Cascading out and downwards, Rael hit the ground rolling through the grass. She braced herself during her airtime, and only stopped when she finally stopped. With a thud against a tree, Rael grunted. She was laying against the ground at the foot of the tree, scuffed and disoriented. Rael pulled herself up, resting against the tree for a moment as she rubbed the front side of her forearms.

"Ouch!..." Rael glanced around, noting that the town was a sizable distance away. She was awe-stricken by the fact that the attack had launched her so far away. She worked her way up to her feet. Everyone being separated in front of her eyes filled Rael with dread. Though she didn't care about what might happen to Ventrix... She worried for Olicia and Bif's safety along with Lylas. Even more concerning to her, Avures was being targeted by Korkolo. And though, from the way it sounded to her, he had some sort of plan or wasn't trapped... Rael wanted nothing more than to rush to his side as quickly as possible.

Rael tensed up, ready to move back towards the town, when she then spotted an ever-growing steel cylinder rapidly approaching. She was able to spot what appeared to be the length of a polearm behind it increasing in length with every moment. However, the width had also been increasing too. Seeing it get out of hand, Rael retreated back behind the tree she landed at and watched. But the weapon continued to grow, and appeared to be much more than she could handle. Slowly pacing backwards, she curiously watched the pole get closer to the tree.

The speed suddenly increased, and the pole completely phased through the tree. Rael was frozen and flabbergasted, getting struck by the pole and sent tumbling several feet backwards off to the side. Being more prepared this time, the hit didn't faze Rael as much as the first one. She rolled and hopped back up to her feet. Then, the pole thinned out. Rael tilted her head as she watched the phenomenon. She studied the pole as the length rushed towards the end sticking out of the other side of a tree.

Sitting atop the pole as it finally returned to its original size, The Sergeant hopped off the length of it and pulled it out from the tree.

"Rael, was it?" The Sergeant twirled the staff around in his hand before stabbing it into the ground beside him. The cold, dark eye-holes of his mask seemed to latch onto her crimson red glare. "The resemblance... Your signatures are nearly identical too..."

"Signatures?... I hope not. There's only one Rael Mottis out there and that's me! If somebody out there is signing my name on things, I'm gonna have to beat them up!" Rael pounded her fist into her hand.

"...? No. Not like that kind of signature." The Sergeant felt a tinge of annoyance as he couldn't tell if she was stupid or joking. "You... Temptation... You both have the exact same appearance and similar Mana Signatures. Exactly the same body structure as well..."

"God... First Yuval... And now whoever you are..." Rael rubbed her temples with her index finger and thumb, shaking her head. Her gaze lowered to the ground between them. Releasing a sigh... She locked onto him. "Is there any sort of way we can talk this out? Maybe you're reasonable like Yu-"

"No. You're a monster. And there's no reason in allowing someone like you to keep living." The Sergeant raised his staff out of the ground and pointed it at Rael. "There is no upside... No moral or ethical position in letting you go free. And though you may make senseless and idealistic promises of containing yourself... And perhaps you have even convinced a few naive teenagers to believe in you... You will become a witch, a true terror who indiscriminately kills, no matter what."

"... Are you done?" Rael rolled her eyes. A faint smile sat on her face. A silence lingered in the air...

"Unremorseful. How surprising."

"Am I supposed to be sorry?..." Rael reached back for her ax, grabbing it off of her back and resting it on her shoulder.

"For someone trying to convince me of their innocence... To spare themselves of punishment? I would hope you would show a shred of repentance." The Sergeant brought his staff up in front of him. He gripped the weapon with both hands while holding it in front of him.

Rael's eyes wandered off to the side as struggled to deflect The Sergeant's words. The circumstances of her life gave plausibility to all of his accusations and predictions. In a way, Rael agreed with him... Ever since that day where George finally told her the truth...

Rael hated her life.

Though her cheery attitude and outgoing self shined bright and was easy to act out without issue... Deep within herself, a growing resentment had taken root. She detested her very existence, not just because she was a herald of destruction for truly wicked souls, but also because she was not in control of her own life. Rael knew she was a disaster waiting to happen. She had even become partially jealous of Olicia who, despite having very similar circumstances in that regard, seemed to have a less worrisome life and more control over it than Rael herself.

But she was never able to show or admit that, and even repressed those feelings deeply in fear of projecting that hatred onto others... It was too uncharacteristic of her to show that... But she had shown it. In fact, she took out that frustration on Avures. Although she had been selfish before, when Avures called her as such to her face... Having been there to understand what Rael was... It had struck her with an immense amount of pain and grief.

To call Rael selfish, when he heard the truth as well... How fair was it to call someone with no control over their life selfish?

But she swallowed that pain, that hatred... She allowed herself to forgive Avures as he forgave her. However, was that within her true intentions? Or was it done out of fear? Fear that, if Avures gave up on her, she would end up all alone... Or even dead...

Her curse loomed over her. Her exhaustion increased every moment, living with the knowledge of her possible fate. And though she was unable to show it on the outside...

Rael wanted to die.

In an act that Rael considered to be the bottom of her standards, she gave herself away to Avures. He had his own issues, his own worries, and she truly wanted to help him. Rael had deemed Avures to be the only reason for her living. But, deep down, she had also wished that Avures would have used her exactly as she instructed... Doing so in such a way where she hoped to perish. That, so she would not have had to live with the potential of becoming a monster... And so Avures wouldn't have been so hurt by her death after the mention of sacrifice...

Though that was entirely idealistic and selfish in of itself. And she knew that.

But ultimately, it was Avures's own near-sacrifice that adjusted her course. She had become aware of the true irony in scolding Avures for nearly dying on his own when she had essentially pleaded with Avures to sacrifice her. That, and Yuval's simple words... His apology to her and wishes for her to not end up like Temptation…

Her will to be better... Her ambition to strive and take control of her own life arose. When presented with the option to grasp her future... She sprang on it. George, Yuval, and even Olicia earned a great deal of her gratitude. Especially Olicia, who previously had Rael's jealousy and ire, who was instrumental in helping her. Olicia gave her the confidence in tying down her fears.

Arbor gave Rael the will to look ahead towards the future once more... But the true test awaited in front of her...

"I've done what I can to make sure it doesn't happen... I never asked for any of this... I've taken responsibility for something totally unfair. Besides..."

"I don't want to stop being me... I don't want to lose sight of myself... What if I hurt someone?... What if I hurt you?"

"I don't know, Rael... But..."

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen. I swear it."

"My hero... He swore to me that he wouldn't let it happen. By his promise to me... And my own will..." Rael outstretched her arm, pointing the head of her ax at The Sergeant. Her smile forced its way to the surface as determination filled her entire being. "I have a right to live!"

"To decide for yourself that you won't change... Were it so easy..." The Sergeant felt sickened to his core. Was it the sheer naiveness that made him feel so ill?... Or was it the vague and indirect attack on his own life?... He was forced to change by the impurity of the world. And yet, Rael declared herself above it as if his struggle didn't matter... That he was wrong for accepting destiny. "What a self-serving attitude. Disgusting. You make me sick."

Without any more exchanges, the battle commenced. The Sergeant firmly held the staff with both hands and wasted no time swinging it towards the left side of Rael's head. Bending at her knees and briskly advancing, Rael adjusted her grip and held her ax up to the left, crashing the shaft into the staff to block. Her advance scraped both the metal shaft and staff together which created a loud, droning screech sound. The Sergeant backpedaled and shifted the staff down lower, aiming to change targets and sweep Rael's legs out. However, Rael pressed on and hopped over the attempt. With that, The Sergeant hopped further backwards and retracted the staff. Instead, he aimed to jab her in the stomach with the length shooting out towards her.

But Rael took the opportunity to adjust her ax in preparation. Reversing her grip to an over-hand one, Rael thrust the head of the ax down onto the staff with precise timing. The gap between the hooks trapped the staff to the ground for just a moment. Rael leapt forward into arm's reach of The Sergeant, leaving her battle ax behind for a quicker assault. The sudden speed difference threw him off as Rael leaned into her charge with a heavy punch directed at his face.

Though he was able to brace himself, The Sergeant was unable to avoid the hit with Quantum Tunneling. Rael's fist cracked against the mask. The covering protected his face, but did little to prevent the ringing pain that resulted from her attack. As The Sergeant stumbled backwards, he regained his footing and readjusted the size of his staff. Phasing the staff out of Rael's entrapment, he swiped the polearm upwards. The staff smacked the underside of Rael's jaw and stunned her for a moment. With a fluid motion, he twirled the staff and adjusted his grip, unleashing another brutal swing towards the left side of her face.

The cold metallic staff smashed against her face, sending her tumbling off to the side. But Rael recovered as she rolled back up to her feet and swung around the backside of a nearby tree with her hand placed against the bark to help leverage her momentum. Using the thick trunk to disguise her intent and hide her actions, Rael flicked her wrist back mid-swing which resulted in a fireball appearing within the palm of her free hand. Coming around the other side, Rael heaved the fireball at her adversary.

But with his special vision, The Sergeant had already seen her plans. His staff was at the ready. The pole became encased in thick winds as he batted the fireball directly upwards with perfect timing. After a few seconds of sailing upwards, the ball exploded outwards with embers slowly raining down the area and dimly lighting up the dark area...

"To keep one's balance and instincts through two straight hits to the head like that..." The Sergeant studied the movements within Rael, trying to make sense of the girl. The hits he made were solid... "She can hit hard, but it's not overwhelming. However, her physical resilience is astounding. Any normal person would be dazed..."

"How did he know?..." Rael frowned and tilted her head as her eyes darted from the tree she swung around back over to The Sergeant. She was certain it was just large enough to hide her attack... "And that staff thing he does... I think I get it. But it's really annoying."

"Her ax is out of her reach. She's a lot faster without it, but still slower than me. I should be able to adjust to her speed now. Therefore, the advantage currently lies with me." The Sergeant contemplated his next move.

Meanwhile, Rael wasn't too sure of what she should do next. She wasn't concerned about her ax, knowing that she had a way to get it back into her hands with no issues. The problem for her was that it seemed to be too difficult to get into striking distance against The Sergeant. He was fast, tricky, and had range. It left Rael perplexed…

Then again... Rael knew that thinking wasn't her strong suit. At least, she was better on the move than trying to just figure things out slowly. She slapped her hands against her cheeks and settled on a singular strategy…

However, as soon as she found her plan of action, The Sergeant decided to strike. Holding firm in his position, his staff adjusted as he swiped at Rael. Coming from her right side, the attack sliced through the air towards her. But Rael leapt backwards and dropped to the ground to avoid the swing. The staff phased through the tree Rael had just swung around and shifted momentum as The Sergeant swung it back towards her again. While she hopped back up to her feet, Rael didn't have enough time to dodge this one. She threw up her arms in defense. The staff smacked the side of her arms, bruising them with little effort.

Rael had hoped that, since the staff was phasing through an object, it wouldn't hit her. But clearly, some parts of the staff were able to pass through solid objects independently of other parts. And, especially to her surprise, the staff then passed right through her own body as well to get to the other side. And, like just a moment ago, the direction shifted with the staff coming down from above her to the right side of her head…

Rael bit her lips in anticipation, fully knowing and expecting the delay in time between The Sergeant's strikes. It was simple enough for her to find a way to exploit a weakness in this strategy. While The Sergeant was a seasoned veteran, Rael was completely inexperienced with real battle. It was easy to ascertain that lack of experience within moments, but it was that underestimation that Rael could exploit.

That was, with Grula as her primary teacher, Rael understood the strengths and weaknesses of certain weapons in comparison to her ax. A weapon with very long reach was primarily used more for stabbing than swinging. The reason for that being was, despite how strong someone was or how fast they could swing it, a swing would always be initially slow compared to the rest of the action. Due to the balance, The Sergeant's swing had a longer startup. And, thinking that Rael would succumb to that pressure, The Sergeant stayed put and continued to press the attack with an elongated weapon.

Seizing this free moment, Rael unleashed a volatile heat from her left hand, curling around her wrist and laying strung about in the air. The heat took form and shape, resembling something close to a thin strand of oozing lava...

Lava Whip: A Destruction/Utility/Artifice Fire Technique, one that Rael has utilized before along with one of the few actual techniques she has gone out of her way to learn. With a similar nature to most other "Whip" techniques within the other Elements, the user creates an extreme heat using their Mana that transforms and liquefies into lava. The lava then takes the form of a whip by thinning out. This process increases the precision of the technique while also lowering the Mana usage for maintaining it and refines the destructive qualities of the magic.

The Lava Whip traveled through the air, earning the attention of The Sergeant as he watched the technique wrap itself around the handle of Rael's ax. With a simple tug, the ax ripped out of the ground, dragging bits of dirt and grass with it as the edge soared towards The Sergeant. Seeing the weapon head straight towards him, he relented his own attack. Then the ax passed directly through him, leaving Rael disappointed as she redirected the ax back to her. However, she had the ax's edge cleave directly through the tree she had used before. With enhanced force, the trunk gave way to the ax like a knife through butter.

Continuing with her altered approach, Rael moved forward, back to the tree. She caught her ax's handle. The Sergeant was going to continue his previous attack, but opted to pull out of it instead as Rael neared the tree. With her whip wrapping around her left hand, Rael unleashed an empowered haymaker upon the severed tree. The force of her attack, and newfound lack of support, caused the tree to topple over towards her enemy.

The Sergeant retracted his staff and shuffled out of the impact zone as the tree crashed against the ground. However, Rael used that diversion to close the gap between the two of them. Running towards her target, Rael reeled her arm back, ax in hand, and heaved her entire weapon towards The Sergeant while releasing her grip on it. A spinning battle ax cascading towards him at short range and high speeds... The Sergeant phased through the weapon as it was too short notice to deflect.

Following directly behind it, Rael launched a right hook towards him. Meanwhile, the Lava Whip cast out and wrapped around The Sergeant's staff. Like before, there simply was not enough time for him to fully react. The Sergeant tilted his head and torso away from the hit... But he still had to have Rael's attack phase through him to safeguard himself.

However, hitting him was not her only intention. With Lava Whip's hold on his weapon, Rael maneuvered her hand in to fully grasp it. Latching onto the center of the staff, Rael kept an iron grip on his weapon while maintaining her closeness to him. The Sergeant yanked on his weapon, aiming to angle the end of the staff towards Rael's gut. But he was working against her own strength. Yet, he managed to point it at her... Though Rael was able to feel where he was going with it, and used her free hand to reach for the end pointed at her.

The Sergeant wasn't going to freely allow this. He phased the polearm out of her grasp entirely. But as he shifted his grip and intended to begin a devastating assault... The Lava Whip sliced through the air towards him. He was going to take no chances with her attack, deciding to hop back and dart off to the side. He needed to get his staff free to strike her...

"This is a gamble!... But I think I get it!" Rael mirrored his movements as directly as possible, hopping back and darting to the same direction.

The length of his staff extended out to Rael, but it had still been passing through her. The Sergeant stopped in place and tried to swing it back towards the other direction to get it into clear air. Rael pivoted faster than he thought, making sure that the end of the polearm phasing through her couldn't escape into open air. The Sergeant huffed and vehemently swung the length around, trying to shake the red-head away from his weapon. And yet, she continuously followed it without hesitation as it continued to phase through her. He was able to choose sections of the staff to apply Quantum Tunneling to, but Rael had stayed consistent on following the same section. During that ordeal, Rael raised her left hand up with her index and middle finger pointed upwards and the rest of her fingers curled into a half-fist.

"I-... I can't keep this up!" The Sergeant bemoaned the drain that accompanied non-stop use of Quantum Tunneling. It was becoming clear that a battle of attrition was certainly weighed against him as his greatest tool was a Mana-heavy technique.

He knew he had greater skill... Greater efficiency... Greater strategy than this boneheaded woman... The mindless witch in front of him. But her aggression and willingness to put herself into detrimental spots to create near ceaseless pressure began to turn the odds against him. Not to mention the toughness already displayed. He needed to break out his more lethal strategies... Something he should have done from the start. But The Sergeant had to come to terms with the truth on that matter.

He was allowing Rael's sentiment to wound his pride. And thus, it made him want to punish and torture her rather than outright kill her.

The Sergeant committed. Like before, he stabbed the far-end into the ground behind Rael. She made sure to continue standing in the same section in order to disallow his technique to cancel. The Sergeant allowed his staff to retreat to the far-end as he held on, zipping him directly to Rael at top speeds. Meanwhile, his left hand became encompassed in a swirling vortex.

At the same time, Rael gave life to the attack she had charged up. It was perfect as she anticipated him trying to get close. She raised her left arm and hand as high as she could while maintaining the shape her hand was in. Her eyes burned with an intensity that matched the output of her magic. The immediate area lit up with red circles spreading out from her. Then, in an instant, all the circles burned orange and erupted. Plumes of great, towering flames spiraled into the air thicker than the trees themselves. The temperature rose a near hundred degrees instantly in the area as the fires raged on.

Rael thought for a single moment that The Sergeant had gotten caught in her burst of power... But a section of the staff slammed into her gut, somehow bypassing her armor, and stonewalled her concentration. In that second, Rael's inferno began to sputter out as she reached for the staff desperately. However, her hands failed to make contact with the weapon as The Sergeant was visible once more, flying directly at her.

With nowhere to run and the great pain plaguing her, Rael ducked down below where the man appeared to be aiming. And it seemed as if she might have avoided him at first. However, Rael realized that he had landed directly behind her. She twisted her body and head around to face him as the vortex around his arm grew more vicious. Rael believed he was going to slice her head off, and so acted as quickly as possible. But The Sergeant figured that she might panic, and had a quicker plan of attack already laid out.

Flow gathered in between the two of them. The powerful vortex bounced from off of The Sergeant's arm, splintering into a horde of slicing winds. Unfortunately for Rael, his attack was several times faster than her desperate measure... Still, her move went off... A bright flash consumed the space between the two of them and sounded off with a deafening boom. A great explosion separated the two of them, launching each in the opposite direction…

The Sergeant hadn't even used Quantum Tunneling fast enough to avoid the attack, getting blasted backwards into a tree some distance away. However, he was quick to recover with that being the first real damaging attack Rael managed to get on him. His outfit and armor was chipped and cracked in some places, but nothing was broken. His grip on his staff meant that he was also ready to strike once more.

"Damn! Is she trying to burn the forest down?" As he worked his way up to his feet, The Sergeant extinguished flames that had carried themselves from the tree he hit to his outfit. In fact, in all the blinding orange lights, he hadn't seen how Rael's initial circle of fire plumes had begun to torch the trees. But now that he was able to look around... It was all aflame. Every tree within thirty feet, and even a bit further beyond, was burning. The Sergeant glanced over towards the village... Even some of the buildings were burning there... "That doesn't seem like her work though. More like that Addle guy...-Hm?"

The Sergeant fixed his vision back to where Rael was. Amidst the fiery chaos and bounds of smoke everywhere... He was able to parse the visual blockades to spot her energies.

Rael had her left arm posted against a tree as she stared directly at the man. Her armored pieces were blasted with residual carbon and smoke from the explosion, ruining the steel color and making it look gray. However, the right side of her armor, and to a greater extent, her body, was carved into with deep angular cuts and slashes. Being that she had turned that side of her body towards his attack, it didn't surprise The Sergeant at all. The exposed red cloth of her gambeson was torn to shreds and burnt at the edges. Parts of her steel armor were sliced open by his piercing winds, and the fabric underneath burned away exposing bits of her skin.

But speaking of her skin... Though a Fire Element user is widely immune to the extreme heats brought forth by that element... The right side of her body was scarred by his magic. Running all the way down to her hands, deep cuts decorated her right arm, and likewise, her right leg. Strands of hair were chopped short of where they usually sat and made her messy hair appear even more asymmetrical. And lastly, the slices left their mark across her face. Most notably, her right earlobe had been hacked off. Her right nostril was cut open. And even her right eyelid had been severed, leaving her unable to blink with that eye.

Ashes rained down from the sky with a delicate ease, much like colorful leaves caught in the winds of autumn, in spite of the fierce fires raging on. Despite being covered in fresh wounds, the only markings of blood on Rael appeared to be dried out. The actual scars themselves were charred, cauterized to be exact. And yet, with all of that damage amidst the newfound chaos in the night, Rael sported a playfully wide smile.

"Eh-Heh-Heh... I totally figured you out!" Rael's right eye became strained with irritation building up, blood vessels rising to the surface. She stopped using the tree as a support and raised her arm to point at The Sergeant. Her smile continued to expand, adding on to her crazed look. "That thing you do... Passing through stuff... You can control it pretty precisely and all. But... You can't turn it off when it's passing through me! I don't know why!... But I figure it must have some backlash if you try! And even I can tell how tired it makes you!"

The Sergeant watched on as the girl, amid the sheer destruction she wrecked, burst into a giggling fit. Even as ashes blew in the wind, as the fires grew and began to engulf the forest, and as branches crashed to the ground... She stood in the midst of her self-made mayhem and indulged in her overwhelming confidence. Selfishly, she let out a cacophony of laughs which only served to fuel The Sergeant's disposition towards her.

"She's right... But for the wrong reasons..."

----------------------------------------

"The Forsaken exist and operate on the principles derived from the tale of Mathias..." The General was slightly hunched over, wiping down and cleaning a slender blade as his dark skin was faintly illuminated by the light of the campfire. Even being a simple side-arm he rarely used, The General relished in keeping his ceremonial sword polished. He turned and angled the blade, gazing into his dim reflection within the steel. "That's not to say Dyzin is religious, or that he does or doesn't believe Mathias was an angel... Rather, Dyzin wishes for The Forsaken to be a force of justice that offers redemption. Justice is his primary ethos, redemption is the secondary value."

"A force of justice? I've seen and met just some of the characters he's allowed to join. They're the worst criminals... The most unremorseful killers. There is no form of justice that those scum can bring." The Sergeant had his eyes affixed to the flames in front of him.

"The way Dyzin sees it... The redemption is not just an offer given solely to the system and people who wronged him... But to those within his own ranks as well. He is well aware of the content of their characters. That is why he wishes to redeem them in the fires of the societal rebirth he desires to create."

"That idea, in of itself, is a useless and maddening endeavor. There's no other way to look at it. And yet... It seems like you only partially separate yourself from that ideal. Why?" The Sergeant turned his attention to his superior next to him.

"Because I don't believe he is necessarily wrong for wishing to try. Nor do I believe that it is impossible. I think Dyzin is just searching for the perfect thesis to do it under. He's trying to find a reasoning and way of thinking that would aid his ideals. After all, no one has all the right answers." The General observed his reflection for one final time as he turned the flat edge of the blade towards his subordinate. "... But what about you?"

"Me?" The Sergeant tilted his head at the blade's flat side being directed at him.

"Do you think you have the answers? Do you think you could redeem them? What do you think?"

"I've witnessed the depravity of man. All I can see is myself as a tool. I've been no better than those I've killed. As the saying goes: It takes one to know one... And..." All that appeared to The Sergeant in front of him was the blade. His vision constructing a mere outline of a reflective material. He already knew he was supposed to be looking at himself... "If Mathias was redeemed, then anyone can be as well. But not through me or anyone else short of God or the Angels. That is the only way-The only reason one could be redeemed. Because even innocents can harbor a heart of hatred to last a lifetime."

"... Right... But for the wrong reasons..."

----------------------------------------

"Hm?..." Something felt strange to The Sergeant. The thoughts in his head helped him relieve a prior memory... Yet for a reason he wasn't able to ascertain. It was as if the words in his thoughts were the trigger themselves. Still, he could not allow himself to remain distracted from his target... "Quantum Tunneling can be deactivated while inside a living person, much like an object as well. However, when dealing with either in that scenario... The object or person with superior Mana, in terms of amount, density, and Potency, "beats out" the other. This causes the "loser's" mass of the physical area where these objects, or people, intersect to violently explode outwards from the intersection at the first and closest section of space devoid of mass..."

As Rael continued to gaff on like a hyena, The Sergeant lamented his prior memory resurfacing at a time like this. It only aimed to distract and disarm him at a time like this by creating a juxtaposition of Rael against the scum he had previously killed. Which, in turn, made him feel more ill about reality.

"So… It's not that I can't turn it off inside of her... It's that if I do... My staff will explode and she'll be unharmed. Truthfully, I would have liked to wear her down to the point where I could explode her heart using Quantum Tunneling... But I'm running a lot lower than she is because of her shenanigans. Still, I can't let her think it's not an option..." He hadn't considered the possibility of his own resolve wavering. His eyes revealed to him a disheartening truth. As Rael ramped up... The gap between their Mana kept growing larger. She already had a large amount, but with The Sergeant using a substantial amount of his own... It began to look like this could be a slog.

"Hah... Ah... Alright! Time to-..." Rael froze mid-sentence. The Sergeant perked up. Both parties were stunned as a cry from the heavens ripped through the air, taking form as a pillar of lightning way off in the distance. It appeared to pierce through the sky... And the moment it had... Raindrops began to trickle down, soon becoming a droning sound among the crackling of fire. Rael felt the water slide down her face and exposed skin. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"A miracle from God?... No, I haven't been redeemed yet. Just a stroke of luck..." Rain was something that could make people depressed or downtrodden by its mere presence. But for The Sergeant, it was nothing short of a boon right now, especially with how quickly it seemed to pick up into a full-blown storm... The type of weather that dulled the edge of Fire Element casters.

A moment of silence and tension drifted in the air. Rael's hair became matted and wet, clinging to her head and face instead of being unruly and wild. The Sergeant was largely unaffected by the inclement weather, at least in a negative sense. For a Wind Element caster, a storm with heavy winds simply meant that it was easier for them to carry their tempo and reach greater speeds.

The Sergeant broke the standoff once more, extending the staff directly at Rael. She pivoted backwards to the right, dodging the pole. However, Rael noticed that the staff was now intersected with the tree as if he wasn't even aiming for her. She tilted her head with a tinge of confusion, only finding out the purpose of it a single second later.

The sound was reminiscent of a distant explosion with a powerful impact. Like a meteor crashing into the ground, all vocalized directly in front of her. The bark of the tree burst outwards towards her with a flurry of sharp bits of wood following in tow. It had all happened so fast that Rael barely had enough time to process. She managed to put her arms up to her face only after the barrage initially hit her. Splinters and spikes of wood pierced her face, arms, and legs in a single moment, otherwise bouncing off of her armor.

Rael covered her body in a fiery aura, melting and burning away the pieces of wood lodged in her skin as she turned to face her assailant. The Sergeant appeared as if he leapt from his previous spot and was landing directly in front of Rael. The rain actively working against her, Rael's aura faded out as she used Lava Whip one final time as well to pull her ax back into her grip. With the sound of hissing water and diminishing flames, both her aura and whip finally gave out as the two were face to face.

Rael heaved, leaning back and unleashing a furious swing at The Sergeant. Refusing to move out of the way, he passed directly through the ax and past Rael herself. Using the momentum to pivot around, Rael faced the man once more. But The Sergeant was lighter and quicker with him already striking at Rael. Crashing against the left side of her face, Rael became overwhelmed by the ringing sensation within her head from the pain and sound of the metal hitting her skull. And unlike before, The Sergeant didn't use Quantum Tunneling to follow through. Instead, he flipped the grip of his staff around and reeled it back. At the same time, he shuffled to his right and then swung upwards from Rael's side.

But she had managed to hang in from that terrible first blow, bringing her ax up to allow the length of the shaft to collide with his swing. The reverberation of metal meeting metal echoed within the burning trees, but not escaping the battleground. Scraping accompanied the echoes, screeching on as neither seemed to be able to push the other. The Sergeant wasn't going to allow this to keep going. His staff phased through the handle of the ax. Rael had anticipated the move, holding steady with her force to keep her balance afterwards. However, it was that anticipation that The Sergeant had expected as well.

So, instead, the clash reversed course. The Sergeant pulled the staff against Rael's handle as he attempted to dislodge the weapon from her grip. Rael nearly lost her footing from being caught off guard as the directional force for this round shifted opposite directions. She knew she needed to get away for just a moment to get her chance to strike back. But before she was able to go any further in that thought, Rael was struck in the gut. The Sergeant had planted his foot directly into her abdomen. Even with her armor, the attack was solid enough to force the air to leave her being.

Her grip released, sending the ax away from her hands as The Sergeant's quick thinking proved to be effective... And with no way to directly defend herself, Rael knew this could be it…

The Sergeant swung upward like he originally planned, hitting Rael square in the throat. Without hesitation, he brought the staff lower as he repositioned, sliding to her other side using the mud below them. Changing leverage on his grip, he smacked Rael in the forehead with his staff. Then, he allowed the staff to be held by only his right hand, swinging at her with a swift left elbow to the back of her head. As she tried to protect herself while enduring the onslaught, Rael lost track of The Sergeant and most of the world around them... He slid on the mud once more, phasing through Rael this time while spinning around. Using that slide and spin, he unleashed a one-handed swing to the back of her knees.

Rael buckled over, falling arms first into the muddle puddle below her. A splash sounded out accompanied by Rael gasping for air. But as she turned her attention back to her opponent... The Sergeant finished with his free hand... A wild, power-driven uppercut to the side of her head. As his fist collided with her skull, Rael felt the world fall apart in front of her. It was akin to losing all sense of hearing while everything went black. She tumbled several feet away from the force of the impact, stopping at a tree with its trunk still on fire. However, she was only able to partially make out everything around her. Her head incessantly rang with a droning sound. Her eyes opened and shut at a slow rate, revealing the world for moments at a time that seemed to lag behind all other senses...

"As strong as someone can be... Taking consecutive hits like that to the head can break just about anyone." The Sergeant took his hand and wiped down the entire length of his staff, cleaning off bits of blood and mud. He glanced over at Rael lying at the foot of the tree. She was still conscious as far as he could tell. Her pool of Mana was still overwhelming, and even bubbling. But he was able to see her life force waning. "It's over. Time to end this thing."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The Sergeant marched over to his opponent. As he approached, he watched Rael manage the strength to climb back to her feet somehow. But the damage of what he had done clearly left her unable to defend herself fully. She swayed in the wind, holding onto the tree for dear life. Blood dripped from her nose alongside a few other gashes opened up by his ferocious strikes. Her body was adorned with blackened bruises from his blunt attacks. He stopped a foot out from her. Her breaths were slow and faint... Her eyes darted around and appeared dull...

"You should be thankful. Despite everything you've claimed to have done to prevent it, you still would have eventually become the witch you were made to be. Your death at my hands ensures you never did become that monster." The Sergeant placed his grip on the ends of his staff as he inched closer to Rael. She tried to swipe her hand at him... But it merely grazed his armor and slid off with a weak effort. "No one evades destiny. Yours just ended prematurely."

The Sergeant pressed Rael against the tree, forcing his staff against her throat. She managed to take in one final breath before his strength cut off her ability to breath. Rael used every bit of strength she had to fight back, grasping his staff with both of her hands and trying to push back. But as her lungs cried out and were engulfed with agony, so too did her strength begin to wane…

However, the heat in the immediate area rose to a fever pitch in a single moment. The Sergeant stared on, confused as to what was happening. He thought that, with the heavy rains, her Fire Magic would be dulled out... But it clearly became obvious that she was outputting a terribly powerful force. Then he saw it…

The palms of Rael's hands on his staff were turning to a bright orange and yellow color... Then to white and blue. The heat shot out throughout his staff, even beginning to pressure and burn his own hands despite his gloves. The shape of his weapon seemed like it would begin to give way as well... The Sergeant realized that the reason her Mana Pool had appeared to bubble was because it was bubbling. Or rather, she was channeling her magic the entire time she was at the tree... Then again, it occurred to him that she may have been channeling this fierce magic the entire time.

Heat and structure build up for Fire Element casters is usually near-instant given no unusual circumstances. This is one of the reasons that the Fire Element is often regarded as the most powerful element outright. The output is immediately destructive to a high degree. However, this is weighed against by nearly every weather factor dulling it in some way or amount. Unless it is a heatwave and drought, where Fire is most effective and even powered up, or a regular day... Fire is usually tempered by winds, rains, and/or clouds.

That said, this notion is primarily recognized and observed through the output and is only partially true for the buildup. This is to say, the impact of rains like this affects channeling Mana by around twenty percent, making it harder to mold and weave Mana. But the impact and actual casting of it is affected by eighty percent, severely diminishing its power.

Even with the winds and heavy pouring of rain, Rael was outputting an extraordinary heat through her hands. Her intent was obvious. If she was unable to overpower him to free herself, she just needed to eliminate the tool he was choking her with. The ever-rising temperature from her magic flowed throughout the entirety of his staff. But as The Sergeant was about to do his signature technique once more…

The final breath Rael had managed to take reared its head and revealed its true purpose. She tilted her head upwards, and opened her mouth wide as a torrent of flames erupted from out of her mouth and directly in the face of The Sergeant. Even amidst the sheer volume of rain, her magic spilled forth and fought against the inclement conditions.

Without knowing just how long this counterattack would last, The Sergeant only had a few options available to him. In just a few moments, he was able to analyze the situation in full before Rael's fire breath could hit him. It was a two-pronged attack. One aimed to destroy his staff, and the other aimed to inflict damage to him.

The path of least resistance was to utilize Quantum Tunneling to avoid both of Rael's attacks and back away with his weapon in hand. The problem with that laid within his Mana Pool. The Sergeant would be able to back away without any sizable or impactful damage, but he would be effectively run dry... And the bigger issue with that would be Rael having vastly more Mana to use, even with the weather conditions weakening or slowing her rate of usage.

The other path was him using that technique on himself and ditching the staff. He would lose the advantage of having a fast and flexible weapon with great blunt power. However, he wouldn't be run dry of Mana. But that meant that Rael would have a weapon advantage. Still, he would be vastly faster than her.

Or, he could press the staff down harder while making himself unable to be hit by the flames. This had the same issue as the previous plan, but might ensure that he would be able to fully suffocate her. Along with that, it would certainly be a gamble of who would give in first. Would The Sergeant's Mana Pool run dry before he killed her?...

However, the safest and least draining plan would be for him to use Quantum Tunneling to free his staff and re-engage from a different angle. Sure, he'd have to face a bit of her flames, but it was nothing compared to what he might have to do after executing one of the other ideas...

The Sergeant relented on his finishing move. He phased the staff from out of Rael's grip and twirled it around in front of him. Searing flames slammed against his armor and burned away at him... But he summoned up his own Wind magic, a bound of gales to disperse her flames while maneuvering him backwards. As he slid back on the mud, out of Rael's range, he lamented not being able to finish the battle right then and there. He wasn't quite sure what had enabled her to be able to summon up such a second wind. But as he reviewed his next plan of action, two things stuck out to him…

Firstly, the heat in his staff continued to rise exponentially with no end in sight. That itself baffled The Sergeant to the point of raising his heartbeat through panic. He just spent the effort and Mana to save his staff, and yet somehow... The temperature was out of control. Refusing to let go of the one thing he tried to save in that scuffle, The Sergeant tried to eliminate the cause of it... But that was when he noticed it.

Secondly, as Rael gasped for air, a large devious leer was plastered on her face. Her teeth bore out as her pupils widened, visible beneath her soaking wet bangs. Through her bated breaths, a few giggles and laughs escaped her lips. To him, this was only a sign of the very thing he wished to destroy.

"Do you really think you should be holding that still?... Hah-Hah-Hah!" Rael pointed at the staff and began to double over in laughter. But before getting too carried away, she focused back on The Sergeant and put her hands up, showing off her palms. There was a clear discoloration on her palms with a bright red color outlining the affected area... Heavy burns… "Heh!... Look what it did to me!"

"No wonder I can't simply undo it or prevent it, it's not Destruction!" The Sergeant tossed the staff out of his hands. Being that his Mana was the only thing suppressing the heat, the polearm immediately went alight with flames as the color of the steel turned to a blinding yellow. Raindrops sizzled out upon contact and released a bout of steam. The weapon lost its shape as it bent and then seemed to liquefy... "I had you pegged for Destruction and Enchantment... I didn't even think to verify what kind of magic it was... Even with my eyes... Why?... Why did you wait all this time to finally pull out Manipulation magic?"

"Because I couldn't even do it until now!" Rael balled her fists, ignoring the severe pain of her hands, and threw her arms out to the side as she shouted aloud. Her attention focused even more on The Sergeant as she released wails of laughter. She stumbled forward, her balance still not fully returning to her as she planted her right hand on her face in an attempt to calm herself down. After a few steps forward, she stood straight up and stared at him with her hand still over her face. Her eyes peered out from between her fingers along with half of her mouth which was still curled into a maniacal grin. "I thought I was dead... You should have like... Killed me by cutting my neck open, or stabbing me with a knife or something! But now!... Now! I feel great! I don't know what you did or what I saw!... But it gave me the idea to try that magic and now I feel incredible! Hah-Hah-Hah!"

"She's losing it... She has to be experiencing the high of... A Soul-Cycle!... I might have created the monster... Dammit!" The Sergeant clenched his fists as the red-head in front of him knelt down in a crazed display of laughter and happiness. However, within a single second, she stopped. All laughter, happiness, her smile faded out and was replaced with a neutral appearance. Her pupils were still enlarged, staring directly into his soul as if it were intentional...

"Oy. What's that?" Rael's bloodshot and red right eye looked akin to a beast's own. She was frozen there, watching past The Sergeant. But he didn't budge whatsoever... That was, until a Lava Whip shot out of her left hand and cascaded towards him.

"Shit!..." The Sergeant managed to narrowly dodge out of the way, pivoting back as the string of lava faintly danced in the air next to him. He went to reach down for a knife in his boot, turning his attention down to his footwear. "I'm not going to fall for such a tr-"

The sound of tearing flesh reverberated out within the burning circle of trees and heavy rainstorm they found themselves in. There had been no time to calculate what had just happened... Only the result. The Sergeant slowly cast his gaze over to Rael. The Lava Whip was wrapped around Rael's right wrist and the handle of her ax as she held it in that same hand once more. But in her other hand…

The Sergeant retreated his eyes back over to his right arm... Several inches down from his elbow... There was nothing aside from blood gushing and spurting out from where his lower right arm once was... He knelt down as he grasped at his stump arm with his left hand, watching the crimson red overflow onto that arm.

"I bet you look so surprised under that mask right now... I just wanna rip it off and see." Rael stood back up to her feet and heaved the ax onto her shoulder. Her smile stretched onto her face once more. She lobbed the detached appendage out of the grip of her left hand and over her shoulder. "You really shouldn't be so surprised though. You're the one who wanted to knock my ax away. You really should have remembered where it was. It's not like this is the first time I've done this... Pf-Hah-Hah..."

Things were extremely dire... The Sergeant knew he was running out of options and blood fast. He was so close... Yet... Yet... He wasn't able to finish her off. He desired to kill the monster. Not only to just "thwart" Kataline's plans at the premise, but to also deny an asset to Temptation and even kill a future witch... But he ran his course on everything he had... And now Rael was laughing at him as he now found himself at her mercy.

It disgusted him. It mortified him. It felt as if it were just him being the only thing standing between her and the possible destruction of the entire world... And, despite claiming her right to live and innocence, she taunted him with his own failure. There was no one else to back him up. The world didn't care. The Sergeant had heard how low of a priority she really was, even by her own natural enemies. But he knew better. And yet...

Boundless strands and clumps of Flow all formed together in front of him, seemingly being directed by a greater force... That force standing in front of him and pointing at him once more. Remembering what happened the last time, The Sergeant put his arm up in defense... Then, an explosion.

----------------------------------------

"Huh? What is that supposed to mean?" The Sergeant shook his head as he glanced back into the flame ahead.

"People... Humans are redeemed through each other in shared suffering and mutual love for life. You are right. Anyone can be redeemed. But it isn't just up to God or the Angels on who is redeemed. It is also dependent on the sinner and those sinned against. Forgiveness is a two-way street, and one of the most valuable things in this world. Do you see it? Dyzin is offering forgiveness and atonement to those forsaken, not just by society or the heavens, but those forsaken by themselves." The General's eyes peered overtop of the edge of the blade at The Sergeant.

"Those people are lost causes. They'll do anything to further themselves or appease their egos. They were born with malevolence in their hearts..."

"While I agree some people are born to become evil... Most people become a certain way for a certain reason. Change is a universal truth that works in all directions, even for the lowest of the low... And even for you."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I think someone like you has the potential to change the world. But... It all depends on what happens to you in this stage of your life. Cynicism plagues your heart... A change that happened gradually, a curse set upon your being that has stunted your growth at this current period. It can and will pass, but only when you stop trying to hold on to these conflicting ideals. Will you grasp onto the last shred of humanity in your heart and forgive yourself, undergoing penance for cursing God? Or will you leave it all behind to become an arbiter in his name, forever dooming yourself to indulge in the hell-scape you envision the world as in order to free it?"

----------------------------------------

The Sergeant found himself with his back against a tree. His vision faded in and out, over and over. His chest tightened and he coughed. Reaching his left hand under his mask, he pulled it out to reveal splotches of blood... He glanced up, watching Rael strut towards him with eagerness present in her widened eyes and grinning mouth.

"What will it be?"

The Sergeant tried to rock back and forth, looking for the momentum to aid his strength in standing back up. Yet his body had long accepted defeat as even the power to move left his body.

"What will it be?..."

His head was tilted downwards, only allowing him to see his stump arm and his battered body with pieces of armor missing. His torso had become partially exposed by Rael's latest attack. Blood trickled down his chest and abdomen with gaping wounds revealing some of his innards...

And yet, it didn't hurt. There was no pain. The only thing he was able to process...

"What will it be?..."

How was he still holding onto his humanity? He thought he let it go long ago. But in the moment of clarity granted by his soul weakening... He saw it. The old monastery, resting atop the mountain next to the city. His old brothers and masters... Seeing those visions confused The Sergeant. He tossed them all aside when he undertook his Pact... He threw away their disapproval of his Pact, and threw away the remnants of his old home. But it was those memories that never left him. The yearning to go back. The desire to avenge it all in the hopes that, one day, it will just all be back…

But no such thing would ever happen.

In his mind, the blame for such a thing rested squarely on his shoulders. Maybe if he had been there... If only he decided to stay at the monastery that day... But his own desires and will overruled his decision for that day. He indulged in what he wanted to do. And he paid the price. He was motivated by his own goals. That was how he saw it. And so, with it all stripped away, he underwent the Pact he originally wanted in the first place... Again, allowing his own self-motivated actions to guide him. The Sergeant believed his cynicism was born from the sheer amount of purging he did... But deep down, the answer he repressed was that it happened on the first kill in his quest for revenge.

But he wanted to believe that he could still belong in some way. He knew he was awful. It was his previous life at the monastery that made him crave brotherhood once more, despite the fact that he didn't believe he deserved it when realizing his fault. But The General gave him that...

"Do you see it? Dyzin is offering forgiveness and atonement to those forsaken, not just by society or the heavens, but those forsaken by themselves."

"It seems like you only partially separate yourself from that ideal. Why?"

"Because I don't believe he is necessarily wrong for wishing to try. Nor do I believe that it is impossible."

"I get it now... I understand... General... But..." The Sergeant's vision didn't shake or fade out anymore as it rested on the wet blades of grass in front of him... "It would be too easy... Too convenient for someone like me... To move on and throw away the burden of my sins... But I will never forget the opportunity you gave me."

Rael stopped in her tracks. Her confident demeanor dropped into a serious look as she took a few steps back. The Sergeant's body lit up with an ominous green and black aura…

After a few seconds of the aura emanating around him, he forced himself to his feet despite his injuries. Not a single audible sound was made by him as he simply stood there directly ahead. The green and black magic flowing off of him shimmered, almost drowning out the lights of Rael's flames.

He made his choice…

It was two-fold. A completed Soul-Cycle... And a Pact...

The Pact itself forbade the use of his favored technique, and pledged his immortal soul to being an eternal force within the world and heavens alike... And in turn...

The aura that encased him gathered together into a green and black heap that crawled overtop of his body. It appeared to scurry around a few times before settling at his half-severed right arm. It locked into place and released its bundled form, taking the shape of something new. For the most part, starting from the stump, it resembled an appendage as if his arm had grown back. However, it remained green with a black aura outlining it. And, rather than there being a hand at the end, it splintered off into three long ropes that swayed in the wind.

"Huh... I really thought you were dead with that one." Rael put a finger to her lip as she observed The Sergeant's new makeshift arm.

"What is that?..." The Sergeant was locked onto Rael's body. He was able to see the Mana within her... The anatomy and makeup of her physical body... And her soul... But there was something else there as well. It looked like a sort of rhombus-shaped crystal, just below her soul. He had no idea what it was... But to him, that meant it had to be vital to her current powers...

The Sergeant raised his new appendage... And let rip a swing with extreme speed that Rael tried to block with the length of her ax... However, much to her surprise, the three ropes attached to it passed directly through her ax and directly sliced her, even through her armor...

As each rope touched her very being, Rael was hit with a variety of painful and agonizing sensations. For starters, it felt like the area just below her chest had been cut open by a sword. She was able to feel the trickling and spilling of blood coming out from her body. Next, she felt as if a large portion of her Mana had been swiped away. Like she had failed a casting and lost the Mana in the process... But most importantly... A sensation arose that filled her entire being with sheer dread. Something within the core of her being, directly attached to her soul, had been altered in some way…

Rael let go of her ax and dropped down to her hands and knees. She buried her head in the mud and grass below her as she wrapped both her arms around her torso and let out an ear-piercing scream. After her voice gave out mid-scream, the only sounds that followed were grunts and gasps of air as she continued to remain in this position.

One to strike the body, one to strike the core, and one to strike the soul... This was the power afforded to The Sergeant by his Soul-Cycle and Pact... All three tools were able to strike true with his sacrifice of his signature technique. That way it would be etched into this newfound power of his. By using Mana, he can strike the Mana Core. By using Flow, he can strike the soul. And by sacrificing the last of his humanity, he could strike the body.

But in turn, The Sergeant understood that his human bonds would be forfeit after this battle was over. His destiny that he had come to grips with. Something that he couldn't escape. By indulging and understanding his plight, and refusing to try and defy the reality of his sins and fate, he resolved himself to becoming the tool necessary to cleanse the world from truly evil people...

Attacking one's entire essence directly was nothing short of a terrible thing to do. It was able to inflict torturous suffering to the afflicted. However, The Sergeant had not struck Rael's soul... What he had sliced... Cut open... Was the device inside of her... Though he was able to see just how much pain she was in, his eyes did not tell him why... Nor were they able to convey the severity of that attack, both in regards to Rael and his efforts…

The agony was sobering, putting Rael back down to earth from her Soul-Cycle induced high. Her heartbeat's rhythm began to override all semblance of thought and balance. Each beat disoriented her vision and made the world appear blurry. At the same time, it was like there was an overwhelming force inside of her trying to burst out. It was a sensation similar to feeling nauseous and close to vomiting. Except instead of being purged from her body, it was trying to take root in every little corner of her form. She felt overwhelmed. It was going to happen...

"You-!... You don't know what you've done!... But I-... I-!..." Rael craned her head up as she gritted her teeth together. She forced one of her feet up, moving upward onto one knee... Then the other. The entire time Rael's eyes were even more red than before, showing just how hard she seemed to be straining... She wobbled to her feet while still having her arms wrapped around her torso... But then... Winds kicked up and water burst from off her skin as she reeled her arms back to her side... "I'm better than this!"

At first it was entirely invisible, even to The Sergeant's special eyes. But then, it gained color and form... Initially only visible by the volume of raindrops bouncing off of it and to the side, this pulsating mass of energy now seemed to exist overtop of and all around Rael. Then it became translucent, glowing a dark red color similar to her hair and eyes as it slowly shifted with a steady ebb and flow. He had no idea what was going on.

"I told you! By my own will!... I'm in control of my life!" Rael pointed her thumb at herself. Her face grew stern and serious as her crimson red eyes gave off a piercing glare to The Sergeant. "You attacked the receptacle with Flow... I get it... You almost caused the very thing you preached about avoiding!... But I control my own fate!"

"W-what?..." The Sergeant was frozen in place at the declaration of Rael.

It wasn't the knowledge of what he almost caused that made him lock up... But the acknowledgement of what that meant in the face of his own ideals and resolve. On the very premise of his own beliefs... His foundation was shattered. His body trembled, fighting off the urge to burst out. Was it anger? Disappointment? Sadness or grief?... He accepted destiny... But she denied it?...

"I'm going to kill you. I never thought I would say something like this and truly mean it. But from the bottom of my heart..." The Sergeant placed his new arm overtop of where his heart resided within his chest... He refused to be insulted anymore. He refused to witness the antithesis of his being. "I hate you. I despise you. I loathe you. I'm going to kill you and curse your eternal soul, you damned witch!"

The Sergeant raised up his aura-arm. The ropes straightened out ahead and extended, soaring through the air towards Rael.

"This is Arbor... If I let that Flow attack touch me... It's all over... But I can't use Full Body Xplosion while using it either otherwise the whole thing will explode... Which means this is it!" Rael grabbed her ax from off the ground while The Sergeant's attack cascaded towards her.

The mass of Arbor overtop of Rael sprung out to meet the ropes halfway, clashing with the attack. Each rope all stopped at contact with the super-aura of Rael's soul. The Sergeant pressed on, allowing himself to physically move ahead while the two magical forces clashed. Turbulent winds engulfed his left hand as he shot forward and approached Rael herself. Rael took hold of her ax and readied herself for her adversary once more. But to her surprise, The Sergeant circled around the aura of Arbor, cutting across it with his arm's wind blade.

Realizing what he was doing, Rael took a big breath of air in. She then continued to track his movement and unleashed a torrent of fire towards The Sergeant. Within her Arbor, rain wasn't able to reach the ground or her which removed a big limiter on her power. However, he was much too fast for Rael to hit this way. Making a wild guess on what he would do next, Rael put her left index finger and middle finger up…

The ropes managed to break through the blocking measure of her Arbor, sliding on past the soul-aura and entering the area defined by it thanks to The Sergeant's cuts. The Sergeant retreated back as he watched his new ropes circle around the inside of her aura. Rael then unleashed another eruption of fire like before. Her Mana swelled up and burst forth from the ground. The sheer volume of fire and power overwhelmed the inside of the aura, burning away the ropes that made it to the inside.

The Sergeant recalled his power to him with the three strands returning to his arm. Rael remained on the inside of her aura, knowing that if he caught her off guard... It could be over.

Rael took the initiative. Although the prior times she tried it didn't work out... Now was different since The Sergeant himself wasn't using Quantum Tunneling. Rael continued to hold her fingers up...

A ring of fire burst from the ground around The Sergeant. The fires themselves were a light blue, indicating the massive amount of heat that Rael had just summoned up... And yet, The Sergeant felt no heat at all...

Arbor is the power of ego projection through Flow. In that way, those with strong personalities have an extremely powerful weapon that aids them on offense and defense. Most Arbor auras start as an undefined mass which envelopes the user. Later, they adapt into special abilities when the user is able to successfully channel it more and more.

With it being a form of precise control over one's soul... Rael is able to tap into the powers implanted into her receptacle with no repercussions of that action. While it doesn't protect her from any other actions involving Flow... It remains as a tool at her disposal. Even in this sort of short-lasting and infantile stage, Rael's Arbor can still pluck out some of the power hidden within...

Rael's eyes were wide-open and unwavering. The ring of fire she created sprouted off no heat. Upon Rael's eyes, overriding a small section of her red iris, there was a light blue strip that spanned less than one-fifth of her iris. A regular magic fire was extinguished and lowered in power from the rain, both by substance and measures of heat. But a fire conjured into existence by coldness?... It was a gamble Rael willingly made to push her limits. After all, even with the great practice she had, her Arbor was only able to manifest for around a minute.

Understanding that touching those flames could be a death sentence, The Sergeant played along while knowing that he had a sure-fire tool to kill Rael with his new ability. He began to turn around in a circle, looking for her presence with his eyes... But another bad circumstance reared its ugly head. Rael's Arbor outlined the flames, leaving no space between them and the aura. It was now a small, circular arena with no escape. Then again, The Sergeant knew he could enter her aura... But doing so was a gambit. To top it all off though, the Arbor formed a dome overtop of the area, refusing entry to the rainstorm overhead. With all of this in place, The Sergeant felt his nerves go off for just a moment as he realized that through the bundle of Mana and Arbor... It was way too difficult to spot Rael, even with his special vision.

Rael stood at the edge of her domed arena, making one last preparation before enacting her assault. She held her ax up to her face... It was much too slow to strike this guy. So, using the inkling of inspiration from her Soul-Cycle earlier... She touched her ax... It began to shrink down and change shape... it happened over the course of a few seconds, ending up as a short-handled and one-sided ax. Rael grinned, now having a more efficient way of shrinking down her weapon like she had before without having to break it. Without any further hesitation, she ran into the dome.

The moment Rael crossed the barrier and flames, she already had her ax up ready to strike. The Sergeant pivoted around, whipping his arm-weapon in her direction. Both parties struck... And the next moment, Rael dipped out of the circle and barrier. The Sergeant grasped down at his legs. Both of his thighs had been cut across by the edge of her ax. He thought that he would have been able to move out of the way in time, but clearly she was faster on the draw this time. However, he put it together as he saw her ax's new form. He struck her fine enough... But he noticed an odd lack of feedback for his Flow rope that irked him... Rael, on the other hand, had to hold herself together as all three of the ropes whipped her once more. Though, unlike last time, she was prepared. While most of her Arbor comprised the arena... There was a small portion protecting her body. The Flow rope ended up being blocked by the Arbor aura.

Rael knew she couldn't wait around. She ran around the edge of her arena while channeling her magic. On the inside, The Sergeant watched several plumes of fire from all directions fire off towards him at once. Not having much time to figure out what to do next, The Sergeant backed himself against the dome where none of the plumes were firing, thinking that he saw Rael with his special vision on the other side…

But Rael ripped through the dome once more and she was directly behind The Sergeant. With a quick swing and disengagement, he had no chance to strike at the girl. Rael was in and out faster than he could have retaliated at. Not only that, his assumption got him into trouble. Rael sliced the back of The Sergeant's legs around his knees. Suddenly, the man had little to no ability to move. The Sergeant inched his way back to the center, deciding that he had to block her magic if he wanted to win. But he also believed that Rael couldn't keep this up for much longer.

That was true, and she knew it.

With him being rendered unable to dodge, Rael knew he'd have to take her next attack full-on and try to counter. She managed to force her way into an advantageous spot. But that advantage was only going to last a few more seconds before her Arbor and Mana ran dry. Each part of this trap was incredibly taxing. This was it…

The Sergeant watched as the arena flames all began to curl inwards towards the center where he stood. This was the finale, he knew it. Each and every bit of fire and flame crashed and spewed into the center directly at him. The Sergeant hunkered in, using what magic he had to shield himself with powerful winds. The flames were cold, freezing even. It threw him off completely, but he held steady. However, his Mana was dwindling to nothing. He was approaching his absolute limit.

"If I had more time to practice using this power... I-Right!" The Sergeant controlled the Mana rope of his newfound weapon to expand and slice in all directions around him.

Despite only having just gained this tool, The Sergeant found some of the more applicable uses of his ability. Using the knowledge of his ropes crashing against Rael's Arbor, he theorized that each rope could attack its respective target. And, luckily for him, he was right. The Mana rope shredded and stopped the flames in their tracks.

With that, the mass of Arbor followed suit, shooting in from all sides and directions. The dome practically collapsed in on itself as it barraged The Sergeant. With his Mana almost depleted, he let up his magic and allowed his ability to do all the work. The Flow rope that had sliced Rael's receptacle sprung into action, following the defensive work of the Mana rope. Rael's nonphysical assault had been stopped in its tracks…

But The Sergeant knew she was coming. Rael ran towards The Sergeant. Their gazes met. She held her ax in her right hand. Each footstep felt as if it were going in slow motion for both of them.

"With none of that aura shielding her from the rain... Her magic is weakened and she is exposed. All she has is that ax... Which means... I win!" The Sergeant turned to face Rael.

With his last rope... The Physical rope... The Sergeant had it shoot straight outwards towards Rael. This one, more than the other two, had the all-important ability of Quantum Tunneling built in. While they could be physically touched, the Mana and Flow rope only affected both Mana Cores and Souls respectively. But, he was able to use Quantum Tunneling on all of them without expending Mana now. Meaning that The Sergeant knew she couldn't block it with her ax... It was his victory!

But in a move that he hadn't predicted or calculated... Rael reeled her ax arm back... And catapulted her weapon directly at him. The ax soared through the air, spinning around as it closed on him in slow motion...

"She gave up her ability to defend herself?... Does she know? She couldn't know? Could she? Regardless, this is still my victory!" The Sergeant had wondered for a singular moment if Rael knew defending herself would or wouldn't work...

For him it was all the same. The ropes were faster than her ax. While the other two worked on clearing her magic and Arbor... The Physical one turned completely around and shot through the air to catch up to the ax. It was a much closer shave than The Sergeant had wished for, but the Physical rope finally caught up and slammed into the ax, knocking it off course…

But the sound of stabbing and ripping flesh pierced his ears as blood splashed out in front of his very eyes. The Sergeant cast his glance downwards... The edge of the ax was lodged in the direct middle of his chest…

"But... I thought I-..." The Sergeant stood there in total shock and disbelief. The pain and weight of what just happened hadn't sunk in yet.

Rael smiled, having her gambit fully realized and paying off. She continued to run straight towards The Sergeant as both her Arbor and Mana and his ropes were continuing to clash.

It was simple. The piece of Arbor attached to Rael that had protected her earlier was still in her arsenal. The Sergeant fully knew that his ropes and Arbor clashed... And he knew that Rael had protected herself from the Flow rope just moments prior. Yet, in his blind hatred and desire to kill Rael, he forgot about that detail. When Rael launched her ax at him, she entrusted that last bit of Arbor to the ax so that he couldn't knock the weapon off course…

The Sergeant noticed the mass of Arbor on the ax fade away and turn to nothingness. Next went the flames that he had been fighting off. Then finally, the big piece of Arbor started to dissipate as well... As it stood, The Sergeant saw a victory he could pull out from the depths. Rael appeared to have nothing left. He just needed to work up the strength to strike her in spite of the ax buried in his chest…

Rael was finally close enough. She saw that he wasn't down quite yet... Something she was worried about. But she still had one more trick to pull out. Now that her Arbor was retreating and dispersing, she had the perfect opportunity to put this last method to the test. The Sergeant's Flow rope was still attacking Rael's Arbor. The last remaining bits of Arbor outstretched to her hand while wrapping around the Flow rope... Closing the gap between her and that rope, the Arbor pulled both parties closer. The Sergeant thought it was a suicidal move and did nothing to stop it. But once Rael grabbed hold of the Flow rope, all of her Arbor finally disappeared.

The words that were uttered from her lips next sealed in The Sergeant's fate, revealing to him what exactly was going to happen...

"Kaboom..." Rael's hand glowed a bright flash of white as she held onto the rope.

Both times he was struck by an explosion... It happened with an amassing of Flow... The Sergeant realized too little too late. This wasn't some random technique of Rael's... It was her Shade.

Sparks flew off the ropes as tiny explosions erupted all over the weapon, spanning all the way down to the base of the rope. Each inch of length unleashed a new explosion as the concentration of Flow was overridden by Rael's Shade, Full Body Xplosion. Clusters of booms and bangs traveled up the series of the rope until it reached the replacement limb... Then…

A bright flash ignited and blinded the two of them as one final thunderous detonation rang out...

When the light faded out... The weapons forged from The Sergeant's Soul-Cycle and Pact were no more. The magic was blown to smithereens and fully dispersed. However, the rest of his right arm was caught in the final blast, leaving only his right shoulder.

"T-... This can't be happening..." The Sergeant knelt down as he grasped his left hand to his right shoulder. The fountain of pouring blood seemed to have no end. "I-... I..."

Rael watched with heavy and bated breaths as her opponent tried to take in the full weight of their defeat. As she saw it, it wasn't just a battle to live... But also a battle to show that she had a right to be alive and live how she wanted. After all, though she went through the incredible effort to contain the receptacle, it needed to be proven that it worked... That it wouldn't all be for nothing... She couldn't help but smile despite the current affairs going on. She deserved to live…

Meanwhile, The Sergeant had to witness his entire worldview crumble directly before him. To him, it was repulsive. The idea that this girl was able to use her gifted power to claim she had a right to live. It was the epitome of selfishness, to deny fate and destiny using ungodly power invested in you by others. While he had to struggle to fight against these forces, she was indulging in a victory as someone who supposedly wouldn't become a monster despite the nature of her being.

"I refuse this." The Sergeant, through some way, and somehow, climbed back to his feet... He used his only arm to rip Rael's ax out from his chest as a new spout of blood emptied out onto the ground in front of him. He grunted and shouted in agony, suffering from the sheer pain of it all. He threw her ax aside and summoned up what little magic he could... "You can consider this cheating. I consider this justice."

"Huh?... Hey man, we're done here." Rael raised an eyebrow at the near-dead man. She scratched her head as she watched on with an inquisitive glance. "I'm honestly willing to let this go. I just need to get to Avures so I can save him."

"No. This ends here. For both you and I." The Sergeant held a glowing orb in his hand... He felt ashamed, being reduced to such a rudimentary casting method. But he realized that this was the only way to end things. If Flow activated the receptacle... And it caused her immense torture when it happened... "I know your weakness."

"What are you-?" Rael watched as the orb in his hand was thrown at her. It didn't seem to have any weight or feel to it at all... But Rael saw it sprout a sort of magical connection between the two of them.

"If I'm right... Getting Flow inside you in that area must hurt you badly... And from the way it sounded, it would transform you into that witch... Am I wrong?" The Sergeant coughed and wavered as blood spilled out from his mouth and dripped off the bottom edge of his mask. "Network will let me direct the Flow I bring into my body and allow me to pour it into you."

"Uh... Pf. Heh!... Okay!" Rael was baffled by the methodology of The Sergeant. In fact, it was amusing to her that he'd even try this. The connection remained between them and began to glow.

"It will turn you into that thing... So congratulations for bringing me so low... But I can go even lower if pushed that far... I'm worse than any other person I've killed for justice! While you double over in torment, I'll end your life before you transform. That is the mercy I give to you..." The Sergeant took in all the Flow he could muster as the energy source began to rip apart his body inside and out from the sheer volume he filtered in. Then, he started pushing it into the Network connection...

"I'll congratulate you too!" Rael turned to the side with the left side of her body facing him. A portion of that crazed smile from before returned to her face as her eyes went wide. Because of the anguish he was experiencing, he once again forgot an important detail that would cost him his life. It only took the next few words coming out of Rael's mouth for him to realize it was all over... "You just turned yourself into one big bomb for me!"

----------------------------------------

"Look who's here." The General sat atop a log, stoking a campfire as he gazed on over...

"Huh?..." The Sergeant glanced around, finding himself at a familiar area but for no particular reason... "What's going on?"

"Hm? You should know..." The General reached his arm over and patted The Sergeant on the back...

"Am I...?"

"About to be... Do you know why, lad?"

"Now now, Sergeant. It is wise to know when to pick your battles. If you pick the wrong fight... If you let your stubbornness and tunnel vision override your intellect, you will die."

"I-... I overplayed my part." The Sergeant bowed his head down. "I should have just focused on that pink-haired girl... If so, then-"

"Right... But for the wrong reasons..."

"..."

"You certainly overdid it. But you allowed yourself to be consumed by the bad part of you."

"... I'm sorry, General. You offered me redemption... Just like you talked about before, and I spat in your face. I don't deserve forg-"

"I forgive you, Sergeant." The General glanced over and locked eyes with The Sergeant. He had a warm, firm smile on his face as he continued patting the back of his subordinate. "Really, it's my fault. You're a great man, but I wish I had gotten to you sooner... Before you fell into that pit of despair in your younger years."

"I-I-I-..." The Sergeant's body trembled. He clenched his fists on his lap as he tried to contain himself.

"Just do me a favor. Leave the mask behind, and accept the man in the reflection." The General unsheathed his ceremonial sword, and pointed the flat side towards The Sergeant. The Sergeant pulled the mask from off his head, and slowly turned to face the blade...

----------------------------------------

"Yaaaaaaaaaay!" Rael pointed her left index finger at The Sergeant, striking a pose while cheering on and aloud as the Network connecting the two of them lit up.

Like before with the ropes, each and every bit of Flow lit up all at once. It started at the connection to Rael, brimming with small bursts until it eventually reached The Sergeant. Then, after a few moments of ignition, it happened. One, ear-shattering blaring explosion rang out during her cheer. In every square inch of his body where Flow had been compiled, The Sergeant fulminated from head to toe. His armor shattered apart alongside every piece of his body, leaving only bits of organs and blood which were plastered all over the area... Even all over Rael while her mouth hung open for her cheer.

The red-head froze in place for several seconds, fully taking in the nauseating and repulsive state she was now in. She screamed on the inside of her head... But acted out by breaking her pose and kneeling down as she vigorously spat out all the foreign liquids and objects that landed in her open mouth. She stuck her tongue out and repeatedly spat to the ground. Meanwhile, she wiped her hands on the clean, backside of her armor to get them blood-free so she could clean her face.

After feverishly cleaning herself over the course of a minute and not feeling as gross anymore, she sprung up to her feet and glanced onward towards the village... As far as she knew, Ventrix, Lylas, and Avures were all still in trouble. Though she was tired, Rael knew she could still help somehow...