Everything happened so fast that by the time Yori started his build up Athene already dropped them. The bergy half molded in his hand vao particles. Immediately, his eyes shifted around the horizon, already fetting Atheood in front of him. Her presenearly disappeared. A singur thought ran through Yori’s mind o, like a skipping record. All his mind’s eye could see was his sister. Her name haunted everything, making him deaf to all.

  Seds ticked by like hours in his panibsp; He couldn’t see the real one. Even though her image popped up like a colge within him. All the fakes didn’t t for a sihousandth of a point for the real one. His real sister still faced the danger of that Atntean she foolishly tried to face down without any powers. ‘Where are you, Yumi?! I don’t see you!’

  He traced out the city’s wall to locate the fight. Spread out flickers of shapes or shadows, maybe lights, nothing he wanted appeared. ‘…Yumi…’ Finally, the brokeions of the wall came to focus, but he had to strain his eyes.

  Needles shoved up against Yori’s neck, the full ten seds Athe ignored hit her limit. “You’d best foe.” The needles poked his skin, but didn’t draw up blood.

  His sister remained missing in his eyes. A nuisance popped up, but he just waved his hand. “Back off.”

  Not even toug her, a fripped her across almost her entire body sending her flying. However, it only took her a few moments to e to a sudden stop in midair. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily!”

  “I’ve no i in you.” A raised palm lifted her up further away from the ground. The annoyaneeded to remain still while he searched. ‘Yumi, you’re out there. I know you are. I’ll find you!’

  Chapter 257 – Misdirected Emotions

  Atheried tain trol over her body. “Damn you! I won’t--!” Her arms suddenly started to stretch beyond their limits. It felt like invisible hands tried to pop them right out of her joints. The feeling swarmed over her whole body. Everything from the ter tried to move away. “B-b-bas-tard…”

  The pain began to bee unbearable. It threatened her tration. She coughed struggling with holding back all of the screaming her body procimed. Each millimeter further on her bones brought them closer to snapping apart. She was just a doll in his hands. “Damn…”

  Frantic, Yori strained his eyes as much as he could to find his sister. As long as the battle for Yuki Hayashi tinued, she remained in danger. Without her powers, she stood no ce against them. ‘There! That must be her.’ Isoting everything else, they were the only things in the area. Even if he couldn’t see her clearly, it had to be her.

  Released from the hold, Athene dropped back to the ground. Pain and soreness held her from making any a against Yori as he ran off. “You’re…not going…anywhere,” she muttered, trying to get off the grass.

  “Yumi, I’m ing!” Yori tinued his blind charge after his sister. Interventions couldn’t stop him. He would get back to her no matter what. However, he suddenly hit a wall. It knocked him on his butt, but didn’t keep him down for long. Immediately a moment ter, he was ba his feet pounding on the bribsp; “This won’t stop me!”

  Wasting no time further on the wall, he charged up bergy into his hands. He sent the sphere of darkness at the simple red brick wall. Exploding on impact, smoke covered the area around him. Not waiting on the clearing, he charged ba only to be hit by the wall. “The hell?!” His hands smmed against the wall trying to find the weakness.

  Nothing happened.

  Searg around, he went off to look for the end of the wall. He o get around it aurn. Time wasted in each sed this deyed him. “Where the hell is the end of this?! Damn it! Let me out!”

  “There is ,” replied Athene, finally on her feet.

  Turning towards Athene, Yori took in the whole surroundings for the first time. It might have been a wall, but it would also be more accurately called a dome. The outside pletely disappeared. Somehow a light still remaio keep the interior lit. “Out of my way!”

  “No! You’re staying here! I will not be satisfied until you’re dead!” Her fists tightened up. Images in her mind made it difficult to keep her body from shaking. “It’s your fault for everything!”

  Yori turned his hand back to Athene. He heard enough from her. “Be gone!” When her body flew back it sent the wall moving with her knog him forwards. It dropped him on his face with a headache. “Damn it! I don’t have time for this!”

  Standing slowly to his feet, his eyes went away from Atheowards where he assumed his sister to stand. ‘This wall o e down. I just o take out the one keeping it up.’ His all white eyes focused ba the woman. She stood in his way, finally fully realized in his sight. “So I just have to take you out.”

  Being grabbed by an invisible force became something of a familiar feeling to Athe this point. However, each time brought something different. Each time ainful. This time, it pulled her towards Yori. ‘Not this time!’ Long needles materialized between her fingers. Only her torso was us trol, on range she would be able to attabsp; She gripped the needles tightly.

  Seemingly a simir thought in mind, Yori’s hand clutched onto a bck bde prepared for her. Once she was in ra would be all over. ‘This ends now! I’m ing soon, Yumi!’

  ‘I’ll avenge you, Simonides!’

  Their ons sped towards each other. Only seds remained.

  ‘…Yori…’

  Frozen. Time ceased.

  Yori looked around the world, suddenly feeling apart from it. It didn’t feel right. ‘What’s happeo me? Why ’t I move?’ An image of his sister ran through his view. He turo try to keep her in sight, but she already disappeared. ‘Yumi?’ Something sat in the back of his mind, like a bea going off repeatedly. It signaled something. It felt familiar. He k well. ‘Yumi! Where are you? You’re close by!’

  ‘…Yori…’

  He flipped around knowing that she had to be near him. It felt like she stood o him. She was there. He just couldn’t see her, but his mind knew with certainty. ‘Yumi, why ’t I find you?’

  ‘…I’m fine…’

  ‘Yumi?’ He tried running after her, feeling as if she started to drift away from him. Yet he couldn’t reach her. Something held him down. ‘Yumi!’ She smiled at him, fading away.

  “Yumi!” Time returned. His eyes returo normal, restored to their light brown shading. “Where am I?” Ahead of him, he found Athene held just timeters away with the tips of her needles just under his going for his nebsp; His right arm also seemed positioned for a lethal blow just barely poking her chest, above her heart.

  ‘…Yori…’

  His head flipped to the side upon hearing his sister’s voibsp; ‘I feel her…her presenbsp; Strange, but I know she’ll be fine.’ He pulled back his on hand, uain about the situation. ‘Last thing I remember is being frustrated at my inability to help and now this…’

  “I’m going to kill you, Yori Mizuno!” spat Athene, releasing her needles to fly the leftover distanbsp; Unfortunately, they hit a transparent square barrier, halting their strike.

  Yori jumped back startled. Then his eyes widened in surprise. “You! You’re that woman that went into my head! What are you doing here?!” He didn’t get a ce for another question as she lu him. Ag defensively, he put up his arms to protect his body from her needles, but a barrier went up.

  Barieeth at Yori, Athene’s more primal aspects bleed through in her fabsp; “Damn you!”

  “Woah! What did I do to you?! Why do you want to kill me?”

  “You’re the reason! It’s your fault! He’s dead because of you!”

  “Who’s dead? I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  Athene smmed her needles against the barrier with greater frustration at bei from her target. Nothing happened with the barrier. She wouldn’t take it being over. Leaping up into the air, she nded on a circur pattern of light, but that was the least to be ed over. Ba view, hidden behind where she used to stand was a massive on parable to those found on an Iowa-css battleship.

  Barely enough time to yelp in surprise and wide-eyed, Yori dropped to the dirt just as he heard the earth shattering bst from the on. Proximity to the ground upon firing was enough to tear away ks of the earth. Even from his position, he could feel the heat and bsting force against him.

  All around him, bck shards rained down from his barrier. The grave atmosphere Athene pced on the whole area finally hit Yori. ‘She wants to kill me! I don’t even know what I did to piss her off so much!’ Looking for a pce to go but realizing she already cut off all retreats, Yori tried to back up a little to give himself some room. “I’ve been unscious for the st few days! Since you went pying around in my head! I didn’t kill anyone!” He wasn’t sure pointing bme ba her about something was a good idea in his situation. However, she did already want to kill him, so he judged things couldn’t get much worse.

  “Shut up! I know it was you!”

  “Huh?” The tone in her voice made him lean babsp; Her eyes aloerrifying enough to see. ‘She’s crazy!’ Yori looked around for anything. He had been pletely useless siering Atntis. There was nothing to bme on him. “If anyone’s got bme, it’s you for kidnapping me and your interrogation! I ’t even remember what happehanks to you!”

  “Silence!” The on seemed ready for another round as the barrel rotated a little to line up with Yori once more.

  Staring down the sights of a giant ade Yori turn blue a little. ‘I was lucky the st time. I ’t do anything about that a sed time!’ He gnced back at Athene. The troubled woman directed all her fury upon him. Yet he had no answers. “Who’s dead?” he asked, looking to try to buy himself some time. “Who did I kill?” Any sort of extra time he had to e up with a pn would help, but he didn’t know what sort of pn could stop a shell from a on.

  “You know who it was!”

  He sighed to himself. ‘This is not getting me anywhere. She’s so off her rocker that she’s going in circur vague responses.’ Any sed it seemed the on would fire. “Dammit! Just tell me their name!”

  “Simonides! The man trying to protect Atntis from you intruders that ruined our peace!”

  The ook him back for a moment. He immediately reized the name. Then the rest of the pieces fell into pce for him. Recalling the man’s pn, it almost seemed obvious there would no doubt be those under his and looking for vengeanbsp; “Si’s already out of the bag, he’s not dead. He faked his death to help us settle all of the turmoil we’ve been causing here. If you look back at roup, you’ll find him there.”

  Yori’s respowisted Athene’s face to bee even harsher than it had been before. She looked to bee something other than human. “Lies! Lies!” A deep groan came from the on preg its firing. Fire blew out from the mouth of its barrel locked on Yori.