A Way Out [Henrex, Saiko]

Feeling her misery pained him, as even through his unwavering resolve, he could feel the heartache that had tormented her for decades. Yet, he pushed on. As the devilish remnants conjured a downpour of acidic rain, he summoned a barrier of spiritual energy around himself to guard himself, still unwavering as the manifestation spoke.

"No. You're not Saiko. You're nothing more than a disease that needs to be cured, a problem that needs to be culled."

He could feel the burning encroaching more along his body, wincing and faltering for a moment, quickly regaining himself as he reacted to the sudden move. With barely a need for bodily movement, his body vanished in an instant to avoid the attacks, reappearing closer to Saiko's body as he grabbed the top of her head and forced it to the ground. He knew that she probably wouldn't like it, but it was the best method he could use right now to keep her body from attacking, without injuring her.

"Even with her crimes, I still think there is hope for her. You were the cause of her sins, the root of her problems, and you need to be removed."

His body burned and he wanted to give in, desperately, but he pressed on. As he heard her soul cry out, the Seal responded to their wills, their desires to see this evil banished and culled from her -- the golden light only grew brighter, seizing the demon in its grip, never ceasing with its desire to burn, purge, and exorcise it from her.

A mortifying yell was let out the mouth of Saiko as Henrex kept piercing deeper into its existence. Crying at this point, it snarled and tried clawing out his eyes, piercing his heart and thrashing about as the other hybrid did his damnest to keep her head pulsed into the ground. Something was burning within herself, this pain was absolving, and this aspect of her innermost possessive nature as a demon did not want to let go as it would not be able to protect Saiko and possess more of this pain.

"I. DON'T. WANT. TO. LET. THIS. GO."

As volts of emerald energy started to make static noises around her, this lightning scattered, and tremendous pressure was built up within the essence of Saiko. It was growing madder, more violent, and chaotic and was ready to blow and dissolve itself in one massive release. Shaking and foaming at the mouth, this demonic beast tried one last go at aiming for Henrex's heart with another release of black energy. It had to stop this bastard from doing something he had no right to.

All the while, on the insides of Saiko, Kanashimi put his shoulders on the arm of Saiko as their entire world was growing brighter. In the heavens above, the two looked at the sun and their entire inner universe becoming drenched in this holy light. It was akin to a sun going supernova and drowning all of creation in its ever-glowing inferno.

Yet, there was no fear and no pain to be found.

No, all there was had been silence and acceptance as this world was being destroyed and reconstructed as a new existence.

"It's time to let go of this. My world, us, and who we are will forever change, but dammit, I won't live in hell any longer."

With those words spoken with conviction, Saiko bit her lip, hugged Kanashimi, and soon, both on the outside and internally, this blinding light exploded and devoured everything it could reach.

In the real world, if Henrex was not careful, this blast may destroy him or the barrier around them. But, regardless of what happened, this damning explosion that sounded like heaven and hell collided would rock the barracks and give a small earthquake as this demonic and holy energy reached its apex point.

No one could guess what would be left after the smoke and ash as Saiko went quiet.

His hand continued to hold her head down, enduring the attacks from the demon that still wanted to believe that it protected her. He winced and grunted quietly, but he held firm, pressing down harder on her head. He shifted his body just as it tried to end him one last time, impaling him through the stomach. Coughing and spitting up a mouthful of blood, Henrex raised a hand...

But, as he did, a blinding light shoved him backward, sending him flying into the barrier with a loud crash, collapsing to the ground. His body did its best to heal the wound to his stomach, but such a prolonged use of holy energy had weakened him, blood pouring onto the ground as the hole slowly closed. Almost the entirety of his left side had been left burned and damaged, and the Seal of Heroism that shined so bright with such hopeful, sacred light, began to dim.

Getting to his feet, Henrex approached the smoke, stumbling and trying to let his body repair itself, no matter how slowly it would be. Maybe it would be easier to just cut parts off and let them regrow.

"Saiko? Did...did it work?"

The barriers still held, as cracked and beaten as they were, and medics were ready on standby for the moment the Stealth Force Captain gave the word. But, right now, hoping that she was still alive and that this had worked was what mattered most.

Saiko was sprawled out on the ground spasming out in pain as her body shook. Something was missing and gone, and her eyes were completely white. Breathing shallowly, the last of her demonic energy had bled out into the sky, and all that remained was the spiritual pressure of a pure shinigami.

By some godly miracle, Henrex had been able to force this spirit out and break down her body to revert to its shinigami state. However, she was still in a rough state as there were many bulging veins across her body; blackened blood leaked around her, and she started to curl up into a ball as her body tried to adjust.

Surprisingly, however, it did not feel as if she was weakened. On the contrary, there was a power swelling within herself as her inner world refused to let this demonic erasure remove her power. That beast did not earn its place, nor would it take what they fought so hard for. Of course, her body was physically weakened for the time being, but given the ability to recover, rest and heal, there was no doubt in Kanashimi's mind his master would recover.

And with that, a hand was placed on the shoulder of Henrex as a short-haired male who looked somewhat similar to Saiko smiled and spoke:

"Oi, bird-boy, ya' did a great job keeping her safe. Ya have my eternal gratitude as I never thought we'd be able to rid ourselves of that fucker ruining our power."

Snorting, he continued.

"But, uh, lassy over there is gonna need to recover n' heal. No clue what the hell awaits for us after this, so we'll see as her body gets a grip."

Even though she didn't answer, his Reikaku gave him the answers he needed. Sensing not a trace of demon energy from her anymore -- just a Shinigami. He brought her into a gentle embrace -- as best of one as he could, given the state of both of them right now. He turned to the medics on standby, calling for them to come help them.

The barriers dissipated, and Henrex looked to Kanashimi, offering a weak smile as he turned back to Saiko, before looking at his hand. The fizzling, fading golden light of the charred emblem still quietly hummed in his palm. His voice was little more than a whisper, yet still held a command to the dying sparks of power.

"Whatever power you have left...heal her. Let her rest soundly, let her wake up from this nightmare, able to look toward the future with a smile on her face."

The fading light slowly coiled around Saiko, slowly mending wounds, steadying her heart rate, and filling her mind with warmth and easing her into a quiet, deep, dreamless slumber. He turned to look at Kanashimi again, before his arms fell to his side. The adrenaline, his own physical, spiritual, and mental energy, had all had their toll taken of them.

Perhaps, if he forced himself, he could keep going as he always did -- stubbornly resisting the odds, but, for now...it was okay to relax. They had done it -- he kept her safe, she was alive, and he had managed to purge that curse from her.

"I'm...going to lay down for a bit, I-"

His eyes closed, his body gave out from under himself, and he too fell into a dreamless slumber as he collapsed to the ground, his energy still draining to try and repair the damage done to himself. The better part of half his body had been burned and damaged as a result, and yet, he would do it again, a thousand times over. The Seal of Heroism, one a brilliant blue, now sizzled and faded away in the golden light, the last of its power being dedicated to help the woman recover.

The nightmare was finally over.