Yuki leaned forward with a step while he manipulated some of his mist to grab Yori from the frontline. “What do you think you’re doing?! You’re supposed to keep to the rear!”

“I’m not sitting this out anymore! I’m fighting with everyone else!” he shouted while throwing back his black sword to slice through the mist. While it did nothing to something with no real form, it sent the message.

Yori groaned lowly as he struggled to keep his focus on every aspect of his barrier that he subdivided into enough pieces to counter all the attacks. ‘This is harder than I expected to maintain this level. The sheer numbers are maddening.’ Staring over at the one controlling his sister, he had trouble imagining them doing the same. ‘Is Yumi’s potential that different from mine? She could do all of this without even breaking a sweat?’

“Your presence on the battlefield won’t change the results,” they replied.

“We’ll just have to see if that's true!” He jumped forward with his swords bearing down on the barriers protecting her, while several more materialized in the air to attack the barrier from other points. ‘I’m coming for you! Please hear me, Yumi!’

Chapter 378 – The Wrong Success

Saki sighed watching Yori failing to do anything meaningful to their opponent as well. It started to play out in the way that she expected. “I guess, we’ll just have to adapt to what he does,” she muttered looking for an opening in the fight. There stopped being any real sense of flow or rhythm like they had before. Yori succumbed to his emotions and now the battle turned to chaos.

“Suits me just fine!”

“That’s because you don’t like over complicated things and this is a perfect fight for you where thought stopped being a factor.”

“A true fight is about exchanging blows, not outsmarting the other person.”

She wasn’t going to do anything to change Seiji’s mind. She wasn’t even sure why she even attempted to argue with him. “Whatever, just do what you want.” Watching the eagerness in his eyes grow only further to disappoint Saki. ‘This fight isn’t going anywhere…’

“Maybe this isn’t a bad thing,” Yuki interjected before they jumped back into the fight. “I’m seeing a minor reaction out of the device when Yori jumped in. I think Yumi might be hearing him finally.”

“But she’s not in control, in fact I haven’t seen any change from them.”

“She’s going to need more of a push. All of you need to call out to her as well!” He stared at the device seeing the faint blip that was a signal. It was just far too weak.

Seiji pounded his fists together eager to keep going. “This is going to be fun!” He jumped back into the fight, exchanging out for Yori at barely the moment before an attack came in. Ash fell away from his arms in the counterblow before Seiji continued through with his fists. Pounding on the barrier repeatedly started to show some signs of weakness.

“We’ll do everything that we can! Come on Nerine!” They quickly turned the fight into a four on one battle and still made it look like they were coming out barely holding their own. The barriers kept them from making any serious headway to the Tactician and even without that, they had countless other attacks to avoid and counter. With the lack of any meaningful strategy on their part, the Tactician easily kept them all in line dancing to their own beat.

Perhaps it was luck or maybe fighting together they started to feel some sort of rhythm naturally, but all of the barriers protecting her shattered with their successive strikes chained together. Unprotected, Yori immediately charged in after his sister to grab a hold of her arms. “Yumi! Listen to me! Return to your brother, Yumi!”

It didn’t last for long before a foot embedded in his stomach knocked him back, but refusing to release his grip on her. He stubbornly struggled on unwilling to give up his opportunity now. Yet, the Tactician still looked unimpressed by his efforts.

Looking down on him while being shorter than him reminded him of their difference. “That might have worked a couple months ago, but not now. You might stir her a little with your voice, but she still fears you more than anyone else. Your voice can’t save her.”

“Fears me?! My sister isn’t afraid of me! I’m her brother! Stop with your lies!”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“You know so little about Yumi.”

“You know nothing about her!”

“She has secrets she’s never told you. I told you before, you can’t save her.”

“I’m not listening to you! I will save her!”

Snapping her arms quickly in a small circle, they quickly reversed the hold that Yori had and tossed him over head. Though surprise took Yori in the moment, his drive focused him quickly as he jumped off the air to return. However, he met the Tactician with an energy blade blocking his weapon. With effortless ease, they threw Yori off and summoned up gravity to press Saki, Seiji and Nerine into the roof, unable to move.

Yori remained the only one still able to stand, but only because it was to be that way. Charging back in after them, Yori swung his weapons in a flurry trying to break through the defense. Unfortunately for him, each blow was easily blocked until parried and thrown back.

Crashed against the crumbling wall of the rooftop access, Yori pulled himself out of the rumble. Everything that he learned from Athena still wasn’t enough to best the Tactician. Even still, he charged back for another round. He tried everything that he knew from sparring with her. All of the tricks that he picked up. Anything to succeed.

Nothing.

They remained unmoved by any of the attacks. Yori found it troubling how well they fended him off. Both now and in the past. As he regained his stance, he held off attacking immediately as he had before. “Even if you have a better understanding of Yumi’s powers, Yumi doesn’t have sword skills or martial training. It’s impossible for her to have any of that.”

“Yumi doesn’t possess those skills, but I do. It was a necessity for me to have them.”

“You’re just a false persona created in Yumi, none of that is necessary.”

“You know so little.” In a bit of a surprise move, Yori came under direct attack by the Tactician, which went against their normal stationary battle tactics. On a true offensive, Yori couldn’t even manage to block a single blow from the sword in her hand. Blood sprayed in arcs through the air as each swing cut flesh.

In mere moments, Yori was rendered nearly completely helpless. His body bled over the rooftop with his body unable to move. But thanks to his power, he wasn’t without options. It was why he couldn’t be said to be truly disabled. Until he was dead, he could keep fighting. Just not with this body, rather with his mind.

He could manipulate his barrier and create thickness with it to stop the attack. But it was a futile effort. None of his attacks could make it through the defense they put up. And when on offense, his defense barely kept him from being killed. ‘It’s turning out like last time…’ He hated that notion. Twice he failed to save her sister.

Nothing he tried would work.

No other options remained.

She was lost.

“That look of defeat in your eyes. So you understand now.”

Yuki clinched his hands together frustrated just watching. He placed his bet on Yori reaching her and he lost. ‘Dammit, so it’s really come down to this… I wanted to avoid this scenario as much as possible. This is the worst possible way this could have turned out. It’s just not enough.’ The device barely read any differently than it did before. His friends helping Yori did nothing other than even out a completely out classed fight. And even that didn’t last.

The last card to play was the last for a very good reason. He never wanted to play it. Especially with Yori around. However, they were out of options now. Yuki had no choice, but to actually step forward to enter the conflict.

Stepping out from around the device, he slowly and cautiously walked towards the siblings. Since he remained out of the fight, he had no effect on him from the gravity generated on the others. But Saki immediately yelled out to Yuki, “Get away from them! You can’t fight them in that state!”

He continued to move slowly towards Yumi’s body. “It’s fine. I’m not planning on fighting.”

“Making your move, King,” responded the Tactician as they glanced over at him. There was a different sort of look in their eyes seeing Yuki approach.

“That’s right. I’m the piece you were wanting. But also the one that you couldn’t do anything to.”

Placing gravity on Yori to stop him from making any sort of sneak attacks, they faced Yuki. They gave him their full attention with some hesitation actually appearing. “You’re unnaturally observant.”

“It only made sense in this situation. Yumi might be asleep, but her subconscious will is still working against you and it’s quite powerful.”

“For being asleep, she has a stubborn nature.” They approached Yuki and they came to a stop only a few centimeters apart from one another. “It only prevents me from killing you.”

“But you won’t strike me either. The moment you do, you’ll lose control.” Yuki stared at her face watching the different reactions going through. For the most part, through the fight, they kept a stone face the entire time. It was unflinching and unwavering with no emotions. They were cold and calculating. The only moment of emotion came in the full offense on Yori.

And now.

“You really are unnerving and dangerous.”

“I’ve been getting told that a lot. But it’s time for you to be asleep rather than Yumi. Your test is over.”

“The test still continues. This isn’t the end, only the beginning.”

Yuki stretched out his hand to her face and held it just out of reach. “No more tests. Just sleep.” He stepped closer to her and pressed his hand to the side of her face. There was a sharp reaction from Yori’s sister as all of the power the Tactician wielded suddenly started to fade away. “Yumi,” he whispered softly to her.

Her eyes closed sharply as life seemed to fall out of her body. She quickly lost the ability to stand and nearly fell face first to the floor if Yuki had not been there to catch her. Yuki held on to her slowly, letting her rest on the roof with the struggle finally over. “…Yumi…”

Seiji jumped from his spot with the gravity long released to join Yuki at Yumi’s side. He didn’t really understand what happened, but he was happy to see a friend saved. “You did it Yuki! She’s safe!” Firm pats on the back threw Yuki around as Seiji didn’t control his strength well in the excitement.

Yori laid against the rumble, staring at everyone joining Yuki at his sister’s side. She was safe once more and back. But he found himself having trouble accepting it. He was happy to see that she was back. Yet, he could only feel sadness overcoming him quickly watching it. The reality of what happened overwhelmed him quickly.

He had been useless. And that wasn’t the end of it. Not by a long shot. The worst part stared at him in the eyes looking down at her.

The truth was before him.