Online In Another World

Blimpo was excited like a puppy, clapping his hands and jumping up. It wasn't surprising, considering how long he had been trapped in the labyrinth, following the fact he was on his last try there as well.

Still, something felt off to the young man as he continued glancing around; it felt all too simple of a discovery, and knowing the nature of the temple, it was all too easy of an end for the trial.

Without any reservations, Blimpo began to move down the red-carpeted center of the grim cathedral with his eyes set on the key, "Here we co–!"

"Blimpo! Get back!" He yelled out.

All at once, something clicked in his mind; he didn't know who or what it was that he was sensing, but a primordial bloodlust oozed into the chamber at that moment. It didn't seem to register for Blimpo until the entire chamber began to rumble violently out of nowhere.

The tremors were inexplicable in that split-second, yet at the core of his being, the young Dragonheart knew what was coming as his fingers were already reaching for the handle of his sword while running over to his companion.

"--Wha?!" Blimpo stumbled from the intense rumbling.

Dust from the slumbering stone rained down from the ceiling before the dormant chandelier up above plummeted downwards as well, shattering on the floor.

Just then, cracks rapidly stretched across the floor directly in front of the perplexed, goggle-wearing man. In one moment, a geyser of tremendous force burrowed through the floor, causing slabs of grimy stone to be flung upward before a shadow ascended from the newly-torn hole.

Before anything could happen, he reached forward and grabbed Blimpo by the arm, tugging his partner back and tossing the light figure behind him as he confronted that which had rudely arrived.

Steam overpowered the dust of shattered stone; it cascaded off of the shattered body of the entity in front of him. There stood the bloodthirsty machine of steel-and-flesh; its armor plating that was its very hide was caved in, torn, and irreparably damaged.

…Dammit! The Dragon Buster didn't buy nearly as much time as I hoped! He thought.

Before he could even fully draw his sword, he noticed something was different with the embodiment of otherworldly war; perhaps something 'wrong' had taken place with the frightening force of nature.

The steel plating was peeling from its body, briefly revealing the crimson-and-burnt flesh beneath as more and more steam poured off of it, forcing the young man to walk backward.

"...Rrrrr…"

A low groan left the mouth of the figure; its arms were down, not yet on the offense as it stood there.

It's…hurt? The Dragon Buster–it really did have an effect! He realized.

Blimpo seemed to notice as well as he called out from the back of the cathedral, thrusting his fist up in celebration, "How'd it feel eating that blast, huh!? He's half-dead! Now's our chance!"

On the other hand, while that seemed true, the young man couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness building inside of his gut as he faced down War.

Come on! Move!...I have to act now! He told himself.

There was a paralyzing fear when standing so close to the entity, being right in its path; like bindings of unmoving steel wrapped around every inch of his body.

Just as he overcame these feelings, raising one hand to gather a bountiful manifestation of bright-orange flames above his hand–

POP

He froze as he witnessed one of the metallic plates attached to War pop off like a cap, shooting off and slamming into the rightmost wall as steam flooded off of its high-temperature body.

"...Huh?"

This time, it was Blimpo that helped him, yanking him back just before more pieces of the natural armor belonging to the entity flung from its own body, shooting outward at dangerously high speeds.

"What the hell is going on?..." He asked, keeping his distance beside Blimpo.

"I can't say for sure, but looks like he's undergoing some sort of change…I'd say you really kicked his ass with that blast," the elven man chuckled nervously, "What I'm saying is…I think War is getting serious now–he heard that declaration of war, loud and clear."

It was difficult to see anything as a cloud of steam had built around the entity; all they could witness were the sounds of its metallic plating popping off before being flung out of the steam. Soon, the release of metal stopped completely.

As he stood there, ready to face whatever was about to reveal itself from the bountiful gathering of steam, a painless burning sensation suddenly manifested on the palm of his left hand.

What is this feeling? He questioned.

Bringing his left hand up to his eyes–once more, the dormant, six-pointed seal on his hand had revealed itself to him. It was something he had mostly forgotten about as recent times had been hectic.

My Soulbound seal…I never had time to figure out how to summon my Soulbound spirits, but…if this is appearing now, then…? He thought.

"Err, are you seeing what I'm seeing…?" Blimpo said nervously.

The slowly spoken words of the elven tinkerer took him out of his distracted gaze upon his own hand, looking up towards the mass of burning mist to see the shadow of War held within it, yet changed.

It looked surely more imposing in height; its silhouette stepped forward, revealing itself as it stepped out of the veil of swirling steam.

The steps it made were not of metallic boots, but the stomps of horse hooves, raining down on the stone below. The lower half of the entity's body was now that of a colossal horse, made of tightened, black flesh with muscle shaped in such a way it looked as though it possessed a natural hide of armor.

"What the…" He slowly muttered out.

War's top half was that of a humanoid, yet to reveal a face as its head now shifted into a medieval helm with a platinum plume flowing from the back of the stygian helmet. There were no eyes that could be seen, yet its stare was felt through the enormous pressure of its innate strength, weighing down on the room like an invisible weight.

"A centaur?...It's completely changed," Blimpo remarked in disbelief.

Each of its arms had taken the shape of massive greatswords; long enough to resemble pillars of sharpened steel, refined for slaughter.

The form it once possessed that embodied warfare of an age of guns and a storm of bullets had regressed to an era where steel was king and battles were fought with blades, on horseback; yet, despite this regression, it seemed more daunting than ever.

It was a terrifying appearance wielded by the ominous entity; across the stone floor, its far-stretching greatsword arms dragged, leaving an ear-grating sound to follow as it slowly approached.

Before crossing the center of the cathedral–it stopped. War simply stood there, towering over the two and looming over them with a stomach-churning pressure.

"...Is he messing with us now? Just treating us like helpless prey?" Blimpo questioned.