"We're prepared..."
Gedo muttered. He walked over to the door and locked it, also putting the chain on. Aria didn't seem to agree.
"Do we have to do this? I mean, it's Shoya's-"
"Honey, it's either none of us or two of us. I know how you feel but that'll have to wait until after we stop Gilheld."
Gedo retorted. He was prepared for any and everything. He wanted to do what he thought was the best way to protect everyone.
Aihara entered the room while Aria left.
"Dad, I don't think I'm ready..."
She was shaking.
Every time Aihara had met Gilheld, she had one consistent feeling.
Fear.
The feeling that he emitted. The fear wasn't something as soft as being afraid of the dark or afraid of arachnids. But, instead, it was a deeply instilled fear.
Her father and Gilheld were around the same in strength, but it was Gilheld's ability that put him above Gedo. Aihara knew that and couldn't stop imagining all of the gory possibilities.
Gedo gently hugged Aihara and kissed her forehead.
"It's okay. I'll protect you. All of you. Including Takami."
She escaped his grip and put on a shaky smile.
"Thanks, Dad. Ah, and I've been meaning to ask."
"What is it?"
He asked. Though he asked out of curiosity, Gedo's gaze shifted around. Almost like he was looking for something.
"I've been thinking about it lately. I know that I'm afraid of Gilheld because of his Singularity, but I can't exactly remember what it was."
Aihara said, holding her head, conflicted.
"You... don't remember?"
The father asked, still scanning the room.
His eyes then focused on the door.
"There? No."
He continued searching.
Aihara lifted her head and stared at her father.
"Dad? What're you doing?"
"You said, you didn't remember Gilheld's Singularity, right?"
"Y-yeah. It's strange, since I'm scared of him, but I don't exactly know why."
"Well, it's to be expected that you're scared of him and can't remember his Singularity. It's because..."
Gedo jumped forward and thrust his arm toward Aihara. Aihara braced for impact; Gedo's fist stopped short of Aihara. Like it was stopped by something.
"Fear is my Singularity."
A man faded into the world. Gilheld.
The girl stumbled backwards, tripping over herself. Fear is uncontrollable.
"He bends fear to his will. Anyone experiencing fear will only strengthen him."
"And you decided to fight him in the house?!"
Aihara shouted.
Gilheld turned back.
"It's understandable that you say that, Aihara. But he needs me in a confined space, otherwise, I'll escape."
Gilheld smiled, eerily as he stared at the shaking Aihara. He broke off of Gedo and leapt backwards towards the door.
As he stared at Gedo, he noticed that he wasn't afraid. Not in the slightest. His facial expression was flat.
"Fine. Manipulating you is not fun, so how about I... make things interesting?"
There was a loud thud as Aihara dropped onto her knees. She appeared mortified. Her eyes were gaping wide as she stared at the ceiling.
Gedo looked down at his daughter.
Hallucinations.
That was what Aihara Sasaki was experiencing.
Illusions are caused by major fear, stress or dread when the individual is unstable. Sometimes, if the individual is under a major influence of fear, stress or dread, any damage done to them within the hallucination may become real due to an unstable mind.
"Help... me..."
The father charged toward Gilheld; they clashed once again. Gedo dodged a wide punch. Swiftly, he jabbed at Gilheld with his leg. It pushed him back.
"Spirit of Iron; Manipulate!"
Gedo yelled, shoving his hand onto the coat rack. The iron melted into liquid and rematerialised as a pike.
He thrust a couple of times at Gilheld, then unleashed a flurry of attacks. The thrusts didn't hit Gilheld but some attacks made it through and hit him directly.
Swinging his pike toward Gilheld's head, with the wave of a hand, the pike turned back into liquid. It was like the spell was cancelled.
As Gedo stared at his opponent, he made a blunder. A major blunder.
It was caused by his battle experience.
Suddenly, his weapon disappeared which create a slight feeling of fear. Even that slight feeling of fear could be maximized and used against him.
"Now, Gedo, sleep. I need to kill that wife of yours."
He spoke to the collapsed body, on the ground.
Gilheld stretched himself and cracked a few of his bones before proceeding upstairs. He knew exactly where the others were due to their pungent fear.
It wasn't long until he walked into the bedroom. All three of them were huddled up in a corner together. Aria was holding Shoya and Yumeko tightly. With tears in her eyes, she glared at Gilheld.
"Ooh,"
He said, sarcastically, with a smile on his face.
"I'm scared. Oh, sorry, I'm not, but you are."
He laughed maniacally.
"Okay, enough jokes, Aria. Give me one of your children."
Setting his hand out, he ordered her. She shook her head.
"I'll never give them to you!"
She cried. Shoya started shaking at the shout of Aria's voice.
"Give me one and I'll spare your life."
"Never..."
Despite the fear she was experiencing, the sharp glare in her eyes never wavered.
"I'm coming to you th-"
As Gilheld reached his hand out toward Aria, his hand bounced off some sort of electric barrier. The tip of his finger was burnt.
"Hmmmm... A barrier comprised of pure mana."
Gilheld muttered, inspecting his finger.
"You never intended to move, did you?"
"No. Of course not."
It was a stalemate.
Pure mana barriers were double-edged blades. Though they could be described as an absolute defence, they cannot be removed until the user's mana runs out, meaning that nothing could enter or exit until then.
Though, Aria was an exception. She could manually control her pure mana barrier due to her excellent mana control.
"We won't get anywhere like this. I'll have to convince you by using your child against you."
His eyes travelled to Shoya. Yumeko noticed this and shouted.
"D-don't hurt Big Bro!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs.
Gilheld paused. He then proceeded to smile.
"I think I'll take the girl..."
He used his powers on Shoya, causing him to see hallucinations of a high calibre. One that a child shouldn't be experiencing. The next moment, Shoya began to scream indiscriminately, while holding his head.
"No... Shoya... Shoya!"
Aria turned to Gilheld; her expression, resentful.
"What have you done?!"
"Give me the girl and I'll let him go..."
It was a standoff. Though one that Shoya Sasaki wouldn't be able to see the end of. The door closed and he returned to the world of eternal darkness.
Looking around, he finally noticed the memory.
"What... That was too short! We didn't even get to see what happened at the end! Why?!"
Shoya asked Yumeko.
"That's because those were your memories. We could see anywhere as long as you were conscious in your memories. But... you fainted because of Gilheld's Fear Manipulation."
She told him.
"You won't be able to see anymore. That is it for that day. You should know that you lost both me and Mom."
Shoya squinted his eyes at her.
"You said that before. What do you mean by I lost you?"
He asked.
"It's simple. I'm in Valhalla as Yumeko. Meaning that I'm your enemy."
Shoya still didn't understand.
"Sorry, what?"
Yumeko sighed before glaring at him.
"In six days, on the 3rd of May, Valhalla will attack the school institution of Altheria and kill the principal, Weissmann Mori. That was my real purpose for visiting."
"Come again?"