“You want me to get serious? Then, I’ll get serious, Ashur!”

Sigils appeared all over Renatus’s body. He flew at Ashur and threw a punch. Ashur blocked it with his forearm. The mountain range trembled as a result.

“So this is what it takes to get you to fight seriously?”

The two pushed and caused the ground to crack open. Renatus gritted his teeth as he glared at Ashur.

“I hate that you can throw away everything just for a fight!”

The sigils in Renatus’s eyes shone a bloody light.

“You hate it?”

Veins bulged in Ashur’s head.

“This is the world we’re living in, brat! If you don’t fight you’ll lose everything! That’s why I want to die in a glorious battle!”

“Ha! You make no sense! What is glorious about death?! I prefer to live surrounded by the people I care about! I choose life over death any day!”

“Fool! What makes your life meaningful is not how you lived, but the way you die! Dying with a smile on my face knowing that my allies will live to toast to my life because I gave it my all to bring them victory! I prefer to live and die like that than be a coward, who refuses to fight and lives knowing that his comrades lost everything because of his hesitation!”

His eyes reminisced a blood moon in the midnight sky.

“I hate that I had to make Cait suffer to make you fight!”

“Shut up, you damn warmonger!”

“Make me, Coward!”

The mountain trembled under their might. KC stood there with his eyes widened by the scene in front of him. A seven-headed dragon was clashing with a dragon covered in scarlet markings.

“….These two, have they forgotten that this a competition?”

The tension in the air pricked his skin like needles. Renatus and Ashur flew back and created distance between them.

“My mother died giving birth to me, my father gave it his all to save my life, my grandfather depleted the Tertitus Branch’s resources to ensure that I’ll be able to keep living…So many things have been sacrificed for me to have this life.”

He stomped the ground. The mountain began to rumble. Cracks spread through the ground and up the surrounding mountains.

“I’m not going to throw away a life that precious for a “glorious” death!”

The mountains broke apart and transformed into metal spikes the size of buses.

“If it’s death you want then I’ll give it to you!”

The spikes rushed at Ashur from all directions.

“Death?”

Ashur spread his arms and magic circles appeared around him.

“I would rather pathetically cling to life than let someone like you kill me!”

The circles lit up as the spikes rain down on him.

“Shit!”

KC broke out in a sprint. Behind him, a blinding light rushed forth. It was followed by a heaven-shaking explosion. He increased his speed. The footing underneath him broke apart revealing a bottomless abyss below. There was no ground only debris floating around. He leaped from debris to debris sweating buckets.

(Those fucking monsters! They destroyed the mountain range!)

As he cursed internally, more explosions erupted behind him. He spun around and saw Sura battling it out with Hal. Sura flew through the air firing lightning from his mouth. Hal leaped from debris to debris avoiding them. He cut the distance with a powerful leap. He slammed his Warhammer in the side of Sura’s head. Sura slashed his face with his claw, destroying his mask. He had black fangs in his mouth. Hal spat poison gas at Sura, who dove to avoid it. Hal landed on debris and dove after him. Sura stopped and flew up at him. Warhammer clashed with claws. Hal was blown back. He kicked off the debris and flew back at him. Sura accelerated and blocked his Warhammer with a headbutt. He punched Hal and sent him flying through several car-sized debris. He moved to chase after him but halt and flew back. A cut appeared in one of his wings. Blood sprayed into the air. Kane fell on top of him with a dagger in his hand.

“Fall dragon!”

He lifted the dagger.

*Clang!*

The dagger was shot out of his hand by an arrow. He turned his head and a boot forced him off Sura’s back. KC landed on Sura’s broad shoulder.

“This is getting too out of hand but I can’t abandon you guys after reaching this far. So I’ll stick with you until the end.”

He glanced behind him and noticed that Cait’s body was being suspended away from danger by an alchemic sigil.

(Good, Renatus haven’t lost sight of what’s important.)

A deafening explosion erupted again.

(…Even so.)

Countless flashes followed by explosions greeted his eyes when he looked in Ashur’s and Renatus’s direction.

(This is pretty much a full-blown war at this point.)

Ashur flew out of an explosion with a dozen rifles around him. Renatus chased after him with sigils behind him. He snapped his fingers. Lightning, beams, flame, and metal spikes rushed at Ashur. Ashur swung his arm in front of him and the rifles fired. Flames erupted between them when their attacks clashed. Renatus clapped his hands together. The flames were condensed into a ball.

“Accelerate!”

With a snap of his fingers, the ball flew towards Ashur like a bullet. Before he could react, the ball expanded. His eyes widened as he was bathed in light.

*Boom!*

He was devoured by the explosion being set free. The air trembled as shockwaves spread through the area. When it faded, a charred Ashur floated in the air on a rifle.

“….Tell me, Renatus. How does it feel to fight seriously for once?”

“You’re still on about that?”

Renatus showed a disgusted face.

“It’s appalling. I don’t know why everyone is so hung on fighting?”

Sigils floated around him.

“It’s better if we all just focus on enjoying the little things in life like sleeping, eating, and just laze around.”

“You say that while pointing your blades at me?”

Smoke escaped Ashur’s mouth as he burst out laughing.

“I only pointed my blades at you because you pointed yours at those I care about.”

Giant swords started emerging from the sigils.

“I’m only defending myself!”

The blades rushed at Ashur. Renatus’s body flickered and he appeared riding one of them. Ashur clenched his fist and shattered the swords with fast punches. Renatus leaped at him the moment Ashur destroyed the sword he was on.

(He wants to enter a melee with me?)

Ashur grinned. He punched Renatus in the stomach. Renatus clenched his fist and slammed it in the side of his face.

“What a light punc—?!”

Blood flowed out Ashur’s eyes obstructing his vision.

“Alchemy goes beyond manipulating the elements of nature.”

Renatus spoke as blood leaked out his mouth.

“It can manipulate flesh as well.”

He hit him on the other side of his head. With a pop in his head, all sound and vision were erased from Ashur’s world.

“I used alchemy to magnify the damage I do to your body by destroying it from the inside. Well not that you can hear me now that your eardrums was been destroyed.”

He slammed his hands on Ashur’s chest.

“I won’t kill you but I’ll make you wish you were dea—”

Renatus was elbowed on the side of his head.

“What?!”

A fist hit him from the other side.

“I can’t see or hear but I get the feeling that you were boosting about your abilities.”

Renatus glanced up and saw Ashur wearing a savage grin. He was kicked under his chin.

“Let me guess, you believed that I was helpless without my sight and hearing. Too bad, coward. I’ve reached the point where I can sense my opponents without relying on any of these.”

He grabbed Renatus’s face.

“Do you wanna know how I’m able to do it?”

He swung his head back.

“It’s called instinct!”

He headbutt Renatus in the center of his face, bursting his nose and mouth. Renatus snapped his fingers and a sigil appeared between them. The space exploded and the two were blown away with burns. Renatus stabled himself in the air by standing on a sigil.

“Damn, wild beast!”

Sigils appeared all over his body. His injuries slowly repaired themselves.

“Yes, I’m a wild beast.”

Renatus witness the blood clear up from Ashur’s eyes.

“And a pretty damn proud one at that.”

(Tsk. He’s already starting to heal…His Celestial Body is a nuisance.)

At the same time, Sura and Kc were in the middle of an intense battle with Kane and Hal. Sura’s fist clashed with Hal’s Warhammer and finally broke it. He followed up with a kick to his midsection. Hal flew through several floating blocks of earth. Sura clasped his hands together and slowly pulled them apart. Static generated between them. He quickly spread his arms and a giant light sphere formed above him.

“Die!”

The sphere turned into a beam and destroyed everything in Hal’s direction. A smoking Hal flew at him with his fists clenched. Sura hit him with an uppercut to his chest. The sounds of bones breaking reached his ear. Hal clenched his teeth and hit Sura with a hook. Sura was forced back. Hal kicked off floating debris and stepped in his chest. Sura grabbed his leg and slammed him through a giant block of earth. Hal hit him with a roundhouse with his free leg. Sura released him and countered a kick with a strong right to Hal’s face. Hal was forced through several blocks of earth. Sura dove into him.

“Guh?!”

All the air escaped Hal’s lungs.

“Feel Cait’s pain!”

He punched Hal in the face.

“Feel Cait’s sorrow!”

He slashed his body with his claws.

“Feel Cait’s rage~!”

Kicks, punches, slashes, palm strikes, Sura rained a merciless assault on Hal making his body dance as they descend the abyss. Blood floated in the air along with pieces of Hal’s uniform. He was quickly reduced to a bloody pulp. Even so, defiance was present in his eyes. He grabbed Sura’s arms and legs in grapple hold.

“This is my lost, I admit that.”

He brought his face up to Sura’s and grinned. His body started lighting up.

“If you survive this, feel free to take my emblem!”

A heaven-shaking explosion erupted lighting up the area.

“Sura?!”

“Look out for yourself, KC!”

KC dove to avoid Kane’s bladed-chain. He fired a beam from his bow. Kane leaped over it and swung his chain. KC leaped from the debris he was on. The chain destroyed the debris before breaking apart and turning into blades. The blades chased after KC.

“Tsk!”

His bowstring became metal. He fired a barrage of blades. The blades clashed and sparks danced in the air. KC and Kane closed the distance between them. Kane pulled a pistol. KC moved his head to avoid a gunshot and slapped Kane with his bow. Kane stumbled and threw something. KC’s steps were halted and his body stiffened. He looked down and saw needles sticking into his body. Kane rapidly fired his gun. Bullets pierced through KC’s body.

“Son of a bitch!”

KC roared and forcibly moved his body.

“Are you trying to kill me?!”

“If you die, then that’s that.”

When those reached his ears it was as if something broke in KC’s head.

“Is that so?”

A powerful silver aura rushed out of his body.

“Then, let’s see who’ll kill who!”

His body flickered and so did Kane’s. A chain of explosions erupted in the area showing their path. Meanwhile, Ashur and Renatus-

“Renatus, you’re a fool if you think you can live in this world being passive. If you only fight after your comrades have fallen then you’re destined to lose everything.”

Ashur clenched his fist in front of him.

“I was raised on the battlefield, so I’ve seen the fates of fools like you. You’ll die cursing your own powerlessness; in other words, you’ll have a pathetic death unworthy of a warrior.”

“I’m not a warrior. Whether it’s glorious or not all death is the same. That’s why I focus not on death but on life. I wish to cherish my life, hang on to it as long as I can. That’s my way of repaying everyone who sacrificed everything for me. Not that someone who glorifies death can understand.”

“You’re right. I don’t understand. I wish to be immortalized in the hearts of my comrades and enemies with a glorious death; a death that makes me a legend. I don’t understand the thoughts of one who clings to life until the point he can do nothing to protect those around him.”

Ashur formed a rifle in his hand and pointed it at Renatus.

“And I can’t understand someone who rushes to their death wasting the life others have given them.”

Sigils appeared all over Renatus’s body.

“Come, Coward.”

“Let’s end this, Warmonger.”

The two moved but the space distorted around them.

(We’re being transferred? Doesn’t matter, we can continue if we stay close—Eh?)

Renatus saw Ashur distancing himself.

“Wait, are you running away?!”

“I can’t abandon my comrades to follow you. Especially, Hal. If left alone he might die. I have to at least try to act like a leader sometimes or Gramps will be pissed. Besides, you need to try and treat Cait before she gets worse.”

“Since when have you cared about such things?! Come and fight!”

The space between them became so distorted that Renatus could no longer tell where Ashur was. But his voice reached his ears.

“Don’t lose until we meet again, Renatus.”

Renatus suddenly found himself in a modern post-apocalyptic city. He gritted his teeth but soon calm down.

“….I hope Sura and KC made it out okay.”

(The Tertitus Branch has obtained an enemy emblem as such gain 10 points to give them a total of 20 points!)

Renatus smiled after hearing the announcement. Elsewhere, Sura stood over a scorched Hal, breathing heavily and covered in wounds. He held Hal’s emblem in his hand.

“Good work, Sura.”

To his side, KC was seen walking towards him.

“Kane?”

“I ditched him when I sensed that Ashur was trying to regroup. I chose to go with you since you’re the closest.”

“…We got separated from Renatus.”

“Yeah. We should focus on healing up for now.”

“That would be wise.”

“?!”

A new voice joined the conversation. They turned their head and saw someone approaching them.

“To think that I would be teleported to the exact location of the person I was looking for. How lucky.”

It was someone they both knew well.

“And you have Sura with you too. This will be a great chance to test my limits.”

With a savage grin on his face, Kristen approached the two of them.

“Wouldn’t you agree, KC?”