Shogunate Pride

by Bluestar076

In the region of Caelum, miles away from the guild of Fairy Tail, there's a special guild made of samurais that is always ready to dive into new adventures to save their region from supernatural threats by clashing their weapons. This is their story, as a girl that controls both light and darkness joins them (SYOC Closed.)

13. Taken by a Chaotic Surprise

Shogunate Pride Chapter 11: Taken by a Chaotic Surprise

By Bluestar076

Hello everyone! Bluestar here with a new chapter! As we slowly start to reach the end of this arc (there are only a few more left!), we'll see, as you could have guessed last time, the battles of two familiar mages of the guild! Surprisingly enough, there isn't much to say today, so I think that we can dive right into the chapter! As always, I hope you enjoy it!

Note: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights and characters belong to Hiro Mashima, A-1 Pictures, and CloverWorks.

WARNING: The second part of the chapter includes very strong language. The most sensible readers are warned.

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Chapter 11: Taken By a Chaotic Surprise

Caelum – Great Akihabara Market – Central Tower

"There! I can see it!"

"We've finally reached it!"

"Thank God…I need to retire my winds…"

After their battle with Josè, Iory, Ronin, and Merida did their best to get back to the tower, hoping to make it in time. In the end, as they reached the end of a headland in the market, they could see the central tower again. They were relieved to see it, but unfortunately, fate didn't seem to be on their side as they saw a large hole in the main entrance of the tower.

"Dammit! Does that mean that they're already in!?" Merida exclaimed.

"These guys are tougher than expected…but let's not despair. I don't think they've stolen the globe yet. What do you say, Merida?" Iori asked.

"Hmm…Maybe they're still lost in the maze…" The girl commented.

"Maze?" Ronin asked, making the girl nod.

"Yes. The energy stored isn't the only reason why this tower was built this tall. It's also because it's composed of a complex maze of rooms that are connected between them. It was a thought of defense for those who would have tried to get in. It was the brilliant scientist who created the globe that came up with this idea…" Merida explained.

"He really thought of everything…" Iori commented before making a more serious face. "This can give us an advantage, then. If they're still lost inside the tower, we can still reach them and try to come up with something to defend the globe. Or hopefully, we could reach Rokumon."

"Yeah! Let's not forget that he probably reached the tower as well at this point! If he reaches them, he might as well stop them!" Ronin added.

"What do you say, Maria? You think we can make this?" Iori asked.

Naturally, the girl was left with a skeptical smile. "Ehm…I'm Merida."

"Ah, dammit! This again!" The mage exclaimed.

"But…I like it. After all…we defeated one of the big ones. This means we can win this round as well, right?" The girl then asked with a smile.

"That's more like it!" Iori replied. He then looked at the rest of the market from afar, where he could notice a change. "The attacks seem to be weaker. More zones seem safe from here…even that rain of boulders stopped."

"This means that the others are pushing through!" Ronin said.

Merida came closer to look better surprised. "They're…they're really making it."

"Had any doubts? It's not the first large battle we of Shogunate Pride face." Iori told her with a smile.

Just the look of it was enough to make Merida feel better. With a smile, she moved a flock of hair from her face. "All I can say…is thanks. I'll make sure that my father gives you one hell of a reward!"

"Hmmmm! I can always imagine!" Ronin commented, making his friend facepalm.

After that, the three of them jumped down from the headland and reached the ground. Iori looked around and could see an unpleasant and familiar sight.

Roses everywhere that were spreading their petals.

"There seem to be more roses than before. They're probably pushing through as well…but they're not a problem for me now!" With that in mind, the mage of Shogunate Pride released a burst of wind with one of her two katanas that wiped away the roses. But they didn't expect what happened after that.

Once the petals were blown away, several bandits came out and surrounded the group.

"What!?" Iori exclaimed while standing on guard.

Merida did the same. "They prepared an ambush!?"

"Master Apostatìs has finally reached the tower. Our hunt is almost complete and we won't let additional nuisances while he gets the treasure! Your life ends here!" One of them threatened.

Iori and Merida stood back to back.

"Here they come. Are you ready?" Iori asked.

"Yes. Anytime." The girl replied.

But…they wouldn't have made a single move.

"Open, Gate of the Spring: Sakura!"

"Uh!?"

Everyone looked up, as they saw what seemed to be a girl with blue hair and cat ears wearing a red kimono with a golden lace landing at the center of the area.

"What the hell is that!?" One of the bandits exclaimed.

"'That'? You called me…THAT!?" The Celestial Spirit, Sakura, exclaimed.

"Uh Oh…" Iori commented.

"Here she comes…" Ronin added.

"What do you mean?" Merida asked confused.

In the meantime, Sakura already took out her large weapon, a long Naginata that started to release wind. "I HAVE A NAME AND A DEFINENCY, AND IF YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU CAN GO TO SCREW OFF!" Without thinking twice and full of frustration, the cat girl released a large swipe that engulfed all the bandits and wiped them away.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…"

Merida was just left speechless, as the wind messed up her hair. "I-Is she a member of Shogunate Pride, too?" She asked.

"N-Not exactly. But she's the weapon of someone." Iori replied. And just as he said, another figure landed down near Sakura.

As soon as the girl stood up, her outfit started to shine thanks to the sunlight. She turned around, revealing herself to be Hoshiko.

"Perfect timing as always, Red ✡ Star!" Iori complimented.

"You know me, Iori! Flashy entrances…are my specialty." Hoshiko commented while striking a pose. She then turned to her Celestial Spirit. "Though you could have gone easier, Sakura, that was…exaggerated-"

"My lady! You heard how they called me! It was just UNACCEPTABLE!" Sakura countered.

"Ok, Ok, sweet lemon, whatever you say-" The ninja mage replied with a drop of sweat near her front. She then turned on the small group. "I'm sure you guessed that I'll handle eventual threats from here on. You can go inside that tower. Rokumon needs you."

"Right! We came here for this purpose." Iori promptly replied.

"Will you be ok?" Merida asked. At that question, the ninja couldn't help but make a small smile.

"Eh eh. Don't worry girl…" She took the chance to strike another pose. "There's nothing that the great Hoshiko Star can't do! Me and my four devas of destruction will take upon what's left of this dark guild!" She proclaimed.

Merida couldn't tell if she should be impressed or confused, while both Iori and Ronin looked at her with skeptical faces.

"Y-Yeah, she acts like this often…" Iori commented.

"Apparently, it's something she took from her father…" Ronin added.

"My lady, you know we don't have that title!" Sakura protested.

"Go now! We'll meet again!" Hoshiko said.

Even if the scene was a bit bizarre, the three of them knew what had to be done. The time was little and they could have still won.

"I'll pay you back the favor!" With those last words, Iori left alongside the others, while Hoshiko remained with a smile, looking at the tower.

"You really like to put up a show, eh, my lady?" Sakura asked.

"What can I say? Ninjas usually need to stay hidden, but I surely need to make a good impression on others, don't you think?" Hoshiko replied.

That answer made Sakura smile. "Sure do!" She then made her Naginata spin. "Ok, I'm ready to continue!"

But…no one else was coming.

"…Uhm…did we…take them all down-?" Hoshiko asked with another drop of sweat coming down from her head.

"Maybe I did exaggerate…" Sakura added.

In the meantime, Apostatìs was starting to get frustrated. He was finally able to get inside the tower, but ever since then, he kept on flying from room to room in an attempt to find the globe one.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! DEFENSE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED!" Several turrets and cannons started to come out from the walls and all aimed at the mage, shooting relentlessly.

Apostatìs used his wings to cover himself from the blows and then widely opened his mouth to release a large beam of energy. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

By moving his head around, he could direct the beam throughout the space and destroy all the weapons, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction behind.

"THIS IS BULLSHIT! I can't believe I'm wasting time by wandering around and searching for the globe! Who made this thing!?" The leader of Chimera Tribe exclaimed while his eyes were glowing and smoke came out from his nose. "You won't have your way, petty tower. THE GLOBE WILL BE MINE! CHIMERA TRIBE HAS NEVER FAILED A HUNT AND YOU'LL SOON SEE WHY!" He shouted. His wings spread, and in the blink of an eye…he already dashed forward, fighting back against the defense system of the tower.

A few rooms away from him, Rokumon was mostly doing the same. Running from room to room, in an attempt to reach the globe.

"Anf…anf…dammit! All these rooms seem the same! At this point, I'll never reach the globe in time!" He exclaimed.

But suddenly…a voice called upon him.

"Don't worry about that! I have your back for that!"

"Ah!" Rokumon stopped as he looked up. Luckily for him…that voice was familiar. "This voice…Tammy?"

Tammy was still lying down in the spot where she faced Nixel, resting up, but she still wanted to do something to help. Her magic just had what she needed to keep her in contact with the others.

"My Eye Link allows me to see things from your point of view! And through the Birds Eye View, I can see the clear pattern of that tower! I'll make sure to guide you to the right way!" She told him.

"I forgot you could do that! For being one of the last ones, you know you deal!" Rokumon commented.

Naturally, Tammy felt pleased by that. "Eh eh! Who do you think you're talking to? But, hurry! Apostatìs is doing the same! Go straight and then jump to the right entrance above!"

"Got it! Thanks, Tammy!" Following Tammy's directions, Rokumon started to run forward. With that, it would have been only a matter of time before the Master of Chimera Tribe and the Number Two of Shogunate Pride would have met.

Maybe…things were coming to a close.

---

Unknown Area

…

It was all empty and silent…but then…something started to fall from the sky.

A waterdrop

"…U-Ugh…" As soon as the flake touched her cheek, Tsukuyomi woke up and looked around, noticing how she was laying on… "Cliffs?" Her head was still dizzy, but she could feel that she was slowly recovering.

After a few minutes, she finally regained full consciousness and stood up. "Where…am I?"

She was apparently standing in a town made of green cliffs near the sea…where a starry sky could be seen. It looked grotesque and uncomfortable.

"What is this place…?" She wondered. No one was there apparently. And not even the sea seemed to make noise yet. Only several waterdrops could be heard as if she was inside a cave. But apart from that…the only noise that could be heard was an unsettling silence.

"H-How did I even end up here? Me and Rere were battling in the Market and we were about to reach the tower…" She then remembered. "That book! It was that thing that sucked me away!" She started to look around.

"Could this be…the enemy!? Someone attacked me!?" She exclaimed.

"You seem to be eager to go straight to the point. Why don't just relax?" A voice from behind suddenly said.

"Uh!?" Tsukuyomi turned around alarmed. It was then that she saw him. Her opponent.

A young man with long blonde hair collected in a braid and red eyes who wore a black habit consisting of a black coat, white cravat, and black shoes. He was also holding a book in his hands. This figure was looking at the girl with a gentle yet devious grin.

Zenodias – Member of Chimera Tribe

Tsukuyomi didn't lose time and swung her sword with a cold stare. "Are you the one who sent me here?" She asked.

"The sleeping city isn't a place to be welcomed with hastiness and rage. Much like the title says, you should abandon yourself in slumber and become one with it. I've put you here to prevent you from getting a more terrible second outcome. I've also wanted to catch your friend, but she noticed the trick." Zenodias spoke before looking up. "Oh, well. Not that it matters. Doxos will surely take care of her."

"What!?" By hearing that, Tsukuyomi's alert increased as her sword started to get surrounded by grey energy. "You'd better get me out of here now, or I'll make you regret it!"

At that, Zenodias couldn't help but laugh. "Ah Ah Ah! A great fighting spirit, I need to give you credit for that. You samurais are surely something to not be underestimated." He then took a deep breath…and his eyes glowed red. "But unfortunately…this won't be the case for you, girl."

"How can you be so sure?" Tsukuyomi asked as she kept holding the blade with the eclipse on it.

As an answer, the other mage showed his book, which seemed to have a cover made of some sort of skin and strange languages

"What's…that? I'm sensing a terrible energy coming from it…" The girl with the kimono thought.

"Those who enter inside the Necronomicon become part of its domain, and therefore my magic. This whole separate dimension from our reality is a part of my secret arts that are encapsulated in this book, the perfect tool to be used by those who wish to stop our precious hunt…including your guild." The mage explained. "My name is Zenodias, a proud member of Chimera Tribe…" As he said it, the book started to float on its own and the pages started to flip. "And just the night before coming to the market, I promised Apostatìs that I would have cleaned all the trash by sending it to a place of no return. And finally, after taking out some soldiers, I took one of the big fishes."

After hearing that, Tsukuyomi could look around and could see, in fact, several imperial soldiers that were deceased. All of them with expressions of horror.

"You…murdered them all without hesitating…?" She asked.

"I simply did what a Chimera should do. Crush everything that stands in my way in every way possible. Since you've refused to fall into slumber, You'll soon witness the same things they saw." Zenodias replied.

Tsukuyomi simply couldn't accept it. This being was unsettling and a bit creepy, but the fact that it made all that destruction just for a globe…made her blood boil.

She had witnessed a similar scenario in the past. She couldn't afford to see it repeat.

"We'll see about that…" She raised her head and glared at him. "Don't pretend you'll come out of this untouched! I'll make sure that the eclipse will reach you!"

"Then come at me. Let's see if you can lay a scratch on my face." Zenodias answered, still confident.

Tsukuyomi's anger kept on growing. The eclipse on her sword grew bigger and with one single step…she was already dashing surrounded by a mix of light and darkness. It almost looked like a storm was trying to reach out for Zenodias. "HERE YOU GO!"

But just as the girl was about to make her blade fall into Zenodias's body…something abruptly interrupted her. "WHAT!?"

A myriad of tentacles all appeared in front of the mage from Chimera Tribe, defending him from the sudden attack, and making Tsukuyomi struggle to get free from their grasp.

"G-GH! W-What the hell are these!?" She exclaimed.

"These are just the appetizer," Zenodias spoke. By raising a hand, he commanded the tentacle to tighten the grasp and violently throw Tsukuyomi away.

"GAAAH!" The girl crashed with several rocks, and as soon as she raised her head, she could see that the giant tentacles were already infused with some diabolical energy. "Oh no!"

"Ot ah'azanafl r'luhhor." As soon as he said the spell, the tentacles threw themselves at the girl like tongues of darkness.

Tsukuyomi widened her eyes at such a sight and surrounded herself with eclipse energy. "ECLIPSE COMET!" She started to dash and make herself a road through the tentacles with her blade and the energy of the eclipse. At first, she seemed like her blow was piercing through that rain of massive limbs, but suddenly she could feel her head get dizzy, including vocalisms that she couldn't understand. "GH! W-What the hell is happening!?"

"There are forces that we cannot even imagine. In this separate dimension, through the Necronomicon, these forces can finally take life and call. Just like now. They're searching for you, girl." Zenodias explained as he continued the attack with delight.

The vocalism and whispers became intense to the point that Tsukuyomi couldn't control her attack anymore, leaving her vulnerable to the tentacles, which attacked her and sent her to crash into one of the rock palaces. "GAAAAH!"

The girl tried to stand up, but those whispers didn't cease, and she was forced to hold her head with one hand. "Dammit! They don't want to stop! It's almost like they're corrupting my mind!" She exclaimed.

"It's natural. The will of a superior mind is impossible to surpass. The only thing you can do is to abandon yourself to them and…accept your doom." Zenodias said before throwing the tentacles at her once again.

The girl stomped with her foot and tried to hold the sword tightly as she looked at the tentacles. That was the worst outcome she could have ever ended up in. Zenodias was right, as long as she was there, the chances of winning, or even reaching him were slim.

But even with that, she couldn't let herself be defeated by that. She could see that her team was winning, and she couldn't die right a few moments away from victory. Plus, Rere was waiting for her.

"As long as he holds that book, He'll be free to do whatever he wants…I need…TO REACT!" She thought while her body started to unleash more energy made of the eclipse.

"Hm?" Zenodias looked carefully at what she was trying to do.

"DANCE OF THE ECLIPSE!" As soon as the tentacles approached her, Tsukuyomi dashed forward and started to attack the tentacles, slicing them while making her way. They were big and numerous, but the girl tried her best to not care and kept on attacking.

And then…the vocalisms started to fill her mind again. The sense of dizziness resumed and the girl could feel on the verge of puking. But she didn't want to give them her way.

"きれいな心 – Kireina kokoro, a clean mind! Free yourself from every type of thought…AND ATTACK!" With that in mind, she started to imagine herself like a lotus flower that landed on a water surface. Soon, it was like the vocalism disappeared…and she could feel eager to attack.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Enveloped by that mixture of light and darkness, Tsukuyomi was able to pierce through those tentacles and directly approach Zenodias, who widened his eyes.

"What!?"

"TAKE THIS!" Tsukuyomi dived against the enemy without thinking twice with her sword.

But Zenodias was fast enough to jump away in time and avoid a direct attack. However, the sword was able to tap his cheek, making it bleed.

The girl looked up at the enemy with a cold stare, while Zenodias cleaned his face from the blood and looked at it, stunned.

"What is this? The superior minds were clearly tampering with your mind, how could you answer?" He asked.

"Anf…I'll admit it, I was taken by surprise and unprepared at first. Of all things, I would have never expected that you would have put out something as terrible as this. But then I remembered how we samurais should act like and everything went clearer. All I had to do was to ignore them and keep on moving." Tsukuyomi explained. She then pointed the sword at Zenodias. "That scratch was only the beginning! I intend to get out of here!"

"I see…perhaps I have misunderstood you a bit." The mage of Chimera Tribe commented before taking a deep breath. "But…I should have expected it from a mage from a guild." He then assumed a more serious expression. He was now certain that he couldn't play around with this girl. "But this self-esteem of yours is ending now. Don't think it will be that easy to reach me. You'll soon realize that your words are nothing more than self-delusion."

Tsukuyomi didn't want to hear another word and swung her sword. "The fact that I'm still standing means that nothing is settled yet! Prepare yourself!" With those words, she immediately started to run at high speed against him, as her blade was getting infused with eclipse magic again. "If he tries to mess up with my mind again, I'll just need to keep my head firm and not let him or whatever those things were in!"

As a reply, Zenodias infused magic in the Necronomicon, which started to flip pages and generate a large tornado of darkness that started to swallow most of the rocks and Tsukuyomi. "Dive l' Soth!"

"What-!? WOAAAAH!" The girl could feel herself dragged inside the tornado in a few seconds, but it didn't seem to drag her and then threw her away, rather than…immobilize her. "GH! DAMMIT! The wind doesn't make me move…What!?" She could then see Zenodias jumping high with his book in hand, ready to prepare another spell.

"lw'nafh ot mgepr'luh!" The Necronomicon started to shine and rise on its own before generating four copies that shined a purple light and headed all against the enemy. Once they reached her, they exploded at contact, making the girl crash against a few rocks again.

"GH! Wha-!?" Tsukuyomi didn't have the time to stand up again or act that she felt herself dragged again by the tornado. "Are you serious!?" She exclaimed before witnessing in shock that Zenodias was already preparing a myriad of explosive copies to throw at her.

"The superior minds have other ways to reach you out! Answer as many times as you want! The outcome won't change!" The mage exclaimed. The echo of his voice made the copies resonate, as they were ready to explode, a sight that made Tsukuyomi sweat.

"I need to act in a matter of seconds before I become literal dust!" She thought. "Act quickly! As long as this tornado is active I won't be able to move! But…if this thing is made of energy, then I may be able to counter it…" Maybe she was able to find a strategy. In doing so, she started to gather the eclipse magic in her blade.

"I thought you understood that moving is useless at this point- Uh!?" Zenodias thought that her opponent had gone mad due to the blows, but he had to change his mind when he saw what she had done.

Even if she couldn't move outside the tornado, she could still move inside of it, and as such, Tsukuyomi started to spin with the blade infused with her magic, creating a large rotating disk of eclipse. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The energy made by the sword started to expand, to the point of cutting away the tornado, nullifying it, making her able to move again. Once she saw the result, she could feel a bit satisfied and smirked. "Eh Eh…Sometimes I can come up with something smart!"

Zenodias, on the other hand, was starting to get irritated. "This is absurd…she's already adapting herself to my attacks! No one was ever able to learn counterattacks to the Necronomicon…" He thought. He then raised a hand. "Don't get cocky yet, girl! You have to get through this first!" As he lowered the hand towards her, the copies of the Necronomicon started to rain down on Tsukuyomi, who was now ready to answer.

"Aim at the enemy and then strike!" With one step, she was already dashing through with the eclipse energy, cutting down the books before they could reach the contact to trigger the explosion. The overall attack looked like a comet that was going straight while cracking up smaller meteors that stood in its way. And just like that… "Now! Eclipse Comet!" She jumped up with her attack and aimed directly at Zenodias.

"Dammit! DEFEND ME!" In a desperate attempt, Zenodias used the magic of the Necronomicon to create a circular barrier with archaic symbols that could protect him from the impact.

This started a conflict that made both sides push themselves.

"NGHHHH!" Tsukuyomi was using all energies possible to get through the barrier, which stood up enough for a while.

"Eh eh eh…Just as I thought! You may be able to answer, but it's clear the difference between your magic and that of the Necrono-" Just as he started to feel confident about his defense, he could see that the barrier was starting to crack up. "WHAT!?"

"You should think twice before getting optimistic! You don't know what fate has in store for you!" Tsukuyomi exclaimed before pushing forward with the Eclipse Comet. Zenodias tried his best to resist one last time, but inevitably…

SWISH!

"GAAAAAAAH!" The Eclipse Comet was able to pierce through the Mage of Chimera Tribe, managing to give him a serious blow that made him fall to the ground. Zenodias could see with bewilderment that Tsukuyomi wasn't done there as she dived with violence against him. This time, Zenodias was able to jump away in time, even though he had to hold his spleen, which was still bleeding due to the attack. "GHHH…D-Dammit…That attack was tremendous! How does one little girl such as this command both light and darkness so well!?" He said to himself.

Tsukuyomi swung her blade and glared at him, ready for the next attack. "I did it! I've managed to attack him seriously. And the damage is even greater than I could have expected…" From that observation, she could make a thought that made her realize something. "Now that I think of it…he always avoids making direct contact and prefers to attack me from a distance…Ah! Could it be? Yes! He's not physically strong! This means that I should deliver more damages than usual…normally, things would be easier, but with this mage is easier said than done…"

"All right…I did make some mistakes with you girl…but the Necronomicon has more surprises to show you." Zenodias said, trying to keep himself calm.

"We shall see if you last long enough for that. I've noticed you don't handle attacks such as those." Tsukuyomi promptly replied.

"Indeed. I was never one for physical battle, rather than a supporter. Still, you could see that the superior minds have several ways to reach out to one victim." Zenodias countered. At that moment, the Necronomicon started to float and flip its pages.

"As long as he has that book near him, I won't be able to stay safe. Though I don't think he's a Holder mage. That book hides something deeper…" Tsukuyomi thought.

"You speak confident after that single blow, but you'll soon understand that which strange eons, even death may die!" Zenodias proclaimed.

"…What the hell does that mean?" The girl asked, confused with a few blinks.

"DON'T MOCK ME! mgn'gha fm'latghorr!" Feeling offended by that comment, Zenodias released another spell from the book which generated several X made of blue flames that violently threw themselves at Tsukuyomi.

The girl widened her eyes. "Dammit!" She started to dash fast, attempting to dodge the flames, but she could see with a bit of shock that as soon as they touched the ground, the flames started slowly consuming most of the areas inside that dimension, implying that soon, Tsukuyomi would have been surrounded by those demonic flames. "How am I supposed to move around and reach them with these!?"

"YOU WON'T ESCAPE!" Zenodias's words echoed in the book, which increased its magical power and by far, their flames. One of them fell directly at Tsukuyomi.

"AH!" The girl widened her eyes as she used her eclipse magic to destroy the fire attack. She could then see that the flames were quickly surrounding her. She didn't have any space for strategy. She needed to act quickly. She slammed the katana to the ground to make a large jump that would have allowed her to reach out for a tall rock to hold on. She could see that that abstract city was already melting away, leaving space to a more distorted surrounding space. "The city is changing!"

"It's the will of the Necronomicon! If you push it, it'll answer by twisting the surrounding reality!" Zenodias answered. As he spoke, the book glowed with a purple light, and some distorted figure came out from it. "n'ghftyar howls!" As soon as he pronounced the spell, the Necronomicon released a myriad of screeching bats made out of dark energy that released a distressing screech that damaged Tsukuyomi's hearing.

"AAAAAGH!" Tsukuyomi had to hold her ears and was stunned for a moment due to the screech. The creatures took advantage of it to charge at her and attack her. "GAH!" Tsukuyomi fell from the rocks and reached the ground, where her distance from the flames was extremely short. "OH NO!"

"WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The bats didn't stop and released a screech to paralyze the girl, who was forced to cover her ears again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"AH AH AH AH AH! You're not showing that confidence anymore! These Night Howlers are banished creatures whose screech reach directly the people's souls to the point of paralyzing their nerves! You won't be able to do anything at this point!" Zenodias exclaimed, delighted to see the upper hand back at him.

Meanwhile, Tsukuyomi could feel that her ears were starting to bleed and that the flames were slowly reaching her. But in her condition, she couldn't pick up the katana. The screech was too deafening to make her move her hands away. Once again, her efforts seemed useless in that fatal moment. And yet she needed to do something.

"GHH! T-These things are too much! Yet they look like Kabuto's shadow chameleons! I'm sure I can take them down! But if they keep on screaming…" She thought. It was at that moment that she realized her only way. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this…"

She suddenly left the sword fall, only to lift it with a kick and grab it with her mouth.

"What is she doing?" Zenodias asked, confused.

"HRRRRRRRRRR!" Full of resolution and frustration at those screeches, Tsukuyomi charged against the bats while holding the katana with her teeth. In an instant, the blade was infused with eclipse magic and Tsukuyomi made it fall on the creatures' bodies, making them vanish.

"I won't let it happen again! n'ghftyar howls! GET HER!" Zenodias could see what this meant and he used the Necronomicon to generate more of the Night Howlers, which kept on screaming.

"WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Tsukuyomi could feel her hearing getting worse, but she kept on moving. She knew that to make it stop, she had to reach Zenodias and attack him again. It seemed like an impossible task considering that she could only count on her body movement without the use of her arms. But she needed to do it. She came on that mission with the sole purpose of taking them all out.

While she kept on screaming, the Night Holwers also tried to reduce her to pieces with their claws. Several signs started to appear on the girl's kimono, but she kept on making out a road.

"HRRRR!" She made a tall jump by planting the sword on the ground and pushing it up. Zenodias could see what he was planning to do and generated explosive copies of the book

"lw'nafh ot mgepr'luh!" Once again, the copies fell like rain.

But as soon as she saw them, the girl knew how to answer this time. She knew what his enemy was planning to do after getting an idea of how he acted. Therefore, she needed to trigger a proper reaction to every one of his actions.

"Sonic Boom!" Tsukuyomi quickly started to shoot several swipes of eclipse magic against the copies, triggering several contrasting explosions to leave Zenodias more exposed. She ended up getting down again after the jump finished, but as soon as she started to attack with the Sonic Boom, she didn't need to reach him directly anymore. All she needed was to keep shooting the swipes and have a good aim.

Zenodias did the same. At this point, he couldn't know what his enemy was thinking, and therefore, he needed to take her down as soon as possible. He had more powerful tricks in his sleeves, but he didn't want to waste energy without knowing if it was necessary at all. For the moment, he focused on unleashing the energy of the superior mind to take down that sole girl, even if it sounded absurd to even think about it. He wasn't going to lose there. "UH!?" But then, at a certain point, he could see that a swipe was able to reach him and was heading toward him. Even if he wanted, he didn't have the time to summon a barrier, and as a result, he got fully hit and fell. "GAAAAAAH!"

Due to the loss of concentration, the remaining Night Howlers faded away, and finally…Tsukuyomi could take off the arms from her ears. It was almost like hearing a peaceful silence.

"At last!" She exclaimed. Now that she could move normally again, she didn't hesitate and started to run.

"G-Gh…" Zenodias in the meantime stood up after the impact of that attack, and when he turned around, he was wildered to see that the girl was already heading toward him. "YOU!" He used the Necronomicon to summon a blade of energy and answer directly at her attacks as soon as she got closer.

"Uh!? A sword!?" Tsukuyomi explained. She still didn't want to quit, though, and she started a clash against the mage of Chimera Tribe. Even if he wasn't prepared for one-on-one combat, Zenodias turned out to put up a fight, and the girl had to resist a bit more.

"I think I told you that you didn't see enough of the wonders of this book! It was prepared for the sole purpose of bringing havoc everywhere, which means that it has every means possible to take out every threat!" Zenodias exclaimed as he kept on fighting. At a certain point, he jumped back to raise the sword and generate four copies that flew against Tsukuyomi, stabbing her in the limbs and forcing her to recoil.

"GH! Grrr…" To free herself, Tsukuyomi unleashed a bit of eclipse magic in her body to make the blades fade away. She was starting to lose her usual body composure due to the wounds, but she was still holding her katana. "You seem very proud of what your magic can do, why do you use it for things such as destroying a market!?" She asked before throwing herself back into action.

Zenodias answered to the action and threw himself as well. "Isn't it obvious!? I could feel it as soon as I used this book seriously for the first time! The capacities of the Necronomicon were infinite! I used to be a priest at a minor church, but I could realize what my magic could do. I couldn't stay there forever when I could have done much more! Apostatìs made me realize it! I could find a place where my powers could have been used properly! I could show the true chaos of the Necronomicon!" He kept on going, pumped up.

But right at that moment…

He could see the blade getting shattered to pieces right in front of his eyes. "WHAT!?"

"TSEAAAH!" Tsukuyomi didn't think twice and attacked Zenodias several times, making large cuts at him.

"GHH!"

"You're saying that you're doing this for some sort of devotion towards that book!? YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! Magic should be only a part of you, NOT YOUR ENTIRE EXISTENCE!" The girl exclaimed. She wanted to attack more but Zenodias defended himself in time.

"Ot ah'azanafl r'luhhor!" He used the book to create a portal and generate the myriad of tentacles that attacked the girl and pushed her away.

"GAH!" Tsukuyomi crashed against the wall of one of those weird palaces and looked up stunned to see the tentacles. "He can still use them!"

"You're in no charge of telling me what I should do! Wouldn't you feel the same by not being able to push your limits? I simply intend to follow the road I should have taken from the beginning! These superior minds have always been the right path for me to follow! I intend to feel COMPLETE!" With those words, Zenodias sent the tentacles to crush Tsukuyomi once and for all.

But this time…the girl didn't want to give him his way, not anymore.

"DANCE OF THE ECLIPSE!" The girl challenged the tentacles by running forward and preparing the eclipse magic. As soon as the tentacles came closer, the girl started to move around, moving the sword to cut through the tentacles and make a road, frightening his opponent.

"Grrr…" Zenodias could see the girl moving forward that looked like a grey torrent that was charging forward. The mage of Chimera Tribe kept on summoning tentacles in an attempt to crush her down. "Move as you want! You're already in my grip! DIE!" He then closed his hand to make all the tentacles gather around and fall right on the girl.

"AH!" Tsukuyomi widened her eyes at such sight, and in a second…

CRASH!

The tentacles all fell, releasing a large thud and a giant pile of dust. Zenodias looked at them with a delighted smile. It was impossible to get out of that attack. And considering the girl's current condition, his victory was mostly assured.

"Anf…anf…anf…finally. I'll admit that I got scared for a moment, but in the end, my words turned out to be true: the outcome remained the same. Only an insane one would dare to challenge the superior minds." He spoke. "Well then. I can make the dimension fade away and see if Doxos already got rid of that other girl." He turned around and called back the Necronomicon to prepare the teleport.

…But…

A noise suddenly called out for his attention which made him turn around. "Hm? What the…" He noticed that the tentacles were surrounded by a strange aura. "What's with them? I didn't remember I called them back yet…" He didn't take too long to realize the only plausible answer. And that made him widen his eyes. "No, it can't be!"

But just as he feared, the energy grew bigger, and right after that…a myriad of swipes passed through the tentacles, slicing them to pieces, before revealing someone jumping up.

Tsukuyomi was mostly soaked in blood and one of her eyes was closed. She took the damage, but she was able to ultimately make her road through. "Anf…I had a lot of difficulties but in the end, my idea worked. Right as the tentacles fell on me, I managed to not get completely crushed by implanting the sword in one of them. From then, I started to move out the blade to cut them down while releasing the eclipse energy into the rest of them. The rest came naturally. And now…IT'S TIME TO FINISH THIS!" She was exhausted, but she knew that she had to keep on. The battle was still going…and her enemy was still standing. Without hesitating, as soon as she landed on the ground, she ran with her blade. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"DAMMIT!" Zenodias tried to create a barrier to defend himself, but it was already too late.

"DOUBLE CROSS ECLIPSE ATTACK!" Tsukuyomi made the blade fall on the enemy twice with two powerful attacks infused with the eclipse magic.

"GAAAAAH!" Zenodias felt the damage and recoiled as he held his chest with his hand and fell to his knees as the blue flames faded away. Somehow, he was still standing, but not for long. He was astonished. Once again, that girl surpassed herself and got him again. With the next blow, he would have probably lost, and considering that she was only a few inches away from him, this looked inevitable. "How is this possible!? Why does she keep on fighting? Everyone else who I faced just surrendered as soon as they were sent to the dimension of the Necronomicon! Why is she different!? What makes her act all normal!?" He thought. He breathed heavily as Tsukuyomi was ready to launch another attack. "Eheh…it's incredible…to think that you have all this potential to compete with the superior minds…and yet you decide to use it for something as a legal guild…"

"Isn't it what you just said? I'm following the road I chose. The same thought that led you to lose." Tsukuyomi replied.

Zenodias started to stand back again. "And yet you don't see what you can do. I-I can sense it now…a great presence…a great charisma. You've inherited something from the past with your genes."

"What?" Tsukuyomi asked confused.

"Yes…that magic of yours is indeed the mix of two contrasting yet harmonized powers that are not that different from the Necronomicon. It could be said that if used properly…they could make you some sort of goddess." Zenodias kept on explaining. "And yet…you use them to serve under a guild. Why? Why do you want to limit yourself when you could do more?"

The girl in the kimono kept on looking at him confused and in silence.

"I was just like you in the past. Confused and doubtful of what I wanted to do in my life. But then I could see it on my own. I've realized what the Necronomicon could do and decided to use its power for what I truly felt. You should do the same…girl."

"What…do you mean?" She asked.

"That guild you're working with now and that is facing Chimera Tribe at the moment is blocking you from using your true potential. You shouldn't let anyone put any chains on your heart or your magic. You should be able to think of your own, and find someone who could truly use the essence of your power! Only then… you feel realized. Just think of what you could do…you could stand at the top…feel like…a god." Zenodias continued.

Somehow, those words gave Tsukuyomi a vision. Something that startled her. Maybe…it was her magic that made her see this.

A large kingdom. A tall empire. A massive palace. The silhouettes of twelve powerful figures…and someone sitting on the throne. She never met those people, but that person sitting on the throne looked familiar. Then…the shadow was removed, and in his place, Tsukuyomi was sitting there with an imperial outfit, red glowing eyes, and a devious grin on her face.

Was that really the path that was best for her? Now that she thought of it…Zenodias was right. Her power was able to save her several times and made her surpass powerful enemies. It was also thanks to the eclipse magic that she was able to get inside Shogunate Pride. Was he…telling the truth? Could she have done more?

"…" Tsukuyomi slowly looked up and the grip of her katana loosened.

Zenodias made a satisfied grin as he looked at that reaction. "So…have you realized it?" He asked.

The girl didn't answer for a few moments. But then…

"…No."

"What?" Zenodias asked.

"No. That's wrong." She lowered her stare right at the other mage with a serious and angered expression. "It can't be that way." She spoke. "For a moment…I was starting to believe in your way of thinking. But…I made myself an examination of consciousness. I still have my own identity, and I can't be controlled by something like my magic. I…I'm honestly satisfied with the life I have…it's the thing I've wanted more ever since I was able to get out of a terrible situation." She then raised her katana against the enemy. "So there's no reason why I should abandon it for more!"

Zenodias made a serious and disgusted face as well. "Is that what you really think? How unfortunate. And here I thought I could have seen a tremendous mage rise and show her true self. But I guess I shouldn't have expected more from a legal mage…YOU ALWAYS LEAVE YOURSELF SELF-DELUDED BY THESE USELESS SENTMIENTALISMS!" With those words, he decided to use his plan B. The discussion gave him time to react, and as such he called the Necronomicon back to him, which started to flip pages and prepare another spell. "n'ghftyar howls!" A portal was generated, and the bats came out of it to unleash their screech and stun Tsukuyomi once again.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The girl could feel her eardrums getting almost shattered by that sudden attack.

"I gave you one last chance of stopping this fight peacefully. But you decided to move on either way, therefore, YOU CAN ENTER IN AN ETERNAL SLUMBER IN THIS CONTORTED DIMENSION FOR ME! SAY GOODBYE!" Zenodias shouted as he threw the Night Howlers against the girl.

Tsukuyomi saw with scared eyes as the creatures went to kill her. But right in that moment, between those beings, she could see her enemy, right in front of her. All that she needed was another strike. But that screech was deafening.

There was no other choice. She was a new member of Shogunate Pride, but the others relied on her as soon as she came to the Great Market. She needed to make one last hazard to take him down.

She prepared the katana and stood ready. And then…one second…two seconds…three seconds.

She dashed forward.

"What!?" Zenodias exclaimed.

Tsukuyomi's ears started to slightly bleed, but she kept on moving facing the creature and its creator. All she needed was to unleash the eclipse magic once again with a perfect strike.

"IT'S JUST LIKE YOU SAID! I'M FOLLOWING THE ROAD I WANT TO BELIEVE IN! AND THIS IS THE ONE I CHOSE! I WON'T LET MYSELF BE CONTROLLED BY MAGIC!" With those words…she proceeded.

"Eclipse Reverse Swallow."

Three swipes made by a single movement of the swords were what made the Night Howlers get destroyed and let her reach Zenodias.

"AH!" Zenodias tried to cover himself, but the attack reached him either way, forming three long cuts in his body. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He fell to the ground and the Necronomicon that was still standing tall shattered to pieces. The dimension started to writhe and crack until it faded to a white light. Finally…the girl was back in the regular world.

Great Akihabara Market – Near the Central Tower

Tsukuyomi was standing trembling with the tip of the sword touching the ground, while Zenodias was lying down.

"A-Absurd. H-How this happen…no one has ever tamed such tremendous magic as you…" these were the last words the mage spoke out before fainting.

Finally…it was over. Tsukuyomi was out of that horrendous dimension and could take a few moments to breathe. She could see that her enemy was finally defeated for good. But…she still thought of those words and most importantly…

That vision.

Even if she didn't want to embrace it…that vision looked realistic and almost convincing. Did it have some truth in it? Could she do much more with her powers?

But…she changed her mind again. She didn't need that much of powers. After all…she was already in a place where she could have relied on allies and where she could have become stronger. Plus, knowing herself, who knew what could have happened if she decided to become something bigger than herself?

True, her origins were messed up. But…she was still a human after all.

She looked at her sword, the last gift of her father, the gift that would have made her decide her road. That was enough to remind her what she had to do.

"I…I'll make sure that vision won't happen. That…isn't me." She spoke. With that, all that was needed was a deep breath to ultimately calm her down. But immediately after that, she gasped when she remembered the situation. "Right! Rere!" She turned around to see what happened to her friend, but in doing so, she realized something.

She wasn't in the same place she was before. It was a completely different zone of the market, where the central tower could be seen nearby.

"Did he… teleport us somewhere else?"

---

Great Akihabara Market – Western Side

Flames and smoke were surrounding the area where Rere was attacked. The entire place seemed carbonized and who knew what could have happened if someone else ended up in there and involved in that large explosion.

Somehow, the girl was still awake, even if her condition was of the best. "G-Gh…" She crawled away from a pile of rocks with some ash in her clothes and her face bleeding out. As if the situation wasn't stressful enough, that sudden and violent attack put the girl in a complete state of panic. "T-This is THE ABSOLUTE WORST! As if getting here and fighting this guild wasn't already enough! I can't believe the Master relies on me that much! How the hell am I supposed to…" She then slapped herself. "NO! Rere, come on! Try to be optimistic for once! C-Come on…I've told myself that I would try to improve myself…I need to find Tsukuyomi…" She spoke before looking around. "Though…I'm not sure she'll be safe here. I'm now certain that I'm under attack but…AAAAAAGH! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED! I couldn't tell it! That explosion just came in like BOOM! Deal with it!" She complained before taking a few breaths. "O-Ok…nothing will happen if I keep on staying here. I need to act…starting by standing up and-" Eager to do something, she stood up, but just as she did so, she widened her eyes in terror. "AH!"

"Ooooh, so this is where you were standing. I'm surprised that you were still alive." Her aggressor was right in front of her, looking at her with a disgusted face. He seemed like a young boy wearing silver armor with two chimneys in the shrugs. He had spiky orange hair and sharp teeth like a shark.

Doxos – Member of Chimera Tribe

"H-How-" Rere was shocked, and she didn't even have the time to react that Doxos already wiped her away with a violent kick in the stomach. "GAAAAAH!" The impact was strong enough to make her crash against another pile of rocks. The panic could only increase, as she had the certainty that she wasn't hiding from him anymore. She raised her stare and could see her enemy standing around the flames, looking like some sort of armored demon. "H-How did you find me…"

"You were screaming for the last five minutes, I could hear where you were standing!" Doxos answered, leaving the girl feeling a bit silly.

"…Oh."

Doxos gritted his teeth and started to scrub his knuckles, which started to release some sparkles. "Seriously seriously seriously, WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!? Ever since I and Zenodias laid our eyes on you, you couldn't help but whine ALL THE FUCKING TIME! Do really whiny people like you serve under a guild? YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF!" He shouted.

Rere felt intimidated by both his words and his power. But she knew she had to react. "I have my right to feel scared! You can't control how I feel!" She exclaimed.

"BUT IT'S SO FUCKING ANNOYING! Not only you are a legal mage, which is something we of Chimera Tribe despise the most, BUT YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO CAN'T HELP BUT TALK OUT LOUD! I can't stand it, I can't stand it, I can't stand it, I CAN'T FUCKING STAND IT!" Doxos shouted back, and Rere could see that smoke came out of the chimneys on his shoulder just as he kept on scrubbing his knuckles.

"I-Is he producing heat?" She thought.

Doxos took a deep breath and looked down. "My name is Doxos, the Low Temperance. And just so you know, I can't FUCKING stand a lot of things, including loud people. That is why I couldn't wait for this chance! While Zenodias keeps up with that bitchy friend in his dimension, I'LL KEEP MYSELF BUSY TURNING YOU INTO ASH! THIS WILL BE MY SATISFACTION! GETTING RID OF DOG SHIT!"

At those words, Rere couldn't help but tighten his fist. His opponent looked like someone who didn't want to leave mercy to her, the worst type of enemy she could ever ask for. But…even if she wasn't ready at all, hearing him talk about Tsukuyomi…gave her the right charges. She raised the wires and showed the tanto blades like the tail of a peacock.

"You better take your hands off my friend or you'll regret it!" She exclaimed. Though her mind was of another opinion. "W-Wait, did I really say that?" She thought.

"Ooooh, I see how it is. Do you think thinking about your friend will help you? WELL THINK AGAIN, YOU FUCK! NOTHING WILL BE ABLE TO APPEASE MY WRATH! GET READYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Doxos seemed to have answered to the provocation and started to run at high speed towards the girl while keeping on scrubbing her fists and releasing smoke from the chimneys.

From determined, Rere's expression turned into complete fright in a nanosecond as she started to run away. "OH GOD, OH GOD, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

This started a chase where both mages used their magics to run as fast as they could. Rere knew that she wasn't supposed to control herself against an enemy mage, but once again, the terror of using her true magic prevailed, and as such, she decided to balance things unless she wasn't absolutely forced. Her magic was enough to make her run, and that was already a lot. "How the hell am I supposed to fight something like THIS!?" She thought.

"You won't escape me, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Doxos in the meantime, already prepared the right spark with his knuckles and opened his palm aiming at Rere. "ACCELLERATED COMBUSTION!" In an instant, a large and loud flash of fire went straight towards the girl, who was able to move her head quickly thanks to her magic.

"AH!" When she moved her head away, she could see what she could have gotten, as a large explosion of fire erupted just behind her. Her face became completely pale with her mouth zipped and her eyes wide open. "H-Holy-" She thought of a comment, but the enemy already reached her and was ready to give her a fist.

"TSEAAAAAAAH!"

"AH!" Out of panic, Rere used the wires to envelop herself in some sort of protective barrier, a sight that made Doxos even more furious, as he started to punch her repeatedly. The girl could see that with each punch, the enemy's sparkles on his knuckles were starting to become more intense. "Dammit! I need to act quickly! This guy is seriously trying to kill me!" She thought.

"YOU CAN TRY TO DEFEND YOURSELF AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT! I'LL CRUSH THAT PATHETIC DEFENSE!" Doxos shouted. At that moment, his fists made enough sparkles to get on fire. His next punch burned the wires and reached the girl directly, getting her in the belly.

"AGH!" The girl didn't expect that reaction as she spit blood from her mouth. But to her horror, the enemy wasn't done there. She could see that the fist got brighter. That meant only one thing. "OH NO-"

"KAMIKAZE FISTS!" As soon as Doxos used the technique, his fist triggered an explosion that wiped the girl away, making her crush against the stand of an abandoned stall.

"AAAGH!" It was incredible for her as well that she was somehow able to stand up again. But the tides clearly weren't in her favor, as some of the wires were incinerated due to the attack. "At this point, I won't be able to pass the electricity!" She thought before seeing that Doxos was already walking towards her, keeping on scrubbing his fists.

"Not yet, not yet…I'm not done with you, whiny bitch…" he spoke. His fists were already producing the next sparkles. A vision that made Rere sweat.

"As soon as he reaches me, he already has a prepared attack. It must be because of those knuckles! I'll never touch him if I keep on running! Dammit, Rere, React!" She thought.

"Another thing I can't stand is seeing that the job is not done yet. If it's for making Apostatìs get that fucking globe or to just reduce you to ash…" Doxos's two chimneys were already smoking again. "I'M READY TO TURN THIS WHOLE MARKET IN AN EMPTY WASTELAND! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He started to run again at high speed, helped by his magic.

Rere took some of her tanto blades and breathed heavily. "React, Rere! REACT!" Her legs were already starting to get covered by electricity.

"HEAAAAAH!" In a question of seconds, Doxos was already in front of her and attempted to give her a myriad of explosive punches, but this time, the girl found a way to react and jumped behind him with the help of electricity. "WHAT!?" Doxos quickly turned around and promptly threw other fists again. Even if it was an extremely hard task for her at that moment, Rere tried her best to remain focused and keep on dodging each blow.

"Come on! Find an opening dammit!" She thought as tension kept on increasing.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'LL GAIN BY KEEP DODGING!? I'LL REACH YOU ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!" Doxos shouted.

Rere gritted her teeth and lowered herself after one of the punches. There she was. She quickly prepared a few tanto blades on her hand and went through with it.

"THIS!" While shouting it, she stabbed Doxos in the spleen and released an electric shockwave.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The mage of Chimera Tribe could feel his body getting beaten by a high-voltage discharge, but he surely didn't lose his energy as he glared at the girl. "YOU FUCKING BIIITCH!" He promptly pushed her away with a punch.

"NGH!" Rere was able to put her arms in a defensive mode before getting the punch and as such, she simply recoiled. When she raised her head, she could see that Doxos was already moving towards her. She quickly prepared herself and jumped right above him. "Yes! It's working! I don't know if it's for the adrenaline rush, BUT NOW I GOT HIM!" She thought. While still in mid-air, she implanted two of the tanto blades on the back of his armor and made the electricity pass through the wires.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! YOU DARED TO DO IT AGAIN!?" Doxos shouted out before pointing the open hand at her. "ACCELERATED COMBUSTION!"

"DAMMIT-" In her current position, Rere couldn't do much and as a result, she got fully hit by the explosion of fire and was thrown away. "GHH!" she crashed her back on the ground before trying to stand up again. "I've done it, I've managed to hit him twice! It's a brand-new record! Now I know that he needs to concentrate enough of that combustion before throwing his attack…that is why he's always scrabbing his knuckles." She thought. She looked at the bandages on her body and she could see that they were starting to lose a bit. "Will I be able to endure it enough to not use the Devil Slayer Magic? Dammit…the fact that I'm making these questions to myself is bizarre!" She then could see that despite getting a discharge of that voltage, his enemy was still standing with electrical shockwaves surrounding his body. "What!? He's still standing?! It's not that I hoped to defeat him, but to at least put him on the ground!" She thought.

"I see, I see…electric magic, is that it? Yes, I'll admit that you hurt me FUCKING BAD, IT STILL HURTS! But if you limit yourself to attack like this you won't get the satisfaction of defeating me. It takes more than a simple discharge to take down a freaking tank like me! And besides…" Doxos started to speak out as he resumed the scrabbing of his knuckles.

That sight made Rere get on guard with the wires. "He's doing it again!"

"I'm sure that you could notice the gap between our magics. My Combustion Magic allows me to convert the heat of my body into large explosions of fire. Something that is helped out by my constant anger." Doxos explained.

"Ah! That's why you're always that pissed off!?" Rere asked.

"Exactly! I've decided to be in a constant mood to make sure that my magic becomes as powerful and as destructive as possible! It feels good…YET IT PISSES ME OFF, DAMMIT! EVERYTHING PISSES ME OFF! For example…" Doxos replied.

"Eh?" Rere was naturally confused.

"Whenever they talk about the region of Bellum, they tend to leave the name unchanged, only the slight pronunciation change. But when it comes to Stella, they tend to change the name in Stars, so you have titles of books such as 'The Merchant of the Stars' 'Death in Stars'…" The sole thought of that made Doxos boil the veins in his body as more smoke came out from the chimneys. "WHY!? WHY YOU CAN'T JUST USE THE ORIGINAL FUCKING NAME!? IT'S CALLED STELLA, YOU DIPSHITS! IF THEY PUT A NAME FOR YOU WHY DO YOU HAVE TO FUCKING CHANGE IT FOR A DAMM BOOK!?"

As he kept on complaining, Rere was left there with a drop of sweat near her head and a skeptical face. "Does his rage really come from something as silly as that-? And here I thought Tammy was the pickiest one around…"

"GRAAAH! THESE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT MADE ME JOIN CHIMERA TRIBE! AT LEAST APOSTATIS WILL MAKE ME BE THE PERSON I REALLY AM WITHOUT SOMEONE TELLING ME TO CHILL OUT!" Doxos continued. More smoke came out of his chimneys as his whole body started to fire up. "THE FIRST SATISFACTION WILL BE TO CEASE YOUR FUCKING WHINES! INFERNAL PINWHEEL!" He started to roll towards the girl with the body completely engulfed in flames, leaving a trail of fire behind him,

"AAAAAH!" Panicked enough, Rere infused more electricity throughout the body to increase her speed and her reflex. This was enough for her to dodge the attacks. But even if he ended up crashing several times against various rocks, Doxos's pinwheel didn't stop and he quickly turned around to cause more havoc, all in to reach out to the girl.

Rere was fast enough to dodge him several times, but she realized on her own that she couldn't do that thing all the time. She would have eventually got tired and Doxos would have taken advantage of that to get her. "I can't reach him out if things keep like this! Come on, Rere, come on…you were able to attack him before, you just need to think again!" It was at that moment that she gave a closer and careful look at the wires she had and the form that her enemy was assuming. An unexpected new idea came out. "Wait…oh, God. I don't know if the same will work for me…but I have to try it! I surely don't want to get him closer to the others!" With an unusual resolution, Rere decided to answer by doing the same thing as Doxos.

After surrounding her body with electricity, she started to roll as well. In doing so, the wires she had attached to her arms started to spin as well, looking like a chakram until the girl itself became a pinwheel as well made out of pure lightning magic. "It won't be the same as using the Lightning Devil Slayer Magic! But it can still work! GET READY!" Once she was prepared, Rere threw herself against the enemy.

The two pinwheels clashed and the earth started to tremble. The impact released a few flames and a few shockwaves around the area, which started to crack up, and the two mages were similar to two spinners that tried to make the other fall.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!? USING THAT THUNDER OF YOU WON'T CHANGE THINGS! TRY TO BE FUCKING ORIGINAL!" Doxos complained.

"AND YOU BETTER START TO CHILL OUT BECAUSE I INTEND TO ANSWER NOW!" Rere retorted. "Goddamit, Rere! Don't provoke him, you know how he reacts!"

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU LOUD BIIIITCH!"

The two pinwheels recoiled and clashed several times until they both tried to increase their magic (with Rere being careful and not using the Lightning Devil) and tried again. The impact was tense than before and things seemed the same at first.

But the mage of Shogunate Pride could see with horror that the flames from her opponent were slowly starting to prevail over her own pinwheel. "OH NO!"

"AHAHAHHA! I FINALLY GOT YOU!" Seeing that his attack was working, Doxos pushed through to make his flames consume the electricity.

And as a result, Rere started to feel the flame in her body. "GHHHHH!" Now that the pinwheel was fading away, how could she have reacted?

But in thinking so, and noticing that her enemy was right in front of him, she could see an idea. "The wires! Oh, please, do not burn yet!" She thought. She stood up and stopped the wires from moving, and right before they could get on fire, she threw them with the tanto blades at Doxos, aiming to catch him like Henry used to do with his lasso.

"WHAT!?" Seeing himself getting all wrapped up and with several blades planted in his body, made Doxos lose concentration and as such, his pinwheel faded as well.

After mentally thanking the heavens for that, Rere tightened the grip and glared at the enemy directly. "I got you now!" Then, she naturally made the electricity pass through the wires, electrifying the enemy.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

But Rere didn't stop there. Now that she finally had the enemy, she lifted the wires with all the strength she had to throw him several times anywhere while still infusing him with electricity. After making him crash a few more times, she then started to spin with him. "WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU'LL MAKE ME PUKE!" Doxos tried to react, but the continuous electricity in his body prevented him from doing so.

"HERE'S THE GRAND FINALE! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" By putting in extra effort, Rere infused more electricity before finally throwing Doxos against a mountain. What followed was a large explosion of electricity that made the mountain crumble.

The girl looked at what she caused with eyes wide open and a pale face. "D-Did I do that-?" She wondered. She was astonished, but thanks to that, she was finally able to get her chance to take a few breaths and recover. "Anf…anf…that was the absolute worst. But…I think I've won? I was able…to do that?" The sight she was looking at at that moment was something she didn't expect. Her enemy seemed dangerous and willing to blow her up, and she wasn't absolutely the most ideal type to take him down…yet it seemed to have happened. She was able to answer without making the magic in her grow bigger. Maybe…Tsukuyomi was right. Maybe…she wasn't that bad.

But then…

A fast dart of fire came out from the debris, reaching Rere in a second, making look with horror. "W-WHAT!?"

The punch was fast enough to not make even someone like her react in time, and as such, she was thrown away by that and got hit by a fire explosion. "GAAAAAAAAH!" When she stood up, she could see that the burns on her body and her clothes grew bigger. The fear that the bandages would fall and reveal the marks on her body increased…and she looked up with bewilderment to see one disconcerting truth.

"H-He's still standing…"

Right a few steps away from her, a smoking figure was standing up, and when the smoke faded away, it revealed a Doxos with part of his armor broken, revealing his body, which had burns as well due to the discharge he suffered. But he didn't care about the pain. He was breathing fast while gritting his teeth, and when he raised his head, his eyes' veins were wide, giving him a maniacal stare.

With that, Rere was certain of a thing that terrified her.

He was truly…pissed off.

"You maggot…YOU WHINY LITTLE SACK OF SHIT! NOT ONLY YOU DARED TO ATTACK ME TWICE, BUT YOU EVEN PUSHED YOURSELF FAR ENOUGH TO DAMAGE MY PERFECT ARMOR!" His mouth was releasing foam like two waterfalls and he made the knuckles scrubbing faster to the point of making them bleed, even if he didn't care. "Unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable, FUCKING UNACCEPTABLE! NO MAGE HAS EVER DARED TO DO THIS THING TO ME, DOXOS! SO GUESS WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW, WHORE! I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN AND MAKE SURE THAT THE FLAMES CAUSED BY MY COMBUSTION WILL GIVE YOU A SLOW AND SUFFERABLE INCINERATION!"

Rere was almost paralyzed by that. He was mad, and he was probably about to unleash his worst attacks. She was sure of the fact that the chances of her victory significantly decreased. Would have she even come out alive after that?

And yet…she could see the results she was able to do. She could see the damage she was able to give him. So why did she have to quit right now? Again, a thought she would have never made in the past. But she could see what she could do.

For a moment…she thought of a certain period of the past and the efforts the other members of the mage were making.

Did she want to stay behind? Just because she wasn't that strong?

…No. For some reason…she wanted to refuse.

Even if she was breathing heavily and was on the verge of crying, she tried to gather all the courage she could hold and started to release electricity from her body.

"You know…I think it has been already twenty minutes since you kept on shouting…and my ears are starting to whistle because of that. Not only that but look at all this destruction you've caused…and the fact that you want to do it to the others as well…AND I AM THE WHINY ONE!?" She looked up with a panicked yet resolute expression on her face. "I-I AM A MAGE OF SHOGUNATE PRIDE! AND I WON'T LET A HYPOCRITE DO WHATEVER HE WANTS!"

"HYPOCRITE!?" The fact that her enemy was still reacting after what she had done was just unbearable for him, and he started to scrub all of his body, not only the knuckles so that he could generate more heat and trigger more combustions. "GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAH! I WON'T ACCEPT A HYPOCRITE WHO BELIEVES SHE CAN DEFEAT ME!" He then lowered his body, and while being damaged, the chimneys of his armor still released smoke. "BOILER ERUPTION!" What he was actually doing was aiming at the two chimneys, which suddenly erupted and released two large jets of lava toward the girl.

"AH!" Rere could see what he was trying to do and used the electricity to start running as far as she could from the lava while moving around the enemy, who followed her. Rere could see with horror the rocks that were starting to melt down. She needed to be extra careful. One fatal step and she would have been there.

"IT'S USELESS TO KEEP RUNNING AWAY, WHINY BITCH! THIS LAVA IS CAUSED BY ALL THE HEAT I'VE GATHERED THROUGH THE COMBUSTION! IT WILL SOON REACH OUT WHERE YOU ARE STANDING RIGHT NOW!" Doxos shouted.

"Aaaaah! He's right! I need to quickly find a way to stop him! But how!? Come on, don't lose hope yet!" Rere thought as she kept on running. With something like that, it was basically impossible to attack him. "I would need something from above! And I surely can't do something like that without the Lightning Devil!" Then…she looked down and saw the rocks that weren't still involved in the lava.

"Wait…Idea!" After realizing it, she glared at the enemy, who was keeping on shooting the lava. Once she had in mind her goal, she stopped and instead, started to run towards him.

"HAVE YOU GONE ENOUGH CRAZY TO THROW YOURSELF AGAINST ME!? THANK YOU! THIS HAS BEEN THE KINDEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME TODAY!" Doxos said as he aimed against her with the two chimneys.

But as soon as she saw the lava go towards her, Rere made a large jump and aimed at the ground. "For the love of God, MAKE IT WORK!" She then threw the wires with the tanto blades and stabbed them to the floor, releasing electricity from them.

"What's with this trick? Are you aiming to make the area an electric cage? YOU'RE STUPIDER THAN I THOUGHT! Uh!?" Doxos realized that he had misunderstood what her enemy was trying to do as soon as electricity erupted from underground, making several pieces of debris fly up. "WHAT!?" The mage of Chimera Tribe found himself getting constantly hit by a rain of falling rocks. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" That made him stop shooting lava, giving the girl another window to use to attack him.

"NOW!" Not wanting to waste that precious chance, Rere dashed surrounded by electricity, and charged against Doxos, managing to attack him and push him away with violence. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She was charging as strong and fast as she could while tears were flowing down from her eyes due to the panic.

"GRRRRRRRR!" Doxos surely didn't expect an attack like that and got attacked, with the electricity further damaging his armor. But he didn't want to let it go. He spread his arms and grabbed her with brute strength her opponent, making her stop. "GET IT REAL, ASSHOLE!" He then gave him a violent headbutt that made her bleed.

"GAAAH!"

Doxos wasn't done there. He quickly gathered heat from his body and released an explosion from fire, wiping her away. "ACCELLERATED COMBUSTION!"

"GAAAAAH!" Rere got swallowed by the large flames and the strength was slowly abandoning her. She wasn't trained that much in the body like some of her fellow members like Yori, Fern, or even Cal. Yet she knew she couldn't fall yet. She had to be the one making the other fall. She gritted her teeth to endure the pain, as she witnessed her enemy running towards her with the intent of murdering her. She could already see the fists enveloped by sparks. That was enough to make her pick up a few tanto blades.

"GRAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAAAH!" As soon as he was closer, Rere started to clash back by using the tanto blades infused with electric magic, managing to struggle against the sparkles of the enemy, engaging in a true duel.

"THIS IS FUCKING RIDICOLOUS! YOU'RE NOT STRONG! YOU'RE NOTHING! IT WOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE FOR YOU FOR YOU TO GIVE ME SO MANY TROUBLES!" Doxos shouted as he continued.

"YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I'M THE UTTER WORST! BUT RIGHT NOW I CAN'T HELP BUT WANT TO SMACK YOUR FACE DOWN!" Rere countered. At a certain point, she lowered her head to stab him in the belly to give him an electric discharge.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Doxos was seeing red, as he raised his head and used his kamikaze's fist to throw Rere away with a devastating explosion.

The mage of Shogunate Pride could sense that her senses were starting to abandon her. But the same could be said of his opponent. She just needed one last charge to take him down.

"G-Gh…" Rere knew what could have helped her…but the fear was still present despite everything. Who would have assured what could have happened, especially right there when she was under terrible pressure?

But…she still wanted to win. She still wanted to help her friends. And…maybe…if she used it for just an instant…nothing could have happened.

Once again…she wanted to trust what Tsukuyomi told her during the mission at Michaerya. Even if she would have lost control, she could have known that there would have been someone to stop her.

Meanwhile, Doxos was already walking towards her while scrubbing his knuckles. He started that way and he was going to end the fight in that way. "Eh eh eh eh eh…Just as I thought…you're nothing more than a whiny bitch that cannot do anything. THIS IS THE FUCKING BEST! SAY GOODBYE!" He was about to deliver another Accelerated Combustion…but Rere knew how to answer.

"It's only a matter of a second…stay. Yourself."

As soon as the fist fell on her…she opened her eyes.

"Lightning Devil's…VORACITY!" Thanks to the spell, she boosted all of her physical attributes, including her speed and strength, giving her the chance to move away with a cut on the enemy's spleen.

"GAAAAAH! YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?" Doxos saw the cut with horror as he turned around. Her enemy was turned around with electric shockwaves surrounding her. "T-That attack…A fucking Devil Slayer, THIS IS RIDICOLOUS!"

"Please, mind…for once…let me be selfish!" This was Rere's thought while turning around with glowing eyes. Her hands were already preparing the tanto blades to use against him.

Doxos tried to react, but even he knew that it was already too late. "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

"USHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" In an instant, Rere dashed against him and started to storm him out with a barrage of attacks made with the tanto blades. All blows fell inevitably on the enemy's body, ending up in one last high-voltage discharge that destroyed his armor and left him exposed.

Doxos's body was smoking…but not of a smoke caused by him. He stood still with a void expression for a few seconds and then fell exhausted.

As soon as the battle ended, Rere fell on her knees and quickly breathed out. "ANF…ANF…ANF…ANF…Calm down, calm down! Don't lose your mind, come on!" Luckily…her call was received and she was somehow able to maintain control. "…Aaaaaaah. I thought of the worst for a moment…" She spoke.

She looked up and could see that despite everything, the sky was still blue and her eyes looked still clear. She then lowered her head to her enemy, as she could witness that he was defeated.

"I…I truly did it…eh eh eh…" She then fell off, tired and wounded. "F-Fuck…it's burning everywhere…those explosions were the worst…why do I always pick up the craziest ones?" she commented.

"REREEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"U-Uh?" A shout caught her attention and made her look up. With her head upside down, she could see that Tsukuyomi was running towards her.

"Rere!" After a few seconds, the other girl was able to reach her and made Rere lean gently on her knees. "P-Please tell me that you're still breathing!"

"I-I don't think comments like this are ideal for this situation but…I'm fine…" Rere replied, making the girl a bit embarrassed.

"A-Ah…right. Sorry…" Tsukuyomi spoke.

But even with that, Rere was able to make a small smile. "Y-You came back…so you were able to get out of that book?"

"Yes…I'm sorry if I disappeared. That mage teleported me somewhere else and I had to get back in here. And…you got reduced to this." Tsukuyomi replied, feeling a bit guilty.

"Eh eh…for a kohai…you're someone caring, you know that?" Rere commented. "Plus…it's nice to hear that you got worried for me. D-Don't worry…I won't die yet…" She then pointed at Doxos. "Look…I was able to defeat him."

"Really?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"Y-Your words worked again. I-I'm impressed…" the other girl commented.

"Well…I didn't do anything special really. I just did my best to encourage you." Tsukuyomi said. "Come on…I'll bring you somewhere where they can treat you."

"N-No, Tsukuyomi. The central tower is just a few steps ahead…you should go help Rokumon and Iori." Rere protested.

"What!? You can't be serious, Rere! Look at your body! You need someone to look after you!" Tsukuyomi said, shocked.

"I know, but we don't have much time either! It has been already a while and those guys could have already reached the globe! W-We may need as much support as possible." Rere replied.

"R-Rere…" Tsukuyomi wasn't still convinced about it.

"D-Don't worry…it's not the first time I end up like this. I'm…used to shitty situations." The other girl said, looking down with a smile.

The black-haired one looked at her in silence. She wasn't convinced at all…but she knew that she could trust her. They didn't know each other for long, but there was already a bit of trust in her.

"…Got it. I won't make it long." With those words, Tsukuyomi gently laid Rere down and stood up. But luckily for her, she could see someone else of the guild coming up. "Uh? Fern!"

The older member of Shogunate Pride approached the two girls and looked at Tsukuyomi. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of her. Just do as she says."

"Are you sure?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"Yes. Even if in my opinion I'm a better option…it's also a good thing to take back the wounded ones." Fern replied.

Tsukuyomi looked back at Rere, who nodded. There wasn't anything else to add. She wanted to trust them. So she prepared her katana and turned around. "Ok! Wish me good luck!" And then…she started to run.

"Good luck…" Rere said with the most tired voice ever. After that, Fern grabbed her and started to walk away. He could see Doxos lying down knocked out.

"So you really defeated him?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah…somehow."

"Heh. It's not like you're weak. You've improved a lot ever since you've arrived." The older mage commented.

"…Maybe…It's because I'm starting to feel good at listening." Rere replied, looking at the friend running away. "It's really nice to see someone who has my back…almost like…"

---

Great Akihabara Market – Northern Section

One of the last bandits of Chimera Tribe was running around, hoping to get away from a terrible situation. "THIS IS RIDICOLOUS! Whenever I go, I see either an imperial soldier or a mage of that guild! How did this happen!? We were about to break down this market and-" He was complaining, but he shut himself up as soon as he heard something.

A whistle. A creepy one.

The bandit slowly turned around and was horrified by the sight.

Revany was slowly walking towards him, imprinting her menacing presence.

The bandit started to walk backward while swinging his weapon. "D-Don't you dare take another step! I can hurt you!"

Revany didn't reply and activated his lightsaber.

"I'M WARNING YOU!" The soldier shouted.

Again, no response.

In that situation, it was almost impossible to do anything. The only reasonable thing he could have done…was to run. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! HEEEEEEEELP!"

Revany didn't need to make any effort. With one jump, he already reached him and attacked him with the lightsaber.

"GAH!" The bandit fell on the ground, knocked out.

With that done, Revany looked up. "The sun is going down…and I've heard more noises coming down from the tower…" She then looked at the rest of the market, noticing how things were starting to get quiet. "The others surely are doing their job. Maybe we're getting them. We just need an extra effort. That means…I better finish the job." With that in mind, she kept on running around…unaware of the fact that she was chased down.

The shadow of a person grew up bigger behind her…and opened its eyes. The presence of another magic...

---

And that's all for today! This even turned out to be more intense than I originally planned! While I did cut some things since they weren't needed or to not make the battles too long. In a way, I could say that I remained faithful to the title I've given to this chapter and I've done my best to show you some good fights to compensate for the fact that it was about two characters we had already seen. I've tried to push them really to the limit this time, with two people who could have put a lot of difficulties to them, and it wasn't easy! Considering the magics I've planned for Zenodias and Doxos (considering also that Zenodias's one was changed), I had to think well about how to blend them with their opponents. So I've decided to be more tense and violent this time to show that every enemy could have something that could make them extremely dangerous. Once again, music helped a lot in this one, and listening to Achilles, Come Down during the last scene of Rere VS Doxos was beautiful! I really thank renren-writes for choosing that as one of Rere's themes.

But naturally, I leave the last opinion to you! Did you like the chapter? What are your opinions on the two fights? Who had it worse in your opinion? What do you think will happen next? As always, let me know in your reviews! Your opinion is important!

It's still incredible how we've already got past 10 chapters in this story, and who knows for how long this pace will continue! I hope it stays like this for a long! I can also announce the fact that we're at the last part of the Chimera Tribe Arc! Considering that only a few battles are left, I hope I can push myself to further limits to give you a decent climax!

As always, I thank you for reading this chapter and I'll see you in the next one or the next chapter of another story of mine! From Bluestar here, arrivederci!