Isekai Mizuki S1 - A World With Demons

Chapter 90 - Never Give Up

Kanao's human consciousness was hanging, wrapped in prickly roots. She had given up, and faced the sadness.

"How can I go back...?" "You can't." "Will they even forgive me for what I've done...?" "They won't." "...please... stop it..." "Know that you won't ever find a way out. You will become Muzan's servant forever. Give up already. Just stay down, and let me take over."

Kanao then fell asleep, but then was awoken by something slashing away the roots. Her soul was right there. "Kanao, get up! This is not the time to give up!"

She was questioning everything right now. "It turns out I was wrong! It's not me you have to kill, it's THAT you have to kill!" the soul explains, pointing up at Kanao's demon consciousness. "We have to be quick. As of now, you're already fighting your dear Tanjiro, and she'll probably kill him." Kanao was about to tear up, but knew that this wasn't the time to get emotional.

"No matter what this demon might say to you, NEVER GIVE UP! Now come on, let's go!" the soul cheers her on. Kanao then smiles. "Right! Let's do this... together!" she then says, standing tall. They both charge at the demon, and it begins to attack them. They drew first blood by the soul growing fingernail claws, and slashing at the demon.

The demon was focused on the soul, not realizing Kanao was about to do something until too late. "Solar Shot!" she calls, shooting a power beam at the demon that inflicted heavy damage. "Keep going, Kanao! Don't stop!" the soul encourages her, following up by a heavy strike dealt to the demon's gut.

"Grrgh... PERSISTENT! WORMS!" she yells angrily, her arms turning into spiked root whips. She then begins to lash out at both of them, but they dodge skillfully. In a bit, they land a dual impact combo to the demon. Both Kanao and her soul had the upper hand. But later, the demon roared.

Outside...

"Kanao's movements are sloppy... what's going on in there...?!" Tanjiro asks himself. He then realizes something. "Kanao... are you still... fighting for us...?" he questions, kicking her away.

"Why do you think I'd be fighting for you? I'm fighting *against* you, idiot..." she replies, nearly hitting him with an explosive flower bomb.

Inside her alternate mind dimension...

More of the demon's consciousness was appearing everywhere, and soon, they were both beginning to struggle. Then, they decided to insult Kanao, and try to drive her into madness.

Give up, Kanao!
No one's gonna want you back after what you've done.
Your boyfriend doesn't care about you anymore.
Just stay a demon, keep serving Muzan.
You've killed your own comrades.
You've hurt your own allies.
They're all dead now.
T H E Y ' R E  G O N E .

Kanao could only scream and cry as she took it all in. What was left of her consciousness then began to fade away, and her soul broke its enemies off of her. "KANAO!" it called out. "ARE YOU REALLY ABOUT TO GIVE UP HERE?!" it questions. "NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY, YOUR FRIENDS AREN'T LIKE THAT, NEITHER ARE THEY DEAD!"

Kanao then lightens up. "YOUR FRIENDS WANT YOU BACK, THEY PLANNED TO GET YOU BACK! FIGHT AGAINST THE DEMON, AND STOP YOURSELF FROM KILLING ANYONE ELSE! ARE YOU WILLING TO LET KIBUTSUJI HAVE HIS CRIMINAL EMPIRE?!" it then yells, questioning her. "We can end this now, but we must work together!" it encourages her. Kanao just smiles faintly, then using her magic to kill the copies around her.

"Then let's end this," Kanao says, determination filling her mind. They both charge at the enemy, and immediately strike the gut, following with an upward kick. Then, they both try to finish it off using Ankoku no Konzetsu and Solar Shot, but they miss, and it comes back to attack them. It runs straight for Kanao, and it charges at her.

She gets hit, and the demon begins charging through the ground. But, Kanao held out, and wrapped a root on the demon's ankle. Kanao then punched its face, and hit it with a Solar Shot. After the demon was sent flying out of the hole, Kanao followed. She landed on a platform, and the soul called out to her. "I need you to throw me, Kanao!" it said. Kanao gripped its leg, and chanted "Alley-oop!" as she threw the soul at the demon. After they both hit the ground, the soul flew out of the hole it charged through, and joined Kanao at the platform she was standing on.

Within a minute or two, the demon's consciousness burst out of the ground. "I won't allow it! I won't *EVER*!" it yelled. "I VOWED TO SERVE MASTER MUZAN, AND I WON'T LET YOU RUIN THAT FOR ME!"

Kanao and her soul stood there, staring. "FINE, YOU WANT MY ALL? THEN YOU CAN FINALLY SEE IT!" it yelled angrily. The demon then began to charge up power. After a short minute, the demon roared, powering up to maximum power.

"Using this form... I WILL ELIMINATE YOU BOTH HERE, SECURING CONTROL OF THIS BODY!" it says, now with a more devilish look.

"You ready, Kanao?" the soul asks, looking at her expectantly. Kanao nods. The soul and Kanao then get into a battle pose that looked rather menacing. "You cannot escape from us!" Kanao says, halfway joined by the soul saying "This ends now!"

To be continued...