We'll Come Back...

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|| CHAPTER 25 | We'll Come Back... ||

"Little one, what would you do when an enemy you "nearly" defeat retreated and will come back another day?

"Will you track them down? Or will you just let them go? Or perhaps, you wished to keep your hatred to yourself and not do anything?

"Either way, they will come back to you again, one way or another.

"The world is a small place, after all. One day, your eyes will meet once more on the battlefield you once stood on, or on the other side of the world, far away from all wars and battles.

"I'd say, the best suggestion I can give right now is just to enjoy the process–– enjoy every hour, every minute, every second you have–– just like a certain Grand Summoner we have here."

––

Little did anyone know, a sphere with a sky inside it protected the red-haired demon from burning.

The sphere disappeared along with the male inside it as the light faded away, leaving no trace of them ever being there.

Shizuka exhaled in relief as her looks returned back to normal. Long platinum-blonde locks came flowing down, portraying a frozen white waterfall deep hidden in the winter season. The vast blue of her eyes came back with the same longing for the freedom it once held.

Seimei no Seigyo-ki–– as one would often call formally–– floated beside her as he eyed the spot where the two demons were supposed to be burnt.

'Hmm...? One of them is missing...' Seimei thought to himself as he proceeded to ask his master about it, "Mas–– I-I mean, Shizuka-san..."

"What's wrong, Seimei-san?" Shizuka crooned and turned her attention to the former Keeper, blinking twice.

"Is something the matter?"

"Ah, well, yes..." Confused about how he should word his inquisitiveness, Seimei contemplated on his choice of words. "The both of them were supposed to be incinerated right there, am I correct...?"

"Yep, you're right."

"Then... might I ask, why's only one soul taken...? I sense no other soul leaving that spot aside from one." The query Seimei shot didn't surprise the female much. She figured that it would be a matter of time before he knew.

"Ah, I see you noticed it huh, Seimei-san?" Chuckling, Shizuka waved her hand and shook her head, pushing the meanings behind her words. "Don't worry too much, I know where he is."

"Eh...? You know where he is, Shizuka-san?"

Seimei was quite perplexed at her truthful admission. Shizuka found his confused expression amusing and giggled a little at it, making him more and more confused.

"Hahaha, you'll find out later, Seimei-san. Right now, Otou-san is probably dealing with that Demon KING or something."

"You don't care that much for your father, huh, Master?"

Kurogane and Kyuusei walked towards them after finishing their battle. They didn't win unscathed though.

Marks of red and torn cloths draped over their bodies, leaving several parts exposed to the outside world, shown with scars of the past that marked their survival.

"And you don't care about your own body huh, Kuro?" the young Grand Summoner mimicked back, giving the dirty-blonde-headed fox several sickeningly sweet blinks of hers with her hands linked behind her.

The wolf deadpanned at his master's statement, shrugging casually.

"Don't just shrug!"

Shizuka walked towards the two while holding their hands in hers. Shiroyuubi and Fuyukiku arrived not long after, holding glass jars in their hands.

With the bluish-purple balls of wisps whistling within the clear containment, the two fox spirits held them close with care and watchfulness. A part of Yuuma's plan had been executed, and now was the time to test it.

⠀

"Dream Weaver Magic: Time Reverse."

⠀

Quietly, the scars on them healed completely and their torn clothes were back to their normal state, clean and tidy.

"You never cease to amaze me, Master," Fuyukiku commented on her magic, earning a bright grin from the said girl.

"Of course! If I cannot do such a simple thing, I am not fit to be your master, hehe~" Shizuka's smile was too bright for their own good. They swore; it would be the death of them. "I promised to take care of you, after all."

"That time reversing spell is... simple...?" Kurogane sweat-dropped at his master's smugness.

He dared not to dub time-controlling magic to be as simple as Shizuka made it seem to be. Her affinity towards Light allowed her to do many things that others couldn't–– the same thing applied to Kishi's Dark attribute.

They were considered two of the rarest elements in the world for more reasons than one.

Shizuka grinned confidently and hummed, "Hmm? Well, for me, of course, it is."

"Whatever you say then, Master..."

"Oh, come on. Why's your reaction so boring all the time? It's not fun teasing you now," Shizuka protested and pouted. "Oh, and by the way, you have 'them,' right?" the blonde inquired, curious as to how their given task went.

"Uh-huh, just need to proceed with the plan then I believe?"

"Yup!!! Let's gooooooooo~!!"

––

Eito and the KING fought furiously in the sky.

They charged, charged, and charged endlessly at each other.

The two were moving so fast that people were not able to see where they were or what were they doing. The naked eyes were simply not enough to comprehend their inhuman movements.

In reality, Eito kept slashing with blazing azure lightning rods in his hands and dodging the KING's attacks at the same time. The whole time Shizuka and her group were fighting, the rest were fighting the corrupted demons as well.

'Why won't you just die already? You, dogs of that filthy Sun God, should perish from this realm!!'

"Tch," Eito clicked his tongue in slight vexation.

The Head of the Ichijou Clan kept his focus steady while wearing a stoic expression the whole time. His expression began to falter somewhat when he was cut in the arm, causing him to bleed. Though his arm was fortunately still intact, his right arm was bleeding non-stop.

"Dream Weaver Magic: Time Reverse!!!"

Eito's injuries and statuses were reversed back to normal. The KING looked at the source, turning out to be the platinum-blonde-haired Ichijou casting a spell on her father.

'You're––!!' The KING grimaced. He then growled and inquired, 'What did you do to those ten?!'

"Ahh, them... We defeated your ten demons, KING. No one's here to help you anymore," Shizuka spoke with a tone of mockery, narrowing her sharp eyes at the demon's corrupted soul. Smiling, her mere stare sent the KING's whole body to fear her.

"Ah, wait a second. You don't need their help anyway, do you~? They're just mere tools for you so why should you care, am I right or am I right~?"

She was annoying.

He took note to get rid of her later.

"Keep your eyes on the fight, Demon!!" Eito stabbed him in the wings as they were shredded into pieces.

'Oh, fuck off!! DIE!!'

Eito backed up as the KING's piercing scream rang in their heads. The Head had to admit, it was as if someone banged him on the head after hearing the demon's chaotic shriek.

"Dream Weaver Magic: Mute."

His voice was silenced by Shizuka's magic, allowing the others to fight freely again without getting disturbed.

Eito's gold eyes glowed brightly under the red moon as azure lightning started to spark from his body.

They were in the centre of this mass battle and the brunet's brightness was attracting the attention of others in the vicinity.

'You're all just mere insects that feed on the Sun God's strength. Dogs like you won't be able to kill me!! I'll turn each and every one of you into nothing but smithereens. Ripping your hearts out one by one–– I am quite convinced that even that girl alone would suffice to fulfil my hunger.'

'Nah, I'm not interested in paedophiles you weirdo,' Shizuka thought to herself, wearing a disgusted look. Shiroyuubi, Fuyukiku, Kurogane, and Kyuusei who grew up with her knew exactly what her expression meant. 

They're quite amused at her disgusted face, smirking evilly, probably planning to tease her about it later. Though, they didn't voice their thoughts out loud. It wasn't the time for that.

'I still have a batch of my corrupted little souls. You dare to think that you, wretched Spirit Wielders, would be able to defeat me with pure power given by that damned Sun God?'

"Nah, man. You don't have any of your demons left," Yuzuru chimed in from behind. He was covered in dirt and scratches, but nothing too serious.

The grin plastered on his face wasn't enough to convince the KING that he had lost. To add to their numbers, Kizuki stepped in.

"We defeated them. Surrender now and you'll be spared, Demon," venom laced Kizuki's voice as he said so to the KING.

'Hmph, it seemed to me that you are indeed too naive."

"Naive? Did you really think that we won't be able to defeat them all?" Ryoku commented seriously. "Spirit Wielders don't just rely on the magic we have. It would be impossible to keep our mana alive–– we're not like the Grand Summoner."

A certain butler, Yuuma, was also seen in the background, covered in the black stains all over his body. Patches of dried blood painted his person. If his uniform wasn't black enough, well, not it was.

It seemed that his plan to trick them worked effectively. With the trapped souls of the corrupted ones struggling to breathe within the clear containment he had, his plan was indeed successful.

Forcing the KING to back down wasn't his main intention.

It was as clear as day to Shizuka and Eito that Yuuma planned on getting the demons' souls rather than facing the KING with them. But it wouldn't hurt to try.

"You should think twice when you're dealing with the five clans at the same time," Ryuusei added,

Kaien beside him pushing up his glasses. "You're surrounded, Demon. Just surrender and it'll all be over."

"Don't want to make this harder, do you?" Yuuma appeared beside Eito, holding the jars that Shiroyuubi and Fuyukiku held on to a little while ago.

'... I see that you have my underlings.'

"They are, indeed, your demons. Their souls are our hostage. Surrender and they will rest in peace." Yuuma negotiated. But it looked like he failed to do so as the KING started to cackle in pure amusement.

'Pfft–– GAHAHAHHAHAHAH!!! DO YOU GENUINELY THINK THAT I CARE ABOUT THEM?! You can capture them and torture them for all I care. They're nothing more than mere tools for me.' His voice in their head sounded absolute and the clans all stared with wide eyes.

The sentence remarked from his lips answered Shizuka's guess.

"You don't care about your underlings?! They're your comrades!! Especially when they're your kind––!!" Mizuto was cut short by the KING's protest.

'As I told you before, they are nothing more than mere tools for me to reach my goals, Child.'

'Goals...? He has more than one???' Kishi started to think about the KING's statement, trying to whack his brain for answers, 'What could be his goals other than THAT?! Gaia, help me!!!'

'Well then, I believe this time I have lost to you, Spirit Wielders. But WE will come back to you.'

The KING eyed the platinum-blonde-haired girl, causing her to shiver ever-so-slightly. Mizuto and Yuzuru stepped in front of her and Eito's eyebrows began twitching in anger.

'Mark my words, Spirit Wielders. We'll come back... I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE. This is not the last of me that you will see. It's only the beginning of our second war–– the war for this Land of Zetherax. I will return with myself and my former power returned–– be prepared.'

Black mists hid his figure as he disappeared from the area.

The red moon turned back to its normal white state as the night became bright again, replacing the red that was covering them the whole time.

⠀

⠀

⠀

The group floated there gaping, hesitating and confused on what to do next. Unable to think of a way to break the tensioning ice, one dared to begin first.

"Uhhhhh... That's it...?" Yuzuru was the first one to broke the uncomfortable silence as they all descended slowly.

"Yeah, I thought it was going to be more intense, but I guess not." Kishi shrugged as he gave a lazy look. He was unamused, to say the least.

"Be grateful that our situation was just as it is, Kishi. I can't stand being around that pedo–– I mean... corrupted demons, h-hahaha..." Shizuka laughed nervously after fixing her words.

Kishi quirked an eyebrow at this but he soon disregarded it as he was called over by his father.

The spirits gave mischievous smirks at their master, causing her to hide embarrassedly behind her brothers.

––

They all gathered where Ruka, Kiryuu, and the rest of them were.

Shizuka had tried to heal Kyou's arm but was unable due to the curse Kyou was under. Eito temporarily stopped the curse's effects, but they will have to move quickly.

Yuuma and Shizuka both ended up being scolded by the one and only, Ichijou Eito, aka. their boss and father. They DID act rashly, after all. In Yuuma's case, he tried to defy Eito earlier in the woods, so–– the rest would know what happened.

Iroha, Kazuto, and Seiya used their magic to fix the terrain of the place, including the cave. Kaoru, Keita, and Mizuki were tending for the injured one with the help of Ryuusei.

Mitsuru, Kumo, and Kishi stayed with the Ichijou twins and the other two children, in case there was another ambush. Yuzuru and Mizuto, along with the rest of the Head Clans patrolled the area for more enemies.

Once everything was taken care of, they all walked to where the entrance of the cave was supposed to be. Yuuma and Shizuka heard an earful of Eito's speech as they walked to their car in exhaustion.

All families went in their respective vehicles and drove away into the dead of night.

Kaoru replaced Yuuma, driving them to a certain place. Meanwhile, the maroon-haired male and Shizuka were lectured, once again, by Eito. Hinata and Konata pitied them as Kazuto and Yuzuru laughed in silence.

Kaoru could only sigh at his siblings while Mitsuru and Mizuto sweat-dropped at their family's antics.

The night went on lively as the Ichijou Family drove away.

It was a rather hectic and long night for them to go through, truthfully said.

But one couldn't find out the real reason behind their encounter. Was it truly just pure coincidence? Or was it staged?

|| CHAPTER 25 | We'll Come Back... - To be continued... ||

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