Chapter 7.4 - Lala - Betrayal

Azreal was blindsided by Yumiko. From the way it looked, Yumiko made sure that it wasn't an accident at all. Azreal was already on the ground and his head started to bled. The hard part of Yumiko's flintlock also had blood on it. It didn't looked like a fatal blow since Azreal was still breathing. But the matter at hand was that Yumiko had intentionally hurt someone.

I quickly got out of my chair, "What the hell are you doing, Yumiko?"

She then started to sing a tune as her outfit suddenly transformed into a menacingly beautiful black dress. The dress almost felt like she was ready for a ball but this was no ordinary ball. Her hairpin also changed into red.

She then grabbed Azreal's collar and pulled it toward her, "It's none of your concern." She opened the window near her.

"Where are you going with him?" I yelled.

"Where am I going? Well..." She rolled her eyes and said, "I was always never been on the same side. And my goal right now is to take Azreal to Nova."

"To Nova?!" Mei was surprised.

Zenith tried to talk, "This is one of your jokes right, Yumiko?"

Zenith looked like she was about to cry. But she was holding it to the best of her ability. Yumiko however remained firm as she takes Azreal and jumps out of the window. She fell down together with Azreal for a moment until she suddenly floated back up. It looks like Yumiko had conjured some kind of levitation spell.

"Will you please just shut up. You're just a little bird, nothing else. You were never my friend. You're just an imagination. You are nothing." She shakes her head.

"What...?" Zenith was hurt by those harsh words as she clasped her hands to her chest.

Mei then hold her shoulder and told Yumiko, "Can't you at least be less condescending to her?"

"No. All of you are wasting my time." Yumiko tries to leave.

But then Yumiko was blocked by my Guardian Spirit.

"You're not going anywhere...I've been keeping an eye on you for a looong time, Yumiko. And would have you know it, you were always a rat through and through."

Yumiko then chuckled, "It's funny. Even a rat could tell that I'm on the enemy side even after Nihon. Remember that, Zenith? That was when I tried to kill you."

"Enough, Yumiko!" Lala yelled. "We only doubted you because White trusted you."

Yumiko smirked and replied, "And now you see that White is on the enemy side..." She chuckled. "Pathetic." Yumiko then blasted out an unknown bullet to my Guardian Spirit.

My Guardian Spirit defends against the bullet but all of a sudden my Guardian Spirit started to cry in pain. I didn't know what was happening. I was completely confused and surprised.

Yumiko then proudly introduces, "It's a special stun bullet. It even works on spirits. This is all thanks to the master craftsmanship of Zenith Feathers."

"You were using her..." Mei was pissed.

"Damn you, witch!" I yelled as I jumped out of the window.

As my hand was about to reach Yumiko, she however began to hum a short tune. As soon as I heard the tune, my mind begins to hear a loud ringing voice. It felt like painful headache. I couldn't reach out to Yumiko in time. Which means that I ended up falling from the 2nd floor. There was nothing on the ground but concrete floor. But my body was not the painful thing I felt at the time as the ringing noise still lingers in my head. Mei couldn't do much as she was trying to protect Zenith.

Zen weakly called Mei, "Help Lala, Mei."

"No." She shakes her head. "No, you are still in trouble if I leave you be."

"What? No. Help Lala, Mei" She was urging her.

But Mei remained stubborn as Yumiko continues to hum the mysterious tune. Just as things were about to get worse, especially for my own sanity. Yumiko suddenly stopped humming as she dodges a rock being thrown at her. Yumiko looked at where it was from and she saw a tall regal-like girl wearing a grand cape. It was Sam Maximus. She has recovered from her rest.

"Hello there, Sam." Yumiko greeted her.

"And she's not alone..." Another voice was heard as a large chainsaw blade was flung toward Yumiko.

She dodges it but her grasp on Azrael's collar was let loose and Azreal falls to the floor. Just in the nick of time, a ghostly young man captured him. The large chainsaw blade spiked on a roof as a tomboyish arm grabs upon it and began to rev up the chainsaw. The boy was Hariken Shiro and the tomboy was of course, Typhon Blanc.

"Where are you taking that guy, Yumiko?" Blanc sounded serious.

"To think that you would do something like this to your own batchmate." Shiro endured as he tries to carry Azreal fainted body.

Then, Sam announced, "Keep an eye on her everyone. Don't let her get away. We'll do this one on one, Yumiko."

"One on one?" Yumiko laughed, "Out of all people you would be saying something like that?" she continued to belittle Sam.

Sam didn't flinch as she then replied, "Well if you don't want it then maybe I should give you a handicap. One on Two. You can use your spirit friend that you always loved so much."

Yumiko was offended, "You don't get to talk about Violet like that."

Violet then appears from the spirit realm and spoke to her, "We got to hurry, Yumiko."

"I know! Let me handle it, Violet." Yumiko tries to take over the situation.

Violet willfully nodded as she disappears back to the spirit realm. Yumiko began loading up both of her flintlocks as Sam unsheathes her Absolute Sword. With the manipulation of the ground, Sam was able to reach where Yumiko was floating. Yumiko quickly blocked Sam's sword with one of her flintlock. To two main weapons clashed against each other as Yumiko started to lose her composure and began to glide down to the floor. Sam and Yumiko were pushed back as both of them safely landed on their two legs still standing. They were at a standoff. In a few moments later, Yumiko shot the first bullet. Sam quickly split the bullet in half but the bullet suddenly imploded upon its destruction. Sam immediately pushed herself away from the blast by manipulating the gravity around her.

Aside from Absolute Order. Sam has always been an expert with her elemental magic. I would intervene but since Sam did asked to fight against her on her own, I had to respect her decision in some way. I feel like the only reason she was acting more responsible this time was because of what she had faced during her trials and tribulations inside Virtue. Sam have finally come to terms that she was a despicable person and she truly accepts that. It might sound foolish but she might be doing this because she is trying to redeem herself. But it wasn't enough.

As Sam continued to deflect and dodge all of Yumiko's bullet. Sam finally decides to shoot out a molten lava blast toward Yumiko. Yumiko didn't move at all as she simply uses a different bullet to counter the lava. The bullet she ended up using was the black hole bullet that Zenith told me about. It sucked up all of the lava that Sam tried to shoot over Yumiko.

Sam gives up and charged in once again with her sword. Yumiko finally makes a move as she jumps into the air and used both of her flintlock to shoot at Sam who quickly blew the bullet away from her by manipulating the gravity around her. Sam slashes but it was quickly caught by one of Yumiko's flintlock. None of them were able to hurt the other. But it looks like Sam had started to break a sweat.

"If only this place isn't filled with so many students...I would have gone all out." Sam said to herself.

Yumiko heard it and told her, "Too bad because I'm not giving you a chance, bitch!" Yumiko then threw one of her flintlock into the air.

With a free hand she started to conjure a stream of water that pushes Sam away from Yumiko. As the water finally goes away, Yumiko didn't let up as she immediately shot Sam's right leg with a live bullet. Sam started to scream as she tried to hold onto the pain.

"Sam!" Shiro notices what just happened and tried to stop the duel.

In the meantime, from the resting room above, Zenith have gotten out of her bed to see what was going on outside together with Mei. I've finally regained my composure as I slowly stood up thanks to a box nearby. From the rooftop, Blanc once again revs her chainsaw blade. She jumps down from the roof and landed safely to the ground floor. But she couldn't move further as Yumiko then turned her head to Shiro who was still holding Azreal who was still knocked out.

"It's not nice steal...Shiro. Don't you think you're dead sister would be sad to know that you steal?"

Shiro then got furious as Yumiko just touched on a personal subject, "What do you know about her! I think my sister would be proud to know that I'm doing the right thing right now."

"Is that so? She's proud of you, huh?" Yumiko raised her eyebrows.

"I'm sure she is!" Shiro remained to stand firm and continued, "Had I known it earlier...I wouldn't have been helping you in the Empire in Virtue. You were a great leader...but that's about it. You even send the AIs to their grave just like that."

As Shiro continues to talk, a sudden gunshot rings around everyone's ear nearby. Everyone saw it. I saw it. Zenith saw it. Shiro was shot in the chest by Yumiko's live bullet. Shiro drops Azreal to the ground as he also fell to the floor.

Yumiko dragged Azreal but she then felt something was holding her back. Shiro was pulling her leg. In retaliation to that...bang. Spurts of blood splurge over Yumiko's dress. Particles of brain can be seen sticking onto Yumiko. She loads her gun once again and shot Shiro's brain once again.

Yumiko blows her flintlock and said, "Well now, you're finally get to be a real ghost." She sighed and continued, "As well as seeing your little sister...".

Yumiko pushes away Shiro's hand as she opens up a portal using her special teleportation bullet. Immediately, she transport herself and Azreal away from the area. Leaving behind Shiro's lifeless body on the floor...

Blood have been spilled and Shiro was the first to fall. We couldn't believe it just happened but it happened. Shiro was dead. He's no longer coming back. I don't know how we're going to explain this to White once he find out about it...but then again, will White even come to his sense...? We don't know for sure. But what I know that day...was a day where we finally received a grim reminder. A reminder that we can die anytime...

I've known Yumiko's betrayal coming by a mile, but I wasn't prepared for whatever she's going to do about it. I didn't know she would even resort to killing people without even looking back. It looks like this was only the beginning of true chaos. What will happen next...

I'm also worried about Zenith. Because deep down she knows that Shiro was one of White's close friend in campus and unknown to him, he was already gone. Thanks to someone that he have given full trust on...Yumiko...just what are you...?

TO BE CONTINUED