Dual Souls, The Other Half is Bronya

[……]

The stone gate seemed to recede into the distance.

[Defeat?]

[No, how can I allow such a thing to happen!]

Figures appeared one after another: Byakuya, Bronya, Arisugawa… and even Toudo Touka, Gagami, Ayatsuji দৃশ্যা, then Kurogane Shizuku.

Finally, at the very end, was that splash of vibrant red hair, that figure gradually coming into focus—Stella!

Countless encouragements, countless promises. To reach the pinnacle of the knight's path together, to share that joy together…

[Ahhhhhhhh!!!]

"How can I possibly stagnate here!!!"

With a surge of tenacious will, Ikki, his face contorted, reached out a hand, trying to touch that door.

"Crack, crack—"

Faintly, sounds of cracking echoed, and countless chains shattered with a roar.

"Finally, I've been waiting." (Byakuya)

On the tournament grounds, Ikki finally broke through to the Demon realm, and invisible Magic Power flowed out from beyond the door.

At this moment, the memories he had lost also returned. "So that's how it is… Byakuya, that guy…"

The duration of One Blade Arrogance was about to expire, but Ikki remained calm and composed. "Stella, to live up to your expectations, I will pour everything I have into this strike."

"Then let's decide the winner with one move!"

Stella conjured a giant sword of light and brought it down with terrifying heat, holding nothing back. "Burn to ashes! Blazing Heaven Earth Dragon King Flame—!"

Magic Power barriers were constructed one after another.

Kurono, Ning Yin, Byakuya… even Nangong Torajiro, several of the world's top powerhouses were involved, and layer upon layer of defense completely withstood the impact.

But in the end, it was the sword of light that shattered, and most people didn't even see what Ikki did at that moment.

—Final Secret Sword: Shadow Chase!

A strike that truly reached the Demon realm. The blade, in an instant, converged through causality independent of the world, anchoring the outcome of "slaying."

As the dust settled, Stella had fallen to the ground, and Ikki had achieved final victory.

"Oooooohhhhhh!!!"

A roar of cheers erupted from the audience, an extremely fervent wave of applause echoing to the heavens.

However…

In places most people didn't notice, the fate-altering powers of several Demon realm existences collided subtly, deterring those with ill intentions.

[……]

Abraham Carter pushed up his sunglasses, but ultimately restrained his aura and quietly left the venue.

"This is quite lively~"

After the clash ended, Byakuya let out a long sigh. His Demon existence had flaws, making him a bit weak. "But, this means it's over, right?"

A soft little hand quietly reached out, and Edelweiss looked at Byakuya with eyes full of affection.

70. It's Time to Depart

The competition ended, and Byakuya was scheduled to depart afterward.

And given Edelweiss's personality, she would naturally not want to distract Byakuya with this matter; she would only support him silently.

So, for the next few days, Xiao Ai became quite clingy with Byakuya, and she was a bit more open at night… For three consecutive days, Byakuya didn't even attend the awards ceremony.

When everyone gathered again, it was three days later, at Broken Blade Academy.

"Amane, why are you here?"

Upon arriving at the conference room, Ikki and Stella immediately saw Shinomiya Amane sitting in a corner, feeling very surprised.

Amane waved at Ikki, her smile much more sincere now. "It's been a few days, Ikki. Congratulations on winning the championship. As for why I'm here…"

"Byakuya asked me to come~"

Byakuya, huh…

Ikki didn't say anything more. If it was Byakuya, he probably had some plan in mind.

Before long, a handsome uncle in a suit and sunglasses pushed open the door—the highest authority in the Far East, Tsukikage Bakuga!

Kurono and Ning Yin followed closely behind. In front of their former teacher, even Ning Yin was much more subdued.

Conversely, Byakuya, the initiator of this gathering, had still not arrived at this point.

Unable to help it, Tsukikage Bakuga took the lead and began introducing matters concerning "Demons" to everyone. Ikki and Stella were now qualified to know.

There was also a small conflict during the discussion:

—Regarding the Famillion Kingdom concealing information about "Demons." Stella summoned the Dragon Sinner Sword, and specks of flame ignited as she questioned Ning Yin and Tsukikage Bakuga.

But the requirements for breaking through the Demon were too harsh. Tsukikage Bakuga analyzed the situation from all angles and reasoned with Stella, calming her down.

"Hey, you guys are a bit early," Byakuya said, finally arriving at the venue.

Bronya accompanied him as usual, but another person's presence was surprising—Edelweiss!

"Ahem, don't be surprised just yet."

Byakuya cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention, and then gestured to Tsukikage Bakuga, "We'll catch up later; let's discuss the important matters first."

Tsukikage Bakuga nodded, and a bead-shaped Inherent Gear appeared in his hand. "I'll explain the details later. For now, please look at this."

As he spoke, Tsukikage flicked the bead gently with his finger. Its surface rippled like a lake.

A drop of water fell from it, creating an invisible ripple on the ground…

A city engulfed in flames, shattered streets, people dying in various gruesome ways… Blood, dismembered bodies, screams, it was as if they were experiencing it firsthand, delivering a tremendous shock to everyone.

—Hell!

If one had to describe it, that would probably be the word. There was no other word to describe it.

"Wh-what is this… ugh…"

After watching for a few seconds, Stella couldn't take it anymore and crouched down, almost vomiting.

She wasn't the only one. Even Ikki and Kurono felt their stomachs churn.

"Is this the clear future? It's the first time I've seen it." Byakuya was relatively fine; he had experienced war, so his tolerance was higher.

Then came Ning Yin, Xiao Ai, and the others. Although they felt uncomfortable, they could still maintain their composure. Of course, Amane was excluded; she couldn't see any of this.

"This is East Tokyo, right?" (Ning Yin)

"My ability allows me to glimpse the past to a certain extent. Of course, sometimes situations like this occur."

Tsukikage Bakuga steadied his emotions, his tone as calm as possible. "What's displayed… has become the future on the causal line. The form it takes is this 'precognitive dream'."

In other words, if the current trajectory of fate continues, the hellish scene before them will one day become a reality!

Immediately after, Tsukikage Bakuga deactivated the Divine Key, leaving behind only a deathly silence.

"This is… the future?"

Stella's voice was low. It was clear she hadn't recovered; the scene was too impactful. "…Why is it like this…"

"Probably because of the war." (Bai)

"I cannot confirm the cause of the tragedy. All I can do is 'see'."

As he spoke, Tsukikage Bakuga turned his gaze to Byakuya. "However… isn't there someone else here who can observe the future?"

"This is exactly what I wanted to talk about."

Byakuya nodded, not beating around the bush. He first looked at Stella:

"If I'm not mistaken, before this, the King of Famillion should have invited us to the kingdom, right?"

!!!

Stella didn't answer, but the surprised expression on her face… needed no further explanation.

"It seems I was right."

Nodding inwardly, everything was proceeding according to script. Byakuya continued his revelations. "You all need to be careful. Have you heard of the Puppet King, Or-Gull?"

"…"

A moment of silence.

Only Xiao Ai had a vague impression. However, Xiao Ai never paid attention to such things, so it remained just a superficial impression.

"Wait, I remember back then…"

Tsukikage recalled. During their first meeting, Byakuya had warned him to be wary of the clown, Hiraga Reizen. "Is he the one behind the clown? The anti-social Puppet Master you mentioned?"

"He's a complete pervert." (Ya)

A deep blue machine appeared—Heavy Rabbit, this time acting as a projector, displaying data on a large screen:

「Rebellion」 Apostle

He relished pure evil, hating, screaming, wailing, betrayal… all negative emotions. He loved them so much that he personally controlled his sister to kill everyone in his birthplace!

Although it was just a textual description, it was enough to portray Or-Gull's character. He was indeed a complete pervert!

Especially the part about controlling his sister; just reading it made one feel psychologically uncomfortable.

"Ikki, do you remember the Puppet Master incident back then? He was involved in that."

Byakuya's revelations continued. "The data also mentioned that he secretly controlled many political figures. So, do you think… Famillion Kingdom is among them?"

!!!

"Don't rush, don't rush."

Before Ikki or Stella could say anything, Byakuya appeared between them, placing a hand on each of them. "Of course, I've prepared a backup plan."

The two followed Byakuya's gaze and saw that he was pointing at Shinomiya Amane.

"Absolute good fortune!"

Xiao Ai, Ning Yin, and others would shield her in terms of fate. (This is the author's secondary setting and may not be particularly rigorous.)

"Let's just use random names and keep refreshing until the list repeats. Those people will be the puppets."

Since it wouldn't be direct interference with the targets, the difficulty would be lower and it wouldn't be as easy to get caught. "If it were Ikki, you'd help, right, Amane?"

"Ah, of course."

Shinomiya Amane nodded.

Honestly, he had no idea what they were talking about before. But since his help was needed, for the sake of Byakuya and Ikki... he was willing to lend a hand.

"Next is the [Black Knight]."

With that dealt with, Byakuya extended the topic. "She is Or-Gull's older sister. If you need to find someone for help, be a little careful; she's not trustworthy."

"Oh my, this is quite something~"

Tsukikage, having received too much information, gently pressed his temples and interrupted Byakuya. He needed a moment to recover. "If this information were to get out, the world would be shaken."

Hmm...

Then, Tsukikage looked up at Byakuya. "Wait, don't tell me there's more coming, right?"

"There's just the last part."

Byakuya nodded, confirming Tsukikage's guess. "Of course, what I saw is ultimately limited, so that's all there is."

"...Is this not enough?" (Tsukikage)

"It's about the [Superman]."