-Third person POV-

Kurumi clone: I wasn't planning on fighting tonight. I didn't come here to kill anyone, but if you try to kill "me" then "I" will answer with the same coin~

The clones started to laugh hysterically after that, causing an unpleasant sensation between the royal adventurers.

Arthur: Mrs. Ahri! Please stand behind us!

Ahri: I'm not moving!

Kurumi clone: Are you sure?

A clone suddenly appeared in front of Ahri without her noticing, but Arthur reacted in time and stepped between the clone and the fox lady, grabbing Ahri by the waist and jumping away from the clones.

Everybody prepared for the fight, but the clones didn't react and just stood there with amused expressions, confusing everybody else.

Tarian: They are... not doing anything.

Shiera: I don't like this. What should we do Arthur?

She turned to see the prince, hoping for some sort of plan.

Arthur: I don't know. Her powers are a mystery, which means that attacking her directly would be dangerous.

Tarian: But equally dangerous if we just wait for her to attack.

The prince clicked his tongue after leaving Ahri behind the protection of Amelie, thinking about the whole situation to find any clue of what they were fighting against. But he didn't see anything beyond the girl's capability of generating copies of herself. The original one could be hiding between all the clones, or even not be there at all.

A few tense moments passed and the clones decided to break the silence.

Kurumi clone: *Sigh* I guess this is fitting for the most powerful adventurers in this world.

Kurumi clone: You are right, "me". After all, an inexperienced adventurer would probably jump to the fight without knowing the enemy's capabilities.

Kurumi clone: Are you suggesting we start the battle for ourselves?

Kurumi clone: That would be troublesome, don't you think, "me"?

Kurumi clone: "Me" is right, we didn't come to this city for trouble in the first place. We just came to find the Reiryoku source we felt.

Kurumi clone: That's right, and we already devoured him. Besides, none of them are a match for us.

Kurumi clone: I still remember that poor, winged man that tried to confront "us" in the sky continent.

Tarian: What did you say!?

Shiera: It was you!?

Arthur: Shit! This is worse than I originally thought.

On their side, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Ahri seemed to be confused by the reactions of the three royals.

Yang: Amelie! What's wrong? Why do they look so surprised?

Amelie clicked her tongue, like Arthur a while ago, and turned to see the confused girls.

Amelie: You've heard of the celestial people, right?

Weiss: They are supposed to be a peaceful kingdom, right?

Amelie: Indeed. But they are way stronger than the average population of the world. Even if they don't use their destructive power very often, they have an equivalent strength to a royal adventurer, and that's just in their childhood.

Ahri: Wait, does that mean that she...

Amelie: Four months ago, a young adult of the celestial people was killed. The news of his death ran across the entire world; the four continents have been collaborating ever since to find the person who did it.

Ahri: And we were unfortunate enough to find the culprit.

The three huntresses held shocked expressions for what they just heard, and they weren't wrong. What was in front of them was nothing more than a monster to say the least. But their worries didn't stop there.

Ahri started to walk towards the clones one more time. Amelie tried to stop her, but it was useless, something in the kumiho aura made her stand back, the same feeling of that night.

Arthur felt the pressure that was coming from behind him, and turned to see the source. Ahri was walking forward with a furious killing intent, forcing him and the other two royals stand back.

The clones seemed to be surprised as well, but their faces turned into a somehow psychotic smile.

Kurumi clone: Ara ara! I see you are quite enraged, aren't you?

Ahri: Get lost, I only want to see the original. I don't have time for a bunch of shadows.

Kurumi clone: I'm sorry, but the original "me" is busy dealing with the white-haired lady.

Kurumi clone: As the original "me" said, we didn't come here to fight.

Kurumi clone: We just came here to eat.

Kurumi clone: "I" politely ask for your understanding.

Ahri: I know what it's like to arrive somewhere to just "eat". I have been doing it for centuries. That's why I can't let you go.

Arthur: Ahri, please stand back, you know that you are not in a good condition.

She stood there quiet, she knew that she was in a bad condition and that she wasn't a match for the girls in front of her. She turned to see the buildings around her. People were looking through the windows, scared about what was happening. A fight that involved three royal adventurers would create a huge disaster in the city, that added to the fact that she wasn't even a threat right now. She had everything against her. A fight would be the worst choice right now.

Ahri: Arthur. That girl, she mentioned that she came her looking for someone, and that she ate them.

Arthur: We heard that, do you know what does she mean?

Ahri: That person was Asriel.

Arthur/Ruby/Weiss/Amelie/Yang: What!?

Ahri: I beg you, help me to take him back.

The prince felt the sadness in her voice, and above that, he understood the feeling of impotence she had. Asriel saved her when she needed it most, even if that meant cheating death; yet she couldn't do the same for him. She was obviously frustrated.

Arthur: We need to take the fight to a safe zone.

???: I'm sorry, but there is not going to be any other fight tonight.

Yang: 2B!!!

Yang's voice sounded, calling everybody's attention. They saw three new clones flying above the rest, one was holding an unconscious 2B and the other was holding a boy with white hair that resembled her in some way.

Kurumi: Be thankful that I didn't kill her.

Ahri: You bitch.

Kurumi: Ara ara, there is no need to be that rude. I've been telling you all night long, I'm not here to fight. I got what I wanted, I'll just take my leave.

Ahri: Give him back.

Kurumi: Hmm?

Ahri: Release Asriel, right now.

Kurumi: You mean that man with a strong Reiryoku? I'm sorry, but that's not possible.

Ahri: I'll take him by force if it's necessary.

Kurumi: Let me explain myself. There is nothing you can do to save him now. Not even I can.

???: What?

The voice of a little girl sounded around the entire street. Everybody looked around for the source, only to find Marie rising from below the street. Several roots were coming from the hole she made in the ground.

Ahri: Marie! Get away from her!

However, the girl didn't listen. She seemed to be oblivious to the outside world, with just one thing in mind.

Marie: Return him. Now.

Her voice felt different from before, everybody felt a great pressure, a pressure that Ahri recognized immediately.

Kurumi: There is nothing to do, he was devoured by my shadows. There is no turning back, there is no time or space inside there. I'm the only one that can move inside that realm without getting lost forever. And I can't take someone out of there. He is lost, forever.

The girl looked to the ground and started to speak, her voice was breaking, she was one step away from bursting into tears.

Marie: I already lost him once. I won't allow it to happen a second time.

She looked up once more, directing her gaze towards Kurumi, her eyes were completely white, emanating a strong energy.

Kurumi clone: Reiryoku?

Kurumi: It can't be...

A white light shined and engulfed everyone there.

Kurumi: Deus?...

Moments later, the light dispersed and revealed an empty street.

*

-Kurumi POV-

I opened my eyes after the light vanished. To my surprise, I wasn't in the street anymore. I found myself in a stone room. The place was empty in general, just some piles of rocks accumulated in the corners, and some holes in the walls.

Me: Where am I? This looks like the ruins of the plains.

I stood up and walked towards one of the holes in the room. Seeing outside I realized that I was right, I was in the middle of the ruins, the plains and some hills were perfectly visible. I was currently in a tower, or at least its rests.

Me: Are those... roots?

I saw them in the ground, and they were huge, almost as big as the tower itself.

Me: I never saw roots like those before.

Wait! Deus! I swear I felt its power coming from that girl! The energy of the original Seraphim, there is no mistake, she has its Sephira.

Me: I need to find that girl.

I flew out of the tower and looked around to get a sense of direction, but when I looked behind me, I saw something that I never wanted to see. A tree, a giant white tree.

It's worse than I thought, the awakening can't be happening, not now.

But there is no time to doubt, I need to retrieve that Sephira, even if that means taking it from that girl's corpse. I don't want to do it, but if I don't settle this down, that woman would notice this energy. No, I'm sure she already noticed this.

It's a race against time.

I need to gather my clones and think of a way too...

Me: Tch! You really won't let me get away that easily, will you?

Ahri: Come down here, or I'll go over there for you!

I turned around and floated down to the ground level. Facing the fox woman from before, she was holding the corpse of one of my clones. Her hands were covered in blood, and her face had an aberrant smile.

Ahri: I guess I was lucky, I woke up and found one of your clones sleeping peacefully at my side.

Me: You certainly look more alive than before.

Ahri: I hate to say this, but I'm not too different from you.

Me: May I ask, what are you referring to by that?

Ahri: You say that you devoured my Asriel.

This woman, what is she saying?

Ahri: I also devour lives to survive.

Me: You and I are not even close to being like each other. My time is running out, I need to retrieve a Sephira.

Ahri: You are not going anywhere. And I suggest you call all your forces, because I'm going to take your soul for what you've done.

Me: Do you even know what are you facing? Zafkiel.

I summoned my Seraphim, and a giant clock appeared behind me alongside my rifle and my pistol. Shadows floated to the barrels of the guns. I have lived with this power for so many years; I know how to use it without the original restrictions.

Me: I can use this Seraphim without limits, besides my own time of course. But right now, I have an infinite supply coming from "your" Asriel. You wanted me to go all out, right? I apologize, but I'm going to have to deny that request.

I aimed the pistol at my head and pulled the trigger. I felt the clock in my left eye moving, using a month of my lifetime should be enough to take care of this beast-woman.

My shadow expanded and dozens of "me" started to crawl out of it. Almost immediately after, I felt the clock moving backwards. I don't know what that man is, but he is recovering all the time I'm using in this.

Me: So, you still want to go? It seems that no matter how much time I use, he is giving me enough to recover it.

She started to laugh hysterically.

Ahri: He won't die for such small thing. I know he'll keep resisting until I take him back, and if you say that you have an unlimited source of time then you are just giving me an unlimited resource of life.

Me: Tch, "me", could you please take care of that pesky woman?

"Me": Of course.

My clone aimed her gun towards the fox and pulled the trigger without a second thought. But the bullet changed its direction in midair.

"Me": H-how?

The woman leaped forward at a blinding speed. While I was able to avoid it, a clone behind me was tackled down, and others flew away from her. We all contemplated how she stuck her arm inside of the clone and started to absorb some green energy from her, leaving the lifeless corpse of the clone on the ground.

Me: Ara ara, you might be more interesting than I originally thought.

I gave the signal and all my clones started to shoot at her, hundreds of bullets were shot, but none of them reached their target. All of them were redirected in midair, like there was some kind of shield protecting her.

Then I sensed it.

Me: Reiryoku?

She turned to me with a murderous intention.

Ahri: It's been so much time since I last ate someone's soul. But it seems like each one of your clones has one.

Me: A soul eater, huh?

She suddenly released a huge burst of Reiryoku, revealing nine white tails behind her. And I saw more easily what was going on, she was using a wind shield to cover herself from my bullets. Certainly problematic, but not impossible to defeat. I loaded my rifle with shadows and pulled the trigger.

The bullet passed through the wind barrier like it was nothing and hit her in the shoulder. She stumbled back and covered her wound with her hand. Her hair was covering her eyes, but I know she was surprised.

Me: Nice trick there, but the wind can't deflect shadows, my dear.

The other "me" loaded their guns with shadows. The woman raised her hand, and I was surprised once more for the sudden outburst of Reiryoku. One by one nine pipes raised from the ground, and started to play... a song?

https://youtu.be/p4e5reGtKJA

She started to sing out of nowhere. I would normally think that she lost her mind, but the energy she is using confirms it. She is using a Seraphim.

Me: Tch! Erase her.

The other "me" started shooting without any mercy, but the woman extended both arms and created a dome of ice that completely stopped the shadow bullets. She then jumped forward, breaking the dome she was inside of, but the pieces seemed to surround her like shards of a broken mirror; they were providing shelter from the bullets. The clones kept shooting at her, but most of the shadow bullets were stopped by the shards of ice around her. Even so, some bullets hit her, making wounds all over her body.

I then saw her jumping towards me once more, with a huge torrent of wind behind her. I made to avoid the charge alongside my clones, but she suddenly stood in the middle of the air, almost upside down. She jumped once more towards some clones, creating fire claws all of a sudden, and slashing one of them in half.

She then started jumping around the area while cutting down several clones, and I saw more carefully what she was doing. She was creating ice platforms and using a wind torrent to hold them in place to jump from side to side. The more clones she took down, the more I created; but then I noticed something certainly troublesome.

Me: You are healing your wounds, huh?

Every bullet that wounded her was instantly healed after connecting a slash to one of my clones. She is certainly a formidable enemy, but here is where it ends.

I flew directly at her and shot at point blank, throwing her away with the strength of the shot. She landed on the ground and instantly recovered, all without stopping her song.

Me: Is there a way to make you go quiet?

She dashed forwards and slashed at me. But a clone acted faster and shot at her arm, making her concentrate in it instead of me; I took the chance to load a special type of bullet into my gun.

Me: Zafkiel! Aleph!

I shot directly at my head, and dashed towards her, flying around her and shooting from every possible angle. She covered her head with her now flaming tails, but that didn't stop me from continuing my attack, soon more and more clones started to release a rain of bullets over her. I made a victorious smile. But she didn't give up. She placed her hand on the ground. I felt a new burst of Reiryoku and flew away from there. The other clones did the same right after, but some didn't act in time.

A huge wave of fire surrounded her and exploded, burning down everything around her. She then gathered flames in her right hand and frost air in her left one, throwing both at me. A smile covered my face.

Me: Zafkiel! Zayin!

The elemental attack was frozen in time, and with the speed I got from Aleph I made my way towards the fox in front of me. However, she reacted in time and moved at a speed equal to mine; every one of her slashes was blocked by my guns. Sometimes her claws managed to slash my body, going through my astral dress and cutting me directly, but every time a clone would use Dalet to cure my wounds. The same way, every time one of my bullets hit her, she instantly healed it by cutting me. And everytime I used a special bullet, she simply dodged it.

Just what kind of monster is she!?

Our battle ended with both of us crashing directly against the white tree; we fell between two huge roots that enclosed us from the front and behind.

Me: Zadkiel! Yud Aleph!

I shot directly at her, while she threw a compressed wind sphere. The bullet missed by a mere inch, but the wind sphere hit me directly in the stomach.

I crashed into the tree once more, and a powerful energy covered my body. Everything became black after that.

*

https://youtu.be/FMBScNW_CNc

-Asriel POV-

I'm... in the dark.

Lost in a world of shadows.

But not alone.

I was holding two girls close to me.

Blake.

A2.

Both seemed to be victims of the same predator that caught me.

I was using all my strength to protect them from the hazard of this realm.

The shadows kept stealing my time.

My life.

I don't know...

Why am I still alive?

I should be dead.

Right?

No.

I can't die.

I can't right now.

I'll keep protecting them until the others help us.

No matter how much it takes...

...

...

...

Echoes.

Distant echoes.

I hear them.

The sound of a voice.

More than one.

Female voice: Here you are, in the end.

Male voice: No time.

Female: No life.

Male: You escaped the hunt for so long.

I heard... myself?

Me: I'm not running away anymore.

Female: We know.

Male: But we didn't come here to hunt you.

I could feel... kindness in their voices.

Silence fell once more.

...

...

...

Female: Have you decided?

Me: No.

Male: I don't understand it.

Female: He is confused.

Male: I hate confusion.

Me: Yeah... me too...

...

...

...

Me: So, you never leave each other's side?

Female: Never one...

Male: Without the other.

Me: It was the same for us...

...

...

...

Female: We exist beyond life and death.

Male: And we take them with us.

Female: As long as they live.

Male: It doesn't matter if there are mortals.

Female: Or even gods.

Male/Female: They all face death sooner or later.

...

...

...

Me: And why are you still on my side?

Female: You are different.

Male: You made us feel calm.

...

...

...

Male: I felt, but I never understood.

Female: I understood, yet never felt.

...

...

...

Me: So many years have passed, and you are still here?

Male: For me it has been minutes.

Female: Time does not exist here.

Me: Nothing exists here.

...

...

...

Me: You are black, she is white.

Male: I'm the brutality.

Female: I'm the peace.

...

...

...

Me: I'm incomplete.

Male: The lamb.

Female: And the wolf.

Me: You are always there for each other.

...

...

...

Me: I'm a goat.

Female: You need your fox.

...

...

...

Me: Don't you wish to feel?

Female: I do.

...

...

...

Me: Don't you wish to understand?

Male: I do.

...

...

...

Me: I'm not alone thanks to you.

Female/Male: No one is alone.

Me: Yet, I'm incomplete.

...

...

...

Me: I don't want to let go.

Female: Everything meets its end.

Male: Even if you don't want it to.

...

...

...

Me: Why don't you just end me?

Female/Male: We can't.

...

...

...

Me: I should stay incomplete.

Female: Are you giving up your heart?

Male: The hunt is not over yet.

...

...

...

Me: Nothing remains now.

Female: Yet they never gave up.

Male: They kept going forward.

...

...

...

Male: They did everything for who they loved.

...

...

...

Female: I feel sad about them.

...

...

...

Male: I would do the same for you.

...

...

...

Female: I have faith that you'll decide what's best for everyone.

...

...

...

Me: It is not my decision.

...

...

...

Me: How many lives have I spent?

Female: More than I could remember.

...

...

...

Me: How can I forget?

Male: Even I can't forget.

...

...

...

Me: So many lives wasted, running from you.

...

...

...

Male/Female: We were always waiting.

...

...

...

Me: Running away from death.

...

...

...

Me: Now, I'm a close friend to his brutality.

...

...

...

Me: And a lover to the peace she brings.

...

...

...

Female: Four worlds collapsed.

Male: All life disappeared.

Me: We remained.

...

...

...

Female: The life of a mortal.

Male: Sounds fun!

...

...

...

Me: I should stay out from existence.

Female: Again?

...

...

...

Me: I can't live without her.

Male: Then hunt her heart once more.

...

...

...

Me: Will you leave my side if I go?

Female/Male: You have our hearts.

Me: She would steal them too.

...

...

...

Female: She always intrigued me.

Male: She was an interesting prey.

Me: She can reach the hearts of existences like us.

...

...

...

Me: I need her.

...

...

...

The echoes vanished in the distance.

The silence fell once more.

A light shined in front of me.

A white light.

I see the roots of a tree.

I see their helping me.

I see both of them.

Ahri.

Kurumi?

Their feelings.

Their fears.

They are the same.

I want to save them both.

I want to be there for them.

Why she?

Why Kurumi too?

But...

I can't lose my humanity.

I can't lose my heart in the darkness.

Because if I fall.

They are the ones who are going to suffer it.

I live for their smiles.

And for my own.

I live for them, and I live for myself.

Here it is, there is going to be a lot of revelations in the next chapter, even here I made some big ones. However I want to say thanks to Wolfyrino once more because is thanks to him that this chapters are mostly free of horrible and basic grammatical errors. Hope you liked it, next one is in Working for idols, I hope to see you there. Bye! :D