I´m back, guys! Took me long enough because of a one-shot I´m writing for Halloween, but here it is! Part two of our insane battle! Or rather, our heroes´ battle. REVIEWS!
RedBurningDragon: Okay, that explains it. As for Tatsuo stomping Kushiel with his sword…won´t spoil it, but no. Someone else is gonna do the stomping. Also, while I have heard good things about .hack, I´ve never gotten around to watching it myself. Praise the Halloween sale. And the game, well, can´t say I know all too much about it, seeing as I´ve been busy revisiting the classics of both anime(Berserk, FMA Brotherhood, TTGL) and video games(Dishonored, Tales of Symphonia, Metal Gear Rising) lately, so I haven´t kept up to date with new releases all too much. Might give it a chance, though, seeing as it is a 4 in 1 deal. Besides, since the anime was praised by every reviewer I watch on the Youtubes, it can´t be all that bad, seeing as it is SAO before SAO was SAO and SAO got it´s own game. Basically, what I´m saying is an anime about video games getting a video game adaption can´t be that bad, and fuck SAO.
Anyways, back to business. Roll the film! What´s that? It´s a written story and not a motion picture? Fuck you then, ROLL THE SCRIPT!
Tatsuo went for a quick slash to the face, but Kushiel managed to evade it at the very last second by flapping his wings to move his head back just an inch, which was just enough to avoid any damage. The angel tried to retaliate with his whip, but Tatsuo, now less cautious since he had a weapon, dashed past him and into his blind spot, preparing his next attack. He delivered a strong uppercut, slicing his foe right along his spine, the shrieks of agony getting louder and louder as the angel´s white tunic was stained with more blood as the blade sliced through his skin. Using his wings again, the man got some distance by flying to the other side of the room, right next to the hole that lead outside.
He panted heavily, placing a hand on his chest. It was then that he truly realized that he´d been injured by something he thought to be a devil up to this point. But that was impossible. A devil wouldn´t be able to stand after being ensnared in Witherbrand. "What are you?!" he demanded to know, cracking his whip at the air in frustration, which resulted in a few sparks to float in the air before dissipating. Tatsuo didn´t reply, instead focusing on all of his power, which made his armour glow orange.
As fun as this was, he really didn´t want to drag this on for too long, and since he had the advantage, seeing as he was technically in top condition due to his regen and his enemy wasn´t, he had the power to decide that. He angled the sword for a stab, and jumped after his opponent, who was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was losing to this fallen angel. That was the only option. A devil wouldn´t be able to stand after his previous attacks, and he would know him if he was an angel, and since he was far too powerful to be human, that was the only option.
He was losing to something that he completely despised, that worked with his hereditary enemies, and to top it all off, he was stopping him from killing an abomination that combined both those things into one, hideous form! He had enough. The man no longer cared about the fact that he was a renegade, nor that he would be likely be executed by his comrades after this. He would end this in one attack. His aura crackling with lightning, he ground his teeth with a furious expression, and uttered them, those accursed words, those words he had promised his dear friend to never speak again.
"Patrem, ut det mihi vires melius recta se Haeduorum iniurias horum animabus pereunt mundum emunda fiet peccatis eorum."
His angelic glow lit up, the energy released blowing away the rest of the manor, letting the sunlight enter the battlefield. The raw energy he emitted knocked Tatsuo back to the ground, and with wide eyes, he observed the angel gaining a halo above his head, and his wings took on a golden hue as they seemed to crackle with energy. His weapon started shining, having flames that were so hot that they took on a blinding white. The earth and the air were both trembling from the sheer power that was gathering in this very spot. The whole scene was made even more artistic by the whirlwind that descended from the heavens, a tornado that surrounded the huge estate of the Himejima family, barricading them inside with the angel.
"Hæc est. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti: ego dabo tibi paenitet! Moriemini!" He cried out, his aura sparking even stronger, the power pushing Tatsuo into the ground, leaving a huge crater as the angel gathered all his power. Tatsuo, while focused on the fight, couldn´t help but worry for his friends. With some difficulty, he pushed himself up, and crawled to the edge of the crater. The magic dome was intact, thankfully, due to Rias´ and Issei´s efforts. It appeared that he was no longer supplying Asia with BOOSTS, so while the healing process slowed, they would survive this.
Kiba had also been rescued, it seemed, or he had somehow made his way over to them, as he was lying beneath the barrier, panting heavily, his chest still shining brightly from the whiplash he´d received earlier. Tatsuo sighed in relief as he saw them, and picked up the sword lying next to his feet. Putting his weight onto it, he managed to stand up. As his gaze drifted back to his opponent, he started to sweat. Kushiel had made his halo grow to huge proportions, now filling the entirety of the tornado´s diameter, and it hummed a deep tone.
He knew what would follow. Inside the halo, he saw lightning crackle, definitely a sign of the power gathering inside it. That thing was a huge cannon. And it would obliterate every last one of them, plus the entirety of the estate on top of it, not counting the ramifications the earthquakes would cause for the city. He had to think fast. No, there was no time for thinking. He needed to end this fast. Lifting the sword, he found it difficult to stand, and fell to his knees, struggling to get back up. It was no use, though. While the angel chanted his incantation, Tatsuo was stuck down here, unable to resist this ridiculously powerful being, hell, the mere presence forced him to bow.
So this was the power of one who served God, huh? He pondered if he would meet the voice from last night once he died, but smacked himself for even harbouring a shadow of that thought. He would not die here. If he died, who would take care of the kids under the barrier? They may be strong, but they´re still just kids. They need a guiding hand to show them the right way. And he would fill that role.
"This coming from the guy who didn´t have free will a few months back." Instinct retorted, making Tatsuo snort in response. That was true, actually. However, just because Instinct was right about that didn´t mean he couldn´t teach his friends what he knew. He was stronger than all of them, but if they tried to, they might just surpass him when they´re older. He had the experience; they had the potential.
"Eh, that´s your opinion. You still haven´t tapped into your true potential, ya know?" Instinct answered in a rather nonchalant way, which ticked his other half off just a bit. Just what did he mean by that? "Well, let me show you what I mean. You know, when we switch who controls, there is that feeling of passing through a revolving door, right? Well, imagine that there is a door next to it that lets me send over my power. Great, right?" The guy answered, and Tatsuo blinked. That was a rather useful thing to know, though he wondered just why Instinct believed to be stronger than him. Shaking his head, he asked a more important question.
Why didn´t the bastard tell him that while he was being turned into bacon?! Actually, nevermind. It was Instinct he was talking about, and besides, there are worse ways to go than by transformation into bacon. Like anything Instinct came up with. Though he did wonder why Instinct didn´t just switch places in the first place right now, like he suggested back then. "Ah, that´s simple. The revolving door only works when we are both in a calm state of mind. To put it simple, either one is asleep, unconscious or something similar, or he is not in a fight, like you are. It´s weird, so don´t ask too many questions right now. I´ll explain later."
That seemed legit. So, Tatsuo told him to go ahead, but Instinct demanded one thing from him before he did so. "Once you kill this weakling, I want you to bring the two girls to your apartment, and have a talk with them. You know who I´m talking about. Let me have control, and I´ll get them straight to the point. Now then, here ya go." Before Tatsuo had time to process what Instinct had said, his armour began glowing brighter and brighter, until the colour matched the flames of the angel´s whip, which seemed to recoil as he underwent his own powerup. The ground beneath him cracked, and his cells regenerated at an incredible rate, his burns disappearing completely.
Without a problem, he stood up, the force exerted by the angel being little more than regular gravity to him now. Tentatively, he hopped into the air with a little force. He rocketed nearly five meters into the air, and he landed on his feet, albeit with some difficulty. Once he did, he took a moment to gather himself. That shocked him way too much, and he needed to calm down. Although, that was deemed a bad idea immediately, and, sword raised high in the air, he poised himself to leap at his foe, who was slowly finishing the incantation.
Just as he left the ground, the lightning in the halo got more and more intense, the spell ready. The eyes of Kushiel were shining brightly, and, with his final prayer, he released all of the energy that was gathered in a single go. The halo hummed loudly, and a small golden orb formed itself in the middle. It sent a small beam of light down to the earth, which, once it landed, seemingly drilled through it. The orb grew bigger and bigger in diameter, and Tatsuo was running out of time. The force may mean nothing to him while he was on the ground, but he couldn´t get high enough with the winds generated by the spell holding him back, which got stronger and stronger the closer he got, regardless of Instinct´s boost.
He saw how the light grew constantly in diameter, and feverishly thought what to do. In seconds, his friends would die if he didn´t come up with a plan! Having no better ideas, he ran over to the devils to get another boost from Issei, as that was the only thing he could think of. He entered their little bubble of safety, and conveyed his plan to them, but was denied by Rias. She explained that the holy nature of this mass of magic would essentially vaporize them if her shield lost it´s strength.
And even with Issei´s boost, she could barely keep it up. Tatsuo grit his teeth, and looked at the others. Akeno was out of the question for any plan he might come up with, Kiba was currently receiving treatment as he groaned, and Asia was not exactly helpful with his problem. He felt a hand tug at his wrist, and he turned to look. It was Koneko, from what he could tell through the swirling dust, gesturing for him to get a bit closer.
"Tatsuo, use me as a stepping stone. I can get you up there." She said, before quickly adding "Don´t worry about me, I may not be allowed to open my eyes because Asia-senpai didn´t finish healing me yet, but I do know where to aim." Tatsuo noticed Asia flinch at that, and worried about her. All this pain and suffering had to put a strain on her, not just mentally from seeing it, but physically from having to use her Sacred Gear constantly. In a way, she took away the pain of others and inflicted it upon herself. He would have to get her a gift later for her hard work.
But for now, he agreed to Koneko´s plan, and lifted her up. She stood somewhat shakily, but Tatsuo held her hand to make sure that she didn´t fall over. The girl planted her feet firmly into the ground, and lowered herself slightly, putting her hands together. Without delay, he put his foot in her hands, and got ready. "Alright, on the count of three, be ready to be thrown, alright?" His answer was a pat on the head, which made her seize up, but she got right back on track, a small smile on her face.
"3…2…" She counted down, and Tatsuo´s body tensed, his armour glowing more intense by the second, getting ready to jump right at the apex of the throw. Before she threw him, she told him one last thing. "Don´t die, okay?" He snorted as she said that. As if he would have the stupidity to do that. That gave her confidence, and after collecting all her remaining strength in her tiny body, Koneko leaned herself backward, and with a loud shout, she lobbed Tatsuo into the air, putting all her weight into it as well. So obviously, as she felt him sail past her at incredible speeds, she herself fell flat on her back. And with that, she sighed, waiting for the storm to subside, and for her hero to return.
Tatsuo was cutting through the air at ridiculous speeds, the Holy Eraser in a position that would stab right through Kushiel´s heart, who was preoccupied with the spell, it seemed, as his eyes were closed. Tatsuo closed in on him in an instant, and the sword pierced the shield generated by the wind, and was about to hit the heart, when it just…stopped. It was literally stuck on nothing. He tried everything, pulling it, pushing it, nothing worked. He noticed, then, how it seemed to crack. He quickly realized why, and his eyes widened at the implications. The light surrounding the angel had entered the sword, and obliterated it from the inside. It was like tossing a bucket of water into a forest fire.
Without having achieved anything, the angel still focused on his magic, the Holy Eraser shattered, leaving Tatsuo with nothing to hold on to. He kept himself from falling by grabbing on to Kushiel, but could barely hold on. The mere contact burned him, the concentrated energy frying him far more than the whip ever could before. He felt his body start to release water in dangerously high quantities to stop him from overheating, with little to no effect, before he realized that his armour was starting to melt, too. Just how much energy is this guy releasing if this is the excess that´s given off as warmth?! He would praise the intellectual shelf for having physics books on it as well, but since that knowledge did nothing but crush his optimism, he refrained from it.
So he did the one thing he could think of. With his regeneration useless right now, being constantly under attack and all, and no sword to use to his advantage, he did the one thing he could think of. He tightened his hold, and, with the power of Instinct, kicked the air. It was a stupid plan, he knew, but what else could he do? The radiance was nearly big enough to reach the devils, and if it hit, they were dead, plain and simple. But if he could kick the air with enough force to get the both of them into the halo, then perhaps…!
"A suicide attack, huh? So much for the whole "will-teach-them-the-way-of-life bullshit, huh?" Instinct interjected, but Tatsuo gave a response in the form of a confident grunt. Of course he would survive. He would get this bastard into his own attack, and go with him in the case that it didn´t work. In which case he would hand over to Instinct, as judging by his earlier comment, he was hiding a lot more power. "Heh, busted. Ah well, let me tell you this: you got the power. So do it. I am a fan of gambling, after all." He got his response, and with Tatsuo´s next kick into the air, the force caused a wind strong enough to propel the two of them forward just a few meters.
He had no time to be shocked, so he kicked, again and again, getting closer and closer to the halo, kind of like swimming to shore, and thankfully, Kushiel was too focused to notice any of this happening. Unfortunately, however, the light had reached the very edge of Rias´ barrier, and he could already see it crack. His kicks´ grew in ferocity and desperation, tripling their speed. Within seconds, the two were at the edge of the halo, which seemed to wake up the angel, likely because it disturbed the spell in some way. He noticed Tatsuo trying to kill them both, and in turn tried to struggle out of the hold, resulting in the beam shrinking as his concentration wavered. But in the end, Kushiel was too exhausted from the spell to shake Tatsuo off, and with a grin, the teacher kicked the air one last time, sending them both into the radiant light.
It went out of control, trembling, growing for a second, before shrinking right after, it got brighter, then lost it´s heavenly splendour, and finally, as it got too unstable, it shrank back into the halo, forming the orb from earlier. With one final crack of sparks, it exploded, sending holy energy in the form of the purest light imaginable everywhere, though it was too scattered to do anything to the devils thanks to their barrier. And within a few seconds, the tornado dispersed as well, leaving a ruined estate atop the hill, the ground where the spell had touched down being completely purified into a state of blankness, having no colour whatsoever.
Once the dust had settled, Issei collapsed to his knees, and Rias let down the barrier right after, following suit. They were panting heavily, especially Issei, who had to sustain two people at the same time for a while, and had done nothing but BOOST for the last ten minutes, putting an incredible strain on his body. He kept his consciousness, though, as he refused to faint before they got out of here. And so, he heaved himself up, and with some help from Kiba, who had recovered enough to walk, they looked for Tatsuo. He couldn´t be far. The tornado must have kept him inside the ruins, as it only dispersed after the explosion.
Rias was still on the ground and checking up on the others. Thankfully, Asia was still conscious, it seemed, as she was going to work on Akeno, while the King decided to prepare a magic circle to evacuate them as quickly as possible. With Kushiel dead, they had no reason to stay. Soon, Kiba and Issei returned with their teacher, and slowly carried him over. Once Rias laid her eyes on him, they widened, and she felt the urge to vomit rise.
His armour had molten, sticking to his completely white skin, and as he was carried over, some parts loosened and came off together with his skin, exposing his flesh to the air. And it did not fare much better. The flesh was oozing blood, which was so thick that it did not flow very well, which clogged up the wound, but since the flow was so strong, it started bursting out with every step he took, resulting in a vicious cycle. First, the blood would burst out as he put his foot on the ground, then, when he lifted his leg again, it would stop the flow because of the viscosity, and once his foot hit the ground again, the next burst shot out.
Without delay, she stood up and, grabbing the Bishop, ran over to them, commanding her servants to place Tatsuo on the ground. Asia got to work immediately, silent as a rock. The green glow staunched the blood flow, and slowly, the wound closed. Miraculously, he was still awake, hell, it was amazing that he survived at all. But they knew that he needed better treatment than this. The armour needed to come off. Biting her lips, Rias hurried with the magic circle. As she did this, Kiba and Issei carried over the other two, getting ready to leave. The teleport took too long to finish, mainly because of her exhaustion, and that delay cost them dearly, when the King felt something hit her. It burrowed deep into her chest, burning her flesh as it advanced further into her body.
Numb, she looked down on herself, and saw a flaming strip of leather stuck in her chest. She heard the others cry out, and, with a lot of difficulty, lifted her head. Above her stood Kushiel, his whip in hand. With one swift motion, he pulled, and she felt the hot, flaming whip leave her body. Blood began to spray from her wound, making her faint from the pain alone. Without a word, the angel lifted his whip and aimed at Asia, who was either too focused to notice any of this, or was nearly unconscious, judging from the extremely weakened glow of her Twilight Healing. Kiba rescued her with his superhuman speed, pulling her out of harm's way, and the whip lashed the air.
The angel was completely silent, carrying an exhausted, tired expression which made it seem like he was asleep as he tried again, this time aiming for Tatsuo, who was groaning in pain with his eyes closed. He knew that he had failed. And with that, the whip cracked through the air, and a loud scream of pain echoed across the ruined manor. However, it wasn´t Tatsuo´s. It was Kushiel´s. And Kiba soon found out why, as he looked up at him again. The man was on his knees, his weapon lying next to his limp, twitching hand. Immediately after, a bolt of lightning shot toward him, making him cry out again as he shook heavily from the shock.
There was only one person among them who was able to do that. Kiba turned around, and saw the Queen standing up, an arm raised, electricity crackling around it. Slowly, Akeno pushed herself further up, and as she did, she sent another shock Kushiel´s way, who, due to his injuries, could not dodge, and was wracked with pain, his body convulsing. Again and again, as the girl stood up, the angel was electrocuted, with the volume of his screams getting lower and lower with each one, and his twitching body going more and more limp. Once she was standing, she made her way over to him, still not letting up with her attacks, which were just strong enough to keep him awake, yet weak enough to keep him alive.
Soon, she towered over him menacingly, her eyes hidden by her hair, and she lifted her leg, making Tatsuo´s coat fall off, and kicked Kushiel in the face, knocking him on his back before she trampled him over and over again, hitting each part of his body, one after the other. All the while, she was muttering something under her breath, in a voice so silent that no one could hear it.
"Don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don´t touch him don't touch him."
Tatsuo tried to stop her, but couldn´t. He had no voice to speak with, and even if he did, she probably wouldn´t listen. He looked at the others, pleading for help, but they were too much in shock, or unconscious to notice. He called for Instinct to help, but he gave no response. So he did the only thing he could think of, and turned onto his belly, and started crawling over. His regen was not working for some reason, so his wounds got torn open again every time he advanced, leaving a red trail on the floor. The pain was unbearable, but he endured it with a desperate expression, and pushed onward.
Once he reached her, he grabbed her ankle, making Akeno stop her torture for a second. She looked down at him, and what he saw made him freeze. Her eyes were empty, devoid of emotion, they had lost their spark he so cherished. Slowly, she bent down, and once her face was on the same level as his, she whispered: "Please let go, my dear darling. I´m punishing this man for you." His hand loosened at those words, and his jaw slacked. With that, she stood up again, and went back to her stomping of the angel, who was whimpering like a puppy at this point. Tatsuo was completely powerless. His friend was going on a rampage in his name, and had seemingly lost all sense of self. She was broken, and there was nothing he could do. He was powerless. Powerless. powerless. powerless…
No. He refused to believe that the Akeno he knew and loved was gone. He refused to believe that she was completely broken. He refused to believe that the girl with whom he´s had so much fun bantering with, the girl whom he adored so much, the girl he fought for was gone. Grunting, he stood up shakily, making the others who were watching gasp at the sheer willpower he had. The gasps made her turn around, and with a slacked jaw, she was embraced. She felt his hands on her back, slowly patting her, comforting her, calming her. Just what was she doing?
Tears in her eyes, she returned the hug as light returned to her eyes. And slowly, he walked backwards, his staggering steps looking like an awkward waltz of sorts, with half the steps cut out. Akeno giggled at the idea, and followed his steps, completing the wobbly dance toward the others. Once they were in the right company, Tatsuo let himself fall over, and as they sat there together, still embracing each other, she started crying her eyes out. But this was different to the tears shed earlier that week, as was the hug she was receiving. These were tears of joy, and the hug was not holding her broken heart together like strings, like the one from two days ago. No, this hug was mending her heart, not by sloppily stitching it back together, but by lovingly bringing every individual cell back together, one by one.
As the touching reunion was taking place, in the background, Issei was worryingly looking for Asia. She had simply disappeared at some point, and they needed her to fix up Rias, even if her high magical power made her wounds heal quicker than normal, and the holy weapon was less effective on her due to that as well. He looked around for a good minute before spying her small figure, and he sighed in relief as he walked over. She was hunched over, on her knees, and once he arrived, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Asia, the President needs your –" He didn´t finish as he saw what she was doing. She was healing the angel. He yelped in shock, and staggered backwards, falling on his arse in the process. "Asia! Get away from him!" he yelled, getting the attention of Kiba and Koneko only, as Akeno was too caught up in her hug, as was Tatsuo, and Rias was unconscious. And since Koneko was blinded for the time being and was wondering what was happening, not just because of Issei´s outburst, but also because of the sobs that were coming from right beside her, only Kiba saw what was happening, and dashed over to prevent it.
Asia was healing Kushiel. Issei quickly stood up and pulled her into his protective grip, away from the angel as his gaze focused on the enemy. Just what was she thinking?! He turned to demand an explanation, but stopped as he saw her face. He just couldn´t believe what he saw, and yet, it brought tears to his eyes. Asia had long since been unconscious. Her hands still emitted the green light, but it was so faint that it was practically invisible. Her pupils were empty, devoid of anything. The joy she got from helping others, the care for anything alive, the desire to help those suffering, all those things had vanished. He stared into them, and saw only the void. She had been treating their wounds for so long that…
The Pawn wrapped her up in a tight hug, trying, but failing to suppress the sobs. He could take a guess as to why she was healing the angel. It was just like when the church excommunicated her, but the other way around. Instead of treating a devil whilst being a saint, she helped an angel as a devil. Why? Because why not? Asia was a person that would heal a person that was all too ready to kill her in cold blood, as long as they no longer had to suffer. That´s just the person was. The approaching Kiba took notice of the hug, and stopped in his tracks, guessing as to what Issei had seen. He suppressed his tears, and checked on the angel. Kushiel was dead. For quite a while, too.
Kiba sighed, and picked up the corpse, tying the whip around it´s neck, making sure to not touch anything other than the handle, even if the flames had gone out. Better dispose of it before the police finds it. As he carried it over to the magic circle that was half done, he saw another corpse, the face of one at least, as the other was erased from existence. It was probably Shuou, though it was hard to tell due to the fact that only the eyes were left in the last bit of the skull, though those, too, were being devoured by the destruction. As he dumped the corpse in the circle, he went back, and told Issei to carry the Bishop over, so he could finish the circle and get them to the clubhouse. Without much argument, the Pawn did as asked, and held Asia bridal style, though he still held her as close as possible. In the meantime, Kiba gathered the armour that had fallen off of Tatsuo´s body, and returned once he had all the pieces, which were thankfully cold at this point. Whatever the armour was made of, it wasn´t metal.
Once everyone was in the circle, Kiba hurried, and finished creating it with the little magic power he possessed, and once it was done, he applied the necessary tattoo onto Tatsuo, who was still embracing the crying Queen. Right after, the Knight made them vanish from the ruins, as the rest of Shuou Himejima disintegrated, and far away, sirens started blaring.
Well. That just happened. Guess I finally managed to justify the M rating with those last two chapters, huh? The question is, what will they do once they return?
Find out next time on "Shitty title that I´m too lazy to change"!
Anyways, review if you want to(highly encouraged), and I´ll be seeing you next time. Bye!