Chapter 25: The Origami Killer

Shamash was right, this was Purgatory and the Origami Killer needed to pass on. Zyelt was just a persona, a title, same as the Origami Killer. It was just an idea that was greater than he was which he clung to so he could have some semblance of recognition. That's all someone like him seemed to care about. That made him think...

Purgatory.

A fire awakened within Iskatl's heart, as his laughter continued, fire raising up in pillars around him as he laughed, and laughed. A dragon versus a knight, and the dragon was stepping back in shock, the knight's blood began boiling, as he felt all of those hands on his shoulders. His sister, his mother, his father, Amani, Kouga, Valkyr, Skartha, Katja, Hell... he even felt Rin's hands grabbing his shoulders. The weight of the world lied on his shoulders, and he was losing his grip on what was, and what wasn't.

"Yuichiro! Avenge your sister! He hurt her, he took her! Don't let him get away with it! Don't falter! Don't surrender!"

He continued to laugh and laugh, he was so close to breaking down, it felt like he was splitting down the middle. All this was pointless, so who cared? Why did any of this matter? He's spent his entire life trying to live up to other's expectations, and now here he was at the end of the road, losing it.

"No! This is your punishment! This is Penance, for your Sins. Die for me, Zyelt."

Zyelt waved his hand, and darkness would coalesce, slashing at Iskatl, only to be burned away by the bright light his body was emitting. The golden flame shined brighter than even Amani's moonlight, but he could feel it eating away at every fiber of his being.

His body moved on its own, as he dashed forward, and golden flames followed. Crimson and glittering gold would coalesce, forming one intense fire as a wildfire erupted in the area, and Iskatl shouted at the top of his lungs.

"PURGATORY FLAME - FIRST ART: GARDEN OF JUDGMENT."

As he stated this, the wildfire would begin to take shape, resembling trees more than untamed flames. Zyelt's eyes widened as he watched this display. The trees of fire began exploding with fire, spreading, and Iskatl slashed the air horizontally with Shamash, leaving behind a pocket of air, then he slashed vertically, sending forth an intense projectile of flames.

Zyelt grabbed it using his Grace and bending the trajectory, folding it to hit Iskatl, to which he absorbed the Golden flames and bounded forward. Darkness would intensify, and the light would grow dimmer, only for Iskatl to dash forward, Zyelt brought his blade up, and they clashed blades, Zyelt's sword beginning to siphon off Shamash's power as he grasped Iskatl's face directly, and activated his Grace. Glass would shatter in not only Iskatl's ears but Zyelt's as well, and suddenly they weren't clashing blades any longer, and the projectile that was sent forth before crashed into Zyelt. He reversed time?!

Zyelt roared out, before he spoke in that language Velika spoke in before. Words impossible to understand, yet their meaning resonated deep within Iskatl's very existence.

"Fall."

As he heard this, Iskatl fell to a knee, and Zyelt slashed at him with his blade, chipping Shamash's armor, and slicing through his neck a little bit. That little bit was enough for his sword to get a taste though, and Zyelt smirked softly as the fire in the area was snuffed out completely, as Zyelt's sword began absorbing all of Iskatl's fire. The darkness within the area quickly snuffed out the flames. Light ceased to be, much like earlier with Velika's mere presence, Zyelt's little realm would begin to eat any light sources, until only shadow existed.

Iskatl felt all the flames leave not only his surroundings but his body as well, as the blade Zyelt held in his hand began to shine with the glow of those flames, and Iskatl tilted his head. Zyelt smirked softly, and approached slowly as he reached out once again, folding the air within the realm in on itself - Iskatl felt the air shift as the Dragon Priest did it once again, then again, before the realm was converted into a small room.

"Tell me, Detective. Why did you give so much of a shit about a bitch sister who hated you? She told me herself that she hated you. She told me herself she wished you would die. I can't even fathom getting that angry over an enemy leaving my life. She always hoped and prayed you would die. With her last breath, she cursed you - did you know that?"

A toothy grin from Zyelt as he knelt down before Iskatl, who's eyes at this point were shut tightly. Tears fell down his cheeks as he considered his words. She did hate him, didn't she? His love was reciprocated with hatred. It was originally his Father's fault, those overprotective instincts that were hammered into him, but he made the choice to never change. Zyelt whispered in his ear.

"Amanai. Why don't you just give up and die? Come on. It'll be so easy to drift into death, little guy."

His words felt so surreal, like a divine truth spoken by the Gods. He was Velika's roar, and her roar was supposedly her strongest feature. His words were tantamount to law itself. Down on his knees, Iskatl gasped softly. Zyelt seemed content with clinging to the past, whilst Iskatl wanted with every fiber of his being to move on. He felt despair cling to his teeth, as he replied.

"Why don't you? Why don't you give up and die? Bastard."

A gauntleted hand reached up, and grasped at Zyelt's neck, only for Zyelt to look down at Iskatl with a soft laugh, holding his wrist tightly as he held him close. A head tilt as not Zyelt felt his blood run still, and Iskatl felt the same.

"We're connected, aren't we? You're why I'd randomly feel terrified. You're why I'd randomly be filled with pride as opposed to bloodlust. It's like our blood tied us together that day, forever. My power is yours, and yours mine. Even still, I want to take everything from you, Iskatl..."

Zyelt went to impale the crimson haired protagonist, only for time to lie still, and Iskatl himself to stare at Zyelt softly.

"Penance Emperor, Iskatl. Justice Monarch. Knight of Heaven and Hell. Grace: Key to Heaven's Gate prerequisite triggered. Awakening dormant power from Vyarra's bloodline. As an Emperor, you may know this. Your Grace awakens full potential within one aspect of one's being, when success seems to be the only option, yet failure seems imminent. A gift from the King herself - a Grace which shouldn't exist, yet even still it does."

The Reliquary echoed within every fiber of his being. He'd evolved multiple times within this single week, and with each evolution, it seemed that the Reliquary spoke more and more casually, with the robotic tone fading entirely with each evolution.

That blade went to pierce Shamash's plating, and Iskatl's mana surged, a crimson liquid dripped from his pores, and onto the floor before a golden, and black flame exploded from his body which sent Zyelt flying, though before he could fully fly through the air, a blade impaled itself into his chest, and he was dragged back, before.

"PENANCE FLAME."

A torrent of flames were sent flying towards Zyelt, and he stabbed his blade into the ground, before standing shakily.

"So you've ascended even further. You're more on par with her, my Mother than me. Aren't you?"

That eye contact never ceased, and Iskatl's pupils were slitted, as he exhaled deeply, a mixture of steam, and Golden flames poured from his lips, as Zyelt felt his blood run cold completely.

"Zyelt, the End. This is yours. Lie still."

The air itself ceased to be, and Iskatl's serpentine scales shifted along his body, covering his face, as that armor faded from his body. Zyelt himself even lied still, as if his blood itself was following Iskatl's command, and freezing solid, so he couldn't move a muscle.

Iskatl encroached upon the dragon, and gripped him up by the throat, lifting him off of his feet with one hand, and the other held the wicked slab of iron that was Shamash. Shamash roared in Iskatl's head, and Iskatl mirrored that roar, before he threw Zyelt through the darkness, causing the room to expand. His blood began to boil, as he smirked softly.

Zyelt pressed a hand against his torso, and blood began to gather along his palm, and then it lit itself ablaze, as Zyelt snarled.

"You think just because you awakened again, that you can just use my own tactics against me?!"

Throwing a crimson red fireball at Iskatl, which would expand itself five times over whilst in flight. Then, the ball of flames hit Iskatl, and he felt his eyes pulsate, and glass would shatter, and the ball of fire would redirect itself, then cease to be as Iskatl and that orb of blood soaked flame swapped places, and the orb exploded. Iskatl then immediately felt his hand start to shake violently, and he roared out.

"Purgatory Flame - Second Art: Oblivion Pyre!"

Much like so many times before, he had used the Penance Flame technique, but enhanced with the Purgatory Flame, which would explode violently. After the flame struck true, Zyelt felt himself be lit ablaze with that intense golden hued fire. His blood would boil, and evaporate, as Iskatl laughed softly.

"Fight back! Come on!"

Zyelt let out a vile roar, which caused the realm they were in to rumble, as Iskatl almost lost his footing before catching it, and remaining tall. Iskatl then grinned widely as he looked to Zyelt who spoke calmly, and coldly.

"If you kill me, you lose."

The Dragon Priest, and the World Serpent were now gazing into each other's eyes. Iskatl, the Knight from Heaven who was born in Hell, and Zyelt, the Harbinger of the End. A sound of glass shattering would erupt through the realm, as Iskatl's armor would fade. His blade dissipated as well.

Looking down, his hands felt different. In this life, his skin had color to it but in his former life, he was pale and had no distinct features. He looked like just another face in the crowd. Zyelt himself was no longer the same either. This wasn't the Dragon Priest Zyelt, this was the Origami Killer from Japan.

"Hey. Can you tell me? Do you deserve to live? Do you deserve the life you were given? You were given a second chance, yet you haven't used it to change, or to redeem yourself. Why is that?"

"Detective?.."

His eyes widened as he looked around. He tried to call upon his power, yet there was nothing, as the Detective bounded forward and his fist struck the other directly in the face. Their first fight, Yuichiro was so consumed by rage he acted recklessly, and as a result the Origami Killer gained the upper hand multiple times throughout the fight but now, he was calm, and content. Justice would be delivered.

The Origami Killer tried to throw a punch, to which Yuichiro raised his arm to block the strike effortlessly. There were no knives, no magic, no guns. There was nothing this bastard could hide behind. He had to face the consequences of his actions, and Yuichiro was sent here just to make sure he received them. Why else would Yuichiro have been sent to this world, if not for the Origami Killer to be punished for all he's done.

The Origami Killer once again threw a punch at Yuichiro, who grabbed his wrist, and yanked on his arm, causing him to fall. Yuichiro then watched the boy that was this immature bastard fall to the ground, and he interlocked his fingers, stretching his hands and causing his knuckles to crack.

"You like folding shit, huh? How about I fold you?"

The Origami Killer backed away, before he saw Yuichiro and Iskatl beginning to fade in and out of one another. Every step Yuichiro took, Iskatl took the very next step. It was like a two on one but Zyelt was so consumed by the past that it was just him, alone. He'd waited for this moment? Only to fail?

Shamash was an Executioner of the Wicked, who would deliver Justice. This was his full power. If his power had a ceiling, his World Serpent genes, combined with Purgatory Flames, all weaved into Shamash's plating all fused to form that ceiling, and Zyelt lacked the resolve to gain his full power. He lacked the resolve to do anything but make people suffer, and Yuichiro was tired of it.

"Mom! Help me, mom! Please! Please!"

This mana felt familiar, it was Velika's and Iskatl watched as it covered Zyelt in itself. The Origami Killer faded, and Zyelt was what remained in his place. Backing away, he panted heavily as he looked to Iskatl, hoping he could use his hemomancy to call upon their connection, so he could be calm but nothing happened. A calm, deep breath as a black mana covered his body from head to toe.

"Thank you, Mother... For snuffing out my weakness. Now, I can dismantle the one who lies before me. I love you, Mother."