Chapter 12A: Ren Versus Vincent - I'll Deal With Him (Perspective: Ren)

"Yuichi's out of the danger zone. He'll be fully recovered in twenty minutes." Alicia-san announces.

That's good. I didn't want to say anything with Sakura and Yuna-chan around, but I was actually really worried.

"Sempai..." Sakura is still standing by Yuichi's capsule. She felt responsible for what happened so hearing that he will be fully recovered soon must be a big relief for her.

"Thank goodness, Nii-sama." Lilicia-san was also relieved. The anxiety in the room is starting to disappear. I knew my friend could do it.

"As expected of Master, he's recovering so quickly." Wolfy states with pride. His attitude towards Yuichi has done a complete one hundred and eighty, from when they first met.

"Huh!?" Alicia-san suddenly looks worried.

"What is it!?" I ask. If you show such a shocked expression, you'll worry everyone here.

"That Slayer is heading towards us. He will be on the school grounds within the next ten minutes." Alicia-san answers in frustration.

"The bastard who tried to kill Yuichi and Sakura!?" I can't contain my anger. Just the very mention of that bastard is making my blood boil.

"I set up a location spell when we arrived so that I could detect any possible threats. He must know that Yuichi's still alive. At this rate, he'll find us before Yuichi recovers. The rejuvenation process is very delicate, so we can't move Yuichi whilst he is still recovering. This is the worst case scenario, that I feared." Alicia-san explains.

"What should we do!?" Yuna asks.

"Yuna, Sakura, and Ren you three should hurry and run. That man is truly dangerous." Alicia-san states.

"I refuse." I immediately object.

"There's no way I'm abandoning Onii-chan." Yuna declares.

"It was my fault this happened to Sempai. This time, I will protect him." Sakura said with determination. I haven't seen her like this before. Your Nii-san is crying in happiness at your growth, my dear little sister.

"Onee-sama, they are serious. Yuichi-niisama has got such good friends." Lilicia-san said happily.

"I know, they're all idiots beyond repair." Alicia-san sighs in resignation. I guess to some people I would be an idiot, but that works for me. My best friend is the king of the idiots, I guess he rubbed off on me. And because I am an idiot, I can declare what I'm about to say.

"Alicia-san, I'll deal with the bastard who did this to Yuichi." I say confidently. Alicia-san is visibly shocked by my declaration.

"Don't be a fool, Ren." She answers angrily "That man is the worse type of person there is. If you approach him carelessly, you will just be killed."

"Don't Nii-san." Sakura clings onto my shirt as she begs. Even if you give me that look, my mind is made up.

"Sorry, but I can't forgive that bastard, as both a friend, and a brother." I say strongly to everyone present. "My pride will not let me sit on the sidelines. Alicia-san, you said I would be killed, if I approached him carelessly. However, if I have a plan, then it's a completely different story."

"That isn't what I meant. Against such an unpredictable enemy, having a plan doesn't guarantee anything." Alicia-san is getting angrier and angrier. "The Soul Slayer that man wields, Muramasa-Masamune has the ability to sever anything, even things that don't have a physical form. It may not sound like much, but you have no idea just how dangerous it is to fight against something like that."

"No matter what you say, Alicia-san. I will still go. My anger is not something that can be expressed in mere words. Considering I'm going to go either way, you may as well cooperate with me, so that my plan has a larger chance of success." I feel bad having to use coercion, but this is something I must do.

Alicia-san bites her lips so hard blood comes out. Seeing her like that, is increasing my guilt even more, but I won't back down.

"All right, fine!" She agrees. "What do you want me to do!?"

"The first, can you give me any information on that Soul Slayer, does it have a weakness? Secondly, can you make me look like Yuichi." I requested of Alicia-san.

"All right, but I don't think you can exploit Muramasa-Masamune's weakness." Alicia-san drops her head, she's completely given up on trying to stop me.

I quickly departed after I had her give me a bit of information. Time was of the essence, I needed to make some preparations before that bastard arrives.

Chapter 12B: Ren Versus Vincent – Vincent's Arrival (Perspective: Vincent)

That Human Anomaly, as well as those two girls, were all wearing school uniforms. After doing a quick investigation, I learnt which school they were from. There are very few places that they can hide in within this area. But, that school is one of them. Now, let's see if my suspicions are true.

"Come out, come out. I know you're somewhere around here" I bluff.

Huh!? Was that!? I just saw that Anomaly run into one of the buildings. My suspicions were right on the money.

So, do you want to play a game of death-tag then?

I chase after him. It's the hero versus the monster. Let the fun commence.

Chapter 12C: Ren Versus Vincent – Visual Trick (Perspective: Ren)

He is running after me. I am now in Yuichi's form. In order to draw his attention towards me and away from the real Yuichi, I had no choice but to do this.

The bastard is just a bit behind me. I'm running up the stairs as fast as I can. It's all over if he catches me. Luckily, I'm very athletic. I continue to run up the stairs, until I reach a door. I throw the door open so hard that it bangs against the wall. However, I don't go through it. Instead, I quickly run to a blind spot within the wall. I hide by pressing myself against it, I hold my breath. Knowing that if he finds me, I'm dead.

Bang Bang Bang! I can hear the stomping on the stairs. The bastard is getting closer.

I hide myself desperately. The bastard runs on past me, and through the door. My plan to throw him off my track worked. The bastard saw the door closing itself. So, he naturally thought that I went through it. Using that visual trick to my advantage, I lured him upstairs, whilst I hid out of sight.

This is where it begins.

Chapter 12D: Ren Versus Vincent – The Trap (Perspective: Vincent)

I'm running up the several flights of stairs. I haven't seen that monster yet. Damn, he's quick, I'm getting fed up of this.

I finally reach the top of the stairs. The slide door to what appears to be a classroom is wide open. What a fool, you're leaving a trail behind, did you think you could hide from me?

I go through the door and close it. Now I've got you.

Huh? There's no one here. Is he hiding? What a coward. In that case, I'll just have to smoke you out.

When I thought this, my attention is drawn to several sets of apparatus. There are multiple sets of Bunsen burners being tilted at an angle. Next to each one, is a glass beaker, with some sort of liquid inside, and some kind of splint sticking out. The way this is set up, could it be? Shit, it's a trap!

Chapter 12E: Ren Versus Vincent – Conclusion (Perspective: Ren)

My plan's going perfectly. After that bastard ran past me on the stairs. I shadowed him whilst keeping a constant distance so he doesn't notice me. I've been going to this school for a year already. I won't lose to an outsider on my own turf, and this turf advantage is what will seal my victory.

The bastard, enters into the science lab, and shuts the door behind him, perfect. I had already set up some Bunsen burners, as well as a load of flammable, and explosive chemicals in advance. As soon as I give the signal, the trap will activate. I run to the switch that turns on the gas for the science lab. I quickly turn it on with the key I stole from the office.

Now that gas is being supplied, the Bunsen burners will ignite the chemicals within the beakers.

However, I don't have time to sit and watch this happen. I run down the stairs as fast I can. As soon as I reach the window I had opened during my preparations, I dive straight out.

"URGHHH~~" I roll hard against the ground, the scraping pain is aggravating.

A moment later.

BOOOOOMM! - The building explodes, the sound and the shock wave assault my body, and I roll even further along the ground.

The science block is a completely separate complex from where Yuichi and the others are. So, I can safely blow it up without it having any effect on them.

No human inside could have survived that. I feel a bit of lament within myself. I have done something I will never be able to take back. No matter how much of a scum bag he was, I still took a human life. I'm surprised just how relaxed I am, considering what I've just done.

I let my body stay laid out on the ground, I'm both physically, and mentally exhausted.

"GAHHHHHHH!" I scream in pain. What the hell just happened!?Something cut deeply into my body. I look around and see the likely culprit of my pain. Damn it, how did he escape?

"It appears that you're not the Human Anomaly from before, just a regular human." The bastard notices I'm not Yuichi. The spell giving me his appearance, must have worn off.

"How did you survive that blast!?" I ask the bastard. His body is dripping with blood and I can see burn marks. So, he was definitely caught in the explosion.

"I used Muramasa-Masamune to cut through the explosion. Although, I did still get caught in it. I did just enough to survive. Now, where is the Anomaly!?" He interrogates whilst pointing his evil sword at me. Just looking at that thing is giving me goosebumps.

"Go to hell!" I answer, does he honestly think I would tell him? If there's one thing I'm not, then it's a back stabber.

"I'll let you go there ahead of me." The bastard says as he raises his sword. So, this is it, huh.

The sword comes down sharply. But it doesn't impale me. He isn't going to stab me with his Soul Slayer?

"GAHHHH!" A shock wave comes out of his sword, and crashes into me. I can feel blood pouring out of every part of my body.

My mind feels blank. My sight is getting hazy. Yuichi, I'm sorry. I couldn't defeat him. I could only wound him. I hope this helps everyone, if only just a little.

"Killing you with Muramasa-Masamune would be too much of a privilege for you. So I'll just let you bleed to death there." The bastard staggers off and leaves me in a puddle of my own blood.

"Sakura...every...one...forgive...me. I let...you all...down." I can feel my tears coming out of my eyes. Tears of my own powerlessness.

I'm going to die, I already know this. I muster up the rest of my strength. These will be the final words of Ren Kirei.

"Please...let...everyone...else...be...safe." After saying this, a smile comes to my face, even though my tears are still falling.

A few moments later, I can no longer fight my drowsiness. I give myself to the eternal sleep.