The weight of her as crashed upon her shoulders watg the fmes. Arouhe deadly howls of the vilgers dying burned into her ears. They didn’t even know why they were being attacked. It was merely a ce for them.

  Shocked and paralyzed under an all too familiar weight, Saki watched Yumi’s back to see how she would move. ‘This is going to be the turning point for her. Will it break her or harden her?’ She k wasn’t the first time that Yumi carried terrible weights on her babsp; But she mao avoid much of it from never having withe actual results of her as. Now it was before her, she couldn’t turn away anymore or hide. She had no personalities to protect her. She had to do it alone.

  At her side, Yuki appeared putting a hand on her shoulder to reach out to her strained mental state. “Yumi.”

  Initially, his call to her didn’t go noticed. There was a thick wall between her and the world. But the e he established with her through his hand, something f f. It pulled on her mind, dragging her slowly back to reality. Yumi slowly turo her head to look at him. “Yuki…” Her face twisted with emotions as she tried to parse everything.

  “What do you want to do Yumi?”

  She seized up seeing once again what Yuki was doing. Her teeth ground together as he looked to her for an answer. “I don’t know…” With all of the destru around her fading away into the background, she could barely even see Yuki anymore within her mind. ‘I screwed up and he’s still putting everything on me?! This is all my fault that people are dying. The demons are after me because of all of the killings.’

  Suddenly a sp in the back came from nowhere. It threw everything in Yumi’s head out and spttered over the ground. The sting of the hand still throbbed as she tilted back to see who did it. “Seiji?” She said with some surprise, though ing from him it seemed pretty normal. Though more fusing for her was that he didn’t seem to have any of the same sort of fusion that she had. He just seemed to know. A clear view was in front of him. It didn’t make any seo her.

  “I think Yuki’s being a little too damn i with this.” Shoving Yuki a little with a smirk slightly peeking out of his lips. “I think you’re being a little hands off.”

  “Huh?”

  Saki begrudgingly walked out o Seiji with her hands crossed, but agreed with him still. “What they’re trying to say is, try not to think too hard about what’s going wrht now and just focus on what you do for what’s happening now.”

  “Yeah, what Saki said, just with not so many damn words.”

  “You didn’t eve any words out.”

  “And aren’t you being a little damn direct?”

  “It’s what you were trying to do.”

  Yumi started ughing watg the two bicker like she remembered and had fotten. It had been a while since she had really seen her friends together. Things felt like they did before everythi wrong in Atntis. A time when it was easier to still be carefree about it all, even with people hunting them. Nothing seemed to be good anymore. Seeing something not ge despite everything ging was refreshing.

  Saki and Seiji broke with their debate over the semantics of their approaches and looked back at Yumi. Weling smiles ence her to keep moving freeting her. They o her to take that step.

  “We’re behind you, Yumi,” Yuki added.

  “Especially you,” teased Seiji.

  “Hey, I fight too! I’m not useless!”

  “You sure as hell are now that you gave up your main character status to Yumi.”

  “What are you doing stealing my fourth wall breaking dialogue?!”

  “Better watch out Yuki, he’s beeing more than a little fortable with the setup.”

  Yumi took a few steps out towards the chaos. It all felt so distant and far from her now. The weight wasn’t so crushing anymore. She might be able to stand up straight. “Thank you, everyone.”

  Chapter 419 – Power Spike

  Seiji broke rank with the edy bit to step forward alongside Yumi. “So what’s the pn you got in mind, Yumi?”

  She stared at all of the people running around terrified and the lights of explosions highlighting the demons that came marg. “First priority is proteg the vilge. If they came looking for me, then I’ll give them what they want.”

  Saki and Yuki came hurriedly up to her side worried about what she might be pnning. “Yumi, you aren’t—“

  “I’m not going out there alone,” she interrupted quickly before they started to worry about her recklessness. “I have to be out there to get their attention, they’re looking for me. But I’m going to want your help as well. Saki and Seiji with me dealing with the demons and then Yuki and Nerine. I want you to protect the vilgers ahem to safety.”

  “I’m fully healed now, Yumi. I help out on the front too.”

  “Getting sidelined already!” ughed Seiji, enjoying the teasing.

  “I know you , but we don’t know how the fighting will go with the demons or even if we get their full attention. People are still going to be in danger and I know you’ll be able to keep them all safe.”

  Seeing that she thought about it, Yuki didn’t try to press it any further. It was as she said, the first priority for her was keeping the vilge safe. He could uand that. “Alright, I’ll make sure they get out alive.”

  “Hey, what about Mr. Demon back here, who’s been silent as hell this whole time?”

  “Mr. Demon has a name,” he reminded, actually looking a little bothered by Seiji’s more casual attitude towards him. Yuki wasn’t the only strange one in the group. They all cked the same sort of fear or hatred towards him that he came to expect from humans. None of them seemed like they belonged, even the ohat had the hatred burning within her.

  Yumi dismissed him immediately however. “He’s not going to fight his own people. He only had one goal and that’s a rematch with me. This doesn’t have an i for him.”

  Getting an annoyed gre from Seiji that he wouldn’t be helping only produced a shrug babsp; “She’s n. I’m only ied in fighting strong oppos.”

  “Then go find that scary ass swordswoman!” Seiji tossed out halfheartedly before turning back to the group. They ighe curiosity that seemed to be peaked by that remark in Manekamaru. Seiji saw that Yumi and Saki were already eying up the horizon to figure out their pn of attabsp; “You e up with something?”

  “No,” Yumi replied.

  “The problem is getting the full attention of the demons who are already focused on wholesale sughter.”

  “Yeah, we need something that ’t be missed by them.”

  Crossing his arms, he nodded uanding the dilemma. Though it didn’t seem to be that big of an issue to him. He looked up quickly without a sed thought. “I’ve got an idea.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of…”

  “Hey, you haven’t even heard the damn pn.”

  “It’s your idea.”

  “Saki! It’ll work!”

  “Only in your mind.”

  Stepping iween them, Yumi was willing to take anything, especially if they could act quickly. The fighting was getting closer and they o do something quickly. “Let’s hear him out, Saki. What’s your idea, Seiji?”

  Yuki looked over at Nerine, who stared at him like she awaited his order. He motioned her over to him, knowing that she would obediently agree. “Stop ag so stiff around me. This may be a fake world, but no irring up unnecessary weirdness.”

  “But Your—“ She stopped herself before she went too far with her natural tendenbsp; The look in his eyes told her enough as well. It proved a difficult habit to break, even if he had only started being her Kily. Order and discipline were important to her. She couldn’t stop it so easily as he wanted her. “It’s not easy…”

  He saw that she wao say more, but stopped herself. She couldn’t actually get it out. “Still stumbling on my name, Nerine. Yoing to have to get over it, it’s going to be even weirder if you never say my name. People will notice.”

  “I know…”

  “Let’s focus on the immediate problem.” Giving her relief from the pressure seemed like the best way to handle her for now. It wasn’t going to be a simple thing to overwrite years of training. Yuki quickly surveyed the town, he hadn’t looked too much at it when they arrived earlier. “Getting up a barrier is going to be the most important for any strays. Focus on size, not power. Anything we make should be able to hold, just don’t make it invulnerable as tempting as it might be. We ’t make ourselves stand out too much.”

  “I uand. But I’m not as practiced on pushing my Field.”

  “Just release any Folds you have and do what you . I’ll make up for the difference.”

  “But you may overrun my Field.”

  “I know. I’m going to be stig more to the front. Ohey break the assault, I’ll be funneling people towards you. So protect the rear guard.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “Are you stupid?!” snapped Saki, finished listening to Seiji’s pn. It even grabbed Yuki and Nerine’s attention from their pnning. She shook her head heavily though also not surprised. “We aren’t doing that! Yumi, I’ll go and break the line.”

  “No, I like Seiji’s idea.”

  “What?! Are you feeling alright, Yumi? You did hear what he suggested, right?”

  She o him and faced Seiji ready to accept his pn. “Yes, I think it will work for what we want. It’s bold and dynamibsp; A of all, it’ll be something that’ll be hard to ignore.”

  “Yes, but it’s insane! Only someone like him, who wasn’t even thinking, would think up such a pn!”

  There ride beaming from Seiji’s eyes as he looked at Saki with his ping Yumi’s approval. He had one up on her. Though Yumi didn’t let either dwell on it for too long. “Sometimes being a little insane isn’t bad. I’m going with his pn. You two follow up after the initial shock.” She could see that she only got Saki’s agreement begrudgingly. Insane or not, they had no other pns and they o absp; Even Yumi could agree with her on it, but she wasn’t wanting to dey anymore. Too many suffered for her hesitating. “Yuki and Nerine, we’re going now. Protect the town!”

  “We will Yumi! You fight without worry!”

  “Thanks!” Yumi patted Seiji on the arm letting her know that she was ready. A thick barrier rolled out arouightly keeping mere timeters from her in a perfect sphere. Each piece of the shards snapped in interlog fashion. “Let’s go, Seiji! Saki!”

  Seiji bent down lifting up Yumi by her barrier. He quickly banced her in his right hand and looked over at Saki. “, you’re part of this too.”

  A relut sigh came from Saki as she really didn’t want anything to do with this pn of his. “I know, Yumi agreed to it so I’ll py my part.” With his left haended out for her, she leapt up resting her feet closely on his hand. “I ’t believe I’m doing it…don’t tell anyone about this…”

  “That’ll be my sed secret!”

  “What? Sed SECRET?!” she yelled as Seiji didn’t even give a tdown before throwing her into the air. “Damn you, Seiji! I’ll pay you back for this!”

  Saki had little time to formute revenge against him as Yumi quickly came rising through the air after her. The pn had already started and she had to py her part. “I hate you so much right now…” Yumi encased in her barrier rose up to her height ing to a slowing hover while Saki’s ow started to peak. “I’ve never even pyed volleyball, so don’t bme me for my aim!”

  “It’ll be fine, Saki,” Yumi said with fidence.

  She believed in her. Seeing Yumi staring at her knowing that everything would be fine snapped Saki to attention. There wouldn’t be any error. She would make this stupid pn work. “Give them hell, Yumi!” With the wind up plete, Saki smmed her hand into the barrier spiking Yumi straight down at the amassing demon horde.