A single man was seen walking at a calm pace as he felt the ground beneath his feet quaking. A sigh began to escape the man's lips as he steps foot into the labor district. When he looked ahead, he saw the source of the violent tremors.
"Code Breaker 3, Scarlet Demon Yuuki. Looks like that oracle on Mildian was correct as usual. In that case, I might as well-"
Before the man finished his sentence, he saw Rui and Shiki standing up. In all honesty, he was surprised that they were still alive. Seeing this, the man simply looked forward as he had one thing to say.
"The young ones always listen to their emotions first and foremost. However, they must feel responsible as people close to the boy. I'll only respect their wish for this one moment. However, when it's time for me to play my part, i'll do so."
~With Yuuki~
"Rui, right? What is going on with Yuuki?!"
Shiki couldn't hide his shock. Right now, only Rui and himself were able to combat Yuuki. However, it was taking all their might to stay awake and even stand. Seeing as they need to work together, Rui decides to share what she knew.
"Scarlet Phoneme. Its a form Yuuki takes on by creating a high density frequency around his entire body. He is able to emit sound around his body automatically without him being the one emitting it through his Ether Gear. The sound waves are so dense that they vibrate through the ground so violently, that it can be considered a natural disaster...but the worse part about it is the same as all of Yuuki's techniques."
Just as Rui said this, she saw Shiki being dragged through the ground as Yuuki had kicked his head into the ground and dragged him along. Before long, Rui found herself in the air as Yuuki punched her chin and sent her flying. Just as Yuuki was about to punch her, Rui created a shield from some nearby shadows.
"Rui.....anyone........."
"Yuuki?"
".....stop....me...."
It was only for a brief moment. Right before his fist collided with her shield, Rui saw the look in Yuuki's eyes. The tears escaping his eyes, the sadness that dwelled within those eyes, Rui saw it all. As her body crashed into the ground from Yuuki's punched, she looked towards Shiki as he was on the ground right next to her.
"He doesn't want to do this. Yuuki may be blunt, but he has a heart of gold deep down. He wouldn't want to do something like this. He wouldn't cry so much if this was something he wanted to do!!!"
"I agree, but what do we d-"
"Nothing, I shall handle this matter on my own."
Rui and Shiki both looked in the direction from where they heard a deep voice. Rui's eyes widen with great horror with who she saw as Shiki looked in horror as well. Despite the massive earthquake Yuuki was making, this man was walking towards the boy like he was enjoying stroll. Shiki knew right away, both Yuuki and this man were out of his league. Soon he looked towards Rui as he had one question.
"Who is that guy?"
"That man....is Code Breaker #1, the man who had the highest chance of killing the Demon King. The Red Fierce God:Kouma Kishima!"
Kouma said no words as he saw Yuuki. In all honesty, he was impressed by how much Yuuki has grown. As he walked forward, he saw the rampaging boy charging at him.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth....."
"Sound Domination:Beat Pu-"
Before Yuuki could launch his attack, Kouma's right hand grabbed his face as the boy saw flames emerging from it. When he looked at Kouma, Yuuki felt it. An emotion he hasn't felt since the Eden Project. This emotion was fear.
".........and an afterlife of hellfire for evil."
The moment Kouma said this, he jumped in the air as his right hand still held Yuuki's face. When he got into the air, Kouma threw Yuuki to the ground as he used his flames to increase the momentum of his throw. As Yuuki crashed into the ground, he noticed something was off. His face, or rather the part of Scarlet Phoneme that covered his face began to crack. As Kouma lands on the ground, he looked towards Yuuki.
"You have grown, that much is certain. However, the fact you think you have grown to such a degree that you think you have surpassed me is quite arrogant. Perhaps I shall refresh your memory of why I am Code Breaker #1 as I pass my judgement. Stand up, it will be just like the days when I trained you personally."
"Sound Domination:Voice Missile!!!!"
As Yuuki opened his mouth, he screamed out a blast of sound that enveloped a large portion of the area in front of him. As most of the area was destroyed, he saw a single person charging towards him as he felt his face being grabbed again.
"Single Horn:Unicorn-Flame Waltz!!!"
As Kouma punched Yuuki in his gut, he lifts his right fist upward with Yuuki's body still resting on it. Afterwards, a huge tremor could be felt from the ground as a large torrent of flames erupts from it and engulfs Yuuki's body. The buildings around Yuuki and Kouma began to melt due to the sheer intensity of the heat while the ground started to feel too hot to stand on. Shiki and Rui even began to have trouble breathing due to Kouma's attack. As Yuuki screamed out in pain, Kouma was walking away as Yuuki's Scarlet Phoneme was starting to break.
"You have indeed grown stronger. However, it seems your anger and hatred are missed place. I guess Hitomi refuses to tell you the truth until you are ready. Until you're able to take his place as Code Breaker #2."
As Kouma turned around, he saw Yuuki's body crash onto the ground. His Scarlet Phoneme was completely burned away as he was unconscious and on the ground. Soon Rui and Shiki ran towards Yuuki as Kouma walked away.
"Watch over that boy. Be sure to give him a path to walk on that won't lead to self-destruction. Just as this event has made clear, he could either be your strongest ally or your worst enemy."
~On Mildian~
"Oh yes, there is one more thing they will need to discuss with the Shining Stars. That is the fate of their friend, Yuuki Eden."
~On the Edens Zero~
Silence. The once lively Edens Zero was filled with a cold silence. Shiki and the group just told the rest of the Shining Stars about Valkyrie's death. Sister just looked at the group with her arms crossed as an upset look was plastered upon her face.
"Why didn't you bring her body here?"
"Because the people who reside in that land see my Master as a symbol of hope."
"Bring her back anyway!!! THIS is her home! If you'd brought me her body, I might have been able to heal it. My powers might have been able to fix it!!! All our memories, thoughts, and personality information are stored in the cloud storage!"
"By the way, where is Hermit?"
"Demon King, Hermit is in the infirmary. She rushed over there as soon as Yuuki and his acquaintance were administered there. While the girl is almost fully recovered, it would seem Yuuki is in a coma."
~In the Infirmary~
"Wake up. You better wake up!!!!!!"
Hermit was seen standing in front of a bed as she looked at Yuuki's form. The boy had bandages wrapped around his forehead as she saw something landing on his face. Before she knew it, Hermit was crying her eyes out.
"I already lost one friend, I don't want to lose you either. You owe us an explanation for what happened! I don't know what happened down there. I want to believe in you, I want to believe you wouldn't betray us. You were the one who said we'd be friends! So give me something, something for me to trust in!!!!"
"Yuuki wouldn't do something like that."
As Hermit turned around, she saw Rui walking towards her and Yuuki. When she stood in front of the boy, Rui placed her right hand upon Yuuki's head.
"Hitomi, Code Breaker #2, used his Ether Gear on Yuuki just like he did with me. By electrocuting a certain part of his brain, Hitomi made Yuuki his puppet. However........"
Rui clenched her fists as she looked at Yuuki. She already knew what Yuuki would do should he remember this event and what he did. He'll blame himself for everything that happened. Even if it was out of his control, she knew he would do that.
"I may not be trustworthy to you. I know i'm an outsider, but I have one request. Please......save Yuuki from his own despair!"
"You're right, I don't trust you. You were fighting him yourself not too long ago. However, I can trust one thing about you. You knew Yuuki far longer than I have. Let's get this straight, i'm not trusting you. I'm trusting Yuuki's faith in you. After all, if he calls you without a nickname, you must be someone important to him."
~Meanwhile~
"My my, you're as ferocious as I remember, Kouma."
As Kouma opened his eyes, he looked to the side as he saw Hitomi approaching him. When Hitomi sat down, Kouma simply stood up as he looked at the man.
"How long do you plan on playing the fool?"
"Whatever do you me-"
"You want to continue the lie that you're Code Breaker 3's enemy. If not for what you did in the past, i'm positive that Code Breaker's 3 and under would've been killed already."
"I have to be the enemy in order for their potential to grow. Mark my words, Kouma. Something big is about to happen, something that not Yuuki, myself, or even you are expecting. In order to prepare, we need to raise the allies we have to a new level."
After hearing this, Kouma simply walked away. As he did this, he began to think to himself in silence. Yuuki certainly got stronger, however, the boy couldn't defeat him at his current level.
"So you want Yuuki to hear the voice that no one else had heard. To hear the Voice of Life. Fine then, I refuse to get further involved unless necessary. So then, I have one thing to say."
"Good luck, Yuuki Eden. The true Eden Project is about to begin."