Chapter 52: "Hollow" (052)
Elliot heard Ayuka cough while holding her in his arm. "What's up, Ayuka?"
He saw Ayuka cough out blood the minute he asked, and he was astonished when she gripped her neck in discomfort. "Ayuka!" The quick Duelist felt concerned after supporting her kneeling.
Due to Ayuka's silence down, Elliot heard a *beep* in the vicinity when she was trying to restore awareness.
But it didn't happen once, twice, or even three times... it kept beeping as if something was about to blow up.
"Damn... You friggin' human!" While Kin's demonic body rubbed his skull out, the edges of the wall began to tear down. "You dare to ruin my good time?! You're dead, you moron!"
Kin sprang from the feet towards Elliot, enraged, enraged, and irritated, surprising Ayuka.
Elliot pulled his blade, which absorbed the yellow electricity, and it happened while he was attempting to cut Kin. Ayuka's soles raised, and she pointed her right hand forward by shoving Elliot out of the path.
"What are you doing?" Our Hero yelled, but just then, frost began to form, freezing Kin on the ground.
After noticing that her ice would melt instantly due to the Demon's body heat, Elliot regained his balance and slipped across the ground.
So, when Kin roared angrily and shattered the ice, he tried his hardest to grab for Ayuka's neck, but just as he did, a bolt struck forward, zapping Kin's outstretched arm and exploding into the blood.
Finally, Elliot took control of the fight by shoving Ayuka aside and noticing Kin lunging at his face.
Elliot felt a jolt through his body as he guarded Kin's arm with his own and leaped back to rely on distance.
"What are you doing in my way? That sassy bitchy slut is mine, and mine alone! You're a monster!" Kin thrust his buff arm forward, only to be deflected by his opponent's ducking.
"Says... you."
So, while squatting, Elliot bent his knee and slammed it straight up against Kin's jaw, knocking him out. Elliot leaped and outstretched his leg from the initial strike. His shoes pressed into Kin's face, driving him back a few steps.
Elliot drew closer with each strike, fist-fisted the Demon in the face, and then waited for the next strike.
Kin kicked obliquely at Elliot's knee, who sprang upward and dodged the kick. Our Hero vanished in a burst of lightning and rushed behind Kin, skillfully footing him into the back and propelling him forward two paces.
Elliot fell on the ground, spread his legs and arms, and prepared to absorb his own electricity.
Kin's rage and dissatisfaction toward Elliot never left his head, thus he spun around without thinking when delivering the second punch. But, with a tremendous zap, Elliot struck his palm with the opponent's fist and paralyzed the Demon.
Taking advantage of this, Elliot sprinted forward and tossed his fist right under Kin's jaw with an extra leap as he advanced to the front of Kin's stomach.
Kin's body flew into the air, releasing him from his paralysis, and Elliot switched heights with an extra twist of the body, cutting his sole into the side of Kin's hip.
Kin decided to straighten up his attitude as his eyes violently bulged out from the pain, driving him wild and throwing him around like a ball.
"What a moron! I'm going to hit you in the face so hard that you'll taste your own blood!" But as soon as Kin yelled, Elliot kicked him in the face again and hurled him to the side.
From there, our Hero slid his hand forward, slowly descending, and unleashed a huge surge of energy mixed with his electricity with a flip of his fingers.
Kin swept his arm forward and threw a crimson bomb at Elliot's guard by forcing his torso to straighten.
A massive explosion occurred, and our Hero was thrown back, landing on the floor and slipping back due to the pressure. His hair and clothes were rather voluminous, rippling in the wind.
("The body of a demon is protected by a thick layer of skin armor... They range in depth from 5 cm to 30 centimeters. I've slammed him multiple times, and if my hits penetrate his armor to a depth of roughly 3 cm, which implies I only have a few more blows before his armor is broken.")
("Damn... I had no idea I'd have to utilize intellect to plot an execution... But, now that he's been revived - though weaker - he's gathering the long-awaited details concerning the Demons. I'm confident that this rendition of Kin is far from perfect.")
"Stupidity! Dread! Sorrow! Ugliness! You're the one who's responsible for all of that nonsense! Nobody is ever going to adore you! I'm going to put you to death!" Kin's body began to buffer and buffer every other second as he raged and roared.
"You make me feel ill! Because you irritate me, I'm going to assassinate you!" But Elliot's body flashed harder the minute that happened. "Augmented Godspeed..."
"What do you mean, augmented?" Kin didn't seem to remember that technique, as one eye twitched.
"Don't make a fool of yourself, you've heard it... A.U.G.M.E.N.T.E.D. Godspeed... It's not difficult to comprehend... Its name is self-explanatory... It signifies that it's a supplement to my weaker Godspeed! It also indicates it rises to new heights! It's ironic that you forgot about this approach but not Tim's wife!" Elliot laughed confidently, his teeth sharpening.
"Don't even bring up *HIS* name!" The companion Demon, enraged, thrust his fist forward, but only just. "Oh? What are your plans? Isn't he someone who piques your interest?" Elliot's body vanished, and the surrounding surroundings became greyer.
The Demon, ruse an outrage.
Elliot began vanishing, teleporting, and hitting between the targeted body as soon as it turned grey. Thunderous strikes rained down from his back, front, sides, and beneath him, and Kin couldn't keep up due to his adaptive speed.
Elliot appeared in front of Kin and kicked him in the face. Then he appeared in front, speeding up from either side and hitting a hard blow in his face.
By kicking obliquely from right to left and then the other way, smacking both of Kin's cheeks while whirling and striking him in the face.
When Kin sought to grab Elliot's face at that time, our Hero vanished behind him and, with a final cry, prepared his fatal attack.
Turning around to discover Elliot's location, he saw that his opponent had shot forward and crushed his face on collision, phasing to the front, and grasping for his sword's hilt.
Elliot drew the blade in a circular motion, spun, and sprinted forward while standing on one of his soles on the floor.
Yellow bolts began to form a star and sliced through the Demon's armor, damaging his skin and, upon pulling the trigger, unleashing a huge explosion that vaporized the flung blood.
Elliot's eyes stared forward as he hopped to the ground, and as he turned to look behind him, he saw the Demon fall to both knees, his hardened armor entirely destroyed.
The Demon's eyes were dull and scared, and it was apparent that he was in despair. "I-I... lost, no... It's not possible... she's mine!" He jumped at Ayuka's blurry perspective with the final clue of the Demon's might.
But then she saw the Demon in front of her, and she realized it was time to believe.
("Is this... the end?")
However, Kin's perspective was turned upside down and bone snaps were heard as black clothing rippled.
As he realized his nightmare had arrived, his eyes were horrified. "Isn't it... it's... him... r-right... t-the... Hollow?"
Tim's body was perched on top of him.
Kin's skull had been twisted, his neck had been broken, and a dark, horrific, and ruthless aura was emanating from our protagonist's body.
Tim's eyes were peaceful, with the exception of their dullness.
"... take a break..."
The blue flames swirled into the air as he released a Holocaust from his palms, and the Demonic body was entirely cracked and weakened within seconds.
When Elliot vanished in yellow lightning, our Protagonist flipped back off the Demon's back and sliced through the final defense.
Elliot's final hit was a devastating kill, and it was apparent Elliot's face was covered in blood and sweat, as Kin's body slumped down in front of Tim's feet.
("Is this threatening aura... his?") Elliot gulped after carefully drawing his gaze behind his back. ("It feels... as if... as if an ally is gloating at me, luring evil out and attempting to slaughter my life...") Elliot's worry had piqued, and his confidence had dwindled.
("It can't be... n-no... n-no... n-no... n-no... n- Is this, r-really, the person I believe it to be... T-Tim, is it really him?") Elliot's body moved slowly and deliberately to exchange gaze with our Protagonist's lifeless eyes, and the ungrateful, horrible aura continued to emanate.
"... hey, Ellie, what's the matter? Is there something on your mind? Come on... you know... you look like you saw a ghost..." Tim's head twitched to the side slowly.
"Are you truly... terrified? Now, don't you think your gorgeous friend, such as myself, would do you any harm? Come on, that's hilarious..."
"W-What's with you, T-Tim? You're frightening me... frightening... h-her..." When Elliot saw his fearsome pal in front of him, he gulped. "Ohhhhh... I'm sorry if I'm fooling you... I'll just-" Tim reached towards Ayuka's body without saying anything.
He grabbed her neck and began choking her, rendering her speechless.
"H-Hey! Keep an eye on it! Don't grasp her so hard! She's coughing blood! You're going to put her to death! Put an end to it!" When Tim grinned, Elliot took a step forward.
"Besides, I think coughing blood is kind of cute...
But eventually, Tim's eyes returned to normal, and he loosened his grip after recognizing what he had been clutching. "W-What am I doing?! Ayuka!? S-Sorry, I-I wasn't thinking!"
Tim let go of her without doing anything else, afraid and backing away, and her body had been laying on the floor. "You moron! You're mad! You almost suffocated her!" Elliot's body surged past Tim, softly grabbing her.
"Hey, Ayuka. Are you going to be okay?"
Her body, however, fell asleep shortly after agreeing.
"... W-What the hell is wrong with me... what the hell is going on?"
Tim's entire body was trembling, particularly his arms, after witnessing Ayuka's blood on them.
"Why did I do it... Why have I done it?! What the hell was I thinking?"
"Daaaaaaamn iiiiittttt!"
Tim snatched his hair and began to tangle them once more. "I'm so dreadful, dreadful, dreadful, dreadful, dreadful!"
His entire body had been trembling.
"I can't believe what I'm witnessing! I can't do it! I'm sorry, but I'm not able to! I'm not going to believe it! Why would I conduct such heinous acts? It's Ayuka here! Am I crazy? Yeah, I-I-I-I'm insane to the point where I want to die, I want to die!"
He'd been yelling angrily when *it* happened.
Tim's back was penetrated by a sharp thing, most possibly, no definitely made of metal, peering from the front of his stomach, and our Hero, seeing his blood trickling on the blade, froze.
Tim's eyes were wide open, still looking at his palms, as Elliot's body, which had been clutching Ayuka, came to a halt at his feet.
"G-Genpaku... Y-You... W-Why... When did you... h-how... w-when did you..." However, when Tim slowly spoke those words, the blade moved in his inner body, intensifying the anguish.
"Isn't it true that you wished to be killed? I'm sure you're aware that I was the one who resurrected this Demon... It was nothing more than a toy, enamored with that attractive lady... So, after overcoming his reluctance to give that woman his infant Demonic babies, I instructed him to deliver your gorgeous friend to this precise location."
Genpaku chuckled.
"E-Everything... w-was planned???"
"You tricked us into believing he.. e-escaped from Hell? B-However... H-How are you able to-" Tim's speech was cut off...
"Isn't it true that I have a specific title? I enjoy deceiving people, so I got myself the moniker "Trickster," and with the ability to control Reality, granting me access to all of the immortal abilities, I knew I had to rehire someone... And who could have been a better choice than Kin, the lovely little villain, reborn as the weak and ugly Demon."
His laughter could be heard once more, and everyone in his near area was stunned and unable to move.
"B-But... H-how did you... get t-that crucial knowledge, ab-about Kin...?" Tim coughed up blood as the sword went deeper into his lung.
"It's that simple... One of my nice Hoaxers managed to hack into her profiles, and who'd have guessed... I believe your small friend's information was quite useful... After all, if he hadn't told us that, I wouldn't have thought of a way to deceive you... I had to go all out the instant I heard you'd get emotional over this girl being wounded or offended in any manner... I only had to send someone who would attempt to rape her..."
"And... it was successful... lucky me, huh?"
"You see... I have to give you credit... you made my plan a lot easier... and now that you've been stabbed... in front of me, I'll start the "Hollowification"... after that, now that your body has been pierced and hollowed... it's time for you to give me what I want..."
"You're exactly what I'm looking for... you're *that* 'Hollow' that everyone has been talking about... and this secret has now been revealed to everyone, right, Ayana?"
A camera emerged in front of Tim's eyes unexpectedly, just as he was clinging to life.
When he looked up, he saw that it was turned on and that it was clear...
"There's no need for the narrator to mention it... I'll just take care of it myself... Everything that just happened was broadcast live... and now that everyone, including captains, Spiritual Duelists, and your friends, has seen who you are, what will you do?"
And, as he said, even our Protagonist's buddies saw it happen in real-time.
The Hero's eyes were disturbed and terrified, humiliated and apprehensive, and he quickly heard the next words before expressing his own.
"N-No... t-that can't be..."
"Oh, trust me... it's true... your buddy, Elliot, would have been the only one who wouldn't have witnessed... You revealed your hidden identity because he was in front of you... you're not Miyazaki Timoshi... you're who you stated... your name is... Yujiro Sagayama..."
"Y-You're lying... I'm... Timoshi Miyazaki... W-What are you s-saying?"
The evil behind him, on the other hand, merely chuckled.
"Don't you realize... You're not who you think you are... It was *its* doing... The Black Storm... In truth, you're Yujiro Sagayama... you've simply assumed the corpse of the murdered Duelist... don't you understand? Miyazaki Timoshi... He died some years ago."
Hearing them, Tim's eyes shook.
"Do you know... which day you? Yes, that is correct... You were killed... exactly 8 years ago, by none other than the Demon God himself... Rez... The ability that restored you, it was that woman transferring your Soul into a boy's body... a youngster named Yujiro Sagayama..."
"Y-Y-Y-You're still lying!"
"No..., no..., no..., no..., no..., no..., no Did you honestly think the woman could merely resurrect a human without the use of Reality? Of course not, she lied about the summoning ceremony... and that ring you were given... didn't you realize that was the key link between Yujiro's body... and yourself... besides, tell me something..."
"Why do you suppose you've been mystified... you were mystified as to what had happened the minute you saw your wonderful darling wife, damaged and held in your hand... you immediately acted to back away and let her go... Yujiro on the other hand... would've killed her... his love of blood is indecisive and unimaginable..."
"...because you are not one person, but two people who are linked by distinct spiritual paths."
"But in truth... the human who had been connected with you was alive... but your Soul... hehe... it's been lost by many people... others only remember you since your body defeated Yujiro's and remained to appear exactly like you in the hereafter..."
"Now... Yujiro Sagayama, do you understand?"
Our Protagonist's eyes shook with horror at that moment, even more so than before.
"I-I am... Y-Yujiro Sagayama?" It was all dread, worry, and anxiety.
"I am... Y-Yujiro Sagayama..."
An echo rocked and vibrated through Tim's thoughts when he heard those words.
"Yujiro Sagayama..."
"Yujiro Sagayama..."
"Yujiro Sagayama..."
"You're Sagayama Yujiro, the mysterious duelist... you're the 'Hollowed'!"
Tim's eyes became dull once more, echoes still audible throughout and every few seconds.
"Yujiro Sagayama, it's time for you to join our ranks... Our Ultimate Weapon will be you... the 'Hollow' itself."
Tim's perception became fuzzy and his awareness was gone with the final piercing; his body sank forward, dangling from the blade, while Ayuka's eyes slowly opened.
"H-Huh... Is... that you... T-Tim? W-What are you doing here?" However, her eyes widened and began to shake as blood gushed beneath Tim's feet and the sunken body visible within her fearful eyes awoke.
Her perception was vibrating and the vision she saw, was all shaky.
She saw... Tim's stomach blade expanding, his chilly body, bleeding garments, and damaged clothes.
"N-No... this... this can't be real... T-Tim... w-why are you..."
"Why are you..."
"How can you..."
"Why are you..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Dead?!"
Our Heroines' and Heroes' actual despair mounted, and with the final few sentences, both Genpaku's final laugh and body, as well as Tim's own body, vanished.
"Stop it! No!!!"
But... it happened, and it was already late... our Heroes' only emotions were despair and terror... especially Ayuka, his own wife, whose memories had been erased.
Even she was on the verge of losing her mind... this was the ultimate tragedy, and all hope seemed to have vanished.
To be continued...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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