"Us Zodiacs want to rewrite a certain story. It is a story that our God want to end in tragedy." Kiyo said to Momo, who was tied up on a pillar.
Momo could no longer use her Magic after using her emergency signal. She could only pray someone saw it and come for her rescue. "Michiyo-hime's story..." It started off as a tragic story but over time, the princess' soul was slowly healing and she now have the courage to look forward to tomorrow. Momo never told anyone this but she was happy seeing Michiyo happy because the princess' happiness meant the prince will be happy. Momo wanted to see Prince Shouto happy.
"That's right. God chose her story and only hers. Her story was supposed to go down the path we have decided for her. Yet, someone daringly tried to change the story and steer it another way. That is unforgivable! Anyone who tries to change God's decision to a story will pay for it. I promise it." She then suddenly slithered real quick to Momo's face! Her fingers digging into Momo's face as she spoke in a crazy manner, "The story is changed! God is gone! He is killed by the one trying to change the story! If we're able to change the story, we might be able to bring God back...that's it...hahaha...that's it!" Kiyo slithered away again, muttering to herself some more, "And when God finally comes back, my dearest Chinan will return to me. Yes, God promised me that, hsss...hsss..."
Momo gulped; Kiyo's crazy! She will do anything in the name of her god! "Your god is not a good god if he is calling for the death of someone."
"What...did you say...?"
Momo defiantly looked at Kiyo, "I am saying no god in this world would do such a thing to prove a point he is God!" Maybe it's because she's been protecting Shouto her whole life that his ideologies and ideas influenced how she viewed god as a whole.
Shouto doesn't believe it's even a god to start with. He believed it was a demon pretending they're on the same level as god. If God made this world for humans, why would he in turn purposely take the life of one girl? Fair enough there's such thing as natural disasters but what happened at Meiun Island was not a natural disaster; it was a tragedy caused by the demons in humans through an evil God's influence.
"Your God is just using you demons to write a story!"
"Shut up! Shut up!" Kiyo wrapped her serpent-like body around Momo's body and the pillar. She was squeezing the life out of Momo!
Even so, Momo did not stay quiet. Even if her ribs were digging into her organs, she continued to speak the truth, "The only reason you're trying to bring God back is because you are lost without a reason to live! You are nothing without your God! You're just a sad and lonely woman waiting for reason to come to you!"
"Shut up! What the hell do you know?!"
"Ah...!" Momo wondered if she really will die here? This will be the place of her death? She did not want to die but it seemed like this was the end of the road for her. She closed her eyes and she waited for her organs to be crushed by the Snake Zodiac. 'I'm sorry, Prince Shouto. I can no longer serve by your side. I promised to be by your side with Tenya-san and watch you rule over the kingdom but it seems like I will have to break that promise...'
"DIE!"
However...
Momo did not die. She was freed from her binds and from Kiyo. She opened her eyes and she saw the one who rescued her. It was Tenya! He came in time!
"Tenya-san...?!"
"I came on time, Momo-kun!" Tenya literally ran all the way here with his Magic! He managed to save Momo in time!
"You dare come to take my prey away?!" Kiyo drank something and she blew out a toxic purple fume at Tenya's way! The fume melted a pillar and turned it into mush. If it could do that to something solid like a pillar, the human body's a goner!
Tenya carried Momo and he ran away quickly from Kiyo! 'I can't fight that thing while carrying Momo-kun at the same time! If I escape now, her fumes will harm the civilians! She has to be defeated here!'
Kiyo's about to blow out another toxic fume! Again, Tenya ran away from it!
'As long as I do not breathe or let it touch me, I am safe!'
Kiyo smirked and she made a smoke pipe appear in her right hand. When she breathed in from the mouth of the pipe, the fumes split in half! And when she blew out white smoke, the purple fumes followed and chased Tenya!
"What?!" The fumes were chasing after him! The speed of it as very fast too! Catching up to him little by little!
"Tenya-san, I'm just dead weight to you. Let go!" Momo knew because he's carrying her that she's weighing him down.
"No!"
"You must! I don't have the strength to use Magic anymore. I don't have the ability to fight that thing never mind backing you up. You understand, don't you?"
"I'll carry you no matter what!"
"Why won't you listen to what I am saying?! The most logical thing is letting me go! Listen to me, won't you?!"
He's finally cornered! The fumes were coming from the left, right, ahead, and above. There's no escape. He could outrun between the gaps, but he will have to let Momo go and sacrifice her.
"I won't let you down! I told the prince I am going ahead to keep you safe! How can I let him see me break my own promise to him?!"
"Well said, four eyes!"
Someone jumped in through the hole Momo's emergency signal made! That someone was Yuuki! She landed in front of Tenya and Momo! "Leave everything to me~." She looked at the fumes that were coming in multiple directions! "Aura Magic: Shield & Rebound!" The shield she had made surrounded everyone inside a dome! The moment the fumes touched her aura shield, she was able to deflect everything touching it!
"Who are you?!" Kiyo did not expect someone to interrupt her!
The shield broke down and Yuuki smiled at the Snake Zodiac, "I am Katsuki's demon servant! I am here because Master threw me here!" How did she get here so quick? Shouto met up with Katsuki and Yuuki from horse riding and knowing Tenya will need to protect Momo and fight at the same time, Katsuki decided to send Yuuki all the way to where the emergency signal was shot. He focused his Magic to his arms and he explosively threw Yuuki into the air with her focusing her Magic to her legs to jump the very moment Katsuki threw her.
"You make it sound cool, Yuuki-kun, but it sounds ridiculous!"
"Cut me some slack, Tenya! I'm trying to look cool here! I'm trying to impress the audience here!"
"What are you even talking about?!"
"Pretending I am not even here...!" Kiyo slithered really quickly! Her nails grew very long and she tried to claw Tenya and Momo but Yuuki got in the way again and she broke Kiyo's nails! "This scent...you are a demon but you are protecting humans?!"
"My Master is a human after all!" The wolf demon will take on the snake demon.
"Hahaha...do you like your Master, little wolf?"
"Master? Hmm~, he can be okay at times when he's not being an ass."
Looking at Yuuki and knowing her master's a human, she was reminded of the time when she met her oh so precious Chinan. "A human and a demon's relationship will always end in tragedy, little wolf. As someone who once fell in love with a human, you should heed my warning-"
"Boom!" Yuuki kicked Kiyo right in the face! She focused her aura to her legs and she sprung towards Kiyo at top speed and give her no chance to react! Kiyo let go of the smoke pipe in the process and Yuuki grabbed hold of it to break it in half! It was surprisingly fragile! "I don't care about your failed love story! This story is about Master and me! Just because your own story ended tragically it doesn't mean mine will. After all, my story is weaved by none other than myself!"
"You...!" Kiyo's nose was bleeding from the impact of the sudden kick. She did not expect it will come so it really hurts. "I'll kill you..." What Yuuki just said wasn't helping either.
"Once I have completed my pilgrimage, I shall return to you and marry you, Kiyo. Until then, wait for me."
Kiyo let out a hellish screech out of nowhere. Her screech was so loud and ear-piercing! Tenya, Momo, and Yuuki had to shut their ears with their hands to block out the noise!
Kiyo's tail hit the ground, breaking the earth into pieces! The pieces were lifted into the air and then she whipped her tail at the them to make them come towards Yuuki and Tenya!
Tenya ran out of the way and Yuuki punched the flying rocks to break it into much smaller pieces!
Tenya went for the way out! "Yuuki-kun, I'll leave you with her. I'm sorry!" If he could, he'd like to stay and fight but with Momo and her current condition, he couldn't stay even if he wanted to.
"Yeah. It's probably for the better. Shouto and Master will make it soon."
"No you won't!" Kiyo blew out fumes again! It's chasing Tenya again!
Tenya did not look behind him because he trusted Yuuki enough that she will protect him!
"Aura Magic: Shield & Rebound!" She stopped the fumes once again! "Go!"
"Hang in there, Yuuki-kun! Shouto-sama and that explosive guy will make it soon!"
"Get out of the way! A demon on the side of the humans...! I will never forgive such thing! Never! Nothing ever comes good when a demon and a human being together! There's only despair in such story!"
Yuuki got sick and tired of her talking about relationship between demons and humans and about a sad story. Yuuki outran the fumes and she focused aura to her fists! She was so close to punching Kiyo in the face but Kiyo moved back in time!
"Missed!"
Yuuki landed far behind Kiyo. But did Yuuki really miss? Kiyo felt something drip from her nose. She touched her nose and she felt blood coming down from her nostrils.
"Ah..." Before Kiyo knew it, she felt the pain a person would feel if they were to be punched in the nose.
Yuuki looked over her shoulder and she grinned, "Aura Magic: Shroud" She shrouded her aura to the point of it looking invisible to the naked eyes; on the surface it looked like she had missed making physical contact with Kiyo's nose but in reality her fists that were shrouded with aura managed to touch Kiyo's nose. The injury will come in 10 seconds after contact! "I'll keep you entertained before Master make it, snakey!"
Back with Katsuki, he was riding a black horse while Shouto's riding a white one. Katsuki's horse was 'borrowed' from a merchant and they're trying to get to the location where the emergency signal was shot from.
"I can't believe you threw Yuuki like that!" Shouto complained, not even looking at Katsuki, "Would it kill you to be nice to her for a change?" It was hard for Shouto to see Katsuki be so mean to Yuuki because Yuuki and Michiyo shared the same face and so seeing Katsuki be mean to her was like seeing Katsuki being mean to Michiyo.
"Shut up! That's my servant! I do what I want! Besides, she made it there, didn't she?!"
"Still..." Shouto's not sure whether he should thank him or not.
"If she loses THAT easily, I wouldn't have sent her there!"
"Tenya said that woman's very powerful." Tenya actually filled in what happened after running so fast to escape. From what Momo had reported, the woman had a very strange Magic and she had half of a serpent's body. It sounded demonic and Katsuki concluded it could be a demon like Yuuki.
"Zodiac." Katsuki muttered under his breath. He noticed the identities of the Zodiacs reflected the ones in the Eastern legend. Yuuki's definitely facing off with the Snake Zodiac right now.
"These Zodiacs and their God. They're pretty obsessed with wanting to turn Michiyo's story into a horrible one. Why?"
Katsuki didn't say anything to Shouto because he was thinking about the pieces of the puzzle. What if turning people against the Magic Users were all just a front? What if something like a war will inevitably cause Michiyo's story to end tragically? It was because of a travelling monk's words that planted fear in people and drive them all to go insane.
Was Katsuki's amnesia part of the plan? Was meeting Yuuki and Eijirou part of a plan? Was everything orchestrated by a powerful force? Was everything planned by the Zodiacs?