“You need to move. You need to.... fight!”

Those words rang inside Rin's mind like it was some sort of spell. She didn't know who pronounced them nor did she know why. However, she sincerely felt grateful for it. After all, it was the only thing she could cling on to, now.

She had killed someone and someone else died in front of her.

The only silver lining she could make out was that she wasn't close to the two victims. Or at least not much. It was certain that, were Ed and Achille still alive, no connection whatsoever would blossom between them and Rin besides the already existing one.

Nonetheless, those were completely irrelevant to the current situation. The only relevant thing was Rin's state of mind. It would be to no one's surprise if she were to break down right now. In fact, if she remained completely indifferent, it would be proof that she was already broken to begin with.

That was why Igris's words were so crucial to her. At this moment, where everything seemed to relentlessly crush her, Rin needed something to follow. Whether it be an order, a directive, or an advice. So long as it was something that made sense, she would make sure to cling to it.

After all, if she were to be leaved on her own, the being named Rin Kagane wouldn't be the same anymore.

“New target, confirmed.” A cold lifeless voice transmitted.

Atop the roof of a two-story building, 3 specific bodies could be spotted. At the far off edge was the nameless, white-haired girl, analyzing the sight in front of her. Directly in that particular sight was Rin, wearing a clouded expression. Finally, where all of these two's attention converged, was Ed's corpse.

“....Edward Warray.” A little while after reaching her conclusion, the nameless girl spoke. “Elimination, complete.”

Those words were the turning point of the standstill. Both people knew that. And if another person were to assist to this, they would surely know that as well. It was to the point of being blatantly obvious.

No motion was still spotted, yet the tension had increased on a whole other level. No normal person would be able to stand on this—on their ground anymore. Else, they would surely become the so-called ‘collateral damage.’

And unfortunately, neither the nameless girl nor even Rin cared about such a thing anymore. The former had her imperative order to follow while the latter had guiding words to apply.

In any case, none of them wished for this fight to break out.

However, it was inevitable.

The nameless lifeless girl was bound to clash with the now hopeless girl.

◇

Shockwave shook the entire surrounding. No, maybe it wasn't accurate to delimit it to the surrounding only. The fact is, everywhere they passed would undoubtedly feel their presence. And, although it wasn't as loud as Igris and Ursa's battle, it was no less dreadful.

One moment, the blurred sight of Rin would appear and in the other, a part of the road, a building, or even the air itself would be distorted. It was difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with them.

This was what it meant to fight in the inhuman realm. And in such a battle, the one keeping the lead was, surprisingly, Rin. She was by far dominating the fight.

How, you might ask?

With Edward Warray's fight, the nameless girl had shown an overwhelming difference in strength. The man couldn't keep up at all as everything he could do, the other one could replicate more powerfully.

Of course, Ed's style of fighting couldn't be considered weak or simple. He had fought against dozen of people equally or perhaps even stronger than him. Still, what he learned from those was shallow at best.

He may have gained experience and developed a semblance of knowledge about fighting but ultimately, he relied heavily on his raw strength. From what Rin had observed from the few times they were together, the man was probably basing himself on his victory.

To put it simply, he would always remember how he won and would always turn a blind eye to how he lost. Of course, that way of doing things wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that good either.

In reality, if you wanted something, you need to be able to learn from your loss. No, maybe even that wouldn't be enough. After all, even in a winning situation, you could learn so much more besides your own performance. For instance, you could ask yourself, ‘why did the other party lose instead of me?’

And, would you believe it, Rin had always lived like that. And not just while fighting. Her every day was based on learning new things.

‘What is that?’

‘How does it work?’

‘Why did that happen?’

‘Why didn't that happen?’

‘What do I do to understand this?’

‘Is that thing really true?’

‘Can I do it?’

‘If I can't, what other alternative is there for me to be as close to it as possible?’

‘What can I do to make that easier?’

‘In retrospect, is keeping things difficult an easy way to keep me evolving?’

It wasn't apparent on her facial expression, however, except for when she sleeps, Rin's brain always worked to solve all kinds of problems. Some of them might be totally pointless ones while some might be extremely important.

Nevertheless, she didn't neglect any of them. All for one unique objective. An objective that she might have now abandoned but was still an important part of her life.

For more than twelve years of her short life, Rin had always strived to reach the Elite.

And right now, the fruit of all her effort showed themselves splendidly.

In other words, even if Ed and Rin's statistics were almost similar, the latter could do things the former wouldn't be able to keep up with. After all, although it was important, real strength couldn't be summed up in only power level.

The nameless girl may have more than twice or thrice her strength, but in the end, it all came down to how she used it. And clearly, Rin showed far better control than her.

Moreover, even now, the black-haired girl learned new things.

‘Her movements are mechanical,’ She deduced, placing all her thoughts into the fight. ‘Almost like an AI's.’

Slowly, Rin adapted more and more to her opponent's movement. She had begun her analysis, and visibly, it was far more accurate than the others. In her mind, the nameless girl's movement pattern was appearing.

And with that, Rin's dominance in the fight increased.

Until...

“Battle pattern analysis complete. Beginning adjustment.”

Once again the lifeless girl powered up. Her chest began to shine brightly, as did all of her veins. Blood followed suit from her nose and mouth but like usual no visible facial expression showed up on her.

Rin came to a sudden stop from the unusual action, which also paused the violent fight. She observed and like Ed in her case, she felt the dangerous increase of tension. She felt the power leaking out of her opponent.

However, unlike Ed, she didn't panic.

“Using a power.... that is originally..... not...hers.”

The man's final word replayed in the girl's mind, and, in just a matter of seconds, everything clicked inside her mind.

“Her....body shouldn't....be able...to...handle.....”

The meaning of those messages became clearer, which prompted Rin to, instead of interrupting her enemy, wait for the adjustment to finish.

“...” She stood patiently after breathing a sigh.

Naturally, Rin was aware of the difference between her and a true ‘Elite’. First and foremost, there was, obviously, the singularity that she didn't have. But more importantly, there was the Aura.

Similar as they may have been, the upgrade that Aiden can give and the Aura itself were incomparable. The latter was so much more... versatile. There were things that the former could never achieve.

However, if we really must name the biggest default an upgrade can have, it would be the limit. The inability to transcend it to be precise. When in reality, that isn't exactly a default, it is a fact that an Aura had that ability.

The logic behind is complicated but in summary, you could interpret the Aura as an outside power and the upgrade as an inside boost. (I know, it sound like it should be the other way around.)

Pursuing more strength while upgraded would result in your own body crumbling down from too much power.

On the other hand, training up one's Aura would simply and endlessly keep increasing your strength. And even in the off case that the body couldn't handle the power, the Aura itself would reinforce and maintain it.

Anyway, the point here is, that the nameless girl in front of Rin was certainly not using Aura. And while it wasn't Aiden's upgrade either, in theory, it should lead to the same result.

‘In short, her body should crumble down from too much power.’ The black-haired girl concluded, observing calmly.

And sure enough, the result she had waited for, unfolded before her eyes.

Not that many times actually passed by and if one were to precisely count it, they would end up around ten seconds or so. Naturally, however, those ten seconds were enough to induce the change that was happening to the nameless girl.

And while Rin could feel the increase in strength, she could also very well see her opponent’s skin cracking up. She didn’t need to think much to confirm that her and Ed’s conclusion was true. The other girl’s body was being destroyed from the inside. Pretty badly, too.

Still, like usual, despite the pitiful sight her body was entering, her eyes didn’t show anything. She was devoid of any emotion, and with that, Rin also learned that she couldn’t feel pain. She was, indeed, similar to an artificial intelligence, acting and reacting only based on calculated movements.

And unfortunately for her, Rin could read those sorts of movements easier than she does that of the humans naturally chaotic one. After all, those motions were mostly based on logic, and in this particular case, on logic ignoring the owner’s wellbeing.

All at once, the stilled water shook in its entirety, prompting Rin to react. Quickly.

With an insane speed, her opponent was in front of her in an instant and ready to attack. However, although a hint of small surprise showed on her face, things were relatively within the scope of her prediction.

The black-haired girl had reacted, but it was well before the nameless one even began to move. As a result, the former’s sword connected first. A large shockwave ensued, red blood scattered, and yet the sharp blade of the Katana couldn’t slice its target’s head completely.

The cut mark was there, but it wasn’t enough. And that fact willed Rin’s body to take motion. Barely, by the skin of her teeth, she managed to block the massive punch aimed at her. At this point, though, blocking or not didn’t matter anymore.

She was blown away with a savage momentum like some piece of rag. Her vision rolled around so much, nausea had welled up inside her. And that was excluding the pain she felt every time her back or face crashed against the ground. The blood taken out of her mouth at the last impact even blurred her consciousness.

*cough*cough*

As she coughed on the ground, she slightly readjusted her estimation. Of course, she had expected some incredible level of strength, yet, that didn’t seem to be enough to describe the reality. Just one single punch almost knocked her out, and clearly, a second one would have done her in.

“…Sta..mina…”

Edward’s word once again resounded in her mind.

‘... I guess that is indeed the only solution.’

Regaining her ground on two feet, Rin looked ahead. She wasn’t determined or anything like that. It was quite the contrary. This fight wasn’t something she wanted to continue. However, it was something she did wish to go on.

After all, it was the only thing that kept her from breaking down. It was the only thing that kept her thoughts from wandering away. You might say it was a form of running away from reality, but, honestly, what else was she supposed to do?

“Staying holed up in your thoughts is the worst thing you can do right now.” Igris’s voice had transmitted that. And obviously, Rin couldn’t help but agree.

So, with eyes as lifeless as her opponent’s, she continued her fight.