The Angel of the Key—Michae—grants its wielder the power to lock and unlock, not only physical objects but even abstract things like hearts and memories.
Using this ability, Hoshimiya Mukuro locked away every memory of Itsuka Shidou from the minds of everyone in the world. Even Melusine had not been immune—she'd only retained her memory by manually restoring it from a protected backup.
After clashing briefly with Melusine and realizing she was hopelessly outmatched, Mukuro, unwilling to lose Shidou, made a drastic decision.
"[Michael—Unlock]!"
With a cry, she twisted the key-spear.
In that moment, Mukuro's astral dress erupted in dazzling light. Its once-elegant form twisted and contorted, growing jagged and fierce—reflecting the rage storming within her.
Even Michael changed, transforming from an ornate staff into a monstrous, bestial halberd.
If her previous appearance had evoked the image of a celestial maiden, she now looked like a rampaging beast consumed by madness.
Melusine narrowed her eyes.
"She's forcibly unlocked her physical limits… tapping into latent potential. Reminds me of Ikki's [Ittou Shura]."
This form couldn't last long—it was a burst-type state. Mukuro clearly intended to end things within that window.
But Melusine remained composed. Calm, steady, unshaken.
"AAAAAH—!"
Mukuro let out a piercing shriek and lunged forward, her halberd raining down like a thunderstorm.
Faster. Heavier. More aggressive than before.
CLANG—!
Michael clashed against Melusine's gauntlet, sparks flying.
What followed was a lightning-speed exchange: a downpour of savage halberd strikes against Melusine's unwavering defense.
The killing intent in the air grew thick enough to choke on.
Mukuro wasn't holding back. Every blow was laced with lethal intent. Every strike was everything she had.
In mere moments, she delivered hundreds of thrusts—movements so fast no ordinary person could follow. Even among Spirits, few could intervene at this speed.
Explosions erupted in the sky with each collision. Shockwaves from their battle shattered glass in distant high-rises. Thankfully, the streets below were empty—otherwise, the damage would've been catastrophic.
No matter how fast Mukuro struck, no matter how fiercely she attacked, she couldn't shake her opponent.
Melusine, smaller than her in frame, absorbed each hit like she was made of water—offering no resistance, no vulnerability, yet also no damage.
Biting her lip in frustration, Mukuro finally changed tactics.
"[Michael—Unlock]!"
This time, she thrust not at Melusine, but into the air beside her.
Immediately, a black "gate" opened behind Melusine—a spatial portal. From within it, a second halberd-point lunged straight toward the back of her head.
But before it could land—a hand reached out and caught the shaft of the weapon.
Teleportation strikes were powerful. Deceptive. But Mukuro's execution was flawed—too many wasted motions.
Melusine's leg snapped out like a whip—smashing Mukuro aside.
Then, without missing a beat, she kicked off the air itself and shot forward like a missile, hot on Mukuro's tail.
But just then, a new presence entered the battlefield.
A heavy, dominating spiritual pressure slammed into Melusine's awareness.
She raised her arm just in time as a massive, flame-wreathed slash came crashing down from above.
BOOM!
Flames exploded outward as the blow landed, radiating from Melusine like a firestorm trying to burn down the very sky.
"Well now. That was a beautiful parry, knight-lady."
She looked up—and saw Inverse Tohka, floating with blade in hand and a devilish grin on her face.
A sovereign of ruin.
Tohka, now in her Inverse form, had arrived—and she had eyes for only one opponent.
"Let's finish what we started, woman!"
As if in response, her Angel—Sandalphon, now Camael in this state—began spewing black-purple flames, lashing toward Melusine's arms.
Hmph.
A flash of lake-blue steel cut through the flames.
In a single breath, Melusine closed the distance, her blade flashing toward Inverse Tohka in a rapid strike.
The light of the blade illuminated Tohka's face—but she didn't flinch. She smiled.
"Yes. You're the only one who makes me feel this alive!"
Twisting her hips, she swung Camael in a brutal arc, crashing it into the descending slash.
KRASH!
Brilliant azure light exploded, momentarily outshining even the sun.
Tohka clutched Camael with her right hand, brushing blood off her shoulder with her left.
She glanced at her stained palm and grinned.
"You're delightful, woman."
Even as blood dripped from her wound, her excitement only grew. Her eyes locked onto Melusine like a predator eyeing its ultimate prey.
"…Lancelot."
"Mm?"
Tohka blinked. The voice was so calm she nearly thought she imagined it.
"My name," Melusine said plainly, "is Lancelot. Not 'woman.'"
"…Heh. Lancelot, huh? A name worthy of a warrior. I'll remember it."
Melusine hadn't expected this. Tohka—still holding onto their last fight—was obsessed. She hadn't thought she'd ever meet her again.
But now wasn't the time.
"I have something important to do. Will you step aside?"
Tohka's answer came in the form of a slash.
BOOM!
The clash rang like thunder. Even Melusine had to retreat three steps.
The edge of Camael pressed against her gauntlet.
Tohka leaned in, voice throbbing with violent excitement.
"What you're doing, what you want—I don't care. I'm here for one reason: to fight you again. And I won't let you leave until I've had my fill!"
The moment she spoke, she attacked—relentless, unending.
Concentrated spirit power flooded her muscles. Coated her blade. Exploded into every strike.
Her power was overwhelming. Camael's strikes could reduce mountains to rubble.
Steel and concrete alike shattered under the weight of her swings.
But her opponent… was Melusine.
"The moment you saw me as an enemy, your fate was already sealed."
Her short blade flicked out—and she charged like a meteor.
Tohka slashed in retaliation, but the impact hurled her back dozens of meters.
The shock traveled through her arms into her organs. She tasted blood—but swallowed it down.
Her eyes never wavered.
"Excellent. Give me more, Lancelot!"
Her legs kicked the sky, propelling her like a cannon shell. Camael cleaved down like an avalanche of flame.
Burning. Screaming. A storm of warhorses galloping forward.
"[Shatter. Sever. Sink]!"
Melusine's dragon heart roared. Power surged through her limbs like a tidal wave.
A sleeping dragon stirred. The pressure made even the heavens tremble.
"[Manifest—Arondight]!"
Her gauntlet shattered—replaced by a blinding blade of light. It ripped apart the descending flames like they were paper.
The light pierced the air like a divine lance—heading straight for Inverse Tohka.
"Yes! Come!"
Tohka met it with a swing of Camael, cutting the beam in two. But the impact wore down her attack.
The battlefield became a maelstrom of power. Blood boiled. Death hovered at every misstep. And yet—Tohka thrived in it.
But then—
A massive gate opened in the sky above them.
"[Michael—Unlock]!"
Mukuro, bloodied and breathing hard, returned. She opened a door of space above Melusine and Tohka—wider than a hundred meters.
And from it fell a massive building, constructed of stone, wood, and iron—descending like a guillotine.
"…You."
Tohka's fingers tightened around Camael, knuckles popping.
Her smile vanished. Rage burned in her aura.
"Who gave you permission… to interfere in my fight with Lancelot?!"
Her spiritual energy screamed, grinding the air into a banshee's wail.
But she didn't strike.
"…Huh?"
Tohka frowned and looked up.
A storm of black arrows came hurtling from the distance, crashing into the falling structure. Each arrow struck with terrifying precision, obliterating chunks of the building midair.
Everyone turned to look.
A girl clad in ominous, funeral-black armor hovered in the sky. A black crown floated behind her head. Countless black "feathers" circled her like satellites.
She was a fallen angel of despair.
"…Origami?"
Melusine's expression finally changed. Her always-calm gaze hardened.
Not just Tohka… even Origami has inverted?
This was bad. Really bad.
If she had to fight them all at once…
What if I don't hold back enough? What if I kill one of them?
For the first time—Melusine felt nervous.
She had sworn to be her Master's most reliable Servant. The one he could trust above all.
What if he was disappointed in her? What if he didn't like her anymore?
What if she let him down?
Unforgivable. Unthinkable.
Before she could dwell further, Inverse Origami made her move.
The tips of her "feathers" gathered black energy—then released it in a deluge of light.
A rain of black arrows cascaded from the sky, targeting not just Melusine, but Tohka and Mukuro as well.
"Targeting everyone with spirit energy?"
Melusine reacted instantly. With a roar like a fighter jet, she launched into the sky, weaving through the barrage like a blazing comet.
The others weren't passive either.
"[To me—Camael]!"
"[Michael—Unlock]!"
Tohka slashed through the barrage, each strike dispersing scores of arrows.
Mukuro opened a spatial gate in front of her, absorbing the oncoming projectiles entirely.
Each showed their own unique strength.
Then Mukuro opened another gate—this one behind Inverse Origami—and redirected the arrows back at her.
Origami made no visible reaction.
But her "feathers" circled into a shield, intercepting the incoming barrage with ease.
At that moment, Mukuro caught sight of a sinister purple slash.
She whirled and stabbed Michael forward with both hands.
BOOM!
Two devastating forces collided—wildly different in nature but equal in might.
The sky rippled like a lake after a stone had been thrown in, layer after layer of spiritual shockwaves erupting outward.
Mukuro's hands trembled. Her eyes burned with hatred.
"All of you… every single one of you… trying to take Beloved away from me!"
"Stop monologuing," Tohka growled. "You ruined my mood. Now pay with your head!"
The surge of energy split them apart—and then they clashed again.
Lightning-fast thrusts. Collapsing slashes.
Even the sky felt as though it might tear open.
And so the war of the Spirits raged on.
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T/N: what in the hellyante
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