Chapter Ten: Tears Of The Cage Canary

"Valerie, I am allowing you to release your Aria."

Valerie stiffened and looked at Cassandra who was hiding beside a table. It seems she also doesn't understand why her major was telling them this, even though she didn't want Valerie to lose control of herself, so why? Is it because of what Lukas said earlier? 

"May I ask the reason?" She asked. 

Lyrica cleared her voice. "We can't defeat this devil if we don't use your Aria. So, please, before it gets shanty, destroy this devil."

She gave a long silence before she spoke. "Roger, major."

She then shifted her gaze, looking at her sisters who had fallen. Even though they've been destroyed to pieces, and can be fixed afterwards, she still needs to collect their body parts. So no matter what, she'll fight this demon—devil and win this war. 

"I'll be releasing the seal in 3, 2, 1, 0."

She bites her lips and removes the Esper chip that was on her neck. With the Espers chips gone, the presence of her body became heavier, and the darkness surrounded her. 

At that moment, Cassandra already knew what was happening. Valerie loses her consciousness, and the monster rises. That presence is her evidence, a shape of black tattoo was able to taint her body, and her eyes turned in a much darker color. 

She doesn't have time, she needs to hide, the first thing Valerie sees will be her target. It's better that she shouldn't get in a way, but something is a bit wrong.

"Get away from her, Cass, faster!"

She gulped and nodded. Once she was at least far and hidden from Valerie's sight, she can tell that the gap between them is monstrous. Valerie was using Excalibur, but since her Aria is activated, her Excalibur will turn just the way she is. 

The Excalibur—went from white to black, and it's more cursed than the original sword. She once went against the Black Excalibur, but her sword, Arima, was tortured by that sword. 

Valerie saw the devil in front of her, when she locked her target, she went from accelerating to teleporting in front of it and her sword clashed with the devil. It was too fast for Cassandra to see, but the devil was able to block her attempted attack and he lifted his hand. 

A blow of a huge light fragment slowly appears on the palm of the devil. Then it exploded, making Valerie flow from the side of the wall. She stood up not bothered by the scene in front, and her injuries from her head as she continued lashing her sword out. 

Her blood spikes appear one by one, striking the demon as she lashes out her sword. Cassandra could hear her scream and laughter while she was attacking the devil, her voice seemed—sad and mad that she couldn't help but to remember Valerie when she smiled. 

Now her smile turns into a grin and her laughter into an insane person. She doesn't mind getting herself cuts and bruises all around her body. She's enjoying the pain and suffering. 

Cassandra remained still, watching as Valerie went insane and it kept attacking the devil, she seemed tired but she didn't stop. It's like watching a psycho in rage, laughing and laughing as each strike made the entire place collapse. 

The destroyers cabin is not as huge as it looks, in fact, it's not as small as it sound as well, but it looks like because of the insane fight between Valerie and the devil, it's breaking all walls and pillars of the cabin, the only problem, once the wall had been destroyed, instead of seeing the outside world—it makes that world a complete emptiness.

It was gray—so how could they run? This place had become a domain of nothingness. 

"What's happening there, Cassandra?" She snored and looked above. 

They went into the ceiling, now it's just a huge hole in the ceiling. "They went upstairs," she replied. 

Lyrica breathed out. "So, where are you? I can't seem to locate the destroyer."

"We are trapped in a nothingness, it's like a domain, so maybe we can only go back once the devil is defeated."

Cassandra carefully stood up from the place she hid, and carefully went at the wall with the big hole on it, and she looked at the outside where everything was gray. She then held her hands on the wall, but didn't feel anything, so it's not a wall but rather the entire outside, surrounding this ship is just filled or empty space. 

"Can you try connecting your eyes to our server, we lost track of zero 68," said Lyrica in a small tune making Cassandra sneer.

She then looked at her eyes, inside her eyes was filled with written numbers, language, and anything considered extraordinary. It's like reading the whole world inside her eyes, like looking at the information that is inside her eyes. 

Even typing on the air looks so different when she's looking at her eyes. She's looking for a way to connect within the server but anything she did was "offline" or connection not available. She's always connected to the server, so she's a bit confused why she got disconnected.

Although, there are times when they get disconnected when they are in places where the connection is being interrupted. The only problem lies with the facts: Lyrica was able to communicate with them, but the camera, or something connectable to the camera, is disconnected.

Lyrica is using a special tool for communication, not like the normal way of using the telecommunications that is made from this world. She then turns around, made of this world? 

It may work, she buzzle through her items on her menu pod and she starts looking for something. The tool Lyrica used is similar to a tool made from Armenia, if a normal human resources can't break through the ice, they'll go with the Armenian way. 

She took this item on a mission a few months ago, but because she didn't have to use it, the item was locked up in her storage space. It's a kind of item that helps you in a kind of situation, it's the same with communication devices but made with mana stones. 

A mana stone connected to another can create a connection. A normal means can't intervene in a connection that is being disconnected, only this item can ensure good condition between the mana stone on the other side and here. 

This may be the reason why Lyrica can connect with her, and while she's connected through mana stone, it also intercept with the communication device that Valerie used. 

It's hard to explain but when two mana stones connect to each other, it can become a service that connects inside of the place which is unable to use normal communication devices. The mana stone then uses the connection of the communication device and the stone uses this wavelength to connect with each other. 

The item used is made of mana stones, but it is also known as Mana Communication Crystal, a special device that was again invented by Caleb. 

It's still a prototype so the production is lower than the Valkyrie's repair. 

Cassandra grabbed the item from her inventory and she pulled it out. An Aisha can see the particles in the stone, but a machine like them can't. It's a natural ability which can't be replicated by any means. 

She then lifts her hand and the crystal floats, then it brightens up until it breaks, but it's not because it's broken, rather because it's working.

"Lyrica, can you pull your mana crystal communication out?" she asked. 

"Yes, I can, why?" she responded.

"With the Crystal Communication active, you can talk to me very radically, pull it out and an image will appear, this will record the scene of where we are."

Lyrica nodded. "I see, let me take it, stay in your position."

Then she remained still while Lyrica was preparing the crystal communication which was on her hand. Lukas verbally looks at it before he snore. 

"What the hell is this?" He asked. 

"It's a Mana Crystal Communication, a communication device different to the ones being used here, it's a device from Armenia that was created from the tears of Gods."

Is that so? He thought to himself and held the crystal in his hand. "I see the presence of mana, so that's really a crystal ball. So, how does this work again? If human communication devices won't work, how can this work too?"

She looked at him and grabbed the ball back. "Light it up and an image appears."

Just like how Cassandra did with her, the same thing happens with Lyrica's Mana Crystal Communication device. It beams of bright light and soon an image appears. 

While Cassandra walked towards the exit, she passed through the force field and the crystal ball followed her. Lyrica saw everything, from the gray background to the ruined cabin. 

And now on the deck where Valerie and the devil continue fighting. Unlike earlier, this time, Valerie was grasping and her blood spilled on her checks. She ran towards the enemy, slashing her sword left and right until the devil dodge her. 

With that kind of Aria and Mana, she's more powerful than even the strongest Aisha's. Her fighting and lashing out her sword proves that but when it comes to dealing pain, and avoiding injuries, she enjoys it and she keeps on doing it.

Watching her like this breaks Lyrica's heart. It's not like her to be this mad, or insane, she's a type of person who's willing to make sacrifices even though she appears to be heartless or even cold. 

Her image, her smile, her laughter... "I've spent my few life raising Valerie, she's not a person who's going out of control, but rather someone that appreciates it even though she doesn't appear to be one. This insanity of her—felt like a canary trapped in a bird cage."