The bolt of lightning parts the clouds and slashes towards the landing area accompanied by the peal of thunder. I reflexively close my eyes and brace for the frying to come, but surprisingly enough, nothing happens. Cautiously cracking my eyes back open, I take a quick look about and quickly realize that the attack had against the odds, missed. Instead of striking the landing area itself, the lightning bolt had blasted through one of the pylons supporting the structure itself, leaving a wound that bleeds melted steel.

"Naiberg, Bobby, whatever your name is." I smirk at the head, "Might want to get your eyes checked."

The head scowls in annoyance as it arm-legs begin to shift, bulking up with oversized muscles. I stuff the codex into an empty pouch on the bandoleer and waive towards the approaching formation of construction drones cruising through the night sky. There's no need for me to dirty my hands when The Voice can finish the fight with its spawned scissor wolves. Right on cue, the doors of the container burst open once again and a fresh pack of combat drones surge outwards and surround the head, snapping their scissors menacingly.

The head snarls in barely suppressed rage and begins to pound the landing area rhythmically with its roided out arm-legs. The platform shakes from the impact and suddenly tilts to one side as the damaged pylon completely gives way. As the once flat surface of the landing area abruptly transforms into a steep incline, the containers begin sliding downwards, eventually tipping over the edge of the platform, plummeting towards the streets below.

The scissor wolves, unable to retain their footing on the tilting platform, begin to slide away from the head, all the while desperately scraping their legs against the platform in an effort to gain some traction. I force myself flat on to the platform and send power into my fingers, allowing me to tear a pair of makeshift handholds out of the tilting surface. My eyes take in the sheer, more than fifty story drop that beckons should I loose my grip.

"Hurry up. Hurry up." I urge The Voice, "I don't want to go splat on the streets below."

"I am on my way." The Voice reassures and I hear the engines of the construction drones approaching rapidly. I grit my teeth and hang on for dear life.

"Sky's Judgment!" the head screams again and a wave of spiritual pressure is fired into the stratosphere. Yet another bolt of lightning called down and this time it tears through the approaching drone formation, causing several of the drones to explode in flames. The Voice immediately breaks off its approach towards the platform and scatters the remaining drones to keep them safe from further attack.

The burning construction drones careen out of control and slam into the already damaged platform with the force of meteorites. The remaining pylon can't withstand the strain and the platform drops again, this time at nearly a right angle from its original position. The scissor wolves are thrown off by this sudden shift and the entire pack takes the plunge en masse. The head desperately wraps its arm-legs around the safety railing and dangles from there, chortling mean spiritedly to itself.

My arms burn with the effort of holding on to the now vertical platform and as the momentum of the drop slams me repeatedly against the platform's surface. Sweat, born from the mixture of fatigue and desperation begins to get into my eyes.

"I have lost several of the construction drones and the Tower's superstructure will not be able to hold the landing area for much longer." The Voice helpfully informs.

"No shit." I snap, spitting out a mouthful of snow in the process, "Can you extract me from the top of the Tower?"

"Yes." The Voice rasps, "Make haste or all will be lost, Transmigrator."

I flare the artificial core and begin clawing my way upwards, my fingers easily sinking into the surface of the platform. As the landing area wobbles worryingly, I make my way towards the wall of the Tower itself and secure my footing against a window ledge. The snowstorm presses oppressively against me as I get my bearings and take the opportunity to take a calming breath. The powers The Voice supplied me with may be taking care of strength and coordination, but nerves are a separate matter entirely.

The head is battered against the railing as the strong winds lash at it relentlessly. Every time the head shifts its grip in an attempt to pursue me, the wind very nearly sends it flying off into the distance. Pinned down by the elements, all it can do is glare at me hatefully.

"You're not the only one who entered into a pact Mr Gallant!" the head roars, "Now witness me fully unleashed!"

The head's jaw dislocates as its mouth yawns open. From the darkness of its non-existent throat, a pair of eyes blink, shining with awareness and purpose. The head makes a gargling sound as it bends backwards and the head of a giant rainbow snake begins to slide out from its mouth. As the body of the rainbow snake continues to emerge, the head begins to shrivel up, losing all its moisture. The snake slithers towards the wall of the Tower and begins to coil its considerable girth around it, the head, now laughably small compared to the snake itself, sloughs away, like the discarded skin of a molting serpent.

The rainbow snake wends its way towards me, with a sibilant hiss, "Come now, Mr Gallant. Discard that useless bag of flesh and face me as your real self. Or do you think your strength is sufficient without assuming your true form?"

Damn. I suppose I do have a true form, but its far less awesome than what Naiberg-Bobby probably assumes it to be. I begin to scale the Tower as quick as I can, trying to escape the beckoning maw of the rainbow snake.

As both of us begin our climb upwards towards the pinnacle, the entire Tower shakes and a massive wave of pressure washes over everything, leaving Naiberg-Bobby and myself gasping for breath. The sound of commotion drifts up from below and I see ORPO retreating in chaos from the Tower.

"The Hero has escaped and is engaging the Judecca Militia and Host forces." The Voice rumbles, "He will stop at nothing to secure Heroine Majima's safety, collateral damage be damned."

I get the message. I need to escape before I become part of the Hero's kill count. Picking up the pace, I continue to climb the Tower, with the rainbow snake hot in pursuit. The Tower shakes again and part of the wall below us suddenly blows out, sending the body of a militiaman flying into the distance, a black spirit sword squarely impaled in his chest.

"If you will not yield your heart and soul to me," the rainbow snake hisses, "then I will settle for just your body!"

With a sudden burst of speed, the snake surges forward, its jaw opening to swallow me whole. I pull myself upwards in an explosive burst of force, sending chunks of concrete spiraling downwards, but the snake is still too fast. A wet warmth begins to envelope my lower body as the snake's jaws clamp down and begin to pull. My hands dig into a ledge like a vice and Naiberg-Bobby growls with frustration as he attempts to suck me down his gullet.

"A little help here?" I request, hoping The Voice has a trick up its figurative sleeve.

A ripping noise erupts from the snake's mouth as my trousers tear away from my legs. Taken by surprise at the lump of cloth falling down its throat, the snake momentarily loosens its grip, allowing me to slip my legs out of its mouth and continue scrambling up the Tower's wall. The cold wind lashes my naked legs while the shin gunto's scabbard, still left hanging from the belt around my waist, slaps against my bare thighs. I curse inwardly about what a shitty god The Voice is. Divine intervention involves losing my pants. Best god ever. Five star rating.

Another wave of pressure hits and this time the rainbow snake snarls in pain as several black spirit sword blast through the wall, piercing through its scales. The Hero is clearing the floors one by one, working his way upwards. Leaving me just barely ahead of him. As Naiberg-Bobby flares its core to purge the Hero's miasma, I climb the final stretch to the Tower's pinnacle, a flat roof with several antennas installed all over it.

As I clamber over the ledge and throw myself in between the antennas, I cast my eyes upwards to the sky and see a construction drone zooming towards me from the distance. From below, the enraged hissing of the rainbow snake draws closer as well. At this rate, Naiberg-Bobby will surely reach me before the drone does. I unsheathe the shin gunto in readiness for one final exchange between us.

"Give me Salvation!" the snake thunders as its head crests the roof's ledge.

With a single smooth motion, the snake lunges forward, leveling the forest of antennas in its quest to devour me. As the snake's jaws charge towards me, I draw the revolver from its holster and empty the cylinder straight into Naiberg-Bobby's face. Most of the shots are deflected by the snake's scales, but two rounds smack into the sensitive inner lining of its mouth, causing blood to flow and leaving Naiberg-Bobby thrashing on the ground in pain.

Raising the sword high, I plunge it down vertically through the snake's body with all my might, piercing through its scales. As Naiberg-Bobby shudders from the agony, I bring my fist down in a hammer blow against the sword's hilt, driving the blade further in and nailing the snake securely to the roof. The entire Tower shudders again as the familiar wave of pressure hits both if us again.

Its the Hero. And he's almost caught up with us.

The drone dives towards me and I grab on to its outstretched limbs, allowing myself to be carried away just as cracks begin to appear throughout the roof. Like an erupting volcano, miasma bursts outwards from the collapsing roof, enveloping the snake entirely. Multiple black spirit swords pierce Naiberg-Bobby's body as he plummets into the billowing depths of the Tower, his spirit core dimming as the Hero's power overwhelms him utterly. The drone flies me away from the carnage, towards the horizon where dawn is just starting to break.

"Well done." The Voice congratulates, "Mission accomplished."