent six cans of Runes. "This is hardly enough to even open a portal to the next module, and we are on the other side of the planet! And even if I could, what are you going to do? Punch a supernova incarnate to the ground!?"

"If we have to? YES!"

She narrowed her eyes to Yusuke and the Behemoth as she shook her head at their naivety: "You don't get it. This is not your average rampage, this is a Valvire Overload. This is far-cry different than whatever Overload you have faced in the past. This is to a Magius what a Natural Disaster is to a human, like a storm or an earthquake. It's not something you can fight or stop. Once it begins… it has to run its course."

"So what, you're just gonna… sit here and wait? What about your friends?" Yusuke don't know the exact situation, but he imagined the rest of the RI is most likely on the receiving end of… whatever Hell that is being unleashed now.

"They were ever a means to an end. I joined RI on the condition I can continue caring my kids. When they signed the contract for this job, I knew my time was up." Violet groaned. "Even IF I wanted to help… the Queen's busted, and I'm not interested in sending my children to the center of an imminent apocalyptic event."

"Apocalyptic!?"

"If we're lucky, only a few continents' worth of landmass will be destroyed. If we're unlucky, this planet… will burn."

00000000000000

The world was spinning for a while.

But when Marie finally came too, she noticed it was the sound of her heart, beating… she cater around a few hundred mile a minute, thumping so loud, it knock her out of stupor. That and this headache splitting her temple…

The first thing she asked to no one in particular was…

"…how did I get here, again?"

The situation: everything's on fire. A blasted wasteland of destruction and ruination as far as the eye can see. A battlefield.

She's still in the cockpit of her Kagerou, so she couldn't feel the radiating heat, but she's sweating like mad. Around less than half of her monitors are in static, so apparently half her camera was gone but she can still see forward… and saw her. Rising from the rubble and finished recollecting herself to return her gaze…

"Oh… right." Like a rush of cold splash of water down her face… every event that led down to this moment came flooding in.

The Kagerou, now missing an eye to a terrible slash to her face, is still standing as the Sense nerve lit up once again. "Now I remember."

Moments before the explosion, she noticed Spike was still in the vicinity. Thinking quickly, she balled down around him, create a small but dense barrier around him, then on herself. When the explosion happened, the blast engulfed her, and the shock knocked her unconscious. Now that she regained her faculty, she looked down with half an optic and asked: "Spike… Spike, you're alive!?"

"I'm good, lassie! But damn, this place is hotter than the blazes of Hell." The large built man was only slightly disheveled but otherwise unharmed.

"I'd invite you to come in but…" She checked the thermostat of her cockpit. "It's literally as hot as an oven in here. You'd burn the instant you come in, sorry."

"Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine." The Kagerou stare into the distance, and Spike followed where her sight led. The Cinderella is also back on her feet, though she too was worse for wear. But it doesn't take a genius that with all that has happened; she's still willing to finish this.

"Spike."

"Go get her, lass. Finish this." Spike quickly finds a safe cover so as to not get in her way.

The Kagerou power hums forth once again as the Primate Engine took her stance. Bending his knee, she placed the Blackrose Nodachi back into its twin pronged sheath held in her left hand until that tell tale click. The Kagerou curled down, lowering her chest as low as she could to the ground, both legs curled by the knee at an angle. Its waist twisted until her chest face to the side to add momentum for this crucial backswing. Through it all, the lesser Valvrave never removed her sight from the enemy. This is not surrender… her hand is still on the handle of the katana in preparation to unsheathe it again to strike the enemy as she charged forth in one fluid motion. The Kagerou is curled up to gather strength, winding up before it unleashed that one stroke to end it all.

Grey looked at her, acknowledging what she's about to do with a nod. She too readied her weapon, the Masamune Blade, sheathing it back into its proper katana sheath… before she too bend her knees and curled down in preparation, twisting the waist until its chest face to the side, Katana's handle in hand, ready to whip, mirroring her opponent. They have decided to finish this with one last strike.

Silence.

The two suddenly entered their own world, not caring on anything happened around them… not even caring of another battle occurring elsewhere or whatever disaster befalling this planet… all they see… is one another.

Stillness…

They didn't even seem to hear anything… until… one small tiny ember floated in right in-between them, right in their field of vision…

…the ember breaks…

The stillness breaks, and all hell was loosed… everything was a blur, everything was unclear, immaterial, unseen, reality bends, the two titans immaterialized from this world into their own, though it lasted in just a fraction of an instant. Accompanied by the sharp ringing of steel… echoing mightily across the distance… they reappeared unto the world…

Stillness once again…

The Kagerou is now standing where the enemy had stood, and vice versa, with their backs facing each other. In the time it took for a second to pass, they had switched places... and their form has changed.

They started, locked in a state of ones who were about to initiate the move, facing each other face to face, and now, it ended, as it must, into the ones who had completed it with their backs showing against each other, Blades outstretched out of their respective sheaths. In the space between seconds, the stroke has been unleashed…

The ground cracks, a halo of cloud had erupted to mark the spot where the two titans had clashed… its center points the occurrence right in the middle of the two titans…

Everything was still… for but a moment.

And suddenly Nature realized the laws of nature must be obeyed and followed swiftly by a shockwave that dispersed the cloud and blew away the fire from the surroundings in a powerful wind and a late coming sonic boom that shattered every window and even leveled any flimsy buildings caught in the shockwave…

And through it all, the two Primate Engines stood statuesque, their final stance unaffected by the phenomenon they've caused and was worthy of immortalization in paintings or statues. Two warriors who had unleashed the mighty stroke of fate.

But the answer soon came… when the Kagerou fell on her knees.

"This is… most regretful." Cinderella lowered her katana…

…her broken half of a katana to be exact. Cinderella's body shifted a little… before her head, cleaved into two pieces by the Blackrose dual blades, fell off her shoulders.

If this was a proper katana fight on the ground, Grey would be dead… but this is a mecha swordfight.

The cockpit is not in the head… it's in the chest.

"…why did you miss?" Grey knew what she felt. Marie was aiming for her chest, but at the last second, she shifted the slash upward to her head. "Why did you not take my life?"

"You know why!" Marie was staring at the edge of the other half of that Katana lodged into her cockpit just millimeters away from cleaving her neck. Grey's blade reached her first. The Cinderella was so much faster than her… but her blade broke before the slash was completed. Marie was saved… because her opponent's weapon was already one breath away from oblivion owing to how poor its quality was. "I had no right to take it."

"…so I see." That being said, Marie had also inflicted a major wound: with the head cleaved, the central data processing unit is destroyed. Cinderella can no longer transfer all the data from her sensors to Grey. She is now truly blind. "Marie-dono, I-"

An energy stream streaked towards her, but before it struck her, a Kirschbaum stood in the way and blocked it.

Marie jerked in surprise and anger. Who dares!?

The answer came when the Dainslev descended from the sky, the tip of his Maltne Seltsam glaive glows hot, being the source of the blast.

"K-Zwei, you better explain yourself?" Cain's voice seems cool and no trace of anger of having been denied his kill, but he demanded answer.

"Colonel Cain… I beg your indulgence."

"You, of all people." If memory serves him right, Grey was the very woman who robbed K-Zwei of his eye.

"YES. ME of all people!" K-Zwei repeated.

"HEY!" Cain was further astonished when he saw the Kagerou, already crumbling and cracking, still managed to drag herself to stand in front of the Cinderella. "You wanna get to her, you'll have to go through me!"

"And ME!" Spike also crossed his arms as he stood before the first two bigger defenders.

In the face of this illogical scenery, Cain had to resist the urge to laugh out loud… but then, he noticed that Marie's Kagerou was standing not by any other virtue… other than Marie's very own literal force of will. She's using her own rune to reinforce a mech one step away from oblivion. '…this is surprising… to think she had grown this much…' Marie was nowhere near Haruto's level… but at this point she would be more than a match against any of the average Magius warrior caste. "…Put down your pitchforks, ladies and gentlemen. That shot was only meant to disable."

A bare faced lie done by a person too used to do it. That's how Grey would easily identify Cain's statement. Then again, he did put his massive Glaive to rest. "…I wonder how Red will react if he knew you are here, Cain Dressel." The one eyed Dorssian did not make it a secret that he had chased her lover halfway across the solar system to exact his revenge.

"Personally, I doubt you'll have the chance to tell him." Cain continued. "Because I doubt if we'll all be alive in the next 20 seconds or less."

Everyone realized Cain wasn't making a threat to just one person… "What do you mean?"

"Grey, First Lady of Six Sense… I regret to inform you… your companion Red may have doomed us all."

Grey frowned. She pressed the buttons on her phone and then, the Cinderella projected multiple holographic screens depicting the current situation in module 010. Not for her viewing pleasure, obviously: "Please describe the situation to someone who will never see it as clearly as those who can."

Marie, K-Zwei, and Spike do the honors of watching… but they are at a complete loss. "…this is…" K-Zwei was speechless.

"Sweet mother of mercy…" Spike gawked.

Neither of this comment conveyed much to Grey except it's bad. "Marie-dono? What do you see?"

"How best to describe this…" Marie gulped. "…it's… brutal… It's… it's like…"

00000000000000

Hell.

That's the best way to describe what Red and his team had unleashed.

At the beginning of course, no one realized this.

Well… because… it wasn't readily apparent at first. Hellsing, Rapunzel, and Thor's Revenge survived. They managed to get away safely when the Valvrave's explosive metamorphosis ended. And then, the strangest thing happen, when they took a measure, the temperature of the void is actually dropping. Still hot at a blazing 600 degree, but still…

While they're still ruminating on what had transpired, the reserves that have been prepared from adjacent modules came pouring into the destroyed Module. Dozens upon dozens of additional Albions and a few Black Albion to lead them, reinforced by hundreds of Dvergrs, Bremens, Hunters in all its Variants, even additional Mother Gooses. It's an army a hundred times bigger than the one faced back in Module 217.

Central Command was more than aware from the start of the true goal of this operation was not to squash a meager Resistance Cell, but to capture the Alpha Target, Valvrave 01 and its Pilot. They spared no expense and diverted enough resource to, theoretically, destroy an entire country 20 times over.

They're about to find out that it was far from enough.

"On my command! Lock on to target!" A Black Albion took the lead as hundreds of gun barrel of every size and make, launchers with its payload armed and ready, and laser cannons warmed up and charged, all are aimed at one target. "FIRE AT WILL!"

Hundreds upon hundreds of ammunitions and projectiles rained down upon the Valvrave like a heavy downpour of destruction. The Overload Valvrave didn't even show any sign of moving…

The missiles were destroyed first. They never made it past 2 clicks of the target when their payload exploded prematurely. The solid penetrating munitions made it as far as 1 click before they were vaporized. The laser looked like they were about to made contact, but they were dispersed by the Valvrave's overcharged barrier.

Not a scratch.

The reason? The surrounding temperature of the void is only 600 Celcius… modern day explosives can now withstand this temperature nowadays… but the area around the Valvrave where the missile explodes is at an excess of 1,500 degree. The area where the shells evaporated is at 4,000. And the Valvrave itself is close to the maximum heat yield of an Arc-Welder at 20,000 degrees. At this temperature, he can destroy an entire ecosystem just by stepping foot in it…

And now… they got his attention.

He lifted his crystalline burning hand and showed an open palm at a mass of targets. Burning Rune Particles briefly build up at said palm forming a condensed swirling mass, and then, once the thrumming of energy reached its peak, a massive jagged pillar of dark red inferno erupted, paired by scores of small but dense fireballs leaping to and fro around the pillar of destruction. Anything smaller than a Bremen caught by the main blast was vaporized before contact. Each one of the accompanying ricocheting fireballs was powerful enough to destroy an entire Bremen who was merely grazed by it. Hundreds of Dvergr immediately massed themselves into a single unit to form a shield wall to block the attack. They were vaporized almost instantly upon impact, and the blast still plows through them… but they were simply meant to weaken the attack – even if it's just a bit, so that the Albions behind them can better absorb what's left. At least… in theory.

The infernal pillar was hardly weakened when it slammed head first into the much stronger shield wall of Albions. To their credit… the Shield Wall holds… in fact, for a moment, it looks as if they can survive this… but then… almost simultaneously, they all combust inside out. The Albions are ARUS take on earth made Valvrave, the pinnacle of human technology… though it still used 'locally harvested' Runes to power it. They seem to forget that a Valvire Rune's most prominent trait… is to burn ALL runes – no matter where they're harvested. The rune reserves within their fuel tanks exploded en masse when the cosmic heat ignited them, incinerating the machines inside out. Those who directly blocked the attack were the first to combust, followed swiftly by others in vicinity, thus the chain of destruction spread in a concentric circle… but it didn't end there. As the destruction spread, the defense line collapse and the inferno stream plowed through them in an instant and kept zooming until it landed squarely right in the middle of the adjacent Module.

The beam punched through module's dome, instantly incinerated a city it landed upon impact before the subsequent thermo nuclear explosion destroyed the whole module in an instant.

And that was one shot.

The Valvrave batted his wings and its six sense nerve pinions surged with infernal power. The energy builds up quickly within the hollow area of the pinion's rings, and they sparkle with uncontainable flame. At the end of the process, 6 more masses of unstable burning energy, identical to the first one, hangs at the pinion's tips. They whirled and roiled ever more violently as they reached critical mass. Each one of them is powerful enough to destroy at least an entire module. The Valvrave wings closed in preparation, while the swirling energy mass churned ever faster in anticipation of the inevitable release.

With a bat of outstretched wings, six masses of pure destruction were cata-

"My, my… talk about a mess."

Everything stops.

The Mistltein, still in the form of the Malefic, walks out of the worm hole into a world devoid of color and movement… the fleet of mechs and droids that recoiled from horror, the floating debris on the process of melting, even the ticks of a man's cornea… all was frozen in that one instant. She looked at the Overload Valvrave, its six projectile of absolute destruction had just launched, each fated to doom entire continents… but they were all stopped mid flight. In fact, even as Mistltein stood before him, it was clear her presence didn't even register. "This is worse than I imagined."

"Did you just… stop time?"

"No. I simply take us into a Box where the time is stopped. Mind you, once we get out, the time will move again. I imagine we need some space and time to think. I know it's a bit complicated but-"

"I… think… I understand…?"

"You are? My, my. I'm impressed. Still… that doesn't change the fact we have a disaster in our hands." Within the cockpit, Mistltein Lieselotte displayed the demonized Overload Valvrave on the screen before Akira. The girl was horrified when she took a glance of the Valvrave demonic skull like visage.

"I… is there any way you can undo this?"

"I'm sorry my dear, but I'm afraid what you just asked is one of a few things I cannot do. Not that I can't try but… a Valvire Overload at this scale is not something you can stop. Regrettably my ability and a Valvire's very own nature is the worst of all matchups."

"My brother… had an Overload before! But Haruto fought him… hold out… until he's spent! And then… I managed… to calm him down! Maybe we can do the same?"

"Hm. A good plan. But… here is the issue: a Valvire Overload is incredibly destructive, especially when amplified by a Valvrave, as you just witnessed. And your leader's incredible might is his own downfall. At this rate, his rampage will destroy this entire artificial planet before his wrath subsides enough to listen to reason."

Akira thought quickly… "If he needs to destroy a planet to calm down… let's give him a planet to destroy." She suddenly blurted. "Can you make an uninhabited copy of the whole Dyson Sphere?"

Mistltein stood transfixed at Akira's idea and latest wish. She immediately burst out laughing, even rolling on the ground holding her stomach and bashing the floor. "AHAAHAHAHAHA!"

"What's so funny!?"

"That was a wonderful idea! I like it! I like it so very much! He needs to destroy a planet so let's make one for him to destroy!? Why didn't I think of that!?" Mistltein beamed a bright smile. "I can do it easily enough. But what about them?" She pointed at the doomed armies of Arus swarming the Valvrave, the mercenaries and the Thor's Revenge. "…I can bring them in. They can help calm the Valvire, making him expend his energy quicker."

"After which… they'll be trying… to kill him."

"Assuming any of them still survive at the end."

Akira measured the risk. It was clear they were the ones responsible for starting this mess in the first place. Not to mention they did sent a whole fleet of suicidal bombers to kill her. After that spaced out experience, and now this… she had little pity to spare. That being said… anyone who can force Haruto to be desperate enough to fall into this madness warrants caution. "Bring them in… but keep them on the short leash. Any sign they might endanger Haruto or make things worse… boot them out!"

"As you wish." Mistltein bowed.

Second Wish: create a second, uninhabited and destructible, Dyson Sphere

The Mistltein immediately moved into action, as she generated a second disembodied claw on her right hand. And then the clawed fingers began to move in a delicate pattern in tandem with the Mistltein's hands, dancing, weaving and directing streams of dark energy into a massive spherical black mass. If one look carefully, she was actually crafting a smaller model of the Dyson Sphere made entirely of this dark purple matter.

In the real world, a massive worm hole suddenly appeared right atop Module 010's ruined dome… and swallowed the adjacent 6 Modules into its void, including whatever else in it.

Inside the new, planet sized Box, as requested, Mistltein had reconstructed the entire Dyson Sphere – a perfect replica to the original in every way… except they are completely uninhabited, with the exception of the six adjacent Modules she first dragged into this box. Once all is in readiness, Mistltein snapped her finger, she vanished into thin air, and color returned into this fake world she had created as time moves again.

With a bat of outstretched wings, six masses of pure destruction were catapulted to six different directions. The effect… was as apocalyptic as can be expected. Discounting the hundreds of inconsequential drones and Albions blasted apart and annihilated when these 6 rampant energies broke out of the encirclement, the projectiles pierced through the adjacent modules and continue to plow through them, each stream pierced at least another 2 to 3 neighboring modules, obliterating them all in a heartbeat. And they still keep on going.

"Holy mother of God…" Red gawked.

"Red…"

"…we… we gotta… issue a planetwide broadcast…"

"Red…!"

"…the people… we need to evacuate…"

"RED!" Rapunzel nudged Hellsing once to shake the cockpit and the pilot. "Red… they're empty."

"I… What?" Red blinked. "What!?"

"I just ran a quick check… the adjacent 6 are… were… full… but those other Modules… I scanned them for lifesigns… they're empty. No signs of life at all… in fact…" Rapunzel ran another quick check around. "Along with the crews of Thor's Revenge and if you can count on those Albion things as alive… I think we are the only living thing… in this entire planet."

Red also looked around, his gut instinct told him Amber was right. Something happened… and they are no longer where they were. This may look EXACTLY like the Dyson Sphere but… something's… different. '…did Violet… no… she never did something of THIS scale…'

"Someone's helping us." Red surmised.

"…Or trapping us with HIM." Amber replied.

"Either way… this is good. I don't know how this mystery helper emptied an entire planet in a blink of an eye, but now we no longer had to worry about collateral damage."

"Red, we still have Option B-"

"NO." Red rebuked. "Option B is no longer on the table. We've made things bad enough already, Option B may make it worse."

"…then what are we going to do?"

Red takes one more look at the situation.

The Overload Valvrave just sent out another three of those Infernal Beams, destroying another half a dozen modules and entire group of Albions who were now more focused on trying to escape him rather than attack him. The only reason Red managed to get away so far is because he was smart enough not to so much as to point a gun at him. "We rendezvous with Thor's Revenge, resupply and repair. We'll wait this out."

"What-!?"

"He can be as angry as he like… he can't do this forever. He'll exhaust himself before long." Red growled to press the order. "Don't argue with me on this, Kon. We're pulling back. That's an order."

Kon was clearly reluctant, but seeing the Valvrave launched another hail of flaming projectiles that annihilated another battalion of Albions – while destroying another Module, she realized… killing herself now will not avenge her sister.

The two Faux Valvrave retreated into the open hangars of the waiting Thor's Revenge, unnoticed by the original Valvrave who continued its nigh unstoppable rampage. Module after module was crushed and burned mercilessly as the Valvarve launched wave after wave of those destructive Infernal Energy blast, spiraling and slithering allover the battlefield. The Piloted Albions began to mass the unmanned Droids to slow his pace by the slightest. But how exactly are they supposed to stop him when merely getting close to him melts them down to slags? Not to mention the Valvrave no longer just standing still. He starts flying around, actively chasing them, raining hail after hail of ruinous fire wherever he zoomed. The thousands of droids that had served as the Albions meat shield was long gone. Of the hundreds of Albions that had come, only less than 8 dozen remained. "Central Command! Central Command! Please advise! Central Command!" No matter how much they shout, there was no answer. They began to realize something's wrong, not just with their communication, but the entire planet. "Ah shit-!"

In their confusion, the Valvrave gathered energy on both of his hands and gaping skull mouth, just as his wings surged with energy. The now monstrous claws on said wing also surged to action as the tips of their crystalline talons lit up. Both hands and his maw opened fire, the hands launched three massive burning beams, accompanied by a massive barrage of burning projectiles sprayed out from his maw. Another volley of six infernal blasts were sent out from his wings, and the power claws launched a volley of smaller but razor sharp burning lasers from the tips of their talons. The beams carved through and outright destroyed at least 6 Modules, and the rain of projectiles overwhelm the Albions defenses before the infernal blast plowed through them, whilst the laser sweep across the void haphazardly, slicing and melting whatever they slashed through, and the remainder of these attacks savagely damaged many other Modules down below.

"Aa~ah… this is bad."

Unbeknownst to everyone, in a reality that's beyond any mortal perception, Mistltein watched the Valvrave's progression with a rather morbid disinterest.

"What do you mean?" Akira had to fight a nauseating feeling as she watched another dozen of modules being consumed by the firestorm of the latest barrage. How many millions… how many billions of people Haruto would've killed by now if those modules weren't empty?

"I liked your idea of creating a fake planet. I really do. But… I did not anticipate your friend to be this… exceedingly efficient at it – considering his mental state. For a rampaging lunatic, he's still using his Runecraft with such skill and finesse. Even at instinctive level it lost none of its potency. At this speed, this planet will be long gone before he settled down."

"What do you have in mind?"

"The whole point of your wish to create this second planet was to make him expend his fuel… It's gonna be risky, but… may I up the ante a little bit?"

When Akira gave her consent with a short nod, Mistltein snapped her finger.

The next time the Valvrave tried to launch another of his infernal blast, the blast dissipated midway as if it just ran out of energy. He looked dumbly at his crystalline hand and tried again… not even a spark come out. He's still on fire, and he still had so much strength left… but no more explosive fireworks. If he's still sane, he'd also noticed that his infernal aura had also great diminished. So much so that when an Albion opened fire, the stray shot actually penetrate deep enough to hit him. The diminished aura still managed to melt the shell, but enough of it managed to get through and inflict a bit of damage. Enough to startle everyone. Enough for the Albions to smell blood on the water like sharks.

"We can hit him?"

"His temperature… it's dropping! Not much but…"

"He's getting tired! We can fight now! Keep your distance!"

The Albions made an about face turn and start firing from a great distance. The Overload Valvrave noticed the scratch and the newfound fire in his enemies' belly… and this strange phenomenon in which his power seem to diminish… The Valvrave did eventually retreat, but not to run. Definitely not to run.

"What… did you… just do?"

"A Valvire's seemingly limitless capability for destruction in their Runecraft stems from their ability to spontaneously create fission whenever their Rune ignites. I simply altered the rules of this box so that runic fission reaction won't occur anywhere outside our Rave Engine core. Which means basically, the Valvrave still functions… he just can't create any other fission outside his own body, is all."

Akira swings between understanding and not understanding what Mistltein meant. "This one… I'm… not sure… I understand…" She made a mental note to learn more about the word fission though.

"Ah, knowing you, you'll get it eventually."

With the Albions are now hot on his heels, the Valvrave went back to the spot of when he started his rampage, the crater where he stood when this is all began. There, two badly burnt swords still stabbed firmly on the ground. They pretty much the only thing that survived his transformation.

The Valvrave landed harshly next to them, grasped their hilt, and with supreme effort, pulled them out from where they had been nearly fused with ground. Holding the two blades before him, his rampant energy flowed through their veins. As if guided by some instinctive knowledge, he crossed them together before the Valvrave… and some unseen mechanism began to activate. The Futtouchi and Gouketsu attached to one another back to back: The gaps on Futtouchi's blunt back closed in and the serrated state of Gouketsu's sharp edge smoothened. Their hilt met and folded against one another, the handle of the two katanas folded up, together with the merged sword guard they formed a large cross guard as a new handle descended for the Valvrave to hold. The blades had merged into a single piece, a two sided broadsword with a hollow core at the center, but the tips had merged together seamlessly, as if they were always a single piece, forming a sharp point. And when the Overloaded Valvrave grasped the new hilt a little tighter, a larger and longer blade construct made out of pure dark crimson hardlight took shape, enveloping the merged solid blade that formed its core. The Dark Red energy Greatsword is just slightly shorter than the Blackrose. It took the shape of a keen edged broadsword and left behind a burning trail of dark red Solid Afterglow as it was swung.

If Haruto was still sane inside, he would've read a new name of this blade being displayed on the screen: Senketsu, the Executor of Purgatory.

Grasping the new greatsword with both hands, the Valvrave charged back into the Albions. Of course, they tried to keep their distance and pulled back while firing, but the Valvrave concentrated all the runes to reinforce himself as more and more crystal growth erupted across his body, giving him additional layer of armor that can withstand the barrage – in addition of making him even more demonic with the additional spikes. The runes that coursed through his sense nerve wings burst into flames, rendering his wings ablaze. With a single flap of this burning pinions, the Valvrave hurled himself unto the Albions with an unexpected speed burst, such that the Albions were caught completely unprepared when the burning Valvrave closed the distance in a heartbeat and slammed into their midst with the sharp tip of his great sword thrust into their defenses…

…and nothing short of a nuclear explosion erupted, causing not only the Albions at the point of impact, but also everything else caught by it, including the already ruined Modules in vicinity, to be vaporized at a molecular level.

Akira and Mistltein watched this destruction from a safe distance in another reality. "Well… he can't use his long range Runecraft… but he can still compress them into himself. I see."

" 'I see?' " Akira looked incredulously at Mistltein. "You don't know he can do that!?"

"You live and you learn." Mistltein actually had that cutesy 'tee-hee' silly expression. "Well… at least his Runecraft is now limited to melee. And from what I see here he's expending gross amounts of Runes to achieve more or less the same goal at a slower rate… so…"

"But those white mech things now can fire at him. Hurt him."

"All those cheap human made machines, versus him… I'd say the odds are about 70 – 30."

The Valvrave rose up with his infernal Greatsword in hand, he can barely see past the flame… but when he caught sight of a surviving Albion trying to sneak past to safety…

…with one burst of his flaming pinions, the Valvrave is already standing next to the Albion, its horrified pilot didn't even had the chance to scream when he saw the now demonic Valvrave sent a massive horizontal roundhouse slash right at his face. Literally. The subsequent nuclear level explosion annihilated the Albion, and whatever else caught in the resultant firestorm that extends to a 10 kilometer blast range.

Basically, his range had been great reduced, but now all the power that had created those multiple city destroying energies are being concentrated on single melee strikes. The chance of survival for the recipient went down from extremely unlikely to downright impossible.

"Yeah." Akira nodded as she watched the Valvrave sent another explosive slash upon a squirming Albion… "70-30 is about right."

Akira was not the only one observing the ongoing apocalyptic event. The crew of Thor's Revenge watched this devastation in clattered teeth. Ezperanza would usually shout the owners of those teeth into silence, except she too is resisting the urge to do the same. When Red and Amber finally arrived at the bridge, she could barely hide the terror in her angry voice. "Was this part of your plan!?"

"No."

"Well you caused it." Ezperanza growled. "…so you better had a plan to get US out of it too, or so help me-"

"I have a plan." Red answered with a glare. "But that would depend on you too. Did you do your part?"

Ezperanza gawked. It wasn't a coincidence that she was the first to come to Red's aid after all. "How do I know this won't make things any worse than you already have!?"

"You don't."

"FUCK!" She spat. She pondered Red's proposal for a bit and then she nodded. "They're in the brig. What do you want them for!?"

"Open Channel on the speaker."

Ezperanza and her crew looked at Red, questioning if the man had gone completely insane… but then, she gave in and handed a mike to Red. "Just so we're clear… I'm not interested in plans that involved martyrdom."

"I know." Red nodded and grabbed the mike. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes to think this through one last time… and then…

"Aaah… testing… testing…"

Thankfully, the Valvrave was busily destroying modules on the other side of the planet as this happened, but Red knew this has nothing to do with the range of the audio finder. The person he's addressing should be able to listen to whatever he's saying even if it was but a whisper. He used loudspeaker because that person had chosen to remain the silent watcher, but Red is about to yank the tail and see who bites.

"…I now address… the Malehexen Magius who had created this Cat's Box."

Mistltein and Akira just had their tails yanked.

"Yes. I know what this is. You have created a pocket dimension, you copied an entire planet… you gave that rampaging boy a place to vent out his anger without endangering the populace. And I know… you've been watching. And when you dragged us into this place, we're all at your mercy, as you are also the only one who holds the key to our freedom."

Akira noted that Mistltein's expression was even more shocked as she is. "A human who knew this much about a Malehexen!?"

"I'm not gonna ask you to do something as impossible as to stop that walking Apocalypse. All I ask is… please open up an exit back into the real world for me, my friends, and everyone on this ship and of course this ship itself."

Mistltein and Akira looked at each other and nodded. On Akira's behalf, Mistltein took the fore. The world suddenly became discolored, but the destruction still commence in the background. The only one that was in color was Thor's Revenge. Mistltein's furious voice boomed allover the space. AND WHY WOULD I WANT TO DO THAT FOR YOU, IMPUDENT HUMAN!? The crews were briefly shocked when someone actually replied to Red's nonsensical ramblings. YOUR THOUGHTLESS ACTIONS HAD CAUSED THIS DISASTER TO COME TO PASS. THIS IS, AS THEY SAY, YOUR MESS, WHY SHOULD I CLEAN IT UP FOR YOU!?

Everyone glared at Red, knowing the disembodied voice was right.

Red chuckled nervously. "Indeed you're right. I've messed up. But I'm not interested in letting my friends paid for my mistakes. And I imagine… neither did you."

'What is he talking about?' As Akira pondered this, Thor's Revenge activated its large scale holographic display and showed a screen depicting its brig.

Inside the brig… are the captured crews of the Jormungandr. Malcolm, Tessa, Bob, Brian, Kato… and others. While Red and the RI Six Sense were tasked to tackle the Valvrave, Ezperanza and the X-ssia had been tasked to capture his teammates to hedge the bet in case the former operation went south. They've successfully done so as the Jormungandr crew tried to make their escape. Dragged in the whole war train while they're at it. But they certainly did not expect they'll be using them as hostages in this situation. Point in fact, if Haruto is still sane, this may give him pause, but there's no guarantee this disembodied voice will care.

They were right. Akira couldn't care less about the faces of some people she had never seen before… except one. "…DAD!?" Akira burst when she saw her father amongst the hostages.

"Dad!?" Mistltein was so caught off guard she accidentally allowed Akira's voice to echo with her own.

"Dad?" Red blinked. He looked back at the hostages and smirked. He finally recognized Renbokuji Jr. red hair among the prisoners. And he remembered very well the details of all primary target pilots. Especially the girls. "Am I speaking to Renbokuji Akira?"

The voice didn't answer, but that's simply a clarification that Red hits bullseye. "Well then, it looks like the situation is quite clear cut to you. Let me remind you, I know how this box works. As long as I… or Ezperanza, the Captain of this ship, are alive, neither you, or whoever's helping you, will be able to so much as to lay a finger or set foot or do anything onto this ship in any way, in any reality! And let me further add, if even a single one of people in this ship didn't make it out, neither will they!"

"DAMN HIM!" Mistltein slammed her fist to the immaterial floor. "That damnable human! He really did know how a Cat's Box works!" The weakness of Cat's Box: the Caster isn't the only one who can alter the rules of the world. Anyone with strong enough will can do it, and Red just did so as easily as speaking the words. He was absolutely specific with his rules, as long as he or this Ezperanza are alive, Thor's Revenge is unassailable and invulnerable, and the hostages will remained locked inside that prison. Leaving no way in for Mistltein to circumvent it or to affect a rescue.

Akira stood in shock. Her father. The father. The same father who abandoned her. Her and her brother. Why… Why should she care!? This is also the same Father who had agreed for her and her brother to be experimented upon. This is the same dipshit father responsible for the woes everyone endured up until this point! Akira was trying to build up her anger, trying to figure out any reason to not care, to damn him… and then she's trying to figure out why she even had to try… before she's not even sure where her anger go when she needs them.

"I know I sounded like an asshole right now, and even if I try to convince you otherwise, you wouldn't believe me. But the problem is, neither you nor I had the time." Red further added the pressure. Not by choice. Haruto had just destroyed another Module. In the time it took for this conversation to take place, another quarter of the Planet had literally been destroyed. "I think he already wiped out all Albions, and he's almost done with your fake planet too. Where do you think he'll point his fangs next if he hasn't calmed down by then!?"

Akira fell to her knees in absolute confusion and despair. Mistltein glanced sympathetically at the girl and took over. "And what's your guarantee that once you're outside, you will release them?"

"Because in the real world you'll had an even greater leverage to force us to do as you will. This single Starship will stand no chance against your fleet of Alien Warships… which I can bet my ridiculously overpriced paycheck is waiting for us outside." Red replied. "Besides… the one thing I've never been able to do well in my life is lying."

"If you know so much about us, human… then do you know what will happen the moment I opened that gate?"

Red knew he won… but he also knew what will happen. "I know."

And suddenly, the color returned. They have returned into the Box of the Fake Dyson Sphere… and about three quarter of the planet had been destroyed.

"…Red…" Ezperanza wanted to ask, but Amber asked first. "Red… how did you know so much about them!?"

"…" Red didn't answer. The only ones in RI who were privy about Violet's secret were Grey and Red. Amber, Verdant, and Blue were newer members, so they knew little. Then again, he now realized, Violet didn't teach him everything…

"RED!" Amber roared and yanked his collar. "WHAT ELSE YOU HAVEN'T TOLD ME!?"

Red didn't answer for a while… "…and what would you do if you know?"

Amber's eyes widened in shock, disbelief… and betrayal. Red removed her hand from his collar, and glared at her coldly. "We have bigger concerns here than your revenge."

Amber gritted her teeth and quickly rushed out towards the door. But before she reached it, Ezperanza's voice cuts in: "A word to the wise. Thor's Revenge is my ship. And I'm its Captain. Nothing happens on this ship without me knowing." The woman glared over her shoulder to the much younger Amber. "Nothing."

Amber merely grunted at the implied threat and waltzed off.

"And don't think you're off the leash. What does that person mean?" She glared at Red. "What will happen when she opened a door to the outside world?"

"This world… is empty. To put it simply, it's a spent meal. Right now… the real world is the main dish covered in a lid. And this guy is starving. Like, starving mad. Once the door to the outside is opened… the scent will waft out of the open lid, informing the hungry predator that dinner is served."

Everyone immediately understood. The moment the door was opened, it will act as a beacon to the starving bloodhound that is the Overload Valvrave. He will come to them, destroying anything that gets in his way. "…Thor's Revenge suffered some damage. All but our secondary boosters are shot. We can't move fast enough, you understand?"

"…how's the repair on Hellsing?"

Ezperanza gave Red a look. Oh. He's serious about making amends. That's what she hates from Red the most. That asshole knew how to fix his mistakes. "Knock yourself out."

As Red walked out, he added one last detail: "I imagine… she's going to prolong this as much as she could. Not only to test our nerves, but also to make the Valvrave deplete his strength as much as possible. Make as much repair on those boosters, as fast as you can."

"Got it." Ezperanza nodded.

0000000

Mistltein knelt next to a curling Akira. The knowledge of her Father's presence was as much of a shock to her as the fact he's being taken hostage by the enemy. It was almost too much, and Akira began to curl back into the way she is before Shoko.

"The love you have to the one who had create-… I mean… gave birth to you… I can somehow understand that, at least. My master, Lieselotte, created me. Using her very own flesh and essence. So of course I loved her very much and wished no harm to fall upon her… but…"

"My father… abandoned me… and my brother…"

That stumped her.

"They abandoned me. They left me and my brother in that school to be experimented… I… I… I never considered him as anything in my life… let alone blood relatives…" She clawed her hair. "So… so why can't I hate him? What should I do… Shoko…!?"

Mistltein was a bit taken back. Isn't it logic that parents should love their children? Lieselotte never taught her anything about this, so now she's at loss. "Akira… I'm still under the contractual obligation to your wish to keep the Valvrave and all those people here… I… I need you to actually tell me to do what needs to be done."

The Dyson Sphere was almost completely obliterated, only less than several blocks of module are left. There are less explosions now, but they're still being torn apart at a rapid rate. One Module was split in half… literally split in half before the Valvrave finally slowed down its pace of destruction. Either because he's getting tired as everyone hoped he would be… or he began to instinctively realize that something's wrong.

Red observed the damage from the cockpit of his hastily repaired Hellsing. He realized the hunter is getting bored of this same old prey… now it's looking for something new. "It's about time… what are you waiting for, girl?"

Mistltein also looked warily at Valvrave's progression, but she turned back at Akira. "Akira-chan… please… If you want me to help them… help all those people… I need you to wish me to do so."

Akira briefly peeked up to see Mistltein's pleading face. She finally said… "I wish… for them… for everyone… to leave safely. ALL of them."

Third Wish: Everyone leave safely.

"…As you wish." Mistltein smiled in sympathy and sorrow. She then contacted that impudent Human who had caused them all so much misery. "I shall now open a gate. You better be ready, human."

Thor's Revenge just launched the Hellsing. It's still battered and bent, but the engineers of X-ssia had done the best they can. Amber refused to even see him, so the Rapunzel remained in the hangar. It's a good news in its own way… no one else should die because of his mistakes. "I'm ready. Do it."

Mistltein suddenly reappeared right in front of the Hellsing, startling and unnerving the pilot with her nightmarish appearance. She lifted her disembodied clawed hands. She tilted her head at him, fully realizing what he's about to do. "Don't mess it up." And she drew a circle with her finger. At the distance, matching her hand drawing, a Wormhole portal opened up, big enough for Thor's Revenge to pass through. Once that was done, she vanished, leaving Red alone.

And as expected… on the ruins of another Module he destroyed, the Valvrave suddenly shot a look straight up towards where the portal had been opened, he sensed a new… something… before he immediately jumped towards it, leaving a trail of fire as he plows through anything in his way in a half sane zeal born of equal part rage and starvation.

With so much destruction heralding his arrival, Red was able to see his progress from miles away. He grabbed the guns on his chest before combining them with the guns on his knee. The two transformed into a pair of Buster Rifle, and then he combined the two massive rifles together. "Ezpe… get going."

"I'm going." The Revenge began to move, but as Ezperanza had feared… the pace is slow even if the Gate is just a few hundred clicks in front of them.

Hellsing carefully aimed at where he knew the Valvrave will show up. He waited patiently as the cross hairs are aligning… waiting… waiting… And… "NOW!"

The twin buster rifle opened fire, unleashing a massive blast straight towards the incoming Valvrave. It swept clean a huge swath of space from all debris. But he's not here to clean up the junks.

He saw flashes of red and he knew what's coming. He quickly backed away, but the red flash cleaved his twin buster rifle. He quickly retracted the two guns before the cleaved frontal half briefly overheated and explodes.

The red flash stopped before him, revealing the flash actually came from the dark crimson hardlight of Valvrave's Senketsu great sword.

Red smirked. Not because he just lost two out four of his primary weapons… but because the slash didn't create a thermo nuclear explosion. Proof that his enemy was as spent as he is. "Well let's get to it then. It's the final round kiddo!" The Hellsing two guns switched into its beam blade mode.

The Valvrave roared and charged in a burst of flames.

The Hellsing readied both beam swords and charged forth.

Their weapons clashed and grinded against each other, the first in the next series of clashes across space. The two units became a blur of flashing lights, one is burning red, the other pale blue after the color of their respective propulsion engines. The two lights danced rapidly against each other in multiple loops, forming multitudes of circles that depict their flying path as their weapons clashed over and over, the sound of echoing thunder accompanied every impact, a shockwave of energy rippled across reality with each blow. Each time they clashed, each time the Valvrave slammed his greatsword at him, the Hellsing would be sent further and further back. But Red used it to slowly guide the frenzied enemy away from the Revenge.

The Valvrave fought like a beast. He swings around his great sword wildly whilst his other power claws are slashing ferociously at every opening. Red had to rapidly switch his weapons from sword to gun mode and fro at every opportunity, attempting to score a point blank shot or harried his prey into an opening his blade can exploit, or both. His joints are crackling with electricity; its servos are struggling to keep up with the frantic combat's pace. And yet, for someone that has gone insane, his opponent is surprisingly nimble, dodging his attack at paper thin margin, not to mention he's still overpowering him by a longshot. He's even dexterous enough to block his shots by slicing the porjectiles mid air with his sword! But the fact that the Valvrave was worn down is also apparent… he was much slower than before, Hellsing had been able to match his fury blow by blow without having to release his Limiter.

That being said… Red is still human. At this point, his stamina had also reached rock bottom, and so his performance is similarly degraded. A lapse in his movements exposed an opening, and the Valvrave mercilessly used that by launching a vicious slash to his waist. Hellsing used his knee to deflect the attack as he himself back down. It succeeded in preventing lethal hit, but the blade managed to cleaved deep and almost struck his cockpit. But he also exposed his own opening, and Hellsing jammed his beam saber into one of his wing mounted power claw. The limb struggled a bit before Red tore it, and a chunk of the Valvrave's wing, off. He also coupled it with a kick that managed to knock the Senketsu off the Valvrave's hand. He was so tired he couldn't even hold his sword as tightly as before. But before the sword can go any further, the remaining power claw on his wing stretched up and caught it and returned it back to his welcoming two hands before he use to sent down a power vertical chop. The slash vertically carved his chest, and claimed Hellsing's leg this time. "SCREW YOU!" The Hellsing paid the missing limb no heed and opened fire with both guns in one last desperate attempt. The Valvrave couldn't dodge the point blank attack, and the barrage of stakes hit him full, tearing apart his wing claws, his shoulder, a piece of his head, some even pierce through his body in several spots, causing catastrophic damage… which the berserk pilot complete ignore as he pushed forward for a powerful fire propelled stab. The blade pierced Hellsing's chest and went through the other side… missing Red's head by the inches.

As fate would have it… it was also around that time the Senketsu lost its red Solid Afterglow blade. What stabbed Red… was a burnt out stump of a sword completely depleted of its infernal energy. If that was not the case, he would've been scorched by now. "Aha…" Red smirked nervously. "You're running out of juice I see…" But Red quickly realized by no means does this mean he's weak. The Valvrave violently yanked his sword out to the side, and considering the awkward angle of its entry, the damage it made on its way out are significant. A piece of Hellsing's torso was torn out, virtually exposing his cockpit to the void. The Hellsing also lost an arm, and most of the cockpit controls. Miraculously, Red found he still retains control to at least 60% of his Hellsing, but, against the Valvrave as it is, that's suicide.

But as he took one last glance on the other side and smiled. "So… we made… it…?" Red choked…

The Revenge is already out of the Gate, so his job is also almost over.

The Valvrave's eyes suddenly lit up and swing his sword. But instead of slicing him, the blade struck the Hellsing at an awkward angle, the Hellsing getting bludgeoned by a sword wielded like a club. "GAH!" Red quickly stabilized his half destroyed mech and looked back at the other guy. And guess what… he was even worse than he is.

That slash was so poor… because at this point, the Valvrave couldn't even hold the weapon properly. He was… crumbling. More and more of that red crystalline growth continue to erupt, violently reinforcing its broken host even as it was falling apart, like forcing an already dying man to continue fighting even after death and beyond. The fire is still trying to come out, but at this point it's virtually running on fumes.

It hurts to even look at it much less fighting it. Red stared in horror, disbelief, and, most of all, apprehension. "…why…? Why are you fighting like this…? To fight so desperately, burning your very own life away… why? What pushed you…!? Why… why do you have to go this far…!?"

The Valvrave only gave one dying howl as an answer…

"Now."

Suddenly, Mistltein reappeared right in between Hellsing and Valvrave. The crimson Valvrave stared questioningly at the ephemeral Valvrave. She placed an open palm before her head. Within, Mistltein Lieselotte is also doing the same. She generated a small flock of energy in that palm, and then she blew them away. The flock of energy flowed away from her palm and took shape before the Valvrave… it was the shape… of a woman…

…the shape of Rukino Saki.

Haruto's eyes shined with the light of sanity for the first time in what feels like ages.

The Valvrave briefly stopped. The image of his beloved smiled. Saki stretched out her hand and lovingly caressed the Valvarve's cheek as if she's caressing the man within before she pulled him into her arms. The chaos that had ravaged his body began to subside in her embrace.

Red saw this… and he began to understand. "You fought… for her." It wasn't something they did to him… it was something they did… to her. "What did they do to her?"

Well… that's a case to work with on another day… for now, the crisis is ov-

"For my sister." Kon, inside Rapunzel, took her aim with her bow.

Red knew that voice. "KON, NOOOOOOOO~!"

When he turned around, he was just in time to see Option B flew past his field of vision… and Hellsing sadly lacked an arm to prevent what's coming.

Option B: An armor piercing arrow… made from the spoils of battle acquired from Ariels duel with the Valvrave: pieces of the Valvrave's Deadheat metal that composed the Alien mech's body… and more importantly, his Rave Engine. These are the pieces that were broken off during the initial stages of the fight… when the metal was still fragile. They've studied the metal thoroughly and discovered its unique effect of becoming stronger and stronger when superheated with runes. They only had enough Deadheat metal to forge one armor piercing arrow, so they reserve this for Option B: the lethal option when all else failed.

That superheated arrow flew past Red, pierced the apparition of Saki from behind… and stabbed the Valvrave right in its chest, missing the cockpit, but puncturing deep into his rave engine.

0000000

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGHHH!"

Pino collapsed in her chamber, clasping her chest. Something just stabbed her heart… deep.

"Lady Pino!?" Ryuuji and Ivan panicked upon seeing the Alien Queen collapsed.

Pino's eyes were wide in pain, her mouth agape in shock as her ephemeral body twitched and writhed in absolute pain. "Your majesty, what's wrong?"

Pino gasped and twitched as she looked down… and see this wound on her very essence… with gold Rune trickling out like blood out of a gaping wound. She immediately knew what just happened… "No… My… Valvrave… what have… they done…!?"

0000000

The flame that had died down… the inferno that had been reduced to embers… was chaotically reignited in full conflagration. Gouts of firestorm poured out of the gaping wound. The apparition of Saki that looked like it had been stabbed was once again burned by the eruption, reigniting the pilot's trauma in full burst. What little control he had just reestablished was lost once again in the inferno of nightmares and rage.

The gate had yet to close, and the Valvrave… it went through stage one, two, and three all in a matter of seconds, and now…

With one last roar, the Valvrave burst into flames and his form were swallowed. When the blinding light that followed ended, the Valvrave had been reduced into an elemental being of fire and light. His whole body was now composed entirely of fire and lava, his six sense nerves stretched out into six fiery pinions of unfathomable length, its crown is now a blazing corona of flames, Senketsu was transformed into a sword of pure fire and destruction…

Stage Four.

But if there's anything different… this being is wounded. Badly. They drove a stake through its heart and now pure fiery energy are leaking out of the gaping wound, burning everything around it, including this Reality that Boxed him in. It swings his sword around in feral fury, unleashing firestorm as if it was its vain attempt to dull the pain. His painful screams of agony was as heartbreaking as they are horrifying, with gouts of flame poured out of every syllable.

At this point, Red realized he had no other option… other than to run. And hope to dear god above, this Box can at least save this planet by containing the blast. But that hope was dashed when Red saw the world… the box… began to burn.

Mistltein fell into her knees as her Lieselotte form also began to corrode.

Akira was knocked out of her catatonic stupor when she saw what becomes of her new companion. "W….W…. What's… wrong…?"

"This… this might be dangerous for me… for us…"

There's a reason why Malehexen and Valvire's awakened abilities had the worst compatibility of all Magius.

Spells made from Malehexen Corruption are very Rune saturated products. The most of them being Cat's Box, which is essentially a pocket dimension… made entirely out of runes. And the Prominence… they BURN all Runes. This is why Violet never considered the idea of imprisoning Tokishima Haruto and his Valvrave inside her Cat's Box: he can just BURN his way out of it, artificial law of nature be damned, not to mention it will kill the caster as well, for a side effect.

Even though she's just a Valvrave, Mistltein inherited all her powers from Lieselotte, who was easily a much more powerful practitioner of the Runecraft compared to Violet. But even the Mistltein will not survive a fourth stage Overload Valvrave unscathed. But there's a bigger problem afoot. "My Box… is crumbling… it… it sustained too much damage, it won't be able to contain this blast… the Dyson Sphere…"

"I… is there… anything we can… do? Re… Remake the box or something…?"

"No, my dear, you don't understand. My Box is made of Runes, and at this terminal stage, he's burning all ambient Runes to feed his flame. Creating another box will simply add more fuel to the fire. Instead of muffling the disaster, it will only make it worse."

"T… then… what can we do…!?"

"…nothing. We have to escape this place, outrun the blast radius."

"But my father…!?" Akira was at loss. Now, at the edge of an Apocalypse, it was funny how she was still concerned over someone she barely knew.

Mistltein was also at loss. By her logic, the only way to escape is to create a worm hole and teleport herself and Akira out of the blast radius… but Akira didn't wish to go anywhere… So now, she's trapped between a rock and a hard place…

Alas, the Valvrave is not giving her a chance to think. With a bat of his burning pinions, the fire consumed Valvrave hurled himself like a meteor straight towards her, towards the ship behind her… and more specifically, towards the exit.

Escape or not, Mistltein knew she couldn't let that happen. At a sweep of her hand, the reality shattered, and she used those shattered pieces to form a wall to block the Valvrave's passage. The monster's head initially smashed flat against the obstruction, but he rapidly began punching his way through, breaking apart and burning away the pieces of reality that blocked him. And then he grabbed his sword and stabbed the wall with it. Mistltein watched in horror as the wall she constructed burn away at a rapid rate. She even saw the tip of that superheated blade melting through the reality wall. The Valvrave will burst through them in seconds! "Akira-chan… I'm sorry."

"Oh no…" Red just knew what will happen the moment that wall collapses…

Men and beings far wiser and smarter than her had fallen into despair, and Akira… Akira didn't even know what to think anymore…

Half a world away, Behemoth's Sense Nerve suddenly shined gold as fresh energy began to erupt from his whole being.

"Hey what the…!?" Yusuke, still outside the Behemoth gawked when the yellow mech suddenly surged with enormous amounts of power. Everyone was shocked… but Violet was less so.

"Raizo, what are you doing!?" Yusuke quickly got his answer, or sort off… when an electrocuted Raizo was spat out of the Behemoth's cockpit. "Raizo!? What…!?"

"I… I had no idea, that thing just…" Raizo gawked as he saw the same thing everyone does.

The Behemoth is moving on its own, even when bereft of pilots.

"This is why I asked you two what the hell did you put inside that thing." Violet reiterated her statement to a stupefied Yusuke and Raizo.

As the Behemoth continue to gather ever increasing amounts of energy, particles of gold and green runes constantly flowing in and out of its Rave Engine heart at ever increasing frequency as the black parts of his armor turned gold, and purple and gold cosmic electricity are bursting through the seams of his dismembered body, and the many holes of his wounds are also overflowing with power. The sheer pressure from all this amassed energy generate gusts of winds as the Behemoth stretched all three of his remaining arms upward in open palms, as if he was praising her heavens… or gathering even more energy from somewhere. When the giant felt he had gathered all that he can, all that energy surged into the stump of his missing one arm. A giant hand constructed of all that concentrated energy was generated out of the stump. It looked… like an energy version of the Behemoth's original arm with an energy Forgefist attached.

And then, once the form of the arm had solidified well enough, he gently pressed the palm of said hand to the ground… a gentle gesture… precluding the grand display of cosmic power that soon occur.

In a blink of an eye, the massive energy in the form of bolts of lightning was transferred from his hands into the ground, penetrating through the layers of soil all the way into the deep mechanical understructure, unleashing a pulse.

With the point where the Behemoth lies as the epicenter, this pulse surged out at literal lightning speed and rippled across the entire planet. A total blackout immediately followed. Wherever the pulse passed, all forms of energy, every drop of power in the entire planet, be it from a nuclear reactor down to the last triple AAA battery were seemingly sucked out of the system and absorbed into the pulse. And the pulse carried all the energy of an entire planet and they converged right on the spot where Module 010 had been, straight towards the Pocket Dimension that was caging an Apocalypse.

The mechanical ports of the adjacent modules that encircled the massive 7 module sized gap suddenly expelled out massive pillars of lightning that bombarded the black Sphere at the center of the gap from every direction. But this wasn't meant to destroy it. Quite the opposite. The lightning encased the black sphere in a cage of energy, it was reinforcing it.

Inside the pocket dimension, this reinforcements manifest in form of giant gold energy constructs taking the shape of Behemoth's Titan Fists that plunged out of shattered portals across the voids of reality in multiple spots. The energy made Titan Fists, numbering at least 12 – and counting, slither through the great void on chains made of interlocked Titan Fist, latching on to one another fingers to fingers, grip to grip, creating an ever extending chain of linked Forge Fists that propel the leading Fists ever onward towards its target.

And it was right in the nick of time, as it was at that second the Valvrave pushed through the incinerated wall of shattered reality and was about to slam into the Mistltein when the Forge Fists chains fell upon him. One after another, the fists barred the Valvrave with confusion as it slithered and encircled his every limb in circles of chains before the Titan Fist grab hold of every part of the Valvave they can grab and the coiled chain tightened its grip. One arm grabbed and yanked its head, some grabbed hold of his arm to stop him from swinging that sword around, others stopped the flapping of his gigantic flaming wings.

Naturally, confusion turned into more rage, and the Valvrave struggled to regain his freedom, and at first, he did managed to tear some of the chains to pieces… but for every one that was torn, ten more came falling in. He flew away trying to prevent himself from being captured again… but soon… they all came by their hundreds from every direction. The dark void of the reality are cracking, fists after fists came slithering in through the gap one after another endlessly. It's like a golden rain where every droplet is actively chasing him. The Valvrave only managed to unleash one slash to destroy a few fists… but when half a dozen of them tied down his sword arm with double the strength, the Valvrave was helpless to stop the following dozens more that grabbed hold on every part of his body, until at least a hundred arm chains had stretched and bound the raging Valvrave in its place, keeping him here… but it was obvious they were straining themselves to do so.

Red watched in awe. At this point he'd seen too much for his smart mouth to be anything but speechless.

Mistltein, for all her eons old of wisdom, jawdropped in confusion at a phenomenon she had never seen before. The most amazing thing about these constructs: the Valvire's rune can't seem to burn them completely.

But Akira… She looked at the golden energy constructs in realization… and recognition. "…Let's go."

"W…What?" But as Mistltein regained her wits, she also noticed that even when more and more of these mysterious chains appeared by the hundreds, the bindings merely kept the Valvrave busy. It didn't even come close to lock him in place or stopping what will definitely come to pass… but it will keep him here. "…you're right." And the ghost like Valvrave snapped herself out of the box.

On that note, the Hellsing had also got one foot out of the gate when it began to close. The last thing he saw before it closed in completely was the sight of the rampaging fire demon being cocooned by hundreds upon hundreds of interwoven golden chains of linked Fists.

When the way is shut, the escaped guests of Mistltein's box saw a sphere of pure darkness the size of a cruiser… the place where they had been imprisoned… and it's receiving a steady surge of power from other adjacent modules. Furthermore, now there are these veins of fire crackling allover its surface. And those cracks are escalating. When Red managed to at least land inside the Revenge's hangar, he quickly warned everyone: "RUN! RUUUUN!" Thankfully, Ezperanza's engineers didn't let her down, and her main boosters is finally online, and they quickly departed as far away as possible.

But as they move away, they saw a wisp of darkness with Neon green crown flew past them. The Mistltein had one last trick up her sleeve to further contain this catastrophe. She sent both of her disembodied claws and had them clasped the sphere… before squeezing it with all their might until it shrunk to the size of fighter plane… never mind the fact this also caused the sphere to develop several more alarmingly fiery fractures.

Inside, the Valvrave is now trapped and bound inside a mass of Forgefist who constantly keeping adding more and more to this cage… in fact, some of them took the liberty of grabbing whatever's left of the duplicate Dyson Sphere, reel them in and binds them in to further reinforce the cage. But ultimately they're only stopping his movements. They cannot stop the fire that had reached critical mass within him. With one last struggle, the Valvrave momentarily broke free, and he managed to grab hold of his sword with both hands in a reverse grip. All his energy and rage was channeled into the superheated blade, and in anger and despair, he plunged the sword deep into the mass of Forgefists chains… deep into the burning fabrics of the Box's reality… before the energy accumulating within it finally erupted in all its apocalyptic fury.

At the same time, Mistltein sweep her arms up, and the shrunk sphere were shot upward into the void as far as she could… just before-

With one last spark, the cocoon of Forgefists bulged explosively from the inside before it was consumed by the light erupting within. Moments later, the Box, already fractured and cracked with fire, finally shattered and the erupting energy finally escapes in form an explosion so powerful it shook the whole planet… even when the Mistltein had launched it hundreds of miles away from the Sphere. For a brief moment, even the light from the artificial sun was outshone when the blinding detonation reached its zenith. Red gawked at the size of the explosion. Any closer, and at least a quarter of the planet would be vaporized… but for now, what reached the Planet… was just the shockwave. And even that was devastating enough.

This is no mere shockwave… it's a cosmic quake craeted from an inter-dimensional explosion of a reality being destroyed by a cosmic supernova. While it was not the actual explosion, it was still powerful enough to crush several modules nearest to the blast, ripped several of them off its hinges and severely damaging many of them. Modules are neither small nor light object, each is literally an island, some are even continents… but they were being hurled away helplessly like leaves in a maelstrom. Multiple Modules not even close to the epicenter of the explosion suffered earthquakes that shattered the ground and capsized entire cities.

When the explosion finally died down to just glimmers in the dark, the planet looked like a portion of its surface had been… dented in. Particularly around the area where a few segments of the Sphere were missing. Several modules were scattered around, some were ripped off its foundations and floated helplessly around the gap, others were still somewhat attached to its foundations were forcibly bent into awkward angles around the peripherals of the gaping void. There were almost no debris, especially around the epicenter of ground zero… because there's absolutely nothing left… or… is it?

As if showing that hope and life didn't end, the artificial planet that had gone dark moments ago brighten once more as lights were restored across its broken but unbowed surface.

And thus, the battle of Module 010 came to its horrific end…

00000000000000

Epilogue…

One week later…

A cuffed Red was being escorted under strict guards before an inquiry… made up of Arus central command and the Inquisition for a grilling.

"State your name and rank."

"Red, director of Regnant International."

"State your REAL name for the record?"

"Red. Director of Regnant International." He repeated.

The judges looked at each other and shook their heads. And so they swiftly went to the grilling.

"How do you explain this disastrous event?"

"Which one?"

"What do you mean, which one!?"

"Well, I don't know if you noticed, but there's been so many Extinction level events happening lately: supernova, super storm, reality breaking apart, I'm having a hard time understanding which is which anymore. So please be specific?"

"Alright. Let's start with…"

00000000

A week ago…

When the explosion happened, Violet and her children, like so many people that day, were clearly beset by panic. Yusuke instinctively cover for them, as did Raizo. The quake and the aftershock that followed the event was so massive, the ground cracked and split apart, the roof felt like they were about to fell over… but they quickly subsided as the explosion died down. But the children didn't dare to stand up even after a full 10 minutes had passed since the last aftershock subsided.

When they finally did, they began to cry. Either because they were glad they're still alive… or terrified beyond all endurance of the unthinkable dangers they've faced. The sort that would've broken grown man's sanity beyond repair. Violet came to them, and as best as she could, try to calm them and allay their fear. Yusuke looked at where he can feel the explosion had happened… Somehow… someway… he just knew… that Haruto did this. Willingly or not. The damage is undeniably catastrophic, and even that was probably an understatement. The question is…

"You're wondering how on earth are we still alive." Violet was asking herself that same question. Unlike Yusuke, she had some inkling to an answer. For starters… she would recognize her Master's energy signature anywhere no matter how many centuries had passed since the last time Lieselotte cast one of her powerful spells. "…all I can say is… we're all have been… strangely fortunate." At this, she gestured at the now completely silent Behemoth. No longer surging with energy, no longer moving on its own… but he was still locked in the last position he was in, though the energy appendage he had used to affect this miracle was gone. Even Raizo wasn't too keen on getting back in to check.

"Fortunate…" In the absence of actual information on what the hell really happened, Yusuke just had to accept that answer on faith. He looked down at the children, at Jonnah – still breathing, Aloysia – crying her eyes out… and at Violet. "…what are you going to do now?"

"What else?" Violet sighed. "For me… my children and I had to run now. My outburst had exposed me; they'll be looking for me. And for my friends' sake… and my children's sake… I can't stay. They'll be coming for me, and I have to hide. And as for you…" Violet laughed bitterly at Yusuke. "You don't actually expect me to tell you what to do right? You can do whatever you want… but at the rate you're going-"

"There won't be any planet left… is that what you're saying?"

Violet didn't say anything and laughed bitterly.

Yusuke bit his lips. "Come with us."

She laughed.

"Come with us. You. Your children. Everyone. We can protect you."

"Can you protect me from yourself?" Violet jerked her thumb at where Haruto had exploded. "You can't even control yourself can you? You have no idea of the power at your fingertips, your method of control is basically calming a child with temper tantrum on a nuclear bomb trigger. How is that in any way, a protection?"

Yusuke was speechless.

Raizo groaned. "We have to regroup. We gotta report back to base. Find out what's going on, find out what happened to aniki…! Come on buddy."

"No."

"What?"

"…I'm not going."

"Yusuke… you…"

Yusuke looked back defiantly at Raizo… and then to the Behemoth. "I'm not… going."

When the New Jior team led by Ashra finally recovered Behemoth… all they found was Raizo with a missing tooth and a blackened eye… and a worse for wear Behemoth. When they asked him about Yusuke…

"He's gone." Was his final answer.

Behemoth Vs. Alice

Result:

Victory (?) for Behemoth.

Damage Report:

Violet: Status: AWOL

Alice: Missing

Yusuke Otamaya: Status: AWOL

Yamada Raizo: Status: pissed off

Behemoth: ?

00000000

"…so you don't even know where she is now?"

"Violet and I had an understanding. As soon as her job with me no longer feed her children, she'll leave." If there's one silver lining to this… is that no one had yet to found out the truth of who or what Violet really is. Otherwise, he had expected this questioning to be much harsher.

"We don't take things like desertion easily, Mr. Red."

"Really? Well with PMCs, stuff like this came naturally. I thought you guys should be used to this by now?"

Truth be told, ARUS was currently up to their hair in desertion cases. After seeing the full extent of what they're up against, the PMCs that Arus had hired immediately deserted their posts in droves. No one in their right mind would even think about fighting against something whose temper tantrum can destroy an entire planet single handedly. Also, the revelation of just how much force Arus had actually amassed made them realized… that the PMCs were actually the meat shield. And if they know anything. Only idiots or nutcases would want to be meat shield, even if they get paid for it. Red was… one of the few idiots who elected to stay. It is also the same reason why he now bore the brunt of this mess. Though in truth, it was mostly his fault.

Whatever the case, PMC will no longer play a factor in this war theater.

"Keeping too many secrets tend to do that."

"Secrets? Then how about we start with your secret?" The Judge asked. "We have unconfirmed reports that you displayed an uncanny understanding of the enemy's abilities."

"That's my way to justify my price tag." Red had an inkling who spilled the beans… but he come prepared. "This isn't my first rodeo with their kind."

"…and you didn't think it's necessary to mention that in your resume?"

"Who would believe 'I've fought aliens'?" Red snarled. "Your boss worked his butt off to make sure no one will. I didn't even know we were fighting THEM until you told me. In fact you people had been telling us… nothing. You just keep saying: it's a need to know and you keep telling me I don't need to know and yadda- yadda."

"You signed the contract with us!"

"So I have. And that is the only reason I'm still here. And that's also the reason why right now you guys are being so insufferable, because I'm the closest punching bag available."

"You're not exactly blameless, Mr. Red. All the resources you've wasted and no result to show for it."

"For the record I didn't ask for you send in packs of suicidal fanatics or your entire supply of Albions into the mix. Besides, if we're talking about resources, I'd like to think what you have allocated to me had been well spent."

"How do you describe that as well spent?" The court displayed the image of the current state of the Dyson Sphere. A full one tenth of it was completely damaged; it looked like a cracked ball of glass. (AN: for easier imagery, imagine a damaged version of Death Star II)

But Red sees it differently. Thanks to that weird chain phenomenon, the destructive power of the Valvrave was severely reduced, and the Malehexen had prevented the worst of the damage by sending him as far away from the Dyson Sphere as possible at the last second… but the biggest reason the Dyson Sphere is still somewhat intact… is because the Valvrave already used most of his strength destroying one extra planet before he gets to this one.

"Are you upset he DIDN'T blow up an entire planet that wasn't even yours, or are you upset over the fact that despite all the destruction, the biggest damage he inflicted was actually to you… on the account you had diverted all your standing forces to so obvious a target? I mean, what do you expect to happen when they see such a target rich environment?" Red groaned. "I've been telling you this since day one. Walls. Turrets. Defenses… they mean nothing. These kids play rough and they knew damn well how to play. They're the perfect recyclable Suicide soldiers, they can perform all manner of sacrificial operation that accomplish their goal – all the results… minus the sacrifice. And here's an important bit: they have a goal and they actually know what it is. Which is more than I can say for this contract."

"You are expected to follow your orders as stipulated-"

"You know it's actually kinda funny." Red growled. "When I was first given this contract, I know there were so many things that is wrong in it, I actually had to plead and beg my second to let me take this job. And now… now… she actually pleaded and begged me to be allowed to continue."

00000000

"Is that smile for real?" Red asked the moment he saw Grey after they pick her up aboard the Revenge.

"…I'm feeling like I'm such a wretch right now." Grey was hiding her blushing face. "To laugh in our moment of crisis… how uncouth of me."

"And I'm so totally keeping that recording. You know? Of you laughing your brains out? I gave one to Ezpe by the way and she was ecstatic… I think she made it her ringtone. Any-who… I can finally scratch that one off my bucket list."

"…you're just unbelievable." Grey was so embarrassed, she's one step of pouting.

"And you're just being adorable." Red hugged Grey from behind. The woman doesn't mind and her annoyance fades. "What happened, Mei-honey? It's very rare for you to actually have actual fun for once."

"I blame you for this. I took your advice of trying to have some fun and I ended up going too far." As Red's hand slowly moved to her waist… that's when he noticed Grey is missing something that was practically a part of her curvy body.

"Mei-Honey… where's your katana?"

"Ah… that…" Inadvertently, Grey's smile bloomed again. "Well…"

A few hours ago…

When it became clear that the worst case scenario of the crisis had been averted and the danger had passed, Grey was let go with surprisingly little to no scuffle from Cain. "Just tell that insufferable man, if he's still alive, to wash his neck. And do stop trying to push his luck, one day he's gonna run out. I'd hate for him to die that way."

"He never listened to me in that regard, why do you think he would listen to you?"

Cain said no more and left with his Dainslev. K-Zwei gave her a glance and flew away with Spike in his hand as he made the excuse: "I need to find my friends. Cheers." And thus, Grey was left alone with Marie, the girl who had granted her this joyful day.

"Will… will I see you again?" Marie asked. It's funny. They were fighting with their life on the line just a minute ago, and yet… now she was almost afraid to see her go.

To that, Grey decided to step out of the cockpit, and Marie also did the same. Once outside, she threw something to the air towards her, and Marie caught it. To her shock, it was Grey's prized Masamune Katana. "…what?"

"Consider it spoils of war." Grey smiled.

"No. I can't accept this. You won!"

"Personally I believe this fight is essentially a draw or on hold. If it's too hard for you to accept, then consider it on loan." Grey replied calmly. "You were right. I cannot suffer inferior products to sully our dance. And it was quite apparent that your side had a greater advantage in its technology… and even better appreciation of the art. So, for now, I'll entrust this to you. And I shall wait in great anticipation of the wonders you will make out of it."

"You would entrust me with this… without even knowing if I will return it?"

"Come now. I have begun to learn what it means to trust things based on faith. You should too." Grey smiled happily and she's enjoying it so very much. She looked like she never smiled that happy all her life.

Later…

"I… lent it to someone who needed it more than me."

"Lent it!? But that's practically the first love of your life!?"

"Actually, it's more like an arm or a leg to me. But that's beside the point." She gently pushed away Red's arm, not to get away, but all so that she can turn around and lovingly rest her head in his arms. "…I'm so worried for you my love. I had no idea you've been through so much… I should've been there…"

"No… thinking back… I'm glad you weren't there."

"It was that bad?"

"This is one of the rare times where you get to say I told you so. So go on."

"…would you believe me if I tell you I share your sentiment? That I too would like to encourage you to say I told you so?"

"…who are you and what have you done to my dear Mei?"

Marie Vs Grey:

Result: DRAW

Damage Report:

Marie: active – plus a sword

Grey: Active – minus a sword

Kegerou: Completely destroyed

Cinderella: Moderate damage

Rematch pending.

00000000

"All things considered, Mr. Red, we are questioning the merits on why would we want to keep employing your services. Especially considering how so far you have failed to deliver what we asked of you."

"Not for the lack of trying, I'm sure you noticed." Red snorted. "And I KNOW you noticed, because you've been planting all these micro cameras, microphones, and even tap wired my messages. The question is, do you doubt my ability or my loyalty? Because Ezperanza said she finally had it with those spies you planted on her ship."

0000000

The crews of Jormungandr watched in shock and awe as Ezperanza killed her 8th mutineer/spy with her sword – and on a side note, the opposing team were all armed with sub machine guns. They were about to kill the prisoners in secret, something Ezperanza had expressly forbid. "Nothing happens on this ship without me knowing about it." Ezperanza repeated. "Nothing."

The ninth and last spy knew he was doomed. "H… how can you do this!? They're all disciples of that devil! They deserve to burn like he did!"

"Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. I don't care. I do care that as we're wasting our breaths on this nonsense, their friends are coming here as pissed as all hell, and they have more guns than us… not to mention their guns are bigger than our guns. And I'd hate to have those guns pointed at me and my crew while I don't have the Devil's Dowry as leverage. They, unlike you, are more valuable alive than dead."

Once the last of the spies were dealt with, Ezperanza had the crew of the Jormungandr sent back into their war train before she boot the air sealed train out of her ship with their SOS beacon in full broadcast. And as expected, the Valravn, guided by the Malefic, prioritized on rescuing the hostages first, allowing Thor's Revenge to make her escape safely.

0000000

"They were incompetent. Her words." Red growled. "You guys kept asking us to do our job, but you refused to tell us exactly what it is. Just like how you never told me… that the reason it took so long to build Aurore, is because she's also the SECOND Control Tower. She was meant to be the main hub of a series of satellites that would maintain a planet wide isolated cyberspace that house the software to control all droids, removing the need for gigantic mainframes for individual control towers that would make easy targets. Now she's blown to pieces, and we still had yet to find any signs of the pilot. Assuming there's anything of her left…"

"Considering the opposition, Mr. Red, it was paramount that information of that kind are segregated under a strict lock and key."

"You were afraid if I know too much, they can pluck the intel out of my head." Red groaned. "Hence the overcompensating with the 'I don't need to know' shtick."

0000000

In the ruins and debris laden space around what used to be Module 010, Jin was still patrolling the area, hoping he'll find something. And he did.

It looked like… an escape pod.

0000000

"Mr. Red there are some in this board… that feels, given your history… of everything you've done for and against our interest… that you belong in the gallows, not mouthing off in this court."

"That would be an improvement."

"Excuse me?"

"You want to throw me into the gallows for all the mess I've made, go ahead and do it. I know I deserve it. But I damn well guarantee you in the matter of days, you'll be pulling me back out."

"Do expand on why?"

"Because you've realized how out of depth you are. More importantly, you have been so misinformed you didn't even understand your enemy, and events are now developing faster than you can predict." Red nudged her chin at the image of the destroyed Dyson Sphere. "After everything I've done and everything he's done. And now here we are a week later. How did his friends react? Did they run scared? Did they fall into despair and inaction?"

The board looked at each other, but Red didn't bother to wait. "It took you guys a week to court martial me. So I already had my answer."

Even though he languished in the prison for one week without any contact with outside world, Red knew perfectly well what's currently happening.

The answer is: things got worse. For Arus.

The incident of Module 010, later known as the 010 Cataclysm, had changed the course of the war. Arus, of course tried to do their best to demonize Haruto's action as the act of a planet destroying demon… but the New JIOR one upped them with a middle finger of their own. Not only they have already created an information cordon that prevented any form of propaganda that Arus tried to use to gain support from outside world, a few days after the disaster, New JIOR broadcasted an image that will be transfixed in everyone's memory for a long time to come.

They have discovered the Valvrave. And then put its image on display.

A little quaint? Well, that depends on how they do it.

When the New Jior discovered the Valvrave amongst the ruins of Module 010, they found him entombed, fused to a massive construct of burnt crimson crystals. And the way his body was positioned… it was the posture of a majestic King, sitting on his ruby red royal throne. No one knows if this was on purpose or truly accidental… some skeptics even think it was edited… but the truth is… that is the posture in which he was found.

His right hand grasped his royal Greatsword as it was stabbed firmly on the floor, the other hand hung on a protrusion of crystal that acted as his armrest. His legs slightly opened wide, with his left leg stretched down while the other's knee was slightly bent in a curve against his chest. His wings were… torn. One hung low on his left like a robe draped down, its sense nerves had… melted and then hardened unto neon green puddles on the floor. The other was stretched open and splayed upward in a broken state, fused shut with the ruby red throne, adding to its angelic majesty. But this… was not the image of a haughty, high and mighty king sitting proudly on a throne in triumph… No. This was a sorrowful image of a wounded and terribly scarred Warrior King, with its head hung low in a lifeless state as his body, full of scars and cracks of its many battles, laid to rest in a throne that had been glassed shut to his broken and wounded stature. Parts of his armor had melted into the crystals, creating an unintended regal and horrifying effect.

Chief amongst the many scars that emblazoned his body was this prominent stake that had been stabbed deep into his heart and nailed him to the throne. In fact, his majestic posture was only possible… because his body was actually very, VERY broken. His joints were torn; the leg that was stretched down was actually ripped off its waist, the arm that hold the sword was so ravaged it would've fallen off if the fingers didn't get melted into the handle. And if they try to move him, the surface is still radiating the heat temperature of 35,000 degrees that won't be going down any time soon. Anything that tried to get close… will be scorched.

In a stroke of propaganda genius that stumped even Arus public relation department, the image of the Valvrave's current state was broadcasted for a full 24 hours to every electronic media in the entire Dyson Sphere. And they chose to display his image as is, without any embellishment of any high handed words. They didn't need to say anything, this broken burnt out shell of a warrior tells the tale clearly with every scar on his body. They made sure they emphasis the fact that all those scars were courtesy of ARUS. Plus… having various debris with Arus sigil clearly emblazoned on it also helped to promote the idea.

No matter how much Arus tried to spin a story that it was the Valvrave who destroyed a part of the module, to the ignorant masses it was too… unbelievable. One Mech can do all that? Destroy 7 Modules, and smashed many more off their frames… Really? They did not see what Red had seen. The idea of a single mech capable of destroying an entire planet is a thought that is beyond them. On the other hand… Arus had shown that they had the resources to deploy hundreds of starfighters and armed them with an inordinate number of nuclear warheads. The story that they bomb blasted modules after modules before they've gone too far in their zeal to overkill the so called Alien demon… seems to be more believable.

Whatever version people hear, Haruto's status went from Hero to Martyr. The image of the fallen Valvrave on his throne soon became a rallying call to an all out war. The destruction of Module 010 did not cripple the Arus central command as intended, but it did destroy the second central Control Tower that managed the droid army. Losing one had crippled the droid bad enough… losing two made them no better than animatronics. Not to mention the fact that most of their supply of their latest, most advanced mech unit, the Albions were destroyed during the 010 Module Disaster. They're trying to make more, but… they can't do it fast enough. And with most of the Relay Faux Valvrave being out of commission or heavily damaged, coupled with the aforementioned mass desertions, uprising erupted in every territory where ARUS last remaining Control Tower cannot cover. The only consolation: no one yet knew where it is.

But with only one tower, the jamming that had so annoyed the planet was gone. Soon, it wasn't long that proper communication was reestablished between the Resistance and the New JIOR Starfleet waiting above. Suddenly, the thing that made Arus held the upper hand was being used against them: overwhelming mechanized army and aerial superiority. Everywhere the resistance rise up, a fleet of Kagerous will fly across the sky with them to wipe out all opposition, and then Waffes, Ideals, and Kirschbaums will follow, with a Starship bearing a New Jior three legged crow sigil looming above to support them.

In a span of one week, ARUS was completely backed into a corner. They went from the hunter to the hunted.

And that's how Red accurately described pretty much the current situation as it progressed during the one week of his incarceration in front of the stunned board of Judges and Inquisitors.

"What's your point, Mr. Red?"

"My point is… either you guys didn't understand your opponent… or you do and you lied to us. You keep telling us they're here for revenge. Revenge because you experimented on them. Revenge because you infiltrated their city and incited a riot that hurt many of their own. But that's not true is it? Revenge is petty and too weak of a motivation. They would've retreated after what I did to their leader if that's all they're fighting for… except they didn't. They still keep on going… with renewed zeal if I might add."

"Tokishima Haruto is not the leader of this army. At least, he's not what these people are fighting for. He's the primary personification of the goal they're fighting towards. Take him out; others will just pick up the torch."

"And what is this goal they're fighting for, Mr. Red?"

"…you tell me." Red sat back to his chair. "Your situation has changed. The Resistance fighters aren't fighting for survival anymore, YOU are. They're on the offense and after all the shit you did to them, they're not gonna stop. You can do your usual spin as always. Heck you can even lay the whole blame on me. But we all know you're not gonna do that."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm still the best and last line of defense you guys had. I'm the only person in this entire globe, the only human who had gotten this far against the kind of enemy you had made. Yes, I made this world gone to shit. But I'm also the only person that can help you survive it. I'm your last chance to prevent those VERY angry and VERY determined local hostiles from having your War Criminal heads impaled on a pike."

"You do realize, it'll be your head as well, the same as ours?" The Judge made a mistake of cracking his poker face when he said that.

"That's why you hired us in the first place. Why you need us and why you still need me. Because we both know, even after all the shit you've done… there's still more to come and you still need the scapegoat to take it all in. Getting killed for shitty reason is part of my job description." And after successfully negotiating with a reality breaking alien witch, Red can say he's the ultimate authority of poker face in the universe. "The question is… is it part of yours?"

As the guards escorted him back to his cell, Red knew with absolute certainty that he will breathe free air again come tomorrow.

But… what will tomorrow bring now…?

"Guess we'll find out…"

"I suppose we can call it lucky that you get away with just this much right?"

A voice from the other side of the cell door addressed him.

"I'd thank you, but you'd still owe me."

"You're pushing them too hard!"

"I PUSHED THEM!?" Red roared as he punched the door, startling the person on the other side. His poker face broke into a bloodthirsty rage filled expression. "I think I've given you more than enough. What more do you want from me!?"

"…"

"You still need me."

"I still need you."

"Well, my price just went up."

"…what do you want?"

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In the deepest bunker in the middle of nowhere… a door was opened… within… sat a man.

"Professor Tokishima…?"

"Yes?"

"You have a visitor."

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The Blood Throne.

That's what most people now call the object that is now… orbiting the Dyson Sphere, in a 20 hour cycle.

Constantly burning at the temperature 35,000 degrees, only starships with heaviest armor can even come close and even that only up to a distance. There had been several attempts to move it… some even try to destroy it…. But none succeeded. It didn't even need protection; the heat it radiates was too much for anything less than another Valvrave.

That didn't stop people from actually wanting to see it with their own eyes. The war was far from over, but already there are these… Throne Gazers, as they call themselves. People would pay someone with a telescope for a chance to see the King on the Blood Throne with their own eyes. Some even offer a ship to carry them up, to look at the throne from the safety of a well armored ship.

But there's one being in the universe that can still get close enough to actually touch it.

That being is now flying across the void space, undisturbed by the cosmic heat even as she entered within a mere 300 meters away from the Valvrave.

Pino held on the ache still spiking her chest when she observed the stake that nailed the Valvrave's chest. The Dead heat metal that composed the projectile had been welded shut into the Valvrave's dorsal armor.

Battle of Module 010…

She phased through the debris and slowly observed the damage on her old friend. It's not like she never done worse to it… but seeing it in this state still breaks her heart.

Valvrave… supported by Malefic halfway through…

She then went into the Valvrave's dorsal cavity. She winced once more when she saw how deep the stake went through the Rave Engine. Even without the residual heat, fixing a rave engine this badly mangled is hard to say the least…

…VS… Hellsing, Rapunzel, and Aurore… and then almost every mech ARUS can put into the field…

Even with all this damage… a tinge of pride swelled in her literally wounded heart. That Haruto, her most favored child… was actually able to push a Valvrave to this extent was… outstanding.

Result: Victory for New JIOR

Already she can feel the winds are changing. Many Magius thought her project with the humans were a joke. An abomination even. But after this?

Damage report:

ARUS

Hellsing: Heavily Damaged. Red – Status: Active.

Rapunzel: Minor damage. Amber – Status: Active.

Aurore: Destroyed. Verdant – Status: MIA

"But I guess… it was too soon." They were, as young people most often are, too much in a hurry. Too rushed. They lacked the experience and the wisdom to control this much power… but considering the situation, they had no choice. Pino floated away from the Rave Engine cavity… and into the cockpit area…

New JIOR

Malefic: Minor damage. Renbokuji Akira – Status: Active

Valvrave: Heavily Damaged.

…and as she suspected…

Tokishima Haruto

…it was empty.

Status: MIA

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60,000 thousand words… dear god. SIXTY THOUSAND words… the longest chapter I've ever written… That's why I've decided to split it into two parts… reading this many words really frazzled one's brain. I know mine did when I write it.

Now time for a long break…