Isabel’s sword started glowing even brighter than before, Miko knew that it was not a good sign.

(Calm down, Miko. Remember what Kirika taught you. The Slaughter Moon Style mostly consists of flashy techniques and illusionary sword moves.)

Isabel’s body flickered and she instantly appeared in front of Miko, swinging her sword.

“Illusionary Sword Arts uses sword intent as it’s core! So feel that intent and strike!”

Miko stepped forward and swung Ishma to counter Isabel.

“Crescent Moon Strike.”

Isabel’s sword bent out of the path of Miko’s slash and went straight for his back.

*Clang!*

Her strike was unable to meet the target because it was blocked by Miko lifting Regis behind him to block it.

(Don’t start celebrating yet, Miko! She’s fast enough to attack again in an instant!)

Just like Miko reminded himself, Isabel instantly switched to a next attack when her first one failed. She stepped back and drew a circle in the air with her sword. Miko saw a full moon appear in front of him, Isabel thrust through that full moon and a beam of white light pierced through his stomach.

“….?”

Isabel saw Miko fade away like a puff of smoke. She calmly spun around and swung her sword behind her.

*Clang!*

Her sword clashed with Miko’s and forced him back.

“You’ve learned to sense sword intent? Then why did you take my attacks earlier?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I’m just making it up as I go!”

Miko rushed forward as the image of an Asura appeared behind him wielding six swords. The Asura and Miko moved in unison.

“Miko Original!”

Miko leaped into the air as azure and green flames engulfed his swords while crimson flames engulfed the Asura’s.

“8 Blades Of Hell!”

Eight burning slashes rushed towards Isabel causing the area’s temperature to skyrocket.

“An original, huh?”

Isabel sheathed her sword and cold air started swirling around her. She leaped into the air, pulled her sword, and swung it.

“Lunar Frost Cut.”

An icy slash cut through Miko’s eight slashes and instantly froze them.

“Now that’s just bullshit…”

Miko lifted his sword and deflected the icy attack with a frown on his face. He landed on the ground and noticed that Isabel was nowhere to be seen.

“Moon Mist.”

Isabel suddenly appeared out of a mist and thrust her sword at his neck. Miko had to quickly moved his head out of the way and countered with a slash. Isabel ducked under it and slashed at his legs. He jumped over it and swung his sword down as hard as he could.

*Bam!*

The ground burst open from the impact but it missed its target.

“Tch!”

Miko’s started looking around and before releasing his Vita to surrounded the place.

“?!”

It’s when he did that, he realized that he was being attacked from all directions at once. It was like dozens of invisible swords were thrusting towards him. He gripped both swords tightly and started swinging them about deflecting the invisible attacks.

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*

*Clang!*

Sparks flew as his sword clashed with Isabel’s.

“The hell?! Is it really just one of her?! It’s like I’m fighting an army!”

The attacks started to get past Miko’s defenses and started reaching his already wounded body. He received cuts on his wrists, shoulders, fingers, and even around his armpits.

“This bitch! She’s trying to make it impossible for me to wield my swords!”

Miko gritted his teeth in anger.

“Since it’s like this!”

Suddenly a powerful burst of magic came out of Miko’s body. That magic then forcibly reentered his body through his pores. Azure scales started covering his body as he started undergoing a transformation. His hair grew out and became spiky and his muscles doubled in size. He had entered Dragonite Form.

“Trying cutting this! My most resilient form!”

He took a deep breath and channeled all his power in his arms and swung them to the side. That simple move created storm-like winds that blew away all the attacks aiming at him. Miko started grinning as both his swords started transforming. They changed from katanas to two large demonic swords fitting of his appearance.

“Let’s take this up a notch!”

He swung Ishma down and a powerful force ripped through the earth and hit an invisible wall, which turned out to be Isabel.

“Ugh!”

She groaned as she noticeably struggled to deflect the force.

“No time for rest!”

Miko appeared above her and swung down his sword.

*Bam!*

An explosive sound rang out after Isabel blocked his downward slash with her blade. The ground even cracked under her feet.

“This power will be a problem.”

She leaped back to distance herself but before her feet could even touch the ground Miko was already in front of her.

“?!”

“Haha!”

He thrust his blade at her with a laugh. Isabel had to bend backward as fast as she could to avoid the strike.

*Bam!*

An explosive sound could be heard when the sword hit the air. She flipped her body and swung her sword at Miko, but the hurried attack couldn’t do any damage despite being a clean hit.

“Dragon scales aren’t that easy to cut you know!”

Miko swung his sword and fired another powerful force at Isabel, who accelerated and evaded it.

“Strength and speed of a mighty dragon, huh?”

Isabel started running in circles around Miko. Soon, Miko could see afterimages of her surroundings him with all of them in a different pose.

“Huh?”

Miko looked and saw that he was standing in the center of a full moon.

“Lunar Barrage.”

All of the afterimages attacked him simultaneously. Miko stood his ground and started cutting them down one by one but he wasn’t able to stop them all. Several of them slashed and stabbed his body before being cut down. When the onslaught was over Miko was still standing with only small cuts on his body.

“His defenses are a lot higher than before too…”

Isabel accelerated even further and thrust her sword at Miko’s neck. He evaded it with a side step and slashed at her back. Her body flickered and she appeared several meters out of harm's way.

“He’s no longer using my sword intent to track me. He’s using his newly sharpened senses to defend himself.”

She mumbled.

(She’s been analyzing you for a while now. Be careful.)

Tia spoke in Miko’s head. He saw Isabel looked at him for a while before shock painted his face.

“She’s smiling?”

Isabel, who was aloof all this time was now smiling. This gave Miko a bad feeling.

“Looks like I can enjoy a good sword fight with you as my partner.”

Miko saw her take off her jacket and unfastened her tie and threw them to the ground.

“From now on, it’s no longer about business. This is for my personal enjoyment.”

“?!”

Miko felt a chill run up his spine when he saw her grin. He soon started showing his fangs as he smiled.

“Let me see how you are when you cut loose.”

“As you wish.”

Isabel and Miko moved at the same time. They charged at each other and swung their swords with no tricks, just an honest clash of blades.

*BAM!*

A thunderous sound reverberated through the area when the blades clashed.

“Wha?!”

To Miko’s surprise, Isabel could withstand his powerful swing that could easily rip open the ground.

“Self Forge.”

Isabel started pushing him back.

“The ability to strengthen your body and sword to make it stronger.”

“There are techniques like this in the Slaughter Moon Sword Arts?”

“Of course. In order to become a true swordmaster, you need to become a sword yourself. Some of us can even make our bodies as sharp as a sword, so we’re never truly unarmed.”

“…..That’s just unfair.”

Miko leaped back and distanced himself.

(I thought I could power through but here I am back at square one.)

He started laughing.

“Well, I guess this is how it should be.”

A wild grin appeared in his face.

“I don’t hate playing the underdog after all.”

“What? Miko hasn’t come back yet?”

Edward had returned to the Red Light District and was immediately greeted with questions concerning Miko’s whereabouts.

“Does that mean that you knew where he went?”

Momo hastily asked.

“Well….”

Edward then told them about Miko’s and Gear’s secret meeting. He also revealed that he was Gear’s twin brother as well.

“…You’re just full of secrets aren’t you?”

Bella was also surprised to learn about Edward’s connection to the Pillars.

“Miko left before me so he should’ve arrived…”

Edward paused as a scary thought came to him.

“Fuck!”

It was now over an hour since Miko and Isabel’s battle had started. The small town that they were fighting in was now filled with diced up rubble, even the ground had cuts in them. However, the perpetrators were nowhere to be seen.

*BAM!*

On the border of Elon and Sawyer, a thunderous sound rung out as Miko and Isabel’s swords clashed for probably the 1000th time if not more. Despite their long fight, their appearance couldn’t be any more contrasting from each other. Isabel was almost spotless while Miko’s body was dyed in blood. It was easier to list the places that weren’t cut than those that were. Even so, a grin was present on Miko’s face.

“Haha!”

He forced Isabel back with a swing of his sword and leaped into the air.

“Original: Bloodseeker!”

He swung his sword and a red light cut through the ground before turning into a serpentine monster baring its fangs at Isabel.

“Moonshot!”

Isabel thrust her sword forward and a bright light pierced through the monster and went straight for Miko.

“Heh.”

Miko smirked and slowly lifted Regis in front of him and gently thrust out. The light was split into two and passed Miko and destroyed two buildings behind him.

“Incredible. He hit the weakest part and let the momentum do the work for him.”

Isabel smiled.

“This kid is improving at a monstrous rate.”

She rushed forward and Miko went to meet her charge. He leaped into the air and three beasts made of azure, green, and crimson flames appeared behind him.

“Mad Beast Of Avicii!”

The three beasts rushed towards Isabel whose sword started shining brightly.

“Crescent Slash!”

She swung her sword and a crescent moon cut through the beasts like they were paper. Miko charged at the moon and clashed against it with his swords. He grinned while the blood out of his body started gushing out because of how tense his body became. Isabel appeared behind him and thrust her sword at his neck back.

*Clang!*

Miko forced away the moon and parried her strike at the last second. However, the momentum caused the two’s faces to be only a few inches apart. The two looked into each other’s eyes while grinning.

“You…Just how are you still alive?”

“It’s simple. I’m just imagining that I’m fighting Kirika. If she’s my opponent then my body, mind, and soul will know that they must put everything on the line to survive.”

“I see. So what’s the plan here? Are you just gonna keep coming at me until either one of us dies?”

“Do you have a problem?”

Isabel’s grin became wider.

“That’s just what I was hoping for.”

She kicked Miko away and swung her sword and fired a crescent moon at him. He blocked it but was blown back into a two-story building.

“Moon Shredder.”

She moved her sword so fast that it looked like her arm had disappeared. When her sword came to a halt the building Miko was in was cut into chunks, causing it to crumble.

“Raging Dragon Style….”

Isabel looked and saw Miko crouching on the side of falling debris with his swords sheathed. The image of a dragon with its wings closed appeared behind him.

*BAM!*

He launched off the piece of rubble, blowing it and all the other debris into the distance. Isabel quickly lifted her sword in a defensive stance.

*BAM!*

In the next instant, Miko was locking swords with her. Two long cuts going two separate directions appeared in the ground behind her as the image of a dragon spreading its wings covered them.

“Open Wings.”

“…..Even your Raging Dragon Sword Arts are rapidly improving.”

As she said that two long cuts appeared on her upper body; from her chest going straight to her upper back. Blood flowed from these cuts and stained her blouse. Yet, she smiled.

“You’ve finally reached the point that you can damage me. However…”

“Guh?!”

Cuts identical to what was on Isabel appeared on Miko’s body.

“Lunar Reflection. The moment your attack was about to hit, I reflected the damage back to you, or rather I just copied it faster than you could hit me. I still got cut though.”

Miko started stumbling backwards.

“Looks like constantly fighting at full strength and pushing past your limits is taking a toll on your body.”

Isabel casually slashed him across the chest, causing him to collapse.

“You’ve finally reached your limit. Even that form that you were so proud of is pretty weak now.”

She pointed her sword at him.

“But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and ask. Can you still fight?”

Miko didn’t answer immediately. It wasn’t because he wasn’t sure, he was just too exhausted to talk anymore. His vision was blurry and he was starting to blackout every few seconds. He was well beyond his limit.

(I can’t fight any longer…. My body can’t even handle me activating Ascending Satan. Even though, I doubt that the first or the second gate could help me now. Chaos Lord might help me recover from some of the damages but it can’t fix my depleted stamina.)

A fight where his entire being was forced to concentrate on survival had emptied Miko’s tank.

(I guess this is it…I should rest…)

Miko closed his eyes.

“Rest?”

“Huh?”

He reopened them and saw none other than himself standing in front of him.

“What are you talking about? Get up and fight! We’re not done yet!”

“I can’t fight anymore. It’s impossibl-”

Miko’s sentence was cut short when he was grabbed by the collar by himself.

“I wasn’t asking you, I’m telling you to get up and fight.”

Miko could see madness swirling in his own eyes.

“Did you forget? You have no choice but to fight. You’re nothing but a slave to your own desires.”

Shackles and chains started appearing on Miko’s wrist and ankles as he was manhandled by himself.

“As long as you have arms you will continue to throw punches. If you lose your arms, kick your enemy to death. Even if you’re reduced to a head tear them apart with your fangs. Don’t stop fighting even in death. Curse your enemies from beyond the grave if you have to! That is your role.”

Miko then saw himself transform into a being with burgundy skin, neon azure hair, and 12 black wings on its black.

“Don’t forget who you are. Don’t forget why you’re fighting. Don’t forget who’s the enemy.”

Before Miko knew it he had transformed into the same monster before him. He too had that same madness in his eyes. He then saw people started appearing one by one behind the Being. These people all looked different as if they belonged to different races but they all looked at Miko the same way as the being in front of him. They all started talking in unison.

“Never forget the horrors that we’ve witnessed, the agonizing pain that we’ve felt! We’ve seen our lovers, siblings, parents, and closest friends slaughtered in front of us over and over again for millions of years! We’ve endured every kind of torture known to man! Don’t forget!”

“….Don’t forget.”

Miko mumbled as if he was in a trance.

“Who caused us to suffer a fate worse than death?!”

Miko clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.

“The enemy!”

“Who is the enemy?!”

“The World!”

He shouted.

“So what must we do?!”

His eyes became bloodshot.

“Fight!”

The crowd then started to chant.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“This world is the enemy, it must be destroyed…”

“Destroy the enemy!”

“The Humans?”

“Destroy!”

“The Beasts?”

“Destroy!”

“The Demons?”

“Destroy!”

“The Gods?”

“Destroy! Destroy them all!”

“And Samael?”

“Devour and take his place!”

“Devoro?”

“Butcher him!”

“The Supreme Being?”

“OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!”

The chant earthshaking chants reverberated in Miko’s head as a mad grin appeared on his face.

“Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!”

**********

“Hm?”

Isabel was looking down on Miko with wonder.

“His eyes are open but he’s not responding. Did he pass out?”

She sighed.

“It was fun but I guess it’s time for everything to end.”

She pointed her sword over his heart. It was at that moment that Miko blinked and he mumbled something.

“Oh? Looks like you’re back, but I’m sorry. You’re too late. I’ve decided to put an end to-”

Isabel stopped talking when she saw Miko rising his upper body.

“Hey, don’t you see my sword? It’s going to pierce your heart…?”

Despite her warning, Miko continued to lift his upper body even when the tip of her sword start piercing into his chest. Freaked out, Isabel tried to take a step back.

“Huh?”

However, Miko grabbed onto her sword with his bare hands.

“Are you insane?”

She tried to pull her sword away but it couldn’t budge. She then tried to thrust it but it was the same.

“What strength!”

“…….”

“Huh? I can’t hear you.”

“….Destroy.”

Miko grip on her sword strengthened until the point his hands were cut from holding the naked blade too tightly. Isabel saw his blood flow down her sword and felt frighten for some reason.

“Destroy.”

Miko slowly lifted his head and she saw probably the most terrifying smile in her life. One overflowing with madness and wickedness. Her body froze up and her heart sunk when she heard Miko speak with an inhuman voice.

“I’m gonna destroy everything in this godforsaken world!”