Chapter 03A: Disturb Or Disturbed – Yuichi Vs Van II

“I can't waste any more time here,” I say to myself as I charge towards Van whilst dodging the bricks that he launches.

“Then shall I give you an artistic death?” He says as he throws several boards to the ground and three iron clad knights wielding spears appear.

“I'm getting nowhere here!!” I grit my teeth in frustration. As soon as I defeat one thing he just brings out something else.

I jump to one side to dodge a brick and one of the knights thrusts its spear, I swiftly deflect it with one of my swords, and slash at the knight with my other, but it gets blocked by one of the other knights.

“Urghh!!” I yelp in pain as I gaze at the third knight's spear, that has cut into my left arm. I suddenly also notice the bricks shooting towards me from behind. All right, now I'm mad.

I drop and reshape the silver sword in my right hand into three different anklets, which I swiftly attach onto the three knight's legs to hold them still. I quickly pull the spear out of my arm and jump to one side as all the bricks rain down.

Now that I've got all the nuisances in one place, “Silver Dome!!” I shout as I create a huge mass of silver that encases all the bricks and knights and then “Compress!!” I forcefully shrink the size of the dome, crushing all within it. The destructive power behind those bricks was due to the speed they flew at. Therefore, if I don't give them any room to accelerate, they're just worthless chunks of stone.

I refocus my gaze onto Van and charge towards him before he can call out something else. “It takes several seconds for you to give life to your pictures!! I'll finish you before you can bring out anything else!!” I declare as I create a replacement silver sword.

“Giving life to, indeed it does, however,” Van throws two boards that spin either side of him, as I get within striking distance and try to slice at him. Van punches an arm into each of his pictures and pulls out two blades. He swiftly blocks my attack. “Creating inanimate objects doesn't take any time at all.” The two now blank boards drop lifelessly to the ground as I glare at his confident smile.

“So you can also interact with your paintings and pull them into reality?” This was an oversight on my part, I thought he would be weak in close quarter combat, but it seems his power allows him to cover that as well. “You're a lot more dangerous than I gave you credit for.”

“Creating art maybe my day job, but I am Hex Class, of course I'm artistically strong.” Van says as I dodge his slash by a hair breadth.

Oi!! My face, which is a better piece of art than you could ever make, is off limits!! And do you have to try so hard to add artistic into all your sentences? I slash back, but Van jumps away and creates some distance. I create several silver javelins and launch them. Van dives to one side and at the same time throws a board on the floor, he discards one of his swords and pulls out a new weapon whilst in mid fall.

“Shit!!” I shout as Van points his new weapon at me and...

Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!

“URGHHHHAAAAA!!” Shoots three bullets from its chamber, hitting me in both my legs and my arm.

“Unlike our number one Hex Class, I'm not a huge sword freak. Shooting someone dead is a lot more elegant and artistic than stabbing them.” Van smiles whilst pointing his gun at me.

“Damn!!” I groan in pain as I stare at the immense amount of blood and blue steam flowing out of my limbs. My beautiful body is in complete tatters, and this pain is in league with being hit with a Soul Slayer. But...

“I cannot fall here!!” I manifest silver around my wounds and use the pressure to stop the bleeding. “One as beautiful as I shall never succumb to this level of pain!! Not until I fulfil my quota!!” I reminisce about the time I dreamt that Ren told me he would complete my quota on my behalf and that he'd tell me all about it. But, “I will do it myself!! So I will not fall!!” I've been given a second chance at life, I highly doubt I'll get a third one.

“What unartistic nonsense are you babbling about!?” Van shouts as he pulls the trigger.

“Silver Wall!!”

Bang!! Bang!! Bang!! - The bullets put small dents in my wall, but none of them pass through.

“This is bad.” I say to myself as I look at the blood escaping under my silver. “I have no choice.” I close my eyes for a moment to regain my calm. “Given that Alicia and Lilicia-chan must be fighting someone as well, I wanted to conserve my strength. But I can't worry about that right now. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, and if need be I'll fight even if I'm exhausted.”

“Just artistically die!!” Van runs to one side so that my Silver wall is no longer an obstacle.

Bang!! Bang!! - I manipulate my Silver Wall to guard me again.

“This is still in the beta stage, but now is the perfect time to try it out!!” I shout to rev myself up.

I create an insane amount of silver overhead as Van stares on in shock.

“That looks artistically bad,” Van deduces, still sticking that meaningless word in. “Your manipulating the silver on a molecular level and changing its physical state into a liquid, and there is such a vast quantity of it!” Van takes a step back, sensing the danger.

“It's not like I laxed off when it came to training my abilities.” I state, “Now eat the fruit of my beautiful labour!! Liquid Silver Technique: Silver Tsunami!!” I drop the mass silver towards Van where it takes the form of a large wave.

Van jumps into the air to avoid the Silver Tsunami, but I have a part of the wave retake a solid form, and like a tentacle, it wraps around his waist and starts to drag him into the Silver Tsunami. It's over once I have him in there.

“Tch!! Time for an artistic escape, I've more than fulfilled Disturb-sama's assignment.” Van pulls out a board and puts his own body into it, the board then disappears.

“So he escaped,” I lament, but I have no time to chase him down, “Alicia, Lilicia-chan, hang on!! I'm on my way!!”

I drag my exhausted, wounded, yet still beautiful, body.

Nothing is going to stop me.

Chapter 03B: Disturb Or Disturbed – The Boy And Girl's Tears (Perspective: Alicia)

Lycan charges towards me at an incredible speed, I throw one of my electric balls at her, but it goes right through her like before. Another after image.

“Guh!!” I feel another sharp pain cutting into my side, but this is what I was waiting for. I grab Lycan's unsuspecting arm, her beast like eyes look shocked for the first time.

“Now you can't escape!!” I thrust my second electric balls towards the now restrained Lycan, or rather at the collar on her neck.

“GGAAAHHH!!” The beast weeps in pain as the collar changes colour and she falls to the ground.

“Hooo~~” Disturb smiles at the sight, “You forcefully triggered Lycan's collar, very clever.” The collar Lycan's wearing is the same kind that we put on Alma, it restrains the individual via certain keywords. Disturb probably has her wear it as a fail safe mechanism in case she turned on him, she is like a wild beast after all. “I never considered you'd do something like that, I guess I'll have to redesign the collar to prevent a reoccurrence.”

“Your next, Disturb,” I regather electricity as I restate my declaration, “You won't have my little sister!!”

“Onee-sama,” Lilicia whispers as a single tear escapes her eyes.

“I told you, no one will get in the way of our love, although it looks like I'll now have to get my own hands dirty. And here I thought only Yuichi Shiro would be a match for one of my Hex Classes, even if your victory was due to lucky circumstances.”

He's right, I wouldn't have been able to defeat Lycan if it wasn't for that loophole.

“I doubt Van will be able to delay him much longer, therefore...” Disturb closes his eyes, and whilst holding Lilicia with his arm he forms several hand signs.

Here it comes.

Eight white streams of light in the shape of tentacles sprout from Disturb's back, each tentacle has an eyeball inside of it. “Thanatos' Reaper Technique: Photon Options.” Although the number of tentacles is inferior, it's the same technique as Carrisa's. Even though Disturb is a scum, he's still a Thanatos.

“I've really come to hate this technique lately.” I smile wryly. Especially considering I've always been on the receiving end of it.

“Thanatos is considered the top of the three for a reason, a mere daughter of the Pandemonium is no match for me. Why must you stand in the way of me trying to bring Lilicia into my family?” Disturb asks seriously, he honestly cannot seem to understand the reason. He maybe even beyond disturbed.

“Because Lilicia hates your guts!!” I shout as I run towards my foe with my electric balls. Several of the eyes glow and fire their lasers, I dodge to one side, but more shots head towards me, I dodge again and throw my electric balls at the Photon Options. The tentacles that are hit disperse for a moment, but they quickly reform.

“Guhhhh!!” I yelp in pain. From behind? I gaze at the Photon Option that had sneaked into my blind spot and shot at my arm.

“Onee-sama!!” Lilicia shouts as I hold my injured arm, all the Photon Options circle around me.

“Disappear.” Disturb says coldly as all the Photon Options shoot at me at once.

Damn it!! I close my eyes and anticipate the pain, but...

“Silver Mirror!!” I catch the voice I wanted to hear the moment this fight began. Several sheets of silver surround me and the lasers reflect back in the directions they came from.

The Photon Options lasers obey the laws of light, so mirrors reflect them.

“Yui...” I begin as I turn to my saviour, but my voice is suddenly caught in my throat. My eyes open wide and my lips tremble as his figure enters my sight. His body is covered in wounds and blood cascading down his skin. One look is enough for me to tell that he's in no condition to fight.

“Yuichi...niisama?” Lilicia and I look on in horror at the boy we love's battered visage.

He is dragging his body even though it looks like it is knocking on hells door. For someone who is always obsessed with his beauty, I never thought I would see Yuichi in such a state. I never thought he would allow anyone to see him in this state.

“You managed to defeat Van I see,” Disturb gazes on, “But with one foot in the grave. What are you hoping to accomplish?”

Yuichi looks at Disturb, and then at Lilicia, whom is in tears, then finally at me. “I'm going to kill you,” Yuichi declares as he slowly drags his bloodied body towards Disturb.

“Does seeing your fiancé all beat up DISTURB YOU!?” Disturb shouts.

“It doesn't disturb, just pisses me off. Now seeing a middle aged bearded man, playing the bagpipes in a kilt, on a windy day, NOW THAT DISTURBS ME!!!” Yuichi shouts out some incoherent nonsense, is it due to his wounds? No, it's just Yuichi being Yuichi.

A few moments elapse before Disturb scratches the back of his head awkwardly, “Okay, I can't disagree with you there.” On just that one point, it seems friend and foe are in agreement, but now isn't the time for such stupidity.

“Yuichi-niisama...” Lilicia's eyes tremble as Yuichi forces a smile to his face.

“I'll definitely save you,” He says kindly.

“Um.” Lilicia nods her head despite her tears.

Yuichi charges at Disturb his body seemingly getting a second burst.

Disturb looks at Lilicia's expression before glaring angrily at Yuichi “I won't let you corrupt Lilicia any further, Yuichi Shiro.” Four of the Photon Options shoot at Yuichi.

Wait, four? That means... The other Photon Options fire their lasers at me. Damn!!!

However, like before, Silver Mirrors form and reflect the attacks from hitting me. But only from hitting me.

“Urghhh!!” All the lasers shot at Yuichi pierced through him.

“YUICHI-NIISAMA!!”

“YUICHI!!” Lilicia and I scream in shock. Yuichi's body starts to fall backwards, but his feet stomp powerfully on the ground and he pulls himself back up. Yuichi continues to move towards Disturb, who fires his Photon Options again.

Once again I am protected but, Yuichi.

He doesn't have the strength left to defend both of us, so he's using what little he does have to protect me. Yuichi...

I can't stop my tears as I watch my fiancé take attack after attack yet still continue forward.

“No more playing around, this time I'm aiming for your vitals.” Disturb coldly states as energy gathers into the Photon Options with Yuichi barely able to move.

“NOOOO!!” I scream powerlessly.

Just before the lasers are shot, “I'LL BITE MY TONGUE!!!” Lilicia shouts causing Disturb to halt his attack. “I WON'T LET YOU HARM HIM ANY FURTHER!!” I stare at Lilicia in shock, that last declaration, her eyes, despite covered in tears, they're serious.

“You really have been corrupted, my love,” The Photon Options move their aims away from Yuichi. “Don't worry, I'll definitely purify you.” Disturb declares as he turns Lilicia, who is as solid as a statue, to face him and then, a most unforgivable action.

Disturb interlocks his lips with Lilicia's. Lilicia is shocked as tears flow down her eyes and her body tenses.

When he lets go of her lips, Lilicia looks even further saddened, “How....how could you...?” Her voice is weak. Yuichi, almost as if in response to Lilicia's tears rises from the ground and slowly moves towards Disturb once again.

The Photon Options refocus on Yuichi. Not good. I gather my remaining strength and dive on Yuichi, pushing him to the ground before the lasers can pierce him again.

“Onee-sama...Yuichi-niisama...” Lilicia's face is full of grief and despair, but she tries to smile again, “Thank you...”

“Connect...” Disturb states as he, Lilicia, and Lycan disappear.

“Lilicia...Damn it!!” I scream. My sister got taken, and Yuichi was nearly killed, can't I be anything more than dead weight!?

Yuichi slowly rises up off the ground, tears are flowing down his eyes as he slowly marches towards where Disturb previously stood. “He's gone, Yuichi.” Despite my words Yuichi keeps moving, I run to catch up to him and then I notice.

“Yuichi...” His eyes, they're, Even though he keeps moving, “You're no longer conscious.” And yet he still moved, he still desired to save Lilicia, despite his wounds, despite his mind no longer functioning properly. Yuichi takes another step with his battered body, then another. “I said they're gone, Yuichi!!” I embrace him tightly as I look at his hollow eyes that are still crying, “Please think about yourself, Yuichi. Your wounds are serious. Please, just for now, stop fighting, rest. Even if we lost this battle, for as long we're both alive, we'll get another chance. We'll definitely save her, so please, don't burden yourself any more!!” I don't know whether it's because my words got through to him, but with eyes still crying, Yuichi's body goes limp and I feel his weight lean on me.

I strengthen my embrace to support him as I release all my sadness and frustration. This was our complete loss. “Lilicia...” I soak my eyes into Yuichi's shoulder as I try to regather my hope. Today, I lost someone important, and I nearly lost a second.