Harvey grunted and pierced a beast's heart. Another approached from behind. Harvey sensed it and spun around, stabbing it. The beast froze and fell the next moment.
Without wasting anymore time, he rushed forward and helped another enforcer who was being overpowered. He blocked the monster's strike, pushing it back. He gripped his sword and rushed forward. The beast swung it's arm but was blocked. Harvey slid his blade along its claws and pierced its heart.
Another one fell.
He then heard a screech from the sky. Realizing an air-type chaos beast was swooping down, he pulled the other enforcer down with him. The monster's talons barely swept past them, ripping Harvey's clothes. He stood up and turned towards the enforcer.
"Are you okay?"
The enforcer exhaled heavily. "Yes, I'm fine…are you okay?"
"I'm Okay. The beast grazed me."
He put his hand on his head and said in a fatherly tone. "Be careful next time."
The enforcer smiled and nodded. "Sure."
He then rushed into the heat of battle once again. The enforcer looked at him with awe – just long enough for a beast to cut him in half.
***
Kay cut a beast's arm and the next second, pierced its heart.. He panted and straightened his back. Swinging his katana, he bounced on his feet, warming himself in the cold rain.
'I don't get how they can live in this cold.'
He rubbed his hands together for a few moments and then rushed forward. Engaging with another monster, he swiftly took it down. The beast's body fell forward, pressing on Kay.
The enforcer grunted, pushing the corpse off him. Then, he uncurled his spine and looked into the sky.
"Just my luck…"
He lowered his head and looked forward. Seeing his fellow enforcers battle, his eyes widened as he saw one of them fall.
Kay silently unsheathed his blade, his expression darkening. He rushed forward and vaulted onto a beast – piercing its heart through its back. Without pausing, he pulled out his sword and leapt onto another, cutting its arm off with his momentum. With trembling, adrenaline filled hands, he engaged with multiple monsters.
A maniacal smile formed on his face as he drove his katana into each one of their chests, killing them all as the enforcer's behind him watched in awe.
***
Arthur sheathed his blade as another air-type beast swept at him.
He ducked and avoided its claws. He frowned and pointed his finger like a gun at the flying creatures. He aimed, locking onto his targets. Then…he released a laser beam which pierced the clouds. As Arthur continued firing, he could see the creatures remains falling from the sky. He smirked and continued until all the aerial beasts had fallen. Exhausted, he pressed on his knees while panting heavily.
Then, blood dripped from his nose. He froze and lightly touched his lips.
"Damn…I overused it."
He muttered as he wiped his nose. Then, Maple came up from behind.
"Arthur! Are you okay?"
"Yes…I'm fine. I just overused my attribute."
"You should be more careful. I'm worried about you y' know?"
Arthur raised a brow. "And why would you be worried about me, Maple?"
Maple froze and stepped back awkwardly. "I-It's – you're our captain! Why wouldn't I be worried? You're the most important to the unit. You're the lieutenant general and-"
Arthur waved his hand. "That's enough…I understand."
For some reason, the clueless Lieutenant General could feel butterflies in his stomach but didn't know why.
God help this man, he's blushing.
Arthur shook his head, trying to shake off those feelings. Then, he heard the fragment rupture again as if it was on the brink of evolving.
"Is the containment spell ready, Amelia?" Arthur shouted.
"Yes, it is." Amelia replied as she strung the last bits of the oval together.
She waved her hand, pushing the oval towards the rift. The spell flew down and stuck to the rift. The fragment shook violently, threatening to rip the sky. Then, the next second, reality closed in on it, sealing it off.
As sunlight tore through the clouds, the dreadful screams of multiple enforcers tore through the battlefield.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
***
After a few hours…
In the corridors of the hospital, doctors and nurses rushed between rooms. Their faces were drawn tight with worry.
Footsteps echoed, heels clicking against the sterile floor. Four medics burst through, shoving a carrier down the hall. The patient writhed, muffled groans slipping past bloodied lips. All around them, moans and screams spilled from the rooms. The enforcers who had survived the chaos fragment subjugation filled every bed.
Some had lost arms or legs — treatable with modern tech if the limb was intact. But too many hadn't been so lucky. Too many limbs had been devoured which made most of them disabled.
Of the 20 who entered the battle, 10 were dead. The rest were barely hanging on.
***
Outside one room, Krishna was anxiously walking left and right. Henry was shaking his foot at a fixed pace while leaning against the wall. Eira and Mary were nervously gripping each other's hands.
The Chaos fragment had been sealed but they could no longer hide their presence in Ashland. So, they had to take Missio to get his injuries fixed and psyche evaluated.
Suddenly, a doctor came out of the room with a tired face. He adjusted his glasses and walked over to the group. Krishna stopped walking, Henry stood up straight, Mary and Eira looked up.
"So…Doctor, how's Missio doing?"
Krishna was the first to speak, asking the question everyone wanted to know.
"He's fine."
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, their hearts finally settling.
"Can we visit him right now?"
Henry asked with a sincere tone.
"You can but…please for the love of god, don't do Anything to agitate him. God, that boy was such a nightmare…."
Krishna felt an itch to punch the doctor in the face but held back. Henry, Eira and Mary all stood up and walked towards the room.
However, the doctor's voice caught their attention once again.
"By the way, Meet me at my office later."
"Will do." Krishna replied, closing the door.