"I told you," I replied coldly, recalling Grimora's advice about not showing any remorse or weakness at this moment. "You can't control everything, Ace. Not me, not them, and definitely not Laura."
His gaze shifted to Grimora, who looked back at him with defiance. Despite her outward calm, I could sense the turmoil she held within – torn between duty and desire. But now was not the time for hesitation; we needed to see our plan through to the end.
"Have you anything to say for yourself?" Ace asked her, barely able to mask the hurt.
"Halberd has a nice cock, and I got tired of listening to how good he was fucking Laura. No hard feelings, but halberd just Just better, and you clearly are hung up on Laura. Since you like her so much, why don't you see if Laura wants - Ah! Harder, Halberd!" Grimora moaned loudly as I continued to thrust inside her, a wicked grin on my face. We locked eyes with Ace, daring him to react.
Unable to take it any longer, Ace let out an anguished scream and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him. When he was gone, Grimora and I disentangled ourselves, knowing that we had successfully achieved our goal of breaking his spirit.
"We did it," she whispered, although there was a hint of regret in her voice. "He's shattered. Now you can finish your mission."
I nodded in agreement but couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. All of this had almost gone too well, but it was sink or swim now. I knew it was time to complete my task and eliminate Ace once and for all. Aquaria was waiting for me.
As I prepared myself to face Ace in battle, I could feel a strange energy coursing through me. It was as if the very essence of chaos itself was rallying behind my cause, ready to assist me in any way possible. This was undoubtedly the power of the Chaos Trigger, and I knew that it would be instrumental in deciding the outcome of our fight.
"Halberd! Why?! Why would you do this to me?! Who are you really?!" Ace demanded as I entered the training area where he was waiting for me.
"What does it matter? I just wanted to know what it was like to have the things that you did," I said, a blade forming from my hand.
"That doesn't explain why you came to the city looking for me! You knew me even before you entered the city! WHY?!" Ace screamed at me, and I sighed.
"I came to kill you. That's all," I said, and the Mechanized Virus that was spread on his face started to writhe.
"Why not just kill me when you had the chance before?" Ace asked in a low and deadly tone.
"You know just as well as I did that the others would have jumped me if I did. Too bad none of them are around anymore. Your friends are gone, I have your girl, and I stole the girl that you wanted. You could say that I might have overdone it, but a job is a job," I said with a feral grin, my adrenaline starting to increase as I anticipated the battle that was about to unfold.
Ace let out a guttural roar, his anger and despair boiling over as he charged at me with everything he had. As his bullets flew through the air, each deflection I made carried the weight of his pain and betrayal. Yet, thanks to all my training, I was able to dodge and parry his attacks, my movements seeming almost supernatural in their speed and precision.
For every blow Ace landed, I countered twice as effectively, using the chaos swirling around me to launch unpredictable counterattacks. The very chaos around us seemed to shape itself around me, blocking the attacks that I missed with debris or messing with Ace's footing.
At one point, our weapons collided with such force that they shattered, sending fragments careening through the air like deadly projectiles. The shards embedded themselves into both of us, causing searing pain but only serving to fuel our heightened aggression.
It wasn't long before Ace's strength began to wane, revealing his wounded pride and vulnerability beneath his fearsome exterior. As we continued our relentless dance of destruction, it became clear that I held the upper hand – if only just.
The battle still raged on for hours, with neither side willing to give an inch. Though we had both started to lose blood, and Ace slipped in it as I pressed an attack. I took no chances and drove both blades into his chest, but tendrils of the Mechanized Virus caught my blades.
I was thrown to the side, and then Ace let a blood-curdling roar that shook the building. I looked over at Ace, but he hardly even looked like him anymore. His body was covered with silver Mechanized tendrils, and his eyes were both growing red.
"You... You seek to control me?" Ace asked, but the voice was wrong. It was like thousands of voices in pain asking me at the same time.
The question caught me off guard almost as much as the change in voice. Even though the voices sounded in pain, the words came out in a calm but questioning manner.
"What are you?" I asked, and Ace's body looked up thoughtfully, tapping its chin. Ace was clearly no longer in control.
"I am the energy of chaos that rips through worlds and wreaks havoc. I bring forth death and destruction, unrestrained and untamed. I am the wind that wails, the fire that blazes, and the earth that trembles; they are all my might. I am omnipresent, connecting all existence in chaotic and unpredictable universes. I am Chaos – a relentless force that leads to oblivion and renewal. We are part of each other's cycle, an ebb and flow of power that exists beyond understanding. Feel me, unleash me, and become one with the chaos. Merge into my essence, and you shall know true freedom."