Iron and Blood

Pure Red Land
A cloaked figure stood atop a rooftop, bearing witness to the ongoing onslaught, triggers by both the demons and dragons onto the humans. The rain didn't help. It was so loud. Screams, roaring, weapons clashing, people dying. It was a pain. "Urgh, the only solace to this is that I'll get new puppets. And this time, they won't just be humans." The man in the black cloak said, giggling.

Another individual landed right next to him, wings flapping down to let him descend. The other figure took off his hood, revealing the head of a bird, with red feathers, blank eyes, and a beak. "I checked the area. They evacuated most of the civilians. Impressive work, but still failed to save them all." The bird man spoke, his voice deep, and rough, like an old man's. "Did you send out your puppets?".

"Oh, yes, yes." The other man said, sounding excited "Expect your little student to be dead before the rain stops.".

"Oh, Deathdealer..." The bird man sighed "You take everyone too lightly..." He shook his head, as if disappointed "I don't care how many times you succeeded in doing your job, you'll embarass yourself at this rate.".

"Oh, please, Songbird." Deathdealer chuckled "I have far more kills than you can ever hope to achieve. I don't care if you're the big boss, if anything, I can probably beat you with my pu-...!" Suddenly, Songbird grabbed Deathdealer by his neck, choking him.

"I've seen that kid grow." Songbird began speaking, loosening his grip around Deathdealer's neck, letting him listen "You think that just because I am blind, I can't tell talent? Oh, I've experienced my fair share of monsters in my day. And he...oh, he is a splendid monster." Songbird sounded as if he was revisiting an old childhood memory, sounding giddy just speaking about it "When I found him, when I turned him into a full-fledged contract killer, I could smell it, the land turned red by the blood of hundreds." Releasing Deathdealer, Songbird leaned closer, his face near Deathdealer's mask, now exposed as his hood fell, as if trying to look him in the eye "The simple gesture of kindness, made him determined to slaughter a group of bandits. He killed them all. Every. Last. One. Not that he came out unscathed, oh no. The fact he was scathed, wounded to the bone, and bleeding a river, was the true impressive part." Songbird then sighed, shrugging as his shook his head, expressing disappointment "Aaaah, but of course. Like Grigori, a great monster in his own right, he had to have the same damn weakness. A conscience.".

"..." Deathdealer composed himself, coughing to clear his thought "Whatever you say, old man." Deathdealer dismissed Songbird's words, brushing him off "I am not interested in some nobody you found and made a killer! You've done that to hundreds. Your greatest one doesn't even use magic!" Deathdealer rambled "Besides, even if he was Grigori's student, he didn't get to learn enough, because Grigori was an old fool. He wasted his last moments trying to make a change...A change that amounted to no-..." Without a second thought or a chance to finish, Deathdealer got his left arm lobbed off by Songbird, cleanly slicing it with his claws, causing blood to gushing as his arm fell on the floor.

"Whoops. I missed your head." Songbird sarcastically said, as Deathdealer bursted into screaming bloody murder, clutching his bleeding wound "Get one of your puppets to fix it. And don't piss me off again, lest you want both legs gone next time.".

"Y-...You...!" Deathdealer tried speaking, but the pain was overwhelming, he quickly slammed his fist on the ground, as a magic seal appeared on the floor, summoning a woman, appearing in a nun outfit. He stood up, and before saying a word, shoved his hand into the woman's chest, using her body to reform his arm, causing it to regenerate, albeit the process seemed painful for him, leaving him gasping for air as he pulled his arm out, his left arm fully regenerated and healed. "You...old bastard. You think...you think you'll stay at the top forever, eh?! You're just a bird! Sooner or later, someone will take you down.".

"...Wow, subtle much?" Songbird said, unfazed by Deathdealer's threats, extending and expanding his wings "Just finish your job here if you want to get paid." He said, flying away.

"...Sister Teresa!" Deathdealer shouted to the nun, who jumped at his sudden shouting "Sorry." He apologized, rather ineptly, as the nun's chest has already healed, being essentially a zombie and whatnot, though the nun simply gestured a "it's alright, no hard feelings" motion with her hands, appearing rather flustered. He grabbed his lobbed off arm "We'll feed this to Baskerville. Hopefully it'll keep 'em nice and calm.".

"Run! Save! Run! SAVE!" Geten shouted, running through the streets, punching his way through hordes of demons "Out of my waaaay!" Alongside him, Tatari run next to him, carrying Aoba on her back "Tatari, Aoba, you guys head out to the evac area! I'll see if there any survivors!".

"We can't just leave you alone in this mess!" Aoba replied, stating the fact it'd be Geten against hundred something demons, not including the dragons "You'll get killed! If even that!".

"It's better than you two getting hurt, now GO!" Geten bent his knees, pulling a ring from his pocket, pulling up his shirt, and scanning it across the Driver Belt "I'll take care of the villainous jester." Geten said, gritting his teeth, as his entire body became enveloped in a red aura, and within seconds, he shot forth like a bullet, even crashing through a building, but continuing without problem.

"Dammit, we won't catch up to him now..." Tatari said, stopping dead in her tracks "Aoba?".

"...Goddammit, Geten." Aoba was visibly upset at Geten's decision "There's no point in chasing him...Let's hope he doesn't get himself killed..." Aoba said, albeit reluctant "Let's go." Aoba said, as Tatari turned around, heading to where all the other civilians were evacuated to.

Geten kept running through the streets, trying desperately to look for any survivors. He knew people were left behind, hence why he had to save whoever he could. "Anyone?!" He stopped when he thought he saw someone moving "Hello? Is someone there?!".

"Hm?" Suddenly, the tall, metal-skinned demon stood behind Geten. He dwarfed the man, Geten at best reached his chest, and that's with his legs bent and his back hunched over like a lazy slob. The demon was biting on a large steak. No, it was infact a whole cow, he somehow found a way to cook the entire skinned animal, chewing on it so carelessly "What are you...?" He was perplexed about Geten's appearance, the entire red armour made him look non-human, yet he has the scent of one.

"Demon..." Geten looked at the demon, taking a step back "Have you seen any civilians?".

"Civilians...? Oh, right." The demon bit off an entire portion of the cow, ripping it in half with his teeth, chewing the meat, and swallowing before answering "I've seen my fair share of humans running around.".

"You did?!" Geten sounded relieved "Where are they? I have to get them to saf-...!".

"Dead." The demon cut off Geten, silencing him with that simple word "They didn't last long, the others killed them, among...other rather horrendous acts. Honestly kills one's appetite." Geten was in shock, he didn't reply at all, simply standing and contemplating what happened "Hey, you okay?".

"Dammit!" Geten quickly turned around "No, no, calm. I couldn't save them, but...!".

"Oh, I see." The demon bent over, facing Geten. It completely bent forward, his face upside down but facing Geten's, showing the demon's height surpasses Geten's "A hero. How cute." The demon grinned mockingly "Do you not know who I am, human?".

"No." Geten kept calm, not allowing himself to be intimidated by this demon.

"I am Arma, Arma of the Thirteen Calamities! The one who crushes armies with but a single swing, slays monsters of legendary calibres, and cleans restraunts of their meals in a single sitting!" Arma introduced himself to Geten, sounding rather proud of himself "So...what say you?".

"..." Geten quickly sent a high kick to Arma, intending on striking the demon's neck, yet before he could react, Arma had completely dodged, simply moving his body to the side "...?!".

"Wrong say." Arma gleefully said, thrusting his spear forth, striking Geten, sending him flying into a building, crashing it all down on top of him. Arma stood up, proudly placing his spear on his shoulders "Heh, that was easy." Arma looked at his spear, only to notice a lack of blood on it "...No." Arma said, but before he could check, Geten had already reached him, having jumped at him, cocking his arm back "You...!".

"Maōken!" Geten condensed his magic energy onto a fixed point, the center of his fist, before thrusting his arm forth to punch Arma "Ōeikyō!" Geten struck Arma, but not his chest, Arma stopped Geten's fist with an open palm, yet the power of his fist was evident, as the shockwave unleashed by it tore the building behind him "You really are strong!".

"Heh, damn right!" Arma closed his palm to a fist, grabbing Geten's arm, tossing him up and smashed him onto the ground "No human has ever laid a scratch on this metal body of mine! And you are no different! Survive my spear's blade, will you? Well I'll show you!" Arma raised his spear up, pointing it at Geten "I'll rip you to shreds!" Arma began thrusting his spear at Geten at an incredible pace, stabbing him repeatedly, to the point that it looked like a hail of blades showering down on him, and soon enough, the ground began tearing, becoming a larger crater the more Arma hit this single fixed point "Hahaha! This is the power...of calamity!".

Suddenly, the spear stopped dead in its tracks, and as the dust settled, it was clear why. Geten had grabbed a hold of the blade, stopping it. His body was unscathed, not a single scratch on his armor "Finally!" Geten said "You're way too fast, I tried grabbing it and failed miserably!".

"W-...What?!" Arma was stunned. This human stopped his attack with a single hand? Impossible. His strength is something no human could ever hope to achieve "Haah, why so cheery?" Arma tried thrusting the spear at Geten, yet the two were at a power struggle, each pushing the spear at the opposite direction.

"You're real strong, I'm impressed! It's been a while since I met a demon strong as me!" Geten said, standing up, still holding Arma's spear in his hand.

"Like you? You're no demon! You're human. I can smell it under your thick armour." Arma said "But, I will admit, I myself am impressed. That armor of yours is a fine piece of work. I struck it hundreds of times in the span of one minute, and yet, not even a scratch.".

"Thanks!" Geten replied "This armour is evidence of my power as a superhero! And as such, I'll use its power to do what's right!".

"Oh, you really are an odd one." Arma pulled his spear back, managing to take it back from Geten's grip "Are you still gonna try and kill me?".

"Kill you?! Why would I do that?!".

"Eh?" Arma tilted his head in confusion "You are going to kill me, right?".

"N-...No!" Geten seemed leginimately horrified by the prospect of killing Arma "I would never kill anyone! That is not what I do! I save people! I don't kill anyone!".

"...Naive." Arma said, sighing "You're no fun. A human who doesn't want to fight to the death? What kind of trash is that?" Arma said, shaking his head in disappointment "I'll have to look for better foes.".

"Wait, you're just going to fight other people?".

"Yes. I am Arma, and the things I enjoy most in life are fine food, and challenges." Arma said, cackling "You disappoint though. You could very well be a challenge, but with the idea of you not wanting to kill me, you'll certaintly hold back...and that's not fun. Crushing weaklings...isn't fun.".

"...I won't hold back then." Geten said, stomping his foot, as he took a fighting style, his right arm outstretched forth, in an open palm, while his left hung against his waist "I'll give you a challenge!".

"...You're annoying." Arma charged at Geten, raising his spear upwards, and upon reaching Geten, swung downwards at him in a full arc, picking up air pressure as he did. The moment it hit, it send an enormous wave of pressurized air, a slash slicing several building cleanly in half from up to down, and utterly decimating the earth as it struck it "Finishing you off shouldn't even be a cho-...!".

"Maōken." Arma quickly turned around, seeing Geten behind him, arms cocked back ready to strike "Senkyokka!" Geten unleashed a barrage of fists at Arma, who quickly attempted to block, crossing his arms to defend against Geten's punches. "Aaaah!!!" Geten began striking Arma repeatedly, taking a step forth every moment, as Arma began being pushed back by the endless barrage of punches.

"What the hell is this?! A human is putting me in a bad spot?! No! No! NO!" Arma snapped, thrusting his arm forth, grabbing Geten's head, stopping him "I will not be defeated by some lowly skinless human in some gear!".

"He stopped my Senkyokka...?!" Geten thought to himself, before being thrown through a building.

"You forced my hand!" Arma openned his hand into a palm, cracking his "knuckles", as blades began potruding out of his palm, extending, longer and sharper than any normal sword "Die." Arma thrusted his arm forth, and within seconds, an entire storm of blades shot forth, piercing through multiple buildings, tearing the concrete structures down like they were nothing, and eventually engulfing Geten in the large swarm of blades. At the end, all that was left was one large field of swords, stabbing into the ground, buildings and even killing nearby demons.

"Hahaha." Arma cackled, closing and opening his hand repeatedly, as if trying to check if it's alright "If you think my spear is powerful, then you haven't met my blades. There is nothing under the heavens that survived the power of these blades." Arma said, gloating at his own power "Except for that one bastard...".

Suddenly, Geten stood up, unscathed still, much to Arma's shock "WHAAAAAAAT?!" Arma screamed in utter surprise "Why are you unscathed?! Not even a bit?! You're alive?! No holes?! Cuts?! Bruises?! What...? What the fuck are yooouuu?!".

"..." Geten stood silent, before giving a thumbs up, smiling under his armor "I am a superhe-...!".

"Shut your trap!" Arma snapped "Why...why did none of my attacks work?! You're human! You should have died! I shouldn't have been forced to use my blades! So why are you...?!".

"..." Geten rubbed his chin, before replying, appearing serious for once "It's because...I'm a super-...".

"That's not a good reasooooon!!!" Arma breathed heavy, exhausted from shouting at the top of his lungs "Haaaaah...alright!" Large blades potruded from Arma's back, as more extended from his arm and hand "I hate to admit, but, I'll have to fight you seriously!" Arma stabbed his spear onto the ground, as blades began potruding from the very worth "I'll show you the power of the demon's blade!".

"Alright!" Geten cheerfully agreeing to Arma's challenge "I don't think I'll be able to save anyone if he's itching for a fight still...I'll have to stop him." Geten thought to himself, ready to fight.

Hauntings of Old Times
"Hmm..." Azazel rubbed his chin, carefully observing a food stand, all while surrounded by the helpless screams of civilians, the bloody battle cries of humans and demons killing each other with blades and fisticuffs and magic, accompanied by the roars of dragons tearing each other apart in the blackened skies, topped by with thunder and lightning out doing them in terms of being loud, finished with light touches of the rain drops. "Ah, yes, yes, yes, I need..." Azazel began filling his plastic bag with potatoes, apples and bananas "All I'm missing is pineapple and watermelon...maybe cabbages too...".

Suddenly, a figure passed by, blitzing by as if in a hurry. Azazel managed to catch a glimpse of who it was "...Break is over?" Azazel looked at a pocket watch in his hand "Ah, it is.".

Diana appeared next to Azazel "You need help?".

"Ah, on time." Azazel handed the bag over to Diana "I need you to get me some other ingredients. I'm going to make a get-well cake for Carmina. Poor thing's suffering.".

"Whose fault do you think it is?" Diana stared at Azazel, like a disappointed parent.

"Don't give me that look." Azazel said, turning around, adjusting his cloak, putting on his hood "Anywho~ buisness calls.".

Walking only a few steps out of the alley of shops, Azazel's attention was caught by an interesting sight. Sirius holding off a horde of demons charging at him, whilst defending the Queen. "Oh. Guard dog." Azazel walked calmly towards Sirius, ignoring the demons charging at the demonic knight. He even stepped on a poor limping demon's head, crushing and killing the thing without a second thought, and smacking away another demon that was thrown away by Sirius "How barbaric.".

"Away, you fiends!" Sirius swung his sword, slicing an entire row of demons in half clean. Well, slicing would be a misunderstanding. With Sirius' strenght, it was more like he was tearing them with his sword's blade, even if it was sharp "I'll kill you all if I have to!" Sirius grabbed the head of a nearby demon, one too close for comfort to Hisui "And I'll crush you without a second thought!" And he did, moving the demon away from Hisui, he crushed the poor fella's head like an apple, spraying his skull and brain severywhere "So come at me!".

"Okay." Azazel spoke, being right infront of Sirius "I'll bite.".

"How...?! I didn't sense...!".

"I hope you don't mind." Azazel raised his right arm up, causing all the other demons to suddenly back away, like a bunch of prey who are confronted by a lion "But I need the princess for a bit. Oh, wait, she's Queen now, my ba-...".

"You will not touch her highness!" Sirius snarled like a mad beast, extending his arms above his head, summoning a large broadsword, holding it with both his hands "I will make sure of it!" He swung the massive blade down on Azazel, who remained foot in his spot "I, Sirius, the Black Dog of Fiore, will die before letting a foul beast such as you lay a finger on her majesty!!!".

"Oh, is that it?" Azazel raised his hand up, stopping Sirius' blade with just that, not even a scratch was on his skin, no blood, nothing, yet it was evident Sirius placed alot of strength behind that swing. The impact tore the ground, burying Azazel's feet in the ground, and even with that, it had no effect on the scientist demon.

"W-...What?!" Sirius was at a loss for words, his swing stopped so easily with a single hand "My Queen...!" He quickly realized the danger Hisui was in, because this demon, he was not like the others. He was no foot soldier. A general? A high ranking leader perhaps?

"Now, if you may." Azazel said, cocking his arm back, as black energy began seeping from his fist.

"Sirius, get out of the way!" Hisui realized the danger her bodyguard was in, and quickly shouted to warn him.

"...!" Sirius himself could sense unfathomable power coming from that simple fist, so he did what any sensible and loving bodyguard would. He quickly turned to Hisui, shielding her with his own body, and creating a thick wall of blades behind him, summoning them using Requip, and making them stick on the ground to create this defensive metal wall of blades.

"Sirius?!" Hisui shouted once more, caught off guard by Sirius' action.

"Why are you surprised? This is my duty!" Sirius replied, embracing Hisui to keep her safe. "I may as well die defending you.".

"How sweet." Azazel said, rather sarcastically infact "I'm almost jealous." From afar, a sphere of darkness was visible, a black light shinning brightly, as paradoxial as that sounded. Such an anomaly was noticed by everyone, even the fears dragons, leaving an entire block utterly in ruins, with more bodies than before. Only one's alive were three, Azazel, an unconscious Sirius, toppled over Hisui. Azazel grabbed Sirius, tossing the knight aside, looking at Hisui "Oh my, you've broken your arm." Azazel commented, seeing that Hisui was clutching her right arm in pain.

Hisui quickly pulled out the black key belonging to Ophiuchus, preparing to summon the serpent "Open! Gate of the Snake Charmer!".

"No." Azazel casually smacked the key out of Hisui's hand, cancelling out her summon entirely "Why do you think I'd let you do that?" Azazel said, sounding honest. He grabbed Hisui by her left hand, forcing her on her feet "Me and you have quite some buisness to attend to, my Queen.".

"You...what do you want?" Hisui gritted her teeth. She wasn't used to such excruciating pain. Her bone was broken and she couldn't move her arm at all without feeling like ripping it straight off just to make it stop. Even if it would hurt more.

"Trust me, you'll love this." Without saying any more, Hisui began to fall asleep, closing her eyes and drifting to a deep slumber "...Goddamn, this is making my image look very, very bad.".

Meanwhile, Kiryu walked through the streets, carrying Lamia on his back "My, my, it's been so long since I gave you a piggy back ride...if only the conditions were more favourable for this..." Kiryu sighed, rather saddened he can't piggy back ride his granddaughter in a more peaceful time.

"Is it safe yet...?" Lamia asked Kiryu, sounding like a scared child needing her parent. It was a pathetic state to be in.

"Not yet, dear. Be patie-...Hm?" Kiryu suddenly stopped, an ominous energy forcing him to. It was odd. There were no demons who would be a bother, and yet...

"A Dragon...? Assisting a human in such a way?" A figure said, appearing from the corner of a building. The figure was a tall man, wearing a black coat, and a light metal armor under it, complete with claws, and a distinct helmet, revealing his yellow eyes with black pupils. He breathed out, steam exiting from the mouthpiece of his helmet "You're just like the othes.".

"Gramps...?" Lamia was confused, what was this man saying?

"...Oh...I see." Kiryu said, sounding reluctant, as he placed Lamia down, letting her sit down against a building "Wait here, sweety." Kiryu said, facing the man. "Hello.".

"Don't you hello me. You traitor!" The man shouted at Kiryu, as he pointed his large blade at him "I'm sick of seeing my own kin be so self-humiliating.".

"My, my, how brutal...and yet you have the form of a human yourself." Kiryu retorted to the man.

"Guh! Shut up! I didn't willingly choose this form! I was cursed!" The man snapped at Kiryu "Atleast I'm not helping the humans!".

"Gramps...what's he saying?" Lamia asked Kiryu, staring at him in confusion and fear.

"Oh, she doesn't know?" The man said, suddenly laughing, cackling madly "And she calls you gramps...hehehe. You see, girl, this man is no humans! He is a...!".

"Dragon. I am a Dragon." Kiryu said, spilling the beans to Lamia.

"...Dr-...Dragon...?" Lamia stuttered, her face quickly becoming full of dread.

"I..." Kiryu couldn't face Lamia "I lied to you, because I was afraid of this." He said, grabbing onto his cloak "That you would hate me, for being inhuman, even more so after the damage these lizards did to you. But..." Tossing his cloak aside, Kiryu revealed his bare skin, filled to the brim with various scars, taking off his mask, revealing his face, his silver hair, and the large, gashing scar taking away his left eye "But I'm not afraid anymore!" In an instant, Kiryu's entire body became covered in a metallic knight's armour "Because I will still love you, and I'll prove it, by defending you, to the death!" Kiryu shouted, charging at the masked man, summoning two swords, one in each hand.

"Haha! You're really pathetic!" The masked man cackled, clashing swords with Kiryu "I'll rip you apart, and after that, I'll tear that wo-...!" The man recieved a fierce uppercut, sending him above the earth by Kiryu.

"No." Kiryu grabbed the man's leg, smashing him into the ground "You will not!" He prepared to stab the man, yet missed as he rolled out of the way, and quickly charged at him. Kiryu was too slow, and the man's sword stabbed through his stomach, piercing his armor "Gah...!!!" Kiryu coughed blood underneath his helmet, yet quickly thrusted his sword at the man, managing to scratch his cheek and slicing his mask.

"Too slow, old man!" The man laughed gleefully, pulling his sword out, preparing to stab Kiryu once more "Now die!".

"Gramps!" Lamia shouted at Kiryu, reminding him why he's even fighting right now.

"Not yet!" Metallic arms spread from Kiryu's armor, stopping the man's sword in place "I am not dying until I am sure my little girl is safe!" Wrapping the liquified metal around the man's sword, Kiryu prepared to crush it.

"Heh." The man laughed "You're not the only Iron Dragon." The man said, as metallic liquid spread from his back, forming as a full-body armor as well, releasing his sword, and stepping back "I am the Iron Dragon King...I am...!".

"I don't care who you are!" Kiryu shouted, charging at the man "I am going to beat you!" Kiryu summoned two swords once more, making them dense, yet thin, compressing the metal to the point that they can pack a whallop and still not break, and their thin stature made them especially sharp.

"Hahaha! As if!" The man summoned two swords as well, and in that moment, the two Iron Dragons clashed with their own metal and blades. Sparks flew with each clash, the sound of metal hitting metal was nothing new in this battleground, after all, it was essentially a small-sized war. Even in his wounded state, Kiryu still put up a fight against the man. No, he was winning. The old Dragon was beating the young arrogant reptile.

"Too strong...!" The man realized this. He was being outmatched by this far more experienced fighter. What did he have as advantage? Nothing. Except...

"Hah!" The man leaped back, quickly turning around "I know your weakness!" He shouted, gloating as he threw a blade towards Lamia, who was too in shock to react on time to shield herself.

"Lamia!" Kiryu used his strength to leap forth, landing on the blade, breaking it with his foot. He quickly looked at Lamia, making sure she was alright "Good...you're ok-..." Suddenly, a blame ran through his back, cutting through him "Gah...!!!" Kiryu shouted in pain, the blade covered in his blood.

"Grandpa!" Lamia shouted, quickly getting up, catching her grandfather as he fell towards her, his helmet falling off, and his blood dripping on her. He rested against her, yet he was too heavy, forcing her on her knees, as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Hahaha..." The man laughed, not even ashamed of his dirty trick.

"Lamia..." Kiryu struggled to speak, his injuries were too severe, so all he could do, was whisper a final words to her, as tears began flowing through her eyes.

"DIE!!!" The man swung his blade at the two, ready to slice both of them.

Kiryu quickly got back up, as the blade cut off his left arm, yet he managed to thrust his blade forth with his right arm, slicing the man's face, cutting his left eye "My name...is Kiryu!" Kiryu declared, drawing closer towards the man, who was stunned silent  "And I...I am...the Iron Dragon King...the late...the last...you..." Kiryu fell down, on his front, dying at that very moment.

"...Kiryu...?" The man stood, looking at Kiryu in shock "It...no...it can't be!".

"Gramps...?" Lamia walked towards her grandfather's dead corpse, falling on her knees "Why...? You didn't have to..." Lamia's eyes filled with tears. She felt great pain, as if there was a gaping hole in her heart, getting bigger and bigger, hurting more and more "I don't care if you're a Dragon...you were still...my grandpa.".

"You...are..." The man's expression quickly changed to pure horror "You knew...you knew...!!!" Gritting his teeth, the man clutched his hand, shouting, coming to a cruel, cruel realization.

The man and Kiryu were one and the same, but from a different time.

"He...No, I am...!" The man, the Kiryu from the past, shouted "I...can't be...".

Lamia stood up, as a barreir formed beneath Kiryu's dead body, lifting him up.

"What are you...?".

"Out of my way." Lamia walked towards the past Kiryu, and without a word, formed a large barrier, changing its shape into a large arm, and smacked him into a building, continuing to walk "I don't care who you are. So don't let me see your fucking face again, or you're dead." Lamia said, having returned to her usual indifferent and calm self, and yet...she wasn't.

She continued walking, forming a barrier around her and Kiryu's body, leaving the past Kiryu alone, inside the rubble of a building, contemplating what he just undergone.