Satono saw Aria run to Vincent without a second thought.

  "Heheh!" Heios grinned, soon laughing. "This is gonna be cool!" He started running around. "Keep going, Aria! He won't see this coming!"

  Aria kept Vincent moving with endless swings and strikes, his movements were becoming more and more hectic and unpredictable. He had to play on the defense to avoid getting hit.

  "Those swings are very emphasized... Are you really trying to kill me?" Vincent would attempt to play around her with emotions.

  Maybe, just maybe, he could get them to stop fighting.

  He would keep dodging, rolling and jumping around.

  "Stay quiet and you'll die painlessly!" Aria side-stepped to the left, using her katana as a jumping pad and kicking him in the face.

  "AH!" Vincent was thrown back a few feet, backflipping to regain balance.

  "You just had to go and bail on us!" Aria yelled. "It's not because you had a thing for me, right?"

  "..."

  Vincent would look at her with a serious stare. "I don't have to explain myse-"

  Aria cut him off. "You don't have to explain anything. It doesn't matter. We'll have you dead, regardless."

  She quickly sped at him, and Vincent was quick to dodge. Her katana was fast and strong. The blade glowed pink when she was swinging it, but that glow would fade when it was idle.

  Aria went for a beheading strike. "You're not the only one with a strong Soul, you know."

  Vincent stopped and grabbed Aria's hilt, the blade an inch from his neck. "Fierce as always... Aria."

  "..." She stared at him, but before she could attack him, Vincent pushed her away alongside her blade. It was clear that he didn't want to hurt all of them.

  Unbeknownst to Vincent, Heios was placing turrets, hiding them in very good spots. Those turrets can be fired automatically, or at will by Heios or the Soul. This is what Heios meant by 'cool'.

  Those turrets pack a huge punch, dealing massive damage to anyone even if they were layers stronger than himself.

  There were about 25 turrets in total, encircling the 500 meter field.

  Aria kicked Vincent, using his body as a boost to jump away, causing Vincent to fall to the ground.

  .:. No! I can't get hit any further! .:. Vincent punched the ground and created a barrier out of dirt and earth.

  Raising his right hand, five tendrils of white and gold shot outwards from Jasper and attached themselves to Aria and Heios. They got a sudden burst of energy, strength and stamina.

  "HE'S WEAK! FINISH HIM!"

  Heios turned his arm into an atom-splitting energy blade. "Kyuga, here I am!"

  He would receive the tower-ups from Jasper, proceeding to break through the dirt barrier he put. He wanted to make sure that the turrets he placed, actually hit him.

  Vincent's eyes were wide open as he stared Heios down.

  .:. Atom splitting... No... That's a path to destruction... .:.

  "It was nice knowing you, 'Vincent Sparks'." Heios grabbed him by the neck and tossed him up into the air.

  Raising his left hand, another five tendrils of black and orange from Jasper sped towards Vincent, attaching to his very Soul-Aura, beginning to drain his life and Soul-Energy mid air.

  .:. Do something! Do something! .:. Vincent panicked. .:. DO SOMETHING! YOU CAN'T JUST DIE HERE! .:.

  .:. Wait no... .:. Aria finally hesitated for a moment. She was so into killing Vincent that she forgot what Vincent was to her. Finally grasping the thought of having to kill Vincent, was the one thing that she didn't want. Maybe, just maybe... they can hold off on killing him, and just bring him back to Lord Veyron. He would understand, right? He would probably have to kill him in front of everyone...

  "WAIT!"

  "TAKE THIS, KYUGA!" Heios yelled out, the turrets would discharge beams, all directed towards him from all sides. Crossfire.

  Kyuga Mazda was caught in the attack, the entire area was lit up, explosions looking like fireworks, and plasma leaking from smoke in the sky. It was as if a meteor shower occurred. The sheer destruction caused was a testament to Heios' strength and capabilities.

  In the middle of it, Vincent was in a state of pain. He had his eyes closed, he was screaming, but he wasn't dying. It felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. It didn't feel like his Soul was hurting, however... he also didn't feel unstable.

  No, he should've died, right this instant. But nothing was hitting him, not even the 12000 or so condensed atomic beams that were fired. It's almost like he was in a protective bubble. He was protected, by an outside force.

  .:. ... I'm in a Soul-Barrier? .:. He would look around, his arms in a cross-guard. .:. The attacks are... being absorbed? .:. The beams were being absorbed by the barrier, and they were soon converted into his own energy.

  This was a second chance-

  Boom.

  The destruction would produce a shockwave stretching out as far as 100 kilometers. The sheer noise and brightness of the battle would alert locals of the events that transpired.

  Jasper discontinued his tendrils, covering his eyes for a moment as they got used to the brightness.

  Aria watched in shock, Vincent was gone. He died, he was obliterated. There was no way he could've survived that. But she knew that this is the result of her own doing. She was blinded by her hatred.

  The area was engulfed in dust, debris, and rubble, and all of it was being suspended in the air as gravity didn't have any effect on it. It's almost like a small asteroid field. The entire canyon was destroyed, and there were no signs of Vincent Sparks' body, which is expected since the attack was enough to destroy a country.

  "Hahaha!" Heios laughed. He was proud of his work.

  "DID WE DO IT!?" Jasper yelled to Heios, who was closer.

  "You bet your sweet ass we did!"

  "YES!" Jasper cheered, before sitting down by a boulder. He was exhausted. His Soul, if used continuously, drain drains his stamina exceedingly quickly, which was why he had rarely done more than healing or quick drains.

  Satono was watching, she was still in shock at the fact that they were willing to ignore her. Her suspicions were right but she was too late. What could've happened had they listened? What would have happened if they heeded her warning?

  "... I guess, it's over..." She sighed.

  Aria, however, was in a state of denial. She refused to believe that he died, she didn't want to believe it. She knew she was an accomplice to his death. Even if he was a traitor to the group, she had a lot of history with him. They would hang out, talk, do missions, eat together, drink together, train together. They had a lot of good times together. They were friends, at some point. Hell, even more than that. They would get intimate at times. They had a lot of fun together. He was the closest thing she had to a family, besides her older brother.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "..." She couldn't say anything. She was speechless, she could only look at the dust and debris that was in the air, as they began to settle on the ground.

  Aria put her weapon away and took the time to sob as the smoke obscured the area around her. It was hard to see anything past 10 meters, so nobody saw her. She had to take the time to sob, because if she didn't, she would've exploded in front of the whole organization.

  "No more... It's over..." Heios said, the happiness he felt was quickly gone. This is Kyuga Mazda after all, his former friend. But his loyalty to UoK was stronger than that. He can't be seen as weak, not in front of them. He can't be seen mourning for the dead body of a traitor. That's what he thought to himself.

  The smoke around Aria cleared around her as she wiped the tears off her face. "...H... That's a lot of smoke..." She played it off.

  "We need to go everyone, there's going to be Civil Defense here soon after that shockwave." Jasper said, standing up slowly.

  "You guys... good job..." Satono walked over, unsure what to say.

  "You were a little late, Testharian." Aria said, looking at her.

  "You guys went on with it quick, and I had no choice but to follow up with you. Besides, you didn't listen to me. I tried to tell you what would've happened. You're lucky it didn't happen."

  "What are you talking about?" Aria was confused.

  "It's a shame, his Soul would be good for my research. He's probably atomized though." Jasper looked at Heios with a smirk, but then turned into a frown. "You ruined my best chance at having my best subject! Seriously, couldn't you guys just knock him out or something!?"

  "He didn't leave us much of a choice now did he? If you need a subject so bad, you've got your dog." Heios pointed to Satono.

  "...Racist." Satono mumbled under her breath.

  "Ew, no please! Anything but a Testharian." Jasper stuck out his tongue in disgust. "That's disgusting."

  "Will you two stop being racist pr-"

  The ground would rumble abruptly.

  "Earthquake...?" Heios asked.

  "No, there would be sirens from nearby towns." Jasper iterated, looking at the ground. The debris moved.

  A sudden burst of Soul-Energy would erupt from the middle of the smoke and debris field. A figure would emerge, and that figure was Vincent Sparks. He wasn't atomized, he was still alive and well. He didn't look injured, nor did he look happy. In fact, he looked rather angry. The same increments that Satono noticed, they were increasing in frequency and magnitude.

  "But... I fucking decimated him! WITH MY BEAMS! How can he survive that!?" Heios turned around, incredibly angry.

  He couldn't be more right. Using silicone papers to split beams indefinitely, he was able to create about 12000 or so condensed beams. And he was sure that all of them hit Vincent. He had no reason to believe otherwise. There was simply no way that he could have survived that, let alone unscathed. He should've been turned into ashes, or decimated in his own words.

  Anyone could succumb to injuries, especially if those injuries were as bad as getting hit by over 10000 condensed beams of pure atom splitting energy.

  "Rgh... you'll be on your own guys. My Soul is still recovering from overexertion." Jasper sighed.

  A burst of energy intensified and heated the area in the crater, causing it to explode into a bright purple light.

  At the top of the canyon, ships could be seen hovering and watching the battle. The large majority of Civil Defense was made out of Cirumite, so would be easily killed by a Soul-Attack. They were waiting for reinforcements or for a winner to be decided.

  "That fucking bastard... just how many times is he going to bypass death!?"

  "I don't know but we need to end this. Now!" Aria's hands were shaking. She didn't know how he survived, and she didn't want to fight him again. Not after what she had done. "Kyuga Mazda is still alive, engage!"

  "It's not Kyuga Mazda... It's VINCENT SPARKS!" Vincent yelled, as he dashed at Aria

  Satono was quick to react, dashing in front of Aria to block his incoming attack. Her katana met his fist, and the impact created a shockwave that pushed Aria away. If it weren't for Satono, Aria would've been put out of commission. Not enough to kill her, that's the last thing Vincent would want to do.

  Satono and Vincent were in a stalemate. Satono's katana against Vincent's fist, but the area around them would be plucked away piece by piece. Their interfering Soul-Energy which were pushing against each other like a magnet, caused the surrounding debris to explode and fly away from the center.

  "Like Hell I would die- I'M HERE TO EQUALIZE EVERY SIDE!" He yelled as he was pushing Satono back. This was Vincent going all out.

  "Vincent Sparks... ggh..." Satono was struggling. "You... I know how you work... I'll keep reiterating... You're... you're a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off. Your body... it's not made to withstand the... power of your own Soul! You're at your limit, and you're going to kill yourself trying to fight us!"

  "..." Vincent stayed quiet.

  "Give... give up... and you'll get tried fairly. But if you keep resisting, then we have no choice but to kill you! We can't... afford the risk... of seeing 'that'!" Satono's katana began to break.

  "If I'm going to die, I won't die by your hands, or any of one of my friends." Vincent looked at Satono, breaking her katana and grabbing her by the throat. He was dragging her across the ground, before throwing her towards Aria, who was just getting up.

  "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY!" Heios yelled, transforming both his arms into two blades and charging at Vincent. He was so close to killing him, he didn't want to lose.

  "Kill him!" Aria yelled as she avoided Satono. She rushed towards Vincent. "Kyuga, just stay down!"

  Jasper reached on the back of his coat, pulling out a sword hilt, using the little Soul-Energy he had left to form a whip-like blade with one of his draining tendrils.

  Vincent would transfer most of his Soul-Energy towards Aria's position to intercept her attack, instantly breaking Aria's weapon in half.

  .:. What the hell!? .:.

  Heios enhanced his arm and turned it into an atom-splitting cannon, discharging beams everytime he punched the air. He purposefully created this ability to battle his rival, Nanasu Valadne. "TAKE THIS, THIS, AND THIS!"

  "... Why persist? Why keep going?" Vincent asked himself. "Let us just go on our own separate ways. No one needs to die today." He said as he pointed out a hand towards Heios. He summoned a small beam that would cancel out Heios's attack and hit him center mass.

  If Vincent Sparks is able to turn the tables on them, despite not having reached 'that' state, was proof that the King of Destruction was a formidable opponent.

  "ARGH-!" Heios stopped himself mid-air by utilizing his Soul-Energy. If he hadn't, he would've collided with Jasper who was ready to strike with his whip-like blade.

  Aria thrusted her Enk-X forward in the air to strike Vincent, but he dodged by sidestepping, the Enk-X going through the ground and causing a small crater.

  Satono would jump to kick Vincent in the face, but he caught her foot and threw her onto the ground.

  "Kyuga!" Aria yelled, trying to get Vincent to talk. She had the time to think while fighting, and realized that she had been too harsh on him. He was a traitor to the Uprising of Kytron, yes, but she still couldn't kill him. He was important to her, more so than she wanted to admit. She still had feelings for him, but she couldn't act on it.

  "RAH!" Aria tried cutting him in half. Most of her abilities were predictable, Vincent knows who she is better than anyone here, so he was able to dodge her with ease. It wasn't a fair fight, even if he was outnumbered. Vincent was too strong, and he knew them too well. And they weren't listening to Satono either, even after he had shown what he was capable of. This was his second wind.

  Aria was pushed back. She tried jumping back to get away but Vincent caught her by the leg, throwing her to the side.

  Jasper sprinted forward and swung his sword, the Soul-Draining tendril the blade was made out of passed through his Soul-Aura and was about to slash him in the side.

  "The only one allowed to cheat death is me, Mazda!" Jasper said, grinning.

  Jasper was good at what he did. He was a doctor, a scientist, and a fighter. His ability to use his Soul was very impressive, and the way he was able to quickly heal others was a testament to that. But his ability to drain his opponents was something only he could do in the entire organization. He could quickly turn the battle in his favor just by using that ability.

  Vincent stopped the tendril with his hands, breaking it apart and pushing Jasper back.

  The turrets were still intact, shooting small atom-splitting bullets.

  Heios stood up, getting himself ready for another round against Vincent but it seemed that the bullets were hitting Vincent anyways... or were hitting an afterimage rather.

  Vincent went behind Heios and grabbed him by the arm - twirling him into the air.

  "HEIOS!" Jasper yelled.

  Heios would do one single frontflip to face Vincent, and manifested an energy blade, throwing it at him.

  "DON'T THINK YOU'RE THE KING OF THE WORLD BECAUSE YOU'RE LUCKY, 'SPARKS'!"

  Vincent caught his blade, smirking.

  "No. I'm the King of Destruction, get it right." Flying above him, he power kicked him to the other side of the canyon.

  Jasper used his spare hand to shoot two of his healing tendrils at Aria and Satono. It was weaker than normal but enough to get them back up quickly. He also used a tendril after Heios to keep him in the fight.

  Looking around, he spotted Aria. "ARIA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

  "Tch..." She stood up.

  .:. My blade... .:.

  She would channel her energy to create another one.

  Weapon-Types, if their weapons are destroyed, they have the capability to regenerate or form it back. This is because it is an extension of their own souls. The weapon is not separate from the soul, but is instead a part of the soul itself, a manifestation of it.

  Satono would be running towards Vincent, then jump and slam her katana down, the blade glowing. Vincent would dodge the attack, but he didn't expect Satono to be there so soon. Satono was quick to react and extended the length of her katana. She had that ability too, and was quick to extend the katana to catch him.

  It caught him off guard. Satono's katana was a bit unique, it could drain energy and weaken the opponent.

  Vincent's arm was cut, and his Soul-Aura began to weaken. Satono's katana was doing it's job, and it was doing it well.

  "Damn it!" He said as he grabbed the blade. He would shoot a small orb towards Satono's face, creating distance.

  "You're not the shit... Kyuga... I am..." Heios laughed, looking at him as his breathing became slower and slower. He was getting weaker. His face was cut, blood was dripping down. His outfit was ripped in places and he was panting.

  "You don't talk unless it's for the thrill, Heios." Vincent stood up. "Your pride is hurting your chances of survival. Your hubris is your undoing. You don't know when to quit. Does Lord Veyron really see any use for you after this?"

  "Let's find out!"