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Chapter 90 - Bringing the War to Their Doorsteps
🕑 Added 2018-01-30 21:17:29 +0000 UTC The journey across the Nukumania Plains proceeds without a hitch. All along the way, my children and I keep grabbing the large buffalo-like animals and bringing them up to the Chaos Carrier for food. In essence, only Awhina and Mereana need to eat properly cooked meals, but I still find myself in the kitchen quite often. After all, I need to regulate the fire on the stove, which I created with the matter from my own body and the use of magic.You know your seemingly omnipotent body has reached the height of usefulness, when you can literally create a modern house with all the appliances necessary for a comfortable life. Except for wifi, that is. Thankfully, there is no Internet in this world, or I would have tried much harder to return to the demon castle and then become a shut-in.
Well, at this point something like that won't happen to the present me, since a lot of things happened and I've changed my outlook on what constitutes as fun. I'm living an adventure now, and even if I got access to modern video games, I wouldn't waste my life on them anymore, after all that I've gone through. Also, I still need to get revenge on the Sorcerers.
In the end, everyone sits together for every meal, and enjoys the homemade cuisines Awhina learned from her mother. Somehow, it gives me a warm feeling, to be surrounded by people I can call my friends - although they still haven't seen my true appearance, yet. I don't need to do that, since it's not who I really am, unless the situation calls for it.
Even Tahiri is among them from time to time, although she prefers to remain alone on the top of the balloon. It seems she's been brooding quite a bit lately, most likely thinking about Rapania and Roamukao. I just hope it won't impact her when the time comes to fight. Sometimes she wouldn't mind my avatar's company, and would share a drink with me while speaking of the times we were still fighting every day.
Those times seem so long ago now, even though we haven't been on this journey for more than twenty days. A lot of things have happened since then, and everyone has somewhat matured, as we fought together and against each other. No matter how this ends, I'm sure these bonds won't break easily in the future.
On the fourth day of our journey, around noon, I see a water body glistening in the distance. Unlike the small creeks and streams we flew across so far, it looks like a proper river. That must be the Maheranui river - and on its opposite bank should be the capital city, Kairaki.
"[I... I cannot believe that we crossed the Nukumania Plains so quickly.]" Mereana looks ahead in disbelief and then stares at me. I'm standing with my arms crossed and my nose raised in pride. If only I had been able to properly create a jet plane, this distance would have been traversed in a few hours at most, though.
"[I think we should prepare for battle right away, then.]" Turning around to the others, I announce with a serious expression. There is no way our approach wasn't noticed, so I'm expecting anti-air and artillery fire to rain down on us, be it in the form of magical or physical projectiles.
What I'm really interested to see is how this God King will treat his subjects during the inevitable battle. In front of Awhina and the others, I have to keep up appearances, but in reality I don't care about human lives much. The problem will be, when he doesn't either. Then I'd be at a disadvantage, since I can't use the Godslayer Cannon in a densely populated area.
I'd prefer that he sent out an army to meet us outside the city or something like that. Then I could completely annihilate it and make them an example for anyone who dares to oppose me. That would surely make him, or at least his followers, lose morale - and who knows, they may even surrender.
I doubt that would happen, though.
"[Lowering altitude. Get yourselves ready for battle the moment we come within view of the city.]" I change my bearings and aim to circle around the city wall. Approaching from the river-side will inconvenience everyone but those who can fly. I don't know if Korenga can even swim, with a body that heavy, so it would be quite inefficient. "[I'll find a landing spot on a field outside one of Kairaki's gates.]"
"[I do not know the exact number of gods the God King has subdued and included within his army. However, the most elite of them are called the Six Arms, and the king has a right-hand man known as the God Fist.]" Mereana explains while looking into the group. In other words, there are seven big names, as well as the king himself.
While we have seven fighters, I doubt it'll go like in those typical shounen battle manga, where every member of the crew gets to face one opponent in a duel. That would have been far too convenient. Then again, I wouldn't mind facing off all of the Six Arms at the same time, and kill them all together.
Maybe I'm being a little too confident here. If they're all on the level of Roamukao, I wouldn't be able to defeat even a single one on my own...
"[I'll go take care of this God King, then.]" Tahiri, who has joined us after I told her that we're making our final approach on the capital, states with a relaxed smile. Normally, that should be my job, but I don't want to argue about who gets to fight whom now.
"[Hey, no fair. I want to be the one to punch his face in.]" Obviously, Korenga doesn't care about what I want, and complains about the matchup. We don't even know whether that king is especially powerful or just a charismatic human who swayed some gods with his words. He could be a weak human being, for all we know.
Not like she hasn't killed weak human beings before, though. And this time, her aim is revenge as well.
"[We'll first see whether we can get into the city without having to fight our way in or not.]" From here, I can only see the pyramid-like building in the center of Kairaki sticking out over the tall city walls. It might actually be as tall as the Tokyo Tower, to be visible from so far away. I think that's easily the tallest structure I've seen in this world so far, even eclipsing the sun disc atop the palace in the capital of the Khurut Sultanate.
"[What's that?]" Awhina is standing at one of the windows on the airship's starboard and looks in the direction of the city.
"[What do you mean?]" Mereana joins her, but doesn't know what exactly she's referring to.
"[It looks like a mountain, but it's too uniformly shaped.]" Shading her eyes from the sunlight falling through the window, Awhina remarks.
"[Oh, that is Ahakap, the royal palace.]" Leaning closer to the window, but still reluctant to touch it, Mereana points at the pyramid beyond the city walls. She could tell by her vague description that she meant that building.
I had guessed as much. Every monarch in every time period usually had the largest buildings created in their honor, be it gigantic tombs in Egypt, or a city-sized palace in China. Why would it be any different for humans in this world?
Crossing the Maheranui river and finding a large open plains, I look at the city's walls and find that there's a gate and a road leading up to it. It has been opened, and a mass of soldiers is pouring out from it. Since I'm so huge in this form, they have inadvertently already noticed my approach. Even if they don't yet know about what happened to Roamukao, since no messenger horse-rider could ever travel as quickly as we have, they can tell that I'm not an ally.
I decide that this place is as good as any other to land. Considering they're readying a welcoming party, I don't want to betray their expectations.
"[Ladies and gods, as we start our descent, please make sure your seats and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you.]" As I begin to let out the hot air inside the balloon and induce a descent, I make this corny joke in honor of the absent Senka.
I miss her...
"[What was that about?]" Tokomaha asks me with her head tilted and a confused look on her face. My avatar pets her head, but she slaps its hand away. Even now, she's trying to keep up appearances in front of the others, even though she's shown me her most embarrassing side in bed several times already.
But I don't reply and act like I'm concentrating on the descent. In reality, I actually am focusing my mind on our surroundings. There are many life forms around us, and I'm purposefully leaving the size filter on as low as I can without going crazy from feeling a sea of microbes. It's to make sure that I don't miss even the smallest animals, which could be transformed gods for all I know.
Soon, I grow out four legs and touch down on the grass softly.
"[Ladies and gods, welcome to Kairaki Airport. I have no idea what the local time is and the temperature is unnecessarily sweltering. On behalf of Chaos Airlines and the entire crew - consisting of only myself - I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice war!]" I was waiting to recite this line to complete the corniness from before.
Everyone looks at me in confusion. It was just a joke, stop judging me!
"[Yes, let's have ourselves a nice war!]" Korenga pumps her fists and cheers. She gets it!
"[Let's go.]" I open up the entire side of the cabin and the team steps down onto the grassy plains below. Pulling the mass of the Chaos Carrier into my body, the ship disappears from view, leaving only us eight people on the ground.
"[There are quite a lot, huh?]" Tahiri looks in the direction of the forming army and sounds as unconcerned as ever. She seems to be quite relaxed despite the fact that we're here to fight a war with just the eight of us.
Well, I think now it's time to get this over with.
"[Mereana, thank you for leading us to the capital. It's best if you get to safety now, since we won't be able to protect you.]" With these words, I turn away from her and step forward. I don't even wait for her reply, because it's not negotiable. If she wants to come along, she'll have to do so at the risk of losing her life in battle.
"[Wait! I want to come along and witness the actions of the savior!]" I don't know what kind of face she's making, but there's a hint of desperation in her voice.
"[You may die.]" Not turning around, I speak in a cold tone. "[And I told you, I'm no savior.]"
"[I don't care.]" For the first time, she loses her formal way of speaking and lets her emotions run wild. "[I believe in you. That you will win and change this kingdom. So, I can't be standing around and doing nothing.]"
"[Do as you like.]" But I'm smiling to myself. I guess it's true; something monumental is going to go down here, and I have no doubts that we'll be coming out on top. In other words, history is being written today. Of course, she wouldn't want to miss it, considering it will affect her future greatly. "[Just don't get in our way.]"
With these words, I walk forward and begin to transform, covering my body in dragon armor while growing in size. Taking it as the signal to move out, my children sprout wings and take off into the sky around me, while Awhina places a hand on the ground and rises up on a wave of stone. Tokomaha swings her spear in a circle and clones begin to sprout from the dirt. Korenga pumps up her muscles and turns into her black form, before letting out a roar that shakes the very air. Tahiri lifts the gourd of alcohol to her lips and floats up into the sky lazily.
As expected of the most laid-back person I've ever seen.
Finally, Mereana draws her sword and walks forward fearlessly. Among our powers, she makes the most underwhelming appearance. But precisely because of that, the enemies will be cautious of her; if she can stand among godlike beings like us, she must be quite powerful herself.
Nope, she's only very brave - or stupid. Or both.
I'll make the first strike, rather than wait until the enemy gets on top of us. While I can't use the Godslayer Cannon, I can use a smaller version of it in a more mobile configuration. In other words, it's time to unleash the romance of men - and mine - onto this medieval world. They will tremble under my might and learn that there are things in the universe they could never hope to best.
"[I! Am! G*ndam!]" With this nonsensical exclamation, I transform into a giant humanoid covered in armor, with a simplified dragon head in my right hand functioning as a plasma cannon. Stepping forward and feeling the earth quake underneath my gigantic feet, I get a taste of true power. "[There are things you can't fight, acts of gods. You see a living volcano coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're a giant mecha, suddenly, you can fight the living volcano. You can win.]"
The army still emerging from the city and pouring out onto the plains looks like a collection of ants. Weapons and armor glisten in the sun, and create a play of light the likes of which I have never seen before. Their numbers are staggering, but I don't feel like I could lose to them. That's the sense you get when you feel like you're sitting in a giant armored mecha.
"Mama, can we go all out?" The twins land on my shoulders and speak into my armor-covered ears in stereo. They are asking if I'm allowing them to turn into dragons and use the plasma breath here.
I lift my left hand and point at the army going into formation in the distance.
"Show them the terror of our kind." Speaking quietly, I ball up my fist in a crushing motion. From the corners of my eyes, I see that sadistic grins break out on Uten and Saten's faces. Like mother like children, huh?
"Let's give them hell!" They announce in excitement and fly up at the same time, before explosively transforming into a pair of dragons. During our journey, they practiced transformations a lot and are able to do so really quickly now.
But the first shot will be mine!
I point the plasma cannon in my right hand at the army and gather the dragon's breath, before releasing it in a single shot instead of a continuous beam. The ball of light flies forward at an incredibly speed, before it begins to get affected by gravity and drops. But it seems my aim has become quite good, as the ultra-heated projectile impacts the ground in front of the enemies and causes an explosion that scatters molten dirt all over them.
At the same time as my first shot shakes the enemy lines, dark clouds begin to gather above the entire area. It's signaling that the God of Storm is going to join the battle against this human army.
"[Wait, that's not me!]" That Tahiri suddenly appears before me and shouts.
Huh?
A lightning bolt comes down from within the boiling black clouds, flashes past her, and hits me straight in the chest. Just like the lightning she used against Roamukao, this one seems to have physical weight, as the impact sends me staggering backwards. I catch myself in time to not fall over and look down at myself. The attack burned a hole into my thick armor, but didn't go as deeply as Tahiri's did on the lava god. Still, it's more than enough to-
"DOWN!" With my increased size, my shout turns into an ear-splitting roar that seems to create a shockwave around me. It's directed at my children, who are in danger of being hit by those lightning blasts when they stay in the air. While they do have a lot of mass, flying around in dragon form will result in the same fate the original template suffered, when they get swatted out of the air.
They listen to me without question, and quickly descend to the ground, but keep their dragon forms because their armor offers more protection than any other templates they have.
"[Why did they have to be here..?]" Tahiri's expression turns strangely sad, as she looks up into the sky.
The black clouds above stretch down an arm slowly, which gathers into a humanoid form in midair. It's a boy around my age, wearing a vest with a fluffy collar reminiscent of the clouds he's made of. His exposed face and arms reveal grayish-black skin that is covered in white tattoos. With big round eyes featuring dark purple irises, he looks down at Tahiri in an intense stare, as his long gray hair trails behind him in the wind.
A storm-like wind picks up around me and concentrates into a spot next to the boy, consolidating into the form of a girl. Her silken clothes are so thin that they barely obscure anything, and reveal perfectly white skin underneath, with no hints of any tattoos. On her face, rimmed by long flowing, snow-white hair, sits an expression of playfulness, as she sports a wide grin that extends all the way to her silver glowing eyes.
Lightning flashes across the sky, and between the two, another boy appears, accompanied by a thunderclap. Going topless and sporting tattoos that glow brightly like the bolt he came down in, he has his arms crossed as an expression of his confidence. Electricity crackles through his short and spiky blond hair, which seems to radiate power. His sharp golden eyes make it clear that he's prideful and certain of his own abilities.
"[Your children, huh?]" I ask Tahiri, although it's quite obvious judging by her reaction to their appearance. I guess each one of them represents one of her powers, although that seems more like they're just aspects of her.
"[Yes... Aopori, Aratio and Tewira. Dark Cloud, Whirlwind, and Lightning.]" She states in a gloomy tone. It seems that seeing her children standing before her as enemies has caused her quite the shock.
"[Hey, what are you doing, moping around like that? What happened to the wind that can't be tied down anywhere?]" It's my way to encourage her. If her children are being naughty, she should punish them. If they side with the enemy, knock them around and make them come back to their senses. At least, that's what I would do, if my twins were to side with the humans and stand against me. "[Go and bring them back.]"
Turning around to look at me in surprise, the God of Storm blinks a few times. Then, a smile appears on her lips as she closes her eyes in realization.
"[Indeed. If the children of the storm stand against their mother, all that awaits them is a reminder of their place in the order.]" She looks up at the three, who graciously waited for us to finish our short exchange. They seem to be very confident, but they are going to get spanked soon. "[Prepare yourselves.]"
With these words, she turns into the form I've only seen once before, when she showed her absolute superiority to Rapania, after returning from getting disintegrated by her magic gadget. Her long hair turns into pure lightning, that arcs through the air aggressively seeking a target. The glowing tattoos are unable to hide the swirling black that her skin has turned into, resembling raging clouds ready to release their electric load.
These three might be members of those Six Arms. I mean, they seem to be quite powerful even by god standards. It's just that Tahiri is all their powers combined into one, most likely with many years more experience in using them, too. If they really are, then maybe the other three aren't especially powerful, either.
Self-proclaimed God King, we're coming for you!
