Marty slowly opened his heavy eyelids. The room he was in was dark, and the air was heavy with disinfectant, which betrayed his location to be a hospital. His body felt extremely heavy, and he was uncomfortable, so he tried to move. As he did so, his hands grasped to remarkably similar feeling objects. One was more significant than the other, and it had an excellent elastic feel with a little knob in the middle of his palm.

"Ahn, Anata."

"M-master."

Two sultry and seductive voices suddenly moaned next to his ear. Marty was startled as he realized that the weight he felt was not because his body was injured, but because Miyuki and Kuromi had entwined their bodies to him. Moreover, he could tell that they weren't wearing any clothes.

"Hanahime, what are you doing?" Marty asked.

"Naturally taking care of an injured patient. Wait a minute, did you call me Hanahime?"

"... Yes, I remembered."

"Remembered? Really?" Miyuki asked excitedly. "Say, not that my mind but, could you… Let go?"

"Why should I?" Marty asked as he gave them a squeeze prompting a moan from them which excited him. He was still dealing with the fusion of himself and Shiba and yet to reorganize his thoughts. The fact that they were all together once again made him extremely happy. However, Miyuki's following words were like cold water poured over him.

"Don't you have a fiancé?" she asked with a tease.

Marty let go and reorganized himself when he suddenly felt something that made his eyebrow twitch. "Miyuki, why is my leg wet?"

"That's your fault, Anata. Don't you remember what else you used to do after you spanked me?"

A bunch of memories flooded through Marty's mind; memories that were not convenient, given that he currently had two naked women in his embrace. He quickly sealed and stored those numbers away for later access... Purely for scientific reasons.

"Oh, but don't worry, you're still a virgin," Miyuki said with a chuckle.

"How do you know that?"

"The fact that you haven’t pushed me down after remembering everything."

Marty rolled his eyes. "I can understand why Miyuki is here, but why you too, Kuromi?" He asked to change the subject.

"It was Mistresses order." Kuromi replied.

"Kuromi, times have changed. You don't need to listen to either of us and should choose for yourself."

"Choose for me?" She repeated back.

"Yes," Marty replied. No sooner than those words had left his lips than a soft pair of lips pressed against his. Marty was startled by Kuromi sudden kiss, but upon remembering when he saw her die, he couldn't push himself away.

"I'm sorry, master. I lived one life with regrets. I don't want that to happen again."

Marty replied by hugging the two tighter.  

"Anata, you tell us about your life and where you come from?"

"If you want to listen, sure," Marty replied.

 

Over the next couple of hours, Marty went over his life in a significant amount of detail. The two young ladies patiently listened, and the occasional squeeze of their hands help comfort him recalled the sadder parts of his life.

"Now I have the two of you in my arms, making my life even more complicated," Marty said as he finished his story, but no regrets could be heard in his voice.

"Anata, you have been through a lot. I have something to say if you listen."

"Of course."

"Grow a pair and accept them."  

"What?"

"You being indecisive is torture for all of them."

"What do you mean?"

"The more you are indecisive, the more likely they will begin to think that you will only pick one, and that will most likely be Caelia. Even so, they stay with you even though they know you might not reciprocate their feelings."

"I hear what you're saying, but it isn't that simple."

"Isn't it? Why are you hesitating? Is because you feel that loving more than one woman, as you do, reduces the value of your affections? I think I understand your girls better than you do. From what you told me, Freyja was alright with you having multiple women because she understood you and her other options very well. There would be almost no chance that her other potential spouses would be loyal to her. They’d most likely have several mistresses. However, you were different than them. 

“You didn't care for her position but cared about her. Moreover, she knew full well that you would never be with a woman just because of her looks or benefit, but because you earnestly love one another. It doesn't seem like she minded sharing with people who personally cared for you. As for your fiancé, Caelia, she would be okay with other women because she was in that position. It would be extremely hypocritical for her to keep you to herself. As for the other girls? Not only do they all live together, but they get along with each other well. They wouldn't do that unless they accepted the fact that you are a womanizer."

Marty's eyebrow twitched. "Womanizer?" He mumbled.

"You have two naked girls in your embrace right now. Doesn't help your case." Miyuki said with a charming chuckle. "As for other reasons for hesitating. Because you grow up in a monogamous society? Are you afraid of yourself and others judgment? You shouldn't worry about what the hypocritical society thinks. It's fine to have multiple partners, but it becomes wrong when you take responsibility and marry them? Your girls won't care what others think because they were willing to give up everything to be with you. Also, don't tell me that you care about how others will view you. Given that you legally set yourself as their husband to help protect them, you care more about them than what others think."

Marty sighed. "You're right, but it isn't that easy."

"Isn't it?"

Marty rolled his eyes. “The only reason you told me this was to give yourself an excuse later, right?"

"Partially. Nothing gets by you. You should rest."

"I agree. I'm tired."

 ...

An hour later, after they were sure Marty was asleep, Miyuki and Kuromi quietly exited and got dressed.

"Mistress, are you sure about this?" Kuromi asked.

"Naturally. He is injured I don't want to see that happen again." Miyuki responded that she partially withdrew a white katana. "I killed Nero once; I can do it again."

End of Day -18

 

Marty awoke the next morning alone before he used Emotion Magic to heal his wounds and leave the hospital. He found a secluded spot, sat down, closed his eyes, and connected his mind to a wireless router to begin his search.

<“Miyuki, where did you go?”>

Miyuki was startled as she pulled out her cell phone, which was not connected to a call.

<“Well?”> Marty said through the phone again.

<“Nowhere special. I have some things to take care of.”>

<“I hope so. Last time you disappeared like this, the three of us died.”>

<“That won’t happen, I promise.”>

<“It definitely won’t if I’m there. I left a contact method on your phone. If anything happens, inform me immediately.”>

<“I understand, Anata.”>

<“Miyuki, if something happens and you don’t tell me, don’t bother coming to see me again.”>

Miyuki was startled at Marty’s words, but she soon felt delighted because Marty was expressing his concern for her. He wouldn’t leave anything to chance.

<“I promise, Anata. If you go back to your world without taking me, don’t bother coming to see me again.”> She replied smart-alecky.

<“See you later.”>

<“Sayonara.”>

 

Marty opened his eyes. He had been getting more and more used to connecting with computers as his mind could act as one. He avoided it because the Internet was vast and taxing to use. However, he had no other way to find or communicate with Miyuki as she was not at the company. He could figure out where she was quickly but decided against it as she wasn’t in danger, and he respected her privacy.

Marty soon took a walk and ended up in front of the crystallized cherry tree. When he looked at the base of a tree, he could barely see a black katana. Eventually, he would take back his sword, but not now. Now, he planned to check his memory to ensure that his skills and body were in tune.

Shiba’s body was much stronger than Marty’s. This was because of the System that he obtained when Shiba was summoned to another world. The memories of the world were very sparse, but he did have a basic understanding. He had utilized the System to improve his abilities to a higher level. His body was comparable to S Rank. Currently, Marty strength was S Rank, but this was due to his Ki. If Shiba and Marty fought, Marty would win, but only barely. In other words, the System had made him stronger, but his overall strength never left S Rank as Shiba didn’t know about Ki.  

The first thing Marty tried was spellcasting. Marty effortlessly tested several spells as the fundamentals were the same as magic circles. Mana was used to write the characters of a language. Whatever these characters represented affected the outcome of the spell. Naturally, this wasn’t the only thing that affected the spell. For example, if two different mages cast a spell that used the characters for ‘fire’ one person could make a tiny flame, while the other could make a much larger one. This was because the intent behind the spell could affect the result. After practicing a little, Marty began to incorporate Ki. To his delight, he discovered that his characters lasted much longer when he used Ki as a medium. This meant that he could make much longer spells without risking quality or outright failure. Next, he decided to try the Martial techniques that he learned.

Marty was already aware of these Martial techniques. Back in class, he saw Alexander use a rapid movement technique. This prompted him to do some research and found that there were some techniques based solely upon the human body. However, these techniques were extremely stressful on the body, which made them near impossible for an average person to practice. Strangely, these Martial techniques existed in Kuhon. However, they were only in the embryonic form as the average human body could not withstand the stress. Shiba had a tough body which allowed him to utilize these techniques.  

Marty didn’t have Shiba’s body, but he did have complete control over his Ki which he could use to help reinforce it. With a flash, Marty’s leg struck the ground several times like a jackhammer and shot him forward exceptionally quickly. This was the technique he saw Alexander use; Gale Step. Then, he jumped into the air and kicked quickly, which gave him a small secondary jump; Air Step. He took a second to rest as his leg movement, which was a blur to the eye, as it strained him. Then, he threw a punch that was similar to a jackhammer to strike an opponent several times successively; Myriad Punch. Then, he threw another fast punch followed by a quick kick, the force of which moved the grass; Gale Punch and Kick Blade. Then, he withdrew a sword from his Space Ring and slashed quickly similarly splitting the grass; Wind Blade. Marty focused his mind as his brain began to process everything faster; Time Dilation. He began to practice these movements to make his body used to them. Time was spent to ensure that he was using only the relative muscles to eliminate unnecessary movement which would increase attack power and speed; Zero Point.

After a couple of hours, Marty was finally satisfied with his progress. He had alternated between Magic and Martial techniques, both of which were significantly stronger than when he was Shiba, although his overall strength had not increased too much. Next, he decided to move on to Soul Armaments as they had the potential to increase his strength. He sat cross-legged and began to focus on bringing forth his Soul Armaments. However, unlike when Shiba initially awoke his, only one soul armament appeared, the crown on Marty’s head.

The next thing Marty knew, he found himself in a strange place. He looked around and saw that it was a long hallway that did not seem to have an end as it disappeared into whiteness with what appeared to be an island with a tree on it in the distance. The island caught his attention for a moment, but it seemed incorporeal, and he had no way to access it. He turned to the hallway where there was a pedestal with the crown on it. The hallway’s sides had carved out portions with a pedestal in each of them. Each of these pedestals had a different Soul Armament, many of which Marty recognized. He walked up to the pedestal in the center which had a crown on it. When he did so, words appeared in the air above the crown.

Crown of Origin (God-Slayer Series)

A rare Soul Armament that only appears on some who possess the Origin ability. Allows for the assimilation and management of Soul Armaments as well as providing a brief description of their uses. It has been imbued with the power of a God-Slayer. Current Stage: 1/3.

Marty was shocked. Theoretically, every person had a Soul Armaments regardless of whether or not they could use it. The fact that he had so many seemed to be a result of absorbing Gram into himself. There didn’t seem to be an explanation for what God-Slayer Series was, but it sounded like it had high potential. Excited at the possibility that all of his Soul Armaments were available, he continued to the small golden shield.

Shield of Protection (God-Slayer Series)

A small shield used to block attacks up to a certain level. At an additional mana cost, the shield can travel a limited range under the condition that it is to protect someone else. It has been imbued with the power of a God-Slayer.

Marty was also happy when he saw the shield. He got the feeling that the shield and the crown were both his while the others were assimilated later. It made him happy that his Soul Armament was meant to protect himself and others. Next, he moved to the golden chest plate with a heart inscribed on it.

Breastplate of Sacrifice (God-Slayer Series)

A breastplate to increase the defense of the wearer’s chest. At an additional mana cost, the defense of the whole body will be increased. It has been imbued with the power of a God-Slayer.

On Marty saw this description, he almost cried. Now he knew the reason behind Miyuki’s response when he told her what happened to his family. This breastplate obviously came from his sister; from the heart beating in his chest. After controlling his emotions, he went to the large golden-colored feathered wings.  

Wings of Spirit Creation (God-Slayer Series)

These wings provide the ability of flight. At an additional mana cost, they can create a small aura that will speed up the healing of those within the aura. It has been imbued with the power of a God-Slayer.

When Marty saw this, he wasn’t as excited as the other Soul Armaments, but this was also good. Because he was already at Peak Rank 10 Ki, the flight aspect was unnecessary. His Ki Dragon Wings didn’t use too much Ki, and he would never run out. At most, it would only allow him to use all of his Ki for attack and not have to multitask. The aura healing and the ranged attack were both helpful, but without seeing how good they were in action, it would be hard to say for sure. The fact that he had a large number of Soul Armaments that he would spend more mana, which further decreased his probabilities of using these wings to be economical. However, he was not going to complain, and he headed over to the white bow and quiver.

Bow and Quiver of Spirit Wind

Works similar to the real-world counterpart. An additional mana cost to the quiver will generate arrows. An additional mana cost to the arrow will increase arrow speed. An additional mana cost to the bow to increase striking power. Provides some resistance and affinity for wind energy.

Satisfied with the soul armament that would merge well with his accuracy ability, Marty then headed toward the green chain mail.

Chain Mail of Spirit Wood

This chain mail made out of tenacious wood that increases the defense of the entire body. At an additional mana cost, the chainmail will speed up wound recovery. Provides some resistance and affinity for wood energy.

It was a reasonably simple soul armament, but one that was extremely practical to help him preserve his life. Satisfied, he headed over to the brown greaves.

Greaves of Spirit Earth

These Greaves protect the legs of its wearer. With additional mana, the greaves will become heavier to help the wearer resist being moved. Provides some resistance and affinity for earth energy.

Marty nodded the satisfaction before he moved over to the yellow armored boots.

Boots of Spirit Lightning

These boots provide defense to the wearer’s feet. At an additional mana cost, the wearer’s speed is increased. Provides some resistance and affinity for lightning.

Marty’s eyebrow twitched. It would’ve been nice to have these boots before he experienced the bridge incident. Next, he moved over to the blue helmet that completely covered the face.

Helm of Spirit Water

This helm provides defense to head of the wearer. At an additional mana cost, the wearer can see further and breathe underwater. Provides some resistance and affinity for water energy.

Marty was pleasantly surprised when he read this. The ability to breathe underwater could potentially be life-saving. Next, he went to the black gauntlets.

Gauntlets of Spirit Destruction

These gauntlets provide some protection for the wearer’s arms as well as carry the essence of destruction to attacks that directly use the gauntlets. At an additional mana cost, this effect can be extended onto any held weapon or item. Provides some resistance and affinity for destruction energy.

Marty’s face had heavy lines when he read this. He wished he had this crown when he was Shiba as he had only known about the first half of the effect. Finally, Marty turned to the red circular object. He couldn’t figure out what this object did as Shiba, so he never utilized it. It just appeared on his back and seemed to have no use. With a tinge of excitement, Marty read the description before his eyebrow twitched. No wonder he couldn’t figure out what this was.

Pack of Spirit Fire

Provides defense to the back. At an additional mana cost, the pack can either shoot fire out the bottom, which provides a propellant force, or fires projectiles from the top. Provides some resistance and affinity for fire energy.

No wonder Shiba had no idea what this was. It was a combination jet pack and missile launcher. Even Marty didn’t think he would’ve known how to use this without the Crown of Origin’s description.

Marty then looked to the white nothingness that appeared in the hallway. The hallway seemed unfinished. Marty figured it would continue to extend if he assimilated more Soul Armaments. However, he was unsure about how to do this. He assumed that the Soul Armaments had come from his assimilation Gram. However, this implied that the soul was not necessary to create a Soul Armaments. Without knowing what he needed, obtaining Soul Armaments could only be figured out by trial and error.

Given that Marty’s current Soul Armaments incorporated a wide variety of attack and defense, he didn’t feel a need to include more. As such, figuring out what he needed to create Soul Armaments was a waste of time. Instead, he figured the next step was to make a physical set of armor as he knew that all Soul Armaments could infuse with their real-world counterparts to achieve a better effect.

Marty withdrew himself from the space and was about to start practicing with a Soul Armaments, but he suddenly stopped, and his vision became cold. He received a message from Miyuki. Not only had she found Nero, but she was currently near him. Marty walked over to the crystallized cherry tree. Black smoke appeared from his hand and attached itself to the Energy Crystal at the bottom of the tree, which shattered. Shiba and Hanahime skeletons were not there. Whether they had been removed early on and been buried, destroyed over time, or became part of the Crystal itself, Marty did not know, nor did he care. Instead, he picked up Kuroka, his black katana. He felt a strong sense of nostalgia as he picked up the heavy weapon. He quickly partially withdrew it from its sheath and saw the letters that would trigger the sword spell. The sword itself was just as he remembered it, preserved thanks to the Crystal.

Marty attached the sword to his hip. Then he made a swift one-handed quick-draw technique known as Iaijutsu, his most specialized attack. Coupled with his Ki and Wind Blade, a visible slash appeared and shot up to the sky.

With a satisfied smile, Marty's eyes became that of a Red Dragon and killing intent could be seen within them. His Red Ki surged, a pair of Ki Dragon Wings appeared, and he shot up into the sky toward Miyuki.

 

Toward the edge of the city, there was an area that was considered to be a slum as it wasn’t populated and abandoned. There was still traffic on the outskirts of the city as it was large and had a massive population, but this area hadn’t been reconstructed yet. If someone looked closely, they could see a slight shimmer that appeared to move through the area. The shimmer was Miyuki who had used a form of magic to conceal her appearance. It wasn’t as effective during the day, but it was better than not having any camouflage at all.

Miyuki wasn’t stupid enough to come alone. Given her current and past status, it was possible for her to involve the police. There were many policemen dressed as ordinary civilians out by the perimeter waiting for the order. Based on Kuromi’s reconnaissance, this was the location that Nero should be.

“Mistress, he’s only a building over,” Kuromi said in the shadows.

“I understand,” Miyuki replied. She quickly sent Marty a message before she began to wait for the police to get in position.

“If you’re not going to come, then I’m going to come to you.”

Miyuki was startled as she turned to see that Nero had appeared and was looking directly at her. His face had a pair of goggles on, most likely heat-sensing toggles which could be used to counter her magic. In his hands was a strange large pistol that looked nothing like a gun she had seen before. When Nero pointed it at her, she felt death overcome her. Quickly, she ducked behind a nearby building only to see a green blast of energy burn through the building, narrowly missing her.

Miyuki was terrified. She had never heard of such a weapon. Its projectile was slower than a bullet but far more fearful. Knowing that her cover was insufficient, she quickly dashed away again.

“Useless,” Nero said with a smile as he pointed his weapon at her. Miyuki turned around just in time to see him fire. Luckily for her, because it was slower than a bullet, she was able to follow the trail, but it was too fast to dodge accurately. The only thing she could do was hold her adamantine katana to try and block it, which saved her life. The green energy hit and bounced off with hardly an impact.

By this time, the police had finally caught up and quickly surrounded him.

“Drop your weapon and surrender!” An officer shouted.

Nero gave the officer look of disdain before he pointed his weapon at him.

“Fire!” Someone shouted.

A torrent of bullets impacted Nero. However, he was completely unscathed as an energy fluctuation that surrounded him produced from the strange belt that had begun to flash.

Nero laughed maniacally. “Do you see this Snow Miko! You cannot hide from my weapon, and you cannot harm me! I’m invincible! First I’ll kill you then Mahesvara!”

“Is that so?” A cold voice suddenly asked.

In a surprise, Nero looked toward where the voice originated only to see an arc of black flame that was shot towards him.

*Bang!!!*

A Wind Blade infused with magic and Ki struck Nero. The black flames and the resulting debris obstructed everyone’s vision of Nero as Marty swooped down next to Miyuki. He was observing the situation from the mark he placed on her. He underestimated Nero and didn’t arrive in time. Luckily, Miyuki had managed to deflect the shot, and the tragedy did not occur. He sheathed his sword and hugged Miyuki, who finally relaxed. The tension in the near-death experience got to her, but now she felt completely secure.

“You should’ve told me earlier,” Marty complained.

“Early enough, no one has died yet,” Miyuki replied with a sigh of relief.

Marty looked where Nero was, and his eyes narrowed, dignified. A cold/killing intent appeared in them. “Unfortunately.”

Within the dust, the form could be seen slowly rising. Eventually, the debris cleared enough to reveal a slightly distressed Nero. However, he seemed fine. Besides his slightly red skin, he didn’t even appear to have any internal injuries. The strike that Marty had sent was powerful enough to wound a Rank 10 Ki user, but Nero appeared to be unharmed mostly.

Marty looked at Nero coldly. “A plasma pistol and a personal shield? That’s not a technology of this world.”

“Times are changing,” Nero replied, seemingly undeterred by Marty’s attack.

Marty’s eyes narrowed. “Hydra?”

“How did you know?” Nero asked with a look of surprise. “A person from another world wanted me to run their operations here.”

“Legion?”

“You know much; not that it matters because I’m going to use the technology he gave me to kill you.”

Killing intent flashed through Marty’s eyes. He now confirmed the simple fact, Legion, the known leader of Hydra, was a SUPER who could personally travel between worlds. Using his mind to gather as much information from Nero as he could, he also knew that Legion was unable to bring massive commodities. However, Legion’s appetite was not small, and his intention seemed rather clear. He wanted to create an organization on many different worlds. From there he would obtain unique resources and commodities to meet his various ends, such as domination, a tendency that had already been confirmed. Most likely, he was trying to find a world that would give him an ability or provided technology that would allow him to move massive amounts of commodities between the various organizations. However, Marty put this in the back of his mind to take care of the more pressing matter.

“Nero, it is impossible for you to kill me because my soul is no longer broken.” After Marty spoke, his entire body lit up, and every Soul Armament he had was equipped. He gripped Kuroka, his gauntlets gave off of black smoke, his boots gave off small sparks, and fire spewed out of the pack on his back.

Gale Step!

Marty shot like a bullet past Nero. A black slash that almost could not be seen by the eye and the sound of a collision was the only indication that Marty had even attacked.

Nero’s eyes went wide as he stumbled backward. His hand went up to his neck instinctively, even though he hadn’t been damaged. Not only did his personal shield block the blow, but it also protected his body from extensive amounts of kinetic force. Even if Nero were attacked hard enough to send him flying, the shield would absorb most of the damage. Nero relaxed only to see a blur in front of him suddenly.

Gale Step! Myriad Punch!

Three punches in incredibly quick succession struck Nero’s face. Given that his gauntlets were infused with the power of destruction, Marty did manage to get little damage through. He quickly used Gale Step and returned to Miyuki before he unequipped the Soul Armaments.

Nero gave Marty a look of disdain as he wiped the blood from his nose. “Is that all you have? Tell you what, I’ll stand here for 10 seconds and you can attack me freely.” Nero said mockingly.

Marty was genuinely surprised at the lack of damage he had caused. His attacks were among the most potent physical attacks he could muster. However, if he only used Ki, he could attack indefinitely. He was trying to think of a quick way to defeat Nero, but when he heard Nero’s words, he found the answer and looked at Nero as if he were an idiot. “I hope you don’t regret it,” Marty said as he sent a magic circle to Nero’s feet.

“What is this?” Nero said with a frown, completely perplexed by what was happening.

“You’ll find out soon.” Marty teased. “That personal shield of yours is excellent, but it should have a limit. Anyway, have a nice trip. See you next fall.” Marty said with a smile as Nero suddenly disappeared.

Everyone was perplexed by Nero’s sudden disappearance and a look around for a couple of seconds until a muffled scream caused them to look up. In the sky, a tiny dot could be seen falling. Because Nero decided not to move, it was effortless for Marty to use the Space Magic and he sent Nero about 3 miles into the air. From Marty’s attacks, he concluded that the shield had a limit. It can only protect the wearer from a certain amount of kinetic energy and didn’t seem too effective in blocking out temperature. While Marty was reasonably confident the fall would kill Nero, he didn’t want to leave it to chance, so he brought both of his hands up. His right pointer finger produced a black flame, his left pointer finger produced a white flame, and he began to write.

Miyuki watched the entire scene shocked at Marty’s performance. She was proud of how strong Marty was, but she also felt weak. In their previous life, he was always a little stronger than her. However, the gap between them now seemed incredibly large. This was not something she wanted to see; she wanted to be of help to him. 

 When the two flames appeared in Marty’s hand, Miyuki was very surprised. From the black flame, she could sense sadness and other negative emotions. The white flame seemed to possess happiness, joy, and other positive emotions. She felt quite sad for Marty as the black flame was noticeably more substantial than the white flame, which meant that he felt more sadness than happiness. She also didn’t know why she felt this way, but it felt as though she could contribute her emotions to Marty.

[What should I give him. Happiness? Sadness?] She thought before the answer came to her. [Of course. I’ll just give him everything.] With that thought, a large white flame suddenly appeared from her. This flame contained all of her emotions, happiness, sadness, every single bit of her emotions was there. However, this flame did not even have a trace of black but was pure white, the amalgamation of all her emotions and love for him.

The moment that white flame struck his body, the flames on each of his finger suddenly enlarged. Their sizes became even, and they both became pure white containing both positive and negative emotions. Seeing this, Miyuki smiled content that she had contributed, but she was shocked when Marty suddenly took her in his embrace from behind, grabbed her hands, and started casting with her. Miyuki quickly overcame the shock and simply began to entrust herself entirely to him. Soon, the words Marty was writing begin to permeate with both of their voices.

The policemen watched in shock. Even though magic was scarce and considered outdated with the introduction of firearms, the basics of magic were still taught. What they were seeing was utterly beyond the comprehension of what magic was. Firstly, Marty was casting two spells simultaneously. While this was theoretically possible, the coordination required was something that an average person could never do. Secondly, once a line was completed in both spells, the words would float together and merge to an ever-growing fall of swirling magic words. This was obviously combining two spells into one, a theoretical feat that had no proof. Finally, the spell was obviously being cast by both Marty and Miyuki. This was referred to as synthesis casting, a magic theory only because it had never successfully occurred before. This was because both sides required absolute trust and coordination with each other, something that Marty and Miyuki had. If these people knew that Marty was also fusing an entirely different system of magic to the spell, they would deny what was happening as a dream.

Nero, who had calmed himself from his fall, noticed the spell being cast below through his goggles. Clutching his teeth, he too began to cast in an attempt to balance out the spell that would head his way.

As the officers watched on, Marty and Miyuki continue to cast as the words that they were writing spoke out in the combined voices.

Light a fire that can burn all \ Create a cold that will freeze all
Let this fire never extinguish \ Let this cold never end
Burn Burn Burn \ Freeze Freeze Freeze
May this flame burn your soul to ash \ May this cold shatter your soul to nothingness
And may this cold flame drag you to the depths of Hell

Once the spell was completed, the ball of words suddenly condensed before it blasted out a blue flame. The blue flame congealed into a giant Dragon with a white and black eye.

With their minds intertwined, Miyuki and Marty looked up into the sky and shouted in unison: ““Netherworld Dragon!””

With their shouts, the Netherworld Dragon shot up into the air.

Nero had finished his spell earlier as it was not as complex. The flaming snake he had prepared shot forward to meet the Netherworld Dragon. However, the Netherworld Dragon simply opened its jaw, roared, and swallowed the flaming snake, which only seemed to empower it as it shot even faster towards Nero.

“No!” Nero shouted just before the Netherworld Dragon reached him. The Netherworld Dragon’s massive maw opened and bit down on Nero coiling around him as he fell. The spell ended right before Nero hit the ground revealing only a bolder of ice with Nero trapped inside. When it hit the ground, the ice shattered. Only shards of red ice revealed that Nero had been inside. Marty was right in his assumption that the shield wasn’t very effective in preventing extreme temperatures. Though it hadn’t been instantaneous, the spell did manage to freeze Nero clean through.

Marty stared at the shards, aware that he had just killed someone. While he was against killing in general, there was a place for it. He realized his life as Shiba may have affected it, but he was slightly bothered by how apathetic he felt.

Miyuki leaned into Marty out of relief. It was over. The fact that she intentionally pushed up against the lower half of his body did not escape Marty, who quickly snatched her chin, turned her head, and kissed her over her shoulder. Their debt, 2000 years in the making, was finally settled.

 ...

Marty spent another day in Kuhon. He rigorously investigated Miyuki’s uncle, but he realized when he met him in person that her uncle was a complete pushover. After asking some questions and further investigating, Marty concluded that her uncle had nothing to do with her parent’s death. He was surprised that his initial thought was wrong but happy that her uncle seemed to be clean. He helped Miyuki and Kuromi prepare and settle whatever they needed to finish because he was going to take them back with him. After all, he owed them both a debt that would take a lifetime to settle.

End of Day -16