Chapter 9

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They were surrounded.

The hovercraft in front of them.

Behind them the Infected.

In a panic, the passengers on Zero's pickup jumped down and ran towards the soldiers who were coming from the other direction.

Zero backed up at full throttle and caught up with the soldiers, who immediately began firing at the hovercraft.

The hovercraft dodged and immediately left the bridge as if it just wanted to disrupt the evacuation. Meanwhile, the second Teikoku battleship was involved in heavy fighting with the Alliance reinforcements. Nevertheless, the Teikoku ships managed to push the reinforcement of the alliance somewhat off their course.

Zero had come to a standstill next to the soldiers. The civilians who had previously been on top of his loading area were now hiding behind the pickup or the barricades in the street.

"Is everyone unharmed?" Zero got out and looked around.

Zane followed him as a shadow crossed the bridge which startled him.

"A Teikoku ship?!" Shuddered Nathan, who looked out of the open window.

"Is everyone all right?" Asked one of the soldiers who came back with his comrades.

"No injuries," reported Zero.

"OK, the hovercraft is gone, but we should get out of here ...", he looked up into the sky. "The ships are too close to the bridge."

"Transporter!" Shouted another soldier, who saw a ship detach itself from the hangar of the one hovering above them.

Immediately the tank and an ATBS, which had rushed to reinforce them from a team further ahead, aimed their weapons at the transporter and began to fire.

Everyone panicked for cover as shots rained down on the tank and the ATBS from the ship above.

The ATBS was fast enough to retreat from the rain of fire, but the tank was hit directly and went up in flames with a bang.

The explosion of the tank shook the part of the bridge on which it was standing. Asagi and Carol threw themselves over Sora protectively as the truck began to wobble and splinters smashed into its side.

"Sora! Asagi! Carol!" Shouted Zero, who had thrown himself on the ground with one of the civilians and was now running to the car.

Zane had found shelter behind one of the barriers and was looking at the truck worriedly when the soldiers ran past him and pointed their rifles at the bridge where the van was touching down.

"Is everyone all right?" Zero threw open the door.

"Everything's fine, Zero," Nathan tried to calm him down, who was sitting in front of him.

"We are fine," confirmed Asagi.

Carol nodded with Sora in her arms, who had tears in her eyes.

Zero sighed in relief when he heard Zane roar.

"You again!"

"""Kouji?""" Everyone looked at Zane in surprise.

Kouji was standing in front of the transporter, from where more soldiers poured themselves into position behind him. Accompanied again by the angel and the werewolf but both seemed badly injured. The angel looked very exhausted and was breathing heavily, whereas the werewolf was covered with wounds that were temporarily closed with special military bandages.

"It wasn't nice of you to leave me behind." Said Kouji, who in contrast to the other two had little more than a scratch. "Anyway, where did we stop?"

"I was about to kick your ass!" Zane yelled over the bridge as the battle continued above them.

Nathan hurried out of the car before Zero closed the door. "Stay here!"

The few soldiers who weren't busy getting the civilians to safety took cover and stared at the Teikoku soldiers, who outnumbered them.

"What are they doing here?" One soldier wondered when another got up.

"This is a violation of the UN-Evacuation Agreement. Clear the way immediately!"

One of the soldiers next to Kouji approached him, kneeled down in front of him, and made his report. Kouji looked back and then at the holographic display on his wrist.

Alliance soldiers on the other half of the bridge were approaching them.

Kouji said something to the soldier, who nodded and then hurried back with a few other soldiers.

"Don't worry about that." Kouji finally replied when the soldier next to Zane fell to the ground. A shot by the Teikoku soldiers hit him.

"Damn it!" Shouted another soldier who saw his comrade fall to the ground. "Return fire."

Immediately all soldiers began shooting at each other, but just like earlier most hits were repelled by the angel's shield, while she was still breathing heavily.

While Zane and Nathan jumped for cover, Kouji just stood there and watched the battle as if he wasn't part of it.

Meanwhile, Zero hurried to the driver's seat. Asagi, Carol, and Sora ducked, tears in their eyes as a few bullets hit the car.

"Everything will be fine!" Zero closed the door and gave full throttle.

"Get them!" Kouji ordered the werewolf, who nodded and stormed off.

The rushed back ATBS also opened fire. As the huge bullets hit the shield, the angel fell to one knee and held her hands up, trembling.

"Tsss ... you are useless."

Meanwhile, the werewolf changed direction and headed for the ATBS. Reports in the ATBS' cockpit notified the pilot of the werewolf charging towards him so he aimed his rifle at the werewolf. Despite their size, ATBS were very agile and fast, but the werewolf was faster. He dodged the bullets and jumped to the level of the rifle, dealing a blow to the ATBS that shattered its hand and sent the huge rifle flying through the air.

"Damn it!" The pilot cursed over the loudspeakers. "Got you!"

The werewolf was in flight and now the ATBS reached out with its empty hand and tried to hit him. The werewolf, on the other hand, took the hand of the ATBS and used it as a springboard to catapult himself over the ATBS.

Zero had barely moved 50 meters when the werewolf jumped in midair and hit the ground with his fist a few meters in front of them. Zero came to a stop before concrete pillars shot out of the ground in front of him.

"Zero!" Zane watched as the truck came to a stop.

"Zane! Stay focused!" Nathan drew Zane's attention back to Kouji, who was grinning by himself.

"You just wait!" Zane stormed towards Kouji.

"Everything OK?" Asked Zero frantically, who had come to an abrupt stop.

"Everything's okay," replied the girls and Zero turned to the front relieved, but saw the werewolf emerging from the crater.

"Today is not my day ...", he groaned. "Hold on tight!" Zero put the car in reverse and the tires began to squeal as he drove backwards.

The werewolf followed them, but suddenly a hail of bullets pelted him.

Zero still had his rifle and fired out the window at the werewolf as he made his way back to Zane and the others. But even then, the bullets had no effect on the werewolf and simply ricocheted off his magical shield.

Meanwhile, the ATBS drew a knife and activated its nozzles. Bright blue light shot from the nozzles on the back of the ATBS as it flew towards Zero and the werewolf just above the ground.

In a split second, the ATBS raced past Zero and struck the werewolf with its knife. Sparks flew when the knife hit the werewolf's shield, who was pushed back several meters.

"I don't know what you're up to, but I won't let you do that!" Said the pilot, who seemed satisfied with having repelled the werewolf.

At the same time, Zane and Kouji appeared to be retaking their final exams.

Kouji hurled explosive Tir spells at Zane while Zane tried to repel them with his ice magic. The battle had covered the bridge in fog that fell over the planks.

"Zero!" Zane yelled in relief when the truck came to a stop behind him, followed by the ATBS which in the next moment scraped past them across the floor.

"Damn it!" The pilot cursed, still holding his knife in the direction of the werewolf, who was walking slowly towards him and the truck while panting heavily.

"Great, we're back to the beginning!" Zero slammed the steering wheel angrily. He looked around briefly. The soldiers with Kouji had spread out to face the approaching Alliance soldiers. Kouji was involved in a fight with Zane and Nathan but besides that, the bridge was relatively vacant.

Should he just break through?

But that would mean leaving the soldiers behind….

Kouji was obviously after Carol and Asagi. Would Kouji follow them if he escaped with them?

If Kouji did, the soldiers and Zane would be safe. But how far would he come on his own?

If he would take Zane and Nathan along, he would leave the soldiers to their fate.

The ATBS had shown that the soldiers alone could not do anything against Kouji and his men.

"Stay here," Zero got out and ran to the loading area, where he pulled out the suitcase and reloaded his rifle.

The ATBS, Nathan, and Zane, as well as Kouji and the werewolf, looked at Zero, the latter seeming a bit incomprehensible.

"What do you want with that oversized briefcase?" Kouji began to laugh.

"We just have to hold out long enough for the reinforcements to come, right?" Zero turned to Zane and Nathan.

"Right", the ATBS straightened up.

"Indeed!" Zane began to grin and Nathan also nodded in agreement.

"What do you want to do? A non-magician has nothing to say here!" Kouji began to shout, who saw the renewed confidence in the eyes of Zane and Co.

"We'll see!" Zane replied, wishing Zero good luck with a grinning nod.

As soon as Zane had finished his sentence, the werewolf stormed towards Zero, who stood between him and the pickup.

Zero fired his rifle at the werewolf while the ATBS pounced on him with the knife. But like earlier, the bullets had no effect. The ATBS, on the other hand, was too slow to hit the werewolf and missed its target. The werewolf headed straight for Zero, whom he seemed to identify as the easiest target, and swung back to strike.

A loud BANG could be heard. He felt Zero being pushed back just a bit as he looked at the target of his fist puzzled and jumped back.

"The suitcase?!" the werewolf wondered while he was still in flight.

"I am here!" A sudden sound from behind him roared and the ATBS swung its knife at him. The werewolf ducked under, jumped onto the ATBS's shoulder, and used it as a jumping-off area to catapult himself away from it.

The suitcase stopped my blow? The werewolf wondered as he watched Zero, who straightened himself up using the suitcase as support. No, it is not the suitcase itself, it is what is in the suitcase.

Zero was unharmed thanks to the case. On its surface a deep dent was visible. However, Zero's wounds from the previous fight were already starting to be noticeable again.

"Well done Zero!" Zane shouted, who had seen Zero's successful defense in the corner of his eye and gestured toward him.

""Concentrate on the fight!"" A unit of Nathan, Zero, and one of the soldiers echoed at him when a Tir spell just barely brushed his chin.

Asagi had already gotten out of the car when she saw the werewolf heading for Zero again. But this time Zero did not stay on defense. He stormed towards the werewolf, who had just dodged the ATBS knife. He swung with both hands on the suitcase at the werewolf with all his might.

With a loud crack, the case bounced off the werewolf's shield and snapped back, Zero lost his footing, and the case slid toward Asagi.

The werewolf had regained his foothold and turned to Zero the next moment, intending to punch him when he saw the ATBS' fist approaching in the corner of his eye. He saw a grin on Zero's face before the ATBS' fist hit his shield and hurled him back several meters.

Zero jumped back when he saw Asagi next to him. "Asagi?! What are you doing here? You should stay by the car!" She handed him the suitcase.

"But I want to help." She contradicted.

"OK." He sighed, knowing that he couldn't do anything in a fight on his own. "But stay back."

"Understood!" She took her position behind Zero.

The werewolf looked ahead, seeing Asagi, Zero, and the ATBS in front of him. Behind there were the angel, Zane, Nathan, and his master.

It was almost the same situation as earlier, but this time he was at a disadvantage. In a narrow space, the demon did not seem to want to use her spells, but nothing stopped her here and the ATBS was an obstacle for him and his mission as well.

Meanwhile, Kouji looked around dissatisfied, the soldiers he had brought with him were all in fights or had been eliminated by Nathan and Zane. The angel at his side seems to be reaching her limits. The fight in the hospital seemed to have used up her magic reserves and his werewolf also seemed to be suffering from his injuries.

Above in the sky, things didn't go as Kouji had imagined either. The ship that had positioned itself over the bridge to provide cover had come under heavy fire through the Alliance reinforcements. His target was right in front of him, but he couldn't reach it and it annoyed him when a holographic message appeared in the air in front of him.

"Leap!" Shouted one of the soldiers.

"There they are," Kouji looked up at the sky, satisfied, at the new battleship that had appeared next to the bridge.

"A British one?" Nathan saw the logo of the Royal House of Britain, a coat of arms flanked by two lions, as more ships appeared.

The majority of the Alliance ships had dissolved and now the reinforcements between the two Teikoku fleets were encircled and already suffered losses.

"Damn it!" Zane screamed.

"Help him ...", Kouji told the angel, who nodded and spread her wings before taking off.

"You stay here!" Zane shot a few needles of ice toward the angel, as Nathan also fired some water balls, which she simply dodged.

"Nathan, you go help Zero, I'll take care of Kouji!" Zane turned angrily at Kouji.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Asked Nathan.

"Exactly, are you sure about that, Zane?" Kouji repeated the question when two winged ATBS landed next to him and he began to grin viciously.

"Shit..." Zane cursed, turning his gaze back to Zero and then staring at Kouji.

"So where were we? Oh right, you wanted to fight me, Zane."

"What do you want Kouji?!"

"As I said, I don't know how that concerns you," laughed Kouji. "But because it's you ...", he began to grin.

"At the moment I am…"

"Careful!" Yelled one of the soldiers behind Zero, who began to fire.

"Zero!" Shouted Asagi, who lunged at him. Shortly afterward, a ray of light struck where he had been just a moment ago.

"Thanks, Asagi!" He straightened up while the angel landed next to the werewolf.

"You're taking too long Ethan."

"I'm sorry Ariane ...", the werewolf straightened up, holding the wounds he had suffered from the last fight.

"It's okay... the other one is in the car, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"Let's take care of the two and go back." She turned her gaze to Asagi and Zero.

"Shit ...", the ATBS rang out. "We already had enough work with the werewolf."

"Yes, but we also got reinforcements." Zero looked at Asagi.

The ATBS turned its head to Asagi. "I only heard rumors that we have a demon in town...", the ATBS resumed its position. "Let's see if she lives up to the rumors. Let's get them!"

"Exactly! Asagi, can you take care of the angel?" Zero asked her, who nodded in response. "Stay alert! The angel uses light magic!" Zero informed the few soldiers who had removed their rifles from Kouji and pointed them at the angel.

"A dirty demon is supposed to stop me?" Ariane hovered in the air in front of Zero.

"Watch out, she's sealed." Ethan mentioned.

"Oh, are you trying to adapt? Or do you just want to hide? That would suit you and your kind."

"Don't get distracted Asagi." Zero brought Asagi back on track since she was already beginning to slump. Asagi looked up at Zero again, who smiled at her.

She thanked him barely audible before she got back into position.

"Tsk ...", Ariane huffed, who continued to look at Asagi with disgust. "Ethan, let's end this."

Ethan immediately stormed off and again the ATBS tried to attack him with the knife. Ethan dodged, continued toward Zero, and swung back to kick. Zero smashed the case against the floor in the direction of the step.

The kick hit the suitcase and pushed Zero back a little.

Did he get weaker? Zero wondered when the werewolf leaned on his hands and moved around himself on them.

A feint?! Zero wondered when the werewolf quickly took a second kick.

"Damn it!" Zero was startled as he tried to get the rifle behind him but was too slow when the kick hit a magic shield.

Zero swung the case at the werewolf, who jumped back and dodged.

"Thanks, Asagi!" Zero thanked her, who held her hand in Zero's direction.

"Careful!" Shouted one of the soldiers as white rays rained down on the bridge coming from the angel.

"Zero!" Asagi ran to him and protected both of them with her shield while the rays hit everywhere. The rays hit some soldiers who could not take cover in time and even pierced some of the concrete barriers.

The ATBS was too slow to gain distance and protected his cockpit with the arm that was still attached to him while he endured the rain of light.

The werewolf took advantage of the defensive moment and stormed towards Zero.

"Don't be so hasty!" The ATBS began to move. But in the next moment, shots were heard and the back of the ATBS exploded.

"Damn it!" Yelled one of the soldiers, looking in the direction from which the shot had come. One of the two ATBS, which had previously been standing with Kouji, was hovering in the air a few meters above the bridge, its rifle aimed at the Alliance ATBS.

"Kouji you damned...!" Zane yelled at him, while he just gave him a dirty grin in return before his glove started to glow again to cast another spell.

Zane dodged by catapulting himself into the air while the Tir spell barely brushed his shield. As soon as he got back on the ground, two ice pillars shot out of the ground where Zane had put his hand, towards Kouji.

"Area! Diruptio!" In return, Kouji let two Diruptio spells arise in the path of the pillars, which collided, and the bridge once again covered them in fog.

Meanwhile, Nathan was busy with the second ATBS. A huge wall of water had positioned itself between Nathan and the ATBS, which intercepted all shots of the ATBS. The ATBS tried to find space through which it could penetrate and constantly changed its position while avoiding the fountains of water that occasionally shot out of the wall. But no matter from which angle he tried to hit Nathan, the wall of water moved into his field of fire.

Due to the lightning-fast high-pressure fountains, he had to keep a certain distance to have enough time to evade.

He won't last forever. The pilot thought, who sank load after load into the wall of water, the bullets of which sank harmlessly to the ground either still in the wall or just behind it.

A magician has a limited capacity for magic. Moving such an amount of water has to drain a lot of energy. I just have to hold out longer than him. He reloaded another magazine.

"What is he doing?" Nathan wondered when the ATBS suddenly changed its hand position. "A grenade?" In the next moment, it was already flying towards him from the second barrel of the rifle.

Nathan responded immediately and pushed a lot of water towards the grenade. As soon as it entered, it exploded and part of the water spread like rain while the rest was pushed back towards Nathan. Meanwhile, some bullets from the ATBS had hit Nathan's shield, which had penetrated the thinned water shield.

Nathan, however, used the momentum of the explosion and guided the water that came back to him in an arc around himself before hurling it back at the ATBS.

Satisfied with its recent attack, the ATBS was startled when a tremendous stream of water was heading towards it. In vain he sank his bullets into the stream of water. It was already too close to fire another grenade when the water hit the iron giant and threw it to the ground.

"Zane now!" The next circle already lit up in Nathan's hands, who came running to Zane while the water gathered behind him and followed him.

"Tsk... useless pack...", Kouji swore while preparing another spell in his glove.

"OK!" Zane fired ice pillars at Kouji again, which he, in turn, destroyed with his Diruptio spells like earlier. The bridge was covered more and more in fog.

"Do you want to hide Zane?" Kouji roared through the fog and the fighting noises when he heard something coming towards him. Suddenly a huge ice crystal shot towards him. Kouji tried to bring his arm towards it, but he was already hit. The crystal broke through Kouji's shield and pulled him along.

The crystal was just the tip of a huge stream of water that rose up like a dragon.

Kouji cast a Diruptio spell in his hand and placed it against the crystal, which catapulted him higher and higher into the air and out of the mist.

"Sir!" The ATBS which had straightened up and started its drive looked into the sky.

The crystal exploded with a huge bang, as did part of the stream of water, which hurled Kouji out of the cloud of smoke that had formed.

"Shit ...", the ATBS pilot could be heard cursing before he fell to the side and lay there with a burning back.

Asagi and Zero watched the ATBS go down when the werewolf stood in front of them the next moment and brought both hands forward. Magic circles glowed in his palms as they slammed against Asagi's shield.

Ethan looked puzzled for a moment when the shield was thrown off in front of him. Asagi and Zero held on to each other when the shield hit the ground again and dissolved sliding just several meters.

The impact separated the two from each other but there was no time because the next moment, Ethan was already standing in front of Zero and slapping at him with his partly transformed hand.

"Zero!" Shouted Asagi, who was several meters further back on her knees.

"You'd better take care of yourself!" Ariane addressed her, who seemed to be floating in the air and had formed a large magical circle between her hands. The circle lit up and a huge beam of light enveloped Asagi.

The werewolf's fist hit the suitcase, which again absorbed most of the blow for Zero since he was barely standing on his feet. However, the case gave way because the material and the locking mechanism began to yield under the blows.

"Asagi!" Yelled Zero who lost his grip on the suitcase, when the werewolf turned around its own axis and hit Zero with an elbow, which hit the suitcase again.

Zero backed away with every blow as they showed no sign of weakness and his wounds ached more with each hit.

"Asagi!" Zane yelled, who had seen the angel hit her.

As quickly as the beam of light appeared, it was gone again. The ground where it had hit was countersunk and partly melted, except for the part in the middle where Asagi was kneeling as she held a hand in front of her face to protect herself from the light. She seemed exhausted but otherwise unharmed. Paying no further attention to Ariane, she immediately looked at Zero and hurried over to him, but her exhaustion was evident.

"Tss ...", Ariane fired several small beams of light at Asagi again, who tried to reach out her hand to protect Zero.

Another blow hit the case as the werewolf completed the turn. The lock on the case finally gave way and broke open, throwing the content high into the air.

However, the blow did not end on the suitcase, but eventually reached its target - Zero, who was defenseless at the mercy of him.

""""Zero!"""" More voices joined Zane's. It was Carol and Sora who had gotten out of the car.

The blow hit Zero in the chest with full force, which began to break. Immediately, Zero sprouted blood before the force of the blow let him fly. He flew a few back meters and turned over before lying motionless on the ground while something crashed into the ground near Zero without being noticed by anyone.

"Zero!" Carol and Sora ran to him immediately, while Asagi sat on the floor injured, her feet covered with wounds that were already beginning to heal.

"One down." Kouji said to himself as he stepped out of the hand of the ATBS that had caught him in midair. "Or maybe even two?" He said a bit louder when he saw Asagi trying to get up, but immediately fell again.

"Asagi!" Zane yelled worriedly while Kouji laughed. Zane and Nathan looked at Kouji, who appeared unharmed.

"How did you do that?" Nathan asked as Kouji moved his arm and pointed to the glove.

"The glove creates its own magical shield that fits tightly to the body."

"Zero..." Asagi tried to straighten up again when the second ATBS landed and aimed its rifle at Carol, Sora, and Zero.

"Your friend is done for." Ariane landed next to Ethan, who was watching Zero when he saw Carol. He ran at lightning speed, stopping in front of her, and held her tight.

"Let me go! Zero! ZERO!" Tears welled up in her eyes. Sora, on the other hand, slapped Ethan's leg with her small hands.

"Nathan help them!" Zane shouted as the rifles of both ATBS, and some soldiers were pointed at Zane and Nathan as the two froze.

"Give up." Kouji walked towards them.

The Alliance soldiers were all wounded or stopped moving, Ariane's spells had brought them down. The ATBS was on the floor motionless, still on fire.

Ethan's gaze fell on Sora, who tearfully tried to get him to lower Carol, who he had grabbed by the collar and lifted into the air. She tried to free herself from his grip.

Ethan suddenly kicked Sora, which caused her to fly several meters through the air and hit the ground.

Confused, Kouji looked back and forth between Carol and the little girl he had never seen before.

"Zero!" Sora screamed.

"Grab the little one." Kouji gave the order to two soldiers who had already rushed to the pickup when one of the soldiers screamed.

"Aku!"

Immediately everyone turned their eyes in the direction of the soldier who was pointing at the pickup nervously. Deadra stood in front of it, which had freed itself from the loading area.

"Leave her alone." Zero suddenly straightened up again, while everyone took a few steps back from Deadra. Some of the older soldiers even trembled uncontrollably at the sight of Deadra.

"Zero!" Carol said happily.

"You're damn tough," Ethan looked over at Zero, who immediately started coughing up blood. "But more dead than alive..."

"Let go of her!" Zero repeated, trembling while trying to get up.

Nathan and Zane exchanged looks, they were surrounded. Zero and Asagi were incapacitated. Hence, it was up to them to get everyone out of the situation, but their magic was exhausted after the fight with Kouji.

Deadra's appearance and Zero's sudden awakening had distracted attention from them, but their options were limited.

As soon as he got up, Zero fell again but could still hold on to something.

"What's that?" Zane wondered when he saw a large sword in Zero's grip that seemed to be stuck in the concrete floor.

"A sword?" Nathan turned his gaze to Zero. Was it in the suitcase?

"But it's stuck in the ground ...", Zane answered Nathan's thoughts.

"Sword or not, finish him off. I want to get out of here already." Kouji turned away and went to the soldiers, who seemed to be calling a transporter.

"Sir. What about the Aku?" Asked a soldier.

"Pack it up."

In the meantime, Sora had straightened up and was hiding a little behind Deadra, who had rushed to her and at whom all weapons were pointed.

"We're not done yet, Kouji!" Zane shouted at him.

"I think we are. The combined spell of you two must have used up your last reserves." He grinned while giving Zane a disparaging look.

The soldiers by Kouji began to carefully corner the friends, guns at the ready, while Ethan began to run to Kouji with Carol in his hand. Meanwhile, the second ATBS approached Deadra and Sora.

"Leave Zero alone!" Asagi suddenly said as the soldiers approached Zero, who was pulling himself up with help of the sword's hilt. Sparks flew around Asagi and unnoticed by everyone the seal on her back lit up.

"Stop that!" Yelled one of the two soldiers who were about to arrest Asagi when a shock wave of lightning bolted originating from her and hit the two of them. They were thrown back and hit the floor motionless, smoke coming out of their armor.

Even Ariane, protected by her shield, was hit by the blast and thrown back. The sudden burst of magical energy caught her off guard and so she hadn't managed to catch herself with her wings. She rolled across the floor while the shield dissolved until she came to a stop.

"Ariane!" Ethan shouted worriedly.

"You damned…!" One of the soldiers next to Zero pointed his rifle at Asagi and two other soldiers who stood by Sora and Deadra turned away from them and hurried to Asagi as well. Even the ATBS turned towards her.

Move!

"Asagi!" Zero suddenly broke into a sprint and pulled the sword out of the ground, which he could pull out of the concrete with ease.

Ethan and Ariane seemed to be frozen for a moment when Asagi stretched out her arms and fired a bolt in Zero's direction and at the same time pointed one at the ATBS behind her.

The lightning shot just past Zero, who ran an arc to Asagi in full sprint. The lightning struck the soldiers who had previously tried to capture Zero, while the second lightning pierced the ATBS, which had still tried to gain distance with its flight nozzles.

The point of entry of the lightning bolt exploded, ripping off the shoulder of the ATBS and also destroying some of the flight equipment before it fell to the ground.

"Zane now!" Nathan stepped into action and jumped high into the air.

"OK!" Zane stretched out his arms and the ground around Zane froze in a flash. All of the soldiers who had gathered around Zane and Nathan could suddenly no longer move because a thick layer of ice had formed around their legs. The soaked ground and the fog added to the effect.

"You won't get any further!" One of the soldiers pointed his rifle at Zane and pulled the trigger, just to break the trigger off, which fell to the ground.

"He froze the rifles too!" Cursed another soldier.

Nathan, who had catapulted himself into the air with magic, shot water bullets that hit the soldiers' rifles, which either smashed or were thrown out of their hands.

Meanwhile, Deadra had incapacitated two soldiers, one lying under one of the claws of its foot, while it held the head of the other in its hand. Both seemed alive, but they had been knocked out.

As soon as Asagi had fired the lightning bolts, she sagged and sat down exhausted. Meanwhile, Zero stormed past Asagi towards Ethan.

"Do something!" Kouji screamed in panic as the ATBS positioned itself in front of him.

Ethan looked at Ariane, who was staring at Asagi with a pale face. Carol started to grin when she saw Zero running up. Ethan let go of Carol, tossed her in front of him, and turned to Zero.

The latter kept charging towards Ethan, now both hands on the hilt of the sword. No, it wasn't a sword, it was too big for that. The jet-black blade was almost as big as Zero himself and very wide.

He can't hold out much longer. Ethan thought as he got ready to take Zero out for good. "Don't overdo it!" Ethan reached out, his fist soaked in magic, to give Zero one final blow.

Zero's shirt was soaked in blood as he reached out to strike with the blade. Despite the size of the blade, the sword seemed light, as Zero reached Ethan's shield in a flash.

That's not gonna work! Ethan thought as he struck back.

"What?!" Ethan was startled when Zero's blade hit the shield.

The blade not only hit the shield but cut right through it. Ethan instinctively dodged and his fist barely missed the blade, but it was too big and lightly brushed Ethan's neck, who felt it effortlessly penetrate his fur and skin.

In the next moment, Zero had passed Ethan, who stared at him in amazement while his fur fell to the ground. Zero immediately turned back to Ethan trying to attack him again when Ethan saw his empty eyes.

Is it running on autopilot? He wondered and got ready to jump back when Zero collapsed in front of him.

"Zero!" Carol yelled out when Zero hit the ground without stopping, sword in hand.

"That's it." Kouji said, relieved.

"You think so?" Zane suddenly ran towards Kouji, while Nathan hurried to Asagi, who herself tried to go to Zero. Sora also wanted to rush to Zero, but she was afraid to leave Deadra's side, who wrapped its tail protectively around her. The latter nudged her as if it wanted to tell her to rush to Zero too.

The ATBS immediately pointed its rifle at Zane. A shot hit his right shoulder and threw him backward.

Nathan looked ahead when he saw a couple of other ATBS flying in, including a red one with the barrel of its gun pointed forward.

Two of the ATBS split off from the group and flew in arcs around the bridge, while the red one and one more stayed on straight towards Zane and his friends.

Kouji panicked, most of his troops were defeated or incapacitated, and his two trump cards seemed like they had been replaced by someone else.

"Get moving!" He screamed in panic and pressed a button on his bracelet. Ariane and Ethan immediately jolted up, their faces twisted in pain.

Ariane, repelling herself with her wings, ran to Kouji, who panicked and pulled his pistol from its holder.

Just as he had drawn it, he felt pain in his face.

Zane had punched his fist into Kouji's face with all his might.

Kouji's magic shield had disintegrated during the previous attack, and he hadn't erected a new one since then. Additionally, the shield on the glove only worked at short intervals.

He was taking Zane's full force. The punch was so strong that it took Kouji off his feet and threw him backward.

While Zane was still stretching his fist, Ariane was already hissing past him and caught Kouji before he slid further across the floor.

Ethan took his chance and headed for Zane when he heard a voice behind him.

"Not so fast!"

As he turned, Ethan transformed into his bipedal werewolf form, the bandages stretched tightly over his body.

There was a bang.

Flesh met steel.

Magic met technology.

Fist met fist.

Ethan's fist collided with Tyler's ATBS, his shield cracking as it slowly began to break. Tyler's ATBS was equipped with a striking edge that could release magic. But it wasn't just the encounter of magic on magic that made Ethan's shield shudder. The sheer mass and speed of Tyler's ATBS pushed Ethan back, whose shield was already drilling its way into the ground.

Ethan was thrown backward but landed on his paws just next to Kouji and Ariane, the latter helping Kouji up.

Tyler and the second ATBS landed next to Zero and the others. The other two ATBS in the group began orbiting Kouji and Co.

"Sir, we should withdraw." The ATBS, who had lost its arm, stood up again while a transporter ship landed behind them.

All the soldiers around Kouji rushed to the transporter, some still had thick chunks of ice hanging from their armor, while others helped the wounded.

"You should listen to your buddy." Tyler spoke over the speakers, his and the other ATBS' rifle aimed at Kouji and the transporter. "Shelter is already on the way."

Pissed off, Kouji looked around. His useless soldiers ran away, the ATBS that had come to support him had been destroyed or damaged, and right in front of him stood the source of all his anger.

Zane and Nathan, next to them the two ATBS, and another soldier who they hadn't killed. Beyond that, he saw another soldier helping Carol raise Zero, who still appeared to be unconscious.

Kouji clenched his fist when he saw buses and other military vehicles approaching in the distance.

Angrily Kouji slapped Ariane's hands, that had supported him until then, off.

"We're pulling back." Kouji turned to the transporter.

"You'll regret that...", Kouji whispered to himself as he threw one last look at Zane, who was still standing in front of Zero and the others ready to fight before Kouji disappeared into the transporter.