what if I'm an undead! then so what?-Chapter 69: legendary rank sevens

Two hours earlier, the neon heart of Shinjuku pulsed with frenetic energy, its towering billboards casting kaleidoscopic glows across rain-slicked asphalt. The air buzzed with mana, a faint undercurrent weaving through the chatter of late-night crowds and the hum of distant drones. In a secluded alley, shrouded by a shimmering AEGIS veil that cloaked their battle from mortal eyes, Hinata faced Vermilion, the tension between them crackling like a storm about to break. The veil warped the alley’s edges, bending light to create a pocket of otherworldly isolation, where the city’s chaos felt distant yet ever-present. Hinata’s short pink hair fluttered in the mana-charged breeze, her vibrant pink eyes glinting with a mix of curiosity and defiance as she studied her opponent. Vermilion, AEGIS Reaper Number Three, stood rigid, her long, radiant pink hair catching the veil’s eerie glow, her sly smirk faltering under Hinata’s probing words."So, let’s see! How do I begin?" Hinata’s voice carried a playful lilt, but her gaze was sharp, dissecting Vermilion’s every reaction. "Ten years ago, you were taken from the governmental orphanage here in Shibuya, away from your best friend, the person you had promised to stand by his side. What was his name again? Hmm... correct me if I’m wrong, but it was Masaru Ryunosuke! What a lovely boy, you need to see how much he’s grown!" She paused, her words a deliberate blade, and watched as Vermilion’s composure began to slip. The Reaper’s unreadable expression fractured, her pink eyes widening with confusion, surprise, and a flicker of anxiety that betrayed her usually predatory demeanor.Vermilion’s mind reeled, a torrent of questions crashing against her carefully constructed walls. What the hell? How does she know? Can she read memories? Did she glean this from our fight? What kind of witchcraft is this? Does she really know Masaru? Damn, what am I even thinking? She shook her head, forcing the thoughts away, desperate to regain control. Her heart raced, a rare vulnerability seeping through her AEGIS-honed instincts. "What a fool? You think you’re smart!" she snapped, her voice laced with a forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "I can barely even understand what you’re saying!" The lie tasted bitter, her anxiety clawing at her throat, but she refused to let Hinata see her unravel further.Hinata’s smile sharpened, her witch’s intuition reading Vermilion like an open scroll. The alley’s mana pulsed in sync with her confidence, the veil shimmering faintly as if echoing her amusement. "You’ve slipped up! Knowing you, that’s not what you’d have normally said in this situation. Although I’ve only known you for about twenty minutes now, still I can read you like a book, trying to cover up your mistakes and not to mention you’re nervous! It’s showing broadly like a poster!" She stepped closer, her boots crunching on the alley’s gravel, her words relentless. "To think you’d change your name from Sakura to Vermilion, I mean, your third name is the worst so far!" The revelation landed like a thunderbolt, adding chaos to Vermilion’s already spiraling thoughts, the air around them growing heavy with unspoken truths."Third name? What do you mean?" Vermilion asked, her voice cracking with genuine confusion. Her hands twitched, Aether flickering at her fingertips, the alley’s shadows deepening as her control wavered. The term "third name" echoed in her mind, a puzzle piece that didn’t fit, stirring a dread she couldn’t name. Hinata’s grin widened, sensing the crack in Vermilion’s armor, and she pressed on, her voice a mix of taunt and revelation."Oh, that’s right, let me continue," Hinata said, her tone almost conversational, yet laced with a witch’s cunning. "After you were taken away from the orphanage by some kind of secret organization, perhaps even more disgusting than AEGIS, you were whisked to America, Alaska, and then you got a new name—Project Bloom, under the organization known as Genesis! Does Project Genesis ring a bell?" The words struck Vermilion like a physical blow, her breath hitching as memories she’d buried deep surged to the surface. Her eyes betrayed her, raw emotion spilling forth—fear, recognition, and a searing pain that no AEGIS training could suppress. The alley trembled, the veil flickering as her Yaminmosha heritage reacted to her mental collapse, her powers spiraling into chaos.Vermilion’s body ignited in a blaze of pink light, a tear-shaped mark materializing beneath her eyes, glowing like a cursed sigil. Her irises shifted, now luminous pink, radiating like twin beacons in the dim alley. The air warped around her, objects decaying under the influence of her unstable Aether—rusted pipes crumbled to dust at 20 years per second, graffiti-stained walls flaked away as if centuries passed. To her left, blue flames of Aoi Akuma roared, aging the alley’s debris at a relentless pace, while to her right, rivers of pink water flowed, shimmering with floating petals that carried an eerie, otherworldly beauty. The ground quaked, the veil’s edges fraying as her power surged to astronomical levels, a hallmark of the Yaminmosha’s emotional volatility.Hinata’s eyes widened, her playful demeanor giving way to astonishment. She hadn’t anticipated this magnitude of backlash, the raw, untamed power of a Yaminmosha overwhelming her senses. The mana in the air thickened, crackling like a live wire, as Vermilion’s scream tore through the sky, a primal wail that shattered nearby windows and destabilized the veil further. Above them, a massive sphere of pink and blue energy coalesced, swirling with chaotic Aether, its size dwarfing the alley and casting an apocalyptic glow across Shinjuku’s skyline. The energy ball pulsed, unstable and volatile, its potential to erase Japan from the map a palpable threat."What the hell is this?" Hinata gasped, her voice barely audible over the roar of Vermilion’s power. She stared at the orb, its surface crackling with arcs of Aether, its compression only heightening her dread. If it detonated, the devastation would be unimaginable. Instinctively, she wove layers of mana barriers, their translucent surfaces shimmering like crystal, encasing the alley in a desperate bid to contain the blast. Her hands glowed with mana, sweat beading on her brow as she poured her strength into the shields, her pink eyes reflecting the orb’s blinding light.In a blinding flash, the energy ball exploded, flooding the alley with white light that seared the senses. Hinata braced herself, her barriers humming under the strain, expecting annihilation. Yet, inexplicably, the worst never came. As the light faded, the alley reemerged, scorched but intact, the veil somehow holding. Two figures stood amidst the chaos, their presence commanding and surreal, as if they’d stepped from another plane of existence.The first was Isagi, Masaru’s mentor, his weathered face calm despite the feat he’d just performed. In his hands—twisted, almost demonic yet strangely beautiful—he held the remnants of the catastrophic blast, now a shrinking orb of pink and blue energy. It dissolved into his palms, absorbed as if it were mere mist, leaving no trace of its city-level threat. Beside him stood Mugen, a younger man with long, flowing black hair and small rectangular glasses perched on his nose, his expression serene yet faintly amused. Over his shoulder, he carried an unconscious Vermilion, her body limp, her Aether aura extinguished in a mere half-second by his effortless strike.Hinata’s jaw dropped, her mana barriers flickering as she processed the scene. Isagi’s gaze met hers, his eyes crinkling with recognition. "You’re that girl from before, Masaru’s friend," he said, his voice warm but tinged with awe. "To think you’d be able to take on Vermilion and still come out on top." The last of the energy orb vanished, and Hinata’s barriers dissolved, her strength waning under the weight of what she’d just witnessed.Her mind raced, grappling with the impossible strength of the two men before her. They were human, yet their power dwarfed hers, a realization that led to a chilling conclusion. She was no slouch—her abilities rivaled AEGIS’s sixth-rank enforcers, perhaps even the Dawn Reapers—but these two were on another level. Legends whispered of the three Rank Seven operatives, the founders of AEGIS, one of whom led the organization today. Isagi and Mugen, she deduced, had to be among them, their casual display of power confirming their status as living myths. Yet, questions swirled: why would an AEGIS founder train a vampire like Masaru, teaching him Aether? And if they wanted her dead, could she even resist?"It’s been a while, Mugen," Isagi said, turning to his companion with a wry smile. "What a coincidence to see you here!" Mugen’s calm expression didn’t shift, but his lips curved slightly, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "I could say the same for you," he replied smoothly. "I thought you retired? So what are you doing using your powers publicly?"Isagi chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "I could say the same for you... weren’t you suspended? And besides, even though I’m not a member of the organization, it doesn’t mean I’ll let a whole state blow up in front of me, especially if the state is where I live in!" He glanced back at Hinata, only to find the spot where she’d stood empty, her presence gone like a wisp of smoke. The alley’s mana lingered, a faint echo of her teleportation, its light distortion fading into the air."How witchly," Mugen remarked, his tone dry as he noted her absence. "To think she ran away?" Isagi let out a hearty laugh, the sound echoing off the scorched walls. "Of course, who wouldn’t run after figuring out our identities! Anyway, see you around. I have training to—I mean, stuff to do!" With a flicker of Aether, he vanished, his form dissolving into the neon-lit night.Mugen’s smile lingered, his gaze drifting to the unconscious Vermilion over his shoulder. "Training, huh? So you’re thinking of becoming active, I knew it! You did use the medicine I gave you, and here you are leaving without telling me thanks! Is that what I get for being a nice friend?" he muttered, shaking his head. With a casual step, he too disappeared, his form melting into thin air, leaving the alley silent save for the distant hum of Shinjuku’s nightlife.Moments later, another figure emerged from the shadows, his ragged appearance stark against the alley’s scorched ruin. Kaito Ashikaga, the last shadow-weaver, stood at the edge of the devastation, his long silver hair veiling one amber eye, the other glinting with wary curiosity. A purple amulet gleamed at his neck, pulsing faintly with Kurai, the dark energy that fueled his powers. Kurotsume, his black katana, hung sheathed at his waist, its runes dormant but ready, a silent promise of violence. His tattered black haori, embroidered with silver cranes, fluttered in the mana-charged breeze, the scar on his cheek a stark reminder of his past battles. The air reeked of Aether and mana, the residue of a cataclysmic clash, and Kaito’s Kurai Sense hummed, piecing together fragments: a witch’s defiance, a Reaper’s collapse, and the overwhelming presence of two titans who’d rewritten the battle’s outcome. "What the hell happened here?" he murmured, his voice low, shadows coiling at his feet like restless serpents, as he stepped deeper into the ruins, a lone specter in Shinjuku’s neon night.