Chapter 21: Ohr

Hikaru was watching from the sky as the fight between Kurumi and kotori was about to start. The same for origami, tohka, and shido. Everyone was fixing their eyes on the incoming battle in front of them. a Massive clock behind Kurumi, rifle in her right hand, pistol in her left, Kurumi frowned unhappily as she glared at Kotori in the sky above. "Would you mind not butting in? I was just getting to the good part" "Sorry, but I can't let you do whatever you want. You took things a little too far. Kneel. The time for love's punishment has come." Kotori snorted, resting the massive battle ax in her right hand on her shoulder. Kurumi's expression stiffened, and her countless clones on the roof collectively glared up at Kotori in the sky. Pained cries echoed through the air. A few of the Kurumis had aimed at Tohka's and Origami's brain stems to knock them unconscious. "Excellent work. Go! Dig in and devour her!" Kurumi called out. The avatars bent their knees in perfect synchronization and launched themselves up after Kotori, a flock of black shadows shooting into the sky. This was less an assault or coordinated charge and more a merciless machine gun fired at lightning speed, a tyranny of demons flying to crush their opponent with sheer physical numbers. The human bullets closed in on Kotori. "Hmph." Kotori snorted in irritation and slowly lifted her battle ax. The inky-black handle was easily taller than she was, and at the top of it, an inferno coiled up into the shape of a blade. The flames seemed to burn brighter as Kotori hefted the weapon, leaving behind a trail of red. "—Camael—Infernal Demon," Kotori said and swung the flaming battle-ax when the swarm of Kurumis was nearly upon her. Even on the ground where Shido lay helpless, he could hear the roar of it ripping through the air. "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! It's nooo uuuuuse!" Kurumi cried, between peals of laughter. However massive the battle-ax might have been, there was no way it could strike down the constellation of Kurumis charging from all sides. Once Kotori butchered the ones in the front, the rest would sink their teeth into her a second later. However... "Kee-hee-hee! Hee...?" Kurumi's laughter ended abruptly. When Kotori swung Camael, the blade of flames flickered, and the heads—or arms or entire torsos—of many clones spun through the air. "Uh. Oh?" The Kurumis sounded stunned, staring at the body parts severed from the copies. A second later, these fleshy segments burst up in flame and burned to ash before they even touched the ground "Hee-hee.! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! My goodness, you do get things done!" Kurumi raised her eyebrows and twisted up the corners of her mouth as she held her guns in front of the massive clock. "But I know you don't believe that's the end of this, hmm?" At the same time, Kotori yanked Camael up above her head. Shido heard a loud squeal and the battle-ax convulsed. Kurumi launched herself at Kotori. But the flaming blade of Kotori's Camael shimmered and twisted to nimbly defend against attacks invisible to the naked eye. "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Simply marvelous! Wonderful! I'd expect nothing less from a Spirit with her Angel materialized! My heart is pounding—racing in my chest!" "Hmph! How annoying. A lady should have a little more composure than that." Kotori swung her ax as if to scorch the earth itself Hikaru was pressing in her heart with each attack exchange between Kurumi and kotori, "Come on little girl you can do it!" Kurumi cackled as she sailed through the air awkwardly and then readied her guns, shouting, "Thank you for the advice. I shall acquiesce to your request and do you the courtesy of killing you in a ladylike manner. Zafkiel. Seventh Bullet Zayin!" A shadow flew out of the VII on the massive clockface and was sucked into the barrel of Kurumi's gun. As she pulled the trigger, an inky-black bullet shot from the barrel and plunged toward Kotori. From where Kotori was positioned, given the speed of the projectile and the distance between them, it seemed impossible for her to dodge this blow, but she managed to slap the bullet out of the air with the flaming blade of her battle ax. "Kotori!" Shido cried out, but it was no use. Zayin. The evilest bullet, the one Kurumi had used to take Mana down. Kotori could defend against it or knock it down, and it still wouldn't do any good. The instant she touched the bullet... "Heh-heh. Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Kurumi laughed as Kotori was immobilized. And not just her body. The magically swaying sleeves of her Astral Dress, the flickering flames of Camael, even the ends of her hair moving in the breeze—they all froze in place. "Heh-heh-heh! Whatever power you might have, you can't use it if you're stopped now, can you?" Kurumi said, while the myriad of avatars remaining raised their guns, turned them on Kotori, and pulled their triggers. "Stop—" But of course, Shido's cry came far too late. The Kurumis' bullets homed in on Kotori and dug painful holes into her soft skin. "Now, then. It's been a pleasure." The Kurumi that fired Zayin stood in front of Kotori, pressed the barrel of her gun to her forehead, and pulled the trigger without the slightest hesitation. In the next instant, movement returned to Kotori's body. "...!" Blood gushed from every part of her. But she didn't even have the time to react to this. The final bullet fired at lethal range, reached her brow, and she fell forward lifelessly. "Kotori!" Shido half shrieked as he raced over to the spot to take his fallen sister in his arms. He couldn't, however. Ripped apart by Kurumis' bullets, sinking into what amounted to an ocean of blood, her body was so battered, that he feared it would simply fall to pieces if he so much as touched it. "Ah. Ah." He groaned. Beaten to the point where she was nearly unrecognizable, she couldn't possibly live through this, he figured. He placed his hands on the ground, stunned. "Heh-heh-heh. Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh! Aah, aah, it's all over. And I thought I had found a suitably strong enemy at last. How cruel. How transient." Kurumi twirled around theatrically and laughed. "It's finally Shido's turn! I—" Kurumi stopped and frowned. She stared at Kotori facedown on the ground. Drawn by her gaze, Shido looked at Kotori as well, and he too opened his eyes wide. "Wh-what...?" Hikaru smiled as she grabbed her chest as if she were holding her heart from falling. "Please don't give me a heart attack next time, little girl," Hikaru said as she let a deep breath out. Flames jetted from the bullet holes and spread over her, lapping at kotori body. Shido did see this before. More accurately, he'd experienced this before. "You love putting on a big show, hmm?" Kotori yanked herself upright on the balls of her feet, back straight, in an extremely unnatural way. When the flames died down, all signs of injury and blood had vanished, and Kotori's Astral Dress was no longer in tatters. It was impossible to believe that she had been mortally wounded. She coolly shook her head, so calm it made Shido wonder if he had hallucinated the whole attack. "Wha—?" Kurumi frowned and took a step back. This was a surprise to her, too. Kotori readied Camael once more and glared at Kurumi. "Personally, the best outcome would be if you started shaking with fear and lost the desire to fight". "Hmph, please leave the joking...aside!" Kurumi threw her head back and turned the barrels of her guns behind her. The clock in her left eye whirred around while shadow after shadow poured out of Zafkiel's I and into her guns. "Aleph!" she shouted and pulled the triggers on both guns. The Alephs slammed into the Kurumi copies on the roof. After firing several dozen bullets, she pressed one gun to her head and pulled the trigger. "Tch!" Kotori clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Sever, Camael!" Kotori howled, and the blade of the Angel stretched several times over to cover an even broader swath of the roof. One after the other, the flaming blade cut down the Kurumis, ripping through them, piercing them, and turning them to ash. "Hngh!" With a pained grunt, Kurumi pulled away from Kotori "Zafkiel. Fourth Bullet Dalet!" A shadow slid out from Zafkiel's IV toward the gun in Kurumi's hand. She put the barrel to her forehead and pulled the trigger, and her wound disappeared like time itself was rewinding. Meanwhile, the avatars racing around Kotori burned to ash and disappeared in the wind. "What? You're done already? That's a bit of a surprise. You can go a little harder on me, you know?" Kotori snorted with disdain as she shouldered her battle ax. Kurumi twisted her face into a lurid grin and gritted her teeth. "I shall make you regret those words! Zaaaaaaaaaaaafkieeeeeeeeeel...!!" Her left eye began to spin even faster. "Tsk! None of that!" Kotori held Camael up at the ready and then dropped to her knees, a tiny, tiny moan slipping from her lips. "Ah." Using Camael like a staff, she managed to get on her feet as she pressed one hand to her head, a pained look on her face. "Ngh... Th-this..." "K-Kotori?!" Shido cried out. He didn't know what exactly was happening, but he could see she was in trouble. "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! So that's the end of my bad luck!" Kurumi squealed with laughter and turned the rifle and its Zafkiel bullet toward Kotori. "Ngh." Shido was running before his thoughts had even caught up with him. He didn't know what kind of power lay in the bullet in Kurumi's gun. But it was no stretch of the imagination to assume that it was a mortal blow of some kind that would kill Kotori if it hit her. When Kurumi pulled the trigger, he grabbed Kotori and yanked her out of the bullet's path. And if he couldn't manage that, in the worst case, he would be her shield! However... "..." Kotori stood up just when Kurumi had her in her sights. "Kotori! Are you okay?!" he cried, but Kotori didn't respond. She simply stared hard at Kurumi with eyes that shone quietly with a fiery red light. The face he was so familiar with suddenly looked like it belonged to an unknown girl. "Ko...tori...?" Kotori brandished Camael high and released it. The battle-ax blade melted into the air, leaving only the handle floating in space. "Camael. Megiddo," Kotori commanded, and in response, the handle of the Angel began to move, folding in on itself before wrapping around Kotori's raised right hand. Megiddo," Kotori commanded, and in response, the handle of the Angel began to move, folding in on itself before wrapping around Kotori's raised right hand. With her arm wrapped in this huge cudgel from elbow to fingertips, Kotori turned the end of it toward Kurumi, like the big gun on a battleship. Camael opened up and emitted a red glow as the flames curling around Kotori were sucked into this opening. "...?!" Kurumi frowned, and the barrel of her gun turned toward Kotori. It was an expression Shido hadn't seen on her face before. He might have said it was close to fear or dread if he were forced to describe it based on his knowledge and vocabulary. "WE—!!" Kurumi shouted, while her other selves crawled up to put themselves between her and Kotori. "Become destruction, Camael," Kotori whispered. Her voice was cold and flat in a way that Shido had never heard before despite having lived with her for years. A heartbeat later, Camael unleashed a conflagration. The overwhelming heat, the eruption of an enormous volcano compressed into an area of dozens of centimeters, drew a line from the roof of the high school into the distant sky above. For an instant, the area was colored bright red, as if the evening sun had arrived slightly early. "Ngh." Shido unconsciously covered his face with his arm. When he sucked in a tiny bit of this air, the heat coming in through his nose and mouth burned his mucous membranes and made it hard to breathe. Even though he was behind Kotori, his skin prickled like it was on fire, and it was almost impossible to keep his eyes open. After a few seconds, the beam of incandescent light scorching the air steadily shrank, and the large cylinder on Kotori's right hand sputtered white smoke like a machine that had finished a difficult job. Coughing, he lifted his eyes as the smoke blanketing his field of view cleared. Shido shuddered. The tremendous heat had melted the surface of the roof and its fence, and nothing remained in the blast's wake—yet Kurumi and Zafkiel still stood in place. All the other Kurumis that had crawled up to protect her had been burned away in the flames, and Kurumi herself had lost her left arm. The intense heat that had blown it away had charred. The cross-section, however, and not a drop of blood flowed. A quarter of Zafkiel's massive face, floating behind Kurumi, had been blown away. The I, II, and III were all gone. "Nngh. Aah..." Kurumi exhaled, pained, and dropped to her knees. Anyone could see that she was in no condition to continue fighting. However... "Pick up your guns," Kotori growled, her voice low, as she turned the gun that Camael now was on Kurumi once more. "The battle's not over yet. The war is not over yet. Let's keep killing each other, Kurumi. It's the fight you wanted. This is the fight you wanted. If you're not going to point that gun at me anymore, you will die." "Kotori? Wh-what are you saying?" Shido raced over to his little sister and grabbed her shoulders. "If you keep going, she'll die for real! Isn't Ratatoskr supposed to solve these problems without killing Spirits?! Kotori remained silent for a second and then, "You're right. Fighting this spirit isn't going to be enjoyable anymore", kotori raised her head to the sky as if she was glancing at someone. "what about bringing your ass down and fighting. Light?" "HUH?" Shido was confused as he followed Kotori's gaze, but he saw nothing, but then he remembered, "Hikaru?" "..." There was no response. "Oh, come on. I can't see you, but I can still feel your body heat. It's no use hiding." kotori adds. Suddenly, a glow of light appeared, revealing Hikaru in her astral dress. The wing wrapped itself around her clothes as she descended gradually, landing beside Kurumi. Hikaru positioned herself between Kurumi and Kotori as she glanced at kotori face. Cold ruby eyes shining with a bizarre light. On her mouth, an expression somewhere close to joy, ecstasy. "Who are you?!" a voice asked from behind. Hikaru eyes widened upon hearing those words, she was about to ask something but stopped as kotori spoke. "You finally decided to show yourself, didn't you, you coward?" Kotori taunted as she raised Camael, ready for another round of battle. Her eyes glinted with anger as she glared at Hikaru. "Is that why you gave me those expressions back then?" Hikaru asked tentatively, "you could say so, anyway Enough talk, let's begin our war!" She lunged at Hikaru, but something held her back. She turned her gaze to the cause. "War? Kotori, what are you talking about? She's a friend, that-" "you're annoying" "HUH! What's...?" But his question was drowned out by Kotori's flames that suddenly flowed around her like a tornado, sending him away. "Shido!!" Tohka and Origami cried out in unison. "Now, as The nuisance disappeared let's sta-" But Kotori's sentence was cut short as her face came upon a quick fist. BOOM! The entire building shook from the force of the impact, and dust filled the air. In a fraction of a second, Kotori was sent flying through the city, her face turned up towards the sky. But her flight didn't last long as a figure appeared above her. Punch! As the one-hundred-meter-tall broadcast tower collapsed, Kotori disappeared under the debris. The impact was so intense that a massive cloud of sand billowed up from the ground, creating a thick haze in the air. Hikaru remained in the sky, deep in thought, "i focused those punches to the head, i hope that will be enough to make her lose consciousness" Her expression shifted, Something was bothering her, " in my first attack, she looked into my eyes and smiled. She could have avoided my attack if she wanted. But she didn't..." Her train of thought snapped as she noticed something. It wasn't kotori but something more simple, a smell. "Something is burning, but where" her head spinning as she frantically searched for the source, just to stop. A burning flame in her skirt, "My dress?! No normal fire could catch-!" Her eyes widened in realization. But it was too late. The light frame got bigger and bigger, " WHAT THE F-!" and in the blink of an eye the fire caught her whole body. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Hikaru, screams in pain as the fire eats her body. She was engulfed in a raging inferno, screaming at the top of her lungs in agony. She shrieked as the flames devoured her flesh. With every second passed the fire became hotter and stronger "That hurt! That huuuuuuurt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She cried out, her voice hoarse with pain. Eventually, Hikaru transformed into a blazing fireball, plummeting toward the ground. Eventually, Hikaru transformed into a blazing fireball, plummeting to the ground. BAM! Hikaru desperately tried to extinguish the flames engulfing her, crawling and wriggling on the ground, but it was all in vain, The fire refused to be extinguished. As Hikaru lay there, gasping for breath, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Kotori's taunting voice filled the air, "I have to say, that hurt a bit," Kotori sneered. "Now I think it's my turn to attack." The young girl tightened her grip on her angel. "Camael. Megiddo," Kotori commanded, and in response, the handle of The angel began to move, folding in on itself before wrapping around Kotori's raised right hand. Just like with Kurumi, the flames curling around her were sucked into this opening. "Become destruction, Camael," kotori shouted as Camael unleashed a conflagration. Time seemed to stand still for Hikaru as she lay there, thoughts racing through her mind. Despite the chaos around her, the one thing that made its way out through her mouth was a single phrase, A beam of intense energy shot forth from Camael obliterating everything in its path as it surged toward the mountains that surrounded the city, leaving a nuclear explosion behind. A beam of intense energy shot forth from Camael obliterating everything in its path as it surged toward the mountains that surrounded the city, leaving a nuclear explosion behind. BOOM! The entire city was shaken to its core by the deafening explosion. "ki -ki-ki", The silence that followed was pierced by malevolent giggles that echoed throughout the air. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Weak! Everyone is weak around me. Why can't I find a worthy opponent?" The perpetrator of the explosion shouted these words as she made her way back to the school roof to confront Shido. "Now who's gonna be my next pry would be---" THE NIGHT SUDDENLY FALLS! Kotori stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes widened in shock as she looked up at the sky. The sun was being blocked by something. "The moon? Is this an eclipse?" she muttered to herself in disbelief. "No! That's impossible. The moon is hidden at this time of the month." Without prior notice, the object began to emit a green light, illuminating the entire sky in the same eerie hue. And without prior notice, the object began to emit a green light, illuminating the entire sky in the same eerie hue. At that moment, Kotori realized what was happening. "Her angel," she gasped in realization. Overcome by mad laughter, Kotori's voice filled the air. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Of course! I forgot, you still have another trick up your sleeve, HIKARU YATOGAMI BRING IT!" Hikaru emerged from the dust, her whole body aglow in the green light. Her injuries seemed to be healing at an astonishing rate, even the ones that had left her without an arm and a leg. In the blink of an eye, they had been regenerated. It took hikaru a few seconds to heal all of her injuries. "I didn't want to use it again, but I have no choice," Hikaru said as she raised her hand to the sky. She shouted, and her angel obeyed, starting to glow in a brilliant purple light. The same goes for hikaru body, "Now let's end this"