Striking Rae in the face, Shizuka didn't waste any time and unleashed a powerful roundhouse kick that Rae blocked. The impact of the kick shattered her bones, prompting Rae to summon two large tentacles to knock away Shizuka.
Shizuka grinned and grabbed the tentacles, crushing them with her bare hands before punching the ground. With her arms healed, Rae sprouted four tentacles from her back and jumped to the nearby building.
With civilians running in panic, Rae decided to blend in with the crowd while Shizuka walked towards her. Without any mercy, she bisected a group of students that were running past her, enraging Shizuka.
"DAMN YOU!!"
If Rae didn't wear the mask, Shizuka could've seen her giving a wicked grin. The young Katagiri rushed at Rae and sent a jab that was blocked by the masked woman. Elizabeth chuckled and hurled Shizuka to the nearby store. Then, she destroyed the entire store with her tentacles.
"Is that all you got?"
Rae was greeted by the sight of a smirking Shizuka who's having scratches and gashes all over her body. She discarded her jacket, cracked her stiff, and kicked a motorcycle at Rae. As she expected, Rae cut down the motorcycle, allowing Shizuka to sneak behind her and landed a solid punch to her waist.
Gritting her teeth due to the insane pain, Rae knocked Shizuka away with the tentacles. However, Shizuka was able to grab one of them and brutally rip it away. She used the tentacle that she ripped to knock Rae away.
With Rae now temporarily out of her sight, Shizuka's main priority is to bring Genji to someone that can heal his injuries immediately. She was about to rush towards Genji however a hand made from slime-like substance grabbed her foot.
"What the-!!"
Shizuka turned around and shielded herself from a flying bus just in time. She was about to throw it away when she suddenly realized there were people inside the vehicle. At the same time, Rae appeared with a large tentacle.
Putting the bus down, Shizuka reinforced her entire body, specifically her torso with her Mystic Energy. The large tentacle hit Shizuka with such incredible force, however Katagiri stood still and freed herself.
"Using innocent people as bait to hit me? That's funny!" Shizuka said with a smirk as she caught a giant boulder that was thrown by Rae. She leaped into the air and threw it back at Rae. "Take this!!"
Rae caught it but the boulder was destroyed due to Shizuka who punched it. Shizuka then landed a savage punch to Rae's face and then grabbed Rae's face. Giving a sadistic smile, Shizuka repeatedly headbutted Rae's face.
After delivering the final headbutt, Shizuka kicked Rae away and performed a series of hand signs. Immediately, she remembered a conversation between herself and Mikhail seven years ago.
Seven years ago
"Boosting your energy to 120%?" Mikhail looked at Shizuka with a surprised face while chewing his pizza, earning a sharp nod from the female teenager with shoulder-length hair.
"When we fought, you did the same thing by chanting mantras and performing hand signs. Teach me, I need it," Shizuka said while narrowing her eyes at the laughing Mikhail. "What's so funny about that?"
"Nothing, it's just that you might use it to kick my ass," Mikhail replied and then threw the empty pizza box into the nearby trash can. "Oh, and I think it doesn't 120% of whatever energy you're talking about. When I do that, I only feel like my energy increase around 40%."
Shizuka looked at him with widened eyes, thinking how in the world Mikhail felt his Mystic Energy increase around 40% when she and several Royal Families felt his energy ramped up to 120%? After a moment of silence, Shizuka concluded that Mikhail must possess immense Mystic Energy.
"Whatever, just teach me. Who knows one day it might save your ass."
Mikhail burst into laughter and then explained about the technique.
Present Time
Shizuka smiled after remembering it while thanking Mikhail and then began to chant, "Seven Steps, Nine Consciousness, Golden Eyes of Truth…"
Rae Elizabeth tensed up and sensed a massive energy from Shizuka. She knew that whatever Shizuka was planning, it would end her life in just a single attack. Quickly, she summoned a group of zombified hyenas and took out the Angel Slayer from one of them.
"Soul Retribution."
Shizuka ran towards Rae with the speed that the masked woman couldn't match and received a powerful punch across her face. The attack landed massive damage to Rae and even caused her to experience multiple impact punches from everywhere.
Soul Retribution is a technique that amplifies the user's physical strike. By directing a perfect amount of energy and landing the attack at the perfect timing, the user can deliver a devastating strike that leaves multiple impacts.
Since Shizuka is exhausted from using her technique that turns her arm into black armour, she boosts her energy temporarily to perform Soul Retribution. Not only is her punch devastating, but the destructive power of her strike is five times more powerful than a normal punch.
With Rae gravely injured, the zombified hyenas were gone, leaving a barely standing Rae. Shizuka smirked and attempted to finish her however Irina arrived just in time and manifested several gigantic spikes, forcing the young Katagiri to jump away.
"You look like shit, Elizabeth," Irina said while placing Rae's right arm around her neck. "Heh… Katagiri, huh? Weak prey."
"Prey? In my eyes, you two are the prey. Why don't we settle this fight? I'm pretty sure your friend can hold for at least a few minutes." Shizuka spoke with a mad grin to Irina.
Irina giggled and then replied, "I believe Rae doesn't mind about waiting for two minutes. But can your friend over there wait? Those wounds were guaranteed to end his life if you didn't send him to the hospital in three minutes."
Shizuka looked at the dying Mikhail and gritted her teeth. She then stared at the smiling Irina who vanished in a burst of smoke, leaving a frustrated Shizuka who rushed to the dying Mikhail immediately.
As soon as she lifted him, a transparent sword was thrown near her feet. Mizuki appeared alongside Yukiko, and both were horrified to see Mikhail's wounds.
"No time! We need to take him to the hospital, right now!" Shizuka screamed at both women.
"I already placed a marker on the hospital, let's go!"
The four of them teleported to the hospital immediately. Shizuka entered the hospital and screamed for the doctor. Without wasting one second, a doctor with several medical assistants and a stretcher arrived at the scene.
Shizuka gently laid the dying Mikhail on the stretcher and followed the medical staff to the emergency room. One of the nurses stopped the three women from following them further before entering the emergency ward.
"What happened?" asked Mizuki to Shizuka who's now leaning against the wall and fell, exhausted.
"We were walking around when suddenly Rae Elizabeth attacked Mikhail. She separated us with a barrier and when I tried to save Genji… I saw… I saw her stabbed Genji… I… I-"
Yukiko placed her hand on Shizuka's shoulder and then gave her a hug. Mizuki sat down with teary eyes and covered her face, crying about the possibility of losing her brother once again.
At the same time
"ARGHH!!"
Ammar destroyed the training dummy and smirked at his progress. As the young man wiped away the sweat on the forehead and reached for his phone, a surge of pride welled up within him. He couldn't wait to tell Mikhail about his progress and even imagined a situation where Mikhail freaked out due to how fast he destroyed the training dummy.
However, when he dialed Mikhail's number, it wasn't Mikhail who answered but rather Mizuki. She also sounded like she had been crying.
"Hey… What happened to Mika?"
Mizuki took a deep breath, calming herself down. She bit her lips and replied, "Mika was injured from fighting someone. He is in the hospital right now and I already ordered someone to pick you up."
Ammar hung up the phone and changed his clothes immediately. He left his room and ran towards the gate where he met Renji in his car, a black GR86. Renji rolled down the window and gestured to the young Ammar to enter the car.
Twenty minutes later, Ammar and Renji arrived at the hospital and met Shizuka, Mizuki, and Yukiko. Ammar was quite stunned when he saw her white t-shirt stained with blood. He knelt and looked at the emotionless and exhausted Shizuka.
"Hey… What happened?"
"Hm," Shizuka replied the greet and looked at Ammar. "He fought a Demon who possesses a weapon that is capable of nullifying his regenerative ability."
"Was it the same Demon who took my eye?" Ammar asked with a worried tone.
Shizuka shook her head and replied, "It was someone else, Rae Elizabeth. But the woman who took your eye last week arrived to save her ass... I'm sorry, kid."
"For what? If it's about Mika, it's not your fault. At least you brought him here," Ammar tried to comfort Shizuka. "I am the one who was supposed to apologize…"
Hours passed by like eternity, with everyone waiting anxiously for Mikhail's condition. After several minutes, the doors leading to the emergency ward were opened, revealing an exhausted doctor with blood all over his attire.
"I have bad news."