3. WARLOCK

Amongst the most inscrutable personalities that appear in the backdrop of the fourth shinobi world war, one will no doubt encounter the notorious Sasuke Uchiha. A wicked fellow as famous for being a combat prodigy, as he is infamous for his perfidy. He started out as a protege of the great (but not yet so) hokage Hatake Kakashi but defected soon to Orochimaru afterwards, and even emerged triumphant against the invincible Uzumaki Naruto at their first battle in the final valley.

But that was just the first of his several treacheries. He eventually killed Orochimaru and attacked the infamous akatsuki, killing the bomber Deidara and his own older brother in the process. Then he joined the same akatsuki to attack the kumogakure jinchuriki. And eventually had the gall to barge into the Five Kage Summit to kill the standing hokage and cripple the Raikage.

Then at the start of the fourth war, for some infathomable reason he turned his blade against his akatsuki allies and joined into the battle against Obito and eventually the resurrected Madara. Then again, as if under effect of some mental malady he turned his sword against his erstwhile ally Naruto before finally being killed. No doubt his death brought an unprecedented era of peace for the shinobi.

He betrayed Uzumaki Naruto twice, he killed Orochimaru only to later bring him back again to life.

And yet the diligent historian cannot help his but wonder about the root of his pathological psychosis. Was it merely the pressures of the usual lifestyle of being a shinobi that led him to walk a path filled with such depravity, or was it some shared family condition with his brother who massacred his entire extended family at the ripe age of thirteen? Or was it merely the madness inherent to sharingan and the uchiha as hypothesised by the second hokage frequently.

One cannot answer, with any reasonable certainty, the circumstances that led into the development of his demented mind. And yet all shinobi who arbitrate on the past are always tormented by that unspoken question, if the wretched Madara could somehow come back to life decades in the future, could the same be possible for Sasuke?

One can only hope then, that should the worst come to pass, the shinobi of the peaceful future could successfully vanquish him, the same way Uzumaki Naruto did.

- Excerpt from "Notable but less known personalities of shinobi history"

Namikaze Himari

Konohagakure central library

The table rankled with the noise of the large number of culinary vessels. The now empty bowls and plates rested on it by the dozens, as the waiters scrambled to replace them with newer dishes and food items. Emptied bowls of Sushi, Udon, Ramen, Sukiyaki and Udon were replaced with fresh Souffles, Crepes, Tarts and Pastries. Only for the latter to be demolished just as trivially. And the table being reduced once again to a graveyard of dishes.

"So why do you want me to go to one of these schools you speak of, again? You haven't exactly been forthcoming about information about this world, you know?" Etsuko asked him.

"Considering your circumstances, it would be far better for you to enroll in a school, than for me to babysit you throughout your complete learning experience of prevailing cultural norms. In the first place I am not any authority on what is and isn't acceptable in this society."

"Why would that be?"

"I am as much of a newcomer to this world as you are, and to some extent even more so. My eyes just make it easier for me to absorb large amounts of information, memorize new languages and behavioral patterns."

"Which means?"

"I am not from around here either, just like you. I simply learned how to blend in."

She frowned but continued to wolf down the food. Now it wasn't just the waiters, but even chefs who were glaring at him.

He glared back. Like clockwork, they scrambled back into being absorbed in their jobs.

Fortunately for them the message had already gotten to her. She finally paused in her indiscriminate consumption.

"You mean, you didn't have a name or memories either." She continued the earlier conversation.

He shook his head. "No I have fairly clear memories. I am simply from another world."

Perhaps due to her naivete, or simply due to growing apathy in questioning him, she accepted that quickly and moved on.

"And this school, what kind of place would it be?"

"The exact details may vary from place to place. But ususally you would go to a building with a lot of other strangers, and various adults specializing in different topics teach you things."

She was now looking at him with rapt attention.

"Is it fun? School, I mean."

That got him to think. Had his time at ninja academy been fun for him? The teachers would droll on and on things he already knew and scold him for being insolent, rude and generally anti-social, the girls would pester him for dates and guys would repeatedly challenge him to impress those girls. He certainly couldn't recall any memory he was particularly fond of. But now that he looked back, those days – he certainly wouldn't recount amongst his worst ones.

"Maybe not. But it tends to be better than anything that comes after it."

She leaned back on her chair, seemingly satisfied.

"Who knew the notorious Uchiha who stabbed his own ally to get Shimura Danzo would one day become an altruist paying for the boarding and tuition of homeless girls. Not that I am complaining, of course. Please strive to become even more virtuous, especially to this helpless avian right here."

He turned off the faucet to look at the quipping bird.

Inuwaishi was perched in a corner, piercing him with his hawkish gaze.

"You sure love to talking back to your master quite a bit, for a stranded summon." He scoffed in between drying off his face with a towel.

"Besides, this isn't exactly altruism."

The bird of prey was taken aback as he witnessed his right eye morph from a fiendish scarlet to a divine porphyrous. Sasuke opened his left eye to reveal a pair of matching purple eyes, the carmine irises replaced with sclera consisting of concentric circles adorned with two pairs of three tomoes in each.

"Money lost can always be regained, the power that she holds is unique." He continued promptly.

"A pair of rinnegan – what is that supposed to even mean? Can you now do all the things Madara or Kaguya could? Can you create a portal back home?" The bird asked.

He shook his head negatively.

"A second rinnegan quadruples your dojutsu efficiency. Madara could use 4 limbo clones after he regained both of his eyes. In my case, it massively empowers my usage of Tendo, Susanoo and Amenotejikara alongside granting me the ability to deactivate and re-activate my rinnegan. There's an ability unique to my right eye but I don't have enough chakra to use it yet. "

"Did you at the very least regain Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi?"

"No. Those remain permanently lost, I think. But my genjutsu has been massively enhanced with this ocular evolution, enough to offset their loss."

The bird shook it's head in exasperation.

"You Uchihas and your ever changing eyes. I don't think I could ever get used to them."

"Would that be all, then? If you had something else to say, get to it already."

"I found a token at the abandoned temple. Alongside a note specifying a place of meeting and time. You have either a stalker or a client."

"Then let's find out which one it is."

Takahashi Yoshinori sprawled on the sofa of his host, idly avoiding her glare and taking another swig from his flute. Unsatisfied, he reached his arm for the bottle until at last he was forced to confront her hostile gaze.

"Do you mind?" His hand was almost touching the bottle. Almost.

"Help yourself." She gently pressed it toward him. The hostility in her voice otherwise not abating.

So he did. He began luxuriously gulping down the ambrosia.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" His calm sipping interrupted by her ever uncongenial voice.

"What, indeed. But you should know Miss Takamiya. Afterall you were the one who kickstarted all of this. You turned your underling's little bout of amnesia into a headache for all of us."

"Sato's memory was tampered. He forgot nothing. I am within my right to pursue and incriminate those responsible as part of the Public Security."

"Are you now? I wonder how much authority you really have to prod those being commanded and protected by the ministry of defense."

"So you won't even bother with denial? Saeki and his dogs must be really shameless, not just are they using cutting edge realizers to memory wipe public servants, but they had the gall to send you to threaten me. I won't withstand this abuse of power, even if backed by the authority of the Cabinet."

"Au contraire, my presence here isn't a threat as much as an olive branch. Mister Sato simply learned of something far above his station he was allowed to. The quarantine of Tokonosu, the existence of spirits, the role of Efreet in the destruction of the city. We weren't sure if he could be trusted to keep a secret and it has become standard procedure to erase the memories of those who can not be. Your anger is reasonable but misplaced, and that is why I am here. To make amends."

"And what kind of amends are you willing to make?"

"We are willing to provide him the monetary compensation for the inconvenience caused - and the retirement package will be appropriately meaty of course. If you do everything appropriately even you might get to enjoy some of that dosh."

"I think we are done here. You take me to be as unprincipled as yourselves. You won't get any more mileage out of trying to bribe me than your earlier attempt to threaten me."

"Yet again you misunderstand our intention. It is an absolute imperative that the existence of spirits and AST remain classified and has been for decades. Public outcry and mass hysteria will not be of any more use to you than to us. Should you chose a path of continued hostility towards us, we will be left with no choice but to retaliate in kind."

"Go on ahead, then. See if something like that can cow me down. I deliberately chose this path of solitary subsistence so that things like safety of my husband or offsprings wouldn't weigh down pursuit of my duty."

"That's very noble of you. But for all of your bluster you do have a brother. Don't you? You still do have a grand niece you dote upon as if she were your own daughter."

"You wouldn't dare -"

"I wouldn't. But Saeki absolutely would." Takahashi cut her off abruptly. "Mr Shinji has done some real good work for the people. And it would be a shame if his hard work was rewarded instead with the destruction of his business and ultimately his beautiful family. You should keep that in mind if you wish to continue treading upon your current path. Are the memories of your underlings really worth sacrificing your brothers happiness?"

He could make out her teeth chattering with rage. Her fingers gripping into the respective palms so hard her knuckles turned white. Her glare boring into his very soul. But he sat in little to no fear. Ultimately her rage would amount to nothing. She would either come to agree with them or be forced to. Her attempt at whistleblowing would prove no more successful than the dozens of attempts made before her.

"I will like to meet you again once you have cooled down. Your current temperament is obviously not conducive for a productive engagement. I shall arrive once again in a week. Hopefully you will be more agreeable. Till then."

Having said his piece, he stood up and left.

26th April, 20XX

Yamada Etsuko hopped along giddily. School hours had ended and that meant she was free to go to Tengu Premier Sweets and Confectioneries to buy her favourite brand of Kinako bread. She had been regularly scolded by Tamae Sensei for not including more protein and vitamin rich foods in her diet but she couldn't care less. So long as you had money on you it was only natural to spend it on delicious sweets afterall, right?

Although speaking of money, she remembered that prick Sasuke had said something about it being issued to her monthly or so, and to spend carefully. The dummy company or something that were called Hawk Incorporated or something couldn't make regular transactions without coming under scrutiny. It was a really complicated affair, everything involving money or so but it wasn't like she was in a position to challenge him, indirectly he was the one paying her bills. And so she had agreed to his terms and started going to schools and tutors to learn how to behave accordingly to the customs of this nation and it's inhabitants.

It hadn't been a bad deal in hindsight, Sasuke was cold, distant and supercilious but other people had been nice to her, save for Origami. Okamine sensei was airheaded but earnest, her tutors had been strict but full of warmth and never lost patience with her even when teaching her mundane things like bathroom or table manners. The old man at TPS&C often gave her second servings at discounts and the nice Obaa-chan who sold flowers around the corner would often decorate her hair affectionately.

Life was good. Because the people around her were so, and it made her sad thinking how much damage she must have caused to the people around in her earlier appearances and battles with AST.

Was she content with this life? She wasn't sure but she couldn't imagine going back to days of battling endless hordes of AST hordes, too strong to lose to the likes of them, too persistent to ever yield. She had developed too much empathy to willingly hurt innocent humans with her actions. The average fellow did not deserve to have his life ripped apart by a spacequake or to lose his living as collateral damage of her battles.

This wasn't to say that it was all perfect. She had interacted enough with people to know there still were cruel people who willingly stomped on the weak and the helpless. People who could be as callous as Sasuke or as mean as Origami but she had resolved that she would only strike down such evil doers with her sword. Not the innocents.

But that still left unsolved one massive problem. The seal Sasuke had placed on her powers. She could now reasonably coalesce enough mana in her hands to summon Sandalphon to fight with, but her astral dress was another deal entirely. As she was now, she could maybe beat back a squadroon or two of AST soldiers but stopping someone like Sasuke as she was now would be beyond her.

But then again, Sasuke wasn't around her a lot these days. So he wasn't an immediate worry. Once he had neutralised her ability to cause spacequakes he had considered his job done. He had left the job of bringing her up to date with sensibilities of this world to others and offered her a place to call her own and monthly allowance to live her life the way she deemed fit. The only caveat had been her never mentioning his name or her relation to him to any compatriot of hers, that she had easily agreed to.

She was thankful but all the same he was shifty enough to cause her concern. What if the money she was using had been stolen from others. Sasuke, when she had asked him about the source of his income had been his usual cryptic self in the way that just made her more suspicious of him.

THUD.

Her contemplation screeched to a grinding halt as she fell on her butt. She stood up and opened her mouth to insult the culprit indignantly, only to pause once she eyed her. A blonde, voluptuous woman lay on the ground, rubbing her head with her hand to ward off pain.

"Itai-itai-itai-itai ..."

"Umm, are you alright." Her concern briefly overcame her anger at the culprit.

The fallen woman finally looked up at her. "You should be more careful while walking around in town, young woman."

"Wh-whaa.. you were the one who bumped into me, shouldn't you be the one apologising?"

"Did I now?" The older woman looked at her in discombobulation.

"Of course."

"Well in that case you should be mindful of your environment so someone else doesn't crash into you, young woman." She cheekily stuck out her tongue and started running.

"Wait a minute, where are you going away in such a rush anyway?"

"You shouldn't stick your neck in matters it doesn't belong Ojou-chan. But in case, you might be of help, I suppose you wouldn't happen to know of the urban legend called Tobi, would you?"

"Tobi? Never heard of it."

"Thought so. Well, in that case better let it stay that way. Some things you would be better off not knowing. Just like I was, back then."

The gorgeous blonde woman jogged away. Leaving Etsuko perplexed.

Tengu City Library

Hiroto Tonomachi bathed in the tranquility. There was something to be said about the serenity inside of an empty library at this hour of the day. The salarymen were busy with their jobs, the children with their schools. That left most of the infrastructure accessible to nerds like himself. People who would willingly flunk school to spend their day in desolate places devoid of people and filled with books and view them as superior places of learning.

Humans were social animals. They had evolved to live in herds, to seek out other people and their validation. Vast majority of revered modern rituals ranging from excelling in academics to athletics to mastering art were all in service to the mundane ideal of seeking adoration of one's peers. It is why it was so easy for elites to shephard the masses. The extroverted, outgoing man subservient to his social status and prestige was trivial to subdue. It was the willing outcasts such as himself and his patron, who didn't care what others thought of them; who the puppeteers truly feared.

Speaking of his benefactor, he walked in like a sporting lion, recognizable from his gait alone.

He sat on the chair in front of his in an instant. His current thin, emaciated form was young. Very different from the last one, which had been a portly old man. And that had been very different from the one before, which had been a healthy middle aged red haired man. So many lies to spare, one could only deem him a fantastic liar. He looked him in the eye to be willingly ensnared into his mirage.

"You need to learn how to chose better meeting places, this one is filled to the brim with cameras."

"Hah! As if that would ever be a hindrance for you. Even realizers capable of emitting and reading data at highest frequencies fail to break through your illusions." Speaking of illusions, both of them were ensnared in one that allowed his client to visualize his own thoughts and project them while reading his. A conversation was occuring without anyone around them realizing it.

"It's a matter of principle. Moving on, did you run the background check on that woman."

"Yup. Marikawa Shizuka. A former school nurse. Used to work in Tokonosu before it all went kaput. The only survivor of that space quake alongside Busujima. Although the latter is still either dead or MIA, from what the general public is led to believe."

"Anything else."

"Not all that much. Supposedly she underwent PTSD treatment herself for an entire year. There is very little material on her, come to think of it. You'd expect some scummy journalist to at least try to set up an interview. Instead there's just nothing. Almost as if either the media collectively forgot she existed, or ..."

"Or ?"

"Or they refuse to engage with her due to something threatening them from doing so."

"The military."

"Spot on. These guys have been pretty tight lipped about the Tokonosu spacequake. JSDF soldiers had been spotted there before the catastrophe in question, and yet no effort was made to send rescue squads atleast a week after the event. Almost as if the military upper brass were themselves afraid of what might have resided in the destroyed remnants of the city. Although I doubt it is anything as absurd as the rumours would have you believe."

"Why? What is it that the rumours say lurked there?"

"Zombies. The living dead. Walking about and attacking every living thing in sight. As silly as these rumours are, they have been persistent. Just last year some whistleblower claimed to have been an assigned sergeant who had taken part in the quarantine of the city and shot dozens of infected. He and the journalist he gave the interview to later died in similar accidents. It's all too suspicious."

"Undead, huh?"

"Sounds crazy, right?"

"I have seen crazier things."

"I don't suppose you are in a mood to elaborate."

"No. But I am in a hurry. The payment is stuck under the table. We'll meet again at the agreed spot when I have a job for you again. Till then."

Hiroto ripped out the familiar brown envelope from underneath. His hands savoured the feel of currency within. It was a hefty sum. All those visual novels and galgames were now just one transaction away. Come to think of it, didn't those guys mention something about Izayoi Miku's premium tickets still remaining unsold. He needed to look into that as soon as possible. But, first things first-

"You know, I get that I shouldn't kvetch about free money. But you could save a lot of cash just with internet and a mac."

"I would become more vulnerable in different ways, and how I accrue information isn't any of your concern, unless you are feeling oddly nostalgic for your former part time job."

"Hehehe. Not that. Anything but that. One last thing though."

"What now?"

"Spacequakes. You know what's causing them, don't you Tobi? Dont bring up the altered atmospheric pressure. That's bullshit. I know that."

"Then what?"

"Is it something crazy too, like zombies?"

"Spirits. That's all you are getting out of me. And curb your curiosity, because that's one lead you are better off not pursuing."

Within an umbrageous gathering, innumerous voices gathered together into one.

Whispering, murmuring, rustling, uttering, reciting, chattering, crankering, clattering, howling, shouting, melding together.

The shadowy visages talked past each other into a harmony of syllables. The recipient of the message mattered not, for though the entities were physically distinct, they were all indistinguishable from each other.

"The flow of Shefa will soon be reaching completion."

"The Binah has made known it's presence."

"As has the Hokhmah."

"Certainly the Gevurah and Hesed have been spotted."

"As have been Hod and Netzah."

"So it is for the Yesod and Malkhut."

"Save for Keter, all of the sefira have been summoned from the Sitra Ahra smoothly."

"Not all of it is preceeding smoothly, for Chesed and Gevurah have been inverted into Mashchith and Aph, respectively."

"Is that true so?"

"Verily."

"Nevertheless, the completion of the tikkum olam is nearly upon us."

"The mitzvah compels us so."

"But then who will be the vessel of the Daat?"

"That remains yet to be seen."

"Who then, would endeavour to become so?"

"That too remains yet to be seen."

"What shall become of the remains of the Ein Sof? Which one of them shall be the decorated Shekhinah?"

"Only those who can cut across the veil of tsimtsum may know it thus."

"Then little else remains to be said."

"A lot more remains to be done."

"Glory to Ein Soph and it's endless emanations."

Tengu City Public Square

The flaxen haired beauty panted, her buxom chest heaving with heavy breaths under the neon painted sunset sky. Running and travelling around the city all day had drained her of both vitality and money. With no money left to even book a cab, all that she could do now was walk around the town looking for the object of her search.

She had expected the market place to be bustling with crowds by now, but there were only few people around. Perhaps the rumours were true. The constant quarantines underground due to threats of spirits had killed the night life in the city. All that was left was the ever looming threat of spirits, spontaneous, destructive and -

Her stream of consciousness snapped back into reality as she tumbled and fell back. Subconsciously she braced for an imact that never came. Her falling shoulder was caught by something very strong. Something similar held her waist. On a second thought, they were wrists. Big, long, girthy wrists-

"You should be more mindful of where you walk." A fairly deep voice chided her from behind.

She turned back to look at his face. He was taller than her. Around six feet in height, give or take half an inch. He also had a very lean and wiry physique, alongside unkempt black hair save for the two bangs framing an admittedly pretty face that appeared younger than his voice would suggest.

"Ah! Sorry and um... thank you. "

She tried to separate from his support and stand apart but her legs gave away. She was prevented from falling by his arm wrapping around her.

"This just isn't my day." She pouted.

"Here, hop on. " He pointed towards his own back.

"Umm, there's no need to ..., look if you happen to have some spare money, then I could order a cab- "

"This way will be far faster, trust me."

"Ummm, if you insist." She climbed up his hands on his back and wrapped her legs around his thighs.

"So where would you like to go next?" He asked.

"I am not really sure..., perhaps Waldstein square garden, near the academy. But I am not sure about the way there."

"It should be alright. I do." Saying this, he JUMPED. As in, he leaped upon the top of a nearby building just with his legs, and from one rooftop to another. She let out a yelp of surprise and tightened her arms around him out of instinct. But that wasn't really necessary, in hindsight. Some sort of adhesive force kept her stuck to his back even when she wasn't paying attention. Was this the effect of one of new realizers out in the market, she wondered. But before she could ask him anything, he started another conversation.

"Although, aren't you a bit too old to be lost? Are you a tourist perhaps?"

"It's not that. I mean I haven't been to this city before. But I didn't come here for leisure."

"Then what did you come here for?"

"I was looking for something. Or someone who could help me. I am not sure if you know, but there is an urban legend popular outside about Tengu. There's a wizard or a ghost or something like that, which grants the wishes of those that pray near the ruined temple near the forst on the city outskirts and leave money. He takes the money and grants that wish in return. Whether it is a lost property with scant hints or stolen goods or some criminal who wronged them who got away with it. There are lots of similar stories. Of things considered lost being returned, of thieves and evildoers going to police in a trance and acknowledging their wrongdoings. "

"And you were looking for this personage? Were you perhaps seeking it for a wish to be granted? What kind of wish did you want to be granted?"

"I am not really sure if I should be telling you any of this, but there is a girl I want to help. The last time I saw her she needed to take an important decision to protect me and everyone else. It must have weighed on her consciousness tremendously. But I wanted her to know that I am here for her. That even if the world rejected her for what she had to do, I wouldn't. That I understand. "

"That sounds like a trivial enough message to convey. Does it really require a wizard to relay it? "

"The thing is, she isn't all there. Something happened to her I think. She has closed off her heart but I think she can still be saved."

"Saved ? From what?"

"From the burden plaguing her heart. "

He stopped suddenly. She noticed that they had reached the destination.

"Even if she knew what lied in your heart, there is no certainty that it would not just steel her convictions and strengthen her resolve. Salvation of someone cannot be brought about by understanding."

"Then what could bring it about? The salvation, I mean."

"Action. And that which allows it to occur. Power. Heart and understanding it are comparitively worthless."

"That's a sad way to view the world."

"It's the only correct way to do so. " He shook his head. For a moment she could see some emotion in his eyes. Conviction tinged with melancholy.

"I don't think so. It's just the only way you know to do so."

"This should be it." He set her down and started walking away in the direction opposite to hers.

"Umm... thank you, mister - "

"Sasuke." He completed. "Although, I doubt you will find the one you are looking for, here."

"Oh? You know who I am looking for, then?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I suppose I know who Tobi is, Marikawa."

She whipped her head back to look at him in alarm, only to find nothing where he previously was. All of him that had been contiguous with her body moments ago had disappeared into the ethereal, like a ghost.

JGSDF garrison, Tengu Branch

If Kusakabe Ryouko could describe General Kiritani's cabin in one word, the appropriate one would be spartan. Bland white paint coated the walls devoid of any decor. Sparse few books resided on the shelf. The desk itself was mostly empty save for some folders and a workhorse PC. In general there was very little, if anything at all, one could glean about him save for his work.

Spartan. That word described his aesthetic preferences as much his mental temperament. She had never known him to skip work for leisure. He visited no golf courses, dined in no restaurants, rarely even went out to drink with his peers, underlings or bosses. And yet, his career had progressed smoothly. Such was the impressiveness of his work ethic. That even inspite of lacking charisma, or many friends, those who worked with him in any capacity would soon grow to favour him. She had heard it from the higher ups, back when Kyouhei-senpai had been the commander instead of her, gallant tales of how he had risen from a mere sergeant to the commander of the Tengu base. He had a certain presence to him, an elan that made getting on his bad side very unpleasant for you.

Perhaps that is why she was sweating bullets.

"Well? What do you have to say about yourself?" he rasped in his usual gravelly voice. He then pushed a folder towards her. She didn't need to open it to know the contents within. A biannual compilation and statistical analysis of the various squads and their adapted algorithms of fighting the spirits. Initially, this initiative had been started as a method of sorting out the superior and inferior tactics that were commonly deployed against spirits. But eventually after years of none of the deployed tactics or innovations working against said spirits, it had devolved into a way of assorting squad productivity. Squad captains would attempt to use as much lethal firepower as it was possible, and every now and then, attempt to lure spirits into some clever ploy or another. None of it ever worked, but the tactics deployed therein would often impress those higher up in command, and lead to promotions and bonuses.

In Ryouko's case, she had long since realized the futility of attempting to kill the spirits. And so she had decided to make her primary concern minimizing the collateral damage and risk of her soldiers getting injured. Her primary fallback had always been trying to lure the spirit away to an unpopulated desolate area and sniping them from as much far away as possible. Such meekness on her part had never sat well with the military upper brass, who still pursued glory even at the risk of their soldiers dying as collateral in an attempt to hurt the spirits. She knew well the report would have her squad amongst the least number of anti spirit engagements, and her tactics as orthodox as possible. Afterall, those had been the policies she had consistently sought.

"I only took the most optimal paths, the tactics I deemed most destructive to the hostile spirits without risking my own soldiers, Sir. "

"As usual then. You have little, if anything new to say. " He let out a mirthless laugh. "You really don't care about killing spirits, do you?"

"I care about protecting the people of this nation, even those that happen to be a part of JGSDF."

"So much for the Anti Spirit Team." He sighed. "If only Origami were a few years more experienced, I would have honestly demoted you, if not fired you outright. What do you think of that? Spending next decade as an underling to someone who was formerly your junior? Or working some minimum wage job and seeing your former underlings live the life that could have been yours?"

"If that is what you deem suitable, sir. "

"Maybe in next few years, until then your squad is yours to command. I would tell you try to improve, but in the past 4 years even I have learnt better. You are dismissed."

She saluted him and moved out of the room. Instantly, air became easier to breathe, as if some burden on her shoulders disappeared. It was as they said. You never got used to dealing with your boss.

But atleast she wouldn't have to deal with him for some time. So that was a plus.

She made her way to the locker room. As she had expected, Tobiichi was there, patiently waiting for her. But contrary to her expectations, Mikie and Mildred were also there.

"How did the meeting go?" Tobiichi, true to herself, cut straight to the point.

"You know - the usual, gneral was angry about the lack of aggressiveness in my approach. As if it has served any other commander any better. But no point in dwelling on it. You know what, let's have some of Messier's multiple flavoured ice cream to improve the aftertaste. The chefs there have mastered cooking with realizers to create spontaneously new flavours into an art form. "

"You are upset." Tobiichi curtly pointed.

"Upset? About what? Sure, The general is lambasting my objectively superior approach against spirits. So what? I mean, sure, my mother is lambasting me wasting away my life in a dead end career and not getting married. So fucking what? It doesn't matter." She slammed her fist against the metallic locker. The clank alarmed both Mildred and Mikie.

Their shocked faces snapped Ryouko out of her reverie.

"Sorry, you guys. I got a little carried away. That's all. Tell you what. Not just the ice cream, let's buy tonight's dinner from Messier's. Add it to my tab."

"Umm, it's alright captain, I can pay my part. I don't eat a lot." Mikie added meekly.

"What about you Fujimura?"

"Sorry. I am on a diet. You guys can eat my part. "

"Really? That's a bummer. Oh well. And you Tobiichan?"

Before she could hear a reply from her, something else captivated all their attentions. The emergency siren started blaring. The radio repeating "Evacuation of civilians to safety bunkers has begun. Spacequake imminent. Spirit approaching."

Before any of them could even begin to react, another much familiar voice bellowed. "Tobiichi Origami, arrive to the Wiring suit Retrofitting room. Bring Fujimura with you"

Sirens blared all across the city. Post advent of spacequakes, the bulk of public buildings were created with bunkers laid in depth of some kilometres beneath them. As such the primary challenge of large scale civilian evacuations was always ensuring people successfully managed to reach their places of safety before the spacequake ripped apart everything.

The AST would always attempt to do everything within their power to stop the spirits. The task of ensuring civilians didn't get in their way was left to other institutions.

Kusakabe Ryouko grit her teeth. The first thing she saw when she arrived was an entire city block on fire. The black smoke emerging from the conflagaration of destroyed buildings, molten steel beams and expelled dust felt like the dying breath of a wounded animal. She had been warned that the threat ASMODEUS posed was incomparable with anything she had seen before. For the first time she found herself agreeing with the assessment. It wouldn't be the last.

Hiding around in the corner, there was a blonde well endowed woman, a civilian by the looks of it.

She clicked her tongue in frustration. "Hey, you." She shouted.

The woman upon being addressed looked all around before finally looking up. "Me?" She asked.

"Yes, you. The spacequake alarm has been going on for a long enough time. Why haven't you evacuated to a shelter yet?"

"Ummm, I wasn't aware where a shelter was?" She weakly replied.

"It's right underneath any public building you dumb bimbo. Were you just born yesterday?"

"Sorry. "

"Whatever. Go into that public building across the street and ask them to evacuate you underneath immediately. Now go."

She saw her run off to the specified location. She hoped she made it in time.

'Now, then. To focus on the rampaging spirit.'

"Okamine." She barked.

"Yes... commander." The girl let out a mousy squeak, obviously intimidated by the amount of authority oozing from her voice.

"Can you spot the injured soldiers in this smoke and dust?"

"I think I can."

"Good. Begin evacuating them ASAP. And stay away from the epicenter of the fire."

"But captain, I can contribute-"

"Are you disobeying my orders Mikie?" She cut her off.

"No captain. " She submitted dejectedly.

"Good. Things are going to be dangerous until Tobiichi arrives with her fancy suit. Nevertheless, until she does, we have to keep the spirit engaged." Ryouko now addressed the rest of soldiers as Mikie flew away towards the injured.

"The rest of you, prepare to implement the battle plan alpha bravo one. While I distract her by engaging her in melee, use the spare time and your realizers to create a wall of an unescapable potential well. Once you have her locked in, send me a signal so I can create the appropriate distance while the snipers pool together their power to attack her. Understood?"

"Yes, captain." A chorus of voices rang out.

"Good. Then let's get to it."

She lowered her thrusters via a mental impulse and flew down swiftly.

In the center of inferno stood a girl in tattered seifuku and armed with a bokken. At a distance from where she was far away from her To be able to dodge a surprise attack but close enough to make out her physical features distinctively enough for an accaurate attack, she manifested the anti spirit gun [Auldist].

"Here goes nothing." She breathed out and began her attack on the spirit.

A wall of fire spontaneously emerged out of nothingness, blocking the hail of bullets. She circumambulated around her, attempting to gun her down from a different direction.

But it was a futile effort. The wall of fire followed around, reducing the bullets to vapours before they could even attempt to hit her. These flames subservient to their mistress now leapt at Ryouko, who barely managed to dodge some of them before having to rely on the repulsive force of her territory to protect her from the flames. She increased the propulsion of her thrusters to fly away and generate some distance between them.

It was only now that she realized her opponent was finally staring at her instead of absent mindedly looking into empty space. Her eyes the colour of flames themselves, she slowly walked towards her. Every step left behind a burning footprint. Ryouko's body started to feel hotter. It was then that she realized that the temperature was actually increasing with every step that was taken towards her. The coolant system of her Realizer unit activated on its own - before she could even send a mental impulse to consciously activate it.

She flew. Higher and higher and higher. When she had created a sufficient enough gap, she finally equipped [CCC]. The standard rule was not to use it in urban areas even if devoid of people, and to absolutely not use it without permission from higher ups. But then again, nothing about this situation was standard. If she wanted to not die from the mere presence of her opponent, she needed to bring out her most lethal weapon. The spirit had stopped right beneath her and was staring at her out of boredom.

She took a deep breath, corrected her aim for recoil and fired. A green pulse of light emerged from her rifle and levelled the ground where her opponent stood. The wall made of flames was shot clean through, revealing a cloud of dust and shrapnel. The dust settled to reveal a perforfarated body barely standing by. Her lungs were splattered on the concrete beneath, her ribcages were missing.

The gory sight was a work of art, one that brought infinite joy to the artist. Ryouko could have squeed out of exultation.

'To think that it was this easy to pierce her astral dress.'

It was then that she noticed. The chunks of her flesh started burning away into nothingness. But so did the injuries on her body. Bit by bit, the flames licked clean her body of all it's wounds.

Despair filled her stomach. It was believed that an astral dress was almost impossible to pierce. But no one had ever spoken of a spirit capable of regenerating. An enemy like this – capable of incinerating hosts without even actively doing anything – somehow even being capable of regenerating. That was just too unfair.

But unfair was what AST dealt with regularly.

"Fujiwara, are you done yet?" She barked on her radio.

"Aye, aye captain. Now if only you could move a little bit away. So that we can capture the prey in the territorial net." The NCO replied from the other side.

"On it. " She moved faster than her opponents flames did. And made sure to zig zag her way across to maximize the area her opponent had to spread out her flames. The blazes being stretched thin, the cylindrical wall of fire around her too thinned, reaching out to reinforce their brethen in her hot pursuit.

Exactly what she wanted.

"Now, Fujiwara."

"Gotcha."

Realizers Units worked on brain waves for signals, and brain implants for complex processing. Which implied that the more arduous the task, the greater the physical strain on the user's brain would be. That is why Realizing tech engineers had implemented the Shulgi processing function in combat units. The eponymous parallel processing algorithm reduced this strain by sharing the workload between multiple realizers. Realizers working together allowed pooling together of both energy and load. That is why, she had decided to take the risk of facing the spirit alone. So that the squads working under her could all work together to bring about this result.

ASMODEUS realized what was occuring a split second too late. In the blink of an eye, her body was immobilized by the massive territory centered around her, that had been carefully been constructed during the time she had been fighting Ryouko. And then it rained from the sky, that blinding flash of light. It powered through through whatever stood before it, leaving naught but rubble and ashes in it's wake.

Ryouko finally let herself crack a small smile. Even a regenerator couldn't heal from something like that-

Her stream of thought was interrupted by a massive gust of wind knocking her away. The wind hereof being generated by a massive fountain of flames that erupted from earth where the spirit had previously been attacked. From that pillar of flame walked out the very familiar figure clad in tattered seifuku.

"Oh god, not again!" Ryouko activatated her radio. "Fujiwara, are you listening? The target is still unharmed and combat capable. "

"Saitou here, captain. Fujiwara is down. Unconscious due to the stress of operation on the brain."

"How many NCO's are still in good enough condition to fight? How many soldiers?"

"Around four officers out of twelve and we should still be capable of fielding three squads of capable fighters?"

"Then regroup. Ask Okamine to aid in evacuating those who are no longer able to fight. Change of plans, we are going to focus on stalling her until Origami arrives here." She grit her teeth, she had far less manpower than she would have liked. It wasn't feasible to maintain a thorough offense without risking their lives.

"Roger."

If nothing in their arsenal could meaningfully hurt their foe, then the only viable alternative was to keep attacking her from a long range with ammunition that could atleast moderately annoy her enough to retreat back into her home dimension. It had been her primary strategy against raw power types like PRINCESS. But first she needed them to-

"I had initially presumed that you were disposable fodder sent to die first like those soldiers at Tokonosu. But I see I was wrong. You are their leader instead. You cared so much about your soldiers that you risked your own life to save theirs. Not a very smart strategy, is it? "

Kusakabe Ryouko felt some deep primal fear crawl in her stomach. For the first time, her nemesis had bothered speaking to her. "You don't like it? What are you going to do about it?" She nonetheless taunted her.

She activated [No Pain] and leaped at her adversary. The latter in return trivially blocked it with her bokken. For just a moment, sparks covered her wooden sword. In that moment she cut through her sabre with contemptuous ease. Ryouko propelled herself back before she could be cut the same way her sword was.

"You are competently trained, but not interested in battle itself. There is no joy in fighting itself for you and as such there is no joy in fighting you. There wouldn't be any catharsis in defeating you either."

"What are you implying, you arrogant bitch?" She grit her teeth in frustration.

"I have grown bored of fighting you. But I find myself uninterested in killing you either. Now, your underlings on the other hand ~ "

"Wait! Hold on a moment." Ryouko screamed in panic but her opponent wasn't around to hear. Long gone was her bored, slow drawn out walk. She was flying faster than eye could track. Ryouko flew after her. She knew that she was headed towards where her team were regrouping, but she wouldn't make it in time. She was much slower.

A crimson arc of wildfire emerged in that direction, followed by a blinding flash of light.

Her heart sank. How many of her troops had perished in that explosion, she wondered.

The answer, as it turned out, was none.

The inferno was spontaneously contained in a sphere of territorial making around the spirit. Nearby floated a very familiar figure clad in the armour White Liquorice, commanding the rest of the soldiers to leave and seek treatment for their burns back at the JGSDF hospital.

For the first time in the whole day, Kusakabe Ryouko let out a gratitude filled smile. Origami Tobiichi had finally arrived.

With a simple mental command, Tobiichi Origami conjured a territorial membrane that blocked the torrent of flames pursuing her comrades. She could feel the difference in the capacity with all the preceding realizers she had ever used. With a nod, she signalled captain Ryouko it was okay to retreat afar from the battle. White Liquorice was a more potent military threat than all the other CR-units of her squadmates put together.

She activated [Tool Box] to send a barrage of missiles encircling the spirit. The resulting explosion wiped out the entire city block. A massive wall of energy protected her froom the resulting dust and debris. She wondered how much it must have cost the JGSDF to procure this this beast. In fact why were DEM selling something so powerful and destructive to a foreign nation anyways instead of using it to augment their own national security? It didn't matter, she decided. So long as she could use it to put the spirit in front of her past her expiry date.

A voluminous eruption of fire ripped apart the cloud of dust. From it emerged the wounded figure of the spirit, the flames licking away her wounds.

"You are different from the others. Not just your suit, though that's certainly more powerful than theirs. But your resolve too. Your eyes are far more resolute than theirs. Very well, I shall indulge you." Her foe complimented her.

"The only thing that you will indulge in will be your own funeral. Come at me."

"You are being too cocky over a tacky dress. Respect ought to be returned with respect, not insults even amongst mortal enemies."

Origami activated [Loot Box] once again to attack her with a barrage of missiles, but this time her surrounding flames incinerated them before contact.

She clicked her teeth in frustration. "Activate [CleaveLeaf]." Two tendrils of light spurted out of her wiring suit, cutting through her adversaries' surrounding flames and wrapped themselves around the spirit's neck. They levitated her with ease and spun her around several times before throwing her. The resulting momentum plowed her through a dozen buildings before she stopped.

Origami kept on pressing her offensive. This time [CleaveLeaf] again wrapped itself around her foe's throat, but instead of spinning her just kept on getting tighter. Origami enveloped her in a territorial sphere to keep out her fames. The crushing force started liquifying her muscles and internal organs into paste faster than she could heal. She could almost feel her internal organs getting liquified.

ASMODEUS gurgled, gasping for breath..

'Just a little more and it will be over.' Tobiichi kept on tightening the [CleaveLeaf] noose.

"G-ga...th...er G-gi...b-bi...l." Her nemesis barely managed to string together the requisite syllables. But the effect was clear. The inferno scorching half the city disappeared in an instant. It took her a moment to realize what was happening. The maryoku that had taken the form of the wildfires burning everything had started taking on another form.

Motes of glowing mana surrounded her body and sword. The innumerous specks of light merged to form of luminous dress and a incandescent blade. A fiery yukata and a glowing katana now adorned the spirit. It was now that she realized this must be her astral dress. The reason she had been so much easier to wound than any earlier spirit she had encountered was because she had been using the very flames that comprised her astral dress as her offensive flames.

Tobiichi spat out blood. A sharp migraine tore through her brain. The consequence of mental strain caused by the suit. She had known there would be a price for her power, but she hadn't expected it to be this soon. And her opponent didn't look any worse for the wear either. But it was a good enough reminder, she supposed. She couldn't use this suit any longer than half of an hour, not as she was now anyways.

She wiped the blood away. "[Blastalk] – authorize target's incineration."

The cannon began charging. A spherical territory enveloped ASMODEUS. The spirit this time actively attacked the cage with her sword. The heat embedded in the weapon incinerated away the energy membrane trivially.

"I am not done yet. "

Three concentric layers of fullerene territory surrounded her antagonist. Her sword ripped away two of them. Before she could incinerate the third layer, in the twinkle of an eye, the hexagon in front of her disappeared and reappeared just for a moment. In doing so, it allowed the entry of nearly all of the energy of of her Wiring Suit, concentrated into a pure energy beam.

The resulting explosion ripped apart Origami's own territory and sent her flying back half a mile. The spirit and the area surrounding her were incinerated in a blinding flash of light, heat and dust.

Origami coughed. She attempted to stand - but the behemoth weight of the now depowered wiring suit made it nearly impossible to do so. She would need to apologize to the headquarters for her mishandling of such an expensive piece of equipment, she mused. But then again, she was sure commander and general would understand. This was the strongest spirit she had ever fought.

PRINCESS – who she was sure was also Etsuko Yamada at her school – hadn't ever been this much of an enthusiastic fighter. She retorted in kind. But she never took sadistic pleasure in the very act of destroying her enemies. She wondered what made this one different. Was it because the wavelengths she emitted were demon like instead of angel like? Isaac Westscott and the physicist Murasame Reine had hypothesized the existence of such a phenomenon decades ago. But admittedly, this was her first time interacting with one.

It didn't matter eitherways, she supposed. The spirit ought to have been destroyed by this amount of overwhelming firepower. Even if she were particularly tough, she should still have been incapacitated at the very least. She now just needed to retrieve her body and send a message to Commander Kusakabe. She wondered if her radio still worked. Never mind that, first things first -

THUMP.

THUMP.

Footsteps? Did AST reinforcements arrive already? Usually in such a case, they'd be marching or flying on CRU thrusters. But then that meant that -

No. No. No. No. No. NO. NO. NO. NO.

She turned her head around to look at her worst case scenario – her enemy walking towards her with methodically slow gait to savour her despair.

She wondered how long had it been since she had been this mortified. Was it when that red eyed stranger had barged in and humiliated her when she had been flying to fight PRINCESS? Or was it when all those years ago – when she had insulted her parents whom she had loved very much for not understanding her feelings – only for police to call in the evening and tell her that her parents had died in a traffic accident in the noon?

Whatever the answer may be, she realized that this day would rank amongst the worst ones of her life.

She began manually detaching the White Liquorice. It was a slow affair but luckily for her, the spirit was taking all her time walking towards her, the fire slowly but surely licking away her wounds in the meanwhile. Her astral dress – the fiery yukata hadn't reformed yet. If Origami could manually activate [No Pain] and stab her in some fatal region, then she'd atleast die with some dignity.

She knew the inevitable fate that had awaited her when she joined AST. But she had always expected or atleast believed that she could accomplish the same thing the likes of Ellen Mathers had done and take down a spirit before meeting her end.

She doubted she was going to be walking away from here with her life. In which case, she needed to atleast inflict some damage on the spirit, however transient it may be, before going down.

Thence she rose up to a crouch, steadied the blade in her hand and aiming for her center of mass, lunged-

-Only for the spirit to easily cut down her sword with the flaming katana and trip her leg.

'This is just too cruel. To think I couldn't even put a dent on my enemy.' Disconsolate with shame, frustration and rage, Tobiichi Origami fell into unconsciousness, her last sight being a masked man standing in the distance.

She walked up to her fallen opponent. By the time she had lost consciousness she was in despair, yet in her stupor she looked surprisingly serene.

It would be a lie to say that she didn't wish to wake her up, to relish in her agony and despair as she perished. Yet, she didn't mind the idea of cutting down this foe painlessly. It felt a fitting enough reward for her gallantry in battle.

"Now then, to put an end to this." She raised her sword, intending to put her out of her misery in a moment -

She felt a sharp pain down in her lower throat, the area where the astral dress hadn't completely recovered.

"Gu...gr..." Ah. So that's what it was. She realized as she gurgled her own blood. The pain was caused due to a sharp metallic object protruding her throat. She zipped around to look at the culprit. A masked figure extending his right arm, from which a wire emerged, connecting to the kunai placed in her throat.

"Chidori nagashi."

She cut the string in the fraction of a second. But the damage had been done nonetheless. Her vision went white. Her ears went deaf. All her muscles were spasming. Her internal organs burnt severely. Her nerves malfunctioning. In a fraction of a second, flames enveloped her body as armour against any aggression while her internal organs repaired themselves.

She wondered how high the voltage must have been for the electricity to have hurt her so viciously in such a short amount of time.

When her sight returned she concentrated her maryoku in her sword to torch the assailant, only to find him nowhere to be soon. In fact even the body of the girl she had defeated had disappeared. She flew high enough to have half of the city in her field of vision, only to find them nowhere.

"Show yourself coward. Is this how a man is supposed to fight? Do you not have even an ounce of honor?" She bellowed. Her dare was returned with spinning shurikens getting launched at her back. The flames comprising her astral dress pre-emptively incinerated them. She spun around and swung her sword. A wave of scorching fames evaporated everything in that direction – save for one masked figure who stood there unfettered.

Long sleeved purple mantle, a white mask with two eye slits and adorned with black flaming patterns, dark pants and a sword sheathed at his waist. Flames of purple aura receded into his body.

"Honour, huh? Such a thing I must have abandoned long ago. " He mused out loud.

"At last you finally show yourself, dastard. What did you do to the defeated girl? I can not seem to find her. "

"One of her compatriots was looking for her – her squad leader I think. I simply transported her there. "

"Compassion? Quite rich coming from a poltroon who sneaks in his enemies' blind spots."

"It's prudence. She would have been collateral in the battle that is to follow. If I were to kill someone, I'd rather it be intentional on my part. "

"My! Aren't you a confident one? I deliberately held back against the previous challengers out of consideration for their honor, and owing to their feminine disposition. You, on the other hand are an honorless man. I would instantly annihilate you like the flea you are."

He shrugged. "Do your worst."

'Gladly. ' Was her inaudible reply.

"Guard me, Ninurta. " She audibly commanded.

In an instant, all of the flames in the desolate city assembled towards her in haste, from the sparks and cinders to the raging wildfires and blazing infernos, every single bit of fire concentrated itself in her armament. The earlier meager yukata comprised of flames was now a full fledged blazing kimono. Covering her from her throat to her toe, the regal attire made her appear an exquisite painting, a goddess in flash. Having had it's name called into battle, her astral dress had manifested completely.

The reminder of her power concentrated itself in her demon king. A wall of fire egressed out thereof, in the direction of the the masked vigilante.

He raised his hands conjoined in a seal.

"Suiton : suijinheki. "

Tiny droplets of water materialized out of air, attempting to form an aqueous parapet. But it was a futile effort. There was very little moisture remaining in the air. Most of the water evaporated the instant it made contact with her reinvigorated flames.

The elemental tug of war was trivially won by her flames which went on to obliterate everything for several miles in the direction between two and five o clock from her. Scorched ruins, destroyed roads and annihilated pavements were accompanied only by dilapidated molten remains of buildings.

Her antagonist was of course nowhere to be seen. Did it get him?

Almost instinctively, she backflipped from her current position. Sure enough, he had been once again in her blind spot, his hands shooting an elongated beam of lightning. She slashed her sword in his general direction. This time there was no visible flame, yet the heat propagating in that general direction again liquified most of the solid matter for multiple leagues.

He had again disappeared into the ether.

She wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. She frantically looked behind her, sword ready. Only to find that no one was there. In a moment of fraught realization she grasped what his trick this time really was. Her foresection still bent behind, she propelled herself backwards with her flames instantly to avoid getting decapitated by his sword. Nevertheless that cackling, vibrating blade put a deep enough horizontal wound in her throat. The massive amount of electric discharge caused her muscles to spasm and her nerve endings to go haywire with pain.

She spat out blood. The flames licked away her wounds instantly and yet the pain persisted. This man who could bend lightning to his whim was dangerous. She wondered if without being empowered by the inversion of her sephira, she would have been killed by now. Could she beat him if she merely had an angel instead of a demon king?

She shook her head. She needed to strategize instead of filling her head with pointless thoughts and despairing. He had gotten a few good licks in, which was perhaps unprecedented. But the battle wasn't over yet.

Pulling deep into the recesses of the memory of her host body, she took a deep breath and brought her body into the perfect poise. A plan was slowly but surely beginning to form in her head, to demolish this obstacle of a man.

"So much for annihilating me like a bug, huh?" He taunted her.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, human. Nevertheless, by the standards of your race, you didn't perform bad, you briefly even managed to get the better of me. I suppose I should ask your name before sending you to your final abode."

"Before asking for someone's name, it is only appropriate to give yours first."

"Oh? Are you interested in knowing my name then, ningen?"

"Not really." He shrugged. "You are Saeko Busujima, aren't you? Almost everyone in the know, knows. "

Upon hearing that name, some primal indignant rage manifested upon her face.

"Anyone who says such a thing knows nothing." She responded lividly. "Busujima Saeko was a weak woman who couldn't withstand her own proclivity for sin. I, on the other hand, am the being that was born to bear the burden of her weakness."

"Isn't that just your excuse for giving in too your worst instincts? Though I suppose I do not have a right to criticize something like that." He reminisced, as if reliving some particular memory.

"No, you do not understand. The likes of you could never understand. " She repeated to herself.

His choice of words had been ill suited for her fragile psyche. At last whatever subconscious restrains that held her back snapped. All that mattered was annihilating the wretch before her, whatever the cost may be.

"Blaze the heavens, Gibil. " She muttered, raised her flaming sword and then impaled her own heart with it. Immediately, it perforated a hole in her breast, but all the flames and heat in the sword concentrated there. The wooden bokken deprived of it's flames was now abandoned and fell down. All of the power of her Demon King was now merged with her astral dress. As a consequence, the flames comprising her kimono thickened and three protrusions emerged from behind her. Protrusions that eventually swelled to become two large fiery wings adorning her back and an elongated tail. The burning girl had now been consumed by her own flames to become a phoenix. All of this had happened in a thousandth of an instant. As did what comes next. The masked vigilante summoned a mystical aura to surround him. The flames emerging therewithal evolved into first a protective rib-cage,then a skeleton and eventually into a samurai that started shooting arrows at her. But it was too late. The latent heat in her surroundings ensured they deliquesced before they could hurt her. First the arrows, then the spectral samurai, eventually the surrounding buildings and even the ground supporting them – all started turning into lava due to the ambient heat.

Realising what was happening he jumped back – again and again and again – unable to find a footing solid or cold enough to rest until he was miles away from her. But that would provide him little to no reprieve. In the twinkle of an eye, she spanned all that distance and he was forced to summon the astral samurai again to avoid getting reduced to ash. She manifested a sword made of flames to cut it down and the melting spectre was forced to block it with it's own sword.

Even with the phantasmal armor on, blisters were appearing on his skin. This was a checkmate. Either his armour dissolved and he died through her attack or he was boiled alive in his own ethereal armour. And if he teleported anywhere in her vicinity, he would still die. There was no course of action he could take that would allow him to escape with his very life, much less triumphant.

"It's over. You did well to make it this far. But this is the end of the line." She boasted smugly.

In return he raised his right hands towards her and bellowed.

"SHINRA TENSEI."

Her wings wrapped themselves around her to provide extra defense against the attack, but to no avail. A massive amount of force crashed into her, sending her plummetting across the city. The heat emmitted by her astral dress liquified and vaporised any unfortunate building that got in her way. As a consequence, due to the lack of meaningful resistance force, she was sent far away before she managed to stop her motion. She tried to stand on the ground only for it it too melt beneath her very feet. Remembering her wings still existed, she took to flight instantly – soaring as high as possible for a good vantage point.

This time it took several seconds for her wounds to heal. Her maryoku was massively down. She could no longer waste time. She needed to kill him post haste.

She spun around and looked. Searching for wherever he was hiding. At 3 o'clock, she saw him. He was panting in exhaustion, his maryoku was massively down as well, his robes were now scorched and tattered, his skin marked with burns, even fragments of his mask were destroyed and yet there he stood - his eyes, those amethyst sclera with concentric irises, staring defiantly into hers.

She concentrated all her remaining energy in her wrist, causing in it an incandescent glow. And then she rushed, covering all the distance separating them in the fraction of a second with her speedy flight.

Her glowing red hot fist trivially tore apart through his lungs and then the rest of his chest. It's incredible heat incinerating his muscles, boiling his blood and charring his bones. Even the the blood that oozed out of his body was sizzling, steaming with heat. The corpse fell on the ground with a limp thud.

"As absymal of a death as it was, it was an entirely deserved one, you brought it upon yourself by challenging something far above your station."

"The same goes for you too. You will be entirely deserving of what I am about to do to you." A very familiar voice retorted.

"Who is that?" An entirely redundant question. She knew whose voice it really was. The problem was that the owner of that voice was lying in front of her. His chest gouged out with her power.

She looked around frantically, only to find nothing. "Show yourself." She roared in fury

Suddenly the corpse in front of her exploded into a flock of crows. She could now see a very familiar figure standing at the edge of a semi destroyed but still standing bulding.

He was entirely unharmed, as if her attack had never connected to begin with. Only difference being that his eyes were no longer purple, but onyx instead.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"The moment you looked me in the eye, you were entranced in an illusion of mine. That just broke now due to me running out of chakra." He supplied helpfully.

"Then you should have attacked me while I was entranced, you would have atleast stood a chance. As it is, you may have successfully tricked me, but you'll still lose because you have little to no maryoku while I still have some." She revitalized the thinning flames comprising her wings and astral dress for one final attack.

"That's one way of looking at things but you seem to be mistaken. My intent was never to kill you. Besides you have handed me the key to your defeat with your own ability. They formed far above their usual heights so it took quite a bit of chakra setting it up. But still, it is done." He pointed upwards.

It was then that she saw it. Thunderclouds. Cackling, howling, growling, glowing with electric potential leashed within. Her heat had evaporated all the water in this city, where would it go save for the sky? Perhaps the perfect weapon for manipulator of current like himself, forged due to the shortsightedness of an enemy like her.

"Come Kirin." He sung her elegy.

The heavens themselves roared in response. The thousands of disparate bolts of lightning uniting to manifest an ethereal dragon intent on striking her down. The emperor of sky descended to earth in order to scorch down that enemy enamored by his sight.

In an instant everything in that area was destroyed.

When the cloud of dust and debris settled, there stood the masked crusader in one corner, and Busujima Saeko on the ground on her knees, the flames comprising her wings, tail and astral dress all destroyed. The last remnants of her healing flames flickering away into extinction after healing away all her injuries to leave her health in perfect condition and her mana reserves now entirely depleted.

"I ... lost?!" She vacantly uttered. "Was this all my strength amounted to? "

He walked closer. Unsheathed his sword, he pointed it at the throat of his defeated foe.

"Do you yield? " He asked softly.

"Not until my breathe runs out. You should just cut me down. As low on maryoku as I am, I would certainly die if fatally injured. But that's alright. Better to die in battle than live disgraced."

"Is that what you were seeking all along? A valiant death in battle? Nonetheless, such a course of action seems inutile to me, it would always be better to live, no matter tarred with however much of indignity."

She let out a bitter laugh. "It's easy for someone as powerful as you to say. But you haven't seen the things I have. Friends cannibalising friends, mothers and fathers trying to prey on their own children. There is such a such a state one can fall to where it would be too disgusting to be allowed to live. I made such a choice. I killed people, my friends, co-survivors all at the altar of greater good. I did it because I was had the strength to do so. It's only correct that someone stronger than me delivers that same justice upon me." Anguish creeped in her voice. She grabbed his sword with her hands, her blood pouring out of them and pulled it further towards her own throat, the sword only stopping because of her subjugator's strength now pulling it away. "I no longer have anything resembling a parent or a friend to mourn my loss, or blame you to seek vengeance. So why the hesitation? " She lashed out.

He forcefully yanked out his sword from her hands. "I thought I told you, killing you wasn't my intention. No one tells me what to do, or how to live my life. Besides, you do have someone who deeply cares about you. Or the person you are supposed to be anyways." He pointed off in the distance.

It took her a moment to understand. But eventually she saw it. A familiar blonde woman was running towards her. She was out of breath, panting, but still waved at her with that same cheery, ditzy smile that was characteristic of her.

"Shizuka sensei?"

"Saeko-chan? Is that you? Thank goodness you are alright. I thought you would have been hurt by those dreadful armed people."

ASMODEUS shrunk back in fear. "No, don't come near me – and I am not Saeko Busujima. I am her inverse born out of Qlipha."

Shizuka recoiled. "Umm... I don't understand it exactly, but if you are some other entity possessing Saeko, can't you let her back in control? I want to properly thank her for saving me and everyone else on this planet back when she destroyed Tokonosu. I know it must be a massive burden on her heart. That's why I want to help her move past it."

"Thank her? What do you mean? She managed to save nothing. Komuro-kun, Otou-san they all are dead because of m- her. There is no moving past a sin like that." She was weeping by now.

"I'd like to think there is no sin that is unatonable. Besides she did it because it needed to be done, because the horrors in that city threatened to spill outside. She didn't do it out of some base desire to hurt others or to satiate herself in any capacity. Surely she did nothing that isn't forgivable. " Shizuka consoled her.

"You don't get it. Long before there was any undead walking, Busujima Saeko had already dirtied her hands. Six years ago, she had already hurt someone and enjoyed it."

"You don't mean that molestor who tried to assault you, do you? Surely she was justified-"

"That's not it. She deliberately ran into an alley where she would appear vulnerable and isolated to lure him closer to her. She wanted a clearly defined enemy so that she could enjoy hurting him. She relished every moment of seeing him squirm after she shattered his femur. She was overjoyed, aroused even. That's the kind of sick pervert Busujima Saeko is at her heart. Someone who enjoys and takes pleasure in inflicting cruelty upon others -" She was hyperventilating now, "Am I supposed to believe someone like that can be absolved of their sins? No. That must be wrong. There is no salvation for her. There mustn't be, if there is any justice in the world." She finished weakly, sobbing.

"You seem to know more of her inner turmoil than I ever will. And I cannot really tell you whether there is any justice in this world or if she truly deserves absolution or not. But the Saeko-chan I knew was a strong, compassionate girl who, in her own way sought to do the correct thing and I deeply admired her. Even if the Providence itself will not forgive her faults, I do." Shizuka hugged the sobbing broken girl into a warm embrace. "So, please let her come back to me. There is still a person who is waiting for her. "

The plea got through the hardened heart of the spirit. The fire colouring her eyes dissolved into a crystal blue that marked the human identity.

Moved by her kind words, Asmodeus sacrificed itself to pave way for the consciousness of her human half. But the fatigue – both the mental and the physical was too much for her to bear. The body therefore went limp from unconsciousness.

"The AST must have recovered. Sooner or later, they will be searching for both of you. You should get moving quickly. Is there some place you can hide for a long enough period of time?" The man interrupted upon the poignant silence, all business as usual.

"I know a hospital that allows workers to stay with one roommate allowed. But I would still need fake identities for both of us, to not get caught by government agencies." She replied.

In the meantime, he placed a chakra suppressing seal on Saeko's camatose body to hide its maryoku being tracked.

"Fake identities, huh ? That much, I can arrange. Let's get going before they arrive. "

27th April, 20XX

When she woke up, the first thing she was the whites of hospital top. The bland sterilized white light that permeated everything in an infirmary had been something she had always disliked.

Almost out of reflex, her legs reached out to the ground, she was trying to stand up before she even realized what she was doing.

"Hold still! Do not be so hasty. We only managed to treat all the burns on your body only half an hour ago. Your body isn't entirely used to it all yet." The nurse called out in panic.

For her part Tobiichi Origami was content sitting. The gate opened to reveal the familiar Kusakabe Ryouko with anxiety visible on her face. In a moment that anxiety was replaced by relief. She pulled her into a very unprofessional hug, almost crushing her bones. "Tobiichan, I was so worried. When you suddenly appeared in front of me without your wiring suit and so many burns on your body, I thought you might be dead. Thankfully you are alright." She sobbed.

"I appeared in front of you? How?" She asked perplexed.

"You mean that wasn't your doing?" Now it was Ryouko's turn to be perplexed.

"I ... don't know. " Origami finally added, looking lost. The memories weren't exactly clear. She had abandoned her wiring suit for one last go at the spirit. And then what had happened?

"If you don't remember what happened to you perhaps we might try one of Memory Extraction realizers to figure out what transpired." A third, familiar but gruff voice interrupted.

Instantly Kusakabe Ryouko stood up in deference. Origami weakly attempted to but fell back on her bed. General Kiritani signalled for the nurse to leave the room, which she did in haste.

"So, are you sure you cannot remember anything?" He continued.

She tried to remember. She remembered bringing out the blade [No Pain] for one last, final charge at the spirit. She remembered rushing at her and then – and then – a white blank veil covering her memories was lifted. She winced in pain. She remembered now. Her futile last charge at the spirit, her sword being cut down. The latent heat and mental exhaustion pushing her to the brink of unconsciousness – and that masked figure in the distance. His mask was different this time, two eye slits instead of one, but the everything else, from how he held himself to his poise, were still the same.

"There was another figure in the distance. A masked figure." She added.

"Tobiichan are you sure you weren't hallucinating-" Ryouko tried to intercede.

"A masked figure huh. " Kiritani cut her off. He pulled out a tablet and activated it, shuffling though his screen looking for something before finally finding it. " Did he happen to look like this entity?" he showed it to her.

A very familiar mask in familiar clothes surrounded by a macabre aura.

"Yes, that is him or ought to be, in any case. His mask is different though. Two eye holes instead of one and white colour instead of orange."

"Noted." He replied. "Looks like he must have gotten you out of the way in order to battle the spirit."

"Battle the spirit, what do you mean?" Ryouko asked.

"We were keeping the tab on Tobiichi Origami's new wiring suit by programming it to keep sending us signals. The moment it deactivated, it stopped sending those. But even after it deactivated the spirit was still emitting wavelengths it releases when it is in heat of battle. Something was keeping it enaged in battle. It must be this masked entity – wizard or magus or spirit or whatever it must have been, fighting her."

Ryouko's face gave away her surprise but Origami knew it. Taming a spirit being his purpose was what he had told her when he had attacked her weeks ago. She wondered if he had succeeded this time. The fact that that she had suspected Etsuko Yamada being the Princess had made her believe that he had died fighting her. But what if he had succeeded? What if he had been the one to have forced her to live the life of a human? Could he be doing the same with Asmodeus? Numerous questions were going through her head right now. All of them led her to one path – 'Yamada Etsuko.'

"Looks like you are deep in contemplation. But I will leave you to that. The nurse told me your therapy will be complete by tonight. I want you both to be present in tomorrow's assembly."

"Yes, sir." Was their unison reply.

General Kiritani left them to their devices.

Next morning was a fairly busy one. The large scale rebuilding of the city was no longer a tedious process, but rather a swift one. Numerous companies were involved in it, the most prominent being Takamiya Housing Incorporative. Post advent of realizers, the nature of insurances had changed. Since a building could be rebuilt numerous times, so long as it's design was secure, the most important thing was copyrighting the design of the house and designing it in such a way that rebuilding it could return you the same things that you had lost in the first place. Things like television or refrigerators were embedded in the house design itself rather than something you bought separately.

From his window pane, Kiritani watched the obliterated remnants of the city being returned to their original unharmed pristine form. No wonder those who utilized realizers had been deemed wizards. Technology had long since evolved into something that could be called sorcery without a loss of generality. And yet, in an act of great irony, people like him spent so much of their time being concerned of the it was the spirits,then it was masked murderers. He wondered what specimen would be gracing the freakshow next.

"Umm... back to earth, general." His secretary interrupted his contemplation.

"What is it, now?" He barked,aggrevated.

"There are reports that Shizuka Marikawa hasn't been seen in past few days. She ran away from her parents, according to the reports.''

"And you are just telling me this, now? When was she last spotted?"

"Supposedly she was last seen in this very city, Tengu. Her disappearance from her home coincided with the appearance of the inverted form of Ifreet."

"Didn't ministry assure us her memory related to her last few days had been wiped away. Can't rely on those imbeciles for anything."

"Supposedly it took even them by surprise, they are looking for the cop assigned to that case – Minami Rika."

"Heh, a defector, huh? Would love to see their faces the next time they try to taunt me about Kyouhei." Kiritani took vicarious pleasure in the embarrassment of his rivals.

"Have the invitees all been assembled?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Then let's get going."

He walked into the war room with all the sub-commanders and aces of their respective squads saluting him in unison.

He cut through to the chase. "The Tengu Regional command has a new target, just every bit as wanted as any spirit. He possesses powers similar to them, and is implicated in the murder of five foreigners."

He activated the button, on the screen was displayed a picture of a masked and robed figure. "This picture might be old, for new information about him claims his mask is white and has two eye slits. Add him to the list of your desiderata. His criminal name is Warlock. The charges against him are murders and interference in the state's pursuit of spirits."

A pregnant moment of silence followed, before eventually being interrupted by Kusakabe. "Would that be all, sir."

Classic Ryouko, ever devoted to getting this over with. He could admire her spunk even if he disliked her attitude to her work.

"As a matter of fact, it isn't. There is one other thing I wish to announce." He held his mic, waiting for something.

And then it occured. The gate to the room opened once again, and entered in a silver haired woman with prominent eyebags.

"This is the physicist Murasame Reine, who has done valuable research on the spirits. I would like you all to welcome her to AST. From now on she will be aiding you all in your hunt of spirits."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Etsuko Yamada is the name of the person who would be Tohka Yatogami in canon.

Tobi/ Warlock are the names used by various people to refer to Sasuke Uchiha.

Saeko/Shizuka/Rika are the same as their counterparts from the High School of the Dead. Their story starts differing from the moment Komuro/Rei separated from the others on the bus.

I earlier intended for this to bo a slight AU but realised you cannot do this without thoroughly re-writing parts of canon. Shido is so central to the events of DaL that it was impossible to have Kotori be the Ifreet without him around. As a result I have decided to go full AU. Even Reine/ Phantom will be very different from their canon counterparts.