Chapter 46
Restless Machine
"Damn bird!" Ayushi sneered as she continued firing neon blasts at Raven Sloth, who was constantly circling around in the air.
"Try aiming better, idiot!" Raven Sloth mocked, flapping its wings and shooting metal feathers at her again. Ayushi jumped back, her jumps turning into full backflips as the feathers got stuck on the ground.
Ayushi created a neon lasso in her hand and used it to try and capture Raven Sloth. However, the mechanical bird was fast in the air and simply flew out of range.
She produced neon on her feet, lunging at Raven SLoth in the air and roundhouse kicking it far back into a wall.
"Curses..." The bird struggled to stand up."Her abilities shoot off the charts in the blink of an eye...she's playing with us!"
Lion Sloth was beginning to operate again, after rebooting its system. Ayushi took note of this and made sure both of them were in her lines of sight."I'm really getting tired of fighting you, tin cans."
"Well, unless you destroy us, you won't go anywhere." The raven cackled, landing on Lion Sloth's back."At this rate, you will never beat the Captain."
"For a bird, you sure talk a lot." Ayushi sighed, hand on her hip."I could finish you off, but you two ran out of tricks. All you're doing is just dodging and keeping your distance."
"Stalling is the word I'd use." He confessed, not bothering to hold back."Unfortunately, you are very much correct. Our current models don't possess anything that can rival a Kachidoki. But that's just fine. As I have said before, the Sin of Sloth is composed of all of us, not just the three shells present here. That being said, after seeing some of your moves, I can guarantee you you will not exit from this room.
"Big words," Ayushi said, dashing at great speed and appearing between them. Before they had time to react, she blasted each of them with a neon ball, launching them several meters apart. She began shooting more neon blasts at them, keeping them at bay for the time being.
She noticed her brother was having some trouble with Panda Sloth, who was chasing him as it rolled around.
"I'm sick of running away!" Hisashi stood still, hand on his sides as he began powering up, creating a neon aura that seemingly stopped the rolling panda on its tracks. He grinding his teeth, feeling his heels dug on the ground. With a final scream, the panda was tossed aside, landing on its back.
"I can't waste too much neon on this thing." Hisashi huffed, taking a look at his neon reserves."I'm halfway through already. It sucks that none of my attacks are working. Maybe I should cut loose a little..."
"Hisashi!"
He glanced up, realizing his sister was nodding at him."Ayushi...Right. I think it's time we settle things here, too!" His neon flared up, surrounding his body. He dashed over at Panda Sloth, who was now standing tall once again. As the panda tried to slash him with its claws, Hisashi slid between its legs.
On the other side, Ayushi was standing on top of Lion Sloth who was currently busy jumping around, trying to get her off its back. She used the momentum to jump behind her, meeting her brother halfway. Both of them grabbed each other's arms, neon flaring in their feet, causing them to spin around in circles. Once they let go, they had exchanged places. Ayushi took advantage of Panda Sloth not having turned around completely and concentrated a considerable amount of neon on her right leg, kicking the machine's head cleanly off. But she wasn't done. She maneuvered her way over it, firing a neon ball inside its hollow neck, and jumped away.
Panda Sloth began convulsing in place, smoke coming out of every part of its body before exploding into pieces.
Hisashi fired a small neon bubble at Raven Sloth, sending him flying to the ceiling."Fireworks!" With a wave of his hand, the ball of neon combusted, exploding the metallic bird into pieces. He then took advantage of Lion Sloth opening its jaws, firing a full-power neon beam inside its mouth, overloading the mechanical being and causing it to malfunction.
Both siblings stepped back, watching in silence at their handiwork.
"It's finally done." Ayushi huffed, taking a look at her utility belt."Took quite a bit of neon out of me. These things were not powerful but crafty." She then began absorbing the light out of a small container that had yellow light inside of it.
Hisashi did the same with his own, replenishing his neon reserves back to their maximum."So, what now?"
"I doubt machines can be interrogated." Ayushi placed her hands on her hips."So our only option left is to-"
A tremor broke her train of thought. It was like an earthquake, but it felt as if was getting closer and closer to them.
Ayushi grabbed Hisashi with a neon lasso and pulled him over to him just in time before a giant explosion went off where he was standing. They embraced each other, protecting themselves from the sudden explosion.
A giant hand emerged from the hole left behind by the explosion, then another. A giant robot made its way to the ground, slowly standing up. It was at least half of the room's size. Its body was composed of wires and metal armor plates around its body, legs, and arms. Its head resembled that of a bull and its horns were pointing upwards. It had a long tail with a wrecking ball-like object at the end of it, only this one had spikes.
The new artificial being screeched, forcing the Kachidoki siblings to cover their ears.
"So...this is what that annoying bird meant by "stalling"." Ayushi gave a dry chuckle."Now we're in trouble."
Shie Hassaikai Compound, Outside, Morning
"I see." Nejire nodded in understanding."So, you guys' plan consisted of taking out the Seven Deadly Sins. How are the others?"
"I...don't know." Darby admitted, afraid of the worst possible outcome."We were split up in order to fin The Baron faster..."
Nejire frowned, glancing over her shoulder back at the battlefield."I'm sorry for forcing you to do this, Nishikawi-kun, but we need to get going. We both have things we still need to finish. We can mourn later...but right now, we have to do this."
With that Nejire flew back to where Ryukyu was fighting with one of the Eight Precepts."I'll inform Ryukyu of your situation! Don't worry! Once we're done with this villain, we'll go help you too!"
"Help..." Darby lowered his gaze, running his hand through his now blonde-hair."I don't know what to do...What can I do? What if I just...get in the way again? But if I don't know anything, everyone is going to die... I don't know what to do..."
Shie Hassaikai Compound, Underground Tunnels, Morning
The Baron, Maria, and Megumi stood silently in the middle of a spacious hallway of the underground tunnels.
"It's awfully loud up there." Megumi commented, arms folded under her chest."I wonder if it's going as planned."
"Doubtfully so, Pride." The Baron hummed."We have not gotten any reports from Lust, Gluttony, or Greed."
"Do you think Greed went rogue?" She looked out of the corner of her eye."Can you check to see if he's still in the area?"
Baron proceeded to take out his cellphone and tabbed on the screen a few times."This is...peculiar."
"What is, Captain?" Maria tilted her head.
"I am not detecting any signals from that tracking device the Boss planted into Salazar." He sounded displeased."I wonder what happened..."
"It's certainly impossible for him to remove it on his own." Megumi stated."He would have to tear his chest open. He's most likely dead or won't make it very far."
"Should we go after him?" Maria inquired.
"No." Baron answered simply."Unless the others catch up to us, we can't move from this place."
"I doubt they'll catch up." Megumi scoffed."They're not exactly fighting material, as you can imagine. Regardless, I suppose they might do a good job in tiring them out. Not like we need that."
"Even old man Gluttony?"
"Even him."
"Yo, guys!"
The group turned to the source of the voice in surprise, not expecting anyone to come in a bit."Tai?"
Taichi ran up to the group, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath."Damn...I ran all the way...here...shit..."
"Why are you here?" Megumi walked up to him, grabbing him by the collar of his sweatshirt. In contrast to before, he was wearing a cropped black jacket, with three white buttons on the right and one red button on the left."I told you to escape with the Boss. We agreed that you would take the dreams of the Shie Hassaikai an-"
"I know." He cut her off, grabbing her wrists."I know. But I...I couldn't leave you guys behind." He then walked to Maria, grabbing her hand with his."It wouldn't be fair for me to leave you guys alone while I'm running to save myself. That's just now who I am. Maria, you are more human than I could ever be. I know you aren't here because of my instructions, but because you care about them. That's why I want to prove to you that you don't look up to a loser."
"Master..." Maria smiled in delight."Thank you. Thank you so much..."
He pulled her in for a hug, glancing at Baron."Don't worry. Kai is getting away with Chrono and Eri as we speak. All we have to do is finish things up here fast and go. They're planning to leave for Russia but their flight is scheduled. Which means we don't have time to spare."
"I see." Baron nodded in acknowledgment."I take it that means we'll have to get going. Do you have any reports from the others?'
"Not that I know of." He pulled out his phone and checked an app."It seems like the majority of the Sloth clones have been destroyed. Naturally, being the last one, Goliath Sloth has been deployed. Huh?" He noticed something weird in the control menu of the mecha he let Lust borrowed. Or lack thereof.' That's weird. Why is Lust's mecha labeled as "destroyed"? But there's no way they could have destroyed the whole thing. It literally says it's offline. Lust...what did you do...?'
"Is something wrong?" Megumi glared at him, a fine eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"No, nothing." He lied, putting his phone back in his pocket."Anyway, the sooner we finish this up, the sooner we can save the world. And honestly, it ticks me off that my trip to a Muse concert has been prolonged. Do you realize how long I've been longing to go to one of their concerts?"
"For a Yakuza, you sure like girly stuff." Megumi pointed out.
"And for a girl, you like boy-actually, you are way too out of wack, sheltered girl." He huffed, folding his arms."But still...I can't wait to finally have a normal life. All this time, I've been so eager to be on Kai's shoes, that I never bothered to try and live...the life of a regular teenage boy. All because of my heritage...because I was born with a power I didn't desire. And I can't begin to understand how much suffering the rest of the world is going through because they are bound by a power they never wished they had."
"That's true." Megumi placed a fist on her hip."But like I told you, some of us are different than you. I don't particularly care about world peace or anything of the sort. I want to find a sense of fulfillment. That's what my life has been all about as far as I know. Doing that will only just add more desire. But...I suppose I wouldn't mind ruling over as an empress.
"What about you, Captain?" Maria asked her boss.
"I want the same thing, actually." Baron replied, hands in his pockets."I have given up entirely on ever having a normal life myself. So the least I can do is build that bridge for the Boss so he can walk on it. At the end of the day, that's what I desire the most. Make sure he succeeds and cleanses this world. That is why I have to get rid of the Kachidoki family. They are a prime example of how corrupted society has become of their own selfish need to prove themselves so see who is stronger."
"Sadly, as long as Quirks exist, the cycle of hatred will continue." Maria gave everyone a sad smile."Humanity is just like that. That is why it is our job to end it."
"And we will end it." The Baron boomed, eyeing his subordinates."No one else can. So we must ensure that we do whatever it takes to make our dream a reality. No matter the cost."
Shie Hassaikai, Underground Tunnels, Morning
Ayushi screamed her lungs after being grabbed by Goliath Sloth and being thrown at high speed against Hisashi.
Hisashi used his body to cushion his sister's fall, but the wind was knocked out of him. He noticed the giant robot sinking its hand on the ground. It proceeded to then throw the debris up at them.
Both siblings stared in horror in slow motion at the countless pieces of rocks coming at them. In instinct, they began shooting as many balls of neon as they could, feeling some of the rocks gracing them and leaving bruises and cuts all over their bodies.
"You okay?" Hisashi asked, wincing as he felt his arm bleeding from a fresh wound.
"Yeah..." Ayushi responded. Her visor was broken and her forehead was bleeding slightly."It's fast, strong, and precise. We won't survive another volley of those rocks. This thing..."
Goliath Sloth roared in triumph, flames erupting from its mouth. It then beckoned them to come at it, chains suddenly being released from his body and swirling around its body.
"We can't approach it carelessly. It's definitely not like the others." Ayushi surmised, wiping the floor with her gloves."We should try to be as separated as possible. If we stay together like this, we make an easy target for the rocks it throws."
"Right." Hisashi nodded as they ran in different directions.
Goliath Sloth didn't bother moving, but it was eyeing them like prey. Particularly Ayushi, since he had the data incorporated into it by Raven Sloth. It extended its arms, removing its fingers tips and revealing ten small canons in each hand. It began firing a rapid succession of rapid-fire laser beams at them, forcing them to move faster. Ayushi was dodging the attacks but noticed Hisashi was having some trouble.
"Hisashi!" She cried out to her brother.
Hisashi growled, his neon flaring back as if a candle was regaining its light. His body was now covered in neon, similar to how Takashi was in his Overclock Stage. His speed had increased dramatically. He was doing the laser as well as Ayushi, and even returning some shots back of his own.
Ayushi smirked at her brother's growth.'You kids are growing too fast for my liking.'
Goliath Sloth swung its arm down, nearly crushing Ayushi in the process. However, the young woman was agile, and jumped on top of the arm, running up to it.
The robot whipped its tail, threatening to attack Hisashi, but the Kachidoki was high on power. He blasted himself above the tail, eventually flying above the head.
'I was saving this form for an emergency situation! Takashi, I'm sorry, but I needed this for this fight!' He waved his hand, creating a circular neon light. He did the same thing three more times, lining them up as he approached the face.'But I have to be precise. I didn't train this form, so the neon usage is pretty high. I can feel myself slipping already!'
"Wave Granade!" He shot the rings at the robot.
"Dead Shot!" Ayushi cried out as she jumped away from the arm. Both attacks were aimed at the eyes and were catching up rather fast.
Just then, a white light engulfed them. It was a blinding light, and then a scorching pain. The Goliath SLoth screeched loudly, flames erupting from various small holes on its body. The heat was so intense that the neon attacks lost their track and ended up crashing against each other. Sloth took this opportunity and punched both of them at lightning speed, sending them crashing against the ground.
Both siblings groaned in pain on the ground, sitting up slowly.
"What was that? Those flames were crazy hot!" Ayushi winced, her left arm having a slight burn.
Hisashi hissed, glancing at his stomach. Thankfully, the neon had somewhat absorbed some of the flames, so his wasn't as bad. However, he let go of the form, deciding to not waste more neon unnecessarily.
"What's the plan, sis?" Hisashi inquired, not taking his eyes off of the monstrous robot."If we get too close, those flames will just burn us away. But if we attack from a long distance, it'll either throw rocks or shoot lasers.
Ayushi bit her lower lip in thought, trying to think on a strategy.'We have seen its defensive capabilities, but I have a feeling this thing has more surprises up its sleeve than we realize. What can we do to damag-'
All of a sudden, like a train in motion, Goliath Sloth began running at them at full speed, spreading fire that remained on its body on the floor.
Ayushi reacted in a heartbeat, but Hisashi didn't. But she wasn't going to let her brother me stamped over. She fired a neon blast at him, causing him to get out of the way, albeit harshly. She placed her arms in front of herself, clad in neon, and received the full impact of Sloth's punch. She crashed against the wall, nearly losing consciousness due to the heavy impact.
"Ayushi!" Hisashi cried out to his sister, watching in awe as Sloth jumped towards her to finish the job, its horns ready to strike.'How is he moving so fast despite its size?!' He desperately ran to her, his vision growing blurry due to his tears."AYUSHI!"
"BLACK TORNADO SLASH!" A series of dark slashes appeared from seemingly thin air, cutting both horns off. Sloth was forced to jump back, landing to its original spot.
A pair of familiar black wings flapped over to Ayushi, grabbing her gently in his arms."Sorry, I came late."
"Just in time for me." She gave him a ghost of a smile."Are you okay...? You look..."
Angelo held the urge to throw up, grimacing. He flew over to where Hisashi was, placing Ayushi down. He glanced at them, his eyes somber and empty."I'm sorry. Yasukage, he...didn't make it. We both took poison needles, courtesy of that bastard Gluttony. But there was only one antidote...I wanted to give it to him but that...that kid...he..." Nero was unable to continue his story, clenching his sword as hard as he could.
"No...Yasukage..." Hoshi looked horrified at the news.
Ayushi covered her mouth in shock.'He's dead...that means...Two of us are supposed to die today...I was too late. I couldn't save one of them.' Frustation built up inside her. She grinding her teeth and clenched her fists.'Then that means I have one more shot at saving them. All I have to do is die, and destiny will be satisfied. Right...Sir Nighteye?'
Nero focused his attention on the robot ahead."I won't let anyone else die. You guys stand back and catch your breath. I'll keep it busy and hopefully I get the chance to shred it to pieces."
"Be careful, Nero. It has long-ranged and close-ranged capabilities. If you get too close, it'll release scorching hot fire."
Angelo nodded, his wings flapping as he began dashing towards the enemy.
Sloth shoved its claws on the ground, taking advantage that the fire was still vivid. It then did the same motion he did again, throwing a rain of debris at Angelo and the group.
Angelo used his wings to cover himself while the others hid behind a rock. This time, the shower of rocks was short-lived, since Sloth didn't want to finish them off on the spot.
By the time the attack had stopped, Angelo's left wing was had almost come off."Shit...they were kidding...I might have to go all out against this piece of junk!" He couldn't help but give Sloth a sardonic grin, his blood pumping fast."This is excellent. You aren't a real human being. You're just a scrap of junk pieced together. So it doesn't matter if I don't hold back with you. It doesn't matter how much of a mess I make of you. You are going to feel my wrath!"
Goliah Sloth screeched as if it were challenging him. Angelo formed a new black wing and took off into the air.
"So, are we really just going to stand here?" Hisashi asked his sister."I mean, Nero is strong, but that thing is incredible."
"Of course we aren't." Ayushi remained fixated on the battle in front of her."We need to figure out what type of weakness it has. For instance, it's about 15 meters tall. Standing perfectly still, it's about 10 meters away from the ceiling. The room is wide, but apparently, it doesn't care much about that. So its movements are somewhat limited, unlike ours. Also, its weaponry varies."
Angelo was flying in circles around the robot's head as it continued following his gaze. He then decided to attack, raising his sword in the air. Sloth rose its forearm, blocking the blade with ease.
Angelo clicked his tongue, lowering his altitude and trying to cut away at the monster's torso, to no avail."How hard is it?! This armor it has is crazy tough! Huh?!"
Before he could attack again, Sloth's tail slapped him towards the ground.
"It's protected by armor as well. Shit." She bit her lower lip."It'll take all of us to take this thing down. How frustrating."
"What is, sis?"
"It's just...I bet this thing isn't even much compared to The Baron. And I can't beat it on my own." She chuckled, shaking her head."Still, though...I can't just throw the towel. Everything is riding on me to take you guys to victory."
Angelo was blocking Goliath SLoth's fist with his blade, but he was slowly losing ground. He even began transforming into his demon form to try and gain an advantage, but this thing was far from ordinary.
The robot opened up a small hole in its palm, revealing a canon inside. It began to shine as energy concentrated in one spot, close to Nero's face.
'Fuck! It's too close! Even if I can regenerate, it'll leave major damage!' The young man closed his eyes, ready to take on the attack head-on.
"Gaia Spear!"
Goliath's left eye was stabbed by a neon spear, which exploded into a light show, destabilizing the creature.
Angelo glanced up at his savior, a small smirk on his face."About time you got here."
Takashi landed next to him, turning off his Overclock Stage and looking directly at the robot."I wasn't expecting you to be having this much trouble. If that's the case, this thing must be plenty strong."
"There's no time to explain right now." Ayushi ran up to the pair with Hisashi."Hopefully, you blowing up its eye will give us some space to breathe."
"Where are the others?" Takashi inquired, noticing that there were three of them missing.
"I said we'll talk about it later! Here it comes!"
Goliath Sloth growled as its jaw opened, showing its razer-sharp teeth. It began kicking the ground as if preparing to strike, lowering its torso. Its damaged horns were removed and replaced by fresh new ones. Smoke then came out of its nostrils and dashed over at the group.
"EVERYONE! STAY CLEAR!" Ayushi commanded as they all flew out of the range of attack how they could. The mechanical beast crashed against the wall, entering its hollow space.
"Stay sharp, everyone!" Angelo clenched his teeth, his eyes twitching. They felt the vibrations in the air of the robot running inside the walls.
"Where is it gonna come out from?" Hisashi tried to stay alert, glancing at his sides and trying to stay far from the walls.
"This is bad!" Ayushi moved her arms around."You guys stay far from the walls! Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it can't see us! It must have some kind of heat detector!"
However, even as they tried to stay clear, they could not know for certain where it would come from. The tremors continued and their nerves began to increase. The ground suddenly broke into pieces, revealing Goliath Sloth and its gigantic jaws, ready to kill whoever was near its sights.
"NOW!"
Ayushi, Hisashi, and Takashi fired neon blasts together simultaneously, pushing the monstrosity back to the ground. Sloth was not done, however, it buried its claws on the ground, throwing pebbles up at them.
This time, things were different from before. With more hands at work, more neon beams managed to be fired and countered the volley of pebbles. Angelo was also sending black slashes at the attacks, staying clear.
Goliath Sloth was not pleased with this and proceeded to jump back, gaining some distance. Its chest opened up outwards, revealing a reactor.
"This it is." Ayushi stepped in front of the group."We're going to have to attack simultaneously and unite our attacks in order to take it down. This will be our last chance. If we fail, we won't get another one list this."
Goliath began accumulating all its power into its main core, creating an orange ball of energy.
"Just the four of us...hopefully it will be enough to overpower this thing." Takashi clicked his tongue. He splayed his hands to the side, powering up to his Overclock Stage.
Hisashi nodded to himself as he mimicked his brother's transformation, except his arms remained to his chest.
Ayushi 's body was covered in golden neon. Her eyes were now pure white and her hair was a dark shade of yellow.
Nero transformed into his demon form completely, Guerra tightening its thorns on its owner's hand and sucking his blood.
"LET'S GO!"
On cue, Goliath's attack grew in size, growing even as big as it was. Without any remorse, it fired its ball of energy, descending upon the heroes.
The Kachidoki trio was the first to fire a simultaneous neon beam at full power. Nero aimed its sword at the attack, focusing Guerra's power and unleashing it in a thin black light of power that powered up the combined attack. The forces collided, creating a powerful gust of wind due to the intensity of the attacks.
"We're not gonna lose here!" Ayushi screamed at the top of her lungs, feeling her neon mixed with her sibling's and her fiance's energy.
Hisashi was the first one to notice the dreadful truth, they were being pushed back slowly."We're losing ground!"
"EVERYONE! PUT MORE ENERGY INTO IT!" Ayushi seethed, her eyes solely focused on the robot ahead."WE CAN'T LOSE HERE!"
"We're giving it our all!" Takashi scowled as he tried putting more power in.'I can't use that here! If I do, I might not make it and will cost us our lives!'
"I have a plan!" Hisashi hollered to the rest of the group."I will use my X-Cross Spider web to transfer our attacks into that thing's weak spots! But I need both of my hands to prepare it! But if I let go..."
"If we're losing ground like this, if you stop contributing, we will surely die. If any of us stop now, that's a sure death to the rest." Nero confirmed his theory."We'll have to do something else, or-"
"IMPERIAL ONYX CANON!"
All of a sudden a white stream with black lightning united to the mix, stopping Goliath from overpowering them.
"Shinjitsu!" They all cried out in shock as they glanced at their now red-headed teammate.
"Now is the time for you to do, Comet!" Darby barked at the elder teenager.
Hisashi nodded, turning off his neon and instead of making his fingertips shine. He splayed his hands, connecting the neon strings to walls, floor, and ceiling, creating a spider web that connected to Goliath.
Goliath Sloth noticed this, but could not move at the current moment. It watched attentively at Hisashi who touched their combined attack and dispersed it through the web. The decrease of firepower caused Sloth's attack to push back at the heroes faster than ever.
It was a battle of time. Sloth and Hisashi glared at each other, seeing whose attack would connect first. However, Slot found itself surrounded from all directions by the cobweb connected to its body, and the energy rapidly coming against him.
"Sayonara," Hisashi muttered as he watched the robot screeched in agony before exploding upon receiving their combined attack from all directions. Upon its destruction, the giant ball of energy dissipated into thin air.
The heroes all dropped to the ground, relieved to finally getting rid of their foe. The Kachidokis grabbed their respective neon lights and absorbed their properties, replenishing their energy.
"That was nice thinking, Comet." Takashi gave his brother a faint smile."Feels good to not be at the receiving end of that cobweb."
That's right, Hisashi thought. He had originally used that move when he fought to the death against his brother at USJ. It definitely brought unpleasant memories, but he had moved on from being scared of him. He was little brother after all."Thank you, Nova. Hey, Shinjitsu? Why did your hair go back to blue."
"I can't waste the nature energy I have inside of me." He grumbled, sitting on the floor."There's nothing down here that can replenish my reserves. Chaos Mode takes too much energy out of me, si I have to switch to Neko Mode since it takes less while also giving me a chance to recuperate a bit of it."
"Phew." Ayushi wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her glove."That was close. They seriously made that thing too dangerous. Anyway, I believe it's time we've discussed what happened."
"Right." Takashi nodded while Darby lowered his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs."I successfully fend off against Salazar. However, apparently, he was being tracked by a device planted into his chest. He made me remove it when he tricked me into attacking him. I assume the heroes outside must have caught him. He was bleeding pretty badly. I took a while getting here because some wacko was controlling the whole damn place. I swear, the walls were moving and the ground was changing shape!"
"As for Comet and I, we were mostly fighting the robots swarming this place. Including the various versions of Sloth. According to one of them, they function as one unit as represent a single sin Hopefully that monstrosity was the last one."
"I...Shielder...Yasukage and I...we were fighting against Gluttony. His Quirk consisted of toxins and a combination of them. He injected us with poison and there was only one antidote. I gave it to him, but he ended up injecting me with it." He clenched his fists in frustration."I could not save him. I didn't even see him die. He left this world without me hearing his damn last words."
"No way..." Takashi's eyes widened while Darby looked bewildered.
"Shit. Fuck, fuck!" Ayushi screamed out, grabbing her head."It wasn't supposed to be like this. They weren't supposed to die. Where is Hoshi? Darby, please tell me he's slower than you and he's getting here." She ran up to the young man, grabbing him by the shoulders.
Darby bit his lower lip, his eyes red and puffy."I'm sorry...he didn't make it...Lust was going to blow the whole place out and kill every around a 5-mile radius with an explosion...but Hisashi, he...he sacrificed himself to save all of us." Darby was now sobbing loudly."I couldn't do anything, Ayushi-san! I couldn't save him! All I could do was just...take him inside his barrier and launch him into the sky to avoid everyone dying!"
Ayushi felt something tug her heart.'No...I was too late...I was too late...'
She engulfed Darby in a hug, rubbing his head gently."Hoshi and Yasukage...I didn't want to bring them along if I'm being honest. They are outsiders to all of this. Even I feel conflicted by bringing you guys down with me. I am a horrible leader and a horrible mentor. But...if it weren't for them, we wouldn't be here right now. We owe it to them to see this through the end, no matter how this plays out. We owe it to their sacrifices to put an end to this bullshit and be able to live our lives. After this is over, the Shie Hassaikai will never harm another soul. The Baron and his people will never ruin another family and their happiness. No more innocent people will die for their selfish reasons!"
Ayushi paced around them, eying them critically."You don't have to follow me. In fact, I encourage you to go up there and wait for the heroes to take down Overhaul so then they can focus their whole attention here. But I won't back down, even if I have to go on alone. It's selfish, but I want that bastard to pay for what he has done to my family. He made my mother a widow and made was most likely the cause our father was already on edge. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying my father was right. He was wrong and he was a horrible father. But I wish I knew his reasons. However, to honor that, I will be the one to take the Baron down. It's my duty as the Kachidoki heiress. Now, feel free to leave if you wish. However wants to stay, make sure you thought this through carefully. This isn't your battle. Think about your friends and families first." She put her hand out.
The group remained silent for a moment. Naturally, Nero was the first one to step up, putting his hand out on top of hers."You know I'm with you to the end. I will walk to hell and crawl back."
"I'm in too." Takashi was the next one to join."Does that asshole think he can manipulate me and get away with it? Sure, fine. But if he fucks with my family and friends, he has another thing coming."
"Same here." Hisashi followed his brother's example."You guys are my family. I will never leave family behind. I trust in you guys."
The group then turned to Darby, who was looking conflicted."I don't know...I...I can't save anyone. I've been a hero in-training for a while and I have yet to do a heroic deed. Instead, I couldn't save my classmate. What if someone else dies...because of me? I just...I can't lose someone else...I can't..."
"Darby Nishikawi. I didn't take you for a coward." Nero narrowed his eyes at him."I heard great things about you before I even met you. How you fought for the truth and wanted to see through the wicked lies. Well, here's the truth, kid. Unfortunately, we won't always be able to save people. No matter how hard we try, sometimes that's just not enough. But would you rather their sacrifice be wasted?"
"Nero!" Ayushi gasped.
"No, he has to hear this." Nero forged on."I feel the same as you. I was incapable of saving Yasukage when he was right in front of my face. Nothing I tried would have saved him. But I owe it to him and his sacrifice to put an end to this. To fulfill our objective. You owe it to Hoshi as well. Listen...we'll mourn for them later. There will be time to cry when this is all done. But right now, we have a mission to complete. Only we can do this. It's better to try and fail than to not do anything."
"I..." Darby grabbed his chest, trying to suppress the emotional pain he was feeling."Okay...you're right...a hero wouldn't back down...Ashe-san wouldn't allow me to give up now. Besides, a man has to do something to the bitter end in order to protect his people, right?" He marched to the group, putting his pale hand on top.
"Good." Ayushi nodded, satisfied with the outcome."We'll be there for each other. We'll protect each other. We'll die together if we must, but no one will be left behind."
"Are you done with your little pep talk?"
The group tensed up, immediately turning to the far end of the room. There, Pride, Wrath, and Envy along with Maria stood, watching them.
"Look at this." Envy splayed his hands out."The little heroes really did manage to take down Goliath Sloth. I'm impressed. It took me a long time to build it. Oh, well. I could always repair him, but ti looks like..." He jumped over to stand on top of the mess that once was Goliath."You disintegrated some of its parts. I will end extra if I want to fix it."
"So, you guys came to us." Ayushi snorted, a condescending smirk on her face."Should we feel grateful that The Baron has graced us with his presence?"
"Watch your tongue, mongrel." Megumi bellowed at the blonde-haired woman."You are also in the presence of an empress. If you bow down properly, I will make sure to decapitate you, preventing you from suffering further." She then turned to stare at Takashi, who had his eyes on her already."I suppose our encounter last time was not enough to put you in your place. I'm assuming Lust's Quirk has lost effect by now."
"It won't be the same as last time." Takashi shot back, his eyes full of determination.
"Such confidence." Taichi chuckled, looking over his shoulder."So, do you think he can give you a proper challenge now? He does have that other Quirk of his."
"It doesn't matter." Pride answered."None of them is any challenge to us. Don't get cocky just because you took down this tin can. Truth be told, we are capable of handling Sloth on our own as well."
"Bullshit!" Nero sneered.
"Actually, she might be right." Darby chimed in."That guy with the sweatshirt has a Quirk that manipulates electronics or things of the sort. He could have just touched that robot and render it useless."
"And that woman with the Chinese dress is capable of using her own kinetic energy to power up her attacks. Maybe there's more to her Quirk, though..." Takashi folded his arms.
"So that leaves The Baron and that girl next to him." Ayushi surmised."Well, I guess it's to be expected we'd come to this."
"I welcome you to try," Baron spoke for the first time.
"Say, if you really wanted your little boss to succeed, why didn't you help him escape? I know he's gone from this place and so you could have. So why are you still here?" Nebula pressed on.
"Because I have an objective to achieve. In fact, you Kachidokis know it all full well." He chuckled under his mask."Getting rid of the Kachidoki family is one of my goals. The other one...well, you'll find out soon."
"Before we continue, I want to ask you something." Darby stepped forward, taking them by surprise.
The Baron rose his head slightly, his chin high."Oh? Darby Nishikawi? I have a feeling what you want to ask me, but I'll humor you anyway."
"I know you're the one who manipulated Takashi to make his father fall into your trap and subsequentially killed him. But...were you also the one who killed Ashe-san?"
"Tsubaki Nanaya?" He mused, hiding a smirk under his mask."And what if I did? Clearly, you must have figured it out, whether I answer or not."
"That's..." Darby had a sad smile o his face, clenching his fists to the point of almost breaking the skin with his nails."Why...you goddamn murderer! Why did you kill her?! She had nothing to do with whatever crusader you have going on!"
"He's right." Ayushi narrowed her eyes at her sworn foe."Tsubaki Nanaya had nothing to do with the Kachidoki family whatsoever. Nevertheless, you made time out of your day to kill her in a premeditated murder. I was at the scene of the crime. You targetted her specifically. But for what reason?"
"A murder, you say?" The Baron laughed aloud, his torso bending backward" So what? Isn't that what the world is all about? I say I only did what was natural. It's just human behavior. Not only that, she was just a means to an end. Want to know the truth, originally, I wasn't going to do it. But someone made it clear that she had to die."
"Someone?" Darby parroted, not understanding what he meant.
"That's right. Apparently, she was under a particular person's radar for a looooong time now. All I did was execute her. But her death won't be in vain, I assure you. I will prevent things like that from ever happening again, you see. Our goal is to create peace around the world."
"We want to save the world from the curse that is called Quirks." Envy supplied."We have what it takes to do so. For that, we are willing to go to any extremes. It doesn't matter who dies now. In the new world, people will be living happily ever after, without ever remembering this hell."
"What the fuck are you saying?!" Darby snapped, his rage boiling in his veins."You killed my mentor! Killed several family members of the Kachidoki family! Sold illegal drugs to boost Quirks and to create secondary ones! Assasin people behind the shadows for money! What the hell does that have to do with peace?!"
"You are all just mindless killers!" Takashi snarled, neon sparking in his hands with anticipation."You make your actions sound noble to hide the fact that you're just mindless killers."
"A new world where you can govern on top of people!" Nero joined in as well."Gluttony told me everything. How you are planning to sell that Nutrient drug to make people kill each other and gain profit from it! You want to be the ones ruling! You don't give a damn about anything else! Your whole plan is to use a drug to destroy people's Quirks and have yourselves be the ones standing on top of the world. If that's not insane, then what is?!"
"I see I'm not getting through any of you." The Baron sighed, displeased at this turn of events."I thought I could maybe make you see the things I did, but it seems I was wrong. All you want is vengeance. As heroes, isn't that a wrong way of thinking? Very well then. I suppose we will have to kill you after all. We are on a schedule, so we will make this Quick. Surely you feel up to the task at hand? After all, it's a four against five. We are at a clear disadvantage."
"Here's where the final battle begins." Ayushi turned to her group."We'll have to fight together if we want a chance. Nero, take care of the Chisaki brat. Once we get a hold of him, Overhaul might be willing to negotiate."
"I'll go with you!" Darby offered.
"No." Ayushi responded, much to his dismay."You are too heated right now. I need you to cool off to be able to think straight. I'm taking that bastard on alone. I want you to take care of the girl next to Chisaki."
Darby was about to protest, but he knew she was right."All right...But I want to get to the bottom of this. I want to know the truth behind The Baron and what he hides."
"And you will." She put a supporting hand on his shoulder."But right now, we don't know what he's capable of. I'll go along to try to figure out some kind of weakness. Then, when you defeat your opponent, come to me. Takashi and Hisashi, you two together."
"Actually, sis, I was thinking on taking her along," Hisashi confessed, earning surprised glares.
"No, Hisashi!" Takashi was the one to speak up."I told you I was going to do it!"
"From what we know, she is strong. Plenty strong. I don't know if you'll be able to handle her on your own." Ayushi explained, hoping that Hisashi would change his opinion.
"I know, but it seems more dangerous for you to go alone against their boss, don't you think." Hisashi offered his siblings a smile."I know I'm nothing compared to the two of you. You are more talented than I could ever hope to be. But I want to do this. I'll keep her busy while you guys settle things. I might not be strong but I'm confident in my speed. She won't get to hit me."
Ayushi pulled her siblings into a hug, touching their heads."You both are extraordinary heroes already. Never think you are less. More than that, you are my dear brothers. I want you to come to me if you see yourself in trouble. No buts, ifs, or maybes understood? "
"We'll take him out really fast." Takashi gave a cocky grin."I'll make that bastard pay for making us fight amongst ourselves."
"Are you done strategizing?" The Baron boomed, walking slowly toward them.
Ayushi sighed, also taking steps forward to him."Yeah. We're ready. But are you?"
"Oh, don't worry." He pulled out a black rod from under his cape."I plan to end this as quickly as possible too. You will regret ever getting in our way, Kachidoki."
Both of them stood a few inches from each other, silently staring into each other's eyes.
Both groups behind them waited patiently for the first move to be made, eager to see just what would happen now.
In an instant, both leaders clashed their weapons. Ayushi had formed a neon blade in her hand and was against the black rod The Baron had.
"This entire world..." Both of them started as sparks came off of their weapons rubbing against each other.
"Will not end!" Ayushi cried out.
"Will end." Was The Baron's response.
And so the final battle between the Seven Deadly Sins and the Kachidoki Agency begins. Woah, it's been a whole year since I started this story and I can't believe the number of people supporting it. It started off slow and wack, but I wasn't that good at writing at the beginning, so when I read the latest chapters, I can't help but feel happy. It all started when I was playing Yu-Gi-Oh! online and had the idea of making a story to then making a MHA story. I like making stories. It's therapeutic, in a way. I want to make these next chapters as good as possible since I'm thinking of taking a break after this arc is over just to recharge my creativity.
Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter and are enjoying the arc. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to review!