"Territory Envelopment: Benevolence of Darkness."
The Empress's quivering pupils peered over her shoulder and into Kima's determined gaze. Some of the numerous Beasts surrounding their master drooled into the sullied pond their hooves stood, while others simply breathed idly beside her.
'Territory Envelopment. A big move that automatically kills the ensnared target with a guaranteed hit. To think that a technique that powerful actually exists! Heh, I wonder if I'm capable of summoning such power. Well, it makes no difference to me presently. Focusing on the girl with relentless attacks will eventually kill her and end the domain but… I hope I wield enough power to effectively do so.'
Without wasting any more time, the tyrant dashed ahead. The world around her is seemingly motionless while sliding along the darkened ground producing her reflection. Kima simply snapped her fingers, activating the Beasts and throwing all of them upon her at once.
The Empress remained an unchanging blur, zipping past each Beast in the same second Kima released them. By the time she'd finished running and started turning around, their bodies had already begun disintegrating. She breathed a sigh of relief. But there was no time to rest—Kima was still missing.
"You know, you're pretty fast! But, that was on purpose. You see, in exchange for shadow-manipulation amplification, I weaken my Beasts and advance my technique to 150%. I never wanted to fight you in a battle with spirits."
The Empress followed Kim's echoing vocals across the barrier until she located the source—her. Standing amid the endless darkness was Kima Myers, pointing her staff ahead. Upon witnessing such admirable bravery within this warrior, the Empress chuckled.
"It's been over 400 years since I had someone offer me an honorable battle. And when my opponent is so dashingly beautiful… how could I refuse?"
Kim smirked. Before giving her response, she threw her staff forward, revealing the sharpened edges she engraved into her weapon. The Empress beckoned her closer with her fingers, impatiently grinning. Then, the staff began spinning it so fast that it turned into a blurry circle twirling around her fingers. Both of them immediately dashed ahead in hopes of connecting their attacks.
The Empress was the faster of the two, walking as Kima slowly ran ahead, all the while carrying such a taxing weapon.
'This'll be over quickly.'
In one swift motion, the tyrant's left leg was abruptly dismembered. While the Empress started falling onto the darkened ground, she stared up as the domain's shadows concealed half of Kima's face.
Wearing the most disturbing smirk of all, she glared down at the Empress and mockingly uttered, "Get serious."
Only after she finished speaking did the tyrant's body fully splash into the liquid-like ground. She swiftly regenerated her dismembered leg and flipped back onto her feet, standing some feet away from her foe. Sweat pouring down her dark-skinned face, the Empress peered through the dark brown strands draped over her black-purple retinas.
'I forget this domain amplifies the user's innate technique… I suppose that includes strength and speed, too. How troublesome.'
The Empress leaped into the air, beginning to descend swiftly toward the ground, throwing her fist behind her head. Seconds later, her knuckles smashed into the ground as Kima jumped back. The tyrant snarled and gave chase, zipping after her at unfathomable speeds.
Kim's retreating build abruptly turned around; before her glistening eyes appeared over her shoulder, the Empress inexplicably coughed up blood. Her extending hand and fist powerlessly lowered after Kim disoriented her merciless enemy with a throat chop. She threw her staff forward, slamming the long end against her adversary's cheek, watching after the blow sent her flying.
Even after taking such hits, the Empress stabilized her landing—digging her soles into the reflective platform. She threw her head back and aimed her palm ahead, discharging hundreds of plasma bolts, all collectively colored purple. Kima's palm hovered over the ground, watching the blasts soar toward her as she slowly submerged into an opened gateway directly below her.
Mere seconds after unleashing those deadly blasts from her hand, her eyes widened. In the same instant, she'd finished firing them all, and each of her limbs had been dismembered. She fell to her knees, blood leaking from her nose and mouth.
Kima stood over her beaten enemy, leaning the staff against her left shoulder.
"You regenerated your leg almost immediately; I noticed. You see, I know someone who uses that identical technique, and I learned all about it from that special someone. You can't use it several times in a row—it's too damaging to your overall Vita amount and drains you significantly. I guess Ace does it by replenishing his Vita amount the second it depletes with reserves left within Eternal Sight. Ah, whatever. It doesn't matter much now," she said, scratching her nape.
Blood dripping from one nostril and her scarred bottom lip, the Empress remained silent. Instead of allowing her executioner to speak any further, she took this time for herself.
"What do you think about human life?" The tyrant abruptly queried.
Kim's lips parted—releasing her shocked expression once her pupils returned to their normal size.
"Humanity as a whole is odd. I've been enclosed my whole life so I don't have any experience with anything specific but I do have others close to me. People who love and cherish me despite my flaws. Despite that? I wasn't satisfied. I didn't wanna be tied down by anything, whether it be friendships, relationships, or even the binds of the business world. I wanted more. I always have. But even so… as to not pry off the hands that cling onto me, I have to maintain my self of sense around them. I wish I could close my eyes and ignore the hatred of the world that my friends and I perpetuate but I can't. I just can't accept an end where everyone perishes, even if it means I have my eternal suffering. Perhaps I truly do wish to die in the heat of battle and maybe then my life will have meant to me. Heh."
Kima weakly snickered. She awkwardly glanced back at her enemy's face, noticing tears had already finished staining her right cheek. The Empress stifled a chuckle, shaking her bloody head while doing so.
"I suppose you and I are the same, then. If that's what you wish for, then destroy everything. Obliterate all that you wish for and bathe in the power you seek at the end. You'd be akin to a calamity—disregarding all else and standing atop the realm of supremacy with no one else to rival you," the Empress's low voice suggested.
"I won't. You and I have different senses of value, though, so that's understandable," said Kima, briefly looking away.
"I suppose you're right. No matter what, I'll always despise humans. I doubt I can ever change that. But, it's just that… in this world, I couldn't truly be happy from the bottom of my heart."
Kim was forced to remember the exact words she told Natalia when they first invaded the Tower all those years ago. She sighed, bending her posture so she could be kneeling in front of the Empress's blinking purple pupils.
'I wonder if I've changed at all… since then.'
"Glad to hear it. Now, give me your points and die already."
'I doubt it.'
750 points are transferred to Kima Myers.
While Kima was with the Empress, June was still recovering from being thrown off the rooftop. Instead of crashing onto the road like her ally, she'd flown into the side of a skyscraper.
After completely regaining consciousness, she scratched the back of her bloody head. Wiping away any gore dirtying the space below her nostrils, she groaned and removed herself from within the building's side. In mere seconds, she'd dashed from the crater her body created upon smashing into the structure and reappeared atop the building's roof.
Having obtained the high ground, Eternal Sight's markings spread over her pupils and surveyed the vastness of the cityscape area.
'At the end of the street, Jason Rivera is still slaughtering the marked Subjects. I wish I could try to stop him, but from the looks of it… he's still way stronger than me. I should direct my attention elsewhere. But where?'
While considering her next actions, June continued watching Jason fight at the street's end. From the looks of it, the Hunter had finally finished annihilating his worthless prey. He dropped a skull from his claws, slipping his fingers between his teeth and licking away the leftover blood. His gray coat swayed with the wind as he slurped whatever crimson liquid stained his claws.
'Someone's watching you—'
The Hunter's eyes instantly shot down the road, spotting June's invasive gaze. She felt a sudden tap on her shoulders, and quickly turned around, simultaneously opening and raising her left palm. Jason instantly punched her across the face, inadvertently throwing her head back. He yanked her back by the shirt's collar, connecting his barren knuckles against her skull five more times before lunging her off the roof with one kick to the gut.
While falling to her doom, June's consciousness returned and retreated multiple times. Her eyes slowly opened amid the sky; pupils widening once realizing her situation, instinctively throwing her hand into the air afterward. Her fingers just barely manifested the green shield below her, absorbing the summoner's petite figure and bouncing her off.
'That was—'
She didn't even get time to think. The moment her soles scraped the solid ground, her bust was slammed by another punch. Luckily for her, the instant she was struck, her skin automatically reinforced. She instantly recovered following that punch, coursing her crackling fist across the air and toward the Hunter's incoming face. Unfortunately, even her speed was inferior to Rivera's, for what she punched was nothing more than a mere afterimage produced by his insane speed.
'He's so fast!'
He reappeared behind her, kicking at her skull from the air. Eternal Sight's processing power was quicker than his attacks, thus allowing her to react swiftly and easily catch him. She guided him toward the street, raising her stationary leg so she could smash his face under her sole. Jason recovered by instantaneously standing upright, now across from his green-eyed foe. Wilder peered over her shoulder, irritatedly squinting upon spotting the Hunter's undamaged figure.
Jason allowed his hair and attire to swing according to the wind's guidance. He squinted back at her; bearded mouth missing a smile. One hum vented from his mouth before he took another step forward.
"That's enough."
Her aimed palm discharged Orderly Thunder. Perhaps deep within her, the hope her attack would hit shone brightly regardless. But when faced with the truth of her contrasting weakness, his strength made her sink ever further into despair's endless depths. Jason uppercut her into the air, effectively rendering her unconscious.
His silhouette leaked onto the road behind while he examined her bloody white face. His eyes closed, then he sighed, hand searching through his coat's inner pockets.
"Poor thing. It's alright, though," uttered the Hunter, revealing a pack of cigarettes.
He placed one in his mouth, briefly exerting himself as he threw her beaten body on his shoulder. The Hunter then faced the way he came, preventing himself from snickering further.
"I have some friends who'll find a better use for you."
And then, he vanished. Perched against a rooftop overlooking where the swordsman previously stood, the watcher clicked her teeth and removed the goggles darkening her eye color. Brown hair moving with the wind behind her, Natalia sighed.
"That irresponsible kid… Tch, they're all gonna be the death of me."
Trivia: June is the weakest of the original four Agents of ANZEN. This is because she inherited a defensive-oriented Artifact in the form of Convergence. She's less suited for straight fights because her power can't support her attacks. But, it's ironic. For someone as righteous as June to inherit an Artifact designed to protect—it's almost like fate.