The Kingdom of Eonis

[Apollymi]

Hikari's charge, supported by Arjuna seemed to lead to the ability to move around fallen bodies of both sides. Whatever the case, everyone seemed at least to be doing the regular parts of their tasks in this case. It seemed even the Prince Aeronius was more than ready to do something, moved into action simply because he was here, he provided a gentle bit of support to the entirety of the army. This was comforting for one such as Aerona, she didn't know when her brother had become so reliable, but she was quite proud. That being said she didn't do much if anything, aside from chopping down anything that made its way in front of her. She was soon enough told by Amakusa to set the traps because the King wouldn't be ready for conversation. "Hai, I will... it might take some time, because I'll still have to clear out anything else I come across..." she said moving forward, dozens of strings being produced from her fingertips, which disappeared from sight immediately.

"Oh, it's no problem really. It's all clear, take the time you need though..." these were the words of Miki who appeared back directly under Amakusa holding in her hands teeth from Demonic beasts which she was looking as strangely as if she'd collected them all while moving about. A couple dozen slayed creatures lay between the Princess Aerona and the place the battle should be taking place. Aerona for her part managed to look surprised but moved along, "Hmphf! At least you're proving your worth..." she managed which was about as close to a compliment as the ones which Kimiko received from Kaiba. Miki while standing as such impaled another creature which approached from behind her. She grinned seeming to find it a bit funny. "These ones are a bit stronger than the ones outside..." she said with a casual shrug of her shoulders only to take off again. She'd felt several bursts of energy, all of them passed along to allies by the support mages in their group. She was a bit lacking in this department right now, but she could at least pick off any stray creatures.

[Bloodedge]

Aerona claimed her traps would take time, but Amakusa seemed unbothered. Miki spoke up in regards to the fact that she had already cleared a great deal of Demonic Beasts ahead of them, and the white-haired Ruler chortled. "There's no need to be concerned about the throne room, either. It's boss battle time; there won't be a full horde. I'm thinking... twelve Pseudo-Demonoids from the King's Guard." Amakusa had the strangest thought as he spoke these words. In some alternate reality in which he tackled this world alone, decided to root himself in Eonis, and not taken out the King beforehand, he could have been one of those guards. He wondered if there would be another Player among them. By his understanding through being Licht, it was undoubtedly possible for outsiders to fall victim to these things.

Soon, they set foot in the throne room. There were indeed twelve Royal Guards in two lines of six, each standing before a support pillar. All of them sported black armor with adorning red cloth, mimicking King Eon's preferences while possessing Demonic Auras that leaked through every space in their protective casings. King Eon himself sat upon the throne. His broadsword was in hand, his eyes glowed a deep crimson, and the aura emanating from him was clearly the one causing those of the guards. Speaking of the guards... they were on high alert. Once the group entered the throne room, all twelve guards prepared their spears, swords, and maces. Amakusa scanned the room, nodding to his companions. "Mini-boss wave first."

[Apollymi]

Aerona was apparently clear to set her traps as she saw fit. And with that information she utilized Presence Concealment and went about moving around the room. Her traps, as they were being so casually referenced, were a great number of invisible wires being strewn about. Each still connected to her person each tight with her able to relax or increase the tension as she saw fit. These would be her easiest method for doing damage, and along each of these strings she could move her weapon, the Eye of Magnus along this as well.

While this took place, the "Mini Boss Wave" was up for everyone else present. Miki looked at these 12 King's Knights who'd become something demonic as an extension of their King. She sighed, from her own experience dealing with such things in the game, she figured that she would be better off not trying to take the sneaky approach at present. Instead she reached for the small cage at her side, hanging off her hip and with it in her hands, she shook it back and forth. Doing so would cause a strange chiming sound, which would aim to attach itself to every one of the twelve before them. The sound alone would lull them into a death-like trance, marking them for claiming by the Underworld. At the same time, it seemed to have the opposite effect on those of her allies who could hear it, seeming to cause them to reject anything resembling instant death. Strangely, what she couldn't know, was that the sound of this bell, could be heard by others, who knew the touch of death as she did. Ah but maybe this didn't matter at all...

After this her hand would close around her weapon and she'd stand to the left side of the column beginning the first of her assaults, surprisingly enough with her Alpha Skill. "Rapid Tempo Assault," which would aim to punch several holes in the first mace-wielding Knight, she targeted with it, while allowing her enough freedom of movement to dodge in case it didn't work.

[Bloodedge]

While Aerona went about setting up her concealed wires, Amakusa took to the woman's side and reached out to tap her shoulder. In doing so, he interfaced with her Mana to become capable of seeing through the concealment. His own Mana pulsed outward in the same moment, allowing all four members of the attacking group to see these traps. Amakusa didn't seem very interested in doing much else, but he understood that he didn't have to. Miki marked each of the knights for claiming by the Underworld, removing any possibility of regeneration by Demon abilities. Watching her stab her way through the first of twelve confirmed that they were not far gone enough in their transition to return and reforge themselves into proper Demonic Beasts, as the energy filling the first returned to the King.

As for the other eleven corrupted knights, Amakusa had something else in mind. Rather, he understood the use of one particular piece to this game board in relation to another. He merely waited while Aeronius came to the marvelous conclusion of using his sister's wires. "Sister," he called out as a black, swirling magical energy encompassed both of his hands, as well as the bodies of the Royal Knights. It was his intention to use this Gravity Magic of his, a very underused ability he possessed, all for the sake of pulling them into the wires and dicing the entire group of them in one fell swoop.

[Apollymi]

Amakusa's doings with the Princess caused him to be able to see her movements, beyond that it made her wires visible to their team keeping them from having to run into them. Of course, since they were produced by her own Mana she could always see them, but she could tell by the call of her brother's voice he would be doing something with them as well. The blonde lass Miki, also did some reasonable work. In addition to having earlier killed several Demonic Beasts, she apparently made it possible for them to be called into true death, as was evidenced by her killing of one of them. Only it wouldn't just be the one who died.

Miki looked on in awe as the first of these Demonic Knights fell. The second thing to happen though, was beyond what she thought the pair of brother and sister together were capable of. Interestingly enough, Aeronius used his Gravity Magic to control the bodies of the Knights and move them into the wires created by his sister. This caused the instantaneous death of the remaining 11 Knights. Miki knew this without a doubt for several reasons including her own connection to death. "Sou ka, that's a pretty good combination... I'm legitimately impressed," she said with an appreciative nod. Of course, she maintained the power to move things herself, but never would she have moved all the live people into existing traps just to kill them. Luckily enough they wouldn't be coming back to make any large problems for them and Aerona now knew that all of the foot soldiers had been taken care of. She continued to string lines together and stared towards the King, wondering when he would move to do something about the death of all his men. Her fingers spread wide causing the strings to separate and redistribute, this time in the area immediately surrounding the throne which she intended to be the first of many strikes against the King as soon as he stood up. All of this with a great deal more power than she'd started off with, considering that her Mana Drain ability had been applied to every wire which had been used to cut each of the Knights except for one to ribbons.

[Bloodedge]

Twelve rose, and twelve fell. Rather, one fell while eleven others fell apart. Only King Eon remained, and he rose while the energies from his minions returned home. There was something in his way. Aerona's wires were in direct contact with him when he stood, and they were draining him of his energy in a very direct fashion. Even as this occurred, he didn't seem perturbed at all. This body, it knew of the abilities Aerona possessed; it was there during her development. He found this drain of Mana to be nothing more than an annoyance, as he powered his way through even the energy-draining invisible strings. His sword rose, and its descent brought with it a shockwave of sheer force which tore through the air. It wasn't Mana, but instead a vacuum created by the movement's power alone. Its target was none other than Aerona herself, but Aeronius was at her right side with Gravity Magic in place to pull her from its path.

In the meantime, Amakusa seemed to be in deep thought. A lack of concern painted his face, his train of thought centered only on the movement of all present. "The sword is more dangerous than the King. Most of his abilities are channeled through it."

[Apollymi]

Energy draining wires? They didn't seem to be helping much if at all. In fact, there was a counter-attack launched which aimed to slam directly into the King's own daughter. Miki's eyes widened at this, but it seemed Aeronius was there to defend his sister in her moment of need. Well, defend was the wrong word. He pulled her out the path of a falling blade's vacuum. Aerona's blue eyes widened as she was just barely missed by what she knew to be an exceedingly heavy strike. "He sure isn't softening any blows. Not like we are his children or anything..." she said in a huff, which was very characteristic of her general tone. The entire time Miki, seemed to think it strange for a father to react that way, but her own was very different in her own experience. 'Ugh, that is a damaged Dad.' she thought with her head tilted to the side. The words of Amakusa reached her ears and for a moment or two the lass thought about doing something directly about the sword. She opened and closed her hand gently. 'Sou ka, I guess it can't be that easy... she felt the tug of the weapon, and much like the time she spent in the Migrating Vale, she ran the necessary mental checks. While she could steal the item, it didn't seem like something she'd get away with doing. "Whatever, I am not taking it from you Old Man..." Aerona said as several more strings were created and atop them the Eye of Magnus aimed to drop the item down atop the man.

Miki took the opportunity to pass her weapon through the middle of the eye throwing it like a javelin, coating it in the poison energy created by the item. Aerona watched as this and wondered why she threw a close range weapon. It seemed that the spear would go past the man only it doubled back as the Eye itself fell like a large mace atop the Demon King. If Aerona succeeded he'd be given concussive damage along with the poison which applied by her weapon. If Miki succeeded before he could recover, he'd experience being pinned to the ground by his left leg via the spear with the additive magical poison of Aerona added to it.

[Bloodedge]

Amakusa's eyes traveled toward Miki, whom he expected to attempt a capture of the monarch's sword. He saw in her a moment of hesitation, assuming it to be a check for the ability to accomplish such a feat. There was a method of guaranteeing success, but it would take time. Amakusa's biggest concern at this point, was how much time they could take before they were done. "You might be his children, but that's not anyone's dad anymore. I don't think there's much other than the Demon in there, at this point. Sorry," the lad said in passing, merely offering a bit of commentary to the sibling royalty.

King Eon seemed unconcerned with the lance being thrown his way. It wasn't even aimed properly, and flew right past him despite the preparation done beforehand. Little did he know. As the tool of his 'daughter' came crashing down, his sword rose to clash against it. He paid no heed to the lance, thinking only of what he could see directly. As a result, the back of his leg was pierced by the poisoned spear, yet he seemed content to move forward anyway. His strength was incredible; some javelin wasn't going to pin him down. The poison didn't seem to bother him either, but having taken note of its application, Amakusa grinned. "Right on track," he said as the King leapt toward his children, landing on the floor only a few meters in front of the pair. When he landed, his sword slammed into the ground. Not only did a shockwave fire forward as a result, but it seemed twice as powerful as its predecessor. The floor itself was torn asunder, large chunks of debris firing forward along with the concussive force of the strike.

Aeronius was able to see the charge, and applied Gravity Magic to his sister and himself. They could function as if under zero gravity, leaving them capable of only being thrown back by the force itself. However, he hadn't anticipated the debris that would be moving at a more rapid pace due to originating at the point of initial impact.

[Apollymi]

"Ugh, you don't have to tell me..." Aerona mentioned as her own weapon was stopped heartily from making contact. She might have had time to question the aim of the blonde lass, but it seemed her father was content to jump towards her and her brother. Beyond this there was no real way to prepare as the floor was ripped asunder. Beyond that he kept moving even after Miki's maneuver. "That's just not fair," the lass said. Though she remembered him being a pretty strong individual. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be living through seeing how little damage her weapon did to such an enemy. "Is this really what it's like fighting a raid boss under level?" she said aloud as she jumped aside. With high level agility to aid her, she pulled her weapon clean through the man's leg since it wasn't going to do anything more than it had done. Though, if he was going to keep moving and not dodging she'd keep aiming, this time for his upper right shoulder going straight through from front to back. If she had her way it would go clean through that part of his body as well.

In the meantime, Aerona was saved from the heaviness of her father's attack by her brother's use of Gravity Magic. Still they were knocked back a great deal, but her own fingers moved effortlessly as she righted herself. "Thorny Barricade," she said, triggering an ability which shot a great number of thorns from her body which would pelt every bit of debris as well as aim to overtake the King as they shot forward from her person.

[Bloodedge]

Perhaps King Eon should have been considered a member of the Berserker Class. He certainly exhibited the traits in the mind of ever-observant Amakusa, but the lad knew just what was going on. "Just a friendly note~" he said in passing to Aerona, who was momentarily ejected from his periphery thereafter. That leg wound left a through-and-through hold in the King's body, yet he showed no signs of slowing down. The poison obviously had some potency to it, but as he recalled, the injury shouldn't have been present for very long. Good. There was a great deal of progress being made here. "This isn't at all what it's like to be under-leveled. This is a landslide victory," he quipped in response to Miki's open query. His tone was a joking one, but he meant it truly. Watching as Miki's lance drove its way through the Demonoid's shoulder was further confirmation of the victory, as the man was left with two gaping holes in his form.

"Interesting. I thought there might be a bit of the King in there, but there really is nothing left. He doesn't feel a thing in there; he's a marionette. But... he's done for soon." As if on cue, the King's form underwent an advancement. His skin became molten in appearance, his hair spiked, and his eyes glowed. While Aeronius attempted to apply his Gravity Magic to slow or jettison the Demonoid, it seemed to have little effect on impairing his movement. That weighted broadsword was still swinging even with an injured shoulder, pummeling every thorn which came his way while the two holes in his body slowly, slowly healed. "See? It's there. He should have been crippled by that poison, and he wasn't. But... he also should have healed those wounds in about six seconds since the first one happened. King Eonis only uses his Mana for support." While he wasn't doing much of anything actively, Amakusa's mind was constantly racing. He had several plans toward victory, but this form was new, and he was adjusting to making the proper decision. In a matter of moments, though, he had it. "Oh! He's dead in there, so... what if you called his soul with his body as a catalyst?" he asked, rhetorically of course. The white-haired lad knew just what would happen if Miki did what he asked about; it was merely his way of suggesting it.

[Apollymi]

This version of King Eon was indeed something a bit more akin to Berserker than Saber but that didn't really matter at present. The friendliness of Amakusa in this moment was rather stunning to Aerona, if she'd had more time to think about it, she might have been embarrassed. But perhaps he did this on purpose, to help her in his own way, not think about the patricide they were trying to commit. "Whatever, say what you will..." she snapped back, as she was always going to. Still this lad's joking and light tone continued, even as he spoke to Miki about this fight. She found his current demeanor quite interesting, but she took what he had to say about the fight at face value. "Still wouldn't want him looking my way. I had minions for a reason..." she said in a round about way of mentioning how little damage her body could take. Moving right along, apparently what Amakusa saw in this fight was something definitely winnable and that was at the very least encouraging. He even claimed within a few moments to have something resembling a plan, after pointing out a few key differences which were present between how this fight should have gone, and how it was proceeding. His plan involved Miki showcasing one of her lesser used abilities.

"Sou ka. Sounds like a plan, I'll take care of it..." said the blonde lass. Her own magic began to stir as she reached for the cage at her side. Unlike before, with this particular piece of equipment it was no longer a requirement for her to sacrifice a piece of herself to call out to and bind the dead. No, in this case all she needed was this cage and a targeted catalyst. This golden cage, slowly but surely gained a blackened tint, as she started the incantation. The cold, rigid air of death surrounding her, as she voiced this spell.

"I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead,
I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.
Your self is under me,
Your fate is in my hands.

This bell tolls for Aurelius Eon!"

The incantation complete she felt her magic pull, it aimed by chime of bell and magical power to summon from his demise the soul of Aurelius Eon the former King of Eonis and replace him with his body. Given the wording of the incantation he'd be restored as he was before he left, capable of his own thoughts and fighting off the demon who possessed him. Though this would not restore his life in truth it would give him the opportunity to right the wrongs he left in his Kingdom before he was returned to the Underworld. If this succeeded the cage would finish blackening, signaling the tether to herself which would tie this King to the world of the living, if only temporarily.

[Bloodedge]

"I plan to. Nice form, by the way~" he teased while gazing upon the princess. Of course, he meant exactly what he said. Her stance against the debris King Eon sent her way was precisely what it needed to be, in order to deal with the assault she faced perfectly. The same could even be said of the others. Speaking of things that could be said at any given moment, Miki's choice of words regarding her potential fate were... interesting ones. Amakusa chuckled almost nervously while rubbing the back of his head. "Eheh─ yeah... about that..." He had an assumption about what would happen with the return of King Eon, who was already mentally weak enough to be consumed by Demon influence.

The King's counteractions against the princess' thorns came to an end with the end of the barrage, and he began his assault anew. There was a sudden halt to all movements, as the human soul was brought back from the Underworld into its original body. He could see the gleam of that elevated broadsword, and just below it, there were his children. He very quickly gained enough ability to resist that he could not go through with this assault. As such, his body contorted to redirect his strike. This twisting motion rerouted his attack toward Amakusa, sending an even more potent shockwave his way. The force was great enough to rend its way through the palace, as if cutting through everything the blade could 'see' along its path... except Amakusa himself, who split into two, leaving the rending strike to cleave the space between them. "Yeah, alright. It works just like I thought," he said as the two forms of him merged once more.

Realizing that every strike of King Eon's was something more powerful than its predecessor, Aeronius took action once more. He focused the maximum potential of his Gravity Magic, aiming for the King's sword this time. He wasn't selecting its path, but instead applying anti-gravity to it. If that weighted blade could be stripped of its massive weight, it could be returned to something more akin to a normal weapon. "I'll keep zero gravity on the sword. How do we end this?" the young prince asked, sparing a glance in his sister's direction.

[Apollymi]

"Of course, my form could never be anything else," such was the attitude of the princess, who was left aghast by the teasing compliment she was paid. Even so, she felt as if this goal was properly achievable now. Even more so when, Miki performed some dark magic which returned her father's soul to his body. His first act upon trying to retake control was to turn his attention away from his children. Miki immediately took this and chuckled, "Oi oi, that's almost too carefree isn't it?" she asked rhetorically. This was ideal for Aerona though, as she'd been running around dodging this man for the entirety of the fight so far. Aerona was more than a bit shocked when Amakusa split himself in two, from her perspective she almost thought he was cut in half, but... things weren't what they appeared.

Beyond that the last of Aerona's traps was shredded along with everything in the downward path of the King's sword. Aeronius for his troubles applied Gravity Magic to the blade, to make it lose its weight which was overly helpful to everyone involved. Aerona's body began to glow with powerful magic and the threads which began falling towards the ground reconnected all around King Eonis. "Well, there is one more thing I could try I suppose. I still hate doing it though..." she said obviously already committing fully to using this ability of hers. Her final ability even, as she didn't have much more to work with. It was the pinnacle of her thread control and the use of a singular extra magical ability. The Eye of Magnus began to glow, emitting a faint hum which with each pulse aimed to pull the king towards it. The threads created, would vibrate at even higher frequency each felt and controlled by Princess Aerona herself. "Oblivion Thorn Web." the attack which created an intricate web of her threads which used the Eye to pull the target towards its center to cut the target to ribbons. It was her highlighted ability and one which made Miki's light up with appreciation. Beyond that the blonde lass aimed to pull the now lightened weapon out of the King's hands, it wouldn't do to have him blocking any potential damages he would take here. And the pull was made much easier by the applied magics of Aeronius, "Thank you, Prince!~ Fox Assault," she mentioned as she aimed to pull the sword and have it drop casually beside her. If it worked, it would relieve the Prince of his burden as well as allowing the Princess to properly maim the Demon King's body.

[Bloodedge]

"I don't really have much to care about, honestly. I've almost figured myself out, and... I think I can do anything," said Amakusa as he set his eyes upon Miki. If he had the time before this assault, he realized he probably could have faced the King by himself... and yet, he also felt he would have been far weaker if he did so. There was a strange blend of factoids within his own existence now, but he knew one thing; success would soon be met. Aerona's most potent skill saw use in the wake of King Eon's attack, and in that moment, Miki was finally able to make use of her own ability.

King Eon fought against the pull of the Eye of Magnus using his incredible physical strength alone. Even though he had enough consciousness to avoid striking down his children, his survival instinct remained intact. Alas, Aeronius had been freed of his Gravity Magic's application to the sword by Miki, and he could therefore use it for the sake of amplifying the pull. What could the King do? He was moving despite his every effort to remain grounded, and he felt the sword slip from his hand, removing any ability he had to cleave through the threads again. No matter the case, he had to fight against the forces causing him to slide along the floor.

"Oh, this is the part where an entire group puts an end to one boss," Amakusa stated, holding out his right hand as a red and black Mystic Code encompassed that same hand and forearm. His palm was pointed at the King's injured leg, and after a few seconds of aiming, that hole in Aurelius' extremity spewed gratuitous amounts of blood, and enlarged until could no longer make use of the limb. The King could no longer brace himself, and nothing further prevented him from being thrown against the web's high-frequency vibrations, and diced on the spot.

Oddly enough, he was reduced to the state of a Mystic Code right then and there. His code consisted of a deep crimson color, divided into nine segments surrounding the core code itself. Attached to the core, though, was an eerie black aura which seemed to leak out, proving itself to be the source of Demon influence on the King. Stepping forward, Amakusa inspected the accumulated identities. "I was wondering how that would work. I think if we each copy these, we each get the drops. There seems to be a Code Overlay here that registers everyone who participated."

[Apollymi]

"Oh? Well that's just totally fair isn't it?~" Miki mentioned mostly in jest. Still, at this moment even she could see the potential end of King Eon and as such she had fewer problems with this potentially overpowered Avatar Amakusa that she likely would have had normally. Having successfully stolen the King's sword he was left without that particular line of defense. Clearing the Prince of the Gravity Magic he had to use on the weapon, allowed him to further assist his sister in her endeavors. And soon, even Amakusa finally entered the fray to widen the wounds suffered by Eon sealing his demise at the hands of his children. He was reduced in this moment to lines of Mystic Code, clearly visible to all present. Amakusa after inspecting this Code, went on to explain how it would work and that everyone present could also claim it. "Oh, so are we just skipping over the part where you definitely just used Blood Magic? Or were we not supposed to notice?" Miki asked the lad in their general private conversation.

Aerona as a child of this world, understood enough of how its powers worked to know that she could claim what was rightfully hers along with a title. "I am aware, it is mine to claim first after all..." she said and Miki had no problem with this though she found it funny. This Code Overlay, as Amakusa called it would be used to copy forth her own ability and make her into the rightful ruler of Eonis. Doing such a thing left her to claim each of the items granted by this and redressed her as a proper queen. After she was finished the tiny crown atop her head grew to the established proper size. Miki casually strolled forward as well, but she'd only bother to begin claiming this code when Amakusa did.