User blog:Baluar/Random fic

2084

I walk through the jungle, my eyes alert for the target's movements. It's been several days since I've been dropped off in the Aragami-infested, and I've had to rely on whatever I could come across to survive. Nothing new there. It's a lucky thing I can draw sustenance from the God Arc's devour if I keep it well-fed. Doesn't really taste well, but... well, it sure beats near-starvation from the lack of food. And Aragami have left very little that one can recognise as "food" here, let alone something that actually is food.

Covert ops deep behind enemy lines are my specialty. That sounds like a spy job, but my job resembles more an assassin. I am a scalpel, cutting out the rotten pieces that threaten to crush the frail equilibrium of Aragami ecosystems. It is not exactly normal, really, and most people would be surprised if they found out that I actually have to protect certain Aragami species. Of course, this is because they are much preferable to the species I'm sent to hunt. Most of them are mean enough to make Dyaus Pita look like a cute little kitten... and the remaining ones make those seem nice.

Which is why I am the one chosen to do this. Years of experience and training have honed my body and mind to the point I can stand up to them. And, most certainly, those events on Antarctica so long ago help quite a bit. Not everyone is a weird Aragami-human mishmash quite like me, though I'd lie if I said there's no one around who could tackle them on. My twin brother, for starters. But he lacks... subtlety, for lack of a better term; he's more fit for frontline duty. And thus it falls on little old me.

Fun thing for a 30 year old 2.13 m tall woman to say.

It takes a while for the monstrosity to show up. C told me where I'd be able to find the monster (unofficially, of course; I am supposed to be cut from all communication), and her intel is spot on, as always. How she manages to get that is beyond me, but she truly exemplifies the motto "knowledge is power". There's a reason I risked getting caught just to talk to her; she's a source of info reliable unlike any other.

When it does show up, I can't help but wince at its looks. The briefing they gave me about this doesn't even come close to describing how mind-boggingly disgusting and nauseating this Aragami is. The creature can only be described as an ever shifting mass of yellow flesh, with several appendages shooting out of its body every couple of seconds only to be slowly reabsorbed into its carcass shortly afterwards. A revolting piece of work, and one that's suposedly incredibly efficient at devouring everything around it.

Think facing an Arius Nova that's a billion times more disgusting than the original and which you cannot inject rare cores to in order to bypass its hardiness. And that task falls to me. Admittedly, I do have bullets that emulate the cores I spoke of and weaken its defenses, but there's a limited supply of those and their effect is weak, so I must be fast and deadly, unless I want this disgusting... thing... to be in my head for years to come.

Everyone you meet teaches you something. It's a natural thing in this line of work: if you want to live longer, you're ought to try and learn things from those around you. And, if there's one thing I got from Lyrr, it's the knowledge that a well placed bullet can shift the tide of the battle. I'm not nearly as skilled a shot as he is, but that doesn't mean I can't place a couple of deadly rounds into Aragami heads every now and then. If only this thing had a head... I guess one of the appendages will have to do. I aim, hold my breath and fire, the bullet destroying the flesh that joins appendage and Aragami, and sending the smaller part flying elsewhere.

The creature rushes to my position with a speed far greater than its appearance suggests it should have, and I am forced to abandon my position unless I want to be crushed under the Quadriga-sized yellow mass. Unfortunately, I cannot avoid entering melee range, and the creature's speed means I cannot put ground between us fast enough to make another shot. So, melee it is.

For melee, I have learned from Arthur that sometimes, it's simply useless to try and control the beast within. Sure, some might think being part Aragami is shameful (though all God Eaters are, really), but the most gifted among us should not fear repercussions and go all out if the threat is large enough. Whatever others may think, it matters not, as long as the threat is vanquished and you retain self control to not succumb to the will to Devour. So I go all out against the beast, slashing and withdrawing with blinding speed, burning through the Oracle reserves both in my body and in my God Arc to strike harder and faster, leaving the monster dazed (as dazed as a pile of yellow goo can look, which is way more than you'd believe, surprisingly enough).

However, while the damage I can pull off is admirable, the creature looks as though it can go on forever before finally collapsing. In this case, power alone might not be enough, and I know that skill can make the difference. Finesse and efficiency often triumph when brute force fails; that is a lesson that Nanako taught me, all too well. She can, after all, stand among us like an equal, even though she's only got skill, not half an Ouroboros inside. So perhaps I need to stop slashing like a madwoman and look for logical weaknesses in this monster. Maybe targetting its appendages will quickly reduce its mass to more manageable levels, and leave it weaker against my blade.

The monster is nearly downed after a long struggle. All that remains now is to devour its remnants and call for extraction.

As I look to the sky while my Arc greedily munches on the Aragami's corpse, I remember it's been exactly 15 years since I became a God Eater. A lifetime's worth of battle... and it doesn't seem like it's stopping any time soon. All the better for me... this is what I live for, to fight the good fight. To maintain hope, to fight until we cannot hold a sword, because I'll be damned if I let the idea of giving up even come close to me.

It is during those years that I became who I am. The people I've met have shaped me, defined me, and made me a better person... and a better God Eater. To all God Eaters in the world, skilled and unskilled, brave and coward, veteran and rookie, Old Type and New Type... good hunting.

Yeah, maybe you guys haven't changed the actual me all that much... but it's still been quite a blast having you around. It's been a good three years since I joined the Wiki, and I can say I'm happy I did it. For many more years of good hunting, fellow God Eaters.

P.S. I'd have included more people in that fic, but A) I didn't include people whom I'm not friendly with (obviously :V), B) I limited myself to people whom I interact with at least mildly frequently by now (ruled out Ryuu-san here), and C) it was also necessary for them to have a character that interacted with Nia at some point (so no Beast nor Andy, sorry).