Before they could finish reforming, I bent my knees and squatted down to the ground with my blades positioned behind me. Performing the start-up for the sword skill, Burst Stream. Hurtling myself towards the bright light that shifted and bounced around, I unleashed Burst Stream, a sword skill that specialized in offense. As I unleashed my rein of attacks my companions shouted towards me.

“You’re being wreckless Kanade,” Fumia muttered.

The white prismatic light slowly dimmed and a large spherical plated figure appeared from underneath. In an instant, the beast’s new form began rolling straight ahead. Crossing my blades, I tried to halt the massive ball. I could feel my arms trembling and my shoulder joints snapping like the branches of a tree. 

“Kanade step aside!” Fumia shouted, but I continued to persevere.

The clanging of Serpents chain link echoed through the air as it flew towards me, wrapping around my waist. 

“Tsk!” I bit my lip.

“If you don’t want to listen, I’ll take you by force.”

Being torn away from the MechaBeast, I fell onto my back which stung. And Sakura jumped forward swinging his massive blade and shooting them back.

“What are you doing?” Fumia questioned.

“What do you mean?” I mumbled.

“You’re fighting recklessly, sloppily, you’re not holding your life in high regard right now.”

I looked down at the handles of my blades, my hair fell over my eyes and my palms were bloodied. All I could do was shrug my shoulders. Kiriya was gone and Yuna was dangerously injured, and yet we still had no way of defeating them. 

She bent her knees and dropped to my level. “Look at me.” She said softly.

Glancing up my golden eyes met her gaze.

“You’re suffering, aren’t you?”

I said nothing but nodded.

Moving closer, she placed her forehead against mine. “I know you Kanade, and I won’t lie and say everything will be alright, because it won’t be, not for a while. It’s okay to suffer, it’s okay to be down. But the recklessness that drives you right now, the same one that almost cost you your life against an Original. The one that wants the outcome to end in a victory regardless if you live or die. You can’t let that drive consume you. You need to remember who you value, why you’re here, and hold onto that.”

Patting my head, her fingers ran through my hair before she rose to her feet and began to assist Sakura and Atake. I could feel Serpent waiting to hiss at me, but I stayed silent.

“You in time-out?”

I bit my tongue, stopping myself from saying anything foul.

“I’m kidding, don’t get so worked up Black Tenshi.” He snickered. “But make up your mind and let’s go help them.”

I nodded. As I rose, Serpent released his hold from me. With Serpent by my side, we ran to the opposite end of the ward as the Irregulars new form seemed to enjoy moving around. 

Before engaging with them, Fumia glanced at me with a raised eyebrow and I nodded. Staring me down sharply, after a few seconds she released me from her gaze.

“Sakura, switch!” Atake broke a sweat from holding her shield high as they continuously drove into her. Ram after ram, she stood her ground. “Sakura, switch!” She repeated.

“Tsk! Their focus is too deep on yea! I can’t find an opportunity to switch in!”

Darting herself towards Atake, Fumia took the role of Sakura and replaced Atake’s spot. Holding her katana high, she spun forward, slicing into the beast and halting their movement for a moment. The Irregular stood still and Fumia stared cautiously.

“Fumia! Move!” Atake shouted. The beast’s spherical shell began to open up like a roly-poly. 

Throwing herself out of the way, Atake reclaimed her spot trying to hold off the Irregular. All four of us began hacking at the sides of the MechaBeast but that only led to them shooting back tendril after tendril, distancing us from Atake. 

Dammit! I scream in my head as my eyes narrowed. If she moves now she’ll be crushed!

Atake trembled and her eyes were practically out of their sockets. She screamed in pain and her pale face turned a bright red. Within that moment her shield clanged against the rubble and her arms fell to her sides as they had finally given out. Turning to us, she said something inaudible and the Irregular bulldozed over her. Atake’s bones crunched underneath the beast. A muffled shriek of pain echoed from underneath before becoming silent. The only audible noises were her body popping like bubble wrap and the dirt being rolled against.

The Irregular continued to roll away and we said nothing or did nothing. She laid flat, her back as flat as a pancake. 

“No, you can't be…not now!” I muttered to myself.

“Oi, Atake!”

“Help me help her up,” Fumia shouted.

When they turned her over, her skin was pale and lifeless. My stomach growled. I turned away and leaned over, regurgitating all the contents in my stomach. “Why…” I muttered.

“Eh? Yea say something?”

“Wh--”

“Hey! She’s breathing!” Fumia exclaimed. My hair shot upward as my eyes widened in relief. “She’s in terrible condition, but she has a pulse.”

Atake slowly creaked her eyes open. Muttering under her breath, Fumia leaned forward and listened to her.

“Serpent, take Atake to the Cathedral and see Yuna’s condition as well. Don’t take long.”

Carrying her away, he hastily 

What did Atake say?

“The rest of us, let’s chase them down.”

“And do what?” I asked, truly wondering what we were supposed to do. We still didn’t have any information as to how to stop them. All we could do is slow it down.

She shrugged her shoulders and her face was as stern as ever. Although not having a solid plan, it felt as if I could see the answer when we locked eyes.

Racing towards the MechaBeast. 

“Back me up!” I shot myself atop of it, beginning to pry it open like a locked drawer. As it spun back and forth, it finally gave and opened up. They were lengthy, about the size of two humans combined. Slashing their thin prongs they stood on, they toppled onto their stomach. But four appendages sprouted from their back and they stood above us, their lower body trailing against the floor. As they dashed towards me, I crossed my blades and performed Frozen Bonds. Their face opened like a jacket zipper and deep within the pit of their mouth, something glinted a prismatic color. “Fumia!”

“I’m here!” She thrust herself into the air and struck down, piecing the Irregular. It felt as if she were in slow motion as she breached through the stomach of the beast and black liquid surrounded her. Landing on her feet, the irregular fell to the ground and their body turned a bright prismatic white again with shards circling around them.

“Oi, not this again!”

Darting forward, he swung his blade widely. But before colliding with the MechaBeast, his weapon bounced in the opposite direction and Sakura fell to the ground. The white light had dimed and eventually faded. The Irregulars' new form was in fact their first form. That of a disfigured human. With speed they were quick on their feet, darting back and forth. Sakura quickly recovered and gripped his blade once again, swinging at the speedy target. “Yea not as fast as yea think!” He had decapitated the Irregular. 

At this point, they would have stopped and begun putting themselves back together. But that hadn’t happened. Instead, the Irregular jumped atop Sakura and began absorbing his arms the same way they had absorbed his blade prior.

“Get this thing off of me!” He groaned in pain.

“On it.” Fumia slashed their arms but as her blade collided with them she stumbled forward, trying to keep her balance. “Huh?” She was as confused as me. Her katana had run straight through their arms as if she had swung through thin air.

“Grahhh! What happened! Arahh!” He screeched in agony as they drained his arms like a mosquito.

Fumia’s calm face was slightly less calm at this moment. I sprung forward with both blades parallel to each other. Slicing dead center only led to me falling onto my side.

“Stop messing around!” Sakura pleaded.

“We’re trying! I don’t know what’s going on!”

Sakura breathe heavily. His mouth and eyes forcefully shut and his face broke into a sweat. I began pulling Sakura away from them, but that only worsened his predicament. With even the slightest tug tears would seep from his shut eyes and he would shriek. We were unsure what to do. 

The Irregular had let go and stood to watch us suffer. Sakura’s arms were disfigured beyond repair. They dangled like bare tree branches in autumn, and all that was left was bone.

“You want to toy with us, tsk!” I bit my lip until it bled. I sprung from the floor where I held Sakura and bolted into the MechaBeast. Their body exploded as usual and I once again saw that prismatic glint at the pit of their stomach--