PHASE 65 - A WAY TO BEAT THE IMPOSSIBLE

Lord Haliya never realized that the earlier are not a failed attack or distraction, but a spell to move the clouds that are hovering beside the moon. The tornado drills’ purpose is to push the clouds until it covered the moon completely.

And since there’s no moonlight, Lord Haliya can’t use the for her advantage. She thought that she can counter me with a spell just by thinking of it, only realizing that she can no longer be when it’s too late.

“Haaaaaa!” I made a punch downwards, dunking the moon goddess straight the land! With that impact and her fall that can be compared to an eight-story building, a large crater was formed. The smoke of dust filled the area.

When the flying dust particles faded, it revealed a petite brown-haired shrine maiden sitting on her knees at the center of the crater. She’s no longer on her goddess form.

“Ouchie ouchie ouchie…” Asumi-nee held her aching forehead.

When she opened her eyes, she realized that Rikkun and I have cornered her. I’m pointing my fist to her chest, and Rikkun is just there, standing and smiling like a proud master.

Asumi-nee raised her hand and triggered the white flag. “Okay, okay, you guys win.” She said in a carefree tone. “But… Did you learn a lot from our skirmish?”

“More than a lot. You may be an airhead, but you’re a great teacher.” Rikkun smiled as he lent out her hand. “Thanks, Asumi~”

I also lent my hand. Asumi-nee chuckled, and then accepted both hands as she helped herself stand up. “You guys are so hopeless that you needed the genius Asumi to intervene. All right, I’ll aid you with my full support and power.”

Then Asumi gave us a double thumbs-up as she projected a wide happy smile.

I don’t exactly know what Rikkun learned in this battle. Did he realize something that could potentially beat Helena? I’ll just ask him later.

<>

It’s already eleven in the evening. It’s Sunday tomorrow, so we can pull out an all-nighter. We still have plenty of time to research at the library. Eliseo, Emily, Heushac, Diadem, and Key are planning to study for the whole night as if we’re preparing for our final exams.

There are roughly two weeks left before Helena returns and get me. She has seven God Cores which makes her overpowered and invincible. She has the power of Zeus, Vishnu, Odin, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, and Freyr. While the Aether Crusade only have three Goddess Cores, namely; Hel, Venus, and Haliya.

There’s still a lot of gap to our powers. We can’t waste any time idling around.

<>

I repeat, we can’t waste any more time.

But...

When Rikkun and I entered the library, we saw Eliseo, Emily, Heushac, and Diadem playing cards just in the library, taking their sweet time. Not just that… They’re noisy in this very room, in the middle of the night.

“WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!!!? I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WOULD PULL OUT AN ALL-NIGHT STUDY FOR OUR IMPENDING BATTLE AGAINST HELENA!!!”

Rikkun’s furious shout echoed in the library. He flipped the table where our friends are playing, and now the cards flew like confetti.

“What a killjoy.” Diadem and Heushac muttered as they stared the arrogant king with their disappointed eyes.

“Uh…” Rikkun just made a facepalm. Then he made a deep sigh. “I thought you guys are determined to search for answers, but here you are, playing cards like a happy-go-lucky bunch of idiots.”

“But I am an idiot.” Heushac said. “Studying is never my genre, you know that. Forcing myself to read books that I barely understand won’t do a thing.”

“How about you, Eliseo? You’re wasting your smarts. Why are you playing cards with them?” Rikkun asked.

“Well…” Eliseo blushed as he scratched his cheek. “The loser of this card game will strip. I’m trying to beat Heushac and Diadem. I’ll go back to my work once I saw Diadem’s abs…”

Diadem got a chill on his spine. He was about to escape, but Heushac grabbed him by the nape of his collar. Judging from the situation, Diadem is the only one unwillingly dragged in this card game.

“How about you, idiot maid?” Rikkun’s words are directed to the pink-haired maid.

“Helena will just go for Tiara, right? Then her death will work in my favor. I’ll be glad to be your spare girlfriend, Master Alaric~”

Rikkun gave a sigh once again, and I just made a fake smile. Their carefree attitude is a good thing, but it’s worrying me.

“Fine… I’ll just research for myself.” Rikkun lazily went out of the scene.

“I-I’ll help you out!” I followed my boyfriend like a loyal dog.

But before we are about to go, Eliseo grabbed our attention by shouting: “Key is still searching at the secret archives. You know where that is, right?”

“Yeah…” Rikkun replied.

<>

Secret Archives.

The Kozukata Shrine keeps the records of all Gate Guardian activities since ancient times, and they store it in the secret archives. It’s the least used room in this establishment, so it’s only natural that everything is dusty. The books, bookshelves, the wooden floor, the ceiling, the ceiling fan, and the white lamp here looks dirty.

There is a lone figure at the center of the room.

It’s a white ghostly figure.

“Eeeeeek!!!” I cried as I clung to my boyfriend’s arm.

“Calm down, Tiara! Calm down!” Rikkun said with a trembling voice. There’s no denying the fact that he's quite scared too.

“Tiara… Alaric… It’s me.”

That monotone… It’s Key-chan! She finally revealed herself when the long white flowing hair turned and revealed our precious homunculus.

But for some reason, she’s not Key-chan we know. She’s now a bit taller than mine, and her face matured; like a twenty-five-year-old woman. She now wears a dark bodysuit that has glowing prana circuits flowing through. That sexy bodysuit is too tight that it molds her bountiful breasts and bulky buttocks.

More than that, she has this dragonfly-like cybernetic wings on her back. Her eyes are no longer red, but gold. Her cross sigil; which is a mark of being a Gate Guardian is now white.

“K-Key-chan…” I approached my once adorable baby and scanned her delicate face. She’s still cute like before, but her body states otherwise. “Y-You changed…”

“Yes. I think it’s due to my ability .”

is one of the five Gate Guardian Abilities of Key as a homunculus. It makes her age faster than a normal human being. Now that she looks like a young adult, I can’t help but worry about her.

“...So… It’s been six months, huh?” Rikkun muttered.

Rikkun is keeping track of Key’s days. Last time, we learned that Key will explode once she reached her fifteenth birthday, and that is her weird Gate Guardian Ability . It’s been six months since then, and yet, we don’t have any solution to her terminal illness.

“Don’t worry about me. We can think about that later. For now, you have to listen to me carefully.” Key said.

We became silent due to her command. Then, she finally spoke good news.

“I finally know a spell on how to counter Helena’s God Cores. If we can do it correctly, the chance of defeating Helena will be at 50%.”