(A New Distortion, A new fate that awaits those that are currently in their set life paths. Can the battle ahead perhaps change the course of said fate?)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 38

Previously on Canon Distortion…

It was supposed to be a simple thing. Set up a meeting between themselves and Sector Seven. Sora Minakaze, The Mercenary Bullet and an observer, Amy, arrived at a simple park to meet with a person from Sector Seven with the hopes of getting a meeting between them and Professor Kokonoe organized. Instead what they were greeted with was open hostility and a mad dog eager to hunt. Sora volunteered to distract the mad dog while the others grabbed the transport needed to get them out of the area. The question simply put is how long can he realistically hold out in this case.

And now, the Continuation of Canon Distortion…

Kazomotsu, a hierarchical city well known for it's tourism. The reasons why a mad dog would choose to roam the streets of a city that sees a heavy amount of foot traffic is still unknown but that did not matter to Sora at that moment. He was fighting for his life and fight he will do as he ran into a building. Behind him, Azrael smashed right through the wall, barely taking any damage as Sora continued to fire shots at the mass of muscle charging towards him.

'Shit Shit Shit. Fucking hell.' Sora sweared as all the massive bullets he was firing at Azrael had were doing was merely causing him to raise his arms to block as he continued his brazen charge towards the one armed man. Sora knew very well he cannot take a direct fist fight with Azrael, not the way he was currently. He had to keep the close combat to a minimum and pepper Azrael with range as he quickly reloaded his revolver.

"At least you are good at running away you little worm!" Azrael screamed, angered that this man would take the cowardly approach and not face him directly. To him, this was not about dumb honor and holding himself up to a standard, he was being denied the thrill of battle and from that brief exchange they had before this cat and mouse game, the worm in front of him was proving to be a decent side dish. As he was right now, he was beginning to taste more like sour gum.

Sora did not want to waste his breath saying something as he noticed where he had brought Azrael into. That was when his mind started to come up with a plan as Azrael heard footsteps going upwards, telling him that Sora was trying to run to the roof like a coward. Instead of taking the stairs himself, Azrael's feet tensed up for a moment as he jumped right through the floor above him and continued to do so the longer he heard Sora's footsteps go.

There was an annoying restriction that had been placed onto him by the Sector Seven Higher ups and Professor Kokonoe. As long as the person he faced showed no kind of battle lust, he was unable to fight in any way. He had thought that was the case as with Sora running away but the fact that Sora still continued to emit that aura of fight within him told Azrael that the man was not running away but planning something. Regardless of this man's schemes, he was just going to bring things to a fist fight and keep them that way as he soon came face to face with Sora on top of the rooftops as Sora couldn't believe what he had just saw.

'This man really just hates all kind of building material!' Sora thought as he knew he had to act fast otherwise he was going to be surrounded and killed. But this was why he decided to run up to the roof in the first place. "There's nowhere for you to go little man." Azrael said Sora nodded his head. "Yeah… nowhere to go… for you." Sora said as he pointed his gun towards Azrael and fired, letting the recoil send him flying off the roof.

Azrael was swift to dodge the bullet, thinking that was all but the bullet Sora fired was merely just a distraction from the fact that Sora had shot himself off the roof and unto a series of awnings as Azrael's little stunt to catch up had begun to destabilize the building. People began to ran out as that caused further tension in the building which eventually led to it's ultimate destruction as Azrael felt the ground beneath him give way, prompting him to act quickly if he wished to survived being piled upon.

As Sora felt his body go through the thin fabric of the awnings, he braced himself properly, making sure to reduce the impact he was feeling as he soon landed on the ground, rolling in the process as he looked at the carnage he had caused. He had hoped that with that building destruction, he had buried Azrael in the process but he knew very well that Azrael was too strong to be killed with just a building falling upon him. He could have waited to see if it did the job but he knew better than to sit on his ass and watch from the sidelines.

"I should get...Fuck." Sora said as he could sense in his bones that his plan had not gone the way he had hoped as he quickly jumped to the side as a piece of concrete was thrown right at his way. It would have taken his head clean off if he had not done so as he could sense that his plan had failed as Azrael emerged from the rubble, his body barely grazed as even his coat was undamaged, just needing a slight dusting as Azrael simply shook his head.

"To think you would try and escape from me only to play something like this. What a pathetic stunt!" Azrael said as he stomped hard on the ground and was now right at Sora's face. Sora reacted appropriately by using his gun to blast himself away but Azrael was quick to not only dodge but also appear right at Sora's behind. He was ready to grab this slimy worm and strangle the life out of him but Sora was quickly to realize he was in danger and simply tucked his head in to avoid it being grabbed. He couldn't keep playing defense however as he decided he had to try and hamper the beast in front of him to ensure an easier escape.

Soon he began a dangerous dance with the mad dog, Azrael now getting the worm to squirm as his hands tried to lay a hand on him only for them to slip past. Sora for his part, now realizing that any further action of escape was just going to lead to Azrael either giving up on the chase or doing something worse, had to place his foot down for just a little while, just long enough for Azrael to maintain interest on the man and keep fighting him.

As soon as Azrael lost interest in Sora, he knew very well he was just going to hunt for the others and try to pick a fight with them instead. The longer he can still, the further he gets the mad dog away from the clearly much juicier prey. "Come on now! Stay still and let me flatten you quick! I dislike this back and forth we are finding ourselves in!" Azrael commented as Sora dodged another dangerous haymaker aimed to lob his head off. "If I let you flatten me, you would just go for the others. Sorry if I look unappetizing or look like a weakling but I cannot just let you march in and ruin everyone else's life." Sora said.

"Then at least prove to be more decent challenge!" Azrael shouted as he threw a punch hard enough to destroy the building behind Sora as he dodged Azrael's attack. He felt a sweat form on his brow as he couldn't believe he barely dodged the attack that was thrown his way but he knew very well that he should not be amazed by just how much power that a singular man could have and instead focus on just living.

"So tell me! Were you always this strong!?" Sora shouted as he began to fire shots at Azrael, aiming right at his ankles to try and maybe maim him in some way. Azrael was swift to protect such a vulnerable spot by making his steps much shorter and more spaced out, forcing Sora to fire not only quicker but in a wider angle as when Sora heard the revolver click, Azrael lunged in with a lariat aimed to take his head off. Unable to dodge or run, Sora held up his arm in a defensive posture as he felt Azrael's entire weight swing right into him.

At that moment, Sora could have sworn he heard bones break but it was likely his imagination as for if he did not block, he knew he would have died then and there. He was simply glad to still have his head intact at that moment as he went flying towards a fruit stand, smashing right into a bunch of watermelons as he groaned greatly. He may have survived that one hit but it was barely and he knew that Azrael held back just enough power to not outright kill him as Sora knew he was capable of much more.

As Sora stumbled to his feet, he could see the mad dog approaching his direction. The aura of power he was emitting was truly something to he terrified about. There was a reason why he was feared by several people, mercenary groups included. He could feel his knees tremble as he had taken one blow from this monster and it was clear he was simply playing with his food right now. "I care little about your questions… though I admit, you clearly are not as weak as you looked if you could take a single hit from me." Azrael said as Sora tensed up hearing that.

"In fact… the fact that you are still standing tells me that you are at least worth me exerting just a little bit of the power I have shown so far." Azrael added as Sora couldn't help but feel a sense of dread with that statement. He was holding back and was already this strong? So the rumor that he wasn't even showing his true power had been true this whole time. Sora wondered if now should be the time for him to run but as he turned to face where his possible escape route would be, he saw that the only place he could go is the central square and if he took the carnage there, who knows how many people would end up in the cross fire.

'Why am I thinking about this… this isn't my timeline, I don't have to worry about the safety of these people…' Sora's mind briefly thought before he pushed back at such stupid thoughts. Sure they weren't people that came from his timeline so the repercussions he would suffer would probably be minor but that still would be innocent blood on his hands. He may not stand a chance but he was not going to purposely endanger other people in the process as Azrael saw Sora stand straight up, holding himself in an upright posture, telling him that Sora was getting ready to continue the fight.

"And not to mention that you aren't a spineless coward to run away after taking a hit like that… be glad that when I turn you to dust, I will at least bother to spend some of my memory to remember who you are." Azrael said as Sora shook his head hearing that. "Hearing you say something like that, while touching, is something I never want to hear." Sora said as he finished reloading his revolver and pointed it at Azrael yet again. He knew then and there he had to fight Azrael right there and only had one question in his mind.

What took Caroline so long?..

"How in the fuck did I find myself in this situation…" Caroline said, swearing in a meek manner as she was not used to swearing, not in the slightest. In fact, she had always been lacking confidence and a backbone. So why did she decide out of nowhere to help a random man she has never met in her life with this thing that she had long forgotten, long lost hope on. As she worked on the thing that was on the ground, her mind was racing with several thoughts.

She should have just gone with the group. They were right, she was wrong, She didn't need to do this thing that a random mercenary had asked her to do. Did she panic and make a rash decision in the process? Or did the mercenary really intimidate her to the point she decided against her own boss? How can she make such a reckless decision at the heat of the moment?! Maybe she should have let Kokonoe handle everything while she hid in a corner but she had made her bed, she had to sleep on it now.

But there was still something that lingered in her mind. Why this thing of all things? They could have said something like one of the professor's nukes but this prototype? As Amy looked at the tool in front of her, the prosthetic arm she had long abandoned when it became clear that her goals were beyond her reach. Something that she can only dream of at the end of the day and move on from. Who were these people that knew this failure of a project and why were they interested in this in the first place.

"Even if I did get it working like he asked, it's just a prototype. What can that man even do with just a proto…" Before Caroline could finish that train of thought, a sudden headache struck her, making her hold her head tightly as she felt a bead of sweat form on her brow, Was that stress she had briefly experienced at that moment? Whatever it was, she felt like she had been one of those supposed professors that used a kite to discover electricity.

Before she knew it, her hand began to move in a way someone who was familiar with their tool would be. Even though it had been years since she had touched this prototype prosthetic, it felt like the memories of her once building this thing came rushing back at her. However that was the strangest part, the memories she had experienced were not of her early days of her building such equipment but a place she had no recollection in her memories.

She questioned the legitimacy of her memories but her mind began to drift towards other questions besides that. Her hand tweaked a few of the parts she once struggled over. The finger that would often refuse to close now did when she fixed a hidden problem with the transforming system that she had not accounted for. There was also the transformation gimmick itself and how by adding a twisting motion akin to a bike rev handle would give the use the necessary feedback to initiate such a transformation in the first place.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that such solutions were staring at her in the face but she found it bizarre how these solutions were coming now in what seemed to be a random moment in her life. Could the stress of the situation she was in be a factor in the sudden spark of inspiration she was experiencing at that moment. Or was something else at play that gave her the ideas that were swimming in her head? Regardless, she was glad to have them at that moment because she could now finish the work in front of her.

"I shouldn't think too much about it and focus on my work instead. It's not only just my life that is riding on the line here." Caroline said to herself as she heard a loud bang followed by the sounds of what felt like lightning crashing in the area. She felt a chill crawl up her back as she could only piece together what was going on, imagining that the man she had met was fighting for his life out there and the only thing that would save the day was the thing she was currently working on at that very moment.

She could feel a heavy weight be placed on her shoulders. She knew very well that someone like the Mad Dog would have no interest in a meek and weak woman like her. In fact the strange white haired man did not need to bring Azrael out of the area as she would not get in their way but whether it was because he felt that she would be in the way during the battle or there was a chance that Azrael may not let her finish what she needed to do, that man chose to escort both himself and Azrael out of the area to let her work in peace.

Regardless of what he did and the reasons for doing so, Caroline felt a sense of trust that she did not feel from even her own work colleagues. Trust may be the wrong word in this case as that would mean she doesn't trust the professor at all which is untrue but at the same time, she felt like she could trust this random man and that made no sense in her head at all. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she should focus on getting this thing done so that they both can live.

As Caroline focused on her work, in another world, another Caroline was busy working on something familiar. Her hands were kept constantly busy as she sipped on a cup of coffee, tirelessly making sure the protect she was working on came to fruition. A knock was made on her door but she did not answer, too immersed in her work to notice as a brief sigh could be heard before the door was forcibly opened without her permission.

The person responsible for such a rude entry as the door smoked in front of her was Professor Kokonoe as she shook her head when she realized her little act did not get the woman to budge from her position as she walked up to the busy woman and tapped on her shoulder. "You are still the same aren't you. Caroline." Kokonoe said as Caroline turned around and was ready to fire at the person who tapped on her shoulder only to realize it was just her former boss.

"Oh… What do you want Kokonoe." Caroline questioned as Kokonoe took a small glimpse of what Caroline was working as she handed Caroline some papers. "Just giving you a bios update about Makoto Nanaya's condition. How about you, managed to finish that sample we got from her?" Kokonoe questioned as Caroline quickly pulled a set of papers to hand to Kokonoe. "The whole details are in there but the short story is whatever the black goo that Makoto came with is not from this world, especially with it's Seithr concentration." Caroline commented as Kokonoe took a look at the information in front of her and skimmed through it quickly.

"So how is the little project you got working for you going so far? Any closer to that dream you want to achieve?" Kokonoe said as Caroline smiled and pulled it out for Kokonoe to see. It was simply put a slab of metal at the moment as it was too heavy for a woman of her size to carry, causing it to stab itself on the floor to support itself as Kokonoe could clearly see what it was. It had a handle to suggest it could be used like a blade but if one looked closer, it was clearly meant to house something in it's place, a connection point instead.

"Going well, at the rate I am going I should finally be able to get some test runs of this baby going." Caroline said with confidence in her voice as Kokonoe was still not used to this version of Caroline in front of her. The way she carried herself, her more refined appearance despite being a scientist like her. It seemed like she had reimagined herself into a completely different person and it was not like Kokonoe was jealous of her. In fact she had to be impressed by how she managed to change herself this drastically.

"Test runs huh…. So this is what you wanted to do this entire time huh…" Kokonoe said as her eyes glanced what was essentially a giant hunk of metal. "Oh don't mind the shape, I'm busy refining the final shape right now. Consider it a test bed." Caroline said as this made Kokonoe curious. "So when will that be? Next month?" Kokonoe questioned as Caroline grinned. "Tomorrow hopefully." Caroline said. That response made Kokonoe's eyes widen big as she knew what she needed to say at that moment.

Kokonoe: Tomorrow? Hopefully. You have made that much progress already?!

Caroline: Indeed. I have all the time in the world to work on my little project and since you gave me the two nuclear Missiles you promised.

Kokonoe: Still could have considered the miniaturized generator instead.

Caroline: That requires an outer power source, lightning Ars Magus aka Seithr to work. I want something that can operate by itself and doesn't need much work to make it function. The nuclear missile also comes with the necessary radiation shielding this baby needs to work.

Kokonoe: So what is this thing supposed to do? Be some sort of generator? That's your big secret?

Caroline: Not just any Generator Kokonoe. It's a generator that converts the Seithr in the air into a more stable and storable form that can be used at any time. Free stored energy in general. My Rev System solved the first issue which was to bring in the area's seithr towards it. This thing I hope will be able to store it like a massive battery and keep it stable.

Kokonoe couldn't help but nod her head, impressed that Caroline was able to make such progress but there was a lingering question in her mind as she did so. "So if your goal is to make a way to store Seithr… Why the hell do you need to have two nuclear missiles to do so? You do know we already have Seithr Storage units that are small enough to contain the stuff." Kokonoe said, trying to point out an obvious flaw she was seeing as this was reminding her of one of her previous colleague's works.

"Because I know that Seithr is not infinite." Caroline said as Kokonoe looked at her with a curious expression. "Seithr only exists because a big bad monster from history came out and terrorized the world so much we had to go up to the heavens to escape it. A lot of us were born in Hierarchical cities and artificial land created to mimic what the world below looked like. What I wish to create no do is enable mankind to be able to reclaim the world we have lost. I want Humanity to be able to rediscover the land we lost." Caroline continued as Kokonoe could feel the passion within her.

"So your ultimate goal is to find a way for us to go down heavily dense areas of Seithr to see what the world below looks like and hopefully give everyone the chance to repopulate below?" Kokonoe said as Caroline smiled and clapped at that. "And you finally get it… Or maybe you already did and you decided to keep it quiet and decided to not break my feelings about it by saying something like it's not possible. Oh who am I kidding this is you we are talking about, you would have just said it outright." Caroline said as Kokonoe was beginning to make sense of some other missing details now the truth of Caroline's project was out.

"So that's why you always chose to work in secret and picked a prosthetic of all things to be your main science project." Kokonoe said as Caroline smiled and picked up the Rev Blade and held it in her hand. The one she held was the original version, being upgraded to the version two at this very moment. "Humanity has gotten too dependent on Seithr for daily living. By directly inserting the tank into something like a prosthetic arm, anybody, whether they may be a genius or impotent with Seithr Control will be able to manipulate Seithr to a basic level." Caroline explained as she raised Kokonoe's hand to stop her from answering.

"Before your question, I will say now that what I planned to do had a lot of pitfalls. By the time I realized all of them, I realized the way I wanted it to work wouldn't have worked as well. Could I have modified the design to make it function better for my goal? Yes but at the same time… I really genuinely wanted to do good at the same time. So many times as scientists we make tools that harm people but I was resolute at the time about wanting to make something to better humanity and beastkin as a whole."

"If I couldn't do it in the way I imagined, I figured there was no point in doing it in the first place." Caroline said as she gave Kokonoe the chance to speak what was on her mind as she paused and the two remained quiet. "So what changed then? What gave you the confidence to continue on forward?" Kokonoe questioned as Caroline looked up at the ceiling. She had a small smile on her face as she looked at her computer and pulled out a picture. To Kokonoe it was just a picture of her standing in front of a bar by herself, still looking like her meek self.

"...He changed me. He was the first one to give me faith and trust. When most people considered me useless and unable to achieve anything, I was resolved to being just another underling and serving under them. But when he showed up in my life and gave me full confidence to pursue my work… he ignited something in me." Caroline said as she rubbed at a blank spot in the picture as Kokonoe couldn't help but think that it was just the Otsunian air that had gotten to her colleague at this point.

"He is gone for now but I am certain he will return. And when he does he will need my tech to stand a chance. So for the sake of the man who placed his trust on me and his woman, the least I can do after him giving me all of the support in the world is make sure the Rev System is finally upgraded to it's Mark two configuration." Caroline said as her and Kokonoe continued to stare at the picture, Kokonoe pondering about the meaning of Caroline's words as Caroline herself was thinking about one thing.

"Isn't that right?.. Boss."

There was something to be said about the Mad Dog, mainly just how ridiculously powerful he really was. Sora himself never underestimated the true power of the Mad Dog and was doing everything in his power to avoid the mad dog's grasp on his neck. He bobbed and weaved his way past Azrael's attacks but the timing seemed to grow ever so stricter, leaving less gaps for him to be able to go through and using more of his dwindling ammunition to dodge faster.

Azrael in the meantime was actually starting to enjoy himself. To him, the tasty meal in front of him that he thought just a mere appetizer beforehand was now starting to become an actually appealing main course. His dodging and weaving were proving to be annoying and his only attack seemed to be to shoot at him and whatever limb and extremity was available to shoot at. But unlike most people he had faced, Sora was actually making a stand against him, using everything in his power to stay alive.

"You know, I cannot help but admire such a will to live. I promise that when I do get my hands on you, it will be very painless!" Azrael shouted as he smashed the floor in front of Sora, trying to make Sora's face eat the floor as Sora shot another round towards the ground, blasting himself into the air and opening himself to a strike from Azrael that sent him flying. Were it not for the fact that he blocked that strike, he may have had a fist sized hole in his chest by now.

'This...This is so not working right now. And where is the damn cavalry? They should have been here minutes ago already!?' Sora thought as he did not even have the time or energy to speak out on what his mind, only focus on the danger that was in front of him and do everything in his power to survive before the situation gets worse. What about Caroline? Did she actually finish what she said she was going to finish or did she take the first opportunity to bail and leave him on his own. It's not like he minded and was actually expecting it to an extent because he was basically asking her to trust him, a mere stranger at the end of the day.

His mind had drifted for a moment, something Sora quickly realized as his head ducked out of the way of a lethal attack Azrael had thrown his direction, smashing a solid stone plaque behind Sora as the stone chunks went flying. "Now don't be distracted by my words now! I don't want to end you before it gets good!" Azrael shouted as Sora knew he needed to focus otherwise he will die and death was something he did not, could not afford at that moment. He needed to live, not just for himself but also for Makoto.

"As if I really would care for the ramblings of the beast!" Sora yelled as he fired a shot right at Azrael, finally connecting a shot at his shoulder, causing his final attack to be reflected away, giving Sora the chance to step away as he glared at Azrael, his mind wandering what he should do next. Where he should go and consider if Sector Seven was even going to pick him up at this point. "Oh so you say, but you are fighting like one yourself. I can smell it." Azrael said as he curled his back, making Sora's eyes widen as he realized what he was going to do next.

"If you can survive this, I will give you one free strike!" Azrael shouted as Sora braced for impact. He could try dodging to the side and letting the attack miss but destroy more buildings in the process. He could also consider blocking but Azrael's next attack seemed to be more powerful than the previous set of strikes, as if he had been saving all of his strength to rip his head off. Dodge or block, both options were really really shitty at the moment.

"SIR!" A voice shouted as Sora turned his head towards the direction of the voice as he saw something metallic shine into his eyes as he managed to catch the thing that was tossed right at his way. Azrael ignored the voice and the thing tossed towards Sora and focused on his punch instead. Sora himself focused on the thing he had just grabbed and out of instinct, used it as Azrael threw his punch, much more powerful at that moment as Sora felt the impact immediately hit his guard.

The first thing Azrael had expected to strike was flesh but this was immediately proven wrong when his fist collided not with bare flesh but metal instead. He did not know how to react to such a thing as he pulled his hand back to see what he had struck. Did he punch a support beam without knowing? Or did this man use some sort of magic wizardry to block his attack. The answer to his question turned out to be much more simpler than any of the other things he had thought about.

In front of him was simply pieces of metal welded together. They formed the shape of a blade but one could not actually call it a blade, only a hunk of metal as Sora gripped on the sword tightly. Sora knew what this weapon was but did not outwardly speak out the name, only keeping it on his mind as he turned on the handle to transform it into an arm for him to use. Even with his current issue of lacking a drive, he now had two hands instead of one and that allowed him to do things now.

The sensation he felt as the prosthetic quickly locked itself on his arm brought back sensations all over his body. He was used to it of course but it had been some time since he had properly attached something similar to the Rev System to his body. When the arm fully fused itself, Caroline could only stare in shock as she saw her creation, long abandoned and untested now going on a maiden voyage as Sora could feel the crappy designs of the original Rev Arm kick in.

"Damn...this really takes me back." Sora said out loud as Caroline looked at him confused at that moment. Sora said what he said without thinking but did not care as he closed his eyes. "You said that if I took your punch you would give me a free hit. You didn't really state how I took the hit but I still took your hit." Sora said as Azrael couldn't argue with the logic presented in front of him and simply grunted upon hearing such a statement.

"So I said… fine, give me your best shot." Azrael said as he thought that Sora was going to just shoot at him again, readying himself to take another bullet. Even if Sora shot him at the head, Azrael was strong enough to resist such a folly attempt at killing him. Sora however began to assume a punching position, the first time he did so for this fight and now had Azrael's attention. Sora closed his eyes and focused. He was pondering if he had any Seithr inside him and the way the proto Rev Arm reacted to nothing told him that he most definitely lacked any kind of Seithr inside him right now… if Caroline had even installed any kind of Seithr system inside the Rev Arm.

But Sora took a deep breath. His body moved in a familiar manner, grabbing the handle of the Rev Arm as his eyes closed and focused. Azrael was giving him a free shot so he was going to give him his best shot. Even if this wasn't the system he was used to using, the inability to use his drive and the uncertainty that his attack would do enough damage to be fatal, Sora was going to give it his best shot. Caroline could feel the air around her go stiff as her eyes seemed to be playing tricks on her.

In front of her was this stranger she had never met, in fact this was her first time meeting her. Yet at the same time the posture he took, the way he held himself, he felt like someone familiar, someone she should know. Why did her mind think of something like that and why did she even care about it? She did not know but regardless, felt like she could place her trust on this man to make full use of the tool he asked from her as Sora lunged forward.

Azrael did not know what to expect but didn't expect Sora to charge at him. In fact this was the first time this whole fight the appetizer chose to go in for close combat. He didn't know how he should feel about such action but if Sora was doing such a thing, he may as well humor the man before delivering another punch to hopefully break some bones upon contact. Sora meanwhile was not going to waste time trying to figure out if his next attack was going to be lethal or not and just focus everything in one strike.

Once again, Caroline felt the sensation hit her again as she looked at her prototype and noticed the a light shimmer on it briefly. Sora himself did not notice such a thing as he subconsciously turned on the handle, triggering something in the prototype as Azrael himself was beginning to notice something strange about the weapon Sora was using as it seemed to be hissing at that moment. Sora then did it again and as if looking at a mirage, both of them saw something that their eyes couldn't recognize.

"Now…" Sora said as he charged at Azrael, his eyes narrowed at that moment as he swung with one smooth motion the slicing of a blade, simultaneously transforming the arm back to the blade. It seemed unnecessary, crazy even but if one were to look at the art of iaido, it could be seen as something similar to the drawing of a sword as doing so would be capable of delivering more force to a singular strike if done correctly.

While the concept itself is often disputed, Sora did not care about the practicality of such a move, only that it allowed him to achieve his goal much quicker and quicker it was as Azrael raised his hands to block the attack, sensing that if he had not done so, he would have gotten sliced in half. "My turn…" The impact his arms felt was immense as Sora said those words. He felt the ground on his feet give way as Sora's eyes were narrow at that moment, focused and prepared at that very moment.

A blast of Seithr came rushing towards Azrael, not ars magus but pure Seithr as Azrael couldn't believe the sudden rush of power he had felt at that very moment. His heart skipped a few beats at that moment as he could not believe what he had just felt. As his body crashed itself on a brick wall, he couldn't help but feel like he had finally found the one. His power was brief but the power he did show even for that moment was the challenge he craved.

The damage that was done to Azrael was not only reflected onto him but the building he had crashed himself onto. The blade of Seithr had left a mark on the brick wall as it was strong enough to scar the wall itself. Azrael couldn't help but grin widely and begin to laugh as he felt a rush coming through his head. "To think, That someone like you was holding back this much power this whole time!" Azrael shouted as Sora looked at him, sweat dropping down from his brow as Azrael wore a smile on his face.

"Dammit, you're still standing after that?" Sora questioned as he felt his energy had been sapped in a way as he tried to recover from his last attack. Azrael wished to continue battling but could see the fatigue that was present on Sora's face and thus pondered on his options. He could go for the kill now and potentially ruin his meal or leave him be for the time being to savor later on. The option to him was pretty obvious at this point.

"Hehehe… If I end you now, It would be a waste of my time. It's clear you been holding back on me." Azrael said as his eyes glared right at Sora, Sora mustering the strength to raise the sword up in an offensive manner. "So consider this a grace from me. It would be rude of me to ruin my meal after you gave me such a display of power." Azrael said as he pulled himself out of the wall and turned towards the direction of the outskirts of Kazomotsu.

"When we meet again, You will give me your all. I promise you this." Azrael said as his arms still bled from Sora's attack. Sora himself wanted to attack but felt his legs wanting to buckle as he decided to let Azrael go, letting a future danger go so he can recover in the present. "Then I hope we don't meet anytime soon then." Sora said, making Azrael grin as Caroline couldn't believe what she was seeing at that moment.

"Tell me your name. Mercenary." Azrael said as Sora pondered if he should even give Azrael his name. "Sora...Sora Minakaze." Sora said as Azrael smiled hearing the name. "Sora Minakaze… A good name indeed." Azrael said before finally leaving. As soon as Sora felt the sense of danger leave the area, he couldn't help but feel the strength underneath his feet go away with it as he dropped on his ass before laying on his back.

"M-MR MERCENARY!?" Caroline said in shock as Sora looked at Caroline, feeling a sense of weakness suddenly come over him. "Sorry to suddenly make your life harder like this. I am just going to close my eyes for a bit." Sora said as he couldn't stop the wave of exhaustion that was coming onto his mind at that moment. He needed to stay awake for any further threats but the sudden fatigue he felt was simply overwhelming as his vision slowly blurred. A figure began to make it's presence known but Sora did not have the strength to fight back as he merely closed his eyes.

….Hoping that the worst had not come for him…

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION! HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? I hope your year so far has not been terrible and that you all have been able to enjoy the time given to you. Whether you may be busy with work or school, I am always grateful that you guys take the time to read my work even if it's not as long as a book. The fact that people choose to read my story warms my heart regardless of the replies you guys give. I am just grateful for your support. That's all I really felt like saying for this note and as much as it's sappy, it's just how I personally feel.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!? WILL SORA AND AZRAEL FACE OFF AGAINST EACH OTHER ONCE AGAIN!? WILL PROFESSOR KOKONOE UPHOLD HER END OF THE DEAL!? WHAT DOES VERSION TWO OF THE REV SYSTEM LOOK LIKE!? AND WHAT WAS CAROLINE EXPERIENCING FOR THAT BRIEF MOMENT!? All this and more will be answered in the next Black so stay tuned.