Going back in time, let's see what the Nonaka sisters were doing.

They were following the brothers that attacked the Toujou household while trying to avoid being seen. Although it might have been a rash decision on their part, it's undeniable that they know next to nothing about these opponents, so finding anything at all, even if it's just the fact that they have to breathe like any other person, would already be something.

"I feel like we've been walking in circles, onee."

"We have. It's a common strategy to avoid being followed. Keep walking for a long time and take a complicated route to your destination. But they have to get somewhere eventually."

While Yuki and Kurumi might have been following the brothers for a considerable short time, they have likely been trying to lose anyone who might have been on their tail since attacking the Toujou household. After all, as it's been said before, they don't know anything about them, so it's not unreasonable to assume there might be someone else after them.

'Thinking back at it, why was the Toujou household targeted? Back then they said… that the main target wasn't there, wasn't it? The only person who lives there but wasn't home then… were they after Jin? If so…'

Yuki was thinking some stuff over as she and Kurumi followed the brothers, but, before she could arrive at any sort of conclusion, the brothers seemed to have reached their destination.

It wasn't that far from the city and there didn't seem to be anything like a base around, so this must have been something like a meeting point rather than a place for them to stay.

There was a single man waiting there. It looked like he was passing his time by throwing rocks at the river and watching them bounce on the water's surface. However, he was clearly not a normal man. His skin was grey, and he looked to be about twice the size of the usual man.

He clearly wasn't a human, but what was he? A demon, or maybe a god? It was hard to tell.

"For as shitty as the human world might be, there are a few places and things to do that I personally enjoy. Well, not like any of it matters, I'm just rambling. Did you… two, I guess, find it?"

""Yes. We went looking for the location immediately after delivering the message. The target wasn't home, but we believe his son will tell him about what happened. Here's the map.""

One of the brothers gave the man a piece of paper, it must have been what they called a map. To where could it be?

For some reason, Yuki had a bad feeling about all of this, so she secretly picked up her phone and send a message.

"… Good. I guess we're done here for now. What about the two you two brought along?"

""They started following us, so we thought to bring you a treat.""

Both Yuki and Kurumi were surprised. All this time, they thought they were hidden, but it looks like the brothers knew about them from the start.

Since that was the case, there was no need to hide any longer. The sisters came out of their hiding spot and came face to face with the three men.

"I guess I appreciate the feeling, though not really. Combat just isn't really my thing. I suppose we have to use what we got. How about you two fight them and I use that as a base to make you two stronger?"

The brothers nodded, so it was clear a fight was inevitable. Obviously, Yuki and Kurumi also didn't waste any time in getting ready.

"!"

The brothers tried to rush towards the sisters, but Kurumi and Yuki managed to dodge by jumping to the side. With Sakuya in hand, Yuki quickly locked herself in combat with one of the brothers. Kurumi used her magic to create a sword made of wind and started fighting the other brother.

While it wasn't her strong point, something like this was still within Kurumi's abilities. They knew from their previous encounter that the boys' strength was less than theirs, so Yuki and Kurumi were holding off considerably well.

But that itself was strange. From this and the previous fight, it was clear that they didn't lose to these brothers in terms of raw power, but yet it didn't seem like they were that much stronger. Maybe the brothers were hiding some kind of power, but, at least as things stand, Yuki and Kurumi should have the upper hand.

"Kurumi."

"Yes, onee."

Kurumi used her magic to pick up some dirt from the ground and throw it at the boy's face. They already knew the brothers had some connection that made them feel each other's pain, and just as expected, by throwing dirt at the face of one of them, the other also had his vision temporarily cut off.

Of course, the hero sisters didn't miss that chance. Yuki landed a kick in her opponent's stomach and slashed him while Kurumi switched to fire magic and attacked her opponent.

While all of that was effective, it didn't seem to be enough for those brothers.

"You… two(?) seem to be having some trouble. Hum… I guess it should be fine. You guys can amp up your powers a bit more."

""Is it not dangerous for our bodies?""

"You're eventually going to have to, right? Might as well do it now, and it's not like you'll be going at 100% so I should be able to deal with anything that might happen."

""Alright.""

Obviously, Kurumi and Yuki were listening in to this conversation, but they weren't able to make much out of it.

"So they weren't giving it their all, huh."

"We have to keep our guard up, onee. ... I don't think anyone will come help us even if the worst case comes."

Before Yuki could say anything, the brothers attacked. Although neither of the sisters could tell what had changed, it was clear that the brothers had become stronger and faster somehow.

But still, although it would require a bit more of their strength, Kurumi and Yuki were still able to keep themselves above these two in battle.

And Yuki also had something she wanted to test.

"Ha!"

When one of the brothers tried to attack her, she dodged to the side and countered. The ground were Yuki had been standing a second ago was scarred as if a beast had slashed its claws at it. There is no questioning that Yuki would have been cut straight through if she had stood there, but right now wasn't the time to think about that.

With her precise swordplay, Yuki made Sakuya cut the boy's left elbow. The blade came out on the other side and it was clear the boy was in pain, but what Yuki wanted to test wasn't that.

Each brother had half of his body covered by a black mantle, but each one had the opposing half covered. For some reason, whenever they tried to attack the covered side, it was like trying to punch down a wall. It felt as if something indestructible was there instead of someone's body. Also, although unknown how, the brothers seemed to have some kind of connection that made them feel each other's pain and the like.

Yuki used all of that knowledge, little as it was, to her advantage. When she cut through one of their elbows, the other one also felt it. It also looked like their connection had been strengthened, maybe that had something to do with how they became stronger. Because of that, he missed his attack on Kurumi, who didn't miss her cue.

"This is the end!"

Kurumi used her magic to compress the air and send a powerful airshot straight to her opponent's forehead. She could have easily killed him there, but she controlled her power so it would only knock him unconscious. Of course, once one of them was out, the other brother also lost consciousness.

Having watched that fight, the man with gray skin could only applaud the Nonaka sisters. He looked like he was seriously amused.

"I have to give it to you two girls. You played it safe against an opponent you didn't know much about, but still used what you knew to your advantage. Not every warrior can do that, especially when they suddenly find themselves in battle like you two just did."

"How about you? You said fighting isn't your thing, so are you willing to talk?"

Kurumi tried to see if she could fish anything out of the man. Maybe she was being a bit overconfident from the man's perspective, but it was worth a shot. Though it didn't look like he was going to fall for it.

"I wouldn't mind talking, but I have to get these two back up quick or their father is going to have my head, though it's not like he's a model parent or anything. Also, just one piece of advice, you might have won against these boys, but even if I'm not adept to combat, the day I'll lose to a weak little girl will never come."

"!"

Suddenly, the man appeared right in front of Kurumi. Before she could properly process what had happened, the man grabbed her wrist and lifted her by the arm.

"You borrow spirits' power for your magic, don't you? This gauntlet seems interesting, so I'll be taking it. Thank you for helping with my research."

"Gaaah!"

The man started crushing Kurumi's wrist with his bare hand. He could have just taken the gauntlet and its gems, but he looked like he wanted to make her suffer a little. Although she knew she had to remain calm, Yuki couldn't just stay put.

"Kurumi!"

"You… don't seem to have anything to help with my research, so just wait there."

As soon as Yuki approached, the man kicked her towards a nearby tree, which snapped when Yuki's back slammed against it. Although lazy and clearly not trained, the kick was easily one of the strongest attacks Yuki had to take. She didn't feel any internal wounds, but Yuki lacked the strength to get up again.

Whoever this man was, he was strong beyond any human's level. By now, it would be more surprising to discover he is a human.

"Aaaahhh!"

Kurumi was screaming even louder, but there was nothing Yuki could do for her now. Yuki could only watch as the man put so much strength on his grip that it didn't look like he planned to stop until he tore Kurumi's arm off.

However, Yuki wasn't the only one who cared about Kurumi.

"Ha!"

"!"

Appearing out of nowhere, Basara swung Brynhildr towards the man, who defended with his arm. Although the blade did cut in, it barely made it pass the skin, so even Basara's strength wouldn't be enough here.

"Damn, I guess I let myself get too carried away. You know, in my line of work, one has to learn when to trust his guts, and my gut is telling me to not fight you right now. Since you seem to want the girl, I'll give her to you."

The man then threw Kurumi towards Basara, who managed to catch her safely. However, the man kept Kurumi's gauntlet, so she wouldn't be able to fight until she got some kind of replacement.

Basara managed to land with Kurumi in his arms. It looked like she had lost consciousness because of the pain. Basara's anger was visible, and the man was keeping his eye on him.

But, before the man could execute his next action, someone else appeared. It was Chisato, but she was a bit different. Maybe it would be more correct to call her Afureia right now.

"Heh, so this is, more likely than not, the reason why my gut was telling me not to fight the boy. How have you been Afureia?"

"Oh, so you're still alive, Ress? I expected you to be dead by now. Since you're here… now I see. Are these boys the result of your experiments?"

The man didn't seem willing to talk before, but now, it looked like he wanted to explain what Chisato had said.

"That's right. I'll explain so the kids understand as well. In short, there should be something like a soul, right? I had always wondered if there was something we could do with it, for example… yeah, if a soul is what makes a person themselves, then what would happen if you divide both the body and soul?"

The man called Ress lifted the mantle covering half of each of the boys' bodies, but there was nothing there. Not even the half that was supposed to be covered was there. The only thing visible were their red insides. It's a wonder how these two weren't bleeding to death.

Rather than brothers, the boys looked more like they were two halves of a single person. A single person who had been cleanly cut in half and mad to live like two persons.

"That's basically the idea behind these kids. If they have 'two bodies' they can do even more stuff and since the soul isn't a physical thing, it can be used as a good form of attack and defense. I did try to make even more of them, but these ones are by far the best. Maybe it's because of their heritage."

Although it was something inhumane, at the very least, Ress didn't seem bothered and rather was smiling as he spoke of what he had done. That disgusted both Basara and Chisato, but now wasn't the time to let that get to them.

Ress picked up the boys. He was about to leave when he turned back and said.

"Oh yeah, I'll tell you this for the sake of the old times, Afureia. What these boys gave me was a map. It tells how to get to Japan's hero village and also other important places in this country."

"Are you planning to attack them?"

"Not me, but maybe someone is. All I know is that our leader gave these orders to me and his sons, and there are also other people after other villages. Tell the heroes to keep their guard up. For a few days, or weeks, or maybe even months or years. Tell them to keep their guard so high they'll become paranoid and just maybe they'll see the attack coming if it ever does."

Ress then ran away with the brothers, laughing all the while. Basara would have liked to stop them, but Yuki and Kurumi were more important.

Chisato went back to normal and took a look at the Nonaka sisters' conditions. They were hurt, but with a little help from Chisato it wouldn't take more than a few dozen minutes before they were back on their feet.

"Did you know him? That man?"

Yuki somehow found the strength to ask Chisato that. Now that Basara stopped to think, it did seem like they knew each other.

"Yeah, a long time ago. He used to be something like a scientist amongst the gods, but it's hard to say he's a god now since he did a lot of experiment using demon blood on himself. Maybe you could say he's a mix of both now? That's why he's so strong even though he can only fight as well as a little kid."

"And what about, that form?"

"Ah, that's my real form. Though most of my power is gone now, I had to bet on the off-chance that he wouldn't notice and be intimidated by it. We were saved exactly because he doesn't know the first thing about fighting, otherwise he would have noticed that my power isn't what it once was."

"I see. Thanks for helping us, Chisato, Basara."

While Chisato nodded, Basara muttered "I wish I had gotten here sooner." He didn't like seeing how hurt Yuki and Kurumi were, even if they could be easily healed.

Mio and Celis, who were hiding nearby in case it got to a fight, came out of their hiding place and helped out. Mio helped Yuki walk while Celis carried Kurumi. They all headed to Chisato's apartment so they could rest and recover.

But on the way, Yuki called Basara over and whispered in his ear.

"Basara, can you do one thing for me?"

Basara listened to what Yuki had to say, and of course he agreed to it. Basara then informed Chisato and the others about what Yuki had asked him to do, obviously, they would give him their support.