Ragnarok

[Kyng's Old Account]

Chapter 1 - Bilröst

Winter's chill howled around the battlefield. There, standing between the Great Rainbow Bridge, and to its extension the great Halls of Valhalla, and the mortal world, was an impressive army of 10,000 soldiers for war. Amongst them was a small handful of others, the Vanguard. These elite warriors far surpassed the ordinary soldier by more than a mile, and were chosen by their Patron Gods to fight for the cause of a just new beginning. All the Gods knew this was the end of the world, for all the Gods to clash in such a manner, however who ruled on-top afterwards was to be decided in not just one, but many bloody wars.
 
One Vanguard in particular would be amongst the spearheads of this army. Now walking across the bridge after the Vanguard's briefing with the Gods Athena, Freyja, and Huitzilopochtli, he met the eyes of the Einherjar, many of the ancient Norse, walking towards one of the many battles they had long fed and trained for. The Vanguard Leon Artaxes sighed when he met eyes that dreaded the oncoming war, but to a number of them gave a hearty pat on the back and encouraging words to rekindle their flames burning in their hearts.
 
After a while of walking Leon met the front of the march, shocked by all the numbers of the undead Heroes from Odin's hall. He was stunned by the beauty of Freyja and her Valkyries. He was in awe of Athena's Myrmidons. The list went on: a force of immense power was held by the Gods whom strive for a just re-beginning. However, Leon did indeed perceive the possibility that the forces of Ragnarok would bring much terror.
 
Upon arrival to the battlegrounds he took a quick analysis of the field before them: a large, white snowy plain between their army, and what would become Ragnarok's side of the field. Such a large plain, 10 acres between the two factions. A few obstacles in the natural rocks that stuck out, from a few mountains on one side to a large boulder striking out towards them. Above them, overhead, a beautiful aurora sung a song of war. Leon gazed up and smiled to the sight, before hearing the manic barking of the opposition become apparent.
 
The forces of Ragnarok had arrived: legions of vicious monsters, even Einherjars deceived by Loki for his army, along with more than a far share of Jotunn. What stunned Leon was the sheer number of them. Possibly 20, maybe 30 thousand of them. The larger units were at the back while the more lighter ones were at front. Leon, upon seeing this, spotted that the Giants would be a threat to a simple charge, and would need to be apprehended.
 
Leon then called out for the other Vanguards to join him: it was time for a change to plan. They would need to take out the Giants  in order to proceed with their charge. Of course, unknown to the Vanguards yet, Set had a number of workers beginning to prepare the resurrection of Ymir. The Vanguards he would gather with Leon would hear him say "Those Jotunn are going to be a real issue with Ice and Fire projectiles. We need to take them out early. I'm open to ideas."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Quiet the opposition we have." a voice behind Leon spoke, as its owner made it's way to stand beside Leon. Genzai Hatsune, the Vanguard of the Shinto god Ryujin. He stood with his arms crossed as his gaze was fixated on the many forces that laid before them. He was told that this war would be one hell of one, but at the sight of the numbers, he almost wavered with his choice of being chosen. Nevertheless, Genzai stood his ground and let all of his worry and fear out within one sigh. At once, he heard his fellow Vanguard's words: "Those Jotunn are going to be a real issue with Ice and Fire projectiles. We need to take them out early. I'm open to ideas."

 

"We need to focus the first part of the attack on the Jotunn. Specifically, make them fall." Genzai said, not moving from his given position, only turning his head to Leon. "I'm thinking, have a distraction in the air for them and have squad prepare for these Jotunn to fall, as in take their feet out from under them. Afterwords, they should fall on top of a good chunk of the opposing army. Once that is completed, we can finish them off and return to worrying about the rest of the army." Genzai didn't seem like the one to propose a good battle plan, well...that was how he was when he began his training. Now, not just him...but the other Vanguards could do this without a problem. Hopefully, this was one of the few plans that held merit.

[Ren✧]

Quillan nervously twirled the tanto in his hand, over and over. Seeing the forces of Ragnarok gather in front of him was quite the sight. Sure, he had battled monsters before, even gods, but that had all be in practice. This was the real deal. This was do or die. Hearing the call to arms, Quillan weaved his way through the army he stood a part of. 

 

He didn't always like being a Vanguard, but it did have its perks. Like everyone else having to respect you because you were probably their only hope of winning a war that could, and probably will, destroy the world. Believe it or not, that also came with a little pressure. Joining the other Vanguards, Quillan nodded in acknowledgement. 

 

Leon, their supposed leader. Quillan never really had a liking for the guy. He seemed to self-righteous. A regular, old leader. Too dependable, a rule follower. Quillan had to admit though, the guy was good. Being Vanguard, you don't get to meet very many people, and those that you did are worth remembering. Quillan definitely remembered Leon. The guy was pretty handy with a spear, and despite Quillan's dislike for him, he was a great asset. 

 

The other Vanguard, Genzai, was even more to Quillan's disliking. Calm and collected. But also boring as hell. The guy was all about composure and civilities. The exact opposite of Quillan. But, like Leon he had his merits and was more than a capable Vanguard. "What's the problem with just hitting them hard?" Quillan asked. He wasn't one for plans and would much rather just start clobbering guys. Unfortunately, rarely did anyone else see it his way. 

[Thar]

"I'm thinking, have a distraction in the air for them and have squad prepare for these Jotunn to fall, as in take their feet out from under them."

 

With her face veiled by the shadow from her light, white hood, Beth smiled at the idea. This was her specialty; trip the opposition when they least expect it and wallow in their humiliation. The thought went through her head as she stood just behind Leon, enough to not disturb his hind senses. The urge to poke him in the back was unbearable, but common sense had priority over Beth's conscience.

 

"What's the problem with just hitting them hard?"

 

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Beth said to Quillan, "A head-on attack would only make more friction rather than actually take out the enemy. The front line would hold us back while the back units, as Leon said, would shoot us out like rabbits against slingshots." Beth flanked Leon with her hands in her pockets, one of them holding onto the hilt of her whip that was lassoed around her waist. The glass shard at the tip glared in the light of the battlefield.

 

"I'm siding with the guy saying we distract them and trip 'em up. Sounds more my style." Beth giggled as a green snake crawled out from the left inside of her hood, rubbing her cheek to cheek, "Ain't that right, Sykesy~? Yeah, you like seeing people trip up, don't ya~?"

[Kyng's Old Account]

Nodding contemplatively Leon looked to Genzai, sharing his pose with boy turned to the enemy yet only his head meeting the Vanguard's gaze. The idea of aerial attack, really, was all they could hope for right now, what with there being no waters to rely upon. However in later thinking the waters could be creeping with dangerous creatures of Ragnarok's bidding. Regardless of this Leon locked gazes back with the forces ahead. "Aerial attack seems like the only option, however it is not like it will be stealthy. If we think of it, they have a clear line of sight and could aim for the aerial units themselves." Leon then frowned contemplatively, looking around before thinking of something. More or less about now he watched another Vanguard, Quillan, take his position at the front line, asking why not an all out attack. Normally this would be Leon's thought, sending cavalry units to stomp down the early opposition.

 

However, as Beth made her stance she neatly outlined just why a charge right now would be self-destructive. With this, her unit popped up, causing Leon to smile concerned. "Does your unit stay so close to you at all times?" Leon's units were large and robust in build, thus why he would never allow them release unless instructed by his teachings from Anhur, on the battlegrounds or rather for some well earned rest. He never knew what it was like to have a unit out for so long. Despite what he thought of as unconventional, he smirked to Beth and added to his prior question "If that is so, then I can trust your unit is more than willing to follow your lead: that's a pretty strong ally to have."

 

The Vanguard watched as the three God Generals in charge of the mission soon walked to the front-lines, to aid with this pre-fight planning as well as meet with the two Gods of the opposition in the centre. The Aztec God of the Sun, and War, did not worry too much about the whole issue ahead, and neither did Freyja. However, Athena spoke to the six, her colleague Gods and the four Vanguards present, that "Indeed we must eliminate the chances of early demise. An aerial attack, or distraction at the least, is essential in terms of this battle. We shall go through with Genzai's plot." She then addressed the Vanguards. "Us three are going to meet with Loki and Set. We expect no petty assasination attempts, even Loki isn't foolish enough to believe Huitzlopochtli and Freyja would easily kill him at such a distance. Vanguards, stand your ground and instruct our aerial units to attack upon our return. Following we shall make charge."

 

Leon nodded to Athena as she, alongside the fellow Gods, made their pace to the centre of the field. He could not deny the fact that he did more than undress Freyja in his head, her divine beauty was something for him to just lust over. But this did not come over his senses, he maintained self control. He would simply leave such thoughts to mind and focus upon the battle ahead.

 

The Vanguard then turned to the others with a soft smile. "This is going to be one tricky push. Alright, rally the troops. I'm going to bring the cavalry to the front and spearhead the charge when we go for it. We march with the Valkyries, this will hopefully give the Jotunn too many targets and, not only confuse the stupid dolts, but promise an easy charge. Once we're in there, well, remember your training and bring your Gods the glory they deserve." With this burning speach done he summoned forth his own Unit, the Gryffon, and mounted her before looking to the vast army before them. This division identified the signal, and a number of horse-back Einherjar began to allign themselves with the Vanguard, all drawing their spears upfront as they waited. Three lines of the units, they were going to crush the early defences with their ride.

 

The Vanguard lifted his hand as a Solar Spear took shape, the sound of the searing light brilliant, before he waited for the meeting of the Gods to end, and the war to begin.

[Ren✧]

As Quillan had expected, his plan was shot down, but it was okay because Beth had done it. Oh, Beth. She was quite the prize. Fun, mischievous, and hot as could be. He couldn't object much with Genzai's plan, especially since it took place in the air, the place where he would be of the most use. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to deal with Vex. Noticing Leon summon one of his units, Quillan moved to do the same. Invoking a similar power that he had used to transport his tanto away, there was a strong gust of wind and a clap of thunder as Vex suddenly appeared at his side. 

 

"The war hasn't even started, and you already need me?" Vex said telepathically to Quillan, stomping her hooves and sending a small electric shock through Quillan. The jolt made Quillan jump into the air and yelp. "I'm not exactly thrilled that you are here, either." Quillan retorted. Signaling for Vex to follow him, Quillan walked over to Beth. 

 

"You know, you could hang back. I wouldn't want those giants to mess up that pretty face of yours." Quillan suggested, flashing a brilliant smile. 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Genzai was surprised that his tactic was chosen, but at the same time, he knew that not many options laid in wait for them to defeat this threat. Listening to Leon's words, he smiled a bit, as he watched his Gryphon take him to the skies. The skies, this is sorta where Genzai had a bad disadvantage. Being the Vanguard to Ryujin had its moments...but when it came to aerial combat or anything, he was out of luck. However, he also had a small advantage with being on the ground.

 

"Embrace the light...out from the deepest blue, bring forth your power to protect my allies! Kame!" Genzai said, his right hand glowing with a blue aura as a small puddle of water formed below his hand. From this puddle, his turtle unit: Kame was summoned.

 

"Wow...seems like we got our work cut out for us..." Kame gulped, his shell shaking a bit.

 

Genzai smiled and knelt down as he softly pet the turtle's head. "Be strong, Kame. Ryujin designated you and Zeri to me for a reason. I have faith that you and Zeri will be able to help me and the other Vanguards win this war." Kame always had that shy, shelled nature about him. A peaceful turtle who wouldn't hurt a fly. Genzai stood and looked at Beth and Quillan, as he crossed his arms a bit. "Quillan...if you have Beth stay behind, we won't have enough strength to keep these creatures off our backs."

[Ren✧]

"Genzai, such a drag. We could totally take them. It's a shame that Beth here should have to lift a finger." Quillan turned to Genzai. Already, this guy was getting on his nerves. Was he the only one here that saw the beauty in flying by the seat of your pants(which Quillan had experienced, often ending up being a 'fly by your butt' moment when his pants had ripped off in mid flight)? "But, if you say so." Disgruntled, Quillan hopped on top of Vex's back, ready for flight. Sitting on the storm spirit, always made Quillan feel weird. Not bad weird, just weird. It felt like the moment right before you are about to jump off the highest diving board at a pool and your stomach does a little flip. 

 

The feeling made Quillan tingle with excitement(the tingling may also have come from the electrical charge racing through Vex). "I think you've gained weight." Vex said, sending another jolt through Quillan. "I think you've gotten b****ier." Kallen whispered under his breath, spurring Vex into action. The two shot up into the air, high above the armies, ready for action.

[Thar]

"Does your unit stay so close to you at all times? If that is so, then I can trust your unit is more than willing to follow your lead: that's a pretty strong ally to have."

 

Sykes slithered back into Beth's hood, "Of course. I did save their lives, after all." Beth unraveled her whip from around her waist and unzipped her sweatshirt, opening it to let Sykes and another purple snake, Vecks, slither out to breathe. The two snakes glided around Beth up and around her shoulder, stretching up as high as a meter above her head. Vecks held the tip of his tail aloft to avoid cutting Beth with the razor-sharp blade that was on it.

 

"You know, you could hang back. I wouldn't want those giants to mess up that pretty face of yours."

 

Beth couldn't help but chuckle at Quillan's remark. Sykes lowered his head to meet Quillan's and waved its two-pronged tongue in his face, but Beth caressed the snake's head a guided it back up, "Oh sweetie, I appreciate your concern, but where's the fun in standing back?" She raised her whip and lashed it forward into the empty space in between forces, summoning a crack in the air that would kill a butterfly within 3 feet of it, "I'm as ready as you are. Heck, if Leon let me, I could be his bodyguard. My skin is much thicker than it appears." Beth smiled and winked at Quillan.

 

"Quillan...if you have Beth stay behind, we won't have enough strength to keep these creatures off our backs."

 

"...It's a shame that Beth here should have to lift a finger."

 

"Ahaha, I feel so loved," Hearing these words from Beth made Sykes and Vecks twirl around Beth's face and glare at Quillan and Genzai, "Whoa whoa, easy, fellas, easy. They're only comrades in a war," The two snakes slowly lifted back up, "Now how about that plan, huh?"

[Kyng's Old Account]

Initially Leon was not caught up with the hilarious antics that proceeded behind him. Allinged now with at least three hundred mounted riders, Einherjars,Kahuayotenistli and Hetairoi units armed and ready for the charge they all waited patiently for the Gods ahead of them, speaking with Loki alone peculiarly, to return to them and give them final instruction before the ultimate charge. Much was silent, as many of the units were preparing themselves. All, save a few, which included his comrade Vanguards.

 

Soon after the charge of Valkyrie took their positions in the air, they would be among the few whom would go after the Jotunn and take down the perhaps 100 of them. Though very large, about as tall as a house each, they would be easy to fall soon enough. Leon would soon join these riders with his Gryffon mount, but first he looked over to the Vanguards. Sighing with a nervous smile, he was wondering whether they were getting on or not. It seemed to him that Beth and Quillan had something, which could be expected since both served Greek Gods they would naturally be able to spend more time together.

 

Leon then watched as the Gods returned to them. Athena began to speak: "It has came to our attention that this army is merely bordering the burial grounds of the Primordal Frost Giant Ymir. Set's soldiers, according to Loki, are attempting to revive him through the Titan Gate: this, I believe, is their goal. The army was never going to destroy the Rainbow Bridge, only stall us so their Titan can do the job. We shall have to send off an individual troop to scout out the gate and kill any potential threats."

 

With this said, the charge was announced to begin. Leon joined with the Valkyria in the air along with Quillan, watching the other Vanguards upon the ground. It was fairly obvious what was going on: while the Wind Vanguard would blow out the kindled flames of the Fire Jotunn, the Spear Vanguard would use Solar Spears to melt through the body of the Frost Jotunn. The other two on the ground would go into the charge and begin this massacre.

 

Soon, it began. The forces of Ragnarok roared in bloodlust as they charged towards the army of the Gods defending the bridge. Respectively, their own forces charged forth. Immediately as on cue, the Jotunn began to lob boulders of ice, snow, fire and brimstone, all the destroy those who defied Ragnarok. Upon this, Leon immediately began to lead the flight of the Valkyries and proceeded to create Solar Spears of light, and alongside the Valkyries' own spears of the Auroran Light began to rain upon the Jotunn, somewhat hindering them. Leon managed to floor the first one of them, with a powerful twist of his arm, the bolt of light searing down and skewering the Frost Giant's skull; it's fall-back crushed a number of troops.

[Ren✧]

Quillan sat on top of Vex, watching the meeting of gods. He didn't understand why they needed to do things like that. It only ruined the dramaticness of the situation. Nonetheless, he gave his best war cry as he flew into battle alongside Leon. "You sound like a chattering monkey." Vex said, calmly striding across the skies as they neared the armies of Ragnarok. 

 

"And you sound like a b****y  horse." Quillan retorted, standing up on Vex. The battle had begun and the Jotunn had already started hurling projectiles at their air forces. Closing his eyes, he focused his thoughts. His eyes flashing open, he began to move his arms in circular patterns, the wind responding to his will. Catching a powerful fireball with a current of air, the flames were quickly extinguished, leaving only a rock behind. Reversing the air current, he launched the rock back at where it came from, nailing a Jotunn in the head, causing him to stumble, crushing quite a few smaller units. Quillan smile slightly at the sight, it was a like a child stepping his toys, but he couldn't admire his handiwork for long, for there was work to be done. 

 

Using the same tactic, Quillan grabbed ahold of another projectile, this one a ball of ice. Hurling it downward, the ball split as it hit a Jotunn's head, causing the giant to slump to the ground, crushing more of his comrades. Having reached the point of being right above the armies, Quillan lept off of Vex's back, plummeting towards a giant below. 

 

Taking control of the wind around him, Quillan slowed his descent, landing peacefully on the giant's brow. Not wanting to take too much of a risk, Quillan dashed towards the edge of the Jotunn's head, taking to the air once again. Once he was directly in front of the Jotunn's face, he turned to face his large opponent. The Jotunn's eyes were a mask of battle rage and stupidity. He never could figure out why any army would use giants of any kind, they were always so dense and so cumbersome. So bound. 

 

Fashioning the air around him into a projectile of his own, Quillan shot several needs of whistling air into the giant's eyes, causing him to cry out in pain. As Quillan's concentration faltered, the air that was holding him fell away, but he did not panic. With practiced skill, Vex appeared under Quillan in a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder, carrying him out of harms way as well as shooting several bolts of lightning down on the enemies below. 

 

Ascending once again, Quillan looked at the opposing army and sighed. This was going to be a long battle. 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Genzai unsheathed his blade: Mizu Kiba, and exhaled slightly, as he closed his eyes. "Ryujin...watch over me and my allies!" he declared as he quickly opened his eyes and took his blade in hand, bringing it to his side. With a quick jump, he landed on Kame's shell and whistled: the signal for Kame to move.

 

"Ready Genzai-san!" Kame nodded, quickly retreating into his shell, as water poured from his shell. With this, a wave of water appeared, as it moved towards the armies, with Genzai surfing on top of Kame.

 

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVI4OR7kvX0]Xenoblade OST ~ Unfinished Battle[/url]

 

The first wave of soldiers were apparent, in which he'd have to defeat them just to get to the Jotunn. Not truly a problem for the Shinto Vanguard. "Ryujin Kenbu: 2nd Form!" he said, as he jumped off of Kame's shell, who quickly used his Aqua Defense to protect his allies behind him. He landed on the ground and thrusted his blade in front of the first soldier.

 

"W-Wha?"

 

"Ame no Danmaku!" Genzai said. Then it happened, from Mizu Kiba an onslaught of rain drop senbon struck the soldier and those behind him. He backed away, now seeing the path now made, he jumped back onto Kame's shell and held his blade forward. "Keep the attack up! We must reach the Jotunn!"

[Thar]

"Keep the attack up! We must reach the Jotunn!"

 

"Guess that's my cue!" Beth was already in a stance that balanced her form and focus. Her whip was positioned with the hilt held practically touching her forehead while the length of it dangled to her toes. The glass shard glared onto war, and Beth lunged into the air, twirling her whip around her with enough speed to glide across the opening and into the enemy line, slicing a chunk of soldiers that stood there. Cuts turned into gashes and later fatal hemorrhages as an opening was made midst their diced corpses, soaking her white hoodie in blood. She was not bothered by the blood, in fact she savored it.

 

Her next target was none other than one of the giants that Leon pointed out. She whispered to Sykes and Vecks, "Bind his hands."

 

"Not a problem, missssssss~ Beth!" Sykes hissed back as he stretched to meet the length of three times the giant's arm span, coiling his neck and fastened both of his wrists together. "WHY YOU-" The giant attempted to pull out of the grasp but only made the hold around his neck tighten. Sykes glared at the giant and coughed up a liquid from his mouth that landed in the giant's eyes, blinding him. The giant turned red with rage, popping veins all around his body, but it was still enough for Sykes to hold as Vecks perked up to make his move.

 

"My turn, sssssssssykes~!" Vecks did the same in his approach as Sykes, stretching to meet with the binded giant, whom appeared to have enough pressure to cover this entire battlefield in blood. The razor on Vecks' tail glistened and lunged through the giant's head, releasing a fountain of blood.

 

Sykes and Vecks were drenched in blood when they returned to Beth, whom wore the same impression. Beth smiled, and nodded to signal them to get back onto her shoulders. The battle, however, had only begun. "There's plenty more to do here," she said as she weeded out the enemy grunts by decapitating them one by one with the glass shard on her whip that had almost no blood on it, "I say we just wait for orders from Leon and find out where to strike next. In the meantime, let's have some fun with these rats!"

[Ren✧]

Quillan took a moment to watch his fellow Vanguard's below. He spotted Beth and had to admit was slightly disgusted. This girl was not all beautiful smiles and charm. She was a warrior for sure, much to Quillan's distaste. In his eyes, women were meant to stay at home, far away from battle, but this girl seemed to have different ideas. Quillan watched as she hacked apart opponent's with her sharp whips, getting covered in blood in the process. 

 

When the female Vanguard took down the giant, Quillan had to turn away, for fear of completely ruining his image of her, but by the sound of the thud, he could only guess that the giant had fallen. Getting back to work, Quillan signalled for Vex to get closer to the ground. Approaching the bristling spikes and spears of the opposing army, Quillan released a large gust of wind on to the army of Ragnarok, causing them stumble over each other. In the meantime, Vex continued to rain down lightning bolts on the monsters. 

 

Quillan spotted Leon in battle in the distance, as he himself engaged a small enemy on the ground, having leapt off of Vex. After incapacitating his opponent with a few accurate shots of his shuriken, Quillan once again took to the air, ready for more orders...something he never thought he would ever think.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Leon smiled watching Vex, for the lacking of another way to put it, obliterate a number of Jotunn with such smooth flow to his motions. He was doing very well, and exceeded Leon's expectations. He moved with the wind like one. Leon nodded in approval, content with the work the Wind Master did. As such this gave him more drive to get back to work, as he eyed down the next Jotunn ahead of them.

 

With a scan of the battlefield, Leon saw that the originally threatening number of the Jotunn had dwindled. The Valkyries and Quillan's efforts combine with his own had somewhat halved the numbers of these giants. This, however, did not mean there was no casualties on their side of the battle. Many Fire and Ice projectiles had been launched, and thrashed the once Heroic Einherjars, now forever deceased until the new dawn. Soldiers were perishing without a doubt. With Shar, his Gryffon, circling for a moment, he nodded and frowned, before letting out a war cry as he charged.

 

Now accompanied by a flight of Valkyria, two on each side, he began to shower their spears to inflict quicker damage on the enemy, taking out the Jotunn rapidly. The mix of the Aurora Lights and the sheer might of the Sun channeled these javelins of light which punctured the Jotunn one by one. The numbers were still big, but gradually declining as they showered down their spears from the Heavens upon the forces of Ragnarok; and with each fallen Jotunn lead to a grand number of squashed soldiers.

 

The aerial support needed no further aid from the Vanguard. As such, Leon had Shar fly him down to the earth, to a clearing in his forces; as he landed he smirked and recalled his unit, before drawing out his Heliopolian Iklwa, his two spears both ideal for throwing and melee. This, alongside summoning Martyaxwar, his faithful Manticore, he laughed and joined the charge, soon meeting the enemy lines and enjoying the spoils of war.

 

He watched as his unit covered his back, the pair of them in the heart of enemy lines, as they began to take out soldier by soldier of the dreaded Ragnarok forces. Arrows molten by the Manticore's poison and a good number of more stronger units easily rendered fools by the sheer might of the hybrid beast, Leon was overjoyed having such a ferocious ally in war. Leon, himself, was dealing with foes fairly easily as anticipated of an elite soldier trained under a God of War. He showed prowess as he deflected attempted strikes and penetrated the armor of the enemy Einherjars and the like. Decapitating a few of Set's mummies was also quiet enjoyable for the Vanguard.

 

Soon the Jotunn was close enough for Leon's range, to which he looked over to Martyaxwar. "Take flight, poison his eyes and give us a distraction!" he called out quickly, before swapping his Iklwa for his Assegai, and momentarily equipping the spear to his back he threw javelins of sunlight at the Giant's kneecap, staggering the Jotunn which lead the ultimate poisoning of his eyes by Martyaxwar even more easier. This followed with the Valkyrie plighting the Jotunn with their weapons, finishing it off and leading it to crush a number of siege weapons.

 

A few of those unharmed weapons, though, began to fire; the garrisoned troops at the bridge stood ready, releasing some catapults to destroy the incoming projectiles, but gradually some of the siege weapon's boulders began to crack and crush some of the make-shift fortresses surrounding the Rainbow Bridge, some even smashing chunks off of the bridge itself. This made something apparent. The new objective was simple: take out the Siege Weapons.

[Ren✧]

With the number of Jotunn trickling downwards, Quillan occasionally made trips to the ground, taking out a few enemies while allowing Vex to fly over and blast a few monsters with her electric bursts. Now on the rise, Quillan noticed a development in the battle that could prove troublesome, the siege weapons. He could handle them much the same way as the giants, but getting to the weapons would be a bit harder, dodging the opposing forces. He would more than likely be forced to the ground to get a good shot. 

 

"Would you just make a damn decision!" ​Vex complained loudly, as she swerved to the side to avoid a blight of arrows that had just been released from a group of archers below. "Hold your horses." Quillan replied, chuckling slightly at his own joke. But the truth was, his mind was already made up. He wanted to get back at those archers. "That doesn't make any sense." Vex stated. "Just do it." As they neared the ground, Quillan lept off of Vex, landing on the shoulders of a very surprised archer. With a quick slash to the head, the bowman went down with a strangled yelp.

 

Now alerted to his presence, the archers turned their bows to the now very immediate target. With just a split second to act, Quillan summoned a powerful gust of wind to erupt from him in a radial motion, causing the archers to stumble backwards and even fall over. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Quillan went to work with his tanto. A large number of the archers had been taken out before they even had a chance to regain their composure from the wind attack. As the few left got a hold of themselves, Quillan had already shot a 'stinger' through them.

 

Quillan whistled, calling Vex back to him and together they flew once again towards the siege weapons. "You're an idiot." Vex said, climbing higher into the sky. "Probably." Quillan apologized, realizing that he hadn't been thinking clearly when he attacked the group of archers. He had cost them precious time, and possibly lives. He had to get to work. Just as the thought raced through his mind, a boulder flew towards him. Purely on instinct, Quillan jumped upwards, high above Vex. The storm spirit was hit with the boulder, but being made out of a storm cloud the large rock passed harmlessly through her. Landing back on his steed, Quillan let out a sigh. "That was a close one." 

[Thar]

Beth looked at herself and the new color hoodie she was wearing, laughing at the predicament, "Well, looks like red's the new trend," After cleaning their scales off from the blood of the giant and several other grunts, Sykes and Vecks slithered back over to her, acknowledging her claim, "It looksssssss good on you," Sykes commented, "I agreeee," Vecks replied.

 

Awaiting new orders, Beth managed to find it; Leon's attention was towards the siege weapons that were hauling boulders overhead. It was an intimidating sight even for Beth. Our own boulders may be stopping them in midair, but what if one misses and lets one pass to crush wherever it lands? Beth analyzed the situation and played out all the worst situations, forming them into one goal, which was to take out the siege weapons altogether.

 

Quillan was hovering overhead and, at the corner of her eye, Beth could see him watching her, if only for a moment. Beth didn't need a straight-on look at Quillan's face to know what he was thinking, Gross. A girl drenched in blood? How is she not freaking out? A girl does not belong in the battlefield. She should be at home where it's safe. Beth giggled once again at Quillan's respectable albeit naive sensitivity to her, drawing her attention back to the siege weapons. Boulders kept flying, one of them almost hitting Quillan and flying through what seemed to be his Unit, which was a storm cloud.

 

"Alright, we need a plan," she said to herself, expecting Vecks and Sykes to hear her, "I am no berserker, so crushing them is not an option. Our only chance of stopping these weapons is if we can somehow dismantle them."

 

"They sssssssseem ssso tightly fasssssstened, though," Vecks said.

 

"I agree," Sykes followed up, "sssssiege weaponsss aren't sssimply put together like toysssss~"

 

"Well, if we can't take out the weapon, we can always take out the ones operating them." Beth smiled, heading towards the weapons as the two snakes on her shoulders bounced with each step she took. When she reached them, the grunts working the weapons all looked at her, slightly dazed. Beth giggled; she knew what they were thinking. This led the grunts to approach her with bare fists. At this moment, Sykes and Vecks were hiding in Beth's hood as the grunts were suddenly hesitant to approach her further, seeing that the color of her hoodie was blood instead of just red.

 

"Oh... what's the matter?" Beth wore a look of innocence, "It's a lot of blood... I hate blood. I don't think I wanna wear this..." Beth began to pull up her hoodie, making the grunts wide-eyed and ecstatic. Under the hoodie, Beth's black lengere and corset were revealed, drawing the grunts closer, "can one of you hold onto this for me? I don't wanna touch it..." One of the grunts held his hand out and Beth put the bloodied hoodie into it, acting like it was contaminated. At this point, Sykes and Vecks revealed themselves and stretched around the grunts, binding them together. Vecks held up his razor tail and, with several sweeps, slit their throats. The siege weapons were left unhandled and no more projectiles were being shot, but the weapons were still there.

 

"Well, that takes care of the operators. But what about the weapons? I guess I can leave that up to anyone that can crush things." With her lengere and corset showing, Beth looked up at Quillan and shouted, "Hey, you! The one with the storm spirit! Ya know anyone that can take out these weapons?"

[Ren✧]

Quillan watched Beth approach the siege weapons. The girl really was brave, which was both admirable and somewhat offsetting. A courageous woman was always tricky to handle. As she neared the grunts, Quillan was sure that the female Vanguard would release more of her vicious, if not somewhat sadistic, battle style on them, but instead she started to do something that was a complete surprise. She began to strip...and let's just say, that Quillan's altitude wasn't the only thing that was rising. 

 

The Wind Vanguard watched Beth, quite closely if I may add, as she seduced the multiple of enemies...and then proceeded to kill them within seconds. That escalated quickly. Quillan was both shocked, impressed, disgusted, and...turned on. Beth was quite the girl. "Would you quite oggling her?" Vex asked, obviously irritated by her master's preoccupied mindset. "You're just jealous that you don't have a great body like that." Quillan retorted, not taking his eyes off of the young girl. "I'm a horse made out of pure, chaotic energy..." Vex's statement left Quillan feeling slightly embarrassed.

 

"Hey, you! The one with the storm spirit! Ya know anyone that can take out these weapons?" It looked like Beth had caught him staring. Quillan thought about the question. He himself could probably crush the weapons, but having already used up a lot of energy, that would exhaust him. Leon could probably do it as well, but that guy was busy leading a charge somewhere, or inspiring a group of rebels to be an elite fighting force or something. That left Genzai. "Let me see!" Quillan shouted to her, racing off on Vex. 

 

It didn't take long to find Genzai. Quillan steered Vex over to him, stopping in the air a few feet away. "We need your help. Want to destroy some siege weapons? We'll give you a lift."

 

[Kyng's Old Account]

Leon glanced over to his companions as he was dealing with a number of the grunts, but eventually he managed to get a chance to group up with them, spotting the dreaded Siege weapon that was in the path. This was but one of the machines that was pelleting the Rainbow Bridge, but fortunately it was also the biggest one that was, well, formerly manned. A sharp glare at Vex as he began to fly off to recruit Quillan, Leon knew he could crush the weapon with a single spear, but by the Gods that spear was heavy beyond belief. Rather, he called over to Beth, indeed with a glint of lust in his eyes for the corset-clad girl, but with the feral tone of the war lion he was: "I'm going to give you cover; get down before you come down with the structure!"

 

This followed Leon ordering a number of soldiers to take out the other weapons. Their forces were pushing Ragnarok back, the barbaric faction unorganized. Hearing a number of horns blow he watched the siege weapons begin to get attacked by their allies. In the meanwhile, Leon proceeded with giving Beth the cover she needed to get down, while Quillan was hunting for Genzai. Kame, of all things, would be able to destroy even the toughest of structures.

 

Leon called for his Manticore to come back to his aid, the Jotunn no longer an issue to be dealt with. This said, Leon began to get back to work, melee with his spear and  unit as they gave Beth the clearing she'd need for a safe landing.

 

However, a large horn would be heard when this siege weapon was dealt with. This horn from Ragnarok, followed by a large throaty growl from the forest. This, accompanied by a huge morale boost for Ragnarok's forces which resulted in a strong push back, lead to a number of the wicked faction's champions to cry the name Ymir. This brought absolute dread to Leon's eye, and following it he would call for the Vanguards to group up.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

This was becoming a problem for Genzai now. While he was getting through the current army, he noticed the siege weapons. And before he could say anything or formulate a plan, Quillan interrupted his concentration. "No Quillan. Stick to the plan at hand...I have a way to work this to my advantage." he simply responded as he hopped off of Kame's shell. "Kame...you remember our training with the supposed bowling ball effect?"

 

"Of course Genzai-san! Wait...does that mean its time??" Kame asked with a smile.

 

Genzai nodded and sheathed his sword. "Kame, go on! I want you to use your shell to break that weapon to pieces!!" he said, watching Kame instantly retreat into his shell, as water poured out of it. Once it happened, he zoomed off down through his own custom path. "And now...this will help you all out in the long run. Return to your position Quillan and keep the attack going." Genzai said, as he saw Kame's hard shell making contact with the weapon...instantly demolishing it.

[Thar]

Beth heard the enormous clash in the area where the weapons were. Parts were flying everywhere, and that struck her fancy, making her gasp and shout "oohs" and "ahhs" like at a fireworks display. She was still vulnerable in her black lengere and corset, and began to get cold.

 

"Mistressssss" Sykes acknowledged her condition, "you want your ssssweater back?"

 

"Is the blood dried yet?"

 

"Not quite. Ssssstill a bit moisssssst"

 

"I'll wait a little longer. The cold should speed up the crusting process. By then, it should be manageable." Vecks grabbed the sweater from Syke's possession, wrapping around it and squeezing it as tight as he could. Blood oozed through the cracks in between rotations of his body, and he unraveled to reveal a slightly drier sweater.

 

"How'ssss thissssss?" Vecks snarled, making Sykes mock Vecks' tongue.

 

Beth chuckled so hard that her throat started hurting, "Oh, you guys." Beth then grabbed the sweater from Vecks and, to her surprise, it was pretty much dry enough to not soil her. She put it back on, feeling warmth return to her flesh. But now was not the time to feel comfort. A horn sounded in the distance, and Beth looked over to Leon for orders. To her shock, Leon wore a look of worry. This made Beth look at the new enemy lines pushing in and calling out the name of Ymir, "Ymir..." Beth said to herself as he put a knuckle to her chin, "Ymir... that name sounds familiar..."

 

"Ymir... the cow that sssservesss not milk, but poison."

 

"It'sssss not a cow. It'ssss a goat."

 

"It's both..." Beth gulped, shriveling at the thought of her being one of Ymir's "calves." Not a soul could be imagined drinking from that beast's utters and liking it. Beth understood Leon's expression completely, and went to join him, slicing the faces off of some units in the front line.

 

"Leon, why are they chanting Ymir's name? What role does it have in this war? What's their plan, do you know?"

[Kyng's Old Account]

Chapter 2 - Frost Giant's Fjord

The forces of Ragnarok were absolutely ecstatic. They ha every right to be, the hype was coursing through their veins, burning like magma against the skin, as they rushed down and pushed back, hard. The war's tide was turning, and all because of one, dastardly, dirty word: Ymir. The name of one of the mightiest entities in existence, a creature so terrible his might quashed that of a God.

Leon looked to Beth, registering her look of concern and sighing, scowling as he looked back over to the forces of Ragnarok. In the distance, there was a dense forest from where Ragnarok's forces seemed to spawn. Leon dreaded they were bringing Ymir from there, unless this was a bluff just to raise morale. With this in mind, he began to recall the words Athena spoke to them before the battle. That the army was only to stall, and that Set was getting to work resurrecting the Frost Giant from his slumber.

"Fall back! Fall back!!" Leon roared out, making his way backwards as he watched the once crumbling army begin to march at them again. "Vanguards, take flight back to Athena, back to Bilröst Keep!" Following this, Leon summoned his Griffon in Shar and awaited either Beth, Genzai, or the pair of them to join him, aware that Quillan might need to take one, or would not be able to take either of them, as well as the fact that the former two had no aerial mounts.

During the course of flying back, the Vanguards would get a witness of Ymir's might: a very large roar lead to a tremble in the earth, before a fissure drove deep into the ice, claiming some souls into the abyss.[hr]
Upon return to Bilröst, the Vanguards would have met and been briefed by Athena. She had informed them to take flight, with Freyja and her elite Valkyrie, whom would aid in the push, while the Vanguard in turn would make their move beyond the forest and into the Frost Giant Fjord. This was the resting place of Ymir, and they would be joined by a rally of Pegasi-mounted archers.

As such, the flight towards the Fjord was heart racing. Leon, admittedly, was mesmerized by Freyja's beauty yet again. Thankfully Shar was flying him, because he would've crashed due to the sheer amount of time he was just damn-right checking out the Vanir; this is beyond the point, as the march to the Fjord was on.

See, the reason they went into the Fjord so, arguably, "under-armed", was because Athena had informed them of an already operating, and very strong Vanguard, one whom had caught Leon's eye in Heliopolis a number of occasions: Thoth's Vanguard was already in the Fjord, fighting against Set's animals and resurrected dead, all slaving at working on the gate, alongside protection for the gate.

Leon would ultimately land and scan the Fjord. They were enclosed, a small enclosure, if you will, divided into two, split by the very sea, though the crevice was narrow and guaranteed death by how thin it became the further down it went. The Titan gate, unsurprisingly, was in the centre of it all, and shocking Leon was the fact that an entire hand was grasping out of the hole.

The objective was evident: stop the workers. As such, Leon began to eliminate ranged units whom guarded the workers on the gate. Leon barked out "Vanguards, attack the workers now! Stop them digging out Ymir!!"

[Hotaru987]

In the heat of battle was the tan skinned Vanguard, effortlessly dodging Set's minions as she and the other warriors there worked to prevent the workers from digging out Ymir. The warrior's platinum blond hair, contrasted nicely with her skin which was adorned with golden bands around her slim arms and neck. In her hands a Was was swung, the weapon of the Vanguard's patron God. Her body was a flourish of movement as she ducked, dodged and attacked in motions of such fluidity that it was sheer poetry. Finally given a moment of breathe she stood up straight, looking towards the sky as she noticed other Vanguards approaching. "Reinforcements I see..." The female mumbled, her voice unhindered by the mask she wore over her mouth. The other vanguards landed, and upon surveying the battle field one of them shouted for them to attack.

 

As if pulled back into action herself, Nailah expertly twirled her weapon before knocking back one of the guards then executing a spinning kick, causing him to fall into the crevice and ultimately to it's death. Not wasting any time she continued on her mission, aiming to make her patron proud and to restore the balance. Her staff moved in a blur in movement, as she worked to knock the enemy into the crevice in order to minimize the amount of energy she needed to expend. From behind her there was a scream. Turning, her eyes widened when one of the other warriors was about to be killed. With impressive speed she closed the distance, then rammed herself into the guard causing it to stumble, but not fall over. 

 

"N-nailah." The young girl mumbled, standing up, "Thank you."

 

Nailah nodded, not looking away from the angry guard, "Of course. Try to be careful from no on." Though it couldn't be seen Nailah smirked, "Alright big fella. Let's party."

 

[Thar]

Beth continued to skin the faces off attacking grunts. Admittedly, without the help of Sykes and Vecks, she would be overrun and possibly killed by such low-class soldiers whose sole purpose is to charge and take hits for the higher ranks, or in this case... the bigger beasts. Leon was prompted to retreat after hearing a deep roar from the beast Ymir whom waited in the depths of the frozen abyss. Looking back, Beth scoffed in confusion at Leon's plan, getting a good idea but not completely understanding the big picture. Regardless, Beth looked back to witness a major fissure sink into the ice where the roar was heard, giving her more of a reason to follow Leon to Bilröst Keep in sight of many people falling victim to it.

 

Beth had no mode of transportation to catch up with Leon's retreat, which gave her no choice but to throw Sykes towards the Griffon he was riding on and latch onto its claw. As Beth was dragged with the flying creature, which was hopefully not much of an issue, she landed in Bilröst where she met with Athena, whom briefed them of the next task and almost immediately set out back to get rid of the workers working to dig out Ymir from its resting place in the Frost Giant Fjord. The amount of time spend looking at the Fjord was tiring for Beth, which prompted her to dispatch from the hitched flight and approach the gate on foot. The task was pretty straight-forward; kill the workers digging out a big beast that is trapped in the ice. The fact that Ymir's hand was reaching out added more motivation to carry out the task if there was any less motivation in the first place. Beth just wanted to kill whoever was the enemy, but the bringing of a beast as threatening as Ymir made it much deeper than that.

 

"Vanguards, attack the workers now! Stop them digging out Ymir!!"

 

"If that much wasn't obvious enough..." Beth rolled her eyes and laughed through her throat. Sykes and Vecks joined her, but the laughing seized for the task at hand. Beth was already entering the Fjord, grappling her way onto the gates so that the ranged units guarding the digging did not have the advantage of height. The stationed units would see her strange presence and aim their weapons at her, only to have them grappled and disarmed by her whip and each snake on her shoulders. The units panicked, for they had no weapon, and dove right into the hole that Ymir reached out of, sacrificing themselves to the beast with no hesitation. More ranged units aimed to shoot from the other side, which made Beth duck for cover as she worked her way there to make things symmetrical. During her isolated running from cover to cover, she saw Leon had finally landed to make his attack, but she did not reveal her location and continued to carry out the stealth operation.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

After recalling Kame, Genzai went with Leon. This didn't exactly bode well for the Shinto Vanguard, but what other choice did they have. But upon their return, an audible roar echoed through the entire area. "W-What on earth was that?"

 

Back at  Bilrost

 

Athena informed them about their next plan of attack: the Fjord...they'd be meeting another Vanguard within the depths and to stop the force of Ragnarok from bringing Ymir back. An easy task...a sort of infiltration plan, not sure about the whole stealth thing, but these were Vanguards...they didn't need stealth until the situation called for it.

 

Present Moment

 

Once into the Fjord, he saw the workers...continuing to dig out Ymir. "Vanguards, attack the workers now! Stop them digging out Ymir!!" Those words from Leon sparked a smirk upon Genzai's face. "You lead, I will follow...Vanguard of Anhur!" he said as he unsheathed Mizu Kiba, and then held his left hand by his side: same as he did his right for Kame. "Heed my calling...by your might, become the lightning rod against our enemies strikes! Zeri!"

 

Like Kame, another puddle appeared as his left fist glowed a blue aura. Emerging from the puddle: Zeri appeared.

 

So...now I'm worth your time summoning? Zeri asked, his tentacles swirling around.

 

"Please, save your bickering for later. Time for our combination..." Genzai said, as he rushed towards the workers, with Zeri right behind. He smirked and thrusted his blade forward, while Zeri did the same with his tentacles.

 

"Ryujin Kenub! 2nd Form! Ame no Danmaku!"

Shocking Venom!

 

At once from both, a barrage of rain senbon struck the workers. However, unlike his previous use of this technique, this one made the workers seem...incapacitated. "Leon! That technique has made half of the workers unable to move for a short period of time. Zeri's venom won't last long..." Genzai said, calling to the Vanguard group leader.