Minato : I was enjoying my day off a few seconds ago, sipping blood coffee and digging holes for more unfortunate but deserving souls until I got dragged into this... this fucking thing... Ugh! But ah well, I can take a few seconds to bless my numerous followers... even though this ain't my story, you all still love me! HAHAHAHA!
Jason Wu : Preach canon!
Reader : Bully the filthy author into writing my glorious sequel. Flood his empty emails because no one gives a shit and he has no friends!
Clevernameeh : ... S-Silence!
Megami Black : I AM NICE TO NO ONE- ... wait, you called me a god before... ugh, fine, I'll try.
RockyRua : Who am I rooting for? My middle finger. It's been up ever since this battle started and let me assure you, on my honor as the messiah, it will remain standing long after both of them drop dead cause fuck both of them. I'd love to head down and whack them around but I'll say this... Hamuko sucks but she knows her place and has has finally stopped cowering behind little boy's legs. Ryoji on the other hand, fuck him, he's still a little brat. I swear if she glances at the shitholes he calls eyes, she'll also see that bitch Nyx smiling.
Anyway, that's all for response. Again, nasty and brutal shit up ahead. Just remember one thing, I can destroys these sissies anytime I desire!
Minato wasted no time and switched his persona, holding out his palm towards his friends and summoning a circle of black mist beneath their feet, clenching his fist and knocking out a few of them thanks to the mudo spell. Fuuka collapsed to the ground alongside a few of her friends, just like he wanted.
"Minato!" Junpei was the first to yell, having survived the spell. "Dude, what the hell-"
"Serves that bitch justice," Minato spat venomously, the flicker of Death surging briefly in his eye. The others stopped midway during their thoughts and pulled on their words, now aware they had awakened the sleeping monster. "I'm not done with her. When I'm done dealing with Ryoji, she'll be next."
Mitsuru opened her mouth to talk-
"Shut the fuck up!" his snarl silenced her and Minato took a few steps forward, lumbering forward in an almost robotic way, mortifying the other teenagers as they quickly scampered backwards, already injured from the fight with Ryoji. "Get one thing clear..."
"Tch.." Sho clicked his tongue. He was against this, knowing that the little stunt would push him over the edge.
"If ANYTHING happens to her... you won't have to worry about Ryoji or Nyx destroying the world," he repeated, for the thousandth time in the past few days. He took a step forward, sending the others scurrying backwards in fear. "If she dies, none of you sons of bitches deserve life!"
Minato gritted his teeth, half of his mind telling him to launch a cluster of almighty spells in the direction of the support but he relented, knowing that every second he spent in the lobby, Hamuko was getting hurt at the hands of Ryoji. He gave one last growl towards his teammates, slitting his throat and gesturing up at the tower with a vacant look in his eye and his aura reeking off death.
"All shall perish..." Minato warned, running and disappearing into the portal. The deathly energy went along with him and the team released a collective sigh of relief, their faces drenched with sweat. After that little display, they were having trouble deciding who to fear, Ryoji or Minato himself.
...
Hamuko countered the light spells with her darkness, briefly stepping back to endure the burn and rushing through the mist to met his charge again, causing a swirl and blast of light and dark energy that danced around their blades while they struggled, teeth gritted and hatred evident in their features.
Ryoji screeched in her face again, cursing and promising her hell because she was still not wilting under his fear. Her newfound courage was pissing him the hell off and every time he cursed her, Hamuko jabbed back at him, refusing to keep her mouth shut.
The heat and pressure took over their senses and the two pulled back, light and darkness blurring everything around them until Ryoji broke out of the trance first and launched himself towards the female, punching her on her already deformed face-
Hamuko screamed in pain and skidded backwards, almost falling over until she grabbed a hold of the darkness around her and saw him charging at her with his nonstop pressure, determined to suffocate her-
Hamuko solidified the nearby darkness into a shield once again and followed him, blocking his blade with the shield and swinging back with her own sword. She moved back to avoid the next slash and blocked the third attempt, shattering the shield and forcing her to move around, blocking and parrying his fast paced thrusts and slashes-
"This darkness will not save you forever!" Ryoji roared, slicing through her wrist and getting a kick in his stomach-
Hamuko materialized another shield that was shattered a few seconds later, drawing out a hiss from the redhead who kept forming the shields as she fought at close range with her short sword, her defenses repeatedly shattering under the force of Ryoji's assault who started shouting, hoping Minato would hear him-
The shield around her arm disappeared and Hamuko sidestepped his lunge, forming a chain of darkness and coiling it around Ryoji's throat. The appraiser grunted and was lifted off his feet, hurled towards the other side and smashed into a few pillars-
Ryoji grabbed the other end of the chain to pull her close but the moment he did, the chain exploded into another blast of dark energy, scattering dust and mist. He roared in annoyance from within the little cyclone and came rushing out, towards Hamuko who was panting, clutching her chest to stabilize her heart.
"Let me rest for a little, you bastard..."
Hamuko shook her head and bolted, missing her attempt and suffering a brutal punch on her gut and face but she pulled back just in time, blocking and neutralizing the light spells, blowing him backwards with another explosion but the God came right back, shrugging off the invisible forces and cutting through the darkness with a volley of light infused slashes-
Hamuko gritted his teeth, the heat burning her body and soul, forcing out to draw out more darkness from the depths of her soul to match his holy light. Another tussle lead to them disengaging, burns and welts forming on their bodies due to the nonstop clashes.
"You look disgusting!" Ryoji spat, eyeing the hole on her face. "He'll never spare another glance at you, you ugly whore!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Hamuko fired back with venom-
"It's over!" Ryoji roared again. "Do you hear me!? Your disgusting story ends here, you wastes of blood and skin!"
Hamuko stomped and the darkness exploded in his direction, forcing him to take flight into the skies. Ryoji channeled the light into his blade and started hurling the razors from above, upping the intensity when Hamuko started dodging, running behind the pillars to guard herself from the attacks.
"Now!"
Hamuko grabbed onto the debris and broken pillars with her darkness, launching the remains into the skies where Ryoji was. The appraiser growled at the volume of the debris and fired a much larger razor of light that detonated against the waste, blinding himself momentarily but as soon as his vision returned, he caught something blazing towards him-
"Idiot!"
The sword shredded through his shoulder and the mist coiled around the blade exploded, knocking Ryoji down from the skies at a furious pace while Hamuko broke into a run, pulling back on her leg and packing every bit of force into the next blow-
Ryoji got up as soon as she got close, blinding her with his wings-
Slice-
"F-Fuck!"
Hamuko screamed in pain and started ripping hooks into his armor, clawing his face and kneeing him over and over again to remove his fangs from her shoulder but Ryoji took the assault and pulled back with a snarl of disgust, ripping off a good chunk off flesh from her shoulder-
"FUCK YOU!"
Hamuko brushed past the explosion of light and the darkness spiraled around her fist which she rifled forward, tearing through his armor and stomach and blowing him backwards with the ensuring force but even with the brutal attack, Hamuko saw him grinning as he soared away, knowing the girl was tiring with every second.
Hamuko took the blast of darkness and regained a bit of stamina while Ryoji started rising again, the card of the hermit shattering in his palm. He gave a smirk, eyeing the missing flesh from her shoulder and face. She was slowly but surely deforming. It took him time and effort but she was starting to look-
"You're finally looking like a corpse," Ryoji said. "Tastes disgusting but make no mistake, I rip every last bit of flesh from your bones. He'll find you in pieces!"
"Stop talking, asshole!" Hamuko hissed. "That's no way to speak to your mommy."
"Watch your fucking mouth!" Ryoji warned.
"She agrees with me, though," Hamuko shrugged. "You're just a dumb cuck!"
Ryoji clawed at his face and screamed back at her again, rocking the floor but Hamuko flipped him the birds and broke into another run, pulling back on her darkness infused fist-
The attack reflected off the barrier and the force crashed into her, knocking her off the ground and leaving her open to a slew of almighty attack from Ryoji who closed the distance as soon as he unleashed the reddish spheres, slamming his right into the hole on her face, digging his knuckles inside and widening her eyes as she screamed out in agony-
Ryoji hammered her down and widened his eyes, his bloodied fist going deeper and deeper into the hole on her face, piling the pressure on her skull and forcing her to vomit out blood, making her kick arms and legs repeatedly to push him off-
"G-Get off me!"
Hamuko materialized a long sword out of the darkness and shredded through his neck, forcing him to take a step back while she jumped up, powercharging her knee and slamming it against his jaw-
Ryoji caught her in mid-air and smashed her face first into the ground, digging his blade into the blade and looking to break her spine just like he had done to-
"M-Minato..." Hamuko remembered his hollow and helpless cries when Ryoji shattered his spine and reached back, digging the blade out of her back and flipping him over her shoulder. The darkness latched onto his body, more of it forming under his frame and exploding from under his limbs in the form of blades and spikes-
Ryoji grabbed her ankle and powered through the dark weapons, brutally smashing the female into a nearby pillar, face first, splattering her blood and worsening her already deformed face. He stood up and growled at the damage on his limbs, his eyes widened in hatred with the female in his sight, lying defenseless, panting as the darkness around her started to flicker-
"You are done..."
Hamuko jumped up and Ryoji snapped his eyes shut, enduring the gales of dark winds that slashed through his body, lessening his grip around the weapon-
"Like hell!" Hamuko roared from amidst the darkness, forming numerous blades and spears from the dark fist and then punching her fist forward, launching the weapons in the direction of the appraiser who gasped and started deflecting the numerous arms coming his way-
Hamuko rushed through the rain of weapons and grabbed twin blades, knocking the blade out of his grip and holding the weapons in reverse grip, ready to plunge them into his heart-
"Tetrakarn!"
Hamuko endured the reflection of the slashes but immediately ran into his range again, ducking underneath the swings and circling around the irate God, slashing and hacking whenever she saw him distracted and on the defensive from the rain of steel-
"GACK!"
Hamuko lost control of the mighty persona and Ryoji caught that, willing the massive blade into his grip and thrusting it froward with his hollow eyes focused on her stomach-
Hamuko sidestepped the thrust and winced as the blade gashed her side and Ryoji pounced at the chance, knocking her back to the ground and moving forward while the blade started pulsing red, almighty energy coiling around the cold steel-
The female wild card summoned Nyx again, barely summoning enough to block the almighty attack before she fell to her knees, the mist dissipating and the Night Queen retreating back to her psyche.
"Is that all for a second wind?" Ryoji mocked, still fresh as ever due to his constant transformations and shifts.
Hamuko grabbed her blade and stood up again, raising the steel to her level. The God scowled in response to her constant defiance. Even with the damage, fatigue and the fact that she knew he was going to scar her, she was not showing any signs of fear. To think this was the girl to who had a nervous breakdown every time he haunted her dreams.
Ryoji caught a few unshed tears at the corner of her eyes and snorted, a sick smile forming on his face because that was he needed to see. The redheaded bitch was finally breaking down. It took him a lot longer than he had anticipated but it was finally underway. "Crying at last, huh?"
Hamuko scowled back at him, wiping the tears away from the corners. "You still have your head way too far up your ass, boy," she replied, tightening the grip around the hilt despite the numbness coursing through her hands. "I cry because I care."
It took Ryoji a few seconds to understand that but when he did, the smile was knocked out of his features and the God scowled again, knowing very ell what she meant-
"Fuck you!" Hamuko fired back without a pause. "I'm not giving you the fucking satisfaction! I want to sob my heart out right now but it's not because of you, it's all because of him cause to hell with you, you aren't worth it!"
"Just shut up!" Ryoji roared back. "You goddamn bitch! Just shut your disgusting mouth for a second!"
Minato's shout before Fuuka brought him back to the lobby was heard perfectly by Hamuko and it was so full of heartbreak and agony that even in the heat of battle and the pain of the ungodly battle, it had managed to rattle her. She was disgusted by herself for doing this to him, knowing Minato was dying on the inside after the stung she pulled but this had to be done.
"You're an eyesore," Ryoji replied. "You make me want to vomit. You two make my skin crawl!"
"Not crying because of you ever again," Hamuko replied. "Go on, scream and cuss all you want, I don't give a fuck!"
"You will after I'm done with you..."
Hamuko switched her persona, pumped her muscles with a few buffs and ran forward, gripping the hilt with both hands and swinging it forward to block the massive blade coming her way. Her palms burned and her arms trembled but she held on, digging her feet into the ground and crouching down to transfer all the effort and energy into her arms-
"Grrr," Ryoji was a bit surprised at how she was managing to stand her ground despite being beaten and exhausted. He glanced at her shaking hands and shook his head, raising his free hand up towards the sky and muttering his next spell-
"Tetrakarn!"
"TETRAKARN!"
Ryoji widened his eyes as the impact ricocheted after bouncing off the barrier Hamuko had summoned, drilling into his chest and knocking him backwards briefly. He found his footing and growled, summoning another barrier to block the incoming elemental spells, knocking them to the side and then blitzing towards the incoming wild card-
"Satan!"
Ryoji leaped off his feet to avoid sliced through the persona with his almighty attack, reducing it to static and forcing a strain on her psyche. He saw the chance and got in her face again, repeatedly targeting the hole on the side of her face and managing to get a few hits in until she swung his sword to slice it open further and just barely missed when Hamuko tore off her ribbon that he was holding onto and backed off to safety.
"S-Shit!"
Dazed by the punches, Hamuko was sent skidding along the ground when Ryoji dug his fist into her stomach, plowing backwards and putting her back against the pillar. The God growled and picked her off her feet, smashing the back of her head and neck into the pillar that shattered into debris-
Ryoji hammered her down without mercy, cracking her bones against the remains and forcing out a cry towards the skies as he dug her into the ruins, his punches still finding their way onto her face and throat as he tried to bury her under the debris, suffocate her to her death with not an ounce of breath-
"Persona!"
The gale of wind gashed up his arm and the debris was sent crashing into his face, forcing him to back off. Hamuko regained his breath and condescened the tornado into her blade, launching it towards the appraiser who lost his sword and was sent flying into the air, suffering new wounds as the winds shredded through his flesh-
"Hah," Ryoji broke free from the spell and flapped his wings, gliding down like a blur and just barely missing the female who slipped to the side, going back to weakening the armor with quick slashes and body kicks. Every shot induced a sickening crack sound, the sound of her legs breaking but she kept on the pressure, jumping for another knee when he doubled over-
Ryoji channeled the reddish energy into his palm and grabbed a hold of her face, slamming her down and relishing her cry when the almighty spell exploded against her face, shattering the ground underneath her and whipping up a few layers of dust but even with the dust, he could see blood running down in gallons from the new wound on her face, on the other cheek that was now blown up just like-
Hamuko kicked the legs from under him and rolled backwards, getting up and collapsing down with her eyes wide open in pain. She touched her face and winced, knowing that the bastard had opened up another hole on her face and while this was not as large, she could feel the wind on her bare teeth.
"Your face is ruined, beyond repair now," Ryoji grinned in response to her agonized expression. "Make no mistake, the scarring is far from over."
Hamuko backed off when he felt his eyes on her chest again. As much as she wanted to say he was bluffing, she knew for a fact that an insane God like Ryoji was capable of that and much more, without a second thought.
"You'll regret that you ever opened your legs for him," Ryoji sneered-
"FUCK YOU! Hamuko lost her senses in fury and took off, not giving a shit about the damage and surprising Ryoji who hastily raised his guard which shattered upon the first power charge fist, forcing him to move and regain his wits but Hamuko pressured forward, ducking and sliding under the wings and repeatedly switching her stances, eyes studying an opening-
Ryoji missed with a lunging horizontal slash and Hamuko stepped to the left, unbolting a kick against his side, the exact same place where the liver would be and to her surprise, Ryoji hacked out ichor and collapsed down, body paralyzed after the picture perfect shot to his innards-
Hamuko smashed her knee against his face and forced him down, stomping, stomping, kneeing and elbowing his ugly face over and over and over again as the ichor came bursting out of the wounds, splattering on her face and fists but she kept going, managing to summon a small dagger out of the darkness and finishing the assault by driving it through his forehead-
The explosion of dark magic knocked her backwards and Hamuko skidded along the ground, coming to a stop when her body impacted against the wall. She coughed out blood and sent a small thank you towards the blunet for teaching her the liver kick that was capable of decapitating almost anyone. It worked but she knew that with very shift, Ryoji was getting angrier and her fate was getting worse.
"The gall of that bastard," Hamuko spat and stood up, using the wall for support. She had to give him a bit of credit, he knew what buttons to push and it was only made worse by his crude and disgusting way of delivery. Everything about him vile and rotten and there was always this foreboding sense of doom that promised that something bad would happen at the end but-
Hamuko glanced at her wounds and shrugged her shoulders. "Damaged beyond repair anyway, might as well take it to the limit."
Ryoji emerged from the darkness, the power of the fortune arcana pulsing around him, swirls of elemental magic coursing through nonstop. Just like Hamuko had predicted, his insanity was worsening every time she forced him to shift his arcana. His hollow eyes were even more vacant this time, firmly fixed on her legs with a small twitch constantly tugging at his lips.
"Your feet are already in the grave," Ryoji pointed out, observing her stance and body language. She looked absolutely spent but here she was, still looking at him like she was going to do something. "I hope you know how this ends..."
"Tch!"
"With my hands around your lifeless throat,"
"I'm tired of your talking," Hamuko hissed. "Get it through your thick skull. You ain't rattling me anymore. Deal with it, son!"
Another charge by Ryoji forced Hamuko to switch, firing a torrent of spells that bounced off his body, confirming what she thought earlier. She stepped back and pulled the weight onto her right hand, buffing the muscles and launching her first forward the moment Ryoji closed the distance-
Magma coiled around his fist and Ryoji screeched when the two clashed, the heat easily overpowering and burning her hand and pushing her on the backfoot, leaving her open to the thunder infused fist that battered and jolted the female, making her smoke from her collar and sleeves. She hurriedly cross blocked the infused blade but the resudial spell broke her her guard and Ryoji slammed another thunder infused fist against her throat, eliciting another painful cry as the thunder took a toll on her frame, opening up burn marks on her arms and face-
Hamuko skidded backwards and jumped behind the pillar to avoid the gale of wind that was sent her way. She endured the quake and the gashes, wincing as she started moving out of the wreckage before Ryoji could chuck another spell at her-
"Come out!" Ryoji demanded, launching another slew in her directions, hollow eyes focusing on her retreating form that just barely missed the collapse of debris and his spells. "I want to see your eyes when I kill you!"
Hamuko shattered the nearby pillars with Thor and switched, hurling the floating debris in the direction of Ryoji who fired back with a torrent of hellfire, reducing the little rocks to ashes-
"Thanatos!"
The flames split apart in the middle as the persona charged through, unshealting his sword and managing to open up a crack on the armor as it breezed past the appraiser, charging up the sphere of almighty between the jaws and whipping around to unleash the pulsing energy at point blank range-
Ryoji widened his eyes and took flight, barely missing the attack that managed to shatter more of his armor-
Thanatos roared and flew up to the skies, knocking the appraiser down to the ground and descending upon him like the grim reaper, sword ready to pierce his throat-
"It is useless!"
Ryoji let loose a blizzard of spells as soon as his reflection got close, burning, freezing and electrocuting the persona to static and then nothingness. The remaining spells faded and the God stood up, eyes searching for that insolent-
Hamuko came out in the open, her deformed face now completely covered by a crimson mask of blood, sweat and tears. She wiped it off his eyes and beckoned him over, now pretty sure that Minato had knocked Fuuka after the little stunt she pulled. Her support skills were always helpful, especially in a battle like this but Hamuko liked the silence, apart from the noise of the battle. It felt a little familiar, haunting, suffocating but serene and soothing at the same time.
The memory flashed-
The two locked eyes for the hundredth time that night and bolted to close the distance, blades infused with several layers of elemental spells and they clashed shortly after, streaks of colors and residual magic erupting the second they, putting a dull pressure around the arms of Hamuko who held on, transferring every bit of weight and power to stand her ground-
Ryoji grew tired and overpowered the female, forcing her backwards and charging ahead to take advantage of the little opening-
Hamuko flicked her wrist as soon as he swung his blades, the flames clashing with ice and giving rise to steam that quickly covered the area, forcing Ryoji to halt when he heard her giggle from somewhere around him. He cursed her to come out and got another giggle in return, his shadowy appearance and large raven wings easily visible for Hamuko who was lurking around him, just waiting-
Hamuko bolted and took his back, digging the blade into his flesh and brutally streaking it towards his neck, looking to cleave him in two-
Ryoi smashed his elbow onto her face, cleanly breaking her orbital bone and whipping around to smash his knuckles againsther face, swelling up her right eye almost immediately. He aimed another punch to burst the swelling but Hamuko slipped, switching her persona to Helel, channeling the holy light into her palm and slamming it against the open wound on Ryoji-
Ryoji screeched and punched the hole on her face again, making her vomit again but she held on, digging her fist into the open wound-
"Siegfried!"
The slashes tore through his wings and launched the appraiser in the other direction, ichor leaking out in gallons from the wound on his back and with his clipped wings, he was unable to regain his balance and ended up smashing through the pillars, leaving a trial of his blood on the ground.
Hamuko tried to ease the swelling around her eye but gave up, healing her wounds the best she could and waiting for Ryoji who exploded out of the debris like an animal, cursing her entire linage and existence for the damage she had inflicted upon him. Hamuko shrugged off the vile shit he was saying and bit her lip. Even with the damage she had inflicted, Ryoji was still in the same form.
Was she getting weaker or was Ryoji getting stronger with every shift?
Ryoji punched the ground with his infused fists and the columns of red, blue and green erupted in her direction, forcing her to block and step back to avoid the bulk of the damage. She slapped away the spells after switching her persona and Ryoji emerged from the fading magic, further deforming her cheek when he dug his clawed hand into her face and shredded through the flesh-
Hamuko kneed him square in the gut, shattering the armor and barely stopping him from taking her other eye. She snatched the remaining wing and tore if off his back, blinding him with the feathers and smashing his jaw with a front kick that landed with a sickening smash, sending the appraiser staggering-
Ryoji lunged ahead and opened up a long cut along her thigh, widening her red eyes. She quickly moved in his direction, blocking the slash aimed for her chest by her forearm. "Tch!" another flurry of predictable slashes breezed past her and Hamuko picked her sword, punishing the God for his telegraphed slashes and looping punches-
Hamuko kicked the blade out of his grip and ripped the remaining armor off his body, immediately slamming the blade into his exposed stomach, digging it deeper and deeper into his stomach while looking him in the eyes with a malicious glint in her own-
Ryoji smirked-
Hamuko caught that-
"Suffering awaits..."
Hamuko avoided the usual blast and gained distance as Ryoji started healing up, regaining his blade, wings, armor and switching his arcana to that of Strength. Bolts coursed around his arms and legs, hardening and visibly enlarging his muscles.
Hamuko mimicked, casting a power charge after closing the distance while pulling back on her first-
Knuckles collided and the whiplash rattled Hamuko while Ryoji stood still, easily overpowering the female due to the broken bones in her arms and shattering through her guard, knocking the breath out of her body and then going upstairs with the uppercut that smashed the bones in her jaw, knocking her out and sending her soaring several feet up in the air-
Ryoji took flight and grabbed onto the female, flapping his wings and soaring a few hundred feet in the air before plummeting downwards with Hamuko still in his grip, knocked out and unaware of what the hell was going on-
Hamuko came to just seconds before the crashing, thrashing around wildly and pushing away the appraiser with her hands and forearm-
SLICE-
Hamuko pulled back when Ryoji chewed off the flesh on her right forearm, stopping her resistance in her tracks. She didn't have time to scream or patch her wounds because as soon as she looked down, everything blackened out-
Ryoji released the hold around the wild card and launched her below with a staggering amount of momentum and force, leading to a sickening sound of crash when she landed on her head which immediately split open, spewing out blood and sending shockwaves throughout her brain and skull, black and white dominating her vision as her brain crashing into her cranium, forcing out blood out of her mouth-
Ryoji landed on the ground and grabbed a hold of her ankle when she tried to crawl away. He hoisted her up and sneered in her face, eventually smashing the female head first one more time, grinning when she started coughing out more blood, still trying to crawl away from him-
Hamuko touched her forearm and swallowed the blood that was pooled in her mouth, enduring the blade into her back and gritting her teeth when he started streaking it down, just like he had done to-
"F-Fuck..." Hamuko pushed herself off the ground with her hands and powered back to her feet, escaping his grasp and stopping a few yards away. She looked up and closed her eyes, huffing for a bit, regaining a little bit of breath and looking back at him with her blurry, fading vision that was tinted with red.
"Tick tock," Ryoji tilted his head, glancing at her shaking knees and her quivering frame. She was almost done.
"Maybe so..." Hamuko replied, glancing at the torn off flesh on her forearm and shoulder, touching the gaping gash on her face, parts that Ryoji had chewed off with his bare teeth. "But you know what...?"
"..."
"Unlike you, I'm dying with memories, not dreams," Hamuko said and that set Ryoji off, his rage exploding to new heights when he understood what she was implying.
He never gave a shit about Minato.
Minato was nothing, never was and never would be.
There was nothing between them!
"Shut the fuck up!" Ryoji slammed his sword and unleashed a shockwave of pure energy in her direction-
Hamuko switched her persona, counted down from 10 and went running again, determined to fight until her last breath-
Ryoji started swinging punches and slashes as soon as he got close, each strike paced with furious power but to his surprise, Hamuko channeled a number of speed buffs and started moving through the onslaught, not even trying to counterattack, studying and only feinting occasionally, keep him on his toes-
Hamuko slid her way through the lunging blade and moved her head to avoid the follow up punch-
She caught the next punch with both of her hands and Ryoji roared, breaking the bones in her palms-
"Ugh," Hamuko gave up and jumped backwards, inviting him to come forward and Ryoji did, letting out bursts of physical energy in her direction and closing the distance with fast paced razors of almighty energy, most of them cross blocked and blocked by Hamuko who was still on the run, barely avoiding the attacks and not countering even when she saw the opening-
Hamuko gritted her teeth and slipped instead of taking advantage of an opening which she saw, knowing her broken bones were not in any condition to handle the pressure and whiplash-
Hamuko broke free from the burst of energy that crashed against her chest and backed off, the tip of Ryoji's sword only grazing her neck and the appraiser roared in her direction, telling her to come forward and try her luck-
Ryoji eventually cornered her and grabbed a hold of her throat, easily manhandling and overpowering the weakened and broken female, repeatedly bashing her already broken skull onto the ground and pillars, over and over again with no restrain. He dragged her along when she tried to resist, punching and breaking the bones and muscles every time his power charged fists connected to her frame-
Hamuko tried to free herself but Ryoji resumed the mauling, launching and shattering her back against the pillars, punching the debris into her wounds. He tossed his sword to the side and started punching her over and over again with his two fists, content on beating her to death with his bare hands-
"Insolent whore!" Ryoji roared, lifting her off her feet and splattering more of her blood on the ground when he brutally smashed her face into the pavement. He hovered above her and started punching and Hamuko covered up, blocking the punches with her broken forearms, thrashing and moving to lessen the damage as much as she could-
"Time to die!"
"Ugh..."
"You bitch!"
Hamuko bit her lip-
"You started this all!"
"You changed him!"
"You disgust me!"
Ryoji held his fist up for the final time, channeling a multitude of charges, spells and physicals attack to punch her brains out in one fatal strike-
"Your life is over but your suffering has only begun-!"
"NYX!"
Ryoji drew back in surprise, the darkness latching onto his frame and throwing him off the wounded wild card who stood up, hardening her bones and keeping them together with the darkness, trying to keep her body from falling apart for just a few more minutes.
"I can still go on, Minato..." she whispered, knowing that he was bulldozing his way through the shadows to reach her. "I promise, I'll make this easier for you..."
Ryoji stood up-
"I'll make you the messiah..."
Knowing this was the last chance and summon, Hamuko took off in a blur, the primordial darkness following behind her and crowding Ryoji, repeatedly lashing out in the form of blades and spears that shredded through his wings and kept him in place. Hamuko held her broken skull in place with dark magic to clear her blurry vision, forming a shield to block the thrust-
Hamuko materialized a blade out of the darkness and slashed through his arm, knocking his blade to the side. She willed more of it out of her psyche, punching her fist forward and launching a volley of dark weapons in his direction-
Ryoji fought back, wincing when the weapons opened up wounds. He covered up, trying to lessen the damage, digging her feet into the ground and holding on, his armor shattering and the weapons lodging inside, deep into her stomach and chest-
Twisting-
Turning-
Never-
Ending-
Ryoji opened his eyes and screeched towards the skies, letting out another blast of darkness which Hamuko gladly took, forming a cloak of thick darkness around her body once more. She looked ahead, dark patterns and tattoos forming on her face and arm due to the excessive amount of magic in her body which kept her bones, joints and muscles together.
The Hanged Man card flashed briefly and darkness exploded out of Ryoji who looked in her direction, completely healed but his pride had taken a blow. Hamuko had brought him this far, just one form away from-
"It won't be needed here," he said to himself, trying to convince himself that she was not going to outlast him like that.
"Come on, little boy," Hamuko taunted, beckoning him over by her middle finger, much to his ire. "This is the finale!"
"This is the end!"
"Hahahahaha!" Hamuko actually laughed in response, not talking back and simply gliding through the darkness to clash with the god-
ONE. MORE. TIME.
Knowing her mode of attack was one thing but her pattern was still unpredictable for Ryoji because he had no idea how she was going to attack with that damn darkness of hers. He covered up and endured the forces crashing against his body, tearing through the binds when it latched onto his body-
"It's over!"
"It damn sure is!" Hamuko retorted, missing his lunges punches and retailing with more weapons to his exposed body-
Ryoji hardened his wing and smashed it against her face, knocking her a couple of yards backwards and he soon followed, firing a volley of reddish energy that crashed against her, making her grunt and dissipate it with her darkness-
Hamuko flicked blades in his direction as he bolted towards her, hardening his blade and slicing through the thick darkness, infusing the energy into his fist and launching a straight for Hamuko who dodged, forming a spear and sword and quickly closing the distance-
Ryoji deflected the darkened weapons with his massive blade, evoking rippling shockwaves every time they made contact but this time, thanks to the primordial darkness around her, Hamuko took in the impact and returned it back several times stronger, staggering Ryoji who still fought back, using his own darkness to slice through the mess-
Hamuko hardened her eyes. Every clash led to her bones threatening to break, forcing her to keep her concentration. She was fighting with a broken body, only held up together because of her ultimate persona.
One second of lapse in concentration would mean death-
Hamuko winced due to the strain on her psyche, lashing out with a torrent of explosions in his direction but Ryoji brushed them off and grabbed her a hold of throat, swiftly sinking the blade into her stomach-
"Ugh.." Hamuko widened her eyes as the blade went in deeper, her life flashing before her eyes-
"M-Minato..." Hamuko whispered his name and removed the bloodied blade from her gut, suffering a punch that nearly broke her concentration but she launched herself at the appraiser, biting down on her lip and firing hooks into his armor, over and over again in hopes of softening it up-
Ryoji lashed out with a slash and Hamuko barely missed the attempt, her lower lip cut open with a nasty vertical gash in the middle. She stopped and touched her busted lip, running her fingers over it, tasting the dripping blood and thinking back to the whole day and the night before. She had almost kissed the life out of him, smashing her lips against his at every chance she got, kissing him for hours with no restrain.
Ryoji saw her actually smiling and lost his senses, even in the face of her inevitable demise, she was fucking smiling!
"I've got no regrets," Hamuko chanted and ran back into the battle again, powering through the painful shots to her battered body and clashing as hard as she could with the God of Death, ignoring her body that was crying for death and her soul that was shrieking for eternal rest.
Ryoji disengaged and pulled on his left hand, riflting it forward and breaking her jaw with one brutal shot that snapped her head backwards, blood spewing out of her broken mouth and a tooth lodging inisde of her throat-
Hamuko looked up at the skies briefly, welcoming the flashes of her life before her eyes, the flashes of Minato-
She landed on her feet and summoned more of the darkness from her soul, drawing out the last bit of it from the corner of her soul, exhausting her already crippled body and soul. Ryoji saw the increase in the mist around him and screamed at her to lay down and give up.
"A bit more, Minato..." Hamuko said to herself, swirls of dark mist still coiling around her frame. Her whole strategy was to wait and counter but the clock was indeed ticking towards the end and she was doing no damage by sitting around and waiting for him to attack.
Ryoji stopped in his tracks when the wild card came forward, starting on the offensive this time with a volley of slashes, most of which he blocked and retaliated with, bursting through the binds and gashing her up with his massive blade. He expected her to back off and reset but she kept coming forward, manipulating the darkness around her for offense, repeatedly letting out spikes and blades that crashed against his body and constantly using the force of her darkness to throw him off balance, get openings and attack without a breather-
"Hahaha," Hamuko laughed when she got cracked, losing more of her teeth but still getting in his face, parrying and blocking the massive swing of his blades by repeatedly summoning new weapons every time his blade shattered through her weak imitations she conjured out of the darkness.
Hamuko drew back for a split second and yelled, gathering the darkness behind her and moving forward, the element behind her coming crashing down in a form of a tidal wave right on top of Ryoji who immediately brought his wings forward in hopes of stopping the impact but the darkness swarmed him, lifting him off the feet and launching him into the pillars, shattering the structures with every collision of his back-
Ryoji broke through the damn thing and widened his eyes, conjuring up a sphere of purple energy that exploded into a brutal shockwave, the heat of the attack easily burning through Hamuko's darkness and striking her body, slipping the bones that were barely held together-
Hamuko gritted her teeth and shut her eyes, covering up and cross blocking the torture until it was over, leaving her standing on rubber legs with most of her jacket burned and her arms completely charred. She glanced at her blackened palms and curled her hands into fists, the still rising, coiling and crackling around her body.
"Just sit down and give up!" Ryoji demanded as he closed the distance again, letting loose another stream of purple energy that Hamuko reflected with her hands, launching a volley of weapons in return-
Ryoji moved backwards, getting a spear into his throat and leaving him open for Hamuko who bolted forward, unbolting a number of kicks aimed for his neck and head. The appraiser reflected and blocked a few of them but Hamuko never stopped and constantly switched, faking low with one leg and knocking the sense out of him with the other leg-
CRACK-
Hamuko winced and pulled back, switching her stance yet again because the last kick ended up breaking her leg. She ducked under his wild charge and rotated on the spot, building mommentum and slamming her other leg into his armor as hard as she could-
CRACK.
Ryoji pulled back when the armor on his body crumbled. He glanced at the remains with narrowed eyes, not believing the battle had come this far. When he first started the battle, he imagined a little resistance followed by a complete mauling but somehow, someway, that redheaded girl had managed to push him towards the limits.
Hamuko took advantage of the daze and shredded through his limbs with more weapons which she rapidly materailized and launched in his direction, making the appraiser snap back to attention and burn the incoming wave to ashes with another burst of purple energy. The two raced through the mist and purple stardust, blades melting into each other and shattering to pieces that exploded in their directions-
Ryoji caught a fistful of the scraps and slammed them into the gaping hole on her face, drawing out another small scream from Hamuko who drilled her elbow into his now exposed stomach, briefly lifting him off his feet before she followed it up by another kick to the side that buckled his knees, almost bringing him down-
Ryoji caught Hamuko as she lunged it, flinging her to the other side of the floor-
Hamuko started pressuring as soon as she landed on her feet, infusing her fists with dark magic and lunging ahead with a flurry of sloppy and looping punches, leaving her open to Ryoji's fury laced strikes which struck her repeatedly but she stood her ground and fired back, her broken legs not able to muster up enough force for kicks-
"HAHAHAHAHA!" every shot that Ryoji landed drew out a laugh from Hamuko because with every shot, her memories were flashing before her eyes, memories of that special night and the whole day before the battle. "Come on! Is that all you got!?"
Ryoji broke through the binds and knocked her down to a knee, only to see her stumble and stand up, coughing and panting but still refusing to fall. The irate God exploded with a horrendous screech that was all the way down to lobby and Hamuko laughed in return, welcoming his charge, the darkness around her broken bones slowly but surely dissipating due to the strain-
"Give up!" Ryoji demanded after another block-
Hamuko's vision blurred after another punch to her gut. She screamed out blood and covered the appraiser in darkness, launching him towards the skies until he broke free and screamed at her from the skies, harnessing dozens of sphere of purple energy and launching them towards the redhead in rapid succession. Hamuko blinked to clear her vision and started running to avoid the explosions, some of them knocking them down but she kept picking herself up, trying to stay alive for a little while longer-
"Get down!" Hamuko shattered the remaining pillars and hurled them towards the skies, hammering Ryoji with the remains until he retaliated with another surge of almighty energy, burning the incoming waste and looking down with wide eyes, still in disbelief that she standing, hunched over, frail and beaten but still FUCKING STANDING.
Hamuko looked towards the steps, knowing that Minato was going to show up any second now. She looked back up at the skies and then at her fists, the darkness around her spiraling and coiling around like like robes, running over her knuckles and hardening her body.
"Alright then..."
Ryoji took the chance and went back to unleashing the spheres of purple energy but this time, Hamuko just ran through the spells, smacking them to the side and muttering under breath, the darkness seeping out from under her feet, growing in volume and density until Hamuko's jumped off the ground and levitated towards the skies, not stopping and only picking up the pace to slam into Ryoji as hard as she could-
"S-Shit!"
Nyx flickered around her and Hamuko's entire body went limp until she regained control of her persona and fixed her broken bones together, summoning a sword out of the mist and charging forward, narrowly missing Ryoji's claws and slicing through his sides-
"FUCK!" his roar was deafening. Ryoji whipped around and bolted towards her yet again, resuming the battle in the skies, clawing the flesh off her arms as they brushed past one another, moving around in mid air and going back to the clash, teeth gritted with blood and ichor dripping down their exhausted bodies-
Ryoji slammed his forehead against her and rammed his fist into the side of her face, trying to rip out her jaw from the inside but Hamuko fought back, concentrating just enough that the darkness around her exploded in the form of whips, crashing into his exposed stomach and knocking him away.
"This is it," Hamuko cupped her right shoulder, knowing the darkness was slowly fading, her control over the mighty persona lessening and lessening. "Just a few more seconds to go."
Ryoji heard that and and channeled the purple energy into his fists, enveloping his arms in a thick cloak of almighty power. He locked his stare onto Hamuko and shook his head, still not accepting the fact that at the very end of this battle, she was still staring at him, not looking away, not blinking and not afraid of him.
"This is for him!" Hamuko shouted at the top of her heart, hoping everyone in the fucking city would listen to her words. She bit on her lip, clenched her fists, concentrating the massive amount of mist around her body and bolting towards Ryoji as fast as her broken body could handle-
Ryoji cursed out Minato, loud and clear enough for the whole city to hear. His wings flapped, sending a gust of wind in her direction before he met her charge for the last time, the build up of energy around his arms just seconds away from the exploding-
The two clashed in the skies-
For the last time-
Hissing and scowling-
Closing their eyes-
Brushed past-
"Minato..."
"You're done..."
Hamuko lost the mobility in her body and screamed towards the skies in utter agony, the almighty spell crashing into her body and knocking the last bit of energy out of her system before she plummeted with a strangled, fearful cry of horror and fear, breaking down just like she did in her childhood and just like Ryoji anticipated-
Ryoji gave a savage laugh towards the heavens, plummeting towards and catching up to her in mid-air. He focused on her chest, digging his clawed hand into the flesh there and screeching in her face to evoke more of the fear in her heart. He had waited so long to see her tremble like this and he wanted more of it. He wanted to see her wallow in despair until her miserable last breath-
"It's fucking over!"
"TO HELL WITH YOU!"
"You broken bitch-"
"Hehehehe," Hamuko laughed through a mouthful of blood as his clawed hand was still digging into her chest. The appraiser audibly gasped in surprise when Hamuko held onto his forearm, still laughing with mockery evident in her working eye-
"Thanks for coming close," Hamuko whispered, barely enduring the weight on her left leg-
Ryoji finally saw the thick layer of darkness around her left leg. The pressure rolling off the concentrated spell was intense enough to rock his senses and now it made sense-
She had tricked him yet again.
Acting like she was defeated and then concentrating every bit of force to her left leg, the leg closest to his face-
"As I said..." Hamuko whispered, bracing and reeling her leg back for the final blow. Ryoji clawed at her face, punched the holes on her cheeks but Hamuko refused to let go, enduring the pain and still holding him close so he wouldn't escape.
"This is for Minato!"
With her final cry, Hamuko slammed her left leg against his neck, drawing out a sickening crack sound of his neck getting snapped in half, almost wrapping around her leg because the force and pressure was vicious. She screamed in pain herself when the bones and muscles in her left leg completely crumbled but she managed to free herself from his hold and launched him towards the ground and he landed with a painful thud and a horrendous scream of pain-
Hamuko still saw him moving and tugged on her hair, not believing he was still getting up with a broken freaking neck. Just as she tried to come up with another plan, her psyche gave up and Nyx retreated back into the dark recesses of her mind, evaporating the darkness holding her together and bringing her inhumane levels of pain when her joints, muscles and bones started crumbling-
The mist slowly faded away, disappearing back into her psyche and Hamuko almost fell from the skies, surely towards her death from that far up-
Ryoji was still moving-
She couldn't even drag him down to his final form-
Now Minato had to deal with that-
Just like he had to deal with everything-
Her fears-
Her failures-
Her baggage-
Her demons-
Hamuko cursed herself and fought back the pain and numbness, reaching deep into her psyche once again, despite the blood leaking out of eyes, ears and nose, she clawed at the sea of her soul, whispering, muttering and begging her personas to heed her call-
For Minato-
"Thanatos!"
The darkness of Nyx was just about ready to fade completely until Hamuko summoned the God of Death due to some miracle, his bestial roar echoing in the dead night while his form took in the fading mist of the primordial entity, forcing his already massive frame to crumble under the pressure, the vile and evil energy of Nyx corrupting the persona, making it screech towards the heavens alongside the female wild card who was deaf, dumb and blind, having no idea what was going on but there was still one thought in her mind-
"For him..."
The cream color mask changed in color and design, growing several spikes and morphing into bright gold while his massive frame grew in size, his ominous dark clothes changing into dark and red while the coffins turned crimson and white as Hamuko finally controlled and called forth her ultimate persona, the reawakened God of Death, Thanatos-
Ryoji looked up in surprise, shaking his head furiously because as much as he wanted to deny it, the surge of power told a clear story-
For the first time-
Hamuko had surpassed Minato...
Her new persona had eclipsed Minato.
The reawakened God of Death came crashing down like a comet, brushing away the puny almighty spells from Ryoji and drilling the massive blade into his stomach, forcing out a scream of pain and a vomit full of ichor as the blade tore through his stomach and back, lodging into the ground below and keeping the appraiser glued there-
Ryoji lost his senses in pain and quickly concentrated, his wings growing in size and his body-
Hamuko tightened the hold around Minato's knife, the one she had grabbed from his drawer. Her broken body screamed in response to the momentum as she came plummeting down at full force, the knife and her eyes focused on his head-
Ryoji grabbed his broken sword and lashed out in a desperate attempt just when she got close-
Hamuko lost the vision in her left eye but never stopped, eventually driving the knife to where she wanted-
The massive persona disappeared-
Hamuko crashed down, drilling the entirety of the steel into his forehead-
Ryoji's hand fell limp and his body was forced to shut down because he was beaten yet again-
...
...
...
Hamuko collapsed on top of him, whimpering and groaning in pain. She tried to get up and move but her body refused to listen, having gone through enough abuse and injury. She resorted to crawling, dragging herself away from the limp body of the appraiser. She touched her left eye that was gouged out after the final swing from Ryoji, surely never to heal again because she couldn't even see a little bit of light.
"..." Hamuko wanted to curl up and cry because the pain was so fucking dreadful. The rush of adrenaline was over and the agony came back with a vengeance. She had left everything in the battle, had suffered more broken bones and lost more blood than all of her previous battles combined but even with the pain she was suffering, there was a little solace.
"M-Minato... I did it..."
"I didn't let you down this time..."
"It hurts so fucking much..."
"But..."
"But all for you..."
Ryoji levitated up from the ground, his facial structure reforming and his armor reconstructing itself, the massive blade spawning in his grip as he finally shifted into the final form-
Death-
Hamuko looked back but couldn't get up, still on her knees as the God of Death rose up high, darkness and dread healing his wounds and crackling around his rejuvenated body like bolts. He looked up towards the sky and focused at the falling moon because it was only a matter of time now.
Death was finally here.
The entire tower was rocked by the horrendous scream from the God of Death, a sign of things to come because he was through playing games with these disgusting mortals. Hamuko had slowly chipped away at his forms, only to bring him to his strongest because he was finally at the apex of his power, finally shifting into the 13th Arcana-
Death-
Even down in the lobby, the other persona users could not contain the fear as it was felt all the way down. Thick despair lingered in the area and their visions started darkening due to the cold and fear, almost tangible, almost solid as if they could taste it and hear it, calling out to them, singing the tale of their doom.
"T-This is it," Sho looked up, sweating and paling a ghostly white.
The tower rumbled, sending most of them to the floor, eyes wide open and mind still trying to process what the hell had happened and what the fuck they were up against.
"Death..." Mitsuru whispered.
Death almighty...
...
Hamuko had no energy to move, let alone fight and something told her that fighting was useless. Ryoji was fully healed, his armor was intact and the blade was back in his grip but there was something different this time as he looked calm, almost too calm as if everything was already over.
"You fought long and hard," Ryoji said, raising his blade up as a reddish black energy enveloping the cold steel. The gust of wind from the blade made Hamuko nod as it was over. She hung her head and just waited as Ryoji kept talking. "But unknowingly, you kept pushing me to my strongest."
"..."
"It is done now," Ryoji said with a tone of finality, gripping the hilt and ready to rain the attack to finish her off for good.
"It is..." Hamuko replied, barely able to see due to her one eye being swollen and the other gouged out.
"Rot in hell..."
Ryoji hurled his blade forward the energy that had been building on the surface of the blade came forward like a storm, expanding and growing massively in a number of seconds to the point of completely engulfing Hamuko from head to toe and this time-
"..."
There was no screaming. There was no thrashing. There were no final words because as soon as Hamuko felt the attack, her vocal cords jammed in her throat, her single eye widened to the point that it almost popped out of the socket, her limbs twisted and turned and as her soul gave up-
"You are dead..."
The new attack of his rendered her speechless due to the influx of burning, decaying power that tore through her heart and soul, making her life flash before her eyes in fast forward while blade exploded out of her wounds in gallons but still not a single shout came from her dried up throat was she was gurgling blood, her single eye rolling into the back of her head and her limbs falling limp, her abused body falling backwards, falling towards her death because it was just a push away now-
It-
Was-
Over-
"..."
The last thing she saw was the sadistic smile on Ryoji's face before the little vision that she had left faded away completely, sealing her fate as her soul told her it was finally over because the arms of death were wrapping around her body, pulling her to its miserable domain-
...
...
...
...
...
...
"INFINITY!"
"Huh..."
Hamuko heard the scream and stopped resisting, falling backwards into the arms of Minato while the attack rebounded off the barrier and came back at Ryoji who flicked his wrist and dissipated the attack. His hollow eyes scanned through the fading mist and dust, easily locating Hamuko and this time, she was not alone. He was honestly surprised that she was still breathing, her limp body nothing more than dead weight to the persona user holding him up.
Minato had finally made it to the top, arriving just in time to see Hamuko envolped in the attack. He barely had enough of his senses to dual summon and shield her and now here she was, in his arms, still alive but even then, the psychopathic blunet had no idea how to digest all that had happened.
"Glad you could make it, brother," Ryoji sneered.
Minato stopped despairing over her condition and slowly raised his head up, snapping towards his direction and hissing venomously, blood leaking out of his eyes and mouth. Ryoji saw the glint in his eye and chuckled. Minato looked nothing like the messiah Hamuko had preached about. In fact, Ryoji could see himself in those vacant, crazed eyes, full of bloodlust and despair.
"You..." Minato dug his nails into his palms and more blood came gushing out.
"Attend to your broken whore," Ryoji said and faced the stairs. He looked back and sneered once more, loving the look of despair on his face. He was going to cry no doubt and Ryoji was proud of himself from bringing him to this point. "After that, I will be waiting..."
Minato stopped listening and looked down, closing his eyes and cursing the fates because he didn't even know where to look, what to say, where to even start.
"To bring the fall over your dead body..."
As much as Minato wanted to launch himself at the bastard and tear him to shreds, he focused his attention on Hamuko as Ryoji walked up the steps, disappearing from their view and leaving the two alone for a brief moment.
"Y-You moron..." Minato hissed through clenched teeth and eyes, not able to stop the tears glistering in the corner as he laid his eyes upon Hamuko who was a step away from dead, looking like a corpse that was just barely able to breath and survive. "You fucking moron..."
Hamuko rubbed her swollen eye and managed to see him, grief stricken and gasping for breath as usual. She winced due to the heartache this time, not due to the pain, knowing she had caused him a lot of suffering and had taken a good few years off his life. She tried to clasp her hand together in apology but could barely even move her limbs. She opened her mouth to talk but the words dissolved inside her throat, making her hang her head as a last resort because no apology was great enough.
"Dammit..." Minato managed to glance at her without flinching, almost losing control of his numerous personas when the reality sunk in. He had drained himself each and every day to heal the wounds that she had gotten in the battle but looking at her now, he knew... He knew there was no way he was going to heal the horrendous injuries she had suffered her. Her entire face was so badly deformed that he could barely recognize her, her eye was gouged, her flesh was missing at various points and he could feel the bones sticking against his skin.
Hamuko was damaged beyond repair this time.
No amount of summoning and healing was going to fix her this time...
"Why...?" Minato opened his mouth to talk but Hamuko managed to to silence him, putting her half chewed off finger against his bleeding lips.
"Y-You should have attacked me when I s-said so," Hamuko swallowed the blood in her mouth, straining her lungs to catch air. "You don't have to say anything. I'm more disgusted at myself than you are..."
"..."
"Sorry," Hamuko apologized, grabbing a hold of his face and forcing him to look her in the eye. "I'm so sorry. I'm dying on the inside just thinking of what I did to you..."
"..."
"But there was no other way..." Hamuko said slowly, closing her eye and exhaling softly. "There was no other way, Minato..."
Minato heard enough and just pressed her close, hugging her tightly because he had no answer to her. His only answer was to hold her tightly and then scream out loud, nigh deliriously, at the top of his lungs, laced with despair and agony just like 10 years ago when he had no idea on what to do, where to bash his head open, how to claw his cursed eyes out and where to hang himself because it was not stopping. The voices were haunting, the despair was clawing, his soul was shrieking while his mind and body shattered to pieces like glass, never to be repaired again.
"Sorry..." Hamuko kept apologizing, finding solace in his arms even with the amount of pain she was suffering.
Minato rested her down and winced, clawing at his eyes. He had worked so fucking hard and even if he won the battle, Hamuko was going to live the rest of her life in anguish and there was nothing he could do.
"G-Go on, Minato..." Hamuko said, raising her finger and pointing at the steps that led to the apex of the tower.
"Do it..."
"Maul him..."
"..."
"Maul him for what he did..."
"Maul him for what he did to me..."
Minato stood up and slowly glanced towards the steps, images of Ryoji and his ugly face flooding his senses. That bastard. He was already at the top of his shit list for the pain and torture he inflicted on him at new year's eve but what he did to Hamuko was breaking the fucking line. That son of a bitch was still breathing at the top, him and his whore mother were waiting for him after leaving Hamuko in a pool of her own blood.
"I'll be fine..." Hamuko assured, blowing a small kiss in his direction. "Climb up and do it..."
"..."
"Come on, messiah," Hamuko managed to shout louder this time. "Save me!"
Minato snapped back to attention and crouched down, pulling out the teleport gem and every healing item he had in his pockets, putting them at her side and then standing up.
"Only you..." Minato whispered, sparing one last glance at Hamuko before moving towards the steps, quickly hurrying up while Hamuko watched him depart with brisk footsteps, bloodlust and hatred rolling off him in waves because he was truly backed into the corner this time.
Hamuko grabbed the bead-
Her hand trembled-
Her eye snapped shut-
And her hand fell limp-
"..."
...
Minato raced up the steps, recalling and swearing every promise that he had made to Hamuko. Every promise about the mauling he was about to inflict on Ryoji because that bastard had finally done. He wanted it and now he finally got it. He had pushed Minato into the dark place like he always wanted.
"That son of a fucking bitch!" Minato scowled, rapidly ascending the steps and running up, catching the glimpse of the top of the tower and right in the middle-
"Pharos!"
Ryoji snapped back to attention and saw his 'brother' running towards him at full speed, his hateful glare even more ferocious and disdainful-
Minato dropped his blade and curled his right hand into a fist, screeching at the God of Death who mimicked him, loading up on his right hand and bolting as fast as he could, pulling back on his punch as the same time as Minato-
The two rifled their fists forward and clashed at the same time, knuckles to knuckles, evoking a wave of death and decay-
"Grrr!"
"This is it, Pharos!" Minato swore-
"There will be no remorse!" he spat-
"No regrets!" he continued, hardening the eyes of the appraiser.
Minato looked up at the sky, quickly locating the damn moon and then looking back down to stare the God of Death in his hollow eyes, matching the hatred and insanity-
"On this promised day..."
Ryoji held his ground and gave a grin, a sickening grin in contrast to the murderous glare Minato sent his way-
"Your ass is mine!"
The two broke free and disengaged, glaring, scowling and cursing each other, readying their weapons and taking their stances, eyes locked with a few just seconds into the final battle of the two brothers.
Wow, that was long as fuck. Sorry for the delay but... I have some issues to take care of. They all began after my birthday so... lucky me. -_- my motivation was already smashed and the issues didn't help either.
Ugh, anyway. The battle is over, Hamuko was royally fucked up. Again, it's nothing personal but I had to show this. She got hurt but she beat Ryoji a total of what... 8/9 times? while nobody else could do shit. Hopefully I did her justice in this final battle. She's also re-appearing in PQ and while I'm not a fan of PQ due to the shit writing and character exaggeration, I hope the writers come up with a badass plot for Hamuko and not just cast her aside as ship bait.
Anyway, due to review because we are finally here, at the last battle. My motivation is still shot so... no promises on the update. Might proof reader this reader but... just exhausted af right now
See you.