Date A Re:Live
S3 Chapter 54: Shido Countdown, Part 4
By : Tohka_Yatogami
...
Summary
Even a similar story can take it's own path. Shido and Mana are amnesiac siblings living with their friend Kotori, however the past catches up to Shido when he nearly runs into a space quake, and his world changes as one girl asks... "Are you here to kill me?" (Stronger Ratatoskr, weaker DEM, games & movie are canon to story) [Shido/Tohka/Harem]
Here we are everyone, the final chapter of Shido Countdown, and I'll just say this to hint you without directly revealing anything... but the moment we reach the end of this chapter you'll be in for a surprise. *giggles* And that's just one surprise of many this chapter's gonna be revealing hidden within it, I think you already know Mana will have one considering the opening scene from the previous chapter.
For now, the Round Table's got three sides who want them dead because the Dáinsleif's malfunction has put everyone in danger. Elliot's gonna at best simply fire them all for disobeying his order to now have the Dáinsleif finished. Mana, Rinne and Rio are gonna wanna tear them apart for being willing to murder their brother/son without hesitation... and all the Spirits? No need to detail that, we all know what harems do in this situation.
The big question now though? How will everyone save Shido, the spirit paths between them are still all blocked up, none of them will be able to use them for more than 5 minutes, and a few of the Spirits had to waste some of their powers trying to fix Shido up beforehand, the only ones who don't have any lack of Spirit power are Mana and Mayuri, and that's not the best combo to fight Shido.
Oh, and the icing on the cake? Nia isn't gonna help them at all because of her whole "prove yourselves" scenario she's pulled off for this entire thing, mainly because she can just have Raziel blow up the Dáinsleif if things were to get beyond even her ability to stop. The situation's crazy, so let's actually see it happen instead of me simply continuing to talk about here, so now...
Let's see everyone save Shido!
Elliot and Karen watched in horror from their location in the base, worried what had just happened.
"No choice, time to pull the trigger." The ugly cat doll replied.
"Wait stop! This just started, you can't-" Elliot ordered desperately.
"Sorry Elliot, but you're too soft. Now someone willing to risk sacrifices will do what this world needs." The ugly cat doll replied.
Soon a sound went off as the system for the Dáinsleif started up.
[Dáinsleif system activated, preparing to fire at target Shido Takamiy-mi-mi-mi-m-m-m-m-m-ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!]
Everyone who heard that was confused.
"What's going on here!?" The drooling dog asked confused.
"Why is it malfunctioning?" The crying mouse said worriedly.
[...Correcting data, preparing to fire at the target of Tenguu City, beginning annihilation now. Removing restrictions and cancelling code.]
"What!? No, abort it, emergency override code Balmung!" The ugly cat doll exclaimed.
Unfortunately, the screens beep and show a giant red 'X' symbol... they couldn't stop it, the ugly cat doll's voice shook in fear as the Dáinsleif began charging and preparing to fire on the city.
Elliot's face was shadowed before turning to the Round Table's dolls with pure rage on his face.
"So, this is how far you'll go? How little you'll damn about the consequences!? Ratatoskr was made to help the Spirits and Humanity... but all I've seen you do is try to throw even a single life away without giving someone the chance to save it! Now look where you've taken us Clayton!" Elliot roared.
The ugly cat doll's voice shook a bit before growling a bit.
"Me!? Don't act like you're a saint who knows everything you old fart, you had a hand in creating the DEM long ago, so don't-" Clayton roared.
"I'm damn well aware of that, the difference is I admitted to that long ago! I even did so when the Spirits' existence was leaked to the world! You think you can lecture me about that when you did the same here, but refused to reveal you still finished the Dáinsleif!? I made a mistake, you broke the law by ignoring your superior!" Elliot countered.
Clayton's voice went silent, having nothing to state against that, only growling angrily and slamming his fist on the table his real body was sitting at.
"You took too big a risk Clayton, only fair you-" The drooling dog replied.
"You're not off the hook either Almsted! You really think I wouldn't notice? In your mind do you think I'm so foolish? Well for your information and misfortune, I'm not. Clayton alone wouldn't have had the authority or means to make the Dáinsleif behind my back on his own." Elliot stated.
Almsted's voice gasped.
Soon Elliot looked at the crying mouse doll, a squeak of fear coming from it.
"And you're not an exception Teshirogi. Only the three of you made this happen, and right now... willingly or being forced to cooperate means nothing to me. I can't believe you brats pulled off this shit! I did not tell you to follow my lead, but at least you should comply with the agreement. If you want to violate the agreement, then I also have my intentions... Karen?" Elliot said in a commanding tone?
"I've already made the call. I hope you feel proud of yourselves Round Table, for the violations you've made, you'd be lucky for a sentence that's lower than double digits. Pack your things... you won't be keeping your jobs anyways, so all of you are fired!" Karen declared.
"You can't be serious! A punishment, just for this? I only did all of this for Ratatoskr sake!" Clayton roared in anger.
"I don't care why you did, just because of why you did an action doesn't mean it can be excused. Even those who commit crimes for good reasons still had to take responsibility, lighter sentence or simple service, but they did it because it was the only way for good... the Dáinsleif was not such a case." Elliot said coldly.
The dolls soon all short circuited as Elliot cut their connections, also locking the areas the three were in as the police all headed over to arrest the trio.
Elliot sighed, looking at the screen with the Dáinsleif.
"Elliot... what are we going to do? That weapon's gonna destroy the city at this rate." Karen asked.
"I don't know... for once I don't know. We can only do our best to protect the citizens. Karen, deploy the AST now, tell all of them focus on the safety of the citizens and initiate the warning alarm." Elliot replied.
"...Understood." Karen nodded, her worry slipping out slightly.
Suddenly everyone in the city heard the alarms go off, indicating Ratatoskr had alerted trouble, the DEM was present for an attack, or an unsealed Spirit was on a rampage. Luckily, the constant years of Spacequake kept a panic from happening, and the AST soon began flying overhead to assist them.
"Keep calm everyone, head for the shelters ASAP! We'll keep you safe!" Artemisia stated, flying over overhead of some people as she and the other AST members kept watch around them.
"We have an unidentified threat, go as fast as you can without causing chaos or disorder!" Ryouko ordered.
The Dáinsleif began its rain of fire from midair, hitting one of the nearby buildings. Debris flung out towards the evacuees and caused some of them to cry out in fear and horror. Artemisia's eyes widened as she deployed her territory, moving it piece by piece to take the pelt of broken buildings.
Another beam shot fired towards them, and Artemisia yelled loudly before flying at it and cutting it apart with little effort. A lot of children watching smiled at the sight of her, causing Artemisia to turn and smile at them.
"Get going, you'll be OK." Artemisia assured.
The kids nodded as they and their families started going into shelters, a few AST members forming territories around the citizens as they waited for the shelter transports to take in the next wave.
"Anyone know what's happening?" Cecile asked worriedly, using her CR-Unit's wings to cut some debris away.
"No, Karen only said there was no time. Either they don't know what's happening or..." Leonora answered.
"The threat was just too fast there was no time to define it, and her voice sounded like the latter to me." Ashley finished.
Mikie helped someone who had degree catch their legs, soon looking around.
'Mana's not here, nor are Shido and the Spirits... I bet they're involved in what just happened. All of you, please... be safe.' Mikie thought as she helped the injured evacuee to the shelter.
Everyone saw the whole in the ceiling that Shido had just flown out of, all shocked by the sight. Their frozen looks all ended when a sudden shake from another shot of the Dáinsleif struck nearby, making the building rumble.
"Whoa!" Rinne shouted as she fell over.
"What just happened? Not to mention that blast, was that big brother?" Rio asked.
The speaker Reine and the others used sounded static before readjusting itself.
"No, it's worse... much worse." Reine answered.
"What do you mean?" Tohka asked.
"Aside from people like me, there's another group of higher ups that only Elliot has higher authority than... they're called Ratatoskr's Round Table. They've done something they weren't supposed to... begged not to do, and now we could all pay the price for it." Kannazuki answered.
Rinne started to go blue in the face.
"STOP DELAYING AND START EXPLAINING!" Rinne screamed in a panic.
"Whoa! OK, OK, we'll explain... but please don't get mad at us, this comes from a time we didn't know Shido was a Half-Spirit and we worried over nothing." Kannazuki said fearfully.
"That weapon is... the Dáinsleif, a satellite weapon named after a cursed sword." Reine explained.
"Dáinsleif? What is it meant to do?" Origami asked.
"...It has a single purpose, one that was meant to only be use as a last resort if nothing else worked. Nothing else could stop Shido, or save him. The weapon's sole purpose, is to essentially be the blade that would kill Shido." Reine admitted.
"What the hell!? Are you serious, you made something to kill my own son? Is this really what Ratatoskr practices-" Rinne screamed angrily.
"We never planned to finish it!" Reine screamed back.
Rinne suddenly showed a surprised face.
"Let me explain, when we had the plans for this weapon... it was when we didn't know Shido was Half-Spirit. Having all that Reiryoku in a human body that hadn't evolved into a Spirit? Elliot knew nothing good could come from that, but Shido had already sealed Tohka's powers by then, we were too late to try another road. Tohka, Origami, remember when Shido's anger after seeing you frozen nearly caused a large-scale Spacequake?" Reine asked.
"Yeah, it sounded bad, but considering how big one-" Origami answered.
"It would have destroyed the entire region of Japan you were in, and that was when he only had sealed two Spirits' Reiryoku." Reine stated, emphasizing the last part.
Everyone showed shock at that, while Rinne sweated remembering what her Spacequake a few months back had nearly caused.
"Shido wouldn't want that, I know him... like Seigo, he'd sacrifice his life to save thousands more!" Rinne said shakily, the realization hitting her heavily.
"Exactly, if that were to happen with more Spirits, even the original Spacequake would be nothing. A fear everyone had of an even larger quake? Shido could have made it a reality, and not because he got angry, but the powers became too much for him, at least... that's what we thought at first. Rinne, when you appeared, we realized Shido was Half-Spirit, that he could control it, we just needed to keep his emotions in check." Reine explained.
"Originally, the plan was for Shido to seal all the Spirits and then remove the power as a single Sephira Crystal we'd safely store away. That way he wouldn't risk exploding from the combined Reiryoku. However, moment we learned of his Spirit heritage and due to Shido having sealed half of the Spirits, the Dáinsleif had its development cancelled." Kannazuki added almost instantly.
"You mean it shouldn't even be here now? Wait... are you saying this Round Table group finished it against his orders?" Kotori gasped.
Reine sighed at that.
Everyone made a look of horror, showing it was clear that was exactly what happened.
"I'm not sure why Shido's actually like this, it may be an outside force or a side effect of his time trapped in Choronzon, but... they decided to fire it the moment he left through the roof... and the satellite's malfunctioned entirely. It's not trying to kill Shido anymore, the whole city's a target! The AST is barely managing to prevent casualties and getting everyone to shelter." Reine continued instantly, not wanting to waste time.
"Is there a way to stop this, please tell me we can save Shido!" Rinne begged.
"Not to worry, one of our theories is that the malfunction in the Dáinsleif is connected to Shido, maybe if we can stop one of them we can stop the other. Though with your limited time with your powers we'll need to think smart here." Kannazuki explained.
Everyone nodded at that.
For everyone still in a dress, they quickly rushed to change clothes that would be more fitting to face off against Shido.
"Mayuri, you and Mana try to subdue Shido, right now the two of you are the only ones who don't have to worry about a time limit. We need to buy time so we can examine the situation and figure out how to use their 5 minutes of power to help them." Reine ordered.
"Understood!" Mayuri nodded.
Mayuri threw her dress shoes off and grabbed some slippers, and Mana quickly followed her outside.
In the sky, a flash of light came from Shido as he rampaged in his Over-Limit Spirit Ascension state, his fake Uriel and Rinne's actual Uriel shaking heavily in each of his hands as his power flooded out of them, he roared as he attacked the area, causing Reiryoku explosions everywhere.
Right as he was about to resume, he noticed the sight of Mana and Mayuri running into the area, making him give an angry look as he sensed their Spirit power. He rushed at them, catching their attention.
"Let's go Mana! Astral Dress... equip, come to me Kerubiel!" Mayuri shouted, spinning as lightning discharged from her and formed her Astral Dress. Her Angel formed on her back as she flew at the rampaging Half-Spirit.
"Murakumo!" Mana screamed with determination, her CR-Unit's armor instantly forming on her body. The suit's upgraded form glowed as Mana rushed forward.
The two rushed at Shido's sides, causing him to hold up both Uriel blades and clash with them, roaring loudly before he threw the both of them off, making them smash into the closest buildings which collapsed from the impact.
Mayuri quickly got back up, manipulating all the metal with her electricity before she condensed it all into a large metal spear.
"[GRAND... CHARIOT!]"
The spear launched forward at Shido, while Mayuri glows and Kerubiel morphs its shape.
"Alright, here we go! Time to show them your new power Kerubiel!" Mayuri declared.
[Here we go!]
"Drill through the storm, and strike harder than any metal with your lightning... [Zeus!]" Mayuri yelled.
Kerubiel curled up before expanding into a giant drill that Mayuri landed on.
The now giant Angel started to charge lightning at its tip, super heating the metal metallic molecules and electric currents until it formed a plasma. Mayuri screamed as she tapped Kerubiel, making it fire and wrap around the spear as it flew at Shido.
Shido stared at the spear, and levitated his Uriel as he held up a hand, forming Tohka's signature mana barrier to stop and shatter it to pieces. Mayuri looked in shock before he grabbed his Uriel and threw it forward, the blade cutting through Kerubiel's current form and shattering it.
"No!" Mayuri screamed.
Mayuri was launched back, tumbling across the ground in pain as she weakly looked at Shido. Mana finally escaped the debris she was trapped under and saw this happen to her horror. Making a serious face, she looked at her brother and flew up.
"How about you try fighting against me big brother!" Mana shouted as her swords detached from her shoulders.
Mana quickly thrust her blades forward, and Shido barely reclaims his Uriel before countering her with both of his, but to his surprise... Mana was faster at swinging, leaving him no openings to strike back.
With a smirk, Mana's shoulders unleashed their blasters and shot at him point blank, sending him flying while he slid across the ground and regained his footing. Mana rushed ahead and swung while smashing her swords against his mana barrier.
"[Orochi Blade!]"
Mana's swords grew in length before expanding to reveal the eight energy daggers within them, cutting through Shido's mana barrier and striking him down before sheathing both in her blasters briefly.
"[Susanoo Bazooka!]"
Mana fired the blast at Shido, soon rushing forward and charging a blast as she drew the swords with the blasters attached, slamming an exploding roundhouse slash as she uses her [Tsukuyomi] technique.
Shido got up, barely standing before Mana slammed the swords together, combining them as the now singular blade doubled in length.
"[Amaterasu!]"
Shido was smashed into the ground by the single sword, and soon enough he roared before swinging both Uriel blades up, shattering the blades and blasters to Mana's horror. She slides back a bit, soon extending her arms out.
"Matthew, I need the White Licorice now!" Mana requested.
"Sending it over now." Matthew answered via the headset.
Mana sees it materialize and backflips to equip it instantly, soon readying all weapons to fire at Shido, Mayuri soon manages to float over and rest on it.
"Mayuri?" Mana said in surprise.
"Matthews upgraded it so my powers could fight the time limit. I need to recover, so let me discharge some of my power so you won't have to worry about a time limit. We can't risk you running out now that you've lost your weapons." Mayuri replied.
"OK, and thanks Matthew." Mana smiled.
"Any time, just make sure that you save your brother." Matthew replied with a grin.
Mana rocketed forward, firing every missile and beam while forming the White Licorice's swords and binding tethers, catching Shido by surprise.
The missiles and other artillery all smash into him, Mana shouting loudly as he slashed and struck against him. Shido was tossed into the air, only for Mana to shoot up and prepare a sneak attack while his guard was down.
Unfortunately, before Mayuri and Mana had any time to react, they were knocked down to the ground again as Shido moved faster than they could make out. Shido soon touched his face with his hand as his aura intensified.
Shido gave a loud and distorted shout as his body began to glow brightly, and each Uriel was bathed in the same glow as they took the form of Rinne's Uriel, but with cyan accents replacing some of the pink ones like Shido's.
What was more surprising though is that Shido had taken the form of Shiori while still in his Over-Limit Spirit Ascension and her power flared out even more now.
"What the? He became Shiori, but why?" Mana asked confused.
"I think I know... since Spirits are usually female, being in the form of Shiori is letting Shido use more power. She's gotta be stronger now, watch out!" Mayuri warned as her body shook out of pure instinct.
Shiori burst forward at high speed, Mayuri got into a defensive position as Mana readied the White Licorice... but to their surprise, Shiori didn't go after them.
Mayuri felt herself fall backwards as Shiori grabbed onto the White Licorice and ripped it right off of the Murakumo, surprising the two as Shiori jumped high into the air with it. She grabbed the White Licorice even more tightly, and soon a surge of Reiryoku made it explode.
"No... she destroyed it... so easily." Mana gasped.
"We're not done, if we do nothing that Shido will-" Mayuri exclaimed as she started charging lightning in her hands.
Shiori soon slashed with Uriel blades, sending twin slash waves at the two as Mana quickly shoved Mayuri away, quickly deploying her territory in defense. Mana screamed as she was hit by the attack.
The sound of her territory exploding was heard through the air, and Mana fell back with wide eyes as she saw the one thing she never expected to happen. Her Murakumo CR-Unit, the armor that had been by her side since Shido's journey to save the Spirits?
...It shattered to pieces, completely destroyed beyond repair.
"My... Murakumo, no." Mana gasped in horror.
Mana tumbled across the ground, soon landing on her back, she weakly pushed herself up with her hands as she saw Shiori looking at her. It reminded her of when they were younger, how he could always stand up for himself while she was never able to pick herself off the ground.
Mana soon began to cry, feeling helpless as all her methods to fight except for her inexperienced use of Reiryoku were gone.
"Mana..." Mayuri breathed, looking scared as Shiori turned towards her with both Uriel blades ready.
Reine and the rest of the Fraxinus crew all look in horror as Mana's Murakumo has its readings vanish and list it was destroyed, making them fear the worst.
"No... Mana! Quick, someone try to get through to her, please don't let her be dead!" Reine panicked.
"Commander Murasame, calm down. I can verify from my position that she's still alive. I can't say the same for her CR-Unit, or the White Licorice... Shido became Shiori and now it seems her powers have at least doubled as a result. She's truly using the limit of 8 Spirits' Reiryoku as one right now!" Matthew answered.
Reine bit her lip at that.
Mayuri and Mana alone weren't even close to strong enough to just buy time, forming a plan would take too long.
"Commander, could we assist with the Fraxinus?" Shiizaki asked.
"No, the upgrades from my last status update say the ship can't be used right now. If we did, it would probably be destroyed just for trying to fly." Reine answered while gritting her teeth.
Reine slammed her fist on the console in anger at their current situation.
"Reine, what's wrong?"
Reine turned back to see the other Spirits all arrive in the room, fully dressed in their casual clothing.
"It'd be easier to say what isn't... Mayuri and Mana are getting creamed, and Mana's lost her Murakumo and all her weapons. Mayuri's unable to properly fight because Shido, who became Shiori as a power booster of sorts, could hit Mana if she focuses only on him." Reine answered.
"No way, big brother's that strong now?" Rio gasped.
"I'm afraid so, we'll have to forego planning, everyone... there's no choice but to wing it or we're all dead. Now get out there and help them!" Kannazuki ordered.
"RIGHT!" Everyone exclaimed.
They all rushed outside as fast as they could, about to face one of their hardest battles yet.
Nia sighs a bit at the sight before her, surprised just how easily Shiori managed to overpower Mayuri and Mana.
"I thought it wouldn't be this hard, guess I underestimated this. Even without levels of power possessed by an Inversion, he's just too strong."
[Well, he's pretty much second to the First Spirit in this start... I guess even a Spirit like you can do things recklessly.]
Nia sighs, shrugging a bit at Raziel's comment.
Raziel soon waited a minute before sighing.
[I guess you won't help?]
"Only if it starts nearing a point even I'm threatened, and that hasn't happened... at least not yet." Nia answered.
Mayuri created another electrical field, using it like a shield to try and limit the attacks flying at her and Mana. She began panting heavily as she felt herself weaken.
Shiori rushed forward, readying both Uriel blades to swing down, Mayuri gasped and closed her eyes when...
"[Arcadia Barrier!]"
Rio teleported into range, forming a what looked like a shield version of Uriel that emitted a pink mosaic aura, taking Shiori's attack before flinging her back with the same force. Shiori soon looked forward as she sensed the Reiryoku of the other Spirits, all wearing their Limit Astral Dresses.
Mayuri smiled while Mana barely reacted.
"You made it... thank you!" Mayuri sniffled.
"Sorry we kept you, now it's time we do this. We've got less than 5 minutes so let's make this count! Mayuri, we got some idea of how to do this, you ready?" Rinne replied before asking her question.
"Yeah!" Mayuri said with vigor.
At that moment, Maria took the lead as she formed Opheniel and placed her hand on the ground.
"Go Opheniel! Maria declared.
[Yes master]
Vines burst from the ground at Shiori, the overcharged Half-Spirit simply readied the Uriel blades and shot forward to slice them.
"Mayuri, discharge your lightning now!" Rinne ordered.
Mayuri nodded and screamed as she fired it out, the vines suddenly accelerated their speed as the lightning charged them, causing Shiori to be caught off guard and forced to parry the attacks.
Mayuri soon saw Rinne motion to her, Rio and Marina and grinned as she aimed some at them. The three got a bit zapped before they all used the small charge to accelerate towards Shido. Marina took the lead, with Shiori about to strike her, but...
"I gotcha!" Marina smirked.
Marina held out Sarufiel and gassed out a weak cloud of chlorine, making Shiori gasp before she placed a hand on her, with Rinne and Rio doing the same right afterwards. Shiori's eyes widened before tossing them off her.
The three slid from the assault, but they did what they needed to, Marina used a venom that wasn't lethal but sapped away most of someone's strength while Rinne and Rio both used some of their abilities to leave a huge shot in Shiori's Reiryoku. She was now at a third of her strength.
"What the? Incredible, did they just use a feint to cut more of her power? I'm impressed." Nia admitted.
[Looks like she's about at 35% strength now. She's still very powerful, but they've likely got a chance to Shiori win against Shiori now.]
"That's it, we've weakened her. Kaguya, Yuzuru! Start us off now!" Rinne exclaimed.
"You've got it!" The Yamai twins said in unison.
The two let wind wrap around their bodies and flew straight into the sky at Shiori, she panted before crashing one of the Uriel blades, using its energy to empower the other as she swung at them. The two smirked before twirling in midair, making Shiori slip by them as both prepared their Raphael bows at her backside.
"If you can make an opening..." Yuzuru began.
"...Then you'd be foolish to waste it!" Kaguya finished.
The two fired their arrows, causing Shiori to be shot at the ground, she got up with an angry look as she turned to the both of them.
Unfortunately, that look soon became one of shock as Kaguya and Yuzuru had morphed their Angels into lance and pendulum forms.
"[El Re'em!]"
"[El Na'ash!]"
Shiori was flung into a building, the impact immobilizing her briefly, the Yamai twins used the moment to switch with Yoshino and Natsumi.
"You ready Yoshino?" Natsumi asked, looking at her.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Yoshino nodded.
Natsumi gave a toothy grin, jumping into the air with Zadkiel while Natsumi took out Haniel and spun in place.
"[Siryon!]"
Zadkiel shifted into it became armor on Yoshino's body.
"[Kaleidoscope] - Zadkiel!"
Natsumi put her hands forward as Haniel became a copy of Zadkiel, but with green eyes instead of red ones. Yoshino lands on the Haniel-Zadkiel as it charges at Shido.
Shiori broke off the wall and prepared to slash Uriel at them, Yoshino expelled an ice cyclone while Natsumi's copy of Zadkiel fires off a geyser of water, the two attacks twisted and boosted each other, soon causing Shiori to be slightly frozen as it hit her.
"Miku, now!" Kurumi exclaimed.
"OK!" Miku nodded.
Shiori soon felt the Nibellcole clones bind her arms and legs, and Miku a focused sonic scream at her, turning her eyes fully white as everyone else covered their ears to block it out. Shiori roared in pain as she couldn't block out the sound from her ears.
Kurumi soon grabbed both of Zafkiel's guns, and looked at Shiori apologetically.
"Forgive me in advance Shiori!" Kurumi begged.
Kurumi fired out shadow blasts at Shiori, her barrier formed again, but Kurumi kept hitting the same spot without erring, causing it to eventually shatter before she charged a big shot and released it with a shot. Shiori was hit hard, falling to the ground as the Nibellcole clones vanished.
As Shiori tried to get up, she suddenly noticed a cage of fire around her, gasping as she realized Kotori made it... only to be quickly blinded by Origami shining a bright light.
"[MEGIDDO!]"
"[Metatron!]"
A blast of fire and beams of light rained down on Shiori, smashing into heavily before she managed to knock it away. Shiori panted heavily before growling, preparing to charge at the Spirits... only for her to suddenly yelp as she stepped on her right leg, feeling pain across it.
That's when she noticed it, a small wound on her right leg that showed signs of her leg swelling, and because it was a blunt injury... Kotori's powers had no way to heal her, making Shiori's eyes shake.
"Yes, she's open! This is your chance Tohka! Get to the Dáinsleif, hurry and destroy it!" Rinne exclaimed.
"Right!" Tohka nodded.
Tohka began flying into the sky... only to narrowly dodge a shot from the Dáinsleif, and she turned to see the resulting explosion make a few buildings collapse, causing her to gasp in horror as a whole group of people were revealed, the shot having breached a shelter's walls!
Nia soon focused on it.
"There it is, this is the moment I expected." Nia stated as if she knew the outcome already.
[Nia...]
Tohka noticed her Limited Astral Dress start to flicker, and looking to where the Dáinsleif was, knew it was about to fire again... she made a determined face and flew back down towards the people.
Nia's face showed shock as she saw Tohka land by everyone, and right as the Dáinsleif aimed another shot at the people, Tohka screamed as she rose Sandalphon up, forming a crystal barrier that blocked the attack.
"...What?" Nia breathed in shock.
"The Dáinsleif can wait, everyone focus on saving everyone in danger!" Rinne ordered.
"Right!" Everyone shouted in agreement.
Nia looked left and right as she saw each of the Spirits give up their chance to reach the Dáinsleif, all in favor... of protecting the people in anger! Her eyes widened, shaking heavily as if she was having a panic attack.
"...this isn't possible" Nia whispered.
[Master, what's wrong? Why are-]
"It isn't... it isn't... it isn't!" Nia whispered over and over, sweating heavily as she her breath became shaky.
The Spirits continued their efforts to protect everyone until they all managed to move out of danger, all of them looking relieved no one got hurt or killed.
However, at that moment... all of them suddenly collapsed as their Astral Dresses and Angels broke away, leaving only Mayuri's left.
"Oh no, we ran out of time!" Mayuri gasped.
Mayuri tried to fly up at the Dáinsleif in their place, but soon felt herself get tired and she sunk back down, slumping on the ground.
Mana looked at the scene in horror, every one of the Spirits... all their Reiryoku gone or out of strength, and Shiori was walking at them slowly with the Dáinsleif prepared to fire again at any moment.
'There's nothing left they can do! Without Reiryoku, they're as vulnerable as everyone in danger... the AST is too focused on helping everyone, no one has time to spare to take it out or someone could die... Nia and the last Spirit probably don't even notice this and... Mayuri's too weak now!' Mana thought, fear overwhelming her mind.
'And I've lost every method I had left to fight, Shiori's gonna destroy them beyond her control and the Dainsleif will eventually purge the whole city!' Mana mentally screamed as she shed tears.
"I hate this, I'm weak! You're always saving me... I don't want that! I wanna be strong, I wanna get even stronger, I wanna rise up where no one can look down on me! I don't want... to be so pathetic!"
Mana's eyes widened as she remembered the words she spoke when she was young. Looking at the situation... she realized it, she was giving up, and yet even though she had nothing but untrained spirit power... she still had it!
She was still able to fight, and she had to! Mana's crying eyes soon went serious, and she suddenly sprinted as Shiori readied her powers, the area around them suddenly began to burn up from Shiori's Reiryoku before Mana suddenly began to sprint towards her!
"Mana!?" Rinne exclaimed in shock.
'What just happened? What am I doing? Why am I running... and why can't I stop! It's like my legs just started moving on their own!' Mana thought as she ran ahead towards Shiori, preparing a blade of Reiryoku as she prepared to attack.
Shiori prepared to attack with Uriel, but Mana simply slashed against Shiori with her blade quick and fast, it didn't do any damage and simply annoyed Shiori who dispelled Uriel and prepared a familiar cyan sphere in her palms.
"That attack!" Mana gasped.
"Oh no! Big sis, look out!" Rio exclaimed in worry.
Mana was blown back by the force, and the thought of having to have Shido save her again while she was crying and weak, she grunted at that, not wanting to see it again. She growled louder... and suddenly began to glow a bit, her hair flashing various random yet familiar colors.
Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of that, easily realizing what it was, it was something that only Shido had been seen using before.
"That's..." Tohka breathed.
"No... not this time, if I don't do something it's all over! Reine, you said it to me once, I thought it was at Arubi Island... but now I see this is what you meant by when you said there would be a time where I had to become the hero!" Mana exclaimed.
Mana screamed loudly, throwing Shiori off as a burst shot off of Mana's body, creating a veil of dust that slightly blinded the berserk Half-Spirit.
When it cleared up, everyone saw Mana with the same hair and eye color as Kotori and flames burning off her wrists... she had done the one thing no one ever thought anyone but Shido would be able to do.
"Mana just used..." Rinne started.
"...The Spirit Ascension!" Tohka finished.
"No more waiting, and no more excuses, the promise I stated back then... I'm fulfilling it here and now! No matter the cost!" Mana exclaimed with determination.
Mana pulled her arms back, charging a fiery version of Shiori's technique.
Shiori roared before firing the [Roaring Flash Blast Wave] at Mana, and as it neared her... Mana soon focused her sight towards the sky as another beam from the Dáinsleif prepares to fire itself at the area.
"There it is! That satellite, you're curse... will break apart here!" Mana screamed.
"[Roaring Flash Blast Wave - Megiddo Boost!]"
A fiery version of Shiori's attack blasts out of her hand, and it collides with Shiori's blast, the two attacks keep colliding with one another, shaking the entire area as the beams collide with incredible power and force that ripped apart sections of the ground.
Eventually, Mana digs her feet into the ground, turning as the sound of her foot joints snapped and she pushed her attack upwards.
"GOOOOOOOO!" Mana screamed.
Both beams shook a bit before bending upwards, causing both of them to shoot upwards into the sky, causing Shiori and everyone else to all stare as the beams head up towards space... right where the Dáinsleif was!
The Dáinsleif begins its next fire, but the satellite's beam soon collides with the twin Reiryoku blast, and the intensity was so powerful, it sliced through the Dáinsleif's before it shot forward and through the satellite. After a few seconds, the satellite caught on fire before it glowed brightly, sending rays of light to mark its explosion.
Back at the Ratatoskr base, everyone stared for a moment, and then...
"...everyone, status update. What happened to the Dáinsleif?" Reine asked, wanting to realize what had happened.
"Analyzing now." Shiizaki replied, typing on her keyboard console.
Soon the results came up, and the Dáinsleif's status was registered as...
...Destroyed
"The Dáinsleif has been... they did it." Shiizaki breathed.
"They did it... they did it!" Reine repeated, soon crying a storm of happy tears at everyone's success.
Meanwhile in another room, Elliot and Karen soon sighed in relief and smiled.
"They've done it again, these children are making us old farts look out of shape." Elliot joked, smiling.
"Though perhaps that shows how likely their chances at beating Westcott are?" Karen smiled.
Elliot smirked back, chuckling a bit.
Mana soon stared at what she had accomplished, panting a bit and smiling as she looked at her hand.
"I did it, I... for the first time, on my own, I managed to stand up for myself." Mana breathed, soon slumping on her knees.
The smile on Mana's face, no one had ever seen it as bright as it was now.
"Huh?" Shiori blinked confused, soon reverting back to Shido as his Over-Limit Spirit Ascension was undone.
"What happened? Where am I, how did I-" Shido wondered, only for his whole harem to glomp him in relief.
"SHIDO!" They all exclaimed happily, all giving off happy tears.
Shido blinked confused, but soon he rubbed everyone's heads one by one, trying to relieve them of their worries despite being lost to the situation before him. The Arusu sisters and Mayuri all gave their own smiles, with Rio hugging them soon after.
Meanwhile with Rinne, she walked up the exhausted Mana before her eldest daughter turned to look at her, Rinne smiled at her.
"Mana, I might not be able to sense emotions like your little sister, but could feel your feelings near the end. The feeling of being powerless compared to others and feeling worthlessness when you lost the Murakumo, White Licorice and your weapons. However, let me tell you something." Rinne said with a smile
"Seigo told me the stories behind heroes, including normal firemen, policemen and more. After looking at them all, there was one thing that I saw in common in them. In fact, it was something Seigo and Shido had done once, and finally you." Rinne explained.
Rinne breathed, a gentle breeze blowing through both Rinne and Mana's hair.
"Their bodies began moving on their own, they didn't need to think, almost like instinct. Today, that's what you did." Rinne answered.
Mana suddenly began to tear up slightly, slightly lowering her head to the ground.
[At that moment, it finally happened... the thing I never realized I wanted someone to say, the words I needed to hear! My mom finally said them to me! And with it, all my regrets blew away with the wind that was blowing my hair.]
Rinne looked at her as the wind got stronger and said...
"Be proud Mana, because you've finally found that strength. Because today... there's no way that anyone can doubt you've become a hero!" Rinne exclaimed, the wind blowing at its highest for a few seconds.
"Mom..." Mana sniffled, soon crying heavily as Rinne hugged her close.
The others all stared, happy how things worked out.
[Turns out, just like my father and my brother, a little courage was all I needed. That courage gave me the strength to Spirit Ascend, I wonder if it was a passive ability I got from... well, that little debacle we all dealt with before fighting Shido's berserk state. Regardless, I didn't care, because even without a CR-Unit... I could fight the same as any other Spirit now, full or half.]
At that moment, Nia suddenly dropped down into view, getting everyone's attention.
- (*Attack on Titan - Vogel im Kafig *) -
The look in the Imagination Spirit's eyes was dull, not a single bit of light was reflecting off of it, though no one had managed to notice it yet due to the distance.
"Oh, hey Nia! If you came to help no need to worry now. We already dealt with the problem-" Tohka said as she waved hi.
"I already know... I knew, because I'm the reason this entire mess even began in the first place." Nia said in a cold and lifeless manner.
"Wait, what!?" Rinne gasped, showing slight anger.
Nia's hands shook, tightly gripping Raziel as she stared deeply at all of them, finally making them notice her eyes.
"Guys... something doesn't feel right, she seems pissed. No, I don't think even that's an accurate way to describe this." Origami breathed, suddenly feeling terrified.
"Why... why did you... help those people? You risked saving them over stopping the Dáinsleif... that isn't right. Why didn't you just try and destroy the satellite? Tell me, why did you actually bother to help them! I've seen enough Humans who've never acted that way, why were you different!?" Nia said, her face showing a cold rage towards everyone.
Everyone was silent as Nia slowly walked towards them.
"Why... why do people like you exist now, instead of back then? Back when you should have 27 years ago!?" Nia screamed in anger, her eyes unchanged but her expression now quite emotional.
A brief flash goes through Nia's head, where a slightly younger version of her was seen holding the concepts for Silver Bullet, but not in her art style or the text in her hand writing. In fact, the one writing it was... her disguised form?
"I'm sorry, but... who are you? I can't remember anything."
Nia's eyes shook as tears shed out.
"It's too late now, damned if I know what's right or wrong anymore, it's time I finally get strict with my story! Everything that's gone wrong, everything that was unfairly taken from me... I have no choice now! I must avenge my predecessor Spirit, my mentor..." Nia shouted angrily.
She removed her glasses, and soon stopped down on them, shattering them apart as the only thing that let her assume her disguise was destroyed, fading into silver Reiryoku... and causing Rio's eyes to widen as she felt a memory itching in her head.
"...I will avenge the only former Spirit who didn't revived, because even if she regained her body... her memories were lost forever, effectively destroying who she was! I must finally avenge her, show this world it's punishment, for what it did... for taking Souji Hasegawa away from me!" Nia exclaimed angrily.
"Souji Hasegawa-" Rio repeated, before suddenly gasping as she fully remembered.
[Nia stop, you don't have to do this! I beg of you... don't-]
"No! Not this time Raziel, I'm finishing this! Right here right now, I'm settling this once and for all!" Nia screamed before writing something in Raziel's pages. What she wrote was...
...it was the worst thing she could have written: {Force Nia Honjou to undergo an Inversion!}, causing everyone to gasp in horror as she revealed it to them.
Rinne suddenly rushed ahead and grabbed her, locking her arm and pen from reaching Raziel's pages.
"RIO! LOCK HER POWERS, LOCK THEM RIGHT NOW!" Rinne screamed with a horrified look.
"R-Right!" Rio nodded.
Nia flinched her fingers, moving Raziel near her hand, with Rinne's eyes widening as she managed to draw in its pages. A slab of stone rose from the ground at that moment, knocking Rinne away and blocking off Rio, and that single action marked their efforts in vain.
[Nia, what have you done!?]
"Be ready... because the [Sister] isn't there anymore, the [Prophet] is coming!" Nia said darkly.
Nia's eyes closed before opening as two dark gray pools, and in an instant, dark gray Reiryoku formed around her, forming a hand that grabbed her before it exploded out.
All across the city, the citizens, the AST and the people of Ratatoskr all saw it.
"No... why Nia? Why?" Rio breathed.
Soon enough, the silhouette of Nia's Inverse Form manifested into view. Her outfit was mostly unchanged, now having less cloth to reveal her thong and no sleeves, only a bit of cloth covering her chest from complete exposure. Her Astral Dress had all the white turn black while the rest a ghoulish black to silver gradient. All the crosses on her outfit had even been become crosses made of bones with rope holding them, a skull symbol on top and her boots gaining sharp high heels.
The Demon King counterpart of Raziel, the dreaded Beelzebub, formed in her hands. What had formerly been a tome brown tome with gold ornaments was now a silver Grimoire with deathly designs on it, the golden ornaments now black in color and with glowing silver marks on their centers. She opened the Grimoire, revealing the jet-black page inside, and soon said only one word...
"[Ashufiriya]"
Suddenly a dark silver dome of Reiryoku surrounds them, and suddenly everyone feels themselves sink into it.
"What the? Someone, help me!" Yoshino cried out in fear before she was swallowed inside.
"W-what the? Oh no, it's not targeting me directly, my immunity's not working! Everyone, try to-" Rinne said before it swallowed her.
One by one, everyone was swallowed, soon only Shido was left.
As he was about to be swallowed, Nia stared at him coldly.
"This is my story, and I will make it happen the way I've written it, there is... no escape." Nia said, glaring intensely.
- (*insert song end*) -
Shido soon was fully swallowed, and Nia floated before fading into the darkness.
Everyone on the Fraxinus crew watched as the dome of Reiryoku faded, and everyone had disappeared, including Nia... and they had no idea what had happened.
"No... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Reine screamed in horror.
Yikes... everyone is going great, only for Nia to snap and make everything take a huge turn for the worst, all because she can't fully register that there really are people in this world who would honestly push everything else aside try and help others. The very thing she was trying to prove was the one thing she refused to believe... and now, she's revealed something major, that alias and disguise she always used?
Apparently, both were her predecessor's, and this seems to be what destroyed her faith in Humanity, though we'll wait until the next arc before I reveal the whole story on it. This is one of the surprises, despite the stories of Vol 12-13 not being a pair like Vol 8-9, and Vol 11-11, they were connected by Nia. So, like with Natsumi's two arcs, and the Miku and Choronzon arc from last season, these two arcs are connected with part of Vol 14 mixed in.
Congrats Mana, you've lost the Murakumo, but you've got a better power now! As you'll see below, it is a passive ability between her and Shido, this one is due to them sharing cyan colored Reiryoku, it's similar to how the Yamai twins and Arusu siblings share a color, because their powers are connected to each other through their shared color. As a result, while only the first stage and without the Angels, Mana can now use the Spirit Ascension.
That's it for the Shido Countdown arc, next time... it's Nia's turn again, and this time Shido and her will truly settle things. Until then everyone, stay awesome! ^^
-Inverse Nia, Code Name: [Prophet]-
Demon King: Beelzebub, the "Tome of Divine Corruption" - Raziel's Demon King counterpart, the tome changes into the form of a Grimoire with deathlier looking designs and black pages. Beelzebub keeps Raziel's power of being able to ask any question and get an answer, with the same Spirit language limitation in some cases, but now she doesn't need to ask or open the book... she can just think her question and receive the answer, and share the information by touching someone.
Her event manipulation can now work up to ten minutes, and while she still can't directly affect someone's fate, she can push them into a situation where she can come close to choosing it for them, an example being if she were to manipulate events to trap someone within a fire, the actions of the person that was trapped would decide if they'll make it out alive. Objects she draws now only dispel when she chooses, rather than having a set time limit for how long they can manifest for.
- Alternate Form: Ashufiriya, the "Phantom Library" - The inverse counterpart of Thoth, and arguably the most dangerous technique in Nia's arsenal for a single reason... Rinne can be affected by it because it doesn't directly target her. Where Thoth manifested a world from its pages, Ashufiriya does the reverse and traps people inside of it, transporting them into a world created by Nia through various scenarios of her dreams and imagination.
The people imprisoned assume the roles of fictional characters of carious genres, like fairy tales and manga, in worlds with heavy alterations from the source material. While trapped within the fantasy world, other Spirits including even Rinne who's normally unaffected by such Angel techniques are unable to use their Reiryoku, Angels or Astral Dresses, but they don't lose any powers that are physically part of their bodies, such as Tohka's incredible strength.
- Alternate Form: Raudskinna, the "Daughters of the Demon King" - By manipulating the shadows between the pages of Raziel and imbuing them with her Reiryoku, creating shadow-like creatures that follow her every command, and don't require set commands unlike the Kirigami since they follow what she thinks for them to do. If the normal shadow creatures aren't enough, then she can compress multiple shadows together and form elite soldiers that take the form of the monster mooks used by the antagonist of her Silver Bullet manga.
- Powers: In her Inverse Form, Nia's powers are generally the same in concept, she can still manifest something if she can fantasize it, dream it or invent it. However, the original limitations she possessed for her manifestation have changed, and possibly there's a very small limit if any at all. While she can't still can't force love or death, she can push people close to either where it's up to them to decide what their fates will be, and now anything she manifests only vanishes when she wants to. Her greatest threat comes from her Ashufiriya technique which lets her put people into a world of her own design, where she claims she's in control and no one can change her story.
Risk Factors: AAA
Spacequake: B
Spirit's Astral Dress: B
Demon King Rank: S
Strength: 99
Consistency: 203
Spiritual Power: 158
Agility: 202
Intelligence: 240
-Spirit Bond Levels & Passive Abilities-
Tohka - 100%, MAX (Form a mana barrier automatically)
Origami - 99% (Teleport Dodging)
Yoshino - 99% (Dampen enemy territories)
Kotori - 99% (Healing from fatal wounds minus losing his head, doesn't work on wounds caused by blunt force)
Kurumi - 99% (Hide in his shadow, and only his)
Rinne - (Summon a weakened copy of Uriel)
Natsumi - 99% (Transform into Shiori)
Kaguya - 96% (Flight)
Yuzuru - 96% (Weight Manipulation)
Miku - 90% (Pain Reliever)
Maria - (Restore dying/withered/dead vegetation and plant life)
Marina - (Remove toxins or other harmful substances, either from a living creature or an object)
Rio - (Create a soothing aura of Reiryoku to reduce a sealed Spirit's anger)
Mana - (Allow Mana to use Spirit Ascension at its weakest level without Angels)