That Time an American was Reincarnated into Another World
Chapter 268: The Hard Part

September 18th, 626

“Strap in, because this is the easy part.”

Aria inwardly sighed at Umara’s statement, Bloodsworn flourishing in her hands. 

How dreamy fighting at Iron Legion had seemed. She had begged the Tavera Patriarch to let her go fight with John when he was still in the Kingdom’s military as things started devolving at the Treehouse. She had been stuck, of course, but when John made Iron Legion, she had taken every chance she got. 

She finally got to start repaying him for that time he saved her those years ago. She finally got to start proving herself, proving her value. Now she was a part of Iron Legion’s Sector 4, the most secretive and elite section in the most powerful small-scale military force in the world. 

And she was rueful. She had never been so miserable. 

The screams coming from the darkness terrified her. Those white eyes that reflected the faint light coming from Umara’s magic sent shivers up her spine. She hadn’t even been able to fight when John burned that forest down. Few of them had. The sheer mental suppression had made it so that she was crawling after the rest of the Desert Eagles while they chased John. 

After a few days of little sleep and constant attacks that made her mentally exhausted, they were now about to face their most difficult battle. 

Aria almost didn’t want to believe that she could do it. 

But when she saw John trudging forward despite being even more exhausted than them, despite having done so much studying, despite needing much more sleep than them as a summoner and being the target of the Shade’s mental attacks, she shut her mouth and made sure she was doing her job. 

She couldn’t possibly complain while he took on the worst of it. At the end of this, he was still the one who had to kill the Death Shrine. Sleep deprivation had made him vomit and yet he was out here anyway, pushing them forward. 

She wondered if he was really feeling that pain. He didn’t look like it. He looked as strong as he always did. He did everything as masterfully as always. The arrays of Psyka that bloomed around him made her brain hurt and yet he was engaging in that battle of pure information with the Death Shrine anyway. 

It didn’t look like he was utterly exhausted and worn, but she knew he was and something about that spurred her on. 

Her axe started glowing as the Shrikes charged. The plaza was large and they were in a hemispherical formation around John, Shadowbane remaining next to him and Tana somewhere she couldn’t see. Their goal was to protect him. If they failed in this, there was no way they could handle the Death Shrine itself. 

Not to mention that these were the Shrikes coming from behind. There were probably far more through the door leading to the Heart. They’d have to slaughter their way to the Death Shrine, fight its horrible incarnation of pure sadism and malice, and allow John to kill that brain. 

Not that they hadn’t faced worse odds before. Umara had been ruthless with her training in the months preceding this expedition. Aria had been pushed to the limit, so much so that she thought that she was severely underperforming back then. 

But she hadn’t been kicked from the team. She knew why, and she leaned into that strength. 

Three dozen Shrikes charged forward, their distorted limbs causing Aria’s very body to react with fear and revulsion. They were a twisted form of the human image, and for some reason, Aria’s instincts demanded that she kill them as fast as possible. If they remained, she’d be paranoid like she had been for the past week. 

She grit her teeth, two Shrikes diving toward her. These were much stronger than the others she had seen from the last Death Shrine. They weren’t starved or aged. 

Her axe made contact with them anyway, her body straining to wield its bulk with the kind of strength she had seen from Blackblood and the agility she saw from Shadowbane. 

Not that it mattered much. When her blade made contact with their bodies, her Aura erupted with concussive force, causing their skin to rupture, their bones to splinter, and a loud sound reminiscent of John’s gunfire to sound. 

It was muted by a new device attached to the axe’s shaft, but the effects didn’t care about that. 

One Shrike after the other exploded before vaporizing, their chunks of flesh popping and releasing steam. Their disgusting blood coated her axe blade, which drank of the offering and glowed with dark red greed. 

It wanted more, but she stifled its calls to her mind and remained within the formation. The others all killed their enemies with their own methods, all of them impressing her in some way. 

She always found Umara’s magic particularly devastating. It was the perfect blend of intensity and lethality. Enough to irrefutably kill the enemy without wasted energy, but never looking like she was straining. 

More Shrikes streamed in a dozen at a time, some of them bigger and stronger, others more agile. They climbed on the walls and roof, the warlocks sniping them from afar as the knights handled the ones that tried to rip them limb from limb. 

Over time though, Aria started to feel the mental burden. She was breathing heavily despite barely having worked. Those Shrikes attacked not just with their unnaturally strong claws, but with fear and suppression. 

She started using Vigor to bolster her mind, but it only helped a bit. Over time, as she was hit with waves of paranoia, her adrenaline started spiking and tiring her out. They were using her own reactions and instincts against her. 

Yet this was the easy part. 

They fought off wave after wave. The Shrikes clammered at them in groupings that were large enough to make them confident in an attack. If there weren’t enough then they would lurk in the darkness. They used that fog to their advantage, hiding within it. Aria strained to see them sometimes, even when they were only 20 feet from her. 

Sometimes they felt like they had circled around her, even when that was impossible. Sometimes she would see one lunging at her and it felt like it was tricking her, that it was actually coming from behind. It tried to convince her that what she was seeing was wrong. 

Suppressing the desire to spin around and break the formation took most of her willpower. The Bloodsworn and its greed for more of their corrupted blood helped her ground herself. 

She had plenty of experience resisting desires. The Bloodsworn had tested her time and time again. 

It seemed like their battle lasted forever though. Every minute felt like an hour, and hundreds of Shrikes swarmed the plaza in an attempt to either kill or capture them. 

But then John suddenly shouted. His voice made her gleeful. 

“I’ve got it!”

Lights suddenly flicked on with his call, illuminating the entire room with bright white. The Shrikes recoiled, and Umara mustered them. 

“Second Force, hold the line! First Force, to the door!”

Aria stepped in where she needed to, the pressure mounting as Umara and the others turned.

They ran to the door, John opening it only when they were ready. As soon as he did so, dozens of Shrikes tried to lunge through, hundreds more in the tunnel the door led to. 

John simply stood there as 1st Force slaughtered them all. There was no fire magic, as John said that it would eat all the breathable air in the atmosphere, but the air magic Umara and Ilinca wielded was more than enough to eradicate them, not to mention the knights and their strength. 

1st Force pressed through the tunnel, cutting a path through as 2nd Force backed up. 

“I can close the door! Get through!”

John commanded, and they followed. Everyone killed the last of the lunging Shrikes and filed through. Some tried to attack but John let off bursts of gunfire with Totenstahl, cutting them down with what looked like no effort. 

Once they got through, the door closed behind them, locking them in the tunnel. There were more lights still illuminating the area but the fog and Shrikes left skittering shadows flashing across the area. 

The tunnel was wide enough for 1st Force to hold the front by themselves. John took up a position behind most of them, Shadowbane still by his side. 

She had the best reactions, even beyond Feiden, so she had been trusted with being his last line of defense if anything slipped through. 

They marched behind 1st Force, stepping over corpses still spilling blood. It coated their boots and made Aria scrunch her face with disgust as she stepped on lanky limbs and flesh. 

The corridor to reach the next area was longer than it had any right to be and descended hundreds of feet, but thankfully it was narrow enough to easily slaughter the Shrikes as they came. It was a simple spearhead, about as easy as frontal combat could get. 

But the Shrikes started taking more hits. From Authority 6 they rose in strength until they started seeing Authority 8s. Aria was forced to fight above her level, not that she was unfamiliar with such combat. She could kill Authority 8s but that didn’t mean it wasn’t taxing. 

By the time 30 minutes of marching and fighting had passed, Aria was breathing heavily out of exertion instead of fear, blood coating the scratches and streaks on her armor, her axe pristine and clean. John hadn’t fired a single shot the entire time, never forced to lift a finger despite some of the Shrikes trying to sneak past them.

Then, they finally reached the end. Killing another batch of Shrikes, they stepped beyond the corridor and through a shattered set of doors. 

What was revealed to them was a massive complex of destroyed devices and esoteric metal structures. It was a cavern of such size that Aria had never fathomed was possible. The ceiling was at least 500 feet above her head and there were more staircases that descended a hundred feet below to reach the ground floor. 

In the center of this monstrous cavern was a metal orb that pulsed with radiant power. Around it were six massive devices. On the top and bottom of it were what looked like fasteners that locked the orb in space. Then around its four cardinal directions were crystal constructions that suppressed the orb with oppressive enchantments. 

Around it all was a barrier of such strength that Aria wagered even a Sovereign couldn’t conjure. It phased between glowing with the elements and contracting with Vigor, its power so dense that they almost couldn’t see through it to observe the devices. 

Finally, there was the Death Shrine. 

The monstrous metal tree was wrapped around the barrier like a parasitic leech, roots attempting to burrow into it yet having failed miserably, the barrier still radiant with power. There were automatons strewn throughout the cavern as well, and unfortunately, none of them were inactive. 

Aria cleaved through a few Shrikes before gritting her teeth, realizing that this battle may be more difficult than she thought it could be. 

For a moment she wondered if they should turn back and whittle down the Shrikes, coming back when they were more rested and prepared. But then the automatons moved, and the entity that guarded the Death Shrine, that tall being of metal and spikes, stepped forward. 

“Let’s light this fucking candle.”

Aria turned when she heard John’s voice. In one hand he held his SEER Knife, that horrible contraption that could kill without wounds. In the other he held a canister, containing what she didn’t know. 

The Shrikes nearby all screamed, Aria flinching when her brain was hit with a searing pain. 

The instant after though, the pain evaporated. She was confused until she opened her eyes, finding herself in another place. 

She looked around, seeing the others inside of a command center. It was John’s Mind Palace, and beyond the walls she could see the Death Shrine and Shrikes all attacking the metal walls. 

All of the otherworldly armament started unleashing unholy firepower upon the enemy, and Aria’s vision returned to the real world, no longer bearing the mental afflictions of the Shrine. 

She felt refreshed, her eyes squinting when she saw John suddenly release a few thousand Psykic arrays into the room. They filled the atmosphere, glowing red when the Death Shrine started retaliating, the poisonous fog condensing. 

Despite there being several dozen Shrikes screaming and explosions as the Warlocks threw out their spells and concoctions, Aria heard John’s voice above them all. 

“I’m starting to figure you out. And if it means some good fucking sleep, I’ll wrap this up quickly.”

“ERADICATE THEM!”

Aria heard Katta scream as she injected two serums into her legs. The Mana and Vigor was so potent that she could feel it from afar, her combat power skyrocketing as she threw herself against a charging automaton, corrupted by the Death Shrine. 

Everyone else started bringing their cards to bear. Jaya threw canisters of mysterious substances at clusters of enemies, some of them being ignited with green fire, others screaming in agony as their flesh melted. Aria could almost feel her nose sting, reminiscent of their battles together when she hadn’t been on filtered air. 

She loved her armor. 

John also threw out the canister in his hand. It sailed straight into the middle of the battle, quickly followed by a few more. Before they exploded, she heard his voice in her mind. 

“You all better make sure you’re sealed up. This shit will kill you too.”

Aria quickly checked all her seals as the canisters released their contents, wondering why John sounded as he did during the battle against the first Death Shrine. 

Unlike Jaya’s, his canisters released a gas that quickly spread through the room. She couldn’t make out the color due to the Shrine’s fog but when the Shrikes ran through it, they started screaming in agony. 

Kwon and Song shot forward to go against the metal entity before it could turn its attention to John. Unfortunately the automatons weren’t affected by the gases, and Aria was forced to fight one herself. 

She charged it and swung her axe, but the blade was merely buried in its metal arm. The automaton stood 10 feet tall and was covered in broken metal armor, some places exposing interior enchantments that glowed red. 

Her instincts screamed at her when it retaliated. It moved with uncanny speed that she didn’t think should be possible. She bent back right before its huge metal fist slammed into the side of her head. 

She yanked her axe out and jumped back, glancing at the others. 

Katta was pummeling one automaton while Aria was tearing apart another. Even they were having a hard time though, Katta gritting her teeth with dilated eyes as she punched the automaton with her gauntlets. 

She was elbowed in retaliation, flying several feet away before finding a foothold and shooting right back into the fight. 

Aria did the same, deciding that she simply had to suck it up and at least distract her enemy. She screamed in strain, delivering the most powerful blows she could muster one after the other, suppressing the automaton.

While they did that, John leisurely walked forward. He dodged any attacks that came his way as if he knew they were coming minutes in advance. He wasn’t as fast as they were, but he was agile despite his bulk. 

The metal entity tried to get to him, but he was able to evade it with the help of Song and Kwon’s combined effort. They looked like they were straining to hold back the entity, but they were delivering wounds and the battle had only lasted for a minute. 

Like last time, John marched to the base of the Shrine. Dozens of branches spread from its trunk all the way up to the ceiling, and on most of the huge thorns were impaled corpses that still cried in guttural agony and nightmares. 

At the base was the brain, covered by layers of metal roots. Unlike the last time, the brain was almost entirely covered and protected by these roots. Even then, it was massive, covering half of the ground floor by itself. 

John pulled out a Fire Mana Crystal the size of his fist and chucked it at the base. After he kneeled down and turned away, the Crystal exploded, releasing a shockwave that sent splinters of the tree across the cavernous laboratory. 

It revealed the brain itself, the entity shrieking in panic. Kwon and Song redoubled their efforts, their combined attacks and chemistry suppressing the entity thoroughly. 

Their combat looked effortless, but she quickly heard Kwon’s voice over comms. 

“You better make this quick, John! Protecting you is making this significantly more difficult than it otherwise would be!”

“It’s been 124 seconds.”

As if that were an appropriate answer, John started walking back toward the Shrine. Its roots started to regrow, but before they could close the gap, John jumped through, causing them to pause. 

He stepped onto the outer area of the brain, Psyka flaring around his body with such density that it drove the fog away. His SEER Knife shone like a beacon in the dark cavern, its light unobstructed by the fog, even seen through solid obstacles. 

When he stabbed the brain it released another horrific scream, wholly inhuman and filled with insane hatred. 

Every automaton and enemy turned to attack John, giving their opponents an opening. They were rebuffed and John brought out another item. 

The entire time, the formations flashing around his body were growing, reaching such heights of complexity that even Aki felt her eyes sting looking at them. Just gazing upon them imparted a level of information they couldn’t handle. 

Aria could hear his smile through his words. 

“Yeah, I think I’m figuring it out. It’s a shame you couldn’t learn from your friend. Otherwise you would have known that shoving your ENDLESS FUCKING SADISM INTO MY BRAIN WOULDN’T BE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH!!”

Aria heard his scream as his SEER Knife suddenly flashed, dumping out so much Psyka into the brain that half of it started to glow with pure stimulation, so intense it started to shrivel. 

John laughed and cackled as he carved through the brain. From above, Aria could hear the bodies on those thorns start to cry out with even greater intensity and pain. 

“YOU THINK YOU CAN THREATEN ME WITH THEM?! WATCH ME MURDER THEM ALL! THE AMERICAN DOESN’T NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS, AND HE CERTAINLY DOESN’T NEGOTIATE WITH THEIR HOSTAGES!”

Aria heard his laughs heighten while bringing out a huge Crystal. It was partially encased in metal and radiated so much Psyka that the automaton in front of her started teetering like a drunkard. 

John activated something, making the Crystal flash, and then tossed it into the air. 

Then, Aria’s eyes went white. 

She shielded her gaze for a few seconds, no attacks coming at her. After some time, she lowered her hand and looked around. 

The Cavern was gone, everything having turned white. She could see the automatons, see the Entity, but they were covered in an infinite amount of shifting arrays. 

And they were frozen, twitching, like their bodies were malfunctioning. 

She looked down at her own armor, seeing a field of formations protecting her from the arrays. The arrays constantly tried to poke into her armor, but the formations protecting her constantly responded with bits of information that sent the arrays away. 

Feeling her eyes burn, Aria looked up at the Death Shrine. 

Within, she could see John amidst the brain. The brain no longer looked like the pool of mush it was before though. All Aria saw was a sea of red lines, all of them interconnected, all of them filled with torturous purpose. 

And in the center of the brain was another large Neural Gem, at least double the size of the one John currently possessed. 

John smiled and launched himself through the air with his boots. His attack, whatever the hell it was, constantly seeped into the brain and tried to attack it. The Death Shrine was wholly consumed with the task of resisting, and resisting it was. It rebuffed the infinite amount of arrays in the atmosphere and surrounding its body, rapidly gaining ground against them, the fog spilling forth to retake what it had lost. 

But by that time, John was diving into the brain. He went head first into a several-foot deep mass of that neural tissue, clawing his way down to the Neural Gem at the bottom, his SEER Knife carving out everything in his path. 

He was in there for over a minute, the brain’s screams and the cries of the bodies above no longer reaching them. 

Everything was quiet, the arrays around them beginning to fade. The white receded, Aria regaining her normal vision. She could see the dark cavern, could see the true form of the Shrine, its brain, the Entity, and the automatons. 

But they remained still, John emerging. 

He flew back out of the pool, gliding out from underneath the roots, and settling on the ground atop a pile of Shrike corpses. In his hand was now a huge glowing red gem. It was beautiful, like a pearl filled with the endless shrieks of a million souls in hell. 

But Aria’s gaze was soon pulled by John’s face. He wore a large smile, but when his eyes, visible even behind his mask, washed over her, she felt so much fear that her legs gave out. 

She saw him inside her mind, the gem in hand, his other hand raising to reach out and grab her psyche. She could feel his fingers try to sift through her memories, her body giving out as if he were grasping her very soul. 

“JOHN!”

Then she heard Umara’s scream, her eyes glancing away from John to see the tall woman charging forward. Clenched in her fist was another Psyka Crystal. 

John tried to evade her obvious blow, but he was suddenly held back by Kwon and Song. When they had appeared next to him, Aria wasn’t sure. 

She heard Umara yell, glee in her voice. 

“Your idea, not mine, honey!”

With a grin, Umara’s fist slammed into his face, the Crystal exploding in her grasp and sending a shockwave of Psyka through John’s head. His body went limp, eyes rolling back and his consciousness slipping. 

They all stared at him, the last remnants of the arrays fading completely, the entire battlefield going silent.

Umara’s grin remained for a few seconds longer before they all saw his nose bleeding. Then she finally started to panic, kneeling over him after Kwon and Song laid him down. 

“John? You didn’t actually die right? This was your idea! Is his heart still going?”

She placed her ear to his chest, Ilinca running over and casting a spell. 

She nodded. 

“Yes, his heart is still beating.”

“But could he be brain dead? Maybe just not heart dead yet?”

“That’s… not how that works.”

Aki responded with a wry smile. 

Umara groaned a bit, wiping the blood from his nose. 

“Ahh… He’s really gonna get me back for this…”