16 - Sakuto Hitori’s Response

“It was always like this.”

“I just make things worse for everyone.”

“First, it was my parents. I remember how disheartened they were when I ran away from home. I was upset, angry, and I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I even thought I was brave...I threw a snowball at that moment.”

“Then, it was Sakuto. I was fascinated by how he decided to actually protect me during the school incident. I was embarrassed that I ended up in his house, but at the same time, it made me feel safe. His presence told me that he’s a soulful just like me. I made the decision to introduce him to Hayk. And because of that, he’s now dead. Because of the war I caused, Tsunehiro died too.”

“Then, it was Kouta. He was always extremely shaky, Hayk had to guard him on some days just to make sure he wouldn’t do anything radical. Devastated by Sakuto’s death, he went and destroyed the soulful academy. He killed the Heisei’s secondary division and fucked over Diego’s project, but ended up dying himself and causing so much horror and destruction.”

“And now, the snowball that had become an avalanche finally hit me. Since I’ll die, all of them will lose hope. I don’t know if Ausra will manage to recover if I leave her. Hayk’s efforts will be rendered void. So many lives...just for this.”

“Is that how life is?”

“People die.”

“They die and they don’t come back, no matter how much you daydream about it. You’ll never get to speak to them or tell them about your day again. You’ll mention them, only to realize that they’re gone. They don’t deserve to feel grief. But in my case...”

“They can feel a little grief.”

“Because I really do deserve to die.”

...

The battlefield was reduced to mere rubble and ashes. There were small fires comfortably crackling, but the rest was covered by a melancholic layer of dust and smoke. Diego’s soul presence returned to normal.

“Throughout every single test I did, I was confident that nothing can survive Incendia. No structure, no animal...not even humans or soulfuls.” Diego rambled into the empty wasteland of a street. “And now, I finally got to unleash it with actual power behind it.”

“So tell me...”

“How the hell did you survive?”

Ichika was severely wounded. Her whole body and outfit were smothered in scratches, cuts and deep wounds. It was evident that she broke a few bones in her body too. She rested her back against the wall of a tall concrete building, a wall that was now decorated in blood trails and cracks.

“Had I not used all my strength to launch myself out of the epicenter I would’ve been dead. The flames surrounding the edge were strong, but I was fast enough to not get killed by them...”

“I'm a hopeless target now...damn it...”

Ichika stood up. She manifested her kunai, ready to fight Diego one last time. Her shoulders and face were heavily bleeding.

“They’re right about soul determination doing wonders.” Diego chuckled, summoning his rapier. His hands and feet were set ablaze again, and the rapier’s blade shone brightly. Even Diego himself was tired after not just a prolonged battle, but also a quick execution of his acclamation technique. Ichika’s eyes darkened, and she had a saddened smile on her face, accepting the fate that she thought she deserved.

“But it looks like now you’re completely exhausted.” Diego smirked. He charged up a flaming arrow with his hands, aiming them at Ichika.

“And here it is. My punishment.”

“Maybe I’ll see you there. Just kidding. I hope I go to hell.”

She sharply gasped. At first she thought her momentary daydream came to fruition, as it was the only explanation she had in mind for the specific presence she felt. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and the sounds of footsteps on ashy land.

“It’s okay, Ichika.”

Sakuto gently pushed her away. He walked forwards with a terrific aura of determination engulfing him.

“W-what the fuck is this?!” Diego said, utterly confused. His smile didn’t fade away, but the roots of concern dug deep into his hazel eyes. “You damn revenant...how did you-”

“Mukawa!!”

“I knew something was up with him!”

“Why did he get this guy back on his feet?!”

“I’m not sure what you guys have between each other. One wants to kill me, the other wants me to live...” Sakuto sighed. “He said that you can’t kill a soulful just by tossing him into a wall.”

“What...are you...?!” Ichika yelled, confused. She thought she lost her sanity already.

“I’m here to save you.” Sakuto said, briefly stopping to turn back and gaze at her. He continued his march towards the last elemental. “That’s my purpose now.”

“Calm down, Diego.” Diego thought to himself, almost on the verge of shitting himself.

“This may be the first time you’ve seen a dead person come back to life. But still. Calm down.”

“What the fuck am I even overthinking for? He never died. I’ll just do my job properly this time.”

Diego switched the target. He launched the arrow at Sakuto, and a large incendiary explosion engulfed him. Diego smirked, confident in his own strength. His confidence blinded his senses which alerted him that the scary soul presence was still there.

As the flames burned with rage...Sakuto walked right through them.

He walked as if he was on a soft and warm beach, strolling on the sand. In reality, he was ignoring an attack that would’ve instantly killed a soulless and heavily wounded even a powerful soulful. Diego’s concerns began to transition into fear.

“I’m glad all that self-burning paid off.” He said, drawing his soul-bound weapon. It had a small orange cross on its handle, along with two other empty black crosses.

“How...what are you...” Ichika stuttered.

“You like it?” Sakuto said. “It’s my soul expression. I can adapt to everything and anything. That’s what I know for now at least. I’m not sure how it works on a deeper level, but at least I’m finally strong enough to kill shitheads like this guy.”

Ichika was left speechless.

“But that’s not all. I can also store up to three adaptations in my weapon and use them for later.” Sakuto continued. “You know what I did? I set myself on fire until I had this adaptation under my belt.”

“No...”

Diego stepped back, instantly charging up another arrow.

“If what he’s saying isn’t a bluff, does that mean he’s immune to all fire? Is he immune to fire or heat in general?! It doesn’t matter.”

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“I’ll kill him anyways!”

As Diego was about to release the arrow, Sakuto dragged his weapon across the ground and swung it in the air. An incredible release of soul prowess struck Diego, knocking him back into the devastated battlefield. Diego found himself weakened and wounded, in the middle of the crater his own destructive prowess caused. Sakuto slowly approached him.

“It was a pretty painful process, but I managed to get the hang of it just in time. The more I think about it, the more I realize how lucky I got. I’m just as overpowered as the rest of my group” Sakuto said, slowly approaching him. Diego’s streak of madness was consumed by a cloak of concern. “Wouldn’t you agree, you monster?”

“Monster?” Diego asked, infuriated. “Do you even know who I am and what purpose I have? Do you know the real monstrosity that was committed in all of this-”

“I don’t give a fuck.”

Diego was taken aback by such a rash but painfully honest response.

“I don’t care about who you are, or what you do, or the role you play. I don’t care about the bigger image. And I don’t care about your sob story either.” Sakuto said, walking along the ashen path. “I became a soulful just a few days ago. And I enjoy this. I get to hang around with people that aren’t as empty as everyone else. I have superhuman strength and cool abilities. There’s also people now who care if I’m alive or not. Do you know how bad it feels without such a thing?”

Diego threw a flaming slash at Sakuto, only for it to be completely countered. Sakuto’s soul presence devoured the area whole.

“And then you tried to kill me. But screw that.” Sakuto said. Now he seemed genuinely angered. “Haven’t you thought for a moment about what it would do to Kouta or Ichika?”

“Naive brat.” Diego smirked. The flames on his body now shone a blue shade. “If you kill me, you’ll be in a deeper hole of shit. The Heisei-”

“I don’t care!” Sakuto yelled, striking the ground with his blade. Immediately, the blackened concrete erupted into a release of soul prowess that knocked Diego away. Sakuto chased after Diego.

The two clashed with their weapons. Diego was closing in on the point of exhaustion. Sakuto, at the same time, was in a complete state of concentration. In their exchanges, it was clear who was fighting with a more profound aggression, and who had the upper hand.

Once Diego sheathed his rapier, he grabbed Sakuto and set him ablaze with his hands. Despite the attack being completely devastating, Sakuto survived through it without a scratch. Sakuto struck Diego with a mean uppercut to the stomach, followed by a nasty right elbow and a left hook. Trying to stay as close as possible, Sakuto kept himself in the clinch and headbutted Diego with all his strength. Diego tried to counterattack, but was caught off guard by Sakuto’s quick flying knee to the chin.

A sudden burst of soul prowess allowed Diego to free himself from the absolute blender of an attack he was stuck inside of. He tried to back off, but Sakuto closed the distance faster, pummeling Diego with strikes, kicks and slashing attacks. One right uppercut was powerful enough to punch a hole through Diego’s stomach. Diego held onto the wound - he won himself some time by landing a shove-kick. Sakuto calmly swung his blade around, releasing devastating slashes and carving deep scars on Diego’s chest.

Diego tried to back off, but that intention was quickly intercepted. Sakuto fired off another pair of slashes which cut Diego’s foot off completely. The latter tried to regain his balance but it was ultimately an impossible task for him.

“He wasn’t lying about his invincibility...shit, what do I do? Can I manage to regenerate fast enough!? Can I use my divine acclamation again?!”

Diego tried to muster up all of his remaining soul prowess, but a sharp and rather cold attack pierced the side of his torso. He looked over only to see a barely standing Ichika who had just caught him by surprise in the worst moment possible.

“You piece of shit!” Diego yelled, charging up a flaming arrow with all his remaining might. The powerful attack was disrupted by Sakuto, who punched him in the face.

Sakuto swung again, knocking Diego down onto the ground. He took a mounting position and started to relentlessly punch Diego’s already wounded face. Each swing was followed by a small splatter of blood and maybe a few teeth that escaped Diego’s mouth. His eyes blackened and swelled more and more, turning into a complete mess. At this point there was nothing he could do.

Sakuto stood back up and held Diego’s throat down with his foot. After summoning his blade, he shoved the cold metal deep into Diego’s eye. A few moments later Diego’s soul presence completely disappeared. Sakuto glared at Diego’s corpse with a cold hatred and spat on it.

“I killed someone...again.”

“Feels fucking great this time.”

“Ichika!” Hayk’s distant yells filled the empty battlefield. The man quickly rushed towards the girl, with Dima by his side. “Are you alright? Where are they?”

Ichika didn’t say a word. She instead pointed at Sakuto, who was slightly unrecognizable from that far away, but the gesture wasn’t registered.

“I knew you had something to do with this, Ichika.” Hayk said, rushing her and embracing her. He felt a soul presence that had shifted to a completely different level, and it gave off the impression that a new, unknown and rather powerful soulful had joined in the battle. But upon further inspection, he noticed that it was...

For everyone else a moment didn’t even pass, but for Hayk, he managed to quickly approach Sakuto, and he gasped in shock and concern.

“S-Sakuto?!”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Sakuto sighed. “I didn’t die, Hayk. Diego is dead. And I also found out what my soul expression is.”

“Then tell me, how the hell did you survive?” Hayk asked.

“Soul expression? So my suspicions were true...he managed to awaken an expression strong enough to kill someone of Diego’s caliber.”

“Hayk, Rin is on the other side.” Dima said, popping out of a portal on the ground, before being just as shocked as the latter. “H-holy shit, you’re alive? How the hell did you manage that?!”

“I-” Sakuto narrowly avoided the slip of tongue. He remembered Mukawa’s words to him. “I woke up a few days later in the same place where I was knocked out. I don’t think Diego cared enough to cut my head off or something.”

“I see...” Hayk sighed.

“He’s bullshitting.”

“I’ll leave it to a late night overthinking session to figure out who intervened and decided to save him. For now, I should be glad that he’s alive. How do I break the news though?”

“Hayk.” Sakuto quickly said. “Where’s Kouta? What happened to him?!”

“How do I say it...” Hayk thought out loud.

“It’s better to just be honest.” Dima said. “Sakuto, I’m sorry to tell you this. Kouta attacked the soulful academy and destroyed the building with its personnel while trying to hunt Diego. It seems like he was intercepted there.”

“...Intercepted?”

“Yes. I’m truly sorry.” Dima said, grabbing Sakuto’s hand and dragging him into the portal. “Let’s leave for now. Let’s all regroup.” he said, throwing Sakuto into the portal. Ichika jumped in too, and Rin quickly held her and started treating her.

“It’s over.” Ichika sighed, with tears in her eyes. “Luca Rosso is dead too, I killed him.”

“So that only leaves...”

“I doubt he’s going to be a threat anymore.” Dima said. “Hayk! Let’s go.”

“You guys can go now. Close the portal.” Hayk said. “I’ll catch up to you in a bit. I’d like some personal time to process whatever the hell is going on right now.”

Dima jumped in and with a bit of hesitation shut the portal down. All Hayk really needed at the moment was a few moments of silence. The relief of the war ending had somewhat eased his heavy grieving over Kouta’s and Tsunehiro’s tragic deaths. He lit up a cigarette - something he never does when the kids are around as to not set a bad example. Under the calming moonlight, he squatted down by the ashen warzone and took his time to fully comprehend whatever was going on around him.

The question that alarmed him the most was Sakuto’s revival. On one hand, he theorized it to be an unknown helping hand. On the other hand, he stayed true to his own statement - Good Samaritans don’t come around often. And finally, the true reason he decided to stay behind revealed itself.

“Was this you asking for a moment of peace, or did you really feel my presence and order your allies to leave before our encounter?” The voice that uttered this chilling sentence revealed itself to be that of Kaito Kamiki himself.

A moment hadn’t even passed, and Hayk’s fist was already aimed for Kaito’s head. The latter seemed at complete peace with the circumstance. A powerful white-ish shield had formed around his body, defending him fully against Hayk’s attack.

“The ability to manipulate time.” Kaito said after glancing at Hayk, his abyssal eyes sparking for a moment. “You’d kill any messenger I sent to you, and you were off the grid completely. I thought I’d deliver a message to you myself.”

“What is it? You’re gonna kill me?” Hayk exclaimed. He threw another pair of strikes, but both of them were blocked.

“Please give up trying to attack me and stop this soulless behavior. I’m here to talk.” Kaito said. Hayk summoned and swung his sword at him, which did absolutely nothing. Kaito was already getting irritated.

“A barrier?” Hayk asked with a smirk. “If you’re distrustful of me, I’ll be distrustful of you too. I don’t believe-”

“I wish not to release a soul presence strong enough to make you kneel.” Kaito said in a more stern voice. “I believe the two of us must have a very important conversation. But that is a matter for another day.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s agree on five days. You will take five days to mourn your fallen comrades. At the same time, I will try my hardest to handle the fallout from everything that happened today.” Kaito explained. “We will meet on the fifth day in my office. You will not be attacked. The people capable of attacking you are currently stationed elsewhere.”

Hayk thought of saying something back or attacking once again. He even considered a few more desperate measures. Ultimately, he decided to simply nod and slowly walk away. Even for someone who could control time, Kaito Kamiki was someone far out of reach. Kaito smiled with content, walking away in the opposite direction. The war had officially come to end, with a mysterious conclusion about to flourish from this pivotal encounter.

Kaito, on the other hand, chose to hang around a little longer in the area. He approached Diego’s corpse and bowed down next to it. He touched his torso with his palm. He smiled.

“Let’s try something out.”