The group of Sorcerers were pinned down in the collapsed ballroom, and the same Cursed Spirit posed as Jenkins came flooding in and attacking. Miwa stomped her foot forward, drawing her blade and cutting down three copies, all of them just disappearing into smoke, their appearance morphing more as they did. Mai was behind Miwa, firing her gun, taking out four more, grunting, and beginning to reload.
"What the hell gives?! Why aren't they going down?"
Todo smacked his hands together, swapping places with DK, who dived forward, swinging her hand down and snarling. "Execution." A dozen of the Cursed Spirit's heads came clean off, decapitated as DK rolled over, finding them all vanishing in a puff of smoke.
As the Cursed copies came back, the butler look formed, taking the shape of a long trench coat and top hat differently. They looked straight out of a Victorian-era story. Knives appeared all around, only seeming to target the girls as Dk pushed each one out of the way, pointing a finger gun, unleashing shatter and exploding the area into glass alongside the copies.
"I'm starting to figure out what we're dealing with here. A Cursed Spirit that can create constant echoes of itself obsessed with killing the female victims, there's no doubt about it. We're dealing with the Ripper."
"The Ripper? As in that famous serial killer from the 1900s?"
DK tilted her head, catching a knife and throwing it back at the copy, frustrated. "The very same... The real Spirit is most likely hiding nearby, not daring to attack."
Todo punched two more back, laughing. "We take down the real spirit, and so will these copies, too."
Mai counted her bullets, annoyed. "I'll take whatever I can get; I'm almost out. And we still got to worry about the others trapped in their rooms."
"And Y/N", DK added on top, clenching her fist. "I-I could just hail Mary it and use my domain expansion, but... Should we use it on such a small fry like the Ripper?"
She shook the idea of refusing such a tactic; she had no idea what Beowulf was capable of, and as the only one out of the group with a Domain Expansion, it was best to save it for the right time. So, instead, she began bringing her finger close to her mouth, hushing everyone. "Superstition technique, unkindness."
A strong wind began to blow from all the windows, and a massive unkindness of ravens burst through, flying all around the Manor. Everyone flinched as DK focused her cursed energy on each one floating in the middle of the swarm. Clenching her fist, she began moving her hand around, focusing on small pockets of ravens in the walls and ceilings. As they did, the cursed energy embedded into them caused them all to explode as chunks of the destroyed Manor were being opened up.
With enough concentrated marks, DK's head cranked, seeing her target in sight as the Ripper panicked being spotted. It tried escaping further into the Manor, but Todo quickly acted with his boogie-woogie, swapping places with it and allowing DK to strike. Shifting her body to the Cursed Spirit, she swung her hand into a finger gun. "Shatter!"
The air began to heat up before combusting into a glass, shattering the Ripper's body into a thousand pieces. DK dived to the floor, and Mai and Miwa also moved in to make sure the Spirit was close enough. However, the moment the three girls got closer, something seemed to awaken in the Cursed Spirit, and its energy increased tenfold. "What!?"
The Ripper quickly healed, striking both Mai and Miwa. Mai took the full brunt of the attack and was knocked back into the wall, while Miwa used her sword to block the attack. She was pushed back, falling to her knees, weakened.
The Ripper quickly focused down DK, moving and striking, much more demanding than before. It had caught DK off guard completely; then it hit her. The serial killer in question was known for only killing women; this Cursed Spirit had grown stronger with bloodlust now that the three girls had joined forces to attack.
DK slid back, pivoting her body, summoning the last of the explosive ravens to strike. However, the Ripper swung his clever out, slashing through the building and killing the entire unkindness of Ravens. He also took DK's arm clean off. Her eyes widened as she stumbled back, biting her lip and healing it instantly.
She had underestimated her foe, and she had wasted precious time—the time she knew Y/N needed. While she was wasting her fighting, a weak Cursed Spirit, Y/N, could be... Her eye began twitching as she snapped, lunging at the Ripper as both of them struck each other.
DK punched it in the face, and everything was distorted for a moment with a burst of energy. In that 10th of a second, a large flash of negative energy poured through, sending the Ripper flying back.
Black Flash.
With now the tides in her favour, DK had given up playing easy; she wanted to end now. Joining her fingers together, forming a window, she stared down the Ripper with malice and hate. "Domain Expansion, Through the Looking Glass."
The Manor's ballroom faded away into endless mirrors as the Ripper was left helpless, unable to attack its reflections turning on it.
DK held her hand high above her, bringing it down. "Execution." An invisible force began hacking away at the Ripper's neck, while for most lower Spirits, the decapitation would be instant; DK's execution technique was quite similar to Sukuna's cleave. She could cut the head off any being she used it against, the weaker they are the quicker the cut is. However, the more powerful the Spirit or opponent is in raw strength, willpower, and ambition, the longer it takes to cut. In some cases, if the Spirit is more powerful than DK, the attack wouldn't work.
The Ripper fought back against the attack, using the execution technique of only grazing its neck. DK growled, fuming by this fact as she brought her hand down again, launching constant executions; if she couldn't take its head off with one blow, she'd do it with continuous barrages; one would be enough.
Without any means to fight back, the Cursed Spirit was just forced to defend itself, bearing the attack as the cut became deeper, blood spouting out. With one final swing of her arm, the Ripper's head tore clean off, falling to the floor. DK stared at it a little longer, launching a shatter technique, scattering its body into the glass as the Domain came down.
DK shook the blood off her hand, looking around, frustrated. She used more cursed energy on that fight than she'd like to admit. While Miwa and Mai were down for the time being, Todo was still good to go. He jumped down, meeting her. "If that's dealt with, we should hurry to his aid. I can't leave my friend alone."
DK just nodded, about to move, when her eyes widened as Y/N was blasted through the wall, crashing into the staircase, seemingly down for the count. Her gaze shifted to her love as she whispered in disarray. "Y/N?"
****
"I-I... What the hell have you done to her?"
"I had hoped convincing you Mum was still alive might have been enough for you to hand over the box. I guess I overestimated my Cursed Technique." She sighed, arms crossed. "To be fair, I'm still getting used to my weave technique."
I stood up, my eyes constantly darting between Beowulf and the fake, a mixture of emotions building: fear, devastation, anger, sorrow, and something else.
"Y-You... You used Mother as a puppet to trick me?"
"Don't be foolish, Y/N, hand me the box and then we can be a family again. Me and you, no more Kronos Family telling us what to do, no more Father or Mother. I can be the Sister you need me to be. Just hand me the box."
"No!"
I turned to the Manor, finding its appearance completely different. It wasn't what I was shown to begin with; it was exactly how I left it five years ago, or so I was led to believe.
The Manor was crumbling apart. The wooden floor was rotten and had caved in, and mould stretched out all around the ceiling, with cobwebs decorating the horror. The walls had a faint, chalky look, a tell-tell sign of a fire. Inside the building, Jenkins stood, a dozen Jenkins smiling, their form distorted and caped in Cursed Energy. My eyes widened, knowing DK and the others were in there.
"What have you done!?" I kept stepping back, my heart rate not high enough to fight; I could only watch in terror as my home, my memories of this place, and my trust burned away.
Beowulf held her hand up as the dozen Cursed Spirits under her control surrounded me. She glared at me with a blank, judging eye. "I gave you a choice, Brother. I wish it didn't have to go this way, but you led me, and I have no choice."
"Why? Why the hell are you doing this!?"
"Isn't it obvious? My Mother would tell me stories before bed. It's how I got my name, Beowulf, and the story of a brave hero who defeated a monster. I knew from the day I saw you, Brother, that this isn't your story; it's mine. I'm the hero, and you're the monster I must slay. Time for the final chapter."
I bit my lip with built-up hatred forming as I tried attacking Beowulf, only for the horde of Cursed Spirits to gang up on me, knocking me all around. I tried fighting back, but I was quickly overwhelmed. My heartbeat wasn't anywhere near the 120 bpm yet to do anything. I was a sitting duck!
Ducking under one attack, I squatted down, jumping high into the air and getting some travel; if I could get inside the building and meet up with the others, Beowulf wouldn't have such an advantage. It's clear she wasn't expecting me to bring other Sorcerers with me; she needed to cut me off from them. Cut me away from DK.
There wasn't any need to fight them; just escape and meet up with the others Y/N just...
My heart skipped a beat; in the air, I was snagged as Spring-heeled Jack appeared again, clamping down on me and jumping high into the air. I gasped as I looked down, seeing Beowulf smirking. I should have known something wasn't right from the beginning with her; she had complete control of the Cursed Spirit, using it to lure me into a false sense of security as she pretended to save me.
My heart rate increased as I finally hit that threshold. Holding my arm up into a closed fist, I brought it down like a hammer, hitting Spring-heeled Jack the strike, bombarding it with 120 more hits. With the sudden force, Spring-heeled Jack was blasted down to the ground, crashing through the floor and leaving a small crater. Slamming down myself, I began moving in beat with my heart striking down and obliterating all the other Cursed Spirits; I was moving so fast in that 142 bpm window it looked from the outside to be teleporting.
I was beginning to understand this Cursed Technique more. It was simple, far more straightforward than DK's treasure trove of abilities, but it was hella effective. Having finished off the last of the Cursed Spirits Beowulf had used against me, my attention turned to her as I prepared to take her down in one strike.
However, while I was distracted, Beowulf began using her fountain pen to write words in the air. The words were visible with a cursed tinge.
70 bpm.
At that moment, my eyes widened as my heart snapped, the sudden 140 bpm shot down to 70; my body was so struck with shock over this change that I fell to my knees, clenching my fist and gasping for air, all that built-up energy and power gone.
Beowulf shook her head, beginning to write another word. "Such an effortless ability, yet it does so much. You take just after Father Brother of mine but don't think for a moment I wouldn't be prepared for such a trick. Weave Technique, re-write. It's similar to those damned cursed speech techniques others can use. The only difference is that I have to write it out. Much easier to use in my eyes like this."
Beowulf began writing out a small sentence, making my eyes widen.
'An unseen force strikes Y/N, blasts through the manor, and takes him out with one hit.'
As the sentence was made real, I was torn through the Manor, crashing into the main reception; I coughed up blood, feeling pain soaring through my body. Hunched over, my head dropped as Beowulf began walking in, flipping her pen around and mocking me. "What would our parents think if they saw us fighting like this little brother."
"Y/N!" DK screamed, running to my aid, trying to help me. She was panicking before the panic turned to hate as she turned on Beowulf screaming. "You bitch! Shatter!"
Beowulf had already prepared a word, just one word to counter this.
'Miss'
Shatter grazed past, taking out the main entrance as Beowulf smirked, already beginning to write another sentence. Oblivious Todo and DK started to team up, constantly trading places and trying to take down Beowulf.
Each failed strike would occur with the word 'Miss' being written out constantly, making the two waste the little energy they had left.
DK, blinded by this fact, kept spamming constant Shatters and Executions, unaware of Beowulf's ability. Todo stepped back, being the only one trying to figure out the Cursed Technique. He looked at me as I only just managed to pull myself out. I hadn't got much in me, but I nodded to him, showcasing my eagerness to fight.
Getting the picture, he continued to pass the torch to DK and himself as they had hoped to keep Beowulf distracted enough. As the sixth swap occurred this time, I came out hoping to catch Beowulf off guard enough to stop her writing.
Instead, the opposite happened.
She saw this coming from a mile off. Her one word had changed into just two.
Domain Expansion.
My eyes widened as the area around just me and she was consumed as Todo jumped back, trying not to get caught in the sudden Domain; DK just missed the point trapped outside it as inside, I was trapped in an endless array of open books making up the interior and words constantly spelling out.
I had fallen into her trap; I was, for better terms, doomed.
****
DK kept smacking against the Domain outside, screaming. "Y/N! No! No, no! Let me in! You bitch, I'll slaughter you where you stand!
It was no use, and DK knew it. In any other situation, she would have blasted her way through slamming down her own Domain just to make a statement, but she had wasted it on the Ripper out of pure uncontrolled anger, and now it would cost her.
She fell to her knees, already knowing the worst. Y/N didn't have a Domain; he stood no chance; when that thing would come down, her beloved would be dead... Or worse.
****
I slowly stood up, taking in all the words being spread around me, all of them random words and sayings, but none of them made sense. But even with that, I found myself unable to move; the more I concentrated, the more I saw those very words mocking me.
'Freeze.' 'Don't move' 'Stay Still'
Beowulf held her pen down by her side, shaking her head. "Domain Expansion, Fairy-Tale Lie."
Fairy-Tale Lie was a simple domain that would enhance Beowulf's Weave Technique to a whole new level; on top of the sure hit ability, it removed the need for her to write the words or sentences she needed physically instead of taking them from her mind and spreading them out. Here, her foe was victim to any re-write she wanted.
"Such a pity, Father, never taught you about Domain Expansions. You can belittle him yourself the next time you see him. Rest now; no longer walk this path of chaos and destruction; your story is over, Y/N."
A sentence was written out in front of me. A sentence that spoke for itself, its actions burned into my mind.
I wrapped my hands around my neck, beginning to strangle myself; the impossible nature cancelled out as I kept squeezing tighter. Falling to my knees, I was dying; I was ending it myself. I had no way of stopping it. I'm done, it's over...
As my vision became blurry, I saw it. I saw what all of this was about, all the problems it caused me.
My box.
My box of lies, secrets and truths. My very purpose in front of me is drawing me in.
Open it, you should open it. Show her no mercy. You should kill her. Do it. Set us all free.
I died. My heart stopped as I collapsed.
Yet I was still alive.
In the corner of my eye, my corpse lay, yet I was standing. Beowulf looked horrified at this. Could she see it, too? My dead body?
You began to stand up, moving your hands from your neck. You spoke, but it was a voice other than your own.
Too many voices crawled through that you couldn't even pinpoint one.
"Who said I don't have a domain?"
Beowulf stepped back, seeing you bring your hands together. You began to make a motion, the motion of opening a box. "Domain Expansion..."
****
DK's eyes looked up as the Domain collapsed, and she found Y/N standing. She gasped, running to Y/N, hugging him. Her eyes pivoted in shock, seeing Beowulf on the floor void of any life, all the colour from her gone. Her skin peeled away. The only thing left was her wide-eyed expression and the open-mouth scream she had done before she died.
It was clear she died from fright.
"Y-Y/N... W-What happened?"
"I don't know," I whisper, hugging DK tightly, just as dazed. "I remember dying and then... Nothing... It felt good."
I couldn't tell you what happened. The Kyoto students and Utahime tried asking, but as much as I tried, I just couldn't remember.
I just remember it feeling amazing. What I can say is the fact my Sister is dead. It was a trap from the start; she wanted to kill me from the moment she found out I was alive. All of it has to do with an impossible box only I can see.
I don't understand most of it, but I didn't share this matter with the others. With everyone safe and sound, it was decided we'd return to Japan right away. Part of me is grateful for that matter; the sight of my home is enough to put anyone off.
I want nothing else but to return to Japan and forget all of this that has ever happened. She didn't deserve mourning or my care. I hated my Family more than anything; not all was bad, though.
We were going to make it back in time for Halloween; I consider that to be a blessing...
To be continued...