Rias had let Mito carry on with whatever she wanted to do with Yato, not that she could stop her. She'd looked to Akeno to see if she was still maintaining the illusory barrier, and she was but with a very serious expression. To see her take something seriously was very odd, and the look on her face was out of place as it was void of its normal playfulness. Rossweisse was knelt protectively over the still unconscious Ruto while Asia worked tirelessly to heal him. The wound was finally closed, but the damage was still more extensive that a surface wound. While it had closed, the internal damage was still very complex and time consuming to heal.
Rias breathed a sigh of relief when Asia had called to her that Ruto had begun to stabilise as his breathing and pulse had strengthened. She still couldn't see how someone as shrewd and alert as him was caught off guard. Rossweisse had explained that the man had simply took him out from behind with no warning or sign he was even there.
She was grateful they got there when they did. She was shocked when she felt Ruto's Mana flow drop so sharply. One minute it was fine and flowing strong as it normally did, and then it was suddenly barely detectable. She wouldn't have bothered going to find him seeing as he was with Rossweisse, but seeing the state he was in made her feel terrible for thinking of not responding.
Dammit! Now isn't the time for that. she thought, shaking her head. She'd need to get the others organized and ready to leave as soon as Mito was finished with Yato, and Kiba and Siris had returned safely. The authorities were no doubt already there, only being held back by Akeno's illusory wall.
"Asia. Koneko." the Bishop and Rook looked at their King attentively. "Grab Ruto when you're certain he okay to be moved." she ordered Asia, who gave her a look of uncertainty. "Don't worry. You're not a combat oriented Devil, but you have the strength of very strong human at the very least. Carrying him around shouldn't be a problem." she said reassuringly.
"Right. I just wasn't so sure about that. You know, with just healing and all I didn't figure I would be able to carry him. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't drop him or anything." she said with a sheepish smile. She returned to monitoring his condition with Twilight Healing.
"Koneko I want you to keep Rossweisse up to speed with us. She wasn't nearly as injured as Ruto, but we can't have her falling behind." she said sternly. Falling behind would result in no fights or battles, but dealing with the authorities, which could be made easy by erasing memories and other Devil trickery. However, Rias found the notion distasteful.
Another cracking and ripping sound sent a shudder through her as Mito slowly bent one of the Yato Homunculus' fingers back before twisting it and pulling it free, shredding the artificial tendons, and dropping the digit to the ground. What she was doing was utterly sick, and what was worse is that so far, all of the Uzumakis she'd encountered were like that. Ruto wasn't so much cruel as he was simply brutal in his methods, but Yato was, as she'd seen him toying with Rossweisse and savagely beating Ruto without remorse. Mito was a whole other level of twisted. She was slowly, methodically and tactically picking the Homunculus apart, seeing as one of the flaws of its design was it being able to feel pain. She was purposefully prolonging his torment.
"I don't see what torturing him will do. Why not just end it?" Rias asked herself.
"Because we'd be subjected to things far worse were it reversed." Mito replied. Rias was surprised she'd heard her. Yato, though bloodied and in absolute agony, moved his eyes to Rias.
"That's not untrue. I'd have most likely had you both stripped, blind folded and suspended upside down for a few days first. However this bitch seems to wanna cut corners." he spat, resulting in another finger being snapped like a twig. "Argh! Lemme add regular beatings and slow flaying to that."
Mito snarled. "Keep talking. Go on. I'm tearing that tongue out next so go ahead. Get whatever you need to say off your chest." Just as Yato was about to spout more of his venomous words, two gloved fingers pinched his tongue. "Actually, I changed my mind." she said benignly before she yanked her arm back.
As the heavy axe head sped down to split Siris in half, she only had a moment to counteract the fatal blow. Channelling her energy into her arms, she mustered as much strength as she could, aiming to destroy her enemy's weapon. The muscles in her arms and shoulders rapidly tensed with an audible squelchy crunch, almost doubling in size with veins inflating with the increased blood flow. She gnashed her teeth and ground them together, and with an immensely powerful upward swing, her sword cut waves through the air before it collided with Ophelia's axe. With a deafening clang, the steel of the hefty blade cracking right to the shaft.
The useless weapon was forced against Ophelia's face as Siris' swing followed through. The Homunculus was sent hurtling into the air with a face that showed she had no idea what had happened. Her body kicked up dirt and grass as she skidded and rolled upon impact with the ground, weapon still in hand. While the axe blade was broken, the spike at the end of the shaft was still intact.
The hell? How did she break my axe like that? Surely that should have broken her sword. This makes no damn sense! Ophelia punched the ground and stood. A jolt of pain shot through her head and ribs and she was forced to lean on her now improvised spear. She palmed her face and shook her head.
What did that bitch do? Why does this hurt so much!? her vision swam and her vision was muffled. Her head felt like lead and her knees felt like they were going to buckle at any second. This fucking eye, why'd I have to lose an eye at a time like this!?
"You seem distracted. Should I give you a minute?" Siris said with a smirk. Ophelia eyed her, unfiltered fury burning within. "You're not too bright are you?" she taunted, getting a growl from the Homunculus. "My sword isn't some run of the mill blade you'd find in the human world." she dug the tip of the sword into the ground, the flat of the blade facing her opponent. "This sword is far more than that!" she yelled.
"This sword is far older than you or I, and more than enough to break any normal weapon." she declared proudly. "It was once a part of the treasure hoard of one of the Underworld's Old Satans." she then chuckled. "Problem is, I haven't even scratched the surface of what this thing can do."
"I suppose it has a name? All of these super rare, mystical weapons do." Ophelia said with a roll of her one functioning eye. Siris frowned. She hadn't really given her sword's identity much thought. Maybe, in the distant past, it had a name famous throughout the Underworld. She dismissed the thought of a past filled with glory. It was her sword now, and she'd make it known with her own hands and her own skill.
"It doesn't matter now. After all, I doubt many people alive now would even remember this thing, let alone know anything about it." She raised her sword, ready to strike Ophelia down. "Let's finish up here shall we. Your master tried to kill someone I care a great deal about, and if I can't take him out, then I'll just have take out one of the bitches he brought along." she hissed, letting the anger she'd hidden throughout the fight finally surface.
Ophelia stood straight and scowled as she twirled her weapon in her hands, finally letting it come to rest pointed at Siris. Ophelia had come to terms with the possibility that she my well lose her fight with Devil swordswoman. Her skills were sharp and honed, and with a helpful boost from her Devil physiology, she had a unique way of enhancing her body's natural strength to unreal heights. It was then that Ophelia realised that she would have to break the shackles on her own power. It would be the death of her, but it would be the death of Siris as well.
"You think you're better than me or something?" she challenged with a growl. She rushed forward and relentlessly attacked with flourishes and twirls of her spear. Siris was taken aback by how she could still make precise attacks with such strength despite her loss of depth perception and the other injuries she'd sustained.
The swordswoman scoffed "Trust me, your own hot headedness got you into this. You're done."
Siris blocked a rapid barrage of jabs that skimmed off of her blade, some just nicking her face. Timing her counter, she retaliated with high swing which knocked Ophelia's spear off to the side. She followed up with a back hand to the face, and shoved her back with the flat of her blade while kicking the Homunculus' legs tout from under her. Ophelia fell hard but recovered quickly enough to block a finishing blow from Siris' downward swing.
Ophelia swept her spear forward horizontally, forcing Siris back as it would have slashed her throat otherwise. She stood and lunged fiercely with her spear, seeing Siris' guard lowered for just a moment. However, she realised her mistake when one of her opponent's gauntleted hands caught the shaft of her spear. Her eyes widened in horror and her world slowed to a crawl as Siris made a back hand swing downwards. Right where her arms were.
It didn't register immediately, but for what felt like an eternity, she stood utterly defeated by her enemy, with two sanguine fountains where her forearms once connected to her elbows. She stared at her bloody stumps and then looked at her broken axe. Her hands still gripped the shaft, wrists limp and forearms hanging uselessly.
"AAAAAAAAGH!" the scream that tore from Ophelia's throat echoed throughout the entire park. Seering torrents of agony coursed through her body, setting her nerves aflame. She stumbled back and fell. She hunched over on the ground, staring at her fresh wounds with teary eyes.
Shetookmyarmsshetookmyarmsshetookmyarmsshetookmyarms... those words whirled like a tornado in her mind as she remained frozen in place, hunched pathetically on the ground. Her face turned to one of absolute, animalistic hatred. With shrunken pupils, wide eyes and drool flowing from her snarling maw, she turned on Siris.
"Y-you..." she hissed as she slowly raised herself up into a feral-looking crouch. "You… bitch..."
Siris raised an eyebrow, but instantly felt the need to be on guard. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. She felt a power, a very odd kind of magical energy emanating and growing from Ophelia. Runes began to float and flicker around the artificial girl as the space around her glowed fiery red. The wind picked up as she stood, her form quivering with unbridled fury.
"I see you've managed to push her this far." a voice from beside Siris commented. She looked to her left and saw the other Homunculus.
Wait, she was fighting Kiba. I caught a few glimpses of their fight, so if she's here then... the realisation hit her like a smack to the face. Kiba had lost.
"Your friend's still alive, however not for long, along with the rest of us, if she releases the full extent of her power." she darted towards Ophelia faster than she could see and delivered a quick chop to the back of her neck with her right hand. The light suddenly died, and Ophelia slumped forward and faceplanted the ground. Octavia looked down at her, those closed eyes of hers oozing disappointment and contempt.
"What a disgusting beast you are." she muttered venomously. She knelt down and hoisted her comrade over her shoulders. She turned to Siris.
"Thank you for knocking her down a peg or two." she swept her gaze across the park, taking in the devastation that had occurred in under an hour. "It seems while this mission wasn't a success, it wasn't a total failure either. We know what to expect next time. Farewell, Knight. I know that Ruto will need you if he has any intention of surviving the coming storm."
Runes like Ophelia's rose and flickered around Octavia as she vanished into a small portal of purple energy that looked like a rip in reality. Siris stood still for several moments after they left before lessening her grip on her Zweihander and letting her shoulder slump. She sighed and looked around.
"What a mess. Seriously Ruto, what kind of baggage do you have?" she shook her head and went to find Kiba. When she found him, he was sat against a tree and seemed to have regained consciousness only moments before she arrived. He was covered in shallow gashes, and through his torn shirt she saw ugly bruises up and down his torso. His eyes were bleary and he gave her an absent look.
"You okay Kiba? You look pretty banged up." Siris said offering a hand. Kiba accepted the hand and let her help him stand. Beside him by his foot was all that remained of his sword. It was nothing but a jagged stump of a blade with a part of the guard broken off and the hilt.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about it." he said painfully. "That one, Octavia, she had some weird abilities. I'll tell you what she can do when I'm feeling a bit more up to it."
"Alright, I'll get you to Asia. Just hang on." she replied. When the two met with the others, the sight that greeted them was a grim one. The Yato Homunculus' body was nearly unrecognisable. Arms and legs were gone, the bottom jaw and tongue torn away, eyes pushed into the skull, and his neck was twisted and contorted unnaturally. It took them by surprise when his mangled carcass and the missing pieces strewn about erupted into colourless flames, reducing his flesh to ashes and his blood to dust.
"What the hell happened here?" Siris asked aloud.
"Therapy." Mito said from her position leant against a nearby tree with her arms crossed. "Felt good too." she scowled. "Too bad the bastard wasn't the real thing if it was, this city would be in flames and all of you would be dead." the others gave her looks of apprehension. "Yeah, he's that strong."
"So what else hasn't your brother told us? Clearly he's got a history that's come to bite him." Rias said tersely. Mito sighed and shook her head.
"You wouldn't understand. As good at what we do as the Uzumaki family is, throughout history it's been a constant cycle of death and betrayal. Children of Uzumaki blood have always sought to kill each other." she said.
"I've wanted to distance myself from that as much as possible by protecting Ruto and keeping an eye on Teto." she chuckled humourlessly. "But, look at that, I still wanna kill one of my siblings anyway. Whatever, the feeling's mutual anyway."
Yato, you bastard next time there won't be a Homunculus protecting you from me next time. You can count on that. Mito clenched her fist tightly and followed the others as they made their way to Ruto's house.