“Got any plans, Kettei?” Alice asked

  “Just one” Kettei replied, as he suddenly teleported her and Moonlight away, as the Trickster grabbed him by the neck

  “Quite brave, but quite dumb” he stated: “Means I’ll start killing you, my dear past self” he added, coldly, as he tightened his grip. However, Kettei swung his leg in a kick, that knocked him off for a bit, as he took some breath and dashed at his doppleganger. That proved to be a mistake, however, as he was quickly defeated, and knocked aside: “Meh, you’re boring. It’s no use even killing you”

  “Hehe… I like when I’m looked down upon, gives me an edge” Kettei commented, before passing out. However, as the Trickster was to finish him off, a familiar voice could be heard from afar

  “Mirror magic, tier 5: Claustrum Umbrarum” the window shattered, as the queen imprisoned the impostor in a mirror prison for the time being. She then grabbed Kettei and jumped into an horse below as she ran straight at the castle, where he was getting treated. Meanwhile at Kamome, Alice had finished talking to Rob and Sora, as the latter spoke up:

  “So, Kettei has bought you time for us to know this. Now what do we do?” he questioned

  “I mean, it’s not like he’s undefeatable. I, you and Alice can take him on” Rob replied, confidently

  “Take me on, huh? Why don’t we try that?” A voice said behind them, as Rob turned around only to see Kettei the Trickster, who had gotten free shortly after Kettei and the queen left the hospital. In a moment, he teleported the three outside, without Moonlight: “I’ve already knocked out my past self. What can you do?”

  “He… Knocked out Kettei?” Alice murmured to herself: “Tell me you had figured something out before that”

  “We’re going to take you down, you asshole!” Rob declared, as he dashed at him, charging up his fire in his fists. However, no matter how hard he punched, it seemed to make no effect. That’s when from behind, Alice kicked him, sending him flying thanks to her enormous physical strenght. Sora followed suit, creating a dark orb and slamming it At him. However, he started to regenerate. Meanwhile in the castle, Kettei just woke up

  “Ah, you’re awake” the queen commented: “You passed out from the injuries. I arrived there when you were knocked out, and sealed him in a mirror dimension”

  “That won’t last” Kettei retorted: “We’re talking abour a Kettei who’s 15 years older than me. That trick may have worked on earlier in his life, but now… “

  “So you’re saying my mirror magic is…” the queen commented

  “As good as useless, yes. I noticed something though. This Kettei is unstable. Like, take a look at me” Kettei replied, as the queen took a look at his energy

  “You’re in perfect balance, but him… Not so much. As if there are two entities are trying to co-exist but can’t due to their different nature” The queen stated

  “My theory is that a shadow beast absorbed Kettei, or at least, took control of him, but, like any new videogame, you don’t know how to control him. Especially when that person is pure-hearted and balanced” Kettei explained, calmly, as he stood up: “However, the more we fight him, lesser are our chances of winning. My future self is slowly giving up, and therefore his brain is being subjugated, if it hasn’t been already”

  “What do we do then?” the queen asked

  “One of us has to be absorbed by it” Kettei replied, coldly, as back to the battlefield, Rob and Sora were panting exhausted, but Alice was unwilling to let go, and charged again. She was putting up a good fight, putting the Trickster at the ropes thanks to her physical strenght, but she was slowly getting exhausted herself.

  “Thank you for the entretainment, however, that’s nearly not as close as my power” the Trickster commented, as he teleported behind Alice trying to strike her down. However, the attack never connected, as a newly teleported Kettei blocked it, giving his future counterpart a menacing glare as he tightened the grip and ripped the arm off of the Trickster, before turning towards Alice

  “Alice, get evryone to safety, then come back here” Kettei ordered, sternly

  “What about you?” Alice asked, worried

  “That’s my problem to figure out” Kettei replied, as he turned towards his future counterpart: “Now go!”

  “I’m serious, I’m worried about you” Alice retorted, as she looked at him: “Just let me fight beside you”

  “You’re far too injured to keep going. Leave. We’ll have our rematch once this whole ordeal is done!” Kettei shouted, as she left

  “How cute, two weaklings protecting each other.” The trickster commented, clapping, before dashing towards Kettei. This time though, Kettei was far more prepared, as he ducked under,sweeping his legs and kicking him airborne. The trickster quickly regained his composure, but couldn’t regenerate, which left him quite speechless. He got on the ground and turned towards Kettei, who had a smirk on his face: “What did you do?”

  “I used a bit of light magic, should prevent you from your regeneration or healing, you doppelganger” Kettei replied, his smirk turning into a serious glare: “Now let’s have some fun”

  “You think you can offer me some fun? Don’t make me laugh. Not until you keep suppressing yourself like that” the trickster responded, giving him an angry look: “Never thought my younger self would be such coward”

  “Unlike you, who has lost all his humanity, I still maintain some of it. But what do you wanna know, All you do is kill and terrorize” Kettei said, lunging at him and throwing a flurry of punches in the trickster’s body: “Just because we Izawamis are born like this doesn’t mean we have to abuse it at will” he added, still punching him, as the Trickster finally blocked the punches and tried to hit him on the stomach. But to no avail, as Kettei pushed him aside

  “How… How did you get this strong so suddenly?” the trickster asked, as Kettei started to giggle, then burst out laughing maniacally

  “You really think I’d let myself get beaten that easily? No. I just wanted to see just if you were that much of a threat and considering you can’t perform even one arcana spell… I doubt you’re that menacing” Kettei replied, as Moonlight walked behind present Kettei, trying to stab him. However, Kettei was prepared and kicked her in the face, then looked at her: “Your story didn’t add up from the start”

  “What do you mean?” Moonlight asked, holding her own face

  “The Izawamis are born pure-hearted, and over the course of time, they never lose track of it. When you said your Kettei was like that, yeah, you basically sold yourself” Kettei explained, as Moonlight walked towards the Trickster, giggling

  “Quite perceptive. See, whilst you saved me, and saw what you had accomplished, I grew increasingly frustrated and envious. In my timelime, I got rid of you, then had a shadow beast take over his body. Everything was just a play” She explained, as she reached the Trickster, and the both looked at Kettei

  “You didn’t do a good job, it seems” Kettei noted: “That Kettei’s heart is still beating, albeit weakly. He’s still emanating energy, and he’s destroying your little beast from the inside”

  “Noooooo…” Moonlight whispered, angrily, as she turned towards the Trickster: “Well then, plan B” she said, as within the blink of an eye she placed an hand on the trickster’s chest, absorbing both future Kettei and the shadow beast’s powers. Just then, Yui came along, standing next to Kettei

  “What’s going on, big brother?” the young Izawami asked

  “No time to explain, stand behind. Go heal Alice and the others for now” Kettei replied, as Moonlight finished the absorption and started transforming. What emerged was a totally different person. A black-haired, black-sclera, yellow-eyed lady with curled horns on her head and bat wings on her back. Kettei’s eyes were quick to widen at the sheer power she was emanating, as further from the scene future Kettei and the shadow beast were being rescued by the professor, who was passing by

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “From the start, I wished to awaken the power of the Izawami heirloom, known as the Forbidden Might. I tried to subtract it from your future counterpart, but lost. However, once I bribed one of the shadow beasts to ambush it, It came easy to get it from myself. That’s when I staged everything to come here and have you rescue me” Moonlight explained, as Kettei got on guard

  “I would recommend you remove that ring before it’s too late” Kettei calmly proposed, his eyes cold and distant

  “Or else? What are you gonna do? Defeat me?” Moonlight asked, in a mocking tone

  “Not really, but while that ring gives power, it has a devastating side effect on the user. Unless you wanna find out by yourself” Kettei replied, as he knew he was no match for her, but if he had to, he would’ve fought, no matter the price

  “Still aiming to suppress yourself, huh, Izawami?” Moonlight asked, as she dashed at him with a spear. However Kettei was fast enough to dodge in time, as the spear got stuck to the ground, as he slammed a swift uppercut at her face

  “I don’t need to. This form will be more than enough. You may have all the power in the world, but if you can’t handle it, you’ll lose control” Kettei replied, as he walked closer, as Yui appeared beside him, which made Kettei turn around: “Stay out of this, Yui”

  “No, you nuthead of a brother. I’ll help whether you like it or not” Yui exclaimed, looking at him dead in the eyes

  “Sissy, you’re only 13, and although talented, I can’t put you at risk. And I can’t make you stay with mom either. She’s really off lately” Kettei retorted, as he lowered himself at her height: “How about some training once this is over? I’ll have Koharu-sensei come, how about that?” he added. However, as soon as Kettei finished asking, a beam pierced thru his shoulder, catching him offguard

  “Defeat me now, handicapped as you are” Moonlight replied, as Kettei and Yui turned towards her

  “Wanna try that combo spell, sis?” Kettei asked, curious

  “You’re still injured from the previous fight. Stand aside, I can handle this” Yui replied, as Kettei reluctanctly stepped aside

  “I’ll provide support just in case” Kettei said, sitting behind, as Yui stepped forward

  “Hohoho, female versus female. Alright then, bring it-“ Before Moonlight could even finish her sentence, Yui had sliced her in half already

  “Quite the habit of running your mouth you have. I guess that’s what happens when someone dates my brother” Yui replied, looking towards Kettei

  “Yui, careful, she can regenerate” Kettei said, as Moonlight quickly regenerated, albeit it took her much more than it would’ve usually. A thing both Kettei and Yui took notice, alongside another small fact

  “Destroy… Devour… Disintegrate” Moonlight spoke up, as the heirloom was starting to do its effect on her, making her lose her sense of self. A bit faded, Yui could hear a faint: “Kettei… Yui… Save us…”. Back at Kamome, Future Kettei and the shadow beast weren’t waking up

  “That’s weird” Sora commented: “We tried everything, but still nothing”

  “Sora, remember the first words professor Al-Kaibitari said to us?” Rob asked, looking at him

  “Magic is part of someone’s very own soul” Sora replied, as he turned to Rosalba: “Check how their nature is”

  “On it” She responded, as she activated a special eyesight Manuela taught her before leaving. The result left her quite in shock: “Their energy is faint, we must maintain them. Sora, go tell Kettei not to kill Moonlight. Now!” she exclaimed

  “May I ask why?” Sora asked, curious and worried by her outburst

  “If they kill her, they might destroy Future Kettei and the shadow beast’s soul. I hope they know how to solve this without anyone getting hurt” Rosalba replied as Sora, now understanding the full gravity of the situation, rushed outside the Kamome base and towards the battlefield. There, he witnessed Yui going head to head with a possessed Moonlight, and spotted Kettei not too far from him: “Kettei!”

  “What, Sora?” Kettei asked, turning towards him

  “Do not kill Moonlight. If you do, we’ll lose three people” Sora replied, as Kettei stood up

  “Wasn’t planning to kill her. Let’s see if Yui can get her desperate enough to pull off an absorption” Kettei stated, as Sora cocked an eyebrow

  “What’s your plan?” Sora asked

  “You’ll see” Kettei replied, calmly. And sure enough, once Yui was starting to put her on the ropes, Moonlight tried to absorb her. However, Kettei noticed this, activating a barrier around himself, and jumping right in front of Yui, getting absorbed, much to everyone’s shock. However, Sora realized it soon enough, he could still sense Kettei from inside Moonlight. As the battle between Yui and Moonlight progressed, inside Moonlight’s body, Kettei, unaffected by the absorption thanks to the barrier, sensed future Kettei’s and the shadow beast’s power, and rushed towards it, finding two cores in Moonlight’s brain, now a corrupted mess due to the ring’s influence, and removing them.

  “Look at this mess” Kettei whispered, as he turned around: “Is this what you really wanted, Moonlight? Or did someone else try to corrupt you? I believe you have the answers to it all tho” he added, before leaving Moonlight body from her ear, and got back to his original size, much to everyone’s joy

  “You did it, you madman” Sora whispered between himself, smiling, as he walked closer: “Always finding the hard path, huh?”

  “I had to do it like this. Get Yui out of here. She was useful, but now I can’t risk her getting hurt” Kettei replied, as he looked at Yui and walked closer to her: “You did an amazing job, little sis, but now comes the delicate part”

  “Do I have Rosalba heal your shoulder?” Yui asked, curiously

  “Yeah, and also, you owe some explanations later” Sora added, a bit mad

  “No, I can finish here with an injured shoulder. And sure, I’ll give you all the info you need” Kettei replied, confident: “But stick around in case” As he said that, he walked closer to Moonlight, who was struggling to keep control: “Moonlight, I know you can hear me”

  “Hngg… Kettei… I can’t stand you, nor your power. You’re a monster for everyone, yet you help them” Moonlight responded, her voice filled with an implanted hatred in it, yet some truth was behind it

  “I prefer being an enemy to them, but I’d rather have them happy then subdued to a shitty dictator such as our current king” Kettei retorted, as he stepped back, his palm charging an orange and white orb: “This will sting a little so hold still” In a moment, he pulled out the ring, yet its influence remained. He was about to destroy it, until:

  “No! Don’t destroy the ring! If you do she’ll enter in a comatose state!” Sora shouted from behind, as Kettei realized how delicate the situation was

  “Yui, you wanted to show your new spell? Now’s the right time to do so” Kettei replied as Yui stepped forward. The past few days, she, alongside Rosalba, had made quite some progress, as Yui charged her palm with light energy, forming a chain

  “Light magic, tier 4: Nexus Purus Lucis” the short, blond-haired girl saaid, as she chained Moonlight, and started to drain the ring’s presence from her. Before long, Moonlight was purified as the sun started to set and Moonlight lost consciousness

  “So…” Sora interjected: “Who’s down for some The hero’s ballad?”

  “Not the right time bro” Kettei replied, before smiling: “But tomorrow is game night so yeah, bring it”

  “Aw sweet. And while at it, you’re on cooking duty. Make those chicken and bacon stuffed focaccine for tomorrow evening” Sora added, laughing, as the atmosphere got lighter

  “Will do. Guess I’ll have to prepare the dough for tomorrow morning” Kettei said, laughing

  “Let’s give them some rest for now, shall we? How’s your wound, Kettei?” Yui asked, curious

  “It needs some healing, I’ll ask Rosalba to heal it” Kettei replied as he looked around: “Sora, go bring Yui at our apartment. She’s gonna stick there for a few days. I need to check on something” he added, as he teleported to his mother’s house. Sure enough, Carl Johan was inside the house, so he looked thru the window and eavesdropping a bit

  “So, you found what you needed to, honey?” Carl Johan asked Hotaru, now daunting a black and purple dress, rather than the usual white, meaning she went on a mission

  “Yes, Carl. I’ve retrieved Necorot’s scroll of perseverance. Six more to go?” Hotaru, Kettei’s mother, replied, as Kettei clenched his fist in fury

  “Moreover, when are you gonna tell Kettei? You know, about our little thing?” Carl Johan asked

  “He’ll know when it will be needed” Hotaru replied, as Kettei burst thru the window

  “Know what exactly? About your affair? I know what I fucking need now, thank you!” He shouted, furiously, which made them scared: “Yui is gonna stay atm y apartment. Dare come close to her, and it’ll be the last thing you’ll do” he added, in a cold and sharp tone, which made the pair tremble

  “S-son, please wai-“ Carl Johan spoke up. However, hearing that was the last straw for him as he lunged at him, punching him repeatedly

  “Don’t. YOU. DARE. CALL. ME. SON!” Kettei yelled between pinches, until blood started pouring from Kettei’s knuckles as well as Carl Johan’s face. Only then, he let him go: “You’re not him, you were jealous he had your teensy little crush, and tried to ruin his life. You’re never gonna be Shanyuan Izawami, you son of a bitch!”

  “Kettei, enough!” Hotaru commanded

  “And you!” Kettei turned towards her: “I refuse to believe you’d cheat on dad. If you weren’t a woman, I would have mauled you to death”

  “Shit, you’re not mad, you’re fuming” Hotaru realized, shaking

  “Took you long enough to realize that, you slow-ass blondie” Kettei replied, as he looked at her dead in the eye: “But seriously, get in my way, and I will strike you down” as he said that, he teleported away, to his dorm room, where Sora and Yui were having dinner and chatting, which put a smile on his face

  “So, can I call you big brother Sora, or is it offensive?” Yui asked between bites

  “That would be nice. I’m an only child and you’re my best friend’s sister so… feel free to” Sora replied, as from the entrance Martha entered

  “Hey Martha, here to go on a date with Sora?” Kettei asked, sipping a juice

  “Well, sorta. We’re gonna play some racing game in his room” Martha replied

  “Alright. Sora, you can give her the brownies we made. I’m not planning on eating them and you have her over” Kettei commented, as Sora nodded and grabbed the brownies from the fridge and headed to his room followed by Martha

  “10 to 1 they fuck” Yui whispered, as Kettei laughed it off

  “Sora is a bit awkward with women, but if it happens why not” Kettei replied between laughs. As this was happening in Kettei’s room, in the neighbouring Bellum Kingdom, a purple-haired with blue eyes and ragged clothes had put his affected sister to rest

  “Stay here sister. I’ll go look for a remedy for this condition” he said as he left for a journey. Said journey would’ve led him, a couple of months later, at the doors of the Tempest Kingdom…