Yori struggled even to push up off the ground. His body was so empty and trashed that he felt like he wasn’t even in it anymore. Worse still was that he felt that she might have been right. ‘Nothing’s w! I ’t eve my arms to move for me.’ Pani through his eyes. It was the realization of the truth.

  The woman walked down into the crater towards Yori. “So you uand now. This is the end of your struggling.”

  ‘She’s right… dammit!’ His body heaved nearly exploding his ribs with their force from his body’s exhaustion. None of it could be felt, but he khat ohe feeliurned he would be suffering. All he could do was roll over on his babsp; “…now…yoing to…kill me…”

  She looked down at him with a slightly distant arating gaze in her eyes. “I’m less ined to do so.”

  “Isn’t…Takako…”

  “Yes, she wants you all dead. Though she’s more ied currently in Yuki Hayashi than any of you. He’s the primary objective.”

  Something close to that of a sign escaped his lips. He couldn’t really do it well over the pounding of his ow. “…again…”

  “From a tactical point of view, he is the most dangerous element fag her. But she won’t get very far since she has no ambitions.”

  “…you’re not…”

  “Under her mind trol? No, I am just like everyone else. She had a harder time with this body due to the way it was remade, but it is no less different than everyone else. I just haven’t succumbed to the mental corruption like the others have.”

  Fighting with his body, he mao get an arm moving. Something motivated him again. The same thing that kept him fighting before. It gave him the energy to move, as bare as it was. Yori hung at the edge of the jacket of the uniform like it was keeping him upright. “…sister…Yumi…is she…”

  “Still single-mindedly focused on Yumi. She’s asleep within where it is safe.”

  “Give her…back!”

  “Seeing you, I’ve determi to be ill-advised.”

  “You’ve determined… You! Determined?!” Suddenly, Yori had the strength to stand on his own again. He cked any of his powers, but he still had his physical strength to use. Yori threw out his hands grabbing for the woman as though he might be able to rip her out of Yumi’s body. “Give her to me!”

  Chapter 341 – Sun and Moon

  His hands hit a barrier rather than what he aimed for. What strength he had fought against her to shatter the wall before him. For being exhausted beyond all reason, he held up his fight. “Give!”

  She looked a little disappointed watg him struggle. “Your obsession will be the death of you one day.” Pushing back to get him off her, she found that his strength somehow mao exceed her power.

  Cracks began to appear along the barrier where his fingers pressed in. His strength actually looked to be increasing. “You won’t stop me!”

  For the first time, surprise crawled up her face watg Yori overp her through sheer strength and obsession. The power behind him made her feet slide a little as she struggled to keep her position. “To think that you’d be able to summon up this much purely on self-delusions.”

  “The only thing that’s a delusion here is you!”

  “You’re so blind.”

  “Just go away!” The barrier pletely shattered with the st push that Yori made. He grappled with her for a brief period before she knocked him away. It wasn’t enough to make him stay down, only sliding away with his feet still pnted in the ground.

  He charged in after her taking swings at her with ued agility and trol. A focused look that hadn’t bee before seemed to be driving him forward. The fuel it gave him allowed him to keep ing after her. “Such tenacity shouldn’t be possible.”

  “I told you already! I’m not stopping until I get my sister back!”

  Blog with her barriers, which shattered quickly from the impacts, she kept him from getting too close. But he jumped around the ground ying down kicks and puhat shook her defense. Though he hadn’t mao use his powers to break her barriers, his strength tio do things he had been uo achieve otherwise. It actually became a struggle for her to keep her usual passive stanbsp; “I didn’t think you’d actually force my hand.”

  She lifted up her hand as Yori approached again and the space around him distorted. His body immediately bowed. A crushi smmed into his bad shoulders. It hit from the top f him down.

  Yori pressed his hand to the earth trying to keep himself from colpsing uhe weight. As he struggled the pressure increased. It crushed his body into the earth beginning to give under him. “You…won’t…stop…me…”

  “However much strength you seem to have, it'll all be crushed. You must be stopped here.”

  Increasing i, Yori felt his back being pushed further to the earth. All the ground around him cratered around him. Soohe earth couldn’t hold it together and broke away from the part not being crushed. “I…won’t…” He started to force himself back up against the crushing pressure. His back couldn’t straighten out, but he staggered forward. One foed forward with it smashing through the earth when he dropped it down.

  “Unbelievable…”

  “…I…will…” Yori made aep forward. Another followed and another after. He slowly started to stretch out his hand fighting against the weight that forced it down. The edge of the pressure was in reach.

  “It’s truly irrational the strength gaihrough such deception.” She then took a step forward, suddenly building up power in her free hand. Waves of energy pulsed from the purple orb that gathered up. It quickly drew in power until arcs began to orbit around it.

  Direg the energy in waves, she sent it at Yori, uo do any sort of evasion. He cked his power to defend or deflect it ing at him. Yori could only brace for the arbsp; They sharpened up into bdes that sliced through his out-stretched arm.

  Quickly diced up by the attack, his left hao the crushi with his fingers and forearm shattered around. Blood poured out of his wound as he colpsed to one knee. “…damn…”

  She increased the pressure f him down into the dirt. “This is where your journey ends. You’re uo see past your own hand. Such selfishness is only corrupting.”

  “I…don’t want…to hear…that ing…from you.”

  “You don’t want to hear it at all. You’ve vinced yourself of your justifications.”

  “You…know…nothing…”

  “Self-deception is the worst poison of all. It’s rare to find an antidote in time before it es your life.”

  The weight on him suddenly disappeared. Despite his arm, he didn’t feel any of the pain. If he hadn’t seen it happen, he wouldn’t have even known about it. He attempted to get back to his feet to return to the fight, but purple energy surrounded him.

  ed around his wrist and ankles, it floated him into the air. Several more bindings tched to his waist and legs keeping his movement pletely locked down. He attempted tle against the bonds, but there was no movement. Everength he had found seemed to have left him.

  Nothing was left.

  “I gave you plenty of ces to figure it out on your own. But it seems the poison had run its course already. There doesn’t seem to be anything else that be done.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.”

  “For a dead man you still have a lot of fidence.”

  “You haven’t killed me yet.”

  “No, but I gave you your st bsp; Takako has bee very insistent on seeing you die and I’m ined to grahat wish.”

  Yori lost any of his uainty through the fight. And the numbness in his body left him with little fear. He only saw his goal. “Kill me if you . You’ve talked about doing so sihe beginning, but still have yet to actually gh with it.”

  “True. I only spoke in threats until now. I merely wished to test you and you’ve failed. You’ve been given more than enough ces. So now I’ll make good on my promise for you.”

  “I’m tired of listening to you anyway.”

  “Such a disappoi.” The purple orb in her hands began to glhter dragging Yori towards the woman. She stared into his eyes o time. It was her st attempt to find what she sought. Yet it was missing, just like before. There was no finding it.

  A sigh escaped her lips. She closed her hand stopping Yori just inside of arms reabsp; Her right hand fttened out, ing to a point as she lifted it babsp; “Any st words?”

  “Go to hell.”

  “You’ll be going first.”

  “At least I won’t have to see you corrupting my sister anymore.”

  She threw out of her hand pierg his chest in a swift blow shooting out blood through his back as her bloodied haed. His blood poured out around her arm streaming down dripping to the earth.

  Pulling her hand free she threw out Yori’s body to the ground. The hole left in his chest pulsed blood. Yori coughed and choked on the blood that poured up his throat. He tio fix his eyes upon what should have been his sister. “…damn…you…”

  “A miserable soul…”