Date A Re:Live
S3 Chapter 65: Sephira Fury, Part 8
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]
Alright everyone, we're finally hear, the last arc of Season 3! *sighs* I still can't believe we're here, all that's left is the Mayuri Judgment movie arc, the crossover, and then... Season 4's gonna end this fanfic. *sniffles a bit* Sorry, I know I should be happy this story's finally going to finish, but I'm a little sad that after almost half a year, this story will finally be finished. You know what they say, all good things must come to an end.
So here we are, the Sephira Fury arc! Before I say any more, here's a little trivia about the arc name I'd like to share. My original intent was to name this arc the "Dark Spirits" arc, but decided not to because I felt it was too plain and obvious, not that anything's wrong with that, but considering the previous arc... well, the problem was I felt the name was spoiling the end to those who were still reading Mukuro Quasar.
Before we begin, let's reveal this arc's emotion, and it's: "Courage", something that Shiori and Mana will need a lot of to prevail what's coming next and for two other reasons I can't mention due to spoilers. The second? Despite that Vol 17 was released yesterday, many of the reveals that came out with it can actually work with my story, and I decided to add them all in, so I figured I should give you all a spoiler warning for this arc, starting with this chapter.
As such, just to be sure everyone sees it...
WARNING! MINOR TO MAJOR SPOILERS FOR VOLUME 17, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Now to reply a guest review.
To Guest:
"I can see where you might have had a misunderstanding there, so allow me to clarify that. Europe's destruction wasn't the result of Shido's inversion, but from any attack by Choronzon, which is the Demon King that would have been Rinne's if she had an Inverse Form. While she has one now, she didn't have it back then, so that Choronzon was made from the Reiryoku sealed inside Shido at the time."
"This time, the only Reiryoku that's powering his Inverse Form is his own, so even if he wanted to, Shido can't reproduce the same level of power that the mutant Choronzon had. In fact, the only reason they managed to win that fight was because of Tohka discovering the Ethereal Form, if she hadn't managed to use it, then Choronzon would succeeded in destroying the world."
To Seeker213:
"Oh, really? Then happy late birthday Seeker! I guess it's a good thing I waited to see if Vol 17 came out before I posted the chapter, I guess you got two birthday presents because of that ^^ *giggles* Yeah, that was something I planned for a while, and like I said above... the fact we're nearing the end is making me sad too."
"Can't say much about what you said the rest of your review due to spoilers, but I can at least confirm Shido and Mana are still in control, that's why I mentioned they quickly regained their bearings last chapter. While I can't say anything about the others, I can say that one needs to remember Chinami's nearby, and with the creation of new Inverse Forms..."
Well, if there's anything left to say, it's this... let's get the first of today's two Inverse data sheets, and then we can let the chapter begin!
-Inverse Rinne, Code Name: [Tyrant]-
Demon King: Choronzon - Uriel's Demon King counterpart. Choronzon is a one-handed sword similar to Nahemah, but with jagged edges that give the blade the shape of a withered tree branch, with ten gems that look like serpent eyes, representing the colors of the Qlipha Crystals . The only difference between it and Uriel is that it borrows the elemental powers of the other ten Demon Kings by lighting up the respective colored gem on the blade.
- Alternate Form: Chaotic Divergence - The inverse counterpart of Harmonic Convergence. There's but there's very few differences between them. The main variation is that it uses the powers of the other spirits' Inverse forms, making the exponential amplification of power higher, and causing it to be much stronger. Also, after using it once, Rinne can't use it again for another 90 minutes, and she can't use it in general until she spends an hour in her Inverse Form.
- Powers: Due to the nature of her Inverse Form's creation, Rinne basically has the same powers as before, simply enhanced by the Inversion's use of Dark Reiryoku, though she now has some defense, being able to shrug off attacks she previously couldn't. However, there does seem to be something different about her Inverse Form compared to the others.
Risk Factors: XX
Spacequake: X
Spirit's Astral Dress: SSS
Demon King Rank: SSS
Strength: 300
Consistency: 270
Spiritual Power: 310
Agility: 275
Intelligence: 240
Clawing at her face, Mukuro lowered her head, and then... she shot it back up, screaming at the top of her lungs her eyes slowly turning into two yellow pools of darkness, instantly making Shiori's eyes widen as she saw it.
The eyes signaling a Spirit's inversion.
'Oh no, she's inverting!' Shiori gasped.
Suddenly, Shiori felt a pain in her chest, and a cold dark feeling began to well in her body.
"W-what's happening to me!?" Shiori stuttered, fear overtaking her entire being.
It wasn't just Shiori either, Mana, and all of the other Spirits, even the non-Sephira Spirits, all gained the same feeling.
"This feeling, what is... oh no!" Rinne gasped.
- (*Date A Live - Hanten Tohka*) -
Once the other Spirits all felt the feeling overtake them, Rinne did as well, but rather than her own, it was a fusion of everyone else's.
Shiori and Mana both feel a dark cyan mist emit off them, darkening their hair and making their eyes glow brighter, but soon quickly regained their bearings as the feeling faded away.
"This feeling, it's... oh my god, no!" Shiori gasped, turning towards the others.
Back at the Ratatoskr base, the warning alarm literally echoed as it sounded itself multiple times, almost to show this was a threat among threats, leaving everyone in a rush as they tried to figure out what was happening.
"What's happening, I've never see the alarms act like this before!?" Reine demanded, a look of terror on her face.
"Commander Murasame, it looks like a category E, some of the Spirits must have undergone an Inversion!" Minowa replied.
Reine sweat a bit at that.
"Can anyone confirm anything, if there is more than one Inversion, someone figure out how many!" Reine shouted.
"I think I've got it, the readings state..." Sakura answered.
Sakura gasped, her body trembling at the number she saw as her hands hovered over the keyboard, Reine saw this and shook in fear.
"Sakura, please... tell me how many." Reine asked.
Sakura slowly turned, her eyes still embedded with a look of horror in them.
"The total number of Inversions is..." Sakura answered.
Sakura shook, and said the dread number.
"18!"
Everyone gave looks of shock and horror at that number, almost as if they had gone deaf at that moment.
"1-18, but then that would mean..." Kannazuki paled.
"You're right, if you count Mana and Shido since they're at least Half-Spirits... then 18 readings can only mean one thing, all of the Spirits have undergone an Inversion!" She exclaimed.
Reine sweated heavily, soon tapping her headset to contact Mildred.
"Mildred, status report!" Reine begged.
...Only static was heard.
"Huh, Mildred? Hello... are you there?" Reine asked worriedly.
- (insert song end) -
At that moment, everyone held their heads as a jolt shot through them, making them all gasp as their stolen memories began to return.
"Whoa, that was... hey wait, I remember now!" Ren commented.
"Just like that? That doesn't make sense, unless the Inversion is undoing every lock she's made before now." Sakura wondered.
Sakura turned to Reine.
"Commander, what do you think-" She asked.
Suddenly, everyone saw Reine holding her head, her eyes shaking heavily as a heavy pain seared through it.
"Commander!?" Kannazuki exclaimed in worry.
"The time to remember is near, the key has nearly been found."
'W-what's going on, what am I... I...'
Similar to Shido before her, images began floating through Reine's mind.
First, the sight of a brought light surrounding a girl, her hair untied and flowing around her, being the only cover her body had. Then the sight of Isamu petting her, and then Seigo smiling at her, causing the girl to slowly smile for what felt like the first time.
Coming after that, visuals of what looked like the Spirit Dimension before its destruction were next, and the sight of 10 swirls that turned into spheres.
Next up, a slow-motion picture of a hand reaching out to the girl, and then something hidden in a white light appearing before Seigo, who listened to the words it spoke next.
"When the time comes, and-*static*-you will find your way, and-*static*-when that happens, find the key."
Seigo looks at whoever the being was, his face full of confusion.
"Only you can-*static*-I know you can do it Seigo. For now, I'll be-*static*-so please don't-*heavier static*-the key!"
Finally, the last image that appeared before her was the shine of a white water-like texture, soft blue eyes looked towards her before a blue smile opened up, and hummed a pleasant melody to her.
Reine soon gasps, regaining her senses as she shook her head, looking towards everyone as they stared at her with worry.
"...Don't worry everyone, I'm alright, I think the jolt of memories just more intense for me." Reine reassured.
"Alright, if you say so Commander, but are you really sure nothing's wrong with you?" Kannazuki replied.
Reine nodded, breathing a bit until she regained her breath.
'I don't get it, those images I saw... they don't make any sense, what's happening to me?' Reine wondered.
Reine clears her throat, soon straightening herself.
"Alright everyone, since we're not sure what's going on out there, for now, focus on restoring the visuals!" Reine ordered.
"Yes ma'am!" Everyone replied.
As Shiori turned to the others, a mass of Spacequakes go off, causing the two to be slingshot across the city ruins before sliding into a building.
"What's going on, why is everyone entering an Inversion? Most of them don't even have an Inverse Form!" Mana asked, having to yell to be heard.
"I don't know, how could this-" Shiori replied with a yell.
Shiori suddenly stopped, and remembered what happened to everyone when she locked the probe she spoke through, gasping a bit.
"The probe!" Shiori exclaimed.
"Huh!?" Mana asked loudly.
"Remember when Mukuro tried to lock the probe, but it caused all of us to pass out!?" Shiori asked loudly.
Mana nods, recalling how caught Shiori before collapsing shortly after.
"There's only one explanation then, something similar must have happened when she tried to erase me from everyone's memories!" Shiori answered loudly.
"What!?" Mana exclaimed.
"Her lock didn't erase our memories, but somehow linked us, which I think Mukuro's inversion somehow spread it to the rest of us, and since the Inversion happens to a taint..." Shiori explained normally, the background noise having died down.
Mana gasped, connecting the dots that Shiori's words gave her.
"She gave that taint to Mom, Rio, Mayuri and the Arusu sisters, and gave them the ability to Inverse!" Mana realized, her eyes shaking.
At that moment, another wave of the Dark Reiryoku shot out from the Spacequakes as they died down, and one by one... they were reintroduced to the Inverse Forms of the Spirits once more, as well as six they were seeing for the first time.
The first they noticed was the Spirit who had started the entire wave of Inversions, Mukuro, who strangely possessed a sad look on her face despite the more unstable expression that everyone had normally come to see on Inversions.
It had become black where it was once pink, and a menacing neon yellow where it was white, and ironically... white where it was once black. The cut that previously exposed her cleavage now went so far down, it eventually exposed her belly button. The flaps protruding from the side split into three triangular ends, making them look like claws, and the starry patterns on her hair ribbons were replaced by a swirling vortex pattern, and had glowing yellow dots that looked like eyes staring at the two.
Next was Rio's, now wearing her original Astral Dress' robe in dark black, with the previous magenta color being where the white used to be, and the gold having turned silver. Compared to before, her Astral Dress had tatters, holes and shreds all across it, and the two extensions on her back now moved, looking similar to snakes. Topping it off was an oriental headpiece of sorts, resting over where her ribbon used to be.
Then came Maria, who had a physical appearance change, her hair becoming a dark-gray that was nearly black, with dark blue tips at their ends. Her current attire was a mix of the Astral Dress that she and Marina wore when still AIs, only in black and brown, and with a visor over her eyes. Next to her, Marina was the same, but with the dark blue tips replaced by dark yellow ones, and the brown on her outfit a glaring magenta, and a spikier looking visor.
A more drastic change was seen once Mayuri came into view, her Angel like wings had become the bat wings often seen on demons, while all the gold on outside was replaced by a spiky copper/bronze with cyan lining, and her skirt outright absent. Also, her hair was sparking as it floated straight up, with her eyes having transformed into a menacing dark purple.
However, it was Rinne's Astral Dress that ended up being almost nothing like her original outfit. Most of her skin across her abdominal area was exposed, only covering her vital spots, and even then, just barely. Rather than a cape of sorts, her outfit had two floating objects like shoulder guards with attached clothes, dropping like unfolded wings, flapping as they showed their majesty to the world, a ghostly white veil covered her face, with her golden regalia now silver, and hidden behind the veil?
Pure black eyes, with her whitened pupils as a Spirit making her children feel they were more terrifying than any eyes they had ever witnessed in their life.
"Oh, my god..." Mana breathed.
"...Everyone?" Shiori asked worriedly.
As Shiori looked at them, she noticed Tohka's eyes were shadowed, a sign she had seen once when Miku took control of everyone.
While unsure what her eyes meant in this case, Kotori raised her axe, and slammed it down, making Shiori rush as she grabbed Mana, and avoided the wave of fire that shot out of the ground. Once landing on her feet, the two looked at the Inverse Spirits in worry.
"Tch! How annoying, I missed."
It may have been Kotori's voice they heard, but it was clear to them that at this moment, the ones standing before them, Kotori included... were NOT the people they knew as their friends.
Her mind reached back, remembering after the battle with Choronzon, where everyone told her what they learned about the Inversions, and she realized exactly who she was really looking at right now.
"...I know who you are, you're the dead souls of all the Spirits in the Camael region, aren't you!?" Shiori asked, as if she had already been answered.
Asmodeus cackles loudly at that.
[Oh, look here, the Half-Human trash are smart asses!] Camael mocked.
Shiori pales at that, for Asmodeus to have a different voice, not to mention label Humanity negatively, her suspicious had to be true.
"That's right you disgusting Human, aside from those few that you don't classify as "Sephira Spirits, we're the collective essence of all the regret, sorrow, fear, anger, and hatred of all the deceased Spirits of our respective regions, the Spirits your kind killed!" Inverse Kotori answered.
"No, that wasn't us, the only human who killed you was Westcott!" Mana shouted.
Mana's face froze as she saw a fireball barely miss her, completely incinerating the building behind her, leaving naught but ash.
"You dare make excuses!" Inverse Kotori screamed.
"We trusted all of you who fell to our world, believed in that man who tainted Rinne's mind, and all you did to repay us was murder us!" Inverse Miku said venomously.
"No matter how little or how large, it was human hands that killed us, so your entire species must be held responsible!" Inverse Kurumi said, sneering a bit.
Shiori panicked as they all glared at them.
"This is your crime, and you are guilty." Inverse Origami said monotonously.
"So, it's time you finally pay up, by paying us in full!" Inverse Natsumi snickered.
"Humanity... must face extinction like we did, and you will be first." Inverse Rinne stated, holding out her hand.
"Choronzon."
The Takamiya siblings gasped at the name, and the sight of the true form of Uriel's counterpart, the real Demon King with the name of Choronzon, manifested into view.
"Belial!"
Inverse Rio summoned a shield with razor blades around the rim, and they soon proved they weren't for show as they spun like a saw blade.
"Leviathan!"
"Mammon!"
The two had their gauntlets form, with Maria's Leviathan looking like Opheniel if it had broken pieces and spikes jutting from it, and Marina's Mammon having markings resembling that of data chips, but more jagged.
"Abaddon."
A demonic looking version of Kerubiel manifested itself, and soon Shiori and Mana both watched in fear, the sight of their own friends with the intent to destroy them due to their Inverse Form personas taking over.
'There's just too many of them, we can't fight them and expect to win, we're just too outmatched!' Mana thought in horror.
'No, it can't end like this, I'm sorry everyone!' Shiori thought, closing her eyes.
Inverse Rinne rushed ahead first, and Mana hugged her sister as they expected the end, only to hear a clang as something blocked Inverse Rinne's strike, surprising the Inverted First Spirit.
"What are you doing, why are you protecting them!?" Inverse Rinne demanded.
The two opened their eyes, and soon saw standing before them, Nahemah held out with her left hand, was none other than Inverse Tohka!
At that moment, with her still shadowed face unmoved, Inverse Tohka grit her teeth.
"Let's get one thing straight..."
Inverse Tohka raised her eyes up, her eyes flickering between them and Tohka's eyes.
"We're not your puppets, and if all of you want to destroy an entire species, when many of their kind had nothing to do with your demise..." She said, an angry look on her face.
"...Tohka?" Shiori gasped.
At that moment, Inverse Rinne was knocked back, crashing into the others as the white gradient in Inverse Tohka's hair faded, and her eyes changed back to Tohka's, as the sight of purple Reiryoku shards few off her.
"THEN COMPARED TO YOU SPIRITS, ALL OF HUMANITY IS BETTER THAN YOU!" Inverse Tohka, no... Tohka screamed loudly.
All of the Inverse Spirits stared at Tohka in shock, feeling Tohka's aura flare out like small gale, while Shiori teared up a bit.
"Tohka... you're still in control, aren't you!" Shiori asked, smiling a bit.
Chinami lands after having watched enough of the fight from the safety of high in the skies, and after taking a moment to register the strange development before her, she smirks slightly.
"So not only did [Zodiac] inverse, but she managed to cause the others to do the same, including those who couldn't, and with the First Spirit having an Inversion..." Chinami said to herself, smiling.
Chinami tries to call Westcott, and after waiting a while, hears him pick up.
"Ah, quite the surprise Chinami, you disappeared the other day, am I to assume your call relates to this little sneak out?" Westcott asked.
"It is, I thought I should keep a watch on [Zodiac], and I was right to, she's undergone an Inversion, have you noticed Marina's special dart draw in some of her Dark Reiryoku as a sample yet?" Chinami answered.
She waits a bit before hearing some laughter, giving her an answer.
"Oh, don't thank me just yet, it seems she did something and I just saw the impossible... [Ruler], [Phantom], [Synthesis], [Matrix] and [Watcher] were all given an Inverse Form as well." Chinami continued.
"...Chinami, just to make sure I didn't hear a funny joke or have a drunk dream, did you just say-" Westcott asked.
"You're both awake, and your ears are fine." Chinami confirmed.
Chinami soon smiled as she looked towards the battlefield.
"If I recall, wasn't Choronzon the closest we were able to get on obtaining Dark Reiryoku from [Ruler]'s powers?" Chinami inquired.
"You are correct, am I hearing, what I think I am?" Westcott questioned in response.
"Not only is this a second chance with a purer form of it, now we have even more to gain, so how about I gather it for you?" Chinami answered, smirking a bit.
Westcott's unseen face smirked.
"Chinami, gather them all." He stated.
The Adeptus 3 wizard saw a special sword summoned to her CR-Unit's side, and she soon unsheathed it, looking at it.
"I'll do more than that, I'll finally kill [Angel], once and for all!" Chinami exclaimed.
"No way, that's impossible!" Inverse Nia gasped.
"H-How can this be, the conscious of the Sandalphon region's spirits should be in charge, how did she do this!?" Inverse Kaguya exclaimed.
"Someone explain this, now." Inverse Yuzuru demanded.
Inverse Yoshino scowled at her, but soon got a chill, and shook a bit, getting the attention of the others.
"H-her rage, I've never s-seen... such pure anger before, did she s-somehow... exceed the rage of the souls t-trapped within her Crystal?" Inverse Yoshino stuttered.
This made the other Inverse Spirits show shock, Tohka managed to prevent Inverse Tohka from using her body, just because she was angrier than her?
"It seems we underestimated this one girl, but that also means the moment her rage falls, she will lose control and take revenge on Humanity as she should, we just need to help the process complete." Inverse Mayuri realized.
Inverse Rio laughed, almost sounding a bit snake like as she did, and looked at Inverse Mukuro.
"She's still not the strongest we could have worried about, so this will be easy, go get her Inverse... Mukuro..." Inverse Rio ordered.
Mukuro, who everyone only now realized hadn't moved from her spot since she Inverted, shook a bit before tears poured out of her eyes like waterfalls.
"...Eh?" Inverse Rio blinked.
"Don't die Mildred, please!" Mukuro screamed.
Everyone felt a wave push them back, Tohka putting up her Reiryoku barrier to protect her, Shiori, and Mana.
"Belphegor!"
The demonic and darker version of Michael appeared before Mukuro, and she grabbed it before tossing it, causing it to spin in place as it floated.
"Waqui - Distort!"
"What the hell? What are you doing, we're your-" Inverse Kurumi yelled.
Unfortunately, she and the others minus Tohka, and the Takamiya siblings, were suddenly slingshot across the environment, area within her immediate radius being pulled and twisted apart, causing a swirling mass of debris to fire off around her.
"Wait a minute, is that..." Mana gasped.
"Yes, it has to be, Mukuro's the one in control! It must be because her Inversion was caused by her own feelings of despair!" Shiori realized.
Tohka looked at Mukuro, seeing the tears in her eyes.
"...Guys, is Mildred truly dead yet?" Tohka asked, her face straining as if to keep an angry expression.
"Huh?" Mana asked.
"As long as... Mildred still has a pulse, then... it's not over, maybe we can save her! Realizers can do a lot... of impossible things, right?" Tohka answered.
Mana gasped at that, realizing they had seen Mildred get shot, but never verified if she actually died yet.
"Well... the chances are almost zero, but it could work." Mana replied.
"I'll go get her body, hang tight you two!" Shiori stated.
Shiori rushed ahead, but at that moment, Inverse Kotori flew out of the debris she had crashed into, making Shiori's eyes widen as she charged at her and swung Asmodeus down.
"Time to die you stupid Human-" Inverse Kotori screamed.
Tohka appeared beside her, shocking her as she slammed Nahemah onto her, knocking her across the landscape, and giving Shiori the chance to get to Mildred's body.
She put her ear next to Mildred's heart, and... a slowly vanishing pulse could be heard.
"She's still alive, but not for long!" Shiori called out.
Mana rushes over.
"You stay and help the others, I'll get her to Ratatoskr and see if they can save her!" Mana offered.
"Mana?" Shiori said.
"Even if we're... uh, partly inverted right now, I don't think I'll be able to do much compared to you or Tohka, so I think its best I take care of Mildred." Mana explained.
Shiori nods, helping Mana get Mildred into her arms.
"Alright, we'll keep their attention off you, just be careful." Shiori replied.
"I will." Mana smiled.
Mana shifts her legs, channeling the power of the Inverse Yamai twins before racing forward, looking for the nearest Ratatoskr entrance she could find among the rubble.
As that happened, Shiori hears Tohka scream a bit, and turns to see her on her knees in pain.
"Tohka!?" Shiori called out worriedly.
She kneeled near Tohka, and soon saw her eyes briefly flash towards her Inverse Form's coloration.
"Tohka, oh no... are you losing control of yourself?" Shiori asked.
"I'm... only able to... keep control because of my anger, if... I let my Inverse half's rage overtake mine... I won't be able to keep my free will!" Tohka breathed out, struggling to keep control.
"No way, so any moment you could-" Shiori gasped.
Tohka grabbed Shiori, turning her head to look at her.
"Shiori, listen... to me, go help... Mukuro!" Tohka requested.
"But Tohka, you can't fight everyone on your own, you-" Shiori reasoned.
Tohka slaps Shiori across the cheek, surprising her.
"Don't you get it? Right now, you're the only one who can help her, if I couldn't beat her normal form in my own, then my Inverse Form will end up the same against hers!" Tohka exclaimed.
Shiori's eyes widened, and at that moment she realized it... no matter how she looked at it, Tohka was right.
"Dang it... if only we knew how you could enter your Ethereal Form again..." Shiori remarked.
"Please Shiori, she's out of control right now, and unless I can get some of the others out of their Inverse Forms to help you, this is our only chance to make it out in one piece!" Tohka begged.
Shiori looks at her, and soon nods.
"Alright, just know I believe in you, you saved me back when I was trapped in Choronzon, so I know you won't lose to yourself." Shiori encouraged.
"I'll win, that's a promise!" Tohka replied.
Tohka rushed ahead, raising Nahemah as Inverse Kotori got back up, and surprising the Inverse Flame Spirit before she swung down, gouging a slash into the ground as she was thrown back.
"Damn you!" Inverse Kotori screamed.
"Come on, show me what you've-" Tohka declared.
Suddenly, Tohka felt a jolt go through her head, and fell to her knees as her eyes flashed again.
"No, I can't... let it win!" Tohka grunted.
"Oh?" Inverse Kotori noticed.
She smirked, and whistled to the others, inverse Rinne sliced Choronzon against the debris covering her, soon raising her head as she energized the other Inverse Spirits back onto their feet.
"Everyone, she's slipping, let's help push this fake back where she belongs!" Inverse Kotori smirked.
"So, we need to crush her resolve, very well then." Inverse Origami stated.
Inverse Rinne held her Demon King out, and gave a dark look.
"Attack her, to the brink of death if needed." Inverse Rinne ordered.
All the Inverse Spirits fly ahead, and Tohka slowly got on her feet as she saw them coming.
Within Tohka's own mind, she pants briefly, trying to keep her focus as her Inverse Form rushes at her and tries to attack her, causing her to hold up Sandalphon to parry her attack.
"Damn you, once again I had a chance to enact our revenge, and once again you're still trying to test me!" Inverse Tohka growled.
"And I still can't believe how you think this is even right, to kill off an entire species for just what a single person did, and one who's likely insane no less!" Tohka countered.
Inverse Tohka grit her teeth, knocking Tohka back before slashing Nahemah across her, shredding part of the latter's Astral Dress as she did.
"Shut your mouth, all I need to do is overpower you, and then I'll be free to do what I want!" Inverse Tohka shouted.
"No, much more than that... if you've already opposed me this much, then why should I even give you the opportunity to do it again? There's only one solution..." She continued, glaring at Tohka.
inverse Tohka tightened the grip on her Demon King, and pointed it at Tohka was she gave a murderous look to her other half.
"...I'll kill you and make this body mine forever!" Inverse Tohka screamed.
Tohka gasped at that, soon gripping Sandalphon tighter.
"No, I won't let you!" Tohka shouted, rushing ahead.
"You don't have any say in this, now die!" Inverse Tohka screamed, doing the same.
Their swords clashed, creating a surge of purple and dark purple across the mental landscape, and with it... the battle for control of Tohka's body began.
Shiori ran towards Mukuro's location, choosing not to fly so she'd be harder for the Inverse Spirit to notice, but before she got anywhere near her, she was forced to stop as she heard her headset ringing.
"Did Mana arrive?" Shiori wondered.
Taking the chance to rest up a little, she dove behind some debris, and then tapped her headset.
"Hello?" Shiori answered.
"Oh, thank goodness, we managed to get through, are you alright Shiori?" Reine asked.
"Wait, if you know who Shiori's is, then does that mean..." Shiori gasped.
"It does, we don't have any proof, but we think when all of the Spirits began to Inverse, it caused Mukuro's lock on our memories to be undone due to the shift in her abilities." Reine answered.
"That could work, when Kotori first entered her Inverse Form, she revived from a single arm due to stronger regeneration abilities." Shiori suggested.
Shiori gasped.
"Oh yeah, has Mana managed to reach you guys yet?" Shiori asked.
"No, but why exactly, and better yet... what exactly happened out there? We lost video feed around after Mukuro began using more power." Reine questioned.
"Well..." Shiori answered.
Reine, and the other members of Ratatoskr, all listened closely as Shiori began to reveal what had happened.
"Right when Mukuro began using more power, everyone, except for me and Tohka, got taken out of commission." Shiori explained.
"And because I had to make sure I could seal her later, Tohka had to fight her alone, and while she was ultimately struggling the whole time, she managed to at least hold against Mukuro's onslaught."
Shiori sighed, her look soon telling everyone she was about to share the bad news.
"Even though she was at 100% of her power, Mukuro seemed weakened due to the efforts of the others, but then she revealed a power that let her go beyond that, and Tohka wasn't able to do anything, and right as Mukuro tried to kill her..." Shiori explained.
She began to shake, closing her eyes as the gruesome image resumed in her mind.
"...Mildred pushed her out of the way, but she was hit herself, and shot right through part of her lower abdomen." She revealed.
Everyone in Ratatoskr gasped, with Reine's eyes shaking.
"No, it can't be, Mildred is... dead?" Reine gasped.
"Calm down, she isn't gone, at least not yet. She still has a pulse, and while it's weak, we might be able to save her." Shiori corrected.
Reine gasped a bit.
"Of course, that's why Mana's trying to find us, isn't it?" Reine asked.
"Yeah, she's trying to find one of the secret entrances among the rubble, and hopefully get her back before it's too late to save her." Shiori confirmed.
Reine breathed a bit, her face still slightly worried, but at least mildly hopeful.
"Thank god, but I'm guessing Mukuro jumped to the same conclusion we did, and because of that..." Reine mentioned.
"Yeah, at that moment Mukuro finally remembered Mildred, and the thought of living with the fact she killed her is what brought her to despair." Shiori verified.
Reine nodded in understanding.
"Shiori, do you by any chance know why every Spirit suffered an Inversion then, including those who didn't even have the taint?" Kannazuki asked.
"Yeah, or at least I have a theory, it's like what happened when Mukuro locked the probe and knocked every Spirit unconscious, her attempt to erase our memories seemed to have linked us in a way that let her Inversion spread." Shiori answered.
Reine's eyes widened, and bit her nails slightly.
"Of course, if it spread, that means the Inversion taint had to have spread." Reine grimaced, sweating slightly.
"And worse, unlike the first time the others entered their Inverse Forms, the souls of the deceased Spirits have manifested in everyone, though Mukuro seems to be the exception since she Inverted naturally." Shiori stated.
Reine sweat even worse, starting to pale at the revelation, making Shiori sweat drop as she cleared her throat.
"Things aren't completely bleak though, since me and Mana are only Half-Spirit, we got the power of an inverse Form, but not the unstable mindset." Shiori explained.
"So, we've got the both of you still fighting on our side, at least that's one relief." Matthew sighed, slightly at ease.
"Actually, Tohka's still in control as well." Shiori remarked.
"Huh, she is?" Reine asked, surprised by the claim.
"Yeah, it seems Tohka's so mad right now, she managed to keep herself in control, but she's worried she could lose it at any moment." Shiori admitted.
Shiori turned, noticing Mukuro nearing the area, still crying loudly.
"Never mind that for now, Tohka needs some help, and I need to seal Mukuro before her indirect rampage gets too worse!" Shiori stated.
"We'll send most of the AST to help, and the rest to help Mana get to Ratatoskr, good luck Shiori." Reine replied.
Shiori smiles.
"Thank you, and I'm glad you've got your memories back." Shiori smiled.
"H-hey..." Reine blushed embarrassingly.
Shiori hangs up, and Reine soon turned to the others.
"Alright, you heard me, ready yourselves for deployment AST!" Reine ordered.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!"
Everyone began rushing to find the functioning secret passages, while Artemisia looks at Reine.
"What about me Commander? While I still have Bahamut, my weapon is still under repairs." Artemisia asked.
"Bahamut won't be as effective without your Nandaka, so I'll clear you for temporary use of the Saurian, summon it with this." Reine answered.
Artemisia holds out her hands as Reine threw something to her, catching a clear card in them.
"Thank you, Commander, I won't let you down." Artemisia smiled.
Reine nodded as Artemisia followed the others, while Reine soon turned back at the screen, watching the fight Tohka had against the other Inverse Spirits.
"Someone get me any stats we can about Rinne's inverse Form, there's something I want to check." Reine requested.
Shiori left the cover she was behind, soon rushing towards Mukuro before stopping close underneath her.
"MUKURO!" Shiori shouted.
"Huh?" Mukuro wondered.
The crying Inverse Spirit turned to see Shiori, and as she did, tears still streamed down her eyes before she screeched loudly and held out Belphegor.
"No, don't get near me, just go!" Mukuro screamed.
"Cuihui - Destroy!"
Shiori noticed the ground and buildings near her, causing her to back flip out of the way as the debris all aimed towards her.
"Don't help me, I don't deserve it, I never did!" Mukuro cried.
"Huifu - Restore!"
To Shiori's surprise, the ruinous Tenguu City was restored to what it was like before the battle she started in her normal state began, but considering what she just did...
"Oh no, this is bad!" Shiori gasped.
"Cuihui - Destroy!"
And just as Shiori had guessed, the restoration of the city had just been a means of having more debris to make using the dark counterpart of her Segva ability, and then an entire maelstrom of destruction rained down towards her.
Mukuro cried as she watched the devastation smash into Shiori, and she soon turned, planning to return to space and face solitude forever.
"I. Will not. Let you go, Mukuro!"
Mukuro turned in shock, soon seeing Shiori with both Sandalphon, and Camael, in hand. Shiori rushed forward, soon taking to the sky as she began to chant.
"No, stay back!" Mukuro screamed, holding out Belphegor.
"I call to the power of the many Spirits living within this world, shatter the boundaries of eternal darkness, and grant me your divine strength-" Shiori chanted.
"Jiguang - Laser!"
A dark golden-yellow beam of Reiryoku fired off Belphegor's tip, smashing into Shiori as the Inverse Spirit panted.
However, Shiori flew forward, surprising Mukuro as she continued to near her.
"Let us overcome the impossible, go beyond the limited, and exceed the foundations of my reality to create the miracle of today!" She continued.
Shiori soon got close to Mukuro, making the crying spirit hold her Demon King defensively.
"I beg of you, loyal Angels of the Sephira, come together and lend me your strength, so I can save Mukuro!" Shiori begged.
At first, nothing happened, but then...
[We hear your voice, Shiori!]
Tohka summoned Nahemah's throne, and smashed it apart before swinging her Demon King behind her, preparing an attack.
"Oh shit, out of the way!" Inverse Yoshino warned.
"She wouldn't!" Inverse Natsumi gasped.
The shards of the silver throne transformed the Demon King into the dreaded Paverschlev, causing Tohka to give a loud scream as she swung it.
All of the Inverse Spirits are blown back by the force of exploding energy, though Inverse Rinne zoomed through and slashed Choronzon forward.
"Ghh!" Tohka grunted.
"You don't have the strength to go against us, everyone, swarm her now!" Inverse Rinne demanded.
They all smirk, preparing to rush at Tohka, only for them to suddenly be frozen in place, and clearly showing signs they couldn't move despite their attempts to.
"What the, how did they just freeze up?" Inverse Rinne asked in shock.
Suddenly she sees Choronzon shake, with Tohka seeing the same with Paverschlev, and then a burst forcefully pushed the two apart.
At that moment, the Sephira Spirits all had sphere of Reiryoku, and not their Dark Reiryoku, exit their bodies and begin flying off somewhere. Inverse Rinne soon noticed Choronzon released one as well, confusing her.
"What's going on?" Inverse Rinne questioned.
'Shiori, don't tell me you're about to do "that", are you?' Tohka thought.
Shiori turned, smiling as the lights near her, with Inverse Mukuro panicking as she floated back slightly.
"W-what is this?" Mukuro stuttered fearfully.
Shiori held out her hand as the pink sphere flew out towards her, and soon Rinne's version of Uriel formed in her right hand, right as she summoned her own version in her left hand, one by one the other spheres neared the two combatants.
"Thank you, all of you." Shiori smiled.
One by one, the spheres showed the silhouettes of the Angels, with Shiori holding the two Uriel blades together as they enter their respective gems.
The gems on each Uriel lit up, and soon the only two that were blank were the spots for Michael and Sandalphon, with the latter's form as the purple sphere hovering near Shiori as if it was worried.
[Shiori, are you sure about this?]
"I am Sandalphon, there's no other choice, to save Mukuro I need to do this." Shiori answered.
[But... without Michael, you know of the risk, don't you!?]
Shiori went silent, closing your eyes.
[To do this, you'll be giving up your Humanity, you'll be as true of a Spirits as your mother, and you'll be bringing your sister into this too!]
"I know..." She replied.
[Then shouldn't she get a say in this? Shiori, if you run out of time, you'll fall to the Inversion's influence and then turn against us, not to mention eventually you'll die! I beg of you, don't-]
"I trust you, big sis!"
Both Sandalphon, and Shiori, show shock as they heard Mana's voice through Shiori's headset.
"Mana?" Shiori stated.
"If we don't do anything, our friends will be trapped by their Inverse Forms forever, everyone we know will be at risk, and this whole world itself will be in danger, including to whatever Westcott might pull next!" Mana shouted.
Shiori listened closely, surprised by her sister's words.
"That's why I trust you sis, do what you have to do, because we're all going to make it back alive!" Mana smiled.
"Mana... thank you, for believing in me." Shiori smiled, shedding a few tears.
Shiori looked to the purple sphere that was Sandalphon, and nodded her head, showing her resolve to go through with this.
[Alright, then I guess there's no going back, let my strength become yours for this one moment!]
Sandalphon soon entered the Uriel blades, and once she did, they both glowed like the sun as Shiori screamed loudly.
Mukuro stared in shock, seeing Shiori's transformation, while in another location, Mana felt her chest contract as less flashy experience happened to her. As Shiori feels the experience overwhelm her, she grits her teeth, trying to bear the pain.
"I swear, right here and now..." Shiori grunted, every muscle in her body burning.
Her eyes widened.
"...THAT I WILL SAVE EVERYONE!" She screamed.
Whoa... so Shiori's about to give up the remnant of her Human side and fully evolve into a Spirit, and Mana's given her approval for it despite it pays the same cost for her, just how much power does she need to handle Inverse Mukuro? Well, all I'll say is this won't make Shido be stuck in his form as Shiori, but that's it.
Actually, I can say one more thing, recall when Shido managed to use the Spirit Ascension despite he wasn't able to due to so he could save Mukuro back in Mukuro Space? This is related to that, I even had to hide a scene that happened during the Mukuro Quasar arc because it would have spoiled this scene, but now that I can reveal it, the answers will soon be revealed.
Looks like Mildred hasn't kicked the bucket yet, but don't get your hopes up, just because I said she's alive here doesn't mean she'll survive. My justification for her not instantly dying comes from how despite the Fraxinus crew saying he didn't register a heartbeat, Shido still survived being shot. Also, a character in another series (I can't say which due to spoilers) got a similar wound, but they managed to be healed and they survived.
In fact, I'll admit it... the truth is I'm actually not sure if I want to kill Mildred off, or have her survive Mukuro's attack, as of right now. This is my way of leaving both options open depending on what my choice is. Ultimately, her fate will be decided by what I feel the next few chapters make me feel I should choose, so it can honestly go either way.
Looks like Reine's gotten a visage of memories like Shido did, but not the same ones, and once again there's mention of Seigo and the "key". Just what is this key exactly, why's it so important, what do Seigo and Isamu know about it, and why did Reine see those images and words in the first place? Most of all... why hasn't Seigo spoke of them the few times he's manifested?
Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^
-Inverse Rio, Code Name: [Serpent]-
Demon King: Belial - Eden's Demon King counterpart, which takes the form of a razor shield. Belial takes Eden's defensive abilities, adding some new ones like shock absorption, limiting the damage she can receive from physical attacks, and impact dispersion, spreading out the force of any magical or long ranged attacks that hit her.
- Powers: Due to the nature of her Inverse Form's creation, Rio basically has the same powers as before, simply enhanced by the Inversion's use of Dark Reiryoku, though she now has some offense, with her Demon King having razor blades she can use in close range combat. Unfortunately, this is incredibly risky as it briefly negates Belial's shock absorption and impact dispersion.
Risk Factors: S
Spacequake: AAA
Spirit's Astral Dress: B
Demon King Rank: S
Strength: 147
Consistency: 132
Spiritual Power: 263
Agility: 112
Intelligence: 94
-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 - 99% (Flight)
Yuzuru - 99% (Weight Manipulation)
Miku - 99% (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)
Nia - 99% (Photographic Memory)