Chapter 1059: Punk Rock Mode

[Rock...]

[Paper...]

[Scissors...]

[Shoot!]

[Haha! It’s my win guys, so follow my lead.]

[Okay...]

[How the hell did you predict that we’d both use rock?!]

[Because I know how y’all think.]

[Are you saying we’re smart as rocks?]

[No, I’m saying y’all like to use brute force like the Maestro.]

[Ah.]*2

...

<There’s no way this is actually going to work, right?>

=I wouldn’t be so sure about that...check the readings.=

<Oh, what the fuck...>

...

Understanding that this fight was slowly becoming a stalemate, the Grafted opted to not immediately attempt to attack the kaijin immediately. Rather, they decided it was better to come up with a plan of action first.

Unfortunately, the three of them weren’t exactly brilliant tacticians.

[We gotta end this fast, right? Otherwise they’ll heal up too?]

[Looks like it.]

[So why don’t we just combine our attacks and hit them really really hard?]

[We already tried that, you oversized galoot.]

[Well excuse me, opera reject, but I don’t hear you coming up with anything better than-]

But before the Grafted could continue arguing, a surge of [Chaos] rocked through their surroundings, shutting them up and putting all three of them on high alert. Which was then followed by a booming voice that sounded melodic, girly and frog-like all at once.

[Gentlemen and lady! Thank you for coming to today’s special performance!]

[What the fuck?]

As this strange announcement still rang through their ears, Gao Kan, Gao Su and Sophita all directed their attention towards the source of the voice, Hurricroak.

The moment they turned their attention towards her direction, they couldn’t help but notice that Nepherage and Frosttusk were now flanking Hurricroak in a strangely subordinate manner.

The sight of which, setting alarm bells to go off in their heads for no discernable reason.

Until Hurricroak opened her mouth.

[Grafted warriors! You’re about to witness a once in a lifetime performance by yours truly, as my co-stars here lend me their powers to help bury you three in apocalyptic sound!]

[Wait, what?]

At this statement, Nepherage and Frosttusk immediately went down on one knee as Hurricroak spread her arms open so that they could each grab on to one of her hands. Weirdly enough, this subtle action caused the [Chaos] in the area to become even more wild...and strangely musical at the same time.

[Now get ready for the debut of Hurricroak: Punk Rock Edition!,] Hurricroak proclaimed as the [Chaos] reached a high point.

Once this peak was reached, both Nepherage and Frosttusk suddenly transformed into balls of red and blue light specifically, with the former floating towards the front while the latter floated towards Hurricroak’s back, as rock and roll music manifested out of nowhere.

The Grafted warriors had a feeling that they had to stop whatever was about to happen before it was too late, but they couldn’t even move a muscle as [Chaos] pressed down on every fiber of their beings.

Besides, it was considered rude behavior to interrupt a combination sequence.

...

[Huh...am I going crazy or does it feel like we could’ve gone significantly farther with this combination thing?]

[You’re not, Hurricroak. I get that feeling too.]

[But it also feels like something’s missing...a catalyst of some kind?]

[Meh! Worry about it later, let’s just rock these bitches for now.]

...

[Stigma on: Niflheim’s Raiment.]

The blue ball of light made contact with Hurricroak’s skin and transformed into a suit of armor that looked surprisingly light, save for a pair of oversized pauldrons with circular patterns on them.

[Taboo on: Muspell’s Fury.]

As for the red ball of light, it had transformed into an axe but not like any axe that the Grafted had seen before.

The head of the axe looked too heavy, while the handle looked too long. Also, there were these strange knobs at the very bottom of the handle.

How was anyone supposed to wield an axe like that comfortably?

However, that question immediately left their heads as they saw Hurricroak rotate the axe and hold it like a lute.

That said, the sound that was about to rip through their ears was definitely not going to sound like a lute.

Once Hurricroak had her [Taboo] and [Stigma] at the ready, she mimicked the pose used by rockstars throughout time and space and released a power chord that reverberated throughout the city like a thunder storm.

However, most of the force was concentrated to the front...aimed directly at the Grafted.

[Oh shit!]

[Damn that’s loud!]

[I got this!]

Out of bravery or foolishness, Gao Su ran in front of his allies and attempted to disperse the incoming sonic wave with his scream again.

He had been doing is against Hurricroak for their entire fight, so he figured he could do it again.

Unfortunately, that was when she was relying on her own vocal chords.

To his credit, Gao Su let out an empowered scream that managed to resist the sound wave for a couple of moments before getting completely overwhelmed and silencing him instead.

[Oh shit!]

What followed was all three of the Grafted being knocked as sonic shockwaves rocked their bodies and damaged them from the inside out.

It wasn’t enough to be fatal, but it was enough to cause some damage and stun them.

[Fuck!]

As for the launcher of this attack, that power chord was just the opening note.

...

<How the fuck did they pull that off?!>

=I don’t know...but we’re generating so much weird new data that I’m not questioning it until after I process this shit.=

<Are you banking on this being related to our lord or because of the increasing amounts of [Chaos] building up in Undertow?>

=Yes.=

...

[Now that was rock and fucking roll, baby! Ow! Damn, who would’ve thought having a Regalia and Astra would be this awesome.]

[I suppose it’s nice not having to do the moves myself.]

[Am I too cold to wear?]

[Nah, you good.]

When Hurricroak played that powerchord, it had solidified Nepherage’s and Frosttusk’s forms as a [Taboo] and a [Stigma].

Nepherage’s [Taboo] had taken the form of a heavy duty looking electric guitar made of burning magma and lava rocks, with metallic strings that glowed with heat. Additionally, the main body of the guitar looked awfully similar in shape to Nepherage’s horned head.

Frosttusk’s [Stigma] on the other hand looked significantly lighter in comparison to the times he empowered Zhen Liu and Patriarch Zhen Shi. Merging with Hurricroak’s innate hoodie, Frosttusk took the form of a chest plate with a mammoth visage to it and a pair of pauldrons that were actually powerful speakers. Connected to these pieces of armor, were a pair of shinguards and bracers that seemed to absorb the surrounding heat.

More specifically, it was absorbing the heat radiating from Nepherage.

[Side note, I think this just confirmed that our forms changes depending on the wielder,] Hurricroak commented to the others. [Because I don’t remember you looking this form fitting on the Maestro nor his grandpa. That and I don’t think you had these speakers on them either.]

[I’m not sure why either, just felt appropriate.]

[Wait, does that mean once our Lord decides to use as Taboos, I won’t take the form of a guitar in his hands?,] Nepherage realized.

[Probably not.]

[Then what the fuck am I going to turn into? An actual axe? A spear? A sword?]

[Who knows.]

[RAAAAH!]

[Oh, hey. They’re still alive.]

While the kaijin were discussing about their abilities and the weirdness that entailed it, the Grafted had eventually recovered and were ready to retaliate.

[Oh hey! Y’all finally to dress for the occasion! How nice,] Hurricroak mocked.

Up until this point, none of the Grafted warriors had actually activated their [Regalias] yet due to two reasons.

First, they were cocky motherfuckers who got drunk on their own power and thought they didn’t need to do so when fighting the kaijin.

Second, and more embarrassingly, they hadn’t actually figured how to do so yet. All three of them weren’t even proper Grandmasters up until a couple days ago, so they hadn’t gotten a clear grasp of their new gifts yet.

But the fear of death and stimulation of battle does wonders in forcing someone to realize their innate abilities.

As such, while Hurriceaok was settling into her impromptu [Punk Rock Mode], the Grafted had shown up in their [Regalias]. Granted, most their [Regalias] looked a little...off.

[Ya know, I know it’s essentially the pot calling the kettles black here, but y’all are freaky looking,] Hurricroak mocked.

She wasn’t entirely wrong with this assessment though.

Most [Regalia] were uniform suits of armor or clothes that looked complete and gave off this feeling of power to their owners. The ones used by the Grafted looked mostly complete, but then went completely off the rails body horroresque as certain parts of their bodies.

Incidently, it was the parts of their bodies that just so happened to be where their kaijin parts were grafted into them.

[So...you guys ready for act 2?]