Phantom: 5

Phantom: 5

…

Commissioned by Blfqy

Word Count: 2526

…

The number of errors that can occur are many. Lucifer may have a whole slew of tricks at his disposal that can bring you harm. Awakening him by taking out the shards within him will surely prove to be an immensely challenge, both because of the danger her presents and the fact that you have two individuals weaker than you and yourself. Hyoudou and his alternate self are undoubtedly more fragile than you and your alternate. Given Lucifer’s capabilities with magic, which is far superior to you own, there’s no doubt in your mind that he is capable of feats that will endanger your friend.

So, your plan will entail your three companions fighting with all they have, whilst you do your task as quickly as possible.

It is a simple matter of delegating duties, but it’s one that you’re leery of bestowing. There’s an immense amount of risk involved, even if you lengthen the amount of time and strike at Lucifer every so often in support of your companions. According the Hyoudou, his younger self might be more powerful than him, due to being a Devil and having been through a multitude of trials and challenges over many years. While you have no reason to doubt the alternate self of your friend, there’s no denying that Lucifer was an opponent you’d barely been able to defeat, and that was due to his own mistakes.

Though you can certainly provide them with support by expending your energy to revive them or negate magic, whichever is needed, the task is a daunting one.

Lucifer is a massive threat, even with only his magic and physique at his disposal, whilst outnumbered and outgunned.

And,  you can reseal him with breaking the Shard again, so you’ll only have one shot in the matter.

If there was time and food within the closed space you’ve found yourself in, you’d have endeavored to train Hyoudou, your other self, and his younger self until they could undoubtedly take on Lucifer while you focused on breaking through the barrier which surrounded you and your allies. However, every moment you spend waiting is a moment Hyoudou and the younger Hyoudou get weaker. Training them will only require for them to rest and recuperate, something which the cannot adequately do only with rest and water. As it stand, you cannot wait, and you must attend to the situation as possible, because the of them will only weaken over time.

As much as you dislike the thought of only having one plan, whilst having nothing to fall upon, you have to do it.

You must take this first step and see yourself and your allies freed from your current prison.

…

“I can probably take him.”

You can only stare at Hyoudou. Not your Hyoudou, but rather the alternate Hyoudou. The younger version of your friend, with silly, spiky hair meets your gaze with a guileless stare.

“What? I can. I mean, I don’t have to beat him or anything, right? I just have to keep him busy? That’s pretty much what I do against any fight, really. I keep people  busy until I can beat them… and I can keep people busy even if I can’t.” You look towards Hyoudou, who can only shrug at the words, before you turn to his younger self. The young man wearing an open, buttoned shirt, slacks, and a black t-shirt seems completely unperturbed by the notion of facing Lucifer. You ask him if he’s sure. “Well, you’re pretty scary, but you said that you’ll beat that guy no problem, right? It’s only the fact that he’s somehow coming back that is? I’m pretty sure that if I stall him for long enough, I’ll eventually be able to Boost enough times to get as strong as him. Maybe.”

“If I tried to do that, I’d probably explode into a bunch of gibs…” Hyoudou mutters for a second, before his eyes shine. He points towards his younger self. “Wait, you’re a Devil! A Devil with a bunch of Pawn pieces! You’re a freak!”

“…It hurts a lot when you say it like that, but yeah. I have loads of powerups compared to my main, human self. I can handle Ddraig’s power really, really well, and even for a while.” The younger Hyoudou scratches his cheek, before nodding determinedly.  “If I work together with my future self, and your weaker self, I’m sure that we can pull out a win against your evil self!” He pauses. “Ah, that was confusing, but you guys know what I mean, right?”

For a moment, you almost say no, but you still your tongue.

Though you see a younger version of your friend before you, that isn’t who this Hyoudou Issei is. In fact, the fact that he’s a Devil should’ve been apparent to you on the onset, along with the fact that his circumstances was utterly different from your friend’s. While you can’t fault yourself for thinking that you ought to protect someone younger than yourself, you can certainly fault yourself for not thinking of a warrior as a warrior. Protecting Hyoudou’s alternate self would be spitting on his pride as a warrior.

Still, you can’t help but ask for a display of power from the younger version of your friend.

You want to know that you won’t be sending him out to die by having him be the focus of Lucifer, whilst your alternate self and his older version, your friend, merely support him from afar.

“Alright! No problem! I’ve got this!”

The power that surges forth from the young man obliterates any and all preconceptions you had about him. The person before you is not the Issei Hyoudou you know, but another existence entirely. There are similarities, but they are similarities viewed through a kaleidoscope of differences. You see shards of Infinity within him, along with Dream, and both the essence of a Devil and a Dragon. To call him human would be a grave error. In fact, to call him just a Devil would be wrong as well.

If that is not enough, the fact that he creates a miniature storm in his vicinity by merely invoking his power is another sign. The realm around you crackles and convulses due to his power, with air being forced away in great gusts, while the scent of ozone fills the air. Then, forged from nothingness, comes gleaming scarlet full plate composed not only of mystical and physical protections, but you can sense divine, holy energies embedded within it, as well as an innate ability to shift and change in accord with the desires of its wielder.

You sense myriads of probabilities within the armor. It provides not only protection, but a myriad of abilities, and that is without considering the innate power of the Boosted Gear. Considering the Longinus’s abilities, along with the ability to process power granted upon him due to his form, and the veritable arsenal you can sense that inhabits the armor… you were undoubtedly in the wrong when you thought that Hyoudou’s alternate self was someone that you needed to protect.

“So, what do you think?” Armor clad, the boy is gone and replaced by an armored being as tall as yourself. It exudes power by simply existing in its basest, sleekest form. You can tell that it does nothing, not even attempting to harness the very power of incessant growth it is feared to be capable of,  but it is already might. Comparing the being before you with what you felt of Lucifer, and you know that with enough time, Without a doubt, if things go to plan, he will be more than capable of facing off against Lucifer. Just as Hyoudou would be, if he had the time to train and fight for just as long. “Well, it won’t be the first time I beat down a Satan! You can say that I’ve actually got some experience in this sort of thing! Heh!”

With this new asset you have at your disposal, you can employ other strategies, as well as significantly reduce the risk that Hyoudou will face.

Turning to your friend, who understandably looks upon his younger alternate with a measure of jealousy, you ask him if he has his Communicator.

“Huh? Yeah. It came along? Why?”

Because, you’re going to have him pilot a spaceship.

Whatever jealousy in your friend’s eyes fade at your words.

“A spaceship!?”

Spaceships, actually.

“SPACESHIPS!?”

“HE GETS TO PILOT SPACESHIPS!? That’s not fair!”

Ah, you underestimated how much Hyoudou’s alternate would respond to the notion. You should’ve expected that he’d be aghast at not being able to do such a thing. However, there’s no time for you to reconsider.

Yes, you clarify, Hyoudou will be supporting his alternate self via his AI with the CORE ships you have in your arsenal, along with all the Drones you have.

“YEEESSSS!”

“That’s not fair, dammit!”

Ah, you really underestimated how similar the two are.

…

“And, how will I be participating in this upcoming battle, Warrior?” The Chieftain inquires of you after the meeting with your gathered forces. Though you’ve avoided him since the revelation, he is treating you exactly the same, save for the brief nod that he made to assuage your worries. He knows. He understands. He wishes to help anyway. Though there are still things you want to tell him, time is precious, and you need to command a great battle. He will wait, he says without a single word, and you can’t help but hold him in higher esteem. “Somewhere relatively safe, perhaps?”

Unfortunately, you’ll have him in the front… and dressed as you are.

“Ah, the most dangerous and crucial part. I understand.” Whatever emotions you have regarding your alternate self’s safety needs to be crushed. You only manage to crush them when he gives you a nod and smile of acceptance. Lucifer is a being of great, immense pride. Both of you know this. If you’re dressed as the Chieftain, and he is dressed as you, even if you are striking at the barrier with immense strength and speed… he will go after him. “I can imagine no greater honor than for a man of my standing.”

Indeed, without a doubt, the Chieftain is a man of good standing. You understand that now, after you’ve managed to recompose yourself. It is not his fault that his path diverged in such a manner from your own. Your past and his past is not the same. Expecting the same present from the both of you was erroneous. His and your situations are entirely different. His people are not yours. Those who you care for and adore are alive. Those he cares for and adores are alive. He has made the most of himself, just as you have, and the misfortunes that have befall his Earth are not his fault.

You want to say all those things to him, but he merely stretches out his hand while undoing his sash.

What you need to say and what he needs to hear… can wait until after the battle that comes.

And, you’re sure that he knows what you’re about to say already.

As all good Chieftains should.

…

You returned to the earliest battle that took place with Lucifer, after setting Hyoudou to familiarizing himself with controlling the massive fleet of copies he’ll use as chaff to buy time with his alternate. The battlefield is an easy location to find. The remains of the Sword of the Morning are imbued with power. Whilst you’d plucked the largest from mid-air before embedding them into Lucifer, there are a multitude of smaller shards and even dust, that had fallen to the sheer, white ground when Lucifer’s Sword of the Morning had broken. You’re sure that even without your field, you’d have been able to spot the small gathering of golden pieces without the slightest issue, though having your abilities certainly helped.

Touching down far from the field of glimmering, golden dust, you approach it after letting the Shard of the Morning leave your arms during your journey.

However, as you stand before the battlefield riddled with golden fragments and dust, you can’t help feel a pang of worry within the depths of you heart.

What shall become the Shard of the Morning in your current course? You’ve never endeavored in something like this before, so everything is currently an unknown. You know nothing about this situation, and you are acting upon a suggestion offered by the Shard of the Morning herself. It’s simplicity is what terrifies you. What if Occisor reforms due to your actions, after all the pieces of the Shard of the Morning is assembled? While you’ll have the power and person you wish to be by your side now, wouldn’t you be sacrificing another life for power?

Though you wish to save yourself and your companions, that thought of the cost of that being the death of the Shard of the Morning gives you pause. Is it even a death if you restore her to her true form? You’re sure that some would ask that question. However you know Occisor and you’ve spent time with the Shard of the Morning. They are wholly different individuals with characteristics all their own. The Shard of the Morning is her own person, who is not damaged in any sense, and is born of her circumstances. Putting all the pieces together, perhaps making Primi Sanguinis Occisor in the process, means that the Shard of the Morning will be gone forever.

Again, could you carry through this action with the possibility that you’re sacrificing someone innocent for the sake of power?

However, doing nothing means being trapped in this strange realm, until Lucifer’s seals falter and fail whilst your friend dies.

These thoughts fill your mind, even as the Shard of the Morning picks up one of her pieces… and then those thoughts are obliterated from existence as the small, aviator-capped version of Occisor eats the piece of her sword form like candy and abruptly grows in power.

“Yummy.” The Shard of the Morning speaks with her constant, simple, and concise tone, whilst bending to pick up more pieces and simply tossing them into her mouth. You barely comprehend what you’re seeing, as she gathers up piece after piece, and crunches upon them one after another with candy. Then as soon as she finishes chewing and swallows, there’s an abrupt rise in her power, which she bids no notice in favor of fetching more. “Tasty.”

You’re flabbergasted to the point that you’re unable to move. You can only watch as she gathers more and more fragments, until she’s holding a few large chunks against her torso, and munching on smaller pieces. The sight is simply beyond your ability to comprehend, so you can only attempt to process it to no avail, until she bids you to help her gather the dust-like, smallest fragments in the vicinity.

You manage to do so, but the sight of her upending is chamber of the vacuum you’d manifested into her maw is still too ludicrous for you to comprehend.