“Interesting. You don’t want to stop, do you?” an eerie voice in Yamir’s mind asked.

“Huh?” the snake thought.

He shortly forgot what he heard and was back to attacking the scarlet-haired boy. The latter was so busy dodging the snakes that he did not notice his opponent approaching him. Yamir threw a punch hard enough to send him flying. Iduma responded with several roots that chased him across the floor.

The child was once more blindsided as the snake appeared out of the blue in front of him and kicked him in the stomach. Iduma was beginning to acknowledge the fact that his foe was slowly leaving him behind. The young man’s spirit remained unbreakable regardless of that, fueled by his immense willpower to continue to exchange blows with Yamir. Five intense minutes of fighting went by, as the power gap between the two of them widened to almost absurd levels.

“You can barely keep up with me. Just give up already” Yamir said.

“Are you kidding me? The bigger the challenge, the more fun it is to overcome it! That said… hihi, don’t be surprised” Iduma lifted his right arm to summon a sublime sword whose blade consisted of roots serving as an adornment with a tiny cross attached to the hilt “Tadaaa! Her name is ‘Anima Sancta’. She’s a beauty, don’t ya think?”

For some reason, the snake felt that it was not its first time seeing that sword. It was at that very moment that the “voice” returned to terrify him:

“Why don’t you summon yours too?”

“…That again!” Yamir said.

Naomi realized that something was wrong with Yamir. Meanwhile, Iduma did not overlook his opponent’s distraction as he tried to slash him right off the bat. The snake stopped the Anima Sancta at the last second by holding it with both hands on the blade and then mustered up his strength to keep it away from him.

“Someone’s… inside…” Yamir thought as he was shaking.

Snakes suddenly assaulted the red-eyed child who found himself being strangled to death. Iduma dropped the Anima Sancta on the ground. Yamir walked over to him completely overtaken by anger.

“I’VE HAD ENOUGH! I want my memories right now… u-ugh?!” the young man was exclaiming before being tormented by headaches.

“That wouldn’t be very convenient” the voice of his mind spoke.

Yamir grouned and allowed the lad to break out of the constriction. Naomi desperately went to help him, but Iduma stayed her hand.

“No… get out!!” the dark green-haired male said.

“Yamir!” the girl shouted.

“Could it be…?!” the crimson-haired kid wondered.

Yamir was fighting something that was trying to take control of his body. Finally, his entire torso was entangled by snakes against their user’s will. An explosion of dark prana occurred, and bursts of spiritual energy erupted as Yamir uttered cries of despair. Naomi and Iduma distanced themselves from the epicenter of the explosion.

Yamir slowly emerged from the whirlwind of prana looking fascinated shortly thereafter. The fully tamed snakes levitated around him.

“Aaah, it brings me back. What a fine vessel” Yamir said while appreciating his own body.

Iduma charged at him with the sword in hand. He was repelled by a mere whiplash of snakes as Yamir advanced towards the girl.

“You’re not Yamir. Who are you?” the teenager asked confused.

The mysterious individual using Yamir as a vessel stared at her with his mouth wide open in astonishment for brief seconds and then smiled a cunning smile.

“You don’t remember me? I’m Nacha…”

That was when Iduma restricted his movements with his roots so that he would not get closer to Naomi, the one he was rather interested in.

“Run!” the kid said to her.

“Wha…?” the teenager was saying.

“Hurry, I can’t hold him back for much longer!!” Iduma shouted.

“Y-You insolent spectrum!” the possessed Yamir summoned a mystical snake-like blade that he used to cut the roots restraining him and promptly paralyzed the red-haired lad, before walking up to Naomi “Now… LILITH!” he raised his sword in the air and said.

“Help me… Adam!” she closed her eyes and thought, saying the first name that came to mind.

In the face of overwhelming fear, her Spirit Mode activated itself as the moon-shaped bracelet that she was carrying was moving to and fro with a swaying motion in response to her feelings. As if he had heard Naomi’s thought, the determined Iduma broke free of his grasp and stood between them. The two swords collided with each other. The lass opened her eyes and saw the image of Adam alongside Iduma.

“I’m tired of running away. Just like you and Yamir saved me, this time I will save you both!” the young woman said, inspired by the Adam’s illusion created from her spirit.

Yamir and Iduma were amazed to witness the evolution of Eve’s Spirit Mode. Naomi Setsuko took yet another step to her true awakening…

“…In every fight there must be a winner and a loser, otherwise there’s no point in fighting in the first place” Iduma smiled and shook his head.

“Why would you go that far for me?” Naomi asked him.

Deep down, the lass knew that it was just an excuse for her not to get hurt. The boy’s smile faded away after hearing her question.

“That’s my mission. And… because I don’t want to lose you again” he replied.

“…?!”

His response sparked her memories – Naomi saw flashes of herself and the turquoise-haired lady. Iduma turned one last time to her and said:

“See ya later, Naomi!” he grinned.

After saying goodbye, the male used his roots in order to send her far away from there. The girl bore witness to the outcome of the sword duel prior to being swallowed by the darkness of the Underworld. Iduma laid on the ground as he was about to have his heart pierced by the enemy. What happened next, she did not see.

“The woman who was always with Adam… is called Eve” Naomi was reminded of her name buried in her subconscious as she was losing consciousness whilst descending into the abyss.

Among the nostalgic memories of the ancient times, another girl was seen. Naomi could not remember what she looked like, nevertheless, she was also an oddly familiar person.

“But who… is Lilith?”

She passed out and let fate guide her once again.

[END OF CHAPTER]