Hidden In Darkness: Kusanagi Part 1

Chapter 11: Wrath of the Fairy King

Perspective Change: Keisuke Yugao
3 hours earlier.
"No... It needs a little salt..." I told one of the apprentice chefs after a little taste test.
I was in the middle of work in the restaurant, Gourmet. It was a food branch owned by the Kibishi Group. Not many people came here during the day, but there was even less people that day. It was probably due to the cultural festival happening in Bakuro Academy nearby.
"I wonder if Shizuka is enjoying herself..." I wondered to myself.
I was so surprised she came home with a maid outfit from school. It reminded me a lot about my time in high school. I remembered that I stayed in school and helped Sora with the decorations. They were fond memories indeed. However, it was not the time to be reminiscing about the past, I needed to concentrate on working. I went back to my station and continued to slice and dice the carrots and potatoes. I was one of the best chefs in the restaurant. I even had other restaurants in the country offering to hire me. However, due to obvious reasons for staying, I rejected the offers. After cutting up the food, I quickly placed them into pot of boiling water and stirred them with even more ingredients. I continued cooking until the boss came into the kitchen.
"Keisuke. Someone's calling for you..."
"Tori, take over my post, would you?" I asked my colleague.
"Sure thing." She answered back.
I walked out of the kitchen and into the office room. The phone was still not placed on the receiver, rather on the table top. I picked it up and placed it into my ear.
"Hello?"
"Keisuke. It's me, Tohru. We have a situation. Meet me at my headquarters as soon as you can. I already talked to your manager. You're free to go." The voice from the other line said.
"Understood."
I then placed the phone back onto the receiver. I went to my locker room, took off my apron and hat, and quickly walked out of the restaurant. I was not told much, but I could guess what it was about. I walked briskly through the streets until I found a large building in my sights. I was closing in. All of a sudden, I felt a wave of energy hitting against me for an instance. No one else in the street seemed to had felt it, but I knew something was wrong. I picked up the pace and started running towards the building. I finally reached the entrance. The doors automatically opened and I reached the receptionist, hoping for an explanation. Alas, no one was there. In fact, I could not sense anything or anyone. I decided to call Tohru using my cell phone.
"... Come on...."
No answer came. Looking around was pointless as I knew no one was in the building. The only place I could think of was the Edge. Usually, I had to find something with great spiritual energy to create a rift into the Edge. However...
"Time to use this."
I took out a gem from my pocket. It was an experimental rift crystal based on what Deigura used. In theory, it should create a rift on its own. According to Tohru, the crystal had an 87% chance of working. I hoped that I would be lucky. I threw and broke the crystal, forming a portal in front of me. It was successful. I took a step in and found something that shocked me.
"What the...!?"
Everything was in chaos, robotic soldiers were flying around and killing some of the unfortunate staff around. It seemed that these robots somehow teleported the entire building's inhabitants into the Edge. The building should had been protected by a barrier, how did the building got overruned by automations. Whatever happened then did not matter at the moment, I needed to focus on rescuing the survivors.
"Help! Help!"
I heard screams coming within the elevator doors. The robot soldiers were attacking the door, attempting to kill those behind it. Fortunately, the doors, like most in the building, were protected by a barrier magic. It would hold off the robots, but not for long. I ran towards them and attacked from behind. I spun my nagitana and swung it at two robots, slicing their torsos of their body. The other robots in the room started to notice me. They stopped mindlessly slaughtering the staff members and began to attack me. Suddenly, they materialized guns in mid air, similar to Titania. They started shooting at me with bullets made of mana. I spun my nagitana again, deflecting the bullets that came at me.the bullets rebound on the floors beside me. I slowly walked closer to the robots for an attempt to strike at them. They noticed my advance and changed their tactics. Their guns disappeared and were replaced with glowing swords, which I assumed was made of mana as well. The change was instantaneous. I could not even see the change that happened. The robots began to attack me from both sides. I dashed underneath them and impaled one of them with the blade at the tip of my weapon. The robot that was next to it tried to attack me again. I quickly dodged and grabbed the robot's arm. Then, I pushed it aside, causing it to slice the robot I impaled in half and freeing my weapon. With that, I picked it as it was about to fall and cut the robot from top to bottom, leading to a 'forced deactivation'. With all the robots in the room in pieces, I then knocked on the elevator doors.
"The bots are destroyed, you're safe now..." I called out to them.
"That voice... Yugao-san?" A voice from inside said.
I heard a few button presses from the other side before the door opened. Two scientists, both who were male, got out of the elevator. They were filled with both fear and relief.
"What happened here?" I asked one of them
"These automations trapped us in the Edge just after Kibishi-san called you. From what Kibishi-san said in the emergency announcement, it seems they were from Morshige Kozu. However, the announcement was cut off before it was finished." The scientist gave me a brief summary.
"I see. I, going to the main office on the top floor. Will you two be okay?" I asked
"We'll be fine. There is a safe room on this floor. We were on the way there before we got caught in the elevator." The other scientist assured.
The two scientist quickly ran down the right hallway and disappeared from my view. I entered the elevator and looked up. It seemed that the robot's attack in the building rendered the elevator incapable of bringing me up.
"Guess I can use it for five seconds."
I channeled my energy within me. Summoning forth my inner power. A white aura consumed my body as I made my next move.
"Jurojin: Youthful Spirit!"
I then ran up the wall and in about a second or two, I reached the office level. However, smoke was escaping through the elevator doors. With one arm grabbing onto the wall and the other brandishing my weapon, I sliced the door open and bounced off the wall. The office was consumed with a crimson sea of fire. Burning metal and debris were littered on the floor, there were bodies of inactive robots everywhere as well. A huge battle must had happened a while ago. I entered the office, hoping I could find someone or something that could explain what happened. The office was completely destroyed, the windows behind the table were also shattered.
"Yugao-san! Thank goodness you're here!"
I turned my head to where the voice came from. Yuzuki, covered with bruises, ran to me, exhaling profusely.
"Yuzuki. What happened here?" I demanded an explanation.
Yuzuki briefly explained to me the situation. Kozu Morshige attacked the Kibishi Group's building a moment ago, alongside a powerful android and an army of replica automations. The barrier guarding the building suddenly failed, allowing Kozu's army to easily assault the building. Tohru, Sasuke, and Masakado left to fight Tohru while Yuzuki and Titania were ordered to take care of the whole robot situation.
"Where did Titania go?" I asked Yuzuki.
"I sent her to get back up from the Enforcers." Yuzuki explained.
The Enforcers were a police branch funded by the Kibishi Group that dealt with magic related problems when it was too much for demon hunters like us to handle alone. They are not as powerful as regular demon hunters, but they should easily handle the situation with their numbers.
"I see. Do you have a communicator to Titania?" I asked Yuzuki.
With that, she passed me a communicator. It was designed to communicate Titania from far away. I placed it in my ear and activated it.
"Titania! It's me, Keisuke."
"Voice recognition confirmed. How may I assist you, Yugao Keisuke-san?" Titania asked in a monotone manner.
"Where are you now?" I asked.
"I am currently leading the Enforcers to the Kibishi Group building." She answered.
"Good. You and the Enforcers will deal with the situation at the Kibishi building. Yuzuki and I will be assisting Tohru. We need his position." I ordered her.
"Understood. Retrieving location of Kibishi Tohru-san. Information retrieved. Currently in Tashiwagi Floodplain." Titania replied
"I see. Thanks."
I cut off the connection and headed out of the building with Yuzuki. Yuzuki summoned a swarm of her Guardian butterflies. We jumped on the swarm and flew to the floodplain. As we looked back, we saw the Kibishi building still burning. It was regrettable to just leave it as it is, but I knew that when it came to Kozu, it would not end well if he was not attended to immediately.
"Shit!" Yuzuki suddenly blurted out.
She was staring at the distance with distraught written on her face. I looked at what she was seeing and immediately understood why. In the distance, a giant dome of mana had a building trapped within. However, it was not just a random building.
"Bakuro Academy... Shizuka..."
The moment I saw the dome, a chill went up my spine. I could not lose another person close to me. However, I needed to get to Kozu.
"Yuzuki! Drop me off here! Get to the school at full speed!"
With that, Yuzuki dropped me off on the ground of the shopping district. From there, I should reach the floodplain in five minutes.
"Yuzuki. Keep the kids the safe. Alright."
Yuzuki simply stared at me and grinned.
"I won't let anything happened to them, you better take care of yourself too."
Yuzuki then took off at full speed straight to the school. All I needed to do now was to get to the floodplain. However, five minutes would be too long. I needed to get there as soon as possible.
"No choice. Jurojin: Youthful Spirit!"
A white aura surrounded me once more. I raced to the floodplain in a speed incapable of normal men. My senses were heightened enough to make turns when I needed to and determine the quickest path. It only took me a minute before I reached the floodplain and on the other side were people fighting against each other. I could sense a huge clash of mana happening. Without hesitation, I launched myself to cross the river. With the my enhanced speed and leg muscles, I was high up in the air when I jumped. As I drew closer and closer to my destination, I could see a better image of the battle. Tohru, Sasuke and Masakado surrounded a man in a lab coat, brandishing a single short blade, similar to a shiv or a penknife. Despite being outnumbered, and in a tactical disadvantage, my three allies were the ones who were breathing heavily. The man in the middle was grinning, even when he looked up at me, his face still had a malicious grin. A grin I had yet to forget. As I began to descend, I pulled out Gozen, my naginata. I lifted it up with both hands, prepared to launch a devastating blow onto the man. The man saw the attack coming. However, I knew no single man could escape an attack with that much power and velocity. The man just grinned as I came closer and to my shock, he did the impossible. In a speed that outmatched human capabilities, the man pulled himself back and performed a backwards cartwheel to evade my attack, as though he wanted to belittle by doing something redundant. I lifted my head and saw the man in front of me. The glasses that displayed his intelligence, the cold brown eyes that displayed no morality, the malicious grin that displayed his madness, and his tidy black hair which was as dark as his soul. There was no mistaking who that man was, even though I saw his lifeless body underneath fire and debris 10 years ago, there was no mistaking it.
"We meet again, Kozu." I greeted him with a cynical manner.
"Are yes, it's been a while. Keisuke." Kozu greeted back.
"You're late." Tohru said as he walked to my side, with a special handgun he had.
"Sorry. I didn't exactly had directions." I apologized.
"Now that Yugao-san is here, we can turn the tide!" Sasuke commented enthusiastically,
"The boy is right! It's time we pump ourselves up and fight!" Masakado said with even more enthusiasm as he lifted his giant blade high up in the air, as though signaling the start of a war.
However, before I continued. I had a few questions. I knew Kozu for a long time, and I knew that even in a fight, he would rather talk than actually fight. Whether it was due to pride or part of his eccentric personality, but it didn't matter.
"Hmm? You have questions? Alright I'll answer you, I still have some time to kill anyways..." Kozu stated in a nonchalant manner, seemingly dropping his guard.
Normally, I would use it as an opportunity, but I had a feeling it would not work. Tohru just stared at me, confused and annoyed. He wanted to end Kozu once and for all, wondering why I would waste my time talking to him. At least, that was what I think he was thinking.
"First off. Who are you? Really?" I asked.
The question shocked my comrades. All of us, excluding Sasuke should know full well that it was Kozu. However, it should not be possible since he...
"Last time I checked. You died ten years ago. We checked and cremated you"
The three of my allies then understood what I wanted to know. It seemed that Tohru was too focused in fighting Kozu to even ask the big question.
"You cremated me? Heh! I knew you guys cared..." Kozu joked and began giggling
After a brief moment of laughter, Kozu stopped and looked at the four of us. Without a word, he removed his lab coat and began unbuttoning his shirt. He then turned his exposed back to us, revealing the truth. We were all speechless to see what it was, except for Sasuke who knew not what it meant. An intricate and complicated tattoo was plastered onto Kozu's back permanently. It looked my like an electrical circuit than any normal tattoo. It was the something only Tohru, Masakado, Yuzuki and I knew. Masakado then began to seethed with rage. The eye behind the hole of the paper bag he wore on his head was obviously that of anger. Something rare to see from the eccentric man.
"KOZU! WHERE DID YOU LEARN ABOUT IT! YOU MONSTER WHO FORSAKEN HIS HUMANITY!" Masakado growled furiously as the his Yasakani Jewel in his neck began glowing.
"Sticks and stones! Masakado!" Kozu stated, unfazed by the menacing tone of Masakado.
The scientist began to rebutton and putting on his coat again as he continued o speak.
"Besides, calling me a monster because of this, is the same as calling that little girl you're protecting a monster too!" Kozu stated.
It was then, he snapped. Masakado's Yasakani Jewel transformed into the colourful Magatama armor. With his large sword he began charging blindly.
"Don't you dare insult Miyamaru-sama!" Masakado screamed as he ran straight at the former human. It was then I sensed something. No. Someone. It was not just me. Sasuke and Tohru sensed it too. It was fast and heading straight at Masakado.
"Stop! It's a t..."
Before I could finish, Masakado sensed it as well. However, he was too late. The moment he turned his head at the upcoming attack from the side, a sword was already at his throat, cleaving it's way through the man's neck. Masakado's head flew straight up in the air as the thrown sword landed into the water of the floodplain.
"Wh...what?" Masakado muttered, unable to comprehend what happened, before becoming silent.
All of us could do nothing but stare in horror as Masakado's body fell onto the ground. Dead in front us.
"You disappoint me. Masakado. Couldn't even notice him." Kozu said melancholically.
Kozu and I snapped out of it and searched for the unknown assailant. Up above the floodplain was an android, unlike the automations I fought at the Kibishi Group building. It seemed similar to that of Titania, metallic jet mechanisms were attached on the android's shoulders, allowing it to hover. It also had a humanoid shape. However, there were some exceptions, it had a larger metallic armor and nothing that resembled human flesh. Completely mechanical in appearance.
"Allow me to introduce you to my son. My new invention. Oberon. The fairy king." Kozu announced triumphantly.
The android hovered itself down to our level. It landed in front of his creator, as though it was guarding him. Tohru was still furious, but it seemed he had calmed down somewhat. He knew of he was not careful, he would end up like Masakado. Sasuke, on the underhand was still staring in fear. Tohru glared at Sasuke, making him snap back into reality and take a defensive position.
"How the hell did you make that automation? Let alone all those attacking my building?" Tohru questioned Kozu.
"Simple espionage really. I worked at EXALT under a guise. And with a bit underground work here and there, I took over and used the resources to mass produce my android army, Sprites. And of course, Oberon." Kozu explained politely as he walked behind his creation.
"What of Titania? And what about Noriko?" I asked
We heard Tsubasa Noiko, the leader of EXALT went missing along with her organization from the World Magus Society. If what he said was true, Noriko Tsubasa must had been taken hostage or dead. I had to know which was it.
"Titania was meant as a simple project under EXALT's orders. Although, I improved the schematics to create Sprites, weaker but easy to reproduce. And a much more refined version, Oberon. In short, I let you keep her for she is useless and obsolete to me. I did not even have the chance to input the right programming yet."
All of a sudden, I felt a huge energy disruptions in the distance. It was where Bakuro Academy was. I turned my attention and watched as the mana dome surrounding school was broken. Kozu noticed it too, he looked at the direction and grinned. He then turned back to us.
"I believe the time to talk is over. Orochi is handling the children as we speak. The Enforcers are occupied by my Sprites at your HQ. And as long as I have EXALT's leader, Tsubasa Noriko, as my hostage, the World Magus Society will not dare to intervene. No one will be saving you. It was nice to see you all again, but I have to bid you all adieu. Oberon, expose of them." Kozu commanded the machine as a magic circle appeared underneath him.
"Teleportation spell!? Don't you dare..." Tohru shouted as he ran straight at the man, only to blocked by Oberon.
Kozu grinned at Tohru one last time before dropping into the portal that was formed under his feet. The magic circle them disappeared quickly as it appeared. Oberon then kicked Tohru in the abdomen, forcing him backwards and landing on the ground.
"Father!" Sasuke yelled out.
Tohru simply got up with his gun in hand. He spit blood onto the ground and rubbed off the dirt on his cheeks. Oberon looked a us one by one. It was like as though he was examining us.
"Foolish humans. You all dare defy father and his wishes. There is no logic in you thinking. Nothing would be achieved but your early demise." The andriod began to speak.
It was strange. Unlike the androids I fought earlier and Titania, it seemed to have a personality, somewhat.
"I am a superior being. Your probabilities of winning are below 1 percent." The android claimed as small ripples in the air began appearing.
"Activating Sword Summoning system: Puck!"
After which, swords engulfed in dark colored light appeared from the ripples. Swords of all kinds. Small. Big. Curved. Sharp. Blunt. All with different designs and variations were appearing. Eight in total. The eight swords began attacking us. Two headed at Tohru. Another two headed at Sasuke. And the other four was coming at me. It probably thought I would be the most troublesome as I was not as exhausted as the other two. I lifted my naginata, Gozen, and deflected the first blade. Two more blades were closing the distance. One aimed at my head, the other at my leg. I deflected the one aimed at my right leg and moved my head to dodge the other one. However, it to leave a cut on my forehead as I was too slow. The last one was the aimed at my right arm, exposed after deflecting the second sword. It was the size of a knife. I could use Jurojin to increase my speed, but I had to use it sparingly. Otherwise, the side effects would kick in. I decided to take the hit and gritted my teeth, bracing myself. The knife-sized blade struck my arm. Fortunately, it was not a fatal blow and the others managed to deflect the attacks aimed at them without being injured. However, the android used thrusters on its back and activated a plasma sword from its arm bracers. It was about to ram it straight into my chest. Suddenly, two bullet from Kozu was blown straight at the machine's head, knocking it slightly off course, allowing me to dodge away. As the android was about to turn back to me, Sasuke used an ice spell onto the robot.
"Elemental Spell: Flash Freeze!"
After the ice projectile was thrown at the machine, it simply got back up. It summoned a straight sword and tossed it at the spell bolt. The sword ripped the projectile in half and headed at Sasuke. Sasuke, wielding his spear, tried to block, but the force was too great and pushed him onto the ground.
"Heel Slasher!" The android shouted out as it kneeled and summoned another sword.
It was a curved sword and was summoned sideways near the ground. It began spinning as it was thrown straight at my legs. I pierced my Gozen onto the ground and guarded. The curved sword began pushing me back. Gravel flew out of the ground as I was getting forced back. The android then turned to Tohru, who was firing several shots. Only to be deflected by the summoned swords. However, the swords that blocked the shots fell onto the ground motionless.
"Interesting, the bullets seem to drain small amounts of mana in every hit. But that is but a minor setback. Backstab!"
Before Tohru could fire more rounds, a ripple appeared behind Tohru's back.
"Even from behind!?" Tohru yelled in surprise as he ducked and ran straight at the android, preparing to fire.
"Heel Slasher!"
Suddenly, the curved sword in front of me vanished and appeared by the android. It was then thrown at Tohru in the same fashion. Tohru managed to. He noticed the blade coming at him and dashed to the right to avoid both the back and front attacks. However, the android had it planned out and using its thrusters, it flew straight at Tohru, grabbing him by the neck and lifted him into the air.
"Father!" Sasuke cried out, still recovering from the previous attack.
It was not good. I was about to use a magic spell to attack the android. However, a ripple appear underneath me. It was not a small one. It was huge! I quickly avoided it and a giant blade appeared and raised up into the air quickly before sinking back into the ripple. All of a sudden, another circle of the same size appeared, and as I dodged again, another appeared. It was as though the giant blade was chasing me. The same was for Sasuke as he got up. While I was dodging the chasing blade, I looked up at the android. It was still hovering high up in the air and holding him by the neck. Tohru pointed his gun at the android's head and shoot it point black. However, there was no effect as the bullet ricocheted off.
"A futile effort! My armor is infused with hardened adamantite coated with barrier magic. Nothing can cut it. Zero percent."
A light illuminated from the arm bracer of the Oberon, shining directly at Tohru's face. It was activating its plasma sword. If it activated it, Tohru's neck would be sliced into half immediately. Before I could get there, yell out, or do anything, he appeared.
'Boom!' A black flame was thrown onto the face of the android. Smoke covered the the automation while Tohru was thrown back onto the ground by the force. It was no magic spell, it was the power of an Origin. Only one person I knew could have done so. All of a sudden, The sound of an engine can be heard coming towards us. It was getting louder and louder. Finally, I could see it. A man in a trench coat, wearing a helmet, riding on an advanced looking motorbike. The man was riding it on the top side of the floodplain, preparing to ramp off and attack.The man jumped off the bike as the bike was in the air. The bike flew into the smoke cloud and crashed into the android, pushing it into the water alongside the vehicle. It probably could not see the attack due to the smoke. The man landed onto the ground, next to Tohru, who was still recovering.
"You...*cough*...did that on purpose didn't you!? And was that my bike?" Tohru questioned the man.
The man laughed as he removed the helmet, revealing it was none other that Raidou Kibishi.
"I know right! It was hilarious!" Raidou stated as he continued to laugh.
"Aniki!" Sasuke cheerfully called out.
"Hey little bro! Thought you guys need some help. Shit's going down in the entire town. Also, I got a message from that Nobunaga girl."
Everyone of us were alerted when he stated he had a message from Kotori.
"Yeah. With the shitstorm happening here, she was stationed at the Toya Hill Shrine, trying to figure out what's going on. She found the EXALT leader. She wanted to get in touch with you guys, but you were all occupied, so she called me." Raidou explained.
"That's great!" Sasuke commented.
"All right then, why didn't you just go rescue her yourself?" Tohru asked as he was getting up.
"Because, I ain't gonna missing a good fight when I sense one. And it's not like you could fight against that machine any longer. You'll do better in searching than I would anyway. Go on, beat it old man." Raidou said.
He began doing a hand gesture, shooing his father away, which obviously frustrated him. Suddenly, the bike was thrown out of the water and at Raidou, who was pushed back it onto the grass field. Fortunately, Raidou used his black aura to shield himself from the impact. The android began to rise from the water.
"Kibishi Raidou. Age 20. Known as the Grim Reaper. You are quite the threat." The android stated.
Raidou pushed aside the vehicle off of him and stood up, unfazed by it.
"Hah! My reputation precedes me! Old man, you and Sasuke go rescue that idiot! It's not like you two can do anything." Raidou instructed them
Tohru was still angry from the disrespect from his son. However, he knew he was right. Using the bike, Sasuke and Tohru mounted on.
"Why were you using my bike?" Tohru asked before he leaves.
Raidou turned back and grinned.
"To piss you off, old man."
Tohru glared angrily before driving off with Sasuke holding on.
"Good luck, uncle, aniki." Sasuke quietly cheered for us as they drove off.
"No one escapes!" Oberon shouted.
Oberon then proceeds to summon a sword using its right arm. However, Raidou dashed in and attacked the machine's arm using his scythe, slicing it off. Oberon was shocked by the attack and hovered away.
"Impossible! No material in the world could penetrate my defense." Oberon ranted in confusion.
"Simple, this scythe isn't from this world."
"What!? Where in the world did you get that?" The android questioned Raidou.
"Like it matters! Cause you'll be pieces of scrap soon enough!"
Raidou began swinging his weapon at Oberon. Oberon blocked the attacks using his swords instead. With his weapons concentrating on defense instead of offense, it was my turn to attack. With Gozen in my two hands, I charged into the fray.
"Jurojin: Squall!"
As I swung my blade, a wave of white energy rushed towards the machine, hurling into the water again.
"Thanks for the assist, but I had it you know." Raidou stated.
"Well it's not like I could stay still and do nothing. I mean, would you?" I asked sarcastically,
Raidou simply glared.
"...fair enough..." Raidou said as he looked away, embarrassed.
Oberon rose out of the water again. It did not have a face, but I could tell it was enraged.
"It appears I have underestimated you. But no longer. Overdrive: activate!"
With that, Oberon's body began to glow red hot, and swords began to summon itself. 6 swords. 12 swords. 24 swords. 48 swords. They were multiplying. Soon, hundreds of swords were floating by Oberon, all of which we overheated as well.
"Oh wow! This is gonna be fun!" Raidou said excitedly.
The swords were then launched all at once. Raidou spun his scythe, charged with black energy, deflecting the swords one by one. I deflected a few and evade the others as it came my way. All of a sudden, as I was dodging the rain of swords, a summoning circle was forming at Raidou's feet. It was the same attack Oberon used on me.
"Look out!" I warned him.
Raidou took notice of it and blocked. A giant blade emerged and pushed Raidou up into the air. All of a sudden, smaller summoning circles appeared all around the airborne Raidou. Tiny blades quickly attacked Raidou, piercing his arms, legs and torso.
"Grrruuah!" Raidou grunted as he fell onto the floor.
I quickly pulled him away from the summoning circle and away from Oberon.
"Damn! Bastard put holes in my clothes. So annoying." Raidou complained as he pulled out the blades from his body.
Thankfully, the wounds were not serious. However, Oberon was getting relentless in the last attack. I had to finish this fight as quickly as possible. I needed to pull out all the stops.
"Raidou, get to Bakuro Academy and help the kids. I have a feeling something dangerous is happening there." I instructed him,
"What the hell!? I was just getting started!" Raidou argued.
"Do it Raidou! I'm about to use my trump card, I can't let anyone else be near me when I do."
Upon hearing my warning, Raidou knew what I meant.
"You do know what happens when you use that, right?" Raidou asked in a serious manner.
"I know."
There was a brief silence between us before being interrupted by Oberon. Hurling a couple of swords at us as we evaded them.
"Alright! I'll go. Don't go dying on me. Zuka-tan, boss, and everyone else will be waiting for you." Raidou said as he escaped the battle.
Oberon simply watched Raidou running off, not wanting to chase after.
"So, you still want to stay and fight. Have you gone suicidal, Yugao Keisuke?" Oberon questioned me as it's missing arm was replaced by a large lance.
"Suicidal... I guess that's one way to put it..." I whispered to myself.
As Oberon charged at me with the lance, I activated my last resort,
"Jurojin: Rebirth!"
Before Oberon could hit me, a white aura engulfed. It was followed by a shockwave that repelled the android. Power was channeling into my very soul and my wounds were regenerating as well.
"Rebirth. I've exchange part of my life force to attain this power for a ten seconds. But it should be more than enough time to finish you."
Oberon pulled back and unleashed another hail of swords at me. I ran through the blades and in less than a second, I was in front of Oberon. I lifted my naginata and unleashed my attack.
"Squall!" I shouted out as a massive wave of white light swallowed the android.
The force was incredibly strong. It was strong enough to push Oberon all the way to the town are across the floodplain. With my speed, I reached where it was in a matter of seconds. Oberon was nearly crushed on the road. With its overheated form gone, and it's body barely moving, it was no threat. My limited time of power ran out afterwards, not that I needed it anymore. I could feel the after effects already taking effect, my body was weakening. It would be temporary, but I was still strong enough to finish off the Oberon. I placed my foot onto the android and my blade at it's neck.
"This is the end." I said before I could plunge my blade into its robotic body.
Zing! The sound of a blade piercing rang through the air. Only, it was not from what I expect it would come from.
"...huh?"
I stared at my chest. A blade was piercing through my chest. On the other side, was a Sprite android, holding the blade that dealt the blow. I kneeled down from the pain as Oberon got up.
"It would be a fool's errand to continue the battle alone, so I called for them midway through our skirmish. I would like to thank you for the match, but it ends here. Die alone. Pathetic human."Oberon sneered pridefully as it was taken away by the Sprites.
I was careless. If only I would have thought off that possibility. I fell onto the ground and looked up at the night sky. It was crimson due to the effects of the Edge, but in my eyes, it was getting brighter. It was definitely the end of me. My life was flashing before my eyes. Happiness. Anger. Love. Hatred. Various emotions were filling inside me. I then remembered them.
"Sora... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you back then... Shizuka. I'm sorry. I can't be with you any longer, but at least you have people by your side, right? Satoshi. Protect your sister... Everyone, I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I'm..so...rry... I..s..ry..so.."
... ...
Everything went black after that.
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