(John's True Power)

*October 23rd, 1920*

*5:30pm*

The dark clouds that were created by the attack were still present as John Claude stared down at the damage that he has caused as he had huge smile on his face as it was revealed that his attack caused a huge crater to appear as it divided the areas in which Peter Ermakov and Natasha were at while the other side contained Anastasia and the others on the blimp.

"Kaede, Now you know what I could be truly capable of..." John Claude uttered as he descended down towards his opponent as he saw the shocked look that was displayed on Kaede's face.

"Speechless, eh? I can totally understand your reasoning since you didn't expect this much power to come from me but don't worry. I shall get serious from here out so get ready!" John Claude had spoken to Kaede once more as he was prepared for battle as this was being watched by Anastasia and the others from the blimp which was in the air now to avoid the attack.

"W-What in the world was that attack? I-It seems like it sliced the entire area in half…" Olga uttered in shock as her eyes were wide open due to what she had just witnessed as she had taken a few steps back in the process.

"That was one hell of an attack. I can't believe this bastard has all of this power hidden within him…." Kazumi added on to the conversation as he had a look of sheer shock in his eyes as he slammed his fist towards the wall of the blimp in annoyance which caused Yelena to jump with surprise as this also caused Anastasia to stand up from where she was sitting.

"We can't lose faith! I'm sure Kaede can win! Whatever may come her way, I'm sure that our bestie can withstand it! Kaede has the power of friendship and love within her and that's more powerful than anything! I believe Kaede will win! We can't be afraid of John! That's what he wants! So let's have some faith in Kaede! TOGETHER!" Anastasia cried out in a motivated tone of voice as this made Yelena smile back at her as she began to write in her notebook.

"She's right, I know things are scary now but if we continue to cheer Kaede on then everything will be okay. Keep the faith!" Yelena had written in her notebook as she showed it to everyone with a smile on her face.

"She's right, Kaede is in serious trouble but if we cheer her on then she'll push through this terrible battle. Let's all cheer for Kaede!" Tatiana had spoken in response to the letter as she was met with many nods of agreement from everyone as this made Anastasia smile.

"Don't worry, We'll be cheering for you, Bestie!" Anastasia thought to herself with a smile as she continued to watch the ongoing battle.

"Now, Let's resume with our horror show. Shall we?" John Claude had spoken towards Kaede with a grin on his face.

He blitzed towards her direction before delivering a hard jab towards her stomach area which caused her to cry out in pain as he delivered another hard punch towards her face which caused her to be sent flying a few feet before she collapsed on the ground.

"Kaede! FIGHT ME! Are you holding back? I hope NOT! I want to see life FLEEING from your eyes!" John Claude cried out in joy once more as he ran towards Kaede with great speed as this caused her eyes to wide in surprise and shock.

"D-Damn! He's much faster now! I gotta crank it up to 45%! I just hope it's enough!" Kaede cried out as she quickly leapt towards the air to evade the upcoming attack from her opponent as she now had to quickly think of a counterattack.

"SOKI-DAN!" Kaede cried out as she formed a reddish energy ball from her hand as she attempted to aim it directly towards John Claude however she noticed that he was gone from his original spot which surprised her.

"W-What the hell?! Where did he go?!" Kaede said to herself in sheer shock as she quickly looked towards her right and left side and much to her shock, He wasn't at either side.

"It's truly a shame that you can't even detect your opponent. Phoenix Sword? Friendship? Love? All of that is total rubbish. My new powers made me much faster and stronger. Rasputin and Peter are nothing but a ladybug compared to my strength but do you wanna know where you're ranked…" John Claude had spoken to Kaede from behind in which sent chills running acrossing from her spine as she quickly turned over to see her opponent right behind her.

"W-Where did you?! I didn't even see you move! J-Just WHAT are you? WHO are you…" Kaede uttered in pure shock as she slowly pulled further away from her opponent as those events were being watched by Peter Ermakov and Natasha.

"Kaede is simply no match for him! She should learn to be a good girl and DIE! John has WON! Everything will finally be HIS!" Natasha cried out in pure joy as she continued to cackle evilly as this made Peter Ermakov cover his ears in annoyance as he eventually began to speak.

"You have a habit of assuming things before the history books can fully be completed eh?" Peter Ermakov had spoken to Natasha in a snarky attitude as this made Natasha stop her laughter as she turned her direction to see him smiling at her.

"Bartok should have killed her so I won't have to hear your annoying mouth but I know that John will do the honors and once that happens. I can't wait to hear your screams as he kills you nice and slowly!" Natasha barked back to Peter Ermakov as her facial expression turned into a rather scary expression which could make a Lion or a Bear run away in fear as she turned her direction back to the ongoing battle.

"Forty-Five percent and you can't even harm me? You're quite pathetic! I will show you my Ares sword! It's true POWER!" John Claude cried out.

He quickly dashed towards Kaede however his upcoming attack was blocked by Kaede's phoenix sword as this caused him to raise his eyebrow in surprise.

"I-I'm not gonna let you win! I will defeat you! No matter how much my body suffers!" Kaede cried out as she struggled to overpower John Claude's sword.

"You sure have a fighting spirit, don't you? Let me show you a nice little treat…" John Claude uttered towards Kaede as he leapt back from Kaede as he proceeded to extend his arm to choke Kaede with his telekinesis as this made her drop her sword as it fell on the ground.

"I can snuff the life out of you right now but I shall make you suffer for a little bit longer.." John Claude uttered once again towards Kaede as he continued to use his telekinesis to choke her out as the young woman struggled to breathe.

"I-I can't breathe. T-There's no way for me to escape. I don't wanna fail my friends…." Kaede thought to herself as she continued to struggle to break free from the chokehold that was chained upon her as this was Anastasia and the others watched in sheer horror.

"I gotta help her! I don't care how strong that bastard is! One of you open the latch!" Kazumi cried out to the others as Maria did just that as she opened the latch so he could assist Kaede however he heard a voice calling out towards him.

"Do not help. Kaede can overcome this battle. I know it's painful, however this opponent is far beyond everyone's league…" the voice called out to Kazumi as this event had surprised everyone as they wondered who the voice was.

"W-Who is that?! Do you know Kaede?" Olga had asked in hopes of a response as her curiosity was soon settled as the voice began to speak once more.

"Yes, I am Sakura, one of the previous owners of the phoenix sword. Please trust me in this. Kaede must defeat John Claude on her own. Only her power can defeat him…" Sakura had spoken to everyone as this caused everyone to gasp in shock due to the revelation.

"W-What do you mean? There are previous holders of this sword? Please explain everything to us…" Tatiana had advised Sakura as she awaited for an answer.

"In due time, All I can say is that allow Kaede to fight this battle on her own. Going out will get you and everyone else killed…" Sakura had spoken to everyone as she was met with an angry look from Kazumi despite her not physically being there.

"What do you mean?! You're expecting us to watch Kaede DIE! We can't allow that! Kaede has done so much for us! She's my COUSIN from the future! I can't allow you to tell us this!" Kazumi cried out in defiance as tears flowed down from his face as he and everyone else suddenly saw a huge glowing light which made everyone cover their eyes before Sakura finally revealed herself in the flesh much to everyone's surprise.

"She's so beautiful…" Anastasia uttered as she took the chance to study the beautiful woman's face as she blushed in the process as the woman began to speak once more.

"I'm aware of your relations to Kaede, but I never told Kaede about this, however I will tell you a secret. I am Kaede and Kazumi's ancestor..." Sakura had revealed to everyone as this caught everyone by surprise.

"W-What WHAT!?" Anastasia cried out in shock as she and everyone else had a look of surprise on their faces while Sakura maninted her serious composure.