CH. 54 The Flame Burns Dark PT.3
Akane stands before Ellen and Kokoro, who is still shocked by her wing tearing off her back, and the newly inversed flame user takes a deep breath and exhales some smoke. The next moment is just silence with neither fighter making a move.
Kokoro looks at Ellen with frustration "Ellen, I demand that you leave, or I cannot promise that you'll leave here without serious harm." She demands as Ellen simply reverts her gun back to its blade form indicating her refusal.
Kokoro has said her part so she now begins a new onslaught as she screams "You can't reject me!" as a bunch of wings sprout from her back, nine in total, that create a rainbow of colors and her hair begins flickering with different colors. "Behold my angel, the ruler of space, time, elements, and even reality, the ultimate angel….Yetzer Hatov!" she shouts.
Ellen is blown back by this new revelation as she always expected Kokoro to have the same powers as Spirits, but this is quite different. Ellen realizes that she must inform Westcott of this as soon as she and Kokoro return to base.
At the Bifrost, the ship's radar is going wild as an alarm is going off like crazy. Origami is still in the control room as Ryouko and Kenji rush into the area to see Origami in the seat of the commander as she types on a console.
Ryouko jumps on a station and swiftly asks "What's the situation, Tobiichi?" in a cool manner.
Origami looks at the readouts "There's been a major flux of spirit energy outside. I don't think it's one of our friends." She explains.
After some minutes of analyzing the situation, Ryouko looks around for Hiro but can't find him. She figures he may have left the ship to check out the situation. They find the point where the power is fluxing, so Ryouko gets a hold of the team below.
Below, the team is about to knock on the door of the Itsuka residence when Ellen gets a contact with her earpiece from the ship. Ellen nods as she is told to go to the point where the power flux went up.
"I just got some news from the ship. Something came up, and I'll need to go with one of you to the spot." Ellen tells the group like a leader.
Tohka and Kotori want to stay and talk, so Mana is the one to go with Ellen since she's willing to help with this situation. With that done, Ellen and Mana run towards the coordinates and equip their gear while no one is seeing them so they can speed towards it.
Back to the fight, Akane is fighting Ellen first with the empowered wizard being pushed back with burn marks on her body while Akane smiles sadistically as she shoots black fires from her fists. Ellen's red territories do nothing to the inversed Akane while she gleefully continues her onslaught of fires. Kokoro is using this opportunity to Hiro's corpse to get her wing back.
Kokoro lifts Hiro's corpse and her she glows with a rainbow aura and seems to be doing something to his body in a desperate ploy to get her wing back. But little does she know, this isn't going to help her.
?
Hiro wakes up in an unknown space where there is nothing but brilliant white light. He can't move, but he can see and hear, and what he does see and hear are the approaching footsteps. She wears a very long and brilliant white-transparent dress. She approaches Hiro and he feels her turning his body over gently.
"Oh, you poor thing." She says sweetly as she notices the terrible wounds on Hiro's body. She looks at Hiro's face closely and smiles faintly, but Hiro can't clearly see her face. She begins gently stroking his hair "I knew you had a connection to Shido, but is was Metatron who told awakened me."
Hiro can't speak as he wishes to know who she is, but he can't move in slightest to even utter any words to her.
The girl sets him down "I don't have much time, but I'll tell you what I need from you." She says as she backs up a little and an orb appears in her palm. Hiro's vision becomes clearer as he can see a woman with long pale-blue hair and blue eyes.
She begins crying and only states one thing, one simple thing to him "…Please…kill Shido. He's not the same boy I loved anymore. I'll give you what power I can, just please free him from his pain." She fades in a light, but the orb remains.
The orb begins to envelop Hiro's body and a new woman appears, his mother, and she resembles an angel with a beautiful white dress, like a bride on her wedding day. She cannot speak, but she looks very sad. She kneels to his side and touches the hole where his Mana Eater was destroyed and the wound begins glowing gold like a star as it closes up along with the hole in his wound. His eyes glow light-blue, his body glows white as he begins standing up as his colonel outfit begins altering with his jacket turning white with a blue collar. Origami then walks to him as her body fades into his and the glow becomes brighter. Then, his body glows dark blue for a second and it turns back to white.
Real World
Kokoro is about to drive her palm into Hiro's body, but the recently deceased soldier grabs her arm and his eyes glow light-blue as his wounds close and his armor glows white as it repairs from the damage it took. His armor then begins changing color to a very white and the arms shorten to reveal his elbows and his upper arm edges turn to gold rings, his gloves turn fingerless, his helmet falls off to fully reveal his face and his look of intensity and his lower body gains a new mantle around his leg that resembles a cloth adorned with gold trim like a saint during the crusades. He has a new weapon form into hands as two small gold spikes form in his hand and they begin emitting a white light as Hiro slashes at Kokoro revealing his new light laser weapons. Kokoro drops Hiro, who's final accessory forms around his face, a gold visor that resembles an engraved wedding ring.
"Spirit, thank you so much for this gift, and I don't why you asked to kill my father, but I cannot do anything for you. Not yet…not until…I send DEM back to hell!"
Hiro's visor gives him a clear vision as his mother's voice clearly speaks to him "Hiro Itsuka, thank you for taking my power. I'll do what I can to assist you." She says in a polite manner.
Hiro can see her picture of the corner of his eye and he is confused "Mom? Or, Origami? Why are you talking to me? I don't have an earpiece in." he asks.
The picture of Origami shakes her head "No, I just take this form from my last host. I am called Metatron, but my powers are greatly diminished. I had to use your leftover technology to adapt to your body. I hope that is acceptable." She replies.
Hiro nods and Metatron explains the new power he has. Kokoro looks in horror as her power is stolen and she is absolutely enraged. She is about to fly to Hiro, but he turns his body into light particles as he zooms past her faster than light as he next seen standing opposite of her and a cut appears on her side and on her face.
"You may be a Spirit, and I won't kill you because of that. But I won't let you get away with hurting Kotori and Kurumi like you did." He states in a bold manner.
Kokoro looks at Hiro with absolute contempt as she points her finger to her head like a gun and actually fires a bullet from an invisible gun and her wounds disappear while she growls "Now, I can't tell Shinra that I'm perfect anymore. You thief!" she screams.
Hiro hears what she said and wonders what that was about. He wonders more about Shinra more than ever. "Who is Shinra!? Why do you talk so highly of him?" he asks.
Akane is busy with Ellen to notice the conversation and is enjoying fighting too much to even notice Hiro's new form, or even him being alive.
Kokoro turns to Hiro and rebuts "You will never understand the love I feel for him. He gave me life, he gave me meaning, and I will give him the love and adoration that was stolen from him. You have no right to ever question my motives. You're just a facet of what makes him sad, and that's why I want you and the others dead!"
The mystery deepens to Hiro as he a lot to talk about with the gang when he gets back and Metatron gives him a new idea for an attack set.
He takes his two swords and joins them together to create a large light sword as he dashes towards Kokoro "Saint Blade: Solais!" he shouts as he quickly strikes down towards Kokoro and she can't dodge or counter as she helpless stands and a major cut appears on her chest causing her to back away.
Kokoro then does what she did before as she points her finger at her head and fires as her wounds disappear. She is too frustrated to make rational decisions and she glows with a rainbow aura. She then raises her arms to the sky and an alarm begins setting off, a spacequake.
Hiro looks at the sky with a surprised look as he thinks about what do until his new guardian, Metatron, suggests "Why not create a spacequake of your own. I don't believe she's using her full force."
Hiro looks at his palm and wonders if he even possesses the power to do this. He then looks at Akane, who he now realizes in her inverse form and is shocked. But he has little choice. He jumps into the air and his greaves glow white giving him his flight ability back and he immediately speeds to Akane.
Akane is mercilessly beating Ellen down and is currently punching her in the face and Ellen's face is covered with bad burns and her outfit is scorched pretty badly by her new opponent. Akane merely smiles sadistically as she takes pleasure in humiliating her foe.
Hiro makes it to her and stops her by grabbing her hand "That's enough, Akane! We have another problem." He tells her.
Akaen stops punching Ellen drops her and she floats away a little, and looks at Hiro with anger "Don't order me around." She refutes as she swings at him now.
Akane tries punching at Hiro and he becomes increasingly worried about the quake but Hiro speeds out of the way with his new light ability and manages to get away from Akane. She looks around after this for a new opponent as she floats around looking for someone else.
Hiro appears above and has little choice as he focuses his power and tries to create a spacequake of equal force and his body glows a little as he concentrates. He feels his power working, but it isn't enough to stop the quake, but he continues to try.
"Need a hand?" a voice says from nowhere as a new force adds to Hiro's and the forming spacequake in the sky begins to cancel out, much to Kokoro's dismay. Hiro turns around and sees a pair of girls, one has long white with purple-gradient hair wearing a dark violet dress that is very reminiscent of Inverse Tohka's outfit, but her midriff is covered by a thin skin-tight leather guard with the Ratatoskr symbol on it and she wears dark plated armor on her arms and legs and has a butterfly mask that obscures her upper face. The other girl has long Dark Ash Blonde hair that gives her a familiar look to Hiro, her hair reminds him of Westcott, much to his dismay. But her outfit consists of a dark-violet form-fitting bodysuit with dark-pink lines running across the arms and legs and she has a dark-pink skirt that tears at the front being stitched together by belts and buckles. She has a realizer that looks like Ellen's Pendragon but is colored like Tohka's Nehemah, complete with a sword that has the same color as it.
The two girls appear to float next to Hiro as he is surprised by their appearance. They join at his side and ready their weapons with the girl looking like Westcott pulling out a sword that has a black base and dark-pink laser edge and then the girl with the mask pulls out a sword that resembles a key, a black key with a sharp tooth creating the outline of a heart with ornate writing on the base of the blade until it reaches it's dark-pink handle and even has a chain that has a keychain resembling a qlipha crystal.
Hiro looks at them and asks "Who are you both, and why does one of you look like Isaac Westcott?" but that second question comes out a little harsh as the girl who looks like Westcott looks at the ground sadly.
The masked girl smacks Hiro in the back of the head and states "Don't make Vivian sad, asshole."
Kokoro looks above to see three people above her and turns to see Akane now standing behind her. Her wings are out, but she looks uneasy and backs away as a portal opens behind her. She flees into it leaving Ellen alone.
Akane's gaze then sets on Hiro and she smiles with excitement "Time for a rematch." She says calmly.
Hiro begins talking with the two girls, who finally introduce themselves to him.
"I'm Haruhime Itsuka. The protector of this fair city" the masked girl says.
"And I'm Vivian Mathers. The other protector of this city." The other girl adds.
Hiro is immediately distrustful of that name as he backs up but Haruhime comes between them and makes it very clear she won't let anyone hurt Vivian. Ellen managed to hear this name but realizes that she is injured, so she retreats for now due to being outnumbered. Akane charges her fires and prepares for battle.
Before anyone can say anything else, Haruhime sees a black fireball shooting towards Hiro and she deflects it with her key as the fireball shoots into the distance. She can then see the people returning to their homes from the alarm and floats down to keep the fight contained and away from innocent civilians.
Hiro wants to float down to help Haruhime but is stopped by Vivian and is told "Haru can handle this. She's the second strongest person I've met."
Hiro is unsure of what to think, but nods and lets Haruhime do her thing. Haruhime then gets Akane's attention by holding her sword in a fighting stance as she holds out a free hand and holds her sword over her shoulder and head as she bends her knees.
"Let's see what you're made of, flame girl," Haru says with a slight smile.
Haruhime and Akane charge at each other with Akane attempting to punch and kick Haru with flame attacks that are only dodged with Haru swinging her sword with Akane dodging with equal skill. Haru then swings and creates an energy desk that launches at Akane, which cuts her across the side, which heals with crimson inferno. Akane then growls a little as she charges flames into her fists and she rapidly punches creating a scattering flurry of black fires. Haru can't dodge it, so she swings her key and opens a rift in space that she jumps through and she avoids all the fires.
Akane is surprised by this, but she can sense the rift opening from behind her, so she back kicks from behind as the rift opens, but Haru isn't in it as a new rift opens above and Haru appears from this and completes a downward slash that Akane is injured by but the wound again heals instantly. Recognizing this, Haru backflips out of the way multiple times with Akane shooting fireballs that all miss.
Akane is mad so she puts her hands together and her hands start shaking as an orb of black fire appears between her hands and crimson fire begins coming from her back as it powers up the orb creating a mix of crimson and black fires that she then crushes between her hands and then she punches with extreme force as the buildings around her begin breaking and collapsing as a blood-red orb of fires shoots at Haru, who cringes a little.
But Haru does have a plan as she takes her key once more and then slams it into the ground as a massive pillar of dark-pink energy erupts from it as the orb slows down while approaching it as it breaks apart from the force, but the orb still pushes through as it bursts through and strikes Haru in chest and sends her soaring away and into a building as the wall crumbles from the force of her propelling through it.
Hiro wants to help, but Vivian stops him as Akane approaches the wrecked building and sees Haru on the ground in some rubble, apparently passed out. But as Akane approaches and gets closer, Haru puts her hand on her key as soon as Akane gets close enough, Haru stabs her in the chest with the key and a violet light emits from Akane's chest.
Haru stands up and announces "Seal and lock!"
After moments, Akane's power begins fading as her dress begins fading back into her normal outfit to her horror.
"No, you can't do this!" she screams as her outfit is now back to normal. After her power fades, she becomes dizzy and then passes out and falls over on her back. Haru stands above her as the victor. Vivian and Hiro lower themselves to see the damage.
Haru looks at them and assures Hiro "I just sealed her powers with my weapon. She'll be fine once she wakes up."
Moments later, Ellen and Mana arrive on the scene, but are confused as all they see are three new people standing above an unconscious Akane, which sends the wrong signal as they prepare to fight next.