DxD - The Last Amagiri

by HolyKnightX

Kensei Amagiri, the surviving heir to the Amagiri Clan, after losing his mother now lives on an island, where he fights for survival with his new friends. Left for dead by the Old Devils and Taro, is found by two legends who'll assist him in taking his fate back into his own hands.

55. The Ordinals

Welcome to the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, but before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:

Rider126: Well, we've all seen that those who suffer a tragedy will commit some of the greatest tragedies against those they believe are responsible. But, there's going to be more to it than that I can promise you that.

altair96: Yes, this is where things start picking up in intensity and their true story is about to start as soon as these last chapters end. Arata is alive and released creatures same as Hakki onto the people of Kibou Town, which the Kibou Alliance was forced to stop before fighting them in the barrier.

Slimereader11: Thanks. I'm glad to hear that.

shephawk: Thanks. I'm glad to hear that you've been liking the story thus far. And I'll be sure to make it the most epic chapter that I've ever written, more so as everything has been leading to this moment.

Guest: I might end up doing other stories that are reaching a certain point in their development. I thought of doing stories for Fairy Tail or Black Clover. It'd be interesting to do either a Male or Female MC for Black Clover. There are males among the Blue Roses, but those members are treated as errand boys instead of actual active members, at least as much as I'm aware.

Guest 2: I can imagine Issei being a pervert around Alice, more so because of her hourglass figure, while she creates Anti-Pervert Monsters, something that Koneko would love.

Guest 3: That does sound like the kind of artwork that Alice would be interested in doing too.

friendly guy: I've got an idea about what to do about Koneko's training, but both of them would make really good teachers for her.

Guest 4: I can see Issei hearing such a thing from their collective breasts using Pailingual, and I can just imagine the kind of thought he'll read from them.

---

The Ordinals

At the Kibou Alliance's main building, there was a big commotion going on as the members were preoccupied with different matters. Because of the sudden appearance of the Ordinals, as well as the attack in Kibou Town, there were a lot of things their group needed to People were working on controlling the internet and contacts leaving from the outside, in an attempt to keep anything supernatural under wraps.

And the others were preoccupied handling potential dangers, but because the group was used to working as one unit, things started settling down. Just then, Claire and the others walked inside the building as she noted the chaos caused by the incident. She's joined by the other members of the Sword Team, the members of Maria's Lancelot Team, Lena, and Rui from Zane's and Hisui's teams.

"Ugh, I never thought that anything like this would happen today," Claire stated, thinking about what happened in the past couple of minutes. "There are a lot of people who witnessed creatures appearing right in front of them."

"Claire-san, it's good that you're all here. We've got a serious issue this time on our hands."

One of the workers walked up to Claire in more of a rush.

"Same here. Not that there's much that we can do for Kensei and the others there," Claire stated, placing a hand on her forehead thinking about the situation. "How's handling the situation that happened around town?"

"We've managed to settle the incidents that happened, the police who are aware of the supernatural tapped off the affected areas and called the witnesses forward. But, a lot of civilians witnessed those creatures themselves, so the numbers aren't small."

"Well, we'll have to rewrite their memories of the incident. But, such strong memories aren't going to leave behind a small aftereffect. Hah, adjust them to that they believe the people from Hikage attacked Kibou Town, retaining the fact that Abigail, Lingqi, and I intervened. If it's to that extent, then there wouldn't be any issues."

"Yes, we'll do that. I'll get back to work."

Finished, the female worker continued doing what she was doing before, but not before passing Claire's idea along with Claire's idea.

"So, what're we going to be doing? Kensei and the others are going head-to-head with the people from Yami," a worried tone could be heard from Minako, as she couldn't return to her usual mood. She still hasn't yet come to terms with the fact that Arata was still alive and their enemy. Minako looked around to see her teammates noted her uncharacteristic concern. "I'm sorry, I haven't been able to calm down since all this happened."

"That's fine, Minako-san," Kunou placed a comforting hand on Minako's shoulder, something she appreciated. "I know that Ken-chan and the others are going to find a way to win. It's not the first time that they've dealt with something like this."

Minako felt happy hearing Kunou's usual enthusiasm, but her mind was still caught in a panicked state. There's so much on her mind, as well as Arata's words and actions continue to echo back and forth.

"Minako."

She flinched a bit as she heard her mother's voice, then turned around to find that she and the parents gathered together. As Kurumi approached her, Minako met her halfway, then wrapped her arms around her mother, which came as a big surprise for her. It wasn't like she hadn't hugged her before, but she could feel the emotions behind this one that she was worried about.

"Mom. Arata is…."

"I heard," Kurumi said, having received word from Abigail, who'd sent out the message to the Kibou Alliance once she received the information. "I, honestly can't believe it myself. If you'd seen the state of their house and parents after things were said and done. After receiving word about this, I informed Suzaku, but I didn't tell his parents. If Arata is, in fact, an enemy, then there's more about that incident than their parents told us. But, she's on her way here with Seiryuu too."

"Seiryuu-niichan is coming too."

"If Arata is here causing trouble, then calling Suzaku is a must, but Seiryuu happened to be in the same area too, and wanted to help. All the parents who're here have been informed about the incident, but I think that you need to contact Diehauser and Kensei's father too."

This time, Kurumi turned her attention to Claire, who pulled out her Oracle Phone as she said those words. She'd thought about contacting Kensei's father to inform him, but she'd felt hesitant to contact Diehauser. Not, because she didn't think he wouldn't help, but felt as if she'd be bothering him. Pushing those feelings aside, she did just that, contacting Tetsuo and Diehauser.

[I see. So, Arata is alive and he's causing trouble.]

After being told this, Tetsuo sounded as if he'd been thinking about this entire thing.

[I'm glad to hear that you're all fine, Claire. I'll be there as soon as possible.]

"Diehauser-ojisan, you don't need to…."

[Claire, I made a promise to myself that I'd be there whenever you were in need, no matter how small. It doesn't matter even if it ends up costing me my title, either.]

Claire could hear the seriousness and compassion in Diehauser's tone, not being able to do anything aside from nodding her head in agreement.

[I'll be there too. I don't know the entire situation, but I can tell that things might end up bad if that group keeps on doing whatever they like.]

Receiving confirmation from Tetsuo and Diehauser about their arrival, Claire hung up her Oracle Phone, before starting to think about their next move. During all that, Layla could see that her adoptive father looked concerned, and Rui could see that Hinata was the same. It looked as if both looked worried about their respective daughters' opponents with a not-so-hopeful outlook.

"I know that this situation isn't the most stable," Hinata started, as she pace back and forth before she kept on with her question, standing near Yasaka. "But, are you sure that the nekoshou there was named Kurohime?"

"Yes, I'm sure, a dark-skinned nekomata with three tails and golden eyes. Why, is there something wrong?"

Yasaka replied, not knowing anyone by that particular name among the youkai.

"If that's the case, then Hisui is the last person who should be facing her. I don't even know how she's here in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

"Kurohime was locked up and kept in an undisclosed location known by no one aside from the Nekomata elder," Hinata revealed much to Yasaka's surprise. "She was said to be a rare talent who could become a Daiyoukai in the future. But, more than that, she's too dangerous for Hisui to be fighting now."

Hinata, who was nothing short of enthusiasm thus far couldn't maintain that mindset, while her only daughter was in a dangerous battle.

"Dear, what's wrong?"

Alison asked, while her husband stood in place.

"I don't know, but there's something that feels unusual right now. But, I can't tell what that is."

Galahad spoke, unable to comprehend this unusual feeling within him.

"We'll be watching over things in the meeting room," Claire called out, referring to those apart of Kensei and the others' team while turning to the parents too. "There, we'll be able to see what's happening inside the dimension, where Kensei and the others are fighting them. If anything happens, then there's a way that we can enter it too."

At Claire's comment, the team members and parents agreed to those connections, then started heading towards the elevator. Both their teammates and parents were worried about those fighting in the dimension against those who referred to themselves as the Ordinals. But, held faith that the group could handle them.

---

Meanwhile, in that dimension, where the battle was proceeding, there were explosions and destruction caused, as a result of the collision of attacks. Among these battles, it was a battle between the two number one among their respective groups, Kensei and Arata. Both charged straight for one another, Kensei dual-wielding Kurogane and a second katana; while Arata raised his hands beside him, which were coated in those mysterious flames.

"Tougen Amagiri-ryuu, Kenbu: Haretsu Rasen Buyou."

"Ensho Shouheki."

As Kensei covered himself in touki, he released a relentless barrage of slashes centered around Arata. During all that, Arata motioned his arms fluidly in a defensive position as flames started being released from them, creating a flame and heat shield around his limbs, looking almost like smooth glass.

Once the slashes were unleashed, the flames defended against each of the slashes without one attack reaching Arata. Despite increasing the number of slashes, and passing their normal amount, Kensei wasn't able to bypass the flames. From each impact, some flames seemed to disperse but were immediately reignited, seeming almost an impossible task to bypass them.

"Dammit, I can't get through this flame barrier, despite this technique being one of my strongest aside from my Ougi. I'm not going to act as if it's perfect and flawless, but these flames are too troublesome to handle," Kensei clicked his tongue irritated, as he continued sensing the flames again, but couldn't get an accurate reading about it. "Dammit, I trained my senses, but I can't get a proper read on these flames as if something's interfering with my senses. But, their intensity and power aren't something someone from the Himejima Clan can produce with their blessing. If there's anyone who could match them then it'd be Suzaku, the Vermillion Bird's host. But, within Arata, there's one powerful aura that I can sense from him."

"If I were you, I wouldn't continue trying to figure out these flames in a fight. Haven't you heard that multitasking is dangerous sometimes? You'll have to wait until I tell you the story about what happened to realize what these flames are," Arata mockingly said while manipulating the flame shield around himself. "But, if you're that adamant in trying to figure them out, then taste their power and try to figure them out."

"You sound like an ass…."

As Kensei was prepared to comment about that, he leaped backward using Tenpo a fair distance as the shield of flames in front of him expanded around Arata. He could see that the ground underneath him was being burned, while the grass and ground underneath him were burned to ashes.

"Come on, I never thought that there'd come a day where the fearless Kensei would turn tale and run."

"Knock it off with the arrogant ass comments. First off, I didn't turn around, I stepped back," Kensei said, then his feet touched a house's hall, which he propelled off of. "And second, I hope Mei forgives me for taking one of your arms. Tougen Amagiri-ryuu…."

"I doubt that's possible for you now, Kensei."

"…Otatsu Hitokuchi, Ryuusei!"

As Kensei released a double slash using both the swords in his hands, Arata held up both his hands, releasing a massive burst of flames. Both the attack and flames clashed against one another, while Kensei was soon pushed back and burned up from the impact. As he was sent back, he could see that, of course, the secondhand sword he wielded was burned after clashing with those flames.

"I guess that using anything other than Kurogane would be pointless," Kensei said as he tossed the sword aside, which faded to nothingness. As he was sent backward, he channeled lightning into Kurogane, causing it to spark around the blade, then propelled himself back straight at Arata. "Inazuma Tsukisasu!"

A lightning-powered thrust aimed at Arata, who'd raised one hand again as he produced his flame barrier once again. As lightning thrust and the flame barrier clashed against one another, Kensei continued pressing forward, he ignored the heat generated by the flames.

"Oh?"

Arata looked on surprised as Kensei's technique, focused at a single point started breaking through the flames. It reached the point where it touched his palm, causing it to bleed from the impact, which managed to slip through the flames. As Kensei remained in the same spot, Arata positioned himself backward, a bit, then aimed a kick aimed at his blind spot.

It wasn't that strong a kick, but it was enough to send him back a decent enough distance from him. After being sent back a bit, Kensei managed to recover himself as he stood back up.

"I don't know what kind of training he's done, but his martial arts are exceptional enough, to the point where I can say it's no different from mine. As much as I hate to admit it, it might be better than mine and Lingqi's. His flames, on the other hand, are the deciding factor in this. Aside from being much stronger than anything I can muster using an Ougi, they have some special properties too," Kensei thought, noticing that Arata didn't seem bothered about the small wound to his hand. "His physical abilities are exceptional too, but it's nothing that I can't handle. His most exceptional thing among them is his perception and reflexes."

"I hope that you're not going to get all cocky since you managed to wound me."

"I don't want to hear that crap from you," Kensei declared. "You've been acting cocky and high-and-mighty since we first talked to one another at the Phenex Clan's castle."

"Hm, that wasn't that long ago. Well, I'm sure that those from the Phenex Clan can be relieved that I lost interest in them," Arata said as he waved off the incident as if it didn't matter anymore. "But, I can't say the same thing for their daughter, since it looks as if she's a part of your group. So, I can tell she's going to want payback."

"And I'm sure that Mei wouldn't want you to be doing all this crap!"

Kensei declared out loud as hearing her name was enough for Arata to think about that comment as if nothing else in this world mattered more.

"I don't need you to tell me that, I know. But, what I'm doing has to be done."

"And what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm just enacting my sense of justice. In this world things are split between justice and injustice, but who's to say what's right and wrong anymore? You're a kid being bullied by a bunch of kids, then you fight back. But, then you end up being the one punished because you're not as popular as the bullies. You might see this as injustice, but I see this as my justice."

"And I'm going to be enacting mine," Kensei said as he stood in a prepared stance holding Kurogane in his hand, then had water starting to manifest around the blade in abundant amounts. "Don't forget that I recall you stating you had a hand in murdering my grandfather, the adults, and my friends!"

"Ah, right. I never did get to finish that," Arata said, recalling the moment that Kensei interrupted him before he'd finished his explanation. Arata held out his hands, manifesting six fireballs, each giving off heat no different from a Fire Dragon's flames. "But, I think that'll wait until I knock you down enough for us to have a little chat."

"Tougen Amagiri-ryuu," he have no idea what technique would work, but he started shifting into another stance, knowing one of those destroyed the durable Amagiri Residence. Amid an abundance of water started wrapping around Kurogane, its hamon turned black, and he rushed forward without hesitation. "Kenbu, Mizuryuumai!"

"Hidama."

Arata released the fireballs straight at Kensei, while the swordsman continued heading forward as the first one started reaching him. Swinging his water-infused blade, he split the fireball in half, but it didn't end there as it just created two of them.

"Tsk, of course, they multiply."

Despite that, Kensei continued, having no other choice.

From different angles, the fireballs continued chasing him as if homing in on him, but he continued slashing apart the fireballs. However, as he did that, the severed fireballs continued splitting apart into smaller ones. Despite the size, the slightest explosion was enough to stun him.

But, Kensei endured the fireballs and explosions through the free-flowing footwork and movement that read their impact. At this point, numerous small fireballs started speeding toward him with the intention of a much larger impact. All of them were gathered together and encircling Kensei, not hesitating he leaped straight into the air using Shinsoku.

Following his path, the fireballs started heading upwards with the intent of hitting him in the air, as he did that he started releasing a greater amount of water from Kurogane. All the water started encircling the blade, then soon brought it downward using a strong swing. Its water went straight for the fireballs as all of them gathered together into a straight line.

As he did that, as one would expect, the water and fire produced a massive amount of steam that would've scalded a normal human. But, Kensei defended himself using touki, leaping from the epicenter before it boiled him. All the intense heat from the steam caused him to start sweating. Before long, Kensei looked to find Arata released fire from his feet, propelling himself straight for him.

He couldn't help admitting releasing flames in such a manner as creative, as he'd propelled himself at a speed he hadn't expected. Going along with that momentum, Arata aimed an accurate kick that struck Kensei right at the side of his face, sending him straight to the ground. Before falling, Kensei recovered, landing on a roof to find Arata keeping himself afloat using flames released from his feet.

"Come on, is this the full extent of the techniques you've learned?"

Arata asked as he continued hovering in the air.

"Well, someone developed a real big head these past years."

Kensei replied, standing in a prepared stance.

He rushed forward, leaping straight into the air using Tenpo, heading for Arata who'd entered a prepared stance, before his and Kensei's match continued. A swordsman against an unarmed combatant, as their attacks clashed with one another. A collision between them produced shockwaves that seemed to almost shake the atmosphere around them multiple times.

---

In another location, Zane ran through the streets, looking in a bit of a panic, while remaining as calm as possible. A green blast that gave off demonic power was released straight at him, causing him to turn around and fired off a blast from Nacht to counter it. Once both made contact, the two attacks did seem to counter one another out, as multiple demonic blasts were released straight toward him in a manner resembling a machine gun.

Knowing he couldn't shoot them all down, Zane created a barrier around him, which defended him from the wide onslaught of demonic attacks. He managed to defend himself from the onslaught, but he knew that this wasn't the attack he needed to be worried about. A second passed, as a green sphere was aimed at him, then ended up carving a hole into the barrier.

Making a hole behind him, Zane leaped backward as the sphere continued going until it punched a hole straight in the ground. He knew that the opponent in front of him wasn't normal, but this wasn't something he was expecting to witness. Zane kept his perceptions on high, more so using magic to strengthen himself as he continued to run down the street. But, for the opponent right there, the moment he looked at one place, he ended up in another one.

"You know, among the magicians that I've met or fought against in the last. There hasn't been one of them that I met who used guns as their weapons," an impressed tone could be heard from Malik, who seemed to appear on the roof beside him. "And I'm not sounding conceited for anything, I mean it. Those weapons of yours look almost like something straight from a manga."

He turned around to find that Malik was sitting on the roof, then turned around to fire off a couple of rounds straight at him. Reacting to this, he'd vanished again, appearing on the rooftop on the left side of him, being nothing short of teleportation.

"I was expecting to fight against a magician. But, I never thought that I'd be fighting against someone who was also a devil. And not someone who happens to be proficient in teleportation too."

Zane said, noticing that Malik was someone, who was at least half-devil or less than that, but there was proficient magical knowledge in his techniques too. Because of that, he couldn't get a decent hit on him, due to the efficient and fast teleportation that he'd been using the entire time without much lag.

"Well, you don't need to guess about it. I'm half-devil, born from the not-so-special union between a Devil servant and a Magician. There's nothing really special about my mother or father, she was simply a part of some pure-blooded devil's peerage, who ended up being killed by another servant. I didn't care much about the details, though," Malik jokingly said, while pacing across the rooftop. Despite talking about his birth, he sounded to be mocking how too simple it sounded. "To be honest, I don't know if either of them is alive. I left my mother's side a long time ago to explore the Human World, where I ended up at Rosenkreuzer. There, a researched a lot about powers based on space, then used that to develop my demonic power. It's similar to some extinct clan in the Underworld, but mine is much better than theirs."

Around Malik, different green see-through spheres started manifesting around him, something that also contained strong demonic power. He heard that one of those clans, the Seere Clan specialized in demonic power based on Space, but there's were focused on teleportation. But, same as the others, it became one of the extinct clans.

"There's focused on teleporting. Well, I can do that, but mine can erase anything that it comes into contact with, making it one dangerous offensive ability."

Malik stated, signaling for the spheres to go straight towards Zane without hesitating, who prepared himself for all of it. He fired off a bullet at one of them, but even those couldn't defend against the offensive spatial technique as the bullets were erased. Seeing his best attempts at overcoming it, he had no other option, but to continue simply avoiding the attacks.

"I can't avoid these attacks forever. Aside from teleporting, and avoiding all the attacks that I aim at him, his attacks are capable of tearing apart whatever they come into contact with. Even my magic, defensive or offensive can't get through them," Zane tried thinking about a method for fighting off Malik, but with both those techniques. "At most, I've got to attack him with something that he won't be capable of avoiding by teleporting. But, there's something weird with my Magus Akashic."

Since the fight started, Zane could sense constant reactions from Annelisse from within the Magus Akashic since their battle started. But, from attempting to figure out a plan for defeating Malik, and avoiding his deadly attacks, he didn't have the time to think about it.

His training and magical enhancements allowed him to avoid the attacks that Malik fired at him, while the attacks all continued carving into everything they touched. As Zane took another step forward, he felt a presence in front of him as Malik aimed his hand straight at him.

"You're certainly more physically inclined than any magician that I've seen," Malik stated, firing off another green demonic power, much stronger than before. "But, I know you can do better than that!"

Just before it made contact with him, Zane found himself creating a skintight barrier around himself, causing the demonic bullet to explode right there. But, the skintight barrier defended him from the potential result of the blast, while sending him back.

"Dammit, even with the barrier, I still felt that one."

Zane complained, then stood back up to his feet holding Nacht and Licht forward towards him, charging magical energy into the bullets. It was soon released straight at Malik, who reacted to the attack with his offensive spatial attack. Before that, he released the magic sealed within them, resulting in a massive blinding light that blinded the half-breed. It worked the same as a flash bang, causing a piercing around that stunned Malik.

"Hahahaha, that hurt, but that's better!"

Instead of sounding annoyed, Malik sounded amused.

"Let's see if you enjoy this one!"

Zane called out, pulling Donnerkeil from the dimension storage, charging it up utilizing his magical energy, while Malik rubbed his eyes. Because of their enhanced senses, sight, and hearing, flash bangs were most effective on supernatural beings.

As Malik recovered, and Zane was finished charging up Donnerkeil, he pulled the trigger releasing the powerful laser beam at him. He avoided the attack, but not by much as the laser scraped his side, continuing to sail forward putting holes through multiple buildings. Noticing that it felt like a noticeable wound on his side, Malik looked a little surprised about it.

"Hahahaha, that's awesome! How many of those things do you have in your arsenal," Malik asked, impressed by the guns that Zane stored in his dimensional storage. "I'm completely jealous, it almost makes me want to see whether or not those rogue Dwarves in Yami can make stuff like that."

"What, do you mean?"

Zane was surprised that members from the Dwarven Tribe were a part of Yami too, but it made sense considering that the weapons confiscated from Hikage were too advanced and complex for humans.

"Oh, right. You're from the Norse Faction, but you should know there are bad eggs no matter where you go, even in the Norse Faction. There are five, counting a half-breed, but man those Dwarves' crafting capabilities are nothing to sneeze at. Despite their numbers being small, their group taught Yami's inventors, so that pretty much evens things out. I don't know how Hagun Island looked before, but you'd be surprised to see what it looks like now," Zane found himself surprised about Malik's talkative nature, but him far more unsettling. "Well, whatever, let's just continue this battle between two Zirnitra Grimoire users."

"Huh?"

Zane found himself more surprised after hearing that from Malik, but it made more sense for the reason that his grimoire had been reacting in front of him.

"Oh, didn't you know that? Right, you must think that all grimoires should be books, but you're wrong about that," an enthusiastic tone came from Malik while revealing the tattoos on his body. "Mine, the Templum Akashic, a grimoire of the Spatial Magic Zirnitra researched. I guess that my proficiency in Spatial Magic was enough to be recognized as a holder of one of her grimoires."

Zane didn't want to admit it, but Malik was right, through his own believe grimoires should resemble books, but then these weren't normal grimoires. If they're designed to be similar to Sacred Gears, then it wouldn't be odd if they're able to take whatever form suits the owner.

"I didn't think that I'd meet another Zirnitra Grimoire owner here. But, why are you here? I doubt your motives are the same as Arata's, whatever that might be."

"Well, you're right. I think that Arata's and Jun's motives are kinda insane, to the point where it's kind of excessive. I mean, I like Arata, but even I wouldn't go that far. I hate Jun, he sucks at wooing women, he resorts to rape when it doesn't go in his direction," Malik said while shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, I'm not a saint either. I got kicked out of Rosenkreuzer because I might've gone too far in a fight and maimed a couple of magicians. I might've slept with their girlfriends too, but it's not like I forced them."

"Then why are you here?"

"The Zirnitra Grimoires' purpose is to create the strongest magicians in the world. All the previous wielders fell into madness because of their knowledge and power. It's a test from the Archmage Dragon that I'm willing to accept no matter the harshness. To do that, I need to fight people who wield the same grimoire as me, who have the same potential as me," Malik stated, with pure intent on becoming the strongest, but his methods didn't appear to match them. "I heard that Sirzechs and Ajuka were two mutations that everyone doubts are devils. I'm a half-devil and a magician too, so why shouldn't I reach those heights too?"

As Zane continued to talk to Malik, he could see that he was nothing short of a battle maniac, who simply wanted to reach the top. However, his methods in doing that bordered on the extreme, but if he said that Arata's methods were worse, then it made him think about that.

"I might not agree with Arata's and Jun's goal, but I want to fight against the people who're going to attempt to stop them. Fighting against those enemies is going to end up being what fuels me raising to the top," he confidently said, while raising his right arm into the air, as a green demonic power gathered had gathered around it. Zane could sense that Malik was converting the magical energy that'd come from his grimoire into demonic energy. "And for everyone, the road leading to the top is, of course, going to be bumpy!"

Bringing his arm downwards, the unleashed attack distorted space, carving up and erasing the ground and every single thing it came in contact with. It continued sailing at such speed that Zane couldn't react in time, but then he felt an intense pain spreading across his entire body.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Zane, who'd been holding Donnerkeil using his left hand, dropped it while using it to hold onto the wound that'd been caused by that attack. He leaned forward on the ground screaming in pain as that last attack cost him his right arm. Because it'd been a spatial attack that'd carved through everything, it was the cleanest cut that one will expect, as if it'd been cut by the sharpest blade.

"Ah, that looks bad."

Malik said, scratching his head.

After that, he reached into his pockets, retrieving the Phoenix Tears that he'd stored on his person, then poured them on himself. Because of that, the wounds he'd suffered closed, if would've been possible to reattach his arm, but it had been erased by Malik's attack. Even if he strengthened himself by using magic, it'd be impossible to hold his Donnerkeil. Forgoing it, he retrieved Nacht and pointed it straight at him.

"Wow, I'm surprised that you endured that attack."

"I'm friends with someone who endured a lot worse than this. If I didn't do this much, then I'd have no right to be called number two," Zane said, recalling the injuries that Kensei suffered for a long time, before finding himself with a second thought entering his mind. "I sure hope mom isn't watching this."

---

"I'M GOING TO KILL THAT LITTLE SHIT BASTARD! WHO THE FUCK DOES HE THINK HE IS, TAKING MY DARLING'S ARM!? LET ME GO, SMITH!"

Anne was having a mental and emotional breakdown, while Smith was holding her back using his arms, almost in a full nelson. She kicked around in an attempt to free herself, continuing to rage as she saw her youngest son losing his right arm. Anne wasn't alone as others were watching on in surprise as Zane ended up losing his arm, someone who'd been considered an important part of the Kibou Alliance.

"Let me go, let me go, Smith. I-I'm going to, going to," Anne stammered in her words as the conversation continued until tears started forming at the corners of her eyes. "M-My d-d-darling l-little Z-Zane, l-l-lost h-h-his r-right…waaaaaaaah!"

Anne broke down into tears, losing all strength in her legs and almost the rest of her body, not caring about how it looked. Seeing his wife in this saddened state, Smith leaned down wrapping his arms around her comfortingly, a gesture she accepted. None of the parents in the room could blame her, as she'd witnessed her youngest son all but losing a limb against Malik.

Zane's friends were in the same situation, none of them wanted to doubt their friends and loved ones. For some of them, they'd witnessed the combating Numbers (aside from Abigail) survive some of the worst situations from a younger age. If the situation seemed dire, then they'd broken through them, however, the Ordinals seemed to be a group neither of them expected.

"…!"

In witnessing all this, Lena seemed to clench her teeth and fist, seeming to be attempting to hold back emotions, while witnessing. Not wanting to leave Lena as is, Claire extended her hand outwards and placed her comforting hand around hers. Flinching a little bit, she turned to find the younger girl looking at her with a reassuring look on her face, something that caused her usually stoic face to falter into a more emotional face.

"It's alright, Lena."

"Despite being smart, he's an idiot, and someone who sucks is organizing things without my being there to help him. He sucks at doing things that a genius would be capable of doing, but he's someone who everyone from the Research Department and others likes. It's honestly a pain working with him sometimes, even if nothing he makes doesn't work how he wants it to. He never lets it get to him," Lena said in a trembling voice, as tears started to trail down her face. "Even though Zane gives me nothing, but trouble, I don't hate working with him."

"…."

No one could come up with the slightest response to say, showcasing this situation's seriousness, which was the same thing Maria's and Hisui's parents shared.

"Our children aren't weak by any possible means, but their opponents are just that strong. Maria and the others all said that they were preparing to fight against any potential threat. But, some of the people there are too much for them to face. It seems as if this Arata person gathered the strongest people that he could find," Galahad said, turning his sights over towards Maria's opponent, the Black Knight. There was a calculating look, as he continued staring straight at the Black Knight with concern. "There's something about that Black Knight, but I can't quite put my finger."

---

In the dimension, Maria found herself running along the rooftops, not skipping a beat as she continued running at a high pace. She'd transverse the rooftops without tripping up, showing such precise balance while continuing to fight against her opponent. Said opponent, was doing the same thing, but his speed and pace looked as if it was the movement of a true warrior.

"He's running like that wearing armor, I can tell that he's much faster and agile than me," Maria said, noticing his speed and movement weren't being hindered by the armor he was wearing. "Movement, breathing, and posture, in all regards, he's running without wasting energy. And there wasn't been one attack that I could land on him."

Reaching the end of the roof, Maria leaped upward, turning around in the air as she faced the Black Knight who'd leaped up too. She raised her hand, manifesting multiple holy swords around her, each of them carrying different attributes. Not hesitating at all, she released all the swords straight at the Black Knight, who wouldn't be capable of avoiding them in mid-air.

She realized a long time ago that Blade Blacksmith's holy swords couldn't match that of the real thing, but she'd learned to enhance them by supplementing them using her light attribute and elemental magic. And in this instance, Maria didn't create the holy swords without thought, each of them had traits that would result in a much greater impact if clashed against one another.

She'd begun enacting this plan, Maria released the holy swords at the Black Knight, not showing her intentions at all. And the second that, the reactive swords made contact, it triggered an explosion that consumed the Black Knight in the epicenter. Not thinking that would be the end of it, Maria landed on the ground manifesting Quicksilver in her hands. Continuing to look at the black smoke that'd consumed the Black Knight.

"Huh, where is he?"

Maria thought that she'd at least see someone coming down from the smoke, but there wasn't the slightest hint of him even moving within it. It wasn't that long until she looked down to notice that there was a shadow right up above her head.

She looked up to find that the Black Knight descended downwards closer to hitting her as his black greatsword had seemed to shapeshift into a spear. She moved back as he slammed into the ground, with the spear all but penetrating through the ground. It, upon impact, generated a destructive impact as a demonic aura was released from the black spear.

It splintered the ground closer to Maria, who'd seemed surprised as the Black Knight ended up appearing above her head instead of from the spoke.

"What happened? Even if he had used teleportation magic to appear above me, the smoke would've shifted or at least distorted, as a result of him being transported. It's almost as if he wasn't inside of that explosion in the first place, but that…," Maria tried examining the situation several times in her head in an attempt to figure out what's happened. "He had to have leaped off of the swords seconds before the explosion happened, but to do that, in just seconds is…."

Just as Maria was finishing her thoughts, the Black Knight rushed straight at her without skipping a beat, turning his spear back into a sword. She and he commenced a sword fight between each other, but if it hadn't been for Quicksilver, then she would've outmatched. No, it was because of it that she was capable of barely matching the Black Knight. She'd trained herself in swordsmanship for a long time, but the Black Knight in front of her was far superior to her skills.

For several minutes, their swords clashed against one another several times, but each attack held enough power to make her arms numb. Maria tried adjusting herself to ensure that she could survive long against all the Black Knight's relentless attacks. She wanted to switch to using another sword but was worried that the slightest loss in tempo could result in serious damage.

After getting their swords locked, Maria looked at manifested holy swords behind the Black Knight, then released all of them at him from behind. Despite the approaching swords, her opponent didn't react at all and instead focused on the fight right in front of her.

"Why isn't he…?"

Maria wondered what was wrong with the Black Knight, who was capable of avoiding her attacks if possible.

Just as Maria thought about the Black Knight's intentions, the swords slammed against the knight's armor, but it didn't do much damage. Instead, it looked as if all of them cracked against the armor, something that'd surprised Maria, to the point where it could be shown on her face.

"What kind of armor is that? It couldn't be ordinary armor, I know, but there's not much that could defend against all this damage. I did the same thing with those swords, but it didn't look as if it reached underneath the armor," a surprised tone came from Maria, as she'd expected the heat and cold could've reached underneath whoever was wearing the armor. A realization came to Maria, as she wondered. "That armor, is your sacred gear, isn't it?"

"…?"

She realized that the armor should've been either magic armor or even sacred gear, but the latter was more likely, considering that it'd seemed to match him too well. However, she didn't need to think that much about it, as she was aware the number of armor-type sacred gears wasn't common. More so, as she'd known one person who owns a sacred gear like that.

"If it's what I think it is, then it might be Knight Shroud, a defensive-type that increases the wearer's defenses and resistance to attacks, magical or otherwise. If that's the case, then it makes things harder for me, as it'll be harder to reach the person underneath it without a stronger attack. I can't manage that one, if it were either Kensei or Zane, then I…," Maria said, as she sounded as if she'd doubted herself; stabbing her sword right into the ground and slapping her cheeks using both hands. "No! If I let myself sink into doubt, then I have no right to call myself their friend and teammate!"

After reinvigorating herself, Maria retrieved Quicksilver from the ground, then sped forward straight for the Black Knight. Reacting to it, she and he started another straightforward sword fight, clashing against one another once again. Maria used magic to strengthen her perception, making it easier to see his sword strikes to some extent, it allowed her to avoid some of them.

But, the strikes were sharp and fast enough to leave scratches on her body, it didn't deter Maria as she pressed forward with the clash. A straight stab slashed Maria's shoulder, causing blood to spill out of it.

"…!"

Maria steeled her resolve, ignoring the pain as she'd created another holy sword in her hands, this one having a pure green color. She thrust it upwards towards the Black Knight, shouting out the sword's name.

"Skyward!"

Maria called out the sword, Skyward releasing a straight compressed tornado aimed straight at the Knight's face, which was engulfed in it. Despite not learning anything aside from the basic elemental magics, she'd continued to master those elements to their peak. Instead of allowing it to spread outwards, she'd focused the tornado at one point to maximize its attack.

It seemed to work, as the Black Knight's armor cracked apart at the top portion, then knocked off the helmet that he'd worn. Because of that, his face was revealed right then and there.

"…?"

"…!"

In that instance, time seemed to freeze as Maria's face faltered into one that matched her actual age. As if all her training, experience, and courage had been sapped out of her. Almost as if Maria returned to being a child once again who couldn't do a single thing. She couldn't hold Quicksilver or Skyward anymore.

That hesitation didn't go unnoticed by the Black Knight who'd raised his hand into the air, then slammed down on top of Maria's head. It forced her straight into the ground as she'd been dug straight into the ground, cracking it, while it caused severe damage.

"Guuaaaa!"

Maria screamed in pain, but it didn't last long as she was lifted from the ground, and then flung straight at the buildings beside them. Her body, as if it were a projectile sent through buildings, crashing through wall after wall, until she'd broken through the last one.

Maria's body was left motionless on the ground, as pain signals traveled across her body, leaving her no option, but to stare at the skies above her.

"N-No, p-p-please…don't…let, this be true…," Maria looked on the brink of tears as her voice tremble, something uncharacteristically for her. She struggled to stand back up, and could barely hold herself up, hearing the Black Knight's footsteps. "…y-you…couldn't be on his side. You'd…never do anything like this…."

Soon enough, the Black Knight appeared in front of her without wearing his helmet, standing right there as tears rolled streamed down Maria's cheeks.

"W-Why?! Why are you here, doing this…Lancelot?!"

Maria called out.

Standing before Maria was a handsome black-haired, young man in his twenties, with well-groomed hair, but the thing that differed from her memories was that his green eyes were turned black. She trembled because the one before her was her older brother, the person who'd taught her everything she knew.

"…."

Despite being called out by his younger sister, Lancelot didn't utter a single word.

---

"That's impossible! He wouldn't be here! My son isn't close to the kind of person who'd be involved in this group!"

Alison, who'd been witnessing the entire situation right there in the meeting room declared.

Seeing her oldest child's face, she couldn't believe it. Similar to Maria, Alison was in tears, unable to accept that her son of all people was involved in all this.

"So, that's him…."

"Big Sis' older brother."

Iris and Layla couldn't believe that Lancelot had stood there, having heard stories about him from Maria herself. In all those stories, she'd looked the happiest that'd ever been, showcasing the biggest love and respect for a single person.

"He's grown in the past couple of years, but that's without a doubt our oldest son, Lancelot Du Lac," Galahad had said in a gentle and composed tone, not doubting the person right in front of him was his son. "His skills with a sword and movements have been honed to a frightening point, there are certain hints that he'd surpassed me in combat. Almost as if he'd been through countless battles…."

"So, why's our son with those people?! He wouldn't do anything like this?! He's the kindest gentlest boy in the world! H-He wouldn't even harm on hair Maria's head, but he's…," Alison couldn't hold back her emotions, then ended up crying in her husband's arms. "…she can't fight against him. It's not about strength or skills, Maria loves her older brother too much to consider pointing a sword at him. And he'll…."

"That's the point. Lancelot couldn't train Maria seriously, which is the reason he developed that training method so he wouldn't. His combat skills and instincts are too perfect to be something that someone in their twenties can do. And even his sacred gear is different from what it was the last time we saw him."

"What do you mean?"

Layla asked confused.

"Lancelot's Sacred Gear is called, Knight Shroud, and its ability is pretty much everything that Maria explained. A knight's armor that defends them from all sorts of attacks, but he learned to put that armor on others. I don't know if it was one of its original abilities or just because of Lancelot's kindness. In the past, his armor was more gallant as if it was a knight from a fairy tale, but now it looks demonic as if it'd been dyed in darkness," Galahad explained. "But, if it's what I think it is, then we'll need to help them. Claire, everyone, isn't there any way that we can enter that space to help them? As it stands now, their group is going to get hurt."

"There are two methods to enter that dimension. But, the first method is the easiest for certain people, but then the second one depends on the people inside there. At this point, no matter what happens, we'll need to use the two methods to help them."

Claire replied, showing a more worrying moment as time passed.

For her, who'd owed Maria a lot for agreeing to train her all that time ago, it was the first time that she looked that weak and powerless. She didn't know how long she could endure this, her family and friends, who she'd known for almost her entire life. Claire wondered when Diehauser would arrive, as coming and going for someone who's in his position even in a rush wouldn't be in an instant.

"It might not be much, but we'll be preparing ourselves for the worst."

Claire said, in a strong tone as the others felt the same.

"I don't want to say this, but the worse is beginning. For them and Hisui," Hinata said, witnessing her daughter's fight against Kurohime, which was happening at the same time as all these incidents. "As talented as she is, that girl, Kurohime was more and she's delved into something that almost caused the Nekoshou's population to be as it is now. And if it happens again, then the Nekoshou could cease to exist."

---

In the dimension, Hisui and Kurohime fired off pure green and pitch black Kasha straight at one another, causing an explosion of flames. As the battle began, she felt an unsettling sensation from the black-haired Nekoshou that was released throughout the fight. Even the Kasha she'd been releasing during the battle held ominous ki as a moment of realization entered Hisui's mind.

"You have to stop using Senjutsu."

Hisui stated, halfway sounding almost like a request and a demand.

"Huh, why?"

Kurohime seemed obliviously confused about that.

"It's obvious that you've absorbed the world's corruption and have started becoming consumed by power," Hisui worriedly said as Kurohime seemed to understand her words while crossing her arms and nodding her head. "If you don't stop now, then it might not be possible for you to return to normal."

"Hmm, I see, I see. Well, thanks for being worried about me, my fellow Nekoshou sister," Kurohime replied while bringing her fist down onto her opened palm. "But, you're mistaken about one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"I'm still in the process of, um, let's say stretching my legs in regards to using Senjutsu again. I can barely utilize Youjutsu as much as I could before," Kurohime revealed, as she began stretching her limbs. "I thought that mean old Magari-obachan just bound me up in a prison that made it impossible to sense or use ki. But, she also chose to inhibit me from doing what I learned a couple of years ago using hers. First, she said that I was a rare prodigy that she wanted to raise, but then she imprisoned me for doing what no other Nekomata could do. Because she'd done that, it lessened my proficiency. She's so mean, that Magari-obachan, but I still love her."

"…," Hisui almost felt unnerved as she continued talking as casually as if the two weren't fighting. But, then she sensed that the others were fighting their hardest against their opponents. It wasn't going well for either Kensei, Zane, or Maria, all of whom were on the losing end. And the same thing could be said about Lingqi, who'd been fighting against Jun, the second strongest in the group. "I can't stand here, doing nothing aside from talking while my fiancè and best friends are fighting."

Steeling herself, Hisui propelled herself forward using Shinsoku, something she'd learned from Kensei, and spun around as she aimed a straight kick at Kurohime.

"Oh?"

Kurohime seemed surprised, raising her forearm into the air and blocking it.

A surprised look appeared on Kurohime's face while blocking that attack, then was knocked backward. It wasn't the end of that as Hisui landed on the ground, then began unleashing a barrage of kicks straight at her opponent. Kurohime kept defending herself from the attacks, though some attacks bypassed her defenses, causing those kicks to land on her.

"Ah?"

Kurohime seemed surprised as the attack landed, then Hisui slipped forward and landed a much strong kick after covering herself in touki. Because of that, she'd launched her opponent backward a good distance from where she'd been standing before. As Kurohime was being sent backward a decent distance in the air, she felt pain at the place hit.

She sensed Hisui's presence, as she leaped into the air around the same place where she was heading, then went in to aim another kick. Arriving right above her, Hisui aimed a strong, downward kick straight at Kurohime, which sent the Nekoshou deeper into the ground.

"I don't know how much damage that did, but I have to knock her out before she does any…."

"Hahahahaha," despite suffering an attack, Kurohime wasn't mad she started letting out more of an amused laugh. She continued laying in the same position as Hisui's heel was dug deep into her abdomen, not moving an inch despite the possibility that she'd be damaged from another potential attack. "I know it. I knew I knew no one else would want to be my playmate aside from my Nekoshou sisters. Kuroka-neechan. Her younger sister, Shirone-chan. And Hisui-chan. None of the adults could see anything that I see. If someone told you that something's forbidden, so don't mess with it. That power is dangerous, so don't attempt to use it. Isn't that simple because they don't have the confidence to explore it?"

"…?!"

At that moment, Hisui felt a dark presence that expanded from Kurohime's body, something completely unsettling as it seemed to touch her soul. It got worse as Kurohime grabbed onto her leg with such strength that it wouldn't be surprising if it bruised.

A black, flame-like aura seemed to wrap around her leg, expanding as if it'd tried to encroach on her. Fearing the consequences, she freed herself from Kurohime's grasp using a kick, then leaped back and landed a far distance from the downed Nekoshou.

"What is that?!"

Hisui asked, noticing that she sensed that the dark aura seemed to be corrupting her aura, causing it to become no different from it. Its progression wasn't slow at all, as if its sole purpose was to cause corruption.

"Oh, no, it's corrupting my ki!"

Not letting it progress further, she started the purification progress as the corruption soon faded, as it wasn't that bad because Kurohime hadn't been holding her for that long.

"Since I was a kid, I heard about it all the time, so much so that it wouldn't stop ringing in my head. All about the fact that no one is supposed to take in malice from the world because you'll drown in power," Kurohime stood up to her feet while standing right up as a black aura manifested around her. Her eyes were letting out a dangerous light. "I don't get why it's such a big deal about taking in malice from the world. The solution is simple enough, all you have to do is not drown in power. I told Magari-obachan that I'll just swim in the power without drowning."

"S-She's much too dangerous. I didn't think that anyone could be capable of falling that deep into being corrupted by the world's malice without affecting their minds. Despite that, it seems as if she can maintain her original personality. But, that could be because Magiri-san sealed her before it could progress," Hisui thought as she'd come to realize that a confrontation couldn't work if she'd ended up being corrupted. "My mother said that thoughts like that caused our species' population to dwindle."

She remembered the conversation she previously had with her mother, sometime after they were freed from Hagun Island.

'Hisui dear, I think you should know about this. But, the main reason, our species' population suffered such a massive decrease is because of those who fell into the darker path of Senjutsu. It was common knowledge one should absorb the world's malice, or else one would drown in power. A handful tried it and believed that the increased power was a blessing. But, you see, ki once corrupted begins spreading to others as if it was an infection. In a short period, many Nekoshou went berserk, killing others, themselves, until it was too late to save them. No one had no other choice but to kill them. …Hisui, you have to remember to never fall into that state.'

Hearing such a thing from her mother, Hisui couldn't forget the serious tone her mother had in that instance as if she'd been ordered not to.

"I don't know how else to fight her aside from getting close, though! I don't, no, I know that me doing this is going to be the result of that."

Hisui had no other option but to summon, then release Kasha straight at Kurohime.

"Oh, come on, I thought that we were supposed to be much closer playmates."

Kurohime said as she continued walking covered in that corrupted ki, without showing the slightest sign of getting out of the way. As the first couple of Kasha headed closer to her, they were slowly absorbed into vanishing into nothingness. It was then that Hisui looked to find that the grass around Kurohime was being trained too until it turned lifeless.

"She's absorbing the spiritual and life energy from whatever touches."

Hisui couldn't believe that it'd had that ability too, something that'd take the conversation to do, but this looked much too dangerous. It was almost as if the evil ki around her was using the energy and life force around it as more fuel while continuing to approach Hisui. Just as she moved closer, both of them noticed several thunderclouds forming over their heads, all teaming with lightning.

"Oh, that girl, Jun's interested in is fighting against him there," Kurohime said, while sensing in that direction, a blank look could be seen on her face. "If we're being honest, I hope she kills him, Jun has nothing positive about him except for his strength and wit. Arata needs him, but Malik and I hate him, while our Knight friend goes along with whatever our leader says. But, she won't be able to defeat him, Jun's strength is the real thing. So, I guess he deserves his spot as Ordinal number two."

"Then why are you with them? You don't look like a bad person, well maybe misguided," Hisui said, wearing a far more emphatic look. "But, you shouldn't be with that group."

"Well, I don't have many options. I mean, if Magari-obachan senses me anywhere else, she'll hunt me down and send me back to that prison cell again. If that happens, then she won't ever release me until I'm old enough to call myself a grandma. She's such a mean neko granny," she said that last part pouting. "Besides, I'd rather continue mastering what I discovered and prove that I can handle it without falling into the abyss. And…."

"…?!"

Hisui was surprised as Kurohime appeared right in front of her without making a single sound, with her arms out as she initiated a hug. And wrapped her arms around Hisui in a hug, one which the green-haired Nekoshou couldn't free herself from.

"I want to play with my Nekoshou Sisters, and show them the same path that I discovered."

"N-No, let me go!"

Hisui felt pressured as the dark aura that covered Kurohime started spreading over her, causing her aura to slowly become corrupted. She helplessly cried from pain as she felt the corruption continue without ending, but she tried her hardest to fight the progression as much as possible.

---

In the location, where Lingqi and Jun were fighting, the young woman fighting using all that she learned for this very moment. Armed with Shimon Mouko, the representation of her soul, which can multiply her arm and leg strength far more than double. Under normal circumstances, Lingql often held herself back sometimes against certain opponents, but Jun wasn't those opponents.

"Hah!"

Lingqi exclaimed, releasing a barrage of punches and kicks straight at Jun, each one was delivered in a sequence. All her attacks were launched without exerting herself, with strength and speed behind them. Jun reacted to them using Thunder Emperor's gauntlet, standing there without the slightest physical reaction. That didn't mean that her punch hadn't caught his attention, being more than he expected.

"…."

Jun peered straight down at Lingqi, who continued looking on firm without backing down. She reeled back her right fist, concentrating Qi into it, as a white aura could be seen gathering around it. Replicating it, Jun released a decent amount of lightning from his left gauntlet. Both their punches clashed against one another, generating a shockwave from their collision, cracking the ground.

"Ngh."

Despite their punch colliding, Lingqi felt the impact of Jun's punch, more on her end rather than reaching him, but this didn't go against her expectations. After separating, he clenched his hand as lightning sparkled around it, then in one swift movement, aimed a strong, fast punch straight for Lingqi. Reacting, she crossed her arms right in front of her in a defensive position, but the force sent her back a great distance while covering her in lightning too.

"Tch," Lingqi felt the force behind that lightning-enhanced punch as it seemed to numb her arms a bit, but started recovering from the numbing effects. "He's strong, but I expected this much from someone my dad couldn't beat. I prepared for this fight, I'd trained with sacred gear and magic users who uses lightning for years. But, his strength added onto them can reach me."

As she prepared to land on the ground, she channeled Qi into her arms and legs, then caught herself using her right arm. After spinning around, she found herself kicking, releasing a slash straight toward Jun, who remained standing in the same position.

"Gengetsu!"

From strongly swinging her arms and legs, she released slashes towards Jun, strengthened, and each one gave off a strong presence. One sliced through a building without resistance, while the others kept on sailing at their intended target. Not looking concerned, Jun releases lightning from around him, then soon vanished from that position as the slashes split buildings.

"…?!"

He appeared behind Lingqi without making a single sound, raising his right arm into the air in preparation to attack. It was brought down as if it was a lightning manner, straight for Lingqi, but she sensed the man's presence behind her at the last second. Using a tigress' spryness, she leaped while his punch crashed into the ground, trembling as if thunder hit it; the shockwave produced by it pushed her further.

Touching the ground, Lingqi looked to find a crater left where he stood, but once again Jun vanished from his previous position again. He appeared behind her again, performing the same technique as before, this time charging up a much greater amount of lightning. She couldn't evade it in time, so she raised her hands in an attempt to catch it, focusing Qi in her arms as she caught his arm.

"Ngh!"

Despite blocking it, she felt the sheer force behind it, cracking the ground and forcing her onto her knees. Lingqi came close to buckling under sheer force, but she maintained her stance nonetheless. Staring straight down at her, Jun was looking down at the ground woman no different from what he'd been doing.

"Why're you continuing to resist the inevitable, Lu Lingqi," Jun asked, as she continued struggling to hold on. "Instead of fighting against it, why not accept the fact that you'll become my sixth wife? But, I suppose that I should feel some gratitude because you honed and developed your body in some futile attempt to stop me. It'll become the host of my seed. You and your sister should be honored to herald the beginning of a new empire. And your brothers will become the soldiers who'll defend it."

"…!"

From hearing such arrogant words about Jun's intentions for her siblings, it did nothing aside from light the flame of resistance inside her. She clenched her fist as she redirected the punch that Jun continued pressing forward, the act causing him to stumble.

"As long as I breathe, you'll never lay a hand on my younger brothers or sister. I promised my mother that I would choose a man who'd love and respect me, while I'd do the same thing," Lingqi declared as she got into a prepared stance. "And among all the men that I've met, I don't even consider you a man! You're nothing more than a simple tyrant who lets his ego go to his head."

"Mouthy little girl!"

Jun started recovering his posture to continue the battle.

Not allowing him to do that, Lingqi decided to announce two powerful words.

"Balance Break!"

From Lingqi, a brilliant white aura was released from her body, manifesting as her Byakuren Mouko Raiment, releasing a much stronger presence than she had before. Jun looked to notice the armor she'd donned, but couldn't recover in time as she prepared her next attack.

"Kosou!"

She released an upward slash that sent Jun straight up into the air. Lingqi wasn't holding anything back she released her Qi, empowering the aura that covered her body. She didn't want to drag on this fight for much longer. She wanted to end things right then and there, without giving him the slightest edge. Leaping into the air not hesitating anymore, she concentrated Qi into her fist, aiming a straight punch into Jun's face.

"Ah!"

Lingqi pushed him higher into the air. She kicked out of the air, then proceeded to knock him in different places, which she kept doing multiple times. No matter how durable Jun was, he was still human, no different from her, meaning it was a matter of time until he reached a breaking point.

"There's no doubt that Jun's strong, but he's still a flesh and blood human. There's no doubt he's mastered his Sacred Gear and Balance Breaker more than me. And it's because of that, that I'll end this now!"

She kicked off the air, going straight for Jun who was still falling to the ground, with the intent of aiming a far stronger punch against him. Before she could reach him, he grabbed Lingqi's wrist, stopping her punch. Above her dark clouds started manifesting around them, before long, Jun brought down a large amount of lightning, which engulfed her.

"Ggggggg!"

Lingqi endured the lightning, but she had to admit that this lightning was stronger than the ones she'd taken to build up her resistance. Jun forced himself back up from the ground, not releasing her. Despite being held by her wrist, she aimed a kick straight at Jun's neck, forcing him to release her. She followed up, grabbing onto his shoulder while reeling back her fist, concentrating her aura.

"Senda!"

A fast, strong punch was sent straight into Jun's abdomen, the force behind it, strengthened by her armor sent him straight through a house.

"…!"

He seemed surprised about this, as blood escaped from his mouth.

Not giving him a second to recover, she leaped straight for Jun, landing above him, while positioning her hands close to his chest. She was almost inches from touching him, but she concentrated her Qi, releasing an aura throughout her body as it seemed to crack the wall beside her. Among Byakko Kenpo's instructions, the disciples learned the foremost important method for being able to release explosive power without exertion An important lesson in almost all Chinese Martial Arts was perfected into theirs.

"Byakko Kenpo, Hakkei…."

As she stood over the downed Ordinal with her clawed hands positioned in front of him.

"…Mouko Houko!"

Lingqi released a close-range shockwave, sending it straight into Jun, resulting in the ground crumbling underneath him. It caused the house the two fought to be broken apart until it fell onto the ground as rubble.

"Gah!"

A large amount of blood escaped from Jun's mouth.

He couldn't ignore the damage produced by her technique, however, Lingqi wasn't foolish enough to believe that was the end. Raising her right hand, she curled her fingers, aiming an attack straight for his neck, not seeking for this to be an honorable end. It was true that she didn't consider Jun much of a man, in her eyes being nothing more than a monster who broke apart families, raped their daughters, and stole happiness from others.

Almost as if his reflexes were at fast as lightning, he caught Lingqi's hand before it could reach him.

"That was a good attack," Jun said, spitting out blood as he looked forward. He looked straight at Lingqi, while a gold light could be seen being released him his eyes. Above their heads, numerous thunderclouds manifested above them as if it was heralding something. "But, I believe that I've humored this temper tantrum of yours for too long. Balance Break."

At the crash of lightning, Jun's body and gauntlets released a powerful aura, bearing a close resemblance to that of a dragon too. As if signaling an approaching disaster, the thunderclouds appeared to release more lightning, which was brought down on the surrounding houses. Lingqi couldn't help but remain in awe as she sensed the sudden increase in pressure Jun was releasing in that instance. He released an aura that'd reminded her father's battle with him, but it'd seemed much more honed compared to then.

Unable to free herself, she found herself helplessly lifted into the air as Jun's body was lifted by the lightning he was releasing. There she witnessed Jun's change firsthand, he was coated in a dense black and golden dragon armor, bearing a strong resemblance to the Scale Mail. He released an aura that'd reminded her father's battle with him, but it'd seemed much more honed compared to then.

"I thought that since you were so adamant in fighting against me, I'd show you this form that'll herald the end of the Chinese gods. My reward for consuming the heart of Shanlong, who was lauded as the strongest Lightning Dragon. I call it, the Thunder Emperor Kongou Dragon, the result of consuming his heart, the source of life, taking both his flesh and blood," Jun stated, radiating confidence and arrogance while squeezing Lingqi's wrist, causing her to winch. "You believed that because you'd trained and achieved Balance Breaker you'd stand a chance against me? You truly are a foolish girl."

Crack!

"Aaaaah!"

Lingqi tried holding it in, but she couldn't help screaming as Jun broke her armor and wrist at the same time. It didn't end there, as Jun reeled back his free hand, sparkling with lightning. In an instant, he released a barrage of punches straight into Lingqi. Each punch was delivered at an immense speed akin to lightning striking at different spots, with pure strength behind them.

"Guah!"

All those punches cracked apart her armor, and blood escaped from Lingqi's mouth, as she felt intense pain spreading apart her body. As if Lingqi was nothing more than a doll, he started swinging her around by her broken wrist before tossing her through a retaining wall. Just as she tried recovering from the impact, she looked forward to finding that Jun seemed to have turned into a lightning bolt, appearing right in front of her.

He reeled back his right fist, charging it up with an abundance of lightning.

"Raimei Houken!"

Jun shouted out loud, aiming a straight punch that embodied him adding Piguaquan onto Bajiquan, where there's a fable of: "Gods and Demons will be terrified". A lightning punch nailed Lingqi deep into her stomach, breaking apart her abdomen's armor in the process, and causing blood to escape from her mouth.

"Gaah!"

Her body was helplessly blown backward without resistance as pain traveled throughout her, from the punch which seemed to embody power. Lingqi felt her ribs and organs damaged, but she gritted her teeth, not allowing it to end there. She recovered in mid-air using Geppo, then tried thinking about what she was going to do next. But, Jun transformed into lightning once again to chase her, aiming a kick at him.

Reacting to that, Jun altered his path mid-flight, appearing right behind her. Clasping his hands together, charging them with an abundance of lightning. Raising them into the air, he brought down a double hammer fist, hitting and bringing Lingqi deeper into the ground. A circular wave of lightning was released from that attack, creating a big crater in the ground.

The back armor cracked, but she retained her consciousness, then tried standing back to her feet as she repaired the damage done to it. Lingqi wasn't intending to surrender, even though damages done to Spiritus Armiger would affect her mind too.

"Kyuuraisei!"

Around Jun, he raised his hand into the sky above him, as nine golden lights seemed to manifest all around him, then brought down nine lightning pillars straight for Lingqi.

Forcing herself up, she started avoiding the lightning pillars as each one came down, their destructive power left a hole in the ground. It was hard moving around considering the damages she'd received from Jun, most notable to her bones and organs. She adjusted to it, moving around so that it wouldn't strain her. As he continued firing a bunch of lightning at Lingqi, she leaped forward.

"Gessou!"

After spinning herself in the air, building up momentum, and channeling Qi, Lingqi brought down a powerful kick aimed at his shoulder. Despite hitting the supposed weakest part of his armor, there wasn't the slightest dent or hint of moving Jun. Not surrendering, she prepared herself, taking in a deep, controlled breath, and she began aiming a multitude of punches and kicks straight at Jun's upper body.

Not fazed at all, Jun stood there arms crossed as if he were a mountain before the attacking girl. In an instant he hit Lingqi in the side using a lightning-speed punch, causing her to cough up blood. She was sent straight to the ground, cracking her armor as she fell to the ground. She didn't surrender as she tried standing back up without hesitation, a flashing light could be seen above her.

A second later, Jun brought down a massive lightning bolt that engulfed Lingqi's entire body, breaking apart her armor more and more. Once it faded, she remained there in the same position, sparking Jun's rage.

"Don't be conceited, you foolish girl! Your father, a Grand Master couldn't defeat me like this, so what chance did you believe you had against me," Jun declared, but Lingqi didn't respond. "After all that training and effort, did you think that could close the chasm-wide gap between us?! I didn't come here to play with some girl pretending to be a martial artist! All of this is a simple waste of time!"

"…I'll…never…be…y…our…wife."

Lingqi uttered almost weakly, forcing herself up using her unbroken arm, then started standing herself up utilizing her legs. Her entire body had been damaged from the powerful attacks that he'd unleashed on her, blood seeped from her wounds. But, she continued fighting, despite her consciousness being damaged from the breaking of her armor.

"…?"

Jun looked on not amused about her constant resistance.

"I…m…a woman…and a martial…artist…. I'm the daughter of…Lu Fei…and Han. I'm the grand…daughter of…Lu Jie, the…White…Monarch. And I'm an…older sister…to four…great siblings," Lingqi said, as she attempted to reinvigorate herself. She circulated Qi as much as possible, healing the damages caused, and standing in a prepared stance. Almost on instinct, she tried preparing a technique, showing the diligence she'd put into mastering martial arts. "B…Byakko…Kenpo…."

"This is pathetic," Jun said getting straight into a stance, and reeling back his right arm as lightning started to appear around his hand. "If you're going to continue resisting, I'll show you the power I'd attained from eating a dragon's heart. I've reached a point in mastering Thunder Emperor that exceeds its original design. I don't need to be worried about this killing you, that brat Arata brought in some doctor, who could heal you as long as you're not dead. Even then, there's a replacement for you back at your home. Haaaaah!"

At that shout, Jun began releasing lightning that began concentrating around his arm, he kept amassing it at one point. Not much longer, it looked as if the lightning started turning a different color. Its usual golden color started changing to black until it turned into a combination of black and gold.

"Rairyuuhou!"

Jun released a massive blast of black lightning straight for Lingqi, who seemed as if she couldn't avoid the attack despite the danger. As it looked as if she'd been consumed by it, it continued sailing until it tore through all of the buildings and roads in its path, causing untold destruction in a single line.

"Fuu."

Jun breathed, showing that he didn't have much control or mastery over the black lightning that he'd released on Lingqi. Much to his surprise, he looked forward to finding that she wasn't there, but it wasn't because he'd erased her with that last attack. Jun noticed a second presence, but before it could hit Lingqi, someone intervened and took her somewhere else.

"Tsk, that brat didn't do a good job holding back his opponent."

---

Elsewhere, behind a building, Kensei could be seen with Lingqi in his arms, and pieces of her balance breaker could still be seen. He noticed the serious wounds she'd suffered from the battle, not that he was better off, there were several burns on his clothing and skin from Arata's flames. He cursed himself, as he used the Phoenix Tears on him moments ago to heal the severe burns caused by a previous attack.

After receiving payment from the Phenex Clan the first time, he'd handed out at least one tear to each person on the Number's team. But, she'd refused it, instead wanting the non-fighters to be prepared if something happened to them in combat. And she was adamant about not taking Kensei's.

"Dammit. It's a good thing that the last attack didn't land."

Kensei started controlling her qi flow to accelerate the healing process while using his own to enhance it. He can see that Lingqi was bordering on conscious and unconscious, but he doubts she could continue after this. Wanting to attempt something he'd tried on Ravel before, he started adding in one of the Five Elements. This time, he didn't add in the Fire Element, he instead added in the Wood Element.

"Ngh."

Lingqi flinched at that, noticing that adding in the Wood Element didn't help.

Taking note of her reaction, sensing the slight reaction, she switched to using the Metal Element, as a white light could be seen around his hand. It had a more positive effect, as Lingqi's wounds started healing more using this element. She didn't lose consciousness before the black lightning struck its mark, so she realized that she'd been rescued by Kensei.

"Th-thank you, Kensei."

"Don't sweat it. Hey, you're a part of my team, so there's no question that I'd come in and help."

"R-Right. Things aren't going as we thought, aren't they," Lingqi said, then started sounding amused. "Hahaha, I guess we're still teenagers. We believed that we'd come here and hold these guys off, then return home. I'd say us too, but ours got blown up before this started."

"Yeah, our home, with all our stuff still inside. At least, we have an excuse as to why we didn't turn our homework in," Kensei joked, as Lingqi seemed to laugh at that comment. No matter how faint it was, laughing made all her injuries more apparent. "Lingqi, you know you can't continue fighting even if you're healed up."

"Yeah, I know," Lingqi said, knowing she was approaching her limit. "I used what I learned since the last time that I met him and it still didn't get his attention much at all. I used one of my strongest techniques and managed to hit him much harder than before. But, then I started getting beaten down. Heh, he's right, my dad couldn't beat him, so what choice did I have."

"Lingqi, you're not weak."

"Hahaha, I know that," Lingqi said, giving Kensei a genuine smile, then started looking down a bit. "I learned from childhood that defeat isn't the end, it just means that you still have a lot to learn. But…."

Kensei could see that Lingqi seemed to start talking again after pausing, sounding more emotional.

"I trained hard since that day, more than anyone else ever had. Sometimes, I trained for so long that the sun will be rising before I fell asleep. I worked hard until I became the Top Disciple, the same as my dad when I was thirteen. I left home, never stopping to train and train for this moment. I fought Masters and monsters across China, never forgetting to help people too. All that effort was put into reaching this point, where I could fight Jun and show him that he can't treat the lives of others as his playthings," Lingqi's lips trembled from frustration as she continued talking. "I'm a martial artist. I wanted to be like my father and grandfather for as long as I could remember. And I prepared to walk the difficult road meant to reach my goal. But, with all that training and determination, and yet, I was still treated as a simple girl. I've never felt this humiliated in my entire life."

For the first time since he met Lingqi, she was crying at the thought that she wasn't treated as an opponent or as a martial artist. Like him, she took great pride in her lineage and martial arts, seeking to bring her fighting style to its peak. Jun attacked her home, put her father into a coma, and ignored her attempts at bringing him down.

"No matter what that bastard says, you're a martial artist and a damn good one at that. We might lose the battle, but we won't lose the war. No matter what happens here, we're going to get stronger and get even, right?"

Kensei asked in a reassuring tone, as tears still streamed down Lingqi's face, which she brushed aside using her unbroken arm. She nodded her head in agreement as the two sat there for a second. But, in that instance, both of them felt a sudden presence.

"Crap! That bastard found me!"

"…?"

Lingqi was confused for a moment, but before more confused as Kensei wrapped his arms around her, and then moved so that she was in front of him. A moment later, a fireball was released at the building where the two were hiding, causing a fiery explosion that sent them forward. Despite that, he continued holding onto Lingqi with the intent of protecting her.

"You know, I didn't think that you'd turn tale and run to save one of your friends. It's kinda a shame, I thought you'd go and rescue your fiancèe or best friend. It looks like she's more important than…."

"Fuck off, Arata!"

Kensei shouted as he continued holding onto Lingqi, as he was sent into another building's rubble. He knew that neither of them was in a good situation, but he'd been in a place much closer to Lingqi than the others. Arata sat on a nearby building watching as Kensei started making his next move.

"I have to prepare to send…."

"You won't."

Just then, Jun appeared in front of him at lightning speed, still donned in his armor, then aimed a kick straight at him. Not hesitating, he'd raised his arm to defend against it, sending him into another building's wall. But, he still endured that as he'd be the one landing on the ground instead of her.

"Aaaah!"

Kensei felt his arm break at that kick.

"K-Kensei?"

Lingqi tried getting up as she'd landed on top of him, before feeling something being slipped on her person. But, that didn't last as she was thrown off of him. It was Jun, who stood above Kensei, as he reached for Kurogane.

"Under normal circumstances, I would've recruited a young man of your talent and potential. But, I feel as if you'd be a nuisance to me."

"Hey, at least you're not a total moron. I mean, you're pursuing Lingqi, even though she hates your…guah!"

Kensei coughed up blood, as Jun kicked him high into the air with a lightning-enhanced kick, causing him to land on another building's roof, coughing up blood. Seeing her friend and team leader injured Lingqi, shakily stood up to her feet she entered a fighting stance.

"I don't have time to amuse a child! It looks as if you'll need to be taught the same lesson I taught the last one."

Jun said, as he approached Lingqi, who could react as he tore off the armor and uniform top she'd been wearing, revealing the black bra she wore underneath. Her face turned red for a moment, but she maintained her stance as she was preparing for another attack.

"B-Byakko Kenpo…."

"After this, I'll claim the broken shell that you'll…."

Thud! Crack!

Jun was surprised to find that something had been thrown at the back of his neck, hitting the weakest point in his armor. He turned to see that Kensei threw Kurogane at Jun after infusing it with touki. He could be seen hanging at the building's edge, as Jun turned around enraged at that move while removing Kurogane.

"You bastard, don't interfere," Jun said, pointing his hand straight at Kensei, who looked a bit amused. "What?"

"You should know that Kurogane doesn't like you either."

"What?"

Jun asked, before noticing that as he held onto Kurogane, his power started being gluttonously absorbed by the katana for as long as it remained in his hand. Noting this, he tossed the katana in another direction before turning to Kensei enraged under the armor.

"I'll kill this brat!"

"I wouldn't mind that under normal circumstances, but could you please…," Arata said, then turned his attention back over to Lingqi, who seemed to be releasing a different kind of aura. "Jun, turn around!"

"Huh?"

He turned to find Lingqi standing right behind him, not focusing on repairing her entire armor, but instead focusing on her unbroken arm. But, that wasn't what caught Jun's or Arata's attention the beautiful white, almost divine aura manifested around her. Jun recognized it as being similar to what he'd sensed from Jie and Han, more so as her hair seemed to turn white too. Around the armor that she'd concentrated around her arm, manifested blue claws.

"I couldn't do anything to save my father that long ago! I might not have been able to do anything to stop you! But, I won't stand by as one of my closest friends are about to be attacked. So, Leave him alone," Lingqi shouted, putting all her strength behind that attack. "Kosou!"

She released a slash, wrapped in that aura as Jun was knocked back away from her, but it looked as if it was the last thing she could manage. Reacting to that, her balance breaker faded as she fell to her knees conscious and surprised about what happened. Regaining his posture, he looked stunned underneath his helmet, noticing there were claw marks left on his dragon armor.

Among the most notable traits about his armor, was the fact it was exceptionally durable, no different from the most durable dragon's scales. But, it didn't take long for Jun to realize the kind of energy she'd released.

"Did she manifest it this early," Jun said stunned about what happened, noting that small parts of Lingqi's blonde hair turned white. "I'll claim her right here before it manifests completely, and she becomes…!"

Intending on doing that, Jun rushed straight to Lingqi but was surprised to find that she vanished before his eyes and couldn't be sensed in the dimension.

"What happened?!"

Jun roared as thunder crackled in response to his rage, then turned to find Arata pointing straight at Kensei. He'd turned to find Kensei making a seal using one hand while looking smug.

"Well, that was an interesting sight. Yo, what happened to that confidence from before, seems like someone considers Lingqi a threat now," Kensei smugly stated while Jun's anger kept on increasing as signified by the thunderclouds that manifested above them. "I guess that so-called little girl's potential terrifies you now."

"After I get out of here, I'm going to find every single woman you love and have my men violently rape and abuse all of them until they're nothing more than husks! And then I'll make every citizen in this town a slave, that's the fate of those who defy me!"

"That's as likely as me ever apologizing to an Old Devil."

Kensei replied while standing up to his feet. Just as he did that, though, Arata released a fireball that sent him off the building. It caused a massive fiery explosion that burned the side of Kensei's arm while sending him backward off the building he stood on.

"Calm down, Jun," Arata said landing beside him using his fire for propulsion, then waved his hand. "I'm sure you will have time to take Lingqi or her sister, but we should complete the first phase. But, I'm guessing that power of hers is…."

"Tsk."

Jun complained as he disengaged his balance breaker while crossing his arms.

"Now, let's get started."

---

"Ugh, that bastard just keeps knocking me to different places," Kensei tried getting up, but that last fireball burned his side. "Dammit, these flames are a pain in the…."

"Well, he lasted longer than I thought. But, he's got more than that."

Kensei turned around at a familiar voice, then looked shocked as Zane, who'd lost an arm, Maria, and Hisui were all laid out on the ground a couple of feet from him. Neither of them was in the right condition to move, let alone to fight further, but he could tell the three were conscious. Standing near there were the Ordinals, Malik, who was sitting down on the rubble.

"So, I can take it that you had fun fighting him?"

Kurohime asked while Lancelot stood in between them.

"Yeah, I didn't think that I'd find a magician, who'd used guns before. I can tell that he's going to be a good rival for me after all this is done."

Malik replied, not showing any dishonesty behind those words.

"I feel the same way. I can't wait to see if Hisui-chan can understand what I sensed too."

As Kurohime said that, Kensei turned to find Hisui curled up as her aura was continuing to be corrupted at a rate she couldn't stop. She shook around, then reacted as she sensed Kensei's presence, and looked before holding her hand out to him.

"K-Ken Ken."

"Hisui, hold up, I'm…gagagaga."

Before Kensei could move, Jun brought down a massive lightning bolt on top of him, stunning him before he was able to stand up. He could see the reason that Lingqi couldn't endure these, same as her, he worked on steadily building up a resistance to elemental damage. But, this lightning was superior to anything that he felt before.

"Well, I see that the Numbers have all gathered right here," Arata said as Kensei fell backward unable to move, as a result of that lightning strike. "And I'm sure that the others are watching this moment. So, I might as well go on with what you wanted."

"Unless it's the reason behind all this crap, I don't want to hear it."

"Don't worry, I know that you've been thinking to yourself about the entire reason that this happened," Arata said, as he took a seat on the building rubble closer to Kensei. "Before all that, do you remember our conversation when we were fighting on the roof? Well, I was explaining myself, but then someone went and stopped me from talking. I assume that you thought that I was going to say that it was my fault that the Amagiri Clan died, but that's half true."

Arata's sudden reveal caused Kensei to become surprised but considering Arata's age at the time, then it would have been impossible to bring down the entire Amagiri Clan. But, it still made him confused about what he meant by that.

"It means that I was involved in it, but you're giving me too much credit believing that I could take down the entire fighting force of the Amagiri Clan. All of them were second to the Five Principal Clans, without even having those prided Sacred Beasts of theirs," Arata replied, then started scratching his head. "Ugh, there's a lot to explain. So, bear with me here. First off, the person you should be blamed for what happened is you."

Kensei was confused about the reason he was to blame for what happened, it was the same thing that Zane, Maria, and Hisui thought too. Hearing that caused nothing but confusion and anger to build up.

"What the hell does that mean?!"

"Well, blaming you would be too unfair. I guess the reason is that your ancestor failed to defeat a certain foe he met a long time ago too. After that, you failed to stop that same foe he failed to stop when you had the best chance at doing it," Arata said, then started looking down at Kensei, who stared up in confusion. "And that'd be the Primordial God, Amatsu-Mikaboshi."

[…!]

At that reveal, Kensei and the others among Numbers, as well as those watching the entire thing looked on with surprise. All of them learned about Shintoism and were aware of Amatsu-Mikaboshi, a primordial god older than Izanagi and Izanami, both responsible for the creation of numerous gods. But, Izanagi's masterpieces were the Shinto Trio. More than that, it was a different god compared to others, a dangerous one who could trigger a major incident in Shintoism if left unchecked.

Because of that, both the Sword Gods, Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi, defeated him a long time ago, during the last incident he'd caused. Hearing that Kensei became more confused as he tried forcing himself up. As Kensei never heard that his ancestor fought him too.

"W-What the hell are you talking about? My ancestor fought Amatsu-Mikaboshi?"

"No wonder you weren't aware of it, it remained a secret from even the Five Principal Clans. No one aside from the Amagiri Clan Heads and important Shinto Gods was aware of that fight. I'm sure even the Sword Gods knew defeating a primordial god wouldn't be a simple task. For one, he doesn't have an actual form, so it'd be far more difficult to handle him," Arata stated, while he continued. "And then started all the theories among Onmyoji, some thought of even giving him one with little success. Someone achieved, an Onmyoji who'd modified himself and turned into a willing host during the Edo Period. But, exploring Japan, he saw one human as a vital threat, a human who couldn't be manipulated. You're ancestor, Itsuki Amagiri."

"…?"

Kensei couldn't utter a single word at that reveal, to the point where he could do nothing aside from listening to all of the information presented to him. Amid all that he sped up the circulations of ki within him, but not by much as it'd be possible for Kurohime to sense it.

"And so, started a fight between your ancestor and Amatsu-Mikaboshi's vessel. I must say, he does deserve his reputation because he managed to kill his host. But, in the end, he missed the mark, causing the primordial god to escape, while being weakened," Arata said as if mocking his ancestor, something that Kensei felt annoyed at, but then stopped as he was pointed at. "And then his descendant screwed by not finishing the job."

"And that's where you lost me because I never met Amatsu-Mikaboshi."

"Well, it's not like he introduced himself. Let me see if this jogs your memory. At your fifth birthday party, you left to look at the snow. And then out of nowhere, an evil spirit tried possessing you."

"…!"

At that memory, Kensei couldn't help thinking back to that moment, when an evil spirit, the strongest one he'd met thus far tried possessing him.

"Did you ever question why Amaterasu's vanguard would come to some kid's birthday party? Well, you were five at the time. So, having a Sword God come to meet you would've been the biggest highlight of your life."

"You're telling me that evil spirit was Amatsu-Mikaboshi?"

"I can't blame you considering that he wasn't as strong as he was in the past, because your ancestor ended up doing a number on him," Arata said, shrugging his shoulder. "And that's the first start of the Amagiri Clan…."

Smash! Break!

"Stop fucking with me," Kensei's frustration started building up again as he smashed his fist into the ground. "All this crap, are things that you shouldn't know. It's rumored that some Onmyoji tried to grant Amatsu-Mikaboshi a host, for whatever dumbass reason. But, you shouldn't know about a fight that my ancestor had with him if even the Five Principal Clans didn't know about it. So, all that means is that you've aligned yourself with that primordial god, because you want revenge against me."

"You know, I'm not used to you being this intuitive and thoughtful," Arata said, leaning his head against his open palm. "You're still as rude as ever, though. In regard to Mei's death, I don't blame you, in particular. If anything, I blame my parents and the Five Principal Clans' moronic rules and belief."

"What?"

"You should've seen them, they were so glad that the Amagiri Clan's golden child chose their daughter. But, that all changed a month later when I overheard them talking about killing Mei. She was born with a sacred gear, one that lets her create unique flames," hearing that Meiko had been born with a sacred gear surprised him. "So, she inherited the Himejima Clan's flames and her sacred gear's flames. And both those flames were the things that'd been slowly killing. I tried escaping with Mei that night, but my parents caught us and tried finishing the need right there. But, for the first time, she used them, releasing an inferno that could match Suzaku, burning up everything, even her. There wasn't a single trace of her left there, not a hair of cell."

Arata paused for a moment as the memory of his younger sister vanished right before his eyes from the flames, which was supposed to be a blessing.

'Onii-chan, thank you for everything. It must've been hard taking care of a dying sister, but I was glad that I made it this far. And if you ever see Ken and Mina again, could you tell them that I had fun talking to them?'

"Hahahaha," laughing to himself, Arata placed a hand on his head. "I couldn't find myself caring about this world, which wouldn't allow her to live in it. I hated my family, the clans, and the gods too. I dabbled into forbidden arts to discover something to end it all. I concluded utilizing the corruption they'd tried to prevent, to begin with," Arata spoke as if he'd lost all purpose in life. "During all of that, I met Amatsu-Mikaboshi, our goals aligned, and I required his knowledge. All the demons and oni here were born through him, and that continues as humans can turn into Oni too. So, we created something else that could act as the perfect soldiers."

"Hakki, and those other three things that we fought against today."

"The Mazoku, but it wasn't simple. I mean, creating something from nothing is a long task and Amatsu-Mikaboshi wasn't in the right state. So, instead of making something from nothing, I needed someone to become their basis. As I'm sure that you figured from fighting against Hakki. But, it's not like any human found on the streets could be a good base to create a powerful Mazoku. And this is where you might become a little pissed."

"I doubt that, I'm at the point of wanting to kill you."

"Right, so, here's the thing. Do you know that expression, 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall'? Well, it works in this situation too. Let's say someone with the purest soul, became corrupted and turned into the greatest evil. I used that thought to produce the strongest Mazoku possible. I didn't simply need the strongest materials, but the purest souls possible. But, if I did that, their resistance would need to be much lower. And all the perfect subjects were found about eleven years ago…."

"Huh?"

Kensei paused at that, then memories about that particular time frame, at this point, his heartbeat accelerate at an alarming rate at a sudden realization. At around that time, it was the same thing that all the children and teens in the Amagiri Clan vanished. His mind went to the first time that he fought against Hakki, it adapted as if it was trained and entered a martial arts stance.

"No, no, nonononononononononononono. This bastard didn't…."

Kensei's mind seemed to be caught in a panicked state as a sudden realization entered his mind, which caused him to snap.

"You know, it's quite…."

"Arata, YOU BASTAAAARD!"

Kensei uppercut Arata as touki exploded around him, sending the Ordinal upward off the rubble where he'd been sitting. A good amount of blood spilled out of his mouth after that, not hesitating he leaped from his position, hitting him in the stomach. After grabbing a hold of Arata's collar, he nailed him in the side of his cheek using a powerful touki-infused punch.

"Bastard, you turned my clansman, my friends, into those monsters! And even made them murder their parents!"

Kensei realized the truth without Arata needing to finish, if it was simply creating Mazoku from normal people, it'd been easier for them to handle. But, if their children were turned into monsters, then there was no way that a parent could eliminate them. And there was no way that a teenage Arata could defeat the entire Amagiri Clan no matter what power he'd gained.

"Is this worth it?! Do you think that Mei would ever approve of any of this?! She knew that she wouldn't live, but she didn't blame anyone! She wanted to experience the world, and you're destroying it! And what did my clan do to deserve any of that?!"

As Kensei went in for another punch, Arata caught his wrist before it could reach him.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. If it were anyone other clans, then no one would've tried taking in Mei. If anything, I'd owe them one for trying," Arata casually stated, without showing much care about the fact. "But, the Amagiri Clan was the biggest threat and asset for me. So, nothing personal!"

"It was personal for me! I lost my friends, my grandfather, my grandmother, and my mother, because of you!"

"And because if that you gained your new friends from Hagun Island," Arata pointed out as if attempting to make some silver lining to all this. "Because of that incident, the Amagiri Clan proved they're more human compared to that the Five Principal Clans. Despite their children being turned into immature Mazoku, none of them gained the courage to kill them. But, at the same time, for the greatest force in Shinto to be killed by…ngh!"

Before Arata could finish that, Kensei aimed a strong headbutt at him, sending a signal of pain from it, but it didn't affect him for long. At that, Arata ignited his hand, which had been holding onto his Kensei's wrist, causing him to wince from the intense heat. But, just as he was going to react, Arata tossed him back to the ground with a fluid throw and Kensei had a hard landing.

Arata stood there staring at his arms as he looked on at the downed Kensei, seeming impressed about the skills he displayed right then and there.

"I couldn't test this out against anyone else aside from Jun, during our first fight for the position of the strongest Ordinal. But, I have gotten better at martial arts. There are benefits to being Amatsu-Mikaboshi's potential host. I've witnessed memories during the era of older Gods before our ancestors were born. Among them, I have witnessed the creation of martial arts in their purest forms, from gods to humans here. I learned from his battles with both the Sword Gods, but I doubt I could handle them. But, I'm confident enough to handle swordsmen and martial artists of your caliber."

"Ngh just shut the hell up! I'm tired of hearing your voice!"

"Well, I think that it's about time we…."

Arata paused a moment, sending multiple presences in the center of the location, the group stood, looking on as multiple figures appeared.

---

"Balance Break!"

A familiar voice called out, and a massive wave of ice was released from that location without hesitation, freezing the entire ground and the location passed it. In a moment, the Ordinals found themselves being frozen over by the densest ice possible covering their bodies.

"Go!"

From the familiar voice, multiple monsters were released from the shadows, heading straight at the Ordinals who were temporary. At that, Claire, Alice, Layla, Iris, Alexander, and Lena found themselves heading toward their respective leaders. In Claire's Iris' and also Lena's hands, Phoenix Tears could be seen, while Layla donned her Balance Breaker as soon as she entered there.

"Claire, Alice, you two shouldn't be here!"

Kensei worriedly said.

"This is among the things we said we'd never agree with! If you're in trouble, no matter what happens we're going to come and help you! You'd do the same thing for us!"

Claire said as she prepared to heal Kensei using the Phoenix Tears in her hands, but just as she was preparing to sprinkle them on Kensei. A burst of flames was released, burning her right hand and the Phoenix Tears.

"Ahhh!"

""Claire?!""

Kensei and Alice called out, as Claire knelt to the ground as her fingers were burned by Arata's flames, which had melted the ice he was encased in. It wasn't unexpected considering what he'd done so far, the same thing could be said about Jun, Lancelot, and Kurohime. Malik watched as Lena made it to Zane, then healed him using the Phoenix Tears she had on her.

"You're not stopping that one."

Jun said, turning his attention to Malik, who looked on nonreactive to the Ordinal 02.

"Hm, I don't have a real interest in fighting women. And I don't have a real interest in taking this one's life either. I would rather fight him again in the future."

Malik said.

"Then detain the woman."

"Don't feel like it. I also don't take orders from you, we're both Ordinals, remember?"

Malik stated, waving off Jun's comment, causing him to glare at him, while Lena helped Zane to his feet.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, aside from the fact that I lost my dominant arm," Zane replied lightheartedly, sounding as if it was more for Lena's benefit. "Sorry, but I might need some help until I make an artificial one."

Knowing she couldn't fight against Malik, not that he showed much interest in acting against her, but the same thing could be said about the others.

---

"Please, stop…."

Maria pleaded as her older brother broke free from Layla's ice, who'd continued releasing ice straight at him and managed to freeze him. However, he continued breaking free from the ice prison, approaching the three who wanted to protect their older sister and team leader.

"Tsk, he broke the Phoenix Tear," Layla said, as she rushed forward first before Iris and Alex, both of them kept a worried look. "I'll hold him off as much as possible, Iris heal Big Sis!"

"Alright!"

"Right."

Iris and Alex agreed to that, while Layla released an abundance of ice straight for Lancelot, who didn't appear to react at all. From all angles, the ice spread straight for him, but he instead leaped forward, not getting caught up in the epicenter again. Getting out of the range of her attack, Layla turned around to fight against him, swinging her trident for him. But, he adeptly countered it using his sword, then knocked her off balance. Before Layla was able to recover, Lancelot aimed an accurate kick at her right arm and side, with such force it cracked her bone.

"Gah," Layla was sent off in another direction, landing hard on the ground. She realized that she couldn't keep on fighting in this condition and realized the danger he posed. "H-He took out my dominant arm and side in the heat of the moment. He knew that I wouldn't be able to continue fighting for much longer as long as this wound isn't healed. Iris, hurry up, he's heading there!"

As she warned, Lancelot was rushing straight at the two intending on healing Maria. Noting this, Alex stopped to face him using his shield defensively.

"I'll hold him off!"

"A-Alright."

Iris continued heading straight to Maria, then immediately started healing her injuries, while Alex held him off using his Stygian Aegis. As Lancelot swung his sword, it seemed attracted to the shield, causing him to feel the hard impact. Just as he blocked the first strike, the Black Knight grabbed onto his arm, and in a quick movement dislocated his shoulder.

"Ahhh!"

Alex screamed as he felt his bones being dislocated, making it difficult to hold up his shield, then was knocked in another direction.

"Alex!"

Iris looked worried as she was barely finished healing Maria.

"I-Iris, p-please forget about me, heal them and get out of here. Neither of you can fight against my brother."

Maria pleaded.

"No."

"This isn't up for debate! I said…!"

"And I said no," Maria was surprised that Iris talked back to her like that, something she hadn't done before. She soon smiled straight at her older sister's figure with the gentlest look. "You've been there for us when we needed it the most. Layla, when her parents abandoned her, because of her sacred gear. And me, when I was considered to be nothing more than a monster the Sigurd Institute abandoned me. You'd given us the courage to live life as we wanted and not what others believed. So, we're going to be here when you need us."

"Iris."

Maria looked on, almost in tears at the words she'd heard from Iris.

Just then, Iris turned around to see Lancelot standing right behind her, causing her to turn around and moved in Maria's defense. Her arms went beside her, Iris started to transform into a dragon, as her silver scales and claws started coming out. She rushed forward with the intent of protecting the person who has acted as her older sister for a long time.

But, as she took another step, she noticed Lancelot's sword changed and extended outwards until it pierced her stomach. Maria, Alex, and Layla looked stunned about what the three just witnessed as Iris' body was lifted in the air.

"Ah, aaaah," Iris was groaning and screaming, but not from the pain that'd originated from the wound. However, it hurt far more than a usual wound as a burning sensation could be felt from the pitch-black spear embedded into her. "I-Is this a…dragon slayer?"

At Iris' question, Lancelot tossed her aside as the spear was removed from her stomach, causing her to land hard on the ground. She placed her hand on her stomach, then began healing the wound, but slowly considering that it'd been caused by a dragon slayer. As Lancelot started approaching Iris, in response to her beginning to heal all her wounds, Maria trembled.

"L-Lancelot," Maria, despite being barely healed, found the strength to start standing back up to her feet. "You're the ideal I wanted to grow into, a Knight who followed their principles and chivalry no matter the situation. But, I'm a part of the Kibou Alliance, someone who upholds the position of Number three. More than that, you may be my older brother, but I'm their older sister and leader! And I'll protect them, even if it means fighting you!"

Becoming reinvigorated, Maria stood up on her feet and made that declaration, causing Lancelot to stop moving, then turned to face her.

"B-Balance Break!"

Maria raised her aura, then activated her Balance Breaker, manifesting her seven dragon knights right beside her. After that, she had the three of them led to move Layla, Alex, and Iris to another location, where neither would be caught in this battle. Maria knew she wouldn't be able to last long in her current condition, but this situation is one she couldn't back down from.

"…," Maria breathed, calming herself down, as she assessed her other injuries, then got into a stance that would minimize the stress. "Let's go, Lancelot."

"…?"

Lancelot turned his spear back into a sword, then entered a stance wielding it, before he and Maria commenced their fight, this time with her knights assisting her.

---

"Huh, well, it looks as if Lancelot's baby sister is up and still fighting," Kurohime said, as she crossed her arms, a smile soon forming on her face. "Well, both of them have their sibling bonding sessions with one another. So, what were you planning on doing this?"

Kurohime asked, her attention was turned to Rui, who was being held down on the ground using black-colored ethereal cat claws, almost resembling dark energy. She'd tried helping Hisui, as requested by Hinata because the corruption was kept at a halt, but that wouldn't last long. So, Rui prepared to attempt to purify the corruption before Hisui ended up in the same state as Kurohime.

"I-I'm attempting to help my friend."

Rui replied as she felt the pitch black ethereal cat claws grasping onto her, feeling the intense pressure from their hold.

"Hmm, as swell as that sounds, it looks as if you're attempting to stop my Nekoshou sister from reaching the same state as me," Kurohime said, emitting a dangerous pressure that caused Rui to almost shutter from the feeling of malice she felt from her. "And, I don't see you making that good of a playmate for me either."

"L-Let g-go of, R-Rui."

Hisui said, as she tried standing up, while her aura seemed to start turning darker.

"Hisui, please don't move, Hinata said to focus on holding back the corruption or you'll end up like Kurohime."

"Eh, that's a mean thing for Hinata-obachan to say about me. I thought that doctors were supposed to be nice to people. Even that one Arata brought in was a weirdo too," Kurohime pouted while placing both her hands on her hips. "Buut, I don't know what they're so worried about. Taking in the world's malice hasn't done that much to me, aside from letting me use more power than before."

"She said you can't tell the difference between what's right and what's wrong, because you're too curious about everything. Taking in the world's malice made it worse, without you realizing it. No matter what the reason, I can't let anything happen to Hisui. Even though she might be a Nekoshou and I'm a Tanuki, because we've lived with each other for a long time, we're like actual sisters!"

Rui openly declared right in front of Kurohime's face, showing nothing but a brave face.

"R-Rui."

"You're telling me that you know more about the Nekoshou than another one," Kurohime said, showing a darker expression as she stared at Rui. "Don't think that just because you're a Senjutsu user too, doesn't mean that…?"

"Leave her alone!"

Mustering her strength, Hisui stood up, then kicked Kurohime from Rui, causing the cat claws holding onto her to vanish. Falling to the ground, she found herself breathing heavier as Hisui struggled to stand up, but maintained her fighting spirit. After leaping back up, Kurohime gave a wild smile as she noticed Hisui's determination to keep on fighting against her.

"Hahahaha, that's it, let's keep playing Hisui-chan."

"L-Let's go."

Hisui said, struggling to continue fighting against Kurohime while keeping the corruption from spreading.

---

Meanwhile, Claire and Alice continued helping Kensei, who'd rushed in healing himself using Senjutsu, knowing it wouldn't last long. Around Arata, she manifested numerous drones, with light sparkling around them, charging up a stronger beam. Before that, he had to deal with the monsters that Alice sent at him, among them were Ignis and Gladius, both of whom were among the others.

But, Alice's monsters couldn't do much against Arata, who continued incinerating the monsters using his flames, making it impossible for them to regenerate. Seeing the fight, she made anti-monsters that were resistant to them and it made no difference.

"Ah, so, this is the High-Tier Longinus, Annihilation Maker. I like the creativeness of the monsters, but aside from that, there's nothing notable about them at all," Arata stated, almost sounding as if he were mocking her, but then knocked Gladius' blade aside using a backhand. He gathered flames around his right fist, causing it to spiral all around it. "Gokuen Seiken!"

He went forward, aiming a straight punch into Gladius' stomach, burning a hole straight through the monster that sent it into a building. As Kensei continued watching the entire fight, while thinking back to all the techniques he'd used against him beforehand, it reminded him of something.

"Karate, all his techniques are reminiscent of Karate. I don't know what kind of ancient martial art he viewed due to Amatsu-Mikaboshi, but he'd witnessed his previous battles with the two combat gods too," Kensei thought, as he continued rushing his recovery. "Dammit, I need to get healed enough to stand up, because neither Claire nor Alice can continue fighting against him. I hope the others can…."

After that, Ignis went behind him in an attempt to do something, but it couldn't do a thing as Arata touched its head.

"Fighting fire with fire doesn't apply when you're using a firecracker to stop an inferno."

Arata incinerated Ignis, having no issue in surpassing the flames and resistance that Alice's flame monster had. She, herself could sense that Ignis was erased, something that pained her heart. To her, an artist, her monsters were all her creations and something she took pride in.

"You know, how lucky you are for being born with a sacred gear that could create monsters, which could destroy the world on a whim," Arata stated while shrugging his shoulders. "If I had someone with that one on my side, I wouldn't have needed to go as far as to use the Amagiri children and teens to make the Mazoku. Well, in all honestly, even if I didn't meet Amatsu-Mikaboshi, he would've found someone else to help him with that. I'd have continued with my revenge against the Five Principal Clan, while he continued bringing down Shintoism back to what it was."

"…you."

Alice seemed annoyed as Arata continued talking about this as if it meant nothing.

"Is all this just a game to you," Claire demanded an answer from Arata as she released multiple light beams straight toward him, each aimed at a different spot. "You turned children into monsters and forced them to murder their parents! None of them did anything to do and yet you're continuing to torment them like this!

"I hardly see this as a game," Arata said amusingly, then manifested a flame shield around him, blocking and burning the light beams. "You see, a game is supposed to be fun. I see this more as personal retaliation. Do you expect me to sit around and have a normal life, after witnessing my sister turned into ashes right in front of me?"

"That doesn't mean you have to involve everyone else!"

Claire said, knowing she couldn't use her right fingers to hold a gun because Arata burned them. She knew if Kensei could barely fight him in close combat, then she wouldn't have a chance against him. So, she relied on long-ranged combat, but Arata's flames made that impossible too. Neither White Nemesis nor Annihilation Maker's monsters could deal serious damage, something that spoke to their lingering inexperience.

"Well, you see that's the thing," using flames to propel himself forward, he appeared right in front of Claire, being in front of her with an impassive smile and look. "I don't care about this damn faction or people in it. And the one person in the world that I cared about isn't here anymore."

Bam! Crack!

"Ahh!"

Claire was brought to her knees as Arata seemed to have cracked her ribs using a precise knife-hand strike that she couldn't follow. Around his hand, a red aura could be seen covering it, while walking passed Claire, who groaned and whined in the pain she'd experienced at that moment. He aimed at the weakest part of her side in a single moment, with the right amount of force.

"Claire!"

Alice called out worriedly, while Kensei looked enraged.

"Damn you, Arata!"

Kensei exclaimed enraged, attempting to stand up, but then found his head being slammed back into the ground, which cracked under the pressure.

"Don't interfere in this," it was revealed to be Jun, who'd appeared right above him. "This will be your punishment for interfering in my business."

"My friend's business is my business, especially if shitheads like you are involved! You self-absorbed egomaniac!"

Kensei said as he forced his head back up.

"And there's Kensei, acting like the hero again, though he's simply a battle maniac," Arata mockingly called out, a glare that was soon directed at him by Kensei. "So, let me guess, you made a promise to protect these too, right? Let us see if you can keep that one."

"Eh?"

Kensei continued trying to force himself up as Jun wouldn't allow him to do as much aside from lifting his head a couple of centimeters off the ground.

"I'll give you a countdown," Arata said, appearing right in front of Alice, then lifted her off the ground using one hand. She wasn't as strong as Kensei or Claire, the grip around her neck was something that she hadn't felt once before. "If you save her, then you'll prove that you deserve to be called a hero. And, if not, then you'd fail to save another life."

"This isn't a fucking game!"

Kensei demanded as he wrapped himself in touki as forced himself up off the ground, but Jun put much more power into it. Because of that, he wasn't capable of standing up off the ground all the way.

"Five…."

"Arata put her down!"

"Four…."

"I'm not messing around!"

"Three…."

"Stop it!"

"Two…."

"Please, don't hurt her!"

Kensei was almost on the brink of tears as Jun wouldn't allow him to stand back up, clicking his tongue about how pathetic he looked at that moment. Instead of looking worried, Alice instead stared straight at Arata with a look of unbroken defiance.

"Your sister would be ashamed."

Alice fearlessly said as Arata seemed to pause for a moment.

"I know," Arata replied as a flicker of flames appeared around his freehand which was shaped into a spear hand as it was pulled out. "One. Homura Nukite."

In one swift moment, Arata's hand pierced Alice's stomach without resistance, as blood escaped from her mouth, before pulling it out. It looked as if time slowed for the people among the Kibou Alliance, with Zane, Layla, Maria, Layla, Iris, Alex, Hisui, and Rui looking on stunned. None more than Kensei and Claire, who looked on stumped about what happened in front of their eyes.

"ALICE-NEEEEE!"

Claire called out with tears streaming down her horrified face.

"And that's another life you couldn't save, despite making another promise."

Arata emotionally said, while burning Alice's blood off his hand.

"…!"

Kensei looked on as his face faltered into sadness at seeing Alice's wound, the anger built up within him until that point had all but boiled over. But, the thing that surpassed it was almost sadness and shame that came from his inability to do anything here. His mind couldn't help going back to the first time he met Alice.

It was sometime after meeting Claire when he'd heard there was a newcomer who hadn't slept since coming to Hagun Island. He'd become acquainted with Abigail by that time, who same as others were concerned about her potential health. She told everyone all the time, if she went to sleep, then monsters would be sprouted outside of her shadows. As everyone thought about a solution, Kensei went against her wishes, then used a spell that put Alice to sleep.

Afterward, she woke up to find that the monsters were taken care of, with Kensei being injured, to the point of its attacks leaving a scar. Despite that, Alice couldn't see the slightest hint of anger in his eyes, instead wearing one big confident smile.

'Hah, as if monsters would be enough to scare me. So, sleep to your heart's content, and I'll handle anything that might come out. And each time you wake up, this is the confident smile that you'll find.'

It'd been something he said without question, and something meant to ease Alice's mind so that she could sleep without concern. Kensei kept his promise, there wasn't a single moment that she hadn't woken up to see a bright smile on his face. He stared straight down at the ground clenching his fist as Jun didn't relent at all when it came to holding him down.

"Nothing worked, not one thing that I've learned until this point worked. I trained in what I learned from my mom, I trained in everything I learned from Sun-sensei without slacking off. I combined them all into one martial art that became my own, one I took pride in and wanted to use to protect my friends," Kensei couldn't stop the tears that falling out of his eyes, but he wouldn't let them hold him down. "No, there's no way in hell that I'm backing down here!"

Kensei empowered his resolve, not desiring to break the promises he made, with the pendant he got from Sun Wukong started flicking, releasing a mystical dragon aura. Reacting to that, he started feeling a faint pulse within him, reaching down to the depth of his soul. He didn't know how to describe this feeling, but it almost felt as if the chains that has been wrapped around something within him started crumbling apart.

It wasn't a simple binding, it felt as if numerous chains had been wrapped around a single force, but those chains started being broken down one by one over time. Now the last bundle of chains that have been wrapped around it has been removed. A flicker of blue light could be seen in Kensei's eyes, being much deeper than it has been in the past. Soon enough, dragon power burst spilled out from his body, as if it was water that overflowed out from a broken dam.

"…?!"

Arata looked surprised about that.

"…this is dragon power?!"

Jun looked surprised as the dragon aura wrapped around Kensei seemed different from what he'd gained after he had consumed Shanlong's heart. Before he knew it, he vanished from underneath his foot, and so did Alice who was in Arata's grasp. Before long, he turned around to find that Kensei was holding Alice in his arms, holding her as gently as possible.

"Ah, great that seal was removed."

"What seal?"

"Ah, that's right. I never mentioned that part," Arata replied, as if remembering something, then turned over toward Jun. "After Amatsu-Mikaboshi failed to possess Kensei, he placed a seal on him to inhibit his potential as much as he possibly could. He couldn't let a potential threat become an actual threat too soon, and because of that, he couldn't access his innate dragon power. Differing from you, he has natural dragon blood and power, but hasn't been able to use it until then."

"Humph, but it still isn't a threat to me, unlike him, I've spent years training the power that I've gained from consuming Shanlong's heart. So, it shouldn't be much to handle."

Ignoring them, Kensei looked down at the wound that pierced through Alice's stomach. It was serious and there was no Phoenix Tears on hand. Three people were active healers, so it'll be possible to stabilize the injury long enough to heal it. He'd leaned down, putting her beside Claire, who still had tears streaming down her face. She looked down at the injured Alice, as she hiccuped.

"K-Kensei, Alice-nee is…."

"She's not dead yet," Kensei said, brushing the tears from her eyes. "Focus on using your demonic power to heal her as much as possible. She'll survive long enough for her wounds to be tended to."

"Alright! I'll use all my demonic power if I have to."

"Good, take care of her."

Kensei looked down, then started wiping the blood from her mouth and stood back up.

"Kensei," Claire called out to him, as he turned back around to face Arata, who continued looking on surprised by this new development. "Win or lose. Kick his smug ass."

"Got it."

Kensei agreed, nodding his head as Arata stood in front of him.

"Hah, as I thought life could be so unfair," Arata stated, not looking to care about those words, but continued talking nonetheless. "Amatsu-Mikaboshi has been my partner in all this, and he needed a strong vessel. I couldn't care else about this world, I agreed as long as I could end this entire faction. Yet, he doesn't want me to kill you as he believes you're his perfect vessel."

"Well, that ain't happening. Because, the next time that we meet, I'm going to finish what my ancestor and I didn't the last time."

"That's so? Is that another promise?"

Arata mockingly asked, while releasing his flames.

"Yeah, and one I plan on making possible."

Despite the serious injuries, he'd suffered, Kensei continued fighting on, something that stirred the others who were still facing their opponents. For the longest time, he'd wondered what allowed him to continue fighting. Was the evil dragon's blood flowing through him that stirred him on? His human drive to forward, to the point where it'd become an obsession. Or, even a combination of both.

"Let's go, Kurogane," Kensei held out his hand, as he called out his sword, using telekinesis to call it over toward him. Just then, a black object came straight for him, spinning around until he grabbed onto its hilt. "We might lose this fight. But, we, Numbers aren't the kind of people who're easy to push around."

---

Zane, in witnessing this and hearing that, couldn't help letting a faint laugh escape from his mouth, bringing out Nacht. It brought up memories of the most terrible and hellish moments in their life from childhood, which stirred him up.

"Well, if Kensei and the others are going to continue fighting, then it'll need to do the same," Zane said, while he started moving forward as Lena looked on worried. "If I don't fight, then I won't be able to look at them again with pride and call myself a Number."

"Zane?"

Lena looked surprised as Zane continued walking forward without hesitation.

"Oi, Malik! Mind going a couple more rounds with me?!"

Hearing Zane calling him out, Malik seemed surprised as he turned to find the follow Zirnitra Grimoire user standing in front of him.

"Are you sure about that," Malik asked. "I'm not against that, but you're fighting against me with one arm."

"I'm a magician and a scientist. So, I'm quite confident in my ingenuity," Zane declared before he started to focus his magic energy on his stub before one came from magic manifested. After that, he retrieved Licht with it held within his magic arm. "How about this?!"

"…pft," witnessing such a thing, Malik couldn't help starting to laugh, but not as a sign of disrespect for Zane, but instead amusement about this battle. "Hahahaha, you're insane, but l like it!"

Around Malik, he manifested multiple spatial spheres around him without hesitation, with Zane standing prepared as he wielded his dual handguns. Even if the situation wouldn't end up working out for him, he decided to stand right there and continue fighting until the end. It was the same feeling that Maria and Hisui shared as the two continued standing before their respective opponents.

During this, their leaders, Numbers 01 and Ordinal 01 stood in front of one another; Kensei was releasing the dragon power that'd been restricted for years, while Arata released the flames he'd gained from entering a pact with a primordial god. For different reasons, the two wanted to defeat each other to ensure the other would end up falling in the end.

---

A/N: And there goes the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, well, this was an insane chapter to write with numerous fights and secrets revealed. All the Numbers (+ Lingqi) kept up with the Ordinals, but the five of them couldn't do much against them. Their enemies showed off more of their strength against the group, which overwhelmed them. But, there was added fact about the Nekoshou's population decreasing, as a result of Senjutsu's darker path.

I believe that the biggest one is that Arata aligned himself with a primordial god, Amatsu-Mikaboshi. As well as fact that he and Arata turned the Amagiri Clan children and teens into Mazoku, making them commit the Amagiri Clan massacre because the adults weren't able to murder their children. Despite losing, witnessing their teammates/friends injured stirred them up again, with Alice taking the worst of it.

In the end, it looked as if the seal Amatsu-Mikaboshi put on Kensei was released, letting him release his dragon power against Arata.

Well, the next chapter is going to be the end of this volume.

---

Translations:

Ensho Shouheki (Heat Barrier)

Mizuryuumai (Water Dragon Dance)

Hidama (Fireball)

Gengetsu (Crescent Moon)

Hakkei (Release Power)

Mouko Senda (Fierce Tiger Flash Hit)

Raimei Houken (Thunderclap Crushing Fist)

Kyuuraisei (Nine Thunder Stars)

Gokuen Seiken (Hellfire True Fist)

---

Kensei's Harem: Alice, Claire, Hisui, Kunou, Yasaka, Lu Lingqi, Sarah, Minako, Koneko, Kuroka, Ravel, Amaterasu, Brynhildr, Rossweisse, Ophis.