!!!Warning!!!Warning!!!

“Damn it!” Someone shouted inside a large auditorium. “What the heck is happening!”

Originally, the room was conceived to hold lectures, announcements, opening ceremony and the like. Now, however, it was completely blocked off of any school purposed function. Now, it was modified to hold Ark's base of operation.

Of course, it wasn't better than the previous one, worst even, but it wasn't like they had any choice to begin with. The headquarter being in the state it was, they had to make do with what was available.

After all, ‘Rift’ continued to appear whether they want it to or not. As such, their works to protect the city knew no pause.

As fate made it to, though, what they faced this time wasn't monsters. Or at least it wasn't only that. Three red, blinking dots were placed on the visual map of the city in the center of the room.

South, southwest, and west of Ark's academy's position. Specifically cited in a croissant order of proximity, those indicated the disturbance happening around the city. And the worst thing, Ark's officer and Elite had no idea about what exactly they were.

All they knew was that it was destroying their surrounding. Which, of course, sent them in a state of panic.

“Is no one on these spots, yet!?” The previous voice questioned through an intercom.

[We're approaching, sir—]

[—Oh my god!!!]

One person answered first before being interrupted by someone else's exclamation.

“W-what is it!?” The ordering voice beckoned, further panicked. “Did you find something??”

[It's a monster, sir!] A shivering man continued in awe. [A really big one!]

◇

“Space manipulation,” Aiden expressed with a heavy breath. “What a troublesome singularity you have there.”

Bruise and such could be seen on his face and clothes along with a few traces of blood. Still, he didn't seem to be in a bad situation. The smirk his lips formed at least conveyed that.

He cautiously looked around his deserted surrounding, waiting for the exact moment his opponent would appear. A bead of sweat surfaced on his forehead, not from nervousness, but excitement.

“Though, if you think that's enough to take me down,” He conveyed, clenching his fist. “You'd be making a terrible mistake.”

His words seemed to be the proponent, as immediately after, the bald man appeared on Aiden's side. A punch aimed at him kicked his instinct and body to move at breakneck speed.

Saved by a paper-thin margin, he retaliated without backing down. His left hand moved in an almost natural manner toward the enemy's stomach. Making him feel, in no less than a seconds, the hard skin of the hand blocking him.

“I don't think so.” The bald man transmitted with a wide grin.

Space distorted in a merciless way to stumble Aiden's balance. A pathway unknown to others appeared in the man's eyes leading him directly in front of the brown-haired one in an instant. A golden opportunity now in front of him, he didn't hesitate and launched his fist.

With the hard blow connected to his face, Aiden was forcefully made to stagger a few feet back. Still, with his high-level instinct, he managed to avoid the next attack by yet another hair's breadth.

“What you think doesn't matter,” He responded, not feeling cornered. “What matters is that you can't win!”

Annoyed by his constant defensive position, Aiden switched to a full-on offensive mode.

And continuing from there, the scope of the fight slowly escalated to another realm. The previously intact surrounding began to take massive collateral damage. Whereas the previous movements could be followed somehow, now it was completely inhuman.

Insane speed, monstrous strength, supernatural phenomenon (in this case space distortion), and a deadly pressure smashing the entire surrounding. Not even a fly could intrude anymore.

This was the fight between two killers of the underworld. This was the fight between two genuine Elite. And more importantly, this was the fight between two prideful men.

Neither of them backed down one bit. A punch was exchanged by another punch, a kick by another kick, and even insults were answered by kind. The fight stretched longer and longer, in a way reminiscing of two kids disputing their supremacy, albeit, on a mortal scale.

Again, this was most certainly a battle of pride. And anyone that dared to interrupt it would be damned by the two sides at the same time. In short, only Aiden and the bald, still nameless man were allowed to take part in this fight.

However and unfortunately, unchained just so happened to have a damned and shameless person who couldn't care less about the mood. And right now, this person was in a sour state of mind, and in a desperate search for fun.

“Don't bore me to death here!” The woman whined, instantly changing the dynamic of the entire space.

Without warning and without a sound, the bald man was savagely blown away by the single flick of a finger.

“Hey! What gives!?” Aiden shouted, stopping dead on his track. “I had that guy!!”

On the other hand, the woman simply shrugged, retracting her Aura-coated hand.

“Hmph, Shut up,” Ursa responded with a lonely look on her face. “I don't care.”

◇

A loud crashing sound broke the silence of the night. Cloud of dust, shockwave, cracks, and so on followed suit until, finally, a black long-haired girl could be made out. Her state was catastrophic, and even that was putting it lightly. Fortunately, the rain had dried up, avoiding her wound to worsen.

Rin was completely out of breath and out of strength. Blood particles came out of her mouth every time she coughed up, and frankly, it was a miracle she could stay conscious. At the very least, any clear thinking on her parts was prevented by the pain her body was experiencing.

“...” With a dead gaze toward the dark sky, she stayed down on the ground. Surprisingly, that calmed her down.

A faint tinge of nostalgia welled up inside of her. She remembered looking at this exact same sight when she was a kid. She didn't know why, but this dark, clear scenery always calmed her down somehow. So much, that looking at it became a kind of refuge to her, a place to escape to, when things overwhelmed her.

And so, with the few seconds, she was allowed to, she stayed motionless. Her eyes open, looking at the sky, trying to regain even a tiny bit of sanity. For just an instant, she wished to remain like this forever.

Sadly, that wasn't going to happen. For how much she had clung to it, life was as unkind as ever. And obviously, pity for Rin wasn't something it could feel. Things needed to flow like they were intended to, no matter how harsh they may be.

That was reality.

“...It's...” The black-haired girl spoke—tried to, with a groan. “Over...already.”

With all the strength she had, she lifted herself. Each movement she made, made her dizzy with pain, yet, she couldn't afford to not continue. By the time she was finally on her two feet, blood had already made its way out of her mouth. Her vision blurred, once again.

Still, she didn't need the most perfect eyes to see the thing that approached her. Even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to overlook it—her. If Rin's state was catastrophic, then the white-haired girl's wasn't any less so.

“...Just, stop.” Rin conveyed with grief.

Obviously, though, that didn't stop her opponents.

With a face filled with pain, fear, and even sadness, she watched the other girl approach her. It was a sight she wasn't eager to look at, but at the same time, she couldn't take her eyes off.

Cracks appeared everywhere, destroying it. Destroying the girl's body. What's more, blood oozed out from them, nonstop. By this point, Rin became aware that her opponent was not human.

There was just no way a human could survive in her state. She thought, sincerely.

She, at the very least, couldn't imagine being able to. The white-haired girl just seemed like she would fade away any moment now. No, maybe, crumbled apart was a better word for it. Either way, the little girl was being destroyed, and not long from now, she was probably going to die.

“... Str,ength... A-a,djustment....be-begin...”

And yet, like a broken robot, she continued to advance. She continued with the mission she was given, without so much as giving a single consideration for herself. Yes, she was indeed, nothing more than a simple puppet.

‘Devoid of pain, of feeling, and,’ Rin thought, for the first time this night, with pity. ‘...of will.’

This was the situation she had wanted, yet, she couldn't feel satisfied with it. She had decided to fight, to win, but now, she felt even more hollow than she would've liked. She had made a mistake. An irreparable one.

However, that was her only choice. To survive, to preserve who she was, she needed to make those mistakes.

‘....Don't fuck with me!’

—Or so she had wanted to believe.

“...Stop it, please!!” Rin shouted toward the one supposed to kill her. “Don't move any more!”

In vain, though.

No sooner had she said those words than the white haired's body began to glow once again. Her chest then her vein and finally her blood. All were identical to the previous time the girl did it. And logically, her strength increased as well.

But, it didn't matter anymore at this point. She had entered the state of limit-break, which meant that even if she wanted for it, her strength would only grow harmful to her. Perhaps right now, she had the power to kill Rin with just a flick of her finger. Unfortunately, her body wouldn't permit that anymore.

And as to prove the point, the nameless girl's crack worsened, similar to a vase slowly breaking down.

“....I,...ah...” The girl tried to speak, tried to advance, tried to continue.

The sight alone made Rin broke into tears. She didn't cry, however, and just let the water flow down her cheek. The cold wind caressed her bare skin and wound, making her shriek out of pain.... and out of sadness.

Powerless.

That feeling struck her yet again. Of course, it was slightly different this time. She had power in the literal sense of the way, and she did end up doing something. Yet, it wasn't what she had in mind.

‘....What was it then?’ Rin questioned. ‘What did I expect when taking this power!? This path?’

She looked in front of her with a hazy expression.

‘Surely, it wasn't this, right?’

Clinging to that single line of thought, she willed her body to move forward. Pain assaulted her, blood escaped out of her, but she didn't care. She couldn't. She just ran, toward the white-haired girl.

Why?

‘I don't know!’

Because of regrets?

‘It's too late for that!’

Because of relief?

‘There's no way!’

Then... Because you can't do anything else?

Finally, Rin began to cry out. For how much strength she had displayed up until now, her voice was almost surprising. It was the voice of a little girl, screaming with tears in her eyes. Were anyone to see her right now, they would certainly ask if she was okay.

After all, Rin was just a high school girl.

Would anyone hear her though?

....Yes, at least one person did.

“...” The girl looked up, and for the first time, feeling blossomed inside her.

A weird feeling. A feeling of warmth and empathy. For the first time, she had opened her eyes.

Without warning, without a word, and without reason, Rin hugged her and she hugged back.

Sensation returned to her and with it, the pain.

Still, she was focused on something else. She was focused on the tears falling on her shoulder.

She was supposed to be the enemy, yet, her death saddened Rin.

The girl readily wanted to ask why, but, she knew she wouldn't understand.

She knew she wouldn't have the time to.

So, instead, she spoke up a line. A line she never expected to use.

“...Thank you...”

A line... of gratitude, for seeing her not as a puppet, but as a person.

Then, the vase cracked one last time, and finally, she broke down into thousands of pieces.

Her feet, her thigh, her hips, her hands, her stomach, her chest, and... her head. One by one, they crumbled down, mercilessly turning the girl into diamond particle.

Unbeknownst to anyone, though, the girl had a radiant smile in her final moment.

A smile that unfortunately, escaped even Rin.

“...Damn it!” She cursed in a hoarse voice.

Brought down on all four, the black-haired girl's tears couldn't be stopped.

‘This makes it ...three.’

Insanity slowly crept up in her mind. She didn't know what to do and as such, she turned to the only word that could help her.

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

Following it with a hazy mind, her eyes somehow landed on a faraway place.

With a broken body and a broken will, Rin headed for the fourth one.