Chapter 47.5———Interlude to Ifrit's Heart
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Before the fight between Ryoji, Akina and Yami occurred with them, they heard something.
Something that echoes in the air, something that Akina was familiar with. A smile formed on her face.
I'm glad you're safe...
Three more students came like air raids with Funka Berunji bringing the power of a bomb, Regis Luxulric being the precise missiles and Cecilia was air support while carrying Beri.
"You're still alive?!" Funka yelled back at her friend, both of her gauntlets were destroyed from reaching the maximum output of her powers. Yet, she still had her legs braces to use instead.
Regis, who was not surprised by their survival, stated the obvious. "Of course, they survived. They're Surwick. Surwick doesn't make cowards." To hear a word like that coming from a prince.
Then again, was this the time to have formalities?
"Go! Get to safety!" Ryoji ordered the rest of his classmates, holding his newly acquired Heartzschwert in his sheathe.
"But-"
"We can handle it," Akina reassured her friend with a thumbs-up, all the while focusing on Yami Shinra.
They
All of them did not fight back except Funka, who all heeded their orders and left them right now.
"We Shouldn't bother them." Cecilia was clear about her intentions, she wanted to stay the hell away from this fight.
"We need to help them!"
"No!" Regis yelled at Funka as the latter was fighting her and Cecilia did not help him. "What we need to stay away from this fight and not be in their way. Those two are our strongest fighters and Shinra is distracted by fighting them. We're no help to them if we die." Regis argued by bringing up good points.
Funka wanted to argue more. She wanted to, alas; He was right and she was wrong. She didn't agree with him verbally since her pride was too large.
Besides, they can handle her.
"Get ready, Akina!!!" Ryoji told her, Akina got ready to fight by balling her soft hands in fists and the raw energy burst out of her body. The Empress simply smiled at them, a genuine one yet it felt so sinisterly to Ryoji and Akina. "Are you using your powers right now?"
"Yep!" She answered back as her hands were in a vertical circle position, forming an energy ball of destruction.
Throwing it at Yami Shinra was one of the greatest feelings to Akina, watching the Empress
Ryoji went into his Heart Cocoon to synchronize, becoming the dragon with a scarf of wandering flames, the one Yami heard so much about. I've heard rumors of a powerful Heart-Bond...And there were only two in Surwick currently...But I want him on my side. Stubborn to the end, Yami Shinra did now the meaning of giving up as she prepared to end this fight quickly.
"She's charging..." Bonded-Ryoji quietly said as Akina was thinking to herself while putting a distance. This all reminds me of when Vegeta came to destroy Earth and he lost to the Goku or when he was charging his Kamehameha, the guy just stood there while he was charging it...
This is real life——She isn't going to wait seventy minutes just to eat our attacks, so I need to fire off my Bloody Mary energy beam her and now without charging.
"Napalm Blast!!!" Ryoji yelled while vomiting a large searing hot blast of fire at him.
"Bloody Mary!!!!!!!!" Akina shouted from the top of her lungs as she unleashed the biggest beam of primal energy at the Empress, and it was hurling towards her at the speed of Mach 3.
"Useless!"
Akina's Bloody Mary and Ryoji's Napalm Blast had combined to become a powerful fusion, one they hoped would defeat her in one attack. Yet, in the school they will be in for six years, Ryoji and Akina will have to learn: No villain will go down in one blow.
Unsheathing her massive katana winds the equivalent of an F-3 hurricane quelled both of their attacks with ease. Akina hurriedly stomped the ground quickly to withstand these strong gales.
..................
RYOJI DRAGOMIR KAZAMA
[Vitals] ***Splendid***
[Power Level] ***Oustanding***
[Magic Level] ***Oustanding***
[Aether Level] ***Oustanding***
[OVERALL] ***Severe Threat***
..................
Same skills as Yami except he's on our side...I love like you wouldn't believe, dad. He's a nice guy—You would like him. Beri kept on talking to himself mentally as Regis took him instead of Cecilia to the high ground.
What about me?
He wondered about it since his vitals were already in the system.
..................
BERI ALLIYMA SOSA
[Vitals] ***Fine
[Power Level] ***Low***
[Magic Level] ***Non-Existent***
[Aether Level] ***Normal***
[OVERALL] ***Low Threat***
..................
Can't even hold a candle to you, huh? I'm sorry, dad that I don't have your awesome power... But at least I got your smarts and Mom's sassiness. Beri thought in sadness as the battle continued.
....................
As Yami was holding on her own both attacks from the Ultimxn and Heart-Bond with a whirlwind, her followers, Infusco, Beowulf, Elijah, and Vaniguzu watched the battle between ice and fire. "This fight should've ended several minutes. She's playing with her food..." Analyzed Beowulf, she had some of her cheek cut and one of her greaves was torn down, looking down at the fight from a safe distance.
Vaniguzu looked and muttered, "God Almighty."
"Do you feel bad for the boy?" Beowulf questioned Vaniguzu, who then shrugged about it. He said no cracked his neck. His mask was busted up where one could see a small glimpse of his mouth.
"The boy is a Heart-Bond. He's the most despised creature in all of the realms. Not even their realm loves them....."
Ryoji fired off another Napalm Blast and announced it again. But he knew that to win this extremely difficult battle is to fight her in a calculative manner.
The Napalm Blast of his was carefully made so he wouldn't hurt any of his allies in the vicinity like he almost did when he fought Takeo back in July. It was because of Igneus, who at the time was more uncontrollable due to the neglect his Heart had received early on.
Ryoji and his Heart Igneus have reached a mutual understanding, as they acted more like siblings now.
"Yo, that Napalm Blast was something else now!"
Why are giving every attack do a name? I don't see the logic in it.
"We are heroes in training. We're supposed to give our attack names."
That's not even explaining the thing why!
"A lot of these kids watch a lot of anime. And when they watch Dragon Ball Z, they can't notice the difference between expectations and reality."
They know that this is serious, Iggy.
"But are they that cognizant like we are?" Igneus brought up a more serious point. "We already have the mental capacity of a grown-ass adult. This will scar them for life."
Crap! If this hurricane keeps ongoing, I'll be done for if she doesn't stop! Akina fretted while her planted feet were showing more and more by the minute much to her dismay. What she didn't know was that Shinra was eavesdropping on her thoughts by telepathically reading her mind. I understand your concern for your wellbeing, Akina. Her eyes widen as she heard Yami's icy voice inside her brain, Akina had reverted to her normal self because she was so terrified of the truth she found out, no; she was more confused as to why she could read her mind.
"How-w-w did you-u-" Akina stuttered heavily before she was interrupted by Yami, who wagged her pointer finger at her.
"Well-ll-ll, Akina-a," Shinra imitated Akina by stuttering harshly to bring her down, "the suit I wear isn't tailored by normal materials. The Regalia Husk is made from the cold carcass of a Mindflayer, and my horns..." She explained as she touched her horns, a smile colder than death grew on her face before resuming her explanation to the Hero-in-training. "Can read your limbic system in your brain, which includes the hippocampus, the amygdala, pretty much that part of your brain, particular relevance to the processing of memory. It means, if you couldn't perceive what I said, it means-"
A burst of flames came hurtling towards her, unluckily she dodged it faster than Akina could perceive.
Bonded-Ryoji was quick but Yami was becoming quicker by the second. "It means she can read our minds." Finished Bonded-Ryoji as he recovered from the winds. His mouth moved differently while he talked, it felt more primal when he spoke.
"Funny. It's funny that the "Goddess" needs to dissect a Demon-Lord leveled Daemon to be in our league." Bonded-Ryoji jested, according to one of his old friends that died in the Dolle Incident, frequent jesting ruins her concentration.
Ever since her dad, I heard her sanity has been slipping by the minute...
The entire area was engulfed in winds of the cold, pushing the others away from the battlefield. It was just her and Ryojii now.
He wasn't losing any hope of defeating her but he realized that it would be harder now.
Her Aether had been steadily rising through the roof, yet her eyes became black as the night and her horns became elongated and her haughtiness increased tenfold. The Ex-Raven took a step back as she came closer to him, it was clear she was no longer in control of her own body. What in the hell? It's like she reached a new height from her suit. She's more..animalistic now, judging how she stands and that I can see her breath.
Ryoji analyzed her suit from a safe distance, while the latter raised her hand, and towers of ice manifested and chased him. If there was a huge difference between a Heart-Bond and the Regalia's Husk, it would be the fact a Heart-Bond like me is in perfect sync with my partner while this...Monstrosity doesn't. It appears as of the suit's in charge; It's the Independent clause while the Empress's the dependent clause. While swiftly dodging her attacks, he knew he was slowly losing Aether, yet he can't give up.
Akina, on the other hand, was having difficulty dodging the ongoing assault. Holy pink shit on a stick! When did the hell she get so strong of a sudden?!
"No...I'm not losing my sanity.." Yami slowly said, before reaching the speed of sound to attack Akina, pummeling her to the ground with every crushing blow. The worst part was that he didn't even notice how fast until he was getting feeling the punches and kicks of her radiance. "Argh!!!" Akina yelled in agony, he couldn't even defend herself. Take out the other and you'll be left with your prime objective
"We are the supreme clause: It is we who will reign over this blasted world for the centuries to come with this power!!!!"
Then unexpectedly: she threw Akina north from a close distance, about fifteen meters away from her. That only left only Yami and Ryoji.
"Before you want to die a painful death, I wish to fight you in a simple swordfight. Or," Yami extended her hand to the Heart-Bond. "Join me and I will grant you the power for whatever you desire."
He was too tired to have heard her. "What?"
Yami repeated herself. "I said I wish to challenge you in a sword fight, I can go easy if you accept my offer to join, or it will be hard if you don't."
"Piss off with your offer." He declined, there was no power in resurrecting his parents. He did not know his parents' name and his "uncle" Zanko did not know either.
Immediately after his rude declination, he was instantly decimated by Yami Shinra before tumbling over and over as he got kicked in the groin by her, he became the personification of tumbleweed strolling in the desert.
After he stopped rolling, one could see his fair-toned skin from the holes in his armored body.
Infusco stood up as he towered his allow associates and began to speak while his pomegranate-like eye moved faster than light. "HE'S GOT A TRUMP CARD. THE BOY HAS A HUGE AMOUNT OF POWER INSIDE THAT BLADE AND HE'S NOT DOING ANYTHING TO RELEASE IT. STUPID BOY." The Beige Beast simply walked to the end of the ledge and hunched his back. WHY FIGHT THE RESISTANCE TO USE THAT HEARTZSCHWERT?
Ryoji wanted to give up now. It was obvious that he stood there, defeated and hopeless.
I thought you Ravens did not believe in giving up...
Yes, the rusty blade you wield in your hand is speaking to you and wants to have a good fight.
"Huh?" Ryoji was perplexed as he looked into the middle of his rusty Heartzschwert and saw a small yet intimidating shadow resting in the middle. Yes...This little girl needs to be taught that Heart-Bonds are the true divine beings in this world, not her but you: Ryoji Dragomir Kazama.
His flames were becoming brighter and hotter as they pushed his enemy away. Yes, boy, feel your passion to protect from within and feel the power of an Aeon coursing through your veins...Now: Say my name!
"IFRIT!!!!"
———Track 47.5 Ended———