PHASE 44 - A SWORD THAT IS MEANT TO PROTECT

“Rikkun!” My reflexes sparked in, charging my attack! “!!!”

Upon impact with Helena’s activated shield, my dark-flamed fist made a strong shockwave! But the power of Vishnu’s on Helena is impenetrable, so my punch won’t go through! Helena is completely invincible!

As Helena withdrew her hand from Rikkun’s chest, she was already holding a golden ball of light made of condensed prana. It is the God Core of Freyr, which she immediately absorbed by her heart.

She made a huge jump backward, gaining distance.

“Rikkun!” I immediately caught my lover’s body before he fell to the ground. He started to cough weakly, and blood spurted out from his mouth.

“!!!”

A golden pillar of light ate Helena whole, and the next time we know it, her robotic armor is now surging with golden circuits. Yellowish air surrounded her fist as she clenches it and savors the ultimate power of her sixth God Core.

“Bwahahahahaha!!! So this is the power of the Norse God of Kings. I can’t believe you own such a tremendous force inside you!” Helena laughed like a madwoman.

“...Tia...ra…” Rikkun said as he made a weak grip on my left shoulder. His cross sigil on his emerald eyes is about to lose its glow.

“R-Rikkun…” I cried. My toes are shaking, and my brain failed to issue a command. I’m so scared…

“Stop that drama.” Helena immediately dashed with Mercury’s full speed and kicked Rikkun out of my grasps, making him fall and roll on the slope. I tried to reach out my hand, but Helena immediately caught my neck with her cyber arm!

“Ack!” I tried to beg for oxygen as her hand squeezed my windpipes.

I have to get away from her!

“!!!, !!! , !!!”

I used all offensive spells I know, but the attack would be dispelled by the on Helena before my fists and spells could reach her face!

“...Uuuurk!!!” I’m already out of the air.

“That of yours is quite troublesome. But now that your Rikkun is gone, I have all the time in the world to kill you. But… I’ll have to play with you for a while.”

Helena’s menacing glare at me made me lose strength. The power of the six gods in one person made me tremble in fear. I couldn’t even suppress my gallbladder, which resulted in me peeing myself.

“Ohoho~” Helena smirked. “Aren’t you a little wet?”

Helena’s fingers started to crawl on my thigh. It left me a ticklish sensation as she is about to tuck her hand underneath my skirt.

No…

No…

Noooo!!!

“!!!”

Just before the unimaginable was about to happen to me, there were darkness and a silver streak! When it all faded away, Helena’s cyber arm was destroyed into pieces, and I finally found myself in the arms of my prince charming!

“R-Rikkun…”

Rikkun’s heavy breathing made it clear that he’s no longer in fighting condition. His prana circuits have been fried, and his energy is almost depleted. He only has his own adrenaline as his power source.

“Impossible! How can you damage my arm even with my shields active!” Helena cried. Then she immediately shifted to a smile like a psychotic bipolar. “Oh well. It’s not like my new arm can’t regenerate anyway.”

Rikkun’s passionate gaze locked unto mine. “Tiara… Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay! Stop worrying about me!” I cried as I focused all my energy to my fingers to cast . I can’t believe him! Why is he still thinking about my safety even though he’s already beaten up and half-dead!

<>

“Let’s put this power to the test!” Helena shouted. Her severed alien-tech arm started to reforge itself back into a fully useable limb once again as if it wasn't shattered in the first place. She raised her fully-regenerated mech arm which expanded and created an antler-shaped wristbow. Then, she charged her Weapon Gem sword in it.

“!!!”

The futuristic wristbow glowed golden as it gave a cybernetic voice of Lord Freya.

“Judgment shall now start…

Six God Cores switched as main power source…

Zeus.

Odin.

Vishnu.

Mercury.

Mars.

Freyr.

Extermination approved by all Gods.”

“Do me a favor and stay dead!” Helena shouted. “Diiiiieeee!!!”

The sword-arrow coated itself by photon energy, and it was launched in the speed of light!

Everything was white. There was a deafening energy wave rushing towards me. Everything happened so fast. I couldn’t do anything but to close my eyes.

But...

I heard a swift swishing sound. I felt warmth in my heart as if I'm being hugged by a lover's embrace.

It was then when I realized that Rikkun withdrew the from my chest for the second time!

Slash!

He used the platinum sword to split the raging sword in clean half!

“You still have the nerve!?” Helena was more furious than before. “Try destroying all these!!! “!!!” , “!!!” , “!!!”

Helena used her floating swords as arrows for her bow, and she rained us with terrifyingly powerful projectiles. But before her sword-arrows could reach us, Rikkun would deflect or shatter those swords into pieces! Sparks fly every time he swings the !

Slash! Hack! Slash! Loud metallic clangs echoed. With every swing he makes, blood sprinkles from his open wounds. Even if he's tripling his efforts, he's not completely obliterating the attacks. The swords may be deflected, but the residue energy of Helena's burns every cell of his body.

After defending against the eight sword, the evaporated.

“Haaaaaa!!!” Rikkun materialized his katana as he blocked the ninth blade to prevent it from reaching me!

The sound of his tearing flesh echoed unto my mind. Blue flames started to consume his skin, and his upper clothes became nothing but ashes.

“Grrrrrraaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!” Rikkun made his final warcry.

Upon that last impact with the tenth , his katana faded, so he used his bare hands to catch the glowing sword projectile instead.

The ray of light faded as Rikkun was able to successfully defend us from the last flying sword.

Helena made a temporary ceasefire as she started to talk. “You should have used the for offense, and not for defense. If you cast while using that damned platinum sword, you should have defeated me in one shot. Swords are meant to be used that way. You should have won if you let Tiara as a bait.”

“Don’t misunderstand me, Kendo Champion.” Rikkun weakly chuckled. “You see… Our main difference is that you always go for excellence… While me… I’d rather lose than to sacrifice somebody just to win.”

“But you already lost. You lost, and you sacrificed yourself.” Helena made a frown.

My eyes widened.

My breathing stopped.

My heart halted.

All of these happened when I saw Rikkun’s charred stiff body. His nerves, blood vessels, and prana circuits have completely been roasted. I can no longer sense any energy on him.

His legs lost its strength.

As he fell lifelessly to the ground, I hollered out loud.