The last group advanced forwards, before Nargy finally stopped.

Joshua was waiting ahead of them. "I figured there wasn't much of a point in the hood, since you've all already seen me." He drew his scythe, getting ready to face them. "Not that many of you, huh? Underestimating me?" He continued talking, not seeming like he wanted a response.

"Wait, are you Reaper's Envoy Joshua?" Terrence asked.

"Yeah, guess so. Why?" Joshua replied.

"Well, it's just that I noticed the similarity and all… but like…"

"The murder stuff?"

"Mm."

"Well, y'know, it happens and all. But… I don't think you should be so concerned about that now. By the way, here at least, I'm not Joshua. I'm Reaper." He raised his scythe into the air slightly.

Vert then readied her tonfas, while Terrence got his bow out. Ed briefly looked over at them both wondering if this was for real, before drawing his sword. Nargy, Vrai, Demi and Revel also got ready.

Reaper was the first one to move, leaping straight towards Terrence, figuring he'd be best taking out the ranged one first.

Vert had already guessed he'd do this, so she intercepted the scythe, stopping Reaper's attack. He quickly got away from the follow up punch, jumping back as far as possible. It was at this moment that Vrai charged in, swinging wildly. Reaper back off from this, before seeing his opportunity to swing, catching her in the side. Demi also charged in with claw swipes, which Reaper responded to with the same tactic as before.

Terrence fired some arrows, these were dodged around, but Joshua's charge forwards was dodged around. Terrence then stabbed at him with an arrow, but this was also easily stopped. However, before Reaper could then close in for a strike Demi shot a fireball at Reaper, forcing him to dodge.

Vert charged in, but her attacks were barely unable to connect. Nargy then followed this up with some tail swipes.

It was at this moment that Joseph stepped forward.

"How did you-?" Reaper asked, before noticing that Ed and Revel hadn't done anything since the start. "Well still, this is fine, you still can't win."

Joseph looked at the others who'd been gathered. "Can ya leave?" Everyone responded with confusion, including Reaper.

"W-why!?" Terrence finally managed.

"Well like…" Joseph thought aloud "We're both aura users, so if we fight we should be equal, and if I go all out I can't really factor other people in, so it'd be easier if ya just left. Thanks for freein' me but like… yer kinda in the way now."

"...That's really arrogant." Vert pointed out "What makes you think you can even win here? He was the one who kicked your ass at the tournament, right?"

"Yeah I guess you're right, but I wasn't even tryin' then, so it's fine. Besides, yer not the only ones here, right? So yer better off goin' ta help the others, rather than me."

Everyone recalled how they had to leave Alexandra, so they silently but reluctantly agreed and started to run back. Only Nargy remained.

"I meant yaself too." Joseph pointed out.

Nargy refused to move.

"Like… are ya annoyed that ya went all the way up here to get me only to split up again immediately afterwards? I get that, even if I didn't have to break into a ship it's annoying being on my own and stuff, but I'm more scared about accidentally hittin' ya during the fight, aura's crazy man. So please, just go for now."

Nargy looked at him suspiciously.

"Don't worry. There's no way I'm dying."

Nargy still wasn't sure at all, but figured there wasn't a way to convince Joseph to do anything else, so he also took off in the same direction, leaving Joseph and his opponent staring each other down.

"I'm kinda surprised ya just let everyone go. Not complaining, though."

"Well, they'll still be killed anyways, just by someone other than me. Besides, I'll admit, I'm interested. What exactly makes you so confident you can win, when I've already beaten you twice?"

"Those times didn't count."

"...What?"

"I said they didn't count. The first time I wasn't even trying and the second all of ya ganged up on me, so it doesn't count. This time I'm really gonna try, so only this one counts."

"..." Joshua laughed a little "Even at a time like this, you're really not taking things seriously, huh? Well, that's fine. It's been… quite a while since I've had fun."

"Why do ya do this anyways?"

Reaper snapped out of it and turned to stare Joseph in the eyes. "We need to kill the hunters who are worthless. The longer they exist, the more problems they create. People like you, who turn to hunting to escape a crime like murder, are worthless, so you need to be eliminated. Same with everyone coming to help you. It's that simple."

"But yer just as bad."

"I know. We don't expect any rewards or recognition, since we're lowering ourselves to your level. We just want a better world to exist. That is why I am here right now, about to take you down."

"Well, I don't really care much about the world, but I do care about being alive, so I'm gonna fight back."

The two pointed their blades in the direction of their opponent, waiting for the other's first move.

It was Joseph who jumped forwards first, swinging in a wide arc. Reaper jumped back but was also intending to fight aggressively, swinging straight back at him. The scythe was ducked under, before Joseph then leapt forwards into a stab. Reaper sidestepped, barely avoiding it, before bringing his scythe down. Joseph pulled his sword back to deflect the strike, just about managing to avoid damage even if it knocked him slightly off balance.

Reaper then pulled back slightly, before raising his scythe into the air. It was at this moment that Joseph recognised the attack before him, feeling dread at what had been used to take him out before.

The look in Reaper's eyes made it clear he was planning to finish this fight as quickly as possible. Joseph's only answer was to get out of the way as quickly as possible. As soon as Reaper was ready, he swung forwards wildly. Joseph narrowly dodged the strike, as it left a dent in the wall. Joseph briefly wondered if he'd been holding back earlier, but without much time to consider this he just assumed the worst and carried on. But, as Reaper recovered from this, Joseph noticed an opening, striking straight for it.

He managed to slash at Reaper's side, but as he had moved so close he had no time to dodge as he swung his scythe in return, stabbing in the stomach. He moved to bring his blade down in return, but before he could finish this Reaper had already retreated, putting distance between them again.

Reaper raised his scythe again, getting ready for another attack. Joseph prepared himself to dodge again, but he noticed something. It was only after Reaper's attack he saw an opening to strike. Meaning that, there's a chance this attack renders him unable to dodge.

Joseph rushed in, drawing his sword quickly, slashing across Reaper's chest before he had time to respond. He had been correct in his assumption that his opponent couldn't dodge while preparing his attack, but he had been incorrect in assuming that hitting him would prevent him from following up with the attack.

The swing of the reaper's scythe slammed him into the ground, knocking the breath and a great deal of blood out of him.

Reaper now looked at his target, lying on the ground.

"With this… it's over." Announced Reaper "The difference in our skill is still there. Just die in peace. You can't even stand anymore, can you?"

Joseph could barely hear him.

"That attack… got me good…" He thought "So, once I go down… I guess this guy'll kill everyone huh. Everyone… will go down with me."

Reaper moved in to finish him, but then sensed an incoming attack and jumped back, as Joseph slashed the air where he'd been.

"Didn't I tell you to die? Are you just gonna drag your death out longer?" Asked Reaper.

"The hell are ya talking about?" Joseph asked, using his sword to prop himself up. "Yer acting like yer about to take me out. But, that's weird. Cause…" He raised his sword to point towards his opponent "There's no way I'm gonna die here. I'll kick you into hell first."

They charged at each other once more, but Joseph was first to react, taking Reaper by surprise with how much faster he was than before. Reaper barely stepped out of the way, but Joseph didn't stop the pursuit, slashing wildly while running forwards, while Reaper continued to retreat and barely avoid fatal damage. Eventually his back was to the wall, but Joseph slowed down slightly to avoid crashing into it, giving him room to step out of the way.

The two of them were now only a short distance apart, so they started to slash wildly at one another, no longer really caring about what kind of damage they took. Reaper won the upper hand finally, prompting Joseph to retreat. As Joseph was backing off from his slashes, he noticed a door near him. He quickly kicked it open and entered as quickly as possible. Reaper saw this disappearance but was unable to stop himself from taking a few extra steps forwards, giving Joseph room to stab forwards. This was still dodged, but in frustration Reaper struck back with one of his powerful attacks. As he swung over his head, the doorframe was destroyed, but the attack still missed Joseph, as he retreated.

It was only as he retreated Joseph noticed where he'd ended up.

A bridge between two parts of the airship, incredibly narrow. Rain had started to pour down around them at some point.

Reaper also noticed this.

"Can you hear them? These tears that surround us?"

"The hell are ya talkin' bout? This is just rain."

"No. They're tears. The tears of everyone who's had things taken away from them by this world. Do you know what could have prevented that?"

"Are ya gonna blame me…?"

"Not just you. All of your type. Worthless hunters. Hunters aren't just for killing. They're supposed to protect people from monsters. If a hunter can't do that job… then all they do is make things worse. That's why we've got to remove you. For the bettering of the world. If there's only effective hunters remaining, the world will be better. So, that's why I'm going to put you down now. You're opposing the perfect world. Do you understand now?"

"Not a damn thing. The only things causing these problems are the ones who do it themselves, not the ones who fail to stop 'em. I don't get what the hell you're on about."

"I shouldn't expect you to get it, since you're the same. A hunter who uses it to escape a crime isn't dedicated to the job at all. That's why you're garbage. That's why we have to remove you.

The two of them readied their weapons again. While it was possible to change locations they both knew that, without a doubt, the fight would conclude here.

"This is… for the perfect world. I need to create it. We need to create it. We'll save everyone. We'll finally avenge them."

"I'm not gonna die here. I'm gonna get out of here, and go to kill that thing. I can protect everyone. Then, I can avenge Daimyo."

There was a pause for a few seconds, the only thing still in motion was the rain falling around them.

Their eyes focused on the one in front of them, determined not to lose.

Then, this pause broke.

The two dashed forwards, almost soundless. Reaper was the one who swung first this time, but Joseph quickly deflected the attack. He then swung in return, only to be dodged around. Reaper stabbed at his arm, which he couldn't avoid, but this was then returned with a slash to his arm. Relentless attacks, rotating around that one spot. All the while, becoming so engaged in the battle they seemed to lose any sense of reason.

Reaper hurriedly prepared another charged attack, which Joseph was neither able to prevent or dodge. It slammed him into the ground, causing him to almost lose consciousness, just barely holding through sheer force of will. He needed a plan.

Reaper struck again for his head, this swing was barely avoided but cut off some of Joseph's hair. Not wanting to waste this chance, Joseph quickly grabbed for the hair he just lost, managing to catch a handful. He then threw it straight for his opponent, who hadn't been expecting this at all. The hair got into his eyes, blinding him for a moment. But, he still had aura to react to attacks with.

A swing approached his chest. He didn't even need to think about reacting to this. He swung his scythe down, catching Joseph arm. There was a cry of pain. But, he then felt a free hand clasp around his head.

The plan to blind Reaper and then take advantage of his reliance on aura for a surprise attack had worked, leaving Joseph with a few seconds to get in a free time. Without even thinking, he chose to blind his opponent even further. He reached around and buried his thumb into his opponent's eye. Joshua screamed from the pain of it, but he didn't stop, moving it around until he felt a few things be different to what they were before.

Joshua finally managed to get enough of a grip to swing to cut his arm, so Joseph quickly pulled back.

The two closed in once again, clashing wildly, before Joshua jumped back and started to charge an attack again.

Joseph knew that if he took another attack like that he'd go down. But he also knew he had no way to dodge, save getting off the bridge. With the rain making the railings so slippery, he had even less of a chance of getting back on if he could manage to hold on. If he could just use an attack like that, maybe he could stand a chance.

The realisation then hit him.

As Reaper moved the aura normally for defending towards his weapon, he saw his opponent mimic these movements.

Joseph saw a look in his opponent's eyes, as if to say "So you had something like that this entire time?" He responded with a determined look, covering up that he had no clue what he was doing.

The two attacks finally seemed charged. Reaper was the first to charge forwards with his, being followed by Joseph. Unable to miss each other, the two connected in the middle, clashing. Sparks seemed to fly as the two spirits clashed above the earth, in the middle of the night, trying to see which would be victorious.

Joseph felt himself being pushed back, so he tried to reach out for any power he had left over, putting everything into this attack. But, as he got a lead from this, Joshua used the same tactic. Joseph felt himself being pushed back and back, until eventually he fell.

The reaper's scythe swung one last time, hitting him in the chest. Joseph felt the life dragged out of him from him as he fell, crashing into the railing.

Reaper stopped a few steps away, almost collapsing. That had taken much more out of him then he expected it to. He never would've guessed his opponent had the same type of manifestation he did but in the end it was too late, his greater experience had led him to victory. As he contemplated this, a burning pain entered his back.

Joseph, just barely hanging on, glared at his opponent.

Reaper coughed up blood and fully collapsed this time, colliding with the same railing Joseph had. He turned to face Joseph, the both of them now in a contest to see who could get up first. But, contrary to what both were planning on, the railing broke, causing them to fall.

Both desperately grabbed on as their victory conditions rapidly changed. The pouring rain made it slippery, they both knew this wouldn't last more than a few more seconds.

Reaper's instant reaction was to swing straight for Joseph, trying to get him to loosen his grip. But, Joseph instead swung overhead, straight for Reaper's part of the railing. His attack connected first, causing it to break.

Reaper plummeted through the sky.

"So then… in the end… I wasn't strong enough, huh?" Joshua thought "Then… I'll leave the rest to you… Isaac. You'll have to finish our quest."

Joseph watched him fall, but was then faced with the problem of having no way back up himself. He desperately scrambled for the bridge, but was met with nothing, seeming to be about to fall himself. "Seriously? After all that, I'm gonna die anyways?"

It was at the last moment a tail wrapped around his arm and pulled him back onto the bridge. He crashed onto the ground, looking up at Nargy.

"...Don't get mad." Was the first thing he said.

Nargy looked at him, clearly mad.

"I didn't intend on dying."

Nargy's expression didn't change.

"And in the end… I won. So it's basically the same thing. I did survive the fight. It's just that I may or may not've survived the part after."

Nargy continued to stare him down.

"Ok fine, I'm sorry. I'll be less about to die next time."

This was better, but Nargy was still waiting for something.

"Also thanks for saving me back there, without ya I'd currently be a puddle of blood on the ground who knows how far down. I should've started with that, huh?"

Nargy indicated that he at least got that last part right, before turning to leave, leading the way back to the airship.

"Oh yeah, I guess I don't know the way. That must've been why you came back, huh?" Joseph guessed, going back to being wrong.

Zenya managed to pick herself up again.

"I guess I should also apologise." She explained "I've been using you as a scapegoat for all my problems this entire time."

"What?" Alexandra asked in return.

"I've been blaming you for everything, even the parts you weren't there for, because it was easier than accepting that bad things happened for no reason. It's stupid, isn't it? I didn't even plan on killing you, if I did then I'd lose my scapegoat. I just sent you off to be the strongest hunter, figuring you should torture yourself a little before I finished you off and kept that going, rather than facing anything. That's also why I was fine with this group. I killed so many for it, believing in the idea that this would improve the world, just so I could put off actually dealing with what happened. I'm… so stupid."

Alexandra had no idea how to respond to any of this, so she just stood there in silence.

"Still though," Zenya continued "I know that I tried to kill you, and that it's what managed to get me out of this, but don't treat your life so recklessly anymore. I can't really talk… but at the very least I want you to be alive without problems from now, in return for what I've been using you as all these years."

She seemed unsure of what to say still, but the message was conveyed.

"Oh yeah, by the way, you should probably head over to where Zino is by now, huh? Even if you somehow got her to agree to leaving you, I can't imagine she's happy about it, if the two of you have worked together so long, so you should probably get going."

A silence followed, as Alexandra chose her next response carefully.

"You're… coming with me, right?"

"Hmm? Yeah, of course, I am… why?"

"And… after we get off here, you're going to go back to how you were living before, minus all this stuff… right?"

"Mm." Zenya replied, trying to say as little on this as possible, hoping for something to change the subject.

To grant her wishes, the sound of footsteps approached. A single set of footsteps. From the direction that the other group hadn't gone down.

Zenya almost wanted to laugh at this irony, but couldn't instead attempting to signal to Alexandra to run. Alexandra didn't run.

"What exactly is going on here, Scope?" Judge walked into view

Zenya didn't react, just continuing to stare him down.

Judge began to step forwards, headed for Alexandra.

The sound of gunfire rang out.

Judge easily dodged the shot, but still turned to face Zenya.

"What a shame." Was his only comment, before rushing straight for her.

"Run away already!" Zenya yelled to Alexandra, before turning to face her new opponent.

"I don't think I can win against him. But at the very least I can buy time for her to escape. Besides, this works out anyways. But still, at this range I won't be able to do much, so I just need to keep dodging with my power."

Judge closed in further, unsheathing his accelaxe.

"At this range, he'll hit me in less than a second. My eyes won't be enough to react, all I've got is my power. Now, focus!"

Less than a second later, she saw blood fly into the air. A few instants later, the pain registered.

"Why… didn't it…"

The force that had brought her here abandoned her as soon as she needed it.

Zenya slumped to the ground, cursing everything as Judge pulled his axe back and turned to face Alexandra, still rooted to the spot. The thing that bound her was no longer a determination to save Zenya, but shock. This shock was soon replaced by anger. She charged forwards, causing Judge to dodge. More attacks were made, being easily dodged once again. Even without aura, these were predictable, but to her that no longer mattered. She just wanted him gone as quickly as possible. Her mind hadn't even had time to process this as revenge, she was just fighting on pure impulse.

Judge quickly responded with a slash of his own, just about being blocked. More slashes, met by not enough blocks. The attacks seemed to get quicker and quicker.

For all of Alexandra's determination, she was completely on her own against an aura user who had more experience at fighting other people than she did. Her chances of success were slowly decreasing.

Eventually, Judge's assault led to him finding a good position, ready to slash down with an overhead attack to finish her off. Alexandra didn't have enough energy left to block the strike, making it clear this was the end.

But, as the axe lowered, Judge heard a gunshot, before being hit in the back. He stumbled slightly, but still went through with his attack, drawing blood and causing Alexandra to collapse.

He then quickly turned and rushed forwards, ready to fight the sniper once again, but found no response.

A smirk was across her face as she lay peacefully on the ground, she seemed to have died happily, despite everything.

Judge was unable to comprehend what left her so satisfied.

"...How disgusting."

TO BE CONTINUED