The battle in New Tokyo, not inside the Subspace but outside of it, has grown into a world-ending degree.
Thousands of dead people covered the area, littered around like puppets whose strings were cut. The buildings, used as either cover or a weapon by the two that fought, became nothing but rubble that spread out more to claim lives or cause massive damage to their surroundings.
"You will die here, Judy!"
"GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
However, there is no end in sight for either side yet. Both Judy Ikehara and Miyazono Ryuuichi, although aiming all this time to claim the life of each other, never landed a fatal blow or break the other's guard enough to weaken or disable their opponent.
In skills alone, they are equals… however, Ryuuichi has a minor advantage over Judy.
"This body… perfected by my people and given to empower me!"
"Gg-ckh!"
"A fitting body! For the one deserving of the highest authority!"
Ryuuichi has not only won against one of the greatest truths of existence, death. He has also attained immortality and near-omnipotent power over everything.
Without a doubt, he has possessed all the necessary qualities to claim that he is a god. A being that reigns supreme above all of mankind and deserving of all their praise and adoration… one thing that not even the Celestial Spirits that once reigned as the guardians of mankind, ever claimed to be.
"No one can stop me, Judy!"
"GH---!"
"I am destined to triumph over all that will resist me!"
"AHHH---!"
"I am destined to reign over mankind as the one most worthy of saving them!!!"
To be a god has always been in the mind of Ryuuichi. Ever since the day when he awakened as a Psychic and was approached by the ruinous temptations of Babel, he has done everything that he can to free the Chaotic Spirit from its seal that keeps it away from the physical world and meld with it to attain the godhood that he was promised.
"I will ascend into divinity! I will attain the power and authority ought only for the worthy!"
"I will not---"
"I will be the god that this world deserves!"
"---let you!!!"
At their exchange of blows, what remains of the standing structures in the vicinity was flattened as the shockwave that it produced wiped out everything from sight.
"Argh---!"
"Back off! Back off! We're not going to survive in this one!"
"Retreat!"
Down below, the Seed Psychics, the mass-produced clones of the Miyazono corporation, was forced to retreat as the entire group that scoured the area where the two fought in order to provide assistance to their master, was instantly vaporized in the explosion.
"Abandon the order to support Ryuuichi-sama! We need to preserve our numbers to fulfill the order to evacuate the VIPs and---"
"Sir! Our Seeds at Akatsuki district are rambling in their communications! Their leaders are insisting to evacuate the civilians and wipe out the Malignances!"
"Tell them to get back to their lines! It's pointless to protect those fodder!"
"…They're not listening!"
"Then initiate their self-destruction orders! We don't need flawed ones like them anyway!"
With no regard for the lives on the innocent, the commanders of the Miyazono Psychics gave an order that would cause more death than what has already happened.
"Stay behind us, ma'am!"
"Give 'em all you got, boys!"
"Hold the line! We'll bring them to the bay area where they can board the ferries out in the ocean!"
"Aye!"
Unfortunately for those that went against the order to abandon the civilians, the cybernetic attachments in their brain would receive a signal from their commanders that caused their bodies to instantly freeze up and their protective line around the civilians to fall as soon as they were paralyzed.
"N-NOOO! NOOOOOO---!!!"
"MOMMYYYY---!!!"
"DARLING-! AAAHHH---!!!"
In front of the paralyzed Seed Psychics that disregarded the order, the people they promised to protect was devoured by the monsters and even as their brains continuously received an artificial cocktail of chemicals that aims to regulate their minds as semi-perfect clones, it was being filled with feelings of anguish, frustration and self-disgust.
"Ahahahaha!!!"
"W-WHY--- AHAHAHAHA!!!"
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS---! HAHA-! WHY ARE WE LAUGHING WHEN WE ARE ALL CLEARLY FEELING DISGUST---!?!?!"
"END ME!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!"
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE-"
In the end, it effectively turned them insane and caused their self-cessation protocols to kick in and kill them.
These cruel machinations that are more than an affront to the natural order, artificial attachments that force one to never feel anguish, mass-produced beings with unstable minds and being heartlessly forced to allow innocent people to die because it doesn't serve their goals are all things that the Miyazonos have chosen to do in order to reach their master's goal as quickly and efficiently as possible.
"This is the end, Judy!"
"…"
Floating above the crater where his opponent fell at after their last exchange of attacks, Ryuuichi declared the end of their fight, sensing that she has no more power left to fight back.
"Once I am done with you, I will-"
*BYAGACK-!!!*
"W-Wha---!?"
However, the battle is far from over. With speed that even he didn't sense nor had the reaction time to avoid, at attack swept his left torso and took with it his arm and much of his left chest and abdomen.
"Your own disregard for life and utter stupidity is driving you further and further from your goal, Ryuuichi."
"---!!!"
"Have you forgotten what I am now? About what kind of monster…"
"How dare you---!!!"
"…you've created!?"
"JUDY!!!"
Once again, as the two fought, one supported by the boundless faith of his loyal believers and the other one being supplied power by the countless dead and dying all across the world, the air reverberated with shockwaves and the land cracked more and more.
Among the chaos, none was able to hear a voice the spoke from far above…
"[Primus motus: Gaudium et Pacem]"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
After their three-way battle was abruptly ended by the appearance of a monstrous battle between the two Tetian brothers, Akari, Renjiro and Koshiro all watched in horror at the sight before them.
"They're not going to stop…"
"Right, that's a fight that's been stewing away for a decade… that can only end in one way."
"…Incredible. We… managed to avoid it…"
While the two marveled at the sight, it was Koshiro that is barely clinging to his "life" that saw the vision that was playing in the mind of the Seers all this time to turn from one where they witness earth being consumed by apocalyptic disasters and bringing with it all of mankind, into a sea of darkness that represented an uncertain void.
"Spirit Nihil… your prophecy is now naught. Humanity… has declared the future you envisioned as moot…"
["…"]
"I know of my sin and my unworthiness as a Seer…"
In front of Koshiro who porcelain body is slowly turning into dust and leaking the black substance that it contained, a hooded shadowy figure appeared but only visible to him alone.
"…let me die… take me to the netherworld, if that is my penance for my betrayal of your will. It is enough of a comfort for me to know that my family has and will receive salvation away from the fate of these other people."
["...You are wrong, he who took the skull of the Juror."]
"H-huh?"
["Though it is true that you have gone against my will, it doesn't entail that I would not fulfill my end of the deal… Unlike you flawed mortals, I am not one without integrity."]
The hooded figure, raised its hand and out of the long sleeve of the robe, came out a bony hand that pointed its finger towards him.
["You may not have led the future to "my will" but you have saved it from falling into the "will" of someone with greater malevolence than I do."]
"Oh… how I dreamed of this day…"
Gradually, his body and its contents turned to dust that was carried by the wind and on the thin hand of Nihil, came out a small bone fragment. A part of the skull of the martyred Judis of Kleiv.
["Say your farewells, mortal… and make haste. For I believe that soon, time itself will be no more."]
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
At a bunker several kilometers below the ground of Sunogahara-cho, the citizens that was successfully evacuated huddled together to comfort each other. Among these are the family of Ephraim which include his sister and mother, Hannah and Catherine, as well as his three children, Mio, Yukari and Rea.
"Granny, I'm scared… Uuu…"
"Everything will be alright, Yukari darling. Just hold onto us."
"Stay close to Hannah-nee, okay? How about you, Mio? Is Rea alright now?"
"I-I'm alright. I can handle Rea."
The children, many of which are either newborn babies or toddlers, filled the bunker with the sound of crying as they sensed the chaos from above. Although many of the other evacuees did get annoyed with their constant crying, they all had a silent understanding that the children are just more open with the fear shared by all other people in the place.
Once again, the ground shook and even from way below, they heard the dying groan of an enormous Malignance that caused the quake.
"H-Hey! Do we have any news from above?"
"…"
Suddenly, a man stood up and approached the S.S.S agent that was nearest from him with a question that was met with no answer.
"Come on, man! Talk to me! We at least wanna know if we can still get out of here!"
"D-Dad! Stop it already!"
"That's enough, dear! Have some tact for the others here!"
At his strong insistence to be answered, his son and wife pulled him back and begged him to stop spreading panic amongst the people here.
"…We're sorry, sir. But please go back to your area. If it would answer your question you may rest assured that all available members of the Psychic department and S.S.S agents has been deployed to fight back the monsters and retake Sunogahara-cho."
"That's bull! All of you have been telling that for the past hour!
"T-that's right! You've said that and yet the tremors seem closer and closer to above us now!"
"Are you really sure that we are winning up there?!"
As some of the dissatisfied residents began to voice their complaints, the elderly Chronian woman led her children to a corner in the room where they can hear the ruckus less.
"My, my… it's always like this when a disaster hits. People complain as soon as they feel bored."
"Hehe. This reminds me of typhoon Gloria."
"Oh! I thought you've forgotten about that one, already. Even the hospice had to be evacuated because of that storm and the response was so slow that the evacuees got rowdy."
"Haah… how can I forget the storm that literally didn't stop my big brother from flying away from us?"
As the mother and daughter talked quietly, the three children dozed off from exhaustion… except for one that was roused from her sleep by a man dressed in a black suit.
"Hello there, darling… You've really grown well."
"Daa…"
"Dada? Hehehe… Seems like you haven't forgotten me at all even after you died, was revived and I handed you to him."
"Daa!"
Rea raised her hands to grasp the face of the man who lifted her to his arms and caused him to giggle lightly.
"Oh sweetie… how I would've wished that we were never split up by this world's cruelty. You, Tsukino and I would've been a whole and happy family. But what is fated to pass would most certainly come to happen."
He rocked her lightly to lull her once again to sleep and on Rea's clothes fell several grains of dust.
"How really cruel it is that we had so little time… and this time, you will be left all alone in the world for real this time. But somehow, I feel no worries at all…"
As his face continued to crack like the parched earth and he can feel his spirit and soul leaving the physical plane, Koshiro placed Rea back to the arms of her aunt and now, sister, Mio.
"Dear little sister… or perhaps, what little that remained of her. Take care of Rea, our sister and even your new family. Charon-san saw how he cared for you two when Hiro died and entrusted her to him… and I shall do the same."
"Daa…"
"Goodbye, my previous daughter…"
As his consciousness faded and his body turned into nothing but dust, a small teardrop formed and fell on the right hand of Rea and seeped into it to form a pale birthmark.
"…may you find better solace that I and your mother will have here in the afterlife."
Once again, as the cacophony of the battle on the ground and the chorus of complaints from the evacuees grew louder and louder, none was able to hear a voice that spoke the following words.
[Secundo motus: Proditio sub Lumine Lunari]
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
At the crack of the last tree that held her main body back, the three teammates scattered into their formation that they have practiced and used for so many times that it became second nature to them.
"
Kai's opening ability made countless plants to grow from the uprooted and cut down plants that he previously used, quickly covering Yoshino's surroundings with woody plants that spread its thin, spindly branches and leaves.
"Khh! Same tricks won't work on---"
"
"No, you won't!!!"
As Ephraim prepared to attack her, Yoshino grew out innumerable appendages that blocked his path and incoming attack, but nothing happened.
"HAH! Made you look!"
"What the---!?"
"
*Fwaph-!!!*
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAA---!!!"
Suddenly, every plant around Yoshino lit up into an enormous conflagration that burned exceedingly hot.
"Did ya like my special breed of pine trees, ya masochistic weirdo?!"
"Heh! Very hot, aren't they?!"
"You--- YOU---!!!"
"We're not yet finished!"
As her appendages continued to be consumed by the enormous fire, Ephraim appeared from above and let loose his spear that planted itself on the several layers of charred appendages over her head.
"
"Ghh!!!"
"Burn!!!"
Ephraim let loose the enormous amount of oxygenated blood that was attached to his spear and the blood cells released the oxygen molecules that it was holding. Although each cell was only capable of holding four of these, with the enormous amount of blood in there, it caused the burning fire to burn brighter and hotter to the point that the flames started to turn blue and then bright purple.
"And we're not letting up! Let's do it again, Mana-chan!"
"Right beside you, stick brain!"
Kai and Mana threw out more and more attacks, keeping Yoshino trapped in an unending fire. They were about to let loose another barrage of attacks when Ephraim sent a blot of blood on the back of their clothes and pulled them away suddenly.
"---!"
"Hehe! We're- Wha-!?"
"Ephraim! Why did you-"
Only a moment later, the place where the two were standing at erupted into a shower of earth and debris as countless arms squirmed from below and crushed everything it reached.
"What the hell was that-!?"
"…She burrowed down to kill the fire but keeping the illusion that she's still inside of it."
Without Kai regenerating the pine trees or Mana maintaining the fire, the inferno consumed itself and what they found in the center was a giant hole that extended below into darkness.
"Tch! Slippery worm."
"What now then, buddy? What's our course of action?"
"Give me a moment, I'll try to find where she scurried away."
Ephraim placed them beside him as he kept on spreading his emission of Astra energy to locate their opponent.
"…"
It was not obstructed by any Astra energy emitting beings save for the two and the unconscious Kaede behind them until he sensed something shooting through the dirt below them.
"-!!! Kai! Take Kaede-san! Mana! Hold onto me!"
"R-Right!"
"W-What is this about-!?"
As soon as the two injured Psychics were secured, Ephraim flung everyone including himself out into the air.
""WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!""
"Khh!"
As they soared upwards, Ephraim and Mana looked down to see an enormous arm emerging from the ground and swinging itself to and fro, flattening an entire circle around itself before that area that was cleared was devoured by something that came out from below.
"What the hell is that-!?"
"Kh! She's really bringing it all out now…"
The enormous mouth lined by countless teeth the size of a bus closed and took with it everything that was left there before disappearing back into the dark abyss below where with their Astra-energy enhanced eyesight, they finally saw the misshapen form of Yoshino.
"AAAAAAHHHH---!!! How dare you! How dare you mar my ideal form!"
Atop the enormous bulging mass of flesh that emerged from the sinkhole was the body of Yoshino whose lower extremities and both arms reached down to the monster below and fused with it.
"What happened for her to assume that look?!"
"…I don't think she changed herself into this, Kai."
"What?"
Ephraim used his hemokinetic ability and wide knowledge of anatomy to quickly examine the current form of Yoshino that slithered from below as well as the small portion of her human body stuck atop the blob.
"I was wondering from the very start how she seems to contain more Astra energy than what her body is meant to be able to carry. It should only be normal for me and Kirin-sensei because we are Spirit Vessels, as well as the Seers of the Mori cult because they are not human… now it makes sense."
"Make sense, how?! Are you saying that that thing isn't her after all?"
"No. That's her. Literally."
Hearing his reply to her question, Kai and Mana made him explain it more clearly.
"Why do you have to emphasize it like that?"
"Because that is what Yoshino literally is."
""-!!!""
As they reached the peak of their flight, they began to fall down and the three, finally understanding their situation, thought up what they should do.
"…Kai!"
"No way buddy, I know what you're thinking about, and my answer is "hell no"."
"Alright… theirs is only one other choice."
"Wha-!?"
Ephraim quickly grabbed Mana nearer to Kai, who handed the unconscious Kaede to her whom she instinctively held tightly.
"What is this about you two---"
"Mana! Listen well to me!"
With an expression on his face that she never saw before, Ephraim told her something that she didn't expect.
"I'm sorry for this… but this is the only way."
"AAAAHHHH!!!"
Without her being able to even retort, Ephraim flung her alongside Kaede to the fissure in the Subspace that took her to the outside world before closing behind them.
"Kuh! That darned---!"
She stood up and tried to find the distorted space where the Subspace can be entered through from the outside but never found it.
"How on earth- It should've been here!"
However, before she can think about finding a way back in, another problem emerged right in front of her eyes.
"E-E-Enemy… l-l-l-l-located!"
"You guys are-!"
"D-D-D-Destroy! Orders are--- to destroy!"
An army of the cybernetically-enhanced players of the Psychic World video game appeared in front of her and she noticed that they are behaving erratically.
"L-L-L-L-Logic virus… detected… Orders are to destroy! DESTROY!!!"
"Ghh! What the hell happened to you guys?!"
After one dashed towards her and almost hit her with a sharp blade that came out of his cybernetic arm, Mana delivered a punch on his face that was followed by a pillar of flame that incinerated him.
"D-D-D-Destroy! Destroy the enemy---!"
"Ghh! Damn you, Ephraim! I told you we're going to win this together!"
Knowing well that she has no chance against the mass of enemies in front of her, Mana scooped up her unconscious master from the ground and sped away from the place.
"…Still, stay safe, you two fools."
As she looked back at the city that was just as destroyed as it is in the Subspace, Mana wished the best for her two friends that she knew have decided to let her escape with the wounded Kaede for her own sake.
"…I don't know what I would do if I lost you two for real."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Back inside the Subspace, the hulking figure of Yoshino's true form that looked like an island made of flesh moved by countless appendages like a squirming millipede roared towards her two remaining opponents that are jumping away from the reach of her arms that she shoots towards them.
"You said earlier that this is her true form? What exactly made you realize that?"
"Her body isn't meant to contain an enormous amount of Astra energy. Special cases like me, Kirin-sensei and the Seers exist because we have those special beings residing inside of us and lending us their powers. However, even if she contains a Tainted Spirit, it cannot give her this much power---"
"Stop speaking in riddles with me! You know that I'm dumb!"
"…"
"I know it's hard for you, Einstein. But explain it like I'm a toddler!"
Forced to comply to his request, Ephraim sighed and gave the most concise and simple explanation he can come up with.
"She transformed to hide her true strength and appearance! She's a blob from a laboratory experiment that we returned to this form of hers because we beat her up so much!"
"And that weird thing about her Astra energy emission?"
"What you're seeing here is her true form! She actively transforms her body to look human, but this is what she looks like without that! Bigger body, more Astra energy!"
"Aight! I got it now!"
Understanding their enemy better now, Kai took out a strand of his hair and formed a seed from it that he scattered on the enormous body of Yoshino.
"Buddy! I'll bind it down as usual! Do your thing before it breaks out!"
"Aye-aye!"
As soon as the seeds took root on her, it consumed the Astra energy that Kai injected into it and grew out rapidly towards the hulking body of Yoshino, wrapping around her body and constricting it slowly.
"What tree is that?"
"Strangler fig. I modified it to be tougher and bind with more force."
"Perfect! I'll prepare a big one!"
"I WON'T LET YOU---!"
"No, you won't!"
Yoshino sent out hundreds of arms towards Ephraim who is forming his ability but was covered by Kai who intercepted it with his special plants.
"
Behind him, trees with imposing thorns on their trunks appeared and, on its branches, formed flowers that almost instantly turned into seeds that dried out quickly.
"FIRE!!!"
As soon as Kai shouted that, hundreds of the dried seeds shot out from their branches and in mid-air met the arms. After passing by them, the seeds exploded violently, producing a shockwave that vaporized the arms, if that was not enough, the seeds also shot out thick, sharp and thorn-laden shards that pulverized the arms instantly.
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
"Woah! Dynamite trees, now?!"
"Of course! I've expanded my horizons! But forget about that, are you attacking or what?"
"Heh! No need to remind me!"
Pulled by his spear, Ephraim soared into the sky and once above the restrained body of Yoshino, prepared to release his psychic attack.
"
"UWAAAAAAAAAA---!!!"
As she shrieked at the top of her lungs, sensing a possible painful end, Ephraim let loose his attack.
"
Out of thin air, a deluge of blood poured above Yoshino and began to swirl around her in a crimson whirlpool.
"IYAIIIII-!!!"
"Solidify!"
Slowly in the swirling blood, sharp blades formed and inch by inch, cut up Yoshino like the spinning blades of a blender.
"What are you waiting for? Hop in, Kai!"
"Heh! I sure will!
Around the vortex of blood, several tall trees grew out and spurted out resin and sap that mixed with the flow and was splattered on the wounds of their enemy.
"GYAAAAAAAAIIIII---!!!"
"Poison?"
"Yep, poisons, toxins and other nasty stuff! Basically, everything I can muster to finally bring her down."
The screams of Yoshino who was being slowly killed in their combined attacks filled the air and for once, the two hoped that this would finally be the end of this battle.
They were wrong.
*FYUIIII!!!*
"Ghh-!!!"
"Kai? KAI!!!"
"Darn…! Where did that come from-!?"
A stray beam of searing light passed just in front of Kai and even if it was nothing but a near miss, took out a chunk of his flesh and skin from his chest. He fell on the ground, clutching his wound as Ephraim approached and performed appropriate aid on him.
"Kak! What the hell was that!?"
"Tch! …It's them! They crossed paths!"
"Them? Ah! Boss Lucas and the traitor! Lemme-"
"Stay down! Your front end was burned off! You're one wrong move away from sleeping forever!"
Ephraim started by rapidly crystalizing the blood, closing the wound and saving him from bleeding out. He then cut off the cauterized frays of the wound to reach the healthy skin and flesh that can heal the wound.
"Buddy! Focus on the fight! I can handle-"
"You're going to die here if I leave you! Just shut up and gnash your teeth! Healing this back to how it will be painful!"
"Khh!"
Ephraim, forcing Kai's exhausted body to supply his wounds with nutrients and blood to regenerate it, made Kai to bite hard on his teeth and endure the tremendous pain that came with it.
"GGGGGGGGHHHHHHH---!!!"
"Come on, Kai! You can do this! We're almost there, buddy!"
All of a sudden, the twisted blob of flesh and countless appendages twisted and contorted itself until it formed a floating ball that pulsed with a loud heartbeat. With that alone, Ephraim knew that Yoshino has regained control over her powers and physical form.
"Listen to me, Kai! You're dead if you stay here…"
"N-No, Rai! Don't even think of sending me outside to-"
"This is for the best, Kai."
"---!"
Ephraim materialized his spear and slashed the air, cutting out a fissure between the bizarre monochrome of the Subspace and the colorful real world. With that, Kai, despite being horribly wounded and exhausted from both the fights he was on and barely surviving the forced healing that was done to save him, reached out to Ephraim's arm.
"Please forgive me for this."
"NOO!!! RAI-"
As soon as the spatial fracture brought Kai outside the Subspace, the floating orb opened like a flower bud and out came Yoshino who bore a more mature figure and an aura of power that was more restrained and controlled.
"I see that you have disposed of the interlopers, my dear Rai."
"…"
Wordlessly, Ephraim faced Yoshino and brandished his spear into a ready stance. Seeing this just made Yoshino's face to distort to an even more ecstatic expression, finding his futile resistance amusing.
"I sense that you are now ready to give it your all~ How amusing… I've just been thinking of doing the same---"
"
"---!?"
"
However, Ephraim's resistance was anything but futile. For now that his power is unrestrained by his Spirit, Yoshino can only feel one thing…
Utter despair.