【Story】(Route A) Chapter 3: After Confronting the Demons

Ch. 3　After Confronting the Demons

Part 1

“The Real Desire”

Enoch rushed to the demon camp as fast as he could. Since all of the demons had lost their will to fight, no one was there to stop Enoch from entering the main camp. At the moment he made his entrance, Ingrid was sitting feebly on the ground while Baal wielded his sword.
Enoch: Stop!
Enoch launched an attack at once and knocked Baal flying. But Enoch didn’t waste a second to check on Baal. Instead, he rushed to Ingrid and embraced her.
Enoch: Ingrid!
Ingrid: Ah, it’s you, Enoch— Urgh! Cough cough!
Ingrid coughed violently and puked a worrying amount of blood, which could almost form a puddle. Enoch was astounded, but Ingrid touched his hands and comforted him.  
Ingrid: Don’t worry. It’s the price you gotta pay for that power, which is perfectly normal. In fact, the consequence is way more manageable than I had expected. Thank you all for taking this up with me.
Enoch: You’re the one who has done the most… Anyway, get some rest. I’ll take you back to Gaia—
Some creaky metallic noises interrupted Enoch. Baal carried his sword and moved towards them, but he had to do so with a lot of effort since he was resisting the power of Ghroth. The rest of the demons had surrendered long ago; he was the only one who made it till now with his unyielding resolution.
Baal: Darn… How dare you… thwart my plans! I was so close to realizing his dream!
Enoch: Give up, Meph… I mean, Baal, King of the Protodemons. With your current status, it’s impossible to win.
Baal: Kill me, then.
Enoch: …Why! Does victory really mean so much to you? Why do you have to make this a matter of life and death?
Baal: Ha… Yes, it’s my own choice.
Enoch: You— Huh?
Suddenly, specks of golden dust shrouded the entire camp. A gorgeous man broke into the place and got Baal on the horse.
Baal: Laplace— Ugh!
Enoch: Mephibo!
Laplace: Worry not. I won’t hurt him.
Enoch: …Who are you?
Laplace: Ha, do you really have time to care about who I am… Very soon, the continent and the universe will be turned upside down by destiny, and you’ll be the dominator. May you find the blessed path.
Enoch: You mean— Whoa!
Enoch wanted to ask, but Laplace was already steering his horse; the dust and sand after them prevented Enoch from following; he could only watch Baal and Laplace disappear in the distance.
Enoch lifted Ingrid onto the horse and rode towards his barracks. On his journey, he realized what Laplace had meant—
Enoch: Ooof— What’s that sound!
Some eerie noise was sent from above, which sounded like a horrid curse or the cry of a newborn. Upon seeing what was in the sky, Enoch was so terrified that his mouth was wide open.  
Enoch: What… what happened?
The azure sky was filled with multiple shades of ominous colors, in which the massive shadows of other planets appeared. Visibly, the planets were getting closer.
Ingrid: Cough cough…
Enoch: Ingrid…
Ingrid: Hey, why the long face? I won’t die… But if you don’t stop this now, I’m afraid everyone on the Continent Tarones would die. 
Enoch: Die… You mean all of these planets will fall onto Continent Tarones?
Ingrid: Yes, it should be the result of the disorder of the elements… Anyway, we shouldn’t go back to our camp now. 
Enoch: Huh? Where’re we going then?
Ingrid: …To find Pompeii. Only Pompeii knows what we should do.
Enoch: I see!
Enoch: “It hurts… It’s my wound on the shoulder… Did the miasma start working again… But I won’t be defeated before I complete my mission!”
Enduring the pain, Enoch switched direction and headed towards the entrance of the Mech City…

Part 2

“Agents Assembled”

To stop the disaster, Enoch and Ingrid came to the entrance of the Pilgrimage in the underground Mech City.
The agents of the Magic Agency were all present, along with Zana, Behemoth, and Bahamut, who weren’t there earlier. They surrounded Pompeii, the machina, until the appearance of Enoch and Ingrid.
Hong Ai: Enoch! I’ve been waiting for you for so long! And, I defeated the enemies in the Enochian Tower! Isn’t it cool?
Enoch: Well done, Hong Ai, and everybody else… Thank you.
Hong Ai: Hmm…you look pale, Enoch. Are you alright?
Enoch: I’m fine, just a bit tired. And… Mephibo… he… 
Qingxia: … Dagda has told us about Mephibo… Who would’ve thought that he…
Enoch: No one would’ve expected that… But we’re running out of time. First things first, what’s happening right now?
???: … The disorder of the elements has disturbed the balance of the creatures; the planets will crush onto Continent Tarones.
Enoch: You are… Pompeii the machina… 
Pompeii: Enoch, it’s the first time that I’ve met you in person. We were finally awakened, thanks to Xilocient and the others.
Enoch: Then what should we do now? If the planets crush on us, not only will Continent Tarones be destroyed, but so will the entire world!
Ingrid: Seems like we only have one choice left.
Enoch: … Release Monesis, the power of creation, so as to reset the order of the elements. Am I right?
Pompeii: Yes, you are.
Hong Ai: Won’t the horrifying power be released if we do that?
Pompeii: True. Without Monesis, the origin of destruction will reappear… In the past, I decided to guard Monesis with all machinas and keep the destructive origin under control. But the consequence was that the bounties of Monesis diminished, causing the withering of other planets.
Enoch: Hold on… Is this the reason why resources on the home planets of the Holy Gods and Protodemons have drained?
Pompeii: You’ve guessed it. I had but two choices back then: the first one was what I chose, the second one was to keep Monesis free and allow the awakening of the destructive origin to take place. But then the world would be doomed…
Pompeii: So I chose the former even though I knew it was at best an expedient measure. Now, things are different— 
Pompeii reached Enoch with his hand in such a solemn manner as if he were handing over the entire world to Enoch.
Pompeii: We have you now, Enoch. You are chosen by destiny, and you possess the power of the destructive origin. You’ll be able to annihilate the creature and save the world from the shackles of the curse.
Hong Ai: Huh? What’re you talking about? I don’t understand a word.
It was indeed hard for Hong Ai to understand, but Enoch knew exactly what Pompeii had meant. He had been to a miraculous dimension where his secret history and mission had been revealed to him.
Enoch: Not only me… I’ve received so much help from different people during my journey. I wouldn’t have gone so far without them… I believe in every one of you, and I have faith in those who have always strived to protect the continent. You will all assist me in rewriting the destiny of this world!
Pompeii: “All lives are somehow interdependent… It’s interesting how it is manifested again… ”
Ingrid: Let’s not waste time and break the seal now.
With a nod, Pompeii stepped on the stage and placed his hand on the metal wall, his body emitting beams of gentle, crimson light. Phoom! The beams grew stronger and illuminated the Pilgrimage. A cornucopia of elements was dancing in the air.
Pompeii: Great Monesis, all creatures are vital and lively in your embrace. We are all your children, who shall eventually become one. You have granted us lives, and we live in your glory…
Pompeii poured forth his prayers devoutly as he folded his hands on the kinetic core in his chest. A shimmering stone, which was spinning round and round, gradually became visible. The metal walls of the Pilgrimage started to shrink, and the hidden part of the gigantic puff of light was finally unveiled.
Enoch: “This is… Monesis… It’s beyond description. All I have inside of me is an irresistible urge to worship… and an ineffable affection…”
Overwhelmed by the scene, everyone held their breath as they fixed their eyes on Monesis. Ingrid, who still remained fully rational, was the only exception. A hint of uneasiness flickered across her eyes, and she soon caught sight of the purple shadow that stuck out behind Monesis.
Ingrid: Pompeii, watch out!
Pompeii: Urgh!
But the purple shadow reached Pompeii faster than Ingrid’s warning. It jumped over Monesis and trailed Pompeii like the vines of a tree. Pompeii struggled, but the shadow was simply immovable. Worse still, tentacles emerged out of the shadow, and one of them grabbed on the soulstone in Pompeii’s kinetic core.
Enoch: Pompeii—!

Part 3

“Getting out of Hand”

Enoch wanted to save Pompeii, but it was all too late— Crack! Pompeii’s soulstone, along with the iridescent power inside, was shattered and engulfed by the purple shadow almost instantly.
???: 
The shadow let out a roar that was imperceivable to humans. It expanded rapidly and generated more limbs. It became so great in size that it eclipsed the brightness of Monesis and dominated the scene.
The enlarging shadow grew into a matter of abysmal blackness; its thin slices eventually formed a three-dimensional sphere. It looked solid, but it could flow as freely as liquid. The noise it made resembled the sound of the movement of a wet, fleshy object. The sounds invaded Enoch’s ears from all directions.
Enoch: “Ugh…! It feels like someone is touching my bones and stirring my brain.”
From the sphere stretched out countless tentacles. They went by the centre of the Pilgrimage and reached the Enochian Tower.
Enoch might not be able to see it from underground, but anyone who looked down from the sky would have noticed that the walls of the Enochian Tower were covered with vein-like violet tentacles. 
Hong Ai: Hmm… Something was excreted by that strange thing!
The dark sphere rotated, dripping thick inky liquid down onto the floor, which eventually condensed into huge oval eggs. As the eggs cracked open, the species possessed by the tentacles were exposed.
Enoch: They are Saruman, the Solar and Lunar Sirius, and Odin!
Pompeii: He… devoured the Enochian Tower and the lives in it… just to gain more power… 
Enoch: Pompeii! Are you alright?
With the help of Delta, Pompeii came near Enoch and turned his face slightly to inspect the sphere. It was simply impossible to look right into the sphere, even for someone as intelligent as Pompeii. 
Pompeii: Just now… my seal was broken forcefully, and Monesis couldn’t control the excessive power of destruction—
Hong Ai: Oh no! Will all of us be eaten up?
Bahamut: Fear not. The sphere was just a part of it. Its main body is still in its long slumber underground. As long as we obliterate the sphere and weaken the power of the main body, it’s possible for Monesis to regain control.
Ingrid: But how do we do it? Do we have to demolish the Enochian Tower?
Pompeii: No… We don’t have to. We simply have to cut the source of the power… 
Enoch: Source of power?…  You mean Saruman and the others?
Pompeii: Yes… Before the main body wakes up, we have to destroy the nucleus, extract Saruman’s power, and stop the black sphere from delivering it.
Sonata: But they look so powerful, can we really defeat them?
Ingrid: If we can’t, it’ll be our… no, it’ll be the apocalypse for the whole world. As hopeless as the battle may seem, we must fight on!
Madam Heidi: Haha, the valor of Ingrid has always impressed me.
Hong Ai: I’m gonna help too!
Enoch: Everyone… Right, we can achieve anything when we’re united. We’ve been working together like this all along; this time it’s no exception.
Feeling the support of his companions, Enoch’s eyes brightened in confidence.
Ingrid: Let’s defeat them one after another. Enoch, where’re you going?
Enoch: I…
Ingrid: Don’t worry, wherever you go, I’ll go with you… It’s… It’s my responsibility as an agent!
Enoch: Thanks, Ingrid, then I’ll…

Which will you choose