Natasha fell backwards as the spikes disappeared.

"I know I said that it was fine, but it'd probably be for the best if you never let anything get that bad again."

"I'm sorry," Natalie apologised "I just… y'know. Im sorry!"

"I get it, it's fine. Though I don't think I'm gonna be moving much for a while, so can all of you carry me the rest of the way?"

"Sure! But… wait, where are we going?"

"To the throne room, of course. You know the way, right?"

Natalie helped Natasha up, at which point Aki lifted her. She led the way back towards the throne room.

At the same time, Alexandra pulled Riko off the ground.

"We're not done yet. Still gotta get the rest of you back."

"You got any idea where the rest are? Cause I sure don't."

"If you don't then how would I?"

"Ah, wait. I think it's a pretty safe bet who we'll find in the throne room. But changing his mind feels like it's gonna be a bit… more difficult than it would be for the rest of us."

"That's fine."

"Huh?"

"By now, I'm guessing the others are on the way. That's probably where we'll all end up. If all of us are there, then things'll be fine."

"Isn't that a upbeat way of thinking…"

Riko led the way for Alexandra and Zino.

Sanchez carried Callum, until they met back up with Ed and Revel.

"Looks like we managed to survive, huh?"

"We didn't, actually."

"What."

"A mere jest, to lighten the mood."

"Dude I just lost another left arm I am not able to comprehend anything like that right now."

"...I see. Well, let us continue onwards, to the final battle!"

"Yeah. We can't leave until we're done here."

Sean and Azure went up to Matt and Klaus.

"I hate to interrupt yer reunion and all, but we've still got stuff to do."

"Like what?"

"Heading up there to beat up the guy in charge of all this. Stopping ya was important and all, but unless we stop him then it's not gonna mean much."

"Sure. It'd look kinda bad if I didn't help out after all of that."

They found a way back inside and began to head up.

Atop the tower, Josh got back on his feet.

"Alright, I've probably rested enough. What about you?"

Frost grunted back.

"Hey Terrence, Demi, we should probably get going."

"I guess there's no point in asking where we're going, huh?"

"Yeah."

"We can't leave here without dealing with him first."

The four flew off, heading for the final battle.

The throne room was silent. The only presence was the one sitting down, holding his blade.

A set of footsteps rapidly drew closer.

They entered. He sat up to speak, but was cut off.

"Joseph! Ya dumbass!"

"So ya arrived first, huh?"

"Of course. Now then…" Zach walked towards him "What the hell do ya think yer doing?"

"Stopping things from repeating again, so we can reach a world without suffering."

"Not that. I mean how yer going about it."

"So ya found out. And?"

"Grit yer teeth."

A sudden wave of nostalgia.

Joseph dodged out of the way of a punch aimed at him.

He tried to reach for his sword, but that was kicked away.

Zach then dropped his gunlance and shield to the ground.

Zappy, Lyra and Chante finally caught up.

"Yer my brother. Weapons are only for enemies. For allies, all ya need are fists!"

Joseph paused, before readying himself in response.

"Didn't you use your gunlance when fighting me though?" Lyra interrupted.

"That's not important right now." Zach quickly replied "While I'm out of it, all of ya stay out for now. This is between us."

They faced off.

Joseph threw a punch first. Zach wasn't able to dodge, but quickly countered.

He was too fast. They exchanged hits countless times, but it was like Joseph was able to see the attack before it was thrown.

His body was faster than it should've been. Attacks against him felt less effective than they should've been. His punches had more impact than what should've been possible.

As Zach went for another attack, his hand felt as though it was being burnt.

He pulled away, trying to catch his breath.

"Those powers aren't yours at all."

"They never were from the start."

"Huh? Actually, that doesn't matter. What I should be asking is… when the hell did this happen?"

"After the battle. No, it might've been during it. I inherited the memories of all the deceased warriors. It was then that I saw it. Before this world came to be like this, there were no monsters at all. Humans lived blissfully. It was a world without suffering. If we can eliminate them, then we should be able to return to that, right?"

Zach went silent for a second.

"Did ya come up with that idea on yer own? Or is that what the dead told ya to go do?"

Joseph didn't respond.

"I knew it."

"I'm not doing it just cause I was told this was right. Like I said, I inherited the memories. In everything I saw, the cause of the tragedy was always the monsters. No, no just that. It was because of the world around them that they were doomed. If I don't change anything then things will just repeat. Time and time again. So I have to lead humanity away from it, until we're finally saved. I'm the only one who can. I have to be the one."

Zach paused for a while, before picking up his weapons back up.

"What happened to only using fists?" Joseph asked.

"That's just for allies. Right now… I'm not fighting just ya, am I?"

As he said that, Joseph quickly ran to get his sword. He drew the blade that had been remade with aura.

Zappy, Lyra and Chante went to join Zach.

Joseph took his battle stance. As Zach observed, he finally noticed. A countless number of ghosts swarmed around Joseph, pulling him forwards to battle.

Zach sighed.

"Just so ya know, ya don't have to be a hero. Ya never did from the start. So… don't go selfishly deciding that we need saving or whatever!"

The real battle began.

Lyra attacked first, going for an overhead strike. Joseph dodged around it, countering the attack.

Chante tried to confuse him, but he quickly dodged out of the way. Zappy also tried slowing him down, to no effect.

Zach fired, trying to catch him with the bullets. One connected, but was deflected, as though it had connected with metal.

Zach fired again, but this time the bullets were stopped completely, frozen in mid-air.

Joseph went to attack him again.

Zach had already felt it earlier, but this just confirmed it. Fighting Joseph right now wasn't just fighting him, it felt as though he had an entire army backing him up. Another new ability appeared, forcing him to block. Countless attacks followed, leaving barely any time to deal with them.

As Joseph went to strike again, he suddenly cut himself off and jumped backwards. An arrow flew past where he just was.

"I figured ya would be showing up soon."

Terrence stood there, Demi by his side. Josh and Frost ran in a second later.

"What happened to succeeding Aron?"

"I'm done with that. I don't care about it anymore."

"I see."

Josh stepped forwards.

"This feels familiar, doesn't it? Are you gonna start talking about how you're trying to better the world before we start?"

Joseph didn't bother answering. Frost went on the attack first. A ball of ice barely missed Joseph, creating a tornado behind him.

Joseph went to attack Josh, swinging in a wide arc. Josh tried to dodge and counter, but it was too fast. Even the counter was ducked under, Joseph followed up with a stab but it barely grazed his opponent. Josh brought his scythe down, but before it could connect Joseph raised his left hand, causing a blast that knocked it away from him.

Josh stumbled away. Joseph got back up and slashed at Josh. Before he could land any more attacks, Frost attacked. Joseph avoided his fangs, but was unable to avoid the ball of ice freezing the environment.

Frost thought he had won, but that only lasted a moment. Joseph stood there, the flames of his aura countering the cold around him.

Frost went for another charge, but was countered before he could even get that close.

Josh tried to assist him, but got stopped by an invisible force.

"This again!?"

Frost continued trying to fight Joseph, but his injuries stopped him from continuing much longer. He fell to the ground. The hold on him released, Josh dashed over. Joseph turned to deal with him, but the moment he shifted his focus, Frost attacked again, as if with a new burst of energy.

The hunter and monster fought with unison, struggling against the army before them with all their might.

They attacked in unison, managing to push him back, before he struck back. Both Josh and Frost fell to the ground, but before the fight could continue any further Demi intervened.

Joseph dodged the Kecha's strikes. Terrence fired arrows from behind. Joseph rushed forwards, quickly attempting to close the distance between him and Terrence.

Demi noticed this and backed off, trying to block his path, but he wasn't quick enough.

Terrence attempted to hit him with an arrow at close range, but was dodged around. Joseph struck from the side.

Terrence tried to back off, Demi finally arrived to shield him. Joseph switched targets again, focusing on Demi. They exchanged attacks at a close range, while Terrence rained down arrows from the side, taking care not to hit his partner.

But still, none were effective.

The arrows were either dodged, stopped or bounced off. Joseph also managed to avoid Demi's telegraphed strikes. Recognising that this wasn't getting him anywhere, Demi used some fire and backed off. Terrence climbed atop his back, and they flew off the ground.

Luckily, the throne room had a high ceiling. Not far enough that they could escape completely, but far enough to at least stay on the edge of his range.

"Since he taught me to fight and all, I can tell." Terrence thought "This isn't just Joseph. It's not even like how he was when he fought using the aura. There's too many. But… that doesn't mean it's completely hopeless."

He fired more arrows from above.

"Since he just got these abilities, he's not proficient in using each of them like a regular warrior would be. Well, I guess it doesn't mean too much when he's got so much power, but that's at least holding him back. If he knew what he was doing, he wouldn't have to switch so fast. So… if I can just work out the weakness of what something he's using before he does, I'll have an advantage!"

He thought for a second. While he tried to do this, Joseph worked out his next move. A cut appeared in the air next to his head.

"That's a new one!"

The cuts continued appearing, Joseph's aim slowly improving. Terrence had to act quick.

"Demi. Charge directly towards him."

The Kecha-Wacha understood. He dived down towards the stationary opponent.

Joseph stopped the slashes, but was too late to be able to dodge. In desperation, he froze Demi in place, restraining his whole body. Terrence was flung off by the sudden stop.

As he flew through the air, he only had one thought.

"Got you!"

He drew his bow and shot down. Joseph was barely able to dodge, the arrow got lodged in his shoulder.

"All that… for one attack, huh?"

He rolled over.

Demi moved again, but was quickly slashed at. Joseph looked over to the arrow and pulled it out, the wound quickly repairing itself.

"...What the hell can we even do, then?"

Joseph looked around, seeing who he would have to fight next. A roar was heard.

Nargy arrived.

"I'm not surprised, just to let ya know." Was the first thing Joseph said in response. "I expected ya to just leave me alone after that. But with how everything else was going, this wasn't unexpected. So? What do ya think ya can change here?"

Nargy roared again.

"I already said ya were just a replacement for him. Now that it's come to this, I'm not gonna suddenly stop cause ya showed up before. It's too late. I already said this! And… I already said that the next time we met, it'd be as enemies. So…"

Nargy understood. They both readied themselves.

The Nargacuga pounced directly at the warrior. Joseph rolled underneath him and drew his weapon. Nargy landed and spun around to quickly attack again, but this time Joseph hopped backwards and slashed at Nargy as he went by.

Nargy responded with a tail swing, that was dodged around. Nargy tried to back off, while Joseph advanced, jumping over Nargy and slashing. Nargy swung around to avoid damage to his head, instead taking damage to the arm. Nargy swung around with his tail, barely missing Joseph, who backed out of the way.

Joseph closed the distance with a dash forwards, but Nargy jumped around him, only for his next strike to be dodged. Joseph swung at Nargy's side, to which the wyvern tried to counter by slamming his left wing down. Joseph responded by going in for a stab.

Nargy flipped away, but was still dodged. A roar, signalling that he was taking this seriously now. Joseph was forced to cover his ears, but he was barely able to dodge the following body slam.

Nargy swung his tail around, aiming for Joseph's head. Joseph swung back. Rather than bouncing off each other, the sword went straight through. Had Nargy not reacted quick enough, his tail would've been lost.

Nargy paused for a second, before attacking the warrior with another body slam. Joseph prepared to counter.

Nargy felt nothing for a second, before the force of his attack was returned to him. He backed off, trying to recover. Joseph returned to how he was before, assuming a fighting stance once more.

Not wanting to let up, Nargy charged again. Joseph dodged the charge easily, slashing at him. Nargy stopped himself and swung his tail into the ground, shotting out spikes. The spikes that did connect only bounced off.

Joseph started attacking again. He stabbed forwards, but Nargy dodged, swinging his tail to counter. This was dodged with a fade slash, but that also missed. Nargy pounced at him, but Joseph jumped backwards.

This left Nargy open. Joseph pulled his blade back, gathering aura. Before Nargy could act again, he swung, cutting into his side with the blade that could slice through anything.

Blood was spilt. Far too much. Nargy stood there, out of breath, as blood poured out from his side.

Joseph expected him to just run. After all, continuing like this was pointless. He already should've seen that he couldn't be defeated. If Nargy ran, then he wouldn't have to die here.

Nargy roared. Despite his injuries, the wyvern refused to fall. He lowered his head, dragging red trails behind him. His goal was clear. Nargy couldn't leave here without beating the aura out of the one in front of him.

Nargy attacked once more. Joseph tried to counter, but his opponent was faster than expected. Nargy body slammed him, knocking him off his feet.

Joseph was knocked back. Nargy then swung his tail around. Joseph barely dodged, but was hit in the stomach by some spikes. Nargy tried to attack again, but was cut off this time. Joseph slashed at him. Again and again. Nargy launched a desperate attack. Again and again.

They exchanged hits for what felt like an eternity, trying to wear the other down first.

In the end it came down to not a difference of will, or a difference in strength, but a difference in numbers. That army was still impossible for one to defeat in combat.

Joseph slashed again. Finally, Nargy could no longer stand.

Joseph caught his breath. The injures that had been inflicted on him healed themselves. The room was near silent. Joseph tried to work out his next move.

Even more showed up, running into the room. Joseph left Nargy lying there to focus on them instead.

The others approached. He attacked.

Callum clashed with him.

"Why are ya doing all this, dumbass!? This isn't… gonna bring anyone back? This is just gonna make us lose more!"

Those words fell on deaf ears. Joseph was no longer listening, he was barely watching. The aura was now in control, he was only taking a backseat.

In their wounded state, there wasn't much the remaining opponents could do against him.

He continued attacking, without end.

The lancer and the fanged wyvern didn't last long. The swordsman was also defeated quickly.

The gunners and their flying wyverns were a problem at first, but once he used what he did before they were easy to deal with.

The hunting horn user, the Qurupeco, the axe user, the Brachydios, the sword and shield user and the Yian Garuga. All struggled, but it was in vain. Against the overwhelming force before them.

That left just a man with one arm, standing against him.

Joseph advanced. Callum continued to stand against him. He kept on yelling things Joseph wasn't listening to.

A pause. He went to attack.

Before he could reach, he felt a presence enter his aura. Instantly, he moved to attack.

He sliced through the chest of the one who'd grabbed him from behind, before noticing their face. Zach was clearly in pain from the attack, yet his face showed determination.

Blood flew through the air.

As it did, the man finally woke up.

After all this repetition, this is what finally hit him. Perhaps he had always known, but this finally forced him to face it.

Joseph was now the one back in control. He knew what he had to do next.

He looked to his brothers, to his student, to his rival. He took a look at everyone else present in the room, before finally settling on his partner.

In that moment, he only had one thing to say.

"I'll be back soon."

With that, his consciousness seemed to vanish. He stood there, completely still, his eyes vacant, leaving the occupants of the throne room confused.

The walls of the dead towering far above him, Joseph finally stepped forwards.

"What are you doing?" The voice asked him "The fight is almost over. A few moments more, and there would've been no more obstacles. So, what exactly are you planning?"

"Not much, really. I'm just here to destroy the world."

TO BE CONTINUED