"Hey, I just had a thought."
Kyo turned his head to glance at Nia as they slowly approached the base of Neo Tengu Tower. "Yeah? What is it?"
"Maybe… I should sit this one out?" Nia offered sheepishly. "After all, you're the one who told me that I'm basically the weakest Spirit out there… and since [Raziel] is only providing gibberish whenever I ask for more details about the Angel, I'm basically deadweight."
Kyo frowned, drumming his fingers on the handle of [Naught]. The only time [Raziel] has acted like that is when Nia asked about Mio… does that mean Rinne is as powerful as the First Spirit? Or was Rinne just lying about not being Mio? "...fair point. However, counterpoint: where exactly do you plan to hide?"
"Preferably somewhere I won't get sliced or blasted apart?" Nia shrugged before shivering slightly. "My readers would kill me if I died and left my manga on indefinite hiatus a second time."
"...right." Kyo sighed. "But that still doesn't answer my question. Where would you hide?"
"Uh..." Nia held out her palm, summoning [Raziel] to her side once again before quickly flipping through its pages. Before long, her face fell and she let out a dejected sigh. "You're right - everywhere in the city is technically under [Eden]'s control."
…I'm going to assume [Eden] is the Angel that's behind all this. Kyo scratched his head, a strange sense of foreboding filling his body. Another name I've never heard… "In that case, you might as well stay close to me. After all, if you get attacked near me, at least I'll be able to try and keep you safe."
"Please don't just 'try'!" Nia yelped, putting on a face of exaggerated shock.
Kyo shook his head and turned back around, continuing forwards while examining the towering structure before him. Now that he was closer, he could see that the base of the tower was formed from giant sky-blue vines clumping together into a bulging base. The vines reached upwards, spiralling into a narrowing body that held up what looked like a magical radish at the tip. Y'know, now that I really look at it… this thing is basically screaming "I'M SUS-"
PING~
"Ack-" Kyo bounced off of seemingly empty space, inciting a small chuckle from Nia as he rubbed his forehead. Narrowing his eyes, he reached forwards again. This time, he could clearly feel some sort of invisible field pressing back against him. "A barrier? Wasn't there already a barrier around this city?"
"Yep. This one's a separate barrier," Nia confirmed as she opened [Raziel] once again. "Hm… there's three cores placed in a triangular formation around the city. Destroying them should-"
"Sounds bothersome," Kyo interrupted, silently invoking Nihility to coat his sheathed blade. With one swift strike, he plunged the sword into the barrier, easily penetrating…
CRK~
What? His eyes widened as [Naught] seemingly became stuck within the barrier. Gritting his teeth, he poured even more Nihility into the blade, wincing slightly at the chill building in his fingertips as the blade became cloaked in more and more darkness.
CRK~ CRACK~
Without warning, cracks suddenly appeared in the air itself as the invisible barrier finally gave way to the Nihility-coated strike. Kyo immediately controlled his Reiryoku to suppress the dark energy around [Naught], shaking sword-hand gingerly. What the help just happened? How did that barrier manage to hold for so long?
"Well, I guess that works too…" Nia sauntered up beside him, stopping as she noticed his paling face. "Did something happen just now?"
"...nothing." I hope. Kyo looked at her with severity in his eyes. "...but it might be smart to consider finding a hiding place for you."
"Eh? But-"
"Too late."
A rush of black and red Reiryoku suddenly surged around them, surrounding the two of them as swiftly as a gust of wind. When the energy finally subsided, the environment around them had changed from a modern cityscape to an eerily silent distorted red and black void. Kyo could feel his movements slow slightly, as though the air itself were attempting to suppress them by thickening. No… it's not the air. I get it now. This place is entirely created from Reiryoku!
Nia's eyes widened. "What in the domain expansi-"
CLANG~
Kyo immediately dashed forwards, parrying a strike from the same cloaked figure that had attacked him last time and slashing them clean in two. As the cloaked figure faded away, Kyo settled himself in a sword stance in front of Nia, glaring upwards.
A hundred? No, maybe five times that amount. Damn it! Kyo couldn't even begin to estimate the number of cloaked figures that began appearing in the murky red void above them, each one of them gathering energy in front of them. As the cloaked figures all fired a blast of Reiryoku that converged into one overwhelming wave of power, the same voice that had decried them "too late" rang in his ears again.
"You foolish beings who don't know their place, prepare to be banished from this world."
——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————
Rinne, disguised as one of her own Guardians, coldly spectated the battle from above. Currently, the battlefront had become something of a stalemate - no matter how many Guardians she sent towards Kyo, they would immediately be struck down after entering ten meters of his body. Furthermore, the swordsman would only ever stray from Nia's side by a few meters before immediately returning.
Fortunately for Rinne, Nia didn't seem to be able to keep up with the horde of Guardians. As Kyo frantically slashed apart body after body, the woman in nun attire was only able to create a shield of Reiryoku to defend herself from stray shots. She's the weaker link, Rinne realized. In that case…
FWOOM~
…oh? Rinne smiled to herself as she summoned a new wave of Guardians. Kyo is weakening. As expected, that corrosive energy that he wields is a double-edged sword. That's why he concentrates Reiryoku around his hands - because if he didn't, the energy from his sword would consume him as well.
WHOOSH~
Kyo's sword, covered by that dark energy, continued to slice apart each Guardian with ease. However, by the time Rinne had sacrificed over a hundred Guardians without landing a single blow on Kyo, she started to grow worried. Even though his movements are definitely slowing down, I can't sustain this number of troops. I have to change my strategy…
Biting her lip, Rinne issued a new directive to her Guardians. Immediately, all of them froze in place, whether they were mid-attack or still floating beside her. Kyo didn't waste the chance, flashing through her troops at lightning speed and clearing out every one of her summons within twenty meters.
"You are more capable than expected," Rinne communicated, slowly retreating her Guardians while following them herself. She was careful not to expose her location, instead relying on her dominance over the domain created by [Eden] to send the message echoing throughout the entire realm.
Kyo stopped in front of Nia, panting slightly as he continued to stand with his sword at the ready. "And you have more in common with a cockroach than I expected, Rinne."
"Yeah!" Nia chimed in, a torrent of pages flying out of [Raziel] it floated above her hand. "Why don't you pick on an army your own size!"
Rinne watched on as each page slowly began forming into abstract shapes, only to be shot to pieces by her Guardians before they could form. Amateur.
"Hey! No fair!"
Rinne ignored Nia's cries of protest as she gathered Reiryoku within her. Hidden behind her numerous guardians, roots suddenly appeared behind her, winding up around her arms and shattering her Astral Dress.
"[Eden], [Paradise Lost]!"
——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————
Oh, what bullshirt is she pulling out this time? Kyo stood warily as the legion of hooded figures all shattered into pieces. All except one far off in the distance, whose robes disappeared as what seemed to be tree roots began to entangle her figure.
"Chances are, that's Rinne," Kyo muttered to himself. "But what kind of ability is binding yourself with tree roots?"
Nia laughed dryly. "Maybe she just has a bondage kink?"
"Haha, very funny." Kyo wiggled the fingers that held onto [Naught], noting the loss of sensation. I need to end this, now. "I'm going after the main body. Nia, advance with me."
"Wait, we're pushing her?" Nia asked, her tone filled with uncertainty.
"Better than tanking whatever this [Paradise Lost] ability is!" With those words, Kyo rushed forwards, clearing almost half of the distance in a single moment. However, as he reached the midpoint between them, he suddenly stopped.
RUSTLE~ CRACK~
A swarm of moving roots suddenly rushed from Rinne's bound figure, instantly covering Kyo's entire field of vision. Kyo quickly swung [Naught], severing the roots closest to him as he continued to rush forward. With movements that bordered on instant, he severed each root with ease. Each swing of his sword left two blackened, dead roots, yet each one he destroyed seemed to be replaced with two more.
"Your resistance is impressive, Kyo." Rinne's voice rang in his head again. "But how much longer can you last? And more importantly… how much longer can your companion last?"
Fudge! Kyo's eyes widened, and he immediately turned his head back. Indeed, while he had been assaulted by a neverending tide of roots, a few tendrils had reached out unbeknownst to him and already captured Nia. I should've paid more attention to how far away she was-
CRICK~
A sudden chill enveloped Kyo's entire body as a single root, managed to grip onto his foot, filling him with a sense of powerlessness. She can drain Reiryoku? Could Mio even do that?!
He quickly attempted to sever the root, but instead of severing the root as he had all the rest, [Naught] suddenly met resistance and only managed to slash halfway though. This… Kyo grit his teeth. It's the same feeling as the barrier around Neo Tengu. The other roots didn't feel like this… was she hiding her ability to reinforce them this entire time?
Another bundle of roots managed to cling onto his sword arm, draining away even more Reiryoku. Pain erupted from his hand as the energy of Nihility permeated through his flesh, causing a sensation that felt as though he were both freezing and set ablaze and forcing him to unconsciously let go of his weapon.
Even more roots swarmed around the blade, and, before his shocked eyes, suppressed the Nihility seeping out the blade. "How…"
"Your mastery of Reiryoku is far below mine. How could I have failed to comprehend your own way of surviving that energy?" Rinne's voice boomed in his consciousness. "Now, sleep forever within [Paradise Lost]."
Despite his unwillingness, Kyo's eyes slowly began to shut, and his body became encased within a shell of roots.
——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————
It's finally over. Rinne sighed to herself in relief. That energy can indeed be resisted by infusing higher concentrations of Reiryoku, but only to a certain extent. It was fortunate that Kyo did not attempt to invoke even more power from that blade… or perhaps, he too was incapable of doing so?
She turned her attention to the two Spirits she had managed to seal within her roots. "...I shall be merciful with you. You may slumber here within [Paradise Lost] for the rest of eternity. Be grateful for this opportunity. Farewell, Kyo, Nia. May your final dream be a happy one."