.:. My Soul... that's right... My Soul has always been against me... trying to put me out of commission simply because it doesn't agree with me. .:.

  Claude was shocked too. He expected her to keel over earlier in the fight but for some reason she was able to maintain her form. She could've passed out from overusing her Soul-Energy long ago. He thought she had a trick up her sleeve that prevented her from fainting but no. She was just resilient to her own Soul's disagreement.

  "Work.. along... damnit..." Satono coughed everytime she beat her own chest.

  Those with an unstable Soul can deal with many things. Such as a uncooperative Soul or a Soul with different principles. Those can disrupt the 'symbiosis' between the Soul-Wielder and their Soul. For Satono, it seems like her Soul doesn't agree with her current actions, thus rejecting her body.

  .:. She'll kill herself if she doesn't listen to her Soul! .:.

  Satono was still trying to retaliate against her own Soul. It seemed in this instance, that Satono's Soul rejected the possibility of killing Claude Magami, thus tried to prevent its host from doing so.

  Satono stood up, trying to grip her fading blade. She vomited more blood in the process, almost on the verge of collapsing... forever.

  Seeing this, Claude dashed at Satono.

  Satono tried powering up, but was instead met with white lightning around her, zapping her constantly, making her feel immense pain. This is what most Soul-Wielders with defiant Souls deal with. The 'punishment' of defying their own Soul's will.

  Satono's mind began to crack, the immense pain causing her vision to blur and her thoughts to become a mess. Claude quickly elbowed her in the gut before doing a hand chop on her neck to knock her out.

  This eliminated the white lightning around her, while dropping her Soul-Energy levels to 0. She was fine, for now... saved by her enemy. He could've ended her right here and there, but he didn't.

  She was spared.

  Claude, breathing heavily, looked at the unconscious Satono Eria.

  "A soul that rejects its master's will... a fascinating paradox," Avu's voice came from above, as calm as ever. He hadn't moved from his branch. "To see one so fractured gives me new ideas to research the Soul and it's many forms. However, I suppose it's also proof that even power must bow to principle."

  Claude glared up at him. "And what's your principle, Fujimara? Conquering worlds for a tyrant? A tyrant that sits on a throne made of fear?”

  Avu stepped off the branch, walking towards Claude with his hands in his pockets, then turning around to look at the burning city in the distance, now under Dark Intrinium's control.

  Claude moved into stance, thinking Avu was going to attack him.

  But Avu hoisted Satono over his shoulder with ease, as if she weighed nothing more than a sack of grain.

  "You'll live long enough to see it all crumble, Captain," Avu said, his back still to Claude. "I look forward to our next meeting."

  "..."

  Claude relieved all the tension on his body. He looked down at the snow and the blood that was around him, it wasn't his. He didn't kill her. He would not kill her. He wasn't a killer; he was just a man who loved to fight.

  He fought for peace and order, but he also fought for his joy. Is it wrong to be excited? To have fun? Is it wrong to have a hobby that brings you happiness? Or is that just his own selfish desires?

  Who is Claude Magami really?

  A hero? A warrior? Or just a man who's addicted to the thrill of the fight, using the grand ideal of "peace" as a justification?

  -

  "AGH!"

  "Ah good! That worked!" Claude smiled, watching over Nanasu like a paramedic.

  Claude had found Nanasu and brought her to the rescue shuttle.

  Mikael was there too; his leg wrapped in bandages and his head bandaged up. He was sitting on a bench, looking at the floor with a blank expression.

  "Get away from me! Don't touch me... It stings!" Nanasu yelled at Claude, who was trying to apply a medical gel on her deep gash.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Hey! This stuff stinks but it works! Trust me!" Claude said, trying to calm her down.

  "Where... where am I?" Nanasu asked, her voice weak.

  "You're on the rescue shuttle, we're heading back to base," Claude explained.

  Nanasu looked at him, then at Mikael. She saw the guilt in his eyes, the same guilt she felt. There's not much to say about their mission other than the fact that they've failed.

  But they were going to make it back in one piece. That's what they do. They survive. They'll live to fight another day.

  Nanasu then looked out the window, seeing the once-beautiful city of Armada now a fortress of Dark Intrinium. Dark Intrinium flags were being raised, and their ships were patrolling the skies. The planet was lost.

  "... There goes another planet we could've protected... Seriously, they can't just keep winning everytime." Nanasu said, her voice filled with sadness.

  "... Heh. Well, we can't win them all, can we?" Claude said, trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't work. Nanasu sat upright, petting her cat Kleine that the rescue team picked up from their ship before it blew up.

  "...What about my handheld?" She eyed the paramedic. The guy reacted with a shake of the head. "..." Nanasu slumped back, defeated. The cat jumped on her chest, purring. She started to pet it.

  "... There goes our squad record too, guys... We had an undefeated record... since Tristate City, of course. We were outnumbered against the Dark Intrinium so many times, yet we beat them everytime we went out... why didn't we win this time? Were we too weak?"

  "... No. You don't get to sulk about that. It was us 3 against 6."

  "... I'm the one to be blamed here." Claude blurted out. "Prior, I assumed that it was going to be a Dark Intrinium brigade. Just that. It was completely different. We didn't fight typical soldiers. I went in blindly, not considering what was at hand."

  "The second those bastards tore us from the sky, the notion of it being just some brigade evaporated."

  "Damnit! We had the experience, and we fucking blew it!" Nanasu was still being too hard on herself.

  "Let's not dwell on this any further. We gave it our best. I'm sure the issue will be resolved soon after."

  "... Yeah. I'll start training more and get stronger." She looked at Claude, then at Mikael.

  "You need to take some anxiety counseling." Mikael pointed at her, with a grin that didn't quite reach his exhausted eyes. Despite the bandages wrapping around his leg and the dried blood smeared on his temple, he managed to humour Nanasu a bit.

  His finger trembled as he gestured, only remembering just how close they all came to death today.

  Mikael was almost killed by Tadao in the most gruesome way possible.

  Nanasu was almost beaten to death by Aria.

  And Claude was almost impaled to death by Satono.

  They all survived miraculously. Mikael and Nanasu both survived because Tadao and Aria decided not to kill them.

  For Claude, it was some divine intervention that prevented Satono from killing him.

  Claude, Mikael and Nanasu sighed deeply.

  Claude walked over to the radio, trying to establish contact with Soul-Core Central Command. He managed to get a signal after a few tries.

  [Central Command]: "Star Gazer Squad, report."

  "This is Captain Magami of the Star Gazer Squad... The mission did not go as planned. We will be reporting back to base shortly, over."

  [Central Command]: "Roger that. Report to the Space Killers Squad to Blackstone Station. It is 4 parsecs away from Koj-Dagan. We'll need your squad's full debriefing there."

  "Roger that. Over and out."

  Claude put the radio down, and sat next to Mikael. He didn't say anything. He just sat there, waiting for the shuttle to arrive at Blackstone Station.

  The silence in the shuttle was heavy. It was a silence filled with failure and disappointment.

  The cat purred, breaking the silence.

  It was a long journey.

  = = =

  The ship arrived on a remote part in Mavkodus, where the base of the Uprising of Kytron was located. As soon as the ship made contact with the green grass of their huge garden, the door opened.

  "We're back." Avu said, as he stepped out of the ship with an unconscious Satono.

  Jasper went out first, and the person following soon after was Heios. He had a bandaged leg but was able to walk properly. Then came Aria with a black eye and a broken middle finger. Then came out Tadao, who was the most normal looking out of any. He had no injuries.

  When Tadao boarded the ship, he was healing everyone. The two that he needed to heal the most were Satono and Jasper.

  "You have my respect, Followers. The conquest for Armada and the assassination of Senator Merviogogan Zentorrio was a success. Rest up as much as you need. Our next move will be discussed tomorrow at 1500 hours." Avu said, his voice echoing through the garden.

  He handed Satono to Tadao, who then carried her to the infirmary. He had a look of concern on his face, which was rare for him. Tadao's face was always neutral, but this time it was different.

  "Avu, I want to talk to you." Aria said, her voice stern.

  Avu turned to look at her, his eyes showing no emotion. "Later."

  Aria wanted to argue, but she knew better than to talk back to Avu. He just walked away, heading to his quarters.

  Jasper and Heios just went to their respective rooms, not saying a word. They were both exhausted, both physically and mentally.

  Aria was the only one still standing in the garden. She looked up at the bright orange sky. She then looked at her broken finger, and then touched her black eye, wincing from the pain.

  This should've been a landslide victory. While it was, she still sustained injuries that'll take days or weeks to heal without the help of Support-Types.

  This didn't feel like a victory for her. On the contrary, in fact. It felt like she was done doing a chore that she did non-stop for years.

  It was going to be a simple hit and run, but it later turned into a battle to the death and an all-out war on the planet.

  They were supposed to be quick and efficient. They were supposed to be in and out. Instead, they were delayed, they were fought, and they were pushed to their limits.

  The Uprising of Kytron, the elite special forces of Dark Intrinium, were pushed to their limits by a single squad of Soul-Core.

  Aria felt a surge of something she hadn't felt in a long time. It wasn't anger, it wasn't frustration. It was doubt.

  She looked at the sky again, and for the first time in her life, she wondered if Avu truly had what it took to lead the U.O.K to victory.

  Then she looked at her broken finger again, this time clenching her fist. The pain shot up her arm, but she didn't care. She welcomed it. It was a reminder of her failure, a reminder of her weakness.

  "When we set foot unto this New World... will we still be known as Monsters?"

  ...

  ..

  .

  [ Uprising of Kytron 1 – 0 Star Gazer Squad ]