Maeko gets knocked down by Satsujin, and her body crashes through a wall as she fades unconscious.
Satsujin looks down at her, unimpressed. "Pathetic, no wonder Kodak beat you despite the more than obvious strength gap between you both."
Hours pass by as Maeko finally wakes, seeing Yami by her side. But also Satsujin standing in the doorway, wearing a disappointed look.
He then walked over, gripping Yami's shoulder. "Yami, go train your speed activation with Obsidian Veil. It's poor and utterly useless to even use properly."
Yami wanted to say something back, but from the look in Satsujin's eyes, he could see it wasn't worth fighting over.
His head hung low as he muttered, "Yes sir."
The door to Maeko's room closed shut, leaving Satsujin alone with Maeko.
Satsujin then glanced around her room, seeing multiple pictures of Maeko and Yami kissing or posing in the pink frames.
Maeko then spoke up as she began to feel uncomfortable around Satsujin poking around her room. "So, what's the lecture this time boss?"
Satsujin exhaled a sigh of annoyance a Maeko opened her mouth. "You know I still don't know how you feel the need to protect Yami so much. If you had let him try to dodge instead of taking an attack that might injure you more than him. Then just maybe, you'd be able to achieve higher transcendence than most. After all, you were known as a ruthless killer and cannibal. You had everything, and then Yami showed up, trying to convince you love had more to offer than pure power."
Maeko's jaw tensed, causing him to snap right back at Satsujin. "AS IF YOU'D KNOW! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A COLD-BLOODED KILLER WHO'S ONLY PURPOSE IS OBSSESSING ABOUT KILLING A BOY WHO BARELY WENT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL!"
Satsujin then spoke up, radiating a tone of commanding authority. It silenced the room, bringing an intense feeling of tension and fear from Maeko.
"I'm a cold-blooded killer? You and Yami feast on weak people, making them live through an agonizing death. I had a wife and 3 children. My oldest betrayed me. My young son and daughter were then slaughtered at the hands of you both. Which may I remind you, still makes me wanna tear you both apart. I wanna leave you to watch as I tear Yami to pieces and then leave you with the feeling of hopelessness. Just like I did when my wife died from an unknown sickness and I was hopeless to help!!!"
Satsujin's chest lifted up and down. His breathing was angry, conflicted, and downright filled with bloodlust that clouded the room with tension.
He then rubbed his temple, trying to calm himself. "Look, as much as I hate you both. You're two people who can take on Kodak easily. You just need to stop protecting Yami and he needs to assist you! And only then will your sad, pathetic, and useless lives actually have a purpose to begin with!"
The memory then ends as Maeko closes her hand. The blood spears rain down on Kodak as he prepares to do whatever it takes to counter the blood spears raining down on him.
'Find an opening in the spears, and take that opportunity to dodge and counter!'
Kodak's eyes focus on the first spear headed his way. It was strange, but he could tell something was off.
'The power coming off these spears is deadly, and the speed is too slow. Something's up with these blood spears.' Kodak thought to himself, trying to think what to do.
Kodak then side steps the spear, seeing it stab into the ground with not much impact despite the height it was dropped from.
It confused Kodak deeply. 'It's not doing anything?' He pondered further about the spear.
Multiple others then quickly follow, but Kodak simply moved out of the way. Using Sealed Dwelling to increase his movement with wind around his legs.
'I can't keep this up forever. Just what is Maeko's game plan!?'
Kodak continues dodging as he glances at Maeko up in the sky, seeing her smirk down upon him.
'She's smiling?'
[Behind you!]
Kodak sees the message from Fūshuku within the system, prompting him to turn his head around.
His eyes saw it clearly, a blood spear that was heading straight for his face. The spear began inching closer and closer, until it was nothing but a couple of inches shy of his face.
'A hidden spear! So that's her plan, a shitty sneak attack!'
Kodak catches the spear and looks up at Maeko. "ANYONE TELL YOU THAT YOUR PLANS SUCK!" He yelled up at Maeko.
Maeko spoke a single word as a spark of revenant emanates from her lips. "Explode."
The spear that Kodak held then exploded, engulfing him in the blast completely.
An explosion of blood and revenant engulf the city as Maeko looks down from above, smiling.
"Even if he used that combination of kinetic energy and infused stone and metal with revenant," Maeko says to herself as she thinks back to Satsujin's training.
"He'll still take a lot of damage. And not even Satsujin was able to block that attack in our sparring matches. Hell, I almost injured him."
As the smoke clears, Maeko slowly floats down from the sky. She looked over the havoc done to the city and smiled.
"Yami! You alive?" She shouts amongst the rubble of destroyed buildings and debris.
A black portal then appears across the ground as a roughed-up hand emerges from the other side.
[Innate Skill: Blackened Foggy Depths!]
Yami then exits from the portal with visible cuts, bruises, and burn marks. "I'm good."
He says, replying to Maeko's question from earlier.
"I just wish one of your spears didn't explode in the All-Black Realm. I would've died if it weren't for my intangible state."
Maeko shrugged, not caring about Yami. "Whatever, you're strong enough to survive a brief encounter with Kodak. So you'll be fine."
Suddenly a voice then called beneath the rubble. One Maeko presumably thought was dead.
Kodak climbs from the rubble with a red bubble of kinetic energy shielding him.
[Kinetic Shield is on 10% Power!]
Kodak then speaks. "He's not strong. The strong are those who can protect the ones they love. The strong are people who refuse to give up, only leaving a path of their convictions that tears through whoever gets in their way!"
[2nd Kinetic Formation: Pulsing Blossom!]
Kodak grips Ryūjin tightly in his hand—Red sparks of kinetic energy crackle as his eyes begin to burn brighter and brighter.
A flower of kinetic energy then forms, taking the shape of a blooming red flower. The kinetic flower then points towards Maeko and Yami.
Yami claps his hands together, trying to form a portal to the realm he was just in. But it was too late.
Kodak points his sword toward Maeko and Yami, saying "Bloom."
The flower then glows a brighter red, letting out a stream of kinetic energy that tears through the rubble lying before them.
Maeko shoves Yami out of her way and extends her hand, unleashing a torrent of revenant.
[Innate Skill: Blood Conversion!]
[Innate Skill: Blood Wave!]
The revenant shifts and contorts, changing into blood.
The kinetic energy from Kodak radiates strongly as a ray of sunlight shines down upon them both.
A ray of red sparks flashes with the golden glow of the sunlight. Kodak then notices the sunlight was feeding the red flower created from his kinetic energy.
'This flower is a vessel for all the kinetic energy I hold. But it also feeds off of sunlight, just like a regular flower!'
Maeko didn't back down. In fact, she was able to hold her own despite the increased power of Kodak's new kinetic flower.
Kodak and Maeko struggled further and further, pushing the energies against one another. Sweat drips down Kodak's face as he begins to feel a bit of exhaustion.
'I'm losing despite the sunlight amplifying Pulsing Blossom!?'
Nexus Academy, a few hours ago...
Ashiro opens the metal entrance doors to the academy's cafeteria. It was weirdly quiet. It was vastly different from the chaotic mornings of others fighting over who got breakfast first.
He walked across the white tiles, entering and exiting with some breakfast. The plate had some eggs, rice, and bacon. Ashiro didn't get milk with his breakfast, and just drank from his the dark blue hydro flask he held in his left hand. He much rather would have water, mainly he was worried about gaining weight.
Ashiro sat down, biting into one of the 3 three chessy eggs he had gotten from the sweet lunches ladies.
He could feel that kind, warm feeling from their morning attitudes.
Ashiro then heard a small commotion, causing him to look over.
It was Fumiko and Akari walking with Kohaku.
Ashiro quickly stood from his seat, knocking over his hydro flask. The metal sound alerted Kohaku as she saw Ashiro running across the blue and white tiles of lunch room.
Tears flowed down his cheek as he firmly, yet gently hugged Kohaku. The light in his eyes had returned.
He then kissed Kohaku on the forehead as he whispered into her ear. "I missed you."
She squeezed Ashiro tightly as she hid her face in his chest, crying softly. "You have no idea how good it is to see you."
Fumiko and Akari then gave themselves a fist bump, smiling about the hug between Ashiro and Kohaku.
"Told ya he'd hug her instantly." Fumiko said with a smug grin.
Akari softly chuckled. "Isn't it a given at this point?"
Fumiko nodded her head. "Yeah, true. But do you think Kohaku went through some training while being unconscious for that long?"
Akari thought for a moment. After all, it was a possibility for her. She then shrugged her shoulders, not knowing the answer. "Who cares. What matters is that Ashiro and Kohaku are now together again."
Fumiko then looks over towards one of the cafeteria's tables. She looked at the loud and troublesome group of teens.
'So damn loud, what the hell do you get from making all that noise?!'
Fumiko begins walking towards the group, about to give them a piece of her mind.
One of the boys then feel an intense energy behind them, followed by a tap on his left shoulder.
"Hm?" The boy muttered to himself, before turning around. His eyes were met by Fumiko's calm expression, yet her revenant was making it hard to breath.
Her lavender purple aura surrounded her as purple flower petals dropped from the ground.
"Y'all better keep it down, or I'd be worried if you'd were to be missing an arm or leg."
One of boys shrugged, trying to use some loose apology as the excuse. But Fumiko just glared at him, piercing her gaze into him rather easily.
But he didn't back down, even going far as to challenge Fumiko despite the clear differenc in strength.
"Are you threatening me?" He asked in an aggressive tone.
But he was immediately seated by on his friends. "I am so sorry about my friend Haruka! It won't happen again, I swear on my life!"
Fumiko then smirked at the apologetic boy. "You should be more like your friend over here."
The aggressive boy tried to stand up, but his friends kept in his seat. "What the hell ar y'all doing!?"
The apologetic boy slapped his own forehead. "To keep you alive dumbass. That's Fumiko Haruka. One of the people within Ashiro's group. people say that she was on par with Sena a couple days ago. And they also theorized that she was using only 70% of her full strength. Rumor says that she achieved an Innate Evolution!"
Fumiko then turned away, walking back towards Ashiro and the others. But as she walked over she saw Ashiro's stunned expression as he watched some type of video with Kohaku and Akari.
Fumiko peaked around Ashiro's shoulder. "What are you guys watchin-" Her casual talking was then shattered as she saw video footage of two fights going down on the news channel. One was showing Akachi, and the other was Kodak.
Akari then looks towards Fumiko. She could tell her friend wanted to save Kodak. "Fumiko I-"
Fumiko then stopped her. "I know what you're gonna say. I'd just get in the way. But I'm not like that anymore. I've achieved... Transcendence."
Akari smiled at Fumiko's reasoning. "I was gonna say go get your man. But you beat me to it."
Fumiko turned her head towards Ashiro, looking for his answer. "You gonna join me?"
Ashiro nodded his head. "Me, Akari, and Kohaku will aid Akachi. I might not have known him, but it's clear he's important to Kodak."
Ashiro then feels someone touch his shoulder. His body jumps from the sudden contact, causing him to throw an elbow straight at the person's jaw.
It knocks them to the floor as Fumiko and the others cringe at the painful spot he had struck someone with.
Ashiro turns around, looking at Ken Nakamura. "What the hell!?" He exclaims upon seeing Ken.
"Well, your guard is up. Not really surprising though, given how I overheard you were gonna split up and help those people fighting in Nagano and the nearby city of Kyoto." Ken's tone was clam, rational, even mature.