Vega couldn’t help but think about Exo while Tokura used short-range teleportations to get him and King back to the beach. The group the three hot heads were about to rejoin had always soldiered through things side by side since the moment they had been brought together, Yuki and Reimei quickly finding their place among them after they came to Deckstoru. The only one missing now would be Exo.

Keiry D had advised Annabel before the boys’ trinity parted ways with the others that everyone should stick to what they do best, so it made sense for Exo to head for the suppressor chip controller to use his technological expertise to disable it. As good as he was with tech, though, for the time Vega had known him, he had been just as able to protect his friends. More so than anyone else. Due to always having been with him, the drunkard hadn’t realized it, but now that the coward wasn’t by his side, he felt more vulnerable, more exposed to danger. Almost afraid.

After yet another burst of Flexoid, his feet hit a different surface from the asphalt he had been stepping on up until then, his attention being shifted from his inner troubles and toward the surrounding environment. Tokura had successfully brought the trio back to the beach, all of them standing on the sand again and only a couple of meters away from them the battle was raging.

Seiren and Reimei had just been brought down by the rockets of one of the enemy crafts that were similar in shape to a black heart, the two having disabled the vessel as well, however, all three crashing just by the sea. The water cocoons created by the scarlet-haired beauty protected her and the pervert from suffering any damage, the young Blackscale quickly blasting away the black heart’s pilot with his vermillion fireworks.

Reassured that those two had survived, Vega looked up at the sky now, Yuki, Hikaru, Zoran and Graid still being up there and fighting either the black hearts or the helicopter-like crafts that were reminiscent of wasps in terms of design. Apart from those two, however, two other types of aircraft had now appeared in large numbers above the beach. One of them looked like the three-rotor helicopter that had brought the soldiers who attacked Yuki, Hikaru and Seiren on the day the three met, the other looking more like planes, but very large ones. Most likely those carried the ground troops of the enemy in them, looking for an opening to land and set the villains inside loose on Deckstoru’s people.

(Vega) ‘-Right. Seeing as how the rest of our guys here are dealing with those black hearts and those waspers, I say the three of us take out the bigger crafts bearing down on us.’

(King) ‘-You mean … we’re gonna have to go up there?’

Tokura chuckled mockingly at his fellow battering ram.

(Tokura) ‘-What’s the matter, King? You scared?’

(King) ‘-I’ve just never flown before.’

Vega pushed the insecure giant forward whilst enveloping his own body in pale green energy and increasing his output to 30% as a start, so he could at least lift off. The extensive physical training he had undergone along with his classmates after the Class Battle allowed him to reach such an output and even a bit higher with no side effects.

(Vega) ‘-There’s a first time for everything, King! And don’t worry about all the bastards inside the planes and the choppers. If most of their guns really are powered by the same type of energy like my own, I should be able to absorb their attacks and only grow more powerful! I’ve got your back, so they won’t be able to hurt you!’

(Tokura) ‘-And if you can’t absorb their attacks?’

The drunkard and the pseudoknight exchanged looks now while smiling confidently at the other.

(Vega) ‘-I guess I’ll just have to run and rely on you to teleport those attacks away, Tora.’

(Tokura) ‘-You really are helpless without me, aren’t you? (he looked up, cladding himself in Flexoid while Vega ran his own pale green energy through the Daroid cloak around the still hesitant King) I’ll teleport you two up, cuz King won’t go in the air otherwise and then I’ll follow through. Watch his back while he comes to his senses, OK? I’ll watch your back in the meantime by drawing as much attention to me as I can.’

(Vega) ‘-I’ll see you up there, then.’

The drunkard took a deep breath as his classmate teleported him along with the giant one more time, thinking only about what Yuki had told the whole class after the Class Battle. The soldiers are dead. They’re all already dead. Nothing more than walking corpses.

And killing something that’s already dead doesn’t count as murder. So he had to kill every single one of them that crossed his path with no hesitation. A split second of hesitation on his part could mean him or one of his friends dying.

The veil of azure energy around him disappeared and he was now in the air, right next to one of the big troop-carrying planes, starting to drop immediately along with King who was screaming in terror. Luckily, the energy-using warrior quickly got a hold of himself, stabilizing his deva so he could float in the air, giving the giant by his side a push with a burst of his pale green energy, slamming him straight in the side of the craft. The dual energy cloak around the muscle-bound glutton protected him from any damage as his friend slammed him further in, eventually breaking through the hull, at which point both of them fell inside the plane’s central compartment.

It took Vega a few seconds to get back on his feet and come to terms with the kind of environment he had found himself in, the contents of the vessel not being that different from what he was expecting. The lights inside where also pale green in color, revealing around a hundred soldiers with the typical attire and arsenal for their organization with a couple of exceptions that wore partial high-tech armor. They were sitting right next to the walls, however, while what was placed in the center of the plane were four humvees that appeared dark bronze in color. Apart from their color, the other unusual part of their design were the spade-shaped platforms attached to their top. Those spades probably had a ramming purpose, also carrying a big central and two smaller energy cannons of the pale green type.

The rest of the details eluded Vega as by the time both him and King got up, the weapon of every single person in the central compartment was pointed at them.

(King) ‘-OK, then, Vega, you can do your thing any time now!’

The moment the giant said that, the soldiers opened fire. And all that stood between King and total oblivion was Vega who opened his mouth wide, trying to convince his mind that the attacks coming at him were a part of him already – that they were no different from the alcohol he consumed daily. It had been a long while since he had found a drink that posed a challenge to his system. Perhaps the coming barrage could prove to be a worthy opponent.

Gigantic metal needles, masses of fangs, bone spears, concentrated streams of water, energy rays and many other types of attacks – all pale green in color – reached the drunkard, breaking apart into particles just before they made contact. An invisible force then pushed those particles toward Vega’s mouth, every single one of them being consumed by him – something that left the ordinari soldiers completely dismayed, King’s reaction being similar. None were as shocked as Vega himself, however, as although he had tried to comfort his friend earlier, he himself had no idea if he could achieve what he had suggested.

Apparently he could and the result of that was a surge of energy that passed through his whole body, nearly overwhelming him for a second before he smirked. With this many power sources all around, the energy-using warrior could fight all-out even without reaching a full output. More than that, though – he could defend his friends just as Exo had so many times. If only the techno-genius could’ve been aboard that ship to see what the drunkard had accomplished.

A counter-barrage of pale green energy projectiles was unleashed by Vega, hitting some of the soldiers and some of the weapons, causing the latter to explode, dozens of the villains being consumed by the explosions that followed, the plane itself being shaken. Having as much confidence in himself as ever, the Martians’ drunken hero moved forward to fight his enemies up close, a few of them getting aboard the bronze spade humvees to use the cannons attached to them against him.

In his mind, the bastards probably thought that if they used a higher caliber arsenal against him, he would not be able to absorb their attacks, but that was absolute folly. One reason for that was that while there was certainly a limit to how much energy he could absorb, Vega could tell he was still a long way off from reaching that limit, especially after using much of the first wave of absorbed energy in his counterattack. The other reason was that King didn’t give the soldiers the time needed to use any of the cannons, passing through the bronze spades with his Daroid, ripping each of them to pieces along with the weapons they carried, all of that being thrown around along with the troops.

(Vega) ‘-What the hell was that for?! I had it, King!’

(King) ‘-And here I was expecting some gratitude for saving your life!’

(Vega) ‘-You won’t be hearing such things from me anytime soon, dumbass! Or did you forget who absorbed that whole barrage that was meant to take you out?!’

The ripped cannons exploded as well, but the blasts that came from them were much stronger compared to those of the regular-sized weapons, reaching King himself. Lucikly, Vega managed to teleport in front of him and absorb the energy released from those blasts just in time to save his friend, the annoyed giant and the smug drunkard looking at the other.

(Vega) ‘-See? Now you owe me again.’

(King) ‘-Keep that shit up and I’ll throw you off the plane!’

The duo suddenly lost their balance and started falling, realizing only then the plane had sustained too much damage, the craft beginning its involuntary descent while tipping over.

(Vega) ‘-Look like that won’t be necessary as we’ll both be falling out of here soon enough! And that’s all your fault!!’

(King) ‘-Yeah, sure! As if you wouldn’t have blown up those cannons, too!!’

As everything loose in the central compartment started turning over, the muscle-bound glutton grabbed Vega by the back of his neck, punching a hole through the fuselage with a scarlet-colored fist and jumping out of the falling vessel. At that point, he threw the energy absorber on his back, clearly having increased his own output enough to sustain a flight with the Daroid cloak he had covered himself with, flying aside.

(Vega) ‘-Nevermind how, we’ve already managed to bring one down! Now, on to the … (both he and King then noticed Tokura had enveloped two three-rotor helicopters in his Flexoid, teleporting them right next to one of the big planes, crushing them in it and causing all three crafts to explode) Son of a bitch! Look at how many he’s taken out already!! And he can’t even use the enemy’s arsenal to power up!’

King didn’t miss the opportunity to chuckle mockingly at his friend which served to further annoy him.

(King) ‘-Yep, Vega. You’re definitely falling behind!’

(Vega) ‘-If I’m falling behind, then so are you, since we’re together! (a slap on the head by his angered comrade followed for the giant) Now get me to another one of those planes so we can catch up to that bastard!!’

King did indeed fly up to crush into another plane, but this time around he aimed at the cockpit, Vega mixing his pale green energy with his friend’s Daroid so the two could become a massive pale red projectile. As both hot heads roared, they shattered the cockpit into pieces, moving beyond it and reaching the plane’s central compartment, causing another explosion simply with their landing. The four bronze spades inside were thrown in different directions, smashing some of the soldiers that were in the way while the others prepared to attack.

Their firing coincided with the explosions of the weapons that had been damaged by the duo’s initial landing, Vega managing to absorb a bit of the multielemental pale green barrage’s energy before it was interrupted. The craft started losing altitude about that time as well due to its pilots being killed, the soldiers in the central compartment who wore partial high-tech armor enveloping themselves in a different deva each and flying out.

The glutton and the drunkard followed suit, now Vega being the one who created a hole in the fuselage for the two to leave through, using a roar fueled by the energy he had just absorbed to do that. As they found themselves in the air again, both having become more confident due to how well they had performed so far, the armor-wearing villains from the plane flew straight at them to avenge their fallen comrades.

The energy absorber couldn’t even counter their attack as a number of lightning bolts hit each of them from the back just then, Hikaru teleporting from one of the armored soldiers to the next, using lightning daggers to cut their throats and finish them off for good. Having done that, he appeared next to Vega and King, at first having a surprised look on his face, but then becoming annoyed – the same feeling the drunkard and the glutton were currently experiencing, but for a different reason.

(Vega) ‘-You just had to but in, didn’t you?!’

(King) ‘-We’ve already got a score to settle with Tora, Hikaru, so don’t get on our bad side, too!!’

(Hikaru) ‘-You’re the ones who’re butting in! What are all three of you doing here, anyway?!’

Vega smiled when he heard that as he imagined Zoran and Graid said something similar to the hot head in front of him along with Yuki, Seiren and Reimei when they came to support them. They were all the same amount of crazy, so having similar responses to the situation was no surprise.

(Vega) ‘-Do I really need to answer a question like that when it’s coming from someone who did the same thing as me earlier?’

The counter-question caught the young Summerbolt by surprise, which was short-lived, being replaced by a somewhat relaxed smile soon enough.

(Hikaru) ‘-I guess you don’t. I’m wondering at how you didn’t take Exo with you, though. None of you guys can survive long without him covering you.’

(King) ‘-Oh, yeah? Who’s covering you, then?!’

(Hikaru) ‘-Yuki. Who do you think threw me at those armored soldiers I just …’

As great fighters as all three of them were, they were still just kids and lacked the ability to pay sufficient attention to their surroundings, especially when being reunited with more members of their group. The distractedness the mad genius, the drunkard and the glutton suffered from led to none of them seeing the rockets a nearby three-rotor helicopter had fired at them.

King had the fastest reflexes, so he responded first by quickly pulling Hikaru and Vega aside with his Daroid, Vega lessening the impact from the blasts by absorbing some of the energy from them, Hikaru teleporting the three beyond the helicopter’s attack range with his bolts.

The mad genius hadn’t really had enough time to think through the teleportation, however, winding up getting all three hot heads just above the sand on the beach where they fell hard and loud. Grains of the sand got in the drunkard’s eyes and mouth as a dull pain spread over a part of his back, his right shoulder and his right thigh. That was nothing compared to the suffering he had experienced during the Class Battle, but what really hurt him was the fact he had not been able to see that attack until it was too late.

He and his friends still had much to learn, starting with the most important lesson: never let you confidence get the better of you. The trio had managed to escape death this time, but another case of them fooling around could have dire consequences and such a thing could not be allowed to happen.

Being the physically strongest and most resilient of the three, King was already on his feet when Vega and Hikaru managed to get up, not looking at them but at the sky. They followed the direction of the giant’s gaze to the exact three-rotor helicopter that had shot them down. The vessel itself was currently falling, being ripped in half and with many blood-covered ice stakes sticking out of its interior.

Yuki, who was responsible for avenging the boys’ downfall, was also falling down, turning out one of the black hearts had taken her out with its own missile barrage during a moment of distraction. Graid and Zoran in turn avenged her, one of them passing through that craft like a horizontal cutting disk with a yin-yang design that had a jungle green half with a scarlet dot and a scarlet half with a jungle green dot and then the other – like a vertical wheel of blazing phoenix feathers. Both the pilot and the black heart were cut and blown up, the two old dogs flying away while King flew up to catch the falling baby doll, pulled back by the lightning laso formed around his waist by Hikaru.

(King) ‘-What are you doing, Hikaru?! I’ve got to save her!’

The young Summerbolt only grinned confidently at the muscle-bound giant as the two looked at each other.

(Hikaru) ‘-Don’t you know Yuki well enough by now … (she turned in the air just before falling, cladding herself in her ice armor and making a triumphant landing on the sand without a scratch) … to realize that if anyone’s going to need saving, it’s going to be us while she’ll be the one doing the saving?’

(Vega) ‘-Plus, did you forget she also has teleportational abilities despite her deva being of the static type? She could’ve teleported down here safely at any moment she wanted.’

The ice maiden reunited with her friends as she removed her ice armor and revealed the smile of relief on her face, meanwhile King having quite a guilty expression.

(Yuki) ‘-I could’ve, but I’m saving the usage of that teleportation for when I can freely go at a 100% output.’

(King) ‘-Sorry for doubting you, Yu.’

She pat his forearm with a reassuring look that seemed to comfort the giant.

(Yuki) ‘-It’s not like I’m that great, King, so I appreciate the concern. I got shot down here just like you guys, after all.’

(Hikaru) ‘-What happened?’

(Yuki) ‘-I saw that chopper taking you three down and focused all my might and anger on destroying it to an extent where I didn’t see that black heart targeting me till it was too late. Luckily, my ice armor saved me from the blast of the missiles.’

(Vega) ‘-Looks like only Tora, Zoran and Graid are still up in the sky. We better get back …’

Neither of the four took notice of the groups of soldiers and bronze spades that had already landed on the beach, but the enemy had been paying attention to them, interrupting their conversation with an attack. Yuki was the one who sensed them first, erecting a multi-layered ice wall to block the first wave of their pale-green-colored projectiles of different types.

(King) ‘-We won’t be going back in the sky that soon, I guess! And where are Seiren and Mei, anyway?! We could use some back-up with this number of enemies!!’

(Hikaru) ‘-Those two decided to stay on the ground, so Mei could be closer to the water and fight more effectively!’

(King) ‘-Exactly! I could use a tsunami or two right now!!’

The attacks on the wall suddenly stopped, which confused the quartet behind it, Miss Iceflame removing her creation to find something else had appeared in front of it. It was another wall, only this one was made of metal.

Its creator was none other than Martian Class #3’s techno-genius and Vega’s eternal protector, Exo Drazz, who was currently running at the groups of soldiers while letting out a battle cry – something the drunkard had never seen him do. Most likely it was due to him being too scared to enter the fight and needing something to give him courage. Whatever the reason, he had come back. And after just arriving on the battlefield, he had already protected his friends.

Vega was so happy to see him that he remained completely still for a while, until Tokura teleported next to him and pushed his classmate in the midst of the enemy ranks with his invisible shield.

(Tokura) ‘-What are you sitting and daydreaming about, Vega?! I’m glad Exo came as well, but we’ve still got a battle to win!!’

The pseudoknight’s words combined with the attacks the soldiers unleashed helped the energy absorber come to his senses, immediately sucking in the energy rays shot at him and some of his friends. As he used the absorbed energy to create long and thick whips to strike the villains with, King moved him away from the bullets shot by the 50 cal guns attached to a couple of the bronze spades instead of energy cannons, ripping one of the vehicles apart with his Daroid. Yuki did the same with another spade while blocking the projectiles coming from the side with more ice walls, Exo being on the offensive for the first time by creating wide metal blades that sprang from the ground and cut quite a few soldiers and their arsenal.

The following explosions were mixed with the vermillion fireworks of Seiren who had just joined the group along with Reimei, the scarlet-haired beauty literally riding a wave that crushed in one of the trooper groups. After being hit by the water, Hikaru ran electricity through them to fry up their bodies extensively, finally Tokura teleporting the sharp pieces of rubble around amid the survivors to finish off the forces closest to the hot heads.

(Vega) ‘-And why the hell are you on the ground, Tora? They manage to shoot you down even with your shield?’

Tokura shook his head with a smile that was overshadowed by Hikaru’s beaming face as he looked up, his friends doing the same.

(Tokura) ‘-I came down because our forces up there just got the best back-up ever.’

Many of the enemy aircrafts in the vicinity were taken out of by a bright yellow firestorm that was empowered by very strong winds, two silhouettes coming out of it to stand by Graid and Zoran’s side. Although he couldn’t see clearly from this distance, judging by the devas used and the destruction they caused, the drunkard could tell Saya and Iziya Summerbolt had just joined the fray.

(Vega) ‘-About damn time they showed up! We’ve finally got a chance now!!!’

Moments after he said that, something hit Vega’s back and smashed him in the sand yet again, the object of the attack not being solid, but the pain from it being more than palpable. Sprays of white energy spread around him and as he turned around before getting up, he recognized his attacker by the lower right arm enveloped in energy of the same color. That man carried no weapon or high-tech equipment of any kind, which meant the attack had come directly from his body. It was a deviant.