User blog:Baluar/Arc 4 chapter 1

As we walk to the target, a soft burst of wind hits us in the face. I resist the urge to stay and enjoy the cool air in this outrageously hot day, but we must go on. The Ouroboros we were sent to take care of might arrive to the B-15 area of the Outter Ghetto at any time, so there's no time to be wasted in these circumstances.

I do my best to avoid any unnecesary waste of time, but eventually I give in: the heat is hellish, and I run out of breath. I can't avoid to let go of Katy and drop myself in the floor, exhausted. The private that came with me today, Rick I think, doesn't seem to care about the temperature, but he comes from somewhere where this heat is an everyday business. After I regain some air, I pick up the Arc, get up and kepp walking. Rick doesn't seem to mind about it.

We finally arrive to the B-15 area of the Ghetto, only to find the Ouroboros still on its way. While its huge figure scares my companion, I know there are larger Aragami, which are best left unspoken. I simply sit down and wait until it's close enough for us to engage in battle, but at the same time watching it so that it doesn't cause any harm. However, when it arrives, a large shadow passes by my side, grounding me and stabbing the Ouroboros with something brilliant before it collapses to the floor.

I look to Rick to check up on his status, only to see him dead. Apparently, whatever passed by here decided to cut his stomach with its claws. While it is the first death I've seen since I'm in command, and the third overall, I don't have time to grieve over the death: there's something right in front of me that needs to be taken care of. I get up, with a hand in the head, the other barely holding the Arc.

A jet black Hannibal with red eyes looks at me, mere centimeters away from my face. While I won't deny I'm a hardened God Eater, this particular beast is... disturbing. The place where the Ouroboros was is now... a pool of lava?

-Just another day at work, then? - I say to myself. I rise my sword, and the Hannibal roars back, almost as if it could understand me. I jump and make a cut in its arm, only to hear a powerful scream within my head.

-[OOOOOOOWWWWWW!!! BURNS!!!]

-[What?!] - I scream to Katy while taking a step back to avoid the flames. How can a being that is constantly set ablaze say something burns her? This is serious shit...

-[This... beast... burns me!]

-[Damn, what can I do now?] - I say, while avoiding the deadly lava-spit the monster just threw at me. I decide that going to gun mode will be the best option. Too bad I don't have Lyrr here... I change to gun mode, jump over the black Hannibal and shoot him the most powerful bullet in my possession. This experimental shit got its first test a couple of days ago, where it blew some large Aragami like a Quadriga to tiny pieces. Of course, that action consumes all my Oracle reserves and the recoil sends me ten feet further into the air, and exhausted Katy to the point I could hear her trying to grasp some air within my head, something that I ignored despite it making absolutely no sense. After the steam from the ice bullet dissipates, I look at where the dark Hannibal was... or rather, where it is.

-HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THAT! NO ONE COULD'VE SURVIVED THAT! - I scream. I'm beginning to get scared. In all my years as a God Eater, I never saw something of this caliber. The beast seems to realize my thoughts as it prepares for a final attack... the fire lance. I avoid by sidesteping and feel an extremely intense heat emanating from the monster's body... When I look to the place the bullet impacted, I see lava coming out from the beast's body. My reaction says it all: - Holy crap... - A lot of the area of the Ghetto we're fighting in has lava spots, and apparently the beast generates it as I'd generate blood, only that faster and seemingly endlessly.

I've got to win, but I can't. After a short while of battle, I fall to my knees, unable to go on. The heat is unnatural, the battle is tougher than any I can clearly recall. The monster looks at me, and instead of killing me, jumps into the air far more than its contexture should allow him to, and leaves. If I didn't knew, I'd say he's mocking me, considering me nothing more than a nuisance.

Battered, defeated, I return to base. My pride has taken a huge hit in the face, for this is the first battle I have ever lost.



'''Just to clarify, this is actually Arc 4. Geddit?'''