User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater:Universitas, chapter 26: New Faces, part 2

“God Eater Lyrr, formerly of the Far East Branch, reporting for continued duty.”

The man who had just arrived saluted to the God Eaters gathered in the lounge of the Liverpool Branch, his imposing sniper rifle at his side.

“You mean…” Blake began, “…it was you who fired all those shots at the Boundary Yaksha back there? Just you, on your own?”

“It was.”  Lyrr responded in the affirmative. “I will admit, I was surprised when I arrived and the first thing I saw was a bunch of Aragami I’d never seen before converging on the branch, but I just did what anyone else in my position would have done. And when I heard that I’d have Arthur of all people as reinforcement, well… it was more than a small confidence boost.”  Lyrr laughed halfheartedly.

Lyrr’s words were met with a response from Baluar. “Be that as it may,” he began, “does this mean that you, Arthur, and Kaitlin will all be joining us on our journey to the Horizon?”

“That’s the plan,” came Lyrr’s reply. “I was briefed on the situation on my way down here. From the looks of things, making contracts with the Horizon is the only way we’ll be able to obtain enough power to fight against Feldman when he returns. Is that it?”

“That’s right,” answered Sigma. “The power granted by the Horizon reduces all to naught before it. I was able to subjugate Feldman earlier because the power he had received from the Horizon was incomplete, but should he come back from wherever… pardon, WHENever Idenn sent him, all of us with the power of the Horizon is the only way we’ll even have a CHANCE against him AND all his Boundary Aragami.”

“And there’s something I wanted to ask about,” came the voice of someone else arriving from the elevator. It was Arthur, the man who had cut his way effortlessly through all of those Boundary Yaksha earlier. “You mentioned the ‘Boundary Aragami’… but what exactly ARE they?”

“I’m sure the rest of you have figured it out by now,” began Sigma, “but the Boundary Aragami are normal Aragami infused with the power of the Horizon from Feldman himself. Since the Horizon’s power can be granted only by the Horizon and not, in this case, by Feldman, he spawns the Boundary Aragami directly from his Boundary God Arc, which itself was the first Boundary Aragami, created and granted by the Horizon to Feldman in response to his own twisted desire for power. The Horizon’s power is nearly infinite, so the amount of Boundary Aragami Feldman can create is appropriately nearly infinite itself. Because of this…”

“…there’s no way of knowing just how many he’ll be able to create should he obtain the full powers of the Horizon,” interjected Nanako. “Am I right?”

“As always,” came Sigma’s reply, “you’re exactly right. Should Feldman obtain the Horizon’s full powers, he might very well be able to flood the entire world with a sea of Boundary Aragami—”

“—but he wouldn’t want that,” interrupted Ken. “Feldman’s objective is to rule the world, not destroy it. What’s the point in having infinite power if there’s no one over whom to exert it?”

“Right,” affirmed Sigma. “We can rule out a complete world conquest by ultimate force as one of Feldman’s objectives, so that gives us a bit more leeway when preparing to face him—but, again, considering what he’ll be capable of when he returns, all of you will need not only to obtain the powers of the Horizon, but also to train with them and become acclimated to them before you can wield them to their fullest potential.”

Baluar, however, was having none of this.

“You say that we aren’t strong enough without the Horizon’s power,” Bal spoke, “but what about sis and I? We’re half Aragami as it is, and I’m sure you saw how we fared against that Boundary Ouroboros back there. Plus, that was only a small fraction of our power. Are you trying to say that, even at full power, we’d be unable to beat Feldman?!”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” came Sigma’s curt reply. “Even with the strongest Aragami powers known to man, not even both of you fighting together would be able to so much as dent Feldman should he obtain the Horizon’s full power.”

“See, I think that’s bullshit,” responded Baluar. “You have no idea of what even one of us is capable of us at full power, so who are you to say that, even fighting together, we wouldn’t be able to stand up to Feldman? I’ve half a mind to—”

Baluar’s impetuous words were swiftly and decisively silenced as the atmosphere of the lounge suddenly changed. All at once, everyone could feel the presence of what could only be described as abject despair and the lurking presence of death. Baluar himself swallowed, beads of sweat dripping down his face as his throat was checked by the grim reaper’s metaphorical scythe. At the center of the room, Sigma stood, his calculating eyes belying a gate to something incomprehensible, the bottomless abyss of death.

“B-Bro,” Nia spoke, her voice trembling with fear. “You really should just go along with this. Sigma’s right, and besides, where would the harm be in getting even stronger?”

“You don’t get it, sis! Sigma disrespected both of us in the worst way possible! He said we weren’t strong enough. But we’ve NEVER not been strong enough! And I’m gonna teach him that in the only way there is!”

As the oppressive pressure in the room continued to mount, Baluar drew his God Arc and pointed it at Sigma.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” he began, readying himself for pitched combat, “but this is a matter of pride, and I can’t let this affront stand.”

“Very well,” came Sigma’s emotionless response, as he raised a single hand and held it before him. “You may very well be among the strongest individuals here… but if you cannot listen to reason—”

“—then I will put you in your place!”

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