Yoro: [Nene…]

Holding her mouth with her hands, Yoro was astonished by what she was seeing. Though the lovers had promised they’d be together till the end of time, she was still shocked to see Nero down on one knee, with a diamond ring in a case held out to her.

Nero: [Yoro Kobi, will you marry me?]

Tears started to well up in her eyes, even if she continued to smile.

Yoro: [I… I don’t know what to say… Yes! Obviously I will! I’d spend an eternity with you if I could but… Nene… you didn’t have to go this far for the proposal… We promised we’d get together after your godhood tasks… But this ring…]

Nero: [The most expensive diamond in the shop. I made sure of it myself. I even asked if there were any others that they had not on display that were greater in value, but this was still the highest among all.]

Yoro: [Dummy! Like I said… you didn’t need to go this far for me…]

Nero: [I don’t believe that’s the case at all, my love. Going this far for you is the only proof I can give. Not for the sake of money, not for the sake of possessions, but a risk to show how much you’re worth. That’s how I view it, in my mind.]

Tilting his head, Nero continued to smile at his lover.

Nero: [Would you like to put it on?]

Nodding back with her messy face, Yoro accepted the ring. Standing himself up, Nero moved over and took out the piece, placing it on the finger to match on Yoro’s hand. The two exchanged a kiss, followed by Yoro holding her hand high, watching as the diamond sparkled in the lights of the room.

Yoro: [It’s incredible… Nene… Thank you so much… I’m happy that I’ll get to spend the rest of my life with you…]

Nero: [The same to you, Yoyo. It shall be a pleasure like no other to stand alongside you, no matter how much time passes.]

Pulling out a piece of paper from his jacket, Nero unfolded it multiple times to unveil the mapped out preparations he had ready. Sitting herself down, Yoro kept her face low.

Not a smile in sight, despite how she looked previously.

Nero, however, had yet to notice, focusing on the plan he had made.

Nero: [Let’s see, I’ve made some reservations at the finest restaurant in the Babylon District as our celebration meal. I’ve heard not only good things from Shiro, but they also had excellent reviews online. Then, we have our wedding, which the others have carefully helped me with the preparations of. We should hopefully get an estimate on when we can rent a venue soon enough. There’s also our honeymoon, which I was curious about where you’d like to travel to. I was personally thinking of places with beautiful scenery, like Itazura and Mufu, but you are free to add your own ideas as well of course. What do you think about this so far, Yoyo?... Yoyo?]

Confused by her lack of a reaction nor care, Nero gazed upon his lover that did not look up at the plan he had made or the oni as a whole.

Standing up, she walked out of the room and into another, shutting the door behind her.

Attempting to follow, Nero dropped the paper he held and walked towards where she had entered.

Nero: [Yoro?]

Looking down at the box in his other hand, he looked at the inner top side of where the ring had once been. In it was a message written out on paper.

“What are you doing?”

The world around him faded to black.

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For the past decade, I’ve been intertwined with Nero and Yoro in terms of my life.

I’ve gotten pretty close to the two over the years, even if there were a few inbetween where I hadn’t spoken to them.

Still, I was always happy to be around them, whenever I could.

More importantly, I always cherished that loving relationship they had with each other. It really made me happy to see, and in part, I think made my relationship with Xander stronger. It was thanks to their undying love for each other that my own was fueled to match.

I never really found the two of them being together odd. Sil, at least prior to meeting Alf, felt that their relationship was peculiar. Kō on the other hand was jealous of the two, even if for the longest while, she refused to admit it to Sil and I.

Despite how those two felt, I always loved seeing the two of them happy. No matter where they went, what they did, or anything of the sort, they were always smiling when they spent time together.

I wish that sight could have stayed forever. I wish Yoro didn’t have to suffer such a cruel fate. But most of all, I wish my friend, the one who was always by Yoro’s side, was still here.

… Yoro. I hope you can forgive me.

I don’t believe you deserved to die. Not in the slightest.

You were someone far too kind to be deserving of a fate like that.

The same goes for Nero, which is why I don’t want to kill him.

However, much like how you were sadly put to rest….

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… I need to take Nero down, once and for all.

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Two fateful demons stood across from each other. While their bodies had been moved into their own respective stances, the aching pain they felt across them was far greater than any other they had experienced. Both wanted to collapse, no matter how mortal or immortal they may have been. Their breaths were heavy, their arms and legs trembled with each of said breaths, their eyes were narrow in shape, as if ready to fall unconscious at any moment.

But no matter what happened, this was their final moment. The climax to the long lasting battle the two had experienced together.

Without a care in the world left in their souls, the two raced forward. Caution was thrown to the wind as Nero thrusted a claw forward, which was parried by Shiro’s palms and sent in a different direction. Her right fist struck Nero’s nose while holding onto his left arm he had shot forward.

Powering through the pain, Nero gave a harsh knee to Shiro’s side, leading her to wince in pain at the heavy strike. Two more kicks from the same leg were let loose, both of which were blocked as Shiro regained her composure and continued to fight with the same Babylon Way techniques she had been taught.

Grabbing the leg with both hands, Shiro spun Nero around once and threw him. She quickly caught up to his position, but before she could follow up with another attack, she was met by the side of her cheek with a kick from Nero’s spinning body. Whilst Shiro stumbled back from his devastating hit, Nero wiped off the blood over his nose and panted.

The oni ran over to her position, unleashing a barrage of spear blows that Shiro smacked on the side with her palms to avoid. Thrusting a palm into his chest, Nero glided along the ground as he clenched the same bruise. A devastating pain was now left by Shiro’s hand, which even Nero’s regeneration could not heal.

Performing a front flip towards her, Nero spun one leg in front of the other to attack Shiro head on. In retaliation, Shiro ducked below the kicks and swept Nero’s legs, following up the attack with a swift punch to the face again. Grabbing onto the fist, Nero launched his legs upward, hitting Shiro’s jaw and rattling her brain. Due to the quick movement of his kick, Nero had successfully used it to his advantage to stand up in a much more safe manner than attempting to stand up as one normally would, leading to a potential counter from Shiro.

Though her mind was hazy, Shiro pushed on and struck Nero’s guard from many angles with a rush of fists and palms. For the first few attacks, Nero had kept up quite well, blocking them as sufficiently as he could. However, as the speed and rate at which the attacks were unleashed increased, Nero found himself taking more and more hits, until eventually being hit by every single one.

To counter, Nero swung his arm up with his fingers forming a claw. Shiro’s clothes were grazed by the merciless attack, but that’s as far as it had reached on her evading body. She spun in place, ready to unleash the iconic spin kick many had already known her for. As the foot was extended, Nero slammed the end of his own boot back into her shoe, causing a loud thud to erupt as the two were pushed back from each other

Taking the initiative, Nero jumped through the air and spun forward, unleashing an axe kick at Shiro. Moving to the side and spinning her arms around in a circle, Nero’s entire body was flipped and sent slamming down into the grass. While he stood up, Shiro followed up her attack with a kick directly to the face, which prompted Nero to pull her down onto the ground with him where he repeatedly punched her guarding arms, aiming for the face behind them.

Even if his arms felt weaker than before, Nero’s might was still supreme. With each blow, Shiro’s arms drew closer and closer to her face, slowly giving way for a punch should the oni’s fists break through. Taking a risk at a moment where Nero’s punch was thrown, Shiro grabbed the wrist of the arm and threw Nero over herself, slamming him back into the ground.

Both of them were now resting on the ground, in pain and breathing heavily. Slowly, they rose from their position, staring back at each other with glares that could cut through any and everything.

Nero: [This isn’t over… Not yet…]

Shiro: [Not until… one of us can’t get up anymore…]

Even for a goddess of incredible speed and resilient stamina, there were limits.

Even for a god of absolute might and perfect immortality, there were limits.

No matter how much they could try to endure the pain, it would still persist. No matter how much they stood back up, the need to fall back down was always there. They hardly had any strength left. It was a miracle that their horns were still active.

The same as they always had, the two ran at each other, sending palm strikes and spear blows through the air and landing devastating hits with each touch. Nero went to lift one of his legs to kick down at Shiro, but was swiftly punched by her fist to put it back down. Shiro did the same with her other leg, but Nero chopped it back onto the soil.

The two threw a fist forward, clashing their knuckles together as their shoes scraped along the ground, separating the distance between their extended arms.

Shiro threw another fist forward, Nero blocking it from the side and pushing it back. While Shiro’s arm was held to the side, Nero threw his own punch towards her. To reply the same way as he had done with her fist, Shiro took her free arm and guarded the punch in the same manner, pushing it to the side directly after. A struggle for control had transpired between them, with each wanting to push back against the other whether it was to avoid the incoming hit or to inflict their own damage back to their rival. Left with no other options, they reeled their heads back, slamming their foreheads into each other as they stared intently with a violent rage. Blood started to drip down along their faces.

Using any and all energy they had left, Shiro kicked Nero in the chest and sent a flurry of kicks to follow through. Kick after kick, Nero was forced to take step backs, only to then slice through the air with his clawed hands rapidly. Shiro weaved as she moved back, avoiding the potential life ending attacks heading her way.

Swinging her leg from the side, Shiro aimed down at Nero’s chin to strike with a swift move. Once her kick was blocked, she jumped and switched legs, using the other to hit him in the jaw from below. This too was blocked, as Nero pushed his arms downward, removing any momentum from the attack.

Swiftly moving the leg down, Shiro countered Nero’s oncoming punch he had sent back for revenge with two palms to each shoulder. A weakened feeling littered the nerves across his arms after receiving the attack. After the strikes from the palms, Shiro quickly shifted in position, performing a boxer-like hook to the side of Nero’s cheek and following it up with an uppercut to the jaw. As he stumbled back, Shiro ran forward and jumped slightly into the air. Whilst she did so, she spun around in place, removing any and all pain she had felt temporarily. In her mind, a pure nothingness was achieved, leaving only the calm to remain.

A lesson she had been taught by the blond mother of hers over the course of the week.

Airi: [Listen well, Shiro. This is the one and only time I’ll teach you how to use the Babylon Way’s greatest technique properly. If done correctly, the damage you could inflict will be far greater than anything else.]

She was calm. Shiro was purely calm.

Airi: [Do not sway your mind with pointless thoughts. All you need to do is spin without any regard for if you’ll strike your opponent or the worry that it might not work.]

She did not let her emotions sway her. She kept the nothingness in her mind.

Airi: [From start to finish, you must remain calm. The peace behind your strike will make the impact far more devastating.]

Most of all…

Airi: [Once your foot reaches your opponent…]

… She did not let the bonds of her past stop her.

Airi: [... that is when you shall put everything into it.]

As soon as her spin kick touched Nero’s chest, a force like no other was sent into Shiro’s foot. A blistering roar escaped her lips, accompanied by the pained expression of hell on Nero’s face.

Shiro: [WORIYAH!]

Landing the legendary hero’s greatest technique, passed on to the goddess born from her womb, Shiro Fuloreen smashed into Nero’s core with everything she had. Her rage, sorrow, resolve and all that could be mustered in her tired, injured body was let loose. Kicking him back, Nero was flung directly up into the air. Once he had reached the peak of his height, reaching the same level as the top of the trees around him, his body came crashing down, forming a crater in the earth as he made contact.

… It was over.

Through the endless battle that had never shined a light of hope until now, Shiro’s battle with her old friend was over. The goddess stumbled as she continued to try and stand. Just as the two of them had imagined, the battle would only be over once the other could no longer stand. Now standing tall while Nero remained grounded, Shiro was the clear victor of their battle.

It was a long road to this point, is what Shiro had thought. She experienced several occasions of despair and tragedy over the course of the last two weeks, fighting against Nero and the forces that allied themselves with him.

But it was finally over. Standing over his unconscious body, Shiro felt a sense of relief. Looking up at the sky above her, she could finally see its beautiful blue color alongside the wonderful sun. The majestic scenery of the date no longer being washed away with the gloomy clouds that once surrounded it.

Shiro: [It’s over… It’s really over… Finally…]

Helig: [Succubus!]

In far too much pain to hear Helig’s cry, Shiro continued to form a quivering smile as she closed her eyes.

Shiro: [Everything… This war… Nero’s soldiers… and Nero himself… It’s all finally over…]

Helig: [Succubus!]

Grabbing the hem of her pants, Shiro slouched down, ready to throw up. However, she continued to smile, despite how horrible she felt.

Shiro: [Everyone… will be alright… Thank goodness…]

Helig: [SUCCUBUS!]

Finally hearing Helig’s call, Shiro looked up to the angel on the tall rock and saw an anxious look on the holy goddess’ face.

Helig: [IT’S NOT OVER YET!]

Shiro: [What…?]

Helig: [I STILL CAN’T SEAL HIM! HE’S NOT FINISHED JUST YET!]

Shiro’s eyes widened, puzzled by what Helig had just said.

Shiro: [What… What do you mean he’s not–]

Her question would never make it to Helig.

Across Shiro’s cheek, a sluggish yet powerful punch crunched its way into her cheekbone… let loose by the oni in black.

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