Chapter 1101: Memoirs of a Dark Day
*Tick…Tock…*
{Ah. I see my services are needed once again. This time to tell a parallel of the past and present.}
…
{What do I mean by that? Well, simply put…history has a tendency to repeat itself.}
…
{Circumstances change, people too. But the events…can play out quite similarly. How they ended though…was another matter entirely.}
…
{But how they end…now that’s where things get interesting…}
*Tick…tock…*
“Hurry grandpa, hurry!”
“I know sonny, I know…I’m just old and slow…”
This wasn’t the first time Undertow had faced an unprecedented disaster.
Horrifying beasts, roaming bands of marauders and natural disasters of all types had plagued the people of Undertow ever since it was established in the [Abyssal Lands].
It was so common in fact, that citizens of Undertow had been drilled to evacuate into special protective shelters that were meant to keep the populace protected and fed for years at worst and decades at best.
As for why they had them, the reason was twofold.
First, they needed someplace to hide while evacuation procedures were underway.
Second, people weren’t originally meant to live in the [Abyssal Lands], but the people of Undertow had no choice.
Most, if not all of them, were former slaves of the Pearl Scale Empire that were freed through…extrajudicial means. As such, they couldn’t exactly live anywhere on the surface without being subjected to the possiblity of being recaptured.
As such, the dangers of the [Abyssal Lands] were a welcome alternative.
Especially when they were under the protection of the Storm Queen’s Kaijin.
It was thanks to their monstrous guardians that the people of Undertow had confidence in the first place that they could survive down here.
That they could have hope after entire lifetimes without it.
As far as they were concerned, the kaijin were immortal, invincible guardians that could fight off even the fiercest warlords and Imperial generals with ease.
Something like giant mechanical lizard weapon could be easily dealt with, even if it radiated a huge amount of dragon force.
Right?
…
‘KAIJIN OF THE STORM QUEEN, HEED MY CALL! DEFEND UNDERTOW WITH YOUR BEING AND CLEAR MY WAY!’
…
[Well, shit.]
[This thing is way too tough!]
[Nah, we just don’t have enough firepower.]
[Same thing!]
For the past few minutes or so, the Storm Knights had been doing their all to destroy what the Floating Khan’s forces were calling the [Shadow Sovereign].
So far…it wasn’t going great.
Despite their best efforts, the [Shadow Sovereign] had yet to be taken any lasting damage. Then again, it probably didn’t help that the damn thing was covered in just enough dragon force to mitigate their attacks, but not outright negate them.
Honestly, it was kind of annoying.
That stated, they didn’t have a choice in whether or not they wanted to keep attacking the damn thing, because they could sense that if they let up in the slightest, their home would’ve been reduced to cinders in an instant.
Besides, they had to buy their leader time anyways.
[How are things going, Storm Queen?,] Grand Fang asked. [Ready to fire yet.]
‘Almost…dammit! This stupid poison is making it damn near impossible for me to charge up.’
In the airspace high above the battlefield, Jin Miavora was preparing her most powerful attack to try and destroy, or at the very least sink, the [Shadow Sovereign].
Unfortunately, it was taking longer than usual.
The dragon venom coursing through her veins at this time was impeding the flow of [Chaos] and aether throughout her body while also dealing a lethal amounts of internal damage.
Needless to say, this was probably gonna be her last battle and if that was the case, she might as well go out with a bang.
However, there was an issue.
During the entirety of the Storm Knights assault, the [Shadow Sovereign] kept charging up this immense concentration of Dragon Force in its mouth. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out what this attack was going to do.
[Hey…if we fail to block this attack, we’re going to die anyways, right?]
[Yeah…yeah, I think so.]
[We’re gonna breakdown after this, or die during.]
[Well…only Marlancer and Tortallion aren’t here. Which is a shame.]
[Hey, that just means they’ll be stuck with guarding this place then after we’re gone.]
[Can’t tell if that’s comforting or worrying…]
[Well then…if we’re going to die anyways, why don’t we show these assholes what real monsters look like!]
[HELL YEAH!]*9.
One after the other, the Storm Knights began to chant something in [Chaos] that caused the air around them to get strange and their arms to glow with an eldritch light. Once this light has reached some invisible apex, they all jammed their arms into their respective chests and destroyed something that was absolutely vital to their existences.
And in return, became the monsters that all of reality feared.
________________________________________
=I suppose…going out like this is more admirable than the alternative…=
…
[What the fuck?!]
[Why would he do this?!]
[We can do that?!]
‘HOLY FUCKING KAIJUS!’
GROOOAAAAAA!
Moments before the [Shadow Sovereign] has released its deadly attack, something dramatic occurred directly in front of Undertow’s harbor.
Through a method that was unknown to the kaijin and Zhen Liu, _____ had done something that they had only heard a vauge description about from Zhen Liu’s mother.
The turtle-like knight had somehow transformed himself into a monstrous version of himself that was absolutely loaded with [Chaos].
[Chaos] that was so incredibly dense, that it actively pushed back against the dragon force coming off of the [Shadow Sovereign].
This moment should’ve been a relief to the kaijin and their lord, because it meant that they now had a fighting chance in taking down the [Shadow Sovereign].
The reality though, was a touch more…somber.
Because alongside this transformation, they could sense that Tortallio_ had done something unthinkable by kaijin standards in order to achieve this size, power and ferocity.
He gave up his [Core].
In the same way some desperate warriors will burn up their life force to take down their enemies, Tortalli__ had decided to burn away his [everything] in order to take down his foe.
No…not to take down his foe.
But to protect the people and city that h_ loved above all else.
And thankfully(?), it was a moment that came in the nick of time.
Because shortly after Tortal___ manifested as giant turtle kaiju, the [Shadow Sovereign] finally attacked.
KEERRRYYUUU
FWOOM!
A beam of concentrated shadow attributed dragon force surged forth from the mechanical monster’s mouth, carrying enough destructive power that if any of the other kaijin, hell any aether warrior in general, attempted to block it, they would be annihilated in an instant.
If this attack impacted Undertow, the city would be destroyed in a matter of seconds.
However…
GROOOAAA!
Torta____ wasn’t going to let this happen.
The surrounding [Chaos] that came with Tort___’s appearance suddenly began to move and concentrate itself directly in front of him, taking on the shape of a massive shield shaped like a turtle’s shell.
If Tor____ attempted to use this technique in his old form, the dragon force would’ve melted through it like a hot knife in the snow and destroy him in an instant.
In this new form though, a form that could only be achieved by casting everything that made a kaijin [real] into the void of [Chaos] that they were ripped out of the first place…well then, he stood a chance.
THOOOOM!
A sound as loud as thunder, but as sonorous as a bell rang out throughout the entire [Abyssal Lands] cavern, as the beam collided with the turtle shell shield. The shockwaves produced by this collision caused massive waves to emanate from the point of context, sending surges of shadow water every which way.
However, the shield didn’t stop the beam dead in its track.
Instead, as the beam kept hammering against the shield, it began to pushed back to the point that Tor___ had to pushback against it with all of his newfound might.
Which was fine by him!
GROOOAAAAAA!
With a mighty roar, Tor_____ pushed backed against the beam, using the shield as intended.
Little by little, step by massive step, To____ got closer and closer to the [Shadow Sovereign].
His goal was unknown and unclear, but the opportunity this moment created was multifold.
And the people who directly benefitted from this tip in balance was more than willing to leverage it to their advantage.
‘Wait…we have more time and no time! Everybody, attack!’
[AYE!]*5
..Little forward in the future…
“Grandpa? Why’d you stop?”
“Huh? Oh…nothing, Stringbean, just…I remembered something that happened a long time ago…”
On the streets of Undertow, scattered across the cityscape, several elderly men and women stopped in their tracks to stare off into the distance.
Ages ago, they saw giants protect their city from a baleful light that threatened extinction.
And now, in the present day, those same giants rose again.
But this time, they were joined by two others.
