The Crimson Thread

Chapter 24: Discarded and Rebuilt

Kiryuin Manor

Satsuki(radio): "Shiro? Are things done on your end?"

Satsuki's voice echoes through the radio she had given to Shiro to communicate between the two. The radio lies on the ground as a hand reaches down and picks up the radio.

Shiro: "Yes, Lady Satsuki." But the voice did not match that of the person it came out of. The hand crushes the radio as the Inquisitor holds the real Shiro by the throat.

Inquisitor: "Happen to like my little trick. Mimicking voices such as yours is quite trivial. Apologies, by the way. For breaking your little toy and...crashing the surprise party."

He throws Shiro to the side as the young man collides with the door to the Life Fiber Core's chamber. As the Inquisitor walks toward Shiro, his sword seemingly flies into his hand as it disappears in a cloud of flower petals. Behind him lay the strewn corpses of those Shiro was sent with.

Shiro: "You...you work for Ragyo?" The Inquisitor stops at the entrance to the chamber, looking down at Shiro.

Inquisitor: "No. The one who orchestrated my arrival stands upon a pedestal even higher than the parasites you seek to eradicate. But as of now, your fate has been decided." The sound of snapping echoes through the now-empty Kiryuin manor. "And I have dictated it to be long since passed."

The Inquisitor pushes open the door as he steps into the chamber housing the Life Fibe Core. He rolls his eyes in annoyed boredom as he holds out his hand. The core begins to vibrate and glow brighter as the suits of clothing it had created to defend itself transform into strings of sharp wire that shoot toward the Inquisitor. But instead of colliding with him, they simply stop in their tracks, frozen in place by an invisible force.

The Inquisitor continues to hold his hand out as a baseball-sized sphere is pried from within the core itself. It immediately flies into the Inquisitor's hand as he marvels at such a thing.

Inquisitor: "Quit being a child. The will of a god is beyond you, parasite. Just be glad I am not here to wipe you from this world's existence."

The Inquisitor turns and begins to walk out of the chamber, the strings still frozen in place as, with a flick of his free hand, the doors slam shut behind him.

Honnouji Academy

The battle at Honnuoji Academy rages on as Mako Mankanshoku rushes innocent bystanders out of the warzone. All the while, Satsuki's Elite Four battle against their own mind-controlled troops with some assistance from Tsumugu and Aikuro. Satsuki herself fights against a mind-controlled Ryuko. Pyrrha, unable to help Hawk, is forced to do battle against Nui Harime. But out of all the fights, the most important fight had Ragyo Kiryuin personally overseen. That being the battle with the Life Fiber recreated Nora and Ren versus Hawk Branwen.

And that battle wasn't going in Hawk's favor.

Catching himself as he slides backward, he performs a flip that deflects the hammer that almost collides with him. With Jetstream, he clashes against Ren's bladed machine guns as they struggle for dominance. Ren sidesteps, causing Hawk to overpressure and lose his footing leaving him wide open for an attack from Nora.

The battle wasn't as simple as Hawk would've wanted it. He could fully utilize his demonic power as that might cause unwanted attention, or worse, he might overpower Nora and Ren and kill them. The battle itself was Hawk stalling for time. Nora and Ren as deep Mind Stitching that was making them believe Ragyo's lies that she fed them. Hawk had to come up with a way to free them, but it wasn't as simple as just cutting the strings controlling them as one would a puppet.