Life 3. Father and Son
When I, Rito Yuma, came to the final chamber of the temple, I could see that face. His hair, his wings, and even his clothing are those of the man who appears on my nightmares.
"I'm finally able to see you two again, Yuma and Baraqiel. You are the first ones who were able to see me on the human world after spending hundreds of years hiding… sure, Yuma's parents, who are no longer alive, also saw me."
"You…! You killed my mom! I won't forgive you for that!"
"… Do you know what that feeling is? That's the feeling of losing a parent. I know it very well…"
He looks at a purple orb on the bottom of the room. There are many magic circles surrounding it.
"My father is inside that orb. I have waited centuries for this moment… I finally found the way to take you out, father."
Beliaruin… he went this far to free his father. However, his father is a legendary criminal, and he's a criminal too! I can't let him get away from this!
"I can see anger on your face, Yuma. Come at me. If you're willing to die in order to get your revenge, then I'll let you."
"Don't screw with me! Promotion, Queen!"
I concentrate the energy on my finger, and release it!
"Holy Lightning!"
My attacks lands on him! Since he's a Devil, he would-
"Don't call me a Devil. That word doesn't describe what I am."
He… is unscratched. And looks like he can read my mind, almost like he used [Number XVIII: The Moon].
I launch balls of demonic energy and fairy magic, while Baraqiel launches his light spears. He creates a magical barrier that blocks our attacks like they were nothing!
"Magical barriers are pretty interesting. If they aren't as powerful as your opponent's attack, then they'll break easily. However, my grandfather, Merlin Ambrosius, taught me how to create unbreakable ones."
He launches many balls of energy towards us. However, that isn't demonic energy, that's the Power of Destruction! We are barely able to dodge his attacks. We must go all out!
"Baraqiel, use these on him!"
"Huh, [Number II: The High Priestess] and [Number III: The Empress]."
[Number II] is the exact opposite of [Number V: The Hierophant], which increases the amount of magic power possessed by the wielder of the card, since it reduces the amount of magic power possessed by the opponent.
"Now take this for yourself."
I gave him [Number XIX: The Sun] so he can increase his holy power. I take [Number IX: The Hermit] which boost my Senjutsu, [Number IV: The Emperor] for longed-ranged attacks and [Number XI: Justice] to deal more damage to opponents with evil hearts.
I create many sharp rocks and launch them towards Beliaruin! Oryu's mysticism is my newest acquisition with [Number XVII: The Star], and it clearly works on Devils and Fallen Angels-
"Again, I'm neither a Devil nor a Fallen Angel."
He says that as he dodges my attacks! His speed makes it really hard to follow his moves… just what on earth is he?
"Take this."
He launches magic powers of all kinds! I shield myself with my shadows like Akai would do, while Baraqiel goes for a more offensive approach.
"Holy Lightning – Storm."
Baraqiel creates many Holy Lightnings from all directions! So this is the ability of an expert on the Holy Lightning…
"Holy Lightning – Spear."
He creates a light spear, but it is made of a Holy Lightning! Beliaruin also creates a light spear, so both them throw them at the same time.
The amount of holy power released from their attacks truly must be dangerous to Devils like me… I'm lucky that I can cover myself with this shield.
I look at the floor, and a part of it has been destroyed. I use the mysticism I gained lately to gain power from the now exposed ground.
"Take this!"
I attack using Fairy magic, demonic power, Senjutsu imbued rocks and shadow-made blades to attack him!
"Humph."
He counter attacks me with deadly amounts of Power of Destruction! All my attacks got destroyed by it…
"Did I mention that my great-grandfather is the Great King Bael? My Power of Destruction may be even denser than that of the current heir of the clan."
He's clearly talking about Seila… Well, I can't tell the quality of her Power of Destruction, Mint and Ham were the ones who fought her, after all.
He then creates many light-based weapons. They have all kind of different shapes, from spears to swords.
"Grandfather Bezaliel doesn't recognize me even now, right Baraqiel?"
"… He has no reason to recognize a criminal like you as his grandson."
All his weapons point right at Baraqiel after hearing that.
"No reason other than blood. Maybe if one of his precious comrades dies he would hate me more-"
His spears then point towards me!
"-But killing the last Yuma would be even more pleasant."
His spears go right at me! Baraqiel gets in the way of the weapons and creates something that looks like a huge shield made with his Holy Lightning.
"Holy Lightning – Shield."
The shield then goes flying towards Beliaruin. He launches many magic attacks… Rather, he summons large amounts of wood with his magic. The shield destroys the wood but it isn't able to hit him.
"Grandfather Merlin taught me that summoning wood is a good way to block electric attacks. After all, wood doesn't conduct electricity."
Damn it. It doesn't matter if he uses his Power of Destruction, light-based weapons or magic, he's so capable with all of them that we simply cannot harm him. He was born with great power, great talent and comes from a great bloodline. He was born insanely strong.
"Mind reading magic is pretty useful on this kind of situations. I normally wouldn't like to see what lowly beings like you think, but I can note something on your thoughts, Yuma. You think you weren't born strong, that you had to work for your power."
"I had, what do you mean?"
"And what about that [Sacred Gear] of yours?"
"Stop right there, Beliaruin!"
Baraqiel seems altered at the situation. Huh? Does this guy know something I don't?
"They haven't told you, have they? Oh well, I'll tell you the truth about the power you were born with."
"Don't do it!"
Baraqiel and Beliaruin keep arguing, but I can see that no matter what Baraqiel does, Beliaruin is going to speak.
"[Destiny Deck], 21 cards that change destiny. The power of tarot cards is right on your left arm. However, don't you find weird that you've never heard of a [Sacred Gear] like it before?"
I think I see what he's talking about. When I looked up the database of [Longinus], specifically the [Neo-Longinus] (other [Longinus] beyond the 13 original ones), there were other [Sacred Gears] aside from mine.
Some of them, like [Aelon Balor] and [Unknown Dictator] have had at least 2 users over time; since there can only one of each [Longinus] at the time, these were just cases when it went from user to another when the former died.
However, when it came to [Destiny Deck], it lacked information. Not only it didn't mention any other user besides me, but it even lacked a description of the [Balance Breaker].
I blamed it to the fact it was only added recently to the list, but he's right that there appear to be no information about my [Sacred Gear].
"Your [Sacred Gear], [Destiny Deck], it's the first of its kind. It's a recent glitch on God's system."
The first one…? Mine… is the first [Destiny Deck]?
"That Black Angel over there. He was assigned to take care of you because he's collecting data of your [Sacred Gear]."
"Don't believe on him, Rito, he's trying to get in your mind."
"And I can believe on you? You betrayed my trust already; I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case."
"It isn't! Please understand-"
"Come on, Baraqiel. Are you going to deny that you met him because of that reason?"
…
"… Yes, that was the reason I met him."
This man. He says he cares about me, but he only cares about the power I have. Mom, dad, I'm sorry. I'm sorry we had to meet someone like him.
I just walk away, outside of the chamber. I don't care about Baraqiel anymore. At this point, even Beliaruin is more truthful that him.
"Rito wait!"
"What do you want now?"
I have tears coming out of my eyes. I can't stand seeing him any longer.
"The day we met, I saved you and your parents from Beliaruin. I explained them about the situation, and Azazel ordered me to stick around to be sure he wouldn't appear again. However, during that time, something amazing happened."
He points at the disk I have on my left arm.
"Your [Sacred Gear] awakened. I informed Azazel about it, and he didn't have any idea of what it was either. Hideki, your father, decided to name it [Destiny Deck], saying that those cards would change destiny. I was given the mission to investigate this new [Sacred Gear], but something I didn't expect happened."
He looks up at the sky.
"Your mother, Marika, was a charming woman. I reported Azazel that I felt in love with her and that I should forfeit the mission, but he told me that, even if I felt in love with her, continuing the mission would be for the better, because my relationship with your family would be deeper. However, I felt bad for falling in love with a married woman, so I asked Hideki about it. Do you want to hear what he said?"
[I understand your feelings, Baraqiel-san. Marika has always been a woman who can make any men fall in love with her. You can't imagine how many people envied me at both high school and university. I was the lucky man who was able to have a kid with her. Rito is very precious to me, and so is Marika… Can I ask you a favour? If I were to die, can you marry my wife and take care of Rito for me? If there's someone who can take care of my family other than me, it's you. Maybe I show myself somewhat hostile towards you in front of Rito, but that's because he doesn't like to have an stranger being around all the time, and as his father, I decided to give him support; but in the bottom of my heart, you're my closest friend, Baraqiel-san.]
… Something stroke on me after hearing. It truly sounds like something dad would say. So the reason he married my mom so soon… was because my dad asked him? And he never disliked Baraquiel?
"I accept it, I met you because of research reasons, but Hideki became my best friend, Marika became the woman I felt in love with, and you, Rito, you're like a son to me."
A son. I never saw myself as his son. My mom is Marika Yuma and my dad is Hideki Yuma. That's an inviolable fact. Even then, Baraqiel raised me when dad died, and took care of me when mom was killed. However, there's one more thing I need to know.
"If you came with the mission of protecting us from Beliaruin, why did he kill her?"
"21 of December of 2012, that was the day of the revelation. I was meant to be on a reunion with the Mayan gods alongside the other Cadres, but I missed it."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because Beliaruin appeared again to attack you. When I heard that, I flew away from the reunion place and faced him. However, he was too strong and defeated me."
So he did come to help us, but he wasn't able to defeat Beliaruin…? All this time, I thought that he had only done bad things to my family. However, it's because of him that I joined Grigori and Okoma, and thanks to that, I met people like Ram and Akai, which led me to meet Ham, Mint, Silverage and the others.
"I kept this as a secret from you because Penemue thought that knowing it would affect you… however, it seems like not telling you made more harm than well."
Penemue-sama… I know you wanted to do well, but I think Baraqiel is right on this one.
"I'm getting bored, but as someone who can reads minds, I can confirm everything he said is true."
Beliaruin says that. So, that's the truth… as I was thinking that, Baraqiel gets close to me and gives me a hug.
"I'm sorry if I did something wrong, Rito, I hope you can forgive me."
I… hug him. This is the first time I have hugged him. It feels weird, since I don't feel any hatred when I look at him.
As he gets away from me, he smiles. Seeing such a serious person like him smile is strong to me.
"Bang."
As Beliaruin says that, a huge hole appears on Baraqiel's chest! He falls to the ground lifelessly.
"… What did you do?"
"Your talk bored me, but seeing you hugging each other was more than enough to me. They called me "The Greatest Evil" ever since I can remember, so I'm just making justice to my name."
I can't stand this guy anymore. He calls himself a superior being, killed my mom, manipulated the Star of Belen association, and now he attacks Baraqiel just when I was making the paces with him…!
"You're a monster!"
"I'm just being what people think I am."
I get close to Baraqiel. I can barely feel his pulse. The good think is that he's still alive.
"Don't dare to die now, stupid Cadre of the Fallen Angels. You took my mom as your wife a week after my dad died, you weren't with us when she was killed, and you hid that important information about my [Sacred Gear] for years. However, all of that was because you were protecting me from the shadows, and even when you never told it to me until now, I think that I can say it… I forgive you."
As I say that, I can feel a warm light covering my body. It is golden in colour.
"Finally, the moment I was waiting for."
Beliaruin says that. I turn around and ask him.
"What moment?"
"I have been attacking you multiple times over your life to force you to awaken it. That's the power which breaks the balance of the world possessed by a new [Sacred Gear]. Being the first one to see it is an honour."
As he says that, an intense golden flash blinds me.
Balance Breaker
Once the light fades away, a card emanating that golden bright appears in front of me. I take that, and declare the name that comes to my mind.
"The card that creates destiny, [Numberless Card: The Fool]. This is my [Balance Breaker]."
Finally, I reached it. The ultimate state of a [Sacred Gear], the [Balance Breaker]!
According to the card description, it is able to "upgrade" my disk. I don't know what it means, so I'll just active it.
When I active the card, the disk starts changing its shape. It goes up my arm and starts covering my entire body. Once it stops "upgrading", it turned into an armour-like suit that covers my body. I have a visor on my left eye and I can feel my hair turned somewhat spiky. The golden bright from before has turned into m aura. This feels so good.
I go to where Baraqiel is, and put my hand on his wound.
[Number X]
With that sound, Baraqiel's wounds are healed. I then turn around to where Beliaruin is.
"Shall we get started?"
"Yes, show me the power I have been waiting for 10 years!"
I can feel a huge power on me. I think I can win!
[Number I] [Number IV] [Number V] [Number XI] [Number XIX]
As the disk-like armour part on my left arm says that, I understand the power of this suit. I'm able to use any card I want!
"Holy Lightning – Spear!"
I launch that attack which lands on him perfectly!
[Number VII] [Number VIII]
I move using my huge speed of and land a hit with huge strength!
"Yeah, this is what I was waiting for. You have 8 active cards at the moment. Let's see if you can active the 21 cards!"
He launches many different kinds of magical attacks, so I continue using my [Balance Breaker] power.
[Number II] [Number III]
Not only his attacks decreased their power, but I'm able to dodge them with my super speed!
However, as soon as I dodge the, he launches light-based spears!
[Number IX] [Number XVI]
I use mysticism rocks to create a shield with my powered defence! I have active 12 cards already. This [Balance Breaker] is amazing!
[Number XX]
The tentacles that restrain his movement appear! However, swords of light appear around him and cut the tentacles.
"You have already used 13 of them; I congratulate you for making one of my dreams come true."
He has a magic circle on his hand. He's going to use some kind of ability. I need to stop that!
[Number XIII]
And he falls to sleep! Then, the magic circle actives, and he wakes up.
"I knew you could put me to sleep, so I need to have some of these prepared."
Five circles identical to the first one appear form his back! So he's that ready, huh. Let's see what you can do with this!
[Number XII]
He now should be unable to see or hear. I go ahead with my Holy Lightning – Cutter on my hand, but I land it on a magical barrier!
[Number XV]
I launch demonic energy balls, but none of them can break the barrier! Then, the barrier just goes away.
"[Number XII: The Hanged Man] is indeed an interesting power. However, 30 seconds isn't enough to destroy my magical barriers. 16 done, 5 to go."
I'll just use my useless cards since I have nothing else to do.
[Number VI] [Number XIV] [Number XVIII]
"I will never fall in love, and there's no way you can read my mind since I used a spell to block mindreading on myself. However, being unable to use my full power is more interesting."
Shit, he knows the power of each of my cards. And what he said it's true; I can't read his mind no matter how hard I try.
Then I have two cards left, my Trump Card and the Forbidden Card. I have no other choice but to use them.
"Come on, I use those two last cards now!"
He creates multiple magical barriers to protect himself. I'll use them!
[Number XVII] [Number XXI]
My Forbidden Card stops time, and I copy his power with my Trump Card. I run to the side of the barriers to be able to hit him.
Since time is stopped, I'm unable to breath, so I may die because of a lack of oxygen if I use [Number XXI] for a long time. There's a reason I call it the Forbidden Card.
Once I get around him, I launch all the powers I have! Shadow blades, Holy Lightning, Fairy magic, Senjutsu rocks and demonic power! All at once!
I take a breath as time resumes. 21 cards that change destiny. I just used all of them.
"So you stopped time to hit my blind spot? Not bad. You're the opponent I expected you to be. I think this should be the time to use 50% of my full power against you."
What?! He has been holding back that much power?!
"However, it's time for him to come back."
I look back to where Beliaruin is looking at, and I can see the orb is cracked. It starts spouting out some kind of gas before finally opening.
What appears from it is a man with long black hair. He looks really similar to Beliaruin. However, the most shocking part of his appearance is that he's wearing the exact same armour as Lucifer-sama, but instead of being blue, it's red.
Beliaruin gets close to the man who just appeared and says some words that fill me with fear.
"It's good to finally be able to see you again, father."
That man, he's the Beliaruin father…
