( Short Disclaimer - Above music video copyright belongs to the music creator "Shiro Sagisu" from the anime - Black Bullet )

( Io already had some idea of ending the battle as fast as possible. But after seeing Ishiki's battling skills and undetectable moves, especially after he started using "Ash-Illusion Release" )

( Now, she is getting the confusion rapid speed in her head with no knowledge of finding the original Ishiki )

{Io}: Tsk.. ( Where could he possibly be? )

( Wind blows inconsistently, while she looking around like a chicken head looking for food )

( Akashi and Nerami getting the intensity in the battle with tension rolling over their faces )

( We see Ishiki in a very dark place where his eyes are the only ones visible. He thinks with sweat covering his face )

{Ishiki}: ( She can easily detect where my illusions will attack... her sand rituals are very troublesome... I need to force her not to use any of them. Once I run out of energy... It's all over )

( Ishiki's illusion gets summoned in the air. Akashi and Nerami sees him, but Io just stares at him )

{Io}: I guess you're an illusion, tsk.. How boring!

Don't tell me that this is the only strong ritual you possess.. If it is, it's clear that you don't have the "courage" to fight me.

{Ishiki}: Come on, don't just blabber out words. It's meaningless trying to manipulate my spirit!

All I need to do is to win over you and show my dominance.

{Io}: How cute.. (smirks)

LAND RITUAL: ... (shouts)

( Ishiki tries to move out of the way but he finds himself stuck in a pile of sand, constricting both feets. He got outplayed )

{Ishiki}: (struggles) I can't move..

( Using the time we spoke, she commanded the sand to hold both of my feet.. How she can control the sand so smooth )

{Io}: MUDSLIDE CONTROL!!!

( She commands the sand to turn into a wave with Ishiki stuck on the top. Io uses her full control and smashes the wave into the ground with dust emerging and fade away )

One illusion down!

( Ishiki summons "three of his illusions" right behind her, she didn't even a waste a single second and started to have a melee )

( She immediately turned right and started blocking every single attack of his illusions. Jumping over the kicks, backflipping over and blocking the barrage attacks with her "femine" flexible body )

( Io gets the distance off and in meantime three of his illusions started to combine their energy to release a full powered "Forest Ritual: Ominous Piercer" at her, she did the unthinkable )

{All 3 Illusions}: FOREST RITUAL: OMINOUS... PIERCER...

FULL POWER!!!!!

( In slow mo, she dodges the powered beam by "bending" backward, spawns a "spikeball" on her left hand and changes the "trajectory of the beam" by just punching it into Ishiki's illusions side making a huge explosion )

( All of his got disappeared after that explosion, Io managed to get the upper hand by helding off a "super charged" forest ritual )

{Io}: ( breathes heavily )

{Akashi}: ( I can't.. Believe it.. She just changed the ritual's trajectory with just one punch? )

{Nerami}: ( Huh? )

( She gets stunned by seeing Io getting tired )

( No way, she can't be... How? How is she exhausted already? I can't believe it with my own eyes... This is the first time I seen Io... getting tired! )

( We see a shot of Io with "tiredness" ruling over her face, breathing so hard like it's her "last breath" and great "disappointment" can be seen in her eyes with her lashes shrinking down )

( She sees her used-up arm with dirt covering her wounds that she got from punching that stack of "razor sharp" beam of leaves )

{Io}: I can't use my left hand in my battle anymore, the scars will still get stretched if I apply more pressure. So, I have to be careful.

I hate to say this but... I love this! I love everything going so far... This might be the first time I have ever felt such a feeling.

( She couldn't control her laugh instead she smirks and laughs inside )

( We see a shot of Ishiki's face in the shadows with a tense look. He murmurs inside how to get control over her sand attacks )

{Ishiki}: ( I have to do something before I make her go off guard and stealth-attack her. But the concentration of hers is so powerful that even my illusions couldn't pull it off.. )

( Even blasting a whole synchronized forest ritual, she just diverts it with just a punch. I already lost half of my energy with that. I need to come up a with a new strategy before she finds me somehow in some way.. )

( As he thinks of a new plan, we see a painful look in Io's face that her eyes gouged out in shockness )

{Io}: (gasps)

{Akashi, Nerami & Ishiki}: Huh?

( All of them with their desperate faces started looking at Io. She kneels down in pain, starts breathing hard, gulps and hold her left hand firmly )

{Io}: I..Why..Why's my hand starts feeling so heavy all of a sudden? (bares the pain)

{Ishiki}: ( What's happening to her? Why is she holding her left arm so tight.. )

( Ishiki gets stunned after deeply observes her left hand with scars on the palm )

{Ishiki}: Did my ritual do that? (serious face)

{Nerami}: Come on, Io! Stand up, you still got it. Don't slow your momentum.

{Io}: Hiii... HAAAAAA! (shouts in pain)

{Nerami}: Io?!

( Nerami sees her best friend shouting in agony. So, she tries to run in and save her but Akashi stops her by halting his hand in front of her )

Akashi! Let me go.

{Akashi}: Wait!

( As soon as that, we see Io slowly trying to stand up with holding her left arm )

She is still in the battle.

{Nerami}: But Akashi, she looks like holding back what might be a serious injury. We should stop her before she does anything crazy!

{Akashi}: You're right! But look at her...

She's smiling!

( She looks at Io's smiling face which made Nerami show her shocking expression with expanding her eyes )

{Akashi}: You told me that she's different from any of her clan members, right?

Well, I now see a different side of hers! Totally different!

{Nerami}: Different?!

{Akashi}: Don't you see any difference from her, Nerami?! You're her best friend. (awkward smiles)

{Nerami}: .... I am sorry... I can't spot it! 

{Akashi}: It's fine. Let me explain.

From the start of the battle, both of them shared an "equal charisma" when it came to talks. But, once Ishiki made his first move, her whole attitude started changing slowly once she started applauding him. Her eyes, her motive towards the battle grew "stronger"....

... As they proceed to exchange blows and reversals, Io started to swear herself deep inside as if she was scolding her inner ego, which turned out to be a great booster for her rituals, releasing it in a smooth and rough way...

Ishiki ended up as her prey, falling into her emerging "new-self"... But Ishiki didn't care about anything and started using his Illusions in order to get out her "new wave of emergence".

{Nerami}: A change? A new emergence? What are you trying to say?

{Akashi}: You said that she would be an unstoppable force if she found her opponent stronger or greater than her. So, by that context,..

She was fighting with her normal style at first, her "turmoil method". Once she crushed Ishiki's Illusion in that hardened sand, her whole movements, her stance, even her talkative charisma changed.

Rather than making him go insane, she became obsessed to defeat him once his ritual made her tactical-self "break apart"!

{Nerami}: So you're saying that the Io that I knew and told you about..

{Akashi}: Yes, the Io we saw from the start is not who we are seeing.. It's her "other side" we are seeing.

( After telling the whole explanation, we see Io's eyes widen up, her facial expressions changed from a angry to an smiling obsessed girl, exactly like a "alter-ego" )

( Image Source: Tokyo Ghoul )

{Nerami}: I can't believe it. I have never seen this side of Io. (shock face)

{Io}: (evil smiles) This..is..fun! I want to beat him so badly.

{Akashi}: ( Ishiki, I don't know how you'll control her incoming monstrosity. But, I have faith in you that you'll overcome this... )

( We see Ishiki with a serious look on his face and also a great fear after seeing the whole new side of Io )

{Ishiki}: (tensed voice) I don't like the part where she invites me like a creep. I have to maintain my distance and use the perfect chance.

( He releases "three illusions", all of them spawned in the air and started to charge on Io. But, another surprise came. She made the sand to build a "huge wall with spikes" on it. )

{Ishiki}: NANI?! (shock face)

( Ishiki illusions realize this at the last moment but all of landed into the spikes, "piercing into their bodies" and gets disappeared )

( After that, she made the sand "exploud" out of nowhere, releasing the sharp spikes all over the place. Some of them got penetrated through trees, walls and both Nerami and Akashi took cover by hiding behind a boulder )

{Io}: Ishiki!! (shouts)

Wherever you're hiding from me, I will find you and...

I will crush you till you get knocked out cold. 

( We see a scary shot "alter-ego Io's" psycho face with terrifying smile with the dusts amplifying her whole scary presence into an horrifying demon )

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Thank you for reading Chapter 21.

The scary side of Io has been revealed, will Ishiki overcome the odds and defeat the unstoppable force?

Leave a "comment" on what did you feel about it. And if do liked it, please sure to "vote" for my chapters. It really encourages me a lot.