The two stood there for a moment, staring at each other.
Then—
A Crimson Soldier charged between them.
Neither Julius nor Reinhardt moved.
The soldier raised its sword.
Both moved at the same time.
Julius fired a Wind Lance while Reinhardt swung his grappling hook.
The Wind Lance struck the soldier's chest, knocking it backward, while Reinhardt's grappling hook wrapped around its waist.
He pulled, and the soldier was dragged directly toward him.
But before Reinhardt could finish it, a layer of ice suddenly formed around its legs.
Julius had already prepared another spell.
The Crimson Soldier froze in place.
Julius looked at Reinhardt.
"A bit slow there, don't you think, Commander?"
"Was it really?"
Reinhardt tugged on the grappling hook.
It glowed blue before tightening around the soldier, snapping its body in half in an instant.
"But how?"
"My sword's not the only way to absorb Ether," he said before swinging away.
Julius simply smiled and continued his advance.
It was pretty stupid to be fighting over something as petty as that.
Nonetheless, that didn't stop Julius.
He shot three stone bullets toward a Crimson Soldier's head, then transformed the clumps of earth into chains. Using gravity magic to adjust their weight and control, he wrapped the chains around its neck, causing the Crimson Soldier to fall.
But not before Commander Reinhardt sliced through its neck.
"You little—!"
"Too slow."
As Reinhardt swung away toward his next target, Julius aimed his staff at another Crimson Soldier.
A faint blue light erupted from his staff.
He had saved the Ether he absorbed into his staff and intended to use it.
He created a phoenix made of blue flames using the Ether, then shot it toward the Crimson Soldier.
It passed Reinhardt like a flash, making the Commander stop mid-swing.
The phoenix screeched as it soared toward the soldier. It opened its mouth, and chains erupted from it, immobilizing the soldier.
But it didn't stop there.
It continued its advance, tying up any soldier that crossed its path.
Reinhardt turned to look at Julius, who had a smug look on his face.
"This way, you and I don't have to do much work. Convenient, is it not?"
As Julius continued talking, one of the soldiers quickly grabbed onto the Blue Phoenix.
The Blue Phoenix screeched, but Julius and Reinhardt were too busy bickering to notice.
Then—
The soldier smashed the Blue Phoenix.
It was turned into a ball of Ether.
The Crimson Soldier opened its mouth and swallowed it.
Its armor began to crack as blue light leaked from within its body, connecting to the other soldiers.
The Crimson Army's bodies began breaking apart as they started to combine.
Their body parts began glowing blue before turning into streams of light, each one merging together to form a single, massive soldier.
It let out a roar before charging straight toward Julius and Reinhardt.
Julius finally noticed the giant soldier heading toward them.
He quickly pushed Reinhardt back before creating a wall of ice.
BOOM!
The soldier crashed through the wall without slowing down.
Then it slammed its fist straight toward Julius.
Luckily, Reinhardt had already deployed his grappling hook.
He swung toward Julius, grabbed the collar of his coat, and pulled him away.
The Crimson Soldier struck the ground.
The impact sent debris flying through the air.
Reinhardt swung upward, pulling Julius along with him.
"Not your best plan, huh?" Reinhardt said.
Julius didn't even bother responding to his snarky comment.
"Forget about it. Use your ice magic to create a platform."
At Reinhardt's command, Julius lifted his staff.
A small platform of ice materialized in the air.
Reinhardt deployed his grappling hook straight through it.
Then he pulled himself upward, dropped Julius onto the platform, and continued swinging.
"Don't stop!" he shouted. "This is our chance. We can take them out all at once."
"Are you insane?!"
"Trust me. I know I made a mistake then, but I need you to trust me now."
"Tch."
The Commander had already promised that nothing would happen when they tried to interrogate the Crimson Army, and look where that got them.
Yet, for some reason, Julius couldn't blame him.
This Commander, though he had made a fatal mistake, had tried his absolute hardest to correct it. He was willing to risk his own life to protect those aboard the Ark.
Besides, Julius had just made a mistake as well, and the Commander wasn't pointing fingers. He was simply trying to fix them.
"You better not fail!" Julius said as he raised his staff.
---
I don't plan on it, Reinhardt thought to himself.
Shards of ice began to materialize all around the ruined capital. They were big enough for Reinhardt to grapple onto and even throw at the massive soldier.
But Reinhardt had different plans.
Aside from his grappling hook, his armour disappeared into blue geometric patterns.
His body began to heat up as mana, red as flame, began to surround his entire body.
The massive soldier threw a punch, but Reinhardt managed to dodge. He then shot his grappling hook at the soldier's hand and pulled himself toward it.
Once he landed, he dashed across the Crimson Soldier's hand. The soldier began hitting its own arm in an attempt to get Reinhardt off.
Unfortunately, Reinhardt was quick.
He shot the grappling hook at its arm, then jumped.
Using the grappling hook as a rope, he swung around its left hand, then propelled himself around its left side, efficiently restraining its hands.
He pulled, and the soldier's hands were cut clean off.
He then pulled the hands toward him and jumped off them.
A shard of ice formed above him, and he quickly grappled it, pulling himself upward.
Julius created another platform of ice for Reinhardt to land on. Not to swing or anything, but something for him to just stand on.
Julius's use of gravity magic to keep them afloat was quite impressive.
Now, he was finally face-to-face with the massive soldier.
The flaming mana around him began to gather at his hands, as the Crimson Soldier's regenerated hands created a sword as well.
The flaming mana coalesced into a massive, waving sword—a keris—that shone brighter than any star. Its heat was so intense it could melt the remains of the fallen Crimson Soldier away in an instant.
The Crimson Soldier began to gather mana at its sword. It shone with a bright red hue as it spiraled all over the sword.
For what seemed like an eternity in time, neither Reinhardt nor the Crimson Soldier moved.
The two figures stared at each other, like two friends having a sparring match together.
Reinhardt had a smile on his face, and despite the Crimson Soldier's helmet blocking Reinhardt's view, it was clear as day that it had a smile beneath it.
And that angered Reinhardt.
What right did this creature, made up of thousands of its own kin, have to kill all the soldiers in the capital?
What had any of them ever done to it?
Did it simply find it fun to kill?
Had it been a mindless drone, Reinhardt may have cut it some slack.
But the smile on its face, its ability to coordinate attacks when it was the Crimson Army—all of that pointed toward one conclusion.
They were alive.
They possessed consciousness of their own.
Maybe they were being controlled, but if they possessed a will and a consciousness, they should have no right to enjoy what they did.
Yet these soldiers seemed to take pleasure in their killing.
But then again, you wouldn't have had this chance if it wasn't for me.
No amount of information would have been worth the lives lost because of his foolishness.
It was a mistake.
No, a sin.
A grave sin on his part, and within his heart, he swore he'd kill them here and now.
"There's a saying from where I'm from. Do you know it? They say a person's sins bear down on their soul, and as long as those sins remain, the person shall never experience happiness. Tell me, despite your rampage here, do you think everyone you killed was innocent?"
"There were probably some who were once thieves; maybe they still are. Some killed just like you, but unlike you, they could feel guilty, feel remorse. So while not all, some decided to change. With some time, those sins wearing down their souls would eventually be forgiven."
Reinhardt said this as he tightened his grip around his flaming keris.
"Unfortunately, you took their lives before they had the chance to be forgiven, and those sins shall stay with them. That's what people in my hometown believe. But I chose to see it differently."
"You killed them, so you now bear the sins they've committed. Once you die, those sins shall be transferred to me."
As Reinhardt spoke, the entire capital began to fill with glowing particles of light. Each one was of a different color, and they lit up the battlefield like stars in the sky.
"But I shall not take on these sins. I shall purify them, as best as I can. Consider this my final act of mercy to you. Once I have killed you, my sin shall be forgiven as well."
Reinhardt lifted his keris and pointed it toward the sky.
The glowing particles scattered all around the battlefield immediately ascended upward.
The particles began to gather around Reinhardt.
One by one, they gathered around his body, forming a massive sphere of light above him.
The sphere continued to grow.
The Crimson Soldier finally moved.
It raised its sword and charged.
Reinhardt didn't move.
The massive soldier swung its sword downward. A crimson arc traversed the sky.
At the same moment, Reinhardt lowered his keris.
The sphere above him suddenly burst apart.
All of the light gathered together, forming a massive shape in the sky.
The shape twisted.
Its body began to take form.
A head formed, followed by a long tail and a pair of enormous wings.
Two slit, glowing eyes opened, and a roar echoed throughout the capital.
The clouds above were blown apart by the sheer force of its presence.
A massive dragon now hovered above the battlefield.
Its body was made entirely of blazing cosmic flame, with streams of multicolored light flowing through its scales like stars scattered across the night sky.
Reinhardt looked up at it.
The Crimson Soldier continued its sword strike.
Reinhardt raised his flaming keris toward the massive creature and jumped.
With a single swing of his keris, the blade snapped in half like a twig.
It was formed from his beliefs and convictions. Against a regular sword, it was basically a divine weapon.
Reinhardt pointed his blade toward the Crimson Soldier.
All those who died, do not fret. For you shall have the chance to exact your revenge. Do not worry about morality. You are now a part of my dragon.
Reinhardt's eyes narrowed.
Let me bear the weight of your anger. For I am your sword, as I am your king.
Then the dragon descended.
Its body of flames engulfed the battlefield as it charged toward the Crimson Soldier, its massive body moving with terrifying speed.
The Crimson Soldier, now with no weapon, attempted to run away.
But a massive chain of ice formed around its neck and pulled it down.
It attempted to struggle, but the dragon was already upon it.
The two collided.
And the entire capital was illuminated by a flash of light.