Summer on the streets of the 23rd Ward is the best time of year: the temperature isn't too hot, the wind isn't too strong, and the surroundings aren't too lonely.
But what Akane Sawatari feels right now is nothing like that.
Staring at the woman standing before her who looks exactly like her, she trembles all over.
Endless malice and chill wrap around her; she feels she has never hated this place more than she does at this moment.
"Who are you?!"
She shouts, trying to drive out her fear by force of voice.
"I'm you," the other her says softly, the first smile touching a face that had been expressionless: "I'm Akane Sawatari."
"No! You're not Akane Sawatari! I am!" Akane whips her head frantically, hysteria breaking out: "You impostor! Copy!"
"Fine. If that's what you think." The one opposite lets out a weary sigh, as if unwilling to argue. She merely nods: "Then I'll count as a copy. Maybe that'll make you feel a little better."
"Ptui."
Spitting, Akane stares at the pitying look on the other one's face, and for some reason it infuriates her. Anger, fear, savagery—waves of negative emotion flood her brain until she almost retches.
"Are you all right?" the other her asks with concern, taking a step forward. "Do you want to go to the hospital?"
"Bastard! Don't make that disgusting face with my face!" Akane curses, shouting a warning: "You'd better get lost! Don't block my way!"
"Stop. Don't charge forward anymore."
The other wears a look of pity, as if she can hardly bear it. "I'm begging you, stop and think—right now you're being controlled."
"Control, my ass!" Akane kicks back, body snapping forward in a burst of power as she swings a punch at the duplicate. "If you won't scram—die!"
Bang—!
Their fists trade paths as they pass each other.
"It's useless. Stop," the copy shakes her head. "I am you, you are me—neither of us can beat the other."
"Absurd!"
Akane extends her hand, and a fingernail vanishes from her finger.
"—Snake, Tail Whip!"
"—Snake, Tail Whip!"
Two voices ring out, one ahead, one behind.
In the air, the massive serpent's body appears again—but it doesn't slam down.
It feints left and right, tail wavering.
"What are you hesitating for?! She's the fake! She was made by that monster!"
Akane shouts up at the Snake Devil.
This time the giant serpent's silhouette vanishes outright.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
"Every last one of you deserves to die!"
Akane grits her teeth. "Fine! If you can't tell, I'll do it myself!—Snake, Scale Armor!"
Brown scales instantly sheath her body.
The copy watching her sighs and shakes her head, then also extends a hand and murmurs:
"Snake, Scale Armor."
Bang—!
The two figures blur together, grappling back and forth.
On the other side of the street, Su Tang floats in midair, staring in shock.
From a spectator's vantage he saw it clearly—after the Holy Lord's punch landed on Akane, one silhouette blasted backward while the other remained in place.
A single punch split her into good and evil!
The Tiger Talisman can be used like that?!
"Kid, that woman's acting abnormal. Her soul seems off. There's an extra piece in there."
The Holy Lord, standing beside him, watches Akane and speaks in a low voice.
"An extra piece?" Su Tang frowns; just as he's about to speak, a metallic ring cuts in.
He turns toward the sound—but someone else turns faster!
Katana Man's blade is only an inch from Aki Hayakawa's crown. Yet that last inch yawns into a chasm he cannot cross.
"What is this?!"
Katana Man stares at his own hands in astonishment. The blade that can cut steel is jammed against an invisible wall of air, stuck at that final inch—and, it seems, inching upward.
No, not the blade moving up—he is!
His whole body is floating into the sky!
"Bastard! What is this—some Ghost Devil?! A gh—uh…"
Thrashing in panic, he flails the katana wildly, as if slashing at an unseen "Ghost Devil."
A streak of blood flashes in the air.
"Three."
Aki lands and says it quietly.
Sensing something, the Holy Lord looks toward Katana Man.
Katana Man's arms spread wide at an unnatural angle, as if crucified in place.
His head droops. Motionless.
"He… died? What was that?!"
Su Tang suddenly feels like a blank sheet of paper, his brain gone hazy.
"Never seen it. Seems like a very interesting junior."
The Holy Lord shakes his head, saying just that.
Then he lets out a soft "oh."
Aki, who'd been wiping his blade, has just reached Himeno's side when cloth rustles behind him.
He turns—and his pupils blow wide.
The man who'd fallen and been killed by the Curse Devil is now standing up again as if nothing had happened!
"Even that doesn't kill you!"
Already close to spent, Aki forces himself to hold steady, crouches into a fighting stance.
No matter what, he now bears his senior Himeno's will—he absolutely cannot fall here!
Gripping his sword, Aki fixes on Katana Man's movements—then the world goes black.
Literally black.
Shadows slither across the ground, and countless figures file out of them!
Ninjas!
Realizing, Aki snaps his head around—and instantly spots Su Tang (the Holy Lord) in a half-dragon form.
Of course… how could this guy die here?
Relief tugs a faint smile at Aki's lips.
He tightens his grip, draws a breath, ready to fight again.
But when he lifts his head, it seems he isn't needed.
Clang, clang—the shadow ninjas encircle Katana Man in layer after layer, shifting formations as they move, darts and shuriken pelting him in dense volleys.
One drops, and another immediately steps into place; on the outermost ring yet another ninja rises.
Flawless coordination!
Aki stares, dazed. For some reason, the ninjas he's seeing today feel different from before.
More agile, stronger, smarter!
Like the difference between machines and people!
"Kid, this one's interesting."
Fangs bared, the Holy Lord's bloody eyes gleam dangerously. "If you ever get sealing magic… you might find yourself a substitute for the Dog Talisman."
Substitute?
For what?
Su Tang is puzzled, about to ask—when the Holy Lord grunts.
"What's wrong?" Su Tang blurts, alarmed.
"Heh. Your body's trying to kick me out."
The Holy Lord laughs. "Good. Longer than I expected—two minutes. Your soul and flesh are repaired."
"Now I'll wrap this up, and the future is yours."
He turns his head toward Akane's battlefield.
Good-and-evil Akane are still trading blows. The Snake Devil is summoned first by one, then the other, clearly confused; it finally clamps its tail in its mouth and curls into a loop, helping neither side.
A gust of wind—and the Holy Lord vanishes.
"Hahahaha! You monster! Did you think I wouldn't notice you in the middle of a fight?!"
Akane laughs, savagery flashing in her eyes. She opens her mouth to command: "—Snake, Swa…"
The Snake Devil in the air hears the order and starts to act—then finds there's no follow-up.
Perplexed, it looks down.
The two Akanes have been engulfed by black and white light, a powerful pull drawing them back into one. The interruption breaks her summoning.
Bang—!
An azure dragon claw smashes her without hindrance, slamming her into a wall; she slides down like a puddle of mud.
The Holy Lord draws back his fist and gives Su Tang one last look.
The half-dragon form fades—first the arms, then the neck, then the head.
Until the bloody hue scatters on the wind, the black pupils slowly close.
Only a voice grows fainter in Su Tang's ear.
"Kid, the Tiger Talisman's split-and-merge has great uses, as do the others. Dig into them. From here on, you walk your own path."
"Well then… now…"
"Class dismissed."
Thud.
Su Tang's body collapses to the ground.
He stares up at the sky where the voice vanished, a pang of loss in his chest.
"Holy Lord…"
He murmurs, as if wanting to say more.
But a sudden bolt of agony lances through his brain!
"AAAHHHHH!!!"
As a soul, he screams; his eyes flood red in an instant!
Scarlet characters appear before him!
Strange shapes, like pictographs of some kind!
Somehow, even though he's never seen them, he recognizes them at first sight.
Incantations!!
Dark chi magic!
Su Tang's eyes go wide—but the characters are evaporating at incredible speed, as if being erased!
He grasps it at once: these are spells the Holy Lord's remnant soul recovered bit by bit over this time!
But now the remnant returns to the true body, the seal reasserts itself, and that memory is being forcibly wiped!
No way!
Gritting his teeth, Su Tang drags those characters toward himself.
He's finally touching magic—how could some damn seal erase it?!
The pain intensifies, like someone digging a shovel into your brain—over and over!
"AAAAAAH! It hurts!!"
"Get—over here!!"
His blood-red eyes blaze!
The scarlet characters scatter fast, but the red glow tethers them, and a small portion actually streams into Su Tang's mind!
The pain stops at once.
He can feel the "shovel-wielding someone" hesitate.
Now that those memories are inside Su Tang's head, do they count as his memories—or the Holy Lord's?
Erase them… or not?
Su Tang takes a slow breath. With no time to check which spells he seized, he dives for his body on the ground.
With the remnant gone, his flesh has gone inert again. If he's any later, all that effort will be wasted.
His soul drops into his flesh.
A moment passes.
A second, maybe two.
Su Tang's eyes snap open.
Like a dying man jolting upright, he instantly lifts his torso, looking over himself.
That feeling—soul and flesh fitting again, perfectly fused—is incredible!
Warmth, fullness, brimming over!
Clang—!
A sound pulls his attention.
Aki is kneeling on one knee, using his katana to prop himself up, coughing blood.
He hadn't expected Su Tang to suddenly pass out, and the shadow ninjas lost control, reverting to their previous muddled state. Katana Man seized the opening, broke through, and blindsided him.
"Good. Now it's your turn."
Katana Man rolls his neck, bares his teeth, and steps toward Su Tang.
Su Tang arches a brow.
The Holy Lord hadn't used fire chi just now because all of it was poured into repairing Su Tang's soul and body; split focus left him teaching with tech and tricks. That didn't mean Su Tang can't use fire chi now.
He narrows his eyes. Flame begins to bud in his palm—when a cascade of footsteps erupts from both sides of the street.
"Group A in position! Awaiting orders to fire!"
"Group B in position! Awaiting orders to fire!"
"Group D in position! Awaiting orders to fire!"
"…"
Meanwhile.
In a tall, hidden castle somewhere unknown.
A purple-black cauldron bubbles and steams. Behind it, Daolon sits cross-legged.
Silence. Emptiness.
Until the moment the Holy Lord's remnant soul dissipates!
Sensing it, Daolon's eyes snap open, heterochromatic irises revealed:
One blue, one gray.
A baleful chill spreads across his face. His wrinkled hand sweeps over the cauldron.
The rising steam congeals into a mirror that shows—Tokyo's 23rd Ward!
Seeing it, Daolon's mouth splits in a terrifying grin; his parched voice thrums with suppressed excitement:
"The aura of the Holy Lord's talismans…"
He rises, picks up the snake staff at his side, and taps it.
Three plumes of black chi stream forth in succession.
"Gan. Wen. Cui!"
"Go to Tokyo. Bring me my talismans!"
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