A/N: Hey guys! I bring to you all the new update for this story! We are really approaching the end of this story! Look forward to it!
Now to respond to you awesome reviewers

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Haha it's cool! I'm just surprised I manage to evoke such an emotion out of a reader. I just take it that I'm glad my writing was able to touch your heart, haha
-Yup it's gonna end soon. Look forward to that!

Riku Uzumaki: Haha don't worry. I'm actually going to do just that but it's going to happen in maybe the next chapter or the one after that.
-A third ending eh? Well I guess you could call it that... the one I have planned I mean xD

RKF22: Indeed the final battle!

U-Know Yunho: Yes in the game Ludger achieve final form only when he beat Bisley to 50% hp but if you remember, the story has differences. Ludger was already at level 3 when he save fractured Milla in this story. And he got level 4 when he defeated Julius (whereas in the game, he got level 3 only when fighting julius).
-Oh... selamat hari raya! :D

That Mysterious Reader: Nah... this story still has... I would say... 2 chapters left and if you include the epilogue, that's 3 :)

Kurinai: Hehe well let's just say that the ending I have planned... is going to have a mix of the true and normal ending... I think... sort of... meh, you'll see that soon xD

MagatsuIza: No more feels! Now is time for action only! Woohoo!
-Oh btw, you should probably listen to the ToX2 final boss theme as you read this chapter xD

speedking535: Hmm... maybe when I'm done with the story? Honestly I never considered that. Now I just want to finish up this story so that I can focus with "A New Beginning"

Well that's it to responding to reviews! I hope you guys will all enjoy this chapter! And to Muslims, happy Eid Mubarak... or from where I come from, Selamat Hari Raya to you all XD

CHAPTER 35: PACT

"Take this!"

Bisley threw several lightning-speed fists towards Jude but Jude was a master of martial arts of his own and managed to evade all of Bisley's attacks. When Jude finally found an opening, he dived in and bashed Bisley's exposed side with his fist but Bisley barely flinched from the attack. Before Jude could pull his fist away, the Spirius CEO grabbed Jude's arm to throw him into the abyss of Canaan but before he could pull it off, Milla appeared behind him.

"This ends here!" Milla exclaimed.

"Not yet Maxwell!" Bisley shouted and threw Jude at the Lord of Spirits. Jude crashed into Milla and collapsed on the ground with Jude piled on top of Milla.

Jude groaned in pain and opened his eyes only to find that both of his arms were groping Milla's breasts. Despite the situation that they were in a final battle against Bisley, his cheeks flushed deep red and quickly got off from Milla. Milla got back up on her feet, nonchalant about what happened with Jude.

Bisley raised his fists, "Give it up Maxwell. Without the Great four spirits, you stand no chance."

Milla did not have the Great four since she sent them away to collect the rest of the parties that were waiting at the entrance of Canaan. Milla was decent with the sword but her fighting style was reliant on the Great four and now without them, she was handicapped.

"We will stop you here Bisley. You won't make your wish." Milla said with confidence.

"You can't stop me alone Maxwell."

Milla smirked, "You forget that I'm not alone."

Bisley's instinct ruled over and spun around to find Ludger charging towards him draped in his full Chromatus form. Bisley had disposed of Ludger earlier but it seems it was not enough to keep him down.

Ludger released a battle scream and lunged forward with his lance aimed at Bisley's chest. Bisley growled in frustration and smashed his right fist on Ludger's lance and the power was so great that Ludger was blown away. Bisley's ultimate Chromatus form was just far stronger than Ludger even though Ludger was also at level four. But Bisley was not done with Ludger yet. With Ludger still blown backwards, Bisley launched himself towards Ludger and started hammering away at Ludger with his fists, landing blow after blow on Ludger's body. If not for the Chromatus armor, Ludger would have been unconscious by now or even dead. Bisley's punches were extreme.

Bisley charged his right fist to deal the final blow but before he could strike Ludger, Milla appeared next to Ludger. Milla attacked with her blade which forced Bisley to back away, landing on the ground. Unbeknownst to Bisley, Jude was waiting for him so the moment Bisley's feet touched the ground, Jude immediately attacked with an arte.

"Aqua Sweep!"

It was almost funny to see Bisley get swept off his feet by Jude, Bisley falling on his back. They finally managed to stop his assault so both Jude and Milla regrouped with Ludger, who was trying to recover after being savagely beaten by Bisley just a few seconds ago. Even with the Chromatus armor, Ludger could feel pain all over his body.

"Ludger, you okay?" Jude asked, offering his hand to Ludger. Ludger nodded and accepted Jude's help, grabbing his hand and he pulled Ludger up to his feet.

"Bisley is a powerful foe. We'll need everyone's help to defeat him." Milla said.

After seeing Ludger beaten by Bisley, both Elle and fractured Milla could not just wait on the sidelines anymore and rushed to Ludger's side.

"Ludger! You have to beat him! You can't lose!" Elle cried out.

Fractured Milla swung her arms in protest, "I'm not going to just stand by and watch. You guys aren't enough. You need my help!"

Ludger had instructed fractured Milla to protect Elle and not participate in the battle. Because Bisley siphoned Elle's power as a Key of Kresnik, Ludger had no doubts Bisley would resort to using Elle to boost his Chromatus powers like when he fought Chronos earlier. So fractured Milla stayed by Elle's side, watching Ludger, Jude and Milla battle Bisley. But it was clear the three could not defeat by themselves.

Ludger stared at fractured Milla and then at Elle. The two were worried about him, he could tell from just looking at their eyes. But he also wanted to protect them, to keep them from harm and battling Bisley was too dangerous.

"No Milla, it's too dangerous." Ludger said to fractured Milla, "And Bisley might target Elle once he's desperate. I need you to protect her."

"But Ludger…!"

Before fractured Milla could finish, Bisley interrupted her by appearing before them and smashing his fist into Ludger, blasting the young Kresnik away. Bisley then spun around with his fists drawn out, knocking both Jude and Milla away before they could even react. Bisley cast his eyes on the last target, which was fractured Milla and Elle standing next to her. He threw his right fist forward but his fist only hit the thin air. The only thing in front of him was Elle.

Bisley drew back his fist, confused, "What…?"

"Over here." A voice said from behind Bisley.

The next thing Bisley knew, he could feel fractured Milla's blade slashing his exposed back. Fortunately for him, the Chromatus armor absorbed the damage and his life was not in danger. Bisley roared in anger and spun around and threw a punch at fractured Milla but the blonde woman was as slippery as a snake, dodging all of Bisley's attacks.

When Bisley missed another hit, he released a frustrated growl, "You blasted fake! I'll smash you once I get my hands on you!"

Fractured Milla dodged another of Bisley's attack and was about to counter-attack when she saw Ludger behind Bisley with his lance in his right arm. He then tossed his lance towards Bisley and fractured Milla instantly knew what Ludger was about to do. She quickly backed away, causing Bisley to wonder why she suddenly disengaged from their fight. Then he felt an ominous presence behind him and turned around but he was too late. Ludger's lance crashed into Bisley's chest and Ludger then grabbed his lance and tried to penetrate the lance through Bisley's Chromatus armor. Bisley screamed in pain but the lance was not able to pierce through Bisley so Ludger pulled his lance back before tossing the lance back at Bisley with all his strength.

"Form Destroyer!"

Ludger's lance blasted through Bisley's chest but again no visible damage was seen but Bisley's scream of pain was enough to tell that Bisley was wounded a little. But Bisley's suffering was not yet over when Jude ran up to Bisley and sent a thunderous uppercut, throwing the large man into the air. Milla was waiting for him in the air and brought her sword downwards, slashing Bisley's shoulder. Bisley was thrown back to the ground like a ragdoll, bouncing once due to the impact. Milla landed on the ground and she and Jude regrouped with Ludger and fractured Milla. Elle was still clinging to fractured Milla.

Everyone was staring at the unmoving Bisley. "Did… did we get him?" Fractured Milla wondered aloud.

Fractured Milla got her answer when Bisley slowly got back up on his feet, cracking his neck to show that the beating he received was just a warm-up to him. Bisley was a monster. Ludger and the others got defensive.

"Not bad Ludger." Bisley praised, "I knew you had talent with the Chromatus since you managed to gather all the Waymarkers but I did not expect your use of the Chromatus to be that good. Doctor Mathis as well… I did not expect a spyrite researcher to pack such a punch." Bisley then turned to Milla and fractured Milla. "Maxwell… I have to say you're weak without the Great four. I have to admit, the fake Maxwell is quick on her feet. I underestimated her."

"Milla's not a fake!" Elle exclaimed when she heard Bisley called fractured Milla a 'fake' Maxwell.

But before anyone could say anything else, something happened. Ludger could feel the inside of his body being crushed, as if his organs were being crushed to pieces. Due to the pain, Ludger collapsed on all fours and dispelled his Chromatus form, transforming to his normal state.

"Ludger?!" Fractured Milla and Elle cried out. Jude and Milla quickly also quickly got down to see what was wrong.

"Ludger, what's wrong?" Milla questioned with concern.

Ludger wanted to respond but the pain was excruciating and he could not form any coherent words. When he tried to get up, he felt as if a dagger stabbed his lungs and he coughed out blood. He coughed several more times and each time he did, blood splattered on the floor in front of him. And then Ludger realized what was happening. He knew it all too well and it wasn't just him who figured it out. Jude, Milla and fractured Milla… all three knew this familiar scene. Only Elle did not yet fully understand what was happening.

"This is…" Jude muttered in horror.

"…The Chromatus side-effects." Bisley finished for Jude, "It looks like that's the extent of Julius's life was of use to you."

Ludger was still on fours and struggled to look up at Bisley, blood decorating his chin, "W-why…? Why is this… happening? The side-effects… should be… cured…"

Fractured Milla shook her head in dismay and turned to Bisley, "Why is Ludger suffering the Chromatus side-effects?! Julius… he… he gave his life to Ludger to cure Ludger's illness! So why…? I don't understand…"

Bisley stared at Ludger for a while before he explained, "Normally that is the case. A Chromatus user can heal his or her side-effects once they consume the life of another Chromatus user. However the effect of the cure decreases each time you consume the life of a Chromatus user. Basically you will succumb to the Chromatus side-effects much sooner when compared to the first time."

"That doesn't make sense. Ludger has only used this 'cure' twice." Milla argued.

Bisley smirked under his mask, "Yes normally Ludger shouldn't submit to the side-effects so soon… especially since he just consumed his brother's life only a few minutes ago. However…" Bisley paused for effect, "Ludger is different."

"What do you mean?" Both Milla demanded.

"Ludger is currently in a deep stage of the Chromatus." When the party did not understand, Bisley elaborated, "Ludger's usage of the Chromatus is almost identical to that of a user who has been using the Chromatus for years. And the reason for that… is because he's been using the Chromatus to sustain the fake Maxwell's existence in the prime dimension."

Now the whole party knew why Ludger was suffering the Chromatus side-effects. Even though Julius 'cured' Ludger by giving his life, Ludger's Chromatus stage was so deep that Julius's life only extended Ludger's usage of the Chromatus for a few minutes only. And this was all because Ludger had been sustaining fractured Milla's survival in the prime dimension.

The only one that was shocked by this revelation was Elle. She barely understood what Bisley just said. But she was able to understand that Ludger was using his life to keep fractured Milla alive. That was why he was suffering so much. Now she knew the reason why he had random fits of coughing that resulted in blood. It was all to keep her 'Milla' safe. Elle was beginning to tear up just from the thought that Ludger endured all of this hardship and she didn't know!

Bisley chuckled, "I guess Julius thought his death would be useful. Unfortunately all it did was buy you five minutes for your level four Chromatus. A waste."

"Glasses guy… died?" Elle said in disbelief. She wasn't with the party when he died after all.

Ludger's side-effects were finally gone and he slowly got back up to his feet. He was still weakened but his blood was boiling after what Bisley said about Julius. "Julius… didn't waste… his life!"

"It's over!" Bisley said and charged towards Ludger and the party, "Without your Chromatus, Origin's wish is mine!"

Bisley reared his right fist to deal the final blow. Ludger, Jude and the two Millas prepared themselves but without Ludger's Chromatus, they had a feeling this was their end.

"Not so fast!" A voice said from above them, "Got a special deal over here!"

Bisley stopped and looked up but did not see who it was as the man released a rain of bullets over Bisley. The bullets were packed with spirit artes and were much more powerful than a usual bullet but it was still not enough to hurt Bisley. It bought time for Ludger and the party however.

The man stopped shooting and combined his gun into his sword which flared into flames. "Here's the deal: a one way ticket to hell! You ready?"

"It's Alvin." Jude said after he recognized the voice.

Alvin dived downwards at Bisley with his flaming sword and when he smashed his sword at Bisley, they were enveloped in an explosion of flames. After that was over, Alvin made it out unscathed while Bisley was blown off his feet before he landed on his back, seemingly defeated again. Alvin successfully landed his mystic arte on Bisley.

"Terminus Pride!"

Alvin regrouped with Ludger with a cocky grin on his face, "Well looks like another satisfied customer."

Ludger was still too weak to respond but his face showed he was relieved that Alvin appeared at the right time. Jude was the one that asked what everyone wanted to know. "Alvin what're you doing here? How did you get here?"

Alvin turned to Jude, "Hey now did you forget kid? Milla sent the Great four to pick us up. Sylph carried me and I guess he's the fastest. The rest should be on the way."

As if on cue, the three Great spirits Efreet, Gnome and Undine were seen coming with the rest of the party. Undine was shielding Rowen from the miasma and to save space, Rowen had Elize sit on his shoulders so that two of them would make it. Elize was obviously embarrassed though but she was bearing with it. Efreet had Gaius and Muzet was hovering just next to the King. And the Great Spirit Gnome shielded Leia. The whole party was together again. With their task completed, the Great four returned to Milla's side.

"It appears we are not too late." Gaius said and drew out his katana. Bisley was still lying on the ground after being blown by Alvin's mystic arte.

"We must stop Bisley." Milla informed the group, "Bisley plans to use Origin's wish to bind all spirits to humans."

Rowen removed his saber from its sheath, "Indeed that is a gruesome thought. His ambition has to end here."

Leia noticed Ludger was breathing heavily and grew concerned, "Hey what's wrong with Ludger? He looks kinda sick."

Now that Leia brought it up, the rest of the newcomers also noticed Ludger's condition. He was breathing heavily and had dried blood on his lips and chin. He did not look to be in the condition for battle.

"What happened here?" Alvin asked.

Jude shook his head, "Ludger… he…" Jude stopped for a moment before he told everyone, "The side-effects… The Chromatus side-effect is back."

The party members that just came were surprised.

Elize glared at Jude, "But didn't Ludger… consume Julius's life to cure the effects?"

Jude nodded, "Yeah but apparently Ludger's condition is so bad that all it did was help Ludger maintain the Chromatus for five minutes. Now Ludger is…" Jude could not finish what he wanted to say, looking away.

Muzet rest her cheeks on her hand, "Oh my…"

This was because they knew that the Ludger's Chromatus was a key factor in fighting Bisley. While each member of the party was powerful in their own right, Ludger's Chromatus was a huge boost in their strength. And his Chromatus was needed the most now because they were against Bisley, a Chromatus user who possessed the ultimate Chromatus form.

Gaius was quick to come to a decision on what was best for the team. He turned to Jude, "Jude, we will need Ludger to defeat Bisley. I want you to stay with him and heal him with your artes. The rest of us will buy time for you."

Jude nodded and pulled Ludger to the far side of the chamber and started using his healing artes. Elle ran to Ludger's side to watch over him. Fractured Milla was about to run to Ludger as well but Gaius stopped her.

"We will need your help." Gaius said to fractured Milla, "Don't worry about Ludger. He's in capable hands."

Fractured Milla watched Ludger and saw Jude healing him and speaking with him. Elle was saying something as well, probably to motivate him. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath then turned to Gaius. "Okay. Let's do this."

Gaius appreciated fractured Milla's cooperation and the rest of the party now shifted their focus to Bisley. The large man finally got back up on his feet and saw the party with their weapons drawn out.

Alvin sighed, "I gotta admit, I thought he was done for after taking my 'Terminus Pride'. He's a tough guy."

Bisley raised his fists, "Well this is interesting. Show me what the rest of you can do."

Instead of being defensive since he was outnumbered, Bisley charged forward instead and began the offensive. Bisley went for Alvin and the former mercenary shot a few bullets at Bisley but the large Kresnik merely shrugged the attacks off like they were bugs. When Bisley was close, he threw a murderous fist at Alvin but he leaped away, took out his sword and attacked Bisley only to meet the Bisley's arm. Because of the Chromatus armor, Bisley's arm was safe.

"You kidding me?" Alvin remarked in annoyance.

Before Alvin could get away, Bisley threw his left arm and grabbed Alvin in the neck and started to squeeze it. Alvin was beginning to choke, struggling to break free. And if he doesn't die soon, his neck would break first. Fortunately for the former mercenary, Rowen and Elize came to the rescue by throwing artes at Bisley.

"Freeze Lancer!"

"Serpents Vite!"

Rowen waved his saber around before sending several razor sharp icicles towards Bisley while Elize threw a number of purplish void energy. Bisley released Alvin and delivered two quick blows on Alvin's chest, blasting the mercenary away and still had time to dodge Rowen's arte. However Elize waited for that and the purplish void waves were going to hit Bisley. But before Elize's arte could reach Bisley, he surprised Elize by smashing the purplish void energy with his fist, destroying it. Now that he was free from the party's attacks, Bisley dashed towards Elize. The young girl tried to channel a spirit arte to defend herself but Bisley was too fast. He charged his right fist with energy that would be a sure kill to Elize.

"Miss Elize, please get out of the way!" Rowen cried out and intervened, standing between Elize and Bisley.

Elize watched in horror at point-blank range as Bisley smashed Rowen on the chest with his fist, throwing the Rieze Maxian prime minister flying several meters away before stopping and unconscious. No doubt Rowen probably suffered some broken ribs from the punch. Not too far from Rowen was Alvin, who was still conscious but was also out of the fight after receiving two direct hits from Bisley earlier.

"Rowen!" Elize called out.

Teepo was flying around Elize in panic, "Is he okay?! Is he okay?!"

Bisley stood before Elize and the little looked up at the menacing figure. Bisley draped in the level four Chromatus form was a terrifying thing to look at but Elize was not going to cower in fear. She was going to continue fighting to protect her friends!

"You have quite powerful artes for a girl so young." Bisley admitted, "You'll be trouble to me if I don't remove you."

Before Leia, Gaius or Muzet could react to protect Elize, Bisley made his attack. Before his fist made contact, Elize managed to create a shield and Teepo helped to take the blow but it was not enough as Bisley obliterated the shield, sending Elize flying. Thankfully for her, the shield and Teepo took the brunt of the hit but Elize was still hurt from the hit. She quickly applied healing artes but she would be temporarily out of the fight.

"Don't you hold back when you fight a little girl?" Leia snapped as she challenged Bisley.

Bisley's gaze landed on Leia, "I crush any who stands in my way!"

Muzet hovered behind Bisley, "You're a very bad human aren't you? I'll have to punish you."

"I'd like to see you try spirit." Bisley scoffed.

"It ends here Bisley." Gaius said as he also challenged Bisley, standing next to Leia. Bisley said nothing in response.

Muzet started channeling an arte while Leia and Gaius moved in together to engage Bisley. To everyone's surprise, Bisley disappeared in a blink of an eye before appearing before Muzet. The Great spirit was not expecting that and tried to cancel her arte to cast a defensive arte but Bisley was too fast. He knew that Muzet's spirit artes were deadly and decided to take her out first. With all his might, he smashed two blows on Muzet, blasting Muzet away like a man would swat a fly.

Bisley turned around and looked at the stunned Leia. Gaius saw what was coming and shouted, "Leia! Watch out!"

But Leia was too slow. Bisley dashed forward and tackled Leia with his shoulders, throwing Leia off balance. However she was a trained martial artist so she quickly regained her footing and even managed to smack Bisley's fist away, surprising the CEO. She quickly moved into an offensive arte.

"Tempest Spiral!"

That was Leia's mistake. Bisley was already taken by surprise but by using an arte, it allowed Bisley to regain his composure and see through Leia's attack. He side-stepped the attack and Leia missed her arte, leaving her vulnerable. Like a boxer finding his target, Bisley connected three devastating blows on Leia's ribs, breaking her bones. Leia released an anguish scream of pain before she collapsed, clutching her sides.

"Le-Leia!" Alvin called out and tried to run to her side but his injury came up and the former mercenary tripped. Desperate, he started crawling towards Leia. He needed to find out if she was okay.

Meanwhile Gaius was battling Bisley and for the first time since Bisley started fighting, he was on the defensive. Gaius was one of the most powerful swordsman and fighter in Rieze Maxia and now that he was in battle with the most influential figure in Elympios.

Gaius thrust his katana forward and Bisley parried it with his arms, stepped in and moved to land a blow on Gaius's midsection. The King somehow managed to block it with his katana in a split second, surprising even Bisley. Gaius then bashed Bisley with his shoulders, stunning Bisley for a second and delivered one clean cut across Bisley's chest. The Chromatus armor had a thin cut visible but it did not penetrate through so Gaius raised his katana above his head and slammed it towards Bisley.

"Exalted Divide!"

Gaius was not finished and then thrust his katana upwards, slicing Bisley's shoulders.

"Celestial Rupture!"

Bisley roared in anger and slammed his right foot on the ground, shaking the ground like a small earthquake. This caused Gaius to lose his balance and Bisley took this opportunity for a counter-attack. Bisley charged up his right fist, took a step front and with all his strength threw his right punch for a mystic arte.

"Absolute Fist!"

Once again Gaius was quick and managed to block it with his katana but even then, the strength of Bisley was no joke and Gaius was sent a few meters backwards, his feet skidding across the ground. When it was over, Gaius saw his precious katana had a crack from Bisley's attack.

"If I fought you without the Chromatus, no doubt I'd lose to a man of your skill." Bisley said from behind Gaius, "But unfortunately for you your Highness, I have the Chromatus."

Gaius did not expect Bisley to be so quick and turned around but it was too late. Bisley charged for another attack and this time, his mighty fist landed square on Gaius's stomach.

"Absolute Fist!"

This time Gaius had no chance. He was sent flying across the chamber and he would have fallen into the abyss of Canaan if Muzet had not forced herself to fly to where Gaius was going and grabbed hold of the fallen King. It took all of Muzet's strength to collect Gaius and she fell back to the ground, panting for breath. Amazingly enough Gaius was still conscious although barely.

"He's a tough one." Bisley said in regards to Gaius. He was almost done with the party and turned around to face the remaining two that stood before him. "Ah the Lord of Spirits… and the fake Maxwell."

Milla and fractured Milla both were glaring at Bisley, both with weapons drawn. Milla had the Great four floating just behind her, all with their artes ready to throw at Bisley while fractured Milla was prepared to end it with her speed.

"She is not a fake." Milla said coldly to Bisley, "She is Milla Maxwell… just as I am Milla Maxwell."

Bisley crossed his arms on his chest, "Blabber all you want spirit. Soon you will all be bound to the will of humans!"

"Let's end this Milla." Fractured Milla said.

Milla nodded and readied herself, "Agreed."

Bisley's mistake was that he once again underestimated fractured Milla. Even though he was prepared for her speed, it was not enough. She disappeared in the blink of an eye and in an instant appeared in front of Bisley. She swung her sword and a blinding trail of white-light covered the path of her sword. Bisley had no chance as fractured Milla's sword slashed Bisley and before he could even react, she suddenly appeared above Bisley, slashing Bisley in the neck but the Chromatus armor protected him. Again she disappeared and appeared to Bisley's right and this process repeated several times with her appearing in different directions of Bisley. Even though she was attacking alone, due to her incredible speed it almost seemed like there were several after-images attacking simultaneously with several trail of white light surrounding Bisley. After several strikes, fractured Milla landed in front of Bisley one last time and slashed through the Bisley. While Bisley seemed injured, there were no visible wounds on his body. The Chromatus armor was just too tough.

Bisley stumbled down to one knee and panting, "You… blasted woman!"

Fractured Milla smirked, "You're looking at the wrong Maxwell. Idiot."

Bisley did not even have time to wonder what fractured Milla meant when he was suddenly covered in flames. Milla surged through Bisley with the assistance of Efreet. "Come!" Next, she swung her blade upwards, accompanied by a powerful blast of water by Undine. "And gather!" After that, she spun around and swung her blade that was engulfed by a high-pressurized wind element, assisted by Sylph. "Combine!" Then finally she threw several rocks that were as razor sharp at Bisley. With each of the Great Spirits done with their respective artes, ended it. The Great four channeled circles in front of her, each representing the Great Four and she moved her arms in a manner to summon forth her mana to use all four elements. "And feel my blade!" In a short while, from each of the four channeling circles, beams of energy filled with an elemental element spewed forth, all of them blasting Bisley.

"Elemental Mastery!"

The area where Bisley stood was blasted to smithereens and for a second, everyone thought it was finally over. Milla and fractured Milla were panting after using such taxing artes. Then without even a warning, Bisley emerged from behind the two Millas. He grabbed the two by the neck and with a furious scream, slammed the two into the ground at full strength. Everyone could feel the ground tremble from the impact and when Bisley released his hold on the two Millas, the two could not even move. They were still conscious but definitely taken out of the fight.

Milla struggled to get up, her right arm trembling, "B-Bisley… you…"

Bisley looked down at the two Maxwells, "Well I wasn't expecting that out of you two. If not for the Chromatus, I would have been dead by now." Bisley then eyed the great container that housed Origin. He would make his wish soon but first he still needed to finish off any resistance. And the only ones were Jude and Ludger.

Jude was filled with rage after he saw what Bisley did to Milla but he had to heal Ludger. Ludger was their only shot now at defeating Bisley. Even Gaius was defeated.

"Jude… you've done enough… let me go." Ludger said weakly.

"Just a little bit more Ludger." Jude insisted.

Ludger shook his head, "Bisley's coming."

Jude turned and saw Bisley charging towards them. Jude quickly applied his last healing artes and then went off to engage Bisley to buy Ludger some time. Unfortunately for the spyrite researcher, he exhausted his mana from using his healing artes on Ludger so Bisley made easy work out of him. Bisley held Jude by the head and tossed him as if he was some toy that he was done playing with.

Ludger knew he was next and took out his pocket watch. But before he transformed, he turned to Elle , who was still next to him, "Elle… run. You'll be in danger if you stay here."

Elle shook her head, "No! You'll die if I run. I can help!"

Ludger was about to say something else but Bisley was not going to let Ludger give his farewells. Ludger had no choice but to gently but forcefully shove Elle out of the way, the little girl releasing a surprised cry as she tripped and fell on her back. Ludger held out his pocket watch and started his transformation but Bisley was not going to let him.

Just as Ludger was enveloped in a white light, Bisley grabbed hold of Ludger by the neck and lifted him off his feet, stopping Ludger's Chromatus transformation.

"This is the end of everything Ludger." Bisley said as he held Ludger by the neck. With his free arm, Bisley reached out and grabbed hold of Ludger's pocket watch, "Without this… nothing will stop me."

To Ludger's horror, Bisley crushed the pocket watch in his hands, destroying Ludger's path to the Chromatus transformation. Bisley then opened the palm of his hand and the destroyed pocket watch dropped on the floor. The pocket watch was the weapon of a Kresnik family and to see it destroyed, Bisley knew Ludger was useless at this point. He released Ludger and the young Kresnik dropped on the floor and stared at his broken watch in defeat. There was nothing to stop Bisley now.

Now that there was no one else to stop him, Bisley felt he could make the wish to Origin. He was about to approach the grand container when something caught his eye. It was Elle.

The little girl was trying to help Ludger back up and Bisley saw it. The catalyst was spreading and at the rate it was going, she would become a divergence catalyst soon. He could make his wish now but he felt it was better to be safe than sorry. If Elle became a catalyst before he could make his wish, then humanity would fail the trial. He needed to kill her before she transformed into a catalyst.

Bisley walked towards Elle and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up to eye level. Elle screamed in pain and struggled against Bisley's hold.

Ludger looked up at Bisley, "W-what are you doing?! Let Elle go!"

Bisley looked at Elle as he responded, "She is becoming a catalyst. I can't let her become one or else humanity fails the trial. She has to die."

Everyone in the chamber who was still conscious were shocked by what Bisley just said.

"Let… Elle… go!" Ludger screamed.

Bisley ignored Ludger and drew out his left fist. Elle was even more desperate to break free when she heard what Bisley said and saw him charging his fist. She did not want to die!

Ludger stared helplessly as Bisley was about to kill the girl he wanted to protect. The girl who was his daughter of a different dimension. The girl he swore to protect in place of Victor. And at the thought of Victor, Ludger remembered one little detail.

Ludger looked away, "I… I'm sorry that… it had to end this way."

Victor stared at Ludger for a few seconds before he chuckled, "I… guess… we are the same in the end… but I haven't thought like that… in a long time. Not since… I became like this. So in return, let me… tell you something useful."

Ludger leaned in close to Victor so that he could hear what Victor had to say. Milla, Jude and the rest of the party did not hear this.

"There is… one more thing you should know… about the Chromatus… about the watch." Victor whispered into Ludger's ear, "If the situation ever arises… where you need… to use the Chromatus at full… strength… you can make… a direct pact… with the watch. Speak… to the watch… and it will… respond"

Ludger found the information pointless and Victor knew Ludger would find it pointless.

"But… only use it… when you have no choice… because after you make the pact… you…"

Victor told Ludger what the consequences were and Ludger did not understand why Victor was telling him this now. There were no benefits to making a pact with the watch and he doubt he would ever need to do such a thing. But he decided to honor Victor by acknowledging that he will keep it in mind.

"Daddy!" Elle screamed as she rushed to Victor's side.

XX

Ludger's eyes widened when he finally had the answer. Before Bisley could end Elle's life, Ludger picked up his broken pocket watch. And to his relief, the pocket watch was still ticking. It was still working!

"Do you wish… to make the pact?" An old voice said in Ludger's head.

"This is… the watch?" Ludger muttered in disbelief.

"Do you wish… to make the pact?" The voice repeated.

"I do… I want a pact."

There was silence for a moment. Then the voice asked, "Even when you know of the consequences?"

"Yes…"

"Very well…" The voice responded.

Bisley was about to end Elle's life when suddenly Ludger was surrounded by a white ray of light. And then a powerful blast was released from the ray of light that even threw Bisley a distance away. Due to the blast of energy, Bisley lost grasp of Elle and the little girl disappeared into the ray of light.

"What the hell…?" Bisley muttered in confusion, staring at the ray of light.

Bisley stood where he was and waited as the ray of light slowly diminished. Then to his surprise he saw a Chromatus lance sticking out of the beam of light and when the light finally evaporated, there stood Ludger draped in his level four Chromatus. And on his shoulder, he was carrying Elle.

"…Ludger…?" Jude managed to mutter in disbelief. The rest of the party were surprised that Ludger was there as well.

At first Bisley did not understand what was happening. He was sure he destroyed Ludger's pocket watch and even if he did not, Ludger was in no condition to use a level four Chromatus. A second later, the answer hit him.

"So… you made a pact with the watch itself." Bisley stated.

Instead of responding, Ludger slowly and carefully carried Elle off his shoulder and put her behind him to protect her. Elle was confused as she looked up at Ludger but she knew it was him.

Ludger and Bisley then stared at one another. No one said a word. The party all watched in silence and laid their trust on Ludger. In the end only a Chromatus user could defeat another Chromatus user. And both Ludger and Bisley were in the final forms of the Chromatus. The ultimate Chromatus.

Ludger knew this was different than the level four Chromatus he achieved. It was far more powerful. He did not feel the side-effects lingering in him anymore and he could feel raw power surging through his body. This was what happens when a Kresnik made a pact with the pocket watch.

Bisley raised his fists in excitement, "This should be interesting!"

Ludger spun his lance around and the two dashed towards the other for the final battle. This time it was going to be one on one. No one would interfere.

It would be Ludger Will Kresnik against Bisley Bakur.

CHAPTER END