I know what I told Arcueid.
That he didn't worry, that he was going to be fine.
Well... maybe I screwed up a bit...
─It was a mistake choosing to face me, human.
Nrvnqsr Chaos, the 10th [Dead Apostle Ancestor], his [Idea Blood] focuses on the [Creation of Beasts] (or something like that said Arcueid...), anyway, he is a [Vampire] in all the rules that he is capable of releasing [Beasts] from inside his body.
These [Beasts] are shaped like animals, but I consider them to be much more lethal and aggressive... highly discouraged for animal control.
I was running through the corridors frozen by the [Idea Blood] of Vlov Arkhangel, the one whose principle is [Freezing]. Arcueid is having a very heated fight with that guy over there, I just hear the constant crashes and the building moving every now and then.
Although I am at risk of tripping at any moment, I just have to stay out of things until reinforcements come or until Arcueid takes out Vlov. We are in very disadvantageous situations in our own battles.
I use [Magecraft] to repel the [Beasts] from Nrvnqsr and then skillfully split them in half by cutting their lines.
I have been repeating this process many times, adding the use of [Time Alter] to set my perception of time and make even minor corrections to my attacks directed at the [Beasts].
Lucky for me that Nrvnqsr just seems to be chasing me with his [Beasts] from him, so I absolutely don't have to worry about whatever he intends to do. He believes that he is facing an easy enemy to defeat, that simple is.
Although my fingers freeze, I turn to the right, gliding with great skill there, running with all the strength of my legs.
Around the corner, a dog-type [Beast] was waiting for me, locating the most convenient line to cut and performing the movement with perfect timing, killing the [Beast] by cutting off its head.
I continue with my race, and this time, I meet a deer that is heading towards me.
I twirl the knife in my hand, reversing its grip and temporarily stopping to greet the deer. He himself was looking to impale me with his antlers, so all I had to do was move my body a little to the right and pass the knife in a full line that runs through the entire body of the deer.
Making sure it has become two equal halves, I keep running.
What I do is gain distance and time.
First, I would not like Vlov to have the support of Nrvnqsr right now. Arcueid can hardly hold together, so I have to deplete enemy forces in some way or another.
Right now I think I should have chosen Vlov as my enemy... something like Nrvnqsr is so much easier for Arcueid. I guess I'll mentally apologize to Arcueid for now, and go on my way.
─This is stupid, you have nowhere to escape.
!
Completely slowing down my run, Nrvnqsr suddenly appears in front of me!
All my alarms go off instantly and as if predicting my next move, I step back to dodge a blow from the vampire.
With each step I take, I repeatedly dodge the attacks that are launched by Nrvnqsr.
I manage to avoid them all.
But I notice that there is something very strange here...
Nrvnqsr has stopped.
What am I missing?
Come on, Shiki Tohno, think a bit.
Mm?
Right now, is his leg frozen?
...
Looking at my shoes, I notice that the ice has started to spread across the soles.
I understand!
I distribute the [Magic Energy] produced by my [Mystic Eyes] through my [Magic Circuits], leaving enough in my lower body to get the necessary boost that I will use in what I do next.
Nrvnqsr, unable to get rid of Vlov's ice, throws a few more of his [Beasts] at me to waste my time. But it is already too late.
I feel like my blood boils.
The [Beasts] run on his four legs and open their jaws full of several rows of fangs that sought to bite, crush and tear off parts of my body.
I remember what happened two days ago... the feeling I had just seeing Arcueid. How I felt, what I did, and above all, how to repeat it.
Just like when I use [Time Alter], I apply [Self-Hypnosis] to maximize the utilization of each of my [Magic Circuits] the way I feel like using them.
In a brief, insignificant second, I locate all the lines to be cut from each of the [Beasts] and at the same time, the way to take advantage of the opening of Nrvnqsr. My mind disconnects for milliseconds, while my brain overheats and my nose begins to bleed from the excess of information to be analyzed.
No, this is not the same.
It's hardly the same as what I did that time I cut Arcueid into seventeen pieces of meat.
However, it is still a useful move.
In the next instant, as fast as lightning could have been, after taking a single step, I use the accumulation of [Magic Energy] in my [Magic Circuits] to propel myself to full speed.
I thought this was going to tear my body from just trying, but the impact was absorbed by Vlov's thick ice sheets.
Despite their low friction, they are quite resistant to damage. Its harshness may have cost me my legs, but after momentarily stopping my time perception with [Time Alter] for what was half a second, I was able to make sure nothing happened.
It could have been a real disgrace if I hadn't prepared beforehand. I clean the blood that previously came out of my nose, so that in that way, I can feel somewhat calm, after all...
I cut through Nrvnqsr and his [Beasts].
Unlike the vampire, all [Beasts] were eliminated, but he was almost completely in one piece.
Yes, "almost" because I took a part of his body with me.
Even though I don't see Nrvnqsr's blood spreading across the ice. I know I cut off his arm. My knife went through the line without a hitch, causing a clean cut.
But above all, I feel the happiness that...
─What...?! I underestimated you, human...! You are a user of the [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception]! Death incarnate!
─Until now you realize? Wow, I thought it was obvious from the way he killed your beasts.
With that brief exchange, I know for a fact that Nrvnqsr has gotten mad at me. His face distorts to show an enraged expression.
He's already been able to get his leg out of the ice, and...
With all the speed of fear that a vampire has, he disappeared from my sight and reappeared right in front of me, waving his paws once more in my direction.
But I already have my next move.
If I dodge at a close enough distance, I can slip through his arm cut off from him and...
Stick my knife into a [Point] located on the wall.
By making such a risky move, all the lines that run through the wall are executed at the same time, completely killing not only the wall through which it is traversed, but also everything on this floor of the building.
One floor collapses in its entirety, taking an avalanche of debris with me to the north side of the apartment complex. This is a serious failure in the infrastructure that could be exploited to cause an absolute collapse of the entire floor.
Falling through the air, I readjust my posture and for a brief second I activate [Time Alter - Triple Accel] so that in that way, I can reduce the speed of the fall.
Once with my feet on the ground, without taking any kind of damage, I start running once more with all my might.
I have to. Right now there is an angry monster chasing me.
But as if to stop me...
A person arrives in front of me.
I say... "person"...
It makes me nauseous just looking at him, as his body is made up mostly of [Lines] and [Points]. Something of that nature definitely cannot be alive, it is something stupid.
Arcueid told me about them, they are [The Dead], the base of the pyramid of the [DAAs], that is to say, the slaves without life or awareness of them.
It's a horrible scene to watch, of a poor man whose life has been stolen from him.
I turn the knife and after having taken the sufficient run, I jump with impulse to cut one of the lines of the body of the [Dead] and thus end the suffering of that poor man.
I didn't feel anything for "murdering" him, even though he was already dead anyway so it doesn't matter much.
I continue with my career, without stopping.
No matter which direction I go, the [Dead] and [Beasts] keep popping up non-stop, so I have to kill them all to make sure I can go on without a hitch.
Shit...! Hope Arcueid is doing better!
We stop for a moment.
As the snow flutters around us in a mighty blizzard, Nrvnqsr and I exchange menacing glances.
─What is the reason for a human like you to be protecting the [Princess of the True Ancestors]?
Do you ask me the reason?
Well, maybe that can be a simple thing.
─I have to make up for all the damage I did to her... that's why, I will raise this knife as many times as necessary to protect her. I'll finish you off and then go after the other motherfucker, I'm going to make sure I kill them both.
My statement is bold and confident.
But I can feel some contempt coming from Nrvnqsr having said such a comment.
─I don't understand, child... Why would you go so far against danger knowing that you will be unable to win over me?
Then...!
A crocodile comes out of the interior of Nrvnqsr, it is thrown at full speed against me.
I can't react in time, as a black dog is approaching from behind me.
Dammit!
In order to kill the crocodile, I receive the fangs of the dark hound on my left arm. His teeth mercilessly dig into my flesh, not caring at all what uniform I'm wearing.
He rips my clothes and my skin, digging his claws into my back to hold me much more fiercely.
─Gah...!
The bite makes me scream, yeah, but this is better than being caught by the crocodile.
The reptile opens its jaw, seeking to catch my other arm as fast as it can.
Or so I thought...
With the dog pulling on my arm, I completely lost my balance as I slid on Vlov's ice.
And that caused me to crash my back against the ice, drop my knife and the crocodile was able to catch my left leg.
─Ugh... ah...! Shit!
I feel death approaching me.
My blood runs cold, when the lizard drags me, to take me inside Nrvnqsr.
The dog is still abusing my left arm, which makes them a double threat to me.
Oh shit...
I try to reach for my knife, but it's useless, Nrvnqsr kicks it.
From the loss of blood, my vision begins to darken. I feel like my consciousness is about to leave my body at any moment.
─I'm going to die...
Such a thought went through my head and then, it was as if everything had become disconnected.
My rational mind.
The glass of my rational thought was broken and I began to act on mere instinct from here.
I was about to get sucked into Nrvnqsr and the only way he could save me was by getting something sharp.
But there's no...
Ouch.
Feeling a cut on my index finger, I realized something.
There is a sharp object under the accumulated snow.
But how?
I do not know...
I fight against the strength of both [Beasts] that hold me and dig with my hands through the snow, to find that there was a fragment of broken glass.
I don't know, it's probably rubble from Arcueid and Vlov's fight, but anything will do!
I hold the glass shard tightly, and reaching to see a line on Nrvnqsr's legs, in order to save my life, I cut the line, piercing Nrvnqsr's leg in half.
─You damn brat...!
─Gah!
The fangs of both [Beasts] dig much deeper into my skin, I think they are crushing my bones right now.
Nrvnqsr falls to one knee, unable to believe what just happened, he seems stupidly surprised by everything.
It was a risky play, maybe it was better to punch a [Point], but that was too risky a play.
I squeeze the glass shard until I bleed from the cuts, and I nail this myself into one of the lizard's [Points], one that made me stick the glass inside his eye. He writhes in pain for a moment, but dies silently.
Then I hold the black dog's muzzle and with all my might, I spin it in the air to smash it on the floor. From the impact, he lets go of my left arm, too abused by his bite, but even so, I pick up the glass shard and drive it into one of his [Points], ending his life once and for all .
Nrvnqsr has made a momentary strategic retreat, I knew he had a chance of dying if he stayed so close to me while he was incapacitated.
I slice through the lizard's jaws and thus am able to free my shattered leg.
It hurts and everything... so I apply [Healing] to my wounds in order to recover a little.
I am able to close the wounds so that the blood stops coming out, but I don't have the time to heal them completely.
My uniform is a mess, there are cuts everywhere.
My breath... comes out like white smoke...
I manage to get my knife back, so I can stand up.
I feel like the murderous intentions between us increase every moment.
Nrvnqsr, release a massive amount of his [Beasts] from him.
My eyes start to burn as more [Lines] and [Points] are drawn into my vision. My whole brain is overheating from the broken limit of information to be analyzed.
But this is not the time to worry about these things.
I haven't answered Nrvnqsr's question yet.
Which is easy to answer...
─A woman as beautiful as Arcueid... she does not deserve to be killed by bastards like you!
─You don't get it, brat! The need we all [DAAs] have to have the blood of the [Princess of True Ancestors]!
─No... and I don't want to understand it! But even if so, a person does not need to die for the selfish desires of others!
─Rest assured, there will be nothing left of you when I end your life!
...
I receive your threat, Nrvnqsr...
Because. Holding the knife twice as hard, and angry, I respond to his threat.
─I'll be the one to kill you, Nrvnqsr!
My murderous intentions matched his.
The battle begins.
Like in a stampede, the [Beasts] rush in my direction. Unafraid of the horrible death I could have by being crushed by all of them, I make my knife dance in the air.
And...
─Time Alter... Triple Accel! ─. Recognizing the danger of using this technique, I say the name forcefully.
I hold my knife securely and the moment the first of all the [Beasts] approached me, I stabbed the tip of the blade into one of its [Points], immediately ending its life.
I begin to move skillfully, steadily to maintain a safe and lethal rhythm, slaying the [Beasts] one after another by piercing their points or tracing the lines that are easier to cut.
Once again, my nose starts to bleed a little.
It's like my brain gets hit directly, and I just act regardless of the consequences of this itself.
If these things don't kill me, the excess information that is being read by my brain will.
I do jumps, pirouettes, and twists, using the best moves Aoko-san taught me.
I activate and deactivate [Triple Accel] once after another, so that in this way, I will be able to distribute the [Magic Energy] that travels through my bloodstream without stopping through each and every one of my [Magic Circuits].
I'm only getting the minor wounds, scratches that cut through my skin and clothes. But even so, I don't stop my movements for an instant.
In some second of all this animal slaughter... a voice pierces my perception of the surroundings.
It is a soft, flat voice that does not show too many emotions. Apart from a great kindness in my direction.
I stop.
Just as I was nonstop splitting the [Beasts], a person with black hair and mystic eyes entered the battlefield.
Wearing yukata and a red jacket made of leather.
Her eyes turn bluish every second, and these disappears at the same speed. I stay silent, watching the approaching person.
─You've improved a lot since we last met, Tohno-san. Let me return all the favors you've done for me.
The girl, she uses a small knife and a skillful cutting technique to split a [Beast] in half with the appearance of a snake.
The [Beast's] blood splatters on her face, but she is not fazed at all and still maintains her kind expression.
A smile... is drawn on my face.
Together backs with this person who is shorter than me, but with whom I share the same destructive power. Thus I am able to see the red-haired puppet, Touko-san who is dealing with [Magic Crests] stolen from the [Beasts] and the [Dead] going in her direction.
I see, there were also [Dead] around us. I did not notice it.
─Long time no see... Ryougi-san.
Same here, Tohno-san. Go ahead and tell me who I should kill.
She says it like nothing.
Well, that's how she's always been. So it doesn't seem so strange to tell the truth.
I wipe the blood from my nose once more in order to communicate to Ryougi-san.
─The guy in black, do you think there is something we can do?
─I taught you many things while you were my apprentice, didn't I?
─But it was mostly details about what I can and cannot use the [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception].
─Yes. However, Tohno-san, there is only one technique that we can perform while the two of us are together, don't you think?
...
Is right.
There are many ways of "killing" that we develop by learning from each other. In the process in which I was living with Ryougi-san, it was where I learned the best uses that I can give my ability.
She also taught me some of the practices within the [Ryougi Family] that were used for [Demon Hunt]. There is one in particular that fits us both like a ring on our finger.
It's not even necessary for Ryougi-san to use her connection to the [Root] for this.
Since our joint destructive force has a practically unlimited range.
I memorize the location of the [Lines] and [Points] of Nrvnqsr.
─Tohno-san, get ready.
Ryougi-san communicates to me in command voice.
It's okay.
She was already doing it anyway.
I take the knife with a reverse grip, and set my [Magic Circuits] to suddenly exceed its limit by sending out more [Magic Energy] than normal, all from my [Mystic Eyes].
For both me and Ryougi-san, time seemed to stop for an instant as we took the same posture. One leg in front of the other, slightly arching the body forward.
Our expression is basically the same, as long as we focus on a single goal.
Everything moves slower.
Ryougi-san is my teacher in the field of applications for [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception] and in making me aware of their limits.
She's better than me by a lot, but if we remove various aspects like [Magecraft] or things like that, we're basically even.
Then, the time bubble is removed and by taking a single step, the ice and the earth that was under it was destroyed at the same time. Our silhouettes disappeared from one moment to the next, and after this action was carried out, we found ourselves behind Nrvnqsr.
We switched positions in the process, since Ryougi-san was previously to my right, but now it's the opposite, since she is to my left.
A couple of the wounds from earlier opened, causing my blood to drain from my arm and leg.
But... this battle is over.
Because just like that.
─What...?! This is... irrational...! Two [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception] users! The existence of the two of you is heresy in the eyes of [God]... agh... ah...!
Nrvnqsr begins to fall apart, her body was cut to perfection, every last of her lines was pierced by us.
What Ryougi-san did was a kind of "teleportation" using the maximum speed that our bodies can reach after the administration of [Magic Energy] to the leg muscles.
─Damn... you be, child...
Her volume lowered. Until finally, her body melts away in the blizzard.
And as soon as Nrvnqsr disappears, I fall to my knees. Inhaling and exhaling at high speed.
My head is spinning nonstop...
─Tohno-san, you did a good job. We can take care of the rest for you.
Ryougi-san supports me with her shoulder.
But even so... I promised her...
─No, Ryougi-san... I will move on. I have to kill the bastard fighting Arcueid right now.
Hearing my words, Ryougi-san is silent.
She closes her eyes for a moment, in order to turn off her [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception]. Ah, I still want to know how she does that, but ok.
─Then it's okay. But first, change your clothes, you're a mess.
Touko-san, who seems to have finished her own fight, approaches me with a smile.
The two of them are being quite nice. I feel happy, in a way, I guess.
Touko-san puts her hand in the left pocket of my jacket, and from there she takes out my [Mystic Eyes Killers], without her asking, she puts them on me.
Well... I'll just take a little break.
I'll be there right away, Arcueid... I promise I'll kill Vlov even if it's the last thing he ever does!
But for now, I will tend to my injuries as best I can.