Eric looked through the wreckage of the town as he and Mina looked for any survivors to Arias' attack. So far all they had found, aside from ruined homes and general wreckage, were piles of ash. He had no explanation for it and Mina confirmed that no flame magic had been used, not that Arias had ever shown he could use sorcery.

"There were over a hundred Mobians here," he said to no one in particular, "and it's not like there's a lot of places to hide. Where the hell could they be?" His eyes settled on a nearby ash pile for a moment before he shook his head, dismissing the idea. He didn't know of any spell that could do that and even if there was what would be the point?

He felt a shift in the air's electrical currents and his gaze shifted eastward towards New Mobotropolis. He swore under his breath as he realized what was happening but more for the fact that he knew that there was nothing he could do to help Sonic, even if he could somehow get inside the barrier and fight.

"Eric!" Mina yelled as she exited the community building. He turned to her and asked if she'd found anything useful but the mongoose just shook her head. "Not unless you think town meeting minutes about changing the noise ordinance are relevant. You?"

The hedgehog shook his head as well. "There was another town further towards Azosarria that he attacked as well. We could head there next and see if we can find anything." He sighed and shook his head. "Not that I'm expecting anything different at this rate."

"Or we could head to Sonic and see if there's anything we can do to help him." Eric looked at her to see concern in her eyes. "If it's three-on-one we might be able to overpower Arias and get some answers right from the source."

"We're long past the point of winning a fight against him now," Eric said dejectedly. "I've been keeping tabs on the fight as best I can this whole time. Sonic's been holding his own, even taking the lead here and there." He looked to the mongoose who just stared at him in utter confusion. "Arias' weapon, Libra, is like my Sagittarius in that it can change form. When it does he gets a whole slew of new moves and huge boost in power. 'Seeker' gives him a massive boost in speed but sacrifices his defense. When I took him on a few years ago my Hunter-Killer was still able to do a great deal of harm to him."

"And since Sonic was able to dodge that then he's still got the upper hand, right?" Eric shook his head.

"Sonic's fast, sure. But against Arias' next form, 'Fortress', there won't be a damn thing he can do," he explained and Mina asked what he meant. "I hit him with a full-power shot from Hunter-Killer and even threw in some Guardian power to boot and the thing bounced off of him like a twig. Even Devastator barely made an impact."

"Then he does need our help, even if it's just to cheer him on," Mina insisted and Eric couldn't help but smile at her.

"You really do care about him, don't you?" he asked and Mina's cheeks turned bright red. "Fine, you win. Let's head to Mobotropolis and see what we can do." As they left a breeze blew through the village, shifting one of the ash piles enough to reveal part of a circle with various inscriptions inside it.

Sonic made the first move, charging Libra for everything he was worth. Libra made no attempt to dodge Sonic's first slash, only smiling when it bounced harmlessly off the armor. Sonic leapt into the air and rocketed back down, using the momentum and gravity to draw his sword with devastating results...at least that had been the plan. When Kaiyō Mujō hit the armor this time she vibrated with enough force that Sonic had no choice but to drop her. The blade dissolved into nothing before reforming around Sonic's still-trembling arm.

"Oh, by all means, don't hold back for my sake," Libra said with a chuckle. "If I remember what Gilgamesh told me then that attack nearly cut him in half. Granted, you were using that strange transformation of yours at the time but you're much stronger than you were back then." The human's eyes lit up as another though occurred to him. "Now that's actually not a bad idea. Why don't you try that same transformation on me and see if it works."

Slashing does squat to him when he's like that, Sonic thought as Libra started to walk towards him. I only have the one piercing attack and I don't want to give away its full strength just yet. And no way I'm going full hoshoku-sha against him now. I need to save my trump card for when everything else fails.

"How sad," Libra said as he walked up to Sonic. "I thought you'd at least try something. Oh well." He drew his arm back and aimed a punch right for Sonic's chest. At the last second he slowed his fist down and let it tap against Sonic's chest. The hedgehog was about to ask what he was playing at when a massive force slammed into the same spot, throwing him through a nearby building. "Just because my fist stopped doesn't mean the force behind it did too," Libra yelled through the settling dust.

Sonic coughed as he tried to catch his breath. If it hadn't been for the fact that he'd hardened his katsuryoku around him Libra would've crushed his entire ribcage and that's only if he'd been lucky. So even if he grazes me it's gonna do that kind of damage, he realized as he tried to stand. I've gotta find some way to get through his armor, even if it's just a crack. Going for his head isn't an option. No way he'd just leave it open on purpose. An idea started to form and he smiled as he thought it over.

Libra stood at the hole Sonic had made as he waited for the hedgehog. His visor told him that Sonic was still in there and hadn't run away. "I could rebrand him but considering he's going to be dead in a few minutes it'd be a waste of energy," he muttered. Besides, he thought as a smile formed on his lips, it'll be more satisfying for his friends to see just how powerless he really is.

The human frowned when he heard Sonic yell, "Ryūkai tsume". Several aqua waves shot out from the dust to slam into him with no effect. Through his visor he could see two Sonics go in opposite directions and then replicate until there were eight copies. Waves of energy hit him from every direction to no avail. Libra sighed and closed his eyes. This was getting boring.

"Up here, slowpoke!" Libra looked up as Sonic came rushing down. The hedgehog spun around and slammed his right leg onto the top of Libra's head only to be thrown straight back up into the air.

"Did you honestly think I would just give you an opening?" he asked incredulously as Sonic turned into a speck. "It seems that this is the best you have the offer me, Sonic Hedgehog." He continued to watch the speck, barely noticing that the clones around him had disappeared. Through the visor he could see that Sonic was on his way back down and putting on much more speed than Libra thought physically possible. "This should be interesting," he said to himself, making no move to defend himself.

Energy wrapped around Sonic's sword arm as he neared the human. "Ryūkai kiba!" he shouted and thrust forward. A deep blue arrow shot out, aimed right for Libra's head. The human realized how much power was behind the attack and moved to dodge it. The arrow slammed into his shoulder, forcing Libra into the ground. "Onikiba!" Libra roared in pain as he felt something pierce through his shoulder, sending up a spray of blood that just barely spurted through the crack Sonic had made.

"Not bad, hedgehog," Libra commented through his clenched teeth. "You kept using pointless attacks so that I'd drop my guard then used that kick to get the necessary momentum for your new move."

"Nah, I just wanted to look cool doing it," Sonic admitted with a smirk, resting Kaiyō Mujō on his shoulder. "I could've done that at ten feet but it would've looked boring."

Libra growled as he stood back up, all mirth in his face gone. "So you made a chink in my armor. That's nothing to get your hopes up over," he said as energy began to rise from his armor. "No, I prefer that you do. It'll be more satisfying to crush them that way." He charged at Sonic faster than the hedgehog would've expected possible in armor that thick and let loose with a flurry of punches. Sonic dodged them with ease which only served to make Libra that much faster. The human threw in a roundhouse kick and Sonic saw his opening.

He jumped and landed on the swinging leg and jumped again when Libra went for a right hook. Changing Kaiyō Mujō to her gauntlet form he spun around the punch, charging a ryūkai tsume at the same time before driving the blade into the crack. Aqua energy blasted into the armor and Libra roared in pain once more. Now furious, Libra shrugged Sonic off and went in for a straight punch. Sonic tried to dodge but the human still managed to clip his shoulder, sending Sonic spinning away. Libra chased Sonic down only to have the hedgehog kick at his head with all the force he could muster. The barrier blasted the force of the kick back and sent Sonic rocketing away through a building.

"Clever," Libra muttered as he tested his arm. It hurt but he'd been through worse.

Sonic, on the other hand, had been better. "If he'd hit my shoulder full-on there wouldn't have been any bone left to heal," he grimaced as his left arm hung at his side. He gripped his shoulder, braced for the pain, and pushed until the joint slipped back into the socket. He let out a pained grunt as he fell to the ground. Somehow over the last couple years he'd forgotten what actual pain felt like. Being a Guardian numbed the little things and the big things would start healing within seconds. Once the initial pain faded he rotated his shoulder gently until he was sure that he could use it again.

His brief respite ended when the wall in front of him erupted. Libra stepped through the dust and rubble and glared at Sonic. "A tactical retreat? Not a bad plan," he complimented him. "But it doesn't matter. I can track anywhere you run to and put you down like the mongrel you are."

Sonic grimaced as he braced himself for another onslaught when the sound of running water caught his attention. The wall Libra had knocked down had had a water main in it and water now sprayed across the floor. I'm a freaking idiot, Sonic thought as he smiled. I guess I must've been saving the best for last unconsciously. But it's useless in here.

"How about we take this outside?" he asked Libra and the human cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'd rather not damage the city any more than necessary. Besides, if you plan on crushing me wouldn't you rather be somewhere the others will have a chance to see?"

Libra smiled and nodded. "I don't know what you think you're playing at but I don't see the harm in it," he admitted. They both walked out into the street and Sonic did some quick reconnaissance. "Would this place be more appropriate to bury you in?"

"Something like that." Sonic released two quick ryūkai tsumes that flew past Libra to cut down two fire hydrants. The human looked behind him and then back to Sonic. Fog began to form around him as Sonic began infusing the water with his katsuryoku.

"Do you honestly believe this will prevent me from seeing you?" Libra asked with a heavy sigh. "This went from interesting to pathetic quicker than I expected." He watched as Sonic quickly became obscured and then switched on his visor. Sonic stood still even after the fog got to the point where Libra could barely see his own hands. "I assume you have some way to see through all of this," he yelled towards the hedgehog.

"You might say that." Libra's eyes widened at the voice in his ear and spun around. His punch passed through the fog without connecting to anything as Sonic's laughter came from all around him. Libra checked the visor again but it said the same thing as before: Sonic was standing in the exact spot he had been when the fog had formed. Libra ran towards him only to slam face-first into a wall.

How the hell did that get there? he thought as he tended to his wounded pride. There was nothing but street between us. And even if something had changed my Eye would have told me about it. A rustling behind him gave Sonic away and Libra blocked his attack.

At least that's what he had planned to do. There was nothing where he had gone to block but a searing pain erupted from his injured shoulder. Libra took a swing in the direction that the attack had come from but only hit air. This time he heard Sonic's blade whistling through the air from behind his injured shoulder. "Not this time, hedgehog!" he said, twisting his body to avoid the attack only to have his knee explode with pain. "What the hell?!" He didn't get a chance to avoid the one that dug into his side or the one that sliced through the nape of his neck.

"Enough!" Libra roared after a few more hits. He locked onto Sonic again to see that the hedgehog still hadn't moved. His Eye confirmed that is was a solid mass radiating energy and yet the phantoms around him didn't even register. He ran towards him and wrapped his hand around the hedgehog's throat, lifting him into the air with ease. "I don't know what you think you're playing at, Sonic, but it ends now," he growled and tightened his grip. Sonic disappeared in a puff of mist and Libra's eyes widened. "Where are you, boy?!" he yelled as he spun around. A pain in his gut caused him to look down to see an ethereal blade piercing him and then vanish. He waved his hand in front of where the sword had been and stared at his stomach. The area was tender but other than that there was no injury. But it had still felt like he'd been impaled.

"I suppose it's only fair that I warn you, Libra," Sonic said, his voice scattered by the fog. "Don't let any of these attacks draw blood. You won't live long enough to regret it if you do."

"Even if it can pass through my Fortress armor that sword of yours doesn't seem to cut anything," Libra reminded him. "What could you possibly do to...!"

Libra was cut off as pain wracked his entire body. He looked down to see Kaiyō Mujō buried to the hilt through his heart. His eyes widened in panic as he swung at the phantom only have another blade pierce his throat. He shook them off and the swords vanished much to his relief. He was still shaking at the close call but pulled himself together. He needed to find a way out of this fog and end Sonic before the boy let his slight advantage go to his head.

Eric threw a loose stone at the wind barrier and watched it turn to dust. "This brings back unpleasant memories," he muttered as he and Mina looked down towards the fight from their rooftop. "You're sure that's them down there?"

Mina nodded as a smile crossed her lips. "I've seen that move before," she explained. "It might not look like much but within that fog Sonic is giving Arias the beating of a lifetime. You remember his mist clones?" Eric nodded. "Well, imagine if you were basically stuck inside one. That's what the technique does: It creates a cloak of mist that's, essentially, all Sonic. While in there you can't see him or block his attacks. He can control everything while you're in there, too. What you see, what you hear, even where you are. He said something about a 'siren' in the name but I can't remember the rest."

"That still won't help him get past the Fortress armor," Eric reminded her.

"Sonic wouldn't have used it unless he was sure he'd found a way around it," Mina replied. "When I said Arias was getting a beating I meant that literally. For whatever reason Kaiyō Mujō won't cut when he uses that technique. I remember he said that if they did bleed while in there it wouldn't be pretty but he wouldn't say more than that."

"Arias is pretty durable," Eric said but smiled all the same. "Then again, Sonic is probably the most stubborn person on the planet. If anyone can outlast him then I'd put money on Sonic." His smile faded. "Still, I can't help but wonder if Arias is hiding anything up his sleeves." Mina turned to the Commander, unsure of what he was implying. "Sagittarius' strongest form is the Zodiac one. What if Arias has one too?"

Libra fell to one knee, his entire body in agony. He wasn't sure if Sonic had some greater strategy or if the whole point to this was to just mess with him. Either way he was reaching his limit to how much he could take, physically and mentally. He'd lost count after twenty strikes but knew at least four of them had been to his wounded shoulder. Sonic had also shown back up on his visor a few times but Libra had quickly learned to ignore the reading. The way he saw it he was trapped within something Sonic had created. As long as he was in here Sonic controlled everything and he had yet to see a way out. Then again, if he did see an exit could he trust that it was real?

A stabbing pain in his foot brought his mind back as Sonic materialized in front of him. "How do you like my Kijokiri no Mai?" he asked, removing Kaiyō Mujō from Libra's foot and resting her on his shoulder. "Don't feel too bad. I've been on the receiving end of this before so I know just how much it sucks." What little mirth he had faded as he glared at Libra. "I'm willing to end this if you tell me why you killed all those people."

"This again?" Libra asked as he started to laugh. "Weren't you listening to me before? They were just worthless Mobians. It's not even worth counting them as people." Libra grinned when he saw the furious expression on Sonic's face. "If you're that upset why not make me bleed? You did say that I wouldn't live to regret it if I did so go ahead. Kill me."

"If you're still in there somewhere, Arias, I'm sorry," Sonic said softly as Kaiyō Mujō dropped to his side. Libra made no attempt at blocking or attacking as Sonic struck him repeatedly. Finally, Sonic lost his temper and drove the pommel right into Libra's nose, breaking it with a sickening crack and sending a trickle of blood into the air behind the human. He stepped back as Libra started to laugh again with renewed intensity.

"After all that you decide to bust my nose?" he asked between laughs, never noticing the red mist spreading behind him. "You'll have to work harder if you want me to bleed more."

"That was all I needed," Sonic replied as his body turned crimson. Libra looked around to see the fog lifting only to be replaced by several crimson Sonics. He stood up and wiped the blood from his nose away before looking to the crowd before him.

"More of the same with a palette swap," he spat as the first Sonic came at him. He moved his arms to block only the have the blade pass through the armor once more. Libra was about to make a derisive comment when he felt the bite of the blade in his injured shoulder. Fresh blood sprayed from the crack in the armor while what couldn't escape ran down the inside of his armor. "What the hell?!" he roared as he tried to remove the blade unsuccessfully. He felt another blade pierce his knee with the blood pooling in his boot. "What...what is this?"

"Chigiri no Mai, Blood Fog Dance," one of the Sonics replied. "You mentioned something about me suffering, Libra. I hope you like eating your own words." He charged the human, slashing into his side before another struck the nape of his neck.

I can't block them! Libra thought, panicking as he fell to the ground on all fours. I can't lose like this. Not me, the Hunter created by Lord Enerjak himself!

Eric covered his mouth as he and Mina watched Arias getting skewered. "That's just..." he started but had no words to finish.

"Why would you ever need something like that?" Mina asked as she tried not vomiting. "Why would Sonic even have a technique like that?"

"Everyone has something they'd rather not use," the hedgehog commented. "Still, all things considered it means that Arias will be down for count soon. If that first move leads into this then he could take out anyone he wanted with ease." He looked to the mongoose, his eyes grave. "But with something that powerful, that dangerous, what do you think the cost is?"

Mina didn't answer. She just turned back to the fight and said a silent prayer for Sonic.

Libra stumbled away from Sonic as best he could. He was swimming in his armor at this point and knew Sonic was far from finished. Still, he wasn't the sort to just give up and die. He let out a roar and charged one of the Sonics only to have a sword impale his gut. Blood pooled in his mouth as he tried to not fall down. The blades refused to move when he tried to remove them but at the same time they didn't cause additional damage. Most of his injuries had faded to a dull ache but he was sure that was more from blood loss than anything else.

"It's over, Libra," one of the Sonics told him as it walked towards him. "After this you'll be done for. I wish there was something that could be done for Arias but he'll have to forgive me if we meet again somehow."

Why is he saying all this? Libra thought until the realization hit him. The attacks had been hitting him in order from the very beginning. After he got my gut he...he... Damn it all! Where did he attack after that?! Sonic drew his arm back slowly, preparing for the final strike.

"Any last words?"

After my gut was my... Wait, last words? Libra looked at Sonic. That would mean he plans to kill me with this next one. That would mean...my heart! He's going to aim for my heart! Libra chuckled as he closed his eyes. "It would seem that I am left with no other options," he said. "Engage: Zodiac Mode, Fallen Seraph!"

Sonic's eyes widened before he went in for the strike. Libra caught the blade with his hands as his armor started to glow so bright it was like a beacon. "After everything you've put me through I think you deserve to see what true power looks like, Sonic Hedgehog," Libra said as the mist clones vanished in a cloud of crimson mist. One Sonic remained and Libra noticed that his body bore the same wounds that he'd inflicted. "It would seem that technique has quite the price tag. It says something, though, when you're willing to sacrifice yourself. You must want to make dying a habit." He chuckled as the light around him intensified, forcing Sonic to cover his eyes.

Sonic was in agony. His previous wounds hurt enough but Chigiri no Mai had added a slew of new ones on top of that. He'd known the price going in but had honestly thought that Libra wouldn't hold out as long as he had. There's always one more thing, he thought bitterly. Any other thoughts were pushed aside as Arias brightened again. It was like staring into the sun at this point.

After a few moments the light began to subside. Sonic tried seeing through the spots in his vision but had no luck. The fist in his gut didn't help either as Libra began pummeling him. The light had yet to fully fade and already Libra was letting him have it. Sonic felt a knee in his gut before having his head grabbed and bounced off the pavement like a basketball. Libra followed up with a punch right into his chest, rocketing him back and causing Sonic to skip off the street. A ray of light hit Sonic and explosions rocked the city in a straight line behind him. Libra's light finally faded as he walked to where Sonic was lying. His fortress armor had slimmed down and now included a helmet with orange wings where his ears were. On his back were a pair of mechanical wings, replete with feathers.

"Congratulations, Sonic," he said as Sonic started to get up. "You are the first mortal to see my ultimate form in over three millennia. Don't worry, though. In a few minutes you'll join the rest of your kind that have seen it."