The sight of the face of that damn man was enough to set Seiji’s blood on fire. Everything in his body tensed up with shitty images of their last encounter flashing through his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he did to Nerine. “She’s missing her damn arms because of what you did?!” Seiji threw his fists into a barrage against the swords acting in defense of Cosmas.

“Concerned over your new friend?” A devious look sifted through Cosmas’ eyes at the mention of Nerine. “She’ll be dead soon after yourself. So you won’t need to worry for long!”

Such words only made Seiji more enraged. He threw his fists at the bastard Cosmas wildly without any focus. Another hand stretched out and grabbed his bandaged right arm, stopping him in mid-swing. Seiji tried to break free, but they were strong. Turning his head to the right, it surprised him for a moment to see her. “Saki?!”

Breathing slowly and her face covered in blood, her eyes still had the same fierceness to be unable to back down on anything. Her blood soaked hand dripped over his bandages staining them red. “What do you think you’re doing here, Seiji?” Despite her steady words and determination, she still appeared ready to collapse.

“You’re all sliced up! Why the hell are you standing?”

“I asked you a question first,” she snapped. “You shouldn’t be here.” Her voice wavered a little from the even tone.

“This one’s mine!” he shouted, ripping his arm free. Seiji shoved Saki away from him. His eyes locked back on Cosmas. The ends of his fingers felt on fire just staring at him. He ground his teeth trying to withstand it.

Saki blinked a little surprised to see Seiji acting in such a manner. She appeared in front of him, between the two men. “Damn it, Seiji! I don’t need this right now! You’re supposed to be helping Chiharu with the others! Get going n—“

He heard enough of her voice. Seiji grabbed her by her damn tunic and slammed Saki into the ground, shattering the earth. “NO!” His voice erupted from his mouth with enough volume and intensity to shake the trees in the distance. Seiji struggled with his words, his jaw shaking. “He’s mine! Don’t interfere!”

The impact made Saki cough, but most of her stun came from shock in seeing Seiji’s face. She had never seen him look so wild before. ‘Even when he was a random kid in junior high looking like a gang leader, he never looked like that. It’s like he’s an animal…’ Saki didn’t know what was going on. She knew she didn’t have time to deal with him. “You leave me no choice, Seiji!” Her body suddenly disappeared from Seiji’s hold.

Reappearing, she came in from Seiji’s right flank with a bloody kick ready to lay him out. Seiji turned into her attack and stretched out his arm before she reached him. His hand wrapped around her neck. “I told you!” Seiji dragged her close to his face. “Don’t interfere! I owe him for what he did to her!”

It took her a moment, but Saki figured out what Seiji was going on about. “This is about revenge?! Seiji!”

“NO!” he screamed. Everything went silent. His face twisted into a more and more wild depiction. “This isn’t about revenge!” Seiji’s hand shook violently. His hold tightened around Saki’s neck. “I’m going to kill him!”

Her eyes went wide at his response. ‘This isn’t the Seiji I know! What’s happened to him?!’ Saki grappled with his arm trying to break free. She put everything she had into it, yet nothing seemed to work. Seiji’s already inhuman strength seemed to have increased. “Do you hear what you’re saying, Seiji?! Kill?”

“YES!”

“Fine then!” Saki wrapped her whole body around his arm. Using everything to twist, she threw Seiji down to the ground. Once on the ground, she quickly switched to a submission hold fighting against his strength. “Seiji! You will not murder anyone, no matter the justification! This isn’t who you are! Seiji!” The animalistic look in his eyes only seemed to be growing worse.

Slammed into the ground, Seiji’s wrinkled face broke for a second. The intensity remained, but there was a moment of lucidity cracking through. He turned his head over to Saki. “…please…Saki…I need to…do this…for myself…”

A faint sense of his self seemed to break through. Saki found her hold on him loosening. However, the moment of weakness she showed him he took advantage of her. Seiji threw her off him with ease, casting her aside. “Seiji!”

Breathing heavily, he glanced over at her. Flashes of different parts of him went through his face. “…Saki…” His arms shook at his side.

‘He’s struggling… What’s going on Seiji?’ Saki slowly stood up. Pieces fell a little bit into place for her. Most of it still didn’t make a lot of sense to her. She didn’t know the whole story, but still felt she understood enough. “Alright, Seiji. He’s all yours.”

“Thanks!”

Cosmas started laughing, previously only watching the scene with great interest. “So you’ve suddenly decided to support killing, girl?” he teased with a mocking tone. “I do love the taste of hypocrisy.”

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“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Smirking widely, he nodded slowly in a manner that only made him seem creepier. “Oh I do, little girl. I saw it in your eyes. Yours are different from his.” Cosmas enjoyed every moment deeply, especially the changing look on Seiji. “You didn’t know, did you?” He laughed loudly. “Oh this is great! I love it!”

Seiji looked over at Saki in confusion. “What’s he talking about, Saki? You wouldn’t…Saki.”

Guilt surfaced in her face, as she wanted to look away from him. She knew what she did. It was something she had to do. “Seiji, this isn’t the time for such things.” Saki began to walk away from the field. “If you really want to know. Ask me after this is all over.”

“Saki! Wait!” Seiji stretched out his arm towards her even though he was nowhere in range.

She continued to walk away, undeterred. “Sometimes there are just things you must do even when it is wrong.”

“Saki?” He still wasn’t sure of what happened. Something huge was missing. Suddenly, Saki wasn’t the same person he knew. She was missing.

Cosmas clapped loudly. He slowly walked towards Seiji. “This is so much more than I could have hoped for by just simply killing the two of you.”

“Shut the hell up, you bastard! What do you know?!”

“More than a child like you. She’s an adult.”

He threw up a fist in Cosmas’ direction. “Killing doesn’t make you an adult!”

“I wasn’t talking about that. Nothing is simple in this world. She understands better than you what must be done. I like her.” The look in his eyes as he glanced in her direction almost seemed filled with lust. He drowned in the intoxicating atmosphere.

Seiji’s teeth ground together and bared a little. “Stay away from her! This is between us!”

Swords materialized up around Cosmos ready to strike. “You’re right. I do have a traitor and a child to kill.”

“I’d rather be a child than an adult!” The air thickened almost instantly with the killing intent increasing. He slammed down his feet, setting himself into a damn fighting stance.

Two swords appeared in Cosmas’ hands last, as a final sign of his readiness. “You’ll die a child with that sort of thinking. You’ll always be immature!”

“Fine by me!” Seiji charged forward. The life or death clash began.

Chapter 233 – Death’s Bet

The two forewent any sort of warm-up round. The battle was a continuation of their previous encounter. Cosmas immediately started out with clones and tossed around his swords in all directions. A frantic dance played out with Seiji dodging and breaking down the clones. His fists had greater power behind them than before. Each punch that destroyed a clone blasted out a wide cone of wind kicking up dirt across the entire Field.

A few nicks came from swords during the opening of the fight. He could tell the swords’ sharpness was the same as he remembered. During the few punches he threw, Seiji kept watching how everything reacted. ‘Dammit! I’m seeing more disruptions. It’s not like last time. I’m not going to be able to find him the same way. Hiding bastard!’ Seiji jumped into the air and slammed his fist into the shitty earth breaking it up into a cracked crater. Tossed debris wiped out several of the crappy clones.

“You’re using your same tricks. So naïve, child!” One of Cosmas’ clones looked down at Seiji in the crater. An array of swords appeared around Seiji. “Did you really think I wouldn’t analyze the fight?”

Seiji bared his teeth in annoyance. “You bastard! Always hiding behind tricks and copies!” He threw up his fist at the clone. “You’re a coward!”

“If you’re dead, it doesn’t really matter the means to which I achieve it.” He laughed again, but it didn’t hold up the attack. Several clones came sliding down the torn earth as the floating swords came in for Seiji.

A faint glow came off Seiji’s bandage arm as he went to take the blow. The sword deflected off him spinning away into the earth, leaving him unharmed. He grabbed the second with his teeth using it to parry several crap swords before Cosmas saw what he did. When it vanished, Seiji grabbed up another shit sword, swiping away the rest just in time.

The clones reached him. He still had the shitty sword. Enough force swung through the metal that he shattered both weapons immediately. Shards of metal flew past him scraping his face in thin lines before he finished off the shit clone. Continuing to move, he lifted a hella large chunk of rock in one hand to smash the other bastard clones in a single motion.

Once finished, Seiji leapt back into the air. Swords followed him up. He blocked some with his arm and the rest he deflected away with temporary weapons before they disappeared. ‘There you are!’ Seiji’s body fell back down to the earth with no control over his landing.

Landing on the edge of the crater, Seiji found himself surrounded again. Clones were everywhere. He fought through the few immediately in front of him. The last he grabbed and charged with using as a shield against the others coming for him.

At the end of his charge, he met the one he wanted. He grabbed onto the invisible Cosmas, the real one. “Found you! You bastard! This time you’re not getting away from me!” His hand shook a little as the temptation to snap his neck was unbearable.

Cosmas smirked, as he appeared to Seiji, not seemingly affected by being caught. “So you’ve learned a little.”

Seiji ground his teeth not liking the way he looked. ‘I have him! Why does he look like he’s the one in control?’ The arrogant look in his shitty eyes just made his emotion boil more. “I’ve gotten more practice dealing with your crappy kind. This isn’t going to play out the way you think.” His body started to shake more and more.

“You’re right this isn’t going to be the same.” The smirk widened further across Cosmas lips. He lifted up his hand to rest on Seiji’s bandaged arm. “Oh you’re shaking badly.” His lips thinned a little with excitement. “It’s finally starting to affect you.”

Suddenly, Seiji’s left arm went numb. He lost hold of Cosmas as the shaking in his right overwhelmed him. Everything in his body seemed to be cold in one moment and burning the next. He staggered around swiping at whatever was near him. “What did you do to me, you bastard?!”

Cosmas walked casually up to Seiji. He grabbed a hold of his right arm at the wrist. It was the only support Seiji had when his legs buckled. “I poisoned you, naturally.”

Seiji gasped for air. “You—“

“Oh don’t worry. It’s not deadly. No, it just paralyzes you and gives you a few other fun side effects that I decided to toss in for my entertainment.” Cosmas lifted up a sword in his free hand, placing it against Seiji’s wrapped hand. “Can you feel that? The cold steel.” He grinned maniacally. “You can't, can you? It numbs your ability to sense temperature.”

Sweat dripped down Seiji’s face. He couldn’t move his body. Nothing responded. “B-bast-ard!”

“Yes, keep that attitude! It’ll be so much better when I do this!” The sword in his hand cleanly cut through Seiji’s pinkie. Cosmas held up the severed finger for Seiji to see the blood dripping out.

It took him a moment, but a massive wave of pain attacked all of his senses at once. As much as he wanted to hold it in, nothing could keep his lips sealed. Seiji released a blood-curdling scream. He felt as though every part of his skin was being peeled off millimeter by millimeter and they plucked his muscles like an instrument. It made his head want to explode before wanting to pass out.

“Oh no, you can’t faint on me. The poison won’t allow you.” The devilish grinned seemed to curl up. “No, I’ll make you feel new heights of pain enhanced by this poison until I’m finished with you.” Cosmas leaned in only centimeters away from Seiji’s face. “I too learned some things about you. You aren’t like us. Meaning I have greater control over your own body than you do. You’ll suffer greatly before you die!”