Monday, December 31, 2018

Rise - Ultimate Definitive Edition

Hey. Remember when I said that I was done with Rise?

Yeah, that was a lie.

I've since made several edits, some not insubstantial. Cleaning up grammar and spelling here, adding proper descriptions there... you know, editing.

But I haven't updated the chapters on this site. Instead, I've migrated to a different site with a somewhat more pleasing layout. This new site contains all of the changes that consist of the Ultimate Definitive Edition of Rise -- I encourage you to check it out!

Without further ado, here is a link so you can actually get reading:

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Saturday, July 16, 2016

Rise - Definitive Edition

Well, after over a year, I have finally gone through the entirety of Rise and made a number of both insubstantial and substantial edits. These edits have been compiled into new Volume Editions, as well as in the first ever Complete Edition -- a single PDF that contains all four volumes!

The story itself has not been substantially changed from what is posted here on this blog, but if you are just starting out I highly recommend the PDF versions linked here.

Hopefully now I can stop thinking about Rise so much and actually move on to writing the Key Saga. Fingers crossed~

(Additionally, I found that Rise is a whopping 288 thousand words during this process. That makes it the longest novel I've ever written. Wow.)

Enjoy!

Links:

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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Rise - Table of Contents

Welcome to


The purpose of this post is two-fold: to offer an easier access point for the chapters than the sidebar, and to shove the final chapter down the front page. If you wish to read Rise's blurb, click here. Otherwise, continue on! I hope you enjoy!

Volume 1: Arisen Mystery

Volume 2: Arisen Threats
Volume 3: Arisen Menace
Volume 4: Arisen Revelation

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Chapter 86: Epilogue: The Beginning of a Saga

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20 Years Later
– Sundia, Beauth 28, 8054 –

“Aaaahhh… so tired…”

Kevérin worked at the buttons on his jacket as he entered into his hotel suite, glancing up as the lights automatically flipped on. He removed his jacket and tossed it onto a coatrack nearby the door before kicking off his shoes and stepping into the main living area. Looking over at the dark window, he moved to adjust his glasses – realized he wasn’t wearing any – and smirked to himself as he opened up his AR environment anyways. I keep forgetting I got the implants… and that was years ago. I guess old habits die hard. He then swiped one of the holographic panels, toggling the window opacity and revealing the late afternoon coastline.

 This suite is better than my office… he sighed after staring out at the Tekdecénian west coast for several moments, and then turned his attention to a handful of alerts in the corner of his AR display. Institute mail… junk mail… more junk mail? What happened to my spam filters?… Wait, Kines picked a fight with Nimal again? Damn it. You’d think the ‘Elite Six’ would be better behaved… oh well. I’ll have to talk to Kaoné about that… hmm… oh, Maven! Let’s see… ‘hurry up and call me you twat, you haven’t been home in three weeks! Love you.’ Yep, sounds like her. I’ll have give her a call tomorrow… …hmm, I guess that’s it. He glanced toward the entryway impatiently. Where are they? I could’ve sworn they were right behind me the whole time– a ringing bell interrupted his thoughts. “Coming!” he shouted as he turned away from the window and approached the doorway where he casually slammed a button in the wall, causing the door to slide open.

“Oi, there you went! Think you can try an’ outrun me?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Kevérin smirked, stepping aside to allow Davídrius – followed by Christeané and Rebehka – to enter his suite. “It’s about time you got here! Where’s Kaoné and Kevken?”

“They’re on the way,” Rebehka replied, setting her purse down on a nearby counter as Davídrius and Christeané wandered past the entryway and into the living room, “Sidonté Demerin wanted to talk to them about something.”

“Can’t he wait until tomorrow? The Summit lasts for a whole week, we aren’t going anywhere,” Kevérin responded in annoyance as he stepped into the living area behind the Introtechnics and then turned toward his kitchen. “Take a seat wherever,” he called out, “I’ll get the drinks.”

“Ha, drinks, yes please,” Christeané sighed of relief as he approached the window that overlooked the coast, “Ahhh… there’s nothing like a good drink and a chat after a long day.”

“You sound like an old man,” Davídrius retorted, approaching the window next to Christeané.

“I feel like an old man. Forty isn’t twenty, I’ll tell you that much.”

“Forty isn’t old. Trust me, it’s really not,” Rebehka countered as she took a seat on the couch, “I can name many people who are older than forty. With any luck, we’ll live to be three or four times that.”

“Fuck, I didn’t come here to get into a pissing contest about age,” Davídrius scowled.

“And I certainly didn’t invite you all here for as much,” Kevérin added as he re-entered the room with four mugs, each filled to the brim. Christeané eagerly accepted one and took a massive swig as Rebehka took another. “Davídrius?” the Pyrotechnic held the third out toward the Introtechnic.

“…Eh. No thanks.”

“Aw, c’mon, really?” Christeané snorted, ignoring Kevérin as he placed the fourth mug on the table in front of the couch and then took a seat in a chair to the side of the table, “You should give it a go every once in a while.”

“Not everyone enjoys drinking,” Davídrius shot back, and then grinned. “’Sides, it’s more amusing to watch you get drunk.”

“How often do you see him drunk?” Rebehka responded incredulously.

“Too often,” Davídrius replied with a smirk, “You’d almost think he was WCU’s second Dean with how much time he spends down in Treséd.”

“You’re the one who asks for all the help,” Christeané countered, “you should recruit yourself a half-decent Superstrength Introtechnic if you’re gonna complain about my help.”

“Wait, Davídrius, I thought you had one?” Kevérin questioned confusedly.

“Who, Karísah? Sure, she’s helpful, but I ain’t gonna ask one of my students to help me out all the damn time. It looks bad.”

“I’m surprised to hear you concerned about appearances,” Rebehka teased, “You sure that isn’t your pride talking?”

“…Bah. I only got this far by forcing myself to care just a little bit about appearances,” Davídrius sighed, “I only got WCU recognized by all the major compounds a couple years ago, so I’d appreciate some… well… appreciation.” He shook his head and glanced toward Rebehka and Kevérin. “What about y’all? I haven’t really had the chance to talk with either of you since the last Summit two years ago.”

“Just as busy as always,” Rebehka replied, “I didn’t have nearly as much trouble as you when I started the Academy, but that just means I have different problems. It seems like every Relédiakian researcher wants a place in the faculty – though, in hindsight, I suppose there haven’t been many private-sector opportunities for Chaos Energy researchers before now. But on top of that, working out how we fit into the old conscription paradigm is… difficult, at best. …The student body is small, but well-behaved, at least.”

“Lucky you,” Kevérin snorted, taking a quick sip as he leaned back in his chair.

“Oh no. Did Kines do something again?”

“Seems he picked a fight with Nimal,” Kevérin sighed, “This wouldn’t be quite so much of a problem if Nimal wasn’t the daughter of Nimaliaka’s Archoné, and the younger sister of a Black Suns General. I swear, these kids…”

“Wait, what’s this about the Archoné?”

“Huh?” Kevérin glanced back at the entryway and grinned again as Kaoné and Kievkenalis entered. “You’re finally here!”

“You guys decide to take the scenic route?” Christeané snorted.

“No, Demerin just wanted to talk about a couple Chaostechnic training techniques,” Kievkenalis replied wearily, “Not sure why he was asking about that, though…”

“Anyways,” Kaoné turned back toward Kevérin as the Chaostechnic took a seat on the couch next to Rebehka, “What were you saying about the Archoné?”

“Kines picked a fight with Nimal again.”

“…You mean Derynii?” Kaoné frowned, and then facepalmed. “Oh no, not again…”

“I’m just glad Sméthan didn’t get involved,” Christeané remarked, “Last time he and Cartérius got into a fight I spent the whole week cleaning up after their diplomatic mess.”

“Man, what’s with y’all? I’ve never had any problems with my students, not like this,” Davídrius commented.

“Yeah, that’s ‘cause you’re a strict bastard and rule over them with an iron fist.”

“That’s not…! …Well okay, that’s kinda true, but–“

“Why do we always end up talking about the students when we get together?” Rebehka cut in, “Can a conversation about our jobs ever not do that?”

“Maybe if Kines and Nimal weren’t part of the ‘Elite Six’,” Kevérin snorted.

“I always hated that title,” Kaoné frowned, “Even when it first came into use almost ten years ago. It always just goes to the students’ heads.”

“I don’t know, I think a little competition is good,” Rebehka refuted.

“It’s not ‘little’ when I come to know the Archoné on a personal level due to how often his daughter acts up,” Kaoné countered.

“And here’s a great place to talk about something else,” Davídrius interjected, glancing toward Kaoné, “How’re your kids? …Fuck! I actually just asked someone ‘how’re the kids’! Fuck! We really are old!”

“Forty isn’t old…” Kievkenalis frowned.

“Besides, my oldest is eleven,” Kaoné smirked, “Have you really only just realized that?”

“Gah, that just makes it worse–!”

“Wait, Davídrius,” Kevérin cut in, “Don’t you have a daughter?”

“What?” the Introtechnic gave him a clueless stare before recognition dawned on his face, followed by incredulity. “You mean Relia? She ain’t my kid. I’m friends with her mom, sure, but she ain’t mine.”

“And being friends with someone who has a kid old enough to attend your school doesn’t make you feel old?” Rebehka responded, amused.

“…Shut it,” Davídrius scowled.

“If you feel old, how do you think I feel?” Kaoné sighed, “I’m the only one of us with kids. How did that even happen?”

“Whaddya mean, innit obvious? You got knocked up.”

Davídrius promptly found himself suspended upside-down in the air as Kaoné gave him an irritated glare.

“Oi oi oi, what’re you–!”

“Nice to know that you’ve matured, Davídrius,” Rebehka deadpanned.

“I’ll have you know that none of my children were accidents or born out of wedlock,” Kaoné declared, “To suggest otherwise…!”

“That’s not what I– wait…” Davídrius frowned, “…what do you mean, ‘not accidents’? You can plan that stuff?”

“You…” Kaoné paused, “…you didn’t know that?”

“I’m not surprised,” Christeané snorted as the Materiatechnic allowed Davídrius to fall to the ground haphazardly, “Have you seen this guy with women? It’s no surprise he doesn’t know shit about sex or having kids.”

“Are you saying that you’re good with women?” Rebehka retorted.

“Like you’re one to make fun of me for being single.”

“Ooh, he’s got you there,” Kevérin smirked as the Cryotechnic drew away dejectedly.

“But still,” Kaoné turned toward Davídrius, “You’re forty, and you don’t know about family planning?”

“Oh, is that what that’s about?” the Introtechnic stood up and dusted himself off, “I thought that was just… I dunno… traveling or some shit.”

“The shining light of Treséd, everyone,” Christeané joked.

“Oi, I’ve done more for Treséd than you and that joke of a College have ever done for East Nimaliaka,” Davídrius shot back.

“Hey, fuck you! I’ll have you know that the Kolstén College of Chaotics is doing very well for itself! Enrollment is at an all-time high!”

“And student behavior at an all-time low, am I right?”

“It’s not all about the students, we have researchers and shit too!”

“I’ll bet they’d be real impressed to hear that their Dean called them ‘researchers and shit’.”

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you too, buddy.”

“Christeané’s right, though,” Kievkenalis commented, “I don’t know about you but I feel like I’m managing a research group, not a school…”

“I feel the same way, but I guess that’s just universities for you,” Kaoné shrugged.

“That’s not entirely true,” Kevérin countered, “Of course DSC and YCUR have a higher ratio of researchers to students, their Deans are a Materiatechnic and a Chaostechnic, respectively. I don’t know if you guys realize it, but your Chaotic types are like wet dreams to Chaotic and Chaos Energy researchers.” He glanced toward Kievkenalis, “Especially since you’re a Chaos Conduit.”

“Oh, is that why I’m always being asked to participate in experiments?...” the Chaostechnic frowned.

“…Isn’t it your job to understand what’s going on?” Rebehka questioned incredulously.

“Not really,” Kievkenalis shrugged, “I don’t stick my nose into every experiment or research group. As long as everyone follows the rules and doesn’t do anything dangerous, everything’s fine.”

“Maybe that’s why you got so many researchers,” Christeané snorted, “Most people could only dream of that kinda hands-off administration ten, no, fifteen years ago.”

“It’s still a problem,” Rebehka frowned, “Is it really okay for you to be so lax? I’ve had Archoné Ledkia and the NSD breathing down my neck for less…”

Kievkenalis shrugged again. “I guess no one bothers me because I’m a Chaostechnic.”

“More like because you’re a full-fledged Chaos Conduit,” Kevérin countered, and then sighed. “For some reason, I never expected founding and leading the Institute would be so difficult.”

“Yeah, you’d think we’d’ve been able to get more shit done after we saved the fuckin’ galaxy two decades ago,” Davídrius scowled.

“The thing is, we did,” Rebehka responded wearily, “The very fact that we were able to pull out of the military when we did, and that we were even allowed to upset the normal Chaotic education scheme by founding private schools, that’s all thanks to the gratitude we earned after the Nanocreature wars. But even then, I doubt any of the nations would’ve conceded the education point if you hadn’t done it first in Treséd and shown how effective it was.”

“Fuck yeah, stickin’ to the man.”

“Can’t ask for too much, is that what you’re sayin’?” Christeané questioned.

“If we were going to ask for anything more we should have done it a long time ago, back when people were still willing to bow at our feet,” Kevérin chuckled spitefully, “But it’s too late now. Hell, even back then there were a lot of people who refused to believe that we’d done anything. It took five years for us to convince the galaxy that we’d killed Morcii and get them to finally back down from high-alert, and five years after that everyone had already forgotten, despite the fact that the planets attacked by the Nanocreatures are still recovering.”

“I don’t think we can fault anyone for that…” Kaoné frowned, “The Nanocreature wars were pretty brutal. Even I wish I could forget, sometimes…”

“But we can’t,” Rebehka declared, “Even if the whole galaxy forgets, we’ll still remember. At least, I will. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.”

“You named your school the ‘Wanléon-Tchiréon Academy of Chaotics’,” Christeané smirked, “Trust me, no one’ll be forgetting Siyuakén any time soon.”

“I hope so,” the Cryotechnic responded, and then glanced away uneasily. “…People may have more reason to remember her soon, though…”

“That sounds ominous,” Kevérin leaned forward, “What do you mean?”

Rebehka stared at her half-empty mug, swilling the drink around for a moment or two before looking back up at the other Chaotics with a grim look on her face.

“Oh fuck, you’re serious,” Davídrius scowled, “What is it?”

“…What I’m about to say can’t leave this room,” she eventually replied, “I’ve arranged for a meeting with the world leaders and the NSD commander, but this can’t be said at the Summit. It’s too early to go public.”

“We get it, we get it,” Christeané urged, “…what’s goin’ on?”

“Remember… how the Nanocreature wars were prefaced by the appearance of the metallic infection?”

“Given that’s how we lost Siyuakén? Kinda hard to forget,” Davídrius remarked.

“Well…” Rebehka glanced down again, taking a deep breath before finishing, “The infection…

“It’s back.”



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THE END
of 

TO BE CONTINUED
in the



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Chapter 85: A Prologue’s End

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– Mondia, Ranth 20, 8034 –

“Overdrive: Invisible Hand–“

“Chaos Slam!”

Krydonin leaped back, narrowly evading Commander Reginko as she rocketed forward and slammed into a group of Nanocreatures, scattering them like sand. The Black Suns Commander sighed irately before knocking away an approaching Nanocreature beast, allowing Reginko to whirl around and blast it with “Chaos Strike!”

“Don’t be so careless!” Krydonin reprimanded her fellow Commander, “I hate to say this but you’re too valuable to lose to the Nanocreatures, especially here–!”

“You just can’t handle the dust I’m kicking into your face,” Reginko snorted, jumping back and firing several Chaos Cannon projectiles at distant Nanocreature attackers, “Oriciid’kas is too crowded for both Sector 1 and 2 – so I’ll show you that 2 is superior!”

“Of course you will…” the Telekinetic Psychotechnic deadpanned before grabbing a metallic wyvern out of the air with an invisible force and slamming it into the ground – and then yanking Reginko back just in time to save her from being crushed as a gigantic Nanocreature behemoth fell out of the air.

“I don’t need your help–!”

“Save it for the debriefing,” Krydonin snapped, her eyes trained on the behemoth as it slowly recovered from its fall and began inspecting the urban environment around it. “…This is a problem. Reginko, take your team and try to get its attention. Pull it away from the city if you can–“

“–Or we can just kill it now!” the Chaostechnic smirked, completely disregarding Krydonin as she jumped forward and shouted, “Chaos Slam!” She immediately rocketed through the air and into the giant creature’s maw – where, on impact, the entire beast exploded into a massive cloud of shiny silver dust.

“…What…?” Krydonin quickly pulled herself back, keeping a careful eye on her armor’s shielding as the silvery cloud slowly lost its sheen and fell to the ground.

“Ha ha!” Reginko whooped, “See, Krydonin? Maybe if you’d stop being such a pussy you’d get a kill every now and then!”

“No…” the Sector 1 Commander countered as a myriad of messages and alerts began appearing across her AR display, “…I don’t think this was you, Reginko.”

“Huh? …Ha, right, of course you’d say that.”

“I mean it,” Krydonin responded, her lips pursed in confusion, “It wasn’t just that beast. All of the Nanocreatures in local space just… dissolved. Fell apart. Almost like two months ago, but… all at once.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense,” Reginko snorted, “…the hell are we doing here, then?”

“We do our job. Check on the city and the civilians,” Krydonin retorted, “Get your ass in gear. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get caught off guard if this turns out to be a ruse…”

*             *             *

“Ma’am! The Nanocreatures have broken through the far front! They’re coming into lower high-orbit over the planet!”

“Launch the On’esstin! We don’t have time for it to complete its repairs, we need its firepower, now! What’s the word on the reserve fleets?”

“The fifth and sixth fleets are returning from the neighboring systems, but the second and fourth fleets are stuck in the Lis’talra system until the Transpace can be re-locked!”

“Damn it…” System Admiral Ukinon scowled, staring at the holographic displays from the command center in the military station orbiting Tau’cen Kii, “…Pull the ninth fleet back from the far front, but leave the third and seventh fleets in position. Intercept as many Nanocreature ships on the far front as possible; the first and ninth fleet can deal with whatever makes it to orbit.”

The Admiral sighed warily as the officers in the command center scrambled to relay her orders. It had been almost two months since the Nanocreatures seemingly all disappeared – and then less than a day ago, with no warning at all, massive Nanocreature fleets appeared on the doorsteps of both Oriciid’kas and Tau’cen Kii. The initial strike dealt significant damage, but the CSA had since scrambled to defend the two systems… only to begin losing them even faster than during the Nanocreatures’ first campaign.

Ukinon looked over the status reports as they flew across the displays, taking in the information and processing it in silence. After several minutes she leaned forward and opened her mouth to give another order – only to pause as an alert message appeared almost directly in front of her face. She drew back and gestured to push the alert away as she quickly scanned it.

“…Is this confirmed?” she questioned, turning her attention to the rest of the command center.

“…Yes ma’am,” an officer replied a moment later, “Every fleet is reporting the same. The Nanocreatures have just…”

“…Dissolved,” the Admiral finished, “Just like two months ago… no, they dissolved all at once this time? …Scan for energy usage, or any other signs of activity. We can’t let our guard down just yet.” She drew back again, watching the command center before turning her gaze to the holographic displays of the space outside the station. I wonder… does this have anything to do with the Nimalians…?

*             *             *

“CHAOS KILO BLAST!!”

A gigantic sphere of red energy nearly fifty kilometers in radius exploded outwards from Surdeus, carving a huge crater in the ground and exposing a portion of the planet’s mantle. He quickly called out “Chaos Teporté” to teleport to the crater’s edge, ignoring the spewing lava as he glared upwards at the large numbers of Nanocreature ships.

“…How dare they encroach on my territory,” he growled, “…not once, but twice! Have you no sense, Morcii?! Chaos Explosion– Chaos Void!” Dozens of Nanocreature ships disappeared as two fifty-meter blasts of Chaos Energy obliterated everything within remote areas of space, leaving Surdeus to charge forward toward the metallic beasts on the ground. “You believe me to be this easy a target?! I would destroy this very planet before I allow you to seize my territory! Be gone, you filthy, irritating excuses for an army!! Chaos Deflection!!”

A spinning orb of energy burst outward from his body, knocking away all of the Nanocreatures within five meters as the Drakkar Faction leader leaped into the air, shouting, “CHA…OS…!!” But before he could unleash his next attack, all of the Nanocreatures in the vicinity suddenly stopped moving. Surdeus quickly finished with “Detect” as he caught himself on the ground below, cautiously surveying the environment around him as every Nanocreature simply collapsed into mounds of dust.

“…Again…?” he muttered, and then turned around to stare at the horizon. “…No. This is… hmph,” he snorted, crossing his arms irately as he began looking around the damaged battlefield, “So someone managed to defeat Morcii before I had the chance…”

*             *             *

“Commencing bombing run in five minutes!”

“Roger that,” Captain Krick acknowledged, leaning forward in his captain’s chair as he quickly scanned the various status readouts aboard the bridge of the Genesis, “Watch yourselves, Commander. The Nanocreatures have let up since they first attacked, but we can’t afford to underestimate them!”

“Never fear, Chief Captain. The 1st Frigate Squad are used to dealing with superior forces.”

“You got that damn right,” Krick muttered as the comm line closed. He returned his attention to the wide bridge windows, through which a number of Nanocreature ships could be seen in the distance. Below the battlefield was the planet of Eana, the Earthians’ first and only true Fortress World – and the site where four of the Ayas were formerly stored. The Nanocreatures had appeared out of nowhere and seized the four gemstones before anyone could react, destroying two of the Frigates stationed there as well as one of the planet’s outposts. The Genesis was quickly dispatched to protect the planet and its forces and had been engaged with the Nanocreatures since, serving as the Earthians’ only true line of defense against such a vastly superior foe.

“Status report,” Krick ordered, ignoring a slight rumble as the ship’s shields took a hit.

“Shields are holding at seventy-three percent,” Captain Bourne replied from her seat at a console further down the bridge, “We are wearing down the enemy ships, but at the current rate it will take over a week to destroy them all.”

“Hopefully Commander Reimers can change that,” Krick muttered, eyeing a countdown as the numbers dipped past one minute. “Time to see how those reverse-engineered railguns do… begin target acquisition! Lock onto the largest and weakest ships and relay targeting data to the Frigates!”

“Yes sir!”

“Bombing run in thirty seconds… prepare for a light show!” Krick smirked, “…Ten seconds! …Five! Four! Three! Two! One!”

Five Earthian Frigates rocketed out of subspace five hundred kilometers in front of the Genesis, each one equipped with a massive railgun reverse-engineered from the battlecruiser’s own weaponry. A second later five sabots were flying through space at low relativistic speeds, smashing into five different Nanocreature ships and utterly obliterating them as the Frigates zoomed past and entered Subspace again.

“Ha ha! Five down!” Krick whooped, “Let’s keep this up–!”

“Uh, sir… that’s not all,” Bourne interjected, glancing back at the Captain in confusion, “…it’s not just the five targets that were destroyed.”

“Huh?” the Captain snapped his attention back to the bridge displays – sure enough, all of the Nanocreature ship signatures had disappeared from the sensors, replaced by shiny metallic clouds that the Earthians could barely make out through the bridge windows. A new display soon appeared, showing a magnified camera feed of the Nanocreature remains.

“It’s two months ago, all over again…” Bourne muttered warily.

“…I’ll take it,” Krick replied, “…maybe someone found a way to get rid of them for good this time. Now we don’t have time to waste, begin check-ins with all of the planetary outposts! And get the Frigate squad back here…!”

*             *             *

“The target has taken the bait!”

“Don’t let off, draw it as far from the surface as possible!” Commander Rantéin ordered, his eyes snapping from AR display to AR display as he attempted to manage every facet of Nimalia’s defense. “That Deathnaught is the single greatest threat to this planet! Disregard the rest of the Nanocreature fleets until we can draw away that ship!”

“Easier said than done, I’m afraid,” General Acknos of Tekdecé commented, approaching Rantéin and standing beside him as he glanced between the status readouts in the command bunker. “Morale is low. Not only did the Nanocreatures deal a swift blow to Nimaliaka Central, but they also took out Nikéyin.”

“Which is why we’re in command now, I know.”

“That’s beside the point. She was the commander, and for her to fall so quickly is a devastating blow, even more so when facing an enemy against which organization is most paramount.”

“And what would you have us do?” Rantéin eyed the Tekdecénian General warily, “Our fleets are stretched thin and Nimaliaka is almost overrun with those metallic bastards. There isn’t exactly any time for morale-boosting exercises!”

“I’m well aware…” Acknos sighed, “…even if the Nanocreatures were to simply disappear now… the damage to Nimalia and the NSD is significant. I can only hope that the participating nations don’t fall to squabbling.”

“Now’s not the time for your politicking,” Rantéin grunted, “We have a Deathnaught to take care of–“

“Sirs!”

“Hmm?” both men turned their attention toward an officer as he dashed up to them.

“The Nanocreature ships, they… they’ve all disintegrated!”

“They what?” Acknos snapped his attention back to the status displays, “…Well I’ll be… again, huh? What caused it this time…?”

“…Hero Machina…”

“Hmm?” the General glanced toward Rantéin, “What was that?”

“The Chaotic Squad that Nikéyin put together months ago. They’re the ones largely responsible for retrieving the Ayas and defeating the Nanocreatures the first time. I had heard that they left Nimalia several hours ago, but…” Rantéin frowned, and then chuckled to himself. “Well, we can’t rest now. Acknos, you should return to Tekdecé and help with reconstruction from there.”

“Will do,” the Tekdecénian nodded as he turned toward the exit, “Be wary, though. Who knows if this is just a ruse.”

“Ha. I’m sure Culana would say otherwise,” Rantéin muttered to himself, “…and I’m inclined to agree. Hero Machina, huh… you’ve done it again!”

*             *             *

“Holy shit… we killed Morcii.”

“Fuck yeah we did!” Davídrius whooped, pumping both his fists in glee, “We kicked his ass real hard!”

“’We’?” Siyuakén smirked amusedly, turning toward the rest of Hero Machina as the Arcán Ayas dislodged itself from her hip and fell to the ground. She stooped down to pick it up, only to wince as pain shot up her left arm and through her chest.

“Are you okay…?” Christeané questioned, having caught the slight motion in the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, what’s with the Ayas?” Kevérin added, oblivious to Christeané’s observation as he instead focused on the Arcán Ayas in Siyuakén’s hand.

“The Ayas Prior State will automatically de-power into the normal Prior State after the successful use of a Link Drive,” Arcán responded as Siyuakén winced again, this time in a much more visible fashion, “…but that is a tangential issue, I’m afraid.”

“…What?” Kaoné questioned uneasily, “…what are you talking about…?”

“Your friend–“

“I can tell them, Arcán,” Siyuakén interjected, grasping her left arm painfully, “…but you won’t be with me much longer, will you?”

“…That is correct.”

“Siyuakén, what are you–?” Kevérin began, but the Electrotechnic brushed him off.

“You need to know how to get off this planet, right?” she commented, her breath turning ragged, “Arcán, there’s a ‘Gate here, right? Where is it?”

“Thirty kilometers to the northeast. It rests in a large, recessed area, but is still exposed to the sky. The Introtechnic should be able to find it easily.”

“There,” Siyuakén nodded toward Kevérin, “now… you know how to leave.”

“Why are you using ‘you’ instead of ‘we’?…” Kaoné responded warily.

“…This is it, isn’t it?” Rebehka replied forlornly.

“Ha, yep,” the Electrotechnic smirked painfully, “Arcán, can you–“

“I am sorry, but I’m afraid I will not be able to stay with you much longer,” Arcán commented, his voice growing faint, “I must return to my Platform… I congratulate you, Aldredanoids, Siyuakén. Defeating Morcii is no small feat. But for now… farewell!”

A brief flash of light blinded the Chaotics of Hero Machina as the blue robing, armor plating, and long ponytail disappeared from Siyuakén’s body, replaced by her former maroon waist-cloak and navy blue breastplate that she wore while corrupted. She then collapsed as Rebehka jumped forward to catch her friend and keep her from falling to the ground.

“…Alright, what the fuck is goin’ on here?” Davídrius questioned impatiently, “Why’re you–“

“She’s dying.”

The rest of Hero Machina froze as they all turned toward Rebehka.

“…Bullshit,” Christeané scowled, “Just because Morcii said it doesn’t mean it’s true–“

“No… she’s right,” Siyuakén interrupted before breaking into a coughing fit as Rebehka carefully lowered her to the ground. She leaned against a nearby chunk of Chaos Matter and looked up at the other Chaotics, flashing them a brief but pained smile. “Hey, it’s not so bad. *cough* I mean… we killed Morcii… right?”

“But… why?” Kievkenalis responded confusedly, “If Morcii’s gone… you shouldn’t be corrupted anymore, right?”

“Ah, haha– ow–! ...See…” the Electrotechnic fell into another coughing fit before continuing, “…that’s the problem, you see? Morcii… is the controller of every Nanocreature. Without him… without any Ayas… every nanite stops working. …No exceptions.”

“Wait, if that’s the problem– I can fix that,” Kaoné quickly kneeled next to Siyuakén, “I can– I can do this, I’ve already removed corruption from myself before, I can, I can do this…!”

But the Electrotechnic simply shook her head in response. “I’m too far gone,” she countered, “…the corruption… went too far. Unless… you can make… an entire new body for me…”

“I… I…!”

“It’s okay,” Siyuakén smiled again, “…I appreciate the thought. I really do.”

“…So that’s it, huh?” Davídrius snorted, “You expect us to just watch you die–?”

Siyuakén glanced up as the Introtechnic paused mid-sentence. She followed his gaze down to her left arm – down to her hand that was slowly losing its metallic sheen and turning a dirty gray.

“Consider it the price of saving the galaxy,” she responded, “Not… everyone can have a happy ending… you know?”

“And you’re fine with this?” Christeané turned to Rebehka, “Just… letting her die?”

“Don’t think I’m taking this easily,” the Cryotechnic countered, “…but I’ve had time to think about this. We…” she glanced toward Siyuakén, who nodded back. “…I knew about this since before we left Arcán’s Platform.”

“And you thought not telling us was a good idea?”

“And distract us all during the most important battle of our entire career?”

Christeané opened his mouth to respond, but paused and eventually drew back. “I guess you have a point, heh…” he responded uneasily.

“…I’m happy, though…” Siyuakén muttered, her voice hoarse as her waist-cloak began fading to gray with her arm, “…to have… met you all, worked with… you all… …to know that… I have you guys as friends…” She turned toward Kevérin. “You make… a good CO, you know…?”

“Oh… thanks,” he replied stiffly, “And you… you’re a good fighter. Probably better than I could ever be.”

“Heh, I wonder,” she snorted, coughing painfully as her eyes swept toward Kaoné. “…We didn’t really… get off on the right foot, but… I was the same with Rebehka, once, so…”

“Yeah, we…” the Materiatechnic turned away as she stifled a sniffle, “…I’m glad we could meet each other.”

Siyuakén smiled briefly in response before glancing toward Kievkenalis. “Ah… …sorry… about your friends…”

“No, it’s– it’s fine,” the Chaostechnic shook his head vigorously, “That wasn’t your fault, that was all Morcii. I’m just glad that we could get him back. …I don’t blame you at all.”

“I’m glad… you think that,” Siyuakén responded and then launched into another coughing fit, uncontrollably coughing up blood as her left fingertips began to crumble. Rebehka moved to steady her but the Electrotechnic waved her off with her good arm, recovering from the fit and looking up at Christeané.

“Now that I think about it, we never really got a chance to catch up, did we?” the Introtechnic smirked forlornly, “Since we first met, I mean.”

“…Ha, I guess not,” Siyuakén responded in kind, “…but that was a… fun week, way back… then.”

“’Way back’? That was only a year and a half ago.”

The Electrotechnic shot him an unamused glance before wincing again, the sudden jerk causing even more of her arm to crumble. “…You know what I mean.”

“Ha,” Christeané chuckled, “I know, I know. I had a fun time, too.”

“I’ll bet you did…” Siyuakén replied and then turned toward Davídrius.

“My turn, huh?” he snorted, “Wait so long ‘cause you couldn’t think of anythin’ good to say?”

“Just as irritating and… impatient as ever.”

“Tch.”

“And I’d have it… no other way,” Siyuakén finished, “…you don’t show it… but I know you care. And I’m glad.”

“Ah… fuck,” Davídrius looked away uneasily, “Uh… sure. Thanks, I guess.”

“…And that leaves…” the Electrotechnic warily glanced over at Rebehka, who was kneeling by her side. “…The best… for last…”

“Siyuakén…”

“…I don’t think… I need to say any… more,” Siyuakén responded in between ragged breaths as her arm dissolved past her elbow, while the rest of her body had become a faded gray, “…said everything… before…”

“I know,” Rebehka moved to embrace her friend, “I promised earlier, but I’ll say it again. I’ll never forget you… no matter what happens.”

“Thanks…” Siyuakén closed her eyes, a warm smile spreading across her face as she brought her right arm up to pat Rebehka’s back. “Thanks… to all... of… you… …”

Her arm went limp, falling to the ground with a soft thud.

Silence filled the air. A moment later Rebehka took a deep breath and released her friend, backing away and revealing that her entire left arm had disappeared. The Cryotechnic looked her over before climbing back to her feet as Kevérin slowly approached.

“Kaoné,” he glanced toward the Materiatechnic, “Can you…?”

She simply nodded in response before entombing Siyuakén’s body and lifting it into the air.

“…We lost a friend, today,” Kevérin spoke, turning toward the other Chaotics of Hero Machina, “…I would say ‘again’, but this time… this time, it’s real. There’s no coming back. But there’s at least one thing we can do for her…” he glanced toward Rebehka, “right?”

“…Never forget…” the Cryotechnic responded quietly, “that’s what she said… as long as we remember her…”

“Like hell we’ll forget her,” Davídrius snorted, “She saved our asses from that Ikirom guy and then went on to kill Morcii. She’ll be in the goddamn history books, I’ll see to that!”

“He’s right,” Christeané nodded as he flashed Rebehka a grin, “Don’t worry. I– we won’t be forgetting Siyuakén anytime soon.”

“Exactly,” Kevérin smiled in response before stooping to pick up the Arcán Ayas. “…We need to get back to Nimalia, but for now, we can be happy. Yes, Siyuakén died… but she died surrounded by her friends, and what’s more, she died for the sake of the galaxy! We all owe her our lives, so let’s not put them to waste. Got it?” He smirked forlornly as the rest of Hero Machina responded with firm nods. “Alright, then…” he turned toward the northeast, “…it’s time to get out of here. Hero Machina…

“Move out!”


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==================== End of Chapter 85 ====================
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Chapter 84: Final End of Known: Harbinger

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“Chaos Assist! Chaos Slam!”

Kievkenalis opened the battle with a boost to Hero Machina followed by an immediate attack on Morcii. He impacted the Nanocreature leader within a second, knocking him toward the back of the cavern where Davídrius appeared and launched him upwards with a bicycle kick. Christeané quickly grabbed a nearby pillar, completely uprooting it and swinging it toward Morcii as if he were swatting a fly out of the air, but the Nanocreature threw the two Sendous Chakrams and obliterated the pillar before disappearing into the debris cloud. Kaoné instantly coalesced the cloud into a small, compact stone, trapping Morcii inside – only for him to easily break out and rocket downwards, crashing into Siyuakén with incredible force.

“You insolent fools!!” he roared as he summoned back the Chakrams and began attacking the Electrotechnic with all three Ayas Weapons in his possession, dealing a flurry of blows that she was barely able to keep up with, “You believe you can defeat me?! Me–“ he clashed blades with Siyuakén and then smashed his foot into her stomach, sending her sliding several meters back, “–a god?!”

“Some god you are!” Siyuakén retorted as she blasted him with a lightning strike, stunning him just long enough for Rebehka to summon a massive ice spire around him. Immediately afterward Christeané bounded forward, both arms covered by the Matlés Gauntlets as he smashed his fists into the spire and instantly destroyed it, allowing Kaoné to fling Morcii back into the air by rapidly raising the ground beneath his feet. Kevérin quickly intercepted the Nanocreature leader with a cloud of flame, but Morcii simply tanked the attack as he detached his lower pair of arms, transforming them both into laser cannons that opened fire on the Pyrotechnic as the Nanocreature zoomed in, bringing down the Arcán Claymore overhead. Kevérin barely managed to block with the Tanivas Staff, deflecting the blade strike but failing to dodge as Morcii lunged forward and dealt him a fierce head-butt followed by a roundhouse kick that sent him flying into the far wall over a kilometer away.

“Chaos Mach 8 Cannon!”

The hypersonic projectile tore through Morcii’s body, ripping his legs and tails away from his torso as Kaoné flung chunks of Chaos Matter at the Nanocreature. He quickly recovered and easily evaded the projectiles as he reunited with his lost limbs – and then merged his legs together into a massive downward-facing laser cannon with which he immediately opened fire, sweeping across the platform below and leaving a several-meter wide path of smoldering Chaos Matter in its path. A lightning strike from below drew his attention just in time for Davídrius to appear over him and dunk him with a fierce kick, creating a crater as the Nanocreature leader impacted the ground nigh-instantly. Christeané and Rebehka both quickly approached the crater, but when the debris cleared, Morcii was gone – only to appear out of the ground underneath Rebehka, smashing his fist into her chin and then grabbing her arm and throwing her at Christeané. The Cryotechnic immediately responded by freezing his feet to the ground and trapping his tails in a block of ice, which Kevérin quickly superheated and caused a massive steam explosion. “Chaos Slam!” Kievkenalis shouted, rocketing forward and impacting Morcii with a shockwave, launching him out of the cloud of steam as he followed with “Chaos Targeted Nullify!”

“Nullify means nothing to me,” Morcii snarled, detaching his arms and splitting them several times over before transforming all of the pieces into dozens of tiny laser cannons with which he opened fire on Hero Machina, “If I were a Chaotic it would work, but I am beyond that–!”

He immediately held up two of his tails, catching Davídrius’s incoming foot and hurling the Introtechnic overhead. The Nanocreature then transformed his other two tails into long blades as he blasted forward, piercing the ground on which Davídrius had landed barely a second earlier. He quickly followed by summoning and throwing both Sendous Chakrams at the Introtechnic before knocking away Christeané with the Arcán Claymore and turning his laser cannons on Siyuakén. The Electrotechnic quickly slammed her own Claymore into the ground around her, shattering it and dislodging several pieces of Chaos Matter that she manipulated with electric fields to rest in front of her just in time to block the initial laser blast. She then massively increased the power behind her electric fields, crystallizing the very ground beneath her feet and deflecting Morcii’s lasers – but failing to deflect the Nanocreature leader himself as he rocketed forwards, piercing the fields with ease and throwing his foot forward in a powerful kick. Siyuakén managed to block the blow with her Claymore but the pure force still launched her backwards. Morcii crouched down, prepared to give chase, but tripped due to the bounds of ice that had appeared over his feet. Kaoné instantly launched him skyward as Kevérin and Kievkenalis followed up with a multitude of flame and Chaos attacks, ceasing only when Rebehka crafted a massive ice-club mid-air and smacked Morcii toward Christeané’s waiting fists.

“Gotcha now!” the Introtechnic grinned as he thrust his fist forward, completely pulverizing Morcii’s chest – only for it to immediately reform around his wrist.

“Not quite,” the Nanocreature responded with a grin as he whirled around, releasing Christeané from his chest and sending him flying toward the ceiling. Davídrius moved to intercept the Nanocreature leader but Morcii launched into the air before he could, slamming into Christeané mid-air and driving the both of them upwards into the ceiling – and through it.

“He’s getting away!” Kevérin shouted as the entire cavern began violently rumbling, the ceiling around Morcii’s impact point beginning to collapse, “After him!!”

Kaoné paused to create a platform for Kievkenalis, Davídrius, and herself as Kevérin blasted upward, filling the hole Morcii had created with flames just before entering. His vision went black as the tunnel blocked out all light, but within seconds the air above him opened up, revealing the twilit sky and blue surroundings of Elecal’s surface. “…We were this close to the surface?” he muttered to himself just as Christeané tumbled past. The Pyrotechnic immediately returned his attention to the battle just in time to summon the Tanivas Staff and smash it into Morcii’s face the moment the Nanocreature leader passed him, sending him stumbling forward. Christeané was instantly upon the downed Nanocreature, lifting his hands into the air and then smashing them into Morcii’s back and creating a hundred-meter crater – which was immediately inverted as Kaoné blasted her way through.

As soon as her platform was clear Davídrius and Kievkenalis leaped off, with Davídrius instantly locking onto Morcii’s location and dashing over to him, only to be knocked away as the Nanocreature intercepted him with the Arcán Claymore. Morcii immediately took to the air, narrowly evading another blow from Christeané as he ignored a blast of fire and deflected several incoming Chaos Cannon shots with the back of his hand, each of which went on to smash into and demolish distant mountains and plains. The Nanocreature then detached all of his limbs from his body, separating them into dozens of flechettes and laser cannons that spread out across the sky and began attacking the grounded Chaotics. Within a second of opening fire a massive ice sheet appeared in the sky, trapping each of the pieces until Morcii broke them out half a second later – but failed to react as Davídrius leaped up through the shattered ice, summoning the Hastryth Chain Weapon, impaling Morcii, and dragging him down to the ground. The Nanocreature dislodged himself from the weapon before actual impact, summoning enough flechettes and laser cannons back to himself to reform two arms and grab Hastryth’s chain, jerking Davídrius to a stop. He then lunged forward, decking the Introtechnic across the face and sending him flying nearly a whole kilometer away before spinning around and instantly forming a shield in front of him from the rest of his cannons and flechettes to block a lightning blast followed by a punch from Christeané. The Nanocreature then resisted a call of “Chaos Control” but the effort tripped him up just long enough for Kaoné to launch him into the air again before creating a block of stone mid-air and spiking him back to the ground at Kevérin’s feet. Without missing a beat the Pyrotechnic blasted Morcii with fire and then stabbed him with the Tanivas Staff, rapidly heating the Staff and the air around it until initiating a massive heat blast that incinerated everything for several meters around. But the Nanocreature leader emerged unscathed – he immediately grabbed the Staff and ripped it out of Kevérin’s hands and then slammed his fists into the Pyrotechnic’s chest, sending him flying away just in time for Morcii to whip around and block Rebehka as she attempted to slice him open with a blade of ice. Kevérin quickly summoned the Staff back to himself, momentarily robbing Morcii of a weapon until he summoned the Arcán Claymore and blocked Rebehka’s next blow – only for the Cryotechnic’s blade to freeze to Arcán on impact.

“You–!” Morcii scowled, barely able to react as Rebehka tore Arcán from his grasp and then with a single motion summoned the Tsern Spear and impaled him, instantly freezing his entire body to the polearm. Not even a full second later Davídrius appeared and smashed his foot into the frozen Nanocreature, completely shattering him and creating a cloud of ice and silvery debris that Siyuakén rapidly charged, triggering a myriad of interior lightning strikes. Kaoné then encased all of the debris in a large stone, but before anyone else could attack Morcii exploded from the stone and rocketed up to nearly a hundred meters high in the sky. He paused for a moment to glare at the Chaotics and dodge a blast of flame before whipping around and flying off, raising higher into the sky.

“He’s escaping!!” Kevérin shouted, attempting to give chase as Kaoné summoned the Mystryth Bow and began firing arrows at the Nanocreature leader, only for all of them to miss.

“He’s too fast…!” she exclaimed, “What– what do we do–?”

“…No… he’s not too fast,” Siyuakén countered, eyeing the dot that continually grew smaller with distance before bracing herself and rapidly raising the current through her body, quickly surpassing the voltage levels of any of her previous attacks.

“Siyuakén?...” Davídrius glanced toward the Electrotechnic warily as the hair on the back of his neck began to rise, “What are you doing?...”

“Everyone, back away,” she replied through clenched teeth as the energy in the air around her began to cause chaotic winds and sparks began leaping from her body, “…this… is going to hurt. But I’ll bring that bastard back. He can’t escape me!”

 …I see. Your corruption is the key; if you can only–

 I know, Arcán, I know! Now help me out here–

“Chaos. . . CHARGE!”

The electric charge in the surrounding environment suddenly jumped to unprecedented levels, triggering arcs of lightning from Siyuakén to random spots on the ground several meters away as Kievkenalis offered her a quick wave and then teleported away.

 Ha… thanks, she smirked, lightning beginning to jump from the air itself to the ground as stone for meters around began to crystallize and liquefy from the incredible amount of energy Siyuakén was generating. She summoned the Arcán Claymore – which immediately began to glow and spark – and slowly pointed it at the sky as she closed her eyes. Morcii had long disappeared from eyesight, but she had no need to lay eyes on him. Even attempting to sense his influence on electric fields wasn’t necessary, for Siyuakén possessed one trait that allowed her to always know Morcii’s location: she was corrupted. And as powerful as Morcii was, there existed no way for him to permanently and completely cut himself off from Nanocreature nanites.

 There–! Siyuakén’s brow furrowed as she located Morcii, several hundred kilometers high and rapidly ascending. Immediately she directed the Arcán Claymore toward him – and fired a massive blast of energy, a lightning strike streaking through the sky at thousands of kilometers per second, even piercing the vacuum of space to nigh-instantly hit Morcii with an inescapable shock that lit up the entire region as bright as day before fading away to nothing.

 And– now!

In the moment that Morcii was struck, Siyuakén seized control of his body and yanked him back, sending him careening through space and atmosphere. He quickly regained control but was unable to slow himself – and was unable to react as the Electrotechnic held up Arcán and cleanly impaled him. Immediately Christeané bounded onto the scene, having been launched forward by a kick from Davídrius as he reached forward and grabbed Morcii’s head, tearing the Nanocreature off of Arcán and slamming him into the ground. He then grabbed two of Morcii’s tails and yanked him into the air, twirling him once overhead before releasing him into the distance at hypersonic speeds – which Davídrius easily matched and exceeded, intercepting Morcii and spiking him back to the ground with a fierce kick. The moment the Nanocreature leader hit the ground a massive spike appeared, impaling him again as Kaoné raised several more spikes around him – followed by Rebehka suddenly flash-freezing the entire area, creating a fifty-meter ice spike that completely swallowed up Morcii – and then exploded in a cloud of steam as Kevérin rapidly superheated the object, destroying everything encased inside due to the sudden pressure change. Then, without waiting for the steam to clear, Kievkenalis teleported to the center of the cloud and shouted, “CHAOS BLAST!”

In an instant everything within fifty meters was completely obliterated, creating a smooth crater that Kievkenalis and the remains of Morcii dropped into. The Chaostechnic immediately summoned the Aldrace Glaive and pierced the Nanocreature through his stomach, pinning him to the ground. Morcii attempted to get up, reaching up with his three remaining arms and tugging at the polearm – only for the Tanivas Staff and Tsern Spear to suddenly smash his shoulders, shearing his arms away from his body. Each arm rose into the air tentatively… and then fell back to the ground as the rest of Hero Machina converged on the scene.

“…You…” Morcii groaned, his third arm and his tails disappearing as his body reverted to his normal form, the Sendous and Arcán Ayas appearing in the air over his chest before dropping to the ground and tumbling to the side. “…You… defeated… me…!?”

“We told you it would happen, didn’t we?” Siyuakén countered as she stooped down to pick up the Arcán Ayas. “You lost.”

“Not… possible! I… am…!”

“A god?” Davídrius snorted, “If you’re a god, then what’s that make us?”

“Ha, ‘god-killer’ sounds pretty impressive,” Christeané smirked.

“You… gloat too early…” Morcii responded, slowly picking himself up – only to be shocked and slammed back to the ground with a club of ice.

“You stay there,” Siyuakén glared at the Nanocreature leader as Kaoné covered most of his body with steel sheets, effectively trapping him in place.

“The Ayas Prior State?” Arcán prompted.

“I know,” the Electrotechnic muttered, and then took a deep breath. “…Prior State: Ayas Arcán!”

The Arcán Ayas turned into a small cloud of light blue particles before translating through the air to Siyuakén’s hip, where it reformed and locked itself into her form, leaving it completely inseparable from her body.

“…You can’t do it,” Morcii snorted as she summoned the Arcán Claymore again, “You… using a Link Drive against me… ha! You’ll die…! You can’t live… without… me!”

“I don’t want to live with you,” Siyuakén countered, grasping the weapon with both hands and leveling it toward Morcii. “I don’t care what happens to me. As long as I can end you, forever…!”

“Ha… ah ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha!” the Nanocreature launched into deranged laughter as the Electrotechnic raised Arcán over her head. “End me? Forever? Ha! You think… this is the end…? This… is only… the beginning! Ah ha ha…!”

“Your threats are meaningless! This is the end, Morcii. You won’t be missed!” Siyuakén shouted back as Morcii continued to laugh to himself, “Link Drive: Menace Hunter!!”

A bright flash of white light momentarily blinded everyone present as the Arcán Claymore began glowing a bright golden color, the golden aura extending nearly two meters past the end of the blade and forming a sharp surface of hard light as Siyuakén brought the weapon down on Morcii, carving a massive hole through the ground and Nanocreature alike. The moment the blade touched Morcii his eyes went blank – and then his body exploded into a silvery cloud that rapidly lost its sheen, turning into nothing more than dust as the golden light disappeared from Arcán. Silence followed before Kaoné gathered the dust together and coalesced it into a small block that Rebehka quickly encased in ice. When nothing followed, the seven Chaotics of Hero Machina let out a collective sigh of relief.

Morcii… was dead!


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==================== End of Chapter 84 ====================
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