64 End of the road II

3rd Person POV

Two figures arrived at a vantage point, overlooking the events occurring below. From the moment where fire and ice were clashing until a youth destroyed a giant made of flames with a wooden spear.

"Lina, are you sure you will only observe?"

The figure who spoke first had very long white hair tied into a low braid, framing red eyes adorned by a black hair ribbon. Her outfit consisted of a crop top with detached sleeves that exposes a significant amount of her underboobs. Covering her waist is a black jacket and a pleated skirt. Her theme color was basically red-white and black.

"Alcor, isn't it the same for you? The ally of children should be finding it hard to not charge in." Lina shrugged her shoulders.

"Mu, you know that we are not in that place! You can lovingly call me Onee-chan!" Alcor pouted.

"Why is it that from all the things you could take from them... you took that custom?" Lina was a little speechless.

"Well, I would like to go 'Zaaapan' and 'Poooow' on that witch, but this is one of the turning points, isn't it?"

Sighing, Lina nodded.

"Until now, we have done many things that can be considered evil. Our hands are stained with blood, and even if we vowed to never touch children, it does not lessen our crimes. It is our duty to see this, despite our personal wishes. He must do this." Lina said.

"Duty, huh." Alcor scratched her head. "I don't think that person will be happy if he finds out in what we became in the name of duty, or just to follow through a promise."

"...as my Onee-chan, you will make sure I do not get yelled at, right?" Lina acted pitifully.

"...I think I want a different imouto." Alcor sighed.

Suddenly, they both shuddered and their eyes were directed in one direction.

"The seal..." Lina narrowed her eyes.

"I would run if I were you." Alcor mumbled.

"...no, regardless of what happens. Everything must proceed as it must." Lina spoke full of conviction.

"Your legs are shaking..." Alcor commented.

Deciding that she would lose if she spoke anymore, Lina focused on the spectacle far ahead. The witch was flying at full speed and would soon catch up with the group running on foot. Even after Nora did his best to buy them time, their feet were tied by the enemies getting in their way.

"At this rate..." Lina bit her lips.

"Do you want me to step in?" Alcor did some shadow boxing.

"Stop it, your ridiculous strength is not fit for a stealth job." Lina shook her head.

Sighing, Lina had an idea what the witch wanted to do so the question was if she should really interfere or not at this point.

Part 3

3rd Person POV

Their stamina was running low after several encounters with witches, but Tobio and the rest managed to see the wooden building. They just needed to cross some forty meters and they could rescue Nora's precious one.

On the way, they tried to rip the paper seals Nora handed over, he told them to try and see if they had more luck than him, but the person he expected never showed up. Thus they had to do this themselves and hurry back to support him. They were not sure how strong she was, but Augusta could handle Lavinia that was stronger than them.

Just as they felt they could make it, there was a killing intent that froze their blood.

A figure shot past them and levitated above their heads.

"It seems like you are not going to make it." Augusta coughed some blood and immediately drank another vial.

Below her, a fire giant composed of purple flames was created.

"For some reason, you guys attach great importance to the creature in that building, right? He probably does the same. This is why..." Augusta smiled sadistically. "I will set it all ablaze!"

Laughing, Augusta ordered her giant to rush towards the wooden building.

It all happened too fast for anyone to properly think of a countermeasure. Kouki had gotten hurt fighting a witch so he could not rush and stand in the path of the giant, even if he did, he doubted he could block it. Sae and Natsume still held Lavinia's unconscious body and Shigune was unable to fight.

However, there was someone who imagined what would happen if the giant managed to burn the building, he could sympathize with the person who would suffer the most, and above all, he felt like he had a debt to pay. For the person who protected his precious one, he would do so as well. Thus, he rushed, he pushed his body to its limits. The barking of a dog rang in his ears, but Tobio ignored anything else. He did what he could, he passed the giant somehow and arrived at the building, he threw his body towards the door and entered. Yet, that was all he could do.

The giant arrived and it mercilessly struck the flaming crux down the building, setting everything on fire.

"Nooooo!!!!" Sae's desperate cry could be heard.

Natsume grimaced and Shigune's eyes watered. Kouki tried to attack Augusta in rage, yet, everyone, including the laughing Augusta, stopped in place. The air felt heavy and a killing intent surpassing Augusta's indiscriminately covered everyone.

Slowly, with a pair of emotionless eyes, Nora dragged his body forward. He looked exhausted, yet, he did not seem to care about taking a rest. His eyes were staring deeply at the building being reduced to ashes, then, they changed targets towards the giant, until his head hung low and he looked at the ground. Everyone turned to look at his figure thus no one noticed the building falling apart and something there.

"Heh, hehe, hehehehe." Nora laughed.

Feeling a terrible threat to her life, Augusta ignored such a thing after noticing that the killing intent that had just disappeared came from the boy. She could see his shoulders trembling and hear his creepy laugh.

"Hehehe, I see, I see." Nora raised his head.

Even his allies found his state rather intimidating. He was clearly laughing but his eyes looked dead.

"Did you lose your mind? Boy." Augusta questioned.

"Shut up, bitch." Nora sharply said. "I don't expect you to understand so close your damn mouth in this instant."

Scowling, Nora's eyes began to regain their light, but there was no goodwill in them, not even as he glanced at his allies. Augusta was angered by it and planned to send her flame giant to attack the boy but did not respond to her will.

"To begin with, it was strange that a simple guy like me had reached this far without screwing up." Nora pulled a small box about the size of his hand from a hidden pocket in his hakama. "This stupid world would seem like a paradise to many people, being blinded by the good things, they would forget how crappy reality is."

His words appeared to be towards himself more than to the listeners, but everyone listened attentively.

"This crappy world is one where those who are weak can be going peacefully with their daily life, but suddenly, a fucking priest can go crazy and start killing you because it turned you are a beat in his eyes. You die, and what's next? Nothing, this world has many convenient skills and magic spells that would make everyone easily accept your death or make it like you never existed. Yes, this is that kind of world." Nora ranted. "Why? Why? Why? She was just a 7 years old little girl, she liked to nap with her sister, she loved to eat sweets and would sometimes play some pranks, but she was nonetheless a kind and gentle girl, yet, you... You... YOU! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO DO THAT!?"

Accusing the witch Nora gripped tightly unto the box.

"Keke, you are a funny one. Are you going to give the self-righteous talk? What is good or bad, is not really important in my eyes. I just do what I want, that is the way of the world in my eyes." Augusta seemed to be enjoying herself. "Are you angry? Are you frustrated? Do you... want to cry? Kekeke, you are free to do so. That is the only thing you are capable of right now. You were not fast enough to reach her, you did not have the strength to crush me when you had the chance. Your poison packs quite the punch *cough*, I will give you that. However, I can survive long enough to make your life miserable. You should've used all the vials you had, no, my apologies, you used everything you could against me and this was the result. You could not do it, even though you did your best. That is certainly pitiful, Keke, worry not though, I have more despair for you."

"Heh, despair is it? I guess you have used the correct word." Nora finally opened the box.

As soon as he did, the contents let out an ominous aura. Augusta's expression changed. She could recognize what that was, she even had one of them saved as a last resort, obtained through her dealings with that group. While hers would not grant such a huge improvement in her stats, it would make it harder for her to be killed. Even though the side effects would put her in bed for weeks, she could accept such a result compared to the inexperienced and foolish ones who swallowed one pill and end up as hideous monsters that died sometime later. However, right in front of her, the boy she was mocking had more than a dozen of those. Not only that, their appearance was clearly of lower quality yet the aura they exuded was extremely vicious.

"How did you get that!?" Augusta shrieked.

"Oh, this? Just a small spoil of war. Nothing to be proud of." Nora took a pill out of the box. "It hardly qualifies as a trump card so I have never considered using it."

"Heh, you wouldn't have the guts to take one of those. Your kin will get corrupted as soon as they eat those, and they will never be back to how they were before. Even if you manage to survive, you will end up as a beast who attacks others creatures it sees." Augusta tried once again to order the giant, but it refused to budge.

"That will probably be the case. Even as I hold it in my hands, it is causing the small amount of ki I managed to recover after arriving here to rampage." Nora said. "However, this is power."

"You... you have gone insane. You lost your mind." Augusta tried one last time to control the giant, but it disappeared on its own, causing her to panic.

Shaking his head, Nora swallowed a pill.

"You must be confused, I am afraid you have made mistake in your assessment of my persona." Nora glanced at Augusta like he was looking at a fool.

His actions somehow caused discomfort in Augusta along with some irritation.

"A mistake? Hardly, you lost your mind due to pain and you plan to do a suicide attack to kill us both. Too bad, you will never be capable of killing me, the difference is too much." Augusta wanted to mock him more, but the poison kicked in again so she had to take another vial of Phoenex Tears.

"You see, that is where you are mistaken." Nora pointed out. "I was never sane, to begin with. I had half lost my sanity long ago, and I ended up losing it after being in that lab. However, I had lost my sanity, but I found my light. The gentle girls who allowed me to remain 'normal'. Before meeting them, I fooled myself by thinking that nothing changed, but after getting to know them, I realized how twisted I became and felt ashamed, there was even a time, one I am not proud of, that I pushed them away, yet they never abandoned me. The unsightly me became irreplaceable to them as they became to me. Back then, I vowed to protect them, and do everything in power for them yet the likes of me could not even protect a 7 years old little girl. Thinking about it, I am laughable existence. It was arrogant of me to think I could do something like that."

Calming down, Augusta made calculations and she could still take down everyone here just using magic spells without relying upon her Sacred Gear.

The group's mood could not be lower. Sae had broken down in a sobbing mess, while Natsume did not know if she should try to talk to Nora about the things he was saying or console Sae. On the contrary, Shigune was shaking, unsure what to do when she felt Poh, acting strange. The same could be said of Kouki. Their avatars seemed to be going insane as they transmitted one thing to them. To run, as far and fast as they can.

"I told you, it is not enough-" Augusta had to stop her sentence halfway as she saw what Nora did.

One pill, two pills, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine pills. The boy continuously swallowed those ominous-looking pills like they were candies.

"If one is not enough, more have to do the trick... don't you think?" Nora spoke.

A chill went down her spine, and Augusta could tell that things will not be so simple. Thinking until that point, she tried to create a teleportation circle only to fail.

"Someone locked this place!?" Augusta's expression darkened.

One look at Lavinia and she could tell that the effects of the spell from before were still active, yet, someone had prevented her magic spell from working.

She could not recall anyone skilled enough that was capable of this walking around the place so Augusta concluded that they limited themselves to lock the area. Although Satanael was still around, she could not grasp his motives for doing this.

Feeling a vicious killing intent, she watched as the boy began changing. Despite his reckless actions of eating several pills, his transformation was very slow. His eyes turned completely red, and strings of black mist began to leave his body after it began to encroach his limbs.

"Grrrr." Nora growled.

Slightly curious, Augusta wanted to see what kind of boost did he get so she tried to get closer to study it and prepare a proper countermeasure against the boy, but she was shocked when he just crouched and jumped in her direction, and before she could register it, he slammed himself against her magic shields, breaking one easily and almost destroyed the second.

"You little bastard!" Augusta grimaced.

The transformed Nora kept himself attached to the second shield and began using his hands that took the shape of black claws and attacked the shield that broke after a few hits. Augusta immediately blasted Nora away and restored her shields.

There was a loud crash and he stood up growling threateningly close to the group.

"Bird brain. Can you run?" Kouki asked.

"Huh? I probably can run a few miles if I push myself." Natsume answered by reflex.

"What about you, Nanadaru?" Kouki inquired.

"I... can." Shigune answered after a short pause.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Natsume asked.

"Tsk, don't ask stupid questions, and get the hell out of here!" Kouki yelled.

His actions picked Nora's attention so he turned to them and charged straight at Kouki. The ex-delinquent only had time to put his lance between him and Nora before he was slammed backward with incredible force. He felt the force breaking a couple of bones, but he did not have time to question which ones were those. Nora had caused him to crash against a tree and he lost a bit of air from his lungs, but he still pushed his limits and discharged a large amount of electricity to drive Nora away. The boy hissed and backed off causing Kouki to sigh in relief as he avoided the follow-up attack from the boy.

"Keke, big words the ones from before, but you can't even distinguish from ally or foe, Keke." Augusta watched with interest and could not help but comment.

Her actions were not answered with words but with a loud growl coming from Nora who once again changed targets.

This time, Augusta did not stay idle but rather flew away. Only to be chased by Nora who moved at an incredible pace.

"*Cough* Damn it." Kouki cursed.

Wiping the blood from his mouth, he stood up with difficulty.

"Hey! What the hell was that!? Why did Shiki-kun attack us?" Natsume shouted.

"Be quiet, he is easily irritable so he might come after us if he hears us." Kouki warned.

"That is not what I asked!" Natsume insisted.

Clicking his tongue, Kouki did not feel like answering. He felt bitter and explaining in detail will only make him feel worse.

"I... I think that what you saw is not Nora-kun." Shigune shyly explained. "Poh... I think Byakusa too, they recognized him as a threat and insisted that we run away."

Biting her lips, Natsume wanted to refute them, but she could not find the words. Lowering her gaze, Sae was still sobbing, unaware of everything that happened.

"You are saying we came here for nothing?" Natsume tried to hold back her tears. "We lost Ikuse-kun, Shiki-kun and the girl, Shirone-chan... what did we even come for?"

Shigune was not good at talking so she could not say anything back, Kouki-

"Yes. We came here, acting all mighty and stuff. We spouted nonsense about helping Stray-sensei, but perhaps we only got on his way. No, it was most likely the case." Kouki admitted. "Right now, there is nothing we can do. No, there was one last thing he entrusted us to do and will make sure I at least fulfill his wish."

Directing a look at Lavinia, Kouki sighed.

"But... we will truly abandon him." Natsume reluctantly said.

"Why should we stay here? He is keeping that witch in check, but as soon as any of them dies, we will follow." Kouki bitterly spoke.

"Then we should just run!?" Natsume could not accept it.

Taking a deep breath, Kouki stared straight at Natsume and nodded.

"Yes. We will." Kouki muttered. "It is about time we face reality. From the beginning, he hid us in that place for our own safety. He did so because he knew what kind of people were after us and he did not want us to face something we could not deal with. You... know I am right, aren't you?"

"That is not.. fair." Natsume could not say another word.

"Ara? Is that all you guys can do? I thought that the people that person went to the trouble of protecting were something amazing, but only one of you has shown some worth."

A nonchalant voice was suddenly heard, Kouki, Natsume and Shigune looked left and right to find the speaker, but it was Sae, who was crying until now that stood up and dashed towards a particular direction. An unfamiliar woman emerged from the shadows of a tree and before Natsume or Kouki could warn Sae, they heard a familiar sound, the barking of a dog.

Sae dashed past the woman and threw herself towards another emerging shadow. That figure lost its footing and awkwardly fell while trying to prevent Sae from getting hurt.

"Sae, where you trying to greet me or make me spill the contents on my stomach..." Tobio mumbled.

"Tobio! Uwaaaaaah!!!" Sae cried loudly.

"Sheesh, idiot. Don't cry... I am perfectly fine so there is no need to cry." Tobio patted Sae's head.

Ignoring his words, Sae sobbed on his chest continuously.

"You really lack the delicacy to treat a girl."

The woman sarcastically muttered. As she held a white cat in her hands, she slowly lowered it and put it on the ground. The cat, which had a magatama hanging on her neck, soon changed forms until she transformed into a petite white-haired girl.

Stunned by the sudden development, neither Natsume, Kouki, nor Shigune, moved a step.

The white-haired girl stared at the woman, and she equally stared back. With a confident smile, Lina met Shirone's stare.

The first one to lower her head was Shirone, and Lina giggled at that.

"Ara ara, are you afraid of me?" Lina asked with a meaningful smile. "You would do well on fearing me, I am with the bad guys."

"No, you are... not bad." Shirone answered back.

Her smile slightly froze, but Lina quickly recovered.

"You are really naive. Bad guys hide their true nature until the end." Lina said.

"You saved me. Nora said to always be grateful regardless of the reasons." Shirone spoke. "You... are good deep down. Although, my cat senses can tell you are cheeky."

Lina turned her head back and hid her expression from the small girl.

"I did what I came to do, you are free to go." Lina gestured to Shirone to get away.

"Hmm, I know. Thank you, thighs lady." Shirone gratefully said.

Almost tripping, Lina helplessly glanced back.

"...there are better nicknames." Lina reproached.

"I do not know your name." Shirone mumbled. "Nora told me that the secret to recalling people who do not give you their name is to give them the most accurate nickname you can think."

Slightly pleased, Shirone patted her chest proudly.

"...I worry about your future." Lina sighed.

"It is ok. I have Kuroka-onee-chan and Nora-onii-chan." Shirone smiled.

Directing her eyes past the girl, Lina could see the signs of a terrible battle unfolding quite a distance away.

"You sure love them." Lina muttered.

"Yes. They are the bestest pair of cats one cat can ever ask." Shirone nodded. "That is why I need to bring the cheeky Nora back home."

"You saw what he transformed into, didn't you?" Lina asked. "Aren't you scared? Even now, he is transforming into something bigger and more dangerous."

Crossing her arms, Shirone sighed and looked at Lina like she was looking at someone silly.

"Nora is Nora. No matter how he looks, no matter how he changes. He is the hero of Shirone and Kuroka." Shirone said. "Besides, he made a promise, and Nora had always kept his word."

Turning around, Shirone began walking towards the battle.

"Do you think he will be able to keep his promise in that estate?" Lina asked.

The small girl was too small to question Lina who seemed to know more than she let on, or she simply did not care, but Shirone's steps never halted.

"He will because he is that kind of cat." Shirone's small figure kept getting smaller as she moved forward.

Hesitating whether to follow or not, Lina glanced at the group who had a variety of expressions.

"*Sigh* You guys look terrible." Lina shook her head. "No, it would be more accurate to say that you feel that way."

The group did not dare to reply since Lina was showing hostility towards them all of sudden, her eyes did not have the same spark of kindness it had towards Shirone.

"It is true that you can't do a thing." Lina spoke. "It is true that you failed until now. That much will never change, the past will not be changed just because you guys feel regret. However, do you know what is the greatest mistake you committed? You have given up. Whether it was your original idea to come and help him or aid him, you guys walked in here without a strong resolution."

"That is not true, we-" Kouki wanted to speak but soon he could not form words anymore.

Lina's eyes glared straight at him and he felt the threat of death.

"The resolution I speak off is not about simply desiring to help someone or anything like that. I am speaking of the resolution to look your path through, regardless of the sacrifices you have to make, regardless of the pain you will have to suffer and cause. None of you know about what resolution truly is. To discard your freedom, to discard your peaceful life, to follow on a thorny path that might not have a good ending. None of you have considered that. Doing everything you can? Have you guys put your life on the line? No, you have not. You have been forced to put your life on the line, but never jumped down the cliff on your own." Lina glanced at Tobio and sighed again. "That said, that young man showed his worth."

Laughing sheepishly, Tobio blushed slightly at the sudden praise, only to be pinched by a jealous Sae. A little impressed at their display capable of ignoring the stagnant air she created, Lina lost her energy and did not try to reproach them anymore. She recalled that they were still young so perhaps she was too harsh on them, a little too emotional.

Hearing the sound of battle, Lina soon followed after Shirone as her body melted in a black mist.

"Ikuse, can you still stand?" Kouki dragged his body forward after wiping the cold sweat running down his face.

"I think I am in a better state than you." Tobio smiled wryly.

"Then let's follow that little girl. She must be the one that Stray-sensei wanted to protect." Kouki said.

"Wait, your body is about to collapse, what are you going to do?" Natsume asked although she followed along.

"I don't think I understand whatever that woman was saying. I never gave deep thought to things like that." Kouki spoke. "However, I would like to think that keeping my word is something I will do. Back then, I hesitated, Stray-sensei asked us to protect that girl and leave him behind. I can't deny I was reluctant, no, even now, I am. Yet, I guess I now see that I will be disappointing him if I don't do this."

"I still want to help him..." Natsume seemed reluctant.

"Give it up, today's hero was Ikuse." Kouki laughed.

"Please don't joke around, I am only thankful that that lady lent us a hand." Tobio sighed.

"Hmmm, I doubt she actually tried to help us. Her target must be Stray-sensei, Birdbrain, you have a hard path ahead of you." Kouki joked.

"Yes, she seems pretty strong so- wait, you bastard!" Natsume fumed angrily. "*Sigh* You know what? Forget it."

"Etto... I am not good at reading between lines but... you are admitting that... you know..." Shigune shyly interrupted. "You l-li-like him!?"

Ending her sentence in a rather hyped tone, Shigune seemed excited at the prospect.

Deciding that more words will only worsen her standing, Natsume focused on carrying Lavinia who still peacefully slept. She just prayed that they could catch up to the girl at their speed, one they could hardly hasten given that they had injured and unconscious people among them.

...

...

...

By the time they caught Shirone, she had stopped to witness the fight between Nora and Augusta, perhaps because she could not interfere. That said, they assumed that it was Nora fighting Augusta despite his shape looking nothing like before.

Over two meters tall and 5 meters long counting the tails, a creature was fighting Augusta to a stalemate. No sign of the giant of fire, but Augusta still used an array of magic spells that were mainly composed of fire and earth. Spears or fire would rain, or spikes of the earth would emerge from the ground, yet Augusta's foe would evade it one way or another. Covered in black fur, a huge... cat, was confronting the witch. However, her face was completely serious.

After finally cornering the cat, Augusta surrounded every escape route with spears made of stone and impaled Nora, yet, his body changed into a black mist before escaping unharmed. The witch followed creating several magic circles below the location Nora passed through and raising pillars of flame. This resulted in a loud roar before Nora changed back into physical form.

Angry growls escaped his mouth and warily glared at the witch. Augusta clicked her tongue and was about to leave but Nora jumped after her.

"This is..." Kouki did not know what to say.

"A bit anticlimactic, don't you think?" Natsume added.

The group could only nod dumbfoundedly. This was not a fight, no matter how they looked at it, Nora was playing with Augusta, she got tossed around and despite the several defense spells she had, she was getting tired.

"Look closer, this is not as easy as you think." Lina's voice was heard, but they failed to find her figure.

It was at this point that Natsume strained her eyes and observed in more detail Nora's figure. Every time the creature opened its mouth, she could see Nora's figure inside. After a bit of effort, Natsume saw it. He was continuously ingesting more pills to maintain his state.

"His body is beyond exhausted since earlier, he had been fighting. In the end, that power consumes you rather than actually granting power. At least, that is what those pills are for. It just twists the energy inside you and corrupts your body so you can obtain a momentary boost. Only through baptisms is one able to wield the power of the Outer Gods, but such a thing is not known by many people. That said, there are unique cases, call it an exception to every rule. That person over there is one. To freely use different abilities without receiving proper guidance, relying on sheer instinct, it makes you wonder what is he exactly." Lina commented.

Looking at her side, Natsume found out that only she heard those words since no one else reacted.

"...why are you telling me this?" Natsume inquired, her voice also unable to be heard by her companions.

"We have rules, and interacting with this person directly will only make 'them' cast their eyes on that person. That would certainly be troublesome for our cause, thus I was hoping to establish a link through you." Lina's voice sounded like a whisper.

"...the reason why I am your target, and not the other is that my avatar is currently in a dormant state, isn't it?" Natsume concluded.

"...that is one big leap in logic. What makes you say that?" Lina asked.

Glancing at her companions, she noticed the restlessness that their avatars showed, feeling uncomfortable for some reason.

"Currently, I am powerless. However, different from Toujou-san, I have a Sacred Gear, meaning that my strength is not that low. I guess that it was a simple process to reach that conclusion for someone like you. If I am too weak, I am not going to be of use, but otherwise, if I am too strong, I would pose a threat to you. That is why the muscle-head, Nanadaru-san, and Ikuse-kun are out, the last one is strong in Nora's eyes so he must be hiding some incredible power. Muscle-head and Nanadaru-san have their avatars with them that will warn them of you, while Toujou-san is as defenseless as me, but while I will recover my strength, she will remain as she is." Natsume explained.

"...the nickname, Birdbrain, is quite the cover." Lina spoke in a surprised tone. "So, what do you say?"

"He is my benefactor, I will not sell him to you." Natsume turned down the offer.

"...I see." Lina's voice sounded somewhat pleased.

Confused, Natsume was about to ask when there was a change in the battle. Augusta's condition kept worsening for some reason and she used a blinding spell to cause Nora to lose sight of her for a moment. Those actions cause Nora to rampage on the ground. Tracking trees indiscriminately, until it suddenly stopped, perhaps recovering his eyesight, or getting weak since his movements became slow all of sudden.

Just like that, it laid his eyes on the group, and Kouki, who had the largest frame, pulled Shirone behind him. His actions picket Nora's interest and he began to slowly walk their way, growling all the way.

Having received a full charge from Nora before he transformed, and now that he had a bigger form, he wondered if he could survive to tell the tale. Nonetheless, he prepared himself to take the charge head-on, but Kouki did not count on a small figure running past him, ignoring the calls from the others.

Not even one bit concerned with the approaching threat, Shirone walked forward.

When Nora was close enough to lunge at her, the cat opened its mouth and Nora's figure could be seen growling. It stopped just in front of Shirone and when everyone thought that a gruesome spectacle would unfold-

"Bad!" Shirone firmly told off Nora.

Her tone was devoid of fear and Shirone swung her little finger at Nora as she reproached him.

The most surprising thing for the group was that Nora obeyed and did not attack her. He stared straight at her and soon his transformation began to undo itself. The boy had not taken any other pill so it seemed that he had reached his limits long ago.

Little by little, Nora's form began to take shape of a young boy as the black mist began to leave his body. His human form still had red eyes that looked terrifying, but the little one did not mind, she simply walked forward and embraced Nora.

"You guys are hopeless without me." Shirone mumbled.

The last vestiges of the mist dispersed and Nora finally went back to normal. Standing seemed to be the best he could do, but Nora bit his lips and slowly raised his arms to hug Shirone. Little by little, the injuries sustained during the fight before they began to show themselves. The group could not tell how much pain they could cause or how deep they were, but the amount of blood tainting Shirone's outfit was alarming.

Tobio and Kouki shared a look and they nodded, they took a look around and made their way towards Nora and Shirone, before moving they signaled Shigune to go forward towards Nora and she did so hastily. The petite girl was not sure how much help she could provide, but Shigune could not stay idle while the others were busy. Sae had to make haste towards Nora as well because Natsume also wanted to go even though they had been holding Lavinia.

"I am sorry..." Nora's voice reached their ears.

There was no need to think deeply, his words were directed at the figure he was holding.

"You must've been scared and lonely, I am sorry, I was unable to protect you, I am sorry..." Nora silently cried.

No response came from Shirone, but her arms tightened around Nora.

"I was not scared. I knew that Nora will come for me." Shirone paused. "Nora is our hero, I will always believe in Nora."

"You idiot! I did not save you! You can't believe in me!" Nora raised his voice.

The group could see guilt covering his face, perhaps, Nora could only say these things at this point because he was not facing Shirone directly.

"Nora really is a dummy, it is just like Onee-chan said." Shirone sounded exasperated, but her tone of voice sounded full of emotions. "You gave us a place to be."

"That was because Yasaka-san allowed me to let you stay in Urakyoto." Nora refuted.

"Uh hu, Nora says that, but you gave us a place to be, even I understand that." Shirone said.

Groaning, Nora shook his head.

"...if you had gone with Sirzechs-san, you would be living in the Gremory's state. That is a huge castle, and you would be surrounded by luxury, you would be living a life free from everything I put you through."

"Don't say that." Shirone mumbled. "We want to be with Nora, not because of the good things you might give us, but rather because just like Nora, Onee-chan and I both believe that."

His face looked unsightly with the tears running down his bloodied face, there was dirt, probably from his earlier fight with Augusta, but the group could all agree that his expression at that moment looked immensely happy. From the time they met him until now, the boy always acted like someone mature, far older than his frame would dictate, his words were not the type you would expect and he would treat them like they were a group of young children. Nonetheless, at this moment, they saw him filled with joy and putting a child-like smile.

"I will do my utmost to protect you, that, I swear. You will go back to your sister today, that much, I will bet my very soul." Nora's expression shifted to one filled with resolution.

Before Shirone could say anything else or react to the bad premonition she had, she felt her body lose her strength and sleepiness invaded her mind. Nora had delicately tapped a few spots on her neck and Shirone lost consciousness.

The group was baffled, but Nora did not say anything. He was extremely weak, to the point that even preventing Shirone from falling made him sweat, however, he bit his lips and lifted her in a princess carry before walking unsteadily towards Shigune, who had approached him to tend his wounds but stopped when Shirone began speaking, and handed the girl with some reluctance.

"This is... my simple request. Please, I beg of you, escort this child out of here." Nora mumbled with some difficulty.

Taking the little girl was a bit difficult for Shigune, but she agreed to it.

"Wait, Stray-sensei, let them do that while we stay here with you." Kouki proposed before the boy said anything else.

Nodding at that, Tobio stared at Nora. The bulkier young man was certain that the boy would request them to go as well, leaving him alone but they could not allow that.

"Don't be so hasty in throwing away your lives, you are still young and there is much you have yet to see." Nora tried to persuade them. "Are you ready to throw away that, your lives? What about the people you care about? Are you prepared to abandon them?"

His grim tone made the group hesitate, but there was someone who could stand it.

"Are you an idiot? You are in the same boat, are you going to abandon this child? I heard she has a big sister, but I assume they both rely on you heavily. What do you think will happen to them if you are gone? Who is going to take care of them if that happens? No, it is not only about them. What about you? How can you be like that? Don't you care whether you live or die!?" Natsume exploded.

"No, I don't. My life is not that important. I have lived plenty, however, they have a long way to go. The same could be said about you. You have yet to go out and see the world, you have yet to live your life. Forget about me, I am just a foolish scum, a selfish bastard who only cares about himself. For me, as long as they are alive and well, I can be happy, and I will have no regrets. For such a self-centered asshole like me, being left alone is not a bad outcome." Nora spoke. "Ikuse-san, if you stay here, who will protect Toujou-san? Go, protect the one precious to you. Samejima-san, you are way too reckless, I am not worth the effort nor I am worth befriending. You have long-standing friends that will still need you, even if Hanezu is dead, people like the damned witch will still seek your Sacred Gears, and they will target those close to you. You can die here, leave. Minagawa-san... you also have people you want to protect so there is no reason why you should be here. Nanadaru-san, your parents must be at home worried about your safety, do not let them wait. Toujou-san, isn't your family worried about you as well? Do not linger here, you can still make it out of here." Nora's words made everyone feel complicated.

Thinking about it deeply, his words made sense, many people would grieve their absence of they died, and the prospects of hurting them were not to their liking, however-

"...why are you so against fighting together? Why do you reject our help? Right now, more than us, you need someone to save you, to protect you, there is no way in hell that you want to abandon this girl!" Natsume pointed at the unconscious Shirone. "You have pushed your body beyond your limits, your strength might not be greater than ours at this point, yet you still reject a helping hand. Can't you understand that your life is as precious as this child!?"

"Heh, you are pretty kind-hearted to the core... despite being a closet pervert." Nora took out a familiar-looking box. "Listen, children. You must not make this mistake, I have never intended to use you when I saved you. I just felt like you would go towards a thorny path and intervined. Getting rid of those people was something I had to do, yet I failed to do so fast enough. Do not think I had an interest in your powers, I am just a whimsical person, doing as he pleases. Getting help in battle, fighting side by side, it would be like I kidnapped- pouched you with evil intentions. I might be sharp-mouthed, foolish, self-centered scum, and soft-eared, but I do have a limit to how far I will go. You children are not weapons or pawns to be used by others, you are not meant to be assassins that kill others once ordered. If that is the path you wish to follow later, that is not an issue, but you are just a bunch of regular children whose only worry not long ago was to fluke your exams or buy that game console. This is not a world you should take lightly, but I cannot accept how you were unwillingly dragged to it."

There was much to take on, but while they were processing his words, the group saw Nora ingest more pills. Black mist began to be produced from Nora as the origin.

"I thank you for waiting for my chat to finish." Nora slowly turned around and walked past Tonio and Kouki.

Even as he walked, his joints would make noises they should not, but Nora just awkwardly advanced.

"Keke, you are saying it like I had another choice. Quite the vicious poison you used, I had my hands full dealing with it until just now." Augusta spoke in a chilling tone.

Black smoke was being released from her body and her eyes took a reddish hue.

"So you had dealings with those people as well." Nora calmly said.

"And so do you, or that is what I would like to say. If you truly had, you would know that you have killed yourself after ingesting that many pills before. It is nothing but a miracle that you are still alive. Although I fail to understand how you can still have the guts to tempt your luck by taking more." Augusta muttered.

"Cats have many lives." Nora replied.

Chuckling at that, Augusta could not find his words funny since that is how it looked. The fact that he was breathing was absurd. They had gotten their hands on these pills, and that meant that the Wizards of Oz had conducted their own tests. The results were pretty much widespread among their people and she could tell that the boy was the only one capable of such a feat until now. Not only that, his anomaly did not end there. Her Sacred Gear began acting up this way only after she began facing him, and not only did it stop listening to her, refusing to appear, she could feel it trying to break free from her, almost to the point of going berserk. While she could not teleport, flying away seemed plausible, but if she did not get rid of the boy while she could, it would cost her dearly later on. Not only the poison was straining her body, but the damage during the fight with the transformed boy caused her to suffer heavy damage. As a last resort, relying on that pill had to be done. After this, she will have to discard her body, but there will be a possibility to get Lavinia's since she was not conscious, or in the worst case scenario, she would have to use her disciple's.

With that thought in mind, Augusta tried to attack the group but Nora leaped in her direction viciously. The shield she prepared was not broken like before despite the surge of strength the boy received from the pill. Augusta also received such an enhancement so her basic abilities were a lot higher. Nonetheless, she could feel how draining it was to her weakened body. She could only wonder where did the boy pull the strength to move when she was certain that she wounded him critically over and over, and while his techniques managed to get him into safety several times, she was certain in her ability to cause a good amount of damage.

Creating several fireballs, Augusta threw them at the group all at once, but once again, the boy got in the way and took the attack head-on. For someone who started to growl like a beast, he was rather conscious of what her actions will cause to the group. Augusta could only click her tongue and focus on him.

...

...

...

It was not long after that both were drained, although the boy was worse already lying down on the ground without the strength to move.

"Haaaah, Aging... can be, haaah, quite troublesome..." Augusta complained.

She was about to raise her staff when she felt two distinctive signs of danger. For once, she felt a familiar aura approaching at full speed, and at the same time, she was alarmed when she suddenly began hearing the sounds of chains nearby. They sounded pretty close and they caused her to feel the threat of death more than the familiar aura. Nonetheless, as she took her broom to flee, Augusta only saw the humongous figure of a golden fox making its way toward her.

Judging from the killing intent pinned on her, Augusta had no doubts that she will perish as soon as they meet. Without her Sacred Gear, she is unable to match that youkai.

In her mind, Augusta began considering how to deal with the boy if he managed to survive. Although that was doubtful given how he was barely breathing.

...

...

...

Something odd had been occurring since a moment ago, the sound of the chains had become distant but Augusta could not calm down her nerves. Her teeth clattered non-stop and her heart felt like it would burst. Above all, her Sacred Gear was showing even bigger signs of a rampage, almost to the point she felt it was rejecting her.

"Ara, where are you going in such a hurry?"

A voice called out of nowhere and Augusta failed to notice the ambush. A foot slammed against her back and Augusta fell face first to the ground. The effects of the pill were weakening but she was able to stand up albeit slowly despite leaving quite the crater on the ground.

"Who are you...?" Augusta gritted her teeth.

"What a boring question, Hexe."

Black mist covering her, Lina slowly walked towards Augusta.

"You!" Augusta pointed angrily at the young woman.

"Fufu, Ja, me. I was in charge of providing the Wizards of Oz with some materials once and you happened to be the one receiving it." Lina giggled.

"Weren't you supposed to be our ally!?" Augusta asked.

Dread continued to invade her as the sound of chains became even more distant.

"Isn't that a little strange coming from you?" Lina spoke in an amazed tone. "Fear not, I am not going to lay a hand on you anymore."

Those words did not bring comfort to Augusta, she was strangely unsettled and she could not understand why. Augusta wanted to ask another question to Lina but she saw her grin widely then turn her head to one side and saw it.

That was death, there is no other way to describe it. Augusta judged it as such and could not muster the strength to resist it. No, she knew that even if she mustered her remaining strength, it would be useless. If she had not been poisoned, if her Sacred Gear was working, if she had not been exhausted after the boy's bitter struggle against her. It seemed that meeting that black cat was her doom.

She had met Grim Reaper before, but this one looked more terrifying than them, instead of carrying a gigantic scythe, wields two long-barrel revolvers. Its face is shrouded in a blood-stained cloth sack, with only one blue eye exposed to see its surroundings. It wears two long chains across its left and right shoulders, forming a cross. The killing intent it was released was like a tsunami, ready to swallow her at a moment's notice. The vegetation around her got twisted in real time, growing wildly and deformed in her direction, almost like it was trying to encroach on her as the man or creature desires. The tall figure has black mist coming out of it as it made its way toward her and Augusta could only drop to the ground again. Lina respectfully bowed with an ecstatic look hidden as soon the creature passed her side.

"Keke, I must say, I do not know what to owe the honor of someone of your caliber to come personally for my head." Augusta helplessly said.

Her words earned her a glare from Lina, one look that could kill her, but she was at her end of the line so Augusta brushed off that glare easily.

The figure replied by raising his pointlessly long-barreled revolver and pointing it at her head.

"Know the weight of your sins."

An oddly familiar voice reached her ears, Augusta could not pinpoint where she heard it before, but there was something in those words she could not accept.

"Hah, you stink of blood, there is no way you can claim justice when you are simply a murderer!" Augusta spoke.

Killing intent coming from Lina made its way towards her, but Augusta ignored it

"Indeed, I am evil. Maybe, I am worse than you. Before reaching this place, I brutally killed every single hostile on this mountain, I spared no one. That includes the remaining team of witches that were waiting in a nearby village."

In a tone lacking emotions, the voice muttered those words like it was not a big deal.

"So, why are you killing me? I don't picture you as one that enjoys mass murder." Augusta asked.

"Ignorance is bliss, however, you will not be allowed to experience any bliss from now on. Did you know? I came here to prevent you from going to hell... since that place would be paradise compared to what you will go through."

Pulling the trigger, Augusta felt a hole being made in her head, but the reality was that it was blown up. Yet, what awaited Augusta was not the world of the dead. With a wave of his hand, the figure easily caught her in the palm of his hand. His weapons had been dropped and they melted in his shadow. His other hand began to change shape until a mouth appeared before the soul was swallowed up. There were shrieks of pain while the mouth sank its teeth into it, and one look inside that mouth could send chills down anyone's spine. Endless sharp teeth could be seen down what someone could doubtfully call throat, making anyone guess how much pain the soul will feel until it found its way towards the stomach, although it was doubtful if there would be an end to that parade of teeth or if the stomach would be any less pleasant than them.

Before being swallowed, something else came out of Augusta's body and it made its way toward the figure. A purple flame shining in purple obedient floated in from of the figure but the figure just walked away. That caused the flame to follow after him, yet the figure did not seem to care.

"You deal with the rest."

Saying that the figure sank into a nearby shadow before disappearing.

Respectfully bowing, Lina pulled a small transparent box from her bosom. Action that would get her a label of lewd from a certain cat, but she nonetheless acted without regard to what anyone would think. The purple flame seemed to lose interest to remain in place so it was about to leave before Lina carefully trapped it in the box.

"Sorry, but you will be coming with me." Lina smiled. "Now then, I left Alcor stalling for time while I came to make sure of dealing with the witch, but unexpectedly, that person showed up. I should consider it my lucky day, and I bet my other sisters will be delighted as well as jealous. Fufu. That said, there is one tiny detail to take care of yet..."

Sighing, Lina wondered if this will play out as she was told. She had her doubts, but she also wanted to believe in what she was told. Will the boy survive on his own or not? There had been many uncertainties in their plans, but they could not allow anything to happen out of place at this point. Thus, Lina had a hidden ace, a trick that she hid from her sisters who wanted history to simply play as it was meant to be until the appointed time was in sight. Lina considered that she had already deviated from the proper history so a little more deviation would not hurt.

---------------------------------------

Yasaka's POV

By the time she had carried Nora out of the mountain to fetch Shirone, Yasaka had to make an abrupt stop. The life signature of Nora was way too weak at this point, but the good thing was that out of the mountain, she could finally teleport out of the place and seek medical treatment. At least, that was what she believed.

"Why!? Why!? WHY!?" Yasaka shouted.

She was at her wit's end. First, Yasaka found out that Nora had escaped all of sudden, she did not know how but even the girl, Artoria, covered for him by fooling the guards. There was some support from the twins belonging to the guards as well so Yasaka could understand how that eating machine in human shape could fool her people. Getting permission to deploy a large scale of her people was continuously rejected due to the attacks that happened earlier that day, thus the exorcist families were a little wary of the sudden deployment of her youkais. For the first time, Yasaka flew into a rage and threatened- angrily told them that she would pay them a visit in her fox form if they continued to be unreasonable. Things went smoothly after that, but she lost too much time. Yasaka wanted to teleport to his exact location but she was not exactly sure where that was so she could only follow the vague direction from the token she found on his cell.

Arriving at a close enough location, Yasaka found a group of youngsters that were somewhat familiar since Nora once showed her a file from them. She recalled that rather quickly because the fool of a cat told her that he kidnapped them with a smug smile. That prevented her from attacking them in sight when she saw them carrying an unconscious Shirone. They were scared, but when Yasaka simply asked where Nora was, they almost jumped on her to guide her personally. She got to the rough location and hastily made her way when she learned of his situation, but by the time she arrived, he was lying in a pool of blood and his enemy had fled. There was a barrier preventing her from teleporting so she could only go back to human form and carry him back. That said, she was certain that a new barrier had been created in the location where she stopped since she did not feel one back them.

"Sorry, I am afraid I must stop you here."

The voice of a young woman was heard and Yasaka stood in front of Nora defensively. The group of youngsters also warily stared at that figure although some of them blushed when they saw her.

"The name's Alcor." Alcor instructed herself in a plain tone.

With her arms crossed, her rather large bust was accentuated so it became a focal point for the young ones. On the other hand, Yasaka glared at her.

"What is your game?" Yasaka mumbled in a cold tone.

"It is nothing that complicated, as the big sister, I am following the wishes of my younger siblings. That said, I mean no harm. As long as you stay right there, nothing will happen." Alcor muttered and glanced hesitatingly at Nora's figure behind Yasaka. "He looks in pain, should I help him...?"

"Say away from him!" Yasaka growled.

A little depressed, Alcor lowered her head.

"I don't like children suffering..." Alcor spoke sadly.

"Then let me go so I can get medical attention for him." Yasaka uttered in an urgent tone.

Shaking her head sadly, Alcor did not reply at once. Yasaka took it as an answer thus she could only do the first aid by herself. She had learned quite a bit from Saya and while it was not her calling, she should be able to help the boy in the meantime. However, she soon understood that she was being naive. Not only his wounds would take too much time and effort to close up, but they would open up again.

Tears dropped from her eyes as she watched him turn pale white from all the blood he lost, a miracle that he was still alive.

"I-Is there anything be could do?"

A petite girl, by the name of Shigune Nanadaru, was the first one to ask, or rather, she was the only optimist one as the others had grim expressions while the others silently sobbing.

"I said! Stay away!" Yasaka bared her fangs.

Yasaka knew it, the girl meant no harm, she was probably trying to help no matter what she had to do even if she was not familiar with it. However, Yasaka was not even sure what she was doing. He was... dying, right in front of her eyes. Her powers were unable to do anything for him, and Yasaka was unable to protect him.

Scared the girl backed away, but Shigune mustered the courage and walked up to Nora, slowly and with shaky hands, but she put her hands on one of his open wounds to stop the bleeding.

"I-I am sorry, I only know this much." Shigune closed her eyes fearfully, expecting harsh words or getting thrown backward but nothing happened.

Gritting her teeth, Yasaka did not give up.

Leaving a blonde-haired to be carried by her companion, a slightly taller girl came forward after recalling something.

"He gave us this before parting with us before. He said it would be no use to him and perhaps it would be helpful to us." Natsume as her file said, took off some vials from her pocket.

Taking a look at them, Yasaka saw numerous things such as antidotes for poison, potions that could calm down the pain, and the like. However, nothing that would be useful for the current Nora.

"It is no use..." Yasaka spoke in a sad tone.

Biting her lips, Natsume sat down, feeling drained.

"If you allow me, perhaps I can..." Alcor offered again.

"What can you do?" Yasaka asked.

"Well... If we woke him up, things will get easier..." Alcor seemed to have trouble explaining.

"Do you want him to suffer!?" Yasaka asked angrily.

Shaking her head left and right, Alcor exaggeratedly shook her hands as well.

"No no no! I would not dare! My motto is if you cannot solve a problem, you do not have enough guts. If he is awake, he can at least put up a resistance." Alcor spoke.

Feeling like she was hiding something, Yasaka could not fully trust her but she nonetheless could agree that he might tell them what to do if he was awake. It was a little cruel, but perhaps only he would know what to do.

...

...

...

"It... is... useless..." Nora slowly said. "I... am... glad... I was... of... some use..."

After forcefully waking him up and explaining to him what was happening, Nora replied as such.

"Why!? You can nurse someone back from the death like Saya!" Yasaka shouted.

"...I am... not as good..." Nora replied. "But... I should... be able... if... I had... not... taken those..."

"Are you going to abandon me too?" Yasaka helplessly asked.

The group tacitly remained silent during their talk, and even Alcor respected the conversation.

"...sorry." Nora apologized. "I had... to... save her..."

"You are a selfish idiot, a jerk, a mother-con!" Yasaka shouted.

"...the last... one, I am... not." Nora replied. "My... fetish... will always be... maids... and... *Cough*"

As he tried to defend (?) his honor, Nora coughed more blood.

"Even like that, you have the mood for jokes." Yasaka said.

"I... don't want... to add... more tears... to... your face..." Nora spoke with difficulty. "A smile... would be nice..."

A smile formed on her face, but Yasaka still could not hold back her tears.

"I really... fell hard... even now... you look... beautiful..." Nora tried to smile.

"Idiot..." Yasaka wiped her tears.

"Kuroka-chan... Shirone-chan... I leave them... to you..." Nora's eyelids had trouble staying open.

"...if I tell you that I won't take care of them, will you stick for more time?" Yasaka hesitatingly asked.

"...that would be... hard... even... for me... I spent... all my... lives... today..." Nora's breathing was slowing down.

Weeping, Yasaka was still unable to heal his wounds.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but I do have a worthwhile proposal if you are interested."

A familiar tone for the nine-tailed fox, but it was not an ally so Yasaka created a golden flame and threw it in the direction she heard the voice before even turning, but-

"Ouch, that hurt..." Alcor complained.

Turning around, Yasaka saw Alcor in from of Lina. The woman who flirted with Nora before and the one that attacked the Shrine with that other man. Somehow, she was intensively bothered by those two, but one more than the other.

"Oh my, that was a barbaric act improper of a lady. Aren't you afraid that the boy will dislike you for being so barbaric? I am a poor helpless girl, who do you think he would support if a fight broke out? Isn't he the type to aid women in trouble?" Lina spoke in a teasing tone.

Her words were unnecessarily annoying, but Yasaka made no further movements. The other party had strange abilities and even Alcor took care of her attack despite the power she put behind it.

"I suddenly feel bad for the poor boy, it must be hard to have such a violent woman as the target of your affection. However, if you ever get tired, we would welcome you with open arms. There are many lovely ladies in our group." Lina winked.

Why was it? She was incredibly sad a moment ago, but as soon as this woman came, the rage came pouring like a tidal wave.

"Scary~" Lina fearfully (?) his behind Alcor.

"Lina..." Alcor called out, a little fed up.

"Sorry~ Sorry~" Lina apologized and made her way towards Nora, ignoring Yasaka who was ready to pounce on her.

"Hi~ We meet again." Lina looked down on Nora with a flirtatious and confident look.

Looking at her, Yasaka wanted to wipe that expression off her face, but she furrowed her eyebrows when she felt distress coming from the woman. Did her ability to detect certain emotions as a youkai go berserk? It disappeared as soon as she tried to focus on it again.

"Great... another pervert..." Nora sighed.

Dubiously staring at Lina, Yasaka could understand by Nora said it because of the flirtatious woman, but he mentioned another... Yasaka glanced at the group and saw some suspicious movements. Nonetheless, she would pursue the matter on another occasion.

"You are going to die." Lina stated.

"No... shit... Sherlock... what gave it... away..." Nora spoke a little annoyed.

"You are more hostile than I thought. This might be tough." Lina sighed. "What do you say about a deal with the devil?"

"...I am... one..." Nora slowly said.

"...I have a way to save you, but you might wish to be dead if you go through it." Lina muttered.

"Why do you want to offer your help?" Yasaka suddenly asked.

Even if the fight will turn into a tough one, Yasaka was prepared to grant Nora at least some time of peace. If this woman only had in mind torture for his last seconds, she will resist with all her being.

"Silence. I am asking him." Lina sharply said. "Whether he dies or lives, he has the right to choose that."

Staring at Lina, Nora blinked slowly, each time his eyes would remain closed for longer, and Yasaka felt pressured.

It would be a lie to say that she was against him living longer, but if he had to suffer and above all, there was not a guarantee that he would survive, she was not certain that she could support the idea.

"Nora... she is not a bad child."

Heating this voice, Nora widened his eyes at once and Yasaka felt someone jealous that she could not cause the same reaction.

"Shirone-chan..." Nora mumbled slowly.

"Nora... don't die... don't leave us alone..." Shirone made her way toward Nora, trying hard to not cry.

"Silly, I am the strongest cat." Nora bit his lips. "I will not die."

"You are lying! Bad! Lying is bad!" Shirone scolded the boy.

With a wry smile, the boy pushed himself to raise his arm and pat her head, but he ultimately lowered it when he saw it full of blood and noticed her white hair. However, Shirone grabbed his hand and put it on top of her head.

"You won't get to pat Onee-chan or me if you die... please, stay with me. I don't want to lose anyone." Shirone begged. "...I had a friend back then, but..."

Listening quietly, Nora did his utmost to stay awake.

"Nora, you can't do the same. She said she will go on ahead, but I never saw her again! Nora is the strongest so you won't abandon Shirone, will you?" Shirone pitifully said.

"I... can't die." Nora gritted his teeth to the point it seemed like they would break. "Woman, what do you want in exchange for your help?"

"You finally seem full of drive. Very well, if you survive this, I will tell you." Lina grinned. "We will perform a baptism here, be aware though, only when you have a strong will that you will not turn into a mindless monster. Normally, we would perform this on a large altar using a grand ritual, but there is hardly time to start preparing."

Slowly pushing her hand toward her valley, Lina pulled a simple-looking pill. Yasaka furrowed her eyebrow at the normal design and how it lacked anything special so she doubted it would help Nora. However, one look at Alcor and she was able to guess that it was not simple at all.

"The biggest issue with the pills you consumed is that they are usually made to kill the consumer if they have not been through baptisms, we hand them over to allies or enemies alike so they have the same function. However, you not only took one but dozens. I am honestly surprised that you are still breathing. In fact, perhaps if you grit your teeth, you can survive long enough to make it possible to heal you." Lina smiled. "What do you say?"

Yasaka wanted to speak, but she remained silent when Nora opened his mouth.

"Cut the crap. I know there is a catch." Nora sharply said.

"Your ki will forever be corrupted, although I am sure that if you look long enough, a way to deal with it will appear." Lina shrugged her shoulders.

Extending his arm with some difficulty, Nora glared at Lina.

"I suppose I should thank you." Nora said.

"Oh dear, you will most certainly curse me once you take this." Lina muttered.

"Don't be mean to Nora!" Shirone spoke. "Nora, she is... not a bad child, she likes to prank others so be nicer to her. Cats must always return a favor. She saved me before..."

Widening his eyes, Nora sighed.

"You have my utmost gratitude regardless of what happens." Nora mumbled before taking the pill from Lina and swallowing it at once.

Shaking her head, Lina glanced at Shirone who looked at her with an innocent look. Yasaka was unsure what happened before, but to get Shirone to speak for her, it would mean that Nora will not consider her an enemy.

Things escalated quickly, Nora began to shake and he twisted his body in pain. He gritted his teeth and refused to scream, but Yasaka easily saw him fighting for that urge.

Alarming amounts of black mist began to pour off his body and soon his eyes turned red. Nonetheless, neither Yasaka nor Shirone left his side.

Lina and Alcor each stood in distinctive positions and began chanting ominous words that Yasaka could even understand despite her studies in several languages. However, it seemed to affect Nora as he calmed slightly.

Now that things had gotten to this point, Yasaka could only stay at his side.

...

...

...

It was not until daybreak that Nora calmed down, his body stopped creating black mist and he settled down, asleep.

Following him, Shirone crashed into him. Yasaka was alarmed but soon found out that her reason to be scared was no more, his wounds had been sealed. They were not perfectly healed, but they no longer bled.

"Alcor put on a barrier so I doubt anyone else found out. However, I will make it easy for you to understand." Lina waved her hand and the black mist that Nora created gathered in one place, her hand. "His life would be at peril if people learned of what happened. After all, what we follow can only be called evil gods."

Once again pulling something out of her bosom, Lina lightly threw it beside Nora.

"You can have this, I lost interest in it." Lina lightly said.

Warily picking it up, Yasaka saw a purple flame inside a transparent box.

"You have all been subjected to the black mist. While it was not created with evil intentions, its nature resembles miasma so you better got to a Shrine or it might get you cursed." Lina warned. "Hmph, since it did not interfere, it seemed to have accepted that it was good for its host."

Muttering the last part to herself, Lina glanced at the green magatama resting on Shirone's neck. Her rather... unladylike way of sleeping was messy so the magatama made itself known during one of the twists.

"Wait, I want to ask you one thing." Natsume suddenly called out. "Why does it feel like you know about Shiki-kun so much..."

No longer studying the purple flame, Yasaka turned her head since that topic picked her interest.

"There is much you people ignore about him, in particular, his birth. What kind of existence he is, his origin, and what he had to go through to be like he is." Lina plainly said. "It might look like we know a lot, but isn't it more like you know nothing?"

Feeling the hidden meaning, Yasaka saw Lina staring straight at her with a challenging look.

"It was a rather pleasant meeting, tell the young man that I would be very much pleased to tell him in detail what I want from him... Of course, it will be the two of us alone at that time." Lina licked her lips seductively before Alcor teleported them away.

Seeing the root of her new headache sleeping peacefully, she felt like pulling his cheek. However, thinking that there is much to be done and feeling exhausted, Yasaka decided to spare those cheeks.

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3rd Person POV

"Lina..." Alcor mumbled after they went back to their base.

"I know what you want to say. However, it was for the best." Lina replied.

"No, I don't really mind what you did. I just have a question..." Alcor hesitatingly said.

Having a bad premonition, Lina urged her sister to go on.

"...why didn't you tell your big sis that you had those hidden urges? It is bad, you know? He is still not in the legal spectrum no matter the country. I am happy you have found someone you like, but your preferences are a bit..." Alcor shyly said.

That day, Lina's swearing could be heard through their base loud and clear.

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3rd Person POV

"Teach David, that was one heck of a spectacle. Are they heathens?"

A young boy excitedly said as they made their way down the mountain.

"They certainly are, Freed."

A man of middle age grimly said.

The duos were teachers and students sent by the Vatican to investigate the emergence of a strange fanatical group of cultists located far in the east. So far, they found a few scattered members, but they were easily dispatched. They could hardly match the two exorcists, especially when one was wielding Galatine, a sister sword of Excalibur.

"Catching the witch might be hard, but the other one seems like an easy target."

"Do not let it get to your head, the one that picked him up was a mighty creature. One we must eventually exorcise, but might not be able with our forces alone."

The man chastised the excited one.

"Don't worry Teach David, just lend me your sword and I will make sure to hack any heathens that stand in my way."

Slightly worried, the man could see a certain level of a twisted nature in his disciple, but the teachings do not discriminate against those who seek God so he would never judge him. Warriors who fight for the Vatican are precious and one so willing even more.

"Hehe, I finally found you."

A cheery voice made the duo stop in their tracks.

"David Cerro and Freed Sellzen, isn't that right?"

Dressed in a nun outfit, a young girl made her way to the duo.

"You are with the church...?

David asked warily. Despite her clothing, she was not someone he could recognize.

"Tee hee, that is right. I am an executioner of the church. My job is to take down those who are evil and I take my job very seriously. After all, He who is in heaven talks to me."

Clasping her hands in front of her, the girl offered a silent prayer.

Freed seemed unconcerned, but David slowly put his hand on the handle of his sword.

"Why did I not hear that the Vatican would send support?"

"Oh my, did you not hear? A great deal of the church's facilities were attacked and most of the higher-ups were critically wounded or killed."

Smiling peacefully, the girl did not seem concerned at all, but David and Freed were shaken, that was a major event and they could not simply stay here after hearing that.

"Did they send you to inform us...?"

Still wary, David asked. He need to confirm the information he received but there was something uncanny about the girl so he could not let his guard down.

"No, the will of God is something we cannot interfere with. We can only follow the path he lays for us. What happened is something that we cannot do something about so we must continue with our tasks. That is why I am here."

His senses were yelling at him to run, but he did not want to make sudden movements so David continued to talk.

"...what could be your task?"

"I must put heathens to rest with the judgment light that God has bestowed to me."

For some reason, after knowing that, he could not be at ease. Their jobs sounded similar, but the way she suddenly appeared did not sit well with David.

"We did found a group of people who need judgment, but there was a supernatural being who is a threat bigger so we were about to chase after him."

Signaling his disciple with his eyes, David slowly backed away.

"Is that so? I did watch the events that happened here so I am aware of him. However, he will have to wait. I do have a list and I just added his name so he is in last place."

"A list? What do you mean?"

"Yes, I am happy that you ask. Freed Sellzen, you committed murder some time ago when you were in the facility. One of the scientists had mysteriously disappeared and you were found guilty. You killed one of the sisters and wrongly accused her of being beaten to get away with murder. You are guilty."

Raising her hand, the young girl pointed her finger at Freed. It caused the young boy to sweat profusely and David raised an eyebrow at that.

"David Cerros, you have been protecting a murderer so that makes you an accomplice. You are guilty."

Following her accusations, she pointed at David next.

"Teach, she is crazy..."

Furrowing his eyebrows, David could not outrightly deny her words. His student acted shadily during that investigation and there were faulty parts during his explanation so he always doubted but-

"That is a grave accusation, who gave you the right to accuse us and sully our names? Which branch do you belong to?"

Perhaps there was more to it so David wanted more information.

"Branch...? Uh, I am not sure. I was always locked up until now. However, today, I received a divine message and just made my way out. The tools I needed to complete my duty were found on my way out as God would've wanted it. You are the first people I need to pass his judgment on so you should be honored since he considered you worthy of being the first."

Feeling a chill run down his spine, Freed prepared to run away.

"To cowardly run away when God wants to show you his infinite love, how impudent. <Infinite Salt Maker! Meggido!>"

Her voice was sweet and lovely, but the white ray that she shot from her hands was extremely fast. Before he could warn Freed, David saw him being hit by the ray and turn into a white statue. Gulping slightly, he extended his hand and touched the statue. It did not take more than a gentle touch for it to fall and form a pile of salt.

"Now then, would you like to accept God's infinite love or be made to accept it?"

Smiling sweetly, the girl caused a grown-up man to shudder. David had to admit that he did not expect to end up like this after waking up yesterday.

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Author's Notes

So, this time, Hanezu was different from the canon. Since this is a Fanfic, I can use it as a excuse, but let me explain why. In the canon, he was actually closer to his goal than he was here, and he had his head on his shoulders. He could calmly accept what he did wrong. That said, you should notice that Nora tries to act cooly but ultimately fails in several ocaccions, he is mentally stressed and unstable since he is being eaten by the guilty of what happened. He is unconciously aware that thanks to his choice in saving the Slash Dog team and the people from the cruise from the canon, he caused the disaster in Urakyoto. As for his mental state afterward, you will see something I had in mind and will write in the next chapter.

One thing I want to make sure you guys get is that Nora will most likely snap if harm comes to the two cats. There is more to what he went through in the facility, things he would rather forget and do not mention them. For now, there is not a single person he has told this. The only people who might have an idea but would never tell another soul, well, it would be the Maou Sirzechs and Ajuka, they digged as much as they could from the facility, and they will keep it to themselves. Obviously, Sirzechs will not tell Grayfia or she would go on a hard to stop crusade.

So much happened that my hands are having cramps. I meant, I wrote so much despite being absurdly busy and tired from work. Originally, I planned to make this chapter about 10000 words long, but I just kept writing and writing. After hitting 18000 I was like, the heck, webnovel is such a pain, I will still need to split the chapter so I better write more. This, it became like this.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Ask any question you have and I will answer them... That said, no one actually ask a thing... or even speaks to me. Only complaint towards the earlier chapters.