Chapter 26 - Stomps.

Ryouko POV:

Gu… ah…

Hurt… pain… can't move…

I… no… why…

That girl… the Flame Spirit… she's…

… She's a monster.

She's nothing like those I faced before. She's… remind me… of .

The same sadistic grin, the bloodlusted as she's assaulting us, the exhilaration as blood fills her dress…

… She's truly someone Origami despised all along. A being enjoying killing humans.

And I… and I… I…

"Kaede… Hanako… I'm sorry…"

I silently cry to my underling—or what's left of them, as pain once more took my consciousness away…

"Kotori" POV:

… Weird. Truly weird.

She was calm. Too calm.

I know from my memory that Tome-chan was, by every means, sensitive to anything.

Not that she didn't express it any other day, but her emotions are too obvious to see through her so-called mask.

Especially after Shido-nii being… impaled by her, when everything breaks down in a single moment.

I can see it clearly, too clearly, to the point of sickening me.

Too much regret. Too much sorrow. Too much contempt.

With how she showed off, and from my own conclusion, I thought that she's just merely being naive, that a toddler would be smarter than her.

And I'd be right… to some degree.

… Not sure why I even thought so, when she didn't express much more than what I am 5 years ago.

But now, right here, right now… I understand why I hesitate in my conclusion.

For despite all that tantrum, that childish, that energetic… She's just like me.

Before being Tome-chan… she's .

[Swoosh!!!]

A faint cutting suddenly seared through the tension between our stare.

Before I could even remotely feel it, the hand holding … was flying backward, straight into some clothing shop.

And then, the pain erupted.

The feeling is, much to my dismay, distorted.

I knew how it felt. But to feel it directly… is one other thing.

No word can describe the feeling, as even the thought to comprehend it shook me to the core.

… It was, by all meaning, unbearable.

But, for some miracle, I manage to hold myself to collapse, and focus all the thought in regenerating the hand.

The moment I wanted that, the stump at my arm immediately grew new, all identical to what I just lost.

Heck, if my old arm isn't lying behind me in some random shop, I'd dare to say all what happened just now was all in my head.

"Hoh ~ How rough you are, Tome-chan ~"

I grin back at Tome-chan, who still bears that cold stone face, and swipe my hand at her.

What follows next, is a crimson flames engulfing her vicinity.

A loud explosion happened in the next second, one would deafen our ears if we were mere humans, and drown us both in smoke and pieces of the mall.

The next moment, I flew up from all that annoying smoke, already holding in my hand.

"Ara ~ where are you, Tome-chan?"

I whisper the line with much enthusiasm, gazing around the place looking for her figure—

My view suddenly flipped.

The sky, the rubble, the smoke—they're all upside down.

Or rather, I am the one who's rotated.

"Huh?"

I let out a dumbfounded sound, before capturing who was behind this turn.

With her leg stretched through my half, holding a broadsword over head with a distant gaze, was the violet haired.

She just swiped me by my leg, while in the air.

She hid in the smoke right beneath me, then flew all the way at my back and landed a round kick.

… She plans it out all in the span of moments.

"!!"

And then, light filled my view, as she landed her shining swords on me…

… But it's not over yet.

The attack did land, it truly is… but the one on the other side—isn't me.

Her strike landed on the ground, cleansing away all the smoke and rubbles.

What just happened here, was that I increased the heat around me, partially distorted her view due to the heat emitted.

This is why the view afar on sunny days are all blurry, for the sunlight and heat distort the light itself.

Of course, since I came up with this on the fly I didn't completely dodge her attack let say. But compared to being pummeled to the ground, a hair tail is a rather cheap price.

"Wha—"

And before she could comprehend it all, I landed my hardest kick at her neck.

"Gurh…!!"

Tome-chan loses her balance with the strike, even going as far as dropping her sword…

And I, for all it worth, not gonna let this moment pass unevenly.

I grab both her arm and, with a devilish exhilaration, dive straight down what was once the mall.

[BOOM!!]

Another explosion occurred right beneath my feet, as I slammed her body right down the ground.

"Gah!!"

Tome-chan, for the first time ever since I saw her, finally expressed something as she's grunting in pain.

"Oh my ~ seems like you're not as stonecold as you claim to be, Tome-chan ~"

I let out a giggle at one struggling Tome-chan, eyeing every of her painful expressions.

Then, as I was still taking in the view, Tome-chan suddenly made her move.

Something poked out of the shadow beneath Tome-chan, straight at my eyes.

I narrowly dodged it, with merely a cut on my face from it—her broadsword?

Did she… did Tome-chan just… summon her sword from her shadow?

Then, my view once again tilted, as I found myself collapsed to the ground head first.

Kuh—she's swiping me again?!

Tome-chan then, seeing me fall for the count, lunged at me with her first practically lighting up and an… impatient expression.

Impatient…?

Before she could even land the feral attack on me, I already moved on instinctively. And by instinctively, I mean to kick her right at her face.

"Ugah!!!"

With a painful yelp, Tome-chan finally went down for the count, holding her face with a painful expression as she flew back a few meters away.

I quickly heal the cut from her sword just now, and slowly get back on my feet.

Phew… that was lu—

The pain erupted once more, this time… from my stomach?

I can feel myself lifting away, all the way to the intact ceiling beyond my head.

"Guh…"

Holding back a painful moan, I focus on what just hit me at the stomach—huh?

This is… if my memory works out… wasn't this the ice?

… They're working together? But how?

As I realized what she just did by now, more of them suddenly surged up from the ground, pinning me up completely at the ceiling.

This is… ugh…

I turned to see the very culprit, who should be just right below me… but she—they are all gone.

… Hm? This feeling…?

Ah. I see.

With the flick of the fingers, I indulge the ices in the flames until they're all melted into mere air, becoming my very own power as I once again gracefully landed.

… I see. So that's their play, then?

With a flick of my finger, an intense flaming wall surrounded the whole place.

No one in. No one out.

Let's see how Tome-chan is gonna save Shidonii now ~

Tome POV:

Hah… hah… Ugh!

… Seems like I got away. Somehow.

To think everything pays off like that in the end… dang.

But despite all the tricks I did on her—I'm stuck.

Right as I finally got her off my tail, a scorching heat suddenly swept through my cheek.

I take a look at the window—only to see the scorching fire linger outside. Along with all the exits here.

This is…

[It seems like she's intended to lock you here, Tome-san.]

Its voice calmly went into my ear, earning it a wince from me.

… But I ain't complaining here. Not if it's true here.

I take a quick glance at my back, frowning at the bloody, bruising face of my… friend.

"… So she knows he's alive?"

[The flame, from all my calculations, isn't enough to penetrate your Astral Dress, so I believe your assumption is correct for the time being here.]

… Ugh, yeah, what it says.

I quickly take Shido on his ear per its instruction, earning me a panic voice coming from the other side.

["Shido!!! Do you copy!! Your vitality is suddenly gone!!! Are you there!!"]

"I heard you, Kannazuki."

["That voice… Tome-san?! Why are you there?! How's Shido?!"]

The familiar voice, one belonging to another guy I briefly met at during my evaluation time, called out in pure surprise.

"Yeah, long story short I'm kinda here. Shido is… well, not good."

My brown slightly dropped with the last statement, as his blood now completely soaked my back beneath my .

"Anyway, can you bring him back there? Kotori's… or at least some lookalike, is kinda on my tail right now."

Kannazuki then, to my surprise, fell silent with a request for a while, with a weird sound coming from the other side accompanying me.

What the heck is he doing there?

["… We can't, Tome-san."]

… What?! What did he mean by that?! Why can't they just whoosh him back like that time?!

["Kotori destroyed the ship! We're now on the way to repair the teleportation system here!"]

I clicked my tongue in annoyance with his new, before hearing the com suddenly cut off.

[I just checked their side. Most of their systems, including the communications lines, are all fried up. Seems like they can't help you any longer.]

Just great. Now I'm stuck here all by myself, trying to fend off Kotori while figuring on how to save Shido…

… What should I do now?

[This is quite tricky, Tome-san. Keep avoiding her until I find a sufficient exit.]

I silently nod at its command, and continue on my… hide-and-seek? I th—

I immediately draw out , turning swiftly all around.

"Woah woah woah!!! Calm down there, princess!"

… Huh? What the… what is that?

"You…"

"Could you drop your thing? Just trying to talk here!"

Reluctantly, I slowly lowered the at my waist, still alarming with the surroundings.

… Come to think of it, wasn't this girl the one I just saved?

"Wait… you are… I just saved you, right?"

I tilt my head down at… whatever is standing in front of me.

She looks like a little girl there, with all the green clothes… with that?

"Indeed!! Thanks for the save back there sis!!"

… Uh, like, was that normal? At all?

I have a feeling it's not, but it's not like I understand everything here…

"Uh… you welcome?"

Without any knowledge on what to behave in this situation, I wearily reply to her… rather energetic gratitude.

"So… what are you doing with him sis?"

And before I knew it, the atmosphere suddenly shifted.

From the light-hearted banter to eerily quiet, with only the flickering flame anchoring me to reality.

It wasn't outright hostile… but not entirely heartwarming anymore. It's like—the thing merely tolerated me here.

My finger slightly flicker with the sudden switch, and I almost summoned back , but I decided to hold back.

But still… What should I tell her? Can I even tell her the tru—

[Hm… just tell the truth, Tome-san. I believe that would be the best move here.]

—And that thing has already been decided in my place.

"… I'm trying to save him."

So, without any other idea here, I nervously whisper back to her.

The thing slightly winces back with my response, then whips its head at Shido on my back.

He's stopped bleeding for a while, thanks to what I've been days ago, but his expression was still terrifyingly white.

From what it told me, and one that I personally inspected just now, he's still alive.

Barely clinging to life as it said, but alive.

… To see him in this state again… what a cruel joke.

I silently clicked my tongue in annoyance, and moved to check on the surroundings.

Not much to see around, beside some stores selling various stuff I have no idea about, and ruins from the earlier fights against Kotori…

But beside them, nothing. No sound, no movement, no nothing.

And yet, even that still didn't calm my heart.

My eyes still shoot to every possible spot, my ear still clinging to any sound around, my feet are all ready to move in an instant.

I can't afford to be careless here, ever again.

Although… something here kinda bugging me for quite a bit. Not related to Kotori a bit, but more so with… her…

"I see… then let me deal with her!!"

… Huh?

"What—?"

"Ya hear me! You carry Shido-san outta here while I discipline that lil girl!!"

The thing raises its head with a confident smirk with those statements… while its grin wasn't changing. Like, at all.

"Besides, Shido-san here entrusted us with such a matter after all!! He's been nice to us here, so it's natural for us to repay him!!"

… Huh.

So he made a promise to her… weird…

So, feeling a bit… complicated for some reasons, I nod back at one determined thing.

"Anyway… any way to get Shido-san out?"

The thing slowly asked the crucial question, one that I… admittedly didn't figure out yet.

"… No, I still haven't."

"Understandable, we also couldn't get past that fire."

The thing calmly admits that to me, much to my surprise, with a solemn expression.

So they're in the same boat as me… dang it…

[Found it.]

Once again, its voice brings the solution to the problem.

"Really?"

I call out to it with a doubtful feeling, not really believing that thing… something I admittedly shouldn't after everything it shows off to me.

[Take the sewage system, she hasn't touched it yet. You should go down—Behind!]

Before I could hear it entirely, my body was already on the move.

Without thinking, without even knowing, I donned the , kicked the girl away and jumped back.

I cover Shido at my front and slam through the wall with my back, ignoring all the erupted pains.

And once I settle down among the pieces I made, I slowly lifted my eyes forward—

"Ah."

—And seeing my own leg laying at her feet.

I hold back my own scream, bite the lip just to hold on my consciousness, and stare straight at her smudging face.

… How? How can she be here?! How didn't I see, or hear, her?!

Despite my best attempt to spot her… she just—here. In a single moment, she's already right beside me, all without my own knowledge.

… So this is her true power?

"Hah? So you did see through it ~ You truly surprise me there, Tome-san ~"

With a mischief grin like her usual self, she kicked the legs away, and slowly made her way to me with the thing on her shoulder.

I quickly summon the unsheathed right in front of me, attempting to stop her.

Well, attempted to at least, as her swing basically tore through the whole thing and pierced right through at my belly.

"Gah…"

I vomited blood out from the mouth, as the pain slowly surged up from the belly to my head.

At that moment, everything I desperately held back… surfaced.

"Oh well, playtime's over I guess."

This… it… hurts…

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts—It hurts.

… Is this… is this how Shido… feel?

A surge of energy suddenly rushed through my mind, forcing me to grab her thing.

"Wha—?!"

Kotori let out what seemed to be a surprised yell, but my mind was too full to even care about that.

What's truly important here… what I need to do here…

"To stop you!!!"

I let out my wildest scream straight at Kotori face, and swiftly called forth sheath—at her hands.

"Agh!"

Seeing her slightly let her grip loose, I make a risky decision, one I never thought I'd ever do.

I made a spin, still with the thing impaled in me, and forcefully pulled it out through the pains, spewing blood everywhere.

"If you are stuck in a situation I didn't anticipate for you, then I suggest you make a thought and go for it, no matter how dumb it is. For surprise is the only factor no one expected for."

Remembering its word just a few hours ago, I swung my good leg on her face, intending to confuse her and buy me some more time…

"Naive, Tome-chan!!"

Before I even acknowledged something, she pushed me down on the ground, with her foot crushing my face.

"Dang it…"

And now, standing right above me, is a disturbing looking Kotori, staring down at me with a burning gaze.

"Nice try there, Tome-chan, but still a bit too desperatwle—Now sleep!"

She narrows her eyes with a dangerous feel to it, and begins her assault down on me.

She kept slamming me on the face for a while, each step heavier than the last, eventually drenching my face and her foot in a dark red colour.

Guah… da… dang…

"Stop right there, devil!!!"

The very last thing I heard… before pain overcomes my senses… was it voice.

… Ghrdk.

Yoshinon POV:

Tch! I was one step behind!! And for that, the devil claims another life!!

To think I'm being knocked out at the worst time… how shameful I am!!

Rest assured, mistru!! I shall fulfill your quest in your name!!

"Hm? Ah right, you."

The devil in our skin slowly turned toward me, her face… didn't show any interest in the slightest.

… Hurk! What a scary look! That actually frightens me there!

But I have no intention of backing down!! Ever!!

A hero never turns his back on another wish!!

"Stand back, you devil! Or we have to do it the hard way!!"

I pose at the devil with the line I learned the other day, which should be spooking her off here…

"Hah? Really?"

… But it seems like they didn't seem to be scared one bit by my threat. Not at all.

Hm, then so be it! Let the devil taste my wrath then!!

"… Hm?"

I slowly call forth the power from deep within myself, as my view slowly moves up.

Here comes the !!! Be prepared for punishment, you devil!!

With a prideful roar, I shot 3 icicle spikes straight at them. The devil, as expected, easily swept away as she pointed her thing at me.

"… Huh?"

But her attempts are futile! For I already pin her in place with the ice she just broke!!

Using the opportunity, I shot out many more icicle spikes at them.

Unfortunately, the devil successfully fends off some of them. Fortunately, the devil only successfully fend off some of them.

The rest of the spikes reach the devil, impaling them thoroughly all over the body.

"Huak…!"

The devil let out a painful cry, before limping out on the spot as her flame fizzled out.

Fuhahahaha!!! In ya face—Eh?

… Why am I—flying?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

"Kotori" POV:

Tch! How annoying…

To think I have to resort to such a cheap trick on a mere doll…

… Yeah, I should stop being her from now on. Too much hassle to deal for.

"Ah… guk…"

The girl, who's acting all arrogant for some reason just now, is now shivering on her back while holding her stump… crying also.

Huh… the shift in her personality is astounding… even for me…

Oh well, not my concern.

Ignoring the brat completely, I slowly walk up to the bloody pulp which is my brother, who's still breathing there despite the life threatening injury over there.

… Seems like not every single ounce of my power was returned to me, it would seem…

Time to cut loose ends, and finally be truly free!

Not bothered to even summon , I lifted my hand up, preparing to end his suffering once and for a—

—Just to see the very ground in the next second.

What…?

I swept my eyes around the whole place, but everyone else, both Tome-chan and that brat, disappeared.

… Again?! I missed my chance again??!!!