Mark reached Musashi and ducked under the wide swipe from Musashi. Musashi dodged the punch from Mark and used his feet to block a leg swipe that would have taken him into the water! Mark reached for Musashi''s head to m it into his knee, but Musashi held his head back and prevented Mark from bringing him down!


    Musashi rotated his sword in his hand and thrust it forward to stab Mark in the stomach and Mark was forced to step back to avoid it!


    Musashi dashed forward to pressure Mark, but Mark was no longer stepping back! Mark stepped forward and Musashi grinned as he kicked his leg into the water below them!


    SPLASH!


    The water sshed into the air, blocking Mark''s vision for a moment and Musashi used that moment to charge forward and drive a knee into Mark''s sr plexus! He kicked Mark in the kidney and finally flipped and drove Mark into the air with a perfectly timed kick to the jaw!


    Bam!


    Musashi wasted no time as he immediately activated the mana surge around his de once more. His mana gathered around the de and began to spin until it turned white-hot! Musashi raised his sword into the air with a dark look in his eyes and he waited for just the right moment for Mark to look at him!


    But once Mark turned to him, he didn''t see the surprise that he thought he would see there. Instead, he saw a smug look that made him hesitate for a second.


    [Demonic Killer''s Aura] has been activated!


    Ba-Dump!


    [The effects of [Fear] have been applied to the opponent.]


    [The opponent will experience the effects of Fear for thirty seconds.]


    What is this feeling?


    There was a trembling in his chest.


    Musashi couldn''t exin it, but he could feel something tremble inside of him. Almost like his heart wanted to leap out from his chest. This sensation. Don''t tell me. Am I afraid? Me?


    Miyamoto Musashi!?


    "Who are you to make me fear you!?"


    Mark flipped around and mmed his fist into Musashi''s face!


    [Divergent Fist]!


    Boom!


    Musashi flew back from the unexpected attack and Mark put his hand forward and aimed for Musashi. The grin on Mark''s face was downright disrespectful!


    "I''m just Mark, motherfucker."


    [Void sh: Lightning]!


    Bzzt!


    Five des of wind and lightning materialized from the manifestation of Mark''s mana and shed across the area before mming into Musashi''s defenseless body! Musashi''s body split into multiple pieces, and Mark watched as he fell into the ocean and slowly sank to the bottom.


    Mark looked up at the sky as the system sent the message detailing his victory, and he only spared the rampaged city onest nce before leaping into the air and vanishing!


    Inside the dome where the meeting was first held, the policewoman who brought Hercules to the meeting finally started to wake up from her unconscious state. She put her hand to her head in pain as a headache assaulted her and closed her eyes tightly to try and get the screams echoing in her mind to quiet down.


    ''Wait… screams?''


    The woman opened her eyes, and her eyes widened in shock as she finally got a good look at what was in front of her. The city was on fire. Everything was burning, and there were broken buildings and crushed civilians all around her.


    Helicopters in the air were trying their best to put out the fire with water from the river, and the sounds of ambnces and firemen screaming at each other were the only things echoing over the screams of pain from the people caught in the crisis.


    She slowly got to her feet as she tried to understand what the fuck was happening in front of her.


    Ring! Ring! Ring!


    Her phone began to ring, and she picked up absentmindedly.


    "Hello."


    "Yuna, I''ve been trying to reach you! Where are you!? Did you arrest that man that hit me!?"


    Her partner that was beaten up by Hercules was on the other end of the phone, and he sounded pissed as he asked her if she managed to arrest Hercules. She almost felt likeughing, but she couldn''t evenugh as she shook her head and cut the phone without saying anything to him. She looked out into the city once more.


    "What the hell happened here?"


    …


    "What will you do if you get out of this alive? Are you going to keep fighting? Do you want to rest?"


    Luna was sitting on the floor. The head of a young boy was in herp, and she gently caressed his forehead with a nk look. She watched his face scrunch up in thought. He had multiple injuries around his body, but Luna could see the injuries healing right in front of her eyes, and she knew that it would not be long before he waspletely healed.


    It wouldn''t be long before he goes out there to continue the battle.


    The boy grunted.


    "I don''t know. My parents are dead, and all I want for now is revenge. Everything else is an afterthought."


    "Oh, you are an orphan? I suppose we are alike then. But humor me, what will you want to do with all this power? After your revenge isplete, have you thought about what you will do?"


    The boy was silent for a while longer, and the only thing that filled up the silence between them was the sounds of explosions and screamsing from outside the building. But neither of them bothered moving from their position on the floor, regardless of how loud the screams were.


    After some time, the boy finally spoke.


    "I''ll probably keep fighting. I like it."


    Luna''s eyes widened in mild shock.


    "Really? I didn''t think you would choose that. I''m a coward, so I''d probably go hide in my room if I were you. I wouldn''t want anything to do with the outside world anymore. It''s too scary for my liking. The people, the monsters, friends, family.


    Everything is so scary."


    The boy hummed as he finally sat up from herp. Luna immediately reached out to hold him—she did not want him to go—but he didn''t bother stopping as he stood fully. His injuries were already fully healed, and when he stood to his full height, it was obvious that he was preparing to go back into the fray.


    The boy stood with his back to Luna and looked back at her.


    "Staying all alone sounds pretty boring. I don''t know what happened to you, but I think you should give the world a second chance. It''s not all scary. And if you ever think that it''s too much, thene find me, I''ll protect you."


    Luna gazed up at her savior with reverence, and after some time she nodded.


    …


    Inside the hideout in the Bishop''s territory, Luna groaned in her sleep.


    "You fucking liar."