"So, we'll go over the plan one more time." Claire said as she, Erica, Liddy, Matthew, Emile and Artorian stood around the holo projection of the Zwei Islands' city district. They were all suited up and in transit, the aircraft making quick time to their objective.

"There are five reported Savage in the area, all are spread a fair distance so they should be easy to attack separate without them grouping up. Reports indicate that there are four regular Savage units, lead by a Trenta-class at the heart of the district."

'Trenta-class.' Artorian thought bitterly, tightening his fist at the Savage type. It was a Trenta that delivered the fatal blow on Hayato years ago, nearly claiming his life and Emilia's if his father hadn't shown up. He knew that even a single one meant business, as the impact of one of their blasts managed to break his father's arm, a feat that isn't to be scoffed at.

"With our numbers we can divide up evenly and take out the Savage effectively." Claire continued. "The teams will be divided as such: Erica, Liddy and myself will take up team one while Matthew, Artorian and Emile. Matthew, as the most experienced of the three, I expect you to properly guide Artorian and Emile through their portion of the mission."

"Understood." Matthew nodded, Artorian taking the opportunity to better measure him. As expected, he was more than fairly built, not as much as himself but the variable suit hid nothing. It was the colors he was expecting, gold at the center with red sides. His uniform had shoulder guards like Erica and Liddy's, but it didn't hide the several scars on his arms.

"In this mission, the three of us shall deal with one of the regular Savage before going to take on the Trenta." Erica spoke as she manipulated the hologram, bringing it up to the three left over. "While we do that, it'll be up to you three to take out the three Savage furthest away from the Trenta. Given the team composition, it should work out perfectly for you."

"Both Emile and I will stun the two Savage closest to one another, keeping them still and opening their hide." Matthew took over, looking to his subordinates. "Artorian, as the powerhouse in this operation, you'll be the one that destroys the cores. If you build up enough power you'll break through it like it's nothing. Whichever one you destroy first will determine if Emile or I go ahead and stun the last one."

"Are you sure it's good to leave only three Slayers to fight the Trenta?" Emile asked. "Those things don't exactly go down easily, even Full-Body Armament can struggle if it's prepared enough."

"Give us some credit, this isn't our first time dealing with Savage." Liddy responded. "We've gone on over two dozen missions already and have come out with few injuries."

"We've also gone into scenarios with unknown elements, we're more than capable of handling this." Claire finished.

"Translation: you haven't fought one and think your strategy for the smaller ones will work." Artorian stated, getting everyone's attention.

"And what has you say that?"

"Keeping a Trenta still is next to impossible, you have to have the collective power of a lightning bolt striking its limbs and core to stun it." He explained. "And then there's actually getting to the core. The physical strength to cut through can't be obtained just with enhancements. The closest one who could break through out of you is Liddy, and her weapon's too much of a focus point. If you get there, you likely won't have the momentum to break it."

"I'm aware of your knowledge of the Savage, however it is irrelevant in this situation." Claire responded. "Regardless of you knowing how to deal with one, a Trenta is far outside your current capability. You and Emile would be swept away if you tried to fight it."

"That thing is on par with the Savage that broke my dad's arm." Artorian argued. "If you thought I was stubborn for getting up from your attack you've never seen what my dad's been hit by."

"That is enough Artorian." Matthew ordered. "You've been given your mission. We'll wipe out the regular Savage and move to assist evacuations once we're done. Claire and her team will be able to handle the Savage on their own, and if need be I will reroute to assist them. Is that good enough for you?"

"Not really, but it's obvious I don't have a say in this." Artorian relented, rolling his eyes as the back hangar door opened. "But I stand by what I say, you're over your heads thinking you scan go against it on your own."

"We are not aiming to defeat it, simply to hold it at bay for as long as possible." Claire stated. "Once reinforcements come in, the Trenta will be dealt with our combined might."

The three then jumped out as they deployed their Hundreds, Artorian shaking his head as he watched them go. "They're going to get themselves killed."

"You underestimate them." Matthew responded. "Just because you might not be capable of fighting a Trenta doesn't mean they can't. You lost to Claire in a duel if you recall."

"It's because I know Claire's stronger than me that I spoke my opinion." Artorian said. "It'd be a pity if someone of her caliber was lost because she overestimated herself. My father always told me that a fight against a Trenta isn't a laughing matter, direct combat only works if there's enough strength-based Slayers in the squad."

"I suggest you three get ready yourselves." Charlotte spoke over their comms, interrupting them. "It won't take long for them to destroy the regular Savage, and you'll need to move quickly to destroy the rest."

"You heard her, get into position." Matthew ordered, the three moving to the open hatch. "Now then, we'll be following Claire's lead in engagement. Emile, use your dragoon Hundred to keep your Savage at bay and damaged. Artorian is strong but he lacks experience in focusing his energy to deliver a strong enough blow to shatter the Savage's armor."

"Roger that!" Emile grinned while saluting.

"Um, quick question." Artorian spoke up, looking down to see the city. "Is there an actual way to get down? My Hundred allows me to jump really high, I don't actually have any ability to fly like everyone else."

"You'll learn to do that, but we don't have time to go over it." Matthew said as he pulled out his Variable Stone, the gold and red reflecting the sun's light. "Hundred On!" In a bright flash Matthew's Hundred formed, revealing the bright red gauntlets with golden decals. In his hand formed a trident spear, and at the edges there was small sparks of electricity going off.

"Emile, you'll be charged with making sure he glides to a safe enough altitude to drop. Then head to your Savage and disorient it."

"Well, you heard him!" Before Artorian could argue, he felt Emile tackle him from behind, the two no longer in the transport and in the air.

"You're going to be the death of me." Artorian said with a deadpanned expression, the two falling rapidly as Matthew jumped out to follow.

"Hundred On!" The two then activated their Hundred, Artorian's spare sword and shield forming holstered on his back to free his arms up.

After a few seconds of free-fall Emile reached out and gripped Artorian's hand, using his Hundred to help Artorian recover and focus. "Don't worry Artorian, I got you!"

"You're the one who put me in danger to begin with." He groaned as he looked down, seeing the multiple Savage roaming the city. He then glared as he looked towards the closest one, tightening his hold on his sword.

"We should be at a safe enough height now! Emile, release Artorian and move for your Savage!" Matthew ordered, sparks of his golden energy forming around his arms before he readjusted his course for the next Savage.

"Alright, here goes!" Emile smirked as he released Artorian's hand and summoned his gun pods. Charging them for a split second, he fired several beams at the area around the Savage to disrupt its vision. When he landed on the ground, Emile quickly went to work and began to fire at the armor protecting the core, blasting it away after five consecutive shot hit.

"It's open now Artorian!"

"Time to die you overgrown crab!" He shouted as he raised his sword over his head, focusing his energy into his feet to keep himself balanced as he fell. When he reached the Savage, he swung down with as much strength as he could, cracking the core and causing some of its blood to come shooting out. He didn't dig deep enough to kill it, and was forced to retreat before it could strike him.

Seeing it swing one of its claws, he quickly equipped his shield onto his free arm and parried the attack, feeling the bones in his arm rattle at the contact. Using the opening, he focused his energy into his arms and quickly swung his sword, cleaving its claw off from the weak point before jumping up. Twisting his blade, he brought the end down right into the crack he made and cut right through the core, shattering it and causing the blood to burst out and cover his forearm.

Jumping off it as it collapsed, Artorian looked down to the green fluid that coated his arm. It felt warm, the texture feeling similar to the time he drank it. However it also felt as if he could feel it affecting his arm, a sudden pulse of energy going through him as it dripped off.

"We did it Artorian!" Emile cheered, grinning as he looked over to him.

"Yeah, we did." He muttered back, looking down to his blood stained sword.

"Now that you're done, move to eliminate my Savage while Emile goes to stall the third." Matthew ordered over the comms, a bolt of energy going off as a Savage's shriek was heard.

"Alright, let's go!" Emile nodded as he started to run off, Artorian standing still as he continued to look at the Savage's blood. The sound of a deeper Savage's roar shook him out of his gaze, and almost by instinct he boosted himself up to the top of the building nearby.

Across the city he could see the Trenta being wrapped up by Erica's chain Hundred, keeping its claws close to its body. He could barely see, but the figure of Liddy running past and jumping up at the Trenta was just visible to him. And for a second, he felt as if the team would be able to actually handle the Trenta, hearing them coordinate flawlessly over the comms.

However that second passed the moment the Trenta's claw fought against Erica's chain and swung at Liddy. Neither was able to react as Liddy was struck through and entire building before crashing onto the roof, Erica getting slammed onto another as her chains disappeared.

"Liddy! Erica!" Artorian heard Claire over the comms, his grip on his sword tightening as his eyes widened.

"We have two down!" Artorian announced over the comms, causing Emile to stop and turn back in the direction of the Trenta. "Liddy and Erica are likely out of commission, I'm moving in to assist!"

"You ill do no such thing Artorian." Matthew ordered. "We have specific orders to take out the two regular Savage, until then we are not to deter our objective the slightest."

"But they're injured! We could at least try and get them out of danger." Emile tried to argue, but was shut down by Claire.

"Both of you just follow your orders, I will handle this situation as I had informed you. You have your own objective to accomplish."

"Claire you don't understand, you-!"

"That's enough out of you!" Claire shouted back as her Hundred surrounded her, the president activating her Full-Body Armament and summoning her Buster Cannon.

Artorian bit his lip as he felt the energy begin to build up, his senses somehow managing to pick up the limited energy moving in Claire. 'You idiot, you don't have your energy back after last night! A Trenta class will overpower you in two shots!'

"Artorian, get over here and deal with the Savage!" Matthew demanded as he shouted over the comms. "That is a direct order that you will follow to the letter! You will not engage the Trenta, leave it to Claire!"

Artorian then bit down hard enough that he began to bleed, his shield going to his back as he saw Claire fire her canon. The Savage built up the same amount of energy in no time and fired, the two blasts clashing and exploding with force.

"Artorian? Artorian!"

'I fucking hate this bimbo!'

"It canceled it out?" Claire spoke to herself as she saw the Trenta still standing, a cloud of dust surrounding it and her from the detonation.

"Very well, a second blast at full power should do it." She concluded as she aimed again, preparing her second blast while the Savage followed suite. As she was at 50% charge however, Claire's energy conduits began to beep loudly, revealing that she was low on energy.

'I haven't finished recovering?' Claire thought in shock. 'But my energy should've been back by now, the duel against Artorian didn't take up that much power.'

"Claire watch out!" Erica shouted as the Trenta's energy finished charging, the president staring in shock as it fired the massive beam.

However just as it was about to strike her, a formless figure rushed right at Claire. The beam dug through the ground for several second before letting up. Having closed her eyes to brace herself, Claire was surprised when she opened them once more, expecting the blast to have finished her off.

"You're a fucking, god damn idiot." Her attention was brought to Artorian, turning to see him carry her bridal style while jumping through the air. Both his swords were on his back while his shield was nowhere to be seen; completely shattered as it was caught in the blast.

"Artorian?" She spoke up, at a loss for words at the Slayer having reached her so quickly.

"Who the fuck else has the balls to call you the dim brained idiot you are?" He responded, looking down to her in irritation before sighing. "Are you alright?"

"You… you deliberately disobeyed my and Matthew's orders." She stated, getting him to roll his eyes.

"Good to know you're okay." He grunted. "You could try to say thank you, I did just save your life by the skin of our teeth."

"Why did you do it?"

"Because it's my fault you were in that position to begin with." He answered, confusing her. "Look it's a long story so I won't bother explaining, I'm not allowed to anyways. Just know that I take full responsibility for your condition and I don't intend to let you die because of it. So I won't let you die here to a Savage like that; besides we still need to have that rematch."

This conversation wasn't over yet; Claire was sure to bring it back up once the mission was complete. But for now she was willing to drop it, albeit her cheeks were dusted red from their position.

"You should rethink where you put your hand when grabbing someone." She said at seeing his raised eyebrow, bringing his attention to his left hand. Seeing it lightly gripped on her breast, he sighed while closing his eyes.

"You have a weird set of priorities, don't you?"

"Why are you always taking my first experiences away from me?" She muttered to herself as he landed on a nearby rooftop, getting an exaggerated sigh from him.

"And what's with all this emphasis in "firsts" exactly? You make it sound like I just took you to bed or something."

"This was my first princess carry…"

"Are you ignoring me or something!?"

"Claire, Artorian! It's aiming right at you!" Erica warned the two, getting Artorian to keep a hold of the president while he glared at the Trenta.

"Damn it! Hold on for a couple seconds Claire, we're not out of the woods yet!" He said as he was about to jump away, the energy in his feet glowing bright.

"Wait! There's an airport right in line of the Savage's fire!" Erica informed, stopping Artorian from making the jump. "If you dodge, everyone trying to evacuate will get killed!"

"If we don't dodge then we all die!" Artorian argued. "My shield couldn't handle that much energy, what are we going to do to even stop it?"

"We'll form a barrier." Claire concluded, confusing Artorian. "You have more than enough energy to create a barrier, and if I add in my remaining power we can create a barrier strong enough to handle the blast."

"Last time we worked off your calculations you lost two Slayers in the same second. Besides, I don't even know how to form a barrier to begin with!"

"Raise your left hand up." Claire spoke, catching him off guard. "Open your hand and focus your energy into your palm directly. Then, imagine it expanding out to form a thin wall. Then twist that wall and create a dome around you, once there you can increase your energy as much as you want to strengthen the barrier."

"…Wow…" He muttered, looking at her in surprise.

"What?"

"This is the first time I was explained how to use something since I got to Little Garden." He commented before shaking his head, holding his left hand out as Claire used her right arm to sling herself on him. "This is complete suicide, you know that right?"

"We have no choice, as Slayers it's our duty to protect these people. And we will do so without hesitation." Claire responded as she placed her left hand next to his, both their palms open as the energy began to combine. "We will only have a second to create the barrier, in that time you can't think of anything else but creating it, understood."

"Right, no pressure." He muttered before thinking on the energy, seeing the Savage fire its blast right at them. He then narrowed his eyes and manipulated the energy in his palm, Claire following suite as the two colors mixed together. In the last second before the blast struck them the barrier formed around them, taking most of the impact off of them.

They were pushed back a bit from the intensity, but Artorian planted his feet into the roof and held strong, refusing to give up any more ground to the Savage.

"We're going to release the built up energy in our barrier at the same time! The force will redirect the Savage's blast and send it away!" Claire informed, getting a nod from Artorian as he began to increase his energy.

"Release your energy, now!" She ordered, the two powering up as much as they could before firing the combined energy in a short burst. The Savage's energy was then redirected to their left, exploding safely in the ocean miles away while their energy exploded back into the mountains in the distance behind the Savage.

"We have succeeded." Claire sighed in relief as Artorian placed her back on her feet.

"I'd rather not repeat that process again, so avoid getting caught in a pinch like that alright?" He responded, cracking his neck as he felt the loss of energy affect him. However Claire was affected much more, as she nearly collapsed if he hadn't caught her by his shoulders. "Hey, hey, don't go passing out on me yet. We're still in direct sight of the Savage, I don't want to have to carry you again."

"Sorry, it's taking everything I have just to keep my armaments on." She said, her Full-Body Armament disappearing as she went back to her base state.

"Well, well, you two certainly paint a pretty picture." Emile commented hostilely over the comms, getting Artorian to roll his eyes while Claire went back to standing on her own.

"Emile, is this really the time to be acting like that?" He asked.

"Oh no, we have more than a few things to discuss once we're done here Artorian!" Emile stated as he formed a scythe in his hand, striking at the Savage's core plating. He didn't even manage to dent the glass and was forced to dodge. As he jumped back, he caught sight of debris falling towards Liddy, the Slayer still unconscious from her injuries. Emile didn't even hesitate to rush down and slice the rocks away, putting him in direct path with the Trenta.

"Emile what are you doing!?" Artorian shouted, surprising Claire as he focused energy into his feet and jumped from building to building after him. "You can't take that thing head on! Grab Liddy and get out of there!"

Emile wasn't given any options however, as the Savage prepared one of its claws to strike at him. The only option he had was to form a shield, producing one similar to Artorian's as quickly as he could.

'No, not again!' Artorian thought in panic as he saw the Savage swing its claw forward, Emile's shield not yet finished materializing.

"I can't move!"

"It's okay! We can carry you back to the shelter!"

Voices began to plague his mind as he saw the Savage strike, Emile's shield just doing enough to redirect the attack barely. He had still taken damage, as the claw ripped through his variable suit. Underneath, revealed a deep cut scar that was healed, and in that second Artorian's eyes widened in utter fear. The Slayer was then knocked down, unable to defend as the Savage prepared another attack.

"EMILIA!" For a split second, the dark mist from last night formed around Artorian and he shot forward at blinding speed. The moment he landed between the Savage and Emile, Artorian grabbed both his swords and swung out, clashing against the Savage's claw and causing a kinetic explosion to go off.

When the dust settled, Artorian was seen holding the Trenta's claw back with his father's sword in his right hand. His left hand was hanging limply as the gauntlet shattered and a bone was sticking out of his skin.

"Emilia, you have to run, now!" He grunted as he put all his strength to push against the Savage, the mist disappearing and his remaining strength slowly going with it.

"Wait you… remember?" Emile asked in shock, holding his arms over his now exposed chest, revealing a pair of breasts. "Did your… memories come back?"

"I never forgot!" He shouted, feeling his legs begin to shake as the Savage pushed down against him. "Emilia please, run while you still can! I can't… I can't hold this thing for long! Get out of here before I-!" Before he could finish, the roof under him collapsed, sending him crashing down with the Savage slamming him into the ground.

Emilia stare in horror as the boy was complete gone from view, the Savage screeching in victory as it pulled its claw out from the rubble. That horror grew into despair as the Savage raised its claw for another blow, aiming right at her and Liddy as they were powerless to move.

'I… I can't do it.' Artorian thought as he felt his conscious slowly fade underneath the rubble. 'My left arm's completely broken, I lost both my spare sword and shield, and now I can't even feel anything except for the pain.'

"ARTORIAN!"

'Emilia… I'm sorry. I can't move anymore, not even when you need me to. I… I left you behind again.' He then closed his eyes as he tightened his right hand on his sword, crying in anger as he snarled at his weakness. 'I left you behind again, but this time my dad isn't… no one's here to save us…'

'Dad I… I'm sorry I can't fight anymore… you died for nothing and now Karen's… Karen and Emilia both are…'

Artorian's eyes then snapped open as herecalled his promise to his father, his body heating up unbearably when he did. An uncontrollable rage began to overcome him as he felt his conscious fade, replaced by the heat, and in that next second his eyes turned bright gold, identical to when he fought against Claire.

Before anyone could react, an explosion of blue energy went off beneath the Savage, blinding everyone for a split second. When the light went away, Emilia was shocked to see Artorian standing in front of her, holding the Savage's claw by its edge with his broken arm.

His eyes were wide in rage as he gripped onto the limb as hard as possible, cracking the armor while blood shot out of his arm from the pressure. He didn't care however, and in a roar of anger pushed the Savage back, his strength sending it crawling several meters back. No time was given to react, as Artorian shot out and slashed its right claw clean off, landing on the building across the road.

The Savage's blood erupted from the injury, and in that second Artorian lunged forward and slashed across its back, cracking the armor and landing on the road bellow. He then quickly turned on his feet and held his sword out, placing his hand on the blade to absorb the impact of the Savage's counter.

He was sent skidding over a dozen meters back, but he kept to his feet, completely unfazed as blood erupted from his arm's injury. The moment he stopped, he built up energy in his sword to where it glowed blue, slashing out and sending a massive projectile of raw energy. The Savage was able to move its upper body to dodge, a small chunk of its armor getting burned off as it passed.

However, the projectile didn't stop and was heading right for Erica, who was still too injured to move. Just as it was about to hit her, a blur of gold shot past her and struck the energy, sending it flying into the sky without any effort.

"Matthew?" Erica muttered, the golden light dying around him to reveal his Full-Body Armament. It was heavily armored, not a single part of his missing a piece of metal. Aside from his gauntlets and greaves, his armor was completely golden, his helmet shaped like a lions and a red energy plume coming out of it.

"Looks like I made it in time." Matthew sighed as he swiped his trident to the side, Savage blood still fresh on it from his quick elimination of the two regular Savage.

"Your Starving Lion, you activated your Full-Body Armament?"

"It was the only way I could eliminate both Savage and make it here in time." He explained, watching as he saw Artorian lunge at the Savage. "So it looks like Artorian has lost control of himself again."

"It happened when the Savage crushed him beneath rubble." Erica stated, her composure returning as the mentioned layer struck the Trenta's left front leg, knocking it to the side and causing it to collapse. "He has a severe injury on his left arm, but it appears as if it the injury isn't even there."

'That part is the Abyss.' Matthew noted, knowing the subconscious ignorance to pain the anomaly caused. However, he wasn't able to answer the shocking amount of energy that Artorian was producing as he swung widely at the Savage's abdomen, each strike causing more cracks to form on its armor.

'What is going on?' Artorian thought, unable to process anything beyond his own thoughts and the heat inside him. 'I can see or hear anything, but I feel like I'm fighting. Where am I swinging? Where is the pain from my arm?' He questioned in his mind, while at the same time his body had struck deep enough to cause the Savage's blood to escape from the cracks.

'My body's completely burning, I feel like I'm consumed in flames right now.' At the sensation of the blood touching him, Artorian's body roared in fury as it shot its free arm, grabbing onto the open chunk of armor and pulling. It took no more than ten seconds before he ripped a massive opening in the Savage; its blood pouring onto him as he continued to roar.

"This is bad, there's too much Savage blood on him!" Claire said in horror as Artorian ripped his way into the Savage, entering the beast's innards as his energy grew more. Sings of him swinging randomly was seen, as his blade's energy was cutting through the Savage and causing more opening to form outside its armor. "He's going to die from exposure, his body won't be able to handle it with his injuries!"

'No, we won't be that lucky.' Matthew thought as he glared at the Savage, seeing Artorian's sword erupt from the top with the core impaled on it. 'The Abyss will make him immune to the effects of Severance, he's likely at the equivalent of stage 4 and he's just getting stronger.'

Artorian then grabbed onto the outside and pulled himself out, revealing his enraged state as he held the core up high. His actions were now mirroring that of a beast that defeated its rival, mocking the defeat of the Savage as if it was nothing.

"I'm going to have to put him down now, before he gets any stronger." Swiping his free hand across his trident, the weapon began to spark with lightning along with his gauntlets, his energy increasing as he readied himself. "I'll only have one opening, but I can kill him in that time."

"What?"

"Kill him?"

"He's no longer in there." He responded to Claire and Erica's reactions, the lightning spreading to across his whole body as his armor's visor glowed red. "What your staring at is nothing more than a beast with no control. He is now an even greater danger than the Trenta was, he cannot be allowed to live."

"Matthew stand down! We do not kill our allies!" Claire ordered, sensing Matthew rise his energy to his max.

"That isn't our ally, not anymore."

'No, I can't let him do it!' Emilia thought as she activated her Hundred, moving instantly right for Artorian.

"Emile no!"

"Crossfode don't!"

'I'm coming Artorian!'

Sensing Emilia approach, Artorian's body acted on instinct and flung the Savage core off of his sword and right at Emilia. She didn't even blink as she summoned two canons and shot the core, destroying it and continuing to him. Artorian roared as he raised his sword up, energy pooling around him as he prepared to swing at her again.

'I have to do it, it's the only thing that will calm him!' At that moment Emilia's eyes glowed the same golden as Artorian's, and in a flash she was right in front of him. Reaching out to him, Emilia held his face with both hands before closing the gap, placing her lips on his in a surprise kiss. While Artorian's eyes were still wide in rage, his energy was notably going down as Emilia shoved her tongue into his mouth.

'Where… what's going on?' Artorian thought as he felt his conscious return, his eyes slowly dimming back to blue as Emilia continued the kiss. Eventually he was aware enough to notice the snow haired girl, the last of his energy vanishing as he did. 'Emilia?'

After feeling his energy calm and return to normal, Emilia pulled her face back, a thin trail of saliva connecting the two's lips as they were panting for air. With him calm, she quickly flew back and had the two land on the ground. The moment their feet touched the ground, Artorian collapsed and she moved close again, catching him and wrapping him in a tight hug.

"You're okay." She whispered as she hugged him close, afraid of letting him go.

"I told you… not to fall behind." He responded weakly, chuckling in pain as he lost grip of his sword and it dropped to the ground. "I can't… I can't turn my back on you for a second, can I?"

"I know, I'm sorry." Emilia said as her eyes returned to normal.

'He was able to calm what was going on?' Matthew wondered as everyone's Hundreds deactivated, catching his and placing it in his pocket. 'And without even a charm to do it, whatever he did during that kiss completely recovered his mind. What are they?'

"This uh… might be a bad time but, did you just suddenly hit puberty or have you been somehow hiding you breasts this whole time?" Artorian asked, slowly recovering some strength. "That's been bugging me this whole time."

"I'll… explain later." Emilia responded, blushing slightly at the question.

"Emile Crossfode…" The two's attention was then brought to Claire, who walked up to them with a mixture of embarrassment and confusion on her face as she pointed to them. "Dare I believe my eyes? It appears you have breasts!? And right in the middle of battle you kissed Artorian! Explain yourself now!"

"Hehehe, guess my secrets out…" Emilia said in equal embarrassment, keeping Artorian up while using one of her free hands to cover her chest.

"I'm fine by the way." Artorian muttered as he motioned with his broken arm, the bleeding still going as he did. "Truly in the pinnacle of health I'll add."

"Now this brings back memories." Charlotte said as she finished casting Artorian's broken arm after reconnecting the bone and patched his opening.

"Did dad come back with these kinds of injuries often?" Artorian asked, the two in the med bay of the transport jet they took to the Zwei Islands. Both Liddy and Erica were in there as well, both resting as they recovered.

"Breaking his right arm was his favorite injury, he just couldn't get it through his thick skull that punching a Savage doesn't work well. Same as you if the footage is to go off of."

"You know what that was, didn't you?"

"It was your Variant powers awakening, the same as when you fought against Claire in your duel." She explained, pulling out a lollipop and putting it in her mouth. "You remember when you drank the Savage blood out of Emilia, right?"

"Tasted horrible if I'm being honest." He said, unconsciously rolling his shoulders as he was still covered in the now dried blood.

"That gave you a direct link to another form of Severance called the Variant virus. The strain is the strongest there is, you could consider it a stage 5 in comparison to the regular virus. It has a high chance of killing you, but if you are compatible your energy reading skyrocket compared to most Slayers."

"And the fact I lost control?"

"The virus taps into your beastly urges, in your case the rage you have." She answered. "Emile had the same problem, albeit slightly different when she was first adapting to the power. But eventually after she became a Variant she showed more promise than almost anyone else with the virus."

"Variant?"

"It's what you and she are, named after the virus strain in you. Yours is potent, it must have been completely dormant for you." She commented as she looked back to one of the dozen holographic screens, bringing up his data. "Your Hundred score went up from that, you're now at 87%. We're lucky Emile was there, otherwise you might have completely lost it."

"On that note, what did she do to me?" Artorian asked. "I remember just feeling the heat and then suddenly her tongue's practically down my throat. I kinda need some answers on that."

"I can't just tell you everything, what will be left for Emile to explain?" Charlotte asked with a smile as she looked back to him. "Just know it was the only way to keep that power of yours in check, so try to avoid letting loose too much if you want to avoid that."

"Oi, I didn't say I had a problem with it." He responded quickly, smirking as he looked out the window. "Not every day you get French kissed by a girl, I can certainly think of worse things to happen."

'You're even more like your father than I thought.' Charlotte thought as she shook her head, relieved that the experience he just suffered didn't impact him harder.

"So you're sure you're okay?" Karen asked, concerned as Artorian sat next to her hospital bed.

"I'm fine Karen, I promise." He was now clean of the Savage blood, wearing his casual clothes for his visit. "My arm broke but we know how fast I recover, I'll be back to 100% in a couple days."

"You need to stop getting hurt, this is your third day here and you've been injured twice." Karen said, pointing at him as she did. "You won't be able to move your arms if you keep getting injured this often, and I'm scared you might actually go that far."

"That wouldn't happen." He smiled as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, calming her. "I need these arms to keep you safe, so I won't ever let them be useless."

"Okay, I trust you." She smiled back. "What about everyone else? Did they get hurt too?"

"Erica and Liddy both took a bit of damage in the fight, but they should be good by morning. Claire and Matthew aren't damaged at all, no surprises there given their status. Emile took a bit but he's still able to move on his own no problem." Artorian was sure to keep Emilia's identity a secret, having not yet confronted her on that.

"They must both be really strong."

"Eh, I saved Claire so I'd say it's a fair statement that I single handedly stopped most of our team getting wiped."

"It was that dangerous, was it?"

"There's a reason my dad always warned me about the Trenta Savage, and now I understand fully." Artorian said, although her kept up a grin as he ruffled Karen's hair. "But that just means I'm just going to have to get even stronger. Next time I'm on a mission I promise I won't come back with an injury."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Alright Karen, it's time for you to go to bed." Miharu said as she entered the room, surprised to see Artorian. "Oh, you're here Artorian? I thought you would have stayed in your room to recover after your mission."

"Well I couldn't just leave Karen to herself after leaving as suddenly as I did." Artorian responded, standing up as he did. "Although I still need to talk to Emile on something that happened during the mission. So I'll probably head out in a minute."

"I can see you out if you'd like." Miharu offered, getting a smile from Artorian as he grabbed his sword.

"That'd be lovely Miharu."

"Artorian, stop flirting with Miharu!" Karen pouted, getting a chuckle from Artorian.

"Oh Karen, you're my world." He commented before walking out with Miharu. "She hasn't been too much trouble for you, has she?"

"Oh Karen's an angel, you've done a good job in raising her." Miharu stated, getting a bittersweet smile from him.

"That's mostly just how she is, the impact of me comes from her more rude speech. Like how she thinks I'm staring at your chest 24/7." His words got a small laugh from the nurse, although after a few feet he stopped, confusing her.

"Artorian, is something the matter?" She asked, noticing his downward stare.

"Miharu, there's something I have to ask of you." He spoke, his gaze remaining down as he did. "I'm a complete mess, and truthfully I don't know exactly how much time I have on my clock as a Slayer. And I have a deep fear that if I die, something bad is going to happen to Karen."

"What I'm trying to ask is… I need you to keep a close eye on Karen for me when I can't." He spoke, looking up to stare her in the eyes. "Judal allowed her to get treatment because I'm here, he knows that she's the key to keeping me in check. I can't trust any of the Slayers; I don't know where all of their loyalties lie. But I do trust you, Karen's become attached to you quickly and I trust her judgment on people."

"You fear someone might try to hurt Karen?" Miharu asked, shocked at the idea.

"Not hurt, I'd rip apart this whole boat if someone did. But I don't know what exactly would happen, and that's why I'm asking for your help." He stated, leaning his sword against him as he pulled out his PDA. "I don't expect you to stick your neck out for us, all I ask is that you watch out for her and yourself. If you feel that someone suspicious is around, or that something might happen, all I ask is that you contact me right away."

"Do you feel Judal would do something like this?"

"The guy planned on me becoming a Slayer, having a unique condition to my status, and had two Slayers that could combat me should I become a problem. This fucker's playing some other game and I don't want to take a risk." Artorian answered.

Miharu considered Artorian's words, not thinking that Judal himself would do something. However, she was also aware that Warslran has partaken in more than a few "unwavering" projects in its past. They had more than a few enemies outside of the Savage threat, and the length's they'd go to cause trouble.

"Okay Artorian, I'll do this for you." Miharu responded, taking the PDA and placing in her contact information. "I promise I'll look after Karen, I won't let anyone go into her room without informing you of it."

"Thank you." He said, sighing in relief as she handed him the PDA back and put it in his pocket. "But promise me something else, don't forget to worry for yourself too. I'm putting you in a difficult position, but I don't want you getting hurt either."

"It's my job as a nurse to guarantee my patient's protection, I will not hesitate to do so regardless of the situation." She stated, surprising him with her conviction. "I am not a fighter, violence leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. But I will not allow anyone to harm Karen while she is under my watch. I promise you that."

"Well, that's conviction if I've seen any." He chuckled as he kicked his blade up and caught it, resting it on his shoulder. "Just warn me if someone is poking their nose places they shouldn't, I'll come and fix it right away."

"You have my word."

"Okay, that's all I needed." He smiled, the two continuing to walk.

'One step at a time.' He thought to himself, tightening his grip on his sword as he did. 'I'll protect her future and build the path needed for when I'm gone. Not even you'll be able to keep me from that Judal.'

(A/N): Okay, I was not expecting this to come out as quickly as it did. If I'm being honest I was in the middle of a writers block when I just sat down and practically wrote this whole chapter. So I'm glad that I managed to get this out without putting it off for over a month like last time.

I've also seen a bit of questions revolving around the source I'm using, and yes I was planning on going to the Light Novel of Hundred after the anime was done. Personally I liked how the anime handled some of the scenes better, but I'm obviously going to work on making it more interesting. I'm also glad at the feedback and enjoy seeing that people like this story, honestly I wasn't expecting this to get much of any views, but once again I'm surprised.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, Peace!