In front of the tall oni and the shorter, red-headed succubus was a crib for a baby. Inside the crib, a baby continued to sleep, completely unaware that her parents watched as she did so with smiles on their faces. On the inside of the crib, by the end closest to her feet was a nameplate with the name “Varius” written out on it.
Staring at their sleeping child, the two whispered back and forth about their wonderful daughter.
Yoro: [She’s adorable when she’s sleeping like that…]
Nero: [Is there a time when she is not adorable?]
Yoro: [Hehe! Well, it gets kinda tiring when she cries a lot, but we’ll always be there for her when that happens. You’re right, though. She’s always this adorable.]
Changing where she looked, Yoro gazed upon her husband’s face, who stared back at her with a puzzled look.
Nero: [Is everything alright?]
Yoro: [I wanted to ask you, Nene. What do you think little Vari will be like when she’s older?]
Placing a hand on his chin, the man looked over at his child.
Nero: [Hm. That’s a rather difficult question. I’m not sure we’ll know until she grows.]
Yoro: [You should guess! We can play a game to see how accurate we are once the time comes!]
Nero: [Very well. If I had to guess, I would say she’ll look similar to her mother. The same face with similar eyes. Her hair is black right now, but I would not be surprised if there are tones of red in it.]
Yoro: [What about her height?]
Nero: [I think she’ll take from both of us. She won’t be short by any means, but she also won’t be very tall either. She’ll sit perfectly in the middle in terms of scale.]
Yoro: [Which one of us do you think she’ll like more?]
Nero: [... I believe she’ll love her mother the most.]
Yoro: [That’s one thing I’ll have to disagree with you on. I think she’ll love her papa the most! She calms down every time you hold her, after all!]
Moving over to the side of the crib, Nero gently stroked Varius’ head.
Nero: [... Yoro, perhaps it’s rather late to say this, but I’m quite nervous. I’m not sure how to take care of this girl.]
Moving beside him, Yoro took the unoccupied hand into her own, resting her head on the arm of the same.
Yoro: [It’ll be alright. We’ll figure this out together. That’s the beauty of it, at least from what Kōkatsu told me. Everyone is always nervous about this kind of thing, but they always manage to overcome it. Besides, if we need help, we can always ask her for advice.]
Tapping on his chest, Yoro released her hand and spoke quietly back to Nero.
Yoro: [Now that she’s asleep, I’m gonna go get some rest. Wake me up if she needs anything.]
Nero: [Very well then, my love. Have yourself a good nap.]
Yoro: [Thanks, Nene!♥]
With that, Yoro Kobi made her exit from the room. Watching as she left, Nero turned back to the crib in front of him. Confusion riddled his face as he noticed something.
Varius was gone.
By the nameplate at the back, the words had changed from the girl’s name to something else entirely.
“What are you doing?”
Looking back at the door, Nero saw his wife again, staring back at him without a smile in sight.
Before a single word could be uttered–
The world around him faded to black.
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The battle between the demons had already erupted into chaotic mayhem. Flying through the arena around them, they met each other’s blades head on with a flurry of strikes. Element amplified attacks to the highest degree from both of them, coupled by several matōki blasts by the oni clad in black alone. Shiro, however, avoided exerting her matōki through her attacks, only using them when truly needed.
To Nero, it was an odd sight, as a true spectacle like no other was beginning to unfold before his very eyes. Around Shiro was a thick yet thin line of matōki, flowing around Shiro like water. It was abundantly clear what this was, which surprised Nero to see his close friend learning such a technique in the span of a week. Perfect Matōki Flow, the state of being able to reduce how much matōki would be used during battle while also allowing for one’s capabilities to excel even higher than what matōki could normally do.
However, despite this new addition to the battle allowing Shiro to push herself further, she did not do so in the slightest. Her matōki, as stated, was hardly ever used as they clashed. She merely focused on using her element, allowing the electric power she contained within herself to waste away as Nero struck back at the attacks.
For what reason she chose to, or why she believed this was far more correct than using matōki to amplify her attacks, Nero could not say. The only thing that mattered between them was the duel that was now underway. A battle to the death between two friends, setting aside the bond they once had and allowing their weapons to cut each other down. With their duel, the fate of all who lived in the world of Shin would be decided.
Slamming down against Martire, Shiro dropped low onto the floor after her descent from the air and swiped at Nero’s legs. An electric shock rattled through his bones, as the oni was unable to guard the attack in time to stop her. Stabbing the earth with his sword, an immense fissure was let loose while the ground split apart, forcing Shiro to jump to the side where she was met by a heavy strike once Nero dashed towards her.
Pushing Nero off Tempest, Shiro performed a flip to gain some distance and swung her sword in a circle above her. Several bolts of lightning from the sky struck down at the blade, giving the bright green light around it more and more power with every electric shock. Pointing it at Nero, Shiro sent an immense bundle of lightning bolts towards him.
Shiro: [Bolt Judgement!]
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Kicking the ground from the side, Nero swiftly jumped away from the incoming beam and focused on attacking Shiro again. Before he could do so, Shiro pointed Tempest back at him, causing the bolts to follow his every movement. Whether he moved to the ground to try and shoot himself towards her, or high into the sky to attack from above, even from side to side was unsafe as the bolts continued to track his movement with every point from Tempest.
Spinning around with his blade, Nero struck at the bolt with a great deal of matōki sliding through with the greatsword.
Nero: [Grave Lock.]
The single slash of the blade continued to follow the trail of lightning that built up as it tracked Nero. Drawing close to Shiro now, the slash would soon make contact with her, which did not help her in the slightest as Nero was once again approaching. Focusing on killing two birds with one stone, Shiro rapidly swung Tempest in the air, making it nearly impossible to see the blade other than the streaks of light produced. Nero held his guard up against the attack, while the slash that made its way towards Shiro was destroyed.
Shiro: [Raijū’s Hunt!]
Sent back by Shiro’s blade, Nero flipped through the air and landed back down. He looked towards his arms, which poorly guarded the attack leaving several gashes behind. He clicked his tongue at the sight of it, before regenerating the flesh he had lost and clutching his blade again. Holding it high in the air, Nero sent several, large projectile slashes of matōki towards Shiro.
Knowing what Nero was trying to do, Shiro used her wings to send herself flying through the arena, watching as much like her Bolt Judgement, Nero’s slashes continued to hone in on her position.
On her back, eight den-den daiko drums of lightning were formed, all beaten at an incredible yet harmonized rate. Nero was shocked by this choice, as it was his understanding that Shiro’s attack involving these drums required time to build. Yet here she stood, smacking the electric drums with even more electricity to create her next move.
Once the slashes of matōki were close, Shiro spread her arms out, both above and below her, forming a half sphere of electricity between herself and the attack.
Shiro: [Great Rajin Calm!]
Effortlessly, all of the slashes were reduced into nothing before the barrier of thunder. It was not the correct place to congratulate someone over such a technique, as the person in front of him was the greatest enemy of all, but Nero desired to praise his friend. Her quick battle smarts had led her to form many powerful moves, all capable of putting up with Nero’s own.
Nero and Shiro attacked each other again, causing a dance of blades as they spun around and dodged each attack. Not a single piece of their steel chipped against each other, no matter how many sparks were formed as their swords made brutal contact.
Jumping over Nero, Shiro tried to spin and attack Nero from behind. Seeing through her tactic, Nero spun around using his leg to fuel the movement, and met Tempest again with a heavy strike from Martire, sending Shiro flying back. However, this was no time to cower as Shiro had thought, the goddess pushing herself back into the fight as she landed back onto the ground.
Twirling like a tornado, repeated slashes from the jagged green blade were unleashed against Nero’s poor guard, resulting in several slashes making their way through onto his body. Gritting his teeth to deal with the sizzling static pain, Nero slammed Martire against the sword, which Shiro grabbed in between the edges of Tempest for a very short time to avoid injury and moved out of the way the second after. After that second, a mountain in the distance along with the ground between it and Nero were split in two.
Nero kicked off the ground again, ascending high up in the air and moving down towards Shiro with the tip of his blade pointed towards her. Due to the space between them, Shiro was able to easily avoid the oncoming attack, but she had not expected the result of it. Once the ground was pierced by the tip of Martire, it had split into pieces in the large circle around them, sending the rocks flying high in the air due to the matōki the sword had sent through the earth.
Now standing on a large rock in the air among many others, Shiro tried to decipher where Nero could have been, casting her eyes upon every rock that joined her. Due to her confusion, it was only natural that she noticed an attack far too late. Attempting to move out of the way after noticing Nero, Shiro was hit with a slash to her shoulder from afar, resulting in a great wound to take its place in the same fashion Devi had once experienced.
Shiro: [Ghk!]
Accepting the pain, Shiro powered through it while meeting Nero head on. The two struck their blades together, shattering the rock they had stood on. Then, they jumped to the next rock closest to them and did the same. The ground below them shattering just like it had before. Then again, and again, and again, the two traveled from rock to rock, destroying each large stone as they clashed at high speeds.
The destruction could not be attributed to the quick Tempest or the mighty Martire alone. This was a product of both blades working in tandem. Though they sought to take the life of the other, the swords were a power like no other when combined, resulting in the several displays of mockery to nature that the demons had made. The mountains, the clouds, the rocks they stood on and the ocean that raged as they continued, nothing of the beautiful scenery around them was safe from the wrath of two deities.
As Nero charged towards Shiro again, destroying another rock, he dashed through the air, awaiting to see where she would choose next for the two to fight on. However, it was only as he fell through the air that he realized she was nowhere to be seen. There was not a single rock left with enough space to hold the two for them to battle on, leading to a new scene where Shiro did not reappear following this puzzle. It was only as he watched the smaller stones around him that he had realized what was happening.
From each of the smaller pieces of ground, Shiro placed a foot against them, kicking off and zooming towards the next on the opposite side. After doing so at an incredible rate, with a speed like no other in the world, Shiro created multiple afterimages that dashed around Nero. Lifting his sword into the air, Nero tried to strike down at Shiro as the afterimages moved in front of his eyes, hoping to catch her in the midst of her travel. Throwing his blade down, Nero was met with a gaping slash to his side from Tempest, revealing that Shiro was neither in front or behind him at the time, but to his right.
Spitting out blood from his open mouth, he turned to look at Shiro and slashed towards her, with the goddess dodging away before moving back to meet him. Regenerating from his wound, Nero placed both hands against the hilt and smacked Tempest with Martire. A loud bang sounded out, echoing through the air and across the entire Onigashima District.
The two were sent back from each other, before flying close to hit again. Once more, a bang occurred, yet neither were sent away. Several more clashes from their weapons sparked through the air, resulting in a series of noises that made many want to cover their ears.
The two started spinning around each other, leaving them only as blurs of white and black as they hit their swords together. Flying closer and closer, while moving lower and higher to rival the other, the two formed a series of sparks in a circle as their colors combined, forming a circle of black and white in the sky for all to see.
Finishing their rush, the two performed one last hit on each of their blades, sending them flying back farther than ever before. The demons landed on mountains on opposite sides, soaring back through the sky and towards each other. They cut through the air as they crossed and made their way onto the mountain their foe had stood on, leaving a scar across their chests after their blades met. The two turned back to look at each other. From Helig’s perspective, Shiro stood on a mountain to the left while Nero stood opposite to a mountain on the right. They jumped into the air for one last time, enacting their final attacks. Crossing her blade from up high to down low, Shiro moved Tempest to the left and readied herself to slash Nero horizontally. Nero had held Martire behind him, soaring the blade through the air below him before moving it back up to strike Shiro. Across Tempest, a great deal of electricity amplified the blade, while Martire did the same with its matōki. In unison, the two shouted to each other.
Shiro: [Tempest Cross!]
Nero: [Terror Ripper.]
Sparks flew as they hit, causing the two to fly back like many times before. However, they moved in again, repeating the same actions.
Shiro: [Tempest Cross!]
Nero: [Terror Ripper.]
Not moving from their positions on this occasion, they prepared the attacks for a third time.
Shiro: [Tempest Cross!]
Nero: [Terror Ripper!]
The ringing continued, and so did they.
Shiro: [Tempest Cross!]
Nero: [Terror Ripper!]
Launching each other back to their mountains, they blasted themselves towards each other one last time, readying their techniques as they reached top speeds.
Shiro: [Tempest…]
Nero: [Terror…]
Once they were within their respective territories…
Shiro: [CROSS!]
Nero: [RIPPER!]
Their blades met with another bang, leaving a new scar on their faces as they crossed. Flipping forward, the demons sent themselves towards the ground below. Landing safely down, they turned and looked at each other again.
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Though skilled in battle and enjoying such a thrill like no other in the world, the fight that was played out before her was one Kōkatsu the Almighty could hardly watch. She had moved away from the group, choosing to get closer to the fight at hand and watching as it transpired. All the while, she gripped at her kimono, pained by the unbearable sight of seeing her two friends fighting. Even if defeating Nero Virtuoso was a necessary cause, it did not relieve her of any sadness she had felt. The only comfort she could find is that of a new sister of sorts, who made her way up the rock Kōkatsu had also stood on.
Ryuka: [Are you alright, sister?]
Smiling back at Ryuka with her eyes closed, Kōkatsu pulled her close for a single armed hug before rubbing the girl’s spiky hair.
Kōkatsu: [Ya don’t need to worry ‘bout me, brat. I’ll be alright.]
Ryuka: [I see. Well, regardless of what you might say, I’ll stay here with you while I watch.]
Kōkatsu: [... Thanks, Ryuka.]
Gazing upon the signatures of white and black they had sensed, their hair swayed in the wind as it produced the only sound they could hear.
Ryuka: [... The end is almost here, isn’t it?]
Kōkatsu: [... Yeah, whether good or bad, the climax to this fight is approachin’ real quick.]
Side by side, the sisters of different races continued to watch the fight unfold.
In their minds, they could see the end drawing near.
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Glaring back to one another, the two remained motionless as the lightning above them spoke all the words that were needed.
Raising her arm, Shiro shot another slash of electricity towards Nero. In response, Nero lifted his own and destroyed the attack with a slash of matōki.
Shiro: [There. With that, all of my thunder is used.]
Nero: [I see. So that is your condition then? How fitting. Enough blood has been drained of my body to allow me to use my own. Down to the very end, we shall use everything that we hold within our souls to finish this duel. A truly climatic finale between us.]
Shifting Tempest’s position, Shiro held the jagged sword in front of her, pointing it high up into the sky while keeping both arms in front of her, grasping the hilt. On the opposite side, Nero placed his blade into the earth with a reverse grip from both hands. They both glared back to each other, giving their call onto the new weapons that would form.
Shiro: [Fight alongside me…]
Nero: [Cleanse this land of its impurities…]
Shiro: [... Neo Tempest.]
Nero: [... Purezza.]
Filling the arena with an electrifying light of green and a horrifying darkness of black, a clash of auras was formed between the rival demons.
At last, their advanced matōki abilities had arrived.
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