Terror Infinity Side B
Chapter 24, Real World I Final - Second Half
THIS IS THE SECOND HALF AND WAS POSTED RIGHT AFTER THE FIRST. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU DIDN'T SKIP IT.
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https://youtu.be/jsmVBGKghFU
Saki: I didn't expect to miss with that shot Shin, but I definitely never imagined that you would would be running on the walls either and at that kind of inhuman speed. It threw off my timing a little.
Shin: Well, glad to disappoint you. I am alive and well.
Saki: You make it sound like I want to kill you Shin? I don't, but I have to.
Shin: Stop talking nonsense, Saki! It hardly matters when you are still so good at coming up with plans that have almost killed me.
Saki: I couldn't help it.
Shin: So you say, but...
Saki: Let's end the talking here Shin. I've said all that I wanted to say before, so let's finish this. Neither of us have the time. Both of us has less than one hour to make it back to God's Dimension after all. Also, Shin, we should hurry this up for another reason as well.
Shin: ...
Saki: Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade, two of the Four Pillars are aware of this fight between the two of us. They left disposing of you to me, but we have created quite the mess with our fighting till now. If we do not come to a conclusion to our battle soon it wouldn't surprise me if they sent ability users, former Players who have survived God's Dimension to clean up this mess. Now, you wouldn't want to fight people with enhancements strong enough to survive God's Dimension, on your own do-
Shin: Saki!!!
Shin without hesitation jumped at Saki.
The jump was made with Instant Movement. It was a speed that Saki was incapable of matching, yet Saki who was ready for such a move was prepared and dived into a nearby room to avoid the charge. Shin wasn't surprised Saki got away since she was in Unlocked Mode as well, so without pause he followed after Saki into the room she escaped into.
When Shin entered the room he saw Saki aim the gun of her Fission Hunter's Rifle at him. He wasn't going to allow the gun to charge power for more energy shots and so he jumped towards the gun. At the moment the muzzle of the rifle began to glow a red which threatened to kill all, Shin reached with an extended right hand forward that was glowing green in contrast to Saki's red.
Shin: AP Bullet!
The energy attack of Shin's was released before Saki's own and smashed into through the barrel of the gun and cut into edge of Saki's torso. Saki clearly felt the pain, but didn't allow it to stop her moments as she threw the gun that was about to explode at Shin.
The gun blew, yet Shin covered his face and allowed his Lesser Fenrir Coat to take the hit for him as he continued towards Saki.
Shin's body was beat up and burned slightly, yet he was resolved to finish the battle and attacked without concern. Shin slashed at Saki with his sword and she moved slightly out of the way to avoid it, but immediately afterwards a kick struck Saki in the stomach and kicked her through the wall of the room.
Shin: ( She didn't take too much damage as she dilute the impact by jumping back. As expected of someone in Unlocked Mode. She's tough even in close combat, yet this is still my chance! ).
Shin went after Saki to finish her off, yet instead of being on the ground in pain she had rolled away to the far side of the room and had taken items out of her own Na Ring. Saki's two hands were equipped with two of the latest advance handguns known for their rapid fire and power, and around her waist was a belt with BIMs attached to it, and from what Shin saw she had Cracker and Remote Control BIMs.
Saki then channeled as much Ki Energy into her legs and started to run towards Shin while firing both guns at him. Shin deflected the bullets with his sword and took a step forward to slash at the approaching Saki, but Shin was stopped as a bullet lodged itself into his leg.
Shin: ( Did she reflect a bullet that I already blocked back at me!? ).
Shin was surprised and had his movement stopped, and Saki took advantage of that with a full swing kick to his face. Like Saki before Shin was blown out of the room through a door. Shin quickly recovered and jumped out of the way as three Cracker BIM detonated where he just was.
Saki saw Shin run to recover himself and chased after him in a manner like before, only this time their positions were reversed. Saki was the hunter and Shin was the prey to be chased down. Shots were continually fired from her gun and Shin was forced on to the defensive.
Shin kept blocking the bullets as they made there way to him. Shin then began fire back at Saki with the Auto 9, yet unlike him Saki could avoid the bullets amd she continued to suppress him. If not for his coat then Shin knew for certain that his body would be riddled with bullet holes, yet all the same a few of her shots pierced into his flesh by intentional ricochet bullets.
Shin: ( She doesn't even need to look the accurately shoot me. Like this it' stoo hard to predict the bullet's trajectory ).
Shin was beginning to realize that he had fallen into Saki's trap, and her final one at that.
All of their encounters till this moment was for Saki to analyze Shin's fighting tactics and potential to predict all of his future movement. Saki had a natural good brain, and together with the experiments in her youth and in Unlocked Mode she was showing her true worth as a first class double agent of Mass Enlightenment, tasked with the job of single-handedly wiping out enemy teams from within.
Shin: ( I can't win against her using my standard moves anymore. Saki knows me inside and out and is predicting my every possible move... Wait. Before when I was climbing up the stairs on the walls, Saki didn't predict that I would do such a insane stunt, so I escaped her sneak attack with very little damage. The same with how I got here with the car. It was outside logic, so Saki was thrown off... That's it! To win, no to survive I can only surpass her future predictions with animal instincts and pure force ).
While running away from Saki, Shin threw himself into another room in desperation to avoid a shower of bullets that would have killed him otherwise. Saki thinking that the end was near and this was his last struggle, she didn't hesitate to follow after Shin.
Saki expected Shin to try something as she entered the room, a large enough that it was probably going to be the main office area of the building, yet Shin was no where to be found. It took Saki less then a second to realize where Shin was, but she was too late.
Shin: Gravity Blade, Five-Hundred Times Gravity Slash!
From right above Saki and handing on the ceiling with his Kagune was Shin.
Shin immediately pushed himself off the ceiling with instant movement and slashed at Saki with Gravity Blade. Saki manage to avoid a full slash with just a small cut to her shoulder, yet the real attack was next. Floor fragments from when Gravity Blade cut into the floor assaulted Saki and made her stumble backwards.
Shin attempted to follow up with an attack, but a shower of bullets stopped him in his tracks. Saki then threw Remote Control BIM at Shin and detonated the highly explosive bombs in midair in the space between the two. The blast threw Saki across the room, yet safety away from Shin.
It took more then ten seconds for her to stand back up, yet Shin didn't, or couldn't immediately come after her. Saki believed it was more then possible that Shin had died or that he was blown across the room like she was, yet her intuition told her to immediately open fire through the black smoke from the explosion.
Immediately after doing so, Saki saw a crimson mass bolt from the black smoke and run on all fours crazily across the room. Saki had no idea what he was doing, yet still didn't hesitate to continue open fire on him, yet she was met with an unexpected result.
Despite believing that she had predicted the crimson mass, Shin's strange running pattern, yet her attack weren't landing. Shin was giving little to no thought about how to dodge Saki's atrack, only relying on instinct as he slowly made his way to her, so her attacks missed.
Also, the few stray bullets that did hit Shin because he was acting randomly were blocked. The four tentacles of his Kagune were wrapped around him limbs. Not only did they support his damaged body to keep moving, they also protected the few areas the Lesser Finrir Coat couldn't block from Saki's accurate shooting.
As Shin approach closer and closer to Saki, two of his Kagune tentacles would swipe at Saki. Saki gave her all to dodge the blood red tentacles strengthened with Ki that would have tore her in half if they would ever catch her. One mistake would equal death, so Saki gave her all to not be put in a position to make one.
Taking a page from Shin, Saki herself began running on the walls to avoid the Kagune tentacles and jumped towards the center of the room. Once she landed and reloaded her gun in the blink of an eye Saki began her counter attack.
Ki Energy was channeled into Saki's two handguns and she opened fire on Shin. In their short exchange Saki gained a better grasp of Shin's unpredictable and animal like movements, so at least 2/5 of her attacks were able to land on him. Shin's Kagune did well to protect him, yet having the lowest durability of of the four types of Kagune, Rinkaku, were being destroyed by the Ki infused bullets of Saki's.
Shin felt that the tide of the battle were once again about to shift back to Saki, yet he willed himself to keep going.
Shin: ( Not enough. It isn't enough to overwhelm Saki with just a bit of power and instincts. More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More!!! ).
Shin: Ahhhhhhh!!!
Then Shin screamed in pain.
To Saki's shock, his right arm and other limbs began to enlarge at a visible speed. To her, it looked Shin's arms and legs had become three times as thick as compared to a normal person's. The puffed muscles felt and looked like a mutated organism at first glance and struck fear into the women who claimed to feel little.
Saki: ...Second Stage?
Shin speed as he ran circles around Saki surpassed her ability to follow even in Unlocked Mode. To her, Shin had truly become a crimson blur due to his Kagune still being wrapped around his body. Shin was so fast that Saki had to give it her all just to stay alive with a defensive stance to wait and counter Shin's next attack.
Shin sensed that Saki had yet to give up, and so he committed himself to one last desperate attack and whoever was still standing afterwards would be the one to walk away alive. With enlarged, Ki strengthened legs Shin jumped from the floor to the ceiling and to the walls over and over again at a speed Saki couldn't keep up with as he kept moving in and way from her line of sight.
Saki had hoped that coming into the center of the room to challenge Shin would give her the initiative to fight back, but without even a wall to lean against Saki was trapped in the middle of the room as Shin bounced from place to place like a crazed and out of control ball.
Shin: NOW!!!
Shin jumped toward the ceiling right above Saki and with enough force to smashin the ceiling he jumped back down at her with Instant Movement. Saki miraculously guarded against Shin's atrack with one arm. She fully expected to sacrifice her arm to block his punch and immediately shove her free hand's gun mouth and kill him, yet the battle was over the moment Shin's punch reached Saki.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Soul Crushing Strike!
The very first Ki skill Shin learned came crashing down from above, strengthened further while in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode, breaking through Saki's guard and slamming right into her chest where it fully exploded.
The force of which Saki than came crashing into the floor and the Ki shock wave of Soul Crushing Strike caused the already damaged floor floor from their battle to collapsed and they both feel down to the floor below. As they both feel into the darkness below Shin gazed at Saki with sadness in his eyes as she just smiled peacefully back at him.
Shin: ( Sorry for only being strong enough to win, yet not strong enough to save you Saki ).
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Shin: Well, this is what you wanted, right? Still, did you really expect me to make it back like... Ghaaaa!
Shin layed on the floor in great pain, unable to stand or even move after delivering his final attack and falling down to the floor below.
Shin's arms and legs had returned to normal size, but it they were still red and swollen, and a lot of the blood vessels were broken after expanding them for increased power. Shin then started trembling violently. It was trembling from extreme pain, the pain that came after unlocking the constraint. Shin attempted to push through the pain, but it was no use.
Shin has been in the Unlocked Mode for so long, the longest he has ever been and to top it off he has unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint for the first time as well, though he didn't know that was what allowed him to win and he just assumed it was just a deeper level of his Unlocked Mode. An inhuman pain that threaten to break either his body or mind ( assulted ) Shin and left him paralyzed.
Shin: Fuck! I, I don't have time for-
It was then as Shin was just doing his best to turn his head that he saw something that was unbelievable.
Saki, the enemy who had just taken his full force Soul Crushing Strike while in the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint was alive. Saki's torso was slightly caved in and she was on her knees puking blood and pieces of internal organs, yet she was still alive and looking back at Shin.
Just like before Shin's final attack landed Saki was showing a peaceful smile void of killing intent or any other desire to fight. Her face was deathly pale and smeared with blood, but she was still smiling at him.
Shin: ...
Saki: Don't... Don't look so surprised that I am alive Shin. True... You Ki attack is incredibly powerful and was capable of piercing through the armors of the enemies in the last mission... But they were void of magic defenseses or anything else supernatural to protect them. Sozin should have taught you that... Ki attacks become less fatal when they conflict with your opponents Ki attacks, or other such powers. Also, I was wearing a vest inscribed with magic defenseses.
Shin: So you're still alive by gathering Ki to the impact point to cushion the blow and that vest.
Saki: Yes, but you are half... Shin. I am only alive for the moment. You Ki and... Physical might are far above mi-, *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*!!!
Shin: Stop acting acting like professor character and stop talking!
Shin saw that Saki was right and that she was slowly and surly fading fast. Only by some great will was Saki able to even bring herself back up and speak to Shin one last time.
Saki: So you are worried about me, huh? Strange, *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*!!!
Shin: That's a hurtful thing to say when it is coming from you. I only fought you to survive and... Despite me being the reason for your current condition I... I don't want you to die Saki.
Saki: ...I didn't believe that I could feel worse than I already have for the last month or so, but, *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*!!!
Shin: Saki, I said stop talking and rest already! You've... You've done enough already.
Saki: *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*! I agree that I'm at the point of no return, but Shin, there is still one last thing that I have to do.
Shin didn't understand what she meant but was shocked and frightened by Saki's next action. Saki reached for a switch that he recognized as a switch for Remote Control BIM and without hesitation she flip all the switches all at once.
- *EXPLOSION*!!!
Shin closed his eyes at first, but a second later he realized that nothing happened to him. Shin had feared Saki had placed BIMs in the half destroyed building to cause it to collapse and kill the both of them, but to his surprise he was alive.
Shin: The explosions came from outside?
Shin heard the multiple blast detonate away from the construction site and wondered what Saki's purpose was, yet in his current condition Shin could even afford the strength stand up to look out the window right behind Saki.
Saki: Never mind that, Shin. I was just taking care of something. It doesn't involve you.
Shin: ...What now then?
Saki: Next their is nothing. You won Shin and I lost. I was unable to defeat you and- *Cough*, I'm not in a condition to maek my way back to God's Dimension to repair my injuries, or challenge the others. Once you recovered enough you should leave and make your way to Hikari's house and use her Entry/Return Point. *Cough*,*Cough*... This fight took longer than I expected it to whether you or I were to win, but if you go now than you should just barely make it in time before the midnight deadline.
Shin: ...Saki, did you really not care if you lost despite fighting so hard? That you will die here today, does that matter at all to you?
Saki: Shin, I only fought so hard due to my programing. Since the moment I've learned the truth about myself I lost my will to live. Still, as I said before I have no regrets... And to leave this world without any-
Then Saki who clearly shouldn't be, or able to move began to move towards the window behind her. Saki didn't have the strength to stand, so she crawled her way over to the window, over the glass and rubble of the ceiling. Once Saki made it below the window, she struggled, yet successful pulled herself up to it and sat on the window sill unsteady.
Saki then took off her Na Ring and with what little strength she had left and threw it over to Shin. The ring fell before reaching Shin, yet it managed to roll the rest of the way to him.
Shin: What are you doing? Why ars you giving me this?
Saki: Beware Shin. The Four Pillars will eventually find out about our team. At least Mass Enlightenment knows thanks to my actions. I had to contact them if I was to ever return to the real world once I'm aware of my role as a sleeper agent. I won't put it pass them, and even fully expect them to target Team Japan's real world connections like family and close friends.
Shin: Saki...
Saki: I have already made contact with them and gave them false reports, but I don't expect those to fool them for much longer, but on the bright side they do not yet know of the team's real identities. This will give you and the rest some time to become stronger and make plans to protect loved ones.
Shin: I am asking what are you-
Saki: Shin, I know that you didn't want this type of situation and just wanted to enjoy the Mission Worlds and become stronger, but you are now facing real dangers in the real world, and are now burdened with responsibilities that you never wanted. Still, if you wish to still live for those goals of yours and retain your freedom, not bound by the Four Pillars and their battles, then you must become stronger. Stronger than the any of the top leaders of the Four Pillars and their founders, and defeat them. I can't say if you really are the protagonist of this world, but you will have to be if you want to survive and protect your comrades.
Shin: Who cares about that crap! I asked what are you doing by that window!?
Saki: Did I not say so Shin? I have no more regrets and don't want anymore when I die. If I am left alone like this you will be penalized 1000 Points by God for killing a New Player, right?
Shin: ...
Saki: You... And the rest of the team, thank you. Depressing as it is, this has been the best time of my life being together with everyone. Especially you Shin, thank you for indulging me in my selfishness tonight, but I am finished now.... I, I am just going to rest for a bit... Thank you.
Shin: Saki!
But it was too late.
Unable to properly move his body, Shin could only watch as Saki threw herself out the window headfirst and with the distant sound of a thud, Shin knew that Saki and this horrible battle on his last night in the real world had come to an end.
Shin: ...Saki, you fool! Also, aren't you a liar? What you just did, taking your own life in the end... Doesn't that prove that you could have gone against your brainwashing if you tried? Why... Were the both of us so weak that it had to end like this?
Shin than began to imagine the reason Saki killed herself was only partially to save him from being penalized by God. Maybe Saki never knew, but Shin could now tell how tired Saki was with everything. Mass Enlightenment, the Four Pillars, her tragic childhood and her fate to kill possibly her only real friends in the world.
Shin: Saki... Most likely never truly developed mentally after being kidnapped and experimented on. Your intelligence was unmatched, yet deep down you were still that ten year old girl torn away from your parents and made the plaything of mad men. Killing yourself was not just for me, but to meet your parents again and to put everything to rest... Maybe if you realized that before today none of this would have had to happen.
Shin stopped talking out loud once he finally accepted that Saki was no longer with him, yet he still cursed Saki in his heart for being too weak and for the Four Pillars for making her life the way it was.
Saki was right about not liking certain parts of what it meant to be a protagonist. Shin never wanted this part of being a protagonist, having to live and move on when when a friend dies and having to live for them as well, but still, he won't forget his time with Saki and this battle for the rest of his life.
Shin: ...
Shin took the item Saki passed to him before dying, the Na Ring and rolled it between his fingers and then placed the ring gentle into his pockets as if it was the most important thing in the world. He then took out a hemostasis spray to heal his body as best as he could, and then with one last goodbye to Saki, Shin departed to Hikari's place with his battered body while remaining hidden.
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Authors Note:
Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.
I just wanted to say this in case anyone was wondering. Saki reached the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint while in the real world, where God is not monitoring them. Because she never returned it didn't count as three members of Team Japan who had unlocked their constraints.
Also, Saki explanation about her past... Long as you don't nick pick about it too much it makes sense. Maybe it's just me because I am the one who wrote it, but I hope others get it too. Like forgetting a word while writing, writers some time make the mistake of not explaining something in more detail because it make sense to them in their heads, and so even with editing they don't see anything wrong.
Also, to redeem myself from that boring battle with Ken and Kaiyo I went all out with this chapter, so I hope everyone liked it, and didn't skip it. Next chapter there will be a poll to ask if fans wanted to see Saki die or let her continue as a team member, but just know the vote won't change anything. Next chapter is the last of this arc, so let's NEXT!!!