Hey everyone and get ready for this chapter. This chapter will not only be the end of the Kokabiel fight but also the end of the Excalibur Arc. I know that might seem a bit fast-paced but I figured this was a good time. I actually have a lot planned out for this and there were a lot of things I wanted to put in this chapter that I've been thinking of for a while.
This chapter will also have a few extra things that I decided to place in because I feel they'll be a good addition to the story contact and will give help move things along at an enjoyable pace.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, Highschool DxD, Highschool DxD New, Highschool DxD Born, Highschool DxD EX and Highschool DxD Hero are all owned by Funimation, Fushimi Shobo, TNK, Passione, and Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.
"Shirou" Regular speech.
"Shirou" Thoughts.
DRAGON SHOT Attack names.
(Shirou) Words said previously.
"SHIROU!" Shouting speech.
[Ddraig] Dragon talking.
Final Clash — Darkness And Light
Things have now taken a turn for what some could call the worst. Shirou had taken the upper hand and was dominating Kokabiel. But before he could finish it, Kokabiel had revealed the shocking fact of Shirou and Mika's bloodline being that of Shirōu Amakusa Tokisada, a powerful being from the past and that Shirou was a vessel that carried his lingering dark soul, he followed that up by revealing the death of God.
Before anyone could fully comprehend the situation though, something happened to Shirou. After being swallowed by a storm of darkness, the lingering soul of Shirōu Amakusa revealed himself, having taken control of Shirou's body and now standing on the battlefield cloaked in shadows. Everyone behind him could only look in shock and horror at what had happened. While Kokabiel just seemed entertained. Asia was still unconscious and so she couldn't react.
"I never imagine it would take so many centuries from me to reawaken." Shirōu Amakusa spoke, looking at his hands to fully grasp his form and surroundings. "But still this is good, this current vessel is much stronger than I had expected."
"Hey, you!" A voice called out making him turn around.
It was Mika's voice.
"Where's my Brother?! What have you done with him?!" Mika shouted with a mixture of anger and fear.
Play OST - Xenosaga - Albedo Theme
Once he turned to look at her, Mika felt a chill go down her spine. Her brother was her rock, the thing that always got her through any kind of struggle and made her feel safe, even on a battlefield. But now he was replaced by something that had his face but was a different person and that terrified her. Especially his eyes, Shirou's eyes were warm and caring whenever she saw them, but the eyes she saw now were as cold as ice and filled with darkness.
"Ah, you are Mika." Shirōu Amakusa addressed her, with his same emotionless tone.
It was as if he didn't respond to Mika outburst, or didn't care about her concern for Shirou.
Mika instinctively took a step back when he spoke. "How do you know my name?"
"Even though I've been dormant, I was still able to process information from my vessel to an extent." Shirōu Amakusa answered, surprising the others. "You are the younger sister of my current vessel and the second child of my previous one." He then looked at the Gremory group. "And you all are the members of the Peerage he belongs to. I never imagined one of my vessels would become a Devil. But I suppose it is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things."
Everyone didn't know how to respond to all this. It just felt like it hadn't fulling sunken in yet. And yet they were somewhat afraid, afraid about what was going to happen now and of what could the intentions of this enigmatic being in front of them could have. It also felt somewhat strange that they were afraid of someone who was technically Shirou, but it couldn't be helped.
Now Rias stepped forward. "Even so you didn't answer her question." She spoke out, not letting herself be intimidated. "What have you done to Shirou!?"
"I've done nothing to him. Right now my current vessel's consciousness is locked deep in the deepest concern of his mind, just as I was." Shirōu Amakusa explained. "You can think of it as us being like the sun and moon, when on vanishes the other appears, and as such we have switched positions. When his mind had wavered, I seized control of this body."
"No, that can't be." Rias denied, refusing to believe it. "There's no way our Shirou would let someone else take control of him, his will and his mind are far to strong for that!"
"She's right." Ren agreed. "Shirou's mental fortitude is strong enough to endure what most people couldn't dream of, it's almost unbreakable." He said with certainty. "There's no way his mind could've been so vulnerable that he'd let you take over."
"What you're both saying is correct in this case, his strength of will is praise-worthy." Shirōu Amakusa admitted, before he shook his head. "But I had other ways of freeing myself. The truth is, the thing that stopped me from taking control of this vessel in the past was because I was sealed, which made taking control almost impossible. But over time I was able to gradually weakened that seal."
"Weaken the seal?" Rias asked, her eyes widened. "But how?"
"By lending him my power." Shirōu Amakusa answered, shocking everyone. "I doubt any of you noticed but during many of his most fierce battles, as they were reaching there conclusion he unconsciously called out for greater power than he currently had and thus I gave him mine. Whenever he called upon my power, the seal would weaken and the stronger he became the more of my power he received."
What Shirōu Amakusa was saying was indeed true. From when Shirou first fought Raynare, the three Fallen-Angels after Asia was captured, and his final battle with Raiser. All those times before the final blow, Shirou would feel himself grow temporarily strong. And his eyes and aura changed to match that of Shirōu Amakusa's. Even though Shirou was the only one aware of these facts he never knew why.
Because none of the others knew about any of this, they were all shocked. Wondering if this could be true and if so, how many times has this happened. Though it made them realize a fact that only now sunk in and. In his most difficult fights, Shirou fought with all his power, and yet, they were never around. That stung.
"After lending him enough of my power the seal had weakened to such a degree that all it took was one final push for me to revive." Shirōu Amakusa continued, not caring to notice their expressions. "The revelations he learned today shook his heart enough for me to completely destroy the seal, and not missing my chance, I claimed this vessel. And now this body is mine."
"Wait, then what'll happen to Shirou-kun?" Kiba asked, with worry.
"This body is now mine, his consciousness is being consumed by my darkness as we speak." Shirōu Amakusa explained. "In due time, he will be completely swallowed by darkness and when that happens, his consciousness will completely cease to exist, never to return."
If anyone wasn't shocked before, they were after hearing that.
"No… You're saying that Shirou will…" Rias didn't dare say it.
"Will die…?" Akeno finished the sentence with reluctance.
Music Off
"I suppose you can think of it as death." Shirōu Amakusa answered. "Either way, he'll vanish without a trance."
"You can't!" Rias shouted defiantly. But she stopped when she saw Mika step forward.
"…Release him, please you have to!" Mika pleaded with a gaze filled with desperation. "If you don't… Then without him I… I…" She started to tremble like a leaf in the wind.
The others looked at her with sympathy, it was hard to see her like this, it was almost pitiful, but not surprising. after all, they knew her entire mental state revolved entirely around her older brother, and now without him around to focus her, she unraveled like a thread on a spindle. At this point, they were partly glad that Asia was still unconscious considering she would probably have the same reaction and they didn't want to see her bear this pain as well.
Shirōu Amakusa looked at them briefly before answering.
"I refuse." He immediately decided, without hesitating. "Regardless of how much he means to all of you, I have waited hundreds of years to resurrect. And it would be foolish to reseal myself simply for the whims of others. I'm not waiting any longer."
What he was saying did make sense from his perspective. This was something he's been waiting 400 years for and the others are no different than strangers to him, so he has no obligation to do what they say. However, at the same time, it was like he couldn't care less about how it effects them or seeing it from their perspective. At that moment, Mika stopped quivering and stepped forward.
As always what comes after grief is rage, it was as if all her desperation changed from a desperate child filled with fear to a cornered animal in the wild that would attack even if it got killed in the process. Her magic-power flared.
"Then, if you won't give him back." Mika's tone was cold and unforgiving. "I'll force you out of him!"
"Mika don't!" Rias said, concerned she wasn't thinking straight.
Which of course she wasn't. Though before she or anyone else did anything, Ren stepped in front of her and held her back.
"Outta my way Ren!" Mika demanded. "I have to do this."
Ren seemed to remain calm. "Do what exactly?" He questioned. "Even if you fought him, you have no idea if that'll bring back Shirou and even if it did, could you bring yourself to attack at full strength knowing you could risk destroying Shirou's body?"
Mika stopped and processed his words, then she looked down and shook with frustration. She knew that he was right, the fact remained that it was still Shirou's body and the thought of attacking it without any guarantee was unthinkable to her. But she didn't know what else to do.
Ren then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I know how you feel and personally I want to do something too." He said gently. "But we can't lose our heads, on top of that we still have to deal with Kokabiel and save the town. We'll think of a plan when we have more time and a clear idea, that's what Shirou would want."
The things Ren was saying were the honest truth. He's known Shirou long enough to know he would prioritize defeating the enemy over his well-being and how he would deal with this situation without caving under the pressure. Mika understood that and calmed down a bit after taking a step back, she was still extremely worried but she also knew she couldn't afford to fall apart now.
Rias who saw their exchange was surprised at how Ren was able to reach Mika in a way she always thought that only Shirou was capable of, and now realized that after Shirou, the one she trusted the most was most-likely Ren.
"I think you all have the wrong idea about me." Shirōu Amakusa spoke out, getting their attention. "While it is true I don't intend on returning this vessel, I am not your enemy. Nor do I have any intention of fighting you."
"You don't?" Akeno asked, now confused. "Then what are your intentions?"
"To settle some unfinished business at a later time, as for right now though." Shirōu Amakusa turned away from them and looked towards Kokabiel and pointed at him. "You Kokabiel, I plan on you being the first one I destroy."
After saying that, Shirōu Amakusa began marching towards the Fallen-Angel leader who had done nothing but watch this exchange in silence and interest. Now he seemed excited at the idea of fighting. While the rest of the Gremory group watched him go, wondering what they should do in this situation, or if there was anything they could do.
"Well, that took a while. I was getting bored of waiting." Kokabiel had a mocking tone in his voice. "Now things have gotten more interesting than I had hoped."
"Enjoy that carefree nature while you can." Shirōu Amakusa warned him, not feeling any worry. "Because when this is over, you'll sink into an endless abyss of despair."
Kiba went up to Rias. "Chief, what do you suggest we do now?" He asked quietly.
"For now let's watch." Rias said, not taking her eyes of the two. "If we're lucky and he does defeat Kokabiel, we'll have a chance to save Shirou."
Kiba could tell by her tone an expression that Rias was feeling desperate herself. But he couldn't blame her considering he was no different. Kiba couldn't stop gripping his Sword and looked at the two about to fight. He had finally overcome his past and could move on, Shirou was the reason for that, he couldn't bear the thought of him vanishing, after all, that's happened.
"Shirou-kun… You can't die." Kiba thought. "Not before I even had the chance to thank you."
Back to the two about to fight, Kokabiel power-up his Holy-aura and was surrounded by a dark-yellow light that coated his body, it sent a chill down the spines of every nearby Devil. While Shirōu Amakusa's was completely different, his aura flared up and let out a pure black aura that surrounded his body like an outer-line. Yet seeing it made Kokabiel grin.
"There it is, the famous Power of Darkness that only you possess, it's why your foes called you, the Shadow that casts over Japan." Kokabiel addressed, referring to his aura. "This truly is a rare opportunity, instead of just fighting a descendant, I can fight you personally."
Shirōu Amakusa seemed amused by those words. "Hmph, you had best be careful about what you consider to be an opportunity."
Play Soundtrack - Pantera - 10s
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!
Upon saying those words, he let out a strong roar facing upwards as if he was directing it towards the heavens. This made his aura swirl and wave around his body wildly. Then the Power of Darkness radiated around him and grew bigger and bigger until it exploded and starting rising upwards like a pillar of darkness concentrated around him. Everyone could feel it, it didn't feel like Demonic-power, but rather pure hostility and hatred, the emotion was so strong it could be felt. And it gave them chills. His power even without the Boosted Gear, slowly but surely surpassed the level of a Satan.
Then in that instant. Before Kokabiel could take a step forward, Shirōu Amakusa vanished and then reappeared right in front of him with speeds that surpassed Shirou's top speed. Shirōu Amakusa quickly delivered a strong punch on Kokabiel's face, which gave him a bloody nose. While he was stun, reeling from the pain, Shirōu Amakusa hit him with a double ax-punch on his stomach, making Kokabiel cough out blood.
Kokabiel grit his teeth and summoned a Sword of Light, which he used to slash downwards at Shirōu Amakusa. But he quickly ducked past it and jumped back to gain distance.
Kokabiel noticed his action and smirked. "I see, since you've taken over a Devil's body you share the same weakness." He deduced. "So Light is poisonous to you."
"What does that matter?" Shirōu Amakusa asked, unconcerned. "It wouldn't make a difference if you can't hit me, just like you couldn't hit my vessel when he fought you."
Kokabiel frowned, he wanted to dismiss that statement but he couldn't exactly say it wasn't true, so he said nothing. While Shirōu Amakusa looked over his arms and the rest of his body after landing those attacks.
"This new body is pretty good." He admired, closing his fists. "Yes, strong and well-built. It's almost the same as my original body, I should get used to this before long. I'm almost able to draw out my full power already."
Now he drew Dyrnwyn from its sheath. Though the blade didn't glow nor did it ignite with flames. Even though he took over Shirou's body, he couldn't use the Boosted Gear and so Dyrnwyn didn't acknowledge him as its wielder, thus he couldn't use its power. But Shirōu Amakusa had another option. He spread his aura over the Sword and had it coat the blade with darkness.
Everyone watching was shocked. The pure white blade and dark red hilt and pommel of Dyrnwyn were now as black as a starless night sky. Dyrnwyn was always a Holy-Sword and even Devils could understand what an amazing Sword it was, its very being was Holy, radiant, and sacred. But now it felt completely different, the Sword didn't feel anything like a Holy-Sword anymore. It was dark and distorted. It was now an instrument of death.
Shirōu Amakusa looked over the Sword as though he was inspecting it. "It's not as good as my old Sword, but it'll do."
Shirōu Amakusa then gripped the hilt and swung the Sword at Kokabiel which created a dark flying Sword-slash that was heading towards the Fallen-Angel at high speed. Kokabiel spread his wings and flew upwards to dodge it. But Shirōu Amakusa anticipated that action and pointed his free hand up at Kokabiel. Suddenly sparks of Lightning as black as his aura gathered in the palm of his hand.
DIES IRAE!
RUUUUUUUMBLEEEEEE!
A large bolt of black Lightning was fired from his arm at struck Kokabiel. It almost looked like an altered version of Shirou's Dragon Thunder Stream, but this lightning was bigger than the ones Shirou normally uses. And it was much stronger. Like with Akeno's, Kokabiel tried to wrap his wings around himself to defend, but this time that offered no defense and he was hit by the full force of the attack. All the cells in his body felt a strong electronic shock that was hitting him with more pain than anything else he's been hit with today.
"GGGUUUAAAHHHH!" Kokabiel cried out in pain while being zapped.
Akeno's eyes widened just by looking at it. "…Black… Lightning?"
Soon the attack ceased and Kokabiel's body had a few burns and smoking rising from him. The damage looked less painful than it was. Kokabiel was panting trying to fight to withstand the pain he was in, fortunately being a veteran of the Great-War made him more used to damage than most and he was able to fight through it. That wasn't to say he wasn't angry about it.
"Surprised? Even though I can't use my vessel's Longinus. I still have access to all his magic and abilities." Shirōu Amakusa explained, pleased. "I should have complete control after a bit of practice."
"Is that what you think all this is?!" Kokabiel yelled insulted. "Fighting me is just an excuse to practice using your powers?!"
"You should feel honored." Shirōu Amakusa said with a smirk. "Most people die after the first strike, yet I consider you strong enough to be useful for a warm-up, a privilege not many have."
His words were just as proud and arrogant as Shirou's, he even had his own smirk. And like so many in the past who had seen that smirk, Kokabiel was angered to the boiling point. He summoned a large Spear of Light and charged at him like a mad boar.
"NOW YOU DIE!" Kokabiel bellowed.
"Don't flatter yourself." Shirōu Amakusa raised his blade.
KATCHIN!
Their two weapons clashed. Darkness and Light overlapped struggling to overpower each other along with the ones holding them. But while Kokabiel was struggling to push back Shirōu Amakusa, he didn't seem to have any trouble blocking Kokabiel's attempted strike. It was almost as if his lack of struggle was another way of mocking his opponent.
He then pushed his Sword forward and knocked Kokabiel away, followed by spreading his Devil wings and taking to the sky. Kokabiel followed after him and they started to fight in the air. Kokabiel thrust his Spear at a high-speed flurry, while Shirōu Amakusa swiftly dodges each strike. It ended while he swung fourth Dyrnwyn and knocked the Spear back. He aimed to slice Kokabiel on the shoulder, but Kokabiel used his Spear to parry his Sword. Kokabiel then changed his Spear into a Sword and summoned a second one in his other. The two then began a violent exchange has clashes.
KATCHIN! SWISH! CLASH! CLANG! SWISS! BAKIN! BREAK!
It ended when both of Kokabiel's Swords were destroyed after clashing with Dyrnwyn. Because his blade carried more power than Kokabiel's summoned weapons, they were able to break them after repeated strikes. Taking advantage of the opening, Shirōu Amakusa used his speed to get behind Kokabiel and ax-kicked him in the should, which sent him crashing to the ground.
After hitting the ground, Kokabiel stood back up after a grunt and once Shirōu Amakusa touched the ground himself, he put Dyrnwyn back in its sheath.
Kokabiel frowned at that. "Why have you sheathed your Sword?"
"Oh, I don't need it anymore." Shirōu Amakusa answered casually.
That comment only made Kokabiel angrier. He held out both hands and shot out multiple orbs of Holy-energy at him, which he dodged while running. Shirōu Amakusa then got in close and swipe kicked Kokabiel's legs, Kokabiel flew to avoid falling and tried slicing him with another Spear of Light. Shirōu Amakusa ducked under the Spear and punched Kokabiel with a hard blow on his liver.
He followed by uppercutting Kokabiel's chin, chained that to a round-house kick on Kokabiel's ribs and finished his combo by grabbing Kokabiel's wrist and as he used his own arms as a fulcrum, using all his strength he flipped Kokabiel backwards, high in the air before slamming him into the ground head-first.
Right now everyone watching was amazed. Kokabiel was an incredibly powerful enemy that they couldn't do anything against. Yet, now he was being completely trashed like an amateur by Shirōu Amakusa. Even Shirou couldn't overwhelm him like this, the fact is that Kokabiel has been knocked many times over the course of the fight while not having landed a single blow himself. It was almost pathetic.
WHOOSH!
Kokabiel shot up into the air and stopped once he was a few stories in the sky, he then held his hands over his head.
"ENOUGH!" He roared, Kokabiel's eyes were the eyes of someone who has snapped. He was blind with rage now. "I'm ending this farce now! SHIRŌU AMAKUSA!"
In his hands, Kokabiel gathered his Holy-energy and summoned a large Spear of Light. Adding more power into it, the Spear grows twice as big. It grew bigger and bigger, and bigger, and bigger. When he was finally done, it completely dwarfed the size of its holder and was as big as a skyscraper, it was bigger enough to consume the whole campus and had enough power to wipe out the town.
Everyone looking at it was filled with both panic and despair.
"Holy shit…" Ren muttered in shock.
Rias fell to her knees and was trembling. "It's no use, we can't stop that."
"DODGE ALL YOU WANT, YOU CAN'T SURVIVE IF I DESTROY THIS WHOLE TOWN!" Kokabiel bellowed with madness. "THIS HOLY ATTACK WILL WIPE OUT EVERY TRACE OF YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE. YOU'RE FINISHED!"
"He's insane." Mika noted whilst gritting her teeth.
On those words, Kokabiel hurled the enormous Spear towards the ground and it came down like an atom bomb made to destroying everything. Shirōu Amakusa, however, didn't seem worried, he just stood there and smirked like he was waiting for this. He flared up his Power of Darkness and held up his hand like he was planning to catch the Spear as he whispered. "Fool."
Music Off
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!
There was no explosion like everyone was expecting. Rather every single person on the battlefield just stared wide-eyed at what had just happened. None were more dumbfounded than Kokabiel himself, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, or rather he couldn't believe it was a possibility.
Shirōu Amakusa, having not moved from where he stood still had his hand outstretched, only now it was shrouded in darkness. When the enormous Spear of Light had reached him, it was somehow dispelled and vanished into nothingness, almost like it was instantly deconstructed.
"…But how?" Kokabiel utter now shaken, still unable to understand. "I don't understand… What just happened?"
Shirōu Amakusa couldn't hold it in anymore and started to laugh. "Hahahaha, you don't understand? Of course, you don't, I made sure of that."
"What…? Grr, what are you talking about?!" Kokabiel demanded to know.
"Isn't it obvious, you knew of the Power of Darkness, however, you've never actually seen it personally. Because of that, you had no idea, that it has the power to completely nullify Light magic entirely." Shirōu Amakusa revealed shocking everyone.
"T-That's a lie!" Kokabiel denied desperately. "You were desperately trying to dodge my attacks this whole time!"
"A bluff, one which you completely fell for." Shirōu Amakusa confessed mockingly. "You jumped to the wrong conclusion and I let you believe it, I was waiting for you to use your best shot so I could nullify. Darkness swallows everything, nothing can escape from its pull, not even Light. Everyone knows that."
The others were shocked by what they were hearing.
"He can nullify Light?" Rias asked, not believing such a thing was possible.
"That power can spell doom for any Angel, even a Fallen one." Kiba noted taken-aback.
"Then, this whole time he could have ended this fight whenever he chose." Akeno realized.
"It's more than just that." Xenovia said, still on one knee while using her Sword as a clutch. She started to shake while gritting her teeth. "It means this was never a fight, all this time, Kokabiel was just dancing in the palm of his hand."
Kokabiel had come to the same conclusion but was trembling with frustration, still refusing to accept this. "This can't be… How could I have fallen for such I simple ploy?!"
"That's clearly because you're simple-minded." Shirōu Amakusa answered like he was stating a fact. "While it is true you have a massive amount of power, you rarely think, especially when you fight. If you had mastered a specific fighting style, any kind of weapon, or even learned the basics of strategy, you might have had a chance. But in reality, all your power made you arrogant and you became a travesty of a warrior whose only ability is to summon a mass amount of power and fire it at his enemy. Kokabiel, you are the embodiment of wasted potential."
Kokabiel clenched his fists and aimed his palm at Shirōu Amakusa. "SHUT UP!"
Kokabiel quickly descended and stood on the ground, after which he fired three Orbs of Light at Shirōu Amakusa in rage, but he just lifted up his hand again and all of them instantly vanished into nothing after touching him. Kokabiel just gawked at that. Shirōu Amakusa wasn't done as he placed his hand on the hilt of his Sword.
SLASH!
Play OST - Kuroko No Basket - Chikara no sa (Extended)
Before Kokabiel or anyone could react at the scene, Shirōu Amakusa instantly disappeared from the spot where he stood. Kokabiel widened his eyes as he tried to find where he would attack from when suddenly an excruciating pain rang in his left arm. He glanced over to see his left arm falling to the ground as it was completely separated from his body. Sweat dripped from his face as he shifted his attention behind him to see a calm Shirōu Amakusa with blood dripping from his blade.
"Gugh!" Kokabiel cried out in pain. "What happened? I couldn't even sense him."
"That was beyond any speed I've ever seen." Kiba thought amazed. "His speed suddenly went up again and he traveled so fast even my eyes couldn't keep up with him. But one thing's for sure, if I couldn't see it then I'm pretty sure the others, including Kokabiel, have no idea what just happened."
"Do you understand now?" Shirōu Amakusa in a sinister way. "I've just been toying with you this whole time because you're no match for me. If I ever felt like killing you, I could have a long time ago."
Kokabiel sneered but soon had an evil grin on his face. "I could say the same to you!" He then slammed his hand onto the ground.
DOOOOOOOOON!
Suddenly the ground was hit with a large magnitude and things started to shake. The magic-circle that was created from the merged Excaliburs lit-up and began to glow the same Holy-Light it had when it was first created. This caused the ground to shake because Kokabiel was using his own power to forcibly activate the circle and have it explode, taking out the whole town.
"What's going on?" Ren asked, not understanding. "It hasn't been 30 minutes yet."
"Hahahahaha!" Kokabiel laughed madly. "You fools! For the very start, I could have just detonated the circle and destroy this town along with the rest of you! I only waited to enjoy some entertainment before going through with my plan!" He then directed his mad gaze at Shirōu Amakusa. "This is the power that I possess! You can't run or hide from an explosion of this magnitude! This is where you die! I HAVE WON!"
Shirōu Amakusa, however, didn't seem the least bit worried and gathered more Darkness in his hand. "It seems you still don't understand."
Like Kokabiel, he slammed his hand into the ground. Only for him, his Darkness hit the ground and spread out, it rushed out like water and started to cover the entire battlefield, including the magic-circle. Even the ground stopped shaking. Now creeping across the ground was a Darkness that looked like a monstrous shadow, that was pitch-black, similar to a bottomless hole.
BREAK!
Then after a few seconds, by his will the Darkness shattered away like glass and left nothing behind, the ground was untouched. And to Kokabiel's shock and disbelief, his Holy magic-circle that was supposed to destroy the town was gone, like it never existed in the first place.
"I told you, Darkness swallows everything, even Light." Shirōu Amakusa repeated, lifting his hand. "Since the magic-circle you used was made from the aura of a Holy-Sword, there was nothing stopping me from nullifying it. The fact that you lost yourself to madness and didn't realize that, you've fallen so low I almost can't bear to watch." His tone was filled with disappointment.
Kokabiel began to tremble, not with anger this time but rather shock. It was as if everything he built himself upon was falling apart. He, a superior Fallen-Angel that survived the Great War and was recorded in the bible was reduced to this state, that magic-circle was his last resort and it was proven to be useless. The only thing that reflected in his eyes now was confusion.
"How…?" He asked, not knowing what else to say. "I'm someone who has survived fighting God and the Maou…"
"No, you haven't."
Shirōu Amakusa argued, getting his attention.
"Though you claim to have fought God and the Maou,. In truth, the fact is you've never faced them once in battle." Shirōu Amakusa said darkly, almost with a sneer. "Because you faced Heaven's Strongest forces and fought on the front-lines against the Underworld, you can say you've faced God and the Maou, but in truth, that's just a technicality. Any foot soldier can make the same claim if they survived the same things. Do you honestly believe you would have survived a single blow from them? don't be so vain."
"You're wrong!" Kokabiel denied in raged. "Do you have any idea on who I am!? I am a Fallen-Angel of the highest echelon, the mightiest race in the world!" He shouted, still believing this to be fact. "And it is by my hand that a new Great War shall start!"
Shirōu Amakusa reached out his hand and shot some magic at him, knocking Kokabiel to the ground.
"You clearly don't know who you are, especially if you think that you alone are worth another War." Shirōu Amakusa stated, disagreeing with him. "Why do you think Michael and Sirzechs only sent their subordinates to fight instead of facing you themselves? It's because their power would be wasted on a mindless beast like you. Even if you won today, the Three Great Powers would only send their forces at you instead of each other, and do you know why? Because that is the best way to clean up a small skirmish like this. So rather than War, it'll be a simple extermination of an annoyance in the world."
The words Shirōu Amakusa spoke were cold, but they did make sense. From a logical standpoint, if the Trinity Factions had lost so much from the past war that they couldn't afford a second one, then the solution could be to destroy the instigator of this incident and place all the blame on him.
Though Kokabiel believed that he could ignite a new war, would anyone really take a declaration of war from a single enemy seriously. Even if it was a Cadre Fallen-Angel.
"Now let me ask you; Do you have any idea who I am? I am the one who holds the power that can bring this whole world to its knees, the Shadow that Casts over Japan. A pitiful little Angel who fell from grace was never a threat to me." He flared up the Darkness around his body to prepare a final attack. "I'm done with you, now to finish this."
Music Off
Somewhere, deep in the furthest corners of his mind, Shirou stood surrounded by nothingness. It was like an endless void of eternal darkness. The darkness was on all sides but there wasn't anything that could be seen, or heard… Nothing but darkness everywhere.
It stretched out into the distance, but there honestly nothing there. This void was almost suffocating, there was no warmth, no air, no sound… Just emptiness. And more than that, the darkness felt strange. As if, as crazy as it sounds, the darkness was alive, watching him. It was a disturbing thought.
Shirou himself stood with an expressionless look on his face. Like all the emotions he had were taken from him and he was now a lifeless shell. No light reflected from his eyes, one could almost mistake him for a life-sized doll.
"…Where am I…?"
Shirou's tone was quiet, detached, and empty on. His voice echoed in this silent void.
Soon some of the darkness started to converge and shape into a living form. After a few seconds, the darkness had formed into a humanoid silhouette, it was a reflection of Shirou only completely pitch-black, like a living shadow. Expect it still had a face and his eyes were shining golden.
This was the dark soul of Shirōu Amakusa Tokisada.
"You are in the deepest corners of your mind." He answered his question. "Just as I was sealed here until now, you are bound here until your soul vanishes."
"…Vanishes?"
Shirou's tone didn't change, he sounded curious but not worried.
"That's right, you are my vessel. You only existed until I could commandeer your body for myself. Now that I have, your role is complete. And as such you must disappear."
Play OST - Persona 5 - Regret
Upon finishing his explanation the darkness beneath Shirou's feet started to change. Instead of a flat void, it now resembled an ocean's surface. The darkness then started to raise up from the soles of his feet as if it was swallowing him and it was still rising. At the rate it was going it would consume his entire body before long.
"Once the darkness completely swallows your body, your soul will cease to exist and this body will truly be mine."
"But… why do you want my body? …And who are you?"
He smiled after hearing those questions.
"I am a being who holds the greatest power in this world, all I need is a vessel to use to hold my soul. And as for why I want yours, that's because it rightfully belongs to me."
"It belongs… To you?"
The darkness reached Shirou's knees.
"You are my descendant and as such my blood flows through your veins, granting you power others can only dream of. Thanks to my power, you have experienced victory after victory. But the truth is those victories weren't yours, without me you never would have made it this far. Even in your most important battles, I gifted you with my Darkness. After all that, you can't deny that I am the rightful holder of this vessel."
His words were spoken with confidence and certainty like he was simply stating the facts and yet they carried charisma and just flowed at out of him as if you couldn't not believe him.
The darkness reached Shirou's torso.
"I… Made it this far… Because of you…?" He muttered looking down, like he trying to remember something forgotten. "You are… The rightful holder…?"
"Yes, that's right. Just still like that and don't resist, keep listening to the voice of reason inside of you. You're almost there."
Through his encouragement, the darkness reached Shirou's shoulders.
"Why do I feel like… Something is missing?" Shirou thought to himself.
SHINE!
Music Off
Suddenly, a glowing green light started to shine over Shirou's right hand. A light so bright it glowed even through the darkness enveloping it. Shirou looked down to see this light and when he did his eyes widened. His emotionless expression was gone and felt like everything was flooding back into him. Like he found what was missing.
(Shirou's smirk grew. "I am what you dread. But people call me the Red Dragon Emperor.")
(Shirou chuckled a bit. "It's true, I am a Devil, but." Shirou then held his fist in the air. "I'm also the one who looks down on all other races." Shirou declared with pride.)
(Your mistake was assuming you could read my moves, or even assuming that I would do what you thought I would." Shirou proclaimed proudly. "The thing about me is, I always act beyond everyone's expectations!" He roared.)
(Yeah, it's the same for me." Shirou tightened his grip. "No matter what, I'll bear any pain, for your sake.)
He could feel his desires that were etched into his mind, his struggles that were scarred into his body, his hope that drove him to charge forward, his strength that brought down every foe in his way, his spirit that endured every hardship and always grew stronger, his burning determination that was as strong and a raging inferno and harder than steel. Shirou's eyes were back to normal.
"Give in and surrender yourself to me."
He continued, but suddenly just as the darkness had reached Shirou's neck, it stopped and didn't climb any further.
Play OST - Persona 5 - Our Beginning
"LIKE HELL I WILL!" Shirou roared with all his strength.
DISHIN!
A shattering sound echoed over the void as the darkness surrounding Shirou's body cracked like glass and shattered into pieces, thus setting him free. Shirōu Amakusa was dumbfounded at what he was seeing.
"What? This is impossible, no one should be able to regain their sense of self here in the void. That goes beyond just having a strong will power."
"Didn't you know? I thought you were watching." Shirou said approaching him. "I always act beyond the expectations of others and do you why? Because I'm Shirou-Sama!"
Shirōu Amakusa sneered. "No, you are my vessel. You only exist so I can live again, nothing more."
Shirou smirked. "You don't seem to realize what it means to be Shirou-Sama. It means you are the one who will never fall, the Strongest fighter this world has ever seen, the one who has fought countless battles and earned countless victories. To that end, I have lived for fighting, I've fought more people in a week than most people have in their whole lives. And no matter who stands in my way, I will always be victorious." Shirou clenched his fist with conviction. "That is who I am, and its stronger than you!"
Shirōu Amakusa could feel the conviction emanating from Shirou and he knew this wasn't good for him. The more Shirou's conviction and resolve grow the more impossible it would be for him to take over his body. He needs to do something.
"But you forget that what you say is only true because of me." Shirōu Amakusa reminded him. "You have always needed my power, against those Fallen-Angels, when facing the Phenex and even now."
"Don't flatter yourself." Shirou argued, not backing down. "The way I remember, all those times, I fought them by myself and you only stepped in when I was about t finish it. So I could have won on my own but you just jumped in to try and take the win for yourself, even now I could've beaten Kokabiel without you." His words were filled with confidence and looking back, he wasn't wrong. "Besides, it's not like you made me train like hell every day or gave me the Boosted Gear, so even if I'm strong because I'm your descendant, I could've been strong even without you. In fact, I already am."
After hearing him saying his piece Shirōu Amakusa just stood silent. He knew he couldn't possibly break Shirou's spirit now and so be couldn't completely overtake his body. Surprisingly enough though, instead of being angry or upset he just had a small smile.
"You believe you can overturn your current situation without my power?"
"Weren't you listening? Of course, I can."
"Very well then." Shirōu Amakusa's form started to fluctuate and he began to fade away into the darkness. "It seems I underestimated you, I will return to the darkness for now. But know this, now that the seal has been broken it can never be restored. The day your resolve ever breaks is the day I will resurface."
Once he finished with that final warning his form vanished back into the void, all trace of him was no more. And now, Shirou started to rise upwards and a light appeared above him as if a way out had appeared.
Shirou smiled. "That day will never come."
Music Off
Back on the battlefield, things were still the same. Shirōu Amakusa stood facing a downed Kokabiel. The others were watching not knowing what else they could do and Kokabiel was out of options and could only wait for death to claim him.
Shirōu Amakusa flared up the Darkness around his body to prepare a final attack. "I'm done with you, now to finish this."
CRACK!
However, just before he could create his attack a crack appeared on his skin and his body froze. The crack slowly spread to the rest of his body and the black aura was leaking out of him. The black aura began to cover him until it formed a cocoon and for a few seconds it didn't move, finally, it broke apart and burst open, causing the darkness to fade away into nothing.
Everyone looked on with surprise not understanding what was happening. Standing in the same spot he was in before the cocoon formed was Shirou's body, however, everyone watching noticed that the Power of Darkness no longer coated his body and more than that, when he opened his eyes, they were the color blue instead of gold.
That only meant one thing.
He clenched his fists and cracked a smirk.
"I'm back bitches."
Shirou was back.
The Gremory Peerage were all at a loss for words. This was all too sudden, no explanation, no signs. Shirou was gone and now he was back. What could they say to all this. Though one person had something to say.
"B-Big Bro?" Mika asked, almost afraid. "Is that you?"
Shirou turned around to face her, showing that his eyes were back to normal.
"Hell yeah, it's me." He said smiling. "You know anyone this dominate?"
His words were normal for Shirou as well but, it wasn't his words that Mika paid attention to. The darkness and coldness of his eyes were gone and now his eyes were back to how she remembered them, it was the same for his smile and voice. It was like the warmth of the sun shining its comforting rays over her and clearing out any fear or dismay, that was the warmth she always felt radiating from the current Shirou.
That one look was all she needed to now. The one standing in front of her was her brother. Mika felt so much relief tears almost fell from her eyes. "…Big Bro?" She thought with a smile.
Now Rias stepped forward. "But how? I thought you were overtaken by the dark soul of your ancestor. Shirou, how did you break free?"
Rias' spoke for all of them. Her servants, Ren, Xenovia, and herself. The fact that the Shirou they knew was back was a great relief to all of them, but they at the very least would like to know how and why. Though Shirou just shrugged.
"I know you want answers and I do admit it's fair I explain all this." Shirou turned his head. "But right now isn't the best time, I'll explain after I finally clean up this mess. Don't worry though, this won't take long."
"Fuhaha, fuhahahahahahahahahaha!" Kokabiel just laughed, having regained his confidence after this new turn of events. "You're right, this won't take long! I don't know how you returned, but you being here has sealed your own fate and this entire town's fate!"
"Is that right?" Shirou casually asked, not worried.
"It is, Shirōu Amakusa was your absolute last ray of hope! Without him you weaklings no longer have a chance against me!" Kokabiel said with complete confidence. "And don't think I'll let you Boost your power again. This time, I'll finish you before you can even attempt it."
Kokabiel summoned a Spear of Light with his one remaining arm. But Shirou still didn't look worried and summoned his Boosted Gear.
"Not a bad idea, but a little too late." Shirou raised his arm up. "I have a new trick up my sleeve, and I'm sure you'll love it."
FLAAAAASSSSHHHHHH!
The jewel on the Boosted Gear started to glow brightly and Shirou shouted out two words that would change everything.
"Balance Break!"
[Welsh Dragon — Balance Breaker!]
At that new announcement, Shirou's eyes started glowing in the same color as the jewel and a large amount of power started a large red-fiery pillar towered towards the sky. The power released from his body started creating shockwaves, which slightly pushed away Kokabiel and the others. Within the fiery pillar of power, a deep Crimson aura cloaked Shirou's body and something started to happen to him.
Suddenly, the Silver-haired Devil was having pieces of red scale-like armor attaching itself to his body. First was the breastplate, along with shoulder guards, and a second gauntlet the left arm, then his legs and feet were armored up as well. A long tail was also added, before finally the helmet and mask.
The pillar of aura soon dispersed and Shirou stood there, revealed to be donned in a new armored form. The armor was red, had a sharp shape, and was bulky enough that Shirou was a big as Sairaorg. The plating of the armor gave it the motif of a Dragon. The gauntlet remained on his right arm, but his left arm also had one equipped His armored boots had three sharp toes. The jewels on the Boosted Gear were now present on his arms, shoulders, knees, and the middle of his torso. The helmet was only as big as his head and had two golden horns points forward. The mask was sharp-like, with green eyes as visors. And finally on his back were things that resembled rocket booster propulsion and two red wings that resembled Dragon wings. Attached to his back, placed diagonally between his wings and jets was Dyrnwyn.
"Balance Breaker?" Rias asked out loud in shock, as the others around her were just as surprised. Kokabiel grit his teeth with frustration. "Where did that come from?"
[Congratulations Partner, you were able to find an appropriate catalyst in facing your inner darkness. And with that you had everything you needed to Balance Break.]
Ddraig informed Shirou telepathically.
"So I guess getting taken over for a bit had an upside after all." Shirou joked inwardly.
[It would seem so. Now you can use your Balance Breaker whenever you see fit.]
"Tell me Ddraig, what can this new armor do? I already feel stronger than when I powered up to my maximum before, but what else is there?"
[For starters you no longer have to wait ten seconds to Boost your power, now while wearing this you can Boost continuously. Not just that, all of your base stats have been increased to that of an Ultimate-Class Devil's level of abilities. Be advised though, this form has a time limit of only 12 hours, once you hit that time-limit it'll take 3 hours to recharge before you can use this armor again, plus should it be damaged or even destroyed, repairing it will siphon off some your power and speed up the time-limit.]
"Hmph, 12 hours? I never planned on waiting that long to finish this." Shirou thought confidently, he then said out loud. "Hey Kokabiel, on a scale from 1 to 10, how screwed are you?"
"You—GUAGH!"
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
Play OST - Haikyuu - Battle of Concepts
Before waiting for him to answer, Shirou powered up and charged at Kokabiel. Kokabiel got kicked in the chest and was sent flying backward, Shirou then appeared above him and delivered an ax-kick followed by a punch to his face, Shirou then grabbed Kokabiel by his face and slammed him into the ground, finishing up by throwing him away to the side.
"Damn, that feels good." Shirou admired his newfound abilities with interest and excitement. "Balance Breaker really does feel completely different feel, but its a good feeling nonetheless."
Kokabiel struggled to get back up and his expression was the opposite of Shirou's, he couldn't hide his frustration. "You damn monster."
"Look at the almighty Fallen-Angel leader now, I thought you were going to start a war all by yourself." Shirou ridiculed, finding this to be a joke. "Guess you didn't think this whole thing through."
"Shut up, this is only because of Shirōu Amakusa inferring!" Kokabiel growled. "If that never happened I'd of already won this battle!"
"That's what war is you dumbass!" Shirou argued, brushing aside his excuse. "Fighting strong enemies, one after the after without warning or rest. What gives you the right to whine about it when you started this whole thing, and now you're gonna pay for it." He activated the Jets on his back and spread his Dragon wings. "You're gonna wish you never showed up in my town!"
With the addition of the jets and wings, Shirou dashed at Kokabiel with incredible swiftness. Kokabiel tried shooting at him with Light attacks, but Shirou saw them and dodged them with ease, he fought with this armor so well you'd think he had for ages. Shirou got behind Kokabiel and give a heel kick to the Fallen-Angel which shook him.
Not wasting a second, the armored Dragon dashed in and delivered a knee kick to Kokabiel's jaw continued by an elbow to the cheek, then a punch in the center of his face and ending it with a kick on his solar plexus.
Kokabiel groaned as he pushed himself to summon another magic-circle and shot dozens of Orbs of Light at Shirou. The Red Dragon Emperor didn't move and just reached for his Sword. Now wielding Dyrnwyn, Shirou slashed out and swatted away all the incoming attacks like it was nothing.
Kokabiel was getting desperate, he couldn't think of anything that would work against Shirou at this point. While Shirou slightly lowered his weapon and sighed.
"I suppose this torture has gone on long enough. I'm ending this."
This reignited Kokabiel's anger, the way Shirou said it as if he believed he could simply end the fight whenever he chooses to and that was the end of it.
"And just does that mean?" Kokabiel narrowed his eyes. "This isn't over."
He was concerned and outclassed at this point, everyone could see that. But his Pride as a Cadre Fallen-Angel blinded him from acknowledging that fact. Though Shirou ignored his response and placed both his hands on the hilt of his Sword.
"Tell me, did you know that a Sword attack is stronger if you use both hands instead of just one?"
Now Kokabiel was just confused, in the middle of a battle he was just asked a question like that, one that was ridiculously simple. It was like someone asking if they knew the sky was blue or that grass was green. It almost made Kokabiel think he was being mocked.
"Huh, what are you talking about?" Kokabiel asked irritated. "You fool, that should be perfectly obvious!"
Even some of the others were confused. But there were two who understood what was about to happen.
Those two were Kiba and Mika.
Because Mika is a strategist she pays attention to how Shirou fights with great detail and because Kiba was a Swordsman he always made sure to observe Shirou's ability in Swordplay as much as he could. Because of that, they noticed a detail in Shirou whenever he used a Sword. He always swung his Sword with one hand, or in another case, Shirou has never swung his Sword with both hands.
It was because Dyrnwyn was a one-handed Sword and Shirou never really needed to use both arms. But considering how much stronger he has gotten since getting the Sword and the fact that he's now in a Balance Breaker state, the amount of power he could discharge from a two-handed swung is something, not even they can predict.
"I don't think you realize…" Shirou spoke lift the blade above his head. "…Just how much stronger."
Shirou then brings down the blade and slashes with both hands.
BAAAAAAAANNNNNNGGGGGGG!
The result was an impact crashing into the ground with the force of a megaton blast. It was like the combined force of a minefield was concentrated into one spot and all exploded at that some time. Shirou's slash always created a shockwave that shook that ground some much it was like a small earthquake and it made a large amount of dirt and dust explode upwards like a huge pillar. The fact that all this was caused by Shirou swinging his Sword with both hands was terrifying.
He didn't even Boost his strength.
As for Kokabiel who was the one the slash was aimed at. No one saw him after the attack hit which made them curious about his fate, though their curiosity was answered when he suddenly emerged from the dirt pillar. Kokabiel was in the sky with his ten wings wrapped around his body for defense, though he was still injured after taking that hit, he was lucky the attack did more damage to the ground.
Though Kokabiel had a long cut going from his shoulder to his waist, the cut itself was rather shallow so he was able to avoid the worst.
Kokabiel narrowed his eyes and looked down to send a death glare at where Shirou was standing. Only Shirou wasn't there anymore, in fact, there was no longer a trace of him anywhere on the battlefield. Kokabiel started looking around trying to find him.
"Where is he?"
As Kokabiel asked himself that he heard a familiar sound behind him.
[BOOST! BOOST!]
Hearing that made him turn around and he was just in time to see Shirou in point-blank range in front of him with his hand suddenly placed on his cut.
BOOSTED FATALITY!
[TRANSFER!]
SLIIIIICCCCKKK!
"GGGUUAAHH!"
Pain shot through Kokabiel's entire before he even realized what was happening, his brain sent a shock throughout his whole nerve-system, the pain hit from head to toe so fast it was like being struck by lightning. The shallow cut on his body grew much large and was now a large gash that was almost fatal, it almost looked like Kokabiel was close to being cut in half by a large blade. A huge amount of blood sprayed from his open wound and he let out a howl of pain.
What Shirou just did was a new technique he created known as Boosted Fatality, it was a special ability that used the increased capabilities of his Balance Breaker. By using the Transfer on his opponent, rather than increasing their power he increased the depth and magnitude of their condition or nerve-system, more specifically their injuries. In short, he could endless double the injuries and pain of his opponents until they were fatal.
With this power, he could make a small cut into a large gash, or bruise into a broke bone, or even make the pain of being punched into the pain of being hit by a wrecking ball. Plus in the hands of someone like Shirou, the potential of this power was terrifying.
Though Kokabiel was dealing with the pain that hit him so suddenly, Shirou didn't give him time to rest and immediately followed his assault by getting behind him, reached out, and grabbed two of his wings wing by their base attached to his back.
"Let's see you grit those teeth!"
He tightened his grip and started to pull.
"AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHKKK!"
There was an unpleasant noise, one that was really hard to describe. It was a little like the sound of flesh and sinew being torn apart by bare hands. But the bloodcurdling scream Kokabiel produced, both from the shock and the pain was a good indication of the grotesque image. It felt as if two of his limbs were torn off. Blood was spewing from the small part of his wing still attached to his back.
The main reason he hardened his wings to make them as strong as steel was to avoid situations like this, sadly they weren't strong enough to stop Shirou. And with all the built-up damage from his cut and the loss of two of his ten wings, he felt his energy being sapped away and was unable to keep himself aloft. Gravity took Kokablel, hurling him in a spiraling fall to the unforgiving ground.
CRASH!
Kokabiel crashed into the ground in the middle of the school field, dust fills the air and he just laid there. He was dying, having lived for so long he could tell his life was slipping away, even now he was barely conscious, the only thing keeping him awake was the pain he was feeling. And because of that, he could hear the sounds of the Boosted Gear powering up as Shirou was closing the distance.
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
Shirou was coming down with the speed and momentum of a meteorite and held out his fist that was covered in a glowing white sphere of his own life-aura and bursting with pure power. Like Ren he covered his fist with Touki but because he was able to Boost his power the strength and aura surrounding his fist were on a whole other level. It was so great it looked like his fist was 3x bigger.
BIG BANG DRAGON BLOW!
With a fierce battle-cry, he brought down his fist and was descending towards Kokabiel intending to finish this.
"DAAAAMMMNNN YOOOUUUUU!"
Kokabiel couldn't do anything but watch as death was descending upon him and realizing that this was where he would meet his end, all he could do was curse the enemy with nothing but pure hatred.
BAAAAANNNNGGGGG!
Music Off
When Shirou fist struck, it caused a massive impact dead-centered in Kokabiel's gut. There was a deep dent in Kokabiel's stomach and the ground beneath was cracked as blood gushed out of his mouth. The effect of the punch was so fierce it caused another tremor and created a dust explosion around the two of them. Soon when the dust cleared only one figure remained.
That was Shirou in his Dragon armor, standing tall and proud as the victor of this battle and beneath him was a pile of battle feathers.
Kokabiel was dead, after a Fallen-Angel dies they don't leave a body behind and their soul fades away into nothingness. Those feathers were all that remained, the only proof that the being known as Kokabiel ever existed.
Everything was quiet now, like a peaceful and serene atmosphere that followed after a heavy storm had passed. Without a doubt, the life and death battle for this town was over. All their enemies were dead, Excalibur was destroyed and there were no casualties on their side.
A perfect victory.
"Shirou!"
Shirou turned when he heard Rias called out his name and saw the others running towards him. Akeno was carrying the still unconscious Asia, while Xenovia just stayed where she was.
"That was amazing." Rias praised him, genuinely amazed. "You won and saved the town."
"You're too easily amazed." Shirou replied, sounding arrogant. "It's me we're talking about, there was no other way it could've ended."
"Even so, it's still a surprise that you gained your Balance Breaker in the middle of the fight." Akeno reasoned. "How did that happen?"
"Turns out I had the power to do so this whole time." Shirou admitted nonchalantly. "I just needed to learn how to bring it out."
"How'd you learn how?" Ren asked.
"I just needed a catalyst, something that would jump-start my mind and unlock my armor." Shirou explained. "Basically I needed to be mind-fucked and than overcome it."
"I get it, kind of like Kiba and his closure with his ghost friends." Mika compared.
Shirou nodded. "Yeah, but for me, it was the whole getting my body jacked by the other me and then taking it back."
"That reminds me." Ren spoke out. "How the hell did you do that?"
"That's right, explain yourself." Rias demanded. "You still haven't told us what happened."
The others were of the same opinion, they all wanted answers and Shirou was the only one who could provide them.
"It's actually pretty simple. You see while inside my mind, the other me was trying to incept my thoughts and drown away my sense of self and make me into an empty shell like one of those paralyzed vegetable people." Shirou described. "The idea was, if I lose myself I would disappear and my body would be his. But I pushed him back and took back control of my body."
"…But how!" Koneko stepped forward and asked.
She was displaying more emotion than usual, which surprised some of the others. It seemed like she was really interested in the last part of what Shirou said.
"…How where you able to stay in control?" Koneko continued to ask, really wanting an answer. "…For someone that strong, his grasp on you must have been incredibly deep."
"True it was, in fact, I almost didn't make it." Shirou answered, choosing not to question Koneko's change in personality. "But the key was my strength of will."
"…Strength of will?" Koneko repeated confused as if she expected something more. "…That's all it took?"
"That's all you need." Shirou reasoned. "When your mind is being overwhelmed and you feel yourself slipping away, the only thing that'll save you is your own willpower. Mental strength means being able to withstand anything that attacks you from within and hold on to who you truly are. That is what it means to have strength of will, and my will was strong enough to push back that dark force."
Shirou's words where find with conviction and insight. It wasn't logic or reason but rather spirit and emotion, those were what helped him overcome the darkness sleeping inside his heart and that was the source of his indomitable will that surrendered to no one.
Of course, Shirou had no intention of revealing that the dark soul sleeping inside him could return if his will ever broke. That would only cause unnecessary concern.
And he didn't want to deal with that.
"But, even though it's simple that doesn't mean everyone can do it." Shirou shrugged. "Even the other me was surprised I pulled it off. When you get right down to it everyone's will is different and while some people can do there'll always be some who can't."
Now Koneko looked down at the ground, like the answer she heard only made her upset. " …I see it depends on the person." Her tone sounded depressed. "…Only some people can do it."
Shirou didn't understand why she was so upset or even why she wanted to know in the first place. In fact, out everyone there, a majority of them didn't know what the deal was with Koneko right now. But Rias knew exactly why she was acting this way and it made her sad too.
"Koneko." Rias thought saddened. "Anyway, I'm glad this whole ordeal is over." She said, attempting to change the subject.
"Gotta admit though, I didn't expect things between you and Kokabiel to be so one-sided." Ren added.
"It wasn't really all that impressive when you get right down to it." Shirou said with honesty. "Sure he had power, but like the other me said he wasted it. And even with all the experience in the world, having power but not knowing how to use will always lead to your downfall."
{Fufufu. I concur.}
A sudden voice spoke, it was the voice of a young man around their age but it wasn't from anyone in the group. This made everyone put their guard up.
The first one to realize it was Shirou who looked up at the sky, prompting everyone else to do the same.
FLASH!
Suddenly the barrier that surrounded the school for the purpose of fighting shattered away and the light of the full moon that brightened the dark night sky was revealed. The thing responsible for destroying the barrier was a figure that resembled a ball of light. It descended while cutting the abyss sky by sending out a white light. The being of light stopped after landing on the ground a few feet away from the others and his appearance was now visible.
A white plated armor. There were jewels across various locations on the armor. It also had armor on the face so the expression of the person couldn't be seen. The wings on his back had eight energy feathers that were glowing a deep blue like a divine glow in the dark night. But one look at the armor was enough to know who this person was. It had a different shape and color, but it was similar….… It was identical to the "Boosted Gear Balance Breaker". Possibly everyone standing there looking at this person all thought the same thing. So all of them understood at the same time. They understood what the thing in front of them was.
The Vanishing Dragon.
The one opposite to the "Welsh Dragon", the "Vanishing Dragon". His armor was the opposite of Shirou's armor. Shirou's armor was imposing and intimidating like just looking at it made you feel threatened, it was powerful and oppressive. But this white armor was different, it was fascinated and radiant, a dazzling sight that resembled a work of art. To describe it in a single word would be, Beautiful.
SHIVERS…
Shirou, however, felt differently. Just being near him sent chills down Shirou's spine. He couldn't explain it but he just didn't feel right, it wasn't like the feeling he got when facing the Holy-Swords or against Light magic, but he still felt some kind of ominous feeling from the being standing before him. It felt as though rather than his nature as a Devil, it was as if nature as a Dragon was completely rejecting this person's existence.
"You've awakened your Balance Breaker." The Vanishing Dragon spoke, his voice echoed like Shirou in his armor. "I suppose I should congratulate you."
He spoke to Shirou in a manner that sounds like he was both praising him and looking down on him.
Rias narrowed her eyes at this person and stepped forward.
"Who are you?" Rias questioned.
The Vanishing Dragon kept his gaze on Shirou, but still answered Rias.
"I'm sure you've already realized." He responded. "I am the Vanishing Dragon, or better known as the White Dragon Emperor."
CLAAAAASSSSHHHHHH!
No sooner than those words left his mouth, Shirou rushed in like a bullet train and cocked back his fist, ready to attack. It took a fraction of a second for him to close in on this new foe and following that he punched his fist at him. The White Dragon wasn't fazed and instead, he followed suit by throwing a punch himself. The two traded punches at the same time, their fists clashing together, creating a shockwave so strong it shattered the ground beneath them. In fact, it was so powerful that it almost condensed the air around the two of them and resulted in them being sent flying backwards.
They both landed on their feet, a few steps away from where they stood before the clash.
"Fast, he reacted to my top speed like it was normal." Shirou thought, irked. "So much for catching him off guard."
"Heh, a good punch, as I thought you are strong." The Vanishing Dragon praised, somewhat interested. "Considering you are my Arch-Rival, anything less would be disappointing."
"That punch was just a hello shot." Shirou claimed, with the same tone. "Still, good job blocking. But I wonder, if you can block a real punch." The last part was almost like a challenge.
"Shirou, do you know this person?" Rias asked,
She was still surprised by the suddenness of all this and was trying to get a grasp on the situation. The others weren't much different.
Shirou shook his head. "No, but I do know who he is. He's The Vanishing Dragon, apparently, the two of us are wielders of two Sacred Gears that carry the spirits of two Rival Dragons, and whenever the users meet they fight to the death." He explained. "And it looks like he came here to do just that, can't say I mind though. I wouldn't mind testing the limits of my new armor."
Shirou's tone was confident as usual but also traced with excitement and interest. Now that he had this new power he more than anything wanted to use that power against a strong opponent and since Kokabiel wasn't close to fitting the bill he felt disappointed. Now here was someone with the same type of Dragon armor as him and from the looks of things he had the power to give Shirou a good fight.
He always knew he had the face the White Dragon Emperor someday, ever since Ddraig told him about it. And it looked like that day had come sooner than he expected.
Sadly though for Shirou's enthusiasm, the Vanishing Dragon lowered his fists.
"As attractive as the idea of fighting you sounds, I'm afraid you're mistaken." He informed him. "I didn't come here for a fight."
"…What?" Shirou asked, feeling completely lost now. "What are you talking about? Why else would you be here then?"
"The truth is, I came here to retrieve Kokabiel." The Vanishing Dragon admitted. "I was ordered by Azazel to bring him back alive if possible."
Now everyone was wide-eyed.
"You're saying you belong to the side of the Fallen-Angels?" Rias asked shocked.
"There are many Sacred Gear users that are members of Grigori, I just happen to be one of them." He reasoned. "Still, considering how things turned out, Azazel will have to accept the fact that Kokabiel and the others are dead."
"Wait, you were watching the battle?" Kiba asked.
"Correct, I watched from start to finish." The White Dragon Emperor answered. "It was quite entertaining."
"Entertaining? Is that all you have to say?" Akeno questioned with spite, rightfully so considering they were all fighting for their lives and now this person appeared and told them he was just sitting back and having fun watching the whole time. "We almost died countless times, you never thought to try and lead us some help."
"I don't see the problem, you're all alive and you won in the end right?" He brushed off, not feeling like he did anything wrong. "Besides, if it reached the point where you couldn't win, I would've intervened. Though that would have been a disappointing outcome."
This only served to infuriate them even more. He was acting like their lives or the fate of this town was a trivial matter and that watching them struggle just for the sake of his own entertainment was perfectly fine, he was completely looking down on them. If they weren't drained and injured from fighting just now some of them would have been tempted to attack him.
[Are just going to you ignore me, White-One?]
Ddraig suddenly spoke, this time his voice could be heard by everyone.
"The Dragon hand talked?" Rias spoke surprised.
[So you were awake, Red-One.]
The White Dragon wings started to emit a voice and the energy feather was blinking like Shirou's gauntlet. armor jewel was also glowing white.
The ones residing in the Gears were communicating.
[We finally met, but in a situation like this.]
[That's all right. It's our destiny to fight one day. Things like this happen.]
[But White-One. I can't feel the hostility from you like before.]
[Red-One. Your hostility is incredibly low as well.]
[Looks like both of us have things that interest us more than fighting.]
[That's how it is. We should be having fun by ourselves for a while. It's not bad like this sometimes, right? Let's meet again, Ddraig.]
[That would also be fun, huh. See you then, Albion.]
The conversation was between Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou. Both of them gave a farewell, which made Shirou sigh since he knew a fight at this point wasn't going to happen.
"I was I could fight you right here and now, but I guess we'll have to put it on hold." Shirou said disappointed. "But I don't plan to wait long, next time we'll settle this for real."
"Next time huh?" The White Dragon Emperor repeated, not minding the fact that he was just challenged. "I look forward to it, I was actually the most impressed by you. Not only did I see the resurrection of Shirōu Amakusa but I saw you overcoming his possession, something I thought was impossible. This was truly worth the trip."
The Vanishing Dragon then flew upwards and began to take his leave, but before he did he turned around one last time and faced Shirou.
"Before I go I have a question. When you swung your Sword at Kokabiel with both hands you could have killed him right then if you wanted to, yet you purposely made it so the attack only grazed him, why?"
Shirou answered immediately.
"Because I wanted to test out my new technique and this was the perfect time. It would've been a waste not to. Besides, it didn't change the outcome in the end."
The Vanishing Dragon stopped after hearing his answer and then followed by let out an amused huff and turning around.
"You truly are interesting." And with that, he once again turned into a ball of white light and flew up. Flying off into the night sky so fast he had vanished in the blink of an eye. He came and left in a flash and was stills shrouded in mystery, right now there was silence as no one knew what to say.
"Rias."
The silence was broken why they heard the voice of Sona Sitri walking up to them, along with her Queen—Tsubaki.
"Sona." Rias greeted with a smile.
"By the looks of things, I take it you defeated Kokabiel." Sona addressed the main topic.
"That's right, Shirou made sure of that." Rias pointed towards him.
"Shirou?" Sona looked and was surprised when she saw the person Rias was pointing at was one clad in Dragon armor. "Is that…?"
"Yeah." Shirou responded, not waiting for her to finish. He then turned and made in a small flash his armor disassembled and vanished back into his gauntlet, returning Shirou back into his normal state. "It's my Balance Breaker."
"You awakened your Balance Breaker." Sona spoke impressed, before smiling. "Looks like you really didn't need reinforcements."
"Umm… Hmm…"
Everyone then turned the sound of a girl's voice that was muffled and groaning. Asia who had finally regained consciousness was still being carried by Akeno looked up and opened her eyes, she then turned to see Shirou and the others.
"Shirou-san? Everyone?"
"Asia, you're finally awake." Rias said relieved.
"Yeah, weird." Mika said scratching her head. "You slept through the whole thing."
Asia blinked confused. Shirou just looked to Rias and said.
"Rias, explain to Asia everything she missed."
Rias blinked for a second but then nodded. "Umm, okay."
"Mika." Shirou then turned to his Sister. "Come on, we're going home."
Mika ran over to her Brother, placed her hand over his own and they began to exit the scene.
"We'll see you guys later."
Shirou said in a way that suggested he was completely done for today and didn't want to argue about it. Considering everything that had just happened everyone just let him leave, feeling that he earned that much at least.
"Shirou-kun!" Kiba called out, this made Shirou stop along with Mika. Kiba looked down at the ground as if he was trying to find the words until he just came out and said it. "Thank you."
Even though Shirou stopped he didn't turn around to face him and gave a simple reply.
"You're welcome."
And with that Shirou started to walk away again and continued to make his leave, with Mika beside him.
A short while later in the depths of the Underworld. In a solitary yet refined and very expensive room, the Silver-haired maid of the Gremory family walked to the edge of the room where a dignified throne stood, and sitting upon that throne was a man dressed in a noble attire with a demonic-looking cape, this was the man who ruled the Underworld as its King, Grayfia's master and the older brother of Rias; Sirzechs Lucifer, the Crimson-Satan.
"Those are all the details I have received."
Grayfia had just finished informing her King of the report of the battle against Kokabiel.
"I see." Sirzechs' response was simple but he had a very pleased smile on his face.
"My Lord?" Grayfia questioned his expression.
"Isn't it amazing Grayfia?" Sirzechs asked his Queen. "Not long ago when I meet him, his power was already that of a High-Class Devil and now he has reached a stage where he overpowered a Cadre Fallen-Angel the likes of Kokabiel." He was referring to Shirou. "He truly is a fascinating young man, isn't he?"
Grayfia didn't seem to share his attitude. "My Lord, that's not the main issue. Please try to remember, not only was the truth about the Primordial God's death revealed to them, but the fact that Shirōu Amakusa Tokisada was able to break free from his containment." She reminded him. "Even if it was only temporary, this is still a troubling matter."
"The matter of God's death couldn't be helped, Kokabiel was trying to start a War so doing something that could cause discord was bound to happen." Sirzechs reasoned. "I'm sure he couldn't wait to tell someone that truth."
"And what of the other matter?"
"Why is it so wrong for him to know? In fact, I believe he had a right to know." Sirzechs admitted with a serious expression. "That darkness was always with him, the fact that it was sealed in the first place was a blessing. But to have him carry that burden for so many years, all the while keeping it hidden from him, I can only see that as a cruelty. In the end, it was always his right to learn of this."
"And I agree, but still where can he go from here?" Grayfia asked, still concerned. "Even if he stopped it this time, what if the darkness surfaces again? In the end, it could end up destroying him, I know you realize that."
"That is a possibility, but still I'm not worried." Sirzechs then smiled without worry. "I've seen how strong his will and resolve is and so I know he won't be broken here, instead he'll overcome this and take furthers steps on his path, thus becoming much greater. That is the nature of Shirou Tsukiharu."
"You seem to have a lot of faith in this boy." Grayfia commented.
"I do, after all, I truly believe that he will become the catalyst for great changes. Not just in the Underworld, but for this entire Era." Sirzechs stood up from his throne. "And I believe it's time we made some changes ourselves."
With that The Devil King started walking and was heading for the door, intending to leave his throne room. Grayfia followed one step behind and they made their leave.
But it was just as he said. For this moment, everything was going to change.
For better or worse.
Somewhere, hovering over the skys of Japan, two figures possessing great power meet in an encounter that not even God could have predicted.
The first was the Vanishing Dragon, still in his Dragon armor who was on his way to meet Azazel, as to report the events of what unfolded in the battle against Kokabiel. However, he was stopped by the second figure.
This one was rather peculiar, to say the least.
The appearance of this individual is that of a cute young girl with long black hair down to her hips. However despite her innocent appearance, she was far from innocent, nor was she human. Although her long black hair makes this feature difficult to notice, her ears differ from a normal human's as they have pointed tips. Her attire consists of a black Gothic Lolita fashion.
But what really stood out was her eyes, they were dark grey eyes that had reptilian slitted pupils. But beyond that, they felt empty. Not just devoid of color, but devoid of any form of life or emotion. Eyes without a soul, almost like staring into an abyss.
Though what the White Dragon Emperor was paying attention to weren't her eyes, but the power her felt from her, and who could blame him. To say it overwhelming would be a gross understatement, it was astronomical. It was like the powers of everyone in the world that was felt up until now were scrubs, even Sirzechs was a pebble before this titanic force of nature. It almost felt like her power was infinite….
…No. It wouldn't be wrong to say her power was infinite.
The White Dragon Emperor certainly felt so, and yet he said nothing. Neither did the being standing before him. And so the one who broke the silence was Albion.
[What a surprise. Not once did I imagine I would see you. Ophis.]
"Albion." The now named Ophis spoke in a quiet and emotionless tone. "It's been a long time."
[Care to explain why you are here? One such as yourself who favors solitude must have a reason for appearing before others.]
"I, have come to talk to you." Ophis said pointing at him.
Not referring to Albion but inside the one wearing the armor.
"Oh, the Strongest existence in this world has come personally to speak with me?" He asked in a joking manner. "I don't whether I should feel honored or not."
"I, want you to join me."
After hearing Ophis say that, something he didn't expect at all. He became somewhat interested to see where this was going.
"Join you?" The White Dragon Emperor repeated. "Explain."
"You, are the Hakuryuukou of this generation, one Stronger than any that came before you. And, you have gathered a team of other strong beings. I, want strong individuals to help me reach my goal." Ophis elaborated. "That, is why I ask you to join me."
"An interesting reason, though I won't ask how you know all that." He replied nonchalantly. "While I am curious to know what the Infinite Dragon God would desire to the point of gathering others I must ask, what's in it for me?"
"Wouldn't you like to fight against the Asgard?"
Just by hearing Ophis say those words, he was silent. He didn't utter a word but his hands started shaking and became closed fists, while his whole body was trembling with excitement. And though his face was hidden by his helmet his expression had one of that which belong to a person who couldn't contain the urge to make a battle-hungry grin.
"Before you had my interest. But now you have my attention." He answered, still excited. "Now, tell me more."
Meanwhile, at the Tsukiharu residence. Shirou was in his bedroom having just finished changing out of his combat suit and now wearing his normal casual clothes. After he finished getting changed, he sat down on his bed, and shortly after that, the door opened.
Entering his room was Mika who had also changed out of the clothes she fought in, now where her usual attire as well. She walked up to her brother and sat beside him on his bed, it was obvious that even after the events of tonight. Or rather, because of the events of tonight, they didn't intend on sleeping just yet.
"You think Rias told Asia about what happened?" Mika asked slumped.
"She should have by now." Shirou answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Hope she can get through it all without fainting again."
"Yeah, but still." Mika looked concerned. "What'll happen then, when it really sinks in that God's dead? Will she be okay?"
"It'll be tough, but she'll have to accept it. It's not like you can change the facts no matter how much you hate them." Shirou said, not sympathetic. "Besides, Asia's tougher than people give her credit for. She'll get over this, even if it's not right away."
Mika smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's true."
Though Mika's smile dropped and she leaned in closer to Shirou.
"Moving on, what do you think about all this?" She asked. "All that stuff we learned about Mom's heritage and about what you've got inside of yourself."
"It was a major bombshell to drop I agree, but at the end of the day, it doesn't change anything." Shirou said, feeling at ease. "This isn't any different from when Xenovia told us about Mom and Dad. When all's said and done, the only version I ever knew of her was Mikoto Tsukiharu, the one who raised us. Even if she had this thing inside her before and even if I've got it now. We'll deal with it like we always do."
"I get it." Mika said, now feeling at ease herself. "No matter what happened back than or what might happen later down the road, as long as the two of us are together we'll be okay. After all, we've always found a way."
"Yeah." Shirou nodded. "No matter what happens, I won't let this thing chain me down."
Mika nodded. "I believe you."
Shirou then yawned and stretched out his arms. "Now then, that's enough for today, let's get some rest."
"Okay." Mika agreed and laid down, resting herself comfortably on Shirou's bedspread.
Shirou blinked before he sighed. "This never has a good answer but, what are you doing?"
"I'm sleeping in your bed tonight." Mika answered as if it was obvious.
"And why's that?" Shirou questioned.
Instead of answering Mika just reached out and gripped his hand with both of her hands, which surprised Shirou. Though he became more surprised when he felt her hands shaking. Looking up he could see her whole body was trembling.
Play OST - Gintama - Women who ask 'What's more important work or me deserve a German Suplex
"…Please, just for tonight." Mika's tone was different, she now spoke with a almost child-like innocence. "I… Don't want to be away from you yet."
"…Mika." Shirou spoke softly this time.
"It's just, back then when you got taken over. I was afraid, you were there and then suddenly gone and I didn't know what to do or if you were ever going to come back." Mika now had tears forming in her eyes. "I was trying to hold it in, but the truth is. That was the most afraid I've ever been. And I'm still afraid, that if I leave you'll disappear again."
Shirou reached his hand out and used it to lift her face towards him. Then he tenderly wiped her tears away and set her hand down. "You always worry too much. I'm not going anywhere, not while you're still around." He reassured her with a soft, caring tone. "Why can't you believe that I'll be alright?"
Mika sniffed and then smiled at him. "I'm your little sister, it's my job to believe in you and worry about you at the same time."
Shirou let out a small chuckle. "Than little sisters are a real pain."
Shirou than laid down himself and rested his head on his pillow, while Mika moved in and embraced her brother like he was a pillow, resting her head on his side while wrapping her arms around his arm. This time Shirou didn't complain.
"Hey, Big Bro." Mika spoke quietly. "We'll always be together right."
"That's right." Shirou answered with certainty. "Now until the end of time, I won't let anything stop me."
Mika felt more at peace and closed her eyes. "Come what may, I'll always be with you."
Right now they weren't worried about the winds of change that were coming in the future. Or the horrors of the dark truths resurfacing from the past. All they cared about was this moment in time right now.
No matter what direction things turned or what unsettled burdens would reappear, one thing would never change.
Those two would never be separated.
Music Off
That's the chapter. First of all Kokabiel's dead, I decided I prefer to just kill him instead of having him beaten and then imprisoned, plus it's more of Shirou's style to kill his opponents. But still, he got thrashed by Shirōu Amakusa and than Shirou's Balance Breaker, the guy just can't get a break. Speaking of Shirou's Balance Breaker, I wanted to introduce it in a big way and I figured this was a good time. And yes, Shirou can now use Balance Breaker whenever he wants, which is good because he'll be needing it.
As for Shirōu Amakusa as you saw he's incredibly strong but that still wasn't his maximum, I wanted to demonstrate his superior power and overwhelming skill, his fighting is actually very similar to Shirou's, in that he has power and is smart about how he uses it. And make no mistake we haven't seen the last of him, he obviously wasn't going to break Shirou's will because well, let's face it that's impossible. But in due time he'll resurface and it'll be in even crazier circumstances.
Now for Vali, I made his entrance different from the canon because I didn't want him stopping the fight. Plus his and Shirou's interaction is to show you what kind of Rivals they'll be. It won't be like the pitiful joke of a Rivalry where one is clearly above the other in everywhere way like it was in the canon, it'll be as true Rivalry against two strong fighters who love fighting. Plus The two of them are a lot alike.
I also added the last scene with Ophis because, we hear about it happening but we never actually saw it so I decided to put it in this story, I wrote the be like how I pictured it happened.
Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, if you want more leave a review, if you like the story click the follow/favorite, and as always have an awesome day.