Edwin stared down Ace, who stood tense and shocked, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Did you miss me?" Edwin asked, voice cold and amused.
Ace snapped back,
"What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Edwin said, glancing at Thomas's unconscious body.
"I'm here for my brother."
Ace stepped forward.
"Then you're wasting your time. Get out."
Edwin scanned the clearing.
"Is it just you, Ace? Where's everyone else?"
"None of your business. So go on and get."
Edwin smiled wide, sinister, unrecognizable.
Ace thought, Damn, Edwin… I don't even know who you are anymore.
"Why?" Ace shouted.
"Why did you become this?"
Edwin's tone shifted, serious and sharp.
"You wouldn't understand. You're common folk. I am royalty."
Ace barked a bitter laugh.
"Royalty? You were hiding in bunkers with the rest of us. Hunting while being hunted. No royal family lives like that."
Edwin scoffed.
"You've always been the dumb one of the group."
Ace nodded.
"Maybe. But I know that you're not you anymore. And your ass ran away. In my eyes a deserter has no voice."
That hit Edwin like a blade. He paused.
Ace pressed on. "You know Thomas still loves you".
"He didn't say it, but you felt it. That day you saw it. He didn't want to fight you. He was willing to die because he couldn't believe what you'd become."
Edwin snapped.
"You don't know me!"
He rushed Ace, landing a swift kick that sent him to the ground.
Ace rolled up fast, sword drawn.
"I'll kill you!" Edwin roared, his purple and black aura flaring like wildfire.
He launched into brutal combo swings, kicks, and a high strike to the head. Ace dodged, barely keeping pace. Then a back kick caught him off guard, dropping him hard.
Edwin took advantage, stomping Ace's chest with savage force.
"I did change. I got stronger."
He laughed maniacally, foot pressing down.
Ace thought, Is this how I go out? At least I'll see you soon, Mama. Make sure dinner… is ready…
Then a voice rang out
"Ace, you're not finished!"
A surge of black, gold, and white aura erupted from Ace's body. Edwin stepped back, eyes wide.
Ace's voice split two tones, one divine.
"You will not take Thomas!"
He rushed Edwin. They collided blow for blow, sending shockwaves through the trees. Three strikes fast, deadly. They looked evenly matched.
Then Ace broke through with a clean punch, another, a kick, a three-piece combo. Edwin flew into the air. Ace caught him mid-flight and slammed him into the ground like a tornado. The earth cracked beneath them.
Ace, aiming to finish it.
But Edwin's aura exploded pure black, pulsing with hatred. The nearby trees withered. The ground darkened.
Ace stepped back, analyzing.
He's in deep waters.
Suddenly Edwin was above him faster than before.
"How did he?"
Edwin struck down. Ace blocked, countered, but the pressure was immense. His arms and legs screamed under the force.
Man… I just want to go home, Ace thought.
Then Edwin appeared behind him. A crushing blow to the back of the head dropped Ace instantly. A stomp to the neck his spine shattered. Another to the skull, his head buried in the dirt.
Ace lay still.
Edwin stood over him, breathing heavily.
"You fought better than I expected, Ace."
He turned to Thomas, walking slowly.
If I kill him now… it's over.
But a voice whispered in his mind
"It's not too late, Edwin. Make things right."
Edwin froze.
Then another voice deeper, darker
"Finish it. You're stronger with me. No one can compete."
Edwin nodded.
"The Supreme wants you alive, Thomas. I'll complete my mission."
He reached for Thomas
WHAM!
A kick from nowhere sent Edwin flying, crashing through trees.
He staggered up, eyes burning.
"Whoever you are, you're dead!"
A figure stepped forward. Ragged clothes. Cowboy tone.
"Where's my manners… name's Steve."
He raised his hand like a gun.
"Bang."
An air bullet struck Edwin clean, sending him reeling again.