‘Think...!’ Edward concluded hastily inside his mind.

Throughout their cat and mouse play around the city, the man became desperate. No matter what he did, he couldn't escape more than ten meters away from the girl. No matter where he hides, he would be found in a matter of minutes. No matter how much he fought, he would be pushed back painfully.

It had hurt to admit, but the still nameless girl was an entire league above him. To win, he would need something else apart from strength. And the first step toward that was to get rid of his fear, or at least, to suppress it for the moment.

“—Argh!” Blood once again escaped his mouth, pushing him back.

The second step was to find a weakness. Ed wasn't stupid. He knew there was something weird about the girl's strength. If not, he would have lost a long while ago. He needed to comprehend that something and take advantage of it.

‘She didn't possess this amount of strength at the beginning.’ He thought, prioritizing his defense.

Only after those words she said did she surpass me. A singularity of self-reinforcement, perhaps?

From an outsider's point of view, that was the most likely cause. However, Ed knew that was wrong. The very same feeling that told him the girl wasn't human, also told him she didn't have a singularity.

So, what was it then?

Right now, that didn't matter for Ed. What mattered was the result in front of him. With the help of whatever phenomenon she used, the girl increased her strength exponentially. However, there had to be something else to it. Something she needed to pay, or something she needed to be careful of.

Otherwise, why else would she need to wait before using it? Why did she need to ‘analyze’ him before using it? If she could reach this kind of strength right from the get-go, why hasn't she done so?

In the hopeless situation he was in, Ed used every once of himself he could use to observe his opponent. From the way she breathed to the way she moved, all the while, taking care to avoid every attack that was coming at him. Unfortunately, his ability to cope with the situation was mediocre.

It was apparent he wasn't used to fight and think at the same time. The horrible injuries that continued to pill upon his already frail-looking body only proved that fact even more.

Furthermore, the lifeless girl didn't have any mercy at all— no, it was questionable whether she could feel anything at all. Her blow were relentless, and no matter how much hit landed on her, her face didn't show any sign of movement at all.

Yet, it wasn't like Ed had any other choices anymore. To survive he must think of a way to turn things around.

‘—!’ On cue with his determination, he finally realized something. ‘Of course!’

The damn limit!

Why didn't he think of this? For one, the blood that had come out of the girl's eyes and noise earlier should have ticked him off. And for two, he should have remarked her now messed up movements.

Surprisingly, the girl's strange power was similar to Ed's, or perhaps, to Aiden's upgrade. And if we take that far enough, if Edward's conclusion was true, then it also confirms his suspicion of the girl not being an Elite.

Thinking about it, it may even come off as obvious. In the first place, a self-reinforcing singularity shouldn't exist, or at the very least, they should be on the rare side. Why you ask? Because an Elite's Aura already has that function, and it should be much more powerful too.

Having come to these realizations, a new brand of hope bloomed inside Ed. However, he was way too restless about it, and in exchange the lifeless girl mercilessly attacked him. This time, as opposite to all the previous ones, she didn't miss the vital point.

To be even more specific, she dealt a lethal blow to the man's left hand. And unfortunately, this had cost him any semblance of hope that was left inside him. The previous arm attached to his left shoulder was horrendously split apart from him.

“Haaa!” Slowly, a scream came out of his mouth. “Haaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!”

Blood incessantly splurted outside of his body. The pain, higher than everything he had ever experienced. He was screaming, yet he couldn't hear his voice anymore. All of his senses were concentrated on his left shoulder.

And before long, his entire life flashed before his very eyes.

The moment he was born.

The thing he did while growing up.

The moment he accepted Aiden's deal.

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The people he fought against.

The people he... killed.

His greed, his regret, his anger, his sadness.

His joy, his pride, his happiness.

Everything that had happened in his short, pitiful life was played like a film in front of him.

‘I... see.’ With a sad but resigned expression, Ed stumbled on his knees. ‘So, this is the end.’

It seems I couldn't escape this fate.

When his movie finally ended, the sight of the nameless girl reappeared in his vision.

She was looking at him with yet another devoid look before raising her hand. It might have looked to be an illogical motion, but for those who knew of her strength, only Ed in this case, it was similar to the death god raising its scythe.

The girl was preparing to slice the man's head off.

“...” Unable to say anything anymore, Ed simply waited.

‘To think I would lose immediately after seeing a glimpse of a weakness...’

A bitter taste lingered in his mouth. Unfortunately, it was already too late. In his current condition, there was no way he would be able to win anymore. Which meant that all that was left was to accept his death.

Breathing for what he thought to be the last time, he closed his eyes. Everything around him seemed to have slowed down in consequences. Yet, he could also feel that it was way too short.

‘If only...’ Ed wished, desperate. ‘I could live a little while longer.’

Then the nameless girl finally moved. A terrifying cold breeze blew exactly at his neck and he could feel the razor-like hand coming closer.

Unexpectedly, however, when his death sentence was just an inch away, someone roughly pulled him backward. His eyes opened up by inadvertence, making him see the hand that had wanted to claim his head.

It all happened in a fraction of seconds. Ed escaped his fate by, literally, a hair's breadth. It was so close in fact, that a red bloodline still made its way on his neck. Nevertheless, he didn't even have the time to concentrate on the pain before he saw a person passing by him.

No, to be specific, it was him that passed by her. It seemed that the new challenger didn't have enough leeway to regulate her strength, thus resulting in Ed being thrown a good ten meters away.

And to his dismay, with his current state, that was enough to shook his consciousness. Everything slowly began to blur, and after, maybe ten seconds, his vision gradually grew dark. Though, before he lost it completely, he was able to somehow make out the figure of his savior.

“....Rin....?”

◇

“....up....” A female voice resounded, struggling to make its way toward its recipient.

Among her distant word were clear indications of a fight taking place. Nevertheless, none of the noise permeated into the man. He stayed motionless, seated on the ground with disturbingly faint breathing.

“...Wake... Up!” The girl's incessant screaming didn't do anything to help him. In fact, for him, it didn't even sound like a scream anymore. It seemed more like a voice that was a complete world apart from him.

Edward Warray had dived completely into Morphe's hand. No, maybe it was more accurate to say he was unconscious. Either way, he wasn't aware of himself anymore. And that was dangerous.

His severed arm was still unattended, which, contributed greatly to his current mortal condition. He was bleeding in a way that would make anyone feel bad, letting the cold and the rain worsening his condition. And even if the countless other injuries present on his body were to be ignored, it wouldn't change the fact he was advancing to his death.

If Ed remained asleep, he may never wake up again.

“You have to wake up, damn it!” Rin shouted for the nth time in a desperate manner.

She didn't know how much times passed since she arrived but she hoped it wasn't long. After all, Ed probably didn't have long anymore. And if the blood dirtying her shirt wasn't any indication, then the coldness of the body she was carrying was.

After much pain and effort, she had finally succeeded in getting away from the lifeless girl. Still, she knew it wouldn't be for long. Plus, constantly moving around with the evident deadweight on her back wasn't the best option.

So, instead, after she made sure the unknown opponent was out of sight, she stopped running away. Throughout her entire escape route, she had somehow managed to land on the roof of a two-story building. Needless to say, her rough movement did wonder on Ed's body.

She didn't have a choice, though, and at this point, part of her wished the occasional pain produced would wake Ed up. Alas, it seemed luck had firmly decided to get away from Rin on this particular night.

“Wake up, please!” Finally passing a threshold, the black-haired girl started begging.

With a careful motion, she had put Edward's cold body in a seating position against a wall. Looking at the pale skin of the man, Rin was further freaked out.

‘Is he even still alive?’ She thought with a panicked face.

However, now wasn't the time to continue her breakdown. She, at least, was aware of that. What she was less aware of, on the contrary, was medical assistance. She had gone to the hospital several times in the past but that obviously didn't make her a doctor.

The ideal would be to take Ed to the hospital but, unfortunately, that, too, came with a lot of problems. Mainly, the nameless girl that was pursuing them. She didn't know if she would be able to travel that much distance without the opponent catching up.

And even if she could, it was likely the lifeless girl would indiscriminately involve the entire hospital in a death fight. Moreover, although it may be the most optional one, taking a criminal to a public place wasn't the brightest of ideas.

‘What then!? Should I take him to Aiden?’ Rin rummaged through her option, all the while deciding to at least take care of the bleeding hand (well, shoulder now, because it was severed).

She tore her shirt from the belly down. The cold wind mercilessly made its way on her skin as a result, further putting her in a foul mood. Nevertheless, she continued by taking Ed's jacket off of him.

At this point, the eerie lack of breathing sound from the man unsettled the girl greatly, yet, she didn't dare to verify the pulse herself anymore. Rin knew that if she ever finds out that Ed was already dead, something inside her would snap again.

That's why she convinced herself the man was still alive. Acting in consequences, she proceeded on by bandaging the severed arm with her ripped shirt.

“Wake up...!” Once she was done, she said once more, though with less ardor.

Unfortunately, no one answered like she had expected.

“...”

Helpless about what to do, she ultimately couldn't stand on her two feet anymore. Her butt met the ground, and without resistance, she stayed seated in place. A sigh escaped her lips despite herself, and only now did she finally acknowledge the rain that was pouring on her head.

No one can ever escape reality.

To her dismay, Rin wasn't dumb enough to not understand.

“...damn it.” She expressed, now completely lifeless.

Only then, did she finally hear the voice she was looking for.

“...Sta..mina...” It was a hoarse voice, without focus. Yet, it seemed to want to transmit something.

Rin immediately lit up with the word. She didn't understand what Ed transmitted of course, but it meant he was alive at least. Only that fact mattered to her. And, it effectively helped her on her feet.

“Edward!” She said approaching the man.

“She's...! The same as.....us.” On the other hand, though, Ed continued to speak, not caring about the girl. “Using a power.... that is originally..... not...hers.” Still, the man's words were difficult to make out.

“Wha, What are you talking about?” Rin asked confused, before immediately repressing herself. “—No, don't answer me. You shouldn't speak. At all.”

Knowing that Ed was alive was enough to return some of her sense to Rin. And the decision she finally managed to reach was to go to Aiden. Surely, that man could take care of this. She thought.

She hoped.

“Her....body shouldn't....be able...to...handle.....” However, it had seemed like Ed wasn't going to obey her.

“No! Stop, I don't understand!” Rin responded, in a more panicked tone. “We need to take you out of here!” She said, advancing to lift the man on her back.

A bad feeling crept up her spine once again. The cold permeated her as if to remind her it was still present. Anyone else would have probably guessed it, but to Rin, Ed's word felt oddly like it would be his last.

“Listen....here..” Ed used the last remaining of his power to move his left hand.

It didn't budge much, but it was amply enough to make Rin go still.

“...No...” She transmitted in a despairing voice.

She didn't want to hear anymore. Now, she just wanted to escape. Unfortunately, her body didn't obey her anymore. Glued on place with a sad, helpless look, tears threatened to come out of her eyes.

“You....have to.....avenge....” Ed's barely lifted hand returned to the ground despite his effort. “...me.”

And before long, any sign of life snuffed out of him.

Rin clenched her teeth as well as her hand and, as she had predicted, something inside her snapped.