User blog:Baluar/God Eater: Rise of the Shadows, chapter 1: Discovery

In case you didn't notice, I chose this title because of the contrast with FotH. RotS... is also quite a nice pun. What can I say, I spend too much time with a certain :V...

'New protagonist?'

Well, maybe. Old characters will show up at some point, though. If they are going to become protagonists, I don't know myself. Who will show up, I won't tell... He he he he he he he.

Make no mistakes, FotH has not ended, nor did I throw in a cliffhanger. I just need more time to deliver the awesome final chapter.

I fix my eyes on the prey. [''Out of story note: FIRST PERSON AGAIN!! YAY!!'']

There's nothing like the thrill of being on the hunt of weaker Aragami. Sure, challenging ones are great every now and then (especially if shot at undetected), but there's nothing quite like turning the tables on what most consider fearsome beasts and kill them with but a single shot, leaving the survivors none the wiser about how their death closes in... with fear striking in their hearts.

If they even have fear, or hearts, beats me. I just know they flee when their fellows die and they ignore the cause... and even if I don't know exactly what feeling is it that causes them to react like that, it pleases me to no end.

-Dave! Left! - Eric warns me. I roll aside just in time to avoid a huge Kongou falling over me. I change the bullet to a Spark laser, then shoot right through the eye of the stumbling monster just as Eric plunges his Spear through its ass.

-You got a fixation on Aragami asses or something? Third one I see you impaling from behind.

-Shut it, you. They tend to be more vulnerable in their asses.

-Says you...

I stop breathing for a second to improve my next shot's accuracy, and I am rewarded with the sight of a falling Sariel. Right through the eye.

-I could say the same about you and eyes. - I hear him commenting behind me. - Nice shot, though.

-Unlike asses, all Aragami have weak eyes. -I answer. - Not like a melee fighter like you would know, anyway...

-Time to go back?

-No, not quite. We still have to take down a Quadriga.

I stare him in the eyes and I know we both think the same: "damn". My piercing bullets are mostly useless in the middle of the fray (which is why I am a backup fighter, and try to never be less than two hundred meters away from the intended target), where the monster's armor is too thick to break, while he has some... obvious problems with using his spear because of the same reason.

But, as luck would have it, it is the mission we took. It payed well, and Quadrigas aren't that much of a problem if properly handled. A nice undetected laser to the head will do wonders.

-You in position? - I hear Eric ask through the commlink.

-That I am. - I say, without taking an eye away from the beast. - Just say the word and there'll be a laser piercing that bastard's head in less than a second. With a bit of luck, I might even kill it.

-You know that never happens... - He says, a vague sound indicating he has prepared his Predator mode. - On my word... fire!

I shoot the laser without missing a beat, and get rewarded with an unique view of an Aragami severely wounded in the head and backside at the same time.

-Come now! It's enraged!

-Can't. I've entrenched myself too well.

-Then shoot at it, you bastard! What are you waiting for?

-The perfect occasion. Don't worry, another shot like that and it'll be down for good.

Ten minutes pass before the occasion presents itself.

Eric dodges to the right, and I see a single tendril of Oracle Cells holding the Quadriga's "head disk" (for lack of a better name). The beast prepares its mighty tomahawk attack while Eric is too tired to act...

... and my shot cuts through the tendril, forcing the disk down and causing it to crush the Quadriga's back, killing the already damaged monster instantly.

-Took you long enough, you son of a...

-Yeah, yeah, cut it. You'd be dead if it weren't because of me.

-I could be in a better shape, but you couldn't be assed to shoot at it earlier.

-Better have one great shot than many mediocre ones. Come on, we're good to go now.

We are nearing the extraction point when I catch a glimpse of something.

There is a little monster a few meters away from us, shining a strange, green light. I have never seen an Aragami so small... the creature is no larger than my fist. Intrigue makes me her prey and I can't help but try to know what that is. It resembles Abaddons, but...

Who knows what that is. I'd be the first documented God Eater to find one. Who knows how large a bonus I could get. Not to mention, I'd be the first documented God Eater to kill one.

I enter through the small door the small Aragami flew through, and suddenly find myself inside a building. A leftover from a previous era, and in pretty good shape, too. The creature is the only source of light inside, the exterior night not helping me one bit.

I get closer, stealthily. The monster floats lazily, and the light weakens. Almost as if it were asleep.

Then, I'm treated to the creature's explosion, which is surprisingly strong, especially considering how small it was.

Strong enough, in fact, to knock me out.