Hoshikawa dropped down from the roof he was standing on, plunging his thorn sword directly downward to his main target. Luckily Rin was able to push Kyuuto away from the newly awakened version of Hoshikawa.

"I will protect you," Rin stated, as she charged her auric until it glowed pale blue.

Hoshikawa pulled his sword from the ground, then looked at Rin as he remembered the moment Kazuki protected him when they were younger. But those memories were tainted by the realization.

He suddenly felt like the whole world was his own enemy. Every part of the universe hated him, and that he must regain control of his life. Hoshikawa then looked down, and tears trickled down his cheeks. "This was all your fault..." he sniffled as rage and sadness went through his body and soul, the thorns in his blade got sharper and longer.

"Ishigaki, watch closely!" Natsuki whispered inside Ishigaki's subconscious. The man then looked at Hoshikawa's eyes, it glowed purple for a moment, "something is controlling them, Kentarou, Yato, Kazuki, and even Kuroyuki. Whenever someone is filled with intense emotion... they'll always say the same thing---"

"Your story ends here... get the fuck off my face!!" vines from the ground started to encase Hoshikawa's legs, and turned them into a similar form with his blade. He then kicked Rin with his right leg, the force was so strong that Rin's shield broke instantly, she got thrown to the right. Injuring her left arm.

"Rin!!" Kyuuto was trying to approach her, but Hoshikawa held him with his sword. The vines encased his blade and extended its reach, just like light extends Kazuki's blade.

"This time, no more hiding behind your team," he smiled sinisterly.

Kyuuto's head started to throb once again, but he didn't pay attention to it. He focused his energy on his blade, freezing it with his surroundings. "You forced me to do this," Kyuuto's eyes glowed purple briefly. As the temperature dropped in the area, a sense of terror felt among everyone in the vicinity.

Kyuuto quickly slashed Hoshikawa from the lower left side, of which Hoshikawa blocked with his spiky green blade successfully. Kyuuto then tried to do it from the other side with more force, this time managed to break some of Hoshikawa's thorns and knocked him back a couple steps.

Triggered, Hoshikawa used his legs to kick Kyuuto from all sides, forcing Kyuuto to block with his ice shield he conjured from the ground. After that, Kyuuto enhanced his arms with cold hard ice, and punched Hoshikawa right on his chest. Some of the thorns on his legs were frozen and broken.

He continued to hack Hoshikawa from left and right, until he ran out of breath dodging and blocking Kyuuto's fast paced attacks. Hoshikawa lost his balance after Kyuuto did a piercing attack towards his face. After which he punched him once again with his ice fist.

Kyuuto then pointed his sword to Hoshikawa's neck when he hit the ground, then shouted at him, "Yield! And take your army away!" Kyuuto warned him, then let him stand up.

Hoshikawa's vines faded away, but as he looked at what remained of his squad, he decided to retreat. "We don't need this bloodshed, your friends won't come back to life," Kyuuto remarked for the last time.

"They aren't my friends," Hoshikawa replied quietly, then went bitterly away.

----

Rin and Kanata were stunned to see the fallen warriors, mostly killed by Karito. "Wh-What are we gonna do with these bodies?" Rin asked him.

"Purify them, then bury them over there," Karito answered, while calmly cleaning his daggers from the warriors’ blood. His nonchalant attitude really bothered Ishigaki, but before he could comment on it, he got reminded of what he saw on Kyuuto and Hoshikawa when they fought.

Both of their eyes glowed purple, which means if Natsuki's right, something far greater controls their lives. This would include Kazuki and others, which means everything is already laid out. Their fate, their stories were already written down. They didn't have free will, and "So are we..." Ishigaki's thought slipped out of his tongue, while his eyes opened wide.

"What are you saying?" Kanata checked on him, confused. She was walking past him with a bunch of expired food from the other section of the mall, "are you alright?"

Ishigaki snapped, then smiled nervously, "Nah, nothing--- I'm fine... let me help you," he then carried some of the goods from Kanata, making her even more confused.

Aotori must settle for a while, in their temporary base. The warriors could attack them any time, but at this rate, they don't have any other options. Surviving is their main goal...

...for now.