User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater:Universitas, chapter 55: Your Next Line Will Be...!




 * 12/31/2080


 * BEO, KAITLIN, BAL, NIA, AND ARTHUR’S GROUP

“How lively, huh?”

The sky was dark, the innumerable stars of a cold December night illuminating the five God Eaters as they stood shin-deep in snow. Before them stood the towering walls of the Fenrir Far East Branch, snow falling on a community of people preparing to celebrate yet another year gone by.

It was a sure juxtaposition with all the events the anti-Feldman task force had been through, the celebration among the people of Fenrir a stark contrast to the grueling battles these God Eaters had survived.

Nonetheless, it was not to celebrate that these five God Eaters were here now, at the end of 2080.

Within a few minutes, Idenn would be appearing here, arriving from the distant future of 2117—and with her would arrive Isaac Feldman, the scourge of the future and the source of all their troubles. It was here and now that they would hopefully strike down their most hated foe.

“Alright now,” called out Baluar, sticking his God Arc into the ground. “Show of hands—who thinks that the 2117 team won’t even be necessary?”

Kaitlin timidly raised her hand… but no one else did. They weren’t here to laugh, to make light of things, or to mess around. Deep down, everyone knew that each of the groups would have to give their absolute best to take down Feldman and end his threat to the future.

“Even still…” Nia began, looking up at the sky, “it really is beautiful out here. In spite of all the destruction the Aragami have visited upon the world… when the world is blanketed in white and the stars are out, everything just seems so… peaceful?”

Everyone present nodded in affirmation…

…but that peace was about to be broken.

From over the walls of the Far East Branch, a single chime could be heard, and then another, signifying the start of the new year—

—and of something else entirely.

The air seemed to shift and warp as something by the nearby gate caught their eye. About a meter off the ground, space seemed to twist in on itself, as though a massive lens were distorting everything in the vicinity.

And everyone here knew what was about to happen.

As a small light appeared at the center of the distortion and grew larger and larger, it formed into a sizable sphere, cut off by the ground. After a few seconds, there was a bright flash, and two bodies lay on the ground.

One was that of Idenn, who had appeared in this timeline—her use of Lifespring on herself having taxed her body and mind, depriving her of her memories as she arrived in 2081…

…and the other was none other than Isaac Feldman himself, brought to this time after a long and drawn-out confrontation with Idenn. It was this very moment that set into motion everything the anti-Feldman task force had experienced up till this point.

And it was at this very moment that the five God Eaters gathered there leapt into motion simultaneously, their God Arcs held ready as they charged towards Feldman’s prone body—

—only to find themselves repulsed by a familiar sight, a transparent spherical barrier that proved completely impenetrable to all attacks.

“Goddammit…” cursed Beo, positioning himself for a subsequent strike. “I thought he…!!”

“Have you forgotten?” shot back Arthur. “When Feldman arrived from the future, he’d already made it to the Horizon!”

“Yeah,” came Beo’s reply, “but back then, he only had a fraction of the Horizon’s power, so he should be a pushover for us!”

“Wait, guys…”  Kaitlin’s words brought the others to a halt. “Remember what Nanako said earlier? It’s not THIS Feldman we should be watching out for… but the Feldman who might flee here from our present time…!”

And sure enough, as they spoke, they could hear, then see, a familiar portal open up, depositing onto the ground another Isaac Feldman before their very eyes…

…except this one was markedly different, blood dripping from multiple bullet wounds on his head as he dragged himself along the ground.

“Y…ou…” he muttered, blood spluttering from his mouth. “I… I can’t… go on… like this…”

As he spoke those words, he dragged himself across the snow, trailing blood from his head as he gradually approached the body of the Feldman who had arrived from 2117. No one knew what was about to go down… but whatever it was, rushing in would no doubt yield catastrophe.

“So… please…” Feldman sputtered out those words as his outstretched hand fell mere inches from the other Feldman’s position. “Please… take… take all of my… my powers… and use them… use them to w…wi… wipe the floor with those… God Eaters over there…! Fulfill… my will…!!”

At once, the five members of the task force rushed over to where the two Feldmans lay on the ground—

—but it was too late. A bright blue flash emanated from the fingertips of the newly arrived Feldman, and…

And it was at this very moment that the five God Eaters gathered there leapt into motion simultaneously, their God Arcs held ready as they charged towards Feldman’s prone body—

—only to find themselves repulsed by a familiar sight, a transparent spherical barrier that proved completely impenetrable to all attacks.

'“Goddammit…” cursed Beo, positioning himself for a subsequent strike. “I thought he…!!”'

“Thought I what?”  Before the members of the task force could take action, Feldman’s body rose to its feet, with Feldman dusting himself off and turning to face the gathered God Eaters.

“I’d rather take care of this little bitch Idenn first,” Feldman spoke, spitting on the still-unconscious body of Idenn, “but there remain more pressing matters to attend to first—namely, the extermination of a group of rats that have come to nibble at my feet.”

Feldman began to advance on the group of five, his mere presence instilling a sense of dread and fear in all present. Sure, there were five of them, but…

“Make that six.”

??!!?!?!!!???

No one was sure where the voice came from, or who it was who had spoke. Nor were they sure why the voice had said that; the fact that there were only five members of the task force present wasn’t anything they’d vocalized directly… unless…!!

Before the task force members or Feldman himself knew what was happening, a man was standing there behind Feldman, picking up Idenn with one hand while brandishing his God Arc, a bandaged red buster blade, in the other.

“What… who are you?!”  Feldman shouted his surprise to the new arrival as his attention shifted to this new quarry, his fist lashing out to impale the man through—

—only to find his strike blocked, the new arrival having swiftly rotated his God Arc to intercept the path of Feldman’s fist with nary a backwards glance.

“What the… hell…!!”  Feldman’s frustration was all too apparent, as consecutive strikes from his fists found themselves all blocked by the new arrival’s God Arc, which he shifted ever so slightly to intercept and parry Feldman’s fists with pinpoint accuracy.

Fed up with this new annoyance, Feldman pulled back and readied his fist beside him, intending to end it with a single, powerful strike—

“‘I’m going to strike his right shoulder and force him to drop his God Arc.’”

The man’s words caused Feldman to stop suddenly, completely dropping his stance in surprise.

“‘Next, I’ll get him in the heart with a second punch and kill Idenn as he drops her.’”

Feldman was fuming. But as he opened his mouth to speak—

“Your next line will be ‘What the… HOW ARE YOU…!!?’”

“What the… HOW ARE YOU…!?”  Feldman shouted his anger to the mysterious man, before the implications of what just happened hit him in full force.

“N… no… that’s not possible!”  Feldman staggered backwards out of shock and fear. Who was this man, and how was he…

Feldman gritted his teeth. No more. No more would this man make a fool of him!

Boosting his physical capabilities with the flames of the Horizon, Feldman charged forward at lightning speed, intending to strike a decisive blow before this man could do… whatever it is he was doing.

The newcomer, however, had other ideas. Setting down his God Arc as well as Idenn’s body gently on the snow, he took a stance and raised his fists… fists that were augmented with the same Horizon energy as were Feldman’s.

“Come at me, Isaac!”

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