Chapter 54 - The Strength of the E.D.L. Top Dog

"Claire, stand far back."

Those were the words Raphael chose to tell Claire as he face another opponent to battle. And Claire stepped away from the scene, aware of the potential threats that might come her way if she gets in between this battle.

"B-Be careful..." she muttered and watches from the sidelines.

After witnessing Raphael fight at his full strength from these past few days, Claire can clearly see the huge their gap in both strength and power.

So if people were to compare them, it's possible for them to say that Claire's strength is just a mere fraction of Raphael's immense power.

"RAAAAHHH!!" Kazuki bolted toward Raphael, moving as swiftly as the wind itself, his shifter fist poised for a strike.

Even in his weakened state, Raphael stood resolute. He raised a shifter shotgun, aiming at Kazuki and thwart his attack. However, Kazuki effortlessly deflected the energy bullets, pressing forward and rapidly closing the distance between them.

"Shit!!" Raphael managed to leap back just in time, narrowly evading Kazuki's powerful fist. The impact of the strike carved a deep trench into the ground where it landed. Kazuki clenched his teeth in frustration for missing his target. "GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!"

"...you've got a lot of nerve calling me that, Kazuki." Raphael shot him a menacing look.

Kazuki scoffed, his shifter morphing into a formidable battle axe. "Of course, being on the verge of death can make any man into a coward!!—" Before he could finish his retort, Raphael appeared before him in an instant, his face inches from Kazuki's own.

"You think you can kill me?"

"Huh!?—" getting striked on the face, Kazuki almost lost consciousness and barely stayed on his feet. Getting another hit like that would kill him, so he quickly resorts to block Raphael's next attack with a shifter shield but got his right shoulder damaged from the impact.

The pain made him wail loudly. "AAAHH!!"

"See this, Kazuki?—" Raphael stares straight into his eyes. "—you don't even stand a chance against me!" And cast another strike that Kazuki barely deflected, then tries to escape.

"Uuh!!" Kazuki holds on to his right shoulder, bearing the throbbing pain. Though Raphael had no intention of letting him go just yet.

"KAZUKIII!!!" He caught up to him without a trouble and used a shifter sword trying to decapitate his opponent.

Luckily Kazuki fends off his blade just on time by wielding his right arm with the shifter spear. "Who's the coward now Kazuki!?" Raphael seem to hold it against Kazuki for calling him a coward.

"...aaahhh!!" His opponent can barely even talk back as their blades started clashing. And through every recoil from the impact of their blades when hitting intensifies the pain on his shoulder over and over.

Although they were both in such pitiful state, it was still a dangerous battle between top fighters. Others that gets involved with them only dies. And Claire who was watching from afar can barely keep track ot their fight as she had to deal with regular I.E.A. infantry soldiers that targeted her.

"Haaa!!" She kept slashing through every enemy that dared to take her down. Some began to bail on challenging her and ran away, though she chased every single one of them for the sake of rising through the ranks.

The power within Claire surges to new heights as the shifter weapon she wields grows stronger with each life she has taken. And killing these weak and regular I.E.A. soldiers is like a free harvest of power.

"...h-have mercy!! Please!!" Begged one of the enemies that gave up on Claire. Her cold gaze brought him to his knees knowing that he won't be spared.

"The best I can offer is a painless death." She said and swiftly beheads him.

Looking back at the others, most of them have already ran away in fear. Claire got a bit smug until something crashed near her area.

"Woah!!" She recognized one of the pair that was fighting. "Is that top rank number 6, Julia?" Claire recalls that one time she worked with a group that includes Julia to retrieve the power source from the Rhombus District.

And it seems that Julia was fighting against an I.E.A. top fighters as she's having a hard time dealing with her opponent. Her back was already on the ground, pushing back the shifter sword that her opponent was trying to force on her neck. "...errr!!"

"Fucking die already you bitch!!" Her opponent, I.E.A.'s fifth top ranker Kade, was also having it hard to put an end to Julia.

Claire was hesitant to interfere with their dangerous battle since the two are also top ranking fighters, but seeing how Julia slowly lose strength holding back Kade's blade, Claire got on the move and pushed Kade away.

"Claire!?" Julia felt surprised to suddenly receive some help, but she's relieved to have her neck still intact. "...t-thanks." She says.

"Get up, it's not over yet." Claire said and lend her a hand. Her being helpful wasn't done out of kindness, she takes this as an opportunity to find more people that can support her if she gets reprimanded later on.

"I-I... I can't..." Julia looked devastated that she can't even get up, it's only then they both noticed her legs were busted by the enemy.

"Shit, no!!" Claire instantly regretted her decision now that she might have to deal with an enemy out of her league.

"Quick, just go!! R-Run away from here before he come back!—" Julia worries that Kade might go after Claire and kill her. "—he's way too strong for you to han!—"

Though it was already too late for Claire to escape as Kade returned and stabs her on the stomach. "What the hell is it with bitches from these Earth suckers!?" He complained.

Julia who didn't see this coming got herself shocked from the sight of Claire vomiting blood. Kade kicked Claire away to pull out his shifter sword from her torso, and turns to Julia. "Now to deal with you."

"CLAIRE!!!" Julia yells, her loud tone reached the ears of Raphael Novick who was still dealing with Kazuki Tanaka.

"Claire!?" He glanced at the direction where he heard her name, getting distracted for a few seconds. And Kazuki who was greatly reduced to such a pathetic state took this chance to make a finishing strike on Raphael.

"—never take your eyes off the enemy!!" Kazuki yells. His blood shot eyes were full of rage as he attempts to blow up Raphael's head with a shifter cannon, though his right arm suddenly fell off from a clean cut.

"CLAIRE!!" Raphael ran as fast as he can to Claire's aid and left Kazuki behind.

"Wha..." he didn't even saw how Raphael severed his arm. And the next thing that happened was his vision turning dark as his head fell off to the ground.