...
The next day, I wake up, once again, to find the three familiar mops of hair surrounding me. Why do they even have their own rooms if they're just gonna sleep here?!
After waking them up and cooking, and subsequently consuming, breakfast, Kurumi and I get ready for our date. She's wearing her outfit from her date with Shido in the first season of the anime.
As we walk out of the door, I hold my hand out in a fancy manner. "Shall we, Miss Tokisaki?"
She giggles. "Of couse, Mister Sahashi." She says as she gracefully takes my hand. I told her my new last name not long ago.
—————
Not long after, we arrive at our destination. The cafe I took Natsumi to twice. It's not the cat cafe Kurumi and I went to a while back, but hopefully it'll be good to compare cafes.
As we sit at a table in the quiet cafe, eating snacks and sipping tea, I notice a flash of yellow in the corner of my vision.
'Again, huh?' I unconsciously let out a chuckle.
Kurumi notices this. "What is funny?"
"Noticed our Spiritual friend watching us. Just like with the other two dates." I explained, having mentioned seeing her the past two days.
"Ah." She says simply.
Things become awkward once more as I decided to strike up conversation. "So, how are you doing?"
"Hm?" Kurumi asks. "Fine. Why?"
"No, I mean how are you doing nowadays. You know, since I showed up and all." I ask.
Kurumi's single revealed eye widens for a moment. "That's what you meant." She says, taking a sip of tea after and taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "Well, I wouldn't say I dislike it. Don't get me wrong, I still want to get back at Mio for everything she's done, but... I can't help but want to enjoy life, instead of worrying about gathering energy and killing people."
"I see. Part of me was worried about you mental state, what with all the killing and being so focused on revenge." I say, smiling afterwards. "I'm glad to hear you're happy."
"Ufufu." She giggles, before resting her hand upon mine, laid on the table. "You make me happy, Issei-kun. I was only living for revenge, but you gave me a new reason to live. To enjoy life." She stares deep into my eyes as she speaks. "So thank you, Issei."
My eyes widen for a moment, before I too, let out a chuckle. "You're welcome, Kurumi." I say, turning my hand over and grasping hers with it.
—————
Outside of the cafe, a blonde haired girl, invisible to all, clutches her chest tightly.
Her job is to cast judgement.
Her job is to judge if one is worthy.
Her job is to be done effectively, with no emotions.
Her job, once judgment is cast, is to then disappear.
Then what...
What is the feeling in her chest...?
It is an unknown feeling to the blonde haired girl.
She only knows of her job, her purpose, her reason for living.
But that man, the one who she is to judge, has given that woman a new reason to live.
But she has finished judging him, and therefore has no reason to live.
But why does she want one so dearly...?
Even though she herself doesn't realize it.
—————
After a wonderful time, Kurumi and I leave the cafe, her body clutching my arm with a tight, yet gentle grip. We both have gleeful smiles strewn across our faces.
Suddenly, we both stop walking. Sending a presence. Sensing Reiryoku.
"Finally decided to stop watching, eh?" I ask to the open air, looking at the corner of a building.
From said corner, a girl with blonde hair is revealed. Her hair is tied in a side ponytail, held with a white bow. She wears a white sailor uniform with black trim. She also has on black thighhighs and brown dress shoes. A purple-pink bag is slung over her shoulders, held by its black straps. Her eyes, a similar shade of purple-pink as the bag, stare into my own.
"Observation is no longer necessary." She speaks with a soft tone of voice. "You have been judged worthy and as such, I have no reason to hide any longer."
"It's because you're gonna disappear, yeah?" I ask, causing her eyes to shoot open.
"How...?" She asks.
"You're made of Reiryoku." Kurumi observes, letting go of my arm.
"That she is." I agree. "Now that your job is done, you're gonna disappear, right?"
"...That is correct." She says, activating her Astral Dress.
She is now clad in a revealing black dress with a short skirt. The black sleeves on her arms have gold trim, just like her skirt. She now has two white wings on her head, and another two coming from her dress. Her feet and shins are covered in golden armor, ending with lion's face-shaped kneecap covers. Two strange gold, black and purple objects float alongside her, each sprouting two wings.
"Now that my judgment has been made, I am no longer needed in this world." The girl, Mayuri, concludes as she floats above us.
"And you don't even want to try to stay?" I ask, surprising her.
"I... I don't have the option to make such a choice." Mayuri says, sadly.
"There's always a choice that can be made. The only thing that matters is whether or not you have the will to make such a choice." I say.
"..." Mayuri remains silent, deep in contemplation.
"I already know all about Kerubiel." I say, causing shock in Mayuri. "You as well." I walk towards her. "You were made to judge Shido, after he had sealed multiple Spirits, but I tricked the system." I slowly step towards her. "My powers run on imagination. The other night I imagined multiple angels and created them. This tricked Kerubiel into thinking I was Shido, but who had sealed multiples Spirits."
I then come to a stop in front of the girl, staring her dead in the eyes. "Mayuri, if you disappear, there's no guarantee you'll reappear if Shido seals any Spirits. Your angel was likely set to be a one time thing." I hold my hand out to the the floating girl. "Everyone deserves a chance to live. What your mother-" I spit that word out. "-has done to you is cruel. I won't let you, who was destined to die, do so without first living."
I smile. "You deserve to live, Mayuri. And I'm sure as hell gonna make that happen."
Silence. Not a sound from either of us, as suddenly, tears begin to fall from the doomed Spirit's eyes.
Tears, not of sadness, but of joy.
"So that's what those feeling were..." She begins. "Despair. Hopelessness. I didn't want to die..." She looks down at her own hands. "Jealousy. Love. Hope. I... I wanted to live." She gathers her courage, and loudly proclaims. "I... I want to live!"
I smile, reaching my hand out to hers when...
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH
FOOOOOOOOOOM FOOOOOOOOOOM
Spacequake sirens ring out as a gust of wind makes I, and the two girls, lose balance.
Mayuri looks up. "Kerubiel?! What are you doing?!"
Sure enough, the translucent ball of Reiryoku is now a solid black sphere, adorned with golden ornaments resembling wings.
"It doesn't want you to live." I say, catching the blonde girl's attention. "It wants to disappear, fulfilling its' purpose. Just another sin of Mio's..." I say, gritting my teeth. I turn to the black haired girl. "Ready?"
"Of course~" She says, donning her Astral Dress, as I don my Astral Suit. Quickly, I activate a sort of telepathy with Natsumi and Nia.
Natsumi, Nia.
What the?!
Boy?! What is this?
No time. Kerubiel's woken up, come to where we are quick!
Don't know how much help I'll be, but sure.
We'll be there soon, Issei.
Good, thanks.
"Natsu and Nia'll be here soon, Kurumi." I tell her.
"How...?" She asks.
"Telepathy."
"What are you planning on doing, Issei?" Mayuri asks.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna fight 'im." I say simply.
"You can't!" She protests.
"I can and will. You deserve to live, dammit." I shut her down as Kerubiel notices us.
I use my power to instantly encircle the entire city with a barrier. It has a few purposes. One, give a mental nudge to civilians to get them to flee. Two, give a strong mental push to get DEM and the AST to leave. Three, killing DEM and AST tech, including cutting out their observational stuff. Four, killing Ratatoskr's tech slowly. This is important as I want them to see me, but I want them to stay out of the fight.
Maybe it's just me wanting to show off. Maybe I just wanna announce myself to Mio, or rather, Reine.
I dunno, I suppose it's just something I want to do without any real reason behind it.
But I, for sure, don't want them inside the barrier.
Point is. Only us and Kerubiel. No bystanders, no AST, no DEM. Just us and that angel.
The barrier is erected instantly, mind you. Good thing too, as Kerubiel's wings detach small saw shaped bits that fly at us. Fortunately, they're shot with energy and turned into stuffed animals. Looking at the direction of the shot I see- "Natsumi!"
"Always getting in trouble, huh boy?" Nia asks, her and the shorter girl landing on the ground. "This her?" She gestures to Mayuri.
"Yup." I turn to Mayuri. "We're gonna make sure you get a chance at life."
"W-Why?" She asks, utterly confused.
"Because I have foreknowledge of this world, and I decided to use it to make a certain few's lives better. Yours included." I walk over to her and place my hand on her shoulder, a pulse of Reiryoku flows through her, as my imagination gets to work. "There, first part done."
"What did you-?" She asks. "I have a body?!"
In the distance, Kerubiel screeches. An eye eerily opens on its surface.
"Eww!" Nia exclaims. "What's that nasty thing?"
"A biblically accurate angel." I joke, as the eye shoots a beam of Sandalphon's energy. Quickly, I make a big mirror in the air. The beam is reflected back at Kerubiel. It shields its eye with its wings, blocking the returned beam. I turn back to the blonde Spirit. "But yes, you have a body. Know I just need to weaken your angel."
"Weaken it, not kill?" Kurumi asks.
"I don't want you girls to be defenseless. If Mayuri loses Kerubiel, she'll essentially be a powerless Spirit, easy pickings for Wescott to snatch up." I explain, three of the girls faces scrunching up as I mention that bastard. "You gals were designed to be sealed, therefore your power was overflowing, uncontrollable. Since I fixed your Sephira Crystals and your angels, you don't have to worry about that. Mayuri, on the other hand, has no Crystal, she is pure energy. So, we have to weaken Kerubiel. Simple."
"Simple?!" Natsumi shouts.
"Hey, I said simple, not easy." I say, noticing Kerubiel throwing more stuff at us. "Not again!" I shout, summoning Metatron's golden blades around us. The blades, as well has Kurumi and Natsumi, hold the foreign objects back. One slips through, though.
"Shit!" I shout, dashing for it. It suddenly splits in two, one half hitting me in the gut quickly. The other half expands over Mayuri. Nia dashes, trying to shield her, but is consumed by the object, as it reforms into a cage. "This shit again?!"
"Again?" Nia asks.
"It was in the movie." I explain, slashing another object in half.
"Movie?" Mayuri asks.
"We'll explain later." I say. "Kurumi, Natsumi, we need to get closer.
"What about Nia and Mayuri?" The witch Spirit asks.
"They'll be fine, come on." I say, noticing a ship in the corner of my eye. "Those idiots!"
"Who?" Kurumi asks, shooting another Kerubiel spawn.
"Ratatoskr! They went through the fucking barrier I made!" I cut another down. "Nia!"
"Yeah?" She shouts.
"I'mma make you a communicator thingy, use it to tell Kotori to lay off." I say, tossing a round object, resembling that things they used in the Teen Titans show, when there was crime. The crime alert thing, you could call it.
"Why me?" She asks, barely catching it.
"Kind of-" Another goes down. "-Busy! Tell 'em we'll handle it!" I shout as Kurumi, Natsumi and I advance forward.
—————
The otaku Spirit sighs, fiddling with the device. "Seriously? How do I work this thing?"
—————
Aboard the airship, Fraxinus, all crew look at the large screen, displaying the massive angel.
"What is that?" Their commander, Kotori asks.
"An Angel, ma'am." One officer replies.
"An angel?!" She merely sighs. "Ugh, it's just one thing after another."
"Uh, ma'am?" Another office asks.
"Yes?"
"We have an incoming call."
"From who?" The teenage commander asks.
"Unknown."
"Ignore them." She orders.
"Ma'am they've called twenty-three times in the last five seconds without stopping."
"Gaah! Fine! Patch them through!" She yells, fed up.
Nia appears in their big screen. "Finally! You guys always ignore calls?"
"Just unknown numbers." Kotori jokes, causing Nia to let out a bark of laughter. "Now tell me, who are you?"
"Just a Spirit tryin' to help out." Nia says with a grin.
Kotori's eyes widen. 'A Spirit?'
"Long story short, my pals have got this covered. It's best for you guys to stay behind the barrier my friend made." Nia explains.
"And what makes you think that your friends can beat that thing?" Kotori asked, eyebrow raised.
"Well they broke me out of that prison, didn't they?" The otaku Spirit asked, rhetorically. "Surely you heard about that?"
"We did." Kotori says slowly, surprised to be talking to the Spirit that was held captive. "But why did that rogue contingent capture you?"
"Rogue? They weren't rogue. They were following their CEO's orders." Nia explains, her smile dropping for the first time.
All of Fraxinus' crew's eyes widen in surprise. "Wh-What?!" Their young commander shouts.m
"Yup. Those assholes tortured me for the last few years tryin' to make me Inverse." Kotori's eyes somehow widen even further at this news. "But my pals found out about me and busted me out. So don't be dumb, and let them handle this." Nia says, cutting the connection.
"...Turn the ship around, but keep an eye on the fight!" Kotori orders, after a moment of silence.
"Yes ma'am!" The crew shouts.
'Isaac Wescott? He was trying to make a Spirit Inverse? Why?' Kotori's brain runs at hundreds of miles an hour, trying to wrap her brain around the information she just received.
'Come to think of it... that was 'Sister' that just called us.'
—————
As Kurumi, Natsumi and I move closer to Kerubiel, it stops throwing it's minions at us, and instead starts throwing angel powers.
A gout of Raphael's wind is shot from one eye of Kerubiel, another, equally large gout of Camael's fire is shot from another eye. Before it hits the three of us, I yell "Split up!" Summoning Camael, I swing the axe into the massive flaming storm before it hits me. As I spin around, I swing the axe, throwing the, mow massive, gout of flame at Kerubiel.
It's wings block the flame, as Kurumi shoots at the massive angel. One of its eyes look at her, and fire off a small bubble. It then stops and expands. I notice that the bullets are slowed in the bubble, it resembles Urizen's attack from Devil May Cry 5.
Natsumi turns some rubble into missiles and fires them at Kerubiel. Unfortunately, it has Haniel's powers too, as a beam is shot from one of its eyes, turning the missiles into pillows.
Its eyes seem to move independently... Rasiel?
"Girls!" I shout. "It's got Rasiel too!"
"Does it not have a blind spot?" Kurumi asks.
"Gimme a sec." I say with a vicious grin. Dashing forward, I summon Sandalphon quickly. It shoots more flame and wind at me, but I cut them apart. It fires Haniel's power at me, but it's intercepted by Metatron's swords.
I close in, going to stab an eye. It closes that eye before I can, but...
SQUELCH
GAAAAAAAAAAAAA
It lets out a screech as I stab another of its eyes. What it saw was merely an afterimage, like Dragon Ball. I pump tiny bursts of dark energy into its body, causing the energy to fire off inside the beast, and out the other side.
It thrashes, throwing me off, but I catch myself in the air. It's eyes all open wide, before closing. An series purple light emanates from its eyelids. All the eyes open, firing Sandalphon's energy at us.
"Shit!" I shout, creating two barriers around the girls, and dodging the projectiles.
The onslaught stops, but I don't. I quickly summon Metatron's swords on all sides of the beast, bringing them down with a thought.
GAAAAAAAAAAA
It closes all of its eyes, yet they all are pierced by the golden blades. "Now!" I shout.
Natsumi turns more rubble into missiles. This time, they hit the beast. Immediately, multiple clones of Kurumi land on Kerubiel, as do I. Summoning Nahemah, I begin slashing away at the beast with both swords. The clones begin firing bullets into it as well.
The angel, having enough of the torment, pulses it energy, throwing us all back. It doesn't give us a chance, however, as we all suddenly fall flat on the ground, held down by a strong pressure.
"...Michael?!" I shout. "Girls! Inverse now!"
"A-Alright!" Natsumi says, as she and Kurumi's energies plummet and explode. Now clad in different outfits, they stand tall in the face of Kerubiel's gravity control. Pushing Reiryoku through my body, I stand as well.
The angel's body is covered in blue flames, it's now healed eyes open again.
"It healed?!" Natsumi shouts.
"Now what, Issei-kun?" Kurumi asks.
"Now." I wreathe my body with Reiryoku, pushing Helel to its limit. "Now we go all out. Take out it's eyes for me."
The girls nod, and then move.
Natsumi, on her broom, creates flaming ravens that fly at the angel, targeting its eyes. It closes them again, but the ravens explode, destroying the eyes, instead of merely wounding them.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Wasting no time, Kurumi fires a plethora of bullets from Lucifugus. The bullets bounce off of reality itself, confusing the beast, despise its precognition powers. It's eyes are once again destroyed. The few that remain are picked off quickly.
On the ground, I'm busy powering up. All of my energy goes into the two swords in my hands. Above the angelic sword, a golden throne appears. Above the demonic sword, a purple throne appears. The thrones dissolve and form around their respective swords. With a flourish, they evolve.
I raise Halvanhelev and Parechelev into the air, imbuing the blades with all my energy.
"NOW! MOVE!" I shout, causing the two girls to jump far back.
I hold the blades until the sky, intending to completely cripple the beast. As they reach full power...
"HAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"
...I swing them down, a massive wave of energy comes from both swords, in an 'x' formation. Purple energy from Halvanhelev, darker purple from Parschelev.
The energy impacts the creature, causing an explosion as the angel cries out.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
A cloud of dust surrounds it, as Kurumi and Natsumi land next to me, panting just as I am.
"Did we beat it?" The green haired Spirit asks.
"I think so. Doubt it could handle something like that." I say, in between breaths.
"Well, that was an ordeal." The black haired Spirit says, exhausted.
Then... the pressure hits us.
We all stumble, as the cloud of dust dissipates. The biblical angel is revealed, with two massive gashes in its body, revealing a small core, the size of a basketball, in its center.
It's energy has risen, drastically!
"Was it holding back?!" I shout, imagining more energy from Helel, thus creating it. Using said energy, I form the Yamato from Devil May Cry. I slash the demonic katana, cutting through space, but the beast opens a portal to outer space with Michael, causing me to miss. "Fuck!"
It's power increases, knocking us to the ground.
"What the hell?" Natsumi shouts, scared.
"This is bad..." Kurumi says, worried.
It's energy reaches a high point then... it lowers... and lowers... and...
My eyes widen as I realize its intent. "Fuck! It's trying to Inverse!" The girls' eyes widen in horror as we all struggle to stand.
The beast is too fast for our slowed bodies and energy bursts from the angel, knocking us onto the floor once more.
Light surround the creature. Then, it's wings spread, dispelling the light.
FWOOOOOOOOOSH
It's wings are now a deep emerald, no longer gold. Its black body, now has become a deep black, so deep that it resembles purple somewhat. Its many now crimson eyes radiate fury, untold.
It has not activated Lahathelev. No...
Kerubiel is no more. It no longer has its final form, Lahathelev.
Now, we stare down an Inversed menace.
Now, we face Zophiel.
—————
AN
...well shit. Bet you weren't expecting that.
Sorry for taking so long, I got busy doing other stuff.
Our AC broke last night, so I'm staying at my uncle's house until it gets fixed. After moving stuff from home to here (just down the street) I sat down, needing a break. I thought 'Hey, I haven't written any of that DaL story in a while.', so I did.
Fuck this heat. It's 93F outside, I'm staying my ass inside, under the air conditioning.
I'll admit, I've never actually watched Mayuri Judgement, so forgive me if I screwed anything up.
Then again, adding Zophiel really screwed everything up, huh?
How the hell is our protagonist and his lady friends gonna deal with this?
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!