It made sense now. Rage had been so confident that there wasn't anything that could stop him, and they all saw the reason now.
The Lord of Threads had claimed he could do something similar. Resurrection. The act of coming back from the dead. Of course, to come back from the dead, one needed to die. The reason Rage, the Lord of Threads, and Adam were all so confident they'd survive, despite the fact they fought so many powerful foes at the same time, was as clear as day. All three of them, perhaps every member of the evil seven, could all use the act of Resurrection.
Neptune stroked his chin, and with his free hand, he pointed his trident out. First, it was aimed at Sieg, who was still kneeling and panting. Next, it shifted to Susie.
Neptune's entire being had changed. His lower half was the only thing that looked horse and fish-like, with his upper half being that of a handsome man. He had a grin on his lips, but they weren't trembling, nor were his gums bleeding like they had been earlier. Rage was gone. That false body of his, which existed as part of the Vow, no longer was needed.
All that remained was his true self. The one who had walked through thousands of worlds. Neptune, God of the Sea. God of the Horse. God of Power.
But was he really a god? What made a god? Did a God even exist? Long, long ago, Han Yuan spoke of meeting a being known as Neptune, who claimed to be a god of the sea. She had challenged this great being to combat, and it was said she won. Because of this, she dubbed him not a god but rather an arrogant being with power.
That story didn't reassure Myth. He could sense Neptune's mana, and it was far larger and denser than anything Rage had shown. Rage had been about as strong as two captains, but Neptune's level of power was around the level of the Holy Saint. An ancient being, older than them all, from the time of Haru, now stood before them.
In terms of power, the Holy Saint was around the strength of four or five captains, as well as the leader of the Black Hand. It was technically possible for someone like Neptune to be defeated by them, but it would certainly be an uphill battle, and at any moment, one of them could die. To make things even worse, none of them were anywhere close to full power. They had all used up mana and healing spells just to beat Rage. Each of them suffered terrible bruises and were at best at half their max power.
Considering what Neptune had become, beating Rage had been the easy part.
This wasn't a monster. It was a being that had so much power he was able to call himself a god, and only those of equal standing could deny such a position.
"I had forgotten what my body felt like." Neptune's arms moved back and forth, and he stretched, letting out a soft yawn. "It feels like I've been in a deep slumber for oh so long. Nine thousand, four hundred, and fifty-one. That's how many cycles I spent trapped in that false shell. Of those countless retries, I only ever managed to reach the door to Rome a total of six times. I'm not even a drop in the bucket of entirety when you compare me to the lives Adam and Mordred lived. Still…" Neptune's smile grew. "I would be a fool to get this far and not try. I'll claim the three members of the seven who are here. That will bring my total count up to four. It won't be complete, but with more than half, the gates will have no choice but to open, and I can reunite with the being on the other side."
"Is it just me, or does it seem like he's talking to himself?" Ken asked sheepishly.
"He's not attacking us either?" Olivia frowned. She could feel the immense energy, and at first she had been afraid, but moments ticked by, and Neptune hadn't taken a step forward. The horse god just stood there and kept babbling.
"Should we attack him?" Falco asked.
Neptune suddenly stopped speaking, and his gaze shot over to Falco, who squeaked and went silent. "I'm not moving because there's no reason to. You're all already dead."
"I feel pretty alive," Ken snorted.
"Oh? Then why don't you try to escape or attack me?" Neptune looked around at all the Knights who stood frozen around him. "It's a nineteen on one. Tell you what, I'll even lower my mana skin to make it more interesting."
Silence filled the battlefield.
"Oh?" Neptune cocked his head in disappointment. "Still no? What if I tell you a secret then? If you're afraid that killing me will only bring me back, then you can rest assured that it won't. The act of Resurrection can only be done once. This is truly my full power. A god has no reason to lie, nor does he have any reason to do the work of mortals. You can all surely feel how far above you I am. So, do me a favor and impale yourselves on my trident. Your death will be swift that way."
"Like that's happening." Battery growled and drew his sword, about to freeze it, but froze. His teeth clattered, and he scowled, his body shaking. His arms lowered. He couldn't strike.
None of them could.
Looking at Neptune, feeling the sheer amount of mana he now had, and how cold and dark it was, left them all frozen in place. They were like flies trapped in a spider's web, and they all knew that the moment any of them made even the slightest bit of movement or attempted to run or strike, then that hungry spider, which was gazing at them all in amusement, would pounce.
Battery felt sweat roll down his body, and he was instantly reminded of a scenario eerily similar to this. During the exam, while he had been in charge of Davi, Ken, Cain, and Ruby. The final part of the exam had them face off against a deadly dragon. Neptune and that beast were very much alike. That dragon had gazed at him and his teammates, practically begging them to run or fight, while it just sat there amused.
He had often mocked Ruby for breaking down. That girl had her spirits nearly shattered completely from the simulation, while the others were able to bounce back. Sure, it had been scary, but it hadn't been real.
This was real.
Every time those eyes would gaze at him, he'd nearly piss himself. He wanted to drop his weapons and run. To flee. Screw being a Knight. But he couldn't even do that because the moment he tried to flee, this would turn into a game of chase, and that fucker was half horse.
Even if Neptune wasn't actually a god, he was a being that had so much power that it was driving all of them mad. Even his captain, Myth, was petrified.
Neptune let out a quiet sigh, which carried across the courtyard. "Really? Not a single soul wishes to try? I'm practically defenseless, you know. My mana skin is turned off, and I'm not in a fighting stance. If all nineteen of you came at me at once, surely one could land a fatal blow, right?" Silence. "Fine, fine. A bunch of cowards you all are. Very well then. I'll-"
Ken smashed her palm into the stomach of Neptune's body, the section where the horse and human half met. Even without mana skin, her blow bounced off his hardened flesh, and she winced and then gave a sheepish smile.
"Can't blame a girl for trying-"
Neptune's trident shattered the ground at the spot she had been, and he only narrowly missed thanks to Olivia, who finally managed to get her body to move and tackled her friend to the ground. Neptune swatted down at them again, but Gormay managed to summon a burger golem directly between the girls and the weapon. It splattered into a meaty mess as the trident smashed into it, but it bought the girls enough time to roll back.
That seemed to shatter the rest of the hold everyone else had been stuck in. Or rather, it got the rest of Phoenix Flight to move. "It seems a bit bleak." Clause admitted.
"That it does." Ragna hummed.
"Still," Clause continued. "If we are going to die, I guess it would be better to go out fighting."
"Well said." Ragna twisted Greenie around, who shifted into an even larger glaive. "We'll try our best to the very end."
"We got this," Falco announced confidently. "We're Phoenix Flight. We never lose."
"At the very least, if you do all die, you can be ghosts like me," Ghost cheered.
Mama Herta shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Honestly, now isn't the time for jokes."
"She's kind of right, though." Miranda snorted. "This guy kicked our asses before the power-up. Can we really beat him now?"
Gormay patted his belly and grunted. "I'm going to eat him."
"Yeah, you can try that." Miranda shrugged. "Hopefully, he doesn't bite back."
Sieg jammed his spear into the ground and stood up. Susie looped an arm around him and made sure he didn't fall. "He's after us," Sieg muttered. "He won't stop till we're dead. You should-"
"I'm not leaving," Susie said flatly, and she shook her head. "In the battle back at my village, I didn't do anything. I… I might as well have not even been there. I really hate you guys and how crazy you all are, especially Davi, but at the same time, I'm also a little jealous. When shit hits the fan, you all seem to double down and get over it. Well, I think I'm better than you all, so if you guys can do it, then so can I." Susie glared at Neptune, who now grinned as he stared at all the members of Phoenix Flight who got ready to engage him. "We can beat him. We have to."
Myth and the rest of the Pantheon guild remained in the back, still mostly frozen. He stared at the Phoenix Flight members in confusion. Surely they didn't actually think they could win, did they?
Why were they even fighting?
It made no sense. Standing still had been buying them the most time. Perhaps they could do that and… And what? Laerton would arrive? What could she do? Davi might show up? Big deal, he wasn't even on the level of a Vice Captain. Even if magically a third guild showed up, they'd still likely lose unless that guild had the Holy Saint. There was no way to get in contact with Father, however.
Were they really doomed? Did they have any hope of victory?
Neptune was an overwhelmingly strong foe. How do you beat a god?
Why was Phoenix Flight even trying? What could they do?
Well…
They could do their best.
Neptune twirled his trident, and one of his horse legs lifted up and tapped on the ground. "Yes, yes, very good. That look in your eyes is simply amazing. I've seen it before. This isn't the first time I've had to slaughter entire guilds. From my world, the sea did battle with the Knights. Just so you know, that battle resulted in the death of your precious King. Let us have a repeat of history!"
"You talk way too much now!" Ken launched an orb of fire directly at Neptune, but it never reached him. He didn't even bother to say a spell name; the liquid in the air just silently rose up, forming a mini wave that devoured the fire. With that, the battle truly began. Susie followed her lead and fired several orbs, which Neptune dodged.
Ragna was the first to charge forward after that. He gripped Greenie as tightly as he could and unleashed a loud battle roar as he swung his glaive. The trident of Neptune parried his swing, and Ragna felt his arms strain. The clash was like smacking a mountain, and his very bones vibrated. Before he could strike again, Neptune's body twisted and lifted up on his back legs, the front ones kicking out. Ragna felt his ribs shatter, and he spat up a wave of blood as he was blasted back. As he flew away, Ragna threw Greenie as hard as he could.
Clause mana stepped behind the blade and gritted his teeth. His weapon flared up, and the clock symbol began to swirl. "I'll put a full year into this." He declared, and his skin suddenly gained several more wrinkles as he swung at the butt end of Greenie, smacking the weapon-mimic hard enough to ignite it and send it blasting toward Neptune like a bullet. Neptune caught the weapon with his free hand, and spikes of water grew out of the ground beneath Clause, impaling the old man.
Mama Herta ran past Clause and held her chef's hat out. The water spikes were sucked out of Clause's body and swirled at the opening of the hat, which began to change. Its white fabric morphed into an iron black shell, and a barrel jutted out of it, which she pointed toward the monster. "Take your own mana right back at you!" Her weapon unleashed a wave of blue energy, which Neptune batted away with his trident. He then fired several bullets of water toward Mama Hearta, but Miranda jumped in front of the plump woman and threw her arms out.
The bullets slammed through Miranda, and she screamed as her blood was spilled. Her feet didn't budge, though, and she kept Herta safe, not letting any of the attacks get past her. "Gormay!"
Her brother jumped over both her and Herta and smashed down in front of Neptune. His hand shot out, and he grabbed Greenie, which Neptune had still been holding. The mimic screeched and suddenly twisted into a large club covered in spikes. Several of the spikes tore into Neptune's hands, and the god finally began to bleed, letting out a soft wince as he did so. He tore his hand away from the club and rammed his trident forward toward Gormay's head, but the large man opened his mouth and bit down on the weapon as hard as he could, holding it in place. While that happened, Susie fired another wave of golden orbs but Neptune lazily blocked them with shields of water.
Neptune frowned, suddenly not looking amused. "Let go, you beast," Gormay grunted and responded by shivering. A second later, and Ghost came flying through him, dropping out of his belly as she phased into his body. Ghost wrapped herself around one of his horse legs, and ice spread out, freezing his foot to the ground. "You can't really expect that this will stop me, do you?" His other leg kicked out and slammed into Ghost before she could phase. She crashed into Gormay's belly and slumped down.
"Hey!" Falco suddenly dropped from the sky, wielding a wave of fire in the shape of a saber. "Don't hurt Ghost!" He slashed out with the weapon as hard as he could, but the fire harmlessly washed over Neptune, who lazily punched out with his bleeding hand toward Falco. Falco felt all his ribs shatter as the fist tore into his stomach, and he nearly vomited, but refused to give up. He wrapped his arms around the limb and dropped to the ground, holding it in place. "Now!"
Neptune's eyes widened. One limb was frozen to the ground, another was holding onto his weapon, which was in the fat man's mouth, and his final limb was being grappled. They were trying to hold him in place, and as he stared out past the large man, he figured out why.
Ken grabbed onto Olivia and twisted around. "Express delivery!" She then tossed Olivia as hard as she could, throwing the blood mage directly at Neptune. Olivia had her scythe out, ready to slice into him!
Neptune just sneered. "Do you really think that will work? You must all truly view me as a fool. Row Shadow-"
ꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖꀷꊿꃔ'ꋖ ꏳꊿꃔꈜ꒐ꀷꑀꌅ ꒐ꋖ
Neptune's eyes widened. Wait. What had he just been looking at? What was going on? Where was he? He felt his limbs be bound, and he saw three people holding onto him. That's right. He had been grappled. But why? They had clearly set something up, but what? Nothing was coming at him-
Neptune's chest was sliced open, and his skin began to burn. Blood poured out of him, and he grunted. Before his eyes, he saw something fading in and out again and again. A woman with silver hair-
"You!" Neptune roared as his eyes met her crimson ones. "Wait! I know you! No, no, no! That's not possible! How are you here?" He glared down at Olivia, his eyes stinging as reality itself tried to block her from his gaze. If he had still been Rage, it might have worked, but now that he was at full power, he could see right through that trick. "Fuck, Adam never told me someone like you was running around." Neptune shattered the ice around his leg, and with sudden speed, he threw both Gormay and Falco away, almost tearing Gormay's jaw off from how hard he janked his weapon out.
Olivia swung her scythe again, but her attack missed as Neptune darted away, putting some distance between them and finally taking several steps since the battle began. He laughed and swirled his trident, creating spears of water which he was about to launch.
The scythe swing had hurt him, but the cut wasn't deep. Of course, her very blood was corrosive to a being like him, and so it had hurt and charred his skin, but that was okay. At least, Neptune thought it was okay, but his laughter suddenly died out, and his eyes widened when everything went dark. All light faded away completely, and he found himself stuck in a void of nothingness. He was blind.
Olivia gave him a devilish grin, one he couldn't see, and lifted her palm, which was bleeding. "How does it feel to get hit with a curse?" She had sliced her own hand open with the dagger that caused blindness, and then took that tainted blood out of her body and formed her scythe. "I hope you're scared! There's a lot more coming your way! Vil Blood Cerberus!" She had gotten all her blood back earlier and used one spell up to make the scythe. She'd use her remaining blood up to hit him as hard as she could, aiming to deal a ton of damage. Her blood ignited and roared, twisting into the image of a three-headed beast that tried to tear into the horse-man. "Please beat him," Olivia begged, and she collapsed back, nearly blacking out.
Unfortunately, even blind, Neptune's power was just too strong. Without seeing, he created a spinning ring of water around him, which shredded the dog. What he didn't account for however, was the beast exploding on him, splashing him with a wave of boiling blood that burned his skin and forced more of the curse into him. His eyes had just started to regain their light, only to instantly see darkness again.
"You bitch!" Neptune thrashed around and covered his body with water, clearing the blood off him, but it wasn't fast enough. He needed a few seconds to heal, and that was time the Phoenix Flight gang wasn't going to give him.
Back over with Mama Herta, she held her hat out as Ken and Sieg both poured all their mana into their last spells and fired them into the object. It twisted once again into a barrel, and Mama Herta aimed it right as Neptune regained his sight. This time, the beam that fired was made out of pure lightning and fire, swirling together, and it was way bigger and stronger than the first one she had launched.
Neptune stabbed his trident out, and the beam hit him head-on, erupting into a massive blast! The ground shook and charred, and a wave of dust was kicked up.
They didn't win.
Neptune walked out of the dust, and for the most part, he was fine. All they had managed to do was leave a few scratches on him and make him dirty. Even after all that, the horseman didn't look bothered.
"D-Damn it." Sieg rushed forward and attempted to swing out with his spear, but Neptune swung his weapon and shattered it. He then nearly took Sieg's head off, but the blonde man ducked down just in time. He wasn't able to avoid the second blow, however, and screamed in pain as the horse's leg stomped on his back, shattering his spine.
"Get off him!" Mama Herta jumped into the fray and swung the cannon like a weapon, smashing it into Neptune's head, however it had very little effect, and he impaled her on his trident and then tossed her away as if she were trash.
Ken gulped and realized she was the only Phoenix Flight member left standing. Her fire had gone out a while ago, and Yujin had been placed back into his container, no longer able to fight. She hesitated for a second but took her belt off, setting the gourd down. After that, she followed Ragna's teachings and poked a few points on her body. Ragna had already entered this state, and she did so as well, the world becoming more focused as she unlocked her body's full power just as she did with High.
Ken took a calming breath and charged forward with enhanced speed. She barely dodged one of Neptune's trident swings and poked out with her finger, but all she felt was pain as the bone shattered. Neptune's skin was too tough to pierce, so shutting off points in his body wasn't possible. She changed her strategy and smashed an open palm into his stomach, aiming to use vibrations, but that also didn't work, and Neptune punched out at her. She blocked with both her arms. Thankfully, in this state, she couldn't feel pain, which was good as both her limbs were shattered.
Further back, Susie glared at Myth. "What are you doing? Fight! Do something! You're a captain, aren't you? Why have none of you tried to do anything!" She glared at all the Pantheon members.
Myth looked to Susie and then back to Ken. The red-haired cultivator dodged Neptune's stomps and kicked out with her leg. Both her arms dangled at her side uselessly, and her strike had little effect. Neptune swung around and grabbed her by the face, but Ken just opened her mouth and bit into his hand as hard as she could. Neptune responded to the bite by slamming her head into the ground again and again and again-
Susie launched another golden orb his way, causing him to drop Ken. She glared at Myth and the others. "We're all going to die. Aren't you guys Knights? Do something! Anything!" She kept firing her orbs, and Neptune flickered over and rammed his trident toward her. Susie squeezed her eyes shut, but at the last second, Myth jumped in front of her and gritted his teeth as the weapon impaled his shoulder.
"Oh?" Neptune cocked his head to the side. "You want to play the role of Knight now?"
"Just shut up," Myth spat out. "Kill him!" He tore the trident out of his shoulder and smashed his book into Neptune's stomach, but it hardly had an effect.
Max ran over to help him and yelled, kicking out as hard as he could, but just like with Ken, his blows had very little effect. Neptune slashed out with a wave of his hand and sharpened water into a blade, cutting them both open and dropping the two of them to their knees. Sera raised her arms up, about to use her growth magic, but before she could, several water bullets blasted holes through her body, and she collapsed, nearly dead, gurgling in a pool of her own blood.
Battery and Cinder both charged toward Neptune, but he appeared between them, and with a swipe from his trident, he tore their bodies open. Whisper and Sky then combined their energy into a large wind spear, which fired out, but Neptune's water spear was stronger, destroying their weapon and impaling them both.
Susie stumbled back, now standing next to Ash. She created her orbs, and Ash fired his arrows, but their attacks had very little effect.
Neptune lifted his weapon into the sky and created a large orb of water, which then exploded into another hail of bullets. Ash and Susie were torn up, their guts and arms ripped open as the bullets fired into them, and everyone else was hit as well. Neptune made sure to shoot them all just in case they tried to stand back up. Sunny threw himself in front of Princess Ever and blocked as many as he could, but it wasn't enough, and soon enough, both he and she collapsed.
The ground was turned crimson, and blood poured out of them all. They were covered in dozens of tiny bullet holes, and if none of them got any healing, they'd all be dead.
Neptune looked around the yard with a bored expression and was about to create the orb again, but slowly, Myth managed to push himself up. Several holes were pierced all the way through his body, and he was leaking red like crazy, but the power of a captain is truly mighty. He opened his book and tore out a page. He muttered several spells under his breath, using weak ones to summon three skeletons that were all in lab coats, who began to use their own magic to heal the downed people. It'd take a lot of time, and sadly, that was one thing they no longer had.
Neptune just chuckled and created the orb once again. It glowed and was about to burst.
"Vil Thread Plushie!" Before the orb could explode, a giant teddy bear tackled it and wrapped it up in a strong hug. The orb exploded and shredded the bear, but it took enough damage to save everyone. Laerton let out a sigh and rubbed her head. "Shit, that was way too close."
"We made it just in time, Captain!" Pock threw his arms up and cheered. "Now we can fight this guy."
Neptune sighed. "Another captain, and it's Captain Laerton. I remember you-"
"Yeah, that's cool and all." Laerton ignored the horseman and walked over to Myth. "Oy! Myth, you're alive!"
The dark-skinned captain gave her a weak look. "Yes…"
"Sweet." Laerton grinned and drew her sword. "Well, don't worry. Pock and I are on the scene now. You can count on us."
"Do you really think you can beat that guy?"
"Fuck no." Laerton's grin grew, and she turned to Neptune. "But I'm gonna do my best to ensure he doesn't get an easy win."
"Same as always." Neptune snorted before his look suddenly grew serious and he stabbed at her. Laerton attempted to block the blow and winced as she felt a heavy weight settle around her.
"Shit, this guy's strong!"
"Of course, I'm a god."
"A God? Then what number am I thinking of?"
"What?"
"A God should know the answer! Come on, what number!"
Neptune's glare grew. "I will not play your silly game-"
"Good, because it was actually a distraction. Pock!"
"Ril Zipper Gate!" Behind Neptune, a jagged gate through space unzipped. On the other side was the Enforcer games arena, along with a few dozen other giant teddy bears, which Laerton created. They all grabbed Neptune by his horse-ass and began to pull him in. Laerton stopped guarding and also pressed into him, and with a loud yell, she used all her strength to shove them both past the gate, which shut closed.
"What's she doing?" Myth questioned.
"Giving you guys time to heal," Pock explained.
"Oh, sweet," Sieg let out several weak coughs. "That was my strategy also."
"It's pointless," Myth sighed. "I don't have enough mana to heal everyone to full health. I could get them all stable, but none of them will be able to get back into the fight."
"Speak for yourself." Olivia stood up on wobbling legs. "I feel great. I still haven't even used Polymorph yet."
"Why are you saving it?" Ken groaned.
"I was hoping to use it on Davi," Olivia admitted. "His form is strong. Stronger than me at least."
"Does anyone else get the feeling Davi is the main character?" Ghost asked weakly. "No? Just me? Okay."
Myth sighed weakly. "I'll try to heal everyone as best I can. Pock, go to your captain. She needs help."
"Yeah… About that." Pock hummed. "Maybe it's best if no one's around her right now."
"What?"
"The captain is about to get serious."
Myth grunted and shook his head. "That won't work. We need to all attack that freak together." He glanced at his hand and growled. "Damn it. If I had saved more of my power, it could have gone better, but I allowed fear to cloud my judgment and was too cocky back when he was suppressed. I fucked up."
"Do you think you could beat him if you were at full power?" Olivia asked, suddenly getting an idea.
"Maybe. My odds would be better." Myth sighed. "I doubt I could fully defeat him, but if I got all my mana back, I could at the very least heal everyone here. No matter how strong that guy is, fighting all of us after going toe-to-toe with Captain Laerton would surely leave him weakened."
Olivia gave a hesitant nod. "Okay. I think I might have an idea."
Meanwhile, Neptune tore all the plushies around him up and glanced around at the empty stadium he crashed into. "You want to fight me one-on-one? How cowardly."
"How is that cowardly?" Laerton asked, digging through her robes.
"Suicide isn't a noble thing."
"Cute." Laerton finally found what she was looking for and pulled out a red mask that had a long nose. "Ever heard of a Tengu?"
"What?"
"There were monsters most common in my region. My… My husband had his mask based on them and passed it down to me." Laerton slipped the red mask on. "I hope you're ready. You're not fighting a dog anymore. You're about to battle a Tengu pretending to be a phoenix."