Chapter 76: Nightmare Resolution
"Er…."
Nia opened her eyes restlessly, and there were bloodshots on her eyeball. Currently, she was restrained by a cross near the wall, and right in front of her eyes was the face that would fill her veins with fear whenever she saw it.
To save herself some pain, she closed her eyes defiantly and refused to look at him.
"Open her eyes."
Westcott casually waved his hand, and two DEM mercenaries stepped forward, forcibly opened Nia's eyelids, and then inserted a bracket with the right shape so that Nia could no longer close it.
This was today's game: Making her watch the torture devices gradually get closer to her.
Her mouth was not gagged, not out of his kindness, but for the purpose of enjoying her desperate screams. There were two cameras next to her face to record her twisted expression in pain.
This man enjoyed torture of all forms.
Nia bit her lip tightly, knowing that if she followed the other person's wish and begged for mercy, it would only arouse him more.
But Westcott's interest would not disappear because of this. He held his chin in one hand with a sinister smile like Satan himself: "Today, I want your remaining powers."
Next to Nia, the mechanical arms holding different torture instruments started approaching slowly.
...
"Nia?"
When Shido opened his eyes again, he saw that Nia wasn't by his side anymore. Instead, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling. He struggled to get up, only to find that he was in a corridor.
Earlier, Rinne put both Nia and him to sleep, giving the duo the opportunity to fear the troublesome nightmare in the morning. Normally, they would have waited until evening, but they did not have the luxury of time like before. This crucial matter needed to be resolved as soon as possible.
"Marina...can you hear me?" Shido tried to communicate with Marina again, but the other party's tone seemed a little impatient this time.
"Yes, and now you are in the DEM underground facility, where Nia is being tortured at."
Marina's voice entered Shido's ears, making him alert.
"Damn it, I can't see a thing." He looked around and found nothing, adding to his nerves.
"You remember all the training with me from before, right?" Marina's voice entered his ears, giving him a moment of clarity. "I'm sure you know what to do."
"Of course," he calmed down and smiled, a ray of light gathering at his palm. "I must save Nia."
Suddenly, an exquisite book appeared in his left hand, its pages flipping without the guidance of fingertips, only to stop at a 50-50 section. It was blank, but when Shido put his index finger on it, it started showing contents.
Stomp stomp!
"Stop right there, intruder!"
At this point, the alarm started sounding off, followed by a squad of wizards appearing from front and back, trapping him in between while waving their blazes around.
"[Spatial-quake alert, please evacuate to safety!]"
Suddenly, another alarm started sounding off, much louder than the first.
Shido looked up with a confused expression. Sure, he got the powers of Spirits, but what was the point of sounding the spatial quake alarm?
"Zayin!"
Putting his comment aside, an old-fashioned musket appeared in his right hand. Before the wizards reacted, Shido already started firing gunshots at them.
The wizards tried to block his attacks with their generated [Territory], however, they ceased moving in just after a moment.
"Crap, what the hell do you think you…."
Five seconds later, the effects of his mysterious bullets wore off, and they were able to move again. However, there was nobody there.
"Where did he go?"
The wizards looked around and wandered like wild dogs chasing their tails, until finally their leader shouted.
"Shift it to DEFCON TWO!"
"You heard the ma'am, DEFCON TWO!"
While the deafening alarm sounds filled the atmosphere around them, none of them reached the supposed target.
…
"Nia!"
Stepping out of a portal, Shido emerged with a key in his hand.
It was at this time that Shido saw clearly her miserable condition: Her hands and feet were sawed off to her knees and forearms, her head was split open on the top right corner, and her stomach had a half-meter-long incision.
Even through the glass, Shido could clearly see the fear and despair in Nia's eyes that were forcibly opened.
This made him spurt furious flames in his eyes when he looked at the ones in charge of the experiment. To his disappointment, he did not see the main culprit, Issac Westcott.
"Who are you? Where are the wizards?"
The scientists screamed out of panic, not knowing what to do in a situation as dire as this.
"Boy….is this really you?"
Weakly shifting her eyes, Nia looked at her rescuer with a slightly lifted spirit.
"Yes, and you are gonna be alright." Shido opened his hand, and a ray of light enveloped Nia's body. In just a flash of a second, her body was restored to its healthy and perfect state.
Nia felt that her pains had gone away as all of her wounds were healed, even the traumatic feelings had worn off. It made her feel unreal, as if everything that had happened was simply a dream.
The scientists could only watch as Shido healed Nia's wounds and rescued her, for they were too powerless in mortal kombat. It was the job for the wizards, but none of them had reached this location yet.
"Where's Westcott!?"
Shido gave them no more than a glance, simply raised his hand and aimed at them.
"He just left, saying that something needs his supervision."
The head of the scientists answered quickly.
After getting the answers he needed, Shido nodded his head and lowered his musket. But before the scientists could sigh in relief, several shadows appeared underneath each and every one of them, before dragging them into the bottomless abyss.
Nia watched in surprise as those poor bastards screamed and jumped helplessly in front of her eyes, her expression mixed with uneasiness and joy.
"Even if they were simply following orders, they were still sick enough to conduct cruel experiments like this. Thus, this is what they deserve."
Shido explained his action to her, worrying that she might think of him differently. He wasn't normally like this, but this time, he was livid.
"About that…" Nia looked a bit uneasy, her eyes troubled by the question. She took a deep breath, and looked her lover in the eyes.
—A few days back—
Shido Itsuka…was dead?
When she initially heard such news, the first emotion Nia had in her heart was doubt.
Is this some kind of practical joke? A trap set by the enemy to make them tumble?
But, such thoughts lost their meanings rather quickly, what followed was a desperate feeling of wanting to believe this was simply a bad drea.
No problem, Boy would be alright. Even if he was shot in the chest, he could heal in a few moments. He had the abilities to defend himself thanks to the Spirits he sealed. He had overcome trials and tribulations constantly, and this time for sure…
—Shido Itsuka, deceased confirmed.
However, what was presented in front of their eyes was not a miracle made by protagonists of some certain light novels, manga, or cartoon, but it was rather desolate, a rather cold —Cruel and disappointing reality.
Even today, Nia could reminisce that feeling clearly.
It was like a glass full of water cracked from the bottom, the happiness filled in the cup slowly flowing out of it, and the only thing remaining was an empty shell.
Shido Itsuka was dead. Every time she recalled this fact, she felt an excruciating pain in her heart.
She could no longer hear Boy's voice.
She could no longer see Boy's smile.
No more teasing, no more talking, not even seeing his face once more in her life.
The more she recognized this, the more fear she experienced.
Finally, as her empty heart was filled with sorrow and despair, she wanted to scream and cry her soul out.
And such was the emotion that drove to more tragedies around her…
"Shido!"
When she turned around, she saw a young girl with black ribbons tied to her red hair crying out at the top of her lungs, her twin tails flowing furiously. At this time, she had a wave of black reiryoku spiraling her tiny body.
"Calm down, imouto-chan!"
She shouted to her, but it was no use. The great dark reiryoku blew her off her feet in a second, and the entire commanding room was devastated! It seemed that the Efreet Spirit had gone Inverse!
Saying farewell to the person one loved was a painful matter. Even Nia was so struck that she could barely handle the truth, how about the girls that had spent more time with Shido and had loved him on a deeper scale? Their pain must be a few times, or even a dozen times greater than hers!
'Ah, I see.'
What stood before Nia was not the commander of Ratatoskr anymore, but rather, a beast that had lost control and started the bloodthirst for murder. The evidence was that she started looking at her with red-glowing eyes.
'This is Boy's Sister, the girl who has had a crush on him ever since the fire incident.'
Nia took a few steps back in fear, but when her butt bumped into the control desk, she knew she was at a dead end.
'The moment he died, the bond between them shattered as well.'
Nia was saddened when Kotori raised her hand and started accumulating fire reiryoku in her palm, dark energy intensifying by the seconds.
But the expected pain didn't arrive. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that there was a huge hole at where Kotori was standing, the melted iron still flowing due to the horrifying heat.
"She's…gone?"
Nia was surprised by this turn of event, then the shame of feeling relieved made her body shudder. She started blaming herself for being useless in a situation like this, but her thought was interrupted by a harsh voice.
"[Save your pain for later. We need you to save those that aren't Inverse]"
Suddenly, a voice sounded off above her head, and when she looked up, she saw a girl with white nun dress and white hair.
"Maria!"
The girl speaking was on a monitor screen, and she wore a serious expression like never before. Thanks to her being the Fraxinus AI, she didn't turn Inverse like the others. Also, she activated her control of the airship and teleported Kotori to somewhere else. Without her, the entire crew might have been dead due to the heat.
"[As I said, let's get those Spirits at home and explain things to them in a way they could handle, otherwise they will—"
"—I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's too late~"
While Maria was repeating her instructions, an unexpected voice of a male interrupted her. On the monitor screen, there was a connection injecting to it, and it was from none other than Issac Westcott himself!
With a bloop, the screen showed a man in a well-tailored suit, and he had a confident and fearless smile.
"Greetings, Maira the AI, and Nia Honjo the Sister."
He greeted them in a polite manner, before continuing: "Let me show you the condition of your beloved home."
With a wave of his hand, the screen behind him showed a burning image of a large mansion, which made Nia and Maria gasp in shock.
The Spirit Mansion was completely desolated!
"What happened to Shido Itsuka was indeed unfortunate, so I couldn't wait to share it with his girls, hope you don't mind~"
His voice was soothing and gentle, but Nia felt like the devil was whispering in her ears, the feeling clearer when she saw his sinister smile.
"If you surrender, I promise you that no more bloodshed will happen."
Westcott's face made Nia irk with anger, but there was nothing she could do other than clenching her fist.
"In your dreams!" She glared back defiantly.
Westcott scoffed, but he didn't stick around, simply cut off the connection.
Now that the culprit was out of sight, Nia stared blankly at the screen.
After a few moments, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
"Where's Reine? Wasn't she here a moment ago?"
"..."
After she asked, the crew snapped back into reality, and they found out that it was true. Reine the Analysis Officer was nowhere to be seen!
"[Sorry to interrupt, the CEO Woodman is requesting to connect]"
Before everyone could track the missing personnel, Maria opened her mouth again.
Woodman?
Learning that the founder of Ratatoskr was calling, Nia shook her head and cleared her thoughts, before signaling everyone to take the call.
Soon, the screen was switched to the headquarters, and everyone could see that an old man in a wheelchair was looking at them, and his loyal secretary Karen was standing behind him.
"Woodman-sama"
Kannazuki, the vice commander, bowed in respect.
"Sorry to disturb you guys at a crucial time like this, Kannazuki."
Elliot Woodman smiled gently.
"Not at all, but…" Kannazuki shook his head, then asked with anticipation. "Do you know how to turn the Inverse Spirits back to normal?"
"That is outside of my capability, I'm sorry." Woodman sighed in regret, his eyes sad. "Isaac really killed Shido Itsuka, and now the Spirits who rely on him have all gone mad."
"Is there nothing we can do?" Kannazuki asked urgently.
"..."
There was silence in the room, and everyone was in low spirits.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, someone raised her hand.
"Nia?"
Everyone looked at her with surprise.
"If we could kill Westcott and take back my Sephira, I can put everyone in a dreamland and make them calm down."
Nia, for the first time ever, showed the vibe of a responsible adult.
"That is not out of the question…" Woodman pondered carefully, but he then smiled and nodded. "Alright, Karen and I will help with everything in our powers."
Hearing this, everyone jumped in the air with high spirits like never before. The hope may be slim, it's hard to kill. As long as they worked together, they would be able to overcome anything!
…
"And then I got captured."
As if dropping a death bomb, Nia's voice was filled with grim, making Shido's eyes widened in surprise.
"Hold on, I thought you guys found hope, and you are giving me this!?"
Shido couldn't believe what he had just heard. He was expecting some shonen moments from her mouth, but she delivered this bummer instead.
As it turned out, Nia didn't have the Sephira in her anymore, only a small remainder of her reiryoku. Her nemesis, however, possessed the Demon King version of her angel, [Beezelbub] , which was far more superior than hers. In addition, he had Ellen Mathers and Artemisia Bell Ashcroft on his side, the top two strongest wizards in the world! Not to mention the annoying Nibelcol and bandersnatch armies!
What did Ratatsokr have? A disabled former strongest wizard aka Elliot Woodman, his secretary who was weaker than her sister, and maybe Mana and Kannazuki were pretty strong, but they still came up short against the DEM forces.
The disadvantage in manpowers wasn't the only issue for Ratatoskr.
When Nia was taking a nap, the Nibelcol appeared out of nowhere and captured her effortlessly! Whenever she wasn't activating her angel, the other party could have full access to its searching abilities!
And thus, Ratatoskr was losing morale day by day during her imprisonment. But thankfully, it had been only a few days, and now Shido had rescued her, things would slowly go back on track.
As they were speaking, Shido activated [Michael] again, and this time, he teleported them back to the Fraxinus headquarters.
"Shido? You're alive?"
The one greeting him was none other than Kannazuki. He wore a tiresome expression, evident enough that he had very little sleep.
"Nii-sama!"
Suddenly, Shido felt a great force bumping behind him.
"Mana. Sorry that I made you worry."
He caressed her head with an apologetic look.
Nia explained everything to everyone on the carrier. While she was speaking, Shido felt something was out of the ordinary: How come Nia felt a bit different right here?
"[It's because she's in a particular dream, she doesn't remember what happened after the DEM final battle]"
At this time, Marina's voice entered his head, answering his doubt.
Everything made sense. This Nia didn't know that the DEM was defeated in real life. She was still trapped in the past, or rather, the alternate scenario where he got killed and every Spirit turned Inverse. This world was a cruel reality for her, and she blamed herself for being unable to help.
That's not true!
He clenched his fists, his teeth biting harshly that he felt numb.
"[Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I have now spotted a spatial quake 400 miles away. Issac Westcott, Ellen Mathers, and Artemisia are all there]"
At this time, Maria's voice interrupted Nia, which made her jump in alert.
"Crap, I forgot to say, those guys are after the Inverse Spirits!"
Nia knocked her head in shame, which was a behavior that he felt sad to witness. She had never blamed herself like this, given how thick-skinned she always was.
"[To save her from this nightmare, you must make her recognize her self-worth]"
Marina's voice sounded off again, and it made him easy.
After Nia was done explaining things, everyone was saddened to hear what she had to go through. They gave her their condolences, but it wasn't what she needed right now.
"Thank you, Marina. I know how to help her now."
…
Reaching the location where the spatial quake alert cast, what presented in front of Westcott, Ellen, and Artemisia was a vast desolation beyond human comprehension.
Heavy clouds engulfed the sun, endless snowflakes covering the city. The vicious mist spiraling in the air, sealing off every street, building, or flower — Everything they saw was frozen like a lifeless statue.
Artemisia would rather believe that this was the south pole instead of the tropical region in Japan.
"How ruthless…"
Blocking the cold air with her [Territory], Artemisia stared at the frozen city with a serious face.
Hoping to find any survivors, she activated the life force scanner and covered the whole city. But no surprise there, not a single person was alive.
"No survivors…"
Artemisia clenched her teeth in regret.
"Of course, this severe coldness can even freeze normal wizards to death, even us if we aren't careful."
Ellen spoke nonchalantly, looking forward with her enhanced Realizer on her eyes. Soon, she found the Inverse Spirit.
" [Inverse Hermit] has been located 25 miles ahead, Ike."
Ellen reported to her superior behind her.
"Very well, then I shall remain here in case anyone tries to interfere."
Westcott smiled, and with a wave of his hands, dozens of girls appeared beside him.
"Yeah, go head, granny."
"We can't afford to let Father catch a cold here."
Ellen's eyebrows twitched uneasily. She had never liked those bratty girls he created.
"Westcott-sama, I swear to subjugate the Spirit and bring her Sephira to you."
Artemisia said earnestly.
"Thank you, Artemisia. Those who died by the hands of that Spirit will rest in peace for sure."
Westcott smiled kindly, giving his loyal subject a warm nod.
Artemisia felt flattered by her boss' sincere words, then she was saddened to hear the deaths of tens of, if not hundreds, of the citizens that resided in this city.
"Artemisia, do not be distracted by such matters during a mission. Now, I need your support to fight the Inverse Hermit."
"...Yes, I understand!"
Taking a deep breath, Artemisia followed Ellen into the mist of snow.
"Father, father, now that those two are gone, how about we play some games?"
"Yea, yea, I was so bored to stay in the book."
The Nibelcols were giggling to each other, looking at their father with expectant eyes.
Westcott wanted to say something, but suddenly—
—A giant key had pierced his heart!
"Father!"
The girls started screaming, and they were angry when they saw the attacker.
"Shido Itsuka!? I thought you were dead!?"
Westcott widened his eyes in shock, couldn't believe what he had just seen. In front of him was none other than the guy that he had ordered to kill just a few days ago. He had it confirmed 100%, and yet, he was right here in the flesh!
"Curse you!"
Nibelcols charged at him, but was stopped when he blew a kiss at them. Moaning out of ecstasy, they started dissolving into particles in the air.
It was the same technique he used against DEM last time!
"..Interesting… that was some underhanded move…"
Westcott started coughing blood, but his eyes lit up more energetically.
"You never fought fairly, so why should I?"
Shido smiled, before turning the key in his hand. And with a pull, a black Sephira was extracted from Westcott's wounded body.
"Dalet."
He summoned a musket and shot at the Sephira, and it turned gray in a matter of seconds.
"Nia, I believe this is yours." He then summoned a portal, and a girl walked out of it.
"Sister? Now you had …. escaped twice, that's really…impressive…"
Westcott was bleeding out, but he still had the energy to speak and be impressed.
"Her name is Nia, don't you get it wrong again."
Shido stared at him with anger, and after giving the Sephira to Nia, he impaled him on the ground!
"Ahh~~~ So this is…what true pain….feels like~~~"
Westcott moaned in ecstasy and squirmed happily, despite being painfully pinned to the cold hard ground.
"As much as I like to torture you some more, we don't have time for this."
Shido said coldly, but his words were ignored by the moaning man.
Shaking his head in disgust, he turned and saw that Nia had successfully retrieved her Sephira, and now she could summon her angel [Rasiel] again!
"Let's move on to the next target, Boy."
This time, Nia spoke with more confidence in her voice.
…
"Artemisia, we are close, keep your guard up."
One kilometer… 100 meters….50 meters…10 meters…
Gradually, the two had crossed through the severe blizzard, reaching the location where they detected the Spirit.
"This is…?"
Ellen showed a confused expression. What presented in front of her eyes was not a dangerous Spirit, but a pure deep blue gem floating in the air.
"Is that…Hermit's Sephira?"
Ellen concluded with doubt. According to her knowledge, only the Hermit Spirit possessed such a deep blue Sephira.
"Whatever…I shall retrieve it."
Although there wasn't a battle needed, Ellen still tentatively used her [Territory] to get in contact with the Sephira. In case anything went wrong, she would still have time to react.
To her relief, nothing happened when her energy touched the object. It was perfectly safe.
"Alright, we are done here. Artemisia, we have avenged those who died."
"..."
"Artemisia?"
Ellen had a bad feeling when she realized that her subordinate had been silent the whole time.
"This thing….I remember…"
Suddenly, Artemisia murmured to herself.
"{—Listen well, Artemisia Bell Ashcroft, you have forgotten one important thing.}"
"(Important….thing?)"
Artemisia asked in confusion as she heard a foreign voice in her head.
"{—Indeed, don't you feel weird that you are the only one working in the DEM? Where did your friends in SSS go?}"
"(...true…. Ashley, Leonora, and Cecil… we promised to come to Japan together….then they suddenly went back to Britain.)"
"{—Yes, that's the evidence. You forgot your precious friends. Now—I shall awaken your memories.}"
"(My…memories?)"
"{—And once your learn the truth, you shall be consumed by anger and hatred—}"
"Ah….Ah….AHHHHH!"
Suddenly, an excruciating pain emerged in her head, and it enlarged quickly in seconds, causing Artemisia to hold her head in her hands while screaming.
"What's wrong, Artemisia? Did someone attack you?"
"Ell….Ellen…"
Artemisia raised her head with great effort, staring at her superior blankly.
And then, suddenly, frames of memories emerged in her brain.
Ashley Sinclair, Leonora Sears, and Cecil O'Brien, her precious three friends in the SSS, were all brutally murdered by the lightning sword of a certain wizard.
And the owner was none other than the strongest wizard in the world—Ellen Mathers.
"Was it you? You killed everyone….unforgivable."
"What? Come again?"
Ellen asked in confusion. However, before she could understand the situation, Artemisia activated her beloved weapon, [Aroundight], and aimed at Ellen's neck without mercy.
Thanks to her abundant combat experiences, Ellen leaned back just in time to avoid being beheaded. However, the attack was too fast and severe, it still left a scratch on her snow-white chin.
"Are you crazy!? Artemisia!?"
Ellen stared at the opposite party with anger and fear.
"Shut up! I won't ever forgive you! Or Westcott! Everyone in DEM deserves to rot in hell!"
Crying tears of blood, Artemisia chased Ellen and began her second wave of attack.
Hearing her words, Ellen widened her eyes in shock.
'Did the brainwash…lose its effect? —No, she was manipulated?'
Ellen thought while dodging her attacks.
"Artemisia, please calm down! Someone must have—"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up! You should die already!"
"Tsk…"
Seeing that her subordinate had lost her mind, Ellen twitched her tongue. She could only block her attacks while thinking of a solution.
And it was at this time, someone connected her earphone.
"[Something's wrong, Mathers-sama!]"
"What? I'm busy! Get Ike here!"
Ellen replied agitatedly.
"[CEO Westcott is dead!]"
"Wh—"
At this moment, Ellen was struck by the breaking news, and her movement became stiff.
Artemisia, who was eager for vengeance, would not let this opportunity slip by. She clenched her sword, and charged right toward Ellen, piercing her heart in one thrust!
"Arhh…"
Ellen spat out blood profusely.
"Yes! I finally made it! I avenged everyone! Hahaha—"
Artemisia, usually behaving like an elegant miss of a rich family, was now crying and laughing hysterically like a lunatic.
"[Alright, please join Westcott in hell~]"
"!?"
Ellen's eyes widened in shock when she heard the change of tone in her monitor. When she recognized the voice, she roared uncontrollably.
"Nia Honjo—"
"—Ssssss"
Nevertheless, at this moment, a petite girl riding on a giant dark snow rabbit emerged from the blizzard, opening its giant mouth at the two wizards.
—CRUNCH!
In the next moment, the world was buried by the sound of the blizzard again.
…
—
"And that's how DEM was destroyed!"
Nia woke up from her sleep, pumping her fist in the air happily.
"I must admit, it's kinda genius."
Marina, who was usually sharp-tongue, nodded approvingly at Nia.
Earlier in the dream, Nia devised a plan to turn Artemisia against Ellen. With her recovered Angel, she wrote in the pages that 'the realizer in Artemisia's head will show her images of her friends being murdered by Ellen'. She also wrote that she would be able to hack into her and Ellen's earphones, making things smoother for her.
To be honest, Artemisia was not the person she hated the most, only Westcott and Ellen were. However, she remembered being stabbed by her in the chest, she needed to make her pay. And what could be better than making them fight each other?
After the three were dead, she fought alongside Shido against all the Inverse Spirits. The processes were a bit difficult, but thanks to her lover's extraordinary powers, they succeeded in the end.
Now that all the girls were back to normal, Nia felt a sense of relief and worthiness again.
"Hahaha, now no more nightmares can conquer me! I am finally free!"
Nia stood up and punched the ceiling, causing it to shake and shatter.
"Aww! My hand!"
"You idiot! It's made with Rinne's reiryoku!"
Marina returned to her normal self and started bickering with Nia, who was tearfully blowing air on her hand.
The nightmare resolution mission had been going on for an entire day, and now it was five in the afternoon. During this time, Rinne and Mayuri had come down to check on them several times, but left them alone once they saw that they were still working on it.
"Now that we…Shido?"
At this time, Marina looked at Shido, only to find that he was still unconscious, his head wrapped in the Nervegear device that she gave him.
The only relief was that he was breathing soundly in his sleep, showing that his conditions were stable. But still, no sign of waking up.
…
A/N:
Happy Birthday, Nia Honjo! You don't get a birthday every year, but at least you do now.
I was always curious how things would turn out in the timeline where Shido was killed. Surely, every Spirit had gone Inverse, but definitely not Nia. Since she lost her Sephira, she had nothing to go Inverse for! She might be able to take over Fraxinus and try to fight Westcott herself, but that's out of the question, since Ratatsokr was weak af compared to DEM.
Now that I explored the scenario, maybe an alternate timeline where Shido died was not so boring.