Deox Wars: Departure (Editing!)

Chapter Six

        Renova stood at an incredible computer screen, seemingly hundreds of keys laid out before him on a holographic display. Behind the screen was a strange device that occasionally glowed and opened a portal, allowing more Negi to flow into the world. When the door opened, he didn’t bother turning around.

“04. So you’ve finally figured it out.”

“It wasn’t difficult. The Negi had to be coming from somewhere, and this was the perfect disguise.”

“Indeed it was. The humans never suspected a thing. But I’m afraid you’ve come too late. With the Negi here, the process to awaken Diel will be completed faster than anticipated. All worlds will be dust in his hands.”

“Awaken…Diel…?” Saniel breathed.

“Lord Diel will tolerate no resistance in his conquest.” Renova glared down at them. “In this case…it seems it falls to me to save him the trouble of having to deal with such meddlesome pests!”

The android whirled to face them, drawing his two plasma blades.

“With the Negi’s aid…”

The portal device flared, and several tiny Negi flew out and attached to Renova. More and more appeared from the portal, flying to the android until finally becoming a half-mechanical monster, bellowing at them in rage.

“He…fused with them!” Wren cried.

“Like Thath…!” Dmitri murmured.

“He’s become a vessel.” Saniel raised her bow. “This isn’t good. Get ready, everyone!”

“Give me your energy!” The monster that was Renova roared, and sent out a dark pulse. The pulse itself wasn’t painful, but when it struck Hyli, she was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness and despair.

“Wh…” She held her head. “What happened?”

“Hyli?” Ash rushed to her in concern. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him through bleary vision. “Ash, don’t you feel that?”

Ash blinked. “Feel…what?”

“He’s feeding on your positive energy, like a Negi!” Negae rose up over the party. “Posi Effect: Excecute!”

The red android responded with a pulse of his own, which swept the Negi back a few inches.

“I will hold it as long as possible!”

“I think we can take care of this one.” Curan said, and Caladbolg looked confident.

“Curan? Are you going to resonate?” Quetzal asked.

“I don’t see any reason I shouldn’t. The Negi’s weak spot is in the center, right? Then Caladbolg and I will cut straight through. Just give me a clear shot.”

The Drachen nodded. “Sure thing.”

He charged forward, heavy gauntlets leading the way. He aimed for one of the mechanical edges, knowing that a direct punch against the amorphous Negi would be useless. On the opposite side, Hyli, Nikolos, and Dmitri were employing the same tactics. A heavy blow from Durendal or Gungnir, then a barrage of missiles was proving incredibly effective.

“How can we even know if we’re doing any damage?” The wolf girl asked. It had been several minutes since they’d started fighting, and the monster showed no signs of stopping.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to go down soon.” Nikolos agreed. “Maybe there’s something we’re missing?”

“Hey, look at those bolts,” Dmitri pointed up to four large metal spikes protruding from the Negi’s back. “What do you think they do?”