Okay everyone, this is actually a pretty short chapter to begin with... And now, before you read this Fanfic, please play this song while you read this and picture the fighting that is happening, please play Mitternacht by E-nomine.
Also, some notice for any haters of my writing or whatsoever, before you post any negative review, please do not cower behind somebody else username, your criticism are not welcomed. And should you want to give any, I would be happy if you can point out just where I have done wrong.
Finally, shoutout to Harukawa Ayame who is happy of my idea to resurrect Yuki. ENJOY!
Chapter 8: The Deadly Shadows
"Hehehehe… Finally, free from you, free from everything. And I get a real body in the process… "
"The blood moon, I see… Letting you to take over me, killing Nobuhiko and they summoned you…"
"Yes, and because of that, nothing can restrain me to kill our enemy, the wizards!"
Arashi is not happy about the idea of killing wizards as he is aware that they know nothing about the truth.
"Enemy? Look, they know nothing about the angels and devils. Don't you feel remorse at all?"
"Remorse? It is because of that, you are hearing those voices!"
Arashi eyes are wide open as this was what happened. Shido is puzzled by Satsujinki's statements and questioned.
"Just what scores you have with him? Aren't you guys of a same person?"
"Same person? In case he never tell you, we exist to kill each other…"
The group is even more confused as the two man of the same face is trying to kill each other.
"What? Nanaya, JUST WHAT DID YOU NOT TELL US?" Shido asks Arashi.
"..."
Arashi is now speechless as he can't explain himself anymore. He knows that it is not the time to fight.
"They are still innocent! They don't have to die… Our enemy has yet to come, we can still kill each other whenever we like after that!"
"No… My enemy is you! You are also the container of our enemy!" Satsujinki countered.
Satsujinki points his switchblade at Arashi, the spirits are tensed as a result of the brandishing.
"Do you still remember? At the mirrors. What have we sworn?"
Arashi knows it and he answered.
"The strong lives to kill the weak..."
Hearing that, Satsujinki smiled, and continued to speak.
"That's right. You have failed all of our task… And turn into an enemy yourself!"
"I may be an enemy, but at least Amon is still kept in check..."
Before Arashi can finish his sentence, Satsujinki breaks his words.
"The moment you unleashed Amon to the spirits, you know you can't contain it much longer. Your soul is doomed, but not me. "
Upon hearing that, Arashi summons his dark blades, pointing it at Satsujinki.
"If you really want to settle it so badly, let us begin then..."
"Well then, be a man and die, your place within their heart, not only I will take over, I will also wipe your existence within their heart. I shall kill you along with Amon, and rip you to pieces so that none can use your body! Unholy Astral Raiment-Tathamet!"
Crimson aura engulfs Satsujinki as darkness shrouds him to form a dark leathery suit like Arashi's. However, the suit has the visage of the Lord of Wrath. Everyone's eyes are wide open as it puzzles them greatly.
"You have Azrael as your power… But I have Amon! Amon-El Diablo!"
Shadows gather around him with the souls unleashed within, they form into the pair of dark blades that are filled with curse marks. Satsujinki's arms are covered with markings as well, his blue eyes turn into blood red. The sighting shocks everyone, especially Arashi, who is aware that both he and his dark reflection's hatred towards devil's powers.
"How in the?..." Arashi gasped.
"I'm your terror, remember? As soon as you die, Azrael will have to join me, Amon will be banished. Hehehe… how sad for you, you always wanted to seek redemption for yourself, and that is death for you."
"You're totally insane…"
"And so were you last time…"
The two stops their argument and lowers their body in a standby position, they speak in unison.
"Well then it is time to..."
And then, the two roared at the same time
"LET'S LET'ER RIP!"
Satsujinki disappear with a puff of smoke. Arashi's instinct makes him to swing his dual blades towards his back. As Satsujinki reappears from his back, his blades crash into Arashi's. Both of them disjoints their dual blades and immediately locked into a deadly whirlwind of swords with seemingly endless of parrying.
"PING PIANG PING PING PING PING PING PIANG..."
With both young men trying to trace the line on each other's swords, the failed attempt results in a loud noise which deafens everyone. As the two are aware they are in a stalemate, they start to back off. After that, Satsujinki raises his hand.
"This is the difference between you and me!" Satsujinki declared.
Many shadow blades start to appear and surrounds Arashi, he focuses his mind as he traces and pierces the blades' lines and points.
"While I can use them freely, you have to consider how Amon grips your soul!"
The battle's intensity heats up as Arashi notices the shadow on the ground starts to gather and he jumps backwards, in just a second, the ground burst up a hellish blast of shadow that consumes everything with it.
Satsujinki keeps blasting the shadows from the ground while Arashi keeps dodging it and tracing the shadow blades as well. Satsujinki jumps in and tries to slash Arashi with his demonic swords.
With Arashi's adrenaline rushing, he can only dodge the blade which barely missed him. Arashi retaliates with his sword which is being parried by Satsujinki, the two are locked in place with their attached dual blades. The two's heart are beating very fast as the fear of death is evident in both young men, determined not to fail their objectives.
Arashi sees an opening, he detaches his blades. Things start to move slowly as he focus all of his strength into his blade. Just as Satsujinki attempts to parry the blade, Arashi shouted.
"NEVERMORE-HARVESTER!"
In an instant, Arashi's dark blades have turn into a pair of grey ethereal blades covered in undecipherable wordings. The blade is ghastly in nature and it phases through El-Diablo, the sword enters Satsujinki's body effortlessly.
"Requiem-Sunder!"
Blue energy pulsates from the end of the hilt and enters into Satsujinki's body. The sword seemingly sending a large surge of power into him while Arashi runs his blade diagonally across Satsujinki. In an instant, Arashi disappears and reappears a distance away from Satsujinki, whose abdomen is sliced opened, he explodes into blue flame.
Just as everyone think it is thinking it is over, Satsujinki suddenly appears from the inferno of blue flames. Leaving anyone stunned.
"Didn't he just exploded there?" Kotori exclaimed.
"...!"
Arashi is now speechless as he knows that his sword will burn anyone's soul, effectively killing his target.
"Don't you forget that I'm just an clone of blood moon? Even if you can see my soul, you can't burn it!"
With that, Satsujinki charges at Arashi again. He shuts his eyes and raises the ethereal blades up in air. Harvester pulsates so bright as Arashi channels mana into it, rendering everyone blind temporary. Arashi sprints towards his dark reflection. Satsujinki can sense him coming and adjusts his dual blades trying to parry. But, Arashi's blades runs through it like hot knife through butter, severing his swords into bits as he reopens his eyes once again to negate the blinding effect.
With this, Arashi aims his sword to Satsujinki's death point, ready to land the fatal blow. But Satsujinki sees it as well, he focuses his mind and slows down Arashi's blade in his vision. He quickly unsheathes his switchblade, piercing the point on Arashi's swords. The strike is so fast that Arashi did not see him do it. He is surprised that his sword broke into pieces before the tip can even reach Satsujinki.
The sudden loss of mana inflicts a sharp pain into his head.
"ARRRRGHHH!"
Curse marks start to engulf his arms again, with his eyes turning blood red once more.
"Arashi! You can't lose here!"
The spirits knows what is coming. They pray that Arashi will get a grip of himself, not to lose against his devil.
"Na... Nanaya-san, gambateh!"
The words pierce his ears and he sees light within his clouded vision. He endures it, fighting back the control, his curse marks now fades and his eyes return to blue.
Satsujinki snaps his fingers, Arashi knows what is coming, he jumps backwards again. The hellish blast missed him, but it knocks him back, instinctively, Arashi summons his dark tendril wings, regaining control over his body again. He touches down on the ground and kneels down from the exhaustion of a takeover.
Arashi looked at his enemy in a kneeling down position, he is panting heavily as he helplessly to see his enemy remains intact.
"Look at that wings we bear, the marks that are etched right into our back. They meant for our freedom!"
With a roar of thunder, Satsujinki dash towards Arashi with his switchblade. Arashi gets back up immediately and the two slow each other down as their adrenaline floods their systems.
"Ping!"
With their blade locks in place, Satsujinki attempts to sway his other half again.
"You seek redemption, you seek acceptance from the Spirits. They'll never accept who you are! They'll just use you as weapons. It will be like back in the clan again! Look at what you have forsaken! Did they thank us? When the whole clan got massacred, when we got killed, did any of them appeared?"
"...!"
He is rendered speechless as his dark reflection reveals his true thought. He knows his feeling well, he knows that it will be better if he keeps it to himself. The group knows Arashi still hides even more from them. Arashi forces himself and his reflection back off.
"Yeah… I hated them for once… But I now know their difficulties, we never reveal our identity to them! We were always the one in the shadows, they can't help us as they are never meant to help us! But… Just why? Why do you even care?" he asks.
"Why? To end your suffering. Spirits, Sin Lords, they are why you are suffering! If not for them, your head won't hurt, and most importantly, you won't die."
Images keep flashing throughout his mind. He looks at the group, and he looks back at his hands. He begin to see blood on his hands, it sends chills into his spine. He knows it is a hallucination, but it reflects his tainted soul. The morality he has given up to protect the spirits and his family.
"And now, I am giving you a chance to rest. With that, you will be freed, after all, existence wiping is a much better fate than having your soul imprisoned."
Arashi in considering his choices, he is tired of it. He want to escape the torture. Perhaps death is his salvation, or is it?
"I'm asking you… Will you protect them? Will you destroy the hell's force?" Arashi asks.
"I will, and I'll do a better job than you! And of course, I can kill millions of them myself." Satsujinki replied.
"Kill me then…"
Arashi surprised everyone with the death wish.
"What?" they exclaimed.
"Kill me… I can't contain Amon. And perhaps you are right… I should have no remorse, but I can't… Mum told us what we should do, and what we shouldn't."
He lamented his failures, clearly reflecting his own actions.
"No! There must be a way out! You don't have to die Arashi!" Kaguya plead.
But her pleas are deafened by both young man's' will.
"Come, kill my soul… and take my body as your's."
Satsujinki lowers his body and aims his switchblade at the point of death near Arashi's chest. But suddenly, Arashi spoke again.
"But I won't go down easily… Because of them, I found myself a reason to live… And most importantly, why Phantom said Itsuka Shido is our redemption… Because he can, and he has a better way..."
Satsujinki now glares at Shido and the group, clearly unhappy about the fact that Arashi is not what he was.
"And because of that… I have to protect them… They made me feel alive, not surrounded by death!"
"Wake up will you? Nobody is going mourn for you when you die…"
"Then so be it… I have tasted it… I'm already dead since the day they impaled that cursed stone within me, sending the dead back to death is the right thing to do."
Shido angrily corrects Arashi after hearing this.
"Nanaya! Are you mad? You think we all can live like nothing have happened? Think about Kaguya, think about Yuki, they don't want to lose you! And same goes for me, I don't want to lose you as a friend!"
The word 'friend' shakes Arashi hearts as he is a bit disbelieved at Shido's words.
"What… After all that?"
"Look at you, you are still alive and well. Yuki would not want you to join her on the other world. If you are truly remorse of what you have done. We will still accept you as a friend." Shido added.
The rest of them looking at him smiling as well. Arashi regains his composure, he remains silent, he only smiled to them. Shido and Kaguya can tell it, not the smile of death, but a true smile from the true Arashi himself.
"Thank you… That is all I need to hear."
Satsujinki is aware that his reasons had not reached him. He also smiled and points his switchblade at Arashi.
"Well… Well… You have deep feelings for them. This is getting interesting… You broke yet another rule."
"The same rule which Dad has broken!"
Without warning, Arashi's wings starts to cover him with a vortex of shadows.
"COME FORTH, NEVERMORE!"
As Arashi is being engulfed by the shadows, burst of black bluish flame covers the group, their body turned ethereal. He don't feel pain as he merges with his own fallen angel. Shortly, a being erupts from the vortex, it is black in colour, it doesn't have legs, instead it has a tail that it hovers atop the ground with swirls of shadows encircles the being. Its head has a complex structure of horns that resembles a crown. The face being a dark skull with its eye sockets and mouth glowing from the blue fire. The being's chest is skeletal and it is glowing with the blue fire. Upon closer inspection the fire is actually souls swirling in and out of the fallen angel.
"I will fight for what I believe in..."
Nevermore, the fiend of shadows and the fallen angel of death who is now merged with Arashi, declared with a demonic voice. But, Satsujinki isn't even faltered.
"You think by merging Azrael with you will work? Don't forget what I have, Amon!"
Wings are formed from Satsujinki's back, it covers him along with the vortex of shadow consuming him as well. For not long, the same devil of that day, it's blade like horns that covered his shoulders legs, together with the colossal skeletal body with fire burning brightly within, erupts from the dark shadows.
Nevermore the Fallen Angel of Death or Shadow Fiend, who is formerly knowns as Azrael the Angel of Death, now faces Amon the Lord of Wrath once more.
"Why are you doing this? Aren't you suppose to destroy me, Nanaya?"
The Lord of Wrath is seemingly puzzled by Arashi's action as he asks with the ghostly voices. Arashi only strengthens his focus and answered.
"I will only destroy you when I kill all of your forces, it is already too late even if I die here."
Arashi channels his remaining mana into suppressing Amon. The devil's voices are heard no more. But now, Arashi can hear another voice, this time from his fallen angel who resides within him.
"Arashi, that is just an illusion you are fighting. Don't lose, Amon's power in him can still backfire, you can't let him have the eyes."
"I know that well… I know my dark self well too…"
The appearance of the dark beings have stolen their senses as they are in fear. They can't look directly into the burning ribcage, because their vision will be slowly clouded by shadows.
The beings' palms are burning with shadows and they hurl it at each other. The ball of fire explodes upon impact with the beings dodge each other's attack.
They hurl even more dark fire at each other. When that fails, Nevermore raises his arms in air, a vortex of darkness is being conjured with a big hellish blast of shadows erupts from it.
But the other being dodges that, and hurls even more fireballs at Nevermore. Suddenly, the fiend's back grows a pair of dark tendril wings. With a flap from the wings send Nevermore flying, nearly hit by the fireballs.
He flies towards Amon and a large sword is formed in his hand. As the time slows down, Arashi who is in control of Nevermore, feels his arms are now lighter and seemingly packed with strength. He swings his blade at the devil, but it is immediately parried away by Amon who also summons his sword at the nick of time.
As the two demons swing their swords at each other, trying to trace the lines on each other's body. But with both young men controlling their demons, they can see the line on each other and they can also defend each other's effort. The clash of blades are being echoed by the lightning and thunder while they are showered by heavy rain. Eventually, their swords are locked in place. Shido and the group are terrified by the scary roars of the fiends.
"AMON!"
"AZRAEL!"
Eventually, the two demons break up and readjust themselves. Both are aiming at each other's point of death, without warning, both demons charge at each other with unholy speed. Their long swords impales the point of death of their foe which is only visible to them.
Cracks are formed on the demons and explodes into blue and red energies. Everyone are stunned as they can't believe on how reckless the two are. But to their surprise, the two of them are in mid air, being thrown off by the speed they were charging.
"Shit, wrong point!" both were muttering
The two crash onto the ground staggering, but this time Arashi is at the brink of possession once again.
"ARRRRRRGHHHH..."
Pain strikes his head as his blue eyes turn blood red, he is low on mana, his vision now fades into darkness as he fights back control. Satsujinki get back up, seeing that it is his only chance to kill Arashi once and for all. He re-conjures his dark blades and sprints towards Arashi.
"DIEEEEEE!" he roared.
Arashi can hear it, his heartbeats very fast as anxiety and desperation catches up with him. He channels his remaining mana into suppressing the devil within. By the time his vision is clear to him again, Satsujinki had already pounced into mid-air, readies his switchblade to land a strike on Arashi. Out of desperation, he quickly conjures a shadow blade and tries to defend the strike from above.
But his effort are in vain as Satsujinki runs his blade through the shadow blade. Arashi's eyes are wide open as his sword is split into half. The next thing he knew is the sudden pain on his chest. Satsujinki's blade runs through his chests diagonally on the line of death. Albeit just a little bit more will result in Arashi being bifurcated.
"ARGHHH...'"
Arashi can feel the pain that cold piece of metal which shatters his ribs. He is also aware that the wound is right on his line. Satsujinki isn't done here as he straightens his blade.
"It's over now!"
Arashi realizes the blade now aims at his point of death, with just a stab will be fatal. Adrenaline kicks in as he endures the pain on his chest. He knows that he has to stop the blade, with nothing in his hands, he places his left palm right into the way of the blade. Satsujinki's switchblade impales through the left palm while missing the point, the end result is Arashi grabbing onto Satsujinki's right hand holding the blade with his impaled hand.
"What? Let me go!"
In the very short midst of all scuffle, Arashi's free hand unsheathes his own switchblade, thrusting it through Satsujinki's blindspot. The blade pierces Satsujinki effortlessly.
"Ugh…"
Satsujinki suddenly feels a sharp pain on his chest, he realizes the blade has pierced his point of death. He is stunned as he never see it coming.
"This is the difference between you and me… You like to toy and torture your victims before killing them. While I prefer to grant them the clean death of no suffering, this is the very same discipline I was taught before they took me away."
Realizing this is his death, Satsujinki nonetheless laugh at Arashi.
"Hehehehehe… You can never destroy my existence as I'm bound to you. You can never unleash Harvester's true form without me…"
Arashi lets go of Satsujinki, their blades exits each other's bodies. Satsujinki collapses onto the floor.
"You won't end me next time…. Hehehehahahaha…."
Satsujinki incinerates into black flame, at the same time, Shido and the group are dispelled of their ethereal state. Fraxinus activates the teleportation device and extracts everyone as soon as the illusionary territory dissipates.
"Are you guys okay?"
The crew of Fraxinus rushes towards them with towels as they are heavily drenched. Just as Kawagoe (Bad Marriage) wanted to approach Arashi, the young man collapses onto the floor.
"Hey! Nanaya! Nanaya! Commander, he's..."
His shout attracts the attention of Shido, Kaguya and Kotori, the trio rushes up and to their horror. The young man is now laying on the floor in a pool of blood.
"Arashi!"
Kaguya runs up to check on him and she place him in her arms, his eyes are half open, his punctured left hand is now lit up with flames which heals the wound, but this is not happening to the one on his chest.
"I… can't… die yet…"
Arashi now loses consciousness in Kaguya's arms, the latter is shocked to see this as she cannot imagine him dying.
"No… Arashi, hang in there!"
"Proceed with emergency surgery!" Kotori commanded.
The medics on board of Fraxinus immediately rushes towards Arashi with a stretcher and carries him into the emergency surgery theater.
In the morgue of Fraxinus
Nanaya Yuki who was killed by Ellen, had her body frozen within a block of ice in the dark morgue. Ratatoskr plans to let Arashi to do the last rites should he be sealed, and thus the body is placed here. The girl sudden opens her eyes that are glowing in bright blue.
"Arashi… Hang in there...If you had used eclipse back there... You won't be in this state..."
This is the end and more will be revealed in the next chapter. The fanfic is coming to an end and I have actually planned out sequels. I thank everyone's support for my fanfic. Thank you everyone! You guys are awesome!