"Miss Eda, ma'am, Squad 2 have defeated an Arcana. The squad leader, Akane, reports that they've defeated the Sun [XIX]."
"That's one less problem. Squad 1 and Squad 4 are engaged in battle with Arcana. Squad 6 have been dispatched to help each squad. Squad 3 is now leaving the ship while Squad 5 is..."
They received a message from Squad 5.
"Miss?"
Eda smiled.
"Squad 5 have found Weissmann."
·———·
"What an interesting team you have here, Ryoka. Kyoka, Hysaka and Shoya's sister, Aikura."
Regulus said, looking down at the women approaching him. Beside him, Ophelia and Selena glared at the group.
"Where's Emika?"
Kyoka Sakai spoke first.
"What? No greetings?"
The president shot a glare at the man. He edged backwards, almost jokingly.
"Can't we just forgive and forget?"
"We can't since you're the one who invited us."
Hysaka grinned.
The Mortal Sin stood from his seat, looking down at his guests.
"Let's begin the dance then, shall we?"
Without another word, Kyoka and Ryoka leapt toward the defenceless Regulus. Selena jumped in front of him.
"You'll have to get through me first."
"No, you'll be coming with me."
Before she noticed, Hysaka was floating, upside down, above her. The white-haired girl tapped Selena's shoulder.
"Let's see... shift gravity to south."
Selena flew and crashed through the wall on the right. Hysaka landed and followed her.
Aikura and Ophelia glared at each other. They slowly walked to the left, wanting to take their battle into another room.
"I've got some words to say to you..."
"I do not have anything to say to you."
They threw attacks at each other. Aikura dodged Ophelia's and punched her into the next room, chasing after her.
Kyoka unsheathed Durandal while Ryoka shot a fireball at him.
Regulus blocked the fireball and dodged Durandal.
"Not even giving me any time to breathe. Here, let's air it out a bit."
He raised his hand, unleashing a gust of wind, pushing the two back.
Spears appeared behind him—they flew towards Kyoka and Ryoka. Kyoka unsheathed her other sword, Caliburn, and deflected the spears, only letting a few scrape her.
Ryoka jumped out from behind Kyoka and threw something at Regulus. He blocked it with his Absolute Defence; it bounced off and landed in front of him. It was a pen.
Kyoka and Regulus turned to Ryoka.
"What was that supposed to do?"
He asked.
"Did something not work?"
The woman snapped her fingers.
The pen exploded, sending Regulus back into his throne.
"A grenade...?"
"No, this is too powerful to be one!"
Regulus' chest was scorched from the explosion. He was lucky that it did not hit his face.
"You know, you gave me an idea for that with your Combustion Spark."
"What do you mean?"
"Your Combustion Spark eats away at space, so I can't recreate that but I could recreate the explosion. Using Flame, Wind and Lightning Magic, I can create Explosion Magic. Best of all, I can store the explosives within small containers like that pen."
The Mortal Sin laughed as he listened to Ryoka's explanation.
"So, you're not the Fairy Magia for nothing?"
"Oh, and, you might want to look behind you."
"What do you...?"
Regulus turned around, greeted by a handful of pens, thrown at him. He used Absolute Shield, but, even after a while, the pens did not explode.
"Ryoka!"
He howled at her, realising that he was tricked.
"Oops, I meant above you."
She teased.
The man was blown away by a series of explosions. He was blasted downwards and he landed in the laboratory. Regulus had several burns on his torso, as well as cuts on his face.
Because he was a sadist, he was not having the time of his life.
The white-haired man arose from the ground and scratched his head.
"This is the laboratory. I guess I can get rid of the girl now..."
Although he said that, when he looked around, Emika was nowhere to be found. The homunculi guarding the area were knocked out.
Kyoka and Ryoka landed in front of Regulus.
"Did you already take her back?"
He asked.
The two females looked at each other.
"I guess that means she escaped. I'll message the IS about it. Could you hold him off for a little bit?"
Ryoka asked, backing away.
"I thought you would never ask."
"Shit, I fucked up. No matter, I'll just—"
Regulus felt a shiver run down his spine.
Kyoka Sakai walked towards the Mortal Sin. Her footsteps resounded ominously throughout the room. The bloodlust she was emitting reminded Regulus of that time when he faced her last year.
Once she got within sword length, She sliced at his head. Regulus ducked and punched her in the gut, using a Singularity to harden his fists. He attacked her more before kicking her away.
He then activated another Singularity. A ball of light appeared in his palm, Regulus shot the laser of light at her. She absorbed it with Durandal and fired it back at Regulus, instantly, it pierced his abdomen.
"Shit!"
The girl closed the distance within seconds, ready to stab the man. As she approached, he smiled.
From below Kyoka, a spear shot upwards at her. She jumped backwards but the spear punctured her hand. If it was her artificial arm, it would be a massive problem. If her artificial arm is damaged in any way, Kyoka would be reduced to fighting with only one weapon.
"We're fairly matched, compared to last time. I mean, I would've killed your ass if it wasn't for Astoria interrupting."
Obvious provocation. Kyoka stayed silent. Regulus scratched his head and sighed.
"So, boring."
The man summoned a spear.
"Let's see what's stronger. My summoned spear or your Durandal."
"Why not?"
Kyoka held Durandal like a javelin and threw it at Regulus. He did the same.
Durandal flew through the air, slicing the spear in half. Regulus dodged it. Durandal landed behind him.
The girl ran towards him with Caliburn in hand. He reached for the sword on the ground.
"Did you not learn from last time?"
Even after Kyoka's warning, Regulus grinned. The rubble that Durandal landed on began floating toward Kyoka as if to slash her.
Using a Singularity of his, he lifted the rubble under Durandal and used it to guide it towards her.
"Impressive."
"Hm?"
Durandal returned to Kyoka's hand—she cut across his body, causing blood to gush outwards. She backed away as Regulus felt his wound.
"What did you do?!"
He screamed.
"I may not be able to use mana, but, with enough training, I became able to attach Durandal and Caliburn to me. It is like a bond with the blade. My master called it, Sword Spirit."
"I've had enough. This time, I'll obliterate this entire area! Omni—"
There was a huge crash. The wall beside Kyoka and Regulus crumbled. People fell through and a giant monster of blood followed. It was a raging lump of blood.
"Is that... Squad 1?"
"Ah, Kyoka-chan!"
Yoko called out, running toward them. Her team followed behind her. They stopped once they were next to Kyoka. Ryoka returned from her report.
The monster of blood stopped chasing them and towered over Regulus, almost like it was protecting him.
"What is that?"
"I defeated an Arcana but she suddenly turned into this and went berserk."
Anastasia said.
"Zeta. Come closer."
Regulus called out to the massive lump of blood. It got closer to him, happy that he called out to it.
The Mortal Sin stuck his hand inside it.
"Absorb."
Activating his main Singularity, White Exodia, the entirety of the lump of blood disappeared and not even a drop of blood was left behind. The wounds on Regulus healed.
"Come at me."
He said.
They prepared themselves.
It was time for the main battle to start.