章節 97: Love
[Date: 1/26 - Sunday]
[Time: 6:15 PM]
[Location: Sanctuary City - Northern Division]
Conroy launched multiple missles at me at high speeds, but I dodged each one, kicking my power beads at him one by one. Conroy dodged the power beads then noticed them circling around him swiftly. He looked around at each one then began to dodge each of them once more as they flew toward him.
Conroy used his aura to push them all away then flew toward me at high speeds with a bellow. I watched him closely then blocked his attack, countering with a powerful strike to his face and knocking him back. Conroy grunted as he rolled back then recovered onto one knee, noticing missles flying toward him.
"You can try all you want to hit me, but you can't!" Conroy bellowed, holding his hands out, deploying a shield of angelic energy to block the missles and their explosions.
"Shiro, there's not much I can do against Conroy. Even if his power isn't authentic like yours, it's still very powerful and my weaponry can't bypass his defenses," Raymond said, still bracing himself for Conroy's counter attack.
I glanced at Raymond then back at Conroy, a confident smirk playing on my face. "You may not have the necessary power to break through his defenses, but I do. Either way, we have to work together on this one. I won't deal the final blow...it will have to be you."
Raymond glanced at me, a melancholic expression playing on his face behind his mask. He looked down, looking at his hand then balled it into a fist before looking at Conroy with a determined gaze. "Alright...let's do this, Tribal Leader."
Conroy watched us both, bracing himself for both me and Raymond. 'It doesn't matter what you try. I'll counter it all!'
Raymond and I dashed toward Conroy together, launching strikes directed at both sides of him but he blocked both attacks then pushed us away. We began to launch synchronized at him, but Conroy began to dodge each of our attacks.
Raymond went for swift blows toward Conroy, but each attack missed their marks. Raymond went for a sweep kick, forcing Conroy to leap up to evade it, allowing me to launch an attack in the air. Conroy sensed the attack and blocked my attack, pushing me back one more.
Conroy watched as we dashed around him, using his Sixth Sense to keep track of us at all times. "Move as fast as you'd like, I will always be able to keep up!"
I smirked and chuckled as I dashed toward him, ducking under his lariat attack then landed a Superkick to his face then followed it with double leaping kicks, launching myself and Conroy in the air.
"Your Sixth Sense means nothing when mine is better!" I bellowed, launching Conroy to the ground with a powerful Destiny Flash infused with Spiritual Energy from Romancia.
Raymond launched himself toward Conroy, landing a chop to his stomach and caused him to crash into the ground hard. Conroy groaned and coughed lightly in pain.
"Let's go!" Luckie laughed as she appeared above Conroy, landing a swift axe kick to his stomach and knocked him back to the ground.
Flirtoria emerged from the ground in her Dracaena Form, knocking Conroy back in the air. Conroy recovered in the air and held his hands out, barrels extending from his palms and he began to launch a barrage of energy blasts toward Luckie, Flirtoria, and Raymond.
"Coming through!" Talenta called out, flying toward the waves of energy blasts and began to deflect each blast with rapid swings of her spear then she launched her spear toward Conroy.
Conroy dodged the spear and used his Sixth Sense to sense Talenta warping behind him. "I've got you!" He bellowed, launching a large blast of energy from the barrel in his palm.
"Right here!" Talenta called out behind Conroy and knocked him to the ground with a powerful swing of her spear.
Conroy recovered in the air then grunted softly as he landed on his feet, scanning the battlefield and noticing my Love Demons around him, each one ready to battle. 'Those Demons he has...are they the main source of his power..? Each one is rather strong, but that demon with the blue aura...Talenta is it..? She intrigues me...'
"Red, Mari! Let's go!" I called out toward them.
Conroy became alert and began to search around the battlefield for Lustie and Charismari. He sensed them appear around him and froze at their presences. He noticed Lustie appear in front of him, inducing him with Lust.
"Hi, Conroy~" Lustie hummed, stroking his chin then warped away.
Charismari appeared behind Conroy while he was still immobilized by Lustie's Lust Inducement, grabbing his shoulder and began to damage his impure soul with her Chastity Energy. "Repent.."
Conroy groaned in pain as he very soul began to be damaged. He growled and let out a roar, pushing Charismari off him and unsheathed his sword, slashing behind him to strike Charismari, but hit an afterimage.
He looked around then sensed an attack next to him, using his sword to slash at Romancia, but she was in her Spirit Form, her body intangible. She materialized in front of him, connecting a powerful uppercut to his chin and knocking him in the air.
"Alright! Passion, Sensitia, Ambitia you're up!" I called out, pointing up at Conroy.
Conroy grunted as he noticed Passion flying toward him at high speeds. "Aermyth! Come help me!"
Aermyth still laid on the ground, looking up at the sky and watching Conroy get jumped by Passion, Sensitia, and Ambitia. Her tail slightly swayed as she watched, enjoying the sight of seeing him getting flung around.
Ambitia jumped off Passion's back then gripped Conroy's face, throwing him to the ground then Sensitia used her Fairy Magic to prevent him from crashing to the ground too hard, smirking at him and enjoying her time toying with him.
"Not feeling so hot are you?~ Maybe we should turn up the heat!" Sensitia laughed, using her fairy magic to summon a pit of lava beneath Conroy.
Conroy noticed the pit of lava then grunted, using his Earth Manipulation to close the pit, allowing himself to land safely on the ground. He slowly stood up and noticed my Love Demons retreating from the battlefield.
'They are retreating after humiliating me..?! Who do they think they are?!' Conroy thought, his eyes flashing with anger.
"Alright, babe, we weakened his armor quite a bit. You and Raymond should be able to deal significant damage to him now!" Lustie informed, floating off to watch from the sky with her sisters.
"Good luck, Master!~ If you need help, just call us and we'll come down and strike him once more!" Luckie called out as she sat on Passion's back and giggled.
I nodded and stepped forward, my gaze fixated on Conroy's. I smirked toward him and cracked my knuckles. "Alright, Ray. It's on us again."
Raymond nodded, stepped forward and rolling his shoulder. "Let's take down my brother..."
Conroy stared at us and smirked behind his visor, his eyes becoming more deranged. "Come at me!"
Raymond and I both launched ourselves toward Conroy, launching a strike at the same time once again but Conroy deflected both of our attacks then knocked me away with a powerful rocket kick then focused on Raymond.
Raymond began dodging and evading each of Conroy's attacks then launched a few powerful jabs directed at his face then palmed the core in the middle of Conroy's chest armor. Conroy grunted as he stumbled backwards.
'What is this..? My Sixth Sense isn't working anymore..? No matter, I still have my Unleashed State!' Conroy thought, laughing to himself and activated his power suit's Unleashed State.
Conroy launched a lightning fast punch toward Raymond, but a rock wall rose to protect him, blocking Conroy's attack. Conroy looked around for me and Raymond saw that Conroy was now distracted, taking this chance to deliver a devastating uppercut using his rocket punch.
As Conroy flew up in the air, I came down spinning forward to build momentum and extended my leg up.
"Divine Impact!" I bellowed, landing a decisive and mind-blowing axe kick straight to the top of Conroy's head.
Conroy crashed to the ground, slamming into the Earth, forming a large smoke cloud of dust and debris. Lustie and her sisters cheered in awe and excitement, watching me and Raymond practically dismantle and destroy Conroy.
"Whoa...that axe kick looked like and sounded like it hurt like hell," Mariana said, shuddering at the power behind my attack.
"Yeah, I never want to be on the receiving end of one of his attacks.." Dante chuckled softly, a bead of nervous sweat rolling down his chin.
Conroy slowly stood up and grunted softly as his helmet slowly broke apart and crumbled, his white hair covering his right eye. He chuckled softly then let out a yell and began to pull his hair, stomping on the ground.
Raymond watch his brother, who's usually very calm, collected, and detached, start to lose control of his emotions and break down. "Shiro...we are getting close to defeating him..."
I landed beside Raymond and nodded then stood up straight. "I can see...he's starting to break apart. This is what I need," I said, seeing my Crest of Sensitivity glowing on my arm.
Conroy calmed himself down and let out a soft chuckle then looked at both me and Raymond, his eyes becoming deranged. "You two...make me feel...hate, rage, pain...I hate you! I HATE YOU! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LET ME WIN?! WHY?!"
Raymond stared at Conroy, feeling his heart growing heavy. He placed his hand upon his chest and took a deep breath and exhaled. "Conroy, you're my little brother...and even if no one in this world loves you anymore...I will still love you no matter how much you hate me.."
Conroy paused for a moment, his gaze meeting Raymond's for a moment and a shattered memory of his childhood flashed into his head.
"I love you, Conroy...that's why I have to take you down. Nothing pains me more than having to watch you rot away like this," Raymond said, holding up his Cerberus MK I at Conroy.
Conroy grunted softly then closed his eyes tightly, breathing even heavier. "No! No! I won't have you doing this to me!! You walked away from me! Now you think you can just walk back into my life and tell me you love me while trying to kill me?!"
Raymond stared at Conroy, lowering his head and behind his mask he shed the tears he kept away for years. "It's the only way...but no matter what...in life or in death, you are still my little brother...and I will do what's right.."
Conroy let out another yell and opened his eyes, flipping his hair and revealing the Philosopher's Stone in his right eye. "If you're gonna kill me, then you're gonna have to work for it! I won't just sit by and watch you break me down!"
Conroy bellowed as the Philosopher's Stone glowed brightly then he groaned as the stone began to grant him unimaginable power. His armor became sleek and black with golden accents, and large, curved horns began to protrude from his head.
"Lotus...I will not fail you! You trusted me with this power to kill Shiro, so I will!" Conroy laughed as demonic energy began to form around his body.
Red symbols formed around his head then circled around swiftly, becoming a red halo over his head. Conroy finished his transformation and his Philosopher's Stone became a demon eye, a Sigil forming in the eye and he smirked at the two of us.
"Now the fight...can truly begin..." Conroy chuckled, getting into his stance.
Without warning, Conroy launched himself toward us and laughed. We dodged his wild strike, but Raymond couldn't dodge Conroy's follow up attack, groaning as he was blown away. Conroy dashed toward Raymond and leaped forward with his sword drawn, planning to end him quickly.
Lustie flew down toward him and used her tail to block the attack for Raymond. She pushed Conroy back then transformed into her Ascended Demon Form. "Shiro! Raymond won't be able to take him on as he is now! We have to take down Conroy now!"
I nodded at Lustie's words, launching myself toward Conroy with a bellow. Talenta threw her golden sword at me and I caught it, immediately clashing with Conroy. With each swing from the two of us, the sound of metal clashing rang into the air.
"Give up Shiro! You can't win! You still have your Stamina Drawbacks!" Conroy yelled, slashing upward and breaking through my guard then launched a swift slash toward me.
Before his attack could land, a barrage of invisible forces struck Conroy, knocking him back. Suddenly, multiple waves of invisible forces began striking Conroy. On the last hit, I ran toward him and landed a flying Superkick to his face to knock him back.
Lustie dashed forward and struck Conroy with a rising knee, grabbing him and flying down with a power bomb. She snapped her fingers then a burst of demonic energy knocked Conroy back into the air.
"Switch!" I commanded, my Crest of Love now shining Orange.
Lustie retreated and in came Charismari, slamming her Cross against Conroy's stomach and sending him crashing to the ground. Conroy grunted as he stood up and targeted me, launching himself toward me.
I began to dodge Conroy's attacks swiftly, evading his bloodlusted attacks then countered with a staggering gut punch. I palmed his chest, knocking him away and snapped my fingers and pointed at Conroy.
My Love Demons rushed toward Conroy, each one striking him and further wakening him down. Raymond watched as my Love Demons worked Conroy's body to the core, not giving him the chance to even recover or counter.
I cupped my hands and drew them to my side, concentrating iridescent energy to a single point in between my cupped hands. "Unity...!"
Conroy was staggered and held his head, looking up and noticing me charging up a powerful attack and looked panicked, the color slightly returning to his once dull eyes. 'No..! I can't be defeated like this...! No!"
"Overdrive!!" I roared, thrusting my hands forward and unleahsed a large, streaming, powerful beam of iridescent energy toward Conroy.
Conroy held his hands out and formed a shield of energy to block my attack and grunted as my beam collided into his defenses. He grunted as he was getting pushed back, groaning as his body couldn't withstand such an attack from me.
Soon, the beam broke through his shield and struck his entire body, the beam engulfing his being. Conroy groaned loudly and both his Philosopher's Stone and his armor shattered, a massive explosion forming and powerful winds surging around the area.
Raymond grunted as the winds began pushing him away, groaning as he was flung backwards. Naomi and the others exclaimed as the winds washed over them, the winds beginning to uproot a few trees. Once the winds died down, the aftermath was clear...my attack was both destructive and awe inducing as most of the forest around us had been destroyed from my Unity Overdrive.
The smoke began to clear slowly, revealing Conroy in a weakened state on the ground. He slowly began to stand up, even while weakened and began to limp away to the base.
"I can't die...I can't die...I won't let the world betray me again," Conroy whimpered as he limped his way back to the base.
Raymond glanced at me and noticed me nod toward him then he stood up and hurried after Conroy, giving chase to his brother. "Conroy!"
Conroy looked back and his breath quickened as he noticed Raymond chasing after him. He pressed a button on the wall and activated the base's defense systems, gun turrets aiming at Raymond and began firing a volley of bullets toward him.
Raymond grunted as he began to avoid their lines of fire then rushed into the base with Conroy, still chasing after him. "Conroy stop running!"
"Get away from me!" Conroy cried out and began to knock shelves over and throw items at Raymond to slow him down.
Raymond vaulted over the fallen shelves and evaded the thrown projectiles, still chasing after his brother. Conroy grunted as he fell onto one knee, looking at his injured leg and panted heavily. He looked back and noticed Raymond still hurrying after him.
Quickly getting up as fast as he could, Conroy began to retreat upstairs with Raymond not too far behind. Entering his room, Conroy's leg finally gave out and he fell onto the floor and began to crawl his way toward his Lego set and his chess board.
Raymond walked in after him and watched Conroy, looking down at him. "Enough running, Conroy...You have nowhere else to go.."
Conroy slowly sat up and had his head lowered, his hair shadowing his eyes. "Why..? Why can't you just leave me alone..? Why did you have to ruin everything..?"
"Conroy..." Raymond began, taking a step forward.
"No! Shut up!" Conroy yelled, unshed tears beginning to well in his eyes. He gasped for air as he began to break down and sob. "You abandoned me...you left me behind just like everyone else! You all left me to rot and die alone!"
Raymond looked down at Conroy then walked toward him and crouched down, meeting his level. "Conroy...I never abandoned you. Mama and Papa never abandoned you. I was in the military that day you were taken away. Lotus...he altered your memories...made you believe we all left you.."
Conroy couldn't look at Raymond as he spoke, a flood of memories flashing in his mind. Painful memories of Lotus's experiments flashed in his mind, memories of having to fight against Raymond two years ago flooded his mind.
"He made you into the monster you've become now...and ever since that day we reunited even if it was on the opposite side of the battlefield...I always held hope that you were still in there. The little brother I loved..." Raymond said softly, gently pressing his finger along his brother's chest.
Conroy's tears began to flow even more in stronger waves. The flood within his mind was becoming too much for him to bare, his tears unable to be stopped. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."
Raymond stared at Conroy and his tears began to flow out of his eyes as well. He looked up and took a shaky breath to control his tears. "Conroy...my words still stand. I will always still love you..."
"In life...and in death..." Conroy finished for Raymond then looked up at Raymond, a genuine smile playing on his face. "I love you too, big brother..."
Raymond looked at Conroy and aimed his gun at him, smiling back at him as he prepared to seize the victory. "This is checkmate, little brother...I'll see you on the other side..."
"I'll see you on the other side as well..." Conroy said, closing his eyes and accepting his fate, but felt joy of finally being liberated from The Syndicates' hold.
Raymond pulled the trigger, one bullet being enough to take Conroy down. Conroy's body went limp immediately, hitting the floor with a thud and causing the black king piece on the board to fall and roll onto the floor.
Raymond looked down at his brother's dead body and fell to his knees, letting out a yell of pure sorrow, his voice echoing around the entire room, soon reaching outside. He began to cry all of his tears for Conroy, yelling and sobbing at the loss of the only family member he had left.
I looked at my arm, seeing my Crest of Sensitivity shining brightly then noticed my own tears falling from my face. "He did it...it's over..."
Sensitia looked at me, noticing my tears flowing down my cheek and turned her gaze back to the base. She began to feel Raymond's pain as well, placing a hand over her heart then closed her eyes.
The battle was hard won, but in the end, even if Karma took a step forward in victory...the demands of war caused Raymond to lose a piece of him that he can never get back. This victory felt more bittersweet than it felt fulfilling.
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