Several thoughts fshed through Seiji’s mind. He thought of the difficult position he found himself in. His life was moments away from being stolen. He could have another loss. He thought of what would happen to Nerine if he failed. Seiji couldn’t stand such a thought. She didn’t do a damn thing wrong. ‘She fought well and followed orders. She shouldn’t be executed for such behavior. I won’t let her die!’

  While Seiji k motionless before as, he slipped behind drawing up his swords for the finishing blow. A small cackle escaped his lips, still pstered with a smirk. “Guess it won’t eveen seds.” as brought his arms dowing two arcs of white through the air.

  The ground cracked a little underh Seiji foretelling an ominous event. Seiji’s faarrowed severely, drawing down his eyebrows until they covered up the top part of his eyes. He spun around grabbing one of the bdes with his bare hand. Blood spurt from his hand mixing with ash. The other sword embedded in his right shoulder spraying up blood in the air. Seiji’s eyes turned pale as a faint shine covered his chest.

  as narrowed his focus, struggling with Seiji’s strength. The smirk disappeared beh his determined grunting. He didn’t uand how Seiji kept going, but was so close to finishing him. “That stubbornness won’t save you…”

  Seiji pushed back with his body starting to stand up. Blood burst up again from his shoulder as he forced the bde in deeper. ‘Sorry Yuki…but this is one man I ’t five!’ Suddenly, hundreds of papers materialized from the air looping around his disabled arm. They kept spinning around his arm faster until being a blur. Their loops became smaller until stig to his skin. The paper quickly ed up his arm, closing up the two long wounds and molding his arm bato one. A strlow came from his arm as it began to move stiffly.

  A deep roar welled up from inside Seiji. He took hold of both ons and stood to his full height. The act left as a little stunned and fused. Seiji stepped forward f as babsp; His hands tightened around the bdes, shattering them to pieces. Once freed from their threat, Seiji smmed his foot into the ground, breaking it up around him. He rammed his fist into as’ chest.

  The punch bsted out a shockwave around the Field slig up metal. as nearly folded around Seiji’s arm from the rushing forbsp; A moment ter as flew away, the impact finally carried through his body creating momentum. Trails of dust sped off as as he careened over the ground before finally cast into the earth.

  Seiji stood over it all with his fist still extended and the look on his fafivingly harsh.

  Chapter 153 – Fragile Steel

  It took almost a minute for as to recover. He still felt shaken. The arroganocked off his face by Seiji. He pulled himself up coughing periodically. Once he stood up, he forced it all down. as focused himself to keep the fight going. However, he coughed again with blood spraying through his teeth. ‘Impossible!’ He looked down at his bloodied hand.

  The darkhat surrounded him disappeared, but it actually made him appear even more sinister. It turhe air foul and a deathly atmosphere surfaced. as wiped away the blood from his fabsp; “Don’t think you actually win!” His hands took hold of two new swords uhe past ones. The bdes were serrated to a ghastly appearah bck fed metal. “F me to get serious…it’s been a while…”

  None of the crappy p made an impression on Seiji. He began marg towards as with a look that said ‘I’m finishing this’. However, as didn’t give Seiji a ake an attabsp; Five damn forms of as appeared around the Field. Seiji panned his eyes around trying already knowing what as had pnned. He charged forward to the ohat he knew was as before he had a bsp; Seiji rammed his fist into as, but it burst through weakly coughing up blood on Seiji. A shitty fake, he realized too te.

  A fsh of bck arced through Seiji’s babsp; Blood sprayed from his body. Not even fling, Seiji spun around, throwing out his arm. Bone cracked painfully as his forearm smmed into as’ neapping instantly and killing him. The force still sent his body flying away until it disappeared. ‘Another…he’s afraid…I don’t care!’ Rage ran untrolble through his eyes as he thrust off from his feet. He quickly took out three more fakes before the ot a few more swings on him.

  Mog ughter erupted again, but no longer from a specific sourbsp; as' voice broadcasted through the air as though each particle emitted his words. It proved impossible to locate or escape. “I’ve been doing this since before you were born. You ’t beat me!”

  The ughing started to grate on his nerves, however Seiji had no room for frustration in his body. Unfivable anger filled every er of him. He couldn’t even uand the first step of as willingly killing allies. All Seiji could do was swing his fists arouroying each bitch ass fake. ‘He’s in here somewhere. I’ll keep killing him until it’s the right one!’

  Nerine’s appearance quickly became paler with each passing minute. Her stumps might have been bandaged, but it didn’t stop the blood from flowing. She coughed periodically with each making her head feel even lighter and foggier. Her body felt tired. It begged her for rest, yet she de. The fear of death didn’t hold her on to reality. The sight of Seiji struggling painfully because of her kept her attached to the world. She still had trouble uanding it. ‘He’s already so injured, how he keep going? What’s holding his body together?’ Her eyes remairansfixed by him burning everything in her mind.

  Blood dripped upon the ons of the Field. Seiji stormed across to deal with another batch of fakes. He already killed more thay of them without finding the real damn one. Through all of the rage, he realized that the numbers never decreased. ‘Endless…’

  as orchestrated his fakes to make quick attacks on Seiji that focused on speed over power. He po chip away at him until he fell. It wasn’t a tactic that he had to use often, but against ones with the endurao overe him head-to-head, it was effective. He would eventually win.

  The fight felt a little disappointing once he got serious. It always bored him when he had to do things more roundabout. Aion had to be dired exabsp; The fact he hadn’t yet wo like a bit of a failure in his job. He still had to deal with Nerier the rebel.

  He felt the battle starting to wind to a close with Seiji covered in small wounds all over his body. Blood coated most of his bare chest. It soaked into his pants. The fact he stood still after everything was impressive. “You’ve bee s. You were much more iing when you weren’t just swinging your fists around aimlessly.”

  Seiji panted heavily from his spot, gring at all of the copies of as. They all looked pletely identical and their swords just as real. His body screamed at him, but he refused to listen. Everything in his eyes focused on as. He him out.

  R with blood trailing off him, Seiji dug into the ground to increase his speed. He disappeared from the sight of as. Explosions of Seiji’s powerful fists erupted around him. Half of the es died horrifiners before fading away. as repced them immediately, but it was difficult to keep up. His hand subsciously wiped away a bead of sweat from the side of his fabsp; ‘Persistent still…’

  All of the es died at his hands, but they came babsp; Seiji paused with them all surrounding him. They didn’t wait to attabsp; He fehem off with retive ease. However, none of them were the real one. ‘I’ve killed them all! Where is he?! Where is he hiding?’

  Seiji rammed his fist into the earth casting ks in all dires along with a powerful shockwave. It ripped apart the shitty es. Hunks of stone cimed the remaining bastards. His head gnced up at the terrain around him. Even all of the effort still brought on more of the same as. In fact, he was certain the numbers increased. It made Seiji sm his hand into the ground again, bsting out another ky shockwave.

  The pounding made as legs vibrate and stagger. He found the frustration rather amusing. “Finally reached your end, eh? Giving up!? I told you couldn’t win! It’s futile! I will kill you and then I’ll kill the woman you turned!” Another quake broke through the ground nearly knog as off his feet. He didn’t uand Seiji’s purpose, so he just ughed.

  Pounding out a repeating pattern into the ground, Seiji built himself a deeper crater. He grounded out his teeth at the thought of as making good on his boast. Seiji took one final swing into the earth. Light bsted out from his ed arm. ks of earth sliced up in an instant and flew away surfing the shockwave

  Seiji’s eyes widened for a sed and he disappeared.

  as gnced around expeg to see his es dying, but nothing. Silence pervaded the air. Not even the explosive weight of feet echoed. He held his breath and lowered his grin a bit. fusion sank in as the seds became prolonged. ‘Where’d he go? Did he flee?’

  “…behind you…” whispered a deep menag voice.

  Only two words entered as’ ears, but it made his body run cold. The voice peed so deeply into his body even he didn’t uand why it bothered him. Sweat dripped down his face. His eyes slowly peeled behind him wanting to know who stood behind him, while his mind already knew.

  as tilted around, finally firming Seiji towered over him. A dozen thoughts sped through his mind in the single sed he stared. ‘Impossible, I’m invisible!’ However, Seiji stared down at him with no doubt in his face that he found as. The sed came and as swung his swords down at Seiji, but they never made it.

  Seiji grabbed as’ forearms while still in motion, predig his a. Even though he fought with someone he couldn’t see, his hands didn’t lie to him. His hands tightened around his arms to crushing pressure. Wrinkles grew around Seiji’s forehead and eyes. The shaking in his hands didn’t stop. Seiji teetered on the line. His rage told him to follow his emotions. The light bits of reason he regained suggested something else that he didn’t want to sider.

  Everything still tried to process through as’ head. The pain in his arms blocked some of his focus. He tried to escape, but could only gather his es to deal with Seiji. ‘I’m pletely invisible with no fws…how…How?! How?! All he was doing ung the earth! How did he find me?’ Strain on his bones from Seiji’s hands snapped him bad shattered his tration.

  The invisibility grao as faded away. The sight of as made Seiji’s hands tch down harder. Seiji saw the other es ing in at him. He didn’t back down from his hold of as. Rather, Seiji forced as’ arms to block the ining swings. Using his avaible leg, he kicked the e out of the Field before swinging as’ whole body to knock out another. “I’m not letting you go!”

  Forcibly overextended, as joints in his arm pio him. He khat he could do nothing to break free through strength alone. ‘How is someohis strong? It’s not possible!’ The use of es ointless as as saw with the way Seiji swung him. His body felt bruised and nearly broken from the violent swing.

  Awestruerine needed all the time to figure out what Seiji had just done. Her mind became more sluggish, she realized, as she knew what he did was very simple. ‘He used the shockwaves from his puo figure out the location from the slight disruptions caused by colliding with the invisible body. To figure that out in the middle of fighting… Is his mind winning over his heart?’

  Seiji dropped as back to the ground, still holding his arms. The crippling state of as put him t over him. He nearly snapped his arms in two iion. It had him at his merbsp; Seiji felt his hands hesitating in what he wao do. He deyed. “…’t…five…”

  Amongst the difficult stance, as regained some of his posure and with it, his focus. He coughed against the pain in his arms. “Thought you were going to kill me…”

  A flip of Seiji eyes locked onto as. He saw the weak smirk growing babsp; It eled his emotions bato his arms. “…you…” Seiji roared aloud.

  as managed a small ugh. “’t gh, eh?” He narrowed his eyes as they reheir deathly gaze. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to do it right.” A faint fsh reflected in his eyes.

  Seiji’s eyes slid around his head as he spun around seeing the meaning of his words. Numerous swords flew through the air targeting the crippled Nerine. Seiji didn’t hesitate in what he had to do. He threw as’ body into the path of the ons.

  The ued throw cast as through his Field. A dust cloud of metal ah covered his body and route, but it came to a stop in front of Nerine only a few meters away. Swords disappeared into the cloud in silence.

  After the throw, Seiji disappeared to stao Nerine. He looked down at her making sure nothing got through to her. Nothing appeared through the cloud. However, a weak ugh made its way to him. It alerted him to the survival of as. ‘…damn…’

  A shadow surfaced from the cloud before it faded away. as regained all of his arrogand stature. The moments before did not eveister to him. His lips stretched and raised in an awful grin. “You didn’t think that would actually hurt me did you?” Veils of dust blew away to reveal as pletely unharmed by his ons, though dirtied from the fall. “Did you think that someone from the Omega Division would actually fall for that?!”

  “Omega Division?” questioned Seiji, his face showed little i in the meaning of the words.

  Nerine’s face widened with shobsp; “Out here?! It ’t be!”

  “We’re everywhere…always watg…” as warned. His faarrowed a bit to focus on Seiji. “However, that’s all the time I have for a dead traitor and rebel…”

  Seiji’s face twisted in fusion, but ged quickly. He heard Nerine groan and cough weakly before colpsio him. It pulled him away from as. One of the swords pierced through her chest. He stretched out for her, but found more than a dozen bdes running him through from his arms ao his chest. Seiji coughed up blood still futilely trying to reach out to Nerine. His arm ighe sword pushing the bde through. He mao reach her hand before her eyes closed and his soon to follow.