Hordes of Pawns snarl and roar as they flood into the Space Square plaza, all converging towards a single target as there's only one left in the infected region. That target however is elevated, requiring those monsters to hastily pile on each other, climbing up atop their fellow faceless beasts to then be climbed over, disregarding their own discomfort if they could feel any, a hive mind with no regard for individualism yet at the same time their lack of caution when piling on each other proves too a lack of regard for each other. For these monsters, only their command deserves any attention, the straightest path to achieving such is the one taken with no hesitation or avoidances.
Even then, the tops of that pile are struck by a swarm of pink lightning that spreads over the mass, coiling around the monsters who abruptly freeze in place, for no other beasts can continue to climb as they're stuck in animation crawling to the top. That pink lightning flashes brighter, causing those monsters to release pained shrieks before they collapse, and with their collapse falls the whole pile, spreading over the plaza surface. The lightning dissipates, and so immediately the other monsters begin to move to make another pile, trampling over those who had formed the previous heap, more black bodies accumulating over the white snow-covered floor.
Another swarm of lightning begins to charge, coiling around Kokei's arm as her hand remains open, targeting the next heap. In her other hand she clings to Ekitai, supporting his weight partially herself but also using her own energy as Ekitai's legs are suspended by her pink electricity similar to her own, keeping them in the air safe from the monsters. Carried with no need to take action himself to stay afloat, and trusting in his friend to keep him safe, Ekitai dedicates his attention to aiming the handgun in his other hand at the newly piling horde, pulling down the hammer hard before rapidly pulling the trigger which fires a barrage of light orange bolts. Upon striking the top of the horde, the first bolt causes the monsters at the peak to liquify into a soup-like substance, and the subsequent shots pass through that soup to liquify the next set of monsters below them, sequentially reducing the heap from top to bottom into soup.
Once the entire pile drops to the floor now covered in that black liquid, causing some of the monsters around to slip and fall over, Ekitai begins swiping the screen of his handgun to prepare for his next defensive strike, though doing so brings him to a realization which scrunches his forehead. He turns to Kokei to alert, "I'm out, I need to reload."
Kokei turns to him and nods, raising her gaze to the sky which is the direction of her flight, ascending along with Ekitai in hand. They raise a few stories higher before Kokei stops, providing themselves a longer buffer before the next demonic pile could reach them. She faces him to signal him silently, and so he pops the cylinder out of the handgun, revealing the carousel of empty flasks, and by tilting the gun he lets those flasks slip out and fall down below. Holding it upright, he glances down at his open overcoat before wincing in another realization, nervously chuckling to then admit: "I haven't loaded with one hand in a while, but it's fine, I've done it before."
Kokei glances down at the mob below, determining the duration of their safety before returning her gaze to Ekitai. She then aims her free hand up to his gun which she fires her next swarm of pink lightning at, alerting Ekitai instinctually to let go of the weapon just in time for it to be suspended in air without freezing himself. Kokei smiles proudly at the quick thought, and Ekitai matches her smile with his own before nodding. He then, with his second hand free, reaches into his overcoat to pull out the first flask full of a purple liquid, sliding it into the cylinder which locks in place. He reaches back into his inner pocket to pull out the next flask, swiftly refilling his weapon held in the air steadily for him. Kokei briefly glances back down to reaffirm their safety, again facing Ekitai, but that gaze then shifts up upon hearing the whistle of a dive from above. Just a moment after picking up on the sound, that whistle carries the blue comet straight down, nearly passing both of them if not for two cables projecting from the head, immediately suspending the comet's plummet. Both cables project from Meditat's hips, his cape and hair waving wildly at first from the sudden deceleration, but they steady themselves quickly. Suspended in front of the two, he garners their attention as Ekitai slots in the final flask to fill the cylinder, ready to receive the gun, and so Kokei drops her free hand which releases the swarm around the weapon, letting him swiftly equip it in his grasp. Her arm at her side, she focuses now on Meditat to whom she smiles softly before assuming, "It sounds like you got them out of there, sorry I couldn't help but I'm glad you two made it!"
Ekitai chuckles and admits, "Yeah thanks for covering for us, I mean the only thing I think I could've done is cover the train with my modified slime but I don't know if it would've worked and even if it did it'd probably take too long to cover the whole thing, it'd probably also mess up the driving or something. But looks like you two got it!"
Kokei lifts her head to the sky above Meditat curiously, one eyebrow raised to wonder, "Is she still checking on something or did you just get here that much faster? To be honest, I kind of thought she was faster...no offense."
Ekitai doesn't raise his head but instead keeps it on Meditat, causing him to tilt his head in perplexity before more softly asking, "...Meditat? You good...?"
That question attracts Kokei's attention back down, and upon lowering her head her eyes suddenly grow wide in shock.
Hovering before his team, standing above the horde that shriek and roar incessantly, Meditat just stares blankly with teary starry eyes, tears that have reached down to his cheeks. He doesn't sob or make a sound for that matter, he just tears in silence, his mouth shut. He speaks no words, but he doesn't have to, the message is clear enough.
Kokei's eyes are next to tear, and they do immediately, the revelation dawning on her like a speeding truck. She wipes her face with her free hand but it's no use as tears regenerate where she had rid them.
Beside her, Ekitai just stands appalled, his mouth dropped and eyes wide. He doesn't begin crying like the others, but there's a different anguish within him, a sorrowful realization of loss. It's a realization he's not a novice to for he's lived long enough for generations of friends to pass, but rather than that dampening the sorrow, if anything it accumulates to it. Especially after declaring his allegiance away from his old life and standing with this new, to find that new life so suddenly extinguished brings a hollowing somber to him.
Sobs emit from Kokei, trying again to wipe her eyes as she apologizes through tears: "I'm so sorry...I wish I could've-."
"I do too," Meditat gently agrees, his voice lowered, mellow. His gaze doesn't sit on either of the two but rather somewhere in the middle, his frown apparent. His speech isn't obstructed by sobs yet he continues to tear while understanding, "But I know she wouldn't want me to think that.... I'd just be doing a disservice by thinking that."
He lowers his gaze to the floor before coldly reporting, "We did escort the civilians out of the atmosphere, meaning the infected zone is currently unoccupied. We succeeded, the people are safe now."
He raises his gaze and turns his head off towards the direction of the zone's center before recalling, "However, during our flight around the zone, we discovered that the infestation is spreading rapidly, it's already grown well past its initial radius thus may have no intent on confining. A wider radius past the zone has been evacuated too for safety, but it's not like the entire continent is evacuated, and eventually the zone will spread to populated regions. We need to stop it as quickly as possible."
Last time a member of the team's life was lost, only one of them really managed to gather themselves and continue the fight immediately, however it's that one member now gone. Left next are the two who did freeze before, and once again Kokei and Ekitai struggle to reclaim their focus, the abrupt grief fogging any other thoughts.
Meditat turns to face them upon noticing a lack of response, and he simply pleads, "Guys...."
Immediately then, Kokei and Ekitai snap their attention to him, and Kokei incessantly apologizes, "Sorry sorry, I was just...."
Frowning at the acknowledgement of the reason, Meditat shakes his head and empathizes, "I know...but we're not done. It would be wrong...if we stalled now."
Nodding in agreement through the sobs, Kokei understands: "I know, I know. I'm listening."
Next to her, Ekitai takes a deep breath, recentering his thoughts before then calmly asking, "What's the play, boss?"
After glancing at Ekitai, Meditat nods back, his expression sharpening with a determined glare that he then directs back towards the zone's center.
His attention isn't just vaguely in that direction though, but rather past the many skyscrapers from the plaza to the black roots threading between towers, growing out of the ground, branching off to cover the skies.
His attention however isn't just on those roots but deeper through them, deeper into the zone which is notably denser the deeper in, the clusters of roots tighter together, making sight difficult to near impossible, the streets in the air fully blocked off.
But through the thin spaces between those clusters, gaps can be followed from block to block, leading to the plaza that is the foundation for what was once his life. Now only debris and wreckages of that supreme tower remain at the base, as the tower that instead stands in its place is the titanic black tree which stands even taller than the tower it replaced. Not only is the trunk of the tree taller, but the branches that protrude cast a shadow that conquers the surrounding blocks, not coexisting in the city but consuming it. An invasive structure, its slimy black material a sharp contrast to the sleek silver metal of the surrounding towers, the tree stands at the center of the zone, at the center of the invasion, and at the center of those glaring azure eyes which flare up upon ascertaining his target.
The leader raises his hand to point directly at that structure before declaring: "That being is inside there, I know it, this is their last act. We're going to rip them out of there, and then we're going to end this invasion for good."
Both Kokei and Ekitai follow Meditat's finger to the tree, and they both sharpen their gazes in understanding the mission. Kokei wipes her tears one more time, clearing her vision which would be paramount for what comes next. Ekitai nods and follows with a similarly determined presence: "Then lead the way. Let's save the world."
Next to him, Kokei nods and chimes in: "And the Superverse with it. Ready when you are, captain," before charging her free arm again, priming herself for battle.
Meditat drops his finger and turns to his team, nodding back to them. Strangely he matches their determined flares with a mellow albeit sincere: "Thank you guys...I'm glad I have you."
Both Ekitai and Kokei can't help but smile from such genuine appreciation, and Kokei responds first with a heartfelt, "This has been a dream for me, I can't thank you enough," and next to her Ekitai playfully appends: "Hey, what are friends for? Let's kill the devil."
Meditat smiles back at both of their responses, and he faces back at the tree. His eyes sharpen once again, both of his hands are set ablaze in blue.
Right below him, a heap of Pawns have accumulated to nearly reach him, up to within the same story. It's hardly a heap but rather a mountain, countless monsters needing to pile together to reach this height, a feat that took a while but was inevitable given their seemingly infinite supply. Yet as the topmost monster attempts to reach for Meditat's foot, Meditat's cape suddenly blows backwards to reveal a bright blue light flashing from his back, and the moment his hip cables detach, his body is instantly propelled forward with such a strong boost that it thrusts the top of the mountain backwards, sliding off its own hill. After that very moment, Kokei thrusts herself directly behind him, following steadfastly with Ekitai in her hand, racing out of Space Square.
Covered in dust and snow which covers most of its reflections, the five golden statues standing at the center of the Space Square, atop their shield-shaped platform, remain upright with their hands on their hips in heroic poses. While no perfect reflections can be cast off their bodies, the radiances of blue and pink flash for just a moment from behind, casting a rim for just a brief moment, a highlight. Behind the statues, the blue and pink bolts speed down the street in the direction of the monolithic tree.
What once was a crawl to the edge of the district, a trudge down the road left battered in battle, has now become a hasty sprint back up towards its center as those craters and debris melts into a blur when watched through Ekitai's yellow eyes as he's carried from block to block back up the exact direction they came from. He raises his head up to Kokei whose hand holds the electric chains holding onto him as she propels herself by her own sparks, her gaze locked ahead onto Meditat who zips and swings, choosing to not utilize boosts as frequently as he's chosen to reduce speeds in order to maintain proximity to the team. They move in a simple straight line, no need for complex turns and bends, for directly far ahead of them stands that tremendous tree staring back at them, and so they charge at it head on.
Their attention is however sharply raised up upon the abrupt sounds of metallic crashing and bending followed by demonic shrieks, and facing towards those sounds brings the sight of countless holes blasting out of the silver exterior of the adjacent skyscrapers from which leap Pawns, flinging their bodies into the open air. Already having been drawn over the air are a few long black roots that penetrate between buildings high above, the likely source for these monsters that now dive in droves, all targeting the three as they swing their arms for a desperate slash.
While each individual monster only has a brief window to execute a strike before they plummet past the airborne warriors, the density of the black hail leads to enough monsters reaching close enough to provoke defense as Kokei uses her free hand to capture a few monsters in an electric swarm, throwing her arm to throw them off. Only able to direct with one arm, between each throw she's left vulnerable to more diving Pawns, prompting Ekitai to fire acidic green radiating bolts that consume their bodies before they can reach either of the two.
Ahead of the two, Meditat begins using boosts specifically for strafing, thrusting himself from side to side to narrowly evade falling monsters while his cables remain focused forward, extending and retracting smoothly. Even with his quick dodges he's unable to weave through them all, requiring him to ignite his hands to first manifest a crystal umbrella to slide them off to the side, which he then replaces in favor for a tool resembling a tennis racket which he winds and swings into the next monster, causing them to be propelled back up with an explosive burst that knocks them into other monsters, diverting their plummets away from himself. After blocking a couple divers with a crystal fan that rapidly spins to bump them off, he raises his head again upon hearing more roars, finding that the black bridges lingering above them have awakened with more Pawns crawling through the bottom of the roots, pushing themselves directly into a plunge.
Those descending beasts snarl and shriek as they fling their arms aimlessly, one of which is shot by a bright bolt, and upon being struck it begins rapidly inflating like a balloon, namely its torso as the limbs shrivel in comparison. The ballooning monster's descent slows in the air as if filled with helium, not only restricting its drop but that of all the monsters that land on the balloon. A few more bolts fly past the ballooning beast, though a handful of beasts slip between them to continue their drop, only to be caught in a web of pink electricity that freezes them before that web is propelled backwards, carrying them away before dispersing to let them continue their fall.
While more Pawns crawl from the roots hanging above, twisted black streaks over the white sky, an azure fireball forms a square with a generous width underneath, and upon the completion of the square it's then filled with a blaze. The perimeter materializes silver whereas the filling turns to a dense net made of sharp crystal wires, wires that catch that second wave of Pawns on their drop, the thorns sticking their bodies to the wire to prevent them from attempting to claw through.
Below that net, Meditat inspects the success of his construct with a nod to himself before facing forward, well timed too as he focuses on groups of black roots that hang low, smearing their open path directly ahead. There's at least not too many branches, leaving adequate spacing to weave through or dodge altogether; still it'd force the warriors to pay mind to their movement as opposed to gliding forth and focusing entirely on combat. For the first group, this isn't all too difficult as Meditat simply directs his next pair of cables onto the roots, pulling himself through a gap to the other side.
He turns his head though to assess his teammates, watching Kokei notice the branches too. She chooses to lean slightly to the right of the road where the branches thin together, letting her simply descend subtly to safely soar past. As she ascends back to align herself with Meditat, she returns her free hand up to fire another swarm of electricity at the inbound Pawns, prompting Meditat to also return his focus up to direct his own flaming hands against the same threat.
Soaring up the city block by block, the three warriors race in the space that'd normally be utterly crowded by heavy traffic of pods divided amongst stacks of lanes beside each other, yet that blue river's all dried up, leaving the road open. The leader carries himself forth on cables as he blows blue flames that shape and materialize into silver spheres which drift around in the air like buoys made of silver with crystal rings along both axes which flare up as Pawns drop near before detonating charges, exploding like levitating mines. Behind him, the superhuman projects fields of bright pink electricity that spreads over plummeting hordes before flinging them away, and in the time before she could open a new field, the gunslinger fires colorful bolts that stop any monsters trying to slip through whether by causing them to suddenly be sent flying back up or disintegrate upon acidic touch.
As they fend off against the horde, they reach another minor clump of roots hanging between the buildings along the road, and so they make their way through it as the leader tunnels between two of its branches whereas the two allies duck underneath and surface back up after passage. In the very next block they encounter another clump albeit made of a few more roots, forming a taller wall that perhaps the leader can once again simply slip through but the two allies have to duck even lower, slightly slowing down to accommodate the sharp turn. While raising back up, they encounter another set, nearly blocking the path for the allies to which they again have to dip back down.
At the end of the same block is another group of roots tangled together, bridging between silver towers, these ones spread taller than the rest, reaching down about fifteen blocks from the team's current altitude, thus requiring a rather sharp dive to evade. Again Meditat sees this as any other wall, detecting a minor space between branches off to the left, and so with a brief strafing dash he lines himself up, projects his two cables, and pulls himself through.
With ease, he makes it through to the other side, yet it's only after getting past the wall does his eyes widen in concern with a hint of dread, not for what's ahead but what's behind. Turning his head, he peers between the roots to set his eyes on his allies following after him, who shift their focus from the raining monsters down to the wall before them.
Kokei's eyes immediately widen anxiously as she drops her chin, realizing just how steep she'd need to drop to pass beneath it. Her grimace is noticed by Ekitai who follows her gaze to that wall, quickly understanding her worry. Though he doesn't share that same fear, instead he pauses on shooting the sky to aim forward and fire a rapid burst of green bolts.
That volley of green bolts strike the roots straight ahead, causing them to quickly begin melting as they're overtaken by the spreading acid that melts away more, clearing out a space. With the rapidity of the barrage and its meticulous aiming, enough patches open up and connect into larger gaps that Kokei's able to fly straight through it with enough space for Ekitai himself.
Upon being dragged through the hole, he waves his gun at Meditat who nods in response and turns his head to keep racing forward, igniting his hands as Ekitai raises his gun to the sky.
Ahead stands more of those very walls, some of them denser than others, some taller than others, higher and lower, some straight and others angled variously, though they're at least spaced out decently. His confidence reassured, Meditat lights the path forward for his team, finding another gap in the next cluster for him to pass through.
He aligns himself with boosts and fires the next pair of cables, however just as the glowing translucent heads of those cables attach to the slimy black bark, that bark flashes before Pawns emerge from it, pulling themselves out and roaring straight ahead as more reinforce them.
Clenching his teeth with a chuff, Meditat braces himself and aims his flaming hands forward which construct a pair of crystal swords that he flips as he chooses to let his cables reel himself in, straight for the monsters. He doesn't slow down, reaching the gap just as the monsters slash at him, just as he swings his blades to slash their arms off, letting him slip through the gap unscathed.
Approaching the wall next, Ekitai also understands the need for prioritization, aiming his gun to begin rapidly firing the same green bolts, trying to once again burn another fissure for the two of them. He fires with greater speed too, as those bolts don't only strike the roots to dissolve the barrier, but they strike the monsters attempting to guard the opening hole, causing them to shriek as their bodies are covered in acid. Once again, an opening is made wide enough for Kokei to fly through, though she raises Ekitai slightly to let him pass through too as the gap isn't nearly as wide this time.
Just as Kokei begins to let Ekitai down, she's faced with the next wall of tangled roots, following Meditat who throws both of his swords at monsters guarding a gap just before he's pulled through it. Behind, Ekitai again begins firing to form another hole, succeeding at hitting his shots at the roots to melt away another breach, however with less space between walls as before, he's unable to afford shooting down the Pawns emerging around the breach to cover it. He winces in such epiphany, though this time Kokei notices his unease and covers him by projecting an electric swarm forth onto those guarding demons, and jerking her arm back to rip them off the roots. They're sent flying down below, clearing the burnt vent for both of them to fly through safely.
Checking briefly, Meditat watches the two pass through, smiling in relief, then frowning with a slight acknowledgement and grief, before resolving himself to the mission, facing forward to the next bridge they must pass through.
From wall to wall, the three Bellators make their way through the street, led by Meditat weaving through gaps between roots while warding off guarding monsters using a myriad of tools such as honing darts locking onto the specified beasts, shooting them down with a briefly constructed machine gun, or grabbing them with hooks attached to crystal chains for him to yank back.
Not far behind him, Kokei follows him with her free arm dedicated exclusively to clearing the monsters covering their path, firing arcs of electricity that snap onto the branch, sucking out the monsters caught in the stream and tossing them off, letting her fly into the next breach while charging her arms to repeat the process.
That next gap doesn't yet exist, but is created by Ekitai who hangs from her other hand, letting him focus on firing acidic bolts into the tangled roots forming the next barrier, puncturing the bark as the green acid rapidly spreads anything it's yet to touch while dissolving anything it already has. While the limited spacing between barriers gives him little time to do anything else, he uses what little he has to assist Kokei in shooting down any monsters growing near the aperture he's opening.
This rhythm works for the many walls they race through, the spacing between them varied but generous enough to give the time to burn these fissures and clear the surrounding Pawns. It continues to work, all up until passing one wall reveals another one not even half as far, abruptly closer and once again too tall to pass around. Wide-eyed, Ekitai instinctively attempts to nonetheless breach another hole with rapid fire, though as the first couple bolts begin melting the bark, he can tell they wouldn't make it. He clenches his teeth before raspily shouting, "CAPTAIN!"
Immediately, Meditat –who has just weaved past that very barrier– turns his head back as his arm reflexively raises back, his hand already flaming, and he releases that flame which manifests into a missile with a head that flares right on impact, blowing off a portion of the wall large enough for Kokei and Ekitai to pass through. Ekitai sighs in relief to the save as Kokei glances down at him, not having even been aware that they had a close call, for she likely would have flown directly into the wall had the aperture not been made. She faces ahead which is when her eyes then widen in horror, her mouth dropping as she utters, "Oh...."
Ekitai and Meditat both curiously follow her gaze, finding that while there isn't another wall right ahead, the extended view that space provides allows them to observe the city a few blocks further which they notice to be far more densely covered in roots, so much that they nearly cover any of the tower's silver exterior. Not only is the coverage dramatically greater, but it doesn't remain still either, as those roots grow rapidly like slithering sea snakes towards their direction.
Roots crawl on the roads, smashing through towers and damaging their foundation, all as above them more roots crawl in the air, branching rapidly to fill those open spaces the former bridges had before impaling the adjacent skyscrapers, planting themselves in. Those branches emerge from other sides of the tower, approaching branches of other roots from the next street, for these roots grow in a tsunami wide across the entire district, leaving no safer streets to detour through. They move remarkably fast too, a black river substituting the city's traffic, moving out in all directions away from the lingering tree. Even as those roots themselves grow, their caustics flare up and Pawns begin emerging from the surface, as if preparing for the warriors' arrival. They shriek as they cover any of the little space there is, all turning towards the edge where they know the targets to be.
At last the Bellators have reached the regrowing portion of the infestation, the horrid sight only fueling Meditat's determination as he zips straight for it, prepared to face the forest head on.
Behind the leader, Kokei follows with no other choice, dragging Ekitai with him who seems slightly nervous, glancing up at Kokei to find that expected anxiety. She frowns with no certainty or even confidence in passing through this next area, at least not at the speeds they've been moving at, yet she's aware that they're already moving slightly slower to accommodate her. She winces at the idea of seeking a speed reduction, understanding how urgent this mission is, especially now being able to observe the sheer speed of its escalation. She takes a slow blink with a deep breath, arriving at a determination, swinging her occupied hand and opening her mouth.
"MEDIT!" Kokei's voice cries out, reaching Meditat's attention as he spins around again, shocked this time to find Ekitai hurdling straight at him, no longer held by arcs as Kokei has freed her other hand, who has come to a halt. Meditat reaches his left hand forward and projects a cable onto Ekitai's free hand, catching him in the air with little whiplash, albeit his focus is planted on Kokei who declares, "KEEP GOING, I'LL CATCH UP BUT RIGHT NOW I'LL ONLY SLOW YOU TWO DOWN!"
As Meditat dashes past the tips of the furthest roots, entering the forest, his eyebrows raise in shock before he shouts back: "WAIT, I CAN ALSO CARRY YOU-."
"DON'T," Kokei interjects, "I'LL BE FINE, I WON'T SLOW YOU DOWN," as the tips of the forest reach Kokei already, and immediately Pawns begin crawling off of the roots and throwing themselves on her, prompting her to unleash a swarm onto them and spin to throw them down for the ground, able to utilize both hands. Her body begins surging with more electricity than before, forming a more potent aura around her just as more monsters emerge and pounce on her, though are frozen by her passive shield, unable to reach her. She spins around, waving her hand which tosses aside the monsters caught on her shield, briefly giving her a glimpse of her team to whom she wishes, "HURRY! DEFEAT THE BAD GUY, AND WIN!"
She then raises both hands forward before her body is suddenly thrusted backwards, launching her back out of the forest, solidifying her choice.
Watching his ally make her escape before launching herself upwards, presumably to search for her own route even if slower, Meditat is left with few options. He glances to his left to find Ekitai holding onto the cable, facing back up to him, noticing the worry in Meditat's face, a worry Ekitai is quick to understand. So Ekitai flashes a smile and assures, "She'll be fine, don't worry about her. Now let's go, or maybe she'll get to him first."
Meditat chuffs and shakes his head with a brief smirk, unable to stop the natural reaction to the remark. Though the sincerity is understood too, and so his resolve reinstated, Meditat faces forward and dashes forth, now carrying Ekitai with him as they fly directly through the forest.
From the white glowing caustics in the otherwise pitch black bark of the unholy roots, a pair of lanky black arms emerge before bending to grab onto the bark itself, working to pull the rest of its body out as the eyeless head comes next, its mouth immediately opening wide to release a blood-curdling shriek. As its torso exits the womb, the head turns sharp to the right to which it again shrieks, raising its right arm and swinging it in its direction of sight. Both the forearm and its neck however are instantly sliced cleanly through, leaving a frosty light trail formed by the crystallic blade of the cutlass wielded in Meditat's right hand as his hips rapidly project new pairs of cables, unable to perform long pulls as there's not enough straight space to drag him for even over a second. Instead, he zips with constant adjustments, registering gaps in the dense entanglement of roots that cover the sky so much that only minor glimpses of light manage to breach through, scattered from the many layers of filters. Upon finding those gaps, his hips fire wires beside them to pull him through it, all while his left hand works to appropriately loosen and tighten the cable attaching him to Ekitai to safely pull him through those same gaps without any reduction in speed. Ekitai thus is simply being dragged along space, though he does make an effort to curl his legs up to fit better through the gaps when he suspects himself being pulled into one. His primary focus however is on his dominant hand and the gun he grips, his arm never staying still as he's moving in a way that may seem aimless but in actuality is swiftly zoning in on emergent Pawns in their way, his rapid gunfire similarly calculated to blast each of them with shots that detonate blue splash bursts on impact that blow their faces off.
He pulls the trigger as fast as he swipes the screen, switching to a bolt that, on contact, releases an electric discharge that erupts arcs upon contact with the immediate target that reach nearby monsters, clearing out a space further ahead. He pulls the trigger after another swipe, the next shot making contact which releases a strong gust of compressed air great enough that it not only repels that monster off the root, but blasts a hole straight through the root itself. The split end of the branch though begins to grow towards the other end, reconnecting only seconds after the explosion, but by then the pair have zoomed past, and Ekitai's target has changed several times. His next shot doesn't immediately kill the beasts in its splash radius but rather covers their bodies in a frosty casing, slowing them down to near stillness. A second shot into the same area fully encases those affected monsters in ice cubes, cubes that then shatter against Meditat's flaring knee, shattering the monsters too in the process as he zips straight through while swinging a whip with crystal rings which slashes multiple monsters along their path, his strikes closer to what's directly in their way while Ekitai helps pick off any monsters further ahead as he fires another bolt straight past Meditat, releasing explosions that vaporize the monsters around before he switches to another type that shrinks the beasts to the point of being ignorable entirely.
While Ekitai fires more shots that cause Pawns to expand like balloons again and float off their roots, Meditat manifests a shield in his hand to bash into the monsters in his way, though one of them manages to grab into the rim. A second flame wraps around the rim, constructing a chain that begins rapidly spinning like a chainsaw, grinding the monster's hand and letting Meditat again bash the shield to free himself. He swings the shield through the Pawns immediately ahead of him before throwing it forth, letting it slice through anything in its path, all as he constructs a bo staff with sharp crystal ends which he swings to cut through multiple monsters per swing. Ekitai's shots continue to clear out the path further ahead, yanking monsters off their roots and turning others into purple liquid puddles that smear over the bark, all as Meditat tosses the bo staff in favor of a single sharp baton that he more speedily swings for more precise strikes, then tossing that out in favor for a pair of nunchucks he grips one side of, its chain crystal as is the other end, spinning it such that it becomes a fan that minces the monsters in reach. Monsters further ahead are hit with bolts that cover them in blobs of molten lava that burn them as others are struck by bolts that slow them down before they explode entirely.
Meditat swings a longsword that's slightly slow but cuts through two monsters at once before replacing it with a katana for quicker cuts to slice through beasts that come next before then constructing another heavy weapon, this one with a long curved blade that cleaves four monsters in a single swing before making another greatsword that cuts slightly faster. Five monsters crawl out of the roots around the opening his cables had attached onto, leading him to place his foot on a root in front of him and spring himself off into a rightward strafe, detaching those cables and finding another opening, bouncing off the roots in combination to his zips as he boosts to evade monsters throwing themselves towards him, some of whom he shoots point blank with a desert eagle-styled handgun, the gunshots rapid with each blasting a hole through their target's face.
Meanwhile Ekitai's handgun's shots cause spores to grow off the Pawns shot before they explode while his other shots open entire small black holes that suck up several monsters nearby, helping to open more spaces for Meditat to navigate through as he constructs a revolver to again shoot point blank into the faces of the monsters leaping for him. One monster however manages to pounce on his arm, its mouth opening wide, to which Meditat constructs a gauntlet made of jagged crystals which he swings in a backhand slap that strikes the monster's forehead, knocking him back. With that same gauntlet, he uses its sharp claws to slash through other monsters getting dangerously close to him, and once he clears enough space he erases the gauntlet in favor of a longer sword with the shape of a cutlass elongated, cutting monsters at a greater range.
Unbeknownst to either of the two, on the ground stands a man with silver gloves that have black sharp tips, and in one hand he holds a kunai with a string wrapped around the bottom ring, its blade ominously black with those same white caustics, exuding a dark smoke-like aura. He spins the kunai once, then raises his arm, his forearm armored in a gauntlet made of many silver jagged plates. Then he throws the kunai in a straight line up, the string unraveling as it travels through a tunnel of gaps in the roots.
Ekitai swipes his screen again while shifting aim to the next monster whom he fires at, his shot erupting a swirling thundering cloud that sucks up that monster and the others around it, bringing them into the cloud where they're electrocuted, all while Ekitai has already moved to fire at not a monster specifically but a root that a monster crawls over. The strike against the root triggers the formation of a mound that the monster crawls over, trapping them in place before that mound releases a volcanic eruption that burns not only that monster but the ones in the eruption's path. Next to the shooter, Meditat materializes a minigun he wields with a single hand, first swinging it into a monster to bash them away before firing a high-speed barrage of crystal bullets that decimates every monster in his sweeping strike. Ekitai's next shot opens another wormhole, though rather than sucking monsters like a black hole, it allows a flood of skull-like entities to be ejected out onto nearby monsters, eating through their heads like leeches. Meditat drops the minigun and constructs another katana to slash through a few monsters to his left where his sweeping attack started, making up for the slow sweep.
Ekitai at the same time notices another opening crowded with monsters, so his next shot causes a bright flash with a howl that causes the monsters around the impact to be slowed down drastically; Meditat notices and dashes straight for the crowd, replacing the sword with a tool with a handle he grips attached to a large canister storing flaring crystals which leads to a drill-head, but rather than wielding it like a sword he instead holds it backwards, leaping at the crowd and raising his arm before slamming the drill-head into the root by the monsters' feet, releasing a discharge of crystallic energy which blasts all of the monsters off their feet and into freefall. Clearing the space, Meditat dashes forward again to take the gap which is suddenly blocked by a Pawn crawling from that very gap, swinging at Meditat, though before its claws contact Meditat's face it is instead contacted by a yellow bolt, one that triggers bubbles to begin emerging all over the beast's hand and arm. That path travels up the arm and throughout the body, covering the Pawn with tumors that expand, deforming its body, and just the moment before its fattened fingers can reach Meditat, they along with the rest of the beast explode into a black slime, one Meditat flies through, initially blackening his suit as the guts cover him though luckily missing his face; regardless his whole body flashes in a brief blaze to reconstruct the suit clean. He raises his hand forward without disgust and makes a finger gun, the pointer finger igniting before firing forward, that blaze manifesting into a rocketing javelin that penetrates through layers of monsters and roots, but that's when the kunai flies directly into his ankle to which he shrieks in agony as the kunai yanks him down by the attached string, pulling him away from the gap before he could project any wires, and instead dragging him through a strange tunnel of free space amongst the roots that leads him and Ekitai all the way towards the ground remarkably quickly, perplexing Ekitai as Meditat's agony stuns him from quick action, leaving Ekitai to hastily swipe through his ammunition before firing two pink bolts for the approaching ground.
Luckily, the pink bolts are the first to strike the ground, and on their impact they deploy veiny pink bean bags just in time for Meditat and Ekitai to each crash into one, padding their fall from what would have otherwise been a lethal collision. They land in a street strangely open as the roots along the road split to instead collide through the buildings, deliberately leaving the area open, forming an arena. One of those buildings keeps an open entrance, revealing the silver bar inside, one that has been infested with those diverged black roots now strung through the interior, leaving debris of destroyed brown tables and a hole through the shelf where shattered glass is littered.
Groaning through the excessive pain, Meditat finally gains the focus to grab onto the kunai and rip it off his leg, leaving behind a wound that is patched the next second, first the skin and then the boot.
Rolling off of the beanbag cautiously as Ekitai throws himself off before snapping his stare straight in dread, Meditat grunts before landing on his feet and apologizing, "Sorry, I'll get us back up-," before he finds the same sight, causing him to freeze with the same fear.
For in front of Meditat and Ekitai, along the string of the kunai left beside the first beanbag, stands the familiar figure of the robed assassin that had slain the king of pirates, his piercing yellow glare mirroring Ekitai's own, though lacking any of its humanity. The snowy breeze carries his scarf and rustles his hood, though the rest of his body remains nearly still, analytical. He only moves to loosen his hand, dropping the string attached to the kunai for the tool has accomplished its task.
While Meditat raises his flaming hands to prepare for battle, Ekitai strangely chooses to holster his handgun in his overcoat, his left hand still holding his coat while deciding, "Keep going ahead, he's going to sap up too much time. I got this."
Ookami's glare shifts to Ekitai.
Holding his prepared battle pose, his body still but for his hair and cape which wave in the breeze, Meditat's eyebrow raises before he contends, "No it's fine, we'll take him together, we struggled last time and it was both of us."
"That's why you can't waste time and need to go," Ekitai repeats desperately, spit flying out of his mouth as he speaks, his cheek tensed up as if fighting against his speech.
Slowly Meditat recedes from his pose, straightening his posture though keeping his gaze on the danger. Still he questions anxiously, "But what about you?"
Registering the invitation, Ookami's hand slowly descends by the exposed hilt of his katana by his hip. Both Meditat and Ekitai notice the gesture, with Ekitai's left hand still holding open the overcoat, allowing for easy access to his weapon.
Meditat's teeth clench in uncertainty upon the move to attack, same as Ekitai though he takes a deep breath, relaxing his face, his eyes remaining open. Upon calming himself, he simply asks, "Look at me," to Meditat's surprise at such a dangerous request, though he ultimately chooses to pass his doubts to turn his head towards his ally.
Not moving his own gaze, Ekitai instead flashes a smile before assuring, "He has a sword and I have a gun."
At first, only doubt surfaces on Meditat's face from the heavily reductive statement coming off as a mindless joke. Yet something clicks in his head, as that doubt morphs into a sorrowful realization by a mourning frown. He just miserably utters, "Ekitai...."
Yet that smile doesn't waver from Ekitai, who maintains eye contact with Meditat when he again urges, "Come on, I'm giving you a head start here, take it, go and fight Satan's child. Or who knows, maybe I'll have enough time to put this guy down AND steal the kill for you," before chuckling to himself.
After a moment to process, Meditat ultimately breathes out a sigh of acknowledgement, and graces back a subtle smirk of his own. He shakes his head before turning around, returning his gaze to Ookami who hasn't moved. He pauses for a moment before releasing the jest: "Guess you've lived this long, I shouldn't be worried about you."
Holding up that smile, Ekitai chuckles and remarks back, "Exactly, I'm practically invincible!"
Meditat's mouth begins to waver again, but he fights by clenching his teeth to force his cheeks still before then being able to open his mouth, his smile maintained.
All three men stand in front of the ruins of the bar, Ekitai and Meditat on the left side of the open entrance and Ookami on the right. Cautiously, Meditat steps to the side, passing the entrance, and begins to stroll around Ookami who doesn't turn his head or bat an eye, remaining entirely still as he exclusively focuses on Ekitai, who similarly keeps his gaze locked to his opponent.
Meditat keeps his eyes on Ookami, walking behind him before then releasing the flame from his right hand onto the ground about ten feet behind him, strangely choosing to construct a curved crystal wall about half the width of the intersection. Without taking action against the present danger, Meditat ultimately extinguishes the fire in his left hand, and eventually breaks into a sprint and springs up before launching into the air with a thunderous boom, a crater left in the road with a blue residual trail from it to the sky where he has flown off towards.
The boom doesn't startle either of the two opponents who stand on opposite sides of the entrance, facing each other, both standing straight until Ookami begins to lower his stance, entering a readied state to which Ekitai corrects his footing, planting himself steadily, both positionings slow, methodical.
Ookami's hand remains still, right by the hilt of his katana, glimpses of the metal under the wrappings gleaming just like his glove all but for the dark tips.
Ekitai's hand remains still, lingering by the overcoat's inner pocket, his hands bony and withered, yet tense and spry, fierce against age, his body a joke against mortality.
Under the hood, Ookami's eyes are hidden behind those yellow lenses, cold, inhuman, the mask perpetrating that sterile hollowness as only his garments have motion.
Under his bald head, Ekitai's eyes are exposed with yellow irises, warm and soft yet simultaneously invigorated with spirit, unapologetically human, unabashedly alive, even perhaps enthusiastic.
Ookami grabs the hilt.
Ekitai grabs the handle.
Ekitai pulls his handgun out, aims it forth, and pulls the trigger which fires a thunderous shot all in a swift motion, heating the coils wrapped around the barrel enough that they emit a gentle smoke. He maintains his pose like a follow-through, his arm kept raised, his eyes remained locked ahead. And still he smiles under gentle breaths, whilst the gray figure stands behind him, his scarf dancing in the wind, his right hand clutching to the unsheathed katana, its silver blade gleaming bright.
And still Ekitai smiles, even as he acceptingly shuts his eyes as he slides backwards, up until his upper half falls off his body, leaving himself shorter than Ookami who remains standing behind him, facing away. He stands still, motionless like a statue, the cut clean enough that it didn't smear his blade.
He only moves upon hearing the voice of Kokei scream, "EKI!" as it prompts him to raise his head towards the sound.
Two sequences occur at this time.
First, Ookami turns his gaze to find what seems like a huge plasma ball of pink electricity hurdling at him, unable to even tell that there's a person at its center until just the moment before impact, which is the moment Ookami leaps back to evade the strike. The ball largely disperses to reveal Kokei at its center, though she hasn't planted her feet on the ground but instead remains levitating a few feet in the air to place herself higher than Ookami, her eyes so bright that they appear nearly white, electricity sparking from them. Her teeth clenched, she shrieks before throwing her arms at Ookami, directing swarms from both arms towards him, to which he again dodges out of the way.
Kokei then spins towards him as he swiftly throws a shuriken to his right, throwing Kokei off as she accidentally directs the next pair of swarms towards it and not him in blind fury, freeing him to make another dash, this time moving quickly to circle around Kokei, reaching around behind her. He then springs into a leap straight for her, raising his katana to make a clean swing for her nape.
She doesn't have enough time to spin or move, just as anticipated, but she doesn't have to either as her back itself flares before releasing a swarm of pink lightning like an electric cape, one that manages to catch and surround Ookami who had made himself vulnerable in the air. Despite his tremendous feats of speed, he's placed under the control of the lightning and so his whole body freezes at once, suspended absolutely in space.
Bound defenselessly, he can only watch as Kokei spins around to face him, her cape bending around over her shoulders as she doesn't raise her arms yet lightning crawls up off it to reinforce the swarm excessively. She glares straight at Ookami, both at the same level, as she does raise her open right hand up to him, letting it enter her own electric field. Yet she isn't restrained the same, able to slowly close that hand as the lightning composing the field slowly begins to brighten, overcharging, cooking the man inside who's helpless to save himself.
He is, and yet just as the lightning reaches white, a flash appears over him, but not as a bright electric shock, rather a completely black blink that consumes him, dispersing to reveal himself vanished completely despite his inability to move. The field overcharges, but Kokei screams in rage at its failure, for there's nothing caught inside. She turns her head hastily to glance in every direction, yet he's nowhere to be seen, withdrawing entirely from the fight.
The electric field disperses as does the excessive lightning coursing around her body, and gently she descends to the ground. Upon landing, the remainder of the electricity disperses around her, and her eyes dim back to pink, exposing her passive irises once more. Her head turns as those irises lock immediately onto the body which she races towards, huffing in distress.
Kokei drops to her knees in front of the halved body of her best friend, drenching her skin in the puddle of blood between the legs and torso. She curls her arms around the torso, the right hand still holding onto the gun, and she gently lifts the body up to her thighs as tears pour out of her eyes, her sobbing uncontrollable. Those tears run down her cheeks and off her chin, raining like the snow to touch Ekitai's dry face, the immortal dead.
His last act was just like his first, entering an impossible fight to save his friend unasked, and doing it all with a smile, one that persists past his life, gleaming as teardrops and snowflakes land on his cheeks.
That first scream that had alerted Ookami also reached Meditat, whose smile finally breaks, knowing full well the implication. The certainty has occurred, a truth both of them knew would happen, a truth they both knew would have to happen. In just the span of an hour, half the team has died, all the missions across worlds and in only one two of them perished. In a way, both deaths can be attributed directly to the leader, both in an effort to protect him, a horrible thought when a leader should be the one protecting his team instead. What's more, the idea that these deaths are occurring so quickly, all because of him. All over again.
Meditat's face tenses, recognizing his own path of thought, one he couldn't let himself deprave in now. Agonizing over what was lost when the battle isn't over does no good. One interpretation of their death may have been over the protection of the leader, that is an appropriate interpretation, but there is another: Their death was in service to propel the leader further ahead towards the success of the mission. They chose to spend their life to boost him further, to break the barriers standing in his way, all to give him a closer chance to save just that many more people. So under that interpretation, slowing down truly sounds to be the worst choice imaginable. Therefore the only valid option would be to accelerate.
Meditat's teeth clench upon this revelation, his irises radiating as his eyes sharpen, the souls of his team reinforcing his resolve. He grits his teeth and projects cables from his hips, the heads of which attach to the roots ahead, pulling him with an upwards angle for the sky. Just as the cables attach to the roots, the bark begins to flare and Pawns sprawl from its surface, swinging their arms towards the man whose hands reignite to prepare for the creation of another weapon; however a decision is made and he extinguishes those hands, instead underneath his waving cape his back flares before propelling his body with a strong constant boost.
Upon reaching the roots, he doesn't retaliate against the Pawns reaching for him but instead grabs his shoulders, crossing his arms, leading to the Pawns' claws clashing against the crystals along his fingers, protecting him just enough to pass those Pawns and project another pair of cables. He raises both hands, not to construct weapons but project more cables with better control, climbing up using the roots like bars. Monsters continue to emerge from those bars, some of them leaping off to pounce on him, only for him to make swift evasions using a mix of cable zips and boosts, weaving through the monsters. A few monsters crowd over the anchors of his next cable, only for Meditat to raise his leg and swing kick all three of them in the head, using the crystal guard of his shin to knock them all to the side, his hands still free to project another cable to continue the climb.
He's made combat, even defensively, hardly of importance to himself. Constructing weapons takes thought to design and time to build, when instead he elects to spend that thought and time purely on traversal. Perhaps it's technically thinking narrow, what could be viewed as a dangerous and somewhat novice plan, yet to him at this moment the only matter of importance is reaching the end of the forest, and so if he could get away with the bare minimum, that's the best path.
When approaching another Pawn swiping at him, he simply rolls vertically to narrowly evade the claws, then promptly continues ahead without retaliation, able to use both hands to grab onto another root and yank his arms to throw himself towards it. Monsters emerge atop the root and prepare for him, and so he detaches those cables prematurely, firing another cable from his right hand at the bottom of the root to swing past it like a pendulum instead. Detaching himself from that cable, his hips independently fire wires to zip himself, each side of his hip pulling him in another direction to dodge the natural barriers and the monsters growing from them, only needing to occasionally shield himself using backhand slaps to utilize his finger crystals like parries. He approaches a thin crevice between branches, using cables from his hands to pull himself towards it, flattening his body and barreling through, spinning to block the monsters reaching to block that gap. He unfolds his body past the opening, his foot landing on the head of a Pawn which he uses to spring himself forward, his other foot landing on another head, running along them until one reaches for him to which he kicks off to the side, approaching a parallel root which he flips himself upright in relation to, letting his feet reach the bark.
A quick blue flame erupts on both feet, forming a second boot layer made with silver, the soles of which emit a gentle blue glow that contacts the bark to leave a slight space, facilitating him rolling down the bark like he's skating on ice even when not upright to gravity. He strides on the bark to gain speed as monsters grow up ahead, and so he leans to the left before leaping off the root entirely, spinning again before planting his feet on the underside of a different root, letting him continue to skate upside down on the root until more monsters emerge from that same underside, swiping at him.
Again he launches himself off the root, erasing the skating boots and returning to cables from his hands to pull himself forward, his head still pointing to the ground. He lays flat to slip through another crevice between branches, then projects another pair of wires from his hands to a branch which he swings around, reorienting himself upright before launching himself off, backhanding another monster trying to reach for him while simultaneously kneeing one on his other side. He throws himself towards a branch which he plants one foot on, kicking off it with an additional boost to thrust himself towards another branch parallel to the first, kicking off it again to a third, though it's slightly higher so he flips himself with boosts sideways to kick off that, his hips already firing another pair of cables to keep him on his path.
Moving nearly twice as fast as before, most of the Pawns he passes aren't able to even swipe at him in time, letting him ignore the vast majority, or even take advantage of them like landing on one of their extended arms to launch from, knocking that arm down. He swings his legs to angle his body slightly upwards, letting his next pair of cables give him a natural incline, throwing himself forward every time he detaches his wires. He again flips himself sideways to orient himself beneath a root moving along his path, and raising both hands he begins rapidly projecting short wires to swing off of, one after the other like monkey bars, pulling his arm down with every swing. When that root bends the other way, he swings off the last bar and towards another crevice which he dives through at an upward angle, approaching another crevice blocked by monsters standing directly over it, so he drops his shoulder and boosts straight into the monsters, crashing into them and knocking them back using the crystals plated on his golden pauldrons.
Using zips from his hips, swings from his arms, and boosts from everywhere else, he weaves between a nest of roots all along different angles with no easy space for him to move along. Short swings lets him subtly change his direction away from clumps too dense, zipping him further along until he's clear to swing back the other way, then boost upwards to dodge a monster waiting around the corner, kicking it in the face.
He slips through a crevice only to find a dense wall completely barricading him from continuing with no way around other than to fire a cable from his back to pull himself out of that crevice, then strafe to the right by a cable from his shoulder, before shooting a cable from his hip to continue around it. He then recognizes just how much denser the roots are getting the further ahead he moves, and learning that some routes may become invalid, backtracking would be necessitated further. Understanding this, he doesn't limit wire projection to his hands and hips but instead lets them fly off anywhere in his body, barreling himself through the forest in movements that seem borderline incoherent, tunneling through another gap just to find a dead end thus he pulls himself backwards and above it into another gap that does let him continue further on until finding a dead end to which he uses a cable from his left shoulder to pull himself into an opening to his side, leading straight to another wall so his feet project a cable to yank him down underneath that wall for his hands to pull him forwards. He exercises boosts more sparingly, knowing cables would have better precision and facilitate better omnidirectional changes without sacrifices to speed. As despite him moving in all directions, his speed doesn't wane, only growing faster if anything as he uses several cables to pull himself in any given direction. Monsters are unable to even emerge in this area due to how closely packed the roots are, letting him neglect them entirely, his body practically glowing from how many cables are firing off in different directions. Like rays of the sun, he's pulled forwards, then strafes upwards left, then backwards and down before thrusting himself forwards again, then spinning to the right and flipping himself while zipping up again at a forward angle.
At the height of his traversal, his entire body effectively projects cables that bend and wrap in all directions like visualizers for the current pulling him, coming from his shoulders, arms, hands, chest, back, ribs, hips, thighs, knees, and feet. Each cable emits its own dim light, but en masse they radiate brightly, projecting a glow onto Meditat's face, his starry glare already emitting its own radiance. His cape and hair dance, bangs flying wildly, his hood being thrown off his shoulders again and again. Grabbing onto any of the roots around him, his cables lock into place, some of them yanking him in a certain direction, requiring all others to loosen for him, all working smoothly. Flipping and spinning to orient himself between gaps, he eventually reaches a pose of barreling forward, his left arm bent which his body leans towards, his legs bent slightly, all as countless wires are flowing forward from all over his body, weaving between his left hand's fingers, all of them moving outwards to find the best spot to bind to. He extends his right arm forward, commanding the wires in the air to bend around him, and with his hand he reaches forward before a collection of blue ropes emerge from his palm, flying straight forward for him to gently grasp down.
That collection of ropes flies in a path to the top of a particular root behind a wall of white, and once he pulls himself to that root –weaving around all the roots in his way to get there– he swings over that root to throw himself into the white wall which defines itself miraculously as the end of the forest, for in that moment Meditat finds himself flying in open air, able to stretch himself once more. He's above most skyscrapers in the area, the little exposure of their silver shine glistening among the snowfall, snowfall coming from the light emitting from the white sky. The only obstruction to that sky now is the only structure in his way, the black tree, standing several blocks away from him, its oppressive stature towering over him even now, its branches hanging overhead, bending down like an umbrella to block the sun.
At last reaching a view with a straight shot, his cape and hair flapping in the wind, Meditat raises his right hand back in a javelin throwing position, and that hand is set ablaze before releasing that fire up about fifteen feet into the air before abruptly growing perpendicularly to a stream of about a whole city block's length. Most of the flame remains slender like a rod, though the end pointing towards the tree widens the most, defining itself with a bold spearhead about as long as a semi truck. Two smaller prongs emerge behind the spearhead as secondary heads, and the rod itself is wrapped around by a secondary layer from the heads down by the center. Then from the back of the rod away from the spearhead, the entire construct solidifies and materializes, the rod itself made of silver with huge vents that begin to flare blue. At the wrapping, a golden material forms the coils and underneath it is the frosty crystal, the same material that composes the two secondary heads and the main central spearhead, all three of which sharpen at their points upon creation after which they begin brightening immediately.
Wielding the massive spear by the flame, Meditat takes a deep breath and roars: "STOP HIDING!!" before throwing his arm forward, snapping the blue flame attaching his hand to the spear, and activating the propulsor in the silver rod to thrust the spear forward with such speed that it bullets towards the tree with a trail of blue so fast that it makes contact within a blink, all as the three heads flare up to a blinding extent right before impact with the center of the tree, their shine piercing like the sun.
At first, there's no audible impact, nor is there visible damage, in fact the city becomes ominously silent, but instead there appears at first two balls of light over the secondary heads, each one about as wide as an intersection, before then one more ball of light appears over the main spearhead, one wider than the tree itself, its light so intense that for a moment the entire district of the city turns white, and even as that initial flash fades there's still enough light that all the the surrounding silver buildings appear white just by reflectance.
Just as the light begins to recede back to the balls, those balls abruptly expand, discharging waves of frosty energy that cause the tree to visibly fracture, for branches already begin to fall. Furthermore, those gleaming skyscrapers surrounding it also begin to fragment into pieces, all as the city sits silent.
That blinding light grabs Kokei's attention, raising her gaze away from her friend's corpse before constraining her stare. Due to the mass of roots, she's unable to even see the source of the light, yet it expels so heavily that it blinds her through the forest.
Then, the thunder reaches Meditat with a godly roar, and suddenly the entire tree shatters at once, its remnants as chunks of black bark, the branches detaching and snapping as they fall off, and the surrounding skyscrapers lose all shape as they're turned into clusters of silver fragments that are blown outwards, colliding with other fragments all expelled away, and at the same time the roots emerging from the ground by the base of the tree are ripped off the ground.
Kokei's eyes widen in shock just before the wave reaches her, the thunder nearly deafening her, but what's more a blizzard of fragments both black and silver debris fly past, only missing her as they're caught against the crystal wall that had been constructed before Meditat left. She notices the wall in utter bafflement, her mouth dropped as the debris continues flying past her, but her shock grows even greater upon noticing that the forest clouding her vision loses shape as the countless roots covering the streets disintegrate, withering away and snapping off, a chain reaction that works its way past Kokei who glances back to watch.
Her attention then returns ahead upon being able to now catch glimpses past the forest, finally allowing her the sight of the utterly extraordinary frosty mushroom cloud standing where the tree once did, the only remnants of its presence being the black branches collapsing around, though even those wither and disintegrate before hitting the ground.