{Clone Tsukima}
My body shook down to its very core, hearing someone speaking my true name for the first time in years. “H-How, d-did you …” I asked with a crack.
“Call it a special ability exclusive to me,” Sango said before looking up with a self-deprecating smile, “Thanks to that, I’ve learned a bit of who I was and what brought me here, as the brat’s ‘guardian angel’ without memories of his past. It seems there are … many things my actions brought to my clan’s descendants that I didn’t take into account. I know words alone won’t forgive what I’ve done, I don’t know all about my past yet, either, but just as I promised to those three long ago, I will do everything in my power to atone for the misfortune I brought to you and your family. I know I may look selfish and ignorant, but I must ask one favor from you.
“Tsukima Kurokichi, daughter of my descendant, Yoma Kurokichi, do not be a fool and run away, like your foolish brother is trying to do,” Sango said.
My eyes widened, Did he know … about me wanting to erase Aniki’s memories again?
“From when that brat last spoke to Obina up to now, he has been trying to run away from the possibility, and I know your circumstances are partially my doing, but I need the two of you to be strong and face the truth,” Sango continued, “You now know that he has been excluded from our clan’s matters by his mother’s efforts, but our blood as D-Humans … the curse that I brought to our clan, has pulled him back to us, and it couldn’t have picked a worse time to do so.
“I’m afraid that within the limitations of my ability, I’m unable to figure out Yoma’s motivations for bringing the two of you together," Sango said as he looked down somberly, "Whatever his intentions are, however, I have a bad feeling that the future of this kingdom, nay, this entire continent, may be at stake, far beyond what Vask may be planning after the coup. Now, more than ever, Jinma needs to know the truth so the two of you can confront your father. I know that you’ve been questioning his actions for some time, but you must not be afraid to face him. Talk to your brother, open up to him, do some roughhousing, if you must, just do whatever you can to get everything out in the open. Then, help him master his [Devil Eyes] before Creep takes over him. He may be the only one who can grant you the courage to face Yoma, and the two of you will need all the power you can muster to face the future ahead of you. You two, and … no, I don’t want to raise hopes over something I don’t know yet.”
What, is there someone else who’s here? Aniki’s friends, maybe? Or …
"Finally, no matter how he feels about you, please, do everything you can to support your brother, and don't leave him behind. You now know as much as I do how stupid and reckless he can be on his own, and if his new lovers, especially Umeiyon and Nyra, can't look after him, then that leaves you, his only sister, to set him straight. Can you do that for me, Tsukima?" Sango asked me.
I sniffled and wiped the mess of tears off my face before glaring at him, "You know, if you're really our family's founder, our 'historic hero', isn't using my brother’s and my own lives against me to do your request a bit off-putting?"
"I'm sure that during your time as Demon King, you've learned that those granted with the title of Monarch have to resort to measures they're not proud of. What matters, though, is whether those measures will help your loved ones in the long run. Even if the entire world may go against you, remember those loved ones, and hold them tight. By then, even when you reach your end, you won't be alone," Sango said.
"What does that make you, then?" I asked, "We were told that you disappeared from Raiza without a trace over a thousand years ago, but here you are now. What are you if you're not dead?"
"... A lonely old man who longs for that death, yet has regrets and shame that chain him down. Even without my memories, that description sounds fitting for me."
My eyes widened at the statement, but the ominous aura that was leaking out of Aniki's body left me more surprised.
“... I guess it’s time,” Sango said before looking at me seriously, “I’m gonna be out of commission for a while, keeping Creep at bay. Do not leave Jinma’s side, no matter the circumstances.”
“... I got it. I don’t think I could bring myself to leave him, anyway,” I said while shaking my head, “I’d never forgive myself if I let Aniki get hurt out of my negligence. What would all my preparations for meeting him up to now be worth if he was gone?”
“... You know, that obsession with your brother, despite not meeting him until recently, is a side-effect of our curse. You realize that, right?” Sango asked out of worry.
“Well, that kind of thing is normal for us Devils, anyway, even though my blood’s only half of that. Curse or not, after finally meeting him, and seeing his life from beginning to now, I realize … that Aniki’s the coolest guy ever!” I exclaimed before giving a big smile, “I couldn’t be any prouder as his sister! I love him more than ever now, and you can bet that I’ll spoil him rotten, with my body or otherwise!”
“... Well, I guess that’s doable for now,” Sango said before sighing in relief before looking up at the sky, “I leave your brother’s safety in your hands. Try not to give him too much of a hard time.”
“That should go without saying, but … there’s a lot more going on with Father than I initially thought, and he’s the most powerful Demon King I know. I’m sure Sammy’s in on it, too, and I’ve never seen her in action, nor her status. You really think Aniki and I can stop whatever they’re planning?” I asked.
Sango ignored my question and used [Darkness Manipulation] again, leading one of his broken arms to point an open palm straight up to the sky, “I call upon the waters from the brightest lights of heaven, heed my call! Take all my power to its last drop, and use it to purify and bring life back to these lands! [MANA EXPULSION], [MAGIC SYNTHESIS], [WATER MAGIC], [HOLY MAGIC], COME TOGETHER TO CREATE [SHOWER OF THE HEAVENS]!”
At Sango’s chant, a giant pillar of liquified light shot up to the skies, covered by gray and black smog from the earlier fires that now hangs there. When it pierced through that smog, that light burst and spread out, purifying those dense fumes into clouds in the purest of white, yet quickly darkened our surroundings further. Then, I flinched at something wet hitting my face before the number of drops grew exponentially. What was previously a depressing and possibly toxic sky now turned into one that showed sorrow and mercy for the ruined lands below as it released a heavy downpour of cool, refreshingly pure rain. As that water hit the charred, hardened ground, it pierced through and quickly softened the surface, practically lifting the black layer from the bottom before it all washed away. This was happening while the original soil underneath desperately absorbed the fresh liquids, slowly restoring to a healthy brown color. I didn’t even mind my seat getting muddied from it, and with the air cleaned out, I removed the shadow mask from my face.
Spells when combining [Water Magic] and [Holy Magic] through [Magic Synthesis] was the only way to clean and clear the blackened earth, much less put out the black flames from the synthesis of [Fire Magic] and [Curse Magic], and restore the lands to restart the cycle of life. These waters also have a magically purifying effect that removes status ailments and recover fatigue for anyone that’s soaked in it. Remembering this deals significant damage to the Undead, Gabriella came to mind, but then I remembered how Aniki’s—or was it Sango’s?—[Darkness Manipulation] coated her form. I see, it was to protect her from being purified by the holy water shower. He really thought ahead in such a short time.
Sango not only did all that, he used the [Mana Expulsion] active skill, which immediately puts all the mana the user currently has into their next spell or active skill that requires it, regardless of the limits they have. This gives the next attack tremendous power, depending on how much mana the user has, but it has a dangerous downside of knocking that person out into FAINTED status immediately afterward, and they wouldn’t wake back up for a while. Even with my impossibly fast mana regeneration, I’d also be subjected to that same fate, so I’m sure the same is said with Aniki who shares that same power.
That said, it’s important that the user make this shot their last resort in a fight, or at the least that they’re not alone when doing so. It’s also possible for the user to just use [Mana Expulsion] by itself and shoot off all the mana they have into its own attack. While that isn’t as effective as applying it to another skill or spell, this is actually another one of the emergency measures we Devils use as we’re learning to control our [Devil Eyes]. Since it requires us to retain enough sense to activate, though, and with how destructive it can be when not used properly, especially with how vulnerable it makes us afterward, some of us don’t even bother learning the skill. Still, did Sango have to use it on [Shower of the Heavens], though? It would have been just fine with him using [Mana Expulsion] by itself, unless … is it for the dungeon?
I’m not sure if the dungeon could repair the earlier damage on its own, but with this, it should be able to grow plant life again, as well as spawn monsters, in a matter of time. Whether that’s good or not would be debatable, but maybe Sango did this to fix the mess he made earlier.
“Tsukima …”
Sango’s exhausted voice snapped me out of my thoughts and directed my attention back at him. Aniki’s arms lay limp once more, no signs of his [Darkness Manipulation] at work, either, meaning his body was totally spent. Even his eyes, as they were looking at me, were slowly getting back to normal with how the ominous essence was leaking from their tear ducts in wisps. With his body getting drenched and muddied on top of that, he looked like he was about to be washed away with the other impurities in the land. I had to rest my hands on his stomach to prevent that from happening, gently, of course.
Sango made a tired, yet confident smile before closing his eyes, "Whatever may come your way, you'll get through this, both of you. I know, because you two are part of this family, after all, no matter how fucked up it may be.”
I looked to the side and thought, He said that to Aniki and his friends when they were kids, too, back then, aside from that ‘fucked up’ part. Hyoko Ishima and Komiwa Karuga … Wonder if they can also help us?
“Hey, Sango, do you think Aniki's friends from Earth are also … Sango? Ah, he’s FAINTED now,” I said, “Guess I’ll get started healing Aniki’s broken arms while the others are catching up, and do it fast.”
As I went to using [Heal] at the appropriate power for broken bones, I thought back on what I’ve seen from Jinma’s life through Sango’s ability. I did hear from Father’s stories how traitors in the Kurokichi Clan would never escape punishment once Sango captured and pulled the truth out of them way back in the day. So that was because of his ability … it wasn’t just a person’s memories, it was what actually happened in their lifetime, a record that could never be overwritten with lies and deceit. To be able to see the truth of someone’s life … that’s more terrifying than someone using their [Mind Reading] skill against me.
Still, there’s a lot to process, but the biggest thing to worry about is what I saw Aniki and Nyra discussing with Goddess Obina in the Immortals’ Realm.
I now know that Aniki learned Sango’s name and some of his family background through Goddess Obina. He’s also learned of me taking his blood sample the other night for DNA testing with Sammy’s assistance, to see if he was really my half-brother through our father, Yoma Kurokichi. Then there’s me—the ‘original’ me, to be precise—being able to produce [Clones], and that I’m standing here as one of them. Lastly, much to my dismay, he’s witnessed me in my most humiliating and vulnerable state, breaking down from the thought of cutting Aniki out of my life for good. Sure, that was all muted and censored to an extent, but it was still embarrassing to watch.
From all that, Aniki had suspected of me being the Demon King, but wished that wasn’t the case, as that would bring the possibility of me having blood-relations with him. This was the thing Sango was telling me Aniki was running away from. Knowing the modern cultural norms between siblings in his homeworld and how that goes against the racy things that we’ve done already, I can understand why he can be so internally conflicted with this. Though I understood, it still hurt, knowing he was trying to look away from that truth.
Does me being his sister disgust him that much? The thought made me second-guess briefly, but I shook myself out of it, What I saw there was Aniki’s history, the facts of his life based on the actions and words he spoke of in the moment. He’s already spoken his point of meeting up with a long-lost sibling, but there’s a difference between what’s theoretical and what’s reality. I don’t know if he’s learned all of my life through Sango now, but whether that’s the case or not, I need to come out with it, especially since he, Nyra, and his Familiars are under oath of not speaking it for a certain time. Honestly, what a foul deal those Immortals pulled on him, though I’m partially to blame for pushing him to such extremes to get that much info about me.
Granted, it was a ballsy move of Sango to reveal what Aniki was hiding from me, putting the latter’s own life at risk. Perhaps because Sango didn’t swear to the oath, he took the loophole of him being a bystander witnessing it all and letting me in on the information through that ability of his.
That aside, once my main body gets here, or that Aniki wakes up, whichever comes first, I need to get the truth out to everyone at the first chance I get. After that, I’ll have to get someone to look into Hyoko and Komiwa, as well as Aniki’s other close connections, to see whether they’re somewhere in Padimon. If our family-founding ancestor has a bad feeling about what his descendant, Aniki’s and my own father, is up to, then we’re going to need all the help we can get.
With Aniki’s healing completed, I moved myself to where I could rest his head on my lap while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive. I looked up to the still pouring and chilly holy rain as I rubbed against his head, “At least my huge tits are shielding your face from getting wet. Still, sheesh, just how much of your mana did that guy put into this rain, Aniki? And now I can’t stop calling you ‘Aniki’ … whatever you may think of me after telling you the truth, I hope you can let me off with that much.”
<Sue, do you read me?> a familiar voice rang in my mind, my original self.
<Yeah, I’m here, Tsukima,> I answered. We agreed ahead of time to refer to each other by those names to lessen confusion.
<What’s the status of the situation?> she asked.
<Our group got through the worst of it, but … Tsukima, I learned something very important. It’s best that you get here as soon as possible and we combine once more for you to understand,> I practically pleaded.
<I know, I’m heading over right now. I just got done with something unsettling, too.>
<Was Cyec that troublesome?> I asked in shock.
<No, she was easy, and I pulled a lot out of her that I’ll relay to you soon, but … you’d best watch yourself and not do anything irrational to Aniki until I get there.>
I blinked in shock by how anxious I could sense from her, <That should go without saying, but why? What happened?>
<I just learned first-hand … that Kisaki may be a bigger threat to me than we know.>
Thanks for the chapter!