Blood bursts out of Satoshi's body as he falls to the ground, dead. Jesse looks at what happened from the side of the battlefield, as cold as ever. "I guess you win this round," he says. His appearance has changed compared to the meeting. He's taller and looks more mature, seeming to be around 18-19 now instead of 15-16 like he used to be. Now, instead of the black hoodie he was wearing, he is wearing a metallic blue hoodie. The hoodie seems to be made of thousands of small shards. His hood is up over his head, casting a shadow over his eyes.
Alexander jumps backwards. "Now that your friend over there is dead, I have no reason to fight you now. Our only mission was to kill Satoshi," Alexander says. He starts acting casually now that Satoshi is dead. It ticks off Dai'chi as he charges in and attacks with Skull Cleaver. Alexander blocks the attack, looking at Dai'chi, surprised. "We don't have to fight anymore. My mission here is done."
Dai'chi looks at Alexander, even more annoyed than earlier. He jumps back and then charges in for another attack. "Are you an idiot? You kill our comrade and expect us to let your group leave here alive; you must be joking. Only one of us leaves here alive," He says. Alexander realizes what he is talking about and begins to fight more seriously now.
Iori attacks TBM but is dodged again. Lily stops attacking as TBM retreats next to Joshua. "So are we leaving now or not. I was told that we were leaving as soon as we killed Satoshi, but it seems like Alexander has no intent on leaving," TBM says. Iori, Krytheos, and Aevum watch them. Lily looks away to the side.
"I guess not, it's not like we can just leave after they killed all our comrades. The only ones we had on the list as threats were Lily and Satoshi, with Iori, Dai'chi, and Aevum as possible threats. We should avenge our fallen comrades while we're here," Joshua says.
"I wouldn't be too sure," responds TBM, "Dai'chi turned out to be stronger than expected, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. The problem is the new guy who just showed up. He goes by the name Jesse, but that's a fake name. Worst of all, I think I might know who he actually is. If I'm right, then we stand no chance. You take the ones over there. Lily looks like she doesn't plan on intervening anymore until the last moment, but it still won't be easy. She could have stopped you earlier when you killed Satoshi, but she decided to stay neutral for some reason. I'll fight this guy over here and hope that more theories on his identity are wrong."
"Wait, who do you think he is?" Joshua tries to ask, but TBM dashes away. Joshua turns towards Iori, Aevum, and Krytheos. Lily walks off to the side, deciding not to fight. "I guess let's get this over with," Joshua says.
Jesse walks out onto the battlefield. TBM stops in front of him. TBM begins to circulate all his mana around his body. "Hello, 'Jesse', I go by the name of my class. I'm The Berserker Mage," He says. Jesse looks at him.
"I know, the flow of mana throughout your body is something only a Berserker Mage is capable of doing. Though I am impressed that you managed to gain that class. You are only one of three beings alive that currently have that class, of course, the weakest of us three. You've barely managed to understand the essence of a Berserker Mage. I'll make sure to educate you before I kill you." Jesse says.
"So my theory was right, you are him, I guess we'll see, HOW MUCH OF THAT ESSENCE I TRULY HAVE," TBM says. He charges at Jesse and goes in for a punch. "LET'S SEE HOW STRONG YOU ARE." Right before the punch lands, Jesse utters a single runic word.
"Lyuz," he says. Jesse instantly bends unnaturally around the attack. He puts a hand on TBM's arm as he floats parallel above the ground, his leg back, ready to kick. TBM is completely unable to react to the speed Jesse is moving at. He pulls his hand close to his body, his hand closed with his pinky and pointer finger sticking out. "Axmyunire," he says. Mana shoots into his leg as it instantly shoots forward. TBM instinctively pushes his feet into the ground to maintain his footing, but it is useless. Jesse's foot comes into contact the instant he kicks forward. The ground behind TBM shatters as he goes flying. All the trees in that direction fly out of the ground. Jesse lands on the ground and creates the same hand sign again ."Axmyunire," he says once again before exploding forward, shattering the ground beneath his feet. He immediately reaches TBM again, hovering above him as TBM flies back. He touches his thumb to his pinky and pointer finger, and his ring and middle fingers are partially bent. "Sebnah," he says. He then curls his thumb and pinky into his hand while sticking his ring and middle fingers all the way out. "Moabrire," he says. He kicks down with both feet together, slamming TBM into the ground. The ground cracks all the way to the bottom of the island before collapsing. TBM then regains consciousness and creates a magic circle below his feet. He jumps to the top. Jesse does the same.
*He's strong. He is who I thought he was. His mana control is incomparable to mine. He keeps all his mana compressed in the center of his body, and when he does that, 'Axmyunire' attack it explodes out into his limbs. It seems that he's using runic words to control it, so if I can condense my mana like that, I may be able to do the same,* TMB thinks to himself. He begins trying to condense the mana into the center of his body.
"You're trying to copy my attack. I'm afraid it won't be that easy," Jesse says. He stomps on the ground. It shatters, and rocks fly into the air. He grabs one of the rocks and throws it at TBM. TBM dodges, his cheek getting scratched.
"Let's see how close I was, Axmyunire," TBM says. He explodes forward, having much less force and explosive power behind it. Jesse throws another rock, which causes TBM to fall over while dodging. He quickly gets up and starts running to the side. Jesse continues to throw rocks as TBM barely dodges. He throws the final rock in front of where TBM is running. He quickly stopped. "Where was that supposed to go?" He says. The rock suddenly curves and pierces through his leg, shooting it off. Jesse appears right in front of him.
"The only reason none of those other rocks landed is that I never intended for them to land." Jesse punches TBM in the stomach. TBM regenerates his leg. He plants his feet on the ground.
"Owhokire," he says. His body is set on fire, and Jesse walks back. TBM goes to punch Jesse, but it is easily evaded. He continues to try, but none of the attacks land. "I guess I'm too slow to land an attack." He dashes off, and Jesse follows close behind him. Jesse uses Axmyunire again, along with the hand symbol, to ram forward. He lands on TBM's back and uses it again, launching him. TBM flies towards where Joshua is fighting the other Crusaders. He stops his momentum next to him. "I'm too slow, you take that guy. Though I don't think any of us could beat him."
TBM begins to heavily bleed, his regen not being able to keep up. Joshua nods. "I would say 'see you after the battle, but I guess it would be more fitting to say 'see you in the next life,'" Joshua says. TBM walks towards. Krytheos and Aevum, ready to fight.
"Without your regeneration and in your current state, you're not even a threat," A voice says behind him. Iori walks in front of him, holding her scythe. TBM's head falls off. "Now there are only two of you left to go."
*end of chapter*