PHASE 63 - A CHAOTIC REUNION AND SHERLOCK RIKKUN!

It took three days until Saturday came, wherein we scheduled a conference to the new Aether Crusade. Just like the previous timelines, we had a room from the Kozukata Shrine as our meeting place. Everybody is present and the investigation team couldn’t be any more complete except for our poor adorable homunculus Key and the putrid swordsman Heushac. I wish I could do something to bring them back.

Everyone in the Aether Crusade is pretty much the same. Kristoff is still that playboy father, and Naomi is there to suppress her husband. Helena is also here on her kendo uniform, and she seemed to be equipped with a metallic right-handed gauntlet. Drex is the same spiky punk star as before with an electric guitar. Benedict is still that long black-haired emo guy who is seated in the corner. Emily is still that thirsty maid who wants to grab Rikkun’s attention. Eliseo is the same feminine guy who would immediately be mistaken as a beauty queen. And Diadem… My lovely twin brother is also here, alive and energetic.

In fact, my twin brother is too energetic that he’s already picking a fight with my boyfriend. He is seated between me and Rikkun, which makes it impossible for us lovers to secretly flirt with each other.

“Hey, I still don’t approve of you as my sister’s boyfriend, you bastard!” Diadem growled like a thug, pushing his face to Rikkun. “I’ve heard stories about Alaric the Arrogant, the Breaker of girl’s hearts, and the King of Rejections, and the first of your name! There’s no way you’re going to be my brother-in-law!”

“Ohoho, you’re picking a fight with me, eh?” Rikkun made a smug. “What if we have a bet? Let’s have a duel, with your sister’s heart at play.”

“Fine! Let’s do this outside then!” Diadem shouted as he rolled his sleeves and stood up. “I’ll demonstrate to you the true power of the Egyptian God of the Sun, Ra-Gwahack!!!”

“You’re going to regret challenging Aeterno-Gyahack!!!” Rikkun cried.

The reason why there’s “Gwahack!” and “Gyahack!” on their sentences is because I just punched their noses. I’m irritated that these men are fighting for me as if I’m an object.

“Settle down a bit, will you two! The meeting is already starting!” I cried to the most important persons in my life. “Geez!”

“Y-Yes ma’am….” Diadem and Rikkun affirmed with a bow.

“Ahahaha! I see that this group is livelier than I expected. I’m sure I’ll be entertained in working with such a lively group.” Helena said like a carefree big sister.

“Yeah, this rocks!” Drex strummed his electric guitar.

“How troublesome. What a drag...” The emo Benedict muttered as he succumbed in his own depressing world.

“Oh, don’t you think that the blonde guy and that black-haired guy on the front looks handsome?” Eliseo whispered to the maid Emily. “I think I’m attracted to that Diadem guy… He looks a little bit feminine with his long black hair but he has enough muscles to carry me to bed~”

At that moment, Diadem’s skin hairs stood up as chills went on his veins. He must have heard the whispers on the backseat and now he’s scared to turn to his back.

“I think I have a huge crush on that tall blonde guy. He is dubbed Alaric the Arrogant Bastard who takes pleasure in breaking the hearts of the girls.” Emily held her blushing adorable face. “Ah! I want that prince to verbally abuse me~”

It was Rikkun’s turn to get shivers on his spine. He’s shaking as if he just saw a chaotic Goddess of Death who would be masochistic enough to be mentally rejected over and over again.

At the very back of the conference room is Kristoff and Naomi. Kristoff had his eyes venturing forth to look at the girls in this room like a CCTV camera, completely ignoring his wife who is cooking her temper like a pressure cooker.

“Damn! There are too many beautiful girls here! Tiara is the most beautiful of them all, followed by Emily the cute maid and Helena the tomboyish keno master. I think Eliseo is beautiful too but my radar says that she is something else.”

“Grrrrr…”

“Oh! Jeannette is here! I heard that she’s the leader of this investigation team, that’s why I joined! And she’s adorable as always~”

“Grrrr…”

Mister Kristoff should have bought a dog muzzle for his wife. I think Naomi will bite him anytime soon.

<>

Finally, our leader, Jeannette Amiella Fontaine von Noctis (or Jecchan for short) took a step on the podium and tested the mic. The painful screeching of the sound system made us cover our ears for a second, and it also managed to silence the room from the ruckus of each and individual members.

Before Jecchan would start, she gazed upon the edge of the room and located Kristoff. She adorably waved her hand at the married playboy, and Kristoff happily returned the gesture. That is the reason why Naomi is getting boiled down to the core like a nuclear reactor ready to explode.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome, Aether Crusade members. I made this grand assembly for us to know each other more. My name is Jeannette Amiella Fontaine von Noctis, the founder, and leader of this group. As the invitation letter stated, we are here to brainstorm about the proper course of action to catch the rogue Cursed Guardian, Leon Frembell. He also possesses the God Core of Chronos, who is the god of time.”

Everybody stayed silent on their seats. They all nodded, affirming what the invitation letter and Jecchan said.

“However, I summoned you all here for a different reason. The true reason why I held this conference is to catch a bigger fish. Mainly... Necross Hades.”

The moment Jecchan dropped the name, each and every person in this room murmured in confusion. They do not know what to react as they have no idea what Jecchan is talking about at all.

I looked at Rikkun, and Rikkun looked at me. We both nodded at each other. Diadem saw this wordless gesture, so he blocked Rikkun with his angry face. It’s funny but this is not a time for their comedic quarrel.

Our battle is starting now.

“Mister Alaric Eisenhower, please step in front,” Jecchan said.

“Yes!” Rikkun stood up as he marched forward to the podium. While walking, he slowly muttered to himself the word “” and his right hand was covered with the cybernetic glove of the Aether Armor. By partially activating the he will be capable of using a God Fragment or two. For the last time, he whispered again a divine spell exclusive for Aeternos: “.”

I looked at my most trusted twin brother Diadem with seriousness. “Diadem, once Rikkun says the true name of Necross Hades, use your God Core to transform into Lord Ra and deliver all other people out of here.”

“But Sis Tiara… Why?” Diadem asked.

“Just trust your bigger twin sister, okay~” I smiled.

That smile was an assurance that everything will be okay. Diadem is not an idiot like me, so he must be capable of picking things up fast. With a nod as an answer, he finally submitted himself to save the bystanders nearby.

<>

It was Rikkun now who has the mic. With the help of a fragment of Athena’s intelligence, his thinking would be at least ten times as logical and as fast as a supercomputer. He can now analyze finite probabilities to single out each and every one of us. His emerald eyes are scanning the people one by one, completely analyzing information with skepticism.

“I know that this will be confusing for you, but during the past timeline, the world ended. It is all due to the Necross Ascension that Hades made.” Rikkun said. “This Hades is a sly bastard who planned things behind our back. But now that I have singled out each one of you, I am confident to say that one of the Aether Crusade members… is a traitor that will destroy the world.”

Everybody is panicking, as they really don’t know what’s going on. Most of them are on high alert, ready to shift to the battle mode in case everything goes south.

Jecchan is gripping her fingerless gloves, ready to materialize her Weapon Gem. Diadem is also holding his heart, ready to ascend into the Egyptian Sun God. I also clenched my fist, focusing my energy to activate my newly unlocked power.

All that’s left is Rikkun’s proclamation to say the name of the traitor, and the deciding battle will start.

“The traitor… the one who is plotting behind our backs… and the one who we call Necross Hades… is you.”

Rikkun’s cybernetic hand reached out, and his index finger pointed out a certain someone that is truly a member of the Aether Crusade.