Prison Break [10]: Heroic Sacrifices

Standing before Arc was the number one under the sun, joining the battle

"Looks like you got stuck with a rather troublesome opponent, kid...."

"Mr Tetsuro?!"

"..... Hate to say it, but he might be stronger than all of us combined, he's yet to even show his full power"

Looking over his shoulder at Yuki, he asked

"Hey, kid! How long till the gate's open?!"

"About two minutes or so"

"Two minutes, huh?... YOU'VE GOT 30 SECONDS"

"DON'T ASK FOR THE IMP—...you got it"

Yuki caught on to what was about to happen, so he had to give it his all for their sake too.

Arc also started catching on as the adult onis all walked foward standing beside Tetsuro

"N-No..."

"We adults will buy you time, once the gate's open, run like hell!"

"Don—"

"DON'T THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY!....."

Rei retorted at the Oni chief in a rage, tears welling up in her eyes

"....If we all work together we can—"

"—Get everyone killed!"

She froze at Tetsuro's statement because deep down she knew it to be true. If Arc didn't stand a chance, they sure don't.

With a soft smile, Tetsuro said to her

"I'm sorry for how the clan treated you over the years, it was unfair and we disregarded the fact you were suffering as well. So at least, let us make up for it"

"DEATH IS TOO BIG AN ATONEMENT!"

Arc and Rei retorted at the same time, hoping to change the chief's mind, but he'd already steeled his resolve.

With a farewell smile on his face, he said

"C'mon, kids.....We old folk also want to look cool at least once"

The other adults all cheered loudly in response, agreeing with Tetsuro. Contrary to the idealistic Arc, Rei knew she couldn't change their minds and further argument would only spit on their pride

Carrying a struggling and reluctant Arc, she ran along to the portal where Yuki was working with Shu standing beside him.

With great pride and indomitable spirit, Tetsuro Amami gave his final battlecry

"ALRIGHT BOYS... LET'S KICK ASS!!!!"

"YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Tetsuro, Junpei, Otto and the other onis all charged Craig Ryder at once who...

"Yggdrasil Bloom...HOLY SANCTUARY!"

.....Took things to the next level. His space was filled with shallow water, reaching ankle level, which instantly melted the feet of multiple onis, forcing them to fall into it and disintegrate

The ones who reacted on time, created footholds of ygg as they continued approaching him, however—

"Holy Sanctuary, Liquid slash.... MILLION!"

With each slash powered by his holy sanctuary's water, everyone it touched melted and died instantly.

The onis were dropping like, flies... But, there was one fly who just kept coming closer, dodging slashes like a boss and evaporating others with his power

"Million suns... ROYAL FLASH"

Anticipating the incoming man of the sun, Craig switched to manipulating his sanctuary's water to flood them, pushing for sheer volume.

But that didn't stop Tetsuro, even as his skin melted, he kept pushing forward. He could feel his legs getting heavier, his breathing getting strained, his ygg running out, so there was one option left

Dodge what you can, Tank the rest and bet it all on your ultimate attack.

Converging all his ygg, all his suns into the sun that hovered on his back, Tetsuro kept closing the distance.

Focusing on his immediate threat who was already at point blank range, he converged all the water in his sanctuary, firing off a high pressure beam of holy water to kill the number one under the sun,

Not even he could survive this, that's what Craig thought

Grabbing the charged sun above his back, he unleashed his ultimate technique

"Sun's Origin....BURNING NOVA!!!!!!!!"

Tetsuro dove in with the sun in hand, evaporating all the water as he and his burning Nova quickly approached Craig, who, was prepared to respond in kind

"Holy Sanctuary, infinite slash ULTRA!"

The clash of the two superpowers sent massive shockwaves, neither of them giving an inch.

"For the ones that have fallen, the ones that remain standing, and the ones who carry hope for the future, I, TETSURO AMAMI, WIILL STOP YOU HERE!!!!!!"

Carrying the hope of the Oni clan on his back, brandishing the flames he'll pass on to the next generation, The chief of the Oni's pushed his burning Nova forward, to destroy Craig's technique with sheer grit and determination

"AAARRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHHH....."

*ZIINGGG

But even his best wasn't good enough, cleaving his burning nova, the slash took out Tetsuro's arm before he could even react.

And without wasting any movement, Craig Ryder took Tetsuro's head.

"That was a good fight, You really are strong"

Ignoring the final words of Tetsuro Amami who had a satisfied smile as his head left his body, Craig dispatched the remaining onis in seconds and directed his attention to the just opened gate.

Grabbing his leg as he tried moving was a half dead Otto, desperately trying to buy time but to no avail— getting dispatched to the afterlife instantly.

Forcing his way into the gate, he chased the onis down the subspace aisle, killing young onis as he passed them.

Closing in on Rei, who was carrying Arc, he was going to catch them, she wouldn't be able to outrun him as she is

Realizing this, Arc covered her back, making a bid to buy time

"Come, Yam— huh?"

He was..... mid-air? He was flung, thrown towards the gate, by Rei.

The moment he was mid-air felt like an eternity, as he watched her turn around

And Craig's blade went straight through her heart

"REEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

As he was caught by Yuki at the gate, he struggled to free himself from his grasp, and rush to her side

"Rei, Rei, REIIIIIIIII—"

"QUICKLY, GO THROUGH THE GATE! AND DON'T BOTHER ABOUT CLOSING IT!"

She retorted, barely hanging on to life as she grabbed Craig's arm with all her strength, holding him in place.

Yuki knew exactly what she meant, what she'd resolved herself to do. Pulling Arc and Shu through the gate, the three of them made their escape.

As she looked back at their faces one final time, she saw Arc desperately fighting off Yuki's grasp, calling her name. Shuichi, crying, desperately telling her to come, and Yuki...

She smiled softly, and as Arc was pulled through the gate, he caught the final words she muttered, the final words he'd hear from her lips.

"Thank you..... for caring about someone like me, Thank you for being my friend"

For a second that seemed like an eternity, the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen was engraved into his heart— from those azure eyes that gave him hope, from Rei Izanagi.

"REEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII—"

After watching him get through the gate safely, she directed her attention to the hunter she held down, who was furiously kicking her to try freeing himself

But she didn't budge, no matter how painful it was, such was the strength of her resolve

"Sacrificing your life to buy them a couple seconds?, What a fool! Just die already, demihuman!"

"You don't have to worry about that, I will. However, I'll make sure you can't follow them"

"Huh?"

"Knowing Yuki, he probably picked a world you won't think of going for our gateaway, and the only way you'll be able to track them is with this gate right here, even if it's closed you can still track the coordinates, but....."

Lifting her head, Her azure eyes burning with such passion and determination peered into his soul as she spoke

"... If this gate doesn't exist anymore, you won't be able to find them, right?"

Hearing that, Craig scoffed

"Don't be ridiculous, someone like you doesn't have that much firepowe—"

At that moment, he noticed an absurd amount of white lightning converging at her core, colliding and reacting with zero safety concerns.

"Don't tell me..... You're trying to turn yourself to a living bomb?!"

"You catch on quick! Pop quiz, what do you think will happen if you take a blast capable of destroying a gate at point blank range?"

She intended to die there, take down Craig with her, and destroy the gate for good measure

Struggling now more than ever, Craig tried to get away to no avail, her grip was just too strong.

"This is for all the onis you killed, for Boss Tetsuro, and....FOR ALL THE PAIN YOU'VE CAUSED ARC!..."

Big Sis, I swore I'd get stronger and come free you, I'm sorry I can't keep that promise.

Yuki, I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused over the years.... I never got to tell you how I feel, did I? Haha, I love you , you idiot.

Shu, thanks for always staying by my side at all times, no matter what.

And Arc.... Thank you for freeing me from my past, for standing up for me that day, for being the light that brightens my day and....thank you for being my friend.

I am unworthy of people like you guys in my life, I'm truly blessed to have met you all, thank you for everything, please keep living

I love you all, goodbye

The lightning at her core had become critical, and she didn't waste time to unleash her strongest move, desperately holding on to the struggling Craig— a move that costs her life

"White Lightning....ZERO!!!!"

This was followed by a sudden flash of white light, wiping out the gate instantly and extending beyond that

Carving her legacy into the very world, The prison known as the mines was reduced to dust, as her lightning extended past the sky, visible from the other gate worlds.

This was the final stand of the woman known as Rei Izanagi, even as body withered and turned to dust, she remained standing....

Dying on her feet as the cold winds blew beneath the moonlit sky