NOVEL WEB Chapter 1394: Three Cities
'Logos, Pathos, very quick question.'
<=Yes?=>
'That [Apostasy] thing that Dante pulled off, can I do it too?'
<=Yes. In fact, we think your [Astra] can work multiple kaijin due to its...odd nature.=>
'Okay, cool. But what about with my own stuff?'
<Heh.>
=Pardon?=
'Well...I technically have my own baked-in [Taboo] and [Astra] by default. And I know you said that part of the reason why I was unable to manifest a [Regalia] or a [Stigma] because my body kept trying to manifest both at the same time inside of it. But [Taboo] and [Astra] are external. Does that mean I can combine them?'
<Maybe?>
=I'm going to be honest with you, milord, none of your predecessors ever thought of doing that before,= Logos explained. =So we don't have any data on what would happen if you did do that.=
'So...I'm once again, treading new ground?'
<=Yes.=>
'...fuck it, I'm trying this shit anyways. Worst case scenario, I explode. Right?'
=You are way too nonchalant over death by explosion.=
'I am used to it.'
<You mean the original host body is used to it. Your old self died via—>
'SENSITIVE TOPIC! Can we please focus on the possibility of me blowing up from using an untested ability?'
<=As you wish.=>
'Good…wait, how are things going for the Gallop Brothers?'
<=You can see for yourself, milord.=>
'Right…man, it is going to be weird trying to get used to being able to connect with all of my kaijin again…'
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[BAH! Why won't you just sink down already? Or at the very least, derail?!]
[BECAUSE, FUCK YOU!]
[GRARRR!]
When Gumba learned the secret of Rail Horn's movements, he tried to flip the script by using his abilities to fuck with the latter's rail placements.
For the first time ever, Gumba attempted to not just sink the rails coming his way but also cause the earth to churn and rise in order to see if he could split them.
Alas. it was no use.
Whenever one of Rail Horn's rails came undone, the crazy unicorn would just stomp and make fresh ones in a completely different direction. Not only that, but it was steadily getting harder and harder to do so.
[What's the matter, fat ass?] Rail Horn mocked as he kept getting faster and faster by the second. [You losing steam or what?]
When Zhen Liu crafted Rail Horn's body, he was inspired to combine the aspects of a unicorn with that of a train, because to him, they were both symbols of [Hope]. The former because of its symbolism, the latter because in the days of the pioneer, trains were carriers to new frontiers, where hope burned brightest.
As such, the longer Rail Horn was in a fight, the hotter his engine ran, and the hotter his engine ran, the more powerful he became.
[You little bastard!,] Gumba cursed as he attempted to throw several giant boulders made of mud in Rail Horn's direction, only to miss at the last moment. [Where the hell did you-]
[I'm right here,] Rail Horn roared now that he was mere moments from punching Gumba's face in from the front. [And now it's time for you to feel the burning power of Hope!]
As soon as he made this declaration, Rail Horn drew his arm back and began to pump his [Chaos] into it, causing it to grow and expand to the point of looking like the arm of a mechanical giant.
[W-what the-?!]
For a brief moment, Gumba could see the shadow of a great underground city behind Rail Horn, a place where [Hope] would never die no matter how dark the world got.
[Chaos Art: Agartha Impact]
…
[S-stay away from me!] Slavina cried in alarm as she threw a barrage of vines and thorns in Pegasoar's direction.
In her mind, a slave's purpose was to live and die for their betters.
That was the natural order of things, and that was how the world should function from A to Z.
As such, Pegasoar was, ironically, an aberration in her eyes.
It was one thing for a slave to come back from the dead; it was a whole other problem if that aforementioned slave came back as her equal.
Although, it might be more accurate to say that Pegasoar was her better.
[I guess your brain is as rotten as your roots. Because that didn't work the last time you tried!] Pegasoar roared as he flew through the vines and thorns, the wind surrounding him tearing them all to shreds.
In the mind of a certain Otherlander, three words came to mind when it came to the idea of [Freedom].
Flying
Wind.
Pegasus.
The wind could never be captured or contained; flying meant one could go wherever they pleased, and a pegasus was the embodiment of these ideas and more.
As such, combining these traits with an airplane made perfect sense to Zhen Liu.
And right now, Pegasoar was making use of these traits to the best of his abilities.
[To be free is to make your own path, being unrestrained by any obstacles or dangers that lie in front of oneself,] Pegasoar began to say as he charged towards Slavina, who was obsessively attempting to at least slow his movement by even an inch of movement.
As he got closer and closer, the wind surrounding him began to condense and sharpen into the form of a giant spear. Not only that, but the illusion of a giant flying city appeared behind him as well.
[Now fly away and break, as Freedom cannot be contained! Chaos Art: Laputa's Spear!]
…
[REEEE! HOW INFURIATING!] Delictum screeched as he engaged with Depth Strider in close-quarters combat. [ Couldn't you have just stayed dead? Couldn't you have just remained blissfully ignorant to the suffering of your so-called loved ones?!]
[No,] Depth Strider plainly stated as he used his spears to counter Delictum's bladed wings. [That's a stupid idea, and we both know that.]
[Then could you at least fuck off and let me just shoot you already?!] Delictum screeched again. [Why are you sticking so close to me.]
[Because I am very determined to learn your weakpoints.]
[RAAAAAH!]
When Zhen Liu made Depth Strider, he used the basis of a hippocampus, a literal seahorse, and an ironsides ship.
In his mind, [Determination] was best embodied by the sea and those who traveled it.
It took determination to ride the waves and the storms in order to fill out the maps of the world, and it took even greater determination to plunge into the depths to see what secrets lay beneath the surface, all while carrying the weight of the world on their backs.
As such, no matter how many times Delictum pushed Depth Strider away, no matter how many feathers he shot at him, no matter how often his blades managed to scratch him, Depth Strider kept on him.
After all, [Determination] meant being able to carry on even if the whole world tries to crush you under the weights known as [Truth] and [Ignorance].
[You took great pleasure in killing others in ways they never saw coming. Making them ignorant in which the manner they died for the sake of keeping them "blissful",] Depth Strider mocked Delictum as he kept up the assault.
[Yeah, what of it?!] Delictum retorted, unaware that he was being lectured as he was getting his ass kicked in.
[To live in ignorance is terrible, but to die in ignorance is even worse,] Depth Strider proclaimed as he swung his spears in such a way as to create an opening in Delictum's defenses. [It is only through understanding our passing and the decision that lead up to that point, that we can share this knowledge with others and hopefully guide them to live a better way.]
[What? Does that mean you wished I killed you in such a way that others learned from your mistakes?!] Delictum mocked as he attempted to bring his blades down faster than whatever Depth Strider had planned.
Unfortunately, he was much too slow.
[Nah, I just wanted you to understand that this next part was going to suck.]
From across Depth Strider's body, several small ports began to open one after the other as [Chaos] built up in is body.
Alongside this display, the shimmering mirage of a submerged city appeared around him.
[Ah...shit.]
[Chaos Art: Atlantis Barrage!]
…
BOOM! BOOM BOOM!
"What the hell was that?!"
From different parts of the cavern the sound of three distinct explosions echoed throughout and stole everyone's attention for a brief moment.
To be more precise, the slaves and rebels that were extracted from the tar had been given the chance to relax and witness this event.
The aftermath of this explosion, though, was much more eye-catching.
^Wait a minute... is that...^
<<Those...those are Dante's Demon Knights! They were defeated!>>
~How?! Why?!~
Off to the side, a single Bloodliner woman gave a knowing smirk.
^You did it, love. You really did it...^
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'Well. Things are going well,' Zhen Liu happily concluded. 'So lets wrap things up here, shall we?'