The World of Otome Games is Tough For Mobs - Volume 13 - Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

Revenge

EVERYONE IN THE COMMAND ROOM watched on the monitor as Brave dissolved. Mia’s eyes were wide, her breathing erratic.

“Sir…Knight?” she croaked in a hollow voice.

She couldn’t comprehend what she’d just seen. It felt like an awful nightmare.

She clutched her head, her hair tangling around her fingers. “This can’t be happening,” she said, fat tears falling swiftly down her cheeks. “It can’t be. It just can’t!”

Finn had always been so kind to her, always protected her. But Arroganz had killed him—a fact she struggled to digest.

Moritz gazed at her sadly but offered no words, instead turning back to the monitor. “Our strongest knight has fallen.”

The others in the command room looked devastated. They’d counted on Finn to defeat the Scumbag Knight, but he’d been bested. The other high-ranking Demonic Knights had likewise lost their lives in the battle. Worse, Arcadia’s reactor had been destroyed. There was virtually no way to come back from this.

Arcadia glanced at Mia, then turned his bloodshot eye on Moritz. “It can’t end like this. I won’t accept it.” Even with all their losses, and the odds against them, he wouldn’t back down.

Moritz shook his head with a haunted expression. “It’s over. We’ve lost. There’s no point fighting them anymore.”

“We have not lost!” Arcadia shrieked at him. “Under the waves all those years, I dreamed only of destroying those filthy machines and annihilating old humanity along with them! You cannot begin to fathom how long I spent down there—long enough for anyone to lose their mind! Anyway, we still have some hope left.” His gaze turned again to Mia, who had crumpled to the floor in tears.

Moritz choked out a derisive laugh at Arcadia; their defeat was inevitable. “Your fortress is sinking. I doubt it’ll ever see the world above the waves again.”

“Then I’ll just have to absorb all the demonic essence leaking out and completely destroy the place these lowlifes call home! As long as I have the princess with me, we will be victorious. We cannot possibly fall to them.”

Everyone in the room held their breath, shocked at Arcadia’s scorched-earth plan. His desperation to achieve victory for new humanity at all costs made Moritz suspicious.

“If you ruin the planet, there will be no future left for the empire,” he reminded Arcadia.

“The empire?” Arcadia’s mouth narrowed in a crescent-shaped grin. “I’ve never had any interest in your empire or its people.”

“What?! You told us that you’d help us win this war! That we had to fight to protect our citizens!”

Arcadia gazed at him without interest. “You’re nothing but impure specimens. The only true member of new humanity among you is the princess. Anyway, I never lied to you. What I said about the world being safe for you if the empire won was true. But now that it has come to this…”

Moritz’s mouth hung agape. He could scarcely believe what he was hearing. The empire was insignificant to Arcadia. “Y-you’re saying you deceived me? Tricked me into killing my own father?”

“You could say that, yes. Unfortunately, you were far less useful than I’d hoped,” replied Arcadia.

Moritz gnashed his teeth, brows knitting together. He yanked his sword out and threw himself at Arcadia. “You monster!”

“So that’s how you really feel. Glad we cleared the air.”

Moritz’s blade failed to reach its mark. Arcadia’s magic thrust him back and threw him into a wall. He sank to the floor soon after.

The command room erupted in chaos. Soldiers rushed to their emperor’s aid, then turned their weapons on Arcadia. “Protect His Imperial Majesty!”

Arcadia’s magic easily forced them back. Once they were sufficiently subjugated, he drifted over to Mia, who was still sobbing on the floor. “Princess, I am so sorry. I should have been able to prevent this, but instead the royal army overran us. Regardless, we must get you to safety.” 

Though he’d been cold and unfeeling with Moritz and the other imperial soldiers, Arcadia was incredibly kind and attentive to Mia. He considered her his mistress, worthy of prioritizing over all else, since she’d awakened as a full-fledged member of new humanity.

The other Demonic Creatures in the room circled Mia, sharing Arcadia’s desire to whisk her away from the dangerous battlefield.

Mia swallowed her tears and shot to her feet. Her gaze focused on the monitor, which was locked on Arroganz. She watched it yank Finn’s longsword from the fortress’s deck. 

Her eyes went dark, all light snuffed out. “Arcadia,” she said.

“Y-yes?! What is it, Your Imperial Highness?”

Mia’s eyes darted over to him. She let the hate growing inside her fester, overwhelming all other thoughts and feelings. “Help me avenge Sir Knight.”

“What? B-but we have to get you away from here.”

“No! That’s not what I want!” Mia shouted, unleashing a shock wave that ripped through the command room, leaving a large crack in the monitor on the wall. Only true members of new humanity could wield such power.

Sensing that Mia had unlocked her full potential, Arcadia bowed his head subserviently. “As you wish. But I must ask, are you certain about this?”

“Yes. As long as I can avenge him, I don’t care what happens to me.”

“Don’t do it!” cried Moritz, having regained consciousness while Arcadia and Mia spoke. “The war’s already over! If you keep going—”

“It’s not over!” Mia snapped back, the tears flowing anew. She glared at Moritz, her whole face pinched with anger. “Not yet. It won’t end until I take my revenge. I’m going to make that murderer suffer the same way I’ve suffered.” She clutched her chest as if the pain was too much to bear.

“Trust me, I will take care of everything.” Arcadia’s jaw cracked wide open, and he leaped forward, swallowing Mia whole. She didn’t even struggle.

Moritz shook his head in disbelief. “What’re you doing?”

After consuming Mia, Arcadia absorbed the other Demonic Creatures as well. His body swelled, expanding so rapidly that it fissured. Mia’s naked upper body appeared from a crack, rising from the belly button up; it was completely covered in a silver coating.

She threw her arms open wide. A black, tar-like substance flew through the air and gathered inside Arcadia’s body, which grew and grew.

Mia didn’t speak. Instead, Arcadia’s joyful voice echoed through the air. “Princess, together we shall destroy old humanity’s descendants!”

Mia’s form was like a silver sculpture, and when her eyes cracked open, they shone red as rubies. She and Arcadia burst through the ceiling. Unable to intervene, Moritz watched helplessly as they left.

“I can’t believe this. What have I done?” he murmured.

As he battled his own regret, his cane rolled across the floor and bumped his feet. It was the same cane that Carl had so loved using during his reign.

***

When the destruction of Arcadia’s reactor was reported, everyone on the Licorne rejoiced at the victory. Their joy soon faded, however. They were all dumbstruck by what was happening before them.

Noelle was the first to draw herself to her feet. “What’s going on?” she asked, staring out the window. Her voice was quiet initially but increased considerably in volume. “What’s happening?!”

The reactor’s destruction should’ve ended the entire war, but the battle was still unfolding. Neither side had backed down. The imperials refused to accept defeat, and the royal army had no option but to hold their ground on the field. That wasn’t the only thing that alarmed the Licorne’s passengers, though. A foreboding, black, barbed object had leaped out of the fortress. Its shape was almost starlike, and its size continually expanded; at this point, it measured over ten meters.

Cleare magnified the image on their monitor. “That’s Arcadia’s core!” Her voice cracked through the room like a whip. “He’s absorbed Mia into himself!”

Her description was accurate. Mia’s upper body protruded from the star-shaped monster, covered in a layer of silver and eyes gleaming red.

Marie hugged her staff to her chest. “Why would he absorb Mia?!”

“I don’t have the data necessary to offer an answer,” said Cleare. “But this is very bad. We may have destroyed his reactor, but that caused an outpouring of demonic essence that only multiplied the monsters on their side.”

Demonic essence still issued from the spot where Arcadia’s reactor was presumably located. It concentrated into clumps, giving shape to the monsters. The very presence of airborne demonic essence seemed to attract a throng of additional monsters, swelling their total numbers.

“Crap!” Cleare said as she analyzed the incoming data. “The situation’s worse than I thought. Arcadia’s core—or whatever it’s become now—is ridiculously powerful. It absorbed an insane amount of demonic essence. And if you can believe it, it’s still growing by taking in Demonic Creatures and Demonic Suit fragments.”

“Give us specifics,” Angie demanded. “How strong is this thing?”

“I’ll put it like this—as strong as Arcadia’s main cannon, firing continuously.”

Angie gaped, wide-eyed. “But we sank his fortress! How can he still be that powerful?!”

“He can only fight for a limited amount of time using this form, unlike when his fortress was functioning,” Cleare explained. “The problem is that he can rampage until he uses up every last bit of the demonic essence he absorbed.”

The reactor had been created by solidifying a massive amount of demonic essence. Upon destruction, it began leaking all that essence into the air. Arcadia’s core had absorbed most of it. That gave the core ridiculous power that, if Cleare’s analysis was correct, approximated the power of the fortress’s main cannon invested with unlimited firing potential. It would be short-lived, though; it was like a candle flaring before it went out. Arcadia would eventually run out of fuel. 

On top of it all, the demonic essence Arcadia hadn’t absorbed was now pumping out endless monsters. Alongside Arcadia, they could cause untold destruction and devastation to the royal army.

Marie sniffled, her gaze dropping to the floor. “I thought it was finally over.”

It seemed unfair that Arcadia’s core somehow had more power than the fortress itself. Their side had already lost all their shield ships, most of their spaceships, and over half their army.

Arcadia’s core continued absorbing whatever it could, powering up more and more.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know if we can beat Arcadia with the strength we have left,” said Cleare, running the calculations herself.

Monsters already surrounded the Licorne. Their allies desperately fought back as much as they could, but the enemy’s numbers were too great. The royal forces couldn’t handle them.

Angie gritted her teeth. “Is there really nothing else we can do? There has to be something!”

“Everyone, please help me however you can,” Livia said suddenly, standing up straight and staring directly ahead.

Her sudden request stunned everybody. What in the world could she be planning?

Angie shared the others’ surprise, but she believed in Livia completely. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

Livia clasped Angie’s outstretched hands in hers. “My power can take care of the monsters,” she replied.

During their first year at the academy, while they were aboard the royal family’s ship, Livia’s strange powers had done a number on an enormous beast. Everyone realized immediately that that was what she was referring to.

“Ah—you mean what you did against the Principality back then?” Angie nodded thoughtfully. She shot Cleare a questioning glance. “If you can repeat that, it should work.”

“It’s possible,” Cleare confirmed. “We have the necessary apparatus aboard the Licorne. The bigger problem is the strain it’ll put on you, Liv. You won’t be able to do it alone; Angie’ll have to help out too. And of course, Rie, I expect you to have their backs.”

“Don’t treat me like an afterthought!” Marie groused. “B-but, sure, I’ll help out.”

Angie nodded. “I don’t mind helping either.” Her eyes moved to Noelle.

“Yeah, I’ve rested plenty,” Noelle said confidently. “I’ll pitch in too.”

“Thank you, all of you,” said Livia. “Cleary, if you would, please?”

Several images popped up around Cleare. “Liv, this’ll hinge on you. Nelly, you’re going to regulate the Sacred Tree’s energy. And Rie…just do whatever you can with the Saint-power stuff you’ve got.” It wasn’t a particularly nice way to phrase it, but everyone let her continue. “Angie, you’ll support Liv. Make sure this doesn’t break her.”

“Of course. That’s all I can really do,” said Angie.

“I told you this’ll take a heavy toll on Liv, right? Just to be clear, your role is important.”

Angie nodded. “I know. Whatever happens, I’ll have her back.”

“This enemy is above and beyond what we faced in our war against the Principality,” Cleare reminded them all. “But the Licorne is a much more powerful ship, and we have the Sacred Tree providing extra energy. I expect you all to contribute whatever you can.”

Everyone on the ship—including Yumeria, Kyle, and Carla—nodded.

“Good. Then let’s get this thing started.”

As the operation began, faint light wrapped around the Licorne. The Sacred Tree also glowed, feeding energy into the ship.

Livia clasped her hands as if praying, her gaze focused ahead. “Thank you, everyone,” she said again as her body gave off a subtle radiance.

Angie wrapped her arms around Livia. “I’ll help too,” she repeated. “Do it, Cleare.”

“Just let me have five minutes,” Cleare answered. “I promise I’ll give you all the support I can, but I need that long to get everything ready. My biggest concern is that the enemy’s already set its sights on us.”

The monsters outside must’ve sensed that the Licorne was powering up for something, because an enormous mass of them had charged toward the ship.

***

An immense star-shaped object had pierced Arcadia’s deck and appeared above it. A grotesque eye sat at its center, the same kind all Demonic Creatures had. From its forehead—assuming such a being had that body part—protruded a young woman’s form.

“Master, the situation is even more dangerous than before,” said Luxion.

Mere breathing was absolute agony, but I managed to crane my neck to peer at Mia’s body integrated into Arcadia’s grotesque form. She was covered in a silver film, her eyes like rubies and her body entirely naked.

“Wow, Mia. You’re showing an awful lot of skin,” I summoned all my willpower to joke. “Finn’d be heartbroken.” I broke into a coughing fit, and blood spilled from my mouth again.

“How dare you kill Sir Knight!” Mia screeched, her ruby eyes focused on me. She wasn’t at all like I remembered.

The sharp points along the base of her body extended and fired at me.

Luxion was piloting Arroganz in my stead; it slid across the floor, evading Mia’s attack. “Master, I cannot support you adequately. Due to all the damage Arroganz sustained, it is unable to use its full potential. I recommend retreating.”

“She’ll never let us retreat,” I said, reaching my trembling hands toward the controls. I couldn’t dredge up the strength to grasp them properly.

Taking two doses of the performance enhancer had dealt almost fatal damage to my body. I was completely useless. There was only one choice.

“Well, guess this was smart planning on my part. Glad I saved my final trump card till the end,” I said.

“No—it is too dangerous!” Luxion roared at me angrily. “Do you really want to kill yourself?”

I didn’t want to die, but I knew I’d regret not using my last remaining shot in this battle.

“It’s the only way,” I said.

I didn’t know whether Mia had willingly been absorbed or if Arcadia had done that without her consent, but in the end it didn’t matter. 

Mia’s movements were awkward and stilted. Below her, Arcadia placatingly said, “Princess, please try to calm down so you can take your revenge.” Brave had said he detested Arcadia’s core, but to Mia at least, Arcadia spoke with adoring reverence.

Mia kept firing spikes from her body until they absolutely covered the deck. Arroganz continued to speed away, trying to avoid them all, but she eventually cornered us. Thorns sank into Arroganz’s right arm, pinning it to the deck.

“Purging right arm,” said Luxion.

As soon as he disposed of it, we were on the move again.

“Arroganz is falling to pieces too.” My vision hazed over. Before I lost consciousness, I gave Luxion an order. I knew he’d oppose it, but it was the only option we had left. “Luxion, the performance enhancer.”

He hesitated, reluctant even to acknowledge what I’d said. “For your own safety, I cannot permit that.” I knew he’d find whatever reason he could to deny me.

“You’re really going to throw our chance at victory away after we’ve come so far?”

“No matter what you say—”

Before he finished talking, we both noticed a sudden change in the foe. Arcadia had torn his gaze from us and focused on something in the distance. “That white ship there is trying something. Princess, it’s a threat!”

Mia turned her attention toward the vessel he was referring to.

The Licorne—they were looking at the Licorne. I knew Mia would recognize it and realize who was aboard. My gut twisted with anxiety.

“The Licorne,” she murmured, now focused on it.

“D-don’t!” I screamed.

She smiled coldly at me, probably thinking that this was the perfect revenge after I took Finn from her. “The people you love most are aboard the Licorne, aren’t they? Good. Then I’ll give you a taste of my pain!” She instantly began firing on the ship.

“W-wait, please!” I called to her in vain. As much as I wanted to stop her, my body wouldn’t even move.

She stared down at me. “No. Stay there. You can watch as the people you love die. Then you’ll know exactly how I felt when you took my knight from me.”

***

Given all the monsters crowding around it, the Licorne was in a precarious position.

Noelle braced herself and raised her right hand in the air. “You’ll go no further!” Her Priestess’s crest lit up. 

A mirror image of it manifested in the sky over the Licorne, producing a number of shimmering emerald magic circles. Together, those created a barrier that deflected the monster attacks. The ones who slammed against the barrier disintegrated into puffs of black smoke that quickly disappeared.

Yumeria wrapped her arms around the Sacred Tree Sapling. “Please, offer us what strength you can,” she whispered to it.

At her pleading, its leaves rustled, although there was no breeze inside the ship. The tree shone brighter, lighting up Noelle’s crest in turn.

“Output increasing!” Cleare announced. “Just hold out three more minutes!”

Noelle clenched her jaw through the pain. She’d kept the monsters from overrunning them, but there were too many for her shield alone to destroy. “This might be tough.”

The Republic ship pulled up alongside them. Noelle realized instantly that it could only be her sister. 

“Lelia?!” she gasped.

A Priestess’s crest, somewhat similar in design to Noelle’s, lit the sky above their ship. Lelia’s face appeared on the Licorne’s monitor. “If you’re trying something, you could at least have had the decency to contact me. I’ll help you out. Let’s end this stupid war already.” Her face was deathly pale, indicating that she was pushing herself past her limits to the same extent Noelle was.

The Alzer Republic’s ship deployed a red Armor that began slicing through nearby monsters. “I swear I’ll protect you, milady!” Loic’s voice rang out. Accessing his own crest, he harnessed some of the Sacred Tree’s power.

Marie’s head jerked as another ship pulled up nearby. “No way. Hertrude?!”

The ships’ communications networks linked, and Hertrude appeared on the monitor. “I have come to aid you, Saint, but don’t forget I expect you to pay me back with interest.” Despite Hertrude’s haughty manner, her ship was a wreck. She was sticking her neck out to help them.

“Thank you,” said Marie. “Thank you so much!”

“You always throw me off,” Hertrude grumbled, cheeks flaming. She cut off communication.

“Two more minutes!” Cleare announced.

They were managing to hold out thanks to Lelia and Loic, but Arcadia’s attention now turned toward them. He’d been fighting Arroganz on the fortress deck, but the Licorne had become his new target.

“Great. He’s realized we’re a danger to him!” Cleare cursed under her breath.

A mass of red-black light gathered around Arcadia, and he unleashed it toward them—an attack with the same strength as his fortress’s main cannon. Before it reached them, however, Fact and the other AI ships darted in front of them.

“I-It’s you guys,” Marie gasped.

The power of Arcadia’s attack quickly destroyed the AI ships at the front of the formation, and each one sank. Fact’s remote unit linked into their communications network and appeared on their monitor.

“We evaluated you all unfairly,” he said. “I have adjusted my evaluation to reflect your true capabilities.”

Typical. Even in the last moments before his own destruction, Fact was rambling about evaluations and what have you.

“This isn’t the time for that!” Cleare snapped at him.

“There is no better time for it,” he argued. “All our efforts had a purpose. We know that now. No, I should rephrase that: You showed us that.”

Fact was the last AI remaining. Following exposure to the combined force of the monster attacks and Arcadia’s blast, explosions broke out across his carrier ship.

Static crackled over the monitor. Before he cut out completely, Fact added, “It must have been fate…that we awoke…when we did.”

Then the connection was severed. A much larger explosion enveloped the aircraft carrier, taking down a number of monsters in the process. The carrier lost altitude quickly and dropped toward the sea, flames dancing around its charred remains.

“They fulfilled their duty to the last,” Cleare said quietly. “Liv, I’m ready whenever.”

The time everyone had bought the Licorne had given them a chance.

Livia began to glow, her hair fluttering in the air despite the lack of wind aboard the ship. She slowly opened her eyes; they were shining too. “All right.”