Out of the important events to be looked at aside from Hikaru and co.’s retreat from the beach in preparation for their second clash with the invading forces, two have already been addressed. One was the attack on Deckstoru’s central square during which Seiren’s younger brother – Goran – was captured by the one commanding all the undead villains in the area, Deathaxe. The other was the mission led by Kar Summerbolt (now referring to himself as Devibolt) and his younger brothers to take control of Lagram Prison, at the end of which Ulura Nightsong and some of her class members escaped while Rale Nightsong killed his wife, Ukris, and stole her powers.
Only one more event that deserves special attention remains, this one being the most important among the three: the journey of Sunbird’s current headmistress, Neana Ilre, Rose, Graid and most of the girls from Hikaru’s class to find the controller for all deva suppressor chips within Deckstoru and disable it. And all that occurred during this journey will be the focus of the following chapters.
*
By the time Graid caught up with the two ladies and the Martian girls they were leading through the narrow and winding alleys between the two- and three-floored houses of Old Town, their group had already gained valuable information. All that was left was to share this information with him so he could prepare as best as he could for what was coming, Neana taking on the task to explain it to Hikaru’s uncle as he ran beside her.
(Neana) ‘Finally caught up, did you, Graid? I sensed you’ve been drawing closer for a while.’
(Graid) ‘I hope I didn’t come too late or anything.’
(Neana) ‘Your timing’s perfect, actually. We just learned where the suppressor chip controller is located.’
(Graid) ‘We’re one step closer to breaking that thing to pieces, then! So? Where is it?’
(Neana) ‘Near the main eastern exit of the tunnels.’
It dawned upon the dual compound user then where Neana and Rose were leading the girls from his nephew’s class. They were headed for the nearest subway station, which was still some distance away as there weren’t all too many of those in Old Town, planning to use that station’s connection to the system of tunnels that ran under all of Deckstoru to reach that system’s main eastern exit.
(Graid) ‘Want me to speed up everyone here so we can get to the subway faster? Time is of the essence, after all.’
(Rose) ‘I’d save my strength if I were you, Graid.’
Graid turned to his mother now, Rose currently being carried on Yonira’s back as she was the only member of the group with a child’s body and did not have nearly as much stamina as the others to keep up with their pace of running.
(Graid) ‘Our mission’s success will determine what happens with all of Deckstoru from here on, you old bag. If ever there was a time to save our strength, it sure as hell isn’t now.’
(Rose) ‘The cop that told us where to find the controller warned us of something else as well. There is a special defense system in place within the controller’s chamber meant specifically to stop any deviant from reaching it. It’s state-of-the-art tech whose efficiency should not be underestimated. Coupling that with the fact some of our enemies might also try to get their hands on the controller to stop us from disabling it, exhausting our strength this early on could prove fatal.’
It annoyed the Octohorn Ring’s owner whenever his mother’s cautioning of restraint was justified, but this was one of those cases. So he chose to distract himself from releasing too much power by directing his attention toward something else, or rather someone. That someone noticed he was looking at her so she addressed the matter while keeping her eyes focused on what was in front of her.
(Neana) ‘Is there something on my face, Graid?’
(Graid) ‘I was just wondering since Saya sent me off to join you guys. Back when I was on the beach I saw Exo had come to help the other brats fight the enemy. And he wasn’t just defending as he usually does. He was attacking with purpose. From what I know about that kid, doing something like that is the last thing I would expect from him under the current circumstances. You didn’t happen to do something when you joined up with him and the girls after they first ran away, did you?’
Sunbird’s headmistress showed no change of expression. Just as it had been since they had first met, she tried to hide her emotions from him. And just as it was then, those efforts were completely futile.
(Neana) ‘Why would you assume that?’
(Graid) ‘Well, you could’ve made him go fight with the others by restructuring his mind with your deva as I doubt any of the girls could convince him to go back to the beach. Actually, I think all of them would urge him to stay with the group instead.’
(Neana) ‘You think you know me so well, don’t you, Summerbolt?’
(Graid) ‘Am I wrong?’
Neana paused before answering, further hinting Graid’s instinct was on point.
(Neana) ‘You may have fought alongside him during the Class Battle but I’ve been patching up that boy’s wounds whenever his class dragged him into a troublesome situation, which has been way too often, for three years now. And we’ve talked plenty during all the time he’s spent recuperating in my office. Hence, I know him much better than you and have always known he can be just as courageous and ferocious as any other member of his class. The only difference is he needs a little push to become that version of himself when the time calls for it. In the absence of the main group who’re always egging him on, I simply gave him that little push.’ – finally a small smile graced her face as she turned to look at Graid for a moment. ‘You’re the last one to be judging me about that, though, as you did something similar with me 21 years ago, didn’t you?’
A smile from Neana was a gift the bartender would never get tired of receiving, especially considering it had been so long since he had been in her company and an even longer time since he had seen her smile. This action on her part was so distracting that Hikaru’s uncle nearly stopped in the middle of the street when she looked at him, his response in turn making Miss Ilre chuckle. And then Graid joined in that chuckle.
(Graid) ‘I suppose you were kind of like Exo before. Only in your case, I didn’t use restructuring. My words were more than enough to do the trick.’
(Neana) ‘Is that how you remember it? Because I also remember you throwing me at an enemy with your Reloid to make me fight.’
(Graid) ‘And you’ve never been the same person since, right? If anything, you should thank me for what I did.’
(Neana) ‘I have. Many times over. Just like how Exo will thank me if we live long enough to see each other again.’
(Graid) ‘Yeah. I think he should, too.’
(Neana) ‘What was the whole point of questioning what I did if you’re going to agree with me in the end?’
(Graid) ‘I never questioned it. I only wanted to get confirmation from you that you’ve learned your lesson from before and are already passing it on to others. Now that you’ve confirmed it, I only want to say how proud …’
Keiry D, the best sensor deviant and smartest member of the Martian girls, shouted out loud enough then to disturb the sweet nostalgia Graid was experiencing by Neana’s side and interrupt what he was going to say.
(Keiry D) ‘We’ve got trouble ahead! Hundreds of deviants without an output limit have gathered right in front of the subway station’s entrance!!’
That shout immediately brought the whole group to a stop.
(Graid) ‘Well, I guess my mom was right again! No output limit means it can only be the enemy and I see no other reason for them to be guarding the subway’s entrance but to stop us from getting in and reaching the tunnels!!’
(Rose) ‘Girls, you better look sharp! The station is across from the boulevard just around the corner, so we need to formulate some kind of strategy before we attack. Keiry, can you tell what kind of devas the enemy has?’
(Keiry D) ‘Not with my current output and the numbers they have.’
Being among the more, if not the most hot-headed member of the Martian girls, Aria roared at her genius classmate then with a voice trembling from fury.
(Aria) ‘Then go beyond your limit to find out more, Keiry! Playing it safe won’t help us at this point!’
(Keiry D) ‘I thought we were gonna save our strength for later! Or did your half-cooked brain forget that already?!’
The three veterans were preparing to step in and break up the argument that was about to insue between Aria, Keiry and the girls that supported each one’s view, someone else’s intervention preventing that before any of them could act, though. Among the girls in Hikaru’s class there was a duo of best friends closer than twins universally capable of calming down their classmates. These two were Violet, who had shorter but voluminous violet hair, dark blue eyes, paler skin and an extremely sunny disposition, as well as the biggest bust size of all the beauties from her class, and Zilly, who had longer and very voluminous dark blue hair, pinkish-purple eyes, darker skin and an unparalleled ability to keep her composure, her bust rating second in terms of size within the class.
The best friends had respectively moved down the bust size rankings with Violet taking second place and Zilly – third once Reimei had come along, but their personalities that were the key to maintaining balance among the Martians had not changed one bit and now their time to shine had come once again. Violet used the sheer weight of her breasts to move Keiry D aside, almost knocking down her head due to how tiny it was compared to them, Zilly pulling Aria back at the same time. Next, the combo known as the Smoky Twins stood by each other’s side in the center of the Martian girls’ group, the violet twin smiling wide and the blue one – looking perfectly calm.
(Violet) ‘Come on, girls! Now’s not the time to be fighting at all! We need that same unity we had during the Class Battle, but even stronger, if we want to survive!! And knowing all of you as well as I do, I’d say y’all want to live!!!’
(Zilly) ‘We’ve got some among us who are very clever, but take too long to act and others that never fail to act, but sometimes don’t think things through all the way. In this situation and all the ones we’re gonna find ourselves in from here on we’ll need to find the balance between the two. Keiry, Aria, I’m not asking you to shake hands and take back what you said as each of you has a point, but just keep it cool for now, OK?’
(Violet) ‘Besides, Zilly and I’ve got you covered! If we don’t know what the enemy’s devas are, we’ll simply distract them while we pick up on their abilities. Then we can think about countering them, right?’
No one protested against this, so the Smoky Twins went to work, distracting the enemy not having the meaning of ‘using their beauty to seduce them’ in the slightest in this case, though. Instead they put their devas to use, Violet using dark blue smoke and Zilly – pinkish-purple, the union of the two taking on a dark purple color as they quickly spread it around. They had a main focus, of course – the hundreds of undead deviant soldiers gathered in front of the station’s entrance across the street from the corner they were peeking behind, not long after the villains noticed it, the waves of smoke reaching them.
Once they came in contact with their target, Violet and Zilly immediately went up to a 50% output, bearing with the pain for as long as they needed to analyze the composition of the deva particles of every deviant in the smokescreen’s reach. The raw analysis was completed soon enough, the best friends turning to their classmates and the leaders of their group to report their discoveries.
(Violet) ‘We’ve got it! Most of them have either Daroid or Taxoid devas. The rest have also got energy devas, but of the standard type.’
(Zilly) ‘They’ll be sure to check where the smoke is coming from, though, so we better move quick.’
Hearing this, Graid smashed his fist against his other hand’s palm with a bit of smoke coming out between the teeth of his simultaneously confident and destructive grin.
(Graid) ‘Leave that to me, girls! If we’re faced with Daroid users, I’ll lead the way. You follow my lead and provide support.’
Just when he was ready to lunge forward, the dual energy compound user felt his mother’s small hand grab hold of his and attempt to pull him back, looking over at her on Yonira’s back to see an expression that was identical to the ones from his earliest memories. Whether that expression was on Rose’s face as an adult or in her child form once she got older, it was a highly menacing one that had never failed to scar his psyche: that expression was one of reproach.
(Rose) ‘You stay right where you are, Graid, and let me handle this. I’ve got something that will slow down both the Daroid and the Taxoid users, but will affect you as well if you get too close. Stand your ground for the time being and only when you see a clear opening, move in. No sooner. Got it?’
The son grunted at his mother’s command, choosing not to oppose her as he knew she had far better judgement and more developed strategic skills and instead stepping back and crossing his arms. Meanwhile the oldest Summerbolt tapped the shoulder of the girl carrying her, Yonira stepping forward just as Neana ran her restructuring deva through Violet and Zilly’s smoke.
Miss Ilre’s hands transformed into masses of small cubes that still looked like they were made of skin, the cubes splitting from each other and spreading in waves throughout the smoke, making it split into cubes that then started interchanging places as well. That restructuring would further slow down the villains coming in, thus providing the veteran and the youngster using earth devas the time they needed to launch their attack, Rose now climbing down of Yonira’s back so both of them could kneel and put the palms of their hands on the ground.
(Rose) ‘You’ll need at least a 60% output to back me up on this, Yonira. You think you can handle that?’
(Yonira) ‘If it works, Mrs. Summerbolt, I’ll gladly deal with the pain of even more than 60%.’
(Rose) ‘Right, then. I’ll stop the Daroid users dead in their tracks and you handle the Taxoid users that will attack after them the way I told you. The rest of you, wait for the end of our technique to strike and follow Neana and Graid’s lead when you do. No hero stuff.’
Neana stood by Graid’s side with her hands having returned to normal, the two glancing at the other while Rose and Yonira roared in unison, from the ground in front of them starting the emergence of rock pyramids, more and more of them coming out ever further ahead. At the same time Daroid and an energy with cadmium yellow color, which would be the energy compound capable of destabilizing and softening solid matter – Taxoid – ripped through the restructuring dark purple smoke, eventually consuming it entirely. Out of that energy blanket that descended upon the hot heads came around sixty undead deviant soldiers, half of them that were being clad in the scarlet energy compound coming to a stop at they landed amid the pyramids.
The cloaks of their devas they had created around themselves protected them from suffering any damage from the tips of the pyramids or the rock spikes that came out from the sides of the structures, but those structures’ very presence was a hindrance for them. Any Daroid user was only as fast as the earth under their feet was even and the pyramids on the ground did not allow the villains with that ability to move freely at higher speeds, their Taxoid-using comrades intervening then.
They sent waves of cadmium yellow energy toward Rose’s creations, softening them into a brown jelly-like substance to remove this obstacle from their path only to find Yonira had hid a special surprise for them underneath the pyramids – a number of multilayered rock cubes. Just like the Daroid users, those possessing the Taxoid had a weakness – the density of the structures they meant to destabilize. The denser and the more layers a structure had to it, the longer it would take to destabilize it fully and in this present situation Graid, Neana and the Martian girls weren’t just going to sit and wait for the enemy to finish their destabilizing.
(Graid) ‘NOW!!!’
He threw Sunbird’s headmistress on his back, jumping forward in between the pyramids with the propulsion provided by his Reloid, the undead resorting to using Daroid projectiles while their allies continued destabilizing the rock cubes. Graid countered those projectiles with a flurry of attacks from the same type of his jungle green energy compound, all the while closing the distance between him and his targets.
The moment he reached the Taxoid users, the Octohorn Ring’s owner made a mighty clap with his hands, unleashing a massive Reloid blast that pushed all of them back, right after that Neana jumping off his back and landing on one of the soldiers. With a touch of her hands on his helmetless head, she ran restructuring formulas throughout his entire body, suddenly that body crumbling into cadmium yellow energy particles, Miss Ilre falling on the ground as all enemies around broke apart into either Daroid or Taxoid energy. The villains had not simply stood by and done nothing either while Rose and Yonira had performed their technique, turning out they had switched places with clones, the originals having moved around the rock cubes to surround the duo.
Only the Martian girls were right behind them, having waited for the enemy’s state to be confirmed until then, with the originals’ sudden appearance their time to strike having come at last. They summoned a number of multielemenal waves, the close-range fighters having hid amid those waves to further damage the undead, Graid and Neana having the honor of finishing them off.
After sustaining plenty of injuries, the soldiers attempted to retreat, but Sunbird’s headmistress had already sent restructuring pulses through the ground under them, changing some of it into concrete walls that would eliminate any chance of escape. The Taxoid users went to work on softening the walls, their Daroid counterparts getting ready to face Hikaru’s uncle only to be cut to the last one by the massive 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 created by Graid in an instant. Due to Neana having kneeled on the ground to restructure it, she was kept out of the cutting disk’s reach, getting back up after the walls she had made sucked the Taxoid users in. Parts of their bodies were sticking out of the concrete structures now, the duo ignoring their screams as they passed them by along with the Martian girls after which finally came Yonira and Rose, the former carrying the latter on her back again.
(Graid) ‘That wasn’t a bad start.’
(Neana) ‘They were only the advance group, though. The enemy won’t send any more to us as they know we’ll come to them if we want to go down in the subway.’
(Rose) ‘They won’t have to wait long! We’re coming right at them and are going to take them out as fast as possible!! From here on out we move in one direction and one direction only, no matter what: FORWARD!!!’
