Chapter 17: Mirror and Frozen Worlds [4]
"...done"
A single word was muttered by the young man as he lowered his blade. In this monochromatic dimension lies piles of ashes from the foes that he had fought.
The young man being none other than Rei, and his does being none other than those 'Spirits'.
It still eludes him how these Spirits came to be because for all he knew, that 'woman' already gave of all the Sephira Crystals to its hosts in this time except for one. Yes, that one being the Sephira Crystal bearing the first rank in the Kabbalah Tree of Life, the Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Metatron.
The second Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Rasiel which governs the powers of knowledge and near omniscience is already occupied by Nia Honjou which is located in an island owned by DEM.
The third Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Zaphkiel which governs the domain of time and shadows owned by none other than <Nightmare>, Kurumi Tokisaki.
The fourth Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Zadkiel which governs that of the three stages of water that is being wielded by the Spirit that Rei, Tohka, and Tenka was supposed to see, Yoshino Himekawa.
The fifth Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Camael which governs the domain of flames owned by Ratatoskr's current commander, Kotori Itsuka.
The sixth Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Michael that governs the domain of space and lock—or rather, 'seal' abilities that could even affect abstract concepts such as emotions and memories. This is owned by Mukuro Hoshimiya which is now located up in space, hovering around while in slumber.
The seventh Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Haniel that governs the domain of forgery...or rather, this Angel has the capabilities of altering reality itself that only depends on the wielder's capabilities for a limited amount of time. It is a very versatile Angel, and uniquely, it can also copy other Angels' abilities as well, though the powers it will produce would be inferior compared to the original. This Angel is wielded by Natsumi Kyouno, or 'Witch' which would be her code name at a later date.
The eighth Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Raphael, the Angel that governs the domain of wind. As stated, this Angel has the capabilities of manipulating wind itself, to the point where in full power, this could cause a typhoon that could wipe away islands. This Sephira Crystal was split in half however due to some unique circumstances and this Angel is being wielded by Kaguya Yamai and Yuzuru Yamai, which are...'twins'. Currently, their location is unknown, but it is said that whenever a 'unusual' typhoon takes place, their was a high chance that these two would be the cause.
The ninth Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Gabriel that governs the domain on sound and an arsenal that could be pretty much lethal such as mind manipulation through sound, physical enhancement, pain soothing, and many other more. This Angel is being wielded by Miku Izayoi, which is currently an 'idol' as her profession and is attending an all girls highschool.
And last but not the least, the tenth Sephira Crystal that houses the Angel Sandalphon that governs the domain of power itself. Among all Angels, Sandalphon could be said as the strongest in terms of raw strength and destructive power when let loose by the wielder. This Angel is owned by none other than Tohka Yatogami, his... lover and so.
Moreover, Rei didn't even consider the possibilities of the Sephira counterparts, which is the Inverse or the Qliphoth Crystals. So far, there is Tenka that wields the Demon King Nahemah which is the counterpart of Sandalphon that is being wielded by Tohka. Both Angel and Demon King govern the same domain, but hypothetically, it could be said that the Inverse one has a little more edge when it comes to overall strength compared to the normal one.
With all these in mind, Rei muttered, "Unless she makes other Sephira Crystals... well, that's most unlikely," he concluded.
Yes, practically it would make no sense for that woman to create more Sephira Crystals for the sole reason of all the spots were already occupied in the Tree of Life.
Anyways, if she could create one... then it would probably come from the Neighboring World where Spirits—or Quasi-Spirits take shelter if he remembers correctly.
Well, if he was mistaken, then he must've forgot. Why? Well, it's completely normal for somebody to forget some stuff in their occasionally, right? Added to the fact that Rei has already lived a lifetime in his past life.
Turning his back on the ruined state of this monochromatic city, his eyes started roaming again. Rei was finding a focal point where he could probably distort space and break out free from this dimension.
It didn't work at his previous attempts, but he believes that he has a good shot now. After fighting and annihilating each Spirit here, Rei felt that the space—or rather, barrier that makes this mirrored dimension exist weakened.
In short...
"These...incomplete Spirits are the anchors in maintaining this dimension"
Rei doesn't know how that woman pulled it off, but it was none of his business already. He needs to get out of here quick for Tohka and Tenka was outside and is probably waiting for him.
'Well, that might be the case for Tohka. Tenka however...' Rei thought as he showed a wry smile. The latter of the Spirits that he had said was practically...a person that can't be honest to herself. There was nothing wrong with that, he was not one to judge considering his faults.
"Anyways..."
Rei then undeployed his armor. A flash of light covered his body as Reiryoku dispersed out. In succession, a sword then manifested in his hands.
It was <Raguel>. Not the blaster ones that he had used in the Alternative form, but the original one.
Rei took a second glancing at his sword. Really, Rei would admit that he was more comfortable on using this compared to those blasters, but oh well, if talking about efficiency and long range bombarding towards a group of enemies, it would only be normal to use his artillery, which is the cannons. Taking a deep breath, Rei concentrated. He lifted his blade upwards, taking a stance as if he was trying to cut something down.
And that is the case.
Reiryoku swirled as it caused vibrations in the area.
If there was anything else in his mind right now, then it was this.
'One swing is all it takes'
"<Raguel>; [Sever]"
As Rei commanded, his blade glowed, and he swung it down. The trail of his blade caused a fissure in space, which affected its surroundings obviously. It sucked anything within with extreme force, but Rei managed to repel it and wait.
The next thing that happened was that a crack appeared in thin air. The crack soon spread as if it's a mirror that has been broken. It expanded and expanded to the point where the hole was big enough for a person to walk and fit through it. The next second, it then revealed what's inside it.
A world filled with colors compared to his monochromatic one. Most of all, what greeted him next was cold winds. Winds that would probably make a normal person freeze in contact. In short, this was no normal wind, and Rei already guessed what was happening.
Rei then set forth inside.
He finally broke free.
——
[Shidou PoV]
A few moments earlier before Rei's arrival...
"W-what the heck, is this!?"
While holding the puppet in his hand, Shidou who had just left the apartment opened his eyes wide at the view that was spreading in front of him.
At any rate, the town's landscape that he was familiar with, turned into a winter wonderland.
What's more, it was not snow accumulating on it. The town was purely, frozen.
"—Did you not hear the alarm? It's Yoshino."
From the intercam that had been keeping its silence, he could hear Kotori's voice from it. Kotori talked as if it was no big deal, just like when you comment about how birds fly normally in a day.
Shidou wanted to express his worry. After all that he did, he still screwed up with Yoshinon being separated with Yoshino, and the rest was history.
"Leaving that aside. What were you doing before the Spirit manifested? You took quite a sweet time leaving the room, you know?" Kotori continued, quite amused if Shidou would bet.
"...No, I got caught by a birdlime that was set up at the front entrance."
Yes, when he was trying to leave Origami's room, his leg got grabbed by the trap; it was something that would slow him down from going outside.
Oh right, he met Origami a few days prior. Shidou was genuinely surprised that their absent classmate was actually a member of the AST, which is technically the organization that is set on exterminating Spirits.
Of course, even though Shidou knew it, he still tried to approach Origami and try to know why she joined the organization. This led to a series of exchanges between the two, which in turn made them both know themselves better.
After a few days, they met again, but it wasn't really the ideal meeting a sone would probably like. Well, it happened when Shidou was trying to pacify Yoshino... which then led to a full blown assault by the AST after Shidou was immediately retrieved by Ratatoskr for his own safety.
And so, days passed, Shidou continued to engage more talks about the Spirit, and he honestly understands the pain that the girl was going through, which led him asking a series of questions, that lastly led them to initiate a date in Kotori's orders.
With all of that happening, Origami invited Shidou for a 'talk' in her home. She tried to reason him out about how Spirits are very dangerous beings that would bring none other than grief and destruction at its wake. But Shidou couldn't retort, but still, seeing those said Spirit having emotions as well and needs help, he tried to defend them. That led to a...well, kind of heated discussion (not really, Origami retained her composure throughout the talk and rationally gave her answers backed with logic and such.) and the rest was history.
... Anyways, back to the point about the trap, well, it was a weird trap. Although it would take someone's time but it was not a trap that was impossible to escape from. If he were to say which it was, instead of catching an intruder from outside, it would be to slow someone down from escaping from inside…
"...No no no no"
Now was not the time to be worrying about such things. He shook his head and regained his thoughts.
"So this is…Yoshino's doing?"
"Yes," came the blunt answer from his sister.
He said that while viewing the city covered in ice and Kotori replied back to him.
"It is not a situation where you can take your time leisurely and make plans. The rain water was supposed to be drained originally but even that got frozen up, if this situation continues there might be a chance that serious damage could be caused to the ground and underground shelter"
After taking a deep breath, Kotori continued on.
"—The only ones that can stop Yoshino are you, and that puppet. Will you go for it?"
"Of course. I can't leave Yoshino and the city like this anymore." Shidou replied, his voice filled with resolution.
"...Shin, I have one thing to say too, is it okay?" And, from the intercam, he heard a sleepy voice. It was Reine.
"...I did a lot of investigating but—it would seem, your question was not necessarily a misunderstanding."
Speaking of the—Question, it was probably what Shidou asked, when Yoshino visited his house a few days ago.
Now that he thought about it, he felt that Kotori did mention she would get Reine to investigate it.
"...Since we don't have time I will tell you the brief details. Yoshino is—"
Reine explained the situation briefly.
"...."
The same time when he heard that, a feeling of his heart being tightly squeezed, passed throughout Shidou's whole body.
But—mysteriously it wasn't that surprising.
The only feeling he had was an agreement of, 'aah, if it's Yoshino then, it's understandable——'
And the absolute conviction of, as expected he needed to save the girl.
"...Kotori..."
He looked at the city again and took a breath. He then made his determination by, hitting his chest a few times which was beating violently.
She might have guessed Shidou's intention just by that, Kotori's voice resounded back.
"—Very well. Run straight to the right, until you get out of the main street. Looking at the speed and the direction Yoshino is heading, you will reach there in approximately 5 minutes. If it is from that spot you can reach that location before her."
"Roger!"
Receiving his instructions, he swiftly stepped on the ground firmly. But...
"Hurry and finish increasing her affection level, and give her a kiss," came a reply from his ears as he blinked.
"...Uhh"
...It was a specific way to say it out of the mouth, Shidou became a little shy from that.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"N-No.... Although it is not about that but... erm..."
Shidou said that while lightly blushing, Kotori made a [haa] sigh like she was tired of him.
"Why are you getting embarrassed now? It's not like this is the first time you've done it"
From Kotori's words, Shidou remembered what had happened inside the department store, his face turned even redder because of that.
"That, might be true but... No, how'd I put this? Although it was like an accident at that time but...If I am suppose to do it intentionally, then it feels like a crime or something..."
"—Aah, what is this? Is there a chance that Shidou might be a lolicon?"
Now that hit something up. Shidou knew Kotori was just joking, but still, it kind of hurts when you hear those words from your little sister.
"Kotori! You k-know that's wrong! I am nothing like that you know?" Shidou denied vehemently as his faced heated from embarrassment.
"That reaction. Bull's-eye? Is your strike-zone from middle school and below? Kyaa—scary. I have to be careful from now on~"
Kotori said mischievously.
"Oi oi..."
And Shidou replied back while scratching his cheeks.
"No, that won't happen."
No matter how much he wasn't connected by blood, Kotori was his sister and they have been brought up together since they were young.
As expected, there was no way such a thing would happen.
"Ah... now I know this isn't the time to ask this but... Kotori, where did... Ainsworth-san and the others go?" Shidou asked, in a concerned tone. Even though the first interactions between him and Rei couldn't be defined as good, he still couldn't help but worry for the guy.
Well, Rei also made an unexpected apology of some sort for his rash actions back then, but that's just it. If anything, their relationship was that of strangers bordering acquaintances. But still, for Shidou, that was enough to treat him as a friend of some sorts, that's just
"....."
All he received however was silence.
"Kotori...?" Shidou called out again.
"...I don't know. We can confirm that Tohka and Tenka are nearby...but for that guy..." Kotori answered, somewhat in a lower tone.
Shidou instantly recognized this mood of Kotori. For all the years they had been siblings, Shidou could more or less guess what she is in occasionally.
"Are you worried perhaps him? Kotori?" Shidou teased. "Now that's kind of sweet of you, haha..."
And once more, silence descended. Shidou just treated this as Kotori refusing to answer him out of petty...but, it was kind of awkward really. The atmosphere he means.
"...."
"Uh, Koto—" Before he could finish his words however came the shout on the other side of the intercom, startling Shidou as for how loud it was.
"Shut up, hurry up and go!"
It was rare for Kotori, in her oppressive Commander mode, to raise her voice while shouting.
"Y-yes!" Shidou replied as he scrammed. "W-What's wrong with her...…?"
While Shidou was feeling it was hard to understand her recent reaction, he dashed in the middle of the cold rain.
He was somehow maintaining his speed, while running on the frozen road.
And immediately he arrived at the main street with no one in sight—he then firmly gripped his foot on the ground.
"—She's coming..."
Right after Kotori's warning—immediately, he saw a slow-witted silhouette.
It was a smooth and inorganic form. On its head, long rabbit-like ears. There was no mistake. It was the Angel <Zadkiel> Yoshino summoned.
Shidou, raised his voice until his vocal cords almost got crushed.
"—Yoshinoooooooooooo!"
"...…!"
Yoshino who was attached to the back of the doll which was moving at extreme speeds, showed some reaction.
It would seem, that she noticed Shidou.
<Zadkiel> that was moving like it was sliding on the frozen road, stopped right in front of Shidou.
And when he thought the slow-witted doll bent its body, Yoshino who was attached to the back, raised her face that was soggy from crying.
"H-Hey, Yoshino. Long time no see," Shidou greeted.
"...Shidou-san...…"
Yoshino raised her body, and *un* *un* vertically swung her head.
At that occasion, Yoshino pulled out her hand that was inserted in the hole behind <Zadkiel>'s back. On Yoshino's finger many ring-like objects were shining, and from inside <Zadkiel>'s interior, there were thin treads stretched out. Like a puppet, it might be used to control <Zadkiel>'s movements.
"Yoshino, there is something I want to give to you..."
"...?"
After wiping her tears with her sleeves, Yoshino tilted her head as if questioning him.
"Aah, this is—"
And, that moment when Shidou took out the puppet that was kept in his pocket.
"Shidou!"
The same time when Kotori's voice echoed, from behind Shidou a light beam of some sort, was aimed and fired at Yoshino.
The shot grazed the tip of Yoshino's shoulder and her cheek, as it continued on passing behind her.
"Wha...?"
Shidou's voice clogged up, and he immediately turned his head to look behind him.
Over there was Origami covered with overly exaggerated equipment, and was floating on air while carrying a large cannon.
"O-Origami...…"
"Shidou....Itsuka"
And what's more, it was not only that. Wondering when it happened, in Shidou and Yoshino's surroundings, AST magicians were gathering around them.
"—That young man over there. It's dangerous. Distance yourself from that girl"
With a voice that was passed through using a machine, the woman that appeared to be the captain made a practical speech.
But...
"U——ah, ah, ah, ah, ah..."
And immediately such a voice came from behind him; Shidou turned his face back to its original direction.
Yoshino looked at the AST members figure and her body started trembling.
"...…huh?"
Shidou, raised his eyebrows and gasped.
"Ah, aaaah, UAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh—!"
She shouted, Yoshino then inserted both her arms into <Zadkiel> again.
And while spreading an extremely cold air around it, it slides towards its back direction.
"Yoshino...! Wait!"
Shidou's entreaty could not reach.
<Zadkiel> which was being controlled by Yoshino, was *Guuooooooooooooooooo*--------making such sounds while sucking in the surrounding atmosphere.
However....
BOOOOMMMMM!
"Uwahhh?!" Shidou instantly recoiled from the explosion.
It didn't come from the missiles of the AST. It came from something else...
His eyes blinked as smoke rise from a distance from where the explosion occured. Some fo the AST seemed incapacitated, and the remaining ones tried to regroup and analyze the situation.
"Yoshino?!"
Suddenly, Yoshino who was riding a gigantic rabbit coated in ice jumped away. It left cold winds that was enough to make Shidou fall down in his knees due to how cold it was. But in the end, he resisted. He tried to stand up...
"Hmph. What is an idiot doing here? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" A cold voice said to him as he tried to stand up halting him from continuing due to the surprise.
Shidou immediately shivered under the presence of the girl a distance away from him. He could feel none other than bad news at her arrival. Her very presence exudes this dangerous atmosphere that rings alarms in Shidou's head.
The girl was clad in modern clothing, but there are some parts that could be defined as 'mystical' in a sense. It was like a partial armor deployed on her. On her hand was a single edged blade that made Shidou tremble in danger at the mere sight of it.
Suddenly, another girl appeared with also a sword in her hand. This time, the girl has a broadsword. While also donning modern clothing added with some mystic parts, the two looked almost the same.
'Are they twins..?' Shidou asked to himself as he calmed himself down.
"Sis... be more gentle with you words— un? Aren't you Kotori's brother?" The other one who seemed much livelier and not dangerous spoke up. It was Tohka.
"A-ah, yeah"
"Oh! That's why she said that I should come and see if his brother was okay... umu," Tohka nodded to herself.
"D-did you come here to help me? From Kotori perhaps?" Shidou wondered if Kotori sent them for help.
"Hm? Not really. We are already in the way here when Kotori tried to contact us." Tohka answered as she crossed her arms. "Also, we just need to have a little talk with the other Spirit there... because well, she just ruined our whole date when it was finally reaching the best part."
"Hmph. Can't we just get over this and take down that Spirit? Tohka?" Tenka quipped in, her brows raised. Why bother wasting time talking?
Shidou panicked. He doesn't like the sound of that. "W-wait! Are you trying to hurt her!"
"If she won't listen or calm down, then we would." Tohka instantly said. "We just want to... talk, if she attacks us, then she should be prepared to face the consequences"
"Absolutely." Tenka followed. "So? What are we still doing here, Tohka? We shouldn't be wasting any more time."
"P-please help me! I promise I will be able to make her have this talk with you two without any fighting!" He pleaded, as he bowed in hopes of acceptance.
"...."
"...."
"...you might die because of that recklessness you know?" Tohka stated as she held her chin. "And if that happens, Kotori would be...sad. Umu. That would be...bad."
"Are you seriously accepting?" Tenka raised a brow. What is Tohka thinking right now? Why even bother?
"Umu. Sure, why not? Well, Kotori is a friend, and only Rei, you, and some other people alongside her are comfortable to be with. I can't let such...friend be sad because we didn't help her brother and get himself killed in the process"
That was her simple reasoning. Logically, she was right. If this brother of Kotori would end up injured, or dead, then she would be affected as well. And for Tohka's few humans that she could consider as a friend, Kotori being in such state was something that would sadden Tohka as well.
"...is that so?" Tenka replied, now understanding where Tohka was getting at. Hearing this, Tenka couldn't really help but just nod. "If he slows us down, or not fulfill his so called promise, then I'll take him out personally." She added as she gave a glance to the boy.
"Ah... T-thanks! I'll get the job done!" Shidou gave his thanks knowing that he could still prevent things from escalating to a more dangerous degree.
He won't fail this. Failure wasn't an option.
It has always been in Shidou's mind thinking what would happen if two Spirits were to fight each other. He quickly erased such thoughts though since by looking at these two Spirits before him were to fight Yoshino, then at worst case, their would be someone dying at the end of it.
And for Shidou, he can't allow such thing to happen.
"Umu. But don't assume that you can order us around. Me and sis would only create an opening in order for you to pacify that Spirit...and let us have our talk"
Shidou immediately nodded. "Understood!"
"Now... no killing huh? This is hard, Kotori." Tohka scratched her cheek remembering Kotori's pleas when she said that Tohka and Tenka should refrain from causing any casualties when the connection of the intercom in her ears activated once more.
"Hmph... he's close... just a few more minutes..." Tenka mumbled softly as her lips slightly curled up. She removed it immediately right after as she silently admonished herself.
Noticing the weird actions of Tenka for a second, Tohka tilted her head and called Tenka out. "Sis?"
"Nothing. Let's get this over with."
——
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——
[A/N: I forgot to post this yesterday guys, sorry for the delay. Anyways, I can feel that some of you are disappointed as they could already guess for where this development is going on.
Now now, put down the torches... don't burn me.... I am already burned out as it is with the things going on here... added with the writings and stuff.
Please understand, I am doing this for the...greater good (bruh). Giving up on Yoshino here and helping Shidou would open up opportunities for Rei and Kotori to interact more at a later date. The larger the harem, the more harder it is to give more screentime for each, that's why I am only limiting them in the first place.
We are finally approaching the end of this arc...after nearly 10 months wtf... The blame is on me for writing slowly nowadays, can't deny that haha.
Also, I am trying to write another fic in FF.net. You can find the user ObeRun there. Well, check my fic out. It's a Danmachi x Bleach fic. I am trying this out to inspire myself for writing more... and oh well, this fic has about 6k+ words per chap. I only started this on a whim to reignite my passion for writing so check it out for more output.
Word Count: 4.4k words
Anyways, that's all for today guys. I know some of you might have complaints about how things turned out. Don't worry, I know. But I won't change my mind... it's all for unlocking Kotori's favor...if you know what I mean.
See you guys next time! Ciao~]