Hokori and Tokino fought longer than most even expected. Usually, the former would either curb stomp the opponent—or heal and pulverize them again. This time, he chose another. Every time she got up, he would punch and kick hard enough to vomit red. Ten minutes in, she carried on.

A kilometer wide area warped into a wasteland of dirt and uprooted trees. Crushed boulders littered the place. No clouds hovered above, and rivers became rerouted.

He walked and caressed his chin. “Honestly, kid. You ain’t half-bad in the slightest. I see a ton of potential. Anyways, do you apologize?” He raised an eyebrow. Unfortunately, another rapier greeted him at lightning speeds.

She regained footing and shakingly turned around. “Shut up…” she panted. “I don’t need your encouragement. That’s a villain’s game!”

He effortlessly dodged more attacks. It was not like she did better before. He had no scratch whatsoever, and he grinned and chuckled every time.

She grunted in pure frustration. “Damn it! Nothing I foresee comes true. What’s wrong with this guy!” She concentrated magic in her arms and moved ten times faster. Any mana leakage would have severed her tendons.

He continued dodging and chuckling. “Holy shit…! Ya got some sweet moves, kid. It’s elegant in every way. But it don’t mean I can’t do this!” He raised two fingers and copied her flurry of thrusts.

Her eyes widened upon realizing he accurately mimicked her stances. Not only that, but he did it twice faster. She went on the defensive if it meant not receiving fatal stab wounds. However, the flurry stopped.

She foresaw the next finger jab, but it flew too quickly. Now desperate, she shielded herself with both arms. Even though it went through, it saved her chest. She flash-stepped backward and caught her breath. She cast healing runes over her body.

He grinned and slowly walked closer. “You see, kid… I don’t give fucks ‘bout elegance. I aim to kill, so I can heal them before they cross to the other side.” He cracked knuckles. “It’s fun. Ya should try it sometime.”

He expected another tired resolve from the opponent. He even expected her to get angry like before. Instead, his mind was thrust with a chuckle similar to his.

She got up and grinned intently. “Funny you should say that. I killed cyborgs only the Gods know how many.” She held her chest. “I’m not ashamed of relishing my glory. Especially to those who deserve it.” She pointed her sword. “That includes you!”

He grinned and chuckled back with his head cocked. “I’m at a loss for words, kid. Bravo.” He walked closer. “Tell me. Would it hurt to apologize now? It might sting way more than ya think….”

She prepared her stance. “Make me! See if you’ll get an answer!” She flash-stepped before him and threw a barrage of techniques. She adapted to his unpredictability by going against her foresight. Every time he moved another way, she used sheer instinct to counter.

He now received massive stab wounds for the first time in their battle. However, his healing factor proved to be impeccable. Each flesh regenerated far quicker than even Tokino’s power. Still, she went on the melee and used her strongest technique: Father’s Grazia. She thrust her rapier eight times to form a cross.

The beautiful attack highly impressed Hokori. However, he now had his fun. His soul was satisfied, and his mind decided. As her sword neared his chest, a devastating shockwave destroyed the land once more. The wind grew violent and trees became uprooted.

She panted in place and looked up. Her eyes widened as she gasped internally. The blade failed to even pierce his skin. Before her foresight could react, he gripped her rapier and delivered a knee strike to the chest. An even more devastating shockwave formed a ravine behind her.

Tokino felt blood flooding her throat and mouth. A waterfall came out. Even with her vast magic, her ribcage snapped like breadsticks. Some pierced near her heart. Surprisingly, she felt no pain. It was like her mind could not even relay the hit she received. Her vision turned hazy and saw the ground before it went dark.

Hokori yawned and stretched. “Sorry, kid,” he looked down. “I’ve had enough misunderstandings for one day. It’s your fault for believing your own truth.” He chuckled and fully healed. Even so, she remained unconscious.

He carried her on his back and whistled his way back to the city of Novus. “Now, this takes me back…” he smiled. “Lil Bro always loved it when I walked uphill. I still remember Mom’s udon back on Earth—” He stopped in his tracks and heard sand flowing in the plains.

He looked around. Suddenly, Tokino now felt cold behind his back. He realized where the sand came from at that moment. He looked at her hand. It slowly turned into glass. “What the fuck…” he squinted. Before he knew it, it grabbed his neck. She flipped in front and flung into the distance.

He got out of the rocks and stretched. “What in the—” Once again, he got grabbed, this time in the face. She dragged him and leaped back to Novus. She covered many kilometers in a single bound. Citizens shouted and panicked as she went through building to building.

Back to the present, Hokori now faced a more frightening Tokino in the rebel hideout.

Charmant and Garuda still stood in shock over her transformation. “What the hell happened to this poor maiden!?” exclaimed the former. “If you did this. I swear I’ll have your skin as a flag!” He pointed.

He turned to the ‘prince.’ “Bruh… Ain’t ya married? Getting interested over this kid is gonna cost ya.”

“I-I don’t mean that way, dumbass!” He pointed and blushed. The king held his shoulder from behind and insisted Hokori should have his fun. He used his Hōō Ascension to summon a blue phoenix. It breathed a fireball that created a tunnel to the surface. As he accompanied the “prince,” he waved from afar.

“Thanks for cheerin’ me on, fam!” he waved back. “I won’t disappoint ya.” With that, he saw the two riding the bird. He turned to his opponent.

She stood blankly as if waiting for the first move. Rusty, broken sounds could still be heard as she walked. Her pace made her look like a puppet, and her clock hand corneas ticked midnight. “Punishment… Punishment…” she said softly. Sand flowed out the cracks of her now glass skin.

He chuckled and walked closer. “Maybe I do deserve that. I haven’t given a nickel to a granny lately.” He flash-stepped before her and prepared a straight punch. However, her rapier stabbed him fifty times that felt more like one. It dawned on him that her speed became unnatural.

He moved back and delivered a barrage of fisticuffs. She effortlessly deflected them, even when she still moved like a shaky marionette. Unlike before, he now had the upper hand. He realized that she could only attack so long.

Five minutes in, he grabbed her rapier and elbow-struck her stomach. He did it several more times for good measure. She flew far away enough to destroy a hundred walls in the hideout. As she did, he flash-stepped in front of her and threw a right hook. Glass and sand flew everywhere.

He walked past the rubble and chuckled. However, his demeanor changed immediately. “Jesus Christ… that’s just abnormal.” He saw her as a pile of shards that slowly reassembled. The sand flowing out of her turned red.

Even through all of the fatal blows, she still shakingly walked toward him. “Too slow… Too slow….”

He understood nothing about her words. However, he saw a fly on his left. He raised an eyebrow as he witnessed every wingbeat move slowly. It was as if time itself became sluggish. Even more confusingly, he still perceived everything as normal.

As he turned to her again, she already neared her sword to his gut. Luckily, he blocked it by a hair but got thrown into the distance. He rolled on the ground several times. At that moment, he saw rubble that looked like it floated in space.

Laying in the ground, Hokori received stab wounds that resembled shotgun blasts. His hands became mangled beyond belief. He fully healed quickly and stretched his back straight.

He saw her walk and chuckled again. “Now, I get it. This kid didn’t become faster. She slows time, so everyone runs like a Reddit mod.” He grinned. “Splendid work,” he spoke in Japanese. “I guess I’ll more fun until—”

He felt a powerful field pulling him. Instead of like a magnet, his body utterly refused to listen. He realized he now moved in reverse. His body floated in midair, and he flew back into the scene.

Tokino gave him another round of rapier thrusts. It stabbed him by the thousands. However, he restricted his receptors and became annoyed. He held her head. “Sleep tight, kid….” His headbutt fissured and caved in the ground they stood on.

Her upper half shattered but reconstituted instantly. She returned the favor with interest. However, he cancelled it with another and threw an uppercut to the chest. She flew and went through multiple floors above. It took her ten seconds to fall back down.

He cracked his knuckles and walked toward her unmoving body. “Huh…?” His eyes squinted. He noticed her human skin beneath the glass. It traced back to the affected area.

He figured it was a weakness. Before he could do anything, copious sand blasted him away. He rolled on the ground once more. As he got back up, a quarter of the hideout got filled in under five seconds. Even though Tokino laid unconscious, her body summoned innumerable sediments.

Hokori struggled to move. Every minute, the sand covered his half. Made worse when the time slowing effect still occurred. His superhuman strength got overwhelmed. At that moment, he abandoned any consequences.

He dug himself out and looked at her from afar. He sighed. “Thank God no one else is here. And thank God my body controls like cancer.” For the first time in years, he clad himself in skeletal armor. He recalled a battle that horrified his nights.

Only one was left. Inside him, he felt his power spike. Any more and it would have desolated the whole city above. He prepared his right hand. “Sorry, kid… This is gonna suck.” His flash-stepped toward her. His speed increased to the point he needed only one step.

He did the deed he never wanted to do. A spear hand went through Tokino’s chest. The shockwave blew sand away enough to create a chasm. No more sediments materialized, and the hideout got filled two-thirds.

Her glass skin slowly reverted to flesh. Shards peeled off and littered the ground. Her pitch black eyes returned to white. Her clock hand corneas became round and lavender.

She breathed faintly and looked at the ceiling. However, the serenity did not last. She felt a massive sting on her chest. It was like doused in magma. She could not scream as she felt pain in her lungs as well.

She moved her head and saw an arm lodged deep in her cavity. Her skin turned pale, and she shook erratically. At that point, she failed to get oxygen.

Hokori quickly pulled out his hand. Tokino fell into shock with her eyes open. He sighed. “Ya ain’t gonna die, kid. Don’t be dramatic….” He placed his palm, and blood vessels covered her body. Her gaping hole disappeared in seconds. She looked brand new, yet still looked wide awake.

After checking her heartbeat, he carried her again on his shoulders. He climbed up the sand chasm and saw Novusian mages dropping down in ropes.

His comrade gasped with her mouth covered. “How could you? You animal….” She looked up and pointed. “Does violence always have to be your goto diplomacy?”

He chuckled. “Depends on the scenario.” He handed her the unconscious Tokino. Even when she struggled to carry, he walked past her and whistled.

Her eyes glared, and she grunted internally. “If only I could make that blood god my favored guinea pig….” She laid her down and checked her vitals. She ordered the other mages to call for an ambulance pod. These were the only vehicles in Novus allowed to go anywhere.

Tokino slowly opened her eyes and heard voices to her left. The room looked new, and it was no hospital. She also heard someone say “your majesty” and a door closing.

Most of all, she heard the voice of a kid. She stretched in bed and got up with her eyes being rubbed; she slept on a couch. From afar, the source of the sound walked toward her.

“Good morning, Cool Sis! I know we just met but I always wanted someone like you.” The caped child smiled intently.

As Tokino smiled back and tried talking, Feuer opened the doors from afar. “Leuchten… Your dear brother needs you. He’s located a firedrake nest near our borders. And it’s a miracle you accomplished the mission unscathed.”

“Aww. But I don’t wanna,” he pouted with frowned eyes. “Look. Cool Sis is awake. If I go, can she, too? Please….” He held his hands together.

Being reminded of the mentioned mage, he kneeled before her. His apology went for six minutes. While his little brother got bored on the thirty second mark, Tokino listened thoroughly. However, she felt embarrassed.

She slowly opened her mouth. “U-Umm… Excuse me, but who are you? W-Where am I?” She went on to talk about her mother and her upcoming journey to Novus.

Feuer’s eyes widened and stood shocked by her response. It had been two days since the “T-2000 Siege” as the youth called it. Luckily, no mass casualties occurred. He stood up and tried talking, but the doors banged open again.

“Yo, pretty boy!” Hokori waved. “Kakunō wants to spar with you again in the Fools’ Theater.” He pointed upward. His words caused him to walk out of the room annoyed. In the end, he complied.

He sat by a chair and turned to her. “Well… any day now, kid. Just say you’re sorry—cuz I gotta meet up with the girls again.”

Tokino’s eyes squinted. He talked like he always knew her, but she could not even relate to his face. However, she wanted to stay polite. She smiled faintly. “I-I apologize, yes. But what are you talking about?”

After hearing such words, Hokori’s eyes widened as well. Eventually, he smiled and chuckled. “Not much, kid… It was only a test.” He lent out a fistbump. “Let’s go to my parents’ place. You’ll find answers there.”

It felt like she only met this man today. Still, her heart felt warm. She smiled back and agreed with a nod.

As this story went on, the lavender child found a new home and family. Unfortunately, she had forgotten again as she fought the biggest monster in her life.

Years later, she crossed paths with the White Swordsman and found solace with his pain. She loved him the way her old mother refused such unconditional things. More years later, she had a new family—willing to protect with all her blood, sweat, and rage.

Now in the present time, Tokino calmed her anger and devised a plan. A plan to avenge a “new” member in her family.

“I’ll save you, Hokori. I’ll save everyone in Kazoku Village. Your home.” She walked out of the church with stern eyes.

“You truly are… the greatest brother I’ve ever known….”