387. The expertly executed strategy.

WARNING!

The story contains graphic depictions of violence, sexuality, strong language, and/or other mature themes.

[The Fiend Lord: Arc 18]

Once upon a time, on Planet Earth, a young girl was born; the story goes that her identity was never adequately clarified, but she was effectively known as the 'Holy Light.'

Her title depicted the real life of one's planet. Humankind did not know the Dimensions that had appeared alongside her birth, only of the Spirits that had been destroyed or disappeared.

The woman... The Holy Light, the heir of all the inhabitants, was not born alone. The arrival of the Demon God, whose name was Rez, caused anarchy, and humanity was on the brink of extinction.

Humans terrified him because of his recklessness and hunger for blood, and Demons started to manifest all over the Earth and The World of Zero, alongside alternate races such as The Inner Fiends, The Shades, Wraiths, and Spirits.

To combat the challenge, a new breed of people has awakened, the 'Spiritual Duelists' and 'Substitute-Duelists,' who have been dubbed the "First Army to Face Evil."

With their Legendary Weapons, the Ginken. This swarm of humans increased the world's cleanliness to the greatest extent possible, overwhelming the Demons of various grades and placing their survival at risk.

But, after several years of waiting, the 'Holy Light' gave birth to a human child, a girl of theoretically greater worth than Zero herself, but unlikely to become the next 'Holy Light,' their Goddess gave the girl to a friendly family, and since her mother needed to participate in protecting the divinity, the girl's memories were wiped.

But there is another royalty trapped within the shadows that have been concealed for millennia, even longer than the birth of a Demon...

The only one who has beaten the 'Holy Light's own is the Fiend Lord. Its lurkers will undoubtedly be wiped out, and the newfound foe will ready the battlefield...

- Yashikami City, Thursday, 9:05 pm -

Tim, Elliot, and Ayuka were self-assured enough to remain in the small room despite their inability to come up with the right response.

"Everything is going wrong... We don't have much time left, and neither do we have a complete plan..." Elliot expressed his concern that they will be destroyed. "... ok, there is one thing we may be able to think of..." Both of the boys used it to peer into Ayuka's eyes.

"For instance, what?" Elliot chimed in as Ayuka sighed. "They're after me, right? Maybe if I confront them by going outside and pretending to surrender..." Ayuka said, but both boys stopped her. "Are you insane? If you surrender, what if they fire right away?!" Tim asked as he looked her in the eyes.

"That's a probability, which is why I'll entrust both of you with striking before I'm shot... Elliot could go look for the sniper so he can run easily through the area, while you Tim should wait at the top of the Guild, in the darkness, and strike the moment I send you the signal. However, it can also be determined by instinct, if you feel like leaping and creating a huge flame field." Tim grew perplexed when she demonstrated.

Tim, on the other hand, seemed to be uneasy. "What's the problem? That should be simple for you." Ayuka was perplexed because she felt suspicious.

"... you don't get it... at all, the training I received was about the blaze..." Elliot and Ayuka were also perplexed. "What's the distinction? It would be much more successful if it is cooler." Elliot inquired, perplexed. "The issue here is... that I'm not able to use it completely..."

"So? You have other-" Tim, however, refuted it after a moment of reflection. "No, I'm afraid I can't... I've given out whatever other talent I had in order to master this single blaze... My blade cannot be reshaped into a Kodachi... The other fires, on the other hand, are totally unreleasable after being consumed by the 'White Blaze,' which combines them into one..." Tim frowned as Ayuka and Elliot became agitated.

"So... what are we going to do now?! We're sitting ducks with nowhere to hide or run. If we remain in this bed, we'll be killed..." Elliot said, his lip trembling under the strain.

"... Are you at least capable of igniting the fire without endangering yourself...?" Ayuka was perplexed, which left Tim nervous. "What exactly do you mean? Sure, I can... But if you intend to make me unleash it when you're in my presence, you're insane! I can't manage it to the point of catching you inside it..." Tim said this as his eyes were sweating with worry.

"... You won't do that if you don't want to hurt me... But if you keep worrying about killing me, you'll end up killing me... So, whether I get trapped in flames or not, I'm going to see this mission through to the end..." Elliot, who was unaware of what was going on, was also terrified.

"But... Your... kid... Ayuka..." Elliot said as he looked at her, and she suddenly became afraid as sweat dripped down her brow. "I know! I'm aware, but what other choice do we have? We'll die regardless of what we do. If we stick to the schedule or not!" She called, and Elliot and Tim gulped, their eyes wide open.

Tim grabbed for his face while staring through the right side of his finger hole, his eyes trembling violently, and sweat dripped down his face.

("If I jump... and begin firing... yes, I'd be able to remove the firearms, but- if I do that...") - Tim outlined the plan in his head while seeing hallucinations of potential scenarios, one of which was Ayuka's body screaming inside the flames - ("But... I could kill.... her, why do I need such fatal ability?!")

His eyes continued to shake as Elliot and Ayuka were worried, staring at Tim, who was holding his face.

"... Hey, Tim..." And when Ayuka called his name, he never replied.

("I can't go on with the plan! I simply cannot! Why do I still end up in the most difficult situations?!")

"Tim!"

("I wish I had died back then! I wish I'd just- ") However, it happened immediately.

"Tim!!!!!" Tim's eyes began shaking as he glanced away and confronted Ayuka, perplexed. "What...?" He took a big swig. "I understand how tough it is, but there is no other choice. I'm willing to take the chance..." When Tim's eyes had calmed, she asserted. "... I'm not..."

"F-Fine! I'll do it! I'll do it! Just shut up!" At it, both Elliot and Ayuka smiled and nodded. "Damn it..."

"Good, then here's the detailed version of my plan..."

Ayuka began explaining the plan.

- Yashikami City, Thursday, 9:10 pm -

"There hasn't been any trace of the female, ma'am. Should we go ahead with it?" When the woman with the sniper started to sit on the roof, an armed soldier asked, carrying a rifle.

"No, it does not... I've assigned them exactly one hour, and they still have 15 minutes. There is no more information." The woman claimed, canceling the call.

"Are you serious? Is she so intent on keeping her comment genuine?" Another soldier wondered, but in that moment, Ayuka walked out the entrance, and the flashlights and weapons were pointed at her as she lifted her arms.

"It's her! Stand still! We'll shoot if you take any more moves!" The soldier yelled, and Ayuka covered her eyes.

"I'm not going any further; I've come here and given up." The soldiers were taken aback as they glanced at themselves and gave themselves a smile. "Ma'am... The lady you've been attempting to murder... She has emerged from hiding and is posing herself as a target for assassination... What are our options?" The soldier was perplexed.

The woman on the wristwatch rotated her gun and turned it into a sniper while zooming in on Ayuka's forehead, at which point the red laser began to follow her, making Ayuka conscious and cautiously looking to the right.

("Oh, so that's where you've been hiding...")

"Madame! What exactly are the orders?" When the woman glanced over the scope with her right eye, the soldier inquired. "If she's ready to be removed, shoot at her right away!" When the orders were released, the soldier immediately nodded. "We comprehend! As you wish!" The guns were instantly ready to dominate Ayuka's body.

"I know you're here to get rid of me. However, I'm curious as to why...?" Ayuka exclaimed while remaining still. "We're just here to kill you for the sake of our world's welfare. However, we've got several reports that you've been committing several murders around Yashikami City, so deal with it. We've been preparing for such an attack and have assembled an army. No more questions, I'd like you to strip down to your underwear and search for any concealed weapons." The soldier spoke up, and Ayuka listened.

"... Why would I need to strip down now? If you're here to fire, go ahead and do it." Ayuka claimed after being sent another warning. "Follow our instructions! As previously said, we would like to dismantle some hidden weapons before shooting!" I had a conversation with the soldier.

"So... that means you won't shoot if I don't strip." She sighed and whispered. "Unless you want to stay here all night, you can remove your clothes." Ayuka felt emotionless at the time, but she eventually reached for her hoodie and undressed it as she prepared to remove her top and trousers.

"There... I've done it, what do you want now? Touch me?" When the soldier went for the watch, she inquired. "Madame. She doesn't seem to be carrying any weapons. Should we really want to get rid of her?" When the woman confirmed, the soldier was perplexed.

"Yes, get rid of her right now. She's also committed a number of crimes." The confirmation immediately targeted Ayuka. "Okay, then! Prepare to open fire on her!"

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

However, right within that moment, Ayuka twisted her ankle.

Tim exhaled a cold breath, at which point he extended both arms to the side and held the blade, slowly igniting it on fire.

"... I've got to finish this... If I had hurt Ayuka in some way, there was no way I could ever forgive myself..." Tim spoke as he actually heard the countdown begin.

When whirling around the sword's handle and spouting heat, white flames circled it. When the levers on the guns were about to be triggered.

"Tim! Right now!" The soldiers were taken aback when a shadow appeared from the top of the roof, unleashing white energy from above his ground, at which point the soldiers were taken aback when Tim's white flames brilliantly waved.

"An assassin?!" A soldier inquired as they immediately pointed their guns at Tim, but as the bullets were fired, Tim swept the sword from behind his back, releasing white flames, which caused the bullets to melt around him instantly until Ayuka quickly dressed her clothing.

"I can't miss, I can't hurt her!" Finally, though the soldiers were taken aback by his fall, Tim's eyes flashed as he swung downward. "I'm going to hell for this!" When Ayuka moved her right arm from the front of her forehead with sweat dripping, the soldiers were frightened and saw the slammed sword through the ground after the ground on which Tim had hit shattered and the blazing fire burned across the ground immediately.

As the white flaming flames swept past her standing body, and due to the force of the pressure, her hair and clothes waved within the pressure as the soldiers yelled in a circle, as they were caught in a huge blast of fire, thrown backward as the explosion occurred and soared into the air, seen by people as well as the woman with a sniper.

Tim's body was shaking with tension and worry, but the flames eventually eliminated the danger while avoiding harming an ally, after Ayuka saw white sparks flying through the air in front of her eyes.

The soldiers have gathered in a circle.

- Yashikami City, Thursday, 9:12 pm -

"Damn it! The whole army has been destroyed! Give me the sniper! Now!" When the woman talked, she focused her attention on Ayuka, who had already ducked and bolted for the door. "No you don't! You filthy bitch!" She was about to pull the trigger when yellow electricity squirted from behind her, taking her by surprise.

Elliot's body drew the yellow bolt until he suddenly flickered in a yellow bolt, at which point the woman's sniper was cut in two, when Elliot rolled on the ground and crouched, spinning around and hitting the floor to come to a halt at the very side.

The sniper's two fragments fell to the ground and shattered when they landed, shocking the lady.

To be continued...