In the previous episode: Keima, the goddesses, and Chihiro, depart to the Maijima, and successfully manage to save Ayumi from Gabrion. Keima wins Ayumi back for the third time, while Hades, fed up with the failures of the three demon kings, sends them on vacation. Dark Heart has a new plan in mind.
In this episode: Keima spends the morning training Diana, and is later visited by Dark Heart.
****Katsuragi House… Mirror Dimension…****
It was Saturday morning, two days after Ayumi's conquest. Cupid had arranged a training match with Diana, and had insisted that Keima face her.
"But why should I train your sister?" Keima asked, against the idea, the day before.
"Because in the last fight she proved herself wanting." Cupid explained vaguely.
"Then give her a private space in the Mirror Dimension." Keima said as he tried to pull himself out.
"What's up, partner? Don't you want to coach my little sister?" - provoked Cupid.
"Not just that. I'd like to rest at the weekend, and not have to deal with your sisters." - admitted Keima.
"Socio, love and the gods never rest!" - shouted Cupid at him.
"What does love have to do with it?" - asked Keima, who had already understood something.
(What a fool of a Partner! Doesn't he understand that this way he has to increase his childhood friend's affection points? Didn't he understand that Diana is the most unstable right now? Or should I draw him like a 3 year old? Do you understand that your childhood friend is the one who hurt us the most? That he was someone who puts salt in wounds? Other than God of Conquest, I should classify him as Ignorant of love, and a 108-karat asshole of hardness!) - Cupid began to scream, in his mind.
Too bad Cupid had forgotten that Keima could read his mind, as they shared the same mind: "Cupid, would you mind repeating the speech aloud? What am I?" - asked Keima, to which you could see his red eyes from Devil Mode, and his evil smile.
Cupid began to stutter slightly: "I said you're slightly inexperienced… And that Tenri is…" - *THUMP!* and Cupid received a well-placed punch to the head, which knocked him flat on his face to the floor.
Cupid's insults pissed off Keima, but he had told half the truth. Tenri was the one who was hurt the most. Not only had Keima told him, with a letter, that there would be no ending with her, but he had also told her that they would never see each other again. He could have spared himself the last thing, but he had decided to be a heartbreaking jerk to the last. Thinking back to Tenri, she had been the most cooperative of all. She had helped him even though she knew she would gain nothing. Also, truth be told, Tenri was not a girl with a deranged character, like some of her acquaintances. Always calm, never angry, always reasoning, slightly shy, but honest and kind, doing her best for the good of the people she cares about, and to understand them.
"Yes, I really am a 1000 carat asshole. - Keima admitted, in a low voice, making Cupid jump at the unexpected answer, and letting slip a note of regret and repentance. - Tell Diana it's okay for training. And don't take it easy." - concluded Keima, leaving his room, slamming the door.
"But where do you have to go?" - asked Cupid, annoyed. But Keima had simply moved from his room to the kitchen simply not to see Cupid, and not to humiliate himself even more.
****THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOW SERIES!****
*What you deny submits you. What you accept transforms you. Keima only understood this now, and he also understood one thing: being there is not a little or a lot, but it is everything.*
KIRAKIRA kagayaku doma ni boku-ra wa meguriatta to omou kara Kizutsuki migakiage. (I think we met to shine even brighter. So let's clear away the doubts.)
THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOW! GOD ARRIVAL!
Mada masshiro na Sekai wo suberi hajimeta sen doko reso mo ikeru ki ga shita! (I've just started slipping through the lines of this empty world, and I feel like I can go anywhere!)
Dokidoki no Imajin ga Enjin yume wo egaku kedo Soto no sekai hamidasenai mamma! (Our heart-pounding imagination is our engine! As I try to find my way around this new world!)
Jitsu wa motto mawari no me wa ki ni sezu ni (Sometimes, you shouldn't listen to what other people think of you.)
Sakebidashitai, hashiridashitai, so! Kanjita nara Kirame-Go! (You just wanna scream and run, so when you hear it, it's time to go!)
Mirai ga hajimaru kaze wo tsukande jōshō Kikari Kiramentaru! (The future is beginning, so catch the wind, with a sudden flash of brilliance!)
Suki na koto wo shinjiru chikara. (This is the power of believing in the one you love.)
Kirakira kagayaku doma ni bokura wa meguriatta to omou kara Kizutsuki migakiage. (I think we met to shine even brighter. So let's clear away the doubts.)
THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOW! GOD ARRIVAL!
And so, that Saturday morning, Cupid had taken Diana to the Mirror Dimension, and Keima was waiting for her, ready to begin training her.
"Listen carefully, Diana. I won't be nice. So vent while you can. And know that the Block Manifestation is always lurking."
"I couldn't ask for better." - answered the goddess of hunting.
"Since you usually fight with your bare hands, I won't use my weapons either, but the barriers count. And now… - but Keima couldn't say anything, as Diana lunged at him and, narrowly, hit him in the face. - Too slow, you didn't put the will into it! - Diana snapped again, but Keima continued to dodge. - You have become weak, while I have strengthened myself."
"It's your fault!" - Diana insulted him starting to get faster.
"No. The fault lies with your Guest, who has not asserted herself in the field of love." Keima began to tease her.
"You…"
"What's up? Does the truth burn you? Has your prediction come true? That you still can't get Tenri to be serious today? To you who haven't settled down yet?" - Keima took refuge behind a reinforced concrete wall. Diana began to try to punch the wall with her fists, but scratched it slightly. - Did I already tell you that Tenri didn't give a damn from the beginning and that your staging was worthy of the worst helper ever?!" - the concrete wall broke, and Keima found himself grabbed by the neck, with Diana trying to choke him. But it was only momentary, as Diana let him go to the ground, and stood on top of him, attempting to punch him in the face. Keima parried them all, while breathing normally again.
This time it was Diana who exploded with anger and insulted Keima: "Damned! Worm! Bastard! Tenri really loves you! How dare you put her through all this?! You have always deceived her only for an ulterior motive! Weren't all the hearts you broke enough for you?! You…"
"Okay, that's enough now. - Keima decided. He grabbed Diana by the arms, made her do a sort of somersault, and finished with Keima, who was now on top of Diana. - Block Manifestation!"
"No… Again…" - Diana said, while she groped for herself.
"Final reached! Game over!" - announced Keima, when he finally could see Tenri's sapphire eyes.
And speaking of Tenri, at that moment she was more confused than ever: "K-Keima-Kun?! But what's going on?!" - how she ended up in that position and what the hell was going on.
"Sorry, Diana asked me for a workout, but she started losing her temper and I blocked her."
"Say that you provoked her." - said Tenri, realizing what Keima had done.
"You discovered me." - admitted Keima, smiling.
"Um, Keima, in this position, though…" - Tenri said, blushing even more.
Keima wouldn't have gotten up so early: "Sorry Tenri, but I need to strengthen Diana. If she's subdued so easily by enemies, then that's bad."
"But..." - Keima interrupted her with a kiss on the lips.
"Your resistance to fainting also needs to improve." - asked Keima.
"You say?" - Tenri said, before passing out.
"Damn, but what am I going to do when I need the Powershare?" - Keima wondered, while his eyes colored crimson. The best advice would be to not use Block Manifestation, left and right, in the presence of an enemy.
"Partner, it worked!" - said Cupid, while reflecting himself in the mirror, and making Keima mirror himself.
"Oh, you're right! - Keima yelled, looking in the mirror, and waking up Tenri. - Well woken up." - Keima told her, smiling.
"Why?!" - Tenri gasped, as she remembered the kiss from 10 seconds ago, and turned red like Keima's eyes.
"I just wanted to thank you." Keima told her.
"Thank me?" - Tenri didn't understand right away.
"Yes. Thanks for helping me in the past."
"It was nothing. I only did it because..." - and Keima gave her a second kiss.
"Thanks for saving my life." - Keima thanked her, for the second time.
"You don't have to force yourself to do this. Don't do it just because Diana makes you, or Cupid, or anyone else." - said Tenri, trying to find the catch, and worrying about Keima, and this time discarding the option of fainting.
Keima instantly countered: "I only do it because I feel like it. I decide my future, and I decide the people to love, and the routes to take. And I refuse to give my love to anyone, and I refuse to be, again, a choiceless puppet in the service of mindless devils and childish goddesses. And I absolutely refuse to abide by the rules of video games. To hell with the rule of choosing the secondary character, to hell with the suspended ending rule, to hell with all the rules that prevent me from being with all of you, and with you. Unauthorized access to my life is prohibited. - Keima said, while his eyes, now golden again, shone with determination and truth. - With you I can be who I really am, without needing to lie, or having to change my character. That's why I chose you too, Tenri. Because you are special. You always have been. Forgive my meanness to you, my false love, and accept my true feelings. Because Game Over is guaranteed, but the happy ending is earned. And this time the ending is also possible, because I like you, indeed because I love you." - Keima told her, before kissing her for the third time. Tenri was about to pass out again, but checked herself. She missed kissing Keima. They had never kissed since their first time at Akanemaru, and it had even been a staged kiss. All those sincere feelings, which Keima was pouring towards her, made her surprised, so that Tenri started to hold Keima as tight as she could. Keima loved her! And he wasn't lying. His heart began to beat faster, and his body began to heat up. Their last kiss ended only when they both didn't feel the imminent need to breathe, as they both parted with red cheeks.
"Keima, I love you too." - said Tenri, before passing out from too much happiness.
"I know. I always knew." - Keima said, rising from the awkward position, and taking Tenri in his arms, as he headed out of the Mirror Dimension. Arriving at Tenri's house, Keima explained to Mrs. Madoka that Tenri had seen a scary thing, and that she had fainted. Keima carried her upstairs and placed her on his bed. He waited a few minutes until Tenri woke up so she wouldn't think she had been dreaming.
"We will see each other." - Keima greeted her, leaving Tenri's room, and then leaving the Ayukawa residence.
Keima was about to go back to his house, but a figure who tried to hit him from behind stopped his peaceful afternoon.
"Quick reflexes Keima Katsuragi. Do you remember me?" - asked the masked boy.
"I never forget my enemies." - Keima answered, remembering the mask of the enemy in front of him.
"I don't know what the hell is going on in this Dimension. - said Dark Heart, as he stood in front of Keima. - But the source of the problem continues unabated. And my tools always point the finger at you. But enough pleasantries now, it's time to destroy you."
*Change CDs! Kami Mode!* - "Kami Change! - Que Bum! Kami So Cool!* Keima's eyes turned golden, and he spread his white wings. - The God of Conquest! Keima Katsuragi! Come to me, Samuel!" - Cupid's divine sword appeared in Keima's hands.
"Kiriken!" - a purple sword appeared in Dark Heart's hand, with a black blade.
"Bring it on! - Keima and Dark Heart began to move at the speed of light, as they headed towards the center of Narusawa City. - Why are you mad at me? Go bother another person!" Keima began to protest.
"Negative! - shouted Dark Heart - the cause of the instability of this dimension is you. And I have to decide whether to correct or destroy it. In your case I have decided to destroy you, because correcting you is impossible." - explained Dark Heart, while continuing to fight with Keima.
"But don't you have a life? That it's not necessarily real. Don't you have a home? Do not you have friends? Return to your Dimension!" Keima yelled at him.
"Life? Home? Friends? Dimension? I don't know these words, in my case! You are the being that will bring down this Dimension! You, and the Dimensions, are the reason I can't go home!" - shouted Dark Heart, at the top of his lungs.
"What the fuck are you saying?!" Keima yelled at him, without understanding anything, and breaking away from him.
"I am doomed to fix the Dimensions. I can't stop." - explained Dark Heart.
"Why? Who's forcing it on you?!" - Keima asked, recognizing Dark Heart, in a similar situation to his.
"This contraption!" - Dark Heart pulled down the scarf he had around his neck, and revealed a black collar.
"What relationship do you have with the New Hell? How can it involve anyone other than Earthlings?"
"I know a lot about the New Hell. Mainly because I'm their slave."
"Slave?"
"This collar is my sentence!" - Dark Heart pulled down the collar of his scarf slightly, and revealed a blue collar.
"What relationship do you have with the New Hell?" - asked Keima, immediately recognizing his former collar.
"They deceived me. They told me I could make the world better. That I could save the size. They challenged me, for my experience in adventures around the world. They put this stupid collar around my neck. And do you know what happens if I don't complete the contract?"
"They will cut off your head." Keima said, convinced.
"No. If I don't save all the dimensions, I can never go back to my Original Size. My father, my mother, my little sister… I haven't seen them for almost a year." - said Dark Heart, lowering his head, and letting out a tear.
"Did they do this? Those lees!" Keima insulted them. But were they serious?! Keima had been threatened with having his head cut off, but that was another level. But how dare they? What kind of methods were those? And now the consequences of the actions were being thrown back on Keima. He couldn't care less if the problem with the Dimension was Keima himself, and that he was risking death. And they didn't even care that Keima did their dirty work for them, always risking death! While Keima faced danger after danger, the leaders of the New Hell were playing the stone, and threatened disobedient people with death! Or maybe they were pretending? When had Elsie ever told Keima the story of a decapitated devil? Never! But it turns out that Dark Heart was right instead. Keima didn't even remotely believe that Dark Heart hadn't once tried to return to his Dimension, or to bypass the New Hell. But how did those collars work? There were too many mysteries Keima hadn't solved yet.
"For this I have to succeed in my mission. And I will use all my powers to take out anyone who stands in my way home. And you, right now, are in my way."
"The New Hell has never told me about Dimensional problems. What would my problem be?"
"Your problem is that your character is changing. A character is placed there with stats that cannot change over time. If these characteristics change, they are not lost, but they compromise the entire Dimensional system. If they're small, nothing happens, but if the character's entire build changes, then the Dimension is in grave danger. You are supposed to be the worst person, the one detached from reality, and the one who would never accept a polygamous relationship! You have changed, and that has led to the upheaval of the Dimension. Because every Dimension revolves around main characters, and in this Dimension you are one of them. You are a protagonist. If the protagonists don't do their job properly, the entire Dimension is at risk. So, either I eliminate the protagonist, or I correct him. And I can't correct you. It would mean that you should cut relationships with everyone, and go back to 2D relationships. You plunged this world into chaos, with your confession to the girl closest to normal, you taking refuge in the fantasy world. For this, I'm giving you only one chance: immediately cut ties with the people you know, stop working for the gods, and go back to being the otaku you always have."
"I refuse! - answered Keima, in a rush. - The infernals themselves were to blame for my change. They cause dimensional paradoxes without realizing it, and they send people to clean up their mess. I will never obey them again!" - Keima decided.
Dark Heart clenched his fists: "Then… I will have no mercy." - Dark Heart snapped even faster than before, while both began to raise the pace.
"Look, it's the New Hell's fault that I've become like this, and that's okay. The Dimension itself only needs to accept the change! You know that nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, but everything is transformed."
"Dimensions never accept change. Humans prove it too. They have always killed each other for the color of their skin, or for who knows what religious issue. And do you think that something has changed? NO! They always found an excuse to fight. The Dimension goes crazy for it. As in your case, Katsuragi. A trivial cause, i.e. answering yes to an email, has triggered important events. You've had a personal battle. To avoid war you chose dishonor, and so you got war."
"Dishonor? I'm looking for redemption and nothing else. You are a stupid background character, who is unknown. Because nothing shatters the dignity of each of us like an injustice. The Infernals are crazy, they are tricking and exploiting you. Kill without receiving anything. Nobody wins, nobody loses, it's no use, it's just to exploit you as a slave, and keep you at their mercy forever."
"I don't need to know your philosophy of life. As soon as I can fix the Dimensions I'll get out of here. If you won't help me, then it's time to finish you off. Dimensional Break Strike!" - Dark Heart charged his dark blade.
"As?" - Keima didn't have time to counter that he was hit in the chest by Dark Heart's sword.
"Now you understand?" - Dark Heart asked, sure that he had killed his opponent. A light leaped from Keima's mark, and enveloped him and Dark Heart.
"What's happening?" they both asked.
"Hey! Immediately undo what you did!" - threatened Dark Heart.
"I did nothing!" Keima pulled out.
The light grew brighter, and everything went dark.
NEXT STEP! FLAGS. 290!
KEIMA AND DARK HEART: "We swapped bodies?!"
CUPID: "But this thing is old!"
HOW I DISTURB YOUR LIFE!
KEIMA: "Give me back my body!"
DARK HEART: "I can correct the error from here too…"
Author's Note: What will happen tomorrow? Indeed, what happened to Keima? To find out, just wait for the next chapter. Leave a comment, turn on story notifications, and we'll see you in the next chapter.