Wow. It's recently come to my attention that this story is longer than your average novel in terms of word count. Geez. To those of you that still read, you have my thanks. I never thought this story would be this long and I never thought I would have so much fun writing it. But it's coming to its climax. So stick around until the end!
Really though, thank you. If people weren't still holding some interest in this story, I wouldn't bother to finish it.
And sorry that this chapter kind of jumps around a bit. The next few "Beyond the Open World" chapters will do this. There's a lot going on guys!
Also, I switched the spelling of You's name to Yo. Although I prefer to romanize 曜 as "You" which I'm sure everybody does, it just makes it easier to read for some people. So I'm going to stick with Yo from now on.
Anyways, enjoy.
"The former Master of Stars gets betrayed by HQ and decides to work with the Demon Lords? What a story." Nico bitterly spat, her sword close at her hip as Yo laughed.
"Not really. I guess they really did hide it well if none of you know the truth." Her eyes drifted to Maki. "Especially you, Moon, considering you're the daughter of a Head. Your mom probably knows the truth, but I guess it would make sense that she wouldn't tell you." Yo shrugged. "HQ didn't betray me. I betrayed them. The real reason they ordered everybody to hunt me down was because I made a deal with Second."
"Making a deal with a Demon Lord?" Maki spoke up. "Are you crazy? What do you even gain from that?"
Yo titled her head in confusion. "Gain? Who said I wanted to gain anything? Well, I guess you could say I got some stuff from it. In terms of aging, I'm basically immortal, haha. I'd outlive any demon slayer at this point. But that's in part because of…" She paused and smirked, her eyes landing on Erena. "Well, I wouldn't want to spoil anything yet. Second doesn't want me giving too much away. Then again, I guess it won't matter since I'm going to kill all of you."
Everybody in the room tightened their grip on their swords. But it was Setsuna who spoke up first.
"Bring him back…"
"Hm?" Yo turned to her with an innocent look. "What do you mean, Devour-chan?"
"Bring Second back here right now! I'm not done with him! Devour style, 2nd blade." Setsuna dashed in but Yo's smile never faded as she turned, and swung her sword out much faster than the girl moved, letting it glide across Setsuna's chest before Yo completed her turn, raising her leg and kicking the demon slayer into one of the pillars surrounding the dais. Blood poured from the massive gash on Setsuna's chest, but she still stood, though she was obviously shaky on her feet and made no attempt to move towards the girl.
"I wouldn't move much if I were you. You'll lose too much blood if you force yourself." Yo laughed and turned towards the rest of the group. "Who's next?" She looked around and settled her gaze on Maki and Riko. "Moon and… Sun's partner? Come on, you're up next on the chopping block! Ahaha!"
Nico attacked first though, a quick slash at the neck which was easily blocked by Yo. Yo turned her sword and swung, sending Nico's katana out far before bringing her own back in with astonishing speed, the tip aimed at Nico's chest. But it wasn't fast enough. A clear ringing of steel on steel sounded as Nico's sword hit and cracked Yo's Demonbrand, making the girl jump back. She observed the sword with some interest as the crack fixed itself.
"Wow. You actually cracked my Demonbrand with an ordinary katana. I guess they don't call you the Prince of Blades for nothing. The Yazawas really are impressive. I guess I might need to step it up a notch for you. Star style, 9th blade." From all of her inherited experience, Nico could easily sense the blade before it reached her. It was impressive, she admitted. It twisted around, moving in an unpredictable pattern, as if the girl was leading her sword through some strange dance routine that would end on Nico. The strike came quicker than she expected, suddenly breaking out of the mesmerizing sequence. "Serpens."
But once again, Nico slammed her sword out. She felt it make contact with the steel of the girl's Demonbrand and pieces of that steel went flying as the sword was cracked again. This time Nico struck out, meaning to stab straight through Yo's stomach. But as the tip of her sword neared the girl, Yo's eyes glowed red and the sword simply stopped. Nico tried to push it forward, but some invisible force was preventing it from reaching Yo. Nico quickly pulled away and jumped back.
"Huh. Figures you would be able to use the Second Demon Lord's eyes. That's a pretty interesting ability, really makes you seem favoured in a swordfight." Nico shrugged. "I'm sorry to break it to you though. Master of Stars, Demon Lord, it doesn't matter what you are. You idiots changed the Yazawa line into what it is today. You brought on your own downfall here. I have no qualms with killing you, Star. I'll say this once and hopefully you'll get it through your thick skull: You can't beat a Yazawa."
Yo's smile was on in full force. "Haha! Maybe so, maybe so. But where's the fun in not trying? You're the product of memories from the entire Yazawa line of warriors, right? Well, I'm the product of… well, myself, Watanabe Yo, the Master of Stars, the Second Demon Lord and his thousands of years of knowledge, and… Ahaha, no, no. I should hold back for a bit. Come on, Prince, Void, Moon. Do your worst!"
Nico let her eyes drift to Maki and Riko before she looked back at Erena. Erena stood against the wall, arms crossed, blank expression on her face but she smiled when Nico locked eyes with her. She just shrugged and gave the girl a wink. So, Nico probably couldn't count on her for anything offensive. At the least she might be able to defend the other two girls if things got serious.
"Well, I guess I have no choice."
Nico was next to her in the blink of an eye, her sword turning into a slash that Yo easily moved her sword to counter. But instead of blocking the move, she let it slide off her blade and brought her sword back in, reaching for Nico's neck. Nico threw her head back but kept her body in place, immediately coming back in with her sword leading. "Star style, 13th blade." Yo had somehow already gotten herself in the air, but Nico was ready for tricky moves and felt the strike coming from above her long before it even had a chance of hitting her. "Scorpius."
Nico challenged the blade head on, bringing her sword back and swinging it in with a bit of extra strength than she really needed. Yo's sword shattered from the impact, the entire blade breaking into pieces from Nico's strength. Nico's next strike caught the girl's shoulder as she attempted to turn around in the air. Yo flinched but kept her momentum going, planting her feet against one of the pillars and launching herself back where she landed behind the dias.
Her Demonbrand slowly repaired itself and Nico watched in disgust as the wound on her shoulder closed up. Yo never lost her smile and she brought her katana up to rest on her shoulder.
"That was a pretty nice move, Prince. Sorry to break it to you, though. Since I'm part of Second now, attacks like that won't really do much besides bother me. Still, I'll admit that you're going to be troublesome."
"You really have fused yourself with that piece of shit." Nico said, not hiding her disgust.
"Haha! Of course. Well, it gives me more time to play with you guys so go ahead. Strike at me all you want. Everything will heal no matter how many times you hit me. To someone like you, Prince, I'm invincible."
"This… This is what pisses me off so much about you pieces of shit. Every single one of you. Demon Lords, demon slayers, Heads, ugh. Invincible, huh? That's it. That's really it. I'm not just going to kill you. I'm going to destroy every last trace you ever exited on this fucking planet."
Nico moved in again, her sword coming in hard but Yo's eyes glowed red, the sword stopping in the air. Without missing a beat, Nico let go and swung her fist into the girl's face, the distinctive noise of bone cracking echoing through the room as blood spurted from Yo's nose and she stumbled back a few steps. That seemed to do the trick as Nico's sword started to fall. She reached back and grabbed it before continuing forward, slicing a neat deep line up the girl's chest. Nico figured she had pretty much destroyed a few organs with that attack, but this girl was bound to regenerate.
"Nico!" Nico started to turn towards the sound, it was definitely Maki yelling, but she heard something… but not words, from the girl she had just sliced. Calm, Maki. Calm. "Moon style, 9th blade."
Nico finished her turn and saw the mass of darkness that rose from the girl's chest, swirling angrily, moving straight for her. Even with her enhanced movement there was no way for her to block it. Hell, it was only an inch from her face by the time she managed to catch sight of it. But Maki's voice reached her ears, a confident word that blew the darkness away.
"Lacus." The strike felt far too slow to save her, but it did. Maki was in front of the twintailed girl before she knew it and she moved forward, continuing to drag that blade through the darkness until she reached the source of it. As she took her last step next to Yo, she dragged the blade down, forcing the last of the darkness that hadn't been blown away back into the girl's chest.
Yo's nose had already repaired itself but she was looking up at Maki with clear shock on her face. "Moon, you… You would lay your hands on the Void!?" Another burst of darkness exited the girl, swirling in hypnotic patterns, filling the space above them. Maki readied her sword.
"Moon sty―" Maki started her blade again, but the darkness contorted, moving away from her before simply dispersing. "Eh?"
"So, that's what this is about." Everybody turned to see the source of the voice. Erena slowly walked towards them. "The Void is just playing games again, is it?" Yo jumped up, her chest healing in an instant, sword back in hand. "So, your newfound power comes only in part from Second, is that it? Ah, the Void has always been fickle, but to think it got so bored as to assist a Demon Lord. Haha."
"Hmph." Yo's confident smile returned but Erena matched it. "Looks like the secret's out. That's right. The Void has already made the decision to fuse with the Second Demon Lord. You've already failed as a Master."
"Pfft. Ahaha!" Erena shook her head, trying to contain her laughter. "A-Are you an idiot? Ah, I need not ask that, right? Of course you are. To think in your idiocy that you would be used by both the Void and Second. It's pitiful."
"Has being betrayed by the Void made you a fool?" Yo held one hand out towards them, the darkness of the Void gathering around it, her eyes glowing a deep red. "Banish them."
"I think you have the wrong idea, Star." The darkness shot out in a torrent towards Erena, blasting over her. But the darkness contorted again, swirling around her, gathering at her hand until it sat in a small black ball, Erena completely unharmed. "The Void chose me. It will not harm me. You believe that you've been chosen by Void, but far from it. You're the fool who has been used by the Void." Yo tried to speak up but Erena continued. "The Void grows bored sometimes. And this is just another something it concocted to ease that boredom. To think that it would keep it a secret from me though. Quite the fun test, if you ask me."
Yo just let out a sigh. "Geez, the Void really is troublesome. To think that it wouldn't harm its Master but at the same time it would side with a Demon Lord. Really… Well…" Another smirk, this one calm and composed. "I didn't really mean to let you see that. I guess the fun is over now. With or without the Void, it won't trouble me to kill you."
"Agh!" Nico prepared to strike at her again, but the scream came from next to her. Maki suddenly fell back, a hand clutching at a deep stab wound in her stomach. When…? Nico hadn't seen any move, nor even sensed movement from the girl. A chill went down her spine. This girl was quicker than even she could sense? In that case, how…?
"Ungh!" The sound of glass shattering and another grunt, this one from across the room. Riko had fallen over, deep cuts clearly evident from the blood falling down her shirt and arms. Once again, an attack so fast that Nico didn't even perceive it as happening. This girl…
Nico had never had reason to doubt herself. As the Prince of Blades, she would go unchallenged by demon slayers and demons alike. Hell, even Demon Lords wanted nothing to do with the Yazawa line and the Yazawa line became the way they had as a result of Demon Lords. But now, in the face of the calm smile of Yo, a girl fused with the Second Demon Lord, Nico felt helpless for the first time. She felt doubt. How had she let Maki and Riko get struck? She should be able to stop those strikes. Why was this girl faster than she could feel?
She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts by a high-pitched sound, metal hitting something right in front of her face but bouncing off. Nico blinked once. Twice. What…? She heard a, "Tsk" from Yo.
"What are you doing, Prince!?" Nico turned to face Riko who was clutching a wound on her chest with one hand, the other held out in her direction. Had she really blocked one of those attacks with a barrier? How had she even seen it? Another strike aimed at Nico bounced off a barrier.
Yo frowned at the redhead. "Hm, you're able to concentrate your barrier at such a precise angle to block my strikes."
Riko gave her best smile despite the pain she was in. "I underestimated you the first time and didn't pinpoint your strike. I won't make that mistake again." She turned her eyes to Nico. "Prince! You're the only one here who can take care of her! Stop spacing out!"
Riko's voice was more forceful than Nico thought she would ever hear from that girl. But she nodded to herself. Now, in the face of this strong opponent, was definitely not the time to be spacing out. She had to protect everybody there. She wouldn't let Maki die. And even Setsuna and Riko. As far as she was concerned, those girls shouldn't even be a part of this world. She sure as hell wasn't going to let them die because they were dragged into it.
With a deep breath, Nico set herself, hand tightly gripping the hilt of her katana and set her eyes on Yo, who finally bothered to turn her gaze back to the raven-haired girl.
"Prince! Your eyes!" It almost took Nico a second too long to realize what she meant. But Riko was a girl who could see demons as a result of her demon blood. She was the partner to Sun. Nico shut her eyes. "I offer my heart."
It was the first time Nico had ever looked through another person's eyes and it felt… odd. She had a few memories of Yazawas doing it in the past, but it was completely different to experience it firsthand. Everything felt clearer. It was odd to see herself but that was fine. Her vision bobbed a little with Riko's heavy breathing and occasional flinch from a pain, but that was fine. She could do this. She loosened her grip on her sword before grabbing it tightly again. Everything felt right. In fact, looking through those eyes gave her some strange confidence. She felt a smirk make its way onto her face.
"It's time for me to show you why the Demon Lords are doomed to fail. You were an idiot for joining them in the first place. It's about time I put you in your place."
Yo just snorted in response. Then everything felt slightly slower. Through Riko's eyes, Nico could see Yo preparing her sword. Combined with her normal senses, she could tell exactly where the blade would be. Or maybe that was just Riko's eyes. Were her eyes that good? Just how much had she trained in her time as Sun's partner? Regardless, if she could see the strikes, she could block them. The strike was headed straight for Riko but the girl didn't even attempt to put a barrier up. But she didn't need to. Nico struck out, knocking that blade away long before it had a chance of reaching Riko.
Her body felt lighter, her mind felt sharper. Everything felt right. She had to wonder if Sun felt like that every time she fought with her partner. Nico laughed to herself, thinking that if she could feel like that every time she had to fight demons, she might not actually mind it.
Nico brought her sword up to bare, smiling at the scowl on Yo's face.
"Alright, Watanabe Yo, Master of Stars. Let's see if you can really keep up with the Prince of Blades."
"…er!"
A sound echoed in the darkness of Mari's mind, bouncing around invisible walls, filling her head briefly before vanishing.
"…ster!"
She didn't have time to consider where it came from before it sounded again, louder this time. It was enough to give her a headache and make want to say, "five more minutes."
"Master!"
Mari's eyes opened and she sat up in an instant, her katana appearing in her hand. Where was she? A quick look around and she quickly recognized Seira's apartment. That made her relax a bit. She turned to see Tsubasa next to her. Mari was sitting on the couch and her heir was kneeling next to her, a look of relief on her face.
"Tsubasa? Why…?"
"Master! I've been trying to contact you for so long! I finally got tired of waiting for a response and closed in on the sound of your breathing. That wasn't easy in an entire city full of people, you know."
Mari felt a little pride in the fact that her heir had been able to track her down using nothing but the sound of her breathing. But that pride quickly faded as the girl's words registered with her. As soon as they did, memories came flooding back. She had attempted to go to the Underworld with Seira but her lover had kissed her then… nothing. A flash of anger came over her and she jumped up.
"That damn…"
"Master?"
"I've been asleep for way too long, Tsubasa. Looks like we're going to have a mess on our hands."
Tsubasa started to ask what she meant when a knock sounded on the door. They both looked at each other before cautiously making their way to the door, katanas in hand. Mari had no doubt that nobody who wasn't affiliated with Seira would knock on that door, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. She opened it slightly and peeked out to see a purple-haired girl standing there, clearly out of breath.
"Ah… um…" She took a second to compose herself. "Are you Ohara Mari-san?"
"Eh?" Mari opened the door fully and pulled her in quickly before shutting it. "How do you know who I am?"
Nozomi tried to think of the best thing to say. She still wasn't very clear on what exactly was happening, but Kotori had promised her a better explanation once she got this girl's help. She thought about what her friend had told her to say and she figured that would be better than nothing. Nozomi wasn't the best actor but she had improved since she had joined the drama club at her university. So she figured now was the time to put some of that to use. She straightened herself and took one more deep breath before beginning.
"My name is Toujou Nozomi. I'm here at the request of Minami Kotori and Kazuno Seira." Mair perked up at the name of her lover. "They need my help. And I need your help."
"You..." Mari had so many questions, but she was still suspicious of this girl. "Who are you exactly, Toujou-san? A demon slayer?"
Nozomi shook her head, doing her best to keep any nerves from her voice and keeping a stoic face. "I'm the Oracle."
"Eh?" Tsubasa's eyes were just as wide as her master's. "The Oracle…? Void's?"
Nozomi just nodded. "You two are Sound, right? I need your help."
"With what? What could Seira possibly want from me?" Mari could feel that anger coming back and Nozomi flinched slightly at the tone of her voice. Well, Seira did warn her that the girl would be really angry at the mention of her name.
Nozomi finally relented, giving up her act and sighing. "Look. I don't know much about what's going on either. I just found out I'm this 'Oracle' or whatever. But Seira-san really does need your help. We don't have the luxury of time, which is part of the reason I came to you. I'll explain everything on the way."
Mari was hesitant but she nodded at Tsubasa and the two followed her out the apartment.
"So, what do you mean you need me because we don't have the luxury of time?"
Nozomi gave her a look like it was obvious. "Seira-san said you have a helicopter."
"Ghh!" Honoka cringed as she felt Yoshiko throw up blood all over her back, but she kept her position for a few more seconds before finally taking a step back, tearing her sword from the girl's stomach, blood and bits of something that she could only assume was the girl's stomach coming with it. As soon as the sword left her stomach, Yoshiko kicked out, knocking the ginger back. "Y-You…" She struggled to speak, blood pouring from her mouth and her new wound.
As Honoka hit the ground, she heard a slight clink and a realization hit her. She reached into the coat and took out one of the elixirs given to her by Hime which, luckily, had traveled to the Underworld with their other belongings. She had completely forgotten about them but with a severed arm, it could well save her life. She pulled the cork off with her mouth and drained the liquid. The pain almost instantly subsided and the bleeding slowed as the wound slowly sealed itself up. But then something else hit her. She was fine? Her eyes drifted back to Kanan who simply stood with her arms crossed, watching the ginger closely, her eyes never drifting to her heir who was now on her knees.
"Hmph. A fool dies a fool's death, Yoshiko." Kanan walked over to her and reached down, picking up the black appendage that the girl had dropped.
"V-Void, you…" Yoshiko reached out towards the girl, her face a mixture of pain and anger. Kanan snorted and kicked her, sending the heir to Void flying back a few feet where she weakly groaned, shifting only slightly on the ground, blood immediately beginning to pool around her.
Even though Honoka was the one who struck her, she felt a little bad for Yoshiko. But there wasn't time to think about that. Kanan smiled as she sized up the arm in her possession.
"Good. Good. Now," She turned to look at Hanayo. "Come, Witness, Koizumi Hanayo. You are the final piece of the puzzle. Come to me now and I will spare your life. You can become part of the Void and live forever." Kanan held a hand out and smiled confidently. "Abandon humanity and come. This battle is over."
Hanayo looked over to her friend and partner who was back on her feet now, katana gripped firmly in her remaining hand once again. She looked Hanayo's way and nodded, a confident smile on her face despite the situation. Hanayo couldn't help but giggle, earning a frown from Kanan.
"I'm sorry, Kanan-san." Her eyes started to glow a bright red once again and she moved to stand beside her partner. "But this battle is not over. And I'll stick with Honoka-chan until the end."
Kanan slowly lowered her hand and sighed. "I thought perhaps you might be smarter than this. If you wish to die with Four Seasons, then I will grant your wish. I need only your eyes, so your life is of no consequence to me."
Honoka smirked at that. "Hanayo-chan, take one of these." She nodded to her jacket and the brunette reached in, taking one of the many vials. "In case something happens." Honoka gave her a wink and her partner blinked a couple of times before nodding in understanding.
"I'll be supporting you the whole time, Honoka-chan."
"Mm. I'm counting on it." Honoka turned back toward Kanan. "Well, I'm really going to have to thank Hime-chan for these elixirs later. Ah, man, fighting with one arm is gonna be weird. But I'm in good enough shape. Good enough to kick the ass of a cocky Demon Lord."
A mass of darkness began forming behind Kanan. It slowly swirled around her, covering her like a shroud. "I see." That was the only response she gave before that darkness shot forward, a torrent of pure nothingness that Honoka was sure would either destroy her body or drag her into the deepest depths of the Void, neither of which was an appealing option. She looked down at her Demonbrand and smiled.
Come on, Autumn. Let's show Kanan what you're really made of.
"Four seasons, autumn style, 1st blade." Hanayo marveled at what she could see. Red and orange leaves flowing in a nonexistent wind, surrounding the ginger. As she took a step forward, leaves burst up from under her, those leaves falling unnaturally slowly around Honoka. The gentle swing of her blade moved just between the falling leaves, not severing a single one. It was a beautiful scene, surreal in light of where they were. "Fall."
Hanayo couldn't help but feel like that darkness, the nothingness that she could only assume to be the Void felt… wrong. Something was off about it. It was different than the almost strangely peaceful sense she got from the Void that had wrapped around Yoshiko before. It felt violent, rash, hurried… it didn't feel like what she had come to know as the Void at all.
Regardless, she didn't have much time to think about it as Honoka's strike completely wiped that darkness away, replacing it with a cool breeze that carried the red and orange of Autumn along it. Kanan didn't seemed surprised by the blade, but only tilted her head for a second before stretching her arms above her.
"I guess this really will come down to a fight between demon slayers. After all, there was a time when I was one as well." The darkness of the Void appeared once again and Kanan reached out, taking out her own katana, the sheath a simple pure black. "As a former Master of the Void, I suppose I'll have to teach you a thing or two. Come, Four Seasons. I'll deliver your death swiftly."
Honoka took a deep breath and pointed her katana forward. It didn't make sense to her, but she felt a smile on her face once again. Why would she be smiling in this situation? She was hopelessly outpowered by this… thing. Maybe she could take on the Second Demon Lord by himself. Maybe she could have the slightest chance at beating a former Master of Void. And maybe even… the Void itself. But altogether. She really had a tall order in front of her. But maybe that's why she smiled, she thought. No matter what, after coming to terms with dedicating her life to the blade, she found herself excited by battles. No matter how scary it might be, no matter who or what her opponent was, there would never be a time where the thrill didn't fill her.
"I, Kousaka Honoka, heir to the Four Seasons, Daughter of Autumn, will take you on!"
I hope you guys enjoyed!
Once again, I'm sorry if you don't like the format where it's jumping between three or four different scenarios. But there's a lot happening and I kind of want to parallel it instead of making an entire chapter focused on Honoka fighting, then an entire chapter focused on Nico's fight, etc.
Also, sorry this took a bit to get done. I was finishing up a chapter for Normality in Reverence as well as dealing with uni stuff. So chapters are kind of infrequent right now.
Thank you for reading up until this point and I hope you'll stick around to see how everything ends.
Till next time. Be seeing you.