"The Exorcist, Final Part" (016)

- Hawai'i, Wednesday 3:18 pm -

Ayuka continued to burn into her cheeks, turned away, sitting uncomfortable, and soon a sharp metal was heard, and just then, the man who had been fighting her loomed menacingly behind her, ready to deliver the ultimate blow.

"I don't give a damn about it any longer. I'll be able to locate Kylin on my own. As for you, I believe now is the ideal time to assassinate you." The man moved slowly toward Ayuka's back, causing her eyes to shake, and despite her desire to avoid being slain, her sword remained just behind the man's position.

"What the hell are you talking about? Didn't we agree on something? So, why are you now changing your mind and threatening to murder me?" Ayuka couldn't understand why her opponent felt the need to force a different solution, despite her obvious anger and wrath.

"Our goal was to assassinate every Spiritual Duelist who had showed any hint of Elemental Mastery, as per our family's custom. I have no choice but to strike you down for good since you can manipulate one."

"Is that all there is to it? You're going to end this duel by humiliating me and then delivering the killing blow? That's a bit of a cowardly move."

"It wasn't on purpose to humiliate you, but it happened. We might as well call it a day." The sword was soon elevated high above Ayuka's head, and the two exchanged glances.

"Thank you for your introduction, but it's time to say goodbye!"

Tim's eyes looked to be shadowed as he raised his right arm, dangling it aside while generating electricity, and silver lightning continued to crackle from behind his back without Ayuka or the man, realizing.

"Begone!" When Ayuka tried to reach out for her blade, the man slashed at her.

The charged-up electricity's exploding flashes continued to produce electrical echoes, producing pulses that were soon felt by both Ayuka and the guy.

The thundering flash of current zapped at insane speed just before cutting through Ayuka's body, forcing our Hero to vanish into the unknown, but in less than a second, another spark erupted at the front of the guy, above Ayuka, and a black jacket waved.

The body forced itself to rotate quickly over Ayuka's head, then put out a bent leg.

The right leg soared through the air and slammed into the man's face with fierce electricity, pushing his face to bounce and then electrocuting him. The man's body sprang back and he braced himself for a big injury.

Due to the given force that came from the kick, the man's body smacked his back on the rough ground, rolling backward over his shoulders, and smashed the top of his head in the earth, blitzing his body back through the rubble into the City's opening.

People were scared when they saw the dust, which was bursting high in the air between the alleyway, and seconds later, the man's body slipped through the light sand and into the ocean, causing a big splash.

Elliot, who had been having a break at the drink stand, appeared perplexed, with a straw in his mouth and a question mark above his head, and scratched the back of his head after gulping the drink.

However, the sound of landing soles could be heard in front of Ayuka, and our Hero remained motionless, his eyes still shadowed menacingly.

Tim stomped his foot on the hilt of his sword, spun it around, and swung his right arm back, catching it, whirling it, and putting it near to his hip.

Ayuka had been covering her chest in stunned disbelief while slowly staring up at Tim's back. "W-What? Other than Fire, I thought you couldn't employ any other Elements." She spoke, but she was terrified.

"Save your gratitude for later, and straighten up your clothes." Saying that caused our Hero to run through an alleyway at breakneck speed, surprising even more people.

Tim emerged above the thrown guy, over in seconds, and twirled his blade over his right shoulder to locate his target as he flew through the air over the sandy beach.

And, after successfully locating his adversary, he readied himself after realizing that the man had already recovered and had been blown from beneath the water in wrath.

And, in order to protect himself, our Hero sliced his blade down, causing both swords to collide and forcibly release a pulse.

"I was hoping you'd remain out of our path during the duel." The man claimed it, but Tim's eyes were red with wrath. "Going so far as to try to assassinate her? Do you expect me to stand by and watch you murder a friend right in front of my eyes? If that's the case, then you're much more foolish than I thought!"

Tim placed extra pressure into his right arm, where he swung his sword, and easily knocked the man down into the sand, generating a short cyclone that gathered the sand from the force that was created.

"What in the 'Holy Arches' is Tim doing here?!'" Elliot was puzzled, his eyes flinching, as he saw Ayuka running from behind the same alleyway, dressed in her hoodie with multiple scratches all over her face.

"Darn. I expected him to ignore us. Despite this, I was concerned that he had forgotten his commitment after the Time disaster. Then then, he could possibly have forgotten, but only for reasons other than friendship." Our heroine spoke up, taken aback.

"Ayuka?! What the hell went wrong with you?! Don't tell me you've been fighting the whole time because you're all bruised." Elliot took a step closer to her and gulped.

"You know. From this distance, you could have sensed our Spiritual Symbolisms if you were focused. But, no, you chose to ignore it and act as if nothing was wrong! I can't believe I have to rely on Tim to always rescue or help me when there's another friend of mine simply a few meters away!"

Elliot was humiliated and depressed after hearing what she said. "Sorry?"

"Don't worry about it... We're up against a formidable Duelist." Ayuka asserted her bandage on her right arm in place.

"Who is that, exactly? Another fool attempting to assassinate a Goddess?"

"Keep your voice down, and no, he appears to be pursuing Kylin in the same yet differeny way that we are. He is her older brother." Elliot grew uneasy just as Ayuka finished explaining everything.

"I assumed her entire family had perished other than Kylin herself..."

"I had the same thought. However, it appears that no one had proof that he had been murdered."

But in the middle of the fight, a great roar erupted from beneath Tim's body, scattering sand through the air and causing a whirlwind to burst from the cry, and Tim's body appeared in front of the man, displaying wrath.

"Huh? What exactly is the issue? Is a wheel protruding from your skull?" Tim wondered as he sank into the sand.

Ayuka had already been skeptical of Tim because of his strange grin. "He has an odd quality about him."

"Huh? Are you referring to Tim? I don't think he's odd in any way." Elliot scratched the back of his head as he talked. "I can tell when he's acting regular and when he's acting out of character. And if you look at his face, it isn't the day when he's acting normal."

Elliot was taken aback as he tried to fix the problem. "I still don't see anything different," He let out a sigh.

"For once in your life, don't be a moron. It's not that difficult. Take a peek at it. His pupils are entirely closed!" Elliot finally realized Tim's irises were black, with a softly dark and transparent aura emanating from around his body, barely visible after he said this.

"I see it now! However, those don't appear to be the eyes of a 'Fiend.' Do you believe you might be able to inform me? There has to be an explanation to all of that because you are highly educated and the 'Holy Light' daughter."

"There is, of course, but it isn't one that I should be aware of. And, as you may recall, 'Fiend' generally has a yellow pupil and a black sclera, but I've never seen his iris that color before."

Tim's corpse then collapsed to the floor, unconscious, when a shadow emerged from his body, a girl with long brown hair and blue eyes, dressed in a grey jacket with a hood attached, a black T-Shirt with a white belt, and long black pants.

"What a funny thing, Tessai."

"How in the world did you figure out my name?"

"Please, don't make me laugh. Take a closer look at my eyes; I'm confident you'll see what I'm talking about sooner rather than later. Who knows, maybe this is the first time you'll be reminded of something from your history."

Tessai came into contact with her as he tried to understand. "Damn it, Chifumi, this was the last place I expected to find you. So, after killing your previous wielder, you're on to the next victim? That's exactly how you are, always wanting to eliminate your wielders!"

"Tessai, Tessai, Tessai... Oh, what am I going to do with you? My victims are those who aren't deserving of such a costly blade, but not this kid. He's unlike anyone you've ever met! I think I'll have a lot of fun using his body for a while, starting with your exorcism, Spirit."

"So, you've come to exorcise my soul? After I locked you within the blade, I should've known you wouldn't back down! You've come to exorcise me, despite the fact that I'm already a Spirit."

"And why do you seem to catch up so quickly? You are a Spirit, true, but there is something different that must be done before. We should get this exorcise started as soon as possible." Tessai was battered back by Chifumi, who strolled across the ground with a high blitz of electricity and emerged square in front of him, hitting their thunder-filled fist into his front face.

And just as he was launched through the air, Chifumi took the next step and suddenly vanished in a silver bolt, sending her flying to Tessai's front, where she grasped his leg and turned, hurling him far into the air, hearing him shout.

Chifumi then flung her right arm behind her, unleashing a burst of hot fire that she directed towards Tessai, even catching Tessai in the flames, before bending forward, hopping, and disappearing in the wind, just behind Tessai's back, who looked terrified.

"I hope you understand that the only option I have is to exorcise you. After all, every Spirit must eventually fade away." She threw her left arm over her chest and instantly conjured up six cards into a sign.

"Damn it! You can't be serious, can you? I'm not in a position to strike her!" Tessai turned around as he said this. "I hope you enjoy having the devil in your body, once it's gone!" But just as Chifumi was about to put her right arm through the midst of the cast magic, Ayuka swung around behind her and kicked Chifumi in the back, stopping the exorcism and throwing her into the ocean.

"W-What? Weren't we enemies?" Tessai inquired, perplexed as to why Ayuka had just rescued him. "We are..." Ayuka said, "But don't think I'll abandon you to be annihilated by some other Spirit!" Tessai and Ayuka both fell to the sand, confronting Chifumi, who was thrown back.

Chifumi rose to her feet and straightened her long hair. "You know, trading bodies with your friend isn't the most comfortable notion, but what the hell was the point of stopping me?! That guy has an evil spirit in his body, and if we exorcise it, he'll return to good!" Chifumi claimed, her brow furrowed.

"Wait. What exactly are you referring to?" Ayuka's shoulder was immediately grasped, and a blade was pressed against her chin.

"W-Who are you?"

"That was a huge blunder on your part. But I'm grateful because if it hadn't been for you, I'd have been imprisoned by that 'Spiritual Exorcist.'" Tessai smiled as he pressed the blade on Ayuka's neck.

"And now, if you try to exorcise me or assault me. This chick is as dead as she could become." When Ayuka rolled her gaze to the side in alarm, Tessai spoke up.

"Now it's your turn, Chifumi. Replace yourself in that boy's shattered body and let me go. Otherwise, the boy and this girl will perish. Let's check if you have any good intentions or if you're just trying to banish Spirits."

Chifumi cast a glance to the side, where Tim's comatose corpse lay, before returning her gaze to Tessai and Ayuka.

And her first physical appearance forced her to choose between exorcising the Spirit and failing to save Ayuka and Tim, or rescuing them both while leaving Tessai alone.

To be continued...