On the other side of the forest, a good 10 kilometers away formed a forest clearing. The other part of the Armada fight consisting of Satono Eria and Claude Magami kicked in at a high pace. Claude Magami was holding himself pretty well against the exiled Testharian, while the Testharian herself had a hard time actually hitting the guy.

  Both were Soul-Wielders of extreme power but one just knew how to fight better than the other.

  Claude performed a 6-hit combo, only narrowly missing the final blow as Satono ducked under him. She grabbed Nhelv tightly, her length-changing katana and whipped the hilt at Claude's face.

  Claude was pushed back, wrapping around the tree and kicking it out of place, towards Satono.

  Satono's quick thinking helped her cut the tree down, missing her body entirely.

  "You sure do know how to fight!" Claude exclaimed. "This really is exciting me! For a moment, I thought we would have a boring mission!"

  Claude really sounds like a kid anytime he fights, it was kinda just his thing. That's why the Star Gazers Squad's well known among the Soul-Core military. They're known for being the "exciting" squad.

  A group of fun-loving yet strong individuals who take on the most dangerous missions. A squad that brings excitement to the battlefield, even in the face of death.

  It would be far-fetched for the average person to think that being on the brink of death almost everytime would bring enjoyment in their missions.

  Nobody really knows why Claude's happy when he fights.

  But one can only imagine that he just likes fighting a lot.

  Claude's chuckling came to a halt as his cheek was slashed up by Satono's Nhelv, cutting open the old wound from Aria's sword. He winced, more out of annoyance than pain.

  "Aw, gonna have to regenerate that again."

  Satono vanish-stepped, appearing just meters above Claude, pulling herself towards him and locking him in an inescapable barrage of powerful hits. While there was no name for this combo, she definitely knew how to stagger Claude when it came to it.

  Though, Claude was able to escape the 'inescapable' combo of hers by intercepting her punch, sumo wrestling her in mid-air and throwing her down to the ground.

  Satono had to use her length-changing katana to slide down on it, safely landing on the ground. However, Claude's offensive didn't end just there.

  "You're pissing me the fuck off with your 'I like this' and 'I like that'! When you're done bleeding from your mouth you won't be liking anything! RAH!"

  Satono extended her katana's range by 10 meters and slashed upwards, imbuing Soul-Energy inside the katana and unleashing a long, horizontal energy wave.

  A wave of purple energy shot towards Claude, who simply punched the air, creating a shockwave that dissipated the energy wave.

  "Seriously!?"

  "Yep! Seriously!" Claude smiled, only he had another trick up his sleeve. He hopped from tree to tree, deciding not to vanish-step to conserve his energy. Vanish-stepping uses a lot of Soul-Energy.

  Satono retracted her katana back to its original length and launched herself towards Claude in an attempt to stop him mid-way with his upcoming counteroffensive.

  Claude backflipped, popping a Soul-Barrier and condensing it around his hand. As Satono swung her katana to lop Claude's head off clean, he caught it with his hand, the Soul-Barrier dense enough to prevent the katana from penetrating through.

  "WHAT!?" Satono's surprise was visible on her face.

  "Sounds like there's a lot you need to learn about fightin', beautiful!" Claude arm was glowing a deep red. "Heavenly Blow!" He yelled, dealing a powerful blow at Satono that induced a Soul-Stun for a considerable amount of time.

  Satono was blown all the way back to the ground while Claude was flying upwards.

  Claude was now on the highest point of the jungle. The tallest tree in the entire forest, at least that's what he thought. The view was great. He could see the entire jungle, the burning parts, the non-burning parts, and the city of Armada, albeit very small from a large distance, which was now in chaos.

  .:. I see... So that's what happened... .:. He could see the smoke rising from the capital, and the occasional explosion. He could see the rescue shuttle flying towards a red flare.

  Earlier, Claude was informed of a Sixth Follower walking around the Armada Capital. Mikael mentioned how he was unable to defeat Tadao and save Mervio, and that he was the one who plunged the city in chaos.

  .:. Sixth Follower... The Uprising of Kytron sure does hold some secrets. .:. He thought, rubbing his temples with a dirty hand, coarse and brown from hanging on trees and sliding on mud and dirt.

  He couldn't see Nanasu, but he could see Aria vanish-stepping away from something, or someone. He hoped that Nanasu was okay. Nanasu used to be as strong as himself when she was a captain herself, so she should be able to hold her own.

  But Nanasu was someone of high power while Aria was of fundamental power.

  He looked down at the ground, and saw Satono, who was now getting up from the Soul-Stun. She was still dazed, but she was able to stand. She gripped an incomplete version of Nhelv.

  "Alright... Enough playing around..." Satono said, her voice now laced with a newfound seriousness. She vanish-stepped, appearing behind Claude and attempting to slice his back.

  "Gotcha!" Claude tried the same Soul-Barrier tactic but with his arm this time, he put out the brunt of the swing and outputted the force back into her Nhelv, which caused it to shatter in pieces.

  "... That's just not po-" Satono was uppercutted by Claude before he slammed his fists against her, causing an AOE shockwave alongside a shockwave in Satono itself.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Satono was flying through trees, rocks, and everything in her path. She was rolling on the ground, just like Nanasu.

  "Damnit... DAMNIT!"

  Satono's eyes were now glowing with an intense purple. Her incomplete Nhelv disintegrated into thin air. She was now empty-handed.

  .:. THAT FUCKIN'...! I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill him! .:.

  A rock knocked her into the air, where she would meet Claude. Claude appeared to be using a different fighting style this time. It was a bit more fluid and less brute-forced than his usual fighting style. It was more elegant, more refined. Like a dancer.

  More like... he was holding back on her.

  "I'll show you what real power looks like, Testharian!" Claude's Soul-Energy increased, bursting through his energy cap and entering a new one.

  This was Claude evolving for the second time. To Satono, it looked like flashes of red and white blinded her while overloading her senses with the abundance of Soul-Energy.

  "Empyrean Unleashed!" He yelled, having entered his Spirit Evolution. The first and weakest of 4 attainable evolutions.

  He grabbed his arm to output more Soul-Energy into his other hand, charging up a large energy cannon.

  "... Wait, you can't-" Satono had no time to react, let alone dodge.

  "See ya! Pulverized Cannon!" Following the yell, a long-ranged energy cannon hit Satono smack dab in the gut, sending her flying into a cave, burying her deep within.

  The cave collapsed with a roar, burying Satono under tons of rock and dirt that slammed down upon her with the force of an avalanche. The ground split as Claude's energy struck the mountainside, sending shockwaves that moved through the stone.

  Boulders the size of trucks tumbled from above, crashing together with a horrifying sound in the newmade chasm. Dust and debris filled the air. Deep within the earth, Satono felt the weight of a mountain pressing against her body.

  "...Hm." Claude landed back on his feet. He had won. But his celebration was cut short as he felt a presence. A familiar one.

  Avu Fujimara.

  "Impressive, Captain Magami. I didn't think you had it in you." Avu said, his voice calm and collected. He was standing on a tree branch, looking down at Claude.

  "Well, you know what they say! Never underestimate a guy who likes a good fight!" Claude said, a grin on his face. He was still in his Spirit Evolution form, his body glowing with red and white energy.

  "That form... It's the first stage of Soul Evolutions. Only a handful of Soul-Wielders can achieve it. You've exceeded my expectations, Captain." Avu's voice was laced with a genuine respect. It was rare for Avu to show any kind of emotion, but here he was, showing a lick of it. This meant something, even to Claude.

  However, Claude couldn't celebrate with Avu or accept his respect.

  "I know what you've got planned... The smoke from the city, harbouring a Sixth Follower from us... You're-"

  The crashed boulders started to fly in the sky, as explosions created a sinkhole beneath. Satono jumped out of the chasm with an angry face.

  This forced Claude to get into a battle stance, ready to take Satono on once again.

  Avu just stood there with a usual smile on his face.

  "You dare hold back on me and then do that!? I'll give you a piece of your own medicine!" Satono launched at Claude, forcing Claude to block by forming an X with his arms.

  Satono was significantly stronger this time. I guess Testharian rage boosts their capabilities a bit.

  Claude imbued Soul-Energy in his hand and punched her gut, the knockback pushing her into the sky again. But Satono vanish-stepped before being fully suspended mid-air. Does she really have no thought of preserving energy?

  Satono reappeared just above Claude, following up with a hammer slash, forcing him on the ground.

  Claude was now in a tug of war between Satono's Nhelv, now fully regenerated, and his bare hands. A struggle of power between the two was clear to see.

  Claude was winning, however.

  "So that's what this is..." Claude refused to make eye contact with Satono as he was trying to keep the blade from hitting this throat.

  "You're taking over this planet."

  "Take that with your long list of your losses to your GRAVE!" Satono pushed down harder, Claude was losing the power struggle. But power does not win anything here.

  Claude kicked the back of her head, dropping her to the ground next to him. He jumped up, looking at Avu.

  "Call it off. Koj-Dagan will not fall under your banner!"

  Avu just continued to smile. "Conquer. The objective was to conquer. To subjugate. Not to destroy. And the objective is complete. Look around, Captain."

  He gestured with a sweep of his hand, not at the burning jungle or the distant chaos, but at the very air itself. "Soul-Core has been exposed here. The many ships you see above are our ships. We will be launching a ground offensive soon."

  "..." Claude looked up, caught off guard heavily by Avu.

  This also meant that he was now open for any cheap shots.

  Satono took one immediately, slashing his back as he was distracted.

  "AGH-"

  Satono than followed up with a head throw back into the forest, the forest which she had previously wrecked.

  "You'll die now, ‘Captain’!" Satono formed her Nhelv into a greatsword. She was going for a crushing blow, not a cutting one.

  .:. This Testharian is a persistent one. Perhaps I was right in letting her join our arsenal. .:.

  The large gash on his back and the pain that emanated off of it made it harder for him to regain his balance as he spun around in the forest, hitting tree after tree.

  "HMP-" Satono went for a lethal stab in the chest which resulted in Claude catching her arm. Claude would knee her in the spine, albeit not lethal.

  Satono went limp for a second before regaining movement. She used her legs to put him in a head lock, performing a backflip to send him flying into the sky.

  "DO YOU ONLY PERFORM CHEAP SHOTS, HUH!?" Satono got increasingly angry, sharpening her length-changing katana before she vanish-stepped above Claude, grabbing his head again and continuously punching it.

  "G..."

  .:. Those punches hurt. .:.

  Claude was kicked, far enough for her katana to reach him. Claude formed a Soul-Beam to give himself a small-time window to react.

  "Stop... STALLING... AND FIGHT ME HEAD ON!" Satono screamed like a child who didn't get the toy she wanted for her birthday. She was furious. She had lost to a man who had a "I like to fight" personality.

  "You little fucker!" She inverted her hand grip and performed a vast array of slashes, counteracting Claude's beam back at him in different directions.

  "Arn Delsor!"

  Satono yelled, charging up all the remaining Soul-Energy that she has into her hand to punch him hard into the ground.

  Claude really had no time to think, react or even comprehend. Claude is strong, but even he is susceptible to a cheap shot. Ironic that Satono called him out for stalling, yet she used cheap shots to get the upper hand.

  .:. I guess I was expecting a little too much. .:.

  "Good work, Eria... Now eliminate him."

  .:. ...Eria? .:. Claude thought.

  Satono gripped Nhelv tightly to impale him directly in the chest as she dropped down to the ground where Claude lay. This could be it. This could finally be it. Satono can kill Claude Magami, who people so feared to go up against. A Captain, known for his unusual fighting style, his unusual personality, but his unusual strength. She could be the one to end his legacy.

  She can prove to Avu that she is worthy of being a Follower of the UoK.

  The tip of her katana was almost about to make contact with Claude's chest.

  The snow around them obstructed everyone's view from outside the fight. It was a silent forest, but not for long.

  The snow around them was painted red with blood. The trees were painted red... but it wasn't Claude's blood.

  It was Satono's blood.

  Satono's Nhelv just narrowly missed Claude's chest, instead being buried in the snow just below his armpit.

  She looked down at the ground, her mouth vomiting large amounts of blood. She was bleeding from the mouth and her vision was impaired. What the hell was going on here?

  This was supposed to be Satono's grand victory. A chance to prove to Avu Fujimara that this good-for-nothing Testharian wasn't just a filthy Testharian, but a Soul-Wielder capable of felling those of fundamental power. That she was more than just a defector that was taken in because Avu pitied her.

  "..."

  Satono's eyes were wide open, her knees were bent. Claude was unharmed, mostly. Claude was bleeding from his nose but that was it. Satono looked like she was dealing massive injuries that just so happened to have formed in this instant moment.

  "...I should've known this would've happened." Claude pushed the katana away, forcing Satono to limp backwards.

  "...G..." Satono couldn't even focus on something. She was just looking at the ground, still vomiting more blood. There was even blood coming out of her eyes and ears. What happened? Is she ill?

  "Sometimes, your Soul won't agree to your principles... heh." Claude stood up.

  Satono fell onto her knees.