"A human?"
"Yes."
Hermit couldn't help but look at Yuuki in confusion. She detests humans, yet despite hearing his declaration, all she saw Yuuki as was a cute cat. Meanwhile, Yuuki was thinking to himself as he looked west.
"Shiki is definitely fighting. If I had to guess, he might be fighting that rumored mass murderer."
"Why are you here? I want nothing to deal with humans."
"Is that so? In that case, if you find me despicable, then you'll down right hate the noisy people who'll be here soon."
As Yuuki said this, he stretched his body as he was about to take a nap. Meanwhile, Hermit was curious about what he said. As she poked the back of his right ear, the feline looked at Hermit and saw the curious look on her face.
"What do you mean by what you said?"
"What's this? You're asking for answers from a human? I thought I was despicable."
"Just answer me!"
"........Edens Zero. That's the only hint you'll get from me. Though I will say one more thing. I'm not leaving from this spot unless you agree to come with me aboard Edens Zero. Besides, I feel like you and I have more in common than you think. I might understand you better than you think."
As Yuuki said this, he began to put his head down as he began to sleep. While this happened, Hermit simply looked away from him as she stares into the sky. Though the words the boy said still linger in her mind.
"Did he only say that just to make me feel a certain way and use me? Or.....does he truly mean every word that he said? Has he experienced something so similar that he can confidently claim that he understands me? Humans.....they really are a nuisance, in more ways than one.
~In Crysta~
"Damn, I hung them too high. I couldn't see their final moments clearly. Byahahahaha!!!"
Jamilov laughed as he saw his two victims perish as they were impaled by the spike on top of a building. As their bodies disappeared, everyone looked in horror as Shiki clenched his fists. Soon Shiki jumped from the building as he used his Ether Gear to cause himself to fall towards Jamilov.
"Magimech Attack-"
"You should try to think about who you're fighting. My Maria is getting hungry."
Just as Shiki got close to Jamilov, he noticed how the blade of his scythe changed into the head of a monster. The moment Shiki tried to jump back, Maria already had his head in its mouth. After a few moments Shiki's body was sent crashing into a building. When he got up, his hair was back to its short length.
"That damn thing ate my hair!!!"
"Maria will devour anything. Now then...it's feeding time, Maria!"
As Jamilov said this, Maria grew exponentially as it began to devour everything in its path. Weisz, Homura, Rebecca, Happy, and Pino were all trying their best to avoid the beast's carnage. Just as Weisz tripped, Maria was just a few inches to the left of him as it chewed upon a tower. However, Jamilov's eyes widen in shock when he saw that the tower wasn't falling and was positioning itself towards him.
"I just remembered that I have something to do today. It's a drag but I can't back down from this. You don't say no when Drakken Joe calls you."
As the dust settles, Shiki's eyes widen a bit as he saw the tower he threw at Jamilov beginning to crack. Soon the tower began to crumble as Jamilov let a laugh escape from his lips. As the murderer was logging out, he left Shiki and the group a message.
"We shall continue this later. Maria is craving to see your crying faces as you scream in agony!!!!"
~Meanwhile~
As Hermit was seen sitting on the hill, she looked at Yuuki. The red cat was seen silently napping as she placed him on her lap, though every so often his ears would twitch whenever he picked up some sound. It was cute in a way, but she will never admit it whether he was asleep or not.
"There she is! Hermit!"
"Did she sit there even with all that just happened?"
"They did say she likes to stare into nothing a lot. Though I never took her for a cat person."
"That cat......why does that ear piece on it look so familiar?"
When Hermit looked in the direction of the voices, she saw Shiki and his group standing just a few yards away. The moment she asked them who they were, Shiki smiled happily.
"I like this place. I decided to come here on my own."
"Your body is already resting on the Edens Zero."
"Why would you decide to do that on your own? Put me back on the Iron Hill."
"What?! Just come with us!"
The moment Shiki tried to help Hermit stand up, the android yanked her wrist out of Shiki's grasp. When she looked at him, Shiki saw Hermit glaring daggers at him.
"You're......the human boy that Ziggy was looking after. I have one thing I want to make clear."
~Meanwhile~
~A few minutes later~
Everyone was now currently inside of a tavern in Crysta as they explained the situation to Homura. They expected to be rejected, but not that hard at least. While discussing this, Shiki was thinking about what Hermit said.
"I despise humans."
"I've never met an android that hated humans. Happy, Pino, even Witch and Sister didn't hate any......."
While Shiki was in thought, him and everyone else heard the sound of a bell ringing. As they rushed out of the inn, they were shocked by what they were witnessing. An army of monsters was seen approaching the city. The NPC's of Crysta looked in horror as they saw the horde of monsters entering their town.
"By order of Jamilov, we shall be occupying this land! He told us that killing you NPC's would be no fun, so he gave the task to us. Players are the only exception due to him wanting to personally execute them."
"I won't allow it!!!!!"
As Shiki lunged forward, he used his Ether Gear to make himself fall towards the direction of the larger monsters. While this happened, Happy noticed some monsters flying away from the city.
"Oh no! Those monsters are heading in the direction where Hermit is!!!!!"
"It's fine Happy! There's nothing to worry about!!!!!!"
"Hermit's just fine. After all, I finally realized something. That earpiece the cat wore was a Nyanmaru one!!! She's in good hands, for now, let's protect the village!!!!!"
~Meanwhile~
"Monsters, huh. Well, I guess it's better than being killed by humans."
"You can't keep this charade up for long, Hermit."
"What are you talking about?"
"When the Edens Zero was mentioned, your eyes lit up for a moment. Surely you must want to see Nee-san and Witchy."
"Why do you care?! Why are you still here?! I told you that I despise humans! I told you to go away. Don't you get it? I find humans despicable!!!!!"
As Hermit lashed out at Yuuki, she saw the monsters that came from Crysta approaching her location. She closed her eyes as she was ready to accept her fate. Meanwhile, Yuuki faced the direction of the monsters as his body was glowing.
"You're right, i'm despicable. I've committed many sins. However, that doesn't mean it's okay for you to be just as despicable as me by commiting the same sins that I have."
"What?"
"Cherish what you have now instead of lamenting about what you lost or who wronged you. It took one of my best friends dying for me to even comprehend something so simple. You still have Witch. You still have Sister. You still have Edens Zero. You still have people and a home to go back to. To blatantly ignore that just because of a personal grudge...congrats Hermit. You're acting just as despicable as us humans."
Hermit's eyes widen in shock. The red cat that was by her side was no longer present. As Yuuki looked towards the horde of monsters flying towards him and Hermit, he began to use his Ether Gear.
"I'm a bit ticked off, so i'm afraid I can't hold back as much. Sound Domination:Thunder Noise!"
Using his Ether Gear, Yuuki shouts upward into the air, where a "cloud" of sound forms. The sound echoes and condenses within the cloud, becoming louder and more intense, before falling from the sky as thunderbolt-like blasts of sound. Hermit could only look in shock as she saw all the monsters that were heading towards the hill all being shot down in a single moment. When she looked at Yuuki, she had a single question.
"Who are you?"
"Yuuki Eden, a human. Now come on, let's go!!!"
As Yuuki said this, he picked up Hermit as if she were a bride and began to dash at incredible speed. While he was heading to Crysta, Hermit looked at him.
"Let me go! Why are you even in a hurry to save the town? They're all just NPC's! Wait.....you're just going to see if your friends are sa-"
"I only have one friend. Besides, this isn't about whether the ones I save are human or not......I just don't wanna see people die again."
~In Crysta~
All the monsters were seen attacking the NPC's. As Shiki and Rebecca were trying to fend off the monsters, they noticed that the monster's numbers were barely decreasing. While this happened, one of the children among the NPC's fell over as a small horde of the monsters were close to her. Before the monsters could sink their claws into her, the girl saw someone jump in front of her as they knocked them all away.
"I'm scared but I shall protect this town!!!!! Everyone, escape Crysta while you can!"
"We won't let you escape."
As the troll looked towards the direction of the voice, he saw the man responsible for the chaos. Jamilov was smiling viciously as he had an army of monsters behind him as they were all holding cross bows.
"Shoot them down."
The moment Jamilov gave his order, the monsters all began to shoot towards the villagers. As they all braced themselves, they noticed how a single arrow didn't hit them. When they looked forward, they saw Shinobi Troll standing in front of them as he used his own body to shield them from the arrows. As the girl that he saved looked in horror, Shinobi Troll stood his ground as he was mercilessly shot down by arrows.
"I am.....the protector....of this town.
As Shinobi Troll said this, he fell onto his back as his body was no longer moving. Seeing this, Jamilov grabbed the head of one of his forces as he glared at them.
"What the hell are you doing? Shoot at the people!"
"I'll take care of it."
A single figure stood next to Jamilov with a crossbow in their hand. As they shot at the girl that Shinobi Troll saved, Shiki quickly jumped in to push the girl away, resulting in an arrow being stuck in his arm. Seeing this, Jamilov laughed as he looked at the shooter.
"You told me you'd do anything to meet with Drakken Joe, but i'm surprised you'd go as far as killing your own friend."
Shiki could only look in complete distraught as he saw Homura with Jamilov. She was even willing to shoot down a little girl from Crysta. Seeing his gaze directed at her, she spoke up.
"The girl you're protecting is nothing more than computer data."
"Data or not, she's a living person!"
"She is only running a program that enables her to feel fear."
"Because she has a heart! I thought we were friends, Homura! What about you wanting to see Valkyrie again?!"
"You believed that story? This is your last chance. If you intend to stand in my way, i'll remove you."
As Homura reloaded her crossbow, she aimed it at Shiki. However, Jamilov had enough of this drama as he ordered all the monsters to fire at will. Soon a storm of arrows was being launched towards Shiki. If he moved, the villagers would all be shot down. Before he could think of what to do, one person jumped in front of him with blades in hand as she was deflecting the arrows one by one until all of them were sliced and fell upon the ground.
"Homura?"
"It would seem that I made it here in time. It seems another ally of ours made it in time too."
As Homura said this, Shiki noticed someone walking up to him. When he turned his head, he was shocked to see who was approaching him.
"Honestly, you humans really are a handful."
"Hermit, what are you doing here?!"
"I didn't come here of my own will. He forced me to be here."
"OI! ENOUGH OF THIS CHIT-CHAT! SHOOT THEM DOWN!!!!!"
Jamilov was getting annoyed and ordered his monsters to start shooting again. However, not a single arrow was shot upon his orders. He grew angry as he was ready to kill the monsters for disobeying him. As both himself and the fake Homura turned around, they saw all of the monsters defeated as a single boy was staring them down.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and the requiem of fury for evil."