[Alpha's POV]

I inhaled deeply and exhaled sharply, preparing myself for the tough battle ahead.

"Since the kids are out of the way..." Kai cracked his neck. "I won't be gentle~"

That's right. This is for the best. While those kids might have been able to assist me in various ways, I was not accustomed to fighting alongside weaklings. Also, looking out and defending them was distracting. So, I can finally go all out now.

I bent my knees and lunged at him, clearing the distance in a second.

First, let's test the waters.

"A straightforward attack? Pointless. [Sheathed Stance: Thunder Skies]..."

Here it comes. He needs to sheathe his katana after parrying. If he uses his derivative stance, he can counter with one skill from his sheathed stance. His sheathed stance mainly consists of single, devastating attacks. If I dodge it, he'll be left vulnerable!

"[Return to Sender]" He unsheathed his katana and threw his scabbard in the sky.

"What?!" I was too far in my attack to stop now.

I'll improvise! Will he teleport to his scabbard, or is it bait? I'll just deal with both.

I commanded my Omen to defend above me as I continued my strike. I quickly threw a strike at him, but...

"[The Zone Stance: Heavenly Domain]; [Infiltrate]" He teleported before my blade could come in contact. He appeared behind me and grinned.

With his scabbard out of his grasp, he can't use any skills from his sheathed stance. Then it can't be a swordwave next!

I turned around and prepared for an incoming attack.

"[Send]" He teleported to his scabbard. "[Plunge]" He slammed down at my Omen.

He shouldn't be able to destroy it. What is his plan?

Clank!

Huh?

When he teleported, I couldn't see him appear by his scabbard because my pitch-black Omen was covering my view from above. However, the skill he used—[Send]—allowed him to teleport to either his katana or scabbard—whichever one was out of his grasp. With that being said, I just instinctively looked up after he teleported. But now...

What is his sword doing here, on the ground? Then... is he attacking with his scabbard?!

"[Unsheathed Stance: Dragon Spiral]; [Phantom Blade]"

Fuck!

I immediately threw an attack at his katana lying in front of me, but I was too late. A shadowy figure of his took the blade in its hand and defended against my attack.

"Tch!" I stomped the ground, disrupting the surface and anyone who wasn't prepared for the altercation, causing the phantom to lose balance and focus on its feet.

One strike!

I poured some of my Omen into my blade and swung horizontally. Unfortunately, I miscalculated. The amount of Omen I borrowed from the one above was more than enough to weaken it for the real Kai to plunge through with his scabbard. I quickly stopped my attack and jumped off the ground.

If I stayed, I would've been able to annihilate his phantom, but also screwed if the real him used [Emergence] after plunging the ground.

"Finally, you're using your brain, Alpha kitty~ But..." His phantom used [Infiltrate] to join me in the sky, then used [Plunge] to throw a heavy, vertical slash from above. "How will you deal with two of me?"

"Kuh!" I raised my katana above my head horizontally and defended. We quickly dove to the ground, my feet nearly digging into the ground. His assault was still coming on strong. "...!" It was enough to make me bend my knees and make my body tremble, but I still stood my ground. I gritted my teeth, bearing the weight of the world on me.

But like Kai said, I can't deal with two of him.

"[The Zone Stance: Heavenly Domain]; [Shukuchi]" The real him killed the distance between us in an instant, taking advantage of my occupied hands.

"Omen!" I exclaimed, sending it from my feet to course through the ground and attack the real him from below. Black spikes pierced out of the ground, aiming at him. In response, Kai's grin widened.

"[Cancel]" The phantom disappeared. "[Send]" He teleported to his katana, sheathing it in its scabbard and kicking his heel off my blade to soar the sky majestically. "[Sheathed Stance: Thunder Skies]" As he slowly flipped through the sky, he reached for the hilt of his sheathed blade at a snail's pace. "[Dimensional Slash]"

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Omen, envelope my blade!" I quickly reacted, pouring all of my power and faith everyone had in me into this single strike. He threw a ferocious swordwave that was engulfed in stubborn, clingy flames at me.

I sheathed my blade and mimicked his attack. My swordwave was cloaked in ominous black—pure darkness. As our two swordwaves clashed, I increased the distance, ensuring none of the remnants of fire got on me. Unfortunately, the nearby buildings weren't as lucky as me. When I looked in the distance, there wasn't a single building left in sight, but thankfully, the Omen I wrapped around the kids was still intact.

It wasn't a wise choice to increase the distance between us, but I had no choice. I used all of my Omen to counter his swordwave, and I couldn't defend against the collateral with my body alone.

But with the distance increased now, I will have to defend against 'that' again.

"Increasing the distance... hm, you must be really begging for it, kitty. As expected of you. Always asking for the hardest challenges! That's the Knight Commander of Division One, who everyone entrusted their lives to!" He teased before settling in his sheathed stance again. "[Sheathed Stance: Thunder Skies]; [Gaze of the Abyss]"

Once again, he started slowly unsheathing his katana. That red glint that even instilled fear inside me shone brightly and eerily, foreshadowing impending violence and tragedy. At the sight of something so frightening and challenging, I couldn't help but smile fearlessly.

He said it as a tease, but he is right. I want to overcome this attack! I failed the first time because I was using my Omen at Faction-level, but what about Nation-level?

"I can do it," I murmured. I took a deep breath, gathering all of my fear, and then I blew them all out. I gripped tightly on the hilt of my blade and closed the distance with caution. "Come! KAI!"

Last time, I roughly estimated there was two hundred and seventy swordwaves. The unsheathing process was about seven seconds, and the sheathing was two seconds. With there only being a single target now, all two hundred and seventy was aimed at me. But!

I confirmed the first time that despite its indestructible defense, its offense wasn't enough to break my impregnable heavenly weapon.

"Envelope me! Grant me your power, Omen!" A black mist solidified itself around me, except my face.

Then it'd be better to improve my body's defense and overall strength. Compared to my katana, my body covers a wider range, so the power granted is divided more.

I stood a reasonable distance away from him. Instead of mindlessly dashing into his attacks, I waited.

Here it comes!

The swordwaves shot out one after another. I could barely see it before, but now I saw it clearly. At first glance, it looked transparent, but if you looked closer, you could see—like a mosaic—it was distorting the air.

"Haaaaah!" I dug my feet into the ground, stabilizing my position, and then I defended against the first swordwave.

It's indestructible—thought so! It is stubbornly pushing against my blade without budging. In the next roughly 0.026 seconds, the next one will come at me. I need to get rid of this one fast!

Through sheer force and strength, I shifted my blade up, altering the trajectory of the swordwave. Unsurprisingly, I didn't even have time to catch my breath before the next one launched at my blade.

Destroying our surroundings was inevitable, but these swordwaves never stop unless they don't destroy anything for a while. Meaning, it runs across the entire Faction! With that traitor—Dr. Stein—alive, there is still hope for these people to return to normal.

"That makes it the..." I slammed the swordwave up. "Second one!" Again! "Third one!" Again! "Fourth one!... -seven. Two hundred and sixty-eight... hah... hah... hah... nine..."

My muscles were slightly torn, and my bones were partially fractured. Warm blood ran down my nose, and my vision was hazy. My breathing was heavy and visible, drying my lips. Bloody calluses painted my hands crimson. My knuckles were whiter than the clouds, on the verge of popping out.

"Ugh!" I defended against the last one. Despite my body being in its worst condition, I slapped the swordwave away quicker than the rest. "Hah... hah... K... Kai!" I dashed to him, hoping to make it before two seconds.

Even if I didn't make it, I managed to prevent any harm to the citizens. If he uses [Mark of the Abyss], it'll only repeat the distance it traveled, same with the second part of the [Gaze of the Abyss] skill.

"Ah...?" I clumsily fell. Perhaps I strained my feet too much, but it just suddenly powered off. I was sent face-planting the ground.

No! I need to at least get out of range!

I managed to sit straight, but my feet refused to support me up. I resorted to crawling, but with no agility, two seconds went by quickly.

"Gah!" Fortunately, Kai was observant and merciful enough to notice my struggles, so he weakened the second part of his attack... Well, just enough to not kill me. The instantaneous onslaught of two hundred and seventy swordwaves struck me. While there weren't any physical wounds, I could feel my insides ripping apart. My body immediately gave out, and I dropped like a worm on the ground. "Bleeghh!" I coughed out a chunk of saliva on the floor.

Agh... I can't move my body.

After hearing the click of his sheathed katana echoing everywhere, he vanished from his position and reappeared behind me.

"Gosh. This is why I told you to use 'that'. If I didn't hold back in time, you would've died." He reached out to my embarrassing state.

"D...don't... I'm... not... done... kuh! kuh!... yet..."

Don't look at me like that, Kai! I can do better. I can do so much more! So, please stop looking so disappointed!

Rupturing my muscles, a bloody mess gushed out of my left arm as I forcefully raised it and slammed my fist against the rock-hard ground. Lifting myself from one side, I repeated the process with my right arm.

I am enough to satisfy you! I will be enough! I will...

My calves felt like they were about to burst. The soles of my feet pulsed and ached. In fact, every fiber of my body was pounding profusely, warning me to stop. Yet, I... still stood.

...bring you back home with me, Kai!

Drenched in blood, my clothes were weighing me down, but I still wore them with pride. I turned around and looked at him with half-lidded eyes, trying to ensure that I cleared up any disappointment remaining on his face. "... See? I'm... fine."

I spat out blood on the ground beside us. Then, I shoved my right fist against my chest. My gaze burnt with passion as I declared: "MY NAME IS ALPHA IODE! I AM THE KNIGHT COMMANDER OF DIVISION ONE OF THE IODE ORDER!"

My body boiled, emitting heat from it.

"THE KING'S RIGHT-HAND MAN. A LEADER OF THE BRANCH."

The heat took form. What surrounded me wasn't my Omen, but something newer... something stronger. It shone bright white, giving my spirit an appearance of its own. I could feel the throbbing slowly disappear. My wounds were closing and healing.

I removed my right hand from my chest and then pointed at him, the one who I trained for. The one who I worked so hard to bring back with me someday. The one who I wanted to be acknowledged by. The one who I wanted to stand confidently beside. The one whom... I love.

"I will beat your ass and bring you back with me. [Aura Manifestation!]"

I did it. His lips curled into a grin once more. His exposed white teeth clenched with excitement.

"Oh? Things are finally getting interesting."