A young cautus on the battlefield remained motionless, or rather she remained paralyzed. While she was holding her dear doctor's hand just a few seconds ago.

*badump* *badump*

Her hands had dropped the doctor's to stand stiffly in front of her azure eyes. Her hands that were covered in still warm blood.

*badump*

She was only fourteen, and the traumatic scene that had just unfolded before her eyes had her brain spinning in a loop, unable to do anything or even think about anything else.

*ba... dump*

And all around her the battlefield was in total chaos. The troops of the reunion after having seen their leader put a foot on the battlefield felt more motivated than ever, and the troops of Rhodes Island on the contrary having seen for the last time the giant making a glide with a missing arm before disappearing, were starting to suffer from the lack of effective tactical commands, as well as a clear lack of morale. And without Gravel, or projekt red, no one was there to fill the doctor's role of running to different parts of the battlefield to help those in need. In other words.

*ba...*

The situation was getting worse every second. The only thing that was still holding on a bit was the L.G.D., even though they were fighting one to ten, the controls and the help of Ch'en and Swire were enough to hold on for a while. But as the lung glanced at the oni she could see that she too seemed to be suffering from the same anxiety sickness as the Rhodes Island troops and as a result her combat skills were suffering.

As a barrage of arrows and art blasts was organized on the side of the reunion to suppress the resilient L.G.D. Swire's brain was reeling from all the tactical notions she had to deal with as well as her preoccupation with staying alive. Ch'en was doing the same, although she had far less trouble fighting her enemies than the feline. Then suddenly when the scales on the lung's tail began to quiver she sensed the danger and looked further out onto the battlefield to see that all the soldiers in the reunion were ready to fire in front of them.

Ch'en: Everyone take cover!

Hoshiguma upon hearing this looked in front of her and stood up in front of all the other L.G.D. troops drawing the attention of the shooters and their projectiles straight to her shield. A wave of fireballs and sky-high arrows flew towards the oni and finally hit a wall. With a grunt of pain and physical effort, the young woman took on all the attacks, driven only by the will to protect her troops behind her. Quickly the volley of deadly projectiles stopped and the oni came out unharmed although exhausted and panting throwing a look of defiance to the troops in front of her who had just riddled their comrades in the front line with arrows and arts to finally have no result.

*thump* *thump*

The shots from the grenade launcher sounded like the last time. Hoshiguma raised her shield again but this time the L.G.D. aegis didn't hold against the projectiles of the young ursus, swept away by the power of the attack she crashed heavily on the ground a few meters away with her shield beside her. But when the pain made her look at her arms she realized that she couldn't use them... The bone of her right forearm came out of the flesh causing an immense pain but also letting escape a wide net of blood. Not to mention his other arm where the wrist was broken. Skullshatterer who was running in the middle of her men came out of the crowd with an inhuman leap, changing to take her two swords in hand. Seeing what had been done to her colleague, moved by rage and a desire to protect her other colleagues Ch'en felt Chi Xiao vibrate in her scabbard. So without thinking she drew her blood blade and slashed straight towards the leader of the reunion. Sensing the imminent danger, instead of trying to counter the attack as she would have tried first, she seemed to leap back into the air, her speed allowing her to dodge the attack with ease before falling straight back towards the lung, bringing both swords down towards her with all her strength. The lung managed to parry the attack using her raythean. Swire took advantage of the second of immobility of the leader of the reunion to attack with her flail.

The heavy metal object was moving too slowly toward her to be a problem. The young woman gave an impulse in her arms propelling her backwards. Swire's fatigue affected her accuracy and her flail instead of hitting Skullshatterer who was already a few meters back crashed into the side of the lung, breaking a few ribs and creating immense pain. Taking advantage of her weakness, the leader of the reunion threw herself again on the lung and raised her leg to strike a right kick to her face. Ch'en had no choice but to take the pain and retaliate with a Raythean blow that was clearly intended to slice the leg of the leader of the reunion. The young ursine changed her attack at the last moment to give her blow of the point of her boot to the elbow of her opponent deflecting Ch'en's attack immediately. But she didn't stop there, she followed up with a kick directly to the face of her enemy, throwing the lung a few meters behind and leaving the trace of her boot in red on her opponent's face while knocking her out. Seeing that only the feline was left,s he looked at her and started to walk towards her, sheathing one of her swords behind her back. Swire threw her weapon in the face of the younger ursine, but she was even more intimidated when she saw Irina grab her weapon by the chain before pulling it straight towards her with a sharp blow. With her hands still on it, the feline was thrown straight forward towards her enemy, who gave her a phenomenal headbutt.

Swire fell heavily on the ground, unconscious while the young ursine rubbed her forehead because of the slight pain. But there was no time for rest for her. Just as soon she heard bursts of gunfire being fired straight at her. Raising one of her blades by reflex with incredible difficulty she managed to parry the bullets that were aimed at her. Surprising Exusiai who was the one who had just tried to shoot at her. As well as the rest of the troops of Rhodes Island who had gathered at the same point. Irina grabbed a throwing knife from under her cloak and threw it straight at the sanktah, Exusiai didn't share the same reflexes as the other members of Penguin Logistics and against a speed that even the emerald-eyed giant couldn't match, the young woman could do nothing. And instead of being able to dodge the danger, she only managed to shift slightly so that the throwing knife could stab her in the chest, causing her to fall heavily to the ground. Texas standing right next to her was caught in a rage, the cases where Exusiai came out injured from a confrontation were rare and the friendship between the two young women was stronger than titanium. So these two things mixed together had the effect of filling the icy lupo with an emotion she hadn't felt in years. In fact seeing this the other lupo who was standing nearby started to smile happier than ever. The two wolves showing their fangs to the enemy of the reunion.

Skullshatterer: Pfft. Down doggo.

She said, drawing her two swords with a confident smile on her lips, mocking without hesitation the two lupos and their animal traits. Putting herself on guard and indicating clearly that she was preparing to play on the defensive. This was enough of a sign for the two lupos to attack in a perfectly coordinated fashion. Lappland struck on the left side of the ursus and Texas on the right. Irina countered the attacks from both sides with ease, although the strength of the white lupo proved to be much greater than the other lupo. Texas on the other hand immediately used her other sword to slash the ursus in the face. The young woman shifted but was immediately kicked in the back of the head by Lappland. The ursus wobbled and was thrown behind a few steps, shaking her head left and right her smile grew wider.

Skullshatterer: Not so bad...

She planted her two swords in the ground and before the two lupos had time to react she drew the grenade launchers she had at her belt to start shooting at her enemies. Lappland, exhausted by her previous confrontations, was hit hard and thrown completely bloody further on the battlefield. Texas her, could only partially dodge and in addition to the flames having burned her skin she felt the powder contained in the ammunition weaken her constitution as well as the steel of her blades. Understanding that her current weapons were compromised the lupo used her arts as her blades began to glow a brighter orange than ever, other orange blades fell from the sky but feeling them with the air currents Irina could have dodged by throwing herself backwards, but that was what her enemy was waiting for. Instead, she jumped forward and picked up her two blades and the speed she showed was enough to attack Texas before she had time to react. Making a large cross with her two swords, leaving this same cross as a gash on the torso of the lupo. A large gash painful and bloody enough that Texas was drained of her energy and fell heavily to the ground. But not yet dead Texas tried to grab her weapon again but Irina seeing this didn't even give her a second and instead raised her leg high in the sky to bring her right foot down on the skull of the lupo knocking her out with a simple hammer kick right on the skull. Maybe she had cracked her skull, but she didn't care, she was her enemy and she could die with her mouth wide open.

She looked towards the troops of Rhodes Island wondering who would be her next target. And immediately she received a projectile right in the face, a kind of ink projected at the speed of a rifle bullet right on her skull. Surprised she still stood with the ink running down her face mixed with her own blood. She clenched her fangs, the pain enraging her. She looked ahead to see the Rhodes Island Aegir with her sniper in hand. But then Andreana's eyes widened as she realized that her shot had not killed her opponent as she had hoped but had just angered her. Realizing that the attack was imminent, Noir Corne and Beagle took up a position in front of the Aegir, but with the barrel of her rifle protruding from between both shields.

The ursus began to run straight towards its target, soon enough seeing this Yato stood up to the young ursus giving a blow of her katana towards her opponent.

Skullshatterer: Pf. Is that all?

Asked the ursine almost laughing, she swung one of her swords vertically at the young woman, slicing her sword in half. The oni seeing that her weapon was easily compromised tried to jump back but the leader of the reunion was far too fast for her. For she had just chained another attack slicing at Yato's left leg with a sharp blow. The vanguard fell heavily to the ground with a scream of immense pain once it reached her brain. A large amount of blood escaped through the large cut that gave a view on the bone.

Orchid: Holy shit!

Noir Corne: Yato no!

Andreana fired again sensing that the situation on Rhodes Island was turning completely sour. But Skullshatterer dodged without any problem heading towards the aegir, amidst the arrows fired by Kroos and Adnachiel. The ursine threw her two swords at the defenders, one pierced through the shield of Noir and went straight through his hand making him scream in pain, and the force of the impact knocked him to the ground. But for Beagle, the ursus' weapon merely dented her shield and knocked her to the ground.

Beagle: 'Thank you Ace...'

She said to herself in her heart, looking at her protection that had held up. She remained on the ground, tiredness preventing her from getting up. Andreana raised her weapon with the barrel aimed at the eye of her enemy, and Irina gave a blow with her hand on the side of the sniper rifle sending the weapon flying away. The aegir had time to draw the revolver she had and fire a bullet.

But with such a sudden movement of the arm Skullshatterer could easily dodge the danger with a simple side step. The ursine grabbed the wrist that held the weapon, turning it over with a sinister crack, then she grabbed the gun with her other hand, turning it in her palm and slamming the butt of the gun right into Andreana's face. Making her fall to the ground heavily.

Andreana tried to get up but was immediately shot twice in the gut by her own gun.

Skullshatterer: Nice toy...

She said before throwing her weapon to the aegir with a smile on her lips. Recovering one of her swords she was already wondering who she could attack next...

*clink*

Her reflexes allowed her to see a sword going straight towards her, that she managed to parry.

Looking at the feline who had just attacked her she could recognize in her posture a great martial mastery but also in the workmanship of her weapon an excellent quality. A quality of steel that she had seen only just before in confronting the doctor. Skullshatterer kicked Melantha in the plexus and she could only jump back to dodge. Taking a respectable distance the two young women stood guard and looked at each other. And both were surprised to notice that they had a very similar posture. Especially Melantha noticed this, because having seen her opponent fight she could clearly see a similarity between her style and that of the doctor. From the way she held her weapon, to the way she parried the bullets... In a way Melantha could almost imagine that the ursine had learned from the giant. But such a thing was unthinkable.

It was the feline's turn to attack. And after a brief exchange of a few blows, even if Melantha was the one who was the most honorable in terms of length of fight, she was inevitably defeated, her weapon sent back a few meters before being stabbed by the sword of the ursine collapsing to the ground too.

Cracking her neck beginning to be slightly tired, the ursine went to grab her other sword. Surprisingly she began to find the air hard to breathe and increasingly hot. But it was something she dismissed as the forest burning around her. She began to move further into the battlefield, wondering who she would be fighting next.

A little boy was crying.

The icy wind from his land brushed against his face, his tears seeming like icicles on his cheeks.

He watched the sun set on the horizon, the orange sky contrasting with the green grass below. Sitting on the edge of the apartment building's roof, his legs dangling over the void. No matter what he thought about, his tears could not stop flowing. For the pain on his face prevented him from forgetting what had happened.

The young boy could hardly have been eight years old.

?: Yuri?

The boy gasped as he heard the voice behind him, and he might even have fallen if his hands were not firmly gripped to the ledge.

Yuri: Papa...

A rather tall man approached the young boy, his face worried. His eyes were green and his hair dark brown. A certain military attitude in his gait. No animal features were visible on him. But such a thing was normal. It was not on Terra that this boy was, but on our land earth, in good old Russia.

Viktor: What are you doing here, my boy?

Yuri: Nothing.

He continued walking towards his son.

Viktor: What happened?

Yuri: Nothing!

He answered angrily, turning his face towards his father slightly before turning it back towards the horizon, realizing his mistake. The father, tired and saddened came to sit next to his son, being careful not to look too much at his bloody and wounded face. A black eye, a busted lip, a large cut on his cheek and several bruises and bumps here and there. He looked like he was coming out of a match with Mike Tyson to be honest.

Viktor: Yuri. Tell me what happened.

Yuri: It was Alex and his friends... He kept bothering me in class today... So I told him that his mother was a whore.

His father gasped and stopped himself from laughing at the verbal abuse his son had used to defend himself at such a young age.

Yuri: Then when I got out of school he and his friends grabbed me and and...

The young boy who spoke found his voice blocked, his throat tight and unable to speak, tears running down his face like waterfalls. His father moved his arm over the son's shoulders, the son clinging to his father's chest and crying his heart out.

Viktor: It's okay...

Just his presence and touch, after a few minutes, made the boy's tears stop. But the pain in the father's heart to see one of his children so sad did not stop.

Yuri: Why nobody does anything against Alex, he is mean to everyone...

Viktor: His father is a very rich and powerful person. People like us can't do anything against him...

Yuri: So why don't you teach me to be strong? Like you, Dad?

The young boy looked at the older man, his eyes full of expectation and hope. But he only let out a tired sigh. A deep fatigue, extending far beyond the fatigue of the mind or body, a fatigue that came from his soul.

Viktor: I can't do that Yuri. I can't teach you to be strong. I can help you strengthen your muscles, I can show you how to fight. But not this. And do you know why?

He asked the young boy in a rhetorical question before immediately giving him the answer.

Viktor: Because no one can teach you to be stronger. Because hitting harder, being able to receive more punches, being able to run faster is not being strong.

Yuri: So what is being strong?

Viktor: Being strong is when you keep on hitting even when it seems that your target doesn't have a scratch, being strong is getting up every time you fall, being strong is keeping on going even when you are exhausted. To be strong Yuri, is to never give up. You can be strong. Because it's only a choice. The choice to survive, to endure, to forgive no matter how hard it gets.

Yuri: Can I really do it?

Asked the young boy who was drinking in his father's words.

Viktor: If you really want to do it, yes you can. But I know you can do it. You're a Petrenko after all.

Said the man, giving his son a smile. If the young boy had read his father's thoughts at that moment he would have read uncertainty. Uncertainty that he was saying the wrong things to him, uncertainty that his every word could hurt his spirit in the long run or mold him into a bad person. The uncertainty of a father who only wanted the best for his son and wasn't the best at putting words together.

This was mostly what the Yuri of that time perceived. The affection of his father rather than his words. And yet these words he remembered much later. Years after the first time he heard them.

But those words he took to heart. From the moment he entered the army.

Viktor: Come on, get inside before the temperature drops. And for your brother to sew your face.

Said the man as he climbed down from the edge of the roof helping his son to get down, the boy shivering with fear as he imagined the pain he was going to suffer.

Yuri: Why does Nicolai have to take care of it all the time?

Viktor: You know as well as I do that your brother is a real ace at this. And would you rather have your sister do it for you?

The boy started to shiver even more.

Yuri: N-no... Olena can stay tranquil…

Viktor: Come on, your mother should be back from her match soon, hopefully she will give you something for the pain.

Yuri: She's going to make me drink again...

Viktor: Probably.

No energy left.

His brain on the verge of destruction.

Amiya was crying without stopping.

There was nothing else for him to do or think about until everything stopped.

Sebastian: No.

*BA DUMP*

Crownslayer looked at Misha right in front of her, surprised that the girl didn't seem to want to run away at all. Even that she seemed to be just waiting for the war outside the cave they were both entrenched in to end. Misha's face seemed to get whiter and whiter as time went on, worrying the lupo. But suddenly the mine began to shake.

A little bit like an explosion of the traps of the reunion what did not worry the assassin.

On the other hand what worried her was the tremor that occurred just after. And much more powerful, that the young ursus seemed to feel too.

And then came a third tremor, proving that something was wrong. Crownslayer got up and ran towards the exit of the mines, wondering what could be going on. As the two women made their way out of the mines, they noticed that the temperature was rising indecently and the air was getting hard to breath. As they exited the cave the two young women could see the battlefield. Besides the fact that Rhodes and the L.G.D. were on the verge of defeat, there were also many dead bodies of soldiers from reunion. But the most important thing was the weather, the forests were burning even in places far from the clashes because of the stifling heat, and the sky, not a single star was visible anymore, all of them hidden by a thick and low layer of black clouds that seemed to swirl and all gather in one point.

*BA DUMP*

*BA DUMP*

Two tremors came one after the other, their origins still unknown but making the same sound as if a hundred meter colossus was hitting the earth with a hammer. Skullshatterer, who had been caught in the middle of the battlefield until then, turned to her sister, noticing that she had come out of hiding, before turning back to the origin of the tremors. A large wall of sand on top of a hill. But she decided to ignore it seeing that victory was near.

Skullshatterer: Rhodes Island!

A few pieces of rubble began to levitate into the air on the battlefield without her noticing.

Skullshatterer: Here is your last chance to surrender!

The sky was struck red in fits and starts. The sound of lightning could be heard.

Skullshatterer: Lay down your weapons and I promise you will be spared!

And as the enemy troops of reunion looked hesitantly at their weapons, knowing full well that they had already lost and could pray for a merciful fate...

*BA DUMP*

This time the tremor was far too powerful and the sound too distinct to doubt its origin. The beating of a heart.

Amiya looked at the carrion in front of her eyes. A carrion that had just closed its fist, the blood it didn't have gorging its muscles.

The doctor stood up, ignoring the pain, ignoring the wounds, ignoring death.

He walked to the wall of sand that Beeswax had created and as the girl looked at the doctor the wall collapsed because of the caprinae's fear. Soon the whole battlefield could see the walking corpse that was the doctor. No one said anything, too surprised that he was standing despite his condition. He grabbed his sword from the ground with his remaining hand. And suddenly his body began to emit a thick black smoke. Like something about to burn.

He had run out of energy. He couldn't increase the capacity of his cells and make them duplicate by themselves. Because they had already reached their limits. And with such a lack of energy. He was left with his ultimate secret weapon.

A technique he had not used in his previous hundred lives.

All along his skin small flames began to burn as Sebastian pointed his sword skyward.

The combustion of his own cells.

Suddenly his whole body began to burn like a torch, flames for meters, releasing a phenomenal amount of energy. But the most shocking thing was the doctor's scream. A cry of pain so loud that it could have echoed for miles around. It showed that he was burning alive at that very moment.

As he went up in flames the temperature on the battlefield rose beyond the limits of what was naturally possible, the water in the few puddles boiling and evaporating, all the vegetation, from trees to blades of grass, began to burn with inconceivable intensity. Boulders the size of cars and houses mysteriously lifted off the ground, gravity seemingly reversed, while other elements of the battlefield were crushed to the ground by gravity. Red lightning streaked across the sky and began to fall all over the battlefield at a furious pace, adding to the unfolding cataclysm. This same scarlet lightning took off from the ground on a few centimeters in some places.

The sky was boiling with flames illuminating the battlefield which was until then in the dark.

A real Catastrophe was about to strike. That was the feeling that all these supernatural phenomena gave. And when one looked at the doctor there was no doubt about the cause of all these cataclysmic events.

Golden light emanated from the originium of the doctor's sword, a light that gathered more abundantly than ever and condensed like a sun at the tip of the blade, as in his pain his eyes turned to Skullshatterer.

Sebastian: Rhodes Island!

Countless strands of light shot from the tip of the doctor's sword to all the Rhodes and L.G.D. operators on the battlefield. And as this light graced them, their wounds faded.

Fatigue disappeared.

The doctor began to burn brighter and brighter.

The limbs grew back.

His flesh and skin turned black.

Those who were thought to be dead got up without difficulty.

His cries of pain pierced the eardrums.

The blood, even the memory of the pain disappeared too.

His tears of suffering evaporated by the ever increasing heat.

Those who had fallen unconscious, those who had had their weapons broken, their armor shattered, their hopes crushed, rose up and returned to the only will that was available to them now. The will to win. For the defenders of Lungmen and the infected alike.

The giant lowered his blade and nearly fell as all the allied troops were back on their feet and more fit than ever. The flames on his body subsided, but remained present in some places as he looked at the soldiers of reunion in front of him.

Sebastian: Get up! The dawn of our victory is near! We will continue to stand on our bones you have broken ! We will continue to beat you with our limbs you have destroyed! We will continue to hate you with our blood that you have spilled! Burn us! Stab us! Shoot us! Because if the footprints of our lives are destined to be buried by the sands of time, then never will we moving forward! Even if you, or the gods themselves stood before us! Come on! Show us who we really are!

The doctor thrust his arm, the flames on his body burning even brighter as parts of his skin began to disappear in the burning. The energy went into his sword, right into the blade, heating it to a temperature that no one in the reunion had seen the weapon glow bright white in Talulah's hands, and that was without mentioning the flourishes of crimson lightning that danced along the blade.

A simple speech. But with the adrenaline and the mysterious effect of his arts, the troops of Rhodes Island were fired up, more than ever before. Feeling ready to defend everything they believed in. And even the few members who didn't share the cause of the infected were also in a fighting frenzy. So did the L.G.D. operators. Even though they didn't care about Rhode Island, they felt galvanized by the arts and the words. A common battle cry rose from the opposing troops at the reunion.

Ch'en, who had escaped the frenzy of war, looked at the doctor and Rhodes Island and was overcome with admiration.

Despite the fact that they had all come so close to death and defeat, despite the fact that the doctor was a corpse standing on his own. Yes, despite all this, Rhodes Island refused to fall, Rhodes Island refused to collapse. They all unanimously refused to give up. For this was no longer a fight for the few LMDs that Wei Yenwu offered them to help the city, it was no longer a fight for some infected kid.

No.

It was a question of honor for each and every one of them. A test of their will, of their willingness to fight for the future. Their future, the future of the infected. And at the head of it all was the doctor, burning himself alive to rekindle the flame of their hope. How could she not be in awe. More than an army, more than a nation, the will of the thirty or so members of Rhodes Island was overwhelming to such a point that nothing right now would have been able to stop them.

The pain tortured him. But the torture of his pain was nothing compared to the torture of the idea of abandoning Rhodes Island. They needed him. Not just those on this battlefield but those on the mobile base as well. Amiya, Nearl, Kal'tsit, W, Rosa, Exusiai, Andreana, Hoshiguma, Pramanix, , Specter, Dobermann. So many people who relied on him or whom he had things to learn, time to spend with. This thought alone was enough to crush all the pain that ran through him. If he had reached his limit then he had to go beyond it, go further and further until he did what was necessary. Even though in his condition, his own arts refusing to heal him himself, his limits were far too close. His energy was going to be a rare commodity. And the confrontation would not be easy.

But nothing in life could be easy.

Skullshatterer, seeing this new obstacle before her, gritted her teeth.

Hadn't she suffered enough?

And her sister too?

Didn't she have the right to finally be free?

Yes, she did. She could be free, she could give her sister a real life. And for that she had to win this confrontation.

She called upon the arts she had mastered. Her heart began to beat as fast as a drum roll, her muscles grew stronger and her red eyes began to glow. A red and black haze escaped from her body as her finger nails lengthened slightly and strengthened into claws. Her already protruding canines became full fangs. And the whites of her eyes turned red. While behind her an indistinct shape started to appear.

Drawing her two swords from her back she began to roar.

A roar of pure rage and beastly determination in her deepest nature. And behind the ursine so much that some thought they were hallucinating. A gigantic bear materialized from nothing, with gray fur, black crystals running through the body of the infected beast, as well as the scars. A beast that also began to roar before slowly disappearing into the air.

The opposing fighter was surprised at the time but recognized it from books he had read. A supernatural phenomenon among many others in terra that some had named, the fighter soul. A sudden, ghostly appearance behind the people who were demonstrating the maximum of their fighting ability. Reflecting the animal of origin of the person, as well as features reflecting the fighter.

Feeling like a challenged beast Sebastian also began to roar. A roar that shook the ground and the air. But above all a roar that left no doubt about its demonic origin. Some even thought they saw something appear for a short time behind the giant. Some saw several pairs of feathered wings, others horns, and still others said they even saw a crown...

Sebastian raised his arm over his head slowly... And as Skullshatterer was struck with a terrible feeling, she leapt to the side dodging at breakneck speed.

The doctor's arm came down and with it death.

So quickly that no one could dodge until it was too late, his sword hit the ground. Cutting in front of him. Of course he didn't slice through the void. In a supernatural way, the earth, the sky, everything in front of the sword was sliced. A thunderous wind echoed across the battlefield causing all those present to reflexively close their eyes. And when they opened their eyes again, a veritable canyon had formed right in front of the doctor, for miles in length. A real crevasse, his sword stroke having sliced through the section of the mobile city in front of him, revealing the complex machinery underneath the layer of Lungmen's rock, as well as the clouds that quickly reformed themselves.

The reunion troops were paralyzed with fear, as was the L.G.D. as they watched so much power being deployed. The operators of Rhodes Island had their weapons ready to use, and the little play of their doc had not surprised them at all. This was all thanks to Andreana and the fact that she had spread the word about Sebastian's fight with Specter where he had done something similar. The doctor grabbed his sword again and suddenly charged forward at the ursine, his troops throwing themselves into the battle as well but at a much slower pace. The ursine only realized that she was in danger when the doctor appeared right in front of her and was already raising his sword at her. Once again the good doctor swung his blade with all his might at the girl in front of him with the sole purpose of finishing her off.

His speed was far greater than it had been before his first defeat, yet Skullshatterer still managed to raise both of her swords to parry the attack that would have killed her. When the three swords collided, the consequences were apocalyptic.

As if a meteor had just hit the ground, it sank and broke, not for a few meters, but for kilometers, the metal infrastructure of the mobile city threatening to collapse, leaving them to fall several dozen meters. The battlefield, which until then had been rather flat, turned into a crater where the troops of the reunion blindly threw themselves, telling themselves that now was the last straight line of their fight to obtain their freedom.

The same scene as some time before took place again Irina pushing back little by little the blade of the doctor, even if this time she had much more difficulty whereas the doctor had only one arm...

But this time the giant did not say his last word. He pressed even harder on his sword attack, and started to burn even more. The flames began to burn the ursine's skin and the doctor's strength began to overwhelm her. But that was without mentioning the doctor's next move. The lightning started to pass through his body and focused in his right arm and suddenly started to electrocute the leader of the reunion. The pain and electricity throughout her nervous system paralyzed her and caused her to scream out in pain. Sebastian, who did not intend to do any favors, drew back his leg and kicked with all his might, right into the young woman's plexus.

She was wearing a bullet-proof vest, yes... But that didn't stop the shockwave that destroyed most of her internal organs and the energy released propelled her as fast as a bullet from a gun into the air to make her crash against one of the rocks that had begun to levitate, the young woman slowly falling back to the ground like a feather. The doctor looked ahead as the clash of allied and reunion troops reached his side. Some of the enemy soldiers even approached the doctor with weapons in their hands.

The giant's fangs lengthened as his bloodlust increased. He sheathed his sword and bent his knees, putting himself in a pose similar to that of Yato or Ch'en. And then putting his remaining hand on the handle of his sword he disappeared. And suddenly, most of the soldiers in the reunion in front of him in a column of several meters all lost their heads.

Literally.

No matter what, no matter how well they were protected, all those in front of the doctor were decapitated in the blink of an eye.

The leader of the reunion who was regaining her mind despite the pain, her body healing at an accelerated speed thanks to her arts. Unfortunately the giant did not even give her time to breathe. For he appeared in the air right in front of her and she tried to raise her swords, but the doctor spun around giving his sword momentum and brought it down on the ursine's belly leaving a large gash through her body armor and sending her crashing to the ground with monstrous force once again. Shattering the rocks as well as the ursine's bones. The doctor in the open recovered to a position that allowed him to land gracefully from the gravity-free zone showing somehow that he had experience fighting in this kind of environment. But the surprising Skullshatterer used his arms to propel himself with both feet together straight towards the giant, giving him a phenomenal kick that threw him several hundred meters away through the forest. The young woman no longer had the doctor in her field of vision and looked at the huge wound on his stomach but immediately perceived a movement in the air.

Looking directly at her, a flaming tree trunk flew towards her face, like a javelin that had been thrown at her. Instinctively she raised her sword and sliced the crude projectile in half, but it released a cloud of embers, and from this cloud of embers came the doctor's sword, in a thrusting motion he tried to pierce the skull of his enemy. Skullshatterer parried the attack with difficulty, but just as she was about to retaliate, the doctor did a forward somersault, surprising her, and kicked her skull with his hammer kick as his body almost exploded in flames, some of his flesh and skin turning to ash to reveal the bones beneath...

The young woman felt her skull crack under the impact of the doctor's boot and became disoriented, her brain on the verge of shutting down. The doctor saw this and raised his arm behind his head and struck Skullshatterer's skull as hard as he could with the pommel of his sword, letting a large stream of blood escape. The young woman was swept away, crashing into the ground and rolling on it before coming to a sudden stop after a few dozen meters of her slide. Getting up slowly she looked at the doctor... Who was just walking towards her...

Bastard...

Was this just a game to him? A simple hunt?

The thought alone pushed her off her feet. She stood up and picked up her two swords, gritting her teeth in pure rage.

She propelled herself forward and brought one of her swords down on the doctor. The giant parried the blow and that was to be expected... So when this first blow came another one followed right after in the opposite angle. Sebastian hit his opponent's blade again, but there was some difficulty.

The young woman understood it quickly. To be able to beat him she would have to rely on her speed. With his arm missing and his agility much less, the giant had difficulty moving his sword fast enough to parry the ursine's sword strikes. And so, in just a few seconds, Irina made about fifty sword strikes, some of which were parried but most of which were not. Sebastian took a few steps backwards as the onslaught stopped, his flaming body almost torn to pieces, his clothes more red than their original color.

But still he stood.

The pain was almost enough to drive him insane, but he would not stop the fight. And taking advantage of the moment of inattention he had. Irina raised her sword above her head and brought it down on the doctor's skull. The weapon planted itself in his cranial box until above the nose. Splitting his skull in two.

He fell to his knees on the floor with a blank stare while the young woman had a smile on her lips. Most of the troops at the reunion were happy to see the death of their enemies, but the troops on Rhodes Island were still fighting. And for a simple reason.

There was one thing the doctor often said when he received a head wound and some people were worried about him.

"Don't worry about it, it's not like there's something in there."

He said as he tapped the side of his skull. Even when an arrow was still stuck in it.

A second passed. And the doctor looked into Irina's eyes as he began to clutch her weapon with his still valid hand. Paralyzed by fear, Irina kicked the doctor in the chest, but too late, which gave the doctor time to protect himself. The good doctor was thrown backwards and fell where no one was looking. So he took advantage of those few seconds to redirect his energy into the cells of his skull, repairing the bones and skin of his head to at least be presentable. The giant immediately got up and seeing that his sword was right next to the young ursus he started to direct his energy to a particular feature of his cells.

In fact, the good doctor could manipulate his cells as he saw fit.

And most of the time, when he forged a weapon or armor, so that it would be a true extension of himself, and allow him to fight better, he forged that weapon with his blood.

The sword in the ground just behind Skullshatterer began to tremble before falling off the ground and flying directly into the back of the young woman.

The ursine felt the rush of air in her hair and her overdeveloped instincts caused her to do a backward somersault that allowed her to dodge the surprise attack at the last moment. The sword flew to Sebastian's hand thanks to the magnetism of his cells and once again the giant covered it with lightning and heat wanting to finish it once and for all. As well as Irina. Her body started to emit mist once again.

Opposite each other on the battlefield were Misha and Amiya. Both were motionless, their will to move reduced to ashes. For different reasons that said.

Misha was watching the confrontation between these two people, not really knowing which side she should be on. Seeing the phenomenal efforts that both were putting in, and the overwhelming will they were showing.

Amiya on the other hand. Just felt helpless.

Terribly helpless. That was the feeling she had while watching these two fight. Because she knew when she felt each of their blows, she didn't have that strength. She knew it when her eyes could barely perceive the speed of their attacks, she didn't have that speed. She knew it when she watched their wounds, she didn't have that stamina. She knew it when she carefully observed the way they held their weapons, she didn't have that martial knowledge.

If she got in the way of their fight, she would die. And she knew it.

So she felt weak, pathetic. She wanted to help the person she cared about most in this world to fight, to survive, to win. And yet she was unable to do so. She couldn't do anything and the thought made her clench her fists so hard that her nails dug into her skin, letting thin streams of blood escape.

The two opponents on the battlefield let a second pass and at the same time they propelled themselves forward. As their weapons clashed, a phenomenal amount of wind was created in a cone behind them. So powerful, this hundred knocked down the trees and sent the unfortunate people of the reunion flying. But the strangest thing...

was that the two enemy leaders had just made exactly the same attack.

A thrust, directed at the same place. In the same way, the cause for their weapons to clash, as the tips of their swords were against each other.

Frowning, the two leaders took a step back with their right foot, before making their diagonal sword strike starting from the left. But again their weapons clashed. They both thrust their blades and used the momentum to attack at head level with both swords held horizontally. Realizing that he had to parry his enemy's attack so soon, Sebastian swung his sword so that the part near the guard of the sword clashed with his opponent's weapon. What he didn't anticipate, however, was that Irina did exactly the same thing again.

Their weapons clashed, leaving the two to stare into each other's eyes and make strange faces in incomprehension.

They were fighting in exactly the same way.

And yet Irina didn't seem to be imitating his style.

What he could tell from the fact that looking into her eyes she was as surprised as he was.

She had obviously learned to fight like him. Which could only mean one thing.

The codex bellum also existed in this world...

The giant gave a knee blow to the plexus of his enemy, but she did the same thing seeing that both leaned forward by reflexes they gave a headbut to one another. The force of this simple headbut made them move back of some steps because of the impact, a stream of blood running on the forehead of both. Both were exhausted...

The body of Sebastian was consumed even more to bring him energy. While his left arm was already totally charred leaving only coal on his bones that still moved by the sole force of his will. Just like the right side of his body, his shirt burned on that side, as well as his muscles and skin, we could see a piece of his rib cage on the side, the pearly white of the bones coming out with the black coal of his flesh.

Irina, on her side, feeling that her energy was also running out, started to call upon her arts even more. At a price since she was not using a medium...

The originium crystals on her skin began to grow, bringing her immense pain, some of the crystals even appearing on her neck. As the distinctive black and red haze of his arts began to appear.

Sebastian looked into Irina's eyes and the two threw themselves at each other but again each of their attacks were the same. Even when one of them made a desperate move to get out of this mirror fight, the other one made the same move. And so it went on for several dozens of seconds, without either one of them managing to gain an advantage over the other. Until the moment when being separated by one meter the two leaders gave a kick with all their strength, but the soles of their shoes impacted one against the other, sending both flying a few meters back.

Sebastian's anger rose as the flesh on his body fell away.

He was about to throw himself back into the fray, when a voice called out to him.

Ch'en: You look like hammered shit, doctor.

The surprised giant turned to the lung who approached him with a nonchalant step, her sword in hand.

Surprised that someone intervened in her confrontation the young ursus looked around to see that her soldiers...

Were losing.

The combined efforts of the L.G.D. and Rhodes Island had them retreating near the mines despite Crownslayer's intervention, the front line was moving more and more towards where Misha was. The panicked young woman began to lose some of her moral. But she reassured herself that she just had to win.

Ch'en: A hand?

She asked with a sly smile in the corner of her mouth. And although it was obvious that it was costing him, the doctor reluctantly accepted.

Sebastian: Maybe...

He didn't wait for the two to agree on a plan. He went straight for Skullshatterer, who raised her two swords ready to fight one last time. When the doctor was only a meter away from the ursine, he felt the danger at his back. So he jumped back.

Ch'en: Chi Xiao! Unseath!

Camouflaged behind the giant Ch'en drew her blood blade and launched a wave of red energy straight at the ursine. Irina sensing the danger by her instincts as good as the doctor's though later than him, threw herself backwards onto the ground, for her lying on the ground was the only way to dodge being sliced in half in time. However, as soon as she was on the ground, she could see the doctor flying through the air to pierce her with his sword. Widening her big red eyes, she rolled to the side, dodging the doctor's blade by a few inches. Grabbing her swords to bring them down on the doctor's back who had his weapon still planted in the ground, she was prevented from doing so when she felt the lung's sword come down on her side.

She turned at the last moment and parried Ch'en's attack. But that second was all it took for Sebastian to kick behind the ursine's knee, causing her to fall slightly forward. And with her broken guard, Irina could not dodge nor to counter the blow of heel that the superintendent of the L.G.D. gave right to the face sending her to fly to several meters from there and printing a pretty red trace on the face for her. When Irina got up, she was greeted by the giant and the lung who swung their swords at her in opposite directions. She jumped to dodge the attack and gave a jumping kick and chained the skull of the giant and that of the lung making both of them move back a few steps. Realizing that Ch'en was the weaker element, Skullshatterer moved towards her and tried to pierce her rib cage with her two swords. But once again she was too slow and the giant too fast, the two roles having been reversed. He gave a blow of the blade's tip on the side of the young woman touching her directly and piercing her liver. Spitting out blood, she freed herself from her wound before the lung brought down one of her swords on her.

The three fighters looked at each other, and Irina quickly took out a handful of throwing knives from under her cloak and threw them towards the lung. Sebastian stood right in front of her as the ursine had hoped and she had already thrown herself on him to be able to slice with a movement of shears, as earlier. But surprising the reunion leader, the bloody-eyed giant kicked right into her face despite the swords coming down around his leg which was completely charred under the fireproof pants, and that leg instead of being sliced clean off like his right arm, the swords bounced off it as if they had hit metal, Sebastian having redirected half of the iridium in his body to the point of impact to act as armor.

The leader of the reunion was thrown backwards once more, flying to another flying rock, before being struck by a flash of red lightning, almost unconscious, her bestial rage to survive rose to the surface and she planted both feet against the surface of the rock before turning to face the leader of Rhodes Island and the leader of the L.G.D. She strengthened as much as she could with all her muscles, no matter how much pain this would cause, no matter how much irreversible damage her limbs would suffer.

It was all worth it.

For her. For her sister.

The two enemy leaders stood guard and Irina gave the impulse in her legs. Faster than a rifle bullet, faster than a lightning bolt, faster than a meteor, and creating an explosion larger than any that had echoed before with that one impulse, Irina propelled herself straight toward the two leaders.

Time seemed to slow down for both the ursus and the giant.

But unfortunately for her.

He had foreseen this.

Sebastian grinned as he grabbed Ch'en and put her on his back. Then he removed his foot from where it was placed. And Irina could see... A mine.

Anti infantry landmine.

That she had placed here to trap Rhodes Island...

Shit.

The explosion sounded and the young woman was thrown far into the air before she crashed to the ground. Blood poured from her body and metal shards pierced her flesh. It was the last attack to defeat her. All her wounds mixed with her lack of energy meant that her arts no longer had any effect. And instead of getting up as she would have liked, she lost consciousness. The aftermath of her injuries was too much for her. On the other hand, the doctor received almost all the damage from the explosion while protecting the lung, but unfortunately the shockwave that remained at close range stunned Ch'en and made her fall to the ground. Sebastian fell to the ground on one knee, before getting up ignoring the pain and injuries. Then he began to walk, slowly towards Skullshatterer's body. He dropped his sword and the battlefield fell silent. The troops of the reunion had stopped fighting and were just looking at the scene before their eyes, their morals shattered when their leader was cut down. But at the same time how could they expect to win now. The soldiers of the reunion had retreated a few dozen meters in front of the troops of Rhodes Island. Crownslayer, wounded by a confrontation with Hoshiguma, had returned to Misha's side. And all the soldiers, like the young ursine, were looking at the middle of the battlefield paralyzed in the expectation of what would happen next.

The emerald-eyed giant drew his handgun which had miraculously survived the hellfire that still ran through the doctor's body. He stood right next to the body of the leader of the reunion and pointed his weapon straight at her skull.

He was expected to shoot her.

The reunion, the L.G.D., Rhodes Island, in fact, everyone expected him to shoot her. That he would pull the trigger and put a bullet into the ursine skull.

But instead. A second passed. Then two.

The doctor's face was as cold as Sami's nights, and his gaze never left the face of the reunion leader.

This world was brutal.

Much more than he was.

If he wanted to accomplish his goal, he had to be strong.

But what was it to be strong?

Never give up, yes. That he understood. But another thing he understood through his travels. It was that this principle of never giving up also applied to pity and faith.

That thing he felt when he watched those people who forgave again and again. It was admiration. A boundless admiration for never losing hope in human beings. Something he was incapable of most of the time.

If he was going to start being strong, then that was the way to really start.

Pity for his enemy seized him, and hesitantly his finger on the trigger of his weapon was released. And with a sigh he sheathed his weapon. Laughing at himself.

He was definitely stupid and naive. With his remaining arm he grabbed his last vial of chlorophytye and uncorked it to slip it into his mouth and fill it with the healing liquid. But he did not swallow it.

The doctor bent down and with his remaining arm grabbed the leader of the reunion and began to carry her gently, before starting to walk towards the enemy troops.

Now it was not only the troops of the reunion who were motionless, but also those of Rhodes Island and the L.G.D. All were paralyzed by surprise. After all who would spare an enemy? Who would spare a person who had tried to kill him several times and almost succeeded. Who would spare a person who almost killed all his friends and allies. Who would spare a person whose ideals were opposed.

The doctor didn't know who else was dumb enough to do this besides himself.

What he did was surprising, of course. But no one on Rhodes Island dared to object. Everyone trusted the doctor's actions. For after what had happened today no one questioned it, by the blood and ashes spilled he had earned the ultimate trust of those who were there today.

While the blood continued to flow from the body of the young woman and Sebastian continued to walk towards the troops of the reunion, the giant approached his head to that of the ursine who had her mouth open still unconscious. And he pressed his lips on hers.

Of course he had not just kissed his enemy. In fact he transferred the content of the vial of chlorophyte to her mouth with his. Since he couldn't give it to her with his other hand... Since the said hand was being eaten by worms a few meters away...

Misha and Crownslayer suddenly started to blush as they watched the scene, but this redness on their cheeks disappeared quickly after the initial embarrassment had passed and especially after the two young women noticed that the ursine's body started to glow with a green light as her wounds closed. Thus some could understand that he had just healed his enemy. In any case, his wounds were far too important for the vials to have any effect...

He continued to walk towards the reunion troops not disturbed by his act while the leader of the reunion opened her eyes which had taken again their initial colors. The irises of an unearthly blood red slowly turned to the doctor's face. It didn't take her long to realize that he had spared her and healed her. Then the young woman taken of incomprehension but too weak to move she nevertheless managed to say a word.

Skullshatterer: Why...?

Sebastian: Don't you ever get tired of killing. Over and over again your enemies? I do.

During the doctor's slow walk the young woman looked at the group of the reunion. And especially her young sister.

Skullshatterer: How long does she have to live without treatment?

Sebastian: It's hard to know exactly. My estimation is around three weeks.

The young woman looked regretful. And she looked at the giant again, and then her hands came to rest against the giant's chest and she squeezed slightly.

Skullshatterer: I'm going to leave the reunion..

He did not answer. And she didn't expect an answer.

Sebastian: If you need a place to stay go to St. Peregrine Cathedral in Lungmen. Tell the archbishop that you are coming from me. You'll be safe there, even if you are infected.

Skullshatterer: Thanks... Hey.

The giant looked at her.

Skullshatterer: Take care of my sister for me...

Sebastian: Of course.

Arriving right in front of the troops of the reunion, Crownslayer remained paralyzed with an instinctive terror when she saw the giant so close. The gargantuan man helped the young woman down from his arm and the lupo helped her friend by putting her arm around her shoulder to help her walk. The young woman looked at her sister beside her.

Skullshatterer: Misha, go with the doctor.

Misha: Sis-

Skullshatterer: Don't worry. We'll see eachother again. Soon.

She looked at the giant.

Skullshatterer: And the doctor is a good person.

The young woman gave her sister a smile. And the giant did the same to Misha, holding out his remaining hand. Hesitantly, the ursine clutched the giant's hand and waved goodbye with her other hand to Irina, her expression slightly sad. The young woman did the same but gave a grand reassuring smile to her younger sister. The doctor and his initial objective began to leave. But at one point he turned his head towards them.

Sebastian: Go away. And don't come back.

In fact, perhaps a hundred soldiers from the reunion had the capacity to shoot the doctor right now and take him down.

But a good soldier also knew when to accept defeat when it had already happened. And here there was no hesitation.

The doctor was the winner of this battle.

Skullshatterer: Come on. Let's go.

The young woman gave the order and the troops of the reunion started to leave in the escaping mines. Ch'en, who had gotten up, sighed as she watched her enemies leave. She didn't like the idea of letting them go without doing anything, but she hated even more the idea of attacking them in the back.

Amiya: Doctor...?

Everyone looked at the doctor, and they could all see that something was wrong. Besides the wounds... His eyes were empty.

The memories of his nightmare came back to him.

"You didn't even try to fight!"

He had fought until he couldn't fight anymore.

His footsteps were starting to become jerky.

"I killed her and her sister! You dare to call yourself a doctor but you weren't able to save them!"

Both sisters were alive. And would survive.

In some places, ash seemed to emanate from his body.

"All you do is spread death around you!"

He had saved and spared... So many people that he could have simply killed...

A smile graced the doctor's lips.

Seeing that he was starting to turn more and more to ash as the flames on his body stopped, Hibiscus focused her medical arts on the doctor.

But he did not glow green.

She tried again, but still with the same effect.

Her arts were not working.

In fact, the medical arts could not work on the dead.

The giant looked at the cautus in front of him and as a few tears fell from his eyes he began to smile.

"I hate you!"

The young cautus looked worried, shocked, but in no way mad with rage.

Sebastian: I won Amiya...

His tired voice spoke and suddenly his body began to disintegrate more and more into ashes.

Every inch of his flesh began to turn to ash revealing more and more of his bones, and as the Rhodes Island operators looked on petrified, his very face turned to ash, and all that remained of the doctor's body was a skeleton that fell heavily to the ground in several pieces.

Misha: Doctor !

Said the terrified girl who was still holding the skeleton's hand.

And that's when most noticed.

The earthquakes, the shaking caused by that heart beating louder than a god's... Those shakes had stopped as soon as the doctor had started to go up in flames...

The moment he had treated everyone on the battlefield.

He was already dead.

That was the price of victory. That was the price of strength.

With a death of the doctor sounded the end of the first battle of Lungmen. And without the hate words of the cautus, the victory of the doctor was clear.