Renny's blood turned cold.

  Why was he here...

  Maybe, just maybe he wasn't here for them.

  Kurogane looked around. His gaze rested on them.

  He drew his katanas and pointed one at Bob and Renny's group.

  The 30 or so men turned in their direction.

  The other guests already knew what was going on.

  They got up and left quickly.

  They exited through the front exit.

  Kurogane didn't stop them.

  Ilya, Sable, Bob and Marek stood up while Renny sat there, frozen.

  No...

  Don't go...

  Renny looked at their faces.

  Grim and serious, their weapons drawn.

  Kurogane spoke, calm and chilling, "Bob where's the money you owe me."

  "You mean the money you said was mine?" Bob shouted across the tavern, his voice shaking slightly.

  Kurogane kicked a table in their direction.

  Bob held his shield up.

  The table splintered in 2 on contact.

  Then Kurogane was there, swinging his swords at Bob's shield.

  The power of the swings pushed Bob backwards.

  Be tougher.

  Renny jumped in between them grabbing both blades with his swords and landing a front kick to Kurogane's chest.

  Kurogane stumbled backwards.

  Renny leaped backwards, keeping close to Bob and the others.

  The 30 or so men launched their assault from the other side, katanas drawn

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  Marek and Sable went to meet them.

  Ilya prepped a dome and glanced at Bob and Renny.

  "We'll hold them off for you, beat Kurogane up for us!"

  Bob nodded, determined.

  Renny wanted to pull them back, but he stopped himself.

  "Plea—" he started.

  Please be careful.

  He was going to say it, but they'd already went ahead.

  Kurogane slammed into Bob's shield again, katanas swinging furiously.

  Bob was pushed back slightly with each swing.

  Renny rushed forward but a few of Kurogane's goons stood in front of him.

  Be stronger.

  Be faster.

  Renny balled his hands into fists.

  Get out of my way.

  He moved in and landed a solid hit square onto one of the goon's face.

  The goon was sent flying, katana slipping out of his grasp.

  The other 3 rushed him.

  The first one slashed down onto him.

  Renny blocked it with his left arm, the sword slamming onto the chains hard.

  He didn't care.

  He felt invincible.

  Renny swung his fist into the goon's face, sending him flying as well.

  The other 2 slashed at him but they were stopped by the chains.

  Renny gripped one of their shirts and slammed him into the other guy.

  He looked for Bob.

  Bob's shield lay on the floor, cut cleanly in half.

  For a moment, Renny didn’t understand why Bob wasn’t getting up.

  Then he saw where the arm should have been, deep cuts all over him.

  Bob tried to move his arm, but it just lay there, twitching uselessly.

  Kurogane stood triumphant, boot on Bob's chest, swords at his side.

  Apart from a few bruises, he was relatively unscathed.

  Rage surged in Renny.

  "KUROGANEE!"

  The next few moments were a blur.

  A slash here, a jab there.

  Something cracked under his fist.

  He thought he heard Kurogane cry out in pain.

  Good.

  Another voice cried out.

  And another.

  He hit something hard, not a person.

  He continued anyway.

  The next thing he knew, he was grabbing someone's collar, fist wrapped in chains dripping with blood.

  His breathing was ragged.

  The chains felt heavier than usual.

  The face he was staring at was beaten up so badly it was unrecogniseable. Renny couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

  He let go, the body slumped onto the ground.

  Renny looked around, breathing hard.

  Silence.

  The battle was over.

  Bodies littered the tavern.

  Walls stained red.

  Fear gripped him.

  Are they...

  Bob.

  He looked for Bob.

  Bob was sitting up, leaning on a pillar.

  Marek was next to him, healing him with Heartlight.

  Ilya supported Sable, who was wounded but alive.

  Renny exhaled deeply in relief.

  Then a thought crossed his mind, creeping up on him.

  They didn't need you. You just made it worse.

  He looked at his hands.

  Blood.

  Marek's bazooka lay near him.

  It looked smashed, not slashed.

  Did I do that?

  He'd lost control of himself.

  What did he accomplish?

  Gripping his head with both palms, he collapsed to his knees.

  The answer kept looping back.

  Useless.

  This wasn't the first time.

  During the Academy Slaughter Incident.

  His first Dive after graduation.

  How many had to die before he changed?

  His knees hit the ground hard as he dropped to a kneel.

  Bob, Ilya, Marek, Sable.

  They meant more to him than anyone has in a long time.

  He glanced at them again.

  They were saying something to him, calling out from a distance.

  It was all muffled.

  He had gotten angry for them, worried.

  Was it because he cared for once?

  If he was emotionless like before, maybe this wouldn't have happened...

  No.

  It didn't matter.

  Caring wasn't the problem.

  Rage was.

  Power without control.

  Someone put a hand on his shoulder.

  He flinched and jerked away.

  It was Ilya.

  She had a large cut across her arm.

  His heart felt like a thousand needles stabbing it.

  Wanting to help isn’t enough.

  I have to be useful.

  Then no one will have to bleed for me again.

  That loss of control nearly cost others their lives.

  I can’t let this happen again.

  I need to be worth keeping around.

  Cold sweat trickled down his forehead and mixed with the blood on his hands.

  Somewhere above him, wood creaked. A thin crack ran down one of the tavern’s beams, shedding dust onto the floor.

  In that moment, fear had a hand on his heart.

  The fear of being alone.

  He realised there was only one way to prevent that.

  Looking at his chains, he gripped them tight, squeezing them until his hands hurt.

  I have to get stronger.

  At that moment, he felt an indomitable pressure acting on him.

  Judging by the others' reactions, they felt it too.

  BOOM.

  The underground ceiling collapsed.

  A beam of iridescent light shone outside the tavern.