The Crimson Thread

Chapter 25: Gain an Inch, Lose a Mile.

3 Weeks Later

Things have gone from bad to worse. Following Satsuki's defeat at Honnouji Academy, she detonated a series of explosions that destroyed the entire school—leaving those who remained to pick up the pieces.

The Elite Four, now leaderless as Satsuki had been captured by her mother, had joined with Nudist Beach to combat Ragyo's new force—the COVERS.

COVERS, we're automaton-like suits composed entirely of Life Fibers. Their primary purpose was to capture and utilize humans as hosts to become a much more effective fighting force. Since the Sports and Cultural Grand Festival, Ragyo and the Life Fibers had torn through every country and every form of resistance. The only bastion of Hope that remained now was the central Nudist Beach headquarters in Osaka.

As COVERS began to close in on the Nudist Beach Headquarters, they were met with heavy resistance.

Explosions occurred as sewing needle mines detonated all across the ruins of the city. Guerilla fighter teams constantly ambushed any groups of assaulting COVERS. But the fiercest fighting was at the entrance of the headquarters.

Leading the fight against the COVERS was Pyrrha alongside her was Nora and Ren. They fought off the COVERS with extreme ferociousness—their way of coping with the death of the leader, Hawk Branwen.

From within the Nudist Beach Headquarters, Aikuro watches the conflict occur with Tsumugu as Inumata coordinates his fellow Elite Four to rescue survivors.

Tsumugu: "Those three are really pissed. Good thing they're on our side."

Aikuro: "Don't mock their pain, Tsumugu. Hawk was by far the most important person to them, and Ragyo took him away from them. I could say it mirrors what happened to your sister." Tsumugu buffs as he leans back in his chair.

Inumata: "What I'm more interested in is how Ragyo is unable to re-control Nora and Ren. Their 100% Life Fiber beings exactly as Nui, but any signs of Life Fiber interference have since been blocked out. Moreover, Pyrrha's blade acts almost exactly like Bakuzan and Ryuko's Scissor Blade. With it, she's able to free the people that the COVERS had entrapped."

Aikuro: "Speaking of that, how comes the devices to free the people trapped within those COVERS?"

Inumata: "Unfortunately, without Shiro's expertise in Life Fibers, I'm only going off his notes which at times are difficult to read and translate. But luckily, I was able to look over Isshin Matoi's research, and prototypes have begun testing."

Tsumugu: "What about Matoi? She awake yet."

Aikuro: "No. After the festival, she hasn't awakened, and getting Senketsu to leave her side is next to impossible. Those two really have some connection."

Tsumugu: "Well, Life Fibers stick together, I suppose. I mean, do you think she knew and never told us?!"

Aikuro: "I wholeheartedly believe she never knew until Ragyo held the proof in her hands. But to be a Life Fiber and human fusion. It's interesting to imagine if Isshin knew or not. Could explain why he kept her so out of the loop for so long." Aikuro returned to watching the camera feed as Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren continued to fight on.

Pyrrha had lost count of how many COVERS she had sliced through. She didn't want to keep count. She pictured every single one as Ragyo. Her evil grin was stamped into her mind. The scene kept playing on repeat and repeat.

She had rounded the corner of a jutted-out piece of ground that Ragyo had created to halt their efforts to get to Hawk. She could hear the fighting going on around her; she was back at Honnouji, back at the festival. Rounding the corner, her world seemed to fade away as Ragyo casually flung her husband's corpse off her spiked fingers and watched as he fell to the city of Honno below. Overcome with rage and anguish, she dashed to so much speed and so much force that the only thing that could've stopped her was the explosion Satsuki had set off.