A long ride to be sure. But the end is nearing. Please stick around to the end.
A tiny bit of action in this chapter, I suppose. Not what everybody is looking for though, I'm sure.
Enjoy.
Nico had been mumbling various things about how pissed off she was at their current situation, but Umi felt it was better to just let her vent her anger. If she would still help them, then she could feel free to curse and pout all she wanted. And really, she had every right to. She was working with one of the beings she hated the most. Umi couldn't shed the bit of guilt she felt about that and Origin had remained completely silent on the matter after their initial conversation.
Origin directed them to the source of the magic he felt, the mana that exuded from the magic of the Seventh Demon Lord. But as they stepped out of the elevator, they were greeted by an unfortunately familiar face. The long flowing purple hair, the beautiful, enticing smile that only an idol could have. Erena straightened up from her position leaning against the door of the apartment the two were headed towards.
"My, if it isn't Yazawa Nico. I don't believe we've had much of a chance to speak after your group broke up. I'm very sorry to hear what happened to your leader. Honoka-chan was such an energetic and… promising girl." The mock sorrow in her voice only served to piss Nico off just a bit more and she thought that this girl better be grateful that she was so good at controlling that anger.
"Shut up, Void. Do you think I don't know what's going on in the demon slayer world or something? Tch. I wish I didn't. Even if I hadn't kept somewhat in the know, I've known that you were the Master of Void from our very first meeting in person."
"Oh? I do quite a good job at hiding my aura if I do say so myself."
"An excellent job, in fact. You could probably even fool the Master of the Devouring Sword's nose with that technique. But no matter how you try to hide it, I can feel it. I can feel the Void oozing from you, it's fucking disgusting." Nico crossed her arms and cursed at herself under her breath. She didn't want to argue with this girl, but she was between them and the door and she wanted nothing more than to save Honoka and be done with all of this. "I also know that whatever… this is…" She gestured at the girl. "isn't your real body. I assume since you're outside that door, you're already aware of the entire situation. Is your real body in the Underworld?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Erena shrugged as if it didn't matter. "I'm more curious as to why you're here, Prince of Blades. I wasn't aware that we would be receiving royalty today. And on top of that…" Her eyes drifted over Umi who held her ground. "I see. Origin, is it? Have you possessed the body of a young girl to fix your mistakes?"
"I have formed a voluntary contract with Sonoda Umi. What I wish to accomplish is not of your concern, Void. Really, you're so cruel to me but I worked very close with the Void before."
"I'm quite aware. Forget not that I have inherited the Void and have access to whatever knowledge pleases me." She nodded in Nico's direction. "That is why I knew you were coming, Prince. But I believe we have everything covered. Your interference is unnecessary."
A strong silence settled over the group as the unspoken threat came upon them. Nico sized the girl up before sighing and yanking the shinai bag off her shoulder. She opened it and pulled out a katana, the sheath a pure red unlike the designs of most Demonbrands. Well, as she had said, it was just a normal sword and not a Demonbrand anyways. She tossed the bag away and turned her gaze back to the idol.
"Move aside, Void. I don't have time to deal with you." She lowered her voice. "Umi, stay behind me. No matter what happens, if you stay behind me, you'll be fine." Umi just nodded and took a slight step back. "Do you really want to fight in such a small area? Surely the Void favours a larger battlefield."
"The Void is quite capable of fighting no matter what the battlefield may be. I appreciate your worry." A katana appeared at her side. "But I would like to ask once more that you stay away. Though fighting you seems like fun, it would probably be better not to. And, to be honest, the connection to this illusion from the Underworld is fairly unstable. I had hoped to keep it stationed here to make sure nobody wandered in…"
"Shut up. You already knew we were coming. I don't know why you want to interfere with us, but it looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson. I'm sure being the strongest demon slayer has really boosted your ego, but I'll bring it back down to earth. You were lucky enough to inherit the Void and I was unlucky enough to be cursed as… the Prince of Blades." She spat the name and cringed as it left her mouth. "If I'm going to have such a ridiculous reputation, I'll have to show you exactly why I have it."
"I believe you are feeding into exactly what Void wants, Yazawa. I don't think…"
"And? Do you have a better idea? You want to save Honoka, right? Void is standing in our way. And I'm more than capable of taking her on myself. I'll destroy this illusion quickly and we can be on our way." Nico took a deep breath and drew her katana slowly. "Come at me, Void. I'll end this quickly."
Umi watched cautiously, running through options with Origin of things they could do if this started to turn out poorly for them. However, the Demon Lord denied any interference. In the end, it only risked Umi getting hurt and that wasn't something he was ready to risk. Memories flashed through her mind of swordsman fighting, memories of the Yazawa line slaying demons. Even though they weren't proud of their curse, it was something they had learned to live with. And they had developed some sense of "duty" around the whole matter. Though it seemed like Nico had changed that or perhaps it had even changed before her.
But Origin kept assuring her that Nico would not have lost any of the skill of the previous Yazawa ancestors. And in this case, it seemed like he had the utmost confidence that she would win against Void. And Nico looked ready to prove that, a slight smirk making its way onto her face as she waited for the Master of Void to attack.
"Void style, 3rd blade." Nico felt the attack long before it had a chance to reach her. Without giving Void time to even finish the name of her blade the strike was knocked away, the slight sound of metal on metal being the only indication that either had even made a move.
"I don't think I need to inform you of this, Erena, but you're fighting the culmination of every swordsman of the Yazawa line. No matter how much faith you put in the Void, its power can't make up for the sheer difference in skill. I'll say it one more time. Move aside or be cut down."
"My, if only I could fight you with my real body. Unfortunately, fighting from a wheelchair does not suit me when fighting such a powerful opponent. However, I cannot step aside. I apologize." She gave a small bow, but her smile was smug when she came back up.
"What's the meaning of this, Erena?" Umi asked from behind her twintailed friend. "I don't understand why you won't let us through. Even if you want to fight Nico, this is…"
"Fight the Prince? Well, yes. That is a bonus. However…" Erena looked out over the railing. "I simply wish to see what will become of Four Seasons down there."
"Eh?"
"Four Seasons… Kousaka Honoka is an amazing individual. She is easily the most talented demon slayer born in the last hundred years, perhaps even longer. And once she uses Autumn to its fullest extent… Ah, I can't wait to see." Her eyes drifted back to Nico and her smiled dropped. "But I believe that she won't grow to her full extent with you around. Honoka was only able to come this far after dying and losing her friends. I'm quite aware that she has been in contact with all of you girls again. But I'm afraid that will only stunt her growth."
In warning, deep slashes carved up the ground around Erena, but she didn't flinch, didn't break eye contact with the twintailed girl. Nico was clutching the hilt of her sword so tightly, her knuckles were turning white. Umi could practically feel the girl having to hold back her anger. She was definitely on the edge of exploding and this building would probably be her first victim along with the illusion of the Master of Void.
"Honoka is none of your concern, Void." To Nico's credit, she was able to keep her voice even. "God, I'm so fucking tired of this world. Demon slayers, Void, Four Seasons, whatever. I'm so tired of all of it. I especially hate people like you, idiots who think they're above the others because they inherited something. It's amazing that you can be so ignorant when you have access to a bank of infinite knowledge. Really, it just pisses me off all the more."
Nico drew her sword back and gave it a gentle swing forward. Erena made a move to bring her sword to bear, but the illusion was completely destroyed in an instant. She managed to not completely destroy the ground, but it was torn up from the force of her strikes even from that distance.
"Amazing…" Though Umi had seen other Yazawas fighting through Origin's memories, seeing it for herself left her breathless. Even with the enhanced senses of a Demon Lord she now had, she could barely perceive the blade striking up the ground and tearing apart the illusion.
"Hmph. As if I would lose to the Master of Void… and an illusion of her at that. What a joke. Then again… if it ended that easily, even she would believe that's boring. I can still feel it. The Void is lingering. And beside that…"
"Hey, dueling without me is pretty shitty!" Umi turned to look towards the elevator they had just stepped off. "I came here because of Void, but if you want to duel someone, I'm always up for it!" Setsuna summoned her katana to her side with a smirk.
"… The heir to the Devouring Sword?" Nico tilted her head in confusion. "I'm really meeting all sorts of people today, aren't I? So, what? Did Void ask you to come here to help fight me? I doubt it. As if Void would ever recognize that she can't beat me. And even then, calling in backup isn't really her style."
They all turned back to where the illusion had been just seconds before to see a patch of… darkness floating there. No, not darkness, Nico knew. The Void was manifesting itself. A quick swipe of her sword confirmed her thought that she couldn't slice something that, in its truest essence, was nothing. The Void contracted and spasmed in random directions. Everything around it looked as if it was shifting slightly, it almost hurt to look at.
Finally, it settled down, the darkness significantly smaller than before, maybe the size of a bowling ball. The same voice reached out, Erena's voice.
"It looks like most of you are here now. I suppose the time for games are over. As I believe I said, I did, in fact, not come here to fight you, Prince. We have something of much more importance to discuss. And our time to speak is limited. After all… everything comes together soon." A deep laugh came from the Void, nothing like Erena's voice. It seemed to echo off of walls that didn't exist, bouncing around them, deafeningly loud. It slowed until silence enveloped them. Then Erena's voice again. "You see, I'm a good girl. A good traditional demon slayer. Don't we all wish for the same thing? Even you, Origin, wish for the destruction of the remaining Demon Lords, no?"
Umi nodded her head slowly not quite sure where this was going. She already knew Origin held doubts about Void from long ago. Apparently, their line had always been like this.
"I wonder what will happen to us demon slayers when that day comes. Will there suddenly be a mass resurrection of the dead? Will we easily slide back into society as if nothing happened? What about our styles? Will the Void vanish back to nothing? Will the Four Seasons retreat back to nature? Will the Devouring Sword go into hiding? What about the Sky? Light? Sun? Moon?" She paused, letting the group think. "Of course, I am already quite aware. I have seen the future through the Void. I want not for knowledge. I don't remain anxious about an uncertain future. And because of this, I find it my duty to help. From the bottom of my kind heart."
The Void expanded and the Master of Void strode out as if nothing had happened. Well, they all knew it was just another illusion, so it really was like nothing had happened.
"What are you playing at, Void? I'm tired of wasting time with your games. Hurry it up or I'll push through."
"Patience, Prince, patience. It looks like she's finally here." All eyes turned as the elevator opened. It must have gone back down right after Devour arrived. Riko's head stuck out and glanced around before an exhausted expression briefly took over as her eyes gazed over the group. She walked forward and shook her head.
"I didn't know what to expect when you called me out here but…" She looked over the group. "Did you purposely pick a time when I would be separated from Chika?"
"It all just seemed to work out. You happened to not get caught up in the Underworld like your friends. That means that you've volunteered to take part in this."
"Underworld? What…?"
"Silence. It's about time I begin explaining, I suppose." All eyes turned back to Void. "I didn't gather you all at random. I handpicked you… you might say. Or you might say your lives have been leading up to this point. Everything else is practically meaningless in the face of this, after all. Yes, the result of the work of every demon slayer before you has led to this. All of you who hate sacrifice should rejoice as the time of the end is near. Your job is quite simple. The goal of every demon slayer since Sixth granted us Demonbrands. The one thing that has been wished for above all else."
Nico tightened her grip on her katana, looking more than ready to lash out. Setsuna bounced up and down in excitement at the sudden turn of events, though she was really just itching to fight. Umi frowned, she could feel Origin's uneasiness and that in turn made her feel more than a little uneasy herself. Riko swallowed a lump in her throat, more confused than anybody at that moment. The group stared at Erena as a wide smile came across her and she held out her hand.
"The destruction of the First Demon Lord."
If you want to consider this fic in small arcs, this is the last arc. Though it'll be the longest, there aren't many more chapters to go.
I hope you all enjoyed.
Till next time. Be seeing you.