Mitsuya doesn't really care about Eliot. He just wants to get the heck out of here before he gets killed. Instead he wants to find Angel, and it seems like he won't be able to until he battles this boy standing in front of him. But he's too busy looking at the Ring of Masir.
" What's it to you ?" Mitsuya scoffs.
" Nothing, nothing at all. At least nothing much. I was just wondering how that ring would look if it were paired with this pendant of mine." He takes something out of his shirt, revealing a circular golden pendant. It looks like it's real gold, but it's an antique. " That ring must be special, I can observe that. It's like it's resonating with this chain. You wouldn't mind fighting for it, now would you ?" He smirks a little bit, much to Mitsuya's distaste.
" Sorry, but I can't do that. I have to keep this ring no matter what. But I'm not opposed to fighting you. I believe we both understand the outcome of that. Judging by your appearance, it would seem that I'm going to lose this fight. There's only a 45% chance of me winning. Is that correct ?"
" Well I calculated lower than that, but I appreciate your optimism. Shall we get to it then?" He takes out a pocket watch similar to Mitsuya's, but it's black. " I estimate that this should be done within 3 minutes or so. I'm going to challenge myself. I think I can fight you while reading the Great Gatsby. Angel tells me that it's your favorite book. Is that right?"
Mitsuya becomes heated, but calms himself down. " Yes, that is correct. But it doesn't matter right now. Nothing matters right now except how this battle is going to be fought. First, you're going to anwer me. How did you find Shigeo, and why did you kill him ? Second, why did you bring me here ?"
Eliot paces around the room inquisitively. " Shigeo Seira was captured a few years after the disappearance of the children of Dazai Nieto. After months of torture it was found out that he murdered his wife, the mother of the children. Not only that, but he had some valuable information about the location of a specific book with some important information about mages hidden deep within it. He claims that he gave possession of the book to Dazai Nieto, but he's gone missing and no one can find him. So we naturally assumed who could be the next most probable person to have the book. There was much disagreement, until I suddenly remembered something that we heard from one of those orphans when we burned down that Orphanage. There were no records of an Akemi Hyedo anywhere. But then I turned to Angel, and I had to force her to give me information. It was either do that, or commit mass genocide, including murdering you and your sister. As for who killed Shigeo over there, it was all Angel's call. She just didn't need him anymore, He had told us that he had been keeping tabs on one Mr. Akazi, who frequented his bar, and the coffee shop of his close friend. It was easy from there. We just had to wait until you gave one of them a sweet little visit."
Mitsuya clenches the sword tighter in his hand. " So you've been using Mr. Akazi and Ms. Shichiroji this entire time. How cruel of you to do such a thing."
" Not cruel at all actually. We were never going to harm them. They aren't mages, nor have they committed any serious crimes."
" Aren't you a mage yourself. How could you do these things against your own people? Have you no remorse, or no empathy. You observe all of these terrible things happening to our people, but you choose to stand against them. Where's the logic in that."
" I don't have to explain to you. I do things of my own accord. It may surprise you to know that I'm only half mage. My father wasn't one. You don't know how much suffering that I've gone through to get to this point. In a way, you're better off than I am."
" How is that so ? My mother being killed and my father abandoning me puts me in a better position than you."
" Mitsuya, you don't know true pain. You still have friends, and you still have a parent alive. You also still have a sibling who's alive, if I'm not mistaken. I'm just going to leave it at that. Now, it's time to battle."
" I'm guessing that you have some object. If you choose to fight me without a weapon."
" Now that you say that, I guess I should bring it out now. Come to my hand, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi ." A sword with a black blade forms within his hand. He fully unsheathes it, revealing it to be clearly polished. " You've heard the myths. Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the grass cutting sword. It's one of the Imperial Regalia. This isn't the actual thing. It's an identical copy. Would you like to give it a try?"
" I've heard of that before. Sure, it can't be that-" In an instant, Eliot is right beside Mitsuya. Before Mitsuya can even blink, Eliot's sword is already at his neck. Mitsuya quickly jumps back, but he's too slow. Eliot is following close behind him. Mitsuya is missed by barely an inch, and a strand of his hair is cut off by Eliot's sword. When the two collide, an enormous amount of wind rushes through the room. Mitsuya struggles to keep up with him. " You know, you could be on my level if you knew the name of your sword." Mitsuya disregards this. " I can beat you even without it." Mitsuya trips him and prepares to hit him with the sword. Eliot jumps back. " Do you really think you can beat me with a reverse blade sword ? That's just stupid."
" Do you really think you can beat me while reading a book ? That's even more stupid." Mitsuya scoffs. He aims his sword directly at Eliot and throws it at him. Eliot dodges, and Mitsuya calls his sword back to his hand. In less than 5 seconds, he sends over 20 consecutive attacks towards Eliot from his sword. Eliot narrowly dodges them. But before he can notice, Mitsuya captures him in a binding spell. " What're you planning to do ?"
Mitsuya rushes towards him with his blade in hand, aiming straight for Eliot's head. He believes that he has landed the finishing blow, but unbeknownst to him, Eliot escaped from the binding before he could even touch him. Eliot delivers an astounding kick to Mitsuya's stomach, sending him flying across the room. Followed by that, a quick punch to the face followed by a dropkick to the ground. Mitsuya begins coughing up blood. Eliot stands above him. " I guess you weren't on my level after all." Mitsuya begins laughing. " You are such a narcissist, you know that?" A portal opens beneath Mitsuya, and he falls through. Eliot is astonished. In a matter of moments, Mitsuya is behind him, preparing to deliver a decisive blow. Eliot barely stops it with his sword. They go back and forth for several minutes. Mitsuya even tried to make a fool out of Eliot by fighting with one hand. It seems like they were truly equal.
Meanwhile, Mayomi got to the top of a satellite tower. Himura had informed her of the situation, and she now had to find the person who was spying on Ms. Shichiroji.
" I wanted to spend the rest of the day chasing those kids through the forest, and now I'm looking for government agents. This is such a drag." She calms herself and takes a deep breath. Everything, the surroundings that she can picture in her mind, become white and black. She's so deep in focus. Basically, she's trying to find the person who is focusing on Ms. Shichirota's energy the most besides herself. Throughout the network lines, the train system, the traffic system, the buses, in every house within a 10 meter radius. They all lead back to the same place. This is the power of yin energy. She finds the person. Someone is in the apartment complex building across the street from the shop, on the 12th floor. It's a sniper. She gets distracted by something in the distance. Here, she's Kaoru, Keiko and Julianna furiously dodging knives which disintegrate as soon as they touch the ground. She doesn't know what to think of this." Instead, she calls Himura. " Himura, the other kids are fighting somebody. Should I help them ?" Amid Himura's panicking on the phone, she manages to make out a single phrase. " Handle the person who has Ms. Shichirota under surveillance first."
And so Mayomi transformed into a fox and proceeded to jump from the satellite tower onto the buildings below here, from street to street until she got to the coffee shop. She went directly to the apartment complex, and jumped into the window of the person next door. After transforming back into a human, Mayomi politely knocked on the door before kicking it down. The person with the rifle was so surprised that he aimed it directly at her while cursing for her to get out. He threatened to shoot, but she just walked closer to him, all the while taking out a perfume bottle. At the sight of her taking it out he shot directly at her. Mayomi dodged that with ease. She sprayed the perfume and his face and a purple cloud filled the air. The man began to feel drowsy. Before he falls out, Mayomi takes the gun away from him and puts it inside of her bag. When he awakens a few moments later, Mayomi is gone.
" What was I doing here again ?"
Mayomi got on the phone with Himura. " I was bored so I didn't want to fight him. He shot at me, but it was an easy dodge. I just used that memory altering potion that you stole from the Organization in case someone caught the kids using magic."
Himura sighs on the other side. " That's just… you know what that was a nice way of solving the problem. What type of memory did he get ?"
" How should I know? He probably doesn't even remember his name. He probably thinks he's just sightseeing."
" What about the kids ?"
" I'm going there right now. But it looks like they're fine on their own."
" Go just in case. I'm going to help Mitsuya."
" Okay. Himura, remember, if my baby gets in danger because of you, I'm never forgiving you. You have to give your son to me."
" I hope you're not serious." And with that, they ended the conversation.
The three kids were capable of devising a plan that would help them to get out of this situation. Keiko and Julianna just had to stall time for Kaoru. The weapons were coming from everywhere, and to make it easier for due process, Julianna had secretly casted a concealing spell on Kaoru. So she wouldn't be seen either. It seems the person fighting them hadn't even noticed that she disappeared. He was a literal fool for that. If he didn't know that concealing spells canceled each other out when two were put into use, then he was just a novice. Julianna put an optical illusion in place making it seem as if she were still there. This means that Kaoru could sense his energy, but he couldn't see her. Kaoru realized that his energy was flying all over the place. It went from one point to another, in a random order. The weapons were coming from all directions, so she assumed that he must be moving so fast that he could change the way that weapons flowed.
"No, no one is capable of speeds moving that fast. And if they are, then he must be very weak if all three of us can dodge his weapons." Kaoru thought. There must be something else. She had to think really hard about this. The answer seemed so close, but it was far away at the same time.
" Magic capable of jumping through dimension… magic capable of distorting space… where have I heard that before… MITSUYA." At this point she came to the realization that her brother had space magic, so this guy must be a weak imitation of it. If she could find out where he would jump to next, then she could destroy his patterns. She concentrated very hard, and focused on negative energy surrounding her. She saw many colors- blue, grey, purple, red. The person with the red hue must be the one attacking them.
" He's jumping left, further left, down, right, center, right, left, up, left, further left, down… It's a sequence. It was too obvious. Judging by that, next, he should be going right. That means the weapons should come back to Keiko's position." She prepares herself, focusing and planting her feet. This would be the first time that she ever hit someone since she lost her sight. If she touched some part of his body, then the spell concealing him would wear off and they would be able to see him. She aimed for the ki that she was sensing, and jumped off. She put all of her force into landing a powerful kick. With all of her might, she rushed the kick into the back of the assailant. She was pretty sure that she felt a bone crack, but that's besides the point. All of the weapons stopped, and both of the spells wore off. Kaoru elegantly fell back to the ground, falling into Keiko's arms. Meanwhile, the assailant, revealed to be a man with fair skin, a long nose and brownish-blond hair, fell to the ground. Julianna quickly binded him, while Keiko rushed over with Kaoru still in his arms.
" Why did you attack us ?" Julianna asked.
" First off, who are you ?" Keiko said. There was no response.
" Okay, we'll make this easier. Who sent you, and are you a mage ?"
The man speaks, revealing a thick Russian accent. " I was sent to test your strength."
" By who exactly ?"
" I can't tell you that. He just wanted me to see how powerful you are."
" Are you one of the government mages ?" Kaoru asked.
" Of course not. We don't work for them. We do our own things, our own way. That's one of our principles, our defining characteristic. The government mages aren't nearly on our level, in my opinion. We are entirely more sophisticated than them. Please don't compare us."
" Us? So there are more of you. And you aren't associated with the government. But you have magic. You can't be from the Organization. Are you some type of terrorism group or something ?" Julianna asks.
" We obey the orders of the King. He guides us, and he tells us what to do. We merely carry out his orders."
" But didn't you just say that your motto is to do things on your own, your own way ?" Keiko asks. He's clearly confused.
" Keiko, he's messing with us. He won't give us any real information." Kaoru says.
" You three are valuable. I can't let you die. But it wouldn't hurt if you lost a limb or two, wouldn't it ?" At that moment, he broke free of the binding with relative ease. He raised his hand to the sky, and a hole appeared above Kaoru's head. A dagger flies out at her, followed by another. All at once, more than 4 dozen daggers come falling down at her. The entire area is covered in dust as Julianna and Keiko rush towards her. When it settles, Mayomi is revealed standing above her. " Are you alright ?" Kaoru can't see, but she recognizes the voice. " Yes, Ms. Mayomi. I'm fine."
" Who are you ?" Mayomi says, reverting her attention back to the man.
" I can't tell you that. I was merely sent here to test their strength. You weren't supposed to interfere. I don't want to have to do more than I have to and fight y-". What he hadn't noticed was that at this exact moment, Mayomi had been sharpening her claws for a fatal attack. Before he could even react, Mayomi was already near him. The next thing that he could see was blood, and the fierce sting that had come over his body. He felt cold, as if something was missing. Blood… blood… blood. Mayomi just tore his arm off. Amid the shock factor, he screamed at the top of his lungs, and collapsed on the ground. At the same time, he began cursing her.
" YOU STUPID BITCH… I'LL KILL YOU."
Mayomi is unfazed by this. " Again, who are you ?" She has the most nonchalant look on her face, but at the same time the three kids behind her are scared for their lives. At that moment, a portal appeared behind the man. From the darkness, a black haired woman with fair skin emerged. She wears a crimson red hood. " Dawson, you have done enough. And it looks like you suffered considerable damage. It's time to go. Your work here is done."
Dawson doesn't listen to what she says. " LET ME KILL HER. DO YOU SEE WHAT SHE DID TO MY ARM." The woman's face becomes more serious. " Dawson. If you don't leave right now, you'll be punished later." He shuts up, and steps into the portal, holding where his arm used to be. Mayomi won't take silence for an answer.
" Hey lady, who are you ?"
The woman looks so discontent when she hears Mayomi's voice. But she still gives her an answer. " Cadence Rhodes, number 8 of the Demon Cards. 10th Successor to the throne of the Ten Blades Syndicate. Servant of His Excellency, Lord Lennox." At the hearing of this, Mayomi's heart instantly drops. " Lennox. LENNOX… THAT BASTARD… WHY DID HE SEND YOU HERE ?"
" Oh, he didn't send us. His successor did. The current head of the Syndicate."
" No… not him. He couldn't have… don't tell me. WHO IS THE CURRENT LEADER ?"
" Kingston Lennox has fallen gravely ill and can no longer serve as leader. His position as the head of the syndicate has been passed down to his true heir. The heir went on his own operation months ago, and has entrusted the affairs of the syndicate to the Demon Cards, the elite force of mages. He gives us out our orders."
" The heir… how could he? Dammit, dammit … dammit …" Mayomi falls on the ground in tears. She punches it so hard that the ground seemingly cracks the surface. " YOU TELL HIM THAT HE WON'T GET AWAY WITH US. I'M COMING FOR HIM."
The woman laughs. " That's nice of you to think so. It won't be that easy to defeat him. You best be prepared. In a few months, the End of Days will be here." And with that, the portal closed. Julianna went to console Mayomi while Keiko stayed with Julianna.
Meanwhile Eliot and Mitsuya were still going at it. At this exact moment, Mitsuya pierced his sword through Eliot's copy of The Great Gatsby. The book fell onto the floor, and all of the pages scattered. Mitsuya smirked at him. " Looks like you failed your challenge, Eliot."
Eliot was still unimpressed. " Don't be a smart ass." He almost cut Mitsuya's head off at that moment, but he narrowly dodged. Mitsuya now began an attack which he had been practicing for days on end. Multiple portals opened in the room, and Mitsuya jumped through each one of them. At any point, he could strike Eliot without him being able to predict his next movement. And it worked, because he landed consecutive blows on him until Eliot wasn't able to move any more. Next Mitsuya would bind him, and punched him so hard in the stomach that he heard one of his ribs crack. Eliot lay on the ground, in a puddle of his own blood, while the tired out Mitsuya stood with one foot on him. His sword was on the other side of the room. " Looks like I won." said Mitsuya, as he was panting heavily. In a few moments it seemed as if he was going to collapse if he didn't hold himself up with his sword. Eliot just looked at his face.
" Hey, Mitsuya. Do you know that in the midst of chaos, there's always an opportunity ?"
" That only works if you know a good strategy to counter anything that your opponent has to throw at you. You have to take advantage of a bad situation to stress out the potential of winning in that situation. That's a Sun Tzu quote, isn't it ? Why are you-"
" You know, I can tell. You have a genius intellect, but you rarely pay attention to detail. I may be wrong, you might be observant at other times, but this wasn't one of them. You're letting emotion get in the way, and for that sole reason, you gave me an opening." It was too late for Mitsuya to realize. A dark aura began emitting from Eliot's body, briefly making the room black.
" Second Form. Catalyst." It's as if some strange, horrifying beast was watching Mitsuya from behind. He could feel eyes so dark and so gloomy staring at him, even though he knew there was no one behind him. He couldn't feel anything. His entire body had gone numb. For in that moment, Mitsuya was stabbed from behind. Eliot's sword went directly through his rib. Mitsuya fainted. " You… you bastard." Soon, Eliot stood back up and wiped the dust away from his clothes. " Sorry Mitsuya, that's just how life goes. You need to learn to never let your guard down." He began limping away, still suffering from the injuries that Mitsuya had inflicted.
But inside Mitsuya's head, he had fallen into a barren land. There was no sign of life in sight, and no sign of the sun. It was cold, and it was dark. It was miserable. He looked around everywhere, for some sign of a person. He needed to get back and finish his fight with Eliot. He heard a voice. A black figure appeared before him, with no noticeable features. He had no eyes, just a mouth, covered in blackness.
" Mitsuya… you know what to do… I'm tired of sitting here waiting. Let me take over." Mitsuya doesn't know what to do.
" Mitsuya… Mitsuya… MITSUYA…" Somebody is shouting his name.
" Let me take over from here. You just rest for now."
" Who are you ?" Mitsuya says faintly.
" It doesn't matter. It just shows that you don't have enough strength to protect the people around you. You're weak. I hope you know that. It's my turn."
Before Mitsuya can answer, he falls into unconsciousness. Back in the real world, as Eliot walks away, he stops in his tracks. He senses something truly terrifying coming from behind him. " Dark magic…" At the same time, Kaoru collapses on the ground. Keiko comes to her aid, as she begins breathing alarmingly. She grasps her heart. " Mitsuya… he … he needs…" She blacks out.
" Her soul energy. It's fading away." Julianna says.
Mitsuya is consumed by blackness. The entire room is covered in a purple aura, giving it a somewhat demonic feel. Eliot is too scared that he can't even move anymore. " He… he's a monster. I can't compete with that." This energy even shocks Angel, who isn't even in the same room. Mitsuya's face becomes deranged, almost like he's turning into a psychopath. He laughs hysterically, and begins to tear off his shirt. Black patterns form all over his body, and his left hand becomes pitch black. Half of his hair turns white while the other half becomes slightly lighter. To make things even worse, a third eye appears on his head. Eliot is truly scared.
" He… he's cursed… he incarnated."
Mitsuya stops laughing and looks directly into Eliot's soul. " Being cooped up inside for so long wasn't fun at all. The wonderful age has begun. It's the first time in a long time that I've been allowed out. ELIOT… THE IMMEASURABLE VOID IS CALLING. THE REAL BATTLE BEGINS NOW."