WARNING!
The story contains graphic depictions of violence, sexuality, strong language, and/or other mature themes.
[The Spiritual Core's warfare: Arc 19]
Once upon a time, on Planet Earth, a young girl was born; the story goes that her identity was never adequately clarified, but she was effectively known as the 'Holy Light.'
Her title depicted the real life of one's planet. Humankind did not know the Dimensions that had appeared alongside her birth, only of the Spirits that had been destroyed or disappeared.
The woman... The Holy Light, the heir of all the inhabitants, was not born alone. The arrival of the Demon God, whose name was Rez, caused anarchy, and humanity was on the brink of extinction.
Humans terrified him because of his recklessness and hunger for blood, and Demons started to manifest all over the Earth and The World of Zero, alongside alternate races such as The Inner Fiends, The Shades, Wraiths, and Spirits.
To combat the challenge, a new breed of people has awakened, the 'Spiritual Duelists' and 'Substitute-Duelists,' who have been dubbed the "First Army to Face Evil."
With their Legendary Weapons, the Ginken. This swarm of humans increased the world's cleanliness to the greatest extent possible, overwhelming the Demons of various grades and placing their survival at risk.
But, after several years of waiting, the 'Holy Light' gave birth to a human child, a girl of theoretically greater worth than Zero herself, but unlikely to become the next 'Holy Light,' their Goddess gave the girl to a friendly family, and since her mother needed to participate in protecting the divinity, the girl's memories were wiped.
But there is another royalty trapped within the shadows that have been concealed for millennia, even longer than the birth of a Demon...
The only one who has beaten the 'Holy Light's own is the Fiend Lord. Its lurkers will undoubtedly be wiped out, and the newfound foe will ready the battlefield...
- Hidomari City, Sunday, 1:04 pm -
"Hidomari City? Isolated, to be honest..." And the remainder of the group hanging there, Codey asserted. "It's isolated, but there's no other way to get here," Eva explained as she stepped through the driveway.
"I'm more worried about the fact that no one is there. And if there are civilians, they seem to be obscured for whatever reason." Jessica, on the other hand, screamed out and pointed to the window seconds after Codey had said so.
"Maybe they will assist?" Everyone turned around and realized they needed to ask around. "They seem to be afraid, but by whom or what?" Kylin continued to reflect as Jessica turned around, put her right hand on her hip, and grinned quietly. "We may as well work that one out. We've come to explore and eventually find solutions to how to escape the fluid at the Cavern; additionally, we need to find Tsuneo as soon as possible because no one knows where he and his army are." Jessica explained, and the others agreed.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but am I the only one who suspects that this town is where Tsuneo and the others are hiding?" But, behind everyone's denial, Codey was unimpressed. "Well, never mind..."
"Try to keep your fears to a minimum. As I previously said, let us inquire around, and only then will we be able to answer your questions." Eva added after Ume gulped. "I mean... This isn't some lonely city surrounded by armies..." She pointed past the building's side, at which point everyone else noticed that many people had been working out for free in the city center.
"Are they being coerced into working?" Kanji added as he thought. "It certainly seems to be..." Eva, who was on her way to the center, also said.
- Hidomari City, Sunday, 1:06 pm -
The heroes who have been working hard in the area to discover Tsueno have now come into contact with individuals who have been working substantially abnormally.
"Excuse me, sir." Codey had been checking them for intelligence with a soft touch on the man's arm. However, in their present position, they seem to be devoid of brains.
"Come on, let's go. Stop what you're doing." Codey said, but it was pointless, and his efforts were being pulled down by people, so he eventually agreed to back down. "They're sort of stupid; something is causing their brain cells to become inactive." Eva sighed, leaning her wristwatch against the man's back and scanning him, at which point the findings were predictable.
"Scanning would not provide us with the answers..." But, at that precise moment, a line of armies emerged from behind the intersection. "Get behind the building, quick!" Without wasting time, they've all hid behind the house at that precise moment, peering through the cracks.
They continued to see armies of citizens close to those that Tsuneo had ruled over, in this case, they had been ordering staff to proceed.
"Come on, let's go! Set a good tempo! Stop being sluggish!" With a punch to the man's back, he got to work more quickly. "You as well! Better hurry! We must extract the oil as soon as possible." Eva becomes nervous as a result of her surprise.
"What about oil? What kind of oil? Are they referring to Silverton Oil?" Her allies looked at her with interest after she spoke. "What exactly is that?" Ume, perplexed, enquired. "The fuel that drives our suitcases is Silverton Oil. Silverton Oil has been the primary resource for refining our Beta Terminating Arms over the duration of these three years of training. Why, however, will they want to snatch the leak for themselves?" When Eva questioned her, Jessica caught her chin in response.
"Maybe they're doing it to empower something really important to them? Of course, we won't know for sure until we conduct a thorough investigation, but for the time being, halting this process is just as necessary as removing Tsuneo..." When Codey came to the front, Jessica sighed.
"They're just eight in number... We can take them on, and if none of you want to help me, I can get rid of these scumbags on my own." Kanji, on the other hand, had prevented him from moving any farther. "Don't worry. As Jessica said, I recommend further investigation. We'll find out more if we wait and see." Despite his displeasure with the proposal, Codey agreed to go along with it.
- Yashikami City, Sunday, 1:10 pm -
Elliot stepped forward with a smaller skip, followed by a quick slash obliquely toward Tim's head.
Tim quickly knocked Elliot down, who had spun in the air and landed perfectly, by returning the swing and blocking. He then grabbed the floor with his left palm while bending his upper body forward and rushed at Tim while turning his left ankle on the spot, lifting his right arm over the turned ankle, and hopping again while sweeping his sword.
Fortunately, Tim had blocked and felt the pain again, but he instinctively backed away, at which point Tim twisted the blade behind his back and caught it in both arms while the black force started to explode outwardly, behind his back, stretching to a greater length.
To avoid being wounded, Elliot charged away, but Tim was able to charge the assault by easily swiping the sword from behind his back, forward as the 'Seraphic Penetrate' hurled itself forward, right to join in on Elliot.
However, by flipping his body sideways and then twisting it, leading with another blade slash, the energy was broken in two and scattered behind his back, smashing the wall, until Elliot immediately turned the body over, kicked right at Tim's chest, and hoped for him to block.
Nonetheless, Tim chose to flee the scene, and instead of striking Tim, Elliot's foot crashed into the dirt, emitting strong energy that had charged itself in the air and exploded.
Elliot quickly learned that Tim had disappeared to the location where Elliot had begun the assault. "What in the world did you back off for?" Elliot pondered, somewhat irritated, while Tim sighed.
"I'll explain later... I suppose I just thought that avoidance was a safer idea than a defense tactic... Besides, you were coming at me fast, and I'm not sure I could have defended such a fast attack." Elliot scratched the back of his neck, perplexed at what Tim had been doing.
"Sure thing... However, stopping... That's not going to help you learn your 'Henshin'... It has to be more specific, and you may be able to learn it in less than a week if you come into touch with other people's arms." Tim frowned, knowing that Oshan and the rest of the captains had been held at bay in a different part of town.
"I know, and I couldn't have been more mistaken in avoiding such an assault... However, the impulses simply worked on their own..." Tim turned back, joined his foot, and faced the black sword down.
"... You've been practicing on your Flame Compatibility, but you've forgotten your Henshin mastery. You haven't been able to travel as quickly, precisely, or correctly..." They turned when they heard a woman's voice behind Tim.
"... Ayuka..." Tim grinned as his eyes adjusted to the fact that she had returned to consciousness, and Ayuka nodded. "Wait... H-How...?" Elliot was perplexed about the solution, but he had reached a conclusion right on the mark of thought.
("Oh... Right... Was it the chain that was causing her recovery? So, in any case, how did it work?") Elliot pondered this as he remembered the Spiritual Chains piercing Ayuka's chest.
"I mean... still... There's got to be a faster way of learning... and maybe mastering it..." Tim said that he was looking for some kind of useful material. And, in order to mask his concern for Ayuka's welfare and avoid causing drama, he had maintained his reserved demeanor.
"Keep one more thing in mind. Using 'Henshin' necessitates a strong grasp of Spiritual Symbolism. By mixing your Spiritual Force with your Symbolism, you will boost its base conduction of influence, hitting more boundaries that were previously divided into one. We only had a small amount of time the first time you worked on the Henshin with me, so we needed to show you the Henshin, but it was unfinished by the end of your arrival in the Spiritual Realm's culture..." Tim, who was doubting his skills, listened to Akari, who was standing next to Ayuka.
"Oh, and don't forget about the other powers, Kodachi, Akusei, Kettoshin, as well as three of the four elemental masteries, Spiritual Flame, Blue Flame, and Black Flame... You may only use the Universal Flame absolutely, or in a shortened form, the White Flame alone. Those also reduced the pressure on your 'Spiritual Symbolism,' which means you have to start from scratch, as though you had only learned elemental mastery from the beginning..."
"... the fires have been extinguished to the point of no return. And they became the primary source of inspiring your 'Spiritual Symbolism,' allowing you to easily learn whatever other trick you've tried to activate with your potential. If you can prioritize your White Flame to its full potential, it can be as effective as the other three... Your flame is the fire that will help you improve your Spiritual Symbolism and Elemental Control. So, if you can completely run the White Flame, the 'gas' or 'fuel' would be sufficient to create another aspect for your Symbolism."
Tim frowned, feeling a little drafted after the explanation. "That's probably right. But I'm not able to fully use the White Flame..." He said something that made Akari laugh. "Remember, this is only the beginning, but by the time you've mastered the White Flame to its full potential, you'll be able to adapt easily to your Henshin's Mastery..." When Tim became stressed, she explained by lifting one of her fingers.
"I'll give it my everything..."
- Hidomari City, Sunday, 1:11 pm -
"Okay, then! Put forth more effort! We'll be back in an hour to pay you a call! Don't slack off or you'll be forced to face your doom by your boss!" Once the eight of them started to flee, the army's soldier said.
"These morons..." Codey screamed furiously, but in doing so, Eva chained a title. "Let's go with them. Let's see where they take us, and maybe if we're fortunate, we'll end up in Tsuneo's route. Come on, let's get this party started." Eva agreed, and their journey had started with each of the heroes joining her, and by pursuing the guys, they hoped to find the right solution, and who knows...
... and maybe even track down Tsuneo in the process.
To be continued...