"Soul Connection" (068)

"I'm not sure if they can beat Yujiro even with their combined might... yet it gives me the impression that it's feasible... Not to mention, Tomomi is in the blade, so she'll almost certainly win..."

Nina was on the roof of the building, supporting Alpha, who didn't move for a second. "Urgh... what the hell is going on?" She sat up slowly and gazed into her hand, perplexed by what had transpired.

"Alpha! Oh, I'm delighted you're feeling better!"

"Nina? What brings you here? I recall fighting Yujiro... but then I fell unconscious." Alpha attempted to stand up but was stopped by Nina. "Hey, don't make a move! I'll tell you everything... but it's not the greatest moment right now..." Both of them stared down at the ground, and Alpha was taken aback.

"He's fighting all of them at once, Yujiro? What happened to Tomomi and their hiding place? What about Genpaku, for example?"

"Due to Elliot's might, the hideout was demolished... he had to face both Yujiro and Genpaku, but the genuine opponent is right in front of everyone... Yujiro."

Even though Alpha spotted them all fighting, Yujiro in particular, they continued to struggle.

Yujiro dashed forward, hopping and sweeping his leg, only for Yumi to defend. Yumi's head was knocked back as he twisted his body and kicked again. Kiyoshi raced in from the side, flipped, and kicked forward with his outstretched leg.

Yujiro landed on one leg only and promptly swiped the ankle, sending his body backward, then sliding to the side and kicking a tremendous hit into Kiyoshi, who fought but was still driven back.

When Elliot kicked from behind, Yujiro landed again, but he bent his torso back and saw Elliot's leg kicking over his face. Yujiro then gripped the ground and dragged his feet toward his stomach, then rolled back and slammed his left foot into Elliot's stomach with the help of his hand.

Shigeru accelerated to stabbed Yujiro with his dagger, but Yujiro flipped, missed the cut, and stamped his sole onto Shigeru's wrist, then immediately rebounding off it and pointing his right hand forward, generating blue flames.

Shigeru avoided the attack by leaping out of the way, allowing Elliot to sneak up behind him and slit Yujiro's back with his blade. Of course, it didn't work because Yujiro rolled over the swipe and punched Elliot in the face, sending him soaring through the air.

Yumi walked forward, stretched her arm, called her star, and tossed it with all her might.

The star's rotation was speeding, making it swift and fatal if it collided.

Yujiro flipped into the air, directing his right palm ahead and unleashing the next burst of flames, after raising his legs above the star and landing on it. He kicked it back and then flipped into the air, pointing his right palm forward and unleashing the following burst of flames.

Shion appeared in front of the flames in an instant, pointing her left hand at them. She conjured a white shield to protect herself from the flames and swept them away. After that, he absorbed that power and used it to release a lethal blend of fire and aura. It took off in the direction of Yujiro.

Elliot raised yellow energy and carried his body through the yellow illumination at the same time. He arrived on Yujiro's left side out of nowhere.

Yujiro seemed to have lost his insanity and was only focused on fighting.

So, as soon as he saw both the blast and Elliot, he swiftly turned to face Elliot, who was already pounding him. He smacked Elliot's wrist, knocked it aside, then kicked it into Elliot's face and flipped it off over the explosion that sailed underneath his back.

Yujiro sprinted forward after falling in the air and slammed his fist into Elliot's gut, sending him flying back. Shigeru entered the combat from behind and reached forward at the same time.

Yujiro, who had been in the middle of the hit Elliot and was about to reach Shigeru, swung his right arm to the side and sliced toward Shigeru. He ducked to avoid the cut and then kicked forward rapidly.

Yujiro slipped between and behind Shigeru's knees, then yanked them back, tripping Shigeru forward.

Shigeru was knocked to the ground, but Yujiro rammed his ankle into Shigeru's back right away, speeding up the kick.

Yumi then came in front of Yujiro and kicked him. Yujiro raised his left arm to resist the hit, then punched slashing Yumi, who managed to dodge it.

Elliot then emerged on Yujiro's left side and punched him in the face, prompting Yujiro to dodge and throw his left arm over his head, lifting the stretched leg.

In a barrel roll, he kicked Elliot in the face with his right foot, then kicked Yumi in the face with the same velocity. Kiyoshi then emerged behind Yujiro and kicked him in the jaw, trying to break it.

Yujiro refused to give in, so he stepped back and felt Shion behind him, cutting her blade. Yujiro had already avoided striking Kiyoshi by kneeling, stretching his left arm and bending his right, then stepping forward and punching Shion in the stomach, knocking her back.

Kiyoshi seized that split second to punch forward, attempting but failing to hit Yujiro in the head. Yujiro, on the other hand, grabbed Kiyoshi's wrist, dragged him closer, kneeled him in the stomach, let go, then punched and sent Kiyoshi back.

Yumi, Elliot, Shion, Kiyoshi, and Shigeru immediately surrounded Yujiro in mid-air, attempting to stop him from fleeing.

"... you're all so pitiful... can't you see the desperation? Accept it... feel the despair... I'm not going to stop, no way, at least... not until you feel despair."

Tomomi, who was floating inside the black dimension as a transparent Spiritual Body with silver and white auras moving up and down, tried to find the barrier.

"... so.., this is how this Ginken's dimension appears. It's such a stark contrast... black, then white... Shion's was largely white and peaceful, but today feels like disoriented weather and a black storm."

However, while floating, she became aware of a floating body in the distance, stuck behind a gigantic barrier that no one could breach.

"That must be Timoshi's spirit... All I have to do now is reach out and break through it... If I succeed, I'll be able to extract his spirit and then begin the metamorphosis. The "Abspiritual Virus" is most likely responsible for the barrier, which separates the good aspect of this organism from the bad side..."

"This must be Yujiro's side of the present side I'm in... the one behind the barrier is Timoshi's..."

She stepped over, and as she did so, white platforms developed beneath her soles, indicating that she was getting close to the barrier.

She was a little taken aback when she assessed the size of the barrier's distance. "... I've never had to deal with such a tremendous obstacle... but, even if I rescue him, should I really be his sidekick?"

She paused for a moment, considering, before carefully approaching the barrier. Her palm was burnt and horrified as she did so, and she instantly backed up.

"...this one is exceedingly heated... possibly due to the amount of pain the sword has endured, as well as the Duelist's physique..."

"...I shouldn't worry, I've chosen to back him up and save him... not just for his friends, but also for myself..."

"I should go and draw him into this side, even if it means... damaging my own skin..."

She summoned the guts to stretch forward with her left hand. Her body began to lose strength as she began to phase through the barrier, and she began to become softer as a result.

However, while doing so, she created a massive aura barrier around herself, blocking any serious discomfort she would experience. Each of her limbs crossed the barrier first, then her head, then her body, and finally her left foot.

She was suffering from a more serious physical ailment, but because she was in her Spiritual Body, only the Spirit could experience her pain.

She immediately began pushing out in the hopes of making contact with Tim's floating Spirit, and the aura barrier that she had erected around her body began to fray.

The combat on the outskirts of Yujiro's sword grew increasingly intense, and they were all losing their will to fight.

Yujiro snatched Kiyoshi's wrist and drew his body in closer. He then rammed his knee into his opponent's stomach before turning around and dragged Kiyoshi into Yumi's body.

Elliot and Shigeru appeared on either side of Yujiro in a leaping position, kicking in unison. Yujiro, on the other hand, flashed on the spot and was phased through by their attacks. They dropped in the air and slid until Yujiro emerged behind them, palm forward, with an aiming palm.

They couldn't get away, so the blue flames engulfed them, igniting them under intense pressure. It resulted in a terrifying explosion, sending each of them flying across the floor.

Not only that, but Yujiro failed to realize that his blade was gradually revealing white hues of aura instead of black.

"Come on, I'm almost there! I'm already aware of his spirit's presence..."

Tomomi was sweating inside the Spiritual Dimension as she got closer to seizing Tim's spirit.

("I'll never be able to escape through it if I enter with my entire body. I'll be able to go back and save him as long as my right leg is inside the body's control organism... but if I can't and fall through it, I'll fail and there will be no other way to save him.")

"So... please go a little further! I'm confident in my abilities... just don't give up, never give up..."

She was progressively closing in on herself, and the back of her right foot was the only part of her body that was inside the body's control organism.

Yujiro recognized the essential vision while standing still and staring at his opponents, who were becoming weaker by the second.

His eyes shook with astonishment as he faced his blade, which was spewing white light.

"Wh-What's the matter with my sword? This isn't a typical situation."

"Is T-Tomomi on the right track? Is there a chance she'll be able to save him?" Elliot took a step forward and drew his sword in case it failed.

("The aura of the blade... shouldn't it seem like this? Ri-Right? I'm confident... What exactly is that girl doing inside the blade? I'm sorry, but I don't get it.")

Yujiro couldn't focus on the battle because he was lost in his thoughts, so he sought to mend the sword's emitting aura instead.

Yujiro's hair began to return to its original whiteness as the sword continued to lose its darkness.

He was worried and concerned, and his left pupil was becoming blue from one edge to the other, so he knelt down and clutched his face.

"What the hell is going on?! Why am I in so much pain? This isn't Despair! This is the result of stress! What the hell is going on here? Stop it, just quit it already!"

His hair was starting to turn, primary white, and his right eye was still red.

"Stop doing this! I'm still not ready to leave!" His left eye got completely blue as he screamed, and the sweat continued to fall to the floor, gently spilling on the ground and making his body shudder.

Tomomi used the back of her ankle to link her right palm and hold the edge of Tim's spirit, still inside the body's control organism.

"Now... just... come... out..."

Tim's spirit quickly followed her as she yanked with all her power. She took a step back, and her left leg, torso, arms, and head slowly began to return to the proper side.

She ultimately managed to drag Tim out of the banished dimension and smashed the barrier in the process. Tim's body phased through the destroyed barrier as her bright pink aura surged across the dimension.

The organism's wicked side exploded forth, creating a typhoon and extending its hues into the previously exiled dimension.

It felt like a cyclone had hit her from behind, blowing over the entire dimension as she held the Spirit closer and tightened her stance.

Yujiro's body dropped onto his knee on the outside, and his eyes continued to shake as he gripped his face.

Finally, the blueness of his left eye returned, as did the whiteness of his hair, with black undertones remaining from the blackness.

Yujiro's mind vanished completely, and our genuine protagonist's mind regained consciousness as the blade that had been infused with evilness returned to normal.

However, that had occurred at that precise moment. "Wh-what happened?" Tim's body gradually sank to the floor, and all he could see was blackness.

Everyone stared at Tim's body, and then Tomomi's body floated out from outside the blade, her ghostly shape dissipating and her physical form returning.

She was a little fatigued, but she masked it by adjusting her backpack.

"D-did you... do it, T-Tomomi? Did you manage to save Tim?"

She gazed at them in a sideways manner.

"Everything's been sorted out."

The joys of our heroes appeared, and everyone was elated.

"I think she's a lot more capable than I thought..." Shion guffawed as she observed how everyone rushed towards Tim and Tomomi.

To be continued...