Chapter 241 Don't Worry.
[NOW!!!]
Although they were starting to panic, watching the holes in space spread wider and the alien monstrosity enter their world, the Cleansers reacted instantly upon hearing the signal activating their halos and Force Fields in perfect unison.
In a fraction of a second, the drones linked together to form a single globe that enveloped the entire battlefield, the colors of each Nephilim merging into a pure white wave that washed over everything inside.
The world once again trembled at the wretched scream of the Ancient Horror. The pain it suffered was clear, and though inaudible, anyone listening could tell the alien entity was spewing curses at them as its anger burned along with the flesh of its tentacles and its eyes.
"C'mon…" Nino gritted his teeth. "Just go away…"
"Don't worry." Sam said. "We aren't going to lose this."
The Japanese doll looked up at him once more, surprised by his newly found confidence. Not that long ago he was about to abandon the fight and attempt to escape, but now he was so sure of their victory that he wasn't afraid to look the Ancient right in the eye. His expression didn't have the blankness left by his suppressed emotions. At long last he finally seemed to regain hope of their survival and he was able to relax his expression as if the battle was already over.
As the Wide Range Purge ate at its limbs, the alien entity refused to give up and continued spreading the hole in the fabric of space. Even if the Purge was incredibly effective against it, the monster would still survive as long as it managed to cross to their plane. Even with an area of effect as large as that, the Wide Range Purge couldn't hope to encompass the entirety of the Ancient's true form. The wounds it caused would be nothing more than a scar once the entity gets a hold on them and with its natural enemies dealt with it could finally turn its eyes to the Apostles who have heeded its mad call.
Smoke continued to rise from the searing lumps of flesh and the Ancient felt its hold on the hole in space weaken. In a desperate attempt, it lowered its tentacles and tried to create a new army hoping to buy some time and maybe destroy the wretched creatures daring to stand against it. Unfortunately, hundreds of Angels were at the ready, holding their weapons and preparing to strike it now that they were done with the obsidian Stone Giants.
[TAKE THIS!!!] Juni yelled as she fired her cross shaped beam. Beside her, six Nephilim moved their own mechanical creations, each modeled after one of the now extinct giant reptiles. As they stood in a single line with three on each of her sides, they all opened their jaws and shot their own beams striking the tentacles before they could summon their Runes.
Following their examples, the rest of the Nephilim switched to using energy weapons in order to stop the Ancient from creating any more Stone Giants. The ships above fired their turrets while the beasts and robots on the ground used their cannons. The Angels formed rifles and blasters then rained fire on the alien being. Though the eyes themselves seemed to be able to negate anything thrown at them, the disgusting tentacles weren't covered with that ability so everyone focused the bombardment on them.
"--------------!!!!"
Another wrathful cry shook the Earth. The damage caused by the Wide Range Purge was starting to show on the Ancient Horror, with burn marks eroding its illogically enormous eyes and its tentacles rapidly shriveling to half their size. Unable to withstand the purifying Force anymore, the Ancient Horror retreated into the hole they came from, the fabric of space gradually repairing itself as the hateful cry echoed until it was completely gone.
In a matter of seconds the sky returned to normal. Even though it had yet to regain its natural blue color, the fact that it was clear once again was enough for everyone to believe that despite the odds they really did manage to claim victory.
[We… we did it…] The silence was broken by a very loud whisper coming from Juni's giant blue robot. A moment later, it raised its fists high as her excited voice announced [WE DID IT!!!!!]
Cheers erupted all over the battlefield the next moment followed by the howls and roars of the giant beasts. The ships above fired a few rounds into the sky in celebration and the white globe slowly faded as the Cleansers and their drones were finally able to release the strain.
"Good work, everyone." Nino spoke into the communicator, having received Sam's permission to announce the end of the battle. "I believe we have survived the worst of it. You can relax now, but don't let your guard down."
She went on to ask for a few Cleansers to come down to the abandoned airport so they could take Ichigo's place and keep the Fallen from acting up. The pink haired Valkyrie was at her limits, appearing to have gone sick from exhaustion despite it being impossible for a Valkyrie.
The festivities went on until Three spotted a large battleship slowly making its way toward them. Thankfully it was just the temporary base of the Nephilim, the only thing they managed to escape with after the Olympians took over their base. "Doctor!"
The moment she arrived at the airport, Mjölnir came running toward Sam, her hands stretched out with her eyes tearing up. Three and Nino stepped in to block her way, but to everyone's surprise Sam gave the Nephilim his permission so without hesitation she threw herself into his arms and cried in his embrace.
The young Valkyries watched the scene with restrained jealousy, but when Sam gave them a wry smile as he slowly caressed the Nephilim's silver hair the two gave in and let them be, at least until Juni showed up and asked to be hugged next. For the next hour or so the Valkyries took turns to enjoy Sam's embrace, and to his even CS participated wanting to know what's all the buzz about.
Sam had already released his hold on his emotions. He was holding on pretty well at first, but as each Valkyrie hugged him tightly, he felt the storm of emotions raging inside his chest leading to tears of happiness spilling out like a waterfall. The lucky one to be in his arms when that happened was Zero Three, and as everyone watched her each with a different expression, she let a smile play on her lips while gently comforting him.