15 Chapter 14: The Dance that Set everything Ablaze [2]
[A/N: SPOILER ALERT!
SOME OF THE DETAILS INCLUDED HERE ARE STILL VERY FAR FROM THE ANIME. SOME WOULD BE SPOILERS SPECIALLY TO OTHER READERS AS WELL WHO HAD NOT READ VOL. 18 OF THE NOVEL AND ONWARDS.
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Well.... this are just a minor spoilers.... so yeah
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Still want to read it...?
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Okay, here's the chap~]
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[3rd PoV]
"This...is getting troublesome," Kotori said as she felt that her flames were starting to get out of her control. Which also means that her reiryoku....was going to be burned out more faster than it should.
If this war of attrition continued, Kotori would be the first to run out of reiryoku. Then, currently while she still has enough reiryoku and also enough "sanity" of the mind to continue this battle, it was necessary to land a decisive blow on <Seraph>—But, at that moment.
"Wha...!?"
An unexpected feeling at her chest, Kotori couldn't help but raise her voice in a panic.
For a moment, she thought that she had been attacked by something unknown at a blind spot──but that wasn't it. Looking at it, she saw a 'hole' opened in the void, a <sword> appeared from there to stab her chest.
There was a sword stabbing her. But the moment her brain recognized this fact, Kotori cursed her own carelessness.
It was Rei's <Raguel>. Because she was distracted by fighting Rei on close combat to mid range combat all this time, she didn't notice that she would be attacked in the back like this.
She didn't even thought that Rei would attack her like this. It wasn't like she didn't know this ability of his, it was just—her mental state was slowly collapsing resulting her to make such careless moves.
"Kuhah!" Kotori then spat a mouthful of blood as she tried to remove the sword piercing her chest.
"Your regeneration prowess really makes me feel in awe. To think that stabbing you in the heart would still leave you alive... what should I say, 'As expected of you', is it?" Rei spouted.
"You..!"
"Hey, don't look at me like that. Wasn't it you who tried to harm me in the first place? Why are you now complaining of getting your life on the verge of death right now? Oh, the regeneration again kicks in, tsk"
"<Camael>!!"
Kotori then launched forward as she swung her halberd in a somewhat panicked manner. Yet despite that, it seemed to be more stronger and faster than before but....
"Useless"
It was very predictable.
Rei easily parried her strike and used that momentum to launch a counterattack. He then made a clean sweep with a kick as he used his wings to further strengthen the momentum of his attack.
This made them relate a distance between each other as Rei didn't try to pursue her back as for he doesn't know what Kotori has in reserve to get back at him. Play safely as they say.
"Ha.... haa..... Just a bit more..." Her ragged figure
"Huh...?"
The next moment, Kotori felt the power in her body swell up. Rei could see <Camael>'s flames burned more than ever. In the next moment, Kotori then appeared right before him in a very fast pace which momentarily stunned Rei.
Rei twisted his body, dodging all of the incoming assaults of the gigantic battle-axe and retreating to a safe distance using [Gate].
"This is...!"
"I'll....defeat you!! I'll...destroy all the Spirits....!"
"....ah. She completely lost it huh?" Rei thought to himself.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that she was now "consumed" by her <Angel> at the moment.
This ended up with them exchanging a few blows once more before Rei realized that, if he continued like this, the stalemate would be broken and it would turn the battle into Kotori's favor. Upon deciding that, Rei took a deep breath to concentrate his mind.
"<Raguel>; [Burst]"
Then, as Rei called out <Raguel>'s name—his <Astral Dress>, <Sword>, and <Lances> began to burn as it was coated with dense purple flames.
Rei was determined to decide the outcome of this match. Kotori then looked somewhat baffled even though herself was being consumed by her madness due to her <Camael> with the sudden increase of power that Rei showed.
Rei raised his sword to the sky, quickly gathering reiryoku from the surroundings.
"<Raguel>; [Judgement: Rain]"
Under Rei's orders, 4 'lances' flew in the sky while drawing orbits with light. Numerous 'gates' also opened surrounding it.
And the same happened to Kotori as well, 'gates' started to appear in succession surrounding her.
"[Fall]"
With his order, the 'rain' occured.
<Raguel>'s lances then shot light rays which branched out into numerous shots to the 'gates' which redirected the shots to the other 'gates' that were placed from every direction towards Kotori.
"—!"
Kotori turned around to avoid it, or used <Camael> to knock off the rays, flying in the sky to escape the siege.
Even if Kotori had her powers liberated through her submission to her madness, she knew that definitely wouldn't be safe after taking a direct hit from <Raguel>. Rei, despite believing in victory, still did not neglect continuously releasing his reiryoku.
However...
"...<Cama...el>—<Megiddo>...!"
Amidst the flow of glowing reiryoku, looming over a squirming shadow, the next moment a deep crimson pillar of fire shot straight towards Rei's eyes.
"This─!"
Just in time, Rei turned his body. The position Rei had been standing a second before had been penetrated through by the burning flames. The tremendous heat pierced through the sky and scotched the skin to the point she thought that her entire body would have been burned, even without direct contact if he wasn't wearing his Astral Dress.
"…..It's...a pity..."
Kotori, who was equipped with <Camael> transformed into a cannon barrel on one side of her arm, smiled with regret. She left those words as she slowly fell to the ground.
Her Angel and Astral Dress on her body gradually turned into beautiful particles of light.
An unbelievable endurance and tenacity, Rei couldn't help but admire her. Even when her body was numerously pierced by <Raguel>'s lances and was engulfed in its all-out attack, it was unexpected that she could still counterattack at that level.
He then arrived a few meters from where Kotori had fallen.
Seeing her exhausted and unable to fight, he lessened his guard towards her and spoke.
"...well, I heard that you want to talk, but it seems that you somehow misunderstood me earlier and decided to render me first before having a conversation," Rei muttered as he pondered whether this is true or not.
"...is that so?"
"Hmm. To be honest, even I wanted to talk with you and as well ask some of my questions. Anyways, my questions could wait. It seems that you have a lot to say, right?" Rei stared at Kotori with a smile.
Kotori who heard him got straight to the point and asked, "....do you have any plans to antagonize humanity after this?"
Kotori really wanted to know what his answer to this would be. But she also expected that <Seraph> wouldn't try to answer it as well. And she could do nothing about it.
She already lost. Her life was within the grasp of his hands and could decide whether she would die or live at the next moment.
Despite her declaration that they would have a civil conversation after beating him up, the situation was literally "reversed" and she was the lying on the ground helplessly while her opponent was just showing exhaustion but did not have any considerable damage that could be called fatal.
[A/N: That's why a stacked up numerous +2 and +4 cards in UNO being reversed to you with you having no counter to it was....devastating....]
Depending on his answer, <Ratatoskr> would either decide to make him a threat-to-be-suppressed, or a Spirit that they should invest time on saving or protecting....which was looking quite unnecessary at the moment.
And fortunately, it piqued his attention and decided to answer her back.
"Antagonize humanity? Why should I? I find humans.... interesting, you know? In the first place, why even make an enemy of the whole human race? Taking on billions of people as your enemies would just be akin of wanting a death wish," Rei scoffed as he looked at Kotori with an amused smile.
"That's.... reasonable indeed but..." Kotori let out a wry laugh and suddenly paused at the end of her sentence.
"Hm?"
"Interesting you say...and what do you mean by that?"
"Would you believe me if I said that I once had memories of a certain being human?"
"..." Kotori remained silent and just subtly nodded her head.
Kotori knows that [Spirits] were former humans given by [Sephira Crystals] by <Phantom>, the mysterious Spirit that turns humans into Spirits with an unknown motive.
That's why it wasn't surprising that Rei in front of her had some fragments of his past memories when he was still a human.
Though some Spirits did particularly lose almost all of their memories of being human, some clearly retain them, while there were also others who had fragmented memories left in their head.
If Rei were to know what Kotori is thinking right now, he would probably laugh slightly in amusement. But to be honest, what she thought wasn't really that far from the truth.
Rei was a former human. He died and hit the luck to be reincarnated granting him 5 wishes. His wish to become a [Spirit] doesn't really mean the Spirits in [Date a Live] or this world, since a [Spirit] is a race almost occuring in most fantasy worlds out their. It was just a coincidence that he turned out to be a [Spirit] with the concepts of this World.
It wasn't <Phantom> who gave him a Sephira Crystal to turn into a Spirit. His existence itself could be said to be almost the same as <Deus>. Though the clear difference is that <Deus> was summoned by humans itself from the <Neighboring World> while Rei was a embodiment of a foreign force that came from <Another World>. His body only resembles those of a human but it is clearly that of another race which even he still doesn't know since this body wasn't his to begin with, and also, his <Crystal> was created by a God itself if you think about it simply which was the manifestation of his wish.
"Hey, <Seraph>..."
"What?"
"Do you perhaps... hate humans?"
"Why ask a question like that?"
"....just curious"
"Hate you say..... That's a complicated question. That would require me some time to give my sincere answer..."
"Haha.... It's a shame that I couldn't hear it.... ah... looks like... I'm going to sleep for a while huh...."
With those words, Kotori lost consciousness.
This situation could be rather said to be the most vulnerable state of Kotori. In short, Rei could just "end" her here.
Rei already noticed the ripples which probably turned into waves to the story plot of this world. He knew that this world would face a crisis later on which would lead to endangering almost every living being in this world.
So he already had an answer if someone asked if he should end Kotori Itsuka right here at this very moment.
In the end, he didn't want to kill her. He knew that this very person tried to kill....no, she didn't have that intention in the first place. But he knew that she did have the intent to kill him in the final stages of their battle but he deemed it to be inevitable due to her being consumed by madness when using her <Angel>.
Also, she would be one of the people involved in saving this world. Her life shouldn't end here. She would be one of the important keys to achieve this [world's] future.
If one may ask if he wants to save this world and act as a hero..... then he would instantly decline that. If he were to give a reason....
'It is troublesome' is what he would answer and would gladly pass the job to anyone else.
Of course, he somehow needs to take responsibility for changing the determined future of this world by the ripples he created. He would at least help them in their time of need. He would also try to help them occasionally or randomly depending on his mood.
'Who would want their inhabited world to be destroyed in the first place?' Rei thought seriously.
As he heaved a sigh, Rei then tried to advance and to get to Kotori who was only a few steps far away from him. He decided to carry Kotori back to her house, which Rei knows where as he watched the anime, read the novel, and played the games of it which gave a determined location of where her house, where Shidou also resides in, was located.
Just as he was about to take his fourth step.
It was then it happened.
"I advice you not to take another step there, Spirit," A voice called out.
"...?"
Rei's advance was halted as a newcomer arrived at the battlefield. Rei instantly shifted his gaze towards who the person was and his eyes slowly widened in surprise.
His perception was somewhat dulled or rendered not applicable at the moment due to his exhaustion of the battle and his intent to preserve reiryoku in his body in case of emergencies.
Rei somehow recognized who this person was after a brief moment of pondering.
"An AST member...? No, you...."
He was wearing a CR-Unit just like those of the AST's, but the design and armaments attached to it were different. Underneath the CR-Unit was a blue themed combat wiring uit. There was also a logo attached on its [Realizer].
It was a logo of.....<Ratatoskr>.
It was a very tall man with long blonde hair and light brown eyes. He had handsome features and gave the air of seriousness covering around him.
The identity of the newcomer was Kannazuki Kyohei, vice-commander of <Fraxinus>, who was a colleague of Kotori.
Right now, his appearance was different compared to the clothes he usually wears which was a white suit with black outlines and blue covering some parts. He also wears a black shirt underneath and a silver-white tie with a black belt that can be seen around his waist.
Rei then remembered that Kannazuki Kyouhei was the AST's former captain in the past.
It is said that he kept the AST in line with unusual punishments whenever they stepped out of line; first-timers had to cosplay for a day, second-timers had to step on him on top of having to cosplay, and so on.
However, he was well-respected due to his skills with [Realizers] and for leading commands.
Rei knew that he left the AST due to unusual reasons like "finding a new master to serve" or something like that. In result, he winded up working on <Ratatoskr> where he met Kotori and decided that she will be her new master.
Despite being known more for his antics and questionable fetishes, Kyouhei is one of Ratatoskr's most exceptional users of Realizers. As it was known that he was the former captain of AST, he is likely a capable Wizard as well.
Though Rei remembered that even if he is an exceptional wizard, his skills were still pales to the likes of the "Strongest Wizard", Ellen Mira Mathers, who is a wizard working under DEM.
Still, a wizard is a wizard. In other words, a threat.
With his current exhausted state, winning against him would be possible....yet difficult to achieve.
"No no. I'm not with the AST so don't worry, I seek no hostility from the likes of you. I only need to pick up my commander lying unconsciously on the ground," Kannazuki said with a smile as he pointed his finger at Kotori.
"So you aren't after my life?" Rei, again, tried to feign ignorance of knowing him, as well as the true motive of <Ratatoskr>, their organization they're working under.
"That's right. I only want our commander back to us. And I also noticed that you and her conversed for a while and you seem more considerable enough not to kill her in her direst state. Still, that doesn't mean that I'll let you approach her that easily so back off," Kannazuki said with a serious expression on his face.
It was as if he was ready to fight anytime soon. But in truth, he wants to avoid unnecessary fights for his commander, Kotori, might get caught up with it.
Rei who had already grasped what Kannazuki was thinking about just nodded silently.
"That's right... So let me ask you another question, are you my [enemy]?"
"No, I am not," Kannazuki responded calmly.
"Is that so? Hm. I will take my leave then," Rei said as he ripped space right before him.
"Yes. Well then, though it's quite late, it's nice to meet you and goodbye," Kannazuki said in a gentleman like manner as he slightly bowed with his hand placed on his chest.
His very appearance could be certainly called a well-disciplined person. If we were to signify something just like him right now....hmmm. Ah! Yes, he was like the personification of the very word 'butler'.
"...likewise" Rei replied rather lately.
And just like that, Rei stepped in the 'gate' and disappeared from the place leaving Kotori to Kannazuki's care.
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"This day is.....sooooo tiring," Rei muttered as he lied in bed.
It's been a few hours since that fight, and the time is already at night.
Rei was currently lying in bed as he recollected his thoughts and experiences that happened to him especially this day. Today, to be exact was a very important day that he wouldn't ever forget in his life.
"I need to sleep.... Yeah, I need to... since tomorrow would somehow be another busy day after all...."
And with those words, Rei fell into deep sleep.
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[A/N: Be honest with meh guyz, you didn't expect Kannazuki showing up there didn't you?]
