"I'm assuming that everyone here is his friends or relatives. I am Dr. Fujimoto and brace yourself for what I'm going to say about this," said the doctor as he took off his glasses. "Your friend survived and it's a miracle. Unfortunately, Mikhail lost too much blood and he will be in a coma. I assure you that we are doing our best to stabilize him, but there's a chance that he will be in a coma for a very long time. Worst case, he won't wake up."
Everyone was speechless. They couldn't believe that there's a chance for Mikhail to not wake up. Suddenly, a nurse burst out from the emergency ward and screamed, "Doctor, it's Mikhail! He's gone into cardiac arrest!"
Panic overwhelmed the group and Dr. Fujimoto wasted no time rushing back into the emergency room. Ammar, however, sensed something was not right. Through his right eye that was hidden with a special eye patch, he could see something that no one in the group could.
What Ammar saw frightened him to the point he stumbled which made everyone confused.
"Th-There's something… something attacking Mika inside his mind…"
"What do you mean?" asked Mizuki to Ammar, demanding the explanation.
"I don't know! But what I saw was a shadowy figure attacking Mikhail and slowly draining his life! If we don't act now, Mikhail will die!" Ammar yelled, stunning everyone.
Immediately after Ammar said that everyone sensed Mikhail's energy rapidly dropping followed by a very sinister energy. Shizuka gritted her teeth and came to one conclusion.
To save Mikhail's life, she must call the person she hates the most. She pulled out her phone and released a heavy sigh before dialing the number. After several seconds, the call connected, and an angry voice echoed through the line.
"The fuck do you want, Katagiri?!"
Shizuka released a sigh. If she could smash this guy's face, she would do it without any hesitation right in front of everyone. Unfortunately, Shizuka really needs this person's help.
"Oh, shut the fuck up, Kashimo before I kick your ass. Now listen to me, I need your help-"
"You are the one who shut the fuck up! You destroyed my car and refused to pay the repair cost!"
Shizuka was reaching her limit, but Renji grabbed her shoulder and shook his head, making the young Katagiri release a heavy sigh and said, "Listen, Kashimo. I really need your help. Genji's life is at stake."
"Which one? Be specific, idiot!"
"The one who saved your ass seven years ago! It's time for you to repay your debt!" Shizuka screamed, making the hospital clerk order her to keep her voice down or the entire group would be kicked out.
This of course angered Shizuka who responded by giving a stern glare that shocked the clerk, which caused her to mind her own business. Shizuka released a heavy sigh and waited for Kashimo's response.
"I'll be there in five minutes. Hang on."
Shizuka ended the call and then released a sigh of relief. Mizuki then asked her, "How can Nishiki save Mika?"
Unknown location
A completely recovered and unmasked Rae was visited by Irene and Irina, making her immediately knelt before Irene. She looked down, expecting that Irene would immediately punish her for the failure to bring Mikhail.
Instead, Irene ran through her hair. This froze Rae for a moment because it's been so long since someone caresses her hair with such love. The last time she felt that was…
It was before Mikhail cruelly took her parents' lives.
He will pay for that.
"You may stand," Irene watched Rae stand up and embrace her. Then, she asked, "Did you do it?"
Irene earned a sharp nod, making her smirk. The Mother of Demons then said, "Second step… success. Now, the third step."
Back to Shizuka and everyone else
"There he is!"
Everyone looked at what Yukiko pointed out and saw a tall man in a green flannel walking towards them. Shizuka scoffed when she recognized the shaggy haired man with dark eyes staring at her. Shizuka slowly stood up and faced him.
"Kashimo…"
"Katagiri. You look… like shit," the man said after noticing the blood on her shirt. "What happened?"
"We were walking around when Rae Elizabeth suddenly attacked him and separated us with a barrier…"
Shizuka gritted her teeth while clenching her fist tightly, her blood boiling when she had a flashback of Rae stabbing Mikhail. The young Katagiri released a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall while looking away.
Mizuki then stepped forward and shook hands with him. She then asked, "Nishiki… How can you save my brother? His friend over here, Ammar, told us that my brother is being attacked by something inside his mind."
Nishiki glanced at the nervous Ammar and then looked at the emergency ward. He narrowed his dark eyes that turned into dark red and saw something sinister and powerful was draining Mikhail's lifeforce. He closed his eyes and without saying anything, Nishiki entered the emergency room with everyone else following behind.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Dr. Fujimoto asked and tried to kick them out, but Renji pointed a revolver with two barrels at his face. "H-Hold on!!"
"If you don't want this guy to die," Nishiki pointed to Dr. Fujimoto, "then don't try to stop what I'm going to do."
A female doctor immediately yelled, "You can't! Inside this room, only we, the doctors, can save him! What can you possibly do?"
Nishiki rolled his eyes and said, "Clearly you have no idea what's happening to this guy, right now. Do you guys think he went into cardiac arrest because of blood loss?"
"H-How-"
Nishiki interrupted Dr. Fujimoto by saying, "I don't need to explain how I knew. Now, leave this room."
With a gun on his face, Dr. Fujimoto reluctantly left the room with everyone else. Nishiki created a barrier that prevented anyone from entering and placed a soundproof barrier.
"Damn… The last time you looked this terrible was when you fought Lucifer and saved my ass, Genji," Nishiki said with a small smile to the stable Mikhail. "Hang on, I'm going to rescue you."
Nishiki then turned to Mizuki and said, "Genji's friend was right. Something is attacking Genji in his mind and the only way to save him is to travel in his mind. I can only bring two people with me, but listen…"
"When we are going to enter his mind, we are going to witness his memories. So, I suggest two people that are close to him," Nishiki finished the explanation and glanced at Shizuka, "Well, I don't need to ask you. Who's going to be the other one?"
Mizuki looked at Ammar and placed her hands on his shoulder. With teary eyes, she begged him, "Please save my brother… Please… I can't afford to lose him again."
Ammar nodded his head and pumped up his fist. Nishiki instructed Ammar and Shizuka to stand next to him and touch his back while he placed his right hand on Mikhail's forehead.
"Close your eyes and get ready."
Ammar and Shizuka looked at each other and then closed their eyes. Immediately, their consciousness travelled to Mikhail's mind. Ammar and Shizuka arrived at an assembly hall.
"Where are we?" asked Ammar as Nishiki appeared and smiled alongside Shizuka.
"This is the place where we met Genji for the very first time," Nishiki said as he heard laughter behind him and turned around, seeing high school students. "This is also where Genji changed the course of history."
Ammar turned around when he heard a loud thud and saw a teenager Mikhail punching Shizuka whose hairstyle was different at that time. He was surprised to see how fast and strong Mikhail was.
"He spared my life, you know?" Shizuka whispered as she watched the memory of the past.
Their reminiscent of the past was quickly interrupted when they heard a scream followed by a creepy laugh. Nishiki immediately ordered Ammar and Shizuka to follow him. The group rushed in the direction of the voice and saw another Mikhail's memory.
The environment was shifted into a dark room that was dirtied with blood. What stood before them, which surprised and horrified the three people, was a badly beaten and bleeding Mikhail.
His left eye was swollen, his face and entire torso were covered with many bruises and gashes. His neck, wrists, and ankles were chained to the wall and ground. His toes were crushed and some of his fingers were missing.
The door behind the group opened, revealing Irene in a black robe. Irene walked past them and struck Mikhail in the face with her clawed hand. It was so powerful that his teeth were knocked out and the left side of face was badly damaged.
"You are still stubborn and refuse to submit?" Irene asked while looking down at Mikhail. She then placed her foot on Mikhail's face, pushing his head to the wall.
"Give it up, boy. If you do it now, I will free you from this sorrow." Irene said to Mikhail only for her to hear laughter from Mikhail.
"Fuck you. No matter what you do, you are not going to break me. You can't and will never break me!" Mikhail screamed at Irene.
Irene scoffed and raised her claw hand; however, she sensed something was wrong and turned around to see Ammar, Shizuka and Nishiki. This shocked Nishiki greatly as Irene morphed into a monstrous form and screamed in a deep voice.
"YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!!"