Chapter 24

"Soooo… should I even be asking at this point?"

Things looked to have gone from hectic to downright weird in a single instance, something which unnerved the Revenant stranger as he, Vali, Krul and Io lowered their arms to see what had happened. However, to say that they would be able to explain the situation before them aptly would be like saying the sun was blue: completely wrong as they stood on what looked like… some kind of platform, with a path leading forwards made from the same stuff that the city streets were made from. Furthermore, everything around them looked to be nothing but darkness, with a few things like trees, lampposts and ruined-looking structures.

Thus, the comment that had left the black haired Revenant's mouth behind his Gas Mask.

Though, neither Vali nor Krul answered him as they looked around, frowns on their lips as they stared at what lay around them. It wasn't long before the silver-haired Hybrid turned to his vampiric companion and questioned her on the matter of what she had done previously. "Any idea on why you saw the need to touch that thing? Wasn't it said that they are dangerous and could potentially make beings… like you, fall into your bloodlust and turn you into Lost?" Vali questioned with an arched eyebrow.

Looking back at him for a moment, Krul initially didn't answer him, her eyes showcasing confusion about the events like the rest of them as she looked down at her hands, the hands she had used to touch that strange object, Vestige as they were called according to their resident stranger, "I am… unsure, myself. From the moment I saw it, I felt something… weird, take over me. Like someone was trying to call out to me through that Vestige thing, and I just couldn't help but try to answer it. It told me to pick it up, and I did… the next thing I know, we're all here…" she tried to explain, although she herself had no idea what was going on. She then raised her head so she could examine their surroundings whilst clicking her tongue. "Wherever the hell we are."

With the sight of her being as confused as they were, alongside her equally vague explanation for her actions, Vali just sighed as he pocketed his hands inside his Slime Suit's coat, looking to the path ahead of them. "Well, what's done is done. I don't feel dead, for one so I doubt the rest of us are too." he said while starting to stride his way forwards. "Lets just see where this path takes us, who knows we may find a way out of this."

Behind him, the rest of the group glanced at one another, seemingly having a silent conversation before the black-haired man nodded his head, seemingly agreeing with Vali in that there wasn't much else they could do beyond traveling down that path. To that end, he proceeded to follow Vali with Krul and Io soon following suit.

Once they caught up with Val, they proceeded along the path… although its level of mystery only increased when, during their walk, they began to hear someone's voice echoing all around them, one which seemed to belong to a male and, judging by his voice, sounded like he was desperate. This was further shown when, like lights being switched on, several statues of a guy being surrounded by a bunch of other dudes (Vali recognized them as Revenants base on their Gas Masks) who looked to have beaten the man into submission. "Please, let us keep them just this once! We won't make it if you take them!"

"All Revenants must pay a levy of Blood Beads. There are no exceptions. Sorry…" Though seconds after the male voice spoke, a cold and detached soldier-esque voice talked down to the man, seemingly enforcing some kind of rule or something. Now that they got a good look at the statue, they could see one of the men surrounding the beaten man holding something… something which they realized had been one of those teardrop-shaped objects Krul had spawned from those Mistles with her blood.

"That's…"

"Blood Beads." Came the stranger's voice as Krull, Vali and Io glanced at him. His eyes watched the statues with a complicated look on his face: a mix of fury, anger, sadness and frustration. Looked like the sight they had just seen wasn't all that unfamiliar to the man as he continued his elaboration. "They're the things which you've been making with your blood, Mrs. They're essentially the lifeblood we Revenants need in order to quench our thirst… aside from direct human consumption that is."

Vali arched his brow, a foreboding feeling swallowing his gut. "Human Consumption? Do you mean…?"

Before he could continue, Krul put her hand on his shoulder. "Not the time for questions, Vali. We have a lot to discuss, both of our sides. But right now isn't the best place to do so." she told him, urging Vali to move forwards which he eventually did so, although the look in his eyes told the black-haired Revenant that this WOULD be coming up again.

However, they soon saw that they couldn't carry on anymore due to there being no more path left to travel. "...Ok, what now?" Vali questioned, frowning. However, they didn't have to give him an answer since one presented itself before him on its own. That answer? Multiple pieces of pathway suddenly floating on from multiple angles and converging together, fusing into one pathway to a larger platform. "Oh."

"Daddy! Mommy!"

This time as they approached, they found themselves hearing a young child's voice, one which soon faded away to the darkness as the sight of the same man earlier, but this time he stood in front of what looked like a dying Mistle. One which only had a single one of those 'Blood Beads' left. One didn't need to see his face to know how conflicted he seemed right now. "Someone… needs to be sacrificed… without the Blood Beads… we won't make it!"

"...This shit just keeps getting worse by the second, doesn't it?" Vali questioned, though it had been a rhetorical one which only got nods from the others in turn as the Stranger looked to the side, his eyes shining with the pain and frustration of someone truly affected by what they had seen… and not in a good way.

Vali and the others walked to where the path was making for them to cross before another scene with two revenants was standing by one that was on his knees.

"The few humans that remain are under Silva's control. Wandering revenants like us are forced to hunt for blood beads or face death. Even if some revenants must be…. Sacrificed…. For our survival."

"So….. it's a dog eats dog kind of world, huh? Like an apocalypse game but only… real. Very real." Vali said as he looked at the statue while the stranger was gripping his hand. A few moments later, he and the others walked on, soon finding themselves standing before a scene showing the man sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall. Looked like this man had been experiencing his final moments as a human here, his final moments before succumbing to the building bloodlust inside of him.

"Uhh…. well I guess you reap what you sow right?... Well….. That's alright…. At least I'm glad… that I got this far… uuhhhhh!"

The scene turned dark as they saw a door in front of them. Looked like that was their way out of this place, hence they walked forwards before they stopped when they were at the door's staircase. Krul had been the one to start the conversation along as she looked back to the statues, her eyes narrowed. "Those scenes….. Could it be the memories of the Revenant that turned? What is this place then?" she wondered.

She got her answer from Io, out of all people. "This is the memory echo, its a place where lost recollection still wanders." she told her.

Vali looked down at the ground beneath his feet, although he wasn't as certain that it could be the same 'ground' that he was used to. Io's words filled his mind as he tried to process… it wasn't going all that well, all things considered, but it could have been worse. He could have been thrown in here by himself without a clue as to what was going on, THEN he'd be more frustrated and freaked out. "So, it's true…. We are in the memories of this person before he turned into a Lost."

Shaking her head, Krul started heading for the door, the clicking of her heeled boots alerting the others to her movements. "Come, let's move on. If we use that stairway. I believe it should take us back to the world outside of this memory." she said without looking back at them so they couldn't see her face.

Even so however, the black haired Revenant frowned as he still struggled to accept the sight he had been seeing as real. "Is this the past of the lost one? No. there's no way."

Vali glanced at him with an arched brow. "The proof is in our eyes, you've seen it also as well. Therefore, you can't deny its reality." he told him bluntly.

The stranger turned silent before Vali looked at the door before he walked to it as it opened automatically before it showed light as he stared at it before he walked to it as the scene turned bright once again.

"Uhhhh alright who ate my leftovers?"

"What are you saying?"

Groans escaped his lips as Vali opened his eyes, muttering something under his breath that he soon forgot about due to its lack of importance. Soon however, his vision cleared which allowed him to look around and, just like they had assumed, he was back in the real world. He got up to his feet, then glanced towards Krul who had been the first to awaken consideration she'd already standing by the time he'd started doing so, the last members to awaken being Io and the stranger who soon followed Vali in standing up.

The stranger however, had something to say as a thunderous pain spiked in his mind. "Gah!... What the hell was that?" he questioned in slight distress.

"That's what I'm asking."

After Vali had concurred with the stranger's question, Io calmly answered them in her usual adrift kind of tone. "It's a memory, carved into that Vestige by the one who left it behind." she explained, pointing towards the Vestige in Krul's hand.

Meanwhile, the said former Vampire Queen frowned at this as she looked down at the crimson crystal in her hand, no longer attempting to corrupt her into a Lost unlike before but she could still feel a 'taint' to it. "So it wasn't a dream, it was real..." she mumbled thoughtfully.

Back to the stranger, he looked to the Vestige in wonder as he frowned. "I didn't expect that I'd get dragged into it too." He mused.

Krul looked at her hands as she was in wonder, that Vestige showed her the memory when she took the Vestige. If that's the case….. Then what other secrets could this place have and why were her powers responding to it?

Vali himself stated things in a more blunt manner, fully confirming what had happened to them all. "We both melted into you."

"I can't believe this. What power." The revenant said as he looked at Krul before getting up. "Come with me. I know a spot where we can rest." The Revenant took off his mask before he said. "I'm Louis. I'm researching blood beads"

The revenant named Louis put out his hand for a shake as Vali looked at him with suspicion before he took his hand and shook it. "Vali."

"Well Vali I-(SNIFF) hmm…. Your blood….. You're a human?"

Just after they shook hands, Louis sniffed and suddenly recognized Vali's scent, his human scent. The male tilted his head, not liking the way he asked that. There wasn't any malice behind it, but more surprise and confusion, which implied that human sightings were a rarity for him. Considering what he had heard in that memory, Vali suspected that to be the case. "... Yeah I am, surprised?"

"Well yes I am. How did you get out of Silva's control?"

"Well you're in for a surprise, I got here by passing through the mist."

"WHAT?! THE MIST?! HOW?!" Louis gaped at Vali when he told him this, looking like he had just seen something that had been forbidden for some reason. Vali guessed that it was something to do with how the Red Mist affected vampiric beings.

Something which he noted upon his next answer. "It doesn't affect humans, though it does seem to make Revenants like you into bloodthirsty monsters." He explained, cupping his chin.

An action which Louis mirrored as he looked like his brain started to spin at hundreds of miles an hour with this information. He had the look that Vali had seen in people in professions requiring them to think a lot, the 'gears starting to turn' kind of look. "I… see….. Is the world in chaos and ruins?" he then questioned.

Vali frowned at this before shaking his head. "No, the world is perfectly fine." He stated in a manner like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Though this just confirmed even more that they had a LOT to talk about. Both of them as Lous glanced about for a moment, before he turned to walk off. "This…..let's talk about this later when we get to the base." he suggested, glazing behind him at them.

The silver haired male glanced to his companions and gained nods of approval from them, before turning to the Revenant once more. "Alright, lead the way."

A short while later...

"... hold on, did I get that correct? The world is ruled by the CPUs, four goddesses?"

"Yes."

"It has four different continents which each of them ruled separately?"

"Uh huh."

"And it has different races like elves, beastmen and humans that populate the planet?"

"Correct."

"... and most of all… women have more power…. Than men?"

"Indeed."

"... just what kind of fucked up world are we living in?!"

"That's what I ask myself every time."

A while later, Vali had entered what seemed to have been some kind of mix between a base and a research lab, one with all kinds of facilities within it. There looked to be a small training area, living quarters, multiple floors, as well as a Bar and weapons/armor shop. Vali bet he hadn't seen every one of the base's features, but hey he had to admit that it had been a decent sight to see after so much destruction. Not to mention any form of civilisation in this wasteland of a city was greatly appreciated by the male

He had currently finished explaining about the world outside of the mist, to a rather shellshocked Louis. He could understand his emotions perfectly, especially as a guy, not to mention that if Louis had been in this city for the majority of his life then he would never have known what the outside world was like. Thus, hearing it was the world that Vali had described after what could have been countless times wondering that himself… it must have gotten to him pretty hard, and Vali didn't blame him.

He wasn't the only one either, as Louis was joined with a man who has dull red hair tied up in a ponytail with bangs in front, lime green eyes with slits, a broad build and stood fairly tall. He wore a dark brown mesh shirt and brown fingerless gloves, with cargo pants that had a camouflage-pattern and a little bag at the left thigh, as well as dark boots.

Additionally, there was a girl who was wearing a mask, as well as a simple bikini and a jacket, as well as a slightly older woman with grey eyes and light blonde hair, cut in a chin-length bob and two long strands of hair that frame her face in the front. She seemed to wear some type of eyeshadow or eyeliner and had two small, black dots underneath her right eye. She wore a violet cap and what appeared to be a sports bra, showing off her curvy yet slim build. Around her neck was a choker, whilst her hands were covered by fingerless gloves and a small satchel was on her left arm, as well as around her waist. sheOn her legs, she wore tight black leather pants which showed off her light skin in a few places and black shoes.

One could say that they had a strong level of interest in the human who had apparently, according to Louis, entered their city through the Red Mist without much preparation, not to mention that they too wondered what kind of world behind the mist had to be like. Vali explained as they were dumbfounded, confused, and shocked before deadpanning when Vali said that women had more power than men.

"But how is that possible, the great collapse should've destroyed the world!"

"Could someone have been lying this whole time?"

Various reactions came from them thanks to his explanation, however Vali focused more on the fact that there were details that they hadn't talked about. Great Collapse? Well, he assumed that was what had reduced the city to the state that it was currently in, something which Krul also seemed to be thinking when they glanced at one another before Vali addressed them again. "... no idea what this Great Collapse is, but my guess is that someone is keeping all of you contained here so that no one could escape." he stated.

Louis hummed as he considered the validity of this possibility. "I….. see, it does make sense. The Red Mist appeared shortly after the queen was defeated."

"Queen?"

The girl with the Mask nodded her head at Krul's question. "Yes, the queen is a monster, an immortal among immortals. She brought destruction and chaos that brought ruin to everyone. It took many Revenants to stop her but they managed to kill the Queen. Once she had fallen, the Red Mist trapped everyone and everything inside, giving birth to the society ruled by Silva." she explained, causing Krul to ponder this.

"Huh…. a society ruled by revenants huh?"

Louis nodded his head as he turned to face Vali. "Yes, the Goal of the Mist…. As time passed that was the name people gave to the world inside. The creatures trapped inside the miasma wander in a never ending cycle of death and rebirth, always searching for Blood Beads to sustain them." Krul took out a Blood Bead, gazing at it as Louis spoke. "Revenants need to have blood. Without it they turn into those creatures we call lost. Revenants were desperately searching for blood, terrified of losing themselves. Its common fate these days." Louis looks at Krul. "But ripples are beginning to form. You cleared the miasma and the blood spring. Where did you learn to do that?"

Krul shook her head after a few seconds of staring at the Blood Bead. "... I'm not sure, it seems to have a connection to me when I put my blood in them." she replied, handing it over to the black haired Revenant who took and pocketed it.

"I see…. Alright can you hand me a sample of your blood?"

Now THAT caught her attention as the former Vampire Queen stiffened. She seemed to remember some things from her past as she responded with a cautious question, Vali noticing several signs that her Wealth of Power was one step away from shapeshifting into a weapon. "...What for?" she questioned slowly, her eyes narrowing darkly.

A chill crawled down his spine as Louis fought to keep his composure, especially when he remembered the state that the cave wall had been in when she had kicked it. The man didn't get it himself, but the fear he felt towards her was more than just simple fear, it felt as though his very livelihood and that of all Revenants were under the palm of her hand. "We might understand more if we analyze it. It won't be much, just a small vial so you won't have to worry about the bloodlust."

"... fine."

"Thank you, in the meantime make yourself home here while you can."

Back to where Nepgear is...

"...No luck so far… *sigh* it's like she's avoiding me or something…?"

Finding a CPU Candidate proved to be like finding a Needle in a haystack, Nepgear felt as she once again stepped within the halls of the Lastation Guild Building, looking pretty dejected with herself. It hadn't been that long since Vali and Krul had left to pass through the Barrier and sort out the Monster situation there so they could locate Lastation's Mascot. Ever since they had left, Nepgear and the others had begun their search for Lastation's CPU Candidate, but things were going… not so great.

Nepgear had been doing missions from the guild so that they could keep the shares going to the CPUs so that they can know they will survive with the people's faith. The group took separate quests to either get information about the Lastation CPU candidate, so far they haven't found any signs of her.

Not only that, but sometimes they had been approached by countless male suitors, either alone or in groups, who kept trying to get their attention. One guy had tried to get Alpha's attention by calling out to her, but that backfired when she ignored him. Thus, that guy had tried to approach by force such as taking her hand in his...the next thing he knew, he got his dick kicked in. Another almost tricked Compa to drinking his love potion, were it not for Alexia who stopped her JUST before she could drink it. Following that, she destroyed the cup containing the love potion before shredding his clothes to his undies to make him run away in embarrassment.

Ugh, seriously how come there weren't any rational man here in Gamindustri?

But as such she went to the reception as she began to speak...

""Excuse me I would like to see what quest are available.""

… only, an unexpected changeup occurred. Two girl voices, one Nepgear's and the other unknown, spoke at the same time before they turned to each other. The other girl had red eyes and black hair worn in two pigtails that are tied up by two black ribbons with white stripes. She wears a black one-piece pleated dress decorated with white stripes at the bottom of the pleats. She also wore matching arm warmers and shoes with knee high black socks sharing the same color scheme as her dress.

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

'This girl….. She looks so… familiar but at this age is she able to take on dangerous work?' Nepgear queried in her mind, a flower of concern blooming within her.

Though the girl seemed pleasant enough when she kindly asked her with a slight awkwardness to her tone. "So…. you're here to do the quest, too?"

"Huh? Me? Y-yes that's right."

Once Nepgear responded whilst nodding, the girl looked her up and down. "Are you sure about this, you're still just a kid." she stated, causing Nepgear to pout.

"Huh? B-but aren't you a kid, too…?"

The black haired girl simply puffed out her small chest while putting her hands on her hips, tilting her head backwards with a smirk of superiority on her lips. "I'm an exceptional exception. You have no idea how tough I am. But I need to get stronger, so I can….."

Near the end however, her brazen attitude faltered and got replaced with a more complicated one, something which Nepgear noticed. "You can what?" she questioned.

Turned out that the girl had forgotten that she wasn't alone, as she quickly rectified this mental state before proceeding to shift the topic away from her. "Uh nothing. Why are you looking for a quest here anyway?" she questioned quickly.

Although she wanted to know more, Nepgear decided that she wouldn't get anything from the girl about what made her sad so she simply provided the answer to her question. "I wanted to help the people of this nation and try to regain Shares for the CPUs."

Her answer DID manage to pull the rug out from under the other girl though, made Nepgear wonder what she had expected her to say. She never got the chance to query since the girl beat her to it. "Wow aren't we serious? That speech makes you sound like a goody two-shoes honors student." she commented dryly at the end.

NOW Nepgear started to feel like she was being mocked, her pout strengthening with her cheeks becoming puffed with air. 'Wh-what the goodness is wrong with being serious about a serious problem?" She cried in slight outrage.

Though her look made her look more adorable than anything, if the amused laugh that the girl released was anything to go by. "Hahahah! Sorry sorry. I haven't talked to a girl at my age in a while." she explained with a placating smile.

Hearing that caused a similar realization to appear inside Nepgear's mind. "Huh come to think of it, it HAS been a while since I have talked similar to my age as well." she admitted, and it was true on some level. After all, the girls who she traveled with were all either older or younger than her not to mention she had about 3 years' worth of loneliness, so she had enough of that to last a lifetime.

"Uh huh. Well my name is Uni. What's yours?"

"I'm Nepgear, I hope we can be friends."

Uni hummed thoughtfully as she pondered on the girl's name. "Nepgear huh? Alright then Nepgear, since we are acquainted now, you wanna team up and complete the quest together?" She suggested.

Something which caught the CPU Candidate off guard, if the look of surprise on her face was anything to go by. "You mean…. You and me?" she questioned, gesturing to herself and the new girl Uni with her hand.

An action that warranted a nod from Uni as she proceeded to explain her reasonings. One usually did things for a reason after all, and nothing was free in this world. "Yeah. I always do this stuff alone, so it might be a good change of pace to try working with someone else."

"... Ok let's go then." As she said that, they both got a quest and went to the location of it. 'I wonder….. How is Vali doing right now?'

Back to our boy Vali...

A low sigh escaped his lips as Vali fell back onto his bed, having been given his own room in the living quarters for the duration of his stay with them. The same thing had been done with Krul and Io too, though he wasn't too focused on that.

The last few hours had been exhausting for the male, so he found himself appreciating the quiet time he had now. Previously, Vali had met with the Revenants here within Louis' base: Yakumo, Louis' best friend who wanted to know more about the outside world. Rin Murasame, who wanted to know about the weapons that Gamindustri had... Speaking of weapons the Revenants have a weapon called blood weapons, weapons which use ichor or blood from the wielder so that they could deal damage to their enemies. Truly fitting for a vampire weapon. And the other Revenant Coco turned out to be a junk dealer, cold but interested about the world outside of the mist.

So yeah they are really curious about the outside world.

Unfortunately for him however, another wrench in the works had been found. That came in the form of the Lastation Mascot, Vali couldn't find it anywhere and he doubted that these guys would know about what it was. Nonetheless, he had a feeling that if he stayed here with Louis and the Revenants, then he could find the Mascot, it was just a gut instinct that he had. With everything going on right now, the silver haired teen had wished he had a smoke with him but remembered he forgot to take it.

Now that he was alone however, a longing frown formed on his lips when Vali began to think about the time he was with one of the girls: Alpha.

(Flashback)

Vali was with Alpha as he went on a date with her as the time of hunting those ASIC. Despite wanting to find that bitch Magic, he needed a break sometimes as he agreed to go on a date with Alpha. He HAD asked about the others, but she had mentioned that they had been busy with their own affairs so they wouldn't have to worry about them for today… though, she did tell him that they would likely ask him for a date the moment that they were free, something which Vali both dreaded… as well as looked forward to.

Right now, they are at a restaurant where he finished the trip of going through shopping as he held multiple bags on him. Oh! And also he found a tattoo shop which he was curious about before deciding to get one. He got a back tattoo that covered the entirety of it, taking the form of a white dragon on him which expressed supremacy. One time, he had heard that Tattoos had meanings for each of them, and their placement represent the ideals of the life that one had chosen to lead. A group can only survive because there's someone on top with strong enough ideals that they can attract followers, conversely, if there's weakness up top then those on the bottom would start drifting away. Vali had taken this to heart, and thus had a Tattoo done which represented the lifestyle he believed he should lead.

He could feel how Albion had been shedding tears of pride in the fact that he had gotten a tattoo that's almost the same as him in design.

Anyway back to the restaurant.

A beaming Alpha looked to be on cloud nine right now, a big grin on her lips as she expressed her gratitude towards her boyfriend for taking her out. "Thanks for accompanying me with this lovely date, Vali!" she exclaimed, sitting in a nice-looking dark, decorative gown that had a slit up the left thigh, showing off her leg with tricep-length opera gloves and high heels, along with a choker and necklace.

"You're welcome, I need to give all of your attention you know?" Vali replied with a slight smile, leaning sideways a bit while tilting his head. Though he kept his gaze on his date as a dutiful boyfriend would. In terms of outfit for him, Vali had opted to put in the effort and had dressed himself as smart as possible, with polished dress shoes, dark blue jeans held by a leather black belt, a black T-shirt under a matching Peacoat. He had even managed to style his hair a little, made it a bit less unruly for such an occasion…

Somehow, Vali felt like his unruly hair mirrored himself in a way.

Meanwhile, a giggle escaped her lips at that, knowing it to be true. "Haha! I know that Vali you don't need to worry about that, you could invite Emilia or the other girls." she suggested with a grin,

However, Vali didn't see it that way as he spoke the following words. "And that's the problem. I need to be careful so that I won't mess up or forget any of you. You deserve much better than that, so I'll try to do what I can to take each of you on a seperate date, try to balance myself between you all." As he said this, he took her right hand from across the table, which wasn't too big so he could do so with relative ease, and kissed the back of her hand like a noble would to a person of power.

Perhaps this was a show of affection that he would only reserve for those whom he cherished since Vali had NEVER done this with anyone else. Not to mention that his superhuman picked up some wishful comments from several females in the store whilst some even compared him to their significant others.

Unperturbed by the gazes he'd drawn to them, Alpha's smile became more affectionate as a tinge of pink laced itself across her cheeks from the affectionate gesture. If they weren't in a public place she would have started a hot make out with him for being as sweet as he was being right now, it didn't help that she'd seen for herself how affectionate he was to her and the girls. "That's sweet Vali, you're not breaking anyone's heart." She spoke sweetly and with understanding. She then reached on over and placed both her hands on his, leaning forwards. "Just remember we will always love you Vali and we never break our promise, either."

(Flashback End)

Thinking back to those times he had taken the girls on dates whenever he'd gotten the chance filled Vali with a whole bunch of emotions. Good ones as well as those of trepidation and worry. He….. wasn't even sure if he could keep that promise because he, well, he felt afraid. Afraid of breaking their hearts, of being a bad boyfriend or someone who would mistreat them. His family must have treated his birth mother horribly if they did what they did to him, and they say that the apple didn't fall far from the tree for a reason. Sometimes, he'd even have nightmares of the girls hating him… which had stung him far worse than any sword or magic attack.

Therefore, he had used this as inspiration to take every chance he could to give them the attention (and affection, especially hugs) that they deserved for agreeing to this. He did things for them that he wouldn't have been caught dead doing if it were someone else outside of his harem (as much as he hated using the word since it had many implications), one such example had been studying Magic alongside Olivia together while on a picnic, giving her some pointers as well since he had understood it better than she had at the time… though perhaps having Albion around who had centuries worth of wisdom had something to do with that one. Aurora too, who had been quite quiet in his noggin recently, though his dragon partner had told him she had been resting herself.

Another example had been taking the girls out on shopping dates and willingly carrying all of their bags like a personal butler, even dressed up as one when they asked which hadn't been very often at the time. It obviously hadn't been an enjoyable experience for him, the being used as a pack mule par, but seeing the way the girls had smiled when he did so proved worth it, he felt, plus they didn't go too overboard with buying so much mostly so they could show their appreciation for him.

Sometimes he would have to step in when some other girls tried to make fun of the girls, but when guys mocked him for being a 'slave to women', no matter who he had been with at the time they would suffer a bad day… a day of nearly becoming girls themselves.

So far, things seemed to be working out but still, he can't be sure, it's just he worried about that, about if he was doing enough for them as their boyfriend. Perhaps that was also part of… loving someone, wondering if you're doing enough to show them how much they meant to you. Right now he just has to hope that it's working out. He shut his eyes before going to sleep, waiting for tomorrow to see what Louis had plans for.

Later, Vali, Krul, Yakumo and Louis were at the map where it shows marks of it.

"Krul, you remember the scene we witnessed at the Vestige? That kind of stuff happens every day here. Silva has taken most of the humans who survived under his protection, so revenants are left to rely on blood beads alone to slake their unending thirst." the black haired revenant explained.

Krul hummed at this, looking nonchalant however she also drew another conclusion from what she had seen. "But nothing lasts in this world forever huh?" she questioned, though it also sounded like a statement.

A statement which the other Revenants agreed with when Yakumo provided the following explanation. "Indeed, the springs started to dry up and so blood beads grew rarer and rarer. And the order Silva created by levying and distributing Blood Beads won't last much longer either. The world or rather the Vein city needs more blood beads. Only then can we strive for fairness instead of petty favoritism."

Louis then looks at the map before he gestured towards it. "That's why we've been exploring the Goal of the Mist. We're doing research to learn all we can about blood beads. But the Miasma has been a real problem. It makes our thirst even worse, so our progress has stalled." Louis looks at Krul. "Now though, we have a glimmer of hope. Your power and blood can clear the miasm. If you could help us…. Then I'm sure the two of you will find what you're looking for. What I'm asking for is will you join us?"

Krul looked at Louis, pondering for a minute. Truthfully, all she wanted was to know if there really was a connection to the vampires in this situation and if they were the reason for the mist or the creation of the Revenants. She didn't care much for the situation overall, ESPECIALLY about some kind of abomination based on her own kind. However, she figured that with their help they would be able to find the necessary answers, so it still felt like a good thing to help them out. A quick glance towards Vali confirmed this, before she looked back to Louis and gave a sharp nod. "Very well, I will join you Louis. But know this, when we find what we are looking for, we will be leaving this place." she stated bluntly.

Whilst this did cause a bit of tension to rise within the Base, Louis took it in stride. "Thank you, that's all I'm asking. Alright, first thing is first we need a mask for both of you so that you won't be affected by the miasma and for Vali, since he is a human he needs a disguise so that other Revenants won't come after you, here take this." Louis walked to Vali as he looked at the purifier mask in his hands. From what he could see, the Mask looked like it could completely cover his face which had two red spots over the eye-areas, to big spots at that. "I knew having a fake mask would come in handy."

As he looked it over for a few moments, a slight smirk formed on his lips with a look of approval forming on his face. "Kinda admit….. It does look cool." He admitted.

"Maybe, anyway when we studied about the blood beads we've made a few discoveries." Louis then turned back as he gestured with his shadow. "First of all, we've found that there are tubes like capillaries running through the earth, tubes which we've taken to calling them Bloodveins. As far we can determine, every single bloodspring is located on top of one of these Bloodveins, in addition after comparing different Bloodveins, we know they're mostly comprised of the same substance."

Krul furrowed her brows at this. "Same substance… you've been drinking the same thing over and over?" she questioned slowly. She honestly couldn't imagine what that might have been like, since her kind got different tastes from human blood depending on that human's individual power level. This had been due to the fact that their Mana pathways were quite close to their blood ones, which resulted in their blood being infused with the stuff and depending on the concentration, the taste would differ. It could be similar to adding different sauces to a meal or something like that.

Louis nodded his head at her question. "Yes, like what I said, it is to quell our thirst. If we find the source of the Blood Beads and learn how it works, then the Revenants won't have to kill each other for them. Now that we have you around, we can investigate the springs and Bloodveins, hopefully we'll be able to find the source."

"I see."

"So whenever you're ready, we want to check out the old city ruins first."

Hearing that they had a destination in mind already pretty much sold it for the silver haired half Devil. "Then what are you waiting for? let's go."

Later on, Vali, Louis, Krul and Yakumo wandered around the city ruins in search of their target, each of them sporting masks on their. Vali had the fake mask on him while Krul also had one too. Not only that, but they also had their own weapons out with the former Vampire Queen having her Dragonslayer, the half Devil having Divine Dividing, Louis having his Longsword and Yakumo sporting a large mechanical-looking greatsword.

Currently, the group were following Louis who guided them to the old city ruins as they entered the underground. They went through the halls before they spotted a Mistle which Krul walked towards, kneeling beside it before she bit her index finger with her fangs and allowed the wound to drip blood onto the Mistle as it began to recover. Something which obviously pleased the greatsword-wielding Revenant as his eyes shone with an almost childish excitement."Heh. expectations were exceeded, you were right after all." Yakumo commented.

Krul didn't respond, mostly because Louis had beaten her to it when he addressed the rest of them. "There are more Bloodsprings ahead, but the misama is blocking the way forward. Do you think you could clear it for us again?"

"If this could be what we are looking for then fine I will." the former Vampire Queen answered, nodding her head to which Vali did the same although he remained silent.

Still, it had been enough for Louis who nodded in a pleased manner. "Great, now we know where two springs are thanks to past expeditions. Lets go have a look at them. The territory up ahead is teeming with the Lost. Watch yourself."

They walked forward as they went up the stairs before they were back at the city ruins. They went through the destroyed areas as they spotted a Lost walking around, though it wasn't around Vali used his MR to blow it's head off to destroy it.

"Impressive energy you have, is it this… Manas you talked about?" Louis questioned.

For a moment, Vali wondered about telling him about his Demonic Power, though in the end he simply decided to nod since not only did he not trust him much yet, Vali knew that it would just make things more complicated. "Yeah it is."

"I see, then if possible does the revenants have any Mana in them?"

The silver haired half Devil pondered this for a moment, before shaking his head. "Hmmmm….. Probably not. Mostly because like what you said before, you died before being reborn as a Revenant which means that Mana can no longer be produced within you even if you're reborn."

"I…. see…. Welp that sucks, wished I could have been one of those magicians I'd seen in the stories I read." Yakumo remarked with disappointment as they continued their path.

Along the way, there had been some Lost wandering around, though they weren't anything the group couldn't handle, heck there'd been even a group which they easily handled. In those times, Vali and Krul had seen how Yakumo's Sword had NOT been just for display as he showed his strength when he cleaved them in half, Louis cutting them up with his Longsword, Krul also cutting them or turning them to paste and Vali used his MS to destroy them.

They continued their walk until they'd come across what looked to be a destroyed parking lot. As they walked to it two of them attempted to ambush them as Krul dispatched them easily with her punch. There was another lost which looks like the previous one when they fought it so they have to be careful as Vali sneaked behind it before he incinerated it with his Hellfire as it was in pain when it was running wild attempt to put out the fire as Vali dodged before he continued to use flamethrower at it before he sees it dies when its disappearing. They went down as they looked around for any of the lost are here or not.

It was then the two Revenants stopped and Krul too as Vali sensed they were not walking forward. "Hey, what's the problem now?"

"Hold on….. Louis do you smell that?"

"Yeah." Louis was walking to a blood spot as he squats down as he looks at it. "Human blood… An escapee?"

Vali blinked in surprise at that as well as confusion when he recalled how humans were said to be under someone else's thumb, "Wait a human you say?" he questioned.

However before anyone could answer him, another voice was heard.

"Now where did she run off to?"

Near them, a harsh-looking Revenant spotted them before he walked up to them. "Hey chumps, what the hell are you doing here?"

"None of your business." Vali stated bluntly.

"Oh really? Then tell me this… why would scum like you…. Have the sweet stink of a human on ya-UGH!"

Turned out that one should NOT insult those favored by the former Vampire Queen, since Krul had had enough of this Revenant's jabbering resulting in her gripping the man's throat in one hand, holding him above the ground. All the while, he attempted to get out of her grip by grabbing her by the offending wrist to try and force the grip off, before he stopped when he saw her eyes glowing red. "Silence you abomination, I grow tired of you assuming we have the human with us."

"Th-the girl is our property! She belongs to us!"

"What makes you think a living being is property? you know what I grow tired of seeing you."

"Wait wait what are you dooiiiinnnggggg?! WWWWAAAAAHHHHH!"

Krul through the arrogant revenant as he was flying like one of these teammates who were defeated by a yellow mouse creature. Louis and Yakumo watched this whilst fearing what might happen if she used this mannerism on them, especially the researcher who recalled what had happened to that wall.

"...Remind me to not piss her off."

"Got it."

After getting his answer, Yakumo directed his gaze back to his fellow Revenant, a look of concern on his face. "But the fresh blood is some powerful stuff, you hanging in there Louis?" he questioned.

This prompted a nod from the other man as he managed to keep his instincts under control. "Yeah I'm fine." he replied evenly.

At this point, the half Devil wondered what the heck they should be doing now, since this element had not been an anticipated one."So what's the plan now? We know that its just a matter of time until they find the missing human."

Louis turned back to him after pondering about this information for a brief moment. "You know the plan, if we managed to find her, we need to get her safety before she becomes a blood bank for the Revenants."

Upon receiving this bit of info, Vali did consider it a viable possibility, especially out here which were pretty much like hunting grounds for Revenants. This human may be sheep in a wolf's den now that he thought about it. "That does sound like a worse fate for the human, let's hope we find her and she hasn't been devoured by the horrors yet."

They continued before Krul looked at the Mistle as she went to it and dripped blood on it before it was restored. She slightly altered her mask's positioning on her face so she could breath in the fresh air for a bit, before seeing that they were ahead of her. This wound up prompting Krul to put her Mask back on before jogging back up to them.

Back to where Nepgear is...

Things started looking up for her, Nepgear felt as she, IF, Compa and Uni had just arrived in front of a place called Rebeat Resort as, according to the quest they had accepted, a bunch of monsters had spawned here that needed to be exterminated.

However, this didn't unsettle her as much as it should have, and the truth had been made readily apparent to her. Thanks to Nepgear's training with Vali paying off, she felt like she could almost handle all the monsters without her SDD form. Upon analysing her combat style, the CPU Candidate had found that Uni seemed to be rather skilled with an assortment of firearms, allowing her to tear into the monsters from a distance using a near endless stream of bullets. Combine that with her proficiency in close to mid range combat, and one could see how they made a perfect team. Nepgear could be the vanguard of the two, sticking to close combat while Uni provided cover for her with her firearms. Over in the rear, IF and Compa had mainly stuck to support roles, letting the two girls be the forefront members for the time being until they truly needed their help.

As such, it had been a short while before they finished what they needed to do for the quest they took.

"There all done! What did I tell you, easy or what?" Uni proclaimed after wiping away the sweat on her brow as she held a large assault rifle under her right arm.

Nepgear beamed at her as she approached her companion. "We finished so fast Uni, you really are strong."

"Same goes for you Nepgear. Better than I thought, anyway. Nowhere near a match for me."

"Aw, now you're flattering me."

Whilst the two girls had conversed, with IF and Compa looking on in manners akin to parents taking their children to the Park, all of a sudden their reverie got shattered in the next few seconds. "The hell are you brats doing? Having a picnic in the middle of monster territory?!"

"Huh?!"

BONK!

BONK!

"Gaaah!"

A surprised Nepgear gasped when she heard the cries of her two companions, sharply turning to their rear to see what had happened to them only to find the two girls on the ground, knocked unconscious. The one who had caused this, stood proudly behind them, though right now all the CPU Candidate cared about was the fact that her companions were down. "IF? Compa?" she exclaimed.

A mocking sneer escaped the perpetrator's lips, which turned out to be Underling as she had already taken out her special device, placed it on her forearm and had her X-Baton in Baton Mode, which had been what she'd used to knock out the two eldest party members. "Heh I got rid of the chaperons with barely any efforts at all. Now that the unbeatable prince is not here, your next!" She proclaimed, pointing her weapon at the two girls.

Meanwhile, a frowning Uni held her Assault Rifle at the ready as she got into a battle stance, "Who's this?" She questioned cautiously towards her companion.

"I think her name is Underling, a member of the ASIC. Be careful she's strong Uni." Nepgear replied, both using Underling's nickname as if it were her real one while also getting ready to fight. She remembered that weapon on her arm the most from their previous encounter, about the being that it spawned attached to her though a chain. Though Underling hadn't brought it out yet, it wouldn't be too unexpected if she did so soon.

Especially with how the greenette was currently fuming right now with her face red and steam rising from atop her head. "Argh! Stop calling me that!" She bellowed, looking like a human toaster.

"ASIC huh? Guess I have no choice, then. Stay back, Nepgear, Let me handle this." Uni declared, scowling at the enemy.

Not something which Nepgear planned on doing however, as she promptly stood beside Uni and refused to back down. "No way, I'm fighting too. I can't let her get away from hurting my friends!" she bellowed, her eyes narrowed in angry determination.

"Hey quit with your yapping, wouldja? You have help from before and now this time I will…. Huh?"

"Haaaah!"

Nepgear activated her HDD Form while Uni transformed too, causing two bright lights to envelop them which forced Underling to cover her eyes. By the time thelight died down, the two girls floated in front of her in their new forms, Nepgear's her HDD (which she hadn't been using for a while in favor of her OTHER form, which had marginally more power but she didn't want to use it in front of her new companion), whereas Uni's look completely changed alongside her. Her black hair had changed into a pigtails kind of style, becoming white and curled up on both sides of her head, her eyes being a bright teal color with power button symbols. Her outfit took the form of a black and white leotard, with various objects attached to her person which added to her mechanical appearance. Her arms were covered mostly in pure black arm sleeves with silver patches in the bicep and tricep areas, her gauntlets also being black with silver protrusions on the knuckles. She has 3-inch block heels over her feet and thigh high stockings.

As for her weapon, well, it looked more like a large, futuristic Canon than a rifle, being mostly black but with silver areas here and held it by it's handle which was located at the back of the weapon, in one hand too. It's almost as if she had become the literal personification of the trope: little girl but with a big weapon

"Wh-whaaat! Y-you're kidding me?! What the hell, two CPU candidates?!" Underling exclaimed, before she decided on quickly summoning her Sword Legion to her side, the humanoid being manifesting beside her and taking up its battle stance.

For a moment, Uni wondered what that thing that had spawned beside Underling was, that is until she decided she didn't give a fuck and started raining fire on the enemy. She did so by launching a bunch of cannon-like blasts at her, prompting Underling and her Sword Legion to jump to the sides to avoid them.

When Underling responded by throwing her arm forwards, her Sword Legion shrieked as it flew forth towards her enemy, its speed catching Uni off guard as she made to float to the side and shoot into its exposed flank. However, Uni didn't foresee Purple Sister suddenly shooting forwards and clashing against the Sword Legion, entering a deadlock with it's blades and her Gunblade. "Uni, I'll focus on this guy! Underling is yours!" she called out, pushing the Sword Legin back and taking aim. In the following seconds, a few energy blasts escaped the Gunblade's tip, ones which the Sword Legion zigzagged backwards to avoid them.

Before Uni could counter that, she winced when she felt something collide with her shoulder, prompting her to look to see Underling aiming her X-Baton in Blaster Mode at her, which caused Uni to scowl. She quickly took aim and fired several rounds at her enemy, Underling rolling to the side and dodging each one in record time whilst also returning fire.

"That's all you got?!"

"Hah, just you wait!"

After a few moments of exchanging fire like this, Underling saw her opportunity and dashed forwards towards Uni after angling her upper body lower, somewhat resembling a speeding bullet. Uni growled as she saw her opponent coming at a speed she knew she wouldn't be able to shoot at her in time, so she hurriedly strafed to the side to try and dodge Underling's attack…

"Hah, got you!"

"?!"

...Only for this to backfire on her when Underling, instead of striking her, switched her X-Baton to Sword Mode and quickly switched places with her Sword Legion, clashing with Purple Sister and starting to trade blows with her while the Sword Legion flew at even FASTER speeds. As a result, Uni found herself being forced into a close combat situation where she had to dismiss her Cannon in a flash of light in order to avoid Underling's wild, wide-reaching attacks. "Uhhhh, a little help here would be nice!" The white haired girl proclaimed angrily, as well as frantically whilst dodging a few blows at the same time.

"Sorry, I'll be there soon I promise!" Purple Sister stammered in response, grunting in exertion as she managed to push her opponent back before taking aim and firing at the Sword Legion. Of course, it managed to avoid her rounds, but it gave Purple Sister a quick opening to exploit that she promptly took advantage of. To do so, Purple Sister sharply turned in a manner similar to how she had seen Uni hold her Rifle in prior engagements…

PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!

… Before she unloaded on the attacking ASIC Member from behind, managing to score about two hits on her leg and 1 hit on her back before she had to bring her attention back to her Sword Legion.

"Ugh!" Underling Grunted when she felt the shots connect, causing her to wince as she stumbled forwards with her balance being knocked out of whack. This gave Uni the chance to quickly dash in and deliver a front kick to Underling's face, causing another loud gasp to escape her before Uni followed up with a THWACK when she resummoned and swung her Cannon like a makeshift club, smacking Underling upside the side of her head with it. Underling fell onto her backside thanks to this hit, and when Uni tried to aim at her to finish the job, Underling quickly used the momentum to roll backwards, getting back to her feet and switch her X-Baton to Blaster Mode to fire a few quick rounds, forcing Uni to retreat to a safe distance. "Low blow, girl! Low blow!"

Uni scoffed at this as she held her Cannon at the ready. "Like you're one to talk, girlie! Besides!" She then grinned a bloodthirsty grin, one which Underling got chills going down her spine seeing. "This is already over, cause I have the high ground here!" She bellowed… right before taking to the skies and unloading a few rounds onto… the Sword Legion from her vantage point like she was an aerial sniper.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

"Grrr! Damnit!"

Knowing that her Sword Legion wasn't something which could withstand such blows from that massive thing, Underling decided to keep it around by gripping the chain and taking control over it, allowing her to move the Sword Legion about in random directions to throw Uni's aim off as much as possible. Her Sword Legion wasn't something she wanted to risk being destroyed even for a few seconds, since previous experience told her just how dangerous Purple Sister could be… especially if she were to take on that darker, edgier form of hers.

However, she failed to notice something about this move of theirs… as evidenced by how Uni smirked darkly down at her behind her massive Cannon.

Then…

SCHWING!

"Wha-?!"

In an instant, Underling found herself being taken for a fool when Purple Sister flew in using the rounds launched from Uni's cannon as cover, and thus got behind her… striking at the Chain that kept her connected to the Sword Legion. As a result, a sharp pain filled her being as Underling screamed, the Sword Legion Vanishing and returning to her control device. Not willing to let Underling have a shot at calling it back out, Purple Sister aimed at her back and charged up the maximum amount of power she could without making an MPBL attack, intending on finishing this battle with this one move. "This is the end! FIRE!"

"GAAAAAAAH!"

Underling screamed as she fell to the ground once more, this time having taken a SERIOUS hit to the centre of her back. Not only that, but Nepgear had also switched the Gunblade's aim from the back to her head, whereas Uni had momentarily paused her barrage though she would be able to resume it easily.

"Hhhaa….. Hhaaaa….. Fuck! Dammit all! This has to be considered cheating! No one told me there are two CPUS candidates! You'll pay for this!"

Underling took out a ball, something which Purple Sister recognized as the same thing she'd done before. She tried to stop her by firing her Gunblade at her hand, but was too late when Underling dodged her shot and then threw the ball on the ground. As a result, the erupting light blinded her and Uni before it died down a few moments later, allowing them to look and see that she was gone.

Now that their enemy had been defeated, Purple Sister and Uni re grouped together… and only now managed to notice the forms that the two of them had taken. "Nepgear….. You're a….." the white haired girl began, shock and disbelief etched into her tone.

"You too Uni? Then you must be Lastation's CPU candidate! I came here to look for you!" Purple Sister proclaimed, shifting back into her human form now that there was no longer any need for it.

Though her actions weren't mirrored by Uni, who glanced to the side with an increasingly irritated look on her face. "Tch!"

Something which, in her happiness that she and the others had found who they were looking for, Nepgear didn't notice as she continued while stepping closer. "Could you come with us? We want to save the CPUs our sisters and protect Gamindustri-"

"Don't come any closer!"

"Huh?"

Only NOW did Nepgear blink as she realized that Uni hadn't shifted out of her HDD Form. Moreover, much to her shock and surprise the girl had aimed her Cannon at her face, the same one which had shielded her before now being used as a means of threatening her. "Why? Why are YOU here and not my sister huh?!" The girl questioned, though her tone made it sound like a demand instead.

"Eh… what do you-"

Not allowing Nepgear to finish her sentence, Uni continued whilst her glare increased in its intensity. "She didn't let me go along with her for three years. I could've saved them if I went! I could've done what you failed to do!" she bellowed.

Nepgear's eyes widened at this, those words feeling like they were blades which got stabbed into her heart. Words may not be like physical wounds, but those ones hurt more than she had ever thought possible, especially since they invoked memories of a time she would rather like to forget. "It… it wasn't my fault. The ASIC attacked us unexpectedly at Eden and I was trapped there for three years. Now that I'm awake we are doing our best to save them now." she tried to say, her tone quivering slightly as she tried to fight back the building emotions inside of her.

Though Uni wasn't having it. "Shut up! I don't want to hear your voice aga-UGH!"

Before the Lastation CPU Candidate could finish her sentence, in a somewhat karmatic display Nepgear had finally had enough, the emotions inside of her exploring within her chest. Thing was, she hadn't been feeling as much despair as she had felt ANGER inside of her, anger at Uni for thinking that she could have done better than her, for thinking that she would have changed the overall outcome, for being so goddamn ARROGANT in her opinions. As a result, her arm reached out faster than the eye could track and eventually, Nepgear gripped Uni's throat as tight as a cobra when its restricting prey.

Now, normally HDD forms can change the personality of a CPU like Neptune who is a fourth breaker girl(Hey! I just got the chance to appear in the story and now I'm not! #(Don't worry, you'll get your turn… eventually.)What he says now shut up and go back to your post.) who would become a serious Goddess. However, when Vali had injected his demonic power into Nepgear's body to save her, she not only inherited his power in the form of her SDD Form, but some of his traits such as his lackluster tolerance for people's bullshit.

As a result, the current Nepgear right now looked angrily into a stunned Uni's eyes, her own those of a cat's as she shifted back to her HDD form. "Listen girl, let me tell you this. If I had the chance to save my sister, I would do it in a heartbeat." She spat, bringing Uni close enough to where their noses were touching whilst her fiery gaze bore into Uni's own. Not only that, but Purple Sister also started to ascend bit by bit, unbeknownst to either of them. "But I can't, because I was captured, experimented and forced to endure things which would make you have nightmares for YEARS. Their powers diminished and the only thing the people could do is have faith in them."

"Ugh-w-wha-"

Uni tried to struggle against her fellow CPU Candidate's grip, but to her shock it never budged once. Something which Purple Sister noticed but ignored as she continued her speech. "And now, we are forced to find other ways to combat ASIC. So far, the only thing we could do is gather all of the CPU candidates to fight them, but YOU: a sister attention girl who thinks she could fight all of the ASIC alone? Fine, be my guest, because if you do get beaten, then we won't come and save you." Her piece said, Purple Sister scoffed as she stopped ascending, then threw Uni down to the ground below with an audible THUD. A snort escaped her lips, as the CPU Candidate floated back down while turning her back on Uni, who stared at Purple sister when she got IF and Compa.

All the while, Uni lay on the ground in silence, her eyes wide as she pondered on what had been said to her. "... is she right?... Can I….. really face them alone?" That question can never be answered unless she wanted to.

Now enjoy this omake chapter prepped for you all.

Omake: the Mandalorian

"So… what brings the Mandalorian here on my ship?"

A man with a T-shape formed on his front helmet as he wore an armor which looks futuristic and has shoulder pauldron and his gauntlets. He has a pistol on his hip and several gears as he was standing just a few feets away from Vali as he looked at the bounty hunter. He is weary because this man completes his bounty every single one of them as he gained the moniker the mercenary king, the man who completes the goal, he is well known for as the Mandalorian. He has a floating robot by him

"Truthfully I wouldn't be here if your ship had dealt with those ASIC."

"Maybe so, but you flew here as if you were looking for me, why is that?"

"Circumstances paired me up with bigger problems than before. I have something that the ASIC are constantly coming back and forth."

"Oh really….. Then what is it Mandalorian, tell me what do you have that they would go for an arm and leg?"

"Simple look."

The Mandalorian pressed a button as it was dark. Vali saw something moving before a young baby creature that of a human baby, with green skin, large eyes and long pointed ears. Their three-fingered hands ended in claws as it was looking at Vali.

"This….. Is what the ASIC is looking for? A creature?"

"Yes, but this is no ordinary creature, I saw it can use powerful telekinesis that stops an ancient dragon spawned from Plantupe."

"That powerful huh."

"Master this is a Yoda creature."

"A…. Yoda creature?"

"Yes, these species are known to be powerful as their connection to the Aether. A magical power that is known to surpass a CPU as they closely guarded them like their own children."

"... I can see why the ASIC really wants the creature."

"I have just stopped three ships of the ASIC when they attempted to come near us."

"Now you see why this is so important, unbeatable prince? You have the advantage over them."

"... why come to me Mandalorian, why not go to other families like the Redgrave?"

"Because I don't trust them when women would want the child to be a baby maker as you know how society is."

"True….. But that doesn't answer my question."

"You are the only one who's power could match a CPU if you grow stronger. I can't protect the child because I'm not strong to deal with the ASIC, thats why I have been looking for you, I need your help to find the Yoda's species and reunite with them."

"... alright you got me, I'll help you and the child, on one condition though."

"What is it?"

"I want you to find ever information about the ASIC, their base, their operation, everything about them and give it to me."

"That's it? That's an easy one."

"Good then we have a deal."

"Pleasure doing business with you."