Reincarnation Across the Ages

Chapter 5

The Age of Sculptors, Part 2

From the clapping of hands, an electric bolt hits one of the shooters directly. 

Without even realizing what hit her, the woman fell to the ground. The corpse will never be able to fight again. The loss of a companion is like the rain before the storm, alerting the squad to make a decisive move.

"Sculptor down! That guy intends to kill every one of us!"

"So should we run?"

"That's not an option! We can't leave this relic in STONE's hands!"

An explosion goes off inside the sales department. An excessive charge of electricity makes all the appliances the cause of mass destruction. 

Hit by the impact of unexpected damage, Roccan is propelled into the wreckage of the burning building. The young man is thrown out of a fight that no longer belongs to him, fainting after the shock.

The light provided by the blazing fire stands out against the artificial glow of the great metropolis. The citizens in the vicinity of the clash run away from the confusion, leaving the place with plenty of room for a no-holds-barred confrontation.

Sparklez walks through the rubble of the destroyed building, heading toward his real targets. The squad was waiting for him in the open.

"I can't tell if they're brave or just smart, but accepting fate is the best choice."

"I think you're confusing things. That boy exposed your weakness. You're too confident."

"Really? I have never stopped to think about it that way."

A flash sets the stage for a violent spectacle. The square is like a battle arena, serving as a base for the onslaught of the nine remaining soldiers. Each armed team member reaches their highest level of determination, advancing against a single white-haired man.

"Surround the target! Let's carry out a simultaneous attack!"

"Your actions are incoherent. You seem to have understood the situation well, but you keep making pointless decisions," the cornered man expresses his disappointment.

Lightning strikes one after the other, hitting one shooter at a time. Half the team is annihilated in less than three seconds, leaving only five members. 

The enemy's serious gaze is like a knife, coldly cutting through the motivated group's momentum. The neon lights, responsible for the city's energetic entertainment aura, are overshadowed by the electrical storm, driving away the eyes that wouldn't want to be blinded.

All the survivors turn pale. Even without being affected by the electricity, their bodies remain in a state of shock.

"I-impossible... what should we do?"

"We can't get any closer. How can we knock him out?"

"Is it even possible to hit that thing?"

Faced with an ever-growing threat, the minds of everyone there are gradually forced to accept a cruel fate. Desperate, the armed forces seem to be waiting for their time to come. Their mouths are the only parts of their bodies that can still move.

Emotions that once fit together as simple opposition now take the form of an honest plea. With the sand in the hourglass running out, the subconscious of these humans understands the moment as a last chance to reaffirm their innermost desires.

"When I climb the resistance rankings, my daughter can eat daily. S-so, please, we need that relic!"

"Move it, you idiots! I have to get back to my wife!"

A flash precedes the fall of two more soldiers. A trio is all that remains of the determined team.

With victory all but assured, Sparklez mocks his opponents, "I thought the resistance suits were better. Can't they handle even a few shocks?"

The survivors feel the provocation but don't respond as expected.

"The S and A rank squads certainly have insulating equipment. They'd beat you without any difficulty."

"Wait, you're B-ranked? That's unbelievable! How could you think you'd win this battle?"

"We're C-ranked. We don't choose our fights; that's an unthinkable privilege."

The roar of the heavens brings another sniper to the ground, electrocuted after a thunderous sound. The white-haired man faces his last two targets as he bids them a proper farewell.

"You look much more prepared to die. Is that a surrender?"

"Unlike the other cowards, we understand our role. Death is not the end for a member of the resistance. All the other squads will carry our dreams forward!"

"That's what makes us Sculptors."

"Whatever."

A punch is propelled through pink particles. Hate-filled fists mark every inch of Sparklez's face.

Using dozens of portals in succession, Roccan hits the enemy from the most diverse directions, using his lower and upper limbs to break the relaxed figure's balance completely. Claiming a fight that had slipped through his fingers, the young man leaves the rubble of the fallen building and suddenly arrives in the action area.

Despite his enviable movement, the user of the portals cannot be seen by the eyes of the attacked subject, which are locked onto his real objective. Beams of light find their way across the endless night sky, hunting for someone to receive a devastating discharge. The opponent Sparklez is aiming for is not Roccan.

A fall. A survivor. 

The square hosting a bloody spectacle was about to close its curtains. One single man carries what remains of the honor of his entire team. The slaughter resulted in a one-on-one duel, leaving the resistance in check.

Jiro is the one still standing among so many soldiers who didn't even need a name to continue fulfilling their role.

"Before I end this, I'll ask you one last question," Sparklez says.

"Go ahead."

Perplexed, Roccan observes a situation to which he seems to be irrelevant. The conversation continues without his participation.

"You haven't fired a single shot at me, even considering the confrontation as a whole. Why is that?"

"I haven't found a way to do it."

"Heh, excellent answer. My powers can reach the speed of light. That makes bullets ineffective."

"From the beginning, we depended on a miracle. It's a shame it didn't happen."

"If you secured my relic, would you all have a better quality of life? Wouldn't it be easier to live on the streets?"

"Even the streets aren't a free place. You should know that more than anyone. After all, they belong to STONE."

"You should have chosen your last words better."

Electricity brings the final act of the lightning storm. Originating from the thunderclaps that echo throughout the district, the sound accompanying the glow between the clouds is like a deadly warning, alerting the last member of the defeated team: his time had come too.

Pink particles cover the head of the soldier in danger.

The lightning bolt falling on the group member passes through one of Roccan's portals and is repositioned for a new target. Another portal takes the electrifying attack straight to Sparklez's head.

The enemy collapses in unexpected defeat. 

Faced with the death of a powerful adversary, the young man cannot celebrate his victory. The bodies around him reinforce an absolute failure.

"I'm sorry." After he speaks, Roccan bites his lip in frustration.

Jiro stares at Sparklez's corpse. Unable to believe his eyes, he remains perplexed.

"W-what did you do?"

"Huh? I killed him, but I took too long," the boy replies.

"Have you gone mad! I thought you knew what you were doing!"

"Is there anything wrong?"

"That's unthinkable! The biggest mistake of all!"

The man crouches down to measure his fallen enemy's heartbeat. The result makes all his hair stand on end in a deep nightmare.

"You killed a STONE’s commander!"

"Isn't that what you were trying to do?"

"You have no idea what's going on! We were going to knock him out! That's why everyone died without even shooting him in the head! Did you think we were just bad aimers?"

"B-but why all this?"

"When a commander's heart stops, an alert goes to the nearest STONE’s bases. It's like a code of punishment against anyone who might have caused such a loss, and that includes innocents."

"So..."

"You've activated what they call a Punishment Order."

The lower district is bombarded by ten huge ships.

Buildings of all kinds collapse without any plausible reason. Vehicles explode after being hit by devastating missiles. Houses and establishments burn through with intense flames, burning away any trace of their existence.

Roccan's mind realizes the immeasurable mistake, I didn't.... I didn't know any of this.

Hearing the shouts of dozens of people in the area, the boy raises his arms again. Enraged at his own incompetence, he prepares to face something far beyond his reach.

The ship, in which he had already flown once, was about five times smaller than the ones now flying over his head. Their turbines boost the altitude of each piece of machinery to an entirely different level from any other technology.

Faced with a semi-apocalyptic scenario brought about by his own ignorance, a figure stands erect so that all the attackers can easily see him. Responsibility for the squad's defeat had been passed into determined hands. 

"Although I still have no idea how to do something like this... I need to fix this whole mess!" The young man declares.