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

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Augustus and Valentine clashed, with a sudden burst of dark magic flooding the arena as they did so. The crowd was incredibly tense as the battle raged on, especially the Vocaloids and friends, as they knew in their hearts the awful things that could go wrong.

"You're quite different than when I saw you go up against that little robot girl before." Valentine remarked, sliding all around the place and delivering punches anfd kicks as Augustus blocked most of them with his oversized scythe.

"As I said, I'm more prepared. Not only that, I've at least analyzed your moves as you fought. Just a bit." Augustus stated, throwing her off.

"Really now? You wouldn't mind if we examine your results, then." Valentine stated, snapping her gloves.

In the blink of an eye, she circled around the cat boy, throwing surgical knives at him at every interval. They came too fast for him to react, leaving him to get impaled, but they fell off before they dug too deep into his skin. To finish off her attack, she zipped back and forth with her ripsaw, lacerating Augustus multiple times before finishing it off with one powerful blow.

Her attack was interrupted, however, due to Augustus summoning the lavender chains from his back and grabbing her in mid-strike, throwing her in the air and then slamming her into the ground. He followed up by elbowing her in the back and jumping back to his feet.

Valentine got up from the ground, pulled down her mask and spat out a small amount of blood, not entirely fazed by the whole debacle.

"Hmph. You're certainly no ordinary cat boy, that's for sure. I think you deserve the full treatment now." She stated.

"Full treatment? Oh, I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Augustus moaned in agony.

With that, Valentine disappeared into thin air, only to reappear behind Augustus and sucker-punch him right in the back. As he flew forward, Valentine punched him right in the chest. She did this multiple times, going back and forth before finally uppercutting him into the air and axel-kicking him right into the ground.

Augustus yelled out in pain as he collided against the floor. He laid on the ground, seemingly knocked out cold, much to the audience's paranoia and concern.

"... Seems it was a bit too strong for the poor kitty. If you'll excuse me, I'll just be--" Valentine stated as she was about to leave, only for Augustus to shakily rise to his knees.

"... Hey, where are you going? You do realize that I'm not out just yet, right?" He struggled confidently, using the Erebus scythe to get up.

"You want to lose that badly, eh? Well then, let me humor you." Valentine stated.

She pulled out two defilibrators that were charged much more powerfully than normal, and then put them against the ground. The resulting electric wave went straight for Augustus, but he was too exhausted to retaliate. However, the arm that held the scythe suddenly jerked and struck the bottom cross-shaped edge against the ground without him thinking. It caused a light to shine out and made the electricity turn the other way, leaving Valentine without any time to react.

"What in the--" She said, only to get viciously cut off by the electric waves as they threw her back several paces back.

She landed to the ground unconscious, with Augustus not entirely aware of what just happened. Lily then proclaimed this out loud through the microphone, with both the crowd's cheering and her voice surprising him:

"And the winner of the match is Augustus!"

"I am?!" He proclaimed out in confusion, only to feel incredibly relieved afterward.

The crowd cheered as the stretchers took Valentine inside and Augustus pumped his fist in victory. However, the Erebus scythe did not go away unlike last time, and stayed in his hands. He looked over the four-bladed scythe with thoughts scrambling wildly through his head.

"So, I guess this is going to be my weapon from now on. Now, if that isn't kick-ass, then I don't know what is." He decided as he walked back into the waiting room, with the scythe disappearing on his command.

The Vocaloids gave their analysis, trying to break down exactly what went on in the fight.

"What just happened? He won?" Meiko remarked.

"I saw it. His arm moved without his consent. The scythe must have a mind of its own, then." Luka concluded.

"He took one hell of a beating, too. I'm surprised he can even stand up after all that crap." Miku remarked.

"So that scythe gave him the upper hand after all... but it's going to be a while until we get to see him fight again." Gakupo stated.

"And thank god, too. I don't want to know what'd happen then." Meiko stated.

After Augustus's match, the rest of the contestants duked it out on the arena. None of them lasted as long as the matches before them, but they usually ended decisively. The three Ultima Vocaloids perched atop their thrones looked down on the fights with relative indifference, especially Lelus, as he was more interested in what was going to happen next.

"Man, I can't wait for the final match." He remarked.

"What makes you say that, bro?" Mewna stated, leaning back in her chair.

"I've looked at the chart, and I've noticed that Augustus and Link are the ones that are supposed to fight each other for the final match." Lelus explained, getting a small grin on his face.

"Oh, I see now. You're just itchin' for the big climactic fight, ain't you?" Mewna asked.

"Especially since it's the last fight of the whole tournament. If Augustus makes it out scotfree, then I won't have to sweat about the city getting leveled by a super-powerful cat boy." Lelus stated.

"Mmm-hmm. Personally, I just want to see this whole thing resolve itself nicely." Attemi stated.

Inside the waiting rooms, both Augustus and Link were called up, with both boys trembling with anticipation. They walked up to the arena one last time with their weapons readied and their glances full of valor. Lily called out the match and jumped behind the barrier for the last time, leaving the two boys to have a pre-battle conversation:

"Hey, Link. So I see you got this far. Good going, buddy." Augustus complimented.

Link smiled and gave a thumbs-up, as if he was signifying his approval towards Augustus making it to the final match as well.

"We've been friends for the longest time, but don't expect me to let up. That goes for you too, do you understand?" Augustus yelled out, smiling.

Link nodded yes in response and brought out his sword, with Augustus summoning the Erebus scythe. Both of them charged at each other, with the cat boy firing off multiple fireballs as a preemptive strike only for Link to deflect them all with his sword.

-

However, as the fight went on... the figures cloaked in the shadows had finished all of their preparations. They were waiting for one last command.

"My lord, the forces are armed and ready." A woman's voice called out in the darkness.

"Very well... let each drop of blood spilled pave the path to our goal. Away with you!" The man from before commanded.

"All is for the regime..." The first entity chanted out, marching out of the room.

-

The two boys kept fighting for a while, but they seemed evenly matched. They dodged each others' attacks back and forth before finally clashing against each other, blade to blade. They pushed in an attempt to overpower each other, but jumped back before they could do so. They were exhausted, with sweat dripping down their faces.

However, as the two boys were about to attack again, they noticed something overhead. It resembled a falling star of sorts-- and was followed by thousands upon thousands of the same entity. The audience was terrified at what this meant, especially the Vocaloids and Daniel.

"They've finally shown themselves." Daniel remarked, biting his lip.

"Holy crap!" Miku yelled out in awe at the hordes of falling stars.

The falling stars had all crash-landed towards the ground, causing mass destruction. The crowd flew into a panic, leaving the heroes to jump into action. The entities that fell from the sky had revealed themselves to be some sort of white armored creatures with pitch black skin, zigzagged mouths, long red claws and blue eyes.

They began to attack the fleeing crowd, but were struck back by the Vocaloids. Lelus and Attemi jumped off of their thrones to join the fray, but Mewna stayed behind for reasons unknown. She looked down at the madness without much on her mind:

"Hmmm... somethin' went wrong here. But hell, may as well help them before they get killed." Mewna stated, following her younger siblings into battle.

They had run out of the stadium into the rest of the carnival area, with the monsters wrecking the entire place. The Vocaloids were bewildered at their numbers, but fought back as well as they could. Augustus, Link and the rest of the fighters had left the area as well, leaving them without much

"What in the name of God's green earth are these, anyway!?" Meiko shouted, cleaving through a crowd of them with minimal effort.

"Out of all the monsters I've encountered, I've never seen their kind before." Luka remarked while summoning a wave of crescent-shaped blades directly at them.

"Never mind what they are, their presence here has to have some significance." Gakupo stated, slicing through a wide amount of them in a blindingly fast motion.

"But what, though? I mean, I'm fine with combat practice, but this is just too much!" Rin yelled out as she had just sliced one in half vertically with Len, leaving them to get sprayed with purple blood.

Meanwhile, as the carnage went on, Daniel and his sister had snuck off into the shadows of the arena in an attempt to gather their thoughts on what to do.

"Big bro, what are you going to do? Miss Pandora said not to interfere unless necessary." Arcenia stated with concern in her voice.

"It looks like they're getting things under control... but I don't know. I think I just may have to. It sucks that I have to blow my cover in front of everyone, but if it'll help stop them, I don't even care." Daniel decided, pulling out a golden broadsword with a blue ribbon on the hilt and runes imprinted on the blade.

"Wait, what am I going to do?" Arcenia asked, pulling him back before he could leave.

"I think you have to go back home and tell everyone what happened. Because on second thought, it seems like I have to stay here a bit longer. Here, take this stone and teleport back." The prince stated, handing a royal blue crystal to Arcenia.

"Oh... alright. You sure you'll be okay?" She asked.

"Please. A mob like this isn't even worth my time. Now get out of here!" Daniel stated.

"Okay. I'll see you later..." Arcenia stated, using the stone and disappearing in a flash of light.

He charged out into the fighting, eventually meeting up with the others not long afterward. He ran into Miku and Augustus in particular, who were now fighting the hordes of monsters with their backs put against each other.

"Where have you been? And where's your little sis?" Miku asked, blocking one of the monsters' attacks.

"She teleported back home. I've decided not to put her in any danger. But yeah, I've been fine. How about you?" Daniel yelled out over the noise.

"We've been just dandy, thank you! We're only just fighting for our lives! Now get over here and help us, you lazy ass!" Miku yelled.

"Charming as always, aren't you, Miku?" Daniel sarcastically said, making his way towards the duo.

He jumped in front of them both, with his broadsword glowing with an eerie black aura. He then fired out a massive ray of black and red energy at the creatures, annihilating them instantly. He pulled a complete 360 and erased them all, leaving the duo free to escape. Miku and Augustus were in awe at his feat, with their mouths hanging wide open.

"Daniel, I know you said you got stronger, but holy hell, man! You really meant it!" Miku stated.

"... It's not a bad thing to say that I'm terrified, is it?" Augustus meekly said.

"Hey, it was the least I could do. Now come on, let's go meet up with the rest of the guys." Daniel stated, going ahead.

"O-okay..." Miku and Augustus both trembled, following after him.

As they regrouped with the rest of the Vocaloids, it had been revealed that there were no more monsters left to fight. However, despite their victory, the fairgrounds were left in complete and utter disrepair due to their struggle.

"Alright, we won!" Len stated, pumping his fist in excitment.

"Yes, but just look at what those stupid skeleton things did to the fair! All that hard work... gone up in literal flames." Meiko moaned in disappointment, slapping her face.

"Hey, at least everyone is alright. Now all we have to do is clean all this crap up." Lelus said.

"... That was too easy, though. That couldn't have possibly been all of them." Luka stated, feeling unsure.

"I agree. They're definitely not out of monsters just yet." Daniel said.

"'They?' Who are 'they?'" Miku asked, incredibly curious.

As she asked that, however, more of the strange creatures spawned out of the sky, with the Vocaloids ready to retaliate. However, they had marched into position and didn't attack. Instead, they parted away in order to let two individuals pass through-- Helena and Double respectively.

"... You're that lady that went up against Haku. What are you doing with them?" Rin asked.

"Hmph. I assume it's time to drop the facade and let you know who we really are now. There's nothing holding us back anymore." Helena stated, giving a deranged grin.

She walked out in front, much to the group getting ready to fight. However, she stopped in place and had a runic circle appear beneath her feet. Three large surges of lavender energy appeared in mid air and then convulsed towards Helena, only to completely envelop her in a large burst of light. It was incredibly blinding, causing the Vocaloids and friends to flinch and cover their eyes.

Once the light cleared, Helena's appearance changed dramatically. She now had incredibly long flowing red hair, full red lipstick, a choker with an inverted cross necklace, an elaborately designed white and black dress that showed off her cleavage, a black sash with a white rose on it, open-toed heeled shoes, white sleeves with cross-shaped armbands, long purple nails and a white tiara with a blue eye-shaped gem on it.

She brought out a black and purple fan and held it up to her face, as if she was flaunting her arrogance. The Vocaloids and co. were overtaken by her new form, with the exclusion of Daniel, who was merely amused. She then began to speak to them, revealing her true intentions:

"We... are the Apocalytes. My name is Amentia, and I've come here personally to make sure that we cut you down before you can even have a chance at striking back at us."

The woman's presence, along with the sheer multitudes of monsters behind her, caused the group to back down due to how imposing they were. Daniel, on the other hand, gave a defiant smirk and stepped forward, giving his thoughts:

"So you've finally shown yourself. Well then, I won't have to keep myself a secret any longer then, will I?" He stated, much to the group's compiled anxiety.

"... Daniel?" Miku asked, feeling incredibly uneasy.

With that, the prince raised his broadsword into the air, causing eight elemental symbols to appear. Each one took a different shape and color, but they all combined into a multicolored ray of light that covered Daniel entirely. The ground began to shake, and the light began to get brighter, much to everyone's dismay. It stopped abruptly, revealing that Daniel himself had also changed in appearance.

He now had incredibly long black hair with blue highlights, an elegant black coat with a grey vest underneath, golden trims and high-turned collar, a yellow cravat with a clock in the middle, yellow shoulder pads, a large black cape with a golden inside, white dress shoes and black pants with armor around his hips. However, the most significant change was that he sprouted rabbit ears out of his head and decidedly looked much more like a youthful adult than a teenager.

He twirled around his sword and pointed it directly at his opposition, with an stern scowl on his face. The group was speechless at his transformation as well, but Amentia gave a noblewoman's laugh in response.

"You can't believe how long I've waited for this." She stated, smiling devilishly.

Rin and Len were at a loss of words, only to run up to Miku and yell this out in her face while pointing right at her:

"WE TOLD YOU SO!" The two of them remarked, much to the twin-tailed girl jumping back in surprise.

"Whoa! There's so much power here, I can barely comprehend it!" Meiko stated, taken aback.

"What's going on here, Daniel?!" Luka asked.

"Sorry I had to keep it a secret guys, but I'm not the same Daniel you once knew. I am now the ruler of all of Heaven... the lord of the Lunardream Family, and the god of absolute balance-- Ranthael. I've been trying to find Amentia and her organization for the longest time, and now that she's here, I can finally get rid of them all." He replied.

"Then let us help you!" Lelus stated.

"No, that won't be necessary. I'm more than well equipped for the job. All you guys need to do is-- wait, what?!" Daniel stopped mid-sentence, having noticed Miku run ahead.

She charged towards Amentia, armed with her laser sword, but the queen did nothing in retaliation. Instead, she retracted her fan as Miku ran up to her, backhanding the Vocaloid girl with the fan so ridiculously hard that she flew into the air and propelled towards a brick wall. Once she hit the wall, she let out a shrill yell and fell unconscious, much to everyone's dismay.

"Hmph. If these are my enemies, then I have absolutely nothing to worry about." Amentia remarked, giving a cruel grin as she held the fan up to her face again.

The group jumped out of fear and ran to tend to the now-incapacitated Miku, leaving Daniel alone against Amentia.

"Miku! Oh, now you've done it. Amentia, how about we end this here and now? A battle of gods-- one that will decide the fate of this planet!" He proclaimed.

"But of course. Now come to me, you so-called ruler! I haven't danced with a worthy foe in ages!" Amentia pridefully said.

Both of them sprang into the air in the blink of an eye, leaving Double to charge at the Vocaloids and friends with the army of monsters. However, they were cut off by Lelus and Attemi respectively, who fired a combined blast of light and dark magic respectively to stop them from proceeding.

"Hold on there! As the leaders of Shining Advent, me and my sister aren't just going to sit around while you destroy everything we work and care for! Now bring it on, you demon cowards!" Lelus taunted, giving them the infamous "come at me" expression.

"Indeed. I won't let you even come close to them, do you understand?" Attemi threatened, getting into a battle stance along with her brother.

Double merely smiled evilly and opened her eyes, clasping both of her hands together in a praying motion. She had uttered something, with her voice incredibly distorted:

"Foolish cyborgs. I will make you experience true fear." She stated.
I have got to stop procrastinating. But yeah. This is the part I've been waiting for the longest time. This is supposed to be the point in the story where everything changes-- because soon, we're finally going to know exactly what the hell is going on here.

Starlit Heroics and everything original related to it @ :iconxerizerore9010:
Vocaloid and everything else @ to their respective creators

--- Characters introduced & levels (from Lv. 1 to 9999) ---

Heroes:

Daniel / Ranthael (Starlit Heroics) - Lv. 7000

Villains:

Helena / Amentia (Original generation) - Lv. 6000
Exequias - aka. the little monster things (Original generation) - Lv. 250 a pop
Double (Skullgirls) - Lv. 2000
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