Another play has been listed under Plays. The Fates are done, but I'm still working on the Bath Scenes. Who knows, they may end up finished by the time I finish this story, lol.

Oh, I created a cover image for this story. I used Dream by Wombo to create it.

Part Four

Mlkwt Alsmwat

Quiet chaos. That was the best way Windy could describe the state of the city.

The Sun was about to rise and the Liberation Army would be marching soon. Citizens had tried to evacuate, but the city was sealed before anyone could leave. Now people were cowering in their homes, praying that their houses would not get burned down and they wouldn't be killed when the city was sacked. Because the city would be sacked.

The rebels have greater numbers than us. The Holy Army soldiers who are on standby to meet the rebels are preparing for their own deaths rather than preparing to defend the city.

It didn't matter to Windy. Not so long as she got what she needed.

I can removed his True Rune. I can remove ANY True Rune. She smiled. I will get the Rune of Restoration. I don't care how many people have to die for me to get it.

The gates into the city were sealed, but they found a vulnerable spot in the security. The detectives and the ninjas silently and covertly climbed the city walls to the east, and carefully slid down the wall on the other side. Ten meters away they saw a large cluster of guards, but the guards did not see them. It was easy to see from their body language that the guards were on edge. Scared. They were terrified of the siege that was coming.

"Okay," Oboro said, turning to face Shou, Masaru, and Umeko. "The Liberation Army will be leaving HQ soon. We need to find the tower before we do."

"The Burj Almawt," Masaru said. "The building that supposedly maintains the barrier surrounding the capital."

When they finished their intelligence gathering they had woken Daunte and Caesar up and reported to them. "So in order to truly commence the siege and breach the city, this Burj Almawt needs to come down," Caesar had said.

"Correct," Oboro had confirmed. "We will sneak into Mlkwt Alsmwat, find this building, and destroy it. Once the tower falls, the city will be defenseless."

"Where is the Burj Almawt located in the city?" Daunte had asked.

"We don't know," Shou said. "We just know it's a tall, narrow black building. Since most of the buildings in the capital are stark white, it should be easy to find."

"But as you know, Mlkwt Alsmwat has a popular of a half million people," Oboro reminded them. "It may take a considerable amount of time to find the Burj Almawt."

"So we're going on ahead," Umeko added. "We'll find the tower and blow it right up!"

In the present, they crept along the inner wall of Mlkwt Alsmwat, keeping an eye on their surroundings. The city was eerily quiet. "We'll separate here," Oboro said. "Shou and Umeko, go towards the northwest."

"Eh?!" Shou exclaimed. "Why do I have to take her?!"

"What's wrong with me?" Umeko demanded.

"SHH!" Masaru hissed. "Just hurry and go! We don't have time!"

"What about you two?!" Shou gestured to them.

"I'm heading towards the southwest," Masaru said.

"And I'll head straight down the center of the city," Oboro said smugly. "I don't anticipate that the Burj Almawt will be near the Grand Citadel, so I'll head there."

"Of course," Shou scoffed. "Well, let's go," he said impatiently.

"Wait," Oboro said suddenly.

"What is it?" Shou looked at him.

"Your parents raised you well," Oboro said. "You're a fine man, Shou. Better than all of us."

Shou stared at him in confused silence for a long time. "…Okay," he said finally. "I'll see you later, Oboro."

Oboro answered him only with a smile. Masaru waited for Shou and Umeko to leave before he spoke. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure," Oboro said.

"We lied to them," Masaru pointed out. "We know exactly where the Burj Almawt is."

"Yes, we do." Oboro looked at him. "But you understand, Masaru. That's why I told you, and not them."

"I see," Masaru said. He was calm as usual, but he had a look of discomfort in his eyes. "If Shou finds out that I knew, he'll never forgive me."

Oboro reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to Masaru. When this is over, give this to him. He will understand then."

"…Right." Masaru accepted the letter and tucked it into his pocket. "For what's it worth, I wish there was another option."

"There isn't," Oboro said. "This is the only way to finish everything once and for all."

Daunte stood in the war room with his lieutenants before him. Caesar stood to his right, and Chinmaya and Peader stood to his left. The Sun had just risen, and his heart was hammering inside his throat. He swallowed hard to make sure his voice would be steady. "It's time, everyone. Today, it ends once and for all."

"Oboro, Shou, Masaru, and Umeko went on ahead," Caesar said. "They found the source of the barrier that surrounds Mlkwt Alsmwat. It is a tower called the Burj Almawt. Right now as we speak they are roaming the city looking for the tower. When they find the tower they will destroy it. Then nothing will stand in our way from storming the capital."

"How did they get into Mlkwt Alsmwat when the barrier is still up?" Varnaz asked.

"They snuck into the city without runes and without physical weapons," Daunte said. "They presented no visible threat to the city, so the barrier did not recognize them as a threat."

"That sounds risky," Eamon said.

"It is a risk that is necessary," Keiran said, stepping forward. "I will trust that they will accomplish their goal."

"We will be marching with twenty Army units," Peader announced. "Lord Daunte, Keiran, Nakula, Sloan, Tamara, Eamon, Lorik, Varnaz, Israfil, Surya, Allise, Gunther, Futch, River, Oisin, Yuber, Nash, Freyr, the skyship and Öt will be leading these units."

"We will be doing a cycle of seven waves," Chinmaya said. "Three units marching together with each wave in pincher maneuver, and the final wave two units. We have already determined the two units which will be in the final wave; Lord Daunte and Keiran."

"I will have Roen and Felicity as my support," Daunte said. "Hero will obviously have James and Xi An as his support. Öt will most likely attack with Amidral as his support."

"I will have Mihr and Lanny in my unit," Keiran said.

"So we have to decide the first wave," Caesar said, looking at Daunte. "Lord Daunte, which units should go out first?"

"I volunteer for the first wave," Nakula said, stepping forward. "I choose Evarr and Nian for my unit."

"But—" Daunte said, but he quickly stopped when he saw the look of determination on his father's face. "O-Okay. I'll appoint Öt in the first wave too. That should sufficiently terrify the Holy Army."

"I'll be in the first wave too," Allise volunteered, stepping forward. "There's too much brute force in the first wave. We'll need magic for balance. I choose Lady Leknaat and Eresh for my unit."

"Be careful," Gunther said quietly. Allise smiled at him. "I don't plan on dying again."

"Who should be in the second wave?" Chinmaya asked Daunte."

Daunte looked at the people in the room before deciding. "The Falenans. Surya, Israfil, and Freyr."

"I choose Mokuren and Sir Georg," Surya said.

"Aww, I wanted to choose Sir Georg!" Freyr whined. "Fine, I choose Soturi and Reis!"

"I will choose Fred and Rico for my unit," Israfil said, saluting.

"Okay, good," Daunte said, nodding. "For wave three, it will be aerial. Hero with his unit, Futch, and Oisin."

"I choose Sharon and Bright," Futch said. "Sharon's dragons will undoubtedly follow her."

"I choose Rafe and Dahlia," Oisin said bluntly, folding his arms over his chest. "I will help you overthrow your government, so long as you keep your promise to give us our own sovereignty after the war."

"Us, too," River spoke up.

"I already promised you both," Daunte said. He glanced at his strategists before looking back at them. The Wingers and Elves will have their independence from us. I say this now in front of everyone."

"I confirm your promise," Keiran said.

"Now for wave four," Caesar said. "Who will it be?"

"Tamara, Eamon, and Lorik," Daunte said.

"I choose Nigel and Thea for my unit," Tamara said.

"I choose Tala and Zander," Lorik said.

Eamon thought about it for a moment before saying, "I choose Lysander and Brennus."

"Wave five is next," Peader said.

"Yes," Daunte said. "I choose Varnaz, Gunther, and Nash."

"I choose Jantu and Viola," Varnaz said.

"I'll bring my wife and the werewolf," Nash said, rubbing at his nape. "The sun is certainly bright this morning."

"For my unit…I choose Barō and Leto," Gunther said.

Daunte was surrprised that he didn't fill his unit with women like he usually did. "Now that leaves wave six," he said. "River, Sloan, and Yuber."

There was a whoosh of air and Yuber suddenly teleported behind Daunte. "I will not fight with that girl or that bastard," he snapped.

Daunte glared at him. "Yes, you will," he retorted. "Viki and Pesmerga will be—"

"WHY?!" Yuber snapped.

"Because they bring out the BEST in you!" Daunte shouted back.

"I don't WANT them to bring out the best in me!"

"Too bad, because they're going to be there! That's an order!"

Yuber snapped his teeth, but teleported away without another word. Sloan broke the silence that followed. "I choose Adalgiso and Virgil."

"How nice to put me with two butchers," River scoffed. Adalgiso glared at him. "I choose Clover and Silvano. Obviously."

"I will appoint Farzin to look after HQ when we march," Daunte said. "Since all three strategists will be going. Chinmaya, will you be okay going with the first wave?"

"Yes," Chinmaya said. "I imagine I won't be with the Death Worms, so—"

"You'll be in my unit," Nakula said.

"Peader will be in my unit," Daunte announced. "And Caesar will be in Keiran's unit."

"Lord Daunte, you're not appointing your Chief Strategist to your unit?" Varnaz asked.

"No, it's more convenient this way," Caesar said. The rest of the lieutenants looked confused.

"I'm honored to have you in my unit, Lord Caesar," Keiran said.

"All right, let's do this!" Daunte shouted, pumping his right fist. The Rune of Restoration glowed on his hand. "The war ends once and for all today! For Nagarea, we will have VICTORY!"

"VICTORY!" the room shouted, and cheered.

The Final Battle

Holy Army Forces: 100,000

Liberation Army Forces: 400,000 and skyship

Victory: battle long enough for the Burj Almawt to fall

Failure: two or more units fall during each wave, or Daunte's unit falls

"They're here, Takefute," Hayato said grimly. "Based upon maneuvers, they are going to be attacking in waves."

"I'm aware," Takefute said sharply. "I will stay here and maintain the integrity of the Burj Almawt. Send out all of our people with the soldiers. Disperse any and all Raging Nostrum that's available."

"We don't have enough for our forces," Yuuto said. "And after the Battle of Winter Hill, the soldiers won't be so stupid as to take any liquids we give them."

"Then save them for yourself!" Takefute hollered. "We spent DECADES getting this power, and now it's tumbling down! Sacrifices need to be made to maintain control!"

"I'm not taking Raging Nostrum," Hayato said. "And I have no intention of dying today."

"I'll give them to the other High Clerics," Yuuto said. "They know what Raging Nostrum is, but they won't hesitate to us it in a desperate situation."

"Why do we even need to go out there and engage them?!" Hayato snapped. "So long as the Burj Almawt remains standing, the rebels will never enter the city!"

"Then they'll blockade us and starve us out," Takefute pointed out. "And we won't be able to get the Rune of Restoration if we don't engage them!"

"I'm not going out there," Hayato retorted. "I'll take a unit and guard the Grand Citadel, but I am NOT leaving the city!"

"Neither will I," Yuuto spoke up.

"You have to," Takefute interjected. "I have to watch this tower, and Hayato has to watch the Grand Citadel. You have to go out there with our other men!"

"I'm NOT going out there!" Yuuto shouted. "Keiran Umed wants to kill me! I'll guard the main gateway into the city, and in the even you fail and the barrier falls I will fight them, but I'm NOT going out there!"

"Fine!" Takefute shouted. "But EVERYONE ELSE must go out and fight! And someone tell that damned witch to use her Gate Rune to summon monsters!"

"Damned witch?"

The three Nether Gate assassins stiffened and trembled as Windy suddenly appeared. She stared at Takefute with cold eyes. "It's rude of you to insult me, Takefute. After everything I've done to help you."

"…I apologize, my Lady," Takefute said quietly. "But could you please summon some monsters to the impending battle?"

Windy smiled coldly. "Of course."

Outside of the Burj Almawt, two figures knelt in the shadows behind a nearby house. The tower was black as onyx and looked demonic, standing easily 30 meters high. "There it is," Masaru said. "The Burj Almawt."

"Shou and Umeko should still be on the other side of the city," Oboro said. "They won't get here in time."

"As you intended," Masaru pointed out.

Oboro nodded in agreement. "We need to move fast."

Sixty-thousand Holy Army soldiers surrounded the exterior of Mlkwt Alsmwat. Another thirty-thousand were stationed around the interior of the walls of the city. Almost all of them were terrified of what was about to happen. When the Liberation Army came in to view, Takefute stood alone in the Burj Almawt. Hayato stood in the entrance hall of the Grand Citadel with a dozen soldiers. Yuto stood before the closed main gate with two dozen soldiers. The rest of the High Clerics were begrudgingly outside the city walls leading various units.

"Let's begin," Chimaya said. "Wave one! Forward march!"

Nakula and Allise led their soldiers forward in march. from the back of the Army, Daunte stood with his unit and Keiran's unit. Caesar glanced towards Daunte before looking at Keiran. "Lord Daunte has already made the arrangements," he said. "But when the barrier falls, you're to take the lead in storming the city."

"Me?" Keiran asked him. "Why me?"

"Because Lord Daunte will be taking a smaller unit to storm the Grand Citadel. When he does this, you will take command and lead the Army in the siege."

"But then the citizens will see me commanding the Army and not Lord Daunte," Keiran said.

Caesar only smiled at him. "Exactly."

"This is stupid," Ziya scoffed, shaking his head. He commanded one of the units the first wave was advancing upon. "I didn't flee Falena just to die here!"

"Sir, what shall we do?" An infantry soldier asked Ziya shakily.

"I don't care! Do whatever you have to do to kill them all!"

The ground rumbled underneath their feet. Ziya looked at the ground and saw the ground splitting. "…Uh oh."

That was the only thing he could manage to say before the earth gave way. He screamed, as he did many other Holy Army soldiers, as they fell into the new hole and into the drooling, ravenous mouth of a red Death Worm. Ziya fumbled for his pockets, frantically trying to pull out his vial of Raging Nostrum. His hand barely touched the vials before the razor sharp teeth closed around him.

"Good job, Öt and Amidral!" Allise shouted. She then spread her arms wide. "Empty World!"

Her rune caused devastating damage to the units they fought. Nakula likewise made short work of the units he fought, while Öt and Amidral ate more soldiers.

"Fall back, wave one!" Caesar shouted. "Wave two, forward march!"

Surya, Israfil, and Freyr led their units forward as the wave one units marched ahead from the north. "We will show the might of Falena!" Israfil shouted.

"YEAH!" Freyr shouted.

"Nether Gate bastards, you die today!" Surya shouted.

"Fantastic," Kayanu grumbled, leading a unit the second wave advanced upon. "After all my hard work, I proved to be nothing but rune cannon fodder."

"What's a rune cannon?" A soldier asked. Kayanu stabbed him in the throat.

The Falenan forces proved to be devastating to the Holy Army soldiers, dispatching them quicker than Kayanu expected. He swiftly dismounted his horse and yanked out a vial. "Bastards," he snarled. "Thinking you can do anything against me!"

"Where are you going?"

He swiftly turned and found himself face to face with Georg Prime. Kayanu let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good," he said. "I thought my final opponent would be an unworthy worm. I'm honored to have my last battle against the man who killed Queen Arshtat."

"Do not give me praise for that," Georg said sternly. "I will strike you down today."

Kayanu laughed hollowly and pulled the top off his vial. "The only person who can kill me is me." Then he swallowed the contents.

"Damn—Raging Nostrum!" Georg shouted over his shoulder. "Some of the soldiers have Raging Nostrum!"

"We're coming to help!" Surya shouted.

"R-Raging Nostrum?!" Daunte exclaimed.

"There's no way they have enough for the entire Holy Arm again though," Felicity said.

"But Öt and Amidral ate some of those soldiers! If the soldiers they ate had vials of Raging Nostrum—"

"We are fine."

Daunte gasped and felt a hand to the side of his head. "Öt?" he called out, though he couldn't see the Death Worm.

"We are in the ground beneath your feet," Öt said. "I can confirm that some of the humans we ate had vials of this putrid brew. But it cannot harm us the way it harms you."

"R-Really?!"

"We are Death Worms, with a metabolism very different from yours. The fluid that was ingested by us is making us sick, but no different than the effects of human influenza. My mate and I will be fine in a couple of days."

"They're fine," Daunte said. "The Raging Nostrum only made them under the weather."

"But how?!" Lanny demanded. "How does it not cause them to fly into a rage, or kill them?!"

"They're Death Worms," Roen said. "I think they're already filled with enough natural rage that a rage drug can't hurt them."

With the combined efforts of the Falenan units, Kayanu was slain before the fulls effects of the Raging Nostrum settled in. "The soldiers are retreating!" Mokuren announced as the Holy Army soldiers fled."

"We can see that," Soturi said dully.

"Why wasn't I put in the same unit as the Sindar Chief?!" Reis grumbled.

"Fall back, wave two!" Caesar shouted. "Wave three, forward march!"

"LET'S MOVE!" Oisin shouted.

"Bright, take flight!" Futch shouted. Sharon was with him along with the dragons. "Be careful of the witch!"

"Hero should be arriving any minute," Peader said, looking towards the sky.

From the roof of the Grand Citadel, Windy watched the battle impassively. "Flying units," she mused. "I guess I should act now, hmm?" She raised her hand.

"Grandpa, be careful!" James said from his controls. "The witch who killed us before may attack us again!"

"I'll be ready for her!" Hero shouted.

"Watch out for the barrier!" Xi An cried out.

"This feels too easy," Eamon said. The moment the words left his mouth there were sudden bursts of light, and suddenly there were over 100 lands monsters roaming freely in between the Holy Army and the Liberation Army.

"I think you just jinxed us," Brennus said uneasily.

"The witch!" Futch screamed, grabbing Bright's reins. "Bright, ground yourself!"

"Well, this just became complicated," Rafe said.

"She's here," Xi An fearfully.

"We can only afford one flyover then," Hero said tersely. "I'm not dying again! Make this count, James!"

"Yes, Grandpa!" James aimed towards one of the monster units and tugged on his controls. "HAA!"

A rippling wave of lightning exploded from the "mouth" of the skyship, electrocuting dozens of monsters and Holy Army soldiers on the field. Inside the city, Windy pointed her fingers towards the skyship, but the aerial vehicle swung back up towards the sky and disappeared into the clouds. "Oops," she said, lowering her hand.

"They only did one flyover?" Mihr asked.

"They can't afford to do another," Keiran said.

"Well, I'll just summon more monsters," Windy mused, raising her hand once more.

The Liberation Army shifted in alarm as 100 more monsters appeared on the field. "Fall back, wave three!" Caesar shouted. "Wave four, forward march!"

Tamara, Eamon, and Lorik's units began marching. "I feel terrible about this," Eamon complained softly.

"It's not your fault," Tamara said.

"Damn it, send me out there to kill something!" Yuber shouted.

"Heh," Pesmerga said.

"I-I think—"

"No one cares about you think!" Yuber snapped at her.

"Hey!" Viki said indignantly, but then she screamed when talons clamped down over her shoulders. A giant bird cawed and took off, carrying Viki with him.

"Damn it, VIKI!" Daunte shouted.

In a flash Yuber became a blur. He leapt high into the air and decapitated the giant bird. Viki nearly started free-falling, but Yuber caught her and landed back onto the ground with her. "U-Um…thanks," Viki said. Yuber grunted and pushed her away from him, but not ungently.

Pesmerga started laughing quietly to himself. "Silence!" Yuber snapped at him.

"Leknaat," Eresh said to the woman in Eresh. "Eresh wonders why Leknaat does not stop the wielder of the Front Gate Rune. Did Leknaat not stop the wielder of the Front Gate Rune before in similar circumstances?"

"Those were illusions before, Eresh," Leknaat said quietly. "Now…they are real monsters."

"Ah," Eresh said. "So then it makes sense to let the wielder of the Front Gate Rune use the rune. She will be vulnerable later."

"And it cost me…great energy to stop her before. Energy that I must save for later."

"Wave five, forward march!" Caesar shouted.

"That's us," Gunther announced.

"Let's make the most of this," Nash said.

"Victory is ours," Varnaz swore.

Masaru smoothed his hand against the Burj Almawt and looked up towards the top of the tower. "There," he said. He looked at the surroundings houses. Many front doors had been left open. "All of the civilians in perimeter have been evacuated. Now…it's in his hands."

"You found it!"

Damn! Masaru quickly turned to see Shou and Umeko running towards him. "This is it, right?" Shou asked. "The Burj Almawt? Where's Ob—"

Masaru swiftly opened a bag on his belt, and tossed the powder from the bag into Shou's face. Shou coughed in surprise, and his knees immediately buckled. Masaru grabbed onto his right side before he collapsed. "Umeko, help me!" Masaru snapped.

"Masaru, what are you doing?!" Umeko cried out, though she grabbed Shou's left side. "That was paralysis powder! Why did you throw paralysis powder in his face?! He's our ally!"

There's no time, we need to go! Follow me!" Masaru took off running, dragging Shou with him. Umeko was forced to follow behind.

Shou tried to struggle, but all he could do was blink and breathe. And his breathing was unsteady as he was dragged further and further away from the Burj Almawt.

At the top room of the Burj Almawt, Takefute sat down on the window seat, his arms folded over his chest. "I can't believe it," he grumbled. "After all of my hard work—after I worked so hard to survive—I fall to ruin in such a disgraceful manner?!"

"You fell to ruin years ago."

Takefute's head snapped up at this familiar voice and he turned towards the door. His lip rose in a snarl. "Shinatsu," he hissed. "Your timing is terrible."

"That's Oboro," Shinatsu responded, smiling in a way that Takefute was too familiar with. "And on the contrary…my timing is perfect." he pulled his right hand out of his pocket, brandishing a knife.

Takefute barked out a laugh when he saw the knife. "So you're here to kill me, Shinatsu? I thought I heard rumors that you had given up killing!"

"Oh, I have," Shinatsu responded, still smiling. "But…" he pointed the blade of the dagger towards Takefute. "For you Takefute, I will make an exception."

Takefute shook his head and stood up. "You're a broken down old man who hasn't shed blood in decades. No weapon other than that pitiful blade. I on the other hand…" he took a fighting stance. "I've never stopped. I can kill a man with my teeth."

"Wave six, forward march!"

"Finally," Yuber scoffed.

"Be sure to continue protecting your princess," Pesmerga said. Yuber threw one of his swords at him, which the other Black Knight effortlessly dodged.

"You're probably the safest soldier on the battlefield today," Silvano said to Viki.

"I-I still don't like the sound of that," Viki said.

"Let's go, men!" Sloan shouted. "For Nagarea!"

"FOR NAGAREA!"

"For the sovereignty of the Elves!" River cheered.

"Túr!" The Elves shouted.

"There's still a lot of Holy Army soldiers and monsters on the field," Daunte observed. "How are our numbers?"

"Less than 500 dead on our side," Caesar said. "Since we brought 400,000 soldiers to this battles, that's very good."

Wait, my Lord," he said when Daunte moved forward. "Remember what Lady Leknaat told you."

"I know," Daunte said grimly. "I…"

"My Lord, perhaps you should wait until after the barrier falls before using the Rune spell?" Keiran asked. "That way we will know definitively how many casualties we have."

Daunte nodded and looked towards the battlefield again. "Yuber's making short work of the monsters."

"But Windy may summon more," Caesar said. "We have to keep attacking until the barrier comes down."

"We should allow wave six to fight for a few more minutes," Peader said. "Then let us advance. If the barrier isn't down by then, we'll withdraw and send the first wave back in."

"Good idea," Daunte said, though he felt sick on the inside. Oboro! Please hurry!

Oboro was rusty with combat. He was never good at fighting, but he was highly intelligent and so Takefute had made him the head of intelligence gathering of Nether Gate. That role fit him much better.

But Takefute hadn't been the leader of Nether Gate for no reason. Oboro stabbed towards him, but Takefute disarmed him easily and promptly snapped both the radius and ulna in Oboro's right arm. It had been unpleasant to see his arm fold backwards, and Oboro was relieved to feel his body go into shock as he collapsed to the floor. Ah, good. The shock will buffer the pain for a few minutes.

Oboro fumbled for his pocket with his left hand, and found a vial of Medicine. He pulled it out and raised the vial to his lips, but Takefute snatched the vial out of his hands and poured it onto the floor in front of Oboro. "Lick it up off the floor if you want," Takefute said. "But it won't save you."

Oboro laughed breathlessly, hugging his broken arm to his chest.. "Y…You waited until I pulled the Medicine out. You waited until I was…about to drink it before you took it from me. You're still—very sadistic, Takefute."

Takefute tossed the empty bottle over his shoulder and swept down to pick up the dagger. "Allowing you a moment of false security is what you rightfully deserve, Shinatsu."

"That's O—" Oboro let out a loud, painfully wheezing gasp as Takefute stabbed him in his lower left Takefute grabbed Oboro's face in his free hand, pinning him to the floor as he dragged the knife up Oboro's arm, leaving a deep cut from his wrist to his shoulder through his sleeve. The scream bubbled in Oboro's throat and he couldn't suppress it as his blood gushed onto the floor.

"Louder," Takefute snarled into his face. He forced Oboro to meet his eyes and he grunted with exertion as he applied his body weight onto the top of the dagger, forcing the blade to sink deep into Oboro's shoulder. Oboro felt his body convulse from the shockwaves and he screamed louder from the searing pain. Tears spilled from his eyes and spilled down his cheeks

"I'll make you scream and scream until you're drowning in your own blood," Takefute promised him, glaring into Oboro's clouding eyes. "I'll make you regret you were ever born, Shinatsu."

A laugh burst through his screams, and Oboro forced the laugh out. It almost sounded like a scream in Takefute's face. "T—The only thing I regret," Oboro sputtered. "If that I ever participate in the b-brutality that Nether Gate inflicted!"

Takefute pulled the knife out of Oboro's shoulders and pressed it to his throat. "D-Do you think you scare me, Takefute?!" Oboro continued laughing. "T-That's why I'm here! You have NEVER scared me!"

Takefute stabbed him underneath his chin. Bright patches filled Oboro's vision and he arched his head back, trying to twist his head away so that the blade didn't pierce his mouth. Takefute grabbed a fistful of his hair and their eyes met once more. "I'll give you something to be scared about," he snapped. "I'll cut your body apart, pound for pound!"

Oboro spay blood into his face. "You don't get it, do you Takefute?!" He snarled. "We are relics! RELICS! We are remnants of a time that should be long forgotten! Your ideology doesn't belong in this world! It never belonged—"

Takefute slammed the dagger into Oboro's stomach, stabbing so deep that his hand almost entered Oboro's abdomen. Oboro lurched, and then vomited blood. "Maybe I'm a relic," Takefute said. "But you won't live long enough to see what I can do to this world."

Oboro struggled to force the words out. "I—have seen," he spat. "What you can do. And you don't belong. Neither of us do."

His right arm was still broken and pinned. He was glad he left it in his pocket. His hand shook violently as it slid into his pocket…and found the trigger. He saw the realization dawning on Takefute's face and the other man scrambled to climb off of him. But Oboro had a final burst of adrenaline, and he locked his legs around Takefute's waist, causing the other man to topple to the floor.

"You're—not getting away," Oboro grunted. "I had to be sure—that you didn't. Now I know you can't. And now…now the world can forget about the likes of us."

He pressed the trigger. And the room exploded into bright light.