"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ayame asked Misa. The two walked through a demolished part of the arena's city. Diego had been left to heal while they headed out.
"It doesn't have to be a good one," Misa said without turning.
"T-the last time you fought him, it didn't go well," Ayame stuttered, and that made Misa stop.
"The last time I fought my brother, I didn't hit him once," Misa said and finally turned to face Ayame. "Don't mistake my restraint for weakness," she added and continued walking. Ayame adjusted her glasses with intimidated hands. Misa was scary from what she had seen so far, and she definitely never wanted to get on her bad side.
Meanwhile, Mora kept watch over Frost, King and Paige, who were still trapped in his barrier. King slept lazily in his cat shape while Paige scrolled through her phone. The two were awfully unbothered about everything that was going on but Frost, on the other hand, kept his gaze on Mora the whole time. Mora stared back at Frost with his only functioning eye.
"What's your angle in all this?" Frost asked calmly.
"Night Axiom," Mora replied and pulled out a cigarette. He placed it in his mouth and lit it as he watched Frost's face darken with disgust. "The so-called arch enemies of AXE. They want that bastard and, when they're done, they promised to give us the honor of killing him." Mora looked down at where his right arm used to be and took a long drag from his cigarette.
"You'll be executed," Frost pointed out, and it made Mora scoff loudly as he exhaled the smoke.
"Don't give me that crap. The association doesn't scare me," Mora said.
"I wasn't talking about them," Frost corrected eerily, and Mora let out a chuckle.
"Then who were you talking about?" Mora asked.
"Her," Frost said and pointed his katana to the left. Mora turned in that direction, and his heart sank when he saw Misa and Ayame approaching. Misa looked like a completely different person, and the sight of his sister made Mora break into a cold sweat.
"Looks like he didn't finish the job," Mora sighed and drew his large axe off his back. Paige looked up for a brief moment before turning her attention back to her phone.
"You know what happens if you fight me," Mora yelled and took a more confident step forward.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," Misa shot back. Mora dropped his cigarette and stubbed it out roughly with his foot. He stretched out his axe-wielding arm and smirked.
"One of us dies today. Our fates are sealed the moment this fight begins," Mora said.
"Our fates were sealed the moment we were born Homura siblings," Misa said. She cracked her neck and her face went blank. "You'll suffer for everything you've made me go through... brother..."
---
"That abomination's name is Mercer. He's been around for hundreds of years," Zany told Romeo. The boy didn't seem to listen though. His every thought and intention were on hurting the abomination that was still staggering to its feet.
"You left Diego alone," Romeo pointed out and gave Zany a cold glare over his shoulder.
"Aww~ You're still worried about him, aren't you?" Zany teased and pulled on Romeo's cheeks. "Misa and Ayame are keeping an eye on him, so there's nothing to worry about," Zany reassured, but then her face hardened and she teleported into the sky with Romeo a moment before a gigantic boulder was hurled at them.
"GET DOWN HERE, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Mercer yelled and grabbed another large boulder off the ground. He was ready to throw it at them when a sharp pain shot through his ankle. He groaned in pain and dropped the boulder only to notice one of Zany's mannequins had cut it with its chainsaw. Mercer swatted it away like a fly and it crumbled into multiple small pieces. Mercer growled loudly, shaking off the pain, and turned his attention back to the pair in the air, but then...
"SLASH!!!"
Romeo activated his Halo Mode and came down on Mercer with a sharp blade made from his ice. The blade cut part of the abomination's face as it kept going down to its belly. Its reflexes were dulled due to the mannequin's action, and when it tried to grab or attack Romeo, the boy jumped out of reach and snapped his fingers loudly, activating False Hope.
Mercer's skin tore and blood gushed out from the wounds. The abomination fell to one knee and vomited blood as Romeo watched with a satisfied gaze.
"Get up. If you're still breathing, you can still fight," Romeo said and pointed the bloodied blade at Mercer. Romeo walked up to it, but then he winced in pain as a broken arm slipped out of place.
"Careful there," Zany warned and landed right beside him. "I'll run out of energy soon, so we should probably retreat for now," Zany said, but Romeo brushed every word off.
"I came here to kill this monster. I'm not leaving," Romeo swore and watched Mercer struggle in pain. The abomination eventually stood upright and its wounds healed themselves slowly. Romeo didn't seem fazed in the slightest, but then Mercer closed the gap between them before Romeo could even realize it. Mercer's fist connected with ground-shaking force and Romeo's head snapped to the side as he crashed into a cluster of trees.
"That arrogance runs in the family, it seems. Your suffering will..." Mercer suddenly realized its legs were stuck to the ground. Romeo had frozen the ground right before the strike landed, and now the abomination was trapped.
"Thanks for that, Romeo," Zany whispered and lifted her left arm. "I'll be putting all the energy I have left into this!" She grinned with both her fangs on display. Mercer felt the immense power she was expelling and knew if that thing hit, it would be bad news.
BOOOOM!
The explosion was so bright and powerful that every tree and object in the arena was vaporized completely, and Romeo had to shield his eyes until it dimmed down. Zany's witch form reverted back to normal and her legs shook as she stumbled back. Romeo caught her before she fell, and she grinned at him.
"You alright?" Romeo asked and helped her back to her feet.
"Yeah but... I'm done fighting for the rest of the day," she said. Romeo nodded and turned to see what had become of Mercer, but he wasn't there. He turned back to Zany, but then his blood ran cold.
Mercer stood right behind Zany with its arm around her neck. The abomination's skin was burning severely, but the flesh was slowly regenerating itself. She couldn't do anything with all her power depleted, and her life was quite literally in Mercer's hands.
"A witch huh, know someone just like you," the abomination said and tightened its grip on her neck enough to make her gasp in fear. Romeo schooled his expression back to its normal detached self and stood his ground.
"I'm the one you want to kill. Not her," Romeo said. "Let her go."
"You cherish this girl's life. Then start cutting," Mercer said, and the absurdity of the demand made Zany gasp in shock.
Romeo didn't flinch or hesitate. The ice blade he held came down on his flesh with a sickening sound. It came down on his neck and slowly carved down toward his chest. The flesh parted and blood oozed out, but Romeo didn't react. Mercer laughed, but he kept cutting. His gut, his torso, his knees, and even his back. Zany shut her eyes and looked away from the sickening scene. In a few minutes, Romeo was soaked in his own blood and the ground underneath him was no different.
"This is more than enough," Romeo said and dropped to his knees. His vision was blurred, and he was on the verge of either passing out or even dying from the blood loss.
"That's where you're wrong," Mercer said and abruptly started laughing. "Your mother made me go through Hell, and yours is just beginning."
CRACK... thud.
Zany's neck was snapped by Mercer, and her body fell to the ground as time stopped for Romeo. Mercer kicked her body like it was a discarded toy, and it rolled until it stopped right in front of the boy's knees. Zany's lifeless eyes stared up at Romeo, and a trail of blood slowly oozed out of her lips.
"Zany...? Wake up..." Romeo said with a trembling voice. He lowered shaky hands to touch her face, and his body trembled. Zany was... dead. Mercer killed her. The monster brought her pain. The monster brought Diego pain. The monster brought him pain.
"You're next," Mercer said and stepped closer. "Once I'm done with you, I'll kill your broth—"
Romeo gave a glare cold enough to freeze Hell, and that made the abomination fall quiet in surprise and underlying fear. Romeo hugged Zany's corpse and kissed her forehead. Ice began to grow around him, and his wings grew to more than double their usual size. They solidified, and snow-white feathers grew on them as his Halo Mode changed completely. His ice froze Zany's corpse as he stood up on trembling feet. Mercer's blood ran cold, and he stumbled back.
"You should have killed me first... but you killed her... you killed the only reason I was pretending to be human..." Romeo whispered. "I'll make death wait its turn... you come first."
END OF CHAPTER 17