Chained Soldier and Still Waters

Chapter 77

~Flashback, One week after the Yokohama Incident~
"You would lose."

That was the first thing Gun said to Ren. After watching footage of what happened in Yokohama, Ren asked Gun what would happen should she fight Nagisa in this state. To hear him say that she would lose piqued her curiosity.

"Could you explain this Ultra Instinct to me?"

"It's a state where you focus on fighting without consciousness. The combat power depends on the opponent. If the opponent is strong, then Nagisa in that state becomes strong. Same as the opposite, if the opponent is weak, then Nagisa's Ultra Instinct becomes weak."

"So that's Ultra Instinct's weakness?"

"You can think of it that way. But if one learns to control that state, the weakness disappears. Plus there are two more factors to account for in Nagisa's case. The Demon Slayer Mark and his potential for viewing the See-Through World. If he did these all at once, there is only one way for you to win."

Soon a smile appeared on Gun's face. Knowing Ren Yamashiro, hearing that she would lose would definitely make her want to test how true it is. Not only that, this would give him an idea just how far someone with no powers could go against the strongest peach ability user.

"What is it?"

"It's quite simple. Make a plan knowing this weakness. If it's just Ultra Instinct, you merely need to hide your full power. Just as Nagisa matches your fake full power, you suddenly launch everything you have at him in a split second. But if you want to beat him when he also has the mark and the see-through world active then....heheheh."

"What do I need to do?"

"Simple, hide your full power during the entire fight. With one of your abilities, you can even teleport him into the air where he has almost no options in terms of counter attack. During that moment, hit him with absolutely everything you have. But until then ....heh. Yamashiro Ren, are you willing to throw away your pride and hold back for all of the fight just for that one moment of victory?"

~Flashback ends~
"I lost. I actually lost to him! Just when the attacks collided he managed to adapt at the last second to my actual full strength and wounded me. The only reason i'm alive is because my own attack took most of the force away from his punch."

As she stood within the Onmyou Agency, Ren was seen standing next to one of the people assigned to this place. They were trying to gather info from the various women known as the Devotees since they attacked the entire Corps all at once. Though she showed an irritated look on her face thinking back on her fight with Nagisa. Soon she shook her head as she looked at one of the dead Devotees in front of her.

"So she didn't make it."

"So out of the 14 captured assailants, the only survivor is Shimomura Yumeji. Though, I have one more question."

"We looked into the drug that was implanted into Tomioka Nagisa's body. It is actually quite terrifying. We shall call it Black Blood for the time being."

"Is it a type of poison?"

"No, Black Blood's properties are actually not that much different from regular blood. But...."

"But?"

"It's a weaponzied synthetic bodily fluid created by the cause of the Cradle Ark Incident, Medusa. When we took a drop of blood from Tomioka Nagisa, we noticed that this Black Blood can harden at an accelerated pace. Not only that, it made his body even stronger. The rate he was healing has also increased. By the time he came back here, most of his wounds had already cleared up. If he were to control this weapon, his combat ability will skyrocket."

"Tell me the bad news already."

~Meanwhile~
As Nagisa was seen inside of a room, he noticed how he was all alone as the door was locked. The boy banged the door for someone to open it up, but no one answered him. As he sat down, he looked around. While his face was calm, he slowly began to lose his breath. As he stared at the walls, he thought he saw something leaking into the room.

It was pitch black. Slowly but surely, the room was being filled with a pitch black substance. The more Nagisa looked at this substance, the more it felt like it was staring back at him. Before he realized it, the boy noticed several eyes emerging from the black substance glaring at him with immense anger.

"The walls, the door, everything around me. It's painted pitch black as the darkness stares right back at me. No matter how much I want to move, something keeps me in place. I keep hearing something in the distance, but it's always muffled."

~???~
"Madness. The side effects of the Black Blood is that anyone hosting it slowly becomes consumed by madness. However, Black Blood doesn't produce the madness itself. Rather, it enhances the madness that one has inside them to dangerous levels."

As Nagisa was seen asleep in a bed after receiving healing along with everyone else involved in the incident, Ren and the Onmyou Agency attendant saw Nagisa was alone in a room. Apparently Medusa injected large quantities of Black Blood into Nagisa all at once. Due to that and combined with his burning hatred for the woman, this action caused Nagisa to pass out from shock. This resulted in the boy awakening into Ultra Instinct.

"We need to be able to help Tomioka Nagisa control it. Both the Black Blood and Ultra Instinct."

"With all due respect, Yamashiro Ren, why did you save him? It's not like you to preserve the life of someone who has bit your hand. So why this one? Why did you choose to spare Tomioka Nagisa?"

"Why did I save him? Hmmm, I always had a soft spot for dogs. He just so happened to be a very good attack one."

As Ren said this, she began to walk away. Truth be told, as he is now, Nagisa was too much of a great asset to lose. As it stands, he was the corps greatest weapon. Getting rid of him would only do more harm than good. Soon a sigh escaped from the girl's lips as she scratched the back of her head.

"I swear, I won't forget this humiliation."

~??????~
"Nagi, are you there? Hey, answer me. You can't leave someone as beautiful as I alone."

While she was standing outside of the Sixth Unit Base that dwells within Nagisa's mind, Kuusetsu was seen screaming out for Nagisa as she couldn't see him. All she saw was a pitch black darkness as Nagisa was out of her reach. When she tried to go into the darkness herself, it felt as if her very being was being engulfed in absolute insanity.

"Nagisa, come back! At this rate, you'll be too corrupted to even fight the other gods. If anything you'll just kill everything in your sight."

Despite how much she called out to him, she received no response. While she sat in the place that once offered him comfort, the God of Thunder could only watch the War Genius' slow descent into madness.