Chapter 22: Hikaru VS Kotori

(Warning!) : the following chapter has so many violent and bloody scenes, that it may be Not suitable for people with weak hearts or children The air grew thick with the oppressive heat, suffocating and suffusing every breath with a sickly warmth. Despite the distance of 150 meters (492 feet) separating them, Hikaru could feel Kotori's gaze bore into her with a burning intensity. Eyes that shone quietly with a fiery red light. Hikaru could feel the bloodthirsty desire for violence screaming in those eyes. Kotori starts to fly closer as the unhuman smile on her face grows bigger. Hikaru was frozen not knowing how to act. Attack, make a distance between them, or talk...so much thought in a short period, made her mind a mess. 100m... 70m...30m... and then hikaru found kotori face in front of her The heat was unbearable, but she had her pride in showing it. the silence that surrounded the place for a quiet while was broken, "I like the fight to be as bloody as possible." Hikaru felt a shiver run down her spine at those words. The words themselves weren't the reason. But rather the way Kotori said it Despite she the angel of fire, there was no warmth in her words, just a pure desire to fight to the death. "I know you'll use your light manipulation for some cheap tricks." Kotori declared, her hand slowly moving to cover her face. "that's why" Hikaru watched in horror as Kotori's hand closed tightly over her eyes, her nails digging deep into her flesh. "I'm going to get rid of what you need for your tricks to work." "...!" And with a sudden, violent motion, Kotori began to pull on her hand, dragging it along her face. Blood flowed freely from the wound, as she removed the upper part of her face, exposing the raw, pulsating flesh and bone underneath. It was a gruesome sight, and Hikaru was frozen with horror as Kotori appeared to be planning to remove her own eyes. With each agonizing inch that Kotori's hand moved, her face peeled back like the skin of an overripe fruit, revealing the ghastly sight of her skull beneath. Hikaru's heart was pounding in her chest as she watched in horror as Kotori slowly peeled off her face, revealing the glistening muscles and tendons beneath. The sight was so gruesome that Hikaru had to fight the urge to look away, but something compelled her to keep watching. Kotori's fingers continued to dig deeper into her face, tearing off chunks of flesh and bone until she had completely removed her upper jaw and cheekbones. Blood dripped from her exposed muscles, but Kotori seemed to be reveling in the pain, a twisted smile spreading across her face. But Kotori didn't stop there. With a sickening crunch, she tore out her own eyes, leaving two bloody sockets where they used to be. Hikaru could feel bile rising in her throat at the sight of the gruesome self-mutilation. Kotori didn't seem to care. With her fingers still digging into the empty sockets where her eyes used to be, she turned to Hikaru. With a maniacal grin on her face, she threw her face at Hikaru, who instinctively raised her arms to shield herself. The impact was like a wet slap, and Hikaru felt something warm and sticky running down her arms. When she lowered her arms, she saw that Kotori's face had landed on the ground under her feet and that it was still twitching and writhing. Suddenly, Hikaru felt something wet and slimy slide down her face, and she realized that it was Kotori's blood. She tried to wipe it away, but it only smeared and spread, making her feel even more sick and horrified. "Hee-hee! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Kotori started to laugh, a deep and unsettling sound that echoed through the emptiness around them. "she a true monster" That is all hikaru could say before she threw a fist at her face sending her flying to the ground, and destroying whatever was in the way. Hikaru can feel the dripping blood in her fist, but she ignores it. Unless it is her own, everything is okay. "i have to take her back to her senses, that means that fight should not last long" She raised her hand to the sky, "50%" The purple aura around her got darker and the sky with it. But something was weird. Their something that Impedes the purple glow from dominance It was a red bright light, and it was from a huge flame slash heading toward her. Hikaru dodged the attack with ease as she already saw it coming. "she knows where I am even though she destroyed her own eyes, she probably relies on my body temperature to know my location" She moved her glance to where the attack came from. Searching for kotori as she was still in her deep thought, analyzing the situation, "As she said before. without eyes, my casual trick is useless" she smirked," but that doesn't mean i can't make something new, but first where is she" Hikaru started to feel worried as she still couldn't locate kotori place, "she wants to fight head-head, so why is she hiding-" "i am not. You're just a blind, FOOL!" "...!!" A voice called from above, hikaru eyes widened as she turned to the source of the voice, just to find kotori pointing her Cannon at her. "Destroy my enemy, Camael!" And with a war call,hikaru found a powerful blast heading toward her. She tried to dodge but it was too late. All she could do was call a name, "Ohr Chesed!" the blast hurtling towards one of the city towers, just to erase it and all surrounding building the blast hurtling towards one of the city towers, just to erase it and all surrounding building EXPLOSION! The impact creates a massive crater, sending debris flying in every direction. The ground rumbles and shakes, and the air is filled with a cloud of dust and debris. As the dust settles, the true extent of the devastation becomes clear. The surrounding area is transformed beyond recognition, as a huge part of the city is flattened. Kotori, remained silent waiting for any hint of hikaru survival, just to be rewarded by the appearance of her, without any sign of injury as she lifted the debris that was trapping her under the ruin. 'she used the attack as a hidden spot to travel through me without my knowing. Hikaru glanced at kotori, 'She located me through the heat, let's change that.' With the last word leaving her mouth, a field of brilliant light started to form around her body. With every second it goes, the field gets bigger and bigger- but Whatever Hikaru was planning to do, she stopped as Kotori's face was in front of her or that was it supposed to be, as Hikaru was glancing at the shape of a human skull in front of her. "you take your time to do this while I am still watching" With a powerful swing, Kotori waved her axe aiming to cut her in half. WAVE! Hikaru barely dodged attacking to the side. "Gi...!" But that wasn't the case with the heat that went with the swing, all she had to do was endure. "I am not done yet!" Kotori swings her axe again. Hikaru doge to the left Again, and hikaru to the right She swung and swung, and hikaru kept dodging. Each of Kotori's swings was a final blow for hikaru "that not gonna be good for me!" She decided to fly away to make a distance, but that was the wrong move Kotori was waiting for "FOOL!" kotori, and In the blink of an eye, caught up to her, and swung the huge axe in her arms. CUT! "...!" Hikaru was now staring at the lower half of her body as it was falling to the ground. Kotori had succeeded in slicing her in half. Time seemed to stop, as kotori kept glancing at hikaru face, even though she didn't have eyes to see, the heat could tell her everything. What expression would she make, she didn't care. The only thing that she was waiting for on her face was FEAR! But the expression on hikaru face was the opposite of that. It was like a smile of victory. "You!...." Kotori exclaimed, realizing that Hikaru was making a different expression than she had anticipated. Hikaru's face began to glow with a bright light, building up to an explosive release. BOOM! The sky lit up as if a new sun had been born, and the bright light filled the air for a few seconds. "ha.....ha...ha" as the light burned out, leaving only a shallow and ragged breath that could be heard. A figure appeared. Her skin was blackened and blistered, and her astral dress was ripped and torn. Blood dripped from deep lacerations on her arms and legs. Her left arm hung at an unnatural angle, shattered bones piercing through the skin. Her right leg was barely recognizable, mangled, and contorted grotesquely. The force of the explosion had torn off several of her fingers, leaving only bloody stumps. Flames erupted from every wound on Kuturi's body, creating a fiery aura that engulfed her. "be careful to not heal your face too, that would be meaningless after all the drama that you went through" a voice spoke from beneath her. It was Hikaru, who had been hiding in the ruins. 'all this time, it was just a clone of her' "How did yo-" "You simulated the heat of a living human in a perfect clone of me... OOPS! I shouldn't explain my trick to the enemy, oh well you're so stupid to use this information as a weapon," Hikaru interrupted, a red glow forming in her eyes as a wicked smile spread across her face. Kuturi's flames began to die down as she watched Hikaru, studying her expression. "Those eyes!" she exclaimed. "YES! You're just like me, someone who revels in spilled blood, who will fight until the bitter end." A huge smile and a deep blush spread across her face. "Let's kill each other, Hikaru!" With a fierce roar, she charged toward her opponent, brandishing a massive axe. Hikaru didn't pay attention to what Kotori was shouting. After all, she was putting the final touch on her plan, 'she can control whether to heal something in her body or not. That means if she didn't know- he-he-he-he-he' she giggled under her breath as she dodged Kuturi's swing. "Shido would be deeply disappointed in you right now," Hikaru spat out the words with a smug look on her face. "HUH?" Kotori froze for a fraction of a second, no longer than a millisecond, but that was enough for hikaru to land a punch on her stomach. Her feet dig at the ground as it slows the punch impacted. But the punch didn't show to do that damage on Kotori, "What with those words. another trick to make me drop my guard down?" Hikaru launches herself at kotori, her fist poised to strike. "Nah i am just speaking fact, after i finish with you he's gonna be Mine!" Kotori blocked the punch with her axe, her usual smile replaced with a deep frown. "And why should I car-" "so why did your smile turn to a frown," Hikaru remarked with a smirk, " You know you've disappointed him, even if you defeated me. He won't see you as his sister anymore." She chuckled wickedly. "Oh wait, you weren't his real sister from the start, were you?" "Enough!" Kotori shouted, her axe swinging in a wide arc as she launched Hikaru away. Hikaru raised both her arms in defense. Despite her efforts, the impact was too powerful, and both her hands snapped with a sickening crack. A large, gaping wound appeared on her chest, and she stumbled back, leaving a trail of blood in her wake. "Geee!.." Kuturi winced as she felt a sharp pain in her head. Hikaru took a step forward, her foot walking on a pool of her blood, she wasn't a clone, and she didn't use her angel to heal the injury. "I WIN!" Hikaru declared, triumph in her voice "...!" Kotori doubled over, coughing up blood as she sank to her knees. The pain was so intense that it felt like her entire body was screaming "W.hat in the" Her voice cracked as she tried to speak. Her skin began to peel away in thick, blackened sheets, revealing raw, red flesh beneath. Blood seeped from every pore, and her astral dress clung to her body, soaked through with sweat and other bodily fluids. It was a horrifying sight, and even Kotori was taken aback by the gruesome display. Her stomach churned and heaved, and her bowels evacuated uncontrollably. Her heart raced and skipped beats, struggling to pump blood through her rapidly deteriorating body. The red flames that surrounded her flickered and disappeared, replaced by thick, blue flames. The flames that heal any injury that she may be exposed to She hadn't realized that she healed her face by mistake, showing the confusion on her face. "How was your experience with nuclear radiant for the first time?" hikaru said as she glanced at the little girl on the ground. Kuturi raised her head in pain to see Hikaru standing nearby, her eyes slowly losing their red glow. "How? You can't generate nuclear radiation through light?" Kuturi asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't think that matters in this situation. Your body seems to be striving to overcome the effects of the radiation, but I don't think it's the same for your brother," Hikaru replied gravely. Kotori's eyes widened as she quickly turned her head towards the school roof. She could sense that four lifeless figures lay there on the ground, their bodies cold and still. But there was still some warmth in their internal organs. "I can increase the radiation power as much as I want, and I expect that your healing factory would adapt, but what about your beloved Nii-san" Hikaru said, her voice steady and controlled. Kotori could barely muster a response, "Shi-do," she muttered weakly. Hikaru knelt, holding Kotori's face with both hands, her palms still warm after she regenerated them. She brought Kuturi's face closer to hers, their eyes locking just an inch apart. "HE'S GONNA DIE, DO YOU HEAR ME, YOUR BELOVED BROTHER IS GONNA DIE!" Hysterical laughter echoed through the area, making everything seem even more surreal. "N-o, Nii-san" She started to crawl towards her brother, the red glow in her eyes fading away. She was no longer possessed "Ni--" "I'm sorry to make you go through this," a voice called out to her from behind, and a bright light appeared. "heal my beloved " The light disappeared, and Kuturi's unconscious body was left on the ground, completely unharmed. Hikaru felt a wave of relief wash over her, but it was short-lived. "Everything went go-" She fell to her knees, vomiting uncontrollably. The pain and exhaustion had finally caught up to her, and she was struggling to stay conscious. She looked up at the sky, watching as her angel disappeared into the distance, leaving behind the deep red of the sunset. Hikaru knew that she had to move Kotori to a safe place, but every movement was agony. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand up, her legs wobbling beneath her. Just as she took her first step, she felt a strange sensation wash over her, like the one she had felt when she was teleported to the Ratatoskr. She knew what was about to happen, and she braced herself for impact. "Th-thank you," she managed to say before her body gave out, and she collapsed to the ground beside Kotori.