"Dust of Dueling" (060)

It was Friday afternoon, and the effort to free our Protagonist from Yujiro Sagayama's captivity was still underway; yet, there were some tranquil moments in the dorm.

- Before our Heroes arrived at the Spiritual Hoaxer's hideout -

"Come on, now! Twerk your ass harder; this is how you'll get that nonsense out of your head; keep going; we're near to 500 pushups! If you don't stop, I'll throw you in the water once more!"

"Why are you forcing this on me?! These types of workouts are not for me, especially since I'm already annoyed by the fact that I have to do it and sweat like a pig while looking like a prostitute!"

"There's only the two of us here, so don't whine and push yourself to do more pushups! I don't mind if sweat drips onto your breasts; this is how it has to be!"

"That's a far cry from your typical self! What's the matter with you?!"

Codey bounced and smacked his bottom on her back the minute she said those words. "Now, push yourself even harder, keep going; this is how you'll get rid of the stress!"

"You're much heavier than you appear!"

"That's because everything here is muscular!"

("What's his deal? He's basically giving me a men's workout...")

"Come on, stop being such a fool and pick up the pace!" Codey was ranting angrily, and Ayuka was still upset.

"Why don't you join me in doing it?! You only completed roughly 450 of them!"

"That's because you have a greater need for this than I do. So get to work before you continue to twerk... sheesh."

"Twerk?! Do I appear to be that kind of girl to you?"

Codey could tell her voice was becoming angrier.

("That's exactly what I'd like you to do, heh... Continue to be aggressive, and you'll forget about everything else... furthermore, I'm sure Elliot and the others have already arrived in the zone.")

"You want me to pick up the pace, don't you? That's exactly what you'll receive!" Without saying anything else, our Heroine began doing pushups in a fit of rage.

"460, 461, 462, 463!"

Codey couldn't count them all, but he knew he was doing the right thing. ("I need to get rid of all that depression and tension that's been occupying your body.")

"472, 473, 474, 475!"

("Yup, as I thought... if I make her uncomfortable and furious, she'll do whatever it takes... she's the same as Tim, determined and self-centered... the only thing she's missing right now is her confidence and trust...")

"497, 498, 499, 500..."

Instead of quitting, Ayuka kept doing pushups until she was finished in less than 3 hours.

"4997, 4998, 4999, 5000!"

After watching Ayuka sweating and scorching in the face, Codey's eyelids began to quiver.

"Are you happy?! I did a total of 5000! You want me to accomplish more and act like I want to be a slacker! Go ahead, I'll take care of it! I encourage you!"

"Erm... A-Ayuka... you tallied incorrectly..."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"You... erm... performed 5500 pushups,"

"Huh? I did, didn't I? So what, if you want, I can go up to 10,000! I'm not even a bit weary!"

"What makes you think you're not tired?! Even I appear to be more fatigued than you, despite the fact that all I did was watch and wait!"

"It's not as if it matters! I'm getting ready to shower..." She headed back to the dorm with that, and Codey was a little concerned.

"... She's taking this very seriously..."

"Well... Anyway, for so long as she maintains her self belief and backbone in this schooling sessions, she'll get herself collectively in much less than a week... in all likelihood in multiple days even."

But then with that, Ayuka in the end entered the bathroom and exhaled.

Once in she glanced at the mirror and quickly unclothed herself, dealing with to peer her very own frame withinside the reflect she stepped into the sauna.

Finally, she stepped inner and became at the shower, much less than a day later the new and heat water dripped down her hair onto her lower back and lower, now no longer best that however via way of means of sweeping down her chest vicinity she reached for the tiles and immediately neared her brow in the direction of the wall.

Soon her moist tears commenced to waft down her face.

"... Why ...? Just why is that happening to me? I simply need an ordinary and happier life... and now I'm being threatened with the aid of using this disturbing time limit. More and extra I reflect on consideration on it, I simply develop depressed... if I absolutely die, his reminiscences will die with me... and if I truly have a daughter... no I absolutely do... she'll be left without her mother... I simply need to lead them to happiness... however if I die... can I ever pay off him for the whole thing he did for me... for us... simply why?!"

Her cries grew more potent and louder and she began out to shake from the annoying mindset.

"Why... I think I'm just not cut out for a family... I guess I don't deserve happiness... this whole life cycle is ridiculous! Damn it all, I've earned every bit of misery I've ever had! Perverts, individuals eager to kill me in order to prevent me from becoming the Holy Light! And sure, as much as I despise being one or even considering being one, it feels unjust... I understand that the world is unjust, but why should this happen?"

And as her rage grew in her mind, she struck the tiles behind the shower with her palm, cutting her arm and causing her to bleed.

But she went even further, slamming her hand into the shower tiles, and just as she struck for the sixth time, the shower cracked and a great torrent of water gushed out, pressing upon her chest and smashing her through the glass and into the tiles.

Her entire body began to bleed from hand to back, and she collapsed to the ground, spilling blood all over the floor tiles.

And when her head pressed against the floor, her eyes became duller, and her heartbeat slowed, accompanied by a broken shower.

"... I see what you're saying... All I need to do now is die... I get it, and I'm not going to fight it anymore... not even a little... just please, Tim... Codey... others... never... ever change, even after I'm gone... Even if I'm useless, I hope you won't forget about me..."

Her eyes were completely closed after those last few words, and all she saw was blackness.

"...wait... why is it so chilly... is this how dying feels... is this... the end?"

Her faint voice was hardly audible, and her posture remained motionless, unable to move.

"Isn't it winter? Is it the feeling you have before you die... that's the problem...?"

The door slammed shut behind him, and Codey's eyes immediately shook.

"... don't look at me... I've.... I couldn't... manage... to put on... my clothing... yet..."

Codey walked over to her and started talking and freaking out, but Ayuka couldn't hear him because she couldn't hear him.

"...What exactly are you trying to say...? I'm sorry, but I'm unable to hear you..." Finally, she closed her eyes, and darkness reigned.

"What the hecks happened to her?"

"S-She was just laying on the floor, bleeding profusely and losing a lot of blood; I'm not sure what occurred..."

"Well, after bandaging her up, we gathered some clothes for her, but she still wasn't conscious."

"Shion, how serious is her injury... was that what she was saying? What do you mean about dying?"

"I'd like to say no, but I also can't say yes. I don't believe this was the cause of her death... instead, I was struck by a startling stare as I was collecting her body."

"Did you observe anything within her body or something along those lines?"

"Let's just say... if it happens, there's no way she'll survive... unless we can heal it and eliminate the "virus," as I prefer to refer to it... even if it's not actually a virus."

"I'm presuming it's a virus for her body?"

"Sure, we'll go with that. But I shouldn't talk about it until I find a way to rid her body of it, because I don't know if the "virus" is active in jer creatures."

"It is, without a doubt, active! Isn't it true that she said that herself? This "virus" you're referring to is something to be concerned about, and you should get *it* out of her system."

"Yes, with an extra solution, that's the most likely outcome, but with my treatment, getting this "virus" out of her body is difficult. To end the terrible assault on this young girl, this "virus" must be "deactivated."

"Just tell me what kind of issue she's having?"

"I can't discuss it... for now, we'll refer to it as the VIRUS... make sure she gets enough rest, and if she attempts to leave the room or bed, reject it and force her to stay."

"Forcing her to remain in bed?! Don't you think that's a little harsh?"

"No, she shouldn't move around much since the illness will spread faster if she does."

Shion exited the room without saying anything further, leaving Codey alone and terrified.

Meanwhile on the rooftop.

"I can't believe you want to fight me so badly? Do you really think a Half Demon with no intellect, someone like you, has a chance? There's no way to know how you'll die, and I can't tell you why or make one up, but I'm confident the route for such a young Demon ends right in front of me, on this rooftop in Rukaze City, above the Hoaxers' stronghold."

"Now that you're being managed by a different Soul, you've got a much better attitude."

"Sure, but am I being manipulated? That's not my approach; I've simply taken advantage of his presence to proceed slowly. Don't you think I could portray a fantastic murder?"

"You're referring to a murder... I don't think I'm going to lose against you for the second time."

Her sword swept forward and pointed to the side with a flick of her wrist and a swing.

"For the second time, you've lost against me, huh? Well, it won't surprise me if you die, but I'm very sure you will."

Yujiro swung his arm forward, summoning his blade, and sprinted forward alongside Alpha in a second.

Their initial sword exchange occurred in a collision, and they lured each other into a duel from there.

When they were speeding backward and then dashing back towards each other, they exchanged glares.

Alpha went first, swiping the sword at Yujiro's neck, but Yujiro just ducked and swiped the blade away. Alpha, on the other hand, used her momentum to leap over the cut and quickly sliced in a circular motion at Yujiro.

Even then, Yujiro vanished into pure air, and the swing of dark blue aura burst forward like a cyclone, creating enormous pressure, and from there, Yujiro slid behind Alpha, seeing her notice him, and cut toward her back without wasting any more time.

However, Alpha utilized quick thinking to rotate her body around and cut the blade behind her, causing the two metals to echo, and after defending, quickly flipped back to see Yujiro's sword pointing at her chest.

Her right eye, which was burning brightly red thanks to her Demon DNA, landed on her left sole, causing her hair to wave.

However, as soon as she landed, she hurriedly backed away by leaping into a backflip, only to find Yujiro's left palm aimed squarely at her.

She realized Yujiro was ready to unleash his Holocaust, so she reached behind her and grabbed her second blade.

At the same time that Yujiro unleashed the burst of blue flames, she stepped forward and, with all her might and speed, crossed her blades and slashed each of them on opposite sides, creating a strong wind burst that was only the result of her pressure.

The flames were blown on each side and dispersed in blue scorches with a simple defense, and Yujiro was already planning his next strike by closing in on Alpha and using his speed.

And so it was that, when Alpha held the force around her with crossed arms, Yujiro merely jumped to the same height as her head and kicked forward.

Alpha fought back, but her arms were already feeling a lot of pressure, and she was easily forced back to the extreme edge of the building by the deafening hit that reverberated throughout the region.

Her ankle collided with the higher edge at that point, forcing her to fall backward, toward the cement.

Yujiro, on the other hand, landed and rushed forward, vaulting over the elevated edge and slamming into Alpha's falling body.

"Take a lookup! A cannonball is in order! Woohooo!" Yujiro's yell echoed, and Alpha rapidly rotated her body and flung her longest blade into the wall beneath her, causing it to become trapped.

She put her left sole against the sword's hilt and utilized it to bounce back into another backflip, and the sword unstuck itself and rebounded toward Yujiro just as she pressed her weight on the blade.

Yujiro effortlessly threw his right arm behind his back to flip his entire body sideways and escape the flying blade, but while doing so, he reached out and gripped the sword's hilt, unleashing his flames.

He directed the blade directly at Alpha after twisting and flinging it forward, cutting her shorter blade and hitting the falling sword's metal, then knocking it away.

But it was pointless, since the minute she did so, Yujiro's left hand, which was emitting flames, grasped her face, and both of them fell to the earth, Yujiro pulling her body through the air behind him.

Soon after, both of them collided with the floor, causing a large explosion of blue flames to shoot into the sky, causing a massive thump that drew everyone's attention on the inside.

To be continued...