Unizard undid the tectonic plate, knowing that it wouldn't help her. Giant rocks started falling. Plus, she stopped the storm.
Grinning sadistically, Slade finally found the witch. She prepared to use her final attack. Unizard, on the other hand, began to bleed from her nose due to overusing her mana. In the few seconds she was distracted, Slade took slow breaths to focus.
She then swung both katanas with her full force, unleashing a strike for each sword in an "X" formation. She didn't care about speed or accuracy. She knew she would hit her opponent. Unizard thought these were the strongest attacks Slade could use, so she took the chance to deflect them.
The slashes were slower than usual, but they were accelerating much faster. She snapped her fingers to return them to the attacker. They didn't stop or slow down. Surprised that her special trick didn't work, she casted a giant shield, made of multiple magic circles.
It was strong enough to stop a nuclear explosion, so Unizard was sure that at least the last circle would hold the slashes. They went through all the circles with ease. She was cut into four. They kept getting faster and bigger, until they left the atmosphere.
In fact, they went much further than that. After a few seconds, they reached the moon, damaging and scarring it. It was pushed slightly out of Earth's orbit. The "X" was visible from anywhere. Unizard looked up in astonishment.
What... the... hell...
Her mana regenerated just enough for one more heal. She was more damaged than healed, but she was still alive. She reappeared far away, giving up the fight.
Yuto, it's up to you now.
— You think I'm finally stronger than your sister now, Yu-chan-
Slade vomited gallons of black blood, clearly injured. She used her swords to keep her body upright. She slowly turned her head up to see her beloved.
Shit... I know what I must do, but I just can't... this is too much for me!
— Yu-chan... come here, pretty please? I swear I won't jump you...
Enduring the pain, she smiled at him innocently, just like her past self. He approached her with his guard up. Slade smiled again, seeing him comply. She raised her red katana and threw it at Yuto for him to catch. He caught it in midair, confused.
— Yu-chan, let's duel... I want to see how you've improved in sword fighting.
— What? I haven't used a sword since that day.
— It doesn't matter... I'm injured now, so it's fair.
Slade used her black katana to hit Yuto. He quickly defended it, using a semi-professional pose. It obviously wasn't polished, but it wasn't something a beginner would attempt. Slade smiled, seeing his improvement.
— You didn't need to lie, Yu-chan. No one would try this if they hadn't touch a sword in ages.
— I was not lying. I just wanted to impress you, but you disappeared so suddenly...
— Oh my! You were searching ways to beat me all this time?
They started dueling, trading blows with each other.
— It's nothing that impressive. We were friends, Kataki. What happened to you? Why are you a monster now?
— I'm not a monster, Yu-chan, I'm the same Kataki you met as a level 7. I thought you died that day, that's why I never found you until now.
— Then why did you kill Tatsuya and his wife? They did nothing to you!
Slade's expression became serious. She began to put more strength into her attacks. Every time Yuto defended it, both swords vibrated intensely, sending shockwaves through their bodies and producing a screeching sound.
— They wanted to monopolize you, Yu-chan.
— That's not true. The only one monopolizing me is you.
— Fate decided that we should be together, Yu-chan...
Yuto kicked her, causing her to trip over a rock and fall to the ground. He swung the red katana towards her, but from a distance. Nothing happened.
— I'm sorry, Yu-chan, but the slashes only respond to my command.
— Curse you, monster! Give me my friend back!
— B-But I am your friend, Yu-chan-
— Stop using that nickname! You're not Kataki and you'll never be!
It was her breaking point. Her loved one was yelling at her, accusing her of being an imposter. He no longer recognized her as his friend. Slade began to cry uncontrollably. She slowly stood up, reaching for him with her hand.
— I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... please forgive me, forgive me...
Yuto once again remembered of his sister begging for his forgiveness. Crushed by his guilt, he started moving away, trying to escape her grasp. Suddenly, he noticed something: a big black object flying towards him, behind her. Something ejected from it, so he thought it was a jet. He couldn't say anything clearly as his vision was blurred from overusing his power.
As it approached him at supersonic speed, he decided to arch his back to avoid it. It hit Slade from behind, piercing her body with the tip of the jet. It was still too close to him, so Yuto used his power to bury himself in the ground. The flying object landed hard a few hundred meters away.
As Yuto grabbed the ledge to climb to the surface, a figure stood in the path of the sun, casting a holy shadow over him. She reached out to help him up. She wore a black military suit and a futuristic helmet that opened, revealing her beautiful face. He couldn't mistake those blue eyes and red hair.
— G... Genesis?
He took her hand and climbed up.
— Sorry for the sudden entrance, Yuto. I wanted to catch her off guard.
— No problem! Thanks for helping me.
Yuto hugged her warmly. She was surprised, thinking he would be mad at her for taking so long to come back. She laughed and hugged him back.
— It's good having you back, Genesis.
— I'm so glad to be back! I'm sorry for being late to the party...
— You accomplished your mission as quickly and safely as possible! Having you alive is more than enough for me.
Genesis blushed and looked down, embarassed.
— T-That girl targeting you is your childhood friend, right? I can help you bring her back.
— Wait, how did you know all that?
— A-Ah, let's just say that... I overheard your conversation!
— From this distance? Wait, did you plant a microphone in my body this time?
— M-Maybe...
Genesis touched her fingertips to herself, looking away and pouting. Yuto grabbed her shoulder reassuringly.
— Remember Distortion and Unizard? If you weren't there for me, I'd be dead by now. Thank you for caring so much about me!
She blushed even more, at a loss for words. Even though she was an android, her face was red with embarrassment. Yuto asked:
— Did you hear all our conversation?
— N-No... I just checked a few times to know if you were okay... Otherwise, I would go crazy...
— Crazy? Why?
— A-Ah, it's nothing! I just couldn't hear everything you said, because it would hurt your privacy!
— I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but... Tatsuya, he's...
Genesis froze at the thought of losing a close friend. She was quiet for a few seconds, searching for the right words to say.
— Do you know who killed him?
— Yeah... the same girl you just ran over.
— I thought she was your friend...
— She was. I don't know what happened to her after that experiment, but she's definitely not the same.
— Yuto, I can help you with that if you want. It's up to you to decide to kill her or bring her back. I'll support you no matter what.
— There's no way to bring her back... The real Kataki would never hurt me, yet this monster almost killed me multiple times, in the name of love.
— If that's your decision, I'm on your side. If you change your mind, take this.
Genesis created a discrete headset and gave it to him. He put it on his head and it camouflaged, disappearing but still holding tight to not fall off.
— Wow, did you learn to make this in Russia?
— The material, yes. I already knew to make headsets, but I improved it slightly. Also, do you want to become a cyborg?
— What do you mean?
— I can now make robotic members!
— Wow, that would help me a lot! Can you create a left leg, a right foot and two arms? The ones I have right now are made from a suspicious liquid.
— Of course! Did your friend make them?
Genesis started creating the members.
— Yeah, she cut them off and then healed them.
— When you said she tried to kill you, I didn't think she would go that far...
She handed them to him.
— Done! I tested them several times, so they must work on human bodies!
— You tested them? Did you use test subjects?
— I-I'm not that cruel, Yuto! They volunteered for it...
Yuto hit her head with the side of his hand teasingly.