Chapter 164: Messages and Blackmails

I fought hordes of zombies alongside fighters from various factions aligned with Akihabara. The number seems endless. Even with the Anti-Zombie Field deployed it's still challenging to fight an endless stream of undead. It doesn't matter how weak they are if we would run out of energy before we could make a dent on their numbers.

"Nishino-san! Fall back and rest!" I hear Alpha-sensei's voice.

"Alpha-sensei! But I can still fight!"

"You can later! For now just retreat!"

"Alright…" I conceded and retreats to the back and allow fresh new troops to fight in my place.

Alpha-sensei's direction is quite flawless. She made sure to switch fighting troops with new ones in order to keep the fight going and reduce casualties. But in the face of such overwhelming force…

Now that I have time to rest, I jump to a tall building to observe the battle below.

Finding Mari-chan and her friends fighting alongside the old men against the white nine tailed fox isn't hard seeing as that's the fiercest battle I can see happening in this city besides the kaiju battle that now rages outside the city walls.

The Mystic Witches and the old men did everything they have but they could barely harm the vixen, especially when she starts coating herself in that golden aura. I was about to go aid the when I was interrupted by a voice behind me.

"Nishino-sama. I bring a message from Messiah." A messenger from Messiah, huh. Although we were wary of spies infiltrating Akihabara due to the Tokyo incident, some rats still slip in. They never give up even though I've ignored their messages for so long after telling them straight up that I'm cutting ties with the Nishino family.

"Don't call me that. And I don't need to hear it. Especially not at this time." I reply with a stoic voice. It didn't deter the messenger though, who produced a laptop from his briefcase.

"Don't be so cold, sister. No matter what happens, you are a daughter of the Nishino and you will obey the will of the family." I hear my brother's sickening voice once again. His face is displayed on the laptop's screen but I didn't bother looking at it.

"I thought I made it quite clear that I have cut ties with the Nishino family."

"That's impossible. Family is all you have."

"I have friends and allies who are fighting here."

"And to do that you would abandon Messiah? Abandon the people who trusted you?"

"Don't try to use the people as blackmail material, Akira. It makes your argument weaker."

"Just like you've abandoned Arcadia." Hearing the name of a settlement lost to time, I freeze.

"What does Arcadia have anything to do with this?"

"Oh, you mean you didn't remember? My… how cruel you've become, Akane. All the people you've PERSONALLY slaughtered are nothing but insects to you, huh. That's why you didn't bother remembering them." He emphasized the word "personally" in that sickening tone.

Lies… it's all lies… It's not true… so why am I shaking so much right now? I look at the screen and see his evil grin.

"What nonsense are you…?"

"Nonsense? Did you not remember that day you went on a rampage on Arcadia? Killing countless innocents? I have a footage of the incident if you don't believe me." He says as he opened a new window on the screen that plays a shaky video footage of the destruction of Arcadia… and a blonde haired figure wielding a bloodstained hatchet slaughtering innocent people and destroying buildings.

"That's… the Original Knight?"

It's a sickening scene… but I can't take my eyes off of it. It's lies… I don't remember any of it. It has to be fake. It has to be an edited footage… so why does it look so familiar?

"Does this footage ring a bell? How about this?" He says as he pauses the video at the right moment when the face of the blonde haired figure is visible. Despite the video's low resolution, I can recognize her face instantly. How can I not? I've worn that face all my life after all.

"You see what I mean?"

"Lies…"

"If it's lies, why are you shaking so much right now? Surely this would refresh your memory." He proceeded to show several photos of the aftermath of the rampage… focusing on the mutilated corpses. I turn away as I almost throw up from the gruesome sight.

"Urghh…"

"Now let's get down to business, shall we? My messenger will give you poison dart gun and you will use it to poison that elf woman and after she's down, you will take a sample of her blood for me. She will recover in time. Completely harmless and everyone goes home happy."

"You think I could do that…?" You've severely underestimated Alpha-sensei, you fool.

"You've been quite close to her these past few weeks, haven't you? Of course you can. Just approach her and shoot her when you're both alone. I doubt that you can't accomplish such a simple task. Don't think you can escape from this. If you disobey, I will release this footage to the people of Akihabara. Then all those people whom you call friends and allies will abandon you… assuming they survive this day that is." He laughs… laughing at my suffering and internal turmoil. And he has the gall to use the family card.

"Why…?"

"Why? You have to ask why, Akane? Don't be foolish! Isn't it obvious that I'm doing this for the survival of the human race? By studying her cells, I can make the perfect soldier that will save us not just the Occult Killer but from the monster apocalypse!"

"And how did you think it's gonna succeed…? If the last time you did that… you made the Original Knight?" I reply as I recall that he was heavily involved in the creation of the first awakeners back in Arcadia.

"You're just doing it to increase your power base. If you truly care about our survival, then you wouldn't foolishly try this stupid scheme and join our alliance in the first place." I continued.

"We'll see about that, Akane. We'll see whose path is the right one when Akihabara falls." He says with a grin as he cuts off the video feed. The messenger closed the laptop, left the dart gun he mentioned on the floor and left afterwards.

Now truly alone, I drop to my knees as my suppressed memories starts to resurface.

Blood. Destruction. Death. Chaos. Fire. Smoke. Screams. Fear. Slash. Hack. Chop. Blood. Screams. Blood. Blood blood blood.

"Urrghh…" Unable to hold it in, I finally throw up.

Minoru-kun… I'm so sorry… I cannot be a hero like you… I'm a monster.

"UWAAARGH!" I hear a scream from below. And when I look down, I see that the undead horde have started pushing back. The advantage that we have earlier is nowhere to be found and it caused the number of casualties among our ranks to skyrocket. It is then that I noticed that the Anti-Zombie Field has been disabled. It shouldn't run out of power this early! How did it… Ah… I see. That's why Akira grins confidently when he declared that Akihabara will fall.

"Heh… Since I'm a monster… I know what I have to do." I grin as I remember my purpose here… and regain my resolve.

"What the…" I mutter as I see the barrier conjured by the Anti-Zombie Field fades, letting the undead horde regain their strength which led to the number of casualties to increase exponentially.

*BOOM*

Just as I was wondering what's going on, I have my answer in the form of an explosion in the building that serves as the command center of Akihabara's military forces. The enemy has infiltrated the city and have sabotaged our operations.

Kuzaya-dono did his best in making sure no spies from the Doomsday Cult would infiltrate the city… and it appears that our focus on the Doomsday Cult has made us blind to other hostile factions.

"The headquarters!"

"Alpha-sensei! What should we do!?"

My men are getting confused now that our strategy has been sabotaged. We are cornered. There's only one thing left to do.

"Fight! Fight to the last man!" I shout as I rally the troops to fight back. Even the ones resting are back to fighting now that the situation is getting more desperate.

The spellcasters of the occultist faction summon as many familiars as possible to serve as reinforcements now that we are in desperate need of it but I doubt they can do more than buy us a bit of time. Even the phantom soldiers that they summoned are useless as some of the zombies are armed with enchanted weapons, likely because Necromancer anticipated us using them.

"It can't be helped then. You guys hold out as much as you can! I'm getting reinforcements!" I shout to my men as I conjure my draconic aura and fly towards the location where Yukime of the White Tower is fighting several of Akihabara's best fighters at once.

I allowed them to fight alone because I was hoping that they would keep that damn fox at bay while we take care of the undead horde ourselves with the help of the Anti-Zombie Field, but now that the situation has completely changed, I need all the fighters I can get.

I land in front of the fox, which cause her to frown as if her fun has ended.

"Alpha-sensei!"

"Thank goodness!"

"Heck yeah! Now that sensei's here, that damn fox is screwed!" The girls are happy at my arrival. The old men are especially in awe of my draconic armor, something I haven't shown to them before.

"Yukime of the White Tower. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I say to her in my native tongue while glaring at her.

"Oh my. It seems that my fun has ended." She replies back in Japanese. How surprising.

"You're going to run, just like that?"

"All my master told me to do was to have fun, not to fight to the death. This is all nothing but a game to him after all." Hearing her say that make the girls grit their teeth. The old men and I feel the same but we held our emotions in check.

"Then run. Run like the cowardly fox that you are." I try to taunt her but she merely grins and jumps away. I disperse my draconic armor the moment she left.

"Let us regroup in the center of the town and fight as much as we can." The others nod at my words and left with me to regroup with the rest of the men to mount a counterattack.

But it is then that I notice something odd… something terrible… in the sky…

How come I didn't notice the sky being split apart… like it did back when the Black Rose was unleashed?

Alpha-sensei's aid is greatly welcome. Just with words, she managed to force that fox to retreat. She's amazing.

Things are not getting better though. In fact, things have gotten worse now that the Anti-Zombie Field has been disabled and the command center has been destroyed, with Kuzaya-kun most likely dead already.

But my mind is occupied with thoughts about my brother. My kind brother. My beloved brother.

I found out through the diary that I found in his apartment some time after he went missing that he has been engaging in serial killer activities… and took pleasure from inflicting terror upon the people.

The serial killer that people would later call the Occult Killer… has taken over my brother's mind… drove him mad and turned him into what he is now. What I said to him last time I met… that he has killed my brother… is true in a sense. My beloved brother has been killed and a monster took over his corpse. That's how I felt.

But in that same encounter… he hesitated to finish me off. That white fox also commented how Goro-sensei's swordsmanship is similar to his, further convincing me that my brother is still there somewhere.

I cling onto that hope… which is why despite numerous defeats, failures and setbacks… I didn't give up. Even if it costs me my life, I would bring my brother back.

Just as I was about to catch up with the others, a man in black suit calls out to me.

"Miyazaki-san. I have a message from your father." He says as he holds out over a piece of paper to me.

"I'm not interested. He's not my father." I was about to walk away when he walks to my side and whispers.

"You cannot refuse. If you do, your brother's secret will be exposed."

What…. How… How did…

I wordlessly take the note and watch him left before reading the message on the paper.

OBEY

Is all it says.

Can't even write a proper message, can you, former father of mine?

Ah, my phone suddenly rings. The theme song of my childhood heroine, Magical Maririn-chan, can be heard throughout the empty streets.

I take the phone out of my pocket and…

*CRACK*

Destroy it in the palm of my hand.

As if I am willing to become your pawn after everything you did...

"Tch. She's not answering my phone call. What a disobedient bitch she has become." I mutter angrily as I close the call and throw my phone to the desk.

Both me and Akira-dono were banking on the fact that the desperate situation at Akihabara would make both of them more… receptive towards our messages. That's why we sabotaged their operations by sending our agents through the help of Messiah fighters who are already there with Akira-dono's sister since the aftermath of the battle of Tokyo. Stealing all the technology they've developed for the invasion is also a nice bonus.

That daughter of mine… that tool of mine. She continues to defy me even now… even when I revealed my trump card, which is my knowledge of her beloved brother's secret.

Of course I know that he is the Occult Killer. I found out before she did and I was about to dispose of that damn diary when I found out about it but my daughter took it before I could secretly destroy it. I let that slide as at least she wouldn't spread the word that her brother is a serial killer. It would affect more than just my work but also our family after all. And I've allowed her to defy me for so long so that she could grow stronger and stronger… and become a better tool for me without my interference. But that ends today. I need more power.

I've worked so hard to get to this position, sacrificed so much. I won't let anything get in my way. Not even Akira-dono's schemes involving his sister. Not that his little scheme can amount to anything anyway. I'm simply better than him after all.

Since she refused to answer and continues to defy me… I suppose I need to have a talk with my serial killer of a son.

Surely he will be far more receptive than that wayward daughter of mine. I heard that he left her alive when he encountered her in the Doomsday Cult headquarters after all.

That's why I need to hold her hostage. Luckily I dispatched my agents to Akihabara without Akira-dono's knowledge. The messenger who delivered her message is one. After she's weakened from the battle, they should be able to take care of her.

I take my phone back from the desk and call said messenger.

"Time for plan B."

"Yes, Miyazaki-sama."

Soon… Soon we shall reunite as a family and I shall reign supreme… with my children… my tools at my side.

Heh heh heh.

Author's Note:

Akira and Mari's father has made their move and the situation is getting more desperate. Can our heroes survive this battle? Find out in the next episode of The Blackmailers in Shadow.

Edit: I wrote Mari' brother last time. Ignore that.

TheVirtualPug: Claude needs to protect imouto 2.0

Answer: Chronologically, she is imouto 1.0

Generalliam0529: fair enough.

allso, hell yeah on tbe ghidorah being more than just ankfher monster.

Answer: Hope I can make him shine as brightly as his golden counterpart.

Lordylen: I love this so much

Answer: Thank you.