As soon as he appeared in a new place, his emotions took over. Rage completely prevailed over his body and Cao Cao began to smash trees with his spear. Soon a real clearing of fallen tree trunks formed around him.
— Damn scaly creature, — the young man muttered through clenched teeth.
Even at the moment when his friend and comrade fell under the influence of Ouroboros, Cao Cao wanted to rush into an attack, but this creature somehow affected his body, completely depriving him of the ability to move. With each passing moment, his anger burst out, looking at how this creature cooed with the guy who appeared, not paying any attention to those around him. As if they were not worth her attention at all compared to Shinto's henchman.
— And how long will you stand there? — the young man called out to the white-haired nekomata, who was closely watching him, standing between the trees thirty meters away. — Where is the second one? I thought they moved the three of us.
— I'm enough to deal with you, — Shirone's voice did not hide her contempt and anger towards her opponent. She began to slowly approach the guy. — You'd better worry about yourself. You want to destroy all supernatural beings, but will you have enough strength for this? After all, without your sacred gear, you're just a pathetic person.
— Don't get cocky, bitch! My strength is enough to deal with the ragged cat! — twirling the spear in his hands, he got into a stance, carefully examining the surroundings in search of the second nekoshou.
Cao Cao not only splashed out his negativity, but also tested the abilities of his spear, simultaneously clearing a platform for himself. He did not trust Ophis' words at all, however, except for the blocked balance breaker, all other capabilities of the longinus remained normal.
— A loud statement, — the girl grinned, calling the gloves to her hands, — and now we will test it.
Nekomata rushed forward, directly attacking the enemy. Tilting her head to the side, avoiding the suddenly lengthened spear, she received a deep cut on her cheek, but continued to rapidly close the distance. A green glow covered the wound, healing the damage, once again hiding the snow—white teeth behind the cheek.
— Weak! — Shirone shouted with a wild bloody smile, delivering her own blow. — Not so cool anymore?
— Animal! — the hero blurted out, dodging the sharp and fast blows of the girl. — Die!
Intercepting his fist on the shaft, he kicked the blonde, and then lunged at her heart, but only hit her outstretched forearm. Ignoring the injury, the nekoshou continued to press her opponent with a laugh, colliding her fists with the strongest longinus. Her balance breaker combined with senjutsu and yozutsu easily countered the weakened sacred gear. Cao Cao growled in anger when his tip could not pierce the opponent's combat gloves.
— What happened? — the blonde asked as soon as they broke the distance. — The glorious hero of humanity is not able to defeat a simple animal?
Cao Cao did not react to the provocation in any way, only frowned more deeply as he looked at the fog enveloping the ground. During their clash, due to the wind created, it seemed less noticeable, but now it became clear to him.
— You distracted me, — the young man stated. — While that black one was creating fog. Do you think you can deal with me by limiting your view?
— Ha-ha! You won't know until you try, — Kuroka's laughter rang out from all sides, hiding her location from the hero's tenacious gaze. — You'd better focus on the enemy in front of you. I don't plan on stopping my little sister from having fun.
Cao Cao just chuckled, not believing her words for a second. He continued the fight, expecting the second opponent to attack at any moment, but time passed, but nothing changed except for the level of fog. Now everything below the knee was hidden from view in a sea of fog.
Dodging another dash of the crazy cat, the hero felt a sharp pain in his leg. Fearing a trap, he dispersed the fog for a moment with a wave of his spear, but did not find anything unusual. Already about to jump back from a possible attack, the young man noticed with unpleasant surprise that Shirone did not take advantage of the moment and only watched his actions with a malicious smile.
— You're pretty tough to last this long, — the white-haired nekomata said, still standing in place.
— What did you do to me?! — The attempt to take a step towards the culprit of his condition was unsuccessful. The young man staggered and fell to one knee. — What's going on?
— It's not his fault, — Kuroka walked into the clearing, ignoring Cao Cao. — Longinus strengthens its owner's body, so the poison only took effect now.
— What? Poison? — The young man's head was spinning. He could no longer concentrate, everything was blurring before his eyes. — When did this happen?
Naturally, he was not unharmed during the battle, but he could not notice any poison. There was no poison on the nekoshou's gloves, and she did not attack in any other way.
— Hmm. You are in the middle of it now — the fog is poison, — with a satisfied squint, the older sister watched the realization on the hero's face. — Toxins gradually accumulated in your body through the lungs and skin. And unlike Shirone, your weapon does not heal the user.
— Cowards, — the young man muttered, falling unconscious into the thick fog.
— Was it worth bothering so much because of him? — asked Shirone, who approached. — Anyway, he will soon die, but now we have to put on a whole performance to catch him.
— You know yourself that Ophis wanted to get the spear for Kiyoshi, and for this she needs him relatively intact. —For a complete collection,— she quoted the dragon with a grin. — Sometimes it seems to me that they simply adore each other, and we have an addition to our "family".
— Hmm... — Shirone thought for a moment. She had noticed a similar relationship between her husband and her best friend before, but she knew Ophis much better than anyone else. — They love each other, no doubt, but it's more of a familial love, like between us.
— So brother and sister?
— Yes, they are like brother and sister. And they often behave the same way, — she remembered the numerous taunts and playful squabbles. — Let's go back. It's better to rest before the upcoming events.
— Yeah, let's go, — picking up the true longinus in her hands, she looked at the unconscious guy. — He'll soon beg for death anyway.
In the first week after the heroes' attack on Kyoto, the sisters were eager to deal with Kumiko's offender as painfully as possible. That's when they came up with a great idea, combining their strengths. Having heard their thoughts, the scientists created the necessary artifact. The victim attached to this torture device received a special poison that decomposed the flesh and internal organs, and at the same time, treatment that prevented death or insanity.
— He will get what he deserves. No one dares touch our kitten.
***
When they appeared on the plain, they continued to stand opposite each other in silence. Kiyoshi was relaxed with a cheerful, carefree smile, while Lavinia and Tobio opposite him remained attentive and wary. The puppy at the man's feet also did not take its eyes off him.
— Finally, I was able to see you in person, and not because of Ophis's complaints, — the phoenix broke the silence. — She really didn't like you, since she continued to constantly mention you in conversation.
— What do you mean? — Not finding any traces of manipulation, Tobio allowed himself to answer. — Why didn't Ouroboros like us?
— Ha! Only the red one and Rizevim had previously received such attention, but then you appeared. Naturally, I became curious about you and the reason for her displeasure, — the blond walked slowly, actively gesturing. — Friends of the hakuryoku and former comrades. After his death, you decided to avenge him and led the boy's former interest group. And for the sake of taking revenge on me, the smart Tobiye got close to the stupid Ophis. Ha—ha! — he couldn't help but chuckle, remembering the look on Ophis's face as she told him this. — —You can smell the fakery from a mile away!— — that's exactly what she said. By the way, that's not the only reason. Do you want to know another one?
— You'll tell me anyway, right, even if I refuse?
— Exactly! — the young man grinned. — I'm glad we understand each other.
— But it doesn't make me happy, — the girl muttered.
— Since you are so reasonable, then answer: isn't it hypocritical to try to kill me for defending my family?
— Nonsense! — the witch blurted out furiously. — You attacked Vali during the summit and killed him.
— I don't argue, but you're missing the point of all this. That battle maniac didn't accept my refusal and decided to motivate me, — at that moment, steel notes flashed in Zankoku's voice. — Your beloved brother said that he would kill my daughter so that I would have a reason to fight him. And the funniest thing is that I didn't sense any doubt or deception in him. He was really going to carry out his threat, just for the sake of fighting me.
— It can't be, — there was uncertainty in the girl's voice. She knew about Vali's great desire to fight strong people, but she could not fully believe Kiyoshi's words. — You're lying!
— Think what you want, but the fact remains a fact, — the blond shrugged. — But your friend, it seems, does not deny my words.
— Tobio?
— It doesn't matter whether you're telling the truth or not, — the guy didn't take his eyes off Kiyoshi's face. — The fact remains that you killed our friend and brother, so you'll have to pay.
— An excellent position, — he nodded his head, — I like it. Having a sworn brother ready to take revenge, but you're not the only one with one. My daughter, Kumiko, also has a sweet, beloved older sister, — the blond said cheerfully. — Guess who? Ha! So your fate was decided the moment you appeared before Ophis. She herself wanted to deal with the offenders of her favorite, but left this work to her parents.
— I see, — the young man sighed tiredly, — But this doesn't solve anything.
— No, it doesn't solve anything, — the phoenix agreed. — Since our conversation is almost over, would you mind answering my last question, — having received a slow nod, Kiyoshi's lips stretched into a mad smile. — Do you know what the "Crematorium" is?
Suddenly, a five-layer barrier formed around the couple. The entire space inside the cube was filled with purple fire, hiding them from view. Three seconds later, the flames were replaced by a snowstorm, and the barrier was cut.
— As I thought, this technique is not yet suitable for longinus wielders.
His opponents appeared in front of the phoenix. The guy had already entered his balance breaker, now looking like a werewolf. His dog turned into an impressive wolf with a sword in its mouth. A humanoid ice figure hovered behind the girl. To Zankok's delight, they did not remain unharmed, light burns adorned the bodies of the people who appeared.
— Three against one is not fair. How about a one—on—one duel? — Shadow scythes appeared in Tobio's hands, and he approached the blond with lightning speed, attacking. — Oh! Have you really learned not to engage in dialogue during a fight with your enemy?
Continuing to mock, he dodged the attacks of the dangerous weapon, but when the dog appeared from his shadow, Kiyoshi flew into the sky.
— Danger! — As soon as the blond froze in one place, the temperature around him dropped sharply, trying to limit his fire. — You are far from Serafall, and I am not what I used to be.
"The flames of a real phoenix are not able to extinguish a slight frost, — allowing himself such vain thoughts, Zankoku released his fire. — Let's level the field." — Sparks flew around him, transforming into fiery soldiers. With each legionnaire who appeared, the cold was suppressed more and more.
— Deal with her, — he ordered his new general. — She is in the way.
Having received the order, the legionnaire flew towards Lavinia, leading the rest of the fighters. The phoenix even had the idea of summoning another of his new puppets, but quickly suppressed this idea. This trump card is useful against "little things", but against strong single targets it is useless.
Distracted for a second, he barely avoided an unexpected blow from behind. The blade slightly grazed his side, but the wound was very painful and took some time to heal.
— Why did you end up with Kokabiel? — Tobio asked with a growl.
— How do you like my new commander? My new ally decided to give him to me, — the phoenix said, taking out Gram and Muramasa. — The angel of war now leads my legion. Don't you find it funny?
He never received an answer, blocking the scythe's attack. Zankoku narrowed his eyes when he was forced to focus on his opponent. The owner of the Lycan was a dangerous opponent, especially his independent longinus, which helped the owner in battle. The cursed black flame was unexpected, but completely useless. The holy flame of the phoenix completely suppressed its opposite, and the light from the fire did not allow the use of shadows for a surprise attack.
Tobio's attempt to create a region of darkness also failed due to Kiyoshi's fire sphere, reducing the entire fight to a direct clash. In order to break the parity that had arisen, the werewolf took a risky step. During another clash, he threw away the weapon in his left hand, grabbing the phoenix by the forearm. Sharply turning, he demonstrated a thin ice disk behind him, onto which the fire cast his shadow.
— Gin! — Obeying the call of his master, the dog jumped out of the shadow, piercing Kiyoshi's chest.
Tobio was not satisfied with just this. He continued the attack, first cutting off the arms, and then the head of his opponent. Just in case, the young man chopped his torso into several pieces with his scythe. Throwing a glance back to his partner, the flaming soldiers disappeared.
— You've caused me a lot of trouble, — Tobio stepped closer to burn the remains of the body, just to be sure. —Now you're going to burn. I hope you find it funny.
— Of course it will! I—D—I—O—T! — the "dead" blond burst into laughter as swords of light jumped out of the ground, piercing the owner of the lycan and the avatar of the mechanism itself. — I'll say it's mutual. You've caused me a lot of trouble too.
Legionnaires emerged from the ground, holding new weapons in their hands, pointing them at the enemies again.
— H-how? — He found it difficult to speak and breathe. The blood from his punctured lung prevented him from speaking and breathing normally. His faithful dog whined next to him, feeling his master's pain. — Must... destroy... the soul.
The pieces of his body turned into flame and merged into one figure. The power of infinity began to be felt from Zankoku, restoring the damaged soul.
— Your ability to cut everything, even souls, is very creepy, you know? — the phoenix said, feeling discomfort and pain. — Unfortunately for you, Ophis shared her power with me, but unlike other idiots, it is aimed at strengthening my soul and making it as resilient as my body, — Kiyoshi decided to speed up the process, feeling how life left Tobio's body. — Goodbye. You were a dangerous opponent.
The blond watched the disappearing dog with annoyance. If Canis Lycan had not had his own will, the phoenix would have happily gotten another longinus at his disposal, but the dog would never follow the killer of his master.
— No-o-o! — a pitiful cry reminded Kiyoshi of the presence of another owner of the longinus.
Turning towards her, he raised his hand and released a stream of fire towards the approaching ice spikes.
— The mechanism reacts to the emotions of the host, right? — the young man said with a smile, feeling the witch's increased strength. — But you are still too weak to resist my flame!
Not wanting to waste time, he called Kokabiel and the legionaries again. Under the general's leadership, the warriors quickly dealt with the ice figure, while the girl continued to attack Kiyoshi in despair. Making his figure fiery, he slowly approached Lavinia, ignoring any damage.
— Since I lost the dog, — his palm closed on the girl's face, causing a cry of pain, — I'm not going to let the ice princess go.
After a short period of fluttering, the girl's body went limp. The pain shock caused her consciousness to switch off, which is what the phoenix wanted. Holding the scorched body in his hands, he appeared next to the others. As it turned out, he finished last. Looking at the unconscious Hyodo, a sigh escaped his lips.
— I have a very long day ahead of me.