The sky was clear, the sun shined welcomingly, a light breeze blowing. Diego sat in a garden with roses white as snow, and his little quiet place felt like his own heaven. Soon, he heard footsteps approaching and a frown grew on his face. He turned around and saw a girl. She looked exactly identical to him. Same height, same red eyes, same clothes. The only significant differences were her feminine structure and her long black hair. The two looked at each other in silence until the girl smirked.
"This is the first time we're officially meeting each other," the girl said with a light smile. Diego remained silent for a few more moments.
"Who are you..." he asked, watching as the girl made her way toward him.
"We're one and the same," she said as she sat beside him. "Unlike you, no one named me, so I decided to name myself. You can call me Blood."
Silence once more. Diego looked at Blood and she looked back at him.
"Who exactly are you?" he asked.
"As I said, we are one and the same. I'm the dark half of you. The half that you've been relying on all this time. The half that our mother gifted to us when she brought us into the world. I'm the demon inside you, Diego," Blood replied ominously.
Diego smiled for a bit and chuckled quietly. Silence grew once more and the smile died off his face. Blood on the other hand kept staring at him with an unreadable expression.
"I'm dead, aren't I..." Diego said like he was accepting a fact rather than pointing it out.
"That's true... But I can give you life once more," Blood said in a surprisingly eager tone.
"I don't want to go back," Diego sighed quietly, and that quickly killed the smile on Blood's face. He gently plucked a white rose and stared at it. "You're me, right? Then you should know I have nothing to live for... especially after Misa died..."
"You're wrong," Blood grumbled. "You may not see all the things you have to live for, but I do." Blood scolded, leaving Diego slightly confused.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Diego asked with sarcastic excitement. "It's better this way and you know it..."
"Mom... Mom's still out there, and we have to find her," Blood said, and as she did, Diego visibly flinched. She took the advantage and continued talking. "We want to find her more than anything, and you know it, Diego. I can bring us back, and when I do—"
"YOU'RE WRONG!" Diego suddenly snapped and cut off Blood's words. Blood's breath hitched at the raw emotion in his tone, and when she looked at him, she noticed... he was crying. "You said the two of us are the same, right? Then why are you lying, huh?" Diego questioned with a trembling voice. "What I want the most... What's been in my mind all this time... IT'S TO BE WITH MISA, DAMNIT!"
Diego finally broke down into tears, but he wiped at them furiously and turned his gaze away from her.
"...Control..." Blood cooed in a teasing voice.
The roses slowly turned red and blood-stained. The sky gradually got enveloped in red... Blood. She was grinning madly, and the air crackled with utter tension. Diego stood up and scowled in anger. Blood raised her arms, and from the ground, thorny vines erupted—dozens of them. They coiled around his throat, his wrists, his ankles, trapping him. Diego tried to break free, but all his efforts led to the thorns getting tighter and tighter until he could barely move. More vines continued to coil around him until they covered almost his entire body.
"What do you mean 'control'?!" Diego yelled, and Blood pouted petulantly.
"I want a turn at having our body!" She huffed loudly and folded her arms like a child, but soon, the same evil smirk grew on her lips once more. "I may not be able to bring you back by myself, but the other guy can," she said ominously.
She sauntered toward Diego and covered him with her massive wings.
"I can promise you this, Diego... I will have full control one day. But for now, he can take over..."
The last thing Diego saw was that smirk—so much like him but so different at the same time. And soon, there was only darkness.
---
Mora stood over Diego's body in confusion. Throughout his entire life, he had never seen anyone give away their life in such a stupid way. He grabbed his axe off the floor and started walking away from his opponent's corpse.
The crowd was in disbelief. Some still stared in horror.
Frost was quiet, but those around him could see the tremble in his movements. He held onto the rails, but they slowly got crushed under his grip. Frost grunted in frustration and reached for his katana. The red markings on it began to glow.
"Don't let the anger get to you, master..." a voice said from within the blade.
Frost paused and slowly lowered his hands.
"You're right... The future doesn't change after all," Frost muttered.
The spectators stole quick glimpses at him, most still wondering what connection he had with the now-deceased Diego. But just then, a strong gush of cold wind blew past them all. Umbrellas and other lighter objects were easily blown away—not by the intensity of the wind, but by the unimaginable cold it brought.
Mora felt the chilly breeze. A shiver went down his spine. He turned around.
A large ball of ice spun at the center of the arena, winds of unimaginable speed circling it. The wind was so strong it threatened to blow Mora away, but he shielded his eyes and held his ground. He looked deeper into the ice ball and noticed two silhouettes inside it. One looked like a woman with multiple arms, and it seemed to be weaving through the second silhouette.
Screams of panic erupted from the crowd as the winds continued to gain intensity. Suddenly, a bright flash of light exploded from within the ice ball—so bright it seemed to have outshone the sun for a moment.
When the light died down, the crowd looked into the arena. Half of it had been covered in pure ice. And then, their eyes landed on something in unison.
Frost lowered his arms. A gasp left his lips.
At the center of the ice stood Diego.
No injuries. His arms had somehow grown back. But he looked different. Two fangs—but now, a pair of white wings stretched from his back, unlike the black ones from his Hell Breaker form. His eyes were still blood red, but his hair was white as snow.
Behind him stood a white figure with multiple arms. It weaved his white wings like they were thread, and as soon as it was finally done, it disappeared into thin air.
This was Diego's Halo Mode.
"He's still alive..." Mora gasped in awe.
Diego stood like he had forgotten how to move, his body rigid as a statue. Then, to everyone's surprise, Diego released a breath—clumsy, visible in the low temperature of the arena. He stumbled but managed to take a step forward.
Mora instinctively took a step back in what could only be called fear.
Diego took in another deep breath. Soon, the familiar cocky smirk covered his face once more.
"Well, that was interesting," Diego said.
"You're still alive? That's good! I knew you weren't going to give up that easily!" Mora yelled and hurled his axe.
Diego dodged it with ease.
The crowd gasped. Before his miraculous revival, Diego could barely dodge any of Mora's attacks. Now? He moved like the axe was moving in slow motion.
Diego himself was still struggling to understand what had happened. Blood had said someone else would take over. Who exactly was that? The white figure with multiple arms? But he wasn't going to question it just yet. He had more important things to deal with—like Mora.
His Halo Mode made him faster. That much was clear. He didn't know how it worked yet, but he'd have to learn fast.
"How about we end this little show?" Diego challenged.
"Still as cocky as ever! I'll wipe that smirk off your face for the second time today if I have to!" Mora charged.
Diego smirked harder.
Mora swung his axe. Diego dodged—too easy. Mora growled and swung again and again, but Diego dodged each time in an infuriatingly taunting manner. Then—
WHAM!
Diego swung a kick right into Mora's side, sending him flying back. But before that, Mora slammed the hilt of his axe into Diego's ribs. The two stared at each other in silence.
Then Mora gasped in realization. Diego chuckled.
That kick had hit Mora even though his Mrix Barrier was up. His Halo Mode gave him the ability to break through it.
But there was a catch.
Diego's kick didn't have the same brute force as his Hell Breaker form. That's when he finally understood: Halo Mode gave him speed, agility, and precision. Hell Breaker gave him strength, power, and durability. Two forms for two different fights.
Diego snapped out of his thoughts when Mora closed the gap between them. Shocked, Diego's body moved on its own, evading the swing that followed.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!!!" Mora yelled in frustration and swung a low kick, catching Diego off guard.
Diego fell to the ground. Mora brought his axe down on him.
Time seemed to slow. The axe was less than an inch from his face when—
SLASH!
Silence.
The crowd gasped.
Blood dripped down onto Diego's face. Mora's axe had landed beside Diego's head—he wasn't harmed. But Mora? He had been skewered by multiple shards of ice that formed just before it was too late. His right arm was sliced clean off. A stray shard lodged itself in Mora's right eye.
Mora coughed blood onto Diego's face. Then he collapsed beside him.
"AND... AND THE WINNER OF THE FIRST MATCH OF THE QUARTER FINALS IS THE FIRST YEAR... DIEGO TORREZ!!!"
The crowd was silent. Then, slowly, uncertainly, applause began. One student. Then another. Then dozens. Then hundreds.
The whole arena erupted, chanting Diego's name.
He had just made history. The first first-year to ever beat a third-year in the tournament's history.
Medics rushed Mora away on a stretcher, casting fearful glances at Diego. He shakily got to his feet, found his jacket, and put it on. As he did, his transformation reverted—red hair returning to match the red of his jacket.
Diego got some treatment but insisted he was fine. The medics were relieved they wouldn't have to care for him. He left the infirmary and took his first stress-free breath after everything that had happened.
That's when he noticed Romeo staring out a window at the other end of the hallway.
"Diego Torrez..." Romeo called, turning his gaze away from the window.
"Romeo Torrez..." Diego called back cautiously. Romeo was maybe ten years old, but he was still stronger than Diego. That was unsettling to know.
"You can tell why I'm here, can't you..." Romeo said, walking toward Diego.
"Yeah... it's clear," Diego said quietly.
"I guess my mother had a child before me," Romeo grinned.
"And I guess my mother had a child after she abandoned me," Diego smirked back.
The two stared at each other in silence until Romeo's grin slowly faded.
"Meet me tonight. We have a lot to talk about," Romeo said and walked past.
Diego's smirk faded when he saw Frost and Misa standing at the edge of the hallway. Frost looked slightly angry, trying to hide it. Misa hadn't noticed him yet—but when she did, she frowned coldly and started walking toward him with dark intent.
Diego stepped back, confused.
Misa caught up to him in a few strides. But to Diego's surprise, she hugged him. Not the bone-crushing bear hugs—this one was tender.
"I heard you died back there..." Misa murmured quietly. Before Diego could respond, she let go and looked away, cheeks pink. "Thanks for beating my brother," she said and smiled.
"You don't have to thank me—"
Frost tackled Diego to the ground and pinned him, katana at his neck.
"What is it this time? You gonna tell me you've got a crush on me?" Diego smirked.
"Hell wouldn't mourn your loss. It seems it even rejected you," Frost murmured, pressing the blade harder. "The son of Andrea Torrez... What keeps you ticking? For as long as I've known you, death is all you've wished for. But you're still alive."
"Hell wouldn't mourn my loss, but I guess Heaven will," Diego said and flipped him off.
Frost held him down for a few more moments, then reluctantly stood up.
"Get some rest, Diego. We've got a lot to talk about," Frost said and reached out an arm. Diego took it and pulled himself up.
"I'll see you later then," Diego said, watching Frost walk away.
"Are you two always like that?" Misa asked curiously.
"That's one way of putting it. His match is in a few hours. I'll see him when it's over."
---
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Night fell. Helryn High was as lively as ever by ten pm, but Diego had found a secluded road to walk on. The silence was a nice contrast to everything that had happened.
He found a bench under a light post and sat down.
A few minutes passed. Footsteps approached.
Romeo sat beside him, wearing his usual calm expression.
"Evening," Romeo greeted.
"Yeah," Diego murmured.
"What's your story?" Romeo asked, eyes finally landing on Diego.
"Nothing special. Lived with Mom till I was eight. She disappeared one night. All I have left is her jacket," Diego said, tugging at the red fabric. "What about you?"
Romeo looked up at the sky for a long second. "When I was seven, she disappeared too. That was three years ago. The rest isn't important." His eyes lit up with something Diego could only recognize as childish hope. "Do you know where she is?" Romeo asked, a smile beaming on his face.
"Sorry. I don't," Diego admitted.
Romeo's face turned cold and calculated once more. Diego had honestly forgotten Romeo was just a kid—that moment when he smiled like that drew a chuckle from Diego.
"She's a big deal, though, right? Everyone seems to know her," Diego said.
"Of course," Romeo said like Diego had just stated the obvious. "Mom is the most important person in the world after all..."
---
END OF CHAPTER 9