New Game+

Charles had been continuing his broadcast revealing details of the technology known as the Phalanx Technology. At this moment, even Alexander had already dove into the ocean. Every Exoskeleton that wished to fight against the group was there.

Some families had actually assembled new Exoskeletons while in their respective armories to send to this battle. The price was just too alluring for them, and they expended the most that they can. Some even went back to be equipped with better tools for the battle.

Among everyone, the ones who were most interested were Zeraphine and Alexander, who became doubly curious than the rest.

Phalanx Tech was clearly related to Phallic techs, and both were curious if they could see more about the secrets of this technology.

"This is our gift, Alexander. You will at least see its powers!" Jane sent a direct message to Alexander Lanterk as the two were equipped with Dalisay Family Exoskeletons.

Lanterk frowned as he glanced at the three strange Exoskeletons. His own eyes began to pierce and see just what techs these people had. 

"Pretty basic. But how did these people have the ability to evade all those bullets? And what branch of science did they use to improve time perception?" 

"Did you catch anything?" Lanterk suddenly communicated to Zeraphine.

"Of course. This is another aspect of Phallic techs. But this isn't screwing... I wonder just what the Ignition Accrue Essence of this Phalanx is? Also, as you have heard, Seeker Carlean is my fiance. So be careful that you don't hurt him, or I will have a hard time with my cover!" Zeraphine warned.

"Alright..." Lanterk answered softly. But his thoughts went wild as he kept wondering what was the Ignition Accrue Essence that Zeraphine mentioned?

Charles was now wrapping up his speech.

"So... please be entertained and amazed! Many of you think that we lost that battle in the Pacific... We can't get into the details as there are several countries here... but we shall show you just how strong we are. Please attack these three with the intent to kill. You won't succeed." Charles laughed.

Immediately, Seeker, Meryl, and Lynd began to boost forward and propelled themselves in several directions.

The exoskeletons that the three-faced numbered over fifty, and they all began to shoot.

But just like before, the three found it easy to evade.

"Any good shooters out there, Meryl?" Seeker broadcasted.

"Nah. The quality of these shooters is just too low. I don't even need to activate my techs." Meryl sighed.

"Me too. And I'm a rather big target..." Lynd frowned.

Seeker, Lynd, and Meryl were broadcasting their conversations. And in that conversation, they had constantly been belittling the Exoskeletons, assaulting them as they began to talk of a diverse range of topics, including Meryl's acquired card collection when she was in the Arctic nations.

The more dull and bored the three sounded, the wilder the enemies became. They gradually moved closer and closer, and eventually, all fifty of them had an Exoskeleton to chase.

Zeraphine was trying to butt in the conversation and tried to praise Seeker, but Meryl kept butting in.

Soon, Zeraphine was moving closer and closer to Seeker.

"Hey, Zeek. You're not thinking of getting hit by your fiance, are you?" Meryl suddenly asked.

"Of course not!"

"Good. I don't approve of her yet. Since I can't have you, I'll rather root for the Alpha Girl for your heart. Your marriage ain't final until you say yes at that altar!" Meryl smiled.

Cliff, Lynd, and Seeker nearly lost their focus on the fight. The plan didn't include Meryl's strange words that implied she liked Seeker, nor was it supposed to mention Alphie. Meryl would just challenge Zeraphine, who would be hovering around Seeker.

"Alpha Girl?" Lara couldn't help but repeat.

"It looks like... you've been hiding a few things from me..."

"Oh my god! Meryl does like Seeker!" Charm was shocked. On their usual girl-to-girl moments, Lara had shared that she was worried about Meryl stealing Seeker's heart. This made Charm investigate and even bombard Cliff with questions to assure her that Meryl had no interest in Seeker.

But Meryl just admitted that! And it seemed that there was another girl in this conflict!

Lara's Exoskeleton suddenly erupted with great speed that surpassed the Exoskeletons of the others.

"Meryl?!" Seeker angrily called her in their secret line.

"What?"

"Why did you say that?!"

"Relax! I'm not into you, Zeek! She made you suffer a lot. And I know you plan to go easy on her. But let me have my revenge on behalf of my future self. I may not be able to hurt her because she's a Presider, but I can give her sleepless nights. You know I'm a very petty girl! Anyways, this doesn't change the plan! We can continue, just as Cliff told us." Meryl laughed.

Lara's Exoskeleton was right in the middle of a war. She suddenly dove down to the sea to avoid the line of fire that the rest had. And once she got a clear view of the battle, her Exoskeleton began to release a faint red light. With a loud burst, she ascended from her deep position and was headed directly for Seeker!

Her sudden flight was nearly two times faster than the underwater movements of the rest.

Lanterk saw it and frowned. He knew that Zeraphine utilized some of her Presider techs after getting taunted.

"Anti-Resistance tech. She's using it to move faster... But why reveal it? That will draw unnecessary questions and attention from the rest! Or is it that she is trying to see the true capability of the Phalanx tech?" Lanterk made guesses. The previous encounters with Lara herself and Jane made Lanterk believe that Zeraphine was so much more than just a spoiled daughter of a Prime.

Meryl saw it and realized that Zeraphine must have used some of her Presider techs to accomplish the sudden increase of speed. And in response to this, Meryl raised her right arm, and a small ball appeared.

"Phalanx Flame!"

Boom!

A small explosion occurred right in the middle of the chaotic fight. The explosion startled many and threw a few to the side.

Even before the explosion's shock wave subsided, Meryl was already headed to Zeraphine.

"I'm not convinced. I want to see just how much she really likes you, Zeek!" Meryl chuckled as she moved towards Zera.

"Hello, Lara. I won't wait for the wedding. I want to speak now why I'm against your holy matrimony! You aren't even as beautiful as me!" Meryl laughed as she charged for Zeraphine.

"Meryl! Taunting her isn't part of the plan!" Cliff cursed.

"Relax! It's easier for me to lead Lanterk the more wild our fight is!"

At that moment, Zeraphine began to shoot Meryl as she charged closer and closer.

Meryl danced it off and laughed.

"So not only am I prettier, but I'm a better dancer? I get the feeling that I'm also the better kisser." Meryl laughed.

BOOM!

A powerful burst of energy exploded behind Zeraphine and propelled her faster towards Meryl, but Meryl raised her hand, and a golden glow appeared.

"Asherah Fire! Heat that Pierces, Obey me!" Meryl chanted as a bright light shot a ray of light that exploded near Zeraphine.

BOOM!

The attack forced Zeraphine to stop her charge.

A similar burst appeared behind Meryl's suit and shot her fast towards Zeraphine.

With a quick spin, Meryl used her Exoskeleton to deliver a deadly ax-kick right on Zeraphine's head.

BOOM!

The kick exploded, but a powerful force field blocked Meryl's attack.

"Oh? So this is the EAA's Barrier Tech. Let's see if it can stand my Phalanx Skills!" Meryl laughed as she raised her hand, and a large lance burning with bright heat appeared.

Zeraphine cursed, and suddenly, a long transparent blade appeared on her hand, and a large transparent shield appeared on her other arm.

"A Barrier Sword? Let's see if that'll last!" Meryl laughed as she charged.

The two began to fight as Meryl used her burning lance to attack Zeraphine, who was blocking with her shield and attacking with her long sword. Meryl was very dexterous in evading that she didn't even block one attack from Zeraphine.

"Perfect. I got her techs." Lynd reported as he managed to understand the various technology that Zeraphine revealed.

"Good. Now for the other Presider!" Cliff then began to order Seeker and Lynd to prepare to ambush Lanterk with their plan.

With Zeraphine keeping Lara busy, the other Exoskeletons wanted to take advantage at first, but when the two were fighting so fast, they abandoned their plans.

Seeker began to practice the tactic that Cliff suggested. While inside the Exoskeleton, Seeker tried to link himself and instill one of his personalities to automate it. But as Seeker was about to call Greg, he then sensed a peculiar distortion.

There was a strange energy present that he never noticed until he was trying to bring out Greg.

"Hrm? Are the four horns related to having different personalities, or is it something with the soul?" Seeker went back in and began to harass the nearby Exoskeletons by fighting them.

"It's too risky to try Realm. That other Presider might discover something. I felt it when I ejected near him. There's something odd about him. Cliff. Change the plans." Seeker warned.

Cliff nearly cursed when he heard it. But he didn't panic. Cliff went to his dream world.

With Seeker unable to try the Exoskeleton puppet and use it to move independently, it meant that the diversion of Seeker and Lynd wouldn't work. These circus tricks were meant to force the rest to ignore Meryl with their eye-catching performance and irritating taunts. 

With their bodies out, the Exoskeleton would still move just as fast and would have provided Seeker and Lynd an extra set of hands that would distract Meryl's enemy. Cliff intended to use that to maximize his memory and make Lynd and Seeker kick and punch the enemy Exoskeletons, which would replicate a bit of Chaos Order and create a chain reaction of friendly fire, which would harass Lanterk.

But now, it wasn't possible for them to do that. Seeker and Lynd can, and Meryl was at risk of being attacked as Zeraphine's angry charge was just at the maximum.

"My weakness is my tendency to follow things strictly. I've used my memories of everyone's suggestion so much that while I can do what they said, it was never my own..." Cliff contemplated.

"This is why Seeker brought me here. I have to be more than just a guy who has a lot of memory. Something has to form with the compilation of all these memories!" Cliff frowned and began to concentrate harder.

Several possible scenarios came to mind...

And finally, Cliff found an answer.

Cliff left his dream world, and as time began to flow, Cliff gave several orders to everyone.

Lynd and Seeker suddenly charged towards Meryl and Zeraphine.

"Lynd, Meryl! One more minute until this game is over and we win! Get Lara out of the way so we can use that large shield!" Seeker shouted.

"One minute?!" Several pilots were stunned at what they heard.

"One-minute warning!" Charles also announced as Cliff instructed.

At that point, the group began to shoot at a more reckless pace. At first, the soldiers were hesitant that they might actually critically wound Seeker and his companions, but the sudden announcement brought panic, and they began to attack.

Meryl suddenly became faster than ever, and another Halberd appeared, which struck the shield and disarmed Zeraphine of her barrier sword.

"Hurry! Meryl!" Seeker shouted as he and Lynd were now finding it more difficult to evade the bullets.

But as this was happening, Lanterk sent Zeraphine a secret message.

"Keep Meryl busy!"

Without hesitation, Lanterk piloted his Exoskeleton to dive straight towards Meryl. His sudden charge was putting him at risk of being stuck in the crossfire. But to hide his intention, Lanterk didn't immediately aim for Meryl but made it look like he was making a desperate charge to tackle Seeker.

The flight of this Exoskeleton was so fast that it nearly struck Seeker.

As it passed, it shot several rounds that were aimed for Seeker's side.

Seeker barely evaded the bullets that this charging Exoskeleton managed to fire at that speed.

The Exoskeleton was Lanterk. He took the opportunity to charge in. But unlike Lara, Lanterk was careful not to use any Presider techs and only charged the maximum speed of his Exoskeleton. This way, it looked like Lanterk was just functioning within the means of normal humans could. But in reality, he had been using science that temporarily altered his perception of time and allowed him to make accurate shots even while moving at that speed.

Seeker evaded the bullets, but it was alright. Seeker wasn't the target.

His Exoskeleton was close to Meryl. He did not want to shoot while at a distance, fearing Meryl could react. Time perception could have caused Meryl to hear things earlier and react faster, so his only choice was to shoot at close range. 

Lanterk took aim and fired.

But at that moment, Meryl caused her entire suit to disperse as a bright flashing light appeared.

The entire Exoskeleton broke to pieces just like Dara's Tank Exoskeleton would. In the center of this flashing light was Meryl. She only had two pieces of synthetic clothing that functioned as her underwear. Her face was even revealed as only a transparent mask over her mouth and nose was left to protect her from getting drowned.

With the time perception that Lanterk had, he saw Meryl for several seconds.

In those seconds, he could no think and even say anything. He was so surprised that he forgot to move.

Lara was in a similar state as she could not help but gawk at Meryl's too-perfect skin.

And then, the bullets came.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Nearly thirty Exoskeletons were aiming at Seeker and Lynd, who just evaded to make all those bullets strike Lanterk's Exoskeleton.