Sen, Fin, and Dullahan continue their journey.
"Say, Sen. You always hold back correct?" Fin asked.
Sen nodded. "Yeah, I do a lot. Having a weapon like this. This heavenly sword is dangerous if I go all out."
Fin's curiousity led him into asking.
"If you go all out. Would you beat your brother?"
Dullahan was listening.
"Hmm..." Sen thought about it. "With everything I have? It's possible but it's 50/50."
"Me and Shin trained so much that we perfected to counter each one of us. But sometimes in sparring one of us eventually outsmart the other."
"But in a fight. He and I are different. I show mercy, he doesn't."
Fin chuckled. "Yeah, figure. In the war, Shin is always this guy you should fear and you're this honorable knight or something."
Sen shrugged. "We're brothers, yet our difference is big."
"Fin, you know we're not honorable. We kill coldly, It's just very overshadowed by us saving people who needs help. We kill bad people and we do it without blinking." Sen continued walking.
Fin agreed. "You know what's ridiculous? I've met Many people who act tough, and edgy or mysterious since the world fell apart. After the war and before the war.
"I'm not saying they aren't traumatized or something. But sometimes it just feel forced you know?"
Sen raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"What I'm saying is I met a lot of people or... Say delusional people who act tough for no reason. Show dominance in a unnecessary time and place."
Sen chuckled. "Yeah, hate those type of people."
A little pause.
"Say, Fin. What actually happened after the war? While in Shin's funeral obviously before we know he can be resurrected. You told a lot but not yourself."
"What actually happened to you after we separated paths?"
Fin sigh. "Never want to talk about it anyway. What got me curious is how fast you made Shin's death public. Many monsters would have used It–"
"You're avoiding my question." Sen cut him off.
"...After the war. After a year I once again met her. Azareth..."
After hearing that, Sen's eyes widen but he calmed himself down.
"That demon's alive? So did you kill her?" Sen raised his eyebrow.
"We... Kissed." Fin hesitated.
"WHAT?!" Sen can't believe it. "You... Fuck. You know if Shin's here he would have be mad."
"Why?! She was the reason many people died! Shin and I despise her!"
Fin looked away. "...I know... I do as well. I tried to kill her, but suddenly a elderly woman and her adopted daughter stopped me."
"I was so close into putting a bullet in her head point blank. They stopped me..."
"After the war. They found her all messed up and mangled up. In the fight between him and Shin both of them are heavily injured. But Shin did a lot of damage to her."
"She escaped as we know. That's where she went. Into a dump. They found her and took care of her... Look, Sen.. I don't know if I did right."
"But... Fuck. She seemed like she had a change or something... I stayed, watching for the family. She seemed like she actually do care about them, owned them for saving her life."
"Then... She just kissed me me... And I couldn't do anything. I literally can't, she is holding me. Firm yeah, but she is also feeling if I would resist or something."
"I...I.. didn't..."
"I don't fucking know what you're on about..." Sen cut him off.
"Just listen...! Maybe she can be changed... Maybe this is the redemption we both three needed... Redemption. Forgiveness..."
Fin looked at Sen.
"I will kill a rapist, a pedophile, and a murderer. Same as my brother. Why would I forgive her?" Sen crossed his arms.
Dullahan interrupt them. "A soul can be forgiven. But would it be against a will or willing? That depends on the person."
After a while of walking in silence, Sen finally broke it.
"I will see if she deserves forgiveness if she willingly locks herself up in a prison for a year or more."
"If we lock her up for her entire life—because she literally killed a lot... that should be a death sentence and a life sentence... She will be useless. If she doesn't, I'll kill her on sight."
Fin, understanding the situation, nodded. "We will do that after we successfully make Shin human again."
Sen paused. "I can make two to three portals every three days."
"Let's just go to that place... let's revive Shin fully... and WE three will talk about what to do with that demon girlfriend of yours." Sen prepared himself to open a portal.
But Dullahan stopped him—not the creation of the portal, but something more important. "That place is demon-infested. Cabanatuan truly fell, but not its people. Remember that? Almost every survivor of the war made it out. But in exchange, demons ruled that entire city... If you open a portal, you'd better be strong or else we three will die."
"I suggest you open a portal far enough so no demons can report instantly. Rest a few days. And send them straight back to hell," Dullahan explained.
"Seems like a plan," Fin agreed.
Sen nodded. With that, he powered up his heavenly sword.
Fire began rounding up around them.
"What's with you and your brother Shin both having fire powers?" Dullahan asked.
With a swift swing of his sword, the portal opened. "...I don't know. But I think I remember Vermis saying Ascendance works based on how the personality of the person affects their very deep emotions? And I think what they desire? I don't remember."
Dullahan raised his eyebrow—despite not having a head.
"You? Forgot what your master said?"
"Damnit, I opened the portal, alright? I'm beginning to weaken... Just enter!"
The two of them jumped, and so did Sen. They returned... to Cabanatuan... those flat plains... those ruined houses. Plains that had been used for war.
"Damnit... Opening a portal feels like tearing my soul apart... I'm just exaggerating." Sen stood up after enduring his weakened state.
But before their PTSD kicked in, they settled in an abandoned home.
"Listen. I was 18 years old when I fought in the war. Azareth almost killed me multiple times! How can you... how can you spare the person who tried to kill us... me and Shin, multiple times?"
"She... even kissed you? I mean, are you okay? Is she controlling you somehow?"
Sen pulled his sword and pointed it at Fin. "I mean, I'll take out the poison by cutting you up..."
"Whoa, WHOA! Calm down..." Fin stepped back. "You're losing it... Geez... She did kiss me. But there's a sudden change in her presence, you know? In the war, she seemed like this succubus demon-type monster, right?"
"Now she... she's just... cute."
Sen sliced the concrete wall open. "I can't believe this..." His pent-up anger was taken out on the wall.
"Your birthday, your full name, your abilities. Go. Tell me." Sen pointed his sword at Fin.
Fin sighed. "November 18, Fin Trian, I can make high-caliber bullets—but not ordinary ones, I mean the monster-killing bullets."
"There. You happy?" Fin looked him directly in the eyes.
Sen punched another wall, leaving a dent. "No, I'm still mad... Many people died because of her. We can't just..."
"I know, I know... You made a work of art into that wall, huh... Thought you'd break it like your brother just smashes walls with his bare fists." Fin sat down.
"Yeah, well I'm not Shin." And they sat in silence again.
"Boy, what a great team," Dullahan whispered to himself.
Suddenly, Sen broke the silence. "She a good kisser?"
"What...?" Fin scratched his head. "Are you trying to lighten the mood or just being a jackass?"
"Both." Sen looked at him, dead serious.
"Ahh... alright..." Fin sighed. "What do you want me to do, then?"
"If you were in that situation, what would you do? Even if people were protecting her?" Fin asked.
Sen thought about it. "Maybe knock them up? I've always thought about that, you know? Knocking them out of the way? Shin did that one time—but he's certain the monster he will kill—or killed, sorry, past tense—is way too far gone for redemption."
"And... you didn't fuck her, right?"
Fin stood up. "What? God, no! After a kiss, we'd go straight to fucking? What kind of question is that?!"
"I don't know, just asking. Why are you mad?" Sen was clearly just rage-baiting him at this point.
"Because you're asking stupid questions!" Fin snapped.
"Me? Really? I didn't kiss any demon."
"I don't get hard for demons."
"Probably Shin is a bit racist against demons."
"YOU— Wait, Shin's actually racist?" Fin asked.
"No, but the angrier he gets at demons, the more he sounds racist. One time I heard him swear he'd skin their 'blood skin' because it's ugly and rough. Another time, he yelled, 'Your entire race—I'll kill every last one of you.'" Sen shrugged.
"Who knows? Who cares."
"We kill. We're not heroes, we're just killers on the good side." Sen looked at Fin.
Fin started dismantling his guns and cleaning them.
"So, another 'why are we still alive' conversation? I'm down."
"Yeah. We're not heroes. But we're still better than everything else walking around these days."
"The world's rising back up. Heck, I can technically search stuff on the internet now 'cause the network's back—but it's not the same. People are still scarred for life."
"Millions died. This isn't a zombie apocalypse—it's worse. But somehow, humanity still crawled its way back. Hey, look at this internet video—it's hilarious."
"Point is… We kill. We save. We protect. We're killers, yeah—but we're better than the ones on the other side."
"We gave hope to children. Gave hope to humanity, in some way…"
Sen laughed.
"Since when the fuck did you become Shakespeare or something?"
"I read books. And correct yourself—Shakespeare's way better than me, dumbass." Fin grinned.
"And yes—to answer your question—she's not a good kisser... I'm probably her first kiss."
"Azareth?" Sen clarified.
"Yeah. I don't fuck either... I'm probably bad at kissing too. We might've just shared our firsts together." Fin said.
Sen scoffed.
"For a demon who dresses like that? I'm surprised. Thought she'd be some demon whore or something."
He grew serious.
"But seriously... Shin will tweak if he finds out you spared her. He was really attached to our soldiers during the war."
"I know… Do you think you can hold him down long enough for me to explain?" Fin asked.
"You're asking me to contain my brother?" Sen laughed.
"I'd have to injure him. I can't hold back on him."
"How much damage would that cause?" Fin asked.
"A lot." Sen laid down.
"I might lose. Or he might. Who knows? We're even in a fight—it's just a matter of who outsmarts who first."
"We know each other down to the last move… Outsmarting each other is the hardest part."
A pause.
"Anyway. We're back in Cabanatuan." Sen looked around, his eyes darkening with memory.
"A lot of people died here. The rest managed to evacuate while we held the front line... We gave everything. Got nothing in return." Sen sighed.
"Damn it... I was supposed to do more. My sword's a Heaven's weapon. I should've done more."
He frowned.
"Fuck... I blamed myself. You didn't. Shin didn't. But if I had just used my potential... maybe I could've changed something."
Suddenly, Dullahan cut in.
"You did what you could. Unfortunately, the demons outnumbered you all... One to a thousand."
"ENOUGH! Just enough. Let's not let our trauma eat us alive," Fin said.
A few moments of silence passed.
"After Shin gets revived, we'll deal with Azareth. And then... we brothers will take down that fascist country."
Sen sighed.
"God, I'm sick of people and demons," he muttered, closing his eyes.
"I just want to find a woman... a kind, gentle woman…"
Sen finally fell asleep.
Dullahan thought to himself.
"Every God's chosen always ends up the same—tired and mentally exhausted. Makes me wonder if it's a blessing or a curse."
He turned to Fin.
"Fin, do you hug death every day?"
Fin laughed.
"Brother, I expect to die every time I go into battle. Hugging death is just common sense to me."
"Good. Most people who die are the ones who want to live... Ironic, isn't it?"
Dullahan paused.
"Somehow, the ones who want to die always end up lasting the longest—unless they take their own life."
He turned around slowly.
"I don't control death. I'm like a relative of reapers... I just harbor souls to the other side." Dullahan said.
After a few conversations, they rested for the rest of the day.
The very next day, the fight began.
Sen started hacking his way through herds of massive demons.
Using all of his potential, he once lost easily to an eldritch of lust — and that failure got his brother killed.
Now, Sen won't hold back.
Some demons laughed in thrill, while others trembled in fear.
"Where's the crystal?!" Sen growled, gripping one of the demons by the head with his sword pressed to its neck.
In the distance, more demons charged toward him.
The demon laughed.
"You won't get a singl—"
Sen chopped his head off without hesitation.
He turned to face the charging herd. The area was wide and clear.
His heavenly sword ignited in flames.
He charged, slashing through, burning everything his blade touched. The heavenly sword scorched and sliced, unstoppable in his hands.
Another herd was wiped out.
Sen grabbed an injured demon. This time, he demanded answers.
"Don't kill me... It's... It's being guarded... by one of the powerful guardians of Hell…"
Sen stared into his eyes.
"You swear? Swear, and I won't kill you with my sword."
"I swear—!" the demon gasped, but suddenly began choking.
Sen tightened his grip, choking the demon with his bare hand — harder, until blood burst from the demon's eyes. His neck cracked violently as he died.
A demon managed to sneak behind Sen—
—but was instantly gunned down by Fin from an immaculate distance.
Dullahan slammed through more demons with his massive axe, purging anything in his way.
After a grueling fight. What came from the mist of blood is the battlefield.
Tons of bad memories resurface from their minds.
Sen kneeled down and prayed.
Fin kept quiet the whole time, So does Dullahan.
Sen prayed for his fallen comrade in the time of the war.
Tears fell on Sen's eyes for a few minutes. He then stood up and wiped it out.
"Here we are... Let's take what we need and revive him fully."
Out far from them a nest of thousands of thousands of demons, guarding the crystal of life.
And then... It began to rain heavily.
"God... It's gonna be muddy. Should we just go ahead and go in gun blazing?" Fin asked.
"Look at him. He is angry, unstable. We will be the distraction and you get that crystal." Dullahan said.
Fin looked at Sen. The murder tendency are screaming on Sen's eyes.
"Yeah... Yesterday he was all happy and even asking me, what should we do to Azareth." Fin said.
Sen is shaking with rage. Suddenly Fin patted his back.
"Sen... We spoke. Me and Dullahan. He and you will attack front, while I sneak and get the crystal." Fin looked at Shinwwith worried Eyes.
"Good." Sen said and he walked straight into the demon's lair.
A few minutes passed. Fin is in position.
Sen's sword glowing under the heavy rain.
Sen breached inside. Slashing his way through. Dullahan enters as well. His horse running through demons. With some of them getting their head crushed by the stopped of Dullahan's horse.
It's pure chaos. Some demons fleed for their lives only for Shin to cut their legs off. Watching them crawl away before putting his sword at the back of their heads.
He saw nothing but creatures that needed to be wiped out
Sen pulled a demon and stabbed her. Sen is looking deep into her rotten soul as he watch the life disappear from her eyes.
Some demon hesitated. Sen pulled out the sword from her body and flames began swallowing his hands. Fueling the Heavenly sword even more. It's so blind it's blinding the demons for a brief moment.
A move he can use when he's alone.
Suddenly another woman demon jumped at Sen. A Woman with a Saber.
"Fight me like a real swordman." She pointed her saber to Shin.
She looked elegance and beautiful.
"Come on fight me–"
Sen charged at her slashing her saber clean and decapitating her.
Sen as fast as a light cut limbs, tore stomachs open violently.
With the soul purpose of taking out his anger and hatred.
The rain color seemed to changed by the amount of blood splattering all around them.
Sen looked up, Rain washing the blood off his body, standing in the middle of the corpse of his enemies.
"The Heaven's prosecutor..." One of the demons murmured before dying.
On the other side of the nest.
Fin run through the empty places. Some demons runs through them but mostly they're empty.
"Need to move like Han solo." Fin rolled.
Fin ran and hid from the passing demons. He didn't want to waste the time they gave him.
Unnecessary fights should be thrown under the rug.
He searched and searched, but found nothing.
He opened a door and then...
A demon holding a baby — carrying it, singing lullabies to her.
The mother got spooked by Fin's appearance.
"Please, don't hurt us..." she pleaded.
"Tell me about the crystal. Please?" Fin said softly.
"I'm not after you, or her. But the crystal of life."
"And I did not hear it from you," Fin added.
The woman nodded. "The very bottom of this place... It's heavily guarded."
Fin looked at the baby. "How?"
"How do demons reproduce? I thought demons are humans who sinned so much they fall into hell without hope."
Fin kept his gaze on her.
The mother stuttered, afraid of the person in front of her. "We are not... pure demons. Pure demons are those who were humans who fell into hell through sinning. We are born from demons loving each other genuinely. It's like how humans reproduce..."
"Sex, I think, is the word? With genuine love."
Fin listened, intending to keep this all to himself.
"I will leave you two alone now. I'm sorry for scaring you."
"It's odd... She's like Azareth." Fin shook his head and moved on.
Fin thought heavily. Are all demons... evil? Are all monsters, creatures... evil?
Humans are not all pure or good... I've killed a lot of bad people.
Are these creatures... people?
Do they need to be saved? Or should we kill them...?
In deep thought, Fin didn't realize that he had gone straight into the core of the place.
What stood in front of him was the answer to Shin's full revival.
But many demons were guarding it with their lives.
With a quick draw, he put a bullet into each of their heads. "God, am I into demons?"
He took the crystal.
"This is easy... Too easy." He turned around and saw a bunch of specials.
Each had their own unique set of skills and abilities.
Fin then slammed his head into a wall. "God, why does everything have to be climactic?"
He began firing at them, using the area to his advantage.
---
Sen, on the other hand, was still mad — causing as much chaos as he wanted.
"IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?!" He stared into a demon's eyes as he watched him drown in his own blood.
"WHO'S NEXT?!" he roared, before suddenly getting hit by a massive hammer, sending him flying.
A woman demon yelled, "YOU KILLED MY SISTER! I WILL MAKE YOU REPAY IT WITH YOUR DEATH!"
She screamed in pain and anger. She was about to charge but suddenly—
"Stop, young woman!" one of the demons said.
Many demons stepped in front of her. "Do not waste your life. It's suicide. Escape now. We will hold him off."
Sen stood up from the mud mixed with blood. The rain was heavy. He looked at them.
"What's this? Demons caring for one another? Never seen it before."
With a blink of an eye, Sen was in front of them, faster than anyone could react. "I didn't know demons have souls."
Sen circled around them, his sword dragging along the dirt. "Tell me... does the death of millions of humans mean less than your sister's death?"
"It doesn't matter to you demons if humans die, right? And somehow, someway, you demons found me... and my brother monsters? Is it hypocrisy, or just plain narcissism?"
Sen pointed his sword at the woman.
"My sword traps souls. Including your your sister… In my mercy, I will bring everyone here back."
"But on one condition… Tell me—what makes monsters hunt us humans to the point where we have to become even more dangerous just to protect ourselves?"
"You demons… you eat people, you eat kids—"
Sen got cut off.
The woman yelled, "I'm sick of those rumors! We don't eat humans! It's just demons who want control and power!"
"Don't talk to us like monsters! Bring my sister back to me!"
Sen looked at her, his eyes unreadable.
"Our parents are dead. You call me and my brother Shin monsters? I will prove you wrong. Call off all the demons, give me the Crystal of Life willingly so I can bring my brother back."
"As of right now, Fin may have killed a few demons guarding the Crystal of Life. I can't do anything about that."
"Or, if you want, use the Crystal of Life to fully revive all of them. I don't care."
Sen looked at the elderly demons.
"Use the obvious choice here."
Without putting their pride or ego at stake, the demons backed down.
"Take it… take it and never show your face here," the demon woman said.
Sen just walked past them.
---
Fin was bleeding and having a rough time fighting the specials.
"Heh, never thought I'd get pushed to my limits like this," he scoffed.
But then, the specials stopped.
"Lucky bastard," they said before leaving him alone with the crystal.
Fin stood up—confused, annoyed.
"Does my handsomeness affect them?! Damn… even now I can't be too handsome."
His head was bleeding, but not too deep—just a big cut on his forehead.
He put his guns back in his holsters and walked with the Crystal of Life in his care.
Until he saw Sen in the hallway, towering over him.
"You look damn awful."
"You're not gonna die, are you?" Sen asked, walking toward him.
Fin scoffed. "Me? Die? A person like me dying easily? Nah, impossible."
He handed him the crystal. "We can fully bring that bastard back to life," Fin said.
"Anyway, what's the new plan?" Fin put pressure on the cut on his forehead.
"We will revive every demon we killed."
"Excuse me, what?" Fin said.
"They said I was a monster. Or they think I'm a monster. I'll show them why I'm the most merciful enemy they'll ever meet," Sen said calmly.
"By the way, I saw this demon lady with a baby. She told me everything—and she said that you know. So don't hide it."
Sen turned his back and walked toward the exit.
"Are we gonna talk about it? If demons are people too?" Sen said.
"I just killed someone's sister out there, you know? And obviously the older sister is pissed, sad, and desperate for revenge. Emotions that me and Shin never really looked into the eyes of the humans and demons we kill."
"Also, I slashed all of them. Unlike Shin, I can also read souls—but it's painful to them. Shin can read souls, but it makes them feel warmth and peace. Me? Suffering."
"…They're not the demons that overthrew this city back during the war… They're just settling in, taking the remnants of the demons who actually fought and killed our soldiers… the demons that were under Azareth back then."
"God, am I losing my morality?" Sen sighed.
"Many people died. Because of THEM!"
"AND… yet… here I am… talking about mercy." Sen looked back.
"How many… fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters… have I killed?"
"And now, they say… me and Shin are chosen ones?! WHY? WHY US?! GOD'S RECREATION?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"
"IS EVERYTHING PLANNED?! OUR PARENTS DIED SO THAT WE CAN BE CHOSEN ONES?! IS THAT HOW IT IS?!"
"What kind of God is he…? He is God… the creator of everything… Why did he just leave? There's no one powerful enough to stop him from doing something bad… Vermis said he just disappeared! He suspects something happened…"
"DO YOU FUCKING EXPECT ME AND MY BROTHER TO BELIEVE THAT?! Vermis is doubting himself as well."
"50/50… he just left…"
Sen's anger could be heard through the halls, through the outside. Shivers ran down their spines as they heard him.
"I've been holding back. I know everyone's suffering. My brother got bullied a lot since he was a kid. He protected me at all costs. People died, he didn't have time to save them. He mourned behind everyone's back, hiding the guilt… just to make me feel special."
"You… are suffering from trauma, hiding it with jokes, coping."
"Will the suffering stop? Or will it just keep cycling through the centuries?"
"I know everything, Fin."
He walked toward the exit.
Fin sighed and followed him.
"Sen, don't stress yourself... I'm not exactly the guy who can soft talk anyone."
"Just... everyone's feeling the same. You get me?"
"Almost everyone I knew growing up is dead," Fin said.
"And I know burden will pull us down in any way it can. But if your brother were here, he'd probably tell us to just suck it up, 'cause it suck ass."
Sen stopped and chuckled.
"He's probably killing politicians right now. Enjoying the feeling of killing bad people. He may even pride himself as God's recreation..."
"God, I'm sorry I lashed out."
The two walked together.
"If we somehow manage to stabilize the world... what will happen from now on? If we die from, like, old age?"
Fin scoffed. "Let the living do their duty."
"I know that, dumbass. I'm talking about if another genocidal threat happens."
Fin chuckled. "Then, let the next generation of God's recreation."
Sen sighed. "What if they can't? Maybe I should speak to Vermis about reviving me and my brother until the genocidal threat is over, and then put us back in our graves."
Fin looked at him with sarcastic awe. "That'll work."
"I'm being serious." Sen raised an eyebrow with a frown.
"Just rest. If that happens, they'll probably revive you the same way Shin is right now." Fin smiled.
The two headed outside. Thousands of demons surrounded them.
But none attacked.
Fin, being the smart guy he is, asked, "Bargained?"
Sen nodded.
The woman with the hammer yelled, "Revive all of our people!"
Sen rolled his eyes.
He walked past her, into the middle of the heavy rain.
His sword burned like hellfire.
He hesitated for a bit... then finally stabbed the ground.
Suddenly, a tornado of souls cleared the heavy rain. Many demons—and even Fin—were almost swept away by the sheer intensity.
But Sen stood still, in the middle of it all.
The souls of the demons he killed today flooded the entire area.
He commanded them:
"Stay if you want to live again. Don't, if you want to suffer purgatory."
All the souls stopped, silent, thinking.
Eventually, the tornado stilled.
Dullahan came to Sen. "As a reaper, it's my duty to do this..."
With his axe, he guided the souls into their bodies. Even those cut to pieces by Sen.
Sen handed him the crystal of life.
With a heavy swing, Dullahan smashed it, producing a massive surge of energy.
The crystal appeared unharmed—no cracks, no scratches.
Suddenly, all the bodies started repairing. Ligaments, organs, shattered bones were restored.
And then, the dead began rising. Their souls returned to their bodies as if nothing had happened.
Especially the demon's sister—she gasped back to life.
She began crying. "I'm a failure! I got one-slashed by him!" She sobbed with her big eyes.
"As a swordswoman I cannot accept that! Rematch, now!" she demanded.
Her sister hugged her. "Shut up... I'm just glad you're back."
The woman Sen decapitated was alive again. Her older sister—the one with the massive hammer—held her close.
Sen pulled his sword from the ground. "Let's go. Our business here is over."
He sighed heavily. They were about to leave when suddenly the swordswoman stopped them.
"HEY! WE'RE NOT DONE! REMATCH NOW! ...please?"
Her sister bonked her. "Stop. He just killed you, you should fear him... despise him."
"But..." she muttered.
"Lay... for the last time, stop being stubborn. You died, for Christ's sake!"
"But... Lieth..."
She scrambled and wrapped herself around Sen's legs.
Sen glared at her. "Get off of me."
"I revived you. Stop acting like some friendly rival." He tried to shake her off, calm but annoyed.
"NO! REMATCH!" Lay clung tighter.
Sen scolded her sharply. "What are you, a kid?! Get off of me, now!"
"I'm desperate, c'mon! And I'm 20 years old, don't call me a kid!" she shouted back, refusing to let go.
Sen sighed. He looked at Fin and Dullahan.
"Hey, I think Sen needs this. To get his anger and... unstability out," Fin whispered to Dullahan.
"Since Shin died, he isn't himself. He needs this."
Dullahan nodded. Reading the situation, he agreed. Better a mentally stable ally than a ticking time bomb.
They both nodded.
"Is it possible for everyone to be balanced?" Fin asked.
"Every creature procreating with humans? It's possible. But with good leadership. Just one bad leader, and everything collapses into chaos." Dullahan replied.
Sen grunted. "One round. If you lose, you lose. That's it."
But Lieth jumped in between them. "Are you crazy?! This man right here just killed you!"
Sen lit his sword. "I'm not a murderer. Well, I kill, yeah... but I'm still human. Now move, and let your younger sister have her rematch."
Lay gently pushed Lieth aside and charged Sen. "I will have my rematch!"
Sen parried with ease, one hand behind his back.
He clashed with her, calmly defending and using her aggressiveness against her.
Lieth watched with worry.
Sen dodged one of her swings, making her fall into the mud from the weight of her strike.
"Who taught you to play with swords?" Sen asked as she scrambled up, embarrassed and frustrated.
"Why can't... I touch him?!" she muttered, swinging again.
Sen easily parried, twisted her wrist, and disarmed her.
Instead of pointing his blade at her, his heavenly sword vanished at his command. He turned his back and walked away.
"Let's go," Sen said to Fin and Dullahan.
And in front of everyone, Sen cut the air, opening a portal large enough for the three of them.
He glanced back at the demons once... then disappeared into the portal.
It closed in a flash of light.
To be continued...