Minato crashed into Takaya, putting his full weight on the bastard before pushing him forward. "I'm going to slaughter you!"

"Ugh," Takaya tried to push himself forward but Minato was far stronger and just kept dragging him along. "Fool!"

"Like I promised to Junpei!" the blunet yelled, smashing Takaya's back into the nearby wall.

"You won't be doing anything!" Takaya shouted as he grabbed Minato by his hair. "You are just a mortal!" he said through gritted teeth and pulled roughly on his hair.

Minato pulled back and punched Takaya across the face that forced him against the wall again. The blue haired fool prepared another punch but Takaya managed to evade and circle from his range, gaining distance which he needed.

Minato pulled his fist out of the hole on the wall and glared at the leader of Strega. "Come to daddy!"

"Your words will have no effect on me," Takaya said. "I'm not like the rest."

"You are like the rest," Minato crouched down slightly, preparing himself for a run. "Because you will get slaughtered much like they did."

"Like you did to your so called friends?" Takaya said. "When did they suddenly become friends? That lot of weaklings."

"Some of them might lack the physical strength," Minato replied. "But they are strong, far stronger than you bunch of nihilistic assholes."

"Who are you?" Takaya rolled his eyes. "The real Minato would neve-"

"Fuck that Minato!" the blunet yelled at him, forcing Takaya to take a step back. "Fuck everything else. This about me and you. This is about me killing your ass for what you did to Hamuko and the rest."

Before Takaya could reply, Minato launched a volley of fireballs and broke into a run for the older male.

Takaya slapped the fireballs away and sidestepped the incoming wild card. "Too slow." he mocked, aiming a kick for Minato's ribs.

Minato caught the kick. "Too weak." he mocked before lifting Takaya into the air and smashing him back onto the ground.

Takaya tried to get up but Minato jumped on him, pummeling his face into the ground with short punches and elbows.

"Zeus!" Takaya shouted, evoking a blast of thunder within his body that ran through his veins, shocking Minato who was still trying to grapple with the leader of Strega.

"Ugh," a thousand bolts coursed through Minato's body, making him double over slightly.

Takaya jumped on him this time, wrapping his hands around the neck of the teenager, forcing more and more volts into the body that started giving off smoke.

"Ugh!" Minato switched persona and stopped screaming. "That all?" he grabbed Takaya by the face and flipped the leader of Strega, overpowering him to the ground.

Minato crouched down and unloaded two brutal shots on Takaya's face.

Takaya grabbed his hands to stop the assault but the blunet pulled back and started to gouge out Takaya's eyes out with his fingers, just like he did to Shinjiro.

Takaya latched onto Minato and starting biting his shoulder and hell, anywhere his teeth could reach. He didn't give a crap about fighting with grace or anything, he just wanted Minato dead.

Minato grunted in pain as the taller male started to gnaw his flesh with his teeth and nails, opening up several small wounds.

"You bitch!" Minato roared as he lifted Takaya who was still clinging onto him, abusing the wounds with his fingers and teeth, further worsening them.

Minato ran forward and power bombed Takaya into the wall that made the male collapse to the ground. Minato was just about to maul him further but an explosion of magma made him rethink his plan.

Takaya rose up from the ground, a rare frown on his usually cool face. "You'll pay for this."

Minato flipped him the birds in response and the two went at it again.

…

Hamuko forced the distance and kept whispering the advices that Minato had drilled into her head. He had taken punishment and dedicated a lot of his time to her training and she wasn't going to waste that.

Sho ran forward at bliniding speed but found Hamuko circling away from his range. "Why are you running?"

Hamuko wagged her finger, making a vein throb on Sho's forehead. He shot ahead and finally got within the striking distance to launch a volley of slashes.

"Huh…" Hamuko was forced on her backfoot, trying to defend her vital parts from the blades. "How in hell did Minato keep up with him?" she wondered and swayed through a swipe that managed to cut up her cheek.

Hamuko rubbed the wound and quickly ducked down to avoid another wild swing.

Sho came right back with a downward slash but Hamuko fired off a kick in his mid-section, forcing him away.

"Got to be careful about those swords," Hamuko noted. A slight error in angle would likely end in her leg getting cut off.

Sho crouched down, looking ahead at Hamuko like a predator. "Scared already?"

"Far from it," Hamuko responded. "Unlike you, I have something to do after this battle."

"What will you do after the battle, Sho?" Hamuko asked and got a snarl in response. "Anything?"

"Shut up!" Sho shouted and bolted towards her again.

Hamuko blocked the oncoming slash and hammered Sho on the gut with another kick before pivoting away from his range. Sho followed her and kept the female on her back foot with his blades.

Slipping away from a forward stab, Hamuko slammed another kick up his gut, eliciting a grunt of pain. "Damn, he just never stops…." she commented as Sho ran forward, crowding her once again.

"Gotta keep moving," Hamuko whispered as she kept moving around the male, dodging and weaving through his slashes.

Sho roared and lunged forward, kicking the female right in the stomach that pushed Hamuko backwards. The scarred male ran for her again, swinging his weapons.

Hamuko growled and blocked the two blades with her single sword.

"Weak," Sho spat, easily pushing her backwards.

Hamuko surged forward and dug her knee up the male's gut. Sho responded with a closed fist strike directly on her face, making her stumble.

"Heh," Hamuko gave a smirk. "This is actually a little exciting."

Sho couldn't help but smirk back. "Nothing gets the blood running like this!"

…

Mitsuru was clutching her father with a vice grip, refusing to move despite the battle raging around her. Yukari looked over her shoulder and bit her lip. The others were busy in their battles and that left only her to protect Mitsuru.

The brunette looked back and took a deep breath before loading an arrow.

This was really happening. They were finally given a chance to end all the bullshit from Strega. "Just this one night…." she murmured, shooting the arrow for the incoming persona user.

Tsukio easily dodged due to her superior speed and came in the pocket to stab Yukari who quickly backpedaled. The black-haired girl quickly rebounded from the miss and bolted forward, trying her hardest her knives up Yukari's heart.

"That was so obvious," Yukari said as she fired another arrow that Tsukio ripped through using her knife.

"Quit running, bitch!"

Yukari quickly looked at Mitsuru and then at the irate female. She loaded another arrow and jerked her head over, taunting Tsukio to make a move.

Tsukio took the bait and ran for her again.

Yukari barely avoided the knives thrusts and shot herself with the evoker, sending a gust of wind for the other female.

"Ugh," Tsukio braced herself and endured the cuts before running at the brunette again.

Yukari looked at the others form the corner of her eye and let out a sigh.

Junpei swung his large sword for a wild slash that missed Jin by a mile. "Pathetic." the blunet insulted as he weaved through another slash.

Junpei rushed forward with a grunt of irritation, trying his hardest to cut the bastard in two but Jin was still able to dodge his awkward slashes without much effort.

"You can't even use that properly," Jin said, pulling a grenade out of his pocket. He ducked underneath another swing of the blade and smashed the grenade right into the capped teen's chest.

"Shit!" Junpei felt a massive amount of heat on his chest and moments later, the explosion of gunpower sent him flying away from the bespectacled member of Strega.

"Junpei-san," Ken hurried over to his senpai. "Are you okay?"

Junpei nodded and got up only to push the kid away and press the evoker to his temple.

"Hermes!"

The messenger of Gods rose from the sea of soul almost immediately to guard the two from the torrent of hell-fire that was sent in their direction.

Jin cursed under his breath as his dismissed his persona. "Pft, is that all?"

Junpei was just about to respond when Akihiko's shout startled him.

"Get away!"

Junpei and Ken quickly scampered away to avoid the dozens of bullets headed their way. Aigis remained emotionless as she open-fired on her two friends that barely avoided being shot to death.

Akihiko quickly grabbed Aigis and locked her arms, stopping the torrent of bullets.

The mechanical maiden struggled slightly before tossing the silver haired senior over her shoulder to the ground below.

Akihiko cross-blocked the punch from above and kicked her away. He quickly stood up and saw guns being pointed at his head.

"She's strong as an ox," the boxer commented, running through the bullets and aiming a jab for Aigis' chest which the android blocked with her forearm.

Akihiko pivoted to dodge the sloppy right and replied with a counter that sent Aigis staggering slightly.

Aigis simply shook her head and sprinted for him again.

"Counter, counter, counter," Akihiko said, weaving through the blows with little difficulty. Aigis was definitely stronger than him but she wasn't a technical boxer like he was.

Akihiko hammered her on the face with another jab but this time, Aigis caught his wrist and casually tossed him to the other side.

"Kill him!" Jin commanded and Aigis lurched forward with her shoulders slumped.

Akihiko observed for a few seconds, a little worried for her friend.

Aigis looked up with a rare scowl that surprised the boxer. "What the?"

"Palladion!"

"Shit!" Akihiko spat, pressing the evoker to his temple.

"Caesar!"

Yukari diverted her attention from the clash of two personae and sent a wave of warn energy that healed the wounds on her arms and legs, much to Tsukio's anger.

"I remember Fuuka telling me that you had no healing spells," Yukari chuckled.

Tsukio remained quiet.

The brunette started summoning her persona again after another look at Mitsuru who was still sobbing in the corner.

Junpei finally knocked Jin backwards with a straight punch. He released a deep sigh to gaze at the sky briefly. "Man…." this was finally the end of the long struggle, they just had to beat these assholes and take a long rest.

Ken glanced at everyone and then thought about Minato. "Minato-senpai…." he was battling Takaya in the tower and for sure, he was giving the bastard everything he deserved and then some.

"Stay sharp!" Akihiko growled at his juniors. "This is the last battle, give it your all!"

…

Hamuko and Sho clashed weapons again with matching smirks on their faces. Sho pulled back to disengage and started pressuring the female again with more thrusts that forced Hamuko to gain distance again.

"Ugh, ugh," he was getting to her. She was able to dodge due to her superior speed but the sheer quantity of slashes per second was inhuman. Sho was firing hundreds of them per seconds and some of them were gashing her up, usually by the ends.

The scarred male shot ahead and punched her to the ground.

Hamuko snapped his head back with an up-kick before she quickly stood up and started moving again, bobbing and weaving in and out of Sho's range to disrupt his rhythm.

Just like Minato taught her.

Sho rushed to close the distance and started firing off more slashes, along with kicks.

Hamuko was barely keep up with the rangier legs of Sho who quickly saw the opening and opened up a cut on her knee.

The female shrieked in pain but ended up growling at Sho. "Fine!" if her leg was going to get slaughtered then so be it!

Hamuko welcomed Sho and started firing off kicks when he got into the zone.

Sho was about to time and counter the kicks with his swords, opening up several more cuts on her left leg but Hamuko kept kicking and kicking, ignoring the pain.

Hamuko finally gained distance with a sharp side-kick that buckled Sho momentarily. He took a few steps to catch his breath before glancing at her leg that was cut open and bloodied.

"Can you kick with that?" he mocked, showing off the blood on his blade.

"I have two legs," Hamuko said. "I'll kick you with both."

"Hm…." Sho gauged her expression for a few moments and let out a sigh. This wasn't as easy as he thought. "What if just end up cutting your legs?"

"I'll crawl on my hands and still head into the tower," Hamuko replied.

"Just for him, huh?" Sho spat.

"Damn right," Hamuko said, pulling out the evoker form her pocket. The redhead pressed the barrel against her temple and smirked. "Unlike Minato, I won't just stand there and trade with you."

"Bring it on!" Sho snarled, readying his swords.

"Hades!" Hamuko shouted and summoned her persona, invoking a vortex of black mist that seeped from the vortex beneath her.

The lord of the underworld appeared just above her and glared at the male with his single eye.

Sho easily ran through the jet of water that was sent his way by crossing his swords in front of his body. "SEE!? I don't need a fucking persona!" he took off in a run.

Hamuko held out her hands and narrowed her eyes at the charging male. "Dark Verdict!"

Sho ran through the dark patches on the ground, hell-bent on slashing the annoying female into the two but the mist seeping out of the patches shot upwards and started to spiral like a tornado around him.

Sho gritted his teeth. He was trapped inside a shield of darkness, unable to see anything outside.

Hamuko poked her head through the darkness and gave a twisted smirk that somewhat unnerved Sho.

"You both are fucking demons," Sho spat.

"Hehehe…" Hamuko widened her smirk.

"I love it!" Sho shouted and ran ahead to drill the sword right into Hamuko's head.

"Explode!" Hamuko shouted. The shield formed around the male started to break away, forming another cyclone of darkness momentarily that soon exploded and the dark magic ripped into Sho's body, drawing out a scream from the top of his lungs.

Hamuko observed the splatter of blood on her jacket. And that wasn't her own blood, it was Sho's.

She paid no mind to it and readied herself for another brawl when Sho got to her feet with an irritated scowl.

…

Minato growled as the searing heat smothered his frame, burning his clothes and skin. Takaya easily broke through his immunity with breaks spells and set him ablaze with a brutal blast of hell-fire.

The blunet rubbed his back against the wall to dispel the flames and shot another deadly glare to the leader of Strega who was already busy preparing another attack.

Minato took a deep breath. "Just switching to a resistant persona will do no good…" he mused. "I've got to pressure him and break the bastard with my fists."

Going over the strategy once again, Minato sprinted for Takaya who fired off several almighty bullets for the charging wild card.

Minato drew out his sword and slashed and cleaved his way through the almighty bullet. Some of them exploded on his body but he pushed through the pain and fired off a slash for Takaya's chest.

Takaya avoided the tip of his sword and punched the younger male across the face.

"Asshole!" Minato grabbed a hold of his face and started kicking the shit out of his body.

Takaya took a few shots and expelled another blast of energy that forced Minato away.

"Tch," Minato paid no mind to the wounds and started pressing forward again. Fighting Takaya from range wasn't going to do any good.

Takaya avoided another swing from the blade and fired off a bolt of lightning at close range.

Minato endured the volts and punched him across the face, knocking a few teeth down his throat.

"Fool!" Takaya pulled on his hair, summoning Surt from the depth of his soul. The summoning caused him to vomit a considerable amount of blood but the Fire Giant quickly appeared on the battlefield.

Minato clicked his tongue. His immunity was already broken by the spells.

Surt slammed the massive, flaming sword onto the floor, invoking a blast of magma and lava that exploded in all directions.

Minato was smashed into the wall by the explosion. He quickly looked ahead to see a massive amount of magma coming his way.

"Grrrr!" Minato grunted in hate, switched to Skadi and unleashed a massive amount of ice that collided directly with the magma.

The violent reaction of ice and fire triggered a ton of steam that clouded their vision. Minato was able to avoid most of the magma but a little bit managed to engulf his hand which was pulsing with pain right now.

Minato glanced at his charred fist and clenched it. This was nothing, absolutely nothing for him.

The wild card looked through the steam to observe Takaya in the middle of the floor, looking around wildly for the blunet.

Minato switched persona again and started conjuring up the SP within him.

An explosion of dark magic overtook the steam and the Dark God rose from the sea of Minato's soul.

Takaya's knees buckled momentarily when he heard the maddening roar. The roar sent shivers down his spine, it was even louder than the last time he heard it, the time when they battled in the dorm.

…. Where Minato beat the crap outta him.

"NO!" Takaya pulled on his hair, ripping a few follicles away. "That won't happen again!"

Thanatos was blown backwards by a gigantic maelstrom of energy that Takaya evoked from his soul. The platinum blonde male stood in the middle of the spiraling storm of purple energy, glaring harshly at Minato who was reeling from the damage that his persona took.

"You won't win!" Takaya shouted out droplets of blood. "Not this blood."

Minato buffed his sword and chucked it towards Takaya. The blade went straight through the barrier of energy and most of it disintegrated due to the powerful current of magic but the last bit of metal survived and gashed Takaya on the side, breaking his concentration.

Takaya gasped in shock when Minato clotheslined him to the ground and pounced on him, firing off punches from above.

"For Junpei!"

Takaya coughed out more blood.

"Yukari!" the blunet shouted, hammering him with more shots.

Takaya quickly grabbed his face and Minato quickly shut his eyes close as a gust of wind ripped through the flesh on his face, making him pull away.

The taller male stood up and sent Minato crashing to the ground with a frigid explosion of ice.

"Ugh," Minato dove at Takaya's legs and flipped him over in mid-air, making the leader of Strega land right on his neck with a sickening crack that was music to Minato's ears.

Takaya shouted once more, sending a volley of elemental spells at Minato to keep him at bay.

"Ugh," Minato took the brunt of the spells on his already burned hand.

Takaya stood up and followed the weaker spells with a blast of holy light that overtook Minato and sent the blunet rolling across the floor.

"Fucking bitch!" Minato lost him temper and stood up with several veins throbbing on his head, face and neck. "I'll eat your filthy heart!"

Takaya noticed the same, haunting madness in his eyes and took a step back. While he loved the insanity when Minato was on their side, as an enemy, it was dreadful.

"Thanatos!" the irate blunet stood up and summoned the Death God again, making Takaya took a few more steps to gain distance between him and the dammed thing.

Minato further terrified the leader of Strega with a horrible scream of hatred that echoed in the floor. "I swore on my friends!"

Takaya gasped.

"I will fucking annihilate you!" Minato shouted and Thanatos shot like a comet for the somewhat petrified male on the other side of the floor.

Dark-red energy spiraled around Takaya who called upon his prime persona from within.

Thanatos' sword was stopped by a pair of veiny hands that belonged to Hypnos. "Ugh!" Takaya felt the burn on his hands just like persona did but at least he was safe.

The two brothers roared and struggled against each other. Both of the users felt the burn but Minato wasn't done with just one persona.

"Behold!"

Takaya lost his voice when he saw Minato press the damn device to his temple with a sickening smile on his bloodied, cut up face.

"The power of a wild card!" the blunet screamed in glee as he fired a spiritual bullet into his psyche, causing glass shards to explode from the other side of his head.

Takaya yelled on the top of his lungs as a familiar red blur zapped towards him.

"Ugh!"

How was this possible?!

He didn't have time to think as the winged serpent spiraled around furiously to close the distance and generate more momentum.

Takaya didn't have time to pull back or call back his persona. He definitely couldn't summon another one to save his life.

There was nothing he could do….

Samael passed clean through Takaya's stomach, ripping open his stomach and innards, creating a massive hole right in the middle of his body.

Thanatos cleaved his brother in half and sliced Takaya's head in two with his sword before fading back into Minato's psyche.

Takaya stood on his feet for a few seconds with his head split open and his stomach blown away.

"…."

Minato scoffed and flipped him the birds.

The leader of Strega collapsed to the ground on his back with massive amount of blood pouring from the wounds on his head and stomach.

Minato rested his hand against the wall to catch his breath. "That was easy…." he spat, looking over his shoulder to observe Takaya who was definitely dead from the loss of his freaking intestines and brain.

Cursing the dead weakling, Minato turned on his heels and started making his way outside. He had finished Takaya and now had to help his friends-

"Zeus!"

Minato lost his senses and whipped around to see a gigantic fist flying for his face.

The punch from the thunder God knocked him out and broke one side of his jaw.

Takaya laughed coldly as Minato slumped to the ground like dead weight.

…

"Minato-kun is in trouble!" Fuuka shouted on top of her lungs, catching the attention of her friends. Her voice had a buttload of horror and concern and it rang warning bells in the minds of SEES.

"Minato!" Hamuko endured a slash on her stomach and ran through Sho, heading straight for Tartarus.

Sho spat out blood and watched back. "Exposing your back to an enemy?" the scarred male ran after her.

Hamuko caught the footsteps and briefly looked back to see Sho just behind her.

"AAAAH!" Sho's single sword cut through her back like butter and the redhead collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap.

"Stupid girl," Sho spat as he hovered over frame, not minding the grotesque condition of her back which had a nasty cut from the top to bottom. "Turning your back on an enemy…. Doesn't your stupid bond teach you anything?!"

Hamuko tried to crawl forward and got a stomp on the wound for trying.

"Minato…" Hamuko clenched her fists.

"He's going to die," Sho said. "Despite the bond you share and you will follow him."

Sho geared up and kicked her on the wound again before pulling back. "Get up! This isn't over."

Hamuko looked back at Sho who had a third sword in his mouth. "Get ready to die! There is no way you'll win against my three swords. Your far stronger boyfriend barely made it out alive."

…

On the other side, the surprise and concern from the members of SEES cost them a lot in their battle against Strega.

Tsukio finally managed to break through Yukari's bow and left her weaponless.

"That's it, bitch," the raven haired girl gave a blood-thirsty smirk. "You're done."

Yukari shuddered and took a step back. All the arrows on her back were useless without a bow.

Tsukio licked the knife which already had a little bit of Yukari's blood.

Yukari bit her lip and briefly looked ahead to see Junpei shaking Ken who was knocked out by a Mudo spell from Moros.

"Wake up!" Junpei panted. Minato was in trouble and Ken was knocked out. He had no idea what to do anymore! What was he going to do!?

Without Ken backing him up, Jin was going to be a lot tougher.

"Fools," Jin scoffed. "That brat got knocked out because he couldn't help but worry about his leader."

"Ken!" Junpei shook him again but got no response.

"And that makes you all weak!"

Akihiko backed away from Aigis after a grazing shot on his leg that left him weaponless. "Shit!" the shout by Fuuka made him loose focus and the android fully capitalized on it.

"Trouble…." Mitsuru pulled her head away from the chest of her father and looked over the chaos on the battlefield.

Her friends were in danger.

They needed help but….

Her body was simply not functioning at this point.

"Senpai!" the shout from Yukari snapped Mitsuru out of her trance and a splatter of blood on her further mortified her.

"Y-Yukari?" Mitsuru gaped in horror. Yukari was standing right in front of her with her arms spread at the sides to protect her from harm.

Her shoulder that a knife sticking inside as well.

"…" Mitsuru lost her thoughts. Yukari saved her…..

The brunette blasted Tsukio away with a weak wind spell and collapsed to her knees while holding onto her mangled shoulder.

"Darn it," Yukari cursed. "We might be done for…."

Hamuko barely stood up and nearly collapsed again due to the strain on her back.

Sho on the other hand was fresh and competitive as ever. This was his moment. He was going to kill Hamuko and prove that bonds were rubbish!

"Come on!" Sho taunted with a grin. "He's dying inside the tower!"

"Ugh," Hamuko shakily grabbed her weapon. "M-Minato…"

"Tch," Sho noticed the concern in her eyes and it sickened him. Well, she was going to pay for her life by disgusting him.

Zeus hovered over Takaya who was still looking at the blunet with a maniacal smile on his face. "I told you!" he laughed. "I am immortal!"

Minato didn't move and Zeus prepared another attack for the downed wild card.

"Ugh…" Minato bit his lip. "Shit!" he shouted at the skies.

Sorry for the long wait but as my co-author explained on the reviews, writing so many battles takes up a while because there is so much to think of. Also, my college started up again so updating might be slow but I do promise updates, just keep on reviewing, it makes us very happy and pumps us up.

This was just a teaser. The more brutal part begins in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm short on time so I'll just say the usual : Thanks a ton for the support! You peeps are awesome!

See you next time with a more brutality, more blood and more craziness. Thanks for reading! Cheers!