Before I could even step forward to attempt to intercept the arrow, Irene sent me a cold glare. In it was a clear message; do not interfere.
She grabbed the arrow mid-air. She looked at it uninterestingly. "Is this it?" She asked. Lightning coursed through her arm, sparking as the arrow exploded in her hand.
"That's only the beginning." Rose smiled, slightly tilting her head. Despite her now calm expression, an unsettling chill ran down my spine.
Irene gripped Thor, shifting the large hammer in her hands. A cold aura flowed from her, putting me inbetween a rock and a hard place. I wanted to interfere, to stop this, but both of them were determined.
I wasn't going to let either of them die though. For now, I'd let the two of them fight. There wasn't much I could do to stop that without fighting both. I could probably do that, but I'd rather not fight both my sister and fiancé.
But if it comes to where one is about to die...I will intervene, no matter what. They will not fight to the death over this, even though that was exactly what they were thinking.
"I'd appreciate it if you died for me." Smiled Rose icily. "So I can finally reunite with my brother...without your meddling."
"Bitch, I don't know what the fuck you are talking about." Irene said with the straightest face ever. It was surprising to hear this many curses from her, especially since she was acting regal.
Rose froze for a minute, before starting to chuckle. The chuckle started to go into a full-on insane laugh. She clutched her face with one hand while holding the bow with her other hand.
"He didn't tell you! He didn't tell you!" She laughed. "To think that he'd keep that information from his precious fiancé...the information that only he and I know..."
"Ken." Irene turned her icy stare into me. "What is she talking about?"
"I'm the most precious person to my brother." Rose smugly grinned. "That's obvious, since he didn't tell you that we-"
"Rose, don't." I interjected.
She stared at me, her eyes going blank. "You're still siding with her..." She growled.
I felt my fists clench up. I was hurting her again. I could see it when I looked at her, since it was pretty obvious; she's broken. And all of it started because of my disappearance.
I need Irene to subdue her so that...
I don't know. I don't know what to do, but I need to do something. I did this to her, and I'll be damned if I don't do anything about it. I'm her brother...
"Ken." Irene stated. "Once this is over...You. Will. Explain."
"I will...I promise." I stated.
"Good." She looked back to Rose. "I don't know what is going on...but Ken is mine. He's mine first and foremost...so you'll have to back off."
"Hahahaha..." Rose laughed. "I travelled WORLDS for this. I will not just back off. I knew him for longer, I'm the closest...so back off, bitch."
"Oh, really?" Irene icily replied. "But unlike you, I've become one with him. I don't think there's any way to be much closer...is there?"
Please don't Irene...don't antagonize her...
Rose's eyes went blank. "What?" She asked.
"We fucked." Irene bluntly stated.
Damn it Irene...
"You. Are. Dead." Rose growled, aiming her bow again. "You elven homewrecker. I'll make sure you die like how you were written to be."
"Oh, and we have a daughter." Irene added.
Shit.
"YOU FUCKER!!!!!" Rose screamed.
Pulling the string back, three pink arrows manifested on the bow. Rose quickly released the string, sending the arrows towards Irene.
Irene twirled her hammer, deflecting all three of the arrows. Lightning coursed through her body as she dashed towards Rose at quick speeds.
Rose twisted her body, jumping out of the way as Irene's hammer slammed into where she just was. A hole was created in the floor where Rose just was.
Rose de summoned her bow, instead summoning two pink katanas in her hands. For a second I thought that maybe she had a second Arcana, but that couldn't be it.
Those two swords weren't Arcana's. I already knew that. However, she was able to summon them. Thus, they must be some sort of Artifact with a summoning and/or teleportation power.
Rose winked at Irene. Irene's face suddenly flushed as she froze in place, her cheeks radiating heat. Rose rushed towards Irene with the intent to stab her in the chest.
I readied to interfere, but it wasn't needed. Irene's eyes sparked with electricity as the blush died down from her face. She swung her hammer upwards, Rose barely rolling out of the way to dodge it.
Irene had broken out of the control of whatever that move was quicker than when Rose had done it on me.
Irene raced after Rose, swinging her hammer in an intent to crush Rose like a bug. Rose dodged once more, mumbling to herself as she stood up.
Her pink katanas started to glow a brighter hot pink, before she swung them at Irene and two pink mana waves shot towards her.
I realized what Rose had done. She had manipulated pure mana and released it through the swords in a method similar to Erica's Holy Strike. She could manipulate pure mana like I could. Wait, then can't I do that...? I'll have to test that out.
Irene barely moved out of the way of the mana waves, a line of blood appearing on her delicate skin. I didn't like seeing the blood drip down from her arm.
"I'm ending this now." Irene decided.
A thunderous boom rang through the air from somewhere in the distance. While nothing had changed in the room, looking out the window you could see dark clouds gathering in the sky.
It seemed as if the whole sky was listening to Irene, bending to her will. Lightning started to spark around Irene as she glared at Rose.
This power...
"This power..." Rose muttered in surprise.
"You are looking at the Third X Rank Arcana in existence." Irene narrowed her eyes at Rose. "Give up."
"Hahahaah...hahaha..." Rose started to laugh. "You anime whore...you don't get it...do you?"
Rose grinned at Irene, her galactic eyes starting to shine. "You're the Fourth, bitch."
An oppressive aura started to grow around Rose. It became denser, becoming a galactic looking haze around her.
Suddenly I felt everything become harder, as if the sky was pushing down on me. It was getting tougher to stand, and I could see Irene wince. It was like I had a whole elephant on my shoulders. Maybe two.
"I increased gravity. By 20 times, actually. You like it?" She laughed. "My Goddess upgraded my Arcana, just like how you used that Lupercio's remains."
"Except I've had it longer than you have." A vicious grin morphed on Rose's face. "Try me."
Irene growled, a lightning bolt slamming through the ceiling and crashing into Irene. Instead of hurting her, it seemed to overcharge her, the lightning sparking around her increasing and becoming more erratic.
The two of them dashed towards each other, intent to end this. I knew I had to do something.
Loki, release all seals.
"You sure about this?" Loki asked. "Your soul hasn't completely recovered from the fight against Lupercio."
I'm sure.
"Good luck." Medea stated.
I felt the seals leave me. Kage, Aegis, Kato, and Tsuki. A huge surge of power ram through my veins as I felt supercharged. My body was so light, as light as a feather.
In a second I was between the two of them. I grabbed Irene's hammer and Rose's sword, blocking the two of them with my bare hands. Despite this, they weren't injured.
"Stop. Now." I demanded.
"Ken..." Irene growled.
"Brother..." Rose narrowed her eyes.
"Nobody is dying today." I stated. "Everything is my fault, so I'll fix it. But you two need to stop."
"Are you sure about that?" A voice asked from behind.
I glanced backwards, seeing Reika. When did she...?
"Who are you?" Questioned Rose.
"I thought she was your friend." I stated, looking towards Rose confused.
"I've never seen her before in my life." Rose replied.
"Something's wrong..." Irene muttered, looking towards Reika.
"Did you miss me?" She grinned towards Rose. It felt...oddly familiar. "I can't believe you don't remember me after what you did. To be fair though, that was in another world..."
Rose's eyes widened. "No..." She gasped, stumbling back. "It can't be..."
"Oh, but it is." Reika's grin widened. It felt...oddly familiar.
Rose's eyes glared with a furious rage that was somehow even angrier than when the whole fight with Irene. Her glare was so frightening it could make a god piss themselves.
Then she screamed something incredibly disturbing.
"I KILLED YOU!" She screamed. "YOU SHOULD BE DEAD! I CHOKED YOU TO DEATH WITH MY OWN HANDS!!!"
A/N: Man, do I love plot twists and cliffhangers.