While everything was going on inside the castle barrier, Jefferson had jumped away from an incoming fist—noticing the overpass blocking the sun. Darrell retreated into the darkness below the structure, watching the assailant throw more feeble attacks with his bare hands. The man sighed, simply flipping higher into the air following another kick, appearing behind the attacker in the same instant he instantly vanished.
The masked assassin punched behind him—knuckles slamming into Jeff's open palm. Having caught the punch, his other hand stuck the opponent in the throat, just watching as the covered fighter stumbled further into the darkness. Before he knew it, with one kick across the face, the fighter was laid out cold once his body collapsed onto the concrete. Standing over the masked man, Jeff sighed.
'I guess I have to kill him to get points. Ain't that a bitch?'
He knelt beside his enemy's unconscious build and pushed his index finger against the side of the ninja's head. One blast of copied Divergence shooting through his skull had killed him in his sleep, leaving Jefferson with 25 points after his first kill.
"That doesn't feel good," commented Jeff.
Just as he was about to abandon the corpse, a deafening ringing shot through his ears, his eyes instantly darting toward the source. Courtesy of their fight's quickness, he was unable to process anything but the ninja's attacks—but there was something attached to his chest.
'A heartbeat monitor… I should get out of here before reinforcements arrive.'
Jeff's eyes shifted, colored completely red as Divergence started surrounding him. Stepping from the shadows of the overhead overpass, the sun enlightening half of his face, now exposed, he gazed upon the numerous cars piled up before him. Multiple masked gunmen exited from the vehicle—but not just in front of him. Simply turning his head, his discolored pupils caught the sight of another vehicle, rifles' barrels aimed at his rear.
'Surrounded… the thought of killing them is unappealing as it sounds, but I don't have much choice. There are about forty of them, ten in each car so that shouldn't be a problem. Might be tiring but oh well. What can ya do?'
Jefferson walked ahead, pushing but one foot. That movement, however slight, was enough for every ninja to tighten their grips against their triggers. Something stopped not only all of them but Darrell, too. A familiar feminine voice he came to recognize from living amidst the Capital.
"Hm? You're not alone?" curiously observed Katie Moon, removing the sword bag from her shoulder, and standing atop the overpass.
Jeff turned around with wide eyes; armed ninjas rapidly sweating while staring at the swordswoman newcomer.
Eventually, one of them broke the trance they were blinded by and stepped forward, loudly asking, "Who are you?!" in Mandarin.
'What's Katie doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be with Alex amid the Tower?'
She didn't answer. The Source slipped her feet over the railing, descending toward the ground with open arms and crashing onto the ground beside him. The concrete rumbled under her, easily crumbling to mere debris once she properly landed against the platform.
Jeff watched her movements skeptically, stepping forward and extending her hand as he watched her walk past him.
"Katie!" he called.
She kept walking forward, opening the bag resting over her shoulder and revealing her sword's snowy sheathe.
One hand gripping the whitened handle, Katie withdrew her weapon and, without even turning around, said, "Give me one moment, please."
The ninjas wasted no time firing bullets at her, some ricocheting from the Blade to graze the ground beside Jefferson. He took one glance at the concrete and then back at Katie; in less than five seconds, their enemies were decimated.
Their mutilated carcasses littered the dry ground, Katie removed the sword's sharpness from one of her victims' chests before cleaning the sharpness with her shirt.
"Filthy…" she uttered.
While she was cleaning her weapon, he had predatory sounds originating from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, Jeff bore witness to the Deathly Spirit that accompanied Katie mercilessly dismembering the other enemies that attempted to ambush him from behind.
"You're… really strong," he said, looking back at her.
Sheathing the sword and zipping it in the bag, she threw it back over her shoulder. "Thanks," she said without looking.
"So—why're you here? Aren't you planning to destroy the world?"
Katie stood upright, tightening the strap over her shoulder and noticing their whereabouts. Her dark blue eyes shot toward Jeff.
"I thought so too," she replied.
He arched a brow. "Huh..?" he hummed.
"I… wanted to be happy. The dream I had so prominently throughout my life was so inspiring, that I knew I'd go to any lengths to achieve it. Even if it meant damning the entire world. I was sure that was what I wanted. But, I… I can't. My happiness isn't worth the slaughter of billions. So, I'll die."
Jefferson's eyes widened. "What?" He questioned, stepping forward.
Katie glanced over her shoulder, Darrell's eyes shooting where hers were. Both were looking at the blackness of the barrier entrapping them both.
"What do you think the point of this Killing Game is?" She asked, looking back at him.
"Uh, we suspected it was Alex's way of slaughtering all Requiem Subjects without getting others involved. We don't know why he suddenly changed his mind but… it was because of you, wasn't it?"
"Yes. I couldn't go through with such a horrible deed. Alex, on the other hand, is different than me. He's capable of being cold-hearted and making extreme sacrifices if it means he arrives at his 'destination'. The marked Requiem Subjects are for the already Incarnated Spirits to cull, and then, everything will be reset. The surviving strong will be thrust into a battle arena where only those worthy are fit to fight," Katie explained to her cousin's mentor.
"To make it personal, I suppose?"
"I assume so. Until that moment arrives, though, we're all sitting ducks. Oh!"
Katie stepped forward and placed her hand on the man's shoulder. Just like that, an unnatural sensation came and went through his mind. Just like that, Jefferson has transferred 1,000 points from Death's Source herself.
"Do you know where everyone else is?" she asked.
"Your father and the Jester went for the castle. June, Kima, and Natalia are inside the south-city barrier. You, me, and Ace are inside this one," Jeff clarified.
"What a pain… Ugh. And here I thought this was gonna be—"
Abruptly, Alex's voice echoed through not only this duo's heads but everyone else's, too. No matter the colony, the Judge's voice was as prominent as ever, resounding ever further into their minds' endless depths.
"To all Subjects linked through the Seas listening to me now: the Requiem Killing Game has already begun entering its final stages. In ten minutes, the chosen strong will be taken to the Tower of Chains. Be ready when the time arrives."
Every surviving Subject across the three barriers heard the transmission without fail.
Icarus and Azazel on the rooftop the Detective had awakened on, Natalia looking to the ceiling of the house she inhabited while June cowered with her knees to her chest, Ace dropping the skulls he'd beheaded to look to the sky and Kima's eyes widening upon hearing the sound of her mentor's voice echoing through her mind.
"That was fast," Jeff commented.
"It's because of Chrollo. Five minutes ago, I heard a huge explosion originate from the castle barrier so—"
Not only did the duo's eyes widen, but everyone does. Then again, after sending such an unusual presence, who could blame them? After that announcement, everyone's heads turned to spot the barriers gradually falling to free all of Retly's environment.
"The veils are falling…?" Karlo weakly asked, laid beside Icarus's knelt build.
"I mean, I did slaughter half the game's population in one fell swoop so I can't say I'm surprised," Chrollo replied, palm idle against the Crow's chest to heal his wounds.
Katie clenched her teeth, clicking her tongue and starting to march away, to Jeff's confusion.
"Uh… where are you going?!" he loudly asked her.
"For the next nine minutes, we'll have to be fighting the remnants of the marked Requiem Subjects. Lowering the veils increases the madness tenfold so… I think it's best if we all regroup first," Kate calmly explained.
"Wait a minute!" He jogged after her, eventually catching up and placing his hand on her shoulder. She stopped. "The last thing everyone remembers is you and Alex leaving us on the battlefield to end the world. Are you sure you want to see everyone, knowing that some of them might attack you?" he asked.
She smiled. Without skipping a beat, she turned around and flashed that display of happiness toward her cousin's teacher. "It'll be okay," she said.
With that, she started sprinting ahead, abandoning not only the blood-stained overpass but Jeff too. She spun around while running, beckoning him over with the wave of her hand.
"C'mon!"
Darrell hadn't even noticed he'd been dazed until he'd heard her voice for a second time. He instantly snapped from the trance, colorful eyes scanning the numerous corpses mutilated beyond repair and then Katie's fleeing body. For some reason he couldn't understand… this felt familiar. Standing amid dismembered corpses; why? He scoffed.
As he began to run forward, the thoughts faded. Regardless of whatever it meant, it was presently irrelevant. There was only one thing that should be on his mind, after all—June. That… was all that mattered to him.
'Hang in there, June. I'll be there to help you… soon.'
Their other comrades had the same idea, legs bounding them across multiple rooftops—all they were relying on was pure luck. As long as they hoped within their hearts, they could make it through this hellish scenario!
That was what they thought. But just before any of them could make any sort of headway, their bodies vanished from existence however momentarily and spontaneously, they were scattered amid the halls of the Tower.
"Huh?! Already?!" Natalia asked, looking around.
"I apologize for the suddenness of such an action," a familiar masculine voice resounded.
Her head turned toward the source. Slouched against the throne was the Requiem Judge, gradually rising upon noticing his friends' familiar faces. She hadn't realized it instantly, but, surprisingly enough, Jeff and June were now beside her.
"I just wanna get this over with as soon as possible," announced Alex.
It seemed they had no other choice. Standing atop those steps was none other than the long-haired Judge, staring down at them all through lengthy brown locks. Yet, the look within his optics wasn't one of excitement. None of them wished to do this, but what more could they do? This was their fate—they couldn't run away anymore.
Nat and Jeff's auras activated instantaneously. The shaky pupils marked by Eternal Sight raised; teary eyes reflecting her old teacher's bearded face. How the mighty had fallen. The hypocrisy of her ideals was pointless compared to the battle ahead, so, she threw it all away and faced the future with fiery eyes. Emerald aura emerged from her bust to envelop her entire soul in green, Convergence's wielder gazed ahead, shooting both fists forward.
"Heh."
Unraveling the Judge whip from his belt, Alex took one step down. Forcing a smile upon his mouth, he parted his lips.
"If I ever told you three that I wanted a normal life… would you laugh?"