The street cracked under the weight of Kai's scream—then shattered under something even greater.
A roar split the battlefield.
The air itself trembled.
BOOM!
A flash of blue and silver ripped through the smoke. The ground cratered, the debris lifting in a perfect ring as Arnik exploded from the shadows—his right fist blazing with mutation energy, veins glowing white-hot beneath his skin. He rocketed forward, eyes blazing, and slammed his mutated arm straight into Satsujin's chest.
The impact was devastating.
"RRRAAAHHHH!!!"
Satsujin's body folded around the blow before he was launched backward like a missile. He tore through the street, through two ruined walls, and finally crashed into a pile of rubble that collapsed. Dust and flame swallowed him whole.
Kai blinked through the haze, barely able to breathe. "A–Arnik…"
Arnik turned, his chest heaving, smoke rising off his arm. His eyes widened when he saw Kai—pale, trembling, bleeding—and Rose lying still beside him.
Without a word, Arnik sprinted over, grabbed Kai, and threw his arm around his shoulder. "I got you—"
Kai shoved him away. "NO, NOT ME—ROSE!"
He dropped to his knees beside her.
Markus arrived just then, boots slamming into the ground, eyes wide and burning with shock. His gaze fell on Rose's limp form—and everything inside him froze.
Her blood mixed with ash, pooling beneath her armor. Her lips trembled faintly. She tried to look up, but her eyes—those fierce, proud eyes—were dulling, her pupils unfocused.
Kai pressed his hand against her stomach, trying to close the wound. "Hold on, Rose. Please… hold on…" His voice cracked, desperate, shaking.
Arnik's breath caught in his throat. Markus's fists clenched until blood dripped from his palms. The sight of her broken body… it burned into them both.
Satsujin rose from the rubble, his armor cracked, his cloak torn—but his crimson eyes still glowed. He met Kai's eyes.
Markus's grip on his blade trembled with rage. Arnik's mutation flared again, steam rising from his arm. Both men stepped forward—no words, only intent.
Satsujin realized it.
He was outmatched.
Up above, Aika screamed.
Her body gave out; her knees hit the ground. The glowing runes of her gravity field flickered, then shattered into nothing. "I… I can't—!" she choked, coughing up blood. Her staff fell from her trembling hands as her vision blurred. The ships she'd been holding began to fall again, slowly at first… then all at once.
The crashed warships split open, spilling demon machines by the hundreds. Sparks and steam hissed from their bodies—half-destroyed, broken—but their red eyes flickered back to life, crawling out of the wreckage like insects.
They surrounded Satsujin's position, shielding him.
He threw back his head and laughed, the sound raw and unhinged. "Heheheh… looks like I'm not alone after all!"
"DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!" Arnik roared.
He blasted forward, the ground caving beneath his step. His punch tore through three machines at once, a trail of energy following behind him. Each strike sent out a shockwave that vaporized metal and shattered the street. Craters formed with every hit, sparks flying as the battlefield became a storm of blue light and destruction.
Markus drew his katana slowly. The blade resisted—blood leaking from his palm where the edge bit into him.
The weapon began to glow.
Crimson energy bled from the blade, crawling up his arm and wrapping around his torso like living chains. It seeped into his veins, bursting from his skin in crimson mist. His armor morphed—blood and energy weaving together into a feral, jagged shell that pulsed with each heartbeat.
"Blood Wolf Art…" he growled, voice guttural.
And then he moved.
It looked like he vanished.
In a blur of crimson flashes, Markus cut through the demons faster than the eye could follow. Dozens were bisected in an instant, their corpses hitting the ground before their heads even realized they'd been severed.
He reappeared behind a pile of burning wreckage, blade dripping with molten blood. "Quick Draw—Blood Wolf Art!"
He sheathed the katana with a sharp click. The moment it locked—SLASH!
A wave of crimson energy erupted outward, cutting down everything in a thirty-meter radius. Machines exploded, bodies split in perfect, clean halves.
Satsujin stumbled backward, his cloak shredded, his mask cracked. He tried to retreat into shadow—
But Markus was already there.
He conjured a dagger made entirely of blood, his aura snarling like a beast. With a snarl, he leapt into the air and hurled it.
"Blood Wolf Art—BLOOD KNIFE!"
The knife spun like a streak of red lightning and struck Satsujin square in the arm.
"GRAAAHH!!"
Smoke erupted from the wound as the blood burned him from the inside out. Black veins crawled across his body—the crimson toxin eating at his flesh.
He staggered, panting. His shadows flickered erratically.
Markus snarled, stepping forward. "You're not escaping again!"
But Satsujin, bleeding and shaking, vanished into the dark in a burst of shadow smoke.
Markus's blade dropped slightly, his aura shaking with fury. "DAMN IT!" He drove his sword into the ground, the shock splitting the cracked pavement apart.
Arnik clenched his fists, mutation still burning across his arms. "Next time," he said, his voice trembling. "Next time, he dies."
Kai knelt beside Rose, shaking, his face streaked with dirt and tears. "Please, Rose… stay with me…"
Her hand twitched weakly toward his cheek, her touch faint but warm.
And then it went still.
Kai's breath came in broken gasps, his hand trembling as he pressed against the wound.
But no matter how hard he tried—no matter how much he poured of himself—
the light wouldn't come.
Rose's blood kept spilling through his fingers.
"Rose—please, heal! Just heal!" he begged, voice cracking. His magic had run dry; his body was shaking from exhaustion. "C'mon… please…"
Rose's hand rose weakly, trembling, her glove half torn. She touched his face—so softly it made him freeze.
Her eyes were half-lidded, the color fading.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered, her voice barely a breath. "I… I couldn't stay with you forever…"
"Don't say that," Kai said quickly, his throat closing. "You're going to be fine—I'll save you—I swear I will—"
"Kai…" She coughed, blood running from her lips, her voice breaking between sobs. "Hold me…"
He dropped his weapon and pulled her close, as close as he could, his heart pounding in his chest.
Her armor was cracked, her skin burning with fever beneath the broken plates.
His own suit had sealed his wounds, but hers—hers was torn beyond repair.
"Rose, please—no… what about our child?" he choked, tears spilling freely now. "We're parents—we can't—I can't lose you…"
She smiled faintly, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Shh… Kai…"
Her words trembled. "Just hold me… one last time…"
He pressed his forehead against hers. Their lips met—shaking, desperate, full of pain and love.
Her blood stained his hands, yet he didn't care. All that mattered was her warmth, slipping away with every breath.
"Kai… I don't wanna die…" she whispered weakly. "I wanted… to marry you… I really wanted to be your wife… More than anything, I wanted to have so—"
She coughed violently, blood splattering against his shoulder. "—so many children with you… Kai…"
"Don't talk," he pleaded, his voice breaking. "Save your strength."
But she shook her head softly, her eyes unfocused yet full of devotion.
Kai's trembling hand glowed faintly. With the last of his magic, a delicate silver ring formed in his palm—shimmering faintly with their combined energy. He slipped it onto her finger, tears streaming down his face.
"Rose…" his voice cracked, "…I promise we'll be together forever. For in sickness and in health…"
He swallowed hard, his lips trembling. "…for better or worse… I'll never let go."
Her lips quivered into a faint smile. "Until death… do us part…"
She closed her eyes, her breathing slowing. Kai held her close, their foreheads touching, as the world fell silent around them.
And then—she exhaled.
A single, soft breath.
Her hand slipped from his face.
Her body went still.
"I… love you…" she whispered—
and her eyes dimmed completely.
"ROSE!" Kai's voice broke as he shook her, holding her limp body to his chest. "ROSE!! Please—wake up! Wake up!!"
He screamed until his throat tore. "I LOVE YOU!!!"
His voice echoed through the ruined city, raw and full of agony.
Arnik stood frozen behind him—his heart thundering, his eyes wide.
He had seen death before. Too much of it.
But this…
Seeing Kai cry—seeing Rose gone—
something inside him snapped.
"AAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
His roar shook the battlefield.
Blue-white light erupted from every vein in his body.
Mutation energy flooded outward in an explosive wave—
cracks spread beneath his feet—
and in an instant, Arnik launched himself into the sky, a comet of blinding light.
He hit the apex—
then dove.
The air screamed around him as he fell, his fists burning, energy spiraling from his body like a collapsing star.
Arnik roared, his body surging with power beyond control. The air around him warped, the ground splitting beneath his feet as his energy exploded outward.
He slammed into the ground with a force that split the city open.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion ripped through the ruins—vaporizing the nearest hundred demon machines in an instant. A blinding shockwave erupted outward, leveling entire blocks, tearing through towers and bridges alike. The light washed over the battlefield like a cleansing flame—pure, merciless, divine.
When the smoke cleared, Arnik stood at the heart of a massive crater—steam rising off his shoulders, veins glowing like molten lines of fire. His eyes burned white, wide with fury and grief. Every demon machine within sight had been reduced to ash and twisted slag.
Not one moved.
And in the hollow silence that followed… only Kai's broken sobs could be heard.
The sky itself was breaking apart.
Massive warships—black silhouettes still burning from Aika's final spell—plummeted like dying beasts. Their shattered hulls screamed through the air, raining fragments of molten metal and crumbling stone upon the ruined city.
Kai didn't look up. He didn't move. He just held Rose—motionless in his arms, her blood staining his uniform.
Arnik saw it. His instincts flared like wildfire. Mutation light burst from his hands, veins glowing brighter as he thrust both palms against the ground.
WHOOOOOM!!!
The earth itself obeyed. A radiant barrier surged upward, golden light expanding in every direction as falling debris and flame met his power head-on. The air cracked and bent under the sheer force, dust and lightning swirling around him like a storm born from anguish.
A dome of blue energy erupted around them—his mutation forming a shield of living light. The impact hit like meteors, thousands of tons of rubble crashing down across its surface. Each hit shook the earth, fire and smoke pressing down against the glowing barrier. But it held.
Inside, silence.
Markus stood beside them, staring at Rose's body through the shimmering light. His hands trembled. He pressed one blood-slicked palm to the barrier and whispered, voice breaking,
"…She's… gone…"
His breath hitched. He looked away.
Arnik turned toward Kai, his own body shaking—his eyes red, veins dimming as the mutation faded. "Kai… I'm—"
Kai's head snapped up. His eyes were empty, wet, trembling.
"Why…" His voice was low. "…what took you so long?"
"Kai, listen—"
But Kai's expression twisted. He laid Rose down carefully on the ground, brushing the hair from her face, and then turned—his whole body trembling with grief.
"WHY!?" he shouted, stumbling to his feet. "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!?"
Arnik didn't move.
Kai's voice broke into a scream. "I THOUGHT WE WERE A TEAM!"
He took a step forward, then another—
and drove his fist straight into Arnik's jaw.
CRACK!
The shield flickered from the impact as Arnik staggered back, eyes wide, too stunned to react.
"If you'd just been here a second sooner—" Kai's voice cracked, choking between sobs. "A SECOND, DAMN IT!"
He hit him again, weaker this time. "SHE'D STILL BE ALIVE!"
His voice broke completely. "SHE'D STILL BE HERE!!"
He collapsed to his knees, shaking uncontrollably.
Arnik stood there—blood at the corner of his lip, breathing hard—but he didn't fight back. He couldn't. He only looked down at Kai, eyes filled with regret and guilt that words could never fix.
"…I'm sorry," he whispered, barely audible.
Kai didn't respond, his once sharp brown eyes, now full of hatred.
Outside the barrier, the fires roared. Inside, the only sound that remained was the quiet, uneven breathing of three broken men—and the silence where Rose's heartbeat used to be.
Markus's face snapped hard—empty, hollowed by grief but burning like hot iron. Kai's eyes were the same: glossy, unblinking, a quiet storm coiling behind the pupils. For a breath they stood like statues in the crater's light, two shadows cut from the same rage.
No pleading. No bargaining. The thought came to Markus and Kai, sharp and ugly as a blade:
No matter who stands in my way—no matter what it costs—I'll kill him.
I'll become the monster.