Electi No More

Eryn awoke with a cough, spitting out the layer of dust that lined her mouth. She wiped her face and looked around her. A vague recollection of an explosion tossing her brought urgency to the situation. Immediately, she cast a Wind spell to launch herself into the air for a better view.

She regretted it instantly.

Her eyes caught the flurry of battle, Electi fighting Electi. As she watched more closely, her jaw dropped as it was seemingly everyone against Claude. The dream that Claude mentioned hung heavily in her mind.

"'I was the only one left…,' he said."

The pieces came together for Eryn. She knew that she couldn't trust the Gods. It was not that Claude was the only one able to survive the onslaught. He was the one that caused the tragedy itself, brought on by the whims of the god forced down upon him.

Already, casualties had happened. Tears came to her eyes as Ludmila's body came into view, a bloody hole torn into her torso and lifeless eyes looking up at her.

A flash of energy caught her attention as a large mana drill seemed to shred everything around it. It was aimed right for Claude. But with a gust of white mana, even an attack as impressive as that was snuffed out. The old man behind it stood frozen, as if flabbergasted by it. And then, his body fell apart and crumbled into a mass of flesh.

Lau and the God of Dexterity could not parry an attack that left absolutely no room to avoid.

The next to fall were the Sun twins, who tried to shield their Oracle from Claude's charge forward. They pushed her away, but she clung to them, nonetheless. In her heart, she probably knew it. An impenetrable defense meant nothing to someone who could cut everything around him. They couldn't sit there and endure an endless attack, a mana supply that would never run out. The divine wind that was supposed to be their ally had turned its fury upon them.

And before Eryn's eyes, she watched as the unbreakable shields that Wen Lu and Wen Zhi put up wear thin and shatter. A crack in their defenses drew lines across their bodies, and the three of them were cut down in an instant. Even in death, their hands never let go.

All this happened in a matter of moments, not even long enough for Eryn to regain her bearings. She gulped as Claude walked over to the fallen Elect and ripped out the cores, smashing them.

She knew exactly what he was doing, as she had done the same in the past. With that, Claude now possessed their powers, able to repel any attack coming towards him. And at the right time as well, since large beams of energy crashed upon the spot where he stood.

"PROTECT THE KING!"

A team of large mechs circled the air around Claude, peppering him with attacks. It was likely Koujiro's wives, answering his call for aid. They flanked the person on the ground, not easing up on their assault.

Eryn flew towards one mech that went past her, hopping a ride to get closer. Its pilot didn't even acknowledge the stowaway as her attention was likely focused down below.

Suddenly, a loud cry erupted from ground level. A scream of 'Excalibur!' shook the air as a dense beam fired into the fray. Energy and debris exploded from the impact point, making it impossible to see if anything remained afterward.

"Weak!"

A hand grabbed Koujiro by the face suddenly. A pulse of mana shot from it, shattering the helmet that Koujiro wore. A second pulse erupted afterward, shattering the head as well. The headless king fell forward and into the awaiting palm of Claude, which tore right into his torso and crushed the core within.

Cries of anguish and rage erupted in the air. The mechs all drew their weapons and dove forward for one last charge. Eryn kicked off the one she rode, realizing that such a pincer attack wouldn't work at all.

As she fell towards the ground, she saw one last glimpse of the mecha harem, bravely trying to avenge their slain partner. But Claude picked up the sword that Koujiro wielded, and with a swing of it, a column of divine mana shot outwards swallowing every machine in its path.

Eryn ducked behind a building for an instant, but as she swerved around it, the sight of shattered machines littered the sky. Metal rained onto the ground, pieces no larger than a fist. The Macali women had lost. And each of them plummeted to the ground, bitter that they could do nothing to even stall Claude's advance.

He already set his sights on the others, ignoring the metal that clattered around him. His face was blank and cold, like the scene before him was nothing more than a normal rainstorm. Several sickening thuds sounded. He smiled in response.

His body suddenly zipped out of the area, and in the next moment, a young elven girl was in his grasp.

"Ahh!!!"

"NO! Let her go!!!"

The cries of the youngest ones stabbed into Eryn's heart as her head tried to follow where Claude went. She had to chase after him. She had to fight. To bring some hope to those remaining.

But Claude was far faster, having consumed the God of Speed's power. Before she could make it halfway, a chef knife plunged straight through Chrys's body, relentless as it moved to fish out the core.

Yi Long futilely tried to pull Chrys toward him, their hands still connected when Claude plucked her into the air. They had been trying to flee together. Yi Long raised up a hand to summon a spell, but a swift kick sliced his arm off. Before he could flinch from the pain, another kick doubled back, slicing the other arm that connected him to his cherished girl.

Yi Long fell to his knees, blood pouring out of his limbs, tears streaming from his eyes. The sight of Chrys being gutted and her core taken out made him surrender to despair. With a flash, the God of Luck's power escaped from the young songstress, her eyes hollow and voice silent. Soon, Yi Long bled out where he fell.

A flash of ice suddenly surrounded them, so wide that the entire district became an instant winterscape. Cornelius gritted her teeth, realizing that she had been a moment too late. But putting everything into her magic, she brought an Absolute Zero down upon Claude. Every bit of magic was being poured into keeping him contained as there was no way that it would hurt him normally.

Even still, it held him in place just long enough for another girl dropping from the sky with mallets in hand.

The Electi of Magic and Attack were the only ones left. Claude had taken the powers of everyone else. The God of Critical's objective to unite all powers into one would be complete if these two fell.

Eryn grimaced as she watched her remaining friends charge headlong into slim chances of winning. But then again, she was the same. She had suspected that the Gods were up to something, even if it was only one of them. And it just happened to be the worst luck of the draw.

Eryn dashed across the icy surface, her flames protecting her. Her vision remained focused at the end of her glimmering sword, which was pointed right at the frozen figure of Claude ahead.

Meanwhile, Cornelius stepped forward, focusing the ice into a smaller and smaller area of effect, hoping that the concentrated magic would freeze Claude long enough for Saki to shatter him with one brutal swing.

But as Saki came down with the hammer, the layer of ice crumbled, and a holy sword was flung upwards. It sailed like an arrow right into Saki's stomach. The strike tossed her back and crashing right into Cornelius.

Breaking off the Ice spell for a moment to catch Saki, her limp body fell into unsteady arms. But then, the blade of the sword ran through her upon impact. Shaken by it, Cornelius saw a pair of glowing white eyes behind Saki. Claude had dashed forward and forced the blade in, skewering the both of them.

"Cornelius! Saki!" Eryn cried out, seeing that they too had failed.

In a flash, Claude had escaped her reach once again. If only she could touch him, maybe she could do something. She could feel the immense power of his core supplying her with energy, a consequence of their bond, but there was only so much she could do with it.

Eryn watched helplessly as the sword pierced deeper through Cornelius and Saki's bodies, opening the wounds further. Her legs kept moving… but she wouldn't make it in time… There was just no way!

But then a portal shot out in front of her. Turning toward where it came from, Eryn's eyes widened.

The Queen of Sistina shakily held up a portal gun. A pool of blood surrounded her, and her lower half was completely gone. She gave Eryn a look that pinned her hopes on the remaining fighter. To do what had to be done. And with her last ounce of strength, Katalina smiled before her head drooped to the ground.

Eryn leapt through the portal and appeared right before the back of Claude. With her sword, she aimed it right for his core.

Finally noticing her, Claude turned his head around. It was already too late. He had broken the last two cores, and their powers were flowing into him.

He moved to strike but found his arms trapped. A pair of hands had him in a death grip, refusing to budge. The dead eyes of Saki were no sign that she had given up. Even the dead could invoke one final act before passing, and she had chosen to place her entire strength into holding Claude in place.

Claude tried to move his feet next. He had the strength to pick them both up and dodge. But he also found them stuck to the ground. He looked down to see a block of ice, so dense and pure around his ankles that he could see no signs of weakness. The limp body of Cornelius had joined Saki in a last act of desperation – all her magic focused in one place.

It was all for a single moment, because they believed… they could feel Eryn charging in from behind.

Eryn knew Claude best. And she had the conviction to go against the world for him. They believed that her strike wouldn't fail. The connection that they held was their best hope.

The sword tip dug in. It slammed right into Claude's core and made a loud crack. Eryn pushed with all her might, hoping that it would break through, but the divine mana being emitted burned her demonic body. She could feel her own mana being blown away like a flame in a windstorm.

Blood swirled around her. Thousands of little cuts drawing blood across her body, shaving away at her physical form as she struggled to keep her grip on Radiant Light. But she believed – in her mother's sword, in her connection with Claude, and in her friends who died to give her this chance.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF CLAUDE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT GOD!!!"

A white light, small and fragile, shot right out of Claude's core and into Eryn's, giving her a small boost. The warmth of it restored her vitality in little bits, even though her health quickly depleted.

Eryn gritted her teeth, even as she saw the flesh on her hands and arms turn to bone. She swore to herself that she would hold on regardless.

CRACK!!!

Radiant Light snapped in half, just as the blade sunk deeper into the core. Eryn was blown back by a burst of divine mana, the bones of her arms shattering and flying into the air, separate from her body. She landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

Her eyes swam over to the still form of Claude wondering what would happen next. She had done all she could. Only a small white light kept her body warm as her life points went to zero.