Legend of the Rising Star - Ode to Tactics 1-3

Continuing from Lunacy Carnival...

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"Link! Hey, let's go buddy-- it's your turn to fight!" Kaito read off to him, pointing at the door.

The green tunic boy nodded in response, having an excited look on his face. He ran out into the hallway, ready to cause some damage. However, as he went on, Valentine looked at him with a studying gaze, putting a hand to her chin.

"That boy's going up against Double armed with practically nothing? Does he really think that's going to get him anywhere?" She muttered.

But then she looked up at the television to see Link go up onto the stage with the nun standing there waiting for him.

"... Either way, this might prove to be rather interesting." The nurse stated.

On the stage, the air was thick with tension as Link stared down the nun, armed with sword and shield as thousands of people watched on.

"Okay! Second Battle-- start!" Lily proclaimed, jumping back from the ring as the barrier went up.

But even then, neither of them attacked. Instead, in place of the combat was a deep tense of uneasiness. Link looked on his opponent, waiting for her to make her move, but got increasingly paranoid by her motionless stance. The silence between them and the audience kept on for a bit until the nun spoke this:

"... I'd gladly accept your tithe. In blood." Double said, with a distorted, demonic-sounding voice.

She opened her eyes, revealing that they were completely white and lifeless, much to Link's and everyone else's surprise. But before anyone could even blink, she morphed into a different form altogether-- a rather well-built man with a horned skull for a face, red hair, pale brown skin, piercing orange eyes, brown and black armor and white gauntlets with red and blue markings on them. They carried a large trident-shaped weapon with an orange gem at the end, levitating into the air all the while.

Everyone gasped at the sight of Double's transformation, with Link staring dumbfounded at his opponent.

"... She didn't do that back during qualification, did she?" Meiko asked, glancing sideways at Kaito.

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to forget that a nun turned into a skull-faced man for even a second. So, no." He replied.

"I'm starting to think that poor Link's chances are in the gutter. Anyone agree?" Miku asked, to which Gakupo raised his hand slowly only to have it slapped down by Gumi.

"Well, win or lose, there's no telling just what either of them will do." Meiko remarked.

Double levitated around for a bit until she spun around the trident and fired out a greenish sphere of light at Link. In retaliation, he blocked it with his shield, but it proved to be a worthless gesture as the sphere exploded and threw him into the air. He landed on his back, slightly charred from the blast.

As he got up, however, Double let out more of the spheres at him. The thought occured to him that blocking was a wrong move, so he instead hit the spheres with his sword. Much to his surprise, it worked out much better than he imagined, as they flew back to hit the person that summoned them. The transfigured nun reacted fast and smacked the spheres away before they could make contact.

The first and third spheres homed in on the green tunic boy as he tried to get away, only for him to slice one of them to the ground, causing a field of electricity to come about and paralyze him. This left him open to the other sphere, which exploded right in front of his face. He slid on his back until he got knocked against the wall, leaving him wide open to get attacked.

With that, Double's trident sparked with a purplish-black aura as she dove in to impale Link, with everyone in the audience looking away.

--

Meanwhile, Lelus was looking up a book in the library back at the headquarters of Shining Advent. The room around him was dimly lit, with the only light being that of both a skylight and a small lamp beside him. He scoured the book, zooming from page to page as he flipped them over.

As he reached the E section, he saw a picture of the same scythe Augustus had used during his fight against Neru. It was named 'Erebus', and the description of it read:

"A scythe blackened with the blood of countless people, Erebus served as the signature weapon and soul harvesting tool of the God of Death, Thanatus. Those said to behold it are doomed to one day perish in ways too horrible to describe, for it was never meant to be seen by mortal eyes. The only one who can wield it is the one chosen by the god himself- they themselves destined to walk a path of endless madness and destruction."

"... T-this can't be! That cat boy is a chosen one for the god of death?! But then why did he seem like such a nice kid? There's definitely something going on here..." He questioned.

However, in the darkness, he heard a distinct noise much like those of footsteps except they had a squishy-sounding tone to them. Getting increasingly suspicious of his surroundings, Lelus put a hand on the hilt of the sword holstered on his back and held it tight just in case.

He got a skeptical look on his face and said this right afterward, eyes zigzagging across the room:

"Is anyone there?"

To answer him, there were simply more footstep sounds. On the corners of his eyes, he saw two glowing blue spheres, leaving a trail behind as they moved about in the pitch black room.

"Anyone friendly?" He asked again.

This time, however, he didn't recieve such a warm reply. A blue beam was shot out at him, to which he deflected by smacking it away with his gloved hand.

"Well, you didn't have to be rude about it. I should at least see who or what I'm up against." Lelus stated.

As he rose his hand up, the light switch flipped to the on position. When the room lit up, his attackers were revealed. They seemed to be gangly, white-clad creatures with shadowy faces, dot-shaped blue eyes, zigzagged mouths, long red claws and sharp-looking appendages shaped like armor. They clung onto the ceilings and walls, with the most peculiar thing about them being the symbol on each one of their bodies-- a winged heart being stabbed upwards by a cross-shaped sword.

"Well, I didn't think monster hunting was going to be on today's schedule, but I'll make an exception just for you guys." He smirked as he pulled out his weapon, which was a longsword that had a grey crescent moon shaped handle with a black rose marked on it.

With that, Lelus got in a battle position as the creatures all pounced toward him, brandishing claws and letting out distorted inhuman growls.

--

Back at the fight, Link was about to get gored by Double only to roll out of the way behind the transfigured nun and jump-slice her in the back. In swift retaliation she whacked him with the trident, knocking him a few paces away. He cushioned the blow by holding out his shield and landed on his feet, a bit shaken by the impact of her attack.

Double fired off another sphere of light, to which Link shot back with his sword. In the split second she would use to hit it back, Link pulled out a boomerang and threw it at her, arcing diagonally behind her. Double saw both attacks coming and made an attempt to block them-- only for the green tunic boy to summon a stone pillar out of the ground via Earth magic to jab her right in the stomach.

"Whoa! That kid is sharp. He's definitely showing that he's Vanguard material." Meiko remarked, impressed.

"I have to say that he is cunning. He's already doing much better than Augustus." Luka stated.

"Yes, but give Augustus some credit-- he was able to go up against one of Meiko's students and almost won by his own merits." Miku said.

"And then he almost turned the battle into a murder case. What's your point?" Gakupo criticized.

"... Well when you put it like that, never mind then." Miku grumbled, looking the other way.

Taken by surprise, the chain of attacks connected and caused a hefty amount of damage to her. With that, she was left defenseless as she plummeted toward ground, leaving Link ready to strike as he sprinted towards her, sheathing his sword in mid run.

"Wait, what is he doing?" Kaito asked.

"He's in the middle of the match. Why is he-- oh! Oh! Well, holy hell! I didn't expect him to know about that technique." Meiko stated, visibly excited.

"What technique? Does sheathing your sword let you do some crazy powerful attack that I don't know about?" The blue haired man complained.

"I think she's referring to..." Gakupo was about to say, only to get interrupted by the action.

Double got up to her knees, only to be met with an unarmed Link. She saw this as an opportune moment to attack and swung her trident at him, supercharged with dark magic. In that moment, Link ducked out of the way within inches of getting bisected by it and grabbed his sword.

He yanked it out in a swift, barely visible motion and hit the transfigured nun straight in the chest. The sheer force of his sword colliding against her made her slide back on the ground a few paces away, with a large wound where he sliced her.

"... The mortal draw." Gakupo finished, with Miku making an impressed whistle right afterward.

With that, his opponent didn't seem to move. Link was still cautious, ready for another round, but it didn't come. Double's transformation faded and she turned back into her regular nun form, seemingly defeated.

"And the winner of the Second Battle is Link!" Lily shouted through the microphone, with the crowd bursting into jubilant cheers.

"Whoo! That boy is a boss! His uncle must have been a professional-- that has to be the reason why he can pull off an advanced move like that." Meiko cheered.

"I take back what I said before. He just might be another great one." Gakupo remarked.

"Well, we'll just see, shall we?" Luka proclaimed, making a deductive smirk while holding a hand to her chin.

Back in the waiting room, Valentine was intrigued by what had happened. She crossed her arms and said this while pulling her surgical mask down, smiling evilly and revealing a scar on her lips:

"... Fascinating. The boy defeated Double of all people. This planet is filled with all sorts of interesting twists and turns-- I want to study it more closely." She said, as Link came back into the room.

--

Lelus was locked in battle against the creatures-- he had been driven out to the lobby of the citadel, slicing the monsters with his sword only for more to show up.

"This is getting me nowhere. Time to bring out my little friend." He stated, reaching into a holster on his hip.

He pulled out an elaborately designed silver handgun with a relatively long barrel and rune markings emblazoned on the sides of it. Lelus twirled the gun around with his finger until he pointed it towards one of the creatures.

"Now then-- let's see how many friends White Noise is going to make today." He remarked, with a sly grin on his face.

In the blink of an eye, he shot at them, with the bullet piercing through the head of the poor sucker that was in the way. In rapid, successive movements, he fired off more bullets, all of them hitting their target, some of which were not even in the direction he was facing. In an attempt to attack him, one of the monsters jumped at him but was sliced in half vertically by Lelus's sword before it could even so much as scratch him, burning away in blue fire right afterward.

"Don't screw with the legend keepers." He retorted, blowing away smoke from his gun and putting it back in the holster.

He looked around, searching for reinforcements, but it seemed as if the coast was clear.

"Alright... Now then, I should probably get back to the tournament-- Attemi and Mewna are waiting for me. They have to know about this." Lelus stated, teleporting back to the others.

As he left however, there seemed to be something else in the room. It took the shape of a dark, cloaked figure with red eyes, with the rest of their face obscured. They faded into the shadows in case someone was to come back.

--

Back at the arena, the next contestants had been called. The two of them went up to the stage, ready to duke it out in another match.

"Now for the third battle, we have a newcomer that goes by the name Valentine going up against the chief of police himself, Utatane Piko!" Lily proclaimed, with the crowd cheering right afterward.

The white-haired Vocaloid was armed with a longsword that had an extendable whip-like blade, revolvers and several other weapons that he kept in his belt while the nurse kept her hand tight on the surgical saw shaped weapon she kept in the medical bag on her back, slightly bending down and observing her opponent.

"Okay then! Third Battle, start!" Lily stated, jumping out of the combat area.

With that, Piko rushed toward his opponent at a blinding speed and jumped high in the air, wildly swinging his sword as it extended to reach her. The blade scraped against the ground, but Valentine vanished before the attacks could be made.

"What the-- where did she go?!" Piko proclaimed.

To his reply, Valentine appeared behind him in mid-air. Before attacking, she said this to him:

"You should pay attention to what you're doing. Major surgery!"

He barely had time to react as the nurse sliced him multiple times with her saw, ripping through him in lightning-fast movements. The last strike was especially strong, throwing the Vocaloid into the air behind Valentine as he fell to the ground.

"Hot damn! She is a ninja after all! I expected her to be good, but she's tearing up Piko like a wet piece of toilet paper!" Meiko remarked, impressed.

"She seems to be in a different league than both Link and Augustus, that's for sure. It's as if she's been doing this before..." Luka stated.

"So we might have a legitimately skilled person fighting in this tournament? This is getting better by the second." Gakupo remarked, putting a hand on his chin and smiling while he looked on at the fight.

"God knows that we need all the help we can get. Better that we get good help than anything else. I hope Piko gets out of this alright, though." Miku stated.

As Piko got up, he quickly jumped back away from Valentine after realizing how much of a threat she was. As the two stood there for a second, Valentine disappeared from sight again. Predicting her move, the white-haired Vocaloid set up a lavender-colored barrier, which not only stopped her in mid-attack but repelled her, throwing her off by quite a bit.

"You won't get me with that more than once." He stated.

"Well, aren't you a clever little robot? But trust me when I say that I will find out what makes you tick." Valentine retorted.

Inside of the barrier, Piko swung his sword around, causing long, sharpened tendrils to  form on the surface of the shield to attack Valentine. She ducked and swerved through them with the exception of one. It sliced her right in the arm, causing her to flinch and get grabbed by more, being held up by all four limbs.

Having captured his opponent, he instantaneously switched from his whip sword to a sniper rifle, firing a shot supercharged with Luna magic straight at her. It was a guaranteed hit, due to Valentine being tightly grabbed by the tendrils summoned via the barrier.

Just before the bullet made contact, however, she formed an evil smirk under her mask. Upon it piercing through the entangled nurse, her body quickly disintegrated, as if she was made of dust.

"What the-- what just happened?" Luka asked.

"Well, that's not normal. Do you think he could have--" Kaito was about to say only to get interrupted by the action.

As Piko was thinking about what happened, Valentine reappeared behind him, literally out of thin air. She was holding a large syringe in her left hand filled with a mysterious orange liquid and had a noticable smirk showing through her mask.

"Did you miss me?" She remarked, with chills running up the Vocaloid's spine right after, his eyes widening out of surprise.

Instantly, she stabbed him with the syringe with enough force that it propelled him a short few inches into the air, landing flat on his back right afterward. He laid on the ground for a while before sluggishly getting up.

"Every move this lady makes, the more I like her!" Meiko stated, still impressed.

"I admit, she's a worthy combatant, but I'm rather worried about Piko. He doesn't look too good right now." Luka stated, inspecting him from afar.

The white-haired Vocaloid was pale-faced, having a sickly expression and holding a hand to his forehead. He was stumbling a bit, as if he was losing balance.

"Yeah... he looks like he's suffering a lot. I think that thing Valentine injected him with must be fast-working." Kaito inspected.

"I don't think he's going to win." Gakupo stated, short and to the point, crossing his arms all the while.

"How come? He might still have a chance." Gumi said.

"Not at all. Valentine has shown herself to be much faster and resourceful than Piko, and he's only been able to save himself because of reflexes and strategy. When you take that away and reduce him to half capability, he's a sitting duck. I wish it wasn't true, but it's going to be in a moment." Gakupo explained.

As Piko stumbled about, he noticed that Valentine was standing still. Attempting to predict her next move, he pierced his whip sword through the ground, causing lavender-colored tendrils to appear and lash out at the nurse. However, she cut through them with no difficulty and rushed towards him.

Thanks to the syringe she injected him with, he had little time to react to her onslaught of attacks-- getting sliced and bashed viciously by Valentine's varied arsenal of medical-themed weapons. She then ducked down and uppercutted the white-haired Vocaloid into the air, brandishing several scalpels like throwing knives between her fingers.

"Making the inci--!" She said, but stopped abruptly in mid-sentence.

Something had happened that stopped Valentine in place, keeping her suspended in mid-air. She couldn't move her limbs or talk, but was aware of what was going on.

"What's happening? Why can't I move?!" She thought.

Piko, on the other hand, moved around like normal. He landed on his feet and moved up to her, pulling out a shotgun and charging up an attack.

"... Did he just freeze time for Valentine?" Miku asked.

"Well, I'll be. Now I'm impressed." Luka stated, smirking.

"How come?" Kaito questioned.

"You see, despite the fact that I'm considered an expert Luna user, I've yet to master the time controlling branch of it, which is easily the hardest of any type of magic to learn. However, if Piko is able to freeze someone in time, then that means that he must have spent countless hours into perfecting the technique. It helps that he's able to do it even when he's slowed down like that, which really shows the fruit of his labors." She explained.

"... This is the best tournament we've ever had. Now I feel like cheering for the chief!" Meiko vigorously stated, raising her fist in the air and cheering.

"Hmm... Looks like I was wrong. He just may win after all." Gakupo remarked.

"Hold on-- if he misses his chance, then that's it. Time control takes a lot of power and in the state he's in, he's not going to last very long, so he needs to make every move count. When it wears off, he'll be exhausted and that'll give Valentine her chance to turn the tables." Luka proclaimed, much to the silence of the others.

"Luka, baby, I'm sure he'll be able to do the job. He's got her right where he needs her." Gakupo stated aloofly.

"I don't know; Murphy's Law is a cruel son of a-- wait, what did you just call me?" Luka snapped, towering over him menacingly with a disapproving snarl on her face.

"N-n-nothing, miss Luka! How about we focus on the fight at hand instead of making one?" The samurai pleaded, sweating nervously.

"... Wise words. But watch your step, boy." She said, keeping the snarl and going back to see the fight, with Gakupo sighing in relief.

Piko jumped into the air and fired off a round from the shotgun, but instead of bullets, a lavender-colored burst of energy spiked out and hit Valentine directly, throwing her back. To follow up, he summoned a tendril to come out of the ground and grab her in the middle of falling, swinging her around and then smashing her against the barrier.

With that, he ran straight toward her, armed with his whip sword. He then sliced at her continuously, with the final blow ensnaring the sword in a lavender aura. Just as it was about to cut the nurse, Piko got a sour expressin on his face. He then stopped abruptly and fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Agh... Not now!" He yelled out in his mind, exhausted and feeling the time control slip away from his hands.

Valentine started to move again, much to his dismay. She gave off an evil smile under her mask and jumped over the white haired Vocaloid, landing right behind him. He tried to stand up and fight, but the gesture was worthless as she already attacked-- Valentine had zipped him up into a body bag and the both of them rocketed up several feet in the air.

As they spiraled down, an operating table complete with curtains and lights had appeared out of nowhere, with Piko crash-landing straight on it. The bag was zipped open enough so he could see, but was almost immediately met with the shadowy face of the ninja nurse. She stated this in an eerie tone, filling the white-haired Vocaloid with dread:

"Tell me where it hurts."

On the outside, nothing seemed to be happening. The crowd was silent, anxious about what was going to happen.

"... So what's the crazy thing she did now?" Meiko asked.

"Well, whatever it is, it's-- WHOA!" Miku remarked, upon noticing the action.

The curtains surrounding the operating table had been splattered with copious amounts of blood, much to the audience gasping out of shock. Valentine had stepped out, looking victorious as she snapped her glove to fit her hand. Upon doing so, the operating table and everything in it had been sliced in half in the blink of an eye. Piko had flown out and landed on his back, revealing that he was covered with multiple cuts and lacerations.

Lily had cringed at the sight, but declared the victory:

"Sweet baby jesus... Well, either way, the victory goes to Valentine!" She proclaimed.

The crowd flew into a roar of applause, with the stretchers coming to take Piko away to the medical room.

"Damn it! My money!" Mewna yelled out, looking upon the scene from her throne.

"Looks like she won, big sis. Now hand them over." Attemi smiled slyfully while holding out her hand.

The pink-haired Vocaloid made an angry snarl as she slipped a twenty dollar bill into Attemi's hand, only to have Lelus teleport in right afterward.

"Oh hey, lil' bro. How'd your info search go?" Mewna asked.

"It was... fun. Now, before I tell everyone about the thing I found, who won the fight?" Lelus inquired.

"Piko lost to a nurse." Attemi stated.

"... Wait, what? Are you serious?" Lelus stuttered, snickering.

"Hey, she wasn't just any regular nurse, you see-- she was a ninja, too. And since you weren't here, you didn't see the severe ass-kickin' she gave. Even when cop man stopped time to get her, he still wound up losing." Mewna proclaimed.

"Wait a minute, Piko can stop time? How come nobody told us this before? But anyway-- if what you're telling me is right, then holy shit muffins! Sounds like this tournament is going to be a lot more interesting than last year's." Lelus remarked.

"Oh, without a doubt. Now, how about you go and tell everyone the news before you forget, sugar?" Mewna said.

"Alright. But when I come back, I'm in charge again." He stated, jumping off the throne.

-

A short while after, the Vocaloids were at a large atrium on the inside of the arena. They were sitting in what seemed to be a brightly-lit indoor restauraunt, surrounded by several other people.

"... Do we even need to enroll Valentine into more battles? I think she's good enough to let in already." Meiko remarked, eating a taco.

"Now, now, Meiko. Give the others a chance. Besides, Piko did really good. I think he could have beat her if he wasn't already roughed up, slowed down and worn out from utilizing one of the most difficult arts to master in all of the eight elements." Luka stated.

"Hey, I'm not denying that at all. I just think that Valentine's victory was much more impressive considering that she was a human who seemed to have no real powers. You have to admit, even Link and Augustus had some sort of elemental control, even if they didn't have anything overtly spectacular in their array. Not only that, she had style, so she's a badass in my book." Meiko countered, swallowing the last of her taco.

"Well, you got me there. Either way, at the end of the day, two people are going to become Vanguards." Luka muttered.

"And god bless Lelus and Attemi for making a tournament so we can meet all these awesome people. Anyway, I have a question, guys. Has anyone seen Rin or Len?" Miku asked.

"... Now that you bring it up, not really. They were with you and Daniel, weren't they?" Kaito inquired, eating an ice cream cone.

"Not since we went inside. Speaking of which..." Miku muttered, looking around.

Out of all the people sitting at the other tables in the restauraunt, she had found the prince sitting with his little sister. He had his head down and seemed to be taking a nap, while she was busy eating up a large sundae.

"Oh, there they are. Now, that just leaves-- wait a minute." The twin-tailed Vocaloid stated, noticing something.

On a nearby table, there seemed to be the twins hiding in its shadow, spying on the prince from afar. However, it wasn't hard to notice them thanks to their bright, identifiable clothes. Miku made an annoyed grimace and got up from her chair.

"Uh-huh. Now excuse me for one second, guys. I have to go see something real quick." She stated, walking over to Daniel's table.

Upon sitting down next to him, she poked him awake, leading him to say this drowsily:

"... Miku, quit it. Your nails are pointy. Now what is it?" He stated, still in his slump.

"Well, I've come to tell you that a certain duo has been following you around. And we sort of need them back." She stated.

"A certain duo-- Oh god, don't tell me. They're right behind me, aren't they?" He groaned, squeezing his forehead.

"Aw man!" Len shouted, squeezing out of the table with his sister.

"What are you two doing?" Miku asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Rin replied instantly, only to bump her head against the table as she came out.

"That's complete bull and you know it. Ever since we bumped into each other back at the stands, you two have been trailing behind me like a bunch of stalkers." Daniel muttered, glancing over his shoulder before putting his head down again.

"Oh, have they now? Come on, guys. Leave Daniel alone. He hasn't done anything wrong." Miku defended.

"--Yet! We saw him turn into some weird thing when the rest of you weren't around." Rin yelled out, pointing at him.

Upon hearing her statement, the prince's eyes widened but kept his head down so nobody would notice. Miku simply just crossed her arms and made a disapproving frown.

"And? That shouldn't mean anything bad, now should it? Plus, it's Daniel we're talking about-- we know him well enough to know he's a decent guy, so this suspicion is unfounded." She stated.

"But what about all the--" Len said, but was interrupted mid-sentence.

"Guys, just stop it and come with me to the table. Regardless of anything that you may have experienced, we need you to be with us anyway, so come on." Miku stated.

"Alright! Jeez. You're just like your sister when it comes to being bossy." Rin complained, walking to the table with Len not far behind.

With their leave, Daniel got up and sat next to Arcenia, who had finished her ice cream. He poked her in the arm and said this:

"I think they're on to me." He whispered.

"Oh don't worry, big brother. I doubt that they actually saw you... Did they?" She asked.

"I hope not. Otherwise, Pandora's going to be on my case for this and I don't want to get chewed out like last time." Daniel muttered.

"For such a nice lady, she seems to have a short temper. By the way, when are we going to go home?" She asked.

"Soon enough, if we're lucky. I just have to find the target and take them down, wherever they are." Daniel said.

A second after, the tan-skinned woman from the waiting room Link and Valentine were in sat down at their table. She brought with her an elaborately designed black purse and carried a drink in her left hand.

"Oh, excuse me. Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked.

"Not at all, miss." Daniel welcomed, putting his arms behind his head and lying back on his seat.

"So, how's it going?" The woman asked.

"Fine. Me and my sister are visiting here to help the Vocaloids with this fair. And you?" The prince inquired.

"I'm a participant in the tournament. In fact, after break is over, my fight's up next." She stated.

"Really? What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?" He said.

"It's Helena, sweetie. And I already know your names-- you're Daniel xi Librata and his little sister Arcenia." The woman stated, taking a sip of her beverage.

"Alrighty, it helps that you already know who we are. So what's your story, miss Helena?" Daniel inquired, making a sly smile.

"I came here to meet a certain someone. He's an old friend of mine; one I haven't seen in years, but the both of us were very close." She said.

"So, have you come to proclaim your love for him or something? Or..." Daniel muttered.

"Oh, nothing like that. I'm already married, you see-- in fact, my husband's hard at work right now. No, it's just a reunion we've been planning on having for a while." Helena replied.

"Ah, I see. Now, how come you decided to take part in the tournament if you're here to see your friend?" Daniel questioned.

"For fun. Besides, we're not bound to meet each other until tommorrow anyway, so I decided why not." Helena said.

"Okay then. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get more food. Come on, Arcenia." He said, going towards the counter.

"I'm sorta already full... But okay!" She said, trailing behind the prince.

With that, Helena watched as the two of them walked away. She took another swig of her drink as thoughts ran through her head:

"It's only a matter of time before the real fun begins. You just wait, boy."

Meanwhile, Lelus had walked over to the group of Vocaloids, who were throwing conversations left and right at each other, only to stop when he stood at the edge of the table. He held a slice of pizza in his ungloved hand, eating it while having an uneasy look on his face.

"Oh hello, master Lelus! What brings you here?" Luka greeted.

"Guys, I did some research on the scythe Augustus used back in the fight and I found something really disturbing. You have to hear this." He said.

"Okay. What did you get, sir?" Miku asked.

"For one, the name of the scythe is called Erebus. It served as the primary soul harvesting tool for Thanatus, the god of death. It can only be wielded by the one chosen by the god himself, much like Joker Moon for the chosen one for Rising Star and so on." Lelus said.

"So then why did Augustus have it? Is he--" Kaito was about to say, only to get cut off midsentence.

"Yes. He's the chosen one for the god of death. Which basically means that Augustus could potencially be the worst enemy we'll ever have to face." He said.

The group was speechless, with their faces twisted in dread.

"But... but, he seemed like such a nice boy." Luka stated, in shock.

"I said the exact same thing. But then I read that the person who's chosen is destined to walk a road of madness and other terrible crap like that-- I've never had a book lie to me before, except when they did and I had to throw them out the window. Not only that, after watching that fight, I'm convinced that Augustus's life as a normal kid is now royally boned." Lelus stated.

"So what should we do then, sir? If he's going to become such a major threat, we can't just keep him around!" Gakupo argued.

"I don't know... he seems to be in control for the most part. If we can just turn that around into our favor, then we might not need to fight him after all." Lelus suggested.

"I don't want to sound like a pessimist, but what if that doesn't work?" Miku questioned.

"Then... it'd be out of our hands. We'd have to let the gods handle him then." He stated, having a grim look on his face.

"Well, okay then. But what if he acts up again? If he didn't suddenly stop the first time, we would have lost Neru." Meiko asked.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan in case that happens. But I might need one or two of you to help me in taking him down-- it was obvious that he can wreck our shit when he's like that." He stated.

"I'll do it." Meiko said, raising her hand.

"And so will I. I'll enforce my right as one of the Vanguards in a heartbeat." Gakupo replied.

"Alright! Since we've got things straight, keep an eye on Augustus no matter what happens, do you understand?" Lelus stated.

"Yes sir!" All of them replied, saluting him.

"Sweet. Now I'll be going back to make sure Attemi doesn't bore Mewna to death." He said, whistling a song as he walked into the distance.

"Okay then... now what do you guys want to talk about?" Rin asked.

"Well... uh, I can't think of anything. Anyone else?" Meiko said.

"I got something! How about we talk about incredibly strange stuff we've heard about?" Gumi suggested.

"Sure, why not? I mean, it's kind of impossible not to, considering what we do for a living. So, who wants to go first?" Gakupo said.

"I do!" Miku motioned, raising her hand.