Warning: this chapter is rather gruesome than what I usually write. But other than that, enjoy the chapter.

Shizuka's soul,?

The door I went through had disappeared behind me. It didn't surprise me as much it would've before. I walked forward until I got out of the black void. The orphanage was the place I ended up at again. Little Shizuka was sitting on the chair again, this time though I could see her face. She had a dourer face, and seemed as if she wasn't getting enough sleep. Someone came out of the door next to where she was sitting. "What the heck," I gasped. It was the guy that attacked Shizuka on the night of the operation. He still retained his rather frail physique and mature yet cold appeal.

"This will be your new caretaker, please introduce yourself," The man beside the kimono wearing guy ordered her. "I am Shizuka Rin." Her voice was softer than I expected. Her greeting was as polite as she could be.

"When she first introduced myself to that man, her anxiety had calmed down. He seemed like a nice man, his smile warmed a heart that was long since frozen over, or rather, stopped longing for others. His kind, warm, gentle smile warmed my heart."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Rin Shizuka. I am Hifumi Sadao." "His voice was a voice that could soothe the hearts of other people and make you believe he was a kind-hearted man." She wasn't wrong, I could feel the same effect. "Shall we be on our way," Hifumi Sadao asked. She bobbed her head yes. The two of them walked off towards the exit.

"I truly believed that when we walked out of those doors that my life would change for a better life... However, that wasn't the case." "What do you mean?" When I asked I was moved somewhere else. I immediately recognized that it was the first floor. I could see Shizuka fighting some demons. She was handling them as if she was a pro (given how small she was, it was a real treat to watch. She had put her sword away, sighing in relief, but unknown to her there was another demon behind her. "Watch out Shizuka," I yelled out to her but she didn't hear me. The demon was creeping up behind her with swords in its hands. When Shizuka noticed the demon she wasn't able to draw in time and took a hit. She was sent flying along with the straight platform. "Damn it!" The demon was going for her with its swords pointing forward. My body just ran for them on instinct. I knew that I couldn't affect anything, but it didn't stop me. Before I could reach them, someone had torn through the demon's body, slicing it in halves.

"Shizuka, are you okay?" Someone around her age went up to her, giving her a hand. "..." Shizuka didn't respond to the kid's question, she just got up from the floor and dusted herself off.

"I'm fine," Shizuka softly replied. "That's good. There are a lot of dangerous monsters here. Master wasn't kidding when he said so," the other kid told her. "I know, I heard him," she replied with annoyance. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say you weren't listening, but still, we should be more careful." "I know."

Shizuka was about to walk away from the kid until they put their hands on her shoulders. "Wait, Shizuka, I want us to partner up with you!" "How come?" "Because, to tell you the truth, I'm not all that good at fighting by myself. I can only manage to ambush enemies and even then my technique is unpolished. But I know that you're good at all this; you're the only one who isn't grouping up with anyone else, and that makes people believe that you're a cut above the rest."

Shizuka remained quiet, never turning around to face the kid. "Follow me," Shizuka simply said. "Follow me and don't get in my direction way." "You got it, you lead the way. Oh, but before we go, we should properly introduce ourselves. I'm Ichirou, no last name. What's yours?" "Shizuka Rin." After their introductions, they not left to go upward.

"Ichirou, her eyes beaming with childlike wonder and admiration when she would follow and watch her warmed a piece of her heart. But more importantly, she was jealous of her innocent youth."

After the fakes narration, I was taken somewhere else. The first thing I noticed was the sun shining down on me, but I didn't feel the heat coming from it. I found myself in a desert; it was the second floor. A monsters cry could be heard throughout the vast desert. Shizuka and Ichirou were fighting a giant white worm monster. Shizuka had just dealt the finishing blow to that thing...

"Shizuka, that was amazing. I can't believe we actually killed that thing," Ichirou cheered. "Don't make a big deal out of it." "Are you kidding me? It's impressive how you were able to defeat it with no injuries whatsoever. You're the bestest!" Shizuka was trying to ignore Ichirou's praise for her but tripped on something when she wasn't paying attention.

"Shizuka!" Ichirou went running over to her. "Shizuka, are you okay?" "Yes, I'm fine. I just...tripped." Something was unveiled beneath the sand. It was cloth. Ichirou dug up what was under the sand...

"Oh my god," I gasped. The thing under the sand was not an object, it was a person. Their skin pale, no sign of life seen in their eyes, and their face was full anguish.

"Is this...one of the other disciples?" Ichirou looked as if she was going to hurl out everything from her stomach. Shizuka gazed down at the body, unflinchingly touching the corpse. She was disturbed by it judging from the look on her face.

"We should bury him," Shizuka suggested. "That be..." "It'll be more respectful that allowing him to whither away in the sun." Ichirou didn't put up an argument, she silently nodded and helped Shizuka make a grave for him. They found his weapon and used it as a burial stone.

"I wonder where his friends are? Are they...?" "They probably ran away so they didn't get killed." "That's horrible. Why would they abandon someone they worked with?" "As I said, they saved themselves by abandoning him. It's not uncommon in the tower."

The girls just sat there staring at the grave they made for the little boy. Ichirou began to cry into her legs.

"Ichirou, are you okay?" Shizuka's toneless voice was now substituted with worry.

"Will I end up like this," Ichirou asked. "Will you leave me behind if you want to live? I know I'm weak and I will hold you back. So I..." "No, I won't leave you behind... You're my partner, after all, I wouldn't leave you behind, even if it kills me." "You promise?" "I promise." Ichirou went and hugged Shizuka who was surprised by the sudden action. Nonetheless, she embraced her. "Thank you, Shizuka. I promise I'll become stronger, so I won't be a burden," Ichirou declared as she sobbed on. Shizuka didn't say anything, she just quietly hugged her.

"On that day, she swore to would protect Ichirou as if she was her own sibling. However, while she did feel a strong desire to protect her, she was also full of anxiety over protecting someone other than herself." "What about the dead child? How did that affect her?" "It did have an affect on her at the time, but even then she knew that it meant death to stop fighting. She would push those feelings of grief into the back of her head."

The space around me finally settled on the setting that it was going to place in.

"Where am I now?" I was in a hall with a bunch of kids. It was as dark as the floor I'm currently on right now. It was a very spacious hallway with four pillars near the corners of the room. There was a man in the middle of the room. He was wearing a flower sakura petal scheme kimono.

"Children, you have all trained to your fullest for these past seven years, and for that, I am grateful for your efforts." The kids were gossiping amongst each other. I found Shizuka and Ichirou in the middle of the crowd. They seemed to be much older than the last time I saw them (he did say seven years though).

"Oi, Shizuka, what do you think this is all about," Ichirou whispered to her. "I don't know, but whatever it is it sounds important." "Wait, do you think he's going to say we finished our training!?" "I doubt master would say that 7 years is enough," Shizuka predicted. "Yikes, really? That's sort of depressing." "Don't get too depressed or a demon might eat you," Shizuka jokingly mimicked a demon biting with her hands. "Whoa, when did you become a jokester?" "Was it really that surprising?" "Yeah, you're usually stale as bread." "Is that how you think of me," Shizuka said while shooting a glare. "Whoa Shizuka, easy, I tis but a joking, I swear!"

The two of them had grown accustomed to each other. Shizuka seems to be more relaxed around Ichirou to the part where she's willing to make jokes. Furthermore, she was smiling a bit.

"Children, I have gathered you here today to tell you something. Today will be the final part of your training." His announcement was met with applause.

"Guess 7 years was enough after all," Ichirou said with a cocky expression. "Don't get so smug," Shizuka retaliated. "What, sorry, I can't hear you here sore losers." Ichirou was acting like her childish self with that hint of being obnoxious.

"But sore losers aside, whatever the last part is, I know you and I can do this together, right," Ichirou said, hyping herself up. "Yes, you and I can (although, you leave most of the work to me)," Shizuka muttered off at the end. "What was that?" "Nothing." Shizuka tried to play it cool but Ichirou knows what she said.

"Now, I shall tell you what your final task is: Kill your other peers." The instructions made every hair on my body stand straight up. I could also see the shock on Ichirou and Shizuka's faces.

"W-what did he just say? What is he talking about!?" Shizuka's shock expression turned to a dangerous gaze towards Hifumi. "This has to be a joke. Yeah, master must be joking, right!?" Ichirou wanted to desperately believe that he was kidding around, but there was no goddamn way he's joking; not with how dead serious his voice was.

"My current elite three shall go after each and every one of you, and they will kill on sight. So do everything you can to avoid death."

Everyone besides the kids next to Hifumi and himself were beginning to panic, some were questioning if he was kidding, others were cursing him out.

"I'm going to rush him. You run away while I do," Shizuka instructed. That was enough to have Ichirou snap out of her fear-filled trance. "N-no way, you aren't doing it on your own. I'm going with you," Ichirou confidently told Shizuka. "It'll be too dangerous," Shizuka warned her. "Who cares, you're my partner, you're not flying solo no matter what you say." Shizuka didn't rebuttal against her any further. "Fine, on three we go." "Got it." "Three, two, one!" They ran out of the crowd and towards Hifumi with their weapons in hand. Their speed was faster than any normal kids could manage. Their bodies jumped up towards Hifumi. However, they were intercepted by one of the elite kids who was carrying a large bastard sword. With one swing, he was able to knock the girls back. Shizuka recovered just in time to catch Ichirou and land on her feet.

"Shizuka, Ichirou, you two took initiative to take my life. Your senses are keener than the rest." He strut out his hand forward. "Now, my three: conduct the final exam!" Without hesitation, they went forth and began to slaughter the other children. The sight was being filled with blood flying everywhere. Everyone was being killed in front of me and I couldn't do anything to make it stop; it was horrendous. And Shizuka's expression was a replica of mine; filled with horror and rage. There was a pained look in there as well. She took a slight step forward but then took one backward, then another until she turned around entirely and ran out of the room, away from the massacre as fast as she could.

"Shizuka, what's-" "Don't look back, just don't look!" I could hear the pain in her voice...

"Does it infuriate you? That man doing all of this?" This massacre made me want to puke, the bodies lying on the floor made me sorrowful, but that face on that Kimono wearing bastard made me angry! It made me want to smash my fist against his face and never stop.

"Does it make you want to kill him?" "Gah!" I got away from the shadowy figure. "Did I surprise you? I thought you felt my presence?" That thing. I knew that it was there, but what it was trying to catch me off guard.

"How has your trip through her memories gone?" "Shizuka's memories and I don't see the point, it doesn't change what I'm here for. Release Shizuka now, I'm getting tired of this." "You'll see the point soon enough, just keep observing." "As I said, I had enough of this!" I went to attack the shadow but it disappeared when everything turned black.

"Shit, I'm just going around on a railroad track here!" I wanted to break out of this as soon as possible, but it doesn't seem as if that'll be happening any time soon. I just hope it goes by quickly.

The tower, FL3. ?

Outside of Shizuka's mind, everyone was sitting around, waiting for Kazuki to get out with Shizuka. Hana was keeping an eye on her stone containment while keeping an eye on Ichirou.

"This is so boring! When is he going to come out?" Ichirou was kicking her feet like she was a regular girl lying on her stomach while sitting on a couch.

"Don't be impatient, just wait for a bit longer. Besides, shouldn't you have known that you have to wait when he went into her mind," Hana questioned. "Yeah, I guess but I'm still bored. Just because I know the spell doesn't mean that I'll know how it actually goes." "So you don't know how it works?" "Maybe, I don't know... Fifty-fifty on me knowing what happened to him." Her being so crass disgusted Hana.

"Aren't you a bit concerned about what happened to them," Hana asked. "Eh, not really. If something bad happens to Kazuki it'll be because he messed up on his end, not because of me," she simply answered. "Okay then, what about her." Hana pointed over to Shizuka. Ichirou was surprised by the question. "I... I hate her, tons." Her face contorted into a smile, but it wasn't all that convincing. Hana picked up on it and began to feel as if she was lying.

"Do you really hate her," Hana questioned. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" "But why do you, and if you did, why would you help get her back into a proper state of mind?" "None of your business, that's why. I wouldn't look too deep into personal matters. especially if they don't concern you." She was right, it was none of Hana's business, it was a personal matter that she shouldn't stick her head into. But yet, she could tell that Ichirou's hate for Shizuka wasn't just the only emotion she felt for her. However, Hana won't press any further on the subject.

"Why are you in the tower anyway," Ichirou asked Hana. "I'm here to find my father. He came into the tower when I was a kid." Ichirou knew what that meant. He was probably long dead by now is what she thought to herself. "To be honest, I think he might be dead. I mean, anyone who came in here might be." "Then why did you come here?" "So I can at least see if he was because then I could die knowing what happened at the very least." "And if he's alive?" "Then... I'll ask him why he left me and my brother, and even if he has a good excuse, I'll punch him," Hana said, slamming her fist into her other hand. "Are you serious?" "Yeah, he owes me and my brother that much at the very least, and besides, it's not like he can't take it. My father is the toughest man I know, so I know he can take a punch." "Wow..."

Ichirou turned around to face Hana. "I never knew my parents, they abandoned me when I was a baby, so never thought of them all that much, nor cared for them whatsoever. But it kind of pisses me off when people go off about their parents and say how cool they are," Ichirou bitterly said. "Oh, my bad. I didn't mean to rub you the wrong way." Ichirou did mean what she said, but despite her bitterness, she was just jealous of that and said what was on her mind without pause. She remembered Hana saying something about a brother.

"You said you had a brother, right," Ichirou asked. "Yeah, I do." "What is he like?" "He's a smart, courteous person who always puts others before himself no matter the situation. Moreover, he can get lost in small details when he's overthinking and happens a lot. His determination, however, is something that is light-years ahead of mine." "Sounds like a cool big brother." "No, he's the younger one, I'm the older one." "Seriously, come on, you tricked me!" "No I didn't, you just jump the gun." "Don't pass off the blame, your narration sucks!" "Why are you getting angry with me!"

Their argument went on for a bit. It wasn't too serious, rather, it helped Ichirou's nerves calm down. After a bit, they both went quiet.

"Ya know, I had someone I could call a sister. Someone that I would follow around in this tower, someone that I would laugh with, argue with, even trust my tears to..." Hana knew who she was talking about. She could feel the sorrow in Ichirou's voice. However, in Ichirou fashion, she caused a tonal whiplash when she looked at Hana with a goofy smile.

"Buuuut, that was in the past, so I'm totally over it all. Come on, let's talk about something else." There was a sort of line that was made when Ichirou said that. It was as if Hana knew if she crossed that line there would be repercussions. So, she just stayed away from that topic when talking with her. As for Ichirou, talking about her past, although be it vague, was still too much for her to handle...

Shizuka's soul, ?

The next location I ended up at was Shizuka and Ichirou running for their lives. "Come on, don't stop running," Shizuka urged Ichirou who was right behind her. "Shizuka, what the hell was that all about? Why is master killing the others!? Why?" "I don't know why, but we need to keep moving or else we'll be next to die. We have to run as far as we can before they catch up to us!"

The two of them kept running for a little while longer until they stopped to catch their breath. Shizuka and Ichirou were drop-dead exhausted from running god knows how long. "Shizuka, what do we do now, they're probably going to find us soon?" "I don't know what we'll do, but it beats standing around here and waiting to die. Let's take a break for now and move when..."

Shizuka took out her weapon and looked behind herself. "What's the matter?" "Someone followed us?" Ichirou took her weapon out too. A few seconds of waiting showed who was following them...

"Are those disciples," Ichirou posed her questioned. "I guess so, but there's something off with them. They seem to be walking weirdly, artificial in a sense. Wait, there's something wrong with them, Ichirou, get behind me!" They rushed the two all at once. Shizuka and Ichirou were able to repel them. I noticed something right away, they were bloody all over with nasty slash and stab wounds that looked deadly. These people were dead!

"Shizuka, these guys are dead!" "I know." "But how is that possible!?" "I don't know, just keep fighting!" They were knocking down the corpses one by one but it wasn't doing any good. They had no concept of pain so they could keep going back no matter the damage. Ichirou was beginning to get crowded. "Ichirou!" A corpse hit Shizuka while she was distracted. The corpses began to close in with weapons in hand. One of them went in for the kill, but she was able to block the attack. Another went for it but missed her.

"Damn it!" Shizuka cursed. As the corpses got closer the tighter her grip on her sword got. She held her head down. "Please forgive me," she silently pleaded. Before the corpse could attack her, its arm flew off. Shizuka's blade was painted with blood. She cut down the corpses around her in an attempt to break free from the crowd and went over to Ichirou, who was surrounded by the bodies of the other disciples. She looked exhausted by yet, scarred.

"Ichirou, are you okay?" "I heard one of them speak to me. One of them begged me not to kill him, but he still came at me, so I.. I killed him. I killed someone Shizuka. He came at me and I was scared... So I... Oh god, what did I do!?" Shizuka was speechless towards Ichirou's emotional breakdown, and who could blame her; all of this is just so brutal and it happened so quickly. However, as Shizuka lost herself in the tense atmosphere, a sword was flying towards Ichirou.

"Watch out," Shizuka yelled as she pushed Ichirou out of the way. The sword sliced against Shizuka's back. "Shizuka, are you okay?" "I am, just stay-" Another enemy appeared behind her. It was a girl with a big scythe in hand. Startled, Shizuka got out of the way with Ichirou. The enemy didn't stop trying to attack them. When it got stuck in the floor Shizuka took the time to back away with Ichirou and let her stand for herself.

"These people, they were the ones to kill the others, right," Ichirou asked. "I think they were." "In that case." Ichirou charged in with her sword in hand and went to fight the scythe user but was intercepted by a corpse. It slapped her senseless to break her nose. The scythe-user tore through the disciple with relative ease. Ichirou narrowly dodged the attack. The both of them would continue to fight against each other, but soon after, a broad sword user was about to slash her. Shizuka interrupted the attack by kicking him in the face. The two of them wasted no time on clashing swords. Their movement was lightning fast, matching each other in speed despite the difference in their weapon's weight. Shizuka's attacks weren't as power her opponents, where he would probably blow any defense Shizuka tried to put up. But she probably knew that, so that's why her strikes aimed to make a quick and decisive victory. The person controlling the corpses made two corpses go after Shizuka. She was able to take them down, but this left to be caught off guard by the bastard sword user. She tried guarding but it was useless since he was able to destroy her sword.

"Gah!" A corpse threw her against a wall and a couple more pinned her against it. She was struggling to break free but to no avail. The swordsman was getting ready to thrust his sword through the others and into Shizuka. I could see the fear and the desperation seeping out through her expression. This was just all types of wrong, the way that these people were fighting was so damn messed up it made me want to hurl. It made me angry to watch. As the swordman was about to end Shizuka, the corpses dropped like flies. The one controlling had a sword in his chest. It was thanks to Ichirou, Shizuka was able to dodge and do some damage to the swordsman by breaking his arms, making him drop his sword. She picked it up and slammed him with the blunt side of the gigantic sword. Ichirou was going after the one using the corpses with the Scythe wielder behind her. Shizuka went at them, thrusting the sword at the Scythe user, stopping her in her tracks.

"Tell me, tell me why you would do this?" Shizuka demanded an answer from her enemy. "Because... master... told... me... to... So scared... to... die." Because she was scared to die she killed other people that were as well? That's... "That's bullshit! You're scared to die? What about us, huh? What about the others you killed, you bastard!"

The scythe wielder broke away from their clash without answering her any further. They used the Scythe by spinning it around and around without fail. The weapon Shizuka had wasn't going to cut it, although, it is her only weapon, so I guess it makes sense to keep it. Ichirou went in to get a hit in but she wasn't going to get close without getting cut. There were no openings to be found, none that I can see. It was then Shizuka just threw the sword towards her enemy's feet. They jumped up to avoid it. Ichirou took the time to jump into the air herself and drop kick the scythe user in the head. Shizuka did some damage by slamming and bashing his head against the ground. They took the scythe away, just in time to use it against more enemies that the puppet master sicked on them. They sliced them into halves with no waste. Ichirou was making it towards the puppet master. The swordsman came at her, using his arms as if they weren't broken. His movement was ridged and crude then they were before. The puppet master must be controlling him now, but it makes no sense as to why since he wasn't dead; I guess it's just to use him as a defensive measure. Shizuka chimed in with the scythe in hand and went to work against the swordsman. She slashed his legs to stop him from moving, but he came back for more like it didn't even register to him.

"This getting us nowhere." Ichirou suddenly took the scythe out of Shizuka's hands. She ran past the swordsman and towards the puppet master. In a desperate act to defend himself, the puppet master used the swordsman and the Scythe user as a shield. Ichirou tore them apart. At that time, smoke suddenly appeared and covered the area. It took a minute for the smoke to disperse, the puppetmaster ran away from the fight during that time.

"Shizuka, he's getting away," Ichirou stated with anger in her voice. "I know, but we need to-" "Need to what, we just need to go after him and kill him!" Ichirou ran off with weapon in hand. Her anger was steering her now. Shizuka just stood there as Ichirou ran off after the enemy. "Her feet were glued to the floor as the girl she swore to protect ran off to kill the enemy. The bodies all over the floor was a gruesome scene, their blood painting the ground red. As I stared off at them, I was remembering that they were children full of life like Ichirou, but now, there was no such life. All that was left was their lifeless faces. When she remembered the sensation of tearing them apart, slicing them apart even after they had been killed her disgust had reached it's high, and then..."

Shizuka then got on her knees and started puking her guts out. I shied away from the sight until she stopped. She got back up on her feet. "Damn it! Damn it, Ichirou wait for me!" Shizuka ran off into the direction that Ichirou went off to. The scene immediately changed to her back into the area where she and Ichirou ran away from. The next thing we saw was nothing utter than horrible. The room was filled with the bodies of the disciples. They have torn apart in various ways, it was too horrible to describe and the scene was burned into my mind. I began to feel sick just looking at it, and hell before I knew it, I puked myself. My throat hurt from whatever was in stomach violently leaving my body and I didn't feel any better.

"What the hell, why the hell am I being shown any of this?" No one answered my question, the fake didn't come out to narrate. I just watched on as Shizuka walked over the bodies towards Ichirou. The scythe in her hand was soaked in blood. Her black clothes were stained red all over. She had killed the puppet master, but something tells me she fought most of the corpses here. Shizuka was visibly disturbed by the sight of what was going.

"Ichirou, did you...?" "It doesn't matter Shizuka, what we did here, the battles we lived through, the monsters we killed together, helping the other disciples. It meant nothing!" Shizuka got closer towards Ichirou, who was just smiling. Hifumi was watching it all unfold from the same place he stood when all this began.

"Why did this happen? What was the purpose of this senseless slaughter? Tell me why, you son of a bitch!" Shizuka's questions were left unanswered. "Ichirou, kill Shizuka. Do that, and I will allow you to this place," is what Hifumi simply ordered. And without hesitation, Ichirou charged for Shizuka, who was unarmed. Everything suddenly went black for a second, and soon after it was over, the new sight was the battle between Ichirou and Shizuka concluding as Shizuka sliced her across the chest, blood flying out of her chest. Her body hit the ground with a thud, Ichirou made no movements whatsoever.

"Well done Shizuka. I had faith you would emerge victorious. Now, come with me, there is much work to be done." Another blackout happened, and upon seeing a new sight it was Shizuka struggling and screaming as she was strapped down to a table. It was beyond words how horrible it was. It looked as though she was suffering from something since she spazzing out of control in fits of scream-inducing pain. It was agonizing to watch. "You must endure this Shizuka, keep your mind strong or else it will take control of you. You must live in order to become my masterpiece." As this creep kept speaking he put his hand next to her face. She lashed out by biting his hand, blood seeped out from his hand, yet he wasn't bothered by it though. In fact, he seemed pleased.

"It began to take in you it seems..." He ripped his hand out of her mouth. Shizuka continued to suffer scream out from the top of her lungs as he just walked away. "I'll be back in a while to check on your progress. Until then, endure this for a while longer." Hifumi left the room, leaving Shizuka to suffer.

"I remember the screaming going on for hours on end, the pain in her body was unbearable to the point where she couldn't even pass out from it. She felt like days went by ever since her body was altered." "Altered?" "That man had operated on her, putting something inside her body, it then went ahead and altered her body from that of a regular human to something akin to a superhuman. Eventually, Shizuka was able to drown out the pain and all feeling entirely. She went into a meditative state of unconsciousness." "Do you mean like the one she's in now?" "Yes, however, at that time she wasn't fully lost in her unconsciousness like she is now; she was just conscious enough to grasp her identity. She held strong until the pain finally subsided."

The scene that came next was her in front of Hifumi. "From this day forward, you'll be working as a Yatagarasu under the leader. This is a position that is given to the most trusted members of this organization. But I recommended that you were ready for such a position. I expect you to perform any duty you're given without fail." "Yes, master," Shizuka replied."You have come far ever since I adopted you myself. Your body is peak perfect, your strength is amazing, your magical prowess is beyond comprehension, your senses sharper than any animal, and your body is stronger than any person, let alone any regular demon. And one day, you'll reach the heights of god-hood like 'he' did. Now, go forth, my masterpiece."

Hifumi placed a mask on her face. It was the same mask she always carries around with her. She walked on, towards somewhere as everything went black around us. Her footsteps echoed on and on as she marched on. "On that day, her fate was sealed, she would walk in a dark abyss that would stretch on for eons. Her heart grew cold in this abyss, she locked away emotion to forget the pain, she would only trust in herself and no one else to never repeat that pain... This was this poor girl's story."

The figure of Shizuka stopped walking and turned to face me. "Do you see now, this is the pain that had pursued her for the remainder of three years now. Her greatest fears will always be from that man, no matter how far she goes, he plagues her nightmares every night. She knows no comfort when not relying on me. She needs me to get over her fear. And if you don't believe me, ask her yourself."

Another Shizuka appeared out of thin air. Is it the real one? "Shizuka... is that?" "Yes, it's me." She looked downcast, her gaze was looking away from me. "Shizuka, you..." "I was scared to come back here after leaving the organization. Not because of the demons, not because of the boss, because of Hifumi and Ichirou. They both plague my dreams, they haunt me as if they were ghosts. I... I don't know why I came back. I don't know why I wanted to save you, someone, that was no more than just a tool for me to use," she muttered. "I was a tool?" "When I learned of what you were, I had an idea to use the power of your shadow-mog to protect myself. That was the only reason I trained you; so that you would become a weapon that could be used if the time ever came." So, I was just a tool, huh? I can't say I wasn't upset by knowing that I was just being used like that; it was kind of dishearting.

"Now do you see, since you weren't able to take on Hifumi when you fought him. It has become clear that you are useless to her. So, I would have to ask you to please stop pestering her now. She only needs me in the end after all. I am the only one that can make her feel safe; she is mine now..."

It acted like she wasn't a person, but an object. "Stop talking like she's some kind of thing you can take possession of. She's her own damn person!" "But what's the use of being your own person if you're suffering such a massive burden," the fake Shizuka called out. "Is it worth being your own person and bare the pain, guilt, and sorrow she has? Is it even worth doing so!?"

The fake Shizuka began to walk slowly to the side. As she walked along, more of her began to appear, each looking exactly the same. There were four of them now (excluding the original). "I'll ask you that question now, the one that I wanted you to answer at the beginning of this. Is what she become justified or not?" It was a hard question to answer. Knowing what she went through and what she has gone through coming back here to help me, I can't say that it's not justified to become what she was outside. But...

"I can't say that it isn't, but I won't say it's the best for her. I know she went through horrible things, things that no normal person like me will ever experience. But even so, being this mindless thing that attacks anything in sight isn't her. She isn't some mindless monster and she doesn't need to be that way." "What do you suggest then? You'll save her from her pain?" "I... I don't know about that, I don't know if I even can. But even so, I'll protect her from anyone that wants to harm her. Starting by rescuing her from you!" There was no doubt in my mind, I was going to save her no matter what and nothing was going to sway me, even if she did see me as just a tool.

"I see, you leave us with no alternative." The fakes pointed at me and then menacingly said, "You shall die here!" It was a bit daunting but that wasn't going to unnerve me. I took my stance and got ready to duke it out. "Sorry to break it to you, but I can't die here. Not until I get Shizuka and Fuuka to safety. So bring it on!"

The tower, FL: 3, ?

Ichirou was having fun speaking with Hana. The both of them talking about trivial stuff. But, like a storm, Ichirou's brain sensed something awful She knew this sensation, she's always felt it, she's felt it for three years; it was death. There was only one man that could make her feel this way.

"M-master!"

I hope everyone is doing well and is staying at home. I'm doing the same, obviously. This chapter was a bit... different, at least the middle part of the chapter. But anyway, getting away from that, I do have something to actually say for once, and here it is. I have made this arc go on for far too long. Two, maybe three years we've been in the tower and I'd say the pace I've been making it go in was pretty disappointing. So as a result, I cut many things from the final vision of the arc. I was thinking there should be five floors, excluding the top floor which will be the final floor. But I was thinking of skipping one floor, but who knows, gotta see what happens.

Ichirou: Yeah, we'll see in 2022."

Author: Huh, that's not true.

Ichirou: Dude, come on, you're too busy reading Berserk, chainsaw man, and Kegan Asura.

Author: How do you know that?

Ichirou: I'm psychic.

Author: I never gave you that power!

Ichirou: Yeah, I read your internet history.

Author: Huh!?

Ichirou: Furthermore, you're obsessed with Okita Souji from Fate, huh?

Author: What if I am, that doesn't matter. It's none of your business! I'll have you know I've been busy writing and playing Yakuza. So there/

Ichirou: So, more Yakuza then writing, huh?

Author: Y-yes...

Ichirou: That's what I thought. Now leave in shame, I'll take care of the rest.

Author: O-okay...

Ichirou: Alright, now that he's gone I can finally end this chapter with a bang. And when I mean bang, I mean by blowing up the author's computer!

*BOOM*

Ichirou: Oh no, I accidentally destroyed his home. All well, he'll be fine. So, we'll be seeing you guys when we see you. Though, who freaking knows when that'll be, so until then; sayonara!