chapter 12: The Test of Bonds

As Arata restrained Yami no Sōsei, he was shocked to see the chains wrapping around his body starting to fade, as the time limit for the spell was about to run out.

He shouted to Mira, urging her to wake Yuki up quickly.

"Mira, aren't you ready yet? The time limit of this spell is about to expire!" Arata yelled.

Upon hearing Arata's cry, Mira immediately tried to wake Yuki in every way she knew—holding her hand, hugging her, and even kissing her sister—but none of her efforts yielded any results.

Eventually, the chains binding Yami no Sōsei's body disappeared.

"Hahaha, finally free! Now it's time to devour that soul!" Yami no Sōsei laughed.

Yami no Sōsei quickly shot toward Mira and Yuki, intending to consume Yuki's soul. However, before reaching them, Arata once again stopped Yami no Sōsei's movements, ensuring that the creature would not approach them.

"Oh, so you want to stop me again, human? I have to admit, you have talent, but talent alone cannot defeat me!" Yami no Sōsei taunted.

"Who says I want to stop you? I just want to stop you," Arata replied calmly.

"Hahaha, don't think I'll fall for the same trick again," Yami no Sōsei said, and at that moment, it split itself into several parts.

"With this, you won't be able to trap me again with the same skill," Yami no Sōsei boasted.

"Come on, which one is the real one? Make your choice," Yami no Sōsei challenged.

"Is that all your power? Come on, trap us," Yami no Sōsei mocked.

Arata remained calm, despite being provoked by Yami no Sōsei's shadows.

"Don't think that by splitting yourself, I won't be able to find the real one," Arata said confidently.

"Oh? Then prove it," Yami no Sōsei smirked.

Arata closed his eyes to focus and discern which one was the real Yami no Sōsei among the shadows.

After a while, Arata finally identified the real one.

"There it is!" Arata exclaimed.

Arata then unleashed his sword skill. Since he was in the dream world and didn't have his sword, he transformed his aura into a blade.

Shinkūzan

In an instant, the aura from Arata's body gathered into his right hand, forming a blade. Once all his aura had been gathered, he swiftly slashed at the real Yami no Sōsei's body.

Yami no Sōsei, sensing that the skill was about to reach its real form, was shocked.

"What? How could you know which one is my real body?" Yami no Sōsei exclaimed.

It tried to dodge the attack, but before it could, Arata's skill split its body in two.

Seeing Yami no Sōsei's body split in half, Arata approached it.

"You can't kill me because if I die, that woman will also die," Yami no Sōsei warned.

"Of course I know that. That's why I didn't kill you immediately; I've been waiting for Mira to wake up her sister," Arata replied.

Arata then restrained Yami no Sōsei's body so it couldn't escape, waiting for Mira to wake up her sister.

Meanwhile, outside Mira's house, Ryuka was still holding back the attacks from Shadow Leaf.

"Damn, I've been using my magic for a while, but the barrier still hasn't broken, and my mana is running low," Claire complained.

"Yeah, I'm getting tired too," Dason added.

"You're right. I didn't expect this barrier to be so strong," Claire said, exhausted.

Instead of letting them rest, Renji pushed them further, trying to motivate them.

"Don't stop now, everyone! The barrier will break soon, and it's impossible for her mana to be limitless!" Renji urged.

"But we're already so exhausted," Dason replied.

"Dason's right, especially since my mana is almost gone, and we haven't even scratched the barrier," Claire said.

The group nodded in agreement with Claire's words.

However, instead of listening to them, Renji pressured them again.

"Are you all afraid? Think logically—her mana must be almost gone, and if we can break through the barrier, we can try with the women," Renji suggested.

The group immediately imagined what Renji said.

"He's right. If we break the barrier, we can taste them in bed."

"Just imagining it makes me impatient."

As their lewd looks turned towards him, Ryuka felt his stomach twist. He quickly turned his face away in disgust, nausea rising in his throat.

"Ugh! Seriously, they look like that?" Ryuka muttered, almost gagging from the expressions.

The group immediately stood up and resumed attacking the barrier.

Ryuka was still trying his best to hold the barrier back.

"Damn, they're still trying to break the barrier while I'm in human mode. My mana is so limited," Ryuka cursed to himself.

As Ryuka strained to hold the barrier, a crack suddenly echoed.

Crack...

The sound came from the barrier that Ryuka was struggling to maintain.

"Good job, everyone! The barrier is starting to crack, don't stop the attacks!" Renji shouted.

The group continued to attack the barrier with all their strength, but Ryuka was still holding back, despite the barrier beginning to crack.

"Hurry, Arata, I don't know how much longer I can hold this!" Ryuka muttered to himself.

Ryuka did his best to hold back the attacks, trying to prevent them from healing, as Arata was doing his best to keep Yami no Sōsei at bay.

Meanwhile, in the dream world, Mira was still desperately trying to wake up her sister, Yuki, while Arata continued holding off Yami no Sōsei.

"Yuki, please wake up! I've done everything I can to heal you, and I've finally found a glimmer of hope. Don't waste it, Yuki!" Mira pleaded.

Tears began to fall from Mira's eyes, one of which landed on Yuki's hand. Shortly after, Yuki began showing signs of awakening.

Mira, feeling her sister stir, immediately embraced her. As soon as Mira hugged her, Yuki woke up.

"One-chan? How are you here? And why do you look so sad?" Yuki asked.

"Yuki? Is that really you?" Mira asked, incredulous.

"It's me, One-chan," Yuki confirmed.

Mira immediately embraced her tightly.

Meanwhile, Yami no Sōsei, watching in disbelief, muttered to itself.

"How... how is it possible that she woke up?" Yami no Sōsei wondered.

"That's the power of sibling bonds that you can't understand, Yami no Sōsei," Arata replied.

"Impossible. There's no such thing," Yami no Sōsei argued.

"Of course there is. The proof is right in front of you," Arata retorted.

Yami no Sōsei fell silent, hearing Arata's words.

Mira, overjoyed that her sister's soul had returned, turned to Arata and Yuki.

"Are we going back to the real world now?" Mira asked.

"Of course. With your sister's soul back, we can return to the real world. But before we do, there's something I need to do," Arata said.

"What is it?" Mira asked.

Arata approached Yuki to ask her about Yami no Sōsei's fate.

"You're Yuki, right?" Arata asked.

"Yeah, it's me. Who are you? What's your relationship with my One-chan?" Yuki inquired.

"I'm Arata, and I'm your One-chan's friend," Arata replied.

"Oh, you're One-chan's friend. So, what do you need from me?" Yuki asked.

"I want to ask you... are you going to kill him? Or let him go?" Arata asked.

Yuki immediately looked at the two halves of Yami no Sōsei, pondering her decision.

Mira whispered to Arata, confused about letting Yuki choose.

"What do you mean? Didn't he put my sister into a coma?" Mira asked.

"There's no hidden meaning, but think about it. Why didn't he devour your sister's soul for two months? It's as if he's been protecting her," Arata explained.

"You're right. He could've devoured Yuki's soul, but it's like he's been guarding her for two months," Mira admitted.

Soon after, Yuki made her decision.

"I've decided. He will stay here. I don't want to kill him," Yuki declared.

"So that's your choice, Yuki? Very well, I'll teach you a spell to prevent him from acting freely," Arata said.

"Okay," Yuki agreed.

What spell will Arata teach? Will it be enough to stop Yami no Sōsei's shadows? And what will happen to Ryuka, who is exhausted from holding the barrier to prevent them from entering Mira's house? Find out in Chapter 13!

*If I made any minor mistakes that might be distracting, I sincerely apologize. I have done my best for this novel, and if you enjoy it, please consider giving it a like and sharing your feedback, suggestions, or criticism so I can learn and improve. Thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter!*