Mak, Louis, and Lilith ran nonstop, panting.
" I think it's safe here… " Lilith said, collapsing to her knees, exhausted.
Mak held his head, lost in thought.
"Why is Fynt doing this? First, he was just angry… Now he wants to kill me?!"
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
" Oh no… Mary!"
He dashed toward his house, with Louis and Lilith right behind him. Upon arrival, he flung the door open, his heart racing.
" Mary!"
She was sitting at the table, reading a book. Startled, she looked up.
" Mak? What's wrong?"
Without answering, he ran to her and hugged her, relieved.
" Thank goodness you're okay…"
Mary, confused, sighed and stroked his hair.
" As you can see, I'm fine… Now tell me what's going on."
" No time. We need to evacuate Systella!"
A sudden slash tore through the ceiling. Fynt hovered in the air, grinning sinisterly.
" I knew I'd find you here…"
Mak and Louis stepped in front of Mary, nervous.
" H-how are you still alive?! I thought Adloph had defeated you! " Mak stammered.
Fynt laughed.
" Ah, about that… He almost did."
At the moment of the fatal blow, Fynt had repositioned his head and sliced Adloph in half.
" Being an Inverse has its advantages… But I'll admit, he was strong."
He raised his hand, emanating dark energy.
" I will end your life… Starting with the one you love most!"
He unleashed a devastating attack. Louis managed to save Mary at the last second but was caught off guard by a rain of lethal slashes. They ran desperately, trying to hide among the ruins.
" He's too strong… We can't defeat him… " Mak murmured, hopeless.
Fynt lifted his hand and launched another attack. Louis and the others managed to escape, but Lilith was exposed.
" Lilith!"
Without thinking, Louis threw himself in front of her, raising his katana. The impact sent him flying, injuring his hand.
Fynt prepared for another strike, aiming at Mak and Mary. Louis struggled to stand, gripping his katana as blood dripped.
"…I have to protect them…"
He rose, ignoring the pain, and ran. But at the last second, a slash appeared inches from him.
" You're just getting in my way, boy."
Everything seemed lost. The final blow was about to strike when…
"Left."
His body reacted on its own, dodging at the last moment. Fynt was incredulous.
" How…?!"
Louis looked at his hand and noticed a black mark forming. Fynt, furious, launched even faster slashes.
"Right. Total reaction."
Louis dodged once more and parried the attack with his katana. Fynt's eyes widened.
" How are you doing this?!
Lilith watched, impressed.
" Incredible..."
Fynt roared in anger and lunged forward with a fierce sequence of slashes, his aura overflowing.
Louis continued to dodge and deflect every strike with precision, guided by the voice echoing in his mind at every step. His movements were fast, precise. He finally reached Fynt, and in an instant, his blade tore through the enemy's shoulder, staining the air with blood.
Fynt immediately retreated, clutching his wounded arm as his flesh began to regenerate. His rage boiled. Louis, panting, stared at him intently.
"This... I just need to keep advan—"
Suddenly, a metallic taste filled his mouth. Blood trickled down his lips, and in an instant, his knees gave out. He coughed violently, his vision blurring. The mark on his arm began to fade slowly, his strength draining along with it.
Fynt didn't hesitate. He raised his hand, gathering a dense, chaotic energy. Multiple slashes began to form around him, tearing through the air and obliterating everything in their path. Houses crumbled, bodies were torn apart, blood mercilessly stained the ground. Chaos reigned.
Louis tried to stand, but his body wouldn't respond. His gaze met Lilith's—her teary eyes, her trembling voice desperately calling out to him. He wanted to answer, but he couldn't.
Fynt smiled, preparing an even greater strike. He aimed his blade at a large building nearby and, with a single motion, brought it crashing down. The massive structure began to collapse directly onto Louis.
"...I'm sorry..."
That was his last thought before closing his eyes.
But in the next moment, something forcefully shoved him away. He hit the ground hard, his eyes widening as he saw who was standing before him.
" Mak?!"
Mak gave a faint smile, nodding his head. His eyes slowly began to close.
" It was good while it lasted, Louis..."
Then, the rubble fell. A deafening crash echoed, dust and debris covering everything. When the smoke cleared, Louis remained kneeling, in shock. All that was left of Mak were his hands, motionless beneath the stones, as blood began to spread.
" Mak!"
Mary's scream tore through the air. Tears streamed down her face, but Louis remained frozen, unable to process what he was seeing. His chest ached, a suffocating, crushing pain. He refused to believe it.
Fynt laughed loudly, satisfied with the destruction. But then—
"You failed, Louis..."
A cold voice echoed in his mind. A dense darkness began to cloud his vision, shadows emerging around him, pulling him into an endless abyss. The world became dull, distorted.
And then, before him, a figure appeared. It observed him for a moment before turning away.
"You've done enough..."
Fynt felt a chill run down his spine. His body tensed, and instinctively, he stepped back. His eyes widened as he looked at Louis again.
"What was that I just felt?!"
He braced himself, feeling, for the first time, real fear growing within him.
Louis slowly rose and turned to face him. His expression was dark, and then, a white mask with black stripes began to form over his face. Fynt stared, analyzing every detail carefully.
" ...Interes—"
His head was severed before he could finish the sentence. It spun in the air as blood splattered in all directions. Suddenly, his eyes opened. He gasped and clutched his neck.
"W-what just happened?! I felt my head get cut off...!"
Fynt was in disbelief. Still, he charged again, delivering a flurry of rapid slashes. But before he realized it, his arms were instantly torn off. He screamed in agony, only to see his head separated from his body once again. Again, his eyes opened, and he was still there, unharmed.
"W-what...?!"
Louis began walking toward him. Fynt backed away, unleashing relentless slashes, but Louis deflected them all with absurd precision. Fear started to consume his mind.
" Stay away from me!"
He took flight and unleashed even more powerful strikes. However, Louis dodged each one with fluid movements, causing massive destruction all around. With a single strike, he raised his katana and severed Fynt's foot, sending him crashing to the ground in agony.
"Agh! Why am I not regenerating?!"
His gaze fell on the katana Louis wielded, and his expression twisted into pure fury.
"That blade... it's draining my energy?!"
Fynt raised his hands to attack, but they were severed with absurd speed. A piercing scream escaped his throat as blood gushed out.
"Seven Constellations Slash."
The sky darkened. Suddenly, multiple slashes rained down from the heavens. Fynt tried to defend himself, but his body was shredded by the relentless flurry of strikes. It didn't take long for his body to begin disintegrating.
Louis stood still, staring into the void.
" L-Louis...? " Lilith called to him, approaching cautiously.
A slash grazed past her, startling her. She fell to the ground, recoiling in fear. Louis advanced, ready to strike again.
" Louis, this isn't you! Wake up!"
Without responding, he struck again. Lilith barely dodged, but a deep cut slashed her left shoulder.
" Agh!"
Louis stopped in front of her, ready to finish her off. But suddenly, something struck the back of his head. The sound of a frying pan cracking his mask echoed. He collapsed, unconscious.
" ...Mary..."
Mary placed Louis on her back and helped Lilith to her feet.
" Come on, let's get out of here..."
A short time later, they were near the spring. Systella was in chaos. Destroyed houses, bodies scattered on the ground. Louis slowly opened his eyes, feeling a light touch on his hand.
" Louis..."
Lilith was gently holding his hand. He looked at her arm and saw a bandage.
" What happened...? " he asked, feeling the weight of exhaustion in his body.
" He needs to rest..."
Mary placed a hand on Lilith's shoulder, trying to comfort her. Lilith's face saddened as she noticed Mary's expression. She carried immense pain, her eyes shining with restrained tears.
" Hmm... fascinating..."
From afar, a hooded man observed the scene before vanishing into the shadows.
Hours later, Louis, still struggling to walk, was supported by Lilith. Together, they made their way back to their base.
Mary, on the other hand, returned to her destroyed home. She walked through the rubble until she found a wrapped cloth. Carefully, she unfolded it, revealing a crystalline, radiant flower. A letter fell to the ground.
Mary picked up the letter and began to read:
"Er... Mary... Hey. Well... I'm not good at writing letters, but I hope you understand me. Okay... I bet you've already seen the gift I prepared for you! This is a super rare flower that only blooms once every ten years in the mines of Systella, so I went after it for you... And... I lied about the scar that time. The real reason I have this scar is because of my search for this flower, hehe... I wanted to give it to you on your birthday, six months from now... But if you're reading this letter, it means I didn't make it back in time. Sorry for being an idiot sometimes, hehe...
With love, Mak."
" Mak..."
Mary cried silently, placing a hand over her chest, standing there among the ruins.
After a long journey, Louis and Lilith finally arrived at the headquarters of the Paths. Everyone was gathered around the table. Erick and Rose rushed over when they saw their condition.
" Lilith! Who did this to you?! " Rose asked, her voice trembling with concern.
As everyone checked their wounds, Cosmo stared at Louis. Something about him had changed. A new aura emanated from his body. He smirked slightly and turned away, walking into the base.
" Good job, Louis... " he murmured, closing the door behind him.