Chapter 23

In the darkroom, with a laptop's lights on, Takashi was working on his paperwork while Aiko Suzuki, his wife, laying down on the bed, sleeping after tiring making their first child. Suddenly, a phone call rungs.

*Ring ring

He wakes up, walked down the stairs, and answers the phone. "Hello?" he said.

"Is this Anita's husband?" it was Yui on the phone.

"Yes, Takashi to be precise. Who is this?"

"I'm Yui, Anita's former mother," They greet each other, giving compliments a bit. "Takashi, may I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"It's more like a mission. I hope you are ready," she said. He nodded and accept her favor. Her mission is to meet and give bad news to them about the recent event. Soon, Anita standing behind the wall, listening to the discussion, with tears on her face.

After their discussion was done, they bid farewell and ended the call, and there, Anita hugs Takashi to not leave her. "Please... don't leave me here~" she moaned.

"I'm sorry, I wished this couldn't have happened. But I promise, I'll be back when I saw you with our child soon," he swears. He carried her to their beds and calm her till they fall asleep. It was a dramatic night for them.

-------------------------------∆--------------------------------

"Please, just let me go. I need to save my... friend," Lucy begs.

"You are a Diablo, right? You should've been killed by Takeru," said Takashi. She was stunned and silent after he named it.

"Rushi...(Lucy)" a voice heard around the area. Takashi takes his advantage to take her down. He tied her leg with his Cursed chains and pulled her down. She managed to cut the chains but then he wield his sword at his back and swung through her legs. She is completely unmoved.

"Takeru!!!!" she screamed.

"What did you say?" he doubted something. She shouted Takeru's name over and over, and she cried hot boiling tears. Her screams were heard by Megumin and Aiko who immediately head out to find them.

Aiko, especially, is good at searching for someone. She remembered where Takeru was. Then she found Takashi ready to kill the Diablo. "Stop!!" Aiko said. Takashi turns his back and saw her like he saw his wife standing behind him back, telling him to not kill Lucy.

"Anita..." he said with his slow tone. Then, Megumin pinned him and told her assistant to save her. Lucy was completely injured, critically.

"Takeru... he's in danger," said Lucy.

"Where is he?" Aiko said. Lucy pointed in the direction the voice was. Aiko then zooms into the voice of her brother. Soon, she found a band of Conspiracies killing him slowly. The leader orders her men to get Aiko.

Aiko managed to avoid them by forcing herself to kill them, yet she has to face the leader once again. "Your family shall die," the leader said.

"Then come closer as you want," The leader strikes Aiko with her swing ability, and flies Aiko away. Then, she released her dark mantras creatures, a fox-like demon, and she summoned and wield her scythe.

The aura changes, dark skies with menacing facials, and both of them stare at each other. Aiko quickly attack the leader, and so did the leader too. It's impossible to see with normal visuals. Their moves are too flashy and all it can be seen are sparks of their weapons parried.

The leader developed a few walls made out of the dirt with her ability while Aiko tries to break them through her. After that, she can't see the leader because she's at her back but managed to instinct it. Then she went to the Leader back so fast in a blink of an eye and pinned her down, but unfortunately, it was just a dirt dummy. The Leader got an advantage to kill her at Aiko's back and it did. Two spirited blades attached to the chain went deep in Aiko's back and out. She holds it and moved her hand with her fist facing the Leader's face.

"Heh, try..." Aiko immediately punches the Leader's face as fast as lightning, with uncountable hits and she screams very hard. The blades disappeared and luckily, Osamu hugs her to calm down a bit. The Leader got affected by her Aura, which makes her at the edge of her life.

"Rushi... protect the necklace you wore," Takeru whispered. Aiko noticed her dying brother and rushes toward him. Takeru opened her eyes back and saw Lucy running towards him. "You are our only hope to unravel it," and he closed his eyes again, taking one more breath and dying into sparkling dust. As soon Aiko reached him, she managed to kiss her brother's forehead as used to be for the last time before he disappears.

She went berserk and return to the Leader once again to take the last blow. Everyone tries to hold her but she keeps going. Until a voice enters her ears telling her to not kill The Leader. Then the voice sang her childhood lullaby. Aiko breaks down on her knees in a tantrum. "Go to sleep, Go to sleep..." those are Aiko and Takeru's precious times when Megumin brought them to sleep in peace.

Lucy was assisted by Kazumi and they also felt the same. Kazumi was his dearest friend. Like most of them lost the most important person that need to end the one Diablo named Abaddon, which Lucy changed sides and take revenge on him as well.

-------------------------------∆--------------------------------

"Akira... can I ask you a favor?" Anna said.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Don't tell anyone that I am reincarnated Takeru. Easy to say..."

"I know who you are. I can help you keep the secret," Akira said.

"I was lucky that you've saved me back there," she said.

"It was part of my work too, as a Fallen Angel,"

"No, not just a Fallen Angel, but an Assassin, same goes for your brother,"

"I tried to be a pacifist for a while," he said. She asked him why. He explained that he could kill everyone not just his enemy, but his closest whoever blocked his way.

As the others arrived, Akira and Anna acted normally and pretended that it doesn't happen. "Nii-san, we should go to Iran right away," Osamu said.

"Wait, like right now?!" Akira was shocked by the decision.

"Lucy told us to go there, she said there is something that might defeat Abaddon like dust,"

"But how about Takeru?" he said.

"He's dead," to make things short. Akira pretends to be sad while holding Anna's hand or Takeru's hand.

After Osamu went outside, Anna and her friend whispered to Akira. "You need to keep an eye on Akemi. She might when crazy someday," Both of them said. He doesn't know but accepts the task to keep a lookout for his brother's wife, for their sake, and for Akemi too.