"Onda! Down!" Mijoo pushes Onda down, blasting the incoming Sentinels with her shotgun. Onda shifts Mijoo away, firing at the enemies behind Mijoo in a crouching stance using her assault rifle. Moonbyul on the other hand is out of ammo, opting with using her jian to take down the enemies in close quarter combat.
"I'm out! Yujin, I need another magazine!" Shuhua feels her rifle had gone cold.
"Last mag." Yujin throws the magazine to Shuhua, switching her firing to semi automatic to conserve ammo.
"How the hell did Lily think to face these assholes with just the seven of them?!" Yeeun grits her teeth, throwing down a Sentinel with a judo throw before driving the Bowie knife straight on its head, giving it a twist for good measure.
"Am I seeing things or those are Grim Reapers up there?" Gowon points out what above her. Thousands of Reapers flying towards their position, their shadows darkens the ground beneath.
"Demolish the unmarked ones. Leave none alive." Emma shouts her order, as soon as the order is done, the Reapers swooping down like locusts engaging the remaining Sentinels in the AO. And the fate of the Sentinels are sealed. And their death is coming a lot faster with Monica dashing in like a bull, laughing like a maniac as she mercilessly shredding the Sentinels into pieces.
"What are you guys doing here? I thought you returned to Yaral!" Della snaps at them as soon as she and Emma touches the ground. She is whole again, meaning her Ark Release has ended.
"Shut the fuck up! Just be grateful we're here after the stupid stunt you and your sisters pulled. Now lead the fucking way!" Gowon yells back, pushing Della and Emma out of her way, the rest giving Dreamcatcher the dirtiest glare they can make.
"Which way to your maknae?" Gowon turns around, flushing at her own blunder. Emma and Della snorts, for despite the fury they had shown, they still have the guts to be this cute.
"Gowon ah. Why did you guys return?" Emma's tone earnest. And somehow it touches their heart to provide with the honest reply.
"Joy Eomma explained everything to us. That Lily wouldn't let all these deaths be in vain. We youngsters were all against it, but Irene Eomma and all the Elders are hell-bent to be by your side again." Gowon leers at Dreamcatcher, Monica finally joining them; blood and chunks of fleshes of her enemies splattered all over her.
"If there's someone in this world that I can trust with my life on the line, it's Elder Yuenu. And she seems to trust that redhead. And that's enough for me." Onda adds.
"Nothing to say, Mijoo?" Della raises her eyebrow at Mijoo.
"What's there to say? I just want to see the light goes out on Claudius' and Seungri's eyes. That's all." Mijoo shrugs.
"Emma, check the numbers again." Monica asks, spitting the splattered blood in her mouth away.
"Still the same. Talk about being persistent...." Emma chuckles, her left eye turning white, temporarily blinded by the use of her ability.
"So Joy Eomma is right. You can see how much time left of our lives." Gowon finally confirms her own hypothesis, but this revelation seems to terrify Onda and Mijoo.
"Fucking freak..." Mijoo blurts out. Dreamcatcher gives a hearty laugh, patting on her head.
"Can't deny that, kid. Let's get to Lucy and Fenrir." Emma summons a few Reapers, offering them a ride to get to Lucy's AO. But of course if a dark, hooded figure reaching its bony hand out, who would want to touch that?"
"We're flying, so if you're not taking it, you walk. Ooah?" Monica reminds them. With a heavy heart, the juniors accept the grotesque offer.
"For real, nothing makes sense in this war. No one will believe us, even if we recorded everything." Yeeun fixes the Reaper's hold on her waist, yelping as they start to levitate in the air.
"This is a shadow war, ladies. No one will ever know all of our great deeds in preventing the end of the world." Della chirps in, leading the pack away.
-
"Argh!" Seungri bounces on the ground, ejecting short burst of jet fire from his feet to stop himself due to the impact of Jennie's attack. His body is tearing apart, it cannot withstands the monstrosity of the attacks from the four women. Alice and the rest slowly gaining confidence that they will finally bury Seungri, once and for all.
"Goddamnit, Claudius... Call it in!" Seungri screams in his head, his system now prioritizing defenses and recoveries instead of offenses. Despite being torn apart like this, the air of superiority never leaves him, making the ladies stay on their feet.
"Bastard's still kicking despite looking like a crashed car. Fucking Irene really hated us back then, huh?" Lisa huffs, throwing her broken scythes away. Rachel produces another pair of scythes for her, only to be declined.
"Make me a pair of chained blades instead. The scythes are one of a kind, only those can channel my ability properly. Any other weapon is a sure backfire." Lisa explains.
"Chained blades..." Rachel winces, trying to paint a picture of the said weapon so she can produce it.
Then it clicks, with Rachel clapping her hands together, a pair of chained blades forms from the palms of hers. The unique thing about the blades is their fullers are imbued with glowing reddish orange cracks. Upon receiving it, Lisa is bewildered, frowning at Rachel.
"What?" Rachel tilts her head, wondering the frowning on Lisa's face.
"Really? Blades of Chaos? What am I, Kratos?"
"You want a chained blades. That's the only thing that came to my mind." Rachel shrugs. Lisa rolls her eyes, testing the handling of her new weapon.
"You should lay down your gaming, sis. This is really taking it to the next level. We might get sued by Sony's for copyright infringement." Lisa chuckles, satisfied with the balance and handling of the blades.
"Sony's, Schmony's. We ain't monetizing anything, right?" Rachel turns to the empty space beside her, winking at nothing.
"Enough of the fourth wall's sketch, idiots. Let's strike the iron while it stills hot." Alice is about to launch an attack but her Ark Release scatters, returning Alice into her normal form.
As soon as her Ark Release dismantles, torrents of exhaustion and fatigue hit her simultaneously, making Alice falls to the ground, incapacitated. Seungri, seeing this as an opportunity, about to boost up to land a killing blow on Alice but Lisa's blades are much faster, hitting the ground a few centimeters away from Seungri's feet, stopping Seungri before he can ever shifts his footing.
"And where do you think you're going? Jennie, pull Alice back. She's dry. Rache, let's go." Lisa gives the order to Jennie, dashing at full speed with Rachel to finish Seungri while he is at his weakest.
"Alice. Hang in there." Jennie immediately carries Alice over her shoulder, retreating to the rear.
"Just... Patch me up... Get me back in..." Alice groans, sweating bullets as she fights through the immense pain.
"Don't be absurd, Alice. This needs not a few minutes of rest kind of situation. You're done. Let us handle this." Jennie snaps, slowly letting Alice down against a boulder. She pats Alice down, searching for her medkit. She found it, the last of the regen shot inside. She quickly administers it, yet Alice's condition is still the same.
"Heh... Guess I'm truly done here..." Alice sighs, her eyes showing defeat. At the hour of need, Alice could not provide, and it frustrates her.
"Hey, look at me." Jennie parts away Alice's hair, levelling her eyes with Alice's.
"You've done enough. Should Lily be truthful in the beginning, none of this would've happened." Jennie pats on Alice's cheek. Alice shakes her head to deny, her voice meek.
"No... You don't understand... She was just-"
"I know. We know. You were just protecting us. Those whose times were out are meant to die. We get it. But if there's something about you and your sisters that I really hate? It's the need to sacrifice yourself for your loved ones." Jennie cuts Alice off, explaining herself. Droplets of tears fall from the corners of Alice's eyes, Jennie wipes them away with her fingers.
"There's no need for unnecessary sacrifice, my sister. We're just human; full of limitations. We're stronger when we're together, no? Don't shoulder the burden of the world on your own. We're here. Share it with us." Jennie smiles, her words strike Alice hard that she sobs.
"You've shouldered enough. Now, let us help you carry it." Jennie envelops Alice with her hug, patting softly on Alice's head. Alice breaks the embrace, gently kissing Jennie's forehead.
"Don't die... Okay?" Alice trails her words before her eyes slowly close, her breathing slowing down and becoming steady.
"Emma said we won't. That's enough of an assurance for me." Jennie sighs.
Checking on Alice's vital, it seems that Alice has fallen into a deep sleep to recover herself again. Jennie cuts her thumb deep, her blood dripping on the ground before Alice. The droplets swirls, appear to be digging into the earth. A few seconds later, the small area around Alice seems to be enveloped with a red dome, slowly turning invisible.
"The Emperor's Guard should be enough to protect you...." Jennie thought to herself before joining Lisa and Rachel back to the frontline.
On Lisa and Rachel's front, it seems apparent that Seungri is throwing a smokescreen. He cannot stands on par with the ladies anymore. By the time Jennie arrives, Seungri looks like a crumpled can; whizzing, clacking, and grinding of gears can be heard coming out of him. And this time, it is Rachel's turn to be incapacitated. Before she can hits the ground she lost her consciousness, and luckily Lisa is fast enough to catch her.
"What luck... Her Ark Release ended when Seungri turned to shit." Lisa ruffles on Rachel's head, letting her down slow.
"Guess Ark Release is a timed mechanism and extremely draining." Jennie adds, turning her head towards Seungri.
"Yeah. Well, it's us now. He's thoroughly fucked. Wanna do the honour?" Lisa points at Seungri. The two approach him, Lisa stomping through Seungri's chest cavity with a loud crunch. Yet Seungri appears painless, grinning wide still in his final moment.
"Among all, it was you that creeps me out the most. Sadistic asshole who struts like he got the biggest cock in the world." Jennie drives her sai through Seungri's forehead, gritting her teeth while her face full with disgust. But it was Seungri's laughter that threw her off.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU FUCKING MORONS! YOU SHOULD'VE GLOATED MORE BEFORE! AND NOW? YOUR FUCKING TIME IS OUT!" Seungri cackles. As Jennie is about to split Seungri's head into two, he suddenly disappear, making Lisa and Jennie panic.
"Fuck! Where did that motherfucker go?!" Lisa's eyes darting left and right, scanning her vicinity for Seungri. Just a couple of seconds later, they hear a huge explosion from their rear. As they look at the source of the sound, they see a column of blue light shooting up to the sky at the distance, giving the whole area a bluish hue.
"Ouh.... That can't be good..." Jennie groans.
-
"Safety protocol overrided. K.E.O.S mode activated." Yuna's GUI echoes, every system reconfigured to initiate the K.E.O.S mode. Her vision marks Claudius as the sole target, one by one the limiter being removed. Smokes start to waft out of Yuna's pore, starting to obscure herself from Claudius' view.
"Initiating K.E.O.S. in 3... 2... 1..." Once the countdown is up, through the smokes Yuna breaks through, dashing at the speed of light towards Claudius. The speed is so fast that even Claudius cannot comprehend it. With the velocity, the force of the impact produced by Yuna multiplies by at least 10,000 fold that her punch destroys everything from his left shoulder down into bits.
But lightning doesn't strikes twice for Claudius. In that fraction of second he chooses to shut down his automatic defense mechanism, eyeballing the follow up attack instead. Even with the same speed of attack, Claudius manages to evade the follow up roundhouse kick incoming, and that is by the skin of his teeth.
Using the gap of the attack chains he dashes back to create a breathing room but imagine the shock on his face when Yuna immediately closes the gap before Claudius' feet even touching the ground. Yuna throws another punch and this time her aim dead straight to Claudius' head. His eyes and hair glowing up, with Yuna somehow going through himself, negating the attack.
The exact moment when the last bit of Yuna passes through his body, he turns around, grabbing on Yuna's foot to slam her on the ground. But Yuna simply vanishes, only to reappear back again behind him. With the attack coming from his blind spot, Yuna finally connects her attack, and this time leaving a hole through Claudius' chest.
"Yes! Hit!" Yuna cheers in her mind, but it seems that every one of them forgets how formidable Claudius is. A small black orb suddenly forms in Claudius chest cavity and with a whizzing sound it vanishes, creating a destructive and blinding explosion.
"YUNA!!!" Chaeryeong screams in horror, Yuna is definitely at the epicenter of the explosion. When the dust settles, they can see Yuna kneeling on the ground, battered and charred.
Claudius seemingly pulled a suicide attack, killing himself along with the attack. When Chaeryeong scans on Yuna, it shows Yuna is in a critical condition but alive. She rushes ahead, trying to reach her but from the corner of her eyes she sees a glimpse of silver hair. When she turns her head to reconfirm, Claudius is by her side, his hand levelled to Chaeryeong's head.
"Boo!" The small black orb on his palm vanishes, producing another explosion with the same level as before. From the plume of dust Chaeryeong is thrown out, crashing down on the ground. Some part of her body got exposed, with her system shutting everything down but life support.
What catches on the rest of the women's attention is the condition that Claudius is in right now. Yuna definitely destroyed his left upper limb and put a hole in his chest, but none of the damages can be seen on him. He looks like he is untouched.
"Impossible! Yuna had just ripped him into two! How the fuck can he be still standing unharmed?!" Hwasa's voice venomous, terrorized. She cannot believes her eyes.
"He really is immortal... How can we kill an immortal?!" Ryujin sighs, her tone dejected.
"Aigoo... To think that you ladies are able to force me to use this... Kids in this world are truly monsters..." Claudius casually cracks his neck, taking in a deep breath. Something is different about this Claudius. He looks warm, almost human.
"Yes, Hwasa. This is not the tin can that you've been playing with before. Right before the cybernization process took place, I stored my real body someplace else, only transferring my consciousness into the cyborg. That, and a few of my abilities." Hwasa's eyes bulges when she hears it. That means all these times they were only fighting his body double; mainly with his consciousness.
"Guess in the end, it always comes to this.." Claudius snaps his finger and suddenly Seungri appears beside him, all battered and half dead.
"Tch! To think that we're pushed this far..." Seungri clicks his tongue, reaching into his exposed chest.
He rips out his heart, crushing it with his hand. The light from his eyes shuts off, with his body crumbling down to the ground. And out of nowhere comes Seungri, all but unharmed. So all these time, the Kingsglaive are dealing with their mere puppets, while their real bodies lie elsewhere safe.
"Yeah. Too bad cuz we're saving our real bodies when this shit ends." Claudius' eyes and hair start to glow, he activates his power, finishing the task at hand.
With one swift motion of his hand, he unleashes a combination of his abilities of fire, electric, projectiles, void orbs, black smokes, and ice, attacking his foes without mercy. As if his attack is a homing missile, each attack is a guaranteed hit despite the ladies are giving their lives to parry and evade. At the end of the attack sequence, the ladies stand still, bodies riddled with injuries with their blood pooling up on their feet.
All but one.
"Well, hello. Didn't think you could take all of that in." Claudius sneers at the humanoid dog. From behind her crossed, shielding arms she raises her bloodied face, her glowing yellow eyes locking with Claudius'.
"It's not that easy to kill a monster, you fuck!" Hwasa growls, gathering herself to begin her counterattack. But she was replied with a malicious smile.
"Oh, pish posh! We all know, that? Can easily be arranged...." Seungri grins wide.
-
"Wake up...."
"Open your eyes, princess...."
"Nae sarang....."
"GET THE FUCK UP!!!" Lily jolts up, she is hyperventilating.
Those voices sounded familiar, but it cannot be. Those were the voices of the dead. Her vision is flickering, the strobes of light hurt her brain. It took her a few minutes to gain her bearing, as she checks on her bloodied self, she is fully recovered.
But somehow, her mind reading ability heightened up, enabling her to hear every thought in the battefield. The cries for help and desperation are deafening, the regrets of the dead sicken her, the malicious intents of Claudius and Seungri revolt her to the point she throws up. Everything is happening all at once she feels a sharp pain piercing through the front of her brain.
"Argh... It... Hurts..." Lily writhes on the ground, gripping hard on her head to curb the extreme pain. Until she hears a voice.
"Li....ly...."
"A- Alice..." She musters everything she has, teleporting to the source of the voice.
When she arrives, she sees Alice leaning unconscious against the rock, battered, bruised, and bloodied while being shielded with Jennie's Emperor's Guard. With ease, she shatters the shield, taking Alice in her arms. Her tears unknowingly fall onto Alice's head as she cradles it gently, kissing the top of Alice's head.
"No matter what I do, I always ended up hurting you..." Lily parts Alice's hair, pained smile forming on her lips.
"No more... Today, everything ends..." Lily places Alice down again, ripping off her right sleeve. She pulls out a knife, placing it on top of her tattooed lower arm. Taking in a deep breath, she slashes along the tattoo, her blood splattering the ground.
"Ark Release Ultima; Epilogue of Genocide.."