CHAPTER IX: RAE ELIZABETH

The next day

"You are Mika's friend, aren't you? Ammar, right?"

Ammar shifted his sight from the picture of Mikhail's family to Mikayla who smiled at him. He nodded his head slowly with an awkward smile as Mikayla gestured him to sit on the nearby sofa. 

"I just want to talk to you."

The young man with an eye patch began to think of numerous scenarios ranging from Mikayla insulting and humiliating him for being a burden to her son to an outsider trying to steal the clan's secrets and techniques. Seeing his nervous expression, Mikayla chuckled and calmed him down.

"Calm down. I want to talk to you about my son…"

"O-Oh… Sorry, sure, I'll try my best to answer all your questions." 

Mikayla took a deep breath, biting her lips and looking down at her hands. After considering the first question for a moment, she looked at Ammar and asked, "My son… How… How's he doing?"

"In the class or in general?"

"The second one."

Ammar inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly as he said, "The first time I saw him. He looks lonely and sad. A bit terrified and nervous, but nevertheless I can tell that he is very excited about the new chapter of his life. He's a very good friend, I remembered that there was one time where I was sick and he bought food and medicines for me with the remaining money he had left."

"He could've just used his money to buy food for himself, but he chose to buy medicines for me. It may be a small kind gesture to him, but for me, it's a big deal. That's why, sometimes, when he has no money to buy food and chooses to sleep, ignoring his hunger… I bought food for him, claiming that I got them from a lecturer or a friend of mine."

Ammar then continued, "In the class, he rarely talks to his classmates, minding his own business. When we try to invite him to have dinner together or a trip, he always declines and says that he's busy. I always find him staring at the picture of himself with Amaris and Zuan."

"Did… Did he ever mention his family or past?"

For a moment, Ammar hesitated. He didn't know how to say it and remained silent for a few seconds. Gathering the courage to answer the question, Ammar replied, "Mikayla-san, I'll be honest with you. Since I befriended your son, he has never once mentioned you, his sister or his past. Some of my classmates did ask him only for them to receive a stern glare. And do you want to know what he hates the most?"

"He hates seeing the students on our campus arrive with their own families, hugging each other while either crying or smiling over the new chapter of their lives. He hates seeing that scene because it hurts him a lot and he doesn't have that privilege."

"To be loved by his own family. To be accepted as a part of his family. I saw the sadness and loneliness within his remaining eye and even if he says that he's fine and puts a small smile, he's not."

At this point Mikayla couldn't hold it any longer and began to sob uncontrollably, hiding her face with her own hands. Ammar tensed up and wanted to say something to comfort her, but no word came out of his own mouth. Perhaps, it's because he didn't know what to say.

Akihabara Station

"How does it feel to be the head of the clan? You became the head of the clan after your father passed away, right?"

Shizuka, dressed in a black tank top with dark blue jeans and a pair of dark lace up boots, looked at her rival and then said, "Hard. It was very hard at first. Even though the alliance with your clan and the Uzumaki Clan helped stabilize a lot of things, there are still a few unresolved issues such as the aftermath of your battle against Daihachi, the loss of the Ancient Sacred Tools, internal disputes, and others. To be honest, I sometimes thought of stepping down and letting someone else be the head clan, but I know that my father believes in me."

Mikhail smiled, feeling proud of the young woman's words. Seeing him smiling, Shizuka chuckled and asked, "Well, what about you? I heard that Mizuki is going to step down from being the head clan and your mother certainly refuses to return back to that position. So, that leaves you as the candidate for the position."

"Hah! Me? The head clan? That's outrageous," Mikhail scratched his head and began to walk alongside Shizuka. "Besides, they will all refuse, especially the Elders, and there will be chaos if I am offered the position. After all, they won't accept me as someone to lead them."

"I'm pretty sure they will. By the way, you never told me why you want to train your two friends. I understand that other than being branded with a deadly curse, there must be another reason, right?" 

Mikhail thought about it for a while, recalling his battle against Damia and the miracle that occurred when Ammar struck her in the face. 

"As we all know, the only way to harm a Demon is either using the Mystic Energy or any weapons made from the Demon itself, right? That's what you told me before," Mikhail looked at Shizuka who nodded her head. "When Dayana choked Ammar, a miracle happened. He struck her in the face and caused her to bleed. Normally, when a normal human tries to punch a Demon, that person will break their arms due to the insanely thick skin. But in Ammar's case, it was different. Even though his punch probably feels like a gentle poke to Damia, it still causes her to bleed."

Mikhail then continued, "I have no idea how that is possible, but that miracle already cemented my decision to bring and train Ammar since he has a potential to surpass me which to be honest, it's quite exciting."

"What about the other one? What was her name, Camy? Cami? Camelia?"

"Well, she has–"

Before Mikhail could finish his sentence, a blade pierced through his abdomen from behind. He widened his lone eye and coughed up blood before being yanked backward with insane force. His body collided with an oncoming bus, sending the vehicle veering off course. The impact caused the bus to lose control and slam into a building, creating chaos where civilians screamed in horror and ran away.

Shizuka rushed towards the bus but found someone blocking her path. Rae Elizabeth, with a unique weapon that she uses to pull Mikhail. 

It is a pitch-black dagger with a glowing pink outline and mysterious mantra engraved on the surface of the blade. The hilt is hexagonal-shaped and painted in a golden, dark handle with chains attached to the tip and wrapped around her right arm. 

Seeing the masked woman and her trademark weapon, Shizuka narrowed her eyes and angrily called her name, "Rae Elizabeth…"

Rae waved her hand and then formed a hand sign that caused a pool of shadow to form beneath her. The pool then expanded and from it came forth a group of zombified, three-headed dogs. With a flick of her hand, Rae commanded the demonic creatures to attack Shizuka before searching for Mikhail.

To ensure that Shizuka won't interfere with her upcoming battle against her target, Rae conjured a barrier that separated Shizuka and surrounded Mikhail and herself within 2 km radius. Glancing at the head clan of Katagiri who's engaging against the creatures, Rae tries to sense Mikhail but finds it difficult.

'Why couldn't I sense his energy?'

Unknown to her, Mikhail already stood behind her with a katana. Tightening his grip around the handle, Mikhail swung it at Rae who blocked the blade at the very last second with her weapon. Jumping away to create some distance, Mikhail narrowed his lone eye at Rae, analyzing her.

'Something is definitely off with this woman, she possesses Demonic Energy that is slightly higher than Damia's,' Mikhail looked around him. 'But why do I have the feeling that she is not a Demon?'

"You seemed afraid, Mika."

"Who are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

As soon as Rae said that, she blitzed towards Mikhail and thrust her dagger towards Mikhail's throat. The young man with a lone divine eye blocked the oncoming blade and kicked her away. The two then engaged in a fight as the civilians ran away from them. 

'Her speed is insane! She is definitely stronger and faster than Damia!' Mikhail thought to himself as he struggled to block the weapon, injuring himself all over his body. 'I need to separate–'

Mikhail's katana was knocked away and Rae took this moment to stab him in the chest. Fortunately, Mikhail had anticipated her action and at the very last second, he caught the dagger with his left hand. In a split second, numerous spikes burst out from his hand.

"!!"

Rae chuckled and with one swift motion, she latched her hand around his throat, slamming him to the ground. She thrust her dagger, aiming for her opponent's forehead, but at the very last moment, Mikhail tilted his head and punched Rae away, separating her from her own weapon.

As he stood up, Mikhail noticed the tingling, burning sensation on his left cheek and hand. Looking at his wounded hand which surprisingly stopped healing itself, Mikhail deduced that Rae's weapon was capable of halting his regeneration ability. 

For the first time, Mikhail felt a surge of excitement after realizing his self-healing ability seemed to have stopped working. This allowed him to fight without relying on his passive ability that annoyed him. 

"You seemed afraid. Afraid of death because my Angel Slayer nullified your regeneration? Don't worry, I will make sure your death is painless but very slow." Rae said to Mikhail, making him chuckle.

"Nah, I'm just excited. Thanks for stopping that annoying ability, it gives me the boost that I need to kill you."

If Rae didn't wear a mask, Mikhail would definitely see her crazy grin. She chuckled wryly which soon turned into a creepy laughter and then screamed, "KILL ME? I TELL YOU WHAT, MIKHAIL. I AM GOING TO KILL YOU RIGHT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE YOU KNOW!"

"Bring it on!"

Both of them ran at one another with an inhuman speed, leaving behind a burst of shockwave. As the two got closer, they threw a lightning-speed punch that collided against each other. Rae reacted first by throwing a jab followed by a left elbow strike that Mikhail blocked. She then used her other free hand to punch his gut, which was blocked again.

Seeing Rae pull her hand away, Mikhail threw three consecutive punches that missed. He blocked a roundhouse kick from Rae and performed a low sweep kick just as Rae delivered a tornado kick. Both of them stared at one another before resuming their hand-to-hand combat.

Their battle unleashed devastating chaos and destruction, some innocents were caught in the crossfire and killed. This angered Mikhail who punched Rae away and unravelled the bandage that covered his eye.

Forming a mudra hand sign, specifically the Rin hand sign, Mikhail's Kamigan produced an invisible wave that consumed the civilians. A few seconds later, these civilians were teleported outside of the barrier. 

Panting heavily after teleporting them, Mikhail wiped away the blood that came out from the corner of his Kamigan. He turned around and blocked Rae's punch, pushing him slightly. When Rae tried to take a look at his Kamigan, Mikhail grabbed her wrist and landed a sickening punch to her gut that knocked her away into a building behind her.

Outside of the barrier, Shizuka could be seen killing the last zombified dog with her bare hands. She gritted her teeth and then sensed someone approaching her. Turning around, Shizuka saw a young woman with long pink hair wearing a black visor flat-lens sunglasses.

She wore a black turtleneck crop tank with matching high waist leather pants and a pair of black high-heels boots. Her left arm is heavily scarred while the other one is completely covered by numerous tattoos of animals.

"What the… Katsuki?!"

The woman identified as Katsuki didn't say anything as three more mysterious women arrived at the scene. Their appearance caused Shizuka to curse herself and take her fighting stance, preparing for the impending danger.