2074.

The dawn of 2070 marked the start of a new era, as the servers of the Messiah Grand Prix began functioning at long last. This global-spanning competition sought to bring the world of Vanguard together under one sole event, a creation that could only have come from the depths of the genius mind of the disappeared Mikazuchi Ryuzaki.

Along with its inception, the Messiah Grand Prix brought it the creation of the Digital World, a virtual reality system accessible by the Desire Specs to bring fighters together and have them duke it out on the digital cyberspace, a place where the power of their imagination dictate the might of their Data Circuits, the proof one was a fighter, and something that allowed them to conjure up commands inside the Digital World, allowing those of great imagination to create as they saw fit.

Though the genius behind the Digital World was gone, it was not left without an administrator. Ryuzaki's pupil who dominated world-class championships in his youth took the reigns of the Messiah Grand Prix and bevame responsible for managing it. He was none other than Momoi Takatora, a twenty two year old generational genius who could omly be rivaled by Ryuzaki himself.

Or at least, that's what the talk show playing on the TV said. It was just one of the numerous shows born to discuss certain topics of interest that happened that week in the MGP. Like usual, they began with an introduction of the event, one of the current administrator of the Digital World, then they'd delve into what happened that week.

By now, those shows were commonplace and just background noise for some, such as the white haired, yellow-eyed radio host in a rather revealing black and white dress and stockings currently browsing the sandwich section of the convenience store near her workplace. She fixed the white trench cost that kept falling bellow her shoulders and looked closer at the prices.

"This is alot of yen for a basic ham and cheese that's probably soggy as hell..."

The store was near empty despite being lunch hour. Most people either brought food from home or went get food from a place that was a cheap corner store like this one.

The only people inside were the radio host, still looking at sandwich prices; the young man with pinkish hair who worked the counter, eyes closed by habit; and a second young man, dressed in a black suit with a purple tie and a trench coat of his own, dark skin in contrast to his short grey hair, who stood next to the newspaper section and was reading some of the articles.

Regardless of price, the young woman nonetheless grabbed the plastic bag eith the ham and cheese sandwich inside and brought it up to the counter, where the worker checked its barcode.

"Another day, another deserted store, huh? Must be nice having nothing to do all day, Hiroki-kun."

"I beg to differ. A boring workplace kills the soul." The young man chuckled. "But I doubt you'd ever feel that, Hikawa-san. You always got something new and exciting to talk about."

"I just wish that kept the top brass from considering cutting my segment... I really don't wanna go back to just talk about event results and leaderboard rankings." The young woman, Hikawa, sighed. "People's interest in urban legends gets smaller everyday..."

"Why not keep pursuing the doppelganger story? I've always found extremely interesting."

"Right?! It's the best urban legend about the MGP around!" Hikawa excitedly exclaimed. "There's no end to stories about fighters in the Digital World randomly catching glimpses of someone who looks exactly like them in the distance! Those stories come out by the tens to the twenties in a monthly basis, it's a topic worth discussing and investigating! So why do those old farts keep telling me to go talk about the boring stuff?! This sucks!"

"Maybe it's a sign you should do independent, Hikawa-san. Start your own radio show on the web, free from the rules and demands from the people above you."

"I wish, but web shows don't pay rent... And I'm above livestreaming! I'm hecking pretty but not to get donations saying weird things!"

"Then I can only wish you good luck, Hikawa-san. But if you change your mind, I'll be your first supporter. I promose you."

"Hiroki-kun..." Hikawa looked at the boy with stary eyes.

"Anywho, that'll be 700 yen."

"Way to kill the mood..." She sweatdropped. Her hands began scouring through the pockets on her trench coat. "700 yen is alot of such a small sand... Wich. Oh boy."

"What's wrong, Hikawa-san?"

"Haha... H-hiroki-kun, you see, what happened was... Ileftmywalletatthestudio."

"What was that?"

"I... Left my wallet at the studio..." She admitted, blushing. "S-saaaay, Hiroki-kun.... Can I like, I don't know, pay you-"

"No."

"So fast! You didn't even let me finish!"

"Oh. Were you going to offer to pay on the spot?"

"No, I was gonna ask to pay later."

"Then my answer is still no."

"B-but why?! You've let me pay you later tons of times before!"

"Yes. Ten times, to be exact. My manager told me to stop it or else my job goes to someone else, and I'm already a college student, I'd rather not struggle more than I already do."

"Ugh, good point..." She gulped, tapping the tips of her index fingers together. "So then..."

"Can you not go get your wallet?"

"But the studio's still a good walk away and my lunch break is almost over..."

"Hikawa-san..."

Hikawa looked at the options before her.

She could ran back to the studio to get her wallet and pay for her product like a responsible member of society. She'd just be risking running late for the rest of her shift unless she ran really fast, which she doubted she could because of her heels.

She could ask the young man in the store to bail her out, but she'd owe him one, and going from his businessman appearance with that fancy suit, he'd probably ask something sexual and she wasn't going to drop to that level just yet.

Or she could commit an act of thievery.

"I'm sorry Hiroki-kun, I promise I'll make up to you!"

She commited an act of thievery.

"Hey, wait!"

It was too late. Hikawa had already boltes out of the store with her lunch, leaving only behind her promise of recompensation.

She stopped inside the nearest alley, to catch her breath and check if Hiroki was tailing her, but he wasn't. She sighed in relief.

"Phew... My life's really tough at times... I'll promise I'll make it up to you Hiroki-kun, but a girl can't just skip on lunch! Everyonr needs to eat, it's an important necessity to survive!"

"Excuse me."

"Ah crap!"

It was the young man from the store, the one with the sleazy businessman aura. He extended a hand to her.

"Please return what you stole."

'Oh crap, he has a moral compass?! An average office worker is gonna be judge, juri and executioner?!'

She thought.

So she did what she did what she was used to doing today.

She ran away from him and deeper into alley, entering the maze of alleyways it connected to.

"I'm sorry for misjudging you, office worker-san! But I can't give up on my lunch! Nobody knows these alleys better than me, you'll catch up to- The hell?!"

But he was catching up to her.

She was surprisingly speedy in heels, but he wasn't a slug. He was perfectly fine with running, even if it means damaging his suit or getting the smell of sweat on it.

"Of all the things to happen today, mou!" She pouted.

"Please give back that ham and cheese sandwich."

"I heard you already, cut me some slack!"

"Please return the stolen item."

"I'll pay it later, I swear!"

Their game of cat and mouse continuted for a while. Hikawa knew this maze like the back of her hand, but that didn't mean much when her chaser was fast enough to always keep her in his sights.

But she figured out a place where she could lose him.

One of the buildings around the maze had a small parking lot in it, one rather tight for a person to walk past if they didn't knew the path to take. It was a rather bad design on the architect's part.

Hikawa managed to lose her tracker for enough time to cross the parking alot with him seeing the extremely tight path she used to get to the other said.

"It was fun, office worker-san, but this is where we say our goodbyes!" She exclaimed, looking at the young man from the other end of the parking lot.

But then he jumped on top of a car.

Then another.

And another.

"Are you kidding me?! How persistent is this guy?!"

Very.

He jumped from car to car until he reached the other side, forcing Hikawa to get back on the run and the tag game to continue.

But she did eventually give him the slip, using an extremely small alley as a place to hide and get him to ran past her. She then moved to a bigger alley and checked her surroundings.

No sign of Mr. Chaser.

She sighed in relief, for good this time.

"Phew... All that running got me feeling icky... Nothing a tasty lunch can't solve though."

She ripped open the plastic bag around her sandwich and took a bite.

Yummy, soggy bread.

"The condensation of the bag adds an extremely intense and mature layer to the flavour profile..." She said to herself, in a vain attempt to trick herself into not hating every bite she took. "Stealing a sandwich that tastes like crap... There's never been a better sign that you gotta start rethinking your life, Sayuri."

But she ate her sandwich nonetheless and got back to walking once she confirmed the coast was clear.

She took a turn, then another, then a third and a fourth one.

"Ah crap..."

Indeed.

"I got lost in all that running... No, no, no, think about this through, Sayuri. You know this maze of alleyways like no one else! The best way to figure out what path to take is... A landmark! I just need to find a spot I recognize and go from there!"

She didn't find one.

"Ugh, I just want today to end..." Hikawa grabbed her phone from her pocket. It wasn't turning on. "And my battery's dead, because of course... Maybe the universe really is telling me this was all a mistake..."

She scratched her head with both hands and looked up, screaming up.

"Fine! You win, universe! I get it! I dreamed more than a Hakusan bumpkin should! I'll go back to the goonies in Kaga and never set foot on Gifu again after this! Just show me a way out first!"

"Hikawa-san?"

And there was the way out.

The smiling and pleasant Hiroki-kun from the convenience store.

"H-hiroki-kun! Wait... Did you also come for the sandwich?! I already ate it, I promise I'll pay you later today!"

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about that, Hikawa-san. I'm here because of the guy that went after you. I was worried for your safety so I came to find you."

"Hiroki-kun... You're my salvation..." Hikawa fell to her knees, sobbing. "What was I thinking... I barely scrapped by in college and then went to a whole different prefecture for some silly radio show... My life has amounted to nothing... I want to go back to Kaga..."

"Come on, don't feel so bad about yourself, Hikawa-san. You're still young with a whole life ahead of you." Hiroki said, crouching in front of her to place a hand in her shoulder. "Don't give up just yet."

"Hiroki-kun..." She looked up at the smiling boy.

"Let's get out of her, Hikawa-san."

"Y-yeah..."

Hikawa got back on her feet with Hiroki's help, and the two began making their way through the various alleys that made up that maze, lead by the store cashier. The two exchanged some small talk along the way.

"Still, the maze feels bigger than usual... I've known this place super well for so long, how did I still get lost..."

"Gifu is no Tokyo for sure, but it's not some countryside place either. With all the buildings the government has built in the last five decades, mazes like this one can get pretty confusing for someone not paying attention to their surroundings."

"You're telling me... I didn't know you were interested in stuff like that, Hiroki-kun." Hikawa remarked.

"Well, I am studying to work on the tourism field afterall. Gifu's an undercover treasure, and I want everyone in the world to be able to see it."

"Hiroki-kun... Now that's one heck of a noble dream! I hope you fufill it and go beyond it!"

"Same goes for you, Hikawa-san. I imagine coming to a different city must be pretty hard, but don't get too low in the dumps. Your bosses will eventually see the worth of your work and your dedication to it."

"I sure hope so..." Hikawa sweatdropped. "Huh? Hey, Hiroki-kun... Isn't that-"

"Huh? Oh, finally! Some people!"

It was another person, a young man with a red hat that seemed to have also gotten closer.

"I thought I was never... Never gonna find my way out of this..." The boy said, inbetween panting. "I've been running this place ragged for hours now..."

"It can get pretty confusing, can't it?" Hikawa chuckled. "Don't worry, Hiroki-kun here knows a way out. I'm Hikawa by the way. What's your name?"

"Thanks a bunch... My name is... My name is Ko-"

His eyes widenned, and so did Hikawa's.

He looked down, at the glitching fang piercing into his chest, and as he moved his neck, he felt the one that had pierced the side of his neck.

"Kota... Ro..."

The fangs pulled away from him, his skin cracking like glass, 1s and 0s running through the cracks. He fell to his knees, and as the rest of his body hit the ground, he exploded into data.

"That's unsightly... My boss only got eyes for hot women. Should have gotten lost somewhere else." Hiroki said. He looked at Hikawa, now with his yellow eyes open. "Shall we get going, Hikawa-san?"

Once again, Hikawa was on the run, now from the one she once called her salvation.

"What the hell... What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?! Hiroki-kun doesn't have yellow eyes... And she sure as hell doesn't shoot floaty fangs at people! Who was- No, what was-!"

She found a way out of that maze, but once she crossed it, she froze.

It was the same Gifu she knew, but the streets were empty. There were cars parked by the road, but none on the road.

But above that...

"Wha..."

The skies had taken a light purple hue, and in them, she could see other cities, all standing on floating islands.

"What the hell is this..."

"The truth about your doppelganger story, Hikawa-san."

Hikawa turned back, but incoming fangs restrained her to s nearby car my piercing her sleeves and her skirt.

Hiroki walked up to her and placed a hand under her chin, lifting her head to check her neck, like a hunter checking its prey.

"G-get your hands off me, Hiroki-kun!"

"Shut up. You won't be long for this world, so I might aswell extend you some courtesy. This, Hikawa-san..."

Hiroki moved his hand away from her and spread his arms.

"Is the True Digital World."

"H-huh? That doesn't make any sense! I don't even own Desire Specs!"

"You have no imagination. Isn't it obvious? This is a real place you can slip into when you least expect, with no need for those stupid glasses."

"How can that even be?! And what are you?! You're not the Hiroki-kun I know!"

"You're right on that part. I'm not the Hiroki you know. I'm the one he wishes you never get to know. I am a Replicant, the true self."

"R-replicant?! What does that- No, wait... The fighters who saw versions of themselves in the distance..."

"Pin-pon! You finally got it, Hikawa-san!" Hiroki laughed, applauding. "Each time a fight starts, the Desire Specs create a bounded field in a certain area around the two fighters. It serves as protection from this world while waking up their circuits enough for them to so do some cheap party tricks inside the designated area. That's the False Digital World. And the doppelganger they see far away? That's their Replicant, standing outside the bounded field, bidding their time before becoming complete!"

"But how... How does any of that work?! Isn't the Digital World just something inside the MGP's server?!"

"The MGP's just a cover up." Hiroki said. His claims made Hikawa's eyes widenned. "You think it's just a server that generates some VR world? It does that, but there's more to it. The MGP's server is an arc. Like Noah, Mikazuchi Ryuzaki built an arc, but he didn't need an order from any god. Afterall, he had more than enough reasons to do it."

Hiroki leaned back against the street light behind him.

"The Reverse Invasion, the Zeroth Dragons, Gyze, and after decades of peace, the Inverse Syndrome happened... He arrived at a conclusion. Earth will never become separated from Cray, so he must perserve humanity should the worse case scenario ever happen. And so, the MGP was created. The server is actually a wordwide data collecting network, collecting data from everyone to create digital copies of them to live in this world. Should humans go with the pigs for good, humanity will live on, in this world."

"What the hell is a Gyze?! And that doesn't explain how me, a meat and bone person, is inside a server!"

"I don't have an answer for you either. I don't really care about how the True Digital World became like this, or how Replicants came to be. I just care about being here, alive, doing what I want! Life is incredible! Did you know we have urban legends of our own? Well, we have one urban legend. It says that if a Replicant turns their human self onto data and absorbs them, it can exit the Digital World and live among humans. Isn't that incredible?!"

Hiroki sighed, looking sad.

"Too bad for me, my human self never gets close to any of the Bleeding Points, and my class doesn't allow me to interfere with your world, so I've found myself in quite the pickle. Luckily, my prayers were answered. A Wiccan Class Replicant offered me a deal. If I provide him with a beautiful human woman, he will curse my other self and bring him here. I'm going to become complete, and you'll be my ticket out of here, Hikawa-san!"

"Wiccan Class? I don't get it... I don't understand any of this!" Hikawa exclaimed, trying to pull sway from the fangs. "Wha- Why can't I pull my arms out of my coat?!"

"Never doubt the power of a Fangyre Class' fangs. It's in the name. Anywho, my job may be to bring you in... But nothing said I can't do what my other self wants to first." Hiroki said, greedily rubbing his hands. He briefly licked his lips.

"W-why are you looking at me like that... No... Get way from me!"

"This won't take a second. We've always been very curious about a certain thing, you know? Wanna know what it is? Then I'll tell you. Your coworkers sometimes stop by the store and we hear whisper of you going commando on the daily... Don't mind if we find out the truth!"

"I-i don't!" Hikawa exclaimed, blushing. "Mou, that's such a stupid rumour too!"

"I still want to see. In fact... I think I'll just see everything!"

Hiroki reached for the top of Hikawa's dressed, ready to rip it out of her in one go and see everything the radio host had to offer.

But instead, he saw his hand.

Both did, in fact.

Both assaulter and victim saw the former's slashed off hand move up to their eye level, then fall until it exploded into data once it hit the ground.

"Ah... Arrrrrgh! What the hell?!"

Hiroki suddenly backed away, tucking his hand under his left armpit, data cubes slowly dropping from it like blood and floating up.

His leg hit the weapon that attacked him. It was a sword, a very old Yayoi period sword usually called a tsurugui from before curved swords became the norm.

More swords came flying being, each breaking the fangs keeping Hikawa stappled to that car.

Once free, she rushed to the side of the figure that had helped him and hid behind it without looking at is face.

"T-thanks a bunch! You really saved my- Oh what the hell?!"

It was him.

Her Mr. Chaser.

"You should have returned that stolen ham and cheese sandwich."

"Yeah, I get that now..." She sweatdropped.

"Keheh... Damn human..." Hiroki cackled, looking at his attacker. "How the hell did you figure out how to use your Circuits so fast... Who are-!"

Hiroki's eyes widenned once they fell upon the red crest on the back of his attacker's right hand.

It had two circles, an outer one and one inside it, styled like a japanese brozen mirror of old, with nine magatama inside the space between them. At the center, with its grip facing his fingers and the blade aimed towards his arm, a tsurugi surrounded by a serpentine body with eight dragon heads, four of them to the sword's right, another four to the left, all facing one of the magatama, except for the one right above the sword's hilt.

"An Eliminator... But I've kept my tracks covered! You shouldn't have been able to find me!"

"I wasn't trying to." The young man began. "My target is the Wiccan Class you're working for, but the gate in that alley maze raised some suspicion. It's true gates exist in the less visited corners of this, but that place is an exception. The gate was placed too close to an easily accessible, like it was made on purpuse for someone to unknowingly slip into this side, someone who works in the area and may use those alleyways."

"Wait... That means-!"

"Your business partner sold you out."

"That laughing bastard...!" Hiroki grunted, bring his newly regenerated hand to his head.

"Wait, how long have I been on this side for then?!" Hikawa asked.

"Since the parking alot."

"Oh come on! Couldn't you have told me something, you lunatic?!"

"I told you to return the stolen item."

"I refuse..." Hiroki growled. "I refuse to let this be my end! I won't die here, nor will I blab about that laughing bastard! He's mine to kill!"

Vermillion wings materialized from Hiroki's back. He prepared to take flight, but the Eliminator was one step ahead.

Red circuits lit up along his right arm as he raised it, then brought it down, summoning two swords to rain down on the Replicant and pierce his wings to the ground.

Gritting his teeth through the pain, Hiroki's hands glitched to resemble chicken feet with five fingers. As the rest of his body glitched, he grabbed the swords and painfully ripped them from his wings.

"Just some Eliminator... You can't eliminate what's stronger than... You...!" Hiroki grunted. "I'll kill you here... And take that whore to the boss!"

"I wish you lot would start passing on when I stab you."

The Eliminator extanded his right palm, his circuits briefly turning bright blue, summoning a cube of light of the same colour above it.

He tossed the cube into the air, then raised his right hand up to his chest, brandishing his crest as it shined red.

"Command Input: Archetype/Cray. Deploy!"

The cube shined, then exploded into a wave of data that surrounded the three of them, forming a cube-shaped barrier arounded that encased all of them.

Hiroki's wings shattered into smaller data cubes, and his hands glitched back to normal.

"A mandatory fight bounded field... Too bad for you, Wiccan told me all about it! My abilities may be heavily damped in here, but so are yours! You trapped me in here, but left yourself vulnerable!"

Hiroki pointed up. During Archetype/Cray's activation, he had shoot as many fangs as possible and left them suspend in the air.

Now, he let fall on the Eliminator.

"Office worker-san, look out!" Hikawa exclaimed. She knew this fake Hiroki needed her, so he couldn't afford to harm her. She moved herself behind her defender, now to be the one protecting.

"Wiccan left information out."

The fangs hit the barrier, only to explode into data. None left a scratch.

"H-holy crap..." The radio hosted muttered, falling to her knees. "This is way too much in one day..."

"What the hell?! That laughing bastard!"

"You should have noticed by now you're being played. A low tier Fangyre like you won't get out of this without a fight."

The Eliminator revealed his left wrist, where a dark blue bracelet with golden lines rested around his wrist. On top of it was an oval-shaped screen.

From a pocket inside his jacket, he grabbed his deck and held it above the oval screen. The screen scanned the deck, then turned green. A red ring of light lit up around the bracelet, a slit present in the part of the circle above the screen, with the perfect size to eject a card.

Hiroki grit his teeth and materialized a bracelet of his own, a vermillion and yellow one. Being a digital lifeform, his deck was already scanned.

"Wait, you guys are gonna play cards now?! What are those bracelets? And who even are you?!" Hikawa asked, rushing to be back on her feet and by the Eliminator's side.

"Yes, I'll tell you later, and I'm not an office worker, I'm an Eliminator. I eliminate Replicants."

"I-i meant your name, you tactless doofus! Mine is Hikawa Sayuri, what's yours?!"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes!"

"Fine. Kuonji Nago."

"Kuonji Nago..." Hikawa repeated, muttering. "Alright, I got it. Go beat this false Hiroki-kun up, Kuonji-kun!"

"Elimination commence." Kuonji declared.

"You'll be the one getting offed, human!" Hiroki shouted.

Two cards, considerably larger than their usual size, materialized face down on the road, slightly hovering above it. Following those, five normal-sized cards materialized in front of esch fighter.

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

The cards flipped face up, projecting their respective unit above it.

"Surpise Egg!"

"Stagnipper Dragon!"

"B-B-B-BIG BUG!"

At the bare sight of Stagnipper Dragon, Hikawa rushed away from Kuonji and went to hide behind the nearest car.

"It's a Forest Dragon, actually." Kuonji corrected.

"Tell that to his big bug mandibles!"

"My turn!" Hiroki declared.

The small opening on the ring around his bracelet ejected the bottom part of a card, leaving the act of drawing the rest to him.

"Draw!"

He drew the card and looked at it, only for it to then dematerialize and rematerialize next to the five cards he previously hand. He tapped the card on the opposite end to the new one, making it dematerialize in the form of a data swirl.

"I discard this one to ride! Heart-pounding Blaze Maiden, Rino!"

Sunride Egg dematerialized, the artwork on the card under him changing into that the new vanguard, which was then projected above its card like the previous one.

"I set the Energery Generator and end my turn!"

Hiroki
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

Kuonji
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"This system is incredible... Not even the MGP has access to those bracelet things!" Hikawa said.

"That's because they're unique to Replicants. They created it to fight like their real selves, with a system that summons cards and projects the units out. We've since gathered data on them and created our own version." Kuonji explained, raising his bracelet. "This is the Cardring Disk, Unit-Z."

"Wait, Unit-Z?"

"Unit Zeo, it's the ultimate version made by those who fight Replicants, based on their ultimate model, the Unit Neo. The original Cardring Disk model is decades old and was a side project that never made it far."

"Why did Mikazuchi Technologies never get that far, that disk is incredible..."

"You'll know why later. I'm not the one responsible for explaining that."

"Get moving, Eliminator!" Hiroki demanded.

"Very well. Draw! Ride! Scorpiercer Dragon! Stagnipper Dragon's skill, draw once more!"

"E-even bigger bug!" Hikawa screamed.

"Shut up. Then, set the Enegery Generator and charge! (0>3) Scorpiercer attacks! (8000)"

"No guard!"

"(Full Knowledge Foxli) No trigger."

"Damage check! (Blazing Heavenly Render Equip Dragon, Aparajea)"

"Turn end!"

Hiroki
Hand: 5
Damage: 1
OXO
OOO

Kuonji
Hand: 7
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Draw! Energy charge! (0>3) I ride Snuggling Blaze Maiden, Reiyu!" Hiroki looked at his new vanguard's projection. "You're not bad yourself, keh... Rino's skill! I call Trickstar to the side fro  the deck!"

A card was ejected from Hiroki's disk, but instead of reaching to draw it, the card ignited and flew out on his own, taking the form of the called unit.

"Rear-guards don't need the ground cards like the vanguard...?" Hikawa muttered to herself. "Must be because they can be retired and leave the field unlike the vanguard..."

"And now with Trickstar on the field, overDress! Vairina Arcs! When Arcs is called by overDress, I counterblast to draw two! He also gets 5k! (10000>>15000) Reiyu attacks! (10000)"

"Peppery Pepper. (23000)"

"Eeeeeeh? The tactless and stoic Nago-kun plays the cute triggers?" Hikawa teased.

"Do you want to be rescued?"

"Y-yes, please..."

"Drive check! (Piercing Equio Dragon, Argneas) No trigger! Arcs attacks! (15000)"

"No guard. (Pack Claw Hunter, Huuli)"

"Turn end!"

Hiroki
Hand: 7
Damage: 1
XXO
OOO

Kuonji
Hand: 6
Damage: 1
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw! Energy charge. (3>6) Scorpiercer Dragon's skill! When Snagnipper Dragon is in the soul and the ride target is Mantiscythe Dragon, the cost becomes none. Ride! Mantiscythe Dragon!"

"Keh, that's it? What an extremely boring card, o' almighty Eliminator."

"Be quiet, Replicant. No one asked you. Mantiscythe attacks! (10000)"

"Arcs intercepts! (15000)"

"(Serene Maiden, Lena - Draw) Draw trigger. All effects to Mantiscythe! (10000>>20000)"

"That's fine, that's fine! Damage check! (Mirror Reflection Equip, Mirrors Vairina)"

"Turn end!"

Hiroki
Hand: 7
Damage: 2
OXO
OOO

Kuonji
Hand: 9
Damage: 1
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw! Energy charge! (3>6) The divines flames come to all, they see all and they conquer all! Cry and be reborn, ressurected divine dragon! Ride! Chakrabarthi Phoenix Dragon, Nirvana Jheva!"

The image on Hiroki's vanguard was covered by flames that exploded into a tower, and from the tower, two bird wings spread out, blowing away the flames, and leaving behind his new vanguard.

"At this moment, Reiyu's skill activates alongside the discarded Argneas'! First, Reiyu looks through the to seven and gives me a Prayer Dragon from among them! I grab Illuminate Equip Dragon, Graillumirror! And when Argenas is discarded, because my vanguard's Nirvana, I energy blast three to return any X-overDress unit in drop to hand! (6>3) I'll grab the Stravairina I discarded last turn! Jheva's skill! I drop Stravairina to revive Trickstat and Argneas! You'll be happy to know Argneas also activates when called! Come back, Stravairina! (3>0) I call Graillumirror. Argneas, Graillumiror and Trickstar, X-overDress! Become one with the chosen light! Blazing Holy Sword Equip, Stravairina!"

"At this moment, Argneas and Graillumirrors' effect activate! First, Argneas soulblasts for me to countercharge! Then, Graillumirror soulblasts for me to grab and mill a Vairina from my top seven! I grab Mirrors Vairna and mill Bram Vairina! Finally, I call Strike Equip Dragon, Stragallio. With his skill, I drop a Stravairina to grab a Trickstar from deck and then call it! Stragallio, Trickstar, X-overDress! Mirror Reflection Equip, Mirrors Vairina! And when Mirrors Vairina is called by X-overDress, he turns two Vairinas in my drop into originalDresses, so I throw Bram Vairina and Stravairina under him!"

"Ugh, how hasn't he bitten his tongue from saying Vairina so much..." Hikawa sweatdropped.

"And on top of all of that, Stravairina's skill! Both it and Jheva get 10k, and Jheva gets Triple Drive! (13000>>23000) (13000>>23000) Battle! Mirrors Vairina attacks! Because he's in X-overDress, he gets 10k! Then, by dropping one of the Vairinas under him, I draw! (10000>>20000)"

"Dual Pressure Dragon. (25000)"

"Jheva attacks! (23000) At this moment, Jheva's skill activates! I counterblast to restand Mirrors Vairina! Chakrabarthi Impulsion!"

"No guard!"

"Triple drive! (Twin Buckler Dragon) (Blazing Heavenly Render Equip Dragon, Aparajea) (Blaze Maiden, Zonne - Critical) Critical trigger! I give the power to Mirrors Vairina and the critical stays with Jheva! (23000>>23000/2) (10000>>20000)"

"Damage check! (Blue Artillery Dragon, Inlet Pulse Dragon) (Battle Siren, Dorcea - Heal) Heal trigger. To Mantiscythe and I heal. (20000)"

"Tch, annoying, annoying. Stravairina attacks. (23000)"

"Foxli. (25000)"

"Then Mirrors Vairina attacks! Once again, I draw! (20000>>30000)"

"No guard. (Spiritual Body Condensation)"

"Turn end."

Hiroki
Hand: 10
Damage: 2
XXX
OOO

Kuonji
Hand: 7
Damage: 3
OXO
OOO

"My turn. Stand and draw. Energy charge. (6>9) I discard one card to ride."

'Huh? What got Kuonji-kun so reserved all of a sudden? He got more expressive when his turn came around, but this is...'

Hikawa had to put her train of thought of hold. She felt water moving past her feet.

"W-what the-! Where's this coming from?!"

Water was flooding the floor of the area within Archetype/Cray from all sides, converging in one single point.

Kuonji's vanguard.

"Witness the last prayers of the sacred serpent slain by the god of storms, the blessings of Mt. Ibuki, raining down on the unknowing grasshoppers from the grass-cutting regalia!"

The water that gathered over his vanguard bursted into eight dragon heads attached to serpentine bodies. They flew around the caged area, twisting and turning around each other until the base of their necks had turned to a knot.

From two of the heads, the feet.

From another two, the wings.

From a singe head, the tail.

From the knot, the body.

Ans from the three remaining heads, which braided with each other and fused it into, the dragon's heads.

A drop of water fell on the heart of the field, the first of an incoming soft drizzle of rain.

"Power unto a god! Ride! Destined One of Infinity, Levidras!"

Hikawa looked at the small drops of rain falling on her hands. She didn't felt herself getting drenched from the rain, but felt the cooling sensation the rain brought.

She raised her head to look at the dragon. Despite her previous fears regarding Kuonji's larger than supposed to insect dragons, she only felt admiration.

"W-what the hell is sensation..." Hiroki grumbled under his breath, gripping his shirt with his right hand. He grit his teeth.

"Mantiscythe's skill! I pay three energy to look through my top five and add any grade 3 or lower card from among those to my hand! (9>6) I add Onfall Anotogaste. Levidras' skill! Counterblast, I place two Infinity Eye markers on the field! Blessings of Mt. Ibuki, rain down!"

The drizzle brought about by Levidras soften the road where Kuonji and Hiroki fought, allowing for the stems of unbloomed moonflowers to seep through the forming cracks. The simple touch of one of the falling droplets allowed them to bloom in mere moments.

However, the road didn't become covered in moonflowers. Instead, a few bloomed under Mirrors Vairina's positiom, while others bloomed by Levidras' right.

"A marker without a skill... Is your deck made up of vanillas or something, o' Eliminator hotshot?" The Replicant asked, letting go of his shirt. "You know what deck you got matched into, right?! Your slow as ass markers won't survive to next turn!"

"You believe yours is any better because you wasted ten minutes of our time just to put two units on the field?" Kuonji asked as he selected one of the cards in front of him. "I call Onfall Anotogaste. When he's placed in the same column as an Infinite Eyes marker, his skill activates. I pay three energy to look at the top two, add one to hand and send the other to the bottom. He gets 5k until the end of the turn. (6>3) (10000>>20000) Next, I soulblast one to play Spiritual Body Condensation! It allows me to revive a unit from my drop zone and give it 5k. I bring back Inlet Pulse Dragon! (13000>>18000) Then, I call Inlet Pulse, Full Knowledge Foxil and Knight of Illusionary Silence, Clarence. Inlet Pulse Dragon attacks! (13000)"

"Don't get too frisky, human. You should know better than to get on a Replicant's bad side! Mirrors Vairina intercepts! (18000)"

"Boosted by Foxil, Levidras attacks! (13000>>21000) Both of Foxil's skills activate now! First, when he boosts, because Levidras is my vanguard, he gets 5k. Second, when he boosts Levidras, since there is an Infinity Eyes marker on your side, he gets another 2k! (21000>>26000>>28000) Furthermore, I counterblast to give my backrow Inlet Pulse 10k and allow him to attack from there! (18000>>28000) O' sacred rain, fall, flow, return to the sea like a shooting star... Amenomurakumo-no-Tsurugi! Eight Tidal Surging Strikes!"

"All that yapping's meaningless to me! Perfect guard! Twin Buckler Dragon!"

"Twin drive! (Pack Claw Hunter, Huuli) (Duel Pressure Dragon - Critical) Critical trigger. I give all the effects to Onfall Anotogaste! (15000>>25000/2) Inlet Pulse Dragon attacks! (28000)"

"Like hell I'd fall for that weak shit! Parama! (33000)"

"Boosted by Clarence, Onfall Anotogaste attacks! (25000>>33000/2) Now, Levidras' skill activates! The Infinity Eye marker under Onfall Anotogaste acts a leyline connecting him to Levidras and becomes a channel from which Levidras empowers other units! Add 10k! (33000>>43000/2)"

"Leyline? Empower? Keheh! Are you finally going nuts or something?! No guard! (Illumination Equip Dragon, Graillumirror) (Trickstar) Tch."

"Clarence's skill! Because there is an Infinity Eyes marker in the same column as him following his action, he goes to the soul. Countercharge. Turn end. Both Inlet Pulse Dragons' skills activate. I made at least four attacks, so both go to the soul. I draw two."

Levidras' rain ceased.

Hiroki
Hand: 7
Damage: 4
XXO
OOO

Kuonji
Hand: 8
Damage: 3
OXX
OXO

"All of that to just get some cards. You haven't left a worthwhile dent on my side!" Hiroki cackled. "Wiccan hyped up you Church and 8th Agency bastards, but you're nothing special! You may just be an exceptiom to the concept of being good!"

"Your business partner knows about those?" Kuonji asked, hand on his chin, looking deep in thought. "That complicates things. If who I'm after has access to that information, then I'm wasting my time with you."

"You humans really love thinking you're hot shit, don't you? Even my source's the same piece of sewer waste."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Hikawa shouted, crossing her arms in a X-shape in front of her chest. "I think I get it!"

"Shut up and look pretty, you'll turn to data by the end of the day." The Replicant scoffed, but the Eliminator didn't.

"I overheard you in the convenience store. You talk about urban legends in your radio show, correct?"

"Yeah! And I got a keen eye to go along with it, even if I don't show it!"

"I believe you." Kuonji declared. His focus moved to the young woman. "What are the Replicants?"

"Hiroki-kun's Replicant said they're made from data the MGP server gathered from people all around the world with the goal of creating digital copies to live in this world should humanity collapse. Our surroundings are pretty vacant, so I don't think every digital copy is a Replicant by default. They must have an original form they have that eventually turns into a Replicant. To function as copies of humans while just being clumps of ones and zeros, these original selves must be given an initial command on how to mimic the source independently, essentially making them artificial intellegences. And when that artificial intellegence gains self-awareness and becomes too uncontrollable for the server to handle, a Replicant is born!"

Hikawa pointed at Hiroki.

"Replicants are artificial intellegences who have undergone singularity!"

Hiroki grit his teeth, but was fast to drop that facet. He started cackling maniacally, his hands on his head.

Kuonji's stone cold attitude finally diminished, enough for him to show a small smile.

"You're correct. Every Replicant is a singularity capable of ending the world."

"That's why I can't wait to get out of here!" Hiroki exclaimed, laughing. "I'm so close... So close to bite down that human loser and take my first steps in the human world...! Who cares if Wiccan's busting my balls, if I bring an Eliminator along with the hot chick he wants, he'll go back on stabbing me on my back in a breeze! My advent is so close, I can already feel the fresh air on my face and the filthy human smell on my nostrils! Replicants are the future of humans, so get dying for us to take our rightful place in this world!"

"You just got one thing wrong." Kuonji said, returning his focus to his opponent. "The MGP server can handle Replicants with ease."

Hikawa's eyes widenned.

"But then that means..."

"Oh, you two shut up and start putting out your final words!" Hiroki shouted. "Stand and draw! Energy charge! (0>3) Be reborn, divine flame dragon! Persona Ride! Chakrabarthi Phoenix Dragon, Nirvana Jheva!"

"Draw! (23000>>33000) (23000>>33000) Nirvana's skill! I discard one to revive Trickstar and Aparajea! (10000>>20000) Aparajea's skill! Soulblast and discard to call Argnea from deck! Argnea's skill, I grab back Mirrors Vairina! (3>0) Keheh, you and your useless markers are gonna get it now. This is what it means to fight a Replicant! I'll send you to the next realm with this!"

Flaming orange circuits lit up across Hiroki's left arm.

IV.

"Emperor ability, acti-!"

Kuonji's voice broke through Hiroki's momentum.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Huh?"

Kuonji raised his right arm, the red crest on the back of his hand shining brighter than before.

The crimson circuits along his arms reignited and extended to his palm, from there breaking out of his body and twisting together to create the husk of a tsurugi.

A blue hue appeared within the crimson husk, growing with each second, breaking out of the husk in the form of eight serpent-like dragon heads once the husk became incapable of holding all of that power.

Unlike the eight heads summoned his vanguard, these they fly around in a majestic act, instead going straight for the Replicant and biting down on his arms, legs, shoulders and neck.

"Wha-What the hell is this?! M-make it stop!" Hiroki begged, screaming at the intense pain being spread across his body.

"Hiroki-kun?!" Hikawa called out. Even as a Replicant, he looked like someone she considered a friend.

XX.

"Aeon ability, Sacrament of the Eight-headed Serpent's Fangs!"

"W-what?!"

"By the power of my Command Code, I order you! Forsake the power that disgraces Vanguard!"

The rest of Hiroki's circuits lit up, then shattered, forcing a final, more painful scream out of the Replicant. The serpent heads released him, and he dropped to his knees.

"Y-you bas...! Bastard! You...!" He growled. "My skill... Why can't I activate it...?!"

"Because once again, Wiccan didn't tell you everything. At this point, I'm certain he just threw some big words at you and you fell for it the way a gungho youth your real self would aswell. Though names, marks and methods may change, everyone that works in the handling of Replicants possesses the same Aeon-type ability to negate other skills, and in the case of using it on against a Replicant, to launch an attack on the Replicant'a circuits with an effect depending on their role. An Interceptor stuns the Replicant's circuits to capture it, but as an Eliminator, destroying your circuits first makes my job easier. In other words, you left yourself vulnerable, and you paid the price for it."

"Aeon... Piss off! That's not a real thing!"

"No! It is!" Hikawa interjected. "The Aeon takes The Judgement's place in Crowley's Major Arcana! It's not an Arcana available for participants of the MGP, but Eliminators are special cases, right, Kuonji-kun?!"

"Precisely. Only we wield the Aeon, to cast judgement on copies like you. Now get up." Kuonji ordered. "It's still your turn."

"Tch... I'm going to break open that skull... And take a shit in it...!" Hiroki growled, gritting his teeth through the pain as he got up. "Even if I can't use my skill to put out a full power Stravairina with just two Prayers... Your slow as shit markers wonxt do jack to me! Trickstar, Aparajea, X-over-Dress! Mirrors Vairina! (10000>>20000) Bram Vairina and Stravairina go under it! Aparajea's skill draws me one! I call Grillumirror! Ba... Battle! Mirrors Vairina attacks! (20000>>30000) Draw!"

"Levidras' skill activates!"

"Oh, what now?!"

"Mirrors Vairina is also on a leyline connecting him to Levidras, but when an enemy is the one attacking, it becomes weaker! Remove 10k!"

"What?! (30000>>20000)"

"Then, the Infinity Eyes marker is removed and I draw! Lena! (23000)"

The moonflowers that bloomed Mirrors Vairina returned to the earth beneath the cracked road.

"I'm more than fed up with you by now, lowly Eliminator! Stravairina attacks! (33000)"

"Dual Pressure, Gabregg and intercept with Onfall Anotogaste! (38000)"

"Jheva attacks! (33000) At this moment, Jheva's skill activates! Stravairina stands, and his skill activates! Counterblast to stand Mirriors Vairina! Chakrabarthi Impulsion!"

"Stravairina gives Triple Drive as a keyword, not as an addition to Jheva's current drives, so I nullify it with Elementari Sanctitude for free!"

"So what?! Triple drive! (Chakrabarthi Phoenix Dragon, Nirvana Jheva) (Gratias Gradale) (Vairina Arcs) Damn... Dammit! Boosted by Argnea, Mirrors Vairina attacks! (20000>>28000>>38000) Draw again!"

"No guard. (Destined One of Infinity, Levidras)"

"Stravairina boosted by Graillumirror! (33000>>41000)"

"No guard! (Planar Prevent Dragon)"

"Dammit all! I'm gonna get out of here... Nothing's gonna stop me from entering the human world!"

Hiroki
Hand: 10
Damage: 4
XXX
XOX

Kuonji
Hand: 5
Damage: 5
OXO
OXO

"My job as an Eliminator is to just eliminate Replicants. Even if you hadn't talked so much and given away so much information about your business partner, I still would have found the Wiccan behind you and done my job."

"Huh? What are you going on about now?! Are you finally getting delirious or something? Did your dellusions show you a way out that isn't showing up dead on a telephone pole?!"

"I'm saying we're done. This game won't have one more turn, and you won't have one more day. Final turn!"

Levidras' rain returned, now stronger than before.

"Stand and draw! Energy charge! (3>6) Witness the blessings of Mt. Ibuki, rainimg down on the unknowing grasshoppers who called its back their home! The power of the eight-headed serpent unto a god! Persona Ride! Destined One of Infinity, Levidras!"

"Draw! (13000>>23000) Levidras' skill! Blessings of Mt. Ibuki, rain down!"

Once again, moonflowers bloomed, this time in the cracks on the road under Mirrors Vairina and by Levidras' left.

"Then!"

Time seemed to come to a crawl. Even the falling droplets looked like they would take minutes to touch the ground.

Kuonji raised his right hand, this time holding his wrist with his other hand. His crest shined again.

"By the power of my Command Code, I order you! Unleash the full power of the tears of the eight-headed serpent! Infinity rains down! Divine Skill, awaken!"

(Media - Blood Wind)

The rain's speed returned to normal, then became faster. Excluding Kuonji, Hikawa, and even the enemy Replicant, whatever the droplets touched was crushed.

Cars caught in Archertype/Cray's range were flatten, light poles on the street bended over until they snapped, even the road was cracked until only dirt remained.

And then, they bloomed.

Even more moonflowers bloomed, some under Stravairina's position, others behind the ones by Levidras' left, this time along rapidly growing grass that covered the newly revealed dirt.

Levidras roared.

"Two more Infinity Eyes markers are placed! Levidras gains 10k and a critical until the end of this turn! (23000>>33000)"

"You bastard... You're not gonna survive this!" Hiroki exclaimed.

"Try to keep your words to yourself for once, Replicant."

"Kuonji-kun's power... Creating life in a digital world... This is..." Hikawa muttered.

"I pay two energy to play Searching for Infinity Knowledge! (6>4) I revive Onfall Anotogaste to circle with a marker in my backrow! Searching for Infinity Knowledge bestows upon him 5k for each marker in the same column! (10000>>25000) Then, Onfall Anotogaste's own skill! (4>1) (25000>>30000) I leave the unadded card on top! Furthermore, his second skill! When there are three Infinity Eye markers, he gets 5k, and only one Onfall Anotogaste exists in my backrow, he can attack from there! (30000>>35000) I call Pack Claw Hunter, Huuli! Because she was called to the same column as an Infinity Eyes marker, I counterblast to revive a unit from my drop zone! I revive Sylvan Horned Beast, Gabregg! (10000>>20000) Then, because there are three of my Infinity Eye markers, she gets 10k until the end of the turn! (10000>>20000) I call one more Gabregg! (10000>>20000) Battle! Boosted by Foxil, Levidras attacks! (33000>>41000/2) Foxil's skill! I choose Huuli! (41000>>46000>>48000/2) (20000>>30000) Amenomurakumo-no-Tsurugi! Eight Tidal Surging Strikes!"

"You little meat and bone vermin...!" Hiroki grumbled, rapidly two of the cards in front of him. "Perfect guard!"

"Twin drive! (Peppery Pepper - Critical) Critical trigger! I give all effects to the left Gabregg! (20000>>30000/2) (Planar Prevent Dragon) Huuli attacks! (30000) Now, Gabregg's skill! When another unit in his column attacks, soulblast! Add 10k! (20000>>30000) Then, I choose all of your rear-guards!"

"Stravairina can't be chosen!"

"Irrelevant! When Gabregg attacks, you can't guard with units of the same grade as the chosen cards! Grade 1s and 2s are sealed during his battle!"

"Tch, I'm getting so fed up of you opening your damn mouth! Guard! Zonne, Arcs! (33000)"

"Onfall Anotogaste attacks! Levidras' skill! (35000>>45000) Gabregg's skill! (30000>>40000)"

"P-perfect guard again!"

"Gabregg attacks! Levidras' skill! (30000>>40000)"

"N-no guard! (Strike Equip Dragon, Stragallio) Crap... Why aren't you a defensive, dammit?!"

"Replicants say they're true selves. Are you pathetic because of who your source is, or is being pathetic the only thing true about yourself? The other Gabregg attacks! Levidras' skill! So too shall the blessings of Mt. Ibuki rain down up you! (40000>>50000/2)"

"Shut up... Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Hiroki screamed, voice glitching. "No guard! No guard! N-no guard!"

Hiroki's Cardring Disk ejected one last card for him to draw.

No heal trigger.

Just Stravairina.

"No... No...! I came so far... I refu-!"

"Shut up. Now, Archetype/Cray!"

The cube barrier around them shattered into broken glass-like pieces of data, and they remained in stasis in the air for just one moment.

All of them rapidly made their way into Hiroki's body as he fell to his knees. The shape of his circuits became visible despite their prior destruction, and in those on the front of his chest, a blue light lit up.

"N-no!" Hiroki gasped, placing both hands over the light. "Anything but this! I refuse to fall like this! I won't let you smash my Anima Core!"

He materialized his vermillion wings once more, despite the pain it brought him because of his wrecked circuits. He took flight, flying as high and as fast as his condition allowed him to.

"He's getting away!" Hikawa exclaimed.

"You're up, Levidras!" Kuonji called out.

Even though the unit projections disappeared with the barrier's shattering, Levidras rematerialized behind Kuonji.

The young man grabbed a chocolate bar from his coat and unwrapped it. He took a bite from one of the corner squares, then tossed the rest into his partner's mouth, who cheerfully gobbled it down in one go.

Kuonji leapt back, landing on his avatar's body, and the dragon took flight.

Quickly, the two reached the escaping Hiroki and surpassed him, going higher and higher into the digital sky, higher than the Replicant could ever hope to go.

Levidras stopped and turned back, allowing Kuonji to look down on his target.

His circuits lit up along his arms once again as he he brought his hands together on his right side.

"Trigger... On!"

Slowly, he began moving his left hand away from his right hand, drawing out a projection of the circuits from his own body like before, this time generating a glowing blue tsurugi, the one the husk created during his Skill was when used at maximum power.

"W-what?!" Hiroki gasped.

That's when he arrived at a conclusion.

"I never bothered to check your Synchronicity Rate until now..."

One's Synchronicity Rate with the Digital World was what allowed them to affect it with the power of their circuits.

"Why...?"

The base level was 100%.

"How...?!"

Only those with a rate of 150% or more could slip into the True Digital World through a gate.

"How is your Synchronicity Rate..."

The rate of an average Replicant like Hiroki was between 200% and 300%.

"...500%?!"

Kuonji Nago's reached 500%.

"This is life itself..."

Colossal waves of water rushed in between the buildings of the True Digital World.

"An ode to human creation..."

The water gathered underneath Levidras and swirled around the two.

"Droplets of creation from which the stars were born..."

Like many times before, eight serpent heads were formed by the water and flowed above Kuonji as he raised his sword.

"Rampant and unconstrainted, like life itself-!"

He swung down his sword, bringing down the eight serpent heads upon the Replicant.

"Sword of the Storm - Kusanagi Eight Raging Strikes!"

The eight serpents crashed against the Replicant, breaking away parts of his data body until only a glowing blue core remained behind.

A glowing blue core that Kuonji himself, after leaping from Levidras' back, slashed with his sword.

The core bursted into little pieces of data that did nothing but get washed away by the water following his attack.

Levidraws swooped down to catch his partner on his back and flew him back to the grassfield created on the road by his Divine Skill, where Hikawa awaited.

Kuonji jumped off his back, and after a quick chun rubbed, Levidras turned into data masking itself as water and returned to Kuonji's deck.

"I... I don't know what to say..." Hikawa admitted.

"You don't need to say anything. We'll figure out what to do with you tomorrow."

"Very we- Huh? For real? Like, for real, for real? What do you mean figure out what to do with me?"

"You saw alot of things that can't be made public today."

"I'll keep quiet!"

"That doesn't fly."

"Come on!"

"Mmmnmmm, I concur. The public wouldn't believe her anyway."

Kuonji resummoned his sword and swung back at the voice behind, but what he hit turned into a mist that flew away and stopped on top of a car that had escaped the crushing rain.

The mist took the form of a Replicant, a male with a tall, wide and bulky build, sitting on top of the car with his legs crossed. Dressed in a dark grey suit with a black vest over a red shirt and no blazer, he had long silver hair with a braid. His eyes were of two colours, one green, one red.

"Mnm, Hiroki-kun had such a simple task. I never imagined he'd go down like this."

Hikawa moved behind Kuonji. She was powerless in this world, and he had just dropped a nuke on a poor bastard ten seconds ago.

"Is that the Wiccan he mentioned?" She asked, despite not knowing what that meant.

"Yes and no." Kuonji asked. "You're not a Wiccan Class Replicant, are you?"

The Replicant crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Humming, he thought about the question he was made.

"Mmmnmmm... Mmnmmnmm! What could have given you that idea, Kuonji Nago dearest?"

"Gates are typical Wiccan behaviour, but not unique to the class. From the four Curse Classes, both Wiccans and Ayakashis can open them. However, there's a third class that can make them. This class is dangerous enough to get members of offices such as the Church snd the 8th Agency after them."

"Ah, and Hiroki-kun mentioned them... You are correct. An everyday Fangyre wouldn't know about them unless told from someone who confronted them, and even the mightiest Wiccan would have trouble escaping alive if one of those two appeared before them. But a Replicant who stands outside the seven classes on  the other hand..."

The Replicant leapt out of the car and spread his arms once his feet touched the road.

"Mmnmm... Ku ha ha ha ha ha! You are correct, Kuonji Nago dearest! I'm not a Wiccan, nor am I a Fangyre, a Wulfen, a Fisher, a Bystial, an Ayakashi or a Franken!"

The Replicant bowed.

"Gamadeus, Vader Class Replicant. A pleasure, I'm sure."

The time for conversations ended.

Kuonji rushed forward, sword in hand, and swung at the smirking Replicant.

"Kuonji-kun!" Hikawa called out.

"Oya? Oya oya oya oya oya? Oyaaaa?"

A damascus rapier materialised in Gamadeus' hand. His movements were fast and elegant unlike Kuonji's uncontrolled and powerful swings, yet he parried each bow throw at him with ease and a smile, as if it was all a dance to him.

Their blades clashed time and time again, but after five exchanges, Gamadeus didn't push away Kuonji.

"To have the organization lead by that stuffed hack come after me... I'm truly flattered! Blessed! My heart beats with unending excitment! Let's play a game, Kuonji Nago dearest!"

"Be quiet and please get eliminated!" Kuonji countered.

"If you have that thing leading you, then I have more reasons to keep an eye out for you than for the Church or the 8th Agency! So come at me with full force! All of you! And if you actually manage to defeat me..."

Gamadeus pushed Kuonji away, sending him sliding across the road until he used his sword to stop himself by piercing the ground.

"Kuonji Nago, son of Kuonji Osamu, the Eliminator blessed with the power of Projection... I promise on my name as Gamadeus that I will make your wish come true!"

"Be quiet!"

Kuonji raised his sword and swung it down, bringing down the same crushingly heavy rain he used during his fight.

Like before, anything caught under it was flattened or crushes, by to Gamadeus, it felt like a pleasuring drizzle.

He hummed, than laughed.

"Mmnmm... Ku ha ha ha ha ha! What's wrong, Kuonji Nago dearest? Do you not wish to find your precious Nanako?!"

The sword in Kuonji's hand glowed, and he swung it.

The building behind Gamadeus was cut at the base and began collapsing.

Gamadeus himself was cut at the waist, but only mist seeped from his split parts.

The Replicant chuckled and smirked.

"I truly have taken a liking to you, Kuonji Nago dearest. So here is another vow. I henceforth declare you are not allowed to perish by any hands other than mine. Don't go losing to some random Replicant pleb, Nago-kun."

The rest of Gamadeus' body turned to mist, mist that scattered with the wind blowing in this digital world.

"Kuonji-kun... Are you alright?" Hikawa asked.

"I am. Let's go." Kuonji answered, dispelling his blade.

"Righ- Huh?"

Hikawa felt a strong and precise blow on the back of her neck, and it was lights out for her.

She'd come to some hours later, awaking up on a couch with a blanket over her.

"My neck..." She groaned as she sat up, her hand rubbing the back of her neck. Then her eyes widenned. "Wait... It was a dream?! There's no other world and ku ha ha ha laughing bad guys?! Thank god!"

Except there was on problem.

"This isn't my house!"

Indeed it wasn't.

She was in a living room that had a tatami floor and a table with four pillows around it, with a television screen in the corner. The living room was attached to a small kitchen that had a table with two chairs on each side, and she could see the entrance hall at the edge of fhe kitchen, right next to a stairway leading to the house's second floor.

Out of the sliding door in the living room, she saw a fenced backyard.

All things considered, the place was cozy and much bettee than the tiny and crappy apartment she could afford to rent with her salary.

"Could this be Kuonji-kun'a place...?" She quietly hummed to herself.

She neatly folded the blanket she was given and left it at the edge of the couch after getting up.

She looked at the backyard, but there wasn't special about it. No trees, no flowers, just dirt and grass.

The kitchen didn't look special either. There was a glass in the sink, and the drying rack next to it only had two dishes, two mugs, two forks and two different knives. One had a sharp end, the other had the rounded end typically used by children.

Hikawa's eyes fell on the small cabinet placed next to a small wall-like construct between the living room and the kitchen and walked up to it.

The house's phone, aswell as a digital clock, a burning incense stick and five framed pictures, were on top of it. Hikawa leaned in closer and inspected the photos.

One was of a younger Kuonji standing in front of a high school with his diploma in hand. Next to him was a smiling girl who looked to be maybe three years old. Going off her features, Hikawa deduced she was her little sister.

There were two more pictures of that girl, one of her in front of an elementary school with the Kuonji Hikawa knew kneeling next to her, the other of the two at a fishing pier.

The fourth photo was of a family. A mother holding a baby in her arms, a father, a girl with a ponytail and glasses in a high school uniform with her arm around her younger brother's neck. She was smiling, he looked like he was complaining. He looked like Kuonji.

The final photo had someone she recognized. It was the girl from the precious photo, holding a small tropht and a certification. In the same hand as she held the certification, she held a card, right next to her name.

"Nanako... And that's... Kuonji-kun's Levidras..."

"You're up." Kuonji said. He was walking down the stairs with his hands in his pockets. He didn't have his blazer and tie anymore, and the top button of his shirt was undone.

"I-i'm sorry!" Hikawa immediately bowed. "I shouldn't have wandered off to look at your private things!"

"Photographs in a place like that can hardly be called private." He replied. Ge opened one of the draws in the cabinet and took out a new incense stick and a lighter. After lighting it up, he replaced the old one with it. "You'll stay here tonight. We'll handle your case tomorrow."

"Right, I'm still stuck with you... Are you sure I can't like, go home or something?"

"Oh, you can. I don't have the authority to keep you here. In fact, we Eliminators don't have any authority on this side. You can go. But you won't."

"Oh yeah? How can you be so sure of that?"

The door at the entrance hall was slid open. The little girl fro. The pictures was home.

"Big bro, I'm home!" The girl said. Her eyes lit up as she saw Hikawa. "You brought a friend home?! Is she staying with us? She's so pretty, big bro!"

Hikawa felt a god-level grip on her heart.

Kuonji trapped her with something she couldn't say no to.

Someone.

An adorable little sister.

"H-hi I'm Sayuri!" She bowed, cursing Kuonji in her mind. She fell for his trap and him looking so smug about her made her wanna hit him. "I'm your big bro Nago-kun's friend!"

"Nago-kun?" Kuonji raised a brow, unpleased. "It's-"

"What's up, Nago-kun?" Hikawa asked, looking pretty smug herself.

"First name basis?! Big bro is so picky about his first name! You must be really special!"

"Oooooh? Am I, aren't I?" The young woman asked, wiggling her brows.

"Go take a bath, Natsumi. I already prepared it." Kuonji said. "Then do your homework."

"Okay! Can I play with big sis after that?"

"Big sis...!" Hikawa felt her heart melt. She wanted to cry.

"If she says ye-"

"Absolutely! One hundred percent! Let's play lots and lots, Natsumi-chan!"

"Yay! I'll be fast then, big sis!"

Natsumi rushed up the stairs, leaving behind her school bag for Kuonji to pick up.

"What did I tell you about leaving your bag wherever?"

"Sorry!"

"Hehe... I'd never image Kuonji-kun was an upstanding big bro when not hunting down Replicants." Hikawa chuckled.

"Shut up and sit wherever. And turn the TV on, the remote's on the table. I'll get started on dinner."

"Hai hai, Nago-kyun~!" She teased.

As the sounds of the news segment coming from the TV and of Kuonji prepared some fish for dinner settled in, so did a lingering awkwardness.

"Uhm... Thanks. For helping me today." Hikawa said, twiddling her thumbs. "I really don't think I'd have made it out if you hadn't shown up."

"Right time, right place." Kuonji replied. "Nothing more to it."

"I know... And I know I could have avoided this mess if I hadn't stolen some soggy ham and cheese sandwich." She chuckled. She could swear she hear Kuonji chuckle a bit too. "Can I ask you something?"

"If I can answer it."

"Replicants are made from data of their original self scanned by the server, and Hiroki-kun's Replicant presented himself as the true self... Does Hiroki-kun hold such dark feelings about me that he keeps hidden?"

"Probably. Let me deviate a little. Replicants may lose their form, but aslong as their core stays intact, they can remake it. That's why Archetype/Cray uncovers their Anima Core after they're defeated, for us as Eliminators to be able to attack it and break it. Do you know why we call it an Anima Core?"

"That's one of the many questions I have about that side, but not high on the list." Hikawa sweatdropped.

"Anima is an old latin word. Philosophically speaking, it's the irrational part of the soul. You can also think of it as the part of the psyche that is turned inwards, in touch with the subconscious. That to say, it's the side of one's self they keep hidden behind the persona they show the rest of the world."

"In other words, the true self..." She leaned back on the couch and sighed. "I'm not paying that sandwich. I hope Hiroki gets fired, that perv. Should have stolen a drink too. Ugh, where am I gonna get my lunch now..."

"Do you have any other questions?"

"I guess... About those classes Hiroki and Gamadeus mentioned. What was that about?"

"Wait for tomorrow. My chief will tell you everything."

"Your chief? What, you wanna give me a job as an Eliminator?" Hikawa joked.

"We are extremely shorthanded at the moment."

"I was kidding..." She sweatdropped. "I have one more question... No, nevermind. I don't want to cross the line."

"Smart choice." Kuonji said. He began cutting some carrots. "Nanako is my older sister."

"I deduced as much. You two look alot like each other, even down to the deck." Hikawa chuckled. "Are you sure you want to talk about that?"

"It's not nothing you won't learn from someone else, so it might aswell come form me. My father was part of the team that created the MGP server. He knew it's true function as a digital arc."

"Wait, for real?!" She asked, sitting up, her eyes locked on Kuonji's back.

"Yes. A big part of the research that even made this possible was done by him. It was the work of his life, made with the goal to save someone who lost their brain activity while in a coma."

"Nanako..."

"He wanted to create a copy of her consciousness, but not to put it in her body and call it a day. That'd just be a fake copy. A projection. His goal was to use that copy to restart her brain. Eventually, the real conscious would overtake the false copy."

"His research was the solution to brain death... It could help so many who refuse to pull the plug on their loved ones." Hikawa muttered.

"My father lacked oermanent funding, and Ryuzaki lacked a partner for this project. So with his money and my father's work, Project Anima began. Using the Messiah Grand Prix as a cover up, the Anima Server would collected data from those who fought in the False Digital World and create copies of them to live in the True Digital World. But around the time Ryuzaki disappeared, my parents had an accident."

"I figured something happened..." Hikawa admitted, briefly looking at the burning incense stick. "I'm sorry, Kuonji-kun."

"You were not involved in it, were you?" He asked. Even he could crack a sarcastic joke at times. "Natsumi was three at the time, so I've been raising her ever since. But though the MGP began in 2070, the Anime was activated two years before."

"Meaning Replicants-"

"They were beginning to form already, from the data collected during the beta phase. The first Elimimator organization was born shortly after, as a task force formed by Ryuzaki. Others followed suite. Keeping Nanako's lights on while raising Natsumi was hard, but the chief offered to help me in exchange of me becoming an Elimiantor. I was the first agent of his organization, since he himself can't do the job."

"Huh? Why?"

"No words I can come up with can do it justice."

"Ominous!"

"Anyway, where does this leave Nanako and what Gamadeus said?" Kuonji asked, but he had an answer already. "Nanako's data existed before the Anima's creation. You could think of her data as Proto Replicant, even though she can't become one. My father hid that data away in the True Digital World, and finding it is my goal."

"Hm... Replicant Hiroki told me about his dreams and I called them noble, but he turned out to be a bastard so I'm taking it back. Your dream is the true noble one, Nago-kun." Hikawa declared with a small smile.

Dinner was delicious.

Simmered fish with a side dish of carrots and cucumbers, and featuring Hikawa's favourite combo as a a broke radio host, white rice and miso soup.

After dinner, while Kuonji washed the dishes, Hikawa ans Natsumi played Vanguard together.

"My Haseritt attacks! Are you gonna guard, big sis? I may crit you!" Natsumi warned.

"When you put it like that... I play Anathema Slap Twinkle! I draw a card and Luticia gets 15k! Then I guard with Godelive!"

Good dinner, fun Vanguard, a cozy home with people in it. Something Hikawa had yet to feel ever since coming to Gifu.

The following morning, Kuonji drove the two to a small building in Kakamigahara in his father's old black Toyota Celica. The building had a traditional style to it and had seen cleaner days.

Hikawa looked at the sign above the front door and sweatdropped.

"Smiling Friends Association...? Really?"

"Yes." Kuonji said. "It's a charity association that brings smiles to all children in Gifu."

"...and moonlights as a Replicant elimination organization?"

"That's right. Let's go."

The two stepped into the building, past the front desk where a secretary sat doing something on her computer. There were most desks with more workers off to the side, but those didn't matter much.

Kuonji guided Hikawa to a room in the back, where after closing the door, he raised his right hand.

"What? You're not sending us back to the True Digital World, are you?"

"No. Command Codes hold no power on this side, but serve as identification here."

"What, is the room gonna scan you?"

The room scanned Kuonji's Command Code. Upon approval, the room's door was locked and the floor began moving down like an elevator. A new floor came out of the elevator shaft and replaced the old one once the descending one was far enough.

The two descended about seven meters down. Then, the elevator stopped.

Hikawa looked at the two metal doors in front of her and gulped.

The doors began to move.

She steeled herself for what she was about to see.

"...huh?"

Beyond the doors was a lounging area, and next to it, visible through the windows that separated the two, a meeting room with two people in it.

In the lounging area was an incredibly large TV screen, one of the recent ones put out by Mikazuchi Technologies, playing some sitcom. Around it were six shelves, three to one side and three to the other, completly filled with boys love and eroric yaoi books.

Across the TV was an equally large couch, where someone was laying on their side eating chips.

"W-whawha..."

Now, Hikawa was confused.

This person looked like it was using a disguise composed of a dark red undersuit with red leather parts on the chest, shoulders, forearms, thighs and feet. It even had a belt around its waist. Each of these leather-looking parts had black marks on them, and the shoulder ones even had two spikes.

And then there was the face. An oni-maak looking face.

It was someone in a suit.

Except their mouth moved every time they ate a chip and their tail was swinging around.

"Hm? Oh, yo Nago. Took you long enough. Mifune's gonna get your head."

"He can screw himself. I brought the snacks you asked for, Udadakakarasutaurus."

Kuonji tossed a bag of cinammon candy at the red being, who caught as it sat up on the couch.

"Bitchin'."

"O-oh, I-i-i get it... Your boss can't hunt Eliminators because they're an alien..."

"Udadakakarasutaurus is a fellow Eliminator. He has a human disguise."

"Your boss is even weirder than the literal alien?!"

Moving on.

The three moved into the meeting room, with Hikawa keeping her eyes glued on Udadakakarasutaurus. She spent alot of time talking about aliens on her show, but the first one she met just being some casual dude was makinf her rethink her life choices.

The two people inside the meeting room were a man and a woman, who sat on the right side of the round oval table in the room.

The man had a serious expression. He looked to have the same age as Kuonji and Hikawa, and unlike the former, who wkre a black suit with a purple tie, he wore a white suit with a blue tie. He had blue eyes, amd his hair was long and blonde.

The woman was more laid back. She had pinkish eyes and long hair, split between being black on the left and white on the right. She wore a tight vest on and shorts with leather heel boots that reached her tighs, topping it off with a thick white fur coat over her shoulders. On her wrists she had some golden bracelets, and some more golden accessories around her neck and dangling off her shorts. Her visible forearms had thorned rose tats on them.

"Oho? You brought someone new, Kuonji?" The woman asked. "And a cutie at that. About time, this place was a sausage fest."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." The alien retorted, sharing a cackle with the woman.

"H-hi! My nameis Hikawa Sayuri! Thank ylu for having me!"

"Chill, babyface. Name's Dazai Yaeko. Come on, you two present yourselves aswell."

"Yamagami Mifune, special agent." The blonde man greeted. He crossed his arms as he looked at Kuonji. "Late again."

"I'm sorry, I forgot about your donuts." Kuonji replied.

"You already heard my name from Nago, but if Udadakakarasutaurus a mouthful, go with Kuzuki. It's the name of my human disguise." The red alien said.

"Y-yes! Honoured to meet you, Kuzuki-san, Dazai-san, Yamagami-san!" Hikawa bowed.

As Kuzuki and Nago took their seats at the table, Hikawa noticed the plushie on top of the desk. Light yellow fur with two red horns and blue fur around the neck snd on top of the head. It kinda looked like a dragon.

"You guys a mascot?" Hikawa asked, walking over to pick the plushie and inspect it. "It's so cute... Where did you guys bought it? I never saw one like this."

Hikawa flipped over the plushie to try and find its tag on the tail area, but there was nothing there.

"Weird... Is the tag somewhere else?" She looked at the others in the room, and all four of them were staring at her. "W-what?"

"So you do go commando."

Instinctively, Hikawa threw the plushie away from her and ran to hide behind Kuonji's chair.

The plushie hit the wall with a grunt, but didn't fell. It floated and pointed at Hikawa with one of its hands, looking angry.

"Oi, watch it! This is high quality material not found on this side of Asia!"

"The plushie! It's the plushie! Your chief can't eliminate Replicants because he's a plushie!" Hikawa screamed.

"Yes." Kuzuki nodded.

"He is indeed a stuffed animal." Dazai agreed.

"Dragon!" The plushie interjected.

"Can we get to the point? Some of us have jobs to do out of here." Yamagami requested.

"Keen eye. Take a seat." Kuonji said.

"Right..."

The radio host took a seat in the chair between Kuonji and Kuzuki's, her eyes locked on the plushie for any funny moves it may try to pull.

"Ahem. Good morning, everyone! I am your boss, Plushiewelius or Plushie for short! We have a new face today, so let's welcome her with some applause! Clap those hands!"

On one hand you had Kuonji and Yamagami's dry and unexcited clapping, a perfect contrast to Kuzuki and Dazai's wild applause. Plushie clapped his hands but they didn't make sound because they weighted maybe half a gram.

"Oi, put some soul into it, you two!" Plushie exclaimed.

"T-thanks for having me... Again..." Hikawa sweatdropped. "Uhm... W-what exactly are you, Plushie-san? Actually, I take it you're an alien, probably, so I'm going to instead ask for some information on you and Kuzuki-san, because... Well... The True Digital World is one thing but you two are aliens!"

"Fufu. Very well, Hikawa Sayuri. I will tell you everything you wish to know." Plushie dramatically raised his arms just to point at Kuzuki. "You go first, Kuzuki."

"Oh? Sure. I'm an Onionioni from Oniomionigashima, it's this planet in the Pigeon Galaxy- You know how Mars is in pissing distance from Earth? We're in pissing distance of Irisdescent."

"Of what?" Hikawa deadpanned.

"Don't worry. Let's see, what else, what else... I'm hundred twenty, which in human years puts me in my early twenties and I worked at a farm in my homeworld before its collapse."

"Oh... I'm sorry for your planet."

"Don't be, we male Onionioni have been slaves to the female Onionioni for like who knows how many centuries, the economy crash ending our society benefited all the male Onionioni who left the planet afterwards."

"Huh... I-i see... Uhm..."

"I work at a library as Kuzuki, I like going to host clubs and collecting literature on my free time and... That's about it."

"How did your society crumble up exactly?"

"Oh. Vanguard secondary market."

"Right..."

"We Onionioni have it extremely easy when it comes to getting gambling addictions. It's kinda how we got enslaved in the first place. The ancient male Onionioni lost a shiritori game with the ancient female Onionioni with the freedom of the other on the line. Vanguard reached our world when the Anima activated and this pink moth girl's price reduce the value of the Onionioniyen to negate hundred thirty five. Everyone was playing Keter for some reason."

Hikawa slowly turned to Plushie. For some reason hearing Kuzuki's life story made her feel her IQ drop.

"W-what about you, Plu-"

"I'm for Cray."

"Oh thank god a normal backstory... So Cray is real? I assumed so. What's your deal, Plushie-san?"

"My clan has been coming and going from Earth since ancient times. It's a banger place for family vacations, but sadly we lost our tourist visa after uncle Bob came to Dallas on Novemeber 22nd of 1963 and possessed this guy who was goofing off with his firearm near a window and accidently shot a guy in a car."

Hikawa stares blankly at Plushie. Her memories of history class began turning like gears in her head, prompting her to make a little tiny question.

"...did your uncle kill John F. Kennedy?"

"Irrelevant."

"I find it extremely relevant to world events!"

"Regardless of whatever reason uncle Bob has to still be in Galactolus, even though we stopped visiting this world as tourists, we still came for work, in order to oversee people of interest at the order of the local deity."

"Really? You're here to oversee someone, Plushie-san?"

"No, we lost that job too."

"How?!"

"Cousin Jeb had this thing in Irisdescent after he got in a fight with the gremlin he bonded with. Something about relegating his job to some zodiac dragons and almost letting the metrosexual phoenix turning everyone into vanillas because of it. Oh and he trapped a murder hobo in deep space. Oh classic cousin Jeb. Cousin Jeb can be a bit of a bum."

Hikawa rested her head on the table, looking rather extremely sick.

"The pedastal upon which I put alien life cannot go any lower without breaking the downstairs neighbour's ceiling..."

She pinched Kuonji'a sleeve and tugged on it.

"Help me, Nago-kun..."

"Let's get back to business, Plueshiewelius." Kuonji requested.

"Very well. Hikawa Sayuri! You have witnessed a side of this kept hidden to the masses! Should you desire to combat the fate that side may bring upon this world, speak up! If not, I will cleanse your memories from these events and-!"

"I'll do it!" The girl exclaimed, hands slammed against the table. "I left Kaga to make my dreams come true, even if I'm not evem one step closer to reaching them... But I can't let make my dreams come true if the world ends first!"

"Kaga?" Plushie raised one of his stuffed brows. "A child of Hakusan... Maybe fate really brought us together!"

"Yes!"

"Stop saying Hakusan is some mystical place, it's just some cosmic immigration checkpoint." Kuzuki scuffed. "I had to go through it when I arrived, and you lnow who was behind me in line?"

"This again?" Dazai asked.

"The princess of bloody Mars!"

"Leave your customer service complaints about Hakusan for another day! It's my clan's best work and it rocks so shut your trap!" Plushie exclaimed. "Hikawa Sayuri! Proclaim your vow to the heavens!"

"W-what heavens?" Hikawa asked.

"Just say it!"

"R-right! I vow to fight for humanity against the threat of the Replicants and the True Digital World!"

Hikawa remembered Kuonji's words from the previous day. She clenched her fist.

"By the power of my Command Code, I order you! Reveal yourself, my crest!"

Plushie cheerfuly laughed.

"Someone with as much spirit as you hasn't walked into the Smiling Friends Association in a while! I like you, Hikawa Sayuri! Come, my Design Force! Bestow upon this human the power to defy fate!"

A crimson red light exploded from the back of Hikawa's left hand. Slowly, her Command Code was inprinted on it.

First, a spiral of seven lines resembling the lines of music sheets was created. Then, across the seven lines, placed like the edges of a triangle, three musical notes appeared: a thirty-second note on top, a slanted beamed sixteenth note on the bottom left corner and a sharp on the bottom right corner. Finally, at ppimt where the seven lines met, a heart was drawn, made by combing an upside down treble clef with a bass clef.

Hikawa raised her right hand as the light dissipated, brandishing her Command Code.

"How's that?" She asked.

Dazai smirked and showed her Command Code. Despite wearing leather gloves, the glove on her right hand had the back part open to show it. It was a simple spider with a revolver's cylinder on its body.

Kuzuki cackled and threw his feet on the table. A gem on his belt briefly gleamed  shifting him to his human form. He was just a standard well dressed guy with black hair and glasses. His command code was an oni face with two broadswords on eaxh side of its forehead as horns, biting down on a fifth sword with its sharp fangs.

Yamagami quietly showed his aswell. His Command Code took the shape of scales, but instead of plates, one side had a dragonic head facing outwards while the other had a human mask, also facing outwards.

Plushie had no human hand upon which to draw a Command Code so he got skipped.

"Hey!"

Finally, Kuonji showed his Command Code, but Hikawa already knew what it was. The circles of a bronze mirror, nine magatama within the slace between those circles and a tsurugi surrounded by eight serpent heads face eight of the magatama.

"You are now part our world, Hikawa Sayuri. Keep your head held high and fight for humanity." Plushie said. "There are three key things you must know, and which I will explain. The first, the seven classes of the Replicants. The second, the history behind the True Digital World and what made it this way. And the third, who our enemy is. Are you prepared?"

"Yes! Hit me, Plushie-san!" Hikawa nodded and returned to her seat.

Plushie flew over to Hikawa and smacked her upside the head, earning him.a naaty right hook to the snout.

"I didn't mean it literally!"

"Apologies." Plushie shook off the dizziness of hitting the wall again. "Let us begin with the seven classes of the Replicants."

The hologram of an empty chess board was projected at the center of the table.

"Replicants, cores of data about someone's self who go through singularity and off the rails. Unexpected to us, when a Replicant is born, it is assigned one of seven class, and depending on it, power and even a way on how to act. These seven classes are split into two groups: the Three Monster Classes composed of Fangyre, Wulfen and Fisher, and the Four Curse Classes composed of Bystial, Wiccan, Ayakashi and Franken."

A piece appeared at the right corner square from Plushie's perspective. Insteag of being one of the known chess pieces, it was of a knight with bat-like wings and a fanged helmet. Even their sword carried bat traits, with its guard also being shaped like wings.

"Let's start with Fangyres, as you witness one with your own eyes. They are characterized by their ability to move unrestrained and their power to create fangs to attack humans that slip into the True Digital World. I mention their ability to move because of the other two casses of the Three Monster Classes."

Next to the Fangyre's piece, a knight who lost its helmet, revealing their wolf head, and with a spear in its hand.

"Wulfen. They are noteworthy for retreating to their Anima Core form to build up power until their chosen day, in which they will rampage across the True Digital World looking for feed. Rivalries between Replicants are not uncommon, and the Wulfen's greatest weakness is the Fangyre Class itself. A Fangyre's digital fangs can break their Anima Core while it is in its stockpiling phase."

Next to the Wulfen's piece, a knight in an armour that had taken an aquatic theming. The helmet, like the forearms and shoulders, had fins, and the entire armour loooked to be made from scales. It held a bow and arrow.

"Fisher. They are active at all times like the rest of non-Wulfen Replicants, but are relegated to an area chosen upon their creation. Within the bounds of their territory, they are a foe you better not underestimate. Their power in their turf can easily kill a Fangyre, but a Wulfen's stockpiled might can best a Fisher's power in their home."

"Fangyre beats Wulfen, Wulfen beats Fisher, Fisher beats Fangyre... It's like a triangle weakness chart." Hikawa mentioned.

"You can think of it like that, Hikawa Sayuri. Moving on."

Appearing nex to the Fisher's piece was a knight with a lion head, and instead of hands at the edge of its arms, it hsf a goat head and a serpent head.

"Bystial. You can think of them as beasts. They are the fastest of the Replicants, and possess the rare ability to cross to other cities to hunt. But they are not simple minded. They take their time to study their prey like a hunter and strike when the iron is hot. An oddity among the bunch, their class makes them not look like humans. Because of this, they have an easy time combating Wiccans. Which speaking of-"

The next piece. It was no knight, but instead a mage with a pointy hat and rwo staffs.

"Wiccans. They're the most cunning of the Replicants. Instead of being out in the open, they hid in the shadows of the True Digital World, creating workshops were they prepare the means to achieve their goals. Their class ability is a truly terrifying thing. They possess the power to cast their curses across the two worlds. Typically they use it bring their human target into the other side, which is why many rally to Wiccans and offer their abilities to them in exchange of their curses. With their mastery of the digital arts, they are best suited to combat the sneaky Ayakashi."

"Just like how it happened with the Replicant Hiroki, even though it turned out to not be a Wiccan..." Hikawa muttere.

The next piece was also not a knight, but instead a cloaked figure with fox mask.

"Ayakashi. A sneky bunch that, like the Wiccan, can cast curses across the worlds. What makes them different is that Ayakashi, despite having weaker curses, can cross to the other world. They can't remain there for long, and their powers are reduced to the point of not being able to cause colossal damage, but it allows them to chase down a target and drag it into the True Digital World with them. Their skills make them best suited to handle Bystials. And finally."

The final piece, a knight composed from stitched bits of the other pieces.

"Fraken. Let us begin with strengths and weakness. Their sheer power makes thsm stronger than every other class, but their lack of intellect also makes them weaker than every other class. They are born when two or more Anima Cores go through singularity near each other, causing them to fuse together into a patchwork monstrosity. Like the Bystial, these Replicants are rarely human looking. However!"

An eightht piece appeared on the center of the board. It kept glitching and changing forms, but it always returned to the same form of a grey human every other glitch.

"One more class exists! It is an Extra Class! But what separates this class from the rest? Is it their abilities? Rarely. Their appearance? No. Their creation? Correct! The Replicants of the seven classes are created from an Anima Core made up of data gathered from a human. But these? They skip some steps. These Replicants are created as Replicants directly by the Anima, without the need for initial data. These are digital lifeforms the True Digital World's server creates as administrators to manage that world. Their name- Vader Class!"

"That's why Gamadeus had the name he had!" Hikawa exclaimed. "If he had no original self on this side, then he'd have no name to use, thus having one original to himself."

"Precisely. And with the Vader Class introduced, we move on to our next topic of interest. You heard me say Vader Class Replicants are created by the Anima, the server that manages the Messiah Grand Prix and both the True and False Digital Worlds. That is the reality of the matter. But how did Replicants come to be? What happened to turn the True Digital World, the place meant to be a digital continuation of mankind, become like this?"

The chess board projection changed into one of a simple white tower.

"This is the Anima. The server Mikazuchi Ryuzaki and Kuonji Osamu created to copy humanity and recreate it in the form of a digital world. To do this, the server had to be placed somewhere it could reach all of the world."

Something clicked in Hikawa's mind, making her sigh and look down.

"The Anima is on the moon, isn't it?"

"Yes." Kuonji answered.

"Right up there." Kuzuku pointed up.

"Looking down on us every time it gets dark out." Dazai joked.

"It is indeed in the moon." Yamagami nodded.

"Yup, in the old CFA Base Ryuzaki's dad had back in the 2010s and 2020s. The place was there so it might aswell get reused for something. However, two problems existed with the Anima, and the project overall. The first was how the pressure applied on the server by its function corrupted the small number of Anima Cores inside into Replicants. If this already happened with so little data, than it'd never be capable of supporting the entire world's data. The second was the possible catastrophic problems the complete activation of the Anima could bring. When turned in to scan those in the base, it consumed enough energy to compromise the moon base. With the energy it'd take to scan the entire world without a break... Simply put, it'd blow up the moon."

"Come again?!" Hikawa exclaimed.

"Everything was against Project Anima's success. Not even Ryuzaki's generational intellect could come up with a solution for this. It didn't help he was already near his seventies. So he simply didn't come up with one. He was handed one on a silver platter."

"Huh? How so?"

"Ryuzaki was no stranger to outwordly beings. Afterall, he was therr when the Void sent his red ring goons and when Gyze descended upon the world. He even had a friend who was trapped in Cray, one he grew to resent in adulthood due ro his family situation. And a being with the power needed to solve all of Ryuzaki's problems extended a hand to him. But you know why this arc of his was made in the first place, don't you, Hikawa Sayuri?"

"Sort of. Replicant Hiroki said he had gone off the deep end because of how Cray keot affecting Earth."

"Indeed. This all began to protect humanity from Cray, and now here was a Foreign God from the far off corners of the universe offering a deal too sweet to be real. Needless to say, he rejected it. The story should have ended there, but we are here for a reason. This leads us to the third topic: who our enemy is."

"It's this Foreign God who made the True Digital World like this, right?"

"Yes, but not just them. It's also the one who backstabbed Ryuzaki and took the Foreign God's bargain. The enemy of humanity-"

The projection changes. Standing at the center of the table was someine Hikawa recognized.

Her eyes widenned.

"Ryuzaki's pupil who stands as a generational genius like his mentor, Momoi Takatora!"

"But how? And why?! The Replicants are a danger to this side, right? Then shouldn't he be fighting against them?!"

"Correct. Young Takatora was involved in Project Anime as a backup plan should Ryuzaki, simply put, kick the bucket before it was finished. However, his eyes were never on the Anima as an arc. They were on the Messiah Grand Prix as a way to perpetuate Vanguard into the next century. To him, no cost was too small if it meant Vanguard's survival. So, he made a gamble. Needless to say... He won. He outsmarted Ryuzaki and took the Foreign God's bargain, forcing Ryuzaki into hiding. With the Foreign God's power, the Anima activated, powerful than ever before. The dangers it could bring to the moon were not there anymore, and instead of just scanning people's actions, the Anima became capable of scanning their very psyche, thus making the Replicants know the hidden facets of their original selves. The cost for their aid was the Replicant's continued existence, which to young Takatora, it might aswell not been there. To continue Vanguard's existence, Replicants are just a sacrifice to the greater good. However! Even though Ryuzaki was gone, three people stood between young Takatora and absolute power!"

The hologram showed three people, Ryuzaki's closest friends.

"And with them he dealt. Mikazuchi Ryuzaki's disappearance, Ikuo Payic's coma, Blaze Inu's exit of the company, and even the accident that took Ichinose Maverick's life- Momoi Takatora stands behind all of those! With no one to stand in his way, with Mikazuchi Technologies behind him and his contract with the Foreign God, only one conclusion can be have!"

The final projection. The world in Takatora's hand.

"Momoi Takatora stands as the god of this world!"

The projection ended and Plushie looked at Hikawa.

"Allow me to answer a question you may be thinking. How do we operate in the worlds controlled by the Foreign God and young Takatora?"

"Yes! How? Shouldn't the Anima figure out who is and who isn't an Eliminator?" Hikawa asked.

"It should. But it doesn't. The Foreign God's power relies on Design Force, and the Design Force is what your Command Codes are made of. They make you semi-invisible to the Foreign God and the Anima. It alters your scanned psyche to keep any memories related to this task out of frame and makes you invisible within the True Digital World. This means only the Vader Class Replicants have the means of informing the Foreign God of our existence, but they don't. The Anima, and by extension the Foreign God, stand in a realm of their own that not even the Vaders can reach. Hikawa Sayuri, as an Eliminator, you are to combat Replicants and eliminate them by breaking their Anima Core. You are fighting a battle against the fate brought upon humanity by a modern day god and the Foreign God behind him. Are you ready?"

Hikawa nodded.

"Good to hear. You will be partened with Kuonji Nago until further notice. I recommend moving in into the Kuonji Residence as soon as possible."

Hikawa blinked. Kuonji didn't seem too pleased either.

"What?" The two asked.

"Indeed. A healthy body and mind are needed to face what you are about to face. A financial analysis done by Dazai-baby revealed your current situation isn't suited to sustain a good physical health, which means a good mental health can't be kept either."

"W-wait a second here... Ignoring the Dazai-baby part, uhm... Are we not getting... Paid?"

Plushie stared at Hikawa.

Then he laughed.

Kuzuki and Dazai laughed too.

"You think we got any financial backing? No here is getting paid. Young Takatora has the government in his pocket and froze Ryuzaki's money, we're on our own here. We only keep the lights on this place with Dazai-baby's contribuition."

"What does Dazai-ba- I mean Dazai-san, do exactly?"

"Loan shark." Dazai was blunt.

"Yeah, she brings in loads of power through extortion, blackmailing, intimidation-"

"I don't wanna know!" Hikawa groaned. "Yamagami-san, you're a police officer, right? Is this alright with you...?"

"Special agent, and no it isn't. But the ends justify the means here. I can lock up Dazai Yaeko after the Foreign God is eliminated and Momoi Takatora loses his power." Yamagami explained, arms crossed.

"You really wanna lock me up? But we've been partners for so loooooooong." Dazai whined, obviously putting on an act.

"Dude... B-but Nago-kun said you helped him with his sister!"

"Yeah, but not by paying for her medical bills. I used my Design Force to relocate her to a place where time does not move. Essentially, froze her in time until we find her Proto-Anima."

"So this is why no words could do him justice, huh..." Hikawa sweatdropped. "W-well... I'm not going to move in with Nago-kun and Natsumi-chan without their consent."

"You can have the quest room." Kuonji said.

"It was that easy?!"

"I'm saving myself the trouble. Natsumi took a great liking to her big sis Sayuri, and Udadakakarasutaurus has a tendency to show up unannounced and babble about unneeded matters to her, including the chance of Natsumi being with her big sis Sayuri every day."

"Hehe. You buy good sake." Kuzuki said, pushing up his glasses.

"It's orange and lime juice."

"Still tasty."

"Big bro Nago..." Hikawa looked at Kuonji with stary eyes, hands covered her mouth. "Let's go get my stuff! I promise I'm a super low maintenance roomie!"

"Yeah, that about ends this meeting." Plushie said. "Everyone, keep up the good work. Nago, Sayuri, you're on the Gamadeus case. Kuzuki... Go so whatever you do with your library assistant."

"Bitchin'."

"Yamagami, Dazai-baby, I got a case for you so stay here for some extra time."

Kuonji and Hikawa, now Nago and Sayuri, made their way back to the surface and into Nago's car.

"What do you make of the truth about the MGP now?" Nago asked.

"It was alot of information to take in at once... But I'll be fine. We're partners now, right? I'll be counting on you to keep me out of trouble, Nago-kun."

Sayuri held out her right hand, her Command Code facing Nago. She smiled.

"I'd rather you stuck to my last name... But Natsumi probably wouldn't like that."

"You're such a responsible big bro, Nago-kyun~!" Sayuri teased.

"The kyun I won't allow." Nago deadpanned. "But that being said, ignoring the sudden change in living arragements brought about by this, let's have some good times together."

Nago extended his right hand, touching Sayuri's Command Code with his own.

"I'll be counting on you too, Sayuri."