WORLD: EARTH
BRANCHED WORLD: SAIJAKU MUHAI NO BAHAMUT
LOCATION: WASTELAND
Lux overlooked Velvet from above, his gaze drifting down to Lisha, slumped and trembling on the ground.
[Tiamat]'s dress-gear was almost completely spare-parts, hanging in shards as her breathing ragged.
"Clown. Did you do this?"
Lux's eyes glowed as he spoke. With Laurel rubbing off him, he decided to go all out with this one.
"Hahaha! Look who it is, it is—"
Before he could say a word.
"Kuh!"
The world... flipped.
What was happening?
The world suddenly inverted, and why... a heavy sensation, one that seemed to drag him downwards.
Everything in him was inverted and he was....
Falling?
Winds brushed past him, his stomach twisting into knots as an invisible hook yanked him through nothingness,
gravity seemed to pull everything in him downward.
In the distance was...
Space?
A black, star-pricked void spread out in every direction, vast and cold.
Why... can't I move?
Every part of his body was numb and unresponsive. Though he still felt the weight of wearing his drag-ride.
The sensation as though he was piloting wasn't there anymore. It was then he looked. And froze.
Turning his gaze, he saw... no arms.
No. Arms.
The sight didn't register at first; it was just a jagged edge of shoulder, nothing beyond.
Then the pain hit.
ARRRGGGGHHH!
MY FUCKING ARRMM!!!!!!
He shouted screams of pain and agony, yet, the words didn't even seem to come out.
Where his arms were supposed to be... gone.
Red liquids, floating, and the brutal winds exposed it, making it as though invisible winds were cutting that part.
But this wasn't all.
KUH!
Another sensation. It hit him, slowly, like the one that had happened to his arm.
MY LEGGGGG!
He internally screamed, no, he tried to scream, but neither words nor even a whimper could come out.
It was painful.
Now the pain registered, with both the weight of the drag ride and the gravity that came with the free fall.
It was like he was being squashed.
'D–damn.... How did ... this even happen?'
He managed to retain a sliver of thoughts amidst the pain and agony.
Yes. He remembered. That son of a bitch refused to speak with him despite his attempts to talk with him.
All he remembered was that something covered his gaze for a moment, and suddenly he felt that weight.
But wait...
'Is... that the ground!?'
Suddenly, Velvet thought despite the pain. He tried, even internally screaming not to get close.
He tried controlling himself.
Regardless, nothing worked. His eyes darted around, and surely, this was where the False Princess interrupted him.
Wait...
He could see Lisha in the distance. The other girls too were okay, around her, helping her.
But what was more bizarre was how he could keep his thoughts still running even after his gaze had turned crimson?
BERSERKER.
"It so turns out that not only can I use it on myself, I can induce this state onto others, huh?"
"Berserker and Guaranteed Hit is truly a deadly combination."
Suddenly that soft yet angered voice reached his ears. Velvet has finally regained his reasoning.
Warmth. Thick, clinging, and seeping into his armor and skin. Red everywhere.
Not the high, blinding red of falling through the sky, but a darker shade. Wet. Metallic.
"You weren't even worth the warm-up. Happy that it took you five years to learn a move a ten-year-old kid made?"
"How do you feel now?"
It was a gaze without mercy. This was not the typical Chore Prince he'd heard of.
So... that was it.
Velvet finally remembered; he attacked first, after Lux continued to look down on him, ignoring him for Lisha.
He attacked first, and he lost all reason.
Lux fought back, inflicting several scars upon his body. Despite feeling the pain, he pressed forward.
His blade work had been furious, upper diagonal, left horizontal, vertical sweep, Quick Draw,
with each strike missing by a hair's breadth.
Then came Lux's attacks. One he couldn't comprehend; it was then he blacked out.
He blacked out not because of the pain, as it came seconds later; he blacked out from the sheer amount of battle lust.
Or in other words, the effect of being induced by Berserker knocked him out.
In turn, that made him hallucinate about falling from the sky.
"That's enough. Learn to reel in your intent, else, you'll truly become a Berserker."
Another voice resounded. A pale drag-ride hovered above them, white and light-blue.
Laurel. His hand hovered over Lux's head for just a second, then came down. In one single motion, the hand was brought down.
THWACK!
"Ack!"
Lux, who was hit on the end, bent his head slightly as he used both hands to rub where he had been hit.
"What was that for?"
Laurel pointed at him accusingly. "You fool, you let your skill overpower you."
Then Laurel's gaze flicked past Lux, toward Velvet, sprawled in the pool of red.
His head tilted slightly, as if taking measure.
From there, he then paused, nudging his head to the back.
"Go and meet her. I'll handle the rest."
That is to say, Laurel had taken care of everything, both the Abysses and the hundred strong drag-rides.
Footsteps tapped against the ground as Laurel neared, then crouched, waving his left hand in front of Velvet's dismembered body.
Lux paused for a moment, looking at what had become of Velvet. Grimacing for a moment before turning.
His footsteps slowly drifted into the distance with a slight, grim expression.
But while he went....
Laurel's steps, by contrast, were light. Unhurried.
Each tap against the ground brought him closer until he crouched beside what remained of Velvet.
"Hello, hello."
His voice was bright, almost sing-song.
"Yikes, Lux didn't hold back, huh? Well... I think I know a little about your background. So I'll just say—you deserved this."
Velvet tried to speak. Nothing. Only a faint, rattling breath.
"See, I'm biased,"
Laurel continued conversationally, as if chatting over tea.
"See. I'm a little biassed to what I like. And if what I like hates something, then I'll hate it too."
"So, what am I trying to say?"
Laurel's head tilted back, then snapped forward.
"You will die without being able to reincarnate."
His hand hovered above Velvet's head. Fingers flexed once, twice, then tapped.
The world didn't go black. It peeled.
First came the tearing, like strips of wet paper ripped from the inside of Velvet's skull.
Memories, faces, names, the smell of blood and people he'd tortured, executed for fun, young girls and women he branded like Lisha.
Then came the condensation, as what remained of his mind was pressed down into something smaller....
Until the thoughts themselves began ticking, almost mechanical. Zero. One. Zero. One.
It was a mind-ripping experience; his identity was being stolen.
Rather, it was like he was being assimilated into something he couldn't comprehend.
Something alien, something big, grand... almost Eldritch-like.
However, his mind buckled, and comprehension fell away like the rest.
Memories were transformed into data, the data rushing in numbers of zeros and ones before forming a chip above his head.
Seeing this, Laurel smiled.
He then paused,
"Wait, delete the parts about his life. Leave only his experience as a Drag-Knight."
"Many others will benefit from your knowledge and technique. So, at the very least, your death will do good."
An act of cruelty Laurel and Lux never showed was displayed for the first time.
It was a valid crashout on Lux part.
Laurel would do the same—or worse—if anything happened to Mei or Luminous.
He dusted off his hands and strolled toward Lux, who stood a few meters away.
"Lisha-sama, are you hurt?"
"Mhm. I'm fine... thank you for coming."
Her voice was soft, her face already turning crimson as she dropped her gaze to the ground.
The other female knights exchanged knowing glances, their smirks spreading in perfect sync.
One of them skipped forward, shoulder-checking Lux with mock friendliness. "Heh."
Lux narrowed his eyes.
"What's with that smug look?"
Lux asked. Perhaps, he shouldn't have asked. Perhaps, he should have thought better of it before he said that.
Even though Lux was addressing another person,
"How dare you hurt my woman. Die! Or so he said, on Luminous name, how freaking cool."
Laurel threw one hand to his chest and gazed heavenward like a tragic hero.
"You—what are you even talking about!?"
Lux's voice cracked, the faintest flush creeping up his own neck.
"T—th—that is...."
"Lisha-sama!"
Lisharte's face deepened crimson as she staggered a few steps back, before almost collapsing, but Lux supported her.
Regardless, Laurel had no mercy for Lux today. His grin widened mercilessly.
"Ahh, no wonder. Lady Lisha is stunning. Of course. No wonder he's been talking about her nonstop."
He rubbed his chin like a sage pondering the mysteries of life.
Hearing that, two more females approached Laurel's side, staring at Lux from Laurel's angle.
"You know," one of them murmured, "Luccuchi really only ever looks at the princess."
One of the females beside Laurel said that, making the three all nod dramatically.
"Not to mention the affectionate way he calls her name..."
"Mm."
All three of them nodded in theatrical unison, the sort of synchronized judgment only women in complete agreement could muster.
Lux's jaw flexed.
"..."
It wasn't until after they'd agreed that they then paused. Everyone except Lux then turned to Laurel.
"Wait... who are you?"
Even the two Triads besides him jumped a few meters away, their boots skidding against the dust of the wasteland.
"Hahaha... don't be so wary. I am Lux Arcadia's friend. I go by the name Laurel. But the people here call me... Frostveil."
A moment of silence passed between everybody, and then—
"WHAT!?"