The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #9 a LitRPG (ATS) Page 9

“Are we really going to put that to use and ignore the Supreme’s orders?” Axem said. “Sir, that code can be interpreted as treachery. And you know she’ll rebuild the entire inquisition without a second thought. Look. He’s still breathing, so calm yourself, Commander.”

  Yahiko nodded. He wasn’t given this power to make hasty decisions that could get his own brothers executed by the empress herself. This…The fairy queen knew, didn’t she?

  But to insult the inquisition in such a manner and for no reason. The inquisitor leader could not let this go unpunished. Still, wiping out the Fairy Kingdom is not something the Supreme would approve. He was only given this position a year ago, after their previous commander vanished without a trace. A logical choice: select the one in charge of training the force to succeed.

  The inquisition did ruthless searches without the Supreme’s authority to keep fear stuck into all who knew of them. If they didn’t, the world wouldn’t take the brothers seriously.

  “Fine,” Yahiko said, “the mission continues, but with an additional objective.” He turned to his gathering men, dressed in white cloaks, black Tang suits beneath them. “Kill Titania. She has foolishly brought down the wrath of our inquisition. We will teach those who believe themselves to be our equals, not to fuck with us.”

  They cheered. “Axem, lead this charge. As the commander, it is my place to observe and keep an eye out for the heavens or adventurers who get too big in their heads.”

  Episode 47 (Part 1): The Son of War.

  Clyde’s house…

  “EVERYONE GET UP!” Clyde shouted. He banged on their doors. “We’re in some serious shit! The heart core is not enough. Hurry, get dressed, emergency meeting! You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

  A flurry of motion and noise, as well as curses, let the young man know most were awake. He dialed Toru’s number. Fortunately, the brown-haired noble was an early riser and answered.

  “Get dressed. Wake up your gothic loli assistant too. We’re in some serious trouble. I’ll be Jumping there in a few minutes to bring you here.”

  “Got it,” Toru said.

  Yuki met Clyde in the hall.

  “I’ve taken the liberty to shake that silly girl awake.”

  Damn. Clyde was actually looking forward to messing with Alice, if anything just to take his mind off the upcoming disaster. Still, Yuki saved him from one of the hardest tasks of the morning.

  “Thanks,” he said. “For breakfast, we’ll just go with the box of granola bars.” Yuki pouted. He chuckled, kissing the demoness. She looked as if she wanted more, holding back due to the graveness of the situation.

  After making the final call to Yusuke, urging him to bring Undine, Clyde Jumped to Toru’s. He felt the surge of magic and bitter emotion through his mystic senses. So much and way beyond his capabilities. For the first time in a while, the young man felt very unsure. The heart core combined with Chika’s passive skill may not be enough.

  His mind flashed back to the departure with Titania.

  “Go rally up your friends,” Titania said. “You must decide to run or foolishly fight. The heart core you obtained is an impressive relic—nearly impossible to find. You plan to combine it with Kanako’s power. However, genie magic does not work on them, Stone. They can erase it with just a thought. I can also tell you’re having trouble reaching your Full power, so please, I urge you to think this through. The literal fate of our dimension rests on you. The inquisitors will know if Tear departed and will pursue, but at least your beloved city will not get destroyed. I think.”

  “What do you mean, you think?” Clyde said.

  “The inquisitors are not the most predictable lot,” Titania said. “They are efficient, highly skilled and trained, deadly. Not even deities, S-ranked adventurers, or even the best of my fairy warriors like to tangle with them. You caught that inquisitor scout off guard with the heart core. The others will know to fight in a way to account for the loss of power. Halved doesn’t mean much when they out-level you considerably.” Titania placed a hand on his shoulder. “I can only buy you just a little time. Thirty minutes at most and if I’m lucky. Do not make me regret doing this.”

  “Titania, that’s not—”

  The fairy queen vanished. Clyde spouted a stream of curses as he lurched into motion.

  After he gathered all of Team Stone in the meeting room, the young man explained the situation. The silence received after he finished made him nervous. He led to team into life-risking fights many times, but something about this…

  That’s when he remembered who he was fighting for. He had two decisions to make: defend the city or abandon it.

  “I will flee,” Tear said. “If I go—”

  “I’m afraid Jumping isn’t an option and you know this, Tear,” Clyde said. “We can go by vehicle, but it wouldn’t do us any good, pursued by supernatural entities. And I won’t have you surrendering yourself.”

  “That’s right,” Toru said. “Team Stone protects theirs.”

  Everyone voiced their agreements simultaneously. Tear sighed.

  “You’re all aware of the terrible power of the inquisition and still wish to face them,” Tear said then shook her head. “We went through the trouble of getting that heart core, even faced a lich. Even if it’s not enough, you’re still willing to stand up to an entire legion of inquisition.” Tear stood. “I cannot allow this.”

  “Tear—”

  “Listen to me,” Tear said, interrupting Clyde. “The real inquisition are ruthless and powerful enough to make even deities think twice. I’m not sure why Titania is…she’s…I cannot allow you to die. I will go.”

  “She’s what?”

  They turned to see Ashard standing at the doorway of the boardroom, eyes of ice. “Where is she?”

  “At the edge of the city, where the inquisition is approaching from,” Clyde said. “It’s—”

  Ashard vanished, causing the young man to curse. “Great. Just fucking great. The fairy queen and prince will be in the path of those inquisition bastards.”

  “Why is she doing this?” Tear asked.

  “Turns out our fairy queen is a big believer in the Stone,” Clyde said. “And yet…asking me to run? To leave the city to perish…”

  “This is why I should redirect the inquisition’s attention,” Tear said.

  “Remember when I said Jumping wasn’t possible,” Clyde said. “I wasn’t kidding. From afar, they’ve already blocked any hopes of escaping. Test the magic. We could take you and get the hell out by foot, but leaving the city to its doom…” His voice trailed off to let the sentence hang.

  Tear stood then walked over to a window, staring out into the world.

  “Truth be told…you’re all that I have,” she said softly. “Years ago, I cut ties with my mother and even the tiny parts of my family that I did talk to. Not that demons cared much about each other’s interests. We’re cold and heartless as a whole. So please…reconsider throwing your lives away like this.”

  A suspicious twinkle of light made Clyde walk over, pulling the succubus into an embrace. Natalia was just a second into rising, but she stayed in place, staring down at the table.

  Tear, a powerful succubus of noble blood, never shown these emotions. Her hot tears fell for only a short time, but they revealed a side of the woman that Clyde and most of Team Stone didn’t think was possible.

  The team sat in silence, the heavy vibe of sorrow hanging in the air. The prompt made things worse.

  [-Territory- Alert! Level: * SUPER EXTREME * The Supreme Demon Lord’s inquisition has arrived to your territory.]

  [Heart core activated. All attack, magic and non-magic, defenses and other stats are halved.]

  [System advice: it is strongly recommended not to engage them at your level. Their target is Tear. The Supreme has summoned her to begin training, which will lead to succession.]

  Clyde took a Super MP Potion from his inventory and downed it, topping off his recovery.

  “They’re here,”
he said softly. “I won’t be letting them take Tear.”

  Alice giggled.

  “He did take on Amaterasu by himself.”

  “That’s right,” Seth said. “I couldn’t even read her power level, yet you sure could for that scout.”

  “I…may not be able to easily access the power,” Clyde said. Everyone nearly fell backward.

  Kitome grabbed Clyde by the collar.

  “Then how do you expect for us to stand a chance?” she snapped.

  “We can’t fight them directly,” Clyde said, “but we’ll drive them off with tactics and guerilla warfare. Use skills that have the highest chance of inflicting status alignments. Since all of their power will be chopped in half, we have a fighting chance.”

  “Against one hundred inquisitors, Clyde,” Tear said.

  He smiled at her.

  “Have faith. I said you’re not going back, so you won’t.”

  She kissed him. The others didn’t react, already used to the physical affection.

  “What’s my job?” Tear asked.

  “Direct protection by your knight in shining ar—” he stopped at the glares of Alice, Harumi, Kitome, even Ruri. Chika simply looked indifferent.

  “Chika, you’re teaming up with me. It’s thanks to you that I was able to take out the scout.”

  “I’m still impressed,” Tear said. “A scout’s power level is usually five hundred or more.”

  Chika got up and walked over to the young man’s side.

  “What’s my job, sir?” She saluted.

  “We’ll get to that,” Clyde said, “but, let me ask you this. How far are you from level one hundred?” She whispered her level in the young man’s ear. “Nice! Kitome, I want you to activate your plains of silence spell in the midst of them. Everyone else, focus heavily on status alignments. Get them asleep, paralyzed, harsh blights, whatever.”

  “I’ll call Sahara to come over and give us a power boost,” Kitome said.

  Clyde activated all of his buffs. The rest of Team Stone did the same. All seemed as if it would somehow workout. Until…

  [Talent, Main character stuff: Future Analyze.]

  Inquisitor Commander Yahiko

  Level: * ??? * [Future Analyze has revealed the level: 1500 .]

  Type: Arch Demon

  Work under: *Supreme Demon Lord.

  Special: Void tier skill: Soul Dying Light. [Warning! This attack will destroy the entire city! Survivors will be petrified.]

  Weakness: Purity x 2. Holy x2. Light. Deity x2.

  Resistances: dark and all of its attributes (complete resistance). Fire, Earth, Purity, Holy, Light, Angel.

  Secret: Venus almost killed him once by throwing him into the realm of light. He was foolish to challenge her, but due to surviving the element, he’d also gained a resistance to light and some of its attributes.

  [Critical Warning: this fight is not possible to win .]

  [System has blocked: Hidden tier skill Foresight. Calculating… Intense stress possible from seeing a grim future.]

  Fifteen hundred. Clyde had deep hopes that one thousand would be the level cap, but there was none. Fifteen hundred… He sat down, eyes on the floor. His team looked to him. The system gave him a warning that not even the biggest of idiots could ignore. A critical warning, a foresight that would’ve no doubt shown the future of his team’s deaths…

  He clenched his fists together as the reality of the situation slammed hard on him. Team Stone’s leader was just about to lead them to their deaths, again.

  Tear…after filling his fiancé with so much courage. The guerrilla warfare plan…was a doomed failure. Not due to the idea, but simply because the commander had a cheat skill. Grim future. Lot City’s last breath.

  Clyde thought about the words Natalia told him, which enabled yet another increase to Stone Mode.

  Special training. The Watchers wanted to make him wait for a week just to see if Natalia could become his trainer.

  Clyde’s friends were on the line…His Tear. His life mate’s dearest cousin. Millions of lives, taken away at the whim of a supernatural asshole.

  His friends…fated to die again, led by him. The man that they trusted. What kind of fucked up shit was this? Who do these people think they are, subjecting him to this?

  Clyde…was at a realistic lost. The harsh, bitter sting of reality that seemed to flip him off at every corner.

  [Your prophet’s plea to Venus was successful.]

  [Your dangerous relationship with Venus has increased to Absolute Wanting x2, Unrequited Love.]

  Suddenly, Clyde heard a voice that filled him from the inside out—a pleasurable tone that felt almost like a succubus’s seductive advance. Perhaps evens stronger. He focused to keep from losing himself into it.

  She spoked through Ming. One could tell from the glazed over eyes and obvious holy aura surrounding her.

  “Do you have any idea how hard I worked, how many bribes I paid to get them to even look at your good deeds. I can’t believe I have to tell you, my love—this is breaking… certainly breaking the rules. Ah well, who cares. Stand and skip the melodramatic phase. We’ve got a future night rumble that you’ll never forget. Now, pull your power from the very one you’re trying to protect. Pull it from Tear. That girl has a scary amount of hidden power, I tell you. Hmm, come to think of it, she could probably kill me. Ah, she’ll be a fun sister. You owe me one, Love. Oh and one more thing. Ming isn’t my follower, but she has like maybe one percent of my bloodline. A cousin. Thank you for treating her well. Tessa too. She’s such an innocent virgin girl. My Chosen.”

  The voice faded out of existence. Ming started to collapse, but Matsume caught her in time.

  Clyde wasted no time and focused on Tear. At first, nothing happened, but then something started to guide a massive amount of magic and…something else…toward him in heaps. Venus’s doing for sure.

  The young man trembled. Tear did too, falling into him. He pulled her into an embrace then sat the woman into a chair. The changes to Clyde happened suddenly.

  Eyes glowing purple, black bat-like wings burst from his back, startling his team. His muscles grew an entire size. A red haze flickered in and out of the young man’s vision.

  The haze turned out to be an afterglow of his aura. An aura made of fire.

  [System crashed…]

  [System changed…]

  [*War Stone Mode *]

  [War Stone Mode is utilizing the hidden MP of your friends. When it runs out, you will be forcibly shifted back to your base state. It will be called FM.]

  [Venus has broken the law, given you access to a forbidden Mode.]

  [Your intellect of 342 is compatible with this passive skill…]

  [You have learned passive skill, *Ancestral Spirit Lineage . Type: Omni-spiritual . Class: *Legendary. While in War Stone Mode, the knowledge and experiences of many generations of legendary warriors from across the multiverses will be synced with you as your own.]

  [This passive is also a Ki skill and will slowly consume your overall Ki. It will continue to work even at 0% Ki; however, keep this in mind for the future.]

  [FM: 500%] [Ki: 100%]

  Clyde tuned out the worried concerns of his friends as he calculated three trillion ways to take out each inquisitor. He grinned, revealing two fangs.

  “ I can smell the aroma of battle ,” he said in a demonic voice then chuckled. “Those two are fools, but fools filled with heart. I like it. Now it’s my turn to become a fool .”

  [Extreme Alert! The forbidden System could destroy you! Remember Mortem’s—]

  As Clyde Jumped, he told the system, “As if I give a damn about Mortem or his advice .”

  [After your special training, you will gain access to War Stone Mode upon reaching level 125. It will only work by drawing on Tear’s magic. You MUST make the special training a priority.]

  Episode 47 (Part 2)

  Clyde’s house…

  “Thank you, my husband…for protecting me...�
� words of hope from the heart…

  Tears of the succubus… The look of hope… A worried expression…The words of submission… Time spent together, the first meeting, the battles fought together against incredibly strong opponents. The true, from the heart smiles—symbolizing her love for having Team Stone as her family. To have all of that ripped away…

  When Clyde took on a new form, Tear felt him connect to her heart and soul. The intensity of seeing his past, his earth form, overwhelmed her to the point of collapsing. Yet…her cousin dreamed this on a weekly basis due to a bond that no one could understand. Her cousin told no one, not even Clyde about this. And as she knew him more, her love increased.

  Tear experienced it and found this other life fascinating. Signs of his powers were from the man’s knowledge and athleticism. Everything else seemed sealed, enabling Clyde a normal existence among the civilians of a world called Earth. Why did that match the name of the element, Earth? Tear would ponder on that later.

  She needed to process what just happened. Using her magic as a vessel, someone or something helped Clyde achieve a form that took on demonic features rather than angelic. War Stone Mode also known as War Mode or Stone of War. He…really changed himself into some kind of deity of war just to protect her.

  Tear felt incredibly moved to the point of…tears falling from her face. Emotions she didn’t think still existed within her. Emotions that were supposed to have been beaten out of her many years ago. Alice placed a hand on the succubus’s shoulders.

  “You know, don’t you?”

  Tear nodded. There was one more vision in Clyde’s past, a tragedy that not even he remembered, but it remained buried in his subconscious. Tears poured from the succubus eyes as the dreadful details flooded back to her. His blood family…She shook away the thoughts. What right did the woman have to invade?