Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Forty-five

The living armor was proving to be more of a pain in the ass than Copper had believed it would be. He found the thing constantly evading his attacks, and then in return it attempted to attack him where he seemed to be weakest. The place where he’d severed its arm was now a mess of tentacles. Each of them seemed to be able to become as hard as steel for a few moments, but the armor on Avarice was thick enough that he didn’t have to worry.

He watched the way it moved, the way it dodged, and he realized that while it was avoiding him it was getting braver. He gave the indication that he was going to back off, and the living armor charged him. When it did he slammed the axe hard down on its head. The helmet split into, the bulbous mess of tentacled flesh under it fell in two different directions, and it unleashed an inhuman scream. When it did he shoved the fist of Avarice into the cavity left where the head had been. He moved the arm carefully, taking time to feel, and then he wrapped the hand around the one thing that was different.

He pulled back, ripping it from the rest of the armor, and he backed off. Instead of falling the armor began to act more feral. He realized then that he had truly messed up. He hadn’t disabled it by removing the pilot, but instead he had given it free reign to simply act as it wished. The armor began to attack everything around it, and he was now down a hand. He couldn’t risk attempting to put the pilot down, and he couldn’t risk getting hit again. He felt his anger spike at the living armor, at the enemy that had met them here, and of course of this tyrant lich that lead them.

He held the axe in the other hand, and when it came near again he slammed it deep into the chest. Causing the living armor to squeal in pain. He didn’t relent, but instead he pushed the axe further into its chest. He pushed until he felt the resistance from the other side of the armor. At that moment he pulled back and then slammed it back home again. The action caused the axe to come through the back side of the armor. He’d hoped to see the armor simply go limp. Some small part of him was hoping for a miracle, but there wasn’t one to be had.

Instead the armor moved its still armored arm around, and grasped the handle of the axe. Realizing that it wouldn’t be going down as quickly as he hoped Copper took another moment to study it. It had to be dealt with, but at this point he wasn't sure how to do it. It would take blasting it apart. The realization hit him. Blasting it apart. It was a long shot, a very long shot, but he hoped that it was still possible, “Artemis, are there any explosive rounds or anything left in Avarice?”

It was quiet for a moment, “There is. The explosives are actually grenades that I designed for Avarice to use. In truth you could more think of them as exceptionally large bombs that can hurled at incredible speeds.”

He breathed out a sigh of relief, “Release one into my free hand,” he said as he dropped the handle of the axe. The moment he did a grenade moved into that hand. There was a single button on top, and he understood what had to be done. He pressed the button, and without warming he moved in close again. The arm went into the cavity where the head had been. He pulled back, knowing that it was going to explode, and in a few moments it did just that. The explosion actually knocked him back, almost causing him to drop the pilot he was holding. Still he managed to somehow stay in the air. With the living armor gone, all that was left was the air ships.

As Avarice floated there he noticed that the airships themselves looked to be more advanced than the ones from the Kingdom. That wasn’t to say that they were more advanced than Artemis, far from it, but instead they were merely a couple of steps ahead when it came to the technology the Kingdom used. The best way he could think of it was seeing a modern magi-gun beside a much older one. Both could do the job, but the more modern one could fire faster, had better recoil, and tended to be just as accurate as its older counterpart.

Still, as he looked at the ships, he saw the form of the lich take shape between the ships again, “Tell me, brave knight,” he said looking at Avarice, “What holds your heart to the kingdom? Is it the promises of riches, or is it something else? Ah, no I already know. It is something else. There are those you care about. What happens when they are removed from the equation? What happens to your drive, your bravery, your very sense of self when the ones you fight for are simply gone?”

Copper breathed in, he felt something crawling up from the pit of his stomach. This didn’t feel right. The way the lich was talking made him question just being there. He felt as if he needed to leave. There was a very real feeling of needing to get back further from him. He couldn’t explain it, but it was as if the weight of the world was attempting to crash down on him. He could feel it from all around him. Images of his his father lying dead in the fields, his brothers there beside him, of Artemis pulled apart and silent, of Monika strapped to a desk with a knife plunged into her chest and a noose around her neck.

He could see Applebloom, stripped, partly eaten by the monsters that had come through, Diamond Tiara was ran through with a spike, and finally Sunset Shimmer was lying dead among a group of crystal wasps. All of it flashed through his mind, projections of possibilities, of horrible situations, and all of it happening in seconds. He felt the movement, the gentle nudge from Artemis, and he shook off the attack, “Whatever you were trying to do, it won’t work,” he said, his voice resolute, “I’m not running, and I won’t abandon those that I am protecting.”

“A true hero then,” the lich said, “It surprises me to find one. Adventurers to be sure. Those are to be expected, but a true hero is far less seen. So, that leaves us at an impasse. I will destroy this land, I will crush the kingdom, and I will subjugate every single living being there. That is everyone’s destiny that resides within the Kingdom of the Sun and Moon. It will later be the destiny of all living beings of this realm. I will not stop until all have fallen under my rule, and all have returned that which was taken from me.”

The lich laughed, “And yet I find one that will not stop until he is vanquished. Even then I doubt that I would be able to turn him into one of my own. The very will and persistence that he has seems to be made of higher stock. So, that leaves me to wonder exactly how to do this. I must ensure that you die,” he said his voice sounding sincere, “But I cannot allow you to simply perish. Those that witness must realize that there is absolutely no hope. They need to realize that there is no way that they can be saved For that we must make your death absolutely second to none.”

One of the airships began to float closer, and from it a single being stepped out. He could see the lich as he walked onto the platform that was attached to the ship he stood on. His long robes flowed with an absent breeze. His glowing green and red eyes looked as it the very magic inside of him had become a sort of magical fire that simply flooded everything. There stood before him a great enemy. One that could easily be ranked amongst the strongest, and he was still down an arm. He needed to get the pilot he’d captured away from the battle, and he couldn’t.

“Fear not for her,” the lich said as he stood there, “She has been raised for this moment. She knew the moment she stepped into her armor that she would die. It has been her purpose, and now it is gone. All you’ve managed to do is robbed her of the birthright she has trained for. I feel for her, as I do for all of my children. She will now be faced with a life of meaningless experiences. A life that is unfulfilling, and one that is devoted to merely existing. That is unless I kill you both. At least then she can take her rightful place by my side as one of my raised soldiers.”

“You are insane,” he said, allowing the audio equipment inside of Avarice project his voice, “Life isn’t meaningless, and it isn’t wasted. I’ve given her a chance to find a new purpose, to experience new things, and to see more than she ever had the chance to experience. I’m giving her something that I’m sure she has been denied time and time again. I am giving her a chance.”

The laugh that escaped the lich’s mouth was one that sounded unimpressed “A chance? A chance for what, hero?” he asked as he stood on the platform, “A chance to become a mother, to grow a family, to curse more to this existence? You’ve done nothing for her but take what was hers. She will hate you, for all of your days. She will want to see your end. That will be her new purpose.”

He looked at him, “Your need to save her is condemning yourself, and perhaps it is poetic. Not that you won’t fall here. I will see you dead on the ground, but if that wasn’t the case then she would ensure your death. Perhaps it would be late at night, once she had your trust, and you’d sleep eternally after she snuck into your room and ended all that you are.”

The words sent a chilling thought down his spine, but at the same time he wasn’t going to kill her. It would be wrong to allow her to simply die, and he couldn’t accept that her death would be the only way of protecting himself. He believed that the way of protecting himself was by being the person he had always been. That and he had Artemis with him. She’d gained his full trust, and he’d hoped that he had gained hers.

“My Captain,” Artemis said gently, “I will not allow her to harm you. I will not kill her, because I know that is not your wish, but she will never harm you. She may be placed inside of a cell, and held captive until whatever damage has been done to her is corrected, but she will never harm you.”

He nodded, “I know,” he said as he felt one of her avatars press against him, “And I know that you’ll always be there to keep me grounded. So, what can we do with us having just one arm to fight with? I hate to say it, but we’re low on options when it comes to Avarice.”

There was a small laugh, “Yes, Avarice isn’t designed to take on a full fleet of airships on its own. While I am certain that between Avarice’s advanced technology, and your improved piloting skills, that you could defeat this fleet I doubt that it would be soon. So, instead I simply ask once again. My Captain, may I go all out on them?”

He considered it for a moment, “Wait, before you do ask Monika if she has connection to the weapons and armaments that was granted to her,” he said as he considered everything for a moment, “If she does then there might be something that we can use that won’t possibly kill everyone, and still disable all of their ships.”

“Very well,” she said, her voice sounding a little disappointed. A moment later she pressed firmly against him, ‘My Captain, were you going to tell me that Monika had been given connection to an orbiting satellite?” she asked her voice sounding a little irritated, “An orbital satellite with advanced laser technology that is able to directly pinpoint targets and burn holes through them? That sounds like a very important thing to not tell the woman that you are intimate with.”

He laughed a bit, “To be honest I wasn't sure if she was given connection to it. I had believed that DM had merely given her connection to the drones that were used already,” he replied, “The fact that it isn’t the case is a nice surprise. Okay, open a channel directly to Monika.”

There was a moment of quiet, “Beloved?” Monika’s voice asked in the space around him, “What is that you desire? Do you need me to come to you? I will. I’ll personally come and do all that I can to delete your enemies.”

He grinned for a moment, “Monika, you have connection with the satellite, right?” he asked as he looked at the airships, “If you do then I need you to target the airships, specifically their engines. I want you to disable them. After you do terminate your connection to the satellite.”

There was a moment of quiet, “I will do what you asked beloved, but why do you want me to terminate my connection to the satellite?” she asked her voice sounded confused, “Wouldn’t it be far more useful for me to retain connection to it? If I did then we could possibly reuse it again and again in difficult battles.”

He nodded, “We could,” he admitted as he stood there, “Or someone could potentially get to you and Artemis through me. Think about that for a moment. If someone commanded you to use the satellite to destroy all of the Lunar-Sol Kingdom because they had done something to me. A poison that Artemis didn’t have enough time to engineer a cure for, or that they had me captured in a place where you didn’t have enough time to get to me. Both things might not be provable, but they are possible. I don’t want to have a weapon like that at the ready for such a situation.”

He felt Artemis press hard against him, “In that case she should not terminate her connection to the satellite,” Artemis stated, “My Captain, in both scenarios you are indicating that this mystery assailant somehow managed to outsmart you, myself, and Monika. If that was the case then logically I would have to believe that they would absolutely not stop at destroying the kingdom. Instead, they would direct us toward more targets, and there would be likely no chance of them either healing or releasing you.”

She pressed against him, “Us retaining connection to that weapon would ensure that this individual, whoever they could be, would be terminated with prejudice. They would feel a burning death, and they should. I understand your desire to want to protect life, to want to save those you can, but if someone attempts to do what you’ve described then they have signed their own death warrant. They have asked for their bullet to find them, and I will deliver it to them.”

He knew that she was being honest. That was the one thing he knew about Artemis completely. She didn’t lie. She could be blunt, and she could be overly direct, but she didn’t lie. She could also be soft, caring, loving, and her sexual appetite was far greater than he could realistically hope to keep up with. At the end of the day Artemis was someone that he loved and trusted. If her suggestion was to keep the connection he needed to consider it, but at the same time he couldn’t allow it to be used in such a way.

“If we retain connection I need a promise, from both of you,” he said as he looked at the lich, “That if what I said happens you don’t turn it on the kingdom. You don’t turn it on those that don’t deserve it, and instead you use it on whoever was attempting to make you use it against the kingdom. Do I have your promises?”

There was a moment of silence, “My Captain, you do realize what you’re doing?” Artemis asked as she pressed against him, “You are taking a tool away from ensuring your safety. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Be breathed out, “I am, so do you both promise?”

Artemis pressed harder against him, “You are to never leave my side in any dangerous environments, do we understand one another? Never, if I promise this then I need that promise from you. I need to ensure your safety, and I cannot do that if you will not ensure it yourself.”

He smiled, “I’ll stay with you or Monika, that’s a promise,” he stated, “Now, do you both promise?”

“I will not use it against those who have done no wrong,” Artemis stated, “I promise that, and I promise that I will not use it against the kingdom of your birth.”

“I will do what you’ve asked, beloved,” Monika stated, “However, I agree with Artemis that whoever attempts do what you described will burn. I will burn them to ash, and I will leave nothing behind.”

He grimaced a little bit, “Okay, then let’s end this. Fire on the fleet.”

For a moment it was quiet, the lich hadn’t heard the conversation, but instead was amusing himself with watching the armor simply standing still. And then within seconds beams of light came down from the heavens. He looked around as those beams of light hit his airships. Instead of merely bouncing off of them they burned through their defenses, they burned through their engines, and he watched as the airships began to fall. His eyes widened as he looked back at the armor, “What have you done?!”

“Oh, I had another surprise up my sleeve, and I wanted to make this a more fair match. Well that and the Kingdom’s ships should be heading this way. Not to mention that I am quite certain that my own ship can finish most of you off. This is your one and only chance. Surrender, and I promise that I’ll do what I can to see you spared.”

The lich laughed, “Hero, you are a fool,” he said before he snapped his fingers. In a mere second lighting struck where he was, and then he was gone. It was as if he’d never existed there to begin with. Watching it Copper wondered exactly what was going to happen. He knew the ships, and he knew the lich. Both were from the game, but they were only from the war path. That shouldn’t have happened, so why had it happened? There were too many questions, but at least for now things could be contained.